#The fact they made it this split and wanting white lily to be what she always was

[sattlersquarry]

lavender (steve harrington x fem!reader)

part two of the bloom series. series masterlist

Summary: You invite a new friend along for a wedding cake tasting. (garden center!steve x wedding planner!reader)

Word Count: ~1.9k

Warnings: language, mentions of divorced parents, the reader's mother is Jacqueline.

lavender: devotion, love, serenity

🪻🪻🪻

You’re spending your time in Hawkins living in a shed.

Okay, it’s not a shed. It’s a standalone garage that’s been repurposed into a small apartment. It’s on Joyce Byers and Jim Hopper’s new property, a beautiful cottage-like home on the edge of town.

Your mother, Jacqueline, lived in Hawkins many years ago, before she moved to the Indianapolis for college, and then the suburban town of Eagleton to settle down with your father and start a family. A family that was just the three of you, and then two after the divorce.

Once a scorned woman, your mother is now something of a powerhouse. She owns Eagleton Events, an event-planning firm that specializes in weddings, birthdays, bar/bat mitzvahs, and the occasional wake. Despite being in immense high demand this wedding season, she pawned the big-city weddings off on her employees to work Joyce’s wedding instead, dragging you along with her as her newest employee-slash-apprentice-slash-lackey.

As the great Jacqueline’s lackey, you’re currently threading twinkly lights through a trellis in the Hopper-Byers backyard. The wedding is coming up fast, because Joyce and Jim don’t want to wait a moment longer. Apparently, this has been a long time coming.

It has something to do with the fact that the groom-to-be was presumed dead for almost a year, only to return to Hawkins like nothing happened, spewing some story about amnesia after the mall fire and wandering aimlessly across state lines, until his memories returned, and he made his way back home.

The story seems fishy to you. Hell, a lot about Hawkins is fishy to you. In addition to Chief Jim Hopper’s miraculous return home, the town boasts a history of disappearances, deaths, chemical leaks, fires, serial killings, and deadly earthquakes.

That’s why you don’t mind working overtime to rush this backyard wedding out in a month. The faster you can get out of here, the better.

Except… you can’t stop thinking about Steve H. from the Garden Center. You feel pathetic, truly, fawning over a stranger like a schoolgirl with a crush. But every time your mother sends you on a wedding-related errand, you hope she’ll send you back for more flowers.

The lilies have been planted behind the trellis you’re currently decorating. Your mother is hopeful they’ll fully bloom closer to the wedding day. But if they don’t, and you’re forced to see Steve and buy some more, that wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

“Great work, sweetie!” your mother calls, speedwalking over with Joyce in tow. “That trellis is just divine!”

“Divine” is strong. It’s lights on plastic, but okay.

“Thanks,” you say. “What else do you need me to do today?”

Flowers, flowers, please ask me to get more flowers—

“Joyce, Jim, and I need to meet with the caterer,” your mother says. “You need to go to the bakery and do the cake tasting.”

“Don’t you want to be there for that?” you ask, turning to Joyce with a furrowed brow.

“Oh, no, we trust you,” Joyce says. “Hop just asked for no carrot cake.”

“Got it, get a carrot cake,” you joke. Joyce chuckles. Your mother does not.

“Be at the bakery in two hours,” your mother says. “Oh, and if you have time beforehand, swing by the Garden Center and pick up the water feature I put on reserve. It should be called ‘River Rock Bonanza.’”

You get to the Garden Center in record time. It’s almost embarrassing.

Steve is watering a rosebush when you walk over.

“Hey, Steve,” you say. Your voice cracks, and you cringe. You clear your throat and add, “How’s it going?”

Steve’s face splits into one of those dazzling grins, and you feel lightheaded.

“Hey, you! Here for more lilies? We have some new white ones if you need them.”

“Not right now. I’m actually here to pick up a fountain, or something, that my mom ordered.”

“Oh, sure. The River Rock Bonanza. I’ll get it for you. Follow me!”

You do. You’d follow Steve anywhere if he asked.

He leads you to the customer service kiosk and pulls a gigantic white box from underneath the countertop. Your eyes bug out of your head.

“Holy shit,” you say. “She didn’t tell me I was hauling the Tiber River for her.”

“I’ll get a cart for you,” Steve says, plopping the box on the counter and disappearing for a moment. When he returns, you pay for the much-too-large water feature. He loads it in the cart and helps you push it to your car.

“You don’t have to do that,” you say. “I’m sure you’ve got better things to do than lug stuff around for me.”

“Nah, it’s all good,” Steve says. He glances at his watch. “My shift ends in, like, two minutes. And Karen Wheeler walked in right after you, and I’d much rather help you than her.”

“Who’s Karen Wheeler?” you ask as the two of you put the fountain in the trunk.

“My ex-girlfriend’s mom,” Steve says, voice a little sheepish. You tamp down your excitement at ex.

You suddenly have the desire to do something courageous yet insane.

“Are you doing anything after your shift?” you blurt out, forcing yourself to look him in the eyes despite your nerves.

Steve’s eyes widen.

“Oh, just getting a bite to eat,” he says. His voice shakes a little when he runs a hand through his hair and asks, “What are you up to?”

“Getting a bite to eat too,” you say. “Well, sampling cakes for the wedding. Would you…would you want to join me?”

The apples of Steve’s cheeks flush red. You fear you’ve embarrassed or offended him, but he smiles and says, “That sounds fun. Let me clock out and I’ll meet you back here?”

You nod, and he beams before dashing back into the garden center.

On the drive over to the bakery, Steve asks, “So, have you done a lot of cake tastings?”

“A few,” you say, tapping your hands on the steering wheel. “I graduated from community college this past spring, and I’ve been working with my mom since then. I don’t really know what I want to do with my life, but this is better than working at Macy’s.”

Steve chuckles.

“I get that,” he says. “My job before this was Family Video. Those fluorescent lights drain all the life out of you.”

“How’d you get your current job? You a big outdoorsman?”

“Well…no. But Robin loves gardening, and she’s my best friend, and she never applies for a job unless I apply too.”

“That’s sweet,” you say. “A little codependent, but sweet.”

Steve laughs again. You love the sound. You want to bottle it up and listen to it all day long.

“That’s us, all right,” he says. You expect him to say more, maybe about how he and Robin met, but he stays quiet.

At a red light, you glance over at him. His eyes are glazed over and his brow his furrowed, like he’s lost in his own head.

“You okay?” you ask.

He snaps out of it, looking up at you and plastering on a smile.

“Yeah, sorry,” he says. “Just got distracted for a second. What were you saying?”

“Uh, I just wanted to give you some pointers,” you say, diverting the conversation back to your destination. “At the cake tasting, take no more than two bites of each sample. If you eat too much, you’ll be too full to sample everything. Oh, and be sure to try both the cake and frosting.”

“Whoa,” Steve says. “This is serious business.”

“Oh, absolutely,” you say. You park in front of the bakery and turn to fully face him. “Think about it. You could go to the most beautiful wedding of all time, but if the cake is dry, it’s the one thing that you’ll remember.”

You half-expect Steve to make fun of you for being so particular about this. Truthfully, it’s not that big a deal to you, but it is to your mother, so you want to do your best.

Steve doesn’t laugh, however. He’s the picture of earnestness when he says, “That totally makes sense.”

You could get lost in his hazel eyes. But you force yourself to focus on the task at hand: cake tasting.

And you taste a lot. Michelle, the bakery owner, brings out a tray of too many delicious samples: vanilla, chocolate, marble, red velvet, lemon, confetti, rose water, blackberry and lavender, and more.

“Holy shit,” Steve says, ignoring your advice and going back to the blackberry and lavender cake for a second, third, and fourth bite. “This is fucking delicious.”

“It is really good,” you say, sampling a bit more yourself. “I think I want to make love to this buttercream frosting.”

“Make love to it,” Steve says. “Marry it. Have six children with it. The whole shebang.”

“Whoa,” you tease. “You’re moving pretty fast. You just met this buttercream today!”

“When you know, you know!” Steve says. He gestures with his fork and accidentally flicks blackberry jam into your lap when he adds, “True love doesn’t wait.”

You feel increasingly warm from head to toe.

Stop, you think. You’re reading too much into this. He’s just going along with the joke.

To avoid looking like a flustered mess, you shovel more cake into your mouth.

You and Steve both decide on the blackberry and lavender cake. You go up to the counter to place the order with Michelle and get a sample for Jim and Joyce.

Steve watches you chat with Michelle, feeling warm himself. He really, really likes you. He doesn’t know you all that well, but he wants to. He knows you’re only in town for the summer, but he’d drive five hundred miles to see you if you asked.

Is he pathetic? Maybe. Does he care? Not particularly, no.

“You two are just adorable.”

Steve startles a little at the sound of someone talking to him. An older woman holding a bright pink bakery box stands by his chair and beams.

“Oh!” Steve says. “Uh, you mean me and…”

He gestures at you, and the woman grins wider.

“The way you look at her warms my heart,” she says. She nods in the direction of the half-eaten cake samples still on your table. “Congratulations on your wedding.”

Steve’s eyes bug out of his head.

“Uh, wait, we’re not…”

The woman shuffles off before he can clarify that you two are most definitely not an engaged couple.

He hopes his cheeks aren’t as red as they feel when you walk back over with a to-go box of your own.

“Ready to go?” you ask.

Steve nods and follows you out. He rubs his sweaty palms on his jeans and starts speaking at the same time as you.

“Do you want—”

“Hey, can you—”

“You go first!” you say with an awkward laugh.

“Right,” Steve says. “Um, so I left my car at the garden center, so can you drop me off there?”

Your face falls.

“Oh, of course.”

“But also!” Steve says, panicking a little that he’s hurt your feelings, “I had a great time. I know you’re busy with the wedding, but can I take you on a real date sometime?”

“You sure I can compete with the buttercream for your affections?” you say with a smirk, waving the to-go box in the air.

“I like your chances,” Steve says softly. And he does.

Your stomach flips at his sudden earnestness. “I’d love to go on a date with you,” you say shyly. And you would.

🪻🪻🪻

a/n TAGGING THE LOVELY PEOPLE WHO HELPED BRING GARDEN CENTER STEVE TO LIFE, along with others who enjoyed part one! :) thank you for your lovely comments, they mean the world to me!

@quinnkeerys @spicysix @keerysquinn @sunshinesteviee @inkluvs @stevebabey @0vix0 @lame0o @ghostlyfleur @starry-eyed-steve @hollandweather @lurkingprincess

[colum-nina]

'one drenched lily' — feat. yuki and nina

synopsis; today's agenda? make nina's day less sorrowful and lonesome and more happy and lively. how? maybe the lilies adorning her head have something to do with it... they do look a bit wilted...

taglist; @ayumi-darling

bina's note; inspiration go brr

Afternoon approaches one day within the lonesome lily's greenhouse, and Nina prepared to head to bed — she sleeps in the afternoon in order to stay productive in the night.

Luckily a certain scientist mechanic-boy-man wasn't on the daybed that day — busy roaming around the greenhouse, seemingly looking for something.

An alarm blares out Nina's ringtone, '12 AM — Sleep', marking the end the lonesome angel's morning working period. Nina looks at the daybed, expecting to see a tired Yuki working on an experiment or a mechanism, but instead seeing a surprisingly clean daybed for once. No small burns in the bedsheet... no mechanical oil stains... no electricity marks whatsoever... no mechanism or experiment near or on day bed... Did he clean her daybed? Did he clean it when Nina was working away in the morning? Speaking of Yuki, where is he?

It's like the universe was listening to Nina's thoughts — water started pouring on her head.

Nina jolted at the cold water she used to water her lilies not so long ago, stunlocked as her hair began going limp and losing its curl due to the flowing water, her wings flapping vigorously as it tries to dry itself under the water pouring down onto her. With a disgusting mixed feeling of her wet mesh and cotton stockings and green tights and gloves, she looks up, only to get water all over her face.

Nina then looks behind her, splitting her hair and wiping her face with her wet gloved hands to see... Yuki.

Turns out, Yuki had seen Nina working away under the White Wisteria tree of her greenhouse, and had figured out there were a bundle of two to three white lilies behind her head connecting the two wings hugging her head. He was looking for a watering can — which he held at that very moment and had intended to use to water said flowers.

"... Wha, huh?"

Yuki replies with a straight face, "Yeah, I don't want them to die.", continuing to pour water onto Nina's head.

Nina stared into his eyes as Yuki continued to water Nina.

Minutes into the "watering session", Nina turned her head back to face the White Wisteria tree, letting him water her white lilies.

Little did Nina know, a small smile had creeped onto Yuki's face. He just didn't want her to wilt away like her flowers might. He's known her long enough to piece together observations that those lilies mirrored what Nina was feeling at the moment. The fact that they were wilting meant Nina was pretty under the weather.

Anything to make her happy, Ayumi would like him doing this...

And thus, they were like this for about an hour until the watering can ran out of water.

Nina was secretly a bit upset because her sleeping schedule was ruined, and she had to change and take a bath in her river (that's normal for her i swear), but the lilies seemed to enjoy Yuki's little gig.

Yuki left on his own accord for a bit while Nina was bathing because he wanted to give a lady her privacy.

After Nina had informed Yuki he could come back inside, Yuki noticed the flowers on her head had appeared more alive.

After Nina dried her hair, she slept on the daybed soundly, lilies facing Yuki as he sat across the daybed, doing his own business. Occasionally he'd glance at the sleeping angel, noticing the lilies looked happier and more alive.

A small but genuine smile crept onto his lips knowing that he's completed his own little agenda — he's made her day brighter, less lonesome and sorrowful.

For at the river behind the angel's greenhouse which Nina had been bathing at, a smile bloomed onto her face. It made her happy knowing he cared for her enough to care for the lilies, and her.

What could she do to repay him?

(And no, Yuki was not watching her sleep.)

bonus!!; Later that night as Yuki made his way to the now empty daybed (spendind the night at the angel's greenhouse, practically his second home), he could smell a familiar aroma of coffee.

For on the bed sat a wooden serving tray with his favorite cup of coffee with a note.

"Thank you <3

- Nina"

She didn't need to repay him, but she did.

Smiling at the cup of coffee before making his way to the moth woman's desk, he could see her coding, stressed but coding.

Yuki moved his hand onto her head to give Nina headpats, "You didn't need to repay me, Nina." As Nina turned around to smile at him through tired eyes, Yuki smiles back at her before making his way to the kitchen.

Not that long after, Yuki returned to Nina's desk with a cup of lemon green tea and goldfish crackers in a small bowl — what he knows to be her favorites (because ayumi told him before she left).

Nina takes the serving tray and smiles a genuine smile to him, the lilies seeming to turn lively and bloom again. A happy lily scent filled the greenhouse rapidly as Nina's voice muttered, "You know my favorite snacks...? Ahaha, thank you..."

For the rest of the night, both were smiling as their backs turned eachother. For once, a day was filled with happiness and joy.

A familiar face for both of them smiled at them from a different time... watching from her holographic screen...

[moony-to-ur-pads]

THE STAG

young jily pining—>fluff. first jily in a long time so enjoy lmao

@jilychallenge fic with the location: forbidden forest, prompt: “You got me stuck on the thought of you,” (Sunroof)

September, 1977 (Now)

A dry crack of split pine needles under-hoof was all she needed to know that it was here.

“You’re back,” Lily said, not bothering to turn around.

The crisp snap of needles grew heavier as it approached—a crescendo of pops and starts, like one of those little firecrackers she used to set off on Bonfire Night. Still, the bursts came in restrained, careful bursts, the hoof-falls of the creature being as well-practiced and delicately-placed as ever.

“I’ve no idea why you come back, you daft thing,” Lily said, as it drew to a stop—a massive, hulking presence at her side. “I’ve no food, I’ve told you that a million hundred times.”

It gave a soft, cheery snort and settled down onto the forest floor with a heavy thunk. Lily absently held out a hand and ran it down the reddish hide. She shifted her body to accomodate for the truly splendid display of antlers and shuffled into the stag’s side. It was certainly a lot more comfortable than the tangle of roots she’d been perching on for the past few minutes.

The stag slowly turned its head to her and Lily leaned back to avoid the array of potentially eye-piercing tines that swivelled around with it. It turned until one large, brown eye found hers, and held her gaze in a soft, inquisitive silence.

Lily knew what that meant: Well, out with it then, Evans.

A little white ago, she would think it completely bonkers to hold any kind of conversation with a random woodland beast. But now…

She couldn’t say that venting to this creature wasn’t comforting, at the very least. If nothing else, she knew this stag would never go around jabbering about her problems or stab her in the back. In fact, she doubted it understood her at all—although a less sane part of her insisted adamantly that its reactions were all too human for it to be entirely stupid.

But maybe that was wishful thinking. In truth, it was just nice to have somebody to talk to.

Lily sighed, and cleared her throat. “I’ve a predicament,” she told the stag. “It’s pretty terrible.”

It raised its head a little in reply, attention engaged.

“Honestly, it’s… a lot,” she continued, “And I think the best way out of the whole thing is if you stabbed me through with one of ‘em bloody antler-thingies, really—but judge for yourself, here, I’ll give you all the facts.”

…

February, 1975

Lily dropped the crumpled scrap of parchment to the earth and grinded it into the mushy leaf litter beneath her feet with a precisely twisted sneaker. She rubbed an elbow over her face and sniffled angrily, hating how the cold only made her nose run all the worse.

She was not upset. She was furious.

Helpless, and furious, and that only made her want to tear the bloody world to pieces all the more.

Lily dropped down onto the log behind her, taking a heavy seat on a pile of moss that immediately began to bleed into the back of her skirt. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to steady herself.

But that was when she heard footsteps.

It was unnerving, at the best of times, to hear a sudden noise in the silence of the Forbidden Forest. It was worse in the colder months, though. When the birds had gone dead quiet for the season—fled the snow for warmer parts—and the only sounds were the rough whisper of rustling firs in the wind.

In that dead cold quiet, the footsteps over autumn’s leaf litter were disarming, jarring. Yards away, and still they were as loud as if they’d sounded right behind her.

Lily had never been one to cry for the world to see. She was private corners and toilet loos, hair pushed over eyes to hide their rosy-red whites, sniffles and tears stifled on her sleeves until they stuck straight to her skin.

To think that someone had found her here, in this sacred place, this quiet place, this place where she could unmask her heart and let herself be free… it was terrifying. Infuriating.

Lily slipped her wand from her pocket and got to her feet in a swift motion—well-practiced, since a muggle-born had to be on her guard anyhow—and raised it as she turns towards the thing, person, whoever it may be.

It did not cross her mind that it might have been a some kind of dark magical creature—an acromantula, an angry centaur, a vampire—and indeed, she would have preferred that outcome, really. At least you could hex an animal, or scare it away. With a human being on the other hand, you had to be more careful, lest you were indicted for assault or murder.

Lily threw her hair back and scanned the woods behind her, where she’d heard the noise. They were lonely and dark, falling quickly into shadow beyond the confines of the little meadow—or more the parting in the trees—that she stood in. Lily squinted and searched the darkness, trying to make shape and figure come together from the shadow. Nothing.

Except, then—a sudden shift in the blackness. The movement of some tremendous body, with huge arms stretched above its head, and hoofed feet like a centaur's. Autumn leaves crinkled beneath its feet—softer than the sounds she'd heard before, but menacing as it timed its slow approach—and the shadows shifted across its skin as it pushed the darkness aside with those huge, branch-y arms.

It strode, powerful and delicate, into the light, and bit by bit the creature turned from black, to grey, to a deep muddy brown.

And Lily lost her breath, wand falling to her side.

The 'arms' she'd seen held straight above its head were really antlers, and they were magnificent—each three feet tall and ending in a regal burst of tines. It’s head was bowed, and dark brown eyes met hers with a powerful, commanding gaze. It stepped around fallen branches in its way with with meditated care—it looks very human, Lily thought, like a klutz trying very hard not to trip—and emerged with golden grandeur into the sunlight.

“Oh my god,” Lily whispered.

It stopped a mere yard in front of her and stretched an inquisitive muzzle in her direction. Her wand-less hand raised automatically to meet it, and Lily gingerly laid a hand on its snout.

“Oh my god oh my god oh my god.”

It let her run her hand down it’s muzzle, even pushing against her hand insistently like a cat when she tried to pull away.

“You like this, huh?” Lily murmured. She cleared her throat—there were tears blocking her words up like tar, resting heavy in the back of her mouth—and said, “You’re a bloody gorgeous thing, aren’t you?”

The stag gave a snort and Lily pulled away, thinking she’d spooked it, but it only raised its head, and looked rather proud of itself.

“Yeah, you’re magnificent,” Lily told it, and the stag stomped it’s hooves happily. “You’re gorgeous.”

It stepped around her and into the clearing, making way for the old log where Lily’d been sitting a moment earlier. Lily followed at a distance, still a little wary. To her surprise, it plonked down clumsily onto the earth next to the mossy log, and turned an antlered head slowly in her direction, eyes fixed as if to beckon her.

Lily walked over slowly, and regained her perch on the damp moss of the log. The stag gave a satisfied snort. It turned to the wet mush of leaves, snuffling at the patch of ground where the scrap of parchment twisted—shredded, cream against the muddy greyish brown—around the leaf litter.

Lily bit her lip, and watched it nudge curiously at the mess. “The idiots purists write things to the muggle-borns,” she mumbled. “It’s stupid, really. I shouldn’t let it get to me.”

The stag turned one huge head—slowly—to her, and fixed her with a gaze that was as soft as it was inquisitive.

“I guess it hits harder because I know it’s Sev’s idiot friends who send them. And he still hangs out with the lot, would you believe it? I mean.” She cleared ur throat again. “He’s meant to be my friend.”

The stag gives an affronted snort—almost a scoff—as if to say that no, it could not believe it. It could not believe that Severus would do such a thing to her. And no, neither could Lily.

“Yeah. He’s such a jerk.” She kicked out with her sneaker, and disintegrated the offending mush of parchment a little more. “He is so stupid. At least, I hope he is. Either he’s an idiot, or he really does agree with that lot. And I think I’d rather it the first, y’know?”

The stag gave a soft snort of agreement, and Lily smiled to herself, reaching out to lay a careful hand on the reddish mound of its back. It couldn’t understand her, she was sure of that. But the sentiment was sweet. In that moment, Lily didn’t think she had many better friends than this fine old stag.

…

Now

Lily lay her head on the stag’s side and gave a heavy sigh, her eyes fixed on the canopy of interwoven evergreen branches blocking out the light above them.

“It’s certainly a conundrum,” she told the stag. “See—I’m Head Girl this year, did you know?”

The stag gave a little grunt.

“I know, it’s amazing. The thing is—guess who they made Head Boy?”

The stag was silent.

“James Potter, would you believe it?”

More silence. Lily rolled over so she could see the back of its head and it’s antlers.

“And I know we’re friends now and all—I don’t hate him or anything, that’s not the problem. No… he’s actually quite pleasant.”

The stag gave a huff.

“Wait, no—the pleasantness, that might be the problem.” The stag turned to look at her, fixing her with a piecing gaze.

Lily tried not to blush over the next part. She bit her lip. “So… over summer, we owled a little… And Remus and I talked about Potters too. Oh, and… he’s so nice. He’s… he’s changed, so fucking much!”

