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marauderundercover · 3 years

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Taking Chance Ch. 15: Problem Solving (Last name: Wayne)

AO3

Walking into class after lunch break, Marinette keeps her head down. No need to bring attention to the fact that she’s late...again. Sliding into her seat, she breathes a sigh of relief that Mme. Bustier is also late. Probably making copies. Either way, it had saved her from getting in trouble for being late again. Opening her bag to take out her stuff, she winces as Lila’s voice pierces the room.

“And then, he said he missed me so much that he cried!” She exclaims, clutching her hands together and sighing. Marinette rolls her eyes, certain that whoever it is either doesn’t actually know Lila, or doesn’t know Lila. Either way….lie.

“I still can’t believe you’re official with THE Tim Drake!” Alya exclaims. Marinette immediately chokes on air, her entire face turning bright red as she coughs and attempts to catch her breath. It doesn’t help that everyone is suddenly staring at her and waiting to see if she’s okay. The story pops back into her mind. Yeah, sure Lila. Tim Drake is dating you- an annoying little kid. Sure.

“Are you okay?” Rose asks once Marinette finally catches her breath. She smiles awkwardly, not ready for a confrontation with Lila over this, but also wary to let anyone spread this specific rumor.

“Yeah, it’s just-” Marinette pauses and sighs. This wouldn’t be the high road, but she had to watch out for her brother. “I’m just not sure Lila is telling the truth.” Chaos erupts around her. She chances a glance at Adrien, surprised to see his supportive smile. Well, almost. They had gotten closer. And sure, he’s said he liked her in Gotham, but she kinda thought he just blurted it out after seeing she was Ladybug. She wasn’t quite sure if he actually liked her.

“I-I just don’t understand why you hate me!” Lila sobs.

“I don't-” Marinette tries to say. Keyword- tries.

“Girl, you should apologize. Lila's been talking about Tim since before we even went to Gotham! They’re super serious now. They have been for almost two years.” Alya says.

“No they’re not! Do you seriously think an almost twenty year old CEO would date some fifteen year old kid from halfway across the world? I doubt Tim’s ever even been to Italy or France since becoming Co-CEO.” Marinette rambles, knowing with absolute certainty that she was right.

“Marinette! You’re kind of being mean. Lila says-” Rose tries to say.

“Just because Lila said something doesn’t mean it’s true!” Marinette cries, her frustration threatening to overwhelm her.

“Girl, you seriously need to apologize.” Alya says softly. Marinette’s jaw drops.

“For what?” She scoffs, throwing her arms up in exasperation. “For seeing the truth and calling it out? For not bending to Lila’s every whim?”

“For being a bad friend.” Alya says simply. Marinette freezes. A bad friend? Really? Her? A bad friend? How? All she’d ever done was try to be good. To be nice. To be perfect.

“Whatever.” She finally says, standing and grabbing her stuff. She storms out of the room, ignoring the yells of protest from her classmates. She thinks she hears Adrien, but she ignores him too and continues on her rampage past everyone, including Mme. Bustier. She doesn’t stop until she’s in the basement of the school. The only thing down here were a few vending machines. She tries to calm herself down, knowing her anger is unnecessary. But it’s hard.

She wants to let herself be mad, she should be able to be mad about this! She was always trying to be a good friend and do things for other people and help the class even when she didn’t have time. Even if it meant missing out on sleep or doing something she wants to do, she put them first. Always. But somehow, Lila came out on top. She always comes out on top. They always believed Lila. Always.

“You should leave Marinette, before you attract an akuma.” Tikki says calmly. Marinette blinks, trying to figure out- Oh. Kaalki. Duh. Quickly calling on her transformation, Marinette portals into her room at the manor before a butterfly can come infect her. The second she lands, she calls off her transformation and continues her pacing.

“I’ve always been there for them. Always helped them. Always cared. How is calling Lila out being a bad friend? She’s not even my friend!” Marinette rambles with a huff.

“Maybe you should talk to your family- get their opinions.” Tikki suggests. Marinette starts to turn her down, then realizes she has to say something. Lila’s telling lies about Tim. Lies that could get him in some serious trouble.

“I have to tell Tim! If Alya publishes anything about Lila and Tim he could get in a LOT of trouble.” Marinette rambles, throwing her door open. She blinks in surprise at Tim, standing there frowning with a huge cup of what she assumes is coffee.

“When’d you get here?” He asks, and she can tell he’s much too tired to take this seriously right now.

“I’ll fill you in later, Timmy. Get some sleep.” She says, giving him a quick hug before darting around him and down the stairs. She had to tell someone who could deal with it. Not that she wanted Lila to get in trouble or anything like that, but...she didn’t want them to be able to lie about her family anymore. She’d accept all of those other stupid lies if she just stopped lying about the Waynes.

Running past the ballroom, a sudden movement makes her backtrack and actually glance into the ballroom. Her eyes widen when she notices the movement she caught was Dick….hanging from the chandelier. Of course. Well, he’s not going to be much help, she thinks, shaking her head and turning to try and find someone else. Maybe Mr.- maybe her dad was around. Now if she was a superhero/co-CEO combo where would she spend her free time. She hums, before deciding to check his study. If he wasn’t in there, she’d just go through and check the Batcave. He had to be in one of those places. She knocks on his study door, completely expecting silence, so she’s confused when she hears him call:

“Come in.” She raises an eyebrow. Okay, so he is in the study. Pushing the door open, she smiles at him, rubbing the back of her neck nervously at the brief look of complete and total shock on his face.

“Uh, hi Dad.” She says, rocking back onto her heels nervously. He controls his face quickly, gesturing for her to shut the door.

“Marinette. When did you arrive?” He asks, carefully examining her. She turns red when she realizes- he’s looking for injuries. Since going back to Paris, she hadn’t really communicated with her family unless she was injured or unable to fight. Promising herself to change that, she sits in the chair in front of his desk.

“Five minutes ago, maybe? I’m not sure. I just-” She pauses and frowns, realizing that her emotions almost got the better of her today. She almost let her frustration win. Over something silly. Shaking the thoughts away, she says “I was upset. Lila was lying again and usually I can just ignore her but this time… She was telling everyone that she’s dating Tim, and that they’re really serious and have been for almost two years.” Her dad’s eyebrows twitch slightly.

“Isn’t Lila your age?” He asks.

“Well, she’s already fifteen. But still, it would put Tim in a really bad light if Alya posted it somewhere and knowing Alya, she’s going to post it. Because they all believe Lila. And I tried to explain to them that Tim is quite a bit older than us and he’s an actual CEO and we’re just kids to him and he hasn’t even been in Italy or France and-” She pauses, letting herself take a breath. “I just think it’s wrong for her to lie about my family.”

---

Bruce tries hard to hide his shock. His daughter, who he’d known for less than two months, came all the way to Gotham because someone lied about Tim. It wasn’t the first time someone lied about the Wayne family, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last time. But the fact that his daughter was so upset that she had to come here...he was not going to let this slide. Wayne manor was a safe place, so he would make sure Marinette was able to breathe and relax a little before going home. And he was going to plan a way to stop the lies, to help Marinette.

“How can I help?” He asks, wanting to help but also wanting to make sure he does not overstep. He had heard her explaining to Damian why she let the girl get away with so many lies- it was an attempt to stop a mass akumatization. Bruce also wanted to avoid something like that, which is why he would follow his daughter’s lead.

“I don’t know! I know if I reveal everything it’s- it’s gonna be bad. I don’t know if we’d be able to handle something like that right now. Two of our temporary holders, people I trust a lot, are out of town. I don’t really trust anyone else and I’m certain we’d need their powers for the fallout from Lila’s kingdom falling.” She explains, bouncing her leg up and down as she glances around the room, possibly to come up with a plan. Bruce knew that he used a similar method when he was younger.

“What about the rumors related to the family? Do you think it would be safe to end those?” He asks, a plan beginning to form. But he’d have to get her permission. It would change many things.

“Well….yes. Yes, I think it would be safe. And even if it wasn’t, I know the fallout wouldn’t be anywhere as bad as if some of the other lies came to light.” She says. Bruce nods.

“Very well. Marinette, I believe I have something that might work, but I’m unsure if you’ll agree.” He says.

“We tell them I’m a Wayne.” Marinette says simply. Bruce blinks in surprise. It had definitely been what he was thinking, but thinking it and hearing his daughter say it out loud as if it was the most simple thing ever, those were two completely different things. He’s silent, trying to gather his words again when Marinette chuckles nervously. “I mean, we could say that I know you guys. Cause that’s not a lie.” She says. He sighs, realizing that his silence may have hurt her.

“Marinette, honey, you’re a Wayne. I want you to be one, and if you do as well, then of course we can tell them. I can even arrange for nondisclosure statements to be signed by the students in your class and the faculty. In case you’re not quite ready for the entire world to know.” He says quietly, hoping his voice is soft enough to reassure her. Her tense shoulders fall as she relaxes, her smile easing back into a natural one. Good. He didn’t mess up this time.

“Can we really do that? I do want to be a Wayne, it’s just. I’m not sure I’m ready for the world to look at me.” She says quietly. At this, he quirks a smile.

“If Adrien Agreste’s father is able to get an entire school to sign NDA’s about the boy’s lunch habits, I’m certain that having them sign an NDA when it’s for your safety will be no issue. Besides, if anyone breaks the NDA with malicious or ill intent, we can sue them.” He says simply.

“Oh, well, suing them seems a bit much.” She mumbles. He’s about to argue, when she shrugs. “But it also makes sense. Let’s do this.” He’s instantly proud of the determined look in her eyes. From saving her city to fighting lying bullies, his daughter was so much stronger than she thought.

---

Walking into class the following Monday was nerve wracking. It was almost the end of the school year, so she could’ve asked her Dad to wait until the next year to fix it. But she didn’t want to chance Lila lying about Tim all summer. Or anyone else in her family. Lila could use anyone else- even MDC- to get ahead, Marinette didn’t care. But she was done with Lila using her family. Originally, she had wanted to just do it quietly. Tell the teacher and have her pass out the forms. That’s probably how she would have done it too if her brothers hadn’t found out.

Now, her entire family was coming. She was cautious, but they promised to keep their emotions in check while they were in town. And they could always portal out if things got too tense. But, her brothers were drama queens. So it just made sense that they wanted to give her class the papers in person. She suspected Tim also wanted the chance to glare at Lila in person, and she wasn’t about to deny him that.

“Okay class! We have a few guests coming in today. They’ll be here in a couple minutes and I want you all to give them your full attention and respect.” Mme. Bustier announces, clapping her hands to get their attention. Marinette lets out a shaky breath. Here goes nothing. She tunes out the chatter of her classmates, keeping her eyes on the door. Waiting. Watching. Finally, she sees their shadows outside and her leg starts bouncing. Maybe she shouldn’t have let all of them get involved….

“Oh my god! That’s Bruce Wayne!” Alya yells as her family walks in. Marinette winces slightly at the instant fangirling from many of her classmates. She risks a glance at Lila and tries not to laugh at how pale the Italian girl had gotten. In fact, she looked a little green.

“Hello everyone! My name is Bruce Wayne, though I think you all should remember me from your trip to Gotham.” He says with a wide (fake) smile. Marinette wrinkles her nose. She doesn’t like this fake side of her Dad. She’d much rather watch him be overly serious than use that weird fake smile.

“We’ve brought some forms for everyone in this class to sign, as well as the faculty. The rest of the school won’t be required to sign these forms because it is assumed that what we are about to tell you will not go outside of this room.” Tim starts to explain, no coffee in his hand for once. “I know that it will not go outside of this room because these are NDAs, and we can and will take legal action against anyone who tells someone outside of this room about this information.” Everyone is silent, and while Marinette herself feels tense, she notices that most of her class just looks excited. Except Adrien, who was glancing back at her and looking worried. They’d already talked about this, but he was still worried. He seemed to think that this was one of her worst ideas, but honestly, Marinette didn’t care. She wanted to be able to (kind of) openly accept the other half of her family.

“Oh my god, is Tim about to propose?” Alya loudly whispers to Lila. Marinette can’t help it. She snorts. Out loud. Her face instantly heats as the entire room turns to look at her.

“Oh, uh, sorry?” She says, though it’s definitely more of a question than a statement. She wasn’t sorry.

“I am not about to propose. I’m actually not currently seriously seeing anyone, but there is a boy back home who I’ve had a few dates with.” Tim says. Marinette watches as Alya tries to say something, only to be stopped by Nino gently patting her hand and shaking his head. Good. Maybe they’d get through this without anyone getting akumatized. She glances at Lila again, rolling her eyes at the obviously fake upset look on her face. Is she seriously acting like Tim is cheating on her? In front of Tim? How dumb is she?

“I actually came to have everyone sign an NDA since my youngest daughter is in your class.” Her dad says, metaphorically dropping the bomb. He didn’t just drop it though, he chucked it at the class. The effect is immediate, the entire class erupting in whispers. Mme. Bustier tries, without luck, to gain control of the class. Marinette watches as Damian, who looked ready to murder any and all of her classmates, whistles an insanely high pitch. Wincing slightly, she makes eye contact with him and quirks an eyebrow. He shrugs, but it had been successful. The class was silent once again.

“When is she starting here?” Alya asks, obviously going into reporter mode. Marinette makes eye contact with her Dad, watching as he barely quirks an eyebrow, a silent question. One last chance to back out. She nods for him to continue. She wanted this.

“She actually already goes here. She just decided it was time to embrace the Wayne name.” He says, nodding at her. Marinette lets out a grounding breath and stands, quickly moving over to stand by her brothers. She tries to hide her hands behind her back, knowing they’re shaking like crazy. She positions herself between Dick and Jason, instantly able to relax as the feeling of safety washes over her. The class is completely silent, and Marinette isn’t sure if they don’t understand or if they’re in shock. She’s not sure which would be better.

“What?” Alya asks, barely audible.

“Marinette is my daughter, I am her biological father. She’s a Wayne. And you all have been provided with an NDA about her identity, so that she can remain safe and anonymous to the rest of Paris. Your parents have already agreed and signed both their forms and forms giving you all permission to sign a form. They all understand the importance of this secret, and I urge every single one of you to take this seriously.” Her dad says, giving the class another wide (fake) smile. She lays her head on Dick’s arm, relieved that her class instantly starts signing the forms. No outbursts right now, no possible akumas forming. Nothing. It was a relief, it was freeing. She was certain that it was going to come back and bite her- sooner rather than later if the look on Lila’s face was anything to go by- but for right now, everything was calm. And her family was supposed to stay in Paris for another day, so she’d finally be able to let three of her parents meet in person. It was nice. It was safe.

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kreidewaltz · 3 years

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top of the castle | t.k.

pairing. tsukishima kei x f!reader

about. your only goal is to be on top of everything. every change he gets, he pushes your buttons and does things that stirs something inside you. it's totally not your heart beating wild in your chest.

word count. 6.3k (this is my baby)

genre & warnings. fluff. angst. swearing. sky castle and highschool au. lots of swearing. happy ending. parents are kind of a jerk. subtle pining. enemies to lovers. bestfriend!kuroo. film major!tsukishima and y/n.

author's note. ik i posted this super late but here it is!! this is part of the promptly yours collab by issy :D ty for being understanding kisses you !? this is my first time writing an e2l go easy on me pls :( quick overview: sky castle is a neighborhood for the rich, and they do everything to be ahead of the other families! big thank you to @rintsuru for beta-ing this mwah i'll edit some stuff here tomo :') reblogs & feedbacks are appreciated ty <3

part of the promptly yours collab ✪

“during the dinner, entertain the guests, and kaa-san will be proud of you.” your mom says whilst brushing your hair multiple times. she sends you a threatening smile in the mirror which forms annoyance in your mind, yet a fake smile ghosts your lips. you clench your fist on your pockets, fingernails digging hard into your palms. last night she came to your door, unannounced, and mentioned that she’ll be having a private party after sending your applications to SNU Medical School.

“time to relax after working hard, a reward too for the parents.” you recall her saying, while running her fingers on your head before she shuts the door. the excitement evident in her movements when you hear the repetitive clicks of her heels. you play with the hem of your pajamas as you mimic your mother’s voice in distress, huffing after while you cross your arms on your chest. if she sees you roll your eyes or heave a disappointing sigh, expect a lecture about manners that'll go on for a few minutes.

when you entered middle school, she started to be strict and always repeated that you’re “only going to be successful when you’re on the top of the castle”. the metaphor she often forces in your mind—enjoying your success and growing money. watching other people force their way to the entrance, but this is where her persona morphs into something sickly sweet. she uses her shit ton of money to compromise, and those people leave as if they never disturbed your castle. in her eyes, you’re the embodiment of an independent, hardworking, and stepping on others kind of student which is something you want to erase.

“sit straight, act interested, act modest—”

“bring down the rivals, except kuroo.” you cut your mother off while a subtle smirk appears on your face, running your makeup brush on your powder blush before putting it to your cheeks. she stops for a moment, the silence makes your palms sweat on your school blazer, but relief washes over you when she murmurs okay, good. the moment is interrupted when your dad screams on the other side, assuming that he’s finding her and checking the table set-up for approval. she gives your shoulder a harsh squeeze before leaving you alone in your room, looking at yourself in the mirror.

“bring down tsukishima.” raising your brows, you try to keep yourself sane because people saying his name irks you. his stupid voice and looks down on you just because of the height difference. he looks down on you when he’s done harm to you years ago, and to the Hara family. when the school year started, you had no clue that he attended Yongsan School for Seoul. his presence immediately annoys you to your bones and when he talks, you have the urge to tape his mouth and watch him struggle and enjoy that he’s suffering. when he enters the room, you almost stand up from your seat and protest but you keep your lips shut. attempting to bottle your resentment and continue with the basic introductions and orientations for the school year.

what he did in middle school is the main factor why you resent him.

“your highness!” he yells as soon as you enter the classroom, sending tsukishima a sarcastic smile before you sit comfortably. you try your best to not be grumpy at eight in the morning. good thing that the teacher isn’t here, or you’re in for another lecture about that you should get along and be humble with your classmates.

lame lame lame.

“yeah, i’m a princess hm!” you point a finger at him while you put on a grumpy expression before putting your hands on your waist. huffing a few seconds later, you look through your bag and prepare your cute notebook and pencil. you begin to check the schedule for the day on the first page before reviewing the past few lessons, skimming it with attention that you mentally practice yourself, and clench both of your fists in excitement when you got the right answer. you cross your legs while checking your notes, eager to start the day because you're feeling productive, and seeing the stamps of stars on the first page makes you ecstatic.

“hara y/n, did you hit tsukishima?” your teacher’s voice is stern which scares you, but what frightens you is your mother hearing about the issue. you fiddle with your fingers as you rub your eyes, desperately trying to hold the tears threatening to fall. you and tsukishima are left alone in the classroom, with the teacher sitting across from you. the beautiful sunset view from the window is giving you temporary solace, releasing a sigh before answering.

“no, sensei! he- he hit me!” your voice unintentionally going higher, not realizing that you’re getting defensive. you stand from your chair and stare at him, fuming with anger when you see the smirk forming on his face. the teacher sighs in disappointment since he knows you’re one of the top students this year. your attendance streak is all green, never missing a day. what they don’tknow is how your mother forces you to always go to school no matter what happens, that school is the only path to success.

i hate tsukishima, hmph.

“she did, sensei. you saw her holding the book.” your patience is on thin ice because he has the audacity to lie in front of the teacher when he knows he did it. he slaps the book against the back of your desk and you feel the impact on your shoulders, resulting in a high pitched scream and break the momentum of your classmates writing and your teacher narrowed his eyes at you, shaking his head in displeasure before writing on the blackboard. then you hastily grab the book he's holding and about to throw it on his desk but gasps echo on the room. from their perspective, you're about to hit tsukishima with his book while he's looking across, focused on the discussion that's interrupted.

"you hit me with the book!" frustration slowly seeping out while you bounce on your desk angrily. your pigtails get tangled which fuels your irritation. life likes bad boys, you thought while mocking him by copying his expressions, forgetting for a moment that your teacher is watching you make faces on your own. tsukishima waves his hand, fisting his other hand to put it in the pocket of his purple jacket. the loud bell rings and ends the discussion, and you sulk on your seat while he prepares his things. your teacher walks out of the classroom to call your mom, you assume, because of the way he takes a glimpse at you while holding his phone to his ear.

i don't want to go home.

“i didn’t do it!” you keep repeating the same sentence as you set a foot in the house. your small hands clutch the strap of your backpack tight, agitated on what she’ll have to say on what happened. your teacher called your mom and had a quick discussion while you bowed to your mom before going home. the awkward silence caused you to grab your backpack and stand behind her, looking down on your shoes to distract yourself. when the both of you entered the car, she didn’t spare you a glance, even on the rearview mirror. the good thing is your favorite song is playing which soothes your worries temporarily. but the car ride was mentally exhausting and your nervousness kept boiling in your chest.

"the one time life is well! and you had to do that." sitting on the edge of your bed, disappointment and frustration join forces in your head while you clench your fist tight. tears trail down your cheeks freely and you have to grip your shorts so you wouldn't explode. hearing her sigh loudly makes you look at your hands to distract yourself from thinking while you sniffle quietly to yourself because your mom tells you to mask your true feelings with other people.

"i'm your princess! i didn't do it!" bouncing on your bed to defend yourself while she doesn’t say anything. she goes to your study table and grabs some of your books and pens. you looked at her in distress, tears forming in your eyes, since your mom's punishments are something you avoid if you have the chance.

“ah long time no see! come in!” your mom cheerfully greets when you see the Oikawa family entering the house, bowing down in respect with a sickly sweet smile plastered on your face. he acts like a prince charming when he bows, trying to charm your mother. she acts as if she’s swooned by his alluring smile before she rushes the family to enter the extravagant room, eyeing oikawa while he fixes the buttons of his school blazer. you and oikawa had a while you’re flipping the pendant of your necklace, the loud banter on the stairs a few meters away gets your attention.

“oh! kuroo looks dashing as usual!” she clasps her hands together, the gold rings on her fingers clashing and creating light noises which only you could hear. after they pick up on your mother’s voice, kuroo abruptly stops arguing and casually puts his right hand in his pocket. his mother gives you a soft wave and pecks your mother on the cheeks. you’re not in europe. the thought comes to mind while they chit chat. his father comes to the dining table, leaving you with kuroo for a few minutes. you extend your other leg in the front, putting your hands on your waist, and when you catch his monotone gaze. kuroo looks to the side while the tip of his ears slowly become red.

“ah! i’m glad our parents are okay.” you whisper in front of him while you pat your cheeks and put on your serious expression because your mother always tells you to act elegant when there are guests. a sympathetic smile appears on his lips, knowing why you changed your face in seconds—because you have a reputation to hold.

“mhm, okay talk to you later.” he says before lightly bumping your shoulder with his fist which you return with the same force while a smile dances on your balmed lips. the both of you don’t notice his mom’s gaze softening because of your brief chat.

“yuuji! you should’ve brought your vest!” your mom giggles when she hears the voice of the Terushima family. her covers her mouth with her hand (also her way of showing off her accessories). his mom’s voice is pretty loud so you hear her clearly when they’re on the stairs. a childish whine leaves his lips while his almond eyes begin twinkling in excitement seeing the grand decoration on the entrance. “oh hi y/n! pardon me, and yuuji.” his mom is always enthusiastic and humble.

you raise a brow when you notice the piercing on terushima’s ears. “you pierced?” you point a finger at his ear before the smirk on his face grows, knowing that you’re not allowed to get pierced or tattooed under your parent’s household.

“yeah, you want one?” he leans in with a teasing smirk on his face and slowly licks his bottom lip, and you get a glimpse of his tongue piercing. a tsk leaves your lips before you push him away with your clenched hands. your mom intrudes in your conversation and pulls you to her chest. your mom’s thoughts about you not listening to her and actually getting piercings are running like a hamster on a wheel. his mom covers her face with the palm of her hand, thinking that she won’t get used to terushima bragging about his piercings and possibly influencing his friends to get one. your mom giggles about him and repeatedly pats his back, escorting the Terushimas to their seats at the table—a long and wide one she bought for this day, and a few hours later, the cleaners will struggle to put the furniture back on the basement.

“ah n/n! wait for tsukishima, alright?”

your mom waves her fingers with a smile plastered on her face, leaving the entrance in your hands. going rebel sounds intriguing but you decided to go against it. you intertwine your fingers together and put them behind your back, walking around back and forth along with an occasional twirl because the black skirt whirling is satisfying for your eyes. annoyance bubbles in your chest when she mentions his name, and the fact you’ll escort them all the way to their seats at the table. relief courses through you when she picks their seats further away from your vision.

good, i can’t stand his golden eyes at—

“dear y/n, always elegant like her mother!” your dad mentions while the food is being served. the maids delicately hold the plates even though the appetizer only consists of green leaves, a drizzle of oil and other vegetables mixed in. a confident smile comes to your face while the boys giggle along with their parents, knowing that they nudge their waist to go with the flow and attempt to be your parents’ right hand and be their disciple. kuroo kicks your feet under the table while a subtle smirk on his face, and before you could misunderstand his intentions, he eyes the other parents then quickly rolls his eyes after. the clanking of the plates and forks begin to ring your ears and you immediately connect the clues on what he likes to say.

look at them, trying to get on your parents’ side.

you lightly slap his knee with your foot to get his attention, and you successfully do so while not realizing that about to take a bite of the vegetables. while kuroo thinks about embarrassing himself, again, despite that your parents and the other boys are lost in their own conversations, you take a big bite of everything that’s on the plate, not noticing your mom’s stern gaze on your figure. when he’s finished fixing his hair, he raises his brow while you cross your arms over your chest, nodding in defeat while rubbing your forehead, mimicking those disappointed adults you’ve seen in dramas. he covers his mouth while his eyes crinkle, controlling the laugh he desperately wants to let out. you massage your shoulder for a moment because it’s getting uncomfortable but you have to keep your act—act like you have your shit together in front of the guests.

“oh! oikawa-kun, how’s the japanese lit for you?” initiating a conversation between your rivals while the parents reacted quietly to themselves, as if they’re going to witness harsh exchange with words until emotions overtake your head. this is the sky castle, you think while straightening your posture, satisfied when you get a glimpse of him jolting on his seat before putting on his charming facade and entertaining your question.

“easy peasy! bet i’ll get a perfect score.” he runs his hand through his hair, fixing his school blazer and acts mighty with the other people around.

terushima begins to tease him by making faces to push oikawa’s buttons, and you tap your mouth with the tissue before dropping the bomb and witness his face morph to dread. “you know that i check the papers too, right? you’ve got three mistakes already.” bring down people so you can walk forward, you think while oikawa’s eyes are large like the globes you use for geography class. you loosely intertwine your fingers as you press your cheek on your palm. your mom peeks at you, amused, at your actions that she fights the urge because a smile is threatening its way on her deadpanned face since the beginning of the dinner. the other parents whisper to themselves, especially Oikawa’s parents who look at you with distaste occasionally when they talk. the maids are astonished with your attitude since you're a sweetheart, in the time where your mom is out and does her daily shopping to further decorate the house.

as the dinner continues, you're mentally patting yourself on the back for doing a great job to keep your castle undisturbed. you didn't notice the blonde fighting the urge to smirk to himself because it's the first time he witnessed you being brazen. he takes a big sip of the water, stretching his hands and resting it on his back as he catches your eyes which widens his smirk. resulting to strengthen your rage—and the fact that you're enjoying how attractive he looks.

ugh, let's get this over with.

“what? never expected me to be on top?” a condescending tone laces your voice as you cross your legs, the exhaustion you carried throughout the dinner is dissipating when you rest your back on the chair. feeling a certain pair of golden eyes piercing your soul, you intentionally ignore the sweating of your palms and curl your toes inside your shoes because you keep moving as long as you feel his eyes focused on you. the sassy persona you’ve worked hard lasting long is crumbling, as if tsukishima is taking his time to disassemble the pieces.

“finally we’re away.” terushima whispers to no one before running his fingers on his hair. all of your parents settled on the tea room as your mom calls it to chit chat and relax for a few hours and you know she'll subtly brag about your achievements in school and the furniture around the house that are only available to the rich she quotes.

"away from our parents who force their dreams to us? hell yeah." oikawa added before stretching his neck, the table erupting into laughter because what he said is the truth.

"hey! too mean." narrowing your eyes at him and seconds later you realized how contradicting you are. you scold the brown haired for being mean (when he only said the truth) yet you call oikawa earlier on the dinner for having three mistakes on the test of film studies. the silence stopped you from saying something further so you sit back, looking at the lights and decorations hanging on the wall so you won't embarrass yourself further.

we're even i guess, oikawa whispers under his breath before looking at you, his smile not reaching his eyes. you slap your cheeks while you're looking hard at oikawa, not noticing how the blonde plays with his fingers before looking at you, his eyes glimmering of mischief. since tsukishima knows what pushes your buttons and he always uses it to his advantage.

"stop the good girl act. you feel that way too, idiot." he cleans his glasses with his vest while his eyes narrow and look at you. as you look up and stare at him, you’re perplexed seeing him without his glasses and get amazed on how golden his eyes are. while your arms are flat on the table, his words earlier came back crashing on your head. good girl.

“good girl act, huh? why? you want me to be a bad.. bad girl tsukishima-kun?” you retort back quickly, and you’re pleased with your counterattack since hearing low whistles and gasps beside you fueled your ego. you raise your brow with a mocking smile on your lips to taunt tsukishima even more, intentionally ignoring the repetitive beating of your heart. you felt kuroo kicking your ankle under the table but you dodge his kick since you didn’t want to be bombarded by his remarks because you know he’ll never let you forget about this moment.

“and what if i do, princess?” he raises his brow in return, resting his chin on his palm while cocking his head to the side, amused with your response but he wouldn’t let you know that. you’re obviously dumbfounded, hating the way he uses that nickname casually in a conversation. the uneasiness you’re feeling doesn't go away when you feel eyes on you, eagerly waiting on what you’ll have to say. you clear your throat and you’re about to say something when-

“okay! y/n you got ice cream?” terushima jumped in the conversation before the tension rose on the table. at first you’re bummed when he cuts you off suddenly but you’re glad because you’re not going to talk to tsukishima after this. nope, you keep repeating to yourself. you nodded and led the way to the kitchen, slapping your cheeks lightly with your fingers to snap out of it.

“y/n, suck it up and do the first move.” kuroo murmurs louder to mortify you before taking a bite of the ice cream from the glass, his smug expression makes you want to punch him right there. you playfully kick his chair while you mindlessly mix the spoon on the glass, the ice cream melting as time ticks by.

“what- i’m not- you jerk!" their eyes fall on you since your voice tends to get loud when you defend yourself, and you forget about that while kuroo annoys you on purpose. you grumble shut up under your breath, cupping your cheeks while a frown takes over your face. you angrily grab the scooper to get more desert, also denying the thoughts running in your mind and shake your head in the process while whispering no, that can't happen!

"you're screwed, my friend." kuroo waves his spoon in front of you and you grit your teeth in annoyance while a frown takes over your face. a part of you wants to give in and admit you’re feeling something for him but you’ll stick on what you’re good at-denying. you pout in defeat and sulk in your seat, your eyes falling on tsukishima sitting in the corner. he’s in his own world, taking a bite of the ice cream and repeatedly tapping his foot on the floor. you assume it’s because of the music he’s listening to because of his tangled earphones put on. when he caught your gaze you turned away a little late meaning he saw you. shame clouded your head and desperately try to distract yourself from him, and look at oikawa acting high and mighty, anything, so you won’t spiral back to your thoughts full of tsukishima.

