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ragingbookdragon · 3 years

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The Secrets Best Left In The Dark

Batsis x Batfamily One-Shot

Word Count: 4K Warnings: Angst, Mentions of Death

Author's Note: I thrive on angst, so I have no apologies for y'all. Enjoy! -Thorne

They’d never claim their eldest sibling was cowardly. Far from it, she put her life on the line every day, in and out of the suit, defending those she cared for with a strength that they’d never seen in anyone. But while everyone in their family was typically hot-tempered and ready for a beatdown, she was calm and quiet. Always kind, and never letting anger, or any type of other emotion show besides pleasantness. For a while, they merely assumed she was the doormat type, simply on the basis that she never argued with their dad over anything—the whole “It’s my way or the highway” and his way was what she always went with—and that made her seem like an alien surrounded by humans because everyone argued with Bruce. That, and the fact that whenever she got into the rare fight during patrol, she’d never hit anybody. She was trained to take down multiple combatants and not once did she ever punch, hit, or kick a single person.

It was practically abnormal to be in the Batfamily and never lay a hand on a criminal, and yet that was what their sister did. Hardly ever did she use force to get what she wanted, always relying on stealth. Even on the minute cases when she got caught in an infiltration and had to fight her way out, she used electrified gauntlets to subdue them, rarely coming to blows. So, in a sense while everyone in her family was an aggressive fighter, she was a defensive—or perhaps a passive one—and that’s how she acted in life too. Always passive by nature, but always playing the peacekeeper between brothers and between fathers and sons.

They never knew why she was such a way, from the stories that Diana and Clark used to tell, back when it was just their sister and Bruce, she was a whirlwind that got into fights with anything that dared breathe in her direction—apparently, she made her angriest siblings look like mice. But no matter how many times they pried or even asked Bruce (apparently, he didn’t know what changed either—and this was coming from the World’s Greatest Detective), she never talked about it, simply saying that she grew out of always being angry and wanted to be calmer.

They suspected she held a dark secret—but no one could’ve prepared for just how dark and damaging it had been to her all these years.

***

In hindsight, taking a trip into Scarecrow’s lab was a bad idea, but when the offer had come up in the cave from her father, (Y/N) was happy to lend a hand, knowing that with his recent injury, he wouldn’t’ve been able to get out there during the night. It was also amazing, in the twenty-seven years she’d been alive, and in the past nineteen years that she’d been a vigilante, she’d never seen her father take a break—she could count on one hand how many times he had, and even then, he was still working in the cave, so technically it wasn’t a break.

But after tangling with Bane and Croc, he’d broken a few ribs and after repeated complaints and worries from her, his sons, and Alfred, Bruce finally agreed to let his children handle patrol. Which is why when the quadrants of the city were split up between Dick, Jason, Tim, and Damian, it left (Y/N) to pick up specific places that Bruce wanted checked out—she warmly agreed to do so. And while she was confident in her abilities to do everything, he asked of her, she should’ve called for backup when it came to infiltrating Scarecrow’s hideout.

***

Another vent went off above her and she ducked, eyes narrowing as she watched the orange fog, appearing blue through her detective mode, drift out. She would’ve sprayed it, but she’d used up all of her explosive gel covering the others. Now she simply had to avoid them and hope that her gas mask filtered properly—so far, it was. A shrill laugh echoed through the speakers above her, and shivers went down her spine.

Anytime now, Batgirl. You will fall too.

She frowned. “I’m not afraid of you, Doctor Crane.” Ducking under another pipe, she added, “I can help you if you’ll let me.”

Help me? Help…ME? You can’t even help YOURSELF!

Scarecrow had always been a talker, much like the majority of the villains they faced, and he was looking for a rise. She came to the end of the corridor where the pipes met a brick wall and she sighed, searching for a way through. A vent covered the top right corner and she pulled out the grapple gun, pointing it at the grate. She pressed the trigger and it latched onto the metal bars; grasping the cord, she yanked as hard as she could, stepping backwards when it fell, hitting the ground with a clang.

(Y/N) heaved herself up into the vent and crawled on her hands and knees, as quietly as she could, twisting and turning through the maze of confined metal. When she came to the end, another grate covered the exit and she pressed her foot against it, pushing until the bolts popped loose and she could slip out.

From the looks of it, if the advanced chemistry equipment were any help, she’d ended up in Scarecrow’s lab. He wasn’t in sight, but that gave her time to look around and see if he’d changed any formulas recently. She raised her wrist and tapped at the blue screen, taking a moment to run a program. When it beeped, (Y/N) sighed in relief and reached up, pulling the gas mask off—the air was clean.

She set the mask down on the counter and put a finger to her ear. “Batman, do you read me?” His voice came through a moment later.

“I read you Batgirl. Loud and clear.”

“I’m in Doctor Crane’s lab,” she said, poking around at the notes he’d scrawled out. “I don’t see anything new. The formulas all look the same.”

“Compounds?”

She frowned and read. “Honestly, it’s a bit hard to decipher. His handwriting is a lot like Red’s when he’s had one too many energy drinks.” A quiet huff came from over the line, telling her that he was amused. “I’ll send you pictures of it and see if you can.” (Y/N) snapped a few photos. “Get ‘em?”

“Just now,” he replied, and she walked over to one of the lit Bunsen burners.

“Looks like he’s got something brewing right now though,” (Y/N) leaned over and peered into it, careful to avoid any steam that was rising.

“Recognize it?”

She paused. “It’s not the usual stuff he’s got. It looks almost golden and—”

All at once the dish exploded and she had just enough time to cover her face from the shattering glass, letting out a gasp as she recoiled.

“Batgirl, what happened?”

(Y/N) coughed and waved a hand, and when her hand appeared double, she breathed out in shock. “Oh no,” she whispered.

“Batgirl, report.” She hurried to the exit of the lab as Scarecrow’s cackle sounded overhead.

“I’ve been hit with a blast of toxin.” Pulling open the door, she fumbled with her utility belt then let out a sigh.

“What’s wrong?”

(Y/N) shook her head and weaved down the corridors, the faster she got to her bike, the faster she could get back to the cave.

“I don’t have any anti-toxin on me.” She pushed against the doors and stumbled out into the cold and rainy night. Her mind was already beginning to fog over as she climbed onto her bike, and she barely had enough focus to keep it steady while she programmed it to auto-drive.

“I’m sending one of the boys to you.”

She grunted and lifted her foot as the bike revved and shot forward. “Don’t. I’ve already programmed the bike to the cave’s coordinates. I’ll be back in less than fifteen minutes.”

“You won’t make it that long.”

(Y/N) groaned as the lights began to flash around her and she saw faces and images passing her. “I just have to…focus.”

Horns blared around her as the bike weaved in and out of cars and she held onto the frame with all the strength she had. His voice started echoing in her ears and she shut her eyes, trying to block it out.

You could’ve saved me.

Another groan escaped her, and she heard, “(Y/N), talk to me.”

She shook her head. “I can’t—I have to—focus now.” But with every passing second, his voice got louder and more insistent.

You let me die. You watched me die.

(Y/N)’s eyes filled with tears and they dripped down her cheeks. I tried to save you. she thought, hoping it would suffice, but she knew it wouldn’t. I tried so hard to. The last thing she remembered was turning onto the street that led to the cave.

***

Bruce was already pushing away from the Batcomputer when the boys arrived back at the cave, Dick and Damian from the Batmobile, and Tim and Jason from their own rides. Knowing that their father wasn’t one to sit around, it wasn’t out of the ordinary for him to be moving, but with how quick and worried his movements seemed, they knew something was wrong.

Dick pulled the cowl away from his face and asked, “B? What’s wrong?”

Bruce didn’t respond at first, hurrying towards the medical station they had. “Your sister was dosed with fear toxin and she doesn’t have anti-toxin to counteract it.”

Jason, who’d already taken his hood off, was already in the process of putting it back on. “Let one of us take it to her.”

Their father shook his head, rummaging for an antidote. “She’s coming back here.”

“Here?” Tim repeated, striding over. “Fear toxin works within seconds on normal people, minutes for us.” He looked at his brothers. “She won’t have enough time to get back here and not be under the effects.”

Bruce nodded, focusing as he poured a vial of glowing green liquid into the needle gun. “I know.” He looked at Tim. “That’s why I’m getting it ready for her.”

“Father, can we do anything?” Damian questioned, pulling away the domino mask from his eyes.

“Get ready to be on the defensive if she’s offensive,” he replied. “I don’t think she’ll hit anybody, but you never know.”

“She can’t hit that hard. (Y/N) only weighs—” Jason cut off as the rev of an engine cut though the air and they turned to see their eldest sister coming in on a sleek black motorcycle, that was shaking badly.

“(Y/N)!” Dick yelled and the bike suddenly shifted and toppled sideways, throwing her from it. It slid across the cave floor in a hail of sparks, metal, and plastic flying in every direction as (Y/N) rolled too.

They started running towards her, hoping to stop her when her back collided with one of the glass cases that held their suits, and she went limp.

Bruce reached her first, and knelt down, setting the antidote aside to check her first. The way she hit the case and with how hard, it was possible that she could be seriously injured—or worse.

“(Y/N)!” he called, hands coming to pull her away from the case. She whimpered and he let out a sigh—she was still alive. “(Y/N), can you hear me?” he inquired, reaching up to pull the cowl from her face.

Her brothers crowded behind him and they all stared in horror as tears streamed down her cheeks, and blood out of her nose.

“I’m sorry,” she bawled. “I tried to save you.” Bruce looked at her then grabbed the needle gun, bringing it up to her neck.

“Hang on, (Y/N). You’re gonna be okay.”

She grabbed his hand and cried, “I held on as long as I could, but my grip was slipping. I’m sorry I couldn’t hold onto you. I’m sorry I let you go. I let you die. I’m sor—” her sobs cut her off as she curled in on herself, and as if finally snapping out of a trance, Bruce pulled his hand from her grip and pulled the trigger of the gun.

(Y/N) jerked as the needle entered her skin and they watched the neon green liquid in the vial emptied. She fell into whimpers and mumbles of “I’m sorry” before her eyes rolled back and she collapsed in Bruce’s arms.

He stared at her for a second, feeling numb at his daughter’s admissions. Whatever her fear had been, it’d been there a long time, and he had no idea what it was about. Sighing heavily, he drew his eyes to his sons, to Jason.

“Will you take (Y/N) to her bedroom while I get an IV ready?”

Jason nodded and bent down, picking up his unconscious sister. He tucked her head in the crook of his neck and looked at Dick. “Get the doors, yeah?” Dick nodded and hurried ahead of him, while Tim and Damian followed in suit.

Bruce was left alone in a matter of moments, and all he could do was rise to his feet and ready the medical supplies, all the while, thinking back on every night that (Y/N) had gone on patrol in the last nineteen years—and the last time someone died in front of her.

***

Her head felt like an overripe melon ready to burst, and that first moment of cracking her eyes open was the biggest mistake since she told her dad what ‘Thot’ meant. The second she opened them, she shut them once more, inhaling deeply through her nose as the fog started to clear from her mind.

“Queenie, hey, you’re awake,” Jason murmured, and she nodded, blinking a few times before his face came into focus, Dick appearing Tim appearing behind him.

“Go get dad,” Dick said to someone, and she figured it was Damian since neither Jason nor Tim moved.

(Y/N) started shifting, trying to sit up when Dick put his hand on her shoulder, gentle, but firm as he said, “Don’t try to move, Barbie.”

“Where’s dad?” she asked, craning her neck to see.

“Damian’s going to get him sis,” Tim answered, smoothing out the blanket covering her. “Just relax. You took a beating when you came into the cave.”

“I did?” she questioned, eyes widening in shock when they nodded, faces pinched with worry.

The ceiling light turned on just bright enough to give sight and they looked at Bruce who was coming in, Damian following.

“(Y/N),” Dick moved, letting Bruce take his spot, and he took her hand in his, running his thumb over the back of her hand. “You had us all worried.”

She frowned and exhaled heavily. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.” She gazed between them, and something in their eyes made an emotion she couldn’t describe rise in her chest.

“Why are you all looking at me like that?” (Y/N) met Bruce’s eyes. “What happened?” Before he could answer, she gasped and looked at her brothers. “I didn’t hurt anyone, did I?”

A chorus of hurried, “No’s!” rang out and she sighed in relief, reclining back on the pillows.

“Oh, thank goodness.” She went silent, then started, “But…something did happen, didn’t it?”

Her brothers glanced between themselves then they looked at Bruce who sighed and squeezed her hand, drawing her attention to him.

“What?” she asked and when he said nothing, she repeated, “Dad, what?”

His steel blue eyes met hers and he murmured, “You were apologizing for…letting someone die.”

Whatever had flashed in her eyes that told them she knew exactly what they were talking about was shocking enough because Jason said, “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t wanna, Queenie.”

(Y/N) fell silent for a full minute and when she spoke again, her voice was quiet and the look in her eyes was far away. “Before Dick came to the manor it was just you and I patrolling Gotham. At eight, I wasn’t really let out of your sight, but one night I had wandered off while you were dealing with Two-Face.” She looked at Bruce. “I found an injured GCPD officer on a bridge. He had been tailing Killer Croc.”

She glanced at Tim. “His name was Grady Richards.”

Tim’s eyes fell to the tablet in his hands, and he tapped at the screen for a few moments, then read, “Hero cop Grady Richards honored after dying in line of duty. He fell off a broken bridge on Miagani Island.”

Bruce’s eyes found hers again. “He didn’t fall, did he?”

(Y/N) felt tears grow in her vision and she shook her head. “No…no he didn’t.” Inhaling deeply, she recounted, “Croc came back and there was no way either of us could’ve taken him, so we ran. And Croc chased us.” She shut her eyes, remembering the night.

***

Fear pulsed through her veins as she sprinted as far away from the overgrown crocodile as she could. The GCPD officer was ahead of her, but he stopped and spun around to see her.

“Hurry!” he yelled, pointing back to the car. “Get to the cruiser!”

She spared a glance over her shoulder, eyes going wide when she saw Killer Croc picking up one of the concrete guards.

“Duck!” was all she heard, and she hit the ground, watching as if in slow motion as it flew overhead, then smashed into the top of the cop’s car, glass and metal shattering under the pressure.

Someone grabbed her by the back of her suit and hauled her up, slinging her behind them, and the back of the GCPD officer’s uniform came into view.

“Start running, Batgirl! And don’t stop!” he yelled, and when he has his sidearm drawn, he looked down at her. “You’ve got as much time as I have bullets.” He turned, opening fire, and she took a moment to stare before scrambling to her feet to start running.

A cry of pain sounded behind her, and against her better judgement, she turned and looked, gaping as Croc’s arm sent the officer flying. He hit the guardrail and collapsed against it and her feet were moving before she could stop them.

The first punch went to the back of Croc’s knee and she knew it had to have hurt her more than it did him because he didn’t even flinch. But when those glowing yellow eyes peered down at her, she knew she was in trouble.

“Looks like I’ve got an appetizer for the night!” he laughed and reached for her, but she ducked and rolled out of his way, standing in front of the wounded GCPD officer, who weakly looked up at her.

“What are you—doing? I told you…to run.”

She couldn’t beat Killer Croc, and she knew it, but she shook her head and stared down the villain before her.

Croc’s attacks were wide and though she was small, she was pushed to her limit rolling and dodging every one. After a few moments, she was practically dead on her feet, huffing as her lungs begged for air. She kept wiping away the rain that splattered against her mask and on a particularly unlucky step, she found herself slipping.

And it was all the opening that Croc needed because he swiped at her and she flew backwards into the officer who’d managed to stand, just barely. Colliding with him tipped his balance and they went over the guardrail, barreling towards the ground.

She reached out as fast as she could and grabbed hold of the metal beam that ran the length of the under bridge, crying out in pain as it pulled the joints and bones. Her other hand gripped the officer’s and she held on tight. Croc leaned over the bridge, apparently not seeing them because his footsteps went off in the opposite direction, leaving them in silence.

Time passed and she wasn’t sure how long, but both her arms were getting tired, and she looked down at the officer.

“Sir?” she called, and he looked up at her. “You have to climb. I’m starting to lose grip.”

He tried to reach up but let out a cry and grabbed his side with his free hand. Pulling his hand away, she saw the crimson dilute with rainwater.

The hand that held the ledge began to cramp and she started hyperventilating. “Please, you need to hurry! I can’t hold on much longer!” Again, he tried, and she looked down at him as her fingers began to shake.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered and let go of his hand, and the last thing she saw until he hit the ground was the sight of his eyes, wide with fear and pleading.

***

“I watched his head explode when he hit the ground,” she said, tears pouring down her cheeks as she stared out the window, watching the rain hit against the glass. “I had to make a choice. Either both of us died or one of us lived.” (Y/N) looked at Bruce. “And I chose my life over his.”

No one could believe their ears at the story she’d told, but suddenly, the self-sacrificing attitude their sister had, the way she’d bend over backwards for anyone, made perfect sense—she did it out of atonement, for a wrong she carried since she was eight years old.

“I pulled myself back up onto the bridge and I ran as far as I could and didn’t look back,” she said. “I kept my mouth shut when the paper ran his story and never told anyone about it.”

(Y/N)’s breath shuddered. “I just pushed it down as far inside me as I could and tried to forget about it.” Her eyes met Bruce and she tearfully stated, “But every time I closed my eyes, I saw his face.”

He leaned forward and took her hand. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked softly, dark brows furrowed in hurt.

She swallowed thickly and shook her head as she replied, “I killed someone that night. I was terrified about what you would’ve said. About what you would’ve done.” He gazed at her and (Y/N) whispered, “I’m sorry, dad.”

Bruce dropped her gaze and took a deep breath before murmuring, “It was just an accident, (Y/N).”

“I let go of—”

“I would’ve been more upset having to bury my daughter,” he interrupted, and she fell silent, gaping at him. He searched her face and reached up, placing a hand on her cheek. “I understand why you kept this secret, but you should’ve come to me, (Y/N).” Shaking his head, he added, “You didn’t deserve to be buried under this for nineteen years.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, lowering her head and Bruce shook his head in response.

“No, I’m sorry.” When she met his eye, he continued, “I’m sorry I didn’t know you were carrying this. Then and now.”

(Y/N) swallowed and rested back against the bed. “I send his widow money on the anniversary of his death. I slip it into the pension she’s given.” She let out a sigh. “It’s the only way I’ve found that I could sleep at night.”

Her eyes drifted to the window and Bruce placed a kiss to her forehead. “Get some sleep, sweetheart.” She nodded and before he left, he said, “And when you feel up for it, we’ll see about setting up a fund in his name.”

She wished it didn’t make her as emotional as it did, but silent tears dripped down her cheeks as the door closed, leaving her and her brothers alone. They gathered on her bed, leaning close to offer their support, and she was thankful for them doing so. And for the first time in nineteen years, when (Y/N) closed her eyes, she didn’t see Grady Richards’ face.

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jadedxrealityw · 4 years

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-”First Love?” “No My Only Love”- Draco Malfoy x Female Reader

Kody: Got some angst for y'all because i’m a evil person, but hey it has a sweet ending so why not. Also i refuse to say that Draco looks like what he does in the 19 year timeskip. Just imagine Tom Felton please lmao.

Summary: Draco and Y/n were lovers in school and he was forced to break up with her because his family arranged a marriage with the Greengrass family and after the war he never saw her again until he takes a trip to Scorpius’s school.

Warning: Will make you sniffle just saying. It’s angst as hell my guy.

House: Slytherin, but your not in school anymore.

♡~🐍~♡

“Father we are going to be late!” Yelled a very excited Scorpius. Draco laughed quietly to himself as he adjusted his tie in the mirror. He took one last look at himself before stepping out, shutting the bathroom door.

“Alright Scorpius the car is outside let's go” he called out and saw his son slide out of his room with a giddy expression.

“You seem very excited” Draco looked down at the 12-year-old boy who nodded.

“I am, I get to see Albus and Rose,” he says as both Malfoys walked out of the manor. Heading into the car, Draco opened the door for Scorpius to climb in before getting in himself. He closes the door and told the driver to head to Hogwarts.

You might be wondering where the Malfoys are off to this evening. Well, it was professor, parent day. Where Parents can come back to their old school and meet the professors that teach their kids. It’s usually a great experience for the children. Draco was a bit nervous to go back to a school that he helped destroy in the past, not that he wanted to. Hogwarts was always his second home, but that wasn’t the only reason it would hurt to go back.

♡~🐍~♡

As the car stopped, Scorpius flew out the car and ran towards a group of kids. He hugged both Rose and Albus who were equally excited to see him. Draco stepped out and shut the door. He saw Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron standing near the kids. He walks over to them and smiles warmly “Hello”

“Hey Draco, surprised you came. We know how hard it is for you to be here” Hermione gives him a sympathetic smile. Everyone forgave him for his past mistakes and eventually became friends with the used to be ‘Golden Trio’

“Scorpius really wanted to come and i couldn’t say no to him, trust me i’ve tried” Draco grins lightly, snickering at the thought. The rest of them laughed as well before looking over at there kids. Draco gazed around until his eyes landed on a bench, his mind sending him into a memory.

