#I suppose when objects started flying was when that shed was picked up

[mabelsguidetolife]

uhhhh..... there was a crazy microburst just now and my neighbor’s shed just got yanked off the ground and crashed into our house by the wind

nobody got hurt but the man is at work right now and he’s in for a surprise in the morning

[lady-of-lyon]

So, I made one post a while back about how awesomely feminist the show Wild Kratts was, with how its two main female characters were women of color in engineering and deserving roles of power, female villains who weren’t motivated by spite or quest for youth, etc, but today I wanted to talk about something slightly different, that I’ve wanted to cover for a while now, because I also think it’s very good - and that’s how the show portrays masculinity, in a way that’s really positive!

First, we have our two main characters, Chris and Martin Kratt. Keep in mind these two are basically self-inserts - and there are plenty of creators, especially males, who have used self-insert characters in really scummy ways - all I have to say is Powerpuff Girls reboot and you know exactly what I’m talking about. Even if they weren’t literal self-inserts, male characters, superheroes especially, oftentimes serve the male power fantasy, being just the strong, stoic, all-powerful person so many boys are told they’re supposed to be. I could get into a whole discussion about how the male power fantasy is present even when males are not (ever look through a fashion magazine and wonder why there are so few men? Sure, part of it is that the industry thrives off exploiting women’s insecurities, and men aren’t as concerned for their appearance, but another part of it is so that the guy, looking through it, can feel like he has no competition for these women - there’s a reason so many comedians have jokes about fashion magazines being their sexual awakening as kids. It’s really scummy) but that’s not what this is about. So, the bros had every opportunity to do just that - make themselves these traditional heroes who aren’t actually really good role models, like batman or what have you. It’s certainly not uncommon for celebrity cartoons to do stuff like that. But Martin and Chris chose a different approach. They’re pretty strong standouts for positive masculinity. They’re openly affectionate - both with eachother as brothers, and with their friends. They cry, sometimes over little things - most of the time when big superheroes cry, it’s ‘cause they lost the girl they loved or their mentor or something like that, only in the big, most agonizing moments do they shed a tear. But here, Chris or Martin will cry just because they’ve had a bad day, or because they’re overwhelmed and overjoyed that someone named a mantis after them! In a lot of shows or movies when a guy cries over something little, it’s usually played for laughs, or to emasculate him, but here it’s casual without being unreasonable or overdone. The brothers cry just ad much, maybe even more (haven’t gone back and counted or anything) as the girls do. Not to mention, it’s a very nice depiction of a loving, healthy sibling relationship. As the youngest sibling myself, it’s refreshing to see a pair who don’t abuse eachother with noogies or cruel and snarky remarks. When they do fight, it’s never a screaming match, and also because they had a conflict of interest or disagreed over a fact, not because, say, one of them stole the other’s shirt or is neglecting the other’s feelings. Kids, being very impressionable, get exposed to a lot of abusive sibling relationships played as normal in media, and start thinking this is how siblings are and should act. For instance, my sister (who is now my best friend and has gotten over all these bad habits over time) when she was younger watched a lot of Kim Possible, a show that is great, but has a bad family dynamic with Kim and her little siblings. The “tweebs” as she calls them are always irresponsible, destructive, and making Kim annoyed to no end. My older brother was one of the most polite, reserved, kind little kids, but she still treated him like he was a brat and a nuisance, because that’s what shows like Kim Possible taught her little brothers were. Additionally, I was always treated like a spoiled crybaby who just wanted attention and got away with everything - I was not any of those things, ever, but that’s what shows teach you little sisters are. Sure, Wild Kratts has a smidge of that, with Chris seemingly being the stereotype of the know-it-all little sibling, but instead of being constantly looked town upon for being too “perfect” like with Hailey Long in American Dragon, Martin often praises his brother for his abilities. Sure, Martin gets annoyed when Chris tries to correct him on things, like in the episode Wolf Hawks, but everyone else does too, so it feels more like a take-down of mansplaining than a sibling spat.

I talked too in the feminist post about how refreshing it is that Chris and Martin more or less willingly put themselves under the authority of Koki and Aviva, two women of color. I don’t think it’s possible to say any one character is the “leader,” they all work as a evenly balanced team, but it’s safe to say that Koki and Aviva make the more responsible decisions. The bros try to get out of their calls a few times, but the show plays it more like they’re being irresponsible, and less like they’re renegade cool dudes who don’t take nothing from nobody, especially not two girls. They are pretty much always punished via karma for their reckless choices, most especially in To Touch a Hummingbird, where their arrogant attitudes blow up in their faces rather spectacularly. We also never see the narrative most present in sitcoms, where the male leads mess up and go out of their way to cover it up and ultimately gets away with it - after all, you have to root for them, right, because sure they messed up and had no consequences, but aren’t they just so lovable? No, here Martin and Chris always have to fix their wrongdoing, and it’s always deserved when they get comeuppance. Another aspect of the show I like is that, many times, when the bros get captured or are in peril, they are saved by the women - and most refreshing of all, there’s never a moment of “wink wink nudge nudge wow I can’t believe I had to be rescued by a GIRL” or even “wow you saved me you’re pretty good honey guess I shouldn’t have underestimated you, you go girl!” No, when the girls save them, it’s just - you know, relief? Because they were saved? It’s never a scenario played as an exception, or any more dire than when the bros need to rescue eachother. The bros are genuinely happy to have them as teammates. The show even did the standard “boys vs girls” episode in the form of When Fish Fly - but instead of being actually girls vs. boys, it’s engineers vs. adventurers. There’s nothing really gendered about it - the girls happen to be engineers, and the boys happen to be adventurers. And the episode doesn’t end with the boys being “wow gosh darn I shouldn’t have doubted you girls are better at everything,” it’s a mutual agreement that both parties have hard jobs. Basically, the bros are very naturally respectful of women. That plays more into their feminist narrative too, but either way, it’s refreshing.

Then, we have Jimmy! Jimmy, the lovable gamerboy pizza man. At first glance Jimmy seems like the stereotypical cowardly, pathetic, emasculated loser. He’s frightened of most things, as of yet has no power suit, and he BAKES for crying out loud! But none of these things are framed as terribly bad traits. Sure, we laugh when he screams and runs from an animal, but though it happens over and over, the crew doesn’t get sick of it. They don’t berate him or belittle him because he’s so gosh darn cowardly. There’s a great scene in Rattlesnake Crystal where Jimmy has to deliver something to the bros alone, in the middle of a spooky desert. He is terrified the whole time, sprinting off after he delivers the goods. When Martin and Chris run into him, they don’t laugh at him for being spooked, they just greet and then bid fair well to their friend. To them, this is just Jimmy, and there’s nothing wrong with it. Jimmy isn’t coddled, but he is reassured many times that he’s a valuable member of the team. I love that little message, that you’re just as important of a person even if you can’t do as much or have greater limits. When his friends do try to get him over his fears, it’s not because they have to, that the day will somehow be ruined by Jimmy’s incompetence p, but because they’re his friends, and want him to experience fun and wonderful things that he would otherwise miss out on. But what Jimmy CAN do is just as important! Jimmy is a gamer, which in a lot of shows, is portrayed as a lazy, useless, mindless hobby. But here, because he plays video games, it makes him essential for piloting the ship and teleporting important items. There’s always the joke that video games improves your hand/eye coordination, but recent studies have shown it has much better effects. It can make you much better at keeping track of multiple moving objects and processing technical but variable information- two traits which, fittingly enough, are really really important for air traffic controllers and airplane pilots! He also demonstrates a lot more courage behind the wheel of the Tortuga, which makes sense - in an impersonal setting, he would have more sense of calm and control and courage, because it’s so similar to a video game world. It’s not all too different with how I feel more emboldened to pick fights with people on the internet, but get crazy anxious if a real person so much as looks at me. So Jimmy’s love of video games isn’t because he’s irresponsible, it has real benefits. A quick last point - Jimmy also eats a lot, but they thankfully don’t make him fat or greedy or anything like that. He never takes food from people, he actually bakes, and shares it with others! Having the baker be a boy is a lovely touch.

I might do another post about the toxic masculinity of the two villains, (or four villains, I guess, if I wanna discuss the minions) but I’ve got other work to do, and this post is long enough already, so I’ll get around to it later. I’ll sum it up with this - Wild Kratts is a show that teaches boys it’s not only ok to be kind, but essential. The brothers protect defenseless animals, advocate for things “icky” and “weird,” like bugs or snakes or worms - not because they’re boys, and boys like icky things, but because they genuinely see the beauty in all life, and are encouraging us to slow down and do the same. The Wild Kratts are heroes who save the world not by being the strongest or smartest or coolest, but by looking after those who are exploited and vulnerable, who are essential to the world, even if they can’t always do everything. In Wild Kratts the only weaknesses a man can have isn’t what he can’t do, but what he does do that he shouldn’t have. Sure, it’s a cute show about two funny guys who have cool powers, but it’s also a show about accountability, compassion, respect and trust. The show says “boys will be boys” in all the right ways - Martin is a lovable goof with a heart of gold, but he still has to get his act together when he messes up, and he’s still creative and smart and openly sensitive. Chris is a bit of a know-it-all show-off, but he can also mess up as much as his brother, and is still bold, brave, adventurous, and can put his money where his mouth is. Jimmy is a cowardly, napping, eating machine video-gamer, but he’s still a valued member of the team, has incredible skills and talents, and will always help his friends, even if he is really, really scared. It is so important to have role models like these, in a world dominated by unhealthy machismo. The Wild Kratts are heroes who save the world - both animated, and real.

All they need now is a canon queer character, and I’ll stan them forever! My money’s on Aviva!!

[bluepenguinstories]

Remoras Full Intermission I: Keeping Up With the Olympians

We met up at a coffee shop in a little known place where few have entered: Idaho. I had arrived via one of my private helicopters. Angelos, one of my private chauffeurs landed the helicopter in the parking lot of a hardware store. According to my calculations, which I had made none, I was right across the street from the coffee shop.

“Most appreciated, my dear daughter,” I thanked Angelos, as I made it a habit to show gratitude to anyone I associated with.

“Not your daughter, but not a problem,” Angelos smiled and I could tell she gave me a wink even through her pitch-dark sunglasses. Her short, brown hair was slicked back, and she always made sure to wear a tuxedo when flying me first-class anywhere I wanted to go. I leaned over and kissed her hand.

“Please wait for me while I pick up my other daughter,” I beseeched her, then strolled off to the coffee shop. Traffic be damned, I strutted my stuff and caused a pile-up. Just as a refined lady should, of course. If beauty didn’t cause a calamity, what use was there for it?

Our meeting place was but a humble coffee shop, some kitsch place called Espresso Self.

I gave a fanciful chuckle as I wiped my shoes against the mat outside the entrance, then I stepped inside to the arid atmosphere of such a chic location: everyone looked to be in disco outfits, some clown costumes, others wore scuba gear. However, one person who stood out among them all was one seated at a table in the far back: a young woman in a violet hoodie with the hood up. She had short, blonde hair and...wait, blonde?

I must bring this up at once.

As I approached her, I slammed my hands down at the table and leaned over.

“What happened to your precious green?!” I demanded, the ferocity in full force.

Rather than shocked or scared out of her seat, she gave me a dull expression, then took a sip from her cup of coffee.

“I washed out the dye,” she stated, deadpan.

“I don’t approve,” I gave a disgusted look.

“Bite me.”

At first, I was shocked by such a disrespectful remark. But then I looked deep within her eyes and saw a raging fire which I hadn’t seen before. Well, it might not have been a literal raging fire, it may have been a reflection of something behind me that was orange. Always hard to tell with those things.

“You’ve taken a life, haven’t you?” I implored, no longer a voice of disgust, but instead discovery.

“Yes, and I hated it.”

“Eh. It’s an acquired taste. But never mind that, what are you drinking?” I pointed to her cup.

“Triple-shot espresso, I reckon. Also an acquired taste, and one which I have not acquired.”

“So why are you drinking it, then?”

She shrugged.

“I told the barista: ‘just fuck me up’, so she did.”

Ah, easy mistake to make. I’ve been there once or twice.

“Will you be all right?” I asked, just to make sure.

“Probably. Just gonna be a little jittery, is all,” she spied the room and shifted her gaze from side to side, “can we get this show on the road, or what?”

“Eager to put your detective hat on?” I pondered and turned to a toothy grin, the excitement of seeing her in a deerstalker was quite the fantasy.

“More or less. I’m going to want the details so I know what I’m working with. Once this is all settled, you’ll hold up your end, yes?”

Ugh, that was the problem with the younger folks: they didn’t know that in order to have a good mystery, you needed to drag things out as long as possible.

“Of course, of course, dear! But once we’re at my place, yes?” I clapped my hands.

She let out a dramatic sigh, then got up and tossed her drink in the trash.

“I just know I’m going to have a heart attack later,” she grumbled, then headed out the door.

“Wait up! So impatient!” I chased after her. Such a shame, too: I never got the chance to order anything.

She was much more cheery over the phone. What gives? Hell, I’d say we were on opposite ends of the mood axis: I was in a slump and she seemed cheerful as a beaver in a lumberyard. Of course, once she knew the details of my predicament, she too would be in a foul mood. Well...if she wasn’t already. No, I didn’t want to make her mood foul!

I remember calling her, distraught and in tatters.

“Demetria! I need your help!” I bawled into the phone.

“Would you look at that? Perfect timing. Been a while, hasn’t it, Hera?” She rasped but I could feel the joy foam out from her mouth.

“Yes it has, and I do apologize! I’m sure you’ve had countless sleepless nights just thinking about me! But fret no more, I am here now and I need you to come over! It’s an urgent matter!”

“Oh my. You want me to come over? Gee, I’d love to do that but I don’t have any way to get there. I don’t have...how do I put it...the coin,” she spoke with a sly rascal voice which would have made the sly rascal in me proud. However, money should not have been an issue for someone of her caliber. Well...any old fool would have thought it was about money, but not me, no: I knew better.

“Never mind the ferryman! I’ll come get you, myself! Just tell me the place and I’ll be over in a heartbeat! Maybe two heartbeats, depending on traffic!”

“Wait. You’ll come get me? Well this changes everything. Okay. Hold on. Slow down. I’ll meet you in Caldwell, Idaho. You can probably find me at a coffee shop. Thanks so much,. Bye.”

I knew of no such place (Idaho. Or Caldwell, Idaho. Coffee shops, I have heard of), but that didn’t matter in the name of familial love. I’d do anything for a daughter of mine.

It didn’t take long for Angelos to drop us off at my place. As soon as we landed, Demetria and I began to walk up to the musical steps which lead to the paradise of Olympia: my house.

“You sounded much more cheerful on the phone,” I remarked, glancing off to the side so she could get my good side. Of course, all of my sides were good, even the sides of me that weren’t good.

“Well yeah. Over the phone I was all eager to get back to Olympia, but then once I sat at the coffee shop, I got to thinking about the ordeal I had to go through last time with you and then I was like ‘just endure it, Demetria. Remember your goal.’ But I just know I ought to prepare for trouble, and hell, make it double.”

“Yes, my dear, these are troubled times indeed,” I grabbed a handful of skittles from out of my pocket and shoved them into my mouth. “Troubled times.”

Once inside, I lit a few candles, as in my misery, I had trouble flicking light switches.

“Just as gloomy as I remembered it,” Demetria commented as she looked around.

“I know, right? Absolute beauty, right here!” I showed off my collection of vintage plates, but in her straightforward fiery eyes, she paid no mind.

“So, what do you want me to do?”

“Okay, but once you hear me out, you might shed a few tears, so get ready,” I drew in a deep breath, “Zeus has gone missing!”

Rather than weep, Demetria just let out a yawn.

“So you want me to find him?”

“Yes! I’m willing to pay you anything as a reward! Money is no object!”

She nodded, then let her eyes wander to the ceiling.

“Indeed, but objects are objects.”

I put my finger on my chin and pondered that one.

“I suppose...I haven’t considered that one before…”

“You know what I mean, surely,” Demetria slammed her fist into her other palm. “I want a weapon constructed, and I know that will cost me a great deal.”

Ah, just like before. When she rejected that million dollars in favor of a pretty looking knife and some throwing knives. Their value wasn’t even equal, but...I mustn't question the logic of a brilliant detective like my soon to be daughter.

“Why certainly, deary! If that is what you desire, so be it.”

“Sweet. I’ll get on this case right away!” She just about jumped for joy. Now there was my precious daughter I (barely) knew and loved.

“Great, but before we get started on the details, I must say,” I shook my head in lament, “I miss the green.”

“You know what? So do I.”

I was filled with a gross sensation of elation. My eyes widened and so too did my smile and I ran up to her, got down on my knees, and begged.

“You must let me dye your hair!” I took her hands and pressed my forehead against them.

“Oh? You’d do that?” “I would be delighted to! Now tell me, what shade would you like?”

“I was thinking of a darker shade of green, actually. Like, maybe seaweed green.”

“Say no more! Come with me, to the grand bathroom, also known as my personal salon!” I dragged her away as I ran through my halls and down a flight of stairs, then a little off to the right, and bam! A shiny silver room with many sinks and a golden, leather adjustable seat.

“Sit! Please!” She plopped down into the chair and spun it around.

“Don’t get too giddy. You’ll need to lean back into the sink, okay?”

She gave a single nod, and then I spun her around a bit until her back faced the sink. Yes, the marvelous sink made of marble and copper, not just porcelain, but the finest of fine materials.

I let the sink run and I opened up the cabinet above her where a mirror rest. Within the cabinet contained many dyes, bleaches, shampoos, and conditioners. You know, for when you’re having one of those days. Her head leaned back and soaked up the shimmering sink water. After she was thoroughly soaked, I turned the water off and lathered in the dye while massaging her scalp.

“Ah, this feels so nice,” she let out a sigh of pleasure, “I could get used to this. It’s like all the negative energy I’ve had is being released.”

“We are our worst critics, dear,” I comforted her, both with my words and the magic of my massaging hands.

“Ugh, yeah, I hate that critic. I hate myself. Oh, there’s that negative energy again, welcome back,” she turned glum just as fast and she lost her glum.

“No, no, no. Love your critic. She’s there for you when you need her, always looking for the best in you.”

“Huh, I never looked at it that way.”

“Yes. My inner critic tells me that Zeus is always cheating on me, and she always turns out to be right.”

“Ugh. Why do I listen to you?”

“Because half of the things I say have a kernel of wisdom to them,” I answered her as I continued to massage her scalp. “Also because it’s okay that he’s always cheating because I’ve slept around too and I don’t need him, I can have any man I want. Woman, too. I don’t see why I need to be picky.”

“Aah – this is nice. So, what’s the deets with the mish?”

‘Mish’. In all my years, that was a word I’ve never heard before. Perhaps it meant, like, mish-mash, or Misha, if she knew of any Mishas. For the record, I did not, and I didn’t see how a ‘mish’ could be related to the task at hand, but no matter, I’d tell her all I knew.

Oh dear. Am I really prepared to be so intimate with the details?

“Well, you see, dear, there’s been…” I felt a lump in my throat. Perhaps the other day I swallowed an Adam’s apple and had forgotten about it. Whatever the case, I knew I had to continue.

“You must know that both Zeus and I are something of ‘swingers’. ‘Libertines’, if you will. ‘Sluts’, if you’re feeling fancy. There is no shame in enjoying life’s greater pleasures, so I feel no need to mince words.”

“Fair enough, but it sure sounds funny the way you put it,” she remarked. “Also, I think I already knew all that.”

“Okay, well, lately I’ve been thinking, this whole sleeping around hobby, it was great and all, and I don’t regret anything, but at the same time, it just hasn’t brought me the same enjoyment as it used to. Throughout our escapades, I always considered Zeus to be my number one, and he always said the same about me. But now I think I want him to be my only one, you know? Monogamy, as the stuffy ones call it. Yes, I can imagine you find the word boring just by hearing it.”

“Not really. One person, many people, whatever. You do you.”

Wow, I have such a supportive daughter. That settles it. I am going to spoil the hell out of her.

“Well, it’s always been monogamy, I suppose, but there’s always been side dishes, even when Zeus was the main course. Now, I think I just want the main course and nothing on the side. A full platter of man, if you will. Besides, what with us both growing older, I figured he’d want to settle down, too, and when I spoke to him about it, he agreed, and he told me it would be just the two of us from here on out.”

“Oh, okay. So he’s cheating on you,” she concluded without so much as a second thought. No evaluation whatsoever.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let’s not jump to conclusions!” I cautioned her. “Yes, he probably is, but he might not be, and I’d like to leave room for doubt. Besides, he agreed. I’m tired of sleeping around and I’m sure he feels the same.”

“Yeah, but if I find him and he’s off with another woman…”

Really? A whole other woman when I’m right here? No, unfathomable. Yes, he would do such a thing, but what woman could be as great as me, Hera? If that happens to be the case, there can be no other conclusion than that he was tricked somehow…

“Then I’ll kill her,” I had my answer ready in my arsenal.

“I get why you’d be mad, but don’t you think you’d be directing your anger at the wrong person when he’d be the one cheating?”

She raised a fair point, but he promised. That should be worth something, right?

“What makes you think it’s his fault? Are you in league with her?” I went on the defensive.

“No? I don’t even know who ‘her’ is, if it even is a her. I’m on your side, remember? I’m just saying, him cheating is a possibility, and not even all that unlikely.”

“Yeah...you’re right…” I conceded. “I just don’t want to accept it as a possibility, is all.”

Just the idea made me want to weep.

“I get that, I do. You’re a little kooky, I admit, and I don’t always get what you say or do, but I imagine how I’d feel in your position, and if it comes true that that’s what he’s up to, just know that it’s not any fault of yours, and you’re plenty great on your own. You two talked about it and had a deal, and if he can’t respect that, then he should’ve just left.”

“No! No way!” I stamped my foot.

She looked up.

“Or you should just leave, too,” she suggested an alternative. Now that was much better.

“Yes,” I sniffled. I wasn’t crying or anything, I was just really congested due to living near the sea. “Thank you, deary.”

“No prob. For the record, I’m not about to be a relationship counselor or anything. Just common sense, really,” she sounded like she was trying to backpedal, something I found both cute and endearing of a little daughter of mine.

“We’re almost done. You’ll have to let it sit for a bit, but then I’d love to see the amazing seaweed girl that you are,” I informed her.

“Why do I have to be a seaweed girl?”

I let out a grand chuckle and continued working on her scalp. Once we were all done, and I rinsed it all out, I wrapped a down feathered towel around her head and headed out.

“Come see me in an hour, dear, or whenever it’s dried! I’ll be waiting,” I waved and winked as I headed to who knows where. I first thought to enter my bedroom and slip into a nightgown, but then I decided it wasn’t late enough in the night for that, so then I thought to enter the other bathroom and do some light contemplation, but I didn’t even know what that meant, so at last, I decided to do the reasonable thing and lay off to the side on my armchair, my legs dangling off of one end and my head rested against the arm of the chair. Now if only I had a glass of wine or a bottle of perfume, I’d be the definition of exquisite.

My eyelids began to grow heavy and I thought I would take a little nap or nod off, but before I managed to do that, out walked my precious daughter, Demetria, with the towel over her head, and as soon as I looked up, she released the towel and let down her shoulder-length, wavy dark green hair.

“So? What do you think?”

I clapped like an elephant seal.

“Amazing! Ten out of ten! Your hair looks like a fresh bag of spoiled lettuce!”

She slumped over and gave a disgusted look.

“Did you have to make that comparison?”

I failed to see the problem with that, but at her behest, I tried a different one.

“I could put rice on your head and a cut piece of salmon and roll your hair, then eat it all up!”

“Please don’t eat my hair.”

“I’m not saying I would, dear, just that I could.”

“Well, could you not?”

I closed my eyes and smiled.

“Very well, dear.”

Our night was still young, ripe time for the two of us to hit the streets – which meant that she had requested me follow her to Hephaestus’ forge. Ah, my estranged son. He was a bit on the reserved side, but I knew our love for each other was unparalleled.

“It’s so strange stepping in…” I muttered as I opened the wooden door to his weapons shop.

“Why’s that?”

I scratched my cheek and gave an awkward smile.

“Well, you see...he generally doesn’t like it when I visit. He says he doesn’t like to see me.”

“Wait, you two know each other?” She gasped.

“Honey, as the self-proclaimed matriarch of Olympia, I’d say I know my fair share of everyone.”

“Oh. Huh. For some reason, I’m not all that surprised,” she remarked. At that, I gave the door a gentle push with my palm, and the two of us entered.

“Hephaestus!” I bellowed. “My beloved not-yet daughter wishes to have a weapon forged for her!”

“Excuse me?” Demetria looked up. “Not-yet daughter?”

“All in due time, my dear.”

In the beginning, there was nothing. Then thunderous footsteps made shockwaves and little weapons hung on the wall moved in place, some danced along, and a few looked like they were about to fall. On the third footstep entered the bulky frame of Hephaestus, equal measure dispassionate as he was passionate about his craft.

“What are you going on about now, Hera?” He demanded in his bored tone. I knew deep down, he cared with a deep aching. Even if that care had to do with the weapons he forged, and nothing to do with me.

“Hey, remember me?” Demetria stepped up.

Hephaestus squinted, then leaned in. Once he stood back up, he clutched his belly and let out a hearty laugh.

“It’s the friend of the troublemaker, Sunny! Oho, what a surprise! How’s your yakutian knife working out for you? I hope you’ve been treating her well.”

“I have, but I think I’m ready for something new,” she reached into her pocket and pulled out a sheet of paper. “I’ve written up the schematics for a brand new weapon. Think you’re up to the task.”

His eyes darted around the page of the sheet of paper and I couldn’t get a single view of what was on it.

“Hmm...Hmm…” he mumbled while looking it over, then at last declared, “your drawings leave a lot to be desired.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m not exactly meant to be an artist. But you are, yes?”

“How would I go about making this?” He asked in response, something which baffled me. Wasn’t he the one who could craft any weapon he wanted, and there he was asking such a ridiculous thing?

Demetria set down her backpack and pulled out a bunch of shiny rocks which seemed to move in place. Except they didn’t. I wasn’t really sure, I might have been on acid.

“I’d like you to forge it with this, along with the finest steel you have.”

“What kind of material is this? Is it corrosive, because let me tell you, I will not deal with such toxic metals.”

Demetria shrugged.

“Dunno, but should be fine if you’re wearing gloves. So, what do you say?”

“Girl, even if I am able to make this to your liking, it will cost you dear –”

I interrupted.

“I’ll be paying for all of it,” I informed Hephaestus and I could see sparks fly in Demetria’s eyes, “so the cost won’t even be an issue. Just make this for my soon-to-be-daughter, will you?”

“Hera…” He growled. Not one more word directed my way. Such a shame, but such is life. He instead turned back to Demetria. “I’ll make your weapon. It may take me a while. I can’t give you an estimate as I’ve never worked with such material. Just know that when all is said and done, I’ll be wringing Hera dry.”

“Fine by me,” Demetria replied with a shrug. “By the way, what’s with this ‘daughter’ crap?”

“It’s a Hera thing,” he stated.

“But she’s not my mom,” Demetria argued. It broke my poor little heart to hear such words.

“Not yet. Trust me, girl, she’ll find a way,” he grumbled.

“Well...I’m just not going to pay it any mind and get to work on the task at hand! See you two later!” Demetria ran off out of the store, leaving Hephaestus and I to stare into each other’s eyes with a pronounced longing. Well, his was a longing which said, ‘get out of my sight right now’ as well as a longing to return to his work. Mine was a longing for longing’s sake.

“Why do you insist on trying to adopt every person you deem adorable like they’re a lost puppy?” He spoke at last, breaking the familial tension. Or adding new tension. Either way, they were words.

“It worked out for you, didn’t it?”

“Only because I was already an adult and was living on my own by the time it was revealed I was your son!”

“You have to understand, dear, that mommy was very young and reckless and I employed the surefire method of dropping you off on someone else’s doorstep. Also, for your information, technically speaking, Demetria and I are already related.”

