#Magic and Miracles and Beyond Chapter 14

[whimsicallyenchantedrose]

Christmas Reruns 2023 Day 3: A Christmas Miracle (3/3)

Merry Christmas if you celebrate it and happy holidays if you don’t!  One of the things I love about Christmas is watching reruns of all the old classic Christmas movies–Christmas is a big time for nostalgia.  A few years ago, I decided to incorporate that tradition into my fandom life and post my CS holiday reruns.  So here you go!  Enough holiday (mostly) fluff to get you to New Year’s Day. (With a new story posting on Christmas Day.)

Rating: G

Word Count: 2446

Other chapters: 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32

Notes:  Here’s the conclusion of A Christmas Miracle.  Once again, it was written in 2013 and fits within my A Wish Your Heart Makes universe.

“If you hadn’t cast the curse in the first place, dearie, Pan never would have had the opportunity to curse us the second time.” Mr. Gold hissed.

“Oh, that’s rich!” Regina said with a sneer, “considering it’s coming from the imp who provided me with the curse in the first place!”

Emma sat in her favorite booth at Granny’s and watched her adversarial family members face off. She was rather impressed. They’d remained civil for nearly two hours.

“Come on guys,” Mary Margaret said, walking up to Gold and Regina, her hand extended in a pacifying gesture, “let’s not argue. It’s Christmas!”

Regina turned on her. “Stay out of it, Snow. It’s all your fault anyway.”

“My fault?!” Mary Margaret yelled, her hands coming to rest on her hips.

“Don’t play stupid,” Regina sneered, “Or maybe you’re not playing.”

“Just a minute! You can’t talk to my wife that way!” David charged into the fight.

Regina rolled her eyes and turned back to Mary Margaret.

“Yes, Snow,” Regina continued, “if it wasn’t for your total inability to keep your mouth shut, we wouldn’t be where we’re at.”

“Where we’re at? Where we’re at?!” Mary Margaret fumed, “That's…that’s not even grammatically correct, let alone accurate!”

Emma rolled her eyes. They were arguing about grammar? It was definitely time to go get some air…before the magic started flying. She got to her feet, and wobbled for a second on her high heels. Why had she let Mary Margaret convince her to dress up? If she had to come to this party, couldn’t she have at least been comfortable?

Emma turned her back on the argument, on Neal and Henry talking in a booth on the other side of the diner, on Hook who had gone up to the bar for another drink. Pushing the door open, she stepped outside.

Hook looked up as he heard the bell over Granny’s door chime. He caught a glance of golden hair and a soft blue dress before the door closed behind Emma. The lass had been rather quiet since dinner; he wondered what was bothering her. It was obvious something was; something beyond the obvious awkwardness of this party.

The voices rose behind him, everyone trying to shout down the others. Something crashed against a far wall. He shook his head. Snow White really did see the world through rose-colored glasses. How on earth had she thought this group of people would have a good time together?

Hook took a final swig of the beer he was drinking, and then headed for the door. He had no wish to remain in what was turning into an all-out battlefield. Of course, the thought of spending some time alone with the lovely Emma, might have played a part in the decision as well.

Pushing the glass door open, Hook stepped outside. There she stood underneath the awning, shivering. Why hadn’t she grabbed her coat before she’d stepped out?

“It’s a bit cold to be standing outside love,” he commented, stepping up behind her.

“Yeah, well,” she answered, turning toward him, “it beats getting caught in the middle of World War III in there.”

He laughed and shrugged out of his coat. He draped it over her shoulders and was rewarded with one of her rare smiles. They stood there for a moment watching the snow gently fall through the dark, evening air. Hook caught strains of music coming from the convent; it seemed the nuns were ringing in Christmas with carols.

“Joy to the world the Lord is come…”

“It doesn’t look like Mary Margaret is going to be able to get in all the Christmas traditions she was hoping for,” Emma commented. “We didn’t get to the Christmas carol sing-a-long.”

“It’s a shame,” Hook commented, looking over at her, “that was the part I was particularly looking forward to.”

“Really?” she asked looking at him with skeptical eyes, “You want to sit around singing carols?”

“And why not,” he asked with a grin. “Some of the songs I have heard here in Storybrooke would be particularly appropriate to the evening at hand.”

“Such as?” she asked with a matching grin.

“When we finally kiss goodnight,” he sang in a soft baritone, “how I’ll hate going out in the storm, but if you really hold me tight, all the way home I’ll be warm.”

She rolled her eyes, but he saw the smile that draped her face. A moment later, she turned back toward the street with a dejected little sigh. They stood in silence for a minute. “…And heaven and nature sing. And heaven and nature sing. And heaven, and heaven and nature sing.”

“It’s really coming down,” she finally said looking up at the streetlight across from them.

“Aye,” he answered with a smile. “We’ll have a fine blanket come Christmas morning.”

“Great,” she said with a grimace. “Just what I wanted for Christmas.”

“Oh come on love,” he said, turning her back toward him. “Surely there was a time you liked snow.”

He expected a witty retort, but instead she dropped her eyes and turned back toward the street. “I do remember one day,” she finally responded. “I was about six. I’d been living with a foster family for almost three years. They were great; I really thought they would adopt me. One day, it was close to Christmas, I remember, my foster dad took my foster brother and me out to play in the snow. We made the biggest snowman I had ever seen. We made snow angels, had a snowball fight, the whole nine yards. Later, we went in and my foster mom had made us a big pot of hot chocolate.”

Emma fell silent, and Hook waited. He heard the pain in her voice and softly began rubbing her shoulder. She leaned into his touch. “…holy infant so tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep in heavenly peace.”

“What then, love?” Hook asked after a moment. He wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the answer.

“The next morning, my foster dad disappeared,” she answered, and he saw the tears in her eyes. “They never found him; no one knows what happened. Well, my foster mom kinda fell apart. She couldn’t afford to take care of two children, so it was back into the system for me.”

Hook closed his eyes. It must have been devastating for a little girl to lose the only family she had ever known. Turning her once more to face him, he wrapped her in a hug. She resisted for a moment, and then he felt her arms wrap around him.

“I think it’s time we make a new memory surrounding snow,” Hook said after a moment. She pulled away from him and looked questioningly up into his face.

“Yeah?” she asked, “and what would that be?”

Hook grinned. “Well, love. I propose we go play in the snow tomorrow.”

“Play in the snow?” she asked with a raised eyebrow, “Really?”

“Aye, lass,” he smiled at her, “We can bring Henry.”

“And what exactly would we ‘play’ in the snow?”

“First,” he answered, with a wicked grin, “We make a devastatingly handsome snowman with a hook. Then we make a beautiful blonde snow maiden looking adoringly up at him.”

“Are you sure the blonde isn’t rolling her eyes at him?” Emma asked with a grin. “Sounds more true to life.”

Hook put his hand to his heart and staggered as though mortally injured. “You wound me, lass.”

“Hmm,” she said grinning, “that might play to your advantage.”

“Aye? And how is that?”

“Well,” she said with a grin, “if you’re injured you’ll need someone to take care of you.”

Was the lady actually flirting with him? His grin blossomed into a full blown smile. She smiled back for a moment and then turned back to the street. He heard a defeated sigh.

“What’s troubling you, love?” he asked. She didn’t answer for so long he thought she was deliberately ignoring him. The nuns started up a new carol. When blossoms flowered ‘mid the snow…

Finally she turned back toward him. “It’s just…” she made a helpless little gesture with her hands. “I don’t know…Every single time it looks like things are starting to work out, like good is going to succeed, like the bad guys are going to get defeated, like we might get a bit of peace and happiness, something else happens. Someone casts a curse, or kidnaps a kid, or…”

“Or disappears sending you back into the system…or turns you in to the police for his crimes…or sends you off to another realm with no more protection than a seven-year-old lad so that you can come back and be the savior?”

“Yeah,” she said, and he saw the tears brimming in her eyes. One escaped and slid down her cheek. Raising his hand, he tenderly wiped it away.

“Emma, love,” he said, his voice going deep and gravelly, “I can’t promise you peace and happiness, but I can promise to always be beside you, helping you, protecting you and those you love. You need never fear I’ll abandon you.”

She whirled away from him and started pacing. The lass was seething. “Yeah?” she snarled at him. “I’ve heard that before. 'I love you, Emma.’ 'You’re like our own daughter, Emma.’ 'Let’s go to Tallahassee, Emma.’ 'We just wanted to give you your best chance, Emma.’ It’s crap! All of it!”

“You doubt me, lass? Even after Camelot?” he asked and was ashamed to hear the pain in his voice.

She stopped and looked back at him. The first Noel the angels did sing…

“No,” she finally answered, “the hell of it is that I don’t doubt you. You’ve proven again and again that you will do anything for me…even at your own expense. But Hook, you’re not indestructable. What if you disappear? Or are kidnapped? Or are killed?”

Hook’s heart swelled. That was real feeling in her voice. The lass was a lot further gone than she thought. He cupped her face with his good hand again.

“Love,” he answered meaning the word with all his heart, “as I said, I can’t promise you nothing terrible will happen, but for today, for this moment all is well. Perhaps, all one can do is create the good memories to be our solace in times of distress.”

She looked up at him for several moments and then slowly nodded, briskly swiping her hands across her damp cheeks.

“So about those snowmen…?” he asked playfully.

“Henry and I will be ready bright and early tomorrow morning,” She answered with a smile.

For the first time in nearly as long as she could remember, Emma felt hope. It was hope that she found shining out of Hook’s blue eyes as he smiled at her.

“I’ve got a gift for you, love,” Hook said, holding out a small, thin box.

“Oh,” Emma said ruefully, “Hook, I didn’t get you anything.”

He smiled gently. “It’s no matter, Emma. I have no need of gifts.” He held the box out to her again, and she reached for it automatically. Lifting the lid, she saw a silver necklace with an opal and silver swan pendant. Emma ran her finger over the jewel.

“It’s beautiful,” she said softly.

“Aye,” he answered looking at her. “It is beautiful, and strong and graceful. Much like you.”

She looked down and then met his eyes. “Is that really how you see me?”

“Aye, lass,” he said gently. “Indeed it is.”

Il est ne le divin enfant… It seemed the nuns had decided to venture into French carols.

“Thank you, Hook,” she said simply. “Well, I don’t hear any yelling, so that probably means they’ve either stopped fighting…or killed each other. Either way, I suppose we should go back in.”

“A moment more lass,” Hook said. That pirate grin of his was back.

“What?” she asked warily. She had come to know that tone in his voice, and it meant trouble.

“Well, love,” he said with a raise of his eyebrow, “I think it is only right that we follow holiday tradition.”

“Exactly what holiday tradition might that be?” she asked. He pointed to a spot over her head. She looked up and saw a sprig of mistletoe hanging right above the two of them.

“You’re terrible, you know that?” she asked with a smile and a slight shake of her head.

“Perhaps so,” he answered playfully, “but your mother has her heart set on her family following the traditions this year. What manner of a daughter would you be if you were to blatantly deny her greatest Christmas wish?”

Her breath caught and her heart began to pound. Well, why not?

“Well, in the spirit of Christmas tradition…” she said with a little wave of her hand.

He looked surprised for a moment, then the grin was back. She was determined she wouldn’t let his kiss affect her, she wouldn’t! Then his lips settled against hers and all rational thought fled. All that existed was this man and the sensations he aroused in her. Her arms wrapped around his neck. She tangled her fingers in his hair, pressing closer, closer. She could never be close enough. She blossomed for him like a flower in a spring rain. The kiss went on and on. It lasted forever; it ended far too soon.

Finally, with a groan, he pulled his lips from hers.

“Emma, love…” he breathed. She couldn’t say a word if her life were on the line. She was glad his arms were still around her because her legs felt like jelly. If he were to release her, she would melt into a puddle at his feet.

Hook took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the charming rogue was back.

“Well, love,” he said gently rubbing her back. “I had it on good authority that the last time was a one-time thing. It seems I’ve just experienced a Christmas miracle!”

She rolled her eyes, but didn’t pull away. Though it scared her half to death, she couldn’t deny it any more. Being in his arms felt like…home.

“Well, don’t get too used to it buddy,” she said. Her voice didn’t sound convincing even to her.

“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of it, love,” he said with a raise of one eyebrow. “After all, I’d have to wait an entire year for another Christmas miracle.”

“Very true,” she said with a grin, “But there are a lot of holidays between now and then.”

He laughed. “I like the way you think, Emma. I like the way you think!”

NEXT CHAPTER-->

[gpstudios]

📖✨ Exploring the Profound Teachings of ACIM: Chapter 1, Section 1, Verse 14 ✨📖

Hello, beloved friends! Let’s continue our enlightening journey through "A Course in Miracles" (ACIM) by reflecting on Chapter 1, Section 1, Verse 14:

"Miracles bear witness to truth. They are convincing because they arise from conviction. Without conviction, they deteriorate into magic, which is mindless and therefore destructive; or rather, the uncreative use of mind."

This verse offers profound insights into the nature of miracles and the importance of conviction in our spiritual practice. Let’s delve into its deep meaning and explore how it can guide us on our path to enlightenment.

🌟 Miracles as Witnesses to Truth 🌟

ACIM teaches that miracles bear witness to truth. They are manifestations of divine truth and love, reflecting the higher reality that exists beyond our physical perceptions. When we experience a miracle, it is a powerful affirmation that truth and love are the fundamental forces in our lives. This understanding encourages us to seek and recognize the truth in all aspects of our existence, knowing that miracles are tangible expressions of this truth.

💖 The Power of Conviction 💖

The verse emphasizes that miracles are convincing because they arise from conviction. Conviction here refers to a deep, unwavering belief in the power of love and the divine. When our thoughts, actions, and intentions are rooted in this conviction, miracles naturally flow from us. This highlights the importance of cultivating strong faith and trust in the divine. It is our inner certainty and alignment with truth that empower us to be channels for miracles.

🔮 Miracles vs. Magic 🔮

ACIM draws a clear distinction between miracles and magic. While miracles are expressions of divine love and truth, magic is described as the mindless and uncreative use of mind. Magic, in this context, refers to attempts to manipulate or control reality without a deep understanding or alignment with divine principles. It is driven by ego and fear, rather than love and conviction. This misuse of the mind can be destructive, leading to illusions and further separation from our true selves.

✨ Creative Use of Mind ✨

To fully embrace the teachings of this verse, we can focus on using our minds creatively and constructively. This involves aligning our thoughts and actions with love, truth, and divine guidance. By doing so, we become conduits for miracles, using our minds to create healing, transformation, and positive change in the world. This creative use of mind is both empowering and fulfilling, as it connects us with our higher purpose and the infinite possibilities of the divine.

🌈 Living with Conviction and Truth 🌈

As we meditate on this verse, let’s commit to living with conviction and truth. Let’s cultivate a deep, unwavering belief in the power of love and the divine, allowing this conviction to guide our thoughts and actions. By doing so, we open ourselves to the flow of miracles and use our minds in alignment with our highest purpose.

💫✨ Embrace the power of conviction and let your life bear witness to the truth through miracles! ✨💫

[crissiebaby]

DiapOut: Chapter 14

DISCLAIMER: This series contains diaper usage, public humiliation, masturbation, hypermessing, sissification, WAM, mental regression, and other ABDL themes. If you haven’t read the first chapter and want to catch up, be sure to check out the link in the description. I hope you enjoy!

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

“A mini-muffin? You’ve gotta be shitting me,” scoffed Ayaya as she stared at Jackson’s open palm. Sure enough, sitting in the center of his palm was an innocuous, dark brown muffin that looked like something you’d ignore at a free hotel breakfast. The thing didn’t even look fresh, “How the hell is this supposed to help me win?!”

As menacing as Ayaya’s aggression could be, it did nothing to sway Jackson’s cheeky smile. “Believe it or not, this vicious, little bugger will tear through your insides like nobody’s business. Not only does the muffin have a laxative effect on the body, but it’s also designed to increase in volume as it mixes with digestive juices in the small intestine, turning it into the hypermess miracle of the future,” he said, his diaper-loving mind practically salivating at the prospect of what this muffin could do, “We’d initially planned to have a plate of them at the Round Two buffet table but we couldn’t risk having someone accidentally consume more than one. If something went wrong with these things on our first show, our primary sponsor, CrissBaby, would be none too happy about it.”

Snatching the muffin out of Jackson’s hand, Ayaya held it up and squinted at it. “This little thing can really do all that, huh?” she said as she glanced down at her diaper and imagined it inflating around her rear. The thought was as repulsive to her as it was humiliating. Could she really pull off a stunt like this in front of millions of viewers at home? Attempting to crush her doubt, she closed her eyes and lifted the muffin toward her mouth.

“Oh shit! Not now!” shouted Jackson as he grabbed Ayaya’s wrist just before she placed the muffin between her lips. He let out a tense sigh as he slowly got Ayaya to lower her arm, “You’ll only have like 20 minutes before the effects of this thing hit. Unless you want a blowout during the Round Two intro, you’ll need to wait until the competition actually starts.”

Turning her head sideways, Ayaya raised an eyebrow at Jackson. “So what, you expect me to find a way to eat this thing while dozens of cameras are watching me? How the fuck do you expect me to do that?” she whined, beginning to regret her alliance with such an airheaded director.

“You worry too much, dear. I’ll have complete control over what cameras are being displayed on the central monitor. Beyond that, I know you’re smart enough to figure something out,” said Jackson, his calm tone starkly contradicting Ayaya’s frantic energy. He placed his arms around her shoulders and did his best to soothe her, “Trust me, after you fill your diaper to such an extreme size, not only will you have the audience’s attention, but the producers as well. Once that happens, I’ll take care of the higher-ups so long as you keep the crowd on your side.”

It was a surprisingly simple plan when considering how many moving parts it required. Given Ayaya’s current online fan base was nearly as sizable as CassiRole’s was when she was first in talks with producers, she’d make an obvious choice for a replacement after the pilot episode finished production. From there, it’d be as easy as reshooting her narrations and splicing her into shots with a bit of movie magic. At first, the idea of finding a suitable replacement for Cassi on such short notice seemed impossible but after talking with Ayaya, Jackson was confident that both the producers and the production staff would find her much easier to work with.

Ayaya let her head rest against Jackson’s chest as he held her close. However, her smile was not one of newly-found romance or some grand partnership. It was a devilish, fame-hungry smile as she imagined herself standing in front of the same studio audience that CassiRole currently occupied. It was a bizarre gambit but with how unlikeable Cassi was amongst the entire crew, it just might work. “And once I’m the host, you and I can take DiapOut to even greater heights,” she said, doing everything she could to make Jackson feel like she was the ultimate team player. In reality, she didn’t care about Jackson or DiapOut. She was willing to tell him whatever she needed to for him to make her a star.

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

“UGH! I feel like I’m gonna explode,” cried Misa as she leaned her head against the empty plate in front of her, caring little for the crumbs that stuck to her hair. Turning her head to the side, she caught sight of the timer, seeing that she still had a little over 40 minutes left in the round, “This…comp…is stupid…”

Finding the strength to laugh at Misa’s depleted energy, Lelaya slid down in her chair and patted her taut belly. “Hehehe, there’s so much yummy stuff in here. It’s almost a shame that I’ll be pooping it all out soon,” she said as she reached into a large bowl of spaghetti with marinara sauce and grabbed a fistful of noodles.

Misa could only shake her head at Lelaya’s seemingly bottomless stomach. Where did she even put it all? Even after everything Lelaya had eaten, her waist still looked thinner than Misa did before the round began. “Seriously, Lelaya, do you store that shit in your boobs or something?” she said before bellowing out another groan. 

Giggling, Lelaya couldn’t help but find Misa’s complaining adorable. As rare as it was to get her to engage in anything diaper related, she really was the spitting image of a bratty Little. “Hey, don’t get upsetti spaghetti with me just because I’ve been working hard on my figure for swim diaper season,” she said, licking the last of the red sauce off of her fingers.

“Don’t worry, Lelaya. Misa’s not actually upset. She’s just worried about taking her first Lightning Laxative soon,” said Mia coming up behind the Misa and wrapping her greasy hands around her tummy before giving it a hardy squeeze, “Ya know, I wasn’t sure coming on this show was a good idea at first. So, thanks for talking me into it, Misa. I owe you a bunch!”

Fuming as Mia pressed against her aching stomach, Misa wanted to say something snarky in response but was too weak to come up with something clever on the spot. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, Mia had hit the nail on the head. With every bite she had consumed, Misa knew what was waiting for her at the finish line of this competition; a big, full, stinky diaper. She yelped as Mia unraveled her arms from around Misa’s belly and gave her a swat on the butt.

“Hey Lelaya, pass me some of the noods,” said Mia, accepting the large bowl from Lelaya as she sat down next to Misa and began chowing down. Unlike her gaming buddy, she was nowhere near full thanks to the pills she’d taken before the competition. While she hadn’t fully gotten over the remorse she felt thanks to the unfair advantage that had been thrust onto her, watching Misa squirm as she continued to eat her guilt away definitely helped. 

Wiping the sauce and bits of food surrounding her lips away with her forearm, Lelaya chuckled as Mia and Misa’s usual bickering took on an ABDL twist. If you had asked her only a year ago if she’d be able to get all of her best friends padded up to compete in a diaper lovers' game show, she would’ve said heck no! Win or lose, she was just happy to experience this all with the people she cared about most in the world.

Speaking of friends, there was one member of their team who was sitting isolated at the corner of the banquet table. Cupping her hands around her mouth, Lelaya called out, “Hey Ayaya, you hanging in there?”

Ayaya didn’t respond, too focused on what was happening inside of her body to listen to anyone around her. Sweat ran down her face thanks to the ominous bubbling occurring in her guts. The internal pressure forced her to expel small belches and farts every few seconds, causing her to flush with embarrassment. “Why did I do this to myself?” she muttered under her breath, regretting every decision she’d made that led up to her present situation.

Surprisingly, at no point during her talks with Jackson, nor when she was sneaking the mini-muffin into her mouth did she really come to terms with the fact that the end result of all of this was her sitting in a hypermessy diaper. She may have been aware of it but the actual reality of it was beyond mortifying. Everyone, from her parents to her friends to her fans online, was about to watch her destroy the plain, white pamper taped to her hips. “I-I can’t do this,” she thought, standing up from the table and looking for the fastest way to get off the stage before her bowels erupted on camera, “Sorry, Jackson, looks like you’re stuck with the host from hell.”

Watching as Ayaya stumbled to move around the table, Lelaya got up from her seat as well and rushed over to her, wondering what was the matter. “You okay? You’re not looking a bit pink, Ayaya,” she said, placing a hand against Ayaya’s moist forehead. Having seen Misa in a similar state, her mind came to one conclusion, “Is your tummy too full? We can get you one of your Lightning Laxatives if you n-”

*PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT!!!*

Without warning, Ayaya’s butt pushed out a large, wet fart that was so loud, it echoed several times throughout the sound stage. The hysterics that the audience burst into were the most rambunctious of the afternoon, their voices practically shaking the entire set. “Uh oh! I think we’re about to see our first diaper messing of Round Two!” shouted CassiRole, whipping the audience into even more of a frenzy.

For Ayaya, it had taken nearly every ounce of strength she had to muscle her booty hole shut. Even then, she could tell she’d only partially succeeded as she felt a distinct wetness between her butt cheeks. She may have survived that cramp but she knew the next one would likely finish her off. Looking at the exit, which was only a mere ten feet away, she prayed to whatever Goddess might be listening to spare her from her publicly messy fate.

Sadly, Lelaya was standing by to put the kibosh on any escape attempt. “Awww! Are you nervy to go boom boom in your diapees? Just try to relax and let your butt muscles do aaaaaaall the work,” she said, nailing the cause of Ayaya’s panic while also somehow misinterpreting it at the same time.

In seconds, several cameras swarmed Ayaya, boxing her in. Looking around at the various lenses frantically, a sense of vulnerability that she hadn’t felt since she was in elementary school kicked in. She was an adult, for fuck sake! Was she really about to do this?! That question would be answered for her as a new batch of cramps caused her to double over. Her jaw went slack and her legs trembled as the fruits of her cheating reared their ugly head.

*BLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRT!!!!!*

TO BE CONTINUED…

« PREVIOUS l FIRST l NEXT »

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

Heyyo! Can't wait until next week for more DiapOut!? Subscribe to my Patreon, where you can get early access to main series chapters like this one, as well as exclusive content you won't find anywhere else! Join my dollhouse at patreon.com/crissiebaby!

Edited by AllySmolShork

[yourcoolfriendwithallthecandy]

Magic and Miracles and BEYOND Chapter 14

Ya'll, when I say, that the writer's block for this story practically parked it's 18 wheeler sized ass in front of me, like a boulder on a mountain road AND THERE WAS NO WAY AROUND IT, to the point that I didn't know if I ever would get to write it again and I had to take a break for...way too fucking long. Also- for the record, all of this still happens in my head in 2018, you know, when I started writing this story, because BY GOD, all these characters should have had their weddings and a small piece of happily ever after BEFORE COVID comes to fuck everyone over. But Hazel's dress, that's still 2022 Pnina Tornay, it's a fantasy story, I'm fudging the timeline, a little. Also Hazel's engagement ring? Chocolate diamond. She's a foodie. It made sense.

