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sunnybunnyy2 · 7 months ago

Text

My Ex-boyfriends New Girl

prologue

chapter summary: the events that force your hand in your revenge scheme come to light as you find out the man who you have loved for the past three years isn't the man you needed him to be.

word count: 4.1k

pairings: Rafe Cameron x ex!fem!reader, Sofia x fem!reader

warnings: angst, cheating, toxic relationship, asshole Rafe, swearing, not much Sofia :/ and probably bad writing.

authors note: hi!! This is the prologue to my new Sofia fic series. Tumblr has not been doing my girl justice so I decided to take matters into my own hands and write for her. I deeply apologize for any typos or any mistakes (mostly if I confuse second person and third because I am not used to writing in second). Please reach out of you want to be added to the taglist!!

series masterlist next chapter

"Wow...I can't believe you did all of this..." you said as you admired the beautifully set table in front of you. It was littered with plucked red roses and lit-up orange candles. It was perfect- well at least nearly perfect. As much as you appreciated the gesture, you couldn't help but be saddened that the only flower on the table was the one you couldn't stand.

You felt as though they were overused and cliche, but it wasn't necessarily the flowers that downed your mood but the mere fact that you had told him countless times how much you loathed them and yet, once again he had stuffed them in your face.

It was as though he never heard a single word that came out of your mouth. It was okay, you supposed as at least he put the effort in, in the first place.

"Of course, I would, baby. It's our three year, I would be stupid if I didn't." Rafe stated with a small smile, that was all he was willing to offer after the events of his father's death. You could tell it was weighing him down but you couldn't do more than you already were.

You were skipping your classes, sleeping over every night, had arranged the funeral with him and been by his side every step of the way. You were exhausted but you knew he was going through the worst time of his life and was going through worse than you. That's what you kept telling yourself, that he needed comfort more than you did. That had calmed you down for the time being but it had been months and you knew that you were gonna snap one day soon, leading you to truly hope that it was when Rafe was in a good headspace but with the way life was going, you didn't know when that would be.

"Well, the stupid part is kind of debatable." You shrugged as you stabbed a piece of carrot with your fork.

"Hey!" Rafe laughed softly as he kicked your leg under the table, his hand reaching for his glass of scotch.

"I mean it though... thank you for doing all of this."

You said as you looked at him, your eyes full of love for the man you thought you were going to spend the rest of your life with. He simply nods as he pours himself another drink, but you can tell from the light coat of pink on his cheeks that he is blushing. "I love you." You finished as you reached your hand over to hold the one that had a grasp on the bottle while he was still pouring a flood of alcohol into his glass. The action stopped him in his tracks as you lowered his hand and he let go of the half-full bottle.

"I love you too, baby." He muttered the phrase as he looked into your eyes causing yours to water as you pulled away to fix the napkin on your lap and then began to eat the slightly burnt food your boyfriend had prepared.

-Six days later-

From: Sister-in-law✨

Hey

Sent 4:34 pm

It's Sarah. I changed my number a few weeks ago I'm not sure if you have it or not.

Sent 4:34 pm

I just wanted to let you know that I broke into Tannyhill like an hour ago to get a few of my things and heard a girl in Rafe's room.

Sent 4:36 pm

It didn't sound like you and if I'm wrong then I'm sorry but I don't think I am.

Sent 4:37 pm

You stared at the messages in front of you as your eyes continued to read over them just like they had for the last five minutes. You couldn't seem to tear them away.

You had known Sarah for the last three years, even before she went all pogue and left the only life she had ever known. And though you were confused about why she did at first- when Ward's toxic actions had come to light, you had driven your overly priced car over to the shack John B called home and simply hugged the girl. She had cried in your arms because she knew that even though you loved her brother, you had believed her and loved her too.

Even when you had sat on the kook side of the courthouse the day John B was arrested, your sympathetic gaze was enough to let her know that you weren't sure what to do and chose to stick by the only life you had ever known, and she couldn't fault you for that. She would have done the same if it was just another Pogue, but it wasn't. It was the man she loved and she knew that you loved Rafe and needed to do what was right for your relationship.

You had called her later that night to give her any information that you might have known about what Rafe and Ward were planning which ultimately led to John B getting out... she would never forget what you did.

You were her sister more than Rafe was her brother and that wasn't going to change just because you were doing what it took to keep the man you loved safe, just like she was.

A tear dropped from your eye and landed on the blue messages causing some of the words to blur as you hastily pulled yourself out of your bedroom and ran to your car.

You couldn't even remember the ride over as you hurried up the stairs of Tannyhill. You did know one thing though, Sarah wouldn't have lied to you and even when you hoped Rafe hadn’t lied to you earlier that morning when he assured you that you could head back to your family home- It made sense to you. He sent you home so he could finally get alone time with his side piece.

You whipped his door open and simply nodded to yourself when your boyfriend quickly pulled away from the blue-eyed redhead to meet your eyes before quickly rolling off the bed and pulling on his shorts when he finally processed who was standing in the doorway. You ran down the stairs of the biggest home on the island and the place that you had called your second home for the last three years.

You could hear the sound of the girl calling for him and the sound of him practically flying down the stairs behind you in hopes of catching you before you made it to your car and the probability of you running him over became more likely than you hearing him out.

He was faster than you thought as his large hand wrapped around your forearm, stopping you in your tracks. You whip around with your hand raised as you prepare to smack him across the face but he catches your arm with his other hand before he harshly shoves you backward. Tears run down your cheeks as you head down his too-long driveway and it certainly doesn't help that you decided to park right at the gate and run to his home.

"Baby, just stop-" He started his voice thick as he ran after you, but he was cut off before he could speak further.

"Don't call me that! You can't just baby me and I'll somehow find it in myself to forgive you. It's not happening. Have a nice life with Merida." You shot back, your tone quickly turned from heartbroken to mocking as the second stage of grief took over.

"Look... after my dad, I just..." He bowed his head after he had finally found an excuse you may actually fall for as all the kind actions you had done for him after his father died flashed through his mind, a chill ran through him as guilt began to run through him as the extent of his choices had begun to settle in. He chose getting in the pants of a random girl over his girlfriend who had stood by him after all the bad he had done. A part of him hoped that you would do that this time- bend your morals to keep him by your side.

"Jesus Christ! Don't you dare use his death as an excuse!" You shutter out a breath as you refuse to fall for his guilt-tripping. You knew that you act crazy when experiencing grief, you had experienced it yourself when you had lost your mother a few years back. You went through the stages of grief alone as your father travelled in hopes of returning and being a better father to you but instead of him becoming a better father, his running off completely ruined your relationship. You were all alone for months with no one by your side, until you met Rafe six months after the death of your mother. And though he didn't help you through it directly, his presence had filled some of the hole in your heart and had given you something else to focus on.

You had been through the loss of your mother who died of stomach cancer, the loss of your cousin who was murdered and the loss of your younger sister who had perished in a car accident when you were twelve. You had known more about loss than anyone you had been close with and knew firsthand how grief could affect you- especially when you lose a parent- but Rafe had, had your support and love through it all. You had been by his side through it all even though he and his dad weren't close, even though your boyfriend had hired a hitman on his own father only to cheat on his girlfriend and blame it on his father when he had been dead for four and a half months.

"Look," You continued as you brought your weakened arms up to your hips as you scrutinized him dead in his eye. "I'm sorry about your dad. I really am- but newsflash the guys dead! And he has been for months- and for months, I've been bending over backwards to help you get through it just for you... to prove to me that I made a mistake. That I wasted not just months of my life helping you but years of my life loving you." You saw the range of emotions that flashed over his face as he attempted to process your words. It started with tears at the mention of his father, but his sadness flashed to anger as you began to mention all you had done for him and looked as though he was about to interrupt you but you just kept going, until it flashed to something darker.

"I told you when we started out that I had three deal breakers. Disrespect of any kind, lying and cheating- and so far you've managed to cross them all off, didn't you? Should I start yelling bingo?" You let out an angry laugh that resembles a heartbroken one as you turn around and head to your car.

"If you take one more step, I will make sure you regret it." His words came out like they were natural like you were one of the people he despised most. As if you hadn’t been the most important person to him for the last three years. It was jarring how different his voice was when he wasn’t telling you he loved you.

You stop in your tracks as a chill runs down your spine, there is something in his tone... an edge it has that sends a warning through you. You know what he's done and what he's capable of. And as much as it hurt you to think this, you could count every time he had ever scared on one hand but right now, this wasn't just fear creeping through you- it was terror.

He didn't have anything to lose anymore. His mother had been gone since he was thirteen, Sarah had chosen her true family over her blood family, Rose had taken Wheezie just days after Ward's body was found and had run for the hills without even taking a second thought about the grief her stepchildren were going through while holding on to the remaining gold and lastly, the one person he loved more than this his siblings and more than you- his father- was gone and he was never coming back.

He was no longer enrolled in college anymore and even if he was, he never went to his classes and definitely wouldn't now. He didn't have a job other than his half-assed company he was so hellbent on making. A large part of you felt sorry for him; he was going through a lot and didn't have anyone by his side, but an even larger part of you felt more bad for yourself. You loved him blindly, stuck with him after he took someone's life, stayed with him after he tried to kill his sister twice, stayed with him through his cocaine addiction, stayed with him after the death of his father and after his youngest sister was taken from him. You would have willingly been his home had he not shown you time and time again that he would stray for something else that caught his attention. First it it was the coke, then the gold, then his father's approval and now some random girl. You would have been crazed to even consider staying with him this time and to be frank, it didn't even cross your mind.

"Is that a threat, Rafe? You gonna kill me like you killed Peterkin?" You asked sharply.

"Nah...you'll just have to wait and see. You're gonna regret ever leaving his driveway." A small, creepy smile spread across his face and it was that damn smile that showed you that you were right to be done with him. He had finally lost it.

"Yeah, I don't think I will. Nothing you do to me would be worse than staying with you." And with those words you took that one step, the one that would seal your fate as you took those final steps to your sleek car before you pulled yourself in and slammed the door. Through the windshield window, you could see Rafe still standing there with his arms crossed as if he was expecting you to hop out of your car and run to him but he was clearly mistaken as you shifted your car gear and stepped on the gas like your life depended on it and in your defence, you were as you hurtled out of Tannyhill without looking back.

And though it was reckless you pulled out your phone as you slowed down on the gas when you considered yourself a safe distance away from your crazed ex boyfriend. With your phone in your hand, you opened up Sarah's contact and your eyes locked on her earlier messages. The same messages that seemed to blow up your three-year relationship.

Hey

Sent 4:34 pm

It's Sarah. I changed my number a few weeks ago I'm not sure if you have it or not.

Sent 4:34 pm

I just wanted to let you know that I broke into Tannyhill like an hour ago to get a few of my things and heard a girl in Rafe's room.

Sent 4:36 pm

It didn't sound like you and if I'm wrong then I'm sorry but I don't think I am.

Sent 4:37 pm

You changed contact to: Sista from another mista ✨

To: Sista from another mista ✨

Thank you for telling me. It wasn't me. It was some rando Rafe was screwing.

Sent 5:59 pm

Me and your brother are done

Sent 5:59 pm

I am so sorry that I didn't leave him sooner, I was stupid but I'm not anymore.

Sent 6:00 pm

I love you :/

Sent 6:02 pm

And a few minutes later you were in some fast food restaurant parking lot eating way too much food while slurping down a large milkshake as you accepted that multiple years of your life were wasted when Sarah finally responded.

From: Sista from another mista✨

Omg Y/N, I'm so so so sorry

Read 6:16 pm

As much as I thought he loved you, he can never put anyone above himself and I'm sorry if you're not in the mood to shit talk him but you deserve better

Read 6:17 pm

You always have and it hurts that you're just realizing it now.

Read 6:17 pm

No matter what you will always be my sister. I may love you even more now that you had the guts to leave him.

Read 6:18 pm

To: Sista from another mista✨

It's fine. I was dumb asf, I guess I needed him to screw someone else to realize.

Read 6:18 pm

Rafe is chaos and I guess I am too.

Read 6:18 pm

Nothing has to change between you and me. I could even stop by more without Rafe on my ass.

Read 6:18 pm

From: Sista from another mista✨

Yes!! That's such an upside and don't beat yourself up over it. You are not chaos. Rafe is. At least you left, my mom never did.

Read 6:19 pm

You could feel the hurt through the message. She loved her mom but she had never left her father even though he was a less-than-stellar husband. You had done what her mother didn't.

I'm ALWAYS here if you need to talk, no judgment.

Read 6:20 pm

I love you💗 always

Read 6:20 pm

To: Sista from another mista✨

I love you too Sare<3

Hearted 6:21 pm

The next day your life was flipped upside down after you received a call from Yale University to personally notify you that you had been expelled for unlawful drug use after Rafe had anonymously sent a video to your university of you doing coke for the first time two years ago after he had talked you into it and you hadn’t done it since as you didn't like how it made you feel. He even went as far as getting someone to plant a small amount of coke in your car resulting in you getting arrested in a ditch after being pulled over. After that, your father gave you an ultimatum. He speaks to Topper's grandfather who is a respected judge- and gets him to let you off the hook if you go to a rehab centre or you get charged for carrying drugs in your car and get up to a year in prison. And no matter how much you tried to convince him that you didn't do cocaine and that it was only that one time, he didn't even want to hear you out.

And as much as you didn't want to go to rehab, you knew that it was better than prison.

Though you knew Rafe would want to get revenge on you for breaking it off with him, you never would have expected him to partake in such a deliberate and evil takedown for experiencing the consequences of his selfish actions. It was insane to think that you had spent years of your life with a man who you thought would do anything for you, he had looked at you like you hung the moon and the stars yet he had disrespected you and humiliated you beyond belief for some random girl? You had never seen her before so you could only assume she was a Pogue which you highly doubted from the way he spoke about lower-class people, so that could only mean that she was a tourist. He had thrown your whole relationship away for some girl who was gonna leave a few days later but he felt the need to single-handedly ruin your life for having a problem with it?

