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lilana163 · 3 years

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Prologue: Reunited// James Potter

Aurora Black loved her cousins she would kill, hurt, or die for them you name it. Sirius and Aurora Black were the same through and through both blood traitors, a disgrace to the family name, both abused until they could no longer see the light, and both faced the most troubles that came with being a Black, both were disowned when they decided to run away from their family at the age of fifteen. The difference between the two was that Aurora can't just be selfish and leave her loved ones behind, so when she heard of Sirius leaving behind Regulus she couldn't go without taking her baby cousin. Aurora wouldn't leave Regulus for the life of her, she packed the youngest Blacks bag and dragged the boy out of 12 Grimmauld place, ending with three Blacks being disowned.

Aurora and Narcissa Black, you will never see one without the other those two girls lived and breathed for each other nothing could separate them, not even their prejudiced family, their different beliefs in blood purity, not the Slytherin and Gryffindor rivalry, nothing because in the end, they will always pick each other no matter what. So when Aurora Potter née Black died the Halloween of 1981 Narcissa felt broken, to say she was sad would be an understatement she lost herself, she lost her other half, she lost the person she could count on for anything.

The Marauders, Messrs Moony, Rory, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs a group of five who started their unbreakable friendship during their first year on the Hogwarts express in the compartment that will forever be theirs. Why is it when something happens it's always those fives? all were keen on embarrassing each other any moment they got, or cause havoc around Hogwarts earning themselves detentions every other day. But their friendship ran deep more than anyone could imagine, they were their own little family, four brothers and a sister who would go to the ends of the earth for the other, if one killed you could count on the others to help hide the body, so when the betrayal of their own led to the death of the others it was a shock to the wizarding world.

James Potter and Aurora Black might have been best friends but that didn't mean they weren't on each other nerves twenty-four-seven, actually Aurora Black never really did anything to annoy the Potter boy, except for the multiple rejections she sent to her best friend who constantly asked her out. That day in their first year when Sirius Black introduced Aurora Black to James Potter he fell for the raven-haired girl, he feel hard, the Gryffindor boy didn't glance at any girl unless it was Aurora Black. He knew, he knew that one day she'll be his and he hers, well he was already hers and James Potter made that quite clear to the Hogwarts staff and students. Aurora Black was the one for him, the only girl that he'll ever drop down on one knee for. Aurora Black was a stubborn girl she wouldn't admit to loving Potter for the life of her, she only realised her feelings towards her best friend in the fifth year because of Harry Potter, the boy who lived, her son. The emerald-eyed girl never knew the difference between platonic love and the romantic one so she was utterly confused for four years when she got jealous seeing many girls drooling over James Potter, she wouldn't admit her jealousy though the raven-haired girl was too prideful, even when she learned that it was not just platonic love and that she would marry James Potter, even have a kid with the guy.

Abuse, abuse was something Aurora Black thought was normal until she meet a family like the Potters, Mr and Mrs Potter never screamed crucio at the top of their lungs because their son broke a vase, they never screamed crucio if James looked at a muggle-born or was seen talking with one. Aurora Black wished she could say the same, but no, she couldn't say the same because if she even dared do any of those things she would earn herself a slap across the cheek from Druella and be at the other end of Cygnus wand when he screamed crucio, Aurora took every hit and spell her father and mother could throw at her, she wasn't strong at first but after a while she got used to the pain, numb, numb was what she felt when the cruciatus curse hit her for the hundredth time, maybe even more than a hundred, the girl had a tendency to take her sister's punishments as well. Most of the time the foolish girl volunteered for a punishment if it meant that Bella, Andy, and Cissy wouldn't have to.

Bellatrix Black was thirteen years old when she almost felt the pain from the cruciatus curse, Aurora Black was four years old when she felt the pain casted upon a witch who was hit with the word crucio. Even at the age of four she didn't regret the agonising pain if it meant that her sister didn't have to feel it, at four years old was when she decided that she would take any punishment her sisters were given, and that was a promise.

Her sisters couldn't say the same though, Bellatrix and Andromeda weren't brave enough to step up and take a punishment for their little sister, Narcissa had though, Narcissa jumped in front of the cruciatus curse after it had been pointed towards her sister for two minutes, Narcissa jumped in many times for her sister but was usually thrown out of the way by Aurora who hated hearing the blood wrenching screams of her other half. Narcissa soon stopped after a while when Aurora would yell at her afterwards, what Aurora didn't understand was that Narcissa couldn't handle her sisters screams of pain just how she couldn't handle the screams that came from Narcissa's mouth when she took the curses for her.

When Aurora was sorted into Gryffindor it tore the four sisters relationship apart, Bella no longer spoke a word to her sister, Andy would pull her aside to talk secretly, and Narcissa stayed by her sister's side showcasing the love she had for her sister each time she got too. The broken sisterhood still didn't stop the love that ran through the Black sister's blood whether any would admit it or not, still, they all loved each other, all still wished that everything was how it once was when they ran through the meadows chasing after butterflies. When Aurora Potter was found dead alongside her husband, all sisters grieved, Bella hated her younger sisters way of life but she still couldn't prevent herself from letting out loud cries when she sat alone in a room, Cissy became depressed and couldn't tend to her own son's needs for a long period of time, it was so bad that the twin broke down each time seeing Harry Potter, recognising the same emerald eyes her dear sister once had, Andy faked a smile, she had no tears to cry, she cried that Halloween night till the next morning and that was it, she didn't let herself cry but instead put up a fake smile for her niece who she now needed to care for.

Harry Potter the boy who lived, the boy who only had pictures and the voice of his mother telling him that his parents loved him, the boy who only had his aunt Cissy, auntie Andy, uncle Ted, and cousin Dora. Only four people who cared for him, and he was grateful that he was left with some kind of family.

Pictures, pictures were all Harry had, he had pictures of his mother and father in their years at Hogwarts, he loved re-watching the pictures play on and on, saying goodnight to each photo once the moon shined bright. Harry Potter hated Peter Pettigrew, he was the reason he no longer had parents, so he made sure that his hate for Peter Pettigrew was visible and shined bright just like Sirius who light up when Harry looked up at the night sky.

The whole great hall sat peacefully until loud laughs and shouts could be heard from down the corridor, everyone seemed to hear the loud noises and turned to the door where the loud yells got nearer, only when her old nickname was yelled had Minerva dropped her spoon and ran to the door to see if the yells did belong to the voices she heard so long ago.

" Oi, you lot get back here, detention all of you," Filch yelled looking down at his know purple cat.

" I didn't even do anything," yelled the calm voice of Alice as she was dragged down the corridors by Frank who ran behind Sirius Black who held his cousin Aurora on his back.

" We better hide, Minnie is probably stomping her way towards us," James laughed turning back at his friends who all glared at the boy.

" I am not getting detention because Potter and the Black duo decided to change the stupid fur of a stupid cat!" Lily yelled at Sirius, James, and Aurora who burst out in laughter at the redhead whose face now matched her hair.

" Lily is scary when she mad," Regulus mumbled to Remus backing away from the redhead.

" Sorry Lils, I love you!" Aurora pouted towards her best friend who glared at her.

" Wormy, watch out for that Rave-" but before Aurora could finish Petter had already bumped into a blonde Ravenclaw, Aurora and James were the first to laugh following along with Remus and Sirius who laughed at how ugly their sisters laugh sounded.

#black family #marauders #fan fiction #harry potter #prolouge #james potter

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thorne93 · 4 years

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Inside the Criminal Mind (Part 11)

Prompt: You’re married to Dr. Spencer Reid of the BAU, and are a distinguished doctor yourself on the team. You’re sent down to Miami, Florida for teaching and as a side request from the FBI, to investigate a string of missing persons. When you think you’ve figured out who the unsub is, your life becomes more complicated than you ever could’ve imagined.

Word Count: 2994

Warnings: (throughout the fic –>) death, blood, gore, killings, language, disturbing mental notions, mentions of rapes/murder/etc (You know, Dexter and Criminal Minds related business)

Notes: Thank you so much to @arrow-guy, @carryonmyswansong, and @mrs-dragneel-stark-solo - without each of you, I couldn’t have finished, written, or properly navigated this story. Each of you helped me fish out details that were incredibly important to me. Beta’d by @carryonmyswansong and @mrs-dragneel-stark-solo… Aesthetic by @mrs-dragneel-stark-solo

This is a crossover of Criminal Minds x Dexter. First time writing Dexter.

Also, the timeline is after Season 1 of Dexter, but during season 14-ish of Criminal minds into Season 15. Enjoy!!!

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

“My place. 8:30” Dexter sent around 4 o’clock. You were about to start your last class of the day when you received the text. “Wear dark clothing.”

He must mean business, you thought.

After class ended, you rushed to your apartment, dropped off your teaching supplies, grabbed a quick shower, throwing on a black t-shirt and dark jeans, then met him at his place. You came empty handed as it was late and he’d probably already eaten.

“What’s on the agenda tonight?” you asked as he opened the door and you stepped in.

“Tonight is the big night,” he explained.

Suddenly your mouth went dry and your knees were weak.

“Tonight? As in…”

“As in you’re going to help me kill someone,” he explained. “Follow me.” He led you to the bedroom. He walked over to his closet and opened the doors, talking as he did every step. “I keep my kill tools in a duffel bag in this closet. It’s got everything I need from setting up the kill room to wrapping the bodies for disposal.”

You nodded, trying not to let your hammering heart be heard. You wanted this, you knew you did, but you were about to cross a line you could never turn back from. Killing in the line of duty was one thing, wanting criminals dead was one thing, studying Dexter instead of reporting him was one thing, but now, to actually help take someone’s life…

But you knew Dexter. You watched him. He did his homework, thoroughly. Hell there wasn’t anything he didn’t do thoroughly. He was a neat freak, he did his bloodwork to the letter with detailed reports, and you’d watched him research people. He tailed them, watched them, observed them. He made absolutely sure they were guilty before hurting anyone and what more could you ask for from a serial killer?

“Plastic,” he said, holding up a roll. “This is to ready the room so no evidence, not one drop of blood is left.” He held up a blacklight. “To make sure no DNA is left anywhere.”

Again, you nodded, not saying anything.

“This is my tool kit.” he unrolled a black leather knife case. “Yours will look differently. I’ll help you with that, if you’d like.”

“Yes, please,” you said through a tight throat.

“Alright, let’s see. Ah! Black trash bags to put the body parts in, reciprocating saw to dismember the body. Personally, I have a scalpel, slides, and a dropper. It’s part of my ritual, yours may be different. Have you thought about your ritual at all yet?”

You shook your head. “I… I wasn’t sure I needed one? I just want to kill them and move on.”

“Well, you may find that a certain part of the process is missing something -- your signature. The cut on the right cheek is mine. It’s not so much the cut, but the blood that I collect from it.”

“I… I don’t want anything to remember them by, is that okay?”

He looked away for a second, nodding. “Sure. Everyone’s different.”

Then he went back to the inventory list, naming everything he was bringing and its purpose.

“Finally, the clothes. I wear the same thing, again, habit, ritual. However, I do wear a plastic face mask, apron, gloves up to the elbow, and coveralls.”

“That’s a lot of blood, how do you keep that from showing up?”

“I stuff it in separate bags when I’m done, leave in my hunting outfit, and I wash them as soon as I get home.”

You nodded.

“One more thing. I bring pictures of their victims. I tell them what I do. I tell them why they’re there. I want them to understand exactly how they ended up on my table. You might be different.”

“Okay, so what do you need from me tonight? Do I just watch or do you want me to help or…?”

“Actually, tonight I think you could help me capture him.”

“Decoy?”

“Exactly. You’re going to talk to him as he comes out of his restaurant, I’ll come up behind him, stick him, and we’ll put him in the trunk. From there, you’ll help get me in his house. Don’t worry, he lives alone, and for the past week, he hasn’t had any visitors.”

“Okay. Let’s do this then.”

“You seem nervous, you alright?”

“I’m just… first time, you know?” you said, your hands getting sweaty, your eyes darting around.

“Don’t worry, I’ve don’t this dozens of times. It’ll be easier than you think.”

“Okay,” you said, unsure, nodding.

“It’ll be new for me too, having a partner,” he said, trying to assuage some of your worry. “We’ve got this though.”

Again, you nodded.

“Shall we?”

