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pwarkluv · 3 years

Text

❝ idk you yet ❞ - p.js

park jisung x reader | angsty, fluff | 1.6k words

WARNINGS | TW: mentions blood, abuse, drug and alcohol abuse, smoking, lowercase au, non-idol au, high school au, badboy!jisung, mature language/cursing, reader is like an angel sent from heaven for him, jisungie just in need of love :(

SUMMARY | being an outcast has him wondering if he’ll ever be happy. cue you, the new girl, stumbling into his life (literally).

AUTHOR’S NOTE | inspired by the song “idk you yet” by alexander23! also AHHH this is my 100 followers special fic :) THANK U LOVES FOR 100 IM SO SHOCKED CJSBFKEJD <33 the writing is a little crappy because i’m currently on my period and my patience for sitting down and writing this went down halfway through lol but I LOVE YOU SO MUCH, ENJOY THIS JISUNG FIC BC JISUNG MY BABIE AND SO ARE YOU GUYS!

whenever anybody thinks of park jisung, they think of the chains and dark clothing he wears. they think about the faint smell of smoke and men’s cologne that follows him wherever he goes.

they think of the boy who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks.

but what they don’t think about are bruises on his face he fails to hide whenever he walks into school, the dejected look on his face whenever random people give him disapproving looks, the way his smile slowly faded into a permanent frown wherever he went.

jisung quickly accepted his reputation at school and in their little town, not having enough energy to feel insecure about it like before.

the only group of people that even remotely cared about the boy were his best friends in the whole entire world, nct dream.

they were outcasts just like him, the most “fucked up group of boys” in their town (the people’s words, not theirs).

see, they were your typical bad boy group straight out of your typical fanfic. bad grades, smoking in their free time, getting into fights, always being late to class; not a single person had hope in them.

but behind their scary and intimidating facade, all seven boys were big softies with misunderstood hearts and difficult backgrounds.

people were just too dense to look into it, only judging them based on their looks and personality on the outside.

❝ how can you miss someone you’ve never met ❞

love was a foreign thing to jisung, the only form of love he’s ever felt being from his friends. his parents were… interesting to say the least.

jisung’s father was a hard-core alcoholic, his mother being a major druggie. with no siblings in the house, jisung was usually their main target to push around and beat up.

and so because of this at a young age jisung learned to distance himself from other people and found different ways to release stress.

he started smoking when he was 14, the warm and hazy feeling of the smoke entering his lungs comforting him.

if jisung humored himself enough, maybe smoking could count as his first love. it was always there for him, never leaving him alone even if he wanted to quit.

he relied on it knowing it was the only constant in his life.

now of course the boy has heard of proper love, love like in the movies or shitty romance songs he hears on the radio.

and he won’t lie, there were moments he thought about what it felt like to be in love. but he knew that would never happen, at least not in their small town anyways.

he just wanted to be loved.

jisung would never admit it but sometimes he’d be jealous of the old couples walking down the street in their own world like it was just them two against the universe. he was jealous of the happy kids running around, their mother’s and father’s fondly smiling at their child. he was jealous of all the “normal” kids in his neighborhood.

jisung wanted that, craved that.

but most importantly, the boy wanted love.

❝ cause i need you now but i don’t know you yet ❞

everything hurt.

his head, his body, his mind, his heart; everything was in pain.

jisung walked down the empty streets of their city, a trail of blood following behind him as he accepted his fate. the boy was 99% sure he had a concussion and at the very least had a few broken ribs.

he felt like this was the end, and he was ready.

wandering aimlessly around town, you decided to take a late night walk to familiarize yourself around the area. you had just moved into the city a week ago, spending all seven days trying to help your family unpack and rearrange your cozy new home.

now that you were finally free of the smell of tape and the dust of the boxes, you decided it was best to get to know the place you were living in.

the autumn air seemed to settle at night as you shivered, cursing yourself for not bringing a jacket of some sort. the sight of a convenience store up ahead of you brought you relief as you rummaged through your pockets wondering if you had enough money for ramen.

your steps became excited as you found a couple dollars, fondly thinking about what type of ramen you should buy. you became so lost in your thoughts you didn’t even notice the poor boy who was staggering in front of you, or the trail of blood he left behind.

jisung pushed himself to reach the convenience store a couple feet away from him, in desperate need of supplies to at least try and fix himself.

if it didn’t help in any way then oh well, maybe death was indeed an option.

grinding his teeth though the pain, he did not expect to feel a small body bump into him. had he been at his regular health, jisung would’ve easily been able to keep still but because of how much blood he was losing the boy was knocked down like a bowling pin.

“holy fuck.” jisung cursed the feeling of the concrete floor colliding with his ribs. he didn’t even notice the girl who had bumped into him sitting on the floor dumbfounded, freaking out over his state.

“oh my fucking god.” the girl said, capturing his attention. jisung glared at the stranger, mentally acknowledging the fact she was pretty.

but her being pretty won’t get you anywhere, he scolded himself. she’ll leave you just like everyone else.

“a-are you okay?” she said, eyes glancing at his black eye. jisung rolled his eyes, already annoyed. “does it look like i’m okay?” he replied, his deep voice catching the girl off guard.

“just, fuck off.” jisung said closing his eyes as he laid back down on the floor, knowing he couldn’t force himself to get up anymore. he didn’t even have to open his eyes to know she left, hearing the sound of her footsteps walk away.

the boy sighed as he laid idly on the floor, wondering what sin he committed to lead him to where he is now. not even she wanted to stay, the tears threatening to fall as his thoughts buried him alive.

“why can’t i just die?” jisung said out loud, asking no one but himself.

“because i won’t let you.” a voice replied as jisung forced himself to sit up in confusion. it was the same girl he had bumped into, but this time she had a first aid kit with her. he gave her a lost look despite knowing what she was here to do.

jisung’s mind just couldn’t wrap around the fact that a total stranger would even bother to help him.

“now sit up.” she said softly as she bent down to open the box, the boy slowly followed her instructions. “i’m sorry this might sting.” she said though jisung didn’t mind because she was much prettier up close.

the next ten minutes were you trying to fix his wounds against the shitty chairs outside the convenience store.

jisung didn’t even bother mentioning his broken ribs, not wanting you to freak out. you cleaned up what you could and the boy was beyond grateful for that.

you subconsciously rubbed his back in a comforting way whenever you’d apply alcohol to his open wounds, trying to ease the sting. you held his hand for him to hold and though he was a big boy and had a high pain tolerance, he still gave it a squeeze just to keep your hand there. what the actual fuck is this feeling, jisung asked himself as he watched your determined figure work on him.

it was cold and in order to better work on his wounds, the boy offered to give you his hoodie which strangely had no traces of blood on it. you gladly accepted, the faint smell of blood and his cologne engulfing you up.

the sight of you in something so big and so him made his chest swell in pride.

jisung couldn’t even formulate a sentence as you cursed at the time once you finished patching him up, fleeing the scene before he could say anything with a small smile, his hoodie still on.

❝ and can you find me soon because i’m in my head ❞

the thought of your soft hands on his, your voice, your whole presence; everything about you couldn’t seem to leave the poor boy’s mind. it was now monday, and waiting for his class to start already made him want to go home.

if only i got her name, jisung daydreamed with his head resting on the palm of his hand. the classroom was loud and bright, people occasionally giving him looks but the boy didn’t mind.

“jisungie~ did you hear we have a new kid?” jaemin asked, poking the boy’s cheeks. the boy only gave him a pointed look before sighing.

“hyung i don’t really care.” jisung replied, looking back out the window.

jaemin only gave him an offended look before grumbling a bit. “i don’t know maybe you will.” he muttered under his breath as their teacher walked into the room.

❝ yeah i need you now but i don’t know you yet ❞

their homeroom teacher stood in front of the class, jisung tuning out his voice. the boy once again sighed as his teacher called for their attention, explaining they had a new girl in their class. “now make her feel welcomed,” he said before turning towards the door.

“y/n, please come in.” the teacher said and jisung almost fell out of his seat when he saw you walking through the door with the same smile you gave him a couple days ago.

“hi i’m y/n and i hope we can get along.” you bowed to the class, a familiar hoodie you were wearing catching his attention.

isn’t that mine, jisung thought to himself as he bit back a smile knowing you kept it all along.

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spencersawkward · 3 years

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not to go full fluff central but omg can you write a one shot about matthew hanging out with his kids?? i see him as a girl dad and he would 100% play dress up with them and they would be wrapped around his finger and itd be so sweet it could cause cavities lmao i just want that man to have children so bad

ugh yes i want him to have kids so bad and YES he 100% is a girl dad i definitely agree. this was super interesting to write tbh bc i did it from his perspective but i'm glad i did and i'm glad you asked for it bc we love a saccharine one-shot! also i'm so bad at names for characters i'm sorry lol.

summary: Matthew has a day off with his two daughters!

content warnings: none! literally just fluffy fluff with a side of fluff.

word count: 2.1k

masterlist

when Matthew wakes up to the press of a crayon on his forearm, he nearly startles. his head jerks up to see his daughter, Juniper, trying to draw on him. her hair is neatly braided and the other side of the bed is empty, indicating that his wife has already gotten up.

"good morning, sweetpea." he says to Juniper with a tired smile, wincing when she tries in vain to draw on him. wax on skin doesn't work that way.

"it isn't working, Dad." she pouts. she throws the purple crayon onto the bed and stares at him. she's got dark lashes framing huge, beautiful eyes, and a gap between her front teeth. she pried out the baby tooth a week ago-- seven years old and already determined to take it out herself-- and has been showing it around the house like a trophy.

"maybe we can try with markers after I get up." he suggests. she peers at him with an impatient expression.

"fine." although the word is venomous, she crawls up the bed until she's tucked beneath his arm and he kisses the top of her head. Matthew smiles to himself as he holds her, happy to have the whole day to spend with his kids. he hasn't had a day off in forever.

"should we make breakfast for you and your sister?" he asks cheerfully.

"yes!" she leaps up to stand on the bed, jumps around a little bit on the cushy mattress. "come on!"

"okay, okay," he chuckles, throwing off the covers. "let me brush my teeth first, sweetheart."

"I'm coming with." Juniper is insistent as she follows him. he takes out his toothbrush and toothpaste while she paws through her mother's makeup drawers and skincare. she grabs a bottle of perfume and examines it carefully. "what is this?"

"let's be careful with that." Matthew turns from the mirror, where he can see the rat's nest of hair on his head while he brushes his teeth, and gently puts the glass bottle back on the counter. Juniper crosses her arms.

"what is it?" she repeats. her father finishes up, then lifts her into his arms like she's a sack of potatoes.

"it's your mom's favorite smell." he clarifies. after kissing her little cheek, he walks into the kitchen with Juniper's arms wrapped around his neck. she clings to him like he is everything in the world, and he realizes that this is one of his favorite parts of the day. whenever he holds his daughters, he feels the kind of joy that simply can't be replicated. his heart overflows for them.

"morning, sleepyhead." Y/N looks up from the counter, where she's biting into a piece of toast and talking excitedly to their other child, Autumn. Matthew grins at the sight of her, so beautiful when she's laughing with her daughter.

"morning." he's smitten.

"I have to go in a minute, but I figured you'd be able to handle a day with them?" she comes over to him and kisses his lips, saying the last part softly. Juniper leans her head on her father's chest, staring at her mother with those enormous eyes.

"with these two devils?" Matthew nods to the girls. "of course."

Y/N shakes her head with a laugh and gives each of her daughter's foreheads before grabbing her purse.

"bye, Mama!" Juniper and Autumn say in unison.

"bye, my angels. I love you very much." she smiles warmly, ruffling Autumn's silky curls before touching Matthew's arm tenderly and heading out of the kitchen. he watches her go, waits for the sound of the lock clicking into place, before he looks conspiratorially between the remaining household.

"who wants pancakes?" he smirks. their ensuing squeals are affirmation enough.

...

"Dad, can I show you my ballet tutu?" Autumn surprises Matthew by grabbing onto his leg while he's making pancakes. Juniper is standing on a stool beside him, watching and helping to flip the flapjacks.

"nobody wants to see that, Autumn." Juniper scowls impatiently at her younger sister. Matthew turns to his little one and smiles.

"I would love to see your new tutu, sweetheart." he says. Autumn gives the other girl a triumphant look before running off to her room. when Matthew looks at Juniper, she blushes. "be nicer to your sister, Juni." he says gently.

the little scolded creature crosses her arms over her chest and turns her gaze to the pancakes. she knows she's not supposed to be mean, but sometimes Autumn is just so annoying. Matthew can't even pretend to stay mad for long, however, and offers the spatula to her.

"do you wanna flip it?" he smiles.

"yep!" Juniper quickly slides the utensil under the pancake, her father's hand guiding hers to make sure she doesn't accidentally burn herself. she's a smart girl, but she's inherited his lack of coordination (and his nose). they giggle together at the sound of the batter slapping the pan.

"dad, look!" Autumn tugs on the leg of his pants and he glances down to see her wearing a bright pink tutu over her leggings. his jaw drops open in wonderment, tinged with a smile.

"oh my goodness!" he gasps, hoisting her into his arms and burying his face in her curls. "you look just like a princess!"

she giggles. Matthew turns off the stove for a moment to spin her around in his arms before setting her down again and crouching to look at her. "can we see your dance routine after breakfast?"

Autumn nods shyly. he holds her tiny hand in his and kisses the back of it before standing back up. Juniper waits for him on her stool. they get back to cooking, both girls chatting about anything and everything while their father listens intently.

once they set the plates out on the table, Juniper volunteers to distribute forks and knives, and soon they've got a whole spread of golden brown pancakes, whipped cream, and fruit. they heap their dishes with food. the girls have a tendency to take more than they can actually eat, but that's okay. he loves the look of excitement in their eyes when they drizzle syrup over everything.

"nice job, kiddos." he nods, impressed, like they've made the whole meal themselves. both siblings grin back at him proudly. "let's dig in!"

he's hungry. Matthew cracks a couple jokes while they eat, pokes Autumn's stomach when she gets full halfway through her third pancake, and then both he and Juniper watch her do her ballet routine for them. she spins, twirls, smiles as she finishes the dance by throwing both arms into the air like she's won an Olympic gold medal. in his eyes, she has.

even Juniper is supportive and claps with a smile at her sister's achievement. although she teases and can be a bit too harsh with her younger sibling at times, the truth is that she's proud of her. it's evident in the way they play together in the summer, running around beneath the sun while Matthew and his wife sip on glasses of iced tea.

"brava!" he cheers when she skips back to her seat at the table. "a royal performance!"

"dad, can we have more whipped cream?" Juniper eyes the canister on the table with hungry eyes. he mulls this over for a second, enamored with the fact that she is so clearly his daughter. down to her features and mannerisms, her tendency to crawl onto the couch and watch the scary movies with him that she probably shouldn't be watching at her age. Autumn looks more like her mother, sweet and optimistic. a dreamy expression on her face.

he grabs the canister from the middle of the spread and pops the cap off the top.

"only if you don't tell your mother." he laughs. Juniper shakes her head vehemently like a half promise and opens her mouth as he puts a pile of whipped cream in it. he does it to Autumn next, then himself. they lean back in their chairs, rubbing their bellies with satisfaction.

"yummy." Juniper grins.

"whipped cream is the best topping in the world," Matthew says matter-of-factly, passing down a pearl of knowledge that will stay with them forever. "don't ever let anyone tell you different."

the three of them clean the dishes together, blowing suds all over the room while they listen to Sam Cooke and dance. the house rings with their laughter and the sounds of feet hitting the ground in rhythmic elation, the kitchen their personal concert hall.

if he could only bestow a few life lessons on them, one of them would be the importance of listening to old music.

Matthew wishes that he could spend all his days with them, making breakfast and hearing their crazy ideas. the world is so full and open to them, he sometimes finds himself thinking about how they're going to conquer it. they've got a grittiness to them that they could only get from their mother-- an absolute sureness that stiffens their little spines-- and an imagination that could fill books with stories. he wants to paint for them, do everything for them.

but for today, they head to Autumn's room and play dress-up with the enormous chest of costumes by her bed. should he work on not spoiling her so much? maybe. he doesn't care. she's absolutely adorable when she hauls out princess dresses, doctors' jackets and stethoscopes, other disguises. he thinks she's going to be an actress; she loves to take on different jobs and throw herself into them, walking around the house ordering that her next patient be brought in or for someone to prepare her microscope. her mind is full of ideas.

Juniper pretends to be disinterested in dressing up, but she gives up the act once Autumn hands her a tiara to wear and pours her imaginary tea.

"what flavor is this?" Matthew takes a sip from his miniature cup, fanning his mouth like it's hot. "it's divine."

"it's normal tea, you cuckoo bird." Autumn giggles. she sets the teapot down on the plastic table.

"I'm a cuckoo bird?" he pretends to be offended. "you're a cuckoo bird!"

"no I'm not!" Autumn protests, but Matthew is already wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her into his lap. he tickles her sides.

"you're the cuckoo bird!" he repeats through her fits of laughter. she squeals and kicks with joy until he sets her back on her feet.

"your hair is crazy." Juniper scolds. Matthew sighs and runs a hand through the unruly curls. they always tease him about it, and somehow it never gets old.

"probably because this one messed it up with her claws." he pokes Autumn's side and he suppresses a gleeful smile.

"Dad, you need a tiara, too." Juniper points to the empty spot on his head. "Autumn, get him one."

the younger sister looks like she's going to defy her sister's bossy demand, but decides against it and runs off to grab another bejeweled piece to place on her father's head. it's comical, the way the tiny thing sits.

"thank you, sweetpea." he smiles at his youngest, pinching her cheek before glancing between the two of them seriously. "how do I look?"

"silly." Juniper giggles. she straightens it out on his head and he wrinkles his nose.

"hey! boys can wear tiaras, too," he defends with mock attitude. "now, can I have more tea, please? I finished mine already."

"of course." Autumn stands diplomatically and pours him a new cup while they pretend to snack on baked goods. Matthew tells them about the new movie he's directing, dipping into his storyteller voice and wiggling his fingers with every mention of a spooky plot point. the girls sit at rapt attention, hanging on his every word, despite the fact that he's got a miniature tiara on his head.

they adore him, and every second he's there, they revel in it. they love their mother, too, of course. but days with their dad are just... different. he lets them eat whipped cream by themselves and tells them stories, kisses their foreheads and dances in the kitchen with them. they always have fun together, no matter how dreary the day is. and those feelings won't change as they get older; he's their rock, their security. he always will be.

#mgg fluff #matthew gray gubler #fluff

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bucky-iss-bae · 3 years

Text

The Best Assassin (Bucky Barnes x Reader)

A/N - You guys, two one shots, in two days. This is as good as it gets really. JOKE. I wanna do morreee.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader

Fandom: Marvel (MCU)

Prompts/Summary: Its Movie night in the Avengers compound.

Warnings: Spoilers for John Wick Kinda fluffy, just idiots being idiots.

Word Count: 1300

Masterlist

Walking through the compound with your blanket and pillows meant one thing. Movie nights. Every now and then, the team and their close ones got together, and you were fortunately apart of their close ones since you and Bucky started to date.

It was always fun as you grew up as Sam’s best friend, and then got replaced by Steve and Bucky, to then steal bucky. That’s a joke, well its not, Sam set you and Bucky up, it was great, you and Bucky could tease Sam. And bullying Sam was the best.

“You know, your ass looks amazing in those shorts. Maybe we should skip out on movie night and just go have some fun” Bucky commented from behind you,

Turned your head towards him, he was stood with a cheeky smile on his face, “Ain’t nothing wrong with that sweetheart” He said slapping your ass as he walked past,

You glared at him, and then his peach, running past him and slapping his ass in the process causing him to yelp out and you to giggle as you ran towards the common area.

“Why you…” he grumbled, seconds later you were wrapped up in one of his arms, as he then threw you down on the couch that the two of you would be sharing as he tickled you,

“Oh c’mon guys” Sam said pushing you apart and sitting between the two of you, “Nope, nuh uh, no funny business. We got John Wick on tonight. Keanu Reeves in one of his finest”

“Who the fuck is Keanu Reeves?” Bucky asked sighing and sitting on the other side of Sam, although he was sending daggers into his head as he sat between you both.

“The Matrix” Nat said as she sat down getting comfortable, if anyone saw the way the avengers were sat around right now, no one would believe they were earths greatest defence.

“Ohh, that guy. Okay… okay.”

“You still have no clue, do ya Buck?” Steve asked with raised eyebrows,

“Not gonna lie bud, it all still goes over my head”

“Find that hard to believe when Y/N is constantly making pop culture references. Honestly her and Peter, the bane of my life. Its hell. I seem old compared to her, and we’re the same age” Sam said, you and Peter shared a look, he became your little brother.

“Yeah but… you gotta get with the times man. Get TikTok, maybe follow a few meme pages on Instagram. You’ll catch up in no time”

“Which leads me to say, I ain’t ever seen two pretty best friends, always one of them gonna be ugly” Peter said looking between you and Sam,

“It ain’t me. What the fuck does that even mean? Who’s ugly? Are you on about me and Buck, Bucky and Steve, Me and Y/N?” Sam asked while everyone was settling in,

You just laughed after hearing that on TikTok all day today, you were pretty sure Bucky had also heard it.

“I’m the pretty one” you yelled, “I dibs it. Now move” you said to Sam,

“Yo, I definitely ain’t moving now.”

“It’s just something on TikTok. Don’t worry” Peter said to Sam, “Now I heard the iconic Keanue reeves is on tonight”

“What is this John Wick even about” Bucky grumbled,

“No one spoil it. It’s sad, it’ll make you cry” You told him,

“Hey, no, I thought it was an action film” He said,

“It is… Wait what if it triggers him?” Bruce asked,

“It’s also about assassins. Will it trigger you?”

“Probably if Sam’s sat next to me” Bucky said causing a few to laugh,

“Okay, fine. I’m moving, I don’t want to be on his winter solider side for the hundredth time. Y/N, come on, lets switch”

You grinned at that getting up and switching with Sam, Bucky held his arm out for you to cuddle into, his chest your own personal pillow,

“Ya’ll make me sick” he grumbled, “Fucking sat there reminding my ass of how single I am” Sam grumbled watching the two of you,

You stuck your tongue out at him and he just shook his head,

“Also Morgan wants a child friendly film next time. She’s excited to have a sleepover, sad that she’s not here” Tony said causing Clint to laugh, “Oh, yeah. My kids are the same, they’ll all probably make a plan tonight to worm their way into us watching Moana or Brave or some Disney film”

“Yo, I am down. Let them join us, we’ll have a Disney movie marathon, and I’ll find all the films I can cry at” You said knowing that you’ve tried to put Disney films out there, and if it means the kids join, you won’t complain.

Soon enough someone put the film on and you all sat around watching it, a lot of bickering amongst someone stealing all the popcorn, a lot of tears at the dog scene, it was horrible. It nearly made you cry, although Steve pointed out how he recognised the guy from Game of Thrones. You were impressed, he’s getting there.

After that silence took over, the film being action packed, and revenge driven. You figured, if anyone ever hurt your dog, you would 100% get someone to train you to do exactly what John Wick does.

“Yo, Y/N” Sam said calling you during the film, “If you had to choose, who’s your favourite assassin”

Your lips began to move before you could stop yourself, “John Wick, no cap”

You felt eyes on you as soon as you said that, realising you were currently using the best assassin of his time as a pillow, your jaw dropped at your own answer, wanting to laugh but figured, it may not be wise.

“The fact that you added no cap at the end of it” Peter said fake flinching at it,

“In my defence,”

“Go on sweetheart, in your defence. At this rate you’ll be spending the night on this couch”

A few oohhs erupted around the room making you want to laugh more, “In my defence, I fancied Keanu Reeves when he was in Speed. And no, listen, I forgot okay.”

“You forgot what my profession is? And then continue to talk about how you fancied the man in another film” he asked, you turned your head up looking at him, he tried to look hurt but you knew your man, he had mischief in his eyes,

Someone had paused the film to laugh at the interaction between the two of you, “Got a lot of making up to do huh Y/N” Wanda joked wiggling her eyebrows,

“Although, I do see the similarities between John Wick, and James Barnes, I mean the long hair for starters”

“The Russian assassin part. Although I’m sure the guy had his own red room” Nat said,

“And I’m sure they both have a hair care routine” Peter said pretending to film his own hair,

“Ohh, let’s not forget the killing part” Sam added,

“You think Bucky could do what he does in the second one?” Natasha asked Sam,

“Let’s give him a pencil and send him into a bar”

“I would start sticking up for Bucky saying he defo can, but like it’ll seem like I’m just trying to get on his good side. So let’s just you know, watch the film. And all agree that we all love john wick”

“You don’t make this better for yourself huh?” Sam asked causing you to kick his thigh but giggle at the same time, as someone played the film you looked up to see Bucky staring at you adoringly, you don’t know why, but clearly, he didn’t hate you for the comment. Maybe it was because you see him more as an assassin, and that’s what he always fears, people only see him for that.

“I love you” He whispered only for you to hear,

“I love you too baby” You said before kissing his cheek and laying back down, he wrapped his arm around you tighter as the two of you laid there watching the film.

AN - I wrote this in one sitting because a few days ago I was watching John Wick and mentioned how he’s one of my fave assassins and my sister was like bro Bucky is literally an assassin and I was like damnnn I really be do having a type.

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drethanramslay · 4 years

Text

A funny thing called Fate- Prologue

Pairing: Bryce X MC (Aisha Khurrana)

Word Count: 2.8K words

Series Masterlist

Main Masterlist

Warning: None really, just a little cursing

Author’s note: I had been listening to Strawberries and Cigarettes by Troye Sivan and that is actually the primary spark which led me to come up with this series. Shout out to @mvalentine and @anotherbeingsworld fo letting me bounce my crazy ideas <3

AHHH so it is finally here!! This is my first time writing Bryce so I hope I can do justice to this beautiful man. This starts with Aisha’s (MC) POV and like I said, there will be a time jump. It would be first person when I’m writing in the past and then it will shift to third person when I’m writing the present. I think i should stop my rambling and let’s go!!