Also, Yes, I do realize that I am face casting Alex Pettyfer twice. The first was as modern Ravus Nox Flueret, and then...as Dash Parr in my modern Incredibles AU Why So Jaded. Look, I just adore the guy ok? He's...incredibly good looking and talented, and HOT. They don't happen in the same alternate universe, it's fine, it's fine.

Anyway, so back to the road block, sorry, detour, anyway, so then, tragedy struck in my personal life, ok several tragedies kind of piled up all at once it felt like and shook me to my core, and suddenly those earthquakes, knocked that boulder off the road and opened up the creative roadway to this story again, then I wrote something truly horrific for this particular story. AND IT'S AWESOME, like it's brutal, will reach inside and grab your heart, put it into a blender before handing it back to you as you cry and say thank you, kind of awesome, so angsty.

But, I couldn't just...post it and not keep wrapping up other character's story lines because this was still "everyone needs to find their happily ever after" foundations laid. So. What that did, was give me a "if you want this- angsty thing to happen, how do you get the story from here to there, now that you don't have this fucking boulder in the way." and my brain finally went "I got it! TREDD IS AN ASSHOLE" and boom, problem solved. See I had- most of the components to this particular chapter, already written and mentally mapped out and planned out but the "go juice" to write it was empty.

But Tredd, lovable, asshole Tredd, gave me what I needed. I don't even know if I should tag who I used to tag...however long ago I used to post chapters to this story or if they have all changed their usernames and stuff or if any of them are still interested. But you know what? I'm gonna post it anyway. So enjoy.

Also, @the-immortal-marshal, thanks for sticking with me and hanging in there, THE PAIN IS COMMING NEXT CHAP. ENJOY the last moment of "peace and happiness where everything is perfect and nothing hurts" while it lasts.

Magic and Miracles and BEYOND

Chapter 14

“Hello Behbehs!” Selena cooed when she came home from school to her dogs and Duchess who eagerly greeted her before she got all the packages from the little stylish boxes she built out of pallets to create a little place for packages to be stored on her front porch before she and Ravus could get home and get them in their apartment.

“Ah thank goodness.” Selena breathed in relief when a couple of them were those pre prepared meal kits. Because with both her and Ravus being in school and both of them working too, they rarely had a chance to go grocery shopping anymore and the meal kits were a healthy alternative to fast food and surprisingly less expensive than take out and right now they were still in their “try everything once to find our favorites” stage. But Selena barely had them all unpacked and put away by the time her phone chimed.

‘Hope you had a good day today Darling’ Ravus texted when his phone chimed that she had made it home.

‘It’s been fine, busy, how about yours?’ Selena texted back.

‘Not great, I’ll be happy to call it a day soon.’ Ravus texted back as Selena frowned at her phone before she got an idea and raced up the stairs to get dressed in more business formal attire that was clearly flirtatious that covered up some ridiculously sexy lingerie and some really good ‘fuck me’ heels and put on some makeup and put her hair up in a quick bun then quickly left their apartment to go to Miracles Hospital where she parked next to Ravus’ car and purposefully strutted into the offices, using the badge keycard Sylva had made for her to get in before she made a B-Line for Ravus’ temperoary office while his was under construction before she checked in with Kathryn to make sure he was alone in his office before she opened his office door and struck a pose in his door frame with a smoldering look and a mischevious smirk on her lips that had Ravus’ jaw dropping to the floor at the vision she was.

“Hey. What are you doing here? Is there a problem with…?” Ravus began to ask as she closed the door, locked it then sauntered up to him and straddled his lap before she kissed him passionately as he eagerly held her and pulled her to himself as he kissed her back with equal passion that had Ravus thanking God that he put such an amazing, wonderful and sexy as hell woman in his life that could give him the one thing he wanted that he knew money could never buy- her love, priceless and perfect as it was. And with her love came devotion, loyalty, honesty, faithfulness and right now- desire and it was his life’s goal to make himself as desirable to her as he could possibly be because being the object of her affection was all he could ever want and he wanted her to feel as lucky that she had him for a partner- that he felt about her.

“How’s your day now?” Selena purred when they broke for air.

“Ah-amazing, I can’t, can’t complain.” Ravus answered truthfully, his mind desperate in it’s grasping for coherent thought as he was completely blown away and delighted by her little surprise visit as his hands traveled down her body, appreciating every nuance and curve she had.

“Good, now do you want to fuck me here or in the sleep studies wing, in the car or at home?” Selena asked and watched as he swallowed thickly as his own eyes grew a dark stormy gray with lust.

“Is there an ‘all of them’ option?” Ravus returned which made Selena smile brighter as he quickly hiked up her skirt the rest of the way to reveal that she had not been wearing underwear but was wearing thigh highs attached to a matching green silk garter belt ,which were his favorite kind of stockings as his cock tried to break through his pants trying to get into her as he gasped and ‘oohed’ in surprise and delight as she made quick work of his pants and underwear before she managed to seat herself onto him as he let his chair lean back and rest on a filing cabinet so they wouldn’t crash backwards and also so that Selena could ride him as hard as she wanted to without hurting anything as she opened up his silk dress shirt so that his chest and neck were bared to her before he yanked down her shirt and undid her bra so that her breasts, which had been pushed up to show her amazing cleavage before- were now bared to him in turn as he suckled as his hands went to her hips to guide her over him and when his other hand reached down to stroke her clit with practiced ease as he whispered some absolutely filthy things to her in French which he had discovered could get Selena all riled up and to hear and see and feel that was like a drug to him.

Selena could feel her orgasm approaching as her body and mind were in absolute bliss and to hear Ravus whisper, moan and growl in her ear in between kissing and licking and playfully biting every inch of skin he could reach as he drove up into her as hard as he could and rub her clit just right. Not too hard, not too fast, but as if he was delicately conjuring her soul through her pussy was the greatest pleasure she had ever known and she didn’t care what he was saying to her in French, but the way he said it, the way it rolled off of his very gifted tongue and the way he could enrapture her mind, body and soul so easily, as easy as he breathed and leave her so desperate for him, desperate for more. Just one more touch, one more kiss, one more thrust, one more profession of love, of promise, of adoration, everything. How she was his everything and how he was going to love her and cherish her for as long as he lived and she had the utmost faith in every word. And she knew that she was going to love him for the rest of hers. She didn’t care if he lost his fortune or the hospital or anything. She would keep him and he would keep her. And that would be all that mattered.

In rapid succession Selena came, her shuddering cry of bliss was the most perfect sound in Ravus’ ears as he smiled victoriously that he was able to give her the greatest pleasure possible before Ravus’ own face scrunched up as he came himself, a grunting, hissing moan. His cock throbbing but since his injections, there were no loads, other than an extra load of precum before they both collapsed in the chair as they held each other as Selena let her head rest on his shoulder as they recovered.

Selena traced random designs on his skin around his chest hair that was starting to fill in nicely along with more muscle mass that had started to build just in the last few months since he graduated highschool and gotten back from the most epic summer vacation. It was as if he was a late bloomer. All the bulky muscle he had always wanted was finally filling in the way he wanted it to and he was having to buy new suits and shirts because his old ones no longer fit him the way he wanted them to, but thankfully that glorious cock of his stayed the same, much to Selena’s utter and complete delight.

The only thing that hadn’t grown was thankfully his feet so that meant the man didn’t need to buy new shoes. Which was his own guilty pleasure and obsession, especially dress shoes. While they had gone cross country all summer, he and Luche would hit up all the thrift stores and speciality shops looking for old shoes to restore and when they had been in L.A. They had hit the mother load. All these places that had all the shoes from the old stars of hollywood, whether they became famous or infamous or never even made it on the map. But their very expensive and very good quality shoes were left behind. One shop in particular was run by a couple of older gentlemen that were so happy to see some younger guys were into this kind of thing that they gave them the deals of a lifetime and even Tredd and of course Ignis came along and between Ravus and Ignis, Luche and Tredd got quite the crash course education on shoes, in particular old dress shoes as the four of them practically bought the store out and had to ship out most of them back home because they wouldn't fit with their former travel plans. Ravus and Ignis were the way about shoes the same way some women were about fashion and purses.

Of course that wasn't the only "obsession" Ravus and Ignis had shared with Luche and Tredd, Ravus' mother and of course his grandparents were avid fountain pen collectors and when Sylva's parents had passed, they went over her parent's very, very extensive fountain pen collection that was in the thousands of pens large, Ravus insisted that about two dozen of them go directly to Selena so she could "impress" her more "financially affluent" clients she was starting to get as Sylva happily let those precious few go to Selena, then the rest were picked through by Sylva, Lunafreya who was also an avid fountain pen enthusiast as well as Ravus and Ignis who then coached Luche and Tredd of all people who showed an interest in what he called "rich people shit", just like jewels, yahts, jets, shoes and the like, which amused Sylva who humored him enough to go through what made a good fountain pen and what made different pens valuable and what the more "famous" or well known "name brands" were and what inks were best for which pens and corralating inks to the pens themselves as Luna did the same thing with Selena so that Ravus could coach Luche through the same thing too as the rest were divided evenly and "put away" so that they could become an "inheritance" for the next generation.

Meanwhile Ravus wasn’t the only one who had gone through some changes over the course of the summer and now fall, Selena too seemed to fill in quite nicely, she had gained some weight over the summer, her hips had filled out and her derriere had plumped out and her breasts had grown, filled in and rounded out and while she had gone up a few dress sizes, Ravus couldn’t be happier about the developments. Like she had transformed from lithe teen to full blown woman and he was all too happy to replace every piece of clothing in her wardrobe so that she was comfortable and could embrace her current body.

And with Selena landing what in her opinion was the dream job at Fosters as a junior designer and was currently designing all her friend’s houses as Oak Creek Estates under the supervision of a woman named Samantha Leeds, who had taken Selena under her wing and was showing her the ropes and helping get all the classes at the local college. Selena had had the hardest time understanding CAD but when she finally figured it out. She quickly excelled.

“So what’s going on?” Selena asked after they seemed to recover but were in no need to change their positions or state of partial undress.

“Something stupid in office politics.” Ravus huffed.

“Ok…” Selena urged.

“Some of the board members are getting greedy, in particular Mr. Greed, they look at how much Project Recovery is making them and they’re seeing dollar signs at the other pharma we produce.” Ravus revealed.

“But I thought your mom had a pretty good stance that when it came to life saving drugs like insulin and other medications like it- that you put a cap on all those so they’re affordable to everyone.” Selena frowned.

“She did, but the other board members see Luche and I coming onto the board and think they can get to us and pit us against mother or pit us against each other- thinking their greed is going to be contagious or something or that we’re too young to know what we’re talking about and too inexperienced to have valid opinions.” Ravus grumped before he kissed her forehead sweetly, grateful he could bare his heart and soul like this to her so freely.

“Well that’s not going to work right?” Selena said as she raised her head to fix him with a look.

"No, it's just frustrating to deal with until they retire, although I can’t imagine dealing with Roman or Ainsley is going to get any better, all I hear is ‘chip off the old block’ when Rob talks about them." Ravus shook his head.

"Is there any way we can get Mr. Greed to retire early? Get some peace before Roman and Ainsley come on board or is it not just Mr. Greed that’s giving you all the headaches?" Selena hoped.

"I wish it was just him. But it’s not. It just...comes with the territory. Besides if there was a way to make Mr. Greed and the others to retire early, I'm pretty sure my mother would have done it already. They've been thorns in her sides most of her life and they’re proving to be thorns in ours as well." Ravus mused as Selena frowned deeper.

“Don’t worry about it, it’s not your problem to fix, but thank you for listening.” Ravus thanked her gratefully as he held her comfortably in his arms. “And thank you for this, this was the best surprise.” He smiled appreciatively as he nuzzled her face with his.

“You’re welcome.” Selena smiled happily.

“Hey you wanna go out to dinner?” Ravus asked hopefully. “We could see if Lu and Ada wanted to join us?” He asked.

“Sure,” Selena nodded as she and Ravus worked on getting straightened up as Selena pulled her dress down a bit more so it was a bit more modest and pinned the top up to a much more modest height and by the time they got squared away and unlocked the door they saw Ada coming out of Luche’s office dressed similarly to Selena and Luche himself had the same love drunk smile Ravus was wearing.

“Hey,” Selena greeted as both Selena and Ada blushed before they looked pointedly at each other’s shoes then back up to each other before they both tried to stifle their giggles because they both knew exactly why the other was wearing those heels as they beamed knowingly at each other.

“Dinner?” Ravus asked as he self consciously smoothed his hair as Luche did the same as Luche gave Ada a questioning look and smiled when she eagerly nodded her head.

“Oh yeah.” Luche agreed before they all hopped into Ravus’ new Land Rover and drove to the restaurant that piqued their interest and hunger.

“So how’s the wedding planning going?” Ravus asked Luche while they looked at the menus.

“Good, still deciding on invitations, although we've narrowed it down to three different choices.” Luche answered.

“We did agree to use the same venue Sylva used when she got married.” Ada revealed.

“Yeah, that’s the same venue we decided on too.” Selena smiled happily.

“Do you have any ideas what dress you’d want?” Selena asked.

“Actually yeah.” Ada nodded as she scooted closer to Selena in the booth to show her the dresses she had found on Pintrist.

“Oooh, I like that one.” Selena agreed.

“It’s just going to be a challenge to find one that doesn’t drown me out. Because I’m so short and petite, but I don’t want to walk down the aisle in like 7 inch heels just to not trip over the dress.” Ada confessed as Ravus nearly lost it Luche’s grin as he had that ‘I wouldn’t mind’ kind of expression.

“Are you excited to go back to Kleinfelds?” Selena asked.

“Very much so, I’m already packed.” Ada confessed.

That weekend, the whole crew went back to Klinefelds for Ada to do her dress shopping. As Sylva made sure that Ada’s parents and Luche’s parents were in the middle couch while the boys made sure to keep Luche preoccupied while all the girls happily rallied around Ada as they all had their own ideas of what Ada should wear while Morgan got Sylva’s picks and other dresses into the room.

“Ok, this is Crowe’s pick.” Morgan said as she brought Ada out in the first dress.

“Aww,” they all awwed.

“You’re drowning in it though Love.” Ada’s mother noted as others kind of grimaced and nodded in agreement.

“So what do you love about this dress?”

“I love the bling, I love the tiered layers, it’s just a little too poofy.” Ada offered Morgan.

“Ok, so let’s try again, we’ll be right back.” Morgan offered the crew.

“Ok, so this is a mermaid, fit and flare,” Morgan announced as she brought Ada back out.

“It looks amazing, I just can’t really move because it’s so restrictive.” Ada realized as the rest of her family put in their 2 cents about it before she was back and tried even more, trying on her mom’s picks, Linda’s picks then finally getting to Sylva’s picks but Sylva made sure that Morgan didn’t tell Ada that they were her pick’s and instead urged Morgan to introduce them as her picks before sneaking one into Morgan’s hands that was brand new that had not been there when they had been there last.

Ada softly gasped when she saw it, it was perfect, it had the tiered layers but it also had lace and glitter and just a little bit of everything. It was perfect and when she put it on, she couldn’t help but cry. It was a soft, blushed ivory. It complemented her red hair and her skin tone gorgeously. She felt like a proper bride in this and she could see in her mind- so clearly- how Luche would probably cry tears of happiness if he saw her in this. This was it, this was the one.

“There’s that smile.” Morgan grinned victoriously as she looked at Ada in the mirror after she cinched the corset back closed and got it looking like Ada was born into this dress.

“This is it, even if all of them hate it, this is it.” Ada insisted.

“Well then let’s show them.” Morgan insisted.

Everyone could tell that Ada’s smile practically came from her toes, she was practically glowing with happiness as Sylva got choked up which caused Linda and Ada’s mom Amelia to start crying as all the girls started gasping and cooing before Morgan happily snagged an appropriate veil and put it on her and that’s when they were all practically sobbing.

“It’s perfect Love, absolutely perfect. It has those tiers that you love and the lace is so romantic.” Amelia cried as she squeezed her husband- Richard’s hand who was also getting choked up as they passed a box of tissues down the line.

“You look stunning Ada, really, just perfectly beautiful.” Linda praised as she had already made her peace with Ada being a daughter in law.

“And it still has enough sparkle and glitter to it, that even in low light, you’ll glitter like the jewel you are.” Sylva added.

“So, are you saying yes to the dress?” Morgan asked.

“Yes, I’m saying yes to this dress.” Ada confirmed happily before Amelia got up off the couch and hugged her daughter tightly before her dad hugged her tightly too along with her brother who had also been flown in for the event with his fiance.

A week later, Hazel and Sylva returned to Klinefelds as Sylva had flown out Hazel’s sister Mei and her mother Huan and her dad Tommy along with Titus' mother Helen and Titus’ sister Jenny in for the appointment. Helen and the rest of her family had been all too happy to welcome Hazel into the fold. Once Titus was thirty and then almost 40, Helen gave up on the idea that Titus would ever get married and settle down, especially when the rest of her children were giving her grandchildren at this point but it seemed she was too hasty when Titus finally met Hazel and seemed to get with the program and settle down “properly”.

Meanwhile Huan and Tommy were also over the moon that Hazel was finally settling down and even though Billy wasn’t wild about the age difference at first, the more he and Titus got to know each other, the better they got along, Tommy was happy that Titus made Hazel happy in addition to Titus’ character and stability and profession and Huan was so happy to learn that Titus was a good man, who had a house and was planning on building another with Hazel and when Titus and Hazel adopted Brutus who was Kona, Kahlua and Sasha’s sibling, while Tredd and Stella adopted Brutus’ brother King. To Huan- a grand-dog was close enough to a grandchild, for now. While she was always proud of Hazel for earning her own way though the world and earning enough to take care of them in their retirement, she had been on Hazel since she was in her twenties to have someone take care of her. And it seems Titus had finally come along and to do just that.

“So what are you looking for?” Meredith asked Hazel after everyone had been introduced.

“I’m looking for a very simple, not too many embellishments, comfortable, light weight wedding dress. Titus and I are getting married at the beach next May, right after school lets out, because he is highschool football coach. It’s going to be a very small, intimate wedding with just family and really close friends.” Hazel answered.

“Aww, that’s awesome, is there a price point we’re comfortable with?”

“Ten thousand.” Hazel answered.

“Ooh, more than enough to work with, well let’s go.” Meredith urged as she brought Hazel back into a dressing room to get changed before she went hunting for the perfect dress.

“Simple, light, comfortable.” Meredith echoed over and over again as she combed through the back room, her almost encyclopedic knowledge of the backroom to her aid as she went through all the dresses before she found several that would fit those criteria.

Charlotte came into the bridal shop, a giddy grin on her face as she came and “snuck up” on her family as Sylva turned her head and smiled at the newcomer.

“Surprise!” Charlotte announced to her family.

“Charlie?!” Tommy smiled happily as he got up and gathered up his daughter into his large arms. She may have been a wanted criminal and fugitive, but he was always happy to see her and to him, she would always be his "little Charlie".

“I thought you were overseas?” Tommy asked.

“And miss this? Nah, it’s Hazel’s first big day before the big big day, I wouldn’t miss it for anything.” Charlotte happily murmured into her dad’s chest before Tommy put his arm around his daughter’s shoulders and introduced her to Titus’ family who were completely oblivious as to Charlotte’s true identity as Charlotte sat next to Sylva.

“It’s nice to see you again. Different kind of exciting this time,” Sylva offered with a mischievous grin that Charlotte mirrored.

“I take it you didn’t get any kind of trouble from the last time we were in each other’s company.” Charlotte offered.

“Nope, not a peep, thank you.” Sylva reassured her.

“You’re welcome, this was wonderful, thanks for letting me know, when you get to know their wedding arrangements, forward them to this number, I doubt the groom would be comfortable with Gil and I coming but I want to send them a proper wedding gift that won't be on any kind of gift registry, at least domestically.” Charlotte nodded as she handed Sylva a slip of paper written in Mandarin as Sylva read it quickly, nodded and put it into her billfold just as Hazel came out in her first dress and stopped when she saw Charlotte.

“Charlie?” Hazel gasped in excitement as she saw her sister.

“Hey you, don’t you look beautiful.” Charlie greeted as she set her large, heavy purse on the seat and came over and embraced her sister.

“I didn’t think I would see you again.” Hazel admitted as she hugged her sister tight.

“Sylva invited me, hope you don’t mind.” Charlotte explained.

“Nope, not at all.” Hazel readily assured her sister.

“Is Gil here too?” Hazel asked.

“He’s doing business, as usual, plus I don’t think Dad would be cool and I know your fiance wouldn't be cool if Gil and I showed up to the wedding itself, so this is the best I can do and this is exposed enough without making things difficult or uncomfortable or "unsafe".” Charlotte excused.

“I get it, I'm still really happy to see you and that you're here. It means a lot, especially to Mom and Dad, and of course me as well.” Hazel nodded as Charlotte nodded in unison.

“So is this your dress?” Charlotte asked, changing the subject.

“This is just the first one, you came just in time.” Hazel answered.

“Well then let’s get to it.” Charlotte insisted as she returned to her seat.

“So this is dress number one. What do we think?” Meredith asked.

“It’s nice, I’m not in love with it, but it’s nice.” Hazel answered honestly.

“It makes you look like you’re wearing a tent.” Huan criticized as Helen and Jenny nearly choked on their spit and looked at Huan in alarm as Charlotte akept her snickering quiet enough to pass it off as a cough as Mei just rolled her eyes and complained to her mom in Mandarin that she was being too harsh.

“You don’t look like you’re wearing a tent, but the cut isn’t quite right. You need a more flattering shape to the fabric.” Charlotte offered.

“Agreed.” Sylva nodded.

“Well, that’s what first dresses are all about, finding what elements can work and what elements won’t.” Meredith explained before they tried on a few different picks as Charlotte looked around as did Sylva at the other dresses on display at the other dresses in the store.

“That one,” Charlotte and Sylva said at the same time once they both locked eyes on it and pointed to it.

“Well go get it then, bring it to her, it will mean more to her if you do.” Sylva encouraged before Charlotte got up and strutted across the floor to get the dress in question before she asked to see which room her sister was in before she came to the appropriate dressing room, a security guard shadowing her.

“Try this one.” Charlotte suggested as she handed the dress over to her sister as Hazel gasped softly when she saw it before Charlotte saw her way out and went back to the group and waived the security guard back a little farther so his presence was not felt by everyone else.

“And?” Sylva prodded.

“She had the gasp and the smile.” Charlotte answered as she checked her phone.

“Please let this be the one, I’m running out of time.” Charlotte whispered as she looked at the time on her phone and read the messages her henchmen were sending her as they stood guard a short distance away as her driver himself was scanning the police channels as Gil’s other men were monitoring the area.

Hazel came out a short time later, wearing a smile that shamed the sun, moon and stars as everyone else gasped and oohed and awed.

“Now that’s the dress, you look exquisite Hazel.” Huan finally complimented as Charlotte and Sylva gave each other a meaningful smile as Hazel nearly burst into tears as Jenny and Helen were already crying too.

“It’s perfect, but still incomplete.” Hazel began as she stood up and pulled a special box from her bag and took out a set of jade jewelry and put it on Hazel as Huan and Mei cooed and practically giggled as they put it on her as Charlotte gave Hazel a special sachet as well before Charlotte’s phone chimed.

“Do you have to go?” Hazel asked as Charlotte’s eyes watered as she tried to put on a brave, happy smile but nodded yes.

“Thank you for coming and for all of this. Thank you for being my sister. I love you so much.” Hazel thanked her as the two hugged before Charlotte got to hug every member of her family as Sylva got to get a quick picture of them all together, both with Charlotte’s phone as well as other members of her family so that each one would have a picture of this moment to treasure forever before the Henchmen came over and cleared their throats to get Charlotte’s attention as Charlotte hugged her parents, specifically her dad one last time.

“I have to go, I love you.” Charlotte bid her family before she used her handkerchief to dry her eyes and left with the henchmen as her driver was already anxiously out front, waiting to take his Empress back to a safer, less ‘exposed’ space.

“How come she couldn’t stay?” Helen asked.

“She’s a very busy woman. She lives half a world away and she probably had to fly back pretty soon, and security at the airports is a nightmare.” Sylva delicately excused as she waived it off.

“But now that we found the dress and the veil and obviously the jewelry. Let’s get settled up and get dinner shall we?” Sylva encouraged with a bright happy smile.