She gave a frustrated groan and rolled back over to face the canopy.

“And I… I find myself thinking about him, a lot. Like, a lot a lot. It’s scary. Sometimes I don’t even realise I’m thinking about him… it’s like my mind just drifts there, and I’m sitting in class, and suddenly I haven’t heard a thing the Professor’s said for the past quarter hour because my minds been skipping on James Potter like a bloody broken record.”

She felt the stag’s chest move up and down beneath her, like the soft lulling of an ocean.

Lily took a deep breath, and squeezed her eyes shut to manage the last part. “Well fuck me dead, stag, because I think I like him!”

And then—possibly the strangest thing that had ever happened to Lily in the presence of the stag—it gave a startled bark and suddenly staggered to its feet, dumping her clean off its hide and to the forest floor.

Lily scrambled back and looked up at it, as it stomped its feet and turned around in a rather strange little routine she didn’t understand.

She’d leaned on it many, many times before. And she hadn’t poked it, or anything. Maybe it’d been spooked by a rat in the undergrowth?

“Woah, boy,” she said, clambering quickly to her feet. She knew that was what you were meant to say with horses. She hoped it worked with stags. “Woah! Calm down!”

The stag stomped in a circle and turned to her, lowering its head and nudging her lightly with its muzzle. Then, looking quite as if it’d fallen into some kind of craze, it turned and went deer-hopping off into the trees.

“Bye,” Lily said, unsurely, watching it disappear.

…

Now

Remus pressed his hand to his face. “And you just ran?”

James crossed his arms defensively. “I—yeah! I couldn’t stop myself! You know I can’t think straight when I’m a stag. They’re really quite dumb animals.”

“Well of course, the animagus form does mirror the wizard,” Sirius said with a smirk, splayed out across Remus’ bed like a starfish. “Isn’t that right, Moony?”

Remus rolled his eyes.

“Are you calling me stupid?” James said, indignant.

“If you have to ask—”

Remus held one hand up in a fist. “Morons!” They both fell quiet and turned to him. “Listen. This is serious business.”

Sirius opened his mouth with another smirk on his lips, but Remus sent him a death-glare powerful enough to shut him right up.

“Lily likes James. Do you know how long that idiot has pined for this?”

James frowned. “That was fifth-year James. New James doesn’t—”

“Don’t bother lying, darling,” Sirius drawled. “We all hear you talking in your sleep, you know.”

“It’s admirable that you’ve restrained your advances this year, but it’s also understandable that you can’t move on. I, better than anyone, know you unfortunately can’t control love.” Remus gave a resigned and dramatic sigh, but James could see that he was holding back a smile.

“What was that?” Sirius gasped, sitting up on his boyfriend’s bed with a huge pout plastered on his lips.

“Nothing, Pads,” Remus said, turning back to James. “How’re you going to approach this?”

James crossed his arms and rocked from shoe to shoe. “I… don’t know. Do I tell her I’m a stag?”

Remus laughed. “No way!”

“But you know I never meant to intrude like that! At least, not the first time! I walked in on her crying, and she liked it.”

“So you came back, and invaded again and again and again.”

“I don’t tell anyone what she tells me! Except this—but this is a special case. I just sit there, make sure she feels better, and leave. I’m sure she won’t mind it.”

“Lily Evans has her pride. She wouldn’t be able to bear it if any one of us had seen her cry. I’ve been friends with her ages, James, trust me. In third-year I found her crying over a guy and she threatened to obliviate me.”

“I concur,” Sirius said, solemnly raising his hand. “Unless you have a death wish, James-y…”

“Yes,” Remus picked up, “Unless you sincerely want to die, don’t you ever tell her that. It’ll be grounds for an instant divorce.”

James’ mouth fell open. “You think we’ll get married?!”

Sirius leapt to his feet. “I bags best man!”

Remus frowned. “Pads, I want to be—No, never mind! No body’s getting married, alright!”

James gasped. Ever?

“Yet,” Remus amended, and James smiled. “What we need,” Remus continued, heading over to sit on the bed Sirius had recently-vacated, “Is a plan. And possibly an exhaustive script, so you don’t fuck it up.”

Sirius eagerly joined Remus, lying belly-up at the foot of the bed like a dog. James sat down on the covers next to his friends.

“Well, what do you got then, Moons?”

…

Now

Lily enjoyed the quiet of the forest. Even when the stag wasn’t here to spill her secrets to. Sometimes she brought a book, and read it on the border of the woods. Sometimes, she brought nothing at all—just listened to the birdsong, and the whispers, and the quiet.

Today, she sat on the edge of the tree-line—two hundred yards or so down from Hagrid’s cabin—and watched the sunset. It was darkening fast, the sky steeling over with the soft ash cover of creeping twilight. The castle glowed, pockmarked with windows like glowing golden beacons, flooded with light that grew steadily brighter in the gathering darkness.

“Hello?”

A voice.

Lily pulled her wand out quickly and got to her feet, searching the forest behind her for the source of the voice.

“Lily!” it called.

The grip on her wand tightened. You didn’t trust just anybody, just because they knew your name.

She caught sight of something tramping through the darkness towards her, and raised her wand.

“Name yourself,” she said—calm, firm, practiced.

“James Fleamont Potter,” the voice said, and the figure emerged through the gap in the trees.

He smiled at her, ran a hand through his hair in that habitual way of his that had once infuriated her, and now was just a part of him. “The fact that I know my middle name at all should be enough to confirm my identity—it’s very classified information—but feel free to ask me a question if you need.”

Lily kept her wand raised, undeterred by his friendliness. She’d cooked up Polyjuice Potion in her fourth year—it wasn’t hard. “How’d ‘furry little problem’ come to be?” she asked him, after a moment’s deliberation.

“Sirius and I stole a rabbit from Hagrid for a prank,” James recited, in an almost-bored voice. “We called it our furry little problem, but you always thought we were referring to Moony’s thing. Then you referred to his lycanthropy as his ‘furry little problem’ when we were talking about it, we all got really confused, and then we worked out what you meant and the nickname was so good it stuck.”

Lily let out a breath and lowered her wand. “You passed.”

James grinned. “Merlin, all of you have to start thinking of better questions. I’ve been asked that one by Sirius and Peter and Remus.”

Lily sighed. “It’s hard to think of them so fast.”

“I know. I resort to ‘how’d we meet’ every time.”

“Oh, then it’s not like you can complain about mine. That’s horrid!”

James rolled his eyes.

“So what’re you doing out here, Potter?” she asked. “You’re not stalking me?”

“No,” James said, looking guilty enough that Lily was doubly suspicious.

“James,” she stressed, warningly, “You better not be trying to prank me.”

He shook his head. “No! Nothing like that! Evans—I’m Head Boy! You know those days are behind me!”

“So you didn’t switch out Rosier’s spider eyes with chopped up salamander shit on Thursday and watch his potion blow up?”

James snorted. “No, of course not! But it was funny, wasn’t it?”

Lily raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. “If you try to prank me I will hex your pants off.”

James blinked. Lily turned red.

“Arse off,” she said. “I’ll hex your bloody arse off.”

James blinked again. He took a step towards her, and suddenly she noticed that he was looking at her very, very strangely.

She didn’t like it. But she didn’t hate it.

It made her skin crawl. But it made her heart flutter.

“James…” she mumbled.

He looked as if he was about to throw up.

“Lilydoyouwanttomaybegetabeerwithme?” James gasped out.

Lily froze. “What?”

“A beer. Us?”

It was Lily’s turn to blink. “Us… how?”

“How? I—at Hogsmede, of—”

“No,” Lily interrupted. Her heart was thudding something crazy—she could hear it in her ears. She had to fight to keep from turning the colour of a ripe tomato. “I mean, how as in—in what way. Friends, or…?”

James’ eyes widened. “I—I don’t know,” he squeaked. “I don’t care! I—friends sure! Or—” James didn’t blush bright like her—it didn’t show so well on his brown skin—but she could see the slightest touch of redness now. He gulped.

Somehow, his nervousness emboldened her.

Lily giggled breathlessly. “Oi, don’t back out now, loser. You’re so close.”

James blinked. Took a deep breath. “Fuck me, Lily. This is torturing me.”

“Ask nicely, Potter. And properly,” she said, through horridly burning cheeks—she’d given up on holding the blush back.

“Lily darling Evans. My friend. My co-Head. Would you pretty please go to the Hog’s Head with me?”

She beamed, feeling dizzy and hot and so so free. “I will, James Potter. I will.”

[justmanic03]

Amethyst - Chapter Thirty-Four (Crystal's Story pt.1)

A/N: Crystal's story will be split into two chapters since I decided halfway through that I wanted to take her battle in a different direction.

As I stepped through the door, I was, once again, enveloped in darkness. The Dark Suite reminded me of Opaquia City. There was, however, mild illumination on the walls, in the form of little turquoise stars, which would glow for a few seconds, before fading again. It helped give the place night club vibes.

"Glad you could make it, Y/N," Crystal's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. She was standing on a slightly raised platform in the middle of the room. "Mind your step as you come up here, Kossi fell flat on his face when he came to challenge me."

I couldn't help but chuckle at this, however, I made sure to steady myself with the railings.

"So... this is the final test." I stood in front of the black-haired lady, who only nodded in response.

"That's right. You're so close now to being Champion. How does that make you feel?"

"I thought I'd feel on top of the world, but I don't," I explained.

"That's understandable, what with the situation and all. But I assure you, Taldourse is on high alert in the event Flossi decides to attack us. As the Elite Four, it is our duty to protect you."

"But I don't want to be protected. I want to help!" I insisted.

Crystal smiled, but was quickly snapped out of her thoughts by her Rotom Phone ringing. "You must first prove you're strong enough. And you're well on your way. Now, if you'll excuse me. I have to take this. Hello?"

"Hey Crystal! It's Lisa! Are you with Y/N yet?"

"Yes, we are about to begin the final battle. Do you have an update on the stake out mission?" Crystal asked.

"Yeah. We've made it to the White Tower. We're on the outskirts of the grounds now. We can't get in because it's being guarded by a ton of weird strong looking Pokemon. If only you and Y/N were here." Lisa said.

"Excellent. Please stay where you are, Lisa. Do not try to approach the tower until Y/N has arrived." Crystal instructed.

"I'll join you up once I've secured my Champion's title!" I called to Lisa. Crystal smiled brightly at this.

"Nice one, Champion Y/N! I'm going to try and get used to addressing you as that. Best of luck with Crystal, she's super amazing with Dark Types!"

After we said our goodbyes, Crystal ended the call, and restored her Rotom phone inside her dress pocket.

"What's the White Tower?" I queried.

"It's a huge building located in the deepest depths of Opaquia. It used to be the Castor Family's place of residence, yet when Kossi died, they sold it, and fled Taldourse." Crystal explained.

"Who did they sell it to?" I asked, although the answer was already obvious.

"There's only one person in Taldourse who's rich enough to afford that place. And sadly, it isn't me," Crystal rolled her eyes.

I nodded. "So you're saying the plan is to ambush Flossi?"

Crystal nodded. "We don't wish to harm her, though. But try telling that to her. She sees every person who comes within a certain distance as a threat. And she already thinks the Elite Four are murderers. We must employ strategy."

"What kind of strategy?" I enquired.

"I shall explain it to you, if you are successful in defeating me in battle." Crystal reached into her pocket, and readied her first Luxury Ball. I braced myself for the final test.

You are challenged by Crystal of the Elite Four!

Crystal sent out Mimikyu!

Go! Lily!

Lily used Titanium Glade!

The opposing Mimikyu avoided the attack!

Mimikyu used Scary Face!

Lily's Speed Fell!

Mimikyu used Dark Pulse!

This move did not prove particularly effective against Lily, she was far too strong at this point to be phased by regular attacks, however, the fact Crystal's Pokemon was so much faster did prove rather irritating. I decided to use an X Speed to restore some of it.

Mimikyu used Play Rough!

Again, this move was not so effective against Lily. She still retained around 75% of her HP. I anticipated this would take a while.

Lily used Titanium Glade!

Mimikyu's disguise was busted!

It took a while before Lily was actually able to inflict any damage on Crystal's Mimikyu, however, when she did, it was devastating.

Mimikyu held on with its Focus Sash!

"I see I couldn't stall you for long, hmm? Great work, Y/N. This will stand you in good stead for our mission." Crystal praised.

~ time skip ~

Lily had been taken down by Crystal's Umbreon, which proved significantly more powerful than the Umbreon I had encountered back in Opaquia. Umbreon also managed to bring down Zelda, much to my disappointment. It appeared as though Crystal was even more powerful than I had anticipated. It made sense that she was the Chairwoman of the whole region. This was proving an extreme struggle.

"I may have been defeated by Flossi and Kossi, however, I shall not go down without a fight here." The Dark-Type professional stated proudly.

~ Time Skip ~

You have no more Pokemon that can fight!

You were overwhelmed by your defeat!

****

Tears streamed down my cheeks as I hung my head down low. I was now sitting in the corridor that connected a lot of the rooms in the League Building. My heart was pounding and there was a knot in my stomach.

I had come this far. How could I have lost to Crystal?

I shuddered in my seat as it dawned on me just how disappointed my friends were going to be in me. My three rivals and best friends, all of Taldourse's gym leaders, and all of the Elite Four had put all of their faith in me, and I had let them down. I just wasn't strong enough to get past the final hurdle. I anticipated all of the emotions that would be going through their minds at this point, anger, disappointment, grief, loss and apprehension at the thought of Flossi succeeding at bringing the League to its knees, and me being powerless to do anything about it.

Lily sat in the seat beside me, studying my face with concern. Despite being a Pokemon, she was incredibly intuitive, and she was always aware when something was troubling me. "I guess Danny was right in the end. I'm nothing more than a Slowpoke,"

My brooding was suddenly interrupted by a voice. "If you're a Slowpoke, Arceus knows what that makes me." Upon raising my head, I found myself face-to-face with Clyde, the Fairy Master himself.

"Oh I'm sorry, no offence Clyde," I apologised, immediately regretting my words.

"None taken," The Fairy Master smiled, shrugging it off. "You're the only person who's ever gotten as far as you have other than Flossi and Kossi." He proceeded to take a seat beside Lily, who squeaked as if to say hi.

"It's hopeless!" I cried out. "My friends could be in danger right now and there's nothing I can do to help them!"

"Well, sitting here insulting yourself unjustly definitely won't do them any favours," Clyde responded. "You've got to get back in there. Crystal's not going anywhere."

"We've all got your back, Y/N," Seraphina interjected as she appeared from around the corner. Louis nodded as he appeared from behind her.

"You don't need to go to Opaquia just yet. The crew are doing just fine out there," Louis explained.

"Yeah. You have to get back in there and battle Crystal! Fight for your crown!" Seraphina encouraged.

"We'll hold you hostage if we have to!" Clyde interjected, causing the other two to roll their eyes.

"Can you be serious, even if only for a second?" Louis asked.

"Oh yeah... sorry," Clyde stuttered, clearly embarrassed.

"Nobody can win at everything they do," Seraphina continued. "And Crystal's no exception. Her journey to where she is now is far from linear."

"Really?" I asked.

Clyde nodded. "Yep. We saw her all through some of the toughest times of her life. Just ask her when you go back in there."

I rose from my chair, sniffled, and wiped my face which was now sticky from tears adhering to it. "I'm going to do it now."

"Yessss! That's the spirit!" Clyde cheered. Louis and Seraphina clapped their hands vigorously. Their cheers filled my body with warmth once again. All I had ever wanted was for someone to believe in me, and now, here I was, being serenaded by three of the most powerful people in Taldourse.

*****

Taking a deep breath, I readied myself and stepped gingerly through the entrance to the Dark Suite.

Crystal immediately stopped fiddling with her nails and turned with a surprised expression as soon as she heard me enter. "Wow! Back so soon, Y/N?"

I nodded. "You may have defeated me once, Crystal, but not this time."

"I'm happy to hear that." She smiled. "Of course I won't be happy to lose, and I'm definitely coming full throttle at you. But I reckon you've already priced that you're well equipped to handle darkness."

"You think so?" I asked.

"Well... you survived all that chaos over in Opaquia, and that place isn't exactly known for rolling out the red carpet to its visitors."

"Yeah, I guess you've got a point there. So come on, Chairwoman. Give me everything you've got."

"Hold on to your hat!" The dark-type Chairwoman smirked as she readied her Luxury Ball.

You are challenged by Crystal of the Elite Four!

[sebastianshaw]

Hello it is time for Lourdes headcanons - In addition to being a MASSIVE DRAMA QUEEN she was kind of ditz. Not unintelligent, but like the type to miss stuff very easily. Coming from a sheltered rich girl background helps. Definitely had a few “it’s banana, what can it cost, $10?” moments that made Shaw double-take. Also has drama-queened so hard she’s fallen off balconies before and made Shaw freak the fuck out for a good split-second before she teleports back up there and continues. - As a friend put it, she has chihuahua energy. She is small and dainty and ladylike and also aggro as fuck. - Which is why Shaw never corrects her English. He just lived with trying to work out what “horse tornado” and “spider lobster” meant.  - Despite her being the one with chihuahua vibes, she frequently treated Shaw like a purse dog or a baby instead of, you know, a wild mountain gorilla - Would have loved boba, but it wasn’t popular in the West when she was alive, alas - She loved Easter lilies - This one came up in a fic by @sammysdewysensitiveeyes and I’ve never forgotten it---she wore orange blossom fragrance. - Lourdes introduced him to horses. Shaw was a poor city boy, he’d probably never even MET a horse before, let alone been on one. I think he was probably very freaked out by these animals and very wary of hurting one or fucking up. I’ve been acquainted with horses and riding since I was a toddler, so I’ve never been afraid of them in my life, but a lot of people who meet them in later life tend to be intimidated. Which I get, horses are big and their body language and mannerisms are VERY different from cats and dogs, and they’re EXTREMELY nervous and squirrely and there are all these rules you have to follow like not standing in their blind spot or walking behind them, and fucking these rules up can genuinely result in your death. I’ve never ridden somewhere that didn’t have me sign a waiver stating that if I get fucked up or killed, I promise not to sue.  Now, Shaw can’t get hurt, but like, I think he was still nervous about these animals because THEY are so nervous. Especially since I see Lourdes liking really slim fine-boned breeds like Arabians. And they are BEAUTIFUL, they are undoubtedly the supermodels of the horse world, but they are VERY high-strung. One of the reasons I love drafts so much is because they are CHILL AF. . .and one of the horses I learned to ride on was an Arabian, so like. . .it gave me the reflexes to be ready for anything, but I’d also rather just take a calm horse, thanks. There’s also the fact that Arabs and Akhal-Tekes are built like greyhounds and I think Shaw just looked at them and was like “ok I cannot get on that, I know I’ll be fine but I don’t want to kill my girlfriend’s horse in front of her” (I’ve heard Arabs can actually carry surprisingly heavy people, especially if the person is tall because of how the weight distributes or something, but Shaw doesn’t know that and he’s not risking it) She eventually got him a fleabtten-grey Lipizzaner to learn on. Yes, that’s actually the name of the color, fleabitten-gray. It’s actually much prettier than it sounds, it’s basically a white horse with an abundance of tiny grey freckles. 

[my-darling-luna]

Your Majesty Chapter 4

I try to make my stories as inclusive as possible!! Let me know if there is something that I can change/add to make things better!! I love you!!

Your Majesty Masterlist

Summary- It has been more than a decade since the Kingdom of Ultron lost their princess. (Y/n) was just a 17 year old that didn’t know much about her past. Realizations happen and lives are crossed. How will (Y/n) handle the new pressure?

Stucky x reader

-

“(Y/n) this is King T’Challa.” Tony motioned his daughter to move closer to the king. She curtsied before speaking to him.

“It’s great to finally meet you.” She watched as he bowed to her.

“I can say the same about you. I’ve heard a lot about you in the past few weeks.” (Y/n) blushed out of nervousness and looked out the corner of her eye for some moral support, but she found nothing. Her father probably went to go mingle while leaving (Y/n) alone with a person she barely knew.

“Yes well I’ll admit that it has been a crazy week.” She laughed under her breath. King T’Challa smiled kindly.

“I bet-” he was cut off by a woman whispering in his ear. His eyes never strayed from (Y/n), however, his mind clearly did as he listened intently, “thank you, Nakia. I’m sorry (Y/n), I’d love to talk to you later, but I must attend to something.”

“It’s no issue, it was great meeting you.” He nodded before turning around and following Nakia out of the ballroom. (Y/n) stood quietly off to the side while fiddling with her thumbs (a nervous habit that her teacher has tried to get out of her because it ‘doesn’t look royal’, but has so far failed). Huffing, she turned on her heel and walked to the other side of the ballroom and slipped out a side door that was only for the servants to exit and enter. It led to the garden, a fact that she learned the first day of her being in this huge castle. Walking down the corridor, she opened the outside door and began to wander the fresh smelling flowers.

(Y/n)’s fingers ruffled the petals of a tiger lily before moving onto the white roses. “You could get killed being out here.” She turned around quickly to see two men standing on the edge of the flower beds.

“You say it like it’s something to be afraid of.” (Y/n) responded to the man with brown hair and blue eyes. Both of them quirked their eye brows in a similar way.

“And you’re not?” The blonde haired man asked.

(Y/n) shook her head. “There is nothing I feel like I should be afraid of. No pain, physical or mental? Seems as though it would be a good deal.” The first man shrugged before moving closer to (Y/n). 

“It’s great to meet you, princess.” He took (Y/n)’s hand in his and kissed the back of it. “My name is Bucky.” (Y/n) smiled queasily before pulling away and tucking her hand in the grasp of her other. 

“It’s great to meet you too. You’re the Duke of-” She was cut off by the blonde man which left a bad taste in her mouth. She hated being cut off, especially by someone that she just met.

“Brooklyn, and I am Steve, the King.” He bowed to the girl in front of him and his smile fell at the small nod she gave to him. 

“Pleasure.” Her voice had a hint of distaste to it. “I must be going. It was wonderful to meet you both.” They nodded and that was (Y/n)’s cue to leave, practically running to the door. 

“Where were you?” Tony asked, pulling (Y/n) in for a quick kiss on the forehead.

“I went for a walk, it was feeling stuffy in here.” Tony opened his mouth to scold her, but he was cut off by a booming voice. 

“Stark! It is so good to see you.” (Y/n) turned around to see another blonde haired man in front of her, but this man had longer hair than Steve and also sported a beard. (Y/n) watched with interest aimed at the man as he hugged her father. “This must be Lady (Y/n)!” He bows to her kindly before motioning to her father. “How has it been living with a man as snarky as him?” Tony shook his head before pushing the man’s hand off his shoulder.

“(Y/n) this is Thor. He’s the King of Asgard.”

“It’s great to meet you,” (Y/n) felt tired of saying the same thing over and over again to all of the Kings, Queens, and other nobles as she had been all night, “and yes, my father is quite a challenge.” She teased and Tony stuck out his tongue at her.

“I can tell.” He looked around for a second like he was assessing the room. “Would you like to dance with me?” (Y/n) nodded, excited to know more about Thor.

***

They danced for three songs all while talking and laughing about memories and stories of those back in Asgard. (Y/n) loved the stories about his younger (adopted) brother named Loki and the constant tricks and pranks that he pulled on all people.