♡~🐍~♡

“Draco i swear to merlin, stop!” Y/n laughed as her boyfriend tickled her sides.

“Aw, but your laughing, love. Seems like you enjoy it!” he smirks as he continued to grab at her sides. She was able to break free from his hold and run away, but Draco was faster and scooped her up. He walked over to a bench and placed and sat down with her in his lap.

A pout came across her face “You suck” she whined making Draco laugh at her child like behaviour.

“I love you too” He replied making Y/n smile before he leans into place a loving kiss to her lips.

♡~🐍~♡

“Father?” Draco was brought back to reality and looked at his son who was tugging at his sleeve. He pointed towards the doors and the people walking in “We can go inside now”

Draco takes a second to recollect himself before smiling and heading inside with his son, he was surprised to see that everything was relatively the same. It gave him a feeling of nostalgia, but also a feeling of hurt. He’d walk these halls a million times with her.

♡~🐍~♡

Walking hand and hand Draco felt a warm feeling in his chest. Happiness. He had a stupid grin on his face, which Y/n had noticed “Why are you smiling so much?” she asked with a small laugh.

Draco turned his head to face her “Because the most beautiful girl in the world is holding my hand of course” his reply made her smile and shake her head.

“Your a dork, Draco”

♡~🐍~♡

Shaking his head Draco let out a deep sigh. This was way more difficult then he imagined. He tried his best to keep his composure for Scorpius. As they walked Scorpius turned to the trophy case “Hey father, look it’s your name!” he exclaimed.

Draco smiles and looks over “Draco Malfoy, Seeker” he read the plaque out loud. He really did love Quidditch, flying high on a broom where no one can bother you was the best feeling ever.

“Y/n L/n, Chaser!” Scorpius read with an excited tone. Draco felt his heart squeeze. Just hearing her name was almost to much. Scorpius turned to his father “Were you two friends?” he asked. Draco opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

“Scorpius, how ‘bout you and Albus go see where Rose is?” HArry spoke from behind them. Scorpius nods quickly and runs off in the other direction. Draco felt his pulse die down.

Draco turned towards Harry and nods “Thank you” he said. Harry nods and gives him a warm smile. Placing his hand on his shoulder.

“It’s just hard to hear her name i guess” Draco chokes out before pushing past Harry to go find Scorpius.

♡~🐍~♡

The next place they visited was the portrait to the Slytherin common room, which was now snape. He smiled as he approached it “Ah Mr. Malfoy and tiny Malfoy. This is a treat indeed” he says sarcastically. Draco rolls his eyes and chuckles.

“It’s nice to see you too Professor” Draco smiles. Snape cracked a half smile at Draco. It was weird to see him in a portrait. He looked up to snape for protecting him when he was a kid, it was hard to swallow that he was really gone.

“I remember you running in and out of this common room with that little girlfriend of yours, she was a lovely girl” Snape sighs. Draco felt his mind drag him into another memory, the worst one by far

♡~🐍~♡

Draco was sitting on the sofa in the common room, waiting for his girlfriend to show up. Nerves nipped at his skin as he waited “Draco?” he looked up from his hands to see her standing there, she looked worried once she saw his frown “What’s wrong?”

He gestured for her to sit down on the sofa with him and she complied. He looked at her and smiled lightly, he wanted to remember her like this for a second “My family has arranged for me to be married, to Astoria Greengrass.” he watched as Y/n’s face fell. A feeling of sadness taking over her.

Y/n tried to hide her aching heart with a smile “We knew this would happen eventually, i just didn’t want it to be now, while this war thing is going on around us” she sighed and grabbed his hand “As much as i would like to keep you with me, i know how much your family means to you. I’d do anything for you Draco Malfoy, even if it means leaving you”

A lump formed in Draco’s throat as tears threatened to spill from his grey eyes. “I wish it could be different my love. I really do, but at least i still get to see your face for the rest of the year” he says. Y/n’s smile faded and she looked away “Love? What’s wrong?” he asked, grabbing her chin to make her look at him.

“My family is leaving, with the war going on they don’t think it’s safe here. I’m moving Draco. To America” A tear fell from her face as Draco let go of her. He could feel his heart tugging against his ribcage.

“So this is goodbye then? Forever?” He choked out his words. All Y/n did was nod slowly. He broke down right then and there. All the tears he held in were coming out like a waterfall “I’m really losing you” he said in disbelief.

“Your not losing me Draco, were just being seperated. I will always love you and cherish our time together. The cards are just stacked against us, darling” Y/n grabbed his hand and put it over her heart. He looked at her through his tears “If by some miracle we ever meet again. No matter what, i’ll come running in your arms”

“Promise?” He asked and she nodded. He pressed a sloppy kiss on her lips as more tears ran down there faces. That was the last time he saw Y/n.

♡~🐍~♡

“Wasn’t she your first love?” Snape asked. \

Draco inhaled sharply and turns to see Scorpius walking away with Albus and Rose. He faces the portrait again and shakes his head “No, my only love” he said simply and headed down the stairs. He felt the familiar lump form in his throat just like the last night he saw her.

“Father! I want you to meet my defense against dark arts professor, she’s amazing!” Scorpius shouts. Draco tries to choke back his sadness and smiles at him.

“Sure let’s go”

♡~🐍~♡

Scorpius led the way for his father and pointed to a door in the distance. He was about to read a name on the plaque when the door opened. He saw a shocked Hermione and Harry, they looked like they had seen a ghost “What’s wrong?” Draco asked. Hermione just looked at him and smiled before walking away.

Draco was now even more confused and looked at Harry, who just patted his back “Good luck buddy” he says. Draco opens his mouth to speak, but was stopped by Scorpius, who was pushing him towards the door.

“Love you father! Thank me later!” Scorpius laughs and shuts the door. Draco blinked a couple times as he looked at the now shut door.

“Hello darling” A voice came from behind him, making his whole body lock up. No. It couldn’t be. This was another memory playing in his head right? He was too scared to turn around. He just stood there, frozen. “Draco? Can you turn around?” she laughed.

Draco’s body moved on it’s own and he turned around. He was faced with a sight he never thought he’d see again. Y/n. She didn’t change one bit. Still had her bright E/C eyes and H/L H/C hair. His throat felt dry and he couldn’t speak “I’m supposed to run into your arms, but i’m afraid i might tackle you to the ground.” she said nervously. He waited years for this moment and so did she.

“Can i?” she asked, a little unsure. Draco just nodded slowly. Y/n walked from behind the desk and rushed into his arms, wrapping hers around his neck. Draco caved and hugged her tight against him, tears breaking free from his cold eyes.

“Is it really you or a cruel nightmare?” he asked as he pulled away to look at her face, she gave him a bright smile and cupped his face. He leaned into her hands, sighing deeply.

“Of course it’s me you dork” Y/n laughs softly and smiles at him. He leans into her, slamming his mouth onto her’s. Not caring about anything else other than the woman in his arms at the moment. She responds quickly and smiles into there passionate exchange.

♡~🐍~♡

-1 year later-

“So let me get this straight. Y/n becomes a professor and you three found out we used to date in school from snape and your first thought is to set us up again” Draco looked at Albus, Scorpius, and Rose who look at each other before nodding.

“Yeah pretty much”

“It was kind of easy”

“It was super romantic!”

Draco turns to face Y/n “And you” he started, making her laugh slightly “You went along with this, why didn’t you just come to the manor?” he asked.

“Well what fun is that?” Y/n chuckles, making Draco roll his eyes. He wraps an arm around her shoulders and she leans into him. “aw you know you love me”

“Yeah i do, both of you” Draco smiles as he tugs Scorpius into the hug as well. For the first time in a long time, he felt whole again.

♡~🐍~♡

Kody: What in the hell did i just write exactly?

#draco malfoy x you #draco malfoy x y/n #draco x reader #draco malfoy #draco malfoy x reader #x reader #x female reader #harry potter #ron weasley #hermione granger #slytherin #ginny weasley #fanfic #fanfiction #scorpius malfoy #albus severus potter #rose weasley #severus snape

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mythrilhusk · 3 years

Text

!!Kill Techno-sensei!! - Chapter Two

Words: 2,076 Chapter One (Last) AO3 Version Chapter 3 (Next)

The class absorbs the threat, stunned, hushed. Quackity clenches his fists. "Why the fuck would you do that?" His defiance shatters the silence.

"Because I can." Technoblade replies dismissively. "But I am here to teach, so please, open your textboo-"

"No." Quackity smirks, wearing a confidence he doesn't feel. "Why would you destroy the Earth? You're immortal, sure, but you seem like the kind of guy who's easily bored. What would you have left after your little temper tantrum?"

One floppy ear flicks irritably. "You see, the idea is, I'd die as well."

"If you want to die so fucking bad, why don't you just let us kill you, asshole?"

"That kinda defeats the purpose of the threat. You see, you're completely correct in your assessment. I am bored." Technoblade's light yet nearly monotone voice grates on Quackity's nerves. "I'm simply too good. Unbeatable, even. I've searched and searched, but haven't found a single worthy foe."

"So you failed!" Quackity crows, slamming his fist on the desk. Psychological warfare, baby.

Tommy takes up the jeer as well, "You failed, big man, ho, ho!! Eat shit!"

Technoblade scowls and buries his muzzle in the thick textbook. "Why don't we move on. Page three-hundre-"

"Move on?? Move on?? You killed my family, Technoblade, you fucking killed them all! I can't fucking move on from that!" Quackity snarls.

Exhaustion leaks from Technoblade's glower. "I've killed many families, Quackity. All for one goal."

"Fuck you and your motherfucking anarchy!! You think I'm scared of you?? I- I-" The words choke in Quackity throat as Technoblade stands up. He shrinks in his seat.

"Stay away from him." Sapnap growls.

Technoblade ignores the students completely, instead turning to the whiteboard and picking up a marker. "History is not circular."

"What's the fucking point." Quackity grumbles under his breath. There's no winning against a man who'd have no qualms about punting him.

"Nor is it straight."

"Pfft, knew it. Now everyone who hates history will get cancelled for being homophobic." Tommy somehow manages to both lighten the mood and make everything worse at the same time.

Technoblade doesn't get angry or annoyed, however. "Heh. History is pretty gay, not gonna lie. It's also-" He steps away from his crude drawing of a squiggly line, "a helix. History repeats itself in stages. Anyone want to guess why?"

Tommy leans back in his chair. "Because you're fucking dumb, that's why."

"Ranboo?" Technoblade addresses the creepy, quiet boy huddled over his desk in the back of the class.

"Uh- well-"

"Nothing ever stays the same, big guy." Tubbo interjects. "It's not as simple as stuffing it all into a one dimensional form. Who's to say it's even a line at all?"

Technoblade shrugs. "Fair, fair. Why don't y'all discuss."

With that, most of the tension in the room dissolves. Groups form as students gravitate towards their friends. Chatter fills the former silence. Quackity forces himself to join in, laughing and pretending like everything is normal again. But nothing about this is normal.

He can't kill Technoblade through sheer strength. But he could easily outwit him. The gears spin in his mind, working out a plot.

++++

The first week has gone by uneventfully. Nobody's tried to kill Technoblade yet, who in turn has behaved like a responsible teacher, refraining from punting anyone. It's so boring.

The last class of Friday ends with the bell, and the kids file out. Technoblade ignores the bitter glares from the little ‘gang’ that calls themselves Ducklings. They haven't attempted anything yet, and Technoblade doubts they'll ever find the guts to actually go through with their plots. Pity, really.

Tommy remains behind, trying to shoo Tubbo, who refuses to leave him. "Teacher!" Tommy stomps up to Techno and slams his notebook on the desk. He's a blustery scamp, but Technoblade has seen how he brightens the classroom and helps his peers.

"Tommy."

"Let me kill you."

"Us." Tubbo corrects.

"Let us kill you or else."

"Or?"

“I'll fail all my classes." Tommy grins, seeming confident he's found a bargaining chip. "And I'll tell everyone else to fail theirs, too. You'll be known as the worst fucking teacher to have ever teachered!"

"Oh, the horror." Technoblade deadpans. He's got to admit, the kid has guts. "You think I care?"

"You've gotta. You're our teacher, after all."

"K." Technoblade doesn't smile. "I'm afraid I can't just let you kill me."

"Then prepare to be failed upon!"

"But." Techno holds up a hand. "But, if you try to pass your classes, I will teach you how to kill me. Deal?"

Tubbo pipes up, "That will be adequate. Come on, Tommy."

Technoblade waits until both are out of the classroom. He doesn't feel guilty at all. What should he feel guilty for, after all? Simmering rage burns in his chest, a constant companion to the acid in his mind.

Next class, he promises himself. Next class, the training will begin. He'll be one step closer to achieving his goals.

Technoblade rises and lets his human form melt away. The voices in his head scream, as they always have, as they always will, hundreds of thousands of souls trapped in here with him. His eyes-- all millions of them-- blink open as his hundreds of wings unfurl. Anyone who could see him now might name him a beast or an angel, and either could be correct. But Technoblade knows both are false promises. Humans can't create beasts or angels, after all.

Demons, however, are apparently a different matter.

++++

Ranboo only went back to get his notebook. He can't forget his notebook; that is the one thing he's not allowed to forget. Shadows seep from every corner of the classroom. He shivers as he hastily scrambles to his desk.

His book isn't in his desk. Where is it?? He can't lose it. He rummages in the desk frantically. Where is it, where is it, where is it??

The window creaks, and Ranboo yelps, leaping away from the sudden draft. "Wh-who's there?"

"Hey." The kind voice greets him from the darkness. "You're out late."

"I- I just- uhh, who are you?"

"Who are you?"

"I- uhh, I'm Ranboo." He backs away to the door. On the floor, silver glints in a shaft of moonlight. The spiral of his notebook. Crap. The shadowed form leaps silently into the classroom and kneels to pick up the book. Crap, crap. "Uh- that's- that's mine, actually."

"Is it, now?" The gentle mockery in his tone sets Ranboo on edge.

"Yes, actually, so- so give it back. Please?"

The mysterious form opens Ranboo's book and flips through it. "Interesting. Alright." He hands it back to Ranboo, who snatches it and scrambles for the door. "Actually, Ranboo, I wanted to talk to you."

The words yank Ranboo to a halt. He wants to retort, he wants to say no, he wants to leave, but instead he turns back meekly. "Okay?"

"You're in class 3-E, yeah?"

"Y-yeah...?"

"Good. That's good. Do you want your teacher to die?"

"Huh?" Ranboo tenses, confused by the seeming non sequitor. "I- I mean." Does he want Technoblade to die? Does he want anyone to die, for that matter? "N-not necessarily?"

"Hm. Alright."

"Who are you?" Ranboo gathers what little courage he has and steps back towards the door.

"You, hm, you can call me Dream." The man steps out of the shadows. The mask over his face grins eerily at Ranboo. "I've got a proposition for you, Ranboo."

++++

"Metal melts in the bastard's skin, so anything with metal is a fucking waste of time." Quackity spreads the pages of his plan over the tree-house's table.

"Maybe he's a vampire." Karl offers, sitting on the table and messing up Quackity's perfect layout. "Try wood stakes and garlic."

"Vampires aren't real, dumbass." Connor rolls his eyes.

"Well, neither are immortal pig-men mutants, but here we are."

"He's a pig-man, not a vampire. Maybe try something for werewolves? Silver?" Sapnap joins in, swinging on the hammock.

"He's not a fucking werewolf!" Quackity shoves Karl off the table. "Or a vampire. He's a motherfucking demon, that asshole is, and we need to fucking kill him!"

"Language!!" The screech from the roof of the treehouse freezes everyone in place.

"Karl." Quackity says calmly. "Who the fuck did you invite to our secret hideout?"

"Nobody!" Karl cries.

"Connor?"

"He said he'd bring coke!" Connor cries.

A short man dressed in goth black and red accents drops through the window and smiles at the Ducklings. "I did, but the cans burst on the way."

"Not soda-"

"Language!!" The man cries again, shushing Connor. "You kids shouldn't mess with bad stuff, anyway."

"We don't." Quackity shoots a glare at Connor. "Anyway, it's none of your fucking business. Why the fuck are you here?? What do you want??"

"I, uhh, just thought I'd help with your problem." The man grins. "You want to kill your teacher, right?"

"Yeah? But-"

"Well, there you go! I can help you! Name's Bad, by the way. Badboyhalo."

"How can you help? And what do you want in return??"

"Oh, hmm, how about seventy-five percent of the bounty."

"Deal." Twenty-five percent of ten billion is still more than enough, and Quackity would prefer revenge on Technoblade over riches, anyway. "How do we kill him?"

"I've got associates working on that tiny problem. We stole- uh, developed a way to hurt him temporarily, but he can't be killed unless you hit his heart, and his regen powers are too strong to let you reach that with any weapons we currently possess."

"How the fuck do you know all this??"

Bad smirks. "Social networking."

++++

Ranboo paces in the chilly alleyway, reading and re-reading his book as shivers wrack his body. He found it. Good. Everything is fine, now. He's fine.

He shuts out the uneasiness caused by the blurry darkness over his memories. He's never had a good memory, which is why he has this book in the first place.

He huddles in the corner of the grimy alley to complete his homework, and wonders briefly why there's a second notebook in his backpack also marked 'Do Not Read'. Maybe he forgot he already had one. No worries. It's fine.

Everything is fine.

++++

"Class." Technoblade greets his students as they file in. Quackity glares at the monster. He's in his piggy form today, his cloak swishing across the ground.

"Rise." Tommy calls out the traditional honor given to teachers. But the class hadn't done this before for Technoblade. Quackity glances around at his fellow students, who all seem just as confused. He stands up. The others hesitantly follow his lead.

"Bow." Tommy sets the example of a shallow bow. Then he straightens and draws a revolver. "Lock on!"

Quackity stares as Tubbo, Eret, and Wilbur also draw out guns and take aim on Technoblade.

"Heh??" Technoblade chuffs in confusion.

"Target on Korosensei!" Tommy snaps out the order. "Fire!"

"Korosensei??" Quackity's disbelieving laugh is drowned out by the ringing cracks of the guns and the shrill shrieks of students.

"HEH??" Technoblade chuffs again amidst the chaos. Quackity makes the signal to his gang as they stay out of the line of fire.

"All stop!" Tommy barks. The gunfire ceases.

Technoblade stares at his class, a tusky smile cracking across his muzzle. "For your first assassination attempt, that was four stars, kids."

"Wow, that's really good!" Tubbo cheers and high-fives Tommy.

"Out of ten."

"Oh. Awww, come on, we deserve some credit for actually getting guns!"

"You missed." Technoblade replies. "And you ruined my whiteboard."

"That's your fault, innit, though, big man. If you'd've taken the bullets, the whiteboard would be alright."

"That's true, that's true." Technoblade's smile fades into a scowl. "But you also put your classmates in danger."

"They could've asked us what the plan was." Wilbur hums. "It's really their fault for sitting between us and you. And therefore it's your fault for assigning their seats there."

"True." Eret agrees. "It's all Korosensei's fault."

++++

Philza walks between his guards, Punz and Ponk, as the two escort him through the compound. "What happened?" He asks, faking calm.

"Technoblade added another term to our deal." President Skeppy walks backwards in front of Philza. Beside him, Awesamdude keeps a hand on his holstered revolver.

"Did he."

"He wants his class trained for assassination. In return, he told us his weakness."

"Hm." Philza smiles, hiding the whirlwind of chaos and bloodlust behind his eyes. "Pog."

@@@@ KOROSENSEI NEVER DIES @@@@

Chapter 3 (Next)

#technoblade #quackity #dream smp au #philza #ranboo #tommyinnit #tubbo #cw violence #cw threats #no ship

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mysticpetals · 4 years

Text

Roses and thorns

Pairing: Jake × player (Nora)

Genre: fluff, angst

Word count: 2.7k

Summary: Nora loves making Jake flustered but he isn't exactly complaining when he gets to see that smile on her face.

A/N: y'all....I finally finished it. Fair warning this diverges a little from canon but the Hannah disappearance and investigation arc is still there. The player doesn't know Jake is the hacker's name. I took some writer's liberty with Jake's character since we don't know much about him (except I'll die for him), so I hope that's okay! And lastly, I'm sorry for that ending butttt I'm not that cruel usually. It's just this once. Maybe. All the characters belong to everybyte, I have no claim over them.

Nora breathed deeply as she saw the 'Welcome to Duskwood' sign. She couldn't believe that she was really going through with it.

On the way to her aunt's house, she stopped at a flower shop. It had been a long time since she had seen her aunt and from what she could remember, she was a sweet lady who loved receiving flowers. Her dad told her to get lilies because according to him, it reminded her of her past girlfriend who had died due a chronic disease. After her, her aunt had never been interested in dating and instead, chose to live in Duskwood by herself, running her sweet shop.

Nora stepped out of the car and couldn't avoid the shiver due to the much colder weather. She should have brought some warmer clothes, she mused. The city was much warmer than here, maybe due to industries or the ever increasing cars but she had to admit that Duskwood had its own charm.

