#Since they did say cursed people can't affect each other apparently

[bunnimy]

Sometimes I wish there had been more development on modern magic in mystreet. It would've been great to learn more about meif'wa, witches, magical species as a whole, etc and how it's all adapted in a modern world

[gilbirda]

Can't help falling in love (with you) Chp.4

Jazz/Jason (Anger Management). DP x Batman crossover.

Based on this post

When a ghost does shenanigans, Jazz usually stays out of the trouble, since that's her brother's thing. This time? This time trouble found her in the form of a ghost that marries her to the Red Hood against her will.

For DPxDC Week!

Day 5: A royal problem.

[Read on AO3][Read on FF.net]

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Chapter 4: Shot through the heart (and you are to blame)

Curse or no curse, Jason wasn’t mad about being married to that woman.

He never wanted to get married, or do the whole romance thing in general. Never saw the need to be with someone else, or subject someone to the mess of a person he was - he was self aware enough to know he wasn’t exactly that good of a life partner.

This Jasmine chick seemed nice and overall badass, she didn’t need someone like him in her life.

That being said, he wouldn’t mind knowing her more.

Man! Whatever Danny did to him was doing wonders to his mind! He had stopped feeling the urge to agree to anything she said and stopped feeling like the world spun around her.

He still felt a bit of awe, an infatuation, as she geared up with a calm demeanor that told of years doing the same dance over and over again. Consider it some kind of kinship with his way of life - she wasn’t a vigilante, but apparently a ghost hunter, and that was close enough.

It was like seeing someone with the same outfit, or the same haircut; a sense of solidarity in their lifestyle that inevitably made him feel closer than a civilian. He had never had a moment where he saw someone and thought, ‘yeah, this person could get me’, until now.

That’s why he wanted to follow her. He wanted to see her in her own turf, see her fight once again, and get that rush he got at the mall earlier in the day. Also, they made a great team.

“Go.” Right. Bruce was still there, watching him. Creepy old man. “I’ll look for the other affected people, you follow the siblings.”

“Are you trusting me to go alone?”

Batman actually smiled. “Apparently, the safest place for you right now is at her side.”

Jason lifted an eyebrow. “Really?”

“She seems nice.”

“You only say that because she called you out.”

“What can I say? She impressed me.” They looked at each other for a few moments. “Once the situation is dealt with please take them both to the Cave. We need to know more about these ghosts.”

Red Hood groaned. Bruce was behaving but the paranoia was showing - not that he disagreed with him, since suddenly accepting that not only ghosts were a thing (as in, actual villains that did magic tricks) but that the mysterious meta that’s been messing with the Bats was actually just a kid; well, that was too much in too little time.

Huh.

And that he may or may not be married to a stranger. That too.

The others couldn’t know about this.

“Alright.” He walked up to the window, grappling gun in hand. “I’ll keep my comms open, yes.” He added before Bruce could say the reminder.

The older man smiled, the facial expression a bit out of place in the cowl, but it was genuine. “Take care.”

“Always do.”

With that, he jumped out and grappled to a nearby rooftop, setting his path in the direction he felt the pull in his chest. It wasn’t like the Pit, at least not the same sensation. It was akin in nature but not… prickly? Not aggressive, just a beacon of light that was impossible to miss.

The same with the Pit inside of him. It was quieter, gentler, a constant pressure in the back of his mind, but that wasn’t trying to take over his every thought. He was starting to understand that he really, really had been very fucked up.

Everything was so clear now, so defined, and colorful. It was like coming up for air after being underwater for too long.

He owed Danny a big one.

Soon he heard the roaring engine of Jazz’s bike and adjusted his course to follow it, finding her speeding into the night, her turns sharp and precise, with a clear destination. It wasn’t hard to determine where she was going, actually, since sounds of the fight were getting louder as well.

There it was, the floating figure of the meta - or ghost, as he now stood corrected - flying around what Jason assumed was the ghost that was behind all the mess.

He landed about at the same time Jazz drifted into a stop and turned off the engine, quickly taking off the helmet, eyes fixed on the ghost fight going on.

“Oh, hello!” Danny flew past them, coming back into the fray. He dodged some rays that came out of nowhere and shot back another green blast of his own.

“What is he actually fighting?”

Jazz glanced at him and sighed. She took his hand and-

Oh. Oh.

What he initially thought was a green weird vortex was actually shaped like a person, and someone he actually recognized.

“Is that fucking Elvis Presley?”

Jazz laughed, letting go of his hand. Whatever she did made him able to properly see the ghost on his own, see how Elvis strung his guitar and somehow the notes became tangible and were very, very sharp.

He jumped out of the way of one of the notes.

“The fuck?”

“Welcome to my world,” she said with a little smirk. “And that’s not actually Elvis - apparently is an Elvis impersonator, the kind that marries people in Vegas.”

Okay, that was making some sense. It didn’t explain why the fuck a ghost could just… do that kind of stuff.

“Why-”

“If you don’t mind, Q&A can happen later.” Her smile turned nervous as they heard Danny scream and be knocked to the ground.

Jason could only agree. That fall seemed to hurt. In any case, Danny stood up in less than a second, blasting more of those green rays.

Jazz jumped in this time, screaming at her brother and asking him what he needed. Too slippery, Danny explained. If he tried to get closer to get a proper punch Elvis would just sing a song and knock him back.

“I need a distraction.”

“I can do that.” Jasmine nodded. “Lead the way, Danny-o.”

“I hate that so much.”

The siblings rushed to where the ghost was floating, amused with the interaction, and watching - he was watching Jason. The fucking guy knew about him and Jazz and thought that the whole thing was amusing.

“Eat this!” Jazz screamed as she started shooting, making a nuisance of herself and impossible to ignore.

She ran up to where not-Elvis was waiting for her, her shots not meant to hit the ghost but the floating notes surrounding him, knocking them away from the defense barrier. Danny jumped in once he saw his chance, hand ready to grab the ghost-

Elvis laughed, took a breath and opened his mouth. “At last~!”

The blast pushed the Fenton siblings back, Danny just barely in time to catch Jazz before she hit the ground.

“-my love has come along~”

Was that…?

“My lonely days are over and life is like a song~”

Etta James? Was the Elvis ghost seriously singing that?

Jason looked at where Jazz was wincing and trying to cover her ears. Right, his mouthpiece went over the ears and muffled some of the sound, so he wasn’t as affected. Danny was worse, barely able to stand up with the noise - Phantom had sensitive ears, they’ve come to learn in their investigation of what they thought was a metahuman.

He needed to help them.

