#why did i work so hard on this stupid comic oh my god it's 2am i stayed up like 3 hours colouring this | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sanctum-of-fantasy · 5 years

Note

6 38 Cheshire/Myu!

6 - In bed at 2am, blissfully drowsy

38 - “You just feel really good. Soft and warm…”

Another prompt finished at last! And with two more character’s I’ve never written before so it’s was good to get more experience with writing Specters! Here’s a college AU setting that turned out very silly and sweet I hope?

Thud, thud, loud cursing, thud, a shout of joy

An annoying, constant onslaught of sound that grated on hisnerves. The sound of two sets of footsteps above his room would have been fineat any other time but it was midnight and the owners of the steps were shouting.It was just Cheshire’s luck to be back from a trip and stuck with Queenand Sylphid while the other housemates were out. Gordon would have told them toput a pause on their shenanigans by now. Hell even Valentine would havestormed in their shared room and take their tv if he was home and trying to dosome late-night studying.

But no, out of the half a dozen college students that livedthe spacious, Victorian house (that was owned by one scary but fair landlordwith a monobrow) he was the only other person around. Several were away atconferences, Violate was away for an important competition and he had no ideawhere Myu was.

Though that was kind of unnerving, the art student was adamn ninja when he wanted to be. In fact he was pretty damn sure Myu had somekind of martial arts background. He also happened to be the source of a long,secret crush.

Normally he’d just put on his headphones and ignore them butagain it was midnight and he only had two days before returning to hisclasses. And he had planned on enjoying every hour as much as he could.

So he shut his comic, threw wide his door and stormed up thestaircase determined to do something about the noise.

‘Maybe I’ll just flip their light switch on and off untilthey freak out. Hells I should get grab their controllers and throw theminto Violate’s room, there’s no way they’d go in there’ Cheshire thought as hestomped up the steps. Grinning as he plotted how to best mess with the otherhousemates, it was all fair in love and war.

Just as he reached the final step, he flipped on the hallwaylight and rubbed his chin ‘I could put them in Violate’s room, but Icould also hide their games in Gordon’s room.’ That just left the matter of howto get them out of their room. There was no way he could break into their roomand make it past both of them, especially if he had to grab so much.

A memory popped into his mind then. The last time he spoketo them before he returned home Sylphid mentioned a ‘horror movie marathon’that was only three days ago. The house boasted quite the moviecollection, there had to be at least a dozen horror ones. Which, in Cheshiredevilish mind, meant they still had to be spooked. It’d explained why they werestill up too; both usually went to bed much earlier.

But what was their misfortune was his tool of delightful ofpayback.

So he crept over to the house phone at one of the hallways,dialing Queen’s cell. A classic ‘the call is coming from inside the house’might spook them.

However, as if some divine influence decided that paybackwas not an option for him, the hallway light went out. Leaving him in pitchdarkness and hair standing on ends like a spooked cat.

Then came the noises, a rapid thud thud thud ofsomeone racing along the hallway and a door being opened and then-

“Son of-damn you!” Came Queen’s voice, followed bySlyphid’s cursing, partly in French, switching into Dutch and then into German.A rather long chain of swears that he only knew like five words of but it wasstill artful.

The tension that had dropped onto his heart soon disappearedas the hallway light flickered back on revealing the taller form of Myu. A smuggrin on his face as he exited the shared room of Queen and Sylphid, hands onhis hips as he walked.

Gods damn Ninja

Myu spotted him then and smiled, waving one hand as he keptthe other on his hip. “Cheshire it’s good to see you around, been a while!” hecalled out, ignoring Queen when he appeared from the door and glared at himwhile Sylphid stuck his tongue out.

Cheshire gave them an expression of “are you two serious?”before nodding to Myu. “Yeah man, didn’t think you were home though?”

“I just got back from doing some work for a class, took theback door. I was trying to relax when these two” He gestured behind him with athumb “Started making noise.”

“We just got past a hard boss, buzz off you killjoy” Sylphidhissed, tapping a hand against the doorway while Queen leaned against it.

“You got past one hard boss but the next one? You’ll neverbeat” Myu countered, turning back and grinning “I bet you two your entire stashof energy drinks.”

Queen paled several shades and dropped his mouth “How-howdid you?”

“I have my ways, you know this” Myu replied in a sing-songtone causing the two others to finch and duck back into their room, shuttingthe door and cursing.

There was silence for a few moments before Myu and Cheshireburst out into laughter. Cheshire wrapped his arms around his sides and wiped atear from his eye “Do you really know where their stash is? I cleaned theirroom a few times and never found it.”

“Oh neither than I but do they need to know that?” Myu snickeredinto a hand, lowering his voice.

Cheshire dropped to the ground, laughing hard enough thathis sides began to hurt. “Holyshit that is hilarious!”

There was thud from the room behind Myu and Queen shouted amuffled “Screw you!” only to cause them to laugh harder.

“Ok ok!” Cheshire gasped “We’ll leave you guys alone! Wouldyou like to hang some Myu? I know you must be tired so maybe some other time?”

“No, actually I find myself wide wake now” Myu grinned.“Your room or mine? Actually…your room might be best; I need to clean minetomorrow I swear” He gestured off in the general direction of where his roomwas.

Oh fuck

‘Do not fuck this up’ Was Cheshire’s first thought when hehad managed to stop laughing and gasped. ‘Do not say anything stupid to yourcrush.’

“Uh yeah that’ll be great! I mean sure why not? We can catchup and what not” He said, though his words came out more like shouting. Hestood up quickly, rubbing a hand against his neck and motioning towards thestairs. He hoped that the warmth in his cheeks was just from laughing so hardand that he was not in fact blushing.

“After you then” Myu said, stepping close enough thatCheshire shivered. At that moment he was glad Queen and Sylphid were likelyfinding a new spot for their energy drinks and tidying up their room and notwitnessing any of this.