“Oh? Do tell. Wait, never mind. Don’t.”

Too late. He shouldn’t have indulged me.

“You remember Aphrodite, don’t you?” I asked with a Cheshire cat grin spreading across my face.

“Don’t remind me. I’m glad I finally have some space. I was never really into her anyway.”

“Yes, but you did marry her for a short time.”

“Only to shut her up. She kept trying to interrupt my craft.”

“Yes, but you did marry her.”

“Okay, okay! What’s your point?”

“Well,” I leaned up to the glass casing of the counter and folded my hands together, “she was my daughter-in-law, due to you two being married, and now she’s in a relationship with Demetria’s older sister. Check-mate, dear son.”

“I think you’re stretching the definition of being related. And how do you know that?”

If my smile grew any wider, my face would split in two, but I couldn’t help myself.

“See, a while back ago when she first visited, Zeus and I decided to do some sleuthing into Demetria’s family.”

“So in other words, stalking.”

“Oh, but stalking has such a negative connotation. I prefer sleuthing. Anyway, we found out that her eldest sibling, Hestia, was quite beautiful, and single. Which meant she was fair game for either one of us to try to pursue. However, Aphrodite overheard our plans and intercepted us, and somehow managed to woo her.”

“You really are horrible, you know that?”

I waved him off. Children could be so disrespectful.

“Anyway, Hestia is old enough to be one of my daughters, so I think I found a better prize.”

“You don’t mean –”

“Yes. I’m going to pursue Demetria’s mom.”

“What about Zeus?”

Oh shit. I totally forgot about him. He was missing and could be in danger and there I was thinking about romantic conquests. We were still married, after all.

“Never mind that, then. Maybe I’ll keep that plot in the back of my mind in case Zeus is cheating on me.”

“Good news, then: he probably is. That’s his thing.”

“No! He wouldn’t! He’s probably scared and hurt somewhere!”

“Yeah, he probably hurt his penis in a tragic fucking accident,” my vulgar son shot back.

“Enough! Demetria’s looking for him and when she finds him, then you’ll see!”

“No I won’t. I’m going back to my forge. I’m not dealing with this crap.”

“Fine, but you better make the perfect weapon for my precious daughter!” I yelled to him as he walked away.

“She’s not your daughter,” he called back, his voice boomed with a lack of interest in continuing the conversation.

“Not yet!” I yelled, then stormed out.

Nobody was on my side, especially not my son who didn’t like me, but I would show them.

Back at my house, I decided to take matters into my own hands and grabbed my pistol. Before the night was over, I would find my husband if it was the last thing I did. With any luck, Demetria was already close to finding him, so if I found Demetria, I’d find my husband. Win-win.

But in the dead of the night, there were no guarantees. Silent were the streets, and silenter still were the confines of others’ homes. Even with my due diligence and my keen senses, I picked up nothing. Hell, I even tried to use echolocation, and that too failed.

All through the town I crept along and listened for even the slightest of discrepancies. At one point, I thought I heard someone shuffling behind a dumpster, but when I walked into the alleyway, it turned out to just be a rat.

However, when I was willing to give up my search, I heard the sound of someone running by just one street over. Then, a high-pitched shriek pierced through my eardrums. I ran toward the sound at once, and what I saw left me trembling.

Out from an open apartment door ran a screaming, mahogany colored haired woman in a bath towel. Following her was none other than my missing husband, arms stretched out, Zeus.

“Hey! Wait up! I can still go one more round! I may be getting old, but I’ve got the stamina of a donkey!” He called after her.

“Get away! I didn’t know you were married!” She shouted back.

So that’s the seducer! I didn’t even know her name, but that didn’t matter. What was it about her? Younger? Slimmer? Darker hair, maybe? Whatever it was, it had led Zeus astray.

Beside the temptress was Demetria.

No. No way. We had a deal. She was supposed to help me.

“Stop!” I shouted with a firmness that halted everyone in their place. My pistol was aimed at the other woman, then I shifted my aim over to Demetria, then Zeus. Finally, back at the other woman, the true target.

“You. You were the one who took my husband from me!” I declared and my arms shook as I held the pistol. In a panic, the woman pleaded and her lips quivered.

“You’ve got the wrong idea! He came onto me, he said he was just a down on his luck old man!”

“Lies!” My voice grew shrill and I shot at the ground next to her feet. She jumped back and squealed in fear.

“Hera, listen to me, you have the wrong idea!” Demetria jumped to the woman’s defense.

“You’d take her side as well?” I felt a sour taste fill my mouth and I was about ready to vomit.

“I’m not taking her side, I’m trying to explain to you the situation!”

“Enough!” I fired the pistol, a deafening howl which caused me to shake further when I was already shaken.

Dust filled where I had aimed, and when the dust settled, I was in shock over what I saw: there Demetria stood, her arm reached out as well, as a barrier had been erected from a strange device. She was in front of the other woman, and stood tall and proud.

That time, my lips quivered as well, as did my eyelids.

“Why? Why would you deny me my justice?”

“This isn’t justice, Hera,” Demetria replied, her tone flat, yet just as firm, “Maybe if she knew and was willing to go along with it anyway, she’d be culpable as well, but that is not the case.”

“But...but…” tears flooded out from my eyelids and sullied my face. “It hurts so much. Why? What did I do wrong?”

“In this case, nothing. You didn’t have to do anything wrong. The one at fault isn’t you, and it isn’t this woman, it’s Zeus.”

I didn’t want to believe it. I couldn’t believe it. There was no way…

“And you can continue to hate the ones he sleeps with, but the fact remains that the one sleeping around is the one who’s getting away,” Demetria continued with conviction. Then my eyes darted toward Zeus and...damn it! He really was getting away. He started to turn tail and ran.

“Just so you know, it’s not my fault either! Can’t help myself!” He yelled behind him. I pivoted my aim and shot the back of his knee. His head lurched up as he cried out in pain, blood splashed out from the wound in his knee and landed on the concrete beside him.

I walked over to him, slow and deliberate in my motions.

“Geez, woman! Was that really necessary?!” His face was red and it contorted to an upset scowl as he spat out.

“If it’s the only way to get us to talk, then yes,” I informed him.

“Fine. Let’s talk. What is it? What do you want?”

In his enraged state, he looked truly pathetic. But I sure would miss seeing him on his knees. Alas, this wasn’t the type of thing a collar and leash would fix.

“I want you to know that we’re through.”

His faced relaxed, and then turned to a pout.

“But why?” He whined.

“I’m just tired of sleeping around. It used to be fun in the beginning, but now I want someone who only wants me, and you told me that you would stop and be that someone, yet you continue to sleep around.”

“But who will I cheat on now?”

“I don’t know. I’m sure you’ll find someone.”

“Sleeping around just won’t be the same without you.”

“You’ll manage. Goodbye, lecherous hairy man.”

I walked off and left him where he was. Next was Demetria.

“Come, daughter-to-be. Let’s head back to my humble abode.”

“Enough with the daughter thing, sheesh!” She complained, but followed anyway. As for that unfortunate woman…

“You in the towel,” I glanced behind me. “As an apology for tonight, I’ll send you a gift basket in the mail.”

“Uh...okay...what?”

Back at my home, I sat and wept, head in my hands.

“What will I do now? I’ve gone most of my life without being single!”

Demetria sat on a small kitchen table with her legs folded.

“Hey, where’s the stupid confident Hera at? The one who says she could have any man, or woman?”

I knew what she was doing: the legendary pep talk.

“Yeah,” I looked up, tears still streaming down my face, “I could have anyone! I may be getting into my sixties, but I’ve still got it! Meryl Streep’s got nothing on me!”

“I don’t know who that is, but that’s the spirit!”

“Anyone would be lucky to be with me, including your mom!”

Demetria blinked, then gave a blank stare.

“Wait, what?”

“There’s nothing wrong with having two moms, hun,” I smiled a crooked smile.

“Yeah, that’s true, but I don’t even know if my mom swings that way, and even if she does, I’m not sure I like the idea of you and my mom dating.”

“Don’t be surprised if it happens. I’m hot stuff,” I snapped my fingers and pretended a flicker of flame was above my hand. There wasn’t any flame, but the imagery was nice.

She slept over that night, and several more nights after until Hephaestus was done with the weapon. I didn’t get a chance to see it, but from what she told me, it was perfect. When I went to ask Hephaestus, he just said:

“Eh. It was a knife,” without any more specifics. I couldn’t believe he’d keep a secret from his own mother, especially since it was regarding his craft.

“I think I’m ready now,” Demetria told me, nearly a month since she first arrived.

“Ready?” I asked, unsure what she meant.

“I’m going to head to the diner in the arctic, where my other family is,” she explained, which I then felt a tinge of jealousy over. But I let it pass.

“Mm...I think I’ve heard about that place. There’s a fog in the area right now. The ferryman won’t operate in such a fog,” I informed her, “if you’re adamant about going, I can give you the coin to a ferryman, but they’ll drop you off somewhere outside of the fog, which means you’ll have to walk the rest of the way through it.”

“So be it. If that’s what I gotta do, then I’ll brave it.”

I admired the courage she had, even if I didn’t see why she would go through such trouble in the first place. From out of a drawer under the coffee table, I fished out a ferryman coin and tossed it to her.

“Thanks! I just realized that before I go, I should dress for the cold. Are there any clothing stores around?”

“Indeed there is. Shall we go shopping?”

“Yes! I think I could use your judgment when it comes to attire.”

I wondered why she thought that, but I appreciated the compliment. Of course, once we went shopping around the streets of Olympia, I began to understand and after she covered herself up, I saw her off.

We’ll meet again, I thought. And maybe by the time we do, I’ll be in the arms of your mother.

[maladaptive-ninja-returns]

It’s The Avengers (03x07)

Loki x Reader Avengers The Office AU (Slowwwwww Burn)

Season 3 Episode 07: Team Death Match

Series Summary: Living in the Avengers facility post-apocalypse in a better timeline   Tony Stark has decided to capture every moment by pulling The Office on the Avengers. All of housemates are pretty used to the idea except for you, who had just come here to finish her degree, and the newest member- Loki.

Warnings: i don’t know what trope this is but I got inspired to write this after listening to a song THAT I DIDN’T EVEN ADD IN HERE!!!!

Word Count:Ever felt your skull was heavy one day? Out of the blue? Like your forehead and your upper jaw did not seem like they were handling their weight really well. They just want to lie down and then they have the audacity to NOT sleep at night. This has been happening to me for the past five days.

MASTERLIST in bio, darlings. Tags are open (check bio)

The pitch-black shifted out from a fog, the lens trying to find its focus as a figure appeared in front of it. Then two. Then three. A groan could be seen leaving you as your body tried to find the arms of gravity while your head tried to come back from some dream-like spin. But gravity had other plans and so you swerved a little to find your face moving closer to the ground till a something strong broke your fall. That something strong being Loki's arms holding tightly onto your waist. The touch of cold arms across your scalding stomach was more than welcome by your roiling brain. "Aaah," you sighed with a stupid grin stuck on your face and your barely opened eyes rolling back, "coooold." It was no work for the God to hold you like that but he knew you would go back to sleep if he kept your burning back stuck to his crisp body. And so, without a second thought, he let go of his hold on you, letting you fall on the grass with a yelp and a thump, followed by a groan. The camera recorded his no-fucks-given face.

Loki: *resting bitch face* What. I'm the God of Mischief.  Not God of free air conditioning. *camera pans in* I condition when I please.

"Ow! What the-" you grunt and try- in not any way that would look graceful- to get up- "ahh my butt!" The camera recorded Loki wearing his maroon jacket, the one that flowed with its length- over a black v-neck and equally black denim. "Get your butt up, you traitorous witch. I am never getting stuck with you anywhere ever again." Your furrowed brows could tell you were confused at Loki's words, but they were not as confusing as the greenery underneath you and a tarp over your head shielding you from the scorching star overhead. The shed around you housed wooden tables, crates and surprisingly a lot of weapons on them. "What the hell is happening here?" Your previously spinning head wondered if it felt into another dimension when you hit the ground. "You," Loki pointed his finger right into your face, startling you where you stood, "you are the hell that is happening!" You stood there, your mouth agape, trying to bring out a sound that would reflect the amount of insult you were feeling right now. "Excuse me? What in the flying f-" Loki interrupted you, his palms rising in the idiot-sandwich pose. "Why did you have to touch the video game?! I told you specifically to NOT touch anything while we are in the shop, did I not?!" Standing there motionless, the camera slowly zoomed in to watch your facial expressions reflecting the workings of your brain to recall what Loki was talking about.

Twenty Nine Minutes Earlier "I don't care how weird this planet is, Loki, when you see an antique shop, it is an unspoken rule to check it out. Because a- it always some old stuff lying around and b- it might be haunted." Loki walked in through the door first, looking at the camera. "Says the woman who runs towards her room after switching off the lounge lights," he mentioned to the lens, getting a passing smack on his torso from your figure walking out of the frame. "Hullllowww!" You called out to...no one. "Is there anybody there? Any living or dead? We are walking in your shop looking at your antique stuff." "I'm not with her," Loki imitated your tone, getting an eye roll from you. Lulu settled around your neck like one elongated fluffed-up scarf, not really that eager to explore. Around the four of you was a treasure trove of unidentified and expectedly unfamiliar objects catching your eye from everywhere. There was even a preserved head of what looked like some ancient elk behind the counter- more in a meditative state than dead. Trinkets lay on shelves for the audience to look- one more mesmerised and the others- without any eyes. So to speak. Loki was the only one who did not believe they didn't have an observer. "I don't like this place. Y/N, come on. Let's g-" The camera was already recording the green and red glitter waves coming from the little palette you had touched, sucking all of you in, making the camera go dark before coming to the present.  With the realisation in your eyes and confusion in your brows, you looked at Loki. "Okay, but how was I supposed to know that little old cassette would Jumanji us here?!"

Flashback The recording shows you looking at the cassette while the lens zooms in to the alien inscription shifting to give way to the words writing Jumanji. "Oh! This one says Jumanji!" You tell the camera before picking it up.

You: *suck on your teeth* *guilt in your eyes* *scratch an itch behind your ear* Yeah I should've seen that coming. *watch something out of the frame* *start running with fear in your eyes* I'M SORRIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEE- *the lens catches Loki's running figure coming to get you*

"Thanks to you, we are stuck in some netherworld with guns and no way to escape. There are no exits to this boxed hell for all I know," Loki sighed in frustration, giving a rotten look to the guns in front of him. Lulu stood with a tilted head on the table looking at the guns with curiosity, raising a paw to touch them before Loki slowly brushed that furry little limb away, making you press a smile at the tenderness of the situation. "Oh, there is no way out. This is more of a confined match space," you acknowledged out of the blue like just remembered something. The pause reflecting on Loki's face did not give you any clear indication as to how you were feeling. "I-It's the Death Match playground from PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds," you added quietly, before biting your lips. "The last game I played before we all got on a surprise ride to space." Loki narrowed his eyes at you. "So, you are telling me we are in a live setting of the last game you played." You barely shrugged and pushed your chin in as a 'meh, maybe' gesture. "You are absolutely right." A scream escaped your lungs from the husky and somewhat pervy voice from your right, jumping away and right beside Loki, your hand catching his arm for protection against that albino creature with dark eyes standing there like a monster straight out of your nightmare. The change in Loki's stature to a rigid front- while still letting you hang on to his arm- reflected that the God knew something. "Oh, I should have known." "Should've known what?" You didn't. And you wanted to be included "It's a Djinn." "Oh! Oh..." The recognition changed into revulsion faster than the Djinn could say its name. "Yeah. These filth-ridden creatures know nothing but cause chaos whoever they touch. Don't you, Djinn?" "I have a name, Silvertongue," the white one said without blinking, making you wonder if actually had eyelids to blink. "Okay, you guys have to stop calling him Silvertongue," you huffed, "like I've been with this guy for almost a year and there is nothing Silver about him or his tongue. Neither has he been any good at manipulating anyone from our family." Loki looked at the camera with disbelief.

Loki: I have a reputation outside the household, woman. *looks around in caution* *comes close to the camera to whisper*  Do not spoil it! *Your half-assed deep-throated laughter from out of the frame echoed through space* 

"How surprising," the Djinn looked at you with an intense glare through his hollow beady eyes, "for the God who wrecks cataclysm wherever he goes to have a companion." "Okay, Oxford Dictionary," you chuckled, "let me stop you right there. He has a lot of companions. It's just right now, we'll have to make do." If that smooth-skinned Djinn has brows, he would be raising them at you while the camera panned in on his face shifting from yours to his. Loki shook his head, raising his hand a little as if trying to pause the entire conversation. "That's not what he m-" he turned from you to the Djinn- "that is not what she means-you know what, never mind. Get us out of here." No one would have seen it if the camera did not zoom in at the slight smirk on that bare line of lips on that pale face. "Oh, but I cannot do anything, Silvertongue. Your-" he tilted his head at you with creepy eyes, making you shift closer behind Loki- "companion started this play. You will have to finish it. Or die trying." "You mean we have to play this game?" "Of course, we have to play this game," Loki sighed, closing his eyes. "NO! I suck at this game! I'll die!!" You grunted through your teeth. Loki groaned, trying to tear the skin from his face. "Why could you not have played Sims or Untitled Goose Game or ANIMAL CROSSING?!" You scoffed, your open mouth hurt at that comment. "Well, I am sorry for trying to get better at it because SOMEONE would not SHUT UP about having good reflexes FOR SUCH A PITIFUL GAME! And for your INFORMATION, Sims die too if you don't care for them on time!" The embers of anger seemed to slowly melt away into uninvited surprise. "What?" You nodded long enough to let it settle in before turning to the Djinn. "So, I guess we have to score points by killing the peeps from the opponent team? Forty points or ten minutes whichever gets over first, right?" The Djinn lowered his head a little in agreement. "If you win, you will walk out of the game unscathed. If you lose, you will die." That slow blink of 'excuse me' coming from you was enough to tell the world what your insides were going through right now. "But there's only two of us. It would be an unfair game if the opponents are a full team of four, don't you think?" "You may choose from the creatures that come to your mind. Once you do, a team will be formed on the other side of the field to match your strengths and weaknesses." "Natasha. We pick Natasha." You had never seen Loki come to make a decision so quickly. And just as he said the name, a golden wave washed over in one corner of the shed to bring to life an avatar matching Natasha Romanoff right to the mole. "Excellent choice," she stated, already choosing her weapons, while you stood there flabbergasted.

Back in the lounge, Natasha smirked at the camera while everyone nodded in agreement with the decision. "Smart man," Sam added, "I would've picked her too." Tony, on the other hand, stood there, fully offended. "Rude."

"Okay, who else? Who else?" you jumped where you stood. "Who can compensate for my very poor reflexes, stay alive and shoot people dead. Oh, and there are grenades in this game too." The camera looked at the two of you find this new wave of relaxation on your furrowed brows as a name came up in both your minds. "Bucky!"

"Super rude!" Tony declared at the screen. "Tony, you were never the first option. It's deadly combat," Steve stated with a chuckle. "Neither did you, Steve," Nat stated matter-of-factly. "It is a battle of guns, not sassy-grandpas." A howl went around the lounge as Steve looked at the camera in muted surprise. "Why didn't they choose Clint?" Pietro wondered out loud. "I can think of many reasons! One of them is that the first person Clint would have killed would be Loki," Tony quipped, getting a cheer from the archer and his coffee mug.

"Okay," you jumped some more, inhaling and exhaling audibly, "okay. Let's do it." "Don't jump-" Natasha checked the ammo and put the clip back in the M416- "you'll cramp your leg." "No, I wo-OW!" "Here, take this sniper, this pistol, this machine gun, grenades, and this pan," she added, handing you the stuff while putting what you could not handle in a backpack for you. "Try to kill as many as you-" Her voice was drowned by a grenade exploded in close proximity, sending Lulu down the table to hide. "Hey," you looked at the Djinn, "take them out of here, somewhere safe." Bucky worked like a well-oiled machine. First, he picked up the UZI to strap the dangerous little baby gun to his back. Next, he got his hands on the M762 and felt a low whistle come out of you. Bucky went on to equip the 762 with a scope, a grip, and a suppressor. Next came the pistol, with the same attention to detail and extra parts as his previous big guns. Last came the grenades, that went into his cargo pants. You stood there with your sniper- not even held correct- looking at Bucky and then at the camera with nothing impressed eyes.

You: I have no idea about weapons but that one looks dangerous. Actually, anything in Bucky's beefy muscle-y arms looks dangerous. Even icecream. Like if we both went out for ice-cream and I got teased by some filth on the street, he would jab the cones in their mouth and make them vomit blood. *smiles* *camera pans out and focuses behind you to show Loki pause loading his gun to look at you with horror in his eyes*

"Well, we got ten seconds," Loki mentioned, scrutinising the Groza in his hand quite subjectively, "let's see who our opponents are." Lulu and Javie (along with his camera) were already out of the shed and standing over a platform twelve feet high with a view of the entire place from the edge of the boundary, just like an umpire in a tennis match. They could see you four coming out to take a look at the enemy. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me," you groaned, "I can't KILL THEM!" "'Sup, Nat." "Clint." "Hey guys," Peter waved through his Spider-man costume with a Scar-L in his hand that started slipping down till his hand came back to lift it up. "Well, this is awkward," Rhodey announced. "Hey, uncle Rhodes," you waved quite defeatedly. "Where's your fourth teammate?" Something cracked the sky and the clouds rumbled till a figure came down with a boom, vibrating the ground with his superhero landing. The little sparks coming out from everywhere. "Sorry I'm late," Thor announced, being handed a gun by Rhodey. "You had to ask," Loki growled at you.

Four Minutes Later Blue Team (You): 10 Red Team (Them): 20 The camera is hovering over the shed to see the four breathless teammates respawning and sitting down for a minute in their self-declared timeout. "Okay, we clearly cannot let you go out there in the front," Nat announced in your direction. Loki nodded in agreement. "Out of their twenty kills you have died fifteen times. Fifteen, Y/N." "I told you I am bad at it," you cried, "I can either reload my fucking gun or run away from the enemy. I CANNOT DO BOTH!" "Move your feet. I told you this last time too. Move. Your. Feet!" Loki pressed in your direction. "We need to come up with something else," Bucky added, "or this will the last thing the two of you argue about." You and Loki looked at each other with some concern reflecting in your eyes before Loki's gaze transformed into one of confusion as he watched you surely lie down and shoot, the bullet grazing right past his ear to kill a mad Thor- shooting anywhere and everywhere- point blank with a headshot. There was confusion. There was a surprise. There was even a little admiration in three pair of eyes. "H-how did you do that?" Bucky asked what everyone else was thinking. You shifted your gaze between the three eagerly-waiting teammates. "Uhh...I just laid myself down, aimed through the scope and took the shot. It's easy when I'm not moving. I just told you that," you shrugged. Loki could feel his head tilted in some thought while his eyes were stuck on you. "Okay. I think I know what we need to do."

The first one to come out of the shed was Bucky, his guns at ready as he slid across the length of the ground to take out Rhodes and Clint. "Now, Nat!!" He yelled and three bullets were all it took to take out Peter and Thor, right in the skull. "Go! Go! Go!" She shouted, and you and Loki went out in the other direction. Loki gave you cover while you climbed the roof of the little  outlet by the shed and positioned yourself to take the shots from there." "Bucky! Rhodey at your ten! Nat! Slide into the warehouse for cover. Loki, Thor's climbing the eagle point." Rhodey slid away from Bucky's attack but did not see the scope aiming for him from his back, killing him right there. "Yes!" You grunted before yelling, "sorry uncle Rhodey!" "Don't give your position, you dumb woman!" "Right, right," you shook yourself and let your team tell you the position fo the enemy through the comms.

Three Minutes Later Blue Team: 38 Red Team: 30 "I'm outta ammo!" Nat yelled into her comms. Bucky shot down Thor. "Here ya go!" he announced, letting the Black Widow gather the loot before progressing to the other side. "I'm out too!" Loki declared, discarding his gun to leap forward and take down Rhodey by grabbing his waist. Using his own gun on him, Loki tsked. "Nothing personal, Rhodes." But the next thing was a bullet through his skull as Clint shot from the rooftop of the shed. First Loki, then Bucky and then Natasha. You could see your teammates respawn in the shelter, the anxiety of having the gap being filled so quick getting on your nerves. "The grenades," you mind shot the words out of your mouth before your brain could comprehend them. "The grenades!" Taking two of them out, you swung them towards Bucky, who ran up the ramp of an old engine and yeeted it to the other side, in return getting hit by Peter's swinging figure carrying Loki's stolen Groza. Three seconds later a bang was heard on the other side, with one more kill in your kitty and the score coming to thirty-nine. Peter was still running towards you, the web shot to the top of the shed to make a turn to where you were settled, aiming dead on for you. Loki and Nat covered the other side. Bucky ran forward with more of his grenades. "KILL HIM!!" Loki and Nat yelled in your direction, not realising that Clint has changed his position and now was settled on the top of the gazebo, shooting them point-blank, bringing the Red Team's count up to thirty-seven. You aimed for Peter and fired; only to find the rifle empty. "Fuck," you gasped, "fuck fuck fuck I'm out. I'M OUT!!" Time moved slowly. Real slow. Peter's swinging figure got closer by the minute while he reloaded his AKM in the air. Loki, Nat and Bucky respawned in the shed, frozen with fear in their eyes as they saw you struggle from where they stood till your eyes moved towards your waist and then back at Peter. A screamed began to form in the back of the throat as Peter's toes found the edge of the metal you were standing on while the pan in your hand found Peter's face, impact so hard that it came with nothing less than an intention to kill. The graphic show of blood sputtering in the air as Peter's body felt itself go back and down on the ground while your eyes remained shut tight, waiting for the bullet to hit you. The silence that proceeded after the smack was defeaning. And the sudden alarm overhead declaring you winners even worse. But the elation it brought was delayed, though late than never. "We won?" you asked. "We won!" Loki answered, more surprised than you. Every other character disappeared save for you and Loki. And without much thought, you jumped with shrill excitement in your voice from the roof right into Loki's arms. "WE WON!!" you shouted on the top of your lungs while wrapping your legs around Loki's arms, who was riding the same wave of victory as you. His arms wrapped around you tight while he howled to the moons. "I cannot believe we won!" you declared through the tears of joy while holding Loki's face in your arms. "I know! Me neither!" He acknowledged your buzz with his own, laughing along with you. What the two of you did not notice was the change in your surroundings, the playground shifting back to the little antique shop with Javi and Lulu standing right next to the two of you, watching the laughter shared between you two die down slowly but your positions still remained the same. Your hands cupping Loki's cheeks and his arms securing your waist, holding you safely. The chortle that now turned into heavy smiles seemed to carry this weird current in the air between the two of you. So enchanting and curious that even when the smiles seemed to fade, you two still stood there gazing into each other's eyes. "Looks like luck was on your side." It was the Djinn's voice that broke this new trance and you feel yourself getting red hot as Loki helps you down.

Throats are cleared. Greetings are shared with Lulu and Javi. A respectable distance is set between the two of you and ears are lent to what this white dude has to say now. "So, we are free to go now." Loki's voice commanded more than requested. The bowed his head. "You can leave with your free will. While you are here, you can buy something from my shop too. If I may interest you in-" "Nope," you state and turn to walk out of there without another word, everyone else following you- Loki being the last person out of the shop but not before he has given one good look at the Djinn.