Quickly, he ran to where Jazz was struggling to aim her gun with the horrible noise, and opened her left holster to steal one of her guns.

“Consider this payback!” he shouted at her, but she probably couldn’t hear him or read his lips with the mask in the way.

“My heart was wrapped up in clover~” Jason aimed at the ghost’s chest, not sure if it would actually work. “-the night I looked at-”

He took the shot. One, two, three times. The guns were different from what he was used to, but familiar enough to not skew his aim too much. It was more like a laser gun from a sci-fi TV series - but it did real damage.

Elvis screamed and grunted, knocked back a little by the shot. At least he stopped singing.

“Thanks,” Jazz breathed in relief. “You can keep that, for now.” She nodded at the weird ray gun in his hand.

He rolled his eyes at her words, not giving her the satisfaction at the call back to the mall fight, and nodded at her.

“Any pointers I need?”

“They heat up a little more than a normal gun, so space out the shots. No need to reload, or anything like that,” she glanced nervously at Danny, who recovered quickly and started blasting the ghost. “We don’t need to kill him, just tire him enough so he stays still for capture.”

“Got it.”

“And don’t stay in the same place too long - even if your core is not fully developed, ecto blasts will probably hurt you.”

That was something he wanted to follow up on later, but let it go for now. “Understood.”

Jazz breathed in, breathed out. “And don’t die.”

This made him chuckle. “Never try to.”

She rolled her eyes. “Could have fooled me.”

Before he could continue the banter, Jazz tensed and jumped back. Right where she had been standing a stray green blast hit the ground.

“DANNY.” She screamed in the general direction of the fight.

“Sorry~” The halfa singsonged as he flew by, dodging more of those music notes with ease. “It’s not my fault that you lovebirds chose this moment to-”

“Shield!”

He didn’t hesitate - Danny obeyed his sister and put up a green shield without looking, just in time to block incoming attacks that would have hit them all.

It was obvious that these two had fought together before. A team. There was an underlying trust between them, in the way that as soon as the attack stopped, Jazz jumped into action and slid from under the fading shield, guns at the ready.

Elvis didn’t expect that, eating a few blasts in the face.

“Why!?” He screamed. “Why are you guys getting in the way of love~!”

This time they were ready when the sonic blast hit - Jason knew when his turn was due, standing up and shooting at the ghost in the chest, now a bit more familiar with what he had to do with the gun.

“Not bad, sweetheart.” Jazz patted him in the arm and took a few shots of her own.

Danny lunged again, closing the distance with the ghost, arms ready to grab him and make him stand still. Elvis growled, strumming his acoustic guitar once again; but instead of notes, what appeared were staves, the five lines where usually the notes were placed in a music sheet.

The lines approached Danny faster than he could dodge them all, grabbing him by the arms and legs.

“Oh, no, I’m definitely not into that shit!”

He transformed his legs into a tail and managed to get it free, but the arms stayed tangled in the magical ghostly lines.

“Distract him.” Jazz gave Jason her gun and withdrew one of the knives she had on her vest, making a run for her brother.

Alright. He can be a nuisance.

Jason quickly grappled away into a more advantageous position where he had a clear sight of the ghost from behind. He aimed and shot, ready for the glare and the strumming of the guitar, for the sharp music notes and the strings of staves coming after him.

He jumped away, flipping and missing the attacks by inches, not having time to stop between the onslaughts. Ghosts didn’t tire of get out of breath, it seemed, because pretty quickly he had to make a jump and seek solace behind some brick structure on the rooftop only so he could take a breather.

“What the-”

One of the guns was making a beeping sound, the green light (leds?) on the side blinking slowly. It didn’t look good. He had to go back and ask Jazz what was wrong with it.

He took a peek and the ghost Elvis’ attention was back on the siblings, Danny now free and flying circles around the enemy, looking for a chance to strike that wasn’t reflected by a magical music note or parried with the guitar.

Jason carefully grappled back to the ground, seamlessly landing next to where Jazz was running behind the flying ghosts down the road.

“Hey, wanna switch?”

She glanced at him, doing a double take once she saw the beeping gun. “Throw that!”

He didn’t need to be told twice - without breaking his stride he hurled the thing as far as he could, in the direction of the fight, and watched as she threw her knife at it.

The explosion was bright, and loud, and now her wide eyes and panicked tone made sense. It also made sense why she carried so many guns.

“What-”

“Q&A later!”

Right. The fight.

Jason stopped just for a moment to pick up her knife, which got stuck on the concrete road, and followed her and the sounds of that horrible singing.

Soon it was obvious that the ghost wouldn’t stop and he was only playing with them, tiring them. Running around and shooting or throwing stuff at him didn’t get them anywhere, and Danny was being tossed to walls more easily, and recuperating a bit slower.

Jazz seemed to get to the same conclusion. She helped her brother up from the small crater he created when he landed after the latest sonic blast, telling him something via facial and hand gestures that Jason couldn’t follow.

Danny frowned but nodded, and was up in the air again.

“Hey.” She said once she turned to look at him, grabbing his hand and tugging on it. “Can you get me to that rooftop?”

He looked at where she was pointing and nodded. No sweat. He had done higher than that.

“Hop on, princess.”

She huffed but walked into his awaiting arms, looping her arms around his neck, and didn’t comment on the pet name or how his grip on her waist was a bit firmer than was necessary.

Even with the added weight his grapple gun could make the trip up to where she asked him to, and soon they were running to the other side of the roof and towards where Danny had cornered the ghost in a nearby alley.

“It’s over, dude. Surrender.”

Elvis stopped, carefully strumming some chords in his guitar, considering. If he knew they were watching from the roof, he didn’t show it.

“You can’t stop me, you can’t stop my work.”

“Dude, you are marrying complete strangers without their consent. That’s not cool at all.”

Jason watched as Jasmine quietly unlooped the giant rifle she still had on her back, kneeling so she could start preparing it. Was she going to use it? Part of him was excited, he was curious to see what kind of damage it could do, and why she had called it “Moral Support” - the name was badass as hell.

“They are not strangers, they have potential!” Elvis did a riff on his guitar, making a point. “They will have enough time to get to know each other! That’s what love is for!”

Jason winced. That was not how love worked, not that he had a lot of experience, but he had been painfully aware of every one of his brother’s and Bruce’s failed relationships.

(And his parents’.)

Just as quietly as she was assembling the gun, Jazz scoffed. She apparently shared his opinion.

Good.

Not that it was important, since they would not be married anymore after they caught the ghost.

(What a shame. This was fun. She was fun.)