“You will have to come meet him sometime, Lady (Y/n).” She nodded excitedly, laughing as Thor spun her out and pulled her in close.

“I would love that.” She answered, talking a bit louder than usual because of the noise of the ballroom. The music decrescendoed and clapping once again filled the ballroom. Everyone watched as the King of Ultron stepped up and began speaking.

“I thank you all for coming and celebrating the return of my first daughter,” everyone turned to face (Y/n) and clapped, making her shy away from the attention slightly, “now as the night winds down, I’d love to do some dances that trace back generations, so come dance and if you don’t want to, get out.” Laughter started up, but it was anxious as no one knew if he joking or not. The band immediately started playing an upbeat tune once Tony got off the stage. (Y/n) squealed with happiness before grabbing Thor’s hand and dragging him to the big circle that was made in the middle of the ballroom.

“I love this dance!” She grasped Thor’s hand in her right and another man’s on her left that she didn’t recognize. “This was the first dance I was taught by my teacher when I got here.” Thor’s eyes twinkled as everyone grabbed hands and began walking four steps in then four steps out.

“I was only taught this a week before I came, so forgive me if I’m rusty.” (Y/n) shook her head and laughed as everyone broke off into twos and began dancing.

“I thought you’ve been friends with my father for a long time? Why are you just now doing this dance?” He picked her up by the waist and spun her before bringing her back to solid ground.

“I’ve never been able to make a party like this before, usually my parents would come instead.” Thor flinched at his own words and (Y/n) knew not to pry anymore. (Y/n) split off again with the rest of the women and moved to the next man that they had not danced with yet.

“What a pleasure to meet you, princess. Name is Brock Rumlow.”

“Wonderful.” Her tone was flat and she was spun again into the next person’s arms.

“(Y/n).” Steve said, a smile growing on his face as he held onto her waist with his hand.

“Your majesty.” She said plainly and his smile fell.

“Look, I’m sorry for interrupting yo-” she was spun again, this time into Bucky’s arms. He held her closer than Steve, his arm going fully around her waist to pull her chest-to-chest.

“Does your friend ever not interrupt people?” Bucky laughed and shook his head. (Y/n) felt the heat in her stomach grow a tiny bit before completing disappearing.

“I can’t say I’ve known when he does. However, I know that he does it when he’s excited and he did seem jumpy to meet you.” (Y/n) looked over to Steve who was spinning a girl with blonde hair in his arms. The band slowed down and once the last of the strings stopped, everyone else followed. People clapped to the band before starting to leave in groups.

“(Y/n)?” Tony called and she turned around. “I have invited the kings and their families from neighboring to stay here for a while.” (Y/n) knew the deeper meaning in that sentence. They were staying here because of the threat that Hydra made. “I’ll see you in the morning, okay?” He kissed her forehead and patted the back of her head while staring straight at the two men who were standing too close to her in his opinion.

“Dad, just leave.” She jokingly pushed him away and he looked insulted before rolling his eyes. “I can bring them to their rooms.”

“They’re in the visitor’s wing.”

“I know, stop worrying.” Tony gave one more look at the two men before turning around to join Thor and T’Challa along with their families.

“Let’s go.” She nodded towards the open door before walking through and down the corridor. Bucky and Steve ran after her and waited until they caught up to begin talking.

“I really am sorry.” Steve said and (Y/n) watched as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

She shook her head. “It’s whatever...just don’t do it again please.” Steve nodded and the three took a left and then a right to end up in the visitor’s hall. “Lisa?” An older woman turned around and smiled when she saw (Y/n).

“What can I do for you, dear?” (Y/n) smiled.

“Can you tell me where Steve and Bucky are supposed to be?” Lisa nodded.

“Second and third doors to your right, miss.”

“Thank you.” The woman nodded and walked down the hallway.

“Here we are.” (Y/n) nodded towards the direction of the doors.

“Thank you.” She shook her head at Steve’s words.

“Can we see you tomorrow?” Bucky asked, holding his door open slightly.

“You don’t have any meetings with my father and the rest of the kings?” (Y/n) teased and both Steve’s and Bucky’s eyes widened.

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Bucky suddenly got nervous.

“I’m not stupid, boys. So what time?”

“4:00.” Steve was the first to give up. Interesting.

“Do you both know how to ride?” They nodded. “Well how about we go riding after breakfast?” The two nodded again. “Great. Good night.” She began walking off.

“Wait,” Bucky yelled, “shouldn’t we be walking you back?”

“I’ve never been one for the traditions.” (Y/n) said simply and began walking once again. Two doors shut behind her.

—

Taglist- @austynparksandpizza @aikeia @simplyfandomish @baby-noodles​ @lili-ann-love​ @rebloggingeverything​ @spookyparadisesheep

[dreamywriterinthedark]

Museum Dates: part 2

Part one

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Reader (no specific pronouns used, Reader wears a dress)

Resume: Reader surprises Spencer for their first year anniversary, the same way he did with Reader, at an art gallery at night. They dance and it’s just too romantic (dream with me💕).

Category: so fluffy!

Trigger warnings: mention of alcohol (please let me know if i forgot something)

It has been one year since you and Spencer have been together. You have been together ever since you went on a date at that nocturne exhibition. To honour your love, he gifted you a bracelet with the time of when you first kissed engraved on it with a heart. This time you were the one who decided to surprise him. Your friend has this art gallery in the historic center; therefore, close to the historical museum where you originally went on your first date. You made her an offer to rent the gallery for the night, an offer she gladly accepted excited to hear your updates the next morning. 

It took weeks of preparation since you wanted it to be perfect. It was highly challenging for you to keep this surprise a surprise; you were dating a profiler! He asked you to move in with him which you half declined. It would have been impossible to plan your surprise and move in with him at the same time especially if he gave you a hand, which he most definitely would’ve. He would’ve noticed all of the evidence therefore it would’ve been ruined! No body, no crime… Plus him feeling disappointed or left out was perfect to amplify the joy overcoming him when he discovers your entire mascarade just like in movies when the characters would pretend to forget someone’s birthday to surprise them later on. You told him you simply weren’t ready to move in with him which he completely understood. 

However, since you were scared of getting profiled by him at work, you would make excuses to decline plans, you would panic and avoid to answer questions. It most definitely did not go unnoticed by him who took it as a clue you didn’t trust him or worse. Each time you lied to him a little piece of his heart broke. So he sat there at the edge of his desk hands in his pocket staring blankly at the ground, the last one in the bureau illuminated by the static flickering light above him. Those lights reminded him of hospitals, specifically the one where he stayed after getting shot, you would bring him jello and would read to him his favorite books. 

He sat there, deep in thoughts, swallowing the lump in his throat. His eyes slightly open as if the truth was right in front of his eyes but he just couldn’t see it clearly and it was. His phone buzzed, it was you; “John Keats, p113.” He rose to his feet to grab the copy of poetry collection on his desk. The title of the poem was “An ode to autumn” and that’s when it hit him. In between the pages was a raven wax sealed envelope. He opened it full of apprehension, it read in your beautiful italic handwriting; “Meet me at the Melrose art gallery at 10PM sharp.” He grabbed his coat hurrying out of the office, a small smile displayed on his face as the elevator door slowly shut.

Once Spencer arrived he texted you because there was no way in, the doors were locked (safety measures). You started panicking adjusting the lights so they were dimmed. You checked your reflection, you were stunning. You wore a black dress with some sultry perfume that could be smelled from across the room. He waited in front of the door hearing your Mary Jane clicks progressively louder as you made your way to the door opening it up for him. 

He walked in his eyes fixated on you, his cheeks flushed, you flet the tip of his nose cold on your cheek when he leaned in to kiss you. You turned your head grabbing his hand to lead him toward the biggest room in the entire gallery. There were peonies in white and blue vases along with many vanilla candles. The record player played soft muffled sounds, the song it was on was “Old enough to love” by Ricky Nelson. It matched you well, being the babies of the BAU.

“Will you dance with me ?” he responded by nodding because he was smiling too hard to be able to form any word. There you were slow dancing in the dimly lit room. He held your hand squeezing it from time to time, you felt his warm breathe fan over your neck. He pulled you in closer thanks to his arm being snaked around your waist. The next song to play was “Say Yes To Heaven” by Lana Del Rey. It reminded you of him, you found the lyrics quite touching; if you fight, I’ll fight//Give peace a chance, let the fear you have fall away. Spencer made you twirl watching your dress move gracefully in sink with your body. You almost fell from tripping on your shoes but he reaffirmed his gentle grip on you. You both chuckled. 

Once the music stopped, the one you carefully chose since each part of your romantic evening was planned. You sat down on a pile of pillows while sipping on peach white wine. You handed him a heart shaped box that recollected all your favorite memories, from the museum tickets, to pressed flowers you made with the bouquets he would gift you (you made a journal of them where you would analyse them: the etymology behind their names, what they meant, for example lilies were symbolised death), to pictures, to love letters. Until he found a remote, you asked him to click on it, nothing happened. 

You got up helping him up as well. You hand turned the lights off. The room didn’t have a ceiling but tinted windows in a sphere shape which was perfect for what he turned on; a projection of the sky on the night you first kissed. He looked up at the stars in awe of the beauty right in front of his eyes. You explained to him where this sky was from and why you were projecting it.

“Spencer, what time is it ?” You asked.

“11:29PM” he shut his eyes a second too long; again, it hit him, you first kissed at 11:31PM. He made his way toward you cupping your cheeks in hands while your hands rested on his waist. The kiss was passionate, slow, harmonious; everything you wanted it to be. You smiled out of it pointing at a constellation; “Look, it’s Cygnus!” Purposely expecting him to start his rambling.

“Cygnus is a northern constellation lying on the plane of the Milky Way, deriving its name from the Latinized Greek word for swan. Cygnus is one of the most recognizable constellations of the northern summer and autumn. It is symbolises weddings, romance, love, anniversaries…” his gaze drifted back to you. You were already staring at him an eyebrow cocked smirking at him. Again, it hit him. This date night was a game of chess which you were many moves ahead of him.

“I have to say, I’m impressed.”

“Oh but I’m not done yet!”

“What? Seriously?!”

You nodded leaving, he froze for a second before trotting to you like a lost puppy. He followed you to a staircase which led to the roof. There was not much space on the roof since it was mostly occupied by the sphere like windows but the edges were big enough to let you walk through them, sit and even for a telescope…

“See the sparkly dot right next to Scorpio ?”

“I guess…”

“Here take a look” you said to him gesturing toward the telescope.

“It is beautiful, Y/n, it truly is but what about it ?” He knew you weren’t the one that was going to give him a class on the universe. Spencer was one of kind, the most brilliant scientist you’ve ever met, he gave you the scientific facts about the stars and constellations, you would give him the spiritual meanings behind them. You would complete each other in knowledge just like that. You fished out a tube of paper with a bow tied around it. He took it and after a split second of shock which showed on his face started freaking out. He squeezed you so tight.

“Oh my god, Y/n, I can’t believe you got me a star! This is the best gift I’ve ever received!” His voice was so high from the excitement he almost squealed.

“The brightest star for the brightest mind.”

To top it off, you saw a shooting star and you could swear in this instance you both made the same wish.

[wannabe-fic-writer]

Natasha Romanoff x Reader : Everything We Had Part 2

4 -  “I don’t have the energy to yell at you, you’re not worth it anyway.” 8 - “You broke me! You ruined everything we had and- for what?” 11 - “I wish you’d just leave me alone, I wish I’d never met you.”

So, I was not going to do a part two for this. But then Anon hit me with a really good idea and I loved it. So here I am hoping I bring their idea to “life” in the right way. Enjoy.

Warnings: Mentions of Cheating, Mild Violence, Language

Word Count: 1,773

****** 

After everything that happened with your ex-fiancé you wandered around feeling completely broken. 

There had never been a thought in your mind as to what would happen if you and Natasha ended so when that happened you weren’t sure what to do.

You left the apartment and hadn’t returned since. From there you decided to stay at the compound, forgetting that Bucky lived there as well. The man had avoided your gaze for seemingly the entire day before trying to talk to you. In the end you flipped him off and left. 

If everyone was being honest, they weren’t sure how you were controlling yourself. The woman you loved and a good friend hurt you and you’d managed to not do anything in retaliation. 

They deemed you strong. Having long since figured out you were the bigger person.

None of that meant this was easy for you. Not by a long shot.

You’d cried yourself to sleep plenty of nights, laying awake and restless every other. Every emotion you felt surged inside of you and you did everything you could not to act on them.

Crying became too much, anxiously not sleeping was unhealthy, being angry would only have resulted in you doing something you’d regret. And for the most part, you thought you were keeping yourself in check.

Until that day.

At the time, the roof of the compound was your only escape from everything. And so there you stood, basking in the day. 

But like all good things it came to an end. 

The sun’s light and warmth were cut off from you and you opened your eyes to find one of the two people you truly never wanted to speak to again.

Bucky didn’t fake a smile this time, he just sighed and spoke,“ Y/n, I’m really sorry about everything that happened. I know-”

Deciding you didn’t want to do that, you turned to leave.

Stopped seconds after by the cold vibranium of Bucky’s hand.“ Y/n just hear me out. Natasha and I-”

Eyes wide you looked back at him,“ you and Natasha? What you two just couldn’t wait to get together once I was out of the picture huh?” Scoffing you pulled your arm from his grip.

“It’s not like that!” He exclaimed, fed up with you not listening.“ Natasha loves you and I care about you!”

“Bucky I don’t have the energy to yell at you, you’re not worth it anyway. So whatever explanations or bullshit excuses you want to spill right now I don’t want to hear it.” 

That time when you turned to leave he didn’t reach for you. 

Just as you thought you were in the clear, walking toward the common room, the literal last person you wanted to see stopped in front of you.

Her green eyes didn’t hold the same shine they used to, strands of her hair hung from the ponytail she was wearing, and one of your old sweaters covered her body. She looked bad, and no doubt felt bad, but you were sure you’d been hurting worse.

“Please don’t, I really can’t right now Natalia.” 

“You aren’t returning any of my calls or texts and I haven’t seen you in weeks.”

A glare fixed on your face you said,“ I said goodbye Natalia what did you think that meant? Had I wanted to see you again I would’ve said so.” 

When you saw the heartbreak in her eyes you almost wanted to take it back but you didn’t. She broke your heart much worse than you had her.

The woman’s shoulders dropped and tears poured down her cheeks,“ I never thought you’d be this harsh to me.” 

“Me? Harsh? Need I remind you, you cheated on me with my friend Natalia! You promised to be loyal and planned to spend the rest of your life with me. I’m harsh? Natalia you broke me! You ruined everything we had and-” you blinked past the tears pooling in your eyes,“ for what?”

“Y/n calm down.” 

Perfect timing. 

As your chest heaved with each breath, Natalia in front of you, Bucky’s voice joined. Having obviously just come from the same path you had. 

“Bucky cut the shit! You both have been walking around pouting and crying as if you’re hurt! As if this isn’t all your fault!” At that point you wouldn’t have been surprised if everyone in the compound had heard you. Nor did you care.“ I’m so done with both of you. I just wish you’d just leave me alone, I wish I’d never met either of you!” 

You were more than riled up. You could feel your own heart pounding and you thought they could hear it as well. 

Natasha took a step toward you, her hand grabbing yours. You pulled away in anger, snapping at her to not touch you. And Bucky made the mistake of grabbing your arm from behind.

Whatever he said about relaxing is lost on you. In your over emotional state you hauled off and punched the man in the nose. 

He stumbled back, more so out of shock than you actually having hurt him. 

Both he and Natasha looked at you incredulously, and it was then that you noticed the rest of the team standing in the back. All eyes were on the scene you’d caused.

Embarrassed, hurt, and angry, you left. Walking to your room and somehow not having tripped through your tears. 

You weren’t sure where you were going but it wasn’t an option to stay there.

As you packed your bags you heard the door behind you open and close. You’d stilled, thinking it was Natasha or Bucky.

“I can’t begin to understand what you’re feeling,” the younger woman’s voice met your ears,“ but I’m here for you if you need me.”

Perhaps it had been her tone of voice, she was so genuine in her words, so sympathetic, or it was just the fact that she had come in, whatever it was, it made the tears finally spill from you eyes.

You’d cried before but not like this. This had been your breaking point and Wanda was there to hold you through it.

That was a year ago. 

Since then you’ve left the team. As much as you love saving lives you couldn’t do it with those people anymore. 

Instead you chose to become a cop. It wasn’t ideal but it was the only thing you could thing of to fulfill your need to help.

You of course found another place. Tony was more than happy to offer you support when he found out. The billionaire put you up in a more than satisfactory condo in Manhattan.

Sam and Steve still come by every weekend or so just to check in with you. You are still their friend and they couldn’t stand losing you over Bucky and Natasha’s mistake. 

But more helpful than all of them, was and is Wanda. 

The Sokovian was there for you every moment from the day you broke down to now. She held you as you cried, got you out of the house when you didn’t even feel like moving, and went to the gym with you when you had to blow off steam. 

Months had gone by of her being your biggest supporter and best friend, so many that the way you felt about her had changed. 

You stopped seeing her as Natasha’s best friend or your old teammate. In your eyes she’d gone from being your friend to seemingly an angel. And you found yourself falling for her.

There were a million reasons why you didn’t say anything at first. Not only was she still Natasha’s friend, but you weren’t sure how she felt about you. Until one night, while out walking in the park, she’d slipped up. She said she loved you as if it wasn’t the first time, like she had thought it so much it wasn’t even new to her. Feeling the same way, you kissed the woman.

From that point on you two grew closer and closer, romantically.

Now you stand just barely inside the compound, the facility you hadn’t stepped foot in in a year, a bouquet of white lilies in hand. You’re waiting on Wanda, who just got back from a two week long mission with Steve.

As you stand there awkwardly you catch a glimpse of familiar red hair, the tips blonde. 

Looking up, your eyes meet those emerald orbs and you take a deep breath. She’s watching you, taking you in like she had the first time she saw you.

“Y/n I- what- you’re here.” 

Someone would think she’s seeing a ghost the way she speaks. Then again you hadn’t seen each other in all this time.

“Hey Natasha.”

You hadn’t called her Natalia and that was a step up in her books.

Hesitantly, she walks closer,“ what’re you doing here? How are you?” 

Preparing to answer you breathe in, but your reply doesn’t come.

“Milaya!” 

You immediately look toward the girl at the sound of her voice. A smile splits across your lips and you accept the hug she wraps you in, her lips pressing on to the corner of yours.

“Hi.” You whisper.“ These are for you. I missed you.” You tell her, holding out the flowers.

She takes them, eyes flickering beside you,“ I missed you too.”

It’s not that you’d forgotten Natasha was there, her presence just simply paled to that of Wanda’s. And she knows that.

Watching the two of you, both smiling as if the world had been placed in your hands, she realizes how she’d truly lost you. There was no getting you back at this point, and maybe it’d been like this for a while, she just hadn’t known until now.

Your girlfriend smiles at the red head,“ hi Natasha.” 

And the red head smiles back,“ hey Wan.” She swallows, using all her strength to hold back tears,“ I won’t keep you, just wanted to say hi.”

With that she turns around and takes purposeful steps away.

“Hey,” she pauses at the sound of your voice, turning back to look at you,“ it was good seeing you Natasha.” 

Her eyes never leave you, watching as your arm curls around Wanda’s waist and your lips press on to her temple, not until you’re gone from her line of sight.

No matter how much it hurt to see, she knows it’s for the best. What she had done was irreparable, by her at least. She broke your heart and Wanda fixed it. It was better this way, even if it meant losing everything she’d had.

******

[blitheringmcgonagall]

My Gallant Lad - Part 2

A wonderful anon told me this is their favourite Lily Rescues James fic, it’s part of my canon marauders fic  We Can Be Heroes. But it works as a stand alone, so I’m posting it in four parts here. I hope you like it (Lily is very BAMF here but James here is the bravest I have ever seen as well as very clever so I think they are both fantastic), set during First Wizarding War during an Order mission gone wrong...

Read part 1 here : 

TW: Lots of angst and violence...

Part 2...

Previously...

“Leave it to me,” he whispered.

Taking a deep breath, he turned and locked eyes with Severus Snape.

“Fuck you, Severus Snape! You absolute bastard! Stay the fuck away from my wife, do you hear? Don’t you dare go near her, you fucking piece of shit! I despise you, Snivellus! You fucking coward! Bastard cursed Death Eater! Stay the fuck away from her or I’ll kill you with my bare hands!” James screamed.

Voldemort had now reached them and was looking between Snape and James in confusion, and with not a small amount of displeasure.

“What do we have here then?” he said, turning to Severus Snape and smiling thinly. “Someone who is not a fan of yours, Severus? How very interesting. These two Dumbledore followers are clearly not aware whose presence they are in, or they would shut up and keep their heads low unless spoken to!”

Lily made a disbelieving noise at Voldemort. What the hell did that bastard think he was playing at, pretending never to have met them before, she thought.

James elbowed her sharply just as she was about to speak.

“Silencio!” hissed Voldemort, his face contorted with rage as two spells shot at lightning speed towards them. “I am the Dark Lord and I do not recall giving you permission to speak!”

Voldemort looked up at Mulciber, still wrathful, his wand pointed towards the Death Eaters in the room.

“My Lord,” Mulciber said immediately. “They clearly have no idea who they have been captured by.”

Voldemort’s face darkened.

“I am most displeased,” he hissed, so quietly that they had to strain to hear him.  Who are these two?”

“I have never seen them before in battle, my Lord,” Mulciber answered quickly. “But I do recall seeing them in Hogwarts, both in Gryffindor, I believe they were Head Boy and Head Girl, graduated in ’78, James Potter and Lily Evans, blood traitor and mudblood.”

Mulciber was obviously lying, Lily thought, in order not to embarrass Voldemort. It was as though Voldemort had rewritten history, their previous capture and escape wiped out of their collective memories. Perhaps he had. 

“I see,” Voldemort turned towards Snape, with a bored expression. “Lily Evans? Was that not the name of the mudblood you coveted, before you realised the error of your ways? Still do desire, somewhat, as far as I can recall?”

Snape’s face remained impenetrable, but he nodded his head minimally. James’ face blazed with fury.

“Oh dear, I think that the mudblood’s friend is upset by this fact, Severus, am I correct?” Voldemort smiled at James and Severus in turn.

“Potter has always detested me, my Lord,” Severus said, keeping his voice steady.

“They are married now, my Lord,” said Wilkes, interrupting the conversation.

Severus’ eyes widened for a split second. Long enough for Voldemort to notice. Voldemort’s smile grew.

“Oh Severus, how delightful!” he said, laughing lightly, and turning to look at James again. “I suggest you spend some time showing your friend, Mr. Potter, what happens to those who join Dumbledore’s side and fight against us? And afterwards, if you would be so kind as to visit Mrs. Potter in her cell, and do likewise, I’m sure she would love to see you?”

James looked like he was about to explode.

“Wonderful!” Voldemort said, pocketing his wand and giving Severus a forced smile. “I’m exceptionally pleased, Severus, I do hope you arrange an entertaining evening for us! We are sadly very bored at the moment, and your mudblood has provided us with a lively diversion! Don’t disappoint me, Severus!”

