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downondilaudid · 4 years

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Sixth Street

Spencer takes his daughter for a walk, but she quickly goes missing.

Requested: @angryknightstatesmantrash

Prompts: People don’t just run away. & Where did Y/N go?

Word count: 2.9K

Warnings: none

“I mean, when the world comes for your children, with the knives out, it's your job to stand in the way.”

― Joe Hill

Today is what you considered, the perfect day, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and everyone seemed to be smiling. It was the perfect day for a walk on sixth street, one of your favorite places, in which you loved to beg your father to take you. It had been a street your mother loved to drag Spencer down, ogling at all the sights, and the first time he took you there you fell in love. There were so many things to see, sixth street was filled with street vendors, performers, and restaurants.

Spencer had always been extremely cautious when it came to you, especially with the job he worked, it often left him paranoid that one day he would walk through the door and you would be gone. This is why he held a strong grip on your hand as you walked down sixth street, a bright smile on your face at the sight of a man juggling a few baseballs.

“Dad, look!” You cried one of your arms outstretched, pointing at the man across the street.

“Wow! Did you know only 21% of people can juggle? Juggling improves your hand-eye coordination, reflexes, and peripheral vision. It’s also said that juggling can affect the size of the brain, studies have actually shown juggling increasing the size of the brain's grey and white matter. There are actually lots of different genres of juggling, such as mouth juggling, hoop rolling-”

He was cut off by a loud gasp, “Dad! Dad, ice cream!” He looked to see where you were now pointing, there stood a small pastel pink cart, with a smiling vendor, scooping up some chocolate ice cream, and plopping it onto a cone.

“Can we get some, please?” You turned back to him, your face in a slight pout.

Usually, he was very careful of how much sugar you ingested, but it was just so hard for him to say no to you when you did that face.

“C’mon, Spence!” JJ encouraged him. She was like your mother-figure, always helping you and talking to you about girl things. Spencer loved having her around, and you were good friends with Henry and Michael, so it worked out. She helped a lot ever since your mother passed, you were young but old enough to understand she wasn’t coming back.

“Alright, alright, just this once.” Spencer gave in, how could he say no? You were his world.

“Yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” You wrapped your small arms around his legs, smiling up at him.

He laughed, bringing a hand up to ruffle your hair “anything for you, sweetheart.”

You giggled happily, pulling his long frame over to the ice cream stand, JJ trailing behind, a sweet smile on her face.

JJ loved being a part of your life, you shared qualities of both Spencer and your mother. You were no doubt extremely intelligent for your young age, but you also had an amazing sense of creativity and enjoyed the fine arts. Something your mother had been extremely passionate about. You weren’t quite tall like Spencer, but maybe you hadn’t hit your growth spurt yet. Your hair fell in deep brown curls, slightly darker than Spencer's, and you shared the same hazel eyes. Your face was adorned with the same sun-kissed freckles as your mothers was, a feature of your mother’s Spencer used to worship. Even though your mother was gone, her memory still lived on in you. Spencer made sure you knew that, always taking you to your mother’s favorite places, telling you stories about her, and you even managed to rope him into painting with you once.

The vendor smiled as she saw you and Spencer approaching, “Hiya! What can I get you two?”

You beamed up at her brightly, standing on your toes to scan the flavors. You hummed in thought, there were so many flavors. You stood flat on your feet once more, a look of determination in your eyes, “chocolate, you can’t go wrong with chocolate, it’s a classic.”

Both Spencer and the vendor laughed at your statement, the lady smiled at Spencer as she scooped your ice cream, “seems like you got yourself a handful.” She commented cheerily.

Spencer laughed, one of his hands reaching to pull out his wallet, “yeah, but it’s a lot easier when you have help.”

The vendor laughed lightly, handing you the cup of chocolate ice cream, equipped with a pastel pink spoon. “Is that the missus?” She questioned, her head nodding towards JJ, who was now standing off to the side of Spencer.

“O-oh, no, Spencer and I are just friends!” JJ clarified, her eyes darting between Spencer and the vendor, she knew where this conversation was heading, and if she knew, Spencer definitely knew.

The vendor laughed nervously, “oh my bad! I just assumed-I need to work on that.” She took Spencer’s money from his hand, turning slightly to count out his change.

“No, it’s fine. She’s, uh, been a really big help since my wife passed away.”

The vendor gasped, one of her hands coming up to cover her mouth in shock, “Oh, I’m so sorry! I had no clue! I have this horrible problem of impending into people's lives, and rambling, and my boss says I need to work on it. She’s not wrong, it gets really bad sometimes, like now, I have no clue what I’m saying-”

“It’s alright miss, you had no idea, it’s fine, really.” Spencer stated, his face covered in an awkward blush. Meanwhile you had devolved into a fit of giggles at the sight of the frazzled woman, your ice cream already half empty. But as quick as the giggles had come, they were gone, replaced by the somber reminiscence of your mother.

She hurriedly handed Spencer his change, “Once again, I’m so sorry, I hope you guys enjoy your day.”

Spencer nodded his head, grabbing your hand, and looking back to check that JJ was still with you, before you continued your walk down sixth street.

Despite the bright sun, and beautiful view, the mood had been slightly ruined. You were all uncharacteristically quiet, no mothering comment from JJ, no fun fact from Spencer, and no excited squeals at the street vendors from you.

You all knew it wasn’t the lady’s intention, she couldn’t have known. Your mother wasn’t necessarily a sensitive topic, but today, walking down sixth street, she was.

“Dad” you broke the silence, a pensive look on your face.

Spencer turned his head to you, his brows furrowed, “yes, baby?”

“Do you-do you miss mom?” You questioned.

Spencer halted, grabbing you gently by your shoulders to stop you, he crouched down slightly so he was eye-level with you, “of course, sweetheart, I loved your mother very much.”

You cringed lightly at his use of past tense, “okay” you sighed.

“Hey, you know I loved your mother, and you know I love you, right?” Spencer asked, a gentle tone in his voice.

“Mhm” you hummed quietly.

Spencer sighed lightly, looking at JJ over his shoulder, who just shrugged her shoulders lightly. She stepped forward, laying a hand on Spencer’s shoulder “I’m going to go to the bathroom, there’s not another one until we get to the park.”

Spencer nodded his head, turning his focus back to you he noticed your empty cup of ice cream. “Here, sweetheart, let’s throw that away.” He said taking the cup from your small hand.

You nodded your head, moving to sit on a nearby bench. From across the street you could see a small patch of wildflowers blowing in the breeze. They looked so picturesque, like they were ready to be photographed by a magazine, you couldn’t help but think how much JJ would enjoy them.

“I’m going to throw this away, I’ll be right back, okay?” Spencer asked.

You nodded your head once more, too focused on the flowers to respond. You had a tendency to get distracted, a trait you inherited from your mother. The trash can wasn’t far, but you thought you could go get the flowers in the time it took him to walk to the trash and back.

You hopped off the bench, a new pep in your step. You crossed the crosswalk, a few steps behind an elderly woman who got there before you, pushing the button to cross the street. The flowers weren’t far, and you could practically smell them. You rushed over to them, crouching down to get a better look at them. They were gorgeous, beautiful hues of yellow and pink, and a singular blue one that would compliment JJ’s eyes perfectly. You snatched them from the earth, bringing them up to your face to breathe in their fresh scent. You stood up, getting ready to head back across the street, but, unfortunately, the light turned green, and the cars resumed their motion. You tried your hardest to look in between them, to search for Spencer, you even tried waving, as if he could see you.

Spencer had arrived back from the trash can, he wasn’t even gone for a minute, okay that was a lie, it was a minute and three seconds, but still. His heart dropped, you were nowhere to be seen, his head whipped every which way, “Y/N? Y/N?”

A million statistics ran through his head, they usually calmed him, but frankly, they were doing the opposite. Had you wandered off, had you gotten hurt, or worse, had someone taken you?

JJ ran over at the sight of a panicked Spencer, “Spence what’s wrong, where did Y/N go?”

Spencer ran a hand through his long hair, “I-I don’t know. I was only gone for a minute, and when I came back she was gone!”

“Oh God” JJ gasped.

“There are approximately 1,435 reported kidnapping cases a year, and of those 205 are non-family abductions, the percentages are low, but she could've-JJ, I was only gone for a minute.” Spencer stuttered.

“Spencer, hey, it’s okay, Y/N is a smart girl. Yes, she’s a little spacey, but she probably just wandered off. We’ll find her.” JJ reassured, her usual bright smile now back on her face.

“I don’t know JJ, people don’t just run away.”

“Spencer, that’s the thing, Y/N isn’t a fully developed person, she’s still learning and growing, despite how intelligent she may be. She knows what to do Spence, know where would she go? The first thing she would do is try and find someone in law enforcement, where would that be?”

You had originally walked to the park to hopefully spot a police officer, but so far you hadn’t found anyone. Your father always told you, if you ever got separated, to find a trusted employee or law enforcer and tell them your name, where you live, where you were, who you were with etc. and they would be able to help you find him. And that’s what you had planned to do.

But now, standing at the park, a bouquet of wildflowers in your hand, and no one in sight, you were starting to lose hope. You knew you couldn’t let your emotions get the best of you, it wouldn’t be any use if you found a trusted adult and were a blubbering mess.

You tried to gauge who the best possible candidate was, if you couldn’t find a police officer, then who? The joggers wouldn’t stop, and the parents with their children were too caught up in their own bliss, but there was one lady. It was the woman you had seen earlier while crossing the street, perched on a bench by a small pond, a bag of bread beside her. How beautifully peculiar.

You walked up to her, watching as she broke off a piece of bread, tossing it into the water. Your gaze followed the bread curiously, all your questions answered as you watched a brown duck swim swiftly over to the bread, scooping it up in its beak.

“The ducks just love it when I bring them bread.” She stated.

You laughed lightly, almost forgetting what had brought you to this woman, “M-my name’s Y/N Reid, I lost my father and my aunt. I crossed the street for a moment to pick up these wildflowers.” You raised the flowers, watching as they swayed with the breeze. “Then when I tried to go back, the light turned green, and I couldn’t get over due to the cars. I looked for a police officer, but I couldn’t find one. You seem to be the only trustworthy person around here.”

The woman’s face broke into a wrinkly smile “nice to meet you, Y/N, not in great circumstances though. Do you want to wait with me to see if your father comes to look for you?”

You nodded your head, hopping up onto the bench with her, “did you know in Asian culture ducks are seen as a symbol of good fortune? Mandarin ducks are often given as marriage talismans as they symbolize faithfulness to your spouse, and love shared between each other. My dad told me that once.”

Spencer’s first idea was to look for you at the park, JJ was right, you knew what to do. The walk to the park was filled with haste, and JJ struggled to keep up with his long legs. “Spencer, we’re going to find her, and we’re not going to stop looking until we do.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Spencer muttered, his mind in overdrive.

The park was filled with serenity, from children playing, and birds chirping. Spencer’s eyes scanned the park wildly, searching for you. “Son of a bitch” he cursed, you were nowhere to be found.

“Spencer, look!” JJ said, pointing towards a woman sitting on a bench, with a little girl who looked quite a lot like you.

Spencer gasped, “Y/N! Y/N!” He ran over to the bench, JJ close behind him. He almost ran past it, but was quick enough to grab onto the back of the bench to halt himself.

The woman and the girl turned, and just by the way the girl turned her head he could tell it wasn’t you. “Goddam-”

“Dad?!” A voice shouted from behind him, and he turned around so fast you thought he would get whiplash. There you stood, hand in hand with a smiling woman, the other hand clutching onto a vase of flowers.

Spencer ran to you, scooping you up into his arms, splashing some of the water in the vase onto both of you. He sighed into your hair, “you worried me so much, Y/N.” He set you down on the ground gently, his eyes scanning you once again to make sure you were unharmed. He doubted the woman would do any harm, but he wasn’t going to risk it.

“I’m sorry dad. I saw these flowers across the street.” You held up the vase of flowers, “and I thought that Aunt JJ would love them. I thought I could make it back in time, but I didn’t. I remembered what you said, though, I came to the park looking for a police officer. I couldn’t find one, but I did find Mrs. Johnson-oh, dad, meet Mrs. Johnson.” You looked over your shoulder, your small hand gesturing towards the old woman. “She waited with me till you got here. She lives over there, in that pretty house.” You paused once again, turning to point towards a small blue house, with a little white picket fence. “She even gave me this vase to put my flowers in.” You held up the now half empty vase.