You had kicked yourself every day you spent in the hellhole that was rehab, the doctors looked down upon you like you were the bane of their existence, it was exhausting constantly being judged for being an addict when you weren't even one, to begin with. Hell, the place made you want to do drugs. You couldn't quite understand why a place that was supposed to help you overcome addiction would do so little good with the amount of money that goes into funding them.

Your stay at the rehab centre was only two months but it took you seven months to return to OBX as you were sent to go live with your aunt, Mae, in New York. And in those five months, you stewed as you put a plan into action to wreak havoc upon the man who ruined your life.

Now, eight months after the fall of the most talked about couple on the island- you were sitting in the country club sipping a pina colada that a pretty bartender made while wearing a beautiful floral dress.

The booming sound of your ex-boyfriend's laugh brought you out of your head as you slowly turned your neck to look over at the approaching man, and thankfully he was by the other side of the bar which caused a smile to curl up your lips slightly as your plan seemed to set into motion, however- your smile dropped as he leaned down to kiss the pretty bartender who made your drink just a few minutes prior shocking you to your core.

You had heard from Sarah that Rafe was dating some poor girl from the cut but you hadn't expected it to be the girl you had just made small talk with a few minutes ago, and you certainly hadn't expected her to be...her.

From your conversation, you could tell that she was a very sweet girl who was just trying to change the financial situation that she had been born into and you admired that deeply. In said conversation, you had learned that she was twenty-two making you two the same age and that she was born in Mexico City but moved to the cut when she was very young.

You also couldn't ignore the fact that she was beautiful and if you were going to be serious, you were pretty jealous and not because Rafe had moved on- but because he was dating one of the most beautiful girls you had ever seen while you were tucked away in a facility or stuck in the presence of your annoying cousins.

You tuck a piece of hair behind your ear as you listen to their conversation.

"Hey, baby." He used to call me that. "I missed you this morning." So their sleeping over? You picked apart every word of their conversation, you couldn't even help yourself.

"I know," she laughed, "I'm sorry, again. I had to cover Gaby's shift."

"Yeah, yeah whatever you say." He laughed causing her to grin before she slapped his chest. "I gotta go, Toppers waiting. I just wanted to say hi and put our drinks in. I'll take-" He began to list what he wanted before the shorter girl shook her head as if she had already memorized his order, and she had.

"I know... Topper want the usual?" She asked as she began to tap on the device behind the bar to type in his drink order.

"Yeah, thanks." She nods in response, her eyes fixated on the task at hand. "Love you." He smiles as he backs away, his eyes still focused on his girlfriend.

He used to say that to me all the time, you thought.

Those words grab her attention as she looks up with a smile so wide you guessed that it hurt but it suited her quite nicely. "Love you." After that; he turned away and headed to his table and Sofia turned back to the monitor in front of her. Then, as if she sensed your eyes on her she pulled hers away from the screen and looked over at you. She smiled at you and if it wasn't so sweet you would have guessed that she was rubbing it in your face.

"Would you like another?" She asked as she pointed to your nearly empty drink, you nodded gently and she turned around to work on your drink, deciding that her boyfriends and his best friends could wait.

A wide smile fills the space of the small one that had covered your face just a minute ago as you mentally changed your whole plan of taking Rafe down for a crime he didn't commit after deciding that you had a better one in mind. One that he wouldn't never see coming and it all involved your ex-boyfriend's new girl and man- it was going to feel good.

#rafe cameron x reader #rafe cameron x fem!reader #Rafe Cameron x kook!reader #sofia x fem!reader #sofia obx #sofia x fem!reader obx #obx x reader #MEBNG SERIES

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kitkat27 · 2 months ago

Text

I don't feel so good

Whumptober prompt no.30-2020

Chapter 1

Summary:

Avery is not having a great start to the day. She's tired, grumpy and the main annoyance to her day- the excruciating pain in her side... She just wants to make it through the day without either Max or Tristan knowing. Can she make it to bedtime with them unaware, or will hiding this pain lead to her fighting for her life and giving Max another grey hair?

(note: this is roughly based on episode 1x4- wellness week but the plot is altered for this story. Medical inaccuracies but it’s Doctor Odyssey where reality is thrown out the window. Also please ignore formatting whilst I get used to posting on tumble )

Avery was so goddamn tired. She wondered if the pain of stitching her eyelids open would be worse than spending the day with 0 hours of sleep and the annoying stomach cramps.

She had seen every hour of the night, lying in every position, including the classic of flipping her pillow to the end of the bed, and had debated at one point how much chaos she would cause if she fell asleep on one of the poolside loungers.

The insomnia was probably down to the cramps tearing through her abdomen that had left her reaching for every remedy she had. Maybe she could ask Bethany Welles for some holistic recipes (when Max wasn't watching, of course).

Yesterday, her Flo app had reminded her that her period was due soon, but normally, her cramps weren't this bad. Whatever it was, she didn't have time to ponder it as the guests were due onboard any minute, and the captain's eye twitched anytime anyone showed up a second late to the guest greeting.

———————————————————————

It was unusual, Avery was normally at the balcony before the guys normally scolding them about punctuality as they arrived. She only had a few minutes before the captain joined him and Tristan at the ball….

‘I'm here, he he he hasn't ….noticed …me yet has he’, a very disgruntled Avery slotted in between him and Tristan, adjusting her collar as she came to a stop and smoothing out her static hair completely missing the stolen glances above her head between the boys.

‘Late at night there. Aves? Max and I were wondering whether you finally strayed to the dark side and missed the guest greeting’

Normally, the usual quick-witted mind of the NP would have shot back immediately, but a few silent beats passed … ‘Aves, hello’... still nothing as she was staring into the abyss of the balcony as Max and Tristan leaned over the balcony, caging Avery between them.

She eventually responded, but her eyes were still a little glassy and not really with them. "Oh sorry, yeah I stayed up all night finishing off ‘The Love of Theodosia’, it was such a heartbreaking romance I couldn't put it down….’

Both men knew that this wasn't true. Any of their movie nights that didn't lead to the shedding of clothing, Avery was always asleep by Midnight, though she always argued differently each time.

‘...And before I knew it, it was morning and I only managed to grab a couple of hours' sleep’

Well, that explained the massive eye bags she had, but not her pallor and discomfort. Max knew not to press at that moment, Avery was not a morning person and if you added in the lack of sleep and whatever else was going on it would be like poking a bear with a red hot poker. Something that would end with him and Tristan running for the hills.

Pushing that terrifying thought aside, Tristan continued his weekly speech, ‘Well, I hope you're ready for a week with Bethany Wells. A week full of crazy people and witches prescribing toadstools and crystals for seasickness and cardiac arrests’

‘Though I agree, Tristan’, how the Captain snuck up on them, he had no idea, ' let's not use that word ‘crazy. Now we need to go and say hello, move along’

Bethany Wells was walking towards her, the woman who consumed her night and free time from stalking and following all recipes she used, was walking directly towards her.

‘Avery, my daughter, I was told very great things about you by the Captain’

‘You know who I am? Wellness culture is my ecstasy, I've followed you on socials for years!’, Oh god, she was rambling like an obsessed pop girl fan in front of her idol, coworkers and boss.

‘Of course I do, but oh god, your aura is so green and yucky. Keep this crystal in your pocket for the rest of the day, and then come see me tonight, and I shall make you some herbal tea that should fix your unbalanced aura’, the ‘crystal’ felt more like a plastic stone, but Avery obeyed, ignoring the eye rolls from her boys.

As Bethany moved on, begging the Captain to borrow Max regarding her ‘hippie’ menu, Avery spun, forcing the boys to stand shoulder to shoulder, wanting to stop the barrage of oncoming questions. Max looked torn from running from the awaiting torture of time with B-wells to wanting to put his doctor cap on, clearly seeing through her bullshit of bedtime reading. Tristan sporting his signature smirk, ready to tease her about her love of hippie medicine and what she was doing all night.

Max was driving her insane, he'd spent the last 30 minutes pacing around the medicine storage, whilst she had tried to organise their newest delivery. Ranting about how insane the new chef was making everyone eat raw meat, to asking every 30 seconds why she had stayed up overnight, seemingly convinced she was going to drop dead from a condition he needed to diagnose.

There was no Tristan to save her, he was having a great time getting attention by overseeing the chef's menu. She had been left with the decision; either throttle max (she had nearly lost her job last week, the captain couldn't save her again) or go for a walk around the deck and hide the fact that she was thinking about committing murder.

—---------------------------------

Damn she just missed the diva dust smoothie presentation. A smoothie may have cured her anger and the slowly increasing stomach pain that had only gotten worse since the morning. She didn't want to be diagnosed with anything, she had seen mother hen Tristan and could only imagine that Max would be even worse……..

‘Ah, sorry I didn't see you there, Miss Simpkin. I sadly missed your collaboration with diva dust, but I just wanted to say I'm a big fan, and I know I'm a nurse, yet wellness culture is my agony, and I love watching you work’

Unlike Bethany Welles, Agnes did not seem to share the same joy at meeting a fan, with a disappointed look spreading across her face as she took in the nurse opposite her, ‘Um, well, it's such a shame that a girl like you is working for the enemy. Though I wouldn't say big pharma is doing much for you. Its main goal is to keep people sick to make more money, and what better target than its workers?’

The platform Avery had Agnes built upon crashed down in an instant, ‘no, no big pharma does a lot and it keeps a lot of people alive whose conditions would kill them with herbal alone…’ the acupuncturist had zoned out bringing a hand to her bluing lips, ‘Miss, Simpkin are you ok. Is everything ok?’

Before she could pull out her radio, Agnes had dropped before her, sending the blue smoothie across the deck floor, staining everything it touched. But Avery couldn't think about her shoes or her own pain, her focus had to be on the groaning woman before her.

‘10-27 on the port deck. We need a stretcher stat’

—---------------------------------------

Trying to treat Agnes was just as frustrating as dealing with Leonore's antics last week. They couldn't track her vitals with tech yet as they wheeled her into the infirmary, a phone fell out of her pocket.

They collectively suspected that she had cyanide poisoning from bitter almonds in the smoothie and began providing advanced cardiac support.

How Agnes had demanded to allow her body to ‘breathe’ mid-treatment, had Avery thinking how warm the room suddenly was. It was probably a hot flush due to her period or the fact that they were sailing through the Caribbean on a 104 ℉ day.

But she hadn't noticed the shakiness until trying to insert an IV. Being an NP meant she had done thousands of these and had never shaken like this even during her exams. God, there was no way she could hide this. She didn't know what was worse, the heat, the shakiness or the pain that felt like her abdomen was going to implode at any time she moved too quickly.

She could feel Max, Tristan, who had arrived once free of cooking duties and even Agnes, watching her with a look she couldn't decipher. By-passing the concern on Max's face, she tried to ask him to take over without letting Agnes think she wasn't qualified to treat her.

Avery managed to get through the rest of treating Agnes without any further issues, not that there was time to. The presence of spider angiomas led to a fast downward spiral of a changed diagnosis of taro root poisoning, supported by the seizures, leading them to prepare an emergency dialysis.

Dropping off the trash and sanitising themselves, once Agnes was stable, in the washroom led to a perfect time for the boys to query about the NPs' earlier stumble with Max blocking the door, stopping her from escaping.

With the older man beginning the interrogation, ‘Mind telling me what happened back there? I've not once had to do an IV for you since I've arrived, and I can guess Tristan hasn't either. Are you sure you're ok ?’

Avery had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. She knew they were just concerned, but with how she felt, she didn't want to deal with the hovering, ‘I told you earlier. I'm fine, it'll just be my period. I occasionally get hot flashes with my period in the summer, and I didn't get to eat lunch, which won't help. Now, if you guys will let me through, I am going to check on Agnes and begin the paperwork while I think of an outfit for dinner tonight’

Both men stepped aside instantly, understanding Avery was done with the conversation and any attempts at further interrogation would not go well, especially if Moody Avery was here for the week.

Watching Avery's retreating form, Tristan addressed the Doc, ‘Look, Max, I'll grab her some food and drink so that she doesn't keel over before dinner if you pop on the AC and agree that both of us won't bother her anymore. If Avery is ill, she won't want to admit it in case we try to look after her. The best we can do is indirect support and be there if she gets worse. I've dealt with sick Avery before, and it was like fighting with a grumpy toddler to take her meds and to accept an IV drip’

Max got the impression that Tristan wasn't trying to one-up him in regards to Avery, like they had done early on, but was just generally trying to help the doc from digging his own grave.

———————————————————————

For the second time that day, Avery was late. Only making her seat just before the Captain gave his opening speech. Tristan couldn’t help from taking a slightly longer look than appropriate, he'd seen Max do the same thing as Avery had come down the stairs. What could he say their girl knew how to dress up.

This week, she had gone with a shimmering gold pleated maxi dress with spaghetti straps that flattered her silhouette with grace and glamour. As stunning as the dress was, it was not helping Avery look any less pale. He'd stayed in the infirmary earlier, observing Agnes, directly watching, making sure that she consumed the food and not nibbled at it.

Yet now, if he didn't know any better, he says she still hasn't eaten. Her movements were slow and sluggish, absent-mindedly pushing the food around on her plate, not paying attention to the rest of the room. Max was doing the same, but he suspected it was his hesitation to eat the organ meat that Vivan had safely cooked.

He couldn't take it anymore, ‘you know it's perfectly safe to eat. Viv is a trained chef and not part of the wackadoo club. It'd be a shame if she leaves with Bethany, I'm quite liking her company and food’

Neither of his partners paid attention to him; the only response, a scoff. It came from across the table. Its source, Avery. ‘Did you just scoff at me?’