“I will strive to live up to your high expectations, my Lord,” Severus said, bowing low.

“Excellent,” Voldemort’s eyes gleamed as they rested on Lily’s white face. “Wilkes, Villiers – take the mudblood and lock her into one of the holding cells, they are currently empty. Mulciber, Rosier – escort Mr. Potter to the oubliette.”

Lily looked at James in confusion and terror, as Wilkes and Villiers began dragging her away.

“I fear the mudblood does not yet know what an oubliette is, Mulciber. Would you care to enlighten her?” Voldemort said, with a wide smile. “I have other more interesting and pressing matters to attend to.”

All the Death Eaters bowed low in front of him, and Voldemort strolled out of the room.

“Certainly, my Lord,” Mulciber’s eyes glimmered cruelly. “It is a dungeon that has only one escape route — through a trap door in its ceiling. Escape is of course pretty much impossible. In this castle it also doubles up as our torture chamber.”

Lily’s wide eyes flew to James’ face, both still unable to speak. What if this was the last time she saw him alive? She had never gotten the chance to say she was sorry about their stupid row, to tell him how much she loved him, she couldn’t lose him now, they couldn’t hurt him, anything but that. She felt unable to breathe. A single tear tracked down her cheek. James looked back, a determined look on his face, she knew that look.

I’ve got this, I have a plan, his face said.

His eyes were burning, burning through to her very soul.

I need you, beautiful, I need you safe, she thought, her own eyes heavy with dread and fear.

James closed his eyes for a brief moment, and when he looked at her again, they were shining brightly, a warm smile, and almost imperceptible wink. She knew that smile.

Alright, Evans…

She tried to smile back.

I trust you, she thought, I trust you, James.

Then Mulciber and Rosier jerked James backwards, and her captors pulled her in the opposite direction, and their eyes remained locked until James reached the stairs leading into the dungeons, and Mulciber lifted his booted leg and pushed James down the stairs, hard.

“Stop it!” Lily screamed, unsure how she had overcome the spell so quickly, pulling so hard that she was momentarily free from the Death Eaters holding her.

They grabbed her again, looking stunned.

“A fall like that down stone stairs could kill him! If anything happens to him, God forgive me, I’ll come after whoever is responsible and-“ Lily was still screaming.

“How the fuck is she able to talk?” stammered Wilkes.

“No idea,” Villiers said, concentrating on trying to hold onto Lily, who was twisting violently in his grasp.

“James!” shouted Lily.

As they dragged her kicking and screaming into the holding cell, she heard the creak of something metal opening and after a few seconds, the sound of a sickening thud as something heavy hit the floor.

“Welcome to the oubliette, Mr. Potter!”

She could hear the cruelty in Mulciber’s voice.

“Wake up, Potter, stop being a drama queen, as usual.”

Snape’s nasal tones, filled with contempt, floated into his consciousness as soon as he awoke. He opened his eyes slowly, intense pain racking his body, making him wish he could sink back into oblivion. As his eyes accommodated to the dark, he noted he was chained to a freezing cold, damp wall, arms outstretched and unable to bear any weight on his feet, he guessed correctly that he must have fractured both his ankles when he was thrown down feet first. He was slumped forwards as a result. It was painful to breath, probably due to a few broken ribs. The difficulty in breathing appeared to be also due to the effort he had to make to lift his ribcage against his own weight. His shoulders were killing him, he wondered vaguely had they been dislocated. His glasses must have fallen off and he could feel bits of glass sticking into his face. There were torches in the corners of the room. And it was freezing cold, his jacket and muggle clothing gone, his teeth were chattering and his body shaking. Mulciber and Rosier were standing behind Snape, looking bored, leaning against the wall. Snape was standing next to a small table, wand in his hand, with a mask-like facial expression, revealing nothing. He concentrated on trying to breathe for a moment. He knew immediately that they had already used the Cruciatus on him a number of times, although he couldn’t remember much, if anything.

“The Dark Lord wants to know what you and Lily Evans were doing here today, Potter,” Snape said, curling his lip as he spat out his surname.

“My wife and I were going for a walk, before we were rudely interrupted by your friends, Snivellus,” said James, smirking openly as he saw Snape’s eyes darken at the mention of wife. 

“Hardly credible, Potter,” Snape said, looking livid as he gripped his wand tightly.

“What Mr. and Mrs. Potter do in their spare time is frankly none of your business,” James laughed, his breathing laboured as he shot Snape a condescending look.

Snape’s nostrils flared.

“Sniv, you should keep your abnormally large nose out of this. Try to remember that Lily Evans hates your guts and that she never once returned your affections. You disgust her,” James said.

Snape appeared speechless momentarily. James saw his fists curl as he stepped closer to him.

“Do I need to remind you who’s in charge here, Potter?” Snape murmured through his teeth.

“You can’t make me tell you anything, Sniv,” James’ teeth were chattering so hard he could barely get the words out, but the utter contempt was clear.

“I can do what I want to you!” Snape’s voice was full of rage as his wand tip touched James’ right shoulder. “Crucio!”

The pain flashed through his sinews and his chest and ribs, stopping his breathing. All remaining colour drained from his face. He couldn’t even cry out with the pain, until Snape moved his wand lower and James heard himself scream in agony as he gasped for air, the pain in his legs intensifying dramatically. He couldn’t breathe and scream at the same time and he began to feel panicked, his pupils dilating.

“What were you saying, Potter?” Snape laughed to himself, glancing back at the two men who were now looking mildly entertained.

As the spell wore off, James looked up at Snape through the hair that had fallen over his eyes, dripping sweat and melting frost, every inhaled breath a struggle.

“I said… you can’t read my mind, I won’t tell you… anything,” he gasped, with a derisive eye-roll.

Snape’s face lit up.

“Wrong, Potter, I suggest you do your research a bit better the next time you say that to a Legilimens, but then you were always infinitely arrogant and stupid,” Snape was wearing the biggest smile as he plunged his wand into the base of James’ neck and intoned the spell.

The unpleasant tingling sensation behind James’ forehead, painful so closely following on from the Cruciatus, confirmed the spell was working.

Took you long enough, James thought, glaring at Snape.

Snape narrowed his eyes, his expression somewhat unsure. He could now read James’ mind completely.

Oh for Merlin’s sake, man, I’ve been hinting you use that spell for bloody ages. I need to talk to you, alone. It’s about Lily.

Snape’s mouth shut tightly as he listened to James’ thoughts, his wand now pushing against James’ Adam’s apple.

“Why would you possibly think I would be interested in doing that?” he said quietly.

Because you’re interested… in Lily’s fate? Because you don’t… want her to die?

Snape watched as James’ breathing became more difficult, as the man pursed his lips together tightly while exhaling through his mouth and inhaling through the nose with his mouth closed.

“Of course not!” Snape said, dread and fear making his fingers shake as he grabbed hold of James’ hair and lifted him upwards roughly.

James gasped a lungful of air as he watched Snape, knowing the other men wouldn’t know what he was thinking.

Please, talk to me… alone… for a few minutes, that’s all I ask… you can bring them back in… any time you want…

Snape let go of James and watched as his body slid downwards, groaning in pain, his weight hanging from his shoulders, his neck hanging down. Snape looked back at the two Death-Eaters, regarding him with mild interest.

“What did you find out, Snape?” Mulciber asked, stifling a wide yawn.

“Not enough,” Snape demurred.

He looked back at James, unsure.

“I need to question him, alone,” he said eventually, sounding displeased. “Leave this room, I shall call you if I need anything.”

“Are you sure?” Mulciber asked.

He sounded disappointed.

“Yes, for now. Stand guard above the trapdoor,” he said, his wand still pressed to James’ neck. “You shall be needed again shortly.”

James’ breathing seemed shallower once more.

Please hurry… we don’t have much time…

“You have very little time and talking to me will do nothing to change that!” Snape snapped back, as soon as he heard the trap door swing shut.

“Talk!” he ordered, removing the wand from the other man’s neck but keeping it levelled at him.

“Of course it won’t change that,” James’ voice was barely a whisper. “We both know I’ll be dead soon.”

“Obviously,” Snape said coldly.

“And if you don’t do something, Lily will die later today too,” James said, lifting his head with difficulty and looking straight at Snape.

Snape’s mouth went dry. He had been trying to avoid thinking about that possibility, probability, but it was true. And it terrified him.

“I…” he said.

Fuck you, Snape, if she dies, I will hold you entirely responsible!

James was making a strange noise as he breathed in, Snape could see that talking was too difficult for the other man.

“I won’t be the one killing her!” Snape whispered, his dark eyes molten. “You killed her, allowing her to be part of your futile resistance group! What kind of husband were you? Did you want her to die? Were you sick of her already?”

“Pah!” James made a dismissive sound in his throat and spat out some blood. “If she dies… it will be… because you failed… to rescue her!”

Snape looked at him furiously, his heart racing, feeling unwell. He didn’t want to hear any more, wanted no part in this entire awful scenario involving the love of his life. Wanted this to be a nightmare that he could wake up from. Most of all, he wanted James Potter to shut up and stop appealing to his conscience.

“I’m going to have to Crucio you again,” Snape said, placing the wand back onto James’ chest.

“Are you now? How astonishing,” James rasped, looking vaguely bored.

“It will appear suspicious otherwise. Wouldn’t want the others to guess what you’re trying to do, would you?” Snape said.

James’ face immediately changed, and he nodded.

“Do it,” he ordered.

Snape hated being told what to do, by Potter, as though he was Head Boy again, in this situation – how was that even possible?

Snape’s Crucio was excruciating and longer than the previous spell. By the time it wore off, James was flitting in and out of consciousness and shaking like a leaf.

Please…

Snape stared back at him.

Please…

“Please what?” he whispered irritably.

I’m going to tell you how you save Lily.

“I cannot ask Voldemort to spare her! Not now, not in these circumstances!” Snape hissed, swallowing hard.

Not the plan…

He could see James was wilting rapidly, his mind becoming progressively emptier.

“Oh for Merlin’s sake!” he said, throwing a powerful healing charm at James. “What are you talking about?”

James opened his eyes and took a few deeper breaths.

“I want you to go directly from here to Lily. Tell her I’m dead. Tell her you’ve had a change of heart and want to leave Voldemort’s forces. Tell her you’re going to save her, that you’re doing it because you love her. She has a portkey on her. Bring her to whatever part of the castle is accessible by portkey and get both of you out of here. You can decide on longer term plans after that. If you approach the others with Lily, looking for help, they will accept you. Lily will never agree to join Voldemort. Ever,” James whispered.

James was wrong, Severus was sure of it, if there was no option, Lily would cave and join Voldemort. But having Lily Evans at last? He was willing to risk everything.

“And you?” Snape said. “You know I can’t-“

James looked at him blankly.

What do you mean?

“You stay here,” Snape said.

“Obviously,” James said, mimicking Snape’s earlier statement and tone.

“Which means you-“ Snape said, narrowing his eyes.

Yes, I’m quite aware, Snape.

James lips had turned a bluish colour.

“Will she agree to… you know?” Snape said after a pause.

I can’t mind read, elaborate…

Snape tossed his head.

“You know exactly what I mean, Potter!” he whispered irritably. “Do I… have I any chance with her?”

He could see James struggling to think, his eyes closed.

“Maybe, yes,” he gasped. “But tell her… tell her you tried to save me… that I convinced you… to swap sides… she needs to believe that…”

Snape’s jaw tightened. He couldn’t imagine himself saying that to Lily.

“Snape!” James’ voice was fading but urgent. “You have to…”

She won’t go with you unless she thinks… you have… please…

The man’s thoughts weren’t even making sense now.

“If I do this, I shall be risking my life. If Voldemort finds out, I’m a dead man,” Snape’s words were clipped, anxious.

I know… but it’s Lily… your only hope… with her…

Snape stayed quiet.

If he finds… Blame me… Occlumens…

Snape vacillated. He was an excellent Occlumens. He could blame Potter, a trick he had fallen for, and then an opportunity to play Dumbledore? The fact that Voldemort knew about his past infatuation made it more credible, but also more dangerous.

She’s dead otherwise, Snape, dead!

Snape nodded slowly.

“Do you have anything I can say to her if she doesn’t believe that we discussed this? Any secret code or words?” Snape said, leaning down.

James’ whisper was barely audible.

“Graham’s number.”

Disbelief written all over his face, Snape turned to leave.

Snape!

He turned back.

Be good to her. Please.

His dark eyes widening slightly.

Get her out of here, Severus, I’m depending on you…

It was ridiculous and stupid and laughable. What would he have done, in the same position? Would he have sacrificed himself to save Lily if it meant Potter won in the end? She was better off without Potter. Lily would see that, she’d come around, she would come to love him, he knew it deep down, especially if she thought he had tried to save her husband. Potter was right.

Would he have done the same, though?

He shivered, impatient to rid himself of these thoughts. Get her out of here, Severus, always telling him what to do! Still, there was no denying the man was brave, braver than he had expected, if you valued that. He found himself compelled to look at James Potter one last time – shaking violently with the cold, his lips blue, his body covered in the pinprick rash of the Cruciatus, his breathing ragged, his face grey, unable to stand. Potter’s eyes made his stomach twist uncomfortably – there was pain there, and that glazed look that prisoners got. But there was fire still in his eyes, desperate light, and he knew why they burned.

“For Lily,” he said to Potter, nodding his head.

For Lily… Thank you.

Potter was unable to talk now. Without answering, Snape aimed his ebony wand at the trapdoor and intoned a spell to pull himself upwards, holding onto the rope ladder.

“Get Hugo Avery,” he said brusquely to Rosier and Mulciber. “Tell him he can have Potter. You can help him, of course.”

Mulciber looked mutinous.

“The Dark Lord’s wishes,” Snape said.

Mulciber stormed off, cursing under his breath.

Snape flew down the corridor towards the holding cells, his heart racing furiously, wand out. He had thrown a silencing spell at the oubliette. He hadn’t forgotten anything. This was a dangerous game. But he loved Lily Po- Evans, Lily Evans, with all his heart. It was worth it, if it meant he got to be with her for the rest of his life. He stood in front of the door to her cell, taking deep breaths and flicked some dandruff off his dark robes, before entering the room.

                                                  ***

Severus pushed the heavy door slowly, almost reluctantly, now that it came to it. He looked uncharacteristically agitated, his waxy cheeks flushed. Relief swept over him as he looked at Lily. She looked upset but safe. She was shackled to the wall, her hands above her head, tied together. She was trembling and pale. There was no sign of the Cruciatus, or other dark magic.

“Are you alright, Lily?” He said, hurriedly throwing a potent heating charm at her. “What are you doing here?” Lily’s husky voice surprised him, he hadn’t heard her screaming.

“What happened? Did they hurt you?” Severus said, moving closer to Lily and regarding her anxiously. “They hurt me by hurting him,” she whispered.

Tears tracked down her cheek, and Severus wiped it with his thumb. “I’m so sorry, Lily,” he said, his voice trembling – he was slightly scared of her, and then there was unexpected guilt - guilt about lying, guilt about how James was going to die. “I tried to... I tried...”

He stopped and took a few breaths, looking at the ground.

“I tried to save him, I tried some healing charms and... and I sent the others away. I wasn’t sure what to do, Lily, but then I was called away and Avery had... I was too late, Lily, I’m so sorry.”

He couldn’t look at her.

“No, Sev, please, not James, please,” Lily’s broken whisper made Severus’ heart ache.

“I’m so sorry, I’m... you don’t know how sorry I am,” Severus whispered back. “I’m desperately sorry.”

Lily didn’t say anything, silent tears streaming down her face.

“He... James and I, he spoke to me, he thanked me for trying to save him, before he... he asked me to save you, to get you out of here. I promised him I’d do it. Do you understand Lily?” She was looking at him blankly, through her tears, her mind far away in some distant time or place. “Lily!” Severus whispered urgently. “Lily, he wanted you to be safe! He insisted I save you! He told me a code word - I’ve no idea what he meant, but he said to tell you - Graham’s Number.“ “Graham’s Number,” Lily repeated quietly, as though dazed. “James.” “Yes, James,” Severus said, trying not to sound impatient. “We have to leave now, I promised him I’d get you out of here! Do you understand?”

Lily nodded, still crying.

“My beautiful,” she said. “My gallant lad.”

“Yes, yes,” Severus said, eying the door of the cell. “We need to leave! Now! If Voldemort finds us, we’re both dead!”

Lily stared at him intently. After a few seconds she smiled vaguely.

“I’m so sorry Sev, let’s go, I just... it’s so much to take in, you know? I can never thank you enough, for trying to save him, for being such a noble person?”

Severus squirmed.

“It means everything to me,” she said, her red-rimmed eyes looking into his soul.

“It’s nothing,” he said firmly, refusing to hold eye contact and pointing his wand at the chains. “Frangit!”

The chains broke, and Lily collapsed into Severus’ arms.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “Can you help me? I don’t think I can walk?”

                                                 ***

He heard the trapdoor groan, one at a time he heard the light footfall of young men jump down the rope ladder. He wouldn’t let himself think of her. She was safe. Lily - the kindest, bravest, truest person he had ever met. Their baby was safe. He had managed to keep Snape’s Legilimency away from those thoughts. Voldemort’s reaction to his rant, his own interaction with Snape - both had played out exactly as James had predicted, practically word for word. In another world, another future - he could see Lily and their two children, all four of them, standing in that field surrounded by wildflowers and joy. It was not to be. Not in this lifetime.

He looked up at Avery, ready. “Fancy meeting you here? I knew we’d get you in the end, Potter!” Avery laughed. “Looks like today is my lucky day!” He was rubbing his hands together with glee, his laughter loud and erratic, his eyes wide. He had changed drastically since James had last seen him in King’s Cross Station all those years ago. There was no trace of boyishness left in him, despite his laughter - his eyes were cold, lifeless, bitter.  “What a pitiful way to die! This is how traitors die, Potter! How your friends will mourn! When I’m finished with you here, I’ll move on and kill your little mudblood. It will be reassuring for you to know what sort of death awaits her, won’t it?” Avery’s shrill laughter echoed around the dungeon. Please, if there is a God, let her be safe, he asked, closing his eyes. “Scribo per Ignem!” Avery cried, as a dark, liquid, ink-like substance poured out of his wand and floated in front of James, suspended in the air, shimmering as though molten. “Proditor!” Avery said, with a slash of his wand.

The liquid rearranged itself into the word “traitor”, that seared into the skin of James’ chest, sizzling as it burned, unbearable. “Crucio!” said Avery, placing the tip of his wand inside the burnt flesh.

James blacked out with the pain. He flirted in and out of consciousness, each time the pain overwhelmed him and he felt everything fade into blessed darkness, one of the three men threw a powerful healing charm at him, which kept him awake long enough for another Crucio. Mulciber and Rosier joined in, Sectumsempra one of the many spells they used.

He could feel his body weakening with the blood loss. Lily would have their child, a boy, Harry. Thinking about Lily would only endanger her safety, in case she felt his presence. His parents would be proud of him for saving Lily, and they would have a beloved grandchild. Sirius and the Marauders would make the most excellent uncles. Nobody was a loser. For a moment he thought of Sirius losing his blood brother, then losing him too. He closed his eyes and concentrated on his brother, ignoring the pain. I’m fine, Sirius old chap, this is how it ends. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m too weak to cope with losing any of you. You deserve a long life with Moony, the best man we have ever known.

He opened his eyes again and saw Mr and Mrs Evans standing beside him, smiling.

“I kept my promise, Sir,” he tried to say.

When he blinked, they were gone. He fought it, yet as he sank into darkness, all he could think about was Lily.

Lily, Lily, Lily…

[omgrachwrites]

The Princess and The Duke - Chapter Eleven

Pairing: Sirius Black x Reader

Summary: As the Princess of Spain, you were always supposed to marry King James of England to make an alliance between Spain and England. When he marries a woman at his court for love, you are married off to his best friend, Sirius Black the Duke of Bedford to keep the alliance. However, the court is riddled with secrets and a rebel in the North starts to rise against the Throne. Royal AU.

Warnings: fluff, angst, mentions of blood

Words: 2607

Disclaimer: This gif doesn’t belong to me!

A/N: Please don’t hate me for this chapter! Hope you guys enjoy this part and please let me know what you think and let me know if you would like to be tagged, I love you all! xxx

Chapter Eleven - There Goes My Hero

A soft smile had already worked its way onto your face by the time that you had woken up in your husband’s warm arms. You remembered your dream – it was a beautiful dream – Sirius had stayed by your side forever and he never had to go away to war again. But, you knew that your life couldn’t be like that, that was the curse of marrying a Duke.

Gently, you untangled yourself from his arms and padded over to the window when you noticed that it was snowing. You smiled in awe when you looked out of the frost covered window; perfect snowflakes were falling from the white sky before drifting to the ground in a quiet whisper. March was a strange month in England, there had been a couple of really warm days where you and Sirius could have picnics by the lake among the beautiful flowers that were starting to bloom.

But, soon enough, the weather turned cold again and you were greeted with snow. Not that you minded all that much, you absolutely loved the snow, it was beautiful and magical, it could make the most ordinary thing pretty and sparkling. The cold weather was also a great excuse to snuggle up closer with your husband.

Behind you, Sirius grumbled sleepily and you smiled as you turned around to see him sitting up, running a hand through his shorter hair. He offered you a gorgeous sleepy smile and you admired how devastatingly handsome he was in the mornings, “good morning, my love. What are you doing all the way over there?” he pouted like a child as he reached out his arms.

You giggled as you rolled your eyes playfully, “it’s snowing outside, I wanted to see how pretty it was,” you smiled as you padded over to the bed and climbed back into Sirius’ warm arms.

He pulled you closer so you were leaning against his firm chest, “you are the prettiest thing in all of this world, never mind the snow,” he chuckled as he kissed your flushed cheek and you felt your insides tingle with joy. He was silent for a moment as you traced gentle patterns against his skin, running a nail over his scars, smiling when he shivered, “are you still angry with me, Y/N?” he whispered.

You grimaced, he was going back to battle, you’d managed to keep him at home with you for three blissful months but you knew that he was going to be going back. He would be leaving in a couple of hours. An argument had broken out on his last night because you were so scared of losing him, you heavily regretted the fact that you’d gone to bed angry.

You shook your head as you leaned up to kiss him, “I wasn’t angry, not really. I was just scared, I’m sorry Sirius.”

“You have nothing to apologise for, I understand,” he pressed a kiss against your forehead as he stroked his fingers through your hair, “I promise that I’ll be here before its time for you to give birth,” he rubbed his hand over the swell of your stomach, making you smile, you only had a couple of months left, “do you want to go for a walk or something? We have a few hours before I have to leave.”

You loved walking in the snow and Sirius always looked so beautiful when the snowflakes got caught in his hair. But, you couldn’t bring yourself to leave your warm comfortable bed. You shook your head as you cupped his cheeks, stroking a thumb over his rough stubble.

“No, I don’t want to go for a walk; I want to stay here in this bed with you until you have to leave. Is that alright?”

Sirius nodded as he grinned at you wickedly and pressed a chaste kiss to your lips, “that’s absolutely perfect, you know, there’s a lot we can do in a few hours,” he smirked.