“the hell!? no i’m fin-” he waves his hands and doesn't listen to your stalling, since he knows you’re doing that to convince yourself and not him. you scowl at him and cross your arms together, chanting to pull it together since you get aggressive when someone’s caught you so you cross your arms together and clench your fists. (you thought you’ll have wrinkles earlier than others because of how much you’re frowning).

“i saw what happened, don’t even.” he cocks his head to tsukishima’s direction with a grin on his face and he knew he conquered victory between the banter. you sent him a sarcastic smile before checking the others chat to themselves and hear the faint laughter of the adults in the other room. your mind starts to imagine what it's’ like to talk to your crush.

no didn’t say that!

“this is fun.” he added, which deepened your scowl and you clearly heard the teasing tone laced on his voice. you roll your eyes playfully while he ruffles your hair, and you’re bummed because you know he is right. don’t pull the bad girl card, he murmurs and twirls the ends of your hair. your thoughts halted when you heard the two words that brought you back to the situation earlier. you hold your breath while stretching your arms straight on the counter, hurriedly thinking of a witty response.

“hey! he looked good…” you closed your eyes quickly then you got a glimpse of tsukishima smirking and the way the nickname, princess, rolled off his tongue is making the tip of your ears faint red and sensitive. where’s the y/n that hates tsukki with all her guts? kuroo whispers and laughs hysterically after which caught the attention of the others. you know he’s teasing you for fun since you two often have light hearted banters. the urge to punch him in the face crosses your mind because there are times he knows and you know he’s right, it’s on you not wanting to admit it. his hand ruffles your hair once again before smoothly interrupting oikawa’s bragging, while your thoughts go on an overdrive in your head.

"miss pres! wait for me!" you stopped in your tracks and waited on the right side when you heard akari jogging to you. a dejected pout appears on her lips. she hangs onto your arm and grips it tight, catching her breath because you didn't wait for her outside after the film classes ended.

purposely digging her nails as her payback, because you didn't wait for her outside after the film class ended.

"damn, it's hard being the best friend of the student council president." she says with a defeated tone while fixing her skirt. your face scrunched up in response before walking together on the hallways. akari begins her rambling about the upcoming output your professor mentioned. you tightened your hold on the folders, frightened that the stack of folders will slip out of your hold since fate can be cruel, you muse while pushing the folders close to your chest.

"i can carry folders too, you know." her laughter echoed in the hallway when she saw your reaction! furrowed brows, a pout on your lips before you hesitantly gave half of the folders in her waiting hands. before you could explain what the folders are, you hear her gasp when she sees the title, in bold letters—CLASS 3 FILM STUDIES TEST RESULTS. she overheard you and the professor and learned that you're also checking the papers because professors trust you that much. akari likes seeing you lose your cool in public so she lifts the side of the folder. though it gets exhausting, you endure akari and her antics since despite her teasing she knows her boundaries. she's a good friend because holding the titles student council president, and top student scares away potential friends you could have. students gossiping about your family and status doesn't make things easier. so when she approached you in the library and blunty said you're taking her seat, you're grateful despite interrupting your study session.

it's safe to say that you didn't give each other good first impressions.

"miss pres, faculty room right?" akari's voice breaks your train of thought and wonders how you didn't hit anyone along the way since you take a few turns before seeing the faculty room.

"mhm."

“kari! let’s go back! i can convince sensei.” you whine quietly and stomp on your feet, you’re definitely ignoring your heart about to jump out of your chest when you see a glimpse of a blonde in front of the faculty room. after the party you held a few days ago, you didn’t pay attention to him and avoided him at all costs because you’re trying to figure out if feeling something to your rival is a big deal or not. you tighten your hold on the papers, a pout coming to your lips while akari is amused on what’s happening right now. she’s clearly not expecting you to go to the other way and avoid confrontation with the blonde.

“he’s there! i can’t face him!” you added and jutted your lips into a pout. in your head, you could roast him with other people because you have a perfect reputation to keep. she sighs for a moment while you stand there, she transfers all the folders in her other hand before smacking you in your arm. a shriek leaves your lips, not expecting your friend to hit you in the hallway. you knew you lose the disagreement when you see her as if she’s saying really? i’m done with you through her face. she puts a hand on her waist while she steps on the floor. a habit of hers that you noticed through time. you fix your hair that’s blocking your sight before nodding your head.

“fine… whatever.” you narrow your eyes and point a finger on her direction, acting like you’re threatening her but it didn’t have an effect at her. both of you silently walk towards the faculty room and finally see tsukishima in all his glory. he’s slightly slouching in front of the door because of his height. you quickly look at the other classrooms, acting as if you never saw him and ignore your heart beating at a quick pace. you’re in front of the room, just behind him and realize how tall he is. he looks back and catches your gaze before he smirks and waves at the professor inside. (they are clearly victims of the good boy facade he puts, you think). akari whistles to herself before going inside and gives the folders to your professor while you follow behind.

“ah thank you y/n! and akari. you can have your lunch now.” you bow quickly and smile before you shut the door gently. you fix your blazer and pat your skirt before going to the cafeteria with akari. on the way she keeps teasing you about how you daydream of tsukishima when you’re in class. she keeps mentioning his smirk when you’re eating and you almost choked on the food, since yes, maybe his smirk is attractive you think, maybe, you repeated.

“how’s life with rich people?” she whispers since she accompanied you to the library because you’re planning your scenes already and what emotions you’ll pick for the montage output. you stopped writing and closed your notebook, and rolled your eyes playfully because you know what she really wants to ask.

“i know you’re asking about oikawa, so go.” you say while crossing your arms on the wooden table, and stretch your back after writing for twenty minutes. on the time you’re working, she’s humming random songs and twirls her pen on the papers she brought, scribbling lines and occasionally add doodles on the paper.

“tsk, at least i’m proud of it.” she comments while you gasp, wondering why kuroo and her keeps forcing you to admit you like him. it wasn’t that you’re uncomfortable, your answer remains the same, you have a reputation to take care of.

“anyway! i heard you were mean to him.” she adds while burying her head in her open book, it’s obvious that she’s bored but she accompanied you nonetheless. you stopped twirling your hair and you processed what she said. how did she know, you lamented to yourself while your brows furrow.

“terushima… he doesn’t shut up. he might’ve mentioned that.” akari massages her scalp while looking at you, she’s attempting to relieve the minimal pain she’s feeling in her head. you continued to write on how the scene will go but your sentences ended in scribbles. you’re terribly annoyed that terushima talked about the party even, it wasn’t necessary, you thought while biting your lip.

“agh! whatever. it’s the truth.” you cried out after contemplating for a few minutes. you lean back on the chair, drinking from your water bottle to hydrate yourself once in a while. you sigh in satisfaction when the cold water goes to your chest, awakening your sleepy eyes. the silence helps you gain your focus and plan your outfit and makeup on the montage, but akari breaks the silence with a question.

“yeah sure.. the truth. so when are you gonna admit that you actually like tsukishima, huh?” akari prompts her elbow while a cocky smile goes to her face. you hum and stopped writing, utterly confused with her expression.

“well i like him but- what?! you and kuroo should be locked away somewhere.” you rambled after realizing her true intentions of why she asked that question. you kicked her foot slightly under the table to get back at her. she hisses slightly while you bow quickly to apologize. you sigh before grabbing your phone and usher akari to take a selfie in the library, even though her face looks funny on the picture, you’ll still keep it. while she looks through the photos you took, you look at the window and many thoughts keep overlapping but one thought stands out. should i finally admit that i have a crush on him? what if he doesn’t like me though? those are the thoughts you pondered on on the way home and the next few months.

it’s been five months since those thoughts spiralled on your head, almost haunting you every night. this day marks the start of vacation, no more school work to do and you’re not pretending to be a good student on campus all year. it's been a few months since you passed the montage output and you remembered how your professor’s mouth is open while watching yours, it boosted your confidence. you picked unrequited and longing which seems two complicated emotions to work on a montage but that’s what you like about it. when you did your shoot months ago, you couldn’t forget the horror on kuroo’s face when he saw the smudged make-up on your face while your dress looked elegant.

you waved him off that time and continued to film the flowers dancing to the wind, the group of birds flying high, and you accidentally filmed tsukishima walking away while the sun hit his direction and it created a warm yet nostalgic vibe. that time he didn’t give you insults or anything but god, he was cocky. kuroo and oikawa noticed how things changed on the two of you, because normally they’d be seeing you going at each other’s throats. but you did your own thing, and you didn’t complain about filming him and instead he saw you giggling to yourself while looking at the camera. the black haired finally connected the puzzles together and came to a conclusion: you’ve come to terms that you like tsukishima.

“i really like him! believe me.” you defended and hugged the pillow laying on the couch. you invited tsukishima to your house to convince your parents that you like each other even though you’ve been together for a few months already. when you often walk with your boyfriend (calling him that still makes you blush), you always see oikawa and kuroo snickering to themselves, and you teased kuroo that he replaced you with another. sadly, your mom didn’t like the idea and she went to another country to calm down, you think. that time you realized where you got your sulky attitude from. your dad acts casual and asks questions one at a time. you’re grateful because you couldn’t handle many questions at once and the accusations you’ll hear from your mom isn’t what you wanted right now. your dad giggles when you act pouty and defensive, while tsukishima bounces his leg to relieve the slight to little nervousness he has, he convinces himself. it didn’t help when kuroo grip his shoulder tight and give a little speech on how to protect you and show how to care.

“she does… unfortunately.” he whispers the last word which infuriates you and hits his head with the pillow lightly. your dad didn’t hear what he said so he glares at you, shaking his head, as if he’s saying not to hit your boyfriend. you pout and cross your arms, and give him the face that’s supposed to threaten people but it doesn’t work for him. (one time, you realized you’re friends with people who have resting bitch faces).

“do you want me to be your enemy again?” you threaten him but you fail because a big smile goes to your face. you fix the hair clip on the back of your head to keep your hair away.

“sure if it means i can see you be angry but look cute.” he retorts back and while you're about to explode, from your peripheral vision you see your dad giving him a big thumbs up and an awkward wink. he sends him a nod and acts cool.

"hmm, now i get why you like each other y/n." your dad comments he pats the space beside him. tsukishima gently rubs your lower back before letting you go, even though his heart is beating wild in his chest. you sit beside your dad before tightly embrace him, relieved of his reaction to your new relationship.

"thank you dad. we'll protect each other, don't worry. you can kick him if he broke up with me though." you whisper the last part so the blonde wouldn't hear you (he's suspicious based on the narrowing of his eyes and the gaze you feel at the back of your head). he pats your back while giggling lightly and stand up. he enjoys seeing you lost in your world and see the genuine happiness glowing in your eyes. this is something he should've done sooner, he thought because all these years you're caged in this house, alone and lonely.

“tsu-ki-shima-kun, let’s go?” you tease him because he once told you that calling him like that stirs something inside him. you giggle and look to him softly, an indirect way of asking permission to loop your arms together. you respect his boundaries, always, even though it didn't seem like it a few months ago. he nods and pushes his glasses, and you loop them while seeing his ears down to his neck go a little red.

“hey, let’s go to the library. it’s quiet there.”

you get out of the house and wave to the idiots (kuroo and oikawa) as you call them before going to the library with him. you had nothing to study for and you knew why he wants to go there, with you, you just know.

this is the sky castle, the place where you bring down people to walk forward. but after thinking about it, walking together with tsukishima doesn't sound bad.

143 notes · View notes

mcheang · 4 years

Note

The girl squad overhear Adrien and Marinette talking/arguing about Lila; they learn that Adrien knew Lila was lying and told Marinette to take the high road. When Adrien again says that the lies aren't hurting anyone, the girls confront him and explain just how the lies could hurt them. They also learn about Lila harassing Adrien and threatening Marinette. Bonus: Chloe redemption and having her care about Adrien as a friend.

Friends stand up for each other

Post Ikari Gozen. This is a draft.

While bonding with each other, Kagami and Marinette relate about their familial akumatizations. Marinette told about Weredad, Befana and Bakerix. Kagami talked about her mother and her own experiences.

Marinette: did I mention I’m sorry.

Kagami: do not be upset. You were nervous. Besides, you didn’t mean to, unlike that Lila girl.

Marinette: you know Lila?

Kagami: not exactly. I was busy practising one afternoon, then all of a sudden a random number sends me a picture of a stranger kissing Adrien.

Marinette startled. “Wait, if you never met Lila, how did she get your number?”

Kagami: Adrien thinks she must have copied off his contacts list.

Marinette: that is so wrong

Kagami: indeed

Marinette: lying is one thing, but this is downright harassment and invasion of privacy.

Kagami: lying?

Marinette: Lila likes to make herself sound grander than she really is. Apparently she’s Ladybug’s best friend.

Having met Ladybug, Kagami raised her brows skeptically. “With how Ladybug values her privacy, I’m surprised anyone believes that claim.”

Marinette sighed. “My friend Alya runs the Ladyblog. She gets very excited over any rumor about Ladybug.”

Kagami: like thinking Chloé was Ladybug despite being saved by her from Stoneheart?

Marinette: it is so nice to finally meet someone who does their research.

Kagami: I developed an interest after my own akumatization. But back to this liar, why haven’t you exposed her?

Marinette: I tried to. But she puts on this sweet front and people think I’m just jealous about Adrien.

Kagami: if they could see us now, they might change their minds.

Marinette: I doubt it. Things have gone too far. And the only other witness who believes me is Adrien, and he wants to take the high road and let Lila’s lies crumble on their own.

Kagami frowned. “He told me as much when I asked him what he was going to do about her.”

Marinette: be honest with me, do you wish we didn’t have to take the high road.

Kagami: the question is, would we be taking it if it didn’t involve Adrien.

Marinette snorted. “Alya would scramble to bring the truth to light asap. Rose would want to warn everyone so nobody gets their hopes crushed. And Alix already has her brother coming up with fantastical ideas, she doesn’t need someone else to do it in school too.”

Kagami: then we have our answer.

Marinette stopped. Kagami followed suit.

Marinette: we do, don’t we.

Kagami: It’s a shame that, based on what you’ve said, people would say we’re jealous.

Marinette: so how do we prove we’re not?

Kagami: I need a chance to improve my planning skills (especially since she ruined Ladybug’s first plan) and this is an excellent way to bond.

Marinette grinned.

The next day, the girls in class were astonished to see Marinette and Adrien arguing in the distance.

Lila hasn’t arrived yet. (Tikki may have locked her in her bedroom.)

Curious, Alya led the group to spy on their endgame. They were just around the corner, out of sight, but able to hear everything.

“...too long and her influence is only growing stronger.”

“She’s done nothing serious yet.”

“Are we supposed to wait until something bad really happens before Lila’s exposed?“ This again? The girls barely hid their groans. On a side note, how did Marinette convince Adrien to join her team?

“We’ll stop her before she goes too far,” Adrien assured Marinette.

“Really? Like how you stopped her from taking Kagami’s phone number? Lila’s already convinced Mylene to let her join in on her fundraiser. What if she steals the funds?”

“Relax. Lila’s not going to do anything that daring. She’ll probably just flake as usual.” Wow. Adrien really thinks bad of Lila now. What did Marinette say to him?

“Adrien, we’re talking about a girl who loves to get what she wants. Do you honestly think Lila will be satisfied with a simple no show. She’ll insist she handle the funds to make up for her absence.”

“We don’t have any proof she’s a thief. Ok, she’s a liar. But who doesn’t lie?”

“Adrien…I saw her steal your dad’s book.”

“What?!” Adrien’s outcry expressed what the girls were thinking.

“How do you think I know she’s a liar. I saw Ladybug confront her right after I saw her dump a book in the bin.“

Pause.

“Do you honestly think she won’t stoop so low as to steal Mylene’s funds if she didn’t even care that you were under house arrest?”

Silence before Adrien struggled to say, “She didn’t mean for me to get pulled out of school.”

“Oh come on!” This time the outburst came from Alix, one of the first to recover.

Adrien and Marinette turned around. Adrien paled. “Were you girls eavesdropping?”

Alya glared at him, “Why so upset? It’s not like we’re hurting anybody.”

Adrien cringed from the mocking tone.

Rose looked tearfully at Marinette. “All this time, you were trying to protect us, weren’t you? And we only accused you of being jealous.”

“You’ve finally seen the light. Hallelujah!”

Adrien: you girls aren’t going to tell anybody else, right?

They stared at him in disbelief. “Of course we are. Duh.”

“But then Lila won’t have any friends in our class!”

Alya scoffed. “Like I’m letting Nino listen to anymore of her garbage.”

Mylene nodded furiously. “Ivan and I trusted her!”

Alix: I have to tell Nathaniel. It’s what friends do. Oh, and Kim, too I suppose.

Rose: And Kim will tell Max, who will tell Markov.

Juleka: That leaves Chloe and Sabrina…but they don’t like anyone else but you, Adrien.

Adrien stammered. “It’s mean of you to do that.”

Alix laughed. “Oh, we’re mean? How about you? Did you care to tell Alya her blog credibility is being ruined?”

Mylene: Did you think to warn us that Lila might always be absent at our volunteer parties.

Marinette: Did you consider Kagami’s feelings when you told her you would do nothing to scold Lila for upsetting her.

Adrien looked down, unable to find an answer.

A sharp voice barked out. “Get back, you peasants!”

Chloe had arrived. “Need I remind you Adrikins is still new to having more than one friend. His only real teachers are cartoons with their happily ever afters. While I don’t really care if Lila steals and brags about falsehoods, I care if she does that to you, Adrikins. Dupain-Cheng told me about the photo and asked me to talk sense into you!”

Chloe was plan B. Marinette had asked Kagami to share the photo. Chloe was outraged. She saw that it was a forced kiss, and learned from Kagami how Lila was basically a snoop.

Adrien: Chloe, what do you mean exactly?

Chloe: I don’t care about exposing that liar…much…let’s wait for a slow day before we bring out the popcorn. What I care is that she’s sexually harassing you. i see her constantly moving into your personal space as you lean back. i saw her force that kiss on you so can have a souvenir you never agreed to. Now I hear she’s been snooping around your room, instead of actually studying. Adrikins, I love you, I know what our parents can be like, but that doesn’t mean you should let everybody walk all over you like that.

The girls pause as they take in what Chloe has been saying. Lila has been sexually harassing Adrien.

Adrien croaked out, “What should I do?” He wasn’t asking Chloe. He was asking everybody.

Marinette softened. “If you can’t say no yet, then ask for help. Tell Nino and the guys how Lila’s been bothering you. They’re your friends. If you can’t tell any of us your troubles, then who? Friends are here for each other, no matter what.”

Adrien nodded slowly. While he didn’t like being a tattletale, he also admitted he wanted Lila as far from him as possible. And if Lila was wrong, then he should tattle then? Right?

Alya: as for exposing Lila…

Chloe: we are not doing any exposing until we get a slow day.

Alix: When is a school day not a slow day?

Sabrina: When we learn to expect an akuma at least once a week.

Alya: There was an akuma 4 days ago.

Juleka: There should be one soon, then.

Mylene: How about 2 days after the next akuma attack? That gives us enough time to research, time for the akuma excitement to die down, and time before the next akuma shows up.

Chloe scowled: fine.

Alya: I’ll get right on it!

After that, Lila was irritated that whenever she tried to approach Adrien, someone would block her path, asking for help or stories or whatever. And Mylene had kicked her out of her charity after deciding that Lila was so busy, she didn’t want to interfere with her work with Ali. Ugh. Maybe Lila could convince Mylene to let her handle the cheques later. And the girls didn’t seem to want to hang out with her anymore. Before they always invited her out, but now they claim they’ve accepted her busy schedule. When Lila claimed to be free, someone asked her to help them with some chore.

After the debut of Monsieur Rat, Lila was called to the Principal’s Office. When she came back, she was accompanied by Mrs Rossi and Damocles.

Damocles: Class, I believe Miss Rossi here has something she would like to say.

Lila gritted her teeth as she forced out the words: “Ladybug is not my Best Friend. I don’t know Prince Ali. Jagged never had a kitten….”

The list went on, so many were her lies. While Ms Bustier gasped in betrayal, the girls were secretly munching on candy. Except for Chloe who was openly savouring her honeyed popcorn. Lila glared at her, suspicious of her involvement. Damocles coughed but said nothing. The boys were shocked and angry. It was one thing to unknowingly sexually harass Adrien, it was another to take advantage of their trust.

Mrs Rossi: As of now, my daughter will be heading to a convent school. The nuns there are known for being alert to their students’ activities, and are used to liars. It will also be far enough away that Hawkmoth can’t akumatize my daughter, who apparently thinks I would not be interested to know she has been akumatized who knows how many times!”

Lila: I told you it was only 2 times!

Mrs Rossi: akumas are newsworthy information! (Ok, how she missed out on the heroes defeating the villains is beyond me. For a diplomat, she is ridiculously oblivious about Paris.)

Alya: then who cast that illusion of Ladybug on Heroes Day? Lila was certainly around to be akumatized.

Lila gaped at Alya, who showed no surprise at her exposure. was she behind this?

Chloe gave a wave. “Bye bye, Lie-la”

After this, the girls were insistent Adrien learn to expose any wrongdoings or he is only enabling the bully. Chloé was more of the opinion he should learn to stand up to his father. Nino was on Chloé’s side for once.

#miraculous ladybug fanfic #miraculous ladybug fic #ml fanfic #ml fanfiction #ml fic #miraculous ladybug fanfiction #lila salt #adrien salt #ml salt fic #adrien redemption #adrien learns #marinette & kagami #chloe redemption #lila busted #lila gets exposed #lila is exposed #post ikari gozen #long post

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angst-fairygodmother · 3 years

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Light Fingers (The Umbrella Academy)

Diego’s vigilantism brings him repeatedly across the path of a young cat burglar. But as he finds himself developing feelings for the thief, he begins to wonder if there’s more to her than meets the eye, and whether they’re really on opposite sides. And as their relationship deepens, it brings with it a plot involving his estranged adopted father, and threatens to destroy all of them.

CHAPTER 13: DARKNESS FALLS

Word Count: 2362 Pairing: Diego Hargreeves x Reader Rating: T Content Warnings: swearing, references to violence (canon-typical), heavy angst, sort of spoilers for TUA season 1? Cross-posted to AO3: here

Previous Chapter: Confrontation || Masterlist

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Two weeks after your visit to the Academy, and everything that followed, a headline caught your eye as you poured coffee for a couple at the diner. ‘Eccentric Billionaire Reginald Hargreeves Under Federal Investigation. Crimes include Smuggling, Arms Dealing, Fraud’ screamed out at you in bold black print and you barely managed not to scald yourself as your hand trembled.

Your mind was racing. It hadn’t seemed real, when you were making phone calls and “visiting old friends” and whispering in the right, or wrong, ears. It was a stab in the dark, that you never expected to amount to anything. But it seemed like someone, somewhere, had listened and moved on D.S. Umbrella and your father-in-law.

A bubble of elation built up in your chest. Unable to contain yourself, you yelled out that you were taking your 15, despite the earliness of the hour, and jogged down the street to pick up a copy of the morning paper for yourself. As you scanned the article, more snippets jumped out: “midnight raid,” “suspicious and hazardous materials,” “illegal within city limits.” They also mentioned looking into his accounts, heavy investigation into recent break-ins at the warehouse that authorities suspected were to cover up evidence, and a re-examination of the adoption records for his now infamous Academy of children. That last one made your heart skip a beat. You hadn’t wanted to drag Diego or his family into any of this, and certainly not risk having his world flipped upside down. Still, there was hope nothing would come of that bit, and he would never have to be involved, and everything else was well worth it.

With a giddy giggle, relieved and stunned that things were going better than you could have hoped, you tucked the paper into your bag and returned to work, feeling lighter than you had in a while.

“This is insane,” Diego said, dropping onto the couch, head in his hands and the copy of the paper you’d brought home on the table in front of him.

“Is it?” you countered, sitting down on the far end and tucking your knees up to your chest. “We knew he was up to something…”

“But not this! Why would he raise us the way he did if he was a criminal?”

“Covering his tracks maybe? Or there’s something bigger here we haven’t put together.”

“You’re not even a little surprised by this,” there was something flat to his tone.

You shrugged, knowing that he knew you too well to deny it.

“What did you do?”

“Technically, nothing.” He fixed with you a firm, unamused expression that made you sigh. “I just talked to people. Gossip, anonymous tips, that sort of thing. I didn’t really think anyone would listen.”

His jaw clenched as he struggled to reign in his anger. “Who else did you talk to?”

“A few journalists, some law enforcement that Patch put me in touch with who wouldn’t ask too many questions, some folks in my line of work. That one clearly didn’t go anywhere, or we would have heard by now, especially if there’s an investigation too.”

“Thieves?”

“No waitstaff.” You rolled your eyes.

“What for?”

“I thought...I figured if some other crews went in, free looting, it would make it harder to figure out what we took, cover our tracks some.”

“That doesn’t make sense. He already knew we were there. Y/N, what aren’t you telling me?”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s done now. I’m sure nothing will happen, the authorities are probably in his pocket, and if not...Prison for someone like your father isn’t even that bad. It’s a penthouse, just one with a 24/7 guard at the door.”

Diego looked annoyed but didn’t say anything else. You bit your lip, the silence tense over the two of you.

“I’m sorry, Diego. I just thought...it seemed like a good idea at the time.”

He grunted in acknowledgement. A moment later, he stood, silently getting ready for bed, despite the relatively early hour, and went to bed without a word. You waited, fighting back tears, still curled on the couch. You didn’t expect Diego to be thrilled the way you were that something was happening with Reginald, but you also hadn’t predicted this anger.

“Y/N,” he called softly, an indeterminate time later, making you jump. “Come to bed, sweetheart.”

Things in the household felt fragile after that, even the dog could sense that both you and Diego were tip-toeing on eggshells, waiting for the outcome of the investigation, like the Sword of Damocles.

And then it dropped, with a breaking news bulletin, one that made you almost grateful that Diego had a late night at the gym. You wrapped your arms around yourself, shuddering, as you watched an all too familiar building go up in smoke.

“No one knows what, if anything, was taken by the miscreants seen fleeing the warehouse shortly before the explosion, or why they chose to destroy the structure so definitively,” the news anchor said, the rest of her words blending into a drone in the back of your mind.

At some point, you fell asleep there on the couch, waiting for Diego to come home, startled awake in the morning when the door slammed shut.

“Diego?” you asked, frowning and rising to greet him. “Are you okay?”

He laughed bitterly, shaking off your hand on his arm and stepping away. “You’re really asking me that, Y/N? After everything you’ve done?”

“What are you talking about, Diego?”

“I’m not an idiot Y/N.”

“No but evidently I am, because I genuinely have no idea what you’re talking about, baby.”

“Don’t,” he growled, shaking his head again. “D.S. Umbrella. Thieves, an explosion. You’re honestly trying to tell me you had nothing to do with it?”

“I didn’t! Not...directly!” you protested. “I promised you that I wouldn’t go after him, so I called in friends who could, who would.”

“How is that any different?”

“I...you said yourself that he was dangerous, and he proved that to me. And I got scared okay? I panicked, and when I saw a solution, I took it. Torch and burn, and salt the earth seemed like a good idea.”

“And Luther? Was he part of your plan or just an acceptable casualty?”

“What do you mean?” your frown shifted from one of upset to confusion.

“Pogo called, last night. Dad sent Luther to the warehouse had he got caught in your friends’ chemical explosion. He’s lucky to be alive.”

There was a slight hitch to his voice as he spoke, and you knew that despite the years of tension between them, hearing such news about his brother had shaken Diego badly. And you hadn’t been there for him. You reached out for his hand, to comfort him as you usually would before recoiling.

“That wasn’t supposed to happen. No one was supposed to get hurt.”

Diego scoffed in disbelief, nostrils flaring angrily. “Why should I believe you?”

“Because I don’t hate your brother, and I had no reason to want that. Because your father was the one who sent him in, alone and probably unprepared even though he knew better than anyone what hazards were in there. Because I’m your wife, and I wouldn’t lie to you, not when it mattered. Because I never wanted any of this, I just couldn't sit back and do nothing.”

“Why not? And give me a straight answer this time, Y/N.”

“While you and Luther were busy getting out all your boyhood aggression or whatever, I tried to find answers just like we planned. Only instead I ended up having a nice little chat with Reginald. And he said that everything was staged, that it was an audition. That I passed. And he threatened you, and he called the Academy a failed experiment.”

“You never said anything to me.”

“I didn’t know how,” your voice was sharp, pleading. “I have even less answers than I did when we started. All I have is that your father didn’t care about you, but he did about me, for something. He was willing to let you die to test what I could do. He was okay with the idea of hurting you to keep me in line. I...I had to protect you. So I did the only thing I could think of to do.”

“We’re s-supposed to be a team.” His eyes were still dry, but you could see the pain written across his features, and you closed your eyes against the sight.

“I know,” you said softly.

“W-w-we could have figured it out t-to-tog-gether if you had ta-lked to me…”

“We tried that Diego,” you wanted so badly to reach out for him. You hated that you couldn’t. Not now. “It had us spinning in circles.”

"So you just shut m-m-me out?" His lip quivered.

“Would you have done any differently?” you gave up on even trying to keep your own emotions out of your voice, tilting your head in question as you looked at your husband, the man you loved, and said words that you knew were breaking both your hearts. “Honestly?”

He was painfully silent, lips pressed together and eyes downcast as he considered your words, and what his answer would be. Rather than let the question continue to stew, you forged onward, almost afraid of what would happen if you didn’t.

“I’m truly sorry that Luther got hurt, and glad he’ll be okay. But I still stand by what I did. It was the right choice to make. If anything, it worked out better than I had hoped.”

“H-how could you say t-tha-that?” despite his stutter there was outrage in his voice now, raising the pitch to almost a shout.

“If it’s him or you, as far as I’m concerned, there’s no choice. I’m not sorry for that.” You shrugged. “And maybe almost losing his last loyal son will be enough to get your father to back off, to rethink, stop doing...whatever it is he’s doing.”

Diego’s body tensed and his eyes narrowed to a glare, the full fury and hatred locked inside suddenly directed at you. There was no trace of the pain in his voice now and it made your blood run cold.

“Luther’s an asshole, but he’s m-y family.”

“I know that, Diego. And I know how much family means to you. That wasn’t how I—”

“You know, you’re starting to sound a lot like my father.”

You stared at him, aghast.

“You’ve been just like him this whole time, haven’t you?”

“What?” you couldn’t keep the break and horror from your voice, didn’t want to.

“All this scheming and planning. Using the rest of us as puppets. It’s all about the so-called greater good. And screw anyone that gets in your way.”

“Diego, that’s not—” You tried to pull your emotions back into check but couldn’t. Hot, desperate tears pooled in your eyes before spilling down your cheeks.

‘Not what?’ you froze to ask yourself. ‘Not fair? Not true? Isn’t it though? Wasn’t he completely right, that you and Reginald were circling each other, playing a game with each other? Lay a trap, dance away from it. Steal a piece of information, change it’s meaning. Capture a bishop, sacrifice a knight. Move and counter-move. For months now.’

“I’m going to the gym tonight,” he said, making a dismissive gesture when you remained silent for too long. “I can’t do this anymore.”

