#her reaction to it. did not disappoint brother that room was DEAD SILENT during the truth segment we did not say a WORD to each other

[infizero]

today was awful but aside from that MY MOM HAS NOW BEATEN OMORI!!!! after months of playing we did it :D

#she cried a lot during the truth and the final duet which. SAME! ik she was going to #and we talked a while afterward she really loved it #so that was really nice :] and cathartic after going thru the game over such a long period of time just waiting to get to last bit and see #her reaction to it. did not disappoint brother that room was DEAD SILENT during the truth segment we did not say a WORD to each other #i could just see her expression of ''oh my god..... (horrified and sad)'' #serena.txt

[romioneficfest]

Saying the Words

Title: Saying The Words Prompt/Day: The Burrow's Living Room (Day 03) Tumblr name:  Rating: PG-13 Brief summary: Ron works up the courage to tell Hermione something important. Then he has to do it again. Any possible triggering/warning tags: Curse words

*****************************

Exhaustion had left them nearly dead on their feet, the adrenaline rush of battle long gone, leaving two weary teenagers in its wake. Hand-in-hand, Ron and Hermione shuffled up the stairs and collapsed into his bed in Gryffindor tower, unwilling to separate even for a moment.

His arm wrapped around her protectively, her head rested on his chest, tucked perfectly under his chin as they escaped into a cocoon of safety. They had lived. They had a future, hopefully together.

Ron stared up at the ceiling of his four poster, building up his courage while cradling her small body to him. Suddenly energized, he couldn't contain himself any longer and the words started spilling out of him at a breathless pace. Words he'd wanted to say to her for years. How much she meant to him, how much he admired her, and how long he'd held back from revealing his true feelings.

How much he loved her.

Never in his life had he been so eloquent and passionate, his voice low in the empty room. He'd practiced the speech in his head a thousand times, but it came out even better than expected. His maturity and the growth he'd made were on full display, spurred on by wanting to be better. Both for himself and for her.

He finally stopped, his chest pounding. He felt as light as feather, the burden of years of hidden feelings finally off his chest. He awaited her response, but all that came was a snore.

She clearly hadn't heard a word and must have fallen asleep almost instantly, surrounded by his warmth. They had been through a lot, after all.

"Bloody buggering fuck," he whispered under his breath.

He silently cursed a few more times and closed his eyes, groaning despondently under his breath as the deep tiredness and disappointment claimed him.

He'd have to confess his feelings one more time—when she was actually awake to hear them.

~*~

The next morning, everything changed. The somber mood around the castle put a hold on any romance, the weight of everything that had happened, the mourning and loss, took priority.

The next few days were split between Hogwarts and The Burrow. Everyone was suffering, not only from Fred's death, but those of their friends and schoolmates. They threw themselves into work in both locales, the only viable way they had not to sink into their collective sadness.

Mrs. Weasley insisted that the usual sleeping arrangements remained, and no one was in the mood to challenge the grieving mother, no matter how old-fashioned it seemed. They all accepted it, even Ron, who was aching to spend more time with Hermione so they could support each other through this difficult time.

Despite that, there were rare moments where they had a minute or two alone. Just as Ron was about to break into his speech again and tell Hermione everything he felt, they would get interrupted.

First it just seemed like bad luck, but every time it happened, Ron's frustrations increased. Whether it was Neville or McGonagall asking for their help with another task, or one of his siblings barging in at the exact wrong moment, it seemed like fate was working against him. Ron knew Hermione would want to retrieve her parents soon, and he needed to tell her before then. He desperately wanted to go with her, knowing she'd need his support.

After missing yet another a chance to tell her, when Ginny unceremoniously burst through the door of his Dad's shed to let them know breakfast was ready—stopping only to waggle her eyebrows at him as she dragged Hermione away to help her set the table—Ron's frustrations reached its peak. He would have to deal with his nosy family first.

~*~

With another long day of rebuilding Hogwarts over, the family Flooed into The Burrow's living room late in the evening, one-by-one dropping into whatever seating was available. Arthur and Molly bade their children good night and went straight upstairs.

"Where's Hermione?" Ginny asked as she flopped her head onto Harry's shoulder, stifling a yawn.

"She's still helping Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing." Ron replied. "You can go to sleep if you want, Ginny. I'm sure she'll be back late, so I'll wait up for her."

"Can't sleep without a good night kiss?" George teased innocently, causing his siblings to snigger, easing the tension of the long, tough day.

Ron rounded on his family. "I haven't had a second of privacy with her, thanks to all of you." He stopped to run a hand through his hair. "Are you purposely trying to mess this up for me?"

"No, but it is rather funny. Besides, we know why you want some private time," Charlie responded, making a kissing face.

Ron sputtered, his ears turning red with fury, his frustrations from the morning returning and boiling over. "It isn't like that."

Percy pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "It's perfectly fine, Ron. We were all young once."

Ron clenched his fists. "IT. IS. NOT. LIKE. THAT."

"Then what is it?" Ginny asked.

"I WANT TO TELL HERMIONE I'M IN LOVE WITH HER!"

He hadn't heard the whoosh of the Floo behind him during his outburst, but Hermione's squeaked gasp was unmistakable in the dead silent room.

Ron was a statue, unwilling to turn around and make things even more awkward, certain that he'd said far too much. That he'd ruined things with his effing feelings. His siblings stared at him sympathetically, as if they weren't to blame for the whole debacle.

Arthur suddenly cleared his throat from the landing of the stairs. "Upstairs to bed, you lot. Give your brother some privacy."

Fleur stopped to give him an encouraging pat on the shoulder, before grabbing Bill's hand. Harry gave him a shrug and Ginny had a huge grin on her face as Ron watched them all ascend, leaving him and Hermione alone.

Ron took a deep breath and steeled himself, before turning around to face her. Even though she looked completely knackered, she was the most beautiful girl in the world to him.

"Hi."

"Hi," she replied.

"So, er, you heard that."

"Yes." Hermione's eyes searched his, her voice low. "Did you mean it?"

He stared back, trying to get any kind of indication of what she was thinking or feeling. She seemed frozen, but her eyes betrayed her vulnerability as they teared up. He just wanted to wrap her up in his arms and never let go.

"I, um, yeah. I did mean it. That wasn't how I wanted to tell you, but I meant it. I had a whole speech prepared and everything."

"You did?"

He nodded slowly, still unsure of her reaction to such a big step. "I said it the night after the battle, but you fell asleep and didn't hear a word of it."

Before he could react, Hermione was in his arms, kissing every inch of his face.

"I love you, Ron. I love you," she kept repeating. So caught up in their embrace, they failed to register the shouts and catcalls from the now packed landing.

She gripped him fiercely as he hugged her to him, his face buried in her bushy hair as he sported a giant smile on his face.

"Alright, show's over."

Bill steered the family back up the stairs, leaving them in silence.

Ron couldn't help but whisper in Hermione's ear. "Do you think I'll ever get to snog you without an audience?"

"Now seems as good a time as any."

#hpfic #romione ficfest 2021 #romione #ron weasley #hermione granger #rated PG-13 #cw: #cw: language #Ace Safe #Rating because of one particular word #Queue up for the Dragon

[honouraryweasley12]

Saying The Words

Written for the 2021 @romioneficfest.

Also available on FF.net.

Exhaustion had left them nearly dead on their feet, the adrenaline rush of battle long gone, leaving two weary teenagers in its wake. Hand-in-hand, Ron and Hermione shuffled up the stairs and collapsed into his bed in Gryffindor tower, unwilling to separate even for a moment.

His arm wrapped around her protectively, her head rested on his chest, tucked perfectly under his chin as they escaped into a cocoon of safety. They had lived. They had a future, hopefully together.

Ron stared up at the ceiling of his four poster, building up his courage while cradling her small body to him. Suddenly energized, he couldn't contain himself any longer and the words started spilling out of him at a breathless pace. Words he'd wanted to say to her for years. How much she meant to him, how much he admired her, and how long he'd held back from revealing his true feelings.

How much he loved her.

Never in his life had he been so eloquent and passionate, his voice low in the empty room. He'd practiced the speech in his head a thousand times, but it came out even better than expected. His maturity and the growth he'd made were on full display, spurred on by wanting to be better. Both for himself and for her.

He finally stopped, his chest pounding. He felt as light as feather, the burden of years of hidden feelings finally off his chest. He awaited her response, but all that came was a snore.

She clearly hadn't heard a word and must have fallen asleep almost instantly, surrounded by his warmth. They had been through a lot, after all.

"Bloody buggering fuck," he whispered under his breath.

He silently cursed a few more times and closed his eyes, groaning despondently under his breath as the deep tiredness and disappointment claimed him.

He'd have to confess his feelings one more time—when she was actually awake to hear them.

~*~

The next morning, everything changed. The somber mood around the castle put a hold on any romance, the weight of everything that had happened, the mourning and loss, took priority.

The next few days were split between Hogwarts and The Burrow. Everyone was suffering, not only from Fred's death, but those of their friends and schoolmates. They threw themselves into work in both locales, the only viable way they had not to sink into their collective sadness.

Mrs. Weasley insisted that the usual sleeping arrangements remained, and no one was in the mood to challenge the grieving mother, no matter how old-fashioned it seemed. They all accepted it, even Ron, who was aching to spend more time with Hermione so they could support each other through this difficult time.

Despite that, there were rare moments where they had a minute or two alone. Just as Ron was about to break into his speech again and tell Hermione everything he felt, they would get interrupted.

First it just seemed like bad luck, but every time it happened, Ron's frustrations increased. Whether it was Neville or McGonagall asking for their help with another task, or one of his siblings barging in at the exact wrong moment, it seemed like fate was working against him. Ron knew Hermione would want to retrieve her parents soon, and he needed to tell her before then. He desperately wanted to go with her, knowing she'd need his support.

After missing yet another a chance to tell her, when Ginny unceremoniously burst through the door of his Dad's shed to let them know breakfast was ready—stopping only to waggle her eyebrows at him as she dragged Hermione away to help her set the table—Ron's frustrations reached its peak. He would have to deal with his nosy family first.

~*~

With another long day of rebuilding Hogwarts over, the family Flooed into The Burrow's living room late in the evening, one-by-one dropping into whatever seating was available. Arthur and Molly bade their children good night and went straight upstairs.

"Where's Hermione?" Ginny asked as she flopped her head onto Harry's shoulder, stifling a yawn.

"She's still helping Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing." Ron replied. "You can go to sleep if you want, Ginny. I'm sure she'll be back late, so I'll wait up for her."

"Can't sleep without a good night kiss?" George teased innocently, causing his siblings to snigger, easing the tension of the long, tough day.

Ron rounded on his family. "I haven't had a second of privacy with her, thanks to all of you." He stopped to run a hand through his hair. "Are you purposely trying to mess this up for me?"

"No, but it is rather funny. Besides, we know why you want some private time," Charlie responded, making a kissing face.

Ron sputtered, his ears turning red with fury, his frustrations from the morning returning and boiling over. "It isn't like that."

Percy pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "It's perfectly fine, Ron. We were all young once."

Ron clenched his fists. "IT. IS. NOT. LIKE. THAT."

"Then what is it?" Ginny asked.

"I WANT TO TELL HERMIONE I'M IN LOVE WITH HER!"

He hadn't heard the whoosh of the Floo behind him during his outburst, but Hermione's squeaked gasp was unmistakable in the dead silent room.

Ron was a statue, unwilling to turn around and make things even more awkward, certain that he'd said far too much. That he'd ruined things with his effing feelings. His siblings stared at him sympathetically, as if they weren't to blame for the whole debacle.

Arthur suddenly cleared his throat from the landing of the stairs. "Upstairs to bed, you lot. Give your brother some privacy."

Fleur stopped to give him an encouraging pat on the shoulder, before grabbing Bill's hand. Harry gave him a shrug and Ginny had a huge grin on her face as Ron watched them all ascend, leaving him and Hermione alone.

Ron took a deep breath and steeled himself, before turning around to face her. Even though she looked completely knackered, she was the most beautiful girl in the world to him.

"Hi."

"Hi," she replied.

"So, er, you heard that."

"Yes." Hermione's eyes searched his, her voice low. "Did you mean it?"

He stared back, trying to get any kind of indication of what she was thinking or feeling. She seemed frozen, but her eyes betrayed her vulnerability as they teared up. He just wanted to wrap her up in his arms and never let go.

"I, um, yeah. I did mean it. That wasn't how I wanted to tell you, but I meant it. I had a whole speech prepared and everything."

"You did?"

He nodded slowly, still unsure of her reaction to such a big step. "I said it the night after the battle, but you fell asleep and didn't hear a word of it."

Before he could react, Hermione was in his arms, kissing every inch of his face.

"I love you, Ron. I love you," she kept repeating. So caught up in their embrace, they failed to register the shouts and catcalls from the now packed landing.

She gripped him fiercely as he hugged her to him, his face buried in her bushy hair as he sported a giant smile on his face.

"Alright, show's over."

Bill steered the family back up the stairs, leaving them in silence.

Ron couldn't help but whisper in Hermione's ear. "Do you think I'll ever get to snog you without an audience?"

"Now seems as good a time as any."

#romione #ron x hermione #ron and hermione #ron weasley #hermione granger

[discoscoob]

Aftermath of New York | Loki x Female Reader

Loki (Marvel) x Doctor Who

The aftermath of the events of New York, you wake up and discover Loki has disappeared.

Part Eight | Part Ten | Chapter Index

Words: 2.8k

Warnings: angst

Read on AO3

The control room was silent, the Doctor hadn’t lifted his attention from the console ever since he arrived back to the TARDIS a few hours ago. After the chitauri had been defeated, he and Donna were able to safely return to the TARDIS while carrying your unconscious body. Once they got back they put you in your bed to rest, while they returned to the control room to begin the search for Loki.

 “Donna, I think you should see this.” The Doctor spoke, Donna perked her head up at the sound of her name from where she had been sat on the seats by the console and saw the Doctors eyes were glued to the monitor with an ever slightly alarmed expression in his eyes.

 “What is it, have you found Loki?” She asked as she rose to her feet and quickly rushed around the centre controls to the Doctors side so that she could look at the screen which had his undivided attention.

 “Not exactly...” He answered as Donna watched the news footage that was displayed on the monitor, the last thing she expected to see was several videos of Loki dressed in armour and a cape, much like his brother had been, as he attacked New York in the battle which they had just found themselves in.

 “I’ve looked at multiple news reports and they all name him as the instigator of the attack.” The Doctor solemnly explained.

 “Oh my god,” Donna whispered in horror before her face washed with realisation, “it’s his fault my nieces life was endangered.” 

 The Doctor opened his mouth as he looked down at Donna, he hesitated and silently considered whether or not he should share his suspicion with her. “Donna...” He slowly began, “I think... I think she knew about the attack... and about Loki.”

 Donna snapped her head up to the Doctor and fixed him with an appalled stare as if he had just committed a most grievous offence. 

 “Are you insinuating that my niece would willing date a... a terrorist?” She snarled at the Doctor as she looked up at him from under her brows with an expression that dared him to go on.

 “They were both very eager to leave New York as soon as we arrived, as if they knew what was coming.” The Doctor elaborated and Donna turned on her heel to walk around the console as her face twisted in disbelief at what the Doctor was trying to suggest.

 “I’ll ask her myself when she wakes up, then you will see how ridiculous your accusations are.” Donna confidently told the Doctor.

 “Ask me what?” You timidly asked from the edge of the control room, you could feel the hostile tension as soon as you laid your eyes upon Donna and the Doctor, interrupting it felt like cutting through a wire on a ticking time bomb and praying it would disable it instead of trigger it. 

 “Oh hun,” Donna sighed with relief as soon as she saw you back on your feet, she immediately rushed over to you and pulled you into a bone crushing hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay, I was so scared I might lose you.” 

 You slowly brought your arms up to return the hug, but you couldn’t allow yourself to fully embrace it as you were distractedly looking over your aunties shoulder with narrowed eyes towards the Doctor, who was quietly keeping his head down. It wouldn’t have taken a genius to figure out something wasn’t right. The fact you hadn’t seen any sign of Loki yet either was weighing heavy on your mind.

 “What did you want to ask me?” You repeated as you pulled away from the hug, you saw Donna look over her shoulder at the Doctor, you didn’t see the glare she gave him as she decided it was his fault that she now had no choice but to ask you if you knew about Loki.

 “Darling, come sit down, there’s something I have to tell you.” She delicately began as she guided you towards the seat by the console.

 “Is it Loki? Is he all right? Where is he?” You worried as your eyes bounced around the control room, despite the fact you already knew he wasn’t there.

 Donna once again glared over her shoulder at the Doctor as she didn’t have any idea how to approach this and she was desperate for him to step in and offer some help, but he remained silent and kept his distance.

 “About Loki... well... the thing is... it has to do with what I wanted to ask you...” Donna fumbled until the Doctor cut her off.

 “Did you know that Loki was behind the attack on New York?” He bluntly asked you and you raised your head to him so quickly that you almost gave yourself whiplash. Almost instantly you felt your chest begin to rise and fall more rapidly as panic surged through it, quickening your pulse and twisting your stomach in the worst possible way.

 “Did you kick him off the TARDIS?” You poorly veiled the way your anxiety made your voice tremble as your eyes shifted anxiously between Donna and the Doctor.

 “Did you know?” Donna repeated the Doctors question and you realised you weren’t going to get any answers until you gave in and offered up some of your own, so you nodded with defeat as your eyes cast to the floor to avoid their reactions, but you couldn’t ignore the disappointed sigh that escaped your aunties lips.

 “How long have you known?” She proceeded to ask.

 “Ever since New Earth.” You quietly confessed.

 “When you convinced us to let him stay?!” She raised her voice slightly and you curled in further on yourself, “don’t you think we deserved the right to know that we were travelling with a monster?”

 “He’s not a monster!” You abruptly rose from your seat, causing Donna to flinch backwards.

 “He invaded New York with an army, innocent people got killed, you were very nearly one of them!” Donna argued back and you finally faltered.

 “What happened?” The last thing you recalled was looking at the worm hole, after that everything became hazy like a dream, the more you tried to pull it back, the further it slipped from your grasp.

 “You were shot at and the blast threw you across the street, you hit your head... you suffered a brain haemorrhage.” Donna explained to you, her face twisted in pain as she relived the memory.

 “I have a brain haemorrhage?!” You panicked and lowered yourself back down onto the seats as you brought your hand to hover it over your head.

 “Not anymore, Loki... Loki fixed it.” Donna hesitantly told you.

 “So he saved my life.” You stated frankly.

 “He wouldn’t have needed to if he hadn’t lead an alien invasion to attack earth.” By now Donna was wildly gesticulating with her rising anger and frustration.

 “It wasn’t his fault!” You rose back up from the seats and your voice followed suit. “He was influenced by the mind stone, just like the Reverend was with the firestone.” 

 “How do you know that?” Donna narrowed her eyes.

 “He told me.”

 “And you believed him? Did he prove it to you or do you just have his word?” At your silence Donna sighed, “God of Mischief, was it? Yeah he must be real trust worthy.”

 You swallowed as you felt hot tears threatening to rise to your waterline while your chest was caving with your rapid breaths, “where is he?” You demanded  one final time.

 Donna stubbornly remained silent and so you let your eyes drift to the Doctor, wordlessly begging him to offer you an answer, he tilted his head sympathetically when he saw the lost look in your glossy eyes.

 “He was captured by the TVA in New York.” 

 Donna turned her head over her shoulder to glare at the Doctor once again and he nonchalantly dropped his eyes to the console pretending to be busy, while your eyes bounced wildly between the two of them.

 “We have to get him back!” You stated determinedly and Donna whipped her head around to face you with narrowed eyes swimming with panic and frustration.

 “Did you not listen to anything I just said? He is where he belongs!” 

 “He belongs with me!” Your throat burned with the force of your voice and you immediately swallowed in an attempt to sooth it. The TARDIS fell silent as you and Donna stared at one another, both stubbornly holding your ground, daring the other to give in first. Ultimately Donna was the one to leave, as she dismissively shook her head with a roll of her eyes before she stormed off further into the TARDIS.

 You glanced up at the Doctor, offering him the floor so he could tell you how much he disapproved of you and Loki as well, instead he offered you an empathetic, tight lipped smile and your eyes cast downwards, unsure whether that was better or worse. Criticism of yours and Loki’s relationship gave you motivation to prove them wrong, pitiful smiles made you lose hope you would ever have the chance.

 With your head hung low you nervously fidgeted with your fingers, a habit that you picked up from Loki, before you spun on your heel with determination to formulate a plan to rescue him.

 ***

 You had lost count of how many hours had passed while you had been trying to develop a plan to find Loki but short of hijacking the TARDIS, a ship you had no idea how to fly, you had nothing.

 You paced the length of your room in frustration, the emptiness of it acted as a constant reminder that Loki wasn’t there. Every idea you tried to develop lead to a dead end, which left you feeling trapped and staring at the same plain four walls of your bedroom wasn’t helping at all. You needed to leave your room and attempt to clear your mind, it was growing exhausted from running over the same useless ideas over and over, leaving you feeling uninspired and useless.

 During your time on your TARDIS, it didn’t take you long to realise that sometimes the corridors shifted and rooms moved, sometimes the kitchen was just around the corner from your bedroom other days it was like walking through a maze just to find a midnight snack. Today, however, no matter how much you tried to avoid it, the TARDIS kept leading you towards the control room, eventually you had no choice but to give in.

 It was just as quiet as it was when you left, your auntie was nowhere to be see, you were unsure of the time by you were positive that by now she would probably be sleeping, whereas the Doctor was still hunched over the console. His suit jacket had been discarded over the seats, leaving him in just his pale blue shirt with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows and his brown floral patterned tie around his neck.

 Once you were a few meters behind him, he lifted his head to look at you from over his shoulder. “Everything all right?” He gently asked you with soft eyes.

 “No, of course not. Loki isn’t here.” You harshly snapped before immediately regretting it once the Doctor timidly lowered his head and diverted his eyes back to the switches in front of him. “I’m sorry,” you sighed apologetically, “it’s just... I can’t sleep, I’m so worried about him and I know my auntie doesn’t want me to find him but I can’t... I can’t just give up on him... I just... I don’t know what to do.” 

 Hot prickly tears stung the corners of your eyes and your voice trembled with your pent up emotions, you gulped in a deep breath in the hope it would keep them from spilling over the edge.

 “Come here,” the Doctor patted the console, encouraging you to come and stand beside him. Hesitantly you made your way over to him with a questioning look but he offered no explanation until you were by his side.

 “This is called the Time Rotor Handbrake,” the Doctor rested his palm on the leaver which you most often see him use. “This is what makes the TARDIS materialise and dematerialise. It can also be used in emergencies, but the last time I used the emergency break during flight I caused some major damages to the sub systems so I try to refrain from doing that too often.”

 You gave the Doctor a bewildered look, which he didn’t meet your gaze to see, as you questioned why he was explaining the functions of the TARDIS controls to you. You had thought he was going to offer you some comfort, some words of wisdom, perhaps even offer to help you find Loki. If this was his idea of distracting you, it was a terrible one, your mind was still cluttered with concerns and anxieties over Loki and dead end rescue mission ideas.

 However you decided it would be a good idea to listen, incase you needed to act upon your plan to hijack the TARDIS, it would come in useful to understand all the controls and their functions, so you paid careful attention as the Doctor lead you around the console.

 “Ah-ha! This is the TARDIS’ telepathic interface.” The Doctor stated with his palm hovered over a panel of the console, filled with long, narrow gaps which contained a rubbery like membrane with small pits dug into it, giving it an uneven surface. 

 “You dig your fingers into it like so,” The Doctor demonstrated with his fingers spread out and held above the panel, “and it plugs your consciousness into the TARDIS so that you become mentally connected to her. Once she enters your mind, she can home in on specific details, if you think of a particular place, planet, time... person...” His eyes momentarily connected with yours, “the TARDIS will track a route, discover where it is and take you right there, all you need is a strong enough connection.” 

 “Well,” the Doctor stepped back from the console as he glanced at a wrist watch which he wasn’t wearing before he stretched his long arms out above his head and let out a loud yawn. “I think I am long overdue a good nights rest. I will see you tomorrow.”

 You mumbled a quiet goodnight to the Doctor and followed him with your eyes until he disappeared out of the control room and then they fell back to the telepathic interface.

 You fidgeted with your hands as you hovered them above the panel, if you think of a particular place, planet, time... person... the TARDIS will track a route, discover where it is and take you right there, the Doctors words rung in your ears.

 You took in a deep breath before you slowly spread your fingers and hesitantly lowered them to the surface between the gaps on the panel, once your fingertips were close enough, the rubber like membrane began to glow, while tiny strobes of light connected to your skin and dragged your fingers closer, until you felt they were securely held in place.

 You glanced up at the large glass cylinder in the centre of the console before you let your mind fill with images of Loki as you closed your eyes you silently begged the TARDIS to track him down and take you to him. 

 Your eyes shot open when you felt the floor beneath your feet begin to vibrate, signifying that the TARDIS was in flight. Hope ignited in your chest, quickening your heart rate and increasing your breaths as you once again closed your eyelids over your damp eyes and concentrated on the pictures of Loki in your mind until you felt the TARDIS come to a gentle stop. 

 You had some trouble removing your fingertips from the rubbery substance which clung tightly onto you, causing you to stumble back slightly once you yanked them free. With nothing holding you back, you rushed to the TARDIS doors.

 Once you opened them all you could see was darkness until your eyes lowered to a slither of light on the floor, coming through a crack beneath a door. Fully stepping out of the TARDIS, you shut its door behind you before you blindly reached for the handle in front of you, slowly you opened it just a crack so you could peek out with one eye.

 “Thanks for visiting the TVA! Don’t hesitate to let us know how we’re doin’!” A southern belle accent echoed down the deserted corridor through a speaker.

 Gently you shut the door before you leaned your back against it with a grateful and relieved sigh. You were one step closer to finding Loki.

#loki #loki (marvel) #loki x reader #loki x you #loki x female reader #loki imagine #doctor who #tenth doctor #donna noble #tom hiddleston

[professionalsimpfor2dboys]

If your requests aren't open you can ignore me, but imagine mc playing around and just doing the classic 90s anime vilian stance while yelling "SILENCE BOTTOM!"

hahaha, oh the boys’ reactions would be very diverse. I hope ya don’t mind me doing some short headcannons for the oldest four brothers because I don’t wanna be too repetitive + I feel like I’m taking too long to answer your ask haha sorry about that 😅

Some are implied nsfw ;) haha

“SILENCE BOTTOM!” Brothers’ Reactions

Lucifer

The brothers and MC were having their usual biweekly game night in MC’s room when said human thought it would be a good idea to bring out their stash of alcohol smuggled in from the human world (much to Lucifer’s disappointment) but failed to realize demons aren’t affected by human alcohol...which left only MC drunk out of their mind.

