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wannabemobwife · 4 years ago

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Guns, Glamour, Goodfellas - Chapter 6

Chapter 6: An Offer He Can’t Refuse

Dad!Mob!Tom Holland x Mom!Mob!Reader

-Pairings: Tom Holland x Reader, Rosie Holland x Henry Osterfield, Parker Holland x Platonic!Henry Osterfield

-Warnings: Language, small smut, always a lot of dialogue, idk if there is anything else.

-Words: 3.2K

Author note: The driving test thing actually happened to me. I failed twice and then passed 3rd time. Feel free to leave comments or message me directly your feelings while reading the chapter. Always love hearing from you guys.

Chapter 6: An Offer He Can’t Refuse

Words: 3.2K

The Holland household was about to retire for the night. The lights of the rooms had been flipped off and the exit and entrance doors locked. When, SLAM, the sound of the front door shutting echoed through the house. It shook the pictures on the walls and knocked over a vase, spilling the delicate flowers.

Parker couldn’t stay in that house a minute longer, not after what he just learned, what he just overheard. Tom was in his office along with you, contemplating what to do next.

“What the hell was that?” You questioned as you sat on Tom’s lap.

“Sir?” William entered out of breath. “What is it William?” Tom asked, sounding concerned. “Parker just left.” “He what?” You asked. “He walked out of here,” William explained.

“Why the fuck didn’t you stop him.” Tom yelled, steam basically coming out of his ears. “I didn’t know what I was supposed to.” “Tom, come on. We have to go find him” you screamed, rushing out of the room.

“I’ll deal with you later,” Tom said sternly, pointing his finger at William as he fled to get his car keys.

Driving around aimlessly on the streets of London. You were scared for the safety of your son. Parker coming home today with bloody knuckles showed you a glimpse of his future. A life of unapologetic dealings, making him question his morals once in a blue moon. You wanted more for your son. You would be proud of him regardless but, you wanted him to be happy.

Tom, in the past, suffered from nightmares, ever since your kidnapping. He would wake up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night screaming your name.

“Y/N? Y/N!?! NOOOO,” Tom screamed in his sleep.

“Tom? What’s wrong?”

“Y/N? Y/N! You’re.. you’re—,“ Tom gasped, coming out of his sleep

“Tommy, shh, I’m right here. I’m right here,” you whispered trying to calm him down. “Y/N, thank god you are okay. I thought I lost you,” Tom exasperated, trying to calm down his harsh breathing. “I’m right here, it was just a nightmare.”

“Can I just hold you for a little while?” “Of course, Tommy” you said as Tom started to fall asleep in her arms. You could feel his soft tiny breaths on her neck. And all was right with the world.

That euphoric feeling was associated with being in love. You were happy your son got to experience it for as brief a time. You didn’t know Charlotte all that well, be she made Parker happy. He had to grow up so fast, it wasn’t fair.

“Y/N were not going to find him, we should just go back home.” Tom said to you. “No, we’re gonna keep looking,” you replied, you couldn’t leave your son out in the cold all night.

“Wait, Tom stop the car. STOP THE CAR!” You thundered.

“It’s Parker,” you said, hopping out of the car.

“Parker? What are you doing?” You questioned as he kept his strides, moving away from you.

“Get in the car, let’s go home,” Tom explained.

“No. I’m not going anywhere with you,” Parker yelled, continuing to walk away. “Parker stop fucking around and get in the car!” Tom yelled.

“Fuck you, dad. I’m done. When were you going to tell me that you are the reason. SHE IS DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!” Parker raged, pointing fingers left and right. “Parker get in the car and we can talk this out,” you pleaded. “No, mom. I love you and I’m sorry. Don’t worry about me I’m staying at uncle Haz’s tonight.”

“PARKER GET BACK HERE!” Tom screamed.

“Let him go Tom. He’ll be back, I know he will,” you said, holding Tom back.

In this moment, Tom felt like he lost Parker for good. They had a good relationship but, were growing closer because of the mob. Finally something to bond over.

The night had fallen a few hours later and Parker was walking through the deserted streets of southwest London. Coming up upon a house he had known all too familiar, Henry and Harrison’s abode. After a few knocks, he was surprised anyone answered the door at this ungodly hour.

“Parker? What are you doing here?” Henry answered half asleep. “Can I stay here tonight?” Parker asked directly, not inviting anymore questions.

“Yeah, of course,” Henry agreed. “Henry who the fuck is it?” Harrison yelled, coming down the stairs. “Oh, Parker… Do your parents know you are here?” Harrison asked, surprised to see the boy on his doorstep. “Yeah, I just can’t go back there, not tonight,” Parker explained. “Alright then, you can sleep on the couch,” Harrison said. “Thank you sir,” Parker said. He didn’t sleep well. It wasn’t the couch, the couch was rather comfy, it was all the thoughts running amuck in his mind.

Why the fuck would his family arrange the death of girlfriend? Why would his dad put on a show of pretending to look for her killer? Who the fuck were his parents? Mrs Owens, Charlotte’s mom, was right he and his family are in the business of ending lives and Parker had already gone too deep.

He was woken up by Henry coming down for morning coffee. “Hey. How’d you sleep?” Henry asked lowly. “Shitty,” Parker replied. “Henry I swear to god are you shagging my sister?” Parker screamed, addressing the invisible elephant in the room. “What she told you?” “Maybe. How the fuck could you do that. She’s my sister!” “Mate you got it all wrong. We aren’t shagging, just dating. Ok?” Henry explained.

“Alright, I can’t believe you didn’t tell me though. Also don’t break her heart or I will hurt you,” Parker said only to be returned with chuckles from Henry. “I wouldn’t dream of it, she’s amazing. I think falling in love with her. By the way, that was a shitty threat. You’re a mobster and that’s the best you could come up with,” Henry ridiculed.

“Fuck you. Can I have some coffee?” Parker proposed. “Sure, but you gotta tell me what happened last night. Never in a million years have you ran away from home,” Henry asked, genuinely concerned. “I overheard my dad on the phone, he said “it was Dom who arranged the hit.” I have never met a Dom, never seen him around the house. I don’t think he is the one who pulled the trigger but, if he’s the one who gave up my location he might as well have,” Parker exclaimed. “Jesus, Parker. This is some fucked up shit. It sounds like your dad didn’t have anything to do with it anyway.” Henry mumbled, not to deliberately defend Tom

“I know he did. I’m done talking about this.” Parker asserted and Henry just nodded in response.

“Oh shit! Is today the 23rd?” Parker asked, afraid it was. “Yeah, why?” Henry replied, confused by the look of terror on Parker’s face.

“I have my drivers test today and I can’t believe I have to see my dad. Ugh!” Parker exclaimed.

Parker was doing his best to avoid the estate. He didn’t have a change of clothes or a toothbrush, he’d have to go back at some point. The fact that his driving license exam was today majorly screwed up his plans of ignoring Tom.

He was ready to get his license and had been practicing quite a lot. He stopped after his accident cause it hurt to drive but, getting a license was the first step in becoming an adult and earning more freedom, something he desperately needed.

What he needed the most was to get out. He wasn’t bred for this type of life. Killing, torturing and breaking the law took a loose morality that he didn’t know if he had. Parker was hurting and Tom was responsible. Parker felt like he needed to make Tom pay but, how could he hurt his own father. He couldn’t, he wasn’t some villain in a movie, he was only kid.

Deep down Parker loved Tom but, it was hard to love the person responsible for the bomb that blew up your life. Parker had to hit Tom where it hurts. Parker wouldn’t dream of hurting you but mobsters were brutal. He had heard the stories in the past of mobster’s hurting you to get to Tom. People would think rival mobs would want to come after him and not you. On the contrary, people associated with the mob were heartless, spineless creatures. They loved watching someone beg for their life and someone fall apart, knowing everything has been stripped away from them. Leaving them vulnerable and utterly alone.

The thing Tom loved most in this world, but he would never admit it, was his mob. Being apart of the mob gave Tom purpose. He didn’t know what he would be without it. He was too devious to be a wall street guy and too adventurous to be a stay at home dad. Tom didn’t run the mob for money, it was simply pleasure.

Devising the plan to take Tom down from the inside out required more planning than ever imagined. Parker’s main focus was to find the person that despised Tom the most. Someone who could make Tom’s blood boil at the utterance of his or her name.

Parker had Harrison drive him to the DMV, fully expecting to see you, but his heart stopped when he saw Tom. Barely acknowledging him, only nodding when Tom muttered something. Rosie was there also, taking her test at the same time. She hadn’t practiced as much as Parker but was confident in her driving ability.

Just like the driving license exam, Parker was the first to go. He waited in driver’s seat, in line, on the side of DMV. Trying to not let his nerves get the best of him. The examiner instructed Parker to start the car, do his hand signals and make his way out of the parking lot to begin the test. The entire process was routine. The whole thing only spanning about 20 mins, then it was Rosie’s turn.

Parker came out of the car, thrusting the paper that signified his passing in the air.

“I passed! I passed! You’re looking at the newest driver of the Hollands,” Parker exclaimed, extremely giddy.

“Rosie Holland?” Called out the driving test examiner. Rosie stood up and took a much needed long breath.

She wasn’t one for cracking under the pressure but, did have trouble being judged. As a child Rosie used to participate in gymnastics, she gave it up as she grew more and more self conscious with age. Later switching to a mix of after-school activities celebrating the arts. She very much enjoyed choir and drama, occasionally dance. “I know you’ll do great honey,” Tom reassured her. “Thanks, dad,” Rosie murmured, ready to face her biggest fear, judgment.

The exam was the same as Parkers. The examiner asked for her to show all the buttons in the car, the hand signals and exit the parking lot safely. The test also only took 20 mins, however when they pulled up she wasn’t as ecstatic as Parker was.

“I didn’t pass,” she mumbled, trying to not let tears fall. “Oh baby, I’m so sorry. You can always take the test again. Parker, can you take her to the car while I run to the restroom,” Tom said, bring his daughter into a warm embrace. Parker nodded in return and led the way. Now, it was only Tom making his way into the DMV to give the examiner an offer he can’t refuse.

“I’m sorry sir, I heard that you didn’t pass my daughter but you passed my son. I’d like to hear your reasoning for such a grave error. I don’t understand they are both excellent drivers, I’ve been driving with them for months.” Tom asked, he wasn’t going to let his baby girl cry over something so basic as a driving test.

“She only turned her signal on at 100 feet before the light and not at 150 feet before,” he explained. “That’s complete and utter bullshit and you know it. I would greatly appreciate it if you were to pass my daughter, Rosie Holland, as in Tom Holland. I’m sure you’re not as stupid as I think you are. Am I right?” Tom threatened.

“I’m so sorry, sir, I wasn’t aware of who she… who you are,” pleaded the examiner. “It’s alright, just consider it a warning. Now, should I call my daughter back in here so you can give her her license?” Tom asked as the examiner nodded, almost fearful for his life. Tom’s reputation preceded him everywhere he went. What good was his reputation if it couldn’t put a smile on Rosie’s face?

Tom quickly sent a text to Parker saying “Come inside with Rosie.” In a few minutes they were there and the examiner apologized for the confusion and passed her.

“I can’t believe I passed! Dad can you drop me off at Henry’s? I want to tell him the good news,” Rosie cheered.

“Sure darling. Parker, are you staying there tonight?” Asked Tom. “No, I need new clothes,” Parker mumbled.

“Good. Your mother misses you,” Tom responded. Tom didn’t know how to address everything. Everything had gotten so screwed up. How was he supposed to explain to his son that his grandfather is the reason Charlotte was dead?

Pulling up to Henry’s house, Rosie practically jumped out of the car. She couldn’t contain her excitement to see the person who made life worthwhile. Just looking at his greenish hazel eyes gave her butterflies.

“Henry, I passed! Wanna go for a drive?” Rosie asked, twirling his keys on her fingers. “Sure, let’s get some dinner.”

They went to a nice restaurant in downtown London. Henry had the whole night planned out. Take Rosie to a lovely dinner, go on the London Eye, confess his true feelings and drive back to spend the night with his girl.

Love was new to both of them. Just learning the fact that when you are in love, you become half of a whole. The dinner was lovely, they went to a little Italian restaurant called Casa Nostra and fell in love with the ambiance. Rosie order a shrimp scampi and Henry ordered a pizza. She made fun of him for taking her to such a classy place and only ordering pizza. Not even a luxury pizza with truffles or sausage, just classic pepperoni.

After dinner, they made their way to the London Eye. Rosie and Henry had both been there before, but they enjoyed watching the city from that height. As they reached the top, Henry pulled Rosie close. How did he get this lucky to have her in his arms. He wouldn’t know what he’d do without her.

“Rosie, I have something for you. Hold out your hands,” Henry said, pulling out silver a necklace with a H and a R on it.

“Oh my god, Henry. It’s beautiful,” Rosie exclaimed admiring the dainty jewelry. “You’re beautiful,” he responded, causing Rosie to blush.

After a few moments of silence along with staring deeply into each other’s eyes, Henry chimed in, “Roo, I think I’m falling in love with you.”

“Henry, I know I’m falling in love you.” Smiles both envelop their faces as they pressed into a kiss.

They made their way back to Henry’s house and found comfort on the couch. Rosie and Henry put on a movie but barely paid attention to it as they were both too consumed in each other.

As the movie played in the background, clothes were discarded one after the other. First Rosie’s shirt and Henry’s was soon to follow.

“God, you’re so beautiful,” Henry whispered nuzzling himself between her breasts.

“Henry,” Rosie hummed as his hand traveled to the waistband of her jeans. He started to fiddle with the button and zipper, ready to take this love fest further.

Rosie was not ready for that. God she loved him but Rosie wanted it to be more special. Especially since the last time she almost inadvertently lost her virginity was at that party.

“Henry... stop,” Rosie said, trying to hide her timid tone. He immediately pulled away, halting all movements.

“Roo, what’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry but I want to wait. Is that ok?”

“Rosie, of course. I never want you to feel pressured. We’ll wait as long as you want,” Henry assured.

“Thank you. Now that that’s out of the way. Can we go back to kissing?” Rosie questioned, missing the taste of his lips.

“Of course, baby.” He chuckled, smiling into the kiss.

Henry placed his hands on her hips and brought her into a loving kiss. She immediately kissed back, opening her mouth wider to allow entrance for his tongue, deepening the kiss. Nothing could get more perfect than this moment.

Meanwhile, Parker was having an awkward dinner with you and Tom. Tom had refused to talk to his son and you were giving Tom the cold shoulder because of it.

“Thanks for dinner. I’m going out,” said Parker as he exited the dining room. “Where are you going?” Tom asked, tired of all his games. “Like I said out,” Parker exclaimed, leaving without a single goodbye.

Parker drove to hotel and casino downtown called Aurelia. He had contacted a fairly new friend for information on Tom’s rival. Jazz, aka Jasmine Ramsey a contract killer, was starting to become quite the informant to Parker. She enjoyed bouncing around even though her allegiance with always be with Tom secondly, after herself. She didn’t become a master assassin by not playing on both teams. The valets parked his car as he walked toward the hotel.

Coming up to concierge to ask “I’m here to see some guy called Wilson.” “Is he expecting you?” asked the concierge. “Doubt it, tell him a Holland needs to talk to him. I’ll wait,” Parker said, really coming into this new role.

“Right this way Mr. Holland,” Parker was escorted to the 11th floor, almost like a penthouse.

“Tommy boy, what’s this concerning? You have some balls showing up. I could have you dead on the spot.” Spoke the mysterious mobster, from his dim office. Parker stood in the doorway, this was his last chance, he could leave right now and not screw over his father. But it was too late.

“It’s not Tom. I hear you hate my old man. Something we have in common. I’m here to offer my services,” Parker said, confidence fading.

Swallowing the lump in his throat and hiding the sweat marks on his face, those were all huge tells of lying. He could be dead in 5 seconds flat if they thought his motives weren’t pure. “What the fuck do you think you have to offer me?” replied the cunning mobster. “I’m Tom Holland’s son, anything. Take your pick Wilson.” Parker concluded.

That was it. There is no going back now. Parker was what they would call a double agent, only if he was a spy. Nope, he is a mobster and he is now a rat. People have been killed in front of their family for far less.

Betrayal is the ultimate crime, having someone you trust just turn their back on them. Whatever Parker just did, changed everything. He could never go back. He started a war and this was just the beginning.

Guns, Glamour and Goodfellas Masterlist

Taglist: @thenoddingbunny-blog @adriannauni @dummiesshort

#tom holland #tom holland imagines #tom holland series #tom holland fanfic #tom holland mob au #tom holland au #tom holland x reader #tom #mob!tom x reader #mob!tom #mob tom #dad!mob!tom holland #mob!tom x mob!reader #mob!tom holland x reader #mob!tom holland

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votederpycausemufins · 4 years ago

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@petrichormeraki @strawberrylemonz are the obvious influences of this chapter since it’s grian backstory!!! I make mention of the Antarctic empire, Yandere Highschool and Evo, but you probably don’t need to have seen them to know what’s going on (tbh i’ve only seen Evo and not smp earth or YHS)

i’ve uploaded the fic onto my ao3 if y’all want to read it there.

A castle stood in the middle of frozen plains. Though the wind was cold and harsh, inside was warm and cozy. There was the sound of a few people running through the halls, none of them that old.

“Blood for the Blood God!” A young voice yelled as they tackled someone.

“Hey! Get off me!” A similar voice spoke.

“Come on Techno, you’re taller than me!”

“And you have wings! Get your own blood!”

A third voice spoke up as they ran by. “I’m gonna have the last of the juice!”

“No! That’s my blood!” The young avian jumped up from pinning his one brother down and ran after the other. “Wilburrrrrr!”

By the time Techno reached the kitchen, his brothers were fighting in front of the fridge. As they tustled, he opened the fridge up and pulled out some cherry juice and used the last of the bottle to fill his glass. “Sorry Blood God, my juice now.”

The two kids stopped fighting and the avian pouted. “That’s not fair!”

The three of them ended up arguing until someone new entered the kitchen. A man with raven wings and wearing a crown walked in holding a baby in his arms. “Boys��” he spoke in a tone that made the triplets immediately stop what they were doing.

“It’s Techno’s fault! He stole my blood!”

“Only because you were too busy fighting with Wilbur.”

“Only cause he tried to get the blood first.”

“You weren’t fast enough!”

“I’m super fast! I just didn’t want to use my wings and beat you and make you cry!”

“I wouldn’t cry!”

“Everyone says you would!”

The cheery tone from the arguing children seemed to disappear along with the cost warmth as a chill seemed to find its way into the castle. The king carefully passed the baby to Techno and then kneeled down. “Xelqua, are you hearing the voices again?”

“No.” Xelqua said, obviously lying, making the king sigh.

“You know you need to tell daddy when you start to hear them again.”

Xelqua crosses his arms. “Techno doesn’t always tell you when he hears them!”

“And I don’t like him doing that either.” The king sighed. “Will you promise to always tell me if I get you some more juice?”

“Blood for me!” Xelqua said happily, nodding in agreement.

“Yeah, blood for the Blood God!” Techno’s replied, handing the baby back to his dad.

They were only separated for a moment. Philza has his children holding onto his wings as they went through the market. He heard Xelqua cheer at seeing a stand of music discs. Before Phil could remind his son to stay with them, the child had let go of his wing.

The king immediately moved to grabbed Xelqua, only to find him missing. He assumed he was just faster and lost in the crowd, but even going on a path to the music stand, his son was missing.

He started searching in a wider area, some of the crowd started looking too. Philza started to worry about his son being kidnapped with him being a prince and all. He offered a reward, right there in the crowd for whoever found his son. He hoped it would work, but it didn’t.

Phil kept searching even when Wilbur started to complain he was tired and the baby in his arms started wailing. But his son didn’t reappear.

In a distant world, Xelqua put his foot down on the sidewalk, surprised to see it not cobblestone and also barely anyone in sight. “Daddy?” He looked around for his dad, but he wasn’t there. “D-daddy? D-dad?!” He looked around wildly, but still there was no sign of the king. “Dad! T-Techno! Wilbur!” He shouted for his family. But they weren’t there.

A woman spotted the lost Xelqua and took him to the police. When he described his family and home, the officers were left scratching their heads. They listed him as a found person, but no one ever came.

After a month he was put in the foster system. Compared to his previous life as a prince, Being an orphan was the worst thing ever. He hated being bullied for everything. His wings, which he eventually learned to hide completely. The way he talked, which caused him to try and hide his accent. And his name. That wasn’t something he could easily change, but when he ran away and started a new life on his own, it was easier. And when Sam and Taurus asked for his name. It was Grian.

Part of Grian was glad when the universe went sideways and he couldn’t find Sam or Taurtis. He had done some things that most people would frown upon. But he had to do them. He needed the ransom money, he needed to help his friends escape, he needed to kill YakuzaKaru. And it hadn’t helped when the voices told him he was right.

But suddenly he was in a world that was much simpler and closer to how home had been. He was free to do whatever he pleased. He ended up moving towards an ocean and making a castle in the middle of it. It wasn’t the Antarctic Empire, but it was his empire. His Grian Empire.

And it was so much better here. If he exploded someone or robbed them or trapped them in a box, he wasn’t in danger of getting hurt or arrested. The worst that happened was the Watchers showing up. They liked using clay and Grian needed clay. So he stole every bit he could. Of course, the Watchers didn’t like that, so he was told to burn it or have his items trapped away or something else.

Grian thought it was unfair. What gave them the right to choose what he was doing was wrong? He didn’t see anyone else get in trouble. And the voices agreed with him, it wasn’t his fault.

And then he was taken away by the Watchers. While he was scared by that, the voices assured him it would be fine. The Watchers had just been testing him. And now they were giving him a chance to join. He would have said no, but then he thought about the family he lost. The Watchers were powerful. If he became one, he could find his family again.

He took the power. He became a Watcher. The voices became clearer and he felt complete. At least until he realized he couldn’t find his family, even with all the power being a Watcher gave him. He could see into a million worlds, but it had been years, and when he looked into the world that housed his home, all he saw was an old empty castle. There was no one left.

Grian ended up shutting away his Watcher side in anger. He finally had the chance to see his family and they were gone. And if those voices hadn’t told him to take the power and look, he wouldn’t have learned the truth. Grian preferred the idea that he could see his family again, or at least imagine the possibility, then know for sure that he was truly alone.

So Grian used his powers as a Watcher to hide the voices and the powers away. If he wanted to, he could pull them back, but why bother. He stayed with the Watchers for a while, gazing into the world he had just left before reaching for his powers just a little to look into other worlds. He then met someone who felt like his match. Everyone knew Redstoners and Builders fit perfectly together. And Grian was a builder while this man created redstone masterpieces.

Grian watched as the man left into a server called Hermitcraft. He followed along and searched for the admin of the world. The admin seemed surprised to see Grian, but allowed him to join them, though not right away as they were going to be moving worlds soon. Grian agreed to wait, and wait he did. The moment the world was open, Grian took himself there. It was empty for a short bit, but then other people started showing up.

Grian followed the redstoner Mumbo around, glad to have a new friend. He didn’t understand half the things Mumbo talked about when it came to redstone, but it was still fun to listen to. It helped distract him from all that came before.

Once or twice, Grian had to use his powers from being a Watcher, and he had to explain to Xisuma what he was. The Voidwalker seemed to understand if be a little put off by how someone like Grian could actually be a Watcher.

When they moved to another world, Grian followed. It was peaceful for the longest time until Mumbo created Hermit Challenges. Well, it wasn’t right when he created them, but later down the line. He was just asked to wear blue. It shouldn’t have been that hard to do. But he always wore red. Blue wasn’t his color, it was his brother’s color. Grian tried arguing with Mumbo, asking him to allow the challenge to be skipped. He didn’t explain why he didn’t want to do it, so Mumbo said he had to.

Eventually, Grian wore blue. And then the mansion exploded. Everyone rushed to the ruined building and saw Grian in front of it, holding TNT. But Grian didn’t look like himself. He had tried to hide the memories away. It was just going to be for a day, but to hide the memories of his part life, he had to be a Watcher. And being a Watcher brought back his voices. And if he hated blue so much, why have a mansion that was all blue?

It took days for everyone to calm him down and get him back to normal. They panicked when he brought out his powers once more though it was just to repair what he had destroyed. Grian refused to meet Mumbo’s eyes for a while, so he went to his second closest friend Iskall to talk with. Despite Iskall’s insistence that he was not a therapist, he agreed to help Grian talk through what was going on in his mind.

Between talks, Iskall spoke with Xisuma to relay what he had learned and soon all the Hermits were informed about what was going on with Grian. Of course Grian didn’t give out every detail like his life with Sam and Taurtis and the fact that he was a prince. All he said was he lost his family and ended up in a not so great crowd as a teen.

The next time Grian asked to opt out of something, people quickly obliged, both to not have the newest hermit hurting more, and also to make sure the server wasn’t destroyed by a Watcher going haywire.

It was months after the incident of the mansion exploding that Tommy appeared. No one knew where the kid had appeared from but it was obvious that sending him back couldn’t be an option. Mambo and Grian both took a liking to Tommy, Grian also being the newest Hermit and Mumbo being the youngest. Well, obviously now Tommy was both the youngest and newest, but it was the principle of the matter.

Though he was extremely wary of the pair at first, Tommy quickly warmed up to them, especially Grian. The two of them were so similar, people assumed they were siblings at one point. When someone pointed it out, then immediately regretted it because Grian got upset and started yelling at them. He flew off and Tommy followed behind, not knowing what was going on.

Grian explained how he lost his family and how by the time he finally got home, they were all gone. Tommy told Grian about his own family, how they had slowly all gone a little crazy at the situation Dream had put them in. Slowly, the two of them bonded, just talking about the situation, joking around. Grian told some stories and Tommy replied with his own.

It was when Tommy pretended to be his oldest brother and said ‘blood for the blood god’ when Grian froze and became pale. Neither of them had used names for their family. At least, Tommy hadn’t used anything other than nicknames. Grian asked if the blood god was Xelqua. Tommy asked how Grian could possibly know that name.

When Grian learned Tommy was his brother, he pulled the teen into a crushing hug. He refused to let go for the longest time, terrified that just like last time, the moment he let go, they would end up in separate worlds. Tommy pretended to complain, but he was fine with Grian hugging him. He understood.

Grian made sure everyone was together when he used his Watcher powers again. Tommy had no clue what was going on and why everyone looked ready for war. The Hermits had promised they didn’t do that here, and it was worse that they all seemed ready to specifically fight Grian. Tommy nearly jumped between then, ready to fight every hermit for his brother, when Grian pulled out his Watcher powers. If Tommy had been scared of Dream, he was suddenly even more scared of his brother.

The moments seemed to stretch out and the Hermits started moving towards Grian, ready to fight a Watcher, when he pushed it back down. Immediately Hermits were shedding armor and putting their elytra back on, glad that no fighting had to occur. Xisuma pulled Tommy aside to fully explain everything to the boy while Mumbo stayed with Grian as a shoulder to cry on. When Tommy returned, Grian once again held him close, this time seeming more worried about losing his brother. Though not in the sense that Tommy could disappear, but in the sense that Tommy could be like his brothers, losing themselves to madness. Just like Grian had nearly done.

While everyone argued, Grian used his Watcher powers more, gazing into the SMP that Tommy had come from. Though no one liked the methods, they were at least glad to get more insight into what had led Tommy to being the way he was. And because of it they were able to help him heal better.

One thing that became obvious was how the time within the world of Hermitcraft passed faster than in other worlds. It helped explain why it was so odd that Grian and Tommy, who once were only around five years apart were now closer to ten. Because of that, there was little worry of the SMP catching them by surprise and trying to find Tommy. Before the next MCC meeting, Tommy hit a growth spurt which made it harder for his old friends to recognize him even before he put on a slight disguise.

Back in Hermittown, Tommy slowly learned to be like his new family. Instead of stealing or hoping for handouts, he used the knowledge from the other Hermits to make farms and get plenty of resources. He didn’t mind spending hours in a mine as the mix of an efficiency five pickaxe and a haste two beacon made the stone break as if it were simply breaking grass. It was peaceful other than the occasional monster showing up and Grian looked proud of him every time so it always seemed worth it. Especially as he always ended up with plenty of diamonds.

When he first started building, the biggest thing Tommy made was a cobble tower up to the build limit, but after mining so much, filling his inventory with cobble, and having an amazing builder for a brother, Tommy built more. He created what looked like a tall wizard tower, which Grian begrudgingly was happy about, though Tommy saw the way Scar smiled smugly at Grian. For the most part the tower was just cobble, but here and there were stone bricks and mossy cobble, spruce and dark oak wood, and other stones to bring some color.