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t agree, young King,” Jazz jumped and looked up from her work, eyes wild, “because what I started cannot be stopped. I cannot be stopped! I am cupid, the love god, and is my duty to-”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Get in the thermos.”

“Didn’t you hear? I am the love god!”

“And I’m Danny Phantom, now get in the thermos!”

Jazz rolled her eyes, the weapon in her hands now properly assembled once she pushed a button. It made a noise like it was charging up and she placed down on the floor, getting down in position. Jason couldn’t stop noticing how comfortable she looked, prone on the rooftop, with what he could guess was some kind of sniper rifle in her hands, waiting for her shot.

She had done this before. And she looked gorgeous.

A scream brought him out from his musings and he looked away from the sniping goddess to find the retreating figure of the Elvis ghost flying away faster than how he had flown as they fought him. Danny quickly followed, trying to slow him down.

He looked at Jazz again, how she tensed and relaxed, how she controlled her breathing and put her finger on the trigger.

“Stop breathing.”

It took a second to realize she was talking to him. He obeyed, holding his breath, waiting to see if she could make the shot. They were getting away, and fast, and whatever that big ass gun did couldn’t be good if she hit her brother by accident. It showed the amount of trust between them-

Jazz whistled, the piercing sound loud on his ears, and Danny moved away just in time to avoid the brightest laser Jason had ever seen. It was big, it made a noise like a firework as it soared through the sky, hitting the ghost right in his chest before he could make a shield or use his guitar to stop it.

Elvis trembled in the air as if shocked by a taser for a few seconds, his form flickering, unstable, before plummeting to the ground.

Jazz breathed in relief and stood back up.

“Good shot,” he couldn’t help but say. That was impressive. “That shit must have a recoil like crazy.”

“It really does,” she rolled her shoulder, “and it can only take one shot before having to recharge for a day. But it’s worth it.”

Just one shot, huh.

“What does it do?”

She made a face, quickly picking up the rifle and undoing her previous work. “It destabilized a ghost’s core. Momentarily.”

That didn’t sound good. It sounded dangerous, and by her somber expression, it was painful and cruel.

But it was the only thing that stopped that ghost.

“You did well.”

She looked at him funny, like she didn’t expect supporting words. “I know. Let’s go.”

Jazz looped the strap of the gun around her neck again and jumped into his arms without prompting. It felt good, natural, to have her close. Her touch was cold even through the layers of the suit, but it wasn’t uncomfortable; and the way her body perfectly fit with his, like it was meant to be there, was… nice.

Maybe it was the curse speaking, but that didn’t mean he didn’t like it.

In any case, he had to shelve those thoughts until he could unpack that underlying attraction, and maybe check if she was okay with it?

He quickly grappled them to where he saw the ghost fall, gently letting her down, and smiling when she said a quiet “thank you”, even if she couldn’t see it.

They found Danny smugly standing next to a green dome with the Elvis ghost sitting in it, defeated. His arms crossed over his chest and his lips in a pout, and his guitar broken at his side. However, his face lit up when he saw them land together.

“Oh, yes, my greatest match!”

Jazz didn’t find it funny. She immediately pointed a gun at the ghost.

“Undo it.”

He laughed. “I can’t.”

“Can’t or won’t?” She placed her finger on the trigger. Jason appreciated the enthusiasm, but he wasn’t sure if the shot would bounce on the green shield.

Elvis chuckled, and stood - flew? Floated? - to an upwards position.

“Honey, a royal bond cannot be broken that easily.”

She froze. “A what?”

The ghost sighed, clasping his hands together with a wistful expression. “What was my surprise when I saw you two together at the mall. My greatest work! The Princess and a Knight, a match made in heaven.”

Jason saw the moment Jazz’s mind disconnected. He wasn’t following what was going on that well, but by Danny’s sudden ashen expression and how he tried to sneakily step away from his sister’s field of vision, he assumed something was up.

“You guys even did the rope ceremony on your own! It was destiny, I tell you. Destiny.” He turned to look at Jason now, his red eyes piercing. “The moment I saw you fight together I knew this would be my magnum opus.”

“Danny? What is he talking about?” She lowered her gun, but Danny froze like she was pointing it at him. “Princess? Royal bond?”

“Uh… I may have- I mean, I was gonna tell you when I visited, I promise, but stuff came up and then-”

“Danny.”

“I may have, uh, I am the Ghost King now?” He smiled nervously.

Jazz wasn’t smiling back.

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[searxws]

WAITING, IN THE SKY ✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚ pt 2!

pt.1

pairing: jason carver x reader

summary: after seeing y/n almost die because of vecna, jason decides to help the group of teens defeat the demon. however, what turn of events will thiis cause?

warnings: lowercase intended. as per usual chrissy never dated jason in this fic bc idk how to write that and jason isn't an ass in this and can actually let people speak.

word count: 1.1k

"what the hell is he doing here." said an angry eddie, who was sheltered under skull rock.

"he's here to help." said dustin. "it happened to y/n and he saw. he's been helping us since yesterday morning." he finished, trying to sway eddie, to make him understand.

meanwhile, jason and y/n stood off to the side. her head was buried in his chest and his arms were encasing her protectively. his chin rested on her head that was positioned so she was able to see eddie and everyone else. nancy handed eddie some food and water.

the night before they'd visited the creel house, finding out some hard news. nobody in the group was exactly sure how to tell eddie. earlier that morning they'd found out patrick had also been cursed by vecna and had unfortunately died. jason had been beyond devastated that he wasn't there for his friend, so now he and y/n were mutually comforting each other.

"when i got to the shore i tried calling you guys, but uh.. my walkie was busted." said eddie, taking a drink from the canteen of water. "so i did the thing that i do now apparently! i ran." he commented with malice in his tone.

"do you know what time this was? the attack." said nancy, as dustin branched off from the group.

"i know the exact time actually, my walkie wasn't the only thing that got soaked." he confirmed, tossing his watch to y/n.

"9:27." she spoke.

"same time our flashlights went out." said jason.

"which means what exactly?" questioned steve.

"that surge of energy.. was vecna attacking patrick." y/n answered, feeling sorrowful for bringing it up in front of jason again.

"well.. we're one step closer. we know how vecna attacks." said robin, trying to bring up the mood a bit.

"and where he attacks from." lucas added.

"so, now we just need to sneak into his lair in the upside down and drive a stake through his heart." max planned.

"if he even has one." jason said. he out of everyone in the group was affected most by the deaths. first one of his friends, then another, and now the girl he loved? no way would he let vecna get away with that.

"a stake, is he like a vamp- is he a vampire?" said steve, becoming progressively more scared.