Terms you need to know-

-Bhaiya: Brother in hindi

-Beta: Technically it means ‘son’ but in most Indian families its used like a term of endearment too

- AIIMS, Delhi: Stands for All India Institute of Medical Sciences. This is one of the best medical schools in the country and Only 100 people out of 200,000(or more) get in. So it is very cut throat.

10 years ago- Aisha's PoV

(Age: 16)

I am done.

Done with all the drama, done with all the lies, done with all the manipulations and done with all the heartache.

And most of all, I was done with him- the infamous Bryce Lahela.

The boy with the stupid long hair, the stupid signature smirk and the stupid charm. Those amber eyes which reminded you of the sand and sea and those lips on which an everlasting smile played used to be like a breath of fresh air. I always thought that he was so unique, but boy was I wrong.

All boys are the same.

I really thought that jocks like him would be different huh? Can someone just hand me my clown shoes?

But luckily, I don't have to see his face ever again because for once, instead of making a mockery of my existence, life decided to give me something that I really wanted badly.

A chance to leave all of this in my past. A chance to start over again.

My dad had a better business opportunity back in Mumbai. I am an Indian and we lived in Delhi since the time I was born but we shifted to Mauii when I was in the ninth grade because of how demanding dad's job was getting

Bhaiya chose to stay back in Delhi because his engineering college was there and he enjoyed the hostel life way too much. And he had finally managed to get out of our toxic household so I really could not blame him.

So yeah.. that is how I ended up in Maui in the first place.

It was okay in ninth grade. I kept to myself and blended in with the shadows (because hello social anxiety!). But... Tenth grade changed everything.

It was one of the best and worst year of my life and I often wonder if I could ever get over this.

I am definitely sounding like one of those over-dramatic Indian soap operas my mom watches every night.

"Aisha? Are you ready? The car is here beta."

"Yes, Mama. I am coming!! Just packing up some stuff."

Breaking out of my reverie, I stuffed in my phone and other essentials into my carry bag. As I was zipping up my luggage, I yanked open my closet door to see if I left anything behind my eyes landed on the shoebox I had stuffed in the back of my closet.

I gulped and I felt tears well up in my eyes again. A part of me wanted to take it for it had all the trinkets of the good things in my relationship with Bryce but, another part of me knew that if I took it with me, I would never be able to move on and that would completely defeat the purpose of this fresh start I have been looking forward to.

So with a heavy heart, I looked away and shut the door of the closet, picked up my luggage and left.

As the Uber pulled out of the curb I stared out of the window, to look at the beaches I had come to love and hate.

I liked Maui, I really did but all that it was reduced was a place where I was humiliated and belittled.

And it was all his fault.

PRESENT

(Age: 27)

"Oh my god. I'm gonna late!!" Aisha screeched as she saw the time on her phone. She shoved the duvet off her and jumped out of bed. She tried running to the bathroom in her small closet-sized apartment but it just ended up with her stubbing her toe against the coffee table.

"Ow ow ow." She cursed as she hobbled into the washroom and got on with her daily chores. Her hand-eye coordination was already awful and add that she was sleep deprived just made the entire thing worse. Stumbling, tripping, cursing she managed to brush her teeth and hop into the shower. The burst of cold water managed to wake her up as she furiously washed.

Why did I have to move into a room under a busy staircase?! This is why bhaiya says- Do your research. She angrily thought to herself as she wiped herself rigorously and zipped open her suitcase, searching for her semi-formal clothes.

Grabbing a granola bar and her trusty thermos of coffee, she was on her way to Edenbrook.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

As she entered the atrium, she was in complete awe. It looked big and majestic on the outside, with a clever mix of brick walls and the glass facade, making it look welcoming. Sunshine poured through the atrium as the various doctors and nurses worked around her, not giving mind to the clueless intern gawking.

"Hi, I'm Dr Ines Delarosa, a senior resident!! You look lost. Let me guess... the first day of residency?" A short woman in a doctor's coat walked up to her breaking Aisha from her awe, her aura full of happiness, rainbows and unicorns which made Aisha a little vary.

Is it normal to be this happy and energetic?

Aisha nodded hesitantly and the resident smiled a hundred-watt smile. "Great. You are gonna need a photo ID. Follow me, I will get you all set up." Wordlessly Aisha followed Ines, slinging her messenger bag over her shoulder, nervously playing with the strap.

It is going to be fine... Aisha breathed out as she entered a room with a white background and a camera before it. "Just step over here, in front of the camera and smile."

And waste my energy? No thanks.

She schooled her features to be as professional as she could and the flash of the camera went off. Aisha walked over the tangled wires and peeked at the screen. A serious face stared back at her, the lighting doing good to her brown skin. Her nose piercing caught light and her dark mahogany hair was tied up in a neat ponytail.

"Is it okay? Or do I need to retake the photo?"

"No, it is great! I like it. Thank you."

"Well I will just stick this on your ID.... and you are good to go!! I wish I looked that good in my ID." She said and cheerfully and once her eyes fell on the title a smile made its way on her face,

Dr Aisha Khurrana... It is real and it is true.

"My first day as a real doctor." she whistled lowly shaking her head as if she didn't believe it.

"I was in your shoes last year. Believe me, med school was nothing compared to this. Your three years of residency will be the toughest, most amazing year of your life!! But the first year as an intern will be the craziest of all."

As soon as the smile had graced her features, it slipped away and she nodded seriously. "I think I am ready for it. I have been dreaming and slogging my ass so that I could work in Edenbrook. Ever since I learnt that Ethan Ramsey worked here. His research basically pushed me to apply for med school."

Also, the fact that my parents can like shut up about me being worthless.

"That is great. I will just walk you to the locker room so that you can change into scrubs." Ines offered and Aisha gave her a small smile.

"So... Any advice?"

"Make friends..."

And I am out. She thought to herself. She always struggled with making friends and that is partly the reason why she would keep to herself all the time. Sure she did make a few gem of a friends in med school but if she had to choose between mingling with strangers and drowning, you know what she would choose.

"... with your interns, year senior residents, even your patients! Friends will get you through anything. And, uh, try to not annoy the Attendings! You do not want to get on your boss's bad side."

"Noted."

After changing she was just passing through the waiting room so that she could get to the orientation when she heard gasps from the seating area. A woman had collapsed on her seat and the people were crowding around her.

Her instincts kicked in and she ordered. "Give her space. Everybody step back! I'm a doctor."

She hurried over to the woman just as another doctor rushes in. He kneeled at her side and checked her pulse. "Pulse is weak. She's unresponsive." He looked up and his eyes landed on her.

"You Rookie. Get here."

"Right away doctor. Coming!" Aisha hurried over as the doctor lifted the fainted woman on to the nearby gurney.

"What was she coming in for? Did she fill out a form yet?"

"No, she'd just walked in."

The doctor's piercing blue eyes landed on her which made her straighten her back. "If we don't figure out what's wrong with her fast, she's going to die on this table. Rookie, check B.P."

Wrapping the blood pressure cuff around the unconscious woman's arm and she pumped the bulb, peering at the numbers.

"It's plummeting. She's hypotensive. We've gotta get fluids in her."

Aisha's eyes wandered over the woman's form, trying to search for more clues. Her eyes landed on the rapidly forming bruise on her elbow.

"Doctor... Look at this bruise. I think it's a sign that she is a haemophiliac."

The doctor replied in a gruff voice. "You think or you know?"

"I know."

"Good. Also can you see the way her fingertips are turning blue? It is a sign of low oxygen saturation in the blood. Take a closer listen to her lungs. Hurry."

She nodded assertively and slipped the resonator of the stethoscope over the ribs, straining to hear the diminishing whooshing of the lungs which made Aisha gulp in fear.

"Can't hear anything on the left side and the right side is struggling. She is going to suffocate at this rate." She spoke up , her voice struggling to stay calm but as she glanced at the older doctor, he seemed to be as cool as a cucumber.

"Nurse we have got a code blue." His authoritative voice boomed over as the nurses bustled around the gurney.

Taking the bag mask from the nurse, he secured it around the patient's mouth and gently pump air into her lungs.

"What do we do, Doctor? What's happening to her?" She asked as she noticed the reducing breath rate.

He looked up. "Consider all the clues. It's all there. You know this, Rookie."

Aisha closed her eyes and took a deep breath, realigning her focus, delving deep into her mind, analyzing the clues.

Hemophilia... low blood oxygen... no lung expansion on one side...

Her brown eyes snapped open as it struck her. "It's a haemothorax!"

A twinkle of approval flickered in the ocean eyes, which vanished as soon as it came. "Precisely. A blood vessel ruptured and is filling her pleural cavity..."

"... Blocking her lungs from expanding! That's why she can't breathe." Aisha completed the sentence.

Fuck.

"But we can't repair the blood vessel over here."

The older doctor's jaw clenched. "Then we will have to do a emergency thoracotomy to drain the cavity instead. Nurse!"

The nurse hustles around handing her a scalpel and a chest tube, her eyes widening in shock.

She gulped, her nervousness spiking as she sees the doctor lift the shirt of the patient, exposing the side of her rib cage.

"We need a local anaesthetic-"

The doctor interrupted her. "We're out of time and she is already unconscious. Do it now, or the woman's life is on you!!"

She gritted her teeth with determination. I am not loosing a patient on my first day.

She took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself. It is just like anatomy class only... this isn't a cadaver but a real person.

But that statement, instead of calming her, it just caused the scalpel to shake in her hand.

The doctor reaches and encompasses her hand. "Hey... You can do this."

Aisha nods stabilizing herself and focusing solely on the older doctor's voice, before she looked down.

"There you go... Nice and easy."

Incision at the fifth intercostal space... anterior.. to the mid axillary line...

And when she was confident enough, she made the perfect incision, a trickle of red following the path of the scalpel.

"Now the tube."

She took and pushed it into the incision and with a spurt, blood started draining out of the chest cavity resulting in the patient to take a deep breath.

Holy shit I did that. I freaking did that.

In the daze of endorphins, she heard the doctor order her surgery, the nurses wheeling the gurney and the onlookers applauding.

She turned towards the attending, excitement pouring out of her in waves. "Doctor.. that was absolutely amazing!!"

It's was as if a switch flipped and the grumpier and sarcastic facade took place. "You're right. It is pretty amazing you didn't get her killed."

Aisha's jaw dropped.

"Wait, what?"

The doctor rambled off, pointing out her mistakes. "Your examination was slow and superficial. Your scalpel technique, amateur at best."

It took all her might to not scoff.

Excuse me I graduated from AIIMS Delhi, thank you very much.

Swallowing the dying need to go off she spoke in a professional tone. "Amateur? I'm sorry, doctor but it is my first day."

"Well, that is not an excuse you can use because if that patient would have died, the blood would have been on your hands..." He lifted the badge attached to her breast pocket scrutinizing on the surname.

"... Khurrana."

He tossed the id back to her, turned on his heels and walked away, leaving a steaming Aisha in her place.

"What a dick." She muttered under her breath.

"Yeah and I'm totally in love with him." A nurse appeared magically out of thin air near her, causing her to jump in surprise.

The kind eyed nurse just rolled his eyes and placed a hand on her shoulder which had Aisha bristling. "Don't worry about it, Dr Ramsey is like that to everybody."

Aisha's jaw dropped for the second time. "Wait... Dr. Ramsey as in Dr. Ethan Ramsey?!"

Shooting a knowing glance, he spoke up. "I take it, you're a fan?"

"He's only my medical hero and greatest inspiration. I've read all his research!" Aisha rushed off, horror and excitement rushing through her.

Oh my god I managed to piss of my one medical hero.. I'm such a dumbass.

Noticing the horror of her expression he gave a gentle smile. "On the bright side, you'll get plenty more chances to impress him."

She sighed and looked down to see that her scrubs were stained with blood.

First impression is last impression beta, always remember that. Her father's voice resonated in her mind.

"Dammit, I'm here for five minutes and I'm already a mess. I can't show up to orientation like this!"

"Don't sweat it. There are extras in the locker room. Come I will show you the way..."

She walked into the locker room, looking for her assigned locker. There was a crowd of half naked interns and after mumbling a couple of 'excuse me's', and rubbing shoulders (literally) she made it the end of the room.

As she turned she knocked into another woman in nothing but her undergarments.

"Uh...um.. okay then." Aisha stuttered as she felt the back of her neck heating up.

Thanks to my brown skin no one can see me getting flustered.

"What? See something you like?" She asked cheekily in an Indian accent which eased Aisha up a bit.

"Ha, you wish."

"Aren't you cute?" The woman snickered as she reached for her pants.

"That's what people say, so it must be true."

She reached for her full sleeve shirt before looking Aisha's way. "Desi?"

Aisha snorted. "Obviously. And I'm guessing you too."

"Of course. And I'm guessing that you are definitely not wearing those scrubs."

"What? Didn't you hear? Bloody clothes are like the new trend around here."

There was a moment of silence before both of them started laughing.

"It's good to meet someone from home." Aisha spoke as she pulled her scrub shirt off.

"Woah, woah, woah. Don't count on that yet. I need to see if you are gonna get in my way in this competition."

Aisha smirked as she shut her locker. "Can't say I'm surprised. Can't be desi if the sense of competition isn't ingrained in your DNA."

"Oh my god never thought that I would see Jackie's twin." A familiar manly voice wafted over to them.

Wait a second...

"Shut up scalpel jockey, this is our kind of bonding."

"Oh please, don't scare the newbie aw- oh."

Oh.

She was standing right in front of him. Face to face. The playful amber eyes, with flecks of brown hadn't changed. The long shoulder length hair had been cut and styled to be short and messy.

There was no trace of the surfer boy she met in Maui. He was a man through and through but still, the youth in his eyes poured out in waves, reminding her of the sandy beaches.

But right now those amber eyes were wide with shock.

It's not everyday that you meet your ex of ten years in the locker room of your new job.

"Aisha?"

".... Bryce?!"

HEHEHEH AWKWAARRDDD

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aelaer · 3 years

Note

Inspired by the X men ask: instead of Donna, what if Stephen's mutant powers manifest after she drowns? It's definitely writable with movie-only knowledge! (I think Stephen would have some scary strong powers).

This prompt is nearing a year and a half old and is my second to last prompt from 2019 so I wanted to try to get it out of the way as I attempt to do at least one prompt fic a month to clear my inbox of those remaining.

After being stuck on trying to figure this out for so long, I decided to approach it quite differently than I thought I would, and this is my first fic writing from this character’s POV. I made Stephen's age the same as Ben's for ease. I also prove, yet again, that my ability to write short things is very much lacking.

My interest in geography 100% leaks through, and I'm not sorry.

My thanks to nemmy for helping me decide the direction of this story.

Fate Won’t Compromise Fandom: Doctor Strange, MCU Genre: Gen, canon divergence Chars: The Ancient One, Stephen Strange, Donna Strange Word count: 5k Warnings: Minor canonical character death, near drowning

In the summer of 1995, The Ancient One felt a ripple in the fabric of reality.

Such ripples, while uncommon, were not unknown to her in her many centuries serving as Sorcerer Supreme. They happened as major events within their reality shifted from the threads found in similar realities across the multiverse. While change was inevitable between realities, commonalities often brought them back to follow the same paths, to hit the same major events, to survive the same catastrophes. Reality and time were excellent in creating situations that balanced the flow again and brought them back to their natural parallels across the majority of universes.

But sometimes, sometimes the fabric of reality and time was disturbed. It happened with a change, unexpected in its improbability and big enough that it diverted the parallel lines the majority of the multiverse followed to create a timeline that diverged, crooked and uncertain. If the ripple was small enough, the powers surrounding reality often fixed itself with countermeasures—new actors, new probabilities that helped bring time back to its parallel path. But some ripples, some ripples required intervention.

And this one? Well, this one absolutely shattered reality with its ripple effect.

Hmm. It was time to consult the Eye of Agamotto and see what changed.

— — — — —

Her time with the Eye was long in her search. With such a significant ripple, The Ancient One first looked at the immediate months coming, searching for change in the most important of events for the remainder of the year.

There was nothing different. Interesting. Then this was likely an event that changed the course of the life of an individual, an individual who was very important sometime in the future. She scanned the years following more broadly after that, coming upon the events of the new millennium, both mundane and arcane, that would change the course of Earth's future forever. They all came as expected, one after the other.

It wasn't until her search took her to 2016, the year before her own inevitable passing, that she finally came across the anomaly: Stephen Strange never made it to Kamar-Taj.

The Ancient One pursed her lips; this was not meant to happen. While her sight beyond 2017 remained veiled, her experience and intuition as well as glimpses across the multiverse gave her an insight into the likely path of Stephen Strange. And from what she had seen, he was meant to be the best of them all.

So what had diverted him from the path that was written in the course of time, so much so that its lack of manifestation caused such a ripple in reality? Surely it didn't change her death; she had accepted the inevitably of that decades ago.

(She first discovered her death after the chaos of WWII, where the Masters of the Mystic Arts fought their own war against demonic invasions looking to take advantage of the chaotic time. She looked to prevent such a thing ever occurring again, then found her death. At first she wasn't concerned, and made plans to avoid it, just as she had several times before.

But it was different this time. With the Eye of Agamotto in the past, she was always able to find a route that allowed her to survive and the world to remain intact within a dozen attempts of altering her actions. It took her over a thousand attempts over the next year to realize that, no, no matter what, she was going to die before the fourth month of 2017. She never lived further than that.

And in the course that seemed most sound to her, the most consistent, she was always by the side of the unsure, amateur, but potentially great Stephen Strange.)

The Eye confirmed for her that, yes, she still died in early 2017. However, the manner of death was completely unacceptable, as it led to Dormammu eating their reality. She had not seen that possibility since she stopped trying to find a solution to her death several decades ago.

(She wondered how Stephen Strange managed to defeat him. She did not sense the end of reality after her death, so it was with confidence that she knew he found a solution. What the solution was, however, remained unknown to her. It was most intriguing. He had such potential.)

The Ancient One finally withdrew from the encompassing powers of the Eye and allowed herself a frown. She hoped Stephen Strange was not dead. It would mean finding another like him, and quite soon so she may prevent the terrible future she just saw.

Still, the ripple she felt did but not necessarily mean death; it meant change, for good or ill.

The first thing to do was to check on what was, and what would hopefully remain, her future pupil. She directed the Eye to review the timeline of Stephen Strange, going to the moment just before the ripple in reality occurred.

As she searched for that moment, flashes of memories not belonging to her flipped through her mind's eye: the first was a pair of hands on the wheel of a car, left side, as it turned off the paved road to a bumpy gravel-filled spot of driving, then quickly smoothed out to a road less rough. A large brown sign with yellow, capital letters read "Lewis and Clark State Recreation Area", with a smaller "Nebraska State and Park Commission" underneath. "Weigand - Burbach" was spelt on a separate plank just below the main sign with the same dark brown backdrop and bright yellow lettering. In the backseats was excited chatter from two others, women. Surrounding the road were tall trees of various species, all different colors of green.

Another flash, and she was now watching a small motorboat being backed up into the water from its trailer by a young man—barely a man—into a wide lake. Beyond the water the distant shore was all but flat, with only a small ridge of hills giving the horizon any distinct shape. A shrill voice shouted behind her, "Don't crash it!" and the man in the boat shouted back, "Shut up, Melissa!" Giggles followed, and then a voice came from the soul she watched, a deep baritone that said, "But seriously, if you crash it, my dad will kill you." The young man in the boat retorted, "Fuck you, Stephen!" in return, and Stephen's body shook with soft laughter. The man successfully maneuvered the boat into the water, and a short cheer sounded behind her.

Then another memory, and she was now on the motorboat, far out on the water which shone as bright a blue as the sky above. A young woman—a teenager, as they said in English in the 20th century, now—was doing some sort of sport she was unfamiliar with, letting the motorboat drag her along as she hung on by a rope with a handle at the end. Perhaps this was surfing. The teenager completed a short jump on the waves, and from her point of view, the memory's host shouted, "Nice, Donna!"

Another flash, and she was the one at the end of the rope. She quickly passed through it to the next memory.

Time had passed; it was late afternoon, perhaps an hour or so before sunset. Her host was looking at the boat's controls. A female voice—Melissa—behind them said, "Okay, Aaron's ready to go. Start it up." As the boat motor roared to life, another voice—Donna—said over the noise, "We should get out of the water after this. It'll be dark soon." The soul behind the memories, Stephen, shouted back, "That's why we have navigation lights on this thing!"

The memory shifted again, and all four were on the boat now. The sun was set behind the horizon and the sky was painted a soft yellow before it melted into blue, then black. Stars were already appearing in the sky. Surrounding her were the other three, Aaron and Melissa and Donna, and there was a strong feeling of content within the memory. "We should get back to camp," Donna said, and she heard Stephen sigh and say, "Yeah," in reply. "Your turn, Aaron," he added. Aaron said, "Dude, I'm wiped out. You do it." Stephen retorted in return, "No, you."

Then it shifted again, and she was looking up at the darkening sky when Melissa said, "That boat's going fast." Her point of view changed as Stephen straightened himself, and she saw another motorboat running straight towards them. "Stop!" Stephen shouted as he got to his feet, and a second later, Aaron called out, "Jump!" and Stephen did, hitting the water and diving just as their motorboat was hit and destroyed. He was facing down into the murky, black depths of the lake as suddenly something hit his back, and at that moment some sort of rope or netting caught his leg and its weight started dragging him down. She could feel the alarm running through the young man's head and the Ancient One wondered if she was going to be seeing his death, now. A strange pang of regret went through her at the thought.

But then a sudden glow encompassed Stephen's body, subtle but in the blackness of the water, quite, quite clear. Confusion joined his panic but before any other thoughts came to his head, he was suddenly out of the water and on the shore of the lake. He collapsed the moment he went from liquid to air, falling on his back before turning to his side to cough up water from the lake.

The Ancient One stepped back from Stephen Strange's memories and blinked again back in the normal passage of time. As the green glow of the Time Stone's powers faded from her body, she considered the last memory.

She knew, from all her viewings of the future, that it was about this time that the mutation that came to be known as the X-Gene started popping up in the population. It would eventually have an impact on the future of Earth. But Stephen Strange was not meant to have it—or perhaps, rather, it was never meant to activate. Not if the flow of reality and time considered this an anomaly in the general course of the multiverse.

His appearance within the order of the Masters of the Mystic Arts seemed to lead to the event that prevented Dormammu's entrance into their reality, so he—or someone of his caliber—was necessary to have under her tutelage. And as he was not dead, she needed to see what had to happen to work him again onto a path that was the best for the universe's survival, regardless of this unexpected development in his life.

It was time to consult the Eye once more to determine the right path.

—————

Using the Eye worked outside the flow of time, and so all the Ancient One's endeavours, though seeming to her to take several hours, in reality only took her about twenty minutes since she first felt the ripple. She had passed through various scenarios and glimpsed at various extensions of those scenarios as needed until she had an outcome that had her satisfied with her decisions and, more importantly, made it very, very unlikely that the universe would end to Dormammu in 2017.

(Her own future, strangely enough, grew blurry and uncertain the closer she got to that year, which she found quite intriguing. She would pursue the matter at a later date.)

For now, though, she had a job to do. And so she created a portal that led her to the north shore of the lake, at the beach where the small hills lay. At this point of time it was nearly dark, and so she conjured a lantern—one of the elegant ones that they used to craft in Japan, the ones she preferred—and placed a small, magical light within the illusion. It would reveal its true nature soon enough. Despite the rockiness of this part of the shoreline, her footing was sure as she made her way along the edge of the lake.

In a couple minutes, a voice, expected and now familiar, called out to her. "Hello? Is someone there? I need help!"

In all her experience of using the Eye of Agamotto, the Ancient One had gotten very good at differentiating all the viewed possibilities to the experienced reality. Reality was sharper in every way, and the auras of people's spirits shone brighter without the power of the Time Stone to stifle them. And in the night surrounding them, Stephen Strange's aura shone very, very bright.

Interesting.

When she came close enough for him to see her clearly, his eyes widened as he took her in. She knew her resemblance was considered odd by late twentieth-century standards, but the memory of centuries of lice infestations made hair still undesirable and robes were infinitely more comfortable than jeans. But she was aware of its oddness, and as he stared, the Ancient One took the time to also observe him beyond the fuzziness of the Eye of Agamotto.

The gangly boy sitting in the sand in front of her hardly resembled the arrogant, talented man she had come to know through her past use of the Eye. Just breaking the cusp of manhood, his hair was still fully dark brown, and he wore a sleeveless blue shirt with long swim shorts, all still wet despite the time out of the water. His cheeks were fuller with the last remnant of youth still remaining, and the look in his eyes was wild and unguarded. Filled with fear.

Quite different from what she was used to.

"Who are you?" Stephen Strange whispered.

"A friend," she answered. She placed the lantern on a rock before settling down in the dark sand near him, about five feet away. "I mean you no harm."

He continued to stare at her, then looked at his leg. It was bleeding sluggishly and would need stitches. "Can you please help me? I—I'm not sure how I got here, but there was a boating accident and I—I need to find my friends and my sister. It's on the lake, I swear, I don't know why we can't see it from here but the accident just happened and it can't be that far."

She let him finish before she broke the news. "You are about seven kilometers west from the site of your accident, on the north shore of the lake. I believe you call this part of your country 'South Dakota'."

Stephen's eyes somehow widened even further, then he quickly shook his head. "No, that—that's impossible. That's completely impossible."

"Just as impossible as finding yourself drowning at the bottom of a lake one moment and being on dry land in the next," she said agreeably.

The wide-eyed look seemed it would remain a permanent fixture on his face. "Wha—how—how do you know about that?"

"It is my job to know of such things," said the Ancient One. "It is also how I know that, if you are found so far from the site of the accident, you will draw unwanted attention upon yourself."

Stephen visibly swallowed and looked around them, as if the unwanted attention was already watching. "What—what do you mean?"

The Ancient One offered him a benign smile. "You are not the first to perform the impossible. When figures of authority learn such things exist, they pursue them. And your story would draw their attention. Historically, your country has been known to use extraordinary people as assets when needed. Many kingdoms and governments throughout time have."