There were different floors and Tommy nearly gave Iskall a heart attack when the redstoner took a tour of the tower and walked in on the floor entirely made of diorite. One floor was filled with yellows and greens and housed a single bee which everyone was pretty sure somehow held part of Tubbo’s soul. It was messy, but at the top of the tower, Mumbo had helped Tommy create a cycling screen. Tommy made half of it the flag of L’Manburg and the other half the flag of the Antarctic Empire. Every few days he would flip a lever and the flag would change. Though certain parts of his past weren’t the greatest, Tommy was glad to have something to remind him of it, and Grian was glad to see the flag of his old family once again.

The last time Grian peeked into the SMP, he saw Dream getting so close to finding a way to Hermitcraft. He warned Xisuma who carefully told other Hermits to prepare, trying to not scare Tommy. Eventually the teen found out, which was probably for the best so when Dream did show up, he didn’t completely panic. Tommy tried to deny Dream could find a way in, and forgetting the time difference between the two worlds, Tommy slowly thought that he really wouldn’t show up.

But when Tubbo appeared and mentioned Dream would be coming, it became very real. Tommy prepared as did Grian. Grian flew to his brother to give him comfort before the battle started. Grian said he would do anything to make sure they couldn’t take Tommy. Tommy asked Grian to promise him not to use his Watcher powers.

Grian hesitated. He had been using the powers more and more. He’d slowly been getting used to them. Surely it would be fine for an emergency. But Tommy wouldn’t listen to Grian’s reasoning and reluctantly Grian promised not to use those powers.

He broke his promise.

#hermit!tommy au #watcher!grian #avian!grian #triplet au #grian #grian xelqua #hermitcraft #dreamsmp #evolution smp #yandere highschool #technoblade #wilbur soot #philza #tommyinnit #mumbo jumbo #My writing

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that-good-trash · 5 years ago

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Trust Me?

Bakugou x reader / Shinsou x reader

Warning: Hurt/comfort, Angst, Mentions of cheating, Happy Ending?

Word Count: 6.5k

Summary: You love your boyfriend more than anything but it seems he might not feel the same way anymore. When the same friend that planted the seed of doubt ends up your shoulder to cry on where do you go from there.

Authors note: I’ve been dealing with a lot of stuff and this was kind of my self indulgence fic. Please Enjoy!

P.S: I was thinking about jumping on the kinktober bandwagon but I’m worried I can’t do kink justice. Maybe look out for some quick one shots if I do. I am also having to rewrite the fourth chapter of Burn Away With Me because the original file somehow ended up freaking deleted (note to self and others always back up files or make a copy).

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Saturdays were meant for relaxation, for hanging out with friends without a worry. The weekend was meant to provide a chance to shed your hero uniform and trade it for a cute comfy outfit. Well that’s how weekends should be, that’s what you wish you were able to do. Instead you sat on your couch scrolling through your phone watching your friends have fun without you. Pictures of dancing and drinking continuously pass as your fingers move absentmindedly. A picture of Mina taking shots followed by photos of Kaminari on a tabletop. This always happened, you had been missing out for weeks now. However, this problem went deeper than missing a few weekend hangouts. Your boyfriend, whom you had been with for almost three years, had been canceling plans with you for the last few months. Every time you both had a day off, he always got called in or he had made previous plans. It was starting to get old. Had he always been so flaky? Had you just not noticed before or was this new. Either way you were now fully aware of his behavior and how little attention you received from him. Your screen lit up with messages from friends telling you to ‘get your ass to the club’ immediately. Oh, how you wanted too. You wished you were wearing a skimpy outfit grinding against your besties laughing and enjoying yourself. Instead of getting into your club attire you put your phone onto the coffee table. Your back hits the cushions behind you as you fall backward. A sigh slips out and you’re ready to reevaluate your life. What kind of relationship was this? You felt like you were alone, and it was starting to seep into your conscious letting that little voice grow louder and louder with doubt and self-deprivation. It took every ounce of your being to reject the thoughts, to lull yourself back into a false sense of security. Your phone ringing disrupted your thoughts good or bad.

“Hey, I was just thinking about you! I miss-” You didn’t get to finish your sentence before the deep grouchy voice of Katsuki Bakugou interrupted you.

“I won’t be home tonight. Don’t wait up for me, just eat dinner and go to bed.” He sounded like he had been sounding. He sounded tired with a swirl of irritation and it took a lot to convince yourself that it wasn’t toward you. You had to bite your bottom lip to prevent yourself from screaming at him for doing this again. You loved him, did so much for him, that it hurt for him to just blow you off. What was even worse was he didn’t even tell you why he wasn’t coming home. He just expected you to turn in early without even an explanation. You wanted to cuddle or go out with friends and he wanted you to spend the night alone.

“Suki… Why aren’t you coming home? You said last week that you were going to try to come home early.” A growl of frustration could be heard on the other side causing you to tense up. You knew you were upsetting him but that wasn’t fair. He had no right to be upset with you since you were only asking him a simple question and stating a fact. He had promised you that he would start coming home early to spend time with you. You knew that being a hero was hard, you were one. However, you also knew when someone was just making excuses and that’s what this was becoming.

“Christ woman! I have work to do! I said I would try, and I have tried. Obviously, I couldn’t make it home tonight so just listen for once and don’t wait up.” No chance of rebuttal, he had hung up immediately after snapping. That was it. The last straw. You let the tears you had been suppressing fall freely. Your phone was aggressively tossed to the ground and unfortunately your body followed it. Your knees hit the ground first before your clenched fist dug into the carpet. Your head buried itself into the carpet before a scream escaped. It was one of filled so much pent up emotion. A scream that needed to be freed, to help release you from this torture he was putting you through. You sat back on the balls of your feet, your hands swiping at your eyes rubbing the tears into your skin. You cried more causing your hands to rub harder, your skin stung and burned from the aggressive motion. Your phone chimed bring your attention back to it. Your hand held the device hoping for an apology but instead read the newest text from Mina. It was another invite, but the party had moved from the club to Yaoyorozu’s house. A smirk replaced your previous forlorn look. You stood up from the floor letting all sadness be hidden away by pettiness. If he could ditch you like that, go back on a promise so easily then you could go against him. He wanted you to stay home like a good girl, but you didn’t feel like being that good girl. You had never changed so fast in your life. Your pajamas were traded in for a formfitting outfit, one your kept for special Mina party occasions. You looked at yourself in the mirror with gleaming confidence. You outfit accentuated all your nooks and crannies. You looked smoking hot and with some simple yet stunning makeup you were ready to go. A quick text to Mina and you left the cold lonely apartment

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The party wasn’t over the top and thankfully everyone there was a former classmate. You waved as a few people turned to look at you. Sero had to do a double take to make sure he was witnessing reality and not a ghost. You rolled your eyes as his tape grabbed your wrist before a swift yank had you in his arms. A soft chuckle escaped from your lips that were buried in his chest. He smelled like cedar and felt warm. You let your body relax against his as he let you go but kept his hand on your waist. Kaminari had abandoned his post next to Jiro and rushed over. Before he could try and snatch you away from Sero a new pair of arms circled you. Mina was smiling against you neck as she stuck his tongue out at a now pouting Kaminari.

“I’m so glad you actually decided to make it tonight. We were starting to think you hated us.” You shook your head at the fake hurt in her voice. The boys weren’t helping since they nodded along with Mina. You pulled out his grasp backing away so you could see all three of them. They really had changed in the short span of time since you had seen them. Sero was rocking a cool new undercut while Kaminari seemed a little more built. Mina had also cut her hair, but you knew that since you basically stalked your friends.

“I’m so sorry guys. It’s been crazy, work and home have been a little hectic.” A scoff could be heard behind you. Everyone’s eyes shifted to Uraraka who had her arms crossed. Midoriya stood behind her awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. Uraraka’s puffed out cheeks mimicked that of a chipmunk. You raised a brow at her strange behavior. “Did I say something to offend you.”

“No but why lie? We all know that the reason we don’t see you anymore is because of Bakugou.” Your eyes widened at her straightforward accusation. You looked at Midoriya waiting for him to comment but he remained silent, probably in fear of getting involved. You narrow your eyes trying to hold some dignity. “Bakugou and I are fine okay. I just haven’t had the time to make it to any hang outs because I spend time with him.”

Now everyone was looking at you. For being the only sober person in the room you were sounding like the drunk one. Everyone knew that Bakugou had been blowing off plans with you. It was inevitably that they found out since most everyone talks, and things get around. A sigh that matched the one back at your apartment came out. You looked defeated as you returned to Sero’s side. He rubbed your side while Mina shooed everyone’s attention off you. “You don’t have to talk about it but we’re here for you.”

“Thanks guys…” You closed your eyes trying to let your emotions settle before returning to the fun party you had yet to enjoy and partake in. When you reopened your eyes, a smile followed. You were going to have fun even if it killed you. Mina squealed when you asked for a drink and before you knew it one turned to three. Uraraka had ditched her sour attitude and replaced it with giggles as the two of you danced together. You broke free from Uraraka as you watched Kirishima walk through the front door. You didn’t even give the boy a chance to take off his coat before you were tackling him. He was shocked to see you at the party just like the others had been.

“What are you doing out so late? Isn’t Bakubro’s bedtime at 8pm.” Kirishima was able to get a laugh out of you along with the other members of the Bakusquad.

“Yeah his bedtime would be 8pm if he ever came home. He’s always working late. I never see him anymore.” As the words left your lips you felt the air grow cold. Tension was evident. You froze as you felt your blood run cold. There was an unspoken understanding, but you knew that Kirishima wasn’t going to remain silent. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly which was accompanied by a shaky laugh that turned into him clearing his throat.

“I might be wrong but Bakugou hasn’t been working late… I was one of the last people to leave the office. Bakugou left at his usual time…” You wanted to pretend to be ignorant, but this couldn’t be swept under the rug. You couldn’t act like you hadn’t just been told that your boyfriend had been lying to you for months. Oh god your stomach began to churn, and you pushed passed him and through the front door. You ran into someone before turning and throwing up into one of the planters. Sero and Mina ran after you. Kirishima stood in the doorway feeling guilty but also pissed knowing that the person at fault was his best friend. You felt a comforting hand on your back rubbing it gently. You assumed Mina but when you finally turned around your eyes met with lavender ones. A broken smile cracked across your face. He held his arms open and you ran into them without hesitation. Shinsou had always been there for you when you were both attending UA, but time was cruel, and you couldn’t remember the last time you felt secure in his tight embrace. You sobbed and he just let you. Your friends stood by watching with conflicting emotions.

“What the hell did that asshole do now.” Shinsou was never one to speak to you like you were fragile; he was always blunt and honest. He also never approved of your relationship so of course he’d blame your current state on Bakugou. You wanted to tell Shinsou but couldn’t get the words out. Thankfully you had friends who could speak for you. Sero was the one who spoke up. “She found out that Bakugou hasn’t been staying at work late. She is obviously thinking the worst but he’s probably training or visiting his parents.”

“Bakugou? I just saw him at that fancy restaurant that we went to for Midoriya’s birthday. He was there with some busty bimbo. They seemed pretty interested in the conversation they were sharing. She must be a client or some woman after an interview.” Shinso knew exactly what he was doing when he told you about the mystery woman. He hated hurting you, but it was a necessary evil. Shinsou had always had feelings for you even before he understood them. You were always by his side cheering him on and now he was going to do the same for you. Before he could build you back up, he’s having to let you crumble under the lies Bakugou told you. Your eyes shimmered with unshed tears and a storm was brewing. Your fists were clenched, and your friends hesitated to approach you. You swiftly turned around walking passed everyone back inside before grabbing your keys and leaving. You could hear your friends yelling for you, but you never stopped. Shinsou watched your car drive off into the distance. He knew this was going to end terribly but he would be there to catch you. Thankfully since the ground was already starting to give out.

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“Where the hell have you been!” Bakugou almost dropped his keys as you tried to quietly enter your shared apartment. He turned growling at your accusatory tone. He slammed the door before turning to you. In the light that was cast from the hallway you could see his hair was disheveled, his shirt was wrinkled, and you could swear he smelled a little sweeter than usual. The signs all shone brightly in front of you. Bakugou approached you ready to start an argument over your attitude but stopped when he saw your eyes. They were sunken in, bloodshot, and lifeless. He had never seen you like this. His expression softened before he reached up to cup your cheek. His hand never got to touch you before it was smacked away. “What the fuck Y/n!”

“Who is she… Actually, I don’t want to know. I just want to know why.” Bakugou wasn’t expecting your accusation so he couldn’t help but look shocked. Guilt seemed to creep over him before it was covered up with denial and anger. He scoffed and walked past you toward the bedroom. He didn’t make it before you had spun him around yelling this time. “WHY THE HELL DID YOU CHEAT!”

“SHUT THE HELL UP WOMAN! I DIDN’T DO SHIT! Who the fuck filled your head with such idiotic thoughts? Did you go out with those idiots again? Was it raccoon eyes or maybe that shitty Deku. Whoever told you that is a liar and needs a fucking hobby?” Bakugou yanked his arm away before heading into the bathroom to shower, no doubt to hide the evidence of his infidelity. You wanted to keep shouting and accusing him, but you knew it was pointless. If Bakugou thought he was innocent then he was no matter what kind of proof you had, which was none. Giving up was not an option and as much as this was your home you had to leave. Your chest tightened as you packed your bags. The only sound keeping you company was the shower Bakugou was currently occupying. You wrote a note and gently placed it onto your pillow before turning to leave. You felt your heart stop as Bakugou stared at you wide eyed. You felt like a deer in the headlight. He walked toward you, his hand reaching behind you to grab the note. He read it to himself before burning it in his grip. You flinched at the heat the radiated directly to your left. Bakugou growled as he loomed over you. “So, you’re leaving huh. You think you can just write a fucking note and disappear into the night. You aren’t going anywhere.”

A scream escaped as he grabbed you pushing you into the bed. His hands holding your arms above your head. He smirked as his towel fell at his feet. His grip tightened when you resisted. His knee pushing your legs apart. He shifted onto the bed never letting go of you and never moving his knee which was painfully pressed against you. “What the fuck are you doing Bakugou!”

“You think I’m cheating? Then I’ll just give you the attention you seem to be so deprived of to come up with such bullshit accusations.” You didn’t want this. You didn’t want his hand aggressively holding you down, you didn’t want his knee pushing against your crotch, you didn’t want his teeth biting into your neck like some kind of feral animal. You needed to get away. Your head smashed into his face allowing you the time you needed to get out from underneath him. He cursed while holding his bleeding nose. You grabbed your bags bolting to the front door but before you could open it, he caught you. His arms holding your waist from behind. You let out another scream of fear and agony before the back of your head smashed into his nose, again. A growl slipped out and you finally got the door open. Before you could make your escape Bakugou’s fingers slipped into your hair yanking you back. His lips touched your ear and you could smell the blood flowing freely down his lips. “She felt a million times better than you.”

No words came out instead a choked sob and a whimper as you felt him let you go. You didn’t even hear the door slam you were already out of the apartment complex and in your car. Your hands shook as you called the only person you could think to be awake. “Hey Y/n, what’s wrong?

“Shinsou, I need you.”

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Bakugou tried to call you a million times after you left but to no avail. You had even blocked his number. He tried to find out where you had gone but no one would share that information with him. He had even gone to your agency but all they could tell him was that you were on a leave of absence. Bakugou truly had fucked up with no sign of reconciliation. It had been a week of trying to find you and failing. Mina, Sero, Kaminari, and Kirishima claimed that they hadn’t heard from you which wasn’t really a lie. They knew that you left Bakugou and that you were crashing at Shinsou’s, but they had yet to visit. Everyone was worried about you, but they didn’t know the truth. They knew you had some kind of falling out but that was it. They had no idea what had actually happened.

“Are you going to lay in bed all day or are you going to actually get up.” Shinsou was teasing you as he slipped on his hoodie that he had to steal back from you. The day that you called him he was ready to break Bakugou’s jaw. He couldn’t believe what you had gone through and he partially felt like he was to blame for telling you about the girl, however you had the right to know that your boyfriend had been cheating on you. Shinsou had tried to make you as comfortable as he could but you were starting to get stir crazy.

“Why am I hiding when he’s the jerk who hurt me!” Shinsou shrugged as you threw his blanket off your body. You rolled out of his bed and stood in front of him pouting. He ruffled your hair while rolling his eyes at your outburst. He had dealt with multiple versions of you over the last few days. Sad, angry, regretful, spiteful, and any emotion in-between.

“Y/n, you don’t have to hide. You are safe with me, but you shouldn’t feel like you aren’t safe out there either. You can go back to your normal life. He won’t hurt you. I promise.” You knew that Shinsou was right and it was time to return to your normal life. Your arms wrap around him before you kiss his cheek thanking him. Before he can respond you run off to shower. He smiles to himself before calling out to you that he’s leaving and will see you later. After you shower you spend some time laying in bed texting Mina that you needed a girl’s day. She was in no way against it and told you she would meet you at her favorite coffee shop downtown. You changed into a cute skirt and one of Shinsou’s shirts that was a little baggy, that you tucked into the skirt. It was a casual and comfy outfit. You grabbed your purse and your phone before leaving the comfort of Shinsou’s apartment.

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“Y/N!” Mina had trapped you in her hug eliciting a laugh from you. She pulled away and grabbed your face looking you over for any sign or marks that you could have possibly obtained from Bakugou. “You’re okay right?”

“Yes Mina. I’m… I’m not really that okay. I’m still coping with Bakugou using me, cheating on me, just overall destroying me. I’m mad at myself for trusting him for as long as I had.” You leaned your head into Mina’s hand feeling shitty once again. Mina pinched the cheek against her palm causing you to groan in slight pain. She looked sad; she was sad. She cared so much about you and it broke her heart knowing that you were still suffering. She was still missing details of what happened, but she was able to piece some things together after Bakugou drunk called her apologizing for what he had done to you. She was sick to her stomach and wanted nothing more than to call you and apologize herself. “I’m so sorry that I wasn’t there for you.”

“Mina you didn’t do anything wrong. I’m a big girl, I’ll be okay. And I haven’t been dealing with it alone. I’ve been staying at Shinsou’s.” That once sad look was quick to change into one of cat like curiosity. You had said the magic words.

“Shinsou hm.” You shoved Mina as the two of you entered the shop to actually get coffee. “I NEED ALL THE DETAILS.”

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“Bakugou you can’t be serious.” Kirishima had been following Bakugou after they ended an all-nighter at work. Bakugou was ignoring Kirishima while heading to his destination. He had gotten a text from Kaminari that you were meeting with Mina. Kaminari hadn’t meant to send that information, he didn’t even remember sending it until Kirishima called him screaming about it. Bakugou already made up his mind, he needed to see you. To tell you how much he fucked up. He needed you back, for you to understand how much he loved you. He regretted everything he had said, he had done. Kirishima had tried to talk some sense into him but he failed. Bakugou thought what he was doing was right and stopping him meant nothing. No one gets in his way.

“Mina wait up you are walking to fast.” Mina had run ahead after seeing something in the widow of a shop that she thought would look amazing on you. You had to stop and let a few cars pass before trying to cross to meet your overly excited friend. The moment your foot moved forward your arm was yanked backward. You gasped before trying to pull it away from whoever grabbed you. As you turned to free yourself you came face to face with something worse than a stranger harassing you. Bakugou’s piercing red eyes were staring into yours, a jolt of fear rushed through you causing hair to stand up and your muscles to tense. People walked by with curiosity since neither of you tried hard to hide your identity. What was ground zero doing with Hero/Name? You didn’t care what random people on the streets were saying or thinking. What mattered right now was getting the hell away him. You yanked harder but his grip just tightened.

“Please, Y/n I need to talk to you.” His voice came out pleading. He was begging you to stay and listen but every fiber in your body told you to run or fight. You let your arm go limp like you were giving in. “Thank you.”

Bakugou smiled but that was literally smacked off his face when you swung your free arm back before delivering a swift punch. Bakugou grunted in pain letting you go so he could touch his hand to his nose. You hadn’t meant to hit him that hard but technically he shouldn’t have touched you, so it was justified. “Y/N!”

“Don’t Bakugou!” Bakugou had reached for you again while Kirishima ran at him trying to prevent this from escalating. Mina had realized what was going on by now and was running toward you. Her and Kirishima were trying to prevent exactly what was about to happen. Bakugou caught you before you could run. His hands held your arms tightly, the fingers digging aggressively into them. You could feel how hot they were, and you were scared that he would use his quirk. You didn’t want to show fear to him. Instead you mustered up a face of pure disgust. “You don’t get to touch me. LET GO OF ME!”

“Will you shut the hell up for a fucking second. I just wanted to talk to you. You disappeared and I had no idea where you went, and I was worried believe it or not. I’ve been kicking my own ass over the shit I said to you.” You stood there letting a man who cheated on you, a man who used you and hurt you, tell you that he was worried that he was regretful. He held you like you owed him this. That was all bullshit. Your shoulders shook as you dropped your head biting back tears that you felt he didn’t deserve. “I love you Y/n.”

The world had been moving just a moment ago and yet now everything seemed to stop. Time stood still but the words echoed. Mina and Kirishima faded out of existence leaving only you and Bakugou. If this was a romance movie it would be followed by you throwing your arms around Bakugou before kissing him. This was real life and you felt no positive emotions. Bakugou’s grip never loosened and his eyes remained staring intensely into your own. He wasn’t going to let you go till you responded. However, no matter how you responded if it wasn’t in favor to what he said then you may as well have remained silent. You felt your heart race from the stress he was forcing onto you. The regret reflected in the crimson orbs almost made you feel guilty. You had loved him. You had given him years of your love and he shattered in along with your trust. You had spend the week crying till your eyes were swollen, screaming until your lungs begged for a break, pleading with some other worldly being to help you get over this pain, and wondering what you could have done to prevent this from ever happening. To say you didn’t love Bakugou would be a lie. You loved him more than some stupid romance. You loved the way he growled in response when he was bothered, you loved the way he never gives up, you loved his honest laugh in which he truly thought something was funny or enjoyable, you loved the way he would kiss you and run his hand through your hair when he thought you were asleep. You loved and still love so much of him but as you look at him those feelings twist like gnarled tree branches and you feel yourself choking back vomit. When you closed your eyes you could picture a woman running her hands along Bakugou’s exposed body, you could hear them panting and moaning, you could hear the secretive whispers, and you could smell the sweet and salty after sex scent they would leave behind. These things were what you dealt with, they hallucinations that haunted you after his cruel revelation. The cheating wasn’t the only thing haunting you. His hands holding you against your will, his teeth biting into you with no consent, and the fingers that entangled into your hair pulling with enough force to bruise. You had experienced fights before, but this was had been different, you were afraid and disgusted with that version of Bakugou. This Bakugou in front of you was the same one just using sad eyes and words of endearment to trap you so he could lock you up properly and punish you for leaving.

“Y/n… please say something.” The world was moving or at least is seemed like you were a part of the rotation once again. People were watching the two of you, but you didn’t notice. You couldn’t break eye contact. Your lips were pressed so tightly together that you were afraid if you tried to open them, they would be glued shut. A dry mouth and cracking lips prompted you to have to unseal your lips as your drying tongue attempted to rehydrate your lips. What could you say that would make any of this better? Was there anything that could even be said anymore. You wanted this to just stop but didn’t know how to make that happen.

“Pro hero Mind Control has everybody on edge with the news of this important somebody he’s been hiding from us.” The moment you heard Shinsou’s hero name the world was back to normal. Your eyes broke from Bakugou’s turning to look directly at the large screen across the street. Shinsou’s figure stood proudly on the screen before it changed to an interview. You watched the woman across from him ask questions. “So, who is this mystery person that you claim means the world to you. Someone so important that you have taken off a week of hero duties to be with them. “

You were the only person on the street watching this interview play. Mina’s voice once again crossed your ears as she yelled at Bakugou to let you go. Kirishima was going to grab his friend but stopped when you gasped. Bakugou had harshly shook you to return your attention to him. His eyes held a little anger and he seemed to have lost patience. “Y/n –“

“This person is someone I love deeply; someone I’d do anything for. I want her to know what love truly is. I love Y/n L/n. Many of you know her as Hero/name…” The rest of the words faded off as you cried. Bakugou had you at the brink of them but hearing this message broadcast to the world had them freely spilling over. A laugh broke beyond your splitting lips. Your fingers dug into Bakugou’s hands yanking them off you. He looked co conflicted, anger and fear blended. You didn’t care about what he was feeling because you finally felt like something was okay. Your hands covered your mouth as you tried so badly not to squeal. You felt the happiness fade as your wrist was trapped in Bakugou’s grip. He wasn’t going to let you go without a proper answer especially now that the world knew what Shinsou thought of you. “Bakugou please let go of me. This… this is crazy. You need to let me go because I… I’m letting you go.”

Bakugou watched you pull your wrist free. He watched you look up at the screen as it played the end of the interview. A smiling Shinsou stood on the screen giving you the confidence you needed. Bakugou wanted to let you leave but he couldn’t. When he looked at your smile, he couldn’t help remembering the times it was for him. You were his everything and now you were slipping from his fingers and into the arms of another man. You turned away from Bakugou smiling at Mina who was also shedding tears. Kirishima finally moved forward and caught his best friend’s arm. Bakugou looked back at Kirishima who mouthed for him to stop. He quickly looked back at you. You were now wrapped safely in Mina’s arms. The two of you sharing a moment that would live with you forever. He let his shoulders drop before turning around. He shoved off Kirishima’s arm before his hands found a home in his jacket pockets. He left you under the screen, now playing an advertisement for some useless product, hugging your best friend while crying over a happiness that you deserved. He walked away, one million regrets coursing through his veins. The one thing he wouldn’t regret was you.

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“Where the hell are the rest of the guests.” You rolled your eyes while Momo held your face still. You could hear Mina bitching in the background about the missing members of your former class. She had made sure that everyone had been invited and was keeping tabs of who had arrived. You could hear Uraraka enter the room with an excited scream. She could see your refection in the large mirror in front of you. Mina grabbed onto the girl so they could be over excited together. You felt so much joy watching them feel this happy for you. Momo had been doing you hair and makeup for what felt like hours and you needed to get into the dress hidden behind the bag hanging on the door. You felt a million things; nervousness, excitement, utterly in love. Not once did you feel regret. You could never regret this. You were about to spend the rest of your life with the person that you loved and truly loved you. It had only been six months since the day you and Bakugou had the confrontation in the middle of a busy street, the same one that broadcast the life changing news.

“Y/n!” You turned after the third time your name was yelled. Mina was pouting holding up the dress. She had a shimmer in her eyes and you almost told her not to cry or she’d ruin her makeup. She’d just tell you to shut up. “Yes Mina.”

“It’s time.” All three girls in the room with you had that glossiness to their eyes as they watched you slip the dress on. It fit perfectly, like it was meant to. You were a different person as you stared at your reflection. This was something you had always dreamed about and here you were living a fantasy, but it wasn’t. It was reality. A knock on the door was followed by the voice of Sero. “Let’s get this show on the road ladies.”

The girls opened the door shoving through the waiting boys who were cackling until they saw you. Kaminari pretended to faint while Sero whistled. Both boys admired you and they honestly thought you looked beyond stunning. You were a single star in an almost pitch-black sky, you just needed to walk down an aisle to find another star so you wouldn’t be so lonely. The music started up and you nodded at your best friends. They smiled back leading the way to your destiny.

“Nervous?” Midoriya had whispered to Shinsou as he stood next to him. He looked over the crowd or friends and former classmates. They all watched with bated breath. You were the star of this event. Of course, Shinsou was nervous. He was marrying the girl of his dreams, the person that gave him purpose. Shinsou watched and when you arrived at the end of the aisle, he felt everything disappear. The guests were gone, his friends gone, the whole world meant nothing. It was black and you were the only light he could see. The way your hair was styled held together by pins and clips hidden underneath a white veil. You were a mystery that he already knew everything about. Like a child who still waited for gifts on Christmas but knew Santa wasn’t real. The way your skin shimmered like rare and brilliant gemstones made Shinsou feel like he wasn’t worthy. Your dress moved so smoothly around and against every curve and bump your body had. Your body made the dress gorgeous, gave it value. He couldn’t see your eyes behind the veil, but he could imagine them. They held stars in them, creating galaxies that he had gotten lost in so many times. Your eyes had depth to them, they told a story and its cliché but its his favorite story. Shinsou hadn’t realized he was crying until your hand gently touched his cheek. Your veil had been flipped over your head revealing your own tears. Shinsou leaned into your touch his own hand moving to cup your face as well. If it hadn’t been for the vows, he would have kissed you right then. You both shared a silent moment of unconditional love before the wedding continued.