"it was a metaphor." max said, her tone calling him a dumbass.

"a bullet should work on him, right?" eddie questioned.

"lets chop his head off." said lucas and y/n simultaneously. the pair looked at each other, their eyes saying "smart."

"all of the above. but we can't do any of that until we find a way into the upside down." nancy said. everyone was immediately stressed.

"we need el to get her powers back." said y/n referencing the girl who was like her sister.

"yeah, everything was so much easier when we had her. we knew this girl, she had like-" steve got cut off.

"super powers, yeah you mentioned her." said jason. eddie had been thinking the same thing.

"hey, hendersons not uh, cursed right?" eddie said, referencing the boy who was pacing back and forth and muttering under his breath.

"no hes not cursed. mental? absolutely." steve said.

"BOOOOOM!" dustin screamed, startling everyone else in the group. "bada bada boom.....i was RIGHT! skull rock was north." he said. y/n and jason couldn't believe he was still on this, there were more important matters at hand.

"seriously? this is skull rock! okay? you're 100% wrong." steve yelled at dustin.

"yes, and no. this compass worked correctly when we left the wheelers. it was correct when we got in the car on curly. but it started to slip the further east we went... now it's way off. when i was leading us here, i wasn't wrong the compass was." dustin said in monologue form.

"you're using faulty equipment. you're still wrong." said jason, becoming annoyed with the boy.

"except it isn't faulty. lucas you remember what can affect a compass?" dustin questioned.

"an electromagnetic field." he said, coming to a realization.

"yep. in the presence of a stronger electromagnetic field, the needle will deflect towards that power." as soon as dustin said that, nancy, max, and y/n realized what he was onto.

"so either there's so super big magnet around here or.. there's a gate." y/n finished for dustin.

"but that doesn't make sense? we're nowhere near the lab." nancy questioned.

"but what if, somehow theres another gate. one that we don't know about. it'd be way less powerful." dustin said.

"how- why?" steve asked.

"no idea. all i know is something is causing this disturbance, and the last time we've seen something like it, it was a gate. and i really hope it is because then we'd have a chance at freeing max and y/n from this curse." dustin said, proceeding to walk off and back down the hill.

"where are you going? last time i checked eddie is still a wanted man? we can't just go for a hike in the woods dude." said jason.

"this little steel capsule might be a way to save max, y/n, and eddie." dustin said, emphasizing the and.

"what say you, eddie the banished?" dustin asked.

"i say you're asking me to follow you into mordor, which if i'm totally straight with you, i think is a really bad idea. but the shire is burning, so mordor it is." eddie said. his seeming DnD reference caused dustin to jump up and down happily like a little girl.

with that, their group began descending back to earth from skull rock. jason and y/n held hands the entire time, sticking behind most of the group, only lucas and max remained behind them.

"so, y/n listen.." jason said, grabbing y/n's attention.

"i was thinking, maybe when all of this is over.. i could take you out? like, on a date." jason said, anyone in their right mind could see that he was nervous.

"really? you'd actually want to?" y/n questioned. she'd always wanted to be with jason, so you really couldn't blame her for being suprised.

"yeah? i mean, i guess i've always really liked you, you know? like, romantically." he said.

"well.. then yes, jason. i'd love to go out with you." y/n said. her words made jason's face light up, and for the rest of the walk, they made their plans. they'd meet on friday and go to a small diner at the edge of hawkins. jason would pick her up at 7. the pair was beyond excited, but for now, they had to fight some demons.

yayyyy! part twoo! i hope you guys enjoy, please feel free (as always) to send questions and comments in my questions box!

(reblogs and comments are appriciated! <3)

[cloverwritessometimes]

BTS Fairytale Collection

Welcome to the BTS Fairytale Collection, a collection of fics inspired by fairytales and written by me! So get ready for magic, princes and a whole lotta fluff as 7 boys all chase their happily ever after.

Title: Love at First Sight Pairing: Jin x Reader Fairytale: Rapunzel

Synopsis: Cursed with the ability to make anyone fall in love with her at a glance, Princess y/n is locked away in a castle in fears of her causing another riot due to people vying for her affections. But when years later a handsome thief scales her tower and is seemingly immune to her curse y/n might just have to learn that true love doesn't occur at first sight.

Coming soon

Title: Skin Deep Pairing: Yoongi x Reader Fairytale: Snow White

Synopsis: Yoongi has been in love with y/n since they were kids but they're not meant to be because she's a princess and he's a huntsman. But despite this he still loves her. That's why he's so upset when he hears she's met a handsome prince. That's why he sends her away into the forest when he's supposed to kill her. That's why he's currently riding into the palace with plans to kill the Queen for poisoning his princess. Because love makes you do stupid things.

Coming soon

Title: A Diamond in the Rough Pairing: Hoseok x Reader Fairytale: Aladdin

Synopsis: In fairness, the plan wasn't simple: sneak into the palace and take a magic lamp but Hoseok didn't think it would go this wrong. Now he's playing pretend as a suitor to the princess. The princess in question hasn't met a single suitor she likes and she's starting to lose hope until she meets a suitor who seems to want to be there even less than she does. Now with a friendship with the princess formed the rest of the plan should be smooth sailing... but the course of true love never did run smooth.

Coming soon

Title: The Beast Within Pairing: Namjoon x Reader Fairytale: Beauty and the Beast

Synopsis: y/n frankly found it ridiculous that they had to do these ridiculous lockdowns every full moon just because there was one werewolf attack a couple of years ago. Until there's another attack and y/n is accused of being the wolf! Exiled until the wolf is confirmed to not be her, y/n luckily is offered refuge by a kind man living in a palace of all places. However as time goes on y/n begins to notice things she can't quite explain about the man... one of them being why her heart beats so fast when he's around.

Coming soon

Title: 00:00 Pairing: Jimin x Reader Fairytale: Cinderella

Synopsis: Y/n couldn't work out what she had done wrong. She was loud, overtly honest, and an awful dancer at last night's ball, all while disguised as the princess while the real princess went out and explored the village. And yet apparently the prince wanted to meet with her again. Prince Jimin is exasperated, to say the least. He finally thought he met the girl of his dreams at the ball and yet when they meet again she's nothing like the woman he met that night, to the point where Jimin's questioning if he even has the right girl. Meanwhile, there's also the Princesses ladies maid whose smile makes his heart melt and who is oddly familiar to him for some reason...