“Lead the way.”

With that, he threw his duffel bag over his shoulder and you followed him to his car. The two of you drove in utter silence on the way, your mind whirling with thoughts, worries, concerns.

What if you got caught? You’d be sent to prison, Dexter probably put on death row, Spencer would divorce you in a heartbeat, he’d hate you. You’d ruin his trust in everyone. Everything you worked for would be gone in a flash. Your family would disown you. The BAU would be disgraced. Garcia’s heart would be broken. Emily would hate you.

Your life would be over. Everything you’d built would be for nothing.

Finding a new courage though, you swallowed it down, taking a deep breath.

And that’s why you’d never get caught.

“Okay, we’re almost there. He’s going to come out of the backdoor around 10. You need to approach him. I don’t care what guise you use, just keep him looking away from the car as long as you can.”

“Cameras?”

“None, already checked.”

“Other employees?”

“Should already be gone. We’ll canvass the parking lot first to make sure.”

You nodded and he pulled into the small parking lot behind the bistro the chef owned. Your heart was about to pound out of your chest. Part of this felt so wrong. But then again, it felt so wrong that innocent restaurant patrons had to bury their loved ones because of this guy.

That’s all it took to steel your nerves.

“See anyone in any of the cars?” Dexter asked as he tried to peer around.

You looked at each car for five seconds for movement. There was none.

“I don’t see anything.”

“Alright. Let’s get our man.” He turned to you just as the chef walked out of the backdoor, trying to lock it. “You’re up.”

Taking a deep breath, you nodded and got out of the car. You walked up, trying to think of a good ruse.

“Excuse me,” you said sweetly coming up behind him.

He spun, slightly startled.

“Can I help you?”

“Yes, I’m a pastry chef student. I’m about to graduate and I just adore your work and I was wondering if you had any openings for me?”

“I’m not looking to hire anyone,” he informed gruffly. “Good night.” He started to move to go around you but you stepped in his path, glancing to Dexter who was moving silently between a few cars. He was just ten feet away now.

“I really beg you to reconsider. I’m a great chef--”

Dexter was behind him in an instant, the needle in the chef’s neck, and the guy went limp. He caught him easily.

“And a great liar,” you mocked as you smiled to Dexter. He grinned back.

“Pull the car around,” Dexter commanded gently.

You dashed to the car and brought it over before helping Dexter put him in the trunk. You got back in the passenger seat and Dexter got behind the wheel to lead you back to the guy’s place. Luckily, he had a driveway that went way back, far from prying eyes. Dexter picked the lock and ordered you to grab his tools and go into the dining room. You did as you were told, moving quickly.

Dexter drug the chef in and you shut the door.

“He’ll be out cold for the next thirty minutes. Help me put up the plastic, please.” He opened his duffel bag and grabbed the rolls. The two of you draped the plastic on all four walls, going over the table.

“Now, we have to disrobe and wrap him in plastic and tape him to the table.”

“He’s… We’ve got to have him get naked?” you asked incredulously.

“Well, yeah. I can’t tear through clothing. I could but…”

Agan, you swallowed your aversions and set to help him, pulling the clothing off this guy. It felt really weird undressing an unconscious man, and even weirder seeing a guy naked that wasn’t your husband.

“Now what?”

“Now, we put him on the table, and strap him down.”

You grabbed the ankles and Dexter grabbed under his arms, and the two of you lifted him up and onto the table and began wrapping and duct taping.

“Alright, that should do it,” he noted, clearly proud of the work as he stepped back.

“So what now?”

“Now, I get dressed, and you do too.” He put on his coveralls, his long gloves, and apron. Then he handed you something similar. “Might be too big, sorry.”

You shook your head. “No need to. Do I need to go out and get my own stuff? For next time?”

“Probably be best that you’re in clothing that fits you best.”

“Right.”

The two of you stood there quietly. Everything was done. The kill room was staged, the victim on the table was prepped, Dex had gotten out the photos of his victims and taped them up, the slides and dropper were ready, and the kill tools were all set out.

“Now we wait for him to wake up. From there, I would appreciate it if you just watched, until I say otherwise.”

You nodded. “Can do.”

Five minutes later, the chef woke up and your heart began to race again. Now, you watched Dexter shift into, well, himself. This was all Dexter, in his truest form. He was honest, real, and open with you, sure, but this was him in his element. He fit here, he belonged here.

“You’re awake,” he noted in an even, almost somber tone.

The chef looked around, he saw you, he saw Dexter, he tried to move and began to panic. “What the hell is this? Who are you? What’s going on?”

“What’s going on is you run a restaurant where the customers need to worry about more than normal food poisoning,” Dexter said as he stalked the table like a predator.

“The hell are you talking about?”

“Them!” Dexter said sternly, pointing to the pictures of his victims. “They went to your restaurant and died. The autopsy all show heart attack. Funny, since only one of them was over fifty.”

The chef just glared at him.

“Why do it? Why kill random people that come into your restaurant?” he asked as he cut his cheek and got the drop of blood.

With a defiant voice, he said, “Because I like it. I like the power. I like knowing that the next person who takes a spoonful of my clam chowder might die.”

Dexter appeared lost in thought. “So a god complex.”

“Yes,” he all but seethed. “There, happy? Now let me the fuck go!”

Dexter put down his face shield and said, “I’m not happy. Not yet.” He looked to you and gestured with his head for you to come over. You carefully walked over to the opposite side of the table, unsure what was about to happen.

He poised a large hunting knife over his chest, and held the tip there. “I cut here, stops the blood flow quickly, and there isn’t any spatter.”

You nodded.

“Put your hand on the handle,” he instructed.

Your eyes went wide. “What? No. I can’t do that. Not… not on my first.” Panic wrapped you in a tight cocoon. You thought you’d just be watching tonight, not participating.

“Y/N,” he said firmly, his voice grounding you, “I need you to do this with me. Alright? I can’t have you getting your first victim, and realizing you can’t do it. Then we are left with a bigger mess. I can’t kill your victims, it goes against my code.” He spoke slowly and clearly, so you understood the gravity of the situation.

You nodded. “I know but, couldn’t we wait until--”

He shook his head. “No, Y/N. You’ve got to do this. You’ll have to do it eventually, you might as well do it now.”

You chewed your lip, knowing he was right. It was either now or never.

Without another word, you placed your hands on the handle of the knife, replacing his. He put his hands over the tops of yours. You’d never touched Dexter before, so this felt… foreign, yet warm, and comforting.

“You’ll have to push,” he reminded.

Taking a deep breath and closing your eyes, you pushed, but the man started to scream so you stopped.

“You’ll have to do it fast and hard, otherwise, it’ll only prolong this.”

You nodded, and finally, with all your strength, you tried to shove the knife straight down into his chest. You were ready to remove your hands, but Dex tightened his grip on yours, gazing at you.

“Feel his heartbeat slow down,” he commanded in a low voice.

So you did. The two of you waited for a short moment, the heart beat strong, then with every beat it got slower and slower, fainter and fainter. Finally, it stopped altogether and you looked at the chef’s eyes - they were lifeless.

Dexter let you go immediately and you ripped your hands away from the knife.

“Are you okay?” he asked tentatively.

You nodded, not sure if you could speak yet.

“So what did you think?”

“It’s…. Not as bad as I thought it would be.”

He somewhat smiled. “So you’re not ready to run screaming, turning me into the feds?”

“Not just yet,” you mused with a smile.

“Well,” he started, looking at the body, “this is where I dismember him. Did you want to be here for that part?”

“Do I need to do that to… mine?”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

With that, you bobbed your head, pressing your lips together.

“If you don’t want to watch, I’d understand.”

At this, you thanked him, and turned around. The sound wasn’t pleasant, but you just tried to go to your happy place and ignore it. When it was all said and done, Dexter had black trash bags in the trunk of his car, the two of you driving to the restaurant. Dexter would drive the chef’s car back home, you would follow in Dexter’s car. He’d make sure there was no DNA evidence in the car, and you two would head -- wherever he said to go next.

The exchange of the cars was made, and you and Dexter were quiet.

“So where to now?”

“Now we dump the body.”

He parked at a marina, and he ordered you to help him hoist the bags out. This wasn’t as appalling to you as you could just pretend it was a bag of normal trash.

The two of you hauled the bags onto his boat and he helped you get in.

“So, now where?”

“I’ve got a special spot, out in the ocean.”

All you did was bob your head, with Dexter glancing over to you. “You feel alright?”

“Yeah. It’s a bit surreal, but… I don’t regret it,” you stated. This was true. This guy was no longer hurting people.

“I didn’t realize how nice it was to have help,” he suddenly noted with a smirk.

You let out a small laugh. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. Carrying the body, having help with the kill room, it’s all time savers,” he said with a smile.

“Well I hope I was a good assistant. I’m sorry about the whole hesitating with the knife thing,” you said, apologizing as the ocean breeze hit your face and you tried to take in the warm air, admiring the black water.

“It’s your first time, and you’re driven by morals, I’m driven by something different. I didn’t really expect you to just go all psycho on him the first time.”

A sigh of relief escaped you. “I’m glad. I was worried I might’ve gotten in the way.”

“On the contrary, you make me regret not seeking out a partner a long time ago.”

You couldn’t help but smile at this. Next thing you knew, the boat was slowing down and Dexter informed you this was where you were going to dump the bodies. He made sure you had your gloves on, and the two of you dumped them.

“Speaking of partners,” Dexter began, “when was the last time you talked to your husband?”

You thought. “I guess I haven’t really called him since I got back.”

“So you haven’t called Spencer since you got back on Sunday?”

“No, but I mean we’ve been texting. He’s been on a case.”

Dexter sighed, shaking his head. “That’s not good.”

“Why?”

“You’re calling him less.”

“So?” you demanded. “I’m spending time with you. We have to focus.”

“If I have to explain to the world’s best profiler why ignoring your husband is a bad idea, then we’ve got a problem.”

You narrowed your eyes at him while you crossed your arms. You clicked the pieces into place. “Spence would never think that.”

“I don’t care what you think he might think, we don’t need him getting suspicious and investigating, right? The less questions we raise, the better.”

For a long while, you just stared at him but you could tell he wasn’t backing down from this.

“Alright, I’ll call him tonight.”

“Good. Be sure to keep up communications.”

“Will do, captain.” You saluted him and he rolled his eyes but smiled.

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#inside the criminal mind #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid fic #spencer reid #dexter #dexter morgan #dexter morgan fic

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falling-pages · 4 years

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Worth It: Mori x Reader 2/3

continuation of the ask I received a while back! It’s been crazy with evacuation, but I feel like I am getting back into the groove of writing. This is part 2/3, with part 1 linked here in case you missed it, and I am so excited for you all to see the plot twist at the end of this chapter! friendly reminder that this is an AU where Mori is not rich and he does not attend Ouran. That is important in this chapter. Enjoy this really, really long chapter! A little change I’ve made during drafts: the person who requested it has given me permission to name their character, so instead of (Y/N) that you’ve seen in the first part, the name oft he character is”Gina.”

Your Takashi didn’t take advantage of your giddiness or vulnerable position on your back. By looming over you on the ground, you knew he could have used his strong arms to pin you down and take what he wanted. You knew he wanted to. As you ran a hand through his hair and settled it on his neck, his pulse rattled cathartically against your fingers.

You wanted him. Pushing down that greedy voice in your stomach took all of your strength, especially when he pressed lightly on your wrist in response. You wanted it, you wanted him.

But you knew you couldn’t. You shouldn’t. This was your first kiss together, and your first kiss, period. You only met two months ago. You shouldn’t have these feelings so soon.

Takashi felt your concern and ended the kiss, briefly pressing his forehead to yours. His chest heaved; you found yourself shaking from excitement.

Your hands trembled as you tried to hold his. With a look of great concern he gently propped you up, searching your eyes with his to ask if you were okay. “Was I too forceful?” he asked, a blush burning his cheeks.

You shook your head vigorously. “No, of course not. It’s just...” You sigh. “Something I have to work through.”

He nodded, pushing himself away from you. From the shudder in his muscles you could see it took everything in him not to hold you. “Should we stop seeing each other, then?”