The vows could have been skipped because anything you both had to say then you had already said before. No words could ever truly describe how you felt about each other because it was more than just words. Your relationship was based on actions, words, looks, gestures; everything and anything you both did for and around the other mattered as an expression of love. He had tried so hard to make up for everything you had to suffer, and he knew that you might have moments where you questioned him, but he always made sure to have answers or words of reassurance. He never wanted to hurt you and he swore on his life that he wouldn’t.

“I do.” You had spoken the binding words and Shinsou followed. The kiss was simple and yet it held so much meaning. It meant more than the rings. It was something Shinsou would never forget. Everyone cheered and some people cried. Mina was holding onto Uraraka both girls sobbing, Midoriya squeezed Shinsou’s shoulder giving him a thumbs up while his own ducts betrayed him.

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

“You look so god damn beautiful.” A drunk Kaminari was hanging off you while you chatted away with guests. Mina yanked him off scolding him for his behavior before shooing him away. You laughed not minding at all. While you stood amongst friends who showered you with congratulations and compliments, Shinsou stood leaning against one of the walls near the bar. He had watched you cherishing these moments. He turned when he heard a familiar voice enter his vicinity. He turned in time to see Kirishima and Bakugou walking toward you. He was quick to make his way back to your side in case of any bad blood. Bakugou scoffed when Shinsou appeared but didn’t give him any attention. You smiled at the blonde and red head. Kirishima told you how happy he was for you before leaving the three of you alone.

“Are you happy?”

“Yes.” It was the simplest exchange you had ever had with Bakugou, but it meant a lot to you both. He needed to know that you had finally found the love and happiness you desired and deserved. You needed to know that he was able to let you go without fight. He nodded and hugged you whispering his congratulations. You thanked him before Momo’s voice came over the speakers announcing the first dance starting. Shinsou waved you to the dance floor promising to join you in a moment. He waited for you to leave before looking at Bakugou. Bakugou waited for a threat or some kind of scolding but nothing came. Shinsou remained silent. Bakugou took this opportunity to speak.

“Thank you for taking care of her. I can tell you make her happy and that’s what really matters.” Shinsou still remained silent and Bakugou continued. “I do have a question though. Y/n said I had been cheating and in an angry moment I basically said I was even though I hadn’t done so. Shitty hair told me you told her you had seen me with some woman. I don’t remember going to that restaurant with anyone other than coworkers or interviewers.”

“I lied.” Bakugou stood there frozen with wide eyes. He slowly turned to catch a glimpse of Shinsou’s smirk and a slight darkness behind his eyes. “I lied to Y/n about seeing you with some broad. I knew she would believe me, and I had my doubts about your faithfulness. I should be thanking you for verifying my lie. You made a single lie into an irrefutable truth all because you wanted to hurt her”

Shinsou walked away heading toward you. He never spared Bakugou a second glance as he grabbed your hands kissing them. You giggled before the music began. Bakugou stood with Shinsou’s reveal on his shoulders. In the end he was the one who destroyed your trust but Shinsou admitted to planting the seed of doubt. But all that mattered now was your happiness, right?

#bnha bakugou #katsuki bakugou x reader #bakugou x reader #mha bakugo katsuki #shinsou x reader #hitoshi shinso x reader #bnha shinso hitoshi #bnha #bnha shinsou #mha #mha imagines #shinsou hitoshi #bnha imagines

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slytherinbarnes · 4 years ago

Text

Sub Rosa [89]

v. welcome to bardo

Pairing: Bellamy Blake x reader

Word Count: 3.8k

Warnings: language, death, blood, violence, anxiety, angst, sadness.

Summary: finally, after five years of training, you arrive in bardo. unfortunately, nothing goes according to plan.

a/n: thank you guys so much for the comments on the last chapter! I’m glad you all liked it! the taglist for this series is open! I hope you enjoy, please let me know what you think!!!

previous chapter // season masterlist // series masterlist

As the four of you move through the Anomaly, you switch into ghost mode so that you’re invisible when you arrive.

The move has the desired effect as the 4 people in the room, 1 conductor and 3 disciples, stare at the closed space of the Anomaly, confused as to why no one came through. You all creep across the room, taking the person in front of you, and you motion to attack all at the same time. Three bodies silently hit the ground at the same time, stunned and knocked out, but the fourth body lets out a groan, thudding as it hits the floor. All of you turn towards the body, eyes falling on the conductor, who is now bleeding out, and Gabriel calls out in shock, “Echo, what the hell are you doing?”

You all start to pull your helmets off, glaring at Echo until her voice comes from behind you, “It wasn't me.”

You turn and lock eyes with Echo, who is standing over the disciple that she knocked out, a man that is still very much alive, so you turn back to the figure standing over the dead conductor, staring at Hope in surprise. She takes in your expressions, before turning to stare at the dead body at her feet. “Without Orlando, we don't need to take unnecessary risks.”

“Leaving Orlando was the unnecessary risk.” Gabriel turns when he hears a stabbing sound to find Echo now killing the disciples. He glares at her, growing exasperated. “Echo, enough!”

She ignores him and glances over at you and Hope. “Take the conductor.”

You sigh, aware that there is not enough time to argue about this, and you walk over and grab the man’s legs as Hope hooks her arms beneath his. The two of you carry him over to a small storage closet located in the Stone Room. You hit the button and place the man inside as Echo and Gabriel bicker in the background. “Focus, we're on the clock.”

“Clock? We drilled for five years. We have thirty minutes to get to the cell block, get our people, and get back here before shift change. With Orlando opening the doors, the best we ever did was 28 minutes.”

Echo pauses and gives Gabriel a hard look. “Then I guess we'd better hurry.”

She drags one of the other disciples towards the closet, and you step out of the space to grab one of the others. On your way over to him, you see a scorch mark on the ground near the stone, one that you didn't notice before. “What the hell happened there?”

Gabriel comes up to your side, staring at the mark, before ignoring it and turning to look at you, appealing to the part of you that felt bad for Orlando. “Look, we all know this can't be done without an inside man.”

You shake your head at him. “Maybe so. But we have no way to get back to Orlando now.”

Echo pipes up from behind you, as she and Hope tuck the last body into the storage closet. “We have an inside man.”

You think immediately of the stories that Hope told you from her first rescue mission to save Octavia and Diyoza, and of the man that took a liking to Octavia: Levitt. You look between Echo and Hope, both of them clearly on the same page as well, and you ask, “What if he's not in M-Cap?”

“What if who's not in M-Cap?”

“The man who helped before, Levitt.” Gabriel nods at Hope in understanding, though you can tell that he doesn't like it. But he’s right, you all need an inside man, and without Orlando, you won't survive this mission to Bardo. And with no way to get back to Skyring to grab him, Levitt is your only option.

The two of you exchange a look, agreeing before you look to Hope and Echo. “Let’s go. M-Cap's close, we won't lose much time.”

You all grab your helmets and pull them on, and then everyone follows you from the Stone Room, aware that you know the map of Bardo’s layout better than anyone. You could recite it in your sleep if you needed to. The four of you move through the halls quickly, making your way to M-Cap as fast as you can, your anxiety on high alert as you turn every corner, prepared to run into danger. On the speakers overhead, some sort of speech or prayer is being read out, though you tune it out, focusing on your current mission. You make it to the door of M-Cap with 28 minutes left, according to the timer counting down on the screen in your helmet. There are identical clocks in all of your helmets, just in case you get separated.

But as you lift your hand to hit the button and open the door, an unfamiliar voice calls out from behind you, “You four, fall in. We're late.”

You turn and see a woman you don't know, a disciple, her helmet off and her expression stern. She is standing with a large group of disciples, their helmets still on, clearly headed somewhere. You, Hope, Gabriel, and Echo all exchange a look, and though you can't see it through the helmets, you know that all of you are looking at each other in surprise. The energy shifts, a collective decision being made that there are too many of them to fight off, so for now, you have to fall in line. They start heading towards the group, and you turn and look back at M-Cap one last time, itching to get the door open and see who’s inside. Levitt with Octavia? Or Diyoza? Or Bellamy? Your fiance, strapped to a chair, tortured for his memories as you stand just on the other side of the door, unable to reach him.

The woman at the end of the hall calls out, “You too, disciple. Fall in!”

You turn and jog towards them, afraid to push your luck, falling in with the others as you march down the hall to an elevator, which carries you to the level containing the oxygen farm. You all file out of the elevator, the prayers and chanting growing louder as you follow the woman to a door, which she opens before turning and commanding, “Helmets off.”

You hesitate, worried that they’ll immediately pick all of you out as imposters, but you see the others removing their helmets, so you ultimately do the same. Nobody says a word, and you’re suddenly thankful for the sea of faces around you. Every single one of them is your enemy, but right now, they are helping to give you some much needed anonymity. You exchange a quick look with your friends before you follow the group into the arboretum, the chanting now reaching its peak volume. Situated inside a clearing of trees is a small stage, a man in all white standing upon it. Surrounding him is a large group of people, some in guard suits, some in white uniforms, all of them watching the man on the stage with awe. Something about it reminds you of Wonkru’s dedication to Blodreina, which immediately puts you on edge.

You and your friends move through the crowd, stopping near the middle as you watch the scene in front of you. As Hope stares at the man on the stage, she mutters angrily to the rest of you, “That's Anders.”

You feel a chill run down your spine, aware of the role he plays in Hope’s stories from her time on Bardo, and you know that this is the last man you want to pick up on your presence here. You make a mental note to stay out of his line of sight as you listen to his speech. “Let's first take a moment to acknowledge our newest class of level 9s. You've each demonstrated impressive devotion to the Shepherd. Our predecessors on this planet did not share that faith. Like our ancestors on Earth, they destroyed their world. Even before they were wiped out by Gem 9 and turned into crystal giants, their atmosphere was so polluted, they were forced to build forests underground in order to breathe. Even the rain that should fall from the sky falls instead by their technology.”

You look up, towards the ceiling, towards the artificial rain that now hits your cheeks. It makes you long for Earth, wishing for nothing more than to be home, with everyone you love, all of this behind you. You shake the thought free, not wanting to get distracted from your current task, redirecting your focus back to Anders. “For that, we thank them, but where are they now? We know that by the time the Shepherd delivered us with the stone that the Bardoans were gone, extinct. Why is that?”

“They didn't have the Shepherd!”

Anders, and the crowd around you, laughs. Your expression remains stony, and you can hear Anders continue his lecture, though you don't notice, because Gabriel turns to you with a look of revelation. “He said the stone delivered them.”

“So?”

“So they weren't Eligius like I thought. There was a stone on Earth.”

You feel a look of surprise pass over your face, realizing that the whole time you lived on Earth, there was an Anomaly Stone somewhere with you, and you had no idea. Never in your wildest dreams could you have imagined any of this. But the realization comes with a darker truth, as you realize that maybe you weren't as close to Orlando as you originally thought. You turn to Gabriel and mutter, “That means Orlando didn't tell us everything.”

Echo, who is standing on Gabriel’s other side, looks between you both and mutters, “We should go.”

You nod in agreement, and you turn to your left to pass the message onto Hope, only to find that she is no longer standing in the same spot beside you. You turn back to Echo and Gabriel with a look of alarm. “Where's Hope?”

All of you look around, finding her signature short hair closer to the front, creeping towards Anders slowly. Echo jumps into action first, discreetly slipping through the crowd and reaching out for her, stopping her from whatever she’s planning to do. You and Gabriel watch on anxiously as they have a quiet conversation, and seconds later, Hope nods. Even from here, you can see tears in her eyes, and you can only imagine what is going through her head in the moment. As they start to slip back towards you, Anders' speech on stage starts to crescendo, steadily growing louder and more charged. “We're close now. We've located the Key. After hundreds of years, it has returned to us. Ours is the generation that will win the last war! As we fight this fight for all mankind!”

The Key? Your brows pull together, wondering what they’re talking about, but you don’t have time to consider it, because Echo and Hope finally reach you and Gabriel. At the same time, the crowd around you explodes with chaos. Everyone is yelling and jumping and cheering, one steady chant heard above the rest. “For all mankind! For all mankind! For all mankind!”

You start to get the same creeped out cult vibes that you got when you first landed on Sanctum, your early judgement of the people of Sanctum ultimately turning out to be correct after they tried to kill your twin and steal her body. You start to feel uneasy, the hairs on your arm and neck lifting in alarm, and you give the others a look before you motion towards the exit. They all nod, and you use the chaos of the celebration to sneak from the arboretum and back into the hall.

Luckily, everyone seems to be pretty preoccupied with the meeting in the woods, leaving the halls empty and easy to maneuver. You all move quickly through the levels, making your way back to M-Cap, reaching the room with only two minutes left. “We’re almost out of time.”

None of you want to spell out what that means for you or those you’ve come to rescue, so Hope mutters, “We’ll figure it out.”

You nod and place your hand on the scanner for the door, watching as it slides open, revealing a large white room. In the middle of the room is a chair, with a large scary needle hanging above it, and in that chair is a woman, her arm tattooed, her dark hair spilling over the sides. You pull off your helmet and run towards her, ignoring the man in the room as you stop at Octavia’s side, smiling down at her. “Octavia, it’s me.”

“I am not afraid. I am not afraid. I am not afraid.” She stares into the distance, repeating the mantra that she used when she would hide under the floor on the Ark. She doesn't seem to hear you, because she doesn't react to you at all. You put your hand on her arm as Hope comes to her aunt’s side, looking at her with worry. You turn your focus to the man in the room, calling out, “Levitt?”

He turns to face the four of you, and Hope shakes her head. “It’s not him.”

You step away from Octavia, letting Hope and Gabriel take over as you and Echo approach the man in the room. “Her brother, where is he?”

The man stares at you, saying nothing, fear evident in his eyes. Echo’s anger explodes, and she closes the space between them, pulling out her knife and pressing it to his cheek. “Show me, or I take an eye.”

He nods, his voice shaking with fear, “It’s on the security cameras, I have to pull it up.”

Echo gives him a look but releases him, standing close in case he does something he shouldn’t. He pulls up a folder, scrolling through until he clicks on a file titled ‘explosion’. You feel your stomach drop, your brain already moving back to the scorch mark in the Stone Room, and panic squeezes your chest tight as he enlarges the screen, moving the holographic picture until it’s in front of you. Just as you feared, the camera is in the Stone Room. On the picture in front of you, Bellamy stands beside the Anomaly Stone, a knife held to the conductor’s throat, and three injured disciples lay at his feet. The camera picks up on movement near the door, and Anders strolls in, followed by Octavia, a disciple holding a knife to her throat. Behind her is a dark haired man in all white, and you get the feeling that he is Levitt. As Octavia steps into view, you can see Bellamy’s expression change into one of shock, and she holds up her hand in a wave. “Hey, big brother.”

“Let her go right now.”

“We can't do that. These good men, who you killed, brought you here from Sanctum for a reason. Let the conductor go, and then we can talk.”

Bellamy tightens his grip on the conductor, “Her first.”

“There's no other way out of this for you, Mr. Blake.”

Octavia, seemingly calm despite the tension in the room, adds, “Bell, he's right. Open the bridge and send him back to Sanctum. I'll tell you everything you want to know, even about Clarke.”

Clarke? What the hell do they want to know about Clarke? You turn and glance at Echo, who has now stopped at your side, looking equally as worried. On the screen, Bellamy seems just as confused at the mention of your twin. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Anders seems to consider the events in front of him, and he moves towards the stone, tapping symbols and activating the Anomaly, a green portal opening at your fiance’s back. Octavia glances at it, and then turns her pleading expression to her brother. “Bell, it's okay. I can't let you die to save me. Jump through, I'll be okay.”

“No way, not without you!”

And everything after that feels like it’s in slow motion for you.

You see movement at the bottom of the screen, as one of the dead disciples turns out to be not quite dead, and he reaches for one of the grenades pinned to his side. He yells something about the Shepherd, but your brain doesn't process it, because your eyes are solely focused on Bellamy. The pin is pulled, there’s a flash of white, and as the light fades and the camera comes into focus, Bellamy, the pile of dead bodies, and the conductor are gone. Everyone else in the room is on the floor, Octavia included, recovering from the explosion, but Bellamy is gone. Killed before you could get here. Dead, because you couldn't save him in time.

You feel emotion well up within you, too fast for Wanlida to stop as you turn your teary expression to Echo, who stands at your side, tears falling down her face. And seeing her crying confirms that she saw Bellamy die in the explosion too. Meaning it’s not some terrible dream that only you experienced. It's real and he’s gone.

You turn to glance back at the others, not wanting to believe it. “That can't be real.”

They look over at you with pity, clearly sorry for you and the loss you're experiencing, but they say nothing. Octavia is sitting up, and now seems to be out of her daze, though she still seems groggy as she struggles to come to. But you don't focus on that, pain and anguish and anger bubbling up inside of you as you turn to look at the man in the room, not wanting to accept that your fiance is dead. “Is that real?”

He nods, confirming that it is, and the emotions inside of you explode. It’s like a volcano, spewing up and over the surface, too much for your mind or body to comprehend. You see a flash of red before the world clears again, and you realize your body is crossing the room, on autopilot, clearly honing in on one of the emotions. As you reach the man, you realize that your body has chosen anger, and your skin is electric with it. All of your pain and anguish is being transformed into sizzling, white hot anger, crackling around you and making you burn so bright you can't take it. You need to get it out, because you don't want to feel it anymore, all of it too much. The loss too much, the pressure too much, too much, too much, too much.

Wanlida takes over and channels your anger for you, and it's like you're watching your body move while you’re in the passenger seat. You see your arm grab the front of the man’s clothes before your other arms swings a punch towards him, hitting him in the face, knocking him off balance and into the chair that Octavia vacated a few moments ago. You can hear an alarm blaring in the background, and Gabriel yelling your name, telling you to stop, mentioning something about time, but you process none of it. You only process the emotions you feel, the anger inside of you, as you kick and punch the man repeatedly, watching as blood rises to the surface of his face and spreads with each new hit. You sense movement across the room, but you ignore it, only paying attention to it when strong arms wrap around you. Gabriel pulls you off of the man, the way he did when you were beating up Orlando five years ago, and just like then, you kick and flail and fight against him. “Let me go, Gabriel! God damn it, let me go right now!”

“We need him! They know we’re here and we need him as a hostage!”

“I don't care!” The scream that breaks free from you is guttural and heartbreaking, the sound of your loss laced throughout it. “They killed Bellamy, and I’m going to burn Bardo to the ground, starting with him!”

You fight against Gabriel harder, but years of sparring has made him aware of your moves. He keeps his head away from you, out of reach from your headbutts, and he keeps your arms pinned securely at your sides. Your kicks have little impact because of the way he’s holding you, so fighting him is useless, though you do it anyways. And as Hope holds up Octavia and Gabriel holds you back, there is no one to keep an eye on Echo. She takes one look at you, and your desperation to destroy Bardo and avenge Bellamy, and she makes a silent vow to help you achieve that goal, no matter what.

She crosses the room towards the man, hitting him a few more times as Gabriel calls her name. Something in the tone of his voice stills you, and you watch as Echo reaches up and grabs the large needle of the machine. Gabriel drops you unceremoniously onto your butt in a frantic attempt to reach Echo and stop her, but he’s too late. By the time he reaches her, she has already let out a bloodthirsty scream and stabbed the needle through the man, quickly killing him and damaging the M-Cap machine in the process.

Everyone looks on in shock and horror, except for you, your expression grateful as Echo finishes what you tried to start. She turns to look at you, tears in her eyes, and you nod your thanks before the reality sets in again. Bellamy is dead, your fiancee is gone, the love of your life has disappeared. Obliterated by Bardo tech, taken from you. Because you were too slow, too stupid, and you didn’t make it in time. You didn't save him, couldn't save him, and now he’s gone.

A sob tears its way from your throat as your mind struggles to process your loss. You fall forward, onto your hands and knees, your vision blurring due to the tears in your eyes. You sit there sobbing, surrounded by the others, who all watch on in their own stages of shock and grief, but you are unaware of their presence. You cry hard as you think of Bellamy, your stormy love, the man of your dreams, now dead. Everything you went through, all the battles and war and forgiveness, all the times you managed to save him in the past, every single bit of it for nothing.

It’s almost too much for you to handle, and you swear you feel your heart shatter into pieces as you cry, the little la lune now left without her world bearing Atlas.

next chapter

#the 100 #the 100 rewrite #bellamy blake #bellamy blake x reader #bellamy blake fanfiction

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crystalgirl259 · 4 years ago

Text

The Flame and the Dragon Chapter 28

Chapter 28: The Letter

Blood smeared the knuckles when they made contact with the thick wood of the thickest tree trunk. The Sorcerer hissed and hollered as he banged his hands furiously against the tree. His entire body shook with rage at the evidence his newest spy brought him. He waited too long. He pulled himself away from the free and covered his face with his hand. Now it was only a matter of time before Kai gave into Cole's seduction. He banged the tree again, then composed himself and pulled the hood of his cloak over his raven hair.

He watched the cut of his hand swell and bubble until perfectly healed skin was revealed.

He waited too long. The second he suspected the teen had Occulti blood he should have acted! His growl morphed into a roar.

"Damn to the depths of my lust and pride!" He bellowed. He had known he had taken a heavy gamble when he decided to change his strategy, but it was too difficult to resist such a tempting specimen, especially since if his seduction proved a success it would devastate the Dragon Lord more than a thousand of the most vicious monsters. Now, his miscalculation had caused him a major setback. It was worse when it became clear exactly who this mysterious specimen was.

It had been easy to ignore the first instance as merely a single occurrence.

It wasn't uncommon for humans to discover untapped abilities in traumatic or near-death situations. Many people held biological connections to magical ancestors. The religions might have changed, but the blood certainly didn't, he himself was proof of that. Still, many lines had become so thinned by mundane human blood any inherited power could only be tapped through stress or shock and usually only once. But the skills used to defeat his monsters and the premonitions were too much to be a coincidence.

That Occulti whore was dead and she continued to be a thorn in his side.

A wicked smile curled across his lips as he approached the road. The raven sat immobile like a statue on his shoulder awaiting instructions. It didn't matter now. She failed then and she will fail now.

"I'm running out of time, and I'll be damned if I let some Occulti whore destroy over one hundred years of patience and hard work!" He thundered and looked to the crow. It shot up and waited for orders. "Watch them, if they do anything together, inform me immediately; I don't have much time to carry out the next stage of my plan." He commanded. The crow bowed its head and flapped away into the night. The Sorcerer's grin widened as he chuckled then burst out laughing when he came to the main road.

He turned around taking one last look at the castle in the distance.

"Enjoy your concubine while it lasts, prince." He smirked recalling the conversations his spies had recorded. Episodes of the life the boy had forsaken to appease the dragon's wishes. Memories of a high-ranking man who fancied him. Of the childhood instances experienced in Ignacia. Of the siblings he had sacrificed himself for, who were no doubt still terrified for their brother's safety. He may have feelings for the dragon, but Kai was like any other human when it came to sacrificing.

As the Sorcerer walked along the forgotten path, he noticed a cold stream still flowing and an evil idea formed in his mind.

He dunked his hands into the freezing liquid and used his magic to create a small ball of water.

"Enough talking, time for some screaming." He cackled as he blew into the bubble turning it into an ice ball. He then shook the ball violently before throwing it into the air. He smirked as it broke apart and a grey, shimmering mist blew through the wind towards the castle. That should buy him some time...

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Nya hollered and roared in rage as she slamming the door to her house shut. It screamed in protest as it suffered the force of his anger. The only thing the village idiots were good for was gossip and apparently, Morro's dismissal of Kai's fate had spread faster than an infectious plague. So much now even other towns were mocking them. No matter where she went to who she begged to help her, she was simply laughed at. One of them even suggested she join her brothers and started to believe in children's stories.

A frustrated hand ripped at Nya's raven bangs.

The only one who seemed remotely worried was the librarian, Dr. Saunders, but he was just one old man. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't go wandering through the dark forest, let alone take on a dragon-hybrid monster. She stormed into the kitchen, her angry steps echoing loudly in the empty room. Nya growled and started grabbing whatever her furious mind thought she would need and stuffed them into a bag she already had set up on the kitchen table.

If no one will help her, she would find that castle and get him back herself.

She stuffed the bag with food, maps, and anything else. She strapped it tight and threw it over her shoulders, donned her thickest coat to keep out the freezing winter air, her cloak, and her heaviest boots. Once she was secure, she turned to the staircase.

"Lloyd, I spoke with Mrs. Grumbmiller, you're gonna stay with her until I get back, is that alright?" She called loudly. Her words echoed through the house, and she braced herself for her younger brother's protests. Instead, she found only silence and she started to panic. She quickly realizing Lloyd hadn't run downstairs when she came inside. He didn't come crying and begging to know if anyone would help them like he had done every time she came home over the last two months.

When their previous attempts had failed.

After two months of trying, Nya and Lloyd returned home only to discover the town was debating what to do with their house and shop now that they were gone. It was only because of Nya's fury that the town would act so irresponsibly. Nya refused to leave their home unattended. Despite Lloyd's protest, Nya left him behind to protect the shop under Mrs. Grumbmiller's care during the lonely nights. Panic started to rush through Nya's entire being.

She bolted from the stairs, checking each room on the ground floor, painstakingly for her younger brother.

When her search failed she thundered up the old steps. Her eyes scanned every room, meticulously for any sign of the young boy. Nya's eyes widened when she entered her own room. Lloyd had been known to sleep there some nights when his worry became too much. Again she found it all empty, even missing a few things. The realization made her sick as she bolted upstairs, heading straight towards Lloyd's bedroom. She panicked and threw the door open but her heart sank into her stomach.

The room was empty, but dressers were left open, empty of clothes.

Her thick winter cloak was missing from the hanger as well as Lloyd's thickest pair of boots. The only evidence that the boy had been there at all was a note left on the bed. She grabbed it with haste and read it as fast as she could. Her eyes bulged with horror and fear as she read over each word, filled with tears.

Nya,

If you're reading this then I'm already gone. I'm sorry I didn't wait until you came back but no one is going to help us, I know that now. I can't leave our big brother to suffer in that horrible place. He's only there to protect me, so I've decided I'm going to go back to that castle, and no matter what I must do I will free our big brother. No matter what. I've already taken more than enough remedy so I won't choke, so don't worry about me.

Please don't come after me, Nya.

I know you and what you're planning. You'll try and switch places with Kai and I can't let that happen. That dumb duke is right about one thing, you two have sacrificed everything for me, now it's my turn to help you.

I love you, Ny-Ny.

Nya screamed and cursed, crushing the little note in her hand, cursing her baby brother's foolishness. Her hands clenched the window as she looked outside. Though Winter was fading quickly, new frost still encased the ground. Winter was still dangerous and it was the most hazardous time of year for someone with Lloyd's condition. She could also swear that those dark clouds rolling in were the signs of an incoming blizzard. A bad one at that.

Snow was already falling and getting heavier with every passing second.

She screeched as she tied on her boots and hopped down the hall, before finally falling over and stormed out the front door. If Lloyd died, she was going to murder him. As soon as she was ready, Nya bolted down the street and towards the woods for any sign of Lloyd as she vanished into the night. She was in such as rush that she didn't notice or hearing the hammer of footsteps approaching the now-empty home. The snow-covered any evidence of her footprints within seconds, masking her trail in the process.

Seconds after Nya left, Morro and Bansha arrived with Noble's collection wagon.

"Nya! Lloyd! Kai!" Morro hollered as he shoved the door to the dark house open, not even bothering with chivalry as Bansha stepped inside behind him. As soon as they entered, they saw that the house was vacant of light and life. The lamps had burnt out, the doors were locked, and no sound echoed through the rooms.

"Where are they? I thought Nya would be back by now!" The duke screeched like an angry owl.

"They're not here, Morro." She quirked, not wishing to be on the wrong side of the Duke's anger.

"This is ridiculous! How long do they plan on being gone? It's been four months!" He bellowed throughout the house. He hissed in a furious rage when no one answered him.

"Morro, you don't think... maybe..." Bansha trailed off nervously. She nervously rubbed her arms and flinched and looked at the floor when Morro's heated glare turned to her.

"If you are going to say what I think you're going to say, I don't want to hear it! There is no such thing as dragons or castles or any of this nonsense! It was a lie! A trick of their little minds!"