Coming soon

Title: Metamorphosis Pairing: Taehyung x Reader Fairytale: The Frog Princes

Synopsis: Duchess y/n has always despised Prince Taehyung. He's rude, outrageously arrogant, and seems hellbent on making her life miserable. This is why when he shows up in her room one night small, green and slimy y/n laughs and turns him away. However, when a Taehyung lookalike begins parading around the palace y/n and Taehyung are going to have to work together to unearth this mystery and maybe learn a thing or two about each other on the way.

Coming soon

Title: Fathoms Below Pairing: Jungkook x Reader Fairytale: The Little Mermaid

Synopsis: Prince Jungkook has been obsessed with the ocean ever since he was a boy and saw a young mermaid so you can only imagine Jungkook's delight when his father captures and gifts him a real-life mermaid for his birthday. However, Jungkook quickly learns she doesn't speak but this doesn't stop him from slowly falling for the pretty mermaid girl who might teach him the hardest lesson about love: When you love something, you let it go.

Coming soon

[tardytothepardy]

Fruits Basket - Vol 17

I am,,, confused. Thoroughly. Did I read this too fast? Am I misunderstanding? This book felt like a series of "What? Huh? What? Huh? What? Whuhh?? Huhhhhh?????" and I am kinda bewildered.

So let's talk about it,,, somehow.

It starts with Shigure and Hatori talking about Akito's meltdown at New Year's, and how apparently Shigure tried to comfort Akito, but Akito was having none of it. The topic of Kureno came up, and how he just seems off, disconnected, in a sense, and also how Akito seems to have chosen Kureno above all the other Juunishi.

Panning over to Kureno, in the previous book Momiji gave him the CD of the play, "Sorta Cinderella". He seemed pretty affected by the things that Uotani said, but they also reminded him of moments with Akito, when he was younger. He calls Shigure later, asking for Tohru, which Shigure finds odd. What business would the two of them have? But it turns out that later, Tohru does run into Kureno, on her way to the store. She was squatting next to a bunch of birds, and when he showed up, they flew away. This is important at all, because that isn't what usually happens to the animals that the Juunishi share a spirit with (agh how to phrase things), in fact it's the opposite. Tohru asks Kureno about this, and then he solidifies any questions by hugging her and,,,, nothing happens. Somehow, he isn't affected by the curse. It has no hold on him, he won't turn into a bird (I suppose a rooster, specifically, which is kinda sad bc I was looking forward to that, in a little way. It'd be funny, if nothing else) if he gets really weak or sick, or if he hugs someone of the opposite sex.

Tohru asks him how this happened, and when, but Kureno doesn't really know. It happened randomly one day, a while back, but he has no idea was triggered it. It's just that, one day, he was vibin, doing his thing, and it just happened. No one else in the family knows, he's just been pretending that he's still a Juunishi. Kureno also said that he can't be with Uotani, that the CD was a wasted attempt, because he's promised to be with and take care of another person, that person being Akito. Kureno makes it clear, though, that he still does care for Uotani, but he just can't be with her. This whole time, it's been switching between the current interaction between Kureno and Tohru, and flashing back to when Kureno first realized that the curse broke for him, and Akito was just fucking losing his mind, screaming and shit. He begged for Kureno to stay, regardless of the curse (btw, at this point, Kureno's a teenager, and Akito's still a little kid, so it was a little while ago), and Kureno said that he would promise to stay with Akito, stay by his side, pretend that he's still a Juunishi, etc.

And then, at the end of the chapter, something is revealed: apparently Akito's a girl. To be honest, I'm not really sure what to do with this information. As far as I can remember, it doesn't really have much to do with anything. Why has he (she? fuck. I have no idea.) been presenting as a boy this whole time? Because his mom forced him, since he was born. Why did she do that? I don't know, it didn't say in this book. Hopefully it fucking clarifies later on, because I'm just getting vibes from that one Insidious movie, with that ghost/demon person. Wasn't that their deal? Something like that. Reversed, but something like that. Idk, I was too busy being scared shitless to think about the intricacies of the plot.

Anyway, so Akito's apparently a girl, but has been raised as a boy. Four of the Juunishi know this: Shigure, Hatori, Ayame, and Kureno, because they were all kids when Akito was born. Apparently, when Akito's mom (her name is Ren) was pregnant with Akito, they all came to her and were crying and shit, acting super weird. Like, they all just knew that Akito would be the God.

As a fun side note, Ren and Akito fucking hate each other. Just,, so much. Is there a person in the Sohma family that doesn't have familial issues, because it just seems like there are a lot of people who do. I think maybe Kagura doesn't? I haven't seen anything saying she has issues. Nothing much has been said about Shigure's, Hatori's, or Kureno's families, so maybe they're okay? I dunno, but one of the things that specifically shows up between Ren and Akito, is that Ren does not believe in the "bond" that Akito and the rest of the Juunishi have, saying that it's a fake love, that, if given the choice, the Juunishi would not behave or treat Akito the way they do, which is kinda true. From what I read about when Yuki first met Akito, there were a lot of conflicting feelings, ranging from "I hate you but also I never want to be away from you" to "This is hell on earth just being near this person but also to be away from this person is agony", and like, whoa. That's a lot. I doubt it's like that at all anymore, but there has been some mentions that Akito does have some higher hold on the Juunishi than other people do.

All this said and done, I still want to know more. I am heavily curious. I'd like to know more about Akito's whole situation. I'm glad he's not just a one-dimensional "bad guy", but dang, some of this stuff, it just feels like it's coming out of left field. (Is that a baseball thing? That sounds like a baseball thing. Idioms are weird.)

By the time that Kureno leaves, Tohru's a wreck. She's crying, and confused, and just,,, yikes. (I kinda was too, but just the confused part.) And so who comes to the rescue than Hanajima, and also Hanajima, but the small one. (I realized recently that most of these people are referred to by their first names, except for like, Uotani and Hanajima, which makes sense. A massive swath of these characters would all be "Sohma". It'd be confusing as fuck. But still. Idk) Hanajima felt Tohru's sheer confusion and despair, and Megumi tagged along because why not, y'know?

Hanajima decided that Tohru would stay with her for the night, so that she and Tohru and Uotani could all talk stuff out about what Tohru was upset about. Unfortunately for Shigure, Yuki and possibly Kyo? I don't think he was home at the time but maybe??, that meant that Tohru wasn't making dinner. So Yuki potentially gave Shigure and himself food poisoning, but hey, it's better than takeout, right? (Seriously, Tohru's back must be tired from cooking, cleaning, doing the laundry, and dealing with everyone's emotional baggage, she's doing so much. And she still has her own personal shit that she does, like,,, how hasn't she lost her shit yet??)