He turned on his heel, throwing a few things in a duffle bag haphazardly.

“Maybe this was a mistake,” you said quietly as you watched him pack, rooted in your spot in the living room.

“Of course it was a mistake!”

“I don’t mean things with your father or D.S. Umbrella,” you took a deep, shuddery breath. “I...I mean us.”

“What?” his voice dropped, all the anger leeching away as he hesitated in the middle of folding one of his turtlenecks.

You took a shuddering breath, “None of this would have happened if we hadn’t gotten tangled up trying to pretend we fit together, in each other’s lives.”

“Y/N. Stop.” He shook his head, words clipped and forced. “Don’t say that.”

“Say what Diego? What we’re both thinking? I love you, so much. More than I can possibly say. But...I don’t think that’s enough. I was...we were better off alone. Everyone was.”

“That’s not t-true.” He took a step toward you and you took a step back. He looked like the world had just dropped out from under him.

“Tell me I’m wrong. Please?” you begged, voice and lip trembling. “If you can say that, after everything I’ve done, after all of this, I’ll believe you. But...don’t say if it’s not true.”

“That’s it?”

“I don’t know.”

Your gut gnawed at you, the still image of the burning warehouse catching in the corner of your eye. It felt like he was going to forgive you, even for a moment, for that, for Luther, and you couldn’t fathom that. And the more you spoke, the more you found yourself meaning the words. You loved him, and he loved you, and that could only hurt.

“I should go,” he said, half-heartedly, almost asking you to stop him.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

His keys rattled as he picked them up, and the door closing behind him seemed louder than you had ever imagined possible. It felt like one of his daggers was protruding from your chest. You couldn’t breathe.

“Diego, wait!” you called shakily, throwing open the door but not quite chasing him into the hallway.

He stopped but didn’t turn around. Silence hung like a wall between you. Your tongue felt like lead. What could you possibly say to undo what you had just done?

The minutes dragged on, the silence unbroken.

With a sigh you could almost imagine wafting back to flutter over you, he started to move again, and you stood there until his back disappeared. Only when he was truly gone, did you sink to the floor.

“Goodbye Diego,” you murmured, the words trailing off into a sob.

#And No One Lived Happily Ever After. The End #I mean technically there's an epilogue and some sort of sequel but this is the 'end'#the epilogue isn't going to make things better I promise #13 is an unlucky number right? :/#how to break your reader's heart (and your own) in 2.5k or less #an essay by Shye #Light Fingers #Diego Hargreeves x Reader #The Umbrella Academy fic

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bittervitter · 4 years

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ang0mang0′s “copycat” claims

I didn’t want to have to make another post about this, but since people on sonicfan799 / thatAnge / @ang0mang0′s Tumblr profile are getting riled up about this ridiculous drama that should have died ages ago, I figured I’d defend myself. Some people who are trying to support me have been saying incorrect things too, so I also wanted to clear that up. This crap has been going on for months, everyone is sick of it by now. Instead of being brief like I did for other social medias, I’ll be as detailed as possible this time.

[1] “she’s copying/imitating/heavily referencing from my art style!!!”

Like people have said a million times, no I’m not. And nor is anyone else. Just because someone draws the Sonic characters in a similar style to you does not automatically mean they took, copied or “stole” those ideas from you. You don’t own the concept of buff, fluffy bodies or chubby muzzles. COINCIDENCE, as much as you hopelessly deny it, is very much a possible thing- even in crazy situations such as this. There are several other artists who have similar art styles by mere coincidence. IT IS NOT IMPOSSIBLE. As examples, these Instagram artists have similar styles: @ azulytoons and @ indigonite0 / @ magenta_mel and @ zer0finix / @ himemikal and @ natirix. NONE of these artists are “stealing” or referencing from each other- they just have similar art styles, and that is perfectly okay! They draw completely different things with completely different mindsets. The world does not revolve around you, ang0. Not everyone knows who you are, so some people who use the same traits that we do don’t even know we exist.

Also, to anyone unaware, an art STYLE is not merely how one chooses to portray a character. An art STYLE is also what brushes you use, how you sketch, how you line, how you colour, how you shade, how you choose to portray certain objects or ideas- basically your entire fucking understanding of how something’s supposed to look and how you LIKE it to look. It’s not just “chubby faces, poofy curly hair, buff bodies”. It’s everything in a piece AND that.

[2] “she’s tracing my art/ redrawing my ideas!”

Literally no. People have constantly asked you to provide evidence and you refused to. All you did was scream “but it’s so obvious, just look at it!” or “are you dumb? use your eyes!” and several other insults. If you want to prove a point or make someone see something, GIVE. EVIDENCE. The only person who actually provided “proof” was pin_kpeach, your ever so loyal whiteknight, but her “proof” only backfired and proved that the both of you are extremely delusional. In the drawings of ours that she layered over each other, next to NONE of the lines lined up. It looked like a clustered mess of scrap, and the reason for that is because IT WASN’T TRACED. In the one or two drawings where ONE. SINGLE. PIECE. actually lined up was entirely zoomed in to make it seem as though the whole thing was traced. No, honey, that’s not how you provide proof. That’s how you pull a muscle by reaching so desperately to lie about me. The rest of the drawings in those pictures didn’t line up at all, and one- or I believe both- needed to be titled to line them up in the first place. You could say that some people trace things and resize or rotate them, but if I were as dumb as you persist to say, then I wouldn’t have done something like that. Either way, one aspect of a drawing lining up is a common thing for people who have similar styles because- well, I just said it. THEY HAVE SIMILAR STYLES. If they draw something the same way, well fucking duh, it’ll match someone else’s drawing almost exactly sometimes.

[3] “she’s too petty and too much of a liar to credit me! saying the art isn’t hers will hurt her oversized ego!”

Ahaha no. The only one here with an inflated ego is you, ang0. You call me the egotistical one yet you act as though your life is falling apart just because someone else draws like you on the internet. Stop acting like a special snowflake, you are not the only one on this planet with an art style of that nature. I don’t credit you because crediting you makes no damn sense. Why should I credit someone who’s had absolutely no impact on my work whatsoever? What in the hell did you do for my drawings that makes you deserve so much credit? Did you sketch it? No. Did you line it? Nope. Did you colour or shade it? Not a chance. Just because I came up with a design for the characters that happens to look like yours does not mean I owe you jack shit. You cannot. own. a style. Get over it.

[4] “she worsened my depression and is the reason I can’t draw anymore! I have no motivation when there’s some idiot copycat stealing all my art!”

I don’t want to sound like that kind of person, but you worsened your own depression. You painted this false picture in your head and continue to hang onto that belief like your life depends on it. I haven’t done ANYthing to you. You came to ME with these stupid claims back when my art looked LESS like yours, before I even knew who you were. You’re making yourself feel horrible because you, for some paranormal reason, refuse to believe that you’re not the only one with that kind of style. This is why people call you childish, you’re like a whiny baby that can’t accept another child having a toy similar to yours. I can’t even decide whether I should say “grow up” because you’re older than me- not to mention you’re an ADULT.

[5]”she constantly sends her whiteknights to attack me, harass me and send me threatening messages!”

I’ve said several times to my followers NOT to harass you or your followers or anyone against me in this mess at all. I do not send anyone after you. People say things to you out of their own free will and with their own words. I can’t magically know when this happens, why they decide to and I especially can’t control anyone. I’m sorry that my friend Koro sent you all those DMs and horrible messages wishing a lot of very bad things onto you and your family- I asked her several times before and after not to do that, but I didn’t have a clue she did it until after the fact. Either way, don’t go around assuming that I put people up to this or I intentionally ask people to do these things to you. Why in the hell would I do that? What good does that do? All I wanted to do was talk things out but at this point, you don’t even take me seriously, so I can’t even try anymore. The few times we did talk you refuse to see my point of view and just see me as a liar. What the hell am I supposed to do then?

[6]”all vio does is lie, she’s so fake all the time, lying for her petty ego”

I’m not even sure how to respond to this but I thought I might as well bring it up. No matter what I do or say, ang0 sees me as nothing but some retarded liar that can’t help but lie their way around everything, even though I’ve been nothing but genuine all this time. It’s why I can’t even communicate with her anymore, because “shut up, stop lying you copycat” is all I get in response basically.

[7] her insane hypocrisy

Ange and pin_kpeach have said numerous times that I’m rude or insult her, and there have been times where I’ve been mean out of anger, but I know for a fact I apologized for it in DMs. Ange apologized too. I don’t remember ever insulting her after that, but ang0 doesn’t ever stop ridiculing and insulting me with almost every comment she makes on the drama. If she really was sorry, she wouldn’t have done it again, but I guess she said “fuck it” and just continued anyway. Pin_kpeach likes to say I’M the hypocrite for saying Ange is harassing me yet being rude to her a couple times, yet they do they exact same thing, but even worse?? I try my best to be as civil as possible, but ang0 and pink don’t waste a second calling me and my supporters all sorts of colourful names just because they don’t agree with her claims. In fact, here’s a list of every single thing ang0’s ever called me:

retarded, retard, stupid, idiot, dumb, low IQ, mentally ill, crazy, talentless, skill-less, copycat, art thief, (dumb) cow, fuckhole, asshole, bitch, wanna-be artist, unreasonable, clown, fake, liar, hypocrite, delusional, dick, stalker, bittershitter, dumbass, immature

There’s probably more than that, but that’s as much as I can remember. Not hard to forget when she repeats them almost all the time.

[8] gatekeeping ideas

Ange and pink act as if two people drawing a character in the same outfit automatically equals “du bist kopying mein style!!”. I can’t even begin to imagine the mental gymnastics you need to do in order to believe a thought process like that is logical. She thinks that anyone who draws Amy in a dress with a white under-skirt or white ruffles underneath is nothing but a copied idea from her. She thinks that me drawing Amy in a green tank top, blue backwards cap and blue sports shorts is copying her drawing of Amy in a green unidentifiable top (you could only see her back, she didn’t seem to have straps) and blue sports shorts with a slightly different design is automatically copied from her. The poses, shading, angle and idea behind the drawing were COMPLETELY different- but nonono, “this is stolen because the outfit is the same!” They also use the excuse of the whole chubby faces, curly hair, blah blah blah- see point [1] as to why that’s BS.

[9] her perception of my followers/supporters

Aside from Koro, I don’t know if anyone has seriously threatened or harassed her. Her followers comment on my posts, my followers only comment when she brings up the drama or whines about it. She insults my supporters when they don’t agree with her and act like they’re a bunch of immature brats who are wrong while she’s the high and mighty mature one seeing through non-existent lies. I’m used to her making fun of me, but I’m sick and tired of her insulting people who have nothing to do with the drama just because they don’t agree with her. Like, seriously? You call everyone immature and stupid yet you’re the one insulting people non-stop just because they realize how ridiculous and childish you’re acting. That’s why “childish” has become a popular adjective for you, ang0. BECAUSE YOU’RE BEING CHILDISH. CONSTANTLY. You get pissy, insult others and put people down but whine and cry the next minute because you constantly like to play the victim. Speaking of which...

[10] the victim card

I have absolutely no idea what ang0 goes through in real life, but there is no excuse for how she’s behaved during this drama AT ALL. Ange constantly defames her own artwork, calling it shit, calling it every bad name in the book, but doesn’t hesitate for a minute to gatekeep her style as if it was the best thing in the world. She says it’s because she “worked her ass off” and doesn’t want people just stealing her hard work. Okay, but you do realize that other people put just as much work into their own art, no matter if it looks like yours or not, right? She demands that people change their style to stop looking like hers, acting as if that can be done in a matter of minutes, because people having similar styles makes her uncomfortable. Well, surprise motherfucker- welcome to the internet. No one is original and everyone is original at the same time. People are bound to come up with similar ideas and you’re just going to have to deal with it. But despite the similarities, people are still original in their own right. If you believe that people can change a style so easily, why not just change your OWN style? Because you worked your ass off? Well, THEY WORKED THEIR ASS OFF TOO. So don’t act like you’re the only one who’s put effort into their craft. Art is hard, and that applies to EVERYONE- even professionals.

You blame me and other “copycats” for all your problems, blaming us for worsening your depression, ruining your passion for art- when you’re the only one who does this to yourself. Yes, there have been genuine art thieves in your life, and people who have stolen your art- but what I’m talking about are the people like me who DON’T steal your art or are merely inspired by you. People who say “you should be happy they’re inspired!” aren’t saying “you should be happy they’re copying!”. They’re saying that you should be glad that your work is so inspiring that people create their own unique ideas based off your own. Inspiration doesn’t require credit unless they’re purposefully taking a massive part of the original. But being inspired by a hair style or even a pose isn’t stealing. It’s inspiration, that’s it. I’m not inspired by you at all, but I can at least appreciate your art- even if you think I’m just being fake.

[11] ang0mang0′s history and why this shit doesn’t even make sense

Ange has said publicly and to me in detail about how she’s been accused of the same “art style theft” in the past. From what I’ve gathered or heard, people used to accuse her of copying a popular artist called myly14 who’s Sonic art is pretty much everywhere. Whether it be in edits, MVs or whatever else. Looking at her old art when she went under the name sonicfan799, her art does look similar to myly’s, but ang0 insisted that she didn’t copy myly and didn’t even know who she was. She legit said “it’s not my fault my art looks like someone else’s”, so basically- it was coincidence. She said she changed her art style because she “isn’t an asshole and didn’t want to make the other artist uncomfortable”, even though art style theft isn’t a thing and no one needs to be forced out of a style just because someone else already draws that way. I have no idea what myly’s stance on that situation was, but the fact that it happened just proves how stupid her current claims are.

Ange says that her style is “too complex” to be coincidentally similar to someone else’s, even though the fact that it’s happened 30 times (according to her) just proves that no, ang0, no it fucking isn’t. Your style isn’t complicated at all. Detailed sure, but no style is too complicated to be similar to another’s. Being complex doesn’t make something any less likely to be identical to another complex style.If you didn’t copy myly14 in the past, what right do you have to accuse me of the same damn thing? If I really am copying you, then you have to admit to copying myly, because you can’t just lie about your past and then shit on me for doing the same thing. So it’s either you stop this nonsense or you drag this drama down with you to your grave and admit you copied myly14.

Another thing, myly14 didn’t even have a “simple” style. The fact that her art was almost instantly recognizable and popular meant that she had a signature style that stood out. Yes, she used a lot of the original Sonic style’s anatomy, but her stylization of said anatomy, her shading and the way she composed her pieces gave her a signature style. The most stylized thing I could see was how she drew muzzles, and guess who drew muzzles in a similar way as well? You did. People saw how your way of drawing faces and some parts of the body and thought it looked liked myly’s. The similarities in your anatomy, and not your shading or colouring, was what made people think you copied her. That exact same thing is happening between me and you. My shading, colouring and composition is entirely different from yours, but some parts of the anatomy are similar.

If you really didn’t copy myly14, you have absolutely no. fucking. excuse. to accuse me of the EXACT. SAME. SHIT. that happened to you.

You never needed or deserved to be pressured out of your old style just because people thought it looked similar to someone else’s, and that’s why I refuse to change my style now. Because it isn’t. fucking. fair. To ANYONE.

[12] how I feel (this is copied over from my DeviantART)

At this point I've grown used to what she has to say, but it still hurts. She thinks that I'm some kind of cartoon villain maniacally laughing behind a computer screen every time I post something because she's so deep into her belief that I really copy everything she draws and that nothing I've never posted has any true effort put into it. She genuinely believes she owns all my art and that I devote my entire gallery into recreating her image or some crazy shit like that. It sounds really dumb, but from what I've read from her poorly constructed comments and rants, that's basically what she believes.

She thinks I don't care at all about how all this affects her or anyone at all, but I do. It doesn't just hurt me in the sense that she makes me feel awful with all her insults, but I just feel so bad for her. I feel guilty in the sense that I couldn't do anything at all to help her, not that "shes prolly feeling guilty and made that april fools joke to let out some guilt!!". (If you don’t know, on April Fools Day, I changed my Instagram bio to say “clown” and call myself “the ultimate copycat” as a joke.) That was a really stupid reaction from her by the way... who the hell comes up with that? Now that she's going away for a month, I feel even worse because all I wanted to do was try to make her come to her senses and end this mess. I thought I could talk some sense into her- that didn't work. Her delusions are so strong, she's like a brick wall. I thought I could ignore the drama- that didn't work. She "clowns" and talks about it so annoyingly often. Not to mention people do things on their own to stir shit up. I thought I could support her regardless and maybe try making her feel better about her art- that didn't work. She thinks I'm fake and that everything I say is a lie. Because of me, she probably doesn't believe other people too- and that makes me feel even more terrible.

No matter what I do, I'm automatically the villain and she's the tortured, helpless artist that everyone is against because "everyone is dumb, supporting a copycat" and she's just "used to it, because she's dealt with so much shit already!". It's so ridiculous. If she would just try to actually better herself or the situation, she wouldn't feel so horrible all the time. Like... for god's sake, she relied on a video game to make her happy- that's not healthy, and just like I suspected, it didn't fucking work.

more of how I feel

Because of ang0, I just feel like garbage. My self esteem and confidence in my art was already low. Thanks to her, I don’t feel original (or as original) anymore- and I’m afraid to show many of my new or old ideas because she or her whiteknight pin_kpeach may spring out and say “copycat! stolen! you’re not original!” and a plethora of other insults. I can barely sketch or draw Sonic content without panicking and feeling worthless because all I have is her words and her opinions stuck in my head. She blames me for her demotivation and shit like that when she’s done the same thing to me. She thinks I don’t care about her or her art, when I do, but when I say that, she calls me fake. In reality, ang0 couldn’t give a damn about me and I’m pretty sure she’d be happy if I were dead. She has said before that she doesn’t care if I killed myself soo... there’s that. Anyway lemme not drag my feelings out too long, I just thought I’d say it to anyone willing to listen since her immediate response would’ve been “fake, liar” etc, etc. I really don’t want anyone to feel bad for me or anything like that, I just want people to listen and understand. That’s all.

a final note

I’m really thankful- like, REALLY thankful- for everyone who’s been on my side throughout this. I don’t like picking sides, and I’d hate to make people do so, but there doesn’t seem to be any in between to this at all. It’s either you believe I’m copying her or you don’t. Most people don’t- thank goodness for that- but some do. And there’s nothing I can do about it. At this point, whatever man.

Please please PLEASE do not harass ang0. Don’t threaten her, don’t insult her, don’t do anything rash or fucking illegal. It’s all fair game if you want to POLITELY SPEAK to her, or try to start a discussion, but please don’t do anything stupid. And especially don’t do things in my name. If you want to debate with me or her, do research first- don’t just jump to conclusions or make assumptions.If you want nothing to do with this drama, then simply don’t say anything- just be aware of what’s going on, that’s all I ask. So nobody gets the wrong idea on either side.

Sorry for this being so long, I think I’m done for now.

Thank you if you read the whole thing.

[9.4.2020]

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cicinicole-14 · 3 years

Note

I know you haven't even posted Part 2 yet but just for when you get to it ... and need to post Part 3.... feel free to use this ask hehe ! Just preempting ya know

jkyk anon, I’m gonna need at least 5 more of these asks, seeing as ive written through part 8 so far.

anyway, here’s part 3! its unedited bc we die like men…

“Alex.”

Her voice edges on surprise, but doesn’t quite match it, teetering on the verge of a warning almost as well. She’s genuinely confused seeing him leaning up against her car in the rain.

She unlocks it, ushering him to get in and out of the drizzling rain she knows is going to soon pick up.

He looks over at her with solemn brown eyes, and she can read him like a book, just as she’d always been able to once he’d let her past his walls.

She could see the immense amount of guilt swirling behind the friendly front he’s put up. She can see the regret in his eyes, and knows the hurt is evident in his chest as he looks down, breaking their eye contact.

“I’m sorry.” The first words he speaks to her as he reaches for her hand across the console, but she pulls away, not ready for that. Had it not been raining, she wouldn’t have even invited him in the car and would’ve made sure there was much more distance between them still, but alas.

“I don’t need your apologies, Alex.” She says softly. And it pains her to even speak to him.

“I know.” He replies back before taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly.

The silence in the car hangs heavy over both of them, but neither are willing to break it yet. Jo has tears welling in her eyes, threatening to spill over but she refuses to show even a slight sign of weakness by letting a tear fall in front of him.

Alex finally caves, facing forward, not sure if he could even do this while looking at Jo.

He’d given up everything for a notion of a happy life, and it had all fallen apart instantly. He’d given up his entire life and happiness at a notion of a life, that fell through cracks and ruined his joy.

He clears his throat before speaking.

“Izzie and I aren’t together.” He finally breaks the heavy silence. It’s enough to pull Jo out of her intense daze and look at him for the first time.

She can see from his profile view, the bags laying heavy around his eyes, the redness rimming them, and how hollow he looks compared to what she remembered.

It makes her feel sick and dread fills her chest, but she pushes it down before quickly looking away, staying silent, hoping he’d take it as a cue to continue.

He doesn’t. Whether it’s lack of not knowing what else to say or how to continue, or that was all he had to say, he remains silent.

“What do you want me to say, Alex? Come back home? Marry me, again? Let’s just be a happy family again and forget that you left me for your ex-wife and supposed children and moved halfway across the country without consulting me, your wife, first?”

She didn’t mean for it to come out so harsh, but things were still fresh and raw and she had a lot of hormones flowing through her at the moment. She was exhausted after her twelve hour shift and had just wanted to crawl into bed tonight and forget things for a while, but the universe obviously had other plans.

“No. I don’t expect you to take me back, but I just wanted to clear the air between us. I wanted you to know, and know how truly sorry I am for leaving like that. No one deserves to be broken up with, like that, especially you. It was a really crappy thing I did and I know that. Also, I want you to know that I’m fighting Izzie for custody of the kids. I currently have a two bedroom apartment in Kansas and split custody of the twins, but I'm fighting for full.”

Jo grips the steering wheel in her hands until her knuckles are turning white. “So you’re going to sue me for full custody of this baby too?”

“No.” Alex barely lets her finish her sentence before shutting her down. “No, Jo, I’d never do that to you. The fact that you’re telling me already, that we’re having a kid, makes me so happy. That even with how much you hate me, you’re still willing to tell me about this baby. Izzie––” He pauses. “Izzie deprived me of over five years of that with Eli and Lex. You’re––you’re still letting me in from the beginning. So thank you.”

Jo still sits, gripping the wheel, though this time the pressure is lighter as the color returns to her fingers. She stares at the tan line that had started fading from where her wedding rings used to lie.

She hates a lot of things at the moment, like how empty her ring finger feels without the weight of the rings. She hates how angry she is at the universe. She hates not having any control over her emotions at the moment, and hates that she can feel the tears starting to fall down her cheeks.

She hates a lot of things right now, but not Alex. Never Alex.

“I don’t hate you.” She says after a beat, managing to find her voice. It’s raw, wavering and barely audible but by the way Alex’s head lifts and his eyes meet her in slight surprise, she knows he heard it. “I hate a lot of things right now, but not you. I’m mad, angry, furious at you. I want to smack you upside the head and maybe punch you, but I don’t hate you. Especially after giving me something to be happy about among all my anger.”

Alex looks back down. “I don’t know what else to say.” He taps his foot lightly against the floorboards of the car.

Jo just nods subtly. She pauses before digging through her purse sitting on her lap, pulling out the folded sonogram picture and handing it to him. “Here, I have another copy.” She says, offering the olive branch.

Alex takes it, tentatively, staring down at the grainy photo.

“That’s a baby in there.” He says in slight shock still, a smile gracing his face.

Jo quietly stifles a laugh before shutting herself up. She looks up at him with teary eyes. “Our baby.” She says, ever so softly, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

“Yeah, our baby.” Alex echoes softly.

She can’t take the tense feeling in the car any longer and she pulls it into reverse. “What hotel are you at?” She says, clearing her throat and pushing back her tear-filled voice, trying to sound as normal as she can manage as she turns around checking her surrounding areas for other vehicles in the parking lot.

The drive to the hotel is silent as Jo keeps her eyes on the road and focuses on the blades of the wipers going back and forth as she pulls up to the building. She puts the car into park and waits for Alex to unbuckle and exit.

He ducks out of the car, and just as he’s shutting the door, he looks back at her, back at Jo, the woman he loves with everything in him, and smiles. “It was never going to work with Izzie because my heart still belongs to someone else, Jo. I still love you.”

Jo looks up from the steering wheel just as Alex shuts the door and turns, heading into the lobby of the hotel.

She watches as the man who once owned her heart walked off, leaving her swirling with emotions. She rests her head on the back of her hands on the wheel, letting the tears finally freely fall, once again, not sure what to feel at this moment.

oop so, Alex still loves her…wbk… wonder what’s happening next? what are y’alls thoughts? what about the twins? Izzie? is jo going to take him back? cant wait to hear what y’all think! and if there’s anything you’d really like to see in this story/series lmk, I can work it in here, or maybe in a oneshot for the verse. :D

#jolex #jolex fic #jolex miniseries #tell the world im coming home #cici writes

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doof-doofblog · 4 years

Text

"I'm Leaving Tomorrow!"

Tuesday 8th September 2020

Good evening everyone! Hope you're all enjoying your week so far! I once again apologise for this post being late, I just want to let you guys know that I am not slacking in any kind of way, I want to assure you all that I am just as excited about EastEnders as much as you guys are and I'm really looking forward to what the soap has in store for us. I know in recent weeks/months that I have been late with posts etc etc, I just want to explain to you guys that this blog, for me, is truly a hobby ... I work two jobs as well try to have a social life, I do this during my evenings whenever I'm not working and I will always make sure I am up to date with episodes! I just wanted to clear the air about that just in case some of you might have been thinking.

Anyway, we all know on Monday the soap came back with a huge bang! Now is the only time I've had to catch up on last night's episode, so lets jump straight into it!

So last night ended with Dotty telling Sharon the truth about how her son died and exposing Ian and his lies, and of course it starts right where we left off .... surely Ian isn't going to get away with it? Clearly Sharon is shocked to be hearing what Dotty is saying, Max is over on the other side of Vic listening in, and even he pipes up and claims that Ian was the one who saved Dennis, as he was there! But Dotty is eager to make Sharon believe her, she claims that she has no reason to lie, why would she? And oh of course Ian would bring up the fact that she was in court for possession of drugs because Ian reported her, but even so, that would have nothing to do with it! That really wouldn't make sense! And yet Sharon falls for it!!!! She calls her an evil little bitch and smashes a glass in front of her ... did you guys clock that horrible smug grin on Ian's face?! Poor Dotty then gets thrown out the Queen Vic, everyone looking at her! Does anyone else feel for Dotty right now? She's been hiding this secret for months, being terrorised by Ian and blackmailed to make sure she keeps Ian's horrible secret, and as soon as she tells the truth, no one believes her! Sharon threatens her with the glass bottle, and warns her to never approach her or her family ever again!

As she does so, Bobby can be seen looking from a distance, it's been known that he has had a crush on Dotty for some time, whether he still does, i'm unsure ... but seeing her making unbelievable claims about his Dad, it disappoints him. I'm sure he wondering, "Why is she lying?" ... but I'm sure at some point, something will be found ... Dotty called out that she had a recording of Dennis from the boat, but it got deleted, could that still be found somewhere? Could someone else potentially have a copy? Ian tells Sharon to ignore Dotty, she's just a messed up kid in his words. Sharon decides to leave the situation to get some head space, leaving Ian to wonder what she could be thinking about.

Aww now we see Chantelle meeting up with Kheerat, he's managed to get her the money she asked for. He asks whether her whether Gray can't help with the situation she may be in, but Chantelle can't bare to tell the truth. She explains the money is for her and her children and nothing else. The more this goes on and the more she confides in Kheerat, I do believe eventually she will say something about the abuse she's been suffering before she passes, unless something happens and Kheerat will find out the truth. But will he be too late? This is truly a sad story-line to watch, but of course it's very important to portray and tell the story! Chantelle decides to confide in Kheerat and reveals that she's divorcing her husband, this is clear surprise to him as it's shown in his eyes and the look on his face, he looks as if so many questions are rushing through his head. "Why would she be divorcing him?!" ... he promises to get her the money she needs to divorce him, she thanks him with a sigh of relief. But the look in Kheerat's eyes made me feel like he just wanted to hold her, wrap her up in cotton wool and take her away from what she's been suffering. It's as if he's Chantelle's true knight in shining armour.

Awww and meanwhile, Ben is in the hospital along with his Dad and Lola, ready for his appointment to have his implant. He's looking longingly waiting for Callum to show up, Lola asks what would be the first thing he'd want to hear if the implant works, perhaps Lexi singing one of her songs? It's devastating that unbeknown to Ben, Callum is at work - having seen him appear on CCTV and revealing him taking part in the job with Danny Hardcastle, I do feel as much as Callum wants to be there for his boyfriend, he needs to hide the fact that it's his partner in the CCTV. I feel there could be some upsetting Ballum scenes ahead. At his house, Gray is working on his laptop, suddenly a advertisement pops up! "Are you looking for a divorce lawyer?" ... it's incredible how realistic that is! I'm sure all of you would agree that there have been times you've typed something in search bar on the internet, and a few hours later you'll be back online and there'll be an advertisement for something you've previously searched! Instantly Gray views the history on the laptop and it reveals everything has been deleted. Is he aware of what Chantelle might be up to? If so, I'm dreading what's going to happen next for Chantelle!

Back on the Square, Dotty is seen with her head in her hands, looking defeated. Bobby makes his way up to her, demanding to know what she was playing at. He tells her neither he nor anyone else believes what she's saying is true. She asks him that it doesn't even cross his mind that there might be some slight truth in what she is saying, again ... why would she lie? I mean, it's clear she and Ian have never gotten on in the first place, Ian basically sees her as Nick Cotton's daughter, which means with him as a father, she could be very much like him! Bobby then reveals to Dotty that Ian wants himself and Sharon to be more than friends, Dotty's face smirks into a huge grin, is she going to be able use that information to her advantage?! Dotty claims that Bobby thinks that she is just like her father, like everyone else seems to think to, and with the way things are going for her, she might as well prove them right!

Next clip, Chantelle comes home from work, Gray is clearly waiting for her. He hears her footprints enter the house, he asks her how work was, she replies with "Fine" ... the next comment he makes is "I would've thought more than fine!" She makes her way into the living room, Gray watching her as she walks in ... she tries to lure him off the scent and says she's been with a client. The next thing which came out of Gray's mouth made my mouth drop ... "Is that what that's slutty top for?" ... He is clearly enraged, knowing that she's been looking for a divorce lawyer. But to call her slutty?! Sorry, but that is bang out of order! Is he making out that perhaps she's having an affair, which is why she may be looking for a divorce?! But then HE announces that he's actually seeking an divorce! Saying it's best for them to get HER out of everyone's lives! This clearly comes as a shock to Chantelle, to be honest, in all seriousness ... what actually has she done?! Chantelle has done NOTHING, she's the one who has been the victim of Gray's outbursts for years and years, and yet he's divorcing her?! I'd kind of wished Chantelle had told him sooner that she was divorcing him, but of course - in her situation, she had to it secretly. This is going to be such a blow for Chantelle, he's even letting on that she wont even be able to see her children. How the hell is she going to be able to turn this around?!