***

They settled into his room easily enough. Talking about onesubject and then another as Cheshire relaxed in his computer chair as Myulounged on his bed, hugging one pillow to his chest, a soft smile spread acrosshis thin lips.

‘Has he always been this cute?’ Cheshire thought, blinkingrapidly and shaking his head to shove thought away. ‘No no, it’s too late for thatkind of stuff!’

“Are you alright?” Myu asked with a slight tilt of his head.

“Fine, just fine!” Cheshire grinned, waving a hand “Justthinking about something, it’s nothing. So what were you working on?” The artstudent always seemed to have one project going on or another. Between hisroom, part of the garage and the classrooms, there were hints of what hisnewest piece would be. He enjoyed looking for them and guessing, not thatCheshire would admit it.

“I was doing some welding for a sculpture” Myu answered,rolling a hand as he spoke. “It’s taking longer than I expected but I decidedto work on some smaller details, but I hope it’ll work out in the end.”

“I’m sure it will, you do pretty great art ya know” Cheshirenodded. He’d seen enough to say that confidently, not that he’d let anyone knowthat he visited the campus art galleries when there were shows. He had areputation to maintain after all! But still, rather it was metal sculptures,clay or fine paintings, Myu seemed to get his hands on anything and do wonderswith it.

Myu tensed and Cheshire felt his heart drop “You’ve seen mywork? I’ve only met Violate, Gordon and Rhadamanthys at the galleries.”

“Well I uh, I must have shown up at a different time Iguess?” Cheshire said, shifting his chair as his thoughts began to speed up, orit his heart? “I’ve been to all of the galleries with your stuff in them” Heblurted out, freezing when his mind finally caught up to what exactly he said.

‘Shit shit, what to do, what have you done man’ He cursedand panicked, heart skipping several beats and eyes looking way from Myu as heopened his mouth to speak. ‘Which is probably the worst idea ever, of all time.Stop talking Cheshire like now.’

Myu smiled, hugging the pillow tighter and looking away “I’mglad to hear. If-If I may ask do you have a particular favorite or simply oneyou enjoyed the most?”

Cheshire could feel his face warm up and throat become dry“There was one from last summer. The one with the stained glass and twistedmetal tree? I liked how the colors reflected on the trunk, looked like it tookforever. Fantasia, that was the title, right?”

He may or may have snuck a few pics during the galleriessince many of the pieces ended up being sold.

“Yes” Myu lifted his head some, eyes only visible over theedge “It did take a long time, I never used glass until then. It turned out sowell, I consider it one of my best and” he trailed off, voice dropping into awhisper.

“Pardon?” Cheshire blinked, rubbing a hand against his neck.

Myu took a breath and spoke up “I’m so glad to learn youloved it too.”

‘Well…fuck’

“Y-yeah man, like I said you do great work. There’s a lot ofyour stuff I liked, and I like seeing what new tricks you try” Cheshire managedto say, somehow not stumbling over his words. “Hell I can’t wait to see whatthat new piece will look like!”

“Maybe I’ll give you a private viewing when it’s done” Myuwinked and Cheshire felt his heartbeat quicker.

“I’d like that a lot” He replied.

Myu lowered his pillow and leaned forward on his elbows“It’ll be a date then. Though I’d even suggest…oh never mind, it’sembarrassing honestly” He looked away, a faint blush -and yes that was a blush-appearing on his face.

‘Shit he’s cute even blushing’ Cheshire thought, smilingdumbly as he took in the sight before he heard ‘date’ followed by a ‘nevermind’ and ‘Wait, date? Like a date date? Does he? Woah slow downCheshire.’

“Hey, you can tell me anything man, I won’t judge” He said,smiling in a way he hoped was reassuring.

Myu had been so honest until now and he had been thoroughlyenjoying their talk so far, as embarrassing and how it made his heart melt andjump at once. It felt good, really good just talking to him after solong of avoiding him because of his crush or just because of how differenttheir schedules were.

He seemed to shy away then and for a moment Cheshirewondered if he said something wrong. But that panicked thought was shoved awaywhen he asked “Would you consider modeling for me sometime? If not as a model,then someone to bounce ideas with?”

And at that, Cheshire felt his mind go completely andutterly blank. All the rushing thoughts and feeling suddenly disappeared fasterthan a blink. Myu first spoke of a date then mentioned modeling or helping himwith his projects. It was like something out of a dream.

He must have blanked out harder than he realized because thenext thing he knew Myu was shaking him by the shoulders with a worriedexpression on his face and calling out his name.

“Cheshire, are you ok?” He asked, tone tense and crackingslightly.

“Let me just say” Cheshire started to say, “That I’m so gladyou didn’t ask to paint me like one of your French girls or something.”

“Well, last time I checked neither of us are French” Myuchuckled, a quick and light sound. “But I can certainly try if you’d like?”

“Ha! Nice” He laughed before realizing it soundedlike Myu just flirted with him. “Wait…are you flirting with me?”

“Well to be honest I was hoping so? Was it clear enough ordo I need to try something different?” He asked, tilting his head in that waythat was just so endearing and holyfuck Myu liked him.

Cheshire jerked forward, grabbing the other-gently-by theshoulders as his eyes widened “Wait wait, you like me? Like more than a friendkind of?”

Myu gasped and placed his hands on Cheshire’s hips “Yes andyes? I didn’t know how to tell you before it just…felt like the right momentnow. So…do you? Like me more than a friend?”

It was a dream, a paradise but it was reality. After a longweek between flights and rushing to the next, returning home to a mostly silenthouse with no one to greet him. Until now, now at this moment everything seemedso much better, so perfect.

“You have no idea” Cheshire grinned and hugged the othertightly, gripping his shirt and feeling his eyes prick as tears began to fall.He heard My sniffle and lean into the hug, lightly rubbing his back and buryinghis face into his shoulder, an awkward position given their height differencebut at the moment? It was the last thing either of them could care about.