‘Viv. She's got a nickname now, How long has she been on the ship? Wow, you must of … God, I can't eat this’. The quickly building anger in the woman sitting opposite him seems to fizzle out just as fast as it built. It was instead replaced with unease and discomfort as the argument quickly dropped.

But he was still up a height and annoyed at the treatment of his new friend, unaware of the change in his partner opposite, ‘Yes, Avery. We got on well together as I was helping her cook. You can't ignore and get jealous of any new woman who joins the ship. Why don't you be moody, Avery, in your cabin’

Max had to roll his eyes at the petty squabble between his nurses and was waiting for Avery to blow up straight back, and hoped he could stop both of them from throttling each other without the Captain finding out.

Without a word of goodbye, Avery got up and left. No quick remark at either of the men, instead completely ignoring Tristan's hushed yells. There was no fury in her steps as she seemed to pull herself up the steps slower than most of their elderly guests.

‘Tristan, I would normally advise you to sort this out so we are not stuck with this tension again, but I would wait till the morning. She's not herself today, let's leave her be’

Towards the end of dinner, Max realized that Avery had left her bag and jacket on her chair, which was worrying as Avery was normally attached to her phone when not working. With how tired she looked towards the beginning of her dinner, he hoped she had gone to bed and didn't want to disturb her much-needed sleep.

The rest of the dinner and night was uneventful. Tristan sulked in silence and slinked off when the food was done to god knows where. Neither nurses were seen in the infirmary that night but thankfully it was just a few seasick passengers wondering why their herbal teas were not working.

Max just hoped he could bathe, read and go to bed without any more drama.

Little did he know…..

Note: Please let me know what you think !

This is my first fic for over 1.5 yrs so Im a little rusty. Any advice welcome. Second chapter coming soon...

Link to the chapter on my Ao3 below;

https://archiveofourown.org/works/65361616/chapters/168186253

#doctor odyssey #avery morgan #max bankman #tristan silva #doctor odyssey fanfiction #joshua jackson #ody3 #phillipa soo #captain robert massey #sean teale #odyssey 3 #whumptober #fanfic #max bankman x avery morgan x tristan silva #max bankman x avery morgan #max bankman x tristan silva #tristan silva x avery morgan #1 x4 wellness week

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wawamouse · 1 month ago

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Was going to do a WIP Wednesday because I haven't in a while, but all my wips are kind of lame rn or I already shared a lot of them LOL.

So I'm just going to Harp on a finished fic instead because now that Silver Moon's Sparkling is done, I can tell you guys that the original plot of it was 4 chapters where Miguel and Chico simply reconnect via text after the general events of ch.1&2, and then Chico's like "hey do u wanna bang? 🤔" and Miguel's like "😐…ok what the hell" and then they 69, the end.

Other rambling tidbits no one asked for:

Original plot obviously had no issues with Mama!Carmen, no dates, and no Sofia past ch1, really

Sofia's name was originally Joanna (Juanita😝), before it occurred to me that it was too close to Cathy Jo, which I thought was weird so I changed it lol

In the original plot, we don't really learn much about Chico beyond what he tells Miguel via text and they're more like strangers to lovers tbh

Chico didn't have any planned history with guys in the original plot, or at least, there wasn't going to be a definitive reveal of anything; the plan was just to have him be curious and bold enough to want to/ask Miguel to bang lol

I had some version of the first round of sex from ch.9 written out since the outline. Part of it, I also peeled off to add to Chico's appearance in ch.6, when he comes to Miguel's place for the bj :P (the whole fwb situation was also something I added as things started evolving)

My favorite 'date' from the fic was in ch.5 where Miguel goes to Chico's house and just starts Snooping, lol. I thought that was hilarious of him. And also watching Chico cook for him 😌 I actually rarely write cooking scenes or people eating nice meals or whatever, so that was a change of pace for me and an interesting challenge that I feel like turned out decently

My least favorite scene is right after, with the letters, but maybe that's because I'm also personally allergic to vulnerable scene so I'm like Eugh! Cringe and random! (adds it to the fic anyway) Writing it did remind me of writing In the Matter of Carmen Guerra, #96G522 tho, which is a fic I like so idk 😂 It's salvageable

Deleted scenes in ch.9 (AKA scenes I planned to write but didn't so the chapter wouldn't be crazy long again): Miguel and Carmen going to a library thing and then making out sloppystyle on the sidewalk on the walk home; cuddling on the couch scene with some lighthearted sappy conversation and reminiscing

ch.9 was originally going to end with a kind of fade to black before the second round of sex but I love torturing myself ig so I extended the fic, and then strongly debated the epilogue before figuring "well, the fic is titled after a romcom song so I might as well lean into the indulgence…."

So yeah, the song playing in the skating rink after Miguel proposes (referenced) is "Kiss me"…. very 90s… And honestly I picked the title of the fic as "Silver Moon's Sparkling" because haha. Silver Moon. Geddit? They're old. (Yeah, I kept referring to his as old man yaoi when i wrote it even though their ages in this fic are only 53/56. I'm a fake old man yaoi contributor. This is late middle age man yaoi at best….)(Literally just a couple years off from Third Day of Spring ages but shh)

#text #i'm like an empty nester now that this fic is done idk #it was hard to write and i hated it but i guess i had fun too #i mean i liked it even if it was bad at times and blah blah #good news about writing too much is that it hides your shit thru sheer numbers #can you tell i'm uhhhh not feel great about my oz fics lately 😂#(i'm really just rambling to hype myself up i guess)#reflect on the process #ultimately i think it turned out better than the original plan even if some of the extra bits poke out and are ugly to look at

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goldenlaurelleaveswrites · 1 year ago

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Juleka vs. the Forces of the Universe

Juleka vs. the Forces of the School Dance i

Juleka vs. the Forces of the Universe (AO3)

Hello everyone!!! I wanted to start out by thanking you all for your ongoing support and patience! This has taken me far longer than I had hoped, as I wanted to have this fic done before 2024. Obviously, that didn't happen 😂😅 I ended up needing to take a break to rest after my fall semester because it was super intense. I also had to take some time away from creative writing for personal reasons. your support, patience, and kindness has meant the absolute world to me, and I can't thank you enough for it.

Another reason why this chapter has taken so long is because chapter 17 was becoming massive (as in 20k words and counting). I debated this decision quite a bit, but in the end I've decided to break chapter 17 into smaller parts so that's why the chapter count has gone up 😅😅😅 It's much easier to revise shorter chapters, and I think it's probably easier to read shorter chapters too. This also gives me a bit more time to finish what is now the second last chapter.

I need to give a huge shoutout to the LBSC crew for their ongoing support, and for talking me off the ledge multiple times when it came to this chapter. And also just for being there for me the past few months. And again, another huge thank you to all of you for your support.

I Hope you enjoy the chapter!

ps. if I don't respond to comments on this chapter it's not because I'm ignoring any of you, it's because I don't entirely trust myself not to accidentally spoil something 😂😅

A thousand akumas fluttered in the pit of her stomach as she put the lid back on her lipstick with a satisfying click. She sat back in her chair and sighed. She was used to the feeling of butterflies, except right now it felt like there were silver and black akumas fluttering around insider her, and that mixture was a new feeling.

On one hand, tonight was the night. The night Luka and Mari were going to the dance. Together.

But on the other hand… she grimaced as the reminder for the ‘Operation Fairytale Ball Phone Meeting’ pinged on her phone. Usually they all got ready for dances together, but Marinette had needed the extra time to put the finishing touches on her dress and it hadn’t felt right for the rest of them to get together without her. But, Alya had wanted to go over the plans for the dance one more time, so Alya had scheduled a phone meeting…

She had fifteen minutes until the call.

She silenced the reminder on her phone, and turned her attention back to her reflection. The purple in her hair was nice and vivid, and the waves she had put in her hair added a touch of glamour. And her makeup looked amazing, if she did say so herself. She had gone for a soft but still vampy look with plum and black kohl softly smoked out across her lids and deep plum lips. She smiled as she tilted her head to the side, watching the way the light caught her highlight. Those makeup masterclasses had definitely paid off. In more ways than one.

She straightened her head. And then frowned.

Her bangs had slipped across her eyes again, obscuring her face.

Usually, she liked wearing her hair that way. It had started as a security thing. Her hair had acted as a shield to hide her away from the rest of the world. And there were times she still needed that.

But tonight…

Tonight she didn’t want to hide.

She reached for a bobby pin, but her hand stopped halfway to the tin of them she kept on her dressing table. Originally, she had planned on wearing her hair down, the way she normally did. But then she wouldn’t really be able to show off the back of her dress…

And given what Alya had planned for the night—to say nothing of the schemes she was positive Alya had hidden up her sleeve—she could do with a touch of Tigress.

She grabbed her brush and a black satin scrunchie, and made quick work of pulling her hair up into an elegant, high ponytail. Once the ponytail was secured, she grabbed a couple of bobby pins and pinned her bangs just enough so that they didn’t cover her eyes, but still framed her face to keep an element of drama.

That was much better.

“Hey Jules, have you seen the- Jules. You look beautiful.”

She was unable to control the grin on her face as she turned to the door of their room. Luka was standing in the hallway, he was wearing his good jeans, but his hair was still damp and he was wearing a t-shirt. But even though he wasn’t ready, she couldn’t help but preen under his words.

“Thank you.”

A sappy grin was making its way onto his face. “I’m really proud of you.”

“But I didn’t do anything.”

“Yes you have.”

“No I-“

“Look at you,” he said quietly as he made his way to stand behind her, and direct her attention back to her reflection.

“It’s just hair…” she mumbled, trying to fight the growing warmth in her cheeks.

“You and I both know it’s not just hair. And it’s more than that. You’ve been-“

“A pain in your neck?” she asked with a laugh.

“You always are. But you’ve been more sure of yourself lately. More confident. You’ve been coming into your own. It’s nice to see.”

“You’re such a sap, you’re going to make me ruin my makeup,” she mumbled, waving a hand in front of her eyes to keep them from tearing up. Once she was sure she wasn’t going to cry, she stood and hugged Luka tightly. He returned it just as fiercely.

Once they broke apart, she smacked his arm. Lightly. Ish. “Why aren’t you ready yet, dummy?”

He chuckled, shaking his head as he rolled his eyes. “I need to iron my shirt but I can’t find the iron anywhere.”

“Check the greenhouse, last time I saw it Ma was using it as a door stop up there”

“Figures,” he mumbled under his breath. He was halfway out the room when he turned back. “I really am proud of you, you know.”

“I’m proud of you too.” After all, he was finally not stepping back. “Now go,” she said, smiling as she shooed him out. “You need to get ready, you are not making me late tonight.”

“I thought it was fashionable to be late?” he called from the hall.

“Shows what you know about fashion!” she quipped back before turning back to her mirror and began adjusting the pins in her hair so that everything was just right.

Once she was satisfied, she added a final spritz of hairspray and then began packing her supplies for the evening into her clutch. Lipstick, powder, keys, hand sanitizer and cream, and emergency candy. Just in case. The finishing touches were her jewelry—the black lace choker she had made for herself and a pair of amethyst earrings—and a couple of spritzes of her favourite violet perfume.

As Roarr would say, she had her war paint and armour on, and she was ready for battle.

And not a moment too soon.

The screen of her phone lit up with an incoming call, the icon for the Adrienette group chat flashing on the screen.

“Hey,” she said once she had tapped to accept the call.

“Hi bijou!” Rose’s voice came from the screen as the group chat icon filled the screen. Rose had insisted it would be a voice only call since they weren’t all getting ready together, that way that could all surprise each other with their finished looks.

“Hi, Juleka,” Mylène said.

“Hey,” Alix’s voice crackled to life over the phone.

“Hi, Alix!” Rose chirped. “Are you excited?”

“Sure,” came Alix’s nonchalant response. “I mean, it’s a dance. There’s only so much to really be excited about-”

“Juleka?” Mylène’s voice cut Alix off. “My mascara is really clumpy! How do I fix it?”

“Wipe the excess off your wand with a tissue and then brush it through. If you have a lash comb, brush it through your lashes too. That should break some of them up.”

“You’re a life saver, thank you.”

“Are we going to get started, or what?” She had thought at first that maybe Alya hadn’t been on the call—a foolish thought—but it seemed Alya was still officially not talking to her. Which, after last night… she wasn’t entirely sure it was a good or bad thing.

Either way, it was an awkward thing.

Rose and Mylène had been in a tizzy all day, trying to get them to talk to each other. Alix had made a few attempts, but after a while had clearly given up and resorted to sighing and rolling her eyes with great exasperation. But Alya… Alya was stubborn. Marinette and the rest of the class had picked up on it too, except Adrien that was. Even Bustier had noticed something weird was going on.

Honestly, it felt more than safe to assume that the only reason she was even included in this pre-game call, so to speak, was because the rest of the girls hadn’t given Alya a choice. Looking at the screen, Rose had been the one to initiate the call.

“If we have to…” Alix groaned.

“We do. Nothing can go wrong tonight,” Alya said firmly.

Well, they were sort of in agreement there.

They were just… diametrically opposed…

“So, I just texted Marinette,” Alya continued, “She just got out of the shower so she’ll only just be starting drying and doing her hair, which means we all have time to get there and get everything into place…”

Despite the fact that she could have listed the schemes backwards in her sleep, she listened carefully to Alya’s every word. She mentally sifted through every word and intonation, looking for any potential clues for what other schemes might come into play. Because she knew Alya. And after their… talk last night, there was no way Alya was showing up without a fresh set of schemes ready to go.

Which meant she needed to be ready for anything.

But she was feeling apprehensive about the evening for more reasons than Alya was giving her.