"But Morro, think of it!" She protested. "Kai's been gone for almost four months, and ever since his disappearance Nya has been going around town and asking anyone to help her, and Lloyd's been doing the same thing, swearing on their lives that he's been kidnapped and taken hostage by this dragon; they've even gone so far as to seek help from other towns! Why would they keep this story of a 'dragon' kidnapping Kai going if it wasn't true? What if Kai really was kidnapped?"

Morro glared at the girl and opened his mouth to protest but found he could not.

Instead, he stormed back through the door scowling.

"Alright, say this 'dragon' does exist and their story is true? Why would Kai stay with such a monstrosity?" He chuckled darkly.

"Well as you said, Morro, he would do anything to protect his family correct? Maybe, he was forced?" She suggested.

"Excuse me, duke." A smooth voice interrupted Morro as he was about to scream again. The two of them turned around and saw a tall man dressed in vibrant red and purple colors that made him glow in the darkness of the storm approached them. His hood shadowed his face and eyes and only pale streaks of black hair were visible.

"Forgive my forward intrusion, but I'm afraid I couldn't help but overhearing your plight, the plight of your town, and I think I may know what has befallen this unfortunate family." He said with the best fake saddest look he could muster. The pair exchanged equal bewildered glances until Morro's gaze hardened and he returned his glare to the man.

"And who are you?"

"My name of no importance to one of such caliber as yourself, sir." He bowed respectfully. Morro soaked the flattery up like a sponge, but Bansha shivered, catching the sinister smile crossing the man's face.

"Know only that I wish to aid you, I have traveled much in my lifetime, seeking wisdom and the destruction of injustice; if this creature is who I fear we must act quickly or I fear this boy, your fiancé's fate, may already be sealed."

"What are you talking about? What will happen to my Kai?" Morro demanded.

"My entire life, my lady, has been devoted to the destruction of a terrible beast who is responsible for the downfall of my ancestors." The man began. "A hundred years ago they ruled these lands until they were brutally betrayed by this creature, as punishment he was cursed to become a dragon and since then I have hunted him down in hopes of avenging my family's senseless destruction and it seems I have finally found him." He spoke with the passion of a tragic hero but remained focused on their reactions.

He could see they were both skeptical but there was fear evident in their eyes.

Fear that he knew was the perfect fuel for creating an angry mob or a rebellion or an army to obey one's will if it would promise the return of their safety.

"What does your personal crusade have to do with my fiancé?" Morro demanded again as Bansha's hands found his arm and squeezed it tightly, shivering at the frightening presence the man radiated.

"As I said, sir, the dragon is a monster." He spat. "He seeks an end to his curse, and unfortunately, that freedom includes the seduction of a beautiful and talented mortal, and apparently he's settled for this boy you've fallen for, so just you watch; he will descend his destruction on the entire town if given the chance!" The man spoke, emphasizing the destruction of the town and the word seduction.

"No!" Morro screamed and thrashed in fury and rage. "Kill him! Destroy him! Slice off his head!"

"Calm yourself, my lord." The stranger soothed in a sophisticated voice that commanded obedience. "There is still time to save the boy and his family, but I need your help, yours and this town's if you are willing to help me?" He asked as his eyes were soft and his voice pleading. "My only request is that you let me kill the monster, all I ask is to avenge my family, your land shall be yours once more and whatever riches are in the castle, I'm wealthy enough that I do not need such trivial things, all I seek is to avenge my family."

"Of course," Morro announced, throwing his cloak over his shoulder and howling in his delight. "We must get to the town hall immediately! Bansha, go and gather my council, tell them to rally the people, we have to rescue my fiancé!" He ordered, leaving no room for argument. Bansha shivered and nodded mutely, before rushing down the street desperate to get away from the man.

"By the way, who should I say you are when I explain you to the city?" The duke turned to the man as he hauled after his maid. He was shocked, however, to find the man had vanished into thin air. The only difference to before was the thundering of the incoming snowstorm clouds...

#The Flame and the Dragon #beauty and the beast #ninjago #ninjago morro #ninjago nya #ninjago lloyd #ninjago cole #ninjago kai #lavashipping

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wayward-mikaelson · 5 years ago

Text

Winter’s Doll--Chapter One

Word Count: 3105

About: A new recruit joins the team

Characters: Nadia “Nadie” Alekiev, Natasha Romanov, Steve Rogers, Nikola Alekiev, Wanda Maximoff, Vision, Bucky Barnes,

Pairing: None

Warnings/Trigger Warnings: Language, a little bit of angst, mention of death, flashback

A/N: There are some Bulgarian phrases such as Baba (grandmother)...,I used google to help me with these, and if I messed something up and you are familiar with these phrases please let me know. I am trying to just keep it simple since my character has Bulgarian background but isn’t fluent with the language except for a few phrases.

*This work contains content meant for the 18 and up crowd.

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Today was the day and Nadia Alekiev wasn’t nearly awake enough to take on the day. She was going to need all the caffeine she could get her hands on. Nadia had been awake since two in the morning wrecked with nerves and excitement. Maybe even fear, since this was such a huge step for Nadia. Every meditation technique she tried, it wouldn’t help her go back to sleep. So Nadia spent her time going over her ‘New Recruit’ packet. The packet was actually a binder that was super detailed. Whoever wrote it really wanted to make sure the reader knew what they were getting into.

Nadia was only allowed to pack one small suitcase of clothes and personal belongings. Everything else, would be boxed up by agents and donated while her small apartment would be listed as a safe house. Something that was hard for Nadia to agree to but, she had been trying to get into the Avenger program for two nearly years. So, she reluctantly signed it all over. Anything to get into the program, right?

As Nadia pulled a decent sized suitcase from her closet, a small shoe box fell to the floor. The contents spilled to the floor. Smiling ever so small, Nadia picked it up and stuffed the small contents back into the box. Nadia almost forgot that she had it stashed up there. It would now be accompanying her to the compound where she would now be living. The box was all Nadia had left of her dead brother.

Right on schedule, a knock came at her door. Zipping up the suitcase and slinging a bag over her shoulder, Nadia took one final look around her apartment before opening the door. This place had been her home for the last decade and had so many happy and painful memories.

When Nadia opened the door there stood a woman with shoulder length red hair and a serious look on her face. “Nadia Alekiev?” she asked, her green eyes were impossible to read. Her voice was professional yet slightly intimidating.

“That’s me,” Nadia gave a small smile shifted on her feet. She hoped to feel less intimidated by the woman standing in front of her.

“I’m Natasha, I’ll be taking you back to the compound while these two gentlemen,” Natasha gestured to two men dressed in black and wearing super dark sunglasses. They, too, were also intimidating. “Take care of the rest of your apartment. Shall we get going?” Down to business, Nadia thought. She nodded.

Natasha lead Nadia to a nice black SUV where the window tinting was just about almost illegal. Placing the suitcase in the backseat of the vehicle, Nadia got into the front seat and buckled in tightly. Natasha looked like one of those women that have a heavy foot.

Once on the road, the nerves started back up again. Nadia crossed her ankles and began to twiddle her thumbs. From the corner of her eye she saw Natasha’s green eye’s zero in on her actions. Nadia crossed her arms over her chest and stared out at the road in front of her. She hoped the nerves would calm down. She felt Natasha’s expression on her get hard and her eyebrows furrow.

“How much sleep did you get?” Natasha’s voice was soft. It helped Nadia relax some.

“Not much,” Nadia replied. “Is it that obvious?” she then asked looking toward the woman at the wheel.

Natasha quickly flashed a questionable like smile her way. There was also a sparkle in her eyes. “It’s my job to notice just about everything in my surroundings, Ms. Alekiev.”

Nadia looked down and started to twiddle your fingers again. Great, she thought, my first day and I look tired as fuck. She watched as her fingers played with each other taking her diamond-ruby ring off her finger and putting it back on and repeating the action again. The ring was given to her by her brother before his death.

“Can I ask you a question?” Natasha’s voice had Nadia look up. “With experience like yours, you would have had no issues getting into any program. Why the two years?”

Nadia turned her head back toward the red head. “Experience like mine?” She asked.

“I’ve seen your file,” Natasha gave a fast look at Nadia then her gaze snapped back to the highway in front of her. “You could have gone anywhere. Why the top?”

Nadia took a deep breath and straightened up. No one asked her that questions before. Not even during the brutal interview process she had endured the week before. She licked her lips before responding. “I believe I have a skill set that is worthy to help out the Avengers. I have combat experience and I am quick on my feet.” And my brother died two years ago in a bombing that had the military discharging me faster than anything without reason, Nadia wanted to say. But she didn’t think that something that personal would have mattered.

What happened next, was fast.

From the corner of Nadia’s eye, she saw Natasha’s free hand snap from her lap. Nadia’s instincts kicked into hyper drive. She twisted the upper half of her body to grab Natasha’s hand. She bends it back, causing her to drop the guns she had drew. Nadia picked up the gun and pointed it at Natasha’s head. The SUV hadn’t even swerved an inch off the road.

“Good, you are quick on your feet,” Natasha said calmly. “Well, quick to think on your ass.” She gave a sly smirk. “I like you.”

Nadia did lower the weapon in her hand. “What the fuck?! So that was a test?” she asked, her voice rose an octave. The adrenaline was acing through her veins and her heart beat a million times a second. “I could have shot you!”

Natasha’s teeth flashed when she smiled at her confused passenger. “But you didn’t and you passed.” Nadia lowered the weapon and slowly handed it back the woman in the driver seat. If she wasn’t a wake before, she sure was now.

They arrived at the compound twenty minutes later. Nadia was still on her adrenaline high while her entire stomach was being attacked by butterflies. At least she hoped it was butterflies. Nadia slid out of the vehicle and looked at the huge building in front of her. This was actually happening, she thought. I’m finally here. She pulled her suitcase from the back and followed Natasha inside the front doors.

“Welcome,” a voice said coming from the left. Nadia stopped in her tracks and watched as Captain America, himself, approached them. Wearing a dark tactical suit that defined his muscles better than his normal tact suit. Then the beard he had almost took up his face. That made Nadia weak in the knees. “You must be our newest member. Steve Rogers.” Steve held his hand out and Nadia took it and gave the super soldier a firm handshake. Oh thank God, she thought, I didn’t pass out.

“Nadia Alekiev,” she replied. “This place looks incredible.” Nadia gestured to the whole room around them.

“It is pretty amazing is it?” Steve crossed his arms. The muscles began to pull at the seams of his tact suit. “I’ll let Agent Romanov show you to your room. We have a meeting at noon in the conference room. Don’t be late.” With that Steve walked away leaving Nadia and Natasha alone.

“Alright,” Natasha motioned for Nadia to follow her again. “Let’s get you to your room. You can rest up and shower there. I’ll come back for you at eleven forty-five to show you where the conference room is. There will also be food and coffee there. Something Steve had done to make sure the team showed up.”

Natasha lead Nadia down to the living quarters and showed her around. It was furnished beautifully with nice furniture that looked like it cost hundreds of dollars. The kitchen and dining area was huge as well. In the far off left corner of the dining area was a fully stocked bar. Complete with bar counter and bar stools. Nadia already saw herself sitting there on the rough days.

“Food is first come and first serve, unless it’s marked down with a name,” Natasha said as she kept walking. Nadia was almost having a hard time keeping up with her as Natasha walked fast and with purpose. “Now here,” She continued back into the large living room. “This is where we all gather for Steve’s boring historical movie nights or Tony’s last minute game nights or whatnot. To the right, are the women’s rooms and to the left are the mens rooms.”

Before Nadia could get a word out, Natasha started her way towards the women’s rooms. “Um, Agent Romanov,” saying her name felt weird coming out of her mouth.

“Please, call me Natasha,” Natasha didn’t look back.

“Okay, Natasha, is the separation to help from other team members from sleeping with each other or something?” The moment Nadia asked that question, Natasha stopped at a room and unlocked it.

“Sort of,” Natasha pushed open the door and looked back at Nadia. “Not since Vision though. He walks through just about anything. But we keep our side cleaner than the boys. Unless your Steve. Steve’s sort of a neat freak. Now,” Natasha gestured into the room. “This will be your room. You have your own personal full bathroom. Bed is made of memory foam. Those guys from your apartment will be by later today to drop off whatever they could fit into a few boxes.”

Nadia’s head snapped towards the red head. “I thought I couldn’t have that stuff anymore? Fury told me nothing more than a bag or two.”

Natasha smiled. “Lucky, you have a team member like me who can pull strings and put the fear of God into anyones eyes.” The look in Natasha’s eyes had Nadia making a mental note to not get Natasha’s bad side. “Alright, this is where I leave you. Shower, relax, I’ll be by to get you at eleven forty-five.” With that, Natasha left Nadia in her room, closing the door behind her.

Nadia looked around at the lightly furnished room. It was very modern with some paintings here and there. It left a lot of room for personal decorating. Nadia wondered what of her belongings would make it and which ones wouldn’t. A lot of personal things Nadia owned were stored at her parents farm house. Gosh, Nadia thought, I haven’t spoken to my parents in almost a year.

Nadia set her things on the bed before checking out the bathroom. It was slightly bigger than her old bathroom at her apartment. The bathtub was separate from the shower. Something Nadia liked a lot since she wasn’t much of bath type of person. The cabinets were stock with top of the line towels and when Nadia touched them, they were softer than anything she had touched before.

Stripping down, Nadia decided to try out the shower. She flipped the water on and adjusted the temperature to what she liked. The pressure of the water hit her skin just right. It was super relaxing. Nadia slide down and sat with her knees to her chest. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes.

***

“I’m not going anywhere,” Nadia said to her brother as she peeked out the window. “I’m staying here until you can prove that what you said is right.”

“When I have ever said anything that wasn’t true?” her brother looked up from the computer he was trying to get into. “Aside from the time I had you convinced you were actually speaking Bulgarian.”

“I still don’t forgive you for that one, Nikola,” Nadia gave a teasing smirk. “Baba look so confused as I tried to tell her about my runaway turtle.”

Nikola laughed. “Baba wanted to have Mom’s head on a platter because her grandchildren weren’t well versed in the Bulgarian language.”

Nikola went back to work on to hacking into computer in front of him. He had to prove to his sister that the government that they had signed their lives over to were selling off elite soldiers to underground domestic terrorist groups. Nikola knew that once he and Nadia had that information it would be time to fall off the radar and run.

“Nadie,” Nikola called his sister by her nickname. Nadia didn’t know that night it would be last she heard it. “If anything were to happen tonight, I need you to know that I am right about all of this.”

***

Nadia woke up in the shower. The water was still hot, but one look at her fingertips, Nadia knew that she had been in the shower longer than she should have been. Turning the water off and grabbing a towel, Nadia wrapped herself up and walked out into your room. You saw the clock on the wall, eleven thirty.

“Wow,” Nadia spoke to herself. “I was in there for a few hours.” She unzipped her suitcase, pulled out a decent shirt and jeans and threw them on. Then she quickly brushed through her hair and threw it up into a hair band. By the time she was finished, it was eleven forty-five. Perfect timing.

Nadia made her way towards the door and when she opened it there stood Natasha. “Very impressive,” she said smirking. “I also see that you got some rest. How do you feel?”

Nadia followed Natasha through the living quarters back to the main part of the compound. “Better than this morning to be honest,” Nadia said as she was now able to keep up with Natasha.

The two of them walked into the conference room. Three of the four walls were all glass, but not just any kind of glass, the strong kind that would most likely need a tank missile to break it. Just like Natasha had said earlier, there sat coffee on at a small coffee bar. Nadia went straight towards it poured herself a cup.

As she turned around she saw some people make their way into the room. They grabbed their coffee or food. Nadia recognized Tony Stark, as we took three muffins from the food tray and at at the table. A ginger haired woman saw Nadia and smiled at her as she patted the spot next to her. Nadia made her way over to the woman and sat next to her.

“I’m Wanda,” the woman said. “You must be Nadia.”

“How?” Nadia started to ask until she heard the chair next to her move and somebody occupy it.

“Wanda, here, she can read minds and move things with her mind and do this weird red light thingy.” It was a male. “It scares me sometimes, honestly. I’m Clint, the bow and arrow guy.” He reached his hand out and Nadia shook it.

“Weren’t you supposed to be heading home back to your family?” Wanda asked raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, that was until Cap said I needed to stay until after the meeting and now I see why,” Clint took a bite of his muffin.

Nadia smiled some and turned to see Steve walk in, he had changed into a dark t-shirt and jeans. The person who walked in with him was just slightly taller than him. His hair was shoulder length and Nadia couldn’t help but notice that his left arm was completely made of metal. The way he smiled and nodded when Steve said something had Nadia mesmerized.

When he turned away from Steve his eyes locked with Nadia’s. His bright, clear blue eyes stared into her dark brown eyes. The smile that had been on his face, slowly faded as he lost himself in her look. Nadia felt like her breathing caught in her chest when this mans eyes slowly looked her over. Steve then tapped the mans shoulder and said something to him and he made his way to an empty chair. The man looked again at Nadia who gave him a small smile before looking down at the coffee that sat in front of her.

“Okay,” Steve’s voice was loud and firm. “As you all know, we recruited a new team member. Some of you already met her already or saw her as you walked in. She’s ex-military, special ops. Very well versed in hand to hand combat.”

“She’s also very quick to think,” Natasha threw in. Nadia thought back to when Natasha drew a gun on her earlier that day.

“Nat, please tell me you didn’t,” Steve’s voice trailed off and Nadia looked up to see him with a hand over his face. Nadia also didn’t miss that the man next to Steve still looked at her.

“Oh I did,” Natasha said. “She passed that part. Now to see her in a combat like situation.” Natasha leaned her arms on the table and her green eyes looked deep in Nadia’s.

“Okay, well, “Steve shuffled the papers in front of him then looked up at Nadia. “Avengers, this is Nadia Alekiev. Nadia, this is the team. Now, since today is a free day, we won’t have you show off your skill set.” Steve looked at Clint and then back at Nadia, “Well, maybe two hours with Clint before he goes.” Nadia saw Clint throw his head back next to her.

“Alright,” Clint finished his muffin. “But you owe my kids a laser tag game.”

“And I,” Nadia eyed Tony Stark getting up from his seat to snag more muffins from the counter. “I will have Pepper arrange a nice little welcoming party for Miss Alexis.”

“Alekiev, Mr. Stark.” Nadia said as she straightened her back. “I know it’s hard to pronounce, you can thank my Bulgarian parents for that. Next time just call me Nadie.”

“Mmm,” Tony looked over at Steve was eyeing the situation. Tony looked back at Nadia and took a bite of the muffin in his hands. “You know what,” he said with his mouth full. “I’m going to call you Alexis from now.”

“We’ll see how long that lasts,” Nadia rose an eye brow and smirked at Tony. Tony gave a small huff and walked out. Nadia followed with her eyes and didn’t miss the attractive small smile on the man with the metal arm who still looked at her.

Steve ended the meeting shortly after that. Clint stood up and with his hands on his hips he said “Let’s get this over with or my wife will find a way to kick my ass.”

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feistypaants-archived · 5 years ago

Text

Between The Pipes [Chapter 28]

Rating: M Words: 2028 Pairing: Kristanna Summary: When a new owner takes over the Arendelle Ice Breakers, Kristoff isn’t sure about his future with the team. That is, until a PR nightmare throws the newest member of the media team, who also just so happens to be the daughter of the new owner, right into his arms. Kristoff and Anna can’t even stand the interviews they have to do together… how on earth are they going to fix this mess? Hockey!AU.

[Chapter Index]

Where To Read: [AO3]

Notes: hmmmmmm.....

thanks 2 @ahtohallan-calling and @awesomemaple for the sven and anna dancing to lizzo inspo lmao the true mvps.

Enjoy!

Kristoff almost fell over when Anna sprung herself forward to land on his back with her arms around his neck. It was mostly the surprise of it, but he managed to right them both before she even noticed his stumble. “Hi,” he laughed, shifting his bag of gear to his other shoulder as she slid down the expanse of his back. “You’re chipper this morning.”

“Well,” she grinned, sliding her hand into his and lacing their fingers together. “It’s a beautiful day!”

It was most decidedly not a beautiful day. It was cold and gloomy and snowing. And not even a pretty snow… just wet and harsh. But if Anna felt that way, then sure, he could roll with it. “That so?”

She had started swinging their hands together as they walked, her thumb tracing circles over his. “Mhmm,” was all she hummed, nodding slowly.

It had been two weeks since the gala and she had spent almost every night at his house. It had been weird to fall asleep without her last night, but she had insisted on staying with her sister at her hotel. Apparently they needed some bonding time, and who was he to deny her that? But still, he already felt tension draining from his shoulders as she squeezed his hand and bumped his hip with her own while they walked and she talked about the bright side of the bad weather.

“I missed you,” he mumbled beneath her rambling, blushing bright when she stopped mid sentence to look up at him.

A small hop-skip-jump brought her lips up to his cheek, and then she was smiling even brighter. “I missed you, too.”

Kristoff coughed slightly, just to clear his throat, before shaking his head and trying to accept the small moment of vulnerability. “So, um…” He shrugged and kept his gaze forward. “Did you have fun with your sister?” He relaxed just slightly when she pressed her arm against his.

“Oh, yes.” She paused for a moment as she looked around. “I guess Elsa and Honey have been…” Anna practically giggled behind her hand. “You know.” A snort laugh and red tinged cheeks made him smile. “Talking.”

He could laugh at this shy, bashful Anna, so different from one he knew. Maybe it was because she was talking about her sister, but shit, he couldn’t help but wonder if it was how she talked about him, too. “Oh? Talking? Or… not talking.”

Anna whacked at his chest and laughed again, wrapping her hands around his bicep this time. “That’s my sister you’re talking about.”

“Sorry, sorry.”

A relaxed silence fell between them again as they continued down the corridor. Kristoff had spent the whole night thinking, and talking to Sven, and talking to his mother, and… He had decided that he wanted to do something special for Anna. He wanted to take her somewhere fancy, wine and dine her, and, fuck, as cheesy as it was, wanted to officially ask her out.

They sat in limbo right now, unsure of where to proceed. Their feelings were on the table, but, at least for Kristoff, things still felt uncertain. Did she want him to fully figure himself out before they moved forward? Or was she willing to work with him? It was a lot to ask of someone, but she was the most patient and kind person he had ever met.

If anyone would be able to help him, it was her.

Coach Mattias’ door slammed open as they stepped into the locker room. It startled Anna, who clenched his arm a little tighter as their eyes both snapped to the entrance. Warren emerged first, obviously irritated, followed by Mattias and…

“Papa!” Anna exclaimed, clearly taken aback. “I didn’t think you were coming to the skate…”

His face was stern as he turned his attention to the two of them. Kristoff could swear there was something venomous in his eyes. “I wasn’t. But I was called for a meeting.”

Kristoff was going to let go of her, but he felt just a slight squeezing of her fingers. “Oh?”

“We’ll talk later.”

And then he left the locker room, leaving a dozen or so stressed out players in his wake.

“Dude, what was that?” Kristoff’s eyes moved quickly to Warren and Anisimov, hunkered into a corner as Warren’s glare lingered just slightly too long on Anna.

He met Kristoff’s gaze, clenched his jaw, and snapped his head back around to face his teammate. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

This didn’t seem good.

—

Family skate had never been Kristoff’s favorite event. Sometimes he was able to fly his family out around Christmas and keep them in town long enough, but with his sister having a new baby and his dad needing to get someone trained to run the shop, they weren’t able to join him this year. But it was okay, because this year he had Anna, and she more than made up for all the years he just stuck awkwardly with Sven, Jelissa, and their siblings.

She clearly had snuck in more practice since their initial learn-to-skate session, and was easily gliding over the ice - nothing fancy, but clearly comfortable on skates. Every once in a while a good song would come on, and she would speed up to catch Sven and Jelissa as they danced and sang and all-around made fools of themselves.

He fucking loved it.

One song in particular had Sven crouched and shaking his ass back and forth as Anna smacked at it, the lyrics rapping something about fit fat asses and needing tempo and so many other words he couldn’t understand. Kristoff would have been jealous if it were anyone else, but there was absolutely zero reason for it with the two of them. He even found himself skating closer as Anna sang something about boyfriends watching and made little finger hooks to urge him over.

He would never be able to express how open and free he felt when she was by his side.

“Okay, I’m tired,” she laughed, leaning on Kristoff’s shoulder. “Water break.”

Kristoff gestured for her to lead the way, but shivered slightly when her hands slid over his hips as she came to a stop behind him, one arm lifting to flick at the bobble on top of his toque. “Take me where I need to be!” she hollered, wrapping her arms around his waist.

So, as was his nature when it came to Anna, he did the exact opposite.

Bending at the knees, and hearing her quick realization of what was happening, Kristoff took off, almost full sprint, with Anna laughing wildly behind him. “Stop stop stop!” But her laughter was louder than the protests, so he kept going, zig zagging out of other skaters while she yelled apologies behind them.

“Kristoff!!”

He grabbed her hands with his own, holding on tight to her, as he whipped around a corner.

“Too fast for you?”

“Not even close!”

Finally, when he had worn himself out, too, Kristoff came to a gradual stop right at the door, offering Anna a hand to help her step off the ice. She was still laughing, her cheeks flushed with exhilaration, and he couldn’t stop himself from leaning forward and cupping her jaw in his palms. One more sighing laugh came from her throat as she looked up at him with a crooked smile.

She was so fucking beautiful.

He kissed her, deep and slow, earning a round of wolf-whistling from the adults in the rink. He didn’t even care, because her hands were gripping his and her chest was arching into his and god damn it, did he need something fancy to tell her what he wanted? “Anna…” His breath was heavy as he pulled away, swallowing around the new lump in his throat. “Anna, I…”

Her eyes were full of wonder as she kept her gaze locked onto his, her bottom lip caught between her teeth.

“I… I really --”

“Anna.”

Her fathers’ stern voice cut through their thoughts and she jumped away as quickly as she could, turning to face the owner with her hands clasped together behind her back.

Of course.

“Hi, papa.” She waved her fingers at Kristoff from behind her back, urging him to head back out onto the ice. “What’s up?”

Kristoff felt her fathers’ eyes locked onto him as he took a few glides backwards, giving them the privacy he thought she might be asking for. He wasn’t sure what was wrong, but he felt unsettled as he tried his best to turn his attention back to his friends instead of on Anna, following the owner back into Mattias’ office.

—

Almost an hour passed before Anna reemerged.

Mr. Arne had come out after just twenty minutes, bid his farewells, and told them to give his daughter some privacy before heading out of the arena. Kristoff had pulled out his phone and texted her, not wanting to barge in on something she didn’t want him to bear witness to.

Is everything okay baby?

yeah! yep!! i’ll be out soon!! Sorry!!

Are you sure? I can come back if you want.

no!!! it’s fine! just doing some quick paperwork!!

He wasn’t sure he believed her, and the excess of exclamation points certainly didn’t help, but she wasn’t pleading for him to come and comfort her and he had to trust that she would ask if she had wanted him to. But when she came back out to the ice, he noticed her red nose and puffy cheeks, and immediately skated over to her. “Anna…?”

A smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Yes?”

He scanned over her face, noting the softly twitching corner of her mouth and flaring of her nostrils that he could guess signified she wanted him to drop it. So… he held out his hand to her and waggled his fingers in her direction. “Wanna keep skating?” The relief he saw drop in her shoulders made him tense in her place as she nodded and stepped back onto the ice.

It all felt different then. She kept a firm grip on his fingers as they moved slowly around the rink, no more enthusiasm in her small strides, and definitely no more dancing.

He had to try again. “Baby…” his voice was low, just above a whisper, as he pressed a kiss against her hairline.

“I’m fine. Please.” She kept her gaze firmly forward, until they reached the end of their second lap. She tugged on his arm just slightly, tilting her body towards the exit. “I think…” she started, biting her bottom lip. “I think that I really want to get a burger.”

Kristoff almost laughed. “Yeah, yeah, of course. Let’s go. We can talk. Let me just grab my --”

But then she was red faced and she was hollering at Sven and Jelissa, waving them over and inviting them along.

Anna didn’t want to be alone with him right now.

Normally it wouldn’t bother him, but when it felt like she was going to some great length to avoid telling him what was bothering her, he could feel irritation prickling at his spine. Kristoff sighed and trailed behind the others as they made their way back to the locker room to grab their things.

Soon after, they were all climbing into Sven’s Escalade, making their way to his favorite burger joint. He said it was a hole in the wall and you had to know someone to know about it. Kristoff couldn’t help but tease him, saying knowing him clearly hadn’t done them any favors.

Anna’s hollow laugh felt like a knife in his stomach.