“Nice to meet you.” Spencer said, running a hand through his unruly hair.

“You daughter’s very smart for her age, and very sweet too.” Mrs. Johnson complimented.

You walked towards JJ while Spencer and Mrs. Johnson chatted, you could vaguely hear him thanking her, relief still flooding his voice.

“Aunt Jaje, I thought you would like these. The blue flower will really bring out your eyes. Only 8% of the world's population has blue eyes, that makes you special.” You held out the vase to her.

JJ held back tears in her eyes, half from relief, half from how thoughtful you were. “T-thank you.” She said, taking the vase from your hands, bringing it to her nose to breathe in the flower’s scent. “They’re beautiful.”

You grinned up at her, turning your head when a large hand was placed on your shoulder. Spencer crouched down so he was eye-level with you, “I understand that you wanted to get those flowers for JJ, but, please, ask me next time. You really had us worried, I don’t know what I would do if something had happened to you.” Spencer said gently.

“Of course, daddy.” You replied, reaching up slightly to wrap your little arms around his shoulders in a hug.

He wrapped his arms around you, once he had a good grip on you, he stood, adjusting you on his hip slightly. “I think we’re gonna take a break from sixth street for a while.”

“Awe, but I love it.” You said somberly.

“Well, I don’t really love when you go M.I.A '' one of his hands reached up, his long slender finger booping you on the nose.

You giggled as Spencer began to walk away from the park, JJ at his side. You turned to look over his shoulder, “bye, Mrs.Johnson!” you waved at the lady.

She laughed, waving back at you, before muttering to herself, “that girls in good hands.”

#spencer reid #spencerreid #criminal minds #criminalminds #jennifer jareau #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x you #spencer reid fanfiction #matthew gray gubler

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cythieus · 3 years

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Mario/Peach Fic Rough Draft

Tasteful flower arrangements and buffets flanked by smaller round tables had transformed the palace courtyard from a spot for solitary reflection into somewhere guests were entertained. Clustered people engaged in conversation wherever room permitted, though no one had taken a seat yet. A semicircular bar guarded the southern side of the fountain, staffed by three Mushroom people. Servers used the bar as a kind of base, but spent most of their time flitting between guests and tables.

Most in attendance were Mushroom people or humans. There were a trio of Tostarenans noticeable because of their neon colored skull-like heads and short stature and a single Pianta with blue skin, his long nose jutting out from under the tree that grew from the top of his domed head. The ease with which Mario had become used to creatures that had no parallel on Earth was amazing, but everything on this side of the warp pipe was bit jarring.

If only he could get used to the reverent splendor of the Mushroom Kingdom and its Princess.

The kind of parties that Mario knew typically took place in cramped rent controlled apartments or the darkened spaces of Brooklyn bars that might have been built in repurposed alleyways. He never would have dreamed he would attend something hosted by royalty just a few short years ago.

You also didn’t think you would be breathing the same air as or get a kiss from an honest to God Princess, yet here we are.

His suit sleeves felt rigid and unnatural because of how he was holding his drink up near his chest. It had been some time since he last wore a suit and he felt the need to get a new one for this occasion. He considered letting his arm down to his side and pinching his fingers around the rim of the glass, but years of rooting around in muck as a plumber still made him cautious about the idea of touching a drink with his fingers right where he would be putting his mouth. It was different for food, he didn’t understand the strange quirk, but it was something that he didn’t think he would be able to alter anytime soon.

A chime of laughter broke through the monotony of the distant conversation and clanking dishes. Princess Peach stood on the middle landing of the wide grand staircase that led back into the castle with her head tossed back in enthused laugh. While most of the women in attendance styled their hair up in buns pinned in roll at the back of their head Peach wore her blonde hair down. It cascaded off her bare shoulders and down to the middle of her back.

The crown that she usually wore was accented by a ring of pastel flowers that stayed firmly in place even as she looked down at a pair of children. One of them was tugging on her dress and she turned to the side, her laughing turning into a smile as she addressed them. Mario couldn’t tell if she knew these children otherwise. It was hard to judge with Princess Peach—she had a way of making everyone feel welcome.

Peach stepped in close to the kids and sank down into a squat, presumable so she was at eye level with them. The dress she wore today wasn’t something Mario had seen before; a pink off the shoulder dress that has a much flatter, more ruffled skirt than usual and fell to the midway point between her knee and ankle. She rested her slender, pale arms over her lap (no gloves today) as she spoke to the children.

Though she was across the courtyard he could tell by her smile and the way she squinted her eyes until the skin at the sides of her nose crinkled that she was sharing some irreverent, endearing tidbit with the kids.

Mario lifted the cap off of his head, smoothed his hair back, and placed the hat soundly back into place. It would have felt wrong without something up there. The gray newsboy cap wasn’t quite the same, but it offered a kind of comfort.

Better not stare, someone might notice.

He glanced at a waiter passing with a tray propped up on the bulbous pileus of its head. Mario had come to learn that the Mushroom people’s heads and the patterns and spots on them had all kinds of meanings to them both superstitious and founded in hard fact.

Movement out of the corner of his eye caused Mario to glance in the direction that the waiter had headed. Daisy’s orange dress seemed like a flare in the middle of the pastel and floral print of the worn by everyone else at the party. The big floppy orange hat perched atop her hair bounced as she wove her way around obstacles and people in her bid to get to Mario.

Without slowing her pace, she spun, plucked a pair of champagnes from the tray and used the back of hand to push the sunglasses up the bridge of her nose. “I guess it’s sad boy hour over here,” Daisy said before downing one of the champagne flutes.

“Those white trays are for non alcoholic beverages.” Mario kept his eyes forward, not looking at her as he spoke.

Daisy tilted her head down over the glass, letting the liquid empty back into the glass. “This is the worst thing to ever happen to me. And I was kidnapped by fucking aliens once. Is Peaches tying to poison me?” She said as she poured the contents of both flutes into a bush just behind the raised dais where they stood.

“Maybe you could slow down? I can smell vodka on you from here,” Mario said.

“Oh, a bird shit on my dress and I used the vodka to clean it off. I wouldn’t drink that cheap bilge-water they’re serving over there.”

Daisy glanced around as if expecting to see someone. Mario already knew what the next thing out of her mouth was going to be”

“Where’s your sexy brother?”

That hadn’t been how he had thought she would phrase it. “You know how Luigi is about crowds.”

“Right. He’ll eventually turn up.”

Mario nodded.

“Why don’t you stop moping in the corner and go talk to her?”

“And say what?” Mario asked.

“Whatever you normal-types say to each other. She likes you. She claims you’re dating now and here you are hiding from her like one of those little fat ghosts with the nub hands,” Daisy said.

“They’re called Boos. You’ve spent time with several of them over the years; you’ve got one’s number in your cellphone.”

“Know what your problem is?” Daisy asked.

Mario didn’t have time to answer before she leaned in closer to him, the smell of alcohol mixed with floral perfume dominating the air around her.

“You’re hung up in the minutiae of every situation. Go try to put your arm around her while she chats with those children, maybe grab a drink and try to have a little fun? Who knows, maybe she’ll let you turn her guts inside out.“ She said the last part very quickly and before he could cut in or correct her she waved a hand at him.

“—I need to go find something to drink before I have to suck this vodka out of my dress. There is too many boring people out here for me to remain sober.” Daisy rushed off toward the bar in a frantic pace, leaving the glasses resting on the railing behind where she had been standing.

Mario lifted the glass to his lips and drank; the after being clutched in his hand for so long the liquid had warmed considerably, but he found it was often better to have something to take the edge off the things Daisy said.

She wasn’t wrong though.

It was rare that Daisy lied. He wasn’t sure that she had enough shame to know that she should really omit things in most cases. The lies she had told might have just been out of some sense of needing to conceal something for someone else or honest mistakes.

Daisy believed deep down that Mario was right for Peach and that her efforts in talking to him would help. Mario finished his drink and wandered near enough to the bar to exchange his glass for another. For a moment his reflection was visible in one of the decorations on the bar and he noticed his mustache looked a little frazzled. He reached inside of the breast pocket of his coat and plucked out a comb. Careful to tilt it just right to go with the grain of the hair he brushed down and away from his nose in clean, even strokes.

Peach leaned in beside him trying to rest her butt against the bar, but it was obvious that she connected to it with a bit more force than she intended and cause the whole thing to rock. One of the Mushroom People behind the bar grasped it to steady things.

“Oops! My apologies! Sorry, sorry!” Peach went to grab one of the glasses in a bid to keep it from falling over, but she bumped it onto its side instead. “Oh no, I am so sorry—this is my fault.”

A bushy eyebrowed Mushroom Person gave her a deep, close-lipped grin. “It’s fine Your Highness, we’re all used to your little accidents by now.”

Redness crept across the space on either side of Peach’s nose. While he had been admiring her with a kind of starstruck awe from across the room, being this close to her was like staring into the sun. Peach seemed to glow with more than just embarrassment as she pressed a slender hand to one cheek, the blue jeweled ring on her index finger catching the sunlight.

Right, the spill.

Mario tore his eyes away from her and spun to grab for a bar cloth. He pushed in close to Peach where the spill was and mopped it up. “Excuse me, Your Highness. I’ve got that,” he said hurriedly brushing the ice into his hand and depositing it into the glass.

The color in her cheeks faded as she turned to help. She took the glass and sat it behind the bar on the lower shelf before letting out a truncated giggle. Her blonde bangs had were pressed to one side, she seemed to notice at that same moment and used her fingers to fan them back out. She moved a tendril of hair away from her cheek, tucking it back over her ear.

“I haven’t seen you around here before.” She brought the hand that had been up by her ear down to rest against the side of her neck and her bright, blue eyes searched his face before nerves or something else got the best of her and she averted her gaze.

Somehow Peach was both graceful and awkward; he guessed that she fought to compose herself most of the time, but he had seen the woman trip over literally nothing while simply walking around. The only person he could think of less prone to accidents was Luigi.

“Very smooth, Your Highness,” Mario said with a smile. He left bar rag and took the time to remove his hat.

“You’re actually not allowed to call me that,” she said.

“Princess?”

“Uh-uh. It’s Peach, just Peach.” She shook closed her eyes and shook her head.

“Peaches?”

“Daisy only calls me that because when she was a little she had a speech impediment and couldn’t seem to say my name without messing it up. But I will be sure to let her know you’re making fun of her.”

“Don’t put me back in Daisy’s crosshairs…”

“Ha, you’re actually so scared of her! I won’t tell if you do me a favor and walk me around the back gardens.” Peach offered her elbow out to him as she often did when she wanted her to loop his arm through hers.

So he did.

“We hardly got to talk today so I’d—well I think I’d like that,” Mario said. Peach smelled like perfume, some scent that they didn’t seem to have on earth or if they did not one he could place, and sugar and flour from baking earlier.

“We haven’t had time together because you always seem to be as far from as this garden will allow.”

Now Mario was sure that there was some redness in his face. He moved to put his hat back on, hoping it would hide some of the color.

“Toadsworth!” Peach called to her steward.

Toadsworth was an older looked Mushroom Person with brown spots on the cap of his head, unlike most of the others of his race that part of his head was beige. He had a bushy mustache that concealed the bottom half of his face and when he spoke his words were always slightly muffled.

“Yes, Princess?” He said turning, his weight rested partially on a cane at his side.

“Can you watch things here for me? Mario is taking me on a romantic stroll.”

Mario swallowed. How even she shade from his cap’s brim wouldn’t hide the redness in his face. He could feel the heat bubbling up and a shiver shot through him.

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shipwreckedshadows · 4 years

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Espionage AU

-The Children-

A terrible storm bombarded Mystacor and her surrounding territories. Lightning reigned supreme that night and Casta watched anxiously from the north east tower of the Academy. She downed the last of her night vision potion and leaned into the cold glass windows. Even with her ocular enhancement spell, her vision was not good enough to see through the sheets of rain. She nearly looked away to retrieve a book when she caught sight of some movement near the edge of the shield. After so long, she’d learned what to look for when seeking Shadow Weaver’s return. The shadows responded to the elder witch, they leaned sharper in her direction and sometimes, if it was quiet enough, they gossiped in hushed tones about her return.