“No!” You reach up and cup his cheek, feeling your love for him welling up in your chest. “No, love, that’s not it. You’re perfect.” His eyes soften into yours, relief spilling out of his irises. “It’s my family. They think we’re better because we’re rich and famous, so they want me to marry someone rich and famous. Or at least rich. Someone with high social standing.”

A tear rolls down your cheek, and Takashi brushes it away, encouraging you to continue. “But I don’t want someone of social standing,” you whisper, your voice catching. “I want you! And it’s silly because we’ve only known each other a little while, but I feel like I know you better than I know myself. And there’s no one else I ever want to feel that way for.”

You crumple onto Takashi’s chest as he puts on his bravest face. Though swallowed up by his form, you feel anchored to the ground, your spirit aligned with his. It was rash to speak out like that. You were too young to think about forever.

You shook away from him, preparing your speech, only to be met with his kind smile filling up your soul. “Two months or two years, I don’t care,” he said. “I just want you in my life.”

Within your core you felt something tighten, hammering against your ribcage and lungs like a pendulum, strengthening your resolve. You sat up on your knees and gave him a quiet kiss, letting your feelings burst through your actions rather than words.

He grabbed your face tenderly, and everything inside you snapped. Screw your parents. Screw their expectations. Screw what they thought they knew, screw their haughty attitudes. This was your Takashi, and they weren’t going to take away the one good person you have ever met.

Let them disown you. Let them rant and rave about policy and goodwill and honor. Takashi was the only person of honor you had met in a long time.

As long as you had him, let them scream about what a disgrace they are. All you needed was him.

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

And scream they did.

It had been four months since your declaration, and keeping a secret was easier than you thought. You never had to worry about your boyfriend spilling the beans; he rarely talked with you, much less anyone else. The real issue was keeping hidden from your family’s bodyguards and nosy Etsuko.

Takashi always insisted on walking you home after every date, but you made him stop a block away so you two couldn’t be caught. It wasn’t that you were ashamed to be with him. It was just the opposite--you wished you could hug him in the city square, or bring him home to dinner with your family. You wished you could kiss him whenever and wherever you wanted instead of waiting until the safety of his apartment to do so. One day, just one day, you wanted to live without constantly looking over your shoulder.

As graduation loomed and the weather got warmer, you looked forward to your little walks under cherry blossoms with Takashi. No longer bound by thick coats and scarves, you could really see his physique, enjoy the shape and outline of his abs and biceps. You wished you could see them fully, but the risk...

You wished you could bring Takashi over, but you needed to tell your parents you were dating a commoner first.

It didn’t go over well.

Not two words had left your mouth when your father shoved a phone in your face.

“Gina, who is this?”

You choked down a gasp at the picture of you and Takashi holding hands. It was taken from behind, and as your fingers ran along the phone case, you realized it belonged to your sister.

“Etsuko!” you roared, throwing down the phone.

The culprit, sitting across from you at the dinner table, only shrugged. “Why are you so upset?” she asked. “I’m just looking out for my baby sister.”

“Why don’t you do something actually productive with all this time you have?” you retorted.

Etsuko sneered as your father tapped the phone again. Another picture popped up, one of you and Takashi enjoying lunch on your first date. You looked at yourself. Munching on the crab, mid-laugh. You hadn’t seen yourself look so happy in a while.

“I’ll ask again,” your father said. His normally-tenor voice dropped deep into his chest, and the tone scraped against you like a knife. “Who is this?”

“My friend,” you whispered. You didn’t want to renounce him, but you knew what they would do to him. You had seen it happen before.

As if he had expected this answer, your father swiped to the next photo. Your heart fell to your toes.

It was a picture of you and Takashi kissing goodbye a block away from the house. At the sight of his fingers in your hair, your stomach curdled. His heat, his smell washed over you again. You thought you were protecting him by leaving him so far away. You had no idea how nosy your sister could be.

“Is that what friends do?” asked your father softly, locking the phone and handing it back to Etsuko.

You sat back in your seat, feeling like a boulder has lodged itself in your sternum. Icy tears rolled down your cheeks.

“Please don’t hurt him,” you plead. You cast your gaze from your father, standing stoically in front of you, to your mother, shaking her head with a frown. Avoiding Etsuko, you rest your eyes on your other sister, Kichi, silent until now. She raises her dark eyes to yours before bowing her head again. A thousand memories floated across her face, but she doesn’t say a word.

“Kichi, please,” you cry, desperately reaching your hand to your favorite sister. “You loved a commoner once, tell them it’s different, help--”

“Go upstairs, Gina,” you mother interrupts. With her auburn hair and light brown eyes, she and your father were only similar in attitudes: ambitious, prideful, and spoke with snakes for tongues. Never mind how they could make such beautiful music together. All other parts of their humanity were destroyed by greed the moment they tasted fame. “Go get changed. We’re having a special dinner tonight.”

You shook off the maids’ hands and climbed the stairs, throwing one more repulsed look at Etsuko.

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

Despite the servants refreshing your makeup, the puffy eyes and red tear trails remained. You knew they were trying to be helpful; one had even brought a cool compression pack, but you didn’t want it. You wanted your family to see your pain, wanted them to see your tears. Maybe, if you made a big deal about it, they wouldn’t do anything to Takashi. You knew they could hurt him, uproot his entire life. They had done the same thing three years ago to Kichi’s secret boyfriend. But you couldn’t live with yourself if they actually did anything to him.

Tugging at your dress in the mirror, you felt confusion gnaw at your brain. It was a pretty outfit, but you thought it was inappropriate for family dinner. Shiny green material clung to your thighs, and though it was long-sleeved, a big diamond-shaped cutout clipped across your chest. Nothing too scandalous peeked out, but the cutout drew attention to it, inviting one to stare and imagine. It didn’t help that a ruby pendant landed in the middle of the area, cold against your exposed skin.

With your hair piled up on your head and silver heels strapped onto your bare legs, you couldn’t tell the difference between yourself and, frankly, a hooker.

Realization rattled down your spine. Your family was trying to sell you off.

A hazy memory suddenly cleared. You were only about seven when Etsuko graduated high school, and you remember watching from your playroom as limos surrounded your house, handsome boys her age in tuxedos popping out and entering your house. You remember how uncomfortable she looked in a strapless silver dress, slipping from boy to boy without spending more than a minute with each one. At the end of the night, your father announced her engagement to the son of some hospital management company, and she took that moment to publicly announce that she liked girls rather than guys.

But that was a party, with lots of preparation and glamor. This was only a dinner. A rock lodged in your windpipe when it dawned on you--they had chosen a groom for you already.

Looking yourself up and down once more, you tried to think of a way to get out of this dinner. The windows in your bedroom led to a straight 30-foot drop to the ground, and you didn’t feel like breaking a leg tonight. Even it you forced yourself to vomit something up, your parents would know it was a trick.

Just muddle through tonight, Gina, you thought to yourself. You’ll find a way to fix all of this. There was only one person you wanted seeing you dressed like this, but your parents had taken your phone so that you couldn’t even take a picture to show him later.

One of the maids knocked on your door, something about your family is ready for you, and you fix one last strand of hair.

They weren’t ready. Your family nearly died of embarrassment after Etsuko came out in front of all those important families, so they plan to just quietly let Kichi pick from a pool of suitors after she graduates business school. If they thought you would go just as quietly, they were wrong. There’s no way you would let go of Takashi without a fight.

Kichi met you at the bottom of the stairs, dressed very nicely but not nearly as provocatively as you. She walks you to the dining room, beyond words until you reach your chair. All she can do is press an apologetic hand against your palm before she takes her seat.

In the half hour you were gone, the servants completely rearranged the room. Double china sat in front of five extra seats, and you shivered at the new chair next to you, envisioning your future husband sitting there. Light glinted off the crystal wine glasses.

Musicians crowded into the back corner, a whole string ensemble playing what must be good music, but all you can hear is the blood rushing to your ears. Beside them stands a tabloid reporter, friendly with your family, camera and notebook at the ready. A man filed in followed by another woman, and he looked familiar, but you couldn’t place where you had last seen him.

You were beyond impressed. Without Takashi by your side, everything dulled, no matter how expensive or important they seemed to be. Even the swan ice sculpture paled in comparison to Takashi’s eyes.

As your family members walked in, you grabbed your father by the arm and pulled him to you. You dug your freshly-manicured nails into his suit, hoping to damage it or give him some semblance of your pain.

“Whoever you’ve chosen for me,” you hiss, pointing to the empty chair by yours, “I don’t want him. I won’t have him.”

Your father looked down at you, eyes calculating. “Oh, Gina, you’ve always been so smart.” His tone is light, not with happy pride, but arrogance, tinged with a hiccup of sadness. As he turned you to your chair, forcing you in, he turns much darker than you have ever seen before. “You should be smarter than falling in love with a commoner.”

“You had so many young men at Ouran,” your mother chimed in, gracefully sinking into her place. “Couldn’t you have chosen one of them?”

“They are all mean-spirited and entitled.”

“What about those host club boys?” she suggests.

“Yes, they are all of good breeding and good standing,” your father chimed in. “Even that Suoh boy, despite his maternal heritage.”

You grip your fork, remembering all the boys pimp themselves around like prize racehorses. “Those host boys are worse,” you spit out. “They’re attention whores. They prostitute themselves to desperate girls for status and manipulative satisfaction. None of what they do is real, even as they lead naive girls to believe it is, and I’ll be damned before I become a wife to any of them.”

“Oh. That’s not very polite.”

A cold chill rushes over your body as the familiar rawness of that voice thuds against your stomach. You know his voice. You’ve heard it chuckle cruelly in the hallway. It has been harsh and firm delivering answers in class. it’s the voice you feared the most would appear beside you at the dinner table.

You turn around as the Shadow King himself, Kyoya Ootori, enters the room.

Well. That was really long. Expect part 3 coming up soon! In case you missed it, this is a part 2, with part 1 linked here. Leave be a comment! I’d love to engage with you :)

#ohshc #ouran high school host club #takashi morinozuka #mori #mori x reader #ohshc imagine #ohshc story #ohshc fanfiction #ohshc imagines #ohshc au

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a-chrome-disguise · 4 years

Text

A long overdue catch up

Once Brett was gone, a silence fell between Cyrus and Kazimir. The younger man was on his feet, arms held behind his back as usual, his eyes examining the photographs that lined the wall. Most of them he found too painful to look at for too long, so his eyes lingered on the candid photo of him in his Team Galactic outfit. He wondered why his grandfather had such a picture in the first place.

‘...I hope you don’t mind that I put that one with the others,’ Kazimir spoke up. ‘...I wanted to see what you looked like as an adult, so when the opportunity arose… Well, I took it.’

‘Ah.’ That explained that. ‘...It’s fine.’

‘I’m sorry, Cyrus… I’m really sorry. I let you down so badly…’

‘You did nothing of the short,’ Cyrus blandly replied.

‘But I could have done so much more, I should have -’

‘- I do not blame you for keeping your distance. I know what Olya and Aleksandr must have threatened you with.’

‘...You do…?’

‘I was not going to take it lying down. I told them that I was going to do whatever I could to maintain contact with you, and then they dropped the bombshell that if I did, I would be “forcing their hand”, and we would emigrate.’

Kazimir sighed heavily.

‘Yes, exactly… I didn’t want to leave you, but I thought it was the lesser of two evils. I didn’t think that you needed to deal with the upheaval of moving to an entirely new region on top of… everything else,’ he nodded. ‘But… with how things turned out, perhaps I made the wrong decision…’

‘I disagree. You are correct, I would not have dealt with emigration well,’ Cyrus replied, without turning his head. Keeping his back to his grandfather. ‘The time for me to leave Sinnoh was as an adult, not as a teenager.’

‘But maybe you would have been able to get help sooner, in a region that’s less… stifling,’ Kazimir murmured, picking his words carefully.

‘With those two breathing down my neck? Unlikely. Psychiatry is “quackery”, and “not something they’ll have in their house”. No, I was going to suffer by myself, whether I wanted to or not,’ Cyrus bitterly replied, and Kazimir shook his head. ‘You tried to keep my environment as stable as possible. I understand that.’

‘...Cyrus, I have to ask…’ Kazimir began, the hesitance clear in his tone. Cyrus swallowed hard, bracing himself. ‘...What happened at Spear Pillar? All I heard was that there was some kind of disaster… And you vanished afterwards.’

‘...So you have no clue.’