The final smack with the pan left everyone speechless, their first thought being to make sure Peter- who sitting smack in the middle on the sofa- not taking it personally. But they were more astounded when the final score was declared and the boy lept from his seat to yell in celebration of the victory. A second later, everyone else was yelling with him, going crazy at the screen, dazzled by the final blow. In between the loud celebratory howls, some Avengers missed Scott and Peter looking at the screen when you jumped into Loki's arms and wrapped your legs around him. They also missed these two give out a shrill cry of some latent emotions resurfacing and Scott fainting at the mere scene of watching you two so close while Peter seems to find it hard to breathe, wheezing for air. The camera focused on Natasha looking at the two of them with a slight wrinkle in her brows before turning to the camera

The Lounge Scott sat with a laptop, working on something with quite the concentration that worried a very hungry Peter and Bucky making footlongs in the kitchenette. "I've never seen him this serious. Even when he's working with Banner or Stark. Or fangirling hard around Steve," Bucky whispered to Peter. Peter too nodded in agreement while sprinkling olives on their subs like Saltbae. "You think he's reading fanfics and finding character faults again?" Bucky wondered for a second before clicking his tongue. "Nah. He is always cooing at new writers and pushing them to keep writing. I'm sure this is different." "Scott, what's up?" Scott looked up from the screen at Peter and Bucky coming to him. "Oh, nothing. Just correcting some things here and there in Loki's Sim town. Odin kinda died in Asgard Island because that dude was too stubborn to go to the toilet that was cheap. Frigga is taking care of her garden and pets. And here we have the facility where Clint is only allowed to roam the outside. Look he has his own next in the backyard." "That's pretty cool," Bucky mutters seriously. "Yeah, isn't it? And here are others inside. These are the dorms. Nat and Banner are a couple and for some reason, you and Steve are living in the same room." The camera panned in on a look of two-second horror on Bucky's face before reverting to its normal self. "What?" he forced out a laugh, scratching an itch on his neck, "why would we be sleeping together?" Scott shrugged and Bucky shot a glance at the camera before going back to looking at the screen. "Why would Loki keep the two of y-" "Not relevant," Bucky declared, "moving on!" Both Peter and Scott exchanged a look with the camera before doing so with each other and then finally turning around to look at Bucky. "Oh my God, Bucky," Scott whispered. "We have another OTP!" Peter whispered, bumping fist with Scott without looking.

[a-solitary-marshmallow]

Please Don’t See Me - Chapter 5

This chapter is a bit longer than the others, but I didn't want to split it up! It was written in a hurry because I was excited to get it out to y'all, so let me know if I've made any typos or mistakes. As always I adore your comments so feel free to tell me what you think.

______________________________________________________________________

“You should come down to Gravity Falls!”

Ford didn’t quite think about the words before he blurted them. His close (and only) friend from college had mentioned in their weekly phone call that he and his family were thinking about taking a holiday from his would-be small computer business, and Ford had reacted without thought.

He laughed nervously, leaning back against the kitchen counter. Rebus padded through the kitchen with the click-click-click of claws that Ford had become accustomed to over the last month.

Ford cleared his throat. “If you want to, of course. I would love to show you some of the research on anomalies I’ve been doing, and I think Tate and Emma-May would like it here. I have plenty of space in my house.”

“Well sure Stanford, if you don’t mind.” Fiddleford said cheerfully. “I’ve been meanin’ to visit for a while now. Course, I don’t wanna get in the way o’ yer research if you’re busy.”

“Not at all.” From the other room Rebus let out a bark, and Fiddleford squeaked.

“What was that?”

“Oh, just my dog. There are probably some Manotaurs passing by.”

“Ya have a dog? When did that happen?”

“A month or so ago. His name is Rebus.”

Fiddleford huffed out a laugh. “Well, at least ya got yerself some company. That dog sounded mighty fearsome; ya sure he’s safe? I don’t wanna bring Tate around if e’s gonna bite.”

“Oh, Rebus is a sweetheart.” A savage growl issued from the other room. “He’s great with kids. When he accompanies me into town he will often play with the children in the playground.”

Rebus growled again, a growl Ford was reasonably certain was aimed at him for daring to imply that the wolf had a heart. Not that Ford had been lying – the kids in town loved Rebus and he delighted in running around with them while Ford ran errands. He was a veritable gentle giant.

“Tate would love him.” Ford continued, unconcerned with the wannabe threat display. The stubborn wolf reminded him of his brother sometimes, all bark and no bite.

…except when he did bite.

“If yer sure.” There was rustling on the other end of the line. “That sounds like a mighty fine idea, Stanford. I’ll have to check with Emma-May, of course, but I’d love ta see some of these anomalies you’ve told me about. Check that yer not crazy, at least!”

“I assure you, these things are one hundred percent real. You’ll be able to see for yourself.” Ford assured him.

“Does Friday afternoon work fer ya? We figured we’d go on the weekend so Tate doesn’t miss much school.”

“Yes, that’s fine. I’ll prepare the spare room.” Ford said excitedly. “It’s been quite some time since I had company.”

“Ah – Stanford?”

“Yes?”

“Exactly how long has it been since you talked to someone?”

“A few hours.”

“Other than yer dog I mean.”

“Oh, only a week or so.”

There was a pause. “Was that ‘someone’ me?”

“Er…”

“When was the last time you talked to a human being aside from myself?”

Ford laughed nervously. “Ah, it seems the connection is breaking up I’ll call back another time-”

“Stanford-”

“Say hello to Emma-May for me bye!”

He hung up.

 Stan heard the car approach first, the approaching rumble of its engine dragging him from a light doze in that ever-illusive pool of light in the hallway. His ears picked up and he let out the beginnings of a warning growl at the intruders.

That was, until he remembered that they were supposed to have visitors. He yawned and stretched, slightly annoyed at having his nap interrupted but more curious to see who it was that Ford had been expecting. Being the local canine, people didn’t usually run names and stuff by him.

All Stan had been able to tell was that whoever was coming Ford was pretty excited to see them, judging by the way he had hustled and bustled to prepare the spare room. It had been pretty nice, these past few days, to just chill and watch Ford buzz around the place. In those years apart he’d missed Ford’s relentless energy; the way he bounced on his heels when excited, and the little flapping, and the excited gleam in his eyes, the way he could never quite hold still. It was pretty hilarious to watch the nerd get all wound up.

God, Stan hoped it wasn’t a family member. If Pa walked through that door…

Maybe it was that guy Ford was always calling, Fiddlesticks or something? Seemed likely. From what Stan could tell, his brother had a maximum of two friends. And one of them was a wolf.

He padded out to watch Ford open the door for… a small family? The man shook Ford’s hand while the woman chatted and held a small child on her hip.

“It’s great to see you again, Stanford. Thank you for letting us stay in your home.”

“Oh, it’s no problem, I have plenty of space.” Ford assured her.

“And Fiddleford said you had a – oh sweet Mother Mary-”

Stan was used to the usual ‘Oh my god is that a wolf?’ song and dance. He stepped forward and wagged his tail helpfully. Scaring kids and dames was only funny when you were trying to scare them. When you weren’t, it got old pretty quick.

The strange man leaned down and hesitantly offered one hand, and Stan allowed himself to be petted. Show of goodwill, and all that. The guy was short and twiggy and he smelled of engine grease and metal and root beer and straw. Stan decided that he liked the guy. The lady, too. Her suspicious gaze had mellowed out and now Stan could see the smile lines around her eyes. The kid, however, seemed… sticky.

Aaaand the kid had fussed to be placed down and was now trying to touch Stan’s tail. He whisked it out of reach but the sticky brat was laughing and already chasing after it.

Oh, hell no. Kid wanted to get its grubby mitts all over his coat? Think again. Stan darted out of its way and weaved past the adults to try and throw it off. Ford didn’t even try to help, the smug bastard.

Alright kid. You think you got stamina? Let’s see about that.

 The kid.

Would not.

Stop.

Tate, as it turned out his name was, seemed to have boundless energy. The two kept up their game of cat-and-mouse all afternoon until Stan flopped on the porch, panting for breath. Tate squealed and rushed forward to bury his hands in Stan’s thick fur.

You win this round, pipsqueak.

A part of him wanted to place the kid on a high shelf where he couldn’t get in the way, and leave him there. Another part of him… wanted to lick his face and wag his tail. C’mon, mighty hunter and all that! Stan was supposed to have more dignity than like… a Labrador or whatever.

His traitor tail wagged anyway.

Ford and the dame, Emma-May or something, stepped outside to join them, Ford glancing over his shoulder and biting his lip as he went. Stan wondered idly where his nerd friend was.

“Oh, don’t worry, Fiddles hardly ever electrocutes himself!” Emma-May said cheerfully. “He’ll be done with his tinkering in no time.”

“…I was worried for my toaster.”

Emma-May flapped her hand. “Oh, it’ll be fine. I think he said something about making it like ours.”

“How has Fiddleford improved your toaster?”

“I dunno, but it has a lot of blinky lights and sometimes it smells like burning sugar!”

“…I feel like you’re trying to be reassuring?”

Stan should probably be on the lookout for smoke. He scented the air and got a whiff of something like burning plastic from inside…

…and curdled wrongness.

He wrinkled his nose. The air smelled weird and it was vaguely familiar, like he’d smelled it before, but never this strongly. There was something oily and metallic and… squirrelly?

Stan shook Tate’s clingy hands from his coat and stood to scan the house yard. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. But it just didn’t smell right.

The faintest scrape of claws on wood made him snap around. There – clinging to a house support and evidently trying to climb up to the roof was what might have once been a squirrel. Emphasis on once. Its front limbs were bulkier than the back ones with claws like tiny steak knives buried into the wood grain. Its fur hung off in patches and it was big – more raccoon-sized than squirrel-sized. The extra weight seemed to be giving it grief because it was struggling to make headway.

Fat bastard, Stan thought petulantly.

“Err – Stanford?” Emma-May piped up. “What on god’s good earth is that?”

Stan glanced across to follow her pointing finger. Apparently he wasn’t the only one to notice the thing.

Ford squinted and stepped closer to the rodent, which started hissing around overgrown teeth like a stepped-on snake with a lisp. “It… it appears to be another mutated creature. I’ve been finding them around the place since I got here. My hypothesis is that they’ve been somehow affected by the size-changing crystals in the forest.”

“The what-nows?”

Ford’s eyes brightened. “Oh, in the forest there are natural crystal formations that, when light is shined through them, have the ability to change an object or organism’s shape. The majority of the mutant sightings have been around that area. I’ve been meaning to investigate but a freak blizzard recently ruined my plans. Now, if I can just capture this specimen here…”

“Throw a blanket over it?” Emma-May suggested.

“Perhaps. I have a number of size-appropriate cages in my shed, would you mind keeping watch over the creature while I retrieve one?”

“Sure thing.”

Ford went to walk past but the movement seemed to startle the squirrel, which launched itself wildly into the air and latched onto Ford’s sleeve, scurrying up his arm. He yelped and flailed. Fortunately Emma-May smacked it and sent it flying. Unfortunately it skidded across the ground and took off towards where Tate was playing in the grass.

Fortunately, that was also where Stan was.

He lunged forward and snapped up the rodent in one bite before it could get close to the kid. Its tiny body gave out with a single, pathetic crunch. Weird-tasting blood exploded in his mouth.

Ford coughed. “Well.”

Stan spat out the creature, wrinkling his nose. The thing tasted – wrong. Like its blood was tainted with seawater and oil slick with an added hint of burning rubber. He spluttered and swiped at his tongue to try and get rid of the rancid flavour.

Ugh, were squirrels so corrupted by the weight of their sins that it seeped into their blood?

“Is it dead?” Ford asked curiously. Emma-May walked over to scoop up her child and prod the body with her shoe.

“Depends. Can these mutant things live with a snapped spine?”

“Dead, then. Still! It’s a specimen to study. I’ll get – oh, I suppose I won’t be needing that cage anymore.”

 Nothing blew up that weekend. Stan took that as a win.

The McGuckets were… a different sort of folk than he was used to. They smiled so easily. Those two dopes of parents looked at their kid like he was the moon and the sun and everything in between, like they wouldn’t kick him out onto the streets no matter what dumb mistakes he made. Damn. Imagine that.

The Sunday night before they were set to leave Emma-May retired to bed early and Fiddleford and Ford settled onto the couch to talk, with cans of beer in hand and Tate playing happily with his Legos. Stan dropped onto the carpet to keep a watchful eye on the little brat. The fire crackled softly and cast a warm light across the room, its heat pressing against his fur.

A month or so ago he would never have let himself relax like this. He would be watching the window, ears pricked for any sign of…

Huh. He couldn’t remember the name of the man chasing him. When he thought hard there was a flash of scarred hands and packets of white powder and the taste of blood in his mouth. That’s right, the guy Stan had used to run drugs for a few years back, the guy who was now after him. Why couldn’t Stan remember his name?

Ford and Fiddleford’s murmuring rose slightly above the crackle of the fire and the clinking of Legos.

“-ya mean Shermie?”

“No, my… other brother. My twin, Stanley.” Ford said quietly.

It took Stan a moment to remember that that was his name. He rested his chin on his paws and tuned into the conversation.

“Ford, ya never told me ya had a twin.”

“No, I probably didn’t. You see, Stanley and I parted on… unpleasant terms. I haven’t seen him in almost a decade.”

“A decade?” Fiddleford squawked. “Why in the blazes not?”

“It’s complicated. Fiddleford, do you remember when I told you how I was rejected from West Coast Tech?”

“When you were drunk outta yer mind and I had to drag ya back to our dorm? Yes, I do recall.” Fiddleford said dryly.

“Yes, well. It was Stanley who sabotaged my project. He insisted it was an accident, but…” Ford sighed.

“Why do you bring him up?” Fiddleford tipped his head. Ford sighed and pulled off his glasses to polish them on his sleeve.

“I was hoping to get your advice, actually. Recently he’s been coming to mind more and more. I thought that, perhaps, he might have grown up over the last decade, and it might be worth getting in contact and seeing how he’s doing. Do… do you think people can change that much?”

Change. Had Stan changed much? Except for the whole werewolf thing…

It was like trying to think through sludge. Stan hardly remembered what it was like to be human. Or… human-shaped. Jeez, how long had he been Shifted for? Time was slipping away from him in this little bubble of happiness. Stan had never been in wolf form for this long before.

A chill shivered through him. The nerds’ talking continued but it was background noise to the humming of his thoughts. He stood and padded into the hallway, ignoring Tate’s whine. Stan shouldered through the (thankfully unlocked) front door and trotted outside.

He glanced around warily before slipping into the trees. Once a quick scan showed that he was alone, he Shifted.

Or… tried to.

The change that had once been liquid and effortless now felt like trying to shove a square peg through a circular hole. His skin prickled. Stan shook himself and tried again with a small growl.

The Shift swept across him with the popping of joints and the crackle of cartilage; creaky, like a neglected machine that had acquired rust from years of disuse. Stan gritted his newly-flat teeth and waited for the agonizingly slow Shift to pass.

He ended up crouched on the damp earth, breathing hard and squinting through suddenly blurry vision at the dark, hazy world around him. His skin felt itchy and it pinched in all the wrong places, like a suit that didn’t quite fit.

Well, shit. Note to self: don’t stay in wolf form for weeks at a time.

Stan flexed his hands, trying to reacquaint himself with having fingers and opposable thumbs. Being human. Or human-shaped, at least.

Because he was still a person. No matter what he looked like he wasn’t just some – some pet. He had a life to get back to.

Except… he didn’t. Not really.

Stan chewed over that piece of information for moment. Before he could really think about it a voice called his name. With a final stretch he slipped back into an awkward Shift, easier than before, and trotted after his brother’s voice.

[serpentinerose]

So I got sad and continued working on my sad Xue Meng piece (”three thousand waters flowing south” on my Ao3) after drinking some of my homemade limoncello because I don’t have White Pear Blossom wine like Xue Meng does

The Red Lotus Pavilion was protected by a barrier. It was Xue Meng’s own work, and it was perhaps not the best barrier possible, but then again, the infamy of the place was enough to deter curious disciples. It was common knowledge that the pavilion was as good as a shrine to the Yuheng Elder, and the Peak Lord’s wrath would befall anyone who dared to enter, Longcheng’s aim truer than the Peak Lord’s feeble barrier attempts.

It made sense, then, that the one person who would dare enter would be there when Xue Meng came.

“Hey,” Mo Ran said from his perch atop the roof, the haitang blossoms overhead shrouding the roof in a blanket of white and light pink. “I thought you would come here.”

“What do you want,” Xue Meng said woodenly. “It’s not your usual visiting time.”

Mo Ran often dropped by in the middle of the night unannounced, taking cover in the darkness ostensibly to deter curious eyes. The life of the reclusive Mo-zongshi in the valleys of Nanping Mountain had agreed with him. Mo Ran’s skin was warmly tanned, his hair long and tied into a simple ponytail, his clothing clean and neatly pressed, the white fabric light in the relatively warm weather. His smile was bright, his handsome face lit up with the force of it, and Xue Meng saw the trace of that stubborn young boy underneath, almost completely eclipsed by the years of change, but still there.

“I went into town for some trades. Thought I would stop by for a bit on my way back home. Brought you something. Catch!”

Xue Meng reached out easily, intercepting that flying object. It was a small bag of dried persimmon, the flesh unctuous and orange, the skin covered in a thin layer of residual sugar from the drying process.

“From our orchards. Shizun dried these himself.”

Despite his inner turmoil, Xue Meng found himself smiling a little, something warm welling up in his chest. “Pass my thanks onto him.”

“Hey, I planted the trees!” Mo Ran complained.

“You don’t need my gratitude,” Xue Meng shot out.

Mo Ran shrugged. “Fair enough.” 

“Did shizun say when he would visit?” Xue Meng asked hopefully.

“Hmm, probably after the harvest,” Mo Ran said musingly. “Maybe it would be better if we just invited you up for the festival. A bit of a change of pace for you.”

“That would be good,” Xue Meng murmured. A change of pace, away from Sisheng Peak, away from acquaintances turned friends turned martyrs. Taking refuge in shizun’s and Mo Ran’s happiness, warming himself by their fire, if only for a brief moment.

Everyone left him in the end, torn apart by death or by their own choices.

He was never going to be anyone’s first choice for company. Perhaps this was always going to be the case.

“What’s wrong?” Mo Ran asked, jumping down from the roof and coming closer to Xue Meng. The water in the lotus ponds was dark with moss, the flowers long gone. The lotus pads were still green, and large water droplets clung onto them like tears on long lashes. Sometimes, the crystalline sound of water falling onto water could be heard, the croaking of a frog in the pond, the whistling of wind through the haitang blossoms, blooming completely out of season.

Xue Meng fingered one dried persimmon, his thumb brushing at the white crystals on the surface, rolling that grittiness between his fingers, knowing that the sweetness would be sticky on his tongue. “Nothing. Just worried. Mei HanXue got injured last night during a spirit capture. It turned out to be a demon.”

Mo Ran’s face was sympathetic, clearly the face of Mozongshi and not of the young man who used to run away from him laughing at the top of Sisheng Peak. “Is he okay? I kind of snooped around a little bit, to be honest… Saw Jiang Yechen leaving, so it must have been serious?”

Xue Meng hesitated before answering. “He’s fine now. Mostly.”

Or at least, that was his conviction. There was no version of this world in which Mei HanXue did not survive.

_______

They ended up by the edge of the lotus pond, their feet bare, submerged in the cold water, dangling. Xue Meng could swear he felt something tickling at the bottom of his foot, likely a fish, and immediately jerked back, pulling his knees to his chest, the position completely undignified for a Sect Leader.

But it was just his cousin here, and perhaps that was the one person with whom he did not need to save face.

“What were you doing running here? You looked like you were going to kill Jiang Xi and Mei Hanxue in the hallway. I had to use qinggong to beat you here when you stalked away like that.”

“I didn’t want to see that manipulative bastard’s face anymore, playing up his illness for attention,” Xue Meng growled lowly, pulling at a lotus stem and tearing it apart in his hands.

“You were jealous of Jiang Xi? Or of Mei Hanxue?” Mo Ran asked, disbelieving. 

“No! Neither!” Xue Meng looked away, feeling utterly ridiculous in front of his cousin. “I was just mad from what he said to me before he left.” 

“Jiang Xi mentioned something about a relationship… what was that all about? Did you…?” Mo Ran leaned in, his eyebrows lifted.

Xue Meng glared at him. “It’s none of your business, and it’s not like that at all. Gross.”

Mo Ran hummed, leaning against the wooden column of the pavilion overhead, his hands clasped behind his head. “If you say so. Listen, I know this feeling stuff is difficult…”

“I’m not feeling anything,” Xue Meng insisted.

“... and that it is really hard to admit that you have feelings…”

“I told you to shut up.”

“... but I’m really glad something is going on with you and those twins, whichever one of them it is…”

“Nothing is going on with anyone,” Xue Meng said vehemently.

“... you’ve been lonely.”

They let the sentence sink in between them.

“I’m not lonely.” Xue Meng threw the lotus stem at Mo Ran’s head, biting his lower lip. There was something heavy in his chest that wanted to be let out, bursting with emotions he could not name.

“I suppose not, given how they are always around,” Mo Ran said meaningfully. “People talk, you know.”

Do they? “What do you know? You live in a cottage in the middle of nowhere,” Xue Meng retorted sulkily. 

“We’re not hermits up there.” Mo Ran threw the lotus stem back, bouncing it off Xue Meng’s chest. “Traveling cultivators, merchants from other regions, from Kunlun and Jiangnan, sometimes we hear things. How Taxue Palace is still seceded from the rest of the cultivation world but for its alliance with Sisheng Peak, how the seat of power is practically empty with Ming Yuelou in seclusion and the twins da-shixiong always at Sect Leader Xue’s sides…”

“Just rumors. We’re friends,” Xue Meng insisted stubbornly.

“You don’t have to be defensive, MengMeng.” Mo Ran seemed contemplative, and in that moment Xue Meng remembered that they were neither of them the angry young boys of before. Too much had already happened, too much blood shed. “To tell you the truth, sometimes I feel really guilty for leaving here.”

As you should, Xue Meng thought, but he refrained from saying anything. What was the point? If they chose to leave, then they chose to leave.

He couldn’t make anyone stay. 

If he wanted something, he would never get it. Such was the way the world worked.

Xue Meng thought about that long, uninterrupted stretch of happiness in his childhood, wondering if he had already used up his allotted amount, if the rest of this lifetime was to be spent in penance for his youthful folly, for the arrogance of being born into a happy family with loving parents.

Mo Ran never had any of that. And now, he had Chu Wanning.

Perhaps it was a fair trade.

“Anyway, it’s not about me,” Mo Ran sighed. Xue Meng stared blindly at his feet underwater, at his cousin’s feet dangling next to his, and thought of how they had both changed in the past ten or so years.

Mo Ran grew up to become Mo-zongshi, the brattiness mellowing out to this gentle wisdom, this warm companionship.

And what of Xue Meng?

“I just wanted you to find happiness, too, MengMeng.” 

“I told you before to not call me that,” Xue Meng said, his mind still far away. The sun would set soon, and Mo Ran would leave again, back to his happy hearth in his happy home where someone would always be waiting for his return. “Do you want to drink?”

“Drink? Now?” Mo Ran blinked. “I don’t see any wine.”

Xue Meng snorted. “There’s always White Pear Blossom at the Red Lotus Pavilion,” he declared, standing up more quickly than he intended to, as if he was running away from something that he knew would mean his ruin. “I’ll go get it. Stay here.”

When he came back and Mo Ran was indeed still there, Xue Meng sighed, let out a breath he had been holding subconsciously all this time, and set a jar of wine between them, two upturned cups ready for the fragrant wine. Xue Meng poured them each a full cup and handed the first one to his cousin. “Ge, here.”

They knocked back the cup at the same time, their long sleeves shielding their faces, and Xue Meng set the cup down heavily, the sound echoed by Mo Ran’s movement. “Don’t drink too much, Xue Meng,” Mo Ran chided gently.

“We’ve only had one cup,” Xue Meng pointed out, already feeling the effect of the wine on his tongue. “I can drink so much more than that. I’m not like before anymore, ge.”

Not like before anymore. Not a single one of them was like before anymore.

And yet, it seemed, they had all moved on.

Xue Meng watched the clouds drifting slowly across that blue sky, the autumn breeze picking up, murmuring through the thick canopies, the haitang blossoms in bloom even as the trees around them had already turned to gold and red. The seasons came, the seasons went, as all who came into his life had left, returning only with the falling leaves for a brief moment of respite, stretching their wings out once more for southern skies when the first snow started to fall.

“Xue Meng, tell me, really, how have you been holding up?” Mo Ran slowly asked, his eyes uncommonly thoughtful, the traces of playfulness from earlier all but evaporated.

Xue Meng did not know how to respond, but he came up with something eventually, pouring them a second drink. “Running Sisheng Peak keeps me very busy,” he said carefully.

“I asked about how you are doing,” Mo Ran emphasized, picking up the cup that Xue Meng pressed into his hand. “Come up with me one of these days. Say hi to shizun. Bring your disciple, if you’d like. I haven’t seen him in a while.”

“Yes, yes,” Xue Meng said, already knowing that this upcoming visit would not happen for a long time. Something always came up to delay, to cancel, from his side or theirs. “Come, let’s finish this bottle. Shizun must be waiting for you.”

He wondered what that was like, being waited for. He had always been doing the waiting, the days blending into weeks into months, for visits from his cousin, from his only friends at Taxue Palace, from straggling outsiders seeking protection from Sisheng Peak.

And in those moments in between, what was it he was doing?

Mei Hanxue’s gentle eyes appeared in front of him, and this time, Xue Meng looked into that face that had broken a thousand hearts, feeling his own crumbling to pieces. The cold gaze of the elder twin, forever shuttered, the red blooming on his chest expanding until all Xue Meng could see was red, his robes and his hands covered once more in that thick stench, and Xue Meng closed his eyes, wishing for the wine to wash away these images he had never wanted to see, only for his head to spin, sharpening the pain in his temple, sharpening the sight within as his actual sight dimmed. 

He looked again at the jar of wine, seeing it empty, at Mo Ran’s still full cup, and realized that he had drank it all himself.

[iguessihavemore]

TD Garden Chap.2: Not Your Garden Variety Pt.2

I wanted to finish off this episode with this part, but I’m having trouble with a few scenes after what I have here, along with the plethora of shit going on lately that I’m guessing you can imagine. So I decided to make this a 2/3 instead. I feel like it gives a pretty good idea of what everybody is running off to do anyway, so I hope you enjoy it for now!

The host produced two folded pieces of paper from his back pocket, holding them out to the mass of teens in front of him. “Y’all ready for a little island/garden scavenger hunt-”

“IT’S CHALLENGE TIMEeEeE!!!” Jackson screeched, lunging forward and ripping both from him. Chris held his hands up palm-open at the boy.

Rosie rolled up one of her boxy sleeves. “Hey now-” She began lightly.

Nadine waved at her to stay, dancing forward instead. After a few quick steps, Nadine stretched over on one foot until she was nearly horizontal. The sudden image of her face at his chest made Jackson jump, and she took the opportunity to pluck one of the lists from him.

“Hrmph!” He grunted, tearing the remaining one open. Both teams leaned into their respective paper.

A noticeable rift was between the Cheshire Queens and Hare Hatters now, and the only ones within it were the conjoined twins. They both turned a head to a team, then at each other over their shared shoulder. Avery and Erika whispered until they reached a conclusion, opting to sidle towards the Queens.

Chris cleared his throat and began to explain what they were reading. “Both teams have to find twelve roses, then an additional double-headed rose. So thirteen in all.” A few eyes flicked towards the twins. “After that, you’ll see that there are a bunch of taped-on flower names. You only have to pick four.” The teens sighed in relief- finding upwards of twenty things hadn’t sounded like much fun.

“And you’re going to want to choose wisely. Once you collect all your flowers, you need to make a bouquet with them. It needs to have a theme, and it needs to not look like GARBAGE. Just saying that because I want you all to know that I don’t have faith in any of you, so just ‘not bad’ will suffice. The team that has the nicer bouquet may be able to win, even if it’s incomplete. However, your team can only end the challenge if you’ve collected all of your flowers.” The host explained.

Pathetically, Rosie whined, “So all this means…. when we find them, we HAVE to p- p- p- p- pick them…?”

“...Yeeeaaahhh…” Chris drawled blandly.

“Oh, Chris, I can’t-!” Rosie cried out.

