#‚‚‚ admittedly save the world might slightly beat out hopes and dreams also and in my eyes that's frisk's theme and not asriel's theme

[puppys-rhythm-heaven]

i'm surprised i still haven't listened to big shot more than either of these-

[yeojaa]

SWEET LULLABIES, chapter iii. (w. JJK)

You've never loved in half measures.  It's always been all or nothing.  You didn't even mind when your heart was bigger than theirs.  Lopsided or not, you made up for whatever they wouldn't give.  But when you've finally met your match, what will happen?

alt summary.  You're crazy in love and for once, so is he.

pairing.  jeon jungkook.  

genre + rating.  a whole lot of angst with a bit of fluff if you squint.  general.

warnings / tags.   friendship, best friends, best friends to lovers, friends to lovers, canon compliant, jeon jungkook is whipped, smitten jeon jungkook, jeon jungkook is bad at feelings.

reading.  sweet lullabies is a series of one-shots that tie into and conclude my other story, sugar high.  both are part of the best friends means forever series.  this is a bonus chapter from kook’s point of view. 

word count.  ~6250

chapter 3.  Save Me

The one where he’d almost lost you.

He doesn’t think he’ll ever get over it;  luckily, he doesn’t think he’ll ever want to.

After all, you’re a dream come true.  You’re everything he’d ever hoped for, years of toffee-sweet daydreams and quiet desires wrapped up with a ribbon and presented in the form of his beloved best friend.  His Polaris - his north star in every sense of the word, guiding him home whenever he needed it.  A person to hold him close, to tend to the oft-neglected garden blooming behind a brassy ribcage.  You’re everything he’d ever wanted and even the things he hadn’t known he had.  

“What’re you thinking about?”  A question slotted into silence by a gentle hand and half-lidded stare, warmth dusting over the exposed expanse of Jungkook’s collar.  It feels like a beckoning to dreams and he can’t help but smile, expression endlessly soft as he inspects the girl in his arms.  His girl.  

He hums once, a noncommittal sound.  “Nothing.  Go back to sleep, baby.”  It’s true for the most part.  It’s nothing now.  But once upon a time, it’d been the single most frightening possibility.  Losing you.

And oh, how close he’d been to that.

NOVEMBER 27, 2017

“Seriously?”  It sounds bad - he knows it does - tight and terse between his teeth.  It’s coloured an alarming shade of red and acts like a beacon to those around him because there aren’t many things that have him acting out in this particular way.  

After all, he’d grown up in a very short period of time - something he was endlessly proud of and incredibly grateful to his hyungs for.  Their patience and mentorship had helped shape him into the well-adjusted young man he was now.  

Or usually was.  Not right now, though.    

“What’s wrong, Jungkookie?”  It’s Jimin -  seated closest to him and always somehow strangely aware of everything - who speaks first and in dulcet tones meant to coddle and soothe, lithe arm finding its way around his maknae’s shoulders.  Seated how they are, it’s easy, but Jungkook notices with amusement that it won’t always be.  Soon, he’ll be far too broad for this.  Their little muscle pig wasn’t so little anymore.

His response is immediate, though filled with petulance and beneath that, the tiniest tinge of shame.  “Nothing.”

“Don’t lie to me,”  comes the same songbird, his head dropping to rest easily against the youngest member’s.  Jimin knows he’s pushing but he also knows he needs to.  It’s easy to read the golden boy.

Silence stretches for a beat, then another, and he almost sighs - but doesn’t.  Jungkook can feel it rising in the other’s chest before it’s stolen away by his grudging response.  They’re less childish now, though still a bit sullen, rounded by a pout that he can’t seem to help.  “It’s just Soo.”

It doesn’t come as a surprise to the smaller dancer, his expression thoughtful.  “What’s going on?”

Wasn’t that the million dollar question?

Truthfully, Jungkook didn’t know what was going on.  In fact, he wasn’t even sure if anything was going on - or if it was all just in his head.  That was the worst part:  the uncertainty.  Each intrusive thought, each second guess.  It felt like a downright disease, taking up precious space in his skull and refusing to let go.  

“Jungkookie?”  There’s no expectation in Jimin’s inflection.  It’s only concern in sugar-spun tendrils, holding the nickname aloft.

“I don’t know,”  Jungkook finally manages in a whine.  The slope of his brow is knit together, distress threaded into every line as his arms fold, crossing in a huff over his chest.  He hates feeling silly like this, so he does his best to turn the emotion on its head and force it into something else.  It’s not necessary but it feels a bit better, like a fortress he can hide his heart within.

A sigh expels, exits through his nostrils in a sharp push of air.  He knows Jimin is just trying to help but he’s having trouble formulating words into coherent sentences.  The thoughts are too jumbled in his head, bouncing around like an overzealous energizer bunny.

“She’s been really distant lately.”  A partial answer, because he’s sure there are a million other reasons he could give.  Like he was simply stressed (true) or you’ve been posting about your great new life in the States and hardly answering him (the same answer as his original but a little too much to admit).

Or even that you’d mentioned a new friend - a male friend who, surprisingly, hit closer to home than he’d expected - and now he was seething.  Except he’d never repeat that last one.  It wasn’t his place to.  He was your best friend.  Nothing more, nothing less.

“Aren’t her exams coming up soon?”  

Leave it to Park Jimin to find the middle ground - that grey area in between all the good and the bad and frame it in a way that had Jungkook frowning, softly rounded mouth dragging in distaste.

He hadn’t even thought about that.  Or maybe he had, but it’d gotten lost among all the white noise and loneliness.  Frankly, he’s not sure.  His thoughts were always full of you and it was hard to distinguish sometimes.  “Maybe.”

“So maybe she’s just busy?”  As if Jungkook hadn’t already considered that.  He wasn’t trying to be crazy.  In fact, he hated it with every ounce of his being.  But he’d seen the photos you’d sent (admittedly, directly to him) and he knew you weren’t too wrapped up in your finals.  You’d found time in between the late night study sessions to attend house parties, knocking back venti-sized Americanos the next morning to stave off hangovers.

It was surprising, actually.  You’d never been great at handling your liquor - something you insisted you got from your father - but you were out all the time now and always with them.

Yejin, he didn’t mind.  She’d appeared in FaceTimes with you often enough that he’d developed his own sort of rapport with her.  She didn’t give a shit about the Korean music industry and treated him like anyone else, albeit with a lot more scoffing English than he’d ever faced before.

It was her cousin that left a bad taste in his mouth, a mixture of vinegar and battery acid.  Not that Kim Woosung was a bad person - at least, from what he’d heard from the people here, and definitely not from you.  Rather, it was jealousy, that cruel green monster rearing its ugly head.  It’d made a home in his chest, unleashing balefire at anyone remotely close to the aching thing in his chest.

Because that’s what you were - his heart in human form.  

But he’d never expected you to disappear halfway across the world.  He’d always thought you’d be here, holding his hand.  Now he had this gaping you-shaped hole in his chest and he didn’t know how to fill it.  Truthfully, didn’t know if he wanted to.  

“Maybe,”  he relents, quiet as a mouse.  He knows he isn’t fooling anyone by the whispered admission but it’s a shutting door, sealing the conversation for another time.

NOVEMBER 30, 2017

He can feel the stare burning into the back of his head before the words reach his ears.  

“What time did you sleep last night?”  There’s no judgment, no anger - just soft shades of concern and coaxing swept across each syllable. That’s why Namjoon was such a good leader - he knew how to approach his members.  Understood them, possibly, better than they did themselves.

“I don’t remember.”  Jungkook’s answer is full of apology, a guilty smile framing the pink turn of his mouth and forcing a dimple into his cheek.  He thinks it must’ve been around two or three in the morning, as he’d stayed up to talk to you after your first class.  Stayed up after being out all day and practising for hours.  

The shadows under his eyes might as well have been a glaring neon sign or an advertisement for the sleep-deprived.

Namjoon says nothing, his expression still endlessly kind, just barely touched with reproach by the line of his lips and the subtle tension in his jaw.  He’s careful - he needs to be when it comes to matters of the heart with his maknae.  Because despite his dismissive laughter and playful nature, Jungkook was also one of the most sensitive members.  He just hid it well - sweeping it behind his bunny smile and witch’s cackle.  

Consideration stretches silence on for a beat longer before the taller of the two is smiling, crescent moons forming his eyes.  A hand cards through silk the colour of smoke and he regards the younger boy with tenderness.  “Don’t forget to take care of yourself, okay?”

“I won’t.”  What Jungkook means to say is he’ll try to remember.  He has to, for them.  Because his actions weren’t just his own - hadn’t been since he’d committed to this crazy wild path years ago - and he has to be considerate.  Has to be better.  “Thanks, hyung.”  

“Just watching out,”  comes the elder’s response with a noncommittal wave of his hand, focus already reassigned to the book laid across the table in front of him.  He’s so immediately absorbed into it that Jungkook’s a little envious, legs of his chair dragging over linoleum as he edges himself into Namjoon’s personal space.  

It’s a testament to their close bond that he doesn’t even flinch, simply shifting ever so slightly to the right to allow Jungkook a better view over his shoulder.

Maybe this is what he needed - a distraction.

“Hyung.”  The inflection immediately perks Namjoon’s attention, head turning just so to acknowledge the other’s address.  “How do you...”  A prolonged pause as Jungkook mules his next words over, finger resting delicately on his cupid’s bow.  Was he really doing this?  “How do you... distract yourself?”  Okay, so not quite the question he’d meant to pose, but good enough for the time being.

Straight brows pitch higher, shooting up in surprise.  Whatever Namjoon had been expecting, it isn’t this.  “What do you mean distract myself?”

Suddenly, Jungkook’s on the spot, the full weight of the rapper’s stare turned on him.  The focus makes him waver, teeth wearing through the supple interior of his cheek and the soft petal of his bottom lip.  Fingers fidget, push and pull on the sweater paw he’s formed.  

“Uh.”  Good one, JK.  

He clears his throat once, twice.  He looks a little chagrined, like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar.  

“When you’re going through things—”  The attempt at ambiguity is as transparent as the windows around them.  “—that are hard, how do you distract yourself?  How do you forget about it?”

“Well, you don’t just forget about your problems.”  Something about Namjoon’s expression has him looking away, flustered.  “I say it’s always better to try to fix your problems than to run from them but,”  and Jungkook latches onto this inch of give,  “if you need a distraction for a while, find something that takes up the extra time you’d otherwise spend stressing about the problem.  A hobby, maybe.”

Well, he had tons of those.  He gamed in his downtime - his Widow headshots were unparalleled, if he was being honest.  He filmed whenever they were out;  he’d even cut and uploaded his and Jimin’s recent trip to Tokyo.  He worked out, forcing his body into a state of fatigue that left his thoughts far too tired to run cruel circles through his mind.  But it was never enough.

“I have hobbies.  It doesn’t work.”  There’s a desperate edge to his words that he hadn’t meant to let slip.  “It’s fine.  Whatever.”  Again, another door closed.  Slammed shut by his own foot in his mouth.

“Then maybe it’s an issue you can’t just distract yourself from.”

Of course Namjoon’s right.  Jungkook knows that but it doesn’t help the bitterness that bleeds onto his tongue and rots enamel.  “That’s not an option.”  Rather, he wouldn’t let it be.  There were do’s and don’ts in best friendships and confessing your unrequited love was on the hard list of don’ts.