He knew she’d tell him when she was ready, but there was a burning in the back of his throat that begged him to pester her until she caved, until she laid it all out on the table. But that was his father. That was something he would do. That wasn’t Kristoff. He wasn’t going to do that.

Instead, he reached over, clasped her hand in his, and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

At least this time her smile was a little more genuine.

#btpfic #feistypantswrites

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nohr-and-thirst · 5 years ago

Note

🎫 here's a gush pass ^^ feel free to gush about whichever f/o you want, however much you want, then send this ask to 3 other selfshippers

Oh my goodness this is my first gush pass thank you!!! I’ll mostly be gushing about Osamu cause he!!! I hope you don’t mind!!! Putting a read more cause I gushed a lot I’m sorry-

Where to start with this gushing goodness...oh oh his character development and comfort he brings me!!!

I’m gonna be honest; his character development makes me so happy and blushy and soft, I love seeing his growth and how he really wishes to be a better person, especially in the newest chapters of the manga. I just love how much a good person we see him; how he didn’t let his past stop him from being a good person, and how he genuine tries to help those around him. While during the first two seasons in the anime, the ADA vs Port Mafia and The Guild Arc for manga fans, we see how he went from the “comic relief” to one that people and the characters can see as a big threat for their plans. Osamu doesn’t mess around, and while everyone says “he is just a comic relief,” he is more than that... I relate to him with his past to extend, and I relate to the want and desire to be a good person. I love seeing that he wants to be a good person, cause I just want to cup his face, and tell him he is a good person. His past make him a bad person cause he is growing; he is actively trying to get better and he is doing so. I just he makes me feel like I can be a good person, and I admire him for how much and how far he goes, I just want to see him happy, safe, and know that he is doing more than enough cause he is doing his personal best.

Okay okay enough of that I’m gonna take about comfort cause oh my goodness has he been my comfort character since the good ol year of 2015. I fell in love with him so quick, especially cause the manga where he says his name was breathtaking. Than in that one chapter we see how smart he is, how fast he is to plan, and how much he works to make sure the job gets done. I just, I fell in love with his personality, looks, and his smarts. He speaks and thinks in a way I can understand, and I can just go “oh okay I see your plan, that’s so smart actually!” I love how he can make my heart just start going all fast and my face gets red from a blush when he starts talking. It’s so embarrassing when I watch bsd with anyone cause when he gets on screen I just grab a pillow or any item and try and cover my face cause I get so red with a huge blush- he makes me feel like I matter, like I can get far, I can be honest with myself and my emotions. I feel like he wouldn’t bash me or judge me for my past cause he knows the reason why most things happened weren’t my fault, but the fact my family never seemed to realize how serious things were. That he won’t laugh at me for my weird love for russian literature, my love for dreaming to be in a small cottage in the woods away from society but instead close to the ones I love and care for. I feel like when I’m having my bad days, he will pull me aside from everything, and try and spend a whole day doing things that can help me. From cooking with me, reading a book with me, or just play small games like the gameboy or even chess!!! I honestly just; its silly but I like to imagine everyday things that need to get done, like cooking and cleaning and the likes, are more fun and enjoyable!!! Like I don’t know I just wanna play soft waltz music and dance with him around the living room late at night, both of us knowing that yes it might be a little harder to get up in time for work, but we both are enjoying ourselves!!! Just dancing around the living room, giggling and having fun!!!

Okay okay one last thing I lied, you see thag gif below? That gift made this whole thing an absolute for me. That smile, that smile made me cry of pure joy in my drama lecture the day it aired and I watched it. His soft smile, the way his head turns and his hair is blowing in the wind, and his eyes goodness his eyes speak so much emotions and soul. At that moment I just went, “oh goodness I did get it bad.” Like I was actually blushing, smiling so wide, and crying actually tears of joy during that lecture. I just wanted to hug him, and play with his hair and just tell him “you are doing so well, you grown so much and you are so amazing. Goodness I can’t wait to see the day you realize how amazing, caring, and kind you are.” Like I’m sorry that scene asdfghkl I fell in love, actually in love so much more and had to get like a wedding ring so quickly after that scene. I just wanna give him so many hugs and kisses and take to so many café dates I’m so so so sorry I’m just such a huge softy!!! (〃ω〃)

Okay okay I’m limiting my self cause I will gush for so much more if I don’t limit myself QwQ thank you so extremely much for giving my first gush pass, really thank you!!!

#osamu dazai #dazai osamu #mi sol mi alma mi todo #mi rey #husband #my f/o #romantic f/o #bungou stray dogs #bungo stray dogs #bsd #valerie violet tag #i hope you dont mind me giving you that tag qwq #mor gushes #mor answers #if i ever get a second gush pass ill gush about Nikolai i swear the clown can get one gush post-

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keelywolfe · 5 years ago

Text

FIC: Beneath an Aurora Sky ch. 15

Summary: The South Pole Station is equipped for research and Edge has always made sure things run smoothly for the inhabitants. His charges are meant to follow his rules and regulations, and in turn, he makes sure they survive in the arctic temperatures. It takes plenty of hard work and determination and Edge, along with his crew, can handle both.

He wasn’t counting on one of the newest researchers. He wasn’t expecting Rus.

Tags: Spicyhoney, First Time, Arctic AU, Hurt/Comfort

~~*~~

Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four

Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven | Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine | Chapter Ten | Chapter Eleven | Chapter Twelve

Chapter 13 | Chapter 14

~~*~~

Read Chapter 15 on AO3

Read it here!

~~*~~

Edge spent the rest of the day in his quarters, not even venturing out for meals which would have earned anyone else a firm scolding. Perhaps it was childish of him, but right then he didn’t want to see Red or Undyne, and Rus didn’t deserve having to see him.

He settled for ration bars and followed his schedule as best he could, approving requests from the scientists to return to the outer research stations now that the storms had passed. He escaped briefly to work out in the greenhouse, striving for and failing the normal soothing that it brought, but otherwise remained in his quarters.

That day there wasn’t so much as a knock on his door. Red and Undyne knew him well enough to let him be and Alphys was certainly wise enough to know if she came, he’d end up comforting her.

The next morning, he forced himself to set aside his lingering resentment. He had a job to do and it wouldn’t be done by hiding away.

Rus wasn’t at breakfast. Edge wasn't surprised.

As an added bonus to his misery, no one else offered him a greeting as he sat at the table. That easy, unusual camaraderie between them and the scientists was gone, leaving only distance, and the span of the table between them may as well have been as wide as the continent. Despite whatever scorn Undyne often expressed about their common sense, none of them were fools. Gossip traveled fast and they’d obviously deduced something went wrong between him and Rus, and the researchers seemed to be standing by their own despite Rus being a Monster.

Edge didn’t blame them. No wonder he was only suited to live at the ends of the Earth. He couldn’t manage a normal relationship for two days.

He sat next to his brother and couldn’t help the bitterly amused thought that he had fallen from hero to outcast in the span of less than twenty-four hours. His own personal Paradise Lost. Red’s sockets were concealed by his sunglasses, but from his lowered head, his own guilt was still thoroughly consuming him. He would have to wade through on his own for now; Edge couldn’t blame him for his reaction, but forgiveness would have to be later.

Undyne was not present, likely taking her meals with Alphys, and their resident engineer was the one worthy of concern. None of this was her fault, but she’d surely been dragged in nonetheless. He made a mental note to check in with her, if only to reassure her that he didn’t blame her for any of this. The blame was his own and Edge would be keeping it.

Breakfast was already laid out, but before Edge could reach for any of the platters on the table, a plate landed in front of him with a clatter. Loaded with burnt toast and runny eggs, half of it falling off from the force of the throw.

Edge looked up to see Bonnie glaring down at him, her scarred face twisted with anger. Ah. It seemed that it wasn’t only the researchers who’d sided with Rus.

Next to him, Red started signing indignantly and Edge put out a hand, stopping him. "Don't."

He picked up the toast and bit into it, and the charred flavor on his tongue was like the taste of failure. He ate every bite methodically, scraping his plate for the last oversalted dregs. There were worse meals in his past and if Bonnie needed a target for her wrath, he would accept his due.

As he was carrying his cleaned plate to the dish rack, the kitchen door opened again, Bonnie carrying another tray out with the door swinging shut behind her. The meal on that was fit for a King of Monsters, fluffy pancakes drizzled with honey, Rus’s favorite, along with crisp bacon, golden yolks of eggs over easy, and a bowl of berries, fresh from the greenhouse.

None of the scientists still lingering offered a single indignant word about that indulgent feast and neither did Edge. Strictly speaking, meals weren’t supposed to be taken in private rooms unless there were extenuating circumstances. It seemed the entire station was deciding that this qualified. Edge only hoped Rus was in enough of an appetite to eat it.

Bonnie went through the hallway door with a bang and Edge turned back to the table to discover his brother vanished in the time it took him to wash his plate. He sighed and shook his head, heading back out.

Today seemed like a perfect day to work on repairs at one of the outskirt checkpoints, a never ending task, particularly after a storm. Edge logged himself at one that Rus never went to and headed out. It would be fair to Rus to try to avoid him, if that was what he wanted, and Edge would make sure his schedule was very visible. It wasn’t normal protocol, but if Rus didn’t want to see him until he left the station, Edge would make it easy for him and if he did…

Edge extinguished that hopeful thought before it could form.

The vehicle garage was empty, his brother nowhere in sight. If Edge was making himself scarce to Rus, then it seemed Red was doing the same to him. He sighed inwardly. This one rock thrown in their smooth pond was casting ripples that would last for some time yet. He’d give Red a few days and then corner him, if he had to.

There was no question he would forgive his brother. Edge couldn’t even be properly angry with him. He knew better than anyone what Red suffered through to earn his distrust of any of the Monster royalty, the cracks still littering his skull spoke volumes, and he could hardly blame Red when his reaction was no better. A piece of paper and a handful of questions was all it took for him to cast Rus into doubt.

Unbidden, memory came to him, of Rus’s smiles, that real smile he offered so shyly. Of the expression of purest wonder the first time he saw the aurora, of the way he cuddle in close as he slept, clinging with all his limbs as if afraid of being left alone—

Edge pushed that aside. He had work to do and that would last him far longer than any idle thoughts.

He gathered the equipment he would need and signed out a snowmobile, heading out to the furthest checkpoint.

It took him the better part of the day to clear the accumulated snow from the antennas, check over the solar cells and calibrate the equipment. By the time Edge headed back to the station, he was exhausted and bone-chilled despite his outdoor gear.

Careless of him, he knew better than to stay out too long. Monsters could handle the lower temperatures better than Humans, but eventually even they would succumb. The ride back only made it worse and he regretted not choosing a SnoCat for the journey, even if it would have taken twice as long. By the time he returned to the vehicle shed, he was shivering so hard he could hear the rattle of his bones over the roar of the engine.

Edge hastily signed the snowmobile back in and headed inside, clumsily stripping off his gear with numbed phalanges. The ache that came as they warmed was enough to make him hiss, but it was a pain was earned through stupidity, one he hadn’t felt since their first month here. Perhaps it was best things ended as they did, Edge thought sourly, he’d been off balance since Rus got off the ship. He needed to get his head on straight before someone got hurt.

He ignored the voice in the back of his skull slyly pointing out that someone was already hurt and headed towards his room to recklessly waste a shower token before dinner. The cold wouldn’t kill him, but a little comfort before facing those silent, accusing faces in the dining hall again would be a kindness.

As he went down the walkway to the living quarters, Edge heard raised voices from around the corner. The words themselves stilled him as much as his brother’s loud voice declaring, “look, i just want to talk, fashion victim.”

“my name is rus.” Edge closed his sockets, pained. Never had he sounded so cold, even that awkward moment they’d first met.

His brother went on, doggedly, “rus. you’re right, i get it. rus. i’m sorry, okay? i’m sorry. look, it’s not an excuse but we’ve had people here before who—“

Rus interrupted, his cool voice tight with underlying anger, “you’re right, it’s not an excuse. all you had to do was actually talk to me. woulda taken two minutes. thanks to you, i spent two hours straightening my notes after your little room search. i had to recalibrate all my equipment, since i guess none of my shit is important enough to worry about, not like yours is. you’ve all wasted enough of my time, now if you’ll excuse me...hey! let go!”

“that ain’t his fault, it was all me, all of it, wouldja just listen--”

Edge hurried around the corner to see Red gripping Rus’s wrist even as he struggled furiously to pull free.

“Red, let him go.”

They both jerked, two sets of eye lights flying over to him. It was his first sight of Rus since seeing him run away in tears and Edge’s soul lurched painfully. He was wearing the worn orange hoodie that hadn’t made an appearance since his first day here, the heavy sweatpants rather than the thermals Edge had given him. He looked tired, heavy shadows beneath his sockets, and Edge ached to think of the wasted energy, trying to catch up on his work. He hadn’t even considered what damage was done by going through his things, all the effort Rus would need to go through simply to continue his research. He couldn’t imagine how far behind Rus might be now, perhaps unable to complete in research in time.

If Rus needed to stay longer to finish, Edge would pay for it out of his own salary. Though he wasn’t sure Rus would welcome the chance, thesis or not. He might very well be the first person on the boat.

Red was still holding on, hard enough for bone to scrape. His sunglasses were on the floor, another pair broken, and his eye lights were blazing, flared crimson. That was a sight Edge hadn’t seen for a very long time and he held out his hands to his brother placatingly.

“That’s enough,” Edge told him, low. “Let him be.”

“no, it ain’t!” Red burst out, “it ain’t! it was my fault, all right?” He looked at Rus wildly, who only looked back stonily, still trying to twist away. “i put the bug in his head that you were up to something and i was wrong. i know my bro, i know he has trust issues! i shoulda checked more careful, i shoulda--”

“Red,” Edge broke in, gently. “Brother. Please. Let him go.”

The feral light in Red’s sockets dimmed, fading to their normal soft crimson glow. Slowly, reluctantly, his grip loosened, and the second he could, Rus wrenched away, stumbling back and clutching his wrist to his chest. His mouth worked, his eye lights darting between them, but finally Rus turned and walked quickly away. Edge watched him go until he turned a corner, out of sight.

Red only slumped back, sliding down the wall to the floor. He rested his forehead on his updrawn knees, wracked with brief, jolting quivers. Edge crouched next to him, not touching, only there if his brother needed him.

He waited until those intermittent shivers eased, then said, softly, “You need to leave him alone."

“i can’t.” Red’s voice was muffled into his knees, raw and cracked. “i can’t, boss. you were happy for the first time in ages and i ruined it."

“That’s not true,” Edge began. He might as well have saved his breath, Red only shuddered and went on.

“wasn’t your fault, it wasn’t! he don’t get it, he don’t know what you’ve been through, what we have!”

Edge laid a cautious hand on Red’s shoulder. His brother lifted his head, looking at him miserably. His knitted cap was askew, showing the first branching crack at the front of his skull and with gentle patience, Edge adjusted his hat to cover it again. Quietly, he asked, “And you know what he’s been through?”

Silence. He didn’t know what Red was thinking about, but Edge couldn’t help recalling Rus’s expression in the Rec room that night he watched Edge spar with Undyne. The sudden fear when she called for him to take her place.

Red looked away, eye lights on the floor as he swallowed heavily and whispered, “no.”

Edge nodded. “Neither do I. So, please, leave him alone. Let him do his work. He’ll be gone in a few weeks, anyway. Will you do that for me?”

The phrasing needed to be careful with Red, Edge knew, he excelled at crawling through loopholes to dig into whatever he found on the other side. This time Red only nodded, heaving himself to his feet.

“m’sorry, bro. fer everythin’” Red mumbled, shoes shuffling against the floor as he went the opposite way as Rus and rounded the corner.

Edge went to his room to take his own advice. Stood beneath the steaming hot water, letting it pour over him. There was nothing but his warming bones, the heavy patter of water against the walls of the shower stall. He very nearly used another token, forced himself not to be quite that wasteful as he’d regret it the next week, and stepped out into the cooler air to dry off.

He was barely dressed when there was a knock on his door. The temptation to ignore it was shameful. His duties to the other researchers had not lessened despite his personal issues. If they needed him enough to search him out, they deserved a chance to be heard out, even if it ended in a rebuke from him to submit all requests in writing.

When he opened the door, however, the last person he expected was standing there.

“Rus?” He didn’t dare hope and still, his soul sank a little when Rus only held out a sheaf of papers.

“thought you might want to see this,” Rus said tersely. He stuck his hands into pockets the moment Edge took the papers.

They were still warm, fresh from the printer and Edge looked down at the pages in confusion, “What’s this?”

“my thesis, since you’re all so interested. but it doesn't even matter what it says, because what it tells you is i'm a fucking astronomer. which the information packet i submitted should’ve already told you."

“Observing the Progression of an Active Galaxy Nuclei Through Fiber-Optic Spectroscopy,“ Edge read slowly. Such a dry title, it didn’t feel like Rus. Or perhaps it did, his lack of knowledge about Rus was where their problems began. “You’re studying galaxies?”

Rus’s mouth twisted. “something like that. i’ve already taken readings from the equator. just needed to get them from one of the poles to finish up.”

“This was what you were keeping a secret.”

“i wasn’t keeping it a secret!” Rus snapped. “or yeah, okay, i was, but it was just a tease, for fuck’s sake! because you’d think i was so fucking interesting if you knew what i’m studying, right?”

“Rus-“ But Rus wasn’t finished.

"do you even know how hard it was for me to get here?” he asked, low, “i was trying for scott station before i realized there was no way they'd let me in. tried a few others, but it was always more of the same. plenty of excuses but none of them wanted to admit it was because i was a monster. i got tired of throwing away money that i don't have for rejections, so i came here even though it cost a shit-ton more and i’d have to bring my own equipment. thought maybe if it was run by monsters…” Rus shuddered, his shoulders hunching. “you want some truths? okay, here's one. red was right about one thing. my sponsor? it's toriel. yeah, the queen. she...she was kind to me and my brothers when we ended up here. got us jobs, gave us a start.

Edge only stood, cooling papers in hand, watching as Rus blinked too hard, almost choking on his words as he said, “when i realized i wasn't getting anywhere with my applications, i swallowed my fucking pride and asked her to help. she pulled some strings to get my application on the roster.”

Though no one else was around, Rus’s voice lowered into a fierce whisper, “and i get that all of you are bitter about what happened, but even you can't convince yourselves that things were better with asgore in charge. after everything, she let you guys go your own way, didn’t she? no one is coming after you, no one sent me up here to spy! tori told me that you were honorable and i trusted her on that."

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Edge couldn’t help saying. Oh, he knew why, look at the way they’d reacted to the mere suspicion that the Embassy was involved. But Rus’s answer was not quite the one he expected.

“i didn't want to tell you because...i’m nobody in this world, okay?” Rus burst out, heaving out a shuddery breath, “my own brothers told me i was wasting my time on this when i could be doing something useful, but this is what i love. i busted my ass working double shifts to get up here to finish, tori said i should warn you, but i couldn't risk it, not after everything.” He lifted his chin, his eye lights gleaming fiercely. “and i’m gonna to do it. i don't need this shit, any of it. you were always a distraction i didn’t need.”

Dimly, Edge wondered how he’d never known it was possible to bleed without ever taking a wound.

"I'm sorry,” he said, softly.

“save it. i told you, i get it, i get why you guys are suspicious but that doesn’t mean i don’t get to be hurt! it doesn’t mean I have to forgive you.”

"It doesn't," Edge agreed quietly. “But I am so very sorry, nonetheless. You never gave me a reason to doubt you.”

Rus's expression crumpled, all his anger like so much tissue, "don’t do that, you can't...just stay away from me.”

He turned, walking quickly away and Edge carefully closed the door, the pages of the thesis still in his hand. Hardly a moment passed before there was another knock on his door. Edge didn’t allow himself to hesitate. He opened it and Rus was there.

He shivered despite his bulky sweatshirt and the emotions fluttering across his face were too quick to interpret, “look...can i come in?”

Edge only held open the door, and when Rus stepped inside, he sighed deeply, nervous fingers clattering lightly against his skull as he swept a hand over his head. “this is all fucked up, i know, but...could you just hold me for a little while?”

Wordlessly, Edge sat on the bed, reaching out to pull Rus into his arms. The pain clenched in his soul from the moment Red came to them yesterday morning loosened, easing as Rus settled against him. It was easier to hold each one other if they lay back, so Edge did, pressing his face into the pale curve of Rus’s skull to breath in the honey-sweet scent he thought he’d lost.

Fear lanced through him as Rus shifted, sitting up, but it was only to pull that oversized sweatshirt over his head. Beneath it he was only wearing a thin thermal shirt, hardly a barrier at all as he settled back against Edge. One hand gripped the front of Edge’s shirt, so tightly he could hear the bone creaking. Edge settled his own hand overtop it, loosening the grip until he could entwine their fingers. They lay together in silence for some time, only their breathing breaking it, until Rus muttered out, “this doesn't mean i forgive you."

No. Broken trust was as difficult to heal as the cracks across his brother's skull.

But it was a start.

tbc

#spicyhoney #papcest #keelywolfe #underfell #underswap #underfell papyrus #underswap papyrus #underfell sans #arctic au

36 notes · View notes

saiilorstars · 5 years ago

Text

It Had To Be You

Ch.21: Being the Azalea // Story Masterlist

Fandom: The Flash

Pairings: Barry Allen x Female OC

Pronunciation of OC’s name: Bell-en. The last syllable has an emphasis so it’s not pronounced like ‘Helen’ would be.

~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~

Chapter Summary: Belén continues to struggle controlling her powers, even making the decision to hold back on being the Azalea for a while. That all gets put to the test when 'the Trickster' makes an appearance.

{Previous chapters}

Barry stood in front of his usual board in the precinct lab, while Joe sat behind. "Alright, this is everything that we know about Harrison Wells." Much like the case of his mother, he pulled down a secret board down to reveal a brand new case - Dr. Well's - on there. "Which is actually not a lot."

Joe thought it ironic despite the problem at hand. "Didn't you read a whole book about him?"

"Yeah, 600 pages, and the big takeaway is, he's enigmatic."

"Your mom was killed by a speedster. Wells' machine turned you into a speedster. That's way too many coincidences for this old cop."

Barry shook his head, at a complete loss. "Do you think that he wanted me to become the Flash?"

Joe shrugged. "Everything he's done since that night you got struck by lightning... bringing you to STAR Labs, giving you the suit, training you... it's all been to keep you safe."

"And to make me faster. Wells once said that he needed more speed from me. Why?"

"I don't know. But he wants something from you, Barry. We just need to figure out what it is."

Barry was feeling like patience should just be damned. "Well, let's go get him then. Let's get some answers!"

Joe stood up and walked up to the board to take a closer look. "We can't do that now as much as we might want to."

"Joe, you had your suspicions about Wells from the very beginning. You thought that he might be the man in yellow."

"Except the blood from your house didn't match him," Joe reminded.

"Alright, so maybe he's not the Reverse-Flash, but you think that he knows what happened that night. He may have the key to getting my dad out of prison."

Joe sighed and looked away from the board."Whatever Wells wants from you, it started 15 years ago. He's been patient. Scary patient. You gotta listen to me on this. We have to be just as patient."

"Hello?" came the familiar chirpy voice. Barry immediately pulled down the board's common - public - paper just as Belén walked in. Despite his quickness, Belén detected she had walked in on a moment she wasn't invited to. "I should have waited downstairs…" she apologetically chuckled.

"No, no, it's fine," Joe gave Barry a look on how close it had been. For the moment, it was decided no one would know about their investigation on Wells. "I was leaving anyways."

"I don't quite believe that," Belén stopped by a table full of what she considered interesting science things.

In an attempt to steer the conversation away from anything dangerous, Joe casually asked, "You guys made plans?"

It had worked.

Belén nodded and turned to the detective. "Barry's buying me the drink he promised me so that I wouldn't come with him to see Snart."

Joe made a face and glanced at Barry. "You bought her off with drinks?"

"Don't get used to it," warned Belén. "I'm much more expensive - first time it's a pass."

Barry playfully rolled his eyes. Joe said his goodbyes and left the two in the lab. "Ready to go?" Barry went for his jacket left on the chair by the computer.

"Mhm…" Belén discreetly looked around, hoping to find something of a clue of what was truly going on.

Barry turned back as he put his jacket on and of course noticed her behavior. "Something's wrong?"

"You tell me," she lightly sighed. "For the last couple of days you've been...distant." Barry immediately, almost instinctively looked anywhere else that wasn't her. "Like you don't want to tell me something. I don't know, maybe...maybe you're rethinking this whole dating thing-"

"No that's not it!"

Belén smirked. Tricking him into admitting that had been far too easy and he was supposed to be the scientist. "So there is something?"

Barry shook his head. He couldn't tell her anything, at least not now. He thought it was the best call. He just forgot the part where she was a reporter.

"Barry, you know you can tell me anything right?" Belén spoke earnestly, and softly.

Nodding his head, Barry assured her he knew of this. Nothing left to say meant it was time for the drinks. Once they were out on the street, Barry felt it was time to cut the silence he knew was meant to make him come clean. Unfortunately for Belén, when he did speak up it wasn't to confess.

"I was thinking maybe we should try your training again…"

Belén's eyes widened, at first surprised but soon the fear filled her eyes. "You know I've been struggling out in the field..."

"I know but I also know that you're fighting it," Barry stopped walking to face her. "And it's for that same reason that you owe yourself to train."

"I know you're right, I really do," Belén took his hands, needing to feel his warmth and support. "Everything you're saying is right but...it's just difficult to accept," she sighed.

"I get it, you're scared-"

"No you don't, Barry," she shook her head. "You're sweet, but you don't get it. You have your powers like this," she made a fist with one of her hands. "Mine are like this-" she released her fist and waved her hand above her face. "My powers are complex and they scare me. If I lose control in one part, I lose control with everything."

"That's not true-"

"Yes it is!"

"Okay so we know that's not going away until we train again," Barry kept himself calm despite Belén's growing agitation with him. She needed calmness, understanding, something he was more than capable of giving. "Let's just...try one session. One session, you and I, and we can take it slow. Sound good?"

Belén stared at him for a minute before sighing. "I...I guess..."

"You can kick my ass for free," he said, smiling when she laughed. While she laughed, he swooped down and stole a kiss from her. She looped her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. Words could not express how much better Barry made her feel at moments like these. She doubted words were ever going to be enough to describe it.

A loud explosion from a distance cut their moment short. As they pulled away from each other, a second explosion rocked the ground. They saw smoke billowing into the sky not too far from where they stood.

"Go, it'll be too long if I go get changed first," Belén urged him to go without her.

As the Flash he arrived at the city park to find a disturbing sight. Small gifts strapped to small parachutes were coming down to the park, exploding upon landing. Now everyone was running away with their children but Barry spotted one particular blonde boy that was still anxiously awaiting to grab one more falling gift. Barry sped over and snatched the kid in time, returning him to his father who'd been looking for him.

Not long after that, the culprit happily revealed himself through a video that went online fast. A young man dressed like a modern jester in class black and white leather declared himself the Trickster. "Tricked ya. Look who's back. My tricks. My treat. But I'll give you something good to eat. Today's special. A city in ashes. The Trickster proudly welcomes you all to the new disorder."

In the cortex, Cisco paused the video once it was finished and scowled. "Talking in the third person. That's never a good sign."

Caitlin threw him an amused smile. "You're just mad because he named himself."

"Actually, he didn't," Joe turned around, having been watching the video as well. "20 years ago, Central City was hit by a series of terrorist attacks. One man killed at least ten civilians, two cops. That guy called himself The Trickster."

"So he's a copycat?" Belén tilted her head but soon was captured by the news Cisco had found online about the original Trickster.

"Whoa. Someone was rocking the unitard," Cisco did his best not to laugh knowing the situation was serious.

"James Jesse?" Belén read part of the headline.

"Like Jesse James, only more twisted," Joe briefly explained.

"Where is this Mr. Jesse now?" Wells inquired.

"He's serving several life sentences at Iron Heights. He was just about the most dangerous thing Central City had ever seen."

"You mean until the Particle Accelerator blew up," Barry corrected, and rather coldly that someone had noticed.

"Um... Barry and I will go see this James Jesse at Iron Heights, see if he can give us something that can help us catch his groupie," Joe announced, instigating the rest to get to work.

"I'll analyze the video and see if I can figure out the source," Cisco straightened up and started on the computer.

"I'm heading to work too," Belén began getting out of her chair. "The news is hot today so...they'll be needing me."

"C'mon," Barry walked towards her, "We'll give you a lift." He didn't wait for her to openly agree. He took her hand and almost pulled her out of the room.

"Hey, Joe. Is Barry doing all right?" inquired Wells. "He seems cranky."