Casta hastily activated a teleportation spell and appeared beside the dark spot at the edge of the shield. The shadows wrapped away to reveal Mystacor’s best and only agent. She hunched over a box and her breaths came in clouded pants. Her face was hidden under someone else’s stolen identity.

“Are you alright?” Casta asked, taking the box from her. It was no larger than the cavity of her chest and a small girl sat upright in it. A garbage back had been wrapped around her like a makeshift pancho. Her teeth chattered together and her eyes stared widely at Casta. The rain slid right off it and caused the cardboard to grow soggy. It was heavier than she expected and she used a small levitation spell to assist her.

“I’m fine.” The agent stretched out her back. Several vertabrae crackled from being hunched over for so long. “I’m not used to transporting more than just myself.“ She shivered, “We should go inside, before any of us catch cold.”

Casta was barely able to teleport all of them to the stairs of the academy. They walked the rest of the way to her chambers, leaving a trail of rain water as they went. Several academy tutors and students, up late finishing term projects, nodded at them and offered help for the old mother and her child. Casta dismissed them with a warm smile and gratitude for their offer. It was then that she noticed that Shadow Weaver had taken a visage similar to the girl in the box - blond hair and bright, blue eyes. It clashed with her robes, soaked through and clinging to her meager body.

They exchanged no words until they arrived in Casta’s quarters. Shadow Weaver let the illusion fall from her face.

“No, wait, don’t do that.” Shadow Weaver said, as Casta set up a drying spell.

“We’ll all die from cold if I don’t!”

A warm blast of heat surrounded the three of them and evaporated every last drop of water.

“See, its so much better now - oh!” She giggled, “Oh stars, your hair!”

Shadow Weaver struggled to smooth the mess of frizz on her scalp. Casta decided to give the agent a break but she couldn’t stop herself from smiling. Leaving the agent to her own devices, Casta turned her attention to the small girl. She had since climbed out and was playing with the knobs on one of the dresser drawers.

Casta went to pick up the box, so she could dispose of it, when she discovered another, smaller bundle. A hairless cat baby snored quietly, swaddled in a patchy bath towel. She must have been hidden under the other child’s bag pancho.

“What in Etheria is dark, scary Shadow Weaver doing with you.” Casta cooed.

“Cat-ta, Cat-ta!” The small girl babbled, pointing at the baby.

“I was only going to leave with the girl.” Shadow Weaver sighed, “But she wouldn’t leave without the cat and the cat wouldn’t leave without the box.”

“That’s adorable. Do they have names?”

“The older child is named Adora. I don’t have a name for the cat.”

Casta gasped, “You found this adorable baby and you didn’t bother to name her? You know, I read once that children require a name in order to properly forge their identity. They can’t name themselves, so, as the responsible adult in the room, you are obligated to do it for them.”

The agent massaged the bridge of her nose, “I kidnapped two soldiers from Hordak’s barracks - I didn’t exactly have an open schedule. Especially not with that little beasty yowling for her friend.”

“Shh! She is not a beast! Don’t listen to her... she’s just tired.”

“You’re going to wake her.”

“She slept through your terrifying magic and the thunder outside. I’m not going to wake her up.”

Shadow Weaver shifted her eyes away.

Casta squinted at her, “What did you do...?”

“I charmed the towel. She can’t hear anything as long as its wrapped around her.”

Castaspella didn’t bother to hide her disappointment, “I can’t believe you were allowed to teach students at this academy.”

“Teaching and parenting are very different things.”

Casta gently unraveled the towel from the baby and set them together on the bed.

“Watch her while I go find her a proper blanket.”

From her closet, she sifted through the spare garments on the top shelf until she found something that would work. It was one of the first things she had knitted. It wasn’t a perfect square but the yarn was soft and transitioned gently between different pastel colours of rainbow.

“It’s a little old but I think - oh.” Casta smiled softly when she saw Shadow Weaver at the windowsill, looking out over the Academy court yard. The cat baby was in one arm. Her other hand steadied Adora’s back as she stood against the glass and wondered at the humongousness of the outside.

“Let me.” Casta said, reaching for the baby.

Shadow Weaver took the blanket from her, “No, I can do it. I’ve been doing this far longer than you have.” She let Adora down gently before attending to the baby.

With a gentleness Casta didn’t expect the agent to posses, Shadow Weaver wrapped the child in the knitted blanket. Through the commotion, the baby opened her mismatching eyes and made several noises at the mages.

“Cat-ta!” Adora tugged at Shadow Weaver’s gown.

“Would you like to hold her?”

The child exclaimed, wordlessly.

“Alright, but be careful with her. She’s only a baby.”

“I know!”

Shadow Weaver knelt and made sure Adora’s small hands were secured around the bundle. The girl smiled down at the kitten, “Hi, Cat-ta.” She whispered.

“You’d make a great mother, under different circumstances.”

“Don’t you ever say that.”

“Why not?”

“Motherly I may be, a mother I am not.”

Casta thought for a moment. After some silence she murmured, “Cat-ta doesn’t have a very pleasant ring to it.”

“She’s trying to say Catra. She wrote it out in her crayon drawings a few weeks ago.”

“I must be imagining this, but is that pride in your voice?”

“Of course. She’s my ward. I put in a lot of hard work to teach her.”

Adora handed Catra to Shadow Weaver and climbed up onto the bed. She lay her head on Casta’s lap and the sorceress pet her hair until she dozed off to sleep. Shadow Weaver sat on the other side of Casta.

“Why’d you take them?” She asked.

“Because they refused to leave each other.”

“Yes, you said that - so I understand why Catra is here. But why Adora?”

“Because Adora is special. You won’t be able to see it but the Obtainment powers showed me - she has something inside of her that will bring peace to Etheria. She’s not from this world. Lord Hordak found her laying just beyond a portal in space. The idiot put her in the nursery with the other children and she unfortunately developed attachments. When I explained to her that I would have to take her away, she cried for hours.”

“What made her stop?”

“I told her that if she didn’t stop crying, she would use up all the water on Etheria and the whole planet would become a desert.”

“That’s a little... harsh.”

“It worked.”

Casta frowned, “We’ll have to find good homes for them. Money is a little short for everyone so I’m not sure who’s going to take them. But we’ll try.”

“Promise me you’ll take them if nobody else does?”

Shadow Weaver hardly ever begged for anything but when she did, she did so without a care for her dignity. Casta had to look away so she wouldn’t have watch the agent’s face fall.

“I can’t do that. I have so much responsibility as the Supreme Sorceress. I can’t take care of two children, let alone one. And what happens when I have to go out there and I get injured in battle? What happens to them if I die?”

“Don’t say that. Never ever say that.” She put a hand on Casta’s cheek, “You will be here for at least one hundred years. Longer than that, maybe.”

“Dearest... that still doesn’t mean I can take care of them.”

Shadow Weaver took a breath.

“I’ll find them the best home, I promise.”

“You better.”

#something a little more angsty #to cleanse the pallet #espionage AU #shadow weaver #castaspella #shadowspell #spop #my work #adora #catra #babies

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nyxwordsmithwrites · 5 years

Note

"Hey, I said stop!" "I'm out of here." with a side order of "You're such a bitch." Virgil and deceit brothers AU

Sooooo THIS is definitely expanding into a bigger AU cause this was one of the few that got me all kinds of carried away. Lemme know what you guys think AND feel free to ask questions!

Familial VirgilxRemyxDecietMute!Remy Vampires!Deciet/Virgil/Remy Noble!Patton Mage!Virgil/Logan/DecietWarnings: Kidnapping, Fantasy Violence, Deciet, Swearing, Minor Character Death

2,2,79 words

Stealing the Bastard Prince

The sky above was dark, littered with flashes of lightning, rumbling as it threatened to open up with rain. It felt like his life was a never-ending cycle of rainy days, that the sun had died the day his parents-

Nope, no time to think about that. The targets. Focus on the targets.

He took a deep breath, sinking further into his patched cloak and shrugging it up around him. Slouch but look big. Unassuming but intimidating. One foot in front of the other, scanning the bodies around him for his target.

With his hood pulled over his head, he was practically invisible, a black and purple shadow amidst the flowing river of bodies around him.

A festival, if Virgil remembered correctly. Some kind of celebration for a king long dead. It made little sense to him now, nearly a man, but as a child…he was sure he would be as awestruck as the children around him.

They were supposed to be somewhere ahead…three of them if he recalled correctly. His brother had been pretty certain, even if Virgil hadn’t been, giving out some suspiciously detailed descriptions.

Still, this was Dee he was talking about here. The man knew what he was doing. And he certainly had enough connections to get that kind of description.

He sighed as he saw a glimpse of the first one. A tall, thin man with small, square glasses and a small book in his hand. He was standing, as though waiting for someone as he read, wearing a fairly simple, long overcoat over a navy blue shirt. The brightest thing about him was a pastel blue tie…Virgil would have probably missed him if he hadn’t been told to look out for the bright magical scarring on the side of his face.

Great, swirling lines of pale blue magic wound over his cheekbone and around his eye, covering nearly the left half of his face. It glowed, like a small night light on a gloomy rainy day and Virgil was awestruck for a moment.

“Logan!”

He snapped his book closed, turning to the new voice. A shorter man trotted up, beaming brightly with shining eyes behind much larger, circular glasses. His face was peppered with freckles and Virgil blinked from the brightness of his smile alone.

“You are a very convincing commoner.” Logan spoke simply, looking behind the child to the older man coming up behind him.

His regalia was bright and flashy, far too flashy to be all that convincing. A perfect white, a perfect red, glittering gold and two large crests on his shoulders. Virgil thought to send a thought to his brother, ‘The child is the noble.’

‘Stick to the plan.’

Virgil watched as they gathered up, moving through the crowd slowly. At a distance, keeping his cloak close, Virgil watched and followed. They were muted for a group at the a festival, save for the child, who was eagerly pointing out everything.

The ‘noble’ was doing his best, hands clasped behind his back, standing too straight, chin too high. Virgil had to give him props though. He was doing his best.

The child on the other hand, couldn’t seem to shake it. He spoke too properly, kept his movements fluid and small…Why did Dee want the imposter then?

Virgil shook his head. No, he would worry about that when this was over. Right now, he just had to follow through. He knew his brother well enough to know there was probably someone else in the mix here, another working part that Virgil didn’t know. Someone else preparing to snap a trap.

For all he knew, Virgil was playing a tiny part in a bigger game.

‘On my signal.’

Virgil swallowed, keeping his cloak clasped tight, watching closely.

‘Now.’

A man leapt out from an alley before the scholar, grabbing fiercely onto his arm. The commotion that started made it difficult to hear what exactly was happening, but Virgil watched the ‘noble’ grab the stunned boy.

“Go!” the scholar shouted, looking to the stranger on his arm, “Hey, I said stop!”

‘Don’t engage yet.’ Dee murmured, ‘Follow.’

‘The boy isn’t a threat.’ Virgil answered, following closely but staying out of their line of sight. There was already someone else chasing too close, directly behind them.

‘I am aware.’ he answered with a soft chuckle, ‘You stay on the imposter.’

Virgil nodded, keeping his distance until the noble suddenly darted into an alley. He sensed orders were being spat to the other pawn in the game, but he couldn’t quite hear them.

He used some crates to scale the side of a building, panting as he trotted to the alley, looking down and spotting the ‘noble’ and the boy sprinting through the darkness.

‘Stay out of sight. Out of the dark.’

‘Too many know me down there…’ he hummed as he kept close to his targets from the rooftops, dodging tannery’s and drying laundry, ‘Is there a reason for the cat and mouse?’

A soft and familiar chuckle brought a smile to Virgil’s face.

‘A mind game then. Okay.’ Virgil huffed, ‘You know I like this game.’

Another chuckle, ‘I do. But I need you to focus.’

Virgil nodded firmly, looking back down and following the two charges, ‘Your other man is losing them.’