The gentle breeze that caressed her face made her feel more alive than she had felt in a long time. Maybe staying cooped up in her small apartment might not have been the best way to work but it's not like she had to go to an office or something. All she needed was her tablet and computer and she was good to go.

The bell chimed loudly as she opened the door to the shop. The interior was very colorful, as expected from a flower shop, and her eyes trailed over all the beautiful arrangements that were displayed. Along the wall, there were shelves filled with flowers of all types and Nora instantly felt her mood brighten.

"Hello and welcome to Plumes. How can I help you?"

Nora turned towards the voice and found a guy with tousled black hair and glasses, smiling politely at her. Though, once he got a good look at her, the smile faltered.

"Oh, hi! I was hoping I could get a simple bouquet of lilies, would that be possible?" She smiled at the guy and he quickly snapped out of his stupor.

"Yes, of course. Do you need it now or…?" He moved behind the shelves, ducking his head and looking for lilies.

"Now, actually. But please take your time, I'm in no rush," she said and proceeded to check out the rows of cards placed in the corner.

Jake couldn't believe that he was seeing Nora, in Duskwood of all places. Why was she here in the first place? The timing was really bad for someone to come here out of the blue, especially when they didn't have many visitors in the first place. At least she didn't know who he was. It was only a small relief but nonetheless, Jake decided to get to know her reasons for coming.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, what brought you here?" He asked, cutting up the larger stems to fit into the bouquet.

"Oh, I'm here to visit someone." Her reply came and Jake frowned. She wasn't here to visit Jessy or the others, was she? If so, it was incredibly naive on her part when any one of them could be Hannah's kidnapper. He didn't know what to say but thankfully, Nora saved him from accidentally saying something that could give out his identity.

"This is a cool place. A lot different than the city," she said, done with choosing a card and took a green pen from the stand on the counter.

"That's definitely a first. Usually, people are trying to get out of here," Jake said, finished with wrapping the flowers in the paper and proceeded to cut a ribbon to tie it up.

He heard her hum in answer and peaked his head from behind the shelves to watch Nora writing on the card. He quickly turned around when she raised her head, cheeks heating up at being caught looking. After decorating the paper with the ribbon and putting a few final touches to make sure everything was in its proper place, Jake brought the bouquet with him to the counter and placed it down gently. Nora looked at it with awe and satisfaction and he felt happy that his skills had lived up to her expectations. Well, one set of skills at least.

"That's really pretty, thank you…" she trailed off, waiting for him to supply a name. Since everyone knew everyone in the town, his employer hadn't seen any use for a nametag. He hesitated for a quick second before telling his name.

"Thank you, Jake." Her smile widened and Jake's cheeks blossomed with a rosy blush. It was hard enough trying to maintain his distance while chatting and now that she was here in person, looking at him with eyes full of merriness, Jake felt as if things had gotten a lot more complicated.

———

Nora's aunt loved the flowers she had gotten and couldn't contain her excitement at having someone in the house other than her pet cat, Nox. She made Nora tell all about her big city life and how her parents were doing. All throughout the chat, she was feeding her all sorts of chocolates and pastries, asking about their texture and flavour and Nora was only too happy to comply. Her aunt had been responsible for her sweet tooth after all.

At night, as she settled in bed after having a shower and drying her hair, her phone lit up with a text notification and she was surprised to see that it was the hacker who had messaged her.

Hacker [9:30pm]

Hey, Nora.

How was your day?

She read the message and raised an eyebrow in disbelief. He had never messaged her first and now that he did, he's talking as if he's greeting an old friend. She typed out her reply after thinking about it for a while.

Nora [9:32pm]

It was...fine. nothing too exciting

Oh! I met a cute guy today

Hacker [9:32pm]

Oh, you did? That's nice.

Nora [9:33pm]

Don't worry though! I only have eyes for you ;)

Her screen showed that he was typing and erasing his text and she chuckled, imagining him blushing and not knowing what to say. He was so much fun to rile up, especially since he got flustered so easily.

Hacker [9:35pm]

I'm looking up on another lead I found.

If you find anything on Hannah's cloud related to a therapist, send it to me.

Nora pouted. He was basically ignoring her very obvious attempt at flirting and she did not appreciate it.

Nora [9:35pm]

You're no fun :(

I'm pretty tired today but I'll search through her cloud tomorrow

Good night!

She received a simple 'okay' and 'goodnight' in return and the hacker went offline again. That had to be the weirdest conversation they had and their whole relationship was built on strangeness.

She shrugged off the messages and fluffed up the covers. Right now, sleep was calling and who was she to deny it?

———

The next few days were spent indoors, with her aunt busy with a birthday order, she opted to work on Hannah's cloud as well as her commissions at the same time.

Sketching out the last details of a virtual character, she sighed with exhaustion when she was finally satisfied with it. Her phone pinged with a flurry of new messages and she leaned back on the couch, picking it up.

It was from the group chat with everyone and Lilly was creating trouble. 'Voting' to keep her involved or not. Couldn't she and everyone else for that matter see that she and the hacker guy had been trying to help as much as they could, and in her case, not even knowing any of them in the first place.

It was rather hurtful to know that nobody trusted her enough to vote 'yes' the first time around. But Dan voting for her made a smug smile spread across her face. Lilly and Thomas were definitely not okay with that and logged off immediately. She began to wonder if the hacker hadn't sent that video message in their group, would they have the same reaction as now?

She wrote a reply, not really paying attention to her words and locked her phone, flinging it towards the other end of the couch. Running her hands through her hair in frustration, she debated on what to do. She had tried to be forthcoming about everything but it really irked her that this was what she got for trying to help.

Her pettiness won out in the end and before Nora knew it, she had already snatched up her car keys and phone, on her way to the only flower shop in Duskwood.

———

Jake had been slacking on the job and he wasn't afraid to admit it.

The past few day's events plagued his mind. Nora hadn't texted him, ever since a short 'thank you' when he sent that intimidating video to her friend's group chat. She was online but barely responded to any messages and it made him a little worried. She was not the quiet sort of person and he was anxious as to whether she was feeling okay or not.

He glanced up from his phone, debating whether to message her or not, when the door opened and in walked Nora herself. It was afternoon so she had forgone her coat and was instead dressed in a casual attire of hoodie and jeans.

She smiled as she saw he was looking at her and Jake quickly locked his phone, putting it on the counter and greeted her.

"Didn't know I'll see you again so soon here," he said, with a hint of teasing and Nora shook her head.

"Neither did I. But here we are." She shrugged.

"Do you want a bouquet again?" He asked curiously. He hadn't expected her so soon at all. Whoever she was visiting must be really fond of flowers. That or she just came to see him. He tried not to linger on that last thought.

Nora's lips curled into a smirk, a devilish glint in her eyes and Jake swallowed nervously. She looked positively sinful with that expression, leaning across from him and he felt himself flushing slightly.

"Oh, yes. But not something typical. I'd like to have a bouquet made of flowers that say 'I hope you go to hell' or 'fuck you'."

Jake couldn't help the surprised laughter that bubbled past his lips at her words.

"That's oddly specific."

Nora shrugged again but a playful smile still rested upon her face.

"Well, someone did piss me off so…"

"Someone from here?" He tilted his head and watched as she stiffened. At least she was careful with what she revealed.

"Not really. I'm going back the day after tomorrow and figured the flowers would be okay for a day. Will they be okay?" She frowned.

Jake tried not to show his disappointment at that. Was she really going back or was it just a lie because he asked who they were for? He was pretty sure they were for Lilly and now he regretted asking her and making her uncomfortable.

"Oh, yeah they'll be fine. Again, would you like it now or…" he trailed off.

"I can wait!" She smiled and plopped down on a chair in front of the large window.

Jake quietly headed for the backroom, chuckling to himself while choosing the flowers that would successfully deliver her rage from earlier.

Meanwhile, Nora quickly got bored of sitting around and decided to message the hacker guy. She hadn't really talked to him these past few days and was itching for any conversation with him. Snapping a photo of the floral display, she sent it to him, knowing he'll probably figure out that she was in Duskwood now. The buzz of a phone on the counter grabbed her attention. Jake must have left it here before going to get the flowers.

She hesitated and quickly sent another text saying 'hello', raising her eyebrows when the phone buzzed again. Curiosity won and she made her way to the counter and saw her name flashing on the screen.

She grinned.

It was fifteen minutes later that Jake came back with a beautiful bouquet in hand. How he had managed to make 'fuck you' look so good, Nora might never know. He was surprised to see that she hadn't moved from her position on the chair at all but let it go without much thought.

"Ah, thank you so much, Jake!" She chirped brightly, coming to stand in front of the counter and looking at his work.

"It's no trouble." He ducked his head shyly, not being used to the praise. The townspeople were much more distant and mostly parted with a simple thank you. It was refreshing to hear that someone appreciated his more known set of skills.

"Seriously, this is so beautiful. I almost don't want to give it up." Nora didn't have any trouble communicating her genuine thoughts and now that she knew who he was, she wanted to have a little fun.

She dashed to the shelves and picked out a fully bloomed rose and put in on the counter. Despite his confusion, he rang up the rose along with everything and relayed the total amount to Nora.

She paid him and picked up the bouquet, giving him a smile and headed for the door.

"Wait! You forgot the rose." He held up the single flower but Nora just grinned.

"Ah, did I forget to mention? That's for you."

She laughed in delight at the blush that spread rapidly across his cheeks and giving him a final wink, stepped out of Plumes.

Jake covered his face with his hands and groaned loudly. Nora was going to be the death of him but he found himself thinking that maybe he wouldn't mind it, after all.

———

Jake looked at the text Nora sent him earlier, sitting in front of his computer. The rose she had given him was in a glass full of water beside his bed. Why would she send him the photo of the flowershop? Did she want him to know that she was in Duskwood?

He didn't know what to reply so he simply sent a 'pretty' and waited for her to say something. He felt himself smile when he watched the three dots on his creen, signaling she was typing. They talked about Hannah for a while before the conversation took a more personal turn.

Nora [8:45pm]

I don't want you to go.

Jake's breath hitched at the message, heart beating rapidly. How Nora managed to have this much effect on him through a screen was almost unbelievable to him. He bit his lip and the events of the past week came rushing through his mind, making him confused.

Did she like the 'Hacker' or the flower shop employee 'Jake'? He felt frustrated with the situation and himself, not knowing what to feel. He wished they could talk simply, without any investigation involved.

Nora [8:46pm]

You know, I like you

He scanned the message with furrowed eyebrows. If Nora liked him, why was she flirting with 'Jake'? He poured out all his frustration and insecurities in his reply, watching as she still tried to convince him that this–whatever he and Nora had–was okay.

He didn't want to be hurt, nor did he want to hurt her, so he did what he thought was right. The messages were almost painful to write and he shut his phone as soon as he sent them.

Rubbing his palms over his eyes, he focused on the computer in front of him. His goal was to find Hannah, he didn't need any distractions.

It was morning when he picked up his phone again, eyes scanning the last text Nora sent.

Nora [9:00pm]

I'm sorry Jake

I won't bother you about this again.

His heart almost stopped at the use of his name. How did she know? More importantly, what had he done?

#duskwood #duskwood game #everbyte #everbyte duskwood #jake #jake × player #jake × mc #duskwood fanfic #duswook fanfiction

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yanderecandystore · 4 years

Note

dude sheepy do u know abt corpse party? if theres rumors abt the delinquent school being haunted, imagine smth kind of like that in that school, but like with less gore. maybe even a ghost love interest. maybe!!! the reader is one of jacks goons and!! love triangle?? i gotta go

Let me throw in not only one, but two new characters in the mix because I'm a masochist.

Jack my boy, I'm sorry, but you have some competition. Also no, Bucky isn't one of the "official characters" (as in, there won't be any requests available for him).

🍭꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍰꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖🍭

Hidden, forgotten, and starving [Yandere!Delinquent x Goon!Reader x Yandere!Ghost boy x (Fuck, another possible Yandere!oc??)]:

(Non-binary reader btw)

You know, when your leader said something along the lines of "Meet me up in 9 p.m", you thought it was going to be something fun. Maybe you and the gang would be able to hangout without having to be on school grounds, or on a dark nasty alley.

But, nah, that was only wishful thinking.

Jack's type of fun is a little different from the normal person's type of fun. Is surprisingly really violent for someone who's is kinda small, and has such a pretty face.

Not, that you have noticed or anything.

Hell, one of these days he said he would burn a whole corporation and drag some rich family's name into the mud for, pissing him off? You guess?? He was ranting, so none of you actually payed attention.

Again, he may be a little short, but that anger in his soul is something no human can comprehend. Where were you? Oh yeah, he didn't call the gang to play some games and have fun, he had called y'all to beat the shit out of some other gang….

On school grounds…..

At night.

"- …. You know this isn't a good idea, right?"

You asked him if he was sure, but he didn't say anything. He was focused on only one goal.

Entering inside the school isn't really hard. If anything, is pretty easy, jump the horribly placed iron fence. Ya done. Welcome to Saint Bernard's School for Little Prodigies! Where everything sucks, and everyone is insane!

"- It isn't so bad! There are a lot of cool things hidden in this place… There are so many legends that graduated from this school!" Your fellow gang member and also local himbo sweetheart, Bucky, (is actually Benedict, but he doesn't really like that name), said it.

"- I don't think so…" You said honestly. You don't really think you, Bucky, Jack and the others are going to find anything special except dust and old shit. The only thing that will spice this night is this gang meet up or whatever.

"- Come on, it will be fun! We can search the school and find all type of old stuff!" You look at how excited he is, and although you love him dearly, you can't help but still have difficulty to enjoy this whole situation.

"- Bucky….. it's old stuff."

"- I know right! Can you go with me [Y/N]-"

"- Oh my God- Shut up!" Jack yelled. He was getting impatient with your whole conversation. He had only came here to show some girl gang that this school doesn't have any space for them. Not to see…. You and that imbecile talking about stupid shit.

When he yelled he did seem to mention it more towards Bucky than you. It's not that he doesn't like him, it's just that he-

"- [Y/N], come here!" Jack yelled again, calling you to get closer.

You go towards him, as he asks you to look around and see if you can see anyone. But no one seems to be near the school grounds, and you can't see any motorcycle girl's gang anywhere.

"- Why exactly are we going to fight them again?" You ask, tired more than usual of Jack's odd behavior. Or well, usual behavior.

"- …." Silence. He doesn't answer you, but his expressions changes a little. Fuck, why can't you just follow his lead without questioning everything.

…

No, he shouldn't have thought that, ever. Y'all are your own people, you don't need to hear him, he prefers when you guys decide for yourselves. Well mostly the other ones, when it comes to you, he has a hard time acknowledging how he doesn't like how you head in into danger without hearing him.

He never stops to actually think about this stuff, maybe today he just….. feel a little more on edge than usual.

After seeing that neither you or the rest will just drop the question, he answered.

"- …. Sigh. The leader of the other gang wants to be the new Little Miss Red." He said unbothered, while everyone had an extreme reaction, you were left wondering who the fuck was Little Miss Red.

Sounds like a anime villain, or something like that.

"- [Y/N]!! Y-you don't w-who Little, L-little-"

Bucky was trying to ask you so hard, but he couldn't stop stuttering with excitement and fear. Jack is having none of his dumb attitude today.

"- Speak up. Little Miss Red." He said, harshly. What is wrong with him today?

"- S-sorry Jack. Little Miss Red was the first student to form a gang and dominate the entire school!" He is excited to tell you everything he knows. He may be a little troublemaker, but is mostly because he really admires Lil Red and her story (even if most was left far away from public sight).

"- Oh, really?" You're not gonna lie, you wished you were sleeping at home. You wished you heard about this chick on another day. You can't be bothered right now. So what? Some girl wants to be the new Red? What do you have to do with it?

"- She wants to dominate the school, dumbass." Another one of your group said. Fuck that guy, you can't even remember his name, you're really tired.

"- If not the whole entire neighborhood around the school." Said Jack.

"- Well, I'm pretty sure they aren't coming, how about we just go home then-"

A loud noise came from inside the school. You guys could see a little bit of light coming from outside the windows.

"- Are they inside?" You ask.

"- We were supposed to meet outside." Jack responded.

….

Silence.

And then, of course, since you guys really needed an encouragement to get inside that hell place, all of you heard a disturbing, inhuman scream. And after that, a female voice calling for help.

"- …. We, are going in, or…?"

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

Like, this is a really, really dumb idea. Normally when someone hears a terrible noise and then a call for help, it only ends up being a terrible sign.

"- Going towards the monster, nice plan." You said sarcastically. It's not that you're afraid of monsters….. You just don't want to meet one, in person.

"- Monsters aren't real." Jack said.

"- … But if you really are scared, then come here."

"- Sure."

You walked closer to Jack, that was leading the way towards the corridors. His phone's flashlight being extremely useful.

Something is bugging his mind ever since you all entered school grounds. He feels like Bucky is getting a little too friendly with you, and although he shouldn't be mad about something so stupid, he can't stop thinking about this.

He needs to concentrate, but he can't stop worrying about Bucky losing his guard and you-

"- Hey, I think we should separate."

...

"- … What?"

He is being a dumbass.

"- Why though? What if we can't find each other?"

He only wants to ask you a simple question, but is such a stupid question. He needs everyone to go away so you two can talk.

"- Let's divide into two groups, I'll go with [Y/N], y'all can go upstairs and check it out."

"- But that's not even equally divided-"

"- I said, go upstairs-"

…

Again.

Another scream. That same female voice, it sounds so close, coming from the other hall.

But then another one, a male voice coming from…. Everywhere.

He sounds desperate, he says that someone should get him out.

"- Hello? Who's there?" Bucky asked.

"- You know, you shouldn't ask ghosts questions, they can start fucking stuff up man." One of the other members said.

"- Oh, but they sound in pain, shouldn't we help-"

"- Please… I don't want to stay here…" The male voice said. His voice is starting to crack, he is crying.

His voice is coming from somewhere really close.

"- Argh!" You all turned your backs to see a girl in leather jacket trying to crawl. She finally notice that she wasn't alone.

"- Help!-" Hands covered her mouth, her face, her arms, it started dragging her backwards.

You guys were going to follow her, when again.

"- Please, open this door…." You heard him, he was in agony. You couldn't leave him alone.

Jack and the others were following the girl, while you kept walking down the hallway. Following the voice.

You felt like you needed to help him. Desperately. He was going to die if you didn't. To you it felt like ages as you walked slowly to the janitor's closet.

Walking silently, trying to hear his pleads. He got louder and louder the more you came closer to his prison.

You found the janitor's closet. The door was shaking with the pounds of the boy.

"- GET ME OUT GET ME OUT GET ME OUT GET ME OUT GET ME OUT-"

You opened the door. It wasn't locked. It hadn't been locked since a long time.

You finally woke up from, whatever the hell happened to you just now. But you don't think you're a 100% fine, tho.

You can only hear a deafening silence. There is no one here. There is nothing here except for old paper on the ground.

You walked in, slowly, afraid that if you took a bad step you would suddenly fuck something up.

You kneeled down, looking at the documents in the ground. You, suddenly feel a little too eager to read them.

Maybe you're just feeling really curious.

There are old newspapers, all saying something about Saint Bernard's School for Little Prodigies. Some saying something about Little Miss Red, others about the school bad conditions and somehow involvement into the Amaryllis Academy's school foundation.

You found a couple of notes cut into pieces, some are not easy to read. Others are really simple and, although you would normally find really boring to read this kind of stuff, you have a odd feeling reading them.

It's two friends talking over paper messages. They seem to be in class and can't let the teacher know they're not paying attention. They talk about meeting after school, and having plans on a Saturday. It doesn't have a exact date on the paper, but you can see the paper is pretty old and dirty.

It sounds like a normal friendship. One of them even said:" I have something really important to tell you, but I can't really tell you in person since I'm really shy about this stuff. I'll tell you this Saturday, I promise."

You found old photos of students on the ground. Most are market with a red marker. Crosses all over their faces. But the are only two that you can see the face of.

A chubby black girl, big curly hair, wearing glasses. She is looking really awkward in this picture, as if she didn't want to take it. She is wearing the same blue jacket you're using right now.

The other one, however.

Is the same chubby black girl. Her hair has red streaks on it, and she isn't wearing the blue jacket, but rather a red vest, with fishnets under going from her shoulder, to her hands. You almost thought they weren't the same person, one looks shy and awkward, but somehow really sweet, the other one is straight up giving whoever was the cameraman the middle finger. Her faces says how done she is with everyone's bullshit.

You like this girl. You guess this is the girl you heard about.

And the last thing you found. Was a cut article about, some student that was found dead out of nowhere on this school.

His body was inside this closet.

You didn't notice, but time suddenly stopped when you enter in the janitor's closet. It didn't stop literally, but you didn't felt like it was running normally.

On a moment you were seeing a girl being dragged by some hands, and now your reading some old creepy stuff.

Which reminded you-

"- [Y/N]! Where are you?" Jack asked, his voice was somewhere distant.

"- Wait, guys I'm here!"