For the last few hours you had together you made love and talked about the future; including the name of your unborn child. Sirius said he didn’t mind but you could see it in his eyes that he wanted a little girl. All too soon, it was time for your husband to leave so the both of you reluctantly got dressed and said goodbye for the second time.

“Come back to me,” you whispered against Sirius’ lips as you planted a lingering passionate kiss on his lips.

You felt him smile into the kiss before he pulled away slightly and he lifted your hands to his lips, “always, my love. I’ll always come back to you, I promise, I love you.”

“I love you too,” you smiled with tears in your eyes as you stood back so he could mount his horse.

Lily wrapped her arms around you and you leaned your head against his shoulder as the both of you watched your heroes ride off into the distance. Sirius took your heart with him.

So far, Sirius had been gone for a month and you hated every second of it. Again, you had no idea whether he was dead or alive; you knew it wasn’t safe to send letters while he was on the battle field. The snow from March was replaced by the warm breezy days of April but the warm weather didn’t help brighten your mood. It seemed that Sophia was worried about you too, so she suggested that you go for a walk on the grounds.

It was now clear that Sophia was pregnant so she couldn’t hide it from Lily anymore, like you, Lily had been shocked but she wasn’t angry at Sophia, she just looked a little sad. You had still heard rumours about Sophia fly through the court but no one had been horrible to her, due to the Queen’s protection.

You smiled as the scent of the spring flowers was carried heavily on the wind and it made you feel so much lighter. You sighed, feeling happy for the first time in ages as you linked your arm through Sophia’s and rested your head on her shoulder.

“I’m not ready to let you go to France,” you pouted, “I still don’t trust Francis and you’ll be so far away. We’ve never been apart, not even when we were children.”

Sophia smiled at you as she pressed a kiss to your cheek, “Francis is actually rather charming, and France isn’t so far away.  You and Sirius, and your baby can come and visit whenever you want.”

“We’ll be taking you up on that offer,” you giggled, “I think we’re planning to spend most of the summer at Sirius’ chateau,” you sighed wistfully as you thought of the hot summer days and the balmy nights. It would be the three of you, instead of just the two of you, “I can’t wait to go back to France. I’ll miss you and I know that Lily will miss you too.”

Sophia flushed as you both sat on the stone bench by the trickling fountain that had a beautiful statue of a mermaid in the centre, “the Queen has been much too kind to me.”

You took Sophia’s hands in yours as you smiled at her, “you deserve kindness, Sophia. Every bit of it.”

“Thank you, Y/N,” she grinned.

You closed your eyes and listened to the pretty sound of the trickling water, and the beautiful song of the lark. It was a pretty day and you were happy, the only thing that could make it more perfect would be if your beautiful husband was by your side. You sent your love to him, wherever he was and you prayed to God that he would be safe.

Suddenly, a pressure lurched in your stomach and you winced as you sucked in a breath, “did the baby kick?” Sophia asked with a smile and you nodded as you pressed your hands against your stomach.

“Yes, I think that someone’s getting a little restless and impatient,” you let out a breathless laugh, you were also getting impatient, you wanted to meet your child. A couple of minutes passed by and you felt another kick but this time it was painful and you felt a strange sort of warmth. You felt the colour drain from your face as you realised that it wasn’t a kick. It was a contraction.

“Sophia, I think my water has just broken,” you gasped as you clutched at your stomach.

Sophia’s eyes widened, “but it’s a month too early! Are you sure?”

You nodded and cried out as another contraction wracked through your body without warning, “trust me, I’m sure.”

Straight away, Sophia helped you up, “we must get you to your confinement,” she wrapped her arms around you and helped you into the castle as quickly as she could. Your chambers felt so far away when you were in so much pain.

Sophia helped you onto the bed, “I need to get the midwives.”

“No!” you whimpered as you reached for her, “please don’t leave me alone.”

“I’ll be two minutes, I promise,” Sophia tried to smile.

Sophia was true to her word, she was back within minutes, with Lily and the midwives, and she clutched your hand. You had never felt pain like this, it felt like you were getting split open.

“I can’t do this alone! I need Sirius, someone please send for him,” you cried, momentarily forgetting that he was at war, “he promised that he’d be here.”

“You’re not alone, Y/N,” Lily told you kindly while Sophia wiped a cool cloth over your burning forehead, “we’re here by your side, you can do this! Think of being able to welcome Sirius home with your baby.”

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

Panic shot through Sirius’ body as he wiped the blood from his eye as he looked over at the enemy lines and saw that his best friend had an arrow in his chest. If James didn’t get help soon then he would die and England would be thrown into turmoil. The enemy had left the King to die, it was clear that they wanted him to have a slow and painful death; Sirius wouldn’t leave him here to die.

The rain was pouring now but maybe that was a good thing, maybe it would cause a distraction while Sirius rescued James. Before Sirius could second guess himself, he leapt over the barricades and he ran across the battlefield. He thought of nothing in that moment apart from saving his King.

“Sirus, no!” Remus called after him, “it’s a trap!”

Sirius ignored him as he splashed through the mud and he reached James who was desperately trying to put pressure on his wound, blood spurting through his fingers. He looked pale and he was shaking as he looked up at Sirius, “you shouldn’t be here, just leave me.”

Sirius furiously shook his head as he felt tears sting at his eyes, “James you’re my best friend, and my King. I’m not leaving you here to die, I promised Lily that I would bring you back to her, you wouldn’t want to make a liar out of me would you?” he chuckled as he hauled James to his feet and let James lean on him as they made their way across the battlefield as quickly as they could without letting James bleed out.

Remus laughed and shook his head as he helped James over the barricade, “you’re crazy, Sirius.”

Sirius laughed, “well, I couldn’t let our King die,” he didn’t see the rider but he felt the knife go in and out of his side before he had a chance to climb over the barricade. Sirius gasped as he held the wound in his side and he looked down, seeing the blood blossom through his armour.

“Sirius?” he heard Remus say but his voice was distorted, almost like he was underwater. Sirius let out a pained laugh as he felt his head spin, his eyes grew as heavy as lead, and he couldn’t keep them open. That’s when everything went dark.

When Sirius woke up he was in a moving carriage that smelt of mud and blood, and he groaned in pain, he had never felt anything like it, he cried out as the dull pain wracked through his body. He felt hot but cold at the same time, if he didn’t know better, he would have thought that he was dying, it felt like dying. It felt like the blade was still in his skin. James gasped – he was alive – as he gave Sirius a drink of water, it was the sweetest thing that he’d ever tasted.

“You’re alive! We’re going home, Sirius we won! It was one of Voldemort’s men who stabbed you. Due to the fact you rescued me, the Scots want to make a deal, and you’re a hero, Sirius! As soon as we get home, I’m going to make you a Knight.”

“Y/N, I want Y/N. I want my wife, where is she?” Sirius breathed, she was the last thing that he thought of before darkness overtook him again.

The room smelled sickly sweet and rotten, it was the smell of death. James bit his lip as the doctor looked up from Sirius’ motionless body, “he’s in worse condition then I thought but he’s still alive, you acted quickly, Your Majesty. I hope that he’ll make it through the night but the odds are slim. Call for me if his condition gets worse, or better,” the doctor wiped his bloody hands on a rag as he packed away all his supplies.

James nodded as sadness swelled in his chest, he couldn’t lose his best friend, and he would feel guilty about it for the rest of his life. Sirius was close to death because James had to be saved, it would be his fault if Sirius died, it would be his fault if Y/N was left alone. James followed the doctor out into the corridor where Lily was standing with her arms around Y/N. Y/N was weeping, she looked heart broken.

“He’s a hero, Y/N. He saved my life.”

“I’m glad that you’re alright James,” Y/N offered him a small smile, “how is he?” she asked, hope in her eyes and James hated to be the one to break her heart further. But he didn’t have to, the doctor spoke up for him.

“It’s best if you say your goodbyes, Duchess, I doubt he’ll make it through the night.”

Y/N choked on a sob as she looked down at her twins before she walked into Sirius’ room, James sighed as Lily laid her head on his chest and James wrapped his arms around her, they didn’t want to leave Y/N.

“Sirius,” Y/N sobbed, “Sirius, you can’t leave me, you promised,” she sniffled as she reached down and kissed him on his forehead, brushing his hair off his forehead, “we have twins,” she let out a broken little laugh and sat on the chair by his bed, “we have a boy and a girl. Johnathan and Elena, they both look just like you. We need you to fight this Sirius, fight this injury. James told me what happened, you’re a hero, and I just need you to come back to us. Come back to me, you need to meet your children and watch them grow up,” she choked on her tears.

“Come on,” James muttered to Lily, let’s give them their privacy, Lily nodded sadly as she kissed James’ cheek and they walked down the corridor together. Sirius had to get through this, he just had to.

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

@smiithys​ @elayneblack​ @amelie-black​ @siriuslyjanhvi​ @pregnant-piggy​ @lindatreb​ @mabelle-cherie​ @hxrgreeves​ @britishspidey​ @mads-bri​ @classicrocketqueen​ @sxtansqueen​ @hufflepuffzutara​ @missmulti​ @bruxa0007​ @ourstarsailor​ @fific7​ @galwithbluethoughts​ @2410slb​ @sunles​ @krismeunicornbaobei​ @theincredibledeadlyviper​ @deathkat657​

[beeapolitan]

A Different Rhythm

Happy holidays, @onetruethree​! I was your @mlsecretsanta​ for the year!

I’m sorry it took so long to finally finish, it ended up being a lot longer than I initially planned. But I hope you still enjoy this Marigami fic!

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Kagami felt the tense vibrations of her wooden sword slamming against marble travel down her wrists and up to her forearms. Another strike off target from the wool dummy facing her. The fourth miss in ten swings. The nagging numbness in her hands was all the proof she needed to confirm her recent observations.

It was obvious – she was off her rhythm. Not just in her swordsmanship, but in every other manner of her being. It wasn’t hard to pinpoint the cause of the shift. Life had turned upside down for her in the past few months. Instead of being isolated and given a mountain of work to do, she had found out what it was like to be social for a change. Getting to fence with the famous Adrien Agreste had opened a lot of doors for her. She gained a friend, an avenue of escape from everyday life, and a collection of experiences she’d never even considered possible for herself.

And on top of all that, there was Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Her first real friend outside of Adrien. They hadn’t started off on a great note, but things had been steadily improving since then. She had come to consider Marinette someone very dear to her. Lately, Kagami had become fairly skilled at coming up with excuses to see her friend whenever her mother’s iron grip eased up a bit. Solitary fencing practices turned to café meetups, simple runs for food became quick shopping trips, and morning jogs often lead her past the Dupain-Cheng Bakery where she could at least catch of glimpse of Marinette, if nothing else. In her younger age, she would have been caught by her mother already, but the restrictions weren’t as tight as they once were. She clearly had a ways to go before her mother would let her off the leash completely, but there was still a clear improvement.

Despite the improvements, there were still plenty of reminders that Kagami was basically chained to her mother’s hip. The most recent of which sat on her bed just within eyeshot. A slim bright white kimono with black outlines of lilies lining the sides. It was specifically given to Kagami by her mother to be worn at a meeting with some important people. Kagami only partly listened to her mother’s instructions once she laid the kimono out for her. It was common for her to be dragged along to meetings and events with little warning or explanation beforehand. It was a bother, but a necessary one. The more she complied with that side of her mother’s requests, the easier it was to live life in her own way when she was alone.

In any other context, it would have been a beautiful piece of clothing to wear, but looking at it only reminded Kagami of how she felt lately. About how her mother toted her around like a pet instead of a daughter. If the progress she had made felt like climbing a steep staircase, the reminder of her status in the family was like those same stairs flipping around to put her back at the bottom. It was so frustrating. All this training, the studying, and for what? How much of it would it take to be seen as the person she’d become instead of the sole Tsurugi daughter?

Kagami raised her sword overhead and brought it down hard on the training dummy’s head. If she split this thing in two with raw strength, would that do the trick? Her mother had always preached strength as a part of her training. How much did she need to be free of her influence? She brought down the sword again even harder, rattling the dummy on its stand. She hit it again, her arms pushed forward by her anger. She hit again and again, her strikes growing in power yet lacking her usual accuracy as they flailed around. With a loud shout, she swung for the dummy again but missed, causing her sword to go flying out of her hands and straight into a set of ornamental blades on the wall. They rattled around for a minute before remaining in place.

Just before Kagami could breathe easy, the lower hanging blade of the two fell from its sheathe, landing right on the edge of her bed. Right where the kimono from her mother lay. If Kagami’s breath hadn’t been held, she might not have heard the sound of tearing fabric so vividly. She didn’t move from her spot after the sound finally stopped. Standing still in the middle of the room granted her a defense from the truth, albeit a weak one. In reality however, there was no escaping the fact that her burst of anger had gotten her into unbelievable trouble.

Slowly, she inched her way over to her bed to inspect the damage. When she finally got there, her eyes bulged at the sight. It was a big tear, a jagged line running diagonally across the back of the kimono. It was shaped like a crooked smile, mocking her as her blood ran cold. Kagami could practically hear her mother’s shrill yelling coming through it, holding her in place.

She couldn’t stay here. She had to move.

Kagami carefully folded the kimono and placed it inside her duffel bag after removing her fencing equipment. She slung the bag around her shoulders and bolted out of the house, the thumping of her quick footsteps down the stairs matching the sound and pace of her heartbeat. The bright midday sun hit her eyes hard once she made it out onto the busy Paris streets. It didn’t take long for her feet to propel her in a random direction.

There was nowhere in the city she knew of that could undo her mistake very easily, but leaving it be was not an option. If her mother found out about the tear, it would make their home hell on Earth for the next few days. Kagami would practically be put on lockdown, forced to study and train with no contact to the outside world. That couldn’t happen. She wouldn’t let it. And yet, she knew determination would only get her so far. She still needed actual help.

When it came to fashion and clothing design, the first person to come to mind was Gabriel Agreste, but she obviously couldn’t go to him. Whatever pact he shared with her mother would expose her the second she told him about her accident. No, she would have to try harder than that to find help. But where was she supposed to start? After leaving her home, she had simply been walking without a destination in mind, hoping that some luck might be thrown her way for once. That wasn’t looking all that likely, however.

Kagami finally stopped her train of thought long enough to look at where she was walking. She had autopiloted to a part of town that seemed familiar to her for some reason. That reason became strikingly apparent once the smell of baked goods drifted past her nose. Her head jerked to the left, where a large window with gold trim on the edges sat just a few feet away. She had seen those very windows plenty of times, as well as the pair of bluebell eyes fixed right on her. Behind the large glass window stood Marinette, pinches of flour dotting her face and the tan apron hanging from her neck. Marinette put on a wide smile that pushed her cheeks up and waved.

Despite having absolutely nothing to be happy about, Kagami couldn’t stop the thin smile forming on her face at the sight of the blue-eyed girl.

“Kagami, hey!” Marinette’s voice bounded with her steps out of the bakery door. “What are you doing here?”

“I, um, happened to be passing by.”

“Oh, in that case, do you want to come inside? I just finished making some sweet buns.”

Once the initial butterflies had died down, Kagami realized what she had stumbled upon. Maybe her luck had come through after all.

“Actually, Marinette…do you think you could do me a favor?”

“Hm?”

It wasn’t often Kagami was able to be in a house that wasn’t her own, especially not one that radiated so much pleasantness. Marinette’s home was the very definition of comfort, with smells of warm bread coming from the bakery below and an atmosphere that made you feel like you were being swaddled in a thick blanket. Walking into Marinette’s room in particular gave her the same feeling as being met with the midday sun coming out of her own house. It was so bright and lived in, with pictures lining the walls and odd little trinkets in every corner, the type of room you’d see in teenage movies. Kagami sat on Marinette’s bed, watching as she held the kimono aloft for inspection.

“Thank you again for this, Marinette. I’m truly in your debt.”

“It’s no problem at all, Kagami. I’m just surprised you trust me enough to help with this.”

It would have been easy for Kagami to say that Marinette was her only remaining option. That the visit was simply because she had nowhere else to go, no one left to turn to. But she couldn’t ignore the fact that her feet had led her to the bakery before any other options came to mind.

“Of course I trust you. We’re friends, are we not?”

Marinette let out a little giggle. “We sure are. Just give me a little bit and I’ll have this fixed up for you.”

There was a simplistic kind of joy in watching Marinette work on something fashion related, Kagami thought. She was used to seeing her friend tripping over herself and her words, unable to perform normally when in a crowd. Here, there weren’t any signs of that trademark clumsiness. Marinette pulled thread with one hand and measured with the other, rolling herself to different spots at her desk like an electrical impulse firing through a neuron. It was a bit mesmerizing to watch. After a few minutes of this, Marinette stopped moving and mumbled something to herself. Kagami craned her head to the side to see Marinette hunched over her desk, searching through a bunch of baskets.

“Is something the matter?”

“It’s not a big deal, I just need a bit more thread to finish out your dress. We’ll have to go to the store to get some more.”

“Oh, I see. I apologize for inconveniencing you like this.”

“Don’t be silly, it’s just a short walk into town. Come on, let’s go!”

There wasn’t any time to get another word out before Marinette grabbed Kagami by the wrist, leading her down the stairs and onto the city streets. True to Marinette’s word, they were in and out of the fabric store in no time. With that being done so fast, Marinette suggested spending a little longer having fun in the city. Kagami wasn’t sure at first. She probably shouldn’t push her luck anymore than necessary. Then again, there were still a few hours until she actually had to meet her mother at the Métro. A few hours which she could happily spend in the company of Marinette. After all, her mother had given her no instructions for how to spend her time before the event, and even if she had, she was too far away to do anything about it. Kagami accepted, her steps becoming a bit lighter beside Marinette’s as they headed deeper into the city.

The more time the two spent together, the more Kagami found herself enamored by Marinette’s presence. It was the way she rambled on about the process of making baked goods, diving into every little process with striking detail. The way her eyelashes fluttered looking at the sights in the city as if she were seeing them for the first time. The little squeak of effort she made when trying to lick a stray speck of ice cream off her face. It was all too much to handle.

The girls eventually found themselves in the park, walking down a shaded path amongst the other many Parisians enjoying the atmosphere.

“We were lucky it’s such a nice day out,” Marinette said. “I love coming to the park in this kind of weather.”

“I agree. This is exactly the kind of climate I prefer when I’m training. My mother won’t show it, but I suspect she’s a fan of days like this as well.”

“Yeah, I can’t say I see her showing any excitement over a sunny day either. Do the two of you come out here a lot?”

“Yes. So much so that it honestly feels a bit weird not having a sword in my hand right now.”

“Well if you miss it that much…” Marinette broke off from Kagami’s side and wandered into a row of trees. She crouched down and began picking through a bunch of sticks on the ground, holding each up before picking two that were a decent size. She walked back over to Kagami and offered her one of the selections.

Kagami took it and raised an eyebrow. “What exactly are we doing with these?”

“Putting that training of yours to the test.” Marinette bent her knees and spread her feet apart, pointing her stick straight out. She twirled it a bit with a cheesy grin. “En garde, Kagami!”

Kagami couldn’t help but laugh at the sight. “You honestly think you can best me in fencing? That’s cute.”

“You’re cute!”

Kagami’s grip on her makeshift sword weakened. Had she heard that right?

“I–I mean, your thinking is cute! You thinking that you’ll beat me, is what I’m saying.”

Ah, that made more sense. It wasn’t the most effective trash talk she had heard, but it had gotten her fired up, so it did the job. She leapt in, slashing at Marinette with the same ferocity she’d show in a real match. There was no need to hold back, not when she knew Marinette was more capable with a weapon than she seemed. Most people might try to prioritize fun over victory in such a situation, but for Kagami, the fun would come from showing off the full extent of her skills.

This was all second nature to her. Fencing came as easily as walking in a straight line. There were steps to it, strategies to follow; everything happened for a reason, so there was no point in being unsure of herself. If there was one part of her mother’s strictness she could have faith in, it was the skill she had gained from so much practice.

She could deal with Marinette’s style of fencing easily enough. For every unorthodox thrust, she had a counter. For every hasty burst of aggression, she could dodge and parry. When it came to exchanging swords, she could manage, so the idea that the same couldn’t be said about casually hanging out was painfully annoying. After all, combat training couldn’t stop Marinette’s eyes from being so piercing. What was she supposed to do when Marinette whiffed a strike and put on a cute pout? How was she supposed to defend herself against a voice that sounded sugary sweet and always left her wanting to hear more?

Even with Adrien things hadn’t been this complicated for her. Back then, she had a clear target and knew exactly how to go about getting to it. Picturing being with him was as simple as picturing her fencing saber piercing an opponent’s shoulder. At least it had been at first. Once she actually became friends with Marinette, she had noticed her drive wavering just a bit. That was only natural wasn’t it? She knew Marinette had feelings for Adrien, it was obvious. The stuttering when she talked to him, her avoidance of eye contact, the toothy smile that usually came with a weird hand motion that barely resembled a wave; the list of evidence went on. Kagami could see it so easily because that’s what she knew a crush to be. Part of her had always wondered if being upfront and composed in similar situations made her seem less passionate by comparison. Even if it didn’t, she couldn’t dispute the fact that her behavior had put her where she was now.

The way she had been feeling the past few hours was how she wanted to feel around Adrien. That’s what she had been telling herself for months. But anything involving Marinette had a tendency to get complicated very quickly, and Kagami’s own feelings were no different. Nothing made sense when it came to the baker’s daughter. As much as she tried to ignore it at the start, she had been drawn in by Marinette’s aura. It had the same presence that her house did, an energy of pleasantness you couldn’t help but get wrapped up in. She hadn’t spoken to Marinette’s other friends very much, but from the little she had, it was obvious that same energy affected them as well. Marinette had the ability to turn on a light in others no matter who they were, a fact Kagami was becoming increasingly aware of with each passing day.

For better or worse, Marinette had fanned the fire inside her. She wasn’t sure exactly what she felt, but it was strong. Much too strong to ignore.

Kagami shook her head midbattle to regain her focus. Even with it being a small contest between friends, she wasn’t about to lose in her area of expertise. Marinette was doing well to keep up with her for the most part, but that was about to change. Kagami switched up her footing just before going for a horizontal slash, causing Marinette to jump backwards. She had good reflexes, but her lack of technical experience took away too much of that benefit. As soon as she jumped back, Kagami was already making a beeline for her landing spot. Marinette’s eyes went wide at the sudden burst of speed. She raised her stick in defense, but by that point it was already too late. Kagami thrust forward her own stick, softly jabbing Marinette’s shoulder right when her feet touched the ground. Marinette let out a yelp as she fell backwards, landing in the grass next to a row of bushes.

Kagami tossed her stick aside and rushed over to help. “Marinette, are you okay?”

“Oh yeah, definitely.” Marinette stood with Kagami’s help and brushed the dirt off her clothes with a chuckle. “Looks like you win.”

The girls collapsed on a bench nearby, fits of laughter poking out between frantic attempts to catch their breath. For something that started as a simple game, they looked as though they had run a marathon. If Kagami’s mother could see her now, she would no doubt give out one of her signature scolding sessions. She’d chastise her for treating combat like a game, and immediately schedule additional training days for her to boot. But her mother wasn’t there. No one would rip this feeling away from her. This feeling of chills racing down her arms that were more of a thrill than a disturbance. That pesky fire was acting up again, filling her body so much that she could feel the heat in the tips of her fingers. She placed her hands together on top of her lap to try and cool down.