‘I thought you were…’ Kazimir’s voice choked up. ‘I thought you’d maybe… r-reconnected with Nazar.’ The euphemism hit Cyrus’ ears, feeling like a somebody had taken a mallet to his stomach. ‘A-And I heard things about… your team blowing up a lake… That’s not true, is it, Cyrus? Tell me it’s not true…’

Cyrus’ jaw was tightly clenched. His eyes were stinging.

What a disgrace he was. What a failure. He raised his head, staring up at the ceiling, to try and keep the tears from seeping down his face. Damn it, he was not going to cry. Not if he could do anything about it.

But the disappointment, the upset in Kazimir’s voice, damn near broke his heart.

‘...I cannot. I cannot do that, because it is true,’ he admitted.

‘Why? I - I can understand your general idea of erasing emotions, I know that was because of what your parents put you through, but… bombing lakes? How does that help anyone?’

‘I justified it as a necessary evil,’ Cyrus replied. ‘I did not want to do it, but it seemed like the only way to progress forward. In order to help save the universe from the burden of our shattered, incomplete emotions, I was going to have to make the sacrifice of one small lake. Yes, I understood the risk. But I was prepared to take it. ...I sent a team out to make sure that there were no innocents nearby that could potentially get hurt.’

‘God, Cyrus…’ Kazimur mumbled.

‘I needed the lake guardians. I needed the gemstones from them, in order to create chains that would wield Dialga and Palkia. That’s why. I would use the red chains to harness their power as my own, and with that, I would recreate the universe.’

Kazimir held a hand to his mouth in horror; the things Cyrus were saying sounded insane. He knew that his grandson had done some bad things, he understood that Cyrus’ ill reputation was for a reason, but… what he was hearing went beyond his expectations.

He knew that grief and abuse had twisted Cyrus’ heart, but it was only now, hearing Team Galactic’s full intentions, that he started to get an idea of just how much damage had been done. To him, as well as to the region.

‘I came so close to succeeding. Oh, the champion tried to stop me, as did her friend. Cynthia and Ksenia, Sinnoh’s heroes. But the biggest obstacle was the gap in my knowledge. I had spent so much time poring over the myths and legends of this Godforsaken hell hole. So much time researching the lake guardians, Dialga and Palkia.’ Sucking in a deep breath, Cyrus closed his welling eyes. Despite his best attempts, a tear trickled down his gaunt cheek. ‘But I had no idea about Giratina’s existence until it was dragging me down to hell.’ ‘“D-Dragged you down to hell”?’ Kazimir repeated, choking on his words.

‘Giratina, the Pokemon banished to the Distortion World for its violence. My actions had upset the balance of the world, and Giratina arose to correct it. By taking me with it. That’s what happened at Spear Pillar. My goal was within my grasp, I was just brushing a perfect new world with my fingertips - and then it was snatched away from me.’

‘Y-Y-You still want to do it? T-To try again?’ Kazimir questioned. Cyrus could not see his grandfather dissolving into tears, but he could certainly hear it.

‘...No. Not for everyone. It took being imprisoned in the Distortion World for me to finally pull my head out of my backside and start to reflect on myself, my actions. Why everyone outside of Team Galactic was so opposed. I accept that I was wrong to override everybody’s bodily autonomy like that, but I genuinely believe that the world would be a much better place without emotions. But I underestimated just how attached people are to these repulsive feelings.’

‘...Cyrus…’

‘...I’m trying to get better. I understand now, I know that I am the outlier. I cannot comprehend why, but I accept it, no matter how reluctantly. And I am trying to improve my mental health. To conquer my demons. ...I am in therapy. I have a therapy Pokemon. I am on medication.’

‘But you still want to remove your own emotions?’ Kazimir wept.

‘If I were to be given a magic pill that would make me permanently emotionally empty, I would take it in a heartbeat.’

‘...God…’ He tried to shake the thought loose, not wanting to commit that one particular detail to memory. ‘H-How did you get out of there…?’

‘...Ksenia came back. God knows how she managed to get in there again, but she came back for me. I was in there for a month, I think. Judging by my estimations once I was out again, because time certainly did not flow the same in there as it does out here. Give or take a week. But that is one reason why I will not try again. I cannot count on Ksenia rescuing me again. I cannot count on surviving a second attempt. Granted, my life does not mean much now, but…’

‘Please don’t say that. W-When I heard you were missing, I - I thought you were dead. I thought - I thought I’d lost my chance to reconnect with you… I couldn’t deal with the thought of having to bury both of my grandsons...’

‘...I am sorry.’ Cyrus bowed his head.

Kazimir wiped his face, drying the tears and trying to pull himself back together. Damn it, he was going to have to work extra hard to make sure his grandson never felt he lacked support ever again. He was going to have to make up for his years of absence.

‘W-What happened after I was warded away?’ he softly asked, afraid of the answer. But he had to know. He needed to know everything that Cyrus had been through while his back was turned. No matter how much it hurt. ‘H-How did they treat you? Did - did they at least improve…?’

Cyrus let out a small scoff of derision.

‘Disowning you was the last straw. That was the push I needed to disavow emotion. If they were going to make it so that I had no support, I was going to make it so that I did not need support. My faith in them was shattered. Rightfully so, because no, they did not improve.’

Cyrus shook his head.

‘The best that I can say about them is that Olya remained stable in her grief, but Aleksandr grew worse. In spite of my attempts at numbing myself, there were still numerous arguments between us. They still brandished Nazar’s name like a weapon, beating me with vitriolic sentiments of failure every time I could not - or did not - become Nazar’s clone.’

‘...I tried calling when you turned eighteen, you know…’ Kazimir quietly told him. ‘Since they couldn’t legally stop us from reconnecting. Aleksandr said you were out.’

‘I probably was. I spent as much time as I could out. Just to be away from them.’ Cyrus hesitated; did he tell Kazimir about the worst of it? The absolute nadir of Aleksandr’s abusive behaviour?

No. Kazimir had been upset enough by the current conversation, there was no way he could make it worse. At least, that was what Cyrus told himself. But part of him had to wonder, was this avoidance really due to not wanting to further distress his grandfather? Or was he just looking at any excuse to not open up?

‘...I had thought about reaching out, when I left their house. And again, after Spear Pillar. And a third time after my hospital release.’

‘Hospital release?’ Kazimir repeated.

‘After Spear Pillar, the moment I left the Distortion World, it did not take long for people to notice, and to call the authorities. I was sectioned, and held in hospital for a few years. But before the authorities caught up with me, I considered contacting you. ...I don’t know why I did not reach out sooner,’ Cyrus explained. ‘Well. I know why I did not after Team Galactic. I thought that you would not want anything to do with me, after everything I had done -’

‘- You will always be my grandson,’ Kazimir firmly told him. ‘I don’t approve of your actions, but I understand the why. I understand that you’ve dealt with an incredible amount of suffering by yourself. I’ll admit, hearing some of these details hurts, but it’s nothing compared to what you must have gone through with nobody to ease your burden. But I won’t turn my back on you. Cyrus, I love you.’

Hearing those words, the sentiment that he had secretly craved for so long, caused Cyrus’ stoic demeanour to further crack. He had his teeth gritted, as he attempted to keep himself together. Kazimir noticed his shoulders hunch as the effort of repressing what was threatening to burst free made him tense even further. Kazimir lightly placed a hand on his grandson’s shoulder, causing him to jump.

‘Come here, Cyrus…’ Kazimir had his other arm extended, to offer a hug.

Cyrus finally turned his head to look at him, but made no move to embrace him. So Kazimir did it, instead. Cyrus was still stiff and unyielding, but Kazimir gently pulled him close. He clasped his hurting grandson to him, and unlike before, Cyrus did not need prompting to return the gesture. Wrapping his arms around Kazimir, and with nobody else to see his face, he finally broke down into a torrent of tears. Kazimir made sure not to do or say anything, not wanting to accidentally spook Cyrus back into closing off.

The pair remained as they were for what felt like an eternity, until Cyrus had cried himself out. Until his head throbbed, his eyes felt exhausted, and he thought there were no more tears left for him to shed.

‘Better?’ Kazimir softly asked. Cyrus pulled himself away, rubbing his forehead. He silently shrugged. Not really. But he allowed Kazimir to steer him back to the sofa, and the pair sat down together.

It seemed that neither of them had any more heavy, upsetting details to bring up, and had cautiously descended into small talk. Properly reconnecting, getting to know one another again. The repressed, depressed adult in front of Kazimir seemed so different from the grandson he remembered, but the more they talked, the more he saw hints of the Cyrus he knew before. Especially when they began discussing astronomy.

Though Cyrus reluctantly changed the subject after a few minutes. As much more comfortable it was to discuss small things, there was still one important thing left unsaid. Something that he vitally needed Kazimir’s approval of, if they were going to continue to stay in touch.

‘Cyrus?’ Kazimir asked, when he fell silent, frowning with concern.

‘...There is one last thing I need you to know,’ Cyrus cautiously began, closely studying Kazimir’s reaction. He swallowed hard. ‘...I… I have a boyfriend.’

‘Oh!’ Kazimir looked surprised, but fortunately, it did not bother him in the least. ‘I’m pleased for you.’

‘...Thank you.’

If Cyrus was entering the emotional minefield that was relationships, then, in Kazimir’s mind, that could only be a good thing. A sign of improvement. Ahh, but poor Cyrus looked so on edge, and Kazimir realised that he must have been anticipating a negative reaction.

‘Does he make you happy?’

Quite a big question. Honestly, the answer was no. But that was not because of Jaideep; Cyrus could not fault him as a partner. He was simply too far gone to experience genuine happiness.

‘...I cannot say that I have been happy since… well.’ Cyrus stopped. No need to go over all of that again. ‘But, he makes me “happy” in that sense that he makes me as close to it as I can possibly be.’

‘Good…’ Kazimir murmured. Not quite the response he had anticipated, but at least this man made Cyrus sort of happy? The clarification that Cyrus lived in misery hurt, though, and he swallowed a sudden spike of anger at his daughter, at his son in law, for being so cruel.

‘What’s his name?’

‘Jaideep Rose.’ Another look of surprise. ‘I live in Galar, these days.’ ‘That name sounds familiar… didn’t he get into a bit of, um, trouble in Galar…?’ Kazimir carefully asked.

‘Yes. It is a long story, and obviously not one he is comfortable discussing -’

‘- Oh goodness, no, that’s very understandable! I wasn’t sure if I was thinking of the right person,’ Kazimir hastily clarified.

‘That is partly how we got to grow so close. Having misguided attempts at improving things blow up in our faces, and living with the consequences. ...He’s a good person. Kind. Considerate. Patient.’

Unbeknownst to Cyrus, there was a slight softening to his tone as he talked about Jaideep, and Kazimir grinned brightly.

‘Could I meet him some time?’

‘I -’ Cyrus began, taken aback. ‘Maybe? Obviously, I will need to ask him first.’ ‘Naturally, naturally. If we’re going to stay in touch, why don’t we exchange phone numbers? Then, if your young man is willing, we could maybe arrange a get together,’ Kazimir suggested. A sense of embarrassment crept over Cyrus - or at least, that was what he thought it was - at the mention of Jaideep being his “young man”, but he ignored it. Kazimir accepted him, and seemed delighted for him. Coming out could not have gone better.

‘That sounds like a good idea.’

#ic #prose #[Kazimir Voronin] Cyrus' grandfather

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kheta · 5 years

Text

Dragon saves Ace and Rogue for reasons

My Disgraceful Little Shit

Another one of my trashed-fics that I cnba finishing even tho I really liked it. Mentions of genocide and execution, but nothing explicit. Head canon heavy.

Looking at the man he’d raised, as loosely perhaps as the word raised could be used, Garp felt affection laced with fear course through him. His little shit was leaving, without attempting to say goodbye either.

Or, how one conversation changed everything.

Monkey. D’s are many things, including but not limited to: exponentially talented, ambitious, stubborn to a fault, craving for adventure and kind-hearted. Some lesser known fact about them however, are their innate inability to display affection subtly, their uncanny ability to be in the middle of all troubles, their selfish tendencies and unfortunately the consequences of being adventure craving, kind-hearted idiots. Their too big hearts caused conflict with their wanderlust, especially when their displays of affection often proved too brash, too intense for people to handle. These traits had sculpted Garp in many ways, lead him onto a path he never regretted, but in his rare wistful moments when he was more Marine than he was Monkey.D, he’d look back and wonder if the things he had given up were worth the adventures he’d lived through.