When Sylva came back home from flying and taking care of all the other guests, she came home to see all of her kids and their fiances and their friends as they had made a really nice dinner for everyone as Pelna and Yasmine, Gladio and Pashmina, Prompto and Cindy, Luche and Ada, Libertus and Crowe and Craig and Iris were on their way as well as Luche’s family and Ada’s family.

“Hey! So how did it go?” Luna asked as she gave her mom a big hug.

“Good, Charlotte came and surprised Hazel and the family.” Sylva revealed which caused everyone to freeze and look at each other worriedly.

“Charlotte Stevens?” Luna asked, taken aback by the news.

“Oh don’t look so surprised, when Charlotte and Gil used the jet they left a single phone number for the pilot to give to me and said I get to use it once. And I knew Charlotte wouldn’t want to miss the milestone in Hazel’s life because Charlotte knows she probably won't be welcome at the wedding since Cor is one of Titus' groomsmen, so I used it and told Charlotte the plan and she was very grateful for the invitation since no one else in her family knew how to get a hold of her to tell her. Besides, Titus’ family was blissfully ignorant of who she really was and Hazel’s family got to have a nice little reunion within the realitive safety confine of a public space and Charlotte got to see Hazel in her wedding dress as a good sister should. It was fine, I mean she had to be carrying four guns on her and who knows how many knives on her person, she had to have two guns in her outfit and at least another two in her purse and her four henchmen were armed to the teeth as well and she could only stay for about an hour but Hazel found the dress and everyone gave it their stamp of approval and Charlotte gifted Hazel some really pretty jade jewelry which is customary for a Chinese bride to receive which honored that part of her heritage and traditions, which was really nice, it was a lovely time.” Sylva waived off as she got the picture and showed everyone the family picture she took.

“She has got to have the biggest balls in the world.” Tredd noted, impressed when he saw the picture.

“She’s got you beat, that’s for sure.” Stella teased.

“She’s got everyone beat.” Sylva laughed.

“So is this everyone or are more coming?” Sylva asked.

“More are coming.” Luna reported.

“How many more?” Sylva asked before her doorbell rang and slowly then all at once, everyone came as everyone started pulling all the components at the table, setting it up for a large extended friends and family meal before Luche and Ada came in last, both of them having anxious smiles on their faces.

“Is everything ok?” Sylva asked Luche as she tried to keep her knowing smile to a minimum.

“Yeah, yeah, everythings great.” Luche reassured her.

“You sure?” Sylva asked as she looked from Luche to Ada who had the same anxious smile on her face.

“Ok, so we have some news and we wanted everyone to be around to make the announcement and we don’t exactly know how it’s going to be received.” Luche hinted.

“If it’s what I think it is, I will do my best to lead the way in accepting the announcement with all the happiness and joy that such an announcement garners. But I also want to be the first to offer my congratulations.” Sylva reassured them both.

“Thank you.” Luche and Ada breathed in relief.

“Come on, dinner is getting cold.” Sylva encouraged them before they all came into the kitchen where everyone was getting something to drink with their dinner.

“So Luche and I chose wedding invitations!” Ada happily announced as she handed every couple an invitation as well as one to her parents and one to Luche’s parents as well.

“Wait, I thought we agreed on May 18th, this is in December..only three months, it’s the weekend before Nyx and Luna’s wedding?” Linda pointed out.

“Well that brings us to announcement number two. We’re pregnant, or rather Ada is.” Luche announced as there was just a hint of nervousness to his excitement as Sylva was the first to squeal, almost an excited scream in delight, only half a second before Crowe did which got everyone else to cheer joyfully as Sylva came over and hugged them both and offered her first “official” congratulations which got Linda and Ada’s mother Amelia and Linda to get over their initial shock and plaster on happy smiles and congratulate them before Ada was swarmed by the girls with hugs and congrats as the first ultrasound pictures were passed around that she had gotten the day before.

“So how far along are you?” Sylva asked.

“Ten weeks.” Ada announced as Tredd, Nyx and Ravus shared a rather knowing smile, but no money was passed between the three because Tredd and Ravus had “seen it” when Sylva had as well. Crowe especially was super happy because she wasn’t the only one pregnant anymore as her own little baby bump had seemed to pop out since her own wedding.

“Baby bump!” Crowe happily cheered as she gently bumped her little baby bump into Ada’s belly which got Ada to giggle as the two hugged tightly and couldn’t stop laughing.

“Congratulations man!” Libertus congratulated Luche as he hugged him super tightly.

“Thanks.” Luche laughed into the hug before he got more congratulations from everyone else as even Tredd was, for once, gracious.

“So what are you hoping for?” Tredd asked.

“A healthy baby and a non complicated delivery.” Luche answered honestly.

“Good. Ok, everyone listen up! Taking bets on due dates and gender, where’s a white board?” Tredd suddenly turned, raising his voice to shout over everyone as he received a mixture of laughter and groans from some of the adults as Sylva laughed the hardest as Tredd took the whiteboard off the fridge and the little marker and erased all the important reminders after taking a pic of what was on it so none of it would be lost.

“Ok so that technically puts Crowe five months ahead of Ada so if gestation is 40 weeks, that’s basically ten months and Ada is already ten of those 38-40 weeks in- that puts us at...holy shit you’re due on your original wedding date- May 18th. OK, So, taking bets on three day spreads May 18th, 19th and 20th? Any takers?” Tredd continued undeterred.

“You asshole, I announce my fiance is pregnant and you immediately turn it into a bet?” Luche laughed, not surprised by his friend’s behavior, but was hoping he would have at least five minutes before Tredd turned into “The Lovable Douche Asshole”, the lovable part was questionable though most of the time.

“May 12th through the 15th, and a boy and the winner gets bragging rights but all the money and proceeds go to Luche and Ada.” Sylva said as she fished several hundred dollar bills out of her wallet and handed them to Ada before discretely handing Tredd another one too.

“Sweet, first better, Sylva Caelum, May 12th through the 15th and a boy.” Tredd repeated as he wrote that down and put a note in his phone.

“Oh what the hell. Twenty quid on the 16th-19th and I want a granddaughter so I’m betting on a girl.” Amelia offered as she handed Luche and Ada the money with a laugh of her own.

“May 9th-12th, a boy.” Ignis said as he handed Luche a few hundred dollars as well.

“May 19 through the 21st and a boy as well.” Luna giggled as she handed the couple a few hundred dollars too.

“May 14th through the 17th, boy as well.” Ravus added as he gave Luche most of the money in his wallet.

“Amelia it looks like if it is a girl, you’re getting amazing odds, five to one, that’s pretty awesome.” Tredd grinned at Amelia.

“Oh hell, I say May 21st through the 24th, also a girl.” Linda added as she gave Luche and Ada some money too as soon Luche and Ada were holding wads of cash and laughing as their friends were giving them money as Tredd was taking “bets” from everyone as everyone joined in on this impromptu gamble.

“Ok, so this isn’t so bad.” Ada had to confess to Luche as they tried to organize their “winnings” into a “gift bag” that Sylva had on hand before they all sat down to eat dinner as Luche nodded his agreement to that. That had gone way better than he was fearing as Selena, Stella and Luna all looked at their fiances with thinly veiled suspicion as they were looking at each other knowingly as they also noticed that Sylva also seemed particularly smug as they all happily enjoyed a very nice friends and family dinner as they discussed baby shower ideas as well as when to plan all the bridal showers and such and made a new, accelerated timeline.

[hartofhearts]

The implications of Tifa’s familiarity with Marco

In OG, our first encounter with a clone is in Sector 5, when we’re running around with Aerith. (Link here at 0:14--it’s where we get the infamous “this guy are sick” line!) It’s unclear if OG Tifa has ever met or seen a clone, and even at Nibelheim she doesn’t comment on a single one. (Though to be honest... she doesn’t say a lot in Nibelheim anyway.)

So Remake’s introduction of Marco was a bit of a departure from OG.

Remake essentially took the 30-second scene from OG Sector 5 and split it up across Chapters 3 and 8, and the encounters themselves were significantly expanded and dramatized to build a “clone arc” with a beginning, middle, and climactic pay-off at Shinra Tower. While I’m 100% confident that these changes were made to adapt the clone storyline to a full-length, Midgar-only game, the implications of Tifa’s new involvement are fascinating and may have an impact beyond Part 1.

Unlike the ambiguity of OG, Remake gives us definitive proof that (1) Tifa is not ignorant to the signs of “clone behavior”--we see her care for Marco when he is deep in the throes of incoherence and delirium. We’re also told that she checks in on him now and then to make sure he’s okay--so (2) Tifa is familiar with the incurability and tragedy of this condition. 

In OG, we are shown that Tifa will see these same symptoms of incoherence in someone else:

However, unlike Marco’s tragic condition, Cloud’s mysteriously cures itself:

Until she asks him a simple question about the past and it causes him to freak the f out. He terrifyingly, dangerously, uncontrollably flails his sword around while she can only cover her mouth in fear (pay close attention to her hands and body language in the next image--she sees his odd behavior and reacts to it):

He finally stabilizes in a peaceful, coherent-but-confused state:

And Tifa is reluctant to broach the topic further, lest he destabilize once more.

(Entire scene here.)

While the body language in the flashback scene is easy to miss, Tifa’s fear and confusion are undeniable. Her motivations for staying silent on Cloud’s disconcerting contradictions are obvious: not only does she not want to chase him off before she can figure out how to cure him, but the one time she did ask him something, his response was uncontrollable and inadvertently dangerous. This scene illustrates the high stakes Tifa thought she'd be playing with if she broached the past with Cloud again.

In Remake, Tifa’s familiarity with Marco can lend her additional insight during this pivotal moment with Cloud, and increase the stakes even further. When she sees an incoherent Cloud at the train station, (1) Tifa recognizes this as “clone behavior” and (2) likely worries that Cloud has the same tragic, incurable affliction as Marco. So when Cloud magically fixes himself, it must feel like a miracle to her. Of course she would likely want to do anything to keep him that way. So if Cloud seemingly regresses--violently or otherwise--when prompted about their past together, Tifa probably doesn’t want to push her luck. After all, what if this is the time he becomes permanently Marco-fied?

The devs are well aware of common anti-Tifa talking points, and used both Remake and Trace of Two Pasts to systematically debunk dozens of them.  It seems highly likely that Remake intends to use Marco to refute yet another talking point: “why didn’t Tifa ‘tell the truth?’”

---

(shoutout to @terra-fatalis​ who encouraged me to get back on my ffvii shit and has an amazing tumblr of their own!)

[methylsalicylate]

The Madrigals and The Beast Ch 2

AO3 Link | Story art by @waokevale | Tag: #Madrigals&Beast

Chapters:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20

Summary:

In the Kingdom of Encanto, there was only Light magic, while the Dark surrounded the forest beyond the mountains. Everything had been prosperous for them, but recently the Dark has been seeping through in the form of disease, less harvest, and dead livestock.

Mirabel, the only giftless princess of the Madrigal Royal family, wants to prove her worth by making it her mission to eradicate Dark magic and restore the full power of the Light.

Starting with defeating the hideous seven-foot tall half human half rat monster hiding in the depths of the dense forest.

______________________________________________________________

“I’m leaving the Encanto.”

Right after this sudden declaration, princess Pepa’s oldest son Camilo choked on a piece of bread. He vehemently coughed for a few seconds, while his younger cousin rolled her eyes at how dramatic he was being.

Cough Cof KAF cough!!

Five seconds passed. “Are you done suffering?”

The shapeshifting teen shushed her cousin, holding up a finger. “Wait, let me cough some more to show how ridiculous that sentence was. Cough KOUgH!”

Mirabel rolled her eyes a second time. She grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the road outside their house. “I don’t know why I put up with you.”

“Wait where are we going?”

She looked back at her cousin and motioned a hand towards her ear.

Oh Dolores, thought Camilo.

When they were far enough (which probably doesn’t help since Dolores can hear things from miles away), Mirabel placed her cousin on a log near the entrance of the town.

“I said, I’m leaving the Encanto.”

“Yeah, I heard that the first time and sorry for being a bit dramatic but WHAT?!” her cousin shot up, and waved his hands around. “That doesn’t make any sense! There are at least 48 bedtime stories on why we are absolutely not allowed out there! Do you want to get eaten by the Rat monster?”

“No, but we need to defeat him!”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“Listen!” Mirabel whispered, closing the distance between her and Camilo’s ear, trying to avoid onlookers from hearing her. “Last night, after Antonio’s door party, I noticed cracks in Casita.”

“Yeah, but they were gone when -”

“SHUSH! Yes I know they disappeared, but I overheard abuela talking to her picture of abuelo Pedro last night. She says that something is happening beyond the forest and it’s affecting the Light magic within, and that she is at a loss at what to do.”

Camilo gave her a confused look. “So… so you think that defeating the Rat monster would help?”

“Yes, exactly!” Mirabel started pacing back and forth, hand on her chin and eyes full of focus. “I also talked to Luisa earlier, she told me that she does feel the Light magic disappear for a few seconds at a time. There are also problems around the kingdom; the rat infestation on our fields has gotten worse, and more people are needing Mama’s food for some unknown contagious disease… Don’t you see, something is happening to the magic!”

Mirabel felt her cousin grab her by the shoulders, putting a stop to her thoughts. He looked her in the eye and motioned for her to sit beside him on the log.

“Prima, we need to think about this, ok? Don’t just jump to weird conclusions like that.”

“But you do understand, right?” She sat down heavily next to him, resting her head on her hands. “Camilo, the Dark magic feels stronger these days. I’m not sure what’s causing it, but I know that it could be trouble if we don’t do something about it.”

“Yes but why does it have to be you?”

There was no doubt about how Mirabel felt about the magic. Unlike her sisters and cousins, she was the only one who was not blessed by the Spirit of Encanto with a miracle. On the day of her ceremony, the magical door disappeared before her and most of the kingdom. Her Abuela looked concerned and she knew that the adults talked about it often. Over time, the lack of a magical talent made her feel as if she was not a Madrigal.

“You don’t have to prove your worth, Mira.”

“But! I just want to do something for the family, in my own way. I know I haven’t been of much help - “

“Not true.”

“- and I think that this might actually get me somewhere! I don’t want to see my family lose their magical gift… and I am afraid of what might happen if we let the situation get worse.”

She turned to her cousin, using her ever powerful puppy dog eyes.

“Oh no, that no longer works on me Mirabel.”

“Camilo please!” she begged. “I need you to cover for me, just for like, two to three days? I’ll be back right away, in one piece I swear!”

“How are you even going to get to the Rat guy? Going up the mountain would take weeks!”

“Ah, I already have a plan for that.” She adjusted her glasses and pointed at a farm at the edge of town. “The rats have to come from somewhere.”

“So you will follow the rats.”

“Yes.”

“And when you see the giant Rat monster? What then?”

The girl merely shrugged. “I won’t approach him, I will just observe enough to know his weaknesses. And then I come back, and we can hatch a plan. We can involve the whole village even! As they say, the more the merrier. There’s no way the Rat monster could handle an entire kingdom.”

“You’re crazy.”

“Crazy enough to try and save everyone!” Mirabel stood up, and dusted her embroidered blue skirt. “So, what do you say primo? Are you willing to help out?”

“There’s nothing I can do to stop you, huh?”

“Yep.”

Camilo sighed heavily. It lasted for around 3 seconds, again, to prove how much he hated this. He thought about it for a while. Technically, it is impossible to go across the mountains around the border. Most likely her cousin would give up after a day and come home safe. “I will give you two days. After that, I’m telling everyone.”

“Deal!”

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

Meanwhile, the adults of the family were gathered in Casita. The husbands were busy with work in town, leaving the sisters with their mother in the kitchen.

“I heard that Señor Carlos lost a fifth of his harvest to the rats today”, said Julieta. Her hands were busy preparing arepas but her thoughts were somewhere else.

Alma shook her head. Ever since this year started, things have gradually gone downhill. Harvests weren’t as bountiful as before, they weren’t getting enough fish from the rivers, livestock were getting sick.

Worst of all, some townsfolk are afflicted with an unknown disease. Thankfully, Julieta’s preparations are able to alleviate symptoms, but the slow and steady rise in the number of cases is worrisome.

Pepa was leaning against the counter, arms across her chest. “Mama, at this point we cannot deny that something is happening.”

“I know mija. I fear that the Dark might eventually overcome the protective borders that we have…”

“Is there anything that we can do? My food can only do so much… Pepa can’t keep raining on the fields as well.”

The matriarch nodded. “For now, this is all that we can do. We no longer have the old sword the first King used to handle the Curse… I’m afraid I will have to… try and review the remaining visions that we have.”

The sisters looked at each other with unease. Their mother hated going through the visions, and most of all, there was nothing there to find. They have gone through the collection of green glass hundreds of times, especially on the day that Bruno went missing. It was all useless, most of it being visions that already happened, some of them having no meaning to it.

Pepa placed a hand on her mother’s shoulder. “Mama, why don’t I do it for you? I might be able to find and decipher something.”

“I… alright. I will need a new perspective as well. We must try our best to help with the kingdom while we find something definitive.”

She closed her eyes, willing all the bad memories into a locked compartment in her mind. She has to be strong for her family.

“I will have to meet with the Guzman’s today regarding Isabela’s engagement. Dark magic won’t stop the joyous occasion. We are the Madrigals, we will be strong for our family, and for our community!”

________________________________________________________________

Chapters:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20

[seb-owns-these-tatas]

Witcher Of The Night (Chapter 10.1)

THIS IS MODERN ERA READER WHO WOKE UP IN THE DIMENSION OF THE WITCHER. 

WITCHER OF THE NIGHT MASTERLIST

CHAPTER 10

Characters: Geralt of Rivia x small!Naive!Reader

Summary: You’ve woken up after the possession without remembering how it went, nor did you remember yourself confessing for the witcher. Three wishes were said with an comfortable feeling that seemed irresistible for you and for the white wolf himself too; leading into having renowned stress and frustration for Geralt with tensions that seemed to be carnal deep inside. 

Warnings: Sexual tension. Frustration from both. Reader being one naughty woman for some bum staring and keeps on bothering a sleeping Geralt. Soft, soft, soft, Geralt of Rivia. Anxiety filled reader. Captain America is mentioned.

Words: 7.6k (SHEEIT. THIS IS LONG AF. WHAT THE HECK TATA HAHAHA. I WAS TOO HAPPY THAT THERE’S SOME TENSION NOW. HAHA! I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS MOMENT!)

A/N: Smut will be up soon. (Maybe around chapter 14-16) There will be! Patience is a virtue, bb’s! Also, this is one of my favorite chapters that I’ve written! Heehee! I hope you’ll love it! 💖

TAGLIST IS STILL OPEN FOR THIS ONE! Heehee! Don’t forget to REBLOG, COMMENT OR GIVE FEEDBACK IF YOU DID LOVE THIS CHAPTER! IT’LL MAKE ME SMILE!

Disclaimer: PNG’s used in edits are not mine even the GIF’s too. However, the edits and oneshots are definitely from moi. Characters, places and said monsters aren’t from moi as well. GIF’s INCLUDED ARE CREDITED TO THOSE WHO MADE THEM! I DO NOT OWN THEM! (Some Gifs are from demivampirew)

MY WORKS ARE NOT NOT NOT NOT NOOOOOOT TO BE POSTED ON ANY OTHER WEBSITES. My official username in Wattpad is “TATATHEPOTATO” and that’s the only other site I have for writing aside from Tumblr. Thank you, Tater tots!

After the aberrant incident with your Djinn, you'd happen to wake up in the arms of the witcher. Geralt didn't know what happened; nor does he have any as to what explanations can be said. Nobody knew your wishes, not even yourself as you woke up sitting on a saddle; with Geralt's arms surrounding you in a warmth that tells you he was protecting the person in front of him; which was you.

He'd deeply pondered about it as the gang hiked back towards their path going home. What was the reason that you've been possessed by some sort of pneuma? Better yet, what have you really wished for?

All he remembered was your ebony eyes that consumed you from that time being. Though, drinking black blood was ticked off the list because he never even gave you the opportunity to try it nor is it possible for your tiny frame to take the elixir with no immunity like his.

You were definitely possessed; but then it left once you'd given him a barf of black smoke as explained by the bard who saw everything before his eyes.

He wasn't sure of it, but he couldn't be steadfast that the spirit wasn't in your body anymore; keeping you as a host. Though, the bard's explanations interprets that you've given the spirit to him.

Geralt would rather much prefer that than for you to painstakingly have it.

Hence, there was still a lot of questions especially that you woke up like finding a djinn never happened. Those words that was whispered out of your lips sounding like Elder speech.

He'd only understood the first word you've said which was 'Cáerme,'.

It meant Destiny. The word he hated the most.

The latter shouldn't have searched for the Djinn in the first place and just chose the latter option, but he just had to be so stubborn for wanting to flip the bird back at destiny who was trying to play him like a puppet and also at Durriken who began to spat shit back in the Tavern.

"Geralt," Jaskier extolled as the witcher walked Roach out of the forest. The way his pitch turned higher; sounding so mesmerized by the image he was seeing. The vast meadow sitting before him as a petite stone house castle appeared before them. Their wooden cavern long gone as another house has been magically changed; a stone house that probably had a second floor and rooms to provide for the whole family.

The bard gasped and stood in the middle of the field, his eyes shimmering in delight as he loomed before the new house; arms all wide as he exclaimed, "THIS IS SPLENDID! A MIRACLE, INDEED! What did she even wished for?!"

You were oddly silent. For Geralt, it was strange as he'd noticed that the first thing you've asked when you woke up in his arms was 'what happened?' as your eyes were weary and somehow filled with fatigue.

Your quietness was disturbing him to the fullest because he was fond of how you were always asking stuff whenever you see something uncanny in the midst of trailing down the path; which your naivety and curiosity lead to having a Hirikka living in his home. But, now; you were just staring out of nowhere as you sat on the saddle.

All your energy has just been taken from you when you've woken up in wonder; leaving you drained.

"What did you wish for, midget?" Geralt asked out of nowhere as he yanked on Roach's reigns as the horse galloped forward, towards an unspecified small, stone castle that you weren't accustomed with.

You've cocked your head to the side, squinting your eyes back at the larger house sitting in front of you and at the question that the witcher has asked, "What? I haven't yet. We were about to go to the swamps, remember?"

It was a sapped response that made the witcher hum in wonderment; shrugging to himself as the horse maneuvered to the side of the house to see that he'd still acquired his stable but not made of wood; but made in stones.

The house totally looked sumptuous to Geralt's surprise. He was used to the penurious looking stuff, but not the lavish life. He'd been sleeping in brothels before, had no home and friends other than his horses. Yet, life seemed like surprise him to the fullest.

"You've already made your wishes and we have already went to the lake," the witcher surly grumbled, his voice vibrating against his chest as you could hear the cavernous timbre that surely always does give you a touch to the spine.

Howbeit, once you've heard the velveteen gradient passing through; the effect was rather much profound. Kindling with the sparks that seemed to give your spine a shiver.

Totally bewildering, overwhelming and suddenly pleasurable.

"I...didn't? What are you saying?" you softly chided as your body went stiff by the patent purl of his effect on you. The witcher detected your body turning rigid like you've been shot to the head; yet he paid no thorough heed to it as he thought you've just shivered from the benumbing breeze of the night.

You've felt shifting from behind and noticed Geralt who'd gotten to jump off his horse first. No movements were made other than you who was stupefied at whatever stupendous feeling you were having. Beseeching peepers peering down at the witcher who had his beautiful amber eyes on you; silently watching like a hawk with his expression stoic but somewhat pliable that only you had the liberty to.

Very weird indeed.

"Jump." the witcher ordered, his voice sending more overwhelming ripples of shivers that made you subtly shake your head but it was noticed by Geralt as his mouth formed a firm, thin line; eyebrows slightly creased together from the reaction he got.

You timidly hauled your leg off his horse. The witcher's robust fingers spontaneously grabbing onto your hip before you could even jump then fall to the ground; like an instinctive reflex coming from the man himself, carrying you down with no effort. You were gently placed to the ground with much caution.

The wavelet of pleasurable specter traveled through every parts of your body, involuntary stepping an inch away from the latter which has made his hands stay where they have been, cocking his head to the side as he blinked in confusion.

He stared at his fingers far too long; seeming to be feeling what you were also feeling as of the moment. But, he never planned to tell; thinking that it was just probably the side effects of what has happened prior to the Djinn incident that has occured.

"Ughm," your heart was beating fast, giving you an unrewarding feeling when you've subtly moved away from the witcher; your actions never liking what it did when you've felt weight laid upon your chest, making you want to groan out loud in ire, "T-Thanks,"

Geralt could only raise a brow in silence from your reflexes; a weird abrupt feeling of frustration spreading through his chest but he paid no regard as he wanted something he couldn't quite understand.

The witcher was the first to leave, his mouth in a small frown by whatever was irritating him. You tailed behind Geralt stepping foot on their door step with quick marches. From the moment you've thrown yourself in the space of their new humble abode, you were awestruck as you've scanned the whole place with stupefaction.

