#alright! going back to my cave - next month I'll be back hopefully

[romance-club-daily]

They've revamped Adam????

[romanoffs-widow]

"So, girlfriends?"

Summary: While having a friendly dinner, Wanda walks in on you and Nat having some fun.

Warnings ⚠️ : Mentions of kissing, partial nudity?

MEN DNI

A/N: I'm back! And with another fic I think you'll all enjoy :b

✨️

3rd person pov

Wanda Maximoff is your best friend in the whole universe. With the exception of your girlfriend Natasha Romanoff, of course. You love them both more than anything.

Which is why it stings when you see the way Nat looks at her. You can tell she has a big crush on her, which you admittedly also have on the brunette. But that doesn't mean you'd do anything, and hopefully, your girlfriend won't either. She is your best friend, after all.

Since you moved into your apartment together, you have caught Nat constantly checking Wanda out, as if she were you. You want to confront her about her obvious crush on her, but what if she notices the way you look at Wanda, too?

After considering all the scenarios in your head, you decide that the only way is to be in a throuple with them both. You've never tried it before, but you've also seen the way Wanda looks at Natasha. You try and see the way she looks at you, hoping she likes you too, but you just don't see it.

You told yourself if the opportunity ever does rise, you'll take them both, but for now, you'll stare at her from across the dinner table, like right now.

In the first month of living together, Tasha decided that you and your friends should have a (whenever possible) monthly dinner. Yelena and Kate sat together, you and Nat sat together too, and Wanda sat opposite you and Nat. Yelena was telling some story to Kate and Nat, and you and Wanda were just pretending to listen.

Wanda wore her black dress as you wore your green one, just like you and her coordinated your outfits to match. Natahsa wore her favourite velvet suit, Kate wore a red one, and Yelena wore a black dress.

You watched Wanda smile and blush as Nat said something toward her in the conversation they were having.

Y/n pov

God, she looks so gorgeous tonight. And with the rings on her hands- I'm definitely falling for her. I feel something rest on my thigh, and my breath hitches. I look down to see Nat's hand resting there. She looks at me, and I smile back as she continues talking to Wanda.

We all finished our food, which luckily Wanda helped us out with. She is the best cook I've ever known. Not being able to take it anymore, I take the plates out into the kitchen, and Nat follows behind me.

"You alright, maylsh? You've been acting strange all evening." I sigh. "Please, Nat, I can't take it anymore!" She cocks her head to the side, confused. I walk down the hall, my hand tight around her wrist. I open our bedroom door, close it, pin her up against it, and smash my lips hastily onto hers.

She chuckles at me. "Oh? So this is what you've been strange for? Couldn't wait another couple of hours, could you?" I shake my head aggressively "Baby you know we can't do it with those three out there. That's my sister!" Almost whining, I beg her to do it quickly. She soon caves at the sight of me.

We kiss for around 5 minutes, and suddenly, I see Wanda standing at our doorway, looking as if she stopped mid scentence. "Oh, sorry, I- um- we didn't know where you were since you weren't in the kitchen. I'll be going now."

She turns around to leave, but I get up and tap her shoulder. She spins around back to me, and the next thing I know, I end up kissing her. I hear Natasha gasp. As I pull away, I see a very red Wanda standing in front of me. I push her onto the bed next to Tasha and close the door.

Just as I sit on the bed, all of us now in our underwear and bras, I hear the familiar Russian accent coming from down the hall. "Where are you guys? If you don't hurry up, I'm going to start the movie without you three!" Natasha laughs as she grabs her suit from off the floor and starts putting it back on. As Natasha goes to leave, I give her a quick kiss on those swollen lips of hers.

Wanda looks at me with something new in her eyes. "How long have you liked me for Wands?" I ask, very curious to know the answer. "Since the first month, we were friends." She looks down sheepishly.

"Oh my poor baby, I'm sorry that I didn't notice it before. But Nat and I have liked you for quite some time, even if she hasn't talked about it, I'm 99% sure she does." She nods, helping me zip up my short dress.

She trails kisses up my neck, and I let out a groan as she sucks on the sweet spot of my neck. "Wanda, we can't right now, Nat is gonna kill us if she misses out on this." She sighs, hugging my waist from behind. "I know, I've just wanted to do that for so long. But now we've gotta act normal for Lena and Kate right?"

I look at her with apologetic eyes through the mirror. "It's okay y/n/n. They'd ask questions otherwise." I nod as I turn around to hug her. I hear my notifications go off.