He’d loved his wife, would have given the whole adventure scene up if she had asked, reluctant as he’d been. But she had never asked and selfish as he could be, he had ignored the growing instabilities their love caused. Just as he had craved adventures, she had loathed being stuck in one place. It was no surprise then, when she’d left their son in the hands of a friend they’d made back on his home island.

Dragon had been raised well, his heart wide, his brain ever-curious and his will to live strong. Garp considers it a shame that him and his mother couldn’t take credit for that. Dragon’s independence meant he often took responsibility for himself, even the first fourteen years when him and his wife had shuffled their schedules so Dragon was never without at least one of his parents, Dragon proved to be independent and asocial.

Though he loved his parents, he hadn’t needed them in a long time.

(When Garp had met his wife again, him a certified hero, her an extravagant traveller, he hadn’t asked her. Hadn’t wondered loudly if their love could have survived. They had kissed softly before she answered the question he didn’t ask, desperate and loving, but so changed from the courses of their life. Him more scarred than before, her as beautiful as the day he’d last seen her three years before, lips gentle and caressing. Her answer was a whisper in his ear, head cocked in his shoulder while his arms were loosely wrapped around her waist. She hadn’t asked him to give up adventure, because she’d never stay anyway. They could love each other, but it would never be enough when adventure were concepts engraved in their very beings, and he a Marine and her, an outlaw.)

“Seventeen years and I don’t even get a bye, you little shit,” his voice booms boisterous as ever.

Said little shit snorts, but turns to face his father, cloak covering the shitty tattoos Garp had loudly disapproved of, though his son cared little.

“I’ll see you again,” he replies after a while.

Chuckling, Garp moves forward and punches Dragon. It’s a punch that would heavily bruise a regular guy, but instead only leaves his son tense. Neither his mother nor his father pulled their punches with him, not since he was a child anyway.

“Have you gone and told your mother about your stupid plans?” Garp questions needlessly.

After all, Dragon saw him at least once every six months and he’d pieced together the little shits ideas himself. His mother wouldn’t have a single clue about the independent shit storm their son was planning, though she’d sure as hell be proud. Perhaps sad that he wasn’t a pirate, like he was sad that he wasn’t a marine, but proud they’d both be.

Dragon just looks at him.

Shrugging carelessly Garp sits on the roof, weary from the day’s events and looks up.

“Are you sure about this? As soon as you make a move against the World Government, I won’t be able to help you. The second you start this, it’s just you and your own resources.”

Empty words, nothing could sway Dragon at this point. Maybe a year or two ago, but frankly Garp was never one to control his son’s life. If the shit didn’t want to be a marine, then for all he could drag him kicking and screaming, he’d still be a damn useless, if not powerful marine.

If he wanted to overthrow a few countries, then Garp could only watch.

“I’ve planned for months, I know what will happen.”

He turns to face the direction of their home, body unreadable, voice stoic. It’s a funny image, because Garp can only see the child he’d raised with an indignant scowl, a love for meat and the open body language of a child.

Laughing Garp tugs at the cloak until his son falls next to him, then slings an arm around his broad shoulder. Dragon grunts in surprise, disgruntled. He’d miss this little shit, rebellious attitude and all.

“My little shit will become a disgraceful little shit very soon, so indulge this old man why don’t you.”

Next to him Dragon scowls, looking at his father unimpressed, but makes no move to leave.

Garp’s grip tightens to a painful level across the shoulder, he was a selfish old-man who never wanted to let go. He’d let go of so much today.

His wife.

His pride.

His rival.

Now, his son.

“Is it true, does he have a child?” Dragon asks, because tact and subtlety were useless against his father half the time.

Garp shrugs, careful not to answer. They both know who Dragon’s asking about though.

“I think– If I had a son, or a daughter… I think, I’d have done what you and mum did… I’d never be able to raise them, especially not after today.”

It’s a quiet admission, some of Garp wonders if he’s going to be stuck with another kid today. The thought irks him, his stupid shit better not have knocked his lovely girlfriend up just before becoming a wanted man!

“Ouch! What the hell old man!”

Garp glared.

“If you tell me I’ve had secret grandchild and you’re dumping ‘em with me, I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you ten times! Who do you think you are, you’re only seventeen! Moreover who are you calling old m-”

His growls are thrown off by a hearty laugh.

“Whatever, I’m just saying for future reference.”

Quieting the two just look at each other.

Then, because Garp’s a sentimental old fool, he blabs loudly and it might not be the case, but if he could save a life he would. Especially if it’s his grandsons.

“They’re beginning a cull in a few weeks,” his voice is dark, while Dragon tenses, “, anyone due to have a child in the next eleven months are suspected, even more so if they have no husband. The cull, it starts first in the South, because Roger was there the longest. Then West, I’m trying to convince them that East is fine…. It’s not working out too well, some of the upper echelon are arguing that his home is the only place where he’d hide his own child. They’ve met some resistance with the North though, the Vinsmoke’s caught wind and aren’t too thrilled, Judge and Sora were due to marry soon. Not like they have much choice, but the underworlds certainly been safer than it is right now.

“It’s– Few people know about it, they don’t want the government pinned for the mass genocide of an entire generation but that’s what it is. Sengoku’s tried to reason with Kong, he got a three month suspension posing as vacation. Tsuru’s gone off on an actual vacation, I don’t know why but I think she’s trying to stop this from the outside. Or prevent a whole fucking genocide….They’re even having the balls to call it a necessary evil–– There’s no way I can stop this, if they think for a second the baby might be Roger’s, they’ll stop at nothing. I’ve tried to reason but, they’re being fools.”

Disgust taints his voice. It’s classified info, but Garp’s always bent and snapped the rules to his pleasing.

If Dragon happened to be able to save some children, then there’s no way it could be traced to Garp anyway.

Only three marines in the world knew of his son. They had never met him, never seen photos of him, only knew his name and how he described him, an energetic tyke named Monkey. D Dragon, who regularly bought his father birthday presents. Who was strong but stupid and had no connection to whatever other Dragon his soon to be disowned son would become. They didn’t even know his age and Garp’s thankful that his big fat mouth didn’t disclose any vital information about his son.

Thankful he had seventeen years with this stupid little shit, because heavens know his parents had less time with him before he up and left.

“I love you,” he whispers solemnly.

Most people would think he’d blubber, but when he gave up on changing people, it was a cold thing. Frosting his bones into silence.

There was no changing Dragon. He was a D. Moreover, he was a Monkey D. They never really changed, just grew.

“I love you too,” he gets up back turned and Garp hears the words before they even leave his mouth.

They finish the sentence in unison, “But sometimes love isn’t enough…”

Grinning, Garp heaves a sigh and clenches his fist. Monkey D’s didn’t say I love you, it was usually an action for them. A punch to remind them to come home. A push, to let you know there’s nothing wrong with moving forward or looking back. After this, there’d be no home to come back to and no punch to remind the other of what he had to live for, only words and memories.

“Would there ever had been a chance of you staying?… If I had stayed?”

Gosh he sounds like a sap, but the regret lingers and it’s not just his son he’s asking. It’s his wife. His friends and his brother, his father. People that never could understand a D, for all they loved them. Everyone he’s had to give up to keep being Garp The Hero.

“Probably...But I would’ve hated it, just like you. I’d have stayed and hated and grown bitter, because I’d felt caged.”

But you would have stayed, the selfish, selfish parts of him screams.

He lets Dragon disappear then, a show of shave that Garp hardly remembers teaching and with his son gone, Garp cries into his large calloused fingers. His too big heart was hurt so much today, it needed a few minutes for the hurt to heal. But Dragon leaving had reminded him he needed to go as well, before Sengoku caught him and forced him into postponing his visit to Rogue for too long. Garp pushes his heartache to the side, wipes his tears and searches for the most discreet dingy he could find.

He’d lost his wife and failed his son, he wouldn’t let another wife and son be failed because of him.

(And maybe in another world Garp would have sensed his son’s haki, but the pain of finally letting his wife go would be too much and he’d never get the closure of saying goodbye to his little shit. In another world Sengoku would find him and trap him into active duty. This is a world where Garp hides his heart behind his uniform and his promises would be kept, but tucked behind due date after due date, and when he finds Rogue it would be too late. But that tale, is one that’s already been told.)

And then:

Rogue lives, Ace is marginally happier growing up and I honestly don’t know where it was gonna go after that. I’m pretty sure I had plans of Ace meeting Koala and Sanji early on, maybe even Robin bc I feel like Rogue would 100% hunt down this child wanted by the world, bc fuck that was nearly her son but like. Idk how it was gonna go, just that somehow canon Strawhats and canon 2nd division commander Ace we’re still going to be relevant aspects of the story.

#oh well trash fic now #trashed this story #trash fic #one piece #portgas d rouge #portgas d. ace #monkey d. garp #monkey d. dragon #one piece au #one piece fanfiction

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january3693 · 5 years

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Someone We Used to Know - Part 18

(This is a Marauders Era AU about what might have changed if Sirius was expelled after the Prank. Here’s the Master List if you’d like to start from the beginning or find a specific part)

While Remus is in the middle of his investigations and Sirius is passed out in his hotel room, others are having an equally trying night.

At this moment it’s 3:28 in the morning, which makes it either very early, or very late. Either way, Regulus Black pours himself a very generous dram of obscenely expensive firewhisky and drinks it far too quickly to appreciate anything but the way it burns down his throat.

He’s sprawled inelegantly in the wingback chair that used to belong to his father. The hand that isn’t holding his snifter is toying with a small, antique pocket mirror.

He’s considering using it. He’s also considering hurling it at the wall.

How, Regulus wonders silently, did he get himself into this mess?

There are two answers to that question. The long answer truly is long and complicated. The short answer is that his cousin Bellatrix woke him up an hour-and-a-half ago, shoving her wand in his face and demanding to know where he’d been earlier that night.

Regulus had spent most of the evening at the Pendragon Club, making dull small talk with the old codgers and the ambitious ministry toadies. It isn’t fun, but it’s an easy way to act like he’s doing the Dark Lord’s work, recruiting and sowing the seeds of discord. Or something like that.

If nothing else it’s a good excuse that keeps him away from the fighting, from the bloodshed and death.

Most of the time.

He was certainly away from it tonight when Bella and half a dozen others stormed some Muggle art museum. Regulus never understood their reasoning for this particular target, but he was drinking when the plan had been formed. Whatever they’d intended, it hadn’t really worked. A few Muggles had died, but two of their own had been captured when there turned out to be armed and dangerous wizards hiding among the Muggles.

Regulus bears some of the responsibility for their frustrated attempt at mass slaughter.

Just not in the way his cousin feared when she’d stormed into Grimmauld Place in the middle of the night.

Evan Rosier and Rabastan Lestrange had reported seeing a man who bore a resemblance to Regulus fighting alongside an Order member at the museum.

A man with black hair and fair skin and grey eyes.

A man who bore a resemblance to Regulus.

He pours himself another drink and stares across the room at the enormous tapestry. The Black family tree. Despite the enormity of the tapestry, the tree itself has dwindled. Regulus himself is the only hope that the Black family name will survive past this generation. Or so he’d thought.

The branches displaying the latest generations on the tree are studded with more and more burnt holes where some relative disgraced the family and was disowned. Their names are burnt away. Their legacies forgotten.

Regulus can remember when his mother burned Sirius’s name from the tapestry.

He stares at the hole where his brother’s name used to be stitched.

For years, Regulus has wondered what happened to his brother. Even when he tried to stop, tried to obey his parents when they told him to burn Sirius from his mind as thoroughly as they’d burned his name off the family tree, the question always remained in the back of Regulus’s head.

What happened to Sirius?

His parents never wavered in their story that Sirius had simply run away from home after his expulsion. They said it with such finality though, that Regulus has always known there was more to the story. None of his snooping or sly questions had never turned up any concrete answers though.

Now he has more questions than ever.

A man who bore a resemblance to him was alive and had fought at the museum beside an Order member who, based on descriptions, could only be Remus Lupin.

Raising the mirror, Regulus takes a second to stare at his haggard, hollow-eyed face.