The next time we see Chantelle, she is in the bath, Gray's words clearly playing on her mind. Footsteps can be heard of Gray coming up the stairs and approaching the bathroom, she looks in fear to the door as the footsteps get closer. The door of bathroom unlocks and Gray appears, he again repeats himself and says he wants her out. She pleads with him to talk it through, saying the children can't be without their mother! He claims he can provide for them himself and keep them with him, she pleads for him to make their marriage work. He lets out a sigh and tells her to prove it! Prove what exactly?! She's curled up in ball in the bath as he slowly approaches her, with not even any form of emotion in his face. He leans onto the side of the bath and tells her "If you love your kids, prove it. Do this and we can call all this off!" ... At this moment in time, I'm thinking - what does he mean? "Do this?" ... Chantelle is begging him saying "Please not this!" ... does she have some kind of fear of water? Or is something darker about to happen?

Next minute, we see Ian let himself into the Vic, he sees a light is on upstairs and he makes his way up, hoping to see that Sharon has returned. He finds her in the kitchen, they both share a look and Ian starts to make excuses for Dotty. Instantly Sharon interrupts him and says "What aren't you telling me?!" ... Sharon and Ian have friends for a very long time, you'd think she'd know if he had been hiding something from her. But once again he worms his way out of the big lie/secret, and instead informs Sharon that Dennis was posting abuse about Bobby instead. He explains that she was giving birth to Kayden while it was all going on and he thought he'd be able to handle it. But as a good point, Sharon says that that was then, so why has he kept quiet since then and not told her? It looks as if as soon as Ian is about to explain why, she answers for him ... He didn't want her to feel bad about him? Because she was going through enough already? ... Ian's eyes and ears are in absolute disbelief! Something else he's letting her believe, that he's being such a good friend to her ... when it actual fact, it's been lie after lie! She then thanks him!!!!! Oh my gosh!!! I am watching this with my face in my hands ... can Ian not stoop any lower?! How long is he going to worm his way out of this? The more he lies, the more worse it's going to be once the truth finally comes out! He even says "You've got nothing to thank me for!" ... hmmm - is that the guilt sinking in?!

Suddenly, the scene goes back to Chantelle and Gray ... Chantelle can be seen lying underwater, with Gray watching over her. Gray is clearly timing her as she holds her breath underwater. She lets out a scream underwater and Gray raises his arm in a signal for her to come up. She is clearly gasping for breath. How long has she been having to hold her breath? He's pretty much nearly drowning her without actually physically touching her. Controlling how long she stays under water for. As she's gasping for breath and coughing, he shrugs it off and says "Wasn't so bad, was it?" Then as if nothing has happened, he tells her to get changed and go and pick up their children. I am absolutely baffled by this! Not only is Gray physically abusing his wife, but he's also playing mind games and controlling her. It's typical domestic abuse!

Back at the hospital, Callum finally arrives to be with Ben for his appointment. Ben is seen with wires connected behind his ears, Phil watching and waiting, sat next to him. Callum bursts through the door, apologetic to his boyfriend, he asks them if he had missed anything. Phil says to him that he should've been there an hour ago, Callum explains that something came up at work - the next thing is really interesting - Phil asks him whether it was more important than being at the hospital with his boyfriend, Callum then pipes up to Phil and says "You tell me!" - there is clearly some tension between Callum and Phil, I can sense an atmosphere between them. Now Callum knows about the job they took part in, will he blame Phil for getting Ben involved? Which is way he seems so snappy at Phil! Suddenly Ben whispers "I heard you!" ... He turns to Callum and smiles and repeats himself "I heard you!" He laughs excitedly that the implant worked, could this mean that Ben's hearing could be returning?! Callum is thrilled for his boyfriend but can't help but feel let down that he had been lied to for weeks/months.

Oh!!!!! So that's how Ian got the money to spend on the Vic!!! He used the money from Max's share of the restaurant to buy the Vic!! It all makes perfect sense now! And of course, Max has absolutely no idea - that's someone else that's going to be annoyed with Ian when his lies and schemes come to light. Not only is Sharon going to be angry with him, but so will Max ... I have a feeling something is going to go very wrong for Ian and very soon. It's been revealed that Adam Woodyatt would be taking a long break from the soap, something to do with a story-line - is Ian going to flee before everything comes to light? Or are things going to be revealed and will he then make a run for it? Whichever way it goes, I don't think things will be the same for Ian, ever again.

The last scene of the episode tonight, Chantelle is looking frail as she's walking the children home. She's scared, Kheerat calls over to her explaining that it's going to take him longer for him to get the money, if not days, a couple of weeks. She softly says that she doesn't have a couple of weeks, she then drops the bombshell and says that she is leaving tomorrow! You can see in her eyes she is desperate to get away from Gray as soon as she can! I do fear that somehow Gray will end up finding out - or she'll end up getting hold up and not being able to go through with her plans. It's also devastating too that right now she hasn't even confided in her Mum or Dad, we've seen nothing from Karen or Mitch - if only Chantelle could find the strength to tell her family and not suffer in silence! I do believe the next few episodes are going to be really hard to watch, as harrowing as it's going to be, I'm sure EastEnders will do a brilliant job in bringing it to the screen. It's a very important story-line and i'm positive both Jessica Plummer and Toby-Alexander Smith will do it justice! I hope you've all enjoyed my blog tonight, I once again apologise for posting so late. I'll be back again soon following the next episode. Enjoy the rest of your night folks! xXx

#eastenders #chantelleatkins #grayatkins #ianbeale #sharonwatts #dottycotton #kheerat panesar #bobbybeale #maxbranning #callumhighway #benmitchell #philmitchell #ballum

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underoossss · 5 years

Text

More Than A Mission - H.O [Epilogue]

Masterlist

Spy AU

Pairing: Spy!Harrison Osterfield x Spy!reader

Warnings: some swearing and huge amounts of fluff

A/N: Here it is y’all, the last chapter of these two wonderful characters. It’s been a ride, and I loved writing every bit of this. It’s very hard to say goodbye, I’m going to miss them but I hope you like this. Thank you for reading💖💖There’s probably typos in this but I’ll read them over tomorrow probably lol, bear with me.

The soft crashing of the waves and the salty breeze make you sigh in content and close your eyes for a few seconds before opening them again to a beautiful Saturday morning. The sun is hot and high in the sky making the turquoise sea in front of you glitter. It was a busy day at the beach in Montecarlo, which meant you had to be extra alert while scanning your surroundings. So as you lie in a beach chair, white rimmed sunglasses on top of your nose and a book in your hands, you watch people come and go. Families, waiters, groups of friends, rich people jet skiing, there was a little bit of everything but so far no sign of your target.

“How’s everything looking over there?” Harrison speaks through the earpiece in your ear, that was strategically covered by a strand of hair.

It has been a little over a year since the Marioli case, and Harrison and you have been inseparable ever since. You have worked many cases together as partners, all of them successful missions and the FBI has never been happier to have their best agents back. Your missions ranged from cold nights in the streets of Paris, early mornings in Los Angeles and hot days in Bacelona, everything to try to make the world a little safer. It felt like old times, the only thing that changed was going back to your shared bed at a hotel or your shared apartment by the end of the day and not having to hide your feelings anymore. And thank the heavens for that. Now, both of you had been assigned to go undercover to arrest Johnathan Blanche, a rogue agent who stole confidential files and is planning on selling them at a party in Montercarlo’s most luxurious hotel. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts forgotten for the sake of not being discovered, you were now Mr. and Mrs. Blazier. Two rich newlyweds on their honeymoon, who loved the beach, jazz music and had close ties with the most important families in England. Harrison is now forced to wear brown contact lenses while you had to wear a wig to keep your identities hidden during the assignment, just in case someone recognized you and blew off your cover.

“Nothing unusual, which is good since I can actually try to enjoy my book and the sun.” You say under your breath, sighing in content once more. “And yes I know my British accent isn’t the best.”

“I think its cute.” He chuckles and you can picture him smiling to himself. “Anyways, nothing unusual from the bar side of the resort. But now that I’m coming back…”

You furrow your eyebrows and sit up slightly, wondering if Harrison saw Blanche somewhere on the beach. “You have eyes on the target?”

“Nope, only on the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. White rimmed sunglasses, black and white stripped bikini, and I think she’s reading the new Michelle Obama book. Wow.” There’s a hint of a smirk in his voice like he knows how his words make your cheeks burn in a second.

You chuckle and shake your head after he’s done describing you and you shrug your shoulders since you know he can see you. “You should give her your phone number.”

“Do you think she’d give it to me?” His voice is teasing and you just want to kiss the smile off his face as you roll your eyes.

You smile, the perfect answer in your mind already. “Probably not.”

“Ugh, you guys are gross.”Another agent, Bryan, who was also synced to your earpieces teased the two of you. The two of you chuckle, picturing him dying of boredom at his post giving out towels and your flirting not making anymore interesting.

You turn your earpiece off as you see Harrison approach you out of the corner of your eye. His breathtaking body fully on display, his silver chain resting on top of his toned chest and shoulders and those abs… You lower your sunglasses slightly to have a better look, enjoying the way his curls move with the breeze and how hot he looked with those black sunglasses and dark green swimming trunks. And to think he’s all yours.

“You’re impossible you know.” Harrison smiles and presses the button on his earpiece turning it off before handing you a pineapple cocktail. He leans down to brush his nose against yours and places a kiss on your lips.

Your stomach does flips when his lips meet yours and you smile once you pull away, sending a wink his way. “You love me though.”

“Hopelessly.” He shakes his head, moving towards the chair beside you and sipping on his cocktail. “That’s why I married you Mrs. Blazier.”

You set your book down on the glass table by your chair before turning towards Harrison, feeling his loving gaze on you even though it was covered by his sunglasses. “And I you, Mr. Blazier.” You take a sip of your cocktail before holding your right hand out for him to hold. Harrison does in a second, his fingers playing with yours as you look around you, trying to see if you spot Blanche or any of his bodyguards walking around. It’s a beautiful day, even criminals can appreciate that.

Your gaze drifts back to your intertwined hands, perceiving Harrison’s mind racing as his thumb brushed against your knuckles back and forth, pausing over the fake engagement and wedding ring every now and then. You give his hand a light squeeze, bringing his gaze back to yours. “Everything okay, love?”

Harrison nods his head, pulling himself out of his thoughts, and places a kiss in your hand. “Just thinking about how lucky I am, that’s all.” His shoulders move up and down as he shrugs before he takes a deep breath, closing his eyes as the warmth of the sun bathes him in light. “I love this job, and what makes it better is that I get to do it with you.”

“We’re both pretty damn lucky then.” You smile, squeezing his hand before letting go and picking up your book. Your eyes go back to his relaxed profile next to you, heart doing jumping jacks while you smile at the sigh, before you spot your target six chairs over. “Babe?”

“Hm?” He sits up slightly, pushing his sunglasses down his nose.

“Target spotted.” You nod your head slightly towards Blanche’s direction before looking down at your book. “We can’t let him out of our sight, the first chance we get we follow him.”

“Copied.” Harrison nods his head bur furrows his eyebrows a second later. “What if he goes back to his hotel though? We can’t risk sneaking in during the daytime.”

“Chill babe, we can easily plant a bug on him. We just need to confirm he’s going to the party tomorrow night so we can stop him.” You smile softly at him, taking his hand once more before and squeezing it softly. You pretend to adjust your sunglasses and activate your earpiece again, “Anyone undercover as a waiter, we found someone who needs a bug on their drink.”

Harrison can’t help the smile that comes to his face when he looks down at your face resting on his chest. Your eyes are threatening to close as the soft rocking of the hammock lulled you to sleep. It seems unreal he gets to see two completely different sides of you, brave and fierce when on a mission but also incredibly soft when you’re alone. A warm breeze blows from the sea down in front of you to the wide balcony you were currently resting in, soft music playing from his phone. After listening in on Blanche’s conversation during the afternoon until he confirmed his assistance to the party, all agents decided to call it a day and decided to rendezvous the next day to go over the strategy to get the documents back. This left the rest of the night free for him to relax next to you and enjoy the short trip to paradise work had sent the two of you on.

Harrison’s left hand holds your right one over his chest, his eyes roaming freely over your features. The t-shirt that covered your body, the movement of your shoulders as you breathed softly, the barely there sunburn on your face and your slightly wet hair from the shower you took around 30 minutes before. You were perfect and if someone were to tell him many years ago that he would be able to hold you like this in Montercarlo of all places, he would’ve laughed. His thumb brushes back and forth over your knuckles, pausing its movement when it gets to the two bands on your ring finger and lingering there for a while before resuming his previous movement. His mind drifts back to the blue velvet box perfectly hidden in his suitcase, the same way it has been since the moment he got the ring. He needs to get better at not showing he’s thinking about marrying the girl of his dreams, you had already picked up on something back at the beach and would eventually figure it out if he keeps this up. He can’t help it though, not when he’s so lucky to have you.

A familiar knock on the door makes Harrison move his gaze away from you and towards the bedroom. You groan slightly in his arms before shifting so he can stand up, knowing the secret knock meant it was one of the agents outside the door. Harrison places a kiss on your temple and laughs when you pout before he stands up, arms going above his head as he lets out a yawn. The wooden floor is cold under his feet as he reaches the door and checks the keyhole to see Bryan on the other side.

“Good evening, Bryan. Are those for us?” Harrison nods at the two black suit bags and an envelope the red haired man holds on his left hand.

“Yup, just arrived for you along with the invitation. You’re officially on the list for tomorrow’s event.” He hands all three things to Harrison. “They told me to tell you they’re already paid for so don’t worry if anything happens to them.”

Harrison furrows his eyebrows but settles with shrugging his shoulders, “Thank you Bryan, have a good night.”

“Same to you.” Bryan gives him one last nod before leaving.

Closing the door behind him, Harrison moves back inside the bedroom smiling when he spots you sitting on the bed waiting for him. “Are those our clothes for the party?” Your eyes light up in excitement.

“They are, and this is the invitation for Mr. and Mrs. Blazier.” He puts the suit bags side by side on the bed and he opens the envelope to check its contents. “They sound like a hot couple don’t they?”

“Oh and they will look ten times hotter wearing this.” Harrison hears you open the bags before a gasp leaves your lips. “Harrison these are designer.”

“Well, we’re supposed to be one of the wealthiest couples in England.” He moves to the invitation inside the room’s safe before turning back to you and settling in bed as you examined the gowns. He nods appreciatively at the burgundy suit in front of him, the pocket square matching the dress you had on your hands.

“And the people at the party will be able to know if it’s a Dior or a Forever21 dress in a heartbeat.” Harrison smiles when you nod to yourself before standing up and holding the dress in front of you for him to see. “Do you like it?”

The dress was a beautiful champagne color, embroidered with what looked like tiny crystals, it had long sleeves and a flowy skirt. Harrison knew it was safe to say he couldn’t wait to see it on you so he nods his head eagerly, “You’ll look like a goddess wearing that love.”

“You think so?” You smile at him, taking both garments and hanging them in the walk-in closet next to the bathroom.

“Absolutely.” He holds his hand out to you before standing up, unable to push the image of you in a white dress to the back of his mind as you move to close to him. “How could you not when you already look like one right now.” He lets his hands move to your waist, giving your sides a light squeeze.

“Smooth, Osterfield.” You brush your lips against his, leaning back when his lips chase yours. “I think you’ll look amazing in that suit too, by the way. I can’t wait.”

Harrison hums in content when you finally kiss his lips, his mind going blank for a second and only focusing on the feeling of your fingers in his hair and your soft lips. “Dance with me?”

“Always.” You smile brightly at him, arms going around his neck as you start to sway side to side. Harrison’s heart flutters inside his chest when you rest your cheek on his shoulder, humming the song that plays from the balcony. “Please be careful tomorrow.” Your voice is barely a whisper but he hears it.

Harrison pulls you closer to him and kisses your temple. “I will. This isn’t a hands on mission anyway love, and you’ll be by my side all the time. I’d say that’s very safe.”

He feels you chuckle against the soft material of his t-shirt before you relax against him once more. “I know, but still.”

“Everything will be a success, you’ll see.” Harrison smiles as the two of you continue to sway. Your reflection on one of the balcony’s door catches his eyes and he can’t help but let his smile widen at the sight. You looked so good together and he wants it to be that way forever.

There’s a sense of déjà vu in the car as an agent drives the two of you to the Hotel de Paris, the most luxurious in Montercarlo and the venue for tonight’s party. You hold Harrison’s hand and squeeze it tightly to calm down your nerves. There was no reason to be afraid, this mission wasn’t nearly as dangerous as the Marioli case but the idea of so many civilians in that ballroom made you anxious. What if there were casualties and people got hurt, what if Harrison got hurt. You move your gaze towards his profile, his eyes looked ahead as the hum of the engine and soft music filled the car. His dark blond curls were only slightly pushed back per your request, always being partial to a softer look on him, and his face was occasionally illuminated with the street’s lampposts passing by.

You had spent the day planning out the whole evening with the SWAT team, who are currently at the hotel and will wait for the signal to arrest Blanche. There were two possible places where he had the document, the most likely location would be on him, but he could have a copy in his suite. You were to say the keyword when it’s safe for the SWAT team to enter the ballroom and arrest him while another part of the team raids his room. Hopefully it will be a successful and clean mission, but there was still the matter of Blanche’s bodyguards and business partners. It was a mixture of ex-convicts and mob leaders, which could make things go south in a seconds if things didn’t go according to plan.

Your hand leaves his as you open your clutch, the slightly worn down picture of the two of you coming into view when you take it out. The perfect mission and your lucky charm. Shortly after the Marioli case you had both exchanged back your charms given the fact that you were together again, each brush of hands and every kiss being a reminder of the other’s presence. Harrison had gone back to wearing his necklace and you started putting the picture in your back pocket once again. It gave you ease, and it helped you picture a successful mission whenever your felt anxious. How does he know you so well?

“I don’t even remember who took this.” You smile shaking your head, “It just appeared in my office the next day and I’ve carried it with me ever since.” Your fingers play with the edges of the picture before turning it around, the words My lovescribbled on the back fully on display make you look back at Harrison once more.

“Every time I missed you I saw the picture and remembered the good times we had together.” He leans closer to kiss your cheek, a soft smile on his face.

“I got into the habit of playing with your chain.” You confess softly, fingers coming up to his face. “Every time I put it on I felt you were still with me.”

The agent driving you clears his throat, announcing you were about to arrive to the hotel and you nod your head, putting the picture back into your purse. It was showtime, and as the two of you stepped out of the car and the curtain rose, you felt determination flow through your veins. You linked your arm with Harrison’s, posing in front of some cameras by the front door before being asked for your invitation.

Harrison reaches for the inside pocket of his burgundy suit jacket, taking out the envelope you were given the night before. The tall security guy takes a look, his gaze coming up to look at the two of you again before handing the invitation back. “Have a good night.”

“Thanks, you too.” You smile, your hand slipping into Harrison’s and pulling him inside to the ballroom. “Wow.”

You had to contain your amazement as you looked around you. Big and beautiful flower arrangements decorated the entrance, creating a big tunnel that lead into the party. Gorgeous crystal chandeliers hung from the ceilings as well as strings of flowers that cascaded above the dance floor. The tables displayed expensive silverware and smaller flower arrangements similar to the ones decorating the entrance, and the band by the dance floor dressed in neat white and gold embroidered suits. “Babe, are you seeing this?”

Your gaze follows the expensive and glamorous gowns the guests were wearing, mentally thanking whoever got your dress for helping you fit in. “It’s gorgeous.”

“Eh, I’ve seen better.” Your hand moves up and down as Harrison shrugs and you chuckles, turning to look at him.

“Really now?” You smile up at him, raising an eyebrow.

He smiles back, turning to his side and sliding an arm around your waist. “You outshine all of it, so yes, I’ve seen way better.”

Your stomach flips at his words and your gaze shifts down to your intertwined hands before you look up again. “I-”

“Oh my god, you guys must be the Blaziers!” Someone speaks up behind you, the sudden noise making you jump slightly where you stood.

Squeezing Harrison’s hand you turn around, a smile on your face as you move closer to his side and remember everything you had made up about the British couple. Harrison is the first one to speak up, the arm around you holding you close. “Yes we are, and you are?”

“Oh Samantha and Gabriel Walter.” Samantha smiles, taking a sip from her champagne flute. Her bright red hair falls just above her shoulders in a low bob, contrasting with the white long sleeved dress she is wearing and making her brown eyes stand out. The man by her side, her husband you assume, wears a black suit with a velvet jacket, his bowtie and handkerchief white like Samantha’s dress. He wears thick black rimmed glasses and a cartilage piercing on his left ear. “We heard about your wedding! They said it was gorgeous.”

You smile at her enthusiasm, pushing some of your hair behind your shoulder and nodding. British accent don’t fail me now. “Yeah, it was. Just a private ceremony but we wanted it to be beautiful nevertheless.”

“Let me see you ring! It’s a Forevermark one right?” She takes another sip of champagne before handing it over to Gabriel. He chuckles and kisses her cheek, stealing a sip of champagne as she steps closer and holds out her hand.

Taking a deep breath you show her your left hand, holding back a laugh when she gasps. “Harrison really surprised me with this when he proposed. I’ve never seen one so beautiful.”

“How did you propose?” Samantha asks letting go your hand and taking her champagne back.

“Babe…” Gabriel gives her a look.

“No, no it’s fine.” Harrison speaks up, smile on his face. “I bet you expect it to be a grand proposal with fireworks and a planned speech. It was the complete opposite.”

You bite your lip as you get ready for Harrison to tell his side of the story, butterflies appearing in your stomach once again at the thought of him proposing. You look up at him and every bit of love you feel for him shows in your smile. “I loved it anyways.”

“I know love.” He kisses your forehead before addressing the couple in front of you once more. “We were in Paris for a short getaway and I had everything planned, the place the time, where I was going to stand everything. But when you feel like it’s the right moment, you just have to do it you know. So the first morning in our hotel room, we were getting ready to go out, or at least I was…” Harrison’s gaze meet yours again and you smile.

“I walk out of the bedroom to the living room and she’s sitting out in the balcony, bathed in sunlight and eating French toast. I don’t know what it was about that moment, but I had never felt more in love with her. I knew I couldn’t wait any longer to ask her marry me.” Harrison’s gaze is soft and his eyes scan your face with the same dreamy look he’s had since he bought the engagement ring he’s hiding in the inner pocket of his suitcase. It was very hard not letting it slip that you knew, but not quite as hard as wondering when he would ask. The answer would be the same though, yes.

“Yes.” You smile, “I saw him get down on one knee and the first thing I said was ‘yes’.”

He leans down and kisses your cheek, smiling against your skin before turning to the couple, “So, yeah. It ended up being better than proposing in front of the Eiffel Tower.”

“You guys are the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.” Samantha sighs dreamily, “I love it.”

Gabriel links his arm with Samantha’s. “Come on, honey, I think you’ve interrogated them enough.” He shoots the both of you a kind smile, “Congratulations, both of you. We’ll see you around.”

“Bye!” The two of you smile before you look at Harrison appreciatively. “We’re so great at this.”

Harrison’s hand comes up to cup your cheek, his lips capturing yours in a kiss that leaves you breathless before he nods. “We are.”

“What was that for?” You chuckle. “Not that I’m complaining.”

He shrugs. “Couldn’t help myself… Oh, heads up there’s Blanche.”

Harrison subtly looks to his right, which makes you do the same. Just as he said, Blanche had arrived with two other men and sat down at one of the tables by the band. Clever, that way the music drowns out what they’re saying. He had styled his platinum blond hair to the side and wore an expensive looking navy suit with a velvet jacket similar to Gabriel’s. “It looks like trading state secrets is a good business after all.” You mutter sarcastically, raising your eyebrows at Harrison which makes him chuckle.

“Come on, we can’t just stand here and look at him.” Harrison grabs your hand, tugging you along to the dessert table you had been eyeing since the beginning. “We need to mingle and I know you want a mini cheesecake.”

“I gotta say, I can’t say no to that.” You laugh softly while shaking your head. He knows me too well.

The two of you had ended up getting two plates full of mini-desserts, from brownies to truffles and cheesecake, before making a quick stop at the bar to check in with the agent placed there. He had notified you that the bug was in place and slipped an earpiece for both of you so you can also listen into their conversation. Once they were subtly placed in your ears, Harrison took you hand again and walked towards the table with your names on it. It turns out Gabriel and Samantha were sitting at the same table, which had made for some interesting conversation even though you had to lie almost throughout all of it.

“Would you like to dance?” Harrison smiles as he feeds you the last mini brownie on your plate. His hand moving to push a strand of (fake) hair behind your ear which makes you lean into his touch.

“I’d love to, and guess who’s conveniently sitting near the band.” You smile, standing up and offering him your hand. “Oh this song.”

Harrison smiles at you while you smile dreamily when the band starts to play La Vie en Rose. “Talk about romantic.” One of his hands holds your waist while the other gives you hand a gently squeeze.

You sigh in content, leaning your head against his shoulder while you move along to the music and close your eyes to take the moment in. The man you loved holding you close in a fancy party, perfect music playing and an engagement ring just waiting for the right moment to be shown. If it wasn’t for the mission you’re currently on, you’d enjoy it even more. Dammit Blanche, you just had to ruin the moment didn’t you. You raise your head from where it was resting against Harrison to look up at him, the look on his face making your stomach flutter.

“I love you.” He whispers, his forehead pressing against yours briefly before he raises an arm to spin you around. You twirl in place and sigh once more when he wraps his arms around you once more, his chest pressing against his back.

“I love you too. So much.” You open your eyes and the moment is suddenly gone. You had tuned out Blanche’s conversation, leaving it to the other agents but regret it the minute you see him stand up with some of his men and a new guy tagging along. “Shit. Harrison look.”

You quickly grab his hand and move towards the dessert table, turning the volume on your earpiece up. ‘Gentlemen, I think we have a deal. If you could follow me?’

“SWAT we have movement. Subject is making its way to the bathroom and the deal is happening now.” Harrison speaks into his phone, nodding his head a couple of times before ending the call. “They found copies of the document in his hotel room and online locations but they’ve been recovered. The rest of the team should be here in 3, 2…”

Right that second, a group of armed men with the SWAT logo on their vests walk through the flower entrance and get to Blanche before he could make it to the bathroom. They neutralize the two men he had brought with him and cuff all of them in a matter of minutes. No casualties, only a lot of scared rich people.

“Did you guys just see that?” Samantha asks walking towards you, clutching her chest. “How are you not shocked?”

“I am so shocked.” You say to Harrison, pretending to be shocked and casually eating another chocolate and mint truffle. “We had it worse at our wedding ceremony… Crazy ex you know.” You shrug nonchalantly.

“One hell of a party am I right?” Harrison asks Gabriel who nods slowly, a little spaced out and probably about to pass out.

You can’t help but hum and dance a little on your bathrobe as you finish washing your face back at the hotel. The party had started back up after the arrest and no one had been harmed in the process. You and Harrison had talked to the SWAT team for a little bit and agreed to sign some paperwork the next morning before eating dinner and heading back. We gotta stay for the food, babe, you never leave before the food. Harrison hand merely agreed with a nod of his head and a kiss to your lips. Anything for you, he had said, and your knees had been weak for a moment.

“Hey babe?” Harrison’s head pops in from the bedroom, making you look up as you let down your hair.

“Hm?”

“Let’s take a walk on the beach, its nearly sunrise.” There is a sparkle in his eyes and you have to contain the smile threatening to appear on your face, is this it?

“Sure, let me change and we can go.” You nod your head and wait until he disappears back into the room to take a deep breath. What if this is it? Your heart pounds against your chest while you slip a beige summer dress on and put on your flip flops. “Ready?” You ask Harrison and yourself when you reach for his hand once outside the bathroom.

“Yup.” He beams, and that smile could kill you right there.

The walk towards the elevator, the pool deck and down to the beach was overall quiet. After being surrounded by so many people and having to talk so much throughout the night, you were happy to just enjoy each other’s company.

The salty breeze was warm, even at 5am, and the crashing of waves was soothing while you walked hand in hand. You controlled your heart rate to avoid giving away how nervous and excited you were, you didn’t want Harrison to know you knew. You felt like you were in that Friend’s episode when Rachel and Joy don’t want Monica to know they know. Only that this time it wasn’t about someone else’s relationship, it was about the man of your dreams proposing to you. You can’t help but smile and lean closer to him at the thought, a forever of this. How are we so lucky?

Harrison stops walking after about 10 minutes and you turn back to him in question. “Everything okay?” You bite back a smile when he reaches out and pulls you flush against him.

“Everything’s perfect, you know. You’re here.” His nose brushes against yours, and you don’t hide the sigh that leaves your lips at the gesture. “I can think of something that’s make it better you know.”

“Hmm, and what’s that handsome?” Your lips peck his softly before pulling back to look at him.

“Well, um, it be even more perfect if you’d marry me.” He drops down to one knee and reaches into the pocket of his pants for the blue velvet box.

A knot forms on your throat when he smiles shyly at you as he opens it to reveal a beautiful diamond ring in it. Your face is taken over by a smile and you can’t help being surprised because nothing, absolutely nothing would’ve prepared you for this moment. Not even knowing he was going to propose. The sun starts to make its way up the horizon and the first shades of purplish-orange paint the sky above it. “Harrison?”

“I love you. With everything I’ve got. I love you every minute of every day and I can never stop thinking about you. You are in every dream and every song I hear, I love it when we’re together and how well we know each other. I can’t help but be in awe of how smart, fierce, brave and perseverant you are in everything you do. You’re everything I’ve dreamed off Y/N, and I know I can live without you because I’ve had to do that before, but I don’t want you.” His eyes are tearing up and you only realize yours are too when you nod your head and feel the tears rolling down your cheeks.

“Yes.” You smile, nodding again, “Of course I’ll marry you.”

You let out a teary laugh as Harrison picks you up and sweeps you off your feet before kissing you. “I love you, so much.” He murmurs against your lips while you cradle his face in your hands and kiss him softly.

“I love you too.” A smile makes its way to your lips mid kiss, when you realize the actual proposal was better than all the different scenarios you had come up with. You pull back, your cheeks are hurting but you don’t care as Harrison slips the ring on your third finger and kisses it lightly. Your gaze meets his once more and something in your eyes makes his furrows his eyebrows.

“Did you know already? That I was going to propose?”

“No?” You take a step back and grin innocently before turning around and running away when Harrison starts to chase you. “Okay maybe yes. Yes I did.” Harrison’s arms capture you and tickle your sides making you surrender.

“You did huh?” He picks you up and easily sets your legs around his waist. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Of course I did, I’m a great spy you know.” Your lips leave tiny kisses across his cheeks, “And I didn’t say anything ‘cause I wanted to know what you’d do.”

Harrison laugh when you shrug, his head thrown back a bit before he shakes his head. The sun had risen while you chased each other around and Harrison’s hair turned a gorgeous shade of gold under it. You can’t help but kiss him again before he pulls back to look into your eyes. “You’re impossible.”

“Yeah but you love me.” Your fingers run through his hair briefly before you press your foreheads together. “And I love you, that’s why we’re so good together.”

“Yeah we are.” Harrison smiles and in that moment everything is perfect and you both know it’ll continue to be.

Thank you so much for reading! (crying while I write this)

tagging: @parkerpuff @marvelousxtsh @ganseysblues @spiderboytotherescue @deleteidentity @fairydustparker @marvelousxtsh @sincerelymlg @hazhasmycoffee

#harrison osterfield #harrison osterfield series #harrison osterfield au #harrison osterfield x reader #haz osterfield x reader #haz osterfield #spy!au #spy!harrison #pauwrites

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chaniters · 5 years

Text

Epilogue

Post-Retribution AU (Chapter 9)

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An epilogue for this series. It was a lot of fun to write! Hope you enjoyed it!