A soft wind blew in from the south, causing Stephen to shiver in the oncoming chill of the night. Regardless of his discomfort, his wide eyes narrowed into something more calculating and thoughtful. "Why are you telling me this? What do you get out of it?"

"A future ally, hopefully," she answered truthfully. "I have no interest in taking you from your studies, Stephen Strange—yes, I know who you are," she said, the benign smile coming again as he startled. "Your name is the least I know about you."

He stared at her once more, mouth hanging partially open. As the wind blew through again, he snapped his mouth shut and rubbed his shivering arms. "And why—why should I believe you aren't part of these secret government groups, or part of something that wants to use me? Why should I trust you?"

She kept that slight smile on her face as she answered, "Because I offer my assistance and ask nothing in return. I will guide you to the shoreline just north of the accident, and show you where you may find help. I recommend a forgetful memory between the crash and you reaching shore, which is quite common in times of traumatic events. No one will suspect anything different about you, Mr Strange."

The boy fidgeted at the name, as if not used to it. He really was a young thing, wasn't he? "You can get me there? Do you have a car nearby?"

The Ancient One smiled and lifted her lantern. "Remember what I said, Mr Strange." She let the lantern disintegrate, leaving only the glowing ball of light. Stephen's mouth dropped. "You are not the only person who can do the supposedly impossible. Can you walk unaided?"

Stephen snapped his jaw shut at the question and looked down at his leg. He pressed his lips together, and then with a grunt, he slowly shifted his weight under his legs, most of it on his good leg, before he pushed himself up into a standing position.

She offered another slight smile and held her hand forward to create a portal further east along the lake. "Follow me." The Ancient One did not bother to look at his reaction to the gateway, but had the ball of light follow her through. When she turned, Stephen was limping just through the portal, and after he got through she allowed it to close.

They were on the shore again; to the south in the water, a mile or so away, she could see the distant pinpricks of shiplights at the scene of the accident. Stephen, too, stared in that direction. But she forced his focus elsewhere when she pointed to the northeast, to the pinpricks of light beyond the trees. "Do you believe you can make it to those lit buildings? It is perhaps two hundred meters away. They should have a phone."

He offered a nod. "Yeah. My leg's not so bad."

"Good," she said. "Then I recommend you go that way; it may be some hours before authorities search the shore for you." She looked back at him. "I would not tell anyone of what truly occurred to you; such tales have an unfortunate habit of getting out, no matter how private the story is meant to be."

Stephen frowned at her, and she offered him another one of her benign smiles. "I will come to see you again, after you have had some time to recover. Good luck, Mr Strange." With that, she let the glowing ball beside her fade out, and created a portal into one of the darker rooms of Kamar-Taj and left the young Stephen Strange on the shore of the lake.

——————

Two weeks later, the Ancient One created another portal to the midwestern United States, landing underneath a narrow strip of trees that bordered a small creek that made its way through wide fields of agriculture. The nearest field beside her was corn, and just beyond it was a half-harvested wheat field. The trees bordering the water were a mix of oak and pine, specific species she was not familiar with but that she could broadly identify due to the commonalities found within their relatives in the Eastern Hemisphere. It was just after midday in this place known as Nebraska, and the summer sun was pleasant in this corner of the world, with a soft breeze taking off the edge of the dry heat.

She saw no one at first, but if the sling ring brought her here, that meant Stephen Strange was also nearby. A faint trail followed the bend of the creek and she paused in consideration before her instincts led her to go southwest.

In a few minutes, she came upon him. While her step was soft, the silence of the trail around them should have alerted Stephen to her arrival. But his back remained turned to her as he sat beyond the narrow trail and on the slope that led into the creek bed. His chin was propped on his knees and, since he had not heard her approaching, the Ancient One knew his mind was quite far away.

"Mr Strange," she said in greeting.

The young man violently started out of his daze and nearly lost his seating as he twisted around to stare at her. It seemed to her that he had aged some years in the last two weeks; his eyes were dark and sunken with lack of sleep, and his entire expression appeared drawn and pinched. His lips tightened for a moment, then he said, "It's you again."

"I did say I was going to return," she reminded him. She approached the sloping hill beside the creek and sat down beside him.

From the corner of her eye, she saw his expression tighten again. She remained quiet as he gathered his words. "Did you know?" Stephen asked after several passing seconds of heavy silence.

The Ancient One kept her gaze on the small creek. She knew what he was asking, and she would not play any games pretending otherwise; it wouldn't serve her purpose. "I knew that, by the time I came to you, your sister had died."

The tenseness beside her did not lift; if anything, it grew heavier. "Did you know Donna was going to die?"

An interesting question. She considered her answer; a multitude of answers would lead to an acceptable outcome, but this was reality. "We don't get to choose our time," she started. "In some probabilities, the question of death is split between a thin line that sways from one option to the other depending on the reality. In other instances, death is all but certain." She spared a glance at him; Stephen's grief was now layered with confusion. "I am sorry to say that, in the wide expansion of possibilities, your sister's death was largely unavoidable. All points led to it."

The young man's face contorted in anger. "I don't believe in fate or whatever the hell you're talking about."

"Some may call it fate," she answered, and looked back to the creek. "I call it probability. You may have been told, at some point in your life, that there are random events in life that are unpredictable. This is untrue, at least on a larger scale. Each event of consequence has a set probability in occurring, with the powers balancing reality and time ever trying to keep them as consistent as possible in the grand scheme of the multiverse. Certain people are always born. Certain events always occur. Certain items are always invented. Around people of consequence, events play out so that they may help play the part that they are meant to play."

In the corner of her eye, she saw Stephen run a hand over his face. "Look, lady, like I told you: I don't believe in that bullshit. And if you're trying to tell me that my sister was meant to—" He cut himself off and turned his head away. She saw his knuckles tighten to the point of turning white with the strain.

She slowly exhaled and closed her eyes. She had not spoken with youth who did not know her for who she was in some many years; she could not remember the last time a young person had spoken to her with such disrespect. But she had to keep in mind that Stephen was grieving, and that he was absolutely clueless.

Perhaps if he saw a small glimpse of what she saw, he would understand.

"I would like to show you something, if you would allow it," said the Ancient One as she opened her eyes and looked at Stephen.

His eyes darted to look at her with a side glance, though he did not look at her fully. "Show me what?"

"What my powers allow me to see," she said. His eyes narrowed. "It won't hurt or leave any lasting effects."

She saw the internal struggle, but one thing she knew well of Stephen Strange: his curiosity always got the better of him. And as she expected, he relented and said, "Okay, fine. How do you do that?"

A slight smile appeared on her lips. "Like this," said the Ancient One, and she placed her thumb upon his forehead and connected her third eye to his unused, undeveloped one. She picked from her memory a set of images gained by using the Eye of Agamotto in conjunction with the Cauldron of the Cosmos to explore the realities across the multiverse, the images she picked up some years ago as she looked into the man known as Stephen Strange and what he became in other realities.

And the images she chose were specifically referring to his sister's death. As she let him see various versions of himself (some with slightly different physical features, and a couple further in the past, but so very much Stephen Strange), she said, "The multiverse is a strange thing in its consistency. Donna Strange was not born only to perish at such a young age in every reality, but the probability was stacked against her. And many named Stephen Strange have experienced the grief you feel now. It is not your fault that the universe stacked probability against her survival."

She removed her thumb from his forehead and Stephen collapsed, rolling down a couple feet down the slope before catching himself. Laying on the ground now he panted heavily, trying to gain his breath.

When he finally raised his head, tears were streaming down his face. "It should've been me," he choked out. "She didn't deserve to die! None of those—" He cut himself off and shook his head, then angrily wiped at his face. "I—I don't know what the fuck you were doing—"

"I was using my powers to show you what I have seen," she interrupted, cutting him off for the first time. "After what you managed to achieve at the lake, are my abilities really so hard to come to terms with?"

Stephen shook his head again and pushed himself off the ground so he was standing. The Ancient One remained sitting and kept her expression neutral. "Okay, fine, so you have some crazy-ass powers that—that make no sense. I get it, you did physics-breaking things at the lake, too. What the hell does that have to do with me?"

She offered a benign smile. "Surely you haven't forgotten your unusual journey from the lake to the shore. Or have you been telling yourself that it was all a hallucination?"

By the look on his face, it appeared that that was exactly what he was trying to do. That would do no good.

"Unfortunately for you, your powers aren't just going to go away," the Ancient One said. "Whether they will manifest under physical or emotional stress I do not yet know, but they will return if you do not know how to control them."

"And what, you can teach me how to control them?" Stephen asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Yes," was her simple answer.

Stephen's eyes remained narrow, then he cut off his stare to run a hand through his hair and shake his head. "And what would you want out of me in return?"

"Nothing you are unwilling to give," said the Ancient One. "You can continue your studies as you wish. Go on to become a doctor."

"How did you know—" He paused, cutting himself off, then shook his head. "You know what, never mind. Go on."

She offered her smile again. "All it would require is some of your time to discover the extent of your powers and to learn ways in which you can best control them. Consider it an extracurricular activity, if you would like."

"And what do you get out of it?" he asked.

"The knowledge that those with unusual powers remain hidden from those who would exploit them," is what she answers, but in truth, it was so much more. Still, it was not yet time to tell him that; he was too young. Too green.

Stephen looked down and crossed his arms as he considered her words. His expression was stone, but she knew what he was going to answer. If there was one thing predictable about Stephen Strange, it was his curiosity and his hunger for knowledge. It was his ambition to be the best at whatever he set his mind to, and a new ability suddenly within his hands was one meant to be conquered for him.

He then nodded jerkily, just once. "Okay. Sure. When do we start?"

The Ancient One smiled and stood. "How about now?" She opened a portal to one of her private rooms in Kamar-Taj, where she was rarely disturbed. It would not do to show him everything of the compound immediately, but it would come in due time.

He hesitated. "I need to be home for dinner at six."

"That is quite doable," she answered, and waited.

A couple seconds of hesitation passed, and then Stephen Strange lifted his chin and walked directly into the portal to Kamar-Taj, over two decades earlier than expected. The Ancient One followed him and closed the gateway behind her, leaving behind the quiet creek to flow under the bright green leaves on a sunny Nebraskan summer day.

— — — — —

The big happy moment for me in writing this fic was that the town I chose for Stephen to grow up in and alluded to in another story is pretty close to this lake, so that worked out great. The most disappointing discovery, on the other hand, was that the Google Maps car only got like, the major roads in Nebraska. That does not include annnyyyyy of the roads near the Lewis and Clark State Recreation Area. And their promotional video didn't help in determining the details I wanted.

But then *the best thing* happened and on the camp's location on Google Maps, some beautiful, beautiful person took a photo of the entrance of the campgrounds, which was the exact detail I needed. So I dedicate this fic to Denis F. and their photo. (We're gonna pretend that the road and sign's 100% been like that since at least 1995). As much as I'd like to make an excuse to go to a lakeside attraction for boating fun, I'm sadly not a millionaire and cannot throw away thousands for the sake of fic accuracy. Alas. Once I win the lottery, though, 100% will commit to this. (Also, it's January and freaking freezing in Nebraska right now.)

FYI, Donna was not surfing, but wakeboarding. I just doubt that the Ancient One has bothered to learn all the new sports that popped up in the latter half of the 20th century - especially as one as young as wakeboarding was in 1995.

Hopefully the emotional roller coaster in the last bit worked. I've had conversations that just went all over the place like that before—crazy emotional subject to another crazy subject that just shook you to the point that the emotional subject was put on the back burner for processing—so hopefully people can relate.

#anonymous #stephen strange #the ancient one #doctor strange fanfiction #avengers fanfiction #donna strange #prompt fill #ask #answered #my writing #my fanfiction

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kalimagik · 4 years

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Trouble in Paradise

(Pt. 1)

Tom Holland x reader x Harrison Osterfield

Word Count: ~3k

Warnings: Some Language

A/N: So here is part 1 of my Tom Holland mini series for my 100 followers celebration weekend! I wrote this a while ago and wasn’t too sure about it, but I hope you like it! If you enjoy reading, like, reblog, comment, or even follow! Happy Reading <3<3<3

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Y/N looked at the beautiful ocean that laid before her as she soaked in the sun and the sound of the waves. She loved the smell of the Hawaiian air. She really could not believe that she was in this beautiful place right now. Maybe taking her best friend up on his offer to her to go with his family and some friends on a Hawaiian vacation as a break wasn’t such a bad idea.

“Y/N! Y/N!” Paddy called to her as he ran across the sand, “Come quick! Tom said that he has a surprise for us! But, will you help me find Harrison first?”

Y/N smiled at the young red head, who was about the same age as her little brother, “Of course! What do you think he’s got for us?” She stood up from the sand and reached for the young boy’s hand.

“I don’t know…but, it’s Tom and we’re on vacation, so it should be a good one, right?”

Y/N laughed along as they trekked down the beach to find Y/N’s other best friend, Harrison. They didn’t have to go far, he was in and out of the water with his boogie board, catching the waves that he could.

“HAZ! Come on out! Paddy says that Tom has a surprise for us all!” Y/N called out, hands cupped to her mouth.

As she watched her friend swim towards shore, Y/N’s mind wandered to what Tom’s surprise could possibly be. He had already surprised everyone with this wonderful trip, put together an entire itinerary, and reserved the most beautiful resort house that Y/N had ever seen. A few years prior, she could not have ever imagined going on a trip like this, but after befriending Tom and Harrison during her study abroad in England, life was a whirlwind.

“Here’s your towel, you water monkey,” Y/N giggled as she threw Harrison his towel.

“Thanks, kid!” Harrison beamed.

“Oh, knock it off! I’m literally less than a year younger than you! Don’t give me that!” Since she’d met the two boys, the majority of the jokes were about how she was a year younger than them and couldn’t even drink when she went home after her study abroad year.

Since their house was on the beach, the walk inside was not long at all, but Y/N already missed being on the beach.

“Tom! Why did you make me leave the cute girls I was talking to?” Harry asked as he sat on the couch, grumpily.

“Well guys…I was super excited to share this trip with everyone closest to me…”

Y/N’s heart leapt a little in her chest. As cliché as it is, she had fallen for the curly haired, brown eyed boy over their years of friendship. It was really his fault though. The moment she went back to the U.S. for school, he was checking up on her every day. He would text her good morning (even though he was hours ahead), he would facetime her when she was super stressed about her exams and papers, and he had even surprised her at school a few times. It was as if he was begging for her to fall in love.

Waiting for Tom’s big announcement, Y/N sat down next to Harry while Harrison flopped on the other side.

“…sooo, I decided to convince someone else special to me to join us!”

“Could it be Zendaya joining us?” Y/N hoped.

“Babe, come on out!”

As a girl Y/N had never seen before stepped out of the hallway, Y/N felt herself sink into the couch cushions even more. Even though she had never told Tom about her feelings, she had always hoped that he felt the same way. Hell, when she was drunk at 1 AM U.S.A. time, Tom would still answer her texts and facetimes, she kinda thought that he would’ve figured it out by this point.

Y/N felt Harrison glance over at her, he wasn’t as blind as Tom was.

“Hi everyone,” the girl smiled.

“Oh, hi Jamie!” Paddy exclaimed, breaking the silence.

“Hi Paddy! Hi Sam and Harry,” she said. Her high pitched voice getting higher with each hello. It made Y/N nauseous.

Apparently everyone else had heard of Jamie before, but Y/N guessed that this is what she gets for not living in London still.

“Y/N,” Tom said, snapping her out of her head, “this is Jamie, my girlfriend. Jamie, this is Y/N, one of my best friends!”

“It’s nice to meet you, Y/N,” Jamie smiled holding out her hand.

“It’s nice to meet you too!” Y/N said, quickly putting on a smile and taking the girl’s hand as nicely as possible, but as soon as the attention was off her, she managed to sink back into the background.

Nikki and Dom came out to greet Tom’s girlfriend as well, that gave Y/N the chance to sneak back off to the beach.

“Hey! Y/N! Wait up!” Harrison called.

Y/N didn’t want to slow down at the moment, she didn’t know what she was feeling and knew that if Haz talked to her, she would let all of the things that she didn’t want to feel out.

“Y/N/N! Common!”

Y/N could feel the tears building up and was not ready to let them shed. Luckily, she had her bathing suit on, so she just ripped off her cover-up and ran into the water. Not until she was through the wave breaking point did Y/N realize that Harrison was still calling after her. But once she turned around, she then realized that Haz was actually swimming after her.

“Haz, go back inside. You’re going to cause a scene running after me!”

“Don’t be silly, darling. They are too wrapped up in each other to notice that the two non-family members are missing,” he said trying to diffuse the situation. “Now, wipe those tears off of your face.”

“What tears? This is just the salt water!” Y/N lied, giggling a little bit in the process.

“Well do you wanna talk about the water streaming down your face?”

“No,” Y/N said stubbornly.

“Want me to say the reasons I think there is water on your face and why you ran out of there while you just nod your head because I am right?”

“Yes…”

“Then, I think that you have water on your face, water that isn’t tears, because you felt blindsided by Tom bringing a girl to Hawaii after we’ve already been here for a few days, especially since you didn’t even know that there was a girl to begin with. Not to mention that you still have feelings for him even though you’ve told me time and time again that you don’t and that even if you did, you were over them by now?”

Y/N didn’t want to admit that her other best friend was spot on, so she just ducked under water, her safe haven.

“Y/N! Common love. I’ll be here with you for the rest of the time. We can avoid them as much as possible too!”

“Don’t you think everyone will find that suspicious?” Y/N tilted her head.

“Well, I think us sitting here in the water while I hold you is looking even more suspicious. Hello everybody!” Harrison lifted his arm up to wave to those on the shore.

Y/N could feel the blush coming up to her face as she timidly waved. Following Harrison towards the Holland family and, well, Jamie, felt even more embarrassing.

“What are you two doing out there?” Sam laughed as the sand reappeared under Y/N’s feet.

“I had dared Y/N earlier that she couldn’t go further than me in the water, but when she started to struggle, I had to obviously save her…”

“HEY!” Y/N protested, “I do not have issues swimming in the water!”

“You two were looking pretty cozy,” Nikki winked, “Haz, I’ve always wanted for you to find a nice girl and I liked Y/N from the day I met her.”

“Oh, no, no, no, Mrs. Holland, that’s not what was happening!” Y/N protested.

“What? Am I that repulsive?” Harrison jokingly scoffed.

“No. It’s not that either. Uhh, ummm, yeah. I just couldn’t stay out of the water for too long! That’s why we’re here right?” Y/N tried to buy herself some time.

“That’s a great point!” Tom brought up, obviously oblivious to the entire situation. “Jamie? Is your swimsuit nearby? As you can see, everyone has been in the ocean already this morning! Let’s go, babe!”

Y/N watched as Tom led Jamie back towards the beach house, Dom and Nikki following behind, leaving just Y/N, Harrison, the twins, and Paddy on the beach.

“So, is there something that you two really want to tell us?” Harry teased.

“No! Really guys!” Y/N tried to interject, but that wasn’t before she heard Paddy say a little something.

“Harrison, I’ve always seen the way you look at Y/N, but I didn’t know she liked you back!”

“Pads, who said anything about me liking Y/N? Huh?”

“I don’t know,” he shrugged, “I feel like I hear whispers about it all the time, but everyone stops talking whenever I come into the room and ask if she’s coming to visit and that’s why you’re all talking about her!”

Y/N had nothing to say to that, but just looked over at Harrison, who moved quickly to put a hand over Paddy’s mouth.

“Paddy…shut it!” Sam tried to mumble, but Y/N could obviously hear him.

“Y/N? Can I talk to you for a minute again?”

“Uh, huh…” Y/N managed to get out as Harrison took her hand and led her away from the other Holland boys.

“Haz? What was that about?” Y/N asked as Haz sat down beneath a palm tree.

“I can explain. I think… Paddy doesn’t really know what he’s talking out. He’s just a kid. Ya know?”

“Haz?” Y/N asked giving him her wide, E/C eyes.

“Okay, okay, okay. Maybe while you’ve been pining over Tom, I sort of started pining over you…but I realized a while ago that I’d much rather be your friend and be supportive of you completely instead of making myself crazy over the fact that you like Tom more than me…”

“I am so sorry, Haz! I must’ve been so insensitive to you. I feel horribly…”

“No, don’t. It’s really okay! I couldn’t tell you how I felt, so I decided to get over it instead of holding onto it…” Haz trailed off.

Y/N followed his eye line to see Tom and Jamie walking hand-in-hand over to them. She sat back further into the crook of the palm tree as if that would keep the couple from coming over.

“Hey guys! What are you doing over here?”

“Paddy was just talking about stuff that he didn’t actually know, so I had to explain it. I’ll tell you later,” Haz said, waving it off. He did manage to look at Y/N, who sent him an apologetic yet thankful simile back.

“Okay! Well, Jamie and I were just wondering if you wanted to play some two-on-two volleyball! And let me tell you a secret, Jamie is an EXCELLENT player!”

“Great! Now it’s going to be ‘us’ and ‘we’ and ‘the two of us’ for the rest of the trip!” Y/N thought to herself. “Sure!” she found herself saying and then regretting instantly. However, as she stood up, she felt a competitive fire start up inside her and was ready to show her athletic ability off, well hopefully…

“Oh my god! Tom! I am soooo sorry!” Y/N continuously said as the four entered the beach house to get ice for Tom’s split lip.

Y/N had spiked a ball, heading right for Jamie, that Tom got in front of and let’s just say, the ball definitely won.

“It’s really okay, Y/N! Honestly, I didn’t know that you could put that much power behind a ball! It was awesome!” Tom laughed, holding the cloth covered ice to his lip.

“Yeah Y/N/N, who knew someone so short and young was able to hit that hard!” Haz joked, narrowing his eyes at Y/N, knowing of the internal fire that she had.

“Babe, are you okay? Let me take a look at it,” Jamie tried to reach down to fuss over Tom’s busted lip.

“No, no, no. I’m fine! I can handle a busted lip. Plus, I’ll have to come up with a great story. Can’t have people thinking that I am able to get beaten up by a girl!” Tom laughed, still holding the ice to his lip. “It’s a good thing that I blocked that, this could’ve been you, Jamie!”

Y/N bit her lip thinking about how bad that would’ve looked. She wasn’t purposefully trying to hit anyone…The ball just somehow took all of her competitiveness after her and Harrison almost started to fall behind. Not to mention, anytime they would score a point, Tom and Jamie would hang all over each other and even start kissing, so who can really blame Y/N for getting a tad bit angry? That’s gross to look at all the time.

“Why don’t you two head off and I can stay here and take care of this baby,” Jamie cooed as she went to pull Tom up towards his and Harrison’s shared room.

“Oh, Y/N! By the way, is it okay if Jamie shares your room? Since the rest are boys and I already have Haz as my roommate, I figured she could just crash with you!”

“Oh, umm, yeah. That’s fine. I don’t mind,” Y/N said, feeling a little caught off guard.

“We’ll leave you two now,” Haz quickly jumped in, pulling Y/N away before she could say anything she would regret. “Let’s go swimming for a bit, maybe boogie boarding?”

Haz led Y/N back out to the warm sand. They walked past the rest of the Holland family and towards the activities counter of the resort.

“You going to be okay?” Haz asked softly. “We can go learn how to hula, swim with dolphins, or even learn to surf! I could even offer to Tom to let Jamie stay in with him and I’ll stay with you. We’ve all had sleepovers before…Primarily in your super tiny dorm room, so it wouldn’t be weird.”

“Haz,” Y/N said sternly, “You don’t have to do anything for me. I will be fine. I can handle myself. You don’t have to protect me.” With that, Y/N tried to walk away from Haz while holding her composure.

“Y/N! Common!”

She did not want to listen. She wanted to be as far away from that resort house as she possibly could be. She did not want to stop for the boy running after. She did not want to hear anymore cutsie giggling from Tom and Jamie. And most of all, she did NOT want to feel her heart break into a million pieces, so she had to get away from there.

“Hello, I’d like to take a boat tour around the island. When we got here, they said that those were offered?” Y/N asked the concierge, holding the tears back.

“Yes, ma’am. We have one leaving in the next 15 minutes. Does that work for you?” the lady at the desk asked.

“That is perfect. Thank you. How many other people are on this tour?”

“There are about 8 others signed-up now. After you, we only have one more spot.”

“I’ll take that spot!” Harrison said slapping his hands onto the counter.

“Alright, sir. You have been added. The both of you can head through those doors, to the left, and down the path. Enjoy your boat tour,” the lady smiled as she handed Harrison and Y/N their tickets to get on the boat.

Y/N took one ticket and quickly went in the direction the lady pointed out. Harrison quickly grabbed the other ticket and went to catch up to the girl that didn’t want him around.

“Y/N! Wait up!”

“Haz! I told you not to bother!”

Harrison finally had Y/N in his reach and turned her around to face him. He could see the tears threatening to roll down her cheeks. “Love, why are you trying to hide this all from me. You know that I know and can tell exactly what you are feeling. Just let me help. Please?”

Harrison stood there and prayed that the girl he knew he would never stop loving would just let him in. He knew she would never return his feelings, but he couldn’t bear seeing her so sad.

“Haz. Have you ever watched someone that has been so important to you for what seems like most of your life just not even look at you the way that you look at them, but never wanted to feel to begin with?”

Y/N at that moment had completely forgotten about Haz saying he used to have feelings for her and was really just rambling what had been going on in her mind.

“Haz, I figured that by going on this trip, I would be spending so much time with him and I’d finally have the courage to tell him how I feel…how I’ve been feeling…”

She couldn’t hold them back anymore. The tears just started to silently roll down her cheeks.

“Common Haz. We are going to miss this boat.”

Y/N pulled out of Harrison’s grip, wiped her tears, and started walking again. Harrison on the other hand had to stand for a minute as he felt his heart shatter into a million pieces. Why couldn’t she move on from this boy? How could Haz let him have this kind of power over her?

“Haz? Are you coming?” Y/N called softly. As much as she had begged him to leave her alone, she really was happy that he was still being a best friend and being there for her.

“Yeah, I’m coming, love,” Harrison said as he jogged to close the gap.