‘Good.’

Virgil didn’t question as he followed, leaping the distance between buildings and smirking as the imposter lead the young boy into a dead end.

‘Hold.’

Virgil crouched on a rooftop, trying to steady his breathing as he watched. The ‘noble’ spun from the high wall to the entrance he’d just sprinted through. He was panicking.

“Roman?” the young boy squeaked, “What do we do?”

Virgil watched as the imposter swallowed a whimper, “You hide.” he answered, shoving the smaller boy toward a group of crates and netting.

“Roman-?!”

“Patton, please!” the imposter begged, pushing him down. Virgil could hear tears in his throat, “Please, they can’t find you. Please, just stay here and stay quiet, please.”

‘Us?’ Virgil asked.

‘The others.’

Virgil nodded as he watched Roman slip the netting over the small noble.

“It’s itchy…” he whimpered.

“Shhh, Patton.” Roman took a few steps back, “He’ll be here soon-”

Just as he predicted, the man finally came around the corner. A murmur of his brother’s orders and a sword was drawn. Virgil clicked as Dee did. A subpar weapon by any means, but it seemed to do the job, spooking the imposter into drawing his own weapon.

‘A training sword?’ Virgil frowned, ‘Oh, this poor kid.’

‘He’s like your age, Virgil.’

‘You’re such a bitch.’

Dee laughed as Virgil watched the stranger approaching waving his sword at the noble. Virgil could see him thinking, his footing uneven as his mind wandered elsewhere.

‘He’s going to run.’

Dee hummed, clearly trying to think. There was a purpose to this, Virgil knew it, he just didn’t understand it yet. Virgil’s head snapped to the sound of footfalls behind him, his eyes widening when he saw a pair of dark shades. He sipped on a straw, saluting Virgil as he walked closer.

‘Remy’s here.’

Virgil heard murmuring as the tall elf crouched beside Virgil, sipping nonchalantly on his drink. His expression never changed, until something caught his interest and his eyebrow arched up a little.

‘Stay on the imposter.’

‘You still want him?’

He heard a darker chuckle, ‘As far as he’s concerned, you want him.’

‘Dee.’

‘He’s unimportant. Do whatever you want with him once you have him. Just make sure you take him elsewhere.’

Virgil rolled his eyes and sighed, turning his attention back to the stand-off as Roman circled to the gap in the alley. The pawn…bandit, whatever, down below should have known better than that at least but…then again, he was no professional.

Remy put his cup aside, throwing his long and thin legs over the edge of the building. With a smile, he leaned over and kissed Virgil’s forehead. His fingers moved swiftly, ‘You be careful, yeah?’

Virgil nodded back to his brother, winking back and Remy’s grin widened, revealing two very sharp fangs.

‘Give ‘im hell.’

As Roman turned to bolt, feet crunching over the gravel, the bandit shouted, “Hey!”

Virgil darted along the rooftop, following Roman, hearing Remy slip off the edge of the rooftop.

Remy landed on his feet behind the bandit, tossing his cup away as the bandit turned, leaning back to look up at the tall man. He grinned down at the bandit, “Who the fuck are you?!”

‘Thanks for your service.’ Remy and Virgil heard Dee’s voice and the bandit paled.

Remy leaned on one leg, pulling a blade from a sheath on his chest and twirled it. The blade caught light, shining off an inscription and the bandit snarled.

“Wait…wait-”

Remy lunged forward, his blade easily slicing through the bandits and the man yelped as he stumbled back. Remy’s grin didn’t vanish as he stood straight, looming over the bandit, pushing his shades into his hair.

Grey eyes met the bandits, his muscles locking in place and a low, dangerous chuckle escaped Remy. He leaned close, breathing over the bandit’s ear, before thrusting the blade in deep.

The bandit did nothing more than gasp and choke on air, eyes wide and pleading as Remy leaned back. He shrugged, fingers moving, ‘No hard feelings, yeah?’ before he jerked the blade back out and cleaning it on the bandit’s shirt.

The spell broke on the bandit as Remy pulled his shades back down, turning away and sheathing his blade. He moved toward the crates and netting, pulling it up to find the terrified little noble.

Virgil hopped buildings, following Roman as his pace gradually slowed and then he stopped altogether, collapsing against a wall. He really did want to chase for longer, see how far he could push the imposter noble, but there was a point to all of this. Surely.

He hopped off, his heavy boots hitting the ground hard. Roman panted, crimson eyes meeting Virgil’s as he tried to keep a hold on his weapon, “Who are you? Back off-”

“Calm down, or I’ll give you a reason to be scared.” Virgil snapped, and Roman huffed as he tried to catch his breath.

Smaller than Roman by an inch and considerably thinner, the imposter obviously thought he could get past him. “I’m out of here.”

He tried to charge past Virgil, but the darkness bolstered him, hand catching him by his regalia and shoving him back against the wall of the alley.

“Oh, I don’t think so.” Virgil purred, smiling as the imposter noble struggled, dropping his sword. He tried to pull Virgil’s hand from his regalia, but Virgil pushed him up a little ways off his feet, “Is that better?”

Roman grumbled, “Let go of me!” he cried, “I am-”

“Hardly nobility.” Virgil answered coolly, twisting his hand in Roman’s regalia, “You’re as easy to spot if you were wearing a cardboard crown.” Roman froze as Virgil pulled him closer, “But I like you.”

“What?” he squeaked.

Virgil moved closer, letting Roman drift down to his feet, “I like you.” he answered, “You smell of potential. Strength. Integrity.” he hummed, “I like that.”

Roman stared at him, “Smell like-”

Virgil grinned, revealing sharp fangs and Roman paled, “Oh yes.” he answered softly, “But like I said. I like you.” Roman’s eyes were wide and terrified, starting to get glassy, “And I know you’re not the noble we’re after.”

“S-so-”

“So, that means you’re all mine.”

Roman squeaked, “Wha-what?”

Virgil chuckled softly, “You’re mine.” he answered, tracing a finger down Roman’s cheek, “And I think I’m going to have a lot of fun with you.”

“Yours? Yours how? I don’t-”

Virgil placed his fingertip on Roman’s lip, “Shh…” he whispered, hearing footfalls, “Let’s get you out of this silly get up, hm?” Roman squeaked, struggling uselessly until the regalia hit the dust with a soft ‘fump’, “There we go, my little prince, better?”

“I’m no prince-”

“Hush.” Virgil whispered, the human meeting his eyes again. They were wet and scared, despair already filling the crimson orbs staring up at him, “You will be.” he answered softly.

As footfalls stepped out the end of the alley, Virgil spun them so Roman’s back was pinned to his chest, hand tightly gripping his chin and his other hand pinning Roman’s hand up between his shoulderblades.

The scholar was glaring darkly from the end of the alley, “Vampires…of course.”

“Logan-!”

“Roman, calm yourself.” Logan spoke coolly, even as the imposter noble whimpered. Virgil leaned close to his ear, smiling at Logan as he breathed over the sensitive skin, “Where is Patton?”

“He doesn’t care for you.” Virgil whispered, “Don’t you see?”

“B-but-”

“Look at him.” Virgil whispered, his grip softening on Roman’s face, “He asks for Patton, but not if you’re okay?” he asked, stroking Roman’s jawline, “You’re a pawn. A tool.” Roman whimpered, “I want you to be more than that-”

“No.” Roman squeaked, tears falling from his eyes. Logan was speaking, but Virgil wasn’t listening, “I just wanna go home…I don’t want-”

Virgil chuckled softly, “Your home’s with me now.” he whispered and Roman whimpered, “Time to say goodbye.”

Roman shuddered, “Logan! He’s-”

Dark magic pulsed around them, long ribbons of purple magic blinding Logan and pushing him back as Virgil held Roman closer.

“I’ll take good care of you.” he whispered, “My little prince Roman.” the magic wrapped tightly around them, “Bastard son of the Mad King.”

Logan looked up in horror, but they were already gone. How did he know?

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#Thomas Sanders #sanders sides #virgil sanders #anxiety sanders #ambiguous deceit #deceit sanders #patton sanders #morality sanders #logan sanders #logic sanders #roman sanders #creativity sanders #kidnapping tw #vampires tw #mage tw #deceit tw #swearing tw #minor character death mention

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sardonicnihilism · 3 years

Text

A Biography of the Woman Who Never Was

Part 1 The Girl

Chapter 2

Aunt Mary's friend didn't live to far away from her grandparent's house; about a five minute walk, if that. It was a modest, grey vinyl sided house that was part of a row of houses all squished together. Some were fused like conjoined twins, but from vastly different mothers. A couple had a small strip of grass or concrete in between but looked far too narrow for even a girl her size to fit through.

Mary stood in front of the bright red door with its half circle, three paned window and gently knocked. A few seconds went by until the door opened slowly and what looked like an old woman to Shannon, cautiously poked her head out. In truth, the woman was only about 53, but to a four year old, 53 was formation of the Earth old.

"Mary? What, " she started to ask surprised but stopped when she saw the look on Mary's face and that she had Shannon with her. "Oh. Come in," she said sweetly with a deep, unspoken understanding beneath.

Inside was a small entrance room with a couple of big, heavy chairs that looked like they were a year past needing to be reapolstered. The room had just enough light as not to be dark, but not so much as to actually feel like it was actually lit.

"Sweetie, you play here ok. I'm going to talk to Misses Frye in the next room." Mary gently rubbed Shannon's cheek as she spoke.

Shannon nodded and sat down on the floor and watched Mary and Misses Frye walk through an arched doorway with strings of fake, plastic jewels hanging down vertically from the top of the arched. This was nothing new. Mary often took her when she went to visit Misses Frye. Shannon would play in the front room while the ladies would disappear to play cards or gossip. Sometimes Misses Frye would talk to her, but she had little interest in the lives of adults and always felt a bit put on the spot when they asked her questions, even when they did it in the nicest way possible.

Sometimes when Mary would tell her parents and her sister (Shannon's mom) that she was taking Shannon to visit, Shannon would see her grandmother get annoyed and either her grandfather or mother would say something in a teasing voice that made Aunt Mary look mad, but they would always consent. Shannon never understood what they were saying until years later, but for now, going to Misses Frye's house made her Aunt Mary happy and getting away from her mother and grandparents made Shannon happy.

Shannon came up with an exciting storyline about three villains who had kidnapped a woman who, in Shannon's mind, looked like her Aunt Mary, just with long hair instead of the short, black, curly her aunt normally had. The villains had just tied the woman to a log and were getting ready to send her through a giant saw and it was up to Wonder Woman to save her.

As the plot began to play itself out, Shannon would sometimes hear the two women occasionally raise their voices. It didn't sound like it was ever in anger, but there was some heavy emotion behind it that Shannon couldn't quite understand. Her emotions were like most children's; big, pure, uncomplicated. Adult emotions were layered, complex, nuanced, contradictory. They didn't make sense to her and she felt confused by them. It was another reason why she didn't like talking to adults, she never could figure out what they were feeling. She decided to get up and take a look to see what was going on. She was curious and she was running out of story ideas.

Shannon stood up and slowly made her way to the archway. She pushed the beaded strings out of her way as quietly as she could and peaked around the corner. The women were sit opposite to each other across an extremely small folding table. They were holding hands, Mary was nodding her head sadly and Frye was just looking at her with a sad compassion.

"Ok. I know. I will," Mary said sadly.

She got up and went to the pastel yellow phone that hung on the wall beside the refrigerator. She picked up the receiver and dialed a number, the wheel making a click clack sound as she did. She looked back to Frye for encouragement while she waited for whoever she had dialed to pick up.

"Yes, hello, yes mumma. Yes, she's with me. I would have if you all wouldn't've been screaming at one another like babies. No, don't put Daddy on, no . . ., yes Daddy. I understand. No, I, LISTEN, SHE WAS ON THE VERGE OF TEARS ALRIGHT! HELL, YOU ALL WERE BITCHIN' AT EACH OTHER BECAUSE NONE OF Y' ALL WANTED HER ANYWAYS!"

Mary's face had been contorted in anger but whatever her father had said to her, now made her look sad and afraid.

"Yes sir. I will sir. As soon as I hang up sir. Bye." Mary put the receiver back in its cradle, crossed her arms over her chest, and looked at the floor.