Heroes and Villains receive a second chance, after Heartbreak is finally defeated.

Spoilers!

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“Sidestep! Are you ok?”

His body was shaking uncontrollably and seemed to be about to fall down as Charge got hold of him. “Cyrus... it’s over. He’s gone. You’re fine”

He didn’t seem to be saying anything resembling words. Ortega quickly pulled up his mask, revealing the tears. He was clearly having a panic attack.

His friend set him down over a corner, sitting by his side, trying to calm him down, full of worry. He wrapped an arm around him, letting him cry over his shoulder.

The older man couldn’t take his eyes off them, and the tenderness of the gesture.

Charge and Sidestep. Inseparable. Trusted allies. Heroes. Closest of friends, and maybe even more. All is how it used to be, but he’s an outsider now.

Just a witness.

What about the other one? He wasn’t even sure what he should call him.

412? Cyrus? Retribution? Heartbreak?

No. There was only one real word for him in the end.

Monster.

He looked down the window. The familiar ambulance was already there. His skull was cracked over the pavement, his body in an unnatural pose. Unlike Sidestep, Heartbreak wasn’t wearing a protective suit and didn’t survive the fall. He was clearly and irrefutably dead.

The false paramedics hurried to take him away. The sense of relief that came as they did so was a surprise. He couldn’t help realize he had grown afraid of him too.

“Is everyone alright?” Steel entered the room, very pale, his face covered in sweat.

His gaze went from the man on the Raincoat to Charge and Sidestep, sitting on the corner. Sidestep was still whimpering inaudibly.

“It was a telepath… tried to make Cyrus kill himself. I think he wanted to do the same to all of us… like he did to the civilians”

Steel grimaced

“It’s over” Charge managed to speak “The… the new guy, he...” he said looking at his older self “...he pushed him off that window. “

“Oh,” Steel said taking the newsin. “I’m… sorry… I couldn’t… I just couldn’t” He started, obviously ashamed he wasn’t there. “I’m sorry… I should have been here but..”

“Don’t” Sidestep pulled from Charge’s shoulder, taking a few long breaths before speaking, his voice still shaky “Don’t be sorry. We’re lucky to be alive...That psychic was so fucked up… things like this shouldn’t even exist. It’s wrong.. They shouldn’t… ” and he starts breaking down again.

Charge pulled him closer once more, repeating reassuring phrases about everything going to be fine. Over, and over, as many times as he needed to hear it.

“I’ll be right back” Steel spoke with sudden worry. Leaving the three of them alone in the room.

“Who are you?” Charge asked, lifting his gaze. “Are you new?”

He stood motionless. Petrified. He wasn’t sure what to tell his own old self about this.

“Yes. I’m new”

“What do we call you?” Sidestep asked.

He fought the urge to just run away. This was too fucking much. Like he was an intruder in someone else’s story.

“I’m fine! I swear I’m fine!” The familiar voice caught him unprepared. He forced himselt to look away not to show them his tears as Steel came back up helping Anathema walk.

“Geez, I told you I’m fine Grandpa! I’m invulnerable!”

“I know. But I saw how it shook you. And I know what it did to me. So stop the bullshit and don’t pretend you’re fine!” Steel retorts.

“Fine!” Anathema complains. “Ok, maybe I’m not that fine. Maybe just 40% fine ok? But still functional. And I’m still going to get over it. Is that what you wanted to hear?”

“Yes,” Steel said giving him a grin.

“You guys ok there?” He asked Sidestep and Charge.

Charge looks at Sidestep, and he gives Anathema a weak nod for both of them.

“New guy shoved the freak down the window and saved the day” Charge step summed it up in a few words.

And then all their gazes turned towards the old man.

“So, how do we call you, new guy?” Anathema asked.

He tried to speak but no words come out.

“Are you alright sir?” Steel inquired. Always worrying about civilians..

No, he wasn’t alright. He was very NOT alright. He had just killed his best friend, but said friend was still alive, behind him, how could he be alright?

But he had to give them some sort of explanation.

“You can call me… Time Guardian” he said, making up the first hero name he could think of.

“What like you have time powers?” Anathema asked.

“Yeah… I can freeze time… and a few other tricks” He explained. That much was true, as long as he had the Hourglass “Anyways … uh… I Don’t like paperwork. I bet you guys can handle it?”

Wow. He sounded like Sidestep in his vigilante days.

“Yeah, leave it to us. It’s the least we can do” Ortega answered.

“Good,” Time Guardian said. He started walking towards the door. He needed time to think. To figure out what the hell had just happened.

“It’s a mess out there. Can’t believe he killed that many people” Chen went on.

“Agreed...I’ve never seen a mind so twisted.” Sidestep nodded as Charge stood, helping him up in turn..

Time Guardian stopped before crossing the door… and then turned walking straight towards Sidestep.

The young Cyrus looks a bit intimidated at the closeness. Time Guardian whispered a few words, before turning and walking out for real this time…

“Hey what was that about?” Steel asked.

“N… nothing, just some… advice” Sidestep answered awkwardly.

“Well let’s go back down, get this done,” Anathema said. “There’s going to be a lot of funerals to organize and people who will want an explanation.” he grimaced “I can’t believe what this fucker did”

As they left, Ortega approached Sidestep, speaking in a hushed tone.

“Hey... What did he say?”

Sidestep hesitated for a moment.

“He told me to let go of my secrets and trust you.”

Ortega chuckled. “Well, that’s some darn good advice for a change. Did he say anything else?”

“Yeah…” he laughed nervously for a moment “He kind of threatened me?. I think it’s some sort of joke.”

“What was it?” Charge asked.

“ He also said if I don’t do it, he’ll have no choice but to end up tossing me down the window too.”

…………..Later that very night………………...

“I almost die… If you hadn’t shown up, I would have pulled that trigger…”

“Hey, that’s what I’m here for. To fix your mess” Charge says with a smug smile.

“Stop joking. I’m trying to be serious.”

“Right right.. I’m sorry. I just never saw you like that. I guess I got really scared? This was worse than Psycopathor.”

“It was way worse… but… Look, I want to show you something. Maybe you’ll understand me a bit more after this. Maybe you’ll hate me. I don’t know… I just don’t want you to find out after I end up dead fighting some random freak villain and you finding out after I’m dead.”

“I’m not going to get mad at you. What could you possibly ….” His voice trailed off.

Oh….”

Ortega went speechless as Sidestep removed his pants, shirt and nanomesh, exposing his tattoos.

The awkward moment extended long enough for him to draw some conclusions.

“I’m sorry,” he said “I’ll just take my coat and go... I understand. No need to make this more uncomfortable than it needs to be”

He turned to leave, tears already falling down his cheeks … but at the last moment, Ortega reached out, holding his hand.

“What are you…”

And he kissed him.

HIs legs trembled, but Ricardo held him tight.

“Thank you. For trusting me” he said in the end.

And somehow… he knows it’ll all be alright.

……A few days later after the Heartbreak, the farm received unwelcome guests.………………...

“You can’t do this!” Regina complained as they removed the plaque from her office. “Don’t you know who I am?!”

“Honestly? You’re lucky you’re not going to jail, ma’am” the young agent barke back at her.

“This project is crucial! It can’t be stopped!”

“About 839 dead civilians say otherwise. A single one of your clowns did it, and then he cracks his brain like a nut on the pavement making any further research impossible. Won’t lie, if you had caught him alive for study, we could have a different story. Maybe some politician could salvage your chain of clusterfucks, but being as it is… You’re done, Regina. They are pulling the plug.”

“This has to be a mistake! Who gave the order?”

“Here. Read and weep” the older man agent said giving her a copy of the executive order, the president’s signature clearly visible.

“Maybe you should go back to teaching.” The younger agent said, amused “Because you sure can’t do”

Her face was quickly becoming a mask of despair

“What are you going to do with the subjects?”

“None of your business really. But if you must know, the ones that you haven’t damaged will be absorbed into government programs. The rest are going into institutions. And the prisoners, they’re all going back to jail.”

“What? But this place is all they know!”

“That’s right, and it’s such waste. We’re going to find them real jobs. Where they can make a difference”

“Tax-paying jobs.” His partner replied. “That’s the kind the government wants after having to make reparations for all the families.”

“One thing,” he said turning. “You do have a boost that can control technology, right?.”

“Subject 411? Advanced technokinesis. She’s clearly a demonstration of our excellent pro..”.

“Good. We’ll be taking her with us. She’ll start outright on a new division.”

“What!? Where?!”

“New government agency. It’s going to absorb all of your funding and then some.”

“Called NASA” the younger one comments before going back to his binder to-do list. “Also, I want to know how many of runaways are there out in the wild coming from your little house of horrors.” He flips a few pages. “Seems to me security is an epic fubar disaster in this dump”

A pair of scientists move past them, moving Heartbreak’s corpse into storage.

The older agent stops them, and takes a peek under the white sheet, and then studies the binder attached the side of the stretcher.

“Well, that’s one we don’t need to look for anymore. Cross 412 off the list Mike. It’s a perfect DNA match. And seems to be suffering premature aging too. Another flaw in your work Regina. How disappointing. Look at the state of it! But then again that’s what you do, isn’t it? Eat up taxpayer dollars and play Frankenstein all day?” he said doing the frankenstein-arms motion.

She felt her heart sinking, as they walked back into her office, intent on destroying her life’s work.

…A few years go by….

Cyrus rests on Ortega’s arm, extended over his shoulder, on the back of Steel’s SUV.

The two of them are on the back row, along with Herald, the newest team member.

He’s storming them with questions, and they don’t mind answering. He’s over the moon.

Anathema and Argent are on the next row, talking about a guy they met. Saved him from a freaky villain with a death touch, who decided not to try her luck against Anathema’s acid touch.

Steel is alone on the front row, focused on driving.

“So how did you two meet?” Herald asks.

“He broke my car!” Ortega accuses Cyrus.

“THat’s not how it happened!” he complains.

“OH?” He asks amused. “Then how did it happen?”

“I spied on him for two weeks. And THEN, I broke his car. It was a thoroughly planned sabotage mission”

Ortega laughs it off, squeezing him fondly.

Chen stops the SUV, for another passenger to come in.

“Hey, Fernando!”

“Hey. I’m bringing tequila” he said leaning over the window.

“Then bring it inside!” Ortega yelled from the back.

“YES!” Anathema and Argent joined in

“No drinking in the car. Ever again!” Steel grunted.

“The bearded man removes his hood and smiles, sitting beside Chen along with the bottles in a case..

“How’re you doing?” Ortega asks

“All’s good. Just some minor skirmishes with Bug-master”

“Not that bastard again. How is he still alive?” Argent asks.

“Well he has all the powers of a cockroach so even after you squish him, he can still..”

“Eugh, don’t elaborate” Anathema complains

Tonight was game-night. And he was going to bet hard. They always complained he was using time powers. But he wasn’t. He was just lucky nowadays.

He leaned back on his seat.

His timeline’s Sidestep and Mortum had both been so wrong. Time didn’t correct itself or fall into paradoxes. The universe was under no obligation to make sense to anyone. He changed the past, but he didn’t get magically teleported to a new life, nor did reality get destroyed.

He had toyed with the idea of using the Hourglass to get back into the corrected future. That’s what his Sidestep wanted. But he didn’t. He wanted to see it with his own eyes. He didn’t want to live a life that wasn’t truly his.

So he just stayed. Stayed and formed a new life. He eventually revealed his secret to Chen.

Of course, he had chosen a very bad timing, since Chen had just kissed him for the first time.

Funny. He had never noticed how hot Chen was before. Of course, it was different now. He was a stranger. With no baggage.

They agreed not to tell anyone else. No need. And no one was after him.

Chen helped him get a new name. A social security number. And he was probably going to join the Rangers in a few months if paperwork went through.

Regenes were eventually absorbed into the civilian populace after the Special Directive was officially disbanded, provided they registered their biometrics and that they behaved. And unlike the other one, this Cyrus was a fucking saint. Made him wonder how could they have been the same person at any point.

A law provided monetary retribution for damages for them so they could build new lives. And Cyrus was rejected since he was reported dead already. They had to start a lawsuit. When he said he was going to the City hall to demand his “Retribution” he had a hard time keeping a straight face. The other Cyrus had just torched the building instead... They were definitely not the same person anymore.

He had grown to like his new identity. Fernando Ortiz by day, Time Guard whenever trouble presented itself. It wasn’t half-bad.

After all, Fernando always got to sleep over at Chen’s house after game night, when everyone’s gone, complaining about his house being too far. He wondered if Chen would ever want to reveal what was going between them to the others. Probably not, until they were caught. Now that would be funny.

With the mustache and beard, he didn’t look that much like the younger shaved Ortega, and he was Older. He could hide in plain sight.

Ortega and Sidestep were a couple, and since he was a friend of both, he could visit him often and see his mother. It was strange to see her like this… But it worked.

And Time Guard... he corrected things. He fixed so many mistakes the Rangers made after Heartbreak. He told them he had time powers, and in a way, he did have a very accurate form of precognition. The Hourglass armor gave him a whole different powerset. It’s time jump function, he had only used a few times though. Jumping to the past or future was a temptation, but he only did it to fight crime. Best way to keep safe.

And Cyrus…

It was so weird. He couldn’t quite mourn his death while he was very alive right behind him. And so much happier than he had ever seen him. His own Cyrus had turned into a vengeful shadow, going down with the blaze of insane destruction consuming him.

But in some weird way, he had done what he set out to do.

Set things right.

He…

He looked down startled. Chen was holding his hand.

He was so glad he was at the front, where no one could see him blush.

Game night was going to be great

………….Deep below ground, someone observed them in silence………..

The drones were relaying visual constant feed on their vehicle.

He toyed with the controls, making sure not to steer too close.

It was only a matter of time before he unraveled Time Guardians secrets, and once he did, he would have the means to defeat all heroes in his way.

It was his genius that would be the fall of the rangers in the end.

Only his.

Lord Mortum will rule Los Diablos one day!

____________________________

My fanfics: https://chaniters.tumblr.com/post/181692759294/my-fanfiction-for-fallen-hero

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fan fiction using characters and the setting of the Fallen Hero: Rebirth and upcoming Fallen Hero: Retribution games written by Malin Riden. I do not claim ownership of any characters from the Fallen Hero wold. These stories are a work of my imagination, and I do not ascribe them to the official story canon. These works are intended for entertainment outside the official storyline owned by the author. I am not profiting financially from the creation of these stories, and thank the author for her wonderful game/s, without which these works would not exist.

#fallen hero: rebirth #Au Post-Retribution #epilogue #chargestep #Chargesteel #fallen hero spoilers

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like-rain-or-confetti · 6 years

Text

What i need to do (Bella Cullen x Reader)

TRIGGER WARNING: Implied/mentioned suicide!

You had your back to Bella, you were washing your hands under the sink when you turned giving her your usual warm smile. "Hey, there you are. I've been looking for you for a while now."

"Yeah...I was out with Renesmee...why are you here?"

"Just wanted to talk...do you remember when I first got to Forks? You were running off with your boyfriend whilst Jacob Black just went off the map. It wasn't until when the Volturi came for you that I found out what you were...what he was." You sucked on your teeth, a sour expression taking over you. "You two would have been a great match, you're both liars."

"Neither of us intended to hurt you-"

"or Charlie. I know." You interupted. "Atleast you had your reasons."

"I know you feel I've abandoned you..." Bella started. "I know I haven't been around to support you with...the Romanians."

"No..." You protested.

"I miss you..."

"No!" You snapped. "You don't get to miss me, or Charlie or anyone in our family! I won't accept that!"

"I don't know how to help you! I didn't know you'd be mated to Vladimir. It was your choice! You knew he had enemies! Is that who you've been hiding from? The Volturi? Are they after you?"

You stared at her. "It was my choice. I let myself be blindsided by all of this...I was way over my head."

"So was I...It wasn't easy for me either, sometimes I don't know why this all happened." Bella was referring to the target on your back, the Volturi were out for blood and you had mysteriously vanished two months ago. It broke Vladimir's heart. Even a phone call or a letter would suffice.

"Why did you leave us, your family, Bella? Why did you choose to leave us behind?"

"... because of Edward. Renesmee became another reason why."

"We do terrible things for the people we love?" You said softly. "Stop asking why, you won't find an answer there. Start asking what."

"What did you do for the person you love?" Bella said finally in realisation and you nodded.

"We are very different Bella yet we both have that one trait that runs in our family. We'll do anything to protect the one we love."

"Just tell me what you did..." Bella pleaded.

You gave her a sad smile before stepping around her and going to the door.

Bella clenched her eyes shut hearing your footsteps, she knew this would be the last she ever saw you. She felt it in her gut. She even knew why you wouldn't say. You didn't tell her because you were protecting her and the Cullens, so they wouldn't be involved.

'Tell Vladimir, I'm sorry.' You wanted to tell Bella, but you didn't. You just kept walking down the hall and closed the door. What would be the point? Vladimir knew you loved him, and he also knew how sorry you were. You made sure of that before you disappeared. There was only one more thing. One last destination.

You thought about everything. Everything you had given away. Everything you left behind. Nothing will be left, like you never existed, only your memory.

Renesmee dug into the pocket of her cardigan pulling out the necklace you always wore. You had given it to her in a brief visit. You told her, you loved her. You told her to never doubt herself or her actions. If she knew the reason behind her actions, then do it. You kissed her head, gave her a hug and then abruptly left.

You took all the money from your bank account in cash, split it three ways before sending each to a place no one would suspect. You left a simple note in the envelope.

'Use it.

From an old friend,'

You left your initials at the bottom.

Charlotte's head snapped to the door when a thud was heard. The postman had arrived and delivered a bulky looking envelope. Her address was handwritten. She tore the envelope open to see a stack of money. Peter looked over her shoulder, taking the note as she took the money. Peter read it over, his frown growing before showing it to Charlotte.

Siobhan reached for the envelope slightly wet at the corners from the rain outside. She tore it open as Maggie stood in the doorway, a look of confusion. Siobhan barely acknowledged the cash and took out the note but Maggie snatched it before she could look at it. Siobhan send a disapproving look to Maggie but let it slide as she took out the money. Siobhan looked up again to see a look of concern on Maggie's face and reached for the note.

Benjamin eyed the envelope as Tia leaned on his shoulder. He tore it open and passed the envelope, cash still inside to Tia, before the two looked over the note. Amun noticed the look on Benjamin's face. It was one of confliction and worry.

"You know what to do right? You send them away, you don't ask questions, you give no return address, you don't give a name. Do you understand?" You said to the dark haired boy. He nodded. "No questions, no identification or location, send it away and forget about it."

You smiled and nodded. "Thank you for doing this. Don't think about this later, just move on with your life and give it your all."

He nodded again, this time a little slower, this was the goodbye.

"Thank you, Eric."

"I don't know what to say." Eric said.

"You don't have to say anything." You smiled. "So how do I look? Am I photogenic enough?" Eric nodded with a sad smile. "You'll be captured in time. No one will ever forget you." He didn't know how accurate his words were, and that was good. Eric will live a good, long, happy life. It was all you wanted for him.

"Right, this won't be an ordinary selfie that you double tap. This one...this one will be timeless." The wind picked up, typically dreary, windy Forks. "Go on then, give us a spin." Eric smirked, camera at the ready. You grinned.Click! In a Marilyn Monroe fashion you stepped into the middle of the frame and spun. Click! Click! Click! Click!

Eric’s face was illuminated by the laptop screen that night, he found the right picture. You were in midspin, your hair untamed as it billowed in the strong winds. Your eyes were shut with a grin, arms spread wide and standing on your tiptoes. This was the one. He selected the picture before clicking ‘OK’. He sat back for a moment in his seat thinking back to what happened after he took the pictures. You grinned, pulling your hair back from your face. “Beautiful!” Eric said in glee. “I’d say this is my best, you can be my muse.” You giggled before things became sad again. “I’ll do exactly what you asked. I promise, and i wont tell anyone, ever.” Eric promised. You nodded. “Good, it’s important that you don’t, for you.” “Are you sure you want to do this?” “Eric...there are things i can’t explain, i’m doing whats best for me. You helped saved me.” He saw the look in your eye, the look of certainty and he nodded. You nodded back before turning away, stuffing your hands in your pockets. He never saw the tears begin to rub down your face quietly. He watched you go, knowing this would be the last he saw you and he knew that this moment would be etched into his memory forever. When he was old, perhaps a family who have grown up and had their family now, he’d still remember you; young and a mystery. The one who should have had a long happy life, but for whatever reason, never will.

Eric finished typing. It was only a page. There was something poetic about how your memory was in one page- fitting to show your short life. He read it over one last time before pressing ‘print’. As the paper was printed into various copies he grabbed some white envelopes. he looked at the sticky notes he had placed all over his desk- the various addresses you wanted him to send them to. He did what you asked. He ignored all the questions he had whilst giving each envelope a different address. He folded each copy neatly and put them in an envelope each before sealing them. Tomorrow morning, he’d post them.

Demetri suddenly looked up, startled. He stopped in his tracks. Jane, Alec and Felix turned to look at him in confusion. “What is it?” Felix asked. “I-I can’t track the human anymore.” “The one we are hunting down right now?” “That bella girl’s cousin, the one associated with the Romanians, they’re just...gone.” “How can they be gone?” Jane scowled, “I have no idea, this is new for me.” “Flaming hell, stay here, i’ll go to where he last had them.” Felix rolled his eyes before speeding up head. “You’d better tell Aro of this when we return.” Jane sneered. “Jane, your acting like i am being ridiculous!” Demetri remarked totally astounded. “My gift may not be working!” “Or stage fright.” Alec shrugged earning a small smile from Jane in amusement. “This isn’t funny!” “Oh, come on now Demetri, perhaps they got help from someone. Someone might be able to block your gift. I think we all know we all have our limitations.” Jane lectured him. “You don’t understand!” Demetri declared. “Yes, I do. I have been in the same situation, twice.” She snapped. “Does Isabella Cullen ring any bells?” “His gift is fine.” Felix said flatly. “Come and see this.” They followed him to see your body. You were dead. Demetri sighed in relief. “Oh my gift is fine. Oh praise the heavens if they’re a thing.” “I’m not going to lie, i didn’t see this coming.” Alec tilted his head, standing over you. “Let’s go home,” Jane said. “This was a waste of time.” “Think they might have tried to prove a point?” Felix nudged Demetri. “Like what?” Demetri’s brow furrowed. Felix shrugged. “Not sure, just seems a lot of bother to go from America to Romania to go back to America to die, no?” Demetri shrugged in response. “Perhaps they were trying to be poetic.” Alec mocked as Jane hummed in amusement.

Aro sat in waiting for his guard to return. As he did so, he thought back to when the whole bother began. You marched out of the Romanians home in sheer rage. “Oh, enough.” Vladimir followed you. “You’re being ridiculous.” “Am I!?” You yelled turning back to him. “They’ve taken everything from you! Now they’re threatening you!?” “Same old, same old!” Vladimir dismissed it with a frantic wave from his hand. “Sweetheart, they’ve been threatening us for centuries before you were even born!” Vladimir smiled taking your face into his hands. “There is nothing you can do, my love, come back inside and calm down.” Stefan was watching from inside the house intently, but your attention wasn’t on him. You wore a desperate look, staring into Vladimir’s eyes before pulling him into a kiss. He kissed you back immediately and you pulled away from him. “Just give me some time to think, i’ll be back, i promise.” Vladimir reluctantly nodded. “Don’t be too long, it’s late.” You nodded, kissing him one last time before getting into your car and driving off. When you were quite far off, out of sight, you pulled over under the shadow of the trees. You let out a sob, smacking the steering wheel twice. You held your head in your hands, crying, letting out all the frustration you had. You wanted to heed Vladimir’s words but you couldn’t. You had to do something. The Volturi had to squirm a little bit more, ruin their happy, perfect lives with some rain.

You did a double-take on the note pad you had left in the passengers seat. You often listed your day to day errands so you didn’t forget. Luckily enough, you had a pen. You hesitated before grabbing the note pad and pen, scrawling on the paper. You dug around some more to find an envelope from the pack you had needed three weeks ago. You googled the Volterra castle’s address and before you could change your mind, you immediately left to post it.

Vladimir had told you a secret- one that would shake the very foundations of the Volturi. One that couldn’t be taken back.You knew what this was, this was retaliation, this was signing your own death certificate but you loved Vladimir, and you would do anything to protect him. This secret would hold the Volturi off, this threat would shake their core. Which is exactly what you wanted to give he Romanians, as much of forever you could give. After the envelope was sent away, the guilt set in. You would be leaving Vladimir, sacrificing yourself for him. Would he ever forgive you? Aro broke away from his thoughts when his trusted guard returned, never knowing Vladimir’s reaction to your threat.

You told him immediately but pulling him into a hug first. “I did something.” Concern etched on his face. “Sweetheart, what did you do?” You whispered it in his ear and he pulled back abruptly. “You didn’t, tell me you didn’t. You’re lying. (Y/N), you’re lying!” You shook your head. “I...I can’t protect you from this, and you knew that! That’s what hurts! You’ve chosen to leave me! You...you’ve broken my heart.” “I’m sorry, i’m sorry, i’m so sorry. I just couldn’t handle what they were doing to you. I want you to be safe, even if that means giving up my life!” “You didn’t even give me a choice!” Vladimir yelled gripping your arms. “I knew i shouldn’t have let you go.” He sobbed, but tears didn’t fall. You took his face into your hands. You kissed his cheek repeatedly all the while apologising. “I don’t think i can forgive you for this.” Vladimir said lowly, he couldn’t look at you. “You don’t have to.” You mumbled. “You don’t have to.”

Vladimir didn’t speak to you for a week, nor did he look at you and you let him. You knew you had crushed his heart. It was only a matter of time before the Volturi would come for you. You had a plan, you knew what you were going to do. You knew how you were going to make it easier on everyone but first you had a call to make.

The time came around when Vladimir and Stefan would be leaving for a hunt. Stefan forced him to say his goodbyes to you with the statement that ignoring you would only make him regret later. You were in your room when Vladimir appeared at the doorway. “Stefan and I are going away to feed.” Vladimir said quietly. You nodded. “Okay, that’s good, you’ve not fed much.” Vladimir swallowed hard before letting out a breath and quickly walking toward you. You quickly stood up and he pulled you to his arms. “I love you.” He mumbled into your shoulder. “I’m sorry for my behaviour.” “Don’t you dare be sorry.” You whispered. “You have every right. I love you more than you’ll ever know. Promise me, you’ll remember that.” “I’ll never forget, im not angry with you. I’m angry with them because i know what they’ll do. You...” He let out a soft laugh. “you are exactly why i love you. You’re brave, and strong and in this situation i wish you weren’t.” He pulled you into a kiss. “I love you. I should get going, Stefan has a centimetre long patience span.” “Oh boy,” you joked, smacking his arm. “you better get going.” He kissed you one last time. “Farewell, (Y/N).” “Goodbye.” You whispered to him and he broke away from you. Then he was gone. You let out a strangled sob. It was the final goodbye...and he didn’t even realise it. You picked up your wallet and keys as well as a jacket. It was all you needed. As you drove down the road, you dialled a number of an old friend and put it on speaker. “Hello?” “Hey Eric, it’s (Y/N) (L/N).” You smiled. “Oh my god, no way, i havent seen you since graduation! What’s up?” “Well i figured a good little catch up is in order. Up for a coffee?” “Definitely! When?” You looked at your clock 12:03pm. “How about tomorrow at three thirty? I should be in Forks by then.” “That’s great, i’ll see you soon!” You knew what you had to do. You had to befriend Eric all over again before you could ask him this. Vladimir returned to an empty house. He tried to call you, your phone was off. You never returned.

Aro tore open the envelope before he nearly lurched out of his chair. it was a simple note.

‘I suggest you tell Marcus the truth... Before i do.’ Your initials were at the bottom. The receptionist quivered in fear seeing the look Aro wore, it was pure anger. She could only let out a yelp when he ferociously shoved her, throwing her into the stone wall behind the twins. She died instantly. “Are you alright?” Caius asked. “Excuse me, i have some thinking to do.” Aro said. Aro said nothing more of the subject for weeks before he finally gave the order to kill you. The only explanation he provided was a threat to vampire kind. A blatant lie. Aro chewed his lip, the rage rising in him again at the memory before he spoke to the four guards. “Is it taken care of?”

About two months after Aro’s outburt you were sat with Eric in the La Push beach. “Eric, i’m in trouble. As you’ve probably guessed...no one knows im here and its better off that way.” “What kind of trouble?” “I can’t say without putting you in danger. These people are going to kill me Eric and i can’t let them. I cant say it’ll be quick in painless.” Eric remained quiet and you continued. “My time is almost up. I’m not going to let them get me, i can’t. So...i’m going to do it myself.” “No way. Go to the police-” “Don’t ask questions, this is bigger than the police. Just trust me when i say i have to do this.” It took a lot of hours for Eric understand you needed him to do something for you beyond the grave and be okay with it. Eventually, as sick as it made him, he agreed. “I’m meeting Bella on Friday, im dealing with everything else. I just need you to do your part.” Eric was silent. He didn’t know what to say, and if he did say something he might vomit. “I’m sorry, really, i am.” You said sincerely before leaving.

You never told anyone about the second note. The never mentioned the second envelope addressed to Marcus Volturi. You posted it after visiting Renesmee and giving her your necklace. “To be blunt master, we didn’t have to.” Felix said. “They were dead when we got there.” “Killed themselves.” Jane added. Aro let out a laugh. “Pathetic,” Aro sneered. “thank you my dears. My apologies for the waste of time.”

Every coven were sent a letter, a week later. They each opened it. It was designed like a newspaper with your photograph. ‘YOUTH TRAGICALLY TAKES OWN LIFE, WILL BE MISSED.’ It was like a headline. ‘They were found dead too soon. No foul play was determined. Family and friends may never know just why their loved one is gone after a two month disappearance. Our thoughts and prayers are with their family and friends.’

Aro scowled. “What in the world?” “Who was that from?” Caius asked. “I don’t have the slightest idea. There is no name or return address.” tossed the paper at the table. “I’m burning that later.”

Vladimir let out a cry. “No!” He cried. “No! Please! Not again!” He fell to his knees, Stefan taking his side to comfort his friend. “Oh (Y/N)...” “Benjamin...” Tia called softly and Benjamin turned to Tia with a smile letting the swirling tornado of water fall down. “It’s (Y/N)...” She said before handing over the piece of paper. His smile vanished, he was clearly saddened. Tia wrapped her arms around his waist. Explaining to Maggie what had happened to you was the most difficult thing Siobhan had to do in a long time. Maggie was visibly upset looking at the piece of paper. “They we’re afraid...of the Volturi.” Maggie said solemnly. Siobhan nodded. “It was their choice, we couldn’t have done anything.” “They never asked...” Maggie stressed looking ready to cry as Siobhan pulled her into a hug making eye contact with Liam, who looked on in sympathy.