#tom holland x reader #tom holland #tom holland fan fic #harrison osterfield #harrison osterfield x reader #tom holland x y/n #harrison osterfield fan fic #tom holland x reader x harrison osterfield #kalimagik #new fic #mini series #trouble in paradise

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sp00kybitme · 3 years

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Okay so this is really personal but I feel like I need to share it in order to better my health because being upfront about your trauma is a good way to heal from it. So buckle up because this post is gonna be a real doozy:

So let's start by backing up about 4 years ago in the summer of 2017, I was 17 since my birthday follows the year number and I was going through my own personal turmoil, dealing with my already medically diagnosed PTSD, OCD, Anxiety disorder, and severe depression. I had falling outs with most all of my irl friends due to my declining mental health but the decline started around august as my therapist who worked the best for me was leaving the clinic. She was openly queer and I related a lot to her since I felt like for once I wasn't alone yet after she left I was distraught. Also at the time I had a falling out with my father and my brother was a recovering drug addict so you could say shit was really complicated around that time and my head space was not well.

So back in 2016 I was able to get a PS4 and I hadn't used it until 2017 due to being more focused on my mental health but I caved and began playing Overwatch and there I met some folks who made life seem somewhat normal for once, no high end conflict, no drama, just simple fun with friends is all I wanted and for a while I actually had that! That was until the coming month september.

So September was when I started breaking off from big friend groups and settled with 2 people, let's call them Z and J for context, So Z was someone who I would say had undiagnosed mental health issues and J was someone who was mutual friends with Z because they went to high school together. Z and J were some of my only friends and we as people really bonded over stuff and I felt like life was actually turning up after losing so much shit that year.

So just for preface/context: at this time I identified with she/her pronouns and went by the term pansexual/demiromantic but now after much time I identify with they/them pronouns and am at least asexual, as for romantic I'm still figuring that out. So November rolled around and I noticed conflict immediately, Z and J were subtly arguing and J was using a victim complex mentality to guilt Z into caving yet at the time I was an oblivious 17 year old who was just desperate was friendship to the point of trying to always be a mediator.

Z was always talking about how lonely they were and how every relationship they had never worked out and at the time I was not out about not being cisgender and so they perceived me as a girl. Throughout September to november they would CONSTANTLY ask me out to the point of it being a desperation and a guilt trip and at this point I was afraid. I had lost EVERYONE in my life here and it was so frustrating but for a month I would keep my boundaries up and say no because I genuinely wasn't interested in a relationship and I didnt feel taht way about Z but they continued to push me and eventually I gave in and I remember the exact place it happened.

So we all 3 had a daily routine of getting on and playing Overwatch for hours just to talk shit and goof around so that day we were skirmishing on the "Temple of anubis" map and I said yes and in retrospect it was a horrible time to do that because it was in front of J and in turn made them feel loke a 3rd wheel. I wanna say that me conceding into a relationship while having no attractiom or interest was wrong of me and that I apologize for but again I WAS pressured as a minor. Also I forgot to say that Z was 19 and while that kind of age gap isn't inherently the worst, I was still an emotionally vulnerable minor being coaxed into a relationship.

So things went on relatively the same except for the fact that J was beginning to sound more spiteful and ended up getting upset easier and volatile which I blamed myself for but we'll get more into J very soon. So Z and I were noticing the change in behavior but tried not to bother J with it because they always didn't wanna talk about it. J confided in us at one point by telling us about their living situation being troublesome, they claimed they had no privacy, were verbally abused by their mother, and had relatives who were also abusive. We both had empathy for J and I was strongly affected by that since I had a strong disconnect from my father at the time who was abusive in a religious way.

We tried to keep things relatively normal at this point for the sake of J but Z was always trying to be bluntly romantic with me and I wasn't interested although they did ask me for "thigh pics" (lemme preface by saying I was still a minor at this point) but I was coaxed into that and virtual s*x which I was extremely uncomfortable with but Z had a strong tendency to victimize and guilt trip and I just wanted friends and had PTSD from friends levaing me and calling me selfish. It's not something I'm proud of but I genuinely was THAT scared of losing friends. In instances where J would get spiteful and resent Z, J at one point left our group chat and group and didnt reply to us because they attempted s*icide. We were HORRIFIED to find that out and really tried to keep a close eye on J into the new year.

2018 rolls in and now is the year that I consider my worst, I will TW// onward for talks of verbal abuse, emotional manipulation, talks of s*xual assault, s*icide, homophobia, and gaslighting. So after J's s*icide attempt I felt even WORSE in a relationship that itself was already one sided but I powered through as to not upset Z. The friendship dynamic we had at this point was gone as it only seemed to be arguing and fake excitement. One thing we all did in the game was idolize specific characters and obsess over them for mental comfort to the point that we got emotionally distraught over their deaths in game, genuinely very unhealthy for all of us. One thing J would do at times was purposefully pick me and Z's characters in game in commit s*icide in game with them just to upset us and would sometimes mentally torture Z by forcing them to be the character Z hated which only screwed up Z's Mental health. J would also alwsys victimize and act like they weren't being treated fairly and that all culminated in January.

January 2018, J began putting the thought of a polyamorus relationship on the table as in J, Z, and I would all be in a relationship together which I wasn't too keen on but was open to if it made everyone happy. Z wasnt interested at all and for the span of 2 weeks of January, J kept trying to manipulate and coax Z into a relationship and had me try to convince Z as well which I didn't know was wrong but granted I didn't understand Poly relationships until years later. Z eventually half caved and gave it a try but a day later Z backed out because they felt uncomfortable. I was a bit irritated at that time and so was J but I didn't personally know why because I was very oblivious to love and how it was supposed to be. We also would play 1v1 type games for fun until this time because both of them were seriously bothered by losing in 1v1 games and would gloat when they won. I personally didn't care as much and would joke around for the most part just to have fun. After this month we stopped playing 1v1 type games.

Early February came and we all began hanging out in skirmish (which means like a map where you just freeroam for 30 minutes until it refreshes), sometimes we would do ship dynamics with each other for fun and at the time we were joking around. Me and J joked around about two male characters (Junkrat and Roadhog) being together and if you have seen the two characters then you'll know why. Their dynamic as friends is flawed but a popular one yet nonetheless I liked their dynamic as a relationship at the time. Around this time, Z was beginning to do what I would call "selective homophobia" as in they would like some gay ships and despise others. When Z was presented with a WLW (lesbian) ship, they would be 100% supportive yet when a specific MLM (gay) ship was presented, they would make gagging noises as if they were trying to throw up. I should also mention how often Z would send Overwatch porn to group chats and how it made me incredibly uncomfortable, especially as a minor.

J would ultimately hold the blatant homophobia against Z and tried to turn me again Z for it. During this time, J was messaging me privately to try and convince me that Z was a bad person and that I should break up with them. Ultimately I agreed and broke up with Z over this and me and J distanced myself from Z to just hang out together. I was personally distraught in just finding out that a friend I was close to ended up being Homophobic all this time and emotionally it broke me a lot. At the time, J was there to help me emotionally and that initially helped me build trust with them. Eventually in mid February they asked me out and since they had helped me so much mentally, I felt out of a sense of obligation that being with them was something I almost owed them.

Side note: I wanna bring up this point as just a weird coincidence: February itself has always been one of the worst months for me every year, something horrendous has happened to me each February of each year and its weird because of how often I can recall this still being the case.

So After being around J for so long we started to just joke around and have fun as friends. They actually showed me their face for the first time over a video call which actually surprised me because they looked different then I thought they were but nonetheless I enjoyed their company because I felt like I had a friend. March rolled around and my birthday was coming up, my 18th birthday which was more of a big deal to J than me. They wanted to see me in provocative pictures and were constantly talking about how excited they were for it and I didn't understand why really. They were also 19 btw and they seemed way too excited for something as simple as that kind of picture. The day rolled around and I felt uncomfortable, I was told to send pictures and I did which admittedly made me uncomfortable as hell yet I still did and I was given positive affirmation for it. Little fact about me is that one thing I didn't get much growing up was positive affirmation so getting that made me feel like I was actually doing something right for once.

Over the next few months, J went from supportive and well intent to showing their true colors. As time went on they began to get more and more controlling with the things that I did as an individual. It went from supoorting the fact that I struggled with PTSD to using it as a reason that I shouldn't be making other friends besides them. From being supportive of my open mindedness with sexuality to coaxing me into spewing hateful rhetoric. Their family was actually really supportive of me at first, the thibg they had said about their mom turned out to be a lie used to play on my sympathy because their mom adored me as a person and constantly would ask if me and my mom needed anything. They sent us two big care packages through the mail with food and money for food and I originally was against that not just because I'm genuinely horrible at taking gifts but because they had my physical address and knew where I lived in case they wanted to "visit". The care packages meant a lot to me and my mom because we've been low income since I was little and having the luxury to live in a house or not have to worry about food consumption was something I never had.

During late spring, J began to be a lot more forceful with me by manipulating and gaslighting me into thinking many toxic things. I was afraid at this point of both J and being alone again. They would tell me that I should start acting more feminine and "like a girl" and that was REALLY triggering to me since over a big part of my life, I was questioning my gender identity and being forced into this feminine box made me hate myself. They would tell me to wear "panties", talk higher pitched, and even tell me to be a submissive partner who just lets them lead and me follow. I'm naturally a more dominant person in general so it was like I was disregarding a huge part of my identity. I was almost silenced into this role that J wanted me to be. They would force me to do lewd things online and while you could say that I shouldn't have been worried since it wasn't irl, they knew my address and last name.

One instance I remember was that J asked about my deadname and I told them and then questioned why I would change that name since it "was more feminine and fit me". It was upsetting to hear that but at least they didn't deadname me after finding out. They also kept telling me that I wasnt allowed to be attracted to anyone but them. I wasn't allowed to protest because they would threaten killing themselves and actually send a picture of them with a knife to their throat as if to threaten me.

A detail I left out intentionally was something that disturbed me the most about them and really makes me think they have a serious form of some kind of dissociative mental disorder. (Context: I'm not stigmatizing folks who have Dissociative disorders, my mother has one and the symptoms J exhibited make me think of someone who experiences detachment or disillusionment. Im not going to diagnose them but my instinct makes me believe that it could be something similar yet they have never been medically diagnosed.) J would constantly talk about a friend they had in elementary school who had taken their own life and how the spirit of this friend still keeps near them since they were close back then. This friend almost seemed to become a way to manipulate me later on in 2018.

This friend of theirs almost seemed to be a way to seperate themselves from how they treated me or avoid blame. This friend would threaten me that if I didn't let J r*pe me that they were gonna commit s*icide and that it would be my fault for not doing what they wanted. They also would threaten me to do what J said or else they would "possess" me. I'm someone who has had bad experiences with spirits so I didn't want to have more hell. J themselves would sometimes get extremely angry when I stood up for myself or expressed stuff I was really interested in and would threaten to track me down, assault me, and kill my mom. They also began pitting me against my mom because I would talk about how my mom was getting worried about me being hurt but J said that my mom was faking it and manipulating me and I almost believed J but I know my mom and I know she cares too much about me to do something like that.

Around September, I was practically an emotionless shell. I wasn't excited about anything, I wasn't angry anymore, I was barely feeling much of anything but a deep seeded sadness. I lacked in a lot of places and repressed any emotion I had so deep that I couldn't react to anything anymore. I think J began to notice because they started to actually act concerned after a while but that was flickering like a light switch. One of the last instances that I broke down was august of 2018 when I began crying heavily over microphone and begging them to not hate me. They had no reaction, no remorse , no empathy and when their mom came in they just left me there crying without affirming me at all.

During this time, I was sending hundreds of nude photos a day to appease them and they would get off and go to sleep and during the night I would secretly cry and look at queer based things in private to try and keep some semblance of my identity in tact. I actually started watching Sanders sides around July 2018 and enjoyed the series and how nice the fanbase seemed and it somehow helped me get through this rough period of time.

October was probably some of the worst time because I ended up missing my favorite holiday, Halloween which was the only time I personally enjoyed being myself because the element of the holiday made me happy. That halloween I spent on overwatch with J, overall miserable and hating myself. I also forgot to mention that J would dictate what I wore, they would hate that I wore boxer briefs and men's cologne and deodorant, they constantly questioned why I was trying to be masculine when I was AFAB but again I was also closeted with my gender identity and this shoved me even more into the closet when they would argue with me about it.

November rolled around and I had practically been at my breaking point, J was trying to convince me for weeks to move down south to live with them and their family and I was practically being forced. I have a fear of flying and I kept saying that I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving my disabled mom by herself and my mom also hates flying. J was trying to get things their way and forced me too and I was looking into flights even though I was deadset on not going. November 11th 2018, I wasn't replying to J's texts right away because I was actually standing up for myself. They began HEAVILY threatening to end their life and I remember sitting there and crying without emotion then I hung up on them and told them to stop calling and texting me as they had begun to text and call me incessantly. I said I needed a break and finally let out a breath when they said ok.

Around late November, I felt as though I had misjudged Z and unblocked and messaged them, apologizing for being a dick to them. They initially forgave me and I was just going to move on but they asked if we could play in a public chill server and I accepted just to try and get my mind off of J. As we entered into the game, J suddenly started spectating and Z left instantly out of fear. I only talked to Z just to apologize and give context as to what happened, I was desensitized and just needed a friend. J messaged me apologizing frantically and saying "if you've moved on to date Z, just tell me so I can move on" and I said "no, I just needed a friend right now and I need my space. Don't talk to me for a while, respect that one thing." And thankfully, I was actually left alone.

December rolled around once again and at this point I had finally blocked J and moved on from everything, J's mom had messaged me on Facebook and told me that I was a "filthy cheater who just used J for their kindess and didn't care about them" but I did actually genuinely care deeply about J yet he abused my compassion by gaslighting me and putting me into this false sense of security. Before I could reply, she blocked me so she never actually took the time to ask me. I was feeling guilty for leaving J but I was reassured by Z during that time period and Z had apologised for previous comments as well. Z ended up introducing another friend to the group, we'll call them A. We would first play Overwatch but immediately switch to Minecraft which I had bought when still with J to play with their family. Around this time I had begun to cling to Z uninitentionally due to recovering from my trauma and needing that affirmation that I wasn't some terrible abuser, as J had manipulated me to think I was. Z was getting a bit bothered by this yet they had never publicly told me nor did they understand why I clung to them in the first place. Z knew I had PTSD and I had told them exactly what I had just described earlier about what J had done to me and Z was initially very empathetic though I was never told that my clinginess was bothering them because I was in recovery mode. Eventually towards the end of January, I was told by A that they knew why I was so clingy with Z. At first I was confused because they both had known that I had PTSD but A proceed. "The only reason you're so clingy with Z is because you're secretly still in love with them, I can read you like an open book and you would do best to stop denying your obvious feelings for them" Hearing this made me personally disgusted, appalled, and upset mentally. Z kept to the side during this discussion and didn't go against A however they didn't deny A's words.

I retorted by speaking about my trauma and how it made me cling to people unnecessarily but then A proceeded to invalidate my trauma by implying that I was over exaggerating what I had gone through. I felt awful and I forcefully distanced myself from them both only to go back once again out of fear of being alone. This continued for a while until July 10th, 2019 when I finally distanced myself from Z for good. I made my own account on Instagram and over the span of 2 years, I built up a community of people who liked my work and I got my sense of individualism back give or take. I recently changed accounts because this era in my life is brand new and I couldn't be happier with where I'm at.

This post is more so a form of being vulnerable and a bit of exposure therapy. Sure im not a perfect person, I can't even publicly out my abusers but I think it would do more harm than good. If anyone wants to have a warning for their accounts, at least on YouTube, message me on my Insta in my bio. I'm sorry if this was long and possibly upsetting but I wanted to just get this out. I dont know who would be seeing this but if you read this far: thank you, honestly its upsetting to have to go through so much bullshit and I hate talking about it because it's difficult to really put shit out there without feeling like its some tupe of attention thing. I don't want to post this for sympathy, I want to post this for me, just to feel better about where I'm at and also face my trauma head on to heal from it. I'm not saying this to compare who's life is worse or not but I am posting this to better myself.

Thank you again,

Spooky

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fyregrayfong · 4 years

Text

Hesitate 7|15

FryeArcana

Chapter 7

You Say

Summary:

You finally let Lin know your story. Who you are and what caused those scars on your body.

You spend the day with Asami and go racing in the new Racer cars her dad has made.

“I thought I had you there” you smile as you take the helmet off and look over at Asami as she climbs out of her car and fixes her hair.

“I’ve had time to get better, these cars are nothing like the satomobiles” she smiles as she puts the helmet on the car seat.

“yeah, it has way more power and speed” you smirk as you did the same and followed Asami back to the mansion and get some refreshments.

“so how was your little date with Mako, it was a couple of nights ago right?” you look over at her as Asami is sipping on some lychee juice.

“hmm? Oh it was really nice. He’s sweet. We had dinner then you saw that he came with me to the gala, then we took a carriage through the park” she smiles a slight blush appearing on her cheeks.

“that’s nice, as long as you like him and happy then I'm happy too” you smile back and eat some fruit from the fruit bowl.

“y/n!” you heard an older man calling after you and you turn around and see Hiroshi Sato

“hey, Mr. Sato! Long time no see” you smile and walk over to him and extend a hand to him.

“come on, you know better, I’ve told you to call me Hiroshi.” He gives me a stern look but quickly smile “no matter, when Asami told you me you’ve returned to Republic City, I knew it was a matter of time before I would see you here. You are coming back to Future Industries?” he looks up hopefully

“Y/N is working with the police now remember, dad?” Asami walks up to the both of you and puts a hand on her father’s shoulder

“ah, yes that’s right. So how is it working with Chief Beifong?” he looks at you with a intrigued expression.

“it’s exciting honestly, but I see what all the comments about her demeanor comes from. What can you expect from being Chief of Police. It comes with the title I guess” you smile but quickly change the subject not wanting to talk ill of Lin “Asami mentioned your new line of racer cars, we took a test run and it’s coming out nicely.”

“Ahh so you’ve had a chance to check them out, good. How did you think of the design? We implemented those colors you’ve mentioned, yellow and red.” He walks you girls out towards the gardens of the mansion.

“the overall is nice, it’ll surely catch the audience’s attention when the red and yellow cars are flashing by. Surely, it’ll help with gaining the attention in future investors and clients” you smirk

“well I take help any way I can and if it wasn’t for your keen eye on design, these satomobiles wouldn’t have taken off. What was your pitch at the meeting?”

“oh you’re overreaching there Hiroshi, all I mentioned was about curving the overall look of the car, it helped with speed. 100% durability 100% desirability 1000% A good time” you chuckle as you mention the pitch again.

“that’s the pitch, that’s what won over those investors.” He clapped his hands and had a laugh

“well it was a group effort. Future Industries is known for using the very best materials, no cutting corners. All we had to do was design a car that not only attracts people, but also elevates the people driving it. If it makes you feel good while you drive it, it’ll be out in the streets more times than just parked in some street or house. Even then, it’s free publicity when a car looks so good that it attracts more customers to make a purchase for a satomobile rather than a Cabbage Car.”

Hiroshi smiles and chuckles “always quite the salesperson, it’s that bright mind that I miss on the team, but I understand you had other plans.”

You nod understanding and lightly shrug “I learned a lot with you and Asami, but the spirits had other plans for me, and who am I to ignore it” you smile

After some time you’ve spent with Asami and Hiroshi you’ve made your goodbyes after lunch and left.

Walk thru the park and decide to take a seat under a tree overlooking the water, you take a moment to meditate closing your eyes and focus on the noise around you of people enjoying their time outside and kids’ laughter, you can’t help but smile.

‘fancy seeing you here” a voice you recognized all too well

You crack a smile as you slowly open your eyes and look up to your right and see Lin walking towards you. “Afternoon, Chief, I could day the same thing. Care to join me?”

Lin looks around and just when you think she was going to refuse she surprisingly leans down and sits beside you. “I see you’re enjoying your day off”

“yeah, I figured it’ll be good to get some fresh air” you exhale deeply then look out at the water “how’s the station?”

“busy as usual, nothing new, but the streets are calm, surprisingly” she groans as she leans back on the tree

“that’s good, take in the scenery, breath in some fresh air before having to get back to the station. Take advantage of it” you look back at her and your eyes sort of smile on their own as you can’t help but notice how the run radiates and highlights Lin’s eyes to a beautiful soft green.

“can I ask you something?” Lin not noticing your glance but turns her head to look at you.

“anything chief”

“so what’s your story? You mentioned that you have this whole story in the making.” She creeps her arms up and crossing them in front of her.

“ahh, my story huh, well it’s pretty long, if you dare to stay to listen to it all.” You grin as you rub the back of your neck

“depends on how well the story is” she mutters

You breathe deeply mentally preparing yourself to tell your story “well, I have an earthbender of a father and my mother was a waterbender, their marriage produced three kids - all girls -- me being the eldest and the earthbender, the second a waterbender, then the surprise of the family the youngest, a firebender. She is quite the hot head that one, turns out we got some fire benders from my dad’s side. We stayed in Ba Sing Se” You close as you remember your family and chuckle at the thought when you think about your sisters.

“Did your scar come your fire bending sister?” Lin softly asked listening intently

“oh I see, you’re trying to figure out the story behind these scars.” You smirk “all you had to do was ask Chief, no need to beat around the bush. I’m an open book, just got to learn to ask the question.” You look over at her and scoff

Lin tenses up and frowns rolling her eyes “it’s not nice to pry, some folks don’t like talking about their life.” She muttered under her breath.

“so, if I tell you the story of my scar, will you tell me yours?” you taunt her seeing if your push might get you to find out how she got her scar as well.

Lin looks over at you then looks away “I don’t like to talk about it..” she trails off

“hey, I don’t like to be pressured into anything, so I won’t pressure you, but since I like you I don’t mind telling my story. Everyone has a story worth telling, but no one will hear it unless you voice it.” You mimic your voice like an old monk and laugh “that’s what this old merchant once told me”

“so how did you get your scar?” you hear Lin’s voice as soft as you never heard before you think some other lady was with you.

You inhale and exhale as you prepare to speak

“I was 12 and I was walking out of school, heading home. On my way I saw this small non-bender boy probably around the age of 10 getting teased and bullied by 5 older boys. I heard them tell this little boy all sorts of trash remarks. How weak he is to be a non-bender and that he has no purpose in life if he can’t bend.”

You look down sadden remembering the scene then ball your hands into fists

“I got so angry that I meddled in and defended the boy, told the group to leave him alone and that they were all just a bunch of dumb schoolboys. They were no better than the little boy. The group of boys all snickered and told me to leave, that this was no place for a girl. A pretty girl like myself should focus on how to be a lady instead of meddling into “man” talks. Whatever that means” you roll your eyes and scoff.

“I told them to shove their man talks into their pants and started to fight them giving the little boy time to run and escape. I was able to scare off two of the boys, but I was overpowered when the waterbender froze my hands together and gave an earthbender the chance to knock me to the ground, the firebender, the ringleader of their group told the other two guys to hold me down and he put his foot on my head. Told me that he hoped this would stop me from meddling into what doesn’t concern me and that it’s such a shame since I was a pretty girl, then he blasted me with his firebending all down the left side of my back and a slash across my left bicep. The other two boys got so scared from the sight I don’t think they knew the firebender would do such a thing. My screams of agony scared them all to run away from the scene. I soon passed out from the pain, next thing I know I wake up in a water basin in a dark candlelit room. My eyesight was glazed over, but I could see someone there with me, a healer, softly speaking to me that I was okay and that she was doing her very best to heal my burns. Her voice sounded so beautiful and easily trusting, I didn’t recognize her or see any details on her face except two things, one, she had the most beautiful eyes, a bright blue almost teal, as blue as the clearest ocean or sea in the world. The second that she had on this necklace with a crescent or something I couldn’t really tell. I tried to speak but my throat was so dry, and I felt so weak that I just knocked out again. The following morning I was in a bed with bandages wrapped around chest and arm. I never saw that healer again, I asked about her, but it turned it she was just traveling by on her way out when she ran into me and took me to that healing hut and didn’t leave until I was in the clear. Once I got home my parents were so angry once they found out what happened to me. I rebutted that I couldn’t just stand idly by and let a poor boy get tormented. My dad finally gave in and smiled; told me he was proud even though it was stupid to try to take on 5 guys at the same time.” You smile and laugh remembering his words, then look down overcome with sadness.

“sometime later my dad overcame with an illness, Cabbage Fever, I believe. My mom tried every remedy she knew from her water tribe roots, but nothing worked, and he soon passed away.” You take a moment to yourself as you look up at the water nearby in front of you and Lin. You don’t look at her as you try to control your emotions then continue on. “you know...there is this saying that when two people are destined to be together, their spirits are tethered together. Sort of like one can’t live without the other… I believe that is what happened with my parents. They couldn’t live without the other because as soon as my dad passed my mom no longer had the strength to live on. Or at least her spirit didn’t, and her body followed after and soon she passed quietly in her sleep. The only thing the healers could explain in simpler terms was that my mother passed from a broken heart…” you ball your fists more as to try not to try but you can feel tears forming at the corner of your eyes.