Tohru says that Kureno was kind, in that he was looking out for other people's feelings and wellfare before his own, and Hanajima says that she (Tohru) does the same thing (which is what Uotani first saw in Kureno, and why she thought that he was like Tohru), but Hanajima worries that the more that Tohru does that, the more that she carries the worries and troubles of other people, it could end up hurting her. (We love a caring friend that cares) In the end, Uotani tells Tohru that it's okay, that she cares more about the relationships she has now than whatever she might have had with Kureno, which was nice.

Moving onwards, the school is making preparations for graduation! I don't think Tohru and Co. are graduating quite yet (maybe they are idk), but there are these paper flowers that they're making, and for some reason, shenanigans ensue. Like, a group of girls just nabbing a bunch of flowers that Kyo made?? Why? That's really weird of you to do. Stop that. (They were tracked down and forced to make up for all the flowers they stole, because for some reason they wouldn't give back the flowers they stole.) It's kinda weird, I forgot that Kyo is also kinda popular with girls, because usually we only hear from the girls that fawn over Yuki. But yeah, that's a thing for Kyo, as well. Weird, either way.

Now we are at the last chunk of the book, hooray! This isn't as long as the previous one 😬. So, Shigure and Akito got something weird going on. I'm not really sure what to think of it, honestly. Apparently Shigure slept with Ren, and Akito kicked him out of the main house as a punishment, which Shigure did not fight back at all. (wow that was not a large section at all i totally didn't just lose steam and stop right there at all nope not me i don't do that not at all)

I'll admit that part of me is still kinda,, squeamish? I guess? about people in the Sohma household being in relationships, it's just that they all have "Sohma", that is probably messing me up. Idk. It's definitely not a healthy relationship. All kinds of weird tensions and miscommunication abound. It's not a good time.

[orange-waterfalls]

Feelings? No. Never.

Illinois x gender neutral!reader

@edgynoise ty for the request!

A/N: Illinois falling in love and not knowing what to do with it. I loved writing this lol. There's a dog, and I chose a hypoallergenic dog bc... Y'know... Uh, Illinois being big dumb. Real men don't have FEELINGS. Rated T for cursing and hurt pupper. Don't worry, she gets better. Fluffy. Enjoy.

Word Count: 2.1k

--

Illinois was a bit intimidated by you. You two had a lot in common. You both loved adventure, you both were fearless, and you both could be too arrogant at times. The difference was you were more aggressive about it. He wouldn't lie, he got worried when you asked him if he dared you to jump over a pit of snakes.

Another difference was you were softer than him. You loved children and animals, and were very kind and caring. Illinois didn't really like kids and most animals just annoyed him. He wasn't the caring type. You two complimented each other well.

One problem.

Illinois had fallen in love with you.

He wasn't sure when or how it happened, but all he knew was that whenever he saw you playing with a baby or a dog or something like that, he couldn't help smiling.

Illinois had fallen in love before. At least, he was pretty sure he had. It had been a while. But the overwhelming desire to see you happy may have tipped him off a bit.

But he was honestly a bit scared.

Feelings were nothing but trouble. They had no place in his line of work. You risked your lives every day, there was no room for a relationship. Besides, he wasn't the relationship type. He was married to his job! The only thing he loved was adventure! And now, apparently, you. What was he supposed to do with that? Ask you out? No. He couldn't. He wouldn't. He'd get over this soon enough.

Then a week passed. Then two weeks. Then two months. And that mushy, touchy-feely, butterflies-in-your-stomach emotion he felt towards you hadn't faded a bit. In fact, it may have just gotten bigger.

He would sit with you while you did absolutely anything, just wanting to be around you. He would watch you from across the room, adoration visible in his eyes. Whenever he talked to you, love and affection dripped from his voice.

He hated it.

He couldn't control it! His face started heating whenever you touched him, and he started giggling like a schoolgirl when he thought of you. This wasn't like him. He needed to stop. But he wasn't sure how to stop.

And he didn't need to.

You two had discovered some temple ruins and Illinois decided to explore. He had hoped some adventure would take his mind off of things.

As it turns out, going on an adventure with the person you are in love with will not help you get over the person you are in love with.

You decided to walk through town on the way over instead of driving, just because. He thought it was a waste of time, but you wanted to see everything. So, you walked.

While walking you froze as you heard a small whine from an alleyway.

"Illinois," you called so he'd stop. He turned to you.

"What's wrong?" He asked. You didn't answer as you spun towards the alley and went in. Illinois followed you, curious in what you were doing. You slowly stepped through the alley, keeping your ears open, until both of you heard another whine. You rush towards the source of the noise and find a Portuguese Water-Dog puppy. Its fur was black, so you barely saw that its leg was bleeding. You gasped and laid your hand on the pup.

"Aw, Illinois! Look at it!" You said sadly. Illinois rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, great. Drop it at the vet so we can go." You turned to him and frowned. He suddenly felt guilty.

"No! I can't just abandon it! I found it and now it's my responsibility," you claimed. Illinois sighed in annoyance. He didn't even try to argue because he knew he couldn't change your mind.

You lifted up the small pup and cradled it in your arms, shushing it gently. Illinois tried to look annoyed, but his brain decided to make a ton of serotonin in that exact moment and he smiled at you. You two stood for a moment, you cradling the dog, Illinois smiling at you lovingly. You looked up at him and smirked.

"There a problem, Illy?" You chuckled. Illinois snapped out of his trance and widened his eyes at you. He cleared his throat.

"Uh, no. Let's just… let's just go," he said and turned around, walking back to where you came from. You jogged to catch up to him, staring at the puppy in adoration.

"I'm gonna call them… Indiana," you said. Illinois turned to you.

"Really?" He asked, offended. You laughed.

"Yeah, really! It'll be too confusing to name you both Illinois," you explained. He turned away from you, his face flushing.

"Yeah… okay," he mumbled.

--

A couple days after you nursed the puppy back to health, you made Illinois go with you to buy stuff for it. You held his hand as you dragged him around the pet store, holding the puppy in your arms as well. You repeatedly referred to her as your daughter, and told him he was her parent as well. Not to mention, a bunch of people walking around were whispering you two looked cute together.

This was not at all helping with Illinois' feelings for you. He wanted them to leave, not for other people to know about it.

"Y/N can you… not hold my hand and… stop calling me its dad?" He asked, sounding annoyed. Your happy face dropped a bit, but you nodded and let go of his hand. He immediately regretted his decision after 5 minutes of missing your hand in his. You had bought the puppy a collar, a leash, a bed, bowls, food, and a couple of toys. You forced Illinois to pick the toys out, since he was going to be living with the dog too. You wanted him and the pup to get along. He groaned but picked out five, and complained when you told him that was enough. You could tell he was having fun.