In his memories and the one photo he has hidden away, any resemblance between himself and Sirius is superficial. Sirius was always the handsome one, his face alight with whatever emotion he was feeling at the moment. Even when he was angry or miserable, Sirius had always been so…so alive.

Regulus, on the other hand, feels like he’s lived most of his life half-asleep.

“Potter,” Regulus says, speaking into the mirror. “James Potter, wake up.”

His own reflection goes a little foggy, a little darker, but no other face appears. It is the middle of the night, and from what Bellatrix said, Potter’s wife was at the museum, so they’re probably cuddled up in bed all thankful to be alive.

Regulus takes another drink.

“Answer the fucking mirror, Potter,” Regulus snaps. He’s once again considering smashing the damn mirror again.

For all he’s done, Potter owes him this.

Regulus isn’t a blood traitor. He will never join Dumbledore’s little militia.

He’s not Sirius.

But he’s not Bellatrix either.

Regulus is not a killer. He will never worship at the Dark Lord’s feet, even if he bears his mark.

Regulus is…somewhere in the middle.

Some days, he does the Dark Lord’s work. Other days, he gives Potter information.

It’s a delicate balance, and one day—probably quite soon—it’s going to destroy Regulus.

This isn’t that day though, and before it comes, Regulus is going to get some fucking answers.

“Potter!” Regulus shouts into the mirror.

This time, Regulus hears a child cry a moment before his own reflection is replaced by a bleary-eyed, messy-haired man in crooked glasses.

“Regulus?” James asks. He sounds groggy but worried. Despite all the times Potter has tried to cross the line from reluctant allies to friends, Regulus doesn’t make social calls. He knows something must be wrong.

“Potter,” Regulus replies through gritted teeth. “We need to talk about my brother.”

(Part 19)

#someone we used to know #someone we used to know story post #harry potter au #marauders au #wolfstar #jily #first war with voldemort

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ficswithrimi · 6 years

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Mine (Chapter 2)

First: Chapter 1

Next: Chapter 3

Title: Mine

Pairing: Noctis Lucis Caelum x Reader

Genre: Angst, Romance

Trigger Warning: Mentions of blood, violence, depression, minor sexual content, and suicide attempt

Synopsis: Daughter of a Niflheim soldier, you were sent out to Tenebrae to spy on the Nox Fleuret family and their involvement with the Lucis Caelum family. However, after learning the truth about Niflheim, you betray them. Your journey of revenge begins after learning of the death of your adoptive sister, Lunafreya, and your childhood friend Noctis Lucis Caelum.

A/N: This long ass, took me forever to write, too much in one day, I’m tired as hell, finals got me bent outta shape chapter. WHEW! Finally, I can start the story line. So basically, this story will be in the POV of you (my reader) and Noctis. Also, they’ll be time skips, cuz like, who got time to go through every chapter of the game via a story? Not I. So yeah. Enjoy chapter two and leave thoughts and comments, please!

You lazily laid in the sunroom of the Nox Fleuret castle, casually stroking the back of Umbra’s head. He had just returned from yet another journey from Insomnia to deliver a message to Lunafreya from Noctis. Letting out a sigh, you used your free hand to cover your eyes from the blinding sun that shone within the room. At any moment now, Lunafreya would come waltzing into the room, notebook pressed tightly to her chest, and a bright smile upon her face. She usually walked around the castle with a gloomy look but on the days Umbra returned with a new message, it was almost as if the world was once again a better place for the 21-year-old woman despite being under lockdown in her own home by Niflheim forces.

At least she was happy, however. You would give anything to continue to see that smile on her face. The Gods and everyone who has ever run into you knew that you thought of the world of Lady Lunafreya. She was your best friend – your sister. Technically, you weren’t supposed to communicate with the oracle as often as you did. However, Lunafreya often stood up for you against the soldiers and commanded that you still be treated the same as when you were nine and living happily with her and her family. You both still shared a room, ate meals together, tended the garden, and strolled the castle hallways just as you did as children. Niflheim wanted you dead, there was no doubt in your mind, but as long as the oracle protected over you, they couldn’t do anything.

Still, you sometimes wanted to be the one to protect Lunafreya. You were perfectly capable. When you were 12, Ravus came to you one day in secret, offering to train you in combat. He said it was to not only defend yourself, but Lunafreya as well, in case Niflheim ever turned back on their word of keeping you and the oracle out of harm. You picked up his lessons well and was fully capable of taking down an army of about 15 men by the age of 15. Sometimes, you’d sneak out of your bedroom at night to practice to become stronger.

“Y/N!” The sound of Lunafreya’s delicate voice filled your ears as she shuffled her way towards you. You uncovered your eyes and sat up and, sure enough, that bright smile was plastered on her face and the notebook was being hugged tightly against her chest.

“Ah, hello!” You grinned at her as she plopped down beside you, now resting the notebook in her lap. She turned towards and you could’ve sworn you saw her blue eyes twinkle. “Another message from the royal brat?”

Lunafreya’s smile dropped at your comment. “I think the only royal brat here is you.”

You shrugged as you tossed your head back on the couch. “Mh, last time I checked, I’m only a disowned child.”

“Y/N…”

“Kidding, kidding. What did lover boy say this time?”

“We’re not lovers, simply friends,” Lunafreya playfully hit you in the leg, causing you to bring your head back up.

“Oh Luna,” You mocked a young Noctis’s voice, “How I miss you dearly in these dreaded walls of Insomnia! When will we be reunited, my love?”

“Y/N, that is not nice.”

“Make sure to invite me to the wedding,” You jokingly smirked at her as her pale face turned a vibrant red.

“I came here to simply show you a picture!”

“A picture? Of what?” You arched a brow as you watched Lunafreya pull a photograph from the notebook. “Oh Gods, what did he send you a picture of?”

“See for yourself,” She grinned as she handed you the picture. Taking the picture from her hand, your eyes scanned over it. It was two boys – one blond and the other with raven hair – standing in front of a schoolyard in uniform. The blond held up a peace sign as his other arm wrapped around the raven-haired boy’s neck whom was smiling shyly at the camera. Your eyes widened at the darker haired boy. Though you haven’t seen him in nine years, you immediately recognized him as Prince Noctis. Your heart leapt at his picture. He had surely grown into a handsome young man.

Shaking the thoughts of Noctis from your head, you nonchalantly handed the picture back to Lunafreya. “Why’d he dye his hair blond?”

“No, silly, he’s the darker haired one. Isn’t he handsome…” The smile returned to Lunafreya’s face as she mentioned the prince. “What I wouldn’t give to see him again…”

“Then let’s go,” You turned your body to face her. Her eyes widened before shaking her head and placing the photo gently back into the notebook.

“It’s impossible. We’re both stuck here until who knows when!”

“We can make it possible,” You smirked.

“Y/N no… it’d put our lives in danger…”

“Don’t you want to see Noctis again? I mean, you’re obviously infatuated with him-“

“Am not!” Lunafreya gasped.

“Lunafreya…” You frowned deeply as she denied her feelings.

“I mean… I don’t even know what I mean…”

“Exactly,” You snapped your fingers at the blonde woman. “So, let’s go to Insomnia.”

“I’m afraid I cannot…” Lunafreya sighed.

“What are you afraid of?”

“They won’t kill me for trying to escape… but you?” She looked over at you, tears appearing in the corner of her eyes.

You let out a heavy sigh at her words. It was true, if caught sneaking out – especially with Lunafreya – then it’d be the end of you. You were useless. A disgraced citizen to Niflheim who failed her country and leader. With you gone, they’d probably be able to have more control over Lunafreya. Honestly, they were probably waiting for you to mess up.

“They won’t kill me… I promise you…” You smiled gently at her as you placed a hand over hers. However, she still shook her head at you.

“I will not comply… I’m sorry. If the Gods want Noctis and I together… then it will happen in due time…”

Letting out a defeated sigh, you leaned back into the couch. “If you say so…”

~!~

Two years later…

A 19-year-old you casually walked the hall back to your bedroom. It was late in the afternoon and you wanted to take a short nap before Lunafreya and you were called to dinner. Lunafreya was already in the room, studying up on some oracle notes her ancestors left for her. As you got closer to the bedroom, you passed a group of Niflheim soldiers, armed with guns, walking in unison down the hall. As you passed one of them, you saw him glare slightly at you through the opening for his eyes on his helmet. Feeling slightly taken aback, you returned the frowned and sharply turned your head away from the soldier. It seemed as the years progressed, tensions between Niflheim and Lucis were increasing and that meant stricter enforcements for Lunafreya and you. Now, you two weren’t even allowed in Lunafreya’s garden after sundown. When leaving a room, you were required to inform a solder on duty where your next destination was. You, personally, was also banned from traveling with Lunafreya on her activities as oracle, where’d she heal the infected people across the countries. Ravus claimed it was because they feared you’d turn against them again and try to escape with Lunafreya to Insomnia. You laughed grimly when he told you this and mentioned if you wanted to kidnap Lunafreya, you would’ve done so years ago.

As you reached the doors to your bedroom, you stopped as you heard the voices of Gentiana and Lunafreya inside. Deciding to eavesdrop, you gently pressed an ear against the door.

“What would I do to see him again. I miss him so much. The messages… they’re not enough. I want to hear his voice, embrace him, tell him how much he means to me…”

“It’s only a matter of time…” Gentiana replied to the oracle.

“But when? You’ve been saying that for the past three years now and nothing! My heart yearns for someone I cannot be with. Wasn’t it you that said the oracle was to stand beside the chosen king? Then why am I not beside him?” Lunafreya’s voice began to rise as frustration overtook her.

“It is the duty of the oracle to stand beside the chosen one. You will know when that time comes…” Gentiana gently replied.

“Why us… why? Why can’t we just be normal people and live normal lives together? I’m tired of being cooped up in this castle as if I’m some prisoner! Why? I just want to be with Noctis… it’s all I ever wanted…”

Your heart dropped at the sound of frustration and sadness in Lunafreya’s voice. You wish there was something you could do to make her feel better but there was nothing. Nothing and no one could make her happy besides being beside the one she loved. Letting out a heavy sigh, you walked away from the door.

Lunafreya has given you so much in your lifetime. You wanted to return the favor and if that meant risking your life to see her happiness then so be it.

“Lunafreya Nox Fleuret…” You said as you solemnly walked towards your next destined area in the castle. “I guess you’re… no longer mine.”

~!~

“I’ll be back in a couple of days. Make sure to eat properly and try not to anger the guards,” Lunafreya slightly scolded you as she closed her suitcase. You were lounging on her bed, watching the oracle and former princess pack for yet another trip to rid people of the plague. This time she was just going to the city in Tenebrae but she wouldn’t be back for a couple of days because of the long distance it was from the city to the castle. You had asked one of the leaders of the Niflheim soldiers if you could possibly tag along this time since, technically, you weren’t leaving the country and it was your 20th birthday tomorrow. You hoped they’d take this into consideration and let you travel along with Lunafreya, however, they just laughed in your face.

“Me? Anger the guards? Why, Lady Lunafreya, I’d never!” You playfully smirked at her. The frown that was already plastered on Lunafreya’s face deepened.

“Y/N, I’m serious,” she said as she looked towards the closed bedroom door. Swiftly, she leaned in closer to you and lowered her voice. “I have a feeling Niflheim is planning something and I don’t know what it is. However, I do know I fear for your life…”

“I can handle myself. Our big bro taught me all the tricks, did he not?” You patted the slight bulge on the waist of your pants. Lunafreya’s eyes glanced at it and immediately knew you were keeping one of your many daggers hidden there.

“Still, I don’t want to come back to here you’ve passed at their hands. And Ravus… he works for them… be careful on how much you trust him… I fear they’ve brainwashed my – our – brother.”

“Lunafreya,” You let out a heavy sigh as you hopped off her bed and placed both hands on the petite woman’s shoulders and turned her to face you. “I will be fine. Stop being so protective of me. When will you let me protect you for a change?”

“Y/N, you’ve-“

“Besides, if you just leave your little messenger here with me, won’t I be okay,” You looked past Lunafreya and at Gentiana who stood next to the large window in your shared bedroom. Gentiana simply stared back at you with no expression. Typical of the divine messenger.

“I would if I could, but it’s her duty to stay by my side.”