It was a few minutes before the breath returned to either of them. Kagami’s ever running train of thought got brought to a halt with the sound of Marinette’s voice breaking the silence.

“So…how are you and Adrien doing?”

The question smacked her atop the head like she was a training dummy, unable to predict or defend. Even after thinking about that very subject for the past few minutes, being asked that still caught her off guard. How should she answer?

There was a time she wished Adrien would get his head on straight and focus for once. Focus on her. But that nagging mentality was slipping more every day. There was contentment in her relationship with him. A sense that she had exactly what she needed from it. They enjoyed each other’s company, they confided in one another, and there was mutual understanding that they would be there for each other if needed. It had taken a while for things to become what they were, but ultimately, she was satisfied. That same feeling was nowhere to be found with Marinette. There was only a hunger for more time, more moments like these where she felt lighter than ever. Like she wasn’t tied to her home or responsibilities anymore. Their days together always seemed to end so soon, leaving her desperate for the moon and sun to exchange places again so she could start the whole process over. But Marinette hadn’t asked about all that; she wanted to know about Adrien.

Kagami brushed her hair aside with a thumb, hiding her expression from Marinette. “He’s a good friend. I’m grateful to have him around.”

“Just a friend? Did…something happen between you guys?”

“No, we’re fine. But you may have the wrong idea of what we are to each other.”

“Oh, um, I see. That’s good. I’m happy you two are friends then.”

Kagami could have similarly asked Marinette how she and Adrien were doing. She’d like her two closest friends to also have a good friendship with one another, after all. But what would such a question open up? Would she start to gush about him? Would she have the same sort of answer about them just being friends? As much as she liked to call her feelings mixed up at the moment, she couldn’t deny that the idea of Marinette still being head over heels for Adrien made her feel like a heavy weight was being dropped on her chest.

No, she wouldn’t ask about their relationship. Good or bad, she didn’t want to face whatever answer was given to her. Staying silent was the easier option.

“Well, guess we should head back now,” Marinette said, shooting to her feet. “I’ll finish your dress and get out of your hair.”

The walk back to the bakery was a silent one with both girls drowning in the awkwardness of the previous conversation. Kagami felt the frustration bubbling up inside her like magma. She had never been one to hesitate when it came to going after what she wanted, so why was this any different? It probably had something to do why she was having trouble looking Marinette in the eyes lately. While they had been sitting on the bench, all she could do was stare straight ahead at the sights in the park. The cluster of pigeons bouncing along the ground, the repetitive flowing of water out of the central fountain, things she saw every time she came there. It was maddening knowing that those things were all she could focus on even when the sight she wanted to gaze at the most sat just inches to her left.

That was one of the parts she liked best about sitting in Marinette’s room. Watching her work from behind removed all the unease of being face to face. It was an odd feeling, having regressed from where she started to being so flustered nowadays. But that was all a part of evolution, she supposed. Just as her skill got better over years of practice, these feelings she was starting to acknowledge were blooming faster with each interaction. She figured Marinette didn’t know it, but her presence was cultivating them like a flower bed.

“Are you sure I can’t help you?” As someone who was constantly training and always in motion, Kagami hated sitting on her hands and leaving everything to her friend.

Marinette spun around in her chair with a smile on her face. “Oh, don’t even worry about it. It’s just a simple little repair, that’s all. Hopefully I can handle this for you and make up for being such a poor friend.”

Kagami stiffened at those words. Where had that come from? How could Marinette even entertain the idea that she was a bad friend?

“What would you have to make up for?”

“I guess…I haven’t been able to shake this feeling that you don’t like me very much.”

“Why would you think that?”

“It just seems like all I do is mess things up for you when I’m around. I called your first match with Adrien incorrectly, I was a nuisance at the Ladybug movie premiere, and I still feel bad about how I acted on Friendship Day. I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t like my company.”

“Well you’re wrong!” Kagami found herself standing and shouting, her face flushed. “I like you very much, Marinette.” Kagami realized her sudden outburst and cleared her throat, her posture shrinking a bit. “I just mean that I consider us very close. So you don’t need to have any worry.”

Marinette rubbed the back of her neck with a nervous smile. “That, um, makes me feel a lot better actually. Thank you, Kagami.”

Kagami nodded as Marinette rotated back to her desk. She quickly sat back down on the bed, grateful that Marinette’s back was turned to her. It gave her a chance to fan her face despite the fact that the burning she was feeling was definitely internal. If her legs weren’t wrapped around themselves right now, she’d have started kicking herself for blurting out her feelings like that. All that careful planning just for her to throw a fit anyway. How annoying.

“And there we go! All done now.” Marinette rolled away from her desk with the finished product in hand.

Kagami let out a thin breath of relief holding the mended kimono. She ran her thumb down the formerly torn side, the new stitching giving her the comfort she needed. It looked as good as new, and not even her mother would be able to tell the difference. She had gotten exactly what she wanted.

And yet – looking at the door out of Marinette’s room made her heart sink.

Walking out meant ending another fun day just to sit in a stuffy room with people she barely knew. She’d bow, show a smile, then move onto the next person for who knows how many hours. She hated the idea of having to make such a good impression with these strangers. For all she knew, they would forget her name and face the second the meeting ended. But her mother had demanded her attendance, so her frustrations didn’t amount to much. She simply returned the smile her friend gave her.

“I can’t thank you enough for this, Marinette.”

“Oh! Well, it was nothing, really. Anyone could’ve done it, no big deal.”

“That’s not true. You’re very skilled, you know. And I…wouldn’t have left it up to just anyone either.”

There may very well have been other ways for Kagami to save herself today, but having Marinette come to her aid was certainly a preferred turn of events. Even so, she felt a familiar worry biting at her heels just thinking of all she’d done in the past hours. It wasn’t like she regretted her choices for the day, but that didn’t stop her from fearing the repercussions of not meeting her mother’s demands. How long would it take to make up for the impromptu adventure? Was there enough time to get home and do everything she still had to do? Or would she have to go unprepared to meet her mother? No, that would be just as bad as not showing up at all. If she showed even a hint of not taking her mother’s orders seriously, she would regret it for a long while. But if she kept thinking like this, all that worry would devour her.

It was Marinette’s soft voice in her ear that snapped her out of the spiral.

“Is something the matter, Kagami?”

“I don’t have much time before mother’s meeting starts. I’m not sure I can get home and make myself presentable before I have to meet her at the Métro.”

“Oh, is that all? You’ll just have to get ready here then! I’ll even help you.”

Before Kagami could protest, Marinette was already pushing her behind the large changing screen in her room. The dynamic between them was growing more confusing by the hour. Kagami hadn’t had a friend like this before, which made gauging the exact nature of their relationship that much harder. Was this just the normal amount of kindness you showed to a friend? Or was Marinette going above and beyond specifically for her? And if she was, what was making her do that?

There was nothing really suggesting that Marinette felt all that strongly about her, especially after the talk they just had. If she thought Kagami didn’t like her, then she surely wasn’t harboring any deep feelings within, right? But there was always the possibility that she was, and Kagami just didn’t know. Kagami hated not knowing for sure.

Luckily her overthinking had let her get ready without too much conscious effort. The very idea of having to prepare herself with Marinette so close was not something she wanted to entertain. Her opinion would be the only one tonight with any real effect on her, so it was best to avoid that altogether. Kagami did her best to shoo away the tinges of red dotting her cheeks before stepping out.

Marinette’s eyes seemed brighter than before as she stood up to take in all of her friend’s new look. “Wow, Kagami, you look beautiful in that kimono.”

And just like that, the red was back in full force. A soft “thank you” was all she could get out past pinched lips.

“Oh, it looks like your makeup smudged a little. Hold still, I’ll fix it.”

Marinette reached up and cupped the sides of Kagami’s face, moving in to touch up her eyeliner. Kagami could feel the warmth of slow breaths brushing across her nose with Marinette so close. She thought that if Marinette held her any longer, she would melt under all the heat.

Then again, even if that happened, Marinette’s arms would be waiting for her. Suddenly melting didn’t seem like such a bad idea. Unfortunately for her, Marinette’s quick handiwork extended to her makeup skills, her fingernails grazing Kagami’s cheeks as she pulled away.

“Perfect! You’re all set, Kagami.”

“T–Thank you. I apologize for being such a handful.”

“Not even. You turned a slow day into a great time! I’m only sad it couldn’t last a little longer. Come on, I’ll walk you to the station.”

Kagami’s eyes were restless as she walked to the Métro, seeking out an excuse to spend more time with Marinette as if one would magically appear in front of her. She walked with her bag pulled close, desperate to feel the buzzing of a call that would tell her of canceled plans. No such luck.

Why was Paris never chaotic when she needed it to be? She didn’t necessarily want an akuma attack to happen, that was too extreme. Although getting to see Ladybug was always a treat. No, she just needed the city’s usual brand of irregularity to pop in like it always did. But today there were no random traffic jams, no city-wide celebrations to slow things down. There was nothing to stop them from walking down the station stairs and coming face to face with the metal train doors she had been dreading. The doors opened with a hiss, adding on to the already growing discomfort inside of her.

Kagami started to speak but held her tongue. Nothing she said would change things anyway. She started towards the train, but a shout from behind stopped her mid-step.

“Kagami, wait!”

There they were. The two words Kagami had been mentally begging to hear the entire way to the station. She spun around on her heels, staring right at Marinette. She held her breath unsure of what would be said next.

“Yes?”

“Um, I just wanted you to know that I had fun today. And that you shouldn’t feel bad about having to leave because I’ll be here when you get back. So, hang in there, okay? I already can’t wait to see you again!”

It wasn’t exactly what she’d wanted to hear, but anything coming from a face that beamed so brightly was enough to make her happy. At least for a little while.

“I feel the same. See you soon, Marinette.”

Kagami put a hand up as she backed onto the train. Marinette returned the gesture with the motion of an actual wave. She soon disappeared in the swarm of people rushing their way onto the train. There was nothing Kagami wanted more than to push past everyone else and latch onto her friend again, but knowing the consequences of that decision kept her motionless. The harsh truth she had been fighting against for so long swallowed her whole as the train doors closed.

At the end of the day, it wasn’t about what she wanted.

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Marinette walked home with less of a spring in her step than usual. She’d had a good day all things considered, but her feet felt a bit heavier after saying goodbye to her friend and beginning the walk back. She looked down at her purse as she felt it open from the inside, revealing Tikki, her mouth in a pout.

“Kagami didn’t look very happy when she left, did she?” Tikki asked.

Marinette sighed and lightly tapped her kwami on the head with a finger. “No, she didn’t. I hope it wasn’t because I did a bad job fixing her dress.”

“I’m sure that wasn’t it. It looked really pretty when you were done.”

“Yeah, she did. Er, it did, I mean. The dress. A–Anyway, it might have something to do about being around her mom and all those strangers.”

“Will it really be that bad for her?”

“I can’t say for sure. I know things are tense between her and her mom, but even today she seemed a little off. I hope things aren’t actually getting worse between them.” Marinette suddenly stopped in her tracks with a gasp. “Oh no, Tikki…you don’t think she could be akumatized again, do you?”

“I don’t think so. From what I heard and saw today, she didn’t seem quite that upset. I’m sure she’ll be okay.”

“Still, I can’t help but worry. Even if she doesn’t lose her cool, what about her mom? If she notices my work on the dress, she could flip out on Kagami and then be the perfect target for an akuma! Oh, maybe I should transform and follow the train just in case.”

“Relax, Marinette. It sounded like Kagami and her mother are going somewhere pretty far away, so I doubt Hawkmoth would even notice their emotions all the way out there.”

“I…guess you’re right.”

Marinette let out a long breath and started walking once more. She was grateful to have someone like Tikki by her side to keep her in check. Still, her worry wouldn’t just disappear anytime soon. Hopefully the event went quickly so she could call and check on Kagami. Then she’d be able to sleep easy at least.

“You sure were in a hurry to be by Kagami’s side again,” Tikki said. “Maybe someone wants to take advantage of the fact that Ladybug doesn’t get all tongue tied around her.”

“Hey, I did just fine today as myself, didn’t I?”

Tikki giggled. “Sure, if you don’t count calling her cute to her face.”

“Oh, why did you have to remind me of that, Tikki?”

That had been the one part of the day where she felt strange around Kagami. Usually their time together resulted in bubbly, bouncy feelings that had her grinning from ear to ear. Today was no different, except for that one brief moment in the park. Stating that Kagami was cute wasn’t anything new to Marinette, but it was the reaction the comment caused that had thrown her off balance. Kagami’s normally pale face gained a stripe of red right through the middle, rising along her nose and ending on the curves of her cheeks. It hadn’t just been cute; it was adorable.

Marinette was used to verbally jumping ship on most things she said, especially when she was nervous. But today’s slip-up felt a little different. She had barely been able to clarify her comment over the sound of her heart thumping in her ears. It was the same kind of feeling she used to get when talking to Adrien.

Marinette smacked her cheeks lightly. What was happening to her? Things had gone from weird to manageable to good and now back to weird. Well, not as weird as when she and Kagami first met, but still odd enough to notice. In the past few weeks, she had focused on building a more platonic relationship with Adrien, and that was going surprisingly well. She had also tried the same strategy with Luka, which was proving to be just as effective considering his easygoing attitude towards most things. It was definitely a difficult switch to make mentally, considering how strongly she cared for them both, but something inside had made her stop short in her pursuit. That same instinct was clueless when it came to how she saw Kagami.

And on the topic of Kagami, if she wasn’t interested in Adrien anymore, what had changed? Was it the same thing that she felt changing in herself? It was beginning to feel like the more she pulled back from Adrien and Luka, the more she found herself drawn to Kagami. Not just in a way that craved quality girl time, but in a way that made the rest of the world fuzzy when they were together. She didn’t feel this way around Alya, her best friend, or even any of the other girls like Rose or Juleka or Alix or Mylène.

It was all that confusion which really begged the question; what exactly was it that she wanted?

“Marinette!”

Marinette whipped around at the sound of her name being shouted into the night. Standing under a streetlight several yards away was Kagami, wide-eyed and out of breath. Her white kimono caught the light from overhead, making it look like she was glowing.

Marinette closed Tikki back in her purse and ran over to where her friend stood. “Kagami? What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at that gathering?”

“I couldn’t go.”

“What? Why not?”

Kagami hung her head low, inching towards Marinette with steps so small her feet might as well have been sliding across the pavement. “Because…I want to be here with you.”

“To be here with me? But why – ”

“I couldn’t leave because I don’t want anyone else but you.”

Marinette bit her lower lip, stopping herself from making some awkward noise in response to Kagami’s confession, but also to prove she wasn’t dreaming the scene in front of her. The words between the two of them were ones she had dreamt of hearing for a long time, but not from the person standing in front of her. She had expected these words to come gently and sweep her off her feet, but instead they threated to knock her over where she stood. Kagami wanted her. She didn’t want anyone else but her. Just the echo of the words in Marinette’s mind were enough to make her legs shake.

“Thinking of you…spending time with you…it makes me so crazy I can’t stand it!” Kagami’s fingers gripped her chest so tightly it looked like she might tear her own heart out with brute strength. “I’m tired of pushing all of that down, but…I don’t know where to go from here.”

Marinette’s hand seemed to move on its own, wrapping her fingers around Kagami’s trembling ones. The surge of warmth that followed helped prove this was real. Kagami finally looked up, meeting a gaze as watery as her own.

“Well…we can figure it out together.”

Marinette lowered Kagami’s hand and held her palm, sliding closer to touch shoulders with her. Her head didn’t feel so cluttered with Kagami beside her now. It was all starting to make sense. She almost had to stop herself from giggling just thinking about how earnestly Kagami had said all of those things to her. At the very least, she knew that she would get an earful about this from Tikki later on. But this new development was worth a little embarrassment.

“So, what are you going to tell your mom?” Marinette asked.

“Well, unfortunately there was an akuma attack just before I could leave the city,” Kagami said with a shrug. “I had no choice but to stay here where it was safe.”

“Oh, of course,” Marinette said, her hand covering her mouth dramatically. “And where would a safer place be than my family’s bakery? Staying with us was the only option really.”

The giggles came fast to both girls as they walked with linked arms down the street. There was a lot to figure out, and their joint decision tonight would surely lead to some consequences down the road, but for tonight they could forget about all that. The telltale fuzziness was coming back to Marinette with Kagami so close, blocking everything else out except for the stunning girl in front of her. Taking her in all dressed up was almost enough to knock her off her feet. Fortunately, Kagami was hanging onto her so tightly that she didn’t have to worry about that. Walking beside her now brought a very different rhythm than Marinette was used to, but it was one that she was wanted to embrace more than anything.

[weasleydream]

dreams are my reality - last part

this is the last part, finally! I really hope it’s good, please let me know! 

As usual, feel free to like, comment, reblog and enjoy!

Masterlist

~ although it’s only fantasy ~

If I was being completely honest, opening my eyes the following morning surprised me a lot. However, this bubble of relief exploded when I realized three things: Sirius was not next to me in the bed, this bed was not in my room, and I wasn’t alone.

_ _ _ 

I was pretty sure I didn’t know the woman. She was wearing some strange kind of white dress and a headdress that was covering her hair. She said something to me, but I didn’t understand. Another woman, younger than the first, said something too, but no sound reached my ears. I thought with annoyance that they were just moving their lips on purpose, but then I realized I was plunged into a deep silence, and if what I felt until this moment was anxiousness, this new information made me trip over the edge. The women reacted quickly; one put her hands on my arms, firmly but with goodwill, I knew it. The other quickly left the room, and something caught my eyes just before the door closed, something familiar even though I couldn’t put my finger on it. She came back a few seconds later with two vials in her hand and made me drink them one after the other; the first transformed the deep silence into an annoying buzzing and the second made my eyelids so heavy that I didn’t have any other choice than to close them. 

The next hours, or maybe days, passed in a blur. The only things I perceived were a mix of undefined forms and colours, with sometimes a sound I was unable to identify and sensations I couldn’t hold onto. It was just me and my confused mind, a succession of questions I didn’t really formulate and answers I couldn't even begin to think of. 

I didn’t know it yet, but soon I would wish for things to stay like this forever. 

_ _ _ 

It was usually a bad idea to go to St-Mungo’s when we were hurt after a mission for the Order, but Sirius’ life was threatened, and no one thought of another option. James and Remus had disappeared through the magical barrier way before Lily, Peter and I. They were carrying Sirius’ body as carefully as they could considering the fact that they were running. Lily and I were helping Peter whose leg seemed to be broken in several places and making sure no muggle was around. At first I had taken this task as an opportunity to avoid thinking about Sirius’ lifeless body, but it appeared that it was inefficient. Each dark corner of the empty street was a new hiding spot for the ghost of the death eater, and each pavement seemed to be stained with blood that shouldn’t have been spilled. 

The barrier eventually appeared in front of us and we crossed it without a second thought. The boys’ arrival had already disturbed the usually perfect organisation of the nurses; they were running everywhere, sometimes barely dodging patients that didn’t understand what was happening. Three nurses stopped in front of us. Only now did I realize how much of a poor sight we probably were: Lily’s left arm was folded against her stomach, Peter was standing on one leg and he was paler than death, and my shirt was soaked in blood. That was without taking into account the shock that was paralyzing us. Two of the women exchanged places with Lily and I to bring Peter in an empty room at the end of the main corridor while the last put a hand on Lily’s back and a hand in mine to lead us in another room.  

“How- Sirius?”

The nurse looked up to me with a neutral expression. 

“I don’t know. I’ll ask my colleagues as soon as you're up and around.”

She left a few minutes later, and Lily and I followed her. She brought us to the part of the hospital where Sirius was being taken care of, and we joined James and Remus who were already waiting. Peter wasn’t here yet. That’s when the longest hours of our lives began, as we were waiting to know if Sirius would live.

_ _ _ 

Slowly, the different sensations that were forming my world for way too long stopped being confused. And before I could even clearly realize it, I opened my eyes for the first time since the incident with the two women. 

This time, the room seemed empty. It was getting dark outside, and the light that was coming through the window was weak enough for me to look around me without being blinded. The walls were white, the sheets were white, the bedside table was white, everything was white. The only touches of colour were coming from the flowers on the bedside table and from the blanket that had been thrown on a chair that seemed uncomfortable. If my instincts were correct, I was in a hospital. 

As if my questionments had summoned her, the old woman I had seen the first time opened quietly the door and her head appeared. When she realized I was awake, she slipped through the entrance and closed immediately behind her. 

“Miss Y/L/N, how are you feeling?” Without waiting for my answer, she reached the side of my bed and helped me sit before arranging the pillows on my back. 

“How long-” I croaked out, and the soreness of my throat gave me the beginning of an answer. 

“You arrived here five days ago. You woke up a first time yesterday but there was a problem with your ears, I guess you remember that.” I nodded and she squeezed my forearm gently. “Your friends have been waiting impatiently for your awakening. I’ll have you pass a few exams and then you’ll see them.”

The next hour or so was full of all sorts of medical exams that I had never heard of. The nurse made me drink dozens of different potions, cast several spells, and she even asked me to cast a few myself. Finally, after what felt even more tiring than a match of Quidditch, she took a few steps back and grabbed the flying booknote that had followed her since the beginning. 

“Mmm, yes, okay…” she murmured as she was reading her notes again. Then she stayed silent for a few seconds before looking up to me again with a small smile. “You’ll stay here with us for another few days, simple precaution. But I’ll allow your friends in your room - this way, maybe they’ll stop harassing me with questions every time they see my shadow.”

I nodded, amused to think that it was indeed like them or at least like Sirius. The nurse put the notebook on the other table that was on the other side of the room and opened the door widely. A split second later, a hurricane burst through the door.

“Y/N!” It was Lily’s voice. I barely had enough time to register her red hair flying behind her that she was kneeling on the bed and tightening me against her as if her life depended on it. “Don’t you dare do this ever again! We were so scared!”

I wrapped my arms around her and attempted to stroke her back in a soothing way, but I only had one question in mind. 

“What- what…?” Talking was too painful, so I looked up to Lily hoping she would understand what I was asking. 

“You mean what happened?” she asked with furrowed eyebrows. “You don’t remember?” I shook my head. “It was- I don’t know if I should tell you, then, I think- I think it’s better if you forget it.” She seemed embarrassed now, as if what had happened would be too much for me to bear. “You really don’t remember the mission?” 

_ _ _ 

Four days and still no amelioration. No one said it because it was our duty to stay hopeful for each other, but we had all thought of the possibility that… Sirius wouldn’t make it out alive. The first time it had been implied by a nurse, James had exploded and almost pierced the wall with his fist, and nothing like this had been said again. It was twenty-four hours ago. 

Peter had obtained the right to keep his room, but he was never the one sleeping in his bed. We were all so worried that walking away from Sirius’ room for two minutes was too hard; the only moments when Peter’s room was occupied were when one of us would fall dead asleep on a chair. It never lasted for long, though. 