Misses Frye walked over to Mary and put her arm around her shoulders. "The offer still stands," she said softly.

Mary shook her head. "They're already starting to talk and there's no way I could get her then." She sounded depressed and defeated.

The two women hugged and Mary saw Shannon standing in the archway.

"How long have you been there? " she asked not in anger but sadness.

"Are you ok Aunt Mary? " Shannon asked in return, on the verge of tears, not knowing why.

"Yeah baby," Mary answered, wiping her own eyes with the palm of her hand. "It's just time to go back now."

#fiction #LGBT stories #queer stories #coming of age

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fanfic-and-ask-1p2phetalia · 6 years

Text

Oliver and his children

In the heart of London there is a cute little cupcake shop that sells one of the best cupcakes in the United Kingdom. Everything in the shop is pastel coloured, from the decoration to the cupcakes.

If you were to ask any of the shop's customers what they think of the owner, they would describe him as the kindest man they know and he always have bright smile on his face.

But to the underground world of crime he is not a man you want to cross. For generations the Kirkland family has held the crown of criminals in Britain and it is a fact that has not changed. Well...maybe there are a few changes. You see, the Kirkland family has always only ruled Britain's underbelly but when the family business was handed to Oliver he decided to build a criminal empire all over the world. But to do that he needed people he trust in each country to run it for him.

The first country he got his hands on is France, the Bonnefoy family has always worked closely with the Kirkland family and their leader is more than happy to hand over power to the Kirkland family.

With François's help they kidnapped children with broken families and give them a loving home. Oliver made sure his children had been fully trained before giving them a group of his men and the country they are to take over.

Allen and Matt are the ones he is the most proud of, they mercilessly murdered all the crime bosses in their country and anyone who opposed them in less than a year. While making sure that their turf stays in their possession, but then again the two of them were never very good at sharing, even with each other, so it is no wonder they would never let anyone take what is theirs. But they are willing to share with Oliver, mainly because he is the one who saved them from an abusive house and raised them with love.

Which is why he trust them them to succeed in this important mission. Nine months ago he was drugged by one of Xiao Wang's guard when he was visiting Leon, that guard is a spy for Kuro Honda and she on the run with something that belongs to him.

He was angry when he woke up, he thought Leon had betrayed him to Xiao Wang until he saw how furious the two Chinese were. It seems that the two of them have grown closer even though Leon had taken Hong Kong from Xiao Wang, Xiao Wang see Leon as a little brother and Leon look up to him as a big brother. It means the relationship between China and Britain is stronger than before, they had signed an alliance between their organisation.

Xiao Wang had offered to help Oliver find her but he politely turn his offer down so he can put Allen and Matt to the test. It took them nine months but they finally found her and is on their way back with his precious baby and the thief.

Oh he is so excited! He has raised many children but none of them are his by blood and now he is about to meet his own flesh and blood! As angry as he is with the thief she is the mother of his baby so he will personally kill her, but he does allow his boys to rough her up a little.

François had left about half an hour to pick them up and also check on his baby as soon as they landed, he is so glad he managed to get François to get a medical degree, it is always nice to have a doctor hanging around the house especially when he is raising children. He can't bring any of his children to the hospital and it is unacceptable for him to call one of the doctors he hired, he refuse to leave his children untreated for the amount of time it'll take for the doctor to get to his house.

They would be back soon and he really should finish preparing lunch for his family. He is just so nervous, he has never taken care of a newborn baby before, all his other children are all old enough to walk and talk when he took them home with him.

What if he mess up? What if his baby grow up to hate him? Oh God should he had left his baby with the thief and save his baby just like the rest of his children? What if his own flesh and blood grows up to hate him? What if-

He was cut off by a hockey stick slamming down onto the countertop, scarring him and he almost dropped the spoon he was holding.

"Are you alright, Oliver? I've been calling you for a while now and you didn't answer me, are you sick?" Matt asked as he tries to keep the worry off his face, hey badass or not he would always have a soft spot for the Englishman who took him and his brother in and never given up on them or separate them like so many had tried.

Oliver smiled nervously as he look up at Matt. "Oh, no worries, Love. I'm perfectly fine, just a little nervous about the baby. I've never taken care of one before..."

"You are the best dad in the world and the baby is going to be loved and spoilt by you." Matt leans down and gently kiss Oliver's forehead. "Now quit worrying and come out to meet your demon spawn, that kid refuses to sleep and would cry if any of us try to sleep."

Oliver giggled softly as he nod his head. "Alright, I'll take care of my little angel while the three of you get some rest. And by the way, the poor dear is most probably only crying when you're asleep because the three of you tend to snore pretty loudly." He said teasingly as he follow Matt to the living room.

The corner of the Matt's mouth lift slightly as they enter the living room. "You know you love it, you've never liked a quiet house. Which is most probably why you ask us over so often."

"I just miss you dears, the two of you are my first children and you'll both always have a special place in my heart."

"Stop with the mush and take the kid!" Allen hissed as he push the baby into Oliver's arms. "François is in the basement chaining up that bitch."

"Language Allen!" Oliver frowned as he cuddles his baby close to his chest. "The both of you visit often and I don't want that kind of language around a child." He scold lightly.

"You don't want us to use that kind of language at all." Allen muttered as he follow his brother up to their rooms.

Oliver smiled softly as he shake his head before looking down at his baby.

The baby look a lot like the thief, black hair, almond shaped dark brown eyes and the only visible trait that shows the world that this baby is his is the Kirkland family's traditional thick eyebrows.

He look down at the curious baby with loving eyes. "Hello, Love. I'm your daddy and I'm going to love and protect you from now on." He said softly as he gently stroke the baby's soft cubby cheek. "As for your name, I was thinking Regina if you're a girl and Rex if you're a boy because one day you'll rule the world with your siblings by your side. You'll love them, and I know that they'll love you too. I can see that Matt is already fond of you." He said as he head upstairs to the nursery he had set up to see François waiting for him inside.

"He needs to gain a bit of weight but other than that he is healthy." François said before Oliver can open his mouth.

"He? So he's a boy?" He asked as he gently lay the baby, Rex, down on the changing table so he can start dressing him up in cute clothes.

"Oui. And I found something interesting about his mother, it seems that she's not only Kuro Honda's spy but also his lover. It seems the plan was to raise the kid as their own and use it against you when he's older." François said lazily as he lean against the wall with his arms crossed, while the boys were searching for them François has been busy digging up the thief's dirty little secrets.

"Because they know I would never hurt one of my children." Oliver growled softly as pink and madness mixed in with his baby blue eyes, another family trait.

Rex look up at Oliver in awe as he watch the beautiful colours in his father's eyes and reach his arm up in an attempt to touch his face.

Oliver chuckle darkly as he dress Rex in a onesie with cute ducklings printed all over it. "You're going to help Daddy destroy his enemies when you're older, aren't you? My sweet little Cupcake~ You'll fit in well with your siblings~" He purred as he cradled his son closely.

Rex smiled up at his father and gently pat his cheek before yawning cutely.

"Looks like it's time for you to go to bed." Oliver kiss Rex on his forehead lovingly before gently laying him in his crib. "Sweet dreams, My sweet Cupcake." He hum softly while stroking Rex's hair gently under her falls asleep. "You're too cute~" His grin grows wider and darker as he look down at his sleeping son for awhile longer before turning to François. "Shall we?~"

François nod his head as he push himself off the wall, he wonders how long the trash in the basement would last against Oliver. Most probably not for very long as no one chained in Oliver's basement had ever lasted for more than a few days, and that has only happened to a few people, most of them lose their lives in less than 24 hours.

#Hetalia #Hetalia Oliver #Hetalia Allen #Hetalia Matt #Hetalia François #Hetalia 2p #2p england #2p america #2p canda #2p france #2ptalia #fanfic #hetalia fanfiction #Hetalia fanfic #Oliver's baby oc #Will write more if people likes it

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jaroslavlewis · 7 years

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30 Kisses: Heiji and Kazuha- Clouds and Sun Ray

30 Kisses: Heiji and Kazuha

First Kiss: Clouds and Sun Ray

Author: Jaroslav Lewis

Fandom: Detective Conan

Theme: #11-gardenia

Summary: It was a day that could've been. She is nothing but a wishful thinking, the most painful 'what if' in their life.

Disclaimer: I don't own Detective Conan or any of Gosho Aoyama's characters. I simply kidnap them when I'm bored and make them binge watch K-dramas with me. Don't worry I make popcorn for them too.

It wouldn't change anything but he did it anyway. It took him a lot of pondering. He didn't want to hurt her by commemorating the day itself. It would only bring up hurtful memories but he figured he couldn't just forget it, even if it did hurt her and even if it did hurt him as well.

It was a day that could have been. It was a day that they patiently and excitedly waited for but never came. It was probably stupid, but he thought it was all the more reason for him to remember that day because it was the least he could do to make up for what he did. She was nothing but a memory short lived, a wishful thinking, their most painful what if.

And so, the first thing he thought of and did that morning was rush to the nearest flower shop to buy gardenias. He picked the white ones because for a very cliché' reason they reminded him of purity and heaven, something he felt that he would easily associate with her. He never got to know her long enough to find more things to associate with her, but he felt it. It was his instinct. He was after all, a part of her just as she could have been a part of his.

He watched the florist arrange the flowers into a nice bouquet and bitterly thought that if that day could have gone as planned, the flowers could have been fancier and would be later sitting on a side table next to a hospital bed where the knocked out, Hattori Kazuha would be resting. But instead, it would later be placed in an empty room, still on a side table but next to a crib without a baby.

He could remember the look on his wife's face when she told him about her. The image of her bright light green eyes and excited but slightly worried smile was painted in his mind, deep within his memory.

It was a Friday night when she told him. He came home from work after solving a nerve-wracking case, one of which, coincidentally, involved the life of child, a little girl of age three named Aya-chan.

It was a mere kidnapping case. He was able to solve it right on time to rescue the young hostage, but it was one of those cases that tested not only his mind as a detective, but also his instinct as a potential parent. Hattori Heiji had been in the crime-solving industry long enough to see the bad and the ugly, the impossible, the unbelievable and the most monstrous kinds of crime man could ever do to their fellow. But one thing he couldn't stand were cases that involved children, especially when their lives are in danger. Other than the fact that the life of an innocent at stake brought more pressure on him as a detective, Heiji hated that criminals could be so cold-hearted to involve young minds in their dirty business.

On the way home, he wondered how he might have felt if it were his kid that was in danger. He knew he'd lose his mind if it happened to him. He could remember the helplessness in Aya-chan's father's face when he begged him to save her. It was an image he could never shrug off of his head.

His mind was still on the case when he entered his residence. It was only when she showed up to greet him that he snapped out from his thoughts. It was her usual greeting that he always looked forward to, after a day's work.

She'd always rush to his arms as soon as she hears him by the door. She'd wrap her arms around his neck and look up at him with a beautiful smile on her face, a smile that would always tell him that she was excited to see him and that she missed him even if it had only been just a few hours that passed that she had not seen him. It was pretty silly since they saw each other every day and they have been together since childhood but he knew, he'd never get tired of her and the familiarity of her that had always felt like home.

"Tough case? She asked, as if reading his mind and he simply nodded as he took off his shoes, placing them on the rack. He then, took off his coat, hanging it by a coat rack just by where he placed his shoes.

"Well, then maybe I have somethin' that would cheer ya' up." She said, excitedly dragging him all the way to their kitchen. He loosened his tie and smiled to himself as he let her drag him.

He was surprised when he found the dining table all set in a fancy way. There were beautifully folded table napkins for the two of them and lighted scented candles as a centerpiece. She even prepared a nice dinner for that night. He had to admit he was pretty impressed with how she managed to do all the work. Kazuha after all, works in the intel division of the Osaka Prefecture Police Department, under her father, Police Chief Criminal Investigator Toyama Ginshiro. Though she didn't get involved much in cases, her work was pretty toxic too. It amazed him how easily she could multitask from being a career woman to being an all-around wife. He also couldn't help but get a little worried at the thought that he might have forgotten about a special occasion. He knew their anniversary wasn't until a few months. It wasn't her birthday. It wasn't his either. Besides, who the hell forgets about their own birthday. Hmmm Kudo of course but he was in no way like him. Well, he was in other ways a lot like him but he certainly wasn't the type to forget his own birthday.