“Ah-ah!” Chris harshly waved off her outburst. Her bottom lip quivered agape, but she opted to start fretfully biting her nails instead.

“Now, with my flawless photographic memory, we dumped the stuff…” Chris muttered under his breath, squinting into the distance with his hands bordering his face. Lucas perked up out of his pouting long enough to curiously come up behind him, twisting the host a few inches to the side. “Right there!” Chris immediately said, motioning in that direction with his hands like an aircraft marshall. Lucas put his fists on his hips proudly.

“Go down that way, and you’ll find all the supplies you’ll need for making a bouquet. It’s also where we threw all your luggage.”

Jackson snapped his head up from reading the list. His knees started to bob as he listened more intently.

“And that’s all you really need to know-” Chris began to conclude, prompting Jackson to jump up and tear towards where they were directed.

The action alone set an uneasy energy through the rest, impatiently eying Chris. He gave an irritated sigh and a short nod, and the tense batch of teens took off, just itching to begin this game.

All but one, that is.

“Wh- hey! What are you all doing!?” Roger yelled, throwing his hands up. “You’re going the wrong way!”

“Come on Roger, catch up!” Jennifer impatiently ordered him.

“But- but- don’t we need roses? There was a bush full of them but- they’re in the other direction!!” He was just about screaming to be heard as the distance between him and the others grew larger, but what he said stopped them in their tracks.

Within seconds, Paulie swiveled on her heel and rushed backwards, toothily grinning. She shoved the team scepter into the muscular crook of Tony’s arm as she passed. He blinked down at it.

A few members of the Hare Hatters were up to the task, but Cameron was the one who broke into a run for it first. “I got this!” She cockily assured the rest. With a person from each team on it, most of them went back to barreling towards the tools and luggage.

Roger only watched the girls go past him. “I don’t-” He huffed, confused and irritated. “Which way are we going, then!? Why do we even need to run-” 

Amelia jogged back for him. Her voice even more feathery than usual, she told him, “Paulie’s going to get the flowers. Come on Roger, let’s go get our stuff!” She flashed a smile at him and took his hand in hers.

“AH UH oh,” Roger failed to object, probably unsure if he wanted to, and simply allowed her to lead him into running with the others.

They passed in front of both sets of sisters: the twins, who were the only ones who opted to walk, and Stella and Marina, who were jogging lightly side-by-side. Stella watched after them, eyes half-lidded. “REAL dumb.”

*The Shed: Stella and Marina* The adopted sisters sat on either side of the bench. Stella was slumped over, idly toying with a trowel, while Marina addressed the camera. “Too many people assume that Stella isn’t smart because she can’t communicate well. But that isn’t the case at all! She’s full of good thoughts and ideas.”

She looked at her sister. “People like Roger who are able to process and communicate neurotyically but can’t… do a lot with it?” She bashfully rose a brow, trying not to say ‘dumb.’ “Might make Stella a bit jealous.” *End* *III*

Cameron and Paulie were heading full-speed towards the winner’s cabin. Paulie’s lime-colored coils bounced behind her, and Cameron’s plum hair hopped around her face, the green tips flying wildly. They shared a competitive smile as they kept pace with one another, a playful edge to their respective dusty red and dark pink eyes.

When they came to the bush, they wasted no time in circling it and grabbing their roses, getting a little nicked by the thorns in the process. Paulie jumped away from it first, whirling around pridefully. “First!”

“Tch, well-” Cameron was prepared to retort, but her final grab for her last rose came up empty. “Wha? Heheh.” She held up a finger to silently ask that Paulie wait. The baker responded by shifting her weight to one foot and putting her empty hand on hip, smirking.

Cameron searched around it a few more times. She stomped up to Paulie suspiciously. “How is it that YOU got twelve roses and I got all the way up to eleven, but there aren’t ANY more left?”

Paulie shrugged. “Man, I don’t know, you see that I only got a dozen!”

Cameron counted them and deflated. “Awfully strange it only had twenty-three.” She frowned at her own incompletely bundle.

“Probs just a coincidence and not, like, something they planned. It ain’t anybody’s fault how many times the thing tries to reproduce. Or whatever roses are biologically for.” Paulie mused.

“Yeah… but it’s your fault that you’re gonna eat my dust!” Cameron charged off.

“Oh-HO!” The punk gleefully followed suit.

*The Shed: Paulie* “I really only did pick a dozen!” Paulie flashed her now-empty hands forward. She reached behind her back and pulled out her thirteenth rose, giving it a sniff. “Well, a baker’s dozen, but who’s counting?” *End* *III*

Soon enough for the head of the pack, two tables came into view. He rushed by both, completely ignoring them to get to the stacks of bags and suitcases at the end of the clearing. Not that he cared, but the foliage around him consisted mostly of twiggy shrubs and patches of wild flowers.

Jackson located his duffel bag with an excited wheezy noise, immediately lunging for it. 

CLANG

A second too late, his eyes unfocused enough to let him see that he was careening for a metal cage. And then his face ran into it.

“ooOWW!” He seethed, pulling himself up. “What?” He scrambled around the metal frame, trying to get to his stuff until he finally realized it was stuck inside. He found a padlock and yanked it to no avail. “A hostage situation!?”

Jennifer trotted up behind him, followed by Tony, Jupiter in a sweat, and Amelia with Roger. They all understood that their stuff was locked inside the cage without needing to run into it.

Jupiter noticed the other team come up to a second cage, spaced exactly like the tables. “Guess we only get our things when the challenge ends- er- I mean when we win, eh?” They attempted a smile.

“You betcha!” Amelia agreed, freeing Roger from herself. He turned away, crossing his arms to stare only at the sky if not nervously side-eyeing the actress. Amelia addressed Jackson, putting on a worried expression. “Chris will doubtfully let us get anything from there for awhile. Is that okay? No immediate concerns?”

Jackson brushed off his knees. “Nah, I just needed to make sure nobody got their grubby hands on my stuff! Looks like it’s safe- for now…” He suspiciously surveyed the clearing.

“Now,” Jennifer stepped closer. “May I finally get my hands on THIS?” She swiped down and tore their list from his tight grasp. He nervously chuckled and apologized, which Jennifer rolled her eyes at.

At last, the conjoined twins made it to the area. There was still a wide gap between the teams. They could have decided to stay in the middle of that and render themselves utterly useless, but opted to gravitate towards the Hare Hatters this time. They were greeted to Rosie speedily pacing back and forth, panicking out loud. 

Marina and Stella were climbing on the cage; Nadine and Annabelle were examining the array of tools on the table. They were all clearly keeping watch of the nature enthusiast.

“You’re supposed to leave nature as is!” She fretted. “I can’t possibly go against camping 101, rule numero UNO! I WILL FALL APART!”

“Oh, that hasn’t happened yet?” Annabelle lazily quipped.

Marina had been sitting with her eyebrows cinced in thought. Her demeanor brightened and she hopped to the ground, walking over to Rosie. “Rosie, this isn’t camping- this is a garden! It follows different rules than what you’re used to.” She sent a mauve smile up to her, gesturing for her to lower her fingers from her teeth.

“In fact, it helps a lot of plants to pick off the flowering part. And there’s not really an ecosystem we can disrupt here. Trust me, Stella and I are from a farm, we know all about it!” The singer explained.

“Farms are…” Rosie clenched her hands. “My nightmare. They’re so close to what I’m used to, just… less fun.”

Marina chuckled. “They aren’t that bad! Give them a try.”

“It’ll be like camping in bizarro-world.” Annabelle offered.

Rosie whined out. She relaxed with defeat.

Cameron and Paulie burst through the entry of the clearing in a flurry of panting. Rosie was now sound-of-mind enough to bother noticing Cameron stumble her way towards their team.

The ghost hunter held out the bundle of roses, her shoulders slumped. “Shitty new, you guys…” Rosie, unseen by the others, squinted.

“Got ‘em!” Paulie proudly thrust her set of flowers toward the other Queens.

“Yes!” Jackson pumped his fists. Jupiter took notice of the pinpricks on her fingers, and Amelia sighed dreamily at the pastel pink blooms.

“We should make a romantic bouquet!” The actress said.

“Uh-huh,” Jennifer voiced without interest, lowering the list she was reading. “Or we could make it goth.”

Amelia scoffed. To her shock, Paulie and Jackson gasped in delight. “YEAAAH!! GOTH BOU-QUET, GOTH BOU-QUET!” They chanted.

“I guess it would be a cool first impression?” Jupiter mused.

“Uhhhh… did you guys even look at them-?” Amelia started to argue, but paused. A mischievous smile crossed her lips.

“Chris is- he’ s like- almost here.” Tony informed everyone. With much (unneeded) urging from Jackson, Jennifer began peeling off flower names that they wouldn’t be using.

In between the two tables, Chris stood with his fists planted on his waist. “THANKS for making me take that walk. God knows my rigorous professional workout plan isn’t cutting it.” He complained. “Alright gardeners, I’ll be taking those flowers you don’t want now.”

The Hatters sent Nadine to take their handful of paper slips, and Jupiter had offered to go for the Queens.

Chris held his palms out. “May I ask what you guys decided on? By which I mean you have to tell me ‘cause there’s no way I’m looking through this mess to figure out which ones aren’t in it?”

Nadie looked up at him happily as she placed the scrap clump in his hands. “We decided on a cute, bright bouquet!” 

“Cool! Not what I asked.” Chris responded.

“We picked a bunch of blue and yellow flowers to go with this pink we got,” Rosie chimed in, flipping her wrist at the roses.

“-Still didn’t ask-”

“So we’re going to p- find- pic- grab some daffodils, snowdrops, forget-me-knots, and pansies.” Rosie read off their list.

“Alright. Cheshire Queens?” 

“We decided on the exact opposite- a goth bouquet.” Jennifer said.

“Lit-er-ally I DON’T care!” Chris barked.

Jennifer’s teeth gleamed with pride. “I know. We chose to find orchids, hydrangeas, carnations, and…” Her tone faltered for once. “... pansies.”

“Erg- why did we pick that!?” Amelia whispered.

“How could I have known!” Jennifer snapped back.

Chris clamped down on the papers dropped into his hand, causing Jupiter to jump. “Too late! Guess you guys are gonna have to share!” He taunted. “I’ll leave you to it. Just remember, you can’t end the game unless you have all of your flowers. And once you do, you can end it whenever your bouquet is ready.” He sauntered away after giving those last reminders.

The teens were awkwardly stagnant around the tables after his absence, not mingling too far. Marina was the only one who verbally stated she and her sister were going to search around the immediate clearing first, an idea shared with the others as they started to shuffle around the shrubbery.

It didn’t take long for Jackson to get fidgety about this, however. “Where’s that bush!? I bet that special rose is inside it!” He sprung into the air and dashed off.

“I can- wrap you up so you don’t get- injured.” Jupiter fiddled with the edge of their coat as they spoke towards him, turning as he passed.

“No time-”

Paulie jumped into his path and caught him by his shoulders. “Ah ah ah!” She spun him around. “We don’t want you looking like me, now.” She waved one of her scar-littered arms in his face while she shoved him back.

He grumbled and stuck his heels in the dirt, but all it did was leave marks in the ground. Jupiter smiled awkwardly and dug out a roll of gauze from their inner pocket.

“Sooo....” Annabelle voiced on the Hatters side, rocking backwards. “It would make sense to split up, yeah?”

“I’ll go with the sisters.” Nadine piped in, motioning her thumb at the two in a nearby flowerbed. Avery and Erika seemed to hang their heads just a little.

Cameron grinned, brushing off her hands. “I’m down with splitting. But first, does that list come with any pictures? I’m not sure I know what a sno- ACK!”

She had tried to lean in to see the paper Rosie was holding, but Rosie shot two fingers into the girl’s hairline, pushing her away with a strained grimace of a smile. “Now, Cameron, I thought you were going to take care of the roses? That’s the first thing you ever told our team you were going to do, and you didn’t complete it! That’s not a very look.” She bent down, fingers still harshly pushing into her bangs. “How can you expect us to trust you with anything else? Find that last rose, and then you can help the rest of us.”

Cameron stumbled back, eyebrows cinched incredulously. The rest of the team behind Rosie were clearly shocked by the scene. Annabelle coughed into her fist, bringing Rosie back to focus. The others were able to look nonchalant in time before she turned around. 

“I was thinking I would take off with you?” Annabelle asked, finger-gunning at the nature enthusiast.

Rosie cocked her head with a relaxed smile, as if nothing had happened. “I don’t mind the company one bit!”

They turned to leave, Annabelle throwing Cameron a confused shrug over her shoulder. The ghost hunter rubbed her forehead.

The twins kept to themselves at the outskirts; Nadine went over to the remaining sisters. Jennifer watched the Hatters more or less break off, and decided to speak up to her own team.

“Alright, we should start spreading around the island.” She looked around at the state of the Queens- Paulie idly leaning against a post caught her eye.

Paulie flicked her gaze to the goth as she drew near, a smirk crossing her face. “Yeah, I’ll be on that as soon as ’m sure Jackson’s all good. Don’t think Jups will catch him if he runs away.”

Jennifer peered over her shoulder at the two sitting on the ground. Jupiter tucked some gauze around Jackson’s fingers, and through his pout, he reluctantly said, “...At least I’ll look like a badass brawler.”

“Oh, I’m just kinda covering your hands. Do you want me to wrap you up like a boxer?” Jupiter offered.

He shook his platinum, choppy locks. “Nuh-uh, no way. ‘Wasting enough time as it is.”

Jupiter nodded and went back to work. Jackson squirmed.

“...Give me the fighter wrap…” He conceded to his inner desires. Jupiter began to undo the current bandages without question.

Jennifer placed her hands on her hips and sighed upwards. “What a fanatic.” She grumbled. “But it is a pretty good idea that I know I don’t want to do.” She relented, getting a chuckle out of Paulie.

Jennifer put her attention to the table instead. There she saw Amelia blissfully humming on a large rock, tapping the roses on the table surface like a secretary straightening her paperwork.

“...The hell are you doing?” She came up to her curiously.

Amelia regarded her with a smug pause. “You decided to make a dark, gloomy bouquet with these pretty pink flowers! It’ll take a bit to dye them a more fitting shade. Plus, someone needs to hold fort. Honestly, it should be obvious.”  She flicked her wrist at the goth and reached for a bottle of dark dye with the other.

“Oh! Well in that case, get your ass up and actually help.” Jennifer barked. “You aren’t going to be making excuses to look busy, especially when all the rest of us are working.”

Amelia’s eyebrows rose lazily, not bothering to look up. “I have countless hours in set design and prop building, honey. Sorry to be frank, but nobody can do this better than me.” She briefly looked Jennifer in the eye. “It’s simply the wrong move to have me do anything else.”

Jennifer was definitely about to argue, but a light tap on her shoulder stopped her before she began.

“Ah-!” Roger startled. “I trust Amelia to know what she’s talking about.”

Jennifer groaned, rubbing her temples. “FINE. Let her have her way. Of course the little princess gets to be the only one sitting around- not surprised.” She stomped away, but not before yanking Roger by his upper arm. “You’re coming with me. I can’t risk you imprinting on anybody else.”

“Hey, wh- I don’t get what you’re saying-!” He stumbled to catch up with the arm she was dragging him away with.

Amelia watched them go with her sparkly blues. “Hm.” She cockily shrugged to herself.

*The Shed: Jennifer* “Any other day if somebody tried to pull that with me on a group project, I would have grabbed them over that table by their stupid done-up hair.” Jennifer was leaned over close to the camera, pointing at her long and loose dark hair, but meaning Amelia’s auburn brown, heavily curled locks. “Unfortunately I can’t trust anybody here yet to not see me as the bad guy in that situation.” *End*

”Ooh I’m just gonna sit here and decorate like it’s HARD,” Jennifer mocked under her breath as she trudged past Rosie and Annabelle on her way out. She ignored Roger telling her that it was Amelia who was doing that and not her.

“Oh! Decorating! That’s what this is in the end, isn’t it?” Annabelle stopped in her tracks and turned to Rosie excitedly. “Hey, you think I can hang out and plan that bouquet? I love this kind of ribbons and artsy junk.”

Rosie’s head sunk. “Better you than me.”

“Cool, won’t let you down.” Annabelle smiled confidently with a snap of her fingers. She went back to the table as Rosie left the clearing behind her.

Marina intently noticed the absence of their giant teammate. Much to Nadine’s annoyance, who’d been trying to get the sisters to leave with her for a while now. The black girl walked closer to Annabelle. “Annabelle! I’m so glad you stuck around.”

“Oh, yeah?” She lifted her head quizzically. “Did you need me somethin’? Haha.”

“I wanted to make a team huddle about Rosie. It looks like we’re all here except for her- good.” Marina explained. This instantly drew Cameron in. Marina flicked her eyes toward the conjoined twins, but considering how intense their staring was, figured they would listen in without invitation, anyway.

Once they began a true little huddle, she continued. “I think cursing is what’s setting Rosie off. For whatever reason, she looks really upset when swears or suggestive things are said.”

“Dang, she’s too tall for me to notice.” Annabelle said.

“Are you serious!? THAT’S why she snapped on me?” Cameron shouted.

Annabelle chuckled. “I guess I noticed that one.”

“I think we’ll go a lot further if we don’t say things that bother her so much.” Marina added. “If she’s the type to lash out like this.”

“That blows.” Cameron further complained.

Nadine crossed her arms under her shirt’s panda icon. “I don’t like tip-toeing around, and Rosie’s reaction earlier wasn’t acceptable, but I also want to be a functioning team. Keeping as many hands on deck for as long as possible just makes sense.”

“Y- Maybe for you guys, but I’m already on her bad side!” Cameron threw her hands up. “This is going to suck double for me.”

“We’re on your side if she keeps giving you trouble.” Nadine reassured her.

“Hmm…” Marina cupped her dark brown chin. “You could maybe avoid that by apologizing to her? It’ll be hard for her to be passive aggressive if you make it clear you didn’t want to hurt her.”

Cameron sputtered a bit. “Aw, she doesn’t really deserve an apology- I didn’t do anything wrong!”

“It’s not really about deserving....” Annabelle explained. “It’s about her chilling out and not bothering you or us anymore.”

“Er... also that even though you didn’t mean to, cursing upsets her! And unless you meant to upset her, you want her to know you feel bad that you did!” Marina added once again. “In fact, you’re in the right if you want an apology in return.”

“But that isn’t likely if you don’t give her one first.” Nadine said with an edge of finality. She gave Cameron a quirked brow.

She groaned, slumping over. “I don’t wanna… but fine, whatever. But uh- heheh- not until I find that rose. Don’t want her focusing on that the whole time, y’know?”

Stella had wandered a foot away quite some time ago, the twins never ceased staring, and the rest agreed in some fashion to keep it PG before breaking off.

The ghost hunter sighed a long sigh, pushing her hands down her face.

*The Shed: Cameron* “Maaan being the bigger person is disgusting!” She whined, lying on her back sprawled on the bench. “Like, it literally turns my stomach.” *End*

Behind her, Jackson jumped into the air loudly proclaiming, “Finally! Now to give that rose bush a piece of my miiiiind!!” He charged away.

Cameron perked up, whirling in the direction he had gone. Her purple eyebrows lowered in determination, silently taking after him.

Satisfied, Paulie stretched off the post she was leaning on. Her hands dropping behind her head, she studied the environment. A sight caught her eye in the distance.

Jupiter eyed the dark-skinned girl to see what she would do now that they were both free. Paulie started to skip forward, completely away from them. Jupiter figured.

As she passed by the twins, Paulie gave them a wink and told them the first inspirational thought that came to mind. “Knock ‘em dead!” Finally, she got to the Hare Hatter trio and looped her arms around the shoulders of Nadine and Stella, the latter tossing her off immediately.

*The Shed: Avery and Erika* They sighed.

“We knew it. They have no idea what to do with us.” Erika pouted.

“Once there stops being important stuff to do, we’ll undoubtedly get the typical million questions, which is fine.” Avery said, “But right now they would probably all rather have us out of the way.”

“I mean, it’s fine that they don’t know what we can do, but they could ask! Because heaven knows…” Erika trailed off.

“We can’t…” Avery tried to finish.

They two sighed harder, defeatedly saying in unison, “...Speak up ourselves.” *End*

“‘Eyo!!” Paulie greeted her anti-teammates, swinging off of Nadine. “Mind a bit more company?”

“You’re on the other team.” The tallest of the four stated, picking up one of Paulie’s fingers and moving it away.

“I knoooooow, doesn’t that suck ass!?! We got to take every opportunity to hang out with each other now!” Paulie pumped her fist. “Queens and hats and yadda yadda won’t stop ME from making friends, ha!”

Nadine opened her mouth to retort, but caught the sudden surge of positive energy from Marina and Stella, practically becoming two bright little suns. She pursed her lips silently instead.

“We love to make new friends! Stella, aren’t you a great friend?” Marina asked her sister, barely containing her excitement.

Stella lifted her fists over her head with a smile so wide it shut her eyes. “YEAH!”

“Ahhh…” Paulie vocalized a low shout. “You guys are jazzing me up, now. This is going to be great!” She peeked at Nadine’s smirk, and looped around her shoulder once more, whispering into the fabric over her ear, “I also didn’t want to hang out with Jenny Downer, y’know what I’m saying?”

“I get you.” Nadine reached for Paulie’s farthest shoulder and pushed her back onto her feet. “Now what were you saying Marina?”

“Oh, I was just letting you know that Stella-”

“YEAH!”

“-Was totally listening to us before. I know she wandered off, but to her, she doesn’t have to look focused in order to be paying attention. As long as she can hear you, she’s usually listening.”

“Not much for group huddles, then.” Nadine said warmly. “I’ll keep that in mind, not that I minded before.”

“Oh hey, I saw that!” Paulie piped in. “You guys looked super serious. Like, the most intense meeting for a bouquet I’ve ever seen.”

“We were actually talking about Rosie throwing a scene. It’s a pain already.” Nadine pinched the bridge of her nose. “She’s been acting hostile toward Cameron ever since she came back with the flowers.”

Paulie’s perkiness faltered, perspiration forming under the brim of her black bandana. “Th- that so? About not having all the- haha, yikes!”

*The Shed: Paulie* “My little sleight of hand wasn’t supposed to get anyone in trouble!” Paulie fretted. “Honest to godess I was just joshing! Now I feel like the world’s most bonafide douchebag. Give me my shithead degree! I deserve it!” *End* *III*

The albino cast member fidgeted. They tried to take note of their surroundings without annoying anyone else still around.

Their sibling was over at the Hatter’s table completely absorbed in the instruments at her disposal. Amelia was busy at theirs’. Paulie was just leaving their sight with three of the other team, and the conjoined twins had slipped off between blinks.

Jennifer had long since dragged Roger off to search higher into the island, and Jackson was retracing steps of their tour to find the double-headed rose. Jupiter sighed lightly, noticing the only person of the Queens that seemed to be idle, like them.

They cautiously approached Tony, who was leaning over some wildflowers. As soon as the shadow of their person crossed his sight, however, he shot his head up. He barely noticed Jupiter, saw that mostly everyone was gone, and made his way straight to the table. Jupiter only stuck around long enough to see Amelia look up at him. They rolled their shoulders, unsure, and made off in an unwandered direction alone.

[forkanna]

[AO3 LINK] [WATTPAD] [QUOTEV]

WARNING: Miraculous and all related characters © Zagtoon. This story ©2020 to me! All rights reserved.

NOTE: This fanfic was commissioned by Anonymous. Happy Easter or something!

SIDE NOTE: Yes, I am alive. No, I do not have Covid-19; all good on my end and I'm being safe. I just have been wrapped up in a lot of other projects. Obviously my commissions are still open. But I promise-promise, other fics you may be daydreaming about will return. Soon!

Jessex

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

"WAAAUUAAAAAAAHHH!"

Chloe Bourgeois counted herself lucky that she had been on the way to the wedding of her one-time object of affection, Adrien Agreste, when she heard the outcry. The antics of Crepe Of Wrath had gone completely unnoticed by the future fashion magnate because she was too busy making sure her hair and makeup were flawless. If she was going to let go of Adrien once and for all, she was going to make sure he would know what he was missing when he glanced in her direction.

And now, some ninny was screaming and interrupting her mental preparations for finding someone new to crush on. Rolling down the window of her limo, she began to shout, "HEY! WHAT IS THE IDEA OF-"

Oh no.

What the hell was Marinette Dupain-Cheng doing flying through the air — especially in that billowy wedding gown, all white poofs and elegance? Maybe she would hit the pavement and become a greasy splatter. What else was going to lift her spirits than seeing her rival for Adrien's affections meeting an untimely demise?

But no such luck. Chat Noir sailed out of nowhere and snagged her out of the air before she could strike ground. Fine. As much as that would have simplified her life, she couldn't deny that in the back of her mind she actually was glad that she didn't witness one of her Françoise Dupont High schoolmates die - at least, right in front of her. That would have been gross.

Besides, Marinette might have deserved to lose Adrien, but not death. Even someone as irritating as her was a human being.

When the limo finally came to a stop in front of the church, she saw Marinette rushing up to the crowd congregated out front. There was some kind of discussion, tears were shed… boring. Because it wasn't about her. Just as Chloe opened her door to exit the limo, too impatient for her servant to do the honors-

"CHLOE!"

Before she had enough time to do anything more than squeak out "Marinette Dupain-Cheng, just what on Earth do you-", she found herself being shoved backward into the vehicle again as a well-dressed bride climbed in after her.

"Chloe, I will let you put a picture of my underwear all over the internet if you drive away right now!"

Oh, that was too good to pass up. Chloe bade her driver to take off from the curb, even though a couple of fists had begun to pound on the windows just then. What did she care? Money would take care of their commoner fingerprints.

"Well, I did what you wanted, you insane pleb. When do you cough up payment?"

"What?" Marinette was still too busy gasping for breath and fanning her face, trying to evaporate the sweat that was beginning to break out all over her pale skin. Disgusting. "I… what do you mean?"

Rolling her eyes, the blond primadonna folded her arms over her slight chest. "Are you even stupider than I thought? The deal was that I helped you make a getaway from whatever, and I get to post nudes. Your reputation is history, Dupain-Cheng."

Drooping visibly, she whined, "Aww… come on, Chloe, have a heart. I just really wanted to get away from there, I…" Her eyes started to water. "He didn't show up."

He didn't? How horrible. Marinette must have been devastated. Well, Chloe was fresh out of hearts — at least, ones that bled for people who put themselves in situations like these by marrying someone who couldn't possibly love her when Chloe Bourgeois existed on the same planet. The way she saw it, the universe was correcting a cosmic mistake. "Boo hoo. Cry me a river. Start getting naked or I'll even make you take off your underwear."

"That's awful! And how are you going to make me do anything? All I have to do is jump out of this limo."

"Go ahead." Marinette tried. And failed. "The locks are controlled by my driver for safety reasons. Only I know the secret code to open them from back here. But don't worry; I will be very glad to kick you out. Just as soon as you live up to your end of our little deal."

The irritation in her rival's dopey face was priceless. Chloe lived for that. Even better when Marinette began struggling out of the wedding gown, grumbling and swearing under her breath all the while. Though probably not actually swearing; that didn't seem like the little goody two shoes at all.

However… the mayor's daughter's feelings begin to shift the more of Marinette's trim body she saw. Maybe she wasn't being entirely objective when she called her "ugly". Once the slip came off, Chloe found herself clearing her throat and looking away. Why? Wasn't this exactly what she wanted? To humiliate the object of all her rage and disgust?

"Okay, hurry up," the girl grumbled. "I just want you to drop me off at my place so I can forget this day ever happened."

When Chloe turned and raised her phone, she had been expecting to see something cute, like strawberry patterns or pink bows. Juvenile, like Marinette. Why was she so shocked to see the red-and-black lace? It wasn't that weird — especially considering it was supposed to be the brat's wedding night.

"Chloe? Um…" Marinette was shifting awkwardly, cheeks beginning to turn red. "Can you hurry up and take the picture, if you're going to?"