Of course, to be fair, Asmo brought in a bottle of demonus for the seven of them to pass around but it was too small of an amount to leave anyone more than a little tipsy.

With every shot MC took, their face reddened more and their volume increased as everything sent them into a fit of giggles, which the boys found cute. They wrapped their arms around Mammon’s neck and blew into his ear teasingly as said demon’s face became ruddy.

“O-Oi, what are ya doin’?” He protested, but didn’t push them away.

“What? Can’t I hug my ‘first’ demon?~” MC laughed before falling over, basically body-checking Mammon to the floor along with them as he yelped out of surprise.

“Alright, that’s enough. They’re obviously inebriated,” Lucifer said, standing up. “Time for bed,” he continued, ushering the others to hurry up and leave. The others began cleaning up, getting ready to leave but MC was quick to get off Mammon and stand up with wobbly legs.

“You jealous, Luci?” They giggled as the brothers looked at them with small smiles.

Lucifer ignored them as he continued commanding his brothers to clean up faster. Beginning to berate them for letting his human become so drunk. “You know humans are frail beings! The fact that you didn’t listen to me when I told all of you to stop giving them more shots is completely-“ his scoldings were giving MC a headache so they were quick to shut him up.

Posing so quickly and suddenly that they saw stars in their eyes for a bit, MC opened their mouth with a glint in their eye before shouting: “SILENCE BOTTOM! MUAHAHAHA” successfully shutting up the eldest brother.

Everyone was silent. MC stood still in their pose before doubling over from laughter as Lucifer watched with widened eyes.

“Everyone out, now,” Lucifer ordered, waving towards the door which they were quick to oblige but right as the door closed he heard quickened footsteps down the hall before an uproar of laughter resounded from his brothers. He’d deal with them later.

Sighing as he picked the human up from the floor, who’s laughter had eventually died down as sleepiness fit them full on, he laid them on their bed before brushing aside their askew hair accompanied with a chuckle. “That was a surprise, love, but I’m sure you know I’m far from what you call a bottom,” he chuckled, tucking them in. MC had long since passed out, mouth slack and cheeks still red. “You’re definitely a strange one, but mine nonetheless. I hope you know you’ll be facing the consequences of your words in the morning,~” he whispered in their ear, making them shift, before he kissed their forehead and shuffled beside them for cuddles.

Slight revenge sex in the morning once they’re sober for embarrassing him in front of his little brothers since he is the avatar of pride after all.

Mammon + Levi

these boyos scream switch to me soo you might know where I’m going with this

after a day at R.A.D, MC had walked with Levi and Mammon back to the House of Lamentation and they started another one of their arguments yet again.

“Mammon, you literally stole money from me last night after putting a bookcase on top of the door to my tank and watching me panic! What kind of older brother watches their younger brother almost drown???” Levi screeched, clasping at his neck dramatically.

“Wait, you can drown? I thought you were some weird sea monster thing,” Mammon retorted with a laugh as they entered into the living room. MC just face-palmed.

“Does it look like I have gills to you?? Ughh, you can just be so infuriating sometimes!” Levi groaned, running his hands through his hair in a frustrated manner.

MC shuffled to his side, whilst rubbing circles on his back as they cooed:” aw, it’s alright Levi-Chan~how about we go have a marathon of Ruri-Chan’s limited edition dvds you got in the mail the other day?”

Levi’s face lit up with both excitement and embarrassment. “You’re right! I almost forgot about that! Let’s go!” He exclaimed, grabbing ahold of their hand before pulling them towards his room but Mammon was quick to grab MC’s other hand and pull them the opposite way.

“Nuh-uh, where do ya think you’re goin’ with my human, huh? They’ll be staying with me because I ain’t watchin’ no Riri-Chan DVD’s,” Mammon shook his head, pulling MC closer but Levi countered it with a tug of his own.

“It’s Ruri-Chan, thank you very much and MC offered so it’s not your call whether they go or not, numbskull,” he retorted as MC was losing their patience being pulled around.

“Ha! If you think I’m gonna let ya get your hands on my human then you got another thing comin-“ it was in that moment a cheeky grin appeared on MC’s face before they ripped themselves from both of the demons’ grasps and posed dramatically.

“SILENCE BOTTOMS!” They bellowed, leaving the two speechless before faces turned red quickly. MC got a good laugh at their reactions before Levi spoke up.

“Th-that was kind of t-tantalizing! P-please do more! I’ve only heard it in animes and thought it was funny before this...” He begged, pushing both his pointer fingers together sheepishly.

“H-huh? What do ya mean tantalizing?” Mammon stuttered out, equally as embarrassed. He enjoyed it too, but wouldn’t be caught dead admitting it.

Well, looks like they found out something new about themselves.

Satan

Oh boy, calling this man a bottom? hmm possibly

MC was helping him study human culture for a test that was coming up and decided to take a short break.

“So, how about we talk about some things that won’t be on the test?” Satan suggested, looking up at MC from his book.

“Like?” MC questioned.

“Hm, I would like to learn some human slang in order to use it for confusing my brothers,” he replied, a hand on his chin as he thought. “All I know of is the dance phenomenon called the dab? Levi was quite interested in doing it at every given second for a fleeting period of time,” he continued, deep in thought which made MC laugh.

“Well, lemme think,” they began before one popped up in their mind. “Ooh! Do ya know what a DILF is?”

“Oh, come on, you can do better than that. Of course demons know what DILFs and MILFs as well,” he replied, chuckling which made MC pout.

“Well, do ya know Lucifer is a total DILF to me?” MC retaliated, knowing that would rile up Satan. He visibly gagged at her words before slamming his book shut.

“Please never say those words again,” he hissed, closing his eyes.

MC chuckled at his reaction before another idea popped up in their mind. “Ooh, how about...” they began before bolting up and waiting.

After anticipating for a bit, he cocked his head at their silence. “How about what-“ he was quickly cut off with a loud “SILENCE BOTTOM!” From MC which he jumped at.

MC watched his reaction before bursting in a fit of laughter. “Pretty funny, right? It’s a thing humans do as a joke-“ Satan wasn’t listening as he closed the space between them with rosy cheeks.

“I would be lying if I said I’ve never thought about it before~” he whispered closely, hot breath tickling MC’s face as they looked at his lidded eyes.

“HUHH??” MC blurted out making Satan looked at them in a confused manner.

“You were implying you wanted me to try being submissive during sex, were you not?” He questioned, assuming he was correct.

“W-what? No! It’s a joke in the human world!” They were quick to reply, still a bit frazzled. It was Satan’s turn to be embarrassed.

He backed away quickly, cheeks blushed red for a different reason now as he rubbed the back of his neck. “O-oh!” Was all he said before quieting down. An awkward silence settling over them before MC spoke up quietly.

“W-what did you have in mind?” they asked, hesitant.

“Huh?” Satan turned to look at her.

“I-I would be lying too if I said I never thought about having you under me...so what did you have in mind exactly,” they replied shyly, not meeting his eyes.

A smile spread across Satan’s face as only four words left his mouth: “Me wearing cat ears,”

😏 ;)

Did ya notice I’m trying a new format?

#obey me #demon brothers #obey me shall we date #obey me fandom #obey me x mc #obey me mc #otome game #obey me mammon #obey me levi #obey me leviathan #obey me lucifer #obey me satan #obey me headcanons #obey me fanfic #obey me scenarios #obey me! shall we date? #obey me implied smut #obey me imagines #obey me smut #;) #obey me asks #answered

[kdramachitchat]

Episode 5 -- Judge Gaon makes a return to an actor’s case that results to a 20 year imprisonment which includes a special twist. All thanks to Elijah. We also dig deep into Yohan’s vulnerability and a surprise connection with Ms Jung.

Yohan's vulnerability

Kang Yo Han usually has a very flawless & powerful appearance, but in the latest episode's opening, his face is stained with distressed tears and his hair is in a untidy look. His vulnerability seems to come out whenever his dead half-brother Isaac is involved. Despite being a half-brother, Isaac was a good brother to Yohan. He protected him from their abusive father and in return, during the fire Yohan promised to come back and save him but never did. The guilt is eating him alive and even more-so that Gaon is a lookalike and his words attacked his suppressed feelings. Even worst when Yohan woke up from his nightmare, he saw Gaon right away and Elijah making a comment that he looked like he saw someone that he killed. She hit the spot. Gaon also apologized for the things he said about him and his brother. Yohan tells Gaon that he doesnt want someone to make that comment especially if it’s someone who looks like him and that it is a coincidence. Yohan sends a warning to Gaon, he will damage anyone who gets in his way and Gaon understands. Yohan adds that he wont kick Gaon out as he enjoys working with him.  

After the trial, Gaon and Yohan has another discussion. Is it better for Yohan to become the monster rather than the victim? Gaon harshly says that Yohan’s inst even brave enough to fight his own demons. Flashback shown of a younger Yohan getting beat up by his father and the adult Yohan asking the imaginary father to stop attacking him. Yohan mentions how sick and tired of he is with this home. His home only reminds him of terrible memories.

Ms. Cha visits her son and makes a live tv appearance

Ms Cha visits Lee in prison and automatically uses her power to pursue the guard. Once she sees him suffering from his sleep as a mother she silently wept. She requested the guard in-charge of the wing to take care of him until the next. The next day, she did a tv broadcast interview about her son which was also seen by the President and the First Lady. Ms. Jung makes an appearance and makes a sarcastic comment on her situation. Although Ms. Cha says that she tries everything in her power to survive, despite the SRF watching her case unfold. Ms. Jung says that her way is an offence and not a defence. This hinted to Ms Cha that it looked like the SRF has prepared something for her and the program ain’t over yet. Maybe the situation of putting Judge Kang into a bad light like saying how inhumane the sentence is especially during the 21st century. It was a hot debate. Yohan watches the live interview from his home and comments how the public can just suddenly change their opinion. Yohan makes a call and asks someone to investigate on who is behind Ms. Cha.

Yohan receives results from the detective and finds out that they dont have any information on who’s behind Cha Kyunghee. The detective thought that maybe Ms. Cha could’ve done it on her own. Yohan made a observation of the live show. He noticed that the flogging marks from the photo shown were fake and that she’s not into showmanship. He knows that Ms Cha surely receives help and the highest possibility is the SRF. So, he plans to attack the foundation’s Dream Home project.

Judge Gaon makes a grand return

After recouping his strength from the attack, Gaon finally returns to the live program with a big reaction. He gets introduced grandiosely and even has fans. He earned the nickname “Idol Judge Kim Gaon”.

The case of sexual violence

A new case is about the actor named Nam Seokhoon. He is accused of committing sexual violence and the prosecutor makes a comment how its rampant in the entertainment business. He was immediately charged with habitual sexual assault. Yohan adds that Mr. Nam has committed 3 accounts of sexual assault and 2 forced indecent acts. The actor admits to all charges.

Flashback shown of the prosecutor and the celebrity meeting beforehand. The actor doesn’t want to admit and defends himself that he likely made a mistake once while he was drunk but not a sexual assault. The actor called one of his female castmate and demands her to visit his hotel room, while using his seniority level. He says that the actress hit him first and in his case so many girls try their best to be on his good side. He adds a new detail that he also has a daughter. A evidence was provided: A hard disk that was beat with a hammer by the actor. With modern technology its easy for files to be opened and looks like the actor has kept a hidden folder.

The prosecutor presents him with a sentence of 20 yrs of prison. He will be treated to remove all sexual impulses. Yohan clarified if he meant chemical castration. Since chemically its expensive, the prosecutor suggests him to be physically castrated instead. The actor reacted with eyes wide open, in shock that this wasnt the sentence they agreed on. While Judge Gaon and Oh disagree as its too harsh Ms. Jung suddenly makes an entrance at the court.

Another flashback of Ms. Cha and Ms. Jung talking during the live interview break. Ms. Cha knows that if the judges expect a sentence being too harsh they’ll be disappointed easily and how much of it is a difficult assignment for Judge Yohan. Judge Yohan didnt make a final decision and ends it with saying they’ll make a decision with the council.

Judge Oh and Gaon discusses the proper sentence for the actor. They feel that it is too much and that Gaon fears for the country despite having criminals in it. Are the sentences being too violent?

Judge Oh makes a statement and compares her and the prosecutor’s living conditions. How their living conditions differ with the state of their crime rate. She compares that in her neighbouring district there was a even a homicide. She wants the defendant to have their own rights as well. the crowd was moved and agrees to her statement.

The judges made their final decision, Mr. Nam is to serve 20 yrs in prison and no more additional charges or so we thought. We came back with the scene of Yohan coming to the center. The judges couldnt make a final decision hence they can only hand down a prison sentence. Although he will be in a prison that specializes in rehabilitating sex offenders. Mr. Nam will be sent to Texas, USA where the habitual sex offenders are incarcerated. The judiciary of both countries signed a MOU in agreeing to cooperate with the rehabilitation. Judge Oh and Gaon were pleased with the decision. A ‘Hah! In your face!’ moment Yohan eyeing both the prosecutor and Ms. Jung. Like how Gaon realizes that the Kangs are intelligent, Yohan surely does his research. That will definitely impress Ms. Jung.

Elijah

Elijah in enrolled in a computer engineering program at Stanford. Gaon is surprised that Elijah is already in college and how can she do classes without physically having to be there. He finds out that Yohan likely made a large sum of donations and according to the website there’s a hall dedicated in the name of her. Intelligence runs through the Kang’s blood and that there is no limit for Yohan when it comes to Elijah. He will give her the best.

After the live court, we also find out that it was Elijah who scoured the US to find a appropriate prison for Mr. Nam. She altered her voice while negotiating with the Texas State.

The former maid

After the trial, Yohan receives a formal letter from the SRF and gets attacked at the meetup place. He then comes back awake and is chained up to a chair at the house of Ms Jung. Yohan realizes how some things surrounding the room reminds him of a certain past. The room is a recreation of his home. he realizes that Ms. Jung used to work for the Kang family as a maid. That’s some twist.

#2021 #The Devil Judge

[joftw]

Date: Thanksgiving  ( November 26, 2020 )

Location:  Roseville, VA

TL;DR:  Jo comes out to her dad yay !   yes I know this is a week late don’t @ me

Jo hadn’t meant to invite her girlfriend to Thanksgiving dinner with her father who she wasn’t yet out to -- it just happened.  Her and Mari had been texting about Thanksgiving, and when Mari said she had no plans, it was a knee-jerk reaction to invite her. It’s not a holiday that’s particularly significant to Jo, especially considering the last few years had been spent just her and her father eating dinner at the Roseville Diner. But she did realize pretty quickly that asking Mari to meet her dad was a pretty big step, and more importantly, one that she wanted. 

She wasn’t surprised that he didn’t have any objections to someone else coming to dinner with them, but she was a little surprised that Mari didn’t mind being just a friend for the evening. Of course, it’s not unlike Marisol Guinto to be so understanding, but it was a favor that Jo didn’t like asking of her to begin with. The self-consciousness of a new relationship had worn off back in Berlin, and now Jo likes people knowing who she’s dating, because she’s proud to be with Mari. Pretending otherwise feels like a step in the wrong direction -- but it was just for one day, she had to remind herself. She’d tell her dad when the timing is right, not over the phone before Thanksgiving.

But there’s something surreal about seeing Mari and her dad -- her two favorite people -- sitting at the same booth in the Roseville Diner. Her dad has always been easygoing and Mari is always charming, so ideally there’s no reason for them NOT to get along, but seeing the two of them interact together makes Jo feel like she’s on cloud nine, not even minding if half the time they’re making fun of Jo in one way or another. Despite all the drama and tragedy that this year had brought, it’s brought a lot of good to her too, and there’s something fitting about celebrating a day to be thankful with the two people in her life Jo’s thankful for everyday. It’s because of that that Jo realizes the conversation with her dad isn’t one for the future, but one for today.

Of course, letting it slip to Mari that she loves her right before her father comes back from the bathroom also provides a small sense of urgency.

Despite initially having plans with Mari to spend the rest of the evening with her, when dinner ends Jo tells her she’s going to go back to her dad’s hotel for a while, and she’ll see her back at school. There’s guilt that comes with ditching Mari, especially after having said the three little words for the first time in their relationship, but Jo knows that she can’t have THAT conversation until she has this one first.

“You could’ve gone back with your friend, you know,”  Steven Tran says as he flips the light on in his hotel room, with Jo following shortly behind. She had told him she probably won’t spend the night in his hotel room this visit because she has homework to catch up on (when in reality she just has a girlfriend she’d rather sleep with), but she takes note that he had rented a room with two beds anyway.  

Jo takes a seat on the edge of the bed closest to the door.  “Yeah, I know. I just figured we should spend some time together, just the two of us. You did come all this way.”  There’s a lightness in her voice that typically only comes out with her father, but Jo feels her voice catching a little, sounding more awkward than usual (though she could be imagining it). She’s nervous, she realizes, which shouldn’t come as a shock to her. The last time she had seen him had been the week before fall semester began, and before that she had been home for the entire month of June. There had been many family dinners in that time where she could’ve gotten this conversation over with, but she had always told herself there would be a better time, or that once a better opportunity presented itself, she would say something. It takes her sitting in her dad’s hotel room right now to realize those had only been excuses, and she wishes more than anything she had another excuse to further put this off.

“I can’t believe this is your last year here, and our last Thanksgiving here.”  He sounds wistful when he says it, which surprises her. Jo’s never really thought much about their Thanksgivings in Roseville. In fact, she kind of figured he wouldn’t miss schlepping to Virginia every year. New York’s not exactly close.  “Do you want a drink?”

“What?”  When she glances up, Jo realizes he’s holding out a beer for her. She snorts.  “You wasted no time,”  she chastises him, but takes the beer anyway. Usually she’d rather swallow her own spit than drink beer, but she could use it right now. Her dad’s not really a beer drinker either, so it’s an unfamiliar feeling to share a beer with him, but considering the circumstances of her visit, it’s just normal enough for her to not overthink it.  Jo grimaces after taking a long swig.  “No offense, but I’m not really going to miss diner food for Thanksgiving.”

“What, and are you cooking next year?”  Steven laughs, causing her to roll her eyes and smile.  She expects him to launch into questions about where she sees herself next year, since her future employment seems to be his favorite topic to bring up during their weekly calls (which is just so Dad of him), but instead he surprises her.  “Your friend Mari was very nice.”

It’s not a question, but Jo finds herself blinking slowly, trying to figure out how to answer him. The word friend almost makes her flinch. “Uh, yeah. She is.”  A small pause.   “I figured you two would get along. You’re both so…”  

“Hilarious?”  he asks, as if Jo hadn’t been the butt of every joke at dinner. She scoffs out a laugh, taking another sip. 

“Modest,”  she corrects. Unfortunately she does thinks he’s pretty fucking funny, as far as dads go, although it doesn’t hurt that he’s raised her into having the same sense of humor as him. But it’s hard to feel lighthearted right now, as she carefully passes the beer bottle back and forth in her hands.  “So you liked her, then?”  She’s trying to be casual, but she knows the hesitance in her voice is a dead giveaway. Not only is Steven Tran a retired spy, but he isn’t a moron.

Jo can see him nod slowly from her peripherals.  “Why do you sound so surprised about that?  I always like your friends. Whenever you do let me meet them,”  he adds, tone a little pointed. There’s that word again: friend.

She doesn’t say anything for a moment, instead letting her eyes glaze over the beer bottle in her hand as she tries to figure out a way to start this. Jo’s thought of a million different scenarios where she DIDN’T want to have this conversation, but she’s never once figured out the perfect way to do it -- and if there’s one thing Jo likes, it’s doing something the right way. She’s suddenly very aware of her heart beating quickly in her chest, the way it always does before an important final for a class that she’s not completely confident in. This moment feels like a test in itself, one she’s losing confidence in by the second. 

Despite not talking to her anymore, Jo already knows her mother wouldn’t approve of her relationship. She’s not a stranger to feeling like a disappointment to her mother, because her whole childhood had felt like not being able to live up to her mom’s particular standards. Jo doesn’t even see it as a bad thing anymore, just a fact of life, that mothers are always going to want something different for their daughters. The fact is that her mother’s also always been small-minded. It’s because of her that Jo thought it was normal for people to rudely gawk when two people of the same sex walk hand-in-hand, and why she had lived in New York City all her life and had barely been below 34th Street until she was fifteen (her mom thought everyone who lived Downtown “had loose morals”). Her mother hadn’t been incredibly religious, but they attended church every Sunday because of her, and she had once told Jo she wouldn’t let her not get married in a church. It had taken Jo years to realize the feelings she had for her best friend Rose in high school were beyond a normal friendship, and she can’t help but put some of that blame onto her mother.

But while her mother had always made her thoughts and opinions very transparent, Jo’s father was another story. They’ve always been close, especially in the last five years, and yet Jo struggles to think of the last serious conversation she’s had with him that wasn’t about her career. She can typically go to her dad with anything and everything, she knows, which is why it’s so hard that she feels like she can’t physically get this one thing out. It’s not from a lack of wanting, because during their weekly calls lately Jo can feel herself having to hold back from talking to much about Mari -- except every story about her has been prefaced with my friend, because she had even been afraid he would see right through her for talking about one friend in particular so much. It’s from a lack of knowing his reaction, the fear of the possibility that her dad has the same views on her mom did, and the potential that it’ll change everything between them. 

Jo’s lost her mother and her brother already -- by choice, after choosing her father over them. It’s not a choice she thinks she’ll ever regret, but the idea of losing her last of her family just because of who she is as a person is enough to make tears prick in her eyes. Eyes close tightly as she brings the beer bottle to her lips once more.

She can feel the bed move when her dad takes a seat on the edge of the bed beside her. After swallowing the rest of her sip, Jo decides to rip it off like a bandaid.  “Mari’s my girlfriend.”

The room is silent, though Jo can’t hear it over the sound of her blood pumping in her ears. She stares straight ahead, refusing to look at him until he says something; she’s not sure she’d be able to deal with the look on his face if it’s even slightly negative. The heinous beer she’s been drinking definitely doesn’t help her churning stomach.

Finally he clears his throat.  “Okay.”  It’s hesitant, but clear. 

Jo finally looks at him.  “Okay?”  she echoes, eyebrows raised. 

Steven Park shrugs once, looking a little embarrassed -- whether it’s of himself or her, she can’t really tell, because he doesn’t elaborate. It occurs to Jo that this is probably where she’s gotten her poor conversation skills from. She feels tears forming in her eyes again, though this time she’s not fast enough to hide them.  “Hey, Jo,”  he says softly, in a tone she hasn’t heard him use on her in years -- as if she’s a little girl again, and he’s comforting her after a hard day of school.  “It’s okay. I’m sorry, you just…  I don’t really know what to say. Except I love you.”  He says it like it’s so obvious that she can’t help but let out a short, breathy laugh. Jo shakes her head at him, quickly swiping her eyes.  

“Mari… she’s the friend you were always talking to this summer, right?” The question makes Jo snort, because she hadn’t thought he really noticed. She nods. Her father doesn’t say anything for a beat, before finally adding,  “Well, I guess I’m not that surprised.” 

“What?”  She doesn’t mean for it to come out sharp, but Jo can tell she’s scared him by the way he flinches at the look she gives him.

“I mean… you’ve been at Gallagher for three and a half years, and in all your time there all I hear you talk about are the redheads. I’d find it hard to believe you made any more friends,”  Steven says, and she knows him well enough to know he’s kidding, just by the way the corner of his left mouth lifts slightly. It makes it all feel a little more normal, even if she is still wiping a few uncharacteristic tears off her cheeks.  “And who wants to spend Thanksgiving with someone else’s Dad?”

Jo shakes her head, a small smile flickering on her lips.  “Well, that’s just Mari,”  she admits, causing him to laugh. Eyes narrow in his direction, because Jo doesn’t like being laughed at.  “What?”

“Nothing,”  he assures her.  “You just sound… happy. You seem happy, too.”  Steven glances over at her, eyes flickering over her face, looking at her so tenderly that Jo has to look away, otherwise more tears will come. At least those are of a different feeling altogether.  “I know you probably don’t want to hear it, but… I do worry about you,”  he continues.  “I know you’re tough, but sometimes I’m afraid you don’t let yourself, you know, be a kid. Especially after everything that’s happened. I just want you to be happy, kiddo.”

“I am,” she says, voice small, because Jo’s afraid to say more (and god knows she could say a lot about how happy she is right now) and possibly regret it.  

“Good,” her father replies,  “then that’s all that matters.”  He pauses for a few seconds, and when he talks again, he doesn’t sound as sure as before.  “So, uh. Is it serious?  I’m guessing it is, since you let me meet her.” 

She can only let out a small laugh, wiping the corners of her eyes as she nods. “Yeah, I guess so.”  It’s awkward talking to him about this, but it’s the kind of awkward that comes with discussing relationships with your middle-aged father -- the kind of awkward that also feels normal. Already she can feel her heartbeat steadying once more, and while the butterflies still remain, it’s only because they’re talking about Mari.  “I actually… told her I loved her,” Jo admits, and it’s impossible not to cringe.  “While you were in the bathroom during dinner. It sorta just happened.”  

Part of her worries that if they keep talking about it, she’s going to say something that will suddenly no longer make it okay. But for now, he just laughs.  “That explains why you looked as pale as a ghost when I came back. I thought you just ate too much.”  Steven pushes some hair out of his eyes, sitting up a little straighter when he says, “I hope you know you didn’t need to keep it from me. I mean, I’ve expected for a while something was off with you, but I figured it was just senior year nerves. There’s nothing you could do that’d ever make me stop loving you, Jo.”

Jo’s never been sentimental, finding outward displays of love and affection cringe-worthy at most. So she can feel her dad stiffen in surprise for a moment when, instead of scoffing at him, she wraps her arms around him tightly. Lips press to the top of her head, and suddenly she can feel it: the weight of the world she’s been holding on her shoulders suddenly disappear. Tonight she’ll have another big discussion with Mari, but for now she lets herself enjoy her father’s embrace, as well as the feeling of her last shred of self-doubt being slowly erased.