“Jungkook-ah...”

“What?”  It explodes off of his tongue, though he doesn’t mean for it to.  The nerves are fizzling in his stomach, ricocheting from his mouth like fireworks into the quiet between them.  They’re too bright - demanding attention.  He thinks, if they were real, they’d paint pretty silhouettes of the girl he can’t get out of his mind.

“Just tell her.”  

“No.”  

They’re an immovable object and an unstoppable force.

Harder now, edged with exasperation and so much concern it makes Jungkook’s heart stutter in his chest.  “You have to.”  

“I can’t.”  Emphatic, spoken with both lips and eyes.  They beg for understanding, like a man lost at sea desperate for a ship on the horizon.  Because that’s exactly what he is – a lovelorn sailor swept to his doom by the siren call, one he’s utterly defenceless against.  He wouldn’t be like this if he had any other choice.  

“Okay.”  A pause, a sigh, a relent.  “I’m here if you need anything.”

DECEMBER 14, 2017

It’s two weeks later when he needs that anything, driven to it by the radio silence he feels in his bones, tearing apart each and every part of him like a black hole devouring the stars.  Because rather than it being a tangible pain he can distract from - replace with another, sharper sting - it’s become a dull ache that exists in every action and inaction, engulfing his thoughts even as they try to focus on anything else.

He thinks he can’t be held responsible for the choices he makes when there’s too much going on in this head of his, his thoughts far too jumbled to be held accountable.

So he smiles at the very pretty girl that’s been deemed the anything he needs and tries to focus on the way her mouth curls, painted an intoxicating shade of ruby red.  He trains his attention on the flutter of her lashes, the coquettish way she ducks her head when he meets her stare.  He memorizes the way her voice pitches and drops, sugary sweet and decidedly feminine.

Does it because it’s the only way to fill the lovesick hole in his heart, even if it doesn’t really work.  Even if the puzzle piece doesn’t quite fit, corners snipped and reassembled to take up the space the essential piece has left behind.

“I can’t believe you asked for my number,”  she's saying, all rose-tinted cheeks and a smile he finds endearing.  Fingers - short, slim, dainty - smooth over the ceramic of her cup and she peers at him from over the edge.  It’s meant to be sly, to draw his attention to the way her mouth curls around the lip, and for a moment, it does.  It piques something in the back of his mind, apathetic green monster rearing its ugly head at the prospect of something new.

Something not named Park Soomi.

He latches onto the interest with both hands, proverbial grip torn apart by rug burn and his attempt to hold onto it.  He needs this.  He needs this so fucking bad.  “Why not?”

“I mean, you’re you.”  The way she says it makes the hair on the back of Jungkook’s neck rise and the fingers in his lap curl into fists.

It brews bitterness on his tongue - the aroma of his coffee lost to the taste.  He can’t help the reaction, even while he knows he can’t blame her for it (nor should he).

After all, she had the Namjoon stamp of approval.  And if there was anything he trusted, it was his leader‘s judgment.

“I’m just a normal guy,”  he insists, mouth full of laughter he forces out.  He says it with as much meaning as he can, though he knows the words don’t hold much weight.  Not when they’re so at odds with the truth.  Luckily, the two aren’t mutually exclusive.

She doesn’t have a rebuttal now, only choosing to offer that same soft smile. 

It doesn’t trap him like a star in the galaxy, but it holds his attention.  It reassigns it from the hole in his chest to the brightness of her teeth and the sweetly rounded cupid’s bow and that’s enough.

“I’ll prove it to you.”  Whether he means the words, he’s not sure, but they come of their own volition, sounding off like a promise.  He thinks he can feel warmth spiking across his neck, creeping up past the collar of his flannel once the words settle, a blanket draped over the cozy space they've carved out in the hole-in-the-wall cafe.  When her eyes follow the heat, coaxing it higher with her stare, he knows it’s there.  It makes him swallow thickly - was he in over his head?

When her hand drifts - those big doe eyes of his tracking every movement - and fingers ghost over the tops of the back of his, he knows he is.

“You’re dangerous, huh?”  He asks, though he knows the answer.  Can see it reflected in the impossibly dark depths of grey circle lenses, contrast stark against the perfectly layered and blended makeup smudged around her eyes.  It’s something he’s used to - that idolizing, somehow endlessly adoring stare he’s seen a million times, in the sea of faces he performs for - but here, it feels different.  A little closer to home.  

"Only if you want me to be."  And he thinks he does.

DECEMBER 21, 2017

"Good morning, sleepyhead."

Your voice cuts through his early morning exhaustion, striking a proverbial match as neurons fire off beneath his skin, nerves fizzling in his stomach.  It rings clear across the airwaves and for the first time in what feels like ever, it feels like nails on a chalkboard.  For the first time, it doesn't have honey melting into every crevice, warming him from the inside out.

The smallest flash of irritation flares - a lightning strike in his jumbled thoughts.  It's so drastically different from anything he's ever associated with you.  Maybe this was good.  Maybe this was progress.  

"You called."  Deadpan, because Jungkook's still half-asleep but more than that, he's rough around the edges, your hot and cold treatment of him the past few weeks simmering bitterness in his veins.  "Finally found some time for me?"

The intake of breath has him immediately regretting the words, a breath sucked in sharply through his teeth.  He imagines you're doing the same, by the silence that stretches on.  That, or you're tearing a hole through your cheek.  He wants to tell you to stop - to apologize for being an asshole at 7 o'clock in the morning, but he doesn't.

"I've been busy with exams,"  you finally speak and it sounds so small, his heart twists itself over and over.  It doesn't break, though, and that's a feat he never thought he'd accomplish.

"I know."  It’s all he can say, an octave softer but still miles away from the sunny warmth he's used to spilling forth like an overflowing bucket of yellow paint.  It feels strange to hold himself so closely, refusing to allow his abundance of affection colour every syllable and sweep him headlong into the love he feels for you.  "Did you need something?"

Another inhale and - maybe his ears are playing tricks on him but it sounds strange, wet - you're speaking as quietly as he's ever heard, as if you're afraid your words will elicit an reaction somehow worse than what you've already faced.  "Did you want to watch a movie tonight?"  

He has to applaud you for your insistence, though the tiny, bitter part of himself glimpses that flair of annoyance at the edges of his vision once again.  

"I'm busy."  It's the truth but it's not something that's ever stopped him before.  Jungkook was notorious for making time for you, rearranging his schedule enough to make Namjoon want to rip his hair out.  So it's odd, even to him, that the next words - the lie - rolls of his tongue so easily.  "We're working on a new routine tonight."

"Oh."  

The single word has enough weight to crush his heart beneath your heel.  How fitting that it's actually the opposite now, and your own is crumbling beneath his foot.  At least, that's what he thinks - assumes by the dead silence that follows it.

"Sorry then."  You're trying so hard to keep your voice chipper that it leaps higher than is natural and rings in his ears, making him grimace.  Even if he didn't know you so well, he'd be able to read you like a book.  You're far too transparent.  "Good luck.  I know you'll do great - you always do."  

A thanks is all he offers in response, ready to end the call and only stopped by a heart-wrenching last goodbye.  "I love you, Kook."  

He wishes he'd hung up faster.  

Instead, he utters a soft "you, too" and ends the call.  He has a date to get ready for.

DECEMBER 22, 2017

When he stumbles through the front door of their shared apartment, he can still taste the sticky, not unpleasant sweetness of her lips.  It tingles his tastebuds like fresh berries and makes him laugh a little to himself, back of his hand rising to wipe away the residual gloss.  

Peeling off his shoes - he’s careful not to cause too much of a ruckus because it’s almost one in the morning and the last thing he wants is to wake anyone up - he finds himself humming quietly.  It’s low in his throat and muddled by the taste of beer but it’s there, sweeping the quiet from the entryway as laces untie and boots are neatly tucked away out of sight.

He’d had fun, much to his surprise.  Honestly more than than he’d expected, because he'd never been the biggest fan of upscale restaurants, or bustling bars, or glossy pink lip gloss.  But that'd changed in the span of one night, all those strange things somehow sparking a bunny smile and his trademark, boisterous laughter.

Because Jungkook likes that she comes with all of that and she’s everything he needs - at least for now.

She’s a breath of fresh air in a life dominated by strict practice schedules and mandated appearances.  In a way, she’s everything he'd ever hoped for in a distraction - pretty, fun, a little demanding.  She keeps him on his toes in a way he isn’t used to, never giving his thoughts enough time to re-centre on the silhouette that exists like a cookie-cutter carving in his chest.

A temporary fix, possibly - surely - but he didn't mind.  Couldn't find it in himself to when he'd found some semblance of peace for the first time in weeks.

"Did you tell Soo we had practice tonight?"

The voice breaks him from his thoughts, shoots an arrow that lands bullseye on his heart, and he gasps.  He hadn't noticed the figure lingering in the kitchen, hunched over their kitchen table with one headphone in and a sketchbook in his hands.  

Of course Taehyung would be awake.  Why was he surprised?

Oh, because of the question.  The one he hasn't answered, instead gaping at the other like a fish out of water.  Mouth opens around sound that doesn’t come out then closes and repeats itself twice more.  Taehyung doesn't repeat himself, simply staring at Jungkook with an expression that cuts him to his core.

Because he's not angry, or judgmental.  No, he's disappointed.  It's written into the arches of his brows, the way his headband-covered forehead wrinkles just so.  

"What?"  It's soft, hesitant, careful.  There's already embarrassment crowning, locking into the column of Jungkook's spine and rooting him all the way through to his feet.  It keeps him from advancing further into the apartment, caught halfway between the adjoined living space and the hallway that beckons him to the safety of his bedroom.  

Instead, his gaze swizzles, bounces and leaps between the door at the end of the hall and the other member sitting at the table, focus trained wholly on him.  It's hard to meet Taehyung's eyes - and that feels uncomfortable in a way he doesn't want to think about.

"Did you tell Soo we had practice tonight?"  Finally repeated, verbatim, in that some low drawl of his.  

It's posed as an innocent question, all sleepy eyes and carefully trained mouth.  It makes Jungkook's own purse, tongue rounding the hollow of his cheek.  Though he knows he shouldn’t, the desire to bite back stirs in his stomach and he has to clench his fists at his sides, nails digging crescents into the flesh of his palms.

“Why?”  He’s aware he’s answered a question with another question - something he finds infuriating himself, but he can’t help it.  He’s not ready for the lecture he’s sure will come.

Taehyung shifts, arms folded across his chest, and says nothing.  It’s somehow more unnerving than if he were to tear into Jungkook.

“We were talking earlier.  She asked how practice had gone.”  There’s a sour edge to Taehyung’s explanation, colouring words highlighter yellow and toxic green.  “Imagine her surprise when I had no idea what she was talking about.”  

Jungkook knows there’s no point - no reason to voice the shame he already knows stitches his features together.  Taehyung presses on, nonplussed by his maknae’s discomfort.

“You didn’t tell her you had a date?”  

“Why would I?”  It’s defensive, juvenile, a world away from what he wants it to be.  It garners him a look that teeters dangerously on flabbergasted, Taehyung’s groomed brows gathering tightly over his stare.