"R-right! Of course, let's make sure you're humiliated everywhere." But her finger hesitated over the shutter button. Why? She couldn't possibly have been feeling any kind of sympathy for this pustule on the face of society.

Nope. Marinette deserved it several times over. So she took a couple of pictures. "That's it… now turn around and let me see that nonexistent derriere of yours."

The absolutely flushed baker-slash-designer did as she was asked, her high heels clattering to the floorboard of the limo as she knelt on the seat. Hips shifting awkwardly from side to side. Chloe felt her heart racing now; this was obscene. And why on Earth was her body reacting to it? What was wrong with her?!

"Well? Did you get it?"

"Don't… rush me…" Click. Now she felt like a total pervert for taking these pictures, even though she knew the purpose was to humiliate this dunce whom had been a thorn in her side throughout her entire school career.

Wasn't it?

"Chloe, you really are the worst," she breathed, eyes brimming with tears as she looked off out the window. As if trying to distract herself.

"No, you're the worst." But the whole situation had her second-guessing herself so badly that she sighed and bit her lip. "Looking like that… making it weird."

"What do you mean, I'm making it weird?! You're taking pictures of my butt!"

"I-I am not!" She was. "Okay, but they're for blackmail purposes! Or something!"

"I thought they were as payment for the escape…?"

"Sh-shut up!" Sighing, she put her phone away, still staring at Marinette's pert little rear. For some reason. "I'm… oh, just get out of this limo before I actually do post these."

Marinette was clearly stunned when she turned and sat down, looking at Chloe. "Wait… I thought you already did. And whoa, why are you blushing?!"

"I'm not blushing, you're blushing."

"Well, yeah! But you are, too. Is everything alri-"

"Shut UP! Just shut up, alright?! Making everything difficult, always ticking me off and- j-just GO AWAY!"

Marinette started trying to struggle back into her dress, clearly panicked by the irate tone of her rival. And of course, she was so klutzy that every movement basically set her back to the start; she dropped her shoes, picked up her dress, slipped on her slip and dropped everything again. But something about the way she was crying and undressed, and the way she finally collapsed into sobs because nothing was going right…

Chloe… wasn't laughing at her. For some reason.

"It's alright," she finally sighed irritably, kneeling next to her on the floorboards and patting her shoulder awkwardly. "You can't help that you're stupid, and lame, and Adrien obviously realised he was making a mista-"

Her words cut off when she felt arms flinging themselves around her body. Marinette was sobbing into her shoulder. Just because of that insignificant shred of sympathy?! Clearly this dumb girl was overwrought, and not even the queen of the school could bring herself to push her away because the sobs were just so pathetic.

And… her back was really soft. She smelled sweet, like macarons and sunshine. Chloe felt her brow furrowing as she embraced her a little tighter.

"I'm sorry," Marinette finally breathed brokenly as she clutched at her back hard.

"W-watch it, this is a Versace blouse." She cleared her throat, petting over her soft raven locks. "It's worth more than your life, you boob."

"S-sorry for that, too, then. Aughhhh…" She drew back, swiping hard at her eyes. Why did she miss that hug already? "Thanks for getting me out of there, and like… p-putting up with my breakdown."

"This was bound to happen. But… yeah. Um, and you should get out of here before I change my mind."

"It doesn't matter," Marinette sighed as she started struggling back into her dress in the confined space. At some point, a foot smooshed into Chloe's face, and she sputtered and squealed words that were incoherent due to the high volume. "Ngh… you still have the pics, you can blackmail me anytime. Doesn't matter."

"Oh yeah? That's what's bothering you? Gimme your stupid phone, stupid."

Marinette did. And Chloe snapped a quick selfie from a very low angle and handed it back. The dumbfounded girl whispered, "Did you just… take a… a p-p-"

"I believe it is called an 'upskirt'," Chloe grunted, even as her cheeks burned brilliant crimson. "And you're such a goody-two-shoes that you would never post it anywhere unless provoked. So there; it's insurance. Get out of here."

They were quiet as Marinette finished dressing, though she still looked disheveled. The limo dropped her off in front of the bakery. Just as Chloe moved to close the door, the ex-bride suddenly asked a pertinent question.

"Wait - why didn't you just delete my pictures? Why take one of your underwear on my phone, instead, Chloe?"

"That's… I'm-" Why did she have to have a valid point? "DON'T YOU EVER SHUT UP?!" She slammed the door shut and snapped, "Drive!"

The answer, of course, was that she had no idea. But given the way that she kept taking out her phone to glance at Marinette's lithe form, Chloe Bourgeois had an inkling - one that she was going to stubbornly ignore until it went away. Hopefully.

"I hate you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng," the panicking princess muttered as her heart thudded loudly in her chest, thumbs caressing up and down the sides of her phone screen. "Hate you with a passion."

                                                 ~ Le Fin…? ~

[kyokajiro-imagines]

The league of Disney Villains part 2:

A/n: this is really long but totally worth reading!

[In the same industrial shed as the last part]

Hawks: *Is standing on pile of crates- The rest of the league are standing around*

Hawks: ALRIGHT! Votes are in for the cast places and scene recreations we’ll be doing from our first movie- Cinderella!

Shigaraki: The *bleep*.

Dabi: I second that notion.

Toga: Can I stab someone in it?!

Hawks: No-

Mr Compress: I’m looking forward to this- We should have fun.

Hawks: That’s the spirit!

Spinner: I refuse to waste my limited life on this- *Twice pokes him*

Twice: If you voted for who I did then this should be fun! > If you didn’t vote for them then this will totally suck.

Shigaraki: If any of you morons voted for me as the princess I’ll disintegrate-

Hawks: STOP! Come on guys, we’re having fun! I’ll announce the rolls.

Dabi: Kill me now.

Hawks: As the fairy godmother- SHIGARAKI. *Is trying to hold in his laughter as everyone howls with laughter- Twice and Spinner high five. Shigaraki looks lost, angry and confused all at once*

Toga: PLEASE CAN I STAB SOMEONE?!

Shigaraki: Why is that relevant?!

Toga: It just is-

Hawks: NEXT! As the Prince- Twice!

Twice: GET READY FOR THE MOST CHARMING, MOST CAPTIVATING, MOST DEVISHLY HANDSOME- > This whole thing is a moronic- I won’t act for this!

Spinner: HAHA!

Mr Compress: Oh dear who’s the unlucky main?

Hawks: I don’t know- *Pulls paper out to check- Pauses, tries not to laugh, fails- Spends next 5 minutes on the ground crying from laughter*

Dabi: You right there?

Hawks: Fine- Alright- *Gets up* Ok- Our main star of this recreation as Cinderella is- *Covers mouth, winces and proceeds to stop laughter*

Hawks: Dabi.

*Everyone howls with laughter- Shigaraki joins and slaps the floor, accidentally disintegrating part of it

Shigaraki: Revenge has never been sweeter.

Dabi: THE HELL DID YOU DO THIS?!

Toga: Oh my gosh! You’re gonna looks so pretty! *Pulls out knife*

Twice: Aww c’mon. > IGNORE HIS PLACEMENT AND STAB HIM!

Toga: ESPECIALLY AFTER I STAB YOU!

Dabi: *Holds up cross- Hisses* Get away from me psycho-

Hawks: *Ignores the chaos beginning*

Hawks: As the step sisters we have Toga and Spinner, Mr compress is stage hand 1

[10 minutes later]

Hawks: Alright- *Looks up* Is everyone ready?

Dabi: NO! I will cremate you, you little- *Is using flames as defence against Toga*

Toga: *Giggling as she dodges* This is fun!!!

Twice: *Cheerleading* Stay alive Dabi!!! > Get im’ Toga!

Shigaraki: This is stupid.

Spinner: 60 bucks if Toga doesn’t stab Dabi in the next 10 minutes?

Shigaraki: Hell yeah- I’m in. I bet he does.

Mr Compress: I place a bet of 70 that Hawks stops them-

Shigaraki: Higher, old man.

Mr Compress: 100 dollars- If I’m right you both pay up?

Shigaraki: Better.

Spinner: Deal!

Hawks: Alright- You guy’s continue your bet and I’ll go get costumes!

Dabi: *Dabi runs past- His arms bleeding and Toga is slipping after him* Holy *Bleep* she stabbed me in the arm!

Toga: STABBY STAB STAB!!!

Shigaraki: Haha! Pay up morons-

Hawks: What measurements are you? I need to know for your costume.

Shigaraki: Guess chickenman-

Hawks: Says the future fairy godmother.

Shigaraki: *Taking coins from Spinner and Compress* At least I’m going to be a rich godmother!

Dabi: What the hell?!

#Take 1- Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo

Hawks: Alright- Everyone In positions! Handyman, you’ll run in when Dabi dramatically throws himself on to the nearest object and sobs about his problems!

Shigaraki: *Is in the fairy godmother costume- Bow and all. His hands are still on his body and face*

Shigaraki: Are you aware that after this I’m going to throw you off a cliff Lion King style?

Hawks: Ha- I can fly~ *Spreads out wings, Dabi whistles and Toga seems to be taking notes*

Shigaraki: Then I’ll throw you into the nearest meat grinder.

Spinner: Woah- Is there a need to do that?!

Twice: *Dressed as the prince but still wearing his mask*

Twice: THERE IS ALWAYS A NEED MY PRISTINE SCALY FRIEND- EVEN IF ITS HIDDEN IN THE DARKNESS OF THE NIGHT AND THE SHINING EBONY OF THE STARS! > There’s always a reason idiot.

Dabi: Ugh- Why are you talking like that?

Twice: Whatever do you mean my fair Cinderella? > Cinderella? More like lady cremation hehe < I talk as a prince of my standard should- My vocal presentation should be as strong as a dragon and as smooth as honey! Now come, take my hand! > Don’t do that- I don’t even want to do this.

Dabi: What. The. Hell. I refuse.

Mr Compress: Fabulous language my friend- Keep up the act! *Bows- Hawks claps*

Hawks: Alright, Cinderella - or lady cremation- Go get into the dress.

Dabi: No.

Shigaraki: I’m in this damn cloak, get into your dress.

Dabi: I refuse- *Toga runs in*

Toga: YEET! *Throws destroyed hot pink dress at him- Runs up to Hawks, high fives him and runs behind Twice*

Hawks: Fine- Take of your shirt and put that on. *Toga pulls out notebook, writes notes*

Dabi: The heck- No! *Picks it up* This isn’t even a proper shirt! *Throws it at Twice who catches it*

Hawks: Do it or Twice will clone Toga and leave you in a room with 10 of her. Doors locked, no escape.

Dabi: *Looks angrily at dress then Toga several times- sighs*

Dabi: Fine. Give me the *bleep* dress. *Snatches it from Twice- Storms off into other room*

Hawks: Alright- Here’s a pouch full of glitter and a wand~ *Passes both to Shigaraki- The wand is a stick*

Hawks: Wave your wand, do the lines we practiced and glitter bomb Dabi. Then Spinner will fix his outfit to the gown. Everyone ready?

Dabi: *Storms in- Is in shredded pink dress* Why the hell did you spend money on this?!

Toga: He didn’t- I stabbed it for him!

Hawks: Normally I waste my money on sparkly jewellery- This is way better!

Dabi: Wait what-

Shigaraki: Back on track hot topic and chickenman- I don’t want to be here all day.

Hawks: Right! IN POSITIONS!

(Five minutes later- A rock had been put on top of fake lawn and a forest backdrop had been hung on the wall. A spinner clone was hanging from the roof by string and holding a flashlight which was being used as a spotlight- All the lights were turned on. Dabi was standing near the rock and to the side out of the set was Shigaraki and a Spinner holding a large gown and clear flip flops- The conversation for those?

Hawks: Sorry, I could only find these- Can you make special and unique footwear for Dabi out of these?

Shigaraki: What do you want me to do? Throw glitter on them?

Hawks: Sounds good- Do Whatever you want.

Hawks and the rest of the league were sitting on crates)

Hawks: And action~

Dabi: *Deadpan* Oh dear my dress, my life is ruined just like it, I’ll never get my *bleep* happy ending, life isn’t fair- *Puts hand on head and throws self on rock* Sob sob sad noises whatever- My life is terrible-

*Glitter explosion, Shigaraki walks in*

Shigaraki: Stop Crying and get over it- I can get you to the ball.

Dabi: My is that- Who are you oh ugly mystical lady.

Shigaraki: Your damn fairy godmother- *Swishes wand- His face is blank and he looks dead inside* Now get up. Blah blah blah- pumpkins, horses and yadda yadda~

Hawks: *Gestures to Toga who starts playing music- gestures to Shigaraki who Inhales, growling*

Shigaraki: Stupid chicken- *inhales again* Salagadoola mechicka boola- Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo- (Proceeds to walk around Dabi and swish his wand, performing the song Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo- finishes*

Dabi: *Trying not to laugh as Shigaraki flips him off, hitting in the head with a wand*

Shigaraki: Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo. *Throws glitter on Dabi and waved his hand* Magic happiness and cringe- Be back before midnight blah blah blah or else.

Dabi: Hey- *Is somehow in Cinderella ball gown with flip flops on- Two of Shigaraki’s hands are on each shoe- they’re his wrist ones. Looks like there were no glass slippers available*

Dabi: THE *bleep*?!

Shigaraki: Manners you ungrateful brat- *Hits Dabi with wand again- the rest of the league are trying not to laugh* What do you think?

Dabi: You’re suppose to be hitting less and rhyming more- *Is hit with wand again*

Shigaraki: Shut up, I do what I want. Now go- Be free. Preferably hit as many pedestrians on you’re way there- *Shoves a confused and outraged Dabi off set*

Shigaraki: *Walks to the centre of the stage- bows and throws glitter. Runs off*

Everyone: Silence.

Hawks: Oh my gosh. I can’t believe I actually got to witness that- *Bursts out laughing along with everyone else. Dabi and Shigaraki start growling at each other- It isn’t that intimidating due to their fabulous outfits*

Mr Compress: Now, now, time for the next scene!

#Take 2- Its midnight!

Hawks: Annnd action! *Crates have been stacked like stairs and a carpet has been stuck over them- a platform is at the top and Dabi is with Twice. Dabi is fidgeting angrily in his dress*

Toga: *Whispers* Stab him- stab him-

Twice: Come on Dabi- Just leap into my arms and dance! > Don’t- I can’t be seen with you like that~

Dabi: I got into the dress, am wearing dead people and am now being forced to re-enact one of the most annoying scenes of all time.

Twice: Like this- *Attempts to Grabs Dabi’s hand- He jumps out of the way and points angrily, picking up dress*

Dabi: *Bleep* NO.

Twice: Here, if you can’t dance I’ll guide you- *Dabi set hands on fire growls and crouches gremlin style*

Twice: Jesus- > We’re going to get killed by the mogwai over here! < I KNOW! I’ll just clone you Dabi and show that clone what we’re doing! Now prepare yourself my fair lady cremation, for I shall show you my love! > KILL ME NOW. *Makes Dabi clone- It’s just a normal Dabi, not a Cinderella Dabi. They look confused*

Clone Dabi: What the hell? Aren’t we suppose to be at the-

Twice: Shhh my precious Dabi- *Puts a finger over his lip, gestures to the stairs* We’re Disney now! > Run. *True Dabi watches near the edge of the balcony, observing*

Clone Dabi: What’s happening? And don’t touch me-

[TBC...]

[torestoreamends]

Mine to Make: Chapter 2

Scorpius is ready to take on the league, and Albus is ready to face someone from his dad’s department. What neither of them are ready for, however, is to see each other for the first time in seven years...

Beta’d by @abradystrix.

N.B. This fic is complete on AO3, so binge read away if you want! Here on tumblr I’ll be posting a chapter every day until it’s all done. 

Read it on AO3

*

II Home

“Hello.”

Albus jumps at the sound of the voice and looks up. There’s a girl standing in the entrance to the shed, grinning at him. She has bright silver hair that shines in the setting sun, and her coat is made of a myriad of glossy feathers that aren’t really black, but a thousand other colours – turquoise and midnight blue and emerald and deep purple.

He frowns at her. “Um... hello?”

She gives a slightly awkward little wave that reminds him a tiny bit of Scorpius, then she laughs and gestures around. “I saw you sitting here,” she says. “I wanted to know if you’re okay.”

Albus looks around at the broom shed and shrugs. Right now he’s fine; he’s out here, but he gets the point. Okay people don’t hide in broom sheds in their parents’ yard.

“I’m alright,” he says. “I like sitting out here. It’s quiet.”

She nods. “Okay. That’s good.” She hangs in the doorway for a second, then she steps forward and reaches out a hand. “I’m Delphi,” she says. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Albus takes her hand and shakes it. “Albus,” he says.

Her eyes go wide and she releases his hand, stumbling back a step. “Albus Potter? So Harry is your dad.”

Albus hugs his knees to his chest and nods. “Unfortunately.”

“Oh.” Delphi’s face falls as she looks at Albus. “Is that not a good thing?”

“Not really,” Albus mutters.

She pauses for a second, looking uncertain. She twists her hands together and seems to consider what to say, then she takes a step back toward Albus and sits opposite him on the floor, crossing her legs. “I’m sorry,” she says. “I don’t really like my family either. But I always think that the family you make for yourself is more important than the family you’re born with.”

Albus looks at her for a moment, considering. He thinks about Scorpius, the only person he’d choose to be his family if he could. “I suppose so.”

“You can choose,” she says. “The people you want in your life. If your dad is difficult then... maybe you don’t need him. Maybe you just deserve better.”

Albus frowns, processing that. “Do you actually think that’s true?”

Delphi nods. “Of course it is.”

A slow smile spreads across Albus’s face and he leans toward her. “Okay. Thank you.”

 “Accio keys.” Albus directs his wand into the top of his backpack and waits. Nothing. “Accio keys,” he repeats, this time with considerably more force. A faint rattle can be heard somewhere in the depths of the bag, but still no keys come flying out. He sighs, closes his eyes for a moment to try and get rid of some of his frustration, then tries one last time, giving his words as much authority as he can. “Accio keys.” This time, a set of four silver keys come shooting out of the bag, miss his hand by inches, smack him hard on the forehead, and fall with a clatter onto the garden path.

“Ow,” he groans, rubbing his forehead. “Stupid things.” He snatches them up, finds his front door key, and stuffs it into the lock. It’s difficult in the dark, but even after a year away he hasn’t lost the knack, and a moment later his front door swings open to welcome him home.

He picks his bags up and steps over the threshold. There’s a freshness to the air when he inhales. It smells of home. After so long away it’s pure relief, and he closes and locks the door behind himself, shoulders relaxing as he does, because he’s here. He’s safe. He can be entirely himself for a couple of hours.

He kicks his shoes off and pads down the hall to the kitchen, feet sinking into the carpet.

It doesn’t feel uninhabited in here. There’s not a speck of dust anywhere, but that’s not unexpected. His amazing housekeeper, Mrs Peters, has been in twice a week while he’s been away, and it feels like he’s barely been gone. There’s a note on the kitchen table, and he leaves his bags by the door and goes across to read it.

Welcome home.

There are some bits and pieces in the fridge.

It’s good to have you back.

Mrs Peters really is an absolute hero, he thinks as his stomach rumbles at the thought of food. It’s been such a long and busy day – it always is in the lead up to a race – and he hasn’t even had time to think about food until now. If it had been left up to him he’d have had nothing to eat, but now... He opens the fridge and discovers two bowls of pasta salad and a whole lasagne sitting on the shelves among milk and butter and fresh apples. Now he has lasagne, and if that isn’t the perfect homecoming gift then he doesn’t know what is.

If he tried to do magic now he’d burn the house down, so he sticks a slice of lasagne in the oven and leans against the worktop while it heats up, rubbing his shoulder and enjoying the familiarity of his surroundings.

It’s not really a homely space. There are no photos or objects to remind him of the past. There are no memories here. But that’s a good thing. That’s the way he likes it, clean and clinical, with its ruby red (definitely not scarlet) doors on all his kitchen units, the glittering black granite of the work surfaces, all the kitchen utensils perfectly ordered and hanging from hooks on the walls where he can grab them, the Mimbulus Mimbletonia thrumming happily to itself on the window ledge, and his potion-making area set up and stocked with fuel and little bottles of ingredients. It may not be homely, but it’s home, and what’s more, it’s his home.

When his dinner is ready he wolfs it down as fast as he can, far too fast to properly savour it, then he grabs his bags and traipses upstairs. With his hunger attended to, his mind turns to his current biggest problem: tomorrow.

If there was one downside to coming home, back to the UK, then it’s this. When he’s here he’s in far greater danger than he is anywhere else in the world. Here his family have an all-consuming level of fame.

He hasn’t read a newspaper since he got back, but he’s seen the headlines in shop windows and on street corners and he knows his dad is mentioned in almost every single one. The chance of running into his family, or someone who knows them, or even worse, someone who recognises him despite all his attempts to disguise himself, is exponentially greater here, and that sits on him like a dead weight. It’s that jeopardy, that fear, that’s allowed him to stay out of the country for as long as he has. But he doesn’t regret coming home; he really has missed it, and occasionally, somewhere inside the bit of his heart that he tries to forget exists, he does wonder if being found wouldn’t be so bad after all.

One of his favourite things to fantasise about while he was lying awake at night during those long days touring Europe, was what would happen if someone one day did find him. He’s imagined his dad or one of the Aurors hunting him down, or running into his mum out shopping one day. If he closes his eyes he can summon up visions of a tearful reunion, full of hugs and apologies and forgiveness. It’s stupid, he knows, because it would never go like that, especially with his dad, but on his lowest, loneliest days it’s something to hold onto.

He nudges his bedroom door open, drops his bags on the bed, and crosses to the window. Night is falling outside, and the city lights sparkle in the river down the hillside below his house. He’s set high up here, with a view out towards more rolling hills and countryside. Flying almost non-stop for the last seven years has given him a good head for heights, and it’s hard to imagine living somewhere low down, but that’s not why he bought this house on the hillside. He bought it because, even though he can’t see it from here, he knows that somewhere across those rolling hills is Ottery St Catchpole, and if he flew in a straight line from this window, he would reach his parents’ house.

He leans his forehead on the cool glass for a moment and closes his eyes. When he opens them, past the mist of his breath on the window pane, he sees the state of his hair. If there’s one thing that’ll give him away faster than anything else, it’s his hair. The Aurors must have been given his description; everyone in the country probably has his description, and that description will include the words ‘hair like Harry Potter’.

With a heavy sigh he drags himself out to the bathroom. Tomorrow he has to face someone from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and if any Ministry official is likely to recognise him then it’ll be one of the people from his dad’s department. He can’t put a foot wrong tomorrow, especially where his appearance is concerned. That is, if he even decides to face the person from the Ministry. They could just run. That’s what Delphi wants to do.

He bows his head over the sink and draws his wand, starting to scythe away the overlong strands of hair, trying to get the shave as close to his scalp as he can without cutting himself.

Facing the Ministry would be reckless, he knows it would, but at the same time... If he does this and gets through it he’ll know for sure that his disguise works. Plus he likes it here, he wants to be home, and he can’t stay if there’s no league to race in. Helping to defend it is in his and Delphi’s interest. This is how they make their living after all. If the money doesn’t convince her, nothing will.

Running a hand over his now prickly scalp, he lifts his head to look at himself in the mirror. His hair is a disaster, it always is when he cuts it all off. Every bit of him is a disaster really, so at least the hair matches now.

The potion that changes his eyes to a deep, mahogany brown is starting to wear off, and they’re in the weird, hazel transition stage where his vision is a tiny bit blurred as the effects fade. Then there’s his shoulder, which is prickling again, like it almost always is. He strips his shirt off so he can inspect it, revealing the long, dark, curling tattoos down his arms – from shoulder to mid-forearm on the left and from shoulder to elbow on the right. They’re meant to obscure the scars he’s picked up from two separate accidents while he’s been racing, but he’s learned over the years that Fiendfyre burn scars don’t like to be hidden, and the one on his left arm is standing out as a particularly ugly, ferocious shade of red today.

He sighs and scrubs the heel of his hand against his eyes, then he opens the bathroom cupboard and takes out one of the many jars of burn salve he keeps in there, which he smears across his left shoulder and down his arm. It’s not instant relief, but it helps soothe the prickling pain a little bit, and he exhales as the salve starts to spread a gentle cooling sensation across his skin. He spreads more salve down his right arm, then he puts the jar away, closes the cupboard, and faces himself in the mirror once again.

His exhausted self, with the roughly shaved hair, tired hazel eyes, pierced ears, and scars that are beginning to fade from angry red to pink, stares back at him, and he blinks a couple of times. Things may not be perfect – things are never perfect – but being here helps. And now he’s here he’s not going to leave. Not for a few months at least. Delphi promised a few months. So tomorrow he’ll deal with whatever the Ministry and his dad have to throw at him, then he’ll get on with his life, just the way he’s been getting on with it for seven years.

“The future is mine to make,” he murmurs to himself, running his fingers over the small pair of wings tattooed on his left shoulder blade. Those have always been words he’s clung to, and now they’re more resonant than ever. They’ll get what they want out of tomorrow if they’re smart, sensible, and take control, so that’s going to be the plan of attack. Now he just has to convince Delphi...

 In the end, Albus doesn’t have chance to convince Delphi. When he arrives at the training ground the next morning it’s to discover that he’s the first one there and Delphi is nowhere to be found. For a moment he wonders if during his absence the league has found a new training ground and he’s in completely the wrong place, but the fresh scorch marks on the pitch and the blackened Fiendfyre crates lying against one of the walls of the clubhouse tell him that this is exactly where he should be and that everyone else is just late.

He mounts his broom and kicks off from the ground; it’s nice to get a few laps in before the air gets clogged up with people. This was the first training ground Delphi brought him to, when he was still just seventeen years old. He’d been flying for years in secret at school and at home, practicing, getting faster. He found that even if his bullies were also on brooms, they couldn’t catch him. Flying was the perfect, sometimes the only, way to escape, and his desire to disappear from the world manifested in the sort of quiet work ethic that saw him spend hours flying every day, in rain, wind, storms, and snow as much as in sunshine. Still, as good and as quick as he was, nothing could have prepared him for his first visit here – this place gave him a literal baptism of fire. It’s strange to think how familiar it is now, seven years later, familiar enough to almost feel like home.

He banks round the end of the pitch, shoulder grazing the charms put in place to stop anyone who shouldn’t from seeing what they get up to in here. The magic ripples beneath his touch, and a couple of sparks fizz off the barrier and dissipate. He makes a hard left turn in towards the pitch and dives, hurling himself and his broom as fast as he can at the grass below.

The instant before he hits the ground, he pulls up and goes shooting across the pitch, the tips of his toes brushing the overgrown grass. His heart is pounding, and his whole body is alive with exhilarating adrenaline. Flying is so much like falling, except when he’s flying he knows it’s in his power to stop himself before he hits the ground. Flying lets him put himself in terrible danger and also lets him be his own saviour. That might be his favourite thing about it.

He weaves his way across the pitch, then zooms back up into the air for some more laps and dives. It’s not long before he’s joined by other racers and they begin a sort of mid-air ballet of trying to avoid each other’s manoeuvres. Albus survives the next hour unscathed and decides it’s time to take a break. He hovers just off the ground, the tips of his toes barely brushing the tufts of grass, while he takes a long swig from his water bottle. It’s at that point that Delphi shows up.

“Good morning,” she says, coming up from behind him and putting a hand on his back.

He manages not to jump so hard he falls off his broom, but he does dribble water all down his front and spills half the bottle on the floor as he grabs the broom handle for support.

“Delphi,” he gasps, wiping the water from his chin and twisting round towards her.

She grins and moves round in front of him, looking exceptionally pleased with herself. “I hoped I’d find you here. Have you been training?”

“Always. What have you been doing? You’re late.”

She checks her watch and shrugs. “Not that late. Anyway, I had a busy night.” She runs her hand up to his shoulder, and he twitches out of her grip. “You’re here. Does that mean you’ve decided you’re staying?”