“I was 16, my sisters were 14 and 12. My parents prepared in any case were this to happen we had guardians in place. Turns out we have family all around the world. The waterbender went to live with an aunt in the southern water tribe and the firebender lived with an uncle and aunt in the fire nation. I was supposed to go to live with my uncle in Ba Sing Se, but I was adamant that I wanted to travel the world. I didn’t want to be stuck in someone else’s home. So I packed up my things, made sure my sisters were taken care of and promised to send whatever money I can to them and send them letters of my travel. I spent the next year or so traveling all over the world. Spent a couple months in Kyoshi Island where the Kyoshi warriors were kind enough to each me to fight, learned about girl power, and even were kind enough to teach me some chi blocking fighting style. Spend another month at Ember Island, visited the Si Wong Desert, where I spent some time sand-sailing with some Si Wong people. The Northern Air Temple was interesting since it was taken over by Earth benders, spent some time with my sisters at the Southern water tribe, saw the northern spirit lights. Just to name a couple of places” you smile “I met a couple of nice of people alone the way. After two year I felt like maybe it was time to settle down and went to Republic City, I stepped into this little tea shop owned by the sweetest old lady who offered me shelter in exchange to help her clean the shop and wash dishes. She even taught me to cook some dishes. I spent about a month in the city and ran into the Sato family one day. Gave them some smart ideas about their satomobile designs, Hiroshi Sato liked it so much he offered me a job as the Head of Design for the satomobile and other cars.” You hear a noise coming from Lin and your ear perks up and turn over to her

“wait, you’re telling me that the car that I drive as well as the rest of Republic City…” Lin gives you an incredulous face, her lips parted not believing a word you’re saying at this point. It gives you a moment to start laughing and you grin. “Yup, I designed them. Well Hiroshi Sato had a blueprint of his initial plan, but I modified it to give the sleek design it has now. The curves and overall look that makes those cars desirable to own. Might I add, you look incredible in your car, Chief. Even though you don’t need the car to look incredible. You do well on your own.” You smirk and look at her that Link closes her lips and gives you a small frown you can see a slight blush creep up on her cheeks and rolls her eyes giving you a puff and looks away. “Quit the garbage, y/n”

You softly laugh “I’m serious on all accounts, the design, and about you in the car. I think you’ve known me long enough to know that I am nothing but honest.” You smile then you lean back on your arms and look over at her. She just lets about puff of air crossing her arms more on her check. You let the silence settle down a bit before you attempt to speak again “I spent two years in republic city working with the Sato, I kept hearing a voice that there was more other there for me. Most people would call me stupid for leaving a good job. I was paid handsomely; I could afford anything I wanted. I send half of my earnings split between my sisters and kept the other half and still had a hefty amount of yuans left. I looked at tourist attractions and a couple of maps and noticed about Zaofu. I already told you that part and the whole part of me coming back here.” You think back making sure you haven’t left out anything out then realized “oh! The cycle, it was a parting gift from Asami and Hiroshi Sato, it was Asami’s idea and it gave the two of them a chance to work together, so that was nice. They both built it together but Asami made clear that she handled the overall look. During the time I spent with Asami, I learned to maintain that cycle. So far that cycle is my most prized possession. It’s my preferred mode of transportation.” You smile then exaggerate a long exhale then give a long stretch

“well that’s everything, you’re caught up to my story” you look over at Lin and her eyes are full of awe and wonder.

“but you’re so young, yet you’ve experience so much.” Lin muttered

“yeah, it’s a gift and a curse” you mumble

“how so?” Lin raised an eyebrow as she glances your way focused on you and only you.

“well most people just stay at the place they were born. So people my age all they know is their place of birth. So it’s hard to find exciting people. I tend to relate more and make better friends with the older generation, who have gone out and explored or have experiences, than people my own age.” You softly chuckle

“well not me, I’ve stayed here in Republic City majority of my life. It’s all I know and all I want to know” Lin mumbled

“I didn’t mean to offend, it’s good that you know what you want, but I feel it deep inside that Republic City is where I am needed.” You look up at the sky and see the sky setting

“so since you got to know more about me. You want to tell me about your scar?” you softly speak not really looking over at Lin

There is a long pause and you’re about to tell her to forget about it until you hear her voice as she tries to speak.

“I was answering a call about a robbery, I answered and ran into the car and chased it down. I rammed into the car with my metal cables and saw Su- the perp steps out the car. I told her to stay where she was, and she attempted to leave. I apprehended her with my metal cables, that’s when Su- she cut herself free and the cables recoiled and hit me on the cheek. The pain was excruciating. I closed my eyes from the pain and by the time I opened them the perps were gone.” It sounds like the story causes Lin to get upset.

“wow, that sucks. I hope you found that perp and slammed her into a ceil” you mutter out loud as you lay back putting your arms behind your head.

“oh I tried” Lin mumbled under her breath; you could barely catch what she said.

“what?” you look over at her

“I couldn’t find her. It seemed like she escaped the city” Lin quickly spoke out.

“well if I was that perp I would do the same thing. I would probably just change my name and ask Mother of Faces to grant me a new face.” You breathe out you can’t help but notice Lin smile at your comments which brings a smile to your face.

“but that firebender-- the one that gave me this scar--was wrong about one thing”

“what’s that?” Lin asked and you smirk as you look down

“those scars actually helped me in the whole romance department. Women love scars, I would be lying if I said I picked them up by my charming personality” you smile and laugh softly “there is something about scars that people find attractive, I guess it’s the mystery behind the scar, it gives them a sense of danger, sexiness. I don’t know but its works. So maybe I should find that guy and give him a thank you card” you shrug and look at Lin your eyes glancing over to her scars. “I think they’re right” you mutter as you sit up and look at Lin turning half your body towards her.

“I had every intention of getting revenge on that guy but If I remember right there’s that saying about how revenge is like a two-headed rat-viper. While you watch your enemy go down, you’re being poisoned yourself. It's easy to do nothing, but it's hard to forgive.” You softly speak then look up at Lin “as much as it’s easy to go after the person who caused you and I harm, sometimes it’s better to forgive and move on, and plus the scars you have are hot” you smile

“Don’t let the scars wear you. You wear the scars like a sexy badass. They increase your sex appeal. I mean you’re beautiful with or without the scars. I’ve never seen you without the scars but you look incredible hot now.” you mutter out then your eyes widen realizing you just said all that out loud. You slowly turn your head over to look at Lin, your cheeks a bright red, and you see her look at you with a blush as well.

“what did you say to me?” she muttered, her breathing gets slightly uneasy. unsure what to do.

You lean in a bit and reach over and softly brush her scars on her cheek, her breath hitches. “you, Lin Beifong, are beautiful. It’s hard not to find you beautiful.” You softly whisper as you look at her eyes and see the sunset setting down. The rays hitting her eyes illuminating you glance between her eyes and lips and the air around the both of you has drastically shifted. You sense a change of gravity as you slowly lean in and Lin’s body seems to react the same way. Both of your faces merely inches apart, “Lin…” you whisper the breath from your lips touch hers and causes her lips to part slightly as you can feel her breath hit your lips as well. Your hand softly on her scarred cheek and you close your eyes readying yourself with anticipation to kiss her.

There’s a static noise and the sound of a radio interference comes thru “Chief Beifong do you copy” those words seem to wake Lin from a trance and you feel a hand on your chest slowly push you back, you open your eyes and see Lin lean back as she looks down slowly shaking her head.

“This can’t happen”

“Chief, do you copy?” the officer on the radio calls out again.

“Lin…” you speak out softly, your eyes with confusion on what’s going on.

“this didn’t happen” Lin doesn’t seem to listen to you as she quickly gets up and collects herself.

“Lin” you call out to her. You mind can’t think of anything other than her name. She finally looks up at you and stands her ground.

“nothing happened” her voice stern as she gives you a glare as she starts walking back to her car.

“1-2 Chief, do you read me?” the officer calls out again thru the radio

“what is it!” Lin barks out as she answers the call

“Sorry Chief, councilman Tarrlok called. He wants to speak to you about a council meeting at City Hall” the officer rang out Lin pushes the button to respond

“I’m heading over there now” Lin groans in annoyance then ends the transmission.

You finally catch your thoughts and walk over to Lin “so are we not going to talk about what almost happened?”

Lin looks around and then gives you a hard glare “There’s nothing to talk about. Nothing. happened.” She muttered harshly then quickly speeds off. You stand there at the sidewalk left with more confusion and walk back to the tree and try to gather your thoughts.

You groan and sit back down then out of aggravation you punch the ground and accidentally raised a piece of earth above the ground and you curse under your breath and try your best to fix the ground back to its previous state. Then fall back on your back and close your eyes picturing everything as if rewinding then stop at that moment. The moment everything changed.

Lin drove down the streets of Republic City, but her mind was racing with the images reserve in her mind. Y/N mentioned you was beautiful and your whole demeanor changed. Your face went… soft. It’s as if Link didn’t think she could or would be called beautiful, sexy, she thought she didn’t have any sex appeal. Yet, here is y/n and she is telling you all these things that were unheard of to you. Then if that wasn’t enough, she had to softly touch your face, she caressed your cheek with such delicacy as if not trying to cause you any more harm on your scarred cheek.

Your body just reacted to hers and leaned in, leaned into her touch, leaned into her space. You had this longing feeling, something awakened deep inside you that you couldn’t quite place. You saw her lean in, right? Y/N leaned in just as much as you. Right? No. You lost control. You went weak. You shake your head and concentrate behind the wheel, swerving to the next lane as you almost hit a truck, then gain control.

“No, this can’t happen. Nothing happened. This is just my mind playing tricks with me.” Lin mutters under her breath as she looks out into the streets as she drives gritting her teeth.

You stay at the park and pulling your knees up to your chest as your mind keeps replaying those images in your mind. There is something brewing between the two of you, at least from your part you’re starting to fall for Lin. Do you think Lin feels somewhat the same? I hope nothing changes between us during work. You wonder then fall onto your back and cover your face with your hands. This is going to be a long night.

#TLOK1Hesitate #fanfic #linbeifong #lin x reader #Fyrefics

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spelviin · 4 years

Text

okay so i had initially planned to post this the week before darryl’s anchor arc started but i got bored halfway through and it’s been rotting in my drafts for like 3 weeks now but whatever, doin it now. for father’s day or whatever.

paeden being frank theory/ narrative justification under the cut bc oops i accidentally very long meta’d again

i think paeden is probably frank wilson.

anthony has been making it abundantly clear that there’s some connection there, and adding to that the fact that he went dead silent when beth brought up this theory in the TD a few weeks ago? i think it’s pretty much a done deal.

whatever willy’s actual endgame is here (and i still for the life of me can’t figure out what that endgame is), the wilsons are not central to it, but they are important. we know that much from all the “spare” talk that poor grant overheard during his time at castle ravenloft. so, when frank wouldn’t go along with willy’s plans, he couldn’t just kill him like he would anybody else. he needed him alive, but out of the way and not a threat. so, by wiping his memory and transforming him into a weak, tiny child and abandoning him to a fighting ring, he accomplished the following:

punishing frank for daring to stand up to him/his plans

making an example of him, which would also keep bill and barry in line

wiping his memory of every trace of his own son, which would render his daddy magic useless

changing his appearance, so even if he did end up encounterting his son by chance, darryl wouldn’t know him

it’s definitely a solid plan on willy’s part, and while the theory is certainly interesting, it never really sat super well with me in terms of narrative. like, it’s a cool twist, but what’s the point? why can’t paeden just be some loveable orphan the group happened upon by chance? and will the reveal of his true identity mean we lose him?

and that’s where this leg of my theory comes in.

i think that darryl is going to, at some point, put two and two together and realize that paeden is some magically de-aged and amnesiac version of his father. his father, who died when darryl was young. his father, who he still sees as perfect, because he was gone too soon for darryl to ever take him off the pedestal we place our parents on when we’re kids. his father, who he’s been longing to see ever since he found out about the o-dads’ existence in this world.

darryl’s whole arc has been about him trying to live up to the idealized image of his own father, rather than just being the dad that grant needs. and i think a huge part of his reluctance to have an actual, real conversation with grant has been because he’s waiting for “the right time” to have it.

and yeah, back in for knights when they literally had a 24-hour ticking clock in which everyone was trying to murder them, and after which grant would die and the skin eating would happen and such... like, okay, i’ll give him that. the timing wasn’t great.

but after they got him back from the o-dads, after they saw how badly affected he was emotionally by everything that had happened... darryl kept putting it off. he kept waiting for “the right time,” even though i think he knew full well there was never going to be a right time in faerun with all the crazy shit going on. and to prove that point, i mean. ron didn’t wait for “the right time” to have a conversation with terry and apologize for yoshiing him into the firepit. he made time, because he knew it was important, and he knew it wasnt healthy or helpful to let emotions like that stew.

but darryl still waited. and he’s still waiting, in a manner of speaking, even after the attempted locker room convo. waiting for the “right time,” waiting for grant to be ready to open up to him. and while i think he genuinely means it when he says he’s waiting for those things... i think, deep down, what he’s really waiting for is his dad.

ever since the other o-dads showed up, he’s been desperate to see frank, to ask him for advice. in his mind, frank is perfect and will know exactly what to do, know exactly the magic words that he should say to grant to make all his problems go away. hell, he probably even thinks that frank will know what to say to make all darryl’s problems go away.

what he needs to figure out, and what he hopefully will figure out, is that there are no magic words that will instantly heal a deeply traumatized kid like grant. and that even if there were, frank wouldn’t have them, because he doesn’t even know grant, and more importantly, he isn’t perfect bc there’s no such thing as a perfect father.

so what the fuck does all this have to do with paeden? good question.

i have zero clue abt the nitty gritty here, but somewhere along the line, i think darryl is going to come to the realization that paeden is frank, and be faced with the choice between getting his dad back and the answers he thinks he needs, and losing paeden forever. and i think that choice will help him come to the realization that he can’t hold onto the memory of his father forever. that there’s no magical help or right answers, that he’s just going to have to muddle through and make mistakes and be open and honest and vulnerable with grant, and figure stuff out with him as they go along.

in terms of paeden, i hope darryl never even tells him who he truly is. i hope he can just be happy in the knowledge that his father is safe and happy in his new life. in the knowledge that frank, who never knew his father bc a fuckin eldritch monster ate him, now gets to live out a childhood with not one, but five entire dads who love him.

paeden being frank is a cool twist, but i want it to mean something. and if that meaning can be a catalyst for darryl to give up on his desire to reunite with his “perfect, infallible” father, get some closure and really move on as the dad grant needs? then yeah, that’s pretty damn cool with me.

unless i’m 100% off base with all of this in which case i assume whatever happens is also gonna be really cool bc anthony knows what he’s doing and has my full trust

#og #oops all meta #why do i do this #dndads

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mendesficsxbombay · 5 years

Text

if i have to, i’ll wait forever | s.m

4:16 pm

He remembers it being sunny the day he first saw her. Really sunny, a rarity for their small town. The moving truck lined outside the house next door looked out of place amongst the other, er, family cars parked along the sidewalk. He saw the piles upon piles of cartons being brought in and out of the house, new neighbours, he remembers thinking. Also a rarity. He was still watching the movers when a Labrador came dashing out of the door, heading for the street. Panic set in, he had to do something, and his 10 year old brain thought it fit to run. And so he crossed the distance in quick leaps, making his way around his dad’s car and onto the street, throwing himself in front of the dog’s path in what he thought was an effective way of stopping the dog from running out.

“Coco! COCO STOP!!”

He was busy wrapping himself around the dog, trying to contain the bundle of energy and licks and a wagging tail to notice the small figure before him. When he finally looked up though, after the dog, Coco, had successfully pushed him to the ground and was now busy licking at his face, he saw her. She seemed his age, dark hair pulled into a braid, huffing and puffing after having chased Coco around the house before the menace dashed to the nearest exit - their front door. Walking up behind her was a woman who had the same long, dark hair as the girl before him, must be her mom, moving to help him off the ground.

“Hi, beta, thank you for that!,” she smiled warmly, “our little hero, aren’t you?”

He blushed a bit, the praise turning his ears pink. “Hi…”

“We’ve moved in just now! Do you live nearby?”

He nodded shyly, not very used to conversing with adults just so. “That’s our house,” he pointed to the house next door to their new neighbours.

The girl, so far so quiet, softly tugged on her mother’s dress. “Neighbours, Maa.”

“Yes, love, we’re neighbours now. Maybe you’ll even be friends n-”

“If you could bother helping me, maybe we’d be done faster,” a voice from their front door said. The woman sighed before turning around, “I’m coming back, Dev-” but the door was slammed shut before she could follow him in. The little girl turned to Shawn, gaging his reaction, her eyes dancing around his face. “Papa.”

Shawn turned to her in question - “What?”

“That’s my Papa, and my Mama.” she said motioning to their house. “And this our big puppy Coco.”

Shawn smiled softly, the girl returning it.

“My name’s Shawn. Can we be friends?”

_____________________________________

8:37 pm

“Wh-What do you mean you’re moving out?” he didn’t want to cry, he really didn’t. But he wasn’t entirely sure what it meant for him if his best friend in the whole world was moving to the city, leaving him all alone right where they met three years ago. She sighed before moving to sit next to him on the grass in his backyard, “They fight every day Shawn… any time they are in the same room, any time they have to speak to each other - it turns into a fight. I don’t even understand why-” but she cut herself off. It was shameful enough to hate her parents’ relationship, she didn’t need to say it out loud and make it all the more real. But Shawn knew. He always knew. His parents weren’t like that. He couldn’t really imagine them being like that, but if having her parents scream at each other loud enough for him to hear them through his windows, it wasn’t too hard to guess that it was scary. Scary enough for her mother to find a job in the city, an hour away from their town and far enough from her father.

“I’ll be coming back every weekend, though!” at this he looked back at her. “I won’t leave Papa completely, and I definitely won’t leave you completely! I’ll come back whenever I’ll be free from school!”

And, oh. Her moving away also meant that she would be moving schools. This meant they wouldn’t ride to and from school together anymore, he won’t have anyone to copy his math or english or biology homework off of, or really just any homework because she was smart and Shawn just - wasn’t, and this meant he wouldn’t have someone to eat his veggies at lunch and he won’t have anyone hear him talk about his dreams from the night before and - nothing would be the same again because his best friend in the whole wide world was moving away and there was nothing he could do about it.

“You’ll forget all about me,” he whispered, clammy hands pulling at the grass under him, “you’ll be at your new school with your new friends and you’ll forget about all of us here.”

She let out a little pffft! sound and shoved at his shoulder, “absolutely not, Mendes. You’re my favourite-est person ever, moving away won’t make me forget you at all.” He was still glum though, still not looking at her, still skeptical about the whole situation. She sighed and moved closer to him.

“Hey, look at me,” and he did,”you are my favourite. You always will be. If it was possible for me to stay away from my house but still be close to you I would do it. But I can’t,” her eyes were glazing over, the gravity of it all now sinking in that maybe, just maybe, he would forget about her, just like her Papa seemed to forget about her sometimes, even when they lived under the same roof. “You know no one’s happy when all of us live together, Maa says he might even love us again if we’re not around as much, she said absence makes the heart grow fonder. I think Papa will want her back soon. But I’ll come back to you, and maybe you can come to Toronto with uncle - aunty and Liyah and we can go to see the CN tower and we’ll talk everyday apart from that and I’ll poke you on Facebook everyday to remind you of me and,” finally taking a breath, “I hope you don’t forget about me.”

________________________________

10:08 am

“Just forget about it okay? It’s not worth it.”

“Excuse me? You texted me ‘SOS’ ‘this is URGENT’ when you know I’m in the middle of lab and made me panic and get out of class and I’m risking my class points right now just for us to go over the exact same conversation for the third time this week, so Shawn Peter Raul, you don’t get to tell me this isn’t worth it!”

Radio silence.

“Shawn? Are you still there?”, she checked her phone and no, the network didn’t cut off, it was just him playing dead. “Shawn. Speak up.”

“I- did you just yell at me?” he asked, his voice small. He usually got like this if she got too serious, too firm with him, because this was never their usual, she could be firm and bitter and straightforward with anyone in the world, just not him or her mama.

She exhaled deeply, running her hand through her hair, not sure how she could get through him without being too harsh. “Shawn, I love you but you’re overthinking this. I’m sorry for yelling okay? But you know I’m right, your parents are willing to support you, your dad’s going to fly out with you, too, what’s the worst that could happen? The meeting doesn’t go your way? You don’t get signed? Big fucking deal, baby, we’ll find another manager or whatever this Gertler wants to be and get you signed with someone else.”

Turning around, she met her reflection in the large mirrors in her school bathroom. Since moving away it’s like the world changed, the city was nothing like her hometown, yet all the same, yet completely different because she saw her Mama be happier than ever before. As she promised she tried visiting her Papa as often as she could, but he took her moving with her Mama as a personal dig at him, turning a little colder every time she saw him. Maybe absence doesn’t make the heart grow fonder. Now every time she went back home, her time was spent with her friends or at Shawn’s house with his family. Staring back at herself in the mirror, looking at her uniform, Shawn on the phone, she couldn’t explain it but she felt good . “so you’re going to be one of those fancy private school girls now,” Shawn had teased her, and honestly, she loved it. She’d lost the life she had in the place she called home for 3 years but she had her Maa, she had Shawn and she had a good school. And a pretty girl back in her English class, but that’s beyond the point. Life was good.

“Think of this as a holiday with your Dad, with a tiny bit of work involved. If it doesn’t work out then you come back home and get right back to pestering me with your new found production skills at, like, midnight or something and continue bothering me on Skype when you know I’m studying and you should be too. Sound like a plan?”

Again, radio silence.

Now, this. This was their usual. If she ever made a point that made so much sense it felt like it was scripted, he would remain mute until it fully sank in. His best friend was a genius, she was always right and always made 100% sense. None of these three things had been acquired by Shawn just yet, but that’s okay, he thought. Because he had her. He’ll always have her.

“Can you please stop playing dead, I love you and support you and appreciate your existence SO much, Shawny but I need to get back to lab,” she spoke.

“You make everything better,” he whispered.

“I know.”

__________________________________________

11 pm

“HOW DO YOU KNOW?? YOU DON’T GET TO DECIDE FOR ME, I’M THE ONE GOING ON TOUR AN-” a pillow came hurtling and hit him square in the face. He screamed again, falling face down on the bed.

“Sir, if you’re done being a dramatic teenager, can you move the entirety of your body OFF the bed so I can continue packing YOUR bag?”

He whined again before sliding off and slumping on the floor. “Why won’t you just let me carry the shirt?”

“Because you already have 16 of the same shirts in your luggage and I know you’ll be gone for weeks but you need some diversity in your closet on the road even though I know you’ll stick to the same goddamn chinos and shirts,” she let out her 100th exasperated sigh of the night. Her best friend was set to join her childhood idol on tour as a supporting act and everyone in the house were uncomfortably close to losing their mind. She’d managed to leave his mom with another box of tissues and her dad with another beer and persuaded Aaliyah to get into bed and not stay up with the rest of them, with repeated confirmations that yes, Shawn would still be here when she woke up the next morning. But who was putting her mind to rest?

Shawn Mendes was set to join Taylor Swift on tour as a supporting act and she was losing her mind. Maa dropped her off earlier that day to help him pack and get ready for his travels before he left the next afternoon. She was used to spending the night at his house since she first met him and his family but this was the first time she felt like she would never come back, maybe because he would never come back and forget all about her and nothing would ever be the same.

She could feel his eyes on her as she puttered around the room. Both of them knew they weren’t going to have this for a while and both of them didn’t want to talk about it. It’s easier this way. It may not be better but it’s easier.

“I don’t think I wanna go anymore,” he whispered.

“What?”

“If I just - if I don’t go then we don’t have to pack anymore and mom would stop crying and dad would be less stressed and you wouldn’t...,” he looked up at her when she moved around the bed to stand before him. “You wouldn’t be so sad.”

Her eyes were burning, her throat was choking up, and she had to take deep breaths while leaning down to sit next to him on the floor. You can’t break now, she told herself. You’ve held your shit together for so long, don’t do this now, not in front of him, at least.

“I’m not sad.”

“Yes you are.”

“No I’m not.”

“Not even a little bit?”

“Maybe a little bit.”

She snuffled and turned to look at him, “but also very very proud of you, I don’t care if you don’t wanna hear that from me, but I’m really fucking – Shawn stop it - look at me - thank you - I’m really fucking proud of you for working so hard every day and this is just one of the huge opportunities coming your way! You’re capable of so much more, and I will stay up packing your entire closet with you for as long as I can if it means you get to do what you love,” she was holding both his hands in hers now, foreheads almost touching before he blinked his tears away and leaned into her, resting his head in the crook of her neck. She held the back of his head, running her fingers through his hair like he knew she liked as their breathing evened out. When he calmed down a bit, he leaned back and looked at her. He wouldn’t see her for a few weeks, at least not like this.

Her eyes were still fluttered shut, the tip of her nose red for the sake of her always having sneezing fits but he knew this time was different, this time her nose was all stuffy and her face flushed because she was holding her tears back, she refused to cry in front of him. She knew all she had to do was let a few tears slip before he decided he didn’t actually need to go on tour or make music or do anything at all really because none of it was worth his girl’s tears, not if she’s going to try so hard to shield herself from him.

“Dude.”

“Yeah?” she whispered, looking around for tissues to wipe her nose before settling in front of him again, “what’s up?”

He stared at her for a second, his expression unreadable.

“Uh,” he exhaled quickly, “I know we’re like 16 and shit and these things shouldn’t really matter, like I know it matters to us not to anyone else - they’d just think it’s lame but I don’t think it’s lame it’s actually really important to me and I think it is to you, too, but bubs I feel like a complete jerk saying this-”

“Shawn.”

“- and it’s not even fair, I mean I KNOW it’s not fair to you-”

“Shawny.”

“-and I don’t even why I bothered with this but it’s just been on my mind since all of this started like for real, for real no joke-’

“Buddy…”

“ -see I know it won’t make a lot of sense for you but- “

“Jaan.”

Now that. That shut him up. He quickly locked eyes with her, mouth gaping like a fish. He’d only ever heard her mama call her dad that when they were younger, when things were still better.

“You were rambling, dude you can’t do that if you’re in front of Taylor Swift.”

And now his brain was bigger pile of mush than it was before. He remembers asking her about it, it was a funny sounding word and she’d said, ‘jaan means life, but when you love someone enough you’re allowed to call them that, it’s like how your mom says - my love’. The pet-name was sacred for her. Holier than the holiest. Untouchable and unspeakable to say the least. and because of that it was an unspoken rule for him to never throw it around. She called him that. She called him that.

“If you ramble in front of Taylor Swift, I’m really sorry dude but I’m gonna disown you.”

Not the stupid barista dude at the cafe near her school where she’d go buy horrible coffee just so she could talk to him. Not the stupid librarian who flirted with her every time she went in. Not the stupid punk rocker chick with the stupid purple hair his girl had a crush on for 3 solid months.

“Did you just call me jaan?”

“What?”

“You just called me jaan.”

“Is that what you got out of this? You-”

“You just called me jaan, jaan.”

“Okay? You just called me that too so I guess we’re even? Can we come back to the issue at hand?”