For what it’s worth, his words are measured - far more reasonable than Jungkook deserves.  “Because she’s your best friend?”

“I don’t need to tell her everything,”  and while that’s true - it somehow doesn’t feel great with life breathed into it.  Fully realized, it’s harsh and covered in thorns that catch on the way out of his mouth, tearing up the insides of his cheeks with razor-sharp edges.

“She was hurt.”

That should be enough.  At any other time, it would be.   It’d have Jungkook crawling on his hands and knees - anything to wipe that sadness from your face.  But here and now, caught between a rock and a hard place, it means nothing to him.  At least, that’s what he tells himself, forcing down the bile that rises in his throat.  “Then she should mind her own business.”

Taehyung knows this isn’t the Jeon Jungkook he knows.  Knows that this version of their beloved maknae is but a caricature carved from hurt and frustration and bruises that bloom like weeds.   It doesn’t mean it’s okay.

“You don’t mean that,” he says kindly, softer than he has the whole interaction.

“I do,”   comes Jungkook’s immediate retort, though it lacks any real strength.  It’s small, like it wasn’t meant to be said.

“You need to tell her.”

It’s not the first, second, or third time he’s heard these words;  he wishes it were the last.

“No.”  And he’s walking away again, disappearing into the safety of his own room where he spends the next five hours wide awake and miserable.

DECEMBER 25, 2017

It’s the first time he’s spent Christmas without you. It feels wrong, like any other Monday morning rather than the merry day it is. There’s no golden tinsel strung throughout his thoughts, no cheerily sang carols on repeat in his mind. The magic is gone - stripped away by the loss of you.

You haven’t spoken to him in days.  Since his little white lie - because that’s all it’d been, he tells himself - had come to light, you’d made yourself scarce.  There were no more stories posted to social media, no mentions of your name from the other members.  It was like you’d disappeared, taking all the sunlight with you.

Where he’s once laid his head and called home, there was nothing left.

“Come have breakfast, Jungkookie.”  It’s Jimin peeking into his bedroom, small hands curled around the door frame.  His hair’s a little wonky - sticking up at odd angles - but he appears happy, like he should.

Jungkook wonders how he looks.  If the shadows under his eyes give away all the demons that make homes in the hollows.

“I’m not hungry.”  Or rather, he didn’t have an appetite.  Didn’t have much of anything, truthfully.

“You need to eat.”  It’s the same wide-eyed concern he’s seen edged in everyone’s expression.  It makes his throat constrict, the thing in his chest thumping an erratic rhythm as it threatens to launch itself out of its brassy, broken confines. 

Shoulders shift, rise and fall like a breaching wave, and he shakes his head again.  “I’m really not hungry.”  Even to his own ears, he sounds strange.  His words are held together by flimsy strings, knots frayed and ready to split.  There are stirrings of guilt, tendrils of it curling like smoke through his lungs.  It’s only a matter of time until the fire engulfs every inch of him, scorching all in its path. 

He thinks he wouldn’t mind, if it’d replace the ash that lingers in a fine layer over each thought.

What had happened to his distraction?  Where was it - she - now when he needed it most?

Namjoon’s words reverberate in his skull, rattle around like coins in a pocket.  Maybe it wasn’t something he could distract himself from.  Why hadn’t he listened? It would still suck, surely, but he thinks it might not have mutated, shaped into this new divide by his own hand.

Because now there were miles between you and he only had himself to blame - his own face reflected back at him when he sought to find an answer for the radio silence.

It felt worse than he could’ve imagined.

“At least come join us.”  Jimin is insistent, refusing to let Jungkook wallow in his own self-imposed misery.  Hands coax, tugging at the hem of the younger’s sleeve.  It doesn't move him from his spot, two feet planted firmly as the wheels of his desk chair roll in a semi-circle and return to their original position.  They both know Jimin's weight means nothing against Jungkook's but the dancer is insistent, refusing to budge from where he stands, chest to shoulder with the stubborn boy.  "Jungkookie."

When Jungkook remains steadfastly focused on his computer - on the glowing lights of his keyboard, the front page of Naver - Jimin sighs loudly.  He feels a little bad about it.  Jimin's not the reason he's in this position.  

"Jin-hyung went all out.  You don't want to miss this."  

It's a good tactic.  Any other day and Jungkook would've jumped at the thought of a feast.  After all, he was a growing boy which meant he was always, always hungry. 

As if in response - in a great show of rebellion - his stomach rumbles, breaking the silence he'd meant to drag on.  Betrayed by his own body.

He blanches in the same instant Jimin grins, full mouth spread around a smile that screams victory!

"Come on."  This time, Jungkook relents, lets the other's hands coax him from his seat.  He's still a little begrudging though, shoulders inched forward and chin tucked against his chest in an exaggerated display of resistance.  He even drags his bare feet a little, but Jimin is wholly unbothered.  

Because whether the maknae believes it or not, his members know best.  They know the size of his heart and the fact that a very vital piece seems to be missing.  But that doesn't mean they can't fill it in the ways they know how, with boisterous laughter and his favourite ice cream, hand written letters and silly elf hats.  

They might not have been his Christmas miracle but that didn't mean they wouldn't try.

JANUARY 1, 2018

He thinks it should be easier.  The worst had come and gone, after all.  

He'd spent the rest of the holidays occupied with public appearances and precious moments with his hyungs, exchanging small presents and doing everything he could to keep his mind off of you.  It'd worked, for the most part.  He hadn't had enough time to wallow in that pit of despair he'd come to call home, instead pulled from it by obligations and the hands of his loved ones.

And yet he can't help the way he checks his phone, turns it over and over in his hands like another flip might throw the universe into motion, righting its off-kilter axis.  

"You look stressed."  A voice purrs - but it's not you so he doesn't really listen.  Doesn't even flinch when a warm body settles itself against his side in a veil of vanilla powder and glossy curls.  "What's wrong, babe?"  There's a hand on his knee and lips at his ear, roses painting the shell as she presses herself closer.  

Jungkook’s certain it's meant to be reassuring but he can only lean away, eager to put as much space between them as possible.  For the first time, it feels wrong.  Like the distraction wasn't made for him, but by him.  This isn’t what he wants.  It throws every action, every minute adjustment of her features, into stark relief.

So it's impossible to miss the look on her face, how it screams hurt and surprise and what the hell are you doing?  

"What?"  The word comes in a pair - from him and her.  It's almost comical how she sounds in comparison to him, all edges and affront to his soft utterance.  There's venom in her single syllable, laid there by a sharp tongue and sharper teeth.  It's the first time he's been on the receiving end of it and he has to admit - he hates it.  It gnaws at his insides.  He realizes he's letting her down.

Like Frankenstein, he's created a monster he can't control.

"What's your problem?"  She's far less angry than she deserves to be.  If he were in her shoes, he'd be black and blue, howling at the moon.  Instead, she's still soft, affection dulling the bile that rightfully rises in her throat.  Even now, he can see the way she looks at him - larger than life, with stars in her eyes.

Jungkook doesn't find it in himself to answer immediately, instead staring adamantly at an indiscernible point behind her.  "Nothing."  It's the farthest thing from believable, a lie that fixes itself between them, bright red and beguiling.  

"It doesn't seem like nothing."  For what it's worth, she's trying.  He can tell she is by how her tone changes, adapts to the relutance he shows.  She's trying to coax something more from him, shifting slightly closer when he doesn't immediately recoil.  "The fireworks are on.  Let's go join everyone else."

It's a great idea in theory but it's the last thing he wants to do.  So he says as much, shaking his head in the same moment.

"I'm heading home."  It doesn't matter that he's nowhere near their dorms or that she suddenly looks like a kicked puppy.  All Jungkook knows is that he has to be anywhere but here.  "Have fun tonight."

He's rising before she even has a chance to respond, flipping the hood of his sweatshirt up over his carefully styled strands.  When she reaches for him, he retreats a step, putting as much distance between them as he can in the small room.  It isn't easy - she's everywhere, light reflecting off the sequins of her pretty white dress, the scent of her perfume presenting itself with every inhale.

"I'm sorry,"  he says and he means it, despite the disbelief that paints her features.  

Without looking back, he disappears out the door, sliding past the milling bodies, the various performers and staff that wander the halls.  Excitement still buzzes among the dispersed crowd and he finds himself getting swept up in the occasional hello, deterred from his mission over and over again.  

It isn't until his phone rings, tone interrupting the one-sided conversation, that he's able to pull himself away.  He thanks his lucky stars - until he sees the caller ID.

Because it's you.  You - the person he's been waiting for all this time.  

It has his heart hammering in his chest, his grip on the device suddenly so tight he worries he might crack the screen.  You're finally calling him.  After weeks, you were there, familiar contact photo beaming up at him.

"Hello?"  He can hear the hope in his own voice.  

There's a long pause and he feels his throat constrict.  Had you not meant to call?  Was it a pocket dial?  A million questions run rampant through his thoughts, kicking up dust and gravel that he nearly trips over in his haste to get a response.

"Soo?"

"Happy New Year, Jungkook-ssi."  The way you say his name makes him want to cry with relief because there's tenderness still, hidden beneath the soft, half-whispered greeting.  You sound exactly like you always have, if not a little quieter, with more reserve, and he wants to live in the sound, how it settles into his head like it belongs there.  

"Happy New Year,"  he echoes back in a voice thick with emotion.  

You were finally home.

notes.  this chapter is the painful brainchild of mine and @keywepie​ and as such, is dedicated to her.  thank you for letting me talk your ear off and i’m sorry it took so long!

and yes, this kook is very different from the present-day kook in the series but that’s the point.  he was!!  hurting n sad!!  and way younger!!!!!

[cutegirlmayra]

10Q for both of the meme prompts with Boom SonAmy since no one combined them yet as far as I seen :)

Boom Sonamy, eh?

Prompt:

-A few years ago-

“She’s not falling behind!”

“Just move faster, Tails!”

“She’s gaining speed!”

“What!? No one can run this fast but me!”

“I-I’m keeping up…”

“You’re flying, I said running. There’s a difference.”

“And I’m gliding!”

The three best friends speedily made their way behind some cover as a young pink hedgehog with spiked hair slightly drooping in the back stopped chasing and looked around.

The three were a famous trio, Sonic the Hedgehog was the fastest hero in the world, Tails was the youngest engineer and inventor alive, while Knuckles was the last known echidna in the world.

Then there was Amy Rose.

As the young boys peeked out from their cover, a stack of nice leaves and bushes that perfectly shaped into their figures, they noted how energetic the girl looked.

Was she not even tired?

“She’s been following us since we saved that village.” Tails remarked, his eyes arching back in concern. “Do you think she’s serious about joining us?”

“Even if she was, I’d never let a girl in,” Sonic mumbled, seeming unused to such a persistent fan.

“Yeah! She’ll ruin our brotherhood!” Knuckles looked genuinely terrified. “I’m not so good with talking to girls…”

“Knuckles, you’re so not so good at any social communication.” Tails’s eyes immediately turned to his bush, since all their eyes were the only visible thing besides the figured bushes.

“You see my delama.”

“Dilemma!”

“That’s what I said. Wait.. who’s Emma?”

She put her hands on her hips, looking a little lost before hearing some shouted whispers from the bush.