***

If someone told him, one day he’d end up cuddling with hissecret crush on his bed while they watched various videos on YouTube throughhis PS4, Cheshire would have laughed them off and quietly screamed inside. Yethere he was, his head against Myu’s chest while the other ran a hand throughhis hair, love mutually confessed and a date planned.

An actual date, had he passed out during an exam andreached paradise?

“Hey Cheshire?” Myu spoke up, voice pulling him out of hisbliss enough for him to tilt his head up and hum in acknowledgement.

“Are you always like this? You just feel really good. Softand warm…” Myu chuckled as he scratched lightly at Cheshire’s scalp, asensation that sent pleasant shivers down his back. “You know, I always thoughtyou used gel to get your hair to look like that? But it’s so fluffy, soextremely fluffy.”

Cheshire rolled his eyes and grinned “Ah that stuff is apain to wash out, I just comb it back well.”

“Tell me what product you use” Myu said, tone not quitesing-song but light and bouncy almost.

“Later” He countered, leaning back to move thecontroller to his bedside table and twist the light off before pulling ablanket over them. Grinning despite the tiredness that had finally caught upwith him and Myu for that matter. “It’s like 2 am man, we should get some sleepbefore we regret it later.”

Myu only laughed, pressing kiss to his forehead and wrappinghis arms comfortably around him “If you insist my muse. It’ll be so niceto wake up and see you.”

Cheshire groaned pressed his face into Myu’s chest “Oh mygod that is so lame and dorky. I’m never letting you stay up so late everagain.”

“You love it though, I can tell” The other teased.

“And you are so lucky that I do now shush! Youdamn ninja artist!”

“I am the ninja that stole your heart!”

“Dude that’s so bad, holyshit Myu.”

#saint seiya #saint seiya fanfic #specters #papillon myu #cait sith cheshire #anony posts #anony's writing #Word Count: 2708

5 notes · View notes

the-darkness-does-not-bargain · 5 years

Text

Big God, part 2

Part 1

WARNING: This chapter contains graphic depictions of violence and bodily injury, as well as mention of suicidal thoughts. Please be advised.

This is part 2 of my Catradora Superhero AU angst fic. Please enjoy the misery!

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17638580/chapters/41745818

Part 2: Let Go

Six months later

Catra could honestly kiss Entrapta if she didn’t have a girl at home. That little genius has finally given her exactly what she needs to get what she’s wanted for years. She can’t help but laugh, just a little, as she cracks her newly improved titanium fists against She-Ra’s face. She watches with spiteful glee as the other woman flies backward several feet, hitting the gravel rooftop with a pained groan, blood gushing from her freshly broken nose. She’s already soaked from a dozen or more weeping lacerations scattered across her body, and Catra hasn’t broken a sweat yet.

It took six months of experimentation, six months of 2am fire alarms, and six months of hard-earned income to accomplish, but she finally has the weapon that will dispose of this sword-swinging bitch once and for all.

And what a nifty weapon it is, she thinks as She-Ra struggles to even stand. A funky little virus of Entrapta’s own design, made-to-order, transmitted through a single simple injection. The scientist had described like a computer bug that wreaked havoc on the mainframe and screwed the entire system, She-Ra’s body in this case.

“So it will disable her powers?”

“Not exactly, but it will make them weaker to a statistically significant degree! And it will dramatically delay the onset of her incredible healing factor! Oh, speaking of, is there any chance you can grab me a sample from her? For curiosity’s sake.”

Catra doesn’t know or care about all the specifics. But she does know the virus works beautifully. She bets the oh-so-mighty hero isn’t feeling so cocky now, when she can barely stay up let alone avoid Catra’s vicious attacks.

“I gotta say, girl, you don’t look so good,” she taunts, affecting fake concern as she lazily strolls forward. She-Ra throws a punch, or tries to. She’s much slower now. Surely on a different day her attack would be picture-perfect, but tonight Catra dodges the blow with ease and catches the wrist that flies past her face. She twists it harshly while her other hand strikes at the hero’s vulnerable elbow. It gives way with a wet crack and a scream. It’s very satisfying. A jet-boosted shin kick to the stomach makes the bitch double over and fall to her knees, wheezing. It’s delightful, really.

Catra tuts, lets go of her arm, and steps behind her, grabbing her by the chin hard enough to drive freshly sharpened claws into her cheeks. “You’re way off your game. Punching is, like, the one thing you’re good at, or so I thought.” She-Ra struggles, pulling at Catra’s hand with her good arm, but only succeeds at pulling the talons further down her face. “Have you always been this weak underneath the stupid tiara and the butchy chest plate? Have I really been punching down this whole time? I don’t think I even need this suit to finish you!” She puts both of her hands on the defenseless back of her greatest enemy, lets them rest there for a single savory moment before she shreds clean through white fabric and flesh and muscle, repeatedly, deeper and deeper each time until she can feel bone just a few centimeters beneath her fingertips. There’s no scream this time, which is a little disappointing, but she’ll imagine the pain is just too much to be vocalized. Her fingers drip sweet crimson when she pulls them out. Hmm, maybe she’ll take some of it back for Entrapta’s “sample”.

“T… Tigress… please…”

Catra’s ears perk up. “What was that?” She-Ra doesn’t answer, only pants roughly. “Hey. Hey!” She says, stepping back to the front and bending down to force the other woman’s head up, smearing more blood on her cheeks in the process. “What did you say?”

“Tigress…”

“Are you begging me?” She can’t help but laugh. This is all just so… dramatique. They’re even right near the edge of the rooftop with the sunset and city lights twinkling in the background. You could make a comic cover out of this.

“You don’t want to do this…”

She scoffs. “Oh honey, please, I definitely want to do this. You have no idea how much. But please, make it even sweeter for me! What’s next? Are you gonna tell me you have a wife and kid at home? Are you two days from retirement? Or are you gonna give me those sad blue eyes and tell me how I’ll never be able to come back from this, that my soul will never clean again if I commit this black deed ooooooooo?