"What's the occasion?" He asked, slightly hoping that the innocent question wouldn't cause her to be angry.

"Oh, nothin'. I just figured, I wanted to do a little somethin'." She simply answered. Although, he could easily read that something was up. He noticed how awfully giddy she was, not to mention the slight flush on her cheeks and the big smile on her face.

"Really?" He asked again, taunting her as he raised an eyebrow. Kazuha giggled adorably as she reached for the bottle of wine and poured an amount to both of their glasses.

"Sometimes I hate the fact that you're an incredibly smart detective." She said, finally giving up as she saw no reason to delay an important announcement. Heiji couldn't help but grin at her little compliment. She actually called him a smart detective. Yep, something was definitely up.

She stood from her seat to approach the refrigerator and take out a box of cake. Heiji immediately noted that she chose his favorite shop after seeing the familiar packaging.

"I was saving the news for dessert, but you read me easily so I figured, what the hell." She said as she placed the box in front of him. "First close your eyes."

"Is it really necessary?" He tried to protest being the stubborn man that he is.

"Oh, just do it and don't spoil the surprise. I'm trying to be romantic here." She scolded and he finally did as he was told. On cue, she opened the box and lit some candles to put on the cake and once she was done she asked him to open his eyes for the surprise in his life.

In front of him was a white-frosted cake with a sparkling candle and a fondant baby cradle on top. Written on it were the words "Congratulations, Daddy Heiji!" in orange and green icing. Heiji was speechless for a moment. He choked a half-sob, half laugh and he turned to her for confirmation.

"I'm a… I'm gonna be a..." He said still in shock and a bit confused but very much happy. Kazuha smiled at him and waited for him to process the news.

"Wait so you're…" He added as he looked from her then down to her belly and then back at her smiling face again. She nodded as she showed him a stick. It had two red lines and he knew it could only mean one thing. He said no more and he stood up to hug her. Tears of joy fell from her eyes as she hugged him back and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I can't believe it. I'm going to be a dad." And he finally said it. He felt stupid for not noticing. For the past few weeks Kazuha had been showing some obvious symptoms. First, her monthly "visitor" failed to "pay a visit" and then there was the morning sickness. Despite having a keen eye for details he never saw it coming, but nevertheless he was glad.

"I'm gonna be a dad…" He repeated making Kazuha laugh. "And you're going to be a mom… And I love you so much…"

"I love you too, Heiji…"

It had only been 8 weeks of pregnancy but the couple had already decided to decorate the baby's room as early as possible. Being the excited parents that they were Heiji and Kazuha had already bought the essentials. The crib was already delivered and had been sitting unassembled, inside a box in their room. It was the weekend and Heiji impulsively decided that it would be a good time to get started on the decorating. Kazuha didn't have the heart to disagree. Though it seemed a little too early, she was psyched about the idea and went on with his plan. The two had a hard time deciding what color would be good for the room, especially since they still had no idea about what the baby's gender would be. In the end they went with pastel green and orange since it was their favorite colors. The two also decided that colors were after all, just colors and that they wanted to raise their kid in an environment where things weren't sort out and stereotyped based on gender. It had them thinking, why did colors have to be categorized anyway? Who the hell came up with green and blue being a boy's color and pink and orange being a girl's color? What's with that bs?

In just a few hours the room was fully painted and Heiji came out of the baby's room with paint stains all over his clothes. Kazuha on the other hand, was left waiting in their own room until the paint dries and until the paint smell was out. Despite her protests, Heiji managed to keep her out of the paint. He didn't want her to absorb the strong chemicals that could be harmful for her and for the baby. Right after the paint had dried, Heiji decided to assemble the crib. When the paint smell was gone, He allowed Kazuha to see the room and add some finishing touches.

Using friendly toxic-free, poster paint, Kazuha painted little details on the wall, an abstract tree right on one of the corners of the room, where the crib would be placed. She also drew a cute squirrel peaking from one of the branches of the tree. She put drew some flowers with intricate details. Heiji was amazed. Kazuha had always been very artistic.

When they were done with the room, they took a few moments to stay in it and appreciate their team effort.

"I bet the baby would like this room a lot." Heiji said, innocently making Kazuha laugh.

"I doubt that the baby would even be old enough to remember how this room would look like." Kazuha pointed out.

"But still. It's a nice room. I bet the baby wouldn't have to worry about monsters under the crib or inside the baby closet or elsewhere…"

Five months and after frequent visits to the doctor, Heiji and Kazuha had found out that they were going to have a baby girl. The two sat on their living room couch sprawled together while looking through Heiji's Ellery Queen books for some odd reason that Kazuha requested him to read one of them to her or to the baby, rather.

"I thought this stuff bores you." Heiji said as he settled the book to the side and scooted closer to his wife holding her against him as they both tried to fit in one small blanket together.

"Well, it still does, but I figured it would be good for the baby. I read in one book that reading is a great way to connect with the baby. Also, I want our baby to be able to recognize your voice so I want you to read to her." She explained sheepishly. "Other than that, I kind of hope that she'd get your intelligence, and your great deductive reasoning skills."

"Really, now?" Heiji chuckled, smiling smuggling to himself, making Kazuha glare playfully at him as she lightly hit his abdomen with her elbow, causing him to yelp.

"Ya' know, even if you're such a detective geek, you're really smart and I want our daughter to be as smart as you are." She admitted as she took one of Heiji's books and leaned closer against him so that she could rest her head on his chest.

"Why'd ya' want her to be as smart as me? You're pretty smart yourself too. Ya' had good grades in Kaiho. Ya' even graduated with honors in college while juggling it with your extra-curricular activities." Heiji opposed.

"Well, still… I'm not a genius, like you are. Besides, I was only a diligent student. You on the other hand, have an eidetic memory. You could ace any test without having to spend too much time studying." Kazuha reasoned, pouting childishly.

"Well, being diligent still beats being smart." Heiji chuckled as he gave her a pat on the head. "Say, you think if she'd have my eidetic memory and your good studying habits she'd beat every kid in school?"

"Maybe. Let's hope she gets our best features."Kazuha said optimistically as she gazed at her protruding belly.

"Yeah. Then she'd have your eyes and she'd look just like you…" Heiji sighed, daydreamingly. "And I wouldn't be able to say no to her. I'd spoil her a lot, I bet…"

"Excuse me, what would you like to put in the card?" The florist asked as she leaned on the counter with a pen on her hand and a plain yellow gift card on the other. Heiji immediately snapped out of his thoughts to turn his attention to her.

"Oh… Please write down, 'For Hattori Elle,'" He requested, letting her name linger for a while as he watched the florist scribble down an impressive calligraphy writing on the card. He figured the name had such a good ring to it. It felt so warm saying it and it stung his heart that he'd never get to go around saying her name more often.

"Is that all?" The florist asked, tapping the pen as she waited for Heiji to continue his message on the card. Heiji paused for a while before he found the right words.

"Our ray of sunshine..."

He and Kazuha decided to name her Elle, after Heiji's favorite mystery novelist, Ellery Queen. Kazuha liked the Western ring to it and that the name was less traditional making it somehow unique in Japan. She also looked up the meaning of the name and found out that it meant "sun ray" in Greek origin.

Just like the sun that she is, the sun that she was supposed to be, she brightened their day with her mere existence, with the mere thought that she'd someday be a little ray of sunshine in their life. But the weather was unpredictable. They never anticipated the storm that would come and take her away, filling their life with nothing but dark clouds.

She couldn't understand why but she felt so off since that morning. She wondered if it was just her unstable hormones, being pregnant and all. She had a heavy feeling in her chest. She couldn't explain it but she felt awfully restless.

There was no logical explanation but Kazuha's instincts had become very accurate as the years passed, especially when it came to Heiji's welfare. It was also one of the reasons why her grip on superstitious beliefs was so strong. Kazuha relied on Omamori so much that she made a matching pair for her and Heiji. And though many have thought of the gesture as silly and cheesy (as Heiji did in the past), for some great "coincidence" the charm seemed to have protected them from harm several times. Kazuha believed, however that those instances weren't just mere coincidences. The Omamori worked for real. It was proven and tested.

That afternoon, Heiji showed up in her office, as promised that they planned to have lunch together. Their plans however were cancelled, as soon as Heiji received a phone call from his father, Police Superintendent Hattori Heizo, asking him to work on a murder case.

"Gomene, Kazuha. I can't have lunch with you today. Something came up and Oyaji wants me to look into a case." Heiji explained with an apologetic look on his face.

"It's okay… I can just have lunch with Otousan, today or Otaki-han." Kazuha said assuringly, though deep down she felt worried.

"Well, I'll see you later, okay?" Heiji bid, leaning closer to her to give her a good bye kiss. His lips softly brushed against her forehead. When he pulled away, he lingered for a moment. He gently tucked her bangs behind her ear and gave her a smile before he proceeded to walk away.

"Umm, Heiji?" She called albeit hesitating for a few seconds. She searched his emerald orbs with her peridots, worriedly as soon as he stopped on his tracks to turn his attention towards her.

"Ne?" He asked nonchalantly.

"Did you bring your Omamori with you?" She asked and he paused for a moment to think.

"Yeah, I remembered I…" He brought his hand to his neck and collar bone area, where he usually wore it as a necklace, only to find it missing. He searched his pocket to and brought out his phone to see if it was hanging as its accessory, but it wasn't there either. He recalled his actions earlier that morning and it struck him that he had accidentally left it inside Elle's Room, when he went there before he and Kazuha took off to work.

"Oh crap." He cursed. Kazuha's heart beat rapidly against her chest, like she was about to have a panic attack. "Ahhh. I forgot it in Elle's room. I went to look for her sonogram picture so I could place it inside, the Omamori pouch, so it'd have yours and hers in it."

Kazuha felt like strangling him for a moment, only to be awfully touched by his intentions. All of a sudden her frustrations subsided, but the uneasy feeling was still there. She sighed, but decided not to make a big deal about it. Stress was bad for the baby and other than that, she knew that Heiji could be a little absent-minded at times because of work.

Being a detective had a lot of dangers. She witnessed it several times. Trouble and death followed Heiji around like a lost puppy and that was the main reason why she wanted him to have his Omamori AT ALL TIMES.

It stressed her out a lot that of all the times he'd have to forget it, it was on that day when she was feeling unexplainably uneasy. Instinctively, she reached for hers and took it off. She tiptoed to reach up to her husband's tall stature and slid the Omamori necklace to his head down to his neck, where it was supposed to be.

"Hey… Ya don't hafta, Kazuha. I'll be fine. Don't you need this more? After all, I'm leaving you here all alone with the baby and..."

"It's no problem. I'll just be here anyway. Besides, Otousan and Otaki-han's going to be here. We'll be fine, Heiji." She assured him before she tiptoed again to plant a chaste kiss on his lips. "We'll see you later, okay?"

Heiji finished the case just in time for dinner and as soon as he and his colleagues have wrapped up, he went straight to pick up Kazuha. His wife was relieved that he was able to come back without being harmed. She figured she might have been just a little paranoid that day and that there was nothing to worry about at all.

She decided to shrug the thought. There was nothing to be worried about. They were going to be fine. Or so she thought.

It turns out, it was too early for her to let her guard down. Her premonition was right after all…

The couple decided to have dinner at their favorite restaurant that served the best Okonomiyaki in the whole of Japan. On the way there, Heiji noticed a black car trailing them. It had been following them around for some time now. He felt tensed, but he didn't want Kazuha to find out. He didn't want her to panic, especially when she's carrying their baby. His grip on the car's steering wheel tightened, thinking that no matter what happens, he was going to protect his wife and their unborn daughter. He decided to speed up a little, hoping to lose the unknown "stalker" but his car went just as fast as he did.

It didn't take too long for Kazuha to notice that something seemed to be bothering Heiji. She glanced at him for a moment and noticed that his knuckles have gone white from gripping the steering wheel to hard. He also looked pretty tense. Panic started to fill her heart.