You drove the puppy back to you and Illinois' house. You both had thought it made more sense for you to live together, since you started adventuring together.

Yep. That was the only reason, alright.

You set the puppy's bed next to yours and set her on the floor.

"Go on, Indiana!" You urged. The pup wobbled over to the bed, her leg wrapped in bandages. She circled for a minute before laying down on it and soon falling asleep. You stared at her for a while before Illinois tapped you on the shoulder. You turned to him, wondering what he wanted. He held up the newspaper article about the cursed treasure that had originally made you two go on your adventure.

Well, before you found the puppy and forgot about adventure altogether.

You called a doggy daycare so you could drop Indiana off and go on the adventure. You anticipated you'd be away for the entire weekend, so you asked one of your friends to pick her up and drop her off each day. Once they agreed, you and Illinois packed your stuff.

Well, you packed your stuff. Illinois still had his bag from the first time you went.

You two tossed your bags in the backseat and sat in the car, ready for danger.

--

You two had been walking inside the actual ruins for 2 hours. There were so many different pathways you could go, and somehow, none of the ones you chose so far were correct. You had found plenty of rooms with treasure in them, but every time you took one, something went wrong.

First there was a golden statue that he'd replaced with a rock, and a boulder began to chase you both. You ended up back where you started, unhurt but very annoyed.

Then, a golden lamp sitting in the middle of a room. When Illinois grabbed it, the walls started to close in on you two. There wasn't enough time to run out, so you shot your grappling hook at the door and swung your way out. Illinois' hat almost got crushed. It wouldn't have been bad, but he would've complained to you until he eventually bought a new one.

Another memorable one was when the ground closed in under you and you fell into a pit of vipers. Before Illinois could even ask if you were ok, you climbed up the walls with two knives, smiling and saying you were good. Illinois thought it was impossible to fall more in love with you, yet here we are.

You were on your fourth pathway, and there wasn't anything interesting so far. You two normally just walked in comfortable silence, but Illinois initiated conversation.

"So, partner," he called. You turned towards him with a small smile.

"Hm?" You asked.

"Why do you like adventuring so much?" Your eyes widened as you laughed at the question.

"Well, uh… that's a long story…"

"We got time, don't we?"

You were quiet for a moment before you started telling your entire life story.

--

Half an hour into you talking and Illinois' smile hadn't faltered a bit. He loved your voice oh, so much. You had gone from talking about your childhood to what you did last week, and he listened to everything. You sped up as you talked so Illinois, with his slow saunter, fell a bit behind. He began to zone out and think.

He loved you… at this point, he knew he did. You were amazing… he loved you so much… What was he supposed to do? He didn't want to kiss you… well, he did. But not yet. He didn't know if you'd want to. He didn't know if you liked him. He had no way of figuring that out without telling you he liked you. And what if you didn't? Your friendship could be ruined! He didn't want that… he wouldn't survive. It's not like he could just… pin you up against the wall and hope you kissed him… could he? Well, he didn't have much to lose. If you didn't like him, maybe he could beg you to be friends with him again. Worth a shot.

"Y/N?" He called. He held your hand, stopping you from going farther. You turned towards him.

"What is it?" You asked.

He grabbed your shoulders and gently pinned you against the wall. Your eyes widened as you looked at him. One hand moved to the side of your neck, and he moved his other hand against the wall, straightening his arm. He was absently rubbing his thumb over your jaw, staring at your lips. He stepped closer to you, moving the hand against the wall to the other side of your neck. You held your breath as he stood dangerously close to you, your bodies almost touching.

"You're… so wonderful…" he whispered. One hand moved to your chin as he stared at your lips. You weren't smiling.

That was bad.

He worriedly looked at your eyes, seeing only confusion. He squeezed his eyes shut.

"Just… kiss me if you like me back…" he begged. After a few seconds of nothing, he began moving away from you. "I'm so--" you grabbed the collar of his shirt and yanked him into a kiss. Illinois, caught off guard, buckled a bit. You pulled him back up and he started kissing back. Your bodies were up against each other and he wasn't sure if he could handle anymore. If he'd ascended into heaven right then and there, he wouldn't be surprised. You ran your fingers through his hair and tugged, pulling him impossibly closer to you. He whined and mentally beat himself up for it. He was supposed to make you make those noises. He reluctantly pulled away for breath.

"What the hell are you doing to me?" He murmured. You chuckled.

"I don't know. What am I doing?"

"You're throwing off my entire vibe is what you're doing," You both laughed and he watched you in awe. "I love you…" you stopped laughing and looked at him. Shit, shit, shit. Too soon… he scolded himself. You smiled at him and softly pecked him on the lips again.

"I love you too…" you mumbled. You both gaze adoringly at each other before you wiggled out from your spot between him and the wall, continuing down the pathway. "Come on! I'm not leaving without some sort of reward!" You yelled. He smirked.

"What? Ain't I enough reward, darlin'?" He asked. You rolled your eyes.

"You're good, but love won't pay the bills. Besides, we have a daughter now!"

"Right…"

"Well… I guess you're technically her step-dad, but you can still form a relationship!"

"Oh, shut up." You snickered at him and kept walking. He sighed.

Feelings could be good sometimes.

[cinnonym]

All of you:

Me: Oh, sure you can have that SQ fic from Robin Hood's POV, absolutely no problem, here you go:

The sheets are impossibly soft as I shuffle against them, soft and silky and way too comfortable for me to find sleep in. Years of making camp on mossy patches in the forest, never completely bare of sticks that press against the back at night, have accustomed my body to rough, imperfect underground and even the few nights I've actually spent in taverns or inns couldn't have prepared me for the luxury of this world. Thick bouncy mattresses and materials called polyester or elastane are as foreign to me as the twangy accent the people from the first curse have. Even Regina has picked it up, the tendency to pronounce the Rs like nobody did back in the Enchanted Forest, sharp and rolling, like stones scraping.

I groan as I turn to my side, a sudden pain shooting through my spine. The caving bed is poison for my back, but Regina loves it like that, enormous and fluffy for her to sink in. Her body is but a silhouette in the dark, the moon shining just bright enough through the shades for my eyes to make out the curve of her hip, pronounced even through the thick blanket. Regina is facing away from me, curled into herself like usual, breathing heavily and unevenly. Her hair is splayed over her pillow, gleaming black against the white and if I leaned over I would see her eyelashes painting a similar shadow against her cheek. She really is magnificent, even in her brokenness, and I have to remind myself again that she's not mine to fix.