#jo ; self-para #ngl i'm not really proud of this but i pushed through anyway bc i have replies to do #and if felt lame not writing such an important plot point for her #so have this trash

[halothenthehorns]

THE SERVANT OF LORD VOLDEMORT

The last thing in the world James wanted to do was pick up that book and keep going. He'd never felt so confused in his life. It just couldn't be real that Peter had been the one to do this to him, to his wife and son. Not that same boy who they'd grown up with and had more adventures and stories with then his own parents. Not that same friend who egged them along on the worst of their pranking stunts and was always willing to take the fall for them when they'd hit their quota of 'get another detention and you're going to be expelled for the month!' Not his brother who'd joined in their escapade of making sure Remus never showed up in the Hospital Wing again a breath away from death, looking so scarred and bloody that they all went out and did something illegal!

He'd been insistent, swearing up and down he'd demolish anyone who said this nonsense about Sirius, and when he was proven right about Peter he'd knock his two friends together until they couldn't see straight for even nursing the notion about his other friend. James was still adamantly refusing to acknowledge the other little details, about how if Scabbers was Peter then why would he be in hiding this long? Why wouldn't he have gone to Remus? Why the farce of being dead if he hadn't done something wrong? He really couldn't work out in his mind how Remus and Sirius could both be so wrong about seeing Peter on the map!

"Err, I've got a question," Harry asked hesitantly when it was clear his dad seemed to have been struck dumb and wasn't moving. "How ah, how did Remus even see Pettigrew on that map?" He felt terribly timid like he never had before about asking any such question, they all looked so many things, namely violent, when he said that name but he risked it anyways just to try and get his dad's attention. "Sure Hagrid's hut isn't on the map, so I suppose I wouldn't have ever seen him if he'd been there the whole time, but Fred and George didn't ever see a guy named Peter hanging around Ron either, at least they never said anything about it."*

Harry's question only seemed to have the opposite effect as his dad's lip began quivering, the ability to explain escaping him, so Remus answered, "That was a terribly tricky charm that I worked out. We put an extra layer on the map so that animagus' wouldn't be seen on the map unless you added an extra command, and I'm fairly confident the twins never figured that out. We didn't want anyone to see them in animal form obviously as they are still illegal. I of course got left out because I'm not an animagus. I most likely would have turned it on when I took it from you though, and since Hagrid's hut isn't on the map I wouldn't have noticed anything until this night."

"What about the cloak then?" Harry persisted, still throwing hopeful glances at his father in hopes he'd come back to life any second. "You could see us even when we were under that?"

"The map shows all," Sirius muttered, wishing he could do that in his old singsong voice like this was still a perfectly normal conversation, and detesting more than anything he couldn't even fake that anymore.

James at least looked like he was paying a bit more attention now, but still didn't look up to wanting to use an actual language as he gazed down at the book. Sirius had decided to take pity on him and reached for the book when James smacked his hand away and said, "Don't be stupid, it's my turn." He still hadn't worked out in his mind how this was going to be okay this time, but he wouldn't let himself cave now.

Hermione screamed.

"She's not the first girl to scream at the sight of him," Sirius nodded.

Both Black and Harry gave starts of surprise while Snape was telling that he'd found the cloak just outside the tree,

'It would be that to spark life back into him' Lily thought fondly, watching James go from confused to outraged in seconds as his mind swiveled back to realizing that it hadn't ever mentioned Harry picking the cloak back up, he'd darted down after Ron straight away. Snape had used his cloak!

"I don't think I can ever touch that thing again," Sirius moaned, rubbing his hands on his knees like there was bile all over them.

"Why would he even bother though?" Remus demanded, "Sneaking in there like that, what's his reason?"

Harry remained silent, still getting a rather bad feeling for this, and it somehow circled back to Remus.

while carelessly tossing it aside and keeping his wand trained on Lupin and thanking Harry for leaving it there.

"You are not welcome," Harry muttered.

Snape wasn't even trying to hide how pleased he was during this, sounding beyond smug as he asked them if they were wondering why he was even here?

"Oh Merlin, is he going to monologue and gloat?" Sirius demanded. "I'd rather he just curse me."

James gave him an absent nudge, knowing all too well that was a real possibility and truly thinking he'd keel over now if that did happen.

Without any prompting he explained that he'd been to Lupin's office because he needed his potion,

"Dammit," they all muttered, their minds swiveling back to Remus and realizing their original assumption had actually been right. That meant that Remus was going to transform, that they were now on a clock until those kids had to get out of there! Surely everything was going to work out though, right? All the kids would have to do was keep a hold on the rat until morning, or Merlin just run straight up to the castle now and go to Dumbledore and turn him in then. This didn't need to be a problem if they handled it right...

but then he'd seen the Map, with Lupin crawling along the tunnel and he knew he should follow.

"So what?" Sirius growled. "Maybe he just wanted to transform in there tonight, something could have happened he just didn't feel like telling Snape every little detail about, why did he automatically suspect that something bad was going on?"

"Did you really just ask why he followed me?" Remus asked in shock. "You never got an answer for that in school, why would he be any different now?"

Sirius huffed and grumbled something, still outraged he showed up at all, tonight of all nights and ruining this! He didn't care what Lily said, if Pettigrew somehow got away with this because of Snape interfering, he'd murder her old friend as surely as his own. Judging by the closed off look on her face, he felt like he wouldn't receive too much protest.

Lupin tried to interrupt, but Snape wasn't hearing it as he kept going that he wouldn't have dreamed they'd use this old place for meet up's.

"Jokes on him because neither of them were," Lily muttered to herself, having noted back when Harry and Hermione had first entered and noticed dust everywhere, surely that meant even Sirius hadn't, though where he had been sleeping she wasn't sure.

Lupin cut in again that Snape didn't understand, Sirius wasn't here to hurt Harry, but Snape still wasn't listening as he whispered Azkaban would get two tonight.

"Why am I not surprised he's not listening to a bleeding word," Remus grumbled, thinking Snape could keep his wand pointed on him all night if he wished so long as Sirius got what he deserved.

Then Snape speculated how disappointed Dumbledore would be, the man had been delusional enough thinking Lupin had been a tame werewolf.

James released a terrible growling noise remarkably close to how Sirius sounded. That was the lowest of blows, making a crack at him like that! He didn't care how angry he was at Remus himself, those reasons still wouldn't let him ever condone anyone saying a thing like that!

It was a testament to how peeved off Remus was he didn't even flinch at the insult, his face remained black with fury that something could go wrong and that rat would get away while Snape sat around pointlessly accusing them of anything and everything he wanted to.

Lupin called him a fool.

"Genuinely stunned he's not screaming his head off by this point," Lily muttered, as he looked really close to doing now.

Telling him off for letting something that had happened in school hold precedence over what was going on now, but then Snape's wand went off and thick ropes shot out, binding Lupin's mouth, arms, and legs.

"That's it, he's dead," Sirius said with the utmost sincerity, actually getting up but simply pacing around the room in agitation now. James was watching him like he wanted to get up and join, along with a couple of choice words about strangling the life out of Snape for doing that, but forced himself to remain where he was and focus on that feeling instead, he knew he'd need it later.

Lily watched him warily, not because she wanted to stop him, but because she was starting to get worried for Sirius' health. He kept flashing about on so many things that he may collapse soon from overload.

Remus just looked shocked, unable to grasp how Snape could be so foolish that he really hated in that moment Remus more than Sirius, the man who had supposedly gotten Lily killed. In his opinion this only proved Snape cared more about himself in this moment than anyone else, Snape was finally getting what he considered revenge for himself and be damned anyone else.

Lupin fell to the floor, and Black tried to retaliate by screaming in fury and moving towards Snape,

James nodded like that made all the sense in the world, that was the natural reaction after all, something he knew without question he'd do himself if he'd been there as well.

but then Snape's wand turned on him, right in between his eyes.

Which made James' mouth go cotton dry in shock and fear. It was a miracle Snape hadn't just killed the two of them already, but with Sirius' temper in these particular circumstances he wouldn't put it past him to do something stupid and elicit a real deadly curse from Snape.

He begged Black to give him a reason and he promised he'd kill him. Black didn't keep coming, but the two stood there and Harry realized that he couldn't tell which face showed more hatred.

"I like to think I'd win in that moment," Sirius hissed, mirroring the expression now Harry realized. "I've ten times the reasons over him."

"Well congratulations," Remus muttered, squirming around in agitation that he'd been put down so easily, that he couldn't help Sirius anymore.

Harry just stood there, not knowing whom to believe.

Which made Remus and Sirius flinch all over again in shock and fear. They hadn't gotten around to telling Harry almost anything, if they really did have to wait any longer for Harry to hear this conversation they were sure they'd both never forgive themselves, it had been twelve years too long already.

He looked for help from his friends. Ron looked just as unsure, still keeping Scabbers safely pinned to his chest,

That at least gave them a chance to breathe, one of their fears being put on hold, at least he hadn't slipped away yet. Even James looked relieved, though he then realized he'd rather spend the rest of his life hearing about a fight between his friends and Snape then put the attention back on the rat in fear of whatever answers might come out of it.

but Hermione took a hesitant step forward and tried to ask Snape if they could just hear the two out?

"Bless Hermione," Sirius breathed, thanking whatever they had said or done to make her give them a chance. "I take back every bad thing I've said about her this year." He only acknowledge the slight irony she'd been terrified of him all year and it was now her more than Harry trying to give him the chance, but didn't linger on it long as he was too anxious to hear out the rest.

Snape told her she was about to be expelled for tonight, all of the school rules they'd broken and consorting with a werewolf,

"If he calls you that one more time..." James snarled, knowing that Snape meant it in the worst way possible.

"I'll hold him down," Remus promised lightly.

that she needed to keep quiet now. Hermione still tried though, saying that if something had been misunderstood, but then Snape completely lost it and began yelling at her she was being stupid, looking out of his mind now.

"Finally a spot of insanity I don't mind hearing about," Sirius huffed.

Lily had let go of her restraints in defending her old friend only yesterday, but she felt it was several years too late. What Severus was doing now was beyond reproach, turning on yet another child for his own vindictive means. Even if she hadn't known what she did, she could never fathom screaming at Hermione the way he was.

She didn't understand anything that was going on! In his anger some red lights began fizzling out of the end of his wand, nearly singeing Black's forehead.

Sirius rubbed the spot absently like that really had just happened to him, his expression still vividly saying that if he had his own wand things would be going a lot smoother for him.

Hermione fell silent, while Snape went back to taunting Black, saying how he'd been hoping he could be the one to catch Black. Black said that he'd come up to the castle with them, so long as Ron brought his rat.

"No, no you shouldn't," James ground out, "I don't want you anywhere near anybody until this is sorted out."

Sirius just shrugged, absolutely amazed at himself for even offering that instead of trying to tackle Snape to the ground and kill him like he wanted to, guess he did still have some brains in his head.

Snape corrected that the castle was much too far, all they'd have to do was step outside and Snape could summon the dementors.

They all made a choking, rasping noise of distress and fear at that declaration. They'd spent this whole book in fear of Sirius returning there, now with the fate of his soul lingering over his head they knew they truly couldn't stand it if they found out Sirius did succumb to that when they were so close to getting what should have happened those twelve years ago.

That gave Black a real fright, now begging Snape to just look at the rat-

"As if he's ever listened to you a day in his life," Remus groaned, starting to shake all over, unable to get that horrid mental image out of his mind of what could be fixing to happen to Sirius.

but there was madness coloring Snape's tone now as he taunted that they all needed to get a move on, he'd drag the werewolf along,

Sirius puffed up like he was going to give out a string of curses for that all over again, genuinely sick of hearing his friend be deferred to like some animal, but James hadn't paused so Sirius nearly missed hearing,

and if he was lucky the dementors would give him a kiss as well.

which made Sirius' knees buckle as he collapsed back down on the couch in shock and fear. He'd barely come to terms grasping that this was something to happen to himself, but Remus! He hadn't even done anything, he was completely innocent in every way possible...and yet everyone in the world would believe Snape over them and, and Remus could really- his attention was caught off guard as the mirror over the fireplace shattered, not that Lily seemed to notice she was screaming so loud.

He tuned back in to see that while James looked nearly as close to tears as when he'd heard his wife's last moments, he had after all nearly vomited all over again at realizing that now both of his brothers may well be losing their souls in one go, he was now a little busy putting out a fire that had erupted on the carpet while Lily was screaming "-going to kill him! What right, why the bloody hell, you haven't done an effing thing to him!"

"He doesn't know that," Remus reminded, looking remarkably calm considering his reaction to hearing the same thing to Sirius that first time, but as far as Remus was concerned he'd worked out in his head he'd take any punishment in the world, including that, if Sirius would get off this night, he more than deserved it. For now he was pacifying the couple who looked about ready to blow up the rest of the living room they were so angry at his behavior. "As far as he's concerned, not only have I been helping Sirius all year, but I deserved it back when I was fifteen and nearly killed him."

"That doesn't make this right," Harry countered back, looking as frustrated as his parents. "That shouldn't be his call to make."

Remus sighed, he wasn't going to argue the point with Harry, and while James and Lily still looked like they were going to back him up and keep at it anyways he insisted, "Well I'd still like to keep going," he gestured to the discarded book, "as I'm far more concerned with other things going on than Snape's attitude."

That jolted Sirius into looking as murderous as the other two now at that reminder. Lily still grumbled a few foul things as she waved her wand and the mirror repaired itself while James stomped over and decided he at least couldn't argue with that. His heart just wasn't in it though, as he still knew without a doubt what he'd thought before still stood, he'd rather sit and continue hearing about the rivalry between his friends and Snape then get back on topic to his friends.

Harry reacted on instinct by moving to stand in the doorway.

Sirius and Remus brightened like little kids, beaming at Harry as they realized that even though he didn't know them and certainly didn't trust them right then, he'd still taken their side over Snape's.

Snape told him to get out of it, that Harry should be groveling with thanks, but Harry shot back that he'd spent plenty of alone time with Lupin this year, why hadn't he just killed Harry then? Snape scoffed that he had no clue how a werewolf's mind worked.

Now even Remus was beginning to look offended, there was only so many times he could hear how animal like he was without letting it get to him considering how much he'd thought that of himself in his youth, but then he flashed back to the scene his family had just caused in his defense and the numerous times James and Sirius had given him the riot act for voicing such a thing and instead played peace maker as his two friends continued growling at such a thing being said.

Snape told Harry to move again, and Harry lost his temper by yelling at him that he was being a fool, letting something that happened years ago stop him from hearing them out now! Snape screamed right back that he was not to be spoken to like that!

"Oh yes you will," Lily snarled right back. "Talk to my son like that you'll get a hell of a lot worse coming to you!" Paternal instinct was rearing its head from both parents now, as they realized if Harry kept defending them he may likely end up as worse as them. As proud as they were of their boy, who was reacting like this with every reason in the world not to, Harry would resemble James so much in that moment that the two of them were genuinely afraid of what Snape could do next.

Snape was losing every last drop of sense as he taunted Harry that he was behaving exactly like his father, refusing to admit the worst in Black no matter what,

Sirius had spent more hours of his life thinking that about himself than he ever wanted to this past day, lost a whole night of sleep and had utterly lost faith in himself for thinking this exact same thing, and now that he realized how wrong he was, who really was to blame, and to have Snape throw that in his face, well let's just say that murder was starting to sound kind for what he now owed old Snivellus.

and he screamed one last time for Harry to move! Harry reacted without thinking, raising his wand,

"Oh boy," all four adults muttered, though with two wildly different indications. The two parents were now visualizing that Harry was about to be attacked three years in a row by a teacher, and Snape (despite their hate and loathing for him) was more competent than the other two and could do their boy real harm when Snape realized what Harry was doing.

Remus and Sirius on the other hand were far more confident in Harry's skill, hoping dearly Harry would use any number of spells and blast this prat out the window so they could get back to far more important things.

and shouted Expelliarmus, but he wasn't the only one who did.

That gave them a moment of shock, not having realized that Hermione would have reacted so fast for them either, but maybe it was more Snape yelling at Harry then for defense of the other two adults right then.

Snape was thrown off his feet and sailed back into the wall, landing so hard he was knocked out.

Remus and Sirius gave a great whoop of joy, thinking finally something had gone right tonight, and in Lily's opinion praising her son a little too much when it had been a joint effort but even she couldn't find it in herself to be mad after the way Snape had been behaving. She'd been so tempted to curse him herself that it took a lot of self-restraint not to join in.

Harry looked to see both Ron and Hermione

They all got a gleaming moment of surprise and pride for Ron having joined in as well, but then they reflected he'd probably been more with Hermione and defending Harry from a clearly delusional Snape then for Sirius and Remus' defense, but hey they'd take whatever at this point.

had used the same spell, and the force must have been too much. Snape's wand now landed on the bed beside the cat. Black was looking at Harry, telling him he should have left Snape to him.

"That's gratitude for ya," Harry muttered.

"He's going to remember that later," Sirius reminded, still unable to wipe a smug smirk off his face, "not that he can do anything to you, I was probably just jealous I hadn't gotten the chance."

Lily wasn't taking quite as optimistic an outlook, thinking that Harry had a few more years of being forced into Snape's presence as a teacher and how horrid he was to her son already, this would not help, but with any luck now Remus and Sirius wouldn't rest until they made sure that shouldn't be as easy.

Harry didn't respond, couldn't even meet Black's gaze, because he still wasn't sure if he'd done the right thing.

"Least I know it was now," Harry said with sincerity, causing Sirius to grin widely at him.

Hermione was having a mini freak out that they'd just attacked a teacher!

"And I thank you," Remus snickered.

Lupin was struggling around on the floor, and Black quickly went to his side and untied him. The first thing Lupin did as he sat up was to thank Harry.

"You always were the polite one," Sirius guffawed, considering the circumstances and wanting to laugh all the harder, but restraining himself and mellowing out in seconds as he realized his wish had been granted, Snape had been pushed out of the way, and they were about to get back to something infinitely more important.

Harry shot back he still wanted proof, and Lupin agreed it was time they get to that, turning on Ron but saying 'you boy-'

"Did you fall on your head when he knocked you over," Lily rolled her eyes.

"I had much greater things on my mind in that moment then going for specifics," Remus huffed, his eyes narrowing dangerously when he got right back on track with the main points of being in there, he most of all remembering those kids were on a time frame to hear what needed to be said.

to hand over Peter. Ron didn't though, demanding that even if someone they'd known could turn into a rat, how did they know it was Scabbers? Black had been in Azkaban!

James had to swallow very hard when he got that out, wanting to nod along and agree Sirius could have been wrong, but then he remembered what Remus had said, and felt himself growing all the more fearful because he still didn't have his answer for that.

Lupin paused, turning back and asking the same thing of Black. He responded by pulling out a newspaper clipping, the same one from last summer of Ron and his family in Egypt, with Scabbers sitting on Ron's shoulder.

Harry groaned and smacked his forehead, remembering vividly that very first chapter and how Sirius himself had made that joke he wanted to see this, and if only Harry had remembered this then he could have saved everyone a lot of trouble.

Lily wouldn't stand for letting him stew too long, giving him a loving little tweak of his nose to get his attention and reminding, "I will not sit here and let you blame yourself for a damned thing that has happened, if you'd remembered any earlier you only would have hurt yourself and we still wouldn't have understood as well without the full story."

Harry nodded and relaxed still looking as on edge as anyone else in the room because he did still blame himself for this situation occurring in the first place, but accepting that he couldn't have done anything different for now and still working on some other way to make this better.

Lupin was as shocked as anyone when he asked how he'd gotten ahold of that, and Black explained it had been Fudge who'd given it to him.

Sirius couldn't help a jittery, slightly deranged sound that could have been a laugh. He vividly remembered thinking about how he would have been sitting in Azkaban, hating his life and very existence, and to see that picture of little old Peter like that, oh the luck and circumstances that made this happen...it also gave him his first real glimpse into one thing that had been plaguing him. He was positive he'd still be hating himself just as much in twelve years as he was now for putting trust in Peter, still blaming himself for James death because he'd been right, he had screwed up and made a terrible mistake no matter how unintentionally. He'd been in Azkaban that whole time because he deserved every second of it, but seeing that picture would have finally sparked something in him he knew he couldn't have felt otherwise. He'd escaped for revenge.

Lupin looked stunned as he went from staring at the picture to the real animal on the bed.

"Not sure what to say about myself I didn't see that," Remus grumbled, still kicking himself with every opportunity he hadn't worked this out, seen the same thing and put it together, anything than what he'd done, which was nothing!

"Relax Remus," Sirius grumbled, his own voice filled with its own grating tone for different reasons. It didn't yet occur to Sirius to be mad at Remus for this either, why would he pay special attention to the rat, why would he even if he had seen the picture? He'd thought he had his man, he had thought he had the whole story and it would have been so many years later it never would have crossed his mind.

Muttering in shock about his front paw, how he had a toe missing, that Peter must have cut it off himself.

James shuddered with renewed horror, mind boggling at how this could just be so simple and easy for them to work this out and discuss it, where as he was just caught on why Peter would do these things at all. He reflected that at least Sirius had twelve years to circle around every last second of this, and Remus had always been quick on the uptake, which just made James feel all the more foolish before he realized what he was thinking and wanted to kick himself now for realizing he was already thinking in past tense. Dammit, Peter deserved the chance to say his part just like Sirius, and then everything would be just fine.

Black agreed that's exactly what had happened, he'd cut his own finger off before screaming for everyone to hear that Black had been the one to betray Lily and James before Peter had blown apart the street and killed all those people.

Lily had still been a little floored with her own shock of realizing what Pettigrew had done to them, she hadn't yet come back to realize that the full blunt of Sirius' supposed crime had actually been done by Peter. Had he really murdered twelve innocent people, voiced the blame on Sirius, and mutilated himself, for what! She couldn't work out in her mind what on earth could have changed in this year to cause someone she'd look to as a friend to change so radically.

Ron tried to say it was all circumstantial, that his pet could have lost that finger at any time, they'd been taking care of him for ages, and Lupin asked if it had been twelve years.

Lily moaned something into her hands, wishing that the age of the rat had come up at any other bleeding time, this all could have been made so much more clear to anyone who knew this was well past the normal life expectancy. All the love and care in the world shouldn't have made Scabbers double in age of what he should be, had Arthur and Molly never really considered this?

It was fair they might not even know such a thing, but how long could Peter have really played this without being found out? She only nursed the slightest of comforts she'd never have to hear the answer to this, as surely all of this put enough doubt in Ron's mind that he'd hand over the rat and this could be done with.

Ron tried to protest he'd been doing just fine until that mad cat had started attacking him, but then Harry flashed back that wasn't true, that Scabbers had been getting sick since he got back from Egypt, since Black had broken out of prison...

Harry nodded, the exact same thing having come back to him now, wishing with everything in him, despite his Mom keeping a protective eye on him to do otherwise, that he had remembered this.

The others were kicking themselves, still looking back and counting up every instance of that rat being mentioned, but really how could they have guessed? Even with the answer right in front of them, they knew they never could have or would have until it was too late.

Black shot back this cat wasn't mad, he was brilliant! He'd recognized Sirius wasn't just any dog and started trusting him when Black told what he was after.

"Err, can animagus' talk to animals?" Harry asked, fairly confident that hadn't come up in McGonagall's lecture even if he had only been half paying attention.

Lily considered herself the last person who should explain, but as the boys really were otherwise occupied each looking the worst Lily had seen them her whole life she whispered an explanation, "they keep their human mind and can understand us just fine when they transform, but it's more like talking to your pet when they're animals. A lot of body language and tone." She wasn't even sure on that fact, this really wasn't her field of expertise, so she understood when Harry nodded in disappointment and still kept an eye on his dad hopefully.

Crookshanks had been trying to catch Peter for Black, had stolen those passwords from some boys nightstand for him.

Sirius really, really wanted to laugh at this. Of all the students, it had to have been Neville who'd gotten enough flack in his life without Sirius unintentionally helping, but as it really wasn't funny at all and he just wanted something other than murder to concentrate on as his best friend looked very near his breaking point, he held it in.

Harry was just impressed at how truly intelligent Crookshanks seemed to be, for him to understand that this exact piece of paper was what Sirius needed, he doubted Sirius could use any amount of body language to convey that which means Crookshanks had to have quiet the ability to understand the list of words was what was needed. He was really beginning to wonder at just how smart that cat was.

Harry wanted to argue back, say this was insane, but...

'That's what made Harry believe me, or at least the start of' Sirius couldn't help but think, not really regretting it as he'd take any reason his little pup could finally look at him then the way he was now.

Black was still talking, explaining that he'd worked out Peter had figured out what was going on and tried to stage his own death again, putting some of his blood on the sheets,

"How on earth could Crookshanks have explained that," Harry repeated, looking for any kind of distraction right now and purposely directing that at his father this time to get any kind of normal reaction out of him.

"Animagus can sort of understand other animals," James shrugged, trying for all the world to act like this was no big deal at all to him. "Not like, a proper conversation like this," he gestured vaguely around the room, "just, we can communicate I guess. It's not even like a parselmouth really, where we can understand each other in words, it's all a lot of body language and sensing each other's feelings and interpreting from there."

"I probably smelt blood on the cat or something, and pieced it together," Sirius muttered.

and that if faking his death had worked once maybe it could have worked again. Harry got angry again though, demanding to know why Peter would need to do that at all! That Black had gotten Harry's parents killed and now he was after Peter as well! Black agreed,

"Great choice of words there Pad's, really put him at ease that did," Remus huffed, really wishing Sirius would quit being his usual idiotic self and use his real words rather than this constant farce of painting himself to be the bad guy in his agitation to get things done.

but Lupin quickly cut in trying to explain the mix up, that Harry had it backwards and Peter was the one to betray Harry's parents. Harry yelled back that wasn't true, Black had been the Secret Keeper, he'd said right before Lupin had shown up that he'd killed them!

"Which is why Sirius is no longer allowed to explain anything anymore," Lily told him pleasantly, happy to pick on Sirius the rest of her life then dwell too long on what Harry had just said.

Sirius shook his head miserably as he said that he as good as killed them. He had been the one to suggest that Peter should be Secret Keeper, and keep that a secret. The night they'd died he'd gone to check on them and found the house in ruins, and he realized what Peter had done.

James literally sounded like he was reading over a dead body. It was impossible, he couldn't put this together in his head, no matter how many times Remus and Sirius kept throwing these things around he'd clutch with his fingertips to that hope that Peter must have a good reason for this, and be damned anyone who was giving him a pitiful look for thinking it.