“Seriously though, come on… we both know how this is gonna end, princess. Now, you don’t have to die with dignity but for your sake I’d hope you at least try.” She lets the woman’s chin drop from her hand and straightens up, crossing her arms over her chest. “If you say something cool, I’ll tell people it was your last words.”

She waits, but her victim now seems resigned to silence. “Nothing?” Nothing. She shrugs, raises a hand to make the killing blow. “Your choice.”

The blare of a siren and the powpow, bratatat of gunfire catches her off guard. She’d let herself get caught up in the moment, but the bullets pinging against her armor pull her back to the suddenly much less awesome reality of the situation. She turns, hissing, to peer over the edge of the roof facing the street below. Ugh, there must be 15 cops down there, and 6 more on top of the building across the road, all of them taking shots at her. Bastards, this paint job wasn’t cheap, ya know?

When she turns away from the distraction, She-Ra has vanished. There’s nothing but blood and tatters of ruined white cloth where she had been kneeling. Catra frowns and peers over the other edge, one that overlooks a dank, empty alleyway. She can see more blood on the asphalt, but her prey is gone.

Catra strolls down the sidewalk toward her and Adora’s apartment, hands in the pockets of her dark pinstripe pants and a smirk practically etched onto her face. Last minute interruption aside, tonight had been very pleasurable for her, and she knows it’s going to get even better. The night is cool, and the air feels softs as a kiss on her skin. She walks up through the front entrance, nodding cheerfully to the doorman before heading to the elevator. While she watches the floor number rise and rise, she fingers the little velvet box tucked safely in her pocket, an important purchase made earlier in the day. Tonight is about to get so much better.

She checks her watch. Adora’s last class should have ended a few hours ago, and she should already be home. She hasn’t answered her phone, but Catra isn’t worried. She’s been with Adora long enough to know no one in the world forgets to answer their texts as often as her girlfriend.

Their floor is quiet when she steps out of the elevator. Most of their neighbors either go out on nights like this or never leave, so she hardly ever sees them at this hour. Unexpectedly, hers and Adora’s door is locked, but she fishes out her keys and gets it open with ease.

It’s dark inside, no lights save for the one in the kitchen. Weird… She wonders if Adora started having head pain and needed things to be less bright. They’re infrequent, but Adora overworks a lot and is prone to stress headaches when she does. I’ll make her some of that weird tea she likes, Catra thinks, nodding to herself.

“Adora?” She steps inside and shuts the door behind her. No response. She frowns. She’s about to turn on the living room light when she hears the window break. She stills, her hand slowly pulling back from the light switch as she turns her body soundlessly. The breaking sound seemed to come from the window opposite the kitchen, near their bedroom door. She takes a single, silent step forward, trying to get a better view without giving her position away. Her hands clench and unclench, and she lowers into a more predatory stance. If she gets to beat down a burglar in her home tonight, it might almost make up for not getting She-Ra.

She hears a thud and a clatter, followed by a pained whine. She freezes in place, still hidden in the shadows, waiting, when…

There, in front of her, red-stained hands grabbing clumsily for the edge of the dining table, is She-Ra. Her face is still a wreck from their fight. In fact, it seems that Entrapta’s virus worked even better than expected, because She-Ra doesn’t look healed at all. Her broken nose and cut cheeks are still sluggishly bleeding, as are the wounds on her back and sides. Her legs are dirty and covered in scrapes, and her left arm is cradled against her chest, unmoving. She tries to pull herself up, only to accidentally upend the table and send it crashing to the floor. She-Ra hits the floor right after it, crying out and curling up on her side, clutching her broken arm with tears streaming down her face, mixing with the blood and dirt and sweat.

But why is she…? How is she here? She doesn’t… she’s no…

Catra’s jaw drops, her throat constricts. It feels like she’s being strangled; she can’t seem to take in any air. Her hands are shaking. She digs her nails into her palms but it does nothing. This can’t be real. Itcan’tItcan’tItcan’t… There’s no way. She… she would have known, wouldn’t she? She would have seen the signs, clues everywhere, she would’ve…

This isn’t happening. It’s not. She-Ra isn’t… Adora isn’t… no… nonononononononONO!

But the ethereal glow is fading from She-Ra’s skin, and her features are softening into a face that is intimately familiar. And Catra wants to rip her own heart out; surely that would be less painful than what she feels right now. Surely there can’t be anything worse than this.

She doesn’t know that she’s moving at first. It isn’t until the floor creaks beneath her feet that she realizes she is walking forward. Blue eyes, She-Ra’s eyes, Adora’s eyes, snap up to meet hers. They are terrified. Catra could throw herself out the broken window, and at least her death would be fast. Anything would be better than this.

“C-Catra?” Adora’s voice is rough from crying, tremulous. Catra can’t do anything else but step fully into the light of kitchen, letting it illuminate her stunned face. And still, even through the pain of her torn up face, Adora smiles, her relief evident. She relaxes on the floor, reaching with her good hand outward to her girlfriend. “Catra…” She coughs roughly and her next breath is gurgling. Can she not breathe properly? Catra doesn’t remember breaking any of her ribs… Could the fall have… “Catra,” Adora repeats. “Babe, I’d love a little help here…”

She helps her. Adora’s face rests against her neck as Catra embraces her with trembling arms, helping her sit up. She doesn’t say anything, can’t, but her love doesn’t seem to mind. It’s a struggle to move over to the sofa. Adora is still mostly She-Ra, and her size and density reflect that. But Catra helps her rest against the edge of the couch. She winces and turns her body to the side so nothing is pressed against her destroyed back. Catra can see the dark blood as it oozes from the wounds, rolling down her lover’s skin. It’s sickening. Hells, she might hurl right on the nice hardwood floor.