You get up as fast as you can, but it didn't matter.

As soon as you return to reality after reading about your cursed school, you felt the sudden realization that they didn't see you going the other way. Hell, you didn't even help that girl that was being fucking dragged!

Before you can escape this terrible place, the door closes.

And it locks itself.

"- No, no, no, no, no, guys! Come on, I'm here, you idiots!"

You bang the door and scream as loud as you can. No one can hear you.

"- Goddammit."

You start packing, thinking they might leave you here if you don't do something. But before you can think of a way out, the realization of you not being the only one inside there, hits you really hard.

"- …. He-help!" You heard it. That same male voice from before. Closer than ever. He sounds like he is right behind you.

Yet his voice sounds hoarse. Timid, yet cold.

You turn around to look at your company, you see a student, just like you, curled up into a ball, holding his stomach. He is murmuring nonsense….

You try to get closer.

Hey, maybe he is lost…?

You can see he is a latino boy with long hair, tied as a low ponytail. He is shaking uncontrollably.

"- I'm- I'm so hungry. Please, let me go."

He managed to say out loud.

"- Hey, are you alright? I can help you, we just need to get out of this closet, I can buy you something, okay?"

What happened to this poor guy? He seems traumatized.

"- Pl-please!"

He stutters again. You came closer, putting your hand on his shoulder.

"- I'm going to help you, okay?"

You say.

He stopped shaking. He stopped talking. He stopped hyperventilating. He stopped breathing.

He is extremely cold.

Before you can react, you're pinned to the ground. The ghost boy on top of you, salivating like a mad man.

"- Hey! Get off!" You don't want to believe this guy is dead. Ghosts aren't real. Monsters aren't real, right??

He is breathing even faster than before. Like there isn't enough air on his lungs.

Believe it or not, he truly doesn't want to do this.

"- ….. I'm sorry." He apologized before biting your neck.

"- What?-Aaaaargh!-"

For a ghost guy, he does feel really real! It hurts a lot!! What is he a vampire or a ghost?

You're bleeding. He isn't trying to suck your blood, he is trying to tear your skin.

You can hear his stomach growling.

And you can also hear Jack searching for you. You manage to free yourself from the ghosts grip and move yourself away for a bit.

"- Jack? JACK! Help!- Argh, fuck! Get off!"

Only to have him try to tear your arm away. He isn't doing a good job at this though.

"- I'm sorry. I-I'm really sorry!" You look and see him crying.

"- Well, then let me-"

A unholy screech comes from you. He broke your arm, at first he didn't seem so strong, but after feeling him digging his fingers into your arm and rotating it, you can tell he really is trying to tear your arm away.

He could have done this quicker. But he didn't want to do this to begin with! He swears, he doesn't like doing this…

For your luck, your scream is heard. You can see the door shaking and hear Jack screaming for you on the other side.

Ghost boy got distracted by it. Usually, there isn't anyone at night. Actually, he is the whole reason there isn't any night classes.

Too many students and staff members suddenly going missing at night time.

It's good to meet new people. He used to think so. He misses having company.

He misses not endlessly consuming people to satisfy an endless hunger.

"- Jack!" You took advantage of the boy's distraction, and decided to get away from him. You kicked him, but your foot passed right through him.

You still managed to get away and reach the door. You looked back, thinking he was chasing you.

He wasn't. He didn't want to. He could, but he really didn't want to.

He only said his goodbye towards you, still apologizing for what happened.

You were too surprised by the boy's action, that you collided with Jack when he opened the door.

"- Ouch- Really? You missed me this much [Y/N]?"

You can't respond. You're hyperventilating like you just runned a marathon.

"- Hey, are you alright? I heard you screaming, are you hurt?"

You remember your arm was broken, and that's when you realize, it's really painful. Yet you can't really find the right words right now.

"- [Y/N]?!"

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

Jack brought you home after the whole incident happened. Turns out the girl that was getting dragged was actually the leader of the gang you were supposed to fight off.

Janette, the girl's name, was "playing a little prank on everyone", cause you know, that's really funny when everyone is scared as hell.

The fight was still going to happen, but Jack couldn't care less about that or her, he only wanted take care of your broken arm. Janette didn't really complain, she didn't understand how the hell you managed to get your arm broken, but she didn't want to fight anyone that was already in disadvantage.

Although being someone that wanted to pick a fight with all of you, Janette helped you out with your broken arm and bleeding caused by the ghost boy.

She is apparently really talented when it comes to dealing with this stuff, you can tell she has been through a lot, looking at her scarred face.

She is really pretty for someone so build. Damn, that actually makes her more pretty though.

Oh, and about the ghost. No one fucking believes you. They all think you either were hallucinating or just "saw things because you were scared".

You tried to explain how you got hurt, but when you mentioned a ghost, absolutely no one understood what you were talking about.

Anyway, you had a long night. You need some rest. In the morning you'll explain what happened to everyone.

Even if you yourself can't tell what really went down while you were at school.

Your mind keeps re-telling you what the ghost had told you before you left.

"- I'm sorry. I was really hungry."

🍭꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍰꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖🍭

#yandere #sheep stuff #yandere x reader #yandere oc #special delivery headcanons #yandere delinquent #yandere delinquent x reader #yandere ghost #speciak delivery fanfiction #yandere oc x reader #yandere oc fanfiction #yandere ghost x reader

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aromantic-romance-writer · 4 years

Text

Giyu Tomioka x Fem! Reader [A happiness that I can never leave]

Read Chapter 202 and I thank the heavens that it didn't make me cry too much.

But the sight of a bloody Giyu breaks my heart. Y'all had no idea how painful it was for me when I saw him cry ;;;;

So I leave you, A GIYU X READER

Enjoy!

Crunch. Crunch. The snow crunched with every step the Water Pillar took. Such a pure color, the snow. He was envious of it. He was tainted, impure. He bears so much sorrow and suffering everyday. But it wasn't as much as burden he has to carry on his shoulders every single day.

His mismatched haori was a weight on his shoulders. It symbolizes his guilt. That he's a fake. That he doesn't deserve a position to save lives, as he was the reason why his own best friend died.

He stops for a moment, listening carefully. A distant cry of a woman.

...Then again, the snow can be tainted with different impurites and evil, such as...

Blood.

He starts running, following the trail. Faster. Faster. He can't let anyone else die this time.

The woman was covered in her dead mother and brother's blood, as well as her own. She has used the last of her strength from summoning a cry for help.

"We both know your efforts are useless." She trembled against the cold, and under the blood-thirsty eyes of a demon.

"Don't look at me like that, sweetheart." the demon smiled, sharp and blood-stained teeth exposed. The woman's vision is getting blurry as she clutched on to her side, trying to stop the bleeding of the wound. He caressed her cheek, making her flinch. "You're making this hard for the both of us. That must hurt. I can make the pain go--" he stops mid-sentence, wide-eyed. He quickly stood up and cursed to himself. He gave her one last look of loathing, before running away.

She can finally relax. Even just a little bit. She couldn't feel the pain anymore. She stared at her dead mother and brother, who were trying to protect each other. Hot tears stung her eyes. She's alone. Alone in this cruel world. And she'll die alone as well. Without anyone knowing. But it didn't matter. She's ready to see her mother and brother again. She closed her eyes, giving in to the arms of death.

Then footsteps. They were getting closer. She felt a pair of arms carry her. She no longer felt cold, despite the cold wind gently hitting her face. She slightly open her eyes to meet blue orbs staring down at her with guilt and sorrow.

Such sad eyes her saviour had...

"I'm sorry I was too late."

° ° °

Your eyes flutter open, and quickly sat up. Suddenly, a sharp pain surged from your abdomen's side. You hiss in pain. A wound? Why would you have a wound? You scanned the unfamiliar room. Where are you?

Who are you?

Why don't you remember anything?

You thought hard. No, you remember who you are. Well, you remember your name at least. It was [L/N] [Y/N]. But that's about it.

No...and a pair of sad eyes. Ocean eyes that carried waves and tides of sorrow and guilt.

That's some useless info to remember.

Were you kidnapped? Is that why you have a wound? Is your father rich and a bunch of bad people kidnapped you to blackmail him?

"I see you're awake."

"AH!" You grab the blanket and attempt to hide yourself, only to discontinue and hold your wound, jeering in pain.

The man walks over to you. You noticed that he was wearing...what was that?

"You're wearing a demon slayer unifrom...did you save me from a demon?" you ask him.

He looked away and nodded.

"I see..." You mumble. "Well, I don't remember what happened, but thank you." you bow.

He turn his head back to you in such a fast motion, you thought his head would snap off. "You...you don't remember anything?" he asks. You nod. "Not even your...family?" You nod again. Wherever they are though, you hope that they're okay.

For a moment, Giyu wanted to switch places with you. He wants to forget his pain as well. He wants to remember nothing from his past, as well as why was he wearing this haori in the first place.

But then he reminded himself that losing all your memories was not a miracle. It was a bad thing to happen to a person. But then again, it's one of the reasons why he wants to switch places with you.

It was a cruel thing that can happen to anyone, and he thinks he deserves it.

The man was looking down. You saw his eyes. Deep, and empty. You wonder whose sad and guilty eyes were they in your memory. "May I know your name?"

He looks back at you, as if snapping him from his train of thought. "There is no need to know my name. Once you're fully recovered, you are to leave this place."

His already empty eyes just turned into an abyss of nothingness that came with his deadpan expression. Yet you smiled. "Then let me call my saviour by his name until then."

He thinks for a moment. "Giyu. Tomioka Giyu."

Your smile becomes warm, making the raventte unaware that something awoke inside of him. "Nice to meet you, Giyu-san. I'm [L/N] [Y/N]."

° ° °

You were alone in the residence of Giyu. He said that he is needed somewhere, but never told you when he'll be back or where did he go. You just assumed he was on a mission. For the rest of the morning, you forced yourself to remember at least one memory. It can be anything. As long as you know even just one bit of yourself.

You groan in frustration. Nothing - absolutely nothing - is coming to mind.

"All this thinking is useless!" you exclaim to yourself. "Maybe I should do something for Tomioka-san as thanks before he gets home. He did save my life, after all." You proceeded to stand--

Bad idea.

Sharp pain surged from your side. You gasp in pain. You weren't gonna give up now. As long as you still can, you will do it.

You try to stand, and each time, you fall to your knees or bottom. Little beads of sweat starts to form on your forehead as you sigh in exhaustion. You were determined. When you saw his eyes, a fire lit up inside you.

Why must a hero have such pitiful eyes?

"One last try, I...swear..." You wheezed. You used your right leg as a base and proceeded to stand once again, until you were standing on both legs. You smiled to yourself as you wiped your sweat with your sleeve. "Hopefully, I know how to cook."

° ° °

Giyu was standing in front of the shoji. He scanned the wooden bottle Koccho had given him.

"Let her drink this. Make sure she doesn't strain herself. It's only been three days. She's your responsibility now, Tomioka-san."

He wanted to wipe that shit-eating grin off her face.

He enters the home, and immediately smells the aroma of newly cooked food. You weren't supposed to stand yet.

He rushes to the kitchen to see it clean, like no one has been using it.

And you cleaned his kitchen? How nosy.

He heads to the dining area and sees the dinner you have cooked for him on the kotatsu. But you weren't there.

He finds you in the spare room where you usually sleep, passed out. He sees the little blood stained on your clothes.

He takes a new set of bandages and rushes to your side. He puts your head on his lap and examined your wound. He proceeds to change the bandage as you stirred. Luckily, no much damage.

"Are you a fool? Why would you force yourself to do these nonsense things?" He scolds you.

Your eyes flutter open. Deep blue eyes...full of worry and irritation. "Because you deserved it." you muster up a kind smile.

Giyu remains silent. No, he doesn't deserve this. He doesn't deserve your efforts. Why would you waste your energy on someone who failed to save your family? On someone who failed to protect the people he loves?

He realized that you have fallen asleep, snoring lightly. He carefully moves you on the futon. He can't help but think of how stupid you are to cook for him. He stands and walks back to the dining area. He stares at the udon that made.

"Not even well-presented." He huffs.

In the end, he eventually ate the dinner you have prepared for him.

° ° °

It's been three weeks. Giyu hasn't left his home since then. He doesn't visit your room. When he does, it's only to give you your medicine and food. You don't complain. He's actually good at cooking.

On your first week, you practiced walking. It was much less painful this time and you can stand without straining yourself. At first, you practiced on your own inside your room. Then Giyu caught you. You looked kind of helpless, leaning on the wall like that. You don't lean on walls, you lean on people.

He almost wished he was one of the people you can lean on.

"Can you walk now?" He quickly puts your food down next to your futon and rushes over to you, leaving you shocked at how fast he was. "Don't force yourself."

Giyu genuinely cares. Everytime he would visit, you would always smile and thank him. Sometimes, you would ask about his day and tell him that your memories aren't back yet when he doesn't even ask. Soon, he's become fond of your smile that he even stays for a while after visiting you. At first, you weren't used to it, but you too have become fond of his presence.

"No, I can handle it." you smile. Why do you keep smiling? He hesitantly offers his hand. Why is he doing this?

You stared at it at first, before realizing what he meant. You gladly took it and he leads the way outside.

You become temporarily blind until your eyes adjusts to the sunlight. As if your smile wasn't bright enough, it becomes radiant this time. You close your eyes to inhale the fresh breeze.

Giyu just stared. He was honestly glad that you don't remember anything yet. What would he do if you found out that he wasn't able to save your family? Truthfully, he was afraid. Afraid that your smile might turn into a rage towards him, and may never forgive him. It's like that smile found its way to the door to his heartm, and have unlocked one of many padlocks that are yet to open.

It's been like that for another week; holding and guiding you, helping you balance yourself, and staying under the sun just for a few minutes before heading back inside. The next week, you can walk without his support. It made you so happy that you jumped around and even danced a little.

It hurt, but not as much. You were starting to think that you were a bother to him, so you decided to show him that you're okay, even when you're not.

For the first time in years, Giyu smiled. Watching you be so happy was such a sight for him. What he would give to keep seeing you this happy...

You finally stopped, careful not to overdo it.

You turn to face him, gasping for air. He quickly turned away, regaining his expressionless features. "Wait, Giyu-san, were you smiling?" you ask with a cheeky grin.

"No, I wasn't." he says, monotone.

"You definitely were though!"

"Stop deluding yourself."

"Psh, whatever you say." you turn away with your hands behind your back. Your expression turned solemn. "I guess this means I have to leave now." Not that you were actually fully recovered, since it still hurts a bit when you jumped around. It just seemed like he was eager for you to leave on the first day.

To be honest, you didn't want to leave. You can't imagine spending a day without seeing him.

"You don't have anywhere to go, do you?" You didn't notice that he was already beside you. You stare at him and shake your head. He stays silent.

Does that mean you can stay?

Apparently, it does.

It's your third week, and you're watching Giyu train. You have made onigiri as a snack for him.

"Giyu-san!" you call him. He stops swinging his sword and walks over to you. He sits beside you on the engawa and you give him an onigiri. He accepts and takes a bite.

It was peaceful. You didn't mind being like this for the rest of the day. Truthfully, you've grown feelings for Giyu. He's cold at first, and still tries to be, but in the end he couldn't keep up the facade. He spends a lot of time with you now. Whenever he gets home from a mission, it's like the first thing he has to do is eat with you and tell you stories about his missions. Sure, he doesn't smile a lot, but that's what you found most endearing. Whenever he smiles, he hides it or just denies it. And it was so cute.

But something was holding him back. You can feel it. He's not free. And you have a hint what was one of the reasons why he's the cell keeper of his own cell.

"[Y/N]." he says once he was done eating. You turn to him. But he didn't say anything else. He was just staring at your face. Soon, you feel yourself getting flustered.

You turn away and fan yourself. "Don't just stare at me like that!"

"Sorry."

You wanted to kick him. What a straightforward apology! Is he that dense? You could have sworn your face was obviously red.

He was quiet again. You turn back to him, worried that--

He was still staring.

You swear, you're on the verge on punching his face.

Or maybe he wants to tell you something? But he can't actually say it? You hope that's the case. And you wish he wants to open up to you.

"Giyu-san." You start, trying not to blush under his gaze again. "Do you want to tell me something?"

For a split-second, his eyes flickered. He looks down at his lap. "Yes."

"What is it? You know you can trust me. And I can always lend an ear." He turns to you. You were smiling that smile again.

That smile makes him want to waver, even just for a minute. All these years, he's kept this pain to himself. He believed it will disappear eventually, but it never did. In fact, it just grew and grew until it swallowed him.

You make him vulnerable. You make him weak. In a good way.

"Giyu..." you wrap your hands around his and gave him the warmest of smiles. "Don't make yourself suffer any longer. You don't deserve such great pain..."

It was the last straw. He can feel tears streaming across his face. You move closer and hugged him, rubbing your hand on his back. He cried on your chest as he told you everything. His past. His sister. His best friend.

But he can't bring himself to tell you about your family. About how he was too late. He can't afford to lose you too. He can't, now that he's like this. He doesn't want to break away from your warm and gentle arms. He can't let go of his light.

You felt like he was holding something back, but you instantly knew what it was.

"Giyu..." you make him look at you, but you don't let go of his hand. The sight was painful to look at; his eyes were sore from crying, his face stained with tears...why must the good suffer? "Don't kick yourself too much just because you weren't able to save my family as well."

He widened his eyes. He wondered why you weren't shouting at him. He wondered why you weren't hitting him. He wondered why he wasn't on his knees, begging for your forgiveness.

"I remembered everything last night. I don't regret being alive and well, because you saved me. I don't regret being here with you. So please, don't feel guilty because I'm happy here with you. And I'm sure my family is happy as well because I am."

His sobs turned into sniffles, then turnd into silence. You were staring into each other's eyes. He slowly moves his hand to caress your face. You were glad to see light in those once empty blue eyes. And you were that light.

"[Y/N]..." he moves closer to you until your noses grazed each other. "Don't leave. Ever. I can't imagine a day without you."

You finally land a kiss on his lips, slightly startling him. "Why would I leave the only place that makes me happy?"

He kisses you this time, and you gladly kiss back. Tender and warm, it was clear to you, and as well as him, that he's grown to love you.

And he was sure, that he'll give his last breath just to protect you.

You sat on the engawa, in each other's arms and happy. A happiness that you found in each other.

A happiness that would be permanent.

#demon slayer #kimetsu no yaiba #kny #demon slayer giyu tomioka x reader #kimetsu no yaiba giyu tomioka x reader #kny giyu tomioka x reader #giyu tomioka x reader #giyu tomioka #kny x reader #kimetsu no yaiba x reader #demon slayer x reader #giyuu tomioka #tomioka giyuu #tomioka giyu #demon slayer giyuu tomioka x reader #kny giyuu tomioka x reader #kimestu no yaiba giyuu tomioka x reader

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always-and-forever-a-killjoy · 4 years

Text

Hey y'all! So I wrote a relatively long oneshot (for me) in 24 hours or so (breaking my record for most words written in one day in the process), and I decided to dump it all on you. This is minimally edited and was posted with a cat on my lap, so if you spot any errors, please let me know.

Also, while it's not technically necessary to read all the smiles that are ever gonna haunt me and all the things that you never ever told me, which are the fics which this is an alternate ending for, it will be really really helpful to understanding this. (All the smiles is here and all the things is here.) Do be careful of the warnings for those two, as they're quite dark fics. But then again, so is this, so...y'know.

Oh and please don’t question why the Cherri POV is present tense and the Newsie POV is past tense, idk either it just felt right.

Title: if i died we’d be together

Wordcount: 5316

Summary: Cherri Cola dies. NewsAGoGo refuses to accept this.

The Phoenix Witch is unhelpful (and an asshole, if you ask Newsie.)

Warnings: major character death, implied/referenced suicide, implied self harm, minor violence, an extraordinary amount of swearing.

Taglist: @wishiwasthemoon-tonight @sleevesareforlosers @stressed-depressed-emo-mess @tasteofamnesia @dagger-queen (message me, send an ask, or reblog/reply to one of my posts if you want to be added or removed)

AO3 Link

(Actual fic under the cut)

In this universe, the Phoenix Witch doesn’t come for Cherri Cola. He lies in the sand, alone and in pain, unable to move himself a single step further. He would get up if he could, he would go home, but he’s helpless. Alone and afraid, truly afraid for the first time in years. He doesn’t want to die alone. He doesn’t want to die knowing the people in his life will never know what happened to him. D, Pony, Newsie…

Cherri doesn’t want to die. Not like this. He was supposed to die helping his friends, not because he decided that life wasn’t worth living and let himself fade away into the heat of the desert. He doesn’t want to leave his friends, he doesn’t want to leave his family. Did they even know he counted them as a family? Does Newsie know he loves them like a sibling?

Cherri Cola dies alone, and the last words on his lips are “I’m sorry, Newsie.”

Cherri didn’t come back. Not after the mask discussion, not after Newsie’s talk with the Phoenix Witch, and certainly not any earlier than that. It was another week of silent dinners and endless, hopeless searching before Pony put eir foot down.

“Cola is dead.”