Lupin was giving Black a very sorry look, Black looked likely to break down any moment, so Lupin took charge again and said they'd explained enough, now it was time for proof, and told Ron to hand over the rat. Ron gave one last protest, asking what they were going to do to him, and Lupin explained it was a spell to force him to reveal himself, if he really was a rat then there wouldn't be any harm done to him. Ron finally handed over Scabbers. Sirius went to retrieve Snape's wand to help with the spell.

Sirius' face twisted in a whole new way, adoring every last drop of irony he was using that slimy gits wand to perform this, only hoping it didn't leave a grease stain on his hand when he was done.

The two raised their wands pointing right at the wriggling animal held fast in Lupin's grip, and counted up to three.

Lily was rubbing her temple in agitation, thinking this was some time for her boys to be as dramatic as possible in counting down this spell. All Remus had to do was shoot the spell hours ago, when Snape had even first stepped into the room, and they could have been done with this. She'd understood the necessary reason for Harry to understand all this, but she really agreed that it could have been done with Pettigrew out in the open. Well there was nothing for it now and she cocked her head to the side and listened with a forced neutral expression trying to prepare herself for the breakdown her husband was fixing to have that they were all still coping with.

There was a flash of blue light, both spells hit the rodent, and then he was no longer a rodent, like they were watching a picture of a man aging before their eyes.

Harry remembered, back during Lockhart's class of all places, and asking about that Homorphus Charm which his dad had said he'd use to transform transfigured objects back to original form, and remembering how he'd specifically used changing an animagus as an example. Remus and Sirius at the time hadn't said the spell aloud, but Harry had no problems now working that out.

Before they could finish blinking they were looking at a man who had clearly once been pudgy, but lost an unhealthy amount of weight in a very short time. His hair was the same grubby color as Scabbers fur, with a large bald spot as well, and something of a rat lingered in his narrow face.

James literally couldn't picture it. He'd spent the whole of this book, any time his friends were mentioned looking any the worse for wear, he could look at them now, as they really were, for comfort. Now all he had was a memory, one that was wobbling and being twisted until he couldn't have recognized that any better, and oh he really was going to cry now wasn't he?

The man glanced at everyone in the room, then his eyes darted to the door.

Something snapped. The book fell free and James pressed his hands against his ears and he felt his world crashing down around him because that wasn't the first thing he should have done! If Peter had been coerced, or tortured, or some accident had happened, he knew he would understand and forgave it, but this singular action meant Peter wanted to run! He'd done this terrible act and was now trying to hide away from the two people in the world who would understand! Peter should have begun saying at once what had happened and why he'd done it, not trying to run!

"Prongs, James I-"

"Don't touch me!" He screamed right back, shying away from whoever that was gripping his shoulder, Sirius his mind absently noted, but he was just too busy drowning. Someone was clearly ignoring him, that was Lily whispering in his ear and he kept trying to jerk away because he didn't want to deal with anyone right now. He'd tried to the very last moment and he still hated his very being for believing and accepting this even when he had no other options. His breaths were coming out in sharp little pants and he really felt like he was going to pass out any second, almost welcomed it as oblivion would be far kinder to the monstrosity he was feeling right now.

"You know he didn't mean it, he's just coming to terms, Sirius please-" Remus looked like he was physically restraining himself from grabbing hold of Sirius to make sure he didn't run for it again for a whole new reason. Sirius kept looking at his hand and away like it was some dementor skeleton, and Remus knew it was because Sirius had taken James response in all the wrong ways. Sirius was now curling himself into the corner, trying to convince himself that James hated him just as much now, but Remus had seen it. James was over there punishing himself, and nothing they could do could help right now, he had to come to terms with this himself. Their trying to convince him otherwise really would do more harm than good, as he had to decide for himself how much he still trusted Remus, so he let him be and focused on Sirius who he was not letting the same mistake happen twice, was not going to let Sirius pull away from him. "You have to know he doesn't blame you," he whispered again and again.

"I'll believe that when you do," Sirius hissed back, glaring up at him now.

Remus sat down next to him fully prepared to take whatever Sirius lashed out because he'd take anything at this point to get him to stop hating himself.

"You think I don't know you're blaming yourself over there, when you're doing the exact same thing James has been doing. You can't pull together how we've all been so wrong about him, well boo fucking hoo Remus. None of us saw this coming, and I'll not have you thinking it's your fault. It was my idea, and the rat's fault. You've nothing to do with it!" Sirius hadn't meant for that last part to come out so brutal, but he was long since past the point where screaming was making him feel better.

Remus hardly looked offended though, the opposite as he was watching Sirius curiously. "If you really think that then why are you acting like this? You know I don't hate you now, why you don't hate me I'll still argue the point because nothing should have convinced me I was so wrong about you-"

"Because I don't think it was your fault, not entirely anyways," Sirius sighed, his head curling into the crook of his elbow with his knees pinned to his chest, his eyes going vacant. Remus made to protest anyways, but Sirius kept going, "I think Dumbledore may have had a bit of a hand."

That struck Remus dumb as he watched him now with concern.

"Think about it, this happened a year from now, but Dumbledore already suspects someone in the Order, me. He's been sending you out on missions alone by yourself a lot, would it really be too difficult for him to convince you when you'd come back from one of those what had happened."

"He shouldn't have been able to," Remus said back, but there was no force to his words. Dumbledore was the man he respected the most of anyone, the first person in the wizarding world outside of his own parents to see past the monster and give the boy a real chance at life. He'd do anything for Dumbledore...and for the first time he truly accepted how real that statement was. Was it really so absurd that what Sirius was painting had happened? He'd been coming and going so frequently that the little things would have turned into horrible big things and coaxed by Dumbledore Remus really could have swallowed the worst?

Even now he was still trying to defend the man, as Dumbledore didn't know better, he wasn't all knowing and all powerful, he'd taken what had happened at face value just like everyone else at this switch up. It still didn't feel right though, not the man who'd given Snape the Death Eater a chance to work with children at school. Had neither him nor Dumbledore really not ever gone to Sirius personally, tried to get his side of the story? Dumbledore was in the Wizengamot, had he really not just looked at Sirius during the trial and realized something wasn't right? It really was killing Remus inside, the hurt that this was doomed to happen to Sirius, but looking at his friend now he solemnly vowed it wasn't going to this time. He didn't know what had happened, maybe Harry himself would never figure it out, but something had to change.

Harry stood, torn, looking at the four of them desperately and unable to do a thing. His dad had finally caved and now looked like he was passed out into Lily's shoulder, only just allowing the barest bit of comfort and still shaking. Sirius and Remus were terrified to go near him and having a whispered conversation, Harry suspected because they were blaming themselves and thinking James just didn't have faith in any of his friends anymore. Harry felt useless, and genuinely stumped as he had nothing to say to help any of them. Finally though he couldn't stand it anymore and went to sink down on his dad's other side, just trying to be there for him even if it was silently. The movement caused James to glance around at him, his glasses skewed and eyes red rimmed, but blinking sluggishly at his son caused him to glance around himself properly in confusion for the first time as he realized who was missing.

His eyes caught on the two in the corner, and they saw their James spark back in when he saw them. He kissed Lily gently, gave his son a quick ruff of his hair then stumbled over to them and sank down on the floor in front of them.

"I know dear," Lily whispered when she caught sight of her son's face. "I feel the same, but we can't really do anything for him, he had to work that out for himself. He's lucky really," she added, gazing over at the three boys talking to each other, "that he's still got such good friends. When Severus called me that, when our friendship broke apart that day, well I hadn't really made any other best friends, he'd been the only one honestly. It had alienated me for so long that I didn't really know what to do with myself for a time."

"Isn't there anything I can do," Harry insisted. "How did you get him to even..." he trailed off in confusion, even having watched the whole thing all he'd seen his mother do was insistently refuse to leave her husband's side when he'd tried everything in the world to pull away.

"James is the most loyal person I've ever met," Lily said simply. "I reminded him that I wasn't going anywhere, that Sirius and Remus, his real brothers, were doing everything in the world to right what had been done to him. It wasn't a happy thing to be reminding him of, but it worked."

Harry nodded, his eyes still flickering over to where the three were.

"I'm sorry."

Sirius made a funky noise, like he wanted to release a snort of laughter but he was too busy watching James carefully as he whispered, "that word's been tossed around a lot lately, hasn't it?"

James ignored that and watched the two of them very seriously as he continued, "I shouldn't have acted like that, said that, not to you two, it was unforgivable-"

"Think we should be the judge of that," Remus scoffed.

"We were all wrong," Sirius croaked, watching James lightly, "and we can deal with it whenever we can," he finished with a fearsome look back at that door.

James sighed, even now he didn't know what to feel towards Peter. Betrayal was the dominant emotion, still some delayed shock in there, but he had a very good idea once all that simmered out he'd come to full term and realize that it was because of Peter his wife had died, his son had been handed over like that. Peter had turned on Sirius and pinned the whole mess on him causing him a fate worse than death. He knew he should and would come to grips and he'd be right where Sirius was, but for now he was still processing.

Silently, all three boys realized at the same time they couldn't sit here forever. Harry and Lily were still trying to give them their space but were clearly wrestling with themselves about coming over to check on them as well. The book wasn't over, Harry may have discovered the worst thing in the world, but the books weren't over. Their sole reason for having even agreed to do this, to see Harry's life at school, wasn't done. They'd push through and deal with this mess in due time, but for now they went back to their spots. Lily and Harry weren't happy about the distance it caused for them to go back to the other couch, but still recognized it couldn't be helped, they had to leave what was left of the Marauders to be so they could work this out amongst themselves.

James found his place, and never before had to try harder in his life to read.

Lupin greeted him with a friendly enough tone at first, as if people commonly turned into rats around him.

"Because they do," Remus ground out, his eyes flashing dangerously.

Pettigrew's voice came out in a high pitched squeak as he acknowledged the other two, then his eyes flashed to the door again,

Lily was watching with genuine concern that James wasn't exactly reading in an intelligible way, spitting words around more than reading them at this constant reminder, but she wasn't going to argue the point either. Her husband wouldn't hand that book over to anyone, most likely feeling he had a duty and a right to finish this out.

before referring to the two as his friends.

Sirius and Remus made such a terrible noise it would have given baby Harry nightmares, which made them all the more grateful he'd never been brought back into the room for this escapade.

Black's wand twitched, but Lupin caught him and gave him a stern look,

Harry still noted that the last thing Remus wanted to do now was talk, but he then decided Professor Lupin had wanted to get all of his facts straight before whatever happened next.

then Lupin kept going in a forced calm voice by saying that they'd been playing a little catch up, but Pettigrew cut him off by trying to edge towards Remus and begging him to protect him, that Sirius had tried to kill him.

"Tried being the operative word," Sirius muttered.

"WILL YOU STOP THAT!" James snapped, turning on him and startling Sirius so badly he nearly jumped over the back of the couch to get away on instinct before his eyes focused in on James. His breaths were coming out in pants, his eyes wild and too wet, his best friend had reached his breaking point and Sirius clipped his mouth shut to stop any retaliation. He knew James might have come to terms with this now, but Sirius' picking words weren't going to help any.

Lupin snapped that he was well aware, but he wanted some little things cleared up.

"Little matters," Remus hissed under his breath, not quite understanding how he could be so calm then when he was feeling as waspish as Sirius, but keeping himself held back for James benefit now, maybe that's what he was doing for Sirius then?

Pettigrew still wasn't listening, pointing his middle finger at Black and exclaiming he was going to kill him, having to use that finger because his index was gone.

Lily made an odd little face, like that should have been funny in some other part of her life at watching Peter flip Sirius off, but she couldn't find it now.

Black had killed James and Lily!

There was that anger James had been expecting, already feeling bad for having shot it at Sirius already, but his friend clearly wasn't holding a grudge on this and James forced himself to keep going.

Black's eyes narrowed dangerously, his terrible physical appearance coupled with that look giving him the true face of a murder. Lupin was still staying between them though, saying that no one was going to die until they got some answers.

"I don't know what you were going for, but that wasn't comforting him," Harry muttered to himself, realizing now what he was just beginning to think on then, Remus' last priority was to make Peter feel better about anything.

Pettigrew tried to look shocked, saying that they had all the answers they needed, he'd been Pettigrew tried to look shocked, saying that they had all the answers they needed, he'd been hiding for twelve years in preparation for this moment. Lupin pretended to look surprised, asking how Peter knew Sirius was going to break out of prison when no one had ever done it before. Pettigrew shrieked back that Black must have done it from the dark powers he possessed.

'And he's going to get to experience every last one of them' Sirius vowed.

He must have learned all of them from You-Know-Who!

Well that was...odd was a kind way to put it. James still had way too many things buzzing in him at once, number one of which was that it was laughable at best that Sirius would get within ten feet of Voldemort and not kill him, and the surreal feeling James kept having over and over that it was Peter saying these things, but also the fact that Peter hadn't called Voldemort by name. He'd always done it before, and this only served as yet another reminder he knew he'd be getting the rest of his life; that Peter wasn't who he thought he was.

Black was disgusted, snarling back that Voldemort hadn't taught him a damned thing. Peter flinched at the name, and Black pressed his advantage, asking why Pettigrew would be afraid to hear his old master's name, but then he'd also heard some bad things from Peter's own lot. Pettigrew tried to brush this off, but he was breathing faster every second, his eyes still darting to the boarded up windows and any cracks at the walls, and then finally to the only exit.

James was really starting to concern the lot of them, Harry noticed he was starting to sound as deranged as Sirius had that night. Of all the chapters his dad could have gotten, fate had dropped this one in his lap, and he wasn't going to give it up until he was done just to prove to them he could keep going, but Harry feared the worst part hadn't even really come yet.

Black spat that he'd spent the whole of Azkaban listening to those caught Death Eaters whispering to themselves that they all thought Peter was dead as well, or he'd have to answer to them.

Lily felt a little shiver go up her spine in shock of what that meant, that the Death Eater's knew. Did all of them? She doubted that, probably only the very high ranking ones. How long did they know, even now? Then her mind couldn't help but flicker to one Death Eater in particular, one she never knew what to think about anymore, Severus. Did he know? That was being ridiculous she was sure, and giving him too much credit. So she'd heard the rumors he was a Death Eater, surely not that deep in. Well even if he did know then he'd still have thought the same as any other Death Eater in Sirius' 'killings' of those people, unless he knew about the Animagus part? Even then that was stretching it because Remus knew all about that and hadn't suspected a thing. It really depended on how much Pettigrew had told Voldemort...and she really didn't want to keep sitting around and thinking about this, it hurt too much to realize she was sitting around thinking about two separate people she'd once considered a friend.

Black had heard all sorts of the torturous things those wanted to do to Peter, because Voldemort had died on Peter's information. If they ever found out Peter was still alive... he trailed off suggestively, and Pettigrew was definitely panicking now as he looked back to Lupin asking if he really believed this!

'More now than I ever would have believed in my life' Remus mentally hissed, but considering how James had reacted to Sirius saying such things he didn't think he'd be received any better.

Lupin said that he couldn't figure out why an innocent man would spend his life as a rat otherwise, and Peter shot back it was because he was scared, if Voldemort's kind did want him it was because Peter had put their second in command in prison.

James bleakly remembered how he'd wanted to hear Peter defend himself before he'd lost all faith, but even then he never would have accepted this, if anything it only would have made him realize it all the sooner. For Peter to be trying to pin and blame all of this on Sirius, it really wasn't computing with the same boy he'd grown up knowing, James still didn't recognize the two merging into what he was reading now.

Black snarled in outrage. He, the spy? He'd never understand how he hadn't found out Peter for the start, because Peter was always the one trying to keep the big protective friends on his side, him and Remus and James.

Sirius had been growling nonstop for several minutes now, giving what James was reading an even more menacing tone though they hadn't believed that was possible up till now. The three boys were beyond tired of hearing this, they didn't want to hear anymore because the more they heard the more their life felt like it was slipping away in hearing about this waste of a being they'd use to claim endless defense for.

Pettigrew was shaking his head wordlessly, but Black kept going, hating himself that he'd made such a terrible call, using such a useless thing like Pettigrew as a patsy to throw everyone off, and how it must have been the proudest moment of Peter's life to tell Voldemort he knew where the Potters were.

Lily still had enough residual feeling left in her to feel the echo of stunned at how much hatred was bleeding through James, like he was standing right there and saying it to Peter's face now. He'd never sounded like this, not even when he heard about Snape's worst moments, because that was Snape, a man he'd grown up hating. This was the opposite. She still couldn't feel any pity, or remorse, nothing to indicate she would do anything to get in the way but would instead be guarding the door to make sure Peter heard every last word.

Pettigrew was trying to throw words around to say how ludicrous this was, all the while he was sweating like crazy now, his eyes darting now continuously to the door and away.

James knew he could not keep hearing about that, the little rat still trying to run even now, much longer without something else inside of him breaking. That, that, he should spend the minimum amount of time as twelve years in Azkaban for starters!

Hermione stepped forward then, asking if she could say something, and Lupin said he had no problems with this.

Remus had almost forgotten that Harry was watching all of this, that he and his friends were struggling along to keep up. He wanted to kick himself all over again that this was the farthest thing away from what Harry deserved, Remus still didn't think his own actions should be okayed and Harry should have heard something about this long ago.

Hermione pointed out that Scabbers, or this man whatever, had been in Harry's dorm room for the past three years.

Sirius made an almost comically horrified face as it first occurred to him that the rat had been sleeping in Ron's bed! Scabbers had spent more time with Harry then everyone in this room combined! Where was the justice in that! This may not have reached the others yet, and Sirius was pretty stuck in his own mind to point it out.

Why hadn't he just attacked Harry then? Black answered for Pettigrew, shouting that Peter never did anything unless it benefited him! He would have sat around, biding his time until word had come that Voldemort was back in power before dragging Harry back to the all-powerful Voldemort and winning his spot back.

James sounded horrendous the longer he kept going, looking likely to burst into tears at any second the longer this carried on as he kept warring back and forth between the blackest of anger and realization kept striking him like lightning what he was reading. Still his first instinct was to scoff that any of his friends would hurt Harry, let alone what Sirius was saying, and then he'd flash all over again and left a mess upon realizing Sirius wasn't wrong. He couldn't even bring himself to scold Sirius, correct him and remind him of how many times Peter had taken the fall for them, done everything in the world for them like they'd done for him, only bringing up all over again that question of why? Why had Peter done this to them!?

It had been perfect for Peter to find a wizarding family to adopt him.

Which made Remus realize for the first time the bleeding odds of this. Peter would have chosen the Weasley's long before they'd even known Harry's name, and for one of their kids to become Harry's friend! Ron of all of them! Even if Scabbers had fallen into the hands of say Ginny, or one of the twins, anyone but Ron he'd be a little less likely to balk at the odds of this, but he really was beginning to wonder if the world was really out to kill Harry and himself along the way!

He'd been perfectly able to keep his ears out on the news. Pettigrew was opening and closing his mouth like he wanted to protest, but no noise was coming out.

'Hope he stays that way until I can convince Remus to make it permanent' Sirius snarled.

Hermione turned and instead began trying to address Sirius, at first calling him Mr. Black.

Harry couldn't help a startled little noise, like he wanted to laugh but the sound wasn't going to happen any time soon. He couldn't help it though, his dad reading that like he was wanting to scream the worst of curses and the remembered sound of how timid Hermione sounded coupled together gave him an honest moment of amusement.

Black startled and looked at her like he'd never seen anything like her.

"The only time anyone called him that was when he was in trouble," Lily nodded to herself.

Hermione still asked how he had gotten out of prison if he hadn't used some Dark means? Pettigrew latched onto that, saying loudly that was exactly his point, but Lupin silenced him with just a look.

James still couldn't shake memories floating to the surface, of the number of times Peter had tried to butt into James and Sirius' arguing about something and Remus silencing him with a look so they could work this out. The mockery of those moments being twisted into this decayed future still leaving him a mess.

Black paused as he considered the question, explaining that when the dementors became too much for him he could transform into a dog. As dementors couldn't see they hadn't known the difference, just that his emotions were less than humans, but since so many people went mad in there they hadn't realized the difference. When he was a dog he felt a little less, and that's how he'd kept his sanity at the worst of times, even with his magic being nearly drained out of him.

James was circling into depression at hearing this now. He'd spent hours worrying himself sick about picturing Sirius in that place, even having realized already this was how he'd done it didn't make the realization of what he'd gone through any easier to hear; and for Peter to have been the one to put him in there, well he really didn't think he could stand going much longer...

He had grown weak though, with no wand to help him really get rid of the dementors.

Remus and Lily were taking turns muttering obscenities under their breath, choosing to curse the world for the picture Sirius was painting because they didn't know what else to do at this point.

For the first time since this had been mentioned, Sirius felt no fear for what his life was heading towards, instead the thought of what he now had to look forward to in taking revenge on Peter before he even had an inkling of an idea of what was coming for him kept his mind off of anything else.

Then he'd seen that picture, and realized Peter was still alive and out there with the perfect chance to hurt Harry when it suited him best. He had to do something as he was the only one who knew the truth.

Remus still bleakly wished that Sirius would have broken out at any other time before this, maybe this all would have come out so much sooner, that Sirius wouldn't have had to suffer for so long.

Harry's mind flashed back to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley talking so long ago, about how Black had been told whispering 'he's at Hogwarts.'

You know it was bad when they all bleakly remembered back to that time and they'd felt better then than now. Then they'd just been afraid for Sirius, and all the following terrible things that had been implied he'd done, and now they knew the cause of it all was one of his best friends, and it just felt like every last one of them was being broken apart inside.

What Black had been feeling wasn't a happy thought, so the dementors couldn't take it away from him. It became an obsession for him to get his revenge, so one night when he'd been at his thinnest he'd slipped past the dementors, past the bars, and swam to the mainland as a dog.

Finally James began kindling something other than all-consuming anything about him. Sirius had done it, despite being so close to death, having to fight through all of that half dead, and still he'd made it all the way to Harry's side. He'd never loved his brother more than he did in this moment. He looked up to see Sirius actually smiling, an expression moments ago he'd been sure he'd never see again, but of course James was being a fool. Sirius would do everything to his last breath to protect Harry and he showed it every day. If there was one thing to get them back to a sound place, it was Harry.

He'd ran all the way to Hogwarts and had been living in the Forest,

Lily desperately had to fight down the urge to get to her feet and shove every last drop of food she had at Sirius. He'd basically been starving to death, there could not actually be much to eat out in that forest, not to mention dodging around practically every creature out there that wanted to kill him and use him for a snack. Of course if anyone could do it, it was Sirius. He'd spent more time in that forest then he had in the castle. It just tormented her to hear everything he'd been going through and she still had no way to help.

except to go and see Harry play Quidditch of course. Black met Harry's eyes and praised him, he flew as well as James had. Harry kept his gaze.

Sirius perked up with some interest at that, analyzing everything Harry had just heard all over again and compiling that as the reason Harry had learned to trust him, or at least this was the beginning of it.

Black swore to Harry's face he hadn't betrayed James, he would have died before doing so. Finally, Harry believed him.

Sirius had to fight down the urge to get up and go hug Harry. The only thing stopping him was the urging need to hear this chapter be completed, to make sure that rat wasn't going to ruin this moment for them. He'd never forgive himself if Harry finally did trust him, that they could finally start what should have been all those years ago, only for it to be torn away by him all over again.

Harry was smiling and squirming in place he looked so happy as he watched Sirius, that feeling of confusion and betrayal he'd been harboring for so long because of his thirteen year old mind set finally slipping away to be replaced by a near blissful insistence that in this one moment he'd just gotten everything he'd always wanted. Sirius was that connection to his dad he'd always craved his whole life! It was such a purely happy moment that he didn't even acknowledge that small little part of him warning he'd better treasure this now.

The other three were so happy they were near tears themselves. They'd spent so long emotionally wrung out over the fate of Sirius, and were still in no way okay over what they'd learn of this betrayal, but realizing that one key moment where Harry put his trust in Sirius again was as close to making this whole thing okay as it would ever get.

He couldn't find the words though, so he simply nodded he understood. Pettigrew reacted first, by screaming no and falling to his knees like Harry had just told him he was to die.

"Because it may as well be," Sirius hissed, his happiness still lingering enough he didn't look nearly as murderous as he wanted to.

He came crawling towards Sirius, palms pressed together as he pleaded,

James voice was now coming out in such a strained way he no longer sounded like himself, and that's how he felt about what he was reading. This wasn't the brave and stupid kid who had as a third year taken on two seventh years for revenge when they'd called James a couple of foul words for being so spoiled rotten, that he must have somehow bought his own way onto his House team.

with Sirius that he was his friend, but Black kicked him away, growling that he felt unclean enough without being touched by him.

Sirius had his eyes screwed up tight, viciously beating away that time Peter had missed a trick step and nearly falling through the floor and Sirius offering a hand to help him back up while laughing his arse off, and Peter retaliating by pushing Sirius into the trick step instead and then laughing just as hard when he in turn had to pull Sirius back out.

Pettigrew recoiled and instead twisted back to Remus, now pleading with him that he didn't really believe what Sirius was saying? Demanding to know why Sirius wouldn't have told Remus everything in the first place. Remus said it was because Sirius may have suspected him at the time.

Remus was having a very foul argument in his head, one memory being twisted beyond recognition of that time Sirius and Peter had tag teamed him and James, trying to get them back for messing with a dozen statues and receiving a detention from McGonagall because of it, and the end result being all four of them got a detention again anyways and laughing it all off the next weekend.

Black asked for Remus' forgiveness for that, and Lupin said he would so long as Remus would forgive him for also believing the worst of Sirius. Black agreed at once, smiling for the first time.

Lily's mind flashed back a moment to when her and Severus had been lounging under the shade of a tree comparing their latest Potion's notes and they'd seen Remus and Sirius strolling along, having some whispered conversation long since forgotten, and the realization of how much had changed since that one small moment left her breathless. What on earth could change in the next year to make two brothers in every way but blood fall so far it took this to change them back?

Black then offered that they could kill Pettigrew together?

Harry felt something startle inside of himself, stunned his dad had read that in such an assured tone of voice, like this was the most obvious conclusion.

What none of them really saw was the struggle tearing James apart on the inside. He still could not knock away the pudgy little first year he met his first night in the dorm who'd given him such a shy smile no one would ever dream he'd turn into a ruthless Marauder intent on breaking every school rule in the world. Now he'd turned into, into this person who had betrayed every person James could care about that he found it the most reasonable thing in the world that of course he should die because of it! Though that really was being kind as far as he was concerned, as the rat should really be locked away in Azkaban like Sirius had been for his crimes! No he wasn't trying to offer that up instead because the thought of Peter dying still did something to him...of course Azkaban was a far worse punishment than death so in fact he shouldn't feel anything, right?**

Lupin agreed that was the perfect solution.