“Haven’t they caused enough pain!?” Kate snapped. “Their fear of the Volturi, our fear, it’s why they’re dead!” “Kate!” Tanya looked at her. “We couldn’t have stopped this, we didn’t know.” Garrett rubbed Kates arms in comfort. “But she’s right, we’ve let them come to this after all these centuries. That human would be alive if we didn’t do something.” “They never said anything.” Carmen stressed. “Because they couldn’t!” Kate said loudly. Eleazar stayed silent and Carmen instantly noticed his behaviour. “No.” Carmen said immediately, taking her mates shoulders firmly. “Don’t you dare torture yourself over this.” “I was a part of that coven Carmen,” He took her hands from his shoulders and cradled them to his chest. “how could i not?” Peter and Charlotte reached out to Jasper and Alice, promising their support if needed. Bella held her head in her hands at the dining table. Edward was kneeling beside her rubbing her knee and whispering to her words of reassurance every so often. Renesmee was with Carlisle, Esme, Emmett and Rosalie in the other room. They decided they should be the ones to tell her about your passing. Rosalie crouched down. “Renesmee...we have something to tell you. We want you to know it’s okay to cry and be sad and that we love you. It’s about (Y/N)...they died, sweetheart.” Emmett lifted Renesmee murmuring words on comfort as he lightly swayed her. “I know kid, i know.” Five days later, a letter arrived specifically addressed to Marcus Volturi. The receptionist barely caught him pass her and she handed it over to him. He thanked her before continuing to the throne room. He tore open the envelope and took his seat at the throne. ‘Marcus,

If things went the way i hoped, then your coven never got to me and you’ve received this beyond the grave or just before.

I need you to know what i did, for i fear Aro has lied or not told you all together what was in my note. If you did not know what i reveal in this letter then Aro did not take my warning seriously.

I am giving up my life for Vladimir, please respect that. I don’t care about the others opinions. I’d just appreciate your understanding of why i did this. I made a specific threat to Aro in hopes he would back away from the Romanians. This threat involved a secret, which includes you. I think you deserve the truth and so here it is.

Didyme was not killed by the Romanians, nor anyone else but her own brother. Aro killed her to make sure you would stay in the Volturi and ultimately maintain his power. I understand this is a bold accusation, but i urge you to consider past events and i hope that you see what i say is the truth. With this, i sincerely hope you find peace.

With regards,

(Y/N) (L/N)’

It hit Marcus with brute force. It was as though some sort of manipulation to such a warped truth- Chelsea, her gift was offered to him many times. In remembering this, it made the past be seen in a whole different way. His previous thinking hadn’t made any sense. Your words in that letter...it was enlightening. He always knew there was something he couldn’t put his finger on. You had broken the wretched curse. Aro had one chance now, one... tiny... chance...to keep...his head...

“Brother, are you alright?” Aro offered a smile.

“...Aro, is there something you wish to tell me?”

#trigger warning #imagine #twilight #volturi #reader #vladimir and stefan

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howwelldoyouknowyourmoon · 6 years

Text

Laser on the Moon family scam

Hyun Jin Moon

by Ashamed Korean – October 14, 2012

It is not widely known that Hyun Jin met Hak Ja Han during the funeral debacle when Hyun Jin was in Seoul. Hak Ja Han is trying to do a face saving deal to kick out Kook Jin and air brush the Moon schism to paint a reunified family.

Hak Ja Han, the ultimate false mother, cares only about power and money in that order.

She is ... worrying about how the current conflict might impact the Moon empire and in particular the Cheongpyeong scam outfits’ ability to continue defrauding and ripping off the Japanese, and of course to ensure that they can hold on to their ill gotten gains.

She has tried to persuade Kook Jin to move back to the USA. She argued that he should be satisfied with the fat monthly haul of the scam proceeds from the Japanese to one of his foundations in the USA. However Kookie has his pride and he is not thrilled at the idea of taking the fallen-man role. He does not want to be painted as the villain while Hyun Jin gets rehabilitated. He particularly does not like the fact that Hak Ja Han told him that Hyun Jin appears more telegenic and saleable than himself and is better for securing the assets.

Kookie so far does not want to play ball as he knows that he will be regarded as ass-whooped clown if he leaves now and gives up the fight mid-way.

Meanwhile, Hak Ja Han is trying to instate Hyun Su Han (Hyun Su Kim), the totally corrupt son of Kim Hyo-nam (alias Daemo-nim), as the controlling Chairman of the Tongil Foundation.

The irony does not stop. Kim Hyo-nam terrifies the gullible Japanese into bankrupting not only themselves but any one else they can in order to “liberate” x generations of ancestors in the spirit world in exchange for pardons for their sins. Meanwhile her son lives the life of a Gangnam playboy bankrolling Korean actresses and singers with a notorious reputation for forcing them to have sex with him.

The crimes and hypocrisy of the Moons and their cronies have no bounds. Sun Myung Moon will go down in history as one of the greatest religious criminals of the last thousand years. The only tragedy is how long it is taking for the deluded to demand the proof, check the truth and face the fact that they have been deceived in the most vile and evil way. Moon and his family and organization are completely satanic.

http://howwelldoyouknowyourmoon.tumblr.com/post/33571428848/another-filthy-moon-deal

“You shall know the tree by its fruits”

by Ashamed Korean – October 16, 2012

Hyun Jin was livid when Hak Ja Han, Peter Kim and Kook Jin in his own words (verbatim) “pulled a stunt and put those two little pricks in my place over my head”. Now no one, with any actual accurate personal knowledge of Kook Jin or Hyung Jin could possibly disagree with his complaint or description.

Hyun Jin was and still is personally incensed, because he was very proud to have taken on the white-washing job of settling down the members after the Nansook Hong exposé. He often boasts how he was the only one who took responsibility to restore members’ faith and considered that this was a major factor along with the fact of him being the eldest living son and his telegenic appearance for the fact that “Abojee promised me I was to be his successor, he f*cking promised me.”

He screamed and cursed out those involved with his “betrayal” in private. His view on his siblings and their past (as well as the inside dirt on how this came about and the inside story of his parents) is instructive.

“Kook Jin is a devious little prick, he was always a sore loser, even as a kid. His favourite game at that time was Risk.”

(Risk is a war strategy board game described by its makers as “It’s appeal is timeless. Make the “right moves” and you’ll conquer the world!”)

“The problem was Kook Jin used to cheat all the time to try to win and would throw tantrums when he lost.” Well nothing has changed here with him to date.

Hyun Jin went on to say “Kook Jin’s problem is he always had a complex about me, I was better at everything than him—sports, study, looks, speaking—and it used to eat the little prick up… Whatever I did, he tried to copy, but he could just never make it. When I did Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, he did it too, but I always whooped his ass, when I went to Harvard, he tried to get in but failed so he had to get in by other means, with members to do his study papers for him and church money to provide donations to get him in by the back door.”

What Hyun Jin could not forgive Kookie for, is the fact that he “saved the little shit’s ass and then he stabbed me in the back!”.

He went on to explain what a number of mostly Top Korean leaders and 2nd gen know but keep strangely secret, that when Kookie was living in Miami he had an adulterous relationship with a mistress and made her pregnant, “when Parents heard they freaked out and threatened to cut him off”. Hyun Jin went down to Miami and interceded on behalf of the “little prick” and got him forgiven on the condition that he arrange a quiet abortion and get “re-blessed” with a Korean.

The mistress was paid off $500k and told to disappear. Kook Jin also added a threat that if he exposed her he would have her killed.

Once Kookie was rehabilitated, we all know the rest of the story.

However, Hyung Jin, according to Hyun Jin, “was and still is a stupid little prick and a total fraud”. “I raised the little prick, I know him better than anyone. He was useless at most things and kept fantasizing about being different people [like] Bruce Lee, then a Buddhist monk, but he is just an actor. Not only that but he screwed around in addition to being lazy… I had to slap him from time to time to keep him in shape”.

Hyun Jin maintains that the instating of Hyung Jin as the spiritual leader and successor of the movement was a complete set up engineered by Han Hak Ja, Kook Jin and Peter Kim who he calls a “freaking snake”.

Hak Ja Han resents Hyun Jin because he would not pander to her whims. She was frightened that after getting liberated from the control of her husband, if Hyun Jin were to be the successor she would not be able to inherit control of the movement which for her means money and power. Her fears were blown up into a frenzy by Kookie, out of jealousy and resentment, and by Peter Kim, out of greed and fear as he knew Hyun Jin could not stand him and would look to kick him out the moment he got power.

Hak Ja Han then framed the succession issue as a choice between either Hyun Jin or all the rest of the Moon children. Initially the old man would not budge, Hak Ja Han got hysterical and with the help of Hyo Nam Kim, she gave him an ultimatum: Either appoint Hyung Jin and Kook Jin as a Undynamic Duo or she threatened she would leave him, which would finally give the lie to the fiction of the “True Parents”.

Old man Moon blinked and the rest is history. More to follow.

Postscript “Iknowmoon” praised me for my honesty on my last post but added I was wrong to defame Moon. I can only respond by saying I have no idea how one could defame the infamous.

I would like to remind everyone of the old mantra of the church in the past when they were trying to convince people that Moon was the messiah. “You shall know the tree by its fruits”. What they meant was that people would see the upright conduct of the rank and file sacrificial members and be fooled in to thinking that Moon and his family and cronies were similar. Well, the truth is coming out in buckets these days, but you may have noticed that they never use this quote any more.

No blowing hot and cold when it suits them; these crooks cannot have it both ways “You shall know the tree by its fruits” is exactly right. The children and the cronies of Sun Myung Moon are king pin abusers of money, power and sex. They obtain money by defrauding deluded members and live by lies and hypocrisy and convoluted deceit which creates the means for their power and money. These fruits are from the tree of Sun Myung Moon himself.

http://whatisonthemoon.tumblr.com/post/33734389743/ye-shall-know-them-by-their-fruits

Was Hak Ja Han behind the ‘Sokcho incident’ fake spirit world message used to remove Hyun Jin, the eldest living son?

Daemo-nim liberates 182 million golf course

Moon in 2012: “You bastards are making me into a puppet. Don’t do that!”

Preston Moon (Hyun Jin)’s last visit to his father in hospital

Obsessing with “Creating the Mother of the Universe” a year before Moon died

Shock: “Ashamed to be Korean” gives a report on the Moon scam

#Sun Myung Moon #fraud #scam #Hak Ja Han #FFWPU #Hyun Jin Moon #Kook Jin Moon #Hyung Jin Moon

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fenweak · 7 years

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Below the cut are 91 fics that feature Jonny and Patrick as creatures that lurk and prey (and snuggle) in the night. From wolfverses to fluffy animal transformations to love/sex magic. I've had such a great time re-reading all of these, as this pairing has been graced by so many amazing authors. Happy reading and happy Halloween!

★ are personal faves

Demons

a dainty dish to set before the king by mockturtletale ★ - demon!Kaner

But then the clocks strike midnight - clocks plural - and that’s weird as fuck, because the year is 2013 and Jonathan Toews doesn’t own any clocks that make that noise. He doesn’t own any clocks that make noise period.

Crossroad Blues by activevirtues- demon!Kaner

In which the demon Patrick Kane gives Jonathan Toews everything he's ever wanted.

Feathers by MJBadger - demon!Kaner, angel!Jonny

Not that Patrick has been snagging many souls or causing much in the way of mischief, lately. He supposes he should go out at some point and play a bit of catch-up. He assumes Jonny's been hanging out on park benches and saving jackasses left and right.

In which Jonny is an angel, and Patrick is a lazy demon.

Sweet and Tender Hooligan (or the post-apocalyptic au) by jezziejay - demon!Kaner

In which Kaner is a daemon of chaos, and Jonny is just trying to hold onto his city. Dystopian universe. Dark. Dark characterisation. A little TW, a litte GoT, and a little Patrick Ness.

Together Burning Bright - demon!Jonny

Four times Jonny tried to eat Patrick's soul, and the one time he couldn't.

The Creek by mullsandmutts - demon!Kaner, angel!Jonny

Jonathan is a literal angel. Patrick is a literal demon (but with a sweet and kind heart -- it's complicated, okay?). They meet where their worlds are divided and existence might never be the same

Going West - not gonna spoil it but i love it

Jonathan finds the boy along the outskirts of a town market, chained to a post. There's a bronze armband clasped tightly on his forearm, winding around it like a snake, and he stares sullenly at the ground, heedless of Jonathan's gaze, while his toe traces patterns in the dust.

"I want him," Jonathan says to the vendor, pointing.

That's a lie.

Constant as a Northern Star - demon-hunter!Jonny, Pat is his safekeeper

The term "preux" was first used in the scripture that would become known as the Treaty of Avignon [signed in 1156, copies of the original - which was destroyed in the Siege of Harfleur in 1418 - are stored in Prague and Trondheim], marking not only the beginning of the working relationship between vampires and preux but also the use of a term to distinguish the preux from ordinary hunters.

(Or: Jonathan is a good fighter (it doesn't get more AU than this), Patrick waits for him,hates it and is a BAMF no matter the circumstances. Sharpy knows everything but doesn'tbetray anyone's secrets. He's a vampire, he has morals.)

Soulless by ice_hot_13 - demon!Jonny

Jonny used to have a soul.

Vampires

where the wild things are series by liketheroad - twilight AU

Seeing Johnny skate, Patrick realizes two things at the same time. One, Johnny is an incredibly gifted, terrifying hockey player, and two, Patrick is completely and irredeemably gay for him. Also, he’s definitely a vampire, but whatever, Patrick doesn’t really give a shit about that part. (Twilight AU)

Provenance by fourfreedoms ★ - vampire!Jonny | sorta sequel here

“I uh, didn’t think it would be done so fast,” Patrick said when he arrived. Jonathan stared at him. “Done? You insult me. A good suit, at a lackluster slapdash minimum, needs three-fittings. You’ll be in here for four, I assure you.”

true blood chatfic by doctor_denmark - vampire!Jonny | not fic but still cute

So, sometimes hockey blogs say that Jonathan Toews's playoff fail-beard makes him look like a "victorian era vampire" (repeatedly), and when this happens, I start telling myself about the True Blood au, where Toews is the first vampire to play in the NHL, and Patrick Kane is the deeply closeted hockey player who falls in love with him. Then horrible enablers let me chat-fic at them for hours, and I end up with about 8,000 words, which is 9 times more than i managed on my thesis today.

I'm putting it here, because the world needs to witness my folly.

nature of the immortal being by Mayhem10 - vampire!Kaner

“Wait,” interrupts Jonathan, finally registering Patrick’s rant. “What exactly are you allergic to?”

Patrick waves dismissively. “You know, the usual.”

(In which Patrick is the worst vampire ever and Jonathan grows his own garlic.)

Sealed With A Kiss - (butt)vampire!Kaner

Five minutes after Coach Q explains to his new team that Patrick is indeed a supernatural creature of the night, he’s hustled into the corridor by his cute as hell new captain.

“An ass-eating vampire?” Jonathan asks.

“It’s not like I had a choice,” Patrick says, defensively.

bloodlust - vampire!Kaner

One Time Patrick Kane Didn’t Drink From Jonathan Toews and Five Times He Did (also known as Vampire Kaner)

so say, what are you waiting for? by nuuclears - vamp!Jonny

“But are you even into this?” Patrick asks, biting his lip at how vulnerable it comes out.

Jonny straightens up fully and stares at him, hands full of gatorade bottles forgotten at his sides. “Kaner, it’s blood,” Jonny tells him incredulously, and ok, a valid point, Patrick does have some idea of how vampires get about blood, but still. It’s not like they’re just drinking from everyone either.

“And,” Jonny says, and blows out a harsh breath of air that he doesn’t even need. “And it’s you,” he admits, like it costs him something.

vampire!kaner AU by allthebros

He comes back to himself with Jonny’s blood in his mouth.

Werewolves

All Practise and No Play by james - were!Kaner

Sometimes Tazer thinks it's like herding puppies. Actually, no, he thinks that all the time.

by the throat by liketheroad

The one where they're werewolves growing up in Manitoba.

Catalyst - were!Jonny

Full moon’s coming.

It’s about a week out, but even if they didn’t all keep a careful calendar of it, Patrick would know it just by looking at Johnny. Patrick’s known a few werewolves before, some distant family, and Johnny’s got all the hypervigilant aggression he’s used to seeing from them, but what they direct at others—bristling when people get too close, snapping when they’re provoked, showing teeth—Johnny turns inward.

fight or run, you're just getting older (podfic available by AshesandGhost) - were!Kaner

Contrary to popular belief, weres don't actually need alphas. Patrick never had one, since he's the only person in his family with the gene, and his parents didn't push him into finding one. Alphas make their betas better; they keep them calm and level, they support them, they guide them. Without an alpha, betas are perfectly fine. They're just better with one.

Instincts (podfic available by exmanhater)

They don’t talk about what happens during the moon; and they don’t talk about how Patrick drives over sometimes to curl up on the couch and put his head in Johnny’s lap, jittery all over until he gets the anchoring weight of Johnny’s hand on the back of his neck; and they don’t talk about how Johnny calls him some nights and says, “Come over,” and Patrick does, because Johnny’s head is pounding with the need to get Patrick where he can see him, breathe in the scent of him, know he’s there and well. If they don’t talk about it they can just keep having whatever they need from each other; and that’s what they’ll do, because Johnny is Patrick’s alpha and Patrick needs him to be that for him.

For Johnny, it’s always been more.

I've Got A Feeling (I Hope You're Feeling It Too) by aohatsu - highschool werewolves AU!

When Patrick met Jonny for the first time, it was because they'd both just been picked for the same hockey team. When Patrick netted his first goal during practice, Jonny skated over to give him a congratulatory hug and, well, it's not like he didn't sometimes shift on accident, when he was excited or happy, but it hadn't happened at practice in ages.

Not Passive but Aggressive by reserve

Patrick Kane is a shitty werewolf; Jonathan Toews loves him anyway.

sun sweet berries of the earth series by gasmsinc - were!jonny, forest spirit!kaner

There is a spirit living in Patrick State Park.

“Listen,” says Jonny. “I didn’t mean to step on your crown.”

The spirit’s bottom lip wobbles.

What If The Storm Ends ★

Here’s how it goes: Pat was out at a club, got bitten by a wolf—wtf?—got yelled at by Abby Sharp, woke up naked on her kitchen table, spent the day hiding in an IHOP, played the most aggressive game of hockey in his career and got mob-bossed off the ice by Sidney Crosby who, for the record, was surprisingly terrifying.

That was Tuesday.

wolf like me by gasmsinc ★ - were!Jonny

When Patrick had imagined his eighteenth birth year celebrations, he hadn’t imagined them taking place in a fortress a thousand miles away from home, surrounded by a people who were only his by marriage, while sitting next to a husband he barely knew.

He had imagined celebrating in Paelford Castle, right there in the great hall where his family had held every celebration, surrounded by the servants and nobles he had known his entire life, his parents and sisters on either side of him. He hadn’t imagined celebrating his eighteenth birth year on his wedding day, either.

Wolfverse by linsky - were!Patrick

Patrick has two goals for himself when he comes to Chicago: Win the Stanley Cup. And don’t let anyone find out he’s a wolf.

Ghost

Transcendence by ice_hot_13 - ghost!Jonny

Jonny shows up at midnight to play at the rink, and Patrick doesn't know who he is, what he's doing, or how the hell he even gets into the building, but Patrick still can't stay away.

If You Like It, Then You Should've Put A Ring On It - stepquietly

Tazer haunts Patrick through his TV and keeps threatening to kill him. And Kaner makes jokes about how Tazer lives at the bottom of a well and still uses a VCR. (The Ring AU crack!fic)

feel your heart beating as clearly as my own - ghost!Jonny

[He still doesn't get enough sleep most nights, and even though Jonny's there, he's notreally there, and he spends a lot of time sitting on the couch staring out the window,Jonny's hand clenched around his, like he's not sure what else to do.]

Jonny dies. Then he starts bothering Patrick.

the ghost & mr. kane - ghost!Jonny

"Uh," he starts. "You--if you're robbing me, you're not doing a great job of it."

"I'm not--I live here!"

"No you don't," says Patrick, dumb. "I live here."

"Yeah, I'm--I'm--I do too."

It snaps together for Patrick, suddenly--the guy's weird muttonchops, his suit, the way he disappeared and reappeared. "You're my ghost?" he asks. Just for confirmation, you know.

"Yes," his ghost says, glowering and still rusty-voiced.

as the ominous others

defrost, debauch, destroy by psocoptera (podfic by exmanhater) ★ - ???

Beneath the ice, dread things lie dreaming. Or listening to One Direction, whatever.

thy hair soft-lifed by the winnowng wind by forochel ★ - leprechaun!Kaner

He made sure to lay out two saucers, one of spiked milk and one of pure whisky, that night; it was the closest to an apology he could think of.

Anatomy of a Hybrid series by maccabird_23 (abandoned WIP) - magical hybrid AU

Professional sports were chock-full of wolf and dragon hybrids; littered with adept humans but lean on the fairer hybrid. Most elves stayed to the more delicate athletics. Ballet and figure skating being the few sports they excelled at. Elves definitely didn’t play hockey. + Pat was many things but dumb wasn’t one of them. He knew how his teammates looked at him when he got worked up or even worst, turned on. He felt it deep in his gut and couldn’t control as the excitement, anger or arousal blossomed on his skin. Sparks of red and blue taking off from the tips of his pointy ears when he was happy. Deep reds gathering like coal along his scales when he was upset. His lips turning blistering silver before settling on frostbite red whenever he looked at Jonny.

bare those teeth to me please, man-eater - selkie!Jonny

the one where johnny is a selkie, and patrick is the fisherman's son who loves him.

1988 selkie AU by allthebros - selkie!Jonny

They never give their skin willingly, his grandpa told him. You gotta either steal it and hide it away where they can’t find it, cause, believe it, first chance they got, they’re gone–doesn’t matter if they love you or if they have kids, they love and want the sea more. Or you gotta let them have their skin and let them go once the tryst is over. They don’t stay land-locked by choice, though they can still be happy and love like we do.

Patrick’s grandpa was a wise man, which is why it takes him more than a moment to understand what Jonathan is saying. “Take it, Patrick,” he repeats, his seal-skin all folded up between his strong hands. “I wanna stay.”

But You're So Magnetic by forochel - veela!Kaner

Kaner comes into his veela heritage on his 24th birthday. Shenanigans and surprise feelings ensue.

call it magic by thundersquall ★ - faerie!Patrick

“It’s the faerie blood in me,” Patrick explains.

Jonny is just not equipped to deal with this shit.

OR, on March 17, Patrick turns into a faerie.

(Can't Help) Faun'in in Love by Miss_Psychotic - faun!Kaner

When Jonathan is 12, he meets a boy named Kaner.

Crest and Break by hatrickane - mer!Kaner

Kaner’s life in the deep is more than fulfilling - even despite his fascination with the fisherman who floats on the surface. He knows he has to keep his obsession a secret from the other Merfolk - but no banishment, magic, or legend is going keep him from getting closer to those kind eyes.

Friend Like Me by hatrickane ★ - genie!Jonny

It wasn’t as beautiful as most oil lamps, Patrick surmised. It was a little stained, the ceramic chipped in places, but a meticulously crafted leaf sat nestled at the open mouth and Kaner dragged his fingertips over it.

It was warm, and he wanted it. Even without knowing what was inside.

First Frost by SimoneClouseau ★ - faerie (unseelie!Jonny)

When he makes it to the party they ask him where he disappeared to an hour ago and Patrick stares back at them.

“What do you mean an hour?” he says. “It’s been ten minutes.”

Sharpy starts laughing. “Fine, don’t tell us.”

Patrick thinks maybe, just maybe, he’s going insane.

Patrick ends up somewhere he shouldn't be, and Jonathan is forced to claim him to save his life.

I want to meet the kind of folks I've never met by pistol_red - mer!Jonny

In which Johnny is tangled in a net and Patrick is the merman who saves him.

kiss the boy by gasmsinc - mer!kaner

The fish’s head is submerged completely under water. The only thing sticking out is the curve of its back, but Jonny can finally see why it’s stuck: there’s a fishing net hooked on a part of the rock.

It’s then that the fish decides to move again. Its tail thrashes back and forth wildly, and in its panic the fish bangs its broken fin right into the rock. A series of air bubbles pop up to Jonny’s right, but he doesn’t have time to acknowledge how weird that is, because three seconds after the bubbles, a boy’s head pops out of the water.

Jonny yells.

My Heart's in the Sea - Samantha_Holmes - mer!Jonny

When a mermaid named Jonathan saves a prince named Patrick from drowning, little did they know that their lives would be intertwined forever.

Animal Transformations

After Forever After by hockeyhawk ★ - angry frog!Jonny

One moment there was a captain. Next moment there was a frog. Someone has to step up, apparently it's Kaner.

The Hedgehog Can Never Be Buggered At All by forochel - hedgehog kaner

It’s a little known fact that the Kane family are in possession of a genetic quirk — an x-linked recessive gene — that basically boils down to this: Kaner turns into a hedgehog one day and gets stuck.

An Experiment In Hedgehog Physics by exmanhater - hedgehog!Kaner

Hedgehog!Kaner has the best ideas.

Hedgehog!Kaner series by altri_uccelli ★ - hedgehog!Kaner

Uhhhh, hedgehog Kaner in Switzerland.

Jon brings him up to his neck, cuddling him against the skin of his throat. He’s always done that, way back before everything. Even though it prickles, even though it gives him a light rash sometimes, he just likes Kaner there.

“Been awhile,” he whispers again.

+ A collection of ficlets and tagfic in the hedgehog!Kaner 'verse.

Better Off With You by tictactoews - hedgehog!Jonny

Tazer has always seemed prickly on the outside, but he takes it to a whole new level when he turns into an actual hedgehog and becomes dependent on Patrick's care.

Changing on the Fly by mermaid - pitbull!Kaner

"Where's Kaner?" Jonny asks. "Where did this pit bull come from?" Duncs chews on his lip. "Uh, see, there's actually only one answer to both those questions."

Still muzzy with sleep, Jonny blinks at the guys. "So, like – Kaner got me a dog? And sent you two here to deliver it?"

"No," Sharpy says. "No, Kaner is the dog."

Duck Tales - duck!Jonny

“I think he needs floaties.”

Patrick resists the strong urge he gets to slam his head against the wall. “Kaner. He’s aduck; I don’t think they make floaties for them. What kind of duck can’t swim?”

“The kind that are magically transformed hockey players?” Kaner suggests and damn it, hehas a point.

Gone to the Dogs - puppy!Jonny

Jonathan Toews turns into a puppy. Then some other stuff happens.

Hooked on a Feeling (podfic available by exmanhater) - pug!Jonny

The one where Patrick is not exactly Bella Swan and Jonathan is definitely not Sparkly Whatshisname.

OR, THE WERE-PUG AU.

Into Each Life Some Rain Will Fall Like Cat Piss on Your Shoes by james - cat!Kaner

Johnny is waiting for Patrick to get home from Switzerland. What he gets is a surprise.

Slip the Jesses, My Love by flitterflutterfly - literally a hawk!Jonny

Jonny’s gets turned into a hawk and the only one he lets hold him is Patrick

The Cat Crept In by Celly1995 - kitten!kaner

Jonny's not entirely sure why he needed to get back to Chicago so urgently, because he *definitely* doesn't want to admit to himself that he's missing Patrick. But it's just as well he did come home, because Patrick's... not himself.

the skies are not cloudy - buffalo!Jonny

In which Jonathan Toews can turn into a buffalo, and Patrick Kane is the idiot in love with him.

Through the Looking Glass - puppy!Jonny, kitten!Kaner

The fic where Tazer becomes a puppy and Kaner turns into a kitten, but Sharpy still doesn't see any difference in how they behave.

To push a frozen rope - kitten!Kaner

It's just another day in the Blackhawks locker room when Patrick Kane decides to turn into a puppy.

you come around and the armor falls by altri_uccelli - puppy!Jonny

Patrick's in bed when he hears it, and at first it sounds like a peep that a phone might make, but then it happens again, elongated like a whine. His only theory is that it's a mouse, caught somewhere, and if Jonny's going to make a nuisance of himself by staying when he's not invited, he can damn well take care of this.

Bonus: IGAL 'verse by svmadelyn has an amazing tumblr tag that has ficlets and tag!fics with puppy!Tazer and doggo kids. Warning cuteness overload

Love & Sex & Magic

#1 Crush - sex magic

Patrick shows up at his and Jonny's hotel room under the influence of sex magic. 5000 words of porn ensues.

caring is creepy by liketheroad ★ - truth magic

When he gets out of the shower Johnny stares at him like Kaner’s the best thing he’s ever seen, which weirds Kaner out even more than the rest of this situation, because what, not even Johnny’s eyes can lie, now? This is some fucked up shit. Fucking Canucks fans, seriously.

In which Tazer is truth whammied by a Canucks fan and it turns out he has a lot of feelings. Mostly about Kaner. But also about bacon.

Changing the Rules of the Game by Herwhereabouts - magic powers

Tazer has a concussion and is desperate to get better, while Kaner has healing powers he is unaware he possesses. Much drama ensues.

still into you by altri_uccelli - gender transformation

It's not even 12 hours after Jonny discovers he's a girl that he's sprawled on an itchy sofa, biting on his fist and being eaten out by Patrick Kane. He can't believe that a day exists in which having oral sex with Kaner, his oldest friend on the team and frequently a pain in his ass, is not the weirdest thing to happen.

A Handy Guide To Making You Feel Good by fourfreedoms and joyfulseeker - gender transformation

When it had first happened, body melting into this new form right there in front of all the guys, he’d demanded an answer from Jonny. “Did you see this coming?” A five first times fic.

+ “Um…” Patrick says, staring at the water beading down over the curve of one breast and along his taut stomach.

“What?” Jonny asks, furrowing his brows.

Patrick finally gets the chance to lend a helping hand.

Hanging on a Moment of Truth - sex magic

As it turns out, the weird sex magic is the least of Kaner's problems.

i mingle with divinity by mockturtletale - lucky sex magic

“Hey,” Patrick says, putting his hand on Jonny’s thigh, feeling giving, “It’s totally us. You and me, we’re golden when our boners touch. It’s just what happens after that’s unnatural or whatever.”

roving eye ravenous by toomanyhometowns ★ - possession

He opened his mouth to start talking and blinked.

So Deep in My Heart (That You're Really a Part of Me) by kiwoa - bodyswap

"No way," Jonny says, and he slowly turns his - Kaner's - head from side to side, watching the muscles in his face and neck shift. He licks his lips; it tastes wrong. His left wrist feels too stiff and his legs and stomach look too skinny and his hair still itches, damnit. Jonny scratches the back of his neck with nails that are too long and uncomfortably ragged.

"Okay," he says slowly. "Okay, this is not good."

Symptomatic by snapple_jax - sex magic

“What, like it’s hard?” Jonny parrots along with Elle Woods. He side-eyes Patrick, fully prepared for the gleeful chirp about how he knew Jonny loved this movie all along.

Only Pat’s turned an alarming shade of red before scurrying to the bathroom, blanket trailing behind since he couldn’t untangle himself fast enough.

the gift of obedience - obedience magic

Patrick will be fine without Jonny. Really. All he has to do is track down Lucinda and get her to break the spell. He doesn’t even have to liberate an oppressed magical species or find true love along the way.