“You never call anyone jaan.”

A stream of nononono ran through her mind before she realised that she did, actually call him that. She doesn’t throw around the word lightly. And if she remembers, it means Shawn definitely remembers. The first and last time she called him that was on his birthday when she was sleepy and therefore loopy without a hold on reality. This time she isn’t sleepy or loopy and she slipped up in a normal conversation.

He saw her quiet down for a second as things clicked in his head, too. She loves him! She loves him like she would love life and she called him that like his mom would call his dad her love. She loved him and they’re going to grow up together and she’ll be his forever an-

“It’s just a name,” she muttered.

“Awwwww you called me your jaan,” he teased, a wicked glint in his eye, pinching her cheeks and pulling her closer to ruffle her hair.

“Shut UP, Shawn you’re not my jaan”

“What way is that to talk to your jaan where’s all the softness gone,” he sang while still pulling at her barely phased by her pushing him away.

“Absolutely not you’re not my jaan and the only softness here is your dick-“

“nah dude you literally just called me that, it’s confirmed, you love me”

“nope.”

“no?”

“yeah. no.”

“yeah or no?”

“no, shawn.”

“I think yeah”

“I said no”

“Not even a little bit, jaaaan?”

“Maybe just a little bit.”

______________________________________________

 8:12 am

She pushed her glasses up to rest on her head, her phone ringing beside her pile of textbooks. Digging the heels of her palms into her closed eyes, she exhaled deeply, she was waiting for this call. She moved quickly after allowing herself to breathe for just a second, it may have been finals season for her, it was recording season for her best friend. And she was nothing if not his beacon of hope and sanity in times like this.

“Hi,” she spoke softly, knowing well enough he was already at his wits end. She received a sigh in reply, relieved or not she wasn’t sure, but it was response enough.

She would love to say that she got to know him through experiences and trying times and they weren’t simply attuned to each other since the beginning of time. It would be easier that way because she hated the soulmate bullshit, or maybe it wasn’t entirely bullshit because well, Shawn believed in it. If it weren’t for them being connected right down to their souls, she wouldn’t fight so hard against everything she freely let herself feel for him when they were younger. Things didn’t work as smooth in the real world where he was Shawn Mendes, rising pop sensation and she was in her second year of university, studying to be a lawyer like her Maa. They were more than just two kids who grew up together between both their houses and both their cities.

“Is it one of those days, Shawn?” she hummed, expecting him to still stay quiet.

“I have to tell you something,” he blurted instead, something in her was saying he didn’t actually plan on this call.

“I’m listening,” she spoke, her tone still light even if she was growing nervous, “I’m ready when you are.”

He laughed in disbelief, shaking his head and running his hand through his hair, “How did you know?”

“What?”

“So you have no idea what I’m talking about but you know the lyrics to a song I recorded…” he trailed off trying checking his phone for the time, “12 minutes ago?”

“Shawn, you’re talking in puzzles.”

“I’m not, though.”

“Why did you call, Shawn?”

“Why do you keep saying that?”

She was growing frustrated now. “Saying what?”

“Shawn Shawn Shawn, you sound like you’re schooling me.”

“Well it’s your name, isn’t it? Tell me why you called me.”

“Tell me you love me.”

You know that disgusting feeling you get right before you have a really good cry – it starts off as a choke around your windpipes and you feel like you can’t talk, hell you can’t breathe, and then it tears at your eyes and your face grows flushed, and everything just hurts but you can’t stop it? It seemed as if she only felt like that and nothing more the last few weeks or maybe months, she didn’t know at this point. What she knows is the last time she truly felt happy was when he stayed over with her at Maa’s house and helped set up her new garden, everything after that was a blur.

“Are you drunk?”

“What’s a little whiskey got anything to do with this, babe?”

“Only whiskey?”

“Maybe I downed a few glasses of wine to get there faster?”

She sighed again, before pinching the bridge of her nose. Her studies were driving her up the wall, she was still reeling with the aftermath of being dumped so cruelly, a year-long relationship with who she thought was the boy of her dreams ended in seconds when she found him in bed with someone else. She missed her Mama. And her best friend was far, far away.

They were both quiet for a few seconds, she needed to put her thoughts in place before she blurted out something stupid. She settled for telling him she missed him.

“It’s all the same, babe. Missing you, loving you, it’s all from a distance.”

She’s pretty sure her heart cracked a bit, she never wanted him to feel far away from her, especially not from her. “I’m right here, jaan” she managed to croak out, “I’m right her-”

“I wrote a song about you.”

“Me? Why?”

He chuckled darkly, why did he write songs about her after all? Because it had been years and no one made him feel like she did? Because his feelings were unrequited? Because she was perfect, she was his, but she didn’t believe it? Because he needed her in his bed and his heart and his mind without wanting to feel guilty about it? What was it? Was it because he was still pathetically in love with his best friend?

“Do you remember my 18th birthday? When you made us home-made pizzas and took me the field in a truck - the truck wasn’t even yours, jaan.”

She was on the edge now. They’d kissed for the first time on that field. They continued to kiss on that field. She nearly told him she loved him on that field. “Yes, I remember - why is that important, Shawn?”

The field wasn’t the last time though. And it wasn’t the most they’d done either. They’d done things and learned things with each other, without each other, he was always her favourite regardless.

“I made a decision that night.”

It’s now or never.

“I know you never want to talk about this, but I feel like we’re made for each other. And I know you hate it, but it’s the only truth I’ve known, you know?” He hiccuped before continuing, “and I know you don’t believe in this stuff, but I think if you love someone enough, if someone loves the way I love you, I’ll wait for as long as I can if it means I get to have you. A year, 10 years, whatever it is.”

She couldn’t help it, the tears rolled down her face without control. “You’re drunk, please go home and sleep, is there someone on your crew I can call to take care o-“

“Why do you make it so hard? Just, god, baby just let me wait for you and once you’re ready just please let me love you. We’re perfect, there’s no one like us-“

“I can’t believe you chose to write a song about this, Shawn, why do you choose to write songs about me, it’s not like you don’t have other girls to write about.”

“That’s what you don’t get, baby, there’s no one else I’d ever want to write about like I’m in love with them. Pining over you is acceptable.”

“ACCEPTABLE? SH-“ she forcefully exhaled, rubbing her temples, he’s drunk and silly right now, yelling won’t help with anything, “Shawn, will you please tell what the song is about?”

“Let me just, okay let me play it for you, alright?” She could hear him fumbling around the studio, the click of a few buttons, “okay, see it’s not the final master, I just sang it with the instrumentals for the first time, and I literally just improvised on the first verse right now but its a pretty song, you’ll like it, okay?”

She did like it. She loved it, but she wouldn’t admit it - not until she was entirely ready to accept it herself, and Shawn knew it, too.

Months later the world would know this as the last song on Shawn Mendes’ long anticipated third studio album. Months later he was somewhere in Europe drinking in the world’s reactions to the new album, the memory of her crying over the phone and telling him she couldn’t believe he loved her and “keep your promise okay? please wait for me” burned in the back of his mind.

__________________________________________

11:36 PM

The tequila burned her throat as she threw back the last of her drink. If she was going to do this, she needed every bit of liquid courage she could find. He looked incredible tonight, a stupid white shirt snug deliciously around his arms and his stupid curly hair that he knew she called his Prince Charming hair and his stupid pretty smile as he greeted everyone around the party.

Shawn Mendes: The Tour had ended a week ago, 106 shows wrapped up in style, and he had returned home just 2 days ago, saying he needed to take care of “business’. It was his biggest tour yet, of course he had to celebrate it with a big party inviting his whole team and the rest of bloody Toronto, it seemed. He had seen her walk in, she’d seen him do the rounds, they hadn’t met yet but anyone would be blind to not see the way they were making eyes at each other from across the room.

He has to do the rounds, she pacified herself, this is the last time everyone will be together for a few months at least. They both knew what tonight meant, there was too much of a build up, she just wanted to get it over and done with. She couldn’t contain it anymore, whatever… “it” was. Her feelings, or her love or this stupid mutual pining and the near deadly attraction they had for each other. She didn’t know at this point what she wanted more - to just come out and tell him everything she’d held in since she came to terms with her silly little crush on him since he got his braces off (it didn’t turn out to be silly, after all) or shove him against the bar he was currently leaning against and have her way with him. She was frustrated and barely good at hiding it, but she gave herself hopes of her night ending in his arms either way.

She’d spoken to a bunch of people from his crew, everyone knew who the star’s best friend from back home was, everyone knew how important she was, how she flew to see him whenever she could. What they probably didn’t know was that somewhere near one third of his setlist this past year were songs he’d written about her. His secret muse. His not so secret love.

She tried focusing on what the girls from his team were talking about - one of the Mexico shows? Rock In Rio? What was it? She would have loved to pretend she was fully zoned in but she hasn’t said a lie this big since she told him his hair looked good at the 2018 MET. The girls turned to ask her a question, it took her a bit longer to register it than normal - what was your favourite show?

Now that’s a tough one. Amsterdam had ended with him running off stage and picking her up and spinning her around as her laughter echoed through the walls. Oslo had him running through the arena to get to B Stage, and when he found her in the hallway he grabbed her by the neck to peck her a little too close to her lips, then on second thought he turned back around and fully kissed her before sprinting off to the arena full of fans. Brooklyn night 2 he sang her songs looking right at her, as if they weren’t actually surrounded by thousands of his fans, if his team noticed, they didn’t comment. When he cried before the Rogers Centre show, she cried with him, when he cried after the show, she kissed his tears away and told him she’d wait at his apartment when he returned after celebrating with his friends, family and team. Asia was one place she couldn’t go, her home country was not a tour stop for them and she didn’t have it in her to live through the same disappointment again. She flew down for the Mexico shows, spent a lot of time staring at him in his swim trunks by the hotel pool and flew right back to wrap up her semester. And these were just the few she could think of.

“I… don’t think I have an absolute favourite I guess? They were all so special in different ways, each time we saw him and the band go up there it was different but just as special…” she trailed off hoping that no one grew too suspicious about it all. They nodded in agreement before someone spoke about one of the crew members having a baby soon and it was safe for her to zone out again. She tensed up a bit when his laughter sounded closer than it was before. You can do this, self assured, she turned to find her boy just a few groups away.

It was nearly poetic how their eyes met, the rest of the room immediately fading away. It was just the two of them, it was just him, just her best friend of over 10 years. She watched him excuse himself from the people he was talking to and started walking towards her. She wanted to be put out of her misery, it was almost painful when he so obviously gave her a once over and smirked. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what was going through his brain or how her night was meant to end.

She took deep breaths, the words running through her head again, having rehearsed them in the mirror when she woke up this morning. I’m ready. Just two words. She just needed to get them out and the universe would handle the rest. There was nothing to worry about, nothing’s going to change, it’s all good from here on.

I’m ready. I’m ready. I’m ready.

He stopped just a few feet from her, looking around nonchalantly before stepping closer. The alcohol in his system turned his face flush and made his eyes glow. Has he always been this pretty? (yes. The answer is yes.)

She inhaled deeply again, this is it. She opened her mouth to speak before he pulled her in and pressed his mouth against hers. Right there, in front of everyone to watch. A soft whine from the back of her throat made him smile, he gathered her in his arms fully and she pulled him in, fingering through the curls at the nape of his neck. As much as he’d love to continue kissing her, because he always wanted to kiss her, he had to do this right.

He cupped her face in his hands, pulling away from her as their lips parted with a quiet ‘pop’. She tried to regain her breath, blinking up at him with a soft pout. He never wanted to kiss someone so bad. He had to do this right.

“My name’s Shawn, can we go out sometime?”

______________________________________

this is my first fic ever, i hope you liked it, if you didn’t, give me the chance to grow until i can write something you like

#shawn mendes #shawn mendes one shot #shawn mendes x reader #shawn mendes x desi reader #shawn mendes angst #shawn mendes fluff #best friend!shawn #best friends to lovers #shawn mendes imagine #shawn mendes fanfiction #if i have to i’ll wait forever #my writing

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kileyrose-2003 · 4 years

Text

Rose the Hat x Fem! Hurt Reader

A/N: Hello lovelies! This request was made by @mewbleu I hope you enjoy it. If you want a part 2 lemme know. I have another request coming up soon next week.

Warnings: The usual except with this one there is a age gap between Rose and the Reader but it is a 100% legal and past age of consent, age gap.

SLAM! You fell to the ground as one of the jocks at your high school pushed you to the ground. Most people would panic on being so unceremoniously thrown but after years of this occuring you simply learned to lay down and take it.

You were always told by your mother from the time you were little that you were special. When the words were uttered to you by her they were endearing and doting but by others, not so much.

"You're such a freak, Y/n! We all know there's something wrong with you!" You winced as a foot connected to your side. "Why can't you just fess up and tell us what it is?"

You couldn't. They'd think you were crazy and you would be outcasted even more. "I can't." The sound of hands smacking against flesh radiated down the halls.

'Damn my birthday being one day over the cut off. I'm 19. I should be able to get out of here," You thought to yourself, trying to block out the pain.

His hand connected with the collar of your shirt and your head hung limply in the air. "Listen here you little bitch! I'm prepared to do whatever means necessary to get the answer out of you. Even that means I have to concuss you: Now confess."

He raised a fist and you shook your head. "No! No! Please! I'll tell you! I'll tell you!" You begged. "That's a good girl." He slowly began to lower you back down to the ground. 'Good. He's buying it.'

"Tell me what it is that you do that makes you so special?" Fear radiated through your eyes. You had to escape. "I can't tell you out loud. You have to come closer." He rolled his eyes and moved his face closer to yours. "There."

"Closer." Your bodies were nearly inches apart from each other. "I'm listening." You leaned your head to close his as if you were about to whisper in his ear and kicked him in the groin.

You expected the jerk to fall to the floor but he was strong. Anger flowed through his energy and all you could see was red in his eyes. "You little whore!" His fist connected with your face and the entire world around you spun.

"Oww! Oww! Oww!" You screamed and knocked him over using your shine as you cradled your broken nose. "What the hell is going on?" You could hear one of the teachers yelling down the hall.

"She-she-" The bully looked at you with terror in his eyes. You didn't have to be in his mind to know that he was trying to figure out how it was that you knocked him over without even touching him, let alone what he was going to tell this teacher because you didn't have to be shiny to know that there was no way the teacher was going to believe him.

"T-The freak started it! She looked at me funny!.."

"So you hit her?!" Teachers began to crowd around you and you felt people shaking your shoulders. "Y/n! Are you okay?" Despite the pain you were in you could tell even beaten and defenseless, they were scared of you.

"I-i-" Your head felt heavy and you had a moment to register you must of gotten a concussion as faces and voices around you began to fade in and out.

You could remember being lifted into the ambulance and having pills shoved down your throat and bandages being pressed against your nose but other than that everything was completely a blur.

One of the teachers called your mom and you could of swore you vaguely hear her saying something to your mom about how you were "strange" but you thought nothing of it.

They all thought you were strange besides your mom. She was the only one who really liked you. What her response was, you couldn't remember but before you even had enough time to register or even think about how long you were there you found yourself at home. How you got there, you didn't know but you were happy to be there. It was the one place you didn't feel like as much of a freak.

"You okay?" Your mom a ran hand through your hair and you sniffled, trying to get comfortable on the sofa. "Yeah..Just really sore." Your mom nodded solemnly and held your hand. "Can't say I'm surprised you took quite the blow."

"I didn't start it mama. I swear." You felt the tears brimming in your eyes and she wiped them away. "I know. Everyone knows." You nodded even though it hurt. "Good. They are all such jerks."

She hummed and there was a brief moment of silence following it. "What did he say to you?" You cocked your head. "What do you mean?"

"I know you pushed that boy, Y/n." The answer was met with silence and she sighed. "They're jealous, you know?" You hadn't heard her speak to you in that tone in so long.

"No, they're not."

"Yes, they are."

"No, they're not. They're all afraid of me. It's like they look inside me even though I've tried to be like them and they see what lays beneath the surface and it scares them. I'm not normal, mom. I'm a freak."

"No, you're not." She insisted. "Yes, I am. Mom, look at me. Do you know any other person who can do the things I do?"

"No but it makes you special. You have a gift, a beautiful one. You can push things, make them move with your mom. Stop people from doing things! No one can do that besides you. What makes you different makes you beautiful and if other people can't see that, they can go fuck themselves."

You sniffled and gave a hint of a smile. "I don't ever want to hear you say that about yourself again because you are so special and someday I'm sure you'll find someone just as special as you and they'll appreciate you."

"If you say so." Your mom placed a kiss on your forehead. "It's almost 4. I've got to get going. Dinner is in fridge and if you need anything just give me a call. Got it?"

"Got it." Your mom smiled sadly and grabbed her purse. "Hang in there, sweetie. It'll just get better from here." You refused to acknowledge her and she walked out the door.

You threw a blanket over yourself a little after she left and took it upon yourself to try and sleep off all the painkillers you were on. When you woke up the clock on the stove read 8:00 PM and your mouth was dry. You stood up lazily and walked over to the fridge, searching it for something with flavor besides bottled water but found nothing.

"Local coffee shop is open. I could always go there. It's only a block away." You grabbed your purse and put your favorite hoodie on before showing your earbuds in.

You stepped outside and breathed in the cold air as you looked up at the sky. There were no stars shining down on you. Just darkness. You felt alone and cold. "There has to be more people out there like me. I know there has to be."

You could see your neighbors looking at you from the corners of your eyes and waved but they shut the curtains in your face. You learned to try and not be offended by it along time ago but you couldn't help but feel that stabbing sadness and longing for love.

You hated it here. You hated everyone in that dumb town. You stepped off your porch and began the walk down the streets. You could lights burning in the night from the distant shops down the road but you paid them no mind. The only thing that you could focus on was that awful thudding in your head.

As your hand connected with doorknob of the cafe, the door swung open and your purse spilled all over. "Well, hi there!" You heard a woman laugh. You immediately picked your things up off the ground. "I am so sorry. I should of watched where I was going."

"No, no. I bumped into you first. Here, let me help you." She knelt down to your level and handed you your wallet. "Besides, it looks like you have a rough day." You wouldn't of laughed if you thought she was being condescending but there was something about this person that made you feel like she was safe.

You let out a chuckle and looked up. "You have no idea." You thought the woman standing infront of you easily had to of been one of the prettiest people you've ever seen.

"Yeah well, people fear what they don't understand. Her grey eyes interlocked with yours and you felt your heart sink into your stomach. "You can-"

(Oh yes.)

Your cheeks went red and you averted eye contact with her. "No, no, no. No shame. It's beautiful and you're beautiful." A smile graced your face and Rose grinned. She had a feeling she was going to like you. "How about we talk about this in a more private setting? No judgment. No nothing."

Something deep down told you not to trust this woman but she was special, like you. She had to be a good person. You knew she was. "Yes," You mumbled softly. "Good. That's what I thought."

Before you even knew it you and the hat woman were sitting together in the living room, her hands intertwined with yours.

"There are two types of people in this world. The rubes and then the steamy ones and you my dear are quite steamy." You furrowed your brows. "Steamy?"

"Special. It's what you have up here." She gently caressed your temples and you winced. "So what exactly happened to you today that you have all this on." She gestured to the bandage over your nose. You refused to say and she ran a hand through your hair.

"You know people are afraid of what they don't understand, right? So much pain and terror your whole life, huh?" You bit down on your lip. "I-" You burst into tears and started sobbing.

"Shh..no tears. No pain." She hummed softly in your ear and hugged you. It felt so weird to be hugging this stranger but it also felt so right. "Show me how special you are."

"W-what?" You hicupped. "Show me how special you are." She repeated. You hesitated and then flipped over the coffee table with your shine.

Rose grinned and rubbed your back. "Oh yes. So so special..Y/n, I want to help you." You wiped your tears away. "You do?"

"I do. Don't you want a family? To be loved?" You froze. "How did you-"

"Oh sweetie, I know everything about you and I can help you. Just give in and join me. I'll bring you home."

'I have to be dreaming. This is all so crazy,' You thought. "Oh it's not crazy. It's real. You want to come with me, don't you?"

"I-i do." You felt your body growing limp in Rose's arm. "Sleep well."

Instead of the loud slam of your body hitting the floor you were awoken by the loud shutting of a door. "Well hi there, sleepyhead!"

You groggily sat up in bed and looked all around. You felt like you were back at a more tasteful version of Woodstock.

"W-where am I?" You stuttered, lazily sitting up and leaning back on your hands. "Home, like I promised." You coughed and your mouth felt like sandpaper. "What did you do to me?"

"Nothing you have to worry about." Rose booped your nose and eyed your body carefully. "Tell me, how old are you darling?"

"19," You hummed softly. "19! What an age. I have a girl in the family around your age. Both such beautiful things with so much potential."

"Oh, I'm not pretty," You blushed. "Oh yes you are! I'll just have to show you eventually." She gave an impish grin. "Anyways, I'm going to offer you a deal that I haven't made anyone in 9 years."

"Which is?" You asked. "Stay with me and you'll have a family who will nuture you and love you all the more for you and not have to worry about a thing for the rest of your life. 10 years from now you're still 19. 100 if you have good genetics, maybe 20. Stay young, eat well, live long."

"With no strings attached?" You asked. "None what so over." You smiled despite the terror you felt. "Okay. I'll do it."

"Excellent." You went to sit up out of bed but Rose pushed you back against the mattress. Her long and attractive body leaning over top yours. "Oh no. You're not going anywhere yet. I still have to show you how special and pretty you are.."

#true knot #fanfic #stephen king #imagine #rose the hat #doctor sleep #dr sleep #the shining #x reader #x fem reader #x female reader

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airquietworks · 4 years

Text

Lost at the Summit (IzuOcha) (Part 3)

Part 1, Part 2

Chapter 3: Story One week later, Ochako found herself alone in a cold bed, groggily awakening on what was supposed to be a lazy Sunday.

Izuku was conspicuously absent, the sheets with barely a trace of warmth from his body's departure. She frowned slightly at that - she liked the rare chance for lazy cuddles in the morning - but didn't think much of it. He must have been preparing breakfast or perhaps dealing with a phone call - which he should not take on a day off, but oft did anyway.

She let herself slide into her bedsheets, struggling to resist the urge to fall back asleep again.

The days were so busy now, conspiring to keep her and her husband apart. A couple of news outlets finally asked her for interviews about retirement, and though she dutifully squeezed them in, they did not get much traction. People were still too preoccupied with Deku's retirement, what that meant for the hero charts, and other news of the day as the world shifted around the fall of the world's greatest.

Ochako had buried herself in her work, intent to live her last days as a hero best she could. She tried her best to ignore people's ignorance of her, focusing on saving lives and helping people. But the days dragged and part of her could not let go of her bitterness. All of a sudden, retirement could not come soon enough.

She decided to start her morning as he usually did - reaching out and grabbing her phone from her bedside table. She idly swiped her fingers across it, checking the news of the day, always with an eye out for anything she should be aware of as a pro.

A glance through her emails yielded something unusual. Her inbox was flooded with messages with similar titles: "thank you," "Thanks, Uravity!" "You rock." It wasn't that uncommon to get an appreciation message from someone she rescued, but the sheer number of them was peculiar.

She opened one.

"Hi! I just wanted to let you know you're my favourite hero, and I absolutely love you. You kick so much butt! I remember seeing you leap into a burning office tower one time and save 20 people. It was so awesome!

I'm so sad you're retiring! =( But I'll keep cheering you on while I still can!"

Ochako grinned at that, her mood lifted by the message of appreciation, even if it was simple. She got them from time to time, but they never failed to make her feel good.

But it was strange. These messages were rarer in her aging years and she could not recall doing anything that would garner this kind of outpouring.

She went through a few more of the emails, all with variations of people sharing their appreciation for her, whether or not she had personally rescued them. Eyebrows furrowing at the strange situation, she checked through her social feeds to see what exactly was going on.

On social media, her mentions were flooded into the thousands, far more than usual. A word caught her attention, causing her eyes to widen.

"#WeLoveUravity" was trending.

It was not a massive trend, but there were still thousands of similar, heartfelt messages - shorter, but no less impactful. Pictures and stories of her throughout the years were being shared. A few noteworthy commentators were even discussing how little coverage she was getting since she made her retirement announcement two weeks ago, and the inherent sexism at play with that.

Ochako fell back into her pillow, trying to make sense of it all. Her heart beat faster, a nervous, excited energy taking hold of her as she watched everything unfold.

The world - at least, a part of it - was finally telling her story.

And Izuku probably had something to do with it. There was no other explanation she could think of.

More than a little perturbed at the idea her husband had somehow manipulated the masses, she got up, not bothering to change, and made a beeline for the kitchen to confront him about it and-

Thank him? Scold him? She was not sure. She loved the words being shared about her, even if it was probably just a passing trend that would fade quickly. But she did not want that to come because Izuku somehow campaigned on her behalf. They supported each other, relied on one another, but only to a point. She wanted her legacy to stand by itself - even if it came up short - instead of sitting on Izuku's broad shoulders.

But as she walked through the kitchen and living area, he was nowhere to be seen. The only traces of him were a few dishes in the sink, a plate of eggs on their dining table and an envelope next to it.

Pouting, she trudged forward towards the message. She opened it up and pulled the paper out, growing frustrated by the surprising morning.

"Dear Uravity,

I wasn't too sure about writing this message. But I saw what was going on and I figured I had to.

You probably don't remember me, and I don't blame you. We met about ten years ago, with a villain raid in the city. I was a new pro hero, fresh out of school. I was overzealous and got myself into a bad situation. I saw my life flash before my eyes as a monstrous villain towered over me. I was sure I was dead, but you knocked her away with one punch and got me to safety.

I'll never forget the care and comfort you showed me, your bright smile somehow making me feel like everything was going to be okay, even in such a calamity. I was about ready to quit right then, but you encouraged me, told me to keep on pushing forward. You were the brightest spot in one of the worst days of my life.

I just wanted to let you know how much that meant to me. I wouldn't be a hero today without you. I've been following you since then, and I'm amazed at what you've been able to accomplish. I was heartbroken when I found out you were retiring, but I understand. You deserve a comfortable life and a happy retirement.