She sighed and turned around, “You know I can hear you, right?”

The boys flinched, “Duck!” Sonic cried out as Tails quickly obeyed, but Knuckles just looked around and stuck his hands out through the bush, covering his eyes.

“…hehehe!” Amy stared a moment but thought Knuckles was just being funny and cute, not realizing his low IQ… “What’s wrong with you three? Set me to any task! Anything at all and I’ll prove to you I belong in your team!”

She formed a fist to show her determination, but the three just popped out of the bushes and looked a bit skeptical.

“You think you can..?” Sonic rose an eyebrow.

“Oh, I know I can.” She narrowed her sights on him, smiling confidently. However, there was a slight swoon that happened in her eyes at seeing the boy, but he hardly noticed the subtly softness that came over her eyes, the gentle tilt of her head and the faint red that spread across her muzzle.

All he was thinking of was how to lose this girl.

“Alright. I’ll give you a challenge.” the young Sonic jumped out of the bush, shocking both Tails and Knuckles.

“You mean you’ll accept her if she does it!?” Tails worriedly reached out.

“Dude! What about our bro-code?”

“Don’t worry. I’ve got this.” Sonic held a hand up to block Amy’s view of him, whispering with a wink to his friends. “I’m the fastest thing alive! There’s no way she can win a race against me.”

Amy’s ears perked up, “You’ll really let me in the gang!” her eyes sparkled as her hands clasped tightly together. “Oh! This is like a dream come true! I’ve been watching you’re heroic feats and been dreaming of the day I could-!”

“Yeah, yeah. Listen, girly-”

“MY NAME-” she cut him off, not allowing anyone to treat her like that. “Is Amy Rose.”

The abruptness startled Sonic. He looked her up and down, surprised by her clearly strong sense of self.

“…Amy…” he stated, deciding to respect her stance on his behavior. He still didn’t think she’d do anything impressive, and continued in his facade. “If you can beat me in a race, I’ll let you join Team Sonic!”

Tails leaned over to Knuckles, “When did he decide that was our name?”

“I don’t know. I don’t even have the money to legally change my name to Sonic!” Knuckles shrugged while Tails groaned.

Amy once again held a strong stance, “With cars?”

“No,” Sonic smirked, folding his arms to reclaim the power of he had once lost, and wanting to create a feeling of hopelessness at the impossible task. “On foot.”

Amy’s demeanor shifted, “W-what?” she looked away, ‘No good. I just said I’ve been watching them. There’s no way I can beat Sonic’s speed! Ohhh, why can’t he just give me a break? I’m a cute girl for crying out loud!’ she stomped the ground, feeling this might be defeat.

Sonic turned around, faking a shrug, “If you’d like to save some face, I’ll just pretend you never asked.” He held up his hands to high-five his bros while they gave him a thumbs up, having all seen her upset stomp before-

Amy searched the ground, ‘I’ve been working so hard for this… I’ve looked everywhere for him… there’s no way I’m backing out now! I have to believe in myself! Believe in all those weeks of training!’ she gathered her courage, and lifted her head, nodding. 

“I’ll do it!”

The confirmation left all three men to shift from their balanced stances.’

“Wha?” Sonic turned back around, surprised to see how fierce she looked. “What’d you say? Don’t you know who I am?”

“Of course I know who you are! I’ve admired you since I first saw you fight that evil Doctor Eggman and save all those people!” She touched her heart. “There’s no way I’ll lose! I’ve worked really really hard to meet you. I want more than anything to fight alongside you. I’ll do anything…” she found herself on the verge of tears. “I’ll do anything to have you recognize my strengths! You’ll want me on the team! I only hope that one day… you’ll see me as a true friend too!” Amy looked him right in the eye, a pillar of self-worth and might.

Sonic found himself pausing a moment, processing her words. He didn’t understand why she was so determined to succeed, and immediately let out a frustrated huff from his nose at not being able to figure it out.

“Fine!” He stomped up next to her, getting ready to race. ‘She thinks she can outshine me? Bring it on! She’s just a little girl..’ he glanced back up as he moved into position, getting ready to dart.

He saw her lower herself to the same position, taking a breath in and looking focused on the path ahead.

She… she really was doing this?

“O-on my mark..” Tails stood ahead of them, also shocked by her persistence. ‘There’s no way she can win.. why is she setting herself up for disappointment?’

Even Knuckles looked a bit surprised, seeing the girl almost look excited to race.

Sonic held in another sudden spark of frustration, but seeing her sudden smile… made him get excited too.

‘Why am I getting all pumped up too?’ he thought to himself, ‘that’s weird… I know I’m going to win, it’ll be a piece of cake. So why… am I having fun?’ he gripped his bandana around his neck.

“I will show you,” She spoke suddenly, jolting him from his thoughts.

“…Get set!” Tails shouted out, hoisting his hand higher up in the air.

“…Sonic, I’ll prove I belong with you.”

His eyes widened a little.

“GO!”

Unsure of his feelings, he grew nervous at the effect this girl’s positivity had on him. So much so, that when Tails gave the call, she got a running start.

“Sonic? What are you doing!?” Tails flew over to him, hovering by him as he shook himself out of it.

“Just letting her get her hopes up.” He grinned, cockily rearing up his legs into a figure-eight and dashing out to her.

He caught up in seconds, looking relaxed now that he was back in his element. “First one to the waterfall.” He instructed.

“But… there’s dangerous rocks there.” Amy worriedly turned to him, already having a shaky breath.

“Heh-heh.” he rubbed his nose, “Sounds like someone’s scared they’ll lose.”

“Ah! I am not! I’ll see you at the waterfall!”

Sonic smiled, something about this girl showed him she had a spirit for adventure.

“Last one there gets to call the loser whatever they want!” he lowered his eyelid with his finger to mock her, sticking his tongue out to further agitate her.

To his surprise, she only puffed up a cheek, and then wittily replied with- “Then the winner has to tell the loser what to call them by too.”

‘Nothing ever phases this girl for long.’ Sonic swept his mouth to the side of his other cheek away from her, annoyed he couldn’t get a negative reaction out of her.

He grew bored of hanging back to try and sway her from her goals, and quickly sped up to win the race and get it over with.

“Awh!” Amy cried out, seeing him in the lead. ‘I can’t lose! I’ve done so much to try and see him. I can’t let this opportunity slip by! I can’t lose!’

She summoned her piko piko hammer, using it as a wheel to hit the ground and spin her sideways, then continuing the action to propel her forward.

She sped by Sonic’s relaxed run, yawning with one hand behind his back and the other patting his opened mouth.

When he saw her pass, he was flabbergasted.

“This girl’s something else!” a smile unknowingly spread across his face. His heart moved his feet faster, growing more and more excited by the race.

He easily caught up with her, and when she noticed this, jumped to the trees, trying to beat his momentum.

Again, his eyes lit up with a challenge. He was enjoying himself now, darting to and from the trunks of the trees to stay neck and neck with her.

“Woah! Look at her go!” Knuckles cheered, gliding through the air after the two.

“She’s amazing!” Tails also commented, “Somehow, she’s actually using enough force with that hammer of hers and agile movements to keep up with Sonic!”

“Tails, the brotherhood!”

“Don’t worry, Sonic’s still the fastest world in the world. There’s no way he could lose!”

“…Without some help, that is~” Eggman, admittedly a younger adult but he didn’t look any different besides a single strand of hair curled on his usually bald head.

He lightly twirled a finger in it to keep it curly, hoho’ing in his dastardly way.

Throughout the race, Amy and Sonic had a few obstacles that were unexpected. Robot pirana jumping out from streams, robot plants trying to ensnare them in their vines, and robot bugs shooting and trying to ram into them.

Tails and Knuckles happily dealt with Eggman, but as the two jumped to touch the edge of the waterfall’s pond, Sonic took a moment to look at the girl who had skillfully avoided Eggman’s traps and completely kept up with wicked speed.

She was… beaming.

He had never seen someone go through all those pitfalls and booby traps… with the same free wonder as he felt.

He then realized how much fun he was having, and in his heart, accepted her completely.

When he turned back to look at what they were originally reaching for, he noticed the sharp rocks all around them.

‘Oh no! Even if we reach the edge of the pool, we’ll still be knocked into those rocks!’

then, without any hesitation, he withdrew his hand from reaching out-

And grabbed Amy.

Using his quills as a cushion, he caught her and spun so his back would hit the protruding rocks, and the two fell in the shallow part of the waterfall’s decent.

“Sonic..! Sonic, please wake up!”

He blinked his eyes open, “U..Ughh… You okay?” He got up, rubbing his head.

“You… you pulled me away from the finish line…” she looked heartbroken, but Sonic just shook his head, smiling sheepishly.

“Your quills are shorter than mine. I didn’t want you getting hurt because I pushed you into going so fast.” his shyness flared another red blush on her muzzle.

Admittedly, she didn’t know how to handle the feeling and hugged him without restraint.

“W-woah!” he wasn’t used to the touch and froze as she pressed the side of her head into his chest.

“…Thank you for rescuing me. I was worried about the rocks too…”

He felt a warmth climb up his throat and swallowed it down. “Y-you knew it was dangerous? Why didn’t you slow down and hit the brakes?” he took a wild chance and peered down at her.

She smiled cutely, “Hehe! I told you! I wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to be able to stay by your side-” when she leaned up, their noses touched.

There was a silence in that forest then as the two stared at one another.

The race was over, but two hearts still beat just as quickly as when they had nothing to lose, and everything to lose… all at once.

sonic is pride.

And Amy…

“I like you.” she suddenly, without much self-control, proclaimed in a light and delicate whisper.

Sonic’s face fumed up in steam, “Y-y-y-ou-yuou-youoy-oyuoyu… what?” he honestly couldn’t think at the moment, it seemed to have come out of left field.

But it was as if she had read the impulsive thought that had entered his mind aloud…

She suddenly pushed his face away and gasped, covering her own. “Oh my gosh! I’m so stupid! Ahh!!! I can’t believe I just said that!”

“W-well…” Immediately thinking it one way, Sonic got up, waving his hands out. “It-it’s okay. Girls fall for me all the time.” He tried to regain his ‘cool’ antics but Amy just turned white as snow.

‘I… I can’t let him know I’m like every other girl!’ Amy panicked, immediately laughing and rubbing her head.

“Haha…hahaha! No, no. Silly! Teehee~ I meant… uh… I like you… as in…” she put on her best actor’s smile and talked with her hands, hoping to distract him from her blushing face. “As in a how a fan likes her favorite hero!”

“..O…Oh.” He seemed disappointed for a moment, but then folded his arms and nodded, “Yeah, that makes sense. Emm-hmm.”

‘Typical. A girl like her would lie about that to keep face. But I’ll let her think I don’t know.’ He decided to let her keep her wishes, throwing a thumbs-up her way. “In that case, I like ya too.”

She about died.

He smiled.

She’ll never know the difference.

“D-does that mean I can be a part of your team?” She held her hands together and dreamily stared up at him with sparkling eyes, full of hope and promise.

“tsk, tsk. At most, we tied.” Sonic swallowed his pride, not wanting to upset her. He had fun, so he decided to reward the funny girl for her efforts.