Joe tried playing it off as casualness, "Even The Flash wakes up on the wrong side of the bed some mornings. He's fine."

If he the same speed powers as Barry, he would've used them there and then.

~0~

CC Picture News was up and alive with the newest criminal town as Belén had said. She entered the building and had to dodge several of her co-workers before they crashed into her. When she reached her desk she plopped down with a heavy sigh of relief she made it without spills of any kind. Just as she was putting down her purse, Noah came up to the desk.

"Belén, did you hear about the new criminal?"

Scoffing - politely - Belén put her elbows on her desk, chin on her hands. "I think everyone's heard about him."

"He's calling himself the Trickster," it didn't appear like Noah had paid attention. He moved around the desk to be side-to-side with her, laying out a couple of papers he had brought with him.

"Is he now?" Belén tried her best to sound in the dark about the situation.

"Yeah, and the crazier thing is there was another guy - like twenty years ago - with the same name," Noah shuffled through the papers to find the very article that Cisco had pulled up earlier about James Jesse. He handed it to Belén for her to read. "So I was thinking that maybe it was connected some way."

Belén raised an eyebrow, genuinely bemused by him. "What are you? A reporter or a detective?"

"Don't those two kind of the same thing?" Noah smirked and shared a small laugh with her. "This guy - the new Trickster - is doing similar attacks as James Jessee did. Why would he do that?"

"Because he's a fan?" Belén tried the easiest answer she could.

"Obvious answers, Belén," Noah sarcastically looked at her. "Or maybe there's something deeper in there."

"But what?"

"That's what we need to find out," Noah declared, much to her further bemusement. "I asked Iris if she wanted to get in on the article but she's too immersed in Mason's disappearance."

"Right," Belén glanced over her shoulder to see Iris working at her desk, very quietly too. "There's been nothing on him yet?"

"Nothing," Noah was beginning to clear off his papers from her desk. "Boss has tried calling him and everything, but there's no response."

"It's weird," Belén leaned back on her chair, thinking about her annoying co-worker who, she did admit, she kind of missed. It had been a week since Mason mysteriously disappeared without a trace. And while on the first couple of days Belén joked and considered it their break from him, it was becoming a bit of a worry for her.

~ 0 ~

After a wild goose chase trying to find the newest Trickster, Barry and Joe returned to STAR Labs. They'd seen the newest video the young Trickster posted, all of which was just another warning for the city.

"Whoever this Trickster is, he's certainly not shy," Joe remarked after watching the video.

"Well, not every criminal likes to hide in the dark," Barry snidely commented, much to Joe's irritation. He'd been trying to get Barry to keep those types of comments to himself until they knew something concrete about Wells, but apparently it was too difficult for Barry.

"Cisco, can you trace where the video was posted from?" he asked Cisco, hoping for the conversation to keep moving and that Barry would no longer talk.

"I tried, but this guy is using some crazy Felicity-caliber scrambler like I've never seen. The origin of the upload's coming from hundreds of different locations. Until he uploads another video, it's gonna be tough."

"This psychopath has the capability to destroy the city," Barry frowned.

Cisco liked being optimistic and clarified, "Hey, I said tough, not impossible."

"Barry, we'll catch him," Caitlin tried to resassure, like the others sensing something was off with him.

"We always do. Mr. Allen, a word please?" asked Wells. He led Barry into one of the side rooms again, the training room, where they could talk freely. "I know what's going on with you. I know what you're thinking."

Barry found it incredibly hard not to make the face he was making right now, as Wells had his back to him. "Do you?"

"I know going up to Iron Heights prison and conversing with Mr. Jesse has brought about feelings of your father. How could it not?"

Barry forced himself to go with it and sighed. "Yeah, no, it's, uh, it's been really tough knowing that my mom's killer is still out there."

"Of course. But we'll find him, together. You have my word."

Barry wondered what fat good that was but on the outside politely said, "Thank you."

"For now, how about we focus on finding this Trickster before anybody else gets hurt?"

Silently, Barry gave a nod and forced himself to go at a normal pace outside the room. Right now, he just couldn't stand being near Dr. Wells.

~ 0 ~

"Hey, Bells?" Iris quietly approached Belén by the printer.

Belén pressed the printing button and glanced at her friend, immediately noticing the timid demeanor in Iris. "Hey girl, what's up?" Iris opened her mouth to say what she wanted but at the last moment closed it and plastered a little, fake smile. "Iris?" Belén tilted her head, gesturing her to say what she needed to.

Sighing, Iris took a discreet look around in case anyone would hear. When she spoke, it was still quiet. "Have you heard anything about Mason?"

"No, I'm just as lost as you are," Belén shrugged, glancing to see if her papers were printing out correctly.

"Yeah, well, I talked to Eddie about it at the CCPD but he's got a load of work because of that Trickster guy so Mason's case would be last priority," Iris then bit her lip while nervously smiling.

"I feel like there's a favor to be asked," Belén said after seeing Iris' face.

Iris stepped a little closer and spoke even quieter, a faint whisper merely. "Do you think you could ask the Flash and the Azalea to look into it?"

"I-I'm sorry?" Belén was caught off guard by this question that she nearly dropped her papers she'd been picking up from the printer.

"I know it's a humongous favor and I will owe you big time but I'm just really worried here," Iris tried her best to sound reasonable. "When Mason is on a story, nothing is getting in his way. I mean, he considers threats minor annoyances."

"I know that," Belén nodded her head, "But...to ask the Flash and the Azalea? I don't...I don't know…"

"It's the best idea considering where the police's attention is at the moment."

"I don't know...I mean, I don't know how to contact them," Belén tried to say but Iris gave her a 'really' expression that shut down that excuse.

"The Flash personally came to give you the story of the week - for sure he'll come if you ask. C'mon, Bells. Look if you don't wanna go then I guess I can just go back on my old blog and see if one of them answers-"

"No!" Belén said far too fast. At Iris' bemused face she tried correcting it in some way. "I mean, I guess I can look into it." She would prefer to keep this call on the down-low. The last thing they needed was for Iris to put herself in danger using that old blog of hers.

Iris' expression flipped like a switch after hearing that. "So then you'll do it!?"

Now Belén was caught back because she knew that was basically what she had said. "Well, um...I mean...I guess...I can give...one a call..?"

"You're such a good friend!" Iris threw her arms around Belén, giving her a ridiculous excited hug which made Belén laugh in the end.

~ 0 ~

"We have got a problem," Belén walked into STAR Labs later that day, surely enough finding Barry, Caitlin and Cisco there.

"You know-" Cisco turned on his chair to face her direction, "-most people say 'good afternoon'."

Belén rolled her eyes and plopped her bag over his lap, continuing her conversation. "Iris just asked me to get in contact with the Flash and the Azalea."

"Really?" Caitlin spoke before Barry could. "She hasn't done that in a long time. I actually thought she forgot about it completely."

"Yeah well, with Mason's disappearance she's up and active again," Belén sighed and now looked at Barry. "I don't know what to do but at that moment I had to tell her okay. I'm so sorry."

"It's fine, I know how Iris can get sometimes," Barry walked over and gave her a hug.

"I'm still sorry, I should have told her I would think about it so I could come talk to you about it," she looked up at him. "But my big mouth said I'd call you and I guess me."

"She's not gonna give up until one of us goes," Barry said, thinking about the possible ways this could go.

"So who goes?" asked Cisco curiously.

"Barry," Belén instantly said, earning herself a wide-eyed response from the man. "Can we get a moment guys?" she looked at the other two. "Just a minute, I promise."

"Sure," Caitlin got up first and motioned Cisco to follow her out.

Now Barry didn't need to think twice to know what Belén was going to tell him. And while it was frustrating to go through this again, he understood she was just scared to use her powers around Iris. "You don't want to go see Iris as the Azalea because you're scared you'll lose control, right?"

"That-" Belén pointed at him, "-is why I like you. You're incredibly smart."

Her forced smile didn't fool him. Swaying his head, he came up with an alternative way to approach the same subject. "Or, we could both go and I could keep an eye on you…"

"I wouldn't be comfortable," Belén quietly objected. Her expression wasn't one that was ready to argue the hell out of it. She had decided it already, and was just waiting for him to get on board with the idea.

"First you're scared of training and now you wanna pull back on your time being the Azalea? Bells, c'mon!"

"I don't know what I want to do, Barry, to be honest," Belén admitted for the first time. "I became the Azalea to find my brother but...now my brother's evil so what does it really matter if I stop being the Azalea?"

"Hey it matters," Barry was looking at her incredulously. "Because when you came to Central City wearing that mask you made a commitment to the people. And Bells, the people love you," Belén scoffed, "They do. You've become a part of the city and nobody wants to see her go."

Belén stared hard at the floor, truly thinking about his words and the meaning he put into them. Seconds later she felt his arms wrap around her from behind, actually making her think he gave a mean hug. "Can you just please go for tonight?" she whispered, tilting her head to look at him. "And then...we can continue discussing...I promise."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

"Okay," Barry said, although making it a conditional 'okay'. "What's the story?"

"Um…" Belén thought about it for a moment, "...I gave you a call?"

Barry laughed. "So you're just casually going to let it out that you have the Flash's number?"

"Fine - e-mail," Belén shrugged and turned around. "WhatsApp?"

"Now you're just playing with me!"

Belén nodded her head, chuckling. "Maybe a little," she admitted and draped her arms over his shoulders for another hug. "But we better get our stories straight because Iris West is no fool."

"No she is not," agreed Barry and both laughed again.

~ 0 ~

Needless to say that when Iris got a call from Belén telling her it was all set up, the reporter was up and thanking Belén up to who knew what Gods. It was so nice to hear someone happy that Belén didn't mind Iris picking the place for their meeting.

"You still have a key to this place?" Belén was cautious as they both walked into the closed Jitters' in the night.

Iris smiled deviously to herself as she closed the door behind them. "They don't quite know I still have it."

"Shouldn't you - I don't know - give it back to them?" The response Belén got was a loud laughter. "Okay, so, um...I don't suppose there's still coffee behind there?" Belén leaned towards the counter in case there was a random pot of coffee she knew was probably not going to be there.

At that moment, Barry sped in through the back door of the place and was careful to stay in the shadows. Iris was stunned to see him again, and while Belén walked away from the counter, the other reporter tried gathering her words so she didn't sound like an idiot.

"Mind my asking but why are we meeting here?" Barry genuinely asked them both while taking a look at the place.

"Ask my friend," Belén replied, chuckling.

"I still have a key," shrugged Iris, although her attempted casual demeanor was not going so well.

"So what's going on?" Barry asked.

"Iris has a problem…" Belén trailed off and glanced back at Iris who'd stayed a bit behind.

"U-um, my coworker, Mason Bridge is missing," Iris remembered the severity of her problem and got over her nervousness. "He's not at home. He's not answering his phone. I mean, it's not like him. I am really worried that something bad has happened."

"Truthfully so am I," admitted Belén after a moment, "I mean, yeah Mason was a bit of a prick but...his job was everything to him. He wouldn't leave it like that."

"I'm...sure he's fine," Barry tried sounding convincing but the look he was getting from Belén told him he was failing. Even in darkness her eyes were burning on him.

And now that he was avoiding her look, Belén detected there was something he wasn't telling her. Without thinking, she stepped towards him, closer, much to Iris' curiosity. "I know Mason - longer than Iris, and definitely more than you - and I know that he wouldn't do something like this.''

"Maybe he's-"

Belén sighed when she saw him going in another excuse attempt. "Will you look into it? ...for me?"

Even if he could show his face at her at that moment Barry knew he probably wouldn't. Those pleading eyes of her was stronger than she knew, and it was already a part of him - a part of the Flash - to help Belén Palayta. Of course he would do it for her.

"For you, anything," he responded in a soft voice.

Belén smiled at him. She couldn't help but remember their first meetings like this, where she hadn't known who he was, and the feelings that perhaps were there at the time. All those reprimands and denying with Nina made her laugh inside. If only she had known then where she would be now.

"Heads up," Cisco's voice in the suit's earpod startled Barry. "Trickster's broadcasting again."

Barry looked past Belén to Iris, the latter now with an unreadable face. "Can I borrow your laptop?"

Iris blinked away her stupor and nodded. "Um, sure. Help…" but Barry sped over in half a second to get her laptop. By the time Iris turned around he was already working at it. "...yourself…"

Belén hurriedly crossed the room to get a closer look at the screen. It was the young Trickster again, making a new recording. This time he stood in front of a wooden box with a drawn picture of a cartoon bomb.

"Get ready for the games to begin! I have...a bomb. It's a big bomb. It'll make a big bang and then a big hole and then a big drop in the pop-ulation. But never say The Trickster is not fair. The bomb is somewhere between 52nd Street and Avenue B."

"Oh my God," Iris covered her mouth in disgust at the new trick on them.

Belén wasn't surprised, much like Barry. He got up quickly and turned to her, both silently agreeing he should he going while she stayed with Iris.

"Be careful okay?" He couldn't leave without saying first.

She nodded her head, slightly smiling. "Of course. But you too."

With a smile of his own, Barry sped out of the building. Belén moved to the computer, barely closing its lid when Iris blurted, "Oh my God! He likes you!"

"What?" Belén tried keeping her widened eyes out of sight while picking up Iris' laptop from the table.

"The Flash - he likes you! Oh my God, that's why he kept coming to you with all the stories," Iris walked straight up to her, wearing a cross of amusement and surprise on her face. "Belén, what he did - all he did - was for you. He so likes you."

The laugh that came out of Belén was not one that clearly defended her proclaimed innocence. "Iris, you're just confused."

"Oh no I am not! I was watching you two, and it was...it was like I was intruding on some private meeting," she looked to the side, "Can you imagine what Barry would feel like if he knew this?"

Belén fought the urge to respond with the truth. She didn't want Iris thinking there was some kind of cheating going on. Because if that was the case then she would tell Iris everything right there.

"You gotta be careful, Belén," Iris continued, taking her laptop back. "I mean, he does know you're going out with someone right?"

A quirky smile spread across Belén's face. "Oh, he knows alright. Trust me."

"Good," Iris nodded.

"You're putting way too much thought into this," Belén laughed and made way for the door.

"I can't believe you hadn't noticed!" Iris went after her, still very much in shock. "The frikin Flash likes you! How does that feel!? To have the city's hero's heart?"

Belén shook her head, holding the door for Iris, while trying not to laugh again. "You're exaggerating. Have I mentioned you're crazy too?"

"No I am not!" Iris exclaimed, and she didn't give up on the topic as they headed home.

~0~

Like the police, Barry was doing his best to find the bomb before it went off. Speeding through, he went through every last building and corner through the streets the young Trickster had covered. At the end, he stopped for a moment to get in contact with the others.

"Guys, I can't find it. I need your help!"

"There's nothing on traffic cams or CCTV," Caitlin reported after an intensive search.

Cisco agreed. "I re-tasked the STAR Labs satellite to scan the area for incendiary devices. A bomb that large should be giving off some kind of thermal or chemical signature."

"Well, then why can't you find it?" Barry asked, rather impatient and frantic.

And then it clicked. "Because it's a trick. The bomb's not there," informed Wells.

"No, it has to be. I'm gonna keep looking."

Wells shook his head. "That is what he wants, for you and the police to keep running around in circles. There is something else going on, Barry. I can feel it. Now, trust me."

Barry thought about it for a short second and decided he really couldn't trust Wells anymore. "I'm gonna keep looking," he declared instead and continued to speed through the streets.

"Barry?" called Wells but the metahuman didn't answer anymore.

Cisco, confused like Caitlin, glanced at Wells. "Why doesn't he just listen to you?"

Barry continued ignoring the others as he went in search of the bomb. He eventually came across an old basement in one of the buildings that contained the familiar box.

"I found it!" He exclaimed and opened up the box. Unfortunately, he found the words 'Tricked you' on the lid inside, and he realized that the box was empty.

It was then that Cisco got a ping from the Iron Heights prison. Looking into it, he discovered it was far worse than usual.

"There's an explosion at Iron Heights!"

Well tried not to sound a know it all but he had been correct. "This was all a diversion. The prison was the real target. James Jesse. I guess he's tricked us all."

Hearing this, Barry quit the basement and got in contact with Joe through the earpod.

"Joe, there's no bomb in this city. It was a diversion so The Trickster could help James Jesse escape."

"I know," responded Joe, sounding grim. "We just got surveillance footage from Iron Heights. Jesse got away. Barry, look, they took a hostage."

Barry frowned, feeling even worse then. If he had listened earlier he would've been there. "Well, who did he take? A guard? The warden?"

"No. Your dad."

~0~

Night had turned into morning, and while everyone at STAR Labs and the CCPD worked long and hard, they were only able to solve one thing.

"We were able to identify the other Trickster," Joe told the rest of the team. "His name's Axel Walker, age 25. Apparently him and James have been corresponding through snail mail for over a decade."

"I should have been there," Barry kept repeating ever since he had entered the cortex. He was beyond furious...and beyond terrified.

"We're gonna find your dad, okay?" Caitlin assured, although she didn't know how her words would go on him.

Barry ignored them as he got up from his chair. "I guess I should have listened to you," he sourly aimed at Wells then left the place in a stalk.

No one blamed Barry for his mood, it was perfectly understandable. Still, there were decisions they didn't quite agree with but didn't voice it. And a while later, one of those decisions walked in.

"Please tell me we have more news on these maniac," Belén walked in holding a cup of Jitters coffee in one hand. As she drank, she noticed the uneasy glances the group was sharing. "What is it?"

"We wanted to call you…" Cisco resorted to an explanation she probably did deserve, "...but Barry said no…"

"To tell me what?" Belén frowned, lowering her coffee and bag.

"Last night we figured out the bomb was a diversion...and James Jesse escaped," Caitlin slowly explained, glancing at the others just to make sure they were all on board.

"Why do I get the feeling there's something worse?" Belén spoke her intuition she now felt at the pit of her stomach.

"He took a hostage with him," Joe said, and like a bandage he ripped it off with the truth. "It was Barry's dad."

Belén's eyes widened till they couldn't. The first few seconds displayed shock but then came the inevitable irritation from not being told right away. "How could nobody have told me about this!? It's mighty important!"

"Barry decided to hold it off for the night," Dr. Wells explained, not that it mattered for Belén was rightly angry now.

"Well, I'm gonna go tell him why that was wrong," she declared, hastily setting her things down at the desk. "Where the hell is he!?"

"You know, maybe it's not the best time…" Cisco began but was promptly silenced with a glare. "He's down in the pipeline,."

With a huff, Belén turned and marched out of the room. Everyone else turned on Cisco with disapproving looks for his easy answers.

"She scares me," Cisco said like it should've been a reasonable excuse.

~ 0 ~

The plan was to scold Barry for his stupid decision and then, ultimately, try and comfort him during the hard time Belén was sure he was going through. But then she found him in the pipeline sitting on the floor alone. She silently walked towards him, feeling her initial annoyance fading the more she looked at him. By the time she reached him, the idea of scolding him had been thrown out the window.

"Hey," she greeted softly, taking a seat on her knees right beside him.

He didn't seem surprised she was visiting him, but he did look nervous. "You know…?"

"Oh that you decided not to tell me your father had been kidnapped last night because in your deluded mind it was much better for me to be in the dark?"

He draped his arms over his knees he'd pulled up and leaned his head on them. "I just...thought you deserved to sleep well for tonight."

"While I appreciate that, I would much rather prefer to be in the know of what's happening in my boyfriend's life. Especially when it concerns his father's life."

"Are you mad?" Barry asked, truthfully a little worried he would now have to worry about that.

"I was annoyed," Belén rolled her eyes. "But I'm letting it slide because you're cute and you have a lot on your plate today."

"I am sorry though," he raised his head but couldn't afford to look at her at the moment. He felt all the fear inside mixing with anger and yet another layer of fear.

"It's okay," Belén rubbed his arm and scooted closer to him. "How are you?"

Barry truly did consider words to voice his feelings but...it became difficult to find the right words that would express them. "I don't...I don't know if my dad's still alive," came out of his mouth. He hadn't realized that his eyes were becoming teary.

"Of course he is," Belén quickly said. "James took your father as proper leverage and that only works as long as he's alive." A couple seconds later she wondered if those had been truly the best words she could come up with. "Plus," she then added, trying lift up the mood, "everyone upstairs is looking to find him."

That was supposed to reassure Barry but now all he thought of was the fact that the person who may have murdered his mother was now dealing with his father's fate. He closed his eyes, releasing a tiny, shaky sigh through his lips.

"I can't...I can't do this…" he struggled.

Belén took that as still regarding his father's situation and three her arms over him, forming a side hug. "We're gonna find him, I promise you. I will go out there as the Azalea if I have to but your dad is coming back. I swear." She planted a kiss on his cheek with a bright smile just for him.

Feeling her touch made him smile. He opened his eyes and turned his head to look at her. Belén saw sad, teary eyes before her and wanted nothing more than to make the pain go away. If roles were reversed, she was sure Barry would think the same way for her. She had so much she wanted to give to him - she wanted to see him happy - and she knew how she would start.

Leaning forwards, she pressed a short kiss to his lips. When she pulled away she sported a tint of pink on her cheeks, but a smile nonetheless was on her face. In that moment Barry had never felt so grateful to have something good - particularly this good - in his life. He reached with one hand to brush his fingers across her cheeks. Without warning, he shifted a bit on his side and kissed her again. While it had been a surprise for her, Belén fell into the moment and let it continue for as long as they could. If only breathing hadn't been an issue.

With a bright red face, Belén smiled sheepishly. "I think...you are definitely my best boyfriend."

Barry made a bemused face at her. "Really?"

"Definitely best kisser," she nodded, chuckling when she practically saw his ego swell.

"Well…" he began, making her laugh even more.

"Okay, I take that comment back," she said when she could talk without laughing. After a short minute she sobered up and took his nearest hand. "Look, no matter what, you are not alone in this. I am here, right beside you."

"Thank you, Bells," Barry said, interlacing his fingers with hers.

"I'm gonna go call work and tell them I can't do tonight's event so that I can stay here," Belén announced, already making a move to get up when Barry protested and pulled her down.

"What event?"

Belén rolled her eyes. "It's not important. The mayor's having a fundraiser and they wanted me, Noah and Iris to visit to get some info."

"That sounds important…"

"It's really not…"

"I don't want you to get into trouble because of me, okay? Please, just go to your event-"

Belén was already shaking her head in refusal. "I'm not leaving you."

"It really would make me feel better knowing you are doing your job that I know is important to you," Barry covered their interlocked hands with his other one. Belén seemed might unsure of this idea but Barry was persistent. "I promise if anything happens I'll call you."

"Barry…"

"I will speed you there myself if I have to," he resorted to warnings, much to her amusement.

"You don't even know where it is!"

"Power of Google, my dear, it's very helpful."

Belén sighed in resignation. "Fine. But there goes me trying to be a good girlfriend by sticking with you when you need me."

Barry scoffed. "What are you talking about? I think you are my best girlfriend that I've ever had."

A small giggle escaped through Belén's lips as she remarked, "You've only had two girlfriends before me, Barry, so I don't think it really counts."

Barry frowned. "No more hanging out with Iris."

Belén playfully rolled her eyes and got up, pulling him with her. "You let me know if anything happens okay? No matter what."

"I promise," Barry truthfully returned. Satisfied with his response, she gave him a quick - but meaningful - hug then hurried out.

Watching her go, Barry realized he had felt a little better after her visit. She just had that power on him.

~ 0 ~

In a nice pink, laced dress Belén attended the public mayor's fundraising along with Iris and Noah. The three walked up to the check in table where they showed their work identifications to the check-in people.

"You sure you're okay?" Iris asked her after they had left the check-in table.

"No, but I'm here anyways," Belén responded with nothing but the truth.

"Barry told you it was fine," Iris reminded, accepting a glass of champagne from a young man on the way. "This is your work, after all, and you don't play with it."

"Champagne, miss?" an older waiter man stopped beside with a tray of champagne glasses.

"Thanks," in her distraction she didn't see just who was the waiter offering her the drink. She took the glass and right away took a sip.

Noah took second glass and did the same thing. "Relax, Belén," he distractedly said, not really caring what was going on.

Iris walked over to the mayor she spotted near the platform and began a conversation. Noah remained beside Belén watching the procession, but discreetly noticed her constantly checking her phone. He was sure it had to do something with the Flash considering they still had the runaway prisoner, and more so considering they'd taken her boyfriend's father as a hostage.

Then it hit. An idea.

"You know Belén, this is sort of relating back to my initial thoughts about these metahumans," he began, turning to her. This time she didn't appear angry nor irritated at the least by his comment. "It's bad news - the lot of them. Look what they did to your boyfriend's father."

"Technically, James Jesse is not a metahuman," Belén corrected, still moaning a suave attitude. "He's a regular crazy criminal."

"But he's got the Flash after him and because of it he took some poor man to threaten him with."

"This isn't the Flash's fault, Noah. It was...an unfortunate event. And I am sure he is out there looking for Henry Allen."

"They're bad news, and they need to be eliminated at their core."

Now this struck Belén oddly, especially the determination in Noah's voice. She lowered her glass and looked to the side, considering what all this meant. "You mean...like...eliminate the leader? Who would that be exactly?" she chuckled then, shaking her head. "You better not think it's the Flash because that's ridiculous."

"Of course not," Noah responded, well aware he was letting more loose than he wanted. "But he's part of it. He's in league with them."

Belén really struggled not to sound so bias but it was difficult knowing how wrong Noah was. "And in your mind who the hell runs the strings with the metahumans?"

"STAR Labs," Noah wasn't afraid to answer. He looked Belén dead in the eyes, despite her mixture of emotions at the moment, and explained more. "Dr. Wells is responsible for all the metahumans in the first place, as well as all the causalities that followed. Everyone who works there is also at fault for creating the particle accelerator."

Surprise was gone, as well as confusion. All that filled Belén at that moment was nothing but anger. "I'm going to remind you that my boyfriend was saved by those people-"

"-because of guilt," Noah snapped, unable to keep his own biases away. "Need I remind you that it was because this stupid accelerator was created my mother - my last parent - died? Belén, even your own father was killed by a metahuman!"

"That had nothing to do with Wells nor STAR Labs!" Belén pointed out, her voice rising so that others were beginning to look at them. "Metahumans think for their selves - their thoughts are not run by STAR Labs. And the fact you think all this is possible really shows me the kind of person you are."

"Oh, really?" scoffed Noah.

"Yes, really," mimicked Belén. "You're not the type of friend I want to have nor work with." Giving him a narrowed look, she walked away before things escalated more.

"Hey-" Iris stopped her near the platform, one hand on Belén's arm, "-what was that all about?" she discreetly nodded towards Noah who'd remained far in the back.

"He's an idiot, that's what," Belén angrily rolled her eyes.

"What he do?" Iris asked in concern, truthfully rarely seeing her friend so worked up about something unless it was important.

"I'd rather not waste my breath on him," Belén answered and plastered a little smile to get by.

At that moment, someone took the stage and the podium. "Welcome, welcome," began the elder man - a James Jesse - who seemed delighted with the turn out of his plans, "Centrla City's finest. How about a toast to Mayor Anthony Bellows? He doesn't just yell at his staff, he bellows!" But hardly anyone in the crowd laughed to his joke. Belén squinted her eyes at the properly dressed waiter, trying to figure out who he was. "You see what I did there with the wordplay and the...tough crowd."

The Mayor had hastily made his way up to the stage to see it all stopped. "Excuse me," he said to James after placing a hand on the microphone, "Who are you?"

"How quickly they forget," James mumbled to his partner - and apparent son - Axel who stood beside him now. He cleared his throat, getting ready to make the presentation of his life. "James Jesse, your honor, aka-" he ruffled his hair and smirked as he faced the crowd, "-The Trickster. And I'm here to relieve you fine people from all your money. Because we know if you're in this room, you've got loads of it."

"Oh no," Belén's eyes widened.

"What makes you think that anyone in this room would give you a cent?" the Mayor seemed to want to laugh at what he thought was an utter hoax.

"Because that champagne they just slurped down like so much fruit punch... I added a little something special to it," James said to the crowd, and everyone began suspiciously looking at their glasses. "Trimethylmercury 32. Poison. Without the antidote, you'll begin to feel the effects in about, oh, um... One hour."

A couple seconds later one man started coughing loudly, and in his stumbles he came forwards to reveal he had some sort of foam slipping through his mouth.

"I remember you," James pointed at him with a widened smile. "You got to the party about an hour early. I offered you the very first glass of champagne."

The man continued to cough until the foam covered his throat. He collapsed on the ground dead minutes later.