I don't know how to end this, so I guess - thank you. You are my hero.

P.S. I'm not much of an artist, but a lot of people are doing it, so I hope you like the picture.

Sincerely,

Clearway"

The memory was foggy in her mind - she had dealt with a lot of villain-led attacks, and could only vaguely recall this one. But she was touched nonetheless.

She turned over to the next page and gasped at a glorious sketch of her standing atop a roof, still young, posing heroically, looking down on the city below. She was smiling, her short hair billowing slightly in the wind, her confidence radiating in the simple lines.

In her early morning stupor, the image pierced through her heart. It struck her hard to read how much it mattered to someone that she had saved them - a hero, no less. That someone would still remember that, even a decade later.

She took a seat, anchoring herself, trying to find a steady place to keep herself from floating away.

Ochako eagerly consumed the breakfast left for her - perfectly warm, the likely product of Izuku's meticulous planning and knowledge of her sleep cycles - smiling at the simple, sweet gesture.

But as she ate, her mind spun in circles at everything that had greeted her this morning. She ran through the words over and over, a mix of pride, joy, and anxiety swirling around, uncertainty at the centre of it all. Her heart sang with gratitude for the love people were showing her, but her brain refused to stop questioning it.

There were people out there who remembered her, cared about what she had done - she could not deny that. But she always knew that to be true. That ultimately did not mean her legacy carried that much weight in a world filled with heroes who did the same. It did not mean she had helped enough people to make a mark. It did not mean her story would be told beyond the day. It did not mean she could stand on the summit.

But she had to admit their words were making accepting that a lot easier.

The familiar sounds of the front door opening perked her ears up. She got up quickly, moving towards it, eager to tell her partner what was happening and confront him if he had something to do with it.

Izuku wasted little time before marching through the room with a wide grin on his face, wearing a blue hoodie, with an oversized yellow backpack. He nodded towards her despite the confusion she was sure was showing on her face. He walked over to the table, depositing the bag.

"Good morning. Sorry I left early; I had an errand I needed to run," he said sincerely, stepping forward and inclining his head towards her. She put a finger to his lips, stopping his attempt at their usual good-morning kiss.

"Good morning," she managed, though with a sharp edge to her tone. "Do you know what's going on?"

His smile stretched wide again as he disengaged from her finger, gesturing slightly towards the bag. "I do. I went on an early mail run when I saw it. The post office only left a few in our mailbox; there were too many to carry otherwise."

"A few…?" she trailed off as he opened the bag to reveal it was overflowing with envelopes, not unlike the one left for her on the table. She went slack-jawed at the sight, quickly reaching out to get a better glimpse of just how many letters they received. There had to be over 100, all seemingly written out, stacked neatly, but clearly crammed within the bag's tight confines.

So many people had sent her a personalized message. She ran her fingers along the envelopes, confirming that they were really there in front of her.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" he said, awe in his voice as he watched her, gauging her reaction. "So many people wanted to let you know what you meant to them."

Ochako turned her head to face him, feeling her eyes getting a little misty. She narrowed her gaze, gauging him carefully. "But how? I don't get it. Did you do something?"

His eyebrows shot up, and he suddenly looked a little nervous, his green eyes looking away. "I...may have made a post on a popular forum. But I promise I didn't say much, and I kept anonymous!"

He got a little flustered, his hands moving with his explanation.

"I was just so frustrated and upset at how sad you were about everything. I wanted to do something - I wasn't sure what. But I just wanted to vent and maybe show you a thread of people who did appreciate you. I just said there wasn't a lot of coverage about you retiring and how sad that was. I guess it got some traction, and people started posting more and somebody I didn't know said they should do fanart, and before I knew what was happening, it went viral."

He took a breath after his rant, gesturing to the letters. "And I don't know how, but somewhere along the way, someone thought it would be nice to do handwritten messages, too. My post may have started it, but I promise I didn't do anything else beyond that. This was because so many people do appreciate what you've done - because you are one of the best."

He stepped forward to grasp both her hands in his, holding them softly, brushing his thumbs over top. "I know that better than anyone."

Her heart stuck in her throat, Ochako struggled to come up with a response. She could feel a smile stretch across her face as she stared up at him, and she was helpless to stop it. The knowledge that somehow, all these people had sincerely wanted to do something for her...a part of her still could not believe it.

"I just...I just don't get it," she murmured. "I haven't done anything to deserve this."

"You've been leaving an impact on people your entire life. You do deserve this - and more."

On instinct, she hugged Izuku, conveying the appreciation that words could not. He embraced her in turn, the two of them holding one another for a moment, basking in the warmth.

His lips pressed a kiss into her hair. "Want to start going through them?" he suggested.

"I think I'd like that." Maybe then, she could banish the doubts, still clawing at the edges of her thoughts.

The two of them moved over to the couch, pressing up against each other, making up for the earlier loss of morning cuddles. Together, they started to read through some of the letters, each one sincere and heartfelt. Izuku took it upon himself to read many of them aloud, giving voice to the sentiments of the people she had saved, helping them ring more powerfully in her ears. They also admired the art together - they had a wide variety of quality, but she appreciated each one, and she resolved to collect them carefully as a keepsake.

A couple of hours passed and they barely put a dent in the messages. They carefully sorted them out, removing the hundreds in the oversized bag, placing them aside for later.

The miraculous letters slowly eroded her defences. The world had left its eyes on her, and she was far more beloved than she would have imagined. Perhaps history would be kind to her, after all.

Still, that irritating, nagging part of her mind knew it might yet be a flash in the pan. Viral trends did not necessarily leave much of a lasting mark. She felt so wonderful about the love of her fans, but how far that ultimately extended was hard to know exactly. Did it really compare to what other heroes were able to do?

Just as they stood up and agreed to take a break, Izuku grabbed her hand again, beaming at her.

"So...I was wondering if you'd be up to take a trip with me."

"Oh? What for?"

He looked strangely giddy, his feet rocking back and forth, a toothy grin plastered across his face.

"Well...I didn't plan for all this. But I did plan for something else. A surprise."

Her spirits buoyed by the lovely morning, she found his giddiness infectious, and she eagerly pumped a fist up to share in his enthusiasm. "Alright, sure! Where are we going?"

Izuku trembled with his excitement. "U.A. High School."

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Together, they walked to the place where it all began, Izuku keeping infuriatingly cryptic about his plans. The city streets seemed so much more wondrous now after their morning together, the cloudless day painting it in vibrant light, the busy people she had protected for 35 years going about their lives peacefully; a peace she had protected.

They moved covertly, dressed in baggy, unremarkable clothing, with hoods up to disguise their faces as they made their way to the front gates of the school. It was just as imposing as it was back then, built upon the shoulders of the country's greatest heroes. She had belonged here, but after so many years away, the hallowed grounds had regained their intimidating stature. A part of her wondered about herself in relation to this anyone care that this was the school that had produced her? Would her name be listed amongst its greats?

She tried to clear her head, shaking it thoroughly. It would do her no good to get mired in such thoughts.

"Quite a sight, isn't it?" He looked just as in awe of it as she was, even though he visited far more often than she did for guest appearances. "I really miss living here."

"Those were tough times. But a lot of good memories," she said, reminiscing about those wondrous early days.

"The best," he agreed as they arrived at the front gate, closed with a mighty metallic door. Security was still just as tight as ever.

"So...will you tell me now why exactly you wanted to bring us here?" Ochako pleaded, pouting at her husband, desperate to know what surprise had made him so delighted.

"Well, if they're not late, they should be...ah, there they are!"

He gestured towards the corner opposite to where they had arrived. A middle-aged woman with long, red hair and a kind smile walked toward them, carrying a small girl in her arms. The girl was positively adorable, with short hair like the older woman's, rosy cheeks and a bright smile as she looked around at the school, squirming excitedly.

Ochako looked intently at them and then back at Izuku, posing the question with her eyes. The pair of them looked vaguely familiar, and the girl was certainly cute, but she was pretty sure she had never met either of these people.

"Mommy, mommy, who are they! Are they the surprise?!" the girl squealed, pointing at the two heroes as they approached.

"Yes, that's right," the mother replied, her own excitement ringing clearly in her voice. She turned her head to regard Ochako, looking intently at her. "It's so nice to see you both. Thank you so much for this. I didn't imagine this would ever happen."

"Thank you so much for agreeing to my request," Izuku replied with a grin. "Well, Ochako, do you recognize her?"

Ochako regarded the pair again, putting on a gentle smile, but struggling to put names to the faces. The girl stared back at her with wide eyes, tilting her head slightly, studying her.

"Mommy...is that...?"

"Yes, that's right," the woman said with a laugh, kneeling down to let the girl out of her arms, the child practically vibrating with excitement. "That's Uravity."

It was like a volcanic eruption. The young girl - who could not have been older than five based on her size - squealed with delight, jumping slightly in the air, her hair flying about as she hurried over to the named hero.

Ochako chuckled at the sheer delight before her, kneeling down to meet her apparent fan. It was always fun to interact with the little ones. It did her heart good to see somehow, she could still inspire children.

"Hello there," she greeted the girl, pulling her hood down to show more of her face. The girl glomped her knee, staring up at her with wide, chocolate-coloured eyes, beaming ever-so-sweetly. "It's nice to meet you. What's your name?"

The girl giggled suddenly, squeezing at the fabric of her jeans.

"Yours!" she cried out, laughing as if that was the greatest wonder in the world. "Ochako!"

The hero felt as if her heart might burst from the shock and joy that coursed through it. She felt her eyes go wide, her gaze flashing up towards the girl's mother, who had a smile stretching across her entire face.

The realization came through her mind. She looked back to the girl at her knees, beaming up at her. Her memories flashed backwards, 35 years ago, reaching deep into the rubble, pulling a red-haired girl out, consoling her, hoping she could put a smile back on that face.

Haruka Akemi.

The elder Ochako snapped back to the present, looking down at the girl, who suddenly looked so much like the one in her memories. She gulped, struggling to contain the welling emotion of meeting her namesake. "Well, that's a lovely name for a lovely girl."

The girl blushed, her cheeks getting rosier, but the smile never vanished from her face, little dimples popping up in it.

"Wow!" the girl exclaimed. "I love that we have the same name. You're my favourite hero."

Ochako's heart squeezed at the sheer cuteness, her breath coming out in a little gasp, garnering laughter from the other adults present.

"Thank you very much," she responded, glancing back towards Akemi. "Hey, would it be alright if I held you?"

"Yeah!" The girl cheered, suddenly trying to scramble up into her hero's lap.

Said hero looked up to Akemi for permission, who provided a quick, affirming nod.

Ochako lifted the girl up, grinning as she yelled in delight, her arms reaching up towards the sky. She hardly weighed anything, even without activating her quirk.

"Yaa!" the girl cheered, giggling as Ochako lifted her up and down a few times. Ochako laughed with her, the child's mirth infectious, her heart soaring at the sheer joy of the moment.

But suddenly, she felt a strange tugging at her neckline. Curious, she looked down to see her clothes pulling away from her body slightly toward the girl she was holding.

"Watch your Quirk now, dear," Akemi said. Ochako looked up to see the woman moving ever so slightly towards the pair, without moving her feet, pulled by some unseen force.

"Oh, sorry!" the girl cried out, slightly panicked, the smile running away from her face. She took a deep breath, calming herself down.

Ochako noticed her clothes fall back to normal, the force gone.

"Is that...her Quirk?" Izuku said slowly, putting his hand on his wrinkled chin. She noticed his eyes lighting up, as it often did when an exciting new Quirk appeared before him.

"It is. We're not entirely sure about it since she got it last month, but we suspect,, based on my Quirk, she is increasing her gravitational force to pull things in." Akemi frowned, walking up to stroke at her daughter's hair. The girl had suddenly lost all her excitement, the colour drained from her face.

"Wow, that's quite a power," Izuku chimed in, studying the girl intently.

"It is. But we're a little worried about the risks if it gets too powerful. So we're playing it safe until she's a little bit older."

"I want to be a hero like you…" the young Ochako said suddenly, looking away from everyone. She was suddenly on the verge of tears. "But I don't know if I can with this."

"Ochako…" the girl's mother replied, her eyes widening, apparently startled by the sad comment.

Without thinking, Uravity took action.

"Hey. You know, when I was a little girl, people were worried about what I could do with my Quirk, too," she said, causing her younger counterpart to pull her head up.

"Really?"

"Yeah! People were always saying I needed to be careful or I might really hurt someone." She could remember once sending her father a little too high into the air, leading to him getting a sprained ankle. "So I had to watch out for a little while. But eventually, I got a little older and had enough control to really work with it."

The girl sniffled slightly. "Could I do that?"

"I know you can do it. Just listen to your mom and keep working hard. Reach as high as you can. If you can stay positive and work at it, I'm sure you could be a hero, if that's what you want to do."

The girl's face lit up brighter than the sun, bringing a matching smile onto her namesake. "I do! I will!"

Ochako held up a fist, letting it slowly approach the girl. "Then I'm looking forward to seeing what you can do as the next hero named Ochako!"

The girl slowly mimicked her hero, bringing her tiny fist into her counterpart's one. She held it there for a moment, before bringing it back in, beaming all the while. The torch was passed.

The hero handed the girl back to her mother, spirits buoyed, heart warmed to have helped make such wonder in a child so small.

"I wanted to thank you for everything you did back then," Akemi said, her smile as beautiful as her daughter's. "What you said to me...I never really got to thank you properly, but it was what I needed to hear. I don't know if I could have gotten through everything without it. I never stopped looking up to you after that. I even run a fan site - I was just a little nervous about trying to meet you in person again."

Ochako beamed at the woman, her eyes getting wet as the words left their mark. What she did back then did matter. It was not for nothing. She had made a difference, even if it seemed so small looking back.

"Aww, you didn't have to be afraid. I would have been happy to meet you at any time." She looked towards the small girl who bore her name. "Thank you for this. For her. I'm just...I'm honoured."

"There wasn't anyone more inspiring we could think of to name her after. And neither of us would be here today without you." The girl in question gave a toothy grin and thumbs up at her idol. "And she's loved you ever since she found out about it."

Ochako took a breath, struggling to maintain some composure. Seeing the happy family that her work had helped create made her feel more pride than just about anything, besides her own family.

"Mommy, why is she crying?"

The hero touched her cheek. Oh. She was. She supposed it could not be helped.

"I'm just...very happy," the hero replied, making sure to show it in her smile.

It was difficult to describe the overwhelming, surging emotions within her. Here was solid proof of her mark on the world, something impossible to fathom before this moment. Surrounded by such love, she felt eager to give some of it back out.

"Would it be alright if I gave you two a hug?"

The blush returned to Akemi's face. She buried it in her daughter's hair, but she opened up her free right arm. Her daughter reached out eagerly, tiny arms stretching forward.

Ochako stepped forward and embraced the two of them, hugging them close, though taking care not to crush her namesake. Akemi let out a little gasp, seemingly struck by being embraced by her hero, while the younger Ochako latched around her neck.

The hero felt warmed to the very core of her being, holding a small part of a much greater legacy. She had made a difference, and she was holding it. Right now, these two people were the world to her.

"Thank you," the hero whispered her heart into Akemi's ear.

"Thank you for saving me," was all the woman could manage in reply.

After a couple of autographs and a promise to keep in touch, the couplings waved farewell to one another.

The hero promised herself, right then and there, she would watch the girl grow.

"I can't believe you found her after all these years."

"It took a little doing, but it was worth it." Izuku's answering grin was just as wonderful as it was on the day they first met.

She took the time to hug him from the side, digging her head into his chest. "You're incredible, you know that?"

"I couldn't be without you," he whispered into her hair. "You set a pretty good example."

"Oh, hush." She disentangled herself from him, face aflame, touched beyond words but getting a little embarrassed at the avalanche of compliments the day had brought. "So, shall we head back home?"

"Well...I had one more thing in mind." He walked over to the towering gate, pulling a card out from his pocket and flashing it at a scanner at the side of the door.

Ochako jumped slightly as the doors slowly opened, revealing the campus and school beyond. She stared wide-eyed at the familiar pathway, where she had begun her real journey to becoming a hero.

"How did you…?"

"Retiring comes with some perks. Called in a favour or two," Izuku said, tucking the card back in and adjusting his yellow backpack slightly. "Come on, let's go!"

With a surprising amount of exuberance, Izuku forged ahead, laughing as they returned to the grounds of their youth. Ochako followed him, joining in, eager to see just what more he had in store.

Staring at the school ahead now, it did not seem quite so imposing. The familiar path, lined with the busts of heroes, was significant, but she could walk it just as well as she did when she first came here.

This was a place bathed in legacy, but she was a part of that, just as much as the incredible heroes who had come before her. After meeting her young namesake, she did not doubt that now. Whether or not the world recognized it, she had made a difference, and there was plenty of living proof.

She realized how lost she had gotten. What was important to her was helping people - and heroes - in pain, people who needed you. She had done that thousands of times. That mattered. It was enough.

"I wanted to be here for this," Izuku suddenly called out, snapping her from her thoughts. He surged forward quickly, a few steps ahead of her. "The place where we-EEEEEEEEEE!"

Ochako reacted on instinct, sprinting ahead and tapping her hand onto the backpack of her descending husband. She did not see exactly how he had managed to trip, but even he would suffer from a faceplant into the hard ground.

Her reflexes were still quick enough, though he came pretty close to tasting brick. He stopped awkwardly in the air, body hanging horizontally without its gravity.

A rush of nostalgia hit Ochako with full force. Her mind went back more than 40 years, when she reached out to save the boy who would come to save the country - and her. She had acted on instinct back then too, not wanting to let people get hurt when she could make a difference, even if preventing a fall was trivial.

Silence hung in the air between them, the realization hitting them both at the same time.

She started snickering at him. Uproarious laughter followed quickly.

"I...can...not..believe!" Ochako paused between words, struggling to breathe, keeling over slightly. "That you would fall here again!"

After forty years of heroics, standing at the pinnacle, the world's greatest hero was still felled by his own two feet. Some things never changed.

"I swear...I swear I didn't mean to!" he responded, legs kicking in the air slightly as the laughter wracked through him. She noticed a blush starting to come to his cheeks, a little embarrassment peeking through the mirth. "Gosh, I planned to be more...together this time. I couldn't say a word to you when we..."

His face scrunched up suddenly. Just as she prepared to release him, he turned in mid-air, reaching his hand out to pause her.

"Wait! Uh, can you just hold me here for a bit?" he asked, reaching around himself to take his backpack off his shoulders.

Confused but curious, she nodded, staring intently at her partner as she tried to make out what he was up to.

With a shaky hand, he pulled out a small envelope from the bag, reaching out to hand it to her, still hanging awkwardly in midair.

"One...one last letter," he muttered, tripping over the words as he had with his feet. His nerves were evident, but she could not understand what he had to be nervous about. "From your biggest fan of all."

She had a hard time processing the image before her. Izuku, reaching up, letter in hand, hanging awkwardly, his gravity stolen by her hands. Blushing like a schoolboy, a nervous little grin on his face. She did as he asked, taking the envelope and regarding it carefully, curious as to its contents.

Izuku took a deep breath as she opened it up. "I just wanted to bring you here to remind you. About the very first time you saved me...and I guess the latest time, too."

He held up his yellow backpack, a toothy grin coming upon his face. "I even tried to look the part best I could!"

"Izuku…" she was astonished at just how far he had gone to make her feel better. She felt a surge of affection toward him, even before she read whatever was in this letter.

It was strange, thinking of this place as the first time she had saved someone. It had hardly seemed like anything at the time. Little did she know how that simple gesture would intertwine their destinies forevermore.

He finally flipped himself back upright, well accustomed to moving without gravity. She quickly tapped her fingers together, releasing him. He was suddenly right in front of her, eagerly gauging her reactions.

"Well...whenever you want to," Izuku said, inclining his head ever-so-slightly towards the message she held in her hand.

The envelope contained two pieces of paper, folded carefully together. She opened up the pages, her eyes met with his untidy scrawl. It could be difficult to read - he had developed his handwriting more for speed than legibility - but she had long since grown accustomed to it.

"To the world's greatest hero,

Hello! My name is Izuku Midoriya, and I have been a fan of yours since I was 16 - about 40 years. I might actually be your oldest fan!"

She let out a chuckle at that, Izuku joining in. I was always struck by just how determined you were - and how brightly you smiled. Even when you faced setbacks, you kept maintaining this incredible aura. It must have been hard on you. I wanted to help you, but I also knew it was something a hero had to do; reassure others even in the darkest of moments.

Being back here, Ochako could remember her first Sports Festival, and how brutal that setback had been. It was tough putting on a brave face. She put on a false smile too often back then, but it was a skill that could come in handy.

I've watched you every step of the way, and it was incredible seeing how fast you grew. How strong, how kind, how heroic you were. It drove me to want to be better. I know I would not have been the hero I am today without you.

You may not realize it, but I owe so much to you. At that entrance exam at U.A., there is no chance I would have made it without you. You saved me that day, and you've had a knack for doing that ever since.

She smiled at the memory of their exam together, even if it was fraught. From day one, they had managed to pull each other out of the fire often.

When I've fallen, you've lifted me up. When I doubted whether I could do it, you gave me a name that always meant I could. I've watched you blossom into an absolutely incredible professional. You inspire and help so many people. You are ridiculously kickass.

She snorted at that one.

My favourite moment of yours was your fight against the Renegades. The way you alternated your Quirk so smoothly and took out so many of them at once is - well, you know the rest.

"Nerd," she teased, garnering another chuckle from him.

You are the world to me. Everything we've built together, accomplished together - I'll make sure no one ever forgets it. You helped me tell my story - you helped make sure my story even exists. I will make sure they know yours.

I've left something to remind you of just how far you've come. The world may not recognize it, but I know we stand at the summit together. And I never would have made it here without you.

Thank you for always saving me!

Your number one fan, Izuku Midoriya

"Izuku...I…" her throat clogged up, rendering her speechless. Standing here, she could fully remember the incredible story she had helped create. How could she have doubted she had not left her mark, when the truth stood there before her, his eyes bright, standing at the top of the world, her right by his side?

Her story would be told. Their story. Together, in everything. She could see it now.

"Hang on. You should see the fan art first." Izuku looked sideways, blushing, adjusting himself away ever so slightly. "...Maybe even the first one?"

Startled, Ochako turned the page over, gasping at the sketch of herself. It was a little worn, clearly done with a basic pencil on an aged piece of paper. But it was surprisingly detailed around her face - far more than some of his older sketches. The descriptions highlighted her various costume features and abilities. She noticed a few crossed words like "cute" and "incredible," the page bearing the first signs of his love for her.

"It's the first sketch I ever drew of you. I usually cycle through these pretty fast, updating things. But I wanted to keep that one, even back then. When I first drew it, I realized I went too far and put it away. But I never wanted to get rid of it. Eventually, I realized it might make a nice retirement gift."

She reflected on the old sketch of herself - young, naive, courageous, simple. She drew a hand across the worn page, a gateway to the past, thinking upon how the image of her had changed, how much more she had done since then.

"Thank you, Izuku. It means so much to me." She stared up at him, his green irises shining down at her, the same passionate flame still there within them, even if they were now surrounded by more wrinkled flesh. "And thank you for saving me. Now, and always."

He grabbed onto her shoulders; she could feel the strength still so present in his arms despite how worn they had become. They beamed at one another, as best friends, partners, and everything to one another.

"This is where our journey together began," he stated simply. "Where our story began. And this is where the rest of our lives will, too."

She placed a hand over the top of his, holding it to her, staring fiercely back at him. "We got some adventures left in us after all, right?"

"The best is yet to come."

She acted then, grabbing onto the neck of his sweater and pulling him in for a deep kiss, her heart igniting at the contact, as surely as always.

They pulled away, the passion of the fleeting moment staining both their cheeks, suddenly sheepish about such a brazen public display of affection. Fortunately, nobody was around to witness it.

Ochako carefully put the letter and drawing back in the envelope and tucked it away in a pocket, turning back to the path where she had begun her journey, leading toward the gate out to the rest of the world.

She held out her hand for him, and he took it, intertwining their scarred flesh together.

They walked out towards the sunlight, the rest of their story left to tell.

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AN: Written for the IzuOcha Temple Discord Server Big Bang Event. Prompt: "Thank you for always saving me!" Thank you very much to Mal for editing this and for Xylveon for the incredible artwork provided for the fic. You can also find it at https://twitter.com/Xylveon700/status/1294469669361840129. Please show Xylveon some appreciation! Thank you to the organizers for putting this on, it was truly wonderful to be part of. Please leave a like and/or reblog if you enjoyed it ! ^_^

#IzuOcha #my hero academia #fanfiction #Midoriya Izuku #Ochako Uraraka #shipping #IzuOcha Temple 3rd Anniversary Big Bang #Angst #fluff #romance #this is really dang fluffy

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freyjawriter24 · 4 years

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Advent Omens: Warmth

My response to Day 22 of @drawlight‘s excellent advent prompt list. Yes, I know it’s February. But I’ve been being surprisingly productive recently, and wanted to channel some of that into cutesy stuff outside of my focus on Someone New, and this seemed a good, shorter way to do that, so here we are. I hope you enjoy (even if it is a little out of season... It’s still winter, though, and I’m only two months and a day late for this one! There are more coming that will be even later...).

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Crowley had never been a fan of the cold. Probably something to do with his being a snake or something, he figured, but whatever the reason, he hated it. Why on Earth he’d ended up mostly settling in a climate where it was never particularly warm, he couldn’t quite work out (ignore the angel-shaped reason, that can’t be it), but the winters were at least the reason he didn’t stay in New York more regularly – if it got cold in London, it was far, far worse across the pond.

The Bentley, it seemed, had acquired some of its demonic owner’s characteristics, one of which was very firmly hating the cold. The car flatly refused to move the first couple of times Crowley had attempted to drive anywhere when it was cold enough for frost to have accumulated on the windscreen, even when the demon exasperatedly pointed out that moving around would actually make the damn thing warmer. After that he simply miracled it to always feel the temperature of a warm spring day, which had the added bonus of meaning the windows never frosted up again.