"Heiji, don't you think we're going a little too fast?" She asked worriedly. He didn't answer as his attention was towards the rare view mirror and the reflection of the mysterious follower by their tail. Heiji grunted as he went faster to lose the other car, but to no avail. He even noticed that it went past by them and slowed down so that it was just beside their car, right by Kazuha's side to be exact. He looked at the car from his peripheral vision. Its windows were heavily tinted.

"Heiji, what's going on?" Kazuha yelped as he sped on. The other car picked up its pace and went closer to theirs, lightly hitting Kazuha's side. "Heiji!"

Heiji immediately took his gun from their car's glove compartment, one which he is allowed to carry for safety and emergencies. Kazuha shook in fear as she watched Heiji grip the steering wheel with his left and the gun with his right. The driver from the other car had had lowered his window. He glanced at the reckless driver to see his face, but he had a cap, a mask and shades on to conceal his identity. The only thing that he could make out was that the dangerous follower is most likely a man who might have been someone he had angered from his cases. He also saw that the man had already pointed a gun towards them. Whether it was him or Kazuha that he was pointing at, he wasn't sure. Heiji felt his left hand freeze in panic.

For someone who wasn't in his situation, it would be easier to say that to shoot first was safer, but Heiji wasn't confident in his aim, other than that, it's more difficult to shoot someone in a moving vehicle especially when he's also operating a moving vehicle of his own. He could save himself and his wife from being shot, but they could die from a car accident. Also, if he fired and then missed, the guy would fire back and worse he could hit Kazuha and the baby.

He lost it, however when the guy started firing at them. He missed. Heiji started firing back, but kept missing as well. A beeping sound filled his ears as he tried to focused on the road and on the crazy guy who was trying to harm him and his family. He could hear Kazuha's faint screams and crying.

The shooting stopped when the guy hit Heiji's wheel, causing it to burst resulting to Heiji losing control of his own vehicle. Heiji's car, sped up and before he knew it, he was slamming to a post. The criminal sped away as soon as he met his victory.

Minutes later, Heiji was awaken by faint sound of paramedics and police cars. He opened his eyes groggily, recalling the events that had transpired. As his eyes slowly adjusted, he spotted a broken dashboard. The faint smell of gasoline filled his nostrils. He felt slightly numb due to his injuries. His head felt damp as he touched it with his hand. He looked and noticed that his blood gushed from his forehead, an injury he got from the impact which caused him to slam his head on the dashboard. He immediately snapped as soon as he realized that Kazuha was with him, sitting on his passenger's seat. He looked at her and noticed that she wasn't looking so good either and probably did worse. She was still unconscious. She had wounds on her face. There was a lot of blood, mostly in between her legs.

He started to forget that he had injuries of his own. He started to fear the worst thing possible. His heart throbbed rapidly in fear as he slowly took her seatbelt off. He lightly tapped her shoulder, as he tried to wake her, but to no avail.

"Kazuha! Oi. Kazuha. Wake up!" He said, almost shouting in panic.

It wasn't long before the police and the paramedics got them out of their crashed car. Paramedics tried to tend to Heiji's wounds, but he fought back, saying that he had to see Kazuha first. He watched as they put her in a stretcher, inside an ambulance.

He found it hard to process what was happening in his surroundings. The sound of the sirens was deafening. There were police everywhere and some reporters.

"I need to see my wife!" He shouted angrily at the paramedic who was trying to calm him down.

"We are doing the best we can, sir but you have to calm down and get your wounds treated." One of the doctors said.

"You don't understand. My wife is badly injured and she… She's pregnant. Our baby-" He shrugged out of one of the nurses' grip and tried to get away. The paramedics held him down and within seconds, he was out.

"Kazuha… Elle… Kami-san…Onegai…" Were the last words he spoke before he drifted to slumber.

As soon as he got home, he set the flowers in one of Kazuha's favorite vases. He poured a little water in it to keep it fresh and stuck the yellow card on the vase with an adhesive tape. He took a few moments to stare at the gardenias for a while. He briefly glanced at his watch and noticed that it was already in the afternoon. He silently thought to himself that at that hour he could have been watching a tired Kazuha in her sleep. Minutes later he could have been sitting next to her groggy, but already awake self as the nurse puts a tiny bundle of joy in her arms. He could've been gazing at their daughter right now and he could have been holding her after Kazuha has had her turn. He could've but he couldn't.

It was supposed to be Baby Elle's birthday. Except, there was no Baby Elle at least, no more. She is now, nothing more but a wishful thinking, the most painful 'what if' in Heiji and Kazuha's life. He lost her and in some sort of way, he kind of lost Kazuha as well.

Long were the nights he spent blaming himself as he lays down on their bed, with Kazuha's side empty. Long were the nights that he'd spray her perfume on her pillows so that he'd get through the day of missing her so badly. She wouldn't sleep beside him anymore. She preferred being left alone, spending most of her days and nights locked up in Elle's room. She wouldn't even talk to him. He figured, he deserved it. It was his fault that Elle was gone. He couldn't protect her. He couldn't protect Kazuha either.

He snapped from his reverie as soon as he heard her footsteps. He figured, Kazuha had finally decided to go out of Elle's room for a while, but he knew she wouldn't be staying too long. She'd only go out when she'd feel a little hungry or thirsty. Right after she's done, she'd go back and lock herself up again.

She showed up clad in her loose pajamas. Her hair was tied up in a tangled messy bun. Her eyes were blank and puffy and dark circles appeared under them. She had been a totally different person since the incident, very far from the bright and cheerful Kazuha that he once knew.

"Hey…" He said, clearing his throat as he greeted her awkwardly. It felt crazy how suddenly, he felt like he was talking to some stranger, when apparently, she's someone he had known for so many years. After the incident, Heiji could never figure out how to approach her. Other than the fact that guilt held him back, Kazuha had been mentally and emotionally unstable for four months now, since the incident. She felt so fragile and he was afraid that any careless move he'd do would cause her to break.

"Do you want anything? I could fix something up for you." He offered when he got no response from her. He watched as she moved past him to get a glass of water. She wouldn't even look at him. She had been avoiding his existence ever since.

After she drank the whole glass of water in one gulp, she turned to go back to Elle's room, but stopped on her tracks when she noticed the vase of Gardenias on the table, in front of her husband. She paused and stared for a while, but said nothing. Heiji watched her actions and felt a little tense. He froze when she looked at him blankly, as if asking for an explanation but was too numb to care that much.

"I hope you don't mind. It's just that I remembered what today's supposed to be." He spoke softly and somewhat carefully as he tried to avoid her cold gaze.

"It doesn't matter. It doesn't change the fact that she's gone. It's not going to bring her back…" She told him with so much bitterness in her voice as she turned her back to him. Heiji watched her walk away. He stared at the vase of gardenias sitting on the table as he listened to her slam the door. He closed his eyes and sighed.

Heiji woke up to the sterile white of a hospital room. Albeit his headache and recurring numbness on some parts of his body, his mind immediately drifted to his wife as her traumatizing, badly injured image flashed on his mind. His eyes searched the room and found his parents sitting by his bed. His worried mother came to hug him, protectively and his father stood by next to her.

"You're finally awake! Do you want anything? How are you feeling? You had us worried, dear." Shizuka spoke as she gently brushed her son's messy hair.

"Toyama and I are working on the case. We've also had some guys helping out. Your detective friend from Tokyo, Kudo came by too, when you were unconscious. He said he'd look into the case too." Heizo informed calmly, but Heiji didn't seem to be processing what his father had just said. His eyes were blank and he was silent for a while.

"Where's Kazuha?" He asked, feeling tensed. He silently prayed that what he feared the most didn't turn out to be. Shizuka and Heizo were both hesitant to respond for a while. Shizuha gently squeezed her son's hand and gave him a sad smile.

"Heiji, Kazuha-chan's okay. She's still unconscious and resting well in the room right next to you. The doctor said she'll be waking up by tomorrow or maybe in a few hours." She responded. Heiji let out a sigh of relief. He could never forgive himself if something had happened to her. He however knew that it was still too early to be jumping for joy. There was another life he had to worry about. "But Heiji…"

And there was the but...

That "but". The indicator that there was apparently bad news after the good news.

"Heiji… We lost the baby… Kazuha-chan had a miscarriage… I'm so sorry, dear…" Shizuka felt so hurt to break the news to him. She knew how it felt. She was after all, a parent. Heiji was in a state of shock as his mother's words echoed in his head. It took a few seconds to register to him and suddenly he felt his fists roll into a tight ball. And then the tears fell.

And though, Heizo wasn't the type of father to be expressive, he knew at that moment his son needed him. He gave his son a light pat on the back.

"I'm sorry, son." He manage to say, though he couldn't find the right words and he knew no words could make Heiji ever feel better. He had lost his daughter and no apology, no sense of empathy, was ever going to bring that back.

A surge of emotions went through Heiji. He was hurt, he was mourning for his loss and most of all he was angry, with the man who hurt his family but mostly, with himself. He started to punch the bed and the rails by his side, his knuckles went numb and then he started beating himself, crying and screaming. Heizo tried to hold him down and Shizuka wrapped his arms around her son.

"Heiji, please calm down…" Shizuka begged as she hugged him tight. Heizo held his son's bleeding fists. Soon Heiji's crying slowly subsided and he started to calm down.

"I need to see her." He said. His tone was cold and his eyes were blank and lifeless. Shizuka hesitated, but she knew Heiji needed to see his wife. She loosened her hold around him and nodded. She and her husband held their son up and together they went to Kazuha's room and found her sleeping in her bed. The Toyamas were pretty restless too. Shizuka went to hug Kazuha's mother, her longtime friend. As mothers, they both knew the pain. Kazuha carried Elle for 5 months, looking ahead of a great future with her child, and now it was taken away from her…

"She still hasn't woken up…" Ginshiro said as he stroked his daughter's hair. His expression was sad as he stared at Kazuha's wounds and bruises. Even if Kazuha had grown up and had started a new life with his pal's boy, in the end she was still his little girl. He felt hurt seeing her in such state.

Heiji slowly walked towards his father-in-law who acknowledged his presence. Ginshiro gave the young detective a light pat on the back before he left her with his wife. He also took his wife and Heiji's parents with him to give the couple some privacy. Heiji sat on a chair by Kazuha's bed. He slowly and hesitantly reached to stroke her hair, carefully touching her as she seemed so fragile. He then reached to hold her soft hand in his and then brought it to his lips, kissing it gingerly. And then he choked on a sob. He struggled with his breathing as he tried to stop himself from crying again, only to be betrayed by his rebellious tears.

"I'm sorry, Kazuha… I'm sorry…" He whispered over and over again, until he got tired and fell asleep.

He stayed by her side until she woke up. He waited painstakingly and patiently until she opened her eyes and found him sitting by her bed as he held her hand. Her eyes slowly adjusted to her surroundings. Her head ached and she noticed that she had an iv stuck to her arm. Her body was sore and she had bandages and gauze all over her.

"Heiji…" She said as she tried to sit up straight. Heiji stood to help adjust her pillows so that she could be comfortable.

"Hey…" He greeted her. "You finally woke up…"

She didn't respond as she took a few moments to stare at his face. He had bruises too, but she was relieved that he was okay and then she felt a heavy feeling in her chest. As if she had lost something…

And then she remembered…

"Heiji, how's Elle-chan?" She asked as she looked into his eyes. Heiji paused for a moment as he sat down. He didn't know where to start. It broke his heart that Kazuha was badly injured and the first thing that popped into her mind was Elle's safety. She had completely forgotten about herself because she cared about the baby's life, more than her own. Heiji knew right then and there that Kazuha was so much ready to be a mother and it broke his heart that that chance was taken from her.

"Heiji… Did something happen to our daughter?" She asked again, her tone briefly rose as soon as she received no response from him.

"Kazuha… Kazuha, listen to me, okay?" He said as he cupped her face in his hands. He stroked her hair lightly and held both of her hands in his. He squeezed them tightly as he looked into her eyes. Tears were already forming at the corners. She knew his tone. It wasn't gonna be good. She felt it, but she still hoped.