Lily was trembling all over she was so frustrated. She'd cried herself to sleep over Peter, realizing that not one of her friends had ever gotten a decent life after her and James death, the blunt reminder that Peter had died that day coming back to her at every hour last night and causing her to cry into her husband's shoulder all over again and now she couldn't bat an eye how sincere James, and no doubt Remus, was feeling at the time upon this.

Pettigrew was panicking now, going to Ron and begging him to say something, he'd been a good pet to him!

Sirius pressed his hands to his ears, he didn't want to keep hearing this because he felt like every memory he ever had couldn't even be glimpsed at, this just wasn't the same Peter he knew now who had cracked a joke just days ago about how they were lucky they had each other or they all would have gone mad with how depressing the news had been of late.

Ron jerked himself away as much as he could, spitting that he'd let him sleep in his bed!

Remus hadn't forgotten that little tidbit, but it only managed to remind him of the time he'd woken up in the Shrieking Shack and only Peter had been camped out on the end of his bed, looking like they always did after a sleepless night, but quickly reassuring a panicking Remus that James and Sirius were fine, they just had to head someone off who may have spotted them out the window last night. Peter had been so calm and reassuring in that moment Remus couldn't help but relax back, feeling safe that his friends had his back.

Black told him off that if he'd made a better pet than human that wasn't much to be saying!

Pettigrew shrank away from them and instead swiveled on Hermione.

This was, pathetic. James really couldn't find any other word to use anymore, watching Peter beg for his life in this manner, the incomprehensible way he still to this very moment was refusing to live up to what he'd done, even apologize and beg forgiveness rather than his life, it was literally causing James more pain then he knew the Cruciates could ever do to him.

Praising she'd been so smart, to please find a way to spare him now, but Hermione merely backed into the wall looking terrified. When that didn't work, his eyes fell on Harry.

Whatever they'd been feeling for themselves was torn away in that one moment, outraged didn't cover how they felt when they realized who he was going to turn to next and how the thought of him being in the same room as their Harry sent them all ravenous for something far worse than murder to happen to the rat. None of them had spoken in a while now, to wrapped up in their own thoughts to even voice who agreed or disagreed what Remus and Sirius had declared they were going to do to Pettigrew, but Harry was confident in that moment he didn't think any of them would be protesting soon, making him feel all the more wrong footed as he was assessing his own feelings of that time.

He started by telling Harry he looked just like James,

James could count the number of times he'd heard that now and each one had filled him with pride that his only son carried even his faintest resemblance because it meant Harry at least had something, so that he'd never have to really question who his parents were. Now, coming from one of the handful of people he had been sure could always make him smile, James wanted to rip his tongue out of the rat's mouth for that.

Black lost his temper, coming forward and screaming at him for daring to talk to Harry, to bring up his father!

"My sentiments exactly," Sirius nodded like he'd never heard a truer thing spoken.

Pettigrew was still trying, whispering that James would have shown him mercy.

"He clearly never actually knew you," Remus growled, not realizing that despite how much James wanted to agree with him, the words wouldn't come out. What did that say about him, even realizing how far Peter had fallen, he still couldn't bring himself to actually say the words he wanted Wormtail dead. It was like a constant battle ranging in his head wanting to pummel this blight into death because of what he'd cost him, a life with his family, wanting to protect one of his brothers to his last breath, they just weren't merging in his head into one person and one solution.

Black and Lupin came forward and seized Pettigrew, throwing him away from Harry and standing beside each other, each pointing their wand at his face as Black demanded for the final time that Pettigrew admit it, he'd been the one to sell out James and Lily to Voldemort? Pettigrew began sobbing,

Remus started tugging restlessly on his sleeve, the only time he'd ever seen Peter cry had been when he'd received the news that his girlfriend had died over a holiday break, the dark mark hanging above her house in their seventh year, and looking back on it now he couldn't help but wonder when was the moment Peter's allegiance had changed.

finally admitting that the Dark Lord had forced him into it, he hadn't done it on purpose.

James mind flickered back to when he'd been begging to hear Peter say this, and maybe if this had been the first thing he'd said he would have forever defended Peter, but as this was the very last line in a long string of things he'd done this night to explain away what he'd done, James had never felt more disgusted in his life at the explanation.

Black wouldn't hear it though, raving at him that Pettigrew had been a spy for over a year before the Potter's death! Pettigrew finally cracked and admitted he'd seen no other option, the Dark Lord had taken over everywhere, what good would it do him to refuse?

The question of why, why on earth had he done this to them, would forever plague them the rest of their life. Had it really been something so basically human? Fear had been known to drive people to do crazy things to save themselves, but the three Marauders couldn't fathom why Peter had fallen for this. Didn't he know they would have done anything to protect him? Hadn't he trusted that they could get through this together?

Black shot back that the price was the innocent lives they were protecting by refusing to join Voldemort! Peter still whined that Voldemort had tried to kill him!

Sirius felt the worst pain in the world tearing him apart inside, as his instant rebuttal wanted to be that they would have done anything to stop that from happening. Instead he forced himself on the much more important question of time, and when a Death Eater had approached the rat and when Peter had caved and thrown away his past life in favor of his own skin. He'd just screamed it had been happening at least a year before Halloween, it could possibly be happening right this second and he couldn't do a thing about it.

Black screamed back that Peter should have died then, died like they would have done for him!

That was the last straw, James realized he couldn't do this anymore when he'd screamed that right from his heart and realized how true it was to him, that he still meant it, and it clearly meant nothing to Peter. He threw the book as hard as he could and didn't even register it smashing into the wall so badly the spine broke and pages scattered and he was just sitting there, shaking his head from side to side. Out of tears, out of emotion, he just sat there.

Remus and Sirius weren't giving in this time, James looked sick as a corpse and still Sirius had hold of his elbow, whispering something in his ear, and Remus had his arm tossed around him and was now fidgeting with his wand instead like he wanted to curse the whole world. They all looked completely at their end, but they weren't moving away from each other.

Harry had plenty of practice from watching now, and had no problems pulling out his wand and repairing the book, watching the pages seamlessly merge back together and then continuing on pure instinct and silently summoning it back to him. He ran his hand over the hardcover, leaning his full weight into his mother who was freely crying herself now and looking at no one. He'd never felt more empty and helpless in his life, had nothing to compare the feeling to either because he'd never had such good friends before he could call them family, and even at his worst fights with Hermione and Ron they'd never done anything to each other like this. He sat there probing gently and came to the conclusion that he was still strong friends with both to this day. Harry knew that he needed to keep going though, that closure was the only thing that could begin to help them to whatever this story's end.

Black and Lupin raised their wands, Lupin reminding Peter that he should have realized if Voldemort didn't kill him, then they would for what he'd done. Then he said good-bye to Peter.

All three boys closed their eyes and braced themselves, in far too much of a wreck to even analyze if this is what should have happened, if they could live with themselves knowing this is what they had every intention of doing. It had never even crossed their minds to consider this before, if one of their own betrayed them what would they do? James had made the joke he wanted nothing more than to hear about his best friends murdering the person who had done this to them, and now he was, and it was too much to think on at one single time. They all missed the look that flashed over Harry's face as he read that.

Harry reacted faster, lunging into the middle and screaming no, they shouldn't kill him!

That was literally the most stunning, and last, thing any of them had been expecting. A chapter ago Harry had been fully intent on murdering Sirius for this very fact, then he turned around and did this? Then again, Harry hadn't gone through with it. They'd praised that he'd lost his nerve at the fact, but now couldn't help but wonder if it was something more.

Harry was a good person, despite everything he'd been through and that horrid upbringing trying to make him the opposite, all he'd ever shown were the qualities of kindness. So really, Harry's act in this one moment shouldn't have really surprised them, and yet they all felt like taking a breathless step back.

War was a time where you killed in the heat of the moment and a spark on the battlefield was something to be considered only later over a strong drink, what Peter had done to them was the definition of betrayal and their upbringing and mindset had taught them that what Remus and Sirius had planned on doing because of it was the natural reaction, but it took this second for them to realize they'd never want the same thing to be on Harry. Not their innocent little baby, and not the man in front of them who was now eyeing his father, his face torn between horrified he'd made the wrong decision at his parents' wishes, and yet set all the same in saying he'd make it again.

"Oh Harry," Lily whispered, reaching over and planting a kiss on his temple in praise, running her nails through his hair and promising him he'd made the right decision.

James had to wriggle himself free of his friends, but then he went over and sat on the arm of the sofa, wrapping a sincere arm around his son as he vowed, "I'd back any play you make son. You're right of course," he half turned and gave the two a wink before continuing, "I think you ought to go over there and tear them a new one."

Both boys tried to look offended, but it was so good to hear any form of comedy back in the room they couldn't hold the expressions long. It didn't change what they were really feeling, both silently agreeing they'd probably still like the chance to at least see that rat be Kissed, and while James and Lily may have agreed they all knew it was something that they didn't want Harry near.

Harry was stunned that they were making the attempt, but then he reflected back on every other bad situation he'd seen them in. They'd passed through the emotions until they hit their breaking point, then they cracked a joke. It was probably something like their coping mechanism, their way of convincing themselves that the world would go on.

With his parents on either side of him, he felt no qualms whatsoever to continue.

Both men were shocked, Black reminding Harry that this rotten being was the reason Harry's parents were dead, he'd admitted he cared more for his own life than anything.

Harry may have shown mercy, but it didn't make his tone any less chilling as he ground that out. He was well aware what he was defending, what he'd lost because of this man, but with his parents on either side of him right now he still held true it wasn't right.

Harry agreed, but pointed out he'd instead see this man taken back to Azkaban, he can be killed there if need be. Pettigrew threw himself at Harry's feet, thanking him for this, it was more than he deserved.

"First time he's been honest this whole damn bit," Sirius grumbled to himself, wishing this part was over already, wanting to move past this and not go back until he could get a real solid answer here and now rather than hearing about his little pup having to go through all this.

Harry moved away from him, snapping he wasn't doing it for his benefit, he just didn't want to see his dad's friends become killers over the likes of him.

James couldn't really meet his son's eyes right then, fairly angry at himself for not having realized sooner what Harry would think of this situation, putting his own feelings first and clearly needing more practice at this dad thing then just mildly teasing and giving his son random advice, plus it hurt all the more at the sharp reminder his son was technically the same age as him. Harry was right of course, he would never want Remus and Sirius to actually murder someone in his name, no matter the cause. He was clearly being too emotional and he needed to work on that, but his son was sitting at his side now, a proper man despite James never having a say in his life, so at least not everything had turned out for the worst.

Black and Lupin exchanged a look before both lowering their wands, Black agreed that it was Harry's right to make this decision, but still niggling that Harry should think about what he was doing.

Remus found Sirius' insistence well called for, James and Lily may have paid the ultimate price for this but Sirius had been the one to take the fall, but now that he was the slightest bit calmer he did hope Sirius wouldn't argue with him too much, Harry had been victim as well and he now realized just how wrong his actions were and even if they had carried through on that threat they never should have done it in front of the children.

Harry repeated Pettigrew would go to Azkaban, it's what he deserved. Lupin agreed for the both of them, raising his wand again and promising Harry he was just going to tie him up.

Harry frowned in confusion at that though, asking, "Why wouldn't you just stun him? Or is there a way you could have forced him to turn back into a rat, easier to carry."

"That Homorphus Charm we used would still be in effect" Remus sighed with distaste. "No spell would affect him physically until that last one wore off, and no, there is no way to force an animagus to assume animal form."

Harry nodded in understanding, but still couldn't quite erase the frown on his face. He had a really bad feeling about leaving Pettigrew like this.

Harry stepped out of the way, but before Lupin could do it Black warned that if Pettigrew tried anything to get away, he would see him dead,

That wasn't making Harry's feeling any better, he was getting a mounting sense of impending doom, like he was going to regret his decision before this night was over, but he kept kicking that out of the way, surely he was just doubting himself because of how angry he still was.

asking Harry at least agreed with that? Harry made sure Pettigrew could see him nod.

Lily desperately hoped with everything she had that it wouldn't come to that, that Peter would have just one moment left of the man she knew and let himself be turned in to at least right the wrong he'd done Sirius. If he escaped afterwards then be damned his soul and whatever punishment he suffered for it, but please just let this be done with Harry and Sirius for now.

Lupin tied him up then, and then went to Ron and said he wasn't as good at mending bones as Madam Pomfrey,

"And he's not stupid enough to try," James added on.

and instead used a spell to wrap Ron's leg in bandages in a splint. Ron tested it and found it was much easier to use now, thanking Lupin.

All five of them gave genuine smiles for that, happy that whatever initial problems Ron had with Remus seemed to be gone at least for the moment as he showed gratitude without any more fear of being near him.

Hermione asked what they should do about Snape? Lupin checked him over and said there wasn't anything seriously wrong with him,

"I disagree," Sirius grumbled, "he's touched in the head, and I probably did help."

Remus rolled his eyes, but it wasn't the worst joke he'd heard from him, in fact he even wondered if he'd done that for his friend for old time's sake, so he let it slide this time.

they'd just hit him a little too hard with that spell, but it would probably be best to leave him like this until things were sorted out, they'd take him back like he was.

James couldn't help but crack up giggling. He probably sounded slightly hysterical, he knew he felt it after everything he'd just felt in this past chapter, but the idea of what they'd done to Snape was pleasant enough and he'd cling to that for as long as he could.

He used the spell Mobilicorpus and Snape began floating in the air like some deranged form of a puppet.

Harry couldn't help a little grimace at that mental image he now remembered all too well, he didn't care how much he disliked Snape, that had just been creepy.

Then Lupin scooped up the invisibility cloak and pocketed it, but Black said he wanted extra protection and two of them should be chained up to Pettigrew. Lupin agreed he'd be one,

"What, no! Am I insane," Remus yelped, going ramrod straight and wild eyed in seconds. Sirius looked at him in concern, fixing to ask what the big deal was and worried that someone had finally lost it for good in this room when he kept going, "How close to peak of the full moon was it? Snape was only there because I'm going to change, without any of that potion!"

And here they'd almost been getting back to a decent place in the room, now they all looked like they'd been petrified when they realized what he meant. How long had they been in the Shrieking Shack? It had been sundown when they'd gone in, but between the constant stops and starts of their own reading they had no idea how long the kids had been in there. When the moon reached full Remus would transform and those kids would be in terrible danger.

Harry couldn't help it, he tried to ignore it because for the first time he didn't want that settling feeling back, but he couldn't ignore it no matter how much he wanted to. Something in him was warning he should take Remus' threat very seriously, and desperately wished Professor Lupin had thought of it then. Why hadn't he thought of this then? Most likely because Lupin's main concern more than anything would be to get Pettigrew up to Dumbledore, his sole purpose would be to see Sirius' name cleared and he wouldn't be thinking of anything else in the world until then.

They prayed that they were just being paranoid, that they'd all get back up to the school to Dumbledore and things would be properly sorted out, Merlin even if they had to make a side stop to get that potion from Remus' office before they did, they'd settle for anything at this point. When no one answered though, because none of them knew one little bit obviously, Harry decided he should just keep going.

and Ron said he would as well despite having to limp forward. They magicked some shackles and pinned the three together, Ron's face looking as outraged as anyone's, he'd clearly taken his pet's identity as a personal insult.

"Can't blame him one little bit," Sirius nodded with a set look in place.

Crookshanks hopped off the bed and lead the way back downstairs.

Harry closed the book to show that this one was finally done, still eyeing each of his family with true worry that this had been too much for them. After everything Harry had been through, they'd all gotten through it because he was sitting right here healthy and alive, but this wasn't just some 'he almost got killed' moment. No, this was the most personal thing he could have ever discovered, and he was still trying to figure out how it was his fault. He was so lost in thought that at first he didn't notice Sirius lighting up like Christmas as he cheered "do you know what this means!"

He'd been so lost in thought, going over every bad possible thing that could happen all because of that foul little rat getting away for any number of things, but when he'd glanced up and seen how worried Harry looked he'd casted his mind around for something else and landed on the best thing possible. While the others glanced at him for his outburst, Sirius couldn't hide the glee in his voice one little bit as he declared, "Harry's going to get away from those Dursleys, because I'm going to adopt him."

HPHPHPHP

Peter begging like that was literally the most degrading thing I've ever read in my life. I know this is the basis for a lot of people's opinions on Peter, and while I detest it in the worst way possible as he should at least have the gall to admit to what he did and then run rather than that, I'd still like to point out that this was a Marauder. There is no way I can ever imagine any of the others putting up with such a sniveling little thing in their youth, Peter had to be a different person and fear changed him into what he was in that scene. I have seen JK say that James and Sirius only let Peter be friends with them in a cynical way, but that doesn't make sense in a long standing point. Maybe it had even started that way, but there's no way they would have gone out and done illegal Animagus stuff, including him in the making of their map, trusted him in the Order and with the Potter's life if they'd really thought so little of him. Hope I didn't earn too many flames for my opinion on this chapter. 

Also, fun fact about me, favorite chapter of the entire series. Still no actual reason I'm sharing this with you.

*JK Rowling's official response to that question is, that even if they had seen Peter Pettigrew on the map, why would they care? The story of Sirius' friends wasn't widely known to the public as Fudge had said, so why would they think anything of the name? The only problem with this though, and I never found another answer from her, is in the dorms. Surely they would have seen his name mashed in with Ron's at any stinking time and as I said, never once questioned Ron about it? He only hung out with two kids on a regular basis, and never once mentioned a Peter? I know they didn't sit around and have in depth discussions with their brother about his friends, but I still find that really hard to swallow. Hope my answer wasn't too out there.

**Since we know virtually nothing about James, what he would have canonically felt about this moment we will never know, so I based this on how I would have felt if I'd learned all of this. I'm sorry if you disagree, if you'd like to discuss it I'd be more than happy to hear some other opinions.

#Harry Potter #fanfiction #Marauders #James Potter #Remus Lupin #Sirius Black #Lily Evans #reading the books #PoA

[krispydefendorpolice]

The Demon’s Bride (4)

Call out to @vitaliciouscreations for their “Drop of Paradise” story. I’m using the same name Tiān but they came up with it (to best of my knowledge). Another fun read. Anyone interested in me putting up a random maribat recomendation in this part?

On to the story

Beginning Previous Next Masterpost

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Chapter 4

After dropping Mari in front of the hotel she was staying at, where the teacher definitely had not noticed she was missing he fumed, Damian returned to the Bat cave. His father, all three of his brothers, his sister, Alfred and the rest of the extended Bat Clan were waiting.

“You never turned your comm back on,” Bruce commented.

“I needed to speak with Mari before talking to you,” Damian said, passing his father and pulling up files on the Bat computer.

“We had noticed. It would have been nice to know you were alright after she took down Jason the way she did.”

“Hence the reason I left my tracker on instead of disabling it. You knew where I was.”

“Who is this mystery girl the boys are talking about?” Barbara, aka Oracle, asked.

Damian ignored the question while he filtered through the files of the Wayne conference attendees for the school group staying at Mari’s hotel and down to the students on the trip. He pulled up the school picture of Mari and the information they had on her.

“She is a friend from my childhood,” he finally said looking at the information. He saw that her name was Marinette Dupain-Cheng, her parents on file were listed as Tom Dupain and Sabine Cheng. So they hadn’t changed it, he thought, disappointed in himself because he never looked.

Damian turned when no one said anything after his declaration. Leaning against the console he waited for their responses.

“Bull shit Demon Spawn. You’ve never mentioned friends other than Jon and the Titans before,” Jason said, “and even then it’s because they are not your friends.”

“I assure you she is,” Damian said.

“Then why is this the first time any of us have ever heard about her?” Dick asked.

“None of you have ever shown a particular interest in my childhood with the League of Assassins before now, so why would I have talked about her to you?” Damian answered with a question of his own.

“Because you bit off our heads every time we asked anything,” Tim argued.

Damian narrowed his eyes, “The last time anyone asked me anything about the League I was 11 years old, had just moved in with a bunch of strangers, and had witnessed my family and my whole life destroyed by a madman. Of course I fucking yelled at you. I couldn’t handle it. I couldn’t cry, yell or rage about the unfairness of watching my family, my family,” he emphasized, “die because I was with strangers and emotions make you vulnerable and I could not afford any more vulnerabilities with the unknown situation I was in.”

The entire clan was silent during his tirade, and a bit ashamed at what he was revealing to them years afterwards.

“I’m sorry Damian. We should have realized that and asked you how you were handling the changes at the time,” Bruce was the first to apologize.

“So you weren’t just rabid from Mom’s Tender Loving Care?” Jason asked.

“Master Jason,” Alfred chided while the rest of the clan just gave Jason a Really? look.

“In the 10 years I lived with her I probably spent less than two in her actual company,” Damian said. “I don’t think I would have responded well at the time even if you had realized,” he acknowledged Bruce’s apology.

“Can you tell us about her?” Bruce asked.

“I can but there’s a lot to talk about to really understand everything. I’m meeting her tomorrow for her free day, we can come here for dinner. I can give you some of that background information now and she can answer any of the questions about herself that I can’t answer.”

“Alright. So tell us what we need to know.”

“Might I suggest we move this discussion out of the cave and to the parlor where we might be more comfortable while we talk,” Alfred interrupted.

“That sounds like a good idea Alfred,” Dick said.

**************************

They did as Alfred suggested and moved to the sitting room so they could sit comfortably while talking about Damian’s past. They were all aware that before he came to them at the age of 10 he had lived with his mother and grandfather and with the League of Assassins. He had been volatile and reckless even while he was taking up the mantle of Robin and began following the others into the vigilante lifestyle.

But apparently there was more to his actions as a kid than just being a snobbish brat raised to believe he was better than everyone else.

Damian sipped at his cup of Black tea while settling his mind around what he was going to discuss. He had spent the last 7 years trying not to think of the other half of his biological family and believing the rest were dead so that he hadn’t had any other reason to reflect on his youth in the League. But that had obviously been a mistake. If Mari survived did anyone else? Can I get my family back? He wondered to himself while the rest of the clan settled down with their drinks of choice.

Finally everyone was settled. Bruce was the one to set the ball rolling.

“So what should we know?”

“Before I start about what I know,” Damian began turning to Jason, “I need to know more about what you know of the League, Todd.”

Jason raised an eyebrow and looked at him stonily. If Damian was quiet about the League as a kid (lies, he really wasn’t because he was an Al Ghul dammit) then Todd was a monk who had taken a vow of silence (slightly less a lie, he didn’t talk about it but he did rant about what a bitch Talia was). None of the Bats knew much about his time with the League other than he met Talia before returning to Gotham to seek vengeance on the Joker.

“Like what, Demon Spawn?” Jason asked.

“Well, first, did you have a designation?”

“A what?”

“That’s a no then. Consider yourself lucky, or not, since you were one of mother’s various pet projects then.”

“Damian,” Dick warned as Damian still had a tendency to be very blunt, to the point of being abrasive, when talking about other’s trauma’s.

Damian frowned before nodding in acknowledgement of the warning and in apology for his tone.

“I suppose the first thing you should know is that the League of Assassins is only about two hundred years old, while Tiān the city from which it was established is thousand of years old. Grandfather found it years ago and started to recruit certain prized and influential citizens and families into following him. Eventually the majority of the city were members of his cult and doing his bidding. We can get more into why the League as its own city is important tomorrow.

“Now, since the League is a cult and it was born out of an independent city how has it maintained it’s membership for so long? And I assure you it wasn’t because grandfather shared the secret of the Lazarus Pits with anyone” he asked.

“They recruited new members,” Dick answered with a shrug.

Damian gave him his own Really? look. “Recruits only account for about 25% of the new trainees and they are usually older teens and young adults. The people that are disenfranchised from the society outside of the League. Individuals with knowledge of the world outside shaped by influences from outside and not by Ras Al Ghul,” Damian said. “I was one of 79 children born in my year group. I was not raised by Talia no matter how she spins it. Despite having a personal bodyguard, private tutors and a nursemaid because I was an Al Ghul heir, I was raised with the other children my age in the al’akadimia*.”

“Talia didn’t raise you?” Barbara asked.

“She oversaw my training, instruction and education which seems to be her impression of parenting, but no, she was not involved in the day to day of my life growing up. I got more of that with Father in the first few months than I did from her in the entirety of my time with her,” Damian answered.

The Bats were silent as they digested this new piece of information from their youngest.

“In the cave you mentioned losing your family. It sounded like it happened in Slade’s attack. If not Talia, who were you thinking of? The girl?” Tim asked.

*academy- Arabic via Google translate

_________________

So, this chapter f*cked with my head. I was just writing and playing with the story and had to come up with a reason for Damian being such a little shit as a kid. And I threw in the line about him losing his family and moving in with strangers when I had an oh shit moment of enlightenment.

In the Son of Batman, Damian witnessed his grandfathers death. His mother brought him to strangers and essentially dropped him on their doorstep. Then we get into the fact that most likely he was essentially abused growing up (how else do you get a kid that wont show emotions) but they were still his family and yeah...

I try throwing in a flippant reason but really it kinda sounds like a canon reason too.

I had never thought about why canon Damian was the way he was especially in that first movie and now my head hurts. I’m curious if anyone else has ever given that a thought or if you’re just now having that oh shit reaction?

Taglist: I’m so happy so many are enjoying it. I’m trying to get everyone but if I miss you I’m sorry but it’s not intentional. Also, I appreciate the comments but unless you ask I won’t tag you so if you’ve commented and not been tagged it’s cuz you didn’t ask or because I overlooked it trying to find everyone who’s asking to be tagged. And I’m going to ask that you message me since I’m having trouble finding all the asks in the comments. Thank you.

And thank you all!

@ozmav @multifandomscribette @mochinek0 @inevitableenquere @zebrabaker @poshplumcot @tog84 @luciferge @sonif50 @ravennightingaleandavatempus @northernbluetongue @actual-human-disaster @clumsy-owl-4178 @aarushi-03 @bluerosette23 @g-arya @moonyloonyx @fertileleaf @shreky-boi @thanks-captain-obvious @panda3506 @hinata3487 @thequestionablyhuman @dontgiveaflyinflip @dast218 @chocolatecatstheron @asianfrustration13 @slytherinsheashire @weird-pale-blonde-person @yin-390 @mycupisbroken @vixen-uchiha @kuroko26 @autisticlinx @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @mariae2900 @zalladane @hypnosharkrebeldreamer @tbehartoo @novicevoice @violatiger8 @thebookish3lf @fandomkitty8 @redscarlet95 @gingersnapnoir @chewbaccaatemythoughts

#daminette #maribat #marinette x damian #Betrothed AU #The Demon’s Bride #DLDR #Dead Dove Do Not Eat

[innocent-dumpling]

You're The Reason

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Fandom: Naruto Relationship: ShikaTema A03 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23253157 Summary:

Temari hears that there were fatalities on a recent mission that Shikamaru was on. With his safety remaining unconfirmed how will she react? "Why couldn’t he be lazy like he always wants to be? Just this once.