Adora is holding her hand, squeezing it, trying to comfort Catra. Comfort Catra, it’s! It’s… unconscionable, sadistic! Her entire life is burning before her eyes and the universe is laughing.

“---think the first aid kit is still on the bottom of the linen closet.” Adora is talking, but Catra only catches the last sentence. She swallows, getting up on unsteady feet, and makes her way to the linen closet.

Their first aid kit is big, filled to the brim with every kind of tool, bandage, tape, and antiseptic available; tourniquets and joint braces, heating packs, pliers, tweezers, ACE wrap in six different colors, Scooby Doo band-aids. Adora had insisted on it when they moved in together. At the time, Catra had thought it was just so Adora could patch herself up after teaching her classes. Fucking Eternia’s sake…

Adora’s eyes are closed when Catra returns, and her heart stutters in her chest. The world starts to collapse in on itself, already scorched and crumbling. But then those gray-blue eyes open again as she gets closer, and her lover’s expression is apologetic.

“I just wanted to shut my eyes for a minute. Who knew nearly dying could be so exhausting, eh?” The joke doesn’t so much land flat as land like a knife in the foot.

Catra bears her teeth, grinding them against each other. Her fist is so tight it might crack the plastic handle on the kit. “Don’t say something like that.” Her voice breaks as she finally speaks, and Adora sobers instantly.

“Sorry, love. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

Catra ignores the apology. “We need to dress your…” Crippling, life-threatening wounds that I gave you? “…injuries”.

Adora is compliant, saying little else as Catra opens the kit and starts working on the worst of it. Her fingers still quiver when she presses an alcohol-soaked rag against the cuts and scrapes and sets the broken nose. Adora winces but makes no sound, even when it’s time to clean her back. It’s almost too much for Catra. She tries to focus on breathing normally but feels faint regardless. There’s so much blood…

Bandages, bandages, she repeats in her head, like a chant. Don’t look at the muscle peeking through. Just get the bandages. Should they go to a hospital? Can they go to a hospital? What would that even look like? Absurd, but… “I can call an ambulance,” she offers, knowing Adora’s response before the words even leave her mouth.

She shakes her head, sighs. “No, it wouldn’t be worth it,” she says, trying for cheerful unconcern. “Besides, I think I can feel my healing kicking in. I’ll be ship-shape in no time!”

Adora doesn’t see it with her back turned away, but Catra is crying. It’s pathetic, shameful, but the tears roll down her face anyway. She presses two large sterile pads to Adora’s back and then wraps green bandages around until the area is completely covered. It’s not enough. It has to be enough.

The last thing to deal with is the arm. Adora shivers when Catra touches it. Catra shivers too, because the limb feels like a sock full of marbles and toothpaste. She thought she’d only broken it once. There’s a rudimentary sling included in the kit, not what’s needed but close enough. She’s struggling to put it on correctly when she feels a hand against her cheek.

Adora is smiling at her again as her thumb wipes away tear tracks. It’s awful. Catra leans into her touch, powerless not to, and meets the woman’s gaze. Her mouth opens, but the words are hesitant to leave. Fighting with them is harder than fighting with the arm sling.

“Why… didn’t you tell me?”

Adora looks surprised by the question, but she doesn’t shy away from it like Catra half expects. “Would you believe me if I told you I don’t really know?” She sighs heavily and leans her head back against the couch cushion. “I guess… I just thought… I don’t know what I thought. I suppose when it started, I didn’t know who I could trust. Getting fantastical superpowers out of the blue makes you reevaluate a lot of things, your relationships included. I never told anyone. And I suppose I didn’t want to put that on you, the burden, the stress, the risk.” She chuckles sadly and it turns into a breathless cough. “I wanted to protect you. Just like I always do, right? It’s dumb. I know you can handle yourself, but I just couldn’t stop… so I didn’t say anything.” She blinks back more tears from her red-rimmed eyes. “I should have known it couldn’t last.”

“No, it couldn’t,” Catra agrees quietly. After another minute, spent in silence, she finally gets the sling on straight. Adora takes Catra’s hand and presses her lips to the knuckles.

“Thank you, Catra,” she says. “You always make this better.”

Catra can’t respond to that, so she makes an excuse instead. “I’m going to go put the kit away, and I’ll get you some water.” She piles the contents of the kit back inside haphazardly before leaving the room as quickly as she can without running. In their little kitchen area, she grips the edge of the counter, her fingers turning white with the effort. Her mind is racing a thousand miles a second in a dozen different directions. What is she going to do about this? What’s she going to tell her people? She should tell them, shouldn’t she? Her loyal soldiers, they work so hard for her and she owes them so much… She-Ra is their enemy, the biggest threat to their lives and the business.

The worst thought crosses her mind at that moment. A whisper in a voice that sounds too much like her mother, and its words are black and hateful. Destroy your enemies wherever they appear, no matter what face they wear. Kill without mercy, before they kill you.

She could do it. She knows how. She… she could make it fast. No pain, no nothing, she could kill---

Adora… Adora who has always been there, who has never judged her, who has stood by her and loved her through every horrible thing she’s endured for years. This is Adora, the woman she loves more than anything, than power, money, even her own life for fuck’s sake.

Catra’s knees give way and she slides down to the cold tile floor. She clutches her stomach and finally gives into to the urge to vomit. It’s hardly anything, mostly dry heaves; she hasn’t eaten since lunch 9 hours and one lifetime ago. But with the bile goes that putrid, wretched idea. It leaves her feeling oddly helpless when it’s gone.

“Catra?” Adora is calling out for her, sweetly, appallingly innocent. “Is everything alright?”

Catra’s answer is mechanical. “Everything is fine.” Her throat is sore.

At that moment, facing the crippling emptiness of her spirit, she makes a decision. She doesn’t know if it’s a good decision, or if it will even work, but she makes it. She can’t think of many other choices. There’s a bottle of pills in their medicine cupboard, one neither of them has touched in months or more. She-Ra’s body is still vulnerable, like Adora’s. It can work, and then she’ll… she’ll…

Figure the rest out later.