The interior design of the whole house was in cardinal and wood brown, floor in stones. Geralt stood in the middle of a rather medium sized living room, thoroughly inspecting the place with his scrutinizing amber eyes with Jaskier, Cirilla and Kolby entirely delighted by the miracle that has been given.

You've stood behind Geralt, his Herculean back shown to you as you were staring at it far too long. A sudden thought for wanting to see his body bare which earned a mental slap for your untamed brain.

What were you just thinking right now?

The brooding witcher puttered an exquisite groan to himself, a phantom of satisfying prickle of your stomach giving your insides a warmth that seemed to slowly become insufferable as he'd turned around to meet your doe-eyes; guilelessly peering up at the witcher who was all colossal and strong.

"Tell me your wishes---" he firmly started, roughly spitting out his demands when Geralt met your vindicated gaze that could get him antsy. But, now he was just beyond feeling irked. His gaze simply falling on your lips that held nothing but kindness; those lips that he suddenly wanted to savor all night long.

What was wrong with you both?

Geralt exhaled a calm breath; tightly gritting his teeth as he sharply snapped his eyes away from your vermillion, "---right now. If I were the Djinn,"

Kolby was yelping in the background in his own way; the Hirikka way. Albeit, Jaskier was trying to avoid the harmless monster as it was trying to stand in his path, asking for something from the bard, "No! Bad Hirikka! Stay away!"

You've given the witcher a look of peculiarity; studying how rigid his stance was before you. Eyes closed and seeming to be breathing deeply. The latter couldn't help but take note of how unyielding your scent have been, a sudden feeling that he couldn't withstand and just want to bury his nose in the crook of your neck.

It made Geralt hum a dangerous and displeased short-lived grumble deep inside his chest.

Lemon with a hint of peony. His new favorite scent since the moment you came running off the forest.

"Why---"

The witcher has sharply cut you off out of the blue, jaw clenching as he'd fluttered his eyes for you to see; piercing, obscure and penetrating. "Just tell me, midget."

Those eyes seem to always take your breath away; maybe even your soul as well because of those lascivious thoughts whispering inside your head; scorching your spirit to the fire wanting to be flamed.

"A..A bigger, better house for your family," you hesitantly murmured, soft and quietly which made Geralt's eyebrows twitch. The sound was delicate and utter convincing for him with a perilous want to satiate.

The type of satiation that he wanted to covet; all night long.

It was definitely sudden and treacherous.

Jaskier gave you both a once over across the kitchen, eyes bulging out of its sockets when he'd noticed it was bigger than what they had before; more comfortable and homey. Kolby was trailing behind the bard like he was his shadow which was still being ignored by the lean man himself, "Which explains why we have a small castle house right now, thank you very much, small rat! I can now bathe without Roach staring like he wants me to breed him,"

Jaskier's laugh was loudly resonating around the house which accompanied with the silence you were having with Geralt. One thud and you've noticed the witcher came closer, glowing amber eyes solely on your small frame as he continued his interrogation, "And the second?"

"Enough...food and clothes for everyone,"

Jaskier has seen a basket full of apples, oranges, grapes and everything you can ever wish for. His face twisting in oddity when he'd given the basket of apples to the Hirikka who'd devour it like he has been famished. The bard continued to listen, hearing Cirilla's loud stomps of excitement coming down the stairs of their new two-storey stone house, "Kolby is certainly loving it," he cajoled, stepping away from the Hirikka with a cringe on his face before looking at the princess who was now twirling around with a new pretty yellow gown that she held to herself; a huge beam on her face, "---Also, Cirilla."

You've stayed rooted on the ground, accepting the witcher's presence like it wasn't giving you the shivers and a weirdly palpable desire for wanting him close. Closer than you can ever imagine. Geralt also wanted you nearer, maybe even more. A lot more. Your irresistible scent clouding his mind as he'd taken several steps closer, your scent crashing his palates like a damn delicious snack he'd wish to devour.

The latter lowly whispered crude profanities to himself when the 'want' was starting to get to him. It wasn't like this before; the cravings and utter such. Only for tonight. He ceased his steps once he was an inch away from your feet, looming before you like a skyscraper as you've felt the heat of his stare totally irresistible as time goes by.

It was creating an enigma for your silent mental thinking; heedful of keeping your thoughts in a haywire.

"The last one?" It was a mere grumble, a volume that only you could hear as you were thoroughly enchanted by those amber eyes trying to burn your vindicated soul.

"The happiness of all, especially...yours," your heart was running a mile as you were consumed by the fire in his eyes. You softly stuttered with utmost sincerity. Never wanting the overwhelming sensation to go away as he was now closer; seeming that your desire to touch him was turning deep-seated.

You wanted to touch his face. Badly. The warm feeling threatening you to do it.

But, it seemed like the witcher was also feeling the same way and was somehow more immune to the irresistible repulsion. You've seen his eyes faltering, changing into a look of frustration, anger and depletion as he snapped his head away from you. The veins to his temples throbbing as deeply growled to himself; fighting off something he was feeling that you couldn't decipher.

Then, it was like he'd broken the spell as he abruptly shifted away from you; shaking his head. The overwhelming sensation changing into dismay and pain. His reaction sparking you to feel downhearted. Shouldn't he be happy that you wished for his happiness as well?

You've blinked back at the witcher with a frown, the way his eyes shun away kept your heart at bay, pondering of the fact if he felt it too or was it just another one of your ridiculous hallucinations? There were voices inside your head, screaming that you've told the witcher you liked him, though you never remembered when and where.

Maybe, it never happened?

Hence, why does the idea felt incorrect?

Jaskier, a great eavesdropper; managed to slid his way to where you both were. The bard's ocean eyes raking both of your rigid forms like you were acting pretty strange. Especially, the witcher who seemed to be having an internal battle within himself, "Alas! It seems like this is the wish that broke my heart because the witcher doesn't appear happy at all,"

Geralt gritted his teeth as he spoke; clearly upset of your last wish as he was glaring you down. The sudden change of his attitude making you scrunch your nose in dismay; his frustration seeming to also be given as you had your fists on either side, huffing out a breath;  "You didn't wish to go back to that earth you call your home?"

"By the sound of my last wish, I think I did."

"It didn't sound like it," the witcher roughly spat. Bruising that selflessness and naivety of yours with his simple words. You crippled under his fierce gaze and felt yourself thwarting, "I really did! I didn't want to be selfish and wish for myself! Coming home makes me happy! Obviously, it would've been for you too based on how persistent you are in throwing me away! If I did say that to the Djinn then I should've portaled back home already!"

The sudden high-pitch timbre of your voice was an accident. You didn't mean to burst like a mad man at the witcher who had been wincing since the moment you've spat spiteful words after words. You were utterly infuriated; from the heavy, unrelieved feeling and also disheartened by how he was strong willed about how you should go back to where you came from.

Jaskier was rooted on the ground. Hands fidgeting over his cup of water, tapping the lid when you've started dropping a bombshell back at the unnerved witcher who now had a stoic expression carving his features once again; giving you each other looks as his mouth was in an 'O' form, staring back at Geralt; waiting for another mistake that he could do because he was that type of lout as Jaskier knew.

But, to the bard's surprise; his expectations had been high as he waited for the witcher to yell back like how he did to him back in the days; accidentally hurting his heart.

Yet, there was no angry witcher coming forth.

"You should've been more specific," Geralt calmly murmured, audibly sighing from the anger you've poured down on him; leaving Jaskier  to his astonishment, "---you're too fucking selfless," the latter went on with his gruff rumbles, shaking his head in disdain as he turned his heel to drop his heavy metal sword on a medium sized brown mahogany table, "---to even include us in your wishes,"

Cirilla was nowhere to be found; currently in her room as she was jumping on her pretty large new bed. Jaskier wearily blinked back to the both of you who seemed to be in a mess; nodding to himself from the moment the witcher was the first to even calm down when you were maddened.

The simple action was enough for Jaskier to get blown away because he rarely does that when someone was proving a point to the witcher, especially when the point was actually about his rickety attitude that he couldn't control. The bard left you both to your argument, never wanting another quarrel and trying to cease the war by waving the white flag.

His firm and calm response made you feel bad. Totally bad especially when you've seen his frown. Howbeit, you were pondering why was he even thwarted about the fact that you included them in your wishes when he should've been thankful?

Witchers were complicated, you thought to yourself. The pent up aggression now leaving your body when you've tried to reason out to the witcher; though, it was still there deep inside. You just tried to shake it off.

You've tread on the heels of Geralt; throwing questions after questions as you were hot on his wheels, "But, did we get the Djinn?" First. "What happened?" Second. "Are you really not going to answer me? Is this a part of your brooding charm, then?" Third.

He'd ceased his steps before the first block of the stairs, your forehead hitting his beefy back. You've immediately hissed at that and caressed the part that was hit, silently groaning out for being an annoying idiot.

The witcher wasn't moved at all.

You were beyond awestruck from how you were acting. You've never been seeking for his attention before yet here you are; kindling with his patience.

"I'm sorry," the guilt was eating you alive. Your sudden caterwaul and needy attitude making you feel strange. You were never like that. Ever. You genuinely apologized to the witcher, biting at the pillows of your chapped lips from the anxiety, "---I didn't know you want me to leave that bad, Geralt."

Still, no answer from the witcher. Albeit, that was his problem with each passing day with you; the thought of you leaving was slowly penetrating his will on watching you go. He was slowly hating to see you leave.

If Destiny was hearing his thoughts, it'll be celebrating by how she was playing her cards right. It's what she wanted from him; from Geralt.

To accept his destiny. As always.

"---Also, thank you." you continued, trying to communicate with the silent hunk of a man, "---For always saving me when I should've been killed already,"

You've given him a small, sad smile without him even looking. Catching you off guard when he'd momentarily turned around to see a partial of his apologetic amber eyes.

"I---"

Though, it seemed like destiny didn't want that from Jaskier's brash interruption; Geralt didn't have the chance to continue what he wanted to say. A subtle roll of his eyes as the bard hollered from the second floor, being happy as a box of birds when he was welcomed with a bed that seemed so comforting to sleep on. He was just looking through the set of rooms; deciding to give Geralt the chambers that had wider windows then leaving to catch up on the others. There was also a pretty much medium sized bath room that took up most of the proximity of the home itself.

It was rather fantastic.

"THERE'S ANOTHER SPARE ROOM! HOWEVER, IT IS PRECISELY ONE ROOM DESTINED FOR ME!" he shouted from above, hearing him uttering out the most unfamiliar words he'd excitedly said as he continued to yell, "---YOU ARE AN ANGEL SENT FROM AN UNKNOWN PORTAL, Y/N! I SEND MY KISSES TO YOU! MUAH!"

Geralt's features was masking in complete fatigue and dismay; sighing from the bard's horrible interaction.

You bit your lips together, beaming back at the witcher who had a tight scowl on his face as you'd stealthily stepped back; planning to flee from his presence. Your thoughts thinking that maybe he was already annoyed, "Okay then, I'll give you your wanted silence."

You've side-stepped, cautiously aware of how heavy his gaze rested upon you. But, you were too bashful to even look back. Nervous that he would notice that you were already deeply fond of him.

But, something inside you says he already knows which is why it added more butterflies in your stomach; lately becoming uncontrollable and raucous.

"Where are you going?" Geralt bluntly questioned, you've ceased from escaping within his presence and gave him a look that tries to state the obvious, "To my chambers?"

The brooding witcher cocked his head to the side, curiosity filling his cat eyes. His lips twitching for a smirk to carve because your reasoning was hilarious, "The kitchen?"

You gave him a tight crease of your forehead, finding his queries rather abrupt and weirdly strange because he seemed to be pointing out that it wasn't your room and so you've laid down your opinions and viewpoint, "I know you were kind enough to lend me your bed because I was wounded. But, I think the medicine still works like a miracle and---"

Therefore, it was enough for the witcher to simper. The strange sentiments of keeping you close as he tries to sleep assaulted those strange senses that continues to give him impelling decisions.

"No," Geralt wanted to wince. It was not what he wanted to say. His crooked smile fell when you eyed him like he was a weird one, "What do you mean, no?"

"You can have my bed,"

The latter's nose was scrunched, subtly snapping his head to the side as he lowly cussed, "Ugh, fuck." when that was abruptly said out in the open.

He wanted you with him. On his bed. With reasons that can get him to sleep and also because of that feeling he couldn't get off his chest.

You puckered your lips in quick ponder, before shrugging to yourself and suddenly sleeping on his bed seemed to be normal, "Okay--What?"

Geralt calmly exhaled a breath, blinking back at you with a scowl as his body went stiff; uttering his next words with contrived annoyance, "You can suffer from Jaskier's lute strumming in the middle of the night; non stop like a dragon in heat," his teeth gritted against each other. Though, you didn't notice that and was more heedful of his anomalous attitude, "Is...Cirilla's room not available?"

The witcher shook his head, to the question sent and for his random actions, "You can't always sleep in her room," pause. He'd started again with doubt dripping in his baritone pitch, "---There are...peril instances that may occur when she is deep in her slumber,"

You clicked your tongue, "So, I have no choice but to sleep in your bed?"

"Hmm."

All you've gotten from him was a raise of his brow and a low menacing hum that seemed displeasing to the ears, "I think that was a yes," you avoided his intense golden peepers, thoroughly tentative of how your fingers fidgeted with the hem of your long mustard colored sleeved sweater; his demands giving your heart another blush, "---You are acting...weird today, Geralt."

With you stating the obvious ignited a grudging groan from the latter. Words were in a surly rumble as he languidly spun in his booted heels and took his flight up the stairs. His heavy, muscly weight making the floors creak with every step he takes; following him from behind, "Fine. Sleep with Kolby for all you want."

The way up was steep and narrow. Having an ounce of space for the person below the latter when he walks up. You were lost in wonder as your focal point was fortunately on Geralt's abounding derriere that made your mouth dry. 11/10, you rated inside your brain. Totally A+ with that tight leather pants he wore. He had a better bum than you, which made you look back at your own tushie, lighting up a scoff to your disappointment.

"---He seems quite unstable before we went to go get that faux of a Djinn,"

Halfway up the stairs, the witcher ceased. Sensing something was going on as he slightly turned his body to see you staring straight at his tushie. Geralt eyed you down in confusion, his amber eyes skeptical as he just caught you ogling at his firm glutes. The witcher couldn't help but scorn, seeing your mouth shut and in awe from what you were seeing.

You've blinked back to see him staring you down with that guileless curiosity of what you were just doing. Maybe staring at a witcher's bum wasn't exactly the brightest idea when he had heightened senses. A loud clear of your throat got him smirking before he continued to ascend.

"You--You called him Kolby!" you stuttered and tried to ignore that you were caught red handed by the witcher. You went after him and feel the blush creeping up your face,  "Don't--Don't you turn your back away from me when I'm talking to you, Rivia! "

Your eyes scanned the way up the stairs, utterly surprised to see their house magically transformed into something better, "---So, I really did made the wishes already! Your house has a second floor right now?"

A crane of your neck as you watch his dirty, tousled hair bounce with every step you take. Those buns of his also jiggling when he took his final step and you couldn't avoid but silently give a chef's kiss; understanding how he was ravishing and utmost pleasing to the eyes of women.

Until your foot caught the ends of the stairs and you stumbled. One knee falling flat on the floor and a loud thud erupted from your clumsy accident. Too much bum staring. But, it was probably worth it. "Oh---Geralt! Ow!"

There wasn't much struggle as the witcher effortlessly grabbed your weight in one second; keeping you still as you were given a whiplash by those spellbinding eyes.

The witcher had one knee dropped to the ground, never hesitating to give assistance to your dextrosity. You were a lummox when you were bashful and shy; uttering out the most ungraceful confessions, opinions or even being an utter clutz because your fingers fidget from the embarrassment.

"So fucking selfless with her wishes and utterly cloddish,"

Geralt checked your bandages in haste, straightaway pulling the hems of your sweater in the right, respectful amount to see them all bloody and looking like you've stitched them open because of your accident. Touching you seemed to be the least of his worries when you've arrived; like he couldn't feel the prickling, delightful sensation that he pours out on you whenever he does.

He was prettier up close. You mentally thought to yourself, charmed by his handsome features when his focal point was on your bloody bandage, "You need those bandages changed, midget." he grumbled the thought out loud, slightly craning his head as you had the advantage on the position you both have; meeting those curious doe eyes like you wanted more from the witcher.

Something insatiable, pure and peckish.

Faces close in proximity, trapped in a spellbind that you both completely had no power in. His warm breath hitting your ajar mouth, slightly filling the curiosity you had for the witcher.

You've raked the small scars on his face, imperfections that made him more striking; wondering how many flaws did he have to take to become a monster-slayer in their world as you remembered Cirilla's stories about him. What more scars did he held on his body in which you find him still delightful.

The gap between the both of you was perilous. There it was again, the sensations that you both were having; yet no one was willing to risk.

"Geralt?" you softly whispered against the his lips; watching those eyelids of him fall shut when he'd craned his head to see your eyes staring right at him. Those gorgeous eyelashes that had been given to him; rather than to a woman like you. It was unfair to see how gorgeous he was up close.

Lemon. Peony. It was enticing for a witcher. Bringing him to a haven he didn't thought there was.

From the moment he'd heard you softly say his name, he'd slightly fell back; seeming to be caught in a vulnerable state. You've finally seen his eyes that was now filled with ire; like he was struggling with something within himself, "Hmm?"

"Did I...do something?"

The witcher exhaled a breath he has been holding, your scent catching his senses as he tried to imprint your scent by heart, giving him the advantage that it helps in making him calm and at ease, "No," he gruffly mumbled, breaking the spell and dragging his sky scraping height to the fullest; standing up with a frown on his face by wanting to achieve something that shouldn't be dreamt of, "Not at all."

Vulnerability would answer his curiosities and the witcher didn't know if he was ready yet because the last time he did, it got his heart broken.

You've had sleepless nights. Even more than you can ever imagine back in your apartment. The insomnia was kicking you in the ass for a thousand times as you kicked and stirred in your sleep, beside a witcher who has been giving your heart a marathon.

Just his breathing was keeping your breathing and heartbeat erratic.

There it was, the desire of having the big witcher close to you as he slept on the other end of the rather new large bed, his strapped, broad back away from you looking like the space he'd given himself was rather too little for his large frame.

It was funny to see him struggling with the small space as you've twisted and turned for the hundredth time. You couldn't hear anything other than the eerie, buzzing sounds of the night. Jaskier finally had shut up from creating new epics and strumming on his lute, so to say; it was probably three o'clock in the morning in their time.

You were wondering if that was how the witcher slept. Only on one position; never moving like he was dead. It has already been two hours and you had nothing to do but tap on the mattress with your fingers and stare at his clothed back. Did he also have scars on his back too? you mentally thought to yourself and gently turned your body to look at the wooden ceilings.

Sleep wouldn't consume you tonight. You'd rather have a different type of sensation that would consume you all night. Your breath hitched at the thought of that, wordlessly dragging the sheets above you to wrinkle your nose from the damaging ideas inside your head. Your soul probably tutting because of how you've become from the moment you've fainted and remember nothing.

There was a sigh. Your head snapped towards the witcher who seem to shift in his side of the bed, placing a hand underneath his pillows as his face was morphed into distress. He couldn't sleep at all because you were restlessly moving like a worm, also for the heavy feeling tugging at his chest since the moment he'd woken up from being attacked by the djinn.

"Geralt?"

He didn't answer.

"---It's cold, like really cold." with that, he deeply sighed; never planning on opening his eyes. The latter was hoping you would stop turning around the mattress and also for the uncomfortable feeling resting on his chest with every breath you take.

"Not for me,"

Geralt knew you were pouting at his response; but he paid no heed and tried to silently have his slumber. The brumal temperature of the night never giving him a headache because his body heat was taking it nicely as it was also helping the heat that began to start from his chest up till the every end and nerves of his body; making him groan to himself when you've unintentionally whimpered to yourself when he'd rejected the idea of closing the windows.

The sound you make was making him crazy.

Also, the clothes he was wearing to sleep was making him crazier; even hotter than it was supposed to be.

"Geralt," he grabbed onto the pillows a little more tighter, drowning himself in the fluff of his pillow as you continued to disturb him because you somehow couldn't find your own sleep as well.

"Yoo-hoo~ Beefy Legolas?"

It went on and on. Your twists and turns also did as he finally had to tiredly grumble.

"Let me have my nap."

You were lucky your wound was given medicine because it wasn't hurting anymore. An elbow on the bed to support yourself as you peeked to see Geralt's shiny hair glimmering beneath the candle light. Tempting you to give care and probably spend a little time tugging at it as well. Those thoughts make you shake your head, clearing your throat as you asked the witcher with utmost purity lacing your tongue.

"Geralt, can I braid your hair while you sleep?"

"No."

"Did you bleach your hair then? You know, it’s like a way of coloring your hair and such---"

"No."

You softly huffed in disappointment, lower lip jutting out as you sighed from the energy and itch that you couldn't fight off, trying to see if he had his eyes opened but his burly form was making it difficult. You could only see his back and ivory hair, "Where's the gym? I mean, obviously you do go to a gym with that...build. Except, if you're given a serum like Captain America's..."

The latter lowly grunted in response; making your spine shiver from the sound as he does so. You've suddenly swallowed the saliva down your throat, wincing as you subtly held onto your chest; feeling it strangely grow a temperature hotter. You shake your head to try and ignore the uncomfortable feeling.

"You are talking in riddles that I couldn't comprehend, midget."

Geralt audibly sighed, turning his sturdy body to see you wide awake and innocently blinking back at the latter. Acting all guiltless like you weren't just trying to wake him up. He exhaled an exasperated breath; amber eyes glued to the ceiling with a grimace on his face.

"So, you're...awake?" you innocently stated the obvious, trying not to act guilty that you were anxious about a lot of things and your brain doesn't seem to cooperate with your body.

"How can I sleep when you keep tossing over and over," the latter rasped before languidly turning and facing front to you. His eyes searching for whatever was keeping you awake; pondering why your energy level was at the top. Totally too much for his wearied ones, "---I'm starting to regret why I offered you my bed," he gave a soft shake of his head as he comfortably dropped his head on his fluffy pillows, watching you drop yours at the same time. You've welcomed those golden peepers drilling with your emotions; setting fire to your insides, though you've never told anyone but yourself.

"I told you so. I have insomnia when my anxiety strikes like a bitch,"

Geralt had his eyebrows in a tight knot, "A what?"

"I can't sleep." you honestly told, breathing out your frustrations as you've felt the witcher's stare heavy on you, "It's just so...cold,"

He gave a small, tender smile. It was unconscious, the witcher didn't know if he even was smiling when he had hunches onto why you couldn't sleep. Based on how you were giving him bear hugs up all night when your fever went high, a leg on his robust ones; face nuzzled on his clothed, wooly chest; he knew you were a cuddler.

Howbeit, nobody also needed to know that he had his fingers raked in between your hair like the witcher was brushing it to make him sleep.

Like it was calming him down; making his breathing steady and at ease.

"You want something." he simply graveled, thoroughly amused.

"W-What?! No!"

Did he know what you were thinking? Especially those promiscuous ones? Or only the part where you wanted to be near him as you slept?

The latter scoffed, his smile turning crooked as you've seen those teeth eventually showing as he beamed, "I didn't thought naive midgets lie. I must say, your flaws are surprising."

Albeit, despite of how he was making your stomach flutter wildly; this brooding man gives you comfort in such a weird way.

Adoration was definitely a complex part in life that nobody can ever explain. A diversity in their world and also in yours.

"You need a hug." the witcher stated as a matter of fact, knowing that it was what you needed as you continued to fidget and tap on the mattress with your fingers.

"Maybe," pause. You've peered back at the man who kept giving your heart beat a difficult time; being drawn to his amber colored eyes, enraptured by his presence as you were caught in a spell that he could only give.

Only him and nobody else.

Geralt seemed to be a good listener and so, you've done the inevitable as he was the only person you've shared a bed with for all your life. Other than your mother when you were younger. He was the only man you've approved of having your personal space infiltrated.

"I had...stuff toys and a big pillow back in my home. It was the only thing I could hold for me to sleep. The only thing that can keep me company in a cold day," you started, shifting your eyes away from the witcher who was on the far end of the bed; waiting for you to continue like he always does, wanting to know what was inside your head.

Curiosity always leads to something else.

"---So, I must say that it helps with my anxiety and insomnia. Thinking that I have someone to hold; someone to protect me from all the sadness, rejection or disappointments that seem to love me throughout my life,"

"Are they beasts?" you glanced at the latter, studying him if it was a joke. But, all you see was a determined witcher who was patiently waiting if his guesses were correct.

"Anxiety and Insomnia?" Geralt gave a quiet hum as an answer.