----- How many weeks had passed since she last saw him? Three or four at least. Sighing heavily, Temari gently rakes her fingertips through her hair, combing thick golden locks into her final ponytail; stormy aquamarine orbs narrow as the blonde jerks it tight with a hair elastic. The frustration was undeniable, here she was in Shikamaru's village and he was nowhere to be seen. Initially, she mused to herself that he must’ve been slacking off somewhere; but the strategist preferred complaining head-on in recent years. Instead, she heard through the grapevine that the newly appointed Hokage had requested his assistance; according to her comrades, he was on an S Class mission as the strategic lead.

“I thought he would be back in time to attend the ambassador summit,” Temari grumbles under her breath; weathered alabaster hands gripping the bathroom vanity as she gazed deeply into the mirror. Taking a deep breath, the kunoichi’s eyes remained fixed on her visage; a small part of her couldn’t help but feel something wasn’t right, usually, she would at least see him wandering around the village after hours. But this time, not a trace; it was highly peculiar. I could just go past his home to see if he’s back. That wouldn’t be odd, would it? She wanders silently, pushing away from the vanity and walking out of the room. There was no doubt that their relationship had become somewhat more complicated since the war had drawn to a close; initially, the pair were comrades as they always had been. He would say something clever or lazy and she poked fun at him, plain and simple; his reactions were always fatigued yet amused despite her comments nearly always being at his expense. As time went on, she slowly found herself trying to avoid spending longer with him than necessary; a feeble attempt to silence the strange flutter in her chest. But nothing she did seemed to deter him from seeking out her company, he even invited her on a date shortly after the conclusion of the war; a shockingly bold move that took her by surprise at the time. Unfortunately, despite the date going quite well, nothing had come of it since due to their hectic schedules; which was irritating to say the least. Fingertips trace across the cold glass window as the kunoichi walks into the main section of her hotel room, peering outside onto the balcony; the calming sound of the rain washing over her as she gazed out into the distance. A kind smile teases at the corners of her lips as she watches locals race through the streets trying to stay out of the wet weather. The gentle rattle of the door handle unlocking immediately seizes her attention, causing the blonde to turn and come face to face with her dripping wet brother; Kankuro. Something wasn’t right, his usually jolly expression is masked by nervous energy, the likes of which she hadn’t seen in quite some time. His eyes momentarily lock with hers before looking elsewhere; “You know how there was that rumour that the fire nation had an S Class mission in operation?” he notes, peeling off his jacket and dropping it in a moist pool at his feet. “Yes, of course I know about that,” Temari states matter-of-factly; arms plaiting across her chest as she looks back at him unsurely. “Where are you going with this?” she urges, heart palpitating as her gaze remains fixed on his visage, Nothing is a secret for very long in this village. “Well, apparently it was focused on hunting down a few of those white Zetsu’s that were missed during the war somehow. I just saw medics rushing to the gate about fifteen minutes ago. There were casualties on that mission,” he blurts out, anxiety building as he spoke. “You don’t think there’s an army of white Zetsu still, do you? I don’t think we could handle another army like that just yet.” In that moment, it felt as if time itself stopped. Her breathing becomes haggard as she struggles to process the information that had just been disclosed and what it might mean. Without even thinking twice about it, Temari find herself rushing out of the hotel room, her shoulder brushing past her sibling’s as she made her way outside. The icy rain showers down upon her, drenching her form as bare feet slammed against the ground; mud squelching between her toes and flicking up her legs as she tried her best to remain somewhat level headed. There was no doubt that her priorities differed to that of both her brothers, that had always been the case. But hearing Kankuro state that news in such a casual and egoistical manner was perturbing. That’s all Kankuro was worried about when lives were lost? After the immense number of deaths they had witnessed during the war, she couldn’t help but feel disappointed; Did he really feel so unphased at the loss of life? Sure, there were moments where death barely phased her too, she was numb to it for the larger part of her life. But now, she actively wanted to prevent it; even if it was an unavoidable danger in her line of work. Rain whips across her form in waves as she rushes onwards, determined to get to the location in question with haste; she needed to know he was alright, waiting around twiddling her thumbs was not an option. After all the time that has elapsed, how has it come to this? Temari wonders to herself. There was so much left unsaid between them that it ached to think about, had she missed the opportunity to thank him for helping bring down her walls? Or to tell him that he was the first shinobi she truly respected outside of Suna? Heck, she’d even go as far as to admit that he was irreplaceable. The thought of losing him was enough to make her mind spiral and her heart physically ache; it was simply not an option. Countless opportunities had presented themselves over the years for her to admit how she felt, yet the roadblock remained the same; her pride. It all seemed so ridiculous now. Hot tears sting at her eyes, threatening to race down her cheeks as she presses onwards, trying her best to recall the fastest route to her destination. “Why did he have to go on this mission?” she whispers, her voice cracking as the words tumble from her lips; “Why couldn’t he be lazy like he always wants to be? Just this once.” The sand-nin’s feet come to a halt as she comes face to face with the front gate of the village. Several medics rush from shinobi to shinobi, offering aid to the injured and promptly leading them away under umbrellas. But it is the eerie presence of the two large black body bags laying on the side of the road next to guards that is particularly disconcerting; who were they? How did such a thing even happen? So many questions required answers. Slowly walking forward, the blonde’s trembling stormy gaze flicked from face to face as she walked through the small gathering; the metallic stench of blood stinging at her nostrils. Rain droplets roll down Temari’s cheeks as her chest grows tighter and tighter with every face she gazes upon that fails to be his; it had been years since she felt such a pang of anxiety course through her for a reason other than her or her family’s safety. He was important, invaluable even; why had it taken so long for her to see that? Fists clenched at her sides, her nails dig into her weathered palms; the sting serving as a gentle reminder to focus on the task at hand. Head throbbing, the blonde’s eyes locked on the body bags in the distance; If he’s not here, then does that mean that he’s gone? Her heart aches as she slowly approaches the guards standing with the body bags; her eyes void of emotion as she parts her lips, unable to bring herself to find the words required to garner her answer from the shinobi guarding the dead. Taking a deep breath she straightens her posture, “Do you have the names of the dead?” she asks, her voice cracking as she stares down at the body bags. Death was part of their daily life, it was a painful reality; thick lashes flutter closed as she waits for their answer, the stench of death and stale cigarettes clinging to the air as she waited in silence. Eyes flick open as the unmistakable scent wafts through the air, seizing the jonin’s attention in a heartbeat. Shikamaru’s solemn form crouches out of the rain, quietly smoking under a small rooftop off to the side of the entryway; completely negated of any and all emotions. Relief washes over the kunoichi as she slowly makes her way over to the strategist’s position low to the ground. I don’t think I’ve ever been so relieved to smell that stench, Temari notes silently; her lips curving upwards ever so gently as she approaches him and promptly crouches beside him. Temari presses her head back against the wall of the building behind them; not once in her life had she ever been at such a loss for words as she was in that very moment. Part of her wanted to pummel him for accepting what was clearly a fool’s mission, but she wouldn’t; not right now. There was no doubt that he is in pain, blood-stained bandages are messily wrapped down one of his arms and up to his fingertips; his exposed chest littered with grazes and deep lacerations. What happened to you? You’re not usually one to get into close combat, she wonders silently. “You’re a mess,” Shikamaru whispers hoarsely, a slightly amused tone lingering as he draws his cigarette from his lips; exhaling heavily in the opposite direction. His dark orbs fix on his poorly bandaged hand as he clenches and unclenches his fist; a groan slipping from between his lips as he averts his gaze in annoyance. “Like you can talk,” Temari quips, bright eyes flicking in his direction as she speaks. “You should go to the hospital and allow a medic to examine your hand if it’s bothering you. Don’t be stubborn, it doesn’t make you a hero if you deny treatment,” she states bluntly, leaning forward on her knees as she reached forward to try and seize his hand to inspect it; He bandaged that himself didn’t he? It’s been done so untidily. He quickly retracts his arm, still averting her gaze. “We failed the mission,” he mutters softly, lifting his cigarette to his lips once more as he rises to his feet and leans back against the wall; his unoccupied hand sliding into his pants pocket and fiddling with his lighter absent-mindedly. “Those two defied my orders and went against the plan we had set in place. God knows where those dozen White Zetsu are now too, it’s a fucking disaster.” Exhaling heavily, the blonde rises to her feet and snatches the cigarette from his fingers, promptly hurling it into the rain. “You don’t need to focus on any of that right now, just focus on looking after yourself. Can’t you see how worried you made me? I ran here in this downpour, fearing you might be seriously hurt or worse you idiot!” Temari snaps, her free hand seizing his chin as she meet his gaze directly; her lips quivering ever so slightly as she looks up at him. “Look, I get it. You lost two comrades. It’s painful, but that’s the nature of our profession, especially on high-level missions. You of all people understand that better than anyone,” she states bluntly, turning away. I don’t care if this is harsh right now. He’s a responsible person; he needs to snap out of this. Temari’s words were harsh, the bodies of his comrades hadn’t even been buried yet, but he couldn’t deny she had a point. How many times was he going to fall into the same repetitive cycle of grievance over the actions of others when that wasn’t within his control? What an exhausting way to live. A sigh absentmindedly slips from his lips, tired dark eyes drifting back to the blonde; No one ever said that the life of a shinobi was without sacrifice or risk. They all knew this from day one. “I didn’t ask you to worry about me. I didn’t ask you to do anything,” Shikamaru retorts, shaking free of her grasp; his gaze dropping down to her mud-coated feet. Did she really run here barefoot out of concern? The concept was baffling to say the least. Azure eyes narrow, brows furrowing as his words echo through her mind; Is he trying to be cruel? Does he still not get it at all or does he just not care? “Worrying about the person I love isn’t a choice Shikamaru! Why would anyone want to feel like this?” the sand-nin fires back defensively, her face reddening as pent up frustration bubbles to the surface; Crap! I shouldn’t have said that! Trying to act unphased, she crosses her arms under her chest; heart racing as anxiety envelops her senses. Controlling her temper was never a strong suit of hers; she had never disclosed something so private during an outburst before, it was mortifying. The strategist stares at the blonde in disbelief, their eyes locked with one another. Since when? How did I miss this? He wonders, dark orbs softening as he averts his gaze; warmness radiating his chest. He was happy, there was no way he could deny it; after years of silently admiring the domineering woman here she was owning up to her own feelings. As always she was the gutsier one of the two, if it was up to him who knows when or if he would’ve even admitted to feeling anything. The silence between the pair is excruciating, in the novels she had read the answer from the other party in these situations came swiftly. But this was reality, and he sure as hell wasn’t the romantic type. “Nothing to say? Of course you don’t,” Temari fumes; promptly turning on her heel and her arms up in the air, storming off into the rain, “Whatever! I shouldn’t have even bothered!” A chill races down the sand-nin’s spine as rain trickles down her cheeks; she picks up her pace, desperate to leave his sight as soon as possible and bring an end to their interaction. It was difficult to pinpoint exactly what she expected from him, all she knew was it hurt; perhaps this was heartbreak. I have made a complete fool of myself. Now who’s the idiot? Shikamaru’s chest tightens as he watches the blonde storm off. He knew she wasn’t indestructible, but witnessing her like this was difficult. Beneath her fierce outer shell Temari had a kind heart; he knew that. It was never something he even questioned the presence of, despite the fact that the kunoichi would never willingly show that side of her without cause. Without even thinking, he takes a few steps forward, dark orbs fixed intently on her figure as she disappears around the corner. What am I doing? He wonders, absentmindedly stepping out into the rain and pausing for a moment; mind abuzz as earlier declaration echoes through his mind. A wet calloused hand slips across his forehead, proceeding to slip through his slicked hair; “Damn it!” Mud splashes up and over his shoes as he trudges forward, slowly picking up his pace to a sprint as he pursues her. Given his keen eye for detail, it was perplexing that something as large as her feelings towards him had gone unnoticed. How did he drop the ball? Was he too busy looking at everyone else’s lives, that he hardly spent a moment thinking introspectively; or truly taking note of how those around him acted in his presence? God she’s troublesome, Shikamaru notes exasperatedly as he finally caught sight of her blonde pigtails; mud drenched shoes drawing to a halt, “You didn’t have to storm off like that!" Temari stops dead in her tracks, her heart pounding wildly as she gazes stubbornly down at her soiled bare feet; this was not the outcome that she had expected. “What could you possibly have to say right now?” she replies bluntly, eyes narrowing as she crosses her arms under her chest. If he followed me just to say more insensitive things I will lose it, the kunoichi notes silently. “Were you joking around or did you really mean it?” Shikamaru demands, his voice stern as he closes the space between them; “and don’t give me a sarcastic answer.” A cold hand reaches out and gently grips Temari’s shoulder, dark oculars softening as he feels his heart thump violently in silent anticipation. “You’re an absolute idiot!” she fires back, stormy eyes welling with tears of complete and utter frustration as she turns to face him; Does he really think so little of me? Their faces hover inches apart, his hot breath caressing her cheeks as she stares back at him; irked beyond belief despite her accelerating heart rate. He can be so insensitive! Did he follow me just to annoy me further? “You didn’t answer my question,” the strategist notes, eyes narrowing as he retracts his hand. The blonde had countless telltale signs when she was nervous, the most common being avoiding repeating whatever the source was and firing insults; openly displaying a sign of weakness was incredibly uncommon given her stubborn nature. Exactly as expected, he muses to himself, his lips curving upwards a fraction in amusement. “Don’t!” she orders, poking his chest warningly as soon as she spots a smile forming; “Stop assuming you know everything. You clearly don’t!” It hurt, seeing him look at her like that, most likely knowing exactly what was on her mind; where was this power of observation when she was waiting for him to ask her out again for months? Did he honestly not realise how she felt about him until she vocalised it out loud earlier? Either way, he didn’t want to drop the subject. Twisting her lips, Temari takes a deep breath and presses onwards; “I’m not like Ino, Sakura or any of those other girls you grew up with. I don’t let people in. It’s not something I ever wanted to do after my mother died. I didn’t want to suffer like that again.” Remaining silent for a few short moments, the blonde slowly retracts her hand only for him to grip it gently; his fingertips brushing across her skin. She stares down at their hands, a nervous flutter swirling in her stomach as heat rose in her cheeks; icy rain droplets rolling down her face as she struggles to maintain what remains of her composure. “Without even trying, you cracked that wall I put up. I let you get close to me, and you’re the reason that I’ve slowly let others in too,” she explains, eyes softening as she looks away; “You’re important. You’re not allowed to die; I can’t lose you.” The gentle patter of rain fills the air as silence befalls the pair; exhaling heavily Shikamaru reaches forward, brushing a thumb across both her cheeks as he lifts her head to meet his gaze directly once more. A simple verification of her feelings was all he was truly seeking, but she offered him more than that; instead, she opened herself up, exposing herself in a manner of which he had never seen. Although she hadn’t said it in so many words, he knew what she was trying to say. Seeing her unravel emotionally before him was an unforeseen occurrence, and yet he couldn’t help but lose himself in his thoughts as he looked deep into her eyes; Damn, she really is beautiful. Trembling stormy orbs search his big brown eyes, his thumbs gently brushing across her cheeks as he looks down at her; a content expression printed across his handsome face. Without thinking she swiftly leans forward, capturing his lips with her own; her tongue greedily meeting his and asserting her dominance. Her arms lace around his neck as she presses up against his chest. She had played out this exact moment countless times in her mind over the years, but nothing she imagined came close to capturing just how exhilarating it would be. Brows furrow as his pent up frustration overflows, Shikamaru peels her saturated kimono exposing her upper back and shoulders, the next target on his list. Calloused fingertips trail down her neck and sides, settling firmly on her hips; gripping them roughly. “You’re the most troublesome woman I’ve ever met,” he declares, breaking their kiss and lifting her up to his hips; the blonde’s legs coiling around him without hesitation as she looks down at him, dishevelled and breathless; most likely silently searching for a witty remark to fight back with, “But I love you too.” Temari gazes down at him, a kind smile teasing at the corners of her full lips as she leans closer once more; her lips hovering above his teasingly. Thick lashes flutter downwards, her tongue tracing across her teeth as the taste of cigarettes lingers in her mouth. She slowly traces one hand forward, stroking the side of his neck tentatively; “We should probably stop, or we’re going to be spotted and someone might misunderstand,” she whispers unconvincingly. It had all happened so quickly, it was difficult to even process what had occurred. Part of her felt foolish for accepting that it was reality so easily, but after years of suppressing how she felt, it couldn’t be helped. The shadow user raises a brow, a mischievous expression slipping across his visage. “It’s raining, nobody is going to look for us for the first time in months. I don’t care what anyone thinks, I’m not even close to being done here,” he murmurs, promptly seizing her lips and pressing her back up against the rough bricks of a nearby building. A sated whimper escapes her as a triumphant smirk settles across the sand-nin’s lips, her lover playfully nipping at her collarbone as she withers against him. For once in her life she was simply going to submit to happiness, no questions asked.

#Shikatema #Shikamaru Nara #Temari No Sabaku #Nara Temari #naruto fanfiction #naruto #canon divergence #innocentdumplingfanfics

[onieoak]

dead town walking // excerpt

Something had awoken Claudia Dean on an early Tuesday morning. No alarms had been set and, at an hour so early even the sun hadn’t risen, her body clock was still set to waking in the afternoon. It sounded like a shout from a distance, in the back of her mind, and quickly grew louder in her ear until it was enveloped by the silence around her once she opened her eyes. She couldn’t repeat the loud shout, or recognise it as belonging to anyone in particular, but Claudia was certain she heard one. No words were spoken, none that she could recall anyway, but she took it as a message to get out of bed; a feat she hadn’t accomplished in two weeks. She didn’t pretend she made that decision herself as she would’ve happily rolled over and fallen back asleep. The call was too hard to ignore.

A thought came to her as she got herself dressed. During her two weeks in bed, she’d made a list of things to accomplish once she was ready and, now that she was out of bed and seemingly on a new direction, she thought now was the perfect time to change the name of her father’s boat.

There were a lot of superstitious folks living in Fin Port, some superstitions were sound, others were weird and unexplained. Changing the name of a boat was the equivalent of stepping in front of a train, according to the town. Claudia was already amused by imagining the town’s reaction to her committing this atrocity, but it was something her father had been wanting to do since he got the vessel.

Claudia dressed warmly, buttoning up a thick, grey-blue cardigan she’d knitted herself, and pulled her father’s lucky, faded fishing cap over her short black hair. As she pulled on her boots, she couldn’t help but thank the unknown force that pulled her out of bed at four in the morning, knowing full well that it was time to move on, but not ready to admit that to herself.

As to not wake up her younger brother at this early hour in the morning, Claudia tip-toed along the hallway and down the stairs towards the kitchen. The house was silent except for the few bird calls outside and the somewhat loud ticking of the grandfather clock in the lounge. She had always appreciated the first few hours of silence in the mornings as a child, as the noise that erupted once her father woke up lasted till the middle of the night. Yet now, the silence was deafening. It wasn’t exciting to wait in anticipation for her father’s booming, Irish voice to echo around the house because there was no voice anymore. As Claudia pondered this, she felt the strongest urge to run back upstairs and fall back in bed but she didn’t want to disappoint the voice that woke her up in the first place.

The kitchen was the heart of the house. It sat at the front of the house and got the most sunlight and the best view of the ocean from the large windows. It was the room where everyone spent most of their time if they were cooking, working, entertaining, or unwinding after a long day. The table in the middle of the room, usually filled with papers, books, cooking utensils or food, was completely empty. A quick scan with her eyes along the kitchen counters revealed to Claudia that her brother had done some extensive cleaning during her hibernation and she didn’t like it. Her brother had even gone as far as to clear the magnets on the fridge, moving them to inner side where they couldn’t be seen. What was once clutter on the shelves, now a neat row of jars and cans. Everything had seemingly found its place in the kitchen as opposed to the mismatched complexity it once had. There was once an excitement to finding the can opener in the top draw one day and finding it in the pot of spoons the next.

In an attempt to avoid finding anymore surprises her brother had left her, Claudia bowed her head and left for the backyard. The garden hadn’t been tended to, as expected, as weeds had begun to discourage the beauty of the flowers and plants her parents had so proudly planted. Yellow and orange leaves blanketed the ankle-high grass and were crunched beneath Claudia’s boots as she marched her way through towards the shed. It was a small, tin box that hadn’t been opened in years. With some strength, she pulled the door open and it gave a loud rattle as it flung out of her grip and hit the fence. She found no point in trying to be stealthy now, seeing as she had probably woken up the other half of town that weren’t already awake.

Cobwebs covered the roof of the shed and dust blanketed the shelves that carried tools and paint cans. Claudia’s father had many uses for the contents in the shed but had forgotten all about it and had made his own workshop in the study, buying everything new and creating yet another cluttered room in the house. So, what was left inside the backyard shed was old and broken and forgotten.

Claudia grabbed two cans of paint, one white and one a deep blue. She was unsure of how old these paints were, considering the interior of the shed hadn’t seen the light of day in decades, but knew they’d do job anyway.

As she’d suspected, her younger brother Fletcher had awoken and was pulling out food from the pantry. Claudia felt a little better by seeing all the food he’d pulled out were scattered across the table. Fletcher pulled his head out of the cupboard once he heard Claudia enter the house, suddenly staring at her like he’d seen a ghost.

He carried their mother’s features so by extension, according to everyone in town, Fletcher was the most handsome in Fin Port; the Golden Boy as they so affectionately named him. He was perfect in every sense of the word which usually made up for the fact that both his father and older sister were the outcasts of the town.

Fletcher’s long black hair hung over his eyes now, but he usually slicked it back and covered it with a hat. At twenty-two years old, he stood at almost over six feet tall; which he got from their father. He also carried broad shoulders that had been hunched over since their father died.

   “Did I wake you?” Claudia asked, setting the paint cans on the table, pushing them a little apart so as to make less room on the table.

Realising that he’d been staring too long, he glanced down at the loaf of bread in his hands.

   “Yeah, that hasn’t happened in a while. What are you doing? Where are you going?”

Claudia sighed. “I just wanted to fix something up on the boat. I won’t be long.” She picked up the cans and headed for the front door, not wanting anymore awkward questions from Fletcher. Claudia knew it was strange for her to suddenly be out of bed and functioning like a normal person but she wasn’t ready to explain herself until she’d finished the job she woke up so early for. There would be enough time to discuss their grief later.

#writeblr #dead town walking #wip excerpt

[fullmetalscullyy]

the way it was - chapter 9

surprise when they find out that a warrior will soon run wild

summary:  what if riza never went to war?  riza hawkeye has just married the man she loves. six months into their marriage, an unexpected surprise stops her from following roy to the military. a canon divergence au that explores what might have happened had riza been unable to join the military. there will be plenty of family fluff, angst, and royai.

rated: m | warnings: no archive warning apply

chapter 8 | read on ao3

1910

surprise when they find out that a warrior will soon run wild

“Two kids?” Riza asked, confused as to why the military would want to recruit children into their ranks. It didn’t sit right with her, but after Ishval nothing the military did sitsat well with her. She’d heard enough from Roy to begin to recognise the propaganda when she saw it.

“Yeah, two children. Can you believe it?” He’d changed into t-shirt and sweatpants and crawled onto the floor of their living room, ending flat on his stomach. Mia was sitting in there on her playmat, who grinned at the sight of him. Propping his head up on his hand, elbow on the floor, Roy picked up one of her toys and began to entertain her.

“Why two children?”

“Initially there was a mix up with the paperwork, so I went ahead anyway to investigate what had happened.”

“But they’re children. What use has the military got for them?”

He shrugged. “They’re extremely gifted alchemists.”

“And did you recruit them?”

“I said my piece,” he replied, shaking the rattle in front of Mia. She had her little brown blanket with a bear’s head attached to the end gripped in one hand and was reaching for the rattle with the other. “I don’t know if they will. If they do, it can give them unlimited resources for them to research for a way to get their bodies back.”

Their daughter had become extremely attached to that bear blanket very early on. She wanted it everywhere with her and would not sleep without it. If either parent dared to even try and pry it away from her, it started a screaming match. They’d quickly learned from their mistake and made sure she slept with it next to her every night. And, from then on, the nickname Mia Bear was born. Roy had been very proud as he coined it. It was the most endearing sight.

“… Bodies back?” Riza asked almost fearfully, closing her book.

Roy nodded, his face dropping his smile for Mia and becoming more serious. “They committed the taboo – human transmutation.”

“What did they lose?” She placed her book down on the cushion next to her.

Riza had grown up around alchemy all her life. When her mother was living, both her mother and her father would teach her about it, seeing if she had the aptitude for the science. When they found out she didn’t, they were disappointed. Thankfully, it was brushed off with smiles and a “never mind”. Although initially crestfallen, it was quickly dropped and they didn’t seem fazed that their daughter couldn’t perform the science. It was never mentioned again. However, after her mother died, Berthold liked to throw it back in her face at every opportunity he could. It turned out he held it against her completely. What was the point in having a daughter, Berthold wondered out loud, when she couldn’t even help him with his prized research?

The one thing that had been drilled into her during teaching was the rules of alchemy, regardless of whether she could do it or not. The idea of human transmutation terrified her as a child and her mother was glad for it. Riza’s mother wasn’t pleased she’d scared her daughter. No, she was glad Riza feared the taboo and understood the power and consequence it held.

Roy was silent as he smiled at Mia for a few moments, entertaining their daughter. “One lost an arm and a leg.” Riza swallowed.

“And the other?” she whispered.

Roy hesitated. It looked like he really didn’t want to share the answer out loud, and it caused the weight in her stomach to become even heavier.

“His whole body.”

“How old are they?”

“Eleven and ten.”

“What?”

“I know,” Roy replied grimly. He shifted in place, picking up Mia from her playmat. He hugged her close, giving her a kiss.

“What did the parents say?” Riza asked.