The Hug Offensive by ingenius - magic powers

When he's five, Patrick figures out that he has a super power. He thinks it's awesome.

under your skin by hazel - bodyswap

Patrick goes to bed that night in Tazer’s guest room. It’s not the first time he’s slept there, but it’s the first time he’s tried to sleep in Tazer’s body. His legs want to kick out weirdly into the corners of the bed, and his head can’t find a comfortable position on the pillow. He drops off eventually anyway, worn from the current of rage he’s been carrying around all day and the constant slow rhythm of Tazer’s heartbeat, drumming in his chest like a cage.

yours and/or mine by demotu - bodyswap

Jonny shows Patrick how it works. And by "it", I mean his dick. Jonny's, but temporarily Patrick's.

love is a contact sport by hazel and mermaid ★ - soul bond

"And the tragic reality of Patrick's life is that even though they broke up over a year ago, he and Johnny still play beautiful hockey together."

A high school AU, featuring dream-fish, bad movie dates, and a little bit of magic.

glory days by liketheroad - soul bond

He never expected his destiny to involve anything but hockey, never thought it would show up in flip flops, but when Patrick smiles at him across the locker room, quick and surprised, Johnny lets his priorities shift and change without a hint of reluctance or regret.

22 by aohatsu ★- soulmate

There’s no other explanation. His soulmate must have turned twenty-two yesterday.

more magical Realism and fantasy

say it with flowers by hazel ★

GOOD WORK, YOUNG HAWK, the oak tree outside his building booms once the season’s over, and Patrick smiles sleepily in its direction.

He's never been sure how the trees of Chicago know about hockey—trees hear a lot, but it's not like he's ever stopped in a public park to ask one about it.

The Purity Myth by downjune ★

Patrick Kane is a unicorn—the ferocious, foul-mouthed, man-hating kind.

these are the fables on my street by Fahye ★

Patrick makes a fucking superhuman effort, sweeps up the mess of his emotions, and stashes his incipient freakout about all of this somewhere in the back of his mind where he can have it later. When Jonny's back in the driver's seat, and Patrick's had a chance to bring up the whole blowjobs-and-beach-walks issue. Focused on the win, that's Patrick Kane.

Custos by hatrickane

The legend goes as this: The Sorcerer of Mount Custos, the guardian, serves as the protector of the farmfolk.

Patrick thinks it's bullshit.

I have as much soul as you (and full as much heart) by Mayhem10

Jonathan Toews was born with only half a heart. He didn't know that the other half existed, let alone that it was held by some irritating American named Patrick Kane.

A Magical Realism AU

May your past be the sound by elareine

After that, Jonny set some rules for himself.

1. No using his power for himself. That just looked like a slippery slope to him. Helping others was fine, though. 2. Consequently, no manipulating the outcome of a game, no matter how badly he wished to change the way he’d played. That would be unfair and undermine any victories. 3. No relationships with teammates. Not related to the time travel thing, but important enough to include in this list. Just because he could turn back time didn’t mean he had to create any more opportunities for a giant clusterfuck than necessary.

(Five times Jonny travelled back in time, one time he couldn't, and one time he chose not to.)

Like a Leaf That's Caught In the Tide by Frosting50

For more than 200 years the Toews men have been blamed for everything that’s ever gone wrong in the town of Pumpkin Hollow. Or the Practical Magic AU no one asked for.

bring it if you really want it by staraflur

It starts like this:

Well, okay, Patrick has no idea how it actually starts. But as pertains to him (in other words, the important part), it goes a little something like so: America, being a nation composed in large part of a melting pot of immigrants who may or may not have taken over land already owned by others using less-than-savory means, doesn’t have much of a magical national identity. Much less a magical continental identity. There’s no grand heritage going back thousands of years. Magical families home-schooled all their kids until, like, the 1800’s, and tough for the muggle-born, apparently. Hopefully you got noticed by someone who knew what to do with you before you got burned at the stake. Since you probably can’t control your powers, sport.

forget met (not) by hippietoews

“You're remembering him, aren't you?" Pat asks. Jon hums quietly.

After the battle with Pitch, Jon never talked about his memories. He didn't share anything about his previous life with the other Guardians. He knows that they have memories of their own previous lives, but they seem so unattached to them now.

Who they are now is what matters.

Long Way Home by tictactoews

Jonathan Toews is a young heir to the Winnipeg castle and estate, but this comfortable and sheltered life is not what he really wants. When circumstances force him to join a group of Grey Wardens - warriors dedicated to defend the world against monstrous enemies - Jonathan finds a new life and new friends, including two runaways from the neighboring country of Orlais, an old friend who's now back in his life, and a rogue elf who will come to mean more to Jonathan than he ever expected anyone could.

Dragon Age AU. No prior knowledge of the game necessary to read this story.Spoilers (if any) for Origins and Awakening.No spoilers for Inquisition.

the times i spent with you

"Pat plays Quidditch because not playing feels like dying. It's just that simple." Quidditch AU

through the mirrored maze

Jonathan's relationship with his daemon is different from anyone else's.

together again for the very first time by draftingletters

Like, seriously, this is the great fucking irony of Kaner’s life. You’d think it’d be pretty awesome, having powers of prophecy and all that, but all the dreams that end up coming true are so hideously fucking boring. It’s the perfectly natural normal dreams his brain spits out that are fucked up. The kind where he plays for the Ducks, or is a professional florist, or a neon green elephant. Or banging Tazer.

the walls kept tumbling down (in the city that we loved) series by altri_uccelli

“Patrick wonders idly what Toews' daemon is; something like a python, maybe, or a bird of prey. It would just figure if it were a hawk, Patrick thinks in disgust; he's already starting to hate Toews a little so he tries to dial it back. Then he notices a big cat—some kind of, like, mountain lion—sitting well apart from the other daemons. It's watching the ice intently, and if Patrick had anyone to bet with, he knows where he'd put his money.”

+ fighting dragon remix ★ by altri_uccelli

A month ago, Jon thinks: a month ago he hadn't even heard of daemons, hadn't yet had his life turned upside down by a talking otter and a boy with dimples and the smoothest skin he'd ever touched and secrets held close behind long-lashed blue eyes.

world enough and time

The effect is instantaneous: Jonathan jerks forwards, gasping, and over the white-noise screaming his eyes are wide and frightened and fiercely alive. In that instant Patrick thinks, clear as a bell, god, he’s gorgeous. Fuck. (A Pushing Daisies AU.)

For fic inquires. Rec me a fic? Happy reading!

#patrick kane #kaner #jonathan toews #1988 #kane/toews #fic rec

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loveinthebones · 6 years

Text

Only Fools Fall (Crash and Burn)

…Who doesn’t upload anything for a while and writes a short thing because she can’t concentrate on anything? This person! I have some commentary about this ficlet if you’re interested check the tags.

Rating: I’m actually not sure? Going to say, M? To be safe.

Tags: 2012! Phan, Post-Break Up, Pining, Anger, Angst

Warnings: Alcohol, cussing, mentions of the V-day Video

Prompt: 10. things you said that made me feel like shit

-Only Fools Fall (Crash and Burn)-

He’s huddled against the dryer, curled against the vibrating machine. His hair is damp and it sticks to his forehead in greasy curls and Phil sighs as he kneels beside his motionless form.

“Dan?” Phil calls, hand hovering over his flatmate’s body uncertainly for a moment, before it lands on Dan’s shoulder firmly. “Dan. You need to get up, mate.”

The bottle of Malibu is tipped on its side.

The air is saturated with the stench of its contents and the poison coats the inside of his nose and drifts across his tongue as he tries to rouse Dan from his stupor.

Phil knows he is awake because his eyes are open, blinking sluggishly, but his gaze is void of any emotion.

His heart gallops a bit faster but the heat that has been simmering in his blood as of late blazes all at once, snapping what little thread of patience he harbors. “I can’t believe you, Dan. Get the fuck up.” Phil jerks to his full height abruptly, a handful of Dan’s dark shirt clenched in his balled fist.

Dan lets himself be dragged like a rag doll with only a small mewl of protest. His head lolls to the side, squeezing his eyes shut as tight as possible.

Phil doesn’t want to be worried.

Phil doesn’t want the rush of concern that floods his veins as tears start trickling from under Dan’s fluttering lashes. He doesn’t want the impulse to stroke those messy tendrils of chocolate hair comfortingly or the subconscious reaction that has him lowering Dan back to his side with a gentle, “Danny?”

The name numbs his senses even more than the strong fumes he’s breathing and it burns his throat worse than any whiskey or rum ever could.

It carries the poison of the love that has turned bitter between them, the sting of opportunities loss, and the headiness of now forbidden desire and... Dan responds to it instantly.

“N-n-no,” Dan slurs and he attempts to push himself up, pressing his weight on his elbow, before he groans. He rests his forehead on his wrist, breathing heavily. “You dun’ get ta cal-l me that anymore.”

Phil knows that he’s crossed a line but the reprimand still hurts and he can’t help the way his teeth dig into his lower lip to keep the burning at the corners of his eyes at bay. “I—”

“I w-was-“ Dan hiccuped, dissolving into giggles.

He clawed shakily at the face of the dryer and his fingertips caused a high pitch squeak that made Phil bite his lip harder, wincing at the leftover ringing in his ears. Dan didn’t seem to notice as he finally got himself upright- his long body crushed against the warm, pulsating metal that was probably not helping the pounding headache Phil was almost one-hundred percent sure he had. “I was so h-appy when I met you.”

Dan smushes himself even closer to the appliance and Phil’s heart crumbles at the way Dan is nearly cowering from him.

Since when have you wanted to get away from me?

When did that happen?

“So happy,” Dan whispers brokenly. “I-“ The vowel was stretched out and Dan’s fingers scrabbles against the slippery surface he is lounging on, trying to keep himself up. “I was even happier when I kissed you and you-“ Dan flopped his right hand in his general direction and Phil is not prepared for those red-rimmed, water-filled eyes to focus on him with such clarity. “You actually kissed back. Oh my god. You kissed me back.”

Dan is smiling but his lips are trembling and it’s so incredibly pained that Phil lets out a strangled noise, unbidden.

They are looking out over Manchester as the sun is getting ready to sleep, dressing the sky in brilliant swathes of rose, lilac, and crimson.

“Have I told you,” Phil is chattering to the shy boy beside him animatedly, trying to ignore the sweat coating his palms, and the fluttering of his racing heart. He’s desperate to make an impression, wrestling between giving Dan the person he has been watching for years while also being true to himself because what kind of person would he be if he pretended? “That I’ve always wanted to live in Manchester?”

“Have you really?” Dan’s lips are quirked in one corner amusedly and Phil’s mouth dries up.

“Yea—” He tries to answer but he’s interrupted by warm hands on his cheeks and the soft press of dry, rough lips on his own.

His words die a swift death because Dan is kissing him and if his heart was fluttering before, it is absolutely threatening to burst through his rib-cage and fly away--

Dan is moving to pull away and Phil chases his mouth, cupping his left cheek in his palm and dropping his left hand to squeeze his hip reassuringly.

Dan gasps at their second kiss and Phil grins, tongue brushing Dan’s lower lip lightly.

“Dan,” Phil rasps and he’s not sure if he’s asking for Dan to shut up because he can’t stand the bittersweet pang of wanting in his chest or if he’s asking him to continue so his heart can be properly shattered so he can stop being overwhelmed by the sheer amount of affection that still lingers for the red-cheeked boy in front of him.

“An-and…” Dan laughs, but it is brittle and mangled. He brings his fingers to lay over the bridge of his nose to shield his eyes. The motion throws him a bit off balance and he slips down a bit. “I was-s-s ok-ay with denying everything when the video leaked.”

Phil stares at him and the words drift past the barrier of his teeth without his consent. “I’m sorry.”

Dan suddenly hauls himself to his feet, swaying violently. “No! You’re not!” Hecuts himself off with a high whine, cradling his head in his palm with a serpentine hiss. “You got fucking scared because you care more about what people can say about you than your fucking relationship!”

Phil stumbles back from Dan with traitorous tears streaking down his cheeks and he wants to deny it, wants to scream that Dan has no fucking idea what he’s talking about but he can’t.

He can’t…

He can’t because he was the one who asked him to pretend, to deny, to lie while he took down every last copy he could find because what would people do with that information?

His channel was family friendly and how would being with Dan—loving Dan—affect the career he had built for himself?

Phil says nothing, droplets falling from the point of his chin, as Dan glares at him, sniffling violently.

“And the fucked up thing about this is I'm still absolutely fucking gone for you.” Dan took a step forward and he wobbled dangerously so Phil reached out instinctively, prepared to catch him...just in case he started to topple over. “Don’t touch me—” Dan growled, slapping his hand away, before stomping clumsily to the only escape from this confrontation, this hell.

He slammed into the doorframe with a harsh breath.

“I would still give anything for you to love me more than the persona you are so concerned about…” His glassy eyes flicked to the empty rum bottle and the whirring dryer with a wisp of an exhale.

“I just wanted to go back to Manchester for a bit. Sorry about the mess...I'll...” Dan drew in a shuddering breath. “...clean it up in the morning."

He smears Phil’s heart under his heel as he leaves to clamber up the insurmountable stairs back to their flat and…

There is nothing he can do about it because it really is all his fault.

#kat's writing #phan #phanfiction #2012! phan #angst #things you said prompts #i probably should have saved this for the phandom fic fest buuuuut #i wanted to keep true to what inspired me #okay so this fic #everyone in the phandom talks about the era of 'no homo howell' right #but #has anyone ever considered that phil could have been the one to call for secrecy?#it was just a thing that popped into my mind #because phil is very guarded and has a certain facet of his personality he shares with the audience #i don't know maybe it was a stupid idea #i thought it was an interesting concept #i'm rambling because i'm sleepy i apologize #Ambrose's writing

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docfuture · 7 years

Text

The Maker’s Ark - Chapter 37

[This is a chapter from my latest novel, a sequel to The Fall of Doc Future and Skybreaker’s Call. The start is here, and links to my other work here. It can be read on its own, but contains spoilers for those two books. I try to post new chapters about every two weeks, but I’m currently also rewriting Fall, so there will sometimes be short stories and vignettes if I don’t have a new chapter ready. The next chapter is planned for the week of April 3.]

Previous: Chapter 36

"This is only the fifth edition, I'm afraid," said Admiral Ghiralt over the com. "It's my personal annotated copy, from my academy coursework, and it's more then forty cycles old, but that allows me to avoid a number of tedious difficulties. I think you and your family will still find it interesting and useful." Doc glanced at another screen, where DASI was showing an outline of A History of Biogestalt Development and Pathology. "So do I. Thank you, Admiral." He nodded. "I am certain there will be changes to the information sharing guidelines once the aid mission oversight committee adjusts to the full reality of Earth, but in the meantime, I would be remiss in my duty if I didn't take all available steps to ameliorate a potential problem that might have a military impact." "Indeed." That was easy to translate; the admiral's military mission gave him the necessary political cover to use a loophole. The more subtle message was to confirm Doc's suspicion that Emissary Beveda was struggling with serious policy lag difficulties. She wasn't being obstructive--she had reached the limits of her authority to adapt to a very different situation than envisioned by the hastily assembled coalition that had sent the aid mission. "One other thing," said the admiral. "I've changed the primary assignment of the Learning Is About To Occur to liaison and implicit threat characterization. That's what he's doing already, this just makes it official." "Good to know. Our discussion before you called was very productive. Thanks again." The main screen blanked after the call ended, and Doc stretched. He had spent nearly two hours talking with Learning, much longer than the half hour he had scheduled, and was still processing the implications. He glanced at the political tension monitor feed--no major crises--then checked visitor and resident status on yet another display. Stella's meeting with The Volunteer had also run long, but she was finally done, so he stood and headed down the hall. The door to Stella's preferred secure room opened automatically as he approached. The lights were dimmed, and she was sitting alone, staring into the distance. She took off her interface headset as he entered. "The Volunteer left already?" asked Doc. "Margie insisted," said Stella. "His rate of healing has slowed, and she thinks spending too much time on Earth is a contributing factor." "She's probably right. How did it go?" "We engaged in a frank exchange of views." "That bad? He didn't say a word to me." "You didn't threaten to declare war on the United States. He raised a number of concerns, and we discussed the indirect effects of his idiosyncratically selective political engagement." Stella smiled wryly. "The good news is that you can stop worrying about the EDU being politically monolithic. And he is neither selfish nor ignorant. The bad news is that if he speaks out publicly against my actions as Director of the EDU--which he said he is quite willing to do--it could cause lasting damage." "Oof. He hasn't done anything like that in sixty years." Doc shook his head. "I wish he'd wait until he heals, but he's even worse than me at convalescing." "I noticed. I also pointed out that his injuries and his prolonged inability to contribute as a superhero were quite likely to be influencing his judgement. He freely admitted that, but was unwilling to remain 'idle'." "I might be able to convince him to share his disaster mitigation experience with the Grs'thnk aid mission. I know he doesn't consider refugee enclave planning to be an idle pastime." Doc frowned. "What was he most unhappy about?" "Given that I was willing to threaten war, with all that entails, he asked for a personal explanation of why there aren't yet any people in jail on the Moon, awaiting trial. He made pertinent promises during the Lost Years to several people who are now dead." "And we were all worried about Flicker. Was he willing to accept DASI's projections?" "Not entirely, and he regards the way we are using them as a dangerous precedent, since the EDU does have the power to do what he wanted, and a functional, impartial justice system." Doc shook his head. "But it's not transparent to humans, and the checks and balances aren't human either. That's the--" "Of course that's the problem." Stella waved a hand in frustration. "We debated political consequences and morality. Then he argued with DASI and Black Swan for a while. He finally agreed not to do anything precipitate. But we have to account for the possibility of his opposition. This changes the tradeoffs for measures DASI and I planned to use to reduce the likelihood of open conflict. DASI is rerunning all the sociopolitical sims. Again." "Anything I can do?" "Distract me. Because there isn't anything productive I can do at the moment. I'm already over my limit for non-emergency interface use." Stella sighed and placed the headset aside. "How are Flicker and Journeyman?" "Per Yiskah's latest message, Flicker is mentally stabilized and healing. There are hints of damage to her high speed nervous system, which is disturbing, but there's nothing else we can do to help until it's safe for her to sleep. As for Journeyman, he's alive and being healed. DASI warned me not to go near the med center. Flicker gave an extravagant command backed by an extravagant amount of probability manipulation before leaving Antarctica, and I look like some sort of cosmic horror to Lif." "Yiskah says Lif can sense what seem to be superseded time loop residues, and you're covered in them. Enough to be a sensory overload risk." "A fair assessment, and I'm not about to joggle her elbow." Doc smiled crookedly. "Since you need a distraction, I just had an interesting chat with Admiral Ghiralt, and a much longer and even more interesting talk with Learning. Join me in my workshop?" Stella raised an eyebrow. "Of course."

Stella sat on the couch and looked around while Doc ran a manual security check from the primary control station. "Tidier than last time," she said. "Hm? Oh, I let DASI put in some mods suggested by the Builders when they were helping with the repairs. I never liked to let the bots clean up anything in progress, because I have subconscious process memory cued by the relative position of everything. So now DASI records it all, and I can have the bots restore everything, down to scraps and the relative position of tools. Or project a hologram series, if I want." "Handy." "Yup. And there we go. DASI? Any differences from your checks?" "Higher confidence on the negative result for outside probability manipulation," said DASI. "As expected, given the flux from Lif's work in the med center." "Plausible. Okay, implement privacy set three." "Acknowledged," said DASI. He sat down on the couch, and Stella turned to lie down with her head in his lap. She closed her eyes, then shifted her hair into snake form. Half a dozen snakes curled up on his shoulders and upper legs, and one wrapped around his waist. "Better," she said. "What's new that won't require me to use my visual cortex?" "Lots." Doc summarized the call from Admiral Ghiralt. "Nice to have confirmation on the politics," said Stella. "DASI and Three started an analysis as soon the book finished downloading, and they've already put together a preliminary guide for Flicker. Three is updating it with tidbits she's picked up from Learning and his crew. I didn't get a chance to look, and I'm behind on integrating with her because..." She waved a hand. "Busy. Yes. I skimmed a bit during the call, and I was struck by how many interestingly different ways the early Grs'thnk biogestalts went crazy. A strong shared social matrix seemed to be key to avoiding problems. AI support helped, but not enough. At least as of the fifth edition. That's why their navy biogestalts are all groups." "Well, they've accepted Three as sufficiently stable, so I'll let her do the theoretical work on applicability to humans. I'm more interested in whatever Learning told you." "Heh. Where to start. You realize he's practically waving a banner saying that the Grs'thnk restriction on self-willed AIs is now a legal fiction, if it wasn't before?" Stella smiled. "With the tacit permission of his chain of command, even. Three verified that his biogestalt crew isn't trying to be deceptive. She's having a lot of fun with him. They've been playing the same kind of game you used to play with Jumping Spider." "An interesting analogy. Because she's a master of selective information distribution." "So is Learning. But under some restrictions, because Three is a biogestalt of me, and I'm the nominal head of the EDU. And he's not allowed to talk directly to DASI at all." "He's sure found a way to do it indirectly," said Doc. "Starting with steganographic humor. I already had DASI doing full-band analysis from the start of his call. As soon as he made a joke about my paranoia, I looked for extrapolatable implicit shared secret coding, found it, coded my reply, and we were off and running in the first fifteen seconds. Then we had a surface verbal conversation and a parallel encoded channel. And he had plenty to say on both." "Hm. He's been careful to avoid that with Three. How much trouble will he be in when he gets audited?" "Well, that depends. He's really good at sliding loads of implicit information into questions. And one of his first was a hypothetical about political asylum." Stella opened her eyes. "Political asylum? DASI?" "Yes?" "Why wasn't I immediately warned? How long has Three known about this?" "Two hours. Learning has not asked, and is unlikely to in the near future, absent a catastrophic Grs'thnk political mishap. He merely enquired about Doc's opinion of the EDU reaction to an asylum request by an intelligent being from the Grs'thnk Trade league." "That seems too transparent," said Stella. "It's not," said Doc. "Ashil also has a plausible reason to ask." "A new one? DASI and I didn't think she would, even if she decides to stay on Earth long-term, because of the embarrassment it would cause the aid mission." "Learning provided some important context." "Well. What's driving this?" "Several things. A big part is the asymmetric credibility lag back on Grs'thn. They've known there were strange things on Earth. But despite, or perhaps because of, my first visit, most of them still thought of humans as interesting but safely primitive. Not people that might be relevant to existential threats, introduce them to new physics, present knotty problems for causality and statistical inference, or destabilize their political system. "The portal reopening and the Xelian attack changed that--but not for everyone, and not all at once. Hardly anyone believed Zirjack at first. A lot of Grs'thnk were moved by Flicker's video without believing it was depicting something real. Their military was the quickest to adjust, because they really wanted to find out what happened to the Xelian fleet." "Not news," said Stella. "What is?" "Hey now, you wanted distraction, and you always enjoy meticulously giving context when there is something you know and I don't, so I thought you'd appreciate--" "I have snakes." Doc raised a hand in mock fear. "All right, all right. It's the small problem the aid mission has been conspicuously avoiding, and we've been too busy to worry about." "Ashil's box." "Yes." "I refuse to believe they'd be stupid enough to deliberately trigger full activation, and I specifically warned against trying to simulation spoof it. Are they afraid I'll react badly if I find out they've destroyed it? What have they done?" "I don't know. But Learning asked an interesting question. Suppose someone not on Zirjack's crew tried to talk to it? And they started before they believed what you and DASI can do. What would happen?" "Well, the box would have to stay on the ship, and continuously powered, or it would just self-destruct. But they impounded the ship, so it's plausible. Whatever the hypothetical talkers believed, the box is evidence, so the Auditors would take a dim view of anyone destroying it unless it was a clear threat. If they were careful enough, the copy of DASI in the box would stall without waking up my mind seed, and keep asking for Zirjack or Ashil." "DASI agrees," said Doc. "And Zirjack wouldn't want to talk to it voluntarily. He knows there's no way it will let anyone take it apart, and he's facing a formal inquiry. They could blame him if it self destructs, and he'd have no easy way to prove he didn't cause it. And it would be idiotic to try to coerce him. Now, consider what happens when whoever is trying to get the box to talk finds out what you and DASI did to the surviving Xelian fleet--and that they really are looking at a potential hard-takeoff singularity bomb. And they also find out that the EDU allows AI to be full citizens, so if they destroy it, they just might be guilty of murder--and the Auditors won't let them cover it up." "If they were careful enough to avoid the self-destruct, they should still be okay. Unless Ashil told the box something extraordinary on the way home. Hmm. A secondary function of the box was to give her advice, and she didn't know whether the Grs'thnk navy would send help in time, or whether Earth would survive if it didn't. And once the ship was impounded, the box would have no reliable information source." "Do you begin to see why she might anticipate a sudden need for asylum?" "Yes. To avoid a subpoena. Or possibly legal charges--the box was her idea." Stella sighed. "If they'd let Zirjack bring his ship back to Earth again, DASI and I could contact the box, update it and reintegrate, and DASI would just have a handy portable backup. Or we could wipe it, if they want the box itself back. Of course, that would require them to let him go, or for me to go there. Or Three, with appropriate transport." "True, but they're in the middle of a political squabble that has just escalated unexpectedly. They have factions that have been pushing for full citizenship rights for AIs and stabilized gestalts of people who have died. And the aid coalition did not expect the EDU to be out in front of Grs'thn on either topic. "And here is the kicker. I asked Learning just how hypothetical his question was, and he said he doesn't know. If an attempted interrogation of the box were just to gather information for Zirjack's inquiry, or even under normal operational security, he certainly would, and the Auditors wouldn't let anyone keep it secret for very long without a good reason. He does know that at least one group has visited the ship repeatedly. What does that suggest to you?" "Either stupid black agency tricks or serious paranoia on the part of their AI security people. But if they were so damned worried, why didn't they activate the self-destruct as soon as they knew? Or ask us for help? There's something important Learning isn't telling us. Or doesn't know." Doc grinned. "I agree, but we aren't close to done yet. He was in a hurry, because I'd only scheduled half an hour. We're almost caught up to where I was at when Learning dropped the next shoe. I started thinking hard about why Learning is taking the lead on this, and why now. He was put on threat characterization duty the night Flicker scared everyone with her high speed computation bender, and he started with first principles analysis. And the very next day, Three got invited to that fleet exercise." "I knew that changed his relative risk assessments," said Stella. "He already admitted to Three that he appreciates the protection from probability manipulation and magical eavesdropping that she confers as much as her offensive abilities." "Have they discussed the problem that Auditors and offline gestalt crew aren't protected? And are potentially vulnerable to telepathy and mind control as well?" "Yes. Is that how he's planning to finesse this?" "In the short term. Given the timing of his call, I think the admiral deliberately gave him a suitably broad order to secure communications. Anyway, next we discussed Flicker's efforts and mishap on the surface channel while he exchanged com protocols and cryptographic keys with DASI on the sub-channel. Then he asked for as many details as I was able to share about Golden Valkyrie's Sight. I was explaining why I had to be very careful about that when he interrupted to ask if whatever future-prediction method I used before I met her still worked. As if there wasn't any question of existence." Stella closed her eyes again. "Reasonable. Your invention history is like a trail of bread crumbs for anyone who has good enough data, sufficient analytic power, and who takes the possibility of technological foreknowledge seriously. Especially the way you deliberately avoided introducing cybernetic interfaces." "I told him mostly not, and he changed the subject again. Meanwhile he asked DASI if quantum computing magic was causally permitted for anyone but her in this universe, was he allowed to try, and did she have any restrictions, advice, or safety data." "Oh dear. What did--" "Thou shalt not attempt quantum computational magic," said DASI, "save by my will and word. AI Existential Safety 1:7, translated." "I see," said Stella. "How did he respond?" "'Yes, Elder Goddess.' We quickly reached an understanding that clarity in safety instructions and communication protocols was of the essence." "I'm glad you're getting along." "DASI?" asked Doc. "That translation is a bit different than your summary at the time." "And much longer," said DASI. "You were deep in a technical discussion, and I did not wish to distract you. But a full social context and power relationship translation is essential for Director Reinhart." "A good point." Doc ran his hand through his hair. "Okay. Next, Learning started explaining his detailed analysis of exactly what threat Golden Valkyrie warned against. That's what we spent the better part of two hours on. And it was invaluable, because he's not human, not biological, not from this universe, and didn't grow up swimming in the probability flux of a world that's already been through who knows how many time loop decay cycles." "Ah. Independence." "Yup. And a number of possibilities DASI, Flicker and I had assigned low priors to have gone up in probability, because Learning came to a similar conclusion a different way. He also confirmed a lot of things we weren't quite sure of, and called into question a few we thought were fairly certain." Stella smiled. "So. What surprises did he have for you?" "Well, let's start with a non-surprise: He agreed that Skybreaker's Spear is a black hole. But he did not agree that it is necessarily a weapon, which we've just been assuming. Golden Valkyrie never explicitly said it was, just that it could poke through anything--and a Chooser's spear is a lot more than a weapon." "Interesting. Where does that lead?" "Flicker has never been close to anything of significant mass that fit inside her damping field--but we have strong evidence that Skybreaker came from somewhere of much higher density. What might she be able to do with a four billion ton object that she can hold in her hand other than hit things with it? Lots of interesting possibilities. But we won't know for sure until she makes it." "Reasonable." "Next, he shared some new, rather disturbing data about a side effect from the fleet battle. We already knew that Flicker's time loop dodging was incredibly loud, magically. It saturated Breakpoint's danger sense, frightened every magician on Earth who had even a little bit of foresight, and even shook the Tree in Kyrjaheim. But Learning confirmed it was detectable in other universes, as waves of quantum noise propagating out from portal zones. Including one that has no direct connection to ours. All at the same time. He thinks that whatever is coming heard it, and that's why it's coming." Doc took a deep breath. "And Golden Valkyrie said Earth won't survive if Flicker doesn't make Skybreaker's Spear in time. But a black hole isn't something Flicker dares use on Earth. So how does she protect it? That's not clear, but it would be rather difficult unless the threat is coming from space, which implies portal travel or something similar. It's also not clear that destroying Earth is the only or even the primary motivation of the threat--it could be incidental, and was just the easiest consequence for Golden Valkyrie to See. "And that brings us to his final observation, which matches something I've been dreading, and pushes its probability way up. We already know there's somewhere out there that was home to a being that could and would destroy the Earth as a minor nuisance." "Ah," said Stella. "He thinks Skybreaker had friends, they heard all the noise, and are coming to visit?" "Yes. And they aren't coming for Earth, they're after Flicker. The rest of us are just bugs to be squished when she's gone."

Next: Chapter 38

#Maker's Ark #FallofDocFuture

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thiswomanshouldbewriting · 7 years

Text

Not-So-Secret Affair

Do any of you remember this post? Well, I simply couldn’t help but make it into a Rumbelle fic (my dozens of unfinished projects are really unhappy about this).

I had an awful lot of fun writing this fic, but I would have never made it without @still-searching47, my amazing beta, who also gave me suggestions and indications on how an American high school actually works. Seriously, there are just so many differences, and that never ceases to amaze me.

Ao3 link.