"What? No. Definitely---Well, maybe. If you think of it that way. They keep your mind unstable and problematic. Fifty percent would want you thinking about things that should've been left forgotten. It ruins your sanity,"

"It is a beast then,"

You've given him a small smile, memorizing each curvature of his face; never wanting it to be forgotten. The way his eyes peer back at you in curiosity for whatever you wanted to say like hearing you talk was his entertainment and pleasure.

He'd watched you move closer, letting your curiosity get the better of you as you've felt his hot breath fanning your face in a way that could give you warmth in the midst of the brisk night; his windows never closed shut and feeling him closer than you can ever ask for was giving you the warmth you needed.

A warmth that could take those horrid thoughts away.

"Tell me your stories," you softly urged him on, his voice seeming to be soothing. The only ones that could pacify your jitters to shut down.

The witcher blinked, appearing to be off-guard but utmost compliant nevertheless, "About?"

"Your monsters. The ones you've slaughtered," you joyously smiled, your eyes turning crescent shapes as it felt as if it was the moon that was giving Geralt light to his night sky, "---It might be helpful if I want to become a game developer of something,"

"I've only shared stories with my horse,"

You placed your palms under your head, craning fully to see those eyes piercing through your soul; satisfying your cravings for having him close than you can ever wish for, "You mean, Roach? You talk to your horse?!" a soft exclamation was all it took for Geralt to give a short scoff.

"Merely, now because I have Jaskier and Cirilla. But, prior before they came around; I only had my horses to talk," pause. "---You wouldn't want me talking about how I hunt monsters, it'll bore you to death,"

You firmly shook your head to show him your will-power in hearing those interesting stories he had. A monster-slayer who had boring stories? You doubt. Just learning the back stories of a main character's game was interesting, no doubt that Geralt's stories would even get you gasping from all his slaughters, "I love all types of stories," you cordially whispered, eyes twinkling underneath the candle light as the witcher blinked back, "---Also have read ones that weren't of a penchant. Yet, I've grown to love them."

With little effort of bringing out the big guns, Geralt obediently complied. The deep baritone of his pitch lulling you into having your slumber. He'd talk about his latest hunts and quests; learning about monsters that you didn't know existed. Mostly deadly as some has taken him down and eventually lead him to being poisoned. You've frowned at that, but he'd reassured you that his scorching trials created him to be immune to any poison that was harmful to humans.

He was mutated after all and it made him more compelling.

Geralt has stopped his lullabies when he'd reach at the point where he had tried saving a town called Blaviken; quietly simmering down as you were suddenly perspiring like a dog in heat and heaving deep breaths.

"Midget." he firmly stated, studying your face when you've fluttered your eyes closed as you started listening to his stories. You've nestled closer to the witcher who had a wince on his face as he was perplexed by the sudden drops of sweat that was forming on your forehead. "---Are you alright?"

You gave a quiet chortle as you've felt his breath fanning your forehead, "Maybe,"

His medallion rested on your forehead, realizing that you were cuddling him a little too closely but the bear of a man didn't seem to care, "Your answers can always leave a person guessing," he grumbled more so to himself as you felt him shift on the mattress. Curious as to why his big, rough, calloused fingers were behind you; his hand that he has used to hold a sword and yield for those men to be butchered.

His hand that had magic was now raking through your hair, gently and slowly combing your hair as it was giving you succor and protection.

"You're not...uncomfortable?" you hesitatingly asked, voice smaller and quiet as his body was taking in your small form. The witcher had his eyes closed now; like he was in peace, "I've done far worse than to be scared of giving people hugs,"

"But, this is called cuddles and chill because you're hugging and talking me to sleep,"

"Is that what it is now? Is that what its called in your kingdom?" you've heard him tease, his lips curved in a way that tells you he was poking fun at your modern references that he certainly didn't know.

His fingers continued its ministrations; how gentle he was made your heart beat drum so loud that you could hear them ringing in your ears and you were sure Geralt could be hearing it. You gawked back at the latter, "It won't be called Netflix and Chill because I swear it has a different meaning and---"

Geralt quickly cut you off, abruptly opening his eyes to give you a compassionate look in his eyes, "Cuddles and chill it is, then." you've bit your lip in an attempt to shut your mouth.

"---Sleep, midget." the once brooding witcher demanded before giving your spine a satisfying shiver as his thick fingers raked on the hairs of your nape as he patiently untangled those locks away, "Those beastly creatures you have won't slaughter you while I'm around,"

Inside both of your chests, there was still that insatiable feeling that you couldn't comprehend. However, the fire dissipating an ounce by the tiny bit of wholesome intimacy you've gotten; was just the rattles of one's cage because there was always more.

More and more you'll be willing to take.

Hence, It was a full moon and wolves howl whenever the moon shines bright against the brumal, cold nights as a cicatrix began to shine which has rested in between the valley of your breasts.

FEEDBACKS ARE VERY MUCH APPRECIATED! PLEASE DO LEAVE FEEDBACK IF YOU’VE ALREADY READ THIS OR EVEN PRESS THE REBLOG BUTTON OR LEAVE A HEART. IT’S FINE WITH ME. THANK YOU! HOW TO BE GERALT? MIDGET KEPT ON BOTHERING HIM. XD

Taglist: @alyxkbrl​​​ @himarisolace​​​ @barkingbullfrog​​​ @ayamenimthiriel​​​ @hellodevilslittlesister​​​ @vania-marie​​​ @spookypeachx​​ @grungelovebug @fangirl-inthe-us​​ @nympeth​​ @amirahiddleston​​ @gabethelobster​​ @dreaming-about-starfleet​​ @uncoolcloudyhead​​ @melaninstylezz​​ @psychosupernatural​​ @missjenniferb @dance-dreamer​​​​​ @marvelousell​​​​​ @kingniazx​​​​​ @angelias134​​​​​ @tapismyforte​​​ @chook007​ @covid-donotenter​​ @winter-moons​​

[nikkilover-miraclenikki]

【 Miracle Nikki CN 】 4 Seasons “Chapter 11-14”

【 Miracle Nikki CN 】 4 Seasons “Chapter 11-14”

Collection :: 4 Seasons

Suit Display ::

The first time Debbie saw this bag, she wondered is it more like cotton candy or milk fudge?

P.1 :: Rabbit Sweet (白兔糖)

The original dream is like the early spring sunshine. It may not warm your body, but can ignite your heart.

P.2 :: Rising Star (芳华心歌加)

Her world was pure and simple. No sophisticated stories were needed. Their hearts were settled after a hug.

P.3 :: South Wind Star (白南风之晨)

The moment Nikki saw Bai Jinjin's hairstyle, she realized that it was the 101st Runaway Travel.

P.4 :: Jinjin’s Jurney (锦锦的旅行)

Yao Sui shook the magic wand in his hand, Jing Shi let it fall like snowflakes, Zhan Sui turned down and sent the road to Seba.

But Momo has done the same

P.5 :: Star Bud (星语蓓蕾)

The world beyond the flower fields. Dongxi saw the first winter in her life. The first snow that I saw with the formation, is the most memorable picture

P.6 :: Winter Rhyme (慕雪童謠)

Modeling is not a simple profession, especially as a professional, to maintain your body and mind at all times.

P.7 :: Valiant Phantom (飒爽丽影)

It's not her usual style, but Kimi still carefully planned her outfits for the trip as a professional designer.

P.8 :: Shallow Sky Trip (浅空旅行记)

NPC ::

P.1 :: Debbie

Main Story • Vol.1 Ch.18-S2 “Bookish Debbie”

P.2 :: Vivi

Main Story • Vol.1 Ch.7-S1 “Office Lady Vivi (4)”

P.3 :: Starlet

Main Story • Vol.2 Ch.2-S3 “Wedding Stylist”

P.4 :: Bai Jinjin

Main Story • Vol.1 Ch.4-10 “The Cloud Couple”

P.5 :: Bobo

Main Story • Vol.1 Ch.3-S2 “Wedding Dress Design”

P.6 :: Winter

Main Story • Vol.1 Ch.6-10 “Competitions: Winter”

P.7 :: Vivi

Main Story • Vol.1 Ch.4-6 “Office Lady Vivi (2)”

P.8 :: Kimi

Main Story • Vol.1 Ch.19-2 “Town Dessert Chef”

Type :: Association Fantasy Workshop

P.1-2 :: Ch.11 “Sin City”

P.3-4 :: Ch.12 “Oren’s Night”

P.5-6 :: Ch.13 “The Queen’s Garden”

P.7-8 :: Ch.14 “Bovaly’s Autumn”

Date ::

P.1-2 :: 31/10/2017…..

P.3-4 :: 09/03/2018…..

P.5-6 :: 22/06/2018…..

P.7-8 :: 28/09/2018…..

[seriouslyhooked]

Lost Souls and Reveries (Part 23)

24 part AU written for @cssns​. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6,Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Part 22. Story available on AO3 Here and FF Here. Banner created by the amazingly talented @shipsxahoy​!!

A/N: Hey all! So we are back with another chapter of Lost Souls and Reveries and, as is very typical of me, I found myself trying to wrap up this story and I’ve come to the realization I need a few more chapters to do the story justice. I also had multiple readers ask (okay, beg) me to pick up the story right where the last chapter had ended so I have done that with this chapter. Be advised we will move from Killian’s POV to another character who’s POV we’ve never had before. But rest assured you’ll get some fluff, some smut, and some cuteness before getting back into the drama. Thanks so much for reading, and can’t wait to see what you all think!

Hearing Emma say the words, ‘I do’ just now as they made their vows to each other out on the front porch changed the entire plan Killian had for this evening. There could be no soft and sweet or slow and steady when he knew Emma loved him just as fiercely and entirely as he loved her. It brought too much to the forefront, prompting his body to pulse with the need and adrenaline reserved only for two perfectly suited fated mates. This didn’t seem to bother Emma though, for she replied in kind, holding him tightly and clamoring for more as they moved past the front door and into their new home.

A tour might have been an obvious first step, but it would have to wait. Right now, Killian craved the taste of his love and the satisfaction that came with making her purr. He could smell her want for him and feel the way her body shook with anticipation and desire. It was like their first night spent together all over again. None of the frenzy had dissipated, and his confidence and assuredness in them had only grown stronger. He and Emma were forever. There was nothing but this – nothing but them – and he let out a growl of approval at that as he made quick work of the alarm and bolted the front door, locking them away from the rest of the world. Before she could put even a few inches of space between them he was on her, resulting in a yelp of anticipation from Emma that dissolved very quickly into a throaty moan.

“Killian.”

His name on her lips soothed him even as they drove him just a little more insane. Didn’t she realize how lost he was for her and how such strong displays of her infatuation would drive him even more wild? She was stirring the animal inside of him, making him and his wolf completely desperate for more.

“I had a plan, love. I was going to take you room by room through this house. I was going to tell you of my dreams for this place and ask you of yours,” he said as his hands brought her harder against him, her core rubbing against his hard length through the denim of his jeans. She writhed at his show of power, her eyes hazing over to a lusty emerald green. “But that plan is no longer viable.”

“It isn’t?” Emma asked, her tongue coming out to wet her lips, taunting him and splintering his already fractured control.

“No. I can’t wait any longer, love. Maybe another day, in another moment…” he trailed off, not wanting to revisit the harrowing episodes from earlier today again, but Emma understood. Instead of letting that linger she pulled him down to kiss her and fed directly into his new dream. Soon he had her caught between his body and the wall and as he tore his lips from hers, seeking out her slender neck, he hummed before nipping at her pulse.

“You unravel me, Emma,” he said as his hands roamed her body with power and precision. He held her tight, his hold absolute, dominating his love in a way more befitting of a wolf than a man. It was primal, but oh so right, for him and for his mate, as was made clear by Emma’s little keening cries for more and her ever strengthening scent. “My mate, my wife, I must have you.”

“You do. Totally and completely,” she exclaimed, her voice growing pitchy as her breathing grew more labored.

She wiggled against him, and he resented the clothes still between them. Without real care for any of it, he stripped them down of everything he could, ripping away whatever wouldn’t easily go. He pretty much destroyed the whole outfit his Emma had been donning, but he didn’t give a damn. He’d buy her a hundred more if it made her happy, and in this moment she didn’t seem to care, watching him with increasing excitement and desire with each rip and tear. When she was naked before him, he stood for a split second totally hypnotized. He didn’t know where to start. He wanted to devour her completely and he traced the lines of where he could begin over and over a thousand times in mere moments. But when his eyes landed on the place where their pup was now growing more and more every day, he was pushed to action again, overtaken by the knowledge that he’d filled her womb with his child almost from the start. She was his in every way, tying them together and building something wholly good from their union, and both those things only made him want her more.

“It’s moments like this I thank God a little extra for what you are, love,” Killian murmured against her skin, his instincts trying to decide where it would be best to take her. Sure he could gather her up and bring her upstairs, but that would take time. Time he had no interest in wasting.

“What I am?” she asked, not following.

“A perfect blend of human and shifter. It makes you strong, love, strong enough that when I take you tonight I don’t have to hold back. I would have loved you any way you came, Emma. Never doubt that, but knowing how much you can handle…” he said as he knelt before her, his hands keeping her pressed against the wall as he maneuvered her to bring her waiting heat to his hungry mouth. “Knowing I can take you hard and make you mine again and again, well that’s the definition of a miracle.”

Without further discussion he took exactly what he wanted, savoring her taste and her desire while sating some of his need for her. This urge to dominate her, to take what he wanted while also giving her everything she could ever wish for pounded through his body, and after a day as riddled with peril as the one they’d just faced, he could do nothing to curtail this. The sounds of her wild and unchecked wants were music to his ears, and he started to lose grasp of his conscious human mind. Everything was instinct as his animal took over with just basic pulsing words blaring in his head as he tasted her sensitive flesh.

Mine. Take. Claim. Mine. Take. Claim.

He felt Emma crash into her completion once and then again and again. He drew her out and never let her rest, but when she couldn’t take love in this form any more he shifted their position, bringing her down to the ground with him but having her from behind. They’d done this before but never so brazenly, never with so much rampant need. It made the back of his throat tight with a need to howl, and when Emma begged him to take her he almost did. He cursed aloud but felt that biting sense of bliss as he slammed into her over and over. He lost himself in this but it wasn’t enough. It felt like the mating moon bearing down on them, but it was just their love. No other magic was at play, save for the magic that lay in Emma. Ultimately he needed to change their position again, never feeling fully complete without seeing her fall apart and when she did he wasn’t far behind. And in those precious moments where they truly became one, Killian found that all too elusive peace that told him just how perfect they were for each other.

“That was…” Emma couldn’t seem to find the words as they lay together on the living room floor, both spent and reveling in what they’d just done, with nothing like shame or embarrassment between them. “God, I don’t even have words. Can we do that again?”

“Every day of our lives, my love.”

After a few more moments spent enjoying their togetherness and the way that their burdens felt far beyond their reach, Killian wanted to show his soon to be bride their new home. There was just one problem – in his haste to claim his mate, he’d made a real mess of their clothes, hers most notably and in the end all they had between them was his jeans and shirt.

“There are clothes upstairs,” he explained, running his hand through his hair distractedly, as Emma stood up, completely exposed and unfazed in the slightest. But then she smiled at him and he was truly driven to distraction.

“Why bother?” she asked, stealing his shirt and throwing it over herself, the hem of it coming to just about midthigh, covering her, but making her no less tempting to him in the process. She gestured to his jeans and he put them on, reveling in the look in her eyes when he remained shirtless and available for her viewing pleasure. “See? We’re golden.”

Killian laughed at her assessment before taking her hand in his and guiding her on an actual tour through their new home, a place she clearly loved, even before seeing the redone interior. It was a great gift to him to know that he had made such a good decision in buying this estate, and Emma’s enthusiasm and excitement reassured him that he could not have done better. She was enamored with this house, and thankfully she was on board with all of the changes he’d made so far.

“I can’t believe this can be the same house. Everything is so bright and airy, but it’s still timeless,” Emma marveled, taking in the high ceilings that the first floor boasted and the charming antique moldings that adorned the walls. He’d had the contracting crew paint everything a pale eggshell for the time being, wanting a clean canvass that Emma could change should she so wish, but even like this the house was somehow still cozy. It didn’t have any sort of sterile, modern malaise. It was simple sophistication, and that seemed to be exactly what Emma wanted.

When Killian first saw the house, there were some rooms that were beyond salvaging, but many were diamonds in the rough. In some spaces, like the sunroom which was directly next to their living room, the antique windows that had always been there still worked perfectly. They formed a large glass encasement facing the east, so that early morning sunlight would always fill the area. With a bit of cleaning and restoration, the gilded beauty of a more ostentatious time was made relevant again, and the effect was classic and homey all at once. The room lacked furnishings now, but Emma immediately had ideas, something Killian knew would happen. He was almost glad for this little bit of chaos, if only because it sped up his reveal of their home. With Emma’s wishes known now, he could make this place a completed, calming hideaway for them by the time they were truly wed, and that was a goal he would be glad to accomplish. In this room especially, Killian could imagine shared stolen moments. Someday this home would be filled with their children, and there would be rare segments of time when Emma and Killian weren’t attending to them, but in the early morning, when the sun was just rising, or just after dusk when the stars were starting to appear in a vast night sky, Killian could envision them curled up, sharing a coffee or a cocoa and enjoying the respite, however fleeting it might be.

Other areas like the kitchen, were beyond small fixes. The contractors gutted the whole thing, and what now stood there was a contemporary looking space that was big enough for everything they needed. There was ample counterspace, new appliances, and a kitchen island made of local white granite, and most importantly there was an open wall so that he or Emma could see directly into what would be one day be their children’s playroom when they were cooking meals. That wasn’t the original layout of the house, but Killian had been adamant with the contractor that this was what he wanted. He and Emma hadn’t discussed this at length, but he knew that her career and the service she provided to the community meant everything to her. As such, he anticipated that he would take on a bulk of watching the kids and keeping things handled over here. He was desirous to do that, knowing that providing his family with love, protection, and stability after being denied that for so much of his youth would make him a better man. This fresh start with Emma was a way to do things right, and though it might seem overprotective, he wanted the ability to keep tabs on all their little ones at any given moment.

“This kitchen is amazing,” Emma gushed, running her hand along the sleek new features with adoration. Suddenly her cheeks flushed and Killian was on her immediately, wrapping her up in his arms and demanding to know what thought she’d had that made her blush. “I was just thinking that we’ll probably be spending a lot of time in here. What with all my pregnancy cravings and everything.”

Killian knew she didn’t just mean cravings for food, of which Emma had already begun to show signs. Since he’d gotten her pregnant Emma had been even hungrier for the love between them, and that was perfectly fine with Killian. He craved Emma every second of every day, and if she liked this kitchen and had visions of satisfaction stemming from this space, then who was he to deny her what she wanted? Hell, he’d take her right this moment if she indicated that was what she wished, but clearly this tour meant so much to her, and they still had much to see.

The rest of the first floor was all pretty standard, though Emma commented again and again about how open it was and about how it was exactly like she’d always wanted. But it took getting upstairs for really overflowing emotions to emerge. Emma saw the rooms Killian had begun to design for their future children and the features he’d put in already, like reading nooks and bay windows that matched her own childhood bedroom. There was a circular ‘tower’ room that he’d converted into a library, and even now many of Emma’s favorite books were adorning the built-in shelves around the space. She had been so busy she didn’t notice him taking them from her apartment above the clinic, but seeing them now she was overcome with emotion. Her eyes filled with happy tears, and her voice grew soft and strained from all that she was feeling.

“Oh, Killian, it’s perfect,” She said, running her hands along the wooden shelves with a dreamy expression.

After a few more minutes, Emma noticed the books that adorned many of the lower shelves and in the face of them her unshed tears managed to slip down her cheeks. For there, in an area most easily reached, there were already some childhood story staples. More than a few of those were courtesy of Emma’s parents. They had saved her favorite books from when she was a young girl and gifted them back now in hopes that one day their grandchildren would enjoy the same stories. Meanwhile, though his own possessions were much less vast than Emma’s were from childhood, there were even a few bounded tales from his youth, which he one day hoped to share with his children.

“I was thinking I could put the telescope here,” Killian said, drawing her to another wall that was made almost entirely of glass and which dipped upwards, allowing for a beautiful view of the night sky. Already the stars were twinkling, and though the grounds of their house were largely obscured by the shadows of the night, the sight was still beautiful. “I always loved the stars as a boy, I figure chances are one of our little ones might be the same.”

“They all will. They’re all going to want to be just like their Dad,” Emma said, bringing Killian’s hand atop their growing pup and smiling as she did. “They’re not even here yet and already you’re the best kind of father. You love us all so much, and that’s the one thing that matters most of all.”

Killian agreed that she was right. His love for their family was forever. It was unconditional and it would never end, as long as he lived and ever thereafter. That was probably evident in the way he’d begun to style the nurseries and designed the rest of their home, but in one room there was no real hint of their children. The master bedroom would be their space, a den of sorts, built to be the essence of comfort for him and Emma. From a giant bed with flowing white linens, to the giant clawfoot tub and the walk-in closet, Killian had chosen every feature with Emma’s happiness in mind. Things in their life were already hectic, and when they had kids it would be the same, just in new and differing ways. He felt strongly that Emma and he should have this, a private little oasis where they ended and started each day together.

To say that Emma agreed would be an understatement, and she showed him that immediately, by pulling him into bed and ‘christening’ the room in a way that drew them both to bliss. All in all, it was a perfect first night together, and a miraculous stretch of time where both of them could put down their worries about of the state of their small world. They ate, they bathed, they made love more than once, and they cemented their mating bond over and over again. The monsters in their lives were pushed to a far away distance, and somehow they both managed to sleep after everything they’d gone through. Nine full hours of rest were attained, and both of them slept with only peaceful dreams, but alas, the real world could only wait for so long, and sure enough it came tumbling back in again. When it did Killian woke right away, hearing the chirping of his phone before it woke Emma and walking into the room beside theirs, which happened to be their nursery before answering the call.

“You found something?” He said, not even greeting Ruby’s call with a hello or a good morning.

“We did. Graham managed to get surveillance tape of George’s SUV. He changed the plates but there’s a recognizable scratch along the front. Definitely bear claws. Graham ran it through the national database and got a hit at the border.”

“So he’s in Canada now?”

“Yeah, but we lost the trail there. Graham’s police contacts seem to not be as international as we might need them to be.”

“So we’ve got nothing then?”

“Not so fast, Lance of all people got a message from a mountain lion clan about six hours from here. There’s something happening up there, something weird.”

“What do you mean by something?”

“Animals are acting strangely, unaccounted for tracks, and there’s a smell, or rather a stench as they put it.”

“More sick shifters?”

“Only one way for us to find out, but it sounds like it. Good news is David and Neal made good progress with a cure, and in the meantime, they found a sedative that works. Anna’s bear let them test it on him and he was out damn near all night. They’re prepping more now.”

Killian heard the sound of Emma waking up, the sheets on their now messy bed rustling as she moved and he sighed, knowing that yet again he was facing real danger and an enemy that didn’t want him and Emma to have this peace. The only consolation was that a lead could get them past this. If they could find these shifters, then maybe they could find George and really get rid of him. That was the ultimate priority as the man was seemingly decided against letting Emma be.

“Do we know anything about the area?”

“We don’t, but David seems to. He says it was a long time ago, but when he was a kid he went with George past the border. They stayed with another family of hunters who lived not too far from this clan. David had heard that family were all gone now, some sort of hunter feud gone bad, but land records show there’s a massive estate out there. No listed residents but taxes on it get paid every year so no one’s messed with it.”

“George is probably there,” Emma said, putting into words Killian’s own assumptions as she curled into his side, and he nodded to her as he promised Ruby that they’d be there in thirty minutes. When he’d hung up the call. He looked to Emma, hating what he had to say next.

“We’re going to need to send a tracking team love, and there’s a reason Ruby called me. Of all of us, it’s likely me, Liam, and your father who are most needed out there. If this place is really as rural as Ruby made it seem, we’re the only ones trained for this kind of thing.”

“Well good, you should go then,” Emma said, moving to get dressed. “But I’m going with you.”

“Emma, you don’t have to do this,” he replied. “Yesterday was a lot for you and the baby and -,”

“Oh no you don’t. There is no way in hell I am sitting on the sidelines. This is my fight too, and besides, we both know that even if you’ll worry about me with you, it’s nothing compared to what you’ll feel if we’re apart.”

How could he argue with her when she was exactly right? He would feel better knowing she was with him, danger or not. After yesterday, there was just no comparison. Fighting side by side would now always be his preference and Emma knew that and made no complaints.