Albus puts the cap on his water bottle and drops it onto the pitch. He takes a deep breath and looks at Delphi. “I’ve been thinking about it, and... I really do want to stay. This is home, you know? And I don’t want this league shut down. We can make money here. We’ve always made money here. It would feel strange to leave for good. And you did promise a few months, remember? You promised.”

He’s never been able to read her. He looks at her now, and she’s looking back at him with dark, obscure eyes, her gaze impenetrable. She’s thinking, that’s as much as he knows, and she’s scrutinising him, but he has no way of knowing if he’s said completely the right or completely the wrong thing. At times like this she’s unpredictable and more than a little bit unnerving.

After a few seconds of silence he opens his mouth to appeal to her, feeling like he needs to say something, but she gets there first.

“I agree,” she says. “That we should stay. I think there are opportunities here, and there are a lot of people that I need to meet and that you,” she puts her hand back on his shoulder and squeezes it in an uncomfortably tight grip, “need to meet.” She shoots him a dazzling smile. “I think we have a bright future here, and I’m glad we agree on that.”

Albus stares up into her dazzling eyes, searching for all her confidence and excitement for their future – his future – and when he finds it there he nods and relaxes. If she thinks it’s a good idea to stay then it must be, and it’s so rare for them to agree on something that he’ll take this as a sign. “Okay,” he says. “Good. That’s good.”

“It is,” she says brightly. “But Sev...” She glances over her shoulder then steps in close, leaning up on tiptoe so they’re at exactly matching heights as she lowers her voice. “Be careful. The person coming today is from your dad’s department. Remember what I said about not doing anything stupid. We need to keep you safe; that’s what you want, isn’t it?”

Albus looks down at his knees and nods. “I’ll be careful, I promise. I cut my hair last night, and I took the potion this morning. They won’t recognise me.” He lifts his head and smiles at her. “I barely recognise me.”

Delphi shifts her hand from his shoulder to his cheek, running her fingers gently down to his jaw. “I recognise you. Sev. My star racer.” She leans in and kisses him softly on the corner of his mouth. “That’s all you need to be today. It’s all you ever need to be for me. Just yourself.” She pulls back and looks at him, and he nods, as always too stunned by her proximity and attention to know quite what to say.

“Good boy,” she murmurs, then her hand is gone, fingers trailing the rest of the way down his neck and making him shiver before she pulls it away. “Well, today is going to be a disaster, so I should let you fly while you can. Have fun, but not too much fun. I’ll be in the clubhouse when you need me.” She rolls her eyes. “I can’t quite believe we’re going along with this.” Then she’s gone, leaving Albus to sway back and forth on his broom, brain a little fuzzy, the corner of his mouth tingling.

He reaches up to touch the edge of his lips, then he shakes himself. It still makes no sense to him why he reacts to her this way. They’ve been friends for years now – just friends, and colleagues – nothing more. He doesn’t even especially fancy her these days. Maybe he did once but that’s long passed. But she has this way about her that scrambles his mind and makes him completely stop thinking. She has a power over him that he’s never been able to describe and that she always laughs off. But it’s there – not a problem, of course. It doesn’t worry him. It’s just a strange facet of their relationship that he’s never been able to fathom.

He shakes his head to clear it and reaches down for his water bottle. Most of the contents have already been used to water the ground and the front of his t-shirt, but he downs what’s left and lobs the empty bottle in the direction of the bin. It bounces off, and he goes over to pick it up and throw it away properly before wheeling about and returning to the air, because she’s right. This day really is going to be a disaster, and the more practice he can get in before everything falls apart, the better.

 He’s been flying for an hour and a half when it happens. There’s an outburst of noise and kerfuffle over by the gate to the grounds, and when he swings round in mid-air to get a look at what’s going on, he sees a figure in sky blue robes being blocked from entering the grounds by a couple of his fellow racers.

No sooner has he noticed that something’s going on than Delphi sticks her head out of the clubhouse door to see what all the commotion is. He flies down to her.

“The Ministry are here,” he says.

”I can see that. Last chance to leave. Are you sure you want to do this?” She looks at him and there’s a glint in her eye that says she already knows full well what his answer is going to be.

Albus glances in the direction of the crowd by the gates. “Yes, I want to do this. I’ll be careful.”

He hops off the broom and leaves it by the wall, then he rests a hand briefly on Delphi’s arm as he sets off towards the gate.

There’s a swarm of people gathering there now. Racers come flying in from all corners of the grounds, and their brooms among the crowd seem to form an intimidating barbed fence standing out even within the wall of bodies. Albus can sense Delphi trailing behind him as he joins the crowd and starts weaving his way towards the front. He’s too short to see over everyone’s heads, but at least he can hear what’s going on.

“Two points. First point, I’m not here to arrest anyone or cause any trouble, I just want to talk. Second point, more significant point, I have a warrant of entry from the Ministry of Magic, so technically you have to let me in.”

Albus’s heart stops. He knows that voice. He would know that voice anywhere.

“Excuse me,” he says, nudging his way past the person in front of him. “Sorry. Let me- I need to-“ He barges through the crowd without thinking. There’s part of him that’s screaming at him to stop, to run away, to walk as fast as he can in the opposite direction and find somewhere to hide, because this is the sort of danger he’s been terrified of for years. But the rest of him doesn’t care. The rest of him stopped thinking the second he heard that voice, which he’s been missing for seven years.

He bursts through to the front of the crowd, not caring that he’s leaving a disgruntled, elbowed wake behind him, and when he gets there he stops dead and stares.

Scorpius Malfoy has visibly grown up in the last few years. He’s taller, and impossibly skinnier, but he looks surer in his body now. When he was younger he always seemed surprised by his height and the length of his limbs, but now there’s a strength and control, almost a grace, to his movements, like he’s finally grown into himself.

His face has lost the last of its childlike roundness. His jaw is strong and defined, and his cheekbones are sharp. The white blond Malfoy hair shines as bright as ever, almost silver in the summer sunshine, and it’s a touch longer than it used to be, long enough for the soft, stray curls to frame his face and graze the nape of his neck, just about reaching the collar of his sky blue Ministry robes – he works for the Ministry now, for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and even though Albus knows that was never among his ambitions he can’t help but feel the role still suits him. It lends him an authority that’s impressive and not at all surprising. Scorpius Malfoy as a Ministry official feels like the fulfilment of some sort of promise. It feels right.

Albus realises suddenly that he’s been staring with his mouth open. He snaps it shut and swallows hard. His heart is thudding in his chest and his mouth has gone dry. It’s been so long and now Scorpius is here, looking like this: like heaven, like home, and Albus doesn’t know what to do about it.

Except he does know. He knows exactly what to do. What he needs to do is to run and get as far away from here – from Scorpius – as he can. But before he can move, Scorpius turns and looks at him, and Albus finds himself unable to move.

Scorpius doesn’t say a word, but there’s something in his gaze – something sharp and attentive, a slight widening of those eyes that today are the heavy grey of rain clouds – that tells Albus that Scorpius knows exactly who he is.

Scorpius take a step towards him. “What are you-“

“I’ll deal with this,” Albus says, raising his voice so the entire crowd can hear him. “He can talk to me.”

Gareth emerges from the crowds next to him. “Sev... I think we should all talk this through together. You’ve been away for so long, you’re not up on what’s been happening.” He lowers his voice. “There’s safety in numbers here.”

Albus takes a deep breath and nods. “I know, but...” He looks up at Gareth, one of the first people to accept him seven years ago, and he doesn’t know how to explain. It’s always been an unspoken rule that Gareth speaks for all of them, and he has no right to take that away, except...

He draws himself up with all the strength and authority he can muster, trying to stand the way Scorpius is standing, like he has a right to decide what’s going to happen here, and he raises his voice a little so the other racers can hear. “That may be true, but I’m-“ He cuts himself off, not knowing where he was going with that sentence. But I’m his best friend. But I’m his boss’s son. Neither of those things are really true anymore...

“Trust me,” he tries instead. “I know what I’m doing. I can make this go away, I promise.”

The other racers glance at each other, and a murmur sweeps through the crowd as everyone starts discussing what to do. Finally Gareth raises a hand and cuts off the hubbub.

“You’d damn well better do a good job of this, Sev. If you can sort this out, then-“

“I promise I can.”

He nods. “Then get on with it. We’re all counting on you.”

Albus swallows and looks around at the expectant faces of the crowd, wondering if he’s done the right thing here. Then he glances over his shoulder and sees Scorpius standing there, watching him with a perplexed, slightly stunned look on his face, and any apprehension he has melts away in an instant. This is all going to be entirely okay.

“We should get out of here,” he says, turning his back on the crowd and going over to Scorpius. “There’s a nice cafe round the corner. We can go there and talk.”

Scorpius gestures past him, in the direction of the grounds. “But I’m supposed to- I can’t just leave without doing anything.”

“And we can’t talk in here with this lot,” Albus says. “They won’t leave you alone. It’ll be much easier elsewhere...” He pauses, then plays what he hopes is his trump card. “Your iced tea is on me.”

If Scorpius had looked ready to dig his heels in before, now his expression seems to thaw, and a small, glowing smile crosses his face. He sighs and waves a hand. “Fine. Fine! But it had better be a really good iced tea.”

“It will be,” Albus promises, returning the smile. “Come on.” He puts a hand on Scorpius’s arm and is about to guide him out of the gate when he feels a tug on the hood of his jacket that snaps his head back just enough to get his attention. He wheels round to push the person away, but sees Delphi there at the front of the crowd, smiling a dangerously sweet smile, her eyes like daggers of ice.

He deflates. “Give me a second,” he tells Scorpius, then he turns to Delphi and steps in close to her so no one else can hear. “What are you-“

“What on earth do you think you’re doing?” She hisses, tone so high pitched she sounds almost hysterical.

“Fixing this,” he murmurs back, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Delphi-“

“This doesn’t look like being safe,” she says, slapping his hand away. “It doesn’t look like being sensible. This looks like a disaster.”

“It’s fine!” Albus says soothingly. “He’s- it’s fine. I promise I’ll be careful. If it makes you happy I’ll be back in time for dinner. I’ll tell you what happens.”

Delphi glares at him, and he doesn’t think he’s ever seen so much animosity in her eyes. Maybe directed at other people, but never at him. “I really really hope you know what you’re doing,” she says, voice low now, and a little bit dangerous. “Albus Severus-“

“I do,” he snaps, cutting her off. “I’m an adult. I can handle myself. I’ll see you later.” He plants a kiss on her cheek despite his burst of irritation (why does she need to be so controlling?) then turns away and waves for Scorpius to go ahead of him out of the gate. “Come on. Let’s go.”

They walk in silence for about a hundred metres down the street before Scorpius stops dead. Albus stops too.

“Are you-“

“It’s you,” Scorpius says, and Albus can hear that his voice is trembling. The smile on his face looks shaky too, like he can’t decide whether he wants to grin or burst into tears.

Albus swallows and nods. “Yeah,” he breathes. “It’s me.”

Scorpius opens his mouth, closes it again, then draws in a very deep breath. “What happened to your eyes?” He asks. “They’re... they’re brown.”

“Oh,” Albus says, twisting round to look at himself in the window behind him. “I-I suppose they are. It’s a potion.”

“A potion,” Scorpius says dubiously. “Why? The green is so...”

“It’s supposed to stop people knowing who I am,” Albus says.

Scorpius hesitates for a moment, then grins. “Well it’s not done a very good job, has it? You can’t wear that-“ he tugs gently on one of the white strings of Albus’s favourite green hoodie “-and not expect people to recognise you.”

Albus folds his arms and lifts his chin. “It’s worked for seven years, hasn’t it?”

Scorpius considers for a moment, then shrugs. “Touché. You mentioned iced tea?”

Albus smiles. “I did.”

They start walking again, and as they do they keep glancing at each other. Twice Albus catches Scorpius looking at him, and their eyes meet. For some reason Albus’s cheeks feel very hot, and the day may be warm but it’s not that warm.

“Was she your girlfriend?” Scorpius asks after a few paces. “You know, the one with the-“ he makes a wriggling motion with his fingers over his head.

“Who? Delphi?” Albus looks across at him and pulls a face. “No, definitely not. She’s more like my...” He trails off, not sure he knows what word he’s looking for. Delphi’s relationship to him is undefinable. She’s a friend, a confidant, a sister, a manager, and a teacher all rolled into one. Who she is to him is too much to explain in a word. She’s been everything to him. “She’s Delphi,” he says with a shrug. “But I don’t... she’s not my type.”

Scorpius frowns and looks down at the ground. “But you-“

“It’s just something we do,” Albus says, not sure why he feels such a desperate urge to explain that fact. “It doesn’t really mean anything. It’s... it’s weird I suppose. I’m sorry.” He doesn’t know why he apologises either; it just feels like the right thing to do. Scorpius nods and bows his head as they keep walking in silence.

Albus notices that now they’re not in front of the crowd anymore Scorpius’s posture has crumpled. He’s lost all the authority from his stance, and now his shoulders are hunched, his head down. He looks small, and a little bit lost, especially inside those sky blue robes that suddenly seem far too big for him, and are definitely far stiffer than any of the clothes Albus thinks of as being the sort of thing Scorpius feels comfortable in.

“So you work for the Ministry now,” Albus says softly. “For- for, you know...”

“A very very, very junior official,” Scorpius says, with this little twisted smile that looks like it hurts, although Albus can’t fathom why. “But yes, an employee of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. And you’re an illegal broom racer.”

“It’s a job,” Albus says, and Scorpius’s difficult, painful smile melts into a real one.

“That’s one word for it.”

They reach the cafe, and Albus holds the door open for Scorpius to go in ahead of him. While Scorpius weaves between the chairs and tables, making a beeline for the squashy sofa in the corner, Albus pauses and watches him.

This feels like a dream. Scorpius Malfoy, his best friend, who he hasn’t seen in years, is right in front of him, about to have coffee with him, and he can’t believe it. This is a fantasy. This is one of his midnight imaginings coming true. It can’t be real. But then Scorpius flumps down on the sofa, arms flopping to either side, head dropping against the back cushion, relaxing into it, and he turns his head and smiles at Albus, a warm, bright smile, and Albus’s insides flutter. This is so real. Why did he run away from this? This is wonderful.

Albus orders the drinks and joins Scorpius at the table, sinking into the equally squashy armchair opposite him, and they begin to talk.

They talk about nothing in particular. They talk about iced tea, and how nice the loaves of bread they’re selling behind the counter look, and then they talk about Albus’s favourite bakery in Paris, and Scorpius asks about Europe so Albus sketches round the details of that. Not once do they talk about broom racing or the Ministry or the seven year chasm in their friendship. In fact it feels to Albus as if he’s never been away; Scorpius is as easy to talk to as he’s ever been.

There’s a sort of bright, humorous breeziness to everything Scorpius says. He’s full of positivity and light, the way he always has been. It makes it easy for Albus to steer clear of talking about any of his hardships, or any of the darkness in his life. It’s not that he normally talks about those things, he avoids it at all costs, but usually the not talking aches, like there’s so much inside him that he wants to get out but can’t that he feels like he might burst. But with Scorpius it’s as if the bad things simply don’t exist. Scorpius is like a ray of sunshine through a window on a summer’s day, chasing the shadows away and making everything feel warm and bright.

“Did I tell you my dad bought more peacocks?” Scorpius asks after two hours of chatter, stirring the ice cubes left at the bottom of his tea with a straw to make them melt faster so he can drink them.

Albus grins and downs his third shot of espresso. He’s buzzing with giddy happiness, and he can’t tell anymore if it’s the coffee or just Scorpius’s presence.

Scorpius nods. “He did. Without telling me. I came home from work one day and this enormous, iridescent bird was sitting right outside the front door, refusing to let me in.” He leans back in his seat and shakes his head. “They really do have a vendetta against me. But at least the new ones are colourful, not those awful, creepy white things grandfather had.”

“You know,” Albus says, setting his coffee cup down. “There were nights where I’d lie awake wondering how you’d have changed over the years, but you really haven’t.”

“Whereas you’ve changed everything,” Scorpius says, gesturing to him. “Your hair, your eyes, your name...”

Albus doesn’t quite know what to say to that, so he wipes his finger round the inside of his coffee cup to pick up the last dregs of his espresso, while Scorpius noisily sucks up the last bits of melted ice cube through his straw.

“Do you want to go for a walk?” Albus asks after a moment of silence. “There’s a really nice park round the corner. I don’t want to- I mean we haven’t even talked about the legal stuff yet. We should do that at some point.”

“We should,” Scorpius agrees. They get up, clear their table, and start walking.

It’s a warm day and the sun is high in the sky above them as they head off along the river beneath leafy trees. Albus rolls the sleeves of his hoodie up to his elbows but it’s not warm enough to need to take it off. Twice their hands brush together as they stroll side by side, and they both murmur apologies and shift apart. In the end it’s Albus who breaks the silence.

“So how did you end up working for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement? I thought you always wanted to be an Unspeakable.”

Scorpius turns his head away and gazes down at the river burbling gently along beside the path. He seems to hesitate for a moment, then he glances up at Albus and a shaft of sunlight through the trees illuminates his face, making it glow peachy bright, his eyes like slivers of pure silver. “Your dad owed me a favour,” he says.

Albus frowns. “My- What for?”

Scorpius’s smile does that painful, twisted thing again. “You don’t read the papers, do you?”

“I try to avoid it,” Albus says. “For, you know, obvious reasons.”

Scorpius nods. “I recommend keeping it that way.”

Albus scrutinises him carefully, but there’s nothing there to read. He’s as impenetrable right now as Delphi at her best. That must be something else he’s picked up from Draco over the years.

“So now you’re a Ministry official,” he says, knowing that pushing the subject will get him nowhere.

“I am,” Scorpius says. “And you’re an athlete.”

Albus laughs. “I suppose I am, but-“

“You’re Sev,” Scorpius continues. “The most fearless and fearsome illegal broom racer around.”

“I-“

“You’re successful,” Scorpius says, ticking it off on his fingers. “You’re driven. You’re almost unbeatable. From what I’ve heard you’re not finding it difficult to make a living. I’ve read your case file.”

“I- I have a case file?” Albus asks, stopping dead and looking at him. “What does it say?”

Scorpius shrugs. “Pretty much just that. There are photos too, but-“ He holds a hand up when Albus opens his mouth to interrupt. “Don’t panic. No one would know it’s you.”

Albus snaps his mouth shut and considers that for a moment. “Did you?” He asks. “Know it was me? Before you came?”

Scorpius shakes his head. “I thought Sev looked familiar, but I didn’t realise how I recognised him. And then I saw you, and- You’re you. You’re so very you. You can change the colour of your eyes and cut your hair, but you can’t change who you are.”

“Can I see you again?” Albus asks sharply, without thinking first. He turns and looks right at Scorpius as the question spills out. “It’s been seven years. It’s been too long. I didn’t mean to stay away for such a long time. I just...” He trails off, shaking his head, not sure what his excuse is.

“You’ll see me again,” Scorpius says, looking straight ahead down the shadow dappled path. “You’re part of the league I have to shut down. I’m not going to go away.”

Albus swallows. “I mean can I see you again away from the league, away from your work? I didn’t realise how much I missed talking to you.”

“I missed you too,” Scorpius whispers, almost too quietly for Albus to hear. He turns and looks at Albus, and there’s something in his eyes that makes Albus want to reach out and hug him, to start trying to bridge the gap that seven years apart, that Albus’s running away, has torn between them. “I want to think about it,” he murmurs. “I need to think about it.”

“I-“ Albus digs his hands into his pockets and tries not to let it look like his heart has just been shattered. “Okay. I-I understand.”

“And I need you to know,” Scorpius continues, tone strengthening now he’s started speaking, making it sound as though he’s trying to get all the difficult things out of the way in one go. “I need you to know that I have to shut down the league. Whether you’re part of it or not. I really need to do this, Albus. You can’t stop me, I’m sorry. It’s my job and I... I really need to do it well.”

For some reason that doesn’t hurt nearly as much as Scorpius needing time to think about seeing him again, so Albus just nods. “Okay.”

“It’s getting late,” Scorpius says, interrupting the slightly awkward beat of silence that follows. He gets his watch out and his eyes widen. “Shit, it’s getting really late, I didn’t realise. I need to get back to the office, and then home. My dad will be worrying about already. I need to-“

“Do you still live at the Manor?” Albus asks.

Scorpius nods and tucks his watch away. “Yes, I do. I’m sorry, Albus, I have to go now. And don’t you need to go and meet-“

“Delphi,” Albus groans. “I do. I forgot.”

“So we should...” Scorpius gestures over his shoulder down the path, and Albus nods in agreement, but neither of them move. They just stand there beneath the trees, in a warm shaft of evening sunlight, and look at each other.

“Do you have a quill?” Albus asks finally.

Scorpius frowns. “A quill? Yes, of course I-“

“And parchment?”

Scorpius nods. “Yes, but-“

“Can I borrow them?” Albus asks, holding a hand out.

Scorpius gives him a long, perplexed look, then pulls his parchment and quill out of a pocket. “It’s self-inking, so-“

Albus takes them and scribbles his address on the top corner of the parchment. “This is where I live,” he says, handing it back to Scorpius. “So you can find me. Visit me, call me, Owl me, whatever, whenever. If you want.”

Scorpius hovers his hand over the parchment for a moment looking stunned. “Albus...” He says softly. “Albus this is a really bad idea.”

Albus grins. “I’m full of bad ideas. I’m me. Go on, take it.”

Scorpius takes hold of the parchment and stares down at it. “I mean it, Albus. You shouldn’t give me this. There’s... there’s a 100,000 Galleon reward for finding you, and you’ve just... If the wrong people find this... You don’t want to be found, do you?”

“I do,” Albus says, then realises what he’s said and shakes his head. “I mean, I don’t. No. Of course not. I- You’re a Malfoy though. You don’t need the money. You won’t- Will you?”

Scorpius looks up from the paper and there’s a terrifying pause before he speaks. “No,” he says. “I won’t, but Albus... what if someone sees it?”

Albus casts around for a solution to his stupidity. “Memorise it,” he says. “Then eat it. Burn it? Burning it is more sensible, do that. I mean you can eat it if you want, but it probably won’t taste very good. What does parchment even taste of?”

“You’re an idiot,” Scorpius tells him. He looks down at the parchment and falls silent. For several seconds he reads and mouths along with the words. There’s something wonderful about seeing Scorpius painstakingly learning every letter of his address. With every syllable and sound his lips form, every breath of the familiar street name that Albus hears him speak, it feels more and more like Albus has company. It feels like he’s being found, in the best possible way.

Finally Scorpius draws his wand and looks up at Albus. He recites the address once through, perfectly, and when Albus nods, Scorpius waves his wand and the parchment goes up in flames. Scorpius drops it onto the concrete path and they watch it curl up and turn into a little pile of ash, until the flames finally extinguish, and the incriminating words are gone.

“Thank you,” Scorpius says, when there’s nothing left except smoke and memory.

“What for?” Albus asks.

“For making sure you can’t run away again.”

“Not from you at least,” Albus says softly. “Never from you. It wasn’t about you in the first place.” He reaches out a hand towards Scorpius, then thinks better of it and clenches his fist, letting it fall to his side. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Scorpius looks him in the eyes and nods. “See you tomorrow.”

[nottswitch]

We Don’t Talk Anymore

So, a long while ago I got a request for Cedric about reader being his bff and when he starts dating Cho, he distances himself from reader, and overall angst, and I'm finally introducing a new character I'll be writing for since right now!

Thanks for your request, dear anon, I hope you will enjoy it! This is my first Cedric fic, so please tell me if I messed up his characterization or not. Also, let me know if you'd like to be tagged for him :)

Word count: 1,660

“Cedric! Diggory, you bastard, turn around!”

You waved at the boy until he finally noticed you. Quickly approaching him, you held out your arms, inviting him for your usual greeting hug. Cedric did it as well, patting you on the back, but for some reason he seemed strangely lost and not as joyful as he usually was whenever you met. You didn’t pay too much attention, though — he might have been tired after the whole morning spent on the Quidditch practice.

“How’s it going?” you wondered, proceeding to walk next to him along the path, leading to the castle. “You look hella tired to be honest.”

“A bit tired, yes,” Cedric answered, pulling off a smile which seemed rather fake to you. But you couldn’t blame him, after all, you wouldn’t be able to handle riding a broom for several hours in a row.

“You’re going for it, aren’t you?”

“We need to make it this year!” he said a little louder and you gave him a smile, happy that he came alive again.

“Yeah, yeah, I know, you freak!” you laughed. “You would sacrifice yourself for the sake of Quidditch, wouldn’t you?”

“That’s what captains do, huh?”

“I don’t know, you tell me.”

You both laughed now and Cedric seemed to go back to being that same cheerful lad you knew before, but something seemed off nonetheless. But you decided it was a thing to be discussed inside the castle.

Even though you insisted that he should have some time alone and get to rest, Cedric invited you to stay with him. You tried to object at first, but couldn’t resist his welcoming smile and gave up, stepping inside the room. There you placed yourself on the couch and grabbed a glass of pumpkin juice that magically appeared on the table in front of you — had nothing to do with Hufflepuff Common Room being next to the kitchens, of course.

Several minutes passed in silence while the two of you were enjoying the juice. You could feel, however, that Cedric was definitely way more tense than usual, and you were determined to learn why. Although, as you were about to ask the question, he decided to tell you that himself.

“Y/N, I need to talk to you… Seriously.”

“Wow. After the last time we talked “seriously”, we haven’t spoken for a week. I’m scared.”

But even though you tried to laugh the matter off, you were worried. It’s been a long time since you’d seen Cedric this concerned about something.

“It’s not that, I promise,” he said, heaving a deep breath and leaning back. The couch slightly creaked under his weight.

“Alright, I’m all ears than.”

After gathering his thoughts Cedric blurted out in one breath:

“I’m in love.”

“That’s… news,” you muttered in shock, staring at his confused face with an utterly surprised look in your eyes. “And who’s the one?”

“Cho,” he replied, looking away. You managed to notice the blush on his cheeks when he pronounced her name.

“Chang? Ravenclaw Seeker?” you asked, now shocked even more. Only after Cedric nodded, still staring into the ceiling, you were able to continue: “That’s definitely news.”

“She’s amazing,” he dreamily uttered, but quickly put on a serious expression, having seen your surprise. “What? Is it wrong?”

“No, no, what, wrong? You do you, Mr Lover,” you calmed him. “It’s just that I’m not used to such things coming from you, you know? You’re quite a hermit, no offense.”

“I? A hermit?”

“Yeah, you, a hermit. When was the last time you dated someone, may I wonder?”

“That’s why I’m asking you to help me!” Cedric almost shouted, but under weird looks given to him by a couple of third-years switched to whisper. “I want to ask her out.”

“Great! How am I supposed to help?”

“Well, any ideas… How should I ask? What am I supposed to do? I don’t have a lot of experience, you said it first!”

You laughed at how innocent Cedric sounded.

“Ced, come on! You’re the popular guy, I’m sure as soon as you come anywhere near her she will be like “take me right here right now”.”

“No, she’s not like that...” he said with a familiar dramy smile.

“Ah, of course, how could I forget?”

You rolled your eyes, seeing your best friend being completely, from head to toe, in love. You told him the truth, you weren’t used to seeing him like that at all. But someday it should’ve happened, right? And still, it was unusual.

“Just come up, say hi and ask, if she wants to go to Hogsmeade on Sunday. As simple as that. I’m sure as hell she’ll say yes.”

“That simple?”

Cedric seemed to be extremely surprised, if not in shock.

“That simple,” you reaffirmed your words, smiling, having seen how his face changed emotions in a span of seconds. “And what you though? That you need to jump off the Astronomy Tower?”

“I thought you girls love something fancy...”

“Not all of us, Ced, not all of us. And it was you who said she’s “not like that”.”

“Yeah, maybe you’re right,” he wistfully sighed, biting his lower lip.

“I am. Now go to bed, seductress, you look awfully tired. Even I wouldn’t say yes had I seen you right now.”

“Rude!”

“Keep it, amigo!”