An odd clash of elation and dread was brewing in her stomach like a hurricane. She knew all the schemes that had been plotted at the meetings she was present for. She knew Alya undoubtedly had more schemes that she didn’t know about ready to set in motion. She knew she had to be and was ready to deal with those schemes.

She also knew Luka and Marinette were going.

Together.

Of their own choosing.

But she wasn’t expecting much beyond that in the sense that, well… school dances were… school dances. They were fun. But they weren’t the magical and romantic settings that movies and tv likes to play them off as. So while she was elated that they were going together, she couldn’t see much more than that happening tonight.

Apart from all the stupid and ridiculous schemes she would have to derail, that is.

As much as she wanted Luka and Marinette to stop being idiots, they were idiots. Sure, she could give them gentle nudges, but tonight, her priority was to just let them enjoy themselves. They had already taken one step away from idiocy by going to the dance together. Tonight was about letting them just enjoy their one small step towards reason.

But even knowing that… she just couldn’t shake the feeling that something big was going to happen tonight.

“School dances are just so romantic!” Rose squealed, breaking her from her thoughts.

***

The thing about school dances was that they were just about the furthest thing from romantic.

The music was always too loud for an enclosed space, and the base too high. And the music choice was always just what was most popular. Which was fine. There was nothing wrong with music being popular. It was just that Bob Roth had bought XY’s place to the top of the charts, so the playlist by default, was dominated by XY’s music- or rather, the music he had stolen.

To say nothing of the smell. The school dances were always held in the gym, which perpetually smelled like a phys-ed class. And the boy’s locker room. Even the smell of strong perfume and cheap cologne couldn’t mask the eau de body odour. Somehow, it just made it worse.

Awkwardness permeated the very air; whether it was people trying to ask their crushes to dance, or people worrying over what they wore or who came with who. And of course there were the chaperones. It was impossible for anything to be romantic when M. Damocles and Mme. Mendeliev were watching the dance floor like a pair of hawks, on the lookout for any inappropriate behaviour.

How could anyone think school dances were romantic?

“This is going to be so romantic!” Rose’s squeal was high pitched enough to be heard over the music without shouting.

Well, anyone except Rose.

“Rose! Juleka!” She turned at the sound of Ivan’s voice, which somehow managed to travel through the pounding base. Ivan and Mylène were weaving through the crowd towards them. Nathaniel was trailing behind them, in the wake Ivan left as people parted to let him and Mylène pass.

“Are Alya and Alix here yet?” Mylène asked as she joined their group, almost shouting to make herself heard over the music. “Rose, you look lovely! And-” Mylène’s eyes widened a bit as she looked at her. “Juleka! Your hair”

“It looks really nice like that,” Ivan said with a shy smile.

“You look gorgeous!”

“Doesn’t she?” Rose asked brightly, taking a firmer grip on her arm as she leaned against her.

Her cheeks were suddenly hot and she had to remind herself not to hide her face in her hands given she couldn’t rely on her hair to hide her blush. “Thanks. You all look great too!” she added, gesturing to Ivan, who had a small, faux sunflower clipped to his shirt to match the floral print of Mylène’s dress. Mylène had twisted her hair up into a bun, which was also adorned with a sunflower clipped into it to frame a loose tendril by the side of her face. “You too, Nathaniel,” she added as she glanced at him. He cleaned up pretty good.

“Thanks,” he said, his voice almost lost to the crowd. “Oh, I see Marc! If you guys don’t mind, I’m going to go…”

“Of course!” Rose squealed, grinning. “We’ll see you on the dance floor?”

Nathaniel nodded with a smile before slipping away.

“So…” Ivan said slowly, “I know you all had some sort of plan but if Alya and Alix aren’t here yet, maybe you and I could dance?” he asked, turning to Mylène.

Mylène was just nodding when a familiar voice carried through the music.

“I bet you I could dance for an hour straight!”

“I bet you would trip over your feet in the first ten minutes,” she heard Alix say as she caught a flash of pink hair moving towards them.

“Yeah? Well how about we-”

“Absolutely not!” Rose said indignantly as Kim and Alix joined their quickly growing group. “This is a dance. It’s supposed to be romantic. And bets aren’t romantic!”

“Thank you, Rose” Max sighed as he stopped to stand on her other side before adding under his breath, “I think.”

“Aww, c’mon! What’s wrong with a little fun- Whoa! Juleka! I don’t think I’ve ever seen both your eyes before!”

She couldn’t help but chuckle at how utterly Kim he was. Before she could reply to what she assumed was his attempt at a complement, Rose opened her mouth.

“And?” Rose asked, her high voice holding an edge of danger.

Kim’s eyes widened as they darted to Rose, in all her swirly, pink, white kitten-print glory and swallowed. “You look really pretty! I just- I wasn’t expecting you to- I mean, you never wear your hair up…” he said, tripping over himself as he tried to both clarify his compliment and appease Rose.

She nudged Rose gently with her elbow and gave her a look before she smiled at Kim. “Thanks. You look pretty good yourself. You all do,” she added, glancing to Max and Alix as Kim puffed his chest out in pride.

“Oh, hey Luka!”

“Hey, Kim. Everyone” Luka said just loud enough to be heard over the music as he slipped between her and Max, shooting Max a grateful smile as the shorter boy made room for him.

“Did you escape in one piece?” she asked.

“Escape?” Ivan asked, his brows furrowing. “From who?”

“Damocles cornered him when we got here,” she snorted. “He wanted to know how lycée is going for him,” she added with a smirk as Luka groaned.

“I feel like he and his sister have a bet going about me and Dingo or something. He kept asking about our science classes and showcase performances…” he said, his voice trailing off as he oh so subtly scanned the crowd around them. “So has anyone seen Marinette yet?”

“No sign of her yet,” she murmured before gently elbowing his side and shooting him a smirk. She hadn’t called him a ‘sap’ out loud. She wasn’t that mean. Besides, she didn’t need to say it for him to get the message…

He rolled his eyes before turning back to the conversation. He was lucky the lighting in the gym hid the pink tinge to his ears. For the most part…

She turned back to the conversation as well, which had somehow worked its way back to Kim and Alix trying to have a competition that Rose wouldn’t outright destroy them for for having at the dance. But she only listened with half an ear, if that. Luka was there to help keep Rose in check should she decide Kim and Alix were ruining the ‘romance’ of the dance too much.

And she had other things to worry about…

Surreptitiously, she scanned the crowd, looking for any signs of Marinette. And crossing all her fingers that Marinette would arrive before Alya… though she wasn’t holding her breath…

The crowd ebbed and flowed around them in a blur of coloured lights and party clothes. Their group was far enough off to the side that they weren’t being overrun by the people dancing, but they were still close enough to the action. She caught sight of Nathaniel and Marc dancing on the fringes of the dance floor. A girl in a yellow dress—similar to the one Chloe had worn— crossed her line of vision, holding a cup of punch, which only served as a reminder of one of the more harebrained schemes Alya had come up with for ‘Operation Fairytale Ball.’ The thought of the schemes left a bitter taste in her mouth, and a lead weight in the pit of her stomach.

Things had been bad enough when she was only contending with one set of schemes… but after last night… there was no way Alya didn’t have contingency plans…

Another song passed with anxious anticipation. And then she saw it. The unmistakeable flash or orange by the doors to the gym.

“Alya” Rose shouted, standing up on her tip toes to be seen past Kim, “over here!”

Whether she had actually heard Rose, or more likely, seen Rose’s glitter clutch as she waved it and Ivan and Kim’s large forms in the crowd, Alya turned in the direction of their group. And then started weaving through the crowd towards them with a determination that didn’t bode well for her plans for the night…

“You look great, Alya!” Rose chirped once she had joined their quickly growing group.

“Thanks,” Alya said, flashing a grin. “You all do too,” she said, smiling to all of them. But then Alya’s gaze landed on her. Alya’s hazel eyes widened in surprise for a moment, the way everyone’s had when they had first seen her with her hair up and away from her face. But then they had narrowed. And while she had still smiled at her, it was rather frigid.

And she hadn’t said anything to her, so it seemed like Alya was still dead set on the whole no talking thing.

“I like how you did your hair,” she said to Alya. And it was true. Alya’s hair looked great.

Alya, for her part, didn’t seem sure how to respond. On one hand, Alya still seemed determined not to talk to her, but on the other…

“Thanks,” Alya said slowly, her face guarded. “Yours looks nice too,” she added, with just the slightest hint of suspicion detectable in her voice. But it was clear as day in her eyes. And then Alya turned to look at Luka, and her eyes widened all over again as soon as she saw what Luka was wearing.

Alya made a strangled, chocking sound that she quickly tried to cover in a cough.

“You ok?” Mylène asked worriedly, taking a step towards Alya to place a hand on her back.

Alya nodded, “Fine,” she said hoarsely before blinking to do a double take at Luka. Luka blinked at her, his face shifting into something guarded, and Alya’s eyes narrowed again, her mouth setting into a grim line as her gazed flickered back to land on her.

She should have known Alya would take his outfit choice as a sign of her ‘betrayal…’

Luka nudged her shoulder. “I’m going to go get something to drink. Want anything?” His voice sounded almost tinny through the base.

“No, but you should-“ He was gone before she could finish telling him he should wait until Marinette go there. Now that Alya was here… Marinette could show up at any time, and she didn’t like the idea of Luka going off on his own and leaving Alya with an opening.

“So, where’s Nino?” Kim asked, seemingly wonderfully oblivious—as usual—to everything. “We need some good song recommendations for a dance off and he’s the go to guy for that kind of stuff.”

“He isn’t playing-”

“Well, yeah,” Kim laughed, “that’s why that other guy is up there,” Kim said as he nodded to the hired DJ. “But I’m sure we can make requests.”

“That’s true…” Alya said, turning to Alix as she pulled her phone out of her purse “But remember-”

“I know, I know,” Alix groaned, holding up her hands. “But they’re not even here yet.”

“Who isn’t here-” Kim started to ask.

“Nino just texted, he and Adrien are almost here,” Alya said as she read something off her phone.

“I know!” Alya shouted over the music.“And Marinette should be here any minute! And-“ Alya began frantically waving. “Nino and Adrien are here!”

“Do you want to dance?” Rose grabbed her hand, beaming up at her as she tugged her towards the dance floor.

She wanted to. She really wanted to. But she also didn’t want whatever Alya had planned to go ahead. Which meant she needed to be ready for-

“Hey dudes.” Nino was grinning as he and Adrien joined their group. But then he caught her eye. His eyes widened, dnd then his gaze dropped, like he couldn’t look her in the eye. Nino had always been a bit of an open book. Subtlety wasn’t exactly his forte.

And this all but confirmed her worst suspicions.

He was definitely in on whatever Alya had cooked up.

“You look great, Adrien!” Alya said.

Adrien, who had looked morose and like he had every intention of at least half-sulking the entire evening, looked up. “Oh, thanks.”

“Yeah, you clean up good, man! Do you think you can dance in that getup? Because Alix and I were going to- oof”

Kim’s obvious attempts to get Adrien to join in on the impromptu dance off were quickly cut off by Rose’s elbow.

“I probably could, but they’re not really made for that kind of dancing.”

“Yeah, Kim. Those kinds of clothes are for dances like the waltz. You know, the romantic kinds? There’s nothing more romantic than a waltz! Just imagine, a candlelight waltz, or a waltz under the city lights,” Rose sighed dreamily. “There’s nothing that could be more romantic than that.”

“Yeah? You really think?” Adrien asked, immediately perking up. Even after their fight, he was still concerned about that?

“There’s Marinette!” Mylène’s voice was almost lost to the music.

Bewilderment crossed Alya’s face. “Her dress…”

She whirled around, tugging Rose along with her.

Marinette wasn’t wearing green to match Adrien��s eyes, as per her prediction. And despite Alya’s suggestion—demand more like.

“She looks gorgeous!” Beside her Rose practically swooned. “She looks like a princess!”

Marinette’s dress was simple; a sweet heart neckline and spaghetti straps, with a full and voluminous skirt made up of what looked like layer upon layer of gauzy fabric. It was a soft shade of blue, caught somewhere between summer skies and calm seas. It was the blue of where the horizon met the sea. It was the blue that lived somewhere between the shade of Luka’s eyes and Marinette’s. A simple silver pendant that looked remarkably light a floral treble cleft matched her shoes.

And her hair was down. She couldn’t remember the last time she had seen Marinette with her hair down; she always had it pulled back, even at sleepovers. But now it cascaded over her shoulders in loose waves.

It made her look… freer.

Rose was right. She did look like a princess. She was about to elbow Luka in the ribs when she remembered he had gone to get a drink.

Shoot.

“Wow, Marinette looks great!”

Shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot.

Now was not the time for Adrien to start noticing what he was missing out on.

Despite her initial reaction to Marinette’s dress, or more specifically she assumed, its colour, Alya smiled smugly. “She sure does,” she said.

“I’ve never seen her with her hair down…”

“Maybe you should tell her to wear it down more often…” Alya suggested.

Adrien shrugged blithely. “Maybe, but I like the pigtails. They remind me of Ladybug.”

There is was.

Because even with his so-called Lady standing right in front of him, he couldn’t see her, he was so blinded by the scarlet and spots.

“Hi guys!” Marinette said a little breathlessly as she pushed through the last bit of the crowd standing between her and the rest of the group.

“Hey,” she said, louder than she usually would so as to be heard over the pounding music.

Marinette turned to her and the smile that had been gracing her face grew even wider. “Juleka!” she gasped before pulling her into a hug, “you look incredible! I knew that dress would be perfect for you, and the shoes and your hair!”

“I know, right?” Rose chirped. “I think you should wear heels more often,” Rose added added as Marinette pulled away.