The night after the fourth day was the hardest without any hesitation. Somewhere around 3 a.m. Sirius' state changed brutally. It was so unexpected that we didn’t even understand what was happening, not until Peter, Remus, James, Lily and I were told to wait outside of the room. It was a strong stream of people that was coming in and out of the room and no one ever answered our questions. We were all on the verge of a nervous breakdown; it seemed so difficult for James that he repeatedly snapped at Lily whereas she was giving him news about Harry, who was still at the babysitter. Remus hadn’t said a word in hours, Peter had been staring blankly at the wall for at least ten minutes, and it felt like my heart was simultaneously stopping and exploding with every noise that reached us from the room. 

It’s during the middle of the fifth day that, finally, a nurse told us what had happened. 

“Your friend woke up during the night,” she first announced before lifting a hand, which stopped Peter’s exclamation. “He’s suffering from aftereffects, but we have good hope they’ll be temporary.”

Then she stopped and looked at us one by one, visibly waiting for a reaction. For my part, I was afraid I had understood it wrong, and I didn’t dare say anything. The last days had been so hard, so horrible, that it seemed impossible that they could have a happy ending. 

“What- what…” stuttered Remus. 

“He’ll be fine. I’m positive he’ll wake up today or tomorrow.”

I wanted to let my relief and my joy burst, but I didn’t have enough energy. Instead, I looked up to my friends: James had wrapped Lily tightly in his arms and she was murmuring soothing words in his ear, Peter was looking like he had deflated and Remus was as white as the wall. And yet, there was a bubble that had taken place around us, a bubble that had brought warmth and a feeling of security. Sirius was going to live, everything would be okay. 

He would live. 

_ _ _ 

Lily knew there was an internal battle that was raging in my body. She used to say my eyes always showed what I was feeling; this time, however, she didn’t say anything. She was sitting on the uncomfortable chair, waiting for the news to sink in, and I was sitting in the bed. I was staring at something that I couldn’t see, probably because I needed to fix my eyes on something to be sure I wouldn’t have to face reality. Somehow, it didn’t seem that surprising to me; maybe it was because deep down I knew it, or maybe it was because of some strong instinct, the fact is that I wasn’t exactly flabbergasted. But it didn’t make it easier to accept, far from that. In a way, it made it even more painful, as if the knife that had just been plunged in my chest was now being shaken in every direction. 

Since I was a kid, I had always had this little notebook on my bedside table. When I was 7, it was pink with flowers on every page. When I was 10, it was the colour of the sky in the middle of a summer day. When I turned 11, it took the colours of an old parchment and some green ink, and it had stayed the same since then. If the colours had changed throughout the years, its content had always been the same: it was my dreams. Sometimes, I just described an image, a vague memory of something I thought I had seen, and sometimes it was a detailed account of everything I remembered. Now, if I had felt like thinking in an ironic way, I would have said that I soon would have a novel to write. 

Without even realizing it, I crossed my fingers. This is when the missing of the very simple golden ring Sirius had given me hit me, and it took me a second to comprehend what it meant. 

“Do you understand what it means, Y/N?” Lily asked quietly. “Whatever you remember… It didn’t happen. It was just- it was all in your head.”

_ _ _ 

“How is it possible?” Lily saw my lips moving but my voice didn’t reach her ears. She got up slowly and sat next to me without a word. “How is it possible?” I repeated, louder this time. “It was three years ago… I- I remember every day, I’ve lived everyday… Lily, it’s impossible! It’s- no, I don’t believe it, I-”

“Calm down Y/N, it will be okay.” 

Lily used her most soothing voice and put both her hands on my shoulders. If usually it was enough to help me, this time it was completely useless. I jumped backwards and folded my knees against my ribcage. This position made me feel a bit later, as if being curled up in the tightest ball would make me become invisible. 

“You’re lying…” I sniffled. “I want to see Sirius…”

Lily sighed and got up. Without a word, she opened the door and glanced once again at me before disappearing. A few minutes later, the door slammed open again. 

“Y/N! I’m so glad you’re alright!”

It was Sirius. I had the hardest time believing all of this was true, but to see him brought me another proof. His hair was longer than they were the last time I had seen him - or the last time I thought I had. His cheeks were more hollowed too, and he had dark bags under his eyes. It was exactly how I remembered he was before that mission. 

“Y/N… What’s wrong?” Uncertainty was filling his voice; he had probably realized I was looking like a scared animal. 

I was now sobbing. With each sound that left my mouth my throat tightened a bit more, and each tear that rolled on my face made my eyes sting a bit more. No matter how firmly I was trying to brace my knees, my arms and the rest of my body were shaking like a leaf when the wind is the most powerful. Sirius’ hand slowly brushed my back; it earned him a weak flinch. 

“Tell me what’s wrong.” he murmured again before delicately stroking my hair. “I need to help you, please…”

I shook my head, and Sirius rolled his eyes. 

“Have I already told you how stubborn you are?”

“Only a dozen times... “ I whispered. 

Sirius chuckled softly and his fingers brushed my cheek. 

“Is it a smile that I see?” 

The only answer I could give him was a slightly larger smile. My heart was still heavy and my face still covered in tears, but Sirius was next to me and wedding or not, he was still my anchor to this world. His arms surrounded my shoulders, and without thinking about it I hid my nose in the crook of his neck. It was hard not to think about all the things I had lost without having had them at all when his scent was all around me and when his hands were on my skin, and they soon became so vivid that I couldn’t ignore them anymore. 

“We were married…” I whimpered, and the lack of reaction from Sirius led me to wonder if he had heard me. Until he asked me more about it, that is. 

“What did you just say?”

However he didn’t move, and it made it easier for me to tell him everything. Absolutely everything. I didn’t know what terrified me the most; that he could laugh, tell me it would never happen, or just think I had gone crazy. Clearly, the story of the three years of living together my brain had created had taken a toll on him, he was tense and stayed silent for way longer than usual. I couldn’t bring myself to talk first, so I just sat there, still hidden in his neck, waiting for any reaction he would give me. 

“You said James cried when we told him?”

It was my turn to stay silent, because I didn’t understand why the first thing he found to say among all the possibilities was to ask if James had really cried. Sirius slowly loosened his grip on me, and his shining eyes found mine. 

“And… Were you happy?”

“I was.” 

Sirius nodded and lifted his hand to untangle a strand of hair. He was smiling, not really looking like he was outraged or something like this, and several times he opened and closed his mouth. He was obviously looking for something to say and I was too, but what was I supposed to add to clear the air? 

Even though it was less violent than earlier, the door suddenly opened and three heads appeared. James, Remus and Peter rushed in the room and literally jumped on the bed, which sent Sirius on the floor. James was just in front of me, his arms were the first to wrap around me and he hugged me for a few seconds before pushing me backwards and looking at me with a mix of anger and relief. 

“Why the hell did you do that?” he shouted, even though in his voice too different feelings were fighting. “I was that close to cast Protego! Remus would have killed him without a problem and- and-”

“Shut up James, would you?” intervened Peter. “You see that she doesn’t understand what you’re saying, don’t you?”

Indeed, I was completely lost; I did remember Remus killing the death eater, but the rest was obviously very different. I glanced at Sirius: he had gotten up but his eyes were attached to the floor. 

“What happened?” I enquired. “I don’t-”

“You protected me, that’s what happened.” Sirius’ voice was firm and emotionless, way too similar to the one he used when he was deeply hurt or ashamed. “You shouldn’t have done that, by the way. It was stupid… I’ve never wanted you to risk your life for me.”

“Sirius, a thank you would have been great too, you know.” 

“Certainly not! You almost died and I’ll never forgive myself for it! Y/N, I just can’t bear the thought of you being hurt and even less when it’s because of me!”

“Hey, hey, Sirius!” I tried to reach out for his hand, but he was too far. Sirius sighed and sat on the edge of the bed and I grabbed his hand. “You know, one day you told me- or no, I imagined you telling me… No, said like this it’s weird. It’s just that… Sirius, dying to protect you is not something I fear. It would be… an honour.”

“Don’t say that…” he murmured. “Please, never say that again.”

And he engulfed me in a strong embrace that I gave him back. Our friends had discreetly left the room to leave us some intimacy, and I stayed in Sirius’ arm for a long time. For the first time since I had opened my eyes, things felt like they made sense. 

_ _ _ 

Real life was less easy, that was for sure. The war wasn’t over, Voldemort hadn’t magically vanished, we were all still more or less hurt after that mission, Harry was still growing up in a dangerous world. But we were fighting to make it better, and things were slowly working out the way we wanted them to. 

Sirius and I had spent a lot of time together, and he had made a point to make sure one day, my dreams would become my reality. 

It was a promise that he had stuck to, and that he had fully kept the day he had asked me to marry him, more or less three years later. 

The end 

tag: @padsfirewhisky​

[reiven2017]

Delicate steel.

Chapter 3.

Lately, she felt worse than usual and listening to the words of the teachers, Rachel knew that she should listen, or at least not be distracted, but all she had the strength to do was just slowly watch from the side as her brain turns off and her soul leaves her mind. It was a strange state of emptiness. If only old death would mock her, taking away, then returning life and watching it as if it were a scene from a TV series. Rachel just snorted at the flow of bad thoughts. But no matter how much Roth tried to deny reality, reality did not want to leave her and Raven had to admit to herself that after unsuccessful attempts...she's getting worse.

Rachel barely flinched when the disgusting ringing of the school bell reached her ears and shivered again, shifting in her chair. It was chemistry, this subject had never caused Raven any problems or not ligaments, but now she frowned at the barely completed test and in one quick movement shoved it into the pile of others, wondering what would happen after. The figure should not worry Rachel much, but for some reason she felt like a fool.

Raven clucked disapprovingly at her behavior, attracting the attention of some people. If she's going to keep whining, she should at least wait until she gets home. She looked around the audience, stumbled upon the fact that half of the class had safely left the lesson, and the other was intensely discussing the test and finding nothing interesting for herself, pushing her chair back with a creak, began to collect things.

For some reason, this action aroused the silent interest of her classmates. They gave her a close look and Rachel was sure that she heard the word "Mouth and strange" several times in their sentences, but decided to keep it to herself, only smiling with one corner of her lips at this. She was quite calm in such situations. Rachel never tried to have communication with someone and this was the norm in her behavior, even when it caused disapproval from society, she simply allowed people to call herself a country. The only mistake in the conversations at the last school made much to be desired and left some scars on her, so Raven with firm confidence did not want to repeat this. Rachel winced wearily, feeling a subtle tingle in her temples and she stopped in the doorway of the classroom.

Of course, we didn't need Rachel Roth's migraine for a full ass.

======

The road to the house took no more than half an hour and Raven breathed a sigh of relief when she saw a white fence in front of her and a strange garden gnome who reminded her of a homeless man. She slipped through the fence, hoping that she did not fall under the attention of her very sensitive neighbor, Mrs. Rogers, who considered it her civic and even heroic duty to monitor every plot standing on the street. Rachel glanced at the windows in the neighbor's house, noticing that the lights were not on anywhere and mentally thanked God for such luck.

Mrs. Rogers was a plump lady, in the very, as she herself said, the dawn of strength and energy, with a rather fancy nachos on her head resembling a poodle. She had narrow blue eyes, but she always looked at everyone with a squint that seemed from a distance it was only two blue stripes. She had a button-up nose, like the most aristocratic lady, and she always kept white gloves on the belt of her floral dresses. In general, she was such a not very kind, but very curious woman with an overestimated sense of elegance and royal chic. So when Mrs. Rogers saw Rachel on the eve of the party in shabby jeans and a stretched T-shirt and Oh my God!without a bra, it seemed to the girl that she was declared war without any warning.

For this reason, now the Mouth was trying very hard not to catch her eye. She didn't care much about this woman's opinion, she always felt like talking to her during an interrogation and wondered if other people had the same thing, but it was easier to get around the problem than listening to an hour-long monologue about how Lady should behave.

Rachel darted across the yard just as quickly, almost hitting a flower pot and killing lilies, when the front door finally closed behind her. She cast a frown at her sneakers, with the remaining pieces of earth from the battle with the lilies, and was reaching to take them off when she heard her mother's voice coming from the kitchen. - Ria, is that you? She heard her mother talking to Ben in the kitchen, too quietly for Rachel to hear, but enough to arouse suspicion and the girl mentally tensed. From the kitchen there was a variety of different smells of food and it was quite strange for an ordinary Friday. Rachel finished with her shoes and was about to dive to the second floor, annoying herself on the topic of why her mother was so prepared, when the doorbell rang behind her, and voices were heard on the street. She could recognize this voice from a thousand others.

Oh, no.

Mrs. Rogers.

Raven was ready to literally howl with despair.

Angela came around the corner in time, dressed in a blue dress and with perfectly smoothed brown hair, which was a rarity, and clicked disapprovingly at her daughter's martyred expression. - Don't make such a plaintive look, honey, yesterday I told you that I invited our neighbors to our house for dinner. - Rachel stupidly patted her eyes looking at her mother. Mrs. Roth's eyes narrowed menacingly. - Just don't you dare say that you forgot. Raven batted her lashes again, but her mind was still racing.

Oh, yes, that day you decided to listen to Rachel Roth.

- We will talk about this topic again, young lady. - her mother finished sternly, and Raven realized that her death was close and was willing to at least die at the hands of her own mother than from the chatter of Mrs. Rogers. Angela pulled a smile to her ears, rushed to open the door to the guests. Rachel wearily lowered her gaze to the floor and her eyes involuntarily widened. Hands.

Fuck.

Rachel continued to pick at the vegetable stew with her fork, remotely listening to the conversations of adults. It had been an hour since their friendly neighborly gatherings and Raven was ready to personally dig a secret passage with a spoon to escape. At first, she received a contemptuous look from Mrs. Rogers, then she found out that Mr. Rogers was quite silent and neutral in his behavior, which Raven immediately liked, the next shock was that this woman has a child and even more, the same age as Rachel, and this gave way to a conversation on the topic " They will become friends!".

Raven lifted a despondent gaze from her plate and looked at the opposite side. Amelia Rogers. Yes, if Rachel imagined her neighbor's child, then everything was not so sad in her thoughts. Her curly blonde hair was pulled back into a tight bun and tied with a pink bow, a white cardigan, a mint knee-length skirt from probably Grandma Raven's time, and shoes. A set like from the TV series Poirot for some flower seller whose husband died on the same flowers. Not that Raven was the one who judged people by their clothes, but she judged by Mrs. Rogers. She carefully watched how Amelia sits, sometimes says something quietly, and then buries herself in her plate. Rachel couldn't stand it. Mrs. Rogers didn't even stop watching the girl as she ate.

Probably in my mind calculating whether she holds her elbow at the right angle.

The thought made Rachel chuckle softly, and she immediately regretted it when Mrs. Rogers ' narrowed gaze fell on her. Raven swallowed hard. She was ready to sink through the ground even if only to avoid the beginning tragedies from this look.

- Mrs. Roth, I heard from Amelia that your daughter has become one of the best students in the school in such a short time. - Rachel appeared, or she heard the teeth of this stone woman grinding. She cast a quick glance at Angela, who was smiling broadly like any mother, pleased with the praise of her child, looked at Amelia sitting in front of her, holding her breath, and mentally groaned. This was the beginning of a great tragedy.

- Yes, Rachel can be proud in this regard. Studying has always been quite easy for her. Raven smiled tightly at her mother, hoping that everyone present would believe this, but she continued to watch Mrs. Rogers carefully from under her brows. She looked sternly at her daughter, pursing her lips, seeming to accuse her of something that was clear only to them, and Rachel frowned. And what was that just now?

- It's wonderful, it's great when children spend time studying. Angela would have liked to put in a word, but Mrs. Rogers continued sweetly without paying attention to her. - Although, when I first saw Rachel, I did not think that Amelia meant her. - The woman smiled sweetly, covering her rather unpleasant words and sipped her tea as if nothing had happened. - Jeans, a split T-shirt and hair...I will always be categorical against an unnatural hair color and I could not even imagine that this girl would overtake my daughter over the past few weeks. Raven was sorry she hadn't put laxatives in her tea. She looked at her mother, who was taken aback for a moment, not knowing how to react to these words, but then she caught herself and tried to put a friendly tone in her voice. "Rachel, honey, would you be so kind as to show Amelia your room?" At the sound of her name, Amelia jerked her head up and looked at Rachel for the first time. Roth thought she saw a flicker of interest in her eyes. Rei nodded dryly to her mother and did not even look at the guests as she left the table. Raven waited for Amelia to follow her before leading her to her room on the second floor.

As soon as the door to her room closed, Rachel wasn't the only one who breathed a sigh of relief. - Fuck. 

Fuck.

Raven did not immediately realize that these words came from the mouth of that sunny girl Amelia. Who had not uttered a word at the table under the gaze of her mother and who was now sitting impressively cross-legged on her bed. Amelia continued in a tone that didn't match her outfit at all. "Sometimes?" Raven arched a questioning eyebrow at her, receiving a short laugh from the girl in response. She shook her head thoughtfully, and then smiled wryly. - Okay, always. - Amelia.. - Amy. Call me Amy. I can't stand being called Amelia. after a pause, she added cheerfully. - I feel like a flower in a flower bed. Raven smiled with one corner of her lips. She liked Amy better than Amelia.

Amy stood up, her eyes caught on the poster on the wall and smiled.

- I'm glad to find someone in this hole who appreciates the Rolling Stones band. Amy Rogers is always at your service. she held out her hand to Rachel in a friendly gesture, and Roth returned the gesture. She smiled wryly, looking at this handshake, but inwardly shuddered with panic and mental pleading. Her heart began to beat faster, and Raven swallowed hard, unlike Amy, her palm was not so perfect. Raven hoped that this would go unnoticed by her new friend.

- Rachel Ariella Roth. But you can call me Raven. - she saw a playful smile flash across the face of her new friend.

- Wow. I thought they called me shit. Rachel rolled her eyes at this comment, her palm remained in Amy's grip and she still felt the tension in the muscle from this contact. She noticed how Amy was carefully examining her from head to toe, lingering on Raven's hair, which was scattered around her shoulders in disarray, and was already ready for another portion of ridicule.

- And to be honest, the hair fell off the heads. Is it pink? Or purple? My conservative maman will probably allow me to paint mine only in the next life. -  Amelia continued cheekily, releasing her hand from her mouth and from her grip and sitting down on the bed again, tucking her legs under her. Raven hoped that Amy didn't hear her soft sigh and glanced at her palm, crossed her arms over her chest. She swallowed convulsively, thanking God that everything was fine.

- It's not paint. Raven cleared her throat, and Amy stared at her questioningly, eager for an answer. Rachel already mentally regretted that she continued this topic, and did not say her usual "oh,yes". But to some extent, she really liked Amy, which is already difficult to do, especially considering that they have only known each other for a couple of hours and it will not be possible to return their words. - I was born with this hair color. - Cool. Amy said in surprise, but immediately grabbed the phone when the melodious symphony of the bell rang. Raven smiled to herself. She was sure that Mrs. Rogers had chosen the bell. Roth saw a flash of displeasure on Amy's face and she made a displeased grimace at Raven. - Yes, Mom...I got it, okay, I'm already going down. - Amy dropped the call, muttering something else into the phone with displeasure, and Rachel could almost feel how she swore so dirty. Amy jumped to her feet deftly, straightening her skirt and straightening up, smoothly walked past Rachel. - Well, what? Do I look like my maman? Amy asked, twirling her eyebrows merrily. - No...and this is good. - Amelia laughed. - I like you, Raven. - she said honestly, and Raven stared at her stupidly, having no idea how to react. - It was nice to meet you, I hope I'll see you at school tomorrow? 

 Rachel smiled softly at this and nodded curtly. Amy seemed satisfied with this answer, and with a parting wink at Raven, she headed for the exit. Just as she was leaving the threshold and closing the door, Amelia suddenly stopped and nodded at the box in the corner of the room. - And what happened to the mirror? Rachel swallowed dryly and suddenly felt like she was running out of air. - I squeezed my mouth out of myself, and bit the inside of my cheek, trying to show something like a smile.

======

Last night, she found herself really looking at her figure in front of the mirror. Her skin became several shades lighter, even having a natural dead pallor and convinced that there was nowhere else to go on white, Rachel looked at herself in the mirror with mute surprise, noting how ghostly and angular her body had become.

Not that she considered herself an ideal of beauty before, no, Raven was normal, and her hair was quite abnormal, it was a riot of colors from the roots to the tips, but now it was strangely frightening to look at her body and not recognize it in the reflection of the mirror. Her numerous tattoos contrasted so vividly with her skin that they seemed to glow with black funnels and Rachel was unable to understand and determine the time when her body became alien to her.

The girl gently ran her fingertips along the curves of her body, circled the roughly protruding collarbones, followed the bone on her wrist with her eyes, and with a contemptuous grimace, pulled her hand away as if from fire. It was painful, scary, and completely unexpected to look at myself.

It's disgusting.

The sarcastic voice of reason sweetly reminded her that this was her handiwork, it was only her own fault, bothering and bothering her every day, it seemed with the sole purpose of driving her crazy and Rachel got angry. Her fists clenched involuntarily, and her knuckles turned white from such pressure, and in the dry silence of the night room, the wet sound of blood drops hitting the tile was cut through. Raven looked down at the floor and bit her lip, feeling the salty taste of tears and tried her best to restrain the plaintive moan that was ready to break from her lips as emotions one by one flooded over her. She frowned, opened and closed her eyes, squinted and threw her head to the ceiling, as if trying to bring back tears from shame, from guilt and excitement, from a caustic feeling of euphoria, but she continued to feel stupid. Oh, Gods, she was so stupid. What happened in the past should not matter in the future. She kept repeating it to herself throughout the whole evening, like a memorized mantra.

And she almost  believed it, picking up the fragments of the bloody mirror from the floor.

[halothenthehorns]

All in the Family

Chapter 77: The Hungarian Horntail

Sirius would swear the ground kept shaking even as he got himself up onto hands and knees, his vision was staying blurry longer than usual rather than letting anything into focus, and at first he thought it smoke in his eyes as he finally distinguished bonfires dancing all around him.

His long dark hair fell in curtains around his eyes, but now that he'd adjusted, it did nothing to obscure the fact he was face to face with a dragon. He screamed. A high pitch, death like noise that hurt his own ears, causing the fire breathing nightmare to roar louder and spray a white hot breath right towards him. He tried to get to his feet, too fast, and lucked himself into falling just below the deadly blast. Then he did get himself upright and took off at a dead run, until he ran face first into an invisible barrier just barely on the shadows of the last cage.

He staggered back, clutching his freshly bleeding nose but gripping his heaving chest instead, took the seconds it was worth to see the other seven weren't actually in the cages with any of them but staggering about in their own fear, and made the split second decision he wished he'd had available to him two summers ago.

"Padfoot, are you okay?" James asked in concern, seeing the blood matting his muzzle, but the dog merely shook his head, and his whole body with it, before pacing anxiously as far from the nearest dragon he could.

"That's a question I don't expect we'll get an answer to until we leave this spot," Remus pointed out. "Even then, I'm sure it'll just be, shut up."

James nodded in silent agreement and decided to get right to that, summoning the book to him. The book came shooting from in between the feet of the largest black one that had spikes all along it, the blue cover was blackened around the edges and still smoking slightly, not a great omen.

Peter came hesitantly over to them, rubbing at the back of his neck awkwardly but still asking in genuine concern, "is he okay?"