My one and only 🫶🏻: hey baby. I told them that you felt a bit sick and Wanda is helping you out. Just bc they were asking questions xx

I texted her back with a quick okay and thank you before dragging Wanda out of the bedroom.

When we get to the couch, I see Nat sitting next to Lena, who's cuddling Kate, and a space for Wanda, and I.

1 hour later...

"Bye, guys! Thank you for coming! See you again next month!" You hear Nat shout out as you wake up cuddled into Wanda's side. You look up at her to see her still asleep. It makes you feel all gooey inside like it does when you look at Tasha.

You see the stunning redhead walk back in and you smile at her. "So..." you trail off, waiting for her to say something. "So." She sits back down on the other side of Wanda, cuddling into her other side, giving her forehead a quick kiss before putting her head into a comfortable position. "Earlier was...brilliant." I giggle.

"I've seen the looks you've given her for months. For a while, it hurt, knowing you liked my best friend, but then I realised that you never stopped looking at me like that either. For a while, I thought about what I could do about it, and I decided to just let it go. But then she caught us, and I was (and still am, by the way) desperate, and I knew we both liked her, so I just went for it...and here we are."

She nods gently, with a smile on her face. "Well, detka, if it's okay with you, I'd like Wanda to be our girlfriend?" I stop breathing for a second. "Of course it's okay, Tasha. As long as Wanda is happy, I'm happy." She takes my hand and holds it on top of Wanda's stomach. "Same here y/n/n."

"And here." I hear a croaky voice choke out. As if in sync, Tasha and I both look up at the same time to see Wanda rubbing her eyes with a very wide smile and lots of blush on her face. We both sit up to make Wands more comfortable. I kiss her cheek and Nat does the same. We all laugh uncontrollably.

"So, girlfriends?" We all look at each other with smiles on our faces "Girlfriends."

"That's great but I think you owe Wands and I some sex." Nat rolls her eyes and chuckles, putting us both on either hip and taking us to our room.

Let's just say not a single one of us could walk for a week after that...

[convexicalcrow]

(Safe) Under Bast's Paw

This'll go up on AO3 when I have the time/patience/brain power to get the tags etc sorted out, but have some Lost Prince AU backstory and the introduction of Jellie! <3 This is set about a month or so after they left Egypt; Cub's around 13 years old, and Scar's around 15. They're just friends at this point. Inspired by The Old Prospector by sixteenthdays, which has been lodged in my brain ever since I read it nearly a year ago. (I'm not okay /hj)

-

Cub held onto Scar's waist as he drove the camel across the sand towards a quarry-like pit that looked like it would be a good place to shelter. Or perhaps be cornered, it was hard to tell how close their pursuers were and whether they'd managed to slip away from them. He didn't dare look back. Just gazed at the darkening sky, praying to Ra that He would once again rise in the morning. He had to, right? He just had to. He balled his fists in Scar's robes, clinging to the two certainties he had in life: the rising sun, and Scar.

"Come on, in here! We can wait out the night here in the caves," Scar said as he led the camel up the path to where an open cave waited for them. It was out of sight from where they'd come from, and looked like it had flat enough ground for a camp.

"But what if there's others in the caves? How do you know it's safe?" Cub said, walking beside him.

"We don't, but we can't stay outside another night, it's getting too cold," Scar said.

"Fiiiiine," Cub said, though he didn't quite believe him.

Scar stopped then and grabbed his shoulders, forcing Cub to look at him. He raised his right hand and showed him the scarab ring. "You remember the ring. You remember the promise I made to your father to keep you safe, alright? I won't let anyone hurt you, okay?"

"You can't even fight! How are you going to do that?" Cub said, both indignant and scared. "At least I can use a sword!"

"There's more than one way to fight than just with swords, I'll have you know. And you're in no way capable of taking on a soldier, let alone a group of them. Now, come on, let's get inside before anyone sees us, alright?"

Cub shoved him away, letting the fear get the better of him. "No! Take me home! I want to go home! Take me home! I order it! I demand it! Take me home!"

"Demand all you like, but there's no home to go back to, and you and I both know that. We saw it. We saw the temples fall. We know who didn't make it out. Home doesn't exist anymore. It's just you and me and this stupid camel, alright? Do you think I like this any more than you do? No! I'd love to be back in Per-Bast serving in the temple, but that won't happen now. Your father told me to take you and run, and that's what I did. I kept you safe. That's why you're alive. Now, come on, get inside the cave. We don't know how far behind us they are. You can yell at me all you like once we're safe and out of sight, okay?" Scar said.