He held a finger to her face, leaning down to her again, not realizing he had secretly wanted to recreate the intimate moment again. “You can join the team, but being my fan and being my friend are two different things. Are you sure you’re up to that task?” he knew her answer already, but expectantly waited for her cheery, bubbly voice to sound off again.

“Would I ever!” she leaped up, and he grinned at her energy.

“Great! Welcome to the squad!”

“WHAT!?” Knuckles and Tails, battered and covered in smog from the robots they took out, hung their mouths down in amazement.

Sonic looked awkwardly embarrassed at his words being found out by the other two boys and weakly waved a hello to them.

-Present day-

“So… what did you like about me back then? You never did say…” After retelling the story, Amy pulled her legs in towards her, nervous about asking him this.

Sonic was hanging by a vine like a hammock, using a branch to balance himself as he opened one sleepy eye down to her, watching the sunset together.

“Hmm… one thing… That I meant by that…” He looked away, smiling with a sweat drop on the side of his face. ‘I can’t tell her what I really meant… that’s the whole point of keeping it ambiguous…’

She tilted her head and peered up at him, resting it on her knees. “Did… Did you mean…”

He immediately cut her off, “Ir-! Irresistible!” he waved his arms out, it was the first thing to come to his mind as he started falling off the flimsy vine, snapping it when he tried to grab it before crash landing on his face tot he ground.

“Sonic!”

“Offph!”

“Hehehe!” she giggled, moving over to him and helping him up, wiping his face off from the dirt with his bandana. “Why do you say that?”

He felt embarrassed he even said that. But he couldn’t let her get the wrong idea… even if it was the more accurate idea… wait-no. What?! UGH!

“Do you… remember what you asked for me to call you?”

-years ago, on that day-

“Oh yeah, I lost. What do I have to call you?”

“…Sonic.” Sonic tapped his toe to stop her walk, looking behind him and smiling casually. “Just call me Sonic.”

“Well,… It was technically a tie.” Amy smirked, lowering her eyes to try and be seductive, moving closer to him.

He quickly inched away, her nose dangerously close to his nose again…

He willed himself to mind it, but he really didn’t.

“Call me… Ames.”

“Ames?” He looked confused but stepped away from her in his puzzlement. “Why?”

“Because I want only you to say my nickname.” she placed her hand on her cheek, hiding her blush.

“…Is it that important?” he looked unamused, “Look, the bet was to make fun of each other, not to create a pet name… and why am I the only one who has to use it?”

She took his arms and pulled him closer, that same race of his heartbeat triggered again as she let her nose touch his.

“Teehee!” a little electricity shocked the two, scaring Sonic but exciting Amy a bit. “Because it means I won and I say so.”

He would normally argue this. He would normally wiggle himself free and say something rude back. Normally…

A girl’s eyes never had such an effect on him.

-modern day.-

Sonic stared back at the youthful eyes of his friend, and couldn’t help but smile at how unchanging and full of spirited energy they still possessed. Lingering in the moment, he leaned a little closer to her, “Because I still call you Ames.”

It took her a moment, but the context of his tender and affectionate look to her made her feel she understood.

She blushed and looked down, but it only made him curious and follow.

Once again, the two slipped up, and as Amy’s head came back up-

Their noses touched.

Embarrassed at the same folly they had made years ago, the two flailed their arms and moved away, but secretly smiled in glee behind the other’s back.

[seriouslyhooked]

The Words We Keep (Part 3/3)

A three part CS AU based loosely on the music video for ‘The Words’ by Christina Perri. I know this has been done before by so many talented writers in this fandom, but I had so many readers ask for it so… here we are. Rated M. Part 1, Part 2.  Also available on FF Here and AO3 Here.

A/N: Hey everyone! So as promised here is the last fluffy (and smutty) little piece of ‘The Words We Keep.’ As you all must have expected, it is nothing if not over the top sweet, but hey, that’s the only way I know how to write for this couple. Thank you to all of you for the comments, reviews, and amazing support. It has meant the world and I am just happy that you guys have embraced this little AU. Hope you guys enjoy and definitely let me know what you think!

What a difference one year can make, Killian thought to himself the following spring as the train sounded down the tracks, rolling in at the same exact time that it always had.

Yet while some routines remained, life was entirely different now than it had been then. For one thing the solitude was gone, the loneliness all but forgotten, and the light Killian had been missing was now never far from his reach. He and Emma had started something all because he’d let those pent up words of wanting slip out of his mouth a year ago. The exact request of a date with just the two of them could be seen as asking for very little, but that spoken wish had led to so much more. One date had turned to many, one kiss to countless others, and after two years of build up the romance came easy. The comfort was there and that feeling of never being so alive and so adventurous while also feeling safe enough to share his burdens with Emma too was the best thing he’d ever known. His Swan had saved him in so many ways, and now here they were, watching the twilight and the train go by from the porch swing Killian had put here just for the two of them.

“Sometimes I swear I’m going to wake up and realize this was all a dream,” Emma murmured from her place beside him, tucked up in his embrace as she watched the train pass as the lingering light of the now gone sun slipped away.

“It’s hard to imagine such a life after the one’s we led, my love. But we were always meant to be. We were always meant to find our way here.”

Emma smiled at that, her hand absentmindedly coming to cover the bump of her newly showing belly. Sometime late this summer they’d be welcoming their first child, and Killian couldn’t imagine a greater gift, save for his chance to love Emma as he deserved. Calling her his wife, knowing that they were forever tied together and that they’d share their story side by side, made every day the best day it could be. There was no more wondering. There was no more doubt about where he stood or what he wanted. There was only certainty that he was the luckiest of men and that he would always cherish the opportunity to belong to this gorgeous, precious woman at his side.

Six months ago, in a fall wedding that was like something from a fairy tale, the two of them had tied the knot in a ceremony out here on their land, surrounded by a picturesque autumnal landscape and all their well-wishers and best friends. Perhaps it might have seemed crazy to some, to marry so quickly after starting to truly give this a go, but Killian had known from the first moment that this was what he wanted. Emma swore she felt the same way and so it seemed silly to wait when all was considered. Why put off what they could have now for a distant future? Why sacrifice the present because people might think they lacked patience or sense? The two of them were confident in the love they had, and that had been more than enough.

Despite the time that had lapsed since then, Killian could remember every detail of their wedding and he held those images close to his heart always. At any given moment Emma was the loveliest woman he’d ever known, but on that morning she’d been something else entirely. Dressed in white lace and donning a genuine smile that spoke to how truly happy she was, as the rays of golden sun glistened in her hair, she’d nearly stopped his heart. It felt like all of the light in the world was reserved for his Swan and that everything else faded away in that moment. There was no reception of people, no minister, nothing except for Emma and him, taking a step towards forever at last. It was almost impossible to behold such perfection, but somehow he’d done it, taking her hand in his and promising her the whole world should she wish for it.

“Emma, I wish there was a way to truly tell you all that I feel, to express to you what your love has brought my life and how you’ve changed me and made me the man I always wanted to be. And though I’ve never been the best with words, I’ll try and give it a shot: Since the day that we met, you have illuminated something long missing from my very soul. You cut through the noise and the silence alike. You mended a heart that was sure its best of days were behind it, and you’ve taught me with every passing hour that there is nothing that can harm me – nothing that can touch this perfect feeling – as long as I have you. Together we’re building a life and living a dream – our dream – and I can’t say how ready and how happy I am to be starting this with you here and now. You are my always and my forever, Emma, and I will love you until the end of time.”

Teary-eyed as she’d been after his vows, Killian knew that his woman was nothing if not up for any challenge. He had no doubt at all that she would hear his professed words of devotion and match them with ones of her own, but Emma had delivered something more melodic, more beautiful, and more magical than even he could conceive. Her words had been effortless and brilliant all in one, and for all his days and even after he was gone they’d be tattooed on his very being.

“Killian – in all the imaginings I had about my life and my future, I never allowed myself to really believe that it would be like this. I was afraid to let love in, to risk my heart. But the scariest part was letting go, and after I did that – after I trusted in you and in us – the rest was easy. You’ve proven to me that what we have is real and good. It’s beautiful and precious, and it’s enough to chase away every ghost from both our pasts and fend off any troubles that may come our way. In all honesty, the only word I have for what your love makes me feel is magic. And I know magic is supposed to be something reserved for children and for storybooks, but with you I’m not so sure that’s true. Because you make me see everything differently. You make me believe in the impossible.  You make me brave enough to hope when hope was something I never could risk before. I’ll never be able to tell you how thankful I am for that, and for you. All I can say is that I love you, and I can’t wait to love you my whole life and forever after.”

“I can’t wait to share all of this with the baby,” Emma said dreamily, her words cutting into Killian’s memory as her eyes cast out over the farm and fixed on the gardens they’d worked so hard on making for this spring.

Once a rather barren place, this land was now truly starting to come to life with a mix of random wildflowers and carefully selected blossoms alike. Beyond it were the fields and the trees that had always been here, and off in the distance those waves upon the nearby coast still washed ever so softly. It was an enchanted place, and somehow Emma coming had not only brought Killian back to life, but it had brought his home and his land just as much. This place was perfect, and Killian was just as eager to share it with their little one and all the others that might come thereafter, but before he could say that, Emma beat him to the punch with another thought.

“She’s going to love it, I just know it.”

The comment might seem to a stranger like it was nothing but sweet sentiment, but Killian felt the ache in his chest at all that Emma had just given away. They hadn’t found out yet what they were having, but when Emma turned to look at him with her smile and happy tears in her eyes Killian knew that she had discovered the truth and he was overjoyed. A little girl, an angel who would no doubt be just like her mother, was joining their little family soon, and Killian felt choked up from the raw emotion of finding it out like this.

“She? We’re having girl?” He asked, and Emma nodded as her hand came to cup his cheek and her thumb brushed ever so slightly across the place where bare flesh met the scruff of his beard.

“Mhmm. Ruby’s Grandma had another dream…” Emma said with a surprisingly straight face, causing Killian’s brow to instinctively rise. Emma was seriously giving this kind of power to the admittedly often-correct guesses of her best friend’s Gran? But then Emma giggled and shook her head. “And the doctor called today too.”

Killian didn’t know whether to scold Emma for the teasing or laugh at it, but neither needed to happen since their lips met in that moment and the sweetness of this blissful moment in time and the shared joy of their good fortune soon melted to something hotter and more fueled by need. They were used to this at this point, aware that the chemistry and the fire between them was nowhere near disappearing, and instead of torturing either of them with something long and drawn out, Killian decided to take what he wanted. In seconds he was on his feet with his wife swept up in his arms as he headed into the house, and as he carried her in, hearing the light hearted laughter that sang out between them and entering the home they’d built together, Killian knew that life was really and truly good and that with Emma in his arms it always would be.

…………….

Swept off her feet was an apt description of Emma’s relationship with her loving husband, and as he brought her into the house to no doubt deliver on the taste of foreplay between them out their on the porch swing, Emma couldn’t help but think back to how this giddy feeling of rightness had been there from the start.