She forgoes water, picking apple juice instead, better to mask the taste. When Adora sees the glass in her hand, she smiles gratefully and drinks it all down without thinking twice. “Thank you, love,” she says, setting the glass on the coffee table. Then she takes Catra’s hand again and simply holds it, running her thumb across her fingers. She laughs softly, still a little breathless. “You know, you’re taking this a lot better than I think I expected.”

“Mm.” Catra sits next to the love of her life and waits. Adora is happy with this, resting her heavy head on her girlfriend’s shoulder, blissfully unaware.

Catra waits. And when Adora’s soft pants even out, becoming slow and deep, she acts.

#she ra #spop #she ra and the princesses of power #catra #adora #catradora #my writing

6 notes · View notes

queenangst · 6 years

Text

More Than Friends

by: achievingelysium Summary: A classic, two-part throwback to "mortals-meet" fics. Part one: Annabeth's having a no good, very bad day. Percy swings by to help. Things go about as well as can be expected. Post-TLO, Annabeth's POV. / Part two: Much to his friends' chagrin, Percy tends to show up late to class and flakes out on a meetup, until they meet his elusive girlfriend. Post-HoO, mortal's POV.

Read on AO3 | FFN

Her phone buzzed.

Buzzed, then buzzed again.

Annabeth snarled under her breath, eyeing the teacher whose back was turned to the class, and then snatched the phone from her pocket. Whoever was texting her had better have something important to tell her, or gods help her—

It was Percy.

Despite herself, Annabeth smiled. The annoyance didn't fade—no, from this morning to that stupid brat earlier—she'd just about had it with the day. She'd only come back to school for a week, but already she ached to leave and go back to camp where she belonged.

Percy, 11:14 AM hows it going babe me and grvoer r headed for the beach

Percy, 11:16 AM wait grover and i?

You, 11:17 AM you got it.

Annabeth ducked her head and grinned. She caught Lydia's attention in the seat next to her, her friend's eyes widening almost comically as she leaned over to see.

"You're texting in class?" Lydia hissed.

"Shh," she whispered back, batting Lydia away. Still, the girl was hooked, far too interested in what Annabeth was doing.

There was a noise from the front of the room, and the two of them froze, glancing up.

"False alarm," Lydia whispered as Ms. Martin kept writing on the board.

"You should all be writing this down," Ms. Martin said. "See, this is why you guys aren't doing well. I can only do so much, but if you want to learn, you have to be paying attention in class. It's not as hard as you think it is. Is anybody writing?"

Annabeth gritted her teeth, glaring across the room before looking pointedly at her open notebook. Scrawled on the page were notes, though Annabeth hadn't finished writing down everything. Her dyslexia wasn't helpful, nor was the way Ms. Martin organized her thoughts on the board, completely different from Annabeth's.

There was a general grumbling from the class. Furtive glances were cast around the room.

"Yeah, if only she would teach us," Michael muttered from two seats up. Annabeth and Lydia snorted.

It was no secret that no one in their school liked Ms. Martin. She was a hit-or-miss teacher, and she often berated her students on their less-than-stellar work in her class—even though that had always been a result of her teaching.

"There she goes again," Lydia said, sighing as she jotted down another line.

Annabeth wasn't paying attention, though.

Percy, 11:18 AM soo? good day [IMG _FILE] look at this cool shell grover said the pattern makes it look like its frowning but i don't see it

You, 11:24 AM tell grover I don't see it either. also today's been awful

Percy, 11:24 AM what wht why

You, 11:25 AM ugh Helem got mad at me this morning. Again. *Helen

Percy, 11:25 AM she's too hard on u I thought u 2 were getting better

You, 11:26 AM yeah but last week I took off my necklace so I could go shower she almost threw it away. didn't know what it was

Percy, 11:27 AM she WHAT

You, 11:27 AM I guess it's not totally her fault but she should know by now right not to touch my stuff I hate it when people touch my stuf *stuff and I got really upset about it

Percy, 11:29 AM u didn't tell me :(( ims orry

You, 11:30 AM its fine now I guess I got it back forgot about it when you called a couple days ago

Percy, 11:31 AM what were u saying about this morning

You, 11:32 AM UGH

You, 11:32 AM I came home yesterday [Unsent]

You, 11:32 AM went back yesterday at 2am because I ran into a couple monsters took care of everything but I got a little blood and monster dust on the carpet and in the bathroom was too tired to clean up got yelled at this morning for it

Percy, 11:33 AM ur fine right? ugh it wasn't ur fault

You, 11:34 AM I know she hates monsters and really wants to look out for the boys but she just and earlier I saw this girl talking about this kid in the bathroom and she was so rude I

Percy, 11:35 AM did u get in trouble

You, 11:35 AM almost did I was about to punch her I was so mad and now I'm in English and I hate English and Martin

Percy, 11:42 AM hey… u have lunch next period i'll swing by with grover and take u out we can get those curly fries u like

Annabeth groaned. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate Percy, but her friends had been pestering her about her boyfriend since she'd gotten back to school.

They were just scraping two months from the war; Annabeth had decided to go back with Percy and Sally's encouragement. She'd missed about a month—school had started late August, but Annabeth had wanted to spend more time with the other campers and with Percy before leaving.

Now Annabeth was currently drowning in work to catch up, but Percy seemed to have managed just fine starting in mid-September. He'd gone back to Goode, surprisingly, and had bounced between home, school, and camp.

They had some kind of parent-teacher conferences this week, or maybe a holiday, which meant Percy had four days of weekend instead of two. It made Annabeth insanely jealous.

Percy, 11:44 AM so what do you say

Percy's text brought her back to the present. Lydia had gotten back to leaning over, but Annabeth blocked her friend's attempt to read the screen, furiously typing back.