Soon enough they were ready and reunited with the others, and it became abundantly clear that more people wanted to go than could easily be brought. Killian and Liam were a given, as was David for obvious reasons. He was the only hunter among them, he had a baseline awareness of the area, and he had the most resentment against George of any of them. Ruth couldn’t bear to go, and it didn’t make sense for most of the others, but finally it was settled that Emma and Anna would round out the team. On this they had only mild pushback, all of it from Elsa.

“If you’re going, I’m going,” she said, not to Liam but to Anna. His brother’s mate seemed to trust in Liam’s ability and obviously didn’t desire to be away from him, but her fiercest protective instincts only came out for her sister and for Emma. Since Emma had Killian to watch over her, Elsa was appeased on that score, but Anna was more precariously placed, and also guided by emotion that could end up being her downfall.

“No, Elsa, you have to stay here. Ruby needs you to help with tracing Gold, she can’t do it alone, and I need you to stay with him,” Anna said, motioning towards the bear who remained trapped in the crystal enclosure.

The bear had been paying attention this whole discussion, and he roared out an aggressive sound. Clearly it didn’t like the idea of Anna leaving, and Killian couldn’t blame him. But there was very little choice, especially when Anna wanted to get some kind of vengeance for him. Before he could get too worked up, Anna slipped back into the crystal enclosure. While no one outwardly gasped this time, it was still alarming, and Emma squeezed his hand tight as she watched her friend.

“I know you hate this idea,” Anna said, pressing her hand to the bears face lovingly. “I’m not a huge fan either, but I know it’s the right thing. My instincts are going haywire, telling me it has to be like this. I’ll never know peace until I know he can never hurt us – hurt you again.”

The bear growled, but the sound was aimed at George and not Anna. Surprisingly the bear then reached its claw out to grab Anna and pull her close in what was quite literally a bear hug. Anna let out a sound between a laugh and a cry, but she relaxed into the embrace for a moment. Finally she pulled back, pressing a quick peck to the bear’s cheek before promising to come back. When she was through the crystal enclosure again, she looked to Elsa, and the tears in her eyes did nothing to deter her conviction.

“I can’t leave him with just anyone, Els. Leaving at all is hard enough, but I have to. This man hurt him, tortured him, and it makes me crazy. I have to help bring him down, but I can’t if you won’t stay here and protect him for me.”

Elsa stood there quietly for a moment, her hands balling and releasing unsteady fists as a range of emotions crossed her face. She clearly hated this idea, and her eyes flicked between Anna and Emma, before ultimately landing on Liam. Killian watched as his brother whispered an assurance in his mate’s ear and then kissed her surely, and when they pulled back Elsa’s fear was somewhat eased but by no means erased. Still, she chose brave acceptance over continued argument.

“You have to promise me you will stay with Liam or Emma at all times,” Elsa said to Anna, emotion caught in her throat as she spared another glance at her mate and Emma to confirm. “Seriously, you all three better come home to me or there will be hell to pay.”

“Everyone is coming home, and that is an order,” Mary Margaret said, her stares intent on David and Emma, though she clearly cared for all of them.

It was almost humorous to see the fierceness of a mother and a wife so closely mirroring Elsa’s fear as a friend and sister. If one didn’t know better, she and Mary Margaret would seem like family, but then again they were. Truth be told, every person here were all of them connected together, whether through blood, love, or unbreakable bond and that was all exceptionally clear as goodbyes were said, and ‘see you soons’ were exchanged.

“There’s no use worrying now about how this is gonna go,” David said a few minutes later as they got into the car and he drove the clinic’s SUV out of town and due north.

“Oh no?” Anna asked, her eyes watching the landscape like at any moment she’d see her mate running through this grove of woods.

“When my wife gives an order, she gets her way. If she says we’re coming home, we’re coming home.”

The joke achieved its objective, lightening the mood and bringing a small smile to everyone’s face. And though there were no real guarantees, and the future was still unsure, Killian chose to believe that Emma’s father was right. For after all of this, they simply had to survive, and when they did it would be on to happy endings, and the days of warring villains would be past them once and for all.

………………………..

Idiot! Fool! Complete and total failure!

The snarling voice inside his mind gave life to all of Gold’s own feelings about the sham of a hunter who had driven him astray.

What a farce this had been, and infuriatingly, what a harrowing misstep they both had made. All of this magic and time, wasted. He was low on his stores, having depleted too much of his saved up power not just in the past few days but over a series of years, and the thought was repulsive to Gold. After decades of harvesting every last bit of magic he could from creatures and beasts all over this world, here he was, weak and vulnerable. That wouldn’t last too long. A few months in one of his many hideaways and he’d revive himself to a more stable position. He had plenty of treasures back home designed to help him do just that. But still, what an embarrassment, and it was all because George Nolan was too blinded by purpose to prepare for all outcomes.

Of all the things to be undone by, a mated bond was one Gold never anticipated. Surely a seasoned hunter wouldn’t be so stupid, so pitiably dumb as to miss a possible match set by a natural magic far stronger than any Gold could conjure. But then that was the problem with these humans. All of them were so guided by their own crusades and devoted to overblown ego. Still, hunters were supposed to be of at least some use. They knew of magic in this world, they were privy to more than the average so and so. Yet in this situation it clearly meant nothing and now years of planning were gone, faster than he could flick his wrist and cast a spell.

Walking through the doors of this dilapidated shack that humans called a home, Gold bit back his sneer. Or maybe he didn’t. Why guard himself now? The cat was already out of the bag, so to speak, and now it was time to clean up. He had made a mess, or at least had allowed a mess to happen, and now it was time to make things right and protect himself before this belligerent waste of space made even more trouble.

“You played me!” George said, appearing from the back of the room that was obscured with shadow with a cross bow drawn and aimed Gold’s way. “You reneged on our deal! You told me you’d give me a weapon to kill them, and look what you did instead!”

“What I did?” Gold bit out, the words filled with venom and yet sterilized from most of the hate and rage flowing in his veins. He stepped closer to George, never flinching even when the hunter raised his bow to aim at his heart. “You were the one who made the choice. Who caught the beast in question? Was it me? Oh no, it was you. I offered one after another after another. I made it as easy as I possibly could for you to have all that you wanted. I gave you access to every shifter I could find, I ravaged half a dozen packs and chose the strongest of each clan, but none of them suited you. No wolf would do. No lion would suffice. I searched high and low, but it had to be a grizzly, and for what?”

“You know as well as I do that the infusions work best with a larger beast -,”

“Ha! You and your little ‘infusions.’ It was my magic that made anything possible. Without me you couldn’t stabilize that sickness to save your life. You would have had nothing, nothing!”

“Would have had? I have nothing now! Not only did the bear not fulfill the objective, they captured it.”

“You really can’t even grasp your own stupidity can you?” Gold asked. If he were capable of pity he would have felt it in this moment, watching as George looked confused in the face of his words. “They didn’t capture the beast. The bear has a fated mate and she is a witch. A friend of your great-niece.”

“That’s not possible. I designed the virus to override that instinct.”

At this Gold let out a sharp cackle, a maniacal sound that echoed through the aging wood of this long forgotten cabin. He hadn’t laughed like this in a long time and it really was funny, even if it was also a fucking farce.

“Override the instinct? You really are as dumb as any human off the street.” George’s anger got the better of him and he shot the arrow at Gold, but Gold was faster, waving his hand and halting the motion of the weapon as it clattered to the ground. “There is nothing in the world stronger than a fated mate. True love, soul mates, they exist in all the fairy tales for a reason. As long as there has been magic in the world, love has had power.”

“Well you should have told me! How was I to know?”

“See that’s the problem with you – you think that in this deal it’s I who serves your purpose. And I’m here to assure you of how wrong you are,” Gold said lifting the arrow with his powers back from the ground and turning it back to face at George. “The only reason I let you have your little sickness was to suit my needs. I want those witches and the hybrid. You promised me them in exchange for your weapon.”

“Maybe if you had told me why you want them so bad we could have avoided this.”

Gold ignored the barb, but his own sense of foreboding crept in again. He suppressed it, refusing to allow a dying witch’s last words to haunt him any longer. He was taking control of the situation, stifling any threat, or at least he was trying to.

“But it’s too late now.”

“Too late?” Gold said with a barked out laugh. “We’ve a half a dozen more shifters roaming around these mountains, waiting to be sent to track and kill, and none of them with mates to find in that wretched pack.”

“Doesn’t matter. David knows what he’s up against now, and he may be a disgrace, but I also trained him. He’ll have found a way to fend them off by now, he and those abominations he carries on with.”

“You really believe he has that ability?”

“I do,” George admitted, angrily.

“So what? It’s just over then? You’re giving up and reneging on your deal?”

“The way I see it the deal is moot – you failed to provide -,”

“I gave you everything I promised!” Gold screamed out, and the sound of it boomed around them, echoing in a thunder clap above them. The wind had picked up inside the cabin, the air crackled with energy, and yet when he calmed, that aching sense of exhausting kicked back in. he was weak right now, and he couldn’t afford this fight. But that didn’t mean he planned to lose. Far from it. “And now you’ll see just how strong a weapon that it was.”

With a flick of his wrist, the arrow fell down to the ground again, and George let out a sigh of relief, but then the howl of animals in the night emanated from a few miles away, sending an eerie chill even through Gold’s body. Oh he was at no risk, to be sure. His magic had a failsafe – no creature in his hold could turn on him, but any block against their attacking George was now gone. After all, a deal was a deal, and if a man couldn’t meet terms… well, that was hardly his problem.

“What did you do, Gold?” George asked, but Gold just smiled, giving an exaggerated wave goodbye, laughing again as he turned for the door. “Gold?! Gold!”

The sound of desperate calling was music to his ears as he walked away into the woods, heading to somewhere no one could find him without paying a hefty price. And though it might take some time, Gold reveled in the thought that by this time next year his latest trophies would be found. The witches and the hybrid would be his, fate would be rewritten, and he would remain the most powerful creature of them all.

Post-Note: Okay so yeah, this was wild even for me, BUT I needed you guys to see a little more of how things have gone awry and to know more than Emma and the others do. When I hinted a few weeks back about a spin-off of this series, I always had tracking Gold in mind, and though the story will feature CS, it will more centrally revolve around some of our other characters. Rest assured though, Gold is now out of the picture in this story, but George and the six sick shifters are still very much an issue. We’ll get to the climactic conclusion of that next time, and in the meantime I hope you guys enjoyed, I thank you so much for reading, and I hope you’ll keep enjoying this journey with me as we hit our last two chapters (and maybe a bonus epilogue or two)!

Tag list: @jennjenn615 @winterbaby89 @kmomof4 @teamhook @ultraluckycatnd @resident-of-storybrooke @coliferoncer @artistic-writer @snowbellewells @eastside-divebar @snarkycaptainswan4 @allofdafandoms-blog

[sobeautifullyobsessed]

moodboard by @strangelock221b​

excerpt from chapter 14, Of Magic, Miracles, and Moonlight

An emergency visit to Hadeeth, allows Stephen & Teyla the opportunity for a moonlit walk in a secret grove, and some romance under the stars.

...“She only means to protect me, you know.”  They had come to the outskirts of the city, as the cloudless sky had transitioned from bright blue, to an array of soft pinks and oranges on its way to the deep reds and dusky purples of a Hadeethan sunset.  Stephen swore he hadn’t seen such pure colors in a sunset since his youth on his family’s Nebraska farm.

“I know, honey,” he assured her, his fingers threaded through hers, as he wished their little stroll needn’t come to an end.  “And I don’t blame her at all.  I’d feel exactly the same about the situation, if I were in her shoes.”

Teyla leaned her cheek against his shoulder and sighed ruefully, “Still, I am sorry if she was harsh to you.  I swear that she seldom behaves that way.”

Stephen hummed in quiet agreement, just happy to have a little more time with her before he returned to Earth. 

Following Moraine’s confrontation with him, Teyla’s mother had asked for privacy while she spoke with Teyla alone, inviting him to explore their small corner of the city, while not straying too far from the cottage.  He had agreed obligingly, though he would have liked to have seen Teyla first. The women had been closeted for nearly an hour—and when he returned to the cottage, he found neither woman showing any sign of a tumultuous altercation, much to his relief.  Moraine had stopped short of giving them her blessing—but allowed Teyla the remaining hours of daylight to spend in Stephen’s company, stipulating that Teyla must remain on Hadeeth one night at least, so she might address the ruling council about her portentous dream.  Moraine then told them pointedly, that Stephen’s presence in the council chambers would prove an unnecessary distraction from the import of Teyla’s message.

“I believe that Mother hopes to convince me that my feelings for you may be misplaced, with my heart unseasoned as it is.  But I cannot be dissuaded, my love,” she assured him confidently, “The time has come for her to recognize at last, that I am a woman grown.  And to remind her of how it was for her when she grew to love my father.”

Stephen knew that Teyla had finally shared the news of her father’s death with Moraine, and he had tendered his condolences to her mother; she had accepted them graciously, making clear beyond words that it was a topic not open to discussion.

Teyla urged him on, “But we must hurry, my love, if we are to reach the grove before full moonrise.” Stephen could feel Teyla’s excitement over sharing something she had promised would be a wondrous sight. “Nonya will be the first of the sisters to appear, and her time is swift approaching.”

She began to pull Stephen along, as she rushed them towards the fragrant copse of trees, not far from the path to the city gate.  Along the tree line, he noted a series of low bushes, with dark green leaves and—curiously—fully closed blossoms, a deep sapphire blue at their base, which faded first to a cornflower blue and then to baby blue, and finally to white at their very tips.

“We call them talat akeylum,” she told him, smiling happily in the growing dusk, “Moon Blossoms—for they are as children of the Sister-Moons.”  Teyla’s happy anticipation was contagious, as she leaned against him, one of her arms wrapped through his and holding on tight, while she looked to the darkening sky. “Nonya will appear first, as she ever does, and our patience will find reward.  Then you will see, my love,” she promised him, nestling her head against his shoulder, “A thing of rare and quiet beauty.”  She punctuated her promise with a soft sigh.

Stephen brushed his lips against the crown of her head, inhaling her dear, familiar scent, finally putting his prickly conversation with Moraine behind him.  He had vowed to protect her daughter’s sweet light at any cost, a mission that had already become as second nature to him.  Teyla’s happiness had become his own, just as now his heart belonged entirely to her.  “Rare and quiet beauty?  You’ve already shown me that, honey, countless times over.”  She hummed softly, surely guessing where his soft musing led.  “I only need to look into your eyes, Teyla, to see true beauty.”

“You need not flatter me, beloved,” she teased, “I remain yours, pretty words or no.”  She looked skyward once again, and gave a happy squeal. “But look Stephen,” she said, pointing toward the velvety purple heavens, with bright pinpoints of alien stars set throughout, and two far, far slivers of moons, like ghosts paled by the light of a full moon, which appeared much lower in its orbit of Hadeeth. “Look, my love, and see, just as I’ve described them…Anya, there…and Enya…and there…there is little Nonya…”

Stephen gave a low whistle, charmed equally by Teyla’s simple joy, as by the glorious sight of Hadeeth’s night sky.  “And now, the Moon Blossoms, Stephen.  Look upon nature’s pretty gift.”

He cast his eyes upon the low bushes, and his mouth dropped open in awe.  As Nonya’s light moved across the plants, each flower that it touched began to unfurl, in a delicate, silent, unexpected symphony. Teyla tightened her grasp on his arm, while he stood amazed, as the blossoms opened in seeming slow motion, their colors made more vibrant by the light they basked in.

“Breathtaking,” he murmured, thinking that of all the astonishing sights he had witnessed throughout the multiverse, this had to be one of the simplest, yet most lovely.  Or perhaps it was the beautiful magic of watching it all come to life, with the woman that he loved at his side. Whatever it was, his heart felt full to bursting, with gratitude and love as he had never felt in his entire life.

                ______________________________________________

“Our cottage garden boasts a swell of talat akeylum as well, but nowhere near as full and fragrant as we see them here.” Teyla brushed her hand along the green leaves, and it seemed to him they reached for her, as they might reach for drops of rain on an arid day.  “And these grow in the shadow of this keyanna grove, another sight I wished to share with thee.”

Hearing her slip into her patois again, Stephen understood that Teyla’s emotions were like to overcome her.  He pulled her to him gently, and cupped her face in both of his hands, spoiling her with the kisses he had waited all day to bestow.

She pressed her small form against him, and he felt her shiver—the air around them much too warm for it to be anything but with desire.  In the quiet dark, it was easy to forget the admonishments Moraine had placed upon him only hours ago.

Somehow, Teyla managed to pull away from his kiss, looking dizzied and a little wanton in the moonlight, one thin strap of her blouse fallen away in his rush to touch her skin.  He reached for her again, repeating her name several times as though casting a spell, and feeling drunk on all the beauty around them, but most especially on her own. It was impossible now for him to see her as the ordinary woman that had arrived at Kamar-Taj all those months ago; all he could see now was the beauty of her spirit, the undisguised love for him in her dark, inviting eyes, and the sweetness that she lavished upon him at every turn.  

“Come into the grove with me, beloved,” she crooned, “That we may lose ourselves a little while in the cover of this night.”

Eagerly he followed, wondering if this was the time at last.  Did she mean to give herself to him here, beneath the perfume of the keyanna trees, under the benevolent light of the sister-moons?  It was like some fantasy he could never have conceived.

Their footfalls were muffled by drifts of soft leaves, and what appeared to be petals fallen from the trees.  In the light of day, he might have seen their color better, but in the moonlight, they appeared silvery, and as delicate as the first kisses Teyla had ever given him. Stephen inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with the bright, citrusy scent of the keyanna blossoms; their fresh, pure aroma reminded him of orange blossoms back on Earth.

His eyes adjusted quickly to the velvet dark of the grove, while Nonya’s light filtered through the canopy of flower-laden branches, dappling the peaceful scene around them with soft, random kisses of moonlight.  Stephen discerned a well-worn trail woven throughout the trees, though Teyla had already strayed from that path, guiding them up a small, grassy slope, where sat an outcropping of smooth stone.  He saw that the large rock was rooted in the earth, a natural element that some Hadeethan artistsan had then hewn and polished into a bench of sorts, a perfect complement to the tranquility of its surroundings.

Teyla led him to take a seat, and then settled beside him, speaking in a hushed tone, “This place was ever a sanctuary for me—when I needed to quiet and calm myself enough to attempt some dream interpretation.  Or to think upon my hopes and plans, considering the future I wished to forge. And even on those days when I faced the turmoil and confusion of mind and emotions, which come with the growing years.”

“Ah, adolescence,” he chuckled, “The rush of hormones, the physical changes, the impatience with one’s parents…”

“Yes, Stephen…impatience indeed,” Teyla laughed.  “Now that you have felt my mother’s stern authority, you may well imagine my impatience to claim the future I envisioned for myself!”

Stephen reached to stroke her cheek, watching her soften at his touch, letting his hand linger there. “I think you are well on your way now, honey.”

She laid her hand upon his, and kissed his palm.  “I am,” she sighed, “Your love has given me the courage to claim the future I desire. For this reason, I have brought thee here—when I have never shared this special place with any other soul.”

He smiled at her revelation, and at the earnest gratitude upon her face.  “I’m honored, Teyla—though I think you should give far more credit to yourself.”

Her tone turned flirtatious “If you say so, my love.”  Teyla broke from his gaze, breathing deeply the night air.  “I would show thee this by daylight, but it seems I must await another day…”  She seemed to hesitate while she decided whether to tell him something more.

“What is it, honey? What are you thinking?”

Turning to him, she studied his face, and lightly traced along his brow, her touch soothing him as it always did.  “I must tell you…well…I have dreamt of us, Stephen…here…beneath the keyanna blossoms.”  Her cheeks grew flushed, so that he understood this was no ordinary dream.

For Teyla’s sake, Stephen pressed his lips together to restrain a smile, pleased as much by the pretty blush of color that she wore for him, as by her quiet admission.  “As you dreamed of my scarred hands, all those years ago?”

She shook her head. “No…no, I…no…” she lowered her lashes, suddenly shy; “These dreams began only after I came to Kamar-Taj.”

He had to bite his lip to keep from grinning, “I see.  Only after we met.”

“Y…yes,” she stammered, “And their nature was far from any dreams I had ever…experienced…before.”

Stephen nodded, adoring how fetching she looked in the moonlight.  “Of a more private nature,” he surmised.  At that moment, Cloak withdrew from his shoulders and fluttered away beyond earshot, understanding even before Stephen did, that greater privacy would soon be required.

“Yes.” She looked to him again, ready to reveal all, “I thought, at first, it was because I saw you as a figure of authority…that perhaps it was my mind’s way of working out my need for you…for your approval…”

Now he let himself smile, a little breathless with delight, a little dizzy in the moonlight, remembering the times he had enquired about her dreams, and how she had avoided answering directly.

“And then,” she continued, in the same husky voice that often featured in his own dreams, “After you kissed me that first night…after you touched me…I knew that they were dreams born of my desire.”

“Yes,” he sighed, and reached again to gently stroke her cheek with his thumb, so that she sighed and nestled her cheek against his palm. 

Encouraged by his touch, she whispered, “Shall I tell thee of the most persistent of my dreams, Stephen Strange?”

“Please, Teyla,” he whispered back, caught in the spell she was inadvertently weaving, “Tell me please…and perhaps together we can make it so.”

Lightly tracing her fingers along his cheek, then threading her fingertips in his hair, she smiled with wonder, giving answer, “You lay atop me, Stephen.  Skin on skin.”  Her soft, dark eyes enforced the spell that held him rapt.  “You speak tenderly, promising to be gentle…”

“Oh god, Teyla…” he murmured, barely able to keep himself from kissing her.

“…and then…oh, Stephen…” she sighed, and closed her eyes, “…my beloved…you pierce me…and…and fill me…and we move as one…”

As ever was her way, she once again o’er threw his resolve to behave, the combination of her guileless innocence and her honesty about her feelings for him too heady for him to resist.  How could he turn aside what she now so willingly offered?  There was an irresistible magic in this secret garden, and Teyla was the source.

Stephen knew she would allow him to kiss every part of her this night; that she would yield herself without hesitation.  Teyla clung so tightly to him, returning his rush of kisses with a fierceness she had never shown before, teasing her tongue against his, stealing his breath as he had done so many times to her, while rooting both hands in his hair.  When her mouth sought the flesh of his neck, he allowed her to pull free the lacings of his tunic, reveling as she then traced his throat with moist kisses, and groaning her name when she lingered at its hollow.

Stephen tangled his hands in her hair, on fire where she touched him, shocked as her caresses grew bolder than ever before.  “Teyla…baby…honey…slow down, please,” he begged her, while she whimpered her need for him, plucking at his tunic in a bid to feel his flesh against hers, skin-on-skin.  Skin-on-skin, as she had described from her dreams.  Skin-on-skin, as it felt like he’d been waiting for forever.  Soon his body would forget the promises he had just made to Moraine—and he would become the wolf she feared him to be.

By sheer force of will alone, he pulled away a little, enough to draw breath freely, asserting a discipline he already rued.  Carefully, he took Teyla’s face in both hands, and began to kiss her softly, forehead, eyelids, cheeks, than the softest kiss of all upon her swollen lips. Under his gentle hands, she began to come back to herself, looking at him wide-eyed, before large teardrops spilled down her flushed cheeks.  “I have behaved unseemly,” she whispered, so that he kissed her forehead again to ease her needless shame.

“You behaved like a woman in love,” he corrected her, “The most beautiful, satisfying compliment I’ve ever been paid.”  Stephen pulled her to him, smiling as he buried his face in her hair, and rocking her quietly as she continued to calm.  “Don’t’ think for one moment I’m turning you away, beloved,” he told her, using one of her endearments for him for the first time.  “Our timing is still just a little off, that’s all.  I made a few promises to your mother, and you wouldn’t have me break them so soon now–would you?”

Teyla sniffled against him, and laughed softly, “It seems she will have her way yet again.”  She kissed his neck—a comfort to them both—then sat back and began to set his lacings to right.  “But it will not always be so.”

He held her for a while longer in the moonlight, knowing soon enough he must depart.  Of all their separations, Stephen knew that this would be the hardest—for he would now be the one waiting upon a return, while leaving his heart behind him in this moonlit grove.  As he stood before the portal back to Earth, he kissed Teyla goodbye, asking her to come to him as soon as she was able, and assuring her of his devotion.  To all of this she nodded a tearful yes, unable to speak lest she begin to cry again. He waved to her before the portal closed, focused on the light that shown in her soft, doe-eyes, grateful beyond words that her light shone just for him.

[realityhelixcreates]

Lasabrjotr Chapter 14: Loose Ends

Chapters: 14/? Fandom: Thor (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe Rating: Teen And Up Warnings: Nothing, I Think Relationships: Loki x Reader (But not yet) Characters: Loki (Marvel), Thor (Marvel), OFC, Sofie, Fritjof, Andsvarr Additional Tags: Post-Endgame: Best Possible Ending, Mystery Arson, Pushy Senile Professors, Loki Forgot The Rules Summary: The Horse Returns!