About a year ago Emma and Killian had gone on their first date, and after a first kiss that should have been reserved for one of those classic romantic movies, Emma hadn’t known what to expect. It was all so up in the air and it felt like a big, huge, gigantic deal that things were finally happening, but Emma knew even then that whatever Killian had planned she would love. Yet even she couldn’t have imagined all the stops he would pull for her, and that dinner under the stars at the Public Gardens private greenhouse had been unreal. Maybe it was a good guess on his part, given her obvious love of flowers and greenery, but everything was purposeful and full of thought from the white twinkle lights that were strung up in the canopies above to the gourmet grilled cheese and onion rings that were on their special menu. Emma had no idea how he could know her favorite foods or her favorite place, but it was clear from that point on that Killian did know her almost better than she knew herself.

With such a connection between them love came oh so swiftly. She’d been halfway there before they’d so much as gone on a single date, but in the weeks and months that followed Emma couldn’t stop the blissful fall. There hadn’t been anything like fear in it either, and though she’d had to learn to grow in some ways, Emma never doubted that all their choices were right for what they wanted and for the life they were trying to build together. They were moving quickly, what with moving in together and getting married in close succession, and now they had a baby on the way too, but to Emma it was perfect. She couldn’t even think of slowing down when she’d waited so long for this man and for this chance. Instead she embraced every opportunity and she allowed herself the best of all worlds.

Despite the argument that she couldn’t have her cake and eat it too, Emma knew that she could own a business, be a wife, and soon be a mother with the right kind of framework set up and with Killian’s love and support. As a first step to securing that Emma made Ruby a partner, helping to ease off some of her commitments so she could cut down her physical days in the shop to three a week when their little girl came this summer. Someday she might go back to more, but right now everything was about balance and prioritizing the things that mattered most. For Emma that was family, and that family was only possible because of this man who carried her with such tenderness and care.

“You’re not going to be able to do this much longer,” Emma murmured as her fingertips ran across the top of his flannel shirt that was slightly unbuttoned, teasing out the course hair underneath. “Soon I’ll be as big as a house, or so everyone tells me.”

“You know I love a challenge, Swan,” Killian joked as they made it to the top of the stairs and into their bedroom. “But not to worry. I’d never put you or our little lass at risk. I’ll find other ways to ravish you properly.”

Emma swallowed harshly at that as Killian lay her down atop their bed. That word – ravish – was one she’d heard before from Killian and he wasn’t being hyperbolic. Every time they came together like this he fulfilled Emma in ways that were indescribable. Her blood thrummed with heat at the thought of it and her pulse ticked up as she wet her lips in anticipation. Her husband watched all of this closely, his eyes locked on her as he moved to strip the shirt he’d been wearing off. The sultry action had Emma’s head spinning, and all she could wonder was how he’d love her tonight and if she’d be able to take it or if she’d finally die and go to heaven.

“The answer to your question is simple, Swan. I’ll give you everything and more, just as I always do.”

Emma didn’t even know if she’d asked the question allowed, but Killian certainly answered her internal musings with authority. As he did so he also teased her bit by bit, easing down the zipper at the side of this dress that had at most a few weeks left of wearability. Then he slipped it off of her, stripping down the leggings beneath but taking his time with the lace she wore underneath. His eyes were molten at the sight of her and Emma would have grinned triumphantly if she were capable of it. As it was, she was too wrapped up in the feel of his hands moving against her, his body coming over her as she lay back against the bed, his presence hot and hard and domineering.

“Every damn time you do this to me, Emma,” Killian growled out, his fingertips tracing the red edges of her barely there bra before he came to unclasp the front of it with deft fingers and the precision of a man used to seductively undressing his wife. “All prim and proper on the outside, and then a vixen underneath.”

“You aren’t complaining are you?” Emma asked, meaning to sound more confident, but finding her voice was airy and filled with a quivered sense of desire as he trailed kisses from her lips down her jaw and to her neck.

“Never, my love. You might drive me to an early grave one of these days, but God, it’ll be worth it to have you like this and know you’re all mine.”

“And you’re mine,” Emma said as her hands roamed over him, her mind thinking of what she could do to flip the tables and have him as aroused as quickly as he had made her, but then his mouth was on her breasts and she was sidetracked, blinded by the pleasure of his attentions.

Killian knew just what to do, how to lick, suck, nip, and Emma was totally beholden to this moment. She felt the need coil low in her gut like a spring, winding tighter and tighter and tighter and he’d barely taken this anywhere. His fingers were only just edging up her thigh, and by the time he grazed ever so lightly across the soaked material of her panties Emma was gasping out. She could try and pretend it was baby hormones, but that would be a lie. This was all Killian, and her body had no choice but to succumb to his plans that always ended in the most delicious release.

First with his fingers he took her right to the brink, knowing exactly how to play it so her lust crept higher and higher, but when she was nearly there he stopped, pulling away and bringing his fingers up to lick. The sinful gesture left Emma even more needy. Seeing her husband like this, almost like an animal when to everyone else he was nothing but a gentleman, was overwhelming enough, but then he was kissing down her body, leaving marks from the scratch of his beard and the edge of his kisses. That roughness was perfectly balanced, however, with only the tenderest of attentions to where their baby was currently growing.

“I love you, Emma,” Killian said as he hovered above her bump. “And I love this little one with everything in me too. How I’ll ever thank you for giving me all of this… God, I’ll never have a way.”

Emma debated telling him the truth, which was that there was no thanks needed. How could she expect thanks when Killian had just as much power over her happiness and her feelings of contentment as she did for him? But while caving to the sweetness was tempting, it would be oh so much more delicious if she took this another way. Emma could poke at that primitive need in Killian to satisfy her and claim her as his, and since she knew that their usual sparks flamed so much hotter when she did, it was an easily made choice.

“I wouldn’t say that…” Emma counseled as she tried to speak with seductive tone that held more control than she felt. “You could actually follow through instead of teasing me.”

That was it. The gauntlet was thrown and no sooner had Killian growled out that she didn’t know what she was asking for, than his mouth was right where she wanted him, landing hot and eager on the slick flesh of her sex. Thoughts flew from Emma’s mind and there was only sensation. It wasn’t teasing either but demanding and oh so freaking good! She couldn’t stop the climax that had been building up from crashing over her, but it wasn’t enough to appease her husband. Saddled with a challenge he was set on satisfying every need and only when she’d come again and was right at the edge of more did he relent, crawling back up her body and meeting her eyes as he filled her with one long hard thrust.

“Killian!” Emma moaned as her hands gripped at him for purchase. She couldn’t even get the rest of her thoughts out. Did she want more? Harder? Faster? She hardly knew. All Emma was certain of was that she needed her husband, trusted him more than anything, and that she was so close to breaking apart again as he kept up his perfectly timed tempo, designed to get them both exactly where they needed to be.

“Let go, Emma. You know I won’t stop until you’ve given me what I want, and I want you. All of you.”

Emma did know that, and the edge of command along with the raw need in his voice was all it took for her to obey that wish. She cried out his name again, pulling him down to kiss and feeling like she was floating as she eventually came back to herself. Sex should never be that good. It just wasn’t fair to everyone else who didn’t get to enjoy something so divine, but hell if Emma cared. She was just so freaking happy and she knew as she looked over to Killian, who was lying on his side, perched up to look at her with a gaze of pure adoration and love, that he felt just the same. This was their happily ever after, and after so many years apart, and so many trials that they’d both had to face alone, they were more than worthy of it.

“You know what would be amazing right now?” Emma asked some time later after the two of them had cuddled together and she’d traced a hundred tiny maps that all lead to his heart across his skin. But Killian didn’t need any actual hints to know what she was thinking. Instead he kissed her lightly before grinning and getting up from the bed, giving her a full view of that body of his that always drove her crazy even if he’d just ravished her completely.

“Aye, love. Cleaning up the mess we’ve made just to do it all over again.”

And with that new plan in place, and the promise of a romantic soak with her loving husband followed by a night wrapped up in his embrace, Emma allowed herself to feel all the bliss and magic that love could bring. For that was her new fate and her enduring destiny: she and Killian would always have this love no matter where life would take them, and Emma for one could hardly wait.

Post-Note: So there we have it. I think I officially ticked off all of the requests with this, including those of you who wanted pregnant Emma and some gratuitous smut. Needless to say I have had a lot of fun writing this, and I hope to write some more similarly short but oh so sweet stories in the future. Thank you all for joining me, and if you happen to be a new reader check out my other stories! They’re basically all this level of over the top cuteness, I swear. Anyway thanks again and hope you all have a lovely rest of your weekend!

[voiceofthecity]

The Fading Spark: Ch. 1/?

Luna Nova faces it’s darkest moment as the school is invaded by mysterious forces. Akko sees this as her opportunity to use her newly developed skills to elevate herself to becoming a legendary witch. Diana, who has been tutoring and bonding with her for the last few months, is trying to get her to safety. This leads to them not only discovering the reason behind the invasion of Luna Nova, but who will be the one to change the fate of magic itself.

Pairing: Diana/Akko

Words: 3.2k

A/N: This is the first fic I’ve put enough effort in a long time to confidently post it somewhere. This is based off one of my main LWA theory which I may talk about at some point as the show continues I also had to make a couple minor changes from the post yesterday.  But lease enjoy!

Diana foresaw that Luna Nova would encounter great dangers and struggles before the end of the school year, but this was nothing mentioned in the reading she performed for class that day. Since then, she would keep trying to do the reading, expecting to receive a clearer vision of what she saw, but to no avail. She did not discover any new information on what would happen, but she did continue to see one thing, or rather one person, whose presence was more and more prominent in her visions; her fellow freshman classmate, Atsuko Kagari.

Diana wasn’t sure why or how the most magically-inept student in school would play a role in Luna Nova’s inevitable fate. In an attempt to satisfy her curiosity, she had been spending the past couple months of the semester tutoring Akko as Professor Ursula would have less time to spend teaching her personally. The troubled student refused to work with her “rival” at first, but it wouldn’t be long before she reluctantly began seeing her during some of their break hours and off days. The two girls, after a couple weeks, developed a sense of mutual respect for one another. Kagari started seeing Diana as less of a stuck up prodigy and more of someone with great talent and admiration for Magic, who wishes to see it become greatly prominent in the world again just as much as she does. Diana also began sensing the enormous amount of potential in Kagari’s ability to become a witch, which she recalled Professor Ursula talking about in some of their past conversations. The more time the two spent together, the closer they became as friends. Diana certainly had not felt this strong of a connection with anyone else in her life, not even family or friends. Does Atsuki feel just as strongly about their connection as she does, the prodigy contemplated.

She was beginning to ask herself that almost every day for the past week. But those thoughts were suppressed as soon as news got around that the nearby town was invaded by mysterious hooded figures. Not only that, but it seemed as if they were heading straight for the campus. Students ran through the school in confused panic as teachers tried to maintain order and lead them to the caves below the tower for safety. Luna Nova’s perimeter was in great danger with the magical barriers around the school weakening by the second. It was not meant to take such large amounts of forbidden magic at once and it was bound to break at any moment. Being considered the valedictorian of the school, Diana got on her broom and worked with the teachers and students to get them out of the building safely. Amongst the crowds of students, she spotted Kagari’s roommates, Sucy and Lotte, without any sign of their friend nearby. Diana flew down to speak with them.

“Yanson! Manbaravan!” She called out to them and hovered beside Lotte.

“Diana! Do you know what’s going on?” Lotte asked her, but Diana only responded by shaking her head.