You, 11:44 AM no you cant my frien [Unsent]

"Miss Chase. Miss Faris."

Annabeth's fingers froze over the keyboard just as her heart stopped. She fumbled to turn off her phone, looking up to see Ms. Martin with crossed arms.

"Ma'am," she replied, feeling her heart start to pound against her ribs. She cast a frantic look towards Lydia.

Monsters, Titans, fire-breathing Chihuahuas… Annabeth had seen them all. Still, there was something about teachers that sent them to a completely different level.

The class had gone quiet, broken only by Jay.

"Ooooh," he sang quietly, and the class tittered.

"Would you like to share what you're looking at instead of what you should've been learning in class?"

Annabeth ground her teeth together. She needed to text Percy back to tell him not to come, wanted to keep talking to him, wanted desperately to leave the classroom and find something she could break. The anger and annoyance that had hounded her came back; Percy had been cooling it off, but now something had snapped again.

"Learning," she said deliberately. Someone audibly sucked in a breath at her tone.

Ms. Martin arched an eyebrow.

"Indeed, Miss Chase. Something you would know to do if you want to do well in my class."

This was dumb. This was dumb, and Annabeth hated it, hated the way her skin was crawling like spiders were climbing across her front. She hated Ms. Martin with her stupid voice, who'd failed her first assignment even after Annabeth had worked on it for three days straight.

Hated the way the teacher was looking at her, like she was dumb.

"Maybe if you were teaching us something, I'd pay attention," Annabeth said hotly, standing up. Her fists clenched at her side.

The classroom, which had been filling with whispers and murmured conversation, went silent. Lydia couldn't seem to decide if she wanted to gape at Annabeth or cower in her seat with the way Ms. Martin was glaring at them.

Ms. Martin strode forward.

"Phone," she said, holding her hand out. "I want to see you after class."

Annabeth glanced at her phone, shutting it off and handing it over. They stood off for another moment before Annabeth forced herself to slowly sit down.

It wasn't worth it, she reminded herself, but a little part of her whispered that it had. Ms. Martin had turned around, marching back to the front of the classroom. People had erupted into conversation.

"Girl," Lydia exploded once she'd sat down. "Wow. You… wow."

"Shouldn't have done that, should I?" Annabeth grumbled, sliding lower in her seat.

"Maybe," Lydia offered, "but that was the most badass thing I've ever seen. Just wait until lunch. Everyone's going to be all over you."

"Oh, gods," Annabeth said. She covered her hands with her hands for a moment and then lowered them, sending a satisfied grin at her friend. "Well… I guess that was a pretty good line, huh?"

The remaining time in English passed quickly. Ms. Martin went back to lecturing them, occasionally interjecting with a comment about their work ethic as she glared vaguely in Annabeth's direction. Everyone went back to taking notes, but there was a restless energy that lasted until the bell rang.

"Dismissed," Ms. Martin called, and the students surged for the door, yelling over each other and chatting. Lydia shoved her stuff into her bag.

"I'll save you a spot," she told Annabeth. She glanced at Ms. Martin. "Good luck."

Annabeth took her time putting her things away. She wasn't a terribly organized person, but today she made sure everything had a place. While she worked, she reminded herself that she couldn't afford to have Ms. Martin hate her. Any more, and she'd be failing English.

Not to mention phone calls. The minute Helen heard a word about what had gone down, she'd go off on Annabeth. What little relationship they'd been carefully building would come crumbling down. She'd be the unruly, good-for-nothing demigod.

She took a deep breath and forced herself towards Ms. Martin's desk.

"I'll have you remember that I tolerate no disrespect, Annabeth," Ms. Martin said. "I don't like it when any student uses their phone in class, and if you have constructive criticism, I'd like you to bring it up to me in a more helpful way."

Annabeth held her tongue. She could tell Ms. Martin meant it, but it didn't make Annabeth feel any less unhappy.

"I'm… sorry," she said.

Ms. Martin made a noncommittal noise. "Are we on the same page?"

Annabeth glanced at the clock.

"Yes, ma'am."

"If this happens again, Annabeth, I can call your parents." Here, Annabeth's lip curled in distaste. "And I will send you out of class. You know that."

"Yes, ma'am."

Ms. Martin sighed. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, and though Annabeth didn't like her one bit, she thought maybe she was starting to understand where the teacher was coming from.

"It won't happen again," Annabeth offered quietly. She wanted to leave and slam the door.

"Be sure of it." Ms. Martin nodded, reaching over to a drawer and handing Annabeth's phone over. "You can go."

Annabeth left without saying goodbye, darting out into the hall and sighing.

"That could've gone better," she muttered, heading towards the cafeteria. She was five minutes late, give or take a few—the lunch line would be packed, and she'd have to wait longer to get food.

Annabeth stopped, suddenly remembering why she'd gotten into trouble in the first place. She checked her phone and found a number of missed texts and a call from Percy.

"Oh, gods."

"Annabeth!" a voice yelled before she could check it.

As she pushed her way towards her friends at the table in the corner, she caught sight of a small crowd. Over the din, she could hear a loud voice chattering away.

"What's Beatrice up to?" Annabeth said, sliding into her spot. Lydia lit up.

"Annabeth! You made it out alive!"

"Lydia told us all about it," Samarth said. He passed her a soda can. "Bought this from the vending machine as a gift, you brave, brave soul."

"Uh, thanks," Annabeth said.

"I still can't believe you said that," Jay crowed. "Did you see the look on her face?"

"What'd she say? Spill."

"It was fine," Annabeth muttered. "So what's all the commotion about?"

"Oh," Lydia said, slamming her water bottle down in excitement. "Queen Bea found a new guy to drool over."

Annabeth wrinkled her nose. "I'm sure."

Beatrice was nice enough, but she reminded Annabeth of Aphrodite kids. Cool, but sometimes overwhelming… and maybe a little too obsessed with getting a boyfriend.