“There are none.”

“Oh my god.” Her heart broke for the two of them. They’d suffered like that, almost losing everything, but there was no one to comfort them afterwards? No mother or father to offer support? Riza wanted to go over there right now and bring them to her home. She knew what it was like to have no parental figures in her life growing up. She wouldn’t wish that on anyone, especially not two boys who had lost so much at the same time.

“I know.” Roy kissed Mia’s head again and stood, moving to sit on the couch next to Riza. “It made me think about what I’d feel like if it had been Mia,” he admitted. 

“That’s awful. Those poor boys.”

Although the lesson of human transmutation had been drilled into her at a young age, Riza hadn’t realised the price to carry out the taboo would be so high. How could one physically lose an arm and a leg because of alchemy? Or their whole body? She felt so sorry for those two boys.

“So, are you going to recruit them?”

“In an ideal world, no. I don’t want them to be a part of the military. They’re far too young. Being State Alchemists, if a war starts, they’ll be called up to serve.” 

Fear prickled over her skin. “That can’t happen.”

Roy sighed. “I know. And I’ll do everything in my power to stop it.”

“I sense there’s a “but” here.”

“If they do join, it will give them access to the Central Library – the largest in Amestris. It will help them research how to reverse the effects of the transmutation.”

“Can’t you do that for them?”

“I could, but something tells me those boys will want to do it themselves. There was a fire in that boy’s eyes,” Roy mused, trailing off. “He won’t be beaten down so easily.”

“They’ll join then, won’t they?” Riza ran her finger over Mia’s cheek gently making her giggle. She couldn’t bear the thought of something like that happening to her little girl.

“Probably. They’re determined, and extremely gifted. If anyone could figure it out, they could.”

“Wait, you said one had lost his entire body?”

Roy nodded. “His brother bonded his soul to a suit of armour.”

“That’s… Well, horrifying as a mother, but also incredible.”

“I know. The kid is insanely gifted. To be able to do that at the age of eleven, that’s crazy.”

“You were almost knocking the house down with your alchemy at the age of eleven,” Riza teased.

“That was one time, and that support beam was old and crooked anyway.”

Riza chuckled to herself, bumping his shoulder with her own.

“I’m prepared to help them in any way I can. I just hope it will be enough.”

“Will they be assigned under you?”

“That’s what I’ve requested. Under my command, they can have all the freedom they like. High command won’t like it, but if it's disguised as a mission then they have nothing to complain about.”

“You’re not exactly playing by the book here, Lieutenant Colonel,” Riza replied, smiling wryly.

“There’s too much corruption in there anyway. The way to the top starts here,” he replied confidently. She watched the determination set in his face, but then softened as Mia giggled to herself, playing with his fingers.“Listen, there’s something else I wanted to discuss with you. I personally hate it, but my mother said it may work in my favour to cover up how quickly I’m trying to move up the ranks.”

“What is it?”

Roy sighed. “Madame Christmas suggested using the cover of a “playboy” as a smokescreen when dealing with her.” His tone was exasperated, as if this was an old argument with his mother. Riza always thought it amusing that he referred to his adoptive mother as “Madame”, however it was probably just a habit at this point.

“What do you mean?”

He looked uncomfortable continuing. “I go out with the Madame’s girls as a cover – a way to gather intel on the higher ups in the military.”

“Go out?” she echoed.

“To dinner. To bars for the night.” He never looked her in the eye, still looking uncomfortable, but also extremely nervous. “So I’ll look like a bit of a womanizer.” Riza chuckled to herself, and that made Roy’s head snap around to face her. He obviously didn’t expect that reaction. “What?” he asked, thoroughly confused.

“You? A womanizer?” she chuckled again, shaking her head. “You’re anything but a womanizer.”

“I could turn it on when I need to,” he replied, indignant.

“I’ve yet to see that.” Riza stood and moved her book to the table beside the couch, however she was stopped by Roy grabbing her hand.

“What do you mean by that?” he asked, looking worried.

“Nothing, Roy,” Riza replied, after a moment’s pause. “It’s just… You’re such a dork,” she smiled. “You’re not a suave, charismatic person. Even when we were kids, you tried to be but ended up falling on your ass one way or another.” She laughed to herself, one particular memory springing to mind. He’d been dead set on being the only one to repair the leaking roof in Riza’s childhood home. He’d climbed up, lasted five minutes, and then fell off. Riza had to patch him up, put his arm in a sling, and then went up there to fix it herself.

“Do you want me to be like that?”

Riza was confused. “No. I want you to be yourself. I want you to be the man I fell in love with.”

In an unanticipated move, Roy placed Mia in her playpen in the corner of the room, then strode back over to his wife, placing his hands on her hips. Smiling, Riza locked her arms around his neck.

“I love you. So much.”

“And I love you too, Roy,” Riza smiled. He kissed her slowly, tenderly, making her sigh into it. His hands began to gently tug her shirt out of her skirt. Riza broke away and laughed. “Not while Mia is here.”

He pressed his forehead against hers and groaned. “We need that holiday.”

Riza pulled away to look at him. “Do you really want to go?”

“Of course. I’d love to do anything with you. I feel like I hardly see you nowadays.” Frustration laced his tone.

“You’re busy with work. I get that. I’m busy with school, and with looking after Mia.”

“It shouldn’t just be you doing that thought.”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s my child too, and I feel like I never see her. By the time I get home from the office, I get maybe an hour with her and then she’s off to bed. You get all day with her and I hardly get anything.”

“That can’t be helped though. You’re in a high demand position,” Riza reminded him. Then, in a quieter tone, she added, “And you have work to do. For both of us.”

“I know,” he replied, tone sombre. Roy sighed. “I just don’t want you to feel like you’re stuck in the house with her all day. You’re a young woman. You should be out and enjoying yourself.”

“Hard to do that with a one year old,” Riza quipped with a smirk. “However, I’m married to the man I love. I have a beautiful daughter with you. I wouldn’t trade that for the world.”

Roy hugged her close, allowing Riza to bow her head and rest it on his shoulder. Roy pressed his cheek against the top of her head, making her smile.

“Do you ever wonder what your life would have been like if you’d joined the military.” One night, after one of his nightmares, they’d stayed up talking about their past to try and distract Roy from the horrors he’d witnessed in sleep. Riza had revealed she was thinking of joining the military after him, to help him pursue his dream, but of course, that never came to pass.

Riza nodded. “Occasionally, yes, but then I wouldn’t have Mia and I hate the thought of that.” The two glanced over towards their daughter who was squealing happily in her pen, entertaining herself with her toys. They smiled softly.

“I do too.” They swayed in place to the song that had just come on the radio. Roy cradled her close, and Riza closed her eyes, focusing on the sound of his heart underneath her ear, and the feeling of his hands on her body.

“About what I mentioned before, what the Madame brought up, would you be okay with it?”

“You, dating other women?”

“No, not dating. And not other women. My sisters.”

“That’s a bit weird, Roy,” she teased, making him scoff.

“No. Not that.” He huffed in frustration. “It’s not a date. I’ll just be meeting up with my sisters for dinner and drinks from time to time.”

Riza was still confused. “That’s a perfectly normal thing to do.”

“Yes, but… No one knows they’re my adoptive sisters. No one knows the Madame is my adoptive mother.” He shifted uncomfortably. “People will probably think I’m out dating them and cheating on you.”

“Ah.” Understanding dawned on Riza. That’s what he was worried about.

“Obviously I’m not. They’re all the Madame’s informants and utilising their skills and information would give me dirt on the top brass, possibly allowing me to move up the ranks faster.”

“Blackmail is a wonderful thing, isn’t it?” she quipped.

“I like to think of it as more…”

“Exploiting weaknesses?”

“Using information to discover just how corrupt the military is,” Roy finished. “I’m doing the country a service.”

“Admirable.”

“I’m serious, Riza,” he stated, his voice low. “I’m not a fan, but I need the information they can give me.”

“Then don’t do it then if you’re uncomfortable. Plus,” Riza added, considering her next thought. “If you’re seen as being unfaithful, would you really be promoted? That doesn’t paint a good image.”

“Exactly. I’m kind of stuck on what to do here, but I need that information.”

“What about… someone else doing it for you?” Riza stated slowly, an idea forming in her mind.

“Who?”

“What about me?”

Roy stared at her for a long moment. “Absolutely not.”

“Why not?” she asked, not impressed with the tone he used. It wasn’t a ridiculous idea.

“I’m not getting you involved.”

“I go out for lunch with them all the time anyway. Why can’t I collect some extra information for you while I’m there? I can pick it up for you and bring it home.”

“Riza, no -”

“I can help,” she insisted.

“I’m not involving you in this.”

“I’m already involved,” she replied, her eyes narrowing. “I was the one who let loose the knowledge of flame alchemy. I feel guilty about what happened in Ishval too. This way, I can feel like I’m helping, and not just sitting on the sidelines.”

“You can’t be put in harm’s way,” he whispered, his voice thick. “I would never forgive myself if you were.”

“I won’t be in harm’s way,” she stressed, becoming impatient. “I’ll be picking up a piece of information and delivering it. We chat about anything and everything when we meet up anyway. Adding in a tiny piece of information each time would make no difference.” He sighed in frustration, but Riza’s case was strong. “If I do, it keeps suspicion off you. You can continue your ruse of devoted family man and use that as your cover as you rise up the ranks. It will keep you in the higher up’s good graces. No one likes a known and proud cheater.”

Roy sighed again, pulling away from her as he ran his hands through his hair. He didn’t like it, but Riza could see she’d worn him down slightly. It was the best idea. It was much better than his, pretending to be cheating on her so he could get information. It would keep his relationship with his mother and sisters secret, and wouldn’t jeopardise it for them. It was perfect.

“It will hide your intentions,” Riza argued further.

“It puts you in danger,” he stated firmly.

“Hardly. I’m meeting up for lunch with my family, something I do frequently already. It’s no different from you doing it.”

Roy sighed, finality in the action. His shoulders slumped in defeat.

“You’re intent on this, aren’t you?”

“It’s better than your idea,” she replied gently.

“I… I suppose you're right. Infidelity isn’t something I want to be known for, and will keep suspicion off me, somewhat.”

There was a quiet pause as the decision was absorbed by them both. Riza was doing nothing different from before, however she felt kind of excited. She would finally be getting to help in his rise to the top from a professional side.

“You never told me why you’re so intent on rising to the top so quickly.” Riza had to admit quietly, breaking the silence. It did worry her. He could get into big trouble for this.

“That –” He stopped abruptly and Riza could hear him swallow. “That has to do with Ishval,” he whispered.

Riza nodded. “I understand,” she replied simply, placing a hand on his arm. That said enough. Whatever happened over there, whatever he’d uncovered or realised, Roy felt strongly enough about it to want to take down the Fuhrer.

“Just promise me two things.”

“Anything, love,” he replied in an instant, grasping her hand in both of his, holding it in front of his chest. “You can ask anything you want of me.”

“Anything?” Riza smiled wryly. 

“Anything,” Roy confirmed.

“The moon looks nice tonight.”

“Then I’ll build a ladder up there and bring it to you.” Riza laughed and felt her heart swell with love for this man. He was so good to her. She didn’t know how she’d ended up so lucky. “What is your request, my darling?”

“One, be careful, and stay safe.”

“That’s two,” he joked with a grin.

“I mean it,” she stressed.

Roy kissed her forehead. “Of course. For you, always. I would never leave you or Mia behind.” Good, because that terrified Riza more than anything. “And only if you do, too,” he urged, eyes searching her gaze. His worry had returned tenfold.

“I will.”

He accepted her sincere reply with a quick peck of her cheek. “What’s the other?” he asked.

“You use some of those suave and charismatic moves you were talking about on me some time,” she smirked, winking at him. In response, Roy’s expression turned hungry, desire filling his eyes. She laughed as his hands began to drop lower, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and holding him tightly. His lips found her neck and he reigned kisses down on it, turning her laughs to quiet, breathy moans.

“I always will, my queen,” he whispered against her neck. With one final kiss, he pulled away and stared into her eyes. “Just wait until Mia goes to bed,” he whispered lowly, making her shiver.

#royai #royai fic #royai fanfic #royai au #emma writes #the way it was

[fracturedmotivationwriting]

Pollux shares the truth and Datura lives up to her namesake

To say that Datura was shocked to find Pollux on her doorstep again was an understatement. Yes, her and the warlock had grown closer into actual friends recently, but there was still something odd about having him come over without Prometheus. Judging by the expression on his face, however, Datura realized that maybe Pollux wouldn't be seen with Prometheus for a long time. 

He wasn't crying, per se. But he looked as close to crying as Pollux probably ever got. His eyes looked bloodshot, like they wanted to produce tears but were incapable. His typical scowl was even more prominent on his face. Only one thing could make Pollux look this miserable: he and Prom had broken up. Datura's heart was breaking for him. 

He didn't need to say anything before Datura was ushering him inside, pushing him towards the couch as she immediately swept into the kitchen to brew some tea. She always stocked up on the ingredients for a calming potion. Maybe she would brew a little dreamless sleep draught for Pollux later. She suspected he may be grateful for the aid. 

Pollux had zombie-walked towards her couch. Perched on the edge, he let his head fall into his hands. Things were really screwed up this time. Pollux didn't think he could fix it. Was there any way to mend a relationship that had fallen to distrust? Maybe for normal couples. But Pollux and Prom had never been normal. 

Datura gently placed a teacup on the coffee table before him, one steaming in her own hands as she took a seat next to him. She waited as Pollux lifted his head slowly. This was a conversation that he needed to start. She had to be patient. 

Pollux reached forward, staring at the contents of the teacup for a minute before taking a sip. A sigh escaped him as his shoulders relaxed a smidge more. He wasn't at peace yet, but it was a step in the right direction. 

"She kicked me out," he rasped, gripping the teacup tighter. "We were arguing about Fiona again. I said some things that I probably shouldn't have and... And she told me to get out." 

Datura placed a hand on Pollux shoulder. Just talking about this was taking a lot out of him, she could tell. Pollux was never one to talk about his feelings. He was never one to talk, period. Not as much as the others, at least. No, Pollux was the silent, "I'm listening to everything you say, but I will only grace you with my wisdom when I have to because I am much, much smarter than all of you," type. When he spoke up it was usually with sarcastic quips or logical facts. Not his emotions. Those conversations were reserved for Prometheus only. 

Until now. 

"Pollux, whatever you said, whatever she said," Datura started softly, but Pollux cut her off. 

"No, what's done is done," he shook his head. "There's no taking back what we said to each other." 

Something in his voice struck a chord with Datura. Pollux was feeling guilty over what he said to Prom, even though Prom likely said some pretty terrible things to him too. So what could Pollux have said that would lead to this kind of reaction in the usually stoic man? 

Datura didn't even need to ask to get the answer to her question. 

"She promised me she could handle Fiona. That her powers weren't getting out of the control, and that if they were, she would handle it," he scoffed, standing suddenly to pace around the room. While he was distracted, Datura carefully took the teacup from his hands (unnoticed) before he accidentally dropped it or threw it at a wall. 

"And you know what I said? Y'know what my brilliant mind thought was a good response?" He asked, turning to face Datura with an almost crazed look in his eye. "'Like you took care of your brother, either time?' That's what I asked her! I used the one thing against her that I promised I never would." 

Datura had absolutely no idea what Pollux was talking about. After the seance, Prom had fed the group a story about what had happened to her dead brother. Datura hadn't believed that the story was the entire truth, but she had no idea what was. And something in Pollux's eyes told her that he was less angry about whatever Prom did or didn't do to her brother, but more disappointed in himself for even bringing it up. 

"It's bad enough she's tormented by him all the time, and I just had to throw it in her face," Pollux sighed, slouching down onto the couch again. "He's haunting her. That's why we had to summon Mormo." 

"What?" Datura breathed out, not quite believing it. 

"Most of what Prom told you about her brother was true. After his death, her parents had her as a replacement of sorts. Prom was tired of always being compared to him, so she tried to raise him from the dead. The necromancy stint didn't go as planned. Body and soul were raised, but Prom couldn't put them together. When they killed the body, the didn't manage to put the soul to rest. He's been haunting her ever since." 

"That's terrible," Datura whispered, trying to imagine what Prom was living with these past few years. Datura did her fair share of seances, she'd spent plenty of time with ghosts. But to have one constantly by your side? Especially the brother you never met but were always compared to? It sounded like hell. 

But not telling your coven the truth? About your past or why it was necessary to pull a demon out of hell? Not cool. 

"We were hoping Mormo could devour his soul. Putting him to rest has been a dead-end, we figured having a demon consuming him would be the next best thing," Pollux admitted. "And so far this demon has brought nothing but misery to my life." 

Datura snorted. Even with everything going on, Pollux wasn't going to miss the opportunity to badmouth Ambrose. Sure, the Fiona situation and therefore the Prom situation could be traced back to Ambrose's involvement, but he wasn't the only player in the game. 

Handing Pollux his teacup again, which had significantly cooled, Datura leaned back on the arm of the couch and watched him carefully for a moment before speaking. 

"I know it may not seem like it, but the two of you can get through this. Prom will forgive you. She'll understand," Datura reassured him. "It'll just take time. Things will work out." 

"I don't think she will forgive me," Pollux disagreed sadly. "And even if she did... I don't know if I can forgive her this time." 

Datura leaned forward. Pollux hadn't mentioned exactly what Prom had said during their fight. It was about Fiona, though, so Datura assumed that the witch was defending her friend and trying to assure Pollux that the human wouldn't get out of control with her powers. It was the same fight they had before. How much stronger had Fiona gotten that now it was different? 

"What's different this time?" Datura asked quietly, but Pollux was refusing to meet her gaze. "The two of you have fought about Fiona before. What's changed? What did Fiona do this time to warrant the topic being brought up in the first place? How much stronger is she?" 

Pollux shook his head. He knew Datura was asking because she was fearing the worse: that Fiona's powers were already uncontrollable. But truthfully, Pollux wasn't sure how far Fiona's powers were now. It wasn't a concern of how strong she was, it was a concern of what she had done to get there. And the fact that neither Fiona nor Prom seemed that concerned about it. 

"I don't know how strong she is," Pollux admitted softly. "It's... It's what she did this time to get stronger." 

"Well, what did she do?" 

"Her last sacrifice... She wanted to use something bigger," Pollux murmured, his eyes slowly meeting Datura's. "Like a cat." 

"No." 

Datura was shaking her head, tears already forming in her eyes as realization dawned on her. But it couldn't be true. Not even Fiona would have done that. That was crossing a moral boundary. 

"Datura, she sacrificed Hades." 

"NO!" Datura shouted. 

She stood abruptly, dropping her teacup at her feet. She didn't seem to notice. She kept shaking her head, muttering to herself as she paced through the room. She was so consumed by her own pain that she almost stepped on Hecate, who had been napping in a sunbeam. The frightened kitten scurried under the couch for refuge as Datura continued to cry and pace. 

"Datura," Pollux sighed, standing and trying to reach for her, trying to pull her into a hug to comfort her. The witch merely shrugged him off. 

"No! Fiona couldn't have done that," she insisted. "She could not have sacrificed my innocent, baby kitten Hades. Because if she did then she crossed a moral line. You don't not tell your friends that you killed their cat. You don't sacrifice your friend's pets, period. But you especially don't do that when that pet was a tribute to the Greek god of the Underworld, because that just means you're laughing in the face of magic. There is no turning back from here. If she sacrificed Hades, she is going to go too far because it means that she's already arrogant beyond belief. To risk my anger? To risk the anger of a Greek god?" 

Pollux was a bit scared at the look in Datura's eyes. It reminded him of Prom the night she told him she was going to raise her brother from the dead. 

He knew Datura would be upset, angry even, but he didn't expect her to react quite like this. Yes, the kitten had been her pet, and yes, he supposed it was a tribute to the God of the Underworld, but would the real Hades really care if a little kitten was sacrificed? Probably not. But apparently, Datura had made up her mind. She and the god were angry. 

He watched in fear as Datura started plucking leaves and flowers off her plants. Mainly because he knew what all these plants were. And the majority of them were very, very deadly when alone. Throw them together? They would create a very slow, very painful death that not even the most powerful witch on earth could withstand. Pollux was pretty sure it would even cause a demon some rather intense and agonizing pain. 

"She wants to kill my cat as a sacrifice? Fine!" Datura was muttering to herself, tossing ingredients onto the coffee table as she searched for her favorite gold-plated (merely pewter underneath) cauldron. 

"Then it's her turn to be sacrificed. Oh, Hades and Hecate will love this treat," she laughed darkly, dropping a few petals of the datura plant into the cauldron first. 

Before she could grab what looked suspiciously like a jar with a tiny brain and some blood in it, Pollux's hand grabbed her own. He tugged her away from the cauldron and made her face him. 

"Datura, you are not sacrificing Fiona to the gods. We will confront her, and we will stop her, but you are not sacrificing her as revenge." 

Datura practically pouted, but she pulled away from Pollux and nodded. 

"Fine," she agreed, petulantly crossing her arms. "But if she steps foot in this apartment I can't promise I won't hex or maim her." 

#witches and ghosts and demons oh my

[storytime-hoe]

Tough Love Ch.3

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x O/C

Summary: Story picks up during season three as the group goes into Woodbury to rescue Glenn and Maggie from the Governor. However, they pick up another prisoner of Woodbury, Emma (O/C). She is a thief who fears friendships after her hard losses. She stays on the move, studying communities from afar and then robbing them blind. She has stayed alive this way for a while until the Governor catches her in the act. Now she finds herself with the group from the prison in a mission to kill the Governor for what he has done to her. She plans on stealing supplies from the prison group after the Governor is killed, but she might be growing a little too close to the groups members, especially one man in particular: Daryl Dixon.

Warnings: Slow burn, language, usual twd violence, mentions of abuse/rape

Authors Note: Things are finally getting good in this chapter if I do say so myself. I hope you all like it! I get sick of the female interest always seeming weak and like they need a protector all the time so I am trying to make a badass character here but like not too bitchy and annoying. It’s a fine line and I struggle sometimes but like oh well. Enjoy!

Previously: Ch.1       Ch.2

Merle Dixon was running his mouth like usual. Spit flung from his mouth as he yelled at Maggie about coming back to the prison with us all. Glenn and Maggie obviously did not want him around them or their family after what he did to them. I didn't blame them a bit. He had done some cruel things to me too, but I never held it against him too much, nothing compared to what the Governor did.

"Well I'll be damned," Merle said, ignoring Maggie and letting his sights land on me from over Rick's shoulder. "You're alive."

I clenched my jaw and prepared for the usual taunting that was always present in conversation with Merle. I stumbled forward to get a better look at him, my legs gaining strength with every step. "Don't sound so disappointed," I snarled at him.

I noticed Daryl shift on his feet and groan at Merle in warning. Daryl wanted his brother to be able to come back to the prison with us, but by the looks of it that wasn't going to work out. And Daryl knew that messing with me right now wasn't going to help his case. I was a high strung pissed off motherfucker after getting my ass kicked by the Governor all to save a couple of Dixons. No one should've been messing with me right now.

"You let her in the group and we are still questioning me?" Merle looked at Rick and threw his hands in my direction. "That right there is some fucked up bullshit."

"We were bringing her because she knew Woodbury," Daryl supplied, trying his best to keep Merle at bay, with no luck.

"She got us to you two. She's proving to be helpful," Rick supported, but I noted that he still looked skeptical of me.

Merle whistled and huffed out a strangled laugh that came from deep in his throat. "That's one poisonous snake you let into your nest, Sheriff." Merle smirked as he looked me up and down. I guess it had been a while since he got to do that and he was taking his time with soaking me in.

"You even know her that well, Merle?" Daryl glanced at me a few times, looking somewhat uneasy since he himself didn't really know me.

"Governor made me look after her."

My eyes widened at his words. "Look after me? He made you beat the shit out of me," I said, pushing by Rick so I was face to face with Merle. That was probably a bad move judging by Merle's playful smile. I shook against the urge to slap it right off of his fucking face.

"All that was just business. Trust me, I've done worse, sweetheart." He leaned back against a tree and rolled his eyes at my unhappy demeanor.

"Keep rolling your eyes. Maybe you'll find a brain back there."

Merle snickered, pleased with the reactions he was getting from me.

"You're a coward," I breathed out.

"Maybe. But it all worked out in the end. Found my brother."

I scoffed and crossed my arms over my chest. The blood pounded in my ears. "The Governor found him. You didn't find shit. I knew you would never go look for him on your own. You were too happy with the Governor in his perfect little shit-hole to risk looking for him." I pointed my finger at Daryl and kept my eyes on Merle's snarl. "If you had cared about him you would've gone to look for him long before the Governor tossed you together in an arena. He just turned you into a monster too," I yelled out, my voice raising with every word.

"I did what I had to do!" He pushed away from the tree and shouted in my face. His breath snaked its way into my nostrils, making me grimace.

"This is a bunch of bullshit," Daryl stepped in between us, trying to get us to stand down. "Me and my brother are none of your God damn business."

"Then why did he feel the need to tell me all about you two?" He looked a little startled at that. "Tell me, Daryl, how many times has Merle abandoned you before? Huh?"

Daryl was smoldering down at me. He knew Merle must have told me about all the times he left his brother alone back before the world went to shit. I figured Merle told me just about everything about the two of them. His look was dangerous as he tried to shut me up with his squinted glare. His breath blew back the loose strands of hair that hung in my face. I felt my cheeks flush, but I didn't waver from his look until Merle opened his fucking mouth again.

"And where the hell is your brother?" Merle shouted from behind Daryl. He knew what he was doing by saying this. I told him about my younger sibling back when he was pitying himself over his own. My brother was a touchy subject and Merle knew that.

Everyone around us must've sensed the mistake Merle made and the tension that was being added to the area by the second. Glenn and Maggie had stopped putting in their two cents over top of our yelling and for a brief time everyone was silent.

Daryl noticed my fists clench at my sides and my twitch forward towards Merle to knock his lights out. He was too fast to let me by him, though. He immediately squared his shoulders around to block me from Merle completely. Rick had moved to Merle's side in a second to keep him under control if need be. Everyone else stood at attention, waiting for the calm before the storm to end.

"Take it back," I warned Merle through clenched teeth.

Merle laughed harshly from behind Daryl's shoulder before saying, "Or else what? What are you gonna do to me? Huh? You gonna leave me for dead just like you left your little bro?"

My vision was nothing but a sheet of red. My blood boiled over with the rage I felt, something that I thought the Governor had beat out of me. But my spirit and temper were there still, like they had never left.