A tent in the encampment had burned down in the night. No body was found, so it was hoped no one was inside at the time, but every single thing within had been reduced fully to ash, or little lumps of melted metal and glass.

For as intensely and completely as the tent had burned, the fire hadn’t spread at all. It was a small miracle within the tragedy. The plot was cleaned up, and a newcomer set up their tent in its place.

No one came forward as the owner of the tent.

Sofie made sure to greet the new campers, offer them assistance and guidance. She also made sure to quietly confront Fritjof on the way back.

“I know nothing more than anyone else.” He insisted. “Some people don’t know how to fireproof their tents. It happens. With all the fires around here, it should have happened sooner.”

“Doesn’t anyone know who that tent belonged to? They might have tried to hurt _____. I know you don’t like her, but-“

“I no longer have anything against her. She is chosen. So be it. She spoke the truth before. So be it.” That last was delivered bitterly. Most of Fritjofs friends had left the camp after Heimdall and Loki’s brief appearance a month ago. Gone home to do some soul searching or find something else that catered to their exclusionary beliefs. The few that remained from ‘that side’ of the camp had mostly withdrawn to figure themselves out. For once, they were quiet.

But Fritjof’s tent was near to the one that had burned, and it was hard to believe that he didn’t know who it belonged to, when he made a habit of interrogating everyone who came to the camp about their faith.

“They might have left with the others.” He suggested. “Some proved faithless, and left everything behind.”

“But not you.”

He shrugged. “I was tested. But the gods are here. It doesn’t matter anymore what shape they have taken this time. They are real, and they are here once more. The wisdom of our ancestors will return to us. That’s the important part. Isn’t it?”

Sofie nodded. “I think so too. Here, come help me distribute apples to the newcomers. They’ll want to know what we have seen.”

                                                                                *****

 “You’ve found the animal? Where?” Loki asked the stablemistress.

“Wandering the fens. Some children found her while they were out berrying. She’s lucky to be in one piece, but she seems to be fine. Full of berries, most likely.”

You would want to know that the horse had been found, and in good health as well.

“Was anything else found?”

“No, I’m afraid not, your highness. She was still wearing the same tack she left with, but nothing more than that.”

“Oh well. At least we have her back.”

Two probable dead ends. At least there had been no loss. The horse had returned, and the burned tent had caused no harm. He would be venturing out later with a handful of Einherjar to look over the things that had been found at the crime scene.

Your injury was healing significantly faster than usual for a human, due partly to the advancement of their medical facilities, and due partly, he was almost certain, to his touch. The more he had carefully stroked your back, the more the pain seemed to recede, the more you had curled up on yourself-probably in relief.

He had bid you to rest, and given Ansdvarr a few friends to help watch over you, making sure there was food for you when you woke.  You seemed so subdued. It must be the amount of energy it was taking to heal yourself. He waited until you were asleep to take his leave. He just wanted to be sure.

He met his small entourage just outside the city, and they all traced their way across the idyllic landscape, to the little copse of trees. The remains of his ill-fated picnic were still strewn about the area, though some small animal or another had made off with the food.

Loki instructed one of the Einherjar to gather things up, then he followed the sergeant in charge of investigating the area to what she had found.

“There are two areas of interest, your highness. This is the first.” It was little more than a blanket draped over a low branch to create a simple shelter. A small bag full of food wrappers and an empty canteen were the only other items.  They didn’t look Asgardian in origin.

“These are all Midgardian in make.” The sergeant confirmed. “It seems some mortal was making camp here, but from the debris blown into the tent, I’d say they haven’t been here for a few days. At least as long as it’s been since you brought your woman out here.”

“She’s not my woman.” Loki said quickly. You would probably take offence at that. “She is a guest. We are watching over her due to a magical anomaly. You were shown her hand with everybody else.”

“Ah. As you say, your highness. Forgive my assumption. But this is not the only thing out here. This way.”

She led him all the way to the other end of the patch of trees, to another tent. This one was more spacious, and far from being a hasty shelter, was properly set up and staked down. It was well camouflaged, and inside were a variety of things.

More interestingly, there appeared to be a mix of Asgardian and Midgardian items. The tent was clearly Asgardian, but the blankets and pillows were from Earth. It all came together to form a sordid picture.

“Hm.” Loki said. This probably should have been expected.

“Indeed.” The sergeant agreed. “It appears to me that this is evidence of one of our people and one of theirs…cohabiting. At least occasionally.”

“It’s not illegal…”Loki said.

“I wonder if perhaps it should be.” The sergeant mused. “Mortals are…well, they are mortal. They are fragile and short-lived. All such unions are doomed to a sad end.”

“All things die.” Loki said simply.

“Of course, your highness. But we don’t even allow them within the city. Even this relationship is kept secret, hidden away from the eyes of others. What happens when it eventually bears fruit? What happens to those children? Where do they live? Do we keep them away from one of their parents? Sire, I don’t think we’re ready for this.”

“Calm yourself sergeant.” Loki said. “We have been ready for this since my brother first set foot on this planet. Beyond that, the king and I, as well as the entire council, have been planning and debating for this very eventuality. And it is inevitable. They are too much like us for these unions not to develop.”

“Have you grown fond of them, your highness?”

Loki gave her a long, flat stare.

“Er, forgive me.” She said, fidgeting. “That is not my place.”

“My feelings on the matter are meaningless in comparison to what is best for the people. If there is nothing else here…?”

“Not that we have found.”

“I say we leave everything where we have found it. Set someone to watch this area and report any activity. Everything has been recorded? Good. I want a copy delivered to me, and I wish to be notified first with any new information.”

Returning to his horse, he noticed that the dishes had been placed back in the basket, his discarded cloak and blanket folded neatly, and secured to his saddle. He could see your blood on the blanket. It made him want to tear it. Even if the stain could be cleaned, he probably wouldn’t ever use it again, nor would he want you to wear his old Sleipnir cloak again, even though he’d had it altered for you. It would be bad luck to let it touch your shoulders once more.

Perhaps he really should teach you what a pauldron was.

                                                                                     *****

 “Look, I’m sorry, but he’s not here.” Andsvarr told the old skald instructor. “You’re going to have to wait until he comes back. Did you have an appointment?”

“Yes.” The old teacher huffed. “Some youngster tried to tell me it’d been cancelled for some trivial investigation, but I’ve had this planned for months, and my whole class has been waiting as well.” He gestured at the small gathering of people behind him, each holding a notebook and an instrument.

“Oh. But he’s still not here. There’s nothing I can do about that.”

“You could let us meet with the Midgardian woman. She’s part of the lesson plan. My students need to become familiar with mortals; their flaws and virtues, so that they might properly write them into verse.”

“We definitely cannot do that, milord.” The supplementary guard interjected. “We have strict orders to keep anyone from seeing her. She is convalescing.”

“Wait.” Andsvarr said. “If you’ve been planning this for months, how can _____ be a part of the lesson plan? She’s only been here for one month and a little more.”

The instructor glared at him, crossing his arms. “Are you sassing me, young man?”

“No sir. Only doing my job.”

“Well so am I. And if you don’t let us in, I’m going to take my complaints straight to-“

“To me, Beli?” Loki said. “I am right here. What have you to say to me?”

“Ah, your highness! Just who I wanted to see! We had an appointment.”

“Which was regrettably cancelled due to an unfortunate assault against a guest of the Crown.”

“-And I have brought my class all the way here to meet with your mortal visitor.”

“Who is resting after her injury.”

“And these smart fellows won’t let us pass!”

“On my orders.”

“And so I was just telling them-what?”

“My specific orders, Beli. No one other than myself or the king can come in here. Your appointment was cancelled. That means it cannot happen today. Because someone tried to kill our only human. And now she must stay in bed and rest.”

Poor old Beli. He’d been one of Loki’s teachers, for music and sagas. He’d been Thor’s teacher, and Heimdall’s and Frigga’s. He seemed like he’d been around since the dawn of Asgard, yet he was as inflexible as the golden spires, and seemed unable to fathom that plans could change.

The door behind them all opened, and you peeked out.

“Aha!” Beli said. “Behold class: a human!”

You shrank back.

“No, no, come out young woman. It is a woman, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” Loki said through gritted teeth. “I believe I have indicated that several times.”

You slipped into the hallway, obviously intrigued by what was going on, looking around at all the instruments.

“So loud out here.” You whispered. “Is something wrong?”

“She looks sick.” One of the students said.

“Well, what did you expect? She got stabbed.” Said another.

“It’s just a stab.”

“Not for a mortal, it isn’t!”

“Nothing’s wrong.” Loki said. “Go ahead and go back inside. I’m sending them along now.”

“Now, just a moment!” Beli said. “Since you’re both out here right now, why don’t we-“

You took that moment to collapse. A gasp rose from the gathered students, which quickly became clapping as Loki easily caught you.

“Beli. Esteemed teacher. Let us compromise. Your appointment is…postponed. Good afternoon.”

Loki scooped you effortlessly into his arms. You were so light. You would always seem light, no matter how much you did or didn’t weigh. He swept into his rooms, kicking the door closed behind him, leaving poor Andsvarr and his friend to take care of the musician class.

He laid you down on your sparse little bed, noticing with alarm the coldness of your skin. This wasn’t just because of your injury, or the energy it was taking to accelerate the healing.

“I was gone too long, wasn’t I?” He said mournfully, gathering you up into a sitting position next to him. He’d been miles away from you, for almost the whole day. He should have known better than to do that! You were injured; the detrimental effects of the link between you clearly reacted harshly and more swiftly when you weren’t healthy in the first place.

“Gone too far away, and for too long. Oh, you poor thing.” He wrapped one arm around you to hold you up, tenderly stroking your back. Had it been frightening, feeling the incapacitating sickness creep up on you again? He’d barely noticed it.

You shuddered in his arms, so he wrapped the blankets around your shoulders.

“Well, we’ve found out some possibly interesting things, but nothing solid, I’m afraid. We will find who did this, however. I promise you justice.”

You shivered again, but remained quiet. Loki wasn’t even sure you had heard him. He laid you back down, tucking you in and waiting until your breathing became slow and even before leaving your room.

These simple little acts of care were reassuring to him. He had cared for an entire kingdom for several years, he could do the same for one mortal woman. He could do this.

[dailyexo]

[SCHEDULE] EXO’s SCHEDULE for May (2018)

[BROADCAST] - pre-recorded and live television and online programme broadcasts, including weekly music shows and dramas, [REC] - programme recordings, [RADIO] - radio programme broadcasts, [SIGN] / [MEET] - fan-signing and fan-meeting events, [PERF] - performance events, including concerts and festivals, [RELEASE] - music releases, [BIRTHDAY] - members’ birthdays and birthday parties, [OTHER] - various other scheduled activities.

This schedule will be continually updated.

EXO’s SCHEDULE (Last updated on 180526)

May 1

[BROADCAST] KBS ‘The Miracle That We Met’ Ep.10 (KBS ‘우리가 만난 기적’ 제10회) - 22:00 KST - (Kai)

May 3

[OTHER] MBN ‘Rich Man’ press conference (MBN '리치맨' 제작발표회) - (Suho)

May 4

[RELEASE] Netflix Busted! Ep.1-2 (넷플릭스 범인은 바로 너! 제1-2회) - (Sehun)

[OTHER] CCTV Youth Day Gala (CCTV 筑梦新时代) - 19:30 CST - (Lay)

May 6

[BIRTHDAY] Baekhyun's Birthday

[BROADCAST] Go Fighting Season 4 Ep.2 (极限挑战第四季第二集) - 20:30 CST - (Lay)

May 7

[BROADCAST] KBS ‘The Miracle That We Met’ Ep.11 (KBS ‘우리가 만난 기적’ 제11회) - 22:00 KST - (Kai)

May 8

[BROADCAST] KBS ‘The Miracle That We Met’ Ep.12 (KBS ‘우리가 만난 기적’ 제12회) - 22:00 KST - (Kai)

May 9

[OTHER] 1st full Japanese album 'Magic' - (EXO-CBX)

[BROADCAST] MBN ‘Rich Man’ Ep.1 (MBN 리치맨 제1회) - 23:00 KST - (Suho)

April 10

[BROADCAST] MBN ‘Rich Man’ Ep.2 (MBN 리치맨 제2회) - 23:00 KST - (Suho)

May 11

[RELEASE] Netflix Busted! Ep.3-4 (넷플릭스 범인은 바로 너! 제3-4회) - (Sehun)

[PERF] Magical Circus Tour 2018 in Yokohama - 18:30 JST - (EXO-CBX)

May 12

[PERF] Magical Circus Tour 2018 in Yokohama - 16:00 JST - (EXO-CBX)

May 13

[PERF] Magical Circus Tour 2018 in Yokohama - 15:00 JST - (EXO-CBX)

[BROADCAST] Go Fighting Season 4 Ep.3 (极限挑战第四季第三集) - 20:30 CST - (Lay)

May 14

[OTHER] ‘Middle School Girl A’ Production Briefing (‘여중생A’ 제작보고회) - (Suho)

[BROADCAST] KBS ‘The Miracle That We Met’ Ep.13 (KBS ‘우리가 만난 기적’ 제13회) - 22:00 KST - (Kai)

May 15

[BROADCAST] KBS ‘The Miracle That We Met’ Ep.14 (KBS ‘우리가 만난 기적’ 제14회) - 22:00 KST - (Kai)

May 16

[PERF] Magical Circus Tour 2018 in Fukuoka - 18:30 JST - (EXO-CBX)

[BROADCAST] MBN ‘Rich Man’ Ep.3 (MBN 리치맨 제3회) - 23:00 KST - (Suho)

May 17

[BROADCAST] FBS Barihaya! Interview (FBS バリはやっ!) - 05:20-06:30 JST - (EXO-CBX)

[BROADCAST] KBC Asadesu Interview (KBC アサデス) - 06:00-08:00 JST - (EXO-CBX)

[BROADCAST] MBN ‘Rich Man’ Ep.4 (MBN 리치맨 제4회) - 23:00 KST - (Suho)

[BROADCAST] MBC It's Dangerous Beyond The Blankets (MBC 이불 밖은 위험해) - 23:00 KST - (Xiumin)

[OTHER] iQIYI Technology & Entertainment World Meeting - (Lay)

May 18

[RELEASE] Netflix Busted! Ep.5-6 (넷플릭스 범인은 바로 너! 제5-6회) - (Sehun)

May 19

[PERF] Magical Circus Tour 2018 in Nagoya - 17:00 JST - (EXO-CBX)

[BROADCAST] tvN Salty Tour (tvN 짠내투어) - 22:30 KST - (Chanyeol)

May 20

[PERF] Magical Circus Tour 2018 in Nagoya - 16:00 JST - (EXO-CBX)

[BROADCAST] Go Fighting Season 4 Ep.4 (极限挑战第四季第四集) - 20:30 CST - (Lay)

May 21

[BROADCAST] Oksusu ‘Travel The World On EXO’s Ladder - Japanese Chapter’ Ep.1 (옥수수 ‘엑소의 사다리 타고 세계여행 - 첸백시 일본편’ 제1회) - 10:00 KST - (EXO-CBX)

[BROADCAST] KBS ‘The Miracle That We Met’ Ep.15 (KBS ‘우리가 만난 기적’ 제15회) - 22:00 KST - (Kai)

May 22

[BIRTHDAY] Suho's Birthday

[BROADCAST] Oksusu ‘Travel The World On EXO’s Ladder - Japanese Chapter’ Ep.2 (옥수수 ‘엑소의 사다리 타고 세계여행 - 첸백시 일본편’ 제2회) - 10:00 KST - (EXO-CBX)

[BROADCAST] KBS ‘The Miracle That We Met’ Ep.16 (KBS ‘우리가 만난 기적’ 제16회) - 22:00 KST - (Kai)

May 23

[BROADCAST] Oksusu ‘Travel The World On EXO’s Ladder - Japanese Chapter’ Ep.3 (옥수수 ‘엑소의 사다리 타고 세계여행 - 첸백시 일본편’ 제3회) - 10:00 KST - (EXO-CBX)

[BROADCAST] MBN ‘Rich Man’ Ep.5 (MBN 리치맨 제5회) - 23:00 KST - (Suho)

May 24

[BROADCAST] Oksusu ‘Travel The World On EXO’s Ladder - Japanese Chapter’ Ep.4 (옥수수 ‘엑소의 사다리 타고 세계여행 - 첸백시 일본편’ 제4회) - 10:00 KST - (EXO-CBX)

[BROADCAST] MBN ‘Rich Man’ Ep.6 (MBN 리치맨 제6회) - 23:00 KST - (Suho)

[BROADCAST] MBC It's Dangerous Beyond The Blankets (MBC 이불 밖은 위험해) - 23:00 KST - (Xiumin)

May 25

[BROADCAST] Oksusu ‘Travel The World On EXO’s Ladder - Japanese Chapter’ Ep.5 (옥수수 ‘엑소의 사다리 타고 세계여행 - 첸백시 일본편’ 제5회) - 10:00 KST - (EXO-CBX)

May 26

[BROADCAST] tvN Salty Tour (tvN 짠내투어) - 22:30 KST - (Chanyeol)

May 27

[BROADCAST] Go Fighting Season 4 Ep.5 (极限挑战第四季第五集) - 20:30 CST - (Lay)

May 28

[OTHER] Louis Vuitton 2019 Cruise Collection - 19:15 CET - (Sehun)

[BROADCAST] Oksusu ‘Travel The World On EXO’s Ladder - Japanese Chapter’ Ep.6 (옥수수 ‘엑소의 사다리 타고 세계여행 - 첸백시 일본편’ 제6회) - 10:00 KST - (EXO-CBX)

[BROADCAST] KBS ‘The Miracle That We Met’ Ep.17 (KBS ‘우리가 만난 기적’ 제17회) - 22:00 KST - (Kai)

May 29

[BROADCAST] Oksusu ‘Travel The World On EXO’s Ladder - Japanese Chapter’ Ep.7 (옥수수 ‘엑소의 사다리 타고 세계여행 - 첸백시 일본편’ 제7회) - 10:00 KST - (EXO-CBX)

[OTHER] Oksusu ‘Travel The World On EXO’s Ladder’ press conference (옥수수 ‘엑소의 사다리 타고 세계여행’ 제작발표회) - (EXO-CBX)

[BROADCAST] KBS ‘The Miracle That We Met’ Ep.18 (KBS ‘우리가 만난 기적’ 제18회) - 22:00 KST - (Kai)

May 30

[OTHER] Gucci 2019 Cruise Collection - 15:30 CET - (Kai)

[BROADCAST] Oksusu ‘Travel The World On EXO’s Ladder - Japanese Chapter’ Ep.8 (옥수수 ‘엑소의 사다리 타고 세계여행 - 첸백시 일본편’ 제8회) - 10:00 KST - (EXO-CBX)

[BROADCAST] MBN ‘Rich Man’ Ep.7 (MBN 리치맨 제7회) - 23:00 KST - (Suho)

May 31

[BROADCAST] Oksusu ‘Travel The World On EXO’s Ladder - Japanese Chapter’ Ep.9 (옥수수 ‘엑소의 사다리 타고 세계여행 - 첸백시 일본편’ 제9회) - 10:00 KST - (EXO-CBX)

[BROADCAST] MBN ‘Rich Man’ Ep.8 (MBN 리치맨 제8회) - 23:00 KST - (Suho)

[BROADCAST] MBC It's Dangerous Beyond The Blankets (MBC 이불 밖은 위험해) - 23:00 KST - (Xiumin)

Credit: dailyexo.tumblr.com. Material not to be redistributed in part or whole without prior permission.

[methylsalicylate]

The Madrigals and The Beast Ch 1

AO3 Link | Story art by @waokevale | Tag: #Madrigals&Beast 

Chapters:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20

Summary: 

In the Kingdom of Encanto, there was only Light magic, while the Dark surrounded the forest beyond the mountains. Everything had been prosperous for them, but recently the Dark has been seeping through in the form of disease, less harvest, and dead livestock.

Mirabel, the only giftless princess of the Madrigal Royal family, wants to prove her worth by making it her mission to eradicate Dark magic and restore the full power of the Light.

Starting with defeating the hideous seven-foot tall half human half rat monster hiding in the depths of the dense forest.

______________________________________________________________

In a land far away, protected by dense forests and massive mountains, was a small kingdom.

Here, Light magic existed in nature. It was found in the bountiful harvests they get every year, in the river that never runs out of fish, in the fields that fed the animals, and in the living house of the royal Madrigal family, which is fondly called “Casita”.

The existence of Light magic implies the existence of the opposite kind, which is of the more evil sort. Dark magic stemmed from a wretched being, an entity known as the Curse of the Encanto. Its energy spilled throughout the outside borders, weakened due to its diffused state. The very first king defeated it with a sword made with a small amount of Light magic, creating the protective barrier and dispersing the energy outward, scattering its essence.

Currently, everyone lived peacefully under the governance of King Pedro, the 10th ruler of Encanto.

During King Pedro’s term his wife, Queen Alma, gave birth to triplets, 2 girls and the youngest, a boy. With their birth came gifts from the counterpart of the Curse, the benevolent Spirit of Encanto. These gifts were in the form of a Candle representing the status of Light magic, and a sealed box, both manifesting in the topmost room of Casita. Nobody knew what this meant, but this occurrence was seen as a miracle, and the entire town celebrated the birth of the royal triplets for a whole week.

This was not where the miracles ended, though.

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

“Really mama? There are more miracles?”

Julieta pulled her 4 year old daughter closer to her as they lay down in bed. It was a little early in the evening, but Mirabel was tired from playing too much with her slightly older cousin, Camilo. The boy was still outside, forced to help out after knocking a few vases in the garden outside.

“Of course. Why do you think Isa can make flowers? Or how Luisa is super strong?”

“Or how you can heal with food!”

“Yes exactly. You see mi vida, when I was around 5, my sister and…” Julieta trailed off, looking down with pain in her eyes. “Well, we were still complete back then. On our 5th birthday, three mysterious doors showed up in Casita. Your Abuelo Pedro knew it was a gift from the Spirit of Encanto, and it granted us the miracles we have now. It also gave us these marks around our arms.”

She raised her hand, and just below her wrist was a small mark of a leaf, and a straight line going around, as if it were a bracelet in the form of a tattoo. To her, this was like a small reminder that her gift of healing was meant to be shared with the people around them. Her sister Pepa had a small sun, while Bruno had a small hourglass as a mark.

“These miracles are why we dedicate our life to helping the kingdom.”

She tried to avoid sounding upset, but Mirabel noticed the change in her mother’s tone. She was still young, but her older siblings and cousins have told her about how her mama and Tia Pepa used to be a part of a trio.

“Mama… where did Tio Bruno go?”

“Ay, it is a very hard story to tell mija… It is a little bit scary too, and you are about to sleep so I don’t want you thinking about -”

“Mama please I can take it! I am a big girl now!” The child sat up and puffed her chest out, even flexing her arms to imitate her older sister.

Julieta smiled softly, and caressed her daughter’s hair. She motioned for her to lay down, prompting Mirabel to lay closer to her, full of anticipation.

“Promise me you’ll be brave tonight.”

“I promise!”

It was a hard story to tell. Even though it happened more than 20 years ago, closure was never met, and remembering the past felt like opening a still bleeding wound. However, her daughter had to know the dangers that surround the outskirts of Encanto. “You know how I can heal with meals I make, and how Tia Pepa can control the weather with her emotions? Well, your Tio Bruno could see the future.”

“Whooaa…”

“It is an amazing gift, but it also comes with consequences. He had this… vision, many years ago, of a giant rat-like creature standing behind him menacingly, with its arms around his neck, like it was choking him.”

The little gasp that came out of Mirabel prompted Julieta to stop, but her daughter stared at her with intense focus, waiting for whatever happened next. There’s no way she’s leaving her daughter alone tonight.

“We figured that it did not mean anything, that maybe it was a nightmare… But you know that Dark magic exists beyond the mountains.”

“Oh! The one from the Curse of the Encanto?”

“Yes. It was a terrible entity, spreading disease and disaster wherever it went. If it weren’t for the first king, the ancestor of your Abuelo Pedro, it would still be here. He was able to defeat it with a sword laced with some Light magic.” It was common knowledge, and more of a legend to the people in the kingdom. She still remembers how her father Pedro acted out the entire scene in dramatic fashion, complete with costumes and all.

“This vision of the Rat monster felt like Dark magic seeping through… Your abuelo and abuela were very worried about this, and it made Bruno even more anxious than he already is. Then one day… during a partial solar eclipse… We were just 10, we were playing outside and we had a small fight. Bruno walked away, and night came but he never returned… Nobody saw where he went. It was like he disappeared from Encanto.”

She paused, replaying the moment in her head.