James chuckled along with Axel. "An hour is plenty of time for all of you to call your bankers and transfer everything you have to the account number on the bottom of your glass," he gestured to the crowd to get started. "Once my young friend and I are rich, you'll get the antidote. If any of you decide to call 911 instead, well, then we switch to lead poisoning." As a show, he pulled out a gun and raised high in the air to issue the start of the blackmail.

"We'll see about that," Belén mumbled and pulled Iris towards the middle of the crowd where they would hopefully blend in.

"What are you doing!?" Iris whispered-yelled at her when she saw Belén pulling her phone out.

"Shhh," Belén put a finger on her lips as she hit a number. She shifted Iris so that both faced the front and Belén left her phone between them while Jesse continued to talk.

~ 0 ~

"Anything?" Joe asked the three STAR Labs employees who did, truthfully, worked at fast paced on the computers.

"I'm scanning all the traffic cams in the city. I got nothing," Cisco took a moment to look at Joe but quickly got back to the computer.

Barry was at the threshold of the cortex listening to everyone yet not really listening at the same time. The only reason he snapped out of his trance was because he felt his phone vibrating in his jean's pocket. He pulled it out to see Belén's name and answered it.

"Bells?" he answered but received a some indistinct talking from the other side. As he paid more attention, he realized he knew one of the voices that was speaking over everyone else's. "Guys?" he quickly leaned off the threshold and rushed for the desk. "It's Belén's phone but listen…"

Putting his phone on speaker they all heard James Jesse on the other line.

'How many of you feel the Trimethyline 32 coursing through your veins, hmm?'

"That's him. That's Jesse," Barry urgently said, realizing Belén was somehow with him and more people.

"Cisco, can you ping her phone?" Joe immediately asked.

"Just find out where the mayor's having a fundraiser," Barry said to Cisco. "She, Iris and Noah are there for their jobs."

"Iris is there!?" Joe nearly lost it.

"I'm on it," Cisco quickly searched for the location.

Meanwhile, Caitlin had been searching for the strange name James had mentioned and came to some bad results. "Trimethylmercury 32 is a relatively fast-acting poison."

"Is there a cure?" Barry panicked.

"Yes," Wells assured. "Yes. We can start synthesizing the antidote right now."

"Hurry - Belén is there and she's...not exactly herself," Barry left it at that for the moment. He knew why she had called him in the first place. She didn't feel confident enough to come out as the Azalea. She needed him. And he was going to help her.

~ 0 ~

Belén had long stuffed her phone inside her bag and kept Iris close to her while everyone called for their bank accounts to be drained. She couldn't find Noah anywhere though. Despite their argument she didn't want him to get hurt.

"I don't see him," Iris said quietly as they continued their search through the crowd.

"Just...keep looking, he has to be around here somewhere," Belén politely moved around a couple who were fervently talking on their respective cellphones.

"Maybe he's just drunk and doesn't even realize what's going on," Iris suggested.

They were now at the front and as they were moving down, James cut in front of them.

"Eugh, what do you want?" Belén took a step back with Iris.

"You know, I've been in prison for 20 years," he informed with a widened smirk, but neither woman was amused.

"Then you'll know the routine when you get sent back," Iris promptly replied, instigating a deep glare from the man in response.

"You're not getting away with it," Belén declared, much to the man's amusement. "The Flash is gonna get you."

"Oh really?" it was James' turn to scoff in disbelief.

"Yes and-"

But James was blasted with a shot of ice that pushed him against the wall across the room. Belén was so stunned that Iris had to pull her back as another blast shot past her.

"I'm gonna need that antidote now," Azul stood on the platform with his hands glowing blue, indicating there was to be a third blow coming.

"What is he doing here?" frowned Belén. Azul hopped off the stage with eyes trained on James - the latter being surprised of this new metahuman he hadn't been expecting. But as Azul got closer Belén noticed there was something off in his eyes - was he drunk?

"Oh my god he's drunk," Belén mumbled, stepping back with Iris.

"What!?" Iris gaped. What kind of metahuman was this!?

"I said: GIVE ME THE ANTIDOTE!" Azul made to hit again but this time Barry had come in - as the Flash - and blocked him.

"You reek of champagne," he frowned.

"Get the hell out of my way, speedy," Azul went to use his powers but Barry was far quicker and chucked him across the stage.

After making a quick glance to see if Belén was fine he went for the real problem. He grabbed James by the collars and pinned him on the wall again. "Where's Henry Allen?"

James was groggy but not that much to not know when to put the second part of his plan to action. "He's where you'll be soon. Heaven!"

Axel appeared and slapped something on Barry's wrist. When Barry looked down he saw some sort of contraption beginning to beep.

"Are you familiar with the movie Speed?" asked James with a wicked smile. "Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock? See, you're the bus, and that's the bomb. A kinetic bomb, actually, and if you go below 600 miles per hour, it'll explode. Same thing happens if you try to remove it."

"Here we go," Axel declared and flipped a switch on the contraption that lit it up.

"Ooh, it's active. Run, run, run, run, run!" laughed James.

Barry had only a second to think before he dashed out of the building. Belén swallowed hard as she saw her last help leave.

"Great, what happens now?" Iris looked around. "Where's the Azalea?"

The mere question made Belén shake a little. She bit her nail and happened to look down where she saw her phone lighting up inside her bag. She could clearly see the name 'Cisco' on it and panicked even more. She stuffed her things over the cellphone and tried to not to think about it. But as seconds ticked by, minutes ticked by, it was becoming a real struggle. Azul was getting up from the stage, looking ready to fight again. And drunk.

"Someone needs to stop him…" Iris was desperately looking about as if someone else was going to step in before anyone got hurt.

"He's coming back," Belén said as a means of comfort. But the moment Azul struck a bystander in the crowd all calmness went to hell.

"I WANT THE ANTIDOTE!" He shouted, actively searching for the two culprits that merged within the crowd. No one dared leave the building because of the poison, causing even more pandemonium. "If I don't get the antidote people will get hurt - fork it over!"

And to prove his point, he shot mystical ice bits that grazed some of the crowd and actually stabbed someone on the leg.

"Oh my God!" Iris clapped a hand to her mouth.

Belén was, also, horrified that Azul was going to these measures to get the antidote. He truly was out of his mind for the night.

"Where's the Azalea!?" Iris kept her hopes up that the MIA partner would show up.

Belén knew it was useless to reassure that the Flash was coming back to help them. Azul was making his way through, hurting those he passed by. She also kept hearing her phone vibrate amongst the things she carried in her bag, reminding that STAR Labs was still pushing her to be someone she was afraid of.

But even then, she didn't have her suit. If she wanted to keep her identity a secret she would have to...go green. That terrified her to the core.

"WHERE IS IT!?" screamed Azul as he came to a stop in the middle of the crowd. Everyone retracted several steps away but he yanked the nearest attendee, a suited man, by the collars. "I guess I'll have to shake it out of everyone until it appears."

From the corner, Belén was able to see James Jesse and Axel trying to sneak into another hiding spot. Due to that, she missed Azul throwing the innocent man back. Iris yelped when the man landed mere inches from her feet.

"How about you princess?" Azul turned on her. "Think we can get some answers if I come for you next?"

Iris felt her feet frozen at the floor from fear. But when she looked down she saw that it wasn't actually from fear. Azul had made ice creep up to her heels and tips.

"I-I don't have anything!" Iris exclaimed, dropping her bag instantly.

"Let's find out who does," Azul said with a warning blue hand.

But at the same time he was struck from the side, across the face, by a thick, green vine that knocked him to the floor. Iris gasped and quickly looked for the source she was already assuming who was the Azalea.

Sure enough, she stood at the other side, with her emerald green, scaly skin. Without her suit she had entrusted her vines and roots to cover it up and at least impersonate some new vine dress. Her pulled hair remained the same but covered in bits of vines.

"Woah, new look," Iris remarked while immediately moving around to return to the crowd.

Belén didn't waste time in talking to her, for she could feel the terrible turmoil inside her. She didn't want to lose control in the middle of so many people. Looking to her right, she thrust a hand forwards, barring James and Axel a clean hideout. "You better give these people their antidotes now."

"And what if we don't?" challenged Axel.

Belén raised an eyebrow. Using the same vine, she swatted them like bugs against a wall. "That gets to happen again...and again...and again."

"Watch out!" she heard Iris frantically call to her. She barely had time to process when she felt a blow to the stomach that sent her to the floor, flat on her back.

Azul had gotten up and was ready for some payback. "I am sick and tired of your stupid brother giving you freebies!" He struck her with shards of ice that pinned her to the floor. She hissed at their coldness, and grew even more concerned when she felt a growl trying to escape her lips. "You shouldn't even be allowed to join us," continued Azul, who was now walking for her, "No, you should die like everyone else in STAR Labs. Because you are and will always be in league with them instead of your own family!" During his words, he kept shooting at her, although now she was trying to defend herself.

Belén growled and swung a vine towards him, grabbing him by the waist and smacking him to the ground. She could feel her mind frazzling with so many different thoughts and emotions, most of them not in her control. Nearly screaming she entangled him with vines here and there, wrapping him like a cocoon till he couldn't move anymore. Then, wearily, she turned where she had left James and Axel across.

"Your turn," she whispered and made a step forwards when she felt a sharp jab at her arm. "Ow!" the pain she felt snapped her out of early trance, allowing her to see that Barry had returned with an antidote...and thankfully with no exploding contraption on his wrist.

Barry exchanged a look with her, showing he was overly worried and this time so was Belén. Because she remembered this time.

"It's okay. You've all been given an antidote," he addressed the stricken crowd who was left looking from one odd person to the next.

"Over there," Belén pointed Barry towards the two criminals on the floor.

He sped towards them and picked both up."Now where is Henry Allen? You're going to prison either way, James."

"Unless you want me to go all swatty again," warned Belén who was already conjuring up another vine.

Seeing that made James sing like a canary.

~0~

"Now I want you to take it easy alright?" Caitlin warned Belén after securing the last bandage on the side of Belén's stomach. "You don't heal fast like others-"

Belén made a loud, clearly annoyed, sigh. "Yeah, believe me, I've figured that out the hard way." She tilted her head upon remembering certain difficult memories. "Oliver's not very gentle when it comes to body injuries."

Caitlin laughed and returned all her tools to the metal table beside the bed Belén sat upon. When Belén lowered down her blouse, Caitlin called to the rest of the team outside. "She's decent!"

Belén made a face at her choice of words. "I'd like to clarify that I was always decent," she said as she got up.

"You know what I'd like some clarification on," Cisco said the moment he and Dr. Wells came into the room, "is how on earth you didn't get worst hits by Azul?"

"A little clarification on Mr. Allen's words wouldn't be bad either," Wells added, instigating a very nervous reaction from Belén.

"He-he said something?"

"He said you weren't exactly yourself," Caitlin looked down at her with a small smile.

"Let us remind you that you are here so that we can help you, Miss Palayta," Wells reminded with a pointed look her way.

"Um…" Belén scratched the side of her head.

Cisco walked to her side, swinging a comforting arm around her shoulders. "You know you can tell us anything."

Belén nodded her head. If course she knew that. It was practically embedded in her head. It just didn't mean it was easy for her. "So, um, when I first got my powers...there was this...this ability I could sort of do...that I actually hated. Hate."

"What kind of ability?" Wells leaned forwards on his chair to better hear.

"The kind where I go all green with scaly skin type," Belén answered at light speed, leaving Cisco and Caitlin to decipher what she had said.

Wells had grasped her words on the first try and was now experiencing a state of surprise. "You turn...all green?" he gestured with his hand to his face.

"Yes," Belén nodded. "But...but I didn't want anyone to know so I hid it. I hid it deep down and left it there."

"And now it's trying to break free with it controlling you," Wells concluded within the minute, getting a shameful nod from her in response.

"Why didn't you tell us about it?" Cisco asked her, forgetting his surprise to comfort her.

"Yeah," Caitlin put a hand on her arm, "We could have helped you."

"Barry was trying to help me," Belén explained. "But that's sorta when I lost control…"

"What happens exactly?" Wells pushed her to talk.

"I, uh, I lose myself, basically. I go fully aggressive when someone starts attacking me - it's like the trigger I think."

"Interesting," Wells leaned back on his chair, looking far more bemused than Belén would've liked, "A self-preservation trigger."

"A whatta-what now?" Belén blinked.

"Self-preservation - like every man for himself sort of thing," Cisco simplified it for her. "In your case, every metahuman for them self."

"Well, I'd like to get rid of it," she declared. "It's horrible not being in control of your own body and mind. It's worst knowing that I can hurt people with it."

"That's only because you've kept it buried," Wells clarified her. "If you want to control it then you have to be able to use it whenever you want to, not the other way around."

"It scares me. That's why I'm debating about being the Azalea. Every time I remotely become her, I can feel this other side creeping to the surface."

"Don't worry, we're going to help you control it," Wells promised. "Do you trust us?" He said, no one but him knowing the test laid out before her.

Without a doubt, Belén nodded. "Of course."

"In the meantime," Cisco began walking her out, letting Caitlin and Wells follow behind, "We've got Azul nicely locked down in the pipeline." Although that was bitter news in itself.

"Yeah, I can't believe I just imprisoned my co-worker," Belén shook her head. She felt like an idiot, honestly. Her brother had no doubt set Noah up at CC Pictures to keep an eye on her. She felt disgusted, frankly.

"Noah's not going anywhere, trust me," Cisco assured her.

"I always did say I'd lock them up if I ever got the chance," Belén quietly said. She felt momentary relief when she saw Barry walking into the cortex. She immediately rushed to go up and hug him. "I had to tell them everything," she said, clinging tightly to him.

"Everything?"

"That I'm a hideous green monster," Belén briefly explained and pulled away. She realized he hadn't come alone as there was Joe and the man she presumed to be Barry's father. "Is that your father?"

"Yes!" Barry quickly turned around to formally introduce them.

"Well there goes my first impression," Belén hung her head with a long sigh.

"You're fine," Barry rubbed her back affectionately. "Bells, this is my dad," he gestured to his father who was already looking amused by her.

"Henry Allen," the older man reached to shake her hand. "But I'm sure you already know that."

Belén sheepishly shook his hand with a tiny nervous smile. "Belén Palayta, but...I'm sure you already know that, well, I'm a hideous green monster."

"No, you are not," Barry scolded her playfully.

"You really are not," agreed Henry. "You're very pretty, actually."

"I can see where Barry got his good-natured compliments," Belén nudged the man in question beside her. "Are you taking notes for future situations?"

"I like her," Henry told Barry with a chuckle. "And let me tell you-" he now looked at Belén, "-that he-" he pointed at Barry, "-likes you as well."

"Dad," Barry stiffened, beginning to feel that embarrassment he was sure others experienced when their parents started talking too much around a girlfriend or boyfriend.

"He talks about you a lot," Henry said, more on purpose now.

"Dad!" Barry made a cutting motion across his neck. Belén just laughed and curled her arm around his waist, leaning her head on his arm.

"I like knowing this piece of information, thank you very much, Mr. Allen."

Henry nodded, and then, more soberly, said, "And I also heard about your father. I'm very sorry." He was sure this was another reason why his son found comfort with this woman. If it had been the same speedster that killed Nora, Belén was probably feeling the same way Barry had all those years ago.

"Thank you," Belén softly said. "I've been able to get through it thanks to everyone here, especially your son. He's very good at helping people."

Everyone agreed.

~ 0 ~

"Brazil?" Iris couldn't help make the face she was making after hearing what Eddie had come up with after searching for her co-worker, Mason. She shifted on the couch, both currently at her father's where they were to have dinner together. "Why...why would Mason move to Brazil?"

Eddie wanted to sell this story as best as possible, even though he hated the idea of lying to his girlfriend. But, it was what Joe wanted and - apparently - Barry as well. He was still in heavy shock from discovering the latter was the Flash, but now was not the time to freak out. "Apparently there was a girl involved, and he decided to go hike the Amazon with her for a year, you know, live off the grid, write his memoirs or something."

"Wow," Iris looked down for a moment. "I guess you really don't know anyone. Wait till Belén finds out."

And at that moment, her father walked in alone. "Hey, baby, everything good?"

"Yeah, yeah. Of course," she brushed off the Mason topic, deciding it was enough for now. She got up from couch. "Um, dinner will be ready in a jiff, okay? Is Barry not coming?"

"No, he had a date thing…"

"Okay," Iris shrugged and grabbed her phone from the coffee table before heading for the kitchen.

When Joe was sure she wasn't listening, he went directly for Eddie. "She buy it?"

Eddie sighed. "I think so."

"Keeping her in the dark, it's for her safety."

"That is debatable," Eddie sharply responded, "and we will have that debate. But for right now, what's our next move? How do we figure out what Wells is up to?"

"Right now, we're not sure," confessed Joe. "We need to wait until Barry gets back so we can talk."

Eddie gave a nod, but still openly displayed his disapproval of this plan of secrecy. A part of him wished he hadn't been told anything.

~0~

"Barry, I don't understand, what are we doing here?" Belén said as Barry held the door open for her to walk into the flower shop.

Since it was dark there weren't many people there, allowing almost a perfect glance at every plant being sold there. Barry took her hand and led her direct towards the side near the display window.

"I wanted you to see this," he explained upon stopping in front of a full display of colored Azaleas. Belén's eyes flickered from one flower to the next, bemused by their variety. "I know it's a bit weird to end the date at a flower shop but I promise there is a meaning behind this."

"They're Azaleas," Belén looked at him curiously.

"They're selling them now, all over the city," he began smiling, "And they're doing it in honor of you, Bells."

"...me?" she repeated quietly. "But I haven't done anything special…"

"Yes you have, Belén! And I am so tired of hearing you say otherwise. You don't see it because you're scared, and it's normal, but this city loves you. You are their hero too, no matter what you look like. And people want you here. I want you here too."

Belén looked at him a long time, processing his words and feelings. Of course she wanted to be there too, but it didn't take away her fears. Then again, it really wasn't just her in the equation anymore. There was the city who, apparently, yearned for her to continue being their hero. She didn't want to let anyone down. She didn't want to hurt anyone. She didn't want to be afraid of herself anymore.

"I guess...we have to practice first thing in the morning," she whispered, making Barry quickly smile.

"Absolutely-"

"And I'm talking serious practicing-"

"-sign me up-"

"-with no holding back-"

"Difficult," paused Barry, giving her a look, "But doable. For you."

And so, with a deep breath, Belén agreed to once again continue this new training session with the promise this time it would be effective. After all, this time everyone would be helping her.

#ocappreciation #arrowverseocs #the flash #barry allen #the flash fics #barry allen fics #the flash imagines #barry allen imagines #oc: Belén Palayta #oc: Belen Palayta #fic: it had to be you

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justjessame · 5 years ago

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Put Me In Coach Chapter 29

We got back to Alexandria around midday. Laura, taking Negan’s words to fucking heart, was on my heels the entire way to my house. And I was moving pretty fucking fast, needing to see Trey and assure myself that my being away for close to a full day hadn’t upset him.

I’d barely opened the front door when I was grabbed by Eric, and nearly fucking smothered by his chest. “Oh my fucking God,” he was saying, as I fought to breathe. “I cannot believe that Coach Big Dick Small Brain is alive and abducted you!” I was struggling to pull away, but fuck if the apocalypse hadn’t made his flaming ass strong. “I know, I know,” what do you know, bitch, I wanted to ask, but any noise I made was muffled against his shirt. “You must have been SO fucking upset. I mean, there he was in all his hot as fuck glory and after screwing that rancid redhead and flaunting the picture for you to find, poor princess.” Jesus, I finally felt another set of hands and then I was free.

Gasping for breath, which my dear darling best friend took as proof of my distraught state, Steven’s hands were brushing my hair from my face so I could actually get more air into my lungs.

“God, Eric, trying to fucking kill me?” Then I felt tiny arms wrapping around my legs and looked down to see Trey’s tiny face, brow furrowed, clearly trying to figure out what the holy fuck was going on.

“Who’re you?” Ah, finally notice my newest accessory?

“This is Laura,” I reached down and took Trey into my arms. “Laura, this is my insane family. Eric-” He was full on glaring at her, but she took it in stride, hell she looked amused. “Steven-” Steven was more polite, offering a small wave and smile. “And this,” I turned a little so my baby was facing her. “Is Trey. Trey, can you say ‘hi’ to Laura?”

“Hi,” he offered a tiny chubby wave. This got a full smile from the warrior who brought me home.

“Hey,” she was still smiling at Trey, because honestly who doesn’t love cute kids? When Eric accused me of something I was completely guilty of, but wasn’t a topic that needed aired in front of my toddler and a complete stranger.

“You fucked him.” Shit. “Oh my God, you and Coach fucked. I cannot believe this.” He threw up his hands and I nearly broke. “At least tell me that this time you spanked his horrible ass, after all he fucking deserves it.”

That did it, Laura looked like her ribs ruptured from trying hard to NOT fucking laugh at the image of my tiny self bending Negan over and spanking him for his naughtiness. And Steven and I couldn’t and didn’t hold ours in. Laughing at the pure absurdity of the image, Eric just stared at all of us like we’d done him wrong. Horribly horribly wrong.

Laura stayed inside, she offered to guard from the porch, but I knew we’d have visitors sooner rather than later, and I sure as fuck didn’t want to start it off with Negan’s woman waiting for them like I was a prisoner. While we waited for the inevitable, we had lunch and as I cuddled Trey on my lap afterward, we discussed Negan and what I’d seen at the Sanctuary.

“Of course they all kneel to Coach,” Eric waved off the information like it was understandable. “I mean, you of all people know how fucking amazing that man is. Top to bottom.” He stopped for a moment to savor the idea of Negan’s bottom in technicolor detail and then got back to the point. “I’m more freaked out by the harem and clothing shrine. Jesus, woman, what the fuck kind of power do you hold over him?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Power? I hold power over Negan?” Laura was watching our back and forth and she seemed to be coming to her own conclusions. “I think he felt guilty, like when we had that hiccup before.”

“You mean when he spanked you so hard you had to stand the entire fucking school day?” Laura’s eyes widened and Eric noticed. “That’s right, Negan the almighty, was in a relationship with a school girl.” He pointed at me. “And he was a jealous shit too, tanned her fucking hide because a guy her own age asked her to a formal. Then broke up with her at the end of the day. Seriously, he’s an ass.”

I snorted, and Trey giggled at the noise. “I’m sorry, he’s an ass?” I stared at my best friend like he was insane. “Who practically DROOLED over him the entire time we were together? Thirsty whore.”

“Bitch, the entire fucking school drooled over that man, you were just too lucky to notice, since he was fucking panting for you.” He shook his head. “And now, in the middle of this horrifying fucking world, he has a SHRINE of your shit and wants you back. When do we leave?”

My mouth dropped open and I stared. “What?” I expected more kickback. A bigger fight. Hell, I thought he’d go to Rick and start planning for the utter destruction of Negan now that he knew for a fact that he was alive.

“When. Do. We. Leave?” He spoke to me like I was impaired and I felt like I was. “For fuck’s sake, Amara, he said he’d ditch the concubines if you said the word, say it, and let’s fucking go.”

“What about Alexandria?” I asked, kissing Trey’s curls. “What about Rick and our community, Eric?”

He rolled his eyes and took Steven’s hand in his, letting their fingers link. “We’ve watched this place go from nirvana to a fucking shit show, Mara, the ONLY reason we’re still here is because Trey’s too little to go on the road with the three of us safely to find another life. You have to know that.” I waited, clearly I’d missed a whole fucking lot while raising Trey. “Between Deanna’s ineptitude, and then Rick’s group’s fucking holy crusade to be in charge of the world, the only part of this shitstorm that’s home is this fucking house. And now we have no fucking beds.”

“A little birdy told me that supplies are down, way down.” Steven offered, his other hand reaching across the table for mine. “Negan,” he looked to Laura for confirmation of what he was about to say, “he expects half of everything, right?” She nodded. “Half of not enough to feed the community leaves the community pretty fucking stark, doesn’t it?”

“Shit.” I sat back and felt Trey sucking on his fist, a left over baby habit we hadn’t broken yet. “So you’re both absolutely ready to go? Just pack and leave?”

The two men who constituted what was left of my family nodded. “We’ve been ready, Amara, just waiting for the opportunity of better for the four of us.” My heart clenched, knowing that they stayed for me and Trey, and not because they were settled in here.

Before I could answer, a knock came to the door and I sighed. Laura stood, but I shook my head at her. “Let Eric or Steven answer, please?” Sitting back down, somehow reading my face and the need for her to appear non threatening to whomever had come to see us, I heard Michonne’s voice and another sigh built.

Michonne looked at me like I had been a viper in their nest the entire time, which I found somewhat hilarious given that I was here first. She asked all the pertinent questions, and I answered them as honestly as I could. And then, as she was about to ask what it all meant for Alexandria, I told her that it meant nothing, since we’d be leaving. And soon.

“To go to him?” She said it like I was leaving to freely enter Hell, which given her interactions with Negan it might have seemed like it. I nodded. “And you’ll share everything you know about us?”

I raised an eyebrow. “I’m not a spy, Michonne.” I bit out, standing to rock Trey because he’d begun to fuss when the tension in the room built. “I just found out that the man I love survived. Why is it unreasonable to want to be with him?”

I knew, of course, why to her and her group, hell even our group it was unreasonable. The man I loved was a monster in their eyes. Well, too fucking bad. To me he was problematic and mildly irritating, but I’d be damned if strangers were going to make my choice for me. She left, and I felt very uneasy.

“Don’t worry,” it came from Laura. “It looks like it’s just me that came with you, but trust me, we’re not alone.” I nodded, feeling the fear start to dim. “Just pack, and we’ll head out when you’re done.”

“It’s not too late?” It was late afternoon, we hadn’t been here long, even if it felt like HOURS had passed since we’d arrived.

“Hell no,” she smiled and asked what she could do to help move our packing along.

#negan x ofc #The Walking Dead #alternate universe #mention of smut

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toartemis · 6 years ago

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Come on Love, Draw Your Swords - Part 3 & 4

For my own sanity I’ve chosen to combine these chapters on here.

Read on Ao3 here. More info and music recommendations can be found in the tags/chapter notes on there.

Part 1, Part 2.

Summary:

Sing to me, Moonlight For you, dear, are honey-tongued I dream just for you.

Or: The one where Jude finds out she's pregnant, and Cardan begins collecting a thousand plants.

Word Count: 6,675

Warnings: There is a depiction of a panic attack in this chapter. If you would like to skip it, stop reading at “But I never knew how to love,..." and continue at, "It's ages before she settles..."

Preview: She knows she should be thrilled. She is, deep below the surface. But her anxieties are almost overpowering, now, and she can’t keep shoving them away.

-------

Awareness comes to her slowly, the pull of sleep is heavy behind her eyes. The sun is just dipping behind the horizon, twilight lingering between the trees. Jude rolls to her back underneath a blanket of fur and her hands go to her belly without thought. She freezes, pangs of anxiety going through her. It always happens this way when she first wakes up; she has a few moments where she doesn’t remember. Of course, it’s hard to forget for long, now.

She started to show—really show—around a fortnight ago. It happened fast, like she could fit into all of her clothes until she woke up one day and couldn’t. That was when they announced her pregnancy.

Naturally, a large feast was held, one that neither she nor Cardan attended, opting to stay with each other in seclusion. It was a nice night.

Soon after she broke the news to Cardan, he got into the habit of pacing, which is still one of the strangest sights Jude has ever seen. It was short-lived, though, because it took him merely a week to fixate upon a new hobby that now takes up much of his free time.

To Jude’s absolute disbelief, Cardan began collecting plants. In the most non-magical, wholly mortal type of way. He disappeared once and came back hours later with an arm full of pots from the mortal world, as well as supplies Jude assumes are used to help them grow. She’s still stumped as to why he started it, but he has been faithful to them, shocking her and those closest to them.

It was ridiculous to her at first, and reminded her of Aleena. Back when she and Vivi first moved in together, their home was suddenly decorated top to bottom with greenery and has been that way ever since. Jude never cared for stuff like that, and she assumed Cardan didn’t either. When he first started, she was sure the plants wouldn’t survive, either because they weren’t meant to grow in Faerie or because Cardan couldn’t possibly keep them alive without magic, but she was very wrong. They’re healthy and decorate their bedroom and the windows throughout their apartments.

She still doesn’t know what happened to them over time, whether he enchanted them in some way or they just adapted, but they became magical, bit by bit, and now they’re lively little things with big tempers. Jude doesn’t question it, only keeps her distance so she doesn’t get poked or snapped at. When she finds Cardan pruning or re-potting them, a look of child-like concentration in his features, she marvels at how calm they are in his presence. The plants like him. She quietly leaves him to his tending whenever his schedule calls for it.