I wanted nothing more than to rip Merle apart for using something like this against me. I lunged upward and towards Merle in an attempt to reach him from over Daryl. It was a lame attempt I realized after I was caught around the waist by his muscular arm. It's a shame I didn't even get to put a scratch on Merle before he started hauling me away.

The others exploded into chaos that was set off by my lash out. Maggie had her gun out and was shouting at us to keep it down. Michonne stood by with her sword out, the only silent member of the party, and Rick was yelling as he helped Glenn push back Merle who was shouting at me and taking slow forceful steps in my direction, which only made me go even crazier.

Daryl held me off the ground still as I continued to thrash around in his hold in a hopeless effort to get free. "Calm the fuck down," Daryl growled at me over the other shouts and tossed me roughly on my ass.

I ignored the pain that shot through my already damaged body as I hit the dirt hard. But I shot straight back up on my feet, getting right in his face, even though he looked down at me in an intimidating way. "He doesn't give a fuck about you, you know." I used one hand to shove his chest, which didn't affect him at all, while I was trying to ignore Merle's continuous cursing. "He was comfortable in a position at Woodbury where he was living the fucking life. He knew what kind of man the Governor was and yet he listened to everything he was told to do. Merle killed innocent people for that man instead of going out to be with his sibling. Would you have done that?"

"Why don't you shut the hell up?" His voice roared over me in a raspy yell.

My vision blurred with my anger and the beginning of tears that I prayed wouldn't come. "I would've gone to the ends of the earth to find family. But your shitty brother didn't even care enough to look for you for more than a day when you got separated. He found a better offer at Woodbury and his loyalty to the Governor became more important than you."

"You couldn't save your brother, sweetheart!" Merle called out from where Glenn and Rick still restrained him, but my eyes didn't waver from Daryl's cold blue ones. His eyes bore into mine and I could feel the heat from his body washing over me in a wave of frustration. "I saved my little brother. You can't say the same for yours," Merle continued on like this for a while. His continuing taunts only riled me up more, but still I stayed silent. Only the deep breathing of Daryl echoed in my ears as we both tried not to attack each other, the tension in the small space that was between us was holding still.

Merle ruthlessly yelled about my brother and his death over and over again. My heart sunk with each beat. He was right about me. I was not able to save my brother. I couldn't protect him when he needed me. The Walkers took him right from my hands...

I felt like I was at a breaking point when Daryl finally broke his eyes from mine and spun around on Merle. I was shocked beyond belief when he started to yell at him instead of me. "Merle, shut the fuck up! Stop being an asshole for two seconds. You know you haven't any room to judge someone for failing their sibling."

Something dark passed in Merle's eyes. "You think I've failed you? You defending her now, little brother?"

"I ain't defending nobody. I'm trying to vouch for you to stay with us and you're making it real fucking hard."

"Everyone calm down! Now!" Rick glowered at us all and his simple command put a stop to the upheaval.

"He's not coming with us," Glenn insisted more calmly this time, thankfully bringing the argument back around to Merle's fate and no longer on my brother.

I rocked back on my heels, catching my breath after my screaming match with the eldest Dixon. My heart still hammered in my chest as I looked over at Daryl who was taking small strides back and forth, his accusing stare on Merle.

"You let the samari go but not me?" Merle pointed out, motioning to Michonne, who held herself higher and pointed her sword out at him.

I watched Rick yanked the sword from her hands for the second time as they exchanged vicious looks. "She is not in a state to be on her own. We patch her up then she is gone," Rick finalized. His gaze was cold. "She," he said pointing at me, "will be here until we don't need her to fight the Governor anymore."

Merle rolled his eyes. "I know more than that bitch can tell you. I've got the training to fight too."

"Why don't ya shut up?" Daryl yelled in Merle's face again.

This time Merle squared around towards Daryl, ready to put his younger brother in his place. "Shut up yourself! Bunch of pussies you –"

He was cut off by the crack of Rick's gun against his head, knocking him out cold.

Everyone looked down at Merle's limp body in silence. I wasn't going to be the one to say it, but thank-fucking-God Rick shut him up.

Daryl took a few more dangerous heavy breaths as he looked from Rick to Merle again and again. I could tell he wanted to side with his brother, but he was grateful for Rick's timing too.

After everyone had calmed down the group migrated towards the road. Rick, Daryl, Maggie, and Glenn stood off to the side to discuss what was to be done with Merle. Michonne and I were left to stand by the car while Merle was gaining conscience back in the woods still.

I watched the group as they discussed Merle. I only picked up a few things here and there. "Look, the Governor is probably on the way to the prison right now," Daryl said, holding the strap of his crossbow across his shoulder. "Merle knows how he thinks, and we could use the muscle."

Rick must have told him how I knew the Governor well enough too because Daryl glared at me, but I pretended not to notice. I might not have been the Governor's go to guy like Merle, but I saw enough of him. Not to mention everything I had learned about Woodbury prior to my capture. I had the place mentally mapped out with the faces of every resident memorized.

Michonne grunted as she leaned up against the side of the car. The deep gash in her leg was looking worse by the minute, not to mention her other bruises and sores. I knew she went after the Governor back during the rescue mission for Maggie and Glenn. When I first saw her I knew she had a thirst for the Governor's blood, just like me.

"You look like shit," I observed aloud, hoping to stir her up.

She took her time studying me before she answered. "You should see the other guy," she responded with a slight hint of a smile playing at her lips.

I let out a small laugh, something I never thought I would've been able to do again. I sat back on the hood of the car and angled my head towards her. "I think I did see the other guy." I remembered the Governor in the arena waiting for Merle to kill Daryl. The Governor had an eyepatch on that was definitely not there the last time I saw him. "You take his eye out?" I asked for confirmation.

Her face was back to its normal vacant look. "Yeah," she answered, staring at the group still deep in discussion.

I watched them too, infuriatingly unable to make out anything important in their conversation. "Good. That son of a bitch needed a good ass-whooping."

I felt her gaze fall back onto me, but I didn't return it this time. Rick was following Daryl back towards the car.

"We'll fend for ourselves," Daryl yelled back over his shoulder at the others that trailed after him. "It was always Merle and I before this."

Rick put a hand on Daryl's shoulder to stop him momentarily. "You don't have to do this."

Daryl shook his head. "Don't ask me to leave him. I already did that once."

I had heard that story from Merle enough. He always told me how his brother left with the group of people that had abandoned him. Left him chained to the roof in the middle of the city, he always said. Daryl had ditched him.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, watching Daryl pack up a bag to take with him. I felt a twinge of sadness to see him go, even if he did hate my guts. I tried my best to forget the look he gave me when he first found me in Woodbury. There was something about him that intrigued me. When he looked at me I felt like he was reading every thought in my mind. Sure he was a Dixon, but still, my heart sank to see the man who understood me go away. It sank even more when I watched him leave with his snarling asshole of an older brother, arm in arm with each other.

**

Tags:

@daryldixonandfrogs

#daryl dixon #twd daryl #daryl dixon fanfiction #twd #twd fanfiction #the walking dead #the walking dead fanfiction #the walking dead imagine #daryl x reader #daryl x oc #norman reedus #daryl dixon imagine #norman reedus daryl #reader x daryl #daryl dixon x reader #daryl dixon fan fic #the walking dead daryl #the walking dead daryl dixon #the walking dead norman reedus #the walking dead fan fic #daryl dixon x oc

[cooliogirl101]

Oooh this new snippet is just amazing. Would love to see more of that! Would the twins fixate on Hisana as their saviour? Or would they be more wary, waiting-for-the-other-shoe-to-drop?

The latter-- it’s pretty tense at first because Sayuri can’t understand why she’s adopted them or what she wants from them (it’s been so long since ‘genuine human kindness’ was an answer that she’s forgotten it’s an option), Sousuke keeps testing his limits to see what he can get away with, the twins (especially Sayuri) make Kaori deeply uneasy so she avoids them as much as possible, Kazuki wants to get rid of them (partly because of Kaori, partly because of the drain on their resources), and Mitsuo’s technically on Hisana’s side but he’s actually pretty ambivalent about the whole thing (he’s no sensor but his instincts tell him the twins are more dangerous than he’s comfortable with). Oh, and there’s an infant in the household too (decided to age Rukia back in this verse to make things fit better).

It’s been a month, Sayuri thinks as she watches Yukimura-- Hisana, as she’d insisted they call her-- grind up some kind of herbal paste. A month since Matsushita had an unfortunate ‘accident’ and the older girl had taken them into their home, a month of kind words, three meals a day, warm baths, and getting tucked into bed every night. A month, and Sayuri still can’t figure her out. 

It makes no sense. Why take in two strangers, two strangers she had no reason to trust, when she had nothing to gain from it? Granted, she’s fairly well-off by Rukongai standards-- but in the Rukongai, ‘well-off’ was synonymous for ‘getting by’; she was by no means wealthy. And based on the reactions of the rest of her family, they don’t understand it either. Even Hisana’s own emotions were rather conflicted, especially during the first week or so, so she must have had her doubts-- and yet.

And yet. 

“There! That should do it!” Hisana says, setting down her pestle and wiping at her forehead. She catches Sayuri’s eye and gives her a quick smile (that was another thing, she was always smiling-- didn’t she find it tiring?). 

“Dinner should be just about ready by now. Ready to head on over?” She asks brightly. “Rabbit stew today; I’m pretty excited, it’s a new recipe.”

Sayuri nods, standing up and following Hisana down to where an...interesting smell is wafting from the kitchen. She grimaces internally; apparently it’s one of Hisana’s ‘creative’ days.

Sousuke is already there, sitting across the table from Mitsuo. As she takes the seat next to Sousuke, she notes that, once again, no one is talking, and Kaori and Kazuki are doing their best to avoid looking at either of them. 

Hisana seems to notice too because her expression falls for the briefest second before she forces a smile on her face. 

“Here, eat up!” She says cheerfully, scooping another generous portion onto Sayuri’s plate before moving on to Sousuke. “I’m a little unsure about this dish because I’ve never used these herbs before, but--”

“You should be,” Sousuke mutters under his breath as he samples a bite. “I mean, what is this?”

At that, the entire room falls dead silent. Out of the corner of her eye, Sayuri can see Mitsuo stiffen. 

“Excuse me?” Hisana asks after a pause. Sayuri has to admire her poise; grown men have faltered under that tone before.

“No offense, but you’re not much of a cook, are you?” Sousuke asks baldly, looking her in the eye. As if on cue, Rukia begins to cry and Sousuke jerks his thumb over at her. “See, even the baby knows it. I thought when you took us in, you were actually going to try, but I guess not.”

“Now listen here, you ungrateful brat,” Kazuki interrupts, standing up abruptly. 

“Kazuki,” Hisana says softly. He ignores her. 

“The only reason Hisana is trying out new recipes every night is for your sake! Because she’s a kind person too good for the likes of you or your sister, and when she heard that you were stuck eating the same disgusting, weevil-filled gruel for weeks on end, she made it her personal goal to change that! And if you can’t appreciate her efforts, you can go right back to that stinking hellhole you came from, you--”

“You would like that, wouldn’t you?” Sousuke asks softly. “Go on, say it. You don’t want me or Sayuri here, you never did. I don’t mind--honesty’s a big deal in this household, or so I was told. While we’re on the subject of honesty though, I have to ask, why take us in in the first place?” He turns to address Hisana, who’s looking at him with an unreadable expression on her face. “The only thing we’re good at is killing, but you don’t seem to want us to do that. Is this some kind of fantasy of yours? You want to take in the broken toys and fix them until they’re good as new? Or is it the baby? Is it not enough for you?” He continues cruelly.

“Sousuke,” Sayuri interjects for the first time. She knows what he’s doing, knows he’s only pushing so hard to get Hisana to lose control, to reveal her true colors, but--

“If that’s the case, I don’t blame you-- it’s only been a month and I’m already bored by it. Is your own little sister so disappointing that you had to take in two random kids to fill the void?”

“You little--!” Kazuki roars, stepping forward.

“Kazuki!” Hisana cuts him off sharply. 

“No! For god’s sake Hisana, if you think I’m going to let him speak to you that way--”

“Sayuri, Sousuke, please head up to your room,” she says, expression still eerily unreadable. Sayuri can’t get a good grasp of her spiritual energy either, her emotions jumping from one to the next so quickly it all merged into a mess of white noise. “I need to have a word with my brother.”

Sayuri glances at Sousuke and by unspoken agreement, they hurry to do as she says-- which means, they head out in the direction of their room then double back to eavesdrop. 

“-- I know you have your reservations, Kazuki, but--” 

“Reservations? Reservations? I passed that point weeks ago, Hisana! Have you seen the way they look at you, at Rukia, at all of us? There’s not a minute that goes by where they aren’t calculating the most efficient way to kill us all, mark my words--”

“Wasn’t there a point in your life where you did that as well?” Hisana asks quietly. “I never held that against you.”

“That’s different.” Kaori’s voice. “What we did, it was different. Those two...when I look into their eyes--” A shaky breath. “We weren’t monsters, Hisana.”

“They aren’t monsters, they’re kids.” For the first time, Hisana loses some of her unshakable composure. “Kids, Kaori. Children who’ve gone through what no person should ever have to go through-- is it any wonder they lash out? And...and it doesn’t matter what their past is like, how many people they’ve been forced to kill-- every child deserves to be protected, to have a home, and most importantly, to be loved. I can offer them all of those things, I know I can.”

“I believe you,” Mitsuo speaks up. “That was never in question; you have the greatest capacity to love out of anyone I’ve ever known. But what about you?”

“What about me?” She asks, confused. 

“You’re a child too. Doesn’t that merit some consideration?” He asks, voice gentle. “I’ve seen how stressed you’ve become these past few years and recent matters haven’t helped. It shouldn’t be up to you to take care of others, Hisana.” 

“If that’s your concern, Mitsuo, you needn’t worry about me,” she answers. “I got my chance to be a child a long time ago. Now it’s my turn to help others.” She pauses. “Honest question, though-- was my stew really that bad?”

“It was...pretty bad,” Kazuki admits after a while. 

“Ugh. Well, that’s the last time I listen to old Watanabe’s wife for cooking advice-- should’ve known better, the woman thinks durian smells good,” she grumbles, before pausing. “Promise me you’ll try with them? There’s no need to make that face, Kazuki.”

“Very well. Fine. No guarantees I’ll end up liking them though.” 

“I suppose that’s fair,” Hisana laughs. Sayuri’s eyes widen as she senses her reiatsu approaching and hastily signals Sousuke.

Not hastily enough though, she thinks as the door opens.

“I believe I told the two of you to go to your room?” Hisana says pointedly. 

“We did. You never told us to stay there,” Sousuke replies. Sayuri has to stop herself from slapping her forehead. 

“Cheeky,” Hisana says, raising an eyebrow at him. “I suppose that one’s on me though, for not being more specific. Now that you’re here however, you might as well come in and finish your meal.”

Sousuke opens his mouth.

“Oh, and Sousuke? Speak to me the same way you did earlier and you’ll be eating this stew so often you’ll be tasting it in your dreams,” she says pleasantly. “Enjoy your dinner.”

Sayuri coughs, covering her mouth with one hand. 

“And you, don’t look so amused. Kazuki’s right, you two need to start pulling your weight around here. Starting tomorrow, I’ll be needing a new assistant to help me make pain-relieving salves. There’s a lot of old ladies around here and most of them have some form of arthritis, so I’ll be keeping you busy.”

Sayuri swallows. She thinks of the drawing she keeps hidden under her bed, of a girl with short, messy hair that was never properly brushed, who developed bad posture from lugging around biology textbooks all the time. 

Once, a very long time ago, she’d wanted to become a doctor. 

“Sayuri? You alright?” Hisana asks, looking at her in concern.

“Yeah,” she says, slightly shakily. “Yeah, I’m fine.” 

For once, it doesn’t feel quite so much like a lie. 

#ariekka

[maggiemaybe160]

Listen To Me

The full 6 Chapter fic is on Ao3

The Darkness looked down as she took her brother’s hand. “Dean,” she glanced up at him, “you gave me what I needed most. I want to do the same for you.” Her words were haunting, but Dean only had enough time to see the slight smile flicker on her face before she and Chuck were gone.

Dean looked around. Nothing else had changed. He was no longer a bomb. There was no one else in this strange garden. There was nothing out of place. The two gods were back to being absent, back to their void.

Dean thought about the words. What I needed most . He didn’t know what he needed other than returning to his brother and his angel and revealing that he had succeeded without having to blow himself up. He had survived and been diffused. He needed a stiff drink.

He left the garden and remembered that he had been teleported there. Baby wasn’t waiting right outside, parked at a curb. There was no curb. There was no parking lot. There was just miles of forest and fields. What kind of dumbass location was this for an indoor garden?

The light was back to normal. With the warring gods gone, the Sun was no longer dying in a spectacular show of light. The night sky was a cold blanket now. It looked as if nothing had ever threatened to kill this solar system. It all seemed so normal.

He pulled out his phone to try to get a GPS signal or try to call Cas or Sam but his half battery phone was getting no service. Dean swore and put his phone in his pocket, walking toward a gap in the trees. He had to get somewhere decent at some point.

After trampling through some more trees, Dean pulled out his phone and checked the signal. Still not a single bar, Dean looked away from his phone.

“Come on. Where the hell am I?”

“Hello?” Dean heard a voice in the not so far distance. It wasn’t just any voice. It was the voice of John Winchester. But, it couldn’t be. He had died nine years ago.

Dean followed the calls and saw him. He looked the same as he had the day he died and the day he’d gone to Heaven. Dean couldn’t tell if he was happy or sad to see him. He turned and saw Dean. His face hardened.

“Dad?” Dean said aloud, his disbelief clear in his voice. John only stared. He looked ready to fight but without any weapons. His eyes darted to the smartphone in Dean’s hand and back up to his face. Dean pocketed the phone.

“I, uh,” Dean faltered. “Are you really here?” Dean made no move toward his father. He felt as if his feet were planted to the spot.

“Dean?” John asked. “Is that really you, son?”

“Yeah, dad, it’s me.”

“You look different,” John’s unease showed on his face. “Older.”

“It’s only been nine years since you died,” Dean answered. They were mentally circling each other. He itched to test whether or not this was really his father.

“Nine years,” John breathed. It was like Dean had punched him in the gut.

“Look, I know if it’s really you, you’d understand. I have to test you,” Dean said, pulling out a silver knife and pouring holy water over it from a vial he kept in his pocket. “Me first,” Dean said, slicing into his hand. It stung but he was used to it. John watched before rolling up his sleeves and baring his arm to his son. Dean pressed the blade into his dad’s arm and watched for any and all reactions. With the only reaction being a small wince from the initial pain, Dean wiped the blade on his jeans.

“Dean,” John smiled sadly. He patted his son on the shoulder and Dean flinched. John didn’t notice.

“I have to get back. Are you coming?” Dean asked.

“Back? Back where?”

“Back home.” Dean didn’t offer more information. John nodded and followed Dean out of the park. There was a path this time that led to an empty parking lot. Mostly empty. One car remained and Dean knew how to hot wire.

“We’ll ditch this and walk the rest of the way when we get close enough,” Dean said as he sparked the wires.

“You lost the Impala?” John asked, making Dean’s stomach flip.

“No, she’s at home.” Dean clenched his jaw as he stepped on the gas.

The car was silent as Dean found his way to the freeway going toward Lebanon, Kansas. John seemed to be taking in the world again, staring out the window and making quick glances to look at his oldest son.

“I was dead, then?” John asked quietly.

“You don’t remember Hell or Heaven?” Dean responded.

“I… No.” John shook his head and ran a hand over his tired face.

“Well, here’s a recap,” Dean smiled a humorless smile. “You went to Hell after you saved me and told me to kill my brother. A gate to Hell was opened and you helped us kill old yellow eyes. You were sent upstairs. I took a trip to Hell myself. Sam did, too. We got better. Now you’re back.”

“You both went to Hell?” John seemed legitimately surprised.

“Not at the same time, but yeah,” Dean nodded.

“Where is your brother?”

“He should be back at home right now thinking I’m dead.” Dean didn’t bother with specifics. It would mean nothing to this man.

“I am glad to see you, Dean,” John said quietly.

“Yeah? Me too,” Dean lied with a small smile to match his father’s.

“It’s just a little strange being back after so long,” John shook his head, looking outside again. “Like so much has happened without me.” Dean didn’t answer.

“I need to call Sam,” Dean said after a few full minutes of silence. He pulled out his phone and tapped the screen. It started ringing and Dean waited. No answer. He tried three different numbers. There were no answers. He pocketed his phone again.

Dean pulled over into a ditch. There was about a mile’s walk back to the bunker from here. The sun was already up, lighting the way to the bunker. John followed Dean, trying to spot a house or motel in any direction but there was neither.

Finally, they came across a door set into a hill. John watched Dean unlock it and stepped inside. John looked around. It was the first time Dean had ever seen the man impressed.

“You live here?” John asked.

“Yeah, when we’re not on the road. It’s an old Men of Letters bunker.” Dean started down the stairs with John on his heels.

“Men of Letters? Dean, you know better. They’re a myth.” There was the disappointment that Dean was oh so used to hearing in his father’s voice.

“Not so much,” Dean countered with a tired sigh as they reached the bottom of the staircase.

Both stopped dead at the smear of blood on the floor.

“That’s blood,” John said dumbly.

“Yeah, that’s blood,” Dean agreed, worry seeping into his voice as he took out his gun and flipped the safety off. He took a few trained steps forward, motioning for his dad to stay where he was. “Sammy? Cas?”

No one answered.

Dean kept walking, searching along the drips and smears of blood for answers. He paused, his stomach flipping. On the wall between the entrance and library was a sigil that explained Cas missing. The sigil that sent angels back to Heaven. Dean hated to see it in his home that he shared with his angel. It meant battle and war. It wasn’t something Dean had expected.

He walked back to the war room table and handed John the gun that he kept under the table. He made a signal with his hand that told his father he was going to search the bunker. John nodded and watched Dean disappear into the hallway.

Dean heard the bunker door shut and careful steps enter. “Hands in the air! On your knees” John barked.

“Who are you and where is Sam?” Dean heard Cas say. He sounded exhausted. He turned and found his dad with his gun pointed at Castiel’s head.

“Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa!” Dean yelled, stepping between the gun and his angel. “It’s okay!” He lowered John’s gun for him. “It’s okay. He’s a friend.”

John watched the eyes of the friend fill with relief and obvious affection as they fell on Dean. Dean’s eyes did the same. The friend opened his arms at the same time as Dean, the two men hugging each other fiercely.

“Dean!”

“Cas,” Dean answered at the same time. “Cas, it’s okay.”

John watched and tried to swallow his distaste. Maybe it wasn’t what it looked like. His son was in the arms of another man. They couldn’t let go of each other as they whispered each other’s names, relief apparent on both ends.

“Dean,” Cas said as he broke the hug, “you’re alive?” They stared at each other, the entire room and world nonexistent during their reunion.

“Yeah,” Dean smiled a little. He looked relaxed even as his friend looked so intense he was shaking.

“What about the bomb? The Darkness? What happened?” Cas demanded, his anxieties and love plain in his voice. John tried not to flinch.

“I’ll tell you everything,” Dean promised. John noticed the lingering hand hold before Dean finally dropped it. “Where is Sam?”

“He’s not here?” Without Dean’s hand, Cas was suddenly breathless. Dean searched his face, disbelief making him pale.

“Are you a hunter?” John asked as Cas turned away from Dean.

“No, I’m an-”

“Angel,” Dean finished for him.

“Come again,” John glared at his son.

“An angel,” Dean said again. “You know. Capital A, wings, harp.”

“I don’t have a harp,” Cas corrected quickly. Dean gave an uneasy smile.

“This is Castiel,” Dean said. The name in the Dean’s mouth sounded more like a love letter than the name of a monster. Cas had his brows furrowed, his face guarded, as he stared at John. His eyes switched to Dean as he turned, almost as if they were fine tuned to each other’s every movement.

“Cas, this is John,” Dean said, his lips pressing together. “Winchester.” Cas stared at his hunter in confusion and disbelief and maybe a hint of anger.

“Your father,” Cas looked away from Dean, his eyes on the floor in front of John. He couldn’t look at him. He looked everywhere but at John.

“So wait. Where is Sam? He’s not answering his phone. There’s blood on the floor.” John didn’t exist anymore. It was all Dean and Cas, their bodies turned toward each other and their eyes belonged solely to the other.

“I don’t know,” Cas said. “We came back here. There was a woman waiting for us.” He turned briefly, looking at the blood but his eyes looked as if he was replaying the scene. Could angels do that? “She blasted me away. I don’t know who she was. I don’t know what happened to Sam.” The defeat in his voice caused Dean to almost reach out but he stopped himself. Their eyes locked for a fraction of a second before Cas looked away.

“I’m sorry. What?” John’s face was a mixture of confusion and disappointment.

“The bunker’s empty,” Dean ignored his father, still looking at Cas. “That means they left here. You said a woman. So not an angel. Not a demon? Human?” Dean had recaptured his angel. They were standing close, but purposefully not touching.

“She was human,” Cas said seriously. His eyes were trained on Dean intensely, but not in the way that said he was this intense all the time. It was a passion filled gaze that spoke of an unspoken intensity between just them.

“When did this go down?” Dean asked, breaking away and sitting down at the desk.

“It was two twelve a.m.”

Dean opened the laptop and started typing.

“Is that a computer?” John asked. Dean ignored him still.

“Yes,” Cas answered despite John’s obvious discomfort. “I don’t trust them.”

“Got something,” Dean said. Cas and John both stepped forward to look. “An SUV ran a red light a few blocks from here at two twenty-one a.m."

“Do you think it’s them?” Cas asked.

“Worth a shot,” Dean answered, looking up at his angel.

@blueeyesandpie @telefuckies @royalrowena @ain-t-bovvered @iamcharliebradburylevelperfect @adventurous-blob @deanwinchesterswitch @righteouscomeuppancejogstheliver @ultra-trash @qenericqueer @castibella-shipper-of-the-lord @k-lewis @thekingofselfloathing @skittles-rainbow-cat @awkward-penguin-in-a-trenchcoat  @spn-thot @misha-moose-dean-burger-lover @destiel-honeypie @destielhoneybee

#supernatural fic #spn fic #angst fic #destiel fic #ao3 fic #dean winchester #cas #castiel #dean x castiel #destiel #12x01 #season 12 episode 1 #anti john winchester fic #maggiemaybe160