As if she heard my thoughts, Regina starts murmuring. She's doing that a lot these days, almost every night, at first quietly, making it impossible to understand her words, than growing louder and louder still until she's screaming. It's always the same routine, and it's always the same couple of sentences: "No! There has to be another way." Sobs. And then "I love you."

It has taken me a while to figure out the meaning of it all. At first I was flattered, thought she meant me, thought this was her way of telling me what she couldn't say at day. At first I thought the eerie déjà vu I got from the phrasing, the feeling to have heard Regina say those exact words before, came from unconsciously listening to her while sleeping myself. Until Emma crossed my way through town, smiling wearily in the arms of her boyfriend, a faint shadow of the vibrant person I had met when I first came here. Now rings have formed under her eyes, almost identical to those Regina has after a particularly hag-ridden night.

Almost a year has passed since the blonde became the Dark One, since she more or less jumped into the black vortex that enclosed Regina and thrust the dagger forward, tethering her soul to it forever. Except forever apparently doesn't apply to saviours because barely two months later Emma got rid of the darkness already and, except for the incident in the realm we call Underbrooke, has lived fairly normally since. Most people have already forgotten about the time of Dark Swan, even I find it hard to remember that particular period sometimes. Hell, even Emma has seemingly forgotten most of it, though Regina claims she's still dealing with the aftereffects of wielding that huge amount of power and fighting not to succumb to it.

And there lies the problem really. Regina is the one still thinking, still worrying about the darkness affecting Emma. Regina is the one still dreaming of the night Emma sacrificed herself and Regina is the one still regretting not to have acted, not to have told Emma what she now cries out almost every night.

"I love you," Regina sobs next to me and some weeks ago my heart would have clenched. I was furious, sad, confused, most of all shocked. Soulmates are said to be an insurance of kinds, your true love, presented to you in a flourish, nicely wrapped in tattoos and pixie dust. They're not supposed to be in love with someone else, they're supposed to be your perfect match.

One week and four nightmares after my realisation, I had enough. When she started murmuring again, I seized her shoulders, shook her awake in tears, demanding answers.

"What are you even talking about," she mumbled, still half-asleep, and she was confused herself about the wetness on her cheeks and pillow. I stopped asking her after that, it was clear she knew less about what was going on than me.

And still the dreams continued, startling me awake when I managed to find sleep for once, until my body learned to stay awake during the hours when they usually occur. I tried to comfort Regina, but she slapped my arm away, thrashing around until I retreated into my half of the bed, at which point she curled back into herself and returned to sobbing. I tried to talk to her about what she saw at night in the mornings, only to find that though she awakes grouchy and tired she's entirely oblivious to the reason for it. There was nothing I could do for her, except hoping she would get better soon.

She didn't and so, for her own good, I have to let her go.

Everything is planned. I met Emma the other day, asked her in Regina's name to stay over at the mansion, told Regina that Emma asked for a sleepover. Only by making each believe it was the other's wish, I could convince them both to agree, and now Emma is sleeping in the guest's room across the corridor.

I fold back the heavy covers and tiptoe to the door. Regina's still crying behind me and for a moment I feel a pang of guilt for leaving her like this. But then the "I love you"s begin again and I know that for her and also my own sanity I have to go.

So I slip out of the door, leaving it slightly ajar, and make my way to Emma's door. I've already lifted my hand to knock, when it swings open and there's Emma, hair tangled and clearly just awoken, nonetheless staring at me with the urgent look she only gets when either Henry or Regina are in danger. Henry or Regina and oh, I should have understood it way earlier, but I've been blinded by pixie dust and a fairy's promise.

"Is that Regina crying? What are you doing here? Does she need help?"

For someone who threatened to hurt anyone who dared to wake her up before nine in the morning, Emma seems very harmless in her spate of questions. However, the force with which she pushes me away is to be reckoned with and it confirms me in my belief that I'm doing the right thing by stepping aside and playing the helpless boyfriend.

"I don't know what's happening. She started crying and screaming, but she won't wake up, do you know what to do?"

Just as I anticipated, Emma all but runs through the door, not even hesitating at the threshold as she would normally, wary to set foot in private chambers. But not now, not when Regina needs her help, and she kneels beside the bed and takes Regina's trembling hand, whispering soothingly words I can't make out. Miraculously, Regina calms, sobbing quieter until finally, she stills.

"Emma?" She suddenly murmurs, half-asleep yet but quickly coming to. I didn't expect this but it fits quite well with my plans, exceeds my hopes to be at least stooge for my soulmate's happy ending.

"I'm here, Regina," Emma whispers back, softer than I've ever heard her talk, and she strokes Regina's sweaty brow and caresses her cheeks. I can only see her profile but the devotion in her eyes is clear as day and it is time for me to leave.

Silently, using all my skills as a thief to not disturb the two women, I turn around and head towards the stairs. Except I'm stopped before I can reach them, by a pale hand and Henry's tousled shock of hair.

"I heard Mom scream," he says under his breath, the same urgency in his voice as in Emma's before. "Is she alright?"

"She will be," I reply, "Emma is with her."

Henry calms, then looks at me with eyes far too wise for a boy of his age and nods solemnly.

"Robin Hood, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. You were never one to keep treasures for yourself."

I shrug, refusing to look back to the door that's still slightly ajar, and smile wistfully.

"You know she was never mine to begin with."

"See ya around Robin," Henry says after a pause and we both know this is goodbye. I will come back to the mansion, but if everything goes according to plan, it will never be the same again. I hope that Regina and I can be friends, were still soulmates after all, but I also feel that my heart will need time to heal before I can see her with Emma.

"Bye Henry. I'll send Little John to pick up Roland tomorrow morning."

Henry looks back at the smaller boy, allowed to sleep on a folding bed next to Henry's. He lies with a blissful smile on his face and I feel the familiar tug of guilt about forcing him to grow accustomed to yet another difficult family situation.

"He'll be fine," Henry whispers and I finally turn and descend the stairs. The front door is locked and I use my lockpicks to make sure it is again after I let myself out. Storybrooke's streets are deserted as I slowly make my way home to the woods.

The next day I get a message from Henry, the phone Regina talked me into pinging obnoxiously loud in the peaceful silence of the trees. I flip it open and the screen comes alive with the photo the boy sent me. It shows Regina's bed and on it two women, one blonde and one brunette, curled into each other. It's hard to make out in the pixels but it looks like both are smiling. Underneath, Henry just wrote two words:

"Thank you."