“It was a nightmare. Everyone looked around the kingdom, but they were not able to go beyond the mountains, for it was too dangerous and treacherous. There were those that attempted but could not last a day climbing the mountains. The search lasted for months… We all assumed that his disappearance was the doing of the Rat monster from his vision, who most likely is a user of Dark magic, a servant of the Curse.”

“Your abuelo and abuela were devastated. Pepa and I cried almost every night. We kept blaming ourselves… If only I was a better older sister, if only I was brave enough… Losing one of us… losing a triplet, I felt like a third of me was ripped away.”

Mirabel stared at her with glassy eyes. She hugged her mother tightly. “Mama I don’t think it’s your fault. It’s the Rat monster! He’s a meanie!”

Laughter filled the room, Julieta already feeling more relaxed than upset. “Thank you mija. I still can’t help feeling sad whenever I remember that day… Ever since then, children have always been accompanied by at least one adult when they play around.”

She looked at her daughter, slightly being reminded of her baby brother. They both had big brown eyes.

“Mirabel, it’s very dangerous out there. Here, we are protected by Light magic, but beyond the mountains, Dark magic is everywhere. It is no longer conscious and is spread thinly all over, but it is out there. So please promise me, mi vida. Always be with someone when you go around the kingdom. And never, ever leave the Encanto.”

______________________________________________________________

Chapters: 

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 

[corwynnasmith]

Deleted Scene - Chapter 14

A second owl fluttered in the open window and alit on Percy’s shoulder, holding out a leg with expensive parchment tied to it in a neat, rolled scroll. From the noise echoing down from near corridors, Percy knew classes had ended for the day. He needed to go meet up with Audrey like everything was fine, even if he had probably missed dinner from the slant of the sun, so he left the room, reading the missive on the way towards the Hufflepuff common room entrance. He’d never gone in, but, being a prefect, of course he knew where and how to gain entry.

/Saturday afternoons would be convenient. 3PM. Library entrance./ There was a scratched out /Yours/ that was replaced with simply, /Draco Lucien Malfoy./

Probably Malfoy hadn’t sent many letters beyond those to his family, and maybe his friends over his first summer home from Hogwarts. It was the sort of kid thing he expected from Ginny or Ron when they were trying to impress someone, and for a moment, it made him smile. He tried to keep that cheer as a shield against the worry and lack of resolution of the day.

After all, he still didn’t know the who or why of the compulsion. Plus, he’d been kicked out of Transfiguration. Then he’d made Professor Snape more likely to keep a close eye on him. All in all, he’d take his wins where he could get them.

Audrey was exiting the barrel marking the Hufflepuff den when he arrived, and she seemed pleasantly surprised to see him, “I guess you realized we hadn’t set up a place to meet, too.”

“Precisely,” he lied. His mind had just connected Audrey to Hufflepuff to go like a child figuring out their first constellations.

“Well, do you want to come in to the common room or find a study nook?” She had a bag over her shoulder with knitting needles sticking out the top of it, and Percy shook himself under her expectant look.

He cleared his throat, “Study nook, if you don’t mind.” Percy didn’t particularly want an audience as he struggled through knitting, of all things. It took a deft hand and dexterity to use a wand, and being seen stumbling through something that emphasized similar dexterity would be beyond embarrassing. Plus, he didn’t want to deal with a crowd just now while he was trying to rationalize his mental state away. “I’m not as skilled as I’d have to be if I wanted to maintain any sort of dignity,” Percy explained, a little heat flushing up through his neck at the confession. She’d know soon enough, anyway, so there was no use trying to hide it from her.

Audrey patted his shoulder bracingly, “Well, you’ve got until Christmas to get this done, right?” Sensing Percy’s unease at the idea, Audrey shook the shoulder a little and moved off down the hall, “And I’ll be helping! Do you doubt me?”

“No, of course not,” Percy replied reluctantly, easily catching up and keeping pace. She was a fellow prefect and he knew she was good at knitting. He wouldn’t expect her to abandon him or let him down when it came to a project that tied so deeply to family, either.

“So buck up,” Audrey replied, flashing white teeth in a smile that lit up her patrician features, “We ride into battle together, brother.” Her fierce grin did put him in the mind of a warrior woman, and it drew a laugh from him to imagine what sort of battle one would wage against inanimate yarn.

“I bow to your greater experience, o veteran warrior,” Percy put action to words with a sweeping bow. Audrey swatted at his arm, intentionally missing, and shook her head.

“Come on, this spot’s my favorite; you can see the merfolk’s village from there.”

And just like that, his good mood gained tarnish. Well, at least it wouldn’t be likely that any of the merfolk would actually come over and peer in the window while they were working nearby.

“You’re not worried they’ll remember your slight against them?” Audrey teased at the strain to Percy’s smile, getting a huff in return before she sat on a curved stone bench, cushioned with thin blue pillows, beneath a half circle of stone wall. “Sit down,” she said, pointing at the bench beside her. A little confused, Percy obeyed, and it was as if he could suddenly see through the slats in a tilted window as the entire wall above the bench seemed to open up for a view that had to be magically enhanced. There was no way they were far enough under the lake to be practically yards from the merfolk’s statues and columns.

“Is it like the enchantments in the Great Hall?” Percy queried, resisting the urge to reach out and touch it. Unlike the Great Hall’s ceiling, this was within reach.

“It’s a true window,” Audrey informed him with an eagerly conspiratorial tone, taking out her knitting needles, “You’ve heard of it, right?”

“We’re sitting under a warding miracle,” Percy said flatly as he returned the sweaters he’d taken from his pocket to normal size, and Audrey nodded, more excited now that he seemed to comprehend what it was. A malicious mischief entered Percy’s eyes as a grin slid across his lips, “Bill never said anything about this. That means he spent seven years at Hogwarts and never knew this was here.” A true window was to a wards master as the Fidelius was to a Charms master. It required an innate knowledge of the essence, or ‘soul’ in the old tests, of the two places in order to create a… well, a true window. It cut through the intervening places without leaving a trace, though it only let through light and magic. Sound, too, but only in legends.

“The cursebreaking brother?” Audrey’s smile broke into a laugh, “You’ll have to describe it to him – and invite him to visit, of course, or it’d just be cruel.” She met his mischief with her own, “Maybe in a separate letter, though.”

“A few days later,” Percy added matter-of-factly, knowing he could swing a visitor’s pass for his brother. It wasn’t like Bill had been schooled in a foreign country and he was pureblood, so there weren’t any secrecy concerns with the Statute.

It’d just be a bit of paperwork Percy would have to copy out of the second addendum to the official rulebook.

While he was distracted, Audrey had been taking in the sweaters with a weather eye. “So, who’s this?” Audrey held up a half-finished maroon sweater to herself, “Smaller than me; Ron or Ginny, yeah?”

“Ron,” Percy confirmed, “He hates maroon.”

“And thus, this is his sweater,” she looked up at him and smiled, “I like your mother’s way of thinking. He’d probably look adorable in it, anyway. Where’s the skein for this?” The way she’d so casually referenced Molly took him aback for a moment, but a burst of warmth surprised him when his initial response faded. She’d referred to his mother with the present tense, and it wasn’t out of ignorance. The allusion itself had been quick, warm, and painless. Percy didn’t mind that. Not at all.

“Here,” Percy tossed her the appropriate yarn, and took up Ginny’s, which was a sunny yellow this year. They worked in a silence that came from being mutually lost in thought.  In no time, his row was crooked, and Audrey was putting Ron’s sweater aside to work out where Percy had gone wrong.

“You’ve got to just keep the pattern, Percy,” she was saying as she pulled apart the last five minutes of work, “I know it can be mind-numbing, but if you keep it up long enough, eventually you won’t have to pay so much attention to it.”

“I’m aware,” Percy replied dryly, smiling at her to soften any edges that might have snuck into his tone. She made a face at him, and passed back the yellow monstrosity.

“I do love the colors your mother chose,” Audrey commented, diving back into Ron’s with smooth, deft movements, and Percy tried to pay more attention to keeping the damn pattern.

“She has an eye for the color you like the least,” Percy admitted, a little absently, mind more on the knitting than on the words, “She’s always going on about how she chose them based on how they would complement the skin, but we’re all the same shade, so I’m not sure who she thinks she’s fooling.”

“Are you going to use the same colors next year?” When Percy’s needles fell silent, Audrey looked up, a bit stricken, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean –“

“No, it’s something I should think about,” Percy picked up the pace again. Besides, it was better than thinking about what was happening in his own head. Hopefully his correspondance with Great Aunt Muriel would clear up more of the situation that she, perhaps, hadn’t wanted to explain in front of Professor Snape. He shook his head, as if to dislodge the thoughts, “I don’t know. Would you?”

“She must have put a lot of thought into it,” Audrey said carefully, keeping her eyes on her work, “I’d probably try to follow the same theme, if it were me.”

Same theme, not necessarily exactly the same colors. Except Ron, of course; Percy didn’t think Ron would ever grow out of hating maroon. “I’ll take that under advisement.”

“If you were anyone else, I’d take that as a brush off.”

“Good thing you know better,” Percy sniffed and Audrey smiled again, tentatively.

“To blatantly change the subject, have I told you what my first years did the other day?” Her eyes lit up when Percy shook his head, and she went on about her plainly monstrous first years. There was something wrong when they were that… harmonious. And nice. The chatter was soothing, though, and Audrey seemed content to carry the bulk of the conversation, letting Percy make a point here or there as he thought of them. His tongue was still sore, anyway.

“…there’s a more humane way to get the effects of Ashwinder egg, I’m sure of it,” she was saying a little archly, though it was an undirected irritation, when she checked a watch on her wrist and made a face, breaking off the tail end of her thoughts on the current state of potions ingredient gathering and its effects on magical creatures. Percy had tried to play devil’s advocate, but it was clearly a topic of study for her, because she rapidly outstripped him. “You can escape me for now; patrol.” The face of her watch said just that, actually, and she looked at her needles in Ron’s sweater for a long moment before turning her gaze on Percy, “I don’t really want this to unravel and if we keep tying them off in different places, it’ll make any casting inconsistent.”

He… hadn’t know that. “I’m not sure they need to have anything cast on them.”

“Oh,” pushing a ringlet of brown curl behind her ear, Audrey said nervously, “So, you don’t recognize this pattern?”

“Audrey, we’ll be late for patrol if you don’t spit it out,” Percy said bluntly, shrinking the other sweaters, but for the one still in her hands.

“This is a protective knit; it’s hedge magic,” she held up a hand placatingly before Percy could speak, “but maybe your mother just didn’t know it was hedge. It doesn’t mean she was a squib, or something, anyway. Plenty of respectable witches and wizards practice hedge magic on the side.” Did everyone practice hedge magic? Or was it a secret society that only opened up when you joined it? Then again, Audrey was part of a family that produced no small amount of squibs. The Stricklands were purebloods nearly as prolific as the Weasleys in terms of offspring – but much less lucky in magical inclination.

“She- I know she practiced hedge magic,” Percy admitted, clearing his throat, “I just didn’t- she taught me mostly about the cleaning side of it.” And the offensive side of it. Oddly.

“Oh, good,” Audrey sighed in relief, loosening her near-hug on the sweater she’d been holding to her chest, almost protectively, “Can I keep this with me then? I wasn’t lying when I said I needed a project, and I’d rather not weaken the cast.”

Percy reminded himself that she was a fellow prefect who had volunteered her time to help him out. She wasn’t going to ruin it through carelessness. And they were going to be late. “Alright, okay, but we need to go.” He’d be meeting up with Gemma, and Audrey with Fawley Hilliard, the male Ravenclaw prefect of their year.

Audrey grinned at him, “Fawley never shows up on time. And if he does, you know he’ll be standing there with his nose in a book until I show up, so I’ll drop this off safe in my dorm first.” That rubbed his sensibilities the wrong way, but, well, technically she was prioritizing Percy’s family over scholastic duty, and he couldn’t bring himself to muster up a lecture. They exchanged farewells and went their separate ways.

[shipaholic]

Omens Universe, Chapter 14, Part 2

Link to next part at the end.

(From the beginning)

(last part)

(chrono)

---

Chapter 14, cont.

“So we’ve lost the Antichrist, then.”

“Bound to happen.”

Aziraphale and Crowley stopped craning their necks to peer into the sky. Clearly, the alien ship was not coming back.

Aziraphale turned and absently smoothed down the front of Crowley’s jacket. Crowley had enough brain space going spare to mentally give a little cheer.

“I don’t think we were very responsible guardians,” Aziraphale said, mournfully.

“Nope.” Crowley thought about it. “It was literally my job to be an irresponsible one, in fairness.”

They looked out over the planet that was, finally, all theirs.

Crowley shifted his weight. The ground squelched. It was a good thing he could miracle up a fresh pair of shoes, these snakeskin ones had had it - oh no. He couldn’t. His face fell. No more miracles as himself. Bless. That was going to be impossible to remember.

“I suppose,” Aziraphale said slowly, ��While it was nice to have him with us…” He hesitated. “The Antichrist coming along was not, technically, part of the plan.”

Crowley eyed him sidelong.

“He did gatecrash your brilliant plan,” he said, nodding. “Absolutely.”

“So… perhaps…”

Crowley waited, expectantly.

“...This is for the best?”

Crowley beamed. “I reckon you’re onto something.”

“I mean, he does obviously have all his powers.” Aziraphale’s smile dipped slightly. “And we’ve sent him back to Earth like some kind of plague ship, dooming all life upon it…”

“But it’s not like it was actually our fault,” Crowley said hurriedly.

“Oh… no.” Aziraphale was now not smiling at all. “I suppose not.”

“Who are we to stand against Armageddon? It’s written, isn’t it? It’s always been written. In really big font. It’s…” He couldn’t believe he was going to say this. “Ineffable.”

Aziraphale looked pleasantly startled that Crowley had said that. Then it faded. He looked glum and serious once more.

Crowley rested his hands on Aziraphale’s shoulders. His ungloved thumb stroked the base of his neck. Aziraphale’s pulse was close by, a steady marching beat.

“Hey. We tried, remember? We thought if he came with us, we could stop it from happening. We didn’t have to do that. It’s not our fault it didn’t work.”

Aziraphale wavered. His eyes were bluer than ever, under the purple sky. Crowley wanted to kiss the soft creases at the corner of his mouth.

“We saved ourselves,” he said. “That’s all we could ask for.”

Aziraphale breathed out. A thread of tension left his body. He leaned forward,  sharing Crowley’s body heat.

“I suppose all we can do is live on.”

Crowley nodded. “You said it.”

“And remember the Earth. Whenever we think of it, it will be like… a memorial.”

Crowley leaned forward and kissed him softly. His heartbeat drummed, warm and alive, against Crowley’s palm.

They broke apart and leaned their foreheads together.

“What should we do first?”

~*~

Zadkiel took a stroll along the river through St James’s Park.

There were no ducks. He was building up his confidence with living creatures. Not that he couldn’t make them, it was just that there were ethical considerations to introducing foreign wildlife to an alien planet. He was half-angel, after all. He thought about these things.

He passed Petronius’s restaurant as he turned about the park. It sat just behind one of the famous St James flower beds. He thought it was a nice addition. He hadn’t quite got all the details, he knew, but then again, it had been a long time since they were there. He was sure the table they’d sat at inside was as accurate as he could make it.

A few yards away, visible over the tops of the trees, was the Globe. He’d shrunk it down a little. It had felt a bit empty with just him standing inside. Still, perhaps they could put on their own plays. Aziraphale would love that.

He hadn’t tried to replicate the Bentley, or the bookshop. That felt disrespectful, somehow. They’d have to find new things to love.

He looked upon his work, and saw that it was good. For a first attempt, anyway. He unfused.

Crowley brushed himself down. He took Aziraphale’s hand.

“Nice one with the restaurant,” he said.

Aziraphale smiled shyly. “I thought that one was you.”

“Probably both of us. We’ve got to eat somewhere, right?”

Aziraphale chuckled. He bumped shoulders with Crowley.

“I remember that was the night I persuaded you to try food.”

“Mmm. Oysters. Not exactly beginner’s fare.”

“Oh, but you have opinions on that, now.”

“‘Course I do. You’ve been a good influence on me.”

“And you on me,” Aziraphale said, softly.

The air seemed to shimmer. The pink-red sun had gone down. They didn’t have to feel the cold, so chose not to. Crowley chose to let Aziraphale slip his arm through his, though.

They walked together along the river. It was like a date - in fact, that’s exactly what it was, Crowley realised. Their first date. Unless you counted all the earlier ones. He decided not to. You only got to have a first date once. He preferred to have it now, when he and Aziraphale were safe and as far from Heaven and Hell as they were ever going to get.

They passed a few more scattered, anachronistic monuments on their way. A café Crowley had been fond of. A tiny painting gallery Aziraphale went to in the seventeen-hundreds. They were all a bit off, a row of sketches slightly smudged. History had blurred in Zadkiel’s mixed-together memories.

“It’ll be more convenient, having them closer together,” Aziraphale ventured.

The air felt a little sombre. They reached the edge of the park and stopped.

This was as far as Zadkiel had made. The park stopped dead along a straight edge. Lawns and flowers came to a halt as if burned away by an electric fence from that point onward. Even the river stopped there, bisected by a straight line in the dirt. Water gurgled merrily along and disappeared into a plane of rock and marshland.

They stared off into the unknown wastes. The land beyond seemed bleak, inhospitable. But realer.

The little garden they’d created sat behind them. It seemed like a dreamland, then. Something for children who refused to grow up.

The first raindrops fell.

Crowley shivered as trickles of water dampened his hair and clothes. Beside him came the sound of wings unfolding. A feathery canopy of white covered his head.

He smiled at Aziraphale. His heart squeezed with tenderness.

It didn’t matter that they’d never get it completely right. That the Earth would burn, and nothing would remain except these imperfect facsimiles they’d conjured up out here. He had Aziraphale, and Aziraphale loved him, and Aziraphale would always shelter him from rainfall. They could wander this empty world, the two of them. Maybe nobody had to get kicked out of Eden this time. They could do things right.

He shifted closer, into the angel’s warmth.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Aziraphale said.

His gaze was heavy with affection. Crowley grinned dopily at him.

“You won’t find a penny ’round here,” he said.

Aziraphale leaned in. Crowley felt his breath on his face, warm and sweet. His hand raised to Crowley’s cheek, hovering, not quite a caress. Crowley swayed, blinking slowly, punch-drunk with love.

Aziraphale whispered: “Magic.”

He pulled his hand back with a flourish. There was a coin in it.

Crowley’s face went through an entire journey. He didn’t trust himself to speak.

“That was never anywhere near my ear,” he said at last.

~*~

It was still raining half an hour later, so they wandered back to the cottage.

It was tucked behind some trees, slightly apart from the rest of the buildings haphazardly crammed into St James’s Park. It was the only new thing Zadkiel had made. It wasn’t any place Aziraphale or Crowley had been, but it felt familiar, all the same.

It had an immaculate garden at the front, with a winding path through arrays of verdant plants. They all shook with terror as Crowley passed by. He shot them all a look, but went no further in Aziraphale’s presence.

The little porch was a riot of tasteful clutter. Aziraphale beamed at it. Then he frowned.

“It’s a bit… monochromatic, isn’t it?”

Crowley saw what he meant. The front of the cottage was all rustic Olde Worlde charm, except that it was, incongruously, jet black. The front steps had a hint of a marble sheen.

Aziraphale pushed open the front door (black, with an enormous gilt knocker). He entered the hall and gave a snort of laughter.

Crowley peered around him. This was more his speed - a high-ceilinged vault of a hallway. Hunks of black marble and flashes of gold leaf. Except…

“Tartan?”

It was hard to tell at first glance, but dark overlapping strands of varying shades coloured every surface, forming a criss-cross pattern that was, indeed, tartan.

“I think this cottage might be a fusion,” Aziraphale said, beaming.

“It’s ugly as sin,” Crowley said.

“I suspect we weren’t winning any beauty contests the first few times we did it.”

“Well, it’s hard to do anything with grey. It took us a while to get our sense of style.”

They wandered further in. The passage opened up into a wide, stone living room with a deep fireplace.

Crowley brightened. “That’s more like it.”

He raised his good hand to snap his fingers. Aziraphale grabbed it in the nick of time. They stared at each other. Crowley’s stomach plunged.

“Oops. Forgot,” he said, croakily.

Aziraphale said nothing. He didn’t need to. He dropped Crowley’s hand and straightened up.

“We’d better get into the habit of doing things the human way,” he said, briskly, and strode over to the fireplace.

This, at least, was pretty good entertainment. Crowley watched Aziraphale struggle with logs and tinder and get closer and closer to swearing. Finally, he stood up, pink in the face.

“Never mind. Fuse.”

Zadkiel made quick work of the fire. He snapped his fingers again, and a deep rug spread out in front of it. He settled onto it with a deep, contented sigh.

He snapped again for a glass of wine.

He whiled away an hour, enjoying his own company. He sipped the wine slowly, until about the halfway mark, when he began throwing it back. This was a trait Crowley and Aziraphale shared. He snapped for another one, and things got a little silly. He ended up giggling at one of his own jokes and spilling wine on himself. He banished the stain (he’d hear no end of it from Aziraphale if he didn’t), and sat up, scrubbing his hands through his own hair.

He fingered the ends, considering. He concentrated, and his hair grew a few inches, both downward and outward. He nodded approvingly. Shoulder-length was a good look on both him and Crowley.

He should spend the week together. Get everything set up, just right. Do all the miracles in one big batch, rather than have to keep popping in and out of fusion because they’d run out of milk or something. He’d never had the opportunity to stay fused for this long, come to that. To luxuriate in it. It had always been a furtive thing. Moments snatched every few years. Sips of water spread too thin amid long stretches of thirst. Of want.

He shook, slightly.

It was both of them. Seventy-eight years of loneliness. It had felt longer than the thousands of years they’d once spent ignoring each other. The seconds dripping like a leaky tap. Counting them all. Assuming it was forever.

He wiped his eyes. It felt like a bad idea to be drunk right now. He jettisoned the alcohol from his bloodstream. It helped a bit, but he didn’t feel much more cheery. He felt like a hug, actually.

He lay down and wrapped his arms around himself.

Nice. But… actually, there were some things that were better done the old-fashioned way.

His body glowed, melted, and flowed back into two.

Crowley blinked. His throat felt tight and a little hot. His arms were around Aziraphale. The angel’s blue eyes were so close Crowley could count the lashes.

“Hey,” Crowley said. His voice wobbled a bit. Blessit.

Aziraphale gave a small hiccup and buried his face in Crowley’s jacket.

Crowley breathed deeply and pressed his face to the top of Aziraphale’s head. His hair was crisply curly. It tickled. It was actually a bit annoying. He managed a smile at that.

They clung to each other for a long time.

Aziraphale moved back by inches. He pulled himself level with Crowley until they were face to face.

Crowley’s heart hammered. Aziraphale’s mouth was a determined line. His eyes brimmed with undefined emotion.

He leaned in and kissed Crowley.

This kiss felt different. It was like the moment before, when Aziraphale gave him that look, coy and heavy with intent. It bowled Crowley over. He found himself pushed onto his back, and he caught his breath in little gasps between kisses as Aziraphale climbed over him and settled there, hands on Crowley’s face. Crowley gripped his wrist with his one good hand and felt Aziraphale’s pulse hammer against the base of his thumb.

One more time that night, they collapsed together, helpless under their own gravity.

The rain drummed on the roof of the cottage. No-one paid it any attention.

~*~

Crowley lay cocooned in warm blankets. Aziraphale was stroking his newly shoulder-length hair. He was definitely keeping it this way.

He felt a little stunned. Good stunned, that was. His brain hadn’t fully cranked back up yet. He was in no hurry for it to come back.

The fire had burned down to its embers. Crowley watched the coals simmer, no longer urgent with heat. Aziraphale watched the light flicker in Crowley’s eyes.

Crowley felt his eyelids sink. Aziraphale’s fingers combed over his scalp. He really could stay here for a week. They could keep doing that until they drove the Earth’s fate from their minds.

Aziraphale’s fingers stopped moving. He shifted beneath Crowley. Crowley raised his head sleepily to look at his face. It was wrinkled in thought. There was a little pinch between his eyes.

Aziraphale sighed, more with his body than breath.

“Crowley?”

Crowley waited for the thought to come out.

“I think we have to go back.”

There was silence.

The words dropped through the centre of the cottage, filling the room right into every corner. Crowley let them fill his bones and ring the bell of his heart.

He pulled himself up. He adjusted the blanket around himself and stared down at Aziraphale.

“Yeah,” he said at last.

His conscience had paced all day inside the locked room he’d stuffed it into. The more Crowley hummed and tapped his foot to drown it out, the louder it grew.

Now that Aziraphale had said, with such calm certainty, the truth, that they couldn’t abandon the Earth, they couldn’t, it was theirs -

Crowley knew what they had to do.

They had to save their home.

---

(Link to next part)