"You try asking him," Remus nearly had to shout over the still roaring beasts, who seemed no more pleased with their presence than them. Remus barely noticed, despite the fact he'd usually salivate at the chance to see live dragons. His eyes were on the nick in his ear once more, barely illuminated in the still bright flames being shot in all directions. His gut clenched once more, he wondered if he was going to be sick again. Why on Earth did Peter come over here to check on them when he had every reason in the world not to?

James Potter read out the very obvious chapter title as the other four stayed huddled in the shadows as well for safety.

"Which one's the horn-tail, do you think?" Alice asked quietly enough she hoped it wouldn't cause the green one to keep direct eye contact with her, glaring in a truly predatory way.

"Ah, the one with horns on its tail?" Frank offered politely, watching Regulus's progress. He was braver than he would have given the kid credit before moments ago, he'd scattered after them upon first finding themselves here, but was now walking back between the four enclosures cautiously to head back towards the Marauders group.

Amazingly, he made it to the other side without a burn, though the blue one had tried her best.

"Why are they here?" Lily demanded faintly. "Hagrid having a baby on the school grounds was insane enough, what the bloody hell is wrong with this Tournament?" She finished by answering her own question.

"I don't want to know," Alice groand, clutching Frank's hand harder. He returned the pressure in kind, all three of them wincing and burying their backs farther into the invisible barrier.

Regulus was chewing painfully on the inside of his cheek as he slowly but openly approached the four like they were more dragons. He had no clear goal in joining them, an oddity itself as he never did anything without a reason. All he was sure of was that he'd never heard his brother scream like that.

James stopped halfway through Skeeter's blithering article, admittedly happy with any reason to stop he was so disgusted, but tracked Regulus coming closer with narrowed eyes. He had three good reasons not to trust whatever he was coming over here to say right now, all involving the three currently around him.

He hadn't said a word about Remus, or to him, but neither had any of the others. He didn't know what would incite Regulus to now, but he'd push the welp into the nearest dragon's cage if that was it.

He had zero clue what that recurring conversation Regulus and Peter had been having was about, but was in no mood to learn of it now when he wanted a chance to try and have Peter back talking to them, he didn't trust any Black to help with that right now.

Padfoot was currently shaking on his strong legs, all fur bristled on end and tail between his legs as he let out heart stuttering growls and soft whimpers intermittently. This bloody area was traumatizing enough to the lot of them they'd be happy to never be so close to a dragon again, he couldn't imagine having to stare at these things for hours with no clear way to escape, again. It was the dog though Regulus had his eyes on as he approached.

Regulus almost couldn't hear his own voice amidst the still painfully loud roaring, so he cleared his throat awkwardly and tried just a touch louder, "is, ah, is he-"

"No, he's not alright!" James Potter was scowling at what he perceived as a stupid question. "You mind if I get around to fixing that?" He waved the book obnoxiously.

Regulus frowned, but shook his head and kept what he'd really been about to ask to himself as Potter continued. Is he going to change back, had been his actual question, as it was hard to put together what his mind was telling him, that this beast was actually somehow his brother. He shot a side glance at Lupin uncomfortably, he couldn't imagine being trapped like that, in a body so, minimal.

The last time he'd seen this massive canine, it had its jaws around a werewolf that would have happily eaten them all. Now it looked like just as much a dangerous animal itself, and a cornered dog was the most vicious kind. The blood just barely visible in the glittering teeth from the injured nose that he'd caused was not helping the image.

His parents would be impressed, he vaguely realized the longer he looked. Despite the fact he had to remind himself every other second that was indeed Sirius, rather than another terror of this Forest, his sixteen-year-old brother was an animagus. Not a fact he'd really taken the time to appreciate back when it had been revealed, considering everything else happening. He shot another anxious look at Lupin, this time out of the corner of his eye, and then glanced through the thick foliage once more to make sure it wasn't a full moon again, but couldn't see through it to be sure.

Orion and Walburga had been wrong about so much, it seemed. The Dark Lord, his screw-up of a brother never managing to accomplish anything, it seemed they were even wrong about werewolves as well. The pale, tall kid that stood half behind James Potter looked more afraid of him than vice-versa as he seemed to be waiting for something just as much as Regulus was. He chanced a glance at Peter, who was still standing just a few feet away more than was casual but standing firmly nonetheless, obviously more weary of keeping his eyes on the massive dragons than any other immediate problem like the two seemingly dangerous animals at his back.

Regulus again had to remind himself of his Animagus lesson he'd had just this year, that the difference was Sirius was in full control of his mind, where a werewolf never was. Just because this terrifying bear-like dog looked like it was going to lunge forward and tear their throats out any second, Sirius wouldn't...right? Surely if he was, he would have done so to Peter and claimed delirium when he changed back, but instead as James Potter kept talking, detailing Harry's reaction to the article, Sirius almost began to relax.

Not by any noticeable means if you weren't looking for it, but Regulus was. Almost one by one, his fur began to smooth out, his tail came out from under him to merely become horizontal, and he was leaning forward on his toes. Careful, calculating, eyes still resting on the danger and teeth bared, but no longer growling quite so loud.

He'd been studying Animagi a bit for his upcoming exams of course, but never with any more intensity than the curricular questions he might perceive. Nothing of the magnitude Sirius must have gone through to be like this. Regulus only knew the very basics, and even those processes were still beyond him. The question that really boggled the mind was, why had he done it?

At the time, the book version of his brother had said it was to help their werewolf friend, but what use could this be except a meal? It had come in handy, certainly, in keeping him at bay, but only for the precious time it took to get away from those deadly jaws. The creature was unreasonable at all senses though, it had nearly torn Sirius and Potter to shreds without a second thought, so clearly no pack mentality had spared him.

It was a conundrum he had no hope of understanding without actually talking to Sirius, and possibly Lupin so long as he was going to stay in his human form while doing it. As Potter had pointed out though, that didn't seem likely to happen until they got away from this place, the Horntail shooting a blast of fire in their direction that all five of them had to duck to avoid proving a valid point.

After that, Potter's reading increased in tempo even more, he almost blurred through Harry's trip to Hogsmeade, and Hagrid's odd invite that nevertheless they all almost immediately understood would somehow lead to this place.

Lily almost wanted to slap the gamekeeper for being so excited about this, even bringing a competitor's Head along like some sort of date. Even Potter could come up with better romance than this!

Alice and Frank winced and pleaded with the ground to swallow them whole on the spot when they heard that the challenge Harry would be facing did indeed include these dragons, nesting mothers to be spacific. The clutch of eggs, now that they knew to look for them, was indeed in the massive shadows well guarded, anybody would have to be insane to get near them! If Harry died trying, what would happen to them?

James' voice wavered uncomfortably as he heard that Karakaroff was sneaking there just as Harry was leaving, his mind going to Cedric and some kernels of pity for the kid who would be the only one of the Champions left out, but the majority of his mind was still on Harry and how he was going to! Hopefully Sirius would be of some help, after he had his own little freak out while talking to Harry in the fire?

He at first uneasily exchanged a small look with Remus as the conversation began, at least Sirius was looking better than the unrecognizable murderer from the Shack had described, but the longer it went on, the more obvious their worried exchanges got. Until finally he flat stopped and his mouth hung open for several beats, and Remus didn't even prod him to keep going.

Sirius had no reaction to the dragons Harry would soon be dealing with. Sirius was more worried talking about the Death Eaters in the castle, like Karkaroff! Sirius...really had changed.

Whether it was Azkaban or just time, they wondered what other little things would he have also prioritized over? He was still reckless, impulsive, this they knew, and he clearly put Harry above his own well-being, at least that was the same... but did he still have sticky fingers when it came to his friends' clothes? Did Sirius still throw his head back and laugh with his whole body? Did Padfoot still remember what it was like to trust anyone besides himself?

The big, glaring obvious difference of what would happen to Peter had shook them to their core, but it wasn't until now they thought back and really felt in their bones how different this world was, almost alien from theirs. It had been almost fun up until that awful moment to think of this as their future, that James and Lily would get together and have this child, that they'd just hear the tales of Harry's insane school years and find out what had killed them so they could keep the good and pretend the bad would never come. The real question though, was how any of this was going to end?

"Would you two quit gaping at each other like fish!" Peter finally snapped as the silence dragged on and Padfoot began whimpering uncomfortably right at their feet. "Dissect his shitty choices later please and get us out of here before we're roasted alive!"

The red one shot a mushroom-shaped fire right over his head to prove his point.

James swallowed uncomfortably, but complied, trying to take what comfort he could that was the first normal thing Peter had said to him in a while, and smothering whose fault that was how long it had been.

Finally as the pages reached their end for this chapter, Regulus did speak up once more, the question coming out of him the least of his concern really, but the only one he expected anyone other than him to come up with an answer to for now. He looked at Remus Lupin, and asked, "does that really help?" His eyes needlessly flickering back to Sirius, err, Padfoot? The dog that had actually almost loosened up, still in a tense weary stance, but of a hunter sighting its prey rather than fending it off. His brother.

Remus Lupin smiled in surprise, but answered cordially, "like you wouldn't believe."

[withoneheadlight]

| a house (is a home) | (i). the keys | (ii). memories&herons | (iii). old dogs&inheritances | (iv). memorabilia | tinyplaylist |

~

The kitchen’s Steve’s favorite part of the house.

It has this odd shape. Trapezoid. “Fuck, Stevie, so goddamn weird”. Doesn’t make sense in a, on the other hand, perfectly rectangular house (or, well, it does but, they’ll only find out about that later). The cabinets are ceiling-high. The tiles of the wall white and cracked under the repeating pattern of light mint-green-stemmed, yellow-petaled lilies. The whole backdoor is painted on that same shade Billy calls Ripe banana dreams, both so terribly old-fashioned and fiercely cute none of them says a word about repainting it. There’s a wooden piece, built into the farthest end of the counter. It looks disgustingly juicy and mercilessly stabbed when they move in, but Billy insists on keeping it, and sanding, and treating, and varnishing it. Manages to get it back up on shape because “Better than anyone, darling you should know what a little touch of class can make”. And for more than two weeks straight the only goal of his life is to learn to cut vegetables at high speed because “I have to live up to this level of professionalism. Impress our most un-impressionable guests”

(And, to Steve’s surprise –and probably hers– when she finally deigns to pay them a visit, his mom is, in fact, pretty much impressed.)

He learns how to make good casserole. Tries his luck with Mexican and Italian. Fails miserably with Japanese. Will never-ever admit it but, he loves it when flour ends up staining every single surface, making the biggest mess around himself when he bakes. Steve knows why it is. It’s a shared feeling. Floats up till it reaches the ceiling and bounces back down to them, heavy with the warm smell of cooking pie and cinnamon. Tastes docile and tamed like “Maybe not so much vanilla next time. Whaddaya think, babe?.” Tastes savage and daring, like the overwhelming tang of freshly squeezed lemon lingering on Billy’s tongue, when he crowds Steve against the fridge and kisses him, nibbles a shuddering laugh out of him “How the fuck are you able to even think about putting your mouth near that thing, Hargrove?. That was––ugh. That was disgusting”, “Well you know me, whatever it takes to make you squirm” leaving Steve with absolutely no option but lick the sugary dough stain over his cheek to “Cover up that foul flavor” and maybe because he wants to make Billy squirm a little too. 

It’s a heart-warming, welcoming feeling. Like the vivid smells of green tomatoes and parsley and mustard sauce. Like the taste of love on Billy’s lips. The way he loses his breath when Steve kisses the sugary flavor into Billy’s mouth with his:

This place smells like home, tastes like home. Like finally, finally. Home.

It’s Billy’s favorite place, too. But Steve doesn’t think it’s just because of that. But also because maybe,

maybe.

He has also noticed that–

There’s this particular, particular moment. It happens around seven on autumns, right when the day starts to fade. It happens between six and six past twenty-eight on winters, and holds the sleepy cheeks of the newborn tulips on Steve’s garden till they fall asleep on springs, sun already sinking behind the horizon by the time both hands of the clock meet over the spiral of the eight, pointing towards infinity. And then grows bigger and bigger and bigger from there, flooding into summer: the golden sunlight seeping through the wide, double-paned window facing the backyard in an oblique angle, making the yellow flowers of the tiles look like they’re re-blooming in gold. 

It’s the moment the day turns into a fire. 

It’s their favorite moment in time. And in this particular, particular day of July, it happens at ten past nine.

Billy is making Spaghetti Carbonara. The kitchen is damp with the rich smells coming out of the boiling water. Mushrooms and oregano, black pepper and lime. A song is cooing at them from the radio, the beat of the drums a boneless memory of that one echoing around the quarry on faraway almost-night on a faraway July. Water rippling under the quiet sigh of the breeze. Trees cutting the liquid rays in asymmetric halves. 

Billy takes off the apron. Turns the stove down.

Reaches out to Steve, fingers wavering come, come, come.

To me. Come to me. “C’mon, Harrington. Do I scare you or what?“

He has this way of looking at Steve that makes the space between them narrow, narrow: the whole unknown world. And aseptic, non-lived-in flat in downtown Florida. This tiny, tiny town. A mysteriously-shaped kitchen––

“¿Can I have this dance?” 

Steve walks to him, takes his hand. 

––Their bodies, pressed flush. 

Inside his chest, Steve’s heart is running. 

(“Can I at least have this dance, before we say goodbye?”

Mazzy Star was playing. The corner of Billy’s eye felt wet where his skin brushed against the corner of Steve’s mouth. They danced till the daylight faded, till there were teardrops falling from the night sky.

“Billy, I don’t have to––” 

“Don’t, pretty boy. Don’t say it. I’ll make you stay if you do. And I can’t do that”)

They made lovelovelove on the back of Billy’s car.)

In this light, they fell in love, they fell apart. Ran away. Ran back. 

Steve nudges at Billy’s chest, makes him move backward till he’s far enough to tug, draw him in between their tangled arms, hands intertwined. Steve curls himself around Billy’s back, noses at the warmth trapped between his curls. He smells like BillyandSteve, like this home, like past, like future. Like us.

Steve whispers in his ear. Three words. Billy’s neck curves towards him. An instinct. Tickled by their warmth. Steve kisses the curve of his ear. Tugs the collar of his shirt aside, bites where shoulder meets neck and up, up.

“Easy, Prom King” Billy teases, grins at him tender and wild. Knows when to use the one that gets Steve every time “Or you’re gonna make me think we’ll become picture-perfect from this magical moment onwards. A bunch of kids. White fences. You know, the whole shebang” 

(Billy crashed the Camaro into a tree in the winter of two thousand and fourteen. Had left the house in a frenzy. Something happened Max wouldn’t talk about. But she was scared, so she had called,

“Find him. Please.. Make sure he’s alright”

When Steve found him, Billy was in the middle of the Brookville road, feet stumbling on the twin yellow lines, following them nowhere. So weary, so impossibly small like this: head hanging, arms wrapped around himself. A crooked shape, carrying the weight of the shadows the tall pine trees cast on his back.  

So unlike him. 

Steve stopped the car at his side, engine oozing steam, shaking in the icy mid-May air “Billy” he said. Low. Careful. Careful. Billy’s eyes looked wet in the moon-silver night, pupils blown, deceivingly calm, “What are you doing? This is dangerous” And Billy’s spine had bent even lower, forearms finding rest on the window frame. Leveling with Steve. Looking wasted, looking tired, but still, he flashed a grin at him, teeth-shark white, never going down if he wasn’t going down swinging. And Steve–– hadn’t known at the moment, but the blood staining his cheek, the screaming-purple mark around his eye.

Those weren’t from the crash.

 “I was sleepwalking, Harrington” he said, voice dry, laugh harsh. Shrugged “Waiting for a lucky strike”)

“What does it make you think that’s not what I’m aiming for?”

(When he took Billy to his house Max was already there. Had sneaked out. “Neil will kill you if he finds out,” Billy said and she nodded, white knuckles peaking red with how hard she was gripping the handler of her bike, and Steve hadn’t seen her cry before, not ever, but her eyes were swollen and wet and,

“Are you––”

“I’m alright, kiddo. You know me. I’m always alright”

And the lie sat heavy, between them. Two lies, covering the truth. Poorly stitched. But Max had called Steve for help, so that’s what he did. Help. Sent her back home. Took care of Billy’s face. Billy’s hands. Nodded at those same lies, let them do their work while taking care of wounds he didn’t know, back then, couldn't have been for a crash. Made him spend the night. 

Billy still hadn't woken up when Steve left the next day, leaving food and a note on the nightstand ‘I’ll be back soon. Stay’. 

Retraced Billy’s steps down the yellow lines splitting the forest in half. To find it.

The Camaro wasn’t done yet. Howled like a wounded beast under Steve’s touch, but stayed together all the way to Donny’s garage. And Steve paid for the repairs. Covered it all up. Max has said “His dad can’t know, Steve. Can’t know. If he finds out he will--” and steve was starting to put two and two together. To realize some billy was, maybe, running away from something. Someone. When he crashed his car.

Woke Billy up when the hands of the clock met over the spiraling infinity of the eight. Seventeen hours straight of sleep and still looking like he could use a lifetime. Told him “The car will be ready in two or three days. ‘Til then, you stay'' covered his mouth with his hand. Didn't let him complain “And If whatever happened last night happens again, you take it and you run. Back here. And you stay again, ok?”

Two weeks later, Billy showed up at his door. Lit him a cigarette. Offered to teach him how to fight.

“I cannot give you back your money, but I know you don’t need that”

Made him laugh.

They spent almost the whole summer together, after that. Some days. Most nights.

Wasting time. Fighting. Joking. Driving.

Falling.

No ‘what ifs’. No promises. Just,

“Leave the light on if you can’t sleep, pretty boy. If I manage to sneak out of the Old fuck, I’ll pick you up. Promise I won’t stop kissing you until dawn. Gotta make up for what you paid for that ca, uh?”

Because Steve was gonna leave. Wasn’t gonna throw a single glance behind his back.

That was the plan.

And he did. He did. But––)

He spins Billy out. Tugs him back. When their chests bump, his laugh bursts, bubbles up. Weightless. Happy. Because all that matters to him, to them, it’s between these four irregular walls now.

And God this, this, is Steve’s favorite part. 

(–ended up coming back running, hoping the love would re-stitch itself as he followed the road’s yellow lines. 

Hoping Billy was the one letting his light on this time.)

Because the sun’s gonna keep on shining. They can keep on dancing in here, in their weird trapezoidal kitchen (in their house, in their home), for as long as they want. Hearts touching. Lips brushing. Bodies swaying, spinning, cutting through the golden light. 

~

[thequibblah]

director's commentary for the parts about how lily views sex in chapter 38? i found this so interesting and relatable and i love how it's so different from her attitudes in the solar power oneshot, it just shows how much awesome character growth is to come!

this is really the tallest task i've given myself with lily's character development LOLLLL but i at least have strong feelings about it so here we go

so. when i started writing this fic a significant question was what lily's level of romantic experience was because that will factor into not just her relationship w dex but also how her feelings for james evolve over time. (also it obviously impacts her and how she thinks of romance!) i find myself not very compelled by a lily who is waiting for marriage/love without like....a reason or a well-established underlying character explanation for that. i find it more interesting to explore when a principled character maybe has a less established principle, and finally has to come up against it and make a decision. (as a sidenote, i also wanted to write a lily whose fears and anxieties and desires are more in line with what i/my female friends talked about and thought about in high school)

lily re: sex has been a huge thread-the-needle sitch. like many in Our Society she has complicated feelings about the role of sex in her life, as a good girl tee em, but i also didn't want to establish a weird madonna/whore situation with the female cast of the fic, like, Only Some Girls Have Sex. considering that lily herself grapples with being a good girl and, well, still containing multitudes, i wanted to think out those complications through her.

at the same time, i think there's a tendency in fic (or really, any sort of romance story) to make sex super black and white. like, you have it with the Wrong Person and so it's bad, but then you have it with the Right Person and everything clicks! it's certainly true that you can have less-than-good sex with someone and the reason for that is them, but i really didn't (and don't!) want to make it seem like it'll be a simple and easy switch to james for lily because they're going to fall in love. it won't be! don't let the oneshot fool you!

she has things to figure out, and that, to some degree, is unaffected by who she's with (or isn't with). she's not like, wow it was such a mistake to have sex with this guy because i didn't love him! she's not like wow it was such a mistake to have sex with this guy because it wasn't mindblowing (she had low-ish expectations, which mary might say is a problem in and of itself but that's a separate thing lol)! it's all very convoluted and i don't want to delve too deep into questions that i mean to address in the fic itself.

but, anyway, though lily does do the deed, it's not entirely separable in her mind from residual shame. and who among us who experiences misogyny doesn't know that feeling lolllll. she's not walking around handwringing about how she's sinned against god, partly because catholic guilt would add about ten dimensions of complication to this fic and also because i was not raised christian, and don't feel well-equipped to go there. more than religion lily is anxious about having played against type.

this is made harder for her in contrast — obviously we judge ourselves not in absolutes but relative to those around us. so on the one hand lily has people like petunia who believe in propriety and undoubtedly look down on sex before marriage, and on the other she has friends like mary who are very ~modern~ in their sensibilities. rather than the latter being reassuring, though, i imagine it's....almost a barrier in its own way, because she sees a friend who's cooler and freer than her and is like, mary would do this because she's like this, and i'm demonstrably not like this, so i shouldn't do this (no matter mary's frank conversations on the subject!)

and in between all this is the fact that....she's a person who experiences desire! complication!!!! she wants something that she's not sure she should want, even though she feels that other people are free to have the same thing:

“Mare, are you really going to take a magazine’s advice on becoming a...truly sexual woman?” Despite her amusement, she half-stuttered over the word, even though she knew there was nothing to be shy about. It was the seventies, for crying out loud. They could talk about such things now. Said descriptors just did not necessarily apply to her.

in ch. 9 when she asks mary about sex, she really wants an answer that will absolve her of those complicated uncertain feelings — and of course mary can't give it to her. no one can!

so she's bearing all that baggage and trying to forge forward with the sensibility of well, i shouldn't be shy about this! it's the 70s! we're past that! without considering that just because society has apparently come so far (which, has it even? lol) that doesn't mean she's ready to go that far. and that was what i was pushing with the interlude bits immediately around the sexytimes:

Get it over with, a voice in her head said. The first time wouldn’t be the best time. All she had to do was cross this one hurdle and she could stop feeling so bloody nervous, like she was at the edge of a cliff she’d never be able to climb back up [...] and if only she could get over her silly hangup she’d be a lot less tense. That was just a fact. Everyone knew it about her. Even good girls needed to loosen up. Right? Right. This decision-making took a split second in her mind; she had rehearsed each argument so many times that she did not need very long to run through it again. So without a hint of hesitation she said, “Yes.”

and its not a coincidence that this comes right after a flashback to doris and her friend:

“Living together,” Lily’s mother sighed, her head angled towards her friend. “And she was such a sweet girl when I had her in school, too, so studious—” “Oh, yes,” Gertie said, nodding vigorously, “I always thought she’d wait to marry, let alone get involved with someone so soon—” “And like this!” Doris sighed once more.

of course lily can all too vividly imagine someone else saying that exact thing about her

this reads like so much word vomit LOL but thank you it was fun to try and explain my thinking here!