That was what ey said, breaking the silence of that morning’s breakfast.

Newsie couldn’t even manage the energy to snap at em. “No.”

“Cola’s gone, Newsie. You know it, just like me.”

“He can’t be fucking dead. I won’t- I won’t let it happen.” She hated that her voice shook.

“He is, though. Nothing we can do about it.” Pony’s usually cheerful voice was quiet, beaten-down.

“No!”

“Yes! We gotta accept it!”

“No, we don’t!”

“Maybe-“ eir voice broke on the word. “Maybe it was his time. Or fate or something.”

“Well fuck fate then! Fuck the Phoenix Witch and fuck her ‘plans’! It can’t just be right to fucking take him away, he’s got a fucking family!”

“Well- well- maybe you’re right, but what are we going to do about it?” Pony’s voice had gone quiet again, and ey was staring at the table like it might have the answers somehow.

“We’re going to find the Phoenix Witch and tell her to go fuck herself,” Newsie declared.

D sighed. “I don’t think that’s possible, Newsie.”

“Why not? Cherri’s met the Phoenix Witch, it can’t be that hard.” She got up from her seat, tossing the empty power pup can into the sink.

“I mean…they’ve got a point,” Pony said as D sighed again.

“See? Pone knows I’m right.” She made those words as firm as she could, filling them with all the confidence that she didn’t have but wished she did. “I’m going to go find the Phoenix Witch, flip her off, and get Cherri back.”

“Newsie-“

They ignored D’s worried voice as they went tromping into the back of the radio station, back to the room that used to be theirs and Cherri’s- and still would be, Newsie vowed. She packed up a messenger bag with a few supplies and located Cherri’s mask and ray gun, picking up the ray gun first. It was pink like hers, but a heavier weight in her hands. If she had been poetic like her brother, she would have said it was the weight of the task she was about to take on.

But they were no Cherri Cola, and they knew the real reason was that Cherri’s ray gun was a nicer one than theirs, taken from an exterminator he had fought back in the Analog Wars. It certainly wasn’t the newest model anymore, but it remained a high-quality weapon. Not that he ever used it anymore. Still, even however long after he had last held it, she thought she could feel the ghost of his hands on it, warm and rough as they guided her hands into place the first time she had ever fired a ray gun.

Newsie slid the ray gun into her spare holster and picked up Cherri’s mask. They debated putting it away into their bag, but that felt too much like they were bringing it to the mailbox for a final goodbye. Instead, they put it around their neck, where it bounced against their collarbone as they donned their own mask.

“Alright, Cherri. Let’s go bring you back from the dead.”

Show Pony and Dr. Death Defying didn’t try to stop her when she walked back through the main living space. D reached out as if to grab her wrist, but stopped himself in midair. “Newsie.”

“Don’t try to stop me.”

“I won’t, but I want you to take this.” He held out a crow feather, shining a gorgeous glossy black in the sunlight that streamed in from the window. “I met the Witch, once. During the Analog Wars. And she gave me this.”

“So you think it will help?”

D’s smile was dreadfully sad. “Worth a shot.”

Newsie hesitated a moment and took the feather. It was smooth under her fingers as she tucked it into her bag. “Thanks, D.”

“Of course.” He didn’t tell her to come back safe, and Newsie didn’t promise she would.

Pony skated up before she could walk out the door, handing her a packet of what looked vaguely like glitter. “I don’t have a fancy Witch feather like D, but take some glitter for the road. Because sparkles…”

“Make everything better.” Newsie’s throat burned. “Thanks, Pone.”

“Of course, GoGo.” Ey shot her a grin. “Bring back our Cola. Oh, and give him some shit for dying, would ya?”

“Don’t worry, I will,” Newsie muttered. They paused in the doorway, looking back at the other two. “Thanks, Pone. Thanks, D. Love you.”

“We love you too.” D’s face was sad as he watched them go.

Newsie hopped onto their motorcycle, grinning a bit to themself at the familiar noise of the engine. “Come on, baby, we’ve got an idiot brother to retrieve.”

What had once been called Death Valley was silent as Newsie hopped back off the bike, only a few caws of crows to welcome her. It was said that here, the lines between reality and wherever the Phoenix Witch was were even thinner than they were for the rest of the Zones, practically non-existent. No one could quite agree if it was because the Phoenix Witch lived here, or if the Phoenix Witch lived here because the lines were so blurred, but either way, she was said to dwell here in this aptly named valley. It wasn’t a place many people went by choice, not unless they wanted to risk the wrath of the Witch.

Newsie figured the Witch, her wrath, and all the superstition could all go fuck themselves. She was uneasy, yes, but the valley held no great fear for her. Only great fucking heat, given that the sun was blazing down and the air was almost unnaturally still. Couldn’t the Phoenix Witch have picked a nicer home? This was the closest thing you could get to hell on earth, with the exception of possibly whatever was beyond the Zones entirely. Not that Newsie particularly believed in hell, but she imagined it would be something like this. Blazing sun, still air, the faint haze of radiation, and the omnipresent sting of grief.

“Hey, Phoenix Witch lady! Asshole! Where are you?” The words didn’t even echo, absorbed into the stifling heat, and Newsie took another couple of steps. “I know this is your home- and you picked a pretty hellish one, if you ask me- so come on out and fight me!”

There was no reply, and Newsie dug through their bag to see if they had anything useful. Their hands brushed against a smooth…something, and they pulled out the feather D had given them. “Hey! Asshole! This is your feather, so come and get it!”

Once again, there was no reply, but the feather strained against Newsie’s grip, despite there being no wind. She reluctantly let it go, and it hovered above her hand, turning to point further into the valley.

“Holy shit. I guess I’m supposed to go this way?” She took a few cautious steps, and the feather almost seemed to bob in approval. “Okay, let’s go then.”

They zipped their bag closed again and started walking, following the lead of the feather. It was a longer trek than they really appreciated, across shifting sand through the hazy day. Every so often, the feather changed directions, and Newsie had to turn to follow it. Despite the fact that she guessed she must be out in Zone Seven by now, or possibly even further, the landscape never seemed to change. Rocks and sand and endless, burning heat, matching the burning of her eyes as the sand stung them. She would have been lost in a second if she didn’t have the feather, wasn’t entirely sure she wasn’t lost anyways. They certainly didn’t know their way back.

Newsie shoved that concern to the back of their mind. Right now, all they needed to focus on was finding Cherri. The rest could come later. Still, there was no sign of Cherri- or anyone else for that matter- as they made their way further into the dusty valley. It should have been lonely, but the faint hovering presence of someone or something next to her kept away that particular anguish. She really should have been more alarmed by whatever was in the corner of her eye, vanishing when she looked right at it, but the presence felt safe. Almost familiar. So Newsie kept walking.

They walked, and walked, and walked and walked and walked until the steps all blurred together under the infinite sun. It seemed like it should be nearly nightfall by now, but the sun didn’t seem to move, no matter how many steps she took. The landscape didn’t seem like it was moving much either, even though they must have walked miles and miles by now. Every step was harder than the last, sand stinging her eyes and nose and throat as her feet ached.

Still, Newsie was too damn stubborn to give up now. She followed the feather until the landscape did start to shift, the feather pointing towards…a tree? On a hill? It wasn’t like the tiny, scraggly trees that clung to existence in the wettest parts of the desert. No, this was what Newsie vaguely thought might have been called an oak, once upon a time, branches stretching towards the sky as the tree stood proud. The leaves were dark green, striking a sharp contrast to the faded blue of the desert sky and the endless beige sand, and the branches were thick and steady, growing in a pattern Newsie hadn’t seen before. It definitely wasn’t a tree that was meant to be in the desert, but...shade was shade.

She staggered over and flopped down underneath it, every muscle in her body screaming at her. “Hey, Witch, asshole, why do I have to walk so fucking far?”

The only reply she got was the rustling of leaves above her. They didn’t think the Witch was actually watching, but they flipped off the tree anyways, just in case.

She could have sworn she heard faint laughter at that, but it was probably her mind playing tricks on her. Water, she could really use some fucking water. Thank the Witch, or maybe just Pony’s quick thinking, they found a bottle of water when they reached into their bag. It was warmed by the sun and tasted vaguely of rust, but then again, most water in the desert did. Newsie was used to it.

She only got a few minutes to rest before the silence was shattered by a cry. “Help! Help!” It was a young-sounding voice, and Newsie groaned as they climbed to their feet. Having a moral compass was a real pain in the ass sometimes; they couldn’t just ignore a kid in need.

The presence by their shoulder seemed to have grown stronger as Newsie came around the tree and saw a few dracs holding a struggling killjoy who looked to be maybe thirteen or fourteen. She would have to be very careful in order not to hurt the ‘joy, given their close proximity to the dracs. Their hands shook as they pulled out their ray gun, reconsidered, and took out Cherri’s instead. They were pretty sure it had that gyroscope stabilizer (or whatever it was called) that some of the nicer ones were built with, and she would need every advantage she could get. This time, she was almost certain there were ghostly hands over hers as she took careful aim.

“Steady. Breathe,” a voice murmured in Newsie’s ear as they tilted the ray gun carefully. It would be only seconds before the young killjoy was dragged off, so she had to act now.

Newsie took a deep breath, releasing it fully before she pulled the trigger and took out one of the dracs holding the ‘joy, who was able to break free from the other one’s grasp as Newsie took that one down too. She might not have been Cherri Cola, but she was by no means a bad shot, and she grinned a bit to herself. Drac down, drac down, and that was the last of them!

“Fuck yeah, NewsAGoGo, you kick ass.” They figured they might as well encourage themself, since there was no one else around to do it.

That was met by what she could have sworn was another faint chuckle, but there wasn’t anyone else around to be laughing. Well, except the younger killjoy, but they were way too far away to have heard her.

Newsie shrugged and accepted that weird shit was going to happen on a quest in Death Valley. They had to keep moving, they decided, but first they should check on that ‘joy they’d saved.

“Hey, kid! You okay?”

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine. Thanks to you, I think.” Their voice was hoarse, and Newsie sighed as she handed them her water bottle. Cherri was getting his ass kicked for this, she decided. It wasn’t technically his fault that she was thirsty, but if he hadn’t up and died, she wouldn’t have had to quest after him and then she wouldn’t have ended up giving her water to some random ‘joy.

“Thanks,” the teen said, handing them back the water bottle.

She shrugged. “No problem. You going somewhere?”

“Yes, but not the same way as you.” Their head was tilted curiously. “You’ll have to go that way. Until you see the building.”

Newsie debated for a second if this kid was trustworthy, but ultimately decided it was no worse than following a fucking feather. “Thanks, kid. Good luck, keep running.”

“Keep running!” They flashed a smile and wandered away.

Newsie sighed and started walking again, this time in the direction the kid had pointed. Again, Cherri was so getting an ass-kicking for this. Their feet hurt.

Thank the Phoenix Witch- no, thank Destroya, she wasn’t thanking the Phoenix Witch for fucking anything right now- she wasn’t back on her feet for long. Compared to her earlier trek, it was quite a short distance, maybe a mile or so, to what must have been the building that kid was talking about. It was a small shack which looked vaguely familiar, even from a distance, and Newsie sped up a little as they headed towards it. Shade! Maybe even a place to sit that wasn’t sand! Of course, knowing her luck, the Phoenix Witch would show up and demand she go run some errand or walk another hundred fucking miles or something.

The presence that had been following her this whole time seemed stronger and easier to catch a glimpse of, now, but the was the least of their worries as Newsie approached the building and found it familiar. They could peer in through the window and find D and Pony sitting there in the living room, talking about music (she assumed, given that the only time D gestured so broadly was when he was giving opinions about music).

“D! Pone!”

They didn’t seem to hear her, and Newsie felt her eyes stinging from both sand and grief as she knocked on the door. There was still no reply, no Pony at the door or even sound from inside. But the two carried on their conversation, gesturing and laughing away.

"D, Pony…” If they were back here, that meant they had failed. They hadn’t gotten to the Witch after all.

Newsie gave up her knocking and turned her back to the door, sliding down to sit on the hard ground. Their feet hurt from standing and their legs hurt from walking and their hands hurt from clutching Cherri’s ray gun so tightly. The sun was still blazing, and their throat was dry and sore. Her collarbones were banged up where Cherri’s mask had been bouncing against them, and her hip was bruised from the bag bouncing against it, and everything fucking hurt. They had promised themself they weren’t going to cry, but now they were breaking that promise because their goddamn brother was dead and they couldn’t fucking do anything about it.

“I’m sorry, Cherri,” they choked.

“It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.” The words were only a whisper, but the voice was familiar.

Newsie’s heart skipped a beat. “Cherri?”

“I’m here,” the air next to her whispered, right where that presence had been hovering. “Not exactly, but close enough.” If they squinted, they could make out an outline of a familiar killjoy, smiling a soft, sad smile as he pushed his hair out of his face.

“Fucking bastard! Fuck! Fucking hell! You just fucking died on me and do you know how far I fucking walked?”

“Technically, you didn’t walk at all.” That was a different voice, belonging to the cloaked figured who was suddenly in front of Newsie. They could have sworn the person hadn’t been there just a second ago, which was damn inconvenient. Right as she was trying to catch up with her fucking brother? Really?

“Who the fuck are you?” They demanded.

“The deity you came to find, NewsAGoGo.”

Newsie hopped to her feet so she could stand on level with the bird creature, ignoring the ache in every part of their body. “Fuck you! Fuck you, Witch lady! Fuck you and your fate and your cryptic ways! What the fuck do you mean I didn’t walk?”

The Witch seemed faintly amused by her swearing. “I mean that in real-world distance, you went nowhere. You’re on the border, the boundary between this world and the next. Which is how your lovely brother is here, by the way. He belongs to the spirit world, and you belong to the ordinary one, but on this border and this border only, you can see and hear each other.”

“Great, now I’m taking him back to the real world.”

The Phoenix Witch tsked disapprovingly. “I’m afraid you can’t do that, NewsAGoGo. You see, Cherri Cola is dead. He belongs to my domain now.”

“Well fuck that! I’m not letting him go.” Newsie hadn’t walked however many fucking miles to give up now.

“Fine, fine, you can have him.” Newsie’s heart soared. “For a price,” The Witch added.

“And what’s the price?”

“The price is the people in that house behind you.”

“What?”

“Well, technically they aren’t there, per se. That’s not Dr. Death Defying and Show Pony, although it seems that way to you.” The Witch’s voice was annoyingly calm. “But my point being, if you can give up one of them, you can have your Cherri back.”

“Newsie, no,” Cherri whispered from beside her.

“Can you do it?” The Witch was still smiling. “Can you sacrifice one friend to save another? Could you live with yourself if you killed your friend to save your brother? And could you live with yourself if you left him here to save the others?”

“No, I can’t do it.” They knew their voice must sound very small and very tired as they leaned a little against the radio shack that wasn’t the radio shack. “I can’t choose the life of one of my friends over another. I won’t make that choice. I refuse.”

“So do you choose to leave him here? I’ll take good care of him, you know.”

“No. I choose to not choose. I refuse to choose.” She had no idea what she was doing, only that she wasn’t leaving without the lives of all of her family. “I won’t put Cherri’s life over D’s, or Pony’s. I won’t put D or Pony’s life over Cherri’s. They all deserve to live.”

“Oh, hon, it doesn’t work that way.”

“Well I’ll make it work that way!” A thought niggled Newsie’s brain. “What if…What if I gave you something else?”

“Like what?”

“Like my life.”

“No!” That was Cherri again, his spirit form flickering fiercely. “No! Newsie, just leave without me. Please.”

The Phoenix Witch was smirking, but she shook her head. “Sorry, NewsAGoGo. I can’t accept that offer, selfless as it might be. You’ve got things ahead of you, I can’t just mess up my plans like that.”

“Fine, then something else.” Newsie rooted around in her bag, desperately trying to find something to trade with the Witch. Empty water bottle, no. Can of power pup that she never touched, no. Their hand collided with a small, slightly squished packet of something, which they pulled out triumphantly. “Glitter. I’ll give you glitter for my brother’s life.” Newsie knew she sounded ridiculous, but it really was all she had to offer.

The Phoenix Witch threw her head back and cackled; it was almost more of a caw than a laugh but clearly a sound of amusement nonetheless. “Glitter! Glitter! I haven’t laughed so hard in years.”

Their hand was shaking. “Pony gave it to me. Because sparkles- because sparkles-“ Their voice wobbled and they couldn’t finish that sentence.

“Sparkles make everything better,” Cherri whispered softly from next to her. Newsie nodded, trying not to cry.

The mirth on the Witch’s face was gone, replaced by true, genuine pity. “You care so much.”

“Yeah, of course I fucking do. He’s my brother, asshole.”

Cherri’s form was flickering again, and Newsie wished she knew what that meant as the Witch smiled softly. It was a bit of a sad, pitying smile, which they really didn’t appreciate, but they guessed they did make for a pitiful sight. Sandy and dusty, tear tracks on their face as they leaned against a wall and offered a pitiful little pack of glitter in exchange for the person they loved most in the world.

“So…are you going to take the glitter?” Maybe it was dumb, maybe she should know the Witch would never accept glitter, but she had to try.

“Yes.”

Newsie gaped at her.

“Yes, I’ll take the glitter. Not as a reward, but as a symbol. You, NewsAGoGo, traveled uncountable miles of unreality, fought a squad of dracs, and dared defy me, a literal deity, for your brother. I am not a cruel goddess, I do not need to be. The world is cruel enough for me. And your Cherri did not deserve to die. Oh, he was asking for it, he was taunting me into swooping down to take that bracelet you gave him off his wrist and taking his soul on with me just the same, but he still didn’t deserve to die.”

The Witch flicked Cherri on the nose, or where Newsie thought his nose ought to be. “We’ve had some conversations about it, haven’t we? Because you didn’t want to die, Cherri Cola. You wanted to not be in pain. Something everyone wants. And your sister cares so much, so I’ll give you one more chance. This is your last one, lovely.”

“I understand.”

“Of course you do, hon.” The Witch turned back to Newsie. “Keep an eye on this one. He’s a bit prone to wandering off, but he’s yours again. He belongs to the land of the living. I’ll be keeping this, though.” She tapped the bracelet on her wrist, which Newsie recognized as the one they had given Cherri. “And the glitter, just for the hell of it. Tell your friend Pony they have good taste in décor, will you?”

And just like that, she was gone. Newsie was standing alone at the entrance to Death Valley, her faithful motorcycle next to her. At first, she thought the Witch had lied, since she did seem to be utterly alone, but before long, footsteps sounded from within the valley.

Newsie turned as a figure approached, her breath catching at the familiar face. Cherri Cola was exactly how he had been the day Newsie had left him at the radio station, not knowing she would come back to find him gone. His battered green jacket was just as ripped and dusty as ever, and there was a small scar across his right cheek, as always. The only immediately visible difference between Cherri of a few weeks ago and this Cherri was the pure white streak in his hair, white like bones and death and the salt crusted on some parts of the desert. Yet when she looked closer, she could also see a tiny spark of determination in his eyes that had been missing for a very long time.

Cherri came to a stop in front of her, smiling cautiously. “Hey.”

Newsie didn’t know if they should cry, yell at him, or hug him. They settled for a mixture of all three, sprinting over to hug him tightly as they unleashed all the bottled swear words and tears of the past few weeks. “Fuck you, Cherri! Dipshit! Bitch boy! Fucking rat bastard, you left me! You left me alone and I- and I was scared.” Their voice dropped on the last few words.

“I know, I’m sorry.” Cherri’s voice was very soft. “I should never have left.”

A bit of her fierceness came back at that, with another couple of swear words to unleash. “No, you fucking shouldn’t have! Asshole. Little shit! You died, you fucker! You died and I had to walk so fucking far to get you back, fuckface!”

“I’m sorry, Newsie. I’m so sorry.”

She sniffled, unable to stay mad for long. “Just never do that again. Ever. I’m not fighting a squad of dracs to save some child so I can get directions to a fucking fake radio shack and talk to a cryptic deity next time.”

“There won’t be a next time,” Cherri said softly. “I promise.”

“Cross your heart and hope to die?”

He crossed his heart, giving her a very serious look. “I swear on my best poetry and Show Pony’s glitter stash.”

They let out a sound somewhere between a sob and a laugh. “Now you can never break it, Pone would never forgive you if something happened to their glitter stash.”

“Exactly.” His eyes were glimmering with tears as well, but he was smiling as Newsie led him back to her motorcycle with a “Hop on, fuckface.”

It felt safe to have Cherri’s arms wrapped around her again, his head leaning on her shoulder as she revved the engine. He was a warm, safe presence, just as he had been in the unreality-reality place, but this time he was a solid one. A real one.

They might have been tired as all fuck, but that didn’t stop them from grinning as Cherri muttered something about it probably not being safe for her to drive while this tired. “Hang on, fucker. We’re going home.”