__________

It’s been a whole week since you had properly talked to Cedric. Sure, you saw each other every day, greeted and exchanged your latest news, but it wasn’t the same. You used to have a little tradition: every Saturday evening you came to the Great Lake and chilled there after a long week of classes and homeworks. Now you didn’t have that. Cedric always had an excuse not to go: “Cho and I are going to Hogsmeade, I’m helping Cho with Potions, Cho this, Cho that”... You started to think that you probably shouldn’t have helped him in the first place.

Once Cedric ignored your invitation to Hogsmeade — “I’m afraid Cho won’t like it”, — then declined your advice to ask her, and it was the last drop. During dinner you scribbled several words on a piece of parchment and sent it to fly to Cedric’s table. You attentively watched how he read it, raised his head and hesitantly nodded.

You exited the Great Hall with a satisfied but concerned smile on your face. Tonight you would finally talk to him, properly this time.

__________

“Couldn’t have picked a later hour, could you?”

“Oh, sorry, Mr Prefect. Get me to the headmaster.”

“Jokes aside, Y/N. What’s the matter?”

You scoffed, but your face was sad and it failed to remain unnoticed. Cedric’s expression changed immediately and he was ready to say something else when you started talking.

“So you really don’t see what’s wrong?”

“I… try to, but no… You’re upset though. I did something?”

“Oh Cedric… You did.”

You called him by his full name only when you were angry, and it was enough for him to start worrying even more.

“Tell me then, and I’ll make up for it, I promise.”

“I doubt it’s possible to make up for it… Ah, whatever. Cedric, do you really not understand that we’re hardly friends anymore?”

“What are you talking about? Of course we’re friends.”

Cedric was very obviously confused, and you once again made sure he wasn’t acting out of bad intentions. This fact made it harder to be angry at him, but you still were.

“We’re acquaintances, nothing more. We don’t talk like we used to. We never meet. Where did our evenings at the lake go? Where did our visits to Three Broomsticks go? Where did our early mornings on the quidditch field go?”

Even this short rant left you exhausted and you just helplessly waved your arms at the end. Cedric was clearly speechless. Wrinkles on his brow meant he wasn’t pleased either.

“Where did they go?”

And even when he found what to say, it was senseless.

“I don’t know. Maybe you can tell me?” Not letting him speak, you continued: “Oh wait, I know. Cho took all of them.”

It was a good strike, in the very spot. You could see that now Cedric was way less clueless.

“Cho? Merlin, Y/N, she’s my girlfriend! We’re dating, yes, but it doesn’t mean you’re any less of a best friend to me.”

“Actions speaks louder than words, Cedric, and yours aren’t that polite.”

“I mean, of course I spend time with her, but I’d spent it with you with same pleasure, honestly...”

“...Or you’re just too afraid to admit that we’re not best friends anymore.”

Cedric didn’t reply. You weren’t oblivious and saw that he understood everything. It was scary to say out loud, but he understood.

“What should I do to fix that?” he finally managed to voice, avoiding your eyes.

“You agree with me then?”

“Yes, I messed up and I keep doing it,” he raised his hands, defeated. “I thought about it now, and yes, I’m a big fool. Can I fix that?”

“Be the same guy I knew. Goof around, trip over flat floor, make my hair a mess, stain my whole face with cream from the breakfast pie. You can even push me into the Great Lake once, I won’t get angry. But only once!” Your faces lit up at one memory you were clearly referring to. “Be Ced, my kinda dorky Hufflepuff friend. Can you arrange that?”

“I think it’s in my power,” Cedric agreed.

He grabbed your cheeks and attempted to make you smile. You did the same and honestly, you looked like two fools. But now you recognised your fool in him.

The next day Cedric and Cho had a date at Hogsmeade. Sitting at the lake, you saw them heading back to the castle. Glad they didn’t notice, you shed a tear, remembering for another time that it was Saturday’s evening.

__________

Tag list: @padfootagain @giggleberts @starless-skyox @furmicl @coffeeismylife28

[anythingfanfiction]

Ben Solo, the One and Only

Chapter 1 Chapter 2  Chapter 3

WARNING: This chapter does contain some smut at the end. If you’re not comfortable with that, you can stop reading when Ben says, “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she gets home safe.” Aside from that, I’ll mark the stopping point with three stars (***). Take note that there is more writing under the gif & please don’t forget to read some notes all the way at the end of the post. Happy reading everyone!

Chapter 4

After their first kisses on the night of the festival, Ben and Vivian never left their meetups unscathed; there was always a bruise peeking out from underneath his collar or a mark behind her ear. It didn’t take long for Leia to see a few of her son’s hickeys and she sadly assumed each was from a different woman. In hopes of deterring him from picking up girls at bars, she gave him more missions. They were long, difficult, and keeping him away from Vivian.

It wasn’t for another three weeks until he could fly out to Viktas and by then, he had grown what he believed to be an impressive amount of facial hair. Although he spoke with Vivian nearly every day, Ben desperately missed her and wondered if there could’ve been anything that changed for her over the past few weeks. He also considered the possibility of telling his mother the truth about where he was going. Perhaps, if Leia knew it was to visit his girlfriend, she’d go easier on him. Ben smiled at the word, Girlfriend, huh.

He landed the Falcon with ease and raced to the garden where they’d usually meet. But to his surprise, she wasn’t there. It didn’t make any sense, her work shift should’ve been over by now and she should’ve been there. Ben walked a few laps around the garden and started to panic when he still couldn’t find her. He called her and thankfully, she answered.

“Ben?”

“Vivian, where are you? I’ve been scouring all over the garden for you!”

“I know, but you missed a spot.”

“What?”

“Look up,” she instructed and he did, only to find her waving at him from her apartment’s balcony. Beside her, sat her brother, Vincent. Even with the distance, Ben could see the grim expression shadow her brother’s face.

“I’ll be down in a minute, just let me finish up here, ” she told him before promptly hanging up. Ben saw her say something to Vincent before leaning down to kiss his forehead and ruffled his hair. Moments later, the two left the balcony and met up with Ben on the ground level. The men greeted each other but Ben could tell there was something off about Vincent. The latter didn’t stay for long and all Ben could care about was Vivian’s quickly making her way to embrace him. Nothing had really changed about her, though he thought she looked more beautiful than ever. He kissed her on the cheek, then on her lips and lastly, kept busy with her neck. What satisfied him most was seeing her cheeks flush red as she gasped and pulled on his dark locks.

She then reached up to curiously scratch the hair on his chin, “This wasn’t here three weeks ago.”

“I guess you can say it grew on me,” he joked, “You like it?”

“If I’m being honest, I’m not a fan. It doesn’t necessarily look bad but I prefer seeing you without it. This only covers your lips and doesn’t allow me to entirely see your handsome face.” she said while tracing his lips and face with her fingertips. “I also didn’t like how it scratched my face when you kissed me.”

Her words were enough to make him sigh and make a mental note to shave later when he got back home. She noticed his displeasure and added, “On the other hand, it does give you a more rough and rugged look than usual, maybe you should keep it until the wedding.”

Ben’s eyes lit up then looked confused, “Wedding? What wedding? Are you proposing to me right now?”

“I’m not, but Vincent is.”

“Vincent wants to marry me?” he sarcastically quipped.

“No, silly! He’s going to ask Cecilia.”

“I figured; the poor kid looked so pale I was about to ask if he turned into a ghost.”

The two decided to take a stroll to the market as they continued their conversation. While Vivian was observing a fruits stand, Ben asked her, “Are you okay with the whole thing?”

“Well, he actually wanted to propose around two years ago when they first started dating. They had been friends three years before that in school; I knew he was madly in love with her from the start and she wasn’t far behind. But I convinced him to hold back for a bit. At least now the two of them are working and they’re a little older, so I much rather them getting married now as semi-adults versus back then.” she explained, “I’m happy for him.”

Ben made a fuss about carrying her bags, insisting that it was the gentlemanly thing to do, but she could tell it was to impress her and she let him do as he pleased. They came across a tailor who had several garments displayed on mannequins and a sign that read, “Francine’s Fancy Fashion for Men”

Vivian stopped, looked up at Ben and smiled, “Do you have a suit?”

“Vivian, I already own a suit.”

“I know that, Ben. You’ve mentioned it several times already. But I was thinking that you should have a suit from Viktas; made from the land’s fine materials and traditional style. It would be the only appropriate thing to wear to the wedding! And besides, it looks so good on you!” she squealed.

“Ah! You two getting married, how lovely! My sister in shop next door can make you pretty dress to go with suit,” Francine, who was currently adding pins into Ben’s new suit, was a plump older woman with thick purple rimmed glasses and choppy English. Vivian could only assume it was due to learning it as a second language. 

“Thank you, but we aren’t the ones getting married. These are for my brother’s wedding,” she said, pointing at Vincent who was sitting on Francine’s couch with his already finished suit in hand, “The bride and I already got our dresses yesterday from your sister.”

“Good, good,” was all the seamstress said as she took Ben’s suit into a separate room to make the final alterations. 

When Vivian satisfyingly viewed the final product, she paid for the two suits and invited Ben to the apartment for lunch, mentioning that she had a surprise for him. He had been to the apartment on a few occasions, mostly to pick her up for a date, but he had never really been inside. It was a simple and clean space that mainly consisted of monotone colors, such as white and pale greys, that gave the home an overall modern feel. On the left, there was a medium sized kitchen featuring the needed amenities pair and a kitchen island with four metal stools. Past that was a glass topped dining table that could seat up to six people.

On the opposite side was the living room with a white sofa, a bookcase, glass coffee table, two love seats, and a viewing screen built into the wall. Beyond that main section, there was a hallway that led to 4 closed doors to which Ben assumed were bedrooms and a bathroom. Despite the plainly colored walls and furniture, there was colorful life coming from just about everywhere from the many flowering plants Vivian had on every table or shelf. Everything in the apartment looked so lush and lavish that it made Ben wonder just how much a doctor’s salary paid.

Before going into the kitchen to prepare lunch, Vivian disappeared into one of the rooms only to reappear seconds later and leave Ben a small, metal object in his hands. It was a razor. She reached up to kiss his cheek and patted on his chest, “Bathroom is in the first door on your right.”

All Ben Solo could do was sigh heavily as he walked over to the bathroom -thinking of how to say goodbye to his epic facial hair.

The ceremony was held two days afterward under a gazebo in the middle of the forest. It was such an intimate setting that Ben was surprised he was even there. The only other people attending the service aside from the bride and groom was Vivian and Cecilia’s parents. He stood by Vivian who was tightly pressed and embracing his left arm - not that he was complaining. She was wearing a layered floor-length burgundy colored gown with simple golden embroidery scattered throughout the bust and hemline. The dress had a plunging neckline that provided Ben with quite a view of her breasts and a fading mark he left a few days ago on her collarbone. 

Vivian nudged his head away when she caught his stare and signaled that Cecilia was already making her way to the gazebo. Ben stole a glance at Vincent to see him shedding tears of joy. Vivian smiled, leaning her head on Ben’s shoulder, hugging him tighter than before.

The customs progressed as they would on most other planets; an introduction, some prayer, followed by exchanging rings and so on. What Ben wasn’t expecting to happen, was for the officiant to take out a golden dagger and silk white scarf. Vivian squeezed his arm before letting go and approaching the couple. She was handed the scarf and wrapped it around Vincent and Cecilia’s hands. Then, she took the small blade and pricked at her index finger allowing for a single drop to stain the fabric. 

“With my blood, I bless your marriage and give you our bloodline’s approval. I wish you both happiness in your married life,” she declared. Soon after, Vivian was joined by Cecilia’s parents who followed the same actions. Once they finished, everyone returned to their original positions. Vows were exchanged and the union was finally sealed with a kiss. 

While pictures were taken around the gazebo, Ben asked about the whole blood dripping situation. “It’s a tradition here,” she explained to him, “you’re supposed to get the permission to marry from the oldest member in your family. That person will either attend the wedding themselves or dictate another two people to represent them for the ceremony. The blood is a sign of the family’s acceptance of the marriage and symbolizes all of the those who contributed to the bloodline. It’s something almost everyone looks forward to when getting married.”

By nightfall, all the pictures were taken and the area around the gazebo was set up for the party. Lights were strewn between the trees, while shimmery round tables with seats were scattered across the ground. There had been over a hundred people who arrived, each manifesting their desire to party. About an hour into the festivities, Vincent cleared the dance floor, announcing that he and his sister had prepared something special for Cecilia. Ben gave Vivian a questionable look to which she smiled mischievously in response while taking off her shoes.

She stood next to her brother and gave him a nod. They simultaneously lifted their arms in a slow pace to be brought down by the beat of a drum. From then on, their dance consisted of fast pace, energetic movements that were all coordinated with the percussion. Vivian and Vincent had one arm held out and another close to their chests as their bodies swayed backward. Ben had never been so mesmerized. She looked so happy to be jumping around with her brother; laughing to the downbeat with a smile so radiant it could've blinded anyone if they looked for too long.

There was a moment were Vivian picked up the sides of her dress and pushed them back and forth, similar to a bird flapping its wings. She repeated the action in different places so that she’d make a full circle around the audience while Vincent stood in the middle staring at Cecilia as he continued with his own dance. When Vivian reached where Ben was standing, he felt his heart stop. Her smile seemed to grow wider as she locked eyes with him. Her movements seemed to be more expressive, more meaningful than before. Her time there seemed to be longer than with any other part of the audience. She was dancing for him and wanted everyone to know it. Yet, she had to leave him at some point and join her brother at the center again. They ended their routine with a series of pivots and turns to land on their knees facing Cecilia with their arms outstretched. 

The audience erupted with loud cheers and chants while Cecilia burst into tears and ran to the siblings on the ground. She first embraced the two then kissed Vincent many, many times causing the audience to holler at them. This gave Vivian the chance to escape to get something to drink and catch her breath. Ben followed her to their seats as she suspected he would and sat next to her. She touched her forehead to his and whispered, “Did you like it?”

Ben cupped her cheeks in his hands and kissed her deeply as his response. When they let go, she ran her fingers through his hair and said, “I’ll take that as a yes.” 

The party continued for hours, but it wasn’t tiring. Ben was enjoying his time with Vivian and danced with her throughout the night. After all the other guests had left, Vivian and Vincent said their goodbyes. The latter warned his sister that it was late and to be careful on the way to the apartment.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she gets home safe,” Ben promised him and the two couples parted ways. ***

Yet, when the time came for Ben and Vivian to separate, they couldn’t find it in themselves to do so. He had her back pressed against her apartment door as he kissed her. Their lips moved in sync as desperate attempts to savor the taste of each other. Though neither of them mentioned it, he had a growing bludge in his pants that was begging to be set free. For just a moment, they broke apart to catch some air and Ben realized the situation, “I should probably go; it’s late and -” 

“No.” Vivian interrupted, “It is late and maybe you should go, but I want you to stay here tonight.”

Though he had always wished for it, Ben never expected for this moment to come. She opened the door and he lifted her off the ground.

“Second door on the left,” she breathed and resumed their kiss with her fingers laced around his neck.

Once inside, Ben paid no attention to his surroundings and set her down on the center of the bed without breaking their kiss. She slid her hands underneath his jacket and took it off, giving Ben the impression that she wanted him to do the same for her. So he slipped his hand to caress her legs and began lifting the dress off her body. Her breath quickened as he moved his mouth to the base of her neck; she called out to him, “Ben.”

No response. “Ben, I need to tell you something.”

“Can’t it wait?”

“No. I need you to know now.”

“Fine,” he answered and hoisted himself off to sit beside her.

“I’ve never done this before. Not just sex, but the whole boyfriend thing. You’ve been my first everything so far. First date, first kiss and now, first time,” she confessed.

“Do you want me to stop? We don’t have to do this.”

“No, gods no, I want this. Just know that I’m doing this without really knowing how to satisfy you and that it might not be enough,” she silently sighed, looking away from him with an ashamed frown. 

Ben felt different now to everything he has done with Vivian and to what they were about to do. He would be the one to take her virginity, her last remains of innocence. It gave him an immense feeling of pride, further arousing him, “You’re more than enough for me and it seems as if I can never get enough of you. Don’t be scared, I’ll try to be gentle.”

Vivian nodded, encouraging him to continue where they left off. In one swift movement, he stripped her of the burgundy dress and saw that she wasn’t wearing a bra. How naughty, my sweet little virgin. She quickly covered herself with her arms and Ben tsked. He grabbed her arms and forced them above her head, lacing his fingers with hers.

“Why would you hide such a beautiful, perfect body?” he asked and that beautiful, perfect body writhed beneath him. Ben took his time staring at her, trying to memorize as much possible before lowering his lips to one of her swollen nipples. He licked it, teasing the nub, preparing it for his teeth to scrape across her bare flesh. She whimpered loudly, thrusting her chest closer to his face. In return, he gave the same treatment to the other breast.

“You’re still dressed,” she complained, “I want you to see you.”

“So demanding,” he chuckled in response, “How about you strip me?”

Before Vivian could say anything, Ben let go of her hands and switched their positions so that she was now on top of him. She looked flustered and out of place, but still leaned over him and stroked a finger along his chest. Painstakingly slow, Ben’s shirt had come off and he felt her hands graze over his stomach, nearing the belt on his trousers. She left her hands on his groin in a way that made his pants strain even more. Her eyes shifted to his and he gave a reassuring nod. Vivian then proceeded to unbuckle his belt and remove his pants.

“Good girl,” he praised and shifted their positions once again; taking his turn in caressing her. From her breasts to the base of her ankle, he left a kiss on every inch of her skin. He spread her legs to witness the staining wetness her fluids were causing and tore her panties apart. She gasped at the sudden exposure and moaned even louder as Ben shoved his face between her legs. Her fingers tightly pulled on his hair, wanting more, while his tongue explored through her folds. He let out a deep groan that shook her entire body as he found what he’d been searching for - the most sensitive and precious thing inside of her. Ben licked on the nub harder to each of her screams; he could tell that she was so close.

But at the last minute, he removed himself causing her to whine and complain. He wanted her to finish the way they started. He took off his underwear to reveal his massively huge, throbbing cock. Vivian’s eyes clouded with lust, her thoughts contemplating all the ways he could penetrate her. Ben pumped himself a few times before positioning at her entrance, his hands clasped hers and, like before, were put on either side of her head. For a few seconds, they stayed like that, anticipating the next move, and then, he thrust into her. 

The sound that came out of Vivian’s mouth was foreign to them both; a combination of mewls, moans, and pleasured screams filled the bedroom. Ben waited for her body to adjust before pounding into her, breasts bouncing along with their pace. She’s so damn tight. He then let go of one of her hands and plunged it inside her as well. It didn’t take long for her to scream out his name and reach her climax. At the sound on his name, Ben followed her shortly, filling her up with his warm seed.

When they came down from their highs, Ben nuzzled his nose into the crook of her neck. “I love you,” he whispered. It was soft and even he was shocked when it came out of his mouth. It was also true and he held no regrets in saying it. 

He removed himself from her causing her to whine in disapproval. She curled up to his side, resting her head on his arm and a hand on his chest.

“Ben,” she panted, “I love you too.” Her words were out of breath, but she seemed to have more to say. It definitely stroked and boosted Ben’s ego knowing that she couldn’t properly speak because of him. “Use your words, my love.” he teased.

“That was amazing,” she said, but hesitated to continue, “Can we… can we do it again?”

Ben wholeheartedly laughed and crawled his way on top of her again, “Sweetheart, we can do it as many times as you want. No matter when, how, or where you want it.”

He said this while leaving kisses on her neck that would surely bruise the next day and said to him, “Then I guess we’re in for a very long night.”

A/N: Another chapter completed! This one is actually longer than the first three combined! Hope you guys enjoyed this one & if you did, please like it + comment on your favorite parts! It took me some time to get it done but I hope it was worth the wait. The dance Vincent & Vivian did was inspired by a choreography done in my favorite musical (Once On This Island) but I’m no good at describing dances so Here’s a link to the video if you would like to see it! (The actual dance starts @ exactly 2:25). 

[iggytheperson]

1, digimon

[Send me a number prompt and a fandom and I’ll write a drabble]

1# - “It wasn’t your fault”

under the cut, 1,700 words.

Taichi is sitting in the waiting room again. Because his little sister is in the emergency room, again. Because he messed up. 

Again.

Koushiro had said that it was a rather large energy signal. That it could be dangerous to send only the younger kids. And Taichi hadn’t listened to a single word that he had to say. Again.

And now Daisuke and Hikari were in the emergency room.

Koushiro has been saying that they’re lucky it was only them. Taichi sees Iori, tiny little Iori, who looks like he had a deathmatch with a lawnmower and lost. Ken, out for the count after screaming himself hoarse and falling into unconsciousness. Takeru being checked for a concussion. He wonders how the hell he’s supposed to think of this result as lucky.

At least nobody’s dead, they all say. At least nobody died. Because someone definitely could’ve. They all could’ve. They even came pretty close.

And all because Taichi messed up.

He tries to focus on the ones who he knows aren’t going to die, tries to soothe Miyako’s sobbing and stop her from picking at the bandages covering up her face.

Taichi tells Miyako not to cry, but it’s a bit meaningless since she can probably hear that he’s crying himself, even if she can’t see it. He says it’s going to be fine and Hikari is going to be fine and the two of them can go out and buy Miyako her new pair of glasses, it’s going to be ok, Taichi will even help pay for them, ok? 

He doesn’t even manage to convince himself.

Iori is probably the most stable out of anyone, despite being the most banged up of the lot. He doesn’t shed a tear. But his eyes remain glued to the doors that Daisuke disappeared through.

Minutes seem to crawl by. Taichi sits for what seems like an eternity, in a room with only himself and the children he’s failed.

Hours pass, along with dinnertime, but Taichi doesn’t bother telling anyone to go eat. He doesn’t think he’d be able to avoid throwing up himself, anyways.

Ken finally wakes up and immediately starts asking for Daisuke. Taichi can’t get any words out of his throat, and Takeru ends up being the one who has to explain that Daisuke is still in the operating room. That they don’t know if he’s going to be ok. Ken goes hysterical again, and Taichi is by far the most useless in calming him down.

Eventually, Jou comes down with dinner from the cafeteria. Taichi feels bad accepting it. He should’ve done that. He offers to pay Jou back, but the older boy refuses outright. He reminds everyone to make sure they get plenty of rest.

Taichi doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to sleep again.

It’s another painstaking hour, before a doctor finally comes out and says that it’s ok for Taichi to see Hikari now. She’s stable. Miyako starts crying from joy.

He feels a bit bad about leaving the younger kids, but it’s not like he was helping anyways. So he just gives them a weak wave and follows the doctor down to the burn ward.

He makes it two steps through the door to her room before he has to start biting back the urge to cry. The bandages don’t make him feel any less like throwing up. He can’t see much of her under them, and so the doctor starts explaining and pointing out where the burn reaches. It goes from all the way down her right arm and up onto her face. Apparently, the greatest damage is around her shoulder and neck. The doctor says they’re still assessing the damage done to the breast tissue. Some part of Taichi’s overloaded brain decides to start worrying about potential bullying and the like. That’s somehow slightly less worrying than everything else, so Taichi comforts himself in imagining how he’ll beat up anyone who dares to call his sister ugly.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wonders if his parents are going to beat him up for letting this happen to his sister once they get home. He’d deserve it, at least.

Eventually, he manages to tear his eyes away from the broken little girl who deserves a better brother and a better leader, and he heads back to the waiting room. The second the younger children become aware of his return, the questions start flying. In spite of his earlier resilience, Iori is now sobbing just as much as anyone.

The removal of weight from everyone’s shoulders is more than visible as they hear that Hikari is going to be ok. 

Apparently, at some point, it was announced that Daisuke would likely make it through the night, and the doctors told the kids to go home and get some rest. In an attempt to actually get some rest, they’d started arranging for everyone to spend the night at Takeru’s. He offers Taichi a spot on the floor, but Taichi doesn’t think an extra presence would do him any good anyways.

So Taichi goes home by himself and doesn’t sleep. Somehow, he manages to eat something before going down to the hospital once again. 

The younger kids are already there. The doctors have already refused them from seeing Daisuke, since they need a family member’s explicit permission. But with Taichi’s arrival, they’re allowed to go see Hikari in pairs. Nobody objects to letting Miyako go first.

She doesn’t manage to keep herself from crying as she and Takeru are lead into Hikari’s room. Maybe that’s a good thing, because Hikari actually starts to stir. Everyone is directly at her bedside within an instant of her opening her eyes. Something in Taichi finally unclenches, then. She’s ok. She’s ok…He can barely hold himself back from hugging her.

“…huh?” Hikari mutters blearily. “What happened…hngh…Alphamon?”

“It’s fine. It’s fine now, Hikari. We’re safe.” Miyako sobs as she clenches onto her hand far tighter than she should.

“…Is Daisuke ok? Where’s Iori and Ken?” She asks, as she starts inspecting the bandages mummying her. Of course, she wouldn’t bother to think about herself for a second.

“We could only come in two at a time since we’re not family…” Takeru explains softly. Taichi eventually can’t take watching her anymore and grabs her hand.

“Don’t fiddle with your bandages.” He says.

“…Sorry. Do…mom and dad know I’m hurt, yet?” She asks.

“…Yeah, they’re on their way home right now.” He tells her. He can’t tell what she thinks of the answer. He doesn’t get the chance to ask, as they’re all whisked out of the room by doctors wanting to bombard her with questions and the like.

When they return to the waiting room, it’s only Iori there. He looks weirdly happy about something.

“Daisuke’s family showed up a few minutes ago. They only want one at a time, so Ken went in by himself, but apparently he’s awake and ok.” He explains with a smile. An almost unified sigh of relief comes out of everyone. 

With a few less things to be miserable about, the waiting around feels less stretched out than before. That, and it doesn’t take hours. As a matter of fact, after just a few minutes, Jun and Ken come out into the room again. Ken’s eyes look puffy, but any past tears have been replaced by a small smile.

For some reason, everyone agrees that Taichi should be the next person to go talk to Daisuke. He’s not really sure how to object.

So within a matter of minutes he finds himself facing his little successor, goggles and spine both broken. He still manages to give Taichi a smile somehow.

“Hey Taichi! Oh my god, can you believe they’re putting me in a wheelchair!?” He groans. It’s weird, seeing him so…unanimated. Taichi never noticed until this very moment how much Daisuke used his body to speak.

“Of course I can! Daisuke, you jumped in front of a giant sword. It’s lucky you’re even alive right now!” He exclaims, unwilling and unable to reciprocate Daisuke’s floaty, unphased demeanor.

“…Yeah. I know.” Daisuke responds with a weak chuckle.

“Are you…doing ok?” Taichi asks hesitantly.

“As ok as a guy who took a sword to the chest could possibly be!” Daisuke laughs.

Taichi doesn’t know what to say to that, and there’s a few short seconds of silence before he decides to say something more important.

“I’m sorry I was a bad leader.” Both boys say at the exact same time. Taichi jerks back in shock and stares at the younger boy, seeing a mirrored reaction on Daisuke’s face.

“Daisuke…what are you talking about?” Taichi says in shock.

“…I-I’m sorry. This is all my fault. I’m a terrible leader. I don’t deserve your-” Daisuke starts.

“What on earth are you talking about!? It wasn’t your fault!” Taichi yells. Daisuke looks incredibly shocked as the older boy walks over and gives him the lightest hug he can. “None of this is your fault. Don’t be ridiculous.”

Daisuke opens his mouth to object, but Taichi just shushes him. “No, stop that. You’d wanted to listen to Koushiro, I’m the one who insisted it was fine. You thought the right thing. This isn’t your fault. Don’t think for a second that it is.” 

Daisuke doesn’t look all that convinced, but nods anyways. That’s a good enough start, he supposes.

“…Is Hikari ok? I saw her get hit before I passed out.” Daisuke mutters after a few minutes.