As endearing as his new pastime is, Jude wonders if it has gotten a bit out of hand. Now, as she slips out of bed, hand still on her stomach, and makes her way to the large, polished mirror across the room, she bumps into one of the newest additions to Cardan’s collection. It’s at the foot of their massive bed on top of a small, decorative chest. The plant almost tumbles to the ground, but Jude manages to catch it in time and sit it back upright. It’s a mystery, really, how she never sees him acquire any new ones, but they always appear in different spots.

She really needs to convince Cardan to put them all in an extra room somewhere else in the palace. Or a greenhouse, maybe.

Distraction taken care of, she glances at her husband to make sure he’s still asleep before continuing to her destination.

Mirrors frighten Judeas of late. She’s never been particularly interested in her appearance, per se, but now she tends to avoid them altogether. Her face looks the same as always, save for the rosy flush in her cheeks that seems to accompany her everywhere. Her eyes are tired, but her skin is clear and glowing even in the dim light.

It’s not her face that bothers her, but her body.

There’s no mistaking that she’s pregnant anymore. Her midriff doesn’t merely look like she’s put on weight. It’s obvious that she’s with child. The roundness of her belly turns all eyes to her form when she’s in public. It’s even more attention than she usually receives as Queen.

Cardan’s face brightens every time she’s in his sights, and when they’re alone he can’t keep his hands away from her stomach. Jude tries very hard not to let any of this bother her, but she can’t help it. It’s not that she doesn’t feel some sort of strange excitement deep within her at the thought of carrying and someday meeting her child, but she’s mostly just overrun with terror.

Jude is afraid and she can’t fix it.

The more time passes, the farther along she is, the more she can’t ignore what’s coming: she’s going to be a mother. And she’s scared.

She remembers what it was like to have a mom, misses her terribly, but she feels like after all she’s had to change about herself and adapt to that she’s lost the part of her that would be capable of raising a child in a healthy manner. Day and night, she’s plagued with visions of holding her baby and feeling nothing but cruel numbness. Or her child coming to her with some trivial problem, and Jude losing her temper. Compartmentalizing too much; dealing with them in the detached way she does everything else; neglecting them; not being able to show them the affection they need.

The list goes on. Jude’s anxiety grows. It always does in these private moments.

She loses track of the time she stands there, fingers caressing her stomach, but Cardan begins to stir at some point and she snaps out of her trance.

She says nothing of her fears and plants a small smile on her face. It’s not disingenuous, but it isn’t not a mask, either.

-------

She’s sitting on her throne when one of her personal guards approaches her. Cardan is late, probably off with his plants. Jude still doesn’t know what to make of that, but she’s grown used to his occasional disappearances at this point. She expects the message the guard gives her to be from him, not a request for an in-person and private meeting with her from Taryn.

The first thing she does is sigh. She’s allowed that much. Taryn, though Jude didn’t know it back when everything happened, could be as conniving as Jude is. Not as bold as Jude, never that, but cunning in her own way.

Jude almost tells the guard, Astor, to deny her. Instead, she agrees.

“The guest chambers in the Western hall, thirty minutes,” she commands quietly. Astor nods, disappearing into a hallway to her left. Jude folds her hands in her lap, trying to come up with what to say as to not start a fight or insult her sister. She barely sees her, now, and each time she does, Jude thinks that they look less and less alike. Or, maybe that’s just what she likes to tell herself.

Thirty minutes gives her enough time to make the decision to put on a more fanciful gown or dress down a bit. She does neither, opting to stay in her velvet dress the color of midnight blue. Gold beading is laid throughout it making it look like a shifting night sky from a distance. Jude likes this one. It pairs well with her crown.

She arrives at the last minute announced by the knights stationed at the door to the guest rooms. Jude strides in with her head held high. She always does. Taryn is already seated at the small, ornately carved table. A mountain of fruits and pastries stacked onto a three-tiered platter sits in front of her. She bows her head to Jude, not quite the standard that is to be expected for the High Queen, but both of them are under no illusions that Taryn cares much about showing respect to her.

The fireplace flickers, casting a lively glow into the room. Lanterns hang from the ceiling. The moonlight spilling in from the windows seems to bend and follow Jude’s form as she makes her way over to the table.

“Taryn,” Jude greets, voice neutral, and she sits.

“Jude,” she says back.

“How have you been? I haven’t seen you in some time.” Really, how long has it been since they’ve spoken like this? Two years? It seems like a lifetime.

“Yes, well, you do seem busy.” Taryn smiles sweetly. Jude says nothing.

Straight to thinly-veiled hostilities, then.

It’s been like this for years. They could never make up after everything. Jude is horribly stubborn, but so is her sister. They are twins, after all.

Silence fills the air. Jude refuses to fill it until Taryn does. She is not the one who summoned her sister here; she will wait. Eventually, Taryn’s carefully masked features soften slightly.

“How… is the pregnancy?” She asks. Jude’s defenses go up, she can’t help it.

“It’s fine. All going smoothly.”

More silence.

“How far along are you?”

“Eighteen weeks,” Jude says. Taryn looks at her. Really, really looks at her.

“I still have trouble believing it. I never thought you were one for children,” she says.

“Neither did I.”

Taryn lets out a hollow laugh. “It’s almost comical,” she says, sarcasm in her tone, “You never asked for any of this, yet you have it all.” She stares at Jude, jealousy rippling clearly across her face. “I wanted a place here in this world and I did what I had to do to get it. And I’ve always wanted children; a family, but no matter how much I plead, I can’t have it.”

Jude knows this. She knows Taryn wants children, but Locke doesn’t. Even if they fit together, Locke with his horrible schemes and Taryn with her love for watching them play out, they’re not very compatible in the ways that matter to Taryn. Eventually, she’ll get what she wants one way or another. Jude suspects it’ll be soon.

“Yet you got it all without trying, without wanting. It just fell into your lap,” Taryn grits out.

Jude is stunned. Taryn is never so plain with her; never so aggressive.

In the most indifferent manner she can muster, Jude says, “I beg your pardon?”

And Taryn lets loose. “I fought so hard to be where I am. I only ever wanted a place among the Court. I kept to myself, I never got in trouble, I found Locke, and you… You loved stirring it all, loved blowing it up in our faces, and you still ended up with everything, didn’t you? The most beautiful lover, a prince at that; the crown; the child.”

Jude takes it all in, and at first she’s furious. Taryn was always supposed to be the wiser of the two, and Jude is shocked at how twisted her point of view is from all of these years of tense silences and no communication. Back then, it was different. It was treachery and secrets, but that’s because it had to be, and Taryn had made her choice of which side of Jude’s she wanted to be on. Now, however… Jude is astounded as to how her sister came to that conclusion when she knew how much Jude wanted a place in the Court all those years ago, she knew Jude was lost and spiraling.

“You know nothing of my life, do you?” Jude asks calmly. And really, she is calm somehow. All traces of her anger have vanished, leaving only cool disbelief and an inkling of pity. “Nothing of it from the moment they pushed us into the river with the nixies… Or was it the mock war and tournament?”

“I know you were a spy for Prince Dain,” Taryn says, and there is a sweet distaste to her words.

“That’s right, I was I spy.”

“And you seduced Cardan.”

Jude barks a hideous laugh. Taryn glares at her, cheeks flushing.

“If I seduced Cardan, it wasn’t on purpose. How was I supposed to know he liked me threatening him? It was all with honest intentions of defiance, not seduction.”

Taryn looks puzzled and slightly scandalized. Perhaps it was the implications. Jude leans forward and says, “I didn’t seduce him. I never even liked him. We hated each other.”

“But the night of his crowning, you planned–”

“Yes, I did. I had a plan, one that I devised with my spy friends in our spy lair where I tied Cardan to a chair and pushed a knife against his throat.”

Taryn crosses her arms. This all seems like brand new information to her, and Jude is confused. She thought maybe that Madoc had told her more of Jude’s relationship with Cardan, or Locke knew some of the story, or… something.

“You really don’t know?” Jude asks. Taryn doesn’t reply, she just looks lost, even a little nervous. Jude is struck with a sudden sadness. She does not feel regret, no, because Taryn did things that were entirely her own fault, not Jude’s. But it is a deep hurt for the forfeited time between them.

There was a point where Taryn was her mirror, her best friend, her biggest confidant. The game of princes and crowns broke them apart. Jude can understand her sister’s motives back then. It’s much clearer now than it was.

So Jude decides now. She decides to try despite everything, despite the years of silence and awkwardness and her sister kneeling at her feet at the occasional revel. Jude will give it a chance. Her will has always been strong, but seven years is a long time to hold a grudge. Jude has forgiven betrayal before. She can do it again.

So she takes a deep breath and starts with, “Cardan had… some sort of feelings for me. I didn’t know. My honest thoughts of him were that it’d be better if he were dead and gone from my life. He was the bane of my existence.” It seems so funny now. Her hand goes to her stomach. Taryn looks bewildered at the fact that she’s even speaking.

Keep going, she tells herself. And she does.

Jude tells her sister of Prince Dain and his offer, his geas and the rules, her weeks of training and missions. She tells her of Valerian and his threats, his attempt at murdering her.

“I think I knew that part,” Taryn interrupts her, shoulders slowly relaxing then tensing again as if realizing what her words meant. Jude lets it go, trying not to dwell on them.

She recounts her side of the massacre, the Greenbriars falling one at a time, how terrifying it was for her future. She tells her of finding Cardan under the tables, escaping together, and taking him to the Court of Shadows.

Jude acknowledges that she’s never told this to anyone. None of it, really, except some bits and pieces to Vivi. If anyone knew, they didn’t know it from her. It’s exhausting to be so open with someone, especially when trust is so scarce.

She hesitates before the next part of her story, but trudges on.

“I knew I had to come up with something. I had the most valuable thing in Faerie right in my grasp. He just happened to be horrible. That was the night I found out how he… felt.” Jude looks up from the spot on the table she has been staring at and fixes her eyes on the wall behind Taryn. She remembers the moment vividly, especially the kiss. “I never seduced him. I was never his creature. I tricked him. I tricked him into becoming king,” she says. She isn’t guilty, but she isn’t proud of herself.

“How?” Taryn asks. After a moment, Jude tells her.

“I persuaded him into swearing himself into my service for a year and a day and lied that I would let him have a life free of the Court,” she says simply, gaze shifting to her sister.

“He never wanted the Blood Crown.” A look of soft understanding spreads on Taryn’s face.

“No, he did not.” Jude says. There’s a moment where she breathes deeply, pressing one of her hands into her belly over an ache. Taryn’s eyes follow the movement. “The night he was crowned was the night I became the Shadow Queen.”

“The role of seneschal was a ruse, then.”

“Partially,” Jude admits. “I still performed those duties occasionally.”

“Any other duties?” It’s harmless, not even quite teasing, but Jude reacts anyway.

“I told you I was not his creature,” she says snappishly. Taryn raises her eyebrows. Her poster stays straight and stiff, a sharp difference from Jude, who leans over the table, fingers drawing swirls into the surface.

“But the clothes… The way you both acted around each other.”

Jude huffs. “Cardan is dramatic. We were fools.”

The silence returns, but it isn’t uncomfortable; only weighty. Jude waits, hoping Taryn will offer her something else.

“Then when did it happen?” Taryn sounds unsure of her question, but it’s the first time she’s spoken that reminds Jude of how they used to be. It’s curious and open. It sounds like it’s meant to be asked between sisters. Jude is not the High Queen in this moment. She hasn’t been since she started her tale.

“Us?” Jude asks. Taryn nods.

“Somewhere along the way,” Jude says, recalling the exact moment they snapped, pressing up against each other, breathing into each other’s mouths. Taryn watches her, a small smile on her lips. Jude hopes she isn’t projecting.

“Before or after the Undersea?”

Jude succeeds in holding back a flinch at the mention of it, her mind flashing to what she did down there to survive. That, she won’t tell her sister. That is for her and Cardan.

“Before,” Jude says, “But he asked me to marry him after.”

“So that was true? I didn’t know if you returned and were married or did it privately before your… time away.”

“My exile, you mean. Yes, I was the Queen before. I wasn’t lying when I was embarrassed in front of the entire Court. It happened the night before, right after I murdered Balekin.”

Taryn’s eyes are comically wide. Jude laughs.

“It sounds so dramatic when I put it like that.”

And Taryn laughs too. “It’s dramatic put in any way.”

They giggle together like they used to when they were younger. Jude’s heart feels light. Just for a moment their past is behind them both. When they stop, there is silence. Taryn stares while Jude continues her patterns on the table.

“I missed you,” whispers Taryn.

And it’s not as hard as Jude thought it would be to say, “I missed you too.”

It doesn’t fix everything; it doesn’t erase the last years and bad faith and hard feelings. But it’s a start.

Jude finishes the rest of what she feels is necessary to be told now that she’s gotten this far. Taryn tells her bits of her own life and the moments she’s been happy, along with the moments she hasn’t. It isn’t fully comfortable, nor easy, but Jude is glad. And if she has a moment where she wonders what her sister’s motives are, Jude tries to think of other things and let herself enjoy her time.

And she does. She really does.

When Taryn leaves, Jude reaches to squeeze her hand within hers.

----

The sound of strings carries throughout the hall. Leaves sprout on the ceiling and fall, raining softly on the crowd. The Folk dance and writhe and drink before two thrones. The smell of faerie fruits and spiced wine curls in the air, enticing.

The ball is a magnificent one, Jude can admit. She’s wearing a new gown just for the occasion, many layers soft lavender fabric with white smoke patterns, hugging her just so to accentuate her features but hide her stomach a bit. Even Jude thought she looked lovely in it; healthy and youthful. Her belly looks less shockingly round hidden beneath the waves spilling from beneath her breasts. Her shoulders are bare and her sleeves graze the floor.

Cardan looks obscene in his pitch black silk clothes, shiny chains made of small gems swooping around his shoulders, white cape contrasting beautifully. His collar reaches up his throat like a shadow, his jawline and cheeks contoured with a smokey silver. The kohl around his eyes looks iridescent at some angles.

After so many years, Jude thought she couldn’t blush at something as simple as his appearance, but she was very wrong.

Indeed, all eyes were on them when they entered through heavy double doors earlier that night, sometime after the festivities had started. Jude had not been out publicly for weeks at that point, so when the whispers started up as the Court caught sight of her, she was ready for them. She was very obviously nearing her due date. Cardan, unfazed as always, prowls his way to their matching thrones atop the dais, Jude’s arm hooked gently in his.

This is where she finds herself, feet tucked beneath her, Cardan beside her, the ball in full swing around them. At some point he leaves her to speak with who she remembers to be a high ranking war master from far off. The crowd swirls around him, simultaneously avoiding him but inevitably drawn in as well. That’s exactly what it’s like to be near Cardan; he’s like gravity, unfathomable and too beautiful to touch.

Jude touches, of course.

Looking at him now, he chuckles at something, a genuine smirk on his face as he sips his wine. Something changed over the years, perhaps it was simply the passing of time, but he’s become much more open and inviting during these public events. The aura of authority is there, and he still acts the same as he did years ago, but the difference is in his stance and the way he looks at who he’s talking to. His shoulders are relaxed and pulled back, he leans forward ever so slightly.

It’s nice, Jude thinks. She likes seeing him work, watching him, because he is hers to study.

She remembers when he first became High King, how he would lounge on his throne without a care, drowning in wine. She loved him then. She loves him more now.

Jude shifts under the gazes of the Folk, becoming increasingly unsettled. She knows she looks big, but up on her throne in front of so many people and with Cardan somewhere in the crowd, she feels like a mouse in a sea of wild, hungry cats. Sweat gathers on her brow. She places a hand on her midriff.

It’s mere seconds later that she feels a dull twitch beneath her ribs, causing her to gasp lightly. Her pulse quickens, heart fluttering as she moves her hand to press down on the spot. Nothing meets her touch, for a moment, then it feels as if her entire stomach tumbles briefly. Her gasp is much louder this time, both hands cradling her belly.

She startles at the sight of Cardan kneeling before her. She could have sworn he was just–

“Are you alright?” His voice is rushed and quiet, one hand covering hers where is lies on her middle. Jude sees there are many stares pointed at them, and realizes she must have caused a small commotion.

“I’m fine,” she says, and makes to stand, swinging her tingly legs out from beneath her. Cardan tenderly takes her hands to help her up. “It’s okay, just movements.”

His eyes brighten at this, a small, private grin on his face when he looks at her belly.

“I’m going to retire for the night,” she continues, glancing from the crowd and back to her husband, anxiety coming up her chest and into her throat. She tries to swallow it down and put on a neutral face. Cardan looks as if he is about to say he’ll accompany her, but she shuts him down before he starts. “Don’t worry about it. You stay here. I’m going to take a bath.”

His squeezes her hands just so, the gesture barely there but warming her heart just the same, then he flicks his wrist in the air and a group of his personal guards appear behind him. She loves it when he does that, it never works so smoothly for her.

He presses a kiss to her cheek, one that has her eyes fluttering closed, and he murmurs, “I’ll come find you when the night is over.” Jude nods, a smile tugging at her lips despite the nerves, and she makes her way off the dais, a crowd of armed guards surrounding her and parting the swarm of bodies.

She keeps her composure until she’s alone, the doors to their chambers sliding shut behind her. She rips her crown off and sets it on her desk in the main room, and begins shedding the pieces of her attire. She reaches for a knot of fabric on her side, but it’s in a weird spot she can’t reach across her stomach, and she needs both hands to undo it so that her gown can loosen where it’s cinched at her ribs and can fall right off. She huffs, tearing out her earrings instead and ripping the braids out of her hair. Again, in her and Cardan’s bedroom this time, she tries for the knot, but it won’t budge without any help, and suddenly she’s so worked up and frustrated that she feels tears forming.

Stupid. Crying like a child.

She decides to lift the dress off of her instead, but the damned thing is too heavy, and her stomach keeps getting in the way and her skin is pulling and she feels too large to even breathe.

The first sob comes quickly. Jude drops the fabric, face crumpling. Then she’s sitting on the end of her bed, her dress swamping her form and piling around her. It just makes her feel worse. She cries so easily now and it’s infuriating, she hates it so much that it only makes her tears come faster. She doesn’t have the control that she desperately needs, everything is spiraling, she’s going to have this baby soon and she’s so afraid she won’t be good enough.

I can’t do this. I can’t do this.

Her breath comes in short bursts. She’s lived most of her life dealing with things like they’re a job or a plan, but this… This is something she doesn’t know what to do with. Putting off the thought of it being real worked for the first few months, but now the day is getting closer and closer, and she’s going to be a mother.

I can’t do this. I can’t be what they need me to be.

Another sob breaks free, and she buries her face in her hands, willing herself to calm down.

She thinks of her mother’s voice, and tries all the breathing exercises she knows of. After a long moment, she shuts her mind off enough that they work.

She’s still sniffling when she feels another flutter in her belly. By this point, she’s so tired she could fall asleep where she sits, so she doesn’t mind the feeling. The whiplash of her emotional state is jarring, but she doesn’t want to think about it, or anything, at the moment, so she unclasps a heavily jeweled necklace from her throat, kicks off her leather slippers, and lies down on her side right where she is at the edge of the bed. She falls asleep as soon as she gathers the fabric of her gown in her arms and squeezes, tension sliding out of her body and sleep taking over.

When Cardan finds her like that a bit later, his eyes soften. Jude barely wakes up as he unties the knot at her side and gently maneuvers her around, slipping her arms from her sleeves and working the heavy gown off her body leisurely. She doesn’t stir when he lifts her farther up the bed and covers her with the fur blankets she likes. And when he kisses her forehead, his palm splayed on her side, fingers dancing over the soft skin where her stomach meets her ribs, she sleeps through it all.

-------

Twinkling water rushes over smooth stones, the sight lulling Jude into a trance. She sits on a stone pew by a small pond with multiple swirling pools, the smell of wet grass filling her senses. It’s high noon, but the sun seems soft behind the clouds. Many Folk are asleep, but Jude is too nervous to attempt to settle her mind.

The midwives came to see her before the moon set. They say she has six weeks left. As soon as they were out of sight, Jude left her chambers and Cardan behind and escaped to her private garden.

She knows she should be thrilled, she is, deep below the surface. But her anxieties are almost overpowering, now, and she can’t keep shoving them away. There’s no time left, the days are ticking by quickly. She’s run out of things to distract herself with. All there is is her swollen belly and her headaches that never leave. Her thighs tingle and she can’t even put on her own shoes. If not for the team of human girls—willing, of course, and happy to help—that help her dress throughout the day and for different events, she would be barefoot constantly.

Jude never developed much of a liking for idle chatting, but she participates even less than she ever has, too caught up in her thoughts and the fatigue that follows her every step. She gets dizzy when she stands, now. It all makes her feel weak, and she hates it. It’s not entirely bad, though. The few moments she’s able to push her nerves away, she truly is excited to meet the child she has been carrying. There have been times that she’s almost gone to the mortal world to set up an appointment and figure out the sex of the baby.

She never does. She likes it this way. And, maybe, she thinks it would become too real if she knew. Denial has her closest companion these last months.

Cardan is visibly ecstatic. Jude never thought she would see him this way. Her heart does flips when he kneels next to her before bed, splaying his hands across where their baby sits. He presses kisses to her temples and cheeks at random, fingers gliding along her neck. When she bathes, he sits behind her, nose pressed into her neck, thumbs digging into the aches she has in her lower back.

He’s doting on her like never before, and truthfully, Jude would find it annoying if he wasn’t so unbearably charming.

Though it’s unconventional for a High King of Elfhame to share his apartments with his newborn child, they’ve both turned one of their rooms into a nursery. Besides, Cardan and Jude aren’t like normal rulers, anyway. Obviously.

Cardan seems overjoyed about it, and even takes a few of his smaller, gentler plants from his greenhouse—because, yes, he did move those disastrous things eventually—and places them along the large window in the room. Faintly sweet-smelling flowers sway from vines on the ceiling, and the walls are enchanted to seem soft and bright. The atmosphere is warm, like a blanket. Jude’s heart aches when she enters it, so she stays away more often than not.

She spends a lot more of her time in her garden the closer it gets to the due date.

Cardan leaves her alone there most of the time. That’s why she’s here now, he had seen the panic written across her features when talking to the midwives and she knew he would ask about it. He’s tried to get her to open up lately, but she brushes him off, not wanting to ruin his joy.

It only makes her feel more alone. The dynamic is strange. All of Elfhame seems excited for the birth of their child, mostly because that means lots of festivities, but Jude doesn’t know how to handle what her life is about to become.

Butterflies erupt in her stomach, nerves panging beneath her skin, and Jude wants to cry thinking about Cardan’s face when she stormed out of their room—as stormy as she could manage with a waddle in her step—before dawn. She’s nearing her breaking point. It’s not that she’s unraveling, anymore, like a complicated knot being pulled at. No, she’s completely loose.

She pushes herself up from the stone bench, back cracking, feet hurting.

Why couldn’t I have an easy fucking pregnancy? Or is this an easy pregnancy?

She huffs and walks back into the palace, personal knights flanking her movements. Jude wants someone, anyone, to understand what’s going on in her head.

When she comes upon her chambers, she waves her attendants off when they try to open the doors for her, not once, but twice. She needs to do something by herself. Pushing the doors open does strain her, but she feels better when she steps in and they close behind her.

She makes her way into her bedroom, expecting to sleep the rest of the daylight away, but when she enters, Cardan is sitting upright at the edge of the bed. The sheets are strewn haphazardly around, his tail is swaying in the air, gold cuffs and jewelry dangling from it. If she listened closely enough, she knows she would be able to hear the small tinkling sounds coming from the metal. Her heartbeat quickens. He’s staring at her, hands clasped in his lap, the Blood Crown lying beside him.

“I’ve grown tired of listening to you lie to me, Jude dearest,” he says, exhaustion in his voice and no malice to his words. Jude swallows thickly. “Will you be candid with me? Please?”

She frowns. She doesn’t want to do this.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” she says, holding his gaze. The sigh he gives is dramatic.

“We will discuss this, I won’t leave you alone with whatever is tormenting you any longer.”

Jude flinches, though she tries not to.

“You see?” He says, gesturing to her, “It’s in everything you do. I’ve been going mad trying to give you space, waiting for you to come to me.” He stands, now, hand wiping across his forehead. “I can’t keep going like this, I want to help.”

And, really, with how fragile she feels, Jude’s not surprised that her resolve crumbles immediately when she sees for the first time how this has been affecting him too.

Silence hangs between them for some time, the sound of their breathing fills the air.

“I’m scared,” she says.

He just looks at her, worry in his eyes.

“I know.”

Something flares in Jude’s chest, emotion choking her. She feels like she wants to scream, like she wants to burst out of her own skin, and it’s so sudden that her carefully placed mask falls from her features, desperation and anxiety showing through. Cardan takes a step toward her, but she backs up two.

“Jude.” And it’s soft, laced with pain, like a question.

“No,” she says, voice watery. “I’m not just scared, I’m terrified.” She stares into him, willing him to understand all that she means in that one word. When she sees that he doesn’t, the words that follow build up on her tongue like her muddled thoughts have since the day she first took those tests in the mortal world.

“I don’t know what to do, or what to say. I’m– I’m– I can’t do this! I can’t. I don’t even know how to handle myself, or even what to do when we argue. How am I supposed to handle another living thing, with a mind and a heart and–” she sucks in a breath, tears forming.

“You have me,” he says, brows furrowed. “We’ll do it together.”

“But I never knew how to love,” Jude says, voice frantic, “After Madoc took us––stole us away, I just… Shut it all out. I never wanted children because I know I’m not capable, I didn’t even know I could, I could–” and she can’t breathe.

She can’t breathe.

And she can hear her heart pounding in her ears. She turns away from Cardan only to catch her reflection in the mirror on the wall near her and all she sees is her stomach and she needs to sit down immediately or she knows she’ll fall over.

“I– I can’t–” and she sobs, collapsing to her knees, hand grasping at the small writing desk beside her, sitting back on her feet. Cardan is on the ground before her in the time it takes her to blink. He’s right there, hands cradling her face, thumbs stroking in soothing motions. He looks panicked, and Jude feels all the worse for it. He’s saying something to her, but Jude can’t understand what. She just cries and cries.

In time, Cardan gives up on calming her down. He wraps his arms around her and pulls her into his lap, holding her tightly and gently rocking back and forth. When one of his hands wraps around the back of her neck, she fists her hands in his loose shirt, trying to bury herself within his embrace.

It’s ages before she settles, first by regaining control of her breathing, then by ceasing her sobs. Silent tears flow, breath hitching in her chest like a stutter. Eventually, she only sniffles, exhaustion pulling at her eyelids.

And for some time, all is still, a hush over the room. Jude doesn’t even realize that she’s falling asleep.

When she opens her eyes, she blinks blearily, and it takes her a minute to adjust.The sun has set outside of the windows. Moonbeams caress the stone floors, bright enough that even she can see clearly. Her head is cradled beneath Cardan’s chin. They’re against the arched doorway to their bedroom, Cardan leaning against the frame. Her heart aches when she realizes he’s probably been sitting like this for hours and he hasn’t moved so as to not disturb her.

His tail is curled underneath her belly. Jude’s hair is out of it’s updo. She can feel Cardan’s fingers tracing the shape of her ear. The rise and fall of his chest almost soothes her back to sleep.

“Do you not know that I doubt myself as much as you?” His voice is not angry, nor accusing, just resigned. “Have you not considered?”

Truthfully, Jude hasn’t. Shame twists in her gut. Cardan continues.

“I knew nothing of love as a child. Only loneliness. Desperation–” Cardan takes a long breath. Jude hears his heartbeat beneath her ear, tracks of tears dry on her face. “Despair of the deepest incarnation. The type of sorrow that one would hide behind rancid grins and hollow laughs. That is all I knew,” he says, a shakiness to his voice. He pushes his nose into her hair and tightens his arms around her.

“Now, each time I wake up, I am haunted by the thought that I will become my father, or Balekin, to our child.”

Jude feels more tears fall at his words. An ache spreads through her chest. She grieves for him, for herself, too, for how life was cruel to both of them.

“We will do this together,” he murmurs, quiet, but every bit determined. “We can do it. You can. I’ll be with you, always. I’ll be there for our child, always.”

And Jude relaxes into him. He slips his arms underneath her and lifts her as he stands, walking them over to the bed. There, they fall asleep, wrapped around each other, limbs tangled, breathing in tandem.

-------

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