Home was, as it had been for quite a while now, a (mostly) structurally sound radio station in the middle of the desert. It was almost nightfall by the time they pulled up in front of the radio shack, and Newsie was yawning as she climbed off the bike with another huge yawn. Cherri practically had to carry her to the door, but in her defense, he wasn’t the one who had walked however many miles, got in a firefight, and argued with a deity today. So they felt no guilt in leaning against him as he paused on the porch, using his free hand to knock gently on the door.

They were met by an exhausted-looking Show Pony, eyes red-rimmed and blood-shot as ey opened the door. “I’m sorry, no visitors today- Newsie?! Cherri?!?”

Cherri waved with his free hand. “Hey.”

“Am I just seeing things?” Pony’s voice was as shocked as eir face, which was very.

“Not seeing things, bastard,” Newsie yawned. “I said I was getting Cherri, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, but you’ve been missing a month, Gogo! D and I thought you were ghosted like your bro!”

It probably was not an appropriate reaction, but the first thing out of her mouth was “No wonder I’m so thirsty.”

Cherri started laughing at that, and after a second so did Pony, half-hysterically. “Well, we’ve got water, that’s for sure. D’ll give you plenty, he’ll be so glad you’re alive!” Ey led them inside, still laughing in a somewhat hysterical way. “D, we’ve got some rat bastards alive and back on our hands!”

“Fuck you, Pone.”

“She’s kidding, we love you,” Cherri yawned.

“And I love you too, but you can’t just- just up and disappear! The lot of you, honestly.”

D’s face was only slightly less shocked than Pony’s when he rolled into the living room, and Newsie had a feeling that was only because he was even more exhausted than em.

“Hey,” Cherri said again.

“Cherri- Newsie- Witch, you both, we thought you were dead!”

“Well we’re not, deal with it.” She was too tired for this shit. Shouldn’t arguing with a deity give you a pass? “Also, sorry, Pone, I traded your glitter away to the Witch.”

Ey only looked shocked for a second before eir usual grin returned. “Well, it was meant to be used somehow! Plus, sparkles…”

“Make everything better!” Newsie, Pony, and Cherri all chorused.

D sighed. “Welcome home, you two. Never scare us like that again, alright, Newsie?”

“I wasn’t the one who wandered off and died!”

“To be fair, you kinda threatened to fight the Phoenix Witch and then vanished, sugar,” Pony put in.

Newsie flipped em off, flopping down on the sofa. “My point was, give Cherri shit instead. I’m too tired for this.”

“Oh, I plan on it.” D’s voice was vaguely threatening, but his face cracked into a smile as he turned to Cherri. “You scared the hell out of all of us.”

Cherri stared at the ground. “I know, I’m sorry.”

“And we love you so much,” D added.

Newsie grinned at her brother’s shocked face. “Uh-huh, fuckface. We love you, even if you’re a rat bastard. Now I’m going to sleep for a week, see you all later.”

“Goodnight, Newsie,” Cherri said with a smile. If anyone else said anything after that, Newsie didn’t hear it. They were out like a light within seconds.

In this universe, the radio station is peaceful that evening, the family reunited at long last. Cherri Cola smiles to himself as he lifts Newsie off the sofa, giving D and Pony a thumbs up as he wanders into the back of the radio station. Their room is quiet, and Newsie barely shifts when he sets her down gently on the mattress. They do move, however, when Cherri tries to pull away, reaching out to snatch his wrist. Trapped, he has no choice but to lay down next to Newsie, earning a sleepy noise that sounds vaguely happy.

Cherri grins softly, even if she can’t see it, running his hand along the new set of scars on his arm. There will be time to think about those later, time for the conversations that have to come with that, but for now all they are is a reminder. A reminder that he’s a survivor, a reminder of what matters.

Cherri Cola falls asleep with Newsie by his side, and the last words on his lips that night are “I love you, Newsie.”

#cherri cola #newsagogo #phoenix witch #auri writes #ttlofk #danger days #danger days fic #ttlofk fic #the true lives of the fabulous killjoys

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cyn-00 · 4 years

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Moreid one shot, 4 - "the first one"

Season 6, episode 1 "The longest night" (at the end of the episode, when the team arrives to the couple's house where the unsub is - the "Prince of Darkness", and Morgan alone gets in)

I know I have just posted number 3 but hey, I felt productive, so...enjoy it while it lasts? I'm sure as hell gonna have a drop in creativity soon and won't be posting for like...weeks.

Also, it's a long-ish one, sorry ❤️ (? I guess? Maybe it's better for you). Note: I think I kept the unsub’s lines pretty much consistent with what he actually said in the show - the concept is the same, words might be different

Y'all this fucking episode...there was SO MUCH Moreid Angst potential...wasted. robbed. Ugh.

Read it on AO3

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The team along with the police arrived to the home of the couple where the unsub was reported to be, after he let out of the car the little girl he had taken as a hostage.

It was melting hot and the sun was blinding, the bulletproof vests and the obvious anxiousness were surely not making any of it any easier.

Reid had been worried for Morgan all day long. After he was the first to find and succor him at detective Spicer's house in Santa Monica, the night before - where he was tied and kicked repeatedly by the unsub - Spencer wasn't sure he could think straight. But Derek was wired like that: if anybody doubted his capability to keep working efficiently even when hurt, they would get yelled at. Of course, Garcia and Reid got yelled at.

And he had only apologized to Garcia so far.

Just before getting in all together, they received a phone call. Spencer was too far to hear what it was about, but as soon as the local pd officer passed the phone to Derek, he gathered that the call was from the unsub. And that he wanted Morgan to deal with him personally.

"Wait- what's happening?" he nervously asked Prentiss, even though he knew exactly what was happening. He just wanted someone external to confirm that his theory was correct, and that he wasn't going batshit crazy.

"I think he wants Morgan to get in." Prentiss answered. Reid was so tense he didn't even register what she'd just said, even being the one who asked in the first place.

Morgan made a few steps ahead with Hotch right behind him. Reid's nerves started to untangle.

But then the man stopped and turned around to confront their team leader. Again: Spencer couldn't hear, but from the look on Derek's face, he seemed enraged just as much as confident in his ability to handle what he was walking into. Reid wasn’t equally confident in such thing, though.

Hotch nodded and stepped away.

"He- he's going in alone?? W- why isn't Hotch going with him? He cannot- Morgan! Morgan wait-" Spencer was about to run toward him, but Emily grabbed his arm strongly enough to keep him from getting any farther.

"Reid," she said softly.

"What?! Are we really going to watch him get killed? He's probably not even completely aware, he's hurt and he didn't even rest for a second like we all told him to do- and the MEDICS, too, I- I get that he doesn't wanna listen to me but at leas-"

"Reid, stop. You going in there is not gonna make things any better. You have to trust him." she reasoned, assertive.

Hotch, still a little far from them both, shot him a stern glare and shook his head, as if saying: "Don't. Let him go."

Spencer calmed down just enough to realize what Emily had just said. Was she intending that if he went in it would only get worse because he was the weak and clumsy one? Same old stuff. Was that excuse ever gonna stop being an argument to persuade him not to do things? Not to help people?

Spencer gave her a deadly glance.

"It's not about me. And it's not about trusting him- I don't trust the psychopath killer on a spree that's in there with Morgan, not Morgan. We should all go in with him, I- I don't understand why I'm the only one who cares, we are a team, right?? That's what you guys always tell me when I'm about to do stupid things or- or try to deal alone with matters that are bigger than me. So why are we purposely letting him go alone all of a sudden? That's EXACTLY what the unsub is waiting for." he explained rationally, but rattling on as fast as he did everytime he was convinced about something - which was...always.

He snatched his arm away from Emily's grip before she could reply with something that would only make him more mad, and quickly strode far from everyone, looking down at the ground while stripping off his bulletproof vest with twitchy fingers. He felt breathless, on the verge of crying and, at that point, even useless and on some measure mocked by his very team- his family.

When Reid screamed at him, Morgan obviously heard him. But in that moment, the anger he was feeling caused everything else to shift to a lower level of importance. Even his Spencer worrying about him - actually, it was especially the thought of his boyfriend worrying about him that Derek was trying to push back into a hidden corner of his head: he couldn't let the guilt of making him wait helplessly eat at him in that moment.

He kept walking toward the door. He just wanted to get over with that psychopath and run back in the arms of his lover, apologizing and letting him pet his neck while whispering forgiving words in his ear.

Once he entered the house, he heard the unsub talking to him.

"Over here, agent." he said.

Morgan slowly and cautiously walked toward the couple's bedroom, from where the disgustingly over-polite voice was coming, with his gun firmly pointed ahead.

When he got in, the two hostages were curled up on themselves on the floor; wrists, ankles and mouths duct-taped. The "Prince of Darkness" was sitting on the bed between them, denying the couple to even find comfort in each other's proximity; a gun in his hand.

And he was crying. Morgan wasn't sure if it was to try and make him pity him, or if he was actually feeling some kind of emotion besides...pure evil, if that can even be defined as an emotion.

"That's it. You have no way out." he said in an unwavering tone, approaching closer.

"You say?" the unsub laughed.

Morgan slowly but carefully lowered his firearm. "I'm not afraid of you."

"But they are." answered the man - though Derek was reluctant to deem him such - pointing at the two with his gun, making them squeak in fear.

"You see," he continued, still crying. "right after I killed my mother, she looked at me - I don't know if I was imagining it - but she looked at me with relief, sort of. Like I finally set her free."

Morgan scowled. He heated up and raised the gun toward him, again.

"That's what you think you were doing to those people? You thought that by killing them you were doing them a FAVOR?" he asked. The uncomfortable realization of knowing the answer to such question already, triggered in Derek's body the urge of vomiting from one second to another.

Both their guns were aiming right at each other’s heads now.

"Naah " the unsub replied; on his face a grimace akin to a smug, lopsided smile. He stood up from the mattress.

"I killed them because I decided they had to die. Just like...God." his self-complacent grin widened.

"You sick bastard." Morgan spat through gritted teeth, fire in his eyes, sweat drooling down his temples.

Two gun shots were fired. Everyone outside heard them.

Reid was suddenly like woken up from a dream - one that left him with a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. His heart stopped for a fraction of second only to start pounding rapidly right after; his brain went blank, like static.

It didn't even cross his mind that everyone on the team along with the police were gonna go in anyway: he ran toward the house, forgetting to put on his vest; merely accompanied by his gun and the instinct to rescue the man he would’ve cut off all his limbs for.

Prentiss and Hotch screamed at him with all their breath, but in all honesty he couldn't have cared less. The voices of his two teammates sounded muffled to his ears, as if three layers of thick glass were separating them from him. He had this gut feeling that Derek had taken too much time in there to taste his revenge, and that's exactly what the guy was expecting from him, using it in his favor to hurt him or - more likely - kill him: he had NO intention nor interest in trusting those two again.

Both his thoughts and his steps were suddenly interrupted by someone who jumped in front of him and pressed a palm firmly on his chest: it was Rossi.

"You cannot go in there without vest, kiddo. We're going in."

"Then come with me, but I won't stand here doing nothing! What the hell are you guys waiting for?? I've seen no one moving for fuck 's sake- what, have you given up on him already??" Spencer yelped in response, his voice coming out way less steady than he'd wished to.

Their altercation was cut off by Emily's voice.

"...Reid..."

"What now??" he bit back, annoyed.

She was staring at the front door, pointing at something. Or someone.

Spencer turned around, hoping not to see the unsub, because that would’ve meant he’d got the better out of the two.

His heart stopped - again. His eyes filled up with tears. His bones shuddered.

Derek was there, right outside of the door, standing still. His bulletproof vest in one hand, his gun in the other. He looked physically and mentally drained out, breathing heavily as if trying not to pass out on the hardwood floor of the porch; but at the same time relieved that he could feel sensations and emotions again, instead of a continuous state of sheer rage and frustration, all the time: he could feel his eyes prickling with tears, his heart hammering in his ears, his skin cold-sweating from the breeze blowing hot and humid against it.

He was staring at Spencer and Spencer was staring back at him, but neither was making an effort to close the 30 ft distance separating them.

When Spencer saw him taking a few steps in his direction, he stilled. But then Derek froze in spot, as if suddenly realizing that his legs were crumbling under his weight, disabling him from getting more than a few feet ahead; ignoring the fact that he was supposed to be the "strong" one out of the two - out of them all.

JJ was watching from far away. Hotch, Prentiss and Rossi were standing, encircling Reid, like they were all waiting for him to do something, like they wanted to give him the privilege of going toward Morgan first.

Spencer got the hint. He absent-mindedly pulled away David's hand from his shoulder, and finally started walking forward, putting his gun away.

He didn't run. He didn't feel the need to do so: it was like the urge to go and "save" him was gone the moment he came out of the house and everybody saw him, alive, breathing.

Once he was right in front of him, he stared long and deep into his glossy eyes, immobilized. He didn't know what to tell him, and neither did Derek: there was nothing to say, they were feeling too much to think about the right words to speak, to give some sort of hierarchical order to the things they had to get off of their aching chests.

Derek could no longer keep his usual alpha-male show going. He dropped his vest and gun to the ground, falling on his knees with a thud, shedding his first tear since it all started. Nobody on the team had ever seen him that vulnerable - Spencer, on the other hand, was certainly not new to it.

He kneeled down as well, finally getting to wrap his boyfriend in his arms as tight as he could; dwelling on the unfounded, naive and anti-scientific conviction that he could keep his crumbling body whole only with his slim frame, hoping it could act as a glue to stick together the smithereens of Derek’s soul.

Derek hugged him back just as tight, forgetting that the same amount of strength that made him comfortable in Spencer's arms, could actually make it difficult for the skinny man to breathe, squeezed in a body twice as strong - albeit equally tall.

But neither of them cared, in that moment.

He buried his face in Spencer's neck, keeping at bay the volume of his choking sobs and probably soaking wet the collar of his shirt: hiding him from judgemental eyes was a small price Spencer was willing to pay, if it made Derek feel like he was finally allowed to find comfort in him.

Spencer closed his eyes, massaging the back of his neck; uncaring of the sensation of his skin melting from the heat imbuing the air surrounding them, only increased by the warmth of their hug.

Derek shifted a little.

"Kid I- I'm so sorry for treating you like crap in the past days..." he finally stuttered against Spencer's skin. He wasn't really expecting an answer: he knew that Spencer - and, to be honest, everyone else on the team - could not but agree on that, and that he’d probably already forgiven him, like they always did when they got mad at each other.

Derek kissed his temple.

"and I love you." he added, once he’d lifted his head just enough to reach Spencer’s ear.

He kissed his earlobe, risking to deafen him with the smacking sound - he could feel the man's muzzle scrunching at that.

"I swear to God I love you, Spencer, I love you so much."

He lowered his face, reclaiming his previous spot on Spencer’s neck, placing kisses on his damp skin - from sweat and tears.

"-love you, I love you, I loveyou-" he whispered in a loop, as if the more he said it, the higher the odds that Spencer’s body could absorb the concept.

Derek himself couldn't believe he was actually saying it out loud - not like that. He knew Spencer knew it, even by just demonstrating it - which was way more important and tangible. But that time he felt like he needed to actually voice it, and the fact that he told him so not that often, convinced Spencer more and more that the way Derek loved him was not the same way he loved the others on the team; each time the three words were repeated, again and again and again, like a gentle but forceful lullaby, wrecking down his wall of uncertainty.

"I know you do." Spencer interrupted Derek’s flowing of whispers, sniffling. "and you know I love you too."

Suddenly, he felt some kind of...drop, falling on his shoulder, sinking through the thin cotton of his shirt. He let go of Derek and looked at him: it wasn't the tears.

"Your cut is bleeding again...you should have known better than to just ask for a band-aid." he said, regaining a bit of composure while he cleaned the blood drooling from the other's brow with his thumb, careful not to touch the open scratch.

"It's just a cut." Derek shrugged, wiping off the tears from his face with the back of his hand.

"The ambulance is already here, you should go to the hospital so they can at least put a couple of stitches on it." Spencer insisted, playing the puppy-eye card.

Morgan sighed at how annoyingly and at the same time adorably caring Reid always acted when he was hurt. He resigned to stand up on his feet, prompting at the other to do the same, and they walked together toward one of the two ambulances.

Once they’d stepped out of their timeless, little bubble of emotions and tear-wet kisses and entanglement of limbs and whispered words; they both realized the only ones that had been looking at them for those few minutes were the policemen, mostly confused or even moved, but strangely not mocking: JJ was trying to shoo away some reporters, Hotch was on the phone - supposedly with Strauss or Garcia - Rossi and Prentiss were inside the house. All of them had probably seen the scene but were very good at hiding it.

Derek was sitting on the back of the ambulance. The medic hadn't arrived yet. Spencer was standing in front of him, trying to minimize the bleeding with a gauze, and more importantly to prevent any infections.

"I can do it alone, you know?" Derek told him, gazing at him with heart eyes.

"I don't care." Reid responded unbothered, concentrated on the task at hand.

He then removed the gauze from Morgan's cut, letting out a sigh.

"...I- I should stay here, you know? The team might need my help with some stuff." Spencer said in a tone full of resignation and apology, as he feigned to be studying attentively the bloody gauze in one hand, while the other rested on Derek's thigh.

Derek laughed good-heartedly at him.

"What?? You thought you were coming with me? For some stitches? C'mon now pretty boy. They need you more than I do." He retorted convincingly, but in reality he needed him way more than anyone else did in that moment. He just didn't wanna be a burden.

Spencer slightly frowned at the idea that he wasn't even considering him coming with to the hospital as an option. He didn't argue though, letting the conversation fall in a short silence.

"...is anyone around?" Derek asked, lowering his voice.

Spencer squinted his eyes at him, confused. He backed up a little and checked: they were all pretty far away. The rear side of the ambulance, where they were, was facing the other way, so clearly everyone just saw the front of it. He got closer again.

"Uh, no? I think they're all-"

He couldn't finish the sentence because Derek - who perfectly knew no one was around and, even if there was someone, he didn't care - had already pulled him closer by grabbing his arm and pushed his lips against his, all of a sudden. Spencer's waist so thin that his strong arms could've wrapped around it twice.

Spencer was definitely caught off guard - just like most of the times Derek kissed him out of nowhere. One would think he'd got used to it, by that point.

Admittedly, he’d been meaning to kiss him since the second he saw him getting out of the house - which was half an hour before that. He just couldn't bring himself to do it, in front of at least 30 people. But now that he felt like he could, he cupped the back of Derek's neck with his hand, guiding his head as he pleased, in order to draw his mouth deeper into his.

Derek spread his thighs a few inches so that Spencer could come closer - like there was any space left between them.

He stopped all of a sudden, gasping for air, resting his forhead against Spencer's with his eyes still shut; an attempt of closing out whatever other sensation could distract him from relishing a few seconds longer in the sweet taste of Spencer’s mouth, still clinging onto his tongue.

"I wanted to do it as soon as I saw you." Derek broke the silence with his confession, distancing himself a little to look into Spencer's eyes; caramel specks brought out by the sunlight.

"I had the gut feeling you were going to be the first one to look for me when I fired that shot. I knew it was gonna be you." he added, tucking an untamed, brunette curl behind his boyfriend’s ear.

Spencer bit the inside of his cheek, choosing to reply non-verbally by leaning closer and parting his lips again to lay another kiss on his - because, how could he not, after he said those things.

But they heard footsteps approaching.

They quickly got away from each other. Reid's body suddenly remembered how hot it was outside, and that situation surely wasn't helping.

The medic along with Rossi appeared from the side of the ambulance.

"The bleeding stopped...plus, it looks very clean. Good job whoever did it!" she congratulated, after taking a quick look at Morgan's cut. Reid and him exchanged a knowing glance.

"Alright, we can go now, agent Morgan. We still have to stitch it up a little. Sorry if I kept you waiting." she apologized.

Derek kept his eyes on Spencer.

"No problem." he answered briefly, trying to hide a smirk. He actually wanted to thank her for having given them the time to do...that.

While Morgan got inside with the medic and the ambulance left, Rossi stood silently next to Reid, with his hands in his pockets. He had clearly captured all the exchange of looks between the two. And Reid's messy hair, breathing rhythm and rumpled shirt were just a few other clues that they hadn't simply been talking.

"You guys know that we know. Right?" he finally put a halt to the awkward silence.

Spencer’s eyes remained glued to the ground, but widened instantly - as if he shouldn’t have expected such a comment, sooner or later...

"...I- I guess." he answered, not even bothering to make the effort of denying it, aware that it'd be useless. The blush he was trying to contain made him wonder if, maybe, he should've considered that option. Not that he was any good at lying.

Rossi snorted and patted Spencer’s shoulder. "I'm just happy you two have each other. We all are."

Reid finally raised his gaze from the tarmac to look at him with puppy eyes, without saying anything. What was there to say? Morgan and him had both been feeling like it was way more than just friendship since day one, even though they had actually been "dating" only for a year or so. It had to happen, it was clear to everyone on the team BUT them. Talk about being blindly in love.

David left the kid alone with his thoughts, strolling away toward Emily, who - Reid realized just then - had been grinning at them from afar all along, with her arms folded on her chest.

"I'm happy too" Spencer smiled to himself.