“And Rose! You look fabulous! You all do!” Marinette squealed as she looked around their group, grinning at everyone. But she was also oh so very obviously looking for someone who wasn’t there. She had to fight back a grin at how transparent Marinette was. “Has anyone seen-”

“Girl, that dress looks great on you! It really brings out your eyes!” Alya said as she pulled Marinette into a hug. Though she knew Alya had misgivings about the colour Marinette had chosen, the compliment was obviously genuine. Marinette did look incredible, and the colour of her dress made her eyes all the bluer.

Marinette smiled at Alya as she released the hug. But there was something guarded about her smile still. The way it had been every time she had smiled around Alya the past few days. “Thanks. You look great too.”

“I can see why this took you so long,” Mylène said as she looked at Marinette’s dress before pulling her into a hug as well, “just how many layers are there in the skirt?”

“I lost track around seven,” Marinette laughed. “But where’s Luka?” she asked.

“He went to go get a drink, he should be back any minute,” she replied as Rose pounced on Marinette, enveloping her in a hug. From across their little group, she caught Alya eyeing her suspiciously.

And really?

That was what was eliciting that look?

What did Alya expect her to do? Ignore Marinette’s question? Did she expect all of them to ignore Marinette’s question.

“Oh, ok-”

“While you’re waiting for him,” Alya interrupted before turning to Adrien, “You like this song, right Adrien?”

“Yeah, it’s fine-”

“Why don’t you two dance? The crowd is so thick it could Luka a while to come back, plus if M. Damocles wants to talk to him again-”

“But-”

Another flash of yellow in the crowd caught her eye. This time, it was Chloe.

Chloe had proven to be very effective in coming between Adrien and Marinette before… she just needed to get Chloe to notice him…

Behind Chloe, she saw Aurore and Mireille drifting through the crowd.

She shifted a step to the side so that she was closer to Adrien, and reached up and began to wave. “Mereille, Aurore! Over here!” she called as she continued to wave, keeping her gaze on Chloe’s ponytail.

She hadn’t expected either of them to hear her, and evidently they hadn’t heard or seen her as they disappeared back into the crowd. But that didn’t matter. Because Chloe had noticed her. And more importantly, Chloe had noticed who was standing with her…

“Oop. Chloe incoming,” Alix said, but it was too late.

“Adrikins! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

“Hey Chloe,” Adrien said, rather unenthusiastically.

“Aren’t you going to compliment my dress?” Chloe asked as she looped her arm through his and began tugging him towards the dance floor.

“Where are you going?”

“To dance. Obviously, Césaire,” Chloe snapped before dragging Adrien off.

She turned back to the rest of her friends as Adrien and Chloe started dancing, to find Alya glaring at her suspiciously. But she just shrugged innocently. It wasn’t like she had called Chloe over. Alya couldn’t reasonably accuse her of doing anything.

Just Alya couldn’t get mad at her for helping keep Mendeliev from finding some of the scheme…

“Hey, angel,” she said quietly, leaning down to whisper into Rose’s ear, “you and Mylène hid the flowers are under the tables right?” Rose nodded. “Mendeliev is poking around over there.” She straighten up and glanced knowingly towards the tables that had been set up for people to sit at when they needed a break from dancing. Mendeliev wasn’t exactly poking around them, but she was circulating amongst them. And Mendeliev was eagle eyed…

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rose’s eyes widen as she followed her gaze.

“Alya! Mylène! I need a girl talk real quick!” Rose sad, grabbing them both by the arm and not waiting for a response from either of them. “I’ll be right back, bijou!” Rose called over her shoulder before saying something into Alya’s ear.

It was hard to tell from behind, but based on the way Alya picked up the pace towards the tables, she felt safe to assume Rose had told her Mendeliev was alarmingly close to the flowers Alya, Mylène, and Rose were supposed to use for one of the schemes. Alya shot a conflicted, yet suspicious glance over her shoulder at her as she hurried towards the tables.

“Welp,” Alix said, “I guess that means it’s time to check out the snacks.”

“Wait!” Kim called as Alix began to saunter away, “I thought we were going to have a dance off now! Or! I bet you I can-” whatever it was that Kim had been saying was lost in the noise of the crowd and music as he disappeared after Alix, pulling Nino along with him.

Max sighed. “I suppose I had better go make sure neither of them choke if they end up having an eating contest or something.” She shot Max a sympathetic smile before he turned and trudged after Alix and Kim.

“C’mon,” she said to Marinette, nodding towards the end of the gymnasium the refreshment tables were set up in, “let’s go find my brother before Damocles corners him again.” Marinette nodded as she looped her arm through hers.

Marinette’s brows twisted in confusion as she began to follow her through the crowd. “Before Damocles corners him again? What-”

“Did you know Damocles has a twin? And that she’s the principal of Saint-Saëns?”

“There’s two Damocles?” Marinette asked in disbelief as they began to weave through the crowd.

“I’m afraid so.”

“You don’t think she also dresses up Knightowl, do you?”

“I hope not,” she laughed. “Luka hasn’t said anything about it but you never know-”

“Jules!” She pulled Marinette to a stop as she turned in the direction of the voice. Luka was smiling apologetically at someone she recognized from the year below her as he awkwardly side stepped towards her. “I thought I had lost you Jules- Marinette.”

She didn’t bother to hide her smile at the look on her brother’s face. She had never seen his eyes so wide. And she swore she could almost hear the sounds of his brain short-circuiting. His plastic cup clattered to the ground, thankfully spilling only a few drops as it had been almost completely empty. “You- you’re beautiful,” he said, almost reverently.

She glanced at Marinette at the corner of her eye, even as Marinette unhooked her arm from hers to take a step towards Luka. Her smile only grew. Marinette was equally wide-eyed, and she was practically glowing.

“Your dress, it’s incredible. I knew it would be, but… wow,” Luka laughed breathlessly.

“Thank you,” Marinette said, almost shyly. “But Luka, your tie.” Marinette reached out as if to touch it, but stopped just short, her hand awkward hovering a few inches from Luka’s chest.

The sap looked down to grin at the floral tie, which was the same shade of pink as his cheeks and ears, before smiling back up at Marinette. “Yeah, I-“ she watched as her brother reached up to rub the back of his neck as a bashful smile and flush crept across his face. “It made me think of you.”

***

Phase ’And Their Eyes Will Meet’ had gone off without a hitch.

At least, from her perspective.

The best part was, she hadn’t had to do much. And that meant that there was no way Alya could turn around to try and pin the phase’s failure on her. Especially given she had alerted Rose to Mendeliev getting a little too close to the faux flowers for comfort. She had almost felt sorry for Adrien as Chloe dragged him off to dance with her.

Almost.

But knowing what she knew… yeah. She didn’t.

Plus, it got him away from Marinette. And more importantly, Alya.

And that had given Luka an opening. Of course, the DJ had just had to put on an XY song, which meant Luka and Marinette weren’t dancing… They were hovering by one of the walls of the gym, glasses of the saccharinely sweet punch completely forgotten in their hands as they laughed over something. Sure, they were maybe leaning a bit into wallflower territory, but they were together.

The other good thing about them standing there by the wall was that it was relatively easy for her to keep an eye on them and the things going on around them as Rose spun her around the dance floor. She would have been more than happy to sit this song out too, to be honest. It wasn’t like any of them had a soft spot for XY. The complete opposite in fact. But even the sourness of the memory of their music being stolen wasn’t enough to dampen Rose’s spirits. She had practically begged to dance, and when had she ever been able to say no to Rose? Especially when she used her puppy eyes…

“I can’t wait until they play a slow song!” Rose somehow both sighed and squealed as she pulled her into an enthusiastic spin.

“Neither can I,” she chuckled, blinking as she teetered on her shoes and tried to steady herself. While she was able to keep an eye on everything from the dance floor, keeping everything she saw straight was another thing entirely with Rose leading…

“Sorry,” Rose said, cringing as she smiled apologetically.

She couldn’t help but smile at how unabashedly Rose was leaning into the rose-tinted romance she perceived the dance to be. “It’s ok, maybe just a little less… gusto?”

Rose nodded brightly before tugging her a little closer, her smile dimming a little. “You’re still doing ok?”

She blinked down at Rose. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Rose shrugged as they continued to dance. “Yesterday… it was a lot. It was a lot for me and Mylène. Heck, it was even a lot for Alix. We’ve… none of us… well, I don’t remember the last fight any of us had like that. I don’t know if we’ve ever had a fight like that before…”

“It was a lot,” she agreed, nodding slightly.

“I know we talked it out last night, but this morning, and during the phone call… Alya wasn’t exactly…”

“Talking to me?” she snorted. Rose nodded, and she sighed. “You and me? We’re alright. I promise,” she added, squeezing Rose’s hand. “Me and Alix and Mylène? We’re fine too. I talked with them both last night.”

“And you and Alya?”

She bit back a groan, but some of it still slipped into her sigh. “I don’t know where we are right now. But I know that she needs time to let it go and- what is she doing?” She craned her neck to get a better view of what she had seen over Rose’s shoulder.

Alya was dancing with Adrien. It was very obvious that Adrien was trying to lead the two in the dance, and it was even more obvious that Alya had taken the lead. And that she was steering him right towards…

Rose turned to look over her shoulder in the direction she was looking and sighed. “I forgot about that plan…”

“What plan was that?”

Rose turned back to her, and to her surprise, rolled her eyes. “It was one of the ones Alya came up with. One that we weren’t supposed to tell you about,” she added apologetically. “We tried to tell her it wouldn’t work but…” Rose’s words trailed off in a shrug. “I suppose she didn’t listen.”

That was an understatement.

“Hey,” do you think we could maybe take a bit of a rest?” she asked as casually as she could. “I’m getting a little tired, I’m not used to wearing heels and we’ve been dancing for a while…”

Both were true. They had been dancing for three songs now. And she wasn’t used to wearing heels.

But that pang of guilt still lodged itself in her chest. She still wasn’t sure what the best course of action would be, with the girls. Telling them everything—well, not everything—or keeping quiet. She knew she would have to decide one way or another eventually. But today- tonight didn’t feel like the right time.

All she was sure of, was that she needed to keep Alya away from Luka and Marinette.

“Of course, bijou!” Rose said brightly. “I was getting hungry anyways. Want me to go grab some snacks?”

“Sure. I’ll wait over with Mari and Luka?” she asked, nodding towards them.

“That sounds good! I’ll bring snacks for them too, we can all rest for a bit.”

She pecked Rose on the forehead before they parted ways. Rose heading towards the refreshment table, while she headed into what felt like what was going to turn into a storm…

***

The music was still pounding.

The gym was still dimly lit by the lights and the disco ball that had been pulled out from the school storage for the occasion.

The gym still unfortunately smelled like Kim’s locker. Maybe even worse now that people had been dancing for a while, not to mention topping up their perfume and cologne in the bathroom. She had nearly choked on the clouds of clashing scents when she had ducked into the ladies room.

And while somewhat expected, it seemed Luka and Marinette were still no closer to stopping their mutual idiocy than they had been when they had arrived at the dance. Or last week. Or last month…

The only thing that had changed in the past hour of the dance had been…

She narrowed her eyes as she watched Nino sling an arm around Adrien’s shoulder with a laugh. Normally, that wouldn’t be something she would even bat an eye at. Nino was just like that, always slinging an arm around his friends’ shoulders or ribbing them when joking around, or slinging an arm around Alya’s waist. For all the ways he presented himself as a chill, nonchalant kind of guy, he was actually very touchy-feely and outwardly affectionate to the people close to him. In some ways, he was quite a bit like Luka, being more than content to let things be and happen as they did.

And he was a terrible liar. And a terrible actor.

She wouldn’t have batted an eye at the way he had slung his arm around Adrien’s shoulder, if not for the almost mechanical way he had done it. Like it was timed, or he was overthinking it in trying to make it look casual.

And of course, there was the fact that he had shot a not-so subtle glance at Alya where she was standing over by the refreshment table, sipping a glass of the overly sweet punch.

She almost frowned before she remembered herself. It wouldn’t do to look suspicious; she was at a dance after all, she should look like she wasn’t trying to unravel Kwami’s only knew how many unknown convoluted schemes Alya had cooked up. She turned her attention away from Alya and back to Mylène. Or rather… at the spot just over Mylène’s head where she could see Nino and Adrien talking.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a whirl of bubblegum and serene blue. Rose and Marinette flew through her field of vision, laughing and giggling as Rose swung them in a twirling dance that wasn’t so much a dance per se as a whirling tornado of pink and blue, puffy chaos. A smile curled across her face at the sight; she had needed to take a break from dancing. She still wasn’t used to wearing heels, so there was only so much dancing she could do at a time. And Marinette had seemed disappointed to not be dancing to this song while Luka was in the bathroom trying to dry off, so of course she had no objections to Rose dancing with Marinette for a while.

Her smile faltered.

It had seemed like an accident…

But she of all people should know things aren’t always what they seem.

And it was just a little too convenient that Kim’s water had ended up all over Luka. Sure, it was easy to brush off; Kim wasn’t exactly what anyone would call observant. And he had been goofing around—as usual—when he had bumped into Nino and sent the water all over Luka’s side. But the fact that it had been water as opposed to the syrupy punch that had ended up all over Luka’s sleeve made it feel too deliberate. For all her flaws, Alya wasn’t mean. She wouldn’t stoop to completely ruining Luka’s shirt.

And of course, there was the fact she had been Nino. That, and she had seen Alya give Nino what she assumed was meant to be a covert look a couple of minutes before it happened.

It was just water. But it was enough Luka had ducked out to the washroom to try and dry off some of the water with paper towels and the hand dryers.

And now…

Her gaze narrowed in on Nino and Adrien again. Nino was nodding his head towards Rose and Marinette, his movements painfully stiff and awkward looking. She couldn’t tell what he was saying from here—there was no way on earth she could hear him from that far away over the music and frustratingly, lip reading was harder than she had initially thought. But she had a hunch.