“I don’t. But where’s Kagari? She should be with you two!” She asked with a subtle sense of urgency. She did not want a single student to be left behind, especially Kagari.

“I think I heard Akko say something about the sorcerer’s stone earlier today, but she left the room as soon as the alarms went off. She might have taken that Shiny Rod with her too.” Sucy clarified.

Diana cursed under her breath. She would expect that girl would try something ridiculous, but this time, it wouldn’t result in her getting penalized by the faculty. It might just result in something far worse.

“You two keep following the teachers. I’m going after her!” Diana flew off, heading in the opposite direction of the students. They, as well as some of the teachers, called for her to come back, but she kept flying. Not even Professor Finnelan’s orders could stop her at this point. She began whispering to herself repeatedly, “I’m coming, Akko.”

/////

“This is as far as I can go. You sure about this, Akko?” Amanda questioned the passenger as she hopped off the broom onto the ledge where flying lessons would take place. Admittedly, she was concerned for her friend. Who the hell asks to someone to fly them to the sorcerer’s stone at a time like this?

“I’m positive, Amanda. I’ll be back with you guys in no time, I promise!” Akko strongly stated with her head held up high. The fiery red head couldn’t help but admire her tenacity. She might not have an idea what this crazy girl was planning, but something about that look of confidence solidified trust.

“I’m holding you to that! Don’t take too long, y’hear me?” Amanda bid her farewell to Akko with a fistbump before speeding off to get back to the other students before she gets chewed out by the faculty.

“Thanks Amanda!” Akko waved goodbye to her before taking a deep breath to look at glow of the sorcerer’s stone coming from the top of the tower. She wasted no time and began to run inside and climb up the staircase. The Shiny Rod was clutched tightly in her hands. The closer she got, the brighter the stones on the rod were beginning to shine. Before she knew it, Akko had reached the top, the Shiny Rod glowing greatly as it was resonating with the stone. The student held up the last remaining remnant of her hero as great power began to flow from the stone to the rod. Akko could feel that the next few moments of her life were about to change everything. With the power of Shiny Chariot  and greatly improved magical skill in her arsenal, she was finally going to become the great witch she dreamed of being. With the staff now fully charged and the barriers weakening, she was off to save the day. Until she spotted a silhouette suddenly appear in front of her. It gave her a quick fright, causing her to yelp and almost drop the Shiny Rod. She composed her however, and positioned herself accordingly to show whoever was in front of her that she wasn’t playing around.

“Who are you? Show yourself!” She demanded. Without missing a beat, the silhouette responded with a familiar voice.

“Akko, what do you think you’re doing?” The voice asked in a lighthearted tone. The figure stepped out from the shadows and revealed herself to the student, surprising her unexpectedly.

“P-Professor Ursula? I-I…” Akko began feeling the guilt weighing down her heart. But she shook her head to clear her thoughts and clutched to the Shiny Rod even tighter. “I’m going to save Luna Nova! You might not think I’m ready for something like this, but trust me! This act of heroism is something that I have to do. It would be something that Shiny Chariot would do! If I’m going to be any closer to her, this is how I’m going to do it!” She stood her ground, looking as though nothing was going to bring her down. Her unshaken confidence would surely have to convince her mentor. Ursula only looked at the Shiny Rod in Akko’s hands and give her an amused grin.

“But Akko… You have become closer to me. I just can’t help but be impressed. You really have grown over the past few months, and I cannot be any more proud of you.” Ursula’s praise confused Akko. What was she talking about? That confusion only grew as the professor removed her glasses and tossed them out of the tower. She continued walking towards Akko. The student backed away slightly, until she began to notice something strange. Ursula’s robe began to glow in a white and red aura and transform into a cape. She twirled graceful as the blue from her clothes faded into an attire that Akko recognized instantly. The professor’s hat was tossed into the air and exploded like a firework, transforming into that big iconic hat. It landed perfectly onto Ursula’s blue hair, causing it to fade from blue to a colorful and vibrant red. Her eyes opened, showing red irises piecing into Akko’s very soul. The very shock of this revelation rendered her speechless and unable to move. She almost even dropped the Shiny Rod before it suddenly flew into the hands of its true owner, the illustrious and legendary, Shiny Chariot.

/////

Diana continued to make her way to the Sorcerer’s Stone, her anxiety levels increasing further the closer he gets. She can only hope that Akko hasn’t done anything drastic yet. She began to notice however, a figure on a broom leaving near the top of the tower at a high speed. There was only one student who can stay steady on a broom going that fast, Amanda O’Neill. It would make sense for Akko to ask for a lift from the fastest broom rider in the school, but most likely, she probably wouldn’t know much about Akko’s intentions. Diana kept her focus toward the tower, noting the sudden glows and light shimmers radiating from the top. Her broom was now in top gear toward her destination.

/////

“P-Professor Urs-sula… I-I have to be dreaming right now… Th-this isn’t real!” Akko stuttered in a mix of shock, confusion, and questioning her very sanity. Did that whole thing just really happen? The very woman she idolized was right under her nose this entire time she’s been in Luna Nova? She was under the tutelage of Shiny Chariot herself for almost the entire school year!? At this point, she definitely felt like she was going to faint any second now.

“Akko… I know you must have so many questions floating in that brilliant brain of yours right now. But there’s something that I must confess to you, so I only ask you listen carefully.” Chariot spoke in a calm and gentle tone, like sweet music in the ears of the student. Akko stood straight and kept her ears open, trying to keep herself as composed as she can be.

“When you entered Luna Nova with the Shiny Rod in your hands, I knew from the very beginning you had limitless potential. But at the same time, I knew you were going to face many struggles, trying to stay strong despite never learning a single magical spell in your life. I was willing to do whatever I could to help you become the best witch you could be.” The famous witch approached Akko, who was still too much in shock to move with her legs shaking from nervousness.

“And I have to say that despite your… Difficulty over the months, you have made so much progress and growth happen in so little time. When I was your age, my potential grew in the course of years of hard work and dedication. But you, Atsuko Kagari, did so much more in a few months than I had done in 2 years. I couldn’t be any more proud of my star pupil.” Chariot smiled brightly, sparking that same magic that captured Akko’s heart all those years ago when she watched Chariot’s show live for the first time. Tears could be seen falling from the student’s eyes down to her cheeks. She tried wiping them away with her sleeve, but it continued to build up. Emotional is not even the fitting word to describe what Akko was feeling at this moment. Her words were muffled and she was choking up, trying to get a word out.

“Th-Thaank… Y-Yoouuu! Sh-Shhhiny Chari-ri-riot… Thank y-you…!” Akko finally took a step forward and embraced her hero, clutching onto her tightly and did not want to let go. This is the very thing she has worked so hard for, and she wanted it to last forever. Chariot placed her hand on her protege’s soft brown hair and comforted her.

“No, Akko… Thank you for committing yourself to try and become one of the greatest witches in history. You certainly are in my book.” Chariot’s words of praise and comfort made Akko cry even more. Nothing could take her away from this, or so she thought. The moment was interrupted with the barriers showing signs of great weakness. Those hooded figures were going to break in at any moment. Akko looked up at Chariot, waiting for her to make a move. The witch looked at her and held out the Shiny Rod to her, its crystals still growing from the sorcerer’s stone’s power.

“Listen to me, Atsuko Karagi. Those mysterious people coming to take over Luna Nova are extremely powerful in the forbidden arts. But with my magic and your limitless potential, we have a chance to save Luna Nova, and magic as we know it. It might seem like a big rush, but I trust that you can do it. Please, grab the Shiny Rod and fulfill the destiny you have always been meant for!” Akko wiped away the last of her tears before nodding aggressively, like she’s been waiting for the moment her entire life. All the work she had done was finally going to lead her to the greatness she had always dreamed of, and Shiny Chariot herself was going to make that dream reality. Akko slowly began to reach out, feeling the powerful aura of the rod around her the palm of her hand. She was still shaking with anticipation, but nothing was going to stop her.

“Murowa!” The lethal spell shot towards them from the distance, hitting the floor in between them. The blast pushed Akko back violently. She hit her back on the wall hard and her groggy body lied on the floor. Chariot however, did not budge as her personal protection barrier was already in preparation. She looked out to the sky to see who caused the blast, only to see a broom approaching her at high speeds. With nothing but a simple swing with her Shiny Rod, Chariot diverted the broom away from her face toward the wall behind her. Akko’s eyes opened up slowly, but her vision was extremely limited and blurry. The blast’s sound had also brought about a loud ring in her ears, unable to hear anything either. From what little she saw, bright sparks and small explosions shined before her, making her believe that some battle was happening in front of her.

Although Diana’s first shot was intentional, she tried her best to make sure the blast didn’t completely decimate Akko. She would live, and she had to make sure it stayed that way. She looked at the woman before her and clenched her wand tightly, trying to stare down with the witch she once considered her hero.

“You’re not welcome here anymore… Leave Luna Nova and call off your mindless minions at once!” Diana attempted to command the once revered witch. She watched as Chariot brushed off the dirt from her cape and took a good long look at the heart and soul of Luna Nova. She knew Diana’s power and potential were great, but certainly not great enough to match up.

“Miss Cavendish… I have been waiting for a long time to meet you. Although I certainly did not wish for it to be under these dire circumstances.” Chariot kept the sinister smile on her face, but her eyes were covered by the shadow under the brim of her hat. The sight of her like this was almost enough to intimidate Diana, but she kept her eyes on her, positioning herself in front of Akko to protect her.

“I know what you want, Chariot! And I will make sure that you never get anywhere close to the power that you desire!” Diana was not going to take Chariot’s words to heart, not anymore. Her wand was ready to cast Murowa the moment Chariot would move, but the witch only peered behind the prodigy with a smile still on her face, making Diana a bit confused. But as soon as she realized, she turned around behind her to meet a single fist making heavy contact with her nose, knocking her back and falling to the ground. With a bloody nose,she looked up to see the person she was looking for, only Diana was probably the last person that she wanted to see right now.

“What are you doing, Diana!? Chariot is going to help us and Luna Nova! Why are you trying to fight her!?” Akko yelled with her voice slightly cracking from the crying earlier and a bit of the debris getting into her breath.

“A-Akko, y-you must listen to me!” Diana tried to speak for herself before Akko interrupts.

“No! I can’t listen to you this time! Not when the school’s fate is in our hands!! Just trust me and Chariot, okay? We’re going to save everyone, Diana! Isn’t that what you want?” Akko turned away from her friend before she could get an answer. She walked back to Chariot, who was still holding the Shiny Rod and once again, held it in front of her protege.

“Come now, Atsuki. Your future is waiting…” Chariot looked at Akko and smiled at her once again to build that final piece of trust between the two. Akko took a deep breath and reached out to her hero. Diana could only watch as the very worst of what she was expecting was about to happen in front of her, with nothing she can do to stop it.

Akko grabbed the Shiny Rod tightly, as if she found it in the forest for the second time. Chariot began to mutter a strange incantation with the crystals slowly beginning to fade to purple. Akko’s anticipation only increased more and more until it all came to a screeching halt. A sudden painful sensation began to surge to the hand she was grabbing the rod with. Every bit of her muscles tightened up on the grip of the rod with a purple aura quickly surrounding her entire body. Her sense of wonder quickly turned into a sense of fear.