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literalbuzzkill · 3 years

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Below I'm gonna vent so y'all can ignore that XD

I'm basically making this post as a timestamp/reminder for myself about Covid2020 and what I had to deal with during it (even though it's still a relentlessly ongoing problem, as of Jan2021, yikes)

Below is my personal experience in switching from working everyday as an essential retail worker to now a stay at home unemployed/leave of absense person. Don't feel bad about not reading it, it's long, boring, and I can't really expect anyone to actually be interested because the struggle is real and who wants to be reminded of the grim reality we can't currently escape? XD

[The Start:]

I was still working retail up until a few months ago because most people left. And being short staffed already before covid at my store, things became an even worse unmanageable nightmare because they started to work the remaining staff to death because no one really knew what to do which sucked and everyone was rightfully afraid of what was happening all around them, plus everyone internally was hoping that this would all blow over in a decent amount of time and we could all return to normal and never speak of it again. Considering Covid started around late January/early February in 2019 and today's date (for my future reference) is Jan 4th 2021, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it certainly has not blown over in a decent amount of time like originally hoped for. Oof.

I was a closer but because of covid my job turned into 'every position at the store and everything/anything that you can possibly get done'. All the stuff from morning team, mid shift, and nightshift rolled into one. Cashiering, phone calls, cleaning, ship from store, backroom, covering multiple breaks, and every department on hardlines salesfloor,

(I did everything except for guest services, food service, clothing, and hr)

you name it XD because most people abandoned ship and Yeeted (which I dont blame them for, t'was a big mood) our store did not hire replacements until literally a few months ago. After I left. Nice.

We were not getting paid any extra, having to stay late, running around with an unending unfinishable list, having to deal with rude customers and cranky bosses, full 8+hour shifts having to wear a mask (even in the break room, and sometimes missing breaks all together because of the large work load) Another problem, my job did not supply masks, proper cleaning supplies, gloves etc to us until an unacceptable amount of time had passed since the start of the virus. Now I didn't expect them to be stocked and fully prepared immediately, obviously.

It was also pretty frustrating getting reprimanded by customers when supplies were low everywhere and some things necessary for existing safely could not be bought anywhere due to high demand, which was only natural, but some people actually acted like it was our personal fault for the store for being sold out of things like hand sanitizer, masks, gloves, toilet paper, and even accused us for holding it in the back for ourselves (which wasnt the case, customers are top priority at our store so the workers usually got nothing to take home or buy, even if we had pulled it from the truck or stocked it ourselves.)

Aside from the excessive draining from normal retail where we already suffer from Karen's and the often unpleasant general public, the Rona made the daily grind even more intense, as if we already thought it couldn't get any worse.

Straying away from that for a second, personal lives were now also affected greatly. Added on top of this new fear/caution/lifestyle was not being able to see my fiance or his family for months because they are all at very high risk. (Unfortunately I am too, but I really needed the paycheck so I thought I had to keep working until the inevitable, which was not looked forward to, but as long as I was potentially exposed with my job we all had to be apart unless I decided to quit and risk not having enough money to pay my bills or survive.)

(Side note for context: My fiance and I have been very lucky enough to see eachother almost every day for 4 years. Surprisingly we have not gotten sick of eachother yet and kept up with that regularity. And though we are engaged, we dont live together, but we do only live 15 minutes away so we just drive over to eachother everyday. Anyway, point being that going months without seeing him at all killed me internally hardcore. This was before zoom was popular and we were not about to resort to Skype. His parents are older and closer to me than my own family and were not comfortable with any form of in-person visits so we usually just did phone calls.)

And eventually I gave up,

I made it halfway through this pandemic working everyday, not seeing the only people I considered family, and I couldn't do it anymore. It literally didn't feel human.

Not to mention this did not help whatsoever with my pre-existing problems, bad depression, anxiety, ptsd, Self h, etc... it was all just getting way too out of hand with more stress piling up daily and taking too big a toll on me to the point where I couldn't deal with my regular lifestyle anymore. I needed a break and a change to severely turn myself around.

So a few months ago I finally went on leave of absence and it was the hardest thing for me to do but honestly the best thing I did. Because everything was so uncertain and I worried about how helpful unemployment would be towards my bills, if I'd lose my job for being gone too long due to an open ended leave of absense for the sake of my health/safety, and honestly I loved my job and my coworkers, but many of them had already left so at that point it became easier for me to leave.

I'm currently making more on unemployment than my job was paying my bi-weekly and doing leagues better mentally, emotionally, and physically, than before when I thought I could last the whole time working through covid hoping I wouldn't catch it and probably die because my health is not 100% gucci in the first place. I was too stubborn to quit until I got to a breaking point and then realised that putting my health/life on the line when I'm at risk during a pandemic for literally no reason other than feeling bad for my one really kind boss (who ended up leaving for a better job anyway right after I left)

in my brain the whole time I figured "eh if I die then I die" but there was a major upside to saying "you know what, fuck this" and leaving.

I've gotten to take up hobbies and do things that I've wanted to do for like 10 years, I improved my financial situation, bought my dream car(A 2004Crossfire), got engaged to the love of my life, had more time to read, write, learn, create, help my fiance record his first official music video, support smaller businesses, get back in better physical health, regain stability, and a new respect for life, health, friends, family, acts of kindness, and how easy things used to be before covid and how it was unintentionally taken for granted.

Not gonna lie, at first I was pretty mad that people on unemployment made more than essential workers, but I also knew that it wasn't their fault for their personal situations or reasonings for needing it. The problem was mainly that many Companies/jobs could have done more, treated essential workers better, given more help, compensated financially, offered forms of protectionagaint the virus, or done literally anything extra at all to help employees who were struggling or who stay to continue working there during a terrible pandemic, and some companies/jobs have done good things for their workers in response of the outbreak which is awesome.

Workers should absolutely be compensated for their extra efforts, time, and pleasant attitude in this difficult time, and treated better than they are. Some things should 1000% be different but some things in this world are still a work in progress.

And also, for people with health issues that are at risk but working anyway for whatever reason, there shouldn't be any shame felt for taking care of yourself or by the people who have to go on unemployment, those who can't work, lost their jobs, need help or a break, or just can't do it anymore, because it hits hard when you realise that even though your effort is important and you're doing your best, playing an important role in society, you could also be risking your health/life or even possibly someone you live withs, for a company that will replace you pretty easily if you're suddenly gone.

I worked at my store for 4 years, was extremely hard working and did everything and anything I could to stay as long as I could during this, but I realised that I'd rather not risk myself and be treated how I was.

Ultimately, the sad reality is that covid has some people forgetting that humans (whether working or not) are humans too that can die or fail at any time given the current circumstances. Some situations are unavoidable like a pandemic, but we can do our best with whatever reality we meet, whether it's being essential the whole way through like some are able, and knowing your health well enough to be able to judge what's best for you individually for now.

but regardless making sure you're not taking yourself for granted in the process.

I'm lucky enough to not have gotten covid yet, and I hope it stays that way.

If your job isnt doing what it can for you in this time, dont be too stubborn about staying

Its not worth risking yourself for your job honestly, and I really hope peoples jobs do as much as they can for those they employ.

If you aren't working, do something with your time that you'll remember (safe things obviously) and if you are still working keep up the awesome progress, stay safe, and be blessed. ❤

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dawniebb · 5 years

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Rare Glow Toad Impersonation

Hey y'all :)

If somebody decided to read this: Hi! Thank you!

So, this is my first ever TDP fanfiction just because I love these dorks

This takes place …i don’t know. Somewhere lol. Maybe during s2, episode 4 “Voyage of The Ruthless”. It’s something I would’ve liked to happen :’).

I hope you guys enjoy it https://archiveofourown.org/works/21113417

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She likes her space, and Callum usually respects that, but this time is different.

For some reason, Rayla believes this kind of suffering is a private thing, meaning it’s something she should be ashamed of. Something she must hide so people around her don’t think she’s weak.

And again, Callum usually respects that, but not this time. He knows they were raised in different environments and under different beliefs, but this is just too much, for the simple fact that she’s right there, and she’s not only scared. Instead, she’s also been sick for the last hour, and while it may not seem serious for other people, Callum is fully aware she’s scared of water and, consequently, for him, this not only shows how brave she is but also how big the sacrifice she’s making is.

In the moment he hears her gag reflex again, he turns back and decides to at least try to help instead of just sitting there looking like a dork.

Slowly, Callum walks towards her and drops on his knees. When Rayla shows no reaction, Callum knows she must have confused him with Ez…And that’s actually okay, because she has grown to love Ezran very fast (faster than Callum could’ve ever imagined, given the fact Rayla is kind of serious and Ez is more one of an upbeat, loud one) and when he’s around she doesn’t hide that much, even though she knows he fairly much understands most of the things happening around him and his life. For instance, Rayla is aware Ez can tell when she is sad, mad or in pain. He just likes to give people time.

When Callum comes closer, she’s sitting on the floor with both of her elbows resting on the stairs and both of her palms covering her eyes.

She’s covered in cold sweat and her white hair is starting to stick on her forehead. With every movement the ship makes, Rayla turns either paler or more green…ish, yellowish tonality (it’s hard to tell because her skin is so pale). Callum sits on the stairs and gently places his hand on her shoulder.

Rayla gasps, startled.

"You scared me, you dummy.“ She says. Her voice sounds hoarse as if somebody had been trying to suffocate her, and Callum can tell she is now kind of annoyed. Yet, he smiles to make her feel comfortable.

"How are you doing?” He asks gently.

"I’m doing great. Can’t you tell?“

Callum takes a deep breath. She’s definitely annoyed, and when she’s annoyed she gets pretty difficult to manage, not because she tries to fight him or makes a big a deal out of things, but because she starts getting pretty defensive until she somehow accomplishes her objective of changing the conversation into a whole different subject.

“Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?” Callum asks, leaning a little more toward her and paying little attention to her tone. Then, he starts rubbing her back absently, almost like a reflex. In fact, he doesn’t even notices he’s doing it until he feels the texture of the fabric through his palms.

Maybe when you are forced to face life-threatening situations with someone this often, you get used to touching them quite fast.

Rayla doesn’t seem to be aware of it at first, either, but then they are embraced by the sudden breeze that carries the saline smell and essence of the sea. For Callum, it’s really pleasant, almost like a memory buried at the depths of his mind. Not a sad one, but a really happy one, filled with warmth, peace, and happiness.

Nevertheless, it’s not hard to tell that’s definitely not the case for Rayla. At the moment she feels it strike onto her face, her whole body tenses as if acid had just been poured into every limb attached to her body. To Callum’s eyes, it’s surreal. One could’ve thought they were existing in two different realities, judging by how different their reactions were.

Rayla takes a sharp breath and shuts her eyes. She frowns so much that her forehead turns yellow, almost translucent. She takes a couple of more breaths to stabilize herself, but just when it seems the feeling has gone away, she is forced to cover her mouth with her fist. A grunt emanates from the center of her throat, and she swallows hard.

"Stop doing that.” She commands, in a tone so low that, mixed with her accent, almost sounds like gibberish.

For a second, Callum doesn’t know what she means, so he just stops everything he’s doing. He even stops breathing.

"Stop doing what?“ He dares to ask.

"The back rubbing. Cut it off.” She snaps. “It’s making me feel sicker.”

"Oh.“ Callum swallows. “Oh. I’m sorry. I… I didn’t realize I…I’m sorry. I promise it wasn’t my intention to…”

"Stop talking.” She shakes her hand into the air to express exasperation, and then she massages her temples with her fingers. Rayla doesn’t feel a tiny bit better, which makes Callum feel useless.

Finally, he realizes he doesn’t know what to do but refuses to count leaving as an option.

So he stays because he wants to and because he’s worried about her, even if Rayla believes she’s always on her own and nobody but herself should worry about her well-being.

He stays because he’s not planning to leave until she feels safe when they touch land again.

Because that’s what friends do and she would’ve done the same for him.

Because she had done it before, when she stayed awake all night patrolling so nobody could hurt Ez, Bait, the egg or Callum himself.

And yes, she may be ashamed of herself for being afraid of water, but that doesn’t mean Callum should also consider it as an embarrassing disgrace.

If she were to have no fear of anything at all, she might as well just want to die and reincarnate into a rock.

Sometimes Callum just wants to shake her because maybe (just maybe) that’ll be enough to get that into her stubborn head. He wants her to understand she doesn’t have to be so hard on herself and that she doesn’t always have to face her problems alone for one simple reason: She’s not alone. Maybe she has felt (or been) alone in the past, but not anymore.

He’s here, right next to her, and he wishes he could say that out loud, but Callum considers himself a rational and thinking individual (sometimes) and he knows that it’s not the right moment.

Besides, if he tried to shake her right now, chances were he would end up covered in her breakfast and that wasn’t something he wanted to go through today. Or ever.

So Callum does what he had initially planned to do and stays by her side. This time, he tries to be quiet and, most importantly, tries to avoid any kind of behavior that could make her feel worse.

For a moment they stay in silence, and the only thing that can be heard is Callum’s charcoal against the pages of his book… and Rayla’s grunts, of course.

He has no idea how long they’ve been there when suddenly she takes a deep breath and he feels her hand on his. It feels cold but also sticky. Callum stares and waits.

Rayla coughs softly and sniffs. Then, she scoots up just enough to directly meet his gaze. She’s still sweaty and looks far from fine, but she seems to have found the will power to speak above her nausea.

"I’m sorry.” She says in a weak voice.

Callum smiles at her.

"Sorry about what?“ He asks in genuine confusion.

“The way I spoke to you. I know you were just trying to help and I acted like a jerk. “She sighs, and he can feel she’s feeling guilty even though she shouldn’t be.” Would you forgive me? Please? ”

“No problem,” Callum assures. “It’s not that big of a deal, really. I know you’re not feeling well. Maybe I should’ve… I don’t know, respect your personal space way more, I guess. I… “

“It’s not that.” Rayla adjusts her position, taking both of her legs up to her chest and resting her chin on her knees. “It didn’t actually make me feel sicker, just a little bit… sleepy. I’m just… I don’t know. I’m just really… ”

"Sensitive,” Callum says, knowing she would never allow herself to admit that. “I understand and I don’t blame you. I don’t think you’re a failure or a disgrace for feeling that way either. I think you’re just going through a hard time and that’s why you feel so overwhelmed by everything. Besides, feeling nauseous is pretty annoying. If I were you, I would be all grumpy and annoyed too. “

Rayla doesn’t respond for a while. At least, until she feels ready to do it.

“I’m not sensitive.” She mutters as she buries her chin deeper onto her knees. "I’m grumpy. Just grumpy. ”

Through Callum’s eyes, she looks like a small child, almost like Ezran in one of those rare occasions in which he decides to throw tantrums over the most trivial things. It’s adorable, but she doesn’t need to know that, and that’s why Callum is not planning to tell her.

“I feel so dizzy. I really hate water. “She complains.

Callum feels the unavoidable movement of the ship, and he can’t help but think the moment it chose to be felt is the worst one ever. Rayla closes her eyes and hugs her knees tightly and Callum places his hand on her shoulder, trying to be careful in the process. He stays like that until they’re steady again and, in a blink, Rayla has her fist back on her lips.

"You’re turning different colors.” Callum tries to joke. “Is that your rare glow toad impersonation?”

She apparently tries to laugh. However, she’s not able to. She instead gags and suffocates the sound with a cough before she can recover and speak normally again.

"It’s what I’ve been trying to tell Ez. “She says in a muffled voice, with a weak smile.” I don’t think he’s buying it, though.”

"Well, who knows?” Callum shrugs and smiles back at her. “You’re… doing great, okay? We’re almost at land. ”

"That’s a lie. You’re just trying to make me feel better. I’m not dumb, Callum.“ She tries to scoff at him but, still, she looks really sad and frustrated.

And tired.

So, so tired.

“Fine, we’re actually far from land.” He admits. "But I wasn’t lying when I told you you’re doing great. You’re really brave, Rayla. It takes a lot of guts to do what you’re doing right now. ”

"Suffering and gagging?“

"No. “Callum resists the desire to violently roll his eyes at her. “Doing something even though it gives you all the bad feelings. I’ve told you this once, and I’ll keep repeating it until you believe me, okay?”

She doesn’t say anything, neither does she show any visible reaction. Callum doesn’t take it personally and keeps drawing instead. At least until he feels her moving next to him.

Carefully, Rayla lays on the floor and places her head on Callum’s lap, trying not to stab his stomach with her horns. He smiles tenderly almost without noticing, as he’s glad she’ll finally try to catch some sleep and disconnect from this whole situation that’s making her feel so sick.

She flexes her legs up to her stomach and hugs herself.

"Could you do it again?” She asks.

"Do what?” Callum asks back.

“The annoying… not-so-annoying back rubbing thing.”

"Oh. That. “Callum smiles and he puts his sketching book aside. “Of course. “

"Thank you.”

And he does it until her breathing stabilizes and she falls asleep. He doesn’t, though, and he just stares at her the whole time as he promised to himself. He takes care of her until she can feel safe and stays by her side. It’s not like he has any other option because she’s using him as a pillow anyways, but somehow he doesn’t get bored.

He likes being around her even when she’s not awake. He also feels safe, even if he’s the one taking care of her this time.

It’s an odd feeling, but he doesn’t mind. He’s not quite sure what it is, either…

Who knows?

Maybe sometimes we’re better off living in sweet ignorance regarding certain things.

#tdp #callum #rayla #RAYLLUM #fanfic #babies #i love them #the dragon prince

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bandsconcertsfood · 5 years

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Let Go

Part 2 to I Never Stood A Chance, Did I?

Don't really have to read part 1 to read this part However here's the link to part 1: Link!

Jace Wayland/Herondale x Reader

Summary: After Y/N leaves Central City she moved back to the Institute and Jace finally reveals his feelings for her and they start dating. What happens when Team Flash decides to come look for her in Brooklyn and accidentally capture her parabatai, threatening to kill her, unless she tells them where Y/N is. Will she reveal herself to them?

4 Months Ago: "Y/N I know it's only been two months since you got back from Central City but I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date with me" Jace says as I walk into the weapons room. "Clary told me y'all were dating" I tell him as I grab a Seraph blade, semi confused. When I met Clary, she seemed kind of jealous by how close Jace and I were but eventually warmed up to me and we became good friends, not close friends though. "Well she lied, so yes?" he asks, slightly irritated that Clary lied to me. "Yes, tomorrow night" I say and go and train with Izzy, telling her what happened. As I'm walking out of training I bump into Clary, "I don't want to repeat what happened in Central City so please don't hate me but I'm going on a date with Jace. We've been best friends for years and I've always wanted this" I tell her truthfully. "I'm sorry, after what you went through two months ago, I shouldn't have been selfish, ever since I was forced into this world all I did was be selfish, I won't get in between you guys, forgive me" she asked sincerely. I smile at her and we hug, slightly giggling.

Present: "Y/N would you like to go on a date with me to maybe the pizza place on main street?" Jace asked, so many things have been happening with Lilith that we haven't gone on a date in a while. "Sure, usual time?" I asked as I walked into the common room as Alec is talking to Izzy. "Of course" he says kissing me on the cheek and walking towards the Lightwoods as Clary approaches me. "You guys seem happy together" she says smiling. I know this must be hard for her but she's been super supportive of us, something I realized I should've done with Barry and Iris. I wonder how they're all doing. Especially Caitlin, last we saw each other was painful. "Wanna help me get ready for tonight?" I ask and she nods excited. We giggle and walk to my room. A few minutes later Izzy walks in, "you didn't invite me" she pouts giggling. I decided on leather pants, a noodle strap black crop top and some black wedges. I decided not to wear makeup other than red lipstick that Izzy let me borrow. "Have fun" she says "What are you guys going to do" I asked curious. "We're going on a mission, apparently a fast mundane has been asking about shadowhunters so we're going to find him" Clary replies before Izzy says anything. I freeze. Bartholomew. "Go on your date and don't worry about it. We'll take care of it" Izzy says and grabs my hand and leads me to the common room. "I know who it is, please don't go after him. He's looking for me" I tell her quietly. "Who is he" "He's the one that got me killed" I say before Jace walks in. He kisses me and I look at Izzy one last time before we go to our favorite pizza place for a nice night. Not knowing Izzy was going to talk to Barry... alone.

Barry's P.O.V.

We were next to an old abandoned church. It was me, Caitlin, Iris, Cisco and Joe. They wanted to come with me, I had finally managed to ask Caitlin why she didn't want me to search for Y/N's body when she finally told me the truth. Now I'm in Brooklyn, wanting her to come back. After I saved Iris, she started dating Eddie again, that's when I realized the one for me was Y/N. Out of the church came a woman in all black. She had long black hair. I ran and grabbed her, tying her up, there was a chair and Joe made her sit on it. "What do you know about shadowhunters" I asked her, noticing she had the exact same tattoos as Y/N. "Leave" is all she grumbles. "I think she's a shadowhunter" Cisco says excitedly. "Where's Y/N?" "She's better of without you getting her killed. At least here she's loved" she spits out. "Please I'm her best friend" Caitlin begs. The lady laughs, Iris goes and slaps her leaving everyone shocked. "You? Her best friend? I have a rune that begs to differ. Her and I are connected, our souls are as one. If you kill me, you kill a part of her, how's that for best friends" she says. "Find her phone" Joe says. "You won't reach her, her phone is always left at the institute during date night" the mysterious woman says. I feel a pang of jealousy, she's on a date? Joe looks through her contacts, "I feel like we should call Jace or Simon" Cisco says giggling, excited to be meeting nephilim. "This is serious Cisco" Caitlin says, not regretting her choice to tell me the truth. I noticed how the woman's eyes widened when Cisco said the name Jace. "Try Jace" I said serious.