She watched Adrien and Nino as Nino continued to talk with exaggerated motions. For her part, she nodded along as she listened to Mylène talking about her plans for the first couple of weeks of the summer break. Adrien nodded again, and Nino’s face broke out into a look of relief.

That couldn’t be good…

The song—one of Clara Nightingale’s recent releases—was still going, but she recognized the lines enough to know it was nearing its end. And-

Nope.

Adrien was walking away from Nino now, making his way through the crowd of people dancing with his usual supermodel grace.

That was not good.

Nino was watching Adrien go as he made his way towards Rose and Marinette.

It was definitely not good.

And across the dance floor, Alya was also watching Adrien heading towards Marinette and Rose, grinning like the cat that had just caught the canary.

“I’m going to go find Luka,” she said, rather abruptly if the look Mylène and Ivan gave her was anything to go by.

“He’s probably still in the washroom though, right?” Ivan asked.

Max pushed his glasses up his nose before nodding. “That would be the most probable answer. That cup was quite full-”

“I said I was sorry!” Kim interjected, earning a look of good-natured ire from Max.

“But it also doesn’t take that long to dry off a shirt. He can live with a damp sleeve and he’s missing everything.”

“That is also a good point-”

She shot Max a smile, and then before anyone else could protest, she slipped away from their group and began fighting her way through the fringes of the dance floor. She was sure to make a show of looking around like she was looking for someone and wasn’t really watching where she was going—lest Alya spot her and decide to make more accusations—as she made a beeline for the spot it looked like she would cross paths with Adrien.

“Oh, excuse me- oh, hey Juleka.”

She turned to look down at Adrien—who she was towering over even more than usual in her shoes—with feigned surprise. “Oh, Adrien. Sorry about that, I didn’t see you there.”

Adrien shot her one of his easy, effortless, supermodel grins. “Don’t worry about it,” he said. “So, are you enjoying the dance?”

She nodded. “I am. Yeah.” Ok. This was awkward. She had been so laser-focused on intercepting Adrien before he could reach Marinette and, she assumed, ask her to dance, that she hadn’t even thought about how she was going to keep him occupied.

And for all his obliviousness, even Adrien seemed to be picking up on the pure, tangible awkwardness that was filling the air.

“So…” he said, letting the single word trail off.

What was she supposed to say? What could she possibly talk to Adrien about now?

Come to think of it, what could she ever possibly talk to just Adrien about? They had nothing in common other than their teachers and classmates!

“Are you having fun?” The words blurted out, but that was fine. That was a nice, safe, impersonal topic.

Adrien grinned again. “Yeah, it’s great! I’m glad father let me come, it’s a lot of fun dancing with everyone. I was just on my way to ask Marinette to dance- oh, looks like Luka is back.”

She held back a sigh of relief as she turned to look behind her where Adrien was craning his neck to see. Luka was back, and even though the song hadn’t quite ended yet it looked like Rose had released Marinette from their tornado like dance to reunite with Luka. Marinette was busy inspecting Luka’s sleeve—probably to make sure he had properly dried it or something—while the dork stood there blushing and staring at the top of Marinette’s head like a lovesick idiot.

But a ways behind them…

She could see Alya staring at the two. Her brows furrowed and there was the familiar gleam in her eyes, the one she always had when she was plotting and scheming…

“…but Nino said I should try to dance with Marinette, I’m sure they won’t mind if I interrupt-”

“Why don’t we dance?”

Did she really just say that?

Why? Why? Of all the things she could ever possibly say to him, why did she have to go and say that?

She wasn’t sure who was more surprised. Her. Or Adrien. He was staring at her, his mouth gaping open not unlike that of a fish. And honestly? She couldn’t really blame him…

“Uh, yeah, sure. Sounds fun.” They stood there awkwardly, looking at each other. “I guess we should…?” Adrien asked, his question trailing off.

“Oh. Yeah. Uh…” she glanced around, trying to spot Luka and Marinette so that she could get Adrien as faraway from them as possible. The two were dancing to the upbeat song that had started playing. Marinette was glowing, she was smiling so brightly at Luka. And Luka was looking at Marinette like she was the sun, the moon, and all the stars rolled into one as he laughed at something Marinette had said.

Her thoughts soured as she glanced around for Alya. There was no way she wanted Adrien anywhere near them lest Alya—or Nino—find a way to interrupt.

Alya was staring at her, her eyes hard and her mouth downturned in a frown. Nino was standing beside her, looking like he was trying to placate her. But Alya looked like she was ready to do business.

She definitely wanted Adrien away from those two, and any plots Alya cooked up on the fly, as well.

“Let’s go over there,” she said, nodding her head to the other side of the dance floor where the crowd was thinner. Far away from Luka and Marinette. And far far away from Alya’s interference…

Adrien nodded, and began heading in the direction she had nodded. The wove through the crowd until they were on the fringes of the far side of the dance floor, far away from any of Alya’s plots and schemes.

Hopefully.

Adrien turned to her with another practiced smile and placed a hand on her waist.

She couldn’t stop herself from stepping back in surprise.

“What are you doing?”

Adrien’s brows furrowed. “Dancing?”

“It isn’t really the right kind of song for that kind of dancing,” she said, nodding to the people around them who were bobbing and swaying to the fast beat of one of the other songs from Clara’s new album.

“Oh,” Adrien said, his brows still furrowed. But then he smiled and chuckled as he ran a hand though his perfectly coiffed hair. It was such a Chat like movement she almost grimaced. “Sorry about that, guess I’m not used to school dances since father never really lets me go to them,” he said, his voice full of its usual model charm.

“No problem.” Nodding, she began dancing, trying to ignore the awkwardness that was making it feel like she was moving her stiff limbs through jello. She was never a big dancer, but it was also never hard for her to dance. But this? This was painful.

But at least if they were dancing they wouldn’t have to make small talk…

Clumsily, Adrien mimicked her movements. “So…” he said again, breaking the silence between them.

There went that small comfort…

“You like Clara’s new album?” she asked, desperately looking for something- anything to talk about that would maybe hopefully dissipate at least some of the awkward tension. Or at least distract her long enough to get her through this song.

Except that was a mistake. Bringing up Clara’s new album. Because it had another Ladybug song on it. Quite a few actually. And a song a lot of people were speculating was intended to be about Tigress…

With no mention of Chat in any of the lyrics…

Adrien’s face darkened into almost a scowl before he seemed to remember himself. “It’s fine,” he muttered before brightening marginally. “The lyrics about Ladybug’s eyes are spot on,” he half laughed, half sighed. “She really is brilliant- Ladybug that is. Clara’s first song, the one about Ladybug and Chat Noir is still my favourite though.”

Of course it was.

And was he- was he humming that song about Ladybug and Chat Noir?

This was more than painful.

“Hey, you seen Chloe recently?”

“What?” Why would he be asking her that?

“I haven’t seen her for a while now, and I saw another girl wearing a similar dress-”

“Last I saw her, it looked like Sabrina was trying to keep her from noticing. I think I saw Sabrina talking to the girl earlier, probably trying to convince her to change.”

“Oh.”

Was he seriously disappointed by that? Was he actually hoping Chloe would see the girl wearing a similar dress? Something that would almost surely end in akumatization, if not for the poor girl then for Chloe. Except, it wasn’t really surprising because of course he would. Because where there were akumas, there was Ladybug. A wave of disgust washed through her. “Why are you asking?”

Alarm passed so quickly through Adrien’s eyes she would have missed it if she hadn’t been watching for it. “Oh, you know. It seemed like there’s always an akuma at school dances.”

“Hopefully the evening won’t come to that.”

“Of course,” Adrien said, casting her a charming, supermodel smile that was completely repulsive.

She nodded, trying to return his smile. It wouldn’t do her any good to try and disagree with him. But trying to smile at him made her stomach feel like it was flipping inside out.

Thankfully, he was Adrien. He took her smile—well, her rather poor attempt at a smile—at face value. “I wonder if Ladybug likes dancing…” She ignored him as he continued to muse about whether Ladybug liked to dance and what kind of music she liked and wax poetic about her in general.

The song was still no where close enough to being over when she caught sight of Alya and Nino. She had to bite back a groan at the sight of them. They were standing, chatting with Luka and Marinette. She had been able to keep Adrien away from those two, but she had overlooked the crucial fact that it wasn’t just Adrien she had to be worried about. If anything, he really should have been what she was least worried about.

Alya was the mastermind of all the plots.

Alya was the one doing her utmost best to be a wedge between Luke and Marinette.

And she had been so stupid to get so caught up on the Adrien plots that she had overlooked the reality she was contending with.

Still… the night wasn’t over. Maybe Alya was keeping Marinette and Luka from enjoying their time together right now, but the night was still young. And the song would be over—though not soon enough—and she could make her way back to the two idiots. She just had to grin and bear it a little longer. And at least with Adrien waxing poetic about Ladybug, she could focus on figuring out how to keep Alya away from Luka and Marinette.

#juleka vs. the forces of the universe #juleka couffaine #luka couffaine #marinette dupain cheng #alya cesaire #nino lahiffe #rose lavillant #mylene haprele #alix kubdel #ivan bruel #le chien kim #max kante #adrien agreste #endgame lukanette #lukanette endgame #alya salt #adrien salt #chat noir salt

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amelias-calamity-quintet · 2 months ago

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Just so it's not exclusive to the EH server where I'm talking about this: I'm currently debating some steps to my importing & editing process. I think most likely I will be delaying the start of GoS's second pass a little longer in order to go back on a second pass for RA and CoL (and possibly DAD, but I haven't gotten to it to tell). There are a handful of scenes I feel like tweaking and I already know how I want to fix them, but I want to sit on it a little before I address the changes.

To summarize very quickly those so far for folks who care:

(RA) Adjust some reactions before Dwarf gets captured to move a particular line further in. I don't think he would have processed so quickly what was happening to him and it hits harder in the later scene.

(RA) Likely merging chapters 13 & 14 and then adding further rewrites because I don't like Impa and Zelda's introductions or Link backtracking on his resolution at the end of the dungeon so quickly.

(RA) If I merge 13 &14, I will finish what would have been 15 and release that before we go on hiatus again with it.

(CoL) I want to do something about the pacing of the first two chapters. My stories often start fast but something needs work there.

(CoL) Fixing the Mahjul. I like this as a concept, but current implementation is Not Good! It runs counter to the themes for the work and it undermines the Queen's character. I understand why I personally went this route when I did, but it is not something I would want to write now nor do I think it has a very good impact as a narrative. The good news, I know how to fix it for what I'm caught up on. The bad news, I still have 5 chapters left and so I don't want to start unraveling that until I know the scope of the edits to implement. As it stands, content warning applies for the current version, but will likely be removed once edits are done as I want to write it out. (<-This part in particular is why I'm making the note to clarify; there is currently content worth a warning, it will likely be removed, not that I would remove a warning when there is content that deserves one)

(CoL) Some adjustments to Fairy Wish & the Queen's Gardener. I think the changes to the previous chapters will help this, but it needs some work too with pacing. Very exposition heavy right now.

I have not finished CoL's import, or even gotten to DAD, so that's all I can say for now. Very likely, I will finish bringing both these fics over and then another two I want to archive, and then we work on these edits. After that, then we get back to working on GoS. And through all of this, I'm only writing MoaH as the main project. One edits project, one writing project, that's the balance right now. Maybe a snapshot of aTfA and get a style going, but that's it otherwise.

#goddessofsecrecy #markofahero #restorationage #cindersoflife #dayafterdestiny #atasteforadventure

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ggren-mainz · 5 months ago

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Umineko - question arcs playthrough -> ep 2 - 8

last part - All parts and episodes - next part

I can't wait to finish this chapter so I can force my gf and sister to watch the next play. Unfortunately i have yet to find english subtitles for the third one so :C

edit later: THE FIRST 3 PLAYS ARE FOR FREE ON YOUTUBE EVERYONE GO AND WATCH THEM THEY'RE CALLED STAGE OF THE GOLDEN WITCH.

me when my kid is too #autismpilled #based #deathtothehaters

Ok wait mention, but I assumed last episode that they have some sort of internal lines, unrelated to the outside ones since the phonecall from Maria/Beatrice worked, but apparently no. Another mystery added to the pile ig.

Wait i'm confused, is the bolded text here still the same as in the debate, or is it just to put more importance on these words. Well idk how much sense it would make as the first version but you know.

Personally i love how much more put together battler is in this episode. Way less screaming around way more thinking (around?)

Now they're talking about how they found three gold bars even though only one was confirmed to be found. So does this mean that Beatrice knows where the gold is? She's just testing them? Possible.

I have the feeling that this really isn't that important, and will prove to be more of a red herring than anything else. Might be very wrong tho.

woah she's not dead! so nice wohoo! anyways back to abusing my kid.

wow guys she was possesed by the evil spirit of the evil witch! Maria was right all along wow.

Ok so they discover Jessica's corpse, and now it's theory time. So they didn't find Kanon's obviously because he disappeared into thin air, but now let's assume magic doesn't exist and he couldn't have just disappeared into thin air. I guess my idea rn is could he be Beatrice? Well ok no, let's rewind. We know Beatrice is a person, and she does exist, but for the sake of my argument we'll assume beatrice the physical person and Beatrice the witch are different entities. If we go with the witch's don't exist theory then we have to put this thing down, because her teleporting wouldn't make sense. AGH i have fallen into the catch of trying to rationalize everything i see, when most of it is probably not true, wait sorry. Ok so I'll just write off the entire Kanon thing with the demons as not real. Mass halucination if you will. If that is the truth, then Kanon would have to be the killer, or Beatrice i guess. hm. For now Kanon as the killer really isn't that wrong of an assumption, but its too easy you know? they'll also come to that conclusion and if they say that in the second episode it's most def not right. So i digress and say something else. A version of Beatrice is kanon. And i will call these pink truths as in things i truly believe are true and will base my theories on them till proven wrong. Lemme write them all down actually.