Not that Crowley drove much when it was really cold, anyway. He preferred to hide away inside on days like that, curled up in a pile of blankets in his flat or the bookshop, a hot drink or a hot water bottle nearby.

Today, though, was an exception. Because he’d promised to take Aziraphale out, as a treat.

“Ugh, why did it have to be today?” he muttered as he started the Bentley. “I take it you think you’re funny,” he said in the vague direction of the sky, and then swore under his breath.

At least the drive itself would be warm. Not that that would make getting out of the car at the other end any easier, but still.

He rang Aziraphale from the kerb when he got to the bookshop. “Angel, I’m outside. Hurry up, or we’re going to be late.”

“Coming, my dear!”

The happiness in his voice was palpable, and Crowley groaned as he hung up. Why had he agreed to this again? What on Her green Earth had he been thinking? Even without the miserably cold weather, this was going to be an experience comparable to Hell.

The passenger door of the Bentley opened, and an angel appeared, wrapped up warm in a thick coat and matching tartan scarf and mittens. Crowley rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses, but couldn’t help feeling a little flutter of affection all the same.

“Ooh, it’s lovely and warm in here,” Aziraphale said brightly.

“Mmm,” Crowley said, pulling away as soon as the door was shut. “Bentley doesn’t like the cold.”

The angel nodded sympathetically, and settled himself into the warmth of the car as they drove off into the gathering dusk.

It took them far less time to get there than it should have done, of course, what with Crowley’s tendency to go double the legal speed limit on most smaller roads and attempt to push the needle past 100 on motorways, but the drive was still a small, peaceful haven of heat in an otherwise freezing and unfriendly world.

They listened to Beethoven on the way, which gradually morphed into Queen’s ‘A Winter’s Tale’, followed by ‘Body Language’, presumably because it was part of the ‘Hot Space’ album, and the Bentley thought that would be funny. Crowley had to try very hard not to look at Aziraphale during some of the lyrics, and tried not to wonder whether the angel’s pink cheeks were anything to do with the song or just the temperature.

He was inordinately grateful when they finally found themselves on a series of tight back roads and he had an excuse to turn the music off. “Should be around here somewhere. Keep an eye out for signs, they said there should be some.”

Iced-over puddles crunched under the Bentley’s wheels as they drove down one particularly narrow country lane, and then there they were. They’d made it.

“Oh good, looks like they haven’t started yet,” Aziraphale said happily, motioning to a group of humans who were milling about in a dark field together.

The angel hurried out of the car and over to someone who looked like they knew what was going on to sort out being let in. Crowley groaned, then sighed, then eventually clambered out of the warmth of the car and into the cold night air.

“Come on, my dear,” Aziraphale said, gesturing for the demon to join him. Crowley pulled his jacket tighter round himself, pushed his hands into his pockets, and sloped over in a striking impression of a stroppy pre-teen.

“Remind me why I agreed to this again?”

“It was your idea, Crowley. Something about ‘taking the mickey out of all the inaccuracies’, I believe.”

“I wouldn’t have said ‘mickey’, I would’ve said ‘piss’,” the demon grumbled, accepting his fate as one of the in-charge humans glared at him.

“I’d like to remind you that this is a family event,” she said pointedly. “Also we don’t allow flash photography or filming of any kind.”

“Of course,” Aziraphale said, smiling.

“Sure,” the demon grunted.

“Right then,” the human said, smiling brightly. “Come on in!”

The two celestials thanked her and went through towards the group of gathered humans.

Everyone was dressed in warm clothes and gloves against the cold, some with bobble hats on or brightly-coloured scarves visible beneath their thick coats. About half the group were adults, apparently mostly parents or grandparents of the other half of the group, who were children of varying ages and irritability. The adults were talking in hushed tones to one another, the kids either messing about together or complaining about the cold or stood in sullen silence, waiting for the main event to start.

Then a voice came from out of the darkness.

“Two thousand years ago,” it said, with the clarity of hidden speakers and a good microphone, “a child was born that would change the world. He was the son of God, and he was called Jesus.”

Crowley was about to lean over and mutter something snarky in Aziraphale’s ear, when there was a sudden rush of bright light and the associated gasps of several of the people there. The demon froze.

God, he’s beautiful.

Aziraphale was gazing upward in wonder at whatever had been suddenly illuminated in a nearby tree. The light had lit him up, too, bouncing off his pink cheeks and spellbound smile, and Crowley couldn’t help but just stare for a moment.

Eventually, he realised he was meant to be paying attention to whatever it was Aziraphale was watching, so he turned to see a human stuck up in a tree, dressed in flowing white robes and apparently playing an angel. He’d missed most of the dialogue, but it soon became evident that this was supposed to be the moment where the shepherds were told about Jesus. A swell of singing sounded from the trees – a poor imitation of an angelic choir – and the spotlight on the ‘angel’ vanished as the crowd were ushered towards a nearby barn.

The humans filed politely – Britishly – into the barn and took seats on the rows of hay bales that had been arranged for the occasion. Crowley looked around, a little confused and intrigued by this arrangement. But it all became clear in a matter of moments.

The performance was, Crowley grudgingly admitted to himself, actually quite good. Not necessarily in terms of historical accuracy, mind, but for the drama of it – yes, that was all pretty solid.

He watched the angel’s face soften into love when Mary and Joseph came on stage, accompanied by an actual real baby playing Jesus – a real baby! He was impressed by the dedication to realism when the shepherds ushered in real-life sheep to meet the child – real sheep! And (not that he’d ever admit it) he actually gasped along with the rest of the crowd when King Herod and his men came in – which, to be fair, anyone would have done, if suddenly confronted with a galloping horse screeching to a halt amidst an indoors crowd – a real horse!

He also watched Aziraphale’s features harden as the King threatened the death of the Messiah and enacted the murder of all infants in the area. I know, angel, I know. At least you didn’t have to see it.

The three wise men were fairly dramatic just in their looks – again, a decent production value, regardless of any relation to actual fashion of the time. And all the main points of the story were there, all the important stuff that always got retold at this time of year. It was a solid show.

At one point, Crowley looked over to see the angel crying – making no sound, but tears glistening on his cheeks in the candlelight of the barn. He wanted to reach out, to comfort him – an arm around the shoulder, perhaps, or even a soft squeeze of the hand sat on the angel’s knee. But no, that would be too much – they’d barely known each other for six thousand years, after all, that date ticking past only a handful of years ago. And more to the point, the incident at the church was only sixty-four years ago, the exchange in the Bentley in Soho barely thirty-eight years ago. Don’t go too fast. Don’t make him uncomfortable. Let him come to you.

Which is why all the demon did was nudge Aziraphale’s arm gently with his own, and when the angel looked at him he mouthed ‘you okay?’. Aziraphale nodded, and reached a mittened hand up to wipe at the tears on his face. The other hand found Crowley’s and squeezed.

The demon didn’t pay much attention to the end of the performance after that. He was too focused on the angel’s hand on his – in his, as they gently rearranged their grip to be more mutually-entwined – and on imagining what that would feel like without layers of fabric in the way. Warm, he thought softly to himself.

All too soon, it was over, and Aziraphale carefully slipped his hand out of Crowley’s as he stood up to leave. The demon felt the loss of the contact keenly, like a kitten suddenly thrown out into the cold. But he said nothing, did nothing, just stood too and followed the angel out into the freezing, dark night.

But as they left the field and headed back to the car, thanking the in-charge humans as they passed them, Aziraphale caught his eye and gave a small smile. Thank you, that look said, and that alone would have been enough. But then the angel spoke.

“I was thinking,” he said slowly. “That perhaps we could... do more things like this, together. Perhaps, in the New Year, we could... ah, well... dine at the Ritz?”

Crowley recognised the offer for what it was instantly, and felt every atom of himself set alight at once. He struggled to maintain outward composure, but by the suddenly-increased pinkness of Aziraphale’s cheeks, he could tell he had reacted him some way. It was only when he tried to speak that he realised his jaw had dropped open.

“Uh, ngh, yeah,” he garbled, mouth moving like a goldfish with only the occasional sound escaping, none of it in any way sensical. “Of course, angel,” he finally managed. “Whatever you want. Sounds lovely.”

Ohshitohshitohshitohshit.

Is this actually happening?

Crap. Shit. Fuck.

“Good,” Aziraphale said, and even soft and subdued as it was, shy and uncertain, his smile was as blinding as a million suns.

They reached the Bentley and climbed into its haven of warmth. Neither mentioned what had just been said for the duration of the drive back to London, and Crowley kept the music firmly turned off for fear of what the car might decide to play. But the silence felt companionable, warm, relaxed, not at all strained or awkward, and it was all Crowley could do to stop himself from saying something wholly inappropriate in light of it, like I love you, or this is the best day of my life, just for that, or you are the most incredible being I have ever met and just to hold your hand for so short a time is an honour greater than any other and one I most definitely do not deserve, so please feel free to take your time, I can live off this feeling from tonight for as long as you need.

The demon dropped the angel off in Soho, and drove to his own flat in Mayfair, and left the Bentley in its usual parking spot. And he didn’t even notice the temperature change as he climbed out of the car and into the frozen air, because right now, every inch of him was warmed with pure and simple love.

#advent omens #31 days of ineffables #warmth #good omens #My writing #drawlight #Aziraphale #crowley #this is partly based on a nativity performance i went to see a couple of times as a kid #yes i know it's february but it was frosty the other day and i got this idea in my head and then i wrote it so now here you are

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romansleftshoulderpad · 5 years

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Barren

Chapter 1

Words: 1550

Warnings: Minor character deaths, Security guards/a lot of police officers, This story is NOT for the faint of heart deals with heavy subjects such as execution and running from the law.

Ship: eventual LAMP

Tags: @wannabedisneyprincess

Next Chapter

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From the moment you are born, you are tied to your fate. By age three, the mark starts to make itself known, darkening enough of your wrist to spell out a name in thick and messy lines. During puberty, it was almost black and neat enough to have been written by a master calligrapher. Some call it the “red strings of fate”, some call it a tattoo, but Virgil called it bullshit. Unfortunately, bullshit or otherwise was not for Virgil to decide.

Everyone had a mark. Almost everyone. There were few who didn’t. They were monsters. Cruel, heartless, and absolutely incapable of any kind of love- romantic or otherwise. Monsters devoid of human emotion. They had to be stopped. They had to be crushed. They had to be killed.

253 days until graduation. Virgil could survive this. He always had and he always will. His survival could be thanked mostly to his large hoodie which was typically down to his hands. He took a deep breath. He’d be okay. He was always okay.

214 days until graduation. There was a pit in Virgil’s stomach as a freshman girl got carried off by security guards. The entire school watched apathetically. About a hundred of them recording the entire event on their phones. The girl was kicking and screaming, tears streaming down her face. She knew what her fate was. The entire school knew what her fate was. Only Virgil seemed to care.

He was quiet the rest of the day. Her face was seared into his brain. “Virge, I’ve never seen you this silent before,” commented the only company he had at lunch. The boy had a large birthmark that took up half his face. Combined with Virgil’s absolute lack of a social life due to fear and hiding, the two were an unstoppable duo of social outcasts. Yet, at the end of the day, he still had a name on his wrist. He wasn’t Barren.

“She’s only fourteen,” Virgil said. “She’s just a kid and they’re going to kill her.”

“If they haven’t already.”

Virgil wanted to scream and yell. His heart was burning with anger at the apathetic student body who had forgotten about her, mere hours later. “You aren’t helping.”

“Maybe I’m not, but they are.”

“You don’t believe that,” he said, a hint of disgust on his voice. He was bad at hiding his emotions.

“I believe that monsters should be hunted, Virgil.”

Virgil felt himself about to break down. He needed to be alone. He needed to calm down. He took his bag over his shoulder and stormed off.

“Where are you going?!”

“None of your business, asshole!”

210 days until graduation. Sunday morning. Virgil’s eyes were glued to the television. “Honey, are you sure you don’t want to watch something else?” his mother asked, gently resting a hand on his shoulder. Sunday morning. The public execution.

“I saw her, Mom,” Virgil said quietly. She was on the tv screen, eyes as red as her face was, and wrecked with emotion. She was a complete contrast to the live crowd around her. “I saw them take her away. She’s a freshman. Did you know that? I don’t think the people out there know that,” he said, his voice was monotone but emotion rest heavily in his chest. “She’s in the chorus. She was supposed to be a soloist in the winter concert.”

“Did you know her?”

“Not personally, no,” Virgil admitted. “I asked a few teachers about her. Lied and said I was writing for speech and debate. That is until the chorus teacher threatened to send me to the dean for insubordination and asking too many questions.”

The screen went black as his mother took the remote. “Sweetie, I don’t think that watching that is good for you.” Virgil didn’t respond. “Listen, I know you can take care of yourself, but I can always tattoo you,” she said. “Pick a name you like and we’ll put it in your wrist. You’ll be safer that way.”

“High school will be over soon, Mom,” Virgil said. “I can figure out what to do afterward.”

“Okay, honey, but if you change your mind...,” she trailed off, planting a kiss on her son’s head and leaving him alone. She knew very well that the treatment of the Barren was undeserved and unfair. Her own sister had been Barren and ripped from her at a young age. Realizing that Virgil was Barren was heartbreaking, not because her son would be cruel or heartless, but because she couldn’t handle the heartbreak of losing her only child.

“I know, Mom,” Virgil said, pulling his sleeve over his arm, “I know.”

209 days until graduation. Everything was normal. It was a typical day in a typical fucked up world. No one cared. The slight talk of the execution was over before lunch. Virgil couldn’t bring himself to eat.

173 days until graduation. The hallways were somewhat tense. People had gotten bored nationwide. No Barrens had been found. No Barrens were killed. The people wanted- needed- something to hunt.

172. 171. 170. Virgil was growing more anxious by the day. Maybe he should get tattooed after all.

150. 149. 148. He needed an escape. 137.134.129. Only a couple more days until winter break. He could survive until the break.

127 days left and he was out the door as fast as possible. Virgil loved holiday breaks. Not for seeing family or because he was particularly fond of winter festivities (quite the opposite in fact) but because winter break was three weeks without security guards at every corner. Three weeks without teachers who could have him arrested. Three weeks without someone trying to find and kill him.

So, yeah, Virgil loved holiday breaks.

Virgil was sitting on the living room sofa with his mother, mindlessly watching holiday movies. “And up next,” his mother said in a faux impression of a radio announcer, “three more movies that follow the same story of a businesswoman meeting her soulmate.”

“Brought to you by Hallmark,” Virgil said. The two of them shared a quick moment of laughter before Virgil’s eyes darted to his mother’s wrist and then the floor. “What was it like meeting Dad?”

“It was... simple,” she said. “It wasn’t quite the fireworks and explosion of orchestral sound that everyone describes but... it was nice.” The slightest smile graced her as she recalled her late husband. “Having a soulmate named ‘John’ didn’t exactly simplify things by much, so we didn’t exactly know in the beginning. We got to know each other and the romance started from there. It was simple. Calm. Nice.”

Virgil forced a smile at the story, but the bittersweet feeling was there. His father had died just over fifteen years ago. Virgil hadn’t known him well enough to miss him.

100 days left until graduation. Everything was going smoothly. Almost too smoothly if you were to ask Virgil. The weather would be starting to warm up soon.

67 days left of school. Only a few more months until graduation. Virgil would be fine. He could survive this. Right?

Right?

“Why do you always wear that jacket?” a girl had asked him, promptly sitting down next to Virgil’s (previously) only company.

“I get cold arms,” Virgil lied.

“Pretty sure he’s a vampire.”

“Pretty sure you’re a snake,” Virgil hissed.

“Jokes on you! I love snakes!”

Virgil rolled his eyes. “Whatever, I’m leaving.”

“Wait don’t go,” the girl said, grabbing the sleeve of Virgil’s jacket.

“Let go!” Virgil yelled, pulling away. His struggle against her grip managed to free his arm completely from the jacket. When she finally let go, Virgil knew exactly why. The word was on the tip of her tongue but the only word he could hear was “run” pounding against his brain. So he listened.

He dropped his bags, shoving his arm back into the sleeve and began to run. People were shouting “Barren!” at him and at the campus police. He had to ride the wave of adrenaline against them as far as he could.

His legs pounded against the pavement and fresh morning dew burned in Virgil’s lungs. Yet, he couldn’t run forever. A hurricane grabbed his arm and pulled him in. Two strong men were holding him above the ground as he kicked and tried to pull all his strength to get away from them. He had to get away from them. His life depended on it.

He could hear the taunts and insults being thrown at him from every direction.

“Heartless!”

“Evil!” “Monster!”

He needed someone, anyone, to help him. “Dee!” he called out. “Help me! Please!” He was gambling and he knew it, but he needed any shred of friendship to save him. The boy stepped forward as the crowd parted to watch him. Virgil was saying a silent prayer.

“Monsters should be hunted.”

#Barren #Logan writes #LAMP #CALM #polyamsanders #LAMP angst #minor character death #death mention #multi chapter #LAMP fic #CALM fic #Polyamsanders fic

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rosy-roulette · 5 years

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Baekhyun: Uncharted {Part 3}

Characters: Baekhyun x female OC (feat. EXO)

Genre/series warnings: werewolf au, vampire au, angst, fluff, eventual smut so uh this will be 18+, mentions of blood (should be implied), sexual themes and seduction, swearing, violence/mention of violence, stalking(?) kinda?

Summary: After being turned into a vampire over 100 years ago, Chu Aejung has seen how terrible humans can truly be. She’s lost enough in her life time and makes the decision to not put herself in a position to lose anymore. Secluding herself in the forest around a bustling city, she thought she succeeded. But when a particular werewolf reveals to be anything but an enemy, they both step into uncharted territory.

a/n: I’m finally out with chapter 3. It’s… been a while. Alot has been going on this summer and even though I thought I would get more out I was wrong sadly. Hope you like it though.

Previous ~ Next

Aejung woke up the following day to knocking on her bedroom door. Annoyed for being woken up earlier than she wanted, she flung open her door to a concerned looking Baekhyun.

“What.” She spat.

Baekhyun blinked for a moment. “It’s 1pm.”

Aejung gestured with her hand. “Ok? Your point is?”

Baekhyun mimicked her hand movement. “Shouldn’t you be up and at least doing something? Like spending time me?”

Aejung let her hand drop heavily at her side. “I technically don’t have to do anything until sun down. I’m not suddenly going to change the way I live just because you’re here temporarily.”

“Wait you actually sle-”

“I’m going back to bed, wake me up before 7 and you will be sleeping outside.” Aejung cut him off before by closed the door in Baekhyun’s face before he could finish.

~~~

Baekhyun spent the rest of the day drifting between playing games on his laptop, talking to his pack, and exploring the small cabin. He knew he shouldn’t be snooping around his mate’s belongings, but he wanted to know other things about her. When he spotted a small, fraying old book in a small book shelf in the corner of the living room he couldn’t suppress is urge to look at what could be in it.

Sitting in front of the bookshelf, he leafed through the pages of the book. From the looks of it, it seemed to be a diary of some sort; faded words from age, changing from ink to pen to pencil and colored pens. Dates lining the tops of pages. Doodles lined the margins of the pages of some of the pages, making him smile thinking of the blunt and mysterious Aejung doodling in her diary. Looking through more of the pages, a photo slips out from in between the pages into his lap. Picking it up, he notices it’s dated from 16 years ago. A smiling image of Aejung with a happy little girl looked back at him.

‘Who is that?’ Baekhyun wonders as he takes one more look at the photo before placing it back into the diary. He didn’t expect Aejung to spill her entire life story to him the second they were alone but seeing a small snapshot of her happiness, he wanted to bring that light back.

Placing the book back in it’s spot on the shelf, he went back to looking around the rest of the house. It wasn’t long before he had seen everything and stood in front of Aejung’s bedroom door again. He sighed before turning back down the hall for the living room. It was still another few hours before Aejung had said she would be awake and he did not want to be on her bad side. He opted to go back to playing games and eating whatever they had bought last night, hoping time would go by faster.

Aejung pulled her eyelids open as her phone went off besides her. Sluggishly turning it off, her sat up in bed. Her room was noticeably darker than it was a few hours ago. Getting out of bed, she grabbed a towel from the end of her bed and her work clothes before peeking out of her room.

“Good evening sunshine!” She heard Baekhyun call from the living room. She rolled her eyes before moving across the hall into the bathroom. After a quick shower and getting dressed she emerged into the living room to find Baekhyun sprawled out on the couch with his laptop in his lap and a few of the bags of chips on the table.

“Where are you off to?” He asks, eyeing her fitted button down tucked into a simple black pencil skirt.

“My work. I have the night shift during the week.” Aejung said as she briskly walked over to the counter to grab her bag. Baekhyun stays quiet for a moment.

“So that’s why you slept for so long.” He said, realization dawning on him. “I thought it was just a vampire thing.”

“Yes and no. Yes that’s the main reason I sleep so late, but also it’s just because I tend to stay up really late into the night anyways and I need to catch up on sleep.”

Baekhyun raised an eyebrow. “What do you have insomnia? Or are you nocturnal because you’re a vampire like all the legends say?” He waves his hands above his head and changes his voice at the implication.

“Yes.” Aejung says in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Yes to what?”

“Just. Yes.”

Baekhyun stares at a spot in the corner of the room with a dumbfounded look on his face for a second. Aejung leans against the counter amused at the boy’s confusion.

He takes a breath before speaking again. “Ok good to know for the future. Sleeping in the same bed will not work, noted.” His attention went back to his laptop. Now Aejung was confused.

“Hey I can share a bed with someone if I wanted to! My weird sleep schedule wouldn’t interfere with anyone, even yours.” She protested, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Really? Then prove it, lets share a bed tonight. I’ll let you know.” A smirk tugged at the corners of his lips. Aejung rolled her eyes and groaned in annoyance and quickly collected her things.

“I’m going to work. I’ll be back late so don’t stay up for me.”

“What am I supposed to do while you’re not here!” Baekhyun protested, looking over the couch at her as she slipped on her heels.

“That’s not really my problem. When I get back we can figure it out for the week I guess.”

“Let me come with you then. I’ll just shop around until you get off work.”

Aejung sighed and thought for a second.

“Fine. Please don’t make me regret this.”

Baekhyun jumped up from the couch and quickly grabbed from clothes from his bag before running to the bathroom. He came back out a few minutes later and the pair left out the door, one happier than the other.

~~~

Leaving Baekhyun in the main square of the shopping district with the instructions to meet her at the boutique she worked when her shift ended, she quickly clocked in.

“Aejung! You’re on register tonight.” Her manager Chaesoo told her in passing. She quickly nodded before taking up her position and got ready for the evening crowd. It was never too busy in the evening since the nightlife tended to gravitate more towards the clubs and the resturants but the store still saw it’s fair share of customers at night. Aejung’s two other co-workers for the night, a middle aged woman named Seojun and a college student named Youngmi came into the store not too long after.

‘Guess they got the short end of the stick tonight huh.’ she thought, taking note at the sour look on the older woman’s face and the large coffee in the younger girl’s hand. The got to their stations without a word and the store opened for the night.

It was only an hour into her shift before Aejung looks up to the door ringing to see the ash brown hair she’s oh so familiar with. Baekhyun casually strolls into the store, looking at the clothes on the racks, stopping briefly to flip through a few button downs on display. Aejung focused on the customer before her, fighting to keep the light smile of her customer service persona on her face. Of course it fell as soon as she sent the customer on their way. She sent daggers at the wolf. She watched as he looked through everything they had on display. Every single jacket, shirt, pair of pants, shoes, accessories, nicnak they sold he looked at with phaned interest. At least she suspected as much. Another customer came to Aejung with their items, their smile snapping her away from Baekhyun. She greeted them with a small smile of her own.

“Did you find everything alright?” She asked the woman, scanning her items.

“Yes I did thank you.” the woman hesitates for a second before looking back for a second and leaning a bit closer to Aejung.

“Now I know this may sound a bit odd, but I saw you looking at that young man over there, he’s quite handsome isn’t he?”

Aejung’s hand slipped while putting the woman’s items in her bag, causing the bag to fall off the counter. Aejung quickly picked up the items and worked as fast as she could to get her out of the store. She was mortified someone caught her staring at Baekhyun. Was she that obvious? She could feel the heat from blush creep up her face to the tip of her ears as she finished ringing the woman up.

“Um-yeah he’s ok looking I guess. I’ve seen other guys that look just as nice though. He just looked familiar and I was trying to place where I’ve seen him” Aejung rambled, spitting out whatever lie she could come up with at the moment to make this exchange any less awkward.

The woman only chuckled at Aejung’s flustered state. “You don’t need to explain yourself to me dear. Have a good night.” Flashing her a knowing smile, she paid and left the store without another word, leaving Aejung at a loss of words at the strange exchange.

“I’m hurt that you don’t find me utterly handsome, love.” Aejung heard a voice from beside her. Whirling around, Baekhyun is now leaned against the counter with a smirk gracing his pink lips. She frowns.

“What the fuck are you doing here? I told you to come at closing time!” She hissed at him.

“You didn’t say I couldn’t come in during hours. Also I was curious where you worked.” He looked around at the minimalistic displays and trendy clothes. “Didn’t quite expect you to work at a place like this. Kinda expected a place like. Hot Topic or something.”

Aejung laughed.

“Hot Topic? Really?”

“What it’s edgy! You’re edgy!”

“Sure okay.” She rolled her eyes.

“So you really have seen other guys more attractive than me?” Baekhyun asked, pouting slightly.

“Yeah. One of your pack mates, ah what was his name? Junmyeon I think it was. Very good looking man I have to say.” Aejung said. She expected a snarky comeback from Baekhyun or a mocking gasp. Silence. She glanced over at the wolf. The look in Baekhyun’s eyes was unreadable. He scowled, staring at her with a blank expression, but so many emotions swimming within those dark brown eyes of his. All traces of the teasing conversation they had a few seconds before were gone. A strange feeling settled in Aejung’s chest.

“I’m kidding you know that.” She said, knitting her eyebrows together.

“Yeah, I know.” Baekhyun’s voice sounded empty. She definitely crossed a line. Fuck.

“Well have fun on your shift, see you later.” He turned on his heel and left the store before Aejung could say anything.

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