“That’s okay,” You let go of Lunafreya’s shoulders and shrugged. “I don’t wanna hear her nag to me about how much the Gods hate me anyway.

“The Gods do not hate you. They simply want what’s best for you as they do everyone else…” Gentiana spoke.

You just rolled your eyes. “Did Shiva tell you this?”

“Yes.”

“Tell Shiva she needs to worry about her love affair with Ifrit-“

“Y/N!” Lunafreya raised her voice at you, causing you to jump slightly. Sometimes what you said to Gentiana were out of line and that’s when Lunafreya would turn motherly-like on you. Gentiana simply bowed to you both before disappearing. She normally did that when trying to not lose her composure. You were positive if she wasn’t a messenger for the Gods and didn’t mind losing the respect of Lunafreya, she’d kick your ass.

“Sorry, sorry. I just enjoy getting under her skin, is all,” You smiled apologetically at Lunafreya who slowly began to soften her frown. Shaking her head at you, she reached into her breast pocket of her dress and cupped something in her hand without you noticing.

“I’m afraid I won’t be able to wish you a happy birthday until I come back from the city.”

“It’s okay. I know you’ve got duties to fulfil as oracle,” You shrugged as you sat back on the bed, avoiding her eye contact. Secretly, you were upset Lunafreya would be missing your birthday tomorrow. It was only once that you’d turn 20. You would officially become an adult tomorrow. No longer a teen that people looked down upon. No longer someone Lunafreya would feel she’d have to protect often. You hoped that, finally, it’d be your turn to protect Lunafreya in your adult years. You owed so much to her. You loved her so much.

“I sincerely apologize… but, I got you a present!” She smiled at you as she rushed over to you, grabbing your hands and placing a small object. You looked at her unsurely as she nodded towards your hands. Glancing down at your hands, you noticed a beautiful ring in the shape of the flowers of Tenebrae – the flowers Lunafreya and you often tended in her garden – sylleblossoms. Your mouth fell open as you admired the ring’s beauty.

“…How?”

“Remember when we were kids and you wished you had your own crown weave from sylleblossoms like us? Well, even though we’re no longer royalty, I thought this ring weaved from the flowers would work just as well! It took some time to make but I do hope you like it!”

A tear fell from your face as you immediately stood up and engulfed Lunafreya in a hug. “I love it. Thank you so much.”

Lunafreya embraced you back as a tear of her own fell from her face. “With this ring, know that I am with you always; that I look over you, no matter how far apart we are from one another. You are my dear sister. Our bond will never be broken.”

“This sucks, all I gave you for your birthday was a lame homemade card,” You laughed as tears continued to fall down your face.

“And I cherish that card,” Lunafreya hugged you tighter before letting you go. “I’m afraid I must go now.”

“Be safe. Come back in one piece,” You smiled at her.

“You be safe, too,” She returned the smile before grabbing her suitcase and exiting the room. As she shut the door, you glanced down at the ring. Another tear rolled down your face as you gripped it tightly.

“Our bond will never be broken. I’ll never betray you. I’ll make sure you’ll always be happy… even if I lose my life in doing so,” You gulped as you placed the ring on your right ring finger. “You are my only family…”

~!~

A year later (Four days before Lunafreya’s 24th birthday and six days before your 21st)

“I see you’ve been practicing,” Ravus tried to regain his breath as he laid sprawled on the grassy field underneath him. You used the edge of your t-shirt to wipe the sweat dripping down your face before running over to the 28-year-old. Grinning, you held your hand out for him to grab onto. Grabbing onto your hand, he hoisted himself up.

“You never know when I might have to go into battle,” You shrugged.

“Battle? With whom?” Ravus arched a brow.

You laughed nervously while rubbing the back of your neck. Sometimes when training with Ravus, you forgot he was a high commander for the Imperial army. He considered you his sister and looked after you but deep down, you knew he’d been somewhat brainwashed by Niflheim and Aldercapt. Sometimes when you mentioned the army around you, he’d give you an unsure look. You knew that they told him not to trust you; that you could turn on him at any given moment.

“I’m just messing…” You smiled at him before letting it fall. Nervously, you began to fiddle with your ring as you watched Ravus pack his things up. “So, um, can I ask a favor of you?”

“I have to return to Niflheim. I do not have time for another spare,” He said without looking over at you.

“No, no, not that! It’s um… kind of a birthday present…”

Ravus immediately turned around to look at you as you said this. “Oh yeah, your birthday is a few days after Lunafreya’s, isn’t it?”

“Yeah!” You grinned at him, happy he remembered your birthday this year. He’s forgotten a few times in the past.

“What is it that you wish for?”

“Well,” You continued to fiddle with your ring and look away from him. “I’d like to see the city-“

“Of Tenebrae? I can manage that.”

“No… the city as in… Insomnia.”

“Absolutely not!” Ravus shouted at you, causing you to jump in fear slightly. It frightened you slightly at how the simple mention of the city’s name sent a fire into the man’s eyes.

“B-but,” You stuttered over your words. The courage that you mustered up a few minutes ago had completely vanished. “I’ve always wanted to see the city and me going isn’t technically for me… but for Lunafreya.”

“Lunafreya? What business does she have with Insomnia?”

“Noctis is there!”

“Oh, here we go again. Just the sound of that boy’s name pisses me off,” Ravus shook his fist angrily.

“Listen, Ravus! It’s all I ask for my birthday! Lunafreya has done so much for me since I’ve arrived here twelve years ago! I just want to see her happy and Noctis makes her happy! Please, it’s all I want. I just want Lunafreya to be happy…”

Ravus undid his fist as he looked away from you. You straightened your posture as he looked back in your direction. You noticed his eyes softened as you gave him a pleading look. Lunafreya’s happiness meant the world to you and if you could give her the world, you would.

“I’ll… talk to Aldercapt about it…”

A grin immediately broke out on your face as you ran up to Ravus and wrapped your arms around his waist. “Thank you so, so much!”

“This doesn’t mean you’re going for sure. You know Aldercapt has a grudge against you as do all of the Imperial army…”

“I know, I know but I can only pray to the Gods that he’ll let me go!” You smiled up at the man.

“Hm…” Was all Ravus said as he gently patted your head.

You closed your eyes as a smile enlightened your face. This was it. Your chance to make Lunafreya happy. The chance to temporarily escape Tenebrae. Everything would work out in your favor. Everything would be okay.

~!~

Your eyes widened as the city of Insomnia filled your eyes. You were finally here. After waiting an agonizing week of hearing Aldercapt’s response to you visiting Insomnia; he finally agreed to let you go. The city was even more beautiful in person than what you’ve seen on television or heard on radio stations. Nonchalantly, you scratched behind Umbra’s ear as he sat beside you on the train. Lunafreya made you take the dog along as he was carrying another message for Noctis from her. You begged her to let you deliver the message personally to the 20-year-old prince, but she said he would be expecting Umbra and not you. Besides, she said it was a chance for Umbra to keep you company on the long journey to Lucis.

“Welcome to the capital of Lucis. Please enjoy your visit!” The intercom spoke as the train came to a stop in front of the station.

“This is it… happy birthday to me,” You grinned as you nervously tugged at the tights you were wearing. It felt so nice to be in casual clothes for once instead of the formal attire you had to wear around Tenebrae. You wore black tights that were cutout in the front and tied into tiny bows from the calf of your leg to your upper thigh. Along with it, you wore a cropped, sleeveless beige hoodie and simple black slip-on shoes. An arm bracelet with the symbol of Tenebrae wrapped around your arm and, of course, the ring Lunafreya gave you for your birthday last year occupied your right ring finger. Letting out a sigh as you stood up to gather your things, you shifted your hair to cover the scar on your neck. You considered the scar an eyesore and a grim reminder of where you really came from even if you represented Tenebrae now.

“Arf!” Umbra barked excitedly at you as he ran off the train.

“Wait! Umbra!” You called after the dog as you hauled your bags and tried to run after the dog the best you could. The train station was highly packed with people getting on and off trains. You quickly lost sight of the dog and let out a heavy sigh as you looked around the station. Deciding that you first destination should probably be to find your hotel, you shifted the strap of your bag securely on your shoulder, and made your way to the exit of the station.

~!~

After hours of getting lost and asking people for help around the city, you ended up at the hotel you were staying at for the week. It was a grand hotel and you were surprised Aldercapt managed to get you into such an expensive looking place despite his obvious dislike for you. The hotel was in the heart of the city, literally in front of the Citadel. You assumed Ravus must’ve recommended this as he knew your true motives for coming to the city. Tomorrow, you would go to the Citadel and book a tour in hopes of running into Prince Noctis in the process. You couldn’t help but wonder what the man looked like now. Lunafreya hadn’t shown you a photo of him since he was about 16 and you knew his features had to of have drastically changed since then. Was he even more handsome now? Or had he had been at his prime at 16 and now his looks were going down the drain. You snickered at the idea of a possible unattractive prince. It’d be an insult to his father who was a good-looking man. It’d be an insult to Lunafreya if she knew her prince charming didn’t match her good looks. You didn’t mean to be shallow, but Lunafreya deserved the best in your eyes and if Noctis wasn’t it then…

“Last name?” The hotel receptionist interrupted you from your thoughts.

“Ah,” The question took you by surprise. You hadn’t been asked your last name since you were a kid. “Um… Nox Fleuret…?”

The receptionist’s eyes widened as he stared at you in awe. Feeling slightly uncomfortable under his gaze, you cleared your throat.

“Ah sorry! It’s just… are you related to Lady Lunafreya?” He whispered the last part to you.

“Um… in a way, yes?” You tilted your head in confusion at the man. You knew Lunafreya had a huge impact across Eos but you never thought you’d get recognized for simply knowing her.

“Ah! Why are you here?! Shouldn’t you be in Altissia in support?”

“In support?” You asked. “Why would I be in Altissia?”

“The wedding! It’s Saturday! The prince and-“

“Jerr! Why is there a line? What’s the hold up? Is there a problem with this guest’s reservation?” A tall man you assumed was the supervisor asked.

“Ah, no! This is a No-“

“I don’t want to hear your excuses. Check her in and keep the line moving! This is a busy weekend for us because of the signing!”

Signing? What was going on in Insomnia this weekend? And who was getting married in Altissia? What did Lunafreya have to do with anything?

“Sorry for the wait, ma’am. If you just sign here, you’ll be all set,” The receptionist, now known as Jerr, nervously slid a paper for you to sign and your room key over to you. You nodded cautiously as you signed your name and took the key. You walked over to the elevators where you were able to board along with a couple chatting excitedly. You couldn’t help but overhear their conversation as the elevator slowly climbed to your respective floors.

“She’s gonna be so beautiful! Oh, honey, can we marry in Altissia also?”

“Altissia is expensive,” The man chuckled. “I think here in Insomnia is nice.”

“But Altissia is the city of love!” The young girl whined as she gripped onto the man’s arm.

“Enough about Altissia. What time should we arrive at the Citadel to get a good spot for the signing event tomorrow?” The man asked as the woman shrugged. You immediately turned your attention to them as you heard this. Another mentioning of a wedding and signing event. What was going on?

“Um… excuse me…?” You asked as they both turned to look at you. The woman looked you up and down before her eyes landed on your bracelet. She gasped as she discreetly tried to get the man to notice the Tenebrae symbol on your arm. “What signing even is taking place?”

“The coming together of Niflheim and Lucis, of course! How could you not hear about it! It’s all everyone’s been talking about since it was announced along with the wedding last week!”

“Last week…?” You scratched your head as you tried to remember what happened last week. All you remembered was Lunafreya being excited for something but worried at the same time. Imperials also escorted her to Tenebrae’s tailor several times that week and even caused her to miss your birthday again. You just assumed she was getting so new outfit to travel in or a late birthday present from Ravus. Wait…

“Niflheim and Lucis are ending the feud?” You gasped as the first part of the information finally sunk in. “What? Since when?”

“Since announced last week. Do you live under a rock?”

“Honey,” The woman tugged on the man’s shirt and blatantly pointed at the Tenebrae symbol on your arm. He looked from her over to you. His eyes widened as he straightened his posture.

“You’re from Tenebrae?” He asked suddenly, catching you off guard.

“Uh yeah,” You lifted your arm to better display the symbol to them. Confused, you dropped it back down. “Why?”

“How do you not know of your former princess getting married to our prince?”