Beatrice is not only one person, but perhaps more and sometimes even a concept. Her actual existence is debatable.

Witches exist but they aren't the ones who committed the crimes, and there is no magic in the events that take place on Rokkenjima.

We cannot take most of the events we see as truths. That doesn't necessarily make them lies just not true.

This is all i can think of for now, might update later.

NOT ANOTHER LOCKED ROOM!! NOOOOOOO

ok scratch all i said before, if even Rosa thought about it this means that Kanon is the most innocent man to have walked this island.

Sure gohda but can you swear it in red?...that's what I thought

I find it quite interesting that even thought Beatrice is present this time, she's just as important as last chapter. So basically not, just there as a concept. As a sort of scaping goat. It's just that people know she exists now, but is she more believable than a mysterious 19th person? I don't see it that way.

At first i was a bit frustrated with them, Rosa's assumption is not idiotic at all, and it would be the logical and best course of action in this situaittion, if you don't forget to also know that your assumption is purely that. An assumption. But after this did I really realize what this means. This isn't meant to belittle and show us how stupid Rosa is, this shows us the feelings of Jessica and Kanon. And what it means when people completely discard feelings and only use logic. Because in the end us humans aren't purely logical beings, we're filled with irrational feelings, that make us act certain ways. Her assumption isn't wrong, but it's soulless, and it's mostly an excuse, an easy way out. What this wants to prove to us is that this isn't as easy as it looks, you can't deny the feelings of a person because it would fit your narrative better. So while I don't know what to think about this, I won't get back on my words. I do think this Kanon, or at least Kanon in that scene was a sort of representative of Beatrice, but Beatrice isn't an evil witch, and she isn't the scapegoat to put all of our sins on. I guess that's what I got from this, might be completely wrong but eh.

mister know it all here got some guts. Don't act so coy now, i have heard the audios of you screaming crying and throwing up.

me after I act all cool and mysterious in class and say some very smart-sounding statement and then the teacher asks me to elaborate.

"so basically what if someone threw a boomerang which disintegrates when it touches someone and it also has extremely sharp edges and it landed right in Jessica's back? I'm just saying!"

Ig it is useful to have an omnipresent all-knowing person confirm or disconfirm your statements before saying them out loud and making a fool of yourself. But this is pretty damn clever, like I read the scene and i did NOT remember this.

I don't like the face you're making Beato.

5 minutes too much of talking about any mystery that's not a closed room. You bored the hoes, Battler.

ok that part isn't in red so the window is most definitely related to this. Ugh I'll have to think a bit more about this.

but pls Beatrice, reconsider for us feeble readers.

illustrated this amazing idea.

I mean yeah, but didn't she just say in red that no trick was used to lock the door? That a key had to be used? I mean wasn't that just shooting herself in her own foot? Sh basically said no magic as well.

"but Beatrice isn't an evil witch, and she isn't the scapegoat to put all of our sins on"

to quote myself from before. Wrong approach Battler. Worst approach even.

*insert that one meme with spongebob going "I FUCKING LOVE CLOSED ROOMS" *

Hm this is so weirdly worded. Although the witch said it herself and we technically 'saw' his death, the author of these notes definitely isn't that convinced. They can't believe it even though they want to do so. It's like they're confused. I wonder i wonder. This makes me think that there's more to Kanon's death then we're shown. He's definitely 'dead' because Beatrice said so, but I'm trying to think if perhaps she took some liberties with the word 'dead'. It's obvious that the corpse wasn't there, and this accent on the corpse... it doesn't sound like 'we found no corpse' but instead as in 'there is NO corpse'. And i don't buy the disappeared the corpse through magic bullshit. Could it be that 'Kanon is dead' could be referring to kanon as in the person or the furniture? So what she meant is either that the person Kanon is now dead and he's just furniture now (and doing god knows what) or that the servant Kanon is dead and is now going by his true name?

ex-Kanon: Kanon is dead

Jessica: That's a horrible way of announcing that you've transitioned and that Kanon is your dead name now.

next part

#umineko playthrough #umineko #umineko when they cry #umineko no naku koro ni #when they cry #ryukishi07

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goldentigerfestival · 2 months ago

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Project update for anyone who is curious!

The stageplay is finished, and all we have to do is decide how we're uploading it and planning out the post for it. Kana's been very busy which is why it's taken a little bit, but we discuss details when we can! Debating posting a preview video in the meantime. As mentioned previously, we'll be working on the other parts of the DVD eventually, too.

Mangas as usual. Finishing GotC and doing the short special chapter after chapter 6. The PS3 manga (already started) and the rest of the Flynn manga are in line.

Working on some Vesp drama CDs. Translation for one is in progress. I don't think the drama CDs will take too long when I work on them, but I'm still deciding where I want to upload those. There are... a lot of them, too, so I'm not sure if I'm doing them all yet.

As a side project, I've started working on a skit from TalesFes 2016 (not the whole thing, but most of it, because the performances are very long and I really just wanted to get to my favorite parts lol), but I'm not sure when it'll be done. I'm not going to be doing TF stuff regularly, that particular skit in that particular year is just my favorite one bc Toriumi had adorable giggle fits and couldn't get through his lines without laughing. 😌 I might work on some of 2013 at some point.

May or may not get around to some 30th anni book stuff. Need to wait until my scanner cord replacement comes in if I decide on anything.

Though not a translation project, I'm slowly going through the differences between the 360 and PS3/DE versions of Vesp and documenting them. This is for both camera angles and dialogue.

Rays content will happen when I feel like it. I haven't worked on it in a while, but I didn't abandon it. Basically, I had a proofreader for my work who got too busy to commit to proofreading, so I was waiting to work on Rays further. Those videos go up on YT, and once they go up, I can't make any fixes to anything without completely reuploading, so I wanted to make sure I had a second set of eyes looking over the tls before they went up on YT (because normally if I have something like a typo or I messed up a line or just needed to fix literally anything, I can fix it, but I can't do that with YT uploads). At this point I'm just gonna work on Rays stuff when I feel like it without worrying about that. I haven't gotten back to it recently because of all my other projects, but it's in mind!

Asteria arc 4 content (Claw stuff only, at the moment) whenever I feel like/get around to it. I still really want to work on that, I've just been dedicated to other projects first.

Translation patches for some Tales spinoff games are on the table. Not current for a few reasons, but they're in line.

Stuff I don't have on my list is of course subject to being added, but right now this is just what's active.

#GTF Things #I have not forgotten that I genuinely considered clipping every time Yuri says ma/maa that I can possibly find up to 10mins (Tu/mblr limit)#but I may go insane trying to clip all of it LOL so idk yet. even if it sounds fun in theory #tling Yuri's game lines is on the backburner bc -gestures to post- I'm doing a lot #I think... that's everything. like I said other stuff might pop up in the future #eventually I'm gonna run out of content with Yuri in it tho 😂#I'd turn to Moses content... ... ...IF HE HAD ANY

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paralyze-fic · 2 years ago

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Paralyze.

Chapter 13

Today is Friday, which means... the Practical Exam. I was nervous, I trained with Bakugou some more yesterday after school, but I couldn't turn that damn tv off... I just made the screen have static, but the blond said that was an advance.

After changing into our hero costumes, we were all standing right in front of the teachers, something that made me a bit sceptical about what the test was actually about.

And I was right.

Maybe, in the past years, our senpais, fought against robots, but this year was different for us. Might be because of all the villains' attacks this class has had. Aizawa was letting us know who our teammate was. I got paired with Shoji-kun against Snipe-sensei.

This would be fun...

//////

Shoji and I debated for a bit about what to do, but I thought about just improvising or thinking about it when we fight him, that would be a real way to deal with a villain. He seemed conformed with what I said but told me he was going to be thinking about some plans we could have. I wanted to go watch the others, so I ran to the TV room, where Izuku and Uraraka were.

"Oh, hello (M/n)-kun, you're gonna watch too?" I nodded and stood beside him. "Kirishima-kun and Sato-kun failed though," a grimace made its way to my face.

"Yeah, I know," I muttered before focusing on the screen showing the second team.

'Team Asui-Tokoyami, practical exam. Ready? Go!' The robotic male voice said.

Midoriya was making some observations and Recovery Girl was making them too. Soon, we watched as they reached the end and Dark Shadow captured Ectoplasm, meaning they passed. The rest of the exams went by pretty entertaining, and the more people finished, the more were coming here to watch. Tsuyu, Iida and Yaoyorozu were now here with us.

But while Yaoyorozu and Todoroki were still on their exams, Uraraka walked out, saying something about getting ready for her exam with Aoyama. We all wished her luck and she smiled happily at us.

We kept watching for a while, and Uraraka soon came back. The next team, Kaminari and Ashido, sadly failed, now Koda and Jiro were up next.

I watched them for a bit, feeling my own ears ring at the mere thought of having to deal with Present Mic's screams. But, now I had to go get ready with Shoji-kun.

"Well, I'm gonna get going guys, see ya." They all said in unison 'Goodluck (M/n)-kun!', interchanging it with 'chan' while Yaoyoruzu just added 'san' to my last name, while I walked out of the TV room and went where the bus would be waiting for me.

There, Snipe sensei and Shoji were expecting me.

"Sorry, I was watching Koda and Jiro's progress," Shoji nodded as he understood and Snipe signalled to the bus with a move of his head.

"Well, hop on, (L/n)."

//////

Now, this situation wasn't good at all for us. Snipe sensei was shooting at us nonstop while Shoji and I covered our bodies behind the pillars, but we were running out of walls because too many bullet holes made them collapse.

"We have to think of something, (L/n)-kun," I frantically nodded at Shoji's words, and tried to think of something quickly.

"The only way to do this is if I could stop his body, but with all of his shooting I can't do it," my eyes trailed up to the ceiling, "It's gonna fall, run." I grabbed one of Shoji's arms and dragged him with me to the next pillar.

"I could distract him, but I'm not sure it will work," right when Shoji ended his sentence, a cloud of smoke covered the entire place. That's some nice timing.

I sneaked slowly around Snipe sensei, sometimes his bullets would go past me, but it seemed like it was hard for him to tell where I was, and luck seemed to be on my side for now, I just had to be quick.

I could see the faint silhouette of Snipe getting closer and closer, and I also saw Shoji in front of him with his hands up.

Now it's the time.

My quirk activated and I stared at his arms, which were the dangerous ones because of the gun on his right hand.

...5.

He made a surprised noise the very moment I had control over his muscles, and I ran at him, putting the cuff around his wrist.

"We made it." I held my hand up to make a high-five with the octopus guy.

'Team (L/n)-Shoji has successfully finished their exam.'

//////

When I entered the TV room, Izuku wasn't gone yet, he was watching what was left of Mineta and Sero's exam. The green-haired curly boy turned around and walked to the door, glancing at me and smiling a bit.

"Well done, (M/n)-kun." I smiled back and he left the room. In the end, Mineta and Sero passed.

"Deku-kun already left?" I nodded at Uraraka's question and walked to stand on Tsuyu's right side. Ready to watch Midoriya and Bakugou's test.

'Team Midoriya-Bakugou, practical exam. Ready? Go!'

At first, they were just walking, but Midoriya seemed to be talking to him. And then Bakugou hit him with his gauntlet.

A gasp left my lips as Midoriya fell to the ground and I saw Bakugou's angry face.

You really hate Deku, don't you Katsuki?

They yelled at each other some more, and on another screen, I could see All Might getting ready to act. A big gush of wind was caused by just his arms moving forward and that left me with my mouth open. He caused so much destruction by just... Punching air.

//////

By the end of their exam, I was worried sick about Bakugou, I just wanted to run to him and hug him, I couldn't keep watching how he destroyed himself. But in the end, Izuku punched All Might with a weird smile on his face and picked up an unconscious Bakugou, running past the gate.

Tsuyu and Uraraka were holding hands and jumping happily, Yaomomo and Iida were also happy about them passing their exam. But I just wanted to go see Bakugou.

"Recovery Girl..." I called her when I saw her getting up to leave, "Can I go with you to see Bakugou?" She seemed hesitant about it, but I guessed the worry in my eyes convinced her and she sighed while walking to the door.

"Okay, but you'll have to wait until I heal him, got it?" With a nod, I walked behind her, following her steps to the infirmary.

//////

When All Might walked out of the room, he signalled me to come in. I thanked him and walked inside. "Young Bakugou is still unconscious, but young Midoriya is awake," he whispered and I nodded.

He left, walking a bit slowly. He was probably feeling guilty, I kinda heard Recovery Girl scolding him about Izuku's back. My feet took me to Bakugou's bed, his resting face and body all dirty, and when I looked at Midoriya's pose I almost laughed, almost.

"Hey, Deku. How're you feeling?" My voice was low, trying not to wake Katsuki up. I lift my hand and touch his hair. His spikes were surprisingly soft, which only made me want to play more with it.

"Oh, hello (M/n)-kun, I'm fine thank you, how's Kacchan?" I made my feet walk around Bakugou's bed and sat by the blonde's right side.

"Unconscious." He just hummed as a response.

I couldn't take my eyes off of him but I still noticed Izuku's head turning to look at me. He hesitated before saying something.

"What is it, Deku?" My words were barely above a whisper, but at least it seemed like it made Izuku feel reassured about what he wanted to tell me.

"Do you... like Kacchan?"

#paralyze fic #bakugou katsuki fanfic #bakugou x male #bakugou x male reader #male reader #reader insert #x reader

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ruthserbel · 2 years ago

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Fanfiction Information [x] Chapter Title: Chapter 12 Song: N/A Release Date: August 27th, 2023 Word Count: 2.9k Content Warnings: N/A Notes: First, I've been kinda looking foward to this chapter for a while. Second, I am back with a chapter. The fanfic page was also fully re-done. So now it has character information, as well as all of the chapters, so that way for anyone new reading it, it can be read all on one page vs many posts. For next weekend, what I'm thinking I want to do is do the last part in Ruth's POV (so it won't be a big chapter), then the weekend after that I will be back with a full chapter. We will see how that ends up going though.