Third P.O.V.

Jace and Y/N were talking when he got a phone call. "It's Izzy" he says answering, putting it on speaker since we were the only two at the pizza place. "This is Barry Allen. We're next to the broken church on main. Give us Y/N and this woman goes unharmed." he says and hung up. "It's Barry" Jace says getting mad, the only ones that knew the whole truth about Central City were Magnus, Jace, Raphael, and Alec, Y/N didn't want Izzy to worry so she never mentioned the details, just the overall that she got shot by a crazy man.

Barry's P.O.V.

"She hates you" the woman, we found out her name is Isabelle, says. "She is my best friend and I will take her home" Caitlin says, proudly. "Again, she's my best friend, my sister, my literal other half. Also Jace won't let her go. And if you think she'll leave with you, you're going to have to get through vampires, werewolves, seelies, warlocks, shadowhunters, and lastly me. Every downworlder and shadowhunter loves her. Like I said, we protect our own here, you just let them die." Isabelle says, I notice Iris, Joe and Cisco suddenly look afraid. "I'm not afraid of monsters" I say, knowing I'll be taking Y/N home, especially once I tell her i love her. "Maybe we should leave" Cisco suddenly squeaks out. "I'm going to agree with Cisco" Joe says but Caitlin answers before I do, "we're not leaving without my best friend."

"Back away from Izzy" I hear a very angry deep voice say. "Hi Alec!" Isabelle says happily and walks up from the chair. I just realize she was untying herself as we talked. "call for backup" he tells her and he points an arrow straight at me. "I'm the fastest man alive, so that won't really work" I say and flash to him and get the arrow then back to my original spot. He immediately has another arrow pointed at me. He's almost as good as Oliver. Almost.

Caitlin's P.O.V.

I notice Isabelle is calling someone, is it Y/N? "We just want Y/N" Iris says and the guy named Alec points the arrow at her. Now I'm starting to get nervous. Suddenly there's some type of portal and 3 guys walk out with a redhead. "Heard you're here for Y/N/N" the palest guy asked, he had some latino features but he was extremely pale. Barry grabs the Isabelle girl and holds her tight. "Let go of her" Alec says and grabs Iris, this is getting extremely dangerous. Suddenly someone walks in and says, "You let her go or I swear to god!" I turn around and it's..

Y/N's P.O.V.

"You let her go or I swear to god!" I say walking in and notice Bartholomew had grabbed my parabati. "You heard her" Barry says to Alec, Raphael starts to laugh. "Y/N-" Caitlin starts as she steps closer to me. "I meant you Bartholomew Henry Allen, don't you dare lay your hands on my best friend" I say ignoring Caitlin, I am furious with her. She promised she wouldn't tell them. "What? Y/n I love you, let's go home, to Central City" Barry says, I sigh and take out my seraph blade, "let go of my best friend" I say getting into a stance, that's when I notice everyone had gotten into their own fighting stance. "Ok, let's just talk this out" Cisco says getting in between me and Barry. "Francisco move before something happens to you." I say looking straight at Barry. "We won't repeat ourselves, let go of Izzy and you can have your mundane back" Alec says, his grip on Iris tightening, she winces but I don't even care. Barry lets go of Izzy, knowing that he may be the fastest man alive but he won't be able to save his entire team. Once Izzy gets to me safely Alec throws Iris back at Barry. Immediately Izzy is standing with her snake out. "What the fuck are you doing here? Couldn't you just stay in Central?" I ask pissed but slightly more calm when Jace stands next to me and holds my hand. "Y/N I love you" Barry says and I can't help but laugh. "You sure didn't love me when you looked into my killer's eyes and told him to spare Iris and not me. You could've saved us both but no, you wanted me dead" I tell him, knowing it was easy to find us because he had made us all get tracking rings so he'd be able to find us. "I didn't know where you were" he said crying trying to get close to me. Jace gets in front of me and Izzy gets ready in case he gets too close, "What about the rings? You gave us rings so you'd find us, you could've saved us both but you wanted to be the hero in her story, not our stories" I say knowing he wanted to save her so she'd fall in love with him. "I made a mistake" is all he whispers. "Y/N-" Caitlin starts. "Don't even speak bitch" Is all I tell her and begin walking away. "Go home Flash. You're not needed here. I see you again and I will kill you, that's a promise" Is all I say and walk into the Portal that Magnus had created, I needed a movie night at the Bane apartment with all my friends, they quickly follow behind, understanding what I wanted.

#jace wayland x reader #jace herondale x reader #jace wayland imagine #jace herondale imagine #Jace wayland #the mortal instruments #shadowhunters imagine

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bi-nick-carraway · 5 years

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Maybe things can be okay

Author's note: This was a requested prompt from @loafdaloaf "it was three in the morning." I wrote this between math homework and reading The Shining so if it's bad I'm so sorry. If anyone else has requests, drop them in my ask box and I hope y'all have a lovely day.

It was three in the morning. Nick had been drinking after he had a long, terrible nightmare about the night Myrtle Wilson died. It was the first time Nick had seen that much blood, especially on someone who, despite all her faults, did not deserve to die. Of course, that event had been three or four months ago (Nick lost count, although he did keep count for what felt to him like a very long time). At the present moment, Nick smelled of nearly the entire scotch supply in his cabinet, but it wasn’t enough to keep the dark thoughts away. It was never enough.

(Why wasn’t I in the car with them?)

(Could I have prevented it?)

(She didn’t deserve it, did she

(What if Jay had… what if he actually died…? What would I do?)

(What if I hadn’t ever come here?)

(What if I hadn't ruin Jay’s life?)

(What if I could’ve stopped all this from happening?)

Some part of Nick recognized that these thoughts were not true, and if any inch of his mind was wober, he would have also recognized that these thoughts were useless and it did not do any good to ponder them. But he did; he pondered them and allowed them to plague his brain and his heart. This was not the first time this happened. On many other occasions, Nick had fished around for his razor in the bathroom cabinet and stared at the blade until he lost his nerve and put it away before he returned to bed and fell into a fitful sleep. This time, though, Nick could not bring himself to even think about harming himself, for there was no room for it in his mind. The one thought that filled his mind leaving no space for anything else was:

(What if Jay had gotten hurt? What if… what if…. )

It was too much. It was too much for Nick have those thoughts alone in his bedroom. So he set the bottle of scotch on the shelf, threw on his coat over his night clothes, put on his shoes without bothering with socks, and walked out of the house as briskly as he could.

The mansion next door was almost foreboding with its dark windows. The grass was slightly overgrown; Gatsby did not worry much over appearance in those days. There had not been a party since before the incident. A strange nostalgic feeling came over Nick when the memory of the parties arose in his hazy, alcohol-tinged mind. He missed those parties more in that moment more than he had in weeks. He missed seeing the great Jay Gatsby in his finely pressed suits and a glittering smile always on his tan face. Some nights, the light caught Jay’s dark blue eyes just right and made them sparkle like the night sky. Yes, Nick certainly missed those parties, and he missed Jay Gatsby. Nick missed him terribly.

It was no surprise to him when he ended up standing in front of Gatsby’s door despite the fact that Nick was not paying any attention to where his feet were taking him. And there he was, standing in front of his neighbor’s house at an unreasonable hour. The alcohol was a good enough excuse, Nick supposed. In reality, Nick would have done the exact same thing had he not touched a single drop. He simply could not help himself.

After taking several deep breaths, Nick knocked loudly on the door, willing his anxiety to go away. A few moments later, the door creaked open, and Nick braced himself for the scrutinizing glare of a butler awoken from slumber, but instead, Nick was met by a warm, tired smile that made his stomach do backflips.

“Old sport,” Jay said softly, and Nick could tell he was holding back a yawn. “What brings you here this early? Is everything all right?”

For a moment or two (or three for that matter), Nick couldn’t think of what to say. The way Gatsby was leaning one shoulder against the door frame with his loose cotton shirt completely unbuttoned was causing Nick’s heart to jump into his throat. He looked so damn beautiful standing there in the moonlight. It wasn’t until those lovely laugh-lines appeared at the corners of Gatbsy’s eyes that Nick realized he said that out loud.

“Thank you for the compliment, my friend.” Then the laugh-lines faded, and a more concerned look appeared on Gatsby’s tired face. “Why don’t you come inside? I’ll make you some coffee.”

“No, no…” came Nick’s hesitant reply. “I’m… I’m sorry for waking you. I just had a bad dream, that’s all. I’m fine, really. I’ll let you go back to bed-”

“Nick,” Gatsby interrupted, not harshly. “Please, come inside. I doubt I could go back to sleep at this point, and I would be grateful for the company.”

It took some convincing, but Jay eventually was able to practically drag Nick inside because he wasn’t going to let Nick spend a drunk night alone. Gatsby hated alcohol despite being surrounded by it constantly, but he also knew that it was often used to lessen negative emotions. No matter how late at night or early in the morning it was was going to stop him from taking care of someone important to him.

Nick found himself sitting at a small table in the mansion’s giant kitchen as Gatsby busied himself making coffee for them both. Jay had the unfortunate decency to button up his shirt, and yet that made him no less beautiful. Nick may have said that out loud again, but Jay had not reacted to it if he did except for a hint of red on his ears. It felt wonderfully, and somehow also horribly, domestic. If Nick was not feeling ashamed and humiliated for his current state, the situation would have made him feel as giddy as a teen-aged girl. When Jay joined him at the table, he poured him a cup of coffee and one for himself. Clearly, Gatsby was not going to let himself fall asleep when his friend was troubled. Gatsby stared at Nick until Nick reluctantly took a sip of the bitter liquid. His face scrunched up against his will at the taste. He had a sweet tooth he would never admit to.

“I would offer you sugar, but I’m afraid that wouldn’t help the headache you’re going to have tomorrow,” Gatsby said, as if reading Nick’s mind. Nick just made a face in response, causing Gatsby to laugh a low, tired laugh. It was childish, Nick knew, but he couldn’t help himself, especially when it made Jay laugh like that.

“Now, old sport,” Gatsby continued a little more seriously, “would you please tell me what’s wrong?”

“Was just a bad dream, I told you,” Nick said and averted his eyes. “Was just a bad dream is all.”

“Nick, please…” The desperation in his voice caught Nick off guard, and his eyes were so pleading and worried.

“I suppose it’s just that…” Nick started carefully, trying to organize his thoughts for the hundredth time that night, “It was a bad dream. About that night.” Nick did not need to specify what night he was talking about. “And I guess I can’t help but think… God, Jay, I can’t help but think how you could’ve been hurt.” His voice started to waver. “You could’ve died. Wilson was there, right there with a gun, and I wasn’t there to… I wasn’t there to do anything. If anything happened… If you got hurt, that would have been my fault. Christ, I can’t even go a week without seeing you. If you had… I think I would have thrown myself off a damn bridge by now if you didn’t make it out of that alive.” That last statement hung heavy in the air, and Nick couldn’t force himself to say any more.

“Nick, that…” Gatsby started, a perplexed expression on his face, “that was months ago.”

“And yet I think of it every day. I care for you much more deeply thank you could imagine, James Gatz.” Suddenly, Gatsby’s serious expression was shot through with ten different shades of pink and several layers of astonishment.

“Are you at all sober?”

“Not at all,” Nick’s answer was short as he studied his coffee to avoid any eye contact, “but I don’t need to be sober to know how I’ve felt about you since the day we first met.”

It happened in an instant. Jay slid the table out of the way, it made a terrible screeching noise and the coffee that had gone cold sloshed out of the cups, and he grabbed Nick’s collar and kissed him hard on the mouth. A surge of emotions passed between them, and Nick would be lying if he said he didn’t shed a few tears. The kiss slowly became more gentle until it was soft and kind and loving. Neither of them knew how long it was when they parted, both breathing heavily.

“I hope you know I’m not going to take advantage of you when you’re drunk,” Jay mumbled with his head on Nick’s shoulder, and Nick laughed.

“I don’t have work tomorrow,” he whispered in Jay’s ear. “You’ll have all day to take advantage of me.” He laughed again when Jay just buried his head further into Nick in embarrassment.

It was three in the morning. Yet another dream woke Nick from his sleep, with shallow breathing and perspiration gathering on his forehead. Then a warm body stirred next to him and rolled over to face him.

“Nick?

“Yes?”

“Another bad dream?”

“...Yes.”

“I’m right here.” Then strong arms wrapped around Nick, keeping him anchored to reality. “Go back to sleep, my love.”

“Jay?”

“Yes, darling?”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too. Now please go to sleep.” A soft laugh came out of Nick before he settled himself into his lover’s arms, and, for the first time in months, he went back to sleep without any dark thoughts fighting to keep him awake.

#the great gatsby #tgg #tgg fanfiction #my writing #the great gatsby fanfiction #natsby #nick carraway #jay gatsby #james gatz #prompt request #mention of self harm #thoughts of self harm #tw: alcohol #if there are any other trigger warnings let me know

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askdawnandvern · 5 years

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Vernon: Er...I don't know iffin' I want to touch on that.

Zach: C'mon now Vern, the little Miss ain't here fer this one. So it ain't like it's gonna make her feel bad.

Vernon: What if she reads this later?

Vanna: Not to put more strain on you Vernon, but if I recall Dawn is quite adamant about facing the truth in order to heal. She doesn't want to 'forget' what she did so that she can continually strive to be a better mammal.

Vernon: Yeah, but hearin' the same stories constantly can't be good fer long term moral. How many times we gotta talk about these experiences before it's 'enough'?

Dorian: One last time then? Fer the sake of who asked it. After that, we'll try and avoid this kinda talk from now on.

Vernon: *Sigh* Fine...Well....Durin' the incident I was in college, studyin' architecture. When it first came to light that preds were goin' 'Savage', most of the folks at school thought it was some sorta disease.

Vanna: There was a similar sentiment at the ZPD. Although there were a few who feared-.

Vernon: That it really did have something to do with a preds 'nature'?

Vanna: *Nods*

Vernon: Well there were no shortage of them folks too, especially among the prey students. Eventually, protests broke out, prey protestin' preds goin' to school durin' the epidemic, preds standing up for their rights to go. I tried to keep my head down and out of it, focusin' on the schoolwork and leavin' my personal worries about the howler fer when I was home. But eventually things got so bad most of the pred folk were permitted to stay home and finish out their classes online to avoid any trouble on campus, and I took the out.

Zach: We had to deal with a lot of sheep protestin', neighbors we thought we knew startin' to look at us sideways.

Dorian: Prey became more aggressive outta fear, made 'em less cooperative with us preds in law-enforcement. Then as things got worse a bunch of our pred officers started stayin' home and refusin' to work. They were afraid of turnin' on a neighbor or innocent citizen at the drop of a hat due to whatever the howler was. That left us purty strained, lots of long shifts on nothin' but coffee fumes and collapsing into bed as soon as we finally got home only to get about two to three hours sleep at most.

Vanna: The ZPD also started losing officers in droves. Those preds who didn't see themselves shifted to out of sight desk positions either resigned or took out all their vacation days in order to wait out the storm, even if there didn't seem to be an end in sight.

Yuri: Seaodder didn't see to much of a frenzy over it. I mean there were o' course the hushed whispers of stuff among the preds on the force and a few prey perps, but generally the fact that it hadn't spread outside of Zootopia's borders kept it from affectin' thangs all too much.

Xavier: It was similar in San Francisgoat, although it was definitely more talked about. Nearly every public television was constantly fixed to ZNN, keeping the howler epidemic on almost every mammal's mind.

Malcolm: It was a frequent topic of conversation at the diner. Pred and prey musin' over the cause, arguments sometimes breakin' out whenever someone started to lean on what that bunny said might of been the cause. Had to kick a few customers out over them kinda scrapes.

Xavier: On the streets however, most mammals were still civilized. No riots, no protests. If it wasn't in our state, it wasn't urgent.

Trenton: Durin' the Howler scare, I got a lot of uncomfortable glares from the various burrowfolk I had to deal with. Not that I didn't get them before, there just was a sharp uptick. It weren't all that much of a surprise though. In the burrows, old beliefs die hard, and new 'evidence' just provides vindication.

Qali: It was hard not just for my family, but our community. Foxes glen is largely a pred town. Foxes, wolves, a stray puma or bear. Our prey population is very small. But during the howler epidemic it got that much smaller. A lot of the prey folk went on long term trips to stay with family, and some went as far as moving out entirely. Thankfully it didn't cut into the local economy too sharply, but it took a bit of a toll on moral, and it made a lot of us scared that our farms would go under due to the pervading fear of predators cutting our customer count during harvest season.

Wade: I was put behind a desk, as was my partner. Of course, it was a huge strain on Precinct three, not just because we were put behind the desk, but more than half of our staff was. I mean, it's no secret that the Tundratown ZPD is made up largely of pred officers. The other precincts had to help pick up the slack, and they were already strained as it was. As fer my personal life, I played it like Vern. Kept my head down, limited myself to work and home, and to occasional grocery pick up. I was just prayin' it would all blow over soon.

Ada: While it may have been easy for ol' Yuri dere, da hospital was hell. Wese always had an issue wit employee retention, but neva was it more strained den durin' da night howler ting. I mean, da hospital was considad ground zero at da time in toims of gettin' infected. Most preds taught it was a disease, and so woikin' a hospital was a big risk in most o' dere eyes. It also made prey patient more scared of bein' treated by pred doctas' to da point where we always had to have a big, honkin' prey nurse accompany every prey docta around to put da patient at ease.

Audrey: Thankfully it wasn't the season for corn and pies or I'm sure my stall woulda suffered fer it, but I still got looks from the neighbors, hell even old friends. Mammals I knew since I was a pup even hesitated around me just a might. They may not a thought I noticed, but I did. I can't say it didn't make me sad, but I can't say I blame 'em either.

Vernon: Afterward? Well I mean things mostly went back to how they was. Sure, there was a few pred supremacist marches and so on, but the quickly tapered off as the majority of the city seemed more interested in mendin' the wounds. Most mammals weren't willin' to hear out folk blamin' 'all sheep' fer what happened, rather than the actual...er...culprit...and I'm thankful for that.

Dorian: It was worse up here, as y'all know. The native wolves dug in sharply, takin' the opportunity of what Dawn did to try and draw more folks into their way of thinkin'. And of course, y'all know what happened next...

Zach: I still don't regret it. If not for saving that little lambs life, than for the damage the shooting did to that little attempt at a native wolf revival movement. Pretty much all support fer anti-prey sentiment dried up thanks to that nut and his pistol.

Wade: Me and my partner went right back on duty. It was almost as if nothing had changed, which was kind of a relief. I was afraid there would be a dark cloud hanging over the station ferever after what happened. But hey, that's the Tundra Town way I guess, resilient in the face of unyielding cold and what not.

Qali: While the mammals who moved away never actually returned, maybe because it was easier, or maybe out of shame, the other families did. Most of the prey who returned went above and beyond to apologize to everyone they could, of course most refused to accept the apology, my Dad included.

Ada: Dat's cold.

Qali: Not like that. I mean they felt that their neighbors had nothing to apologize for. Most of them felt that had they been in the shoes of their prey neighbors, they would have done the same, especially if the had kits. Still, that didn't stop most of the pred families from getting buried in baked goods. *giggles*

Vanna: I transferred to the North Meadowlands, so my experience was muted significantly. By the time I was working with Zach, the tension in the community was fading fast.

Macolm: Things purty much went back to normal at my diner. The arguments over what was the cause o' the whole night howler problem went right back to arguin' over who's sport team was the best.

Xavier: Only thing that changed for me at that point was an uptick in discrimination suits. Most of the prey discriminating predator out of fear of the whole night howler issue when it was thought to be an illness or mental problem. Despite the case being solved, those civil suits still needed to be settled regardless, although if I remember most of the prey mammals in those cases ended up settling.

Ada: Da hospital was still strained o' course, but it was less bad den it was durin' da whole epidemic. Da patients got less finnicky about who took care of 'em, and we even managed to snag some new recruits afta a few weeks to lessen da load on da rest of us.

Audrey: After what happened to Zach, any bit o' hesitation on the part of my neighbors and friends kinda vanished overnight, instead replaced with guilty admissions and lump sum payments in baked goods.

Vernon: I hope y'all got what ya wanted to hear from this...I don't imagine it was too entertainin'...

Wade: Kind of a downer really...

Vernon: But now we never have to talk about this again...I hope.

#Zootopia #askdawnandvern #ask blog #Assistant Mayor Bellwether #zoosona #fan character #wastedtimeee

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