“Thank you so much, Akko… Thank you for everything. I promise you and Diana that Magic will never die in this world! No matter what happens, everyone will learn what magic is capable of and how great it truly is!” Chariot smiled brightly once again, contrasting to Akko’s loud and pained screams and Diana’s plea for mercy. With the little energy that she had, she jumped forward and grabbed Akko, tumbling to the ground. It was enough to get Akko out of Chariot’s reach but the damage was done substantially. Akko could only stare blankly at the stone above her with her mouth agape and not a single sound escaping her lips. Diana tries to get her to come to her senses, but to no avail.

“Well, haven’t you two grown so intimately…” Shiny Chariot commented to Diana. The prodigy was clutching onto Akko while sitting on the floor and leaning back on the wall behind her. She could only look up at this monstrosity of a witch and tell her, “Leave. Now.” The witch only responds with a kind smile before calling up her broom and escaping from the area. She already got what she wanted, but at a great cost to Diana. Diana could only quietly apologize to Akko as the two stayed in the tower until help arrived to find them and teleport them to the caves.

[joylee56]

Leaving to Spend More Time With His Family

For Fluffapalooza

Happy Skin Deep Anniversary

“Belle,”  Mrs Lucas shouted across the newsroom.  “Get your butt over here.”

Saving her story notes, Belle grabbed a notebook and headed toward the conference room.  'Granny' Lucas had been working the Congressional and National news beat since her days as a runner during the Nixon era.  Now editor, she tolerated fools badly, reporters who did not nail down their facts not at all, and regarded typos as the work of the devil.

As Belle always got her sources on the record, was good at grammar and made a point of running the spell checker twice, she and Granny got a long very well. Sidney Glass, who had just spent half an hour in conference with Granny and Mulan Fa, one of their investigative reporters, was not so fortunate.  

Belle had little sympathy for Sidney.  He was enraptured with Regina Mills, a high level Republican political consultant.  Which led to him accepting her statements unreservedly.  Not to mention he seemed never to have learned the difference between there, their and they're.

“Two weeks Sidney's been working on why Rumford Gold is stepping down as Senator Blanchard-Nolan's chief political adviser and this is what he turns in.”  Granny tossed some pages at Belle.

Skimming the story it was easy to see why Granny was upset.  It looked like Sidney had simply listed every scandal that might cause a political adviser to quit as possible alternatives without having anything to back up any of them aside from some snide suggestions from an 'anonymous' source who was clearly Regina Mills.  “Well, you can rule out going to work for her opponent.  Aside from the fact that he's been with Mary Margaret since her days on the Storybrooke School Board, nobody I've talked to has heard so much as a rumor about him going to work for another politician let alone that idiot running against her.  And a couple of lobbying firms apparently tried headhunting him and got turned down flat.

“Also I don't buy a sex scandal at all.”  Belle snorted.  “He's divorced.  No reason for anybody to care who he's sleeping with.”

“He's not sleeping with anybody.”  Mulan put in.  “That was the first thing I checked.  If it weren't for the way he flirts with you, I'd guess he was asexual.  But apparently he's just celibate.”

“We do not flirt!” Belle denied.  Did they?  They bantered.  Each trying to get the upper hand.  But that was just been part of the job.  

“Oh, please. There have been press briefings where the rest of us have been ready to take up a collection to get the two of you a room.”  Mulan rolled her eyes.

“We had a completely professional relationship.”  Belle told her primly. Admittedly bantering with Rum was frequently the high point of her week.  Still it was part of her job.

But there was no rule that you could not enjoy your work, right?

“Still you know him better than anyone else.”  Granny told her.  “Which is why you're taking over this story.  At the very least I want an interview with him to find out the official story.  A more in depth explanation than Senator Blanchard-Nolan's office's two sentence 'leaving to spend more time with his family, he will be missed' folderol.  Even they couldn't deliver that one with a straight face.”

“Good luck finding Gold.”  Sidney told her before stalking off to sulk. “Blanchard-Nolan's office refuses to give out any contact information for him.  And one of my sources says he's left the country.”

Mulan was at least willing to share her notes.  “It was one of <i>my</i> sources that spotted him leaving the country.  He was getting on a flight to Heathrow.  But he came back after a couple of days.  Since he's British that kind of backs up the 'spend more time with his family' excuse.  You don't suppose it's actually true for once do you?”  

“More likely he was visiting his kid.”  Belle told her.  “His ex moves around a lot, but she's British too.”

Contacting Gold proved trickery than she expected.  Mary Margaret’s office manager was apologetic, but firm.  “I'm sorry, Belle.  We have to protect Gold's privacy.  I just can't hand out his private information.  I'll pass along your message if he calls in, but we don't expect to hear from him this week.”

She did have Gold's personal cell number.  He had called her from it a couple of times. But she had learned from the comments by some other reporters that Gold did not normally give out his personal number.  Making her reluctant to take advantage of the information,

Still if he no longer had a work number this was the only way to contact him. That should make it alright shouldn't it?

She deliberately did not think about what it meant that he was willing to give her information about how to reach him outside of work when he apparently jealously guarded it from others.  

Still he did not seem put out when she called.  “What can I do for you, Belle?”

“Can't I just check up on an old friend?”  Oh, dear God.  Mulan was right.  She did flirt with him.

Which he clearly did not mind in the least.  “You can, but as you must be on deadline right now, I can't imagine that's the case.”

“My editor would like an interview with you.  The usual.  Why you left.  What you're planning to do now.  That sort of thing.”  

He sighed.  “I suppose better you than Sidney.  Or worse Fox News.  I've a full schedule today.  But I'll have some time to talk this afternoon if you can meet me.”

The address he gave her was in Chevy Chase.  A park in an up scale suburb.  The sort of place young professional families moved to raise their kids.  She located him in the bleachers overlooking the soccer field.

Sitting down next to him she asked.  “So who are we rooting for?”

“The Bears.”  He waved toward the left hand side of the field.  “They're in brown and yellow.”

That did not help a great deal.  To Belle's eye the children all appeared to be wearing either dark muddy clothes or slightly lighter muddy clothes.  “They look more like cubs than bears.”

“Aye.”  Gold chuckled.  “At this age they're lucky to remember which goal is which.  But they're having a good time which is the whole point of the exercise.”

This was much more laid back attitude than most parents of Belle's acquaintance.  Then again a children's soccer game was pretty small change compared to the level Gold usually played at.

“So why is your editor so interest in my future that you felt you had to hunt me down in the wilds of Maryland, Belle?”  Gold glanced her way but kept an eye on the players.  

Or rather a player. A small slight boy who's dark curls had long since lost any semblance of order.

Suddenly Belle was pretty sure she had the answer to the puzzle.  “He's older than in the picture on your desk.”

“I've gotten a new picture for my new office.”  Gold chuckled.  

“And where is this new office?”

“George Washington University.”  Gold leaned back on the bleacher seat behind them. “I'm going to be lecturing on Public Affairs and Campaign Finance Law.  Possibly overseeing some of the law students in some pro bono appellate work if I can shake someone down for a grant.”

“That shouldn't be a problem for you.” Not after all the campaign fund raising he had done.  “Is the small forward out there the reason for this sudden move to academia?”

“Aye.”  Gold nodded toward the boy.  “His Mum got a position with a documentary company.  She and her boyfriend are going to be traveling all over world.  Her 'dream job'.  Called me out of the blue three weeks ago and informed me I needed to pick the boy before they left for Aleppo.”

“So you dropped everything and dashed off to Maryland.”  

“I dashed off to London.”  He corrected her.  “I brought the boy back to Maryland. There's a good school here set up along the lines of the one he was going to in London and the house I found is an easy commute to GWU. He seems to be settling in alright.  So far he misses his nanny more than his Mum.  I signed him up for this football club in the hopes he'd make some friends.”

“Can I have this on the record?  That you're stepping down as Senator Blanchard-Nolan's chief political adviser to become a soccer Dad?” Sidney was going to blow a gasket when he found out his big political scandal was not only not a scandal but had no political implications what so ever.

Gold shrugged. “Mary Margaret was understanding.  I can't work sixty hours a week and look after a seven year old.  And with her as chair of the DSCC next year the hours will only get longer.

“If you're looking for a story,”  He added,  “It looks like they're going to hire Mallory Drake to replace me.”

“I'll be sure to include that.”  Belle made a note.  “But the story I'm working on is why you left Senator Blanchard-Nolan's staff.  You're at the top of your game.  Rumor is that Mary Margaret may be running for President in 2020.  You could hire a nanny like your ex did to look after...”

“Baden.”  Gold supplied.  “I could.  But why should I?  Political advisers are thick on the ground in this town.  Bae only has one Papa.

“And I only have one son.  It'd be different if I had to work those kind of hours to feed us, but I don't.  So I'm just going to enjoy being Bae's Papa for a while.  Milah got full custody because of the hours I worked. I've got a second chance with my boy.  I'm going to take full advantage.”

That was going to make a wonderful quote.  “I'm happy for you.  But I'm going to miss our sparing sessions.”

“So am I.”  Gold glanced her way.  “Uhm, it occurred to me after I took this new job that there isn't much chance of any conflict of interests coming up between a reporter and a University lecturer.”

Belle closed her notebook.  “You're right.  That does seem unlikely.”

“So there wouldn't be anything inappropriate if we were to have dinner together sometime.”  

“Not a thing.” She agreed.  “If you were to need a sitter, my editor's granddaughter, Ruby, has experience and might just be a student of yours.  She goes to George Washington.”

“I will make a point to look her up.”  Gold nodded.  “Soon.”

The game was wrapping up and the little boy ran over to the bleachers.  “Did you see my shot, Papa?  I was the only one to almost get it in the goal.”

“I did.  Very well done.”  Gold told him.

The boy had kicked the ball pretty much right into the arms of the goalkeeper.  Since none of his teammates had managed to actually kick the ball into the goal area though he had a right to be pleased with himself.  Belle had to smile at his enthusiasm.

“Ah, Belle, this mud-ball is my son Baden.”  Gold introduced the boy.  “Baden this is a friend of mine, Belle French.  She's a reporter.”

“It's nice to meet you, Ms. French.”  Baden held out a grubby hand.  Belle took it anyway.  He was just too cute not to.  “Are you writing a story about Papa?”

“I am.”  Belle told him.  “Everyone wants to know about your Papa's new job.”

“He's going to teach people to be lawyers so they can help people.”  Baden explained to her.

“He was just telling me about it.”  Belle said.  “It sounds very interesting.”

“We're going to get hamburgers.  Do you like hamburgers?  You should come with us and Papa can help you more with your story.”  Baden was bouncing up and down.

“Belle may have other things she needs to do.”  Gold cautioned his son.

“I don't actually.” Belle smiled at him.  “And you were just talking about getting together for dinner.”

“I was thinking in terms of something a little more impressive than Five Guys.” Despite his grumbling Gold smiled back at her.

“As it happens I love hamburgers.”  Her grin got larger.

“And milkshakes. You have to buy her a milkshake, Papa.”  Baden instructed.  Then he added in a failed attempt at a whisper,  “Girls like it when you buy them a drink.”

“I'm an ice tea girl, myself.”  Belle told him.

“Then ice tea it shall be.”  Gold offered her his arm as they set off toward the car park.