She was pretty forward and could get a little bossy, hence the nickname Queen Bea. Still, the few times she'd seen her outside of being boy-crazy had admittedly impressed Annabeth. She was driven and smart. Med school, if she remembered correctly, though Annabeth never knew if that was her own ambition or if maybe she was fishing for a good-looking doctor in her future. Probably both.

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

Annabeth yelped, pulling her phone from her pocket.

Buzz.

"It's her boyfriend," Lydia said immediately. The table oohed.

"It's not," Annabeth said, hitting reply. It was Percy.

Percy, 12:21 PM hey its lunch but i don't see u i could use some help um u can probably tell where i am theres kind of a crowd is this normal

"Shit," Annabeth said. No doubt the "new guy to drool over" was Percy.

"Annabeth?" Jay called after her as she crossed the cafeteria. "Woah, wait, did we upset you?"

She shoved through the crowd, and there he was.

"Look, I'm sorry, I'm just here to find someone," Percy was saying. Beatrice was unsurprisingly talking to him, too close for both Percy and Annabeth's liking.

"Well, you found me," Beatrice said. She leaned a little closer. "Wanna go to lunch together?"

"Uh," Percy said. He looked nervous, eyes darting around the group of people surrounding him. There weren't actually that many people, maybe twelve in total, but they were all excitedly chattering about the new guy. With their small school and class size, everybody knew everybody, and anyone remotely new got people excited.

He tried to step away.

"I'm sorry," he said again. "I'm gonna go."

"Hey, wait, what's your name?"

"Percy," he replied. He was starting to get jittery, Riptide appearing in his hands as he twisted the cap like he did when he got nervous. "And I'm looking for—"

Annabeth finally pushed through.

"Looking for me?"

Percy and Beatrice both turned at the sound of her voice.

"Annabeth," Percy said, obviously relieved. She'd been his best friend for years, knew the way he ticked, knew what every look meant. It made her stomach flip when his eyes lit up, his lips lifting in that crooked, troublemaker grin.

He held out his hand, and Annabeth took it.

"Oh my God," she heard distantly. "That's gotta be him. The boyfriend. Samarth, get a picture."

Annabeth wasn't paying attention.

"Hey, Percy," she said, not fighting as he wrapped an arm around her and daring to press his lips to her forehead. She closed her eyes for a moment. "What are you doing here?"

He grinned, eyes crinkling at the corners. "Curly fries, remember? I promised."

"Do you two… know each other?"

Beatrice looked like her dreams were being crushed slightly. Annabeth felt bad, then remembered she'd been flirting with her boyfriend and felt a little better.

Before Annabeth could open her mouth, Percy beat her to the punch. "I'm Annabeth's boyfriend."

It was a little silly, but it made her smile. Every time she got to call him her boyfriend, it sent warmth through her body.

Annabeth ducked her head to hide her blush, and Percy tightened his arm around her.

"Oh," Beatrice said. "Um. Sorry."

Now she was blushing, looking a little embarrassed.

"It's cool, I guess. Flattering, but I'm taken," Percy said. "Uh, sorry?"

Annabeth couldn't help but roll her eyes. Her friends took the moment to press in like predators hunting prey.

"So you're Annabeth's boyfriend," Lydia said triumphantly. She was grinning as she stuck a hand out. "Nice to meet you."

"That's Lydia," Annabeth said, sighing. They'd never let her get the end of it. "Samarth and Jay over there."

"Oh, man," Jay said. "Liv is going to be so mad she missed this. Uh, nice to meet you, man."

Percy shook hands with Jay, then Lydia, then Samarth.

"I guess Annabeth talks about me, huh?"

"Oh, she never shuts up," Lydia said. Annabeth kicked at her ankles.

"Lydia!"

"Really?" Percy asked, grinning. He slipped his arm down from around her shoulders, grabbing her hand instead. Her face burned.

"No," she grumbled.

"Kind of," Samarth said. "I think Lydia talks more than her, though."

"What? I'm interested."

There was a beat of awkward silence before Lydia blurted, "How'd you guys meet?"

"Oh, um," Percy said. "We met when we were twelve. Went to the same camp, and we got looped into some of the same, er, camp activities together."

"Arts and crafts?"

Percy was grinning again, and it was infectious. "Something like that."

"Cool," Jay said. "I got shipped off to summer camp a few times, too, but my summers were never quite as exciting as Annabeth's. Any way I can get in?"

Annabeth pursed her lips. "It's one of those you gotta apply at, but it's a little hard to get in. Pretty specific requirements."

Percy laughed. "You're not wrong."

"Guess I'm not going."

Percy shrugged and raised an eyebrow. "Maybe. You never know."

"You're from New York, right?"

"Yeah, but I'm on break, so me and another friend came down for a visit. Then Annabeth said she was having a bad day, so I thought I'd come pick her up to get some food."

Jay poked Samarth. "Why don't you ever do that for me?"

Samarth only squinted back. "You're the one who can drive."

Percy glanced over at Annabeth, and she squeezed his hand.

"Missed you," she said quietly, stepping closer. "It's been weird being here."

"Hey, San Fran's pretty nice."

She looked away. "You know what I mean, Percy. I don't get to see your stupid face around."

He leaned their shoulders together. "Missed you, too."

Percy turned to the rest of the group. "It was nice meeting you guys, but I think we gotta go. Fries don't buy themselves."

There was a chorus of "You, too"s as Percy led Annabeth away.

"Mortals, huh," Percy said. "Cool bunch. Though I'm interested in what you've had to say about me, Wise Girl."

She shoved him. "Come on. Let's get some fries."

#HEY ANON THIS IS 4 U #mortals meet percabeth #pjo #pjo fanfic #percy jackson #annabeth chase #percabeth #my pjo #my fanfic #LOL THROWBACK to 2012 #note: yes tumblr long post formatting has been weird #if u read it on my blog its fine dont read on ur dash #alternatively just click a link

131 notes · View notes