At the mention of that, the bag that was sliding off your shoulder dropped to the floor as the elevator dinged. The couple looked at the number displayed on the elevator’s screen before pushing past you.

“Sorry, this is our stop! Nice talking to you!”

You ignored them as the doors shut behind you and the elevator began to climb again. Lunafreya was marrying Noctis? Since when? And when did Lucis and Niflheim decide to put aside their differences? Did this mean… you could return home after this? The elevator reached your destined floor and you quickly hopped off it and ran to your room. You found the room and immediately unlocked it. Tossing your bags to the side, you ran towards the tv and immediately turned it on.

“Hotels are filling up fast people prepare for the signing event celebration tomorrow. Finally, after centuries of feuding, Lucis and Niflheim will put aside their differences and bring peace to all the lands. In light of the signing, Prince Noctis and Lady Lunafreya will marry the following day to officially conceal the peace treaty. What a wonderful time it is for all of Eos-“

You immediately switched off the television as your heart pounded inside your chest. Lunafreya was getting married… to Noctis? More importantly, Niflheim was putting aside their differences with Lucis? Would they make you return home after this? Where would you go? You haven’t spoken to your father in twelve years. You’d be alone in Niflheim. Was Niflheim really going to go through with this? They were shady people who couldn’t be trusted. Was Lunafreya in danger? She did warn you multiple times of the Niffs planning something, was it this? Was she secretly aware of everything that was happening? And if so, why didn’t she tell you? Why didn’t she tell you she was marrying Noctis? Something was going on. Something was off. It’d explain why Aldercapt agreed to let you go to Insomnia and give you such nice reservations at a hotel directly in front of the Citadel the same weekend as the signing event and wedding. You had to get out of here and back to Lunafreya.

You reached over to the hotel phone and dialed the front desk. “Hi… um… I would like to have an early checkout tomorrow morning, and if possible, purchase a train ticket back to Tenebrae tomorrow morning. The earliest time, please. Thank you…”

~!~

You were on a train the next morning back to Tenebrae. You only prayed to the Gods that you’d get back in time before Lunafreya left for Altissia. The ceremony would be taking place later today in Insomnia. Your knee bounced nervously as the train began to slowly pull out of Insomnia’s station. Looking around, you couldn’t help but notice how empty the trains were. Everyone must be going into the city for the ceremony instead of out. Nerves getting the best of you, you stood up from your seat and made your way to the train’s small bar. As you walked down the aisles, two Imperial soldiers coming your way caught your eye.

“Shit,” You mumbled as you immediately went to take cover in the nearest seats. You listened as the took a seat in front of yours. What were they doing on the train? Shouldn’t they be on guard at the ceremony or something? Worse, what would happen if they saw you? Every soldier was aware of you being in Insomnia for the weekend. They’d grow suspicious if you they caught you on a train back home so early.

“What time is the signing taking place?” You heard one of the soldiers ask.

“Around 12pm this afternoon.”

“Think we’ll succeed?”

“No doubt. I highly doubt that old king and his son can defend themselves from what’s going to happen,” the other soldier chuckled.

“What about the girl?”

“Lunafreya?”

“No, the traitor. She’s skilled in combat and smart. She’ll definitely side with Lucis and try to stop things.”

“She’s located in the designated bombing areas. She’ll be blown to bits before she can even realize what’s going on. Aldercapt is a genius, I tell you. No need to worry!”

“Yeah, you’re ri-“

“What the fuck?!” The soldier beside him immediately stood up and drew his sword as he watched in horror as a dagger entered through his friend’s neck before being plunged back out, instantly killing him and causing blood to splatter everywhere.

“Quick! Call for back –“ The soldier called in his walkie talkie before dropping it at the sight of you. You gripped tightly onto your now bloodied dagger as you glared furiously at the soldier who nervously aimed his sword at you.

“What the fuck is going on? Why are Prince Noctis and King Regis in danger? Where is Lunafreya right now!?” You yelled angrily as you positioned your dagger, ready to attack the soldier.

“Who are you?!” He asked nervously, his sword trembling in his hand.

In a swift movement, you high kicked the sword from the soldier’s hand, causing it to land on the floor and slide under the seats. He gulped nervously as you slowly approached him. You brushed aside your hair to reveal the ‘x’ scar on the side of your neck. The soldier’s eyes widened at it.

“Y/N Nox Fleuret…”

“I’ll ask again,” You looked past the soldier as you saw a group of more Imperials making their way towards you. “Where is Lunafreya?”

“She’s on her way to-“ Bang! You gripped your arm in pain as a bullet grazed past it. Glaring, you saw the others had arrived and were armed. The soldier in front of you immediately dropped to the floor to retrieve his sword. Noticing this, you switched the blade you held to your uninjured arm and stepped on the soldier’s back, causing him to yell out in pain. Bullets flew past you as the other imperials began making their way towards you.

“I don’t have time for this shit! I need to get to Lunafreya!” You yelled as you plunged the blade into the soldier’s neck and swiftly removed it. Looking up at the other soldiers, fire raged in your eyes. They’d be tougher to kill since they wore their helmets but with your skills, you could get it done. Yelling out in rage, you began to take on the soldier’s one by one, aiming for the weak spots of their armor that you learned after examining one of the suits one day. You knew that there’d be a day like this and you prepared yourself with Ravus’s help. Ravus…

He betrayed you. Ravus was aware that Niflheim was going to attack Lucis. He was aware that you would be killed while in Insomnia and he was okay with it. You tried to shake those thoughts from your head as you killed soldier after soldier. He wouldn’t condone the death of Lunafreya, however. She was safe. She had to be. Then again, was she? Would Ravus turn on her as he did you? As you approached the last soldier who was fallen on the ground, you enclosed him with your legs and removed his helmet. He was a young man – about the same age as you. Fear took over his eyes as he looked at your blood splattered outfit and knife, the only blood belonging to you being the one from the bullet wound from earlier.

“P-please! Spare me!”

“Where is Lunafreya?!” You spat in his face.

“I-In Insomnia! She went there for the signing!”

You gasped at the information. Ravus would condone the murder of his own sister.

“S-she’s safe! I promise you!”

“How can I trust you!” You placed the tip of your dagger to his neck. One quick plunge and he’d be done for.

“Ravus! He wouldn’t hurt her! She’s a Nox Fleuret! She’s his blood! He loves her!” He pleaded with you. Meanwhile his words resonated within you. She’s a Nox Fleuret. You weren’t a Nox Fleuret to Ravus. You weren’t his sister by blood. You were never a Nox Fleuret. You were just an orphaned child abandoned by her father and country. Someone who betrayed the ones who cared for her. And now, Ravus was the one who betrayed you; a taste of your own medicine. Tears fell from your eyes on the soldier’s face. Having a blurred vision, you sunk the dagger into the man’s neck and yanked it back out. Sniffing, you wiped the tears from your face with your arm, smearing blood on it in the process. Putting yourself together, you realized you had to get back to Insomnia. Walking seemed to be the only way to get back and you knew you wouldn’t arrive until later the next day. Praying to the Gods to look after Lunafreya, King Regis, and Noctis until you got there, you opened a window and jumped from the moving train. Landed on the hard gravel, the wind was knocked out of you as you groaned in pain. You collectively got your thoughts together before forcing yourself to sit up. You were in front of a car repair shop that read Hammerhead. The place looked deserted as you assumed everyone was already in Insomnia or watching their televisions to witness the soon destruction of the city. Coughing, you stood up and began to limp your way to the direction of Insomnia.

~!~

It was nightfall by the time you reached Insomnia and fear had already set in your heart. Niflheim ships soared above you to the way of the city. As you reached the bridge that led into the city, you gasped as Imperials guarded the gates. Explosions and smoke could be seen arising from the city. Tears streamed down your face as your biggest fear sat in the back of your mind: Lunafreya was dead; The Lucis Caelum family was dead. Trying to still think positive, you limped weakly towards the city, not noticing a daemon appearing behind you. Hearing the snarl of the daemon behind you, you turned your attention away from the city and drew your blade. Exhaustedly, you ran towards the goblin-like daemon and swiftly stabbed it in its head, killing it instantly. To your unfortunate, more daemons began to surround you. You let out a bitter laugh. This was just your luck.

After taking out the daemons, your body collapsed to the ground. Your energy was gone. You just needed to close your eyes for five minutes before continuing onward. Just five… minutes…

“Hey! Hey! Are you okay?!” You heard the distance voice of the man. “Hey! Come help me, guys! I think she’s a survivor of the attack!”

Unable to open your eyelids, you felt your body be lifted from the ground and into the back of a vehicle.

“Is she dead, mama?” A small child’s voice was heard.

“No, sweetie. She’s going to be fine,” a soothing woman’s voice said.

“Damn, she’s covered in blood! Let’s get to Hammerhead quickly!” The sounds of doors closing were heard as you felt the vehicle begin to move in the opposite direction of the city.

“What’re we gonna do now that everyone’s gone, mama? Prince Noctis, King Regis, and Lady Lunafreya… they’re gone.”

At the sound of this, your eyes snapped open.

“Insomnia has fallen. Reports of King Regis, Prince Noctis, and Lady Lunafreya not surviving the attacks are coming in. We, the people of Lucis, must come together in this time of despair and remain calm! The Gods will protect us!”

~!~

Noctis’s POV

“I suggest we get curatives before hitting the road…” Ignis suggested as the boys pulled into Hammerhead’s station.

“Nice idea, Iggy! While you do that, I’m gonna get some food! Comin’ Noct?” Prompto asked his raven-haired best friend. The prince – now King – looked off into space as he sat in the Regalia. His father was dead. His fiancée was dead. Hell, even he was dead according to the media. What was going on?

“We’re not sure about Lady Lunafreya so do not let that get to you,” Gladiolus said as he slapped Noctis on his back before exiting the car. Noctis just casually nodded his head before exiting the car. “Go grab some grub with Prompto and we’ll meet back here before meeting up with Cor at the hunter’s HQ.”

“Right…” Noctis said as he walked beside Prompto. Prompto placed a comforting arm around his best friend’s shoulder as they walked towards the diner together.

“Hey, what about Umbra? I’m sure he’ll appear any moment now to confirm that Lady Lunafreya is okay!”

“Maybe…” Noctis said as they entered the diner. The smell of breakfast foods engulfed their nostrils, causing Noctis’s stomach to growl. After a long day, it was no doubt he was hungry.

“Whoa…” Prompto’s arm fell from his best friend’s shoulder.

“Whoa is right! It smells amazing in here!” Noctis agreed.

“Not whoa that but whoa her!” Prompto pointed to a booth where a woman sat. Her arm was bandaged and clothes were battered. She looked like she had just come back from a raging war. She was fiddling with something on her hand as a plate of food that appeared untouched sat in front of her. “She’s a beauty…”

“Huh?” Noctis looked where Prompto was pointing. Noctis tilted his head slightly as he the woman looked familiar from afar – as if he’s seen her before. He watched her carefully as she brushed some of her hair back, revealing the ‘x’ scar on her neck. As Noctis blinked, her hair fell back into place, covering up the mark. However, it only took a glance for him to remember who she was.

“Y/N…” Noctis mumbled your name causing the blond man beside him to repeat it.

“Y/N. What a beautiful name – wait – how do you know that’s her name?” Prompto turned to face Noctis only to find the man had already made his way over to the woman. He watched as the woman’s head swiftly looked up at him, eyes widening. Before Prompto could get his thoughts together, the woman had stumbled out of her booth and wrapped her arms around Noctis’s neck, sobbing uncontrollably into his chest. Noctis stood frozen for a while before hesitantly wrapping his arms around the crying woman, attempting his best to console her.

“What’s going on?” Gladio asked as he and Ignis entered the shop and caught sight of Noctis comforting the woman.

“Y/N…” Ignis said as he recognized the woman. Noctis had mentioned another girl with Lunafreya whenever he talked about the oracle and his time spent in Tenebrae. She would be the only other woman Noctis would act this way towards. It had to be Y/N.

“I don’t know why we’re giving this woman a name but… I think we should plan to make room for one more on our journey for her…”

“Agreed,” Gladiolus and Ignis said simultaneously as they watched the woman continue to grip onto Noctis for dear life. He turned towards his group for help but they simply shrugged much to the prince’s despair.

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