"Okay. Fine." Cub scowled, but nevertheless followed him up the path and into the cave, anxiety pooling in his stomach as he half-heartedly kicked a little sand over the camel's tracks to disguise them.

-

"No fire. Too risky. At least we still have the last of the rabbit to eat. Then we'll sleep and try to get away before dawn, okay?" Scar said as he saw Cub begin to gather sticks from the edge of the cave.

"No fire?! Come on, man, just a little one. It's so cold, Scar," Cub said, dropping the sticks.

"No, we sleep next to the camel for warmth. Hopefully we run into some traders soon enough so I can haggle us some extra blankets. And some more food, too. We're running low on everything right now," Scar said as he unpacked the saddle bags.

"Well, you were the one who packed! You could've brought more food!" Cub said.

Scar sighed. He couldn't be mad at him, not really. "Sure, and maybe if I'd had more than a few hours' notice, maybe I would have. Just- now's not the time, okay? Let's get some food and clear air between us and those chasing us before we start tearing each other to pieces, alright?"

"Fine." Cub sat down petulantly beside the camel, staring at the ground, arms crossed over his chest.

Scar grabbed some bread, a flask of water, and the last of the rabbit they'd cooked up last time they'd been able to have a fire and served them both. Cub reluctantly took his dinner and ate sullenly as Scar sat beside him.

Scar didn't like to imagine the turmoil Cub was going through. The events that led to their fleeing had been… Scar closed his eyes, trying to push the sight of the temples burning out of his mind. The sound of huge metal things crushing anything and everything in their way. The look on Cub's father's face as he gave him the ring and told him to flee with his son…

Scar wrapped an arm around him, and pulled him close. Cub didn't resist; he moved in close and pressed against him. Neither spoke as they ate; Scar was sure that if he did start talking, he'd never stop, and all the grief in the world would pour out of him and they'd never make it. He had to be strong. For Cub. He promised. He promised!

"I am Hetmetnedjes, son of-"

"Silence!" Scar hissed, pressing a hand over Cub's mouth. "Do not speak those names. Wait. I hear someone. Something."

Cub froze, listening intently. Scar had definitely hear something moving. Was it a person? Or just some animal taking shelter? No, those were definitely footsteps. Someone was coming.

Scar grabbed the front of Cub's tunic, pulling him to his feet as he stood up. "Come on, time to go. We're not alone here," he said as quietly as he could.

"But the camel-!" Cub protested as Scar yanked on his arm.

"Leave him, there's no saving him now," Scar said.

Cub pulled away, and Scar turned to see him grabbing the camel's lead, both of them refusing to move.

"I'm not leaving him," Cub said, clutching the lead close to his chest. "We'll die without the camel!"

"We'll die if we're in hostile territory anyway, or had you forgotten that?" Scar said, hearing the footsteps growing louder.

"No!" Cub stamped his foot. "No. I'm not leaving anyone else behind. Please."

As Scar grabbed his arm, knowing that leaving was absolutely the safest thing to do, he saw a light followed by the face of an old man come into view. So he pulled Cub into his arms and put himself in the way as a shield, preparing to talk his way out of this if he had to, camel or no camel. Cub held onto him tightly; Scar could feel his fingers digging into his back. He was scared. They both were. Scar was just better at hiding it.

"What's all this commotion, hey? Have we got visitors?" the man said as he approached them.

Scar was relieved he spoke their language. Perhaps he would be kind, after all. "We just needed somewhere to stay the night. We'll be off by dawn, I promise!"

"You seem rather young to be out here on your own. Anyone travelling with you?" the man said.

"Just us, sir! Had to leave, well. There's no home to go back to, not anymore," Scar said.

"Hmm, yes, I heard about that from some travellers who came by a while back. Pity. Come on, no need for you to sleep on the ground. I'll take you back to my home," the man said. "You both look like you need a good meal and a good sleep."

"How do we know we can trust you? We've been- there's a lot of danger out there, that's all I'll say," Scar said.

The man looked straight at him, and Scar flinched, recognising something in those eyes that he knew. "Bast? Did She send you?" he asked in hushed tones.

"She might have whispered something in my ear while I was prospecting. Not often I get company out here. You're safe with me, don't worry," the man said.

"Alright. But give us a minute to get the camel moving. We're not leaving him behind," Scar said.

"I wouldn't dream of it," the man said.