Jasper’s POV

"Hello," Jasper greeted Riftan as he entered Riftan's office.

Jasper had given much thought to what he was going to tell Riftan. For a while he had debated on telling him it would be better to speak with Aria on the matter. Although after a while of waiting for Aria to come back, he decided against doing that. He had a general idea of Aria's location. She ran after finding out where Ruth was. But he couldn't confirm his suspicions – which had nagged on him all afternoon. He had instead decided that he should go and at least explain the situation - similarly to how he had with Ruth.

Riftan greeted Jasper, and gestured towards a chair, which Jasper sat in. He sat quietly waiting for Riftan to speak first - which took a moment as Riftan was looking at something on his desk. After Riftan finished with the papers, he glanced at Jasper.

Since coming to the castle, Jasper hadn't spent much time with Riftan. Typically, Jasper was with his sister and Lily or - if they were busy, he would spend his time a few others of the knights. As he sat alone with Riftan and noticed his aura. Jasper had always assumed was intimidating; he realized he had been wrong.

With a quiet sigh, Jasper started from the beginning. He knew his sister wouldn't like it, but he knew he had to explain it to Riftan. He made his retelling of the events as short as he could, only giving the important details.

"We hadn't seen him, or even heard anything of him for a while. Although I knew my sister was scared of the possibility of running into him again." Jasper added after a few moments of silence. Riftan gave a slight nod as he took in the information that Jasper had just given him.

The room then filled with silence as the two of them sat in thought. Jasper felt better about telling Riftan. Both he and Ruth wanted to let Riftan know once they had ran into Conan again; although Aria told them not to. After a bit of thought, Jasper spoke again, asking a question that had popped into his head.

"What... Where is Conan right now?" Jasper questioned.

"He's going to be dealt with, don't worry. He can't get to anyone else right now," Riftan said, as he leaned back in his chair. "Besides all of the things with your sister, he did injure one of my men," Riftan added after a moment.

Jasper felt relief when Riftan had said that Conan couldn't get to anyone else, at least for the moment. Then he thought of Aria's reaction earlier when Riftan had come to get them from the tower. Aria hadn't said anything of what had happened, and Jasper didn't want to question her before she was ready.

Before Jasper could question Riftan on what he meant by his last sentence, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Riftan said before the door opened, revealing Ruth on the other side.

This was the first time Jasper was seeing Ruth since they had parted ways earlier in the day. His eyes scanned Ruth until they landed on his bandaged arm. Jasper then put Riftan's earlier information together. Jasper continued to scan Ruth, although he didn't see another bandage or point of injury on him.

“Glad to see you’re okay,” Jasper said as he stopped scanning Ruth for further injuries.

Ruth gave a brief nod as he walked into the room, sitting down in the other chair was in the room. Once Ruth was sitting, Jasper asked the question that had been nagging him all afternoon.

"Do you know where my sister is? And what happened?" Jasper started to question Ruth. He had spent all afternoon wanting answers, but his sister had left before he was able to ask her any.

"She's currently in the tower." Ruth said, before explaining the events that happened after Aria had left them at the tower. "She ended up falling asleep in a chair in my room, so before I came here, I moved her to my bed." Ruth added after his full explanation.

"But what about what happened?" Jasper questioned once he realized that Ruth hadn't answered that question.

Ruth let out a sigh at his repeated question. "I can only answer what happened after I got there," Ruth said as he leaned back in his seat. With another sigh, Ruth explained his side of events - although there wasn't much.

"I don't want to force your sister to talk right now though." Ruth added after a moment, pointedly looking towards Jasper.

"Alright," Jasper said with a small sigh.

Silence fell in the room for a moment as Ruth's retelling of the events processed in Jasper's mind. After a moment of silence, Riftan cleared his throat, getting the attention of Ruth and Jasper.

"You had mentioned earlier," Riftan started, looking to Ruth. "'now's not the time,'" Riftan said, repeating previous words that Jasper had heard once before. Jasper tried to think back to where he had heard those words before. After a moment of thought, he realized that he had heard Ruth whisper them once to Riftan beforehand.

"Is this what you meant?" Riftan questioned Ruth with a smirk growing on his face for a moment.

Ruth gave a small nod in response.

Jasper sat quiet for a moment as he thought. He knew they both had feelings towards each other. Although he also knew that his sister wouldn't act towards it. When he was younger, Jasper always felt bad for his sister. He realized the fact that his sister felt like she had to look after him. That responsibility for her only got amplified when their father passed away.

"Is that still how you feel?" Jasper asked Ruth after a moment of thought.

Ruth gave another nod in response. Jasper frowned slightly as he thought for a moment.

“Maybe I shouldn’t say this…” Jasper started, as he leaned forward. “But... I also do want my sister to experience things that she missed due to looking after me when I was younger. So, I guess I will say it,” Jasper continued.

Both Riftan and Ruth gave Jasper confused glances towards Jasper as he spoke again. “She won’t act on it… but she does like you,” Jasper confessed.

Ruth’s POV

Ruth couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at Jasper's unexpected statement. "What would make you say that?" he asked.

"If you don't believe me," Jasper started. "You can ask her yourself," Jasper added after a moment.

Ruth tilted his head slightly at his response. Although before he could question more, Riftan and Jasper started having another conversation. Ruth leaned back in his seat, staying silent as he thought for a while. He only got brought back to the conversation as he saw Jasper standing up from his chair.

"I should leave now... Lily wakes up early," Jasper said excused himself from the room, closing the office door behind him.

"Why was Jasper here?" Ruth asked as he turned to look at Riftan who was leaning back in his chair now.

Riftan shrugged slightly. "Earlier, while taking them to their temporary rooms, I asked him to explain more. He said he would find me later," Riftan explained. "He came after Lily went to sleep."

Ruth didn't bother asking what Jasper told Riftan, as he already had a good idea as to what Jasper had said. Ruth gave a nod in response before he leaned forward in his chair. "What happened to him after I left?" Ruth questioned, omitting the name, but Riftan understood who he meant.

"For now, he's locked up in the dungeon." Riftan explained. "I needed more information, although he did injure one of my men." Riftan added, looking at Ruth's arm, which was still bandaged.

"How is the arm?" Riftan asked after a moment of silence between the two of them.

"It's fine," Ruth said as he turned his arm over, letting Riftan see that it besides the bandages, it was fine. "It will heal within a few weeks," Ruth added as he let his arm fall. "Medrick didn't want to use magic to heal me, so I get to deal with it," Ruth muttered, causing Riftan to laugh.

The two conversed for a while speaking of mundane topics. After a while of passing time, Riftan turned to look outside at the dark surroundings of the night. "You should go back to the tower, it's late," Riftan said as he turned back to Ruth. "You'll need to rest to heal up faster," he said lazily pointing to Ruth's arm.

Ruth gave a small laugh at Riftan's comment. "I would, although as I mentioned before, someone is currently occupying my bed." Ruth said with another laugh.

“And?” Riftan asked, a small grin playing at his lips. "From what I've heard... This wouldn't be the first time you two slept in the same room while at the castle." Riftan added, his voice laced in a teasing tone.

Ruth let out a small laugh at Riftan's comment. "True," Ruth commented after a moment. "Although now things are different..." He added as he stood up.

"Are they?" Riftan questioned, as he watched Ruth walk towards the door of the office.

"It's no longer a 'bad time'," Ruth said as he opened the door.

Aria’s POV

The soft moon light seeped through the windows, casting a gentle glow on the room. As Aria stirred from her slumber, the sounds of the door faintly creaking caused her to fully awaken. With a groan, she leaned up on the bed, trying to access everything. She knew it was still nighttime from the darkness in the room, although she wasn't quite sure of the time.

As her eyes focused on the room, she realized who had opened the door as her eyes focused on Ruth.

"Where were you?" Aria asked, her voice groggy still.

"I just had something I had to do," Ruth replied as Aria moved to sit up on the bed. "It's still late," Ruth added after a moment. "You should go back to bed."

"So should you," Aria muttered, then looked around. "I... I should go to my room," Aria added after a moment. In her sleepy state, she completely forgot about the fact that her room was - for the moment - no longer her room. Ruth's hand on her shoulder stopped her from leaving the bed, reminding her as he spoke.

"You can stay here... You don't know where your room is right now," he commented.

"But... What about you?" Aria questioned, as she allowed herself to be pushed back on the bed.

"I am not going to go back to bed yet," Ruth said as Aria laid back down on the bed. "I have something I need to do upstairs."

"Okay," Aria whispered, now that she was laying down again, she felt her body slowly being drifted back to sleep. The last thing she saw as her eyes fluttered closed again was Ruth proceeding up the stairs.

The morning sunlight crept through the window, casting a golden hue across the room. Aria slowly stirred from her slumber, eyes fluttering open. The room filled with silence; the only sound was the soft chirping of birds outside the window.

As her senses slowly awakened, Aria looked around room for a moment. Her memories from last night coming back - Ruth had come back to the room, but had he maybe left again? She didn't see any trace of him sleeping down here at all. Confusion swept over her as she looked back out the window, trying gauging the time. It was early morning, earlier than she would typically wake up.

Aria called out his name as she stood up from the bed. She made her way to the bottom of the stairs before she called out again. She paused, then considered checking if he was there, despite his warning. He had always told her not to go further than the first floor in the tower, although she was unsure why he had told her that. Aria thought about it, but then she decided she could go upstairs if she was careful. At least go and see if he was upstairs or not.

Aria quietly made her way up the stairs, looking around as she went further than she had before. Once she got to the next level, she looked around, quickly spotting Ruth - who was fast asleep in a chair in the room. Aria let out soft giggle at the sight of him, preparing to go back down the stairs again.

As she turned around, her eyes landed on a circular object, of which she had never seen before. Curiosity got the better of her as she walked towards the object. As she approached, she saw that the object appeared to be made of bones - of some sort. It had something inscribed on it, although she had no clue what it was. As she got closer to the object, she reached her hand out to touch the object, unsure of what it was.

"I wouldn't touch that," a voice behind her warned, startling her, causing her to jump. After the warning, she felt their hand grab onto her wrist, stopping her from moving her hand closer. She spun around to look at who was behind her - although there was only one person it could have been.

"Ruth..." she whispered as she looked up at. It was now that she noticed just how close they were. They were just inches away from each other. Her heart was in a frenzy, its erratic beats echoing in her ears. "I'm... I'm sorry," she stammered, feeling embarrassed now. "I didn't mean to wake you up," she said as she pulled her hand back.

As she gazed into his eyes, she wondered if he could sense her silent plea. She longed for him to come closer, to kiss her and erase the space between them. In that moment, she wished for the courage to lean in herself. The courage to explore the uncharted territory of their emotions together.

The thought of his lips meeting hers was an intoxicating daydream she couldn't escape. The thought of his mouth on hers sent shivers down her spine. The mere idea of a kissing him was enough to make her knees weak. It was a longing so profound that it eclipsed all else, a yearning that whispered in the quiet corners of her mind. But the fear of risking what they already had held her back. What if he didn't feel the same way? What if their friendship was too precious to jeopardize?

"Aria..." Ruth whispered, his voice breaking her train of thoughts.

He had said her name many times before, but this time it felt different. She felt butterflies in her stomach as they held their gaze. What was she thinking before? Why was she thinking that? She felt her face flush as she thought back, although she was pulled out of her train of thought again.

"Do you trust me?” Ruth whispered, causing goosebumps to form on Aria’s arm from the energy between them. he tried to reply, but her breath caught. she nodded, unsure of where he was going with his question.

“Please... Stop me if you don’t want this,” Ruth whispered, which confused Aria for a moment.

Before she could question what Ruth was doing, she felt his hand gently tilt her head up. As he started to lean in towards her, she felt the butterflies in her stomach again. Time around her started to move slow. Fluttering her eyes closed, she surrendered herself.

After a second of darkness, she felt it. She felt the brush of his lips against hers, and she felt the butterflies in her stomach once again. Her mind went blank, the only thing it was capable of focusing on at the moment was his lips against hers. The warmth of his mouth against hers sent a cascade of emotions rushing through her. Her knees felt weak, as if the ground had slipped away beneath them.

When they first met, she was intrigued by him, despite the less-than-ideal circumstances. However, after spending so much time with him, she had found herself falling for him. He had been the first person outside of her family that she had spoken with about her issues in the past. Aria had long ago realized she liked Ruth - but she was never sure of his feelings towards her; until now.

After a moment, she felt his lips move away from hers. "Sorry," Ruth whispered as he took a second catching his breath. He let his hand that was under her chin fall to his side before he spoke again. "I shouldn’t ha-" Ruth started, but he was cut off.

Aria had closed the gap between them again. The previous lack of apprehension she had beforehand was now gone. It was now replaced with a burst of confidence. She placed a gentle kiss on his lips before she parted their lips again, but she didn't move back. "Please... Don't apologize," she whispered.

Ruth let out a soft chuckle before tilting his head to kiss her again. Just as they were about to kiss again, they were stopped by the sound of a knock on the door downstairs.

The two stood still for a moment, before the knock repeated after a few seconds.

With a sigh, Ruth spoke quietly. “If they are interrupting me for nothing important...” Ruth whispered – leaving his statement unended. He slowly moved back, making space between them again. “Who is it anyway?” Ruth questioned as he walked towards the window, attempting to see who it was.

taglist: @kunikida-simp, @tylerhasmyheart (again, please let me know if you want me to stop/start tagging you!)

#ruth serbel #ruth serbel ff #under the oak tree #under the oak tree ff #touch utot ff

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