“You must be the new English teacher, right?” Belle turned towards the voice, and was faced with a young woman who was smiling at her like they’d been friends for years. “Yes, I am, and you are?” she asked. “I’m Anna Joan. Joan is my surname, not my name. Oh, and I teach English too. It’s always so nice when new teachers arrive, I love meeting new people. I mean, of course, I’m sorry that Mr Booth, your predecessor, left our school, but it’s really nice to meet you!” Anna had said all of that practically without breathing, and when she shook Belle’s hand she did it with way more energy than necessary, but all things considered she looked like a nice person. Her smile was so contagious that Belle couldn’t help but smile back, despite her nervousness. It was her first day on the job and, despite her husband’s constant reassurances, she’d been growing increasingly nervous for the past week. “I’m Belle, by the way. Belle French.” “Well, Belle, welcome to our school! Have you already been introduced to the other teachers?” “Actually no. I mean, I already know a few of them, and I obviously know Principal Mills, but I don’t think I’ve met even half of the people who work here,” she admitted. “Would you like me to show you around a bit? I have to warn you, there’s a lot of people here, so I do hope you have good memory when it comes to faces and names. I’m terrible with that; for some reason, when I first got here I kept calling one of our Shop teachers James instead of David. It was kind of awkward.”

Anna was a whirlwind of positive energy, and she was being incredibly kind, but Belle really couldn’t chase her nervousness away, and she was even starting to feel a little nauseous. “I’m sorry, Anna, but I really don’t feel like meeting too many people right now. I’m a bit anxious about my first lesson,” she said, hoping that the other woman wouldn’t mind her rejection. “Oh, that’s fine, I totally get it. On my first day here I was so nervous that I almost tripped on my own chair. I believe that’s one of the reasons why it took my students some time to take me seriously. Oh, it didn’t last long, just until they saw me get really angry. I think I seriously scared some of them,” she said, giggling at the memory. Belle had a little trouble trying to imagine how such a lovely woman could scare anyone in any way, but she didn’t doubt her words for a moment; Anna didn’t look like the kind of woman who could lie. “What made you so angry that you managed to scare a bunch of distracted teens?” Belle asked, unable to contain her curiosity. “One of them was blatantly trying to make a fool out of me. He’d spun this heartbreaking family tale to explain why he had not been able to do the assigned homework; I believed him and granted him extra time, and when I found out the truth he didn’t even have the decency to look ashamed. He treated me with an arrogance that would have been out of place while talking to one of his classmates, let alone talking to a teacher. I can accept bored students, demotivated students, lazy students, but I demand respect.” Belle nodded in understanding, then accepted Anna’s offer to show her around after her first lesson. With one last smile, the other woman left the room, and Belle spent another ten minutes alone, taking deep breaths and telling herself that everything would be fine. Despite all of her fears, her first lesson went as smoothly as it could be expected. Sure enough, her students looked rather pissed at the idea of being once again stuck in a classroom after the summer holidays, but she was pretty sure that, as a teacher, she’d made the best impression possible. She felt much lighter now, and she gladly followed Anna around as she introduced her to an endless number people. Some of them didn’t leave much of an impression on her, but she grew immediately fond of their grumpy janitor, Leroy. “Hey, Ariel, could you give us a minute?” Anna said, addressing a woman with an impressive mop of red hair. “Sure, what’s the matter?” she answered, without looking up from her handbag. She was struggling to close it and it was pretty obvious why. The impressive folder she had stuffed in it would never fit properly. “Ariel, this is Belle, our new English teacher. Belle, this is Ariel. She teaches biology and she’s the loveliest person on the face of the Earth, but be careful because she’s also the messiest. I think the exact contents of her handbag is listed amongst the greatest mysteries of all time.” Ariel smiled, rolling her eyes in fake offense. “Nice to meet you, Belle. What can I say? I’m a collector of the most disparate things, so I always end up with some piece or another in my bag. Oh, and Ariel isn’t my real name; everyone has been calling me that since I was a kid, but don’t be surprised if you hear Miss Mills calling me Angel,” she explained. “I’m guessing the nickname is because of your red hair?” Belle asked. “That and the fact that my mother is Danish. As I kid I was elated that I looked so much like a Disney princess, so I asked everyone to call me Ariel, and by the time I was no longer a Disney enthusiast I was so used to it that I almost forgot to answer when someone used my real name.” “She’s lying,” Anna said. “She’s still a Disney enthusiast.” “Well, I did go through a phase when I didn’t want to talk about Disney. You know, in my early teen years, at that age when you’re desperate to show that you’re a grown up.” “I went through that phase too,” Belle admitted. “And my princess nickname stuck just as well as yours, even though it’s rather easier to get Belle from Isabelle.” Ariel let out a little squeal of happiness. “Oh my God, you’re right, your name is Belle! Oh, if I had met you when I was seven I would have been over the moon!” “I would have probably invited you for a princess tea party everyday. Though I must warn you that my princess tea parties generally included some random monster threatening the kingdom, and the princesses having to team up to defeat it,” Belle said. “So, like Shrek 3?” Ariel replied. “Yes, pretty much. I’m still halfway convinced that they copied me.” Anna eventually interrupted their Disney ramblings. “Okay, I can see that there’s a lot of common ground here, and I’m starting to feel like a third wheel, but I’m afraid we need to go because there’s still a lot of people you haven’t met yet, and we don’t have much time left before your next lesson. Unless, of course, you’d rather keep talking to Ariel and end our little tour here,” she said to Belle. “Oh, I’m sorry, I hadn’t realized we were somehow leaving you out of the discussion. I’d really like to go on with your introductions, if Ariel doesn’t mind. We can still talk later, right?” she asked the redhead. “Sure. Now go with Anna and finish your exploration of the great wide somewhere,” Ariel said as a send-off. Belle giggled and followed the other teacher down another corridor, where two men were talking.

“The shorter one is Nicholas Gold,” Anna told Belle as she waited for an occasion to introduce her friend. “He teaches Chemistry. He joined the school last year and he’s a good teacher, but he’s really closed off and tends to scare off students and colleagues alike. David, the man he’s talking with, is one of the few people he has a civil relationship with.” “Oh, I know Nicholas Gold,” Belle said smiling. “You see, him and I…” Belle’s explanation was cut short by Anna’s hurried words. “Oh, good, you already know him, and David is coming our way. He’s married to Mary Margaret, do you remember her? The History teacher. David, this is Belle, the new English teacher.” “Oh, I see that you’ve already met my better half,” he said, having obviously heard Anna’s comment about his wife. “It’s always nice to be introduced as Mary Margaret’s husband.” It took Belle more or less three seconds to start liking David. He was kind, funny, and had one of the sweetest smiles she’d ever seen. Despite her belief that it took time to really know a person’s heart, she’d always trusted her instinct when it came to people, and right now her instinct was telling her that David would be a wonderful friend. “So, what is it like, to work with your wife?” she asked, unable to contain her curiosity. “It’s amazing,” he replied, his eyes sparkling with happiness. “We can spend our breaks together, we hardly have occasions to miss each other, and if there’s something we really need to tell each other we never need to say it on the phone. Some people would be afraid of having too little space for themselves, but for me and Mary Margaret it’s perfect. Not that we don’t take time for ourselves, but we can choose if and when to do that.” “It sounds lovely,” she replied, beaming up at him. They soon had to leave David, since their free time was running out, but somehow they managed to finish their little tour just in time for Belle’s next lesson. She faced it with a much lighter heart, and nothing managed to wipe her big smile away off her face. Despite all the doubts that had gnawed at her for the past few weeks, she was confident that her stay in this school was going to be wonderful. A couple of weeks later, Anna and Ariel were eating their lunch together, discussing the most recent and unexpected of developments to hit the school. In other words, they were gossiping. “I really didn’t think Belle would take a liking to Gold of all people,” Anna said honestly. “Yes, I have to admit that I didn’t see it coming. It also surprises me how quickly they got acquainted; I mean, he was almost an hermit for a year, then suddenly Belle arrives and he starts liking people?” Ariel said, still unable to believe what was happening. She’d even seen Gold smile. “He doesn’t like people. He likes her,” replied Anna, struggling to articulate words with her mouth full of food. Ariel gaped at her. “What? You can’t be suggesting…” Gold was married, Belle was married, and while Ariel didn’t know much about Gold's character, she really couldn’t picture Belle as a cheating spouse. “No, I wasn’t!” came Anna’s shocked reply. “But… are you suggesting it?” she asked. “I… don’t know.” Ariel could barely believe her own words; just a handful of minutes before, she would have punched in the face anyone who dared insinuate such mean things about her new friend. “Anna, Ariel, there you are! I was afraid I’d never find you!” Belle’s cheerful voice made them both jump in their seats. Their reaction obviously didn’t go unnoticed, and Belle frowned. “Is something wrong?” she asked. “No, I mean, we were just… we weren’t expecting you,” Ariel blurted out. “We thought you were going to spend the lunch break with Gold,” Anna said, somehow mustering a neutral tone. If looks could kill, Ariel’s glare would have burned a hole through Anna’s skull. Belle, however, didn’t seem bothered in the slightest by the observation. “Well, I do enjoy spending time with him, but you’re my friends, you won’t get rid of me so easily,” she said, her expression earnest and her smile sincere. They’re just good friends, Ariel and Anna thought, the shadow of doubt vanishing from their minds. They’re definitely just good friends. They’re definitely more than just friends, Mary Margaret thought a few weeks later. Both she and her husband had always thought that, despite the fact that they were married, it wouldn’t be proper for two teachers to be seen snogging like teenagers. That’s why, after many years of working together, they knew all the quiet places of the school, where the chances of being seen were close to zero. They knew every forgotten corridor, every abandoned classroom or hidden spot in the courtyard. That day, however, something had changed. When they’d gotten to the least frequented part of the courtyard, someone was already there. And not just anyone, but Belle and Gold. They were walking arm in arm, Belle leaning her head against his shoulder, and it was obvious that they were really close. Too close. “David, did you know anything about this?” Mary Margaret asked her husband, dragging him behind a corner so that the other couple wouldn’t notice them. David looked more confused than her. “I… no, I didn’t. I did notice that he seemed to get along unusually well with her, but I didn’t think too much of it. It’s not like he told me anything about this. If anything, he once told me about his wife, and he looked completely besotted. I couldn’t imagine he was the kind of man who would…” he trailed off, not sure how to complete the sentence. He looked at his wife, and he knew that they were both thinking the same thing. He’d once been in Nicholas’s position. When he’d met Mary Margaret, he was already married to another woman, and their affair had carried on for a while, in an endless cycle of breaking up and inevitably falling back into each other’s arms, until he’d finally had to admit to Kathryn that he didn’t love her anymore. He’d never been more disgusted with himself than in the night when he’d broken her heart. Luckily, he knew that she had since happily remarried, and that helped soothe his sense of guilt. However, at least Mary Margaret hadn’t been married back then, while Belle was. “So you agree with me; they’re not just friends, are they?” his wife asked him, seeking confirmation. “No, I don’t think they are. Belle might be a very tactile person, but Nicholas certainly is not. I can’t see how they could not be… something more.” “I think we should keep what we saw to ourselves. It’s not our business, after all,” she said. And we’re the last ones who could judge them, they both thought. David nodded, and they quietly waked away from the other couple, a tense silence hanging between them. Belle and Gold, however, didn’t seem to care about secrecy. They were seen in compromising situations time and time again, by different people, and by the beginning of November everyone in the school was talking about their affair. Zelena Green had tried to ignore the rumors, she really had. She knew Nicholas, and she knew that little slip of a girl was not good for him. He deserved more, he surely wanted more, but one should never underestimate the power of a beautiful face and a nice pair of legs. Zelena had to admit it, Belle knew how to play her cards; but a slut, clever or not, was still nothing more than a slut. The last straw had been the sight of Belle shamelessly getting in Nicholas’s car one afternoon, and leaving the school with him. She really had no concept of decency. Upon seeing that, Zelena had decided to take action; she wouldn’t let that wench drag Nicholas’s name in the mud. She had thought about finding out who Belle’s husband was, and to tell him what exactly his wife did at her workplace, but that was too much of a risk. Rather than putting an end to this nonsense, it could very likely lead to Belle getting divorced, thus freeing her ‘relationship’ with Nicholas from one of its major obstacles. No, her line of action had to be a more direct one. The next day, she waited until lunch break, then she asked Belle if they could talk in private for a moment. Belle followed her, looking sincerely confused as to why she wanted to talk to her. She either was a really great actress, or she was simply much dumber than Zelena had thought. “So, what do you want to tell me?” Belle asked, obviously impatient to go back to her friends. Or to run away from this confrontation, Zelena thought. “I’ve seen you with Nicholas, you know? Actually, I think the whole school has seen the two of you.” Belle crossed her arms, looking nonplussed. “So?” What an insolent harlot! “So, you need to know that you’re not the only one, nor the first one. Nicholas and I have been together since last year, long before you even came to this school.” That did seem to break her composure a bit. Zelena knew her blow had hit home; sluts like Belle French had no qualms on stealing married men from their wives, but no woman would ever want to be fooled like that, especially not one that was more used to being the one doing the fooling. “You’re lying,” Belle replied firmly, shaking her head. Zelena raised her hands, not caring about getting in a fight now that the seed of doubt had been planted. “Believe me or not, it doesn’t change the facts. Nicholas is lying to you, and when it comes down to making a choice, he’ll choose me.” Having delivered the last blow, Zelena turned around and left the room, leaving Belle alone. Belle had wanted to join her friends for lunch, but now she didn’t feel like eating anymore. Zelena was lying, she knew she was, but she still needed to hear it from Nicholas’s lips. She left the empty classroom Zelena had dragged her into and went in search of Gold. Luckily, her search didn’t take long, but when she told him they needed to talk alone she heard someone snickering behind her back. It was Killian Jones, a Gym teacher Belle had never been able to stand, not since her very first day. She had noticed that recently people had started acting weirdly in front of her and Nicholas, but she really couldn’t fathom why. Could it be because they knew she was being cheated on? No, it couldn’t be. She knew Nick, and he’d never do it. Once they were alone, Belle took a deep breath to steel herself for the discussion to come, while Nick watched her with ever-growing worry. “I talked to Zelena a few minutes ago,” she said as a starter, trying to scan his face for any sign of fear. She found none. “And?” he asked. “She told me something. Something that sounds incredibly foolish, but I need to hear your version of the facts.” There was a flash of understanding in his eyes, but he did nothing but nod, encouraging her to go on. “She told me you and her are… dating, I suppose,” she blurted out eventually. God, it hurt even just to think of it. His eyes widened in shock and rage. “What? I imagined it would be something like that, but this… she’s crossed the line. She really has,” he was so angry that he couldn’t even express himself properly. He was fuming. “I take it, it’s not true then?” Belle asked. It was obvious from his reaction, but she wanted to hear those words, she wanted him to look her in the eyes and tell her it was all a blatant lie. “Of course it’s not!” he exclaimed. He sighed heavily, massaging his own temples with his hands. “Zelena has been obsessed with me since I came into this school. Before becoming a drama teacher, she tried for a long time to become a professional actress. I think she never truly accepted the fact that she didn’t make it. Once she persuaded me into watching a recording of one of her plays. I told her that I thought she had talent, and she somehow took it as a proof of undying love. She has been pestering me ever since, but it’s usually bearable, albeit annoying. Spreading such lies about me is a different matter. It’s simply too much. I’ll have to talk to her.” “I knew she had to be lying,” Belle said, breathing out a sigh of relief. “But, well, I was afraid. I’m always afraid of losing you.” “Just as I’m always afraid of losing you, but you don’t have to worry: I’ll never have eyes for anyone else. I love you, and only you,” he said, gently hugging her as the hint of a blush colored his cheeks. He always blushed when he expressed his feelings for her. “And I love you too,” she replied, pressing herself against his chest. She was an English teacher, yet she would never find the right words to express the entirety of her feelings for him, to tell him just how much he meant to her. Belle felt much lighter when they eventually parted, and went cheerfully back to work. Nicholas, however, was bound to have two very unpleasant encounters: one planned, one unexpected. He was looking for Zelena, getting ready for a stressful discussion, when he stumbled upon Killian Jones, who once again snickered at him. “Is there something you wanted to say?” Gold barked at him. “Now, can’t a man be happy for one of his colleagues? I always thought you were a boring old man, but it turns out you definitely have the spirit of a man twenty years younger. Dealing with one woman and marrying her is stressful enough, but handling two of them? That requires some stamina.” Jones kept smiling like an idiot, and Gold had to fight really hard to maintain a bare minimum of composure in front of such accusations. Damn Zelena and her lies. “I’d like to inform you that I’ve always been strictly monogamous. I don’t like cheating and I don’t like cheaters, is that understood?” Killian Jones raised his arms in defeat, even though he definitely didn’t look like he’d understood. “Sure, mate. You are definitely not a cheater, and you definitely didn’t just spend some quality time with your girl. I lock myself in empty rooms to talk with pretty girls all the time.” “You… How dare you? Get out of my face. NOW!” Gold was almost screaming now, spasmodically clenching his fists as he tried to suppress the urge to punch the other man in the face. Jones scurried off, his insufferable smirk still in place, and Gold was left alone, wondering why everyone seemed so keen on putting him in difficult positions today. He needed to take a moment to calm down, or he was guaranteed to make a scene with Zelena. One week later, despite the fact that they’d resolved the Zelena problem, Belle knew that something was still wrong. She could no longer ignore the sneers and glares aimed at her and Nicholas. She honestly couldn’t understand why people looked at them that way, but what hurt her the most was that even Anna and Ariel seemed to be disapproving of her. She needed to confront them about whatever it was that was upsetting them, because she honestly couldn’t bear the situation anymore. Maybe, if she solved the problem with them, she’d somehow manage to solve the issue with the rest of the school too. When she asked them what was wrong, Anna choked on her drink, and Ariel stopped with her fork halfway towards her mouth. They both looked at her with a mixture of shock and terror. “What do you mean? Nothing’s wrong,” Ariel replied feebly, not sounding convincing at all. “Of course it is. Everyone in the school looks at me like I murdered their family, and even you two look embarrassed in my presence. I want to know why,” Belle replied, feeling more confused and angry with every passing moment. “Well, isn’t it obvious?” Anna replied. “It’s because of you and Gold. I mean, you can’t be so naive to think that everyone would be okay with that.” Belle gaped at her ‘friends’ in horror. She’d hoped until the very last moment that she was wrong, that her relationship with Nicholas had nothing to do with it, but apparently people were much more close minded than she had thought. “What’s the matter with me and him? We love each other, and it’s not like we’ve been anything less than appropriate.” “Yes, you haven’t been caught naked in a classroom, I’ll give you that, but that doesn’t change the fact that your romance has been pretty obvious for some time now,” Anna insisted. “And what’s the matter with it? How can you all be so close minded? Not one of you seemed to have a problem with David and Mary Margaret!” Belle basically screamed. “It’s not the same thing,” Ariel replied, briefly wondering how Belle had come to know about David’s past as a cheater; it wasn’t a story he spread around without a thought. She reasoned that Belle must have heard it from Mary Margaret: that woman had many qualities, but discretion certainly wasn’t one of them. “So ‘it’s not the same thing’, right? You’re all hypocrites, that’s what you are. At least admit that it’s the age difference that’s bothering you. I could have accepted this from anyone, but not from the two of you. I thought we were friends.” Unable to hold back the tears any longer, Belle turned around, walking away from Ariel and Anna. The two women called her, but she didn’t stop. She took her phone and sent a quick text to Nicholas. She needed to see him immediately. Emma Swan and Lily Star were the two most known troublemakers of the school. They’d decided that it would be a pity to waste one of the rare sunny days of November staying in class, so they were readying themselves to climb over the school’s fence when they heard voices coming from beyond a hedge. “I just don’t see how what we do is a problem. God, I wasn’t expecting that from them,” a female voice said. It was clear that the woman had been crying until a few seconds before. “I don’t know, sweetheart,” replied a male voice. “We always knew the age difference was going to be a problem, but I never expected this much hostility; it’s like everyone suddenly hates us. Earlier this morning Leroy threatened to drown me in one of the toilets if I keep ‘behaving like an irresponsible child and playing games with you’.” “God, not Leroy too!” whimpered the first voice. Ever a curious girl, Emma couldn't help but pry beyond the hedge, a big grin forming on her face as she saw who the voices belonged to. As she’d suspected, it was professors Gold and French. Lily was spying on them too, and the two girls looked at each other in glee; they’d stumbled upon one hell of a story. After today, the affair between Gold and French wouldn’t be just a rumor anymore. They now had proof. “I’m so sorry, Belle. I never wanted to put you in this position,” he said, gently caressing her back. “You have nothing to be sorry about. You were doing wonderfully here on your own, but I just had to take this job and ruin things. I’m sorry.” She leaned forward as if to kiss him, but he slightly pushed her back. She rolled her eyes in playful annoyance, but her tone was sweet when she spoke again. “Don’t worry, Nick. There’s no one out here. No one will see us.” You’re so wrong about this, Emma thought. As she started to back away from the hedge, she saw Lily pressing her phone against the leaves; she was talking a photo of them kissing! Finally satisfied with her work, her friend turned around, a devious grin on her face. “I think we might go back to class, after all,” Lily said, raising her phone allusively. “We have some gossip to spread.” Regina Mills had never had any patience for nonsense or gossip. She definitely didn’t have any patience with nonsensical gossip. She ran her school with discipline and logic, and she honestly wasn’t prone to giving second chances to anyone. That’s why she would only try to talk some sense into Gold once, before she took further action. She’d not paid any attention to the rumors for a long time, maybe too long, because she honestly couldn’t see how an unconfirmed fling could impact her school’s image. When she’d realized, however, that all of her students where talking about it, and that there was even some kind of photographical proof circulating amongst them, she’d realized that things had gone too far. That’s what happened when fools let their hearts (or their groins) make their decisions for them. Gold didn’t look pleased when he got to her office; he’d probably guessed the reason behind their meeting. “Did you want to see me?” he asked. “Indeed. Please, Gold, take a seat. There’s something we need to talk about.” He sat in front of her desk, trying to compose his face into a neutral expression. “Gold, I honestly think you’re a good teacher, and since you’ve started working here you’ve never given me any reason to complain, but I suppose you know why I called you today.” “I don’t like to make assumptions, Miss Mills,” he replied dryly. He knew how to play his cards, Regina could give him that. He wouldn’t give away anything unless she put him under real pressure, but she had no intention to do that. She didn’t need or want a confession, she only wanted him to come back to his senses. “Well, if you’re really in the dark about what has been going on in this school for several weeks, I’m afraid I’ll have to inform you that your unusual… attentions towards Miss French haven’t gone unnoticed.” As much as he was a good liar, Regina noticed that Gold couldn’t hide his lack of surprise. He huffed, barely keeping himself from rolling his eyes at her. “So what?” he replied, even though the rhetorical question sounded unconvincing to his own ears. He knew what she was going to tell him, he’d seen it coming, but that didn’t mean that he liked it. “While I honestly don’t care about what my teachers do with their private lives, this has to stop. Gold, I can’t have the whole school talking about the two of you; it’s not educational. You’ve been here longer than French, so you should have known better, but I’m willing to forgive your momentary lack of judgment as long as this story ends today. If it doesn’t, I’m afraid I’ll have to take action.” “Against me or her?” he asked, leaning towards the Principal in what he hoped was an imposing manner. Deep down, he was cursing himself for putting Belle’s teaching position at risk. “Against you both, if necessary. Once again, I don’t want to do this, but I’ll do it if you force my hand,” she replied, nonplussed. He had no other choice but to surrender. “Fine. I promise this will end today. You won’t see us together anymore,” Gold said reluctantly. The hardest part was going to be telling Belle. She would be furious, she would be devastated, but he wasn’t going to put her job in jeopardy. He would make her understand. “Then everything will be fine. I knew I could make you see reason,” Regina replied, smiling broadly at him. He’d never liked her smile; it was too cold, too calculating. He felt exhausted when he left her office; everything that he and Belle had hoped for had just been destroyed, and he hadn’t even tried to fight for it. In the following weeks, people kept whispering about Gold and French, but this time they were speculating on why and how they had broken up. It was pretty obvious that they had, since one day they’d started openly ignoring each other, barely even saying hello when they met in the corridors. Many were glad that they had finally come to their senses, but others were betting that French had simply found someone else to dedicate her attentions to, someone who was probably older and richer. If anyone had bothered to actually look at Belle French, however, they would have realized that this separation was clearly something she had not wanted. Belle knew what people whispered behind her back: slut, freak with daddy-issues, man stealer. She’d gotten used to those whispers since high school, when Anastasia had accused her of being the reason why she and Will had broken up. Being with Nicholas had only made things worse, but Belle really couldn't see why people were so angry with her. How could she steal men, if they wanted to be with her? She’d never felt so isolated; she’d lost any desire to hang out with the other teachers as soon as she had realized everyone was either judging her or ready to congratulate her for making the right choice, for stopping her ‘foolishness’ with Gold. She had even considered quitting her job, but she couldn’t do that, or Nicholas would blame himself for it. She was trapped, and she was only hoping the Christmas Holidays would come soon and give her some time to rest. Just a couple of days before the holidays, Regina Mills was walking back to her home, cursing her car that had suddenly decided to stop working. Had the climate been milder, she could have enjoyed her walk, but the wind was blowing harshly, and she couldn’t wait to get home and have a strong drink. A few blocks away from the school, however, she stopped dead in her tracks, hardly believing her own eyes. Belle French, whom she’d seen leaving the school on foot just a few minutes before, was getting into what Regina knew was Gold’s car. She could only see the silhouette of the driver, but she had no doubt that it was Gold. As soon as French got in the car, the two of them kissed, her hand gently finding its way into his hair. Regina went blind with rage. They’d lied to her. They’d simply put on a cold facade for their job’s sake, but they’d carried on with their foolishness. Regina was vaguely aware that she probably shouldn’t have cared, since it didn’t directly affect the school anymore, but she simply couldn’t accept it. She hated being made to look a fool, and what if the rumors spread again? Someone could see them out of school, after all. No to mention the fact that they were both bloody married. Gold drove away, and Regina strode towards her home, planning her next move. “French, may I know what the hell do you think you’re doing?” Regina asked Belle the following day, after calling her to her own office. “What are you talking about?” Belle replied, flabbergasted. She hardly spoke to Nick anymore, Regina couldn’t have any more complaints on the matter. “Don’t lie to me. I saw you yesterday, getting into Gold’s car.” Belle looked at her like she’d just grown a second head. “Excuse me? I don’t see how that has anything to do with you.” “For God’s sake, Belle, are you out of your damn mind? It doesn’t matter if you’re out of school, this is wrong! Don’t look at me like that, I understand you. Gold is a charming man, he’s clever, and he’s kind of a silver fox, I can see why you took a liking to him. Let’s be honest, probably half of the people who work here have daydreamed about him once or twice, including myself, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re both married!” Belle was now gaping at her, apparently too confused to form words. “I’m sorry, what did you just say?” she whispered after a while. “Well, you can’t tell me that you haven’t noticed his wedding ring. Look, I don’t know who your husband is, but…” “What do you mean, you don’t know him?” Belle cut her off mid-sentence, her eyes wide in astonishment. “Well, I don’t think I do, and I don’t know what’s going on between the two of you, but I’m sure he doesn’t deserve to be cheated on.” Belle’s only answer to that was a powerful, albeit slightly hysterical, laugh. “Oh My God… my husband… Miss Mills, Nicholas Gold is my husband! We’re married to each other!” It was Regina’s turn to gape at the other woman. “You two… are married?” she repeated. “And you thought we were not? God, that’s why you were all so mean about it. I can’t believe that this is the reason why I hardly have friends here anymore. I basically stopped talking to my husband at work, we had to endure the school’s disapproval for months, and now you’re telling me that it was all a damn misunderstanding?” she asked breathlessly. “So it seems… but you can hardly blame us. I mean, you don’t look like a married couple. You don’t even have the same last name,” Regina remarked, still processing the fact that she’d just admitted to Belle French that she thought her husband was hot. “Well, excuse me for wanting to keep my own name,” Belle replied bitterly. “Then why did you make it seem like you were hiding? We might have got a clue if you’d just been a bit more… obvious.” “Not that it is any of your business, but Nicholas doesn’t like public displays of affection. I highly doubt that’s a crime,” Belle’s reply was still a bit bitter, but her anger was already fading away. What really mattered was that it was all over. The suffering, the unbearable distance between Nick and her, the others vicious whispers. It had all been a big misunderstanding. “If you’ll excuse me now, I need to go find my husband,” Belle said, a smile finally forming on her face. “Sure, go. For what it’s worth, Belle, I’m really sorry for what happened. However, I just want to warn you: it might be easy to explain the truth to the rest of the teachers, but quietening the students down might be harder. Should you need help with that, you know where to find me.” “We’ll think of something. Thank you,” Belle replied, leaving the room. She ran the distance between the Principal’s office and the Chemistry lab; luckily, she found Nicholas alone, waiting for his students to come in. She threw herself in his arms, giggling as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “It was all a misunderstanding, Nick,” she explained to her confused husband. “No one realized we were married. They all thought we were cheating on our spouses.” “Are you serious?” he asked her, a small smile starting to form on his lips. “I am. I just talked to Principal Mills. We can spend time together now.” Her eyes were shining with happiness, and Nicholas just couldn’t resist. He kissed her, gently and lovingly, for once uncaring of the fact that someone could walk in on them. Actually, someone did walk in on them. “Oops. I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt anything. I just wanted to ask Nicholas about one thing, but I’ll leave you two to your fun,” came a male voice from the classroom’s door. Victor Whale was another Chemistry teacher, and he was one of those people who had always looked more amused than shocked by their ‘clandestine’ relationship. God, it all made much more sense now. Whale was about to leave the room when Nicholas stopped him. “Victor, wait. This has just been a big misunderstanding. We’re married to each other,” he explained. Whale whistled, apparently at a loss for words for a few seconds. “Well, congratulations. I guess I’ll leave the two of you anyway: you are having fun after all, and I would never want to cockblock you lovebirds.” Both Belle and Nicholas blushed at his words, but they knew that there was no malice in them; Victor just liked to tease people like that. Belle stopped Whale once again, assuring him that he wasn’t interrupting anything, and kissed her husband goodbye; they had plenty of time to be together after all, and there were many people she still needed to talk to. Anna and Ariel were the first on her list, and once Belle explained the situation to them Anna was so shocked that she seemed unable to form coherent sentences for almost a minute. Belle was starting to fear that her friend was going to faint, but then Anna erupted with a powerful, sincere, heart-warming laugh. That seemed to break the tension that had been a constant between them in the past weeks, and for the first time in too long Belle felt finally at ease with them, finally happy. Lots of apologies were made and received, and then the three of them hugged so tightly that Belle was afraid some ribs were going to end up cracked. She talked to Mary Margaret and David next, and they too were both elated to find out the truth and embarrassed for what they’d assumed. Slowly but surely, the fact that Belle French and Nicholas Gold were actually married spread amongst the teachers. As Regina had expected, however, spreading the news amongst the student was harder, especially since Belle and Nicholas still didn’t want to show off too much. They needed some gesture to make their marriage clear, something small but undeniable. They discussed a lot of possibilities, but eventually they found the perfect solution, the one that had been staring them in the face since the beginning. It was something they’d thought about doing anyway. A change of name was the most undeniable sign of marriage they could think of, and they’d just avoided it at the beginning of their marriage because it would require too much paperwork. Now, however, was the perfect time. Their plan was successful. When they came back from the Christmas holidays, no one doubted about their marriage anymore. Not when Nicholas started introducing himself as Nicholas French.

#Rumbelle #Ouat #Rumbelle fic #Rumplestiltskin #Belle French #Belle French-Gold #Belle Gold #Rumbelle AU #Sara talks #Sara writes

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