“Yeah. She’s fine. She was worried about you when she woke up, y’know.” Taichi tells him, hoping to lighten the boy’s mood a bit. There’s no reason to tell him that he was the first person she asked about, though. He doesn’t need that kind of ego boost. Daisuke chuckles, but otherwise doesn’t say anything about it.

 After a few minutes of chatter, he eventually asks to see Iori. Taichi is more than happy to oblige. Iori looks incredibly happy as he runs off to Daisuke’s room a few minutes later.

The rest of the day is spent hanging around Hikari’s room, as well as occasionally popping in on Daisuke. The younger kids do mostly the same, all looking significantly more calm and relaxed without the threat of death looming.

Nobody is dead. They’re all scarred and broken, but maybe that’s just the best thing he could hope for with how badly he fucked up. So he supposes he can think of this result as lucky.

Though he hopes to god it’ll never happen again.

[cohenjulia1992]

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[grovyrosegirl]

Ok but imagine this: a Lukesse wedding. It would be soooo cute :3

*Insert the sounds of the blogger trying to restrain her fangirl screams here*

Haha, but joking aside, d’awww! That sounds adorable! I absolutely love wedding headcanons. I think I’ve got some ideas, so let’s do it! I’ll put them under a read more because I’m going to ramble. A lot.

Also, just a heads up, these might be the most sappy and cheesy headcanons I’ve ever written. BUT LET’S DO IT ANYWAY.

(One more note, assuming that everything ends good in season 2, all of these headcanons take place after season 2, mostly because I want to include some of the season 2 characters in here.)

After dealing with the Admin and everything settled down, Jesse decided that she needed a long break from adventuring and focused more on running Beacontown. This led to her and Lukas spending a lot more time together, which led to the two of them finally confessing to each other. They dated for a good few years before one of them decided to propose to the other. (Who proposed to who all depends on which one of them got the courage to do it first)

Olivia’s the maid of honor, while Petra, Harper, and Nell all agreed to be bridesmaids.  

By this point in time, Lukas and Aiden are on better terms. While it’s still kind of awkward, Lukas has forgiven Aiden enough to ask him to be his best man. Maya and Gill were also invited to the wedding. Axel and Radar are Lukas’ groomsmen.

Seeing how Jesse’s parents aren’t…uh…around, we’ll say, Ivor wondered who was going to walk Jesse down the aisle. When he finally asked her about it, Jesse asked Ivor if he would want to do it. The conversation afterwards went something like:

Ivor: Well…I suppose I can, if there’s nobody else. 

Jesse: Aw thanks Ivor! I really appreciate- Uh, Ivor, are you crying…?

Ivor: nO

I was looking online for some ideas of what Jesse’s wedding dress would look like. These three are my favorite designs: (link) (link) (link) For her hair, she puts it in a long braid with daisies in her hair.

Radar is super dedicated to making sure everything runs smoothly. After all, his boss and hero is getting married? Like heck he’s gonna let anything ruin the day. Having him around also helped Jesse and Lukas feel less stressed about organizing everything, as Radar planned out the schedule very well.

Jack and Nurm also help out with the wedding. Jack is in charge of getting invitations delivered, while Nurm helps them pick a good spot for the ceremony. He found them a pretty little forest patch right near Beacontown.

Jesse and Lukas want the ceremony to be less hectic, so only their close friends are allowed to attend it. Gabriel and Magnus/Ellegaard along with a few of their friends from the portal hall (Isa, Reginald, Milo, the YouTubers, Em, Otto, and some of the Gladiators) are also invited.

When the big day finally arrives, both Jesse and Lukas are extremely nervous. Both of them are afraid of messing something up and ruining the day for the other. After some pep talks from their friends, the two manage to pull themselves together long enough for the ceremony to start. Once Jesse starts walking down the aisle and she and Lukas finally get to a catch a glimpse of each other, they both calm down a bit and remember why they’re doing this in the first place.

Even during the ceremony, the two can’t stay away from each other. They’re holding hands, smiling at each other, giggling softly, and when they finally get to kiss, it lasts a good minute.

Jesse and Lukas wrote their own vows. Both of them are super personal and went all out expressing how much the other means to them. Lukas spent days before the wedding writing his, the large amount of crumpled up drafts back at his house is evidence of this.

Now while the ceremony was more private, the reception was not. At all. It was a huge party in Beacontown. Olivia and Axel collaborated to make a fireworks display for it.

During dinner, all of their friends go around and say a little speech to them. Everyone has something sweet to say, even the Blaze Rods all say something super heartwarming to Lukas, it almost leaves him speechless. It’d be a lie to say there aren’t tears shed. Mostly from Ivor and sometimes Jack, but neither of them will ever admit it.

When Jesse throws her bouquet, Petra is the one who catches it. She wasn’t even trying to catch it, she just happened to be walking by when Jesse threw it and just reacted to an object flying at her. Of course her reaction is, “Wait what.” and the others tease her about it for days afterwards.

And as for their honeymoon, Harper and Ivor used the atlas to find a perfect world where Jesse and Lukas can relax in the portal hall for them.

*collapses on floor*THERE. So now that you all know how much I’ve sold my soul to this ship, I hoped you enjoyed! If you have any ideas you wanna add onto this, feel free to send some. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m just gonna go crawl back into the Lukesse trash can where I came from. See ya!

(But seriously thanks for sending this, I had fun thinking about this stuff! :D)

[badwolf-winchester]

The Winchester’s Legacy

i know i have posted this before but i decided to do it again because im re doing some things as well. i have posted this on my devianart as well so if you see it there its mine. i started writting this back in 2014 but have yet to expand on it. any and all feed back is welcomed.

Chapter 1

Memories and A Hell hounds revenge

<Coda’s POV>

"I’m going to kill Gabriel, I mean he didn’t even pay attention to the plan, that window must have been very interesting for him not to object to me being bait." I said as my cousin Isabel and I walked up the mansion’s gravel path.

She hates being called by her full name so I call her Isa. Mainly she hates her name because it belonged to her real mom who died a little while after she was born so my Uncle Sam thought it would be nice for her to have the name. My uncle basically raised her on his own after that; sure he would visit me and my dad but he soon became lonely and started to date one of the hunters he met while on a mission in Oklahoma, then after a couple of years Sam married Jamey Foster and became Isa’s step mom. Isa likes her but she doesn’t really interact with her, she said it’s because she never really knew her real mom and her dad doesn’t really pay attention to what she does so she feels abandoned in a way I think that’s why she envy’s me so much, because I still have my parents and they constantly nag me on everything I do.

My dad is Dean Winchester and my mom is Lisa Braeden I used to have an older half-brother named Ben but he died of cancer about two years ago he was an awesome older brother and I miss him like crazy so I go and visit his grave once in a while. Now I’m the only child, I think that’s why my mom is so protective of me; my phone has been going off for a while now and the ignore button was my salvation to not hear my mother's nagging voice.

"Will you shut that phone up? Turn it off before it wakes the dead, and I have no idea but Balthazar didn’t exactly say no either so you’re not the only one mad."

Isa sounded more irritated than I did witch isn’t good because if I know one thing about my cousin it’s that she might sound all nice but once you piss her off she goes bat shit crazy.

Isa and I have some similarities we both have the temper thing which comes in handy at times, we have the same body shape, not skinny like most of the other hunters but lean and our height is the same too five foot eight and our skin is the same color cream tan. But that’s where our similarity ends while I have dark brown hair and she has Jet raven black hair, my eyes are an emerald green and hers are deep electric blue. Even our taste in clothing is different I like skinny jeans, AirWalk shoes, and regular T-shirts, Isa likes shorts no matter what kind of weather it is, she never gets cold! Sometimes I like to call her a space heater because of it. And hoodies oh my god you never catch her without a freaking hoodie on I mean come on I wear sweat shirts sometimes but not all the time like her, you know sometimes I just want to raid her closet and burn all her hoodies but knowing her she would kill me if I did that so I will just let it be. Her favorite shoes to wear are just regular kick around tennis shoes mainly Nike though.

We kept walking up the long ass gravel path, Mind still on Gabriel I began to try and figure out what was so distracting that he couldn’t even pay attention, he has always found ways to irritate me but this wasn’t like him.

I thought back to when I first met him, at the time my dad and I were hunting vampires and no they don’t sparkle we live in the real world where vampires burn in the sun and the whole two fangs thing is bullshit, also sadly to all you poor hopeless fan girls most of them look hideous.

(Flash Back)

Gabriel was different back then he was more all business and attitude until I saved him, well we kind of saved each other; my dad and I were headed north for a case it was supposed to be a simple clean out about ten vamps or so we thought. They were spread out through the small abandoned town of Beldame five hours away from home (this was before my mom became over protective.)

We got our gear from the trunk of my dad’s impala, he had all sorts of stuff in there; you know the usual stuff holy oil, lighters, different types of shot guns and knives all different sizes but I didn’t need that stuff I had my own personal switchblade, 45 caliber, and lock pick. I took a look around it was your usual town with bakeries, toy shops, hotels, gravel everywhere and trees lots and lots of trees but only everything was beat to hell. Holes where in most of the buildings and stores the signs that used to hang were either on the ground or chard basically it looked like a bomb when off in the middle of the town.

After we loaded up all the other stuff we didn’t need my dad turned to me throwing the duffle bag over his shoulder and spoke in his oh so threatening parent voice.

“Do not wonder off and don’t get caught, this isn’t like the other times we hunted if you hesitate if you give them the chance they will kill you.” Even though I knew what I was getting into his warning sent a chill down my spine.

“Ok dad I get it no wondering off and keep an eye out for the blood sucking monsters got it” I said with a head nod he must have saw it for he rolled his eyes at me and mumbled under his breath, something on the line of “what am I going to do with you”.

We started moving from one building to the next going into them without any luck of finding one vamp, we were on our tenth building halfway into the town until we finally spotted several vamps going into a basement of an old tattered house, My dad and I were in between the vamps hide out and a half blown up shed when he put his arm out in front of me causing me to stop.

“Coda stay here I’m going in if I don’t come out in five minutes I want you to call Sam and give him your location.” This irritated me till no end, no way was I going to sit here and be excluded from the fight.

“Dad it would be easier to kill them if I went with you I mean we just saw more than five vamps walk in there I’m not going to stay here and have you get yourself killed just because you think I’m still a kid! well news flash dad I’m seventeen get over it and start treating me like a freaking adult.” He looked at me for several seconds then sighed.

“Your mother is going to kill me.” He said more to himself than to me then continued. “Right let’s go.”

We snuck our way up to the basement door, I surveyed the area just to make sure no vamp would get the jump on us but all I could see were trees around us. When my dad opened the door we were met with a flock of vamps staring back at us as if they knew we were coming. Dad slammed the door and we took off running for our lives.

“I thought you said there were only going to be 10!” I shouted as we booked it across town to the car.

“If I knew there would be more than 10 then we would have had Sam as back up!” He retorted.

We were halfway to the car when the vamps suddenly burst through every store door; even the ones we checked, and started to gain on us, by the pace we were going it wouldn’t be too long till we got caught.

That’s when I saw an opening close to the town boarder that lead into the woods, if I could pick the vamps off one by one then I should be fine I’m good at one on one combat.

Dad and I took refuge in the toy store luckily this one didn’t have any holes in the structure so we were good for a while, as we tried to catch our breath I told him my plan.

“What? No! Absolutely not, no way!” I knew he would fight me on this but we didn’t have time.

“Dad we need to split up divide the group so we have a better chance at surviving, unless you have another plan mines all we got.” After a minute he ran his hand down his face then looked at me and cursed.

“Damn it! Fine we’ll do it your way but take the machete.” He said as he dropped his duffle bag and took out the big hacker and handing it to me, I studied the long and wide blade tilting it back and forth to find the balance in it.

After sheathing it I wrapped the holster around my waist, before I went through the back door I gave my dad a hug.

“Be careful ok Coda your mother would kill me if anything where to happen to you.” He said into my hair, I let go of him and gave him my version of a reassuring smile which is a cross between a grimace and a half smile.

“I will.” Then I took off toward the opening I saw earlier, the vamps that where by the back door sprinted after me in a heartbeat. I could hear my dad yelling something close to “come and get me fuglies.”

         Some of the foot steps behind me took the bait and disappeared probably going after my dad but I didn’t check I was too busy pushing through bushes and branches while trying not to trip and fall. The footsteps that where behind me where gone now so I took refuge behind a big ass tree, while I hid behind the mother of all trees, I unsheathed big bertha and tried to slow down my breathing and heart rate.

When I got control and was able to breathe normal I noticed that there wasn’t any birds around because it was just silent and that usually meant a predator was lurking close by, a twig broke about a couple feet away from my hiding place proving me right. I took a deep breath and stepped out from my hiding place to take a look, sure enough a vamp was sniffing the air like a freaking dog.

I was about to try and figure out how to take him out when just then eight more jumped out of nowhere surrounding me. I was not good at multi fighting especially with vampires, one of the dicks saw my hesitation and shoved me to the ground, and my blade went flying. The one that shoved me was now on top of me no doubt about to bite me when a bright light flashed radiating heat like the sun, the vamp on top of me disintegrated.

My hands flung up instantly to cover my eyes but just as sudden the light disappeared, I laid their on the ground for a couple of seconds stunned until an unfamiliar voice spoke to me. “Its ok I’m not going to hurt you Decoda.” I got up with a quickness and looked at the guy standing a couple of feet away from me, He was about five foot ten maybe a little taller with broad shoulders; basically your normal football jock type body, his hair is bronze brown and his eyes where the most shocking green I have ever seen. His clothes consisted of a brown jacket with a sort of light blue T-shirt, Blue boot cut jeans, and brown leather shoes.

I dusted off my hands and clothes looking anywhere but at him then crossed my arms over my chest and eyed him suspiciously. “Thanks for the save. Now how the hell do you know my name?”

With a hint of wonder in his voice he replied. “Wow nothing gets past you, and from the looks of it you don’t seem afraid of me, which is different, people would freak if they just magically saw a light and then a guy standing in the middle of a forest.”

I shrugged and said. “I’m a hunter weird is basically the norm for me and you also saved my life so I owe you one, anyway you got a name vamp buster?”

He chuckled at me and shook his head. “Your funny you know that? But sorry sweetie you don’t have the authority to know my name at the moment and don’t worry about the IOU thing protecting you just became my job.”

I blinked at him, anger flaring up in me with a quickness. “I’m sorry I don’t think I heard you right could you say that again?” amusement flashed in his eyes. “Protecting you just became my job.”

Anger bubbled in me at his reply. “No the first part you dick.”

He stepped closer so that he was about arm’s length away and smirked at me. “You don’t have the authority to know my name.”

I was about to tell him where he could shove his authority when a movement caught my eye, sure enough in the distance a vamp stepped out from behind a tree. I pulled out my caliber and pointed it at my potential savior, he didn’t even flinch. “There is no need for the gun Decoda, could you put that thing away.”

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t tempted to shoot him too but he still had to answer a few questions first, giving him a blank face I said. “Duck.” Just then the vamp sprang at him, he was wise enough to do as I said and ducked, once he was out of the line of fire I pulled the trigger. The vamp jerked backwards as if he just hit an invisible wall, with a thud he fell to the forest floor.

I looked down at the mystery guy and pointed the gun at his head with a smirk and said. “Now how about that name.”

He looked at me kind of shocked then he shook his head and got up from his ducked position. “Well seeing as you have the upper hand why not, the names Gabriel.”

Putting my gun away I thought about it for a second I’ve heard the name before many kids have that name but how he said it seemed to hold some kind of power behind it, that’s when it hit me. “Gabriel as in the Arch Angel Gabriel?”

He smiled and opened his arms as if to say here I am. “The one and only.” I laughed and he gave me a confused look. “Why are you laughing?” shaking my head I continued to laugh. “You’re not surprised that I’m an angel?”

I shook my head again finally able to get ahold on my laughter I replied. “Nope not at all, I practically grew up with an angel as my uncle so I’m not surprised at all.”

He cocked his head to the right and looked at me. “What angel did you grow up with?” I smiled and replied. “Castiel.” Recollection crossed his face. “Ah I see so Dean did keep his boyfriend after all.” I shrugged not really caring but snorted at his title for Cas, I didn’t see Cass as an angel I saw him as my uncle that’s all I really cared about.

Then another thought accrued to me and made me smile even more, I have always wanted my own angel like my dad had, but I grew up with one thought and one thought only. If I were to have an Angel by my side it would always be Gabriel, you see ever since I was a kid that particular angel had always had a pull on me whenever my pastor would speak of him like as if I knew in my soul that we would meet someday, to have an arch angle as your protector was like having the answers to a final exam.

“Well isn’t this ironic.” I said more to myself than to him, He crossed his arms and gave me an impatient look apparently he didn’t like these guessing games.

“What’s ironic?” he said annoyance filling his voice, I debated whether or not to tell him then I looked him straight in the eye. “Gabriel is my favorite arch angel, has been since as long as I can remember.” I could see he was a little taken back by this because he dropped his hands and put them in his pockets while not looking at me and muttered “Oh… well… uh… Thanks?”

He quickly snapped his head back in my direction when I added “But I believe it started with a dream you were taller in it though.” I could see a vein popping out from his head as he yelled “What is that supposed to mean! I’m not short!”  

A gun shot broke our small talk and I remembered where I was and the situation that was accruing. “Crap my dad!” I was about to run toward the gun shot but Gabriel grabbed my hand and twirled me around to face him, we were a little too close to one another that my breath caught for a second, the smell of cinnamon sticks and vanilla filled my nose.

His deep green eyes bore into mine. “I can’t go with you.” He said in a serious voice, more gun shots rang through the sky like thunder.

I cleared my throat and recollected myself before I spoke. “Ok, But I wasn’t going to ask you to come.” He let go of my hand that I was now aware he was holding the whole time and racked it through his hair. “You don’t understand, I will be with you but you won’t see me.”

I gave him a confused look. “Wait, your confusing me so you are coming with me or not?” he smiled and said “yes and no.”

This little cat and mouse game was really ticking me off, why couldn’t he just give me a straight answer? He just shook his head. “I can’t be there unless you want me there its part of the rules I was given, if you need me call out to me.”

He was confusing me till no end, rules what rules? And who ordered him to protect me? Right now my dad’s safety was more important than my unanswered questions.

“How do I call you like just pray?”  He winked at me and then said “oh trust me you’ll now.” then he placed two fingers on the center of my forehead, Everything went white then color exploded around me, someone ran right into me knocking me down I looked over and saw my dad his shocked face mimicking my own. “Coda how the hell?”

Just then a vamp roared and jumped on him trying to get at his neck, I pulled out my gun and shot the blood sucker right in the head, my dad pushed it off and got up. “Thanks.” He said then helped me up, I looked around sure enough Gabriel stuck to his word and wasn’t anywhere in sight.

“You want to tell me how you just suddenly appeared in front of me?” But before I could say anything we were surrounded by thirty vamps all barring their pointy teeth at us, too many for my dad and I to handle. My dad put a protective hand in front of me but we both knew how this would end, then Gabriel’s voice rang through my mind scaring the hell out of me. “I can’t be there unless you want me there.” Ok a little weird having his voice in my head, but I definitely wanted him here I didn’t feel like dying today.

Again his voice invaded my mind. “If you need me call out to me I won’t come unless you call.” Ok now he was just messing with me, how the hell am I supposed to know what to say I barely said anything to the guy I mean come on I called him vamp buster before he told me his name that was about it.

“Oh you’ll know.” His voice rang again; oh my god you have got to be kidding me. “Nope.” You are so pathetic and a child I said to him mentally. “That’s a little harsh, Come on you know you wanna say it.” He taunted; Fine! I shouted in my head giving in.

I stepped around my dad’s arm sucked in a deep breath and yelled. “Who you gonna call?!” just on cue that same bright light flashed and just like before it vanished just as it appeared, in the clearing just a little away from my dad and I stood none other than Gabriel, he looked at me and raised one fist in the air and said. “Vamp busters!” I laughed and walked over to him and gave him a hug; he deserved it for saving our asses,

He then twirled me around un-expectantly and then put me down and said. “See I told you, you could trust me.” My dad cleared his throat and we both turned to look at him, he had on his you better start explaining now or I’m going to start shooting look. At a wave of my hand I introduced them to each other “Dad this is Gabriel, Gabriel this is my Dad.”

My dad walked over and gave Gabriel a skeptical look. “How the hell are you still alive I thought Lucifer killed you?” this was news to me, Gabriel only shrugged and said. “Yea I did die but Dad brought me back, before he set me lose though he gave me an order and some ground rules.” Dad had a worried expression on his face when he said that. “What order did he give you?” Gabriel looked at me and then at him. “I am to protect and aid Decoda Winchester in any way she needs.” Then he added. “Basically I‘m the Cass to her Dean.” I chuckled at that, my dad gave me his shut up look and went back to Gabriel. “What does Chuck want with my daughter?” he demanded Gabe only shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine Dean-o but I can’t go against daddy’s wishes so here I am.”

My dad ran a hand through his hair then asked. “One more thing what ground rules did Mr. Almighty give you?” Gabriel tilted his head obviously trying to think then he replied. “Rule one, protect her with my life. Two, when she calls me I have to come no matter what. Three… well I really say the rest till I’m given the ok so… Hey.” He said looking around. “Should I get you guys out of here cause this is so not my scene.”

After Gabriel got us to the Impala he yelled “shot gun!” and ran for the door, I swear he was acting like the biggest five year old I have ever met which was funny because earlier he acted like any other angel (A dick). I thought he would be just a bit more mature, I wonder what switched flipped in his brain but what can you do?

After the vamp hunt he just kept showing up in places we had hunts and he would pull the most childish stunts, soon we just started ignoring him but he would keep repeating that it was his job to protect me that I was special in some sort of way, I was annoyed having him around watching my every move but after a while the un thinkable happened he started to grow on me, I even pulled a few pranks on him myself.

The pranking would last for weeks but always come to a forced stop because my dad would go crazy and say “I have one kid not two! Gabriel get the hell out of here or act your age!" and Gabriel would say something childish like "But she stared it!" or “Common dean where’s your funny bone?" Or my favorite “look at me dean I am acting my age.” and then all hell would break loose and I ended up grounded for a week. Now it’s not so bad and we don’t prank as much anymore but when we do we don’t hold back.

(Present day)  

"Earth to Coda." Isa said snapping me back to reality. "Yea?" "Where here...” I looked up at the old rotting Victorian style mansion before me, the windows cracked and covered in dust, the paint peeling from the wooden frame.

When I stepped on the porch the wood creaked with old age, I looked over at Isa smiling "look Isa a haunted house isn’t that awesome?" she rolled her eyes and said " yea, yea whatever let’s just get this over with I have an exam in the morning and this is messing up my study time." I snorted.  “who cares about a stupid exam where hunting!" Isa smiled back repaying " you should we're in the same class moron. Plus if you fail, you can say bye bye to hunting." then she walked through the mansion door leaving me fuming.

I hate it when she gets the last word and when she is right... Oh well I’ll get her back later. “you gonna stand on the porch all night or are you gonna come in here and help me?" Isa shouted from what I think was the living room.

After getting inside I dropped my duffle bag on the floor by the front door and started fishing for the ghost detector with my flash light in my mouth, when I successfully found it I glanced at my black G-Shock watch it was about 10:30 pm that means Dad and Sam would be on the 3rd floor setting up the salt trap for Mr. Ghost boy.

I started scanning for any ghost activity in the hallway and ended up in the living room where Isa was doing the same thing, the living room was huge but barren except for an old broken coffee table and an ancient looking rocking chair in front of a brick fire place. “So who is this guy that we are hunting?” I said glancing at Isa who was still scanning the room.

“His name is Richard Bernard he was a rich guy who made his money by gambling.” She said not the least bit caring. I turned back to get a better look at the fire place and above it was an old picture frame of some old guy who I interpreted to be Richard. Glancing back at my ghost detector I asked “So how did he die, One too many slight of hands?”

Isa sighed and put the scanner in her coat pocket and turned toward me annoyance written all over her face. “You should have read the file your dad gave you, but if you must know someone offed him for cheating at poker. You might want to take a note on that coda.” I gave her my most playful shocked look “Ah, whatever do you mean my dear cousin? Me cheat at poker I would never!” I said in mock innocence, she just rolled her eyes. “Just get back to work.” As she walked away I stuck my tongue out at her.

“Get back to work.” I mumbled under my breath mocking her, Isa then turned and took the scanner out of her pocket to do another once over the living room. Eye of the tiger then filled the room with its sweet melody startling Isa and causing her to drop her scanner. “I thought I told you to turn that stupid phone off!” She shouted at me while bending down to pick it up. “Either answer it or I will break it.”

Raising an eyebrow I mumble “well then…” before taking my phone out of my back pocket; only one person would be calling me right now one very overprotective person, I flipped open the phone and said in my most casual voice “Heeyy mom what’s up how you doin?” I knew exactly what she was going to say and boy it wouldn’t be pretty.

“Don’t hey mom what’s up me young lady, you and your father both have been dodging my calls since you two bolted out the door at 8, it is now 10:45 and I’m now just hearing from you do you know how worried I am having you and your father hunting in the middle of the night doing god knows what putting yourselves in danger?” god you can practically see the smoking anger in her voice, I had to hold the phone at arm’s length just to keep my ears from bleeding, I can hear Isa laughing quietly in the back ground from my mom’s sudden outburst.

All I could do was roll my eyes she was always doing this overprotective parent thing and it was driving me nuts. “Mom calm down dad and I just got a last minute gig its fine and won’t take long trust me Gabriel knows where I am and if I get in trouble he will come ok?” maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned Gabriel… “Gabriel!? So he knows where you are but your own mother doesn’t!” yea shouldn’t have mentioned him. “You know very well what I think of that man child. He is immature, reckless, a nuisance, and most of all irresponsible!” my mom as you can tell doesn’t like Gabriel for some unknown reason… who am I kidding sometimes I don’t even like him.

“God mom don’t do this now please I’m working.” I pleaded but she continued. “And another thing young lady you have school tomorrow, and from what Isa has told me you also have an important exam tomorrow in 3rd period. How are you ever going to pass that test if you’re HALF ASLEEP?” I looked over at Isa who was just sitting there laughing at me, I gave her my your dead when I’m done with this look and replied to my mom.

“I’ll be fine mom it’s a simple hunt don’t stress.” Another taboo word stress… crap today is just not my day. “Don’t stress?! Don’t stress?! How can I not stress when my daughter could be killed!” this is so not going to end well and I knew it. “Mom I’m not a kid anymore I‘m 17 now. Stop treating me like a child! I can take care of myself I’m a hunter mom and nothing is going to change that it’s a part of me.” I hate fighting with her but sometimes it’s necessary and I was mad, Luckily Isa’s scanner went off so I couldn’t yell at her anymore.

“Mom I got to go Isa found something and I have a ghost to catch.” After I hung up I looked at Isa. “What did you find?” I said bitterly, she gave me half annoyed half pity look. “Well sorry to disappoint you but it was just a scan goof… do you wanna crash at my place tonight?” leave it to Isa to always have a way out for me that’s one of the reasons why I love my cousin. “It’s ok and yea that sounds awesome.”

I looked away from her and started fiddling with my ghost scanner. “You know Coda she will come around eventually, you know that right?” I looked at her for a minute unable to answer. “I don’t think she ever will…” I said honestly.

Then something big crashed through the living room window causing Isa and I both to jump into hunter mode. A deep and low growl echoed through the barren room that growl I was all too familiar the beast has been hunting Isa since birth, but every time My dad and Sam were here and fought it off but now we are unprotected and no way was I going to let that thing hurt Isa.

Instinct took over and the hell hound jumped at Isa at the same time I did only I was closer, I shoved Isa and she fell to the floor and I took her place, the hound’s claws ripped through the my right side of my stomach like a chain saw. Agonizing pain rushed through me as I crumbled to the floor clutching my wound crying and screaming at the same time, everything was becoming blurry and the only thing I could hear was the rapid drumming of my heart in my ears. The drumming became weaker as I felt myself become drowned in darkness, the last thing I heard was a muffled gun shot.