-

It took maybe ten minutes to get to the man's house once they'd got the camel up and moving. By then it was properly dark, and the man's torch was their only guide. Cub had said nothing the entire time, only gripping Scar's hand tightly as he followed beside him. Scar understood. They'd rarely had any reason to trust anyone they met out on the road, and Scar was still cautious.

The house itself was stone-built, situated in what seemed to be the smallest oasis they'd ever seen, situated on the outskirts of the quarry. It had a few scruffy palm trees, a small lake, and enough land to sustain a small but productive farm and a couple of goats. The camel was tied up near the animal pen and given some food and water before the old man led the boys inside.

The man set the torch into a bracket on the wall, and proceeded to rekindle the hearthfire. Scar and Cub kept by the door, not wanting to get in the way. It was a small house, after all. And then, Scar heard a small mewl, and from somewhere Scar couldn't identify, out came a cat leading a small group of kittens.

"Oh, you have cats! That's so sweet!" Scar said. He'd always loved them, but his old cat hadn't made it out of the Two Lands.

The man sat down on a chair by the fire and picked up the kittens one by one. The mother followed, patrolling around the back of the chair, watching them closely.

"Yeah, she came in with some traders some years back. Gods know where the tom came from, but caravans will come through here from time to time. It's possible one strayed from there. They keep the mice out of the crops, so I don't mind them being around," the man said. "Does your silent friend want to cuddle one? I always find them great company when things get sad."

Scar nudged Cub. "Go on, they're just kittens, I promise."

Cub shook his head and stepped back, hiding behind Scar. Scar sighed, but he did understand. Cub could get like this from time to time, and he just needed to feel safe long enough to open up again.

"Seems like a no, sorry. He's a little shaken up, don't mind him," Scar said. "Anyway! Is there anything we can do to repay your kindness, sir? For letting us sleep here overnight? We don't want to intrude any more than necessary."

"Oh, I might have a few chores you could help with in the morning, but not for now. Here, take care of the kittens while I make us some dinner. You must be hungry," the man said, getting to his feet.

"Of course! We can do that, can't we?" Scar said, turning to Cub.

Cub nodded mutely, but did follow Scar over to the kittens, and grudgingly accepted one that Scar handed him. It mewled a little and Cub held it to his chest as he sat down by the fire.

Scar took a seat where the old man had been. He watched Cub, half an eye on the man pottering around on the other side of the room, preparing some food for them. The mother cat didn't seem to object to them holding the kittens, and a small grey one climbed up into Scar's arms, purring contentedly. Bast was definitely blessing them tonight. He'd have to make some extra offerings before they left, just to say thanks.

-

The rest of the evening was uneventful, which was a nice change. The man told them stories, fun stories, as they ate their dinner. Cub even managed a laugh! That's what Scar wanted to see. Yeah! Sure, Cub might have been silent the rest of the time, but Scar would take any win he could.

The man didn't keep them up, though. He would be back to the mines soon enough in the morning to continue looking for gold, lapis, amethyst, whatever raw materials he could find to trade to the smiths and other artisans who wanted to buy. It's how he sustained himself. Scar thought that was fair enough. He left them to sleep in the main room, where the fire had died down to coals, and bid them goodnight.

-

Cub lay in his bedroll, staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep. It was too loud, too loud. All the crunching, the metallic objects flung at temples and homes and other things, screaming, fire, burning, the awful smoke in the air-

Where were the gods in all of that? How was this safe? They'd abandoned him; he'd abandoned the Two Lands.

Abandoned means you made a choice to leave us behind. You have done no such thing, came Djehuty's soft voice.

Cub rolled onto his side, scrunching his eyes closed. He missed everything. Everyone. His father. His mother. His brother. His friends. His teachers. His- He wanted to go home. If he still clung to that, then-

"Cub? You awake?" Scar's voice slipped through the quiet night.

"Yeah." It was all Cub trusted himself to say.

"I never miss them as much as I do in the middle of the night," Scar said.

Cub turned to face him, shifting close. He understood that feeling very well. Scar pulled him into his arms. Cub rested his head on his chest. He could find no words adequate enough to articulate how he was feeling. He looked up as one of the kittens climbed over Scar's chest to come and sniff Cub's face.

"Hey, I think they like you!" Scar said, giving the kitten a few little scritches.

Cub managed a smile as the kitten licked him tentatively before settling down on his shoulder, curling into the space as if they were made for it. "Damn, guess I'm not moving now, hey?"

"Yeah, that one's been all over me. I think they like me! Maybe we'll see if the old man's willing to part with them. It'd be nice to have another companion. They could