"Kazuha… Elle is… Elle is gone. We lost her… I'm sorry." He said, remorsefully and she broke down in tears. He sat on her bed, by her side and held her tight. She cried and screamed and thrashed. She hit his chest and tried to push him away. He hushed at her as he held her in his arms and tried to stop her from hurting herself.

"No… She's not gone." She kept saying, still in her denial state. "She's not gone. You're lying!"

Tears flowed endlessly from her eyes, soaking Heiji's T-shirt. Eventually she got tired from getting away from Heiji. His embrace loosened as her loud cries turned into quiet sniffles.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" He said repeatedly, though he knew his apology never mattered. His hugs wouldn't make the pain go away. There was nothing he could do to reverse the time. He could never bring Elle back. At that moment, Heiji wished he was the one who had died.

And for months now, he had been slowly dying, but probably not as much as Kazuha had been.

Heiji juggled work, taking care of Kazuha and solving the case regarding the assault done to both of them. It was hard for him, but he figured it could be his own way of coping and of healing. He needed to keep himself busy and distracted so that he'd forget about his loneliness. He vented all his anger and frustrations to capturing their assailant. He swore to make him pay.

The family made sure that Kazuha had all the help she could get. They took her to a psychiatrist regularly and signed her up for a support group. But depression, was crippling. Kazuha barely showed any improvement and got even worse with each day that passed.

It had come to the point of self-harm. Heiji found her inside their bathroom, lying almost lifelessly on the floor next to a pool of blood. Next to the pool of blood was a bloody box cutter. She had bloody lines on her left wrist. Kazuha almost died due to blood loss. If Heiji had not come on time, he would have lost her.

It was hard for him, but he knew that they had to solve the problem together. Kazuha hadn't spoken to him since the miscarriage. Heiji, in some sort of way, avoided her as well to escape conflict. Though he always checked up on her, he always felt too guilty to be around her that much. He also decided to give her some space. But after seeing her remnants of self-harm, he knew he couldn't run away from their problems. He knew she needed him and it was time that he focused on her more.

"Why?" He asked as he sat in front of her and stared at her carefully bandaged wrist. It was probably a stupid question, but he knew they had to talk about it. Kazuha stared into blank space and did not give him any response.

"Let's talk about it, Kazuha. Tell me everything. You want to punch me? Scream at me? Go ahead. Just… Just don't hurt yourself. Do you understand? Don't do this again." He said, controlling his tone, trying to be gentle with her as possible. He touched her shoulder and she shrugged his hand off of her angrily.

"You wouldn't understand." She mumbled under her breath. She avoided his gaze as she spoke. She clenched her fist tight and soon tears fell from her eyes again.

Heiji tried to wipe her tears away, but she swatted his hand off.

"You didn't carry her for five months! You never loved her as much as I did!" She shouted, accusingly at him. She looked at him with so much hate, an image that had been tattooed in Heiji's mind permanently.

Heiji felt a surge of emotions rush through him. His chest hurt as her words rang in his ears. He didn't show it, but he was mourning as well. And it hurt him that Kazuha had accused him of not loving Elle when in fact, she meant the whole world to him.

"Now, you're just being unfair, Kazuha. You know that's not true." He argued, slightly losing control of the situation as his emotions messed with his mind. He let out an exhausted sigh as he tried to regain composure. He didn't want it to end badly with her especially when she was in such state.

"Look… I'm working on the case, okay? I'm trying to figure out who did it, so-"

"And there you go again…" She chuckled bitterly and sarcastically as she cut him off. "It's always the cases, right Heiji? Because being a detective is so important to you, ne, Heiji? If you hadn't been a detective, this wouldn't have happened. If you loved Elle more than your job, she would still be with us. The man wouldn't have targeted you and me. The accident wouldn't have happened."

Heiji's throat dried upon her response. She looked him at him straight in the eye. Her expression was cold.

"It's your fault she's gone. You killed her."

Her words stabbed his heart like knives. In the end, no matter how much Heiji tried to look at it, Kazuha was right. Being a detective, Heiji had successfully served many civilians but as a husband and father, he was a failure. He couldn't save his own daughter and he couldn't save his own wife from slowly dying inside. What was the point of being a detective when he couldn't even protect his own family?

Heiji decided to draw the line. He quit his job as a detective. It was the toughest decision he had to make and it shocked many of his colleagues. The news became very controversial and spread all over Japan like wild fire. Heiji still worked in the headquarters, taking calls from the emergency hotline and fixing reports on criminal cases. But that was it. He didn't get involved in cases anymore. It gave him more time to look after Kazuha as well. He took all sharp objects and anything she could use to hurt herself away from her. He also made sure that someone looked after her when he's at work.

He had handed his case to his father, father-in-law and Otaki-han. He also asked for Kudo's help. Though Shinichi was disappointed with his resignation, in the end he understood and respected his decision. Ran also offered to represent him and Kazuha in court as their lawyer.

It took some time, but they were able to track the assailant. It turns out the guy was the brother of one of the criminals Heiji sent to jail. He wanted revenge and he got it. The guy was sent to jail. Heiji and Kazuha got justice for Elle's death but it didn't make everything better. It didn't bring back Elle. It didn't make Kazuha better and it didn't save Heiji from breaking with each day that passed.

Heiji shortly followed Kazuha to Elle's room so that he can place the flowers on Elle's little side table drawer. He was surprised to find the door unlocked. Kazuha would normally lock it so she was alone. He decided to knock before entering either way. She didn't respond and so he let himself in. He found her standing by the crib as she looked at Elle's framed sonogram which she held in her hand. She looked at him briefly to acknowledge his presence but immediately looked away as she met his gaze.

"I'll just put these here and be on my way out." He said, as if asking for permission.

"Do what you want." She mumbled as she turned her back to him and tiptoed to reach the mobile toy hanging right above Elle's crib. She gently turned the key right on the middle part of the hanging toy so that it would rotate and play soft lullaby music. He walked past her and went straight to the side table drawer to place the vase there.

He stood for a moment to gaze at his wife who was absentmindedly listening to the lullaby music as she stared at Elle's sonogram and gingerly touched it with her fingers. His body moved on its own as he walked towards her. He stood right behind her before he slowly wrapped his arms around her waist, giving her a tight, needy back hug. Kazuha was taken aback. She froze and tensed, but she didn't push him a way. He Rested his chin on her shoulder and then he let out a soft, remorseful sigh. He inhaled her familiar scent of lavender. He missed her. He missed holding her and so he held her tighter, relishing the moment before it all ended, before she could push him away. He noticed that she lost a lot of weight and it worried him. She felt so fragile under his touch and it scared him.

Kazuha felt uneasy, but she felt that she didn't want to push him away. She moved a little, to get a little comfortable, but Heiji spoke.

"Just give me a few minutes." He begged. "Just let me hold you for just a short while. Just this once, Kazuha…"

She listened and let him hold her. She felt a feeling of warmth and security she hadn't felt for the past few months that she had avoided him. She refused to admit, but she missed him just as much. Suddenly, all the hurt and anger started to subside. It was a different feeling, but it made her feel less heavy, like a part of her heaping emotional baggage had been discarded. Soon, she felt him rest his forehead on her shoulder. Her shirt sleeve was then soaked with his tears.

"I know I have no right, but I miss her a lot today. I miss her every day." He said, choking on his tears. Though she couldn't see him, she could tell that he was crying. He was just as broken as she was and though he tried to hide it and showed off a strong façade, he was hurting too.

For the past four months, Heiji and Kazuha's relationship had been falling apart and in some sort of way, Heiji had been trying to hold it together. He had been holding on even if she had somehow, already let go. He reached out to her so many times, but she pushed him away every time. But though she acted coldly towards him, she remembered all his efforts. Like all those times he secretly sneaked into Elle's room while she was sleeping and put a blanket on her. Kazuha knew and in some sort of way, though she never showed it, appreciated it.

"I know I'm not your favorite person right now, but I want you to know that I'm gonna wait until you forgive me, until you learn to love me again no matter how long it takes." He said before planting a soft kiss on top of her head. He slowly loosened his embrace and let her go. He turned to leave her but just as he was about to walk towards the door, she placed the frame of Elle's sonogram inside the crib and turned to hold him. This time, she was the one giving him a back hug.

"Ahou." She spoke. It had been so long since she had addressed him with their mutual pet name for each other. It sent a feeling of nostalgia towards both of them. She rested her forehead on his nape. Hot tears fell from her eyes and soaked the back of his shirt's collar. "I never stopped loving you, Heiji…"

It had also been so long since she had said his name. Kazuha figured she loved and missed the way his name rolls off her lips and Heiji felt the same way. He lifted his hand to touch the back of hers as he stood and let her hold him. He missed the warmth of her body against him. His heart felt more alive than ever.

"It's just that when she left, it felt like she took my heart with her. I was hurting, Heiji. I'm sorry. I felt so empty." She sobbed. Heiji decided to gently shrug off of her embrace to face her. He lifted her chin and looked into her tearful peridot orbs. She looked into his and noticed that he had been crying as well, an image of him she never saw every day. He looked more vulnerable and imperfect in his state, but she saw a side of him that reminded her that he was also human. Heiji always seemed so strong to her. Even when they were kids, she never once saw him cry. It made her forget that he was also capable of falling and breaking.

"I wanted her too. I wanted her so much, Kazuha. I loved her too, ya' know…" He said and she nodded, regretfully.

"I know, Heiji. I know. I'm sorry." It was her turn to wipe his tears. "I was a mess. I'm sorry I hurt you. I know I can't take back what I said, but I never meant to say it. I just… I was so angry with the world, with everyone. I was so absorbed in the pain I felt I never realized, you were hurting too."

Heiji smiled softly and shook his head. He took her in his arms and embraced her longingly. She rested her head on his chest and returned his embrace. She inhaled the smell of gardenias that had stuck to him when he had brought the flowers and arranged them on the vase. It mixed with his familiar scent that she loved and missed so much.

"Can we start over again, Heiji?" She asked as she pulled away to look at him. He brushed her hair with his fingers and nodded. Just like that all hurt, anger and emptiness subsided.

"I'd love that." He replied softly before he leaned in to brush his lips softly against hers. His kiss was gentle but in some way needy and longing. She returned his kiss with the same level of need. She missed him and he missed her. Hurt made them forget, but slowly, time let them heal and remember how much they loved each other.

The gardenias lay in Elle's room, soon to wither and collect dust as time passed. But Heiji and Kazuha's love rose and grew stronger than ever. Though the flowers lay forgotten in the dark corner of a baby room, Elle's memory, though short-lived remained in Heiji and Kazuha's hearts forever.

AN: Okay, I don't know if people still do these LJ challenges, but I wanted to try it and phew! This took really long to write. I remember my first KazuHei One Shot was really long, about 6000k+ words. I never expected this one to be much longer than the first (Check out "Beneath Cherry Blossoms in Sannouzi Temple"). Again, I'm sorry if this was way too long to be a one shot and I'm sorry if I bored you! TT_TT I've always wanted to write a scenario in which we'd see a more vulnerable Heiji. He and Shinichi were always portrayed strongly in the series. They always felt invincible and there were only rare instances where you'd see them break down a little. I wanted to do something that would incorporated more of Heiji's emotions as a human instead of a detective. In some sort of way, this is how I pictured Heiji falling. IDK if it felt OOC to you guys, but I wanted to capture his and Kazuha's emotions. That's why I wrote from the part where they were a happy couple to slowly transition to the dark parts in the present. I also did this to show you guys how much Heiji and Kazuha wanted the baby in their lives, hence the situation. IDK if I made it clear.

You guys might be wondering how I came up with the name Elle for KazuHei's daughter. So here's the explanation: I'm one of the people in the DC fandom that has joined the bandwagon of naming Shinichi and Ran's future son, Conan and I figured if ShinRan would get to name their kid after Shinichi's favorite writer, I think Heiji should get to name his kid after Ellery Queen. Hahaha Weird right?

Anyway, I hope that I was able to present the theme well in this one shot. I'm also sorry if this one felt too heavy to be my opening story to my 30 Kisses version of Heiji and Kazuha, I promise that I'd make happier and lighter ones in the future. I hope you guys support me in this. Thank you for reading and please feel free to tell me what you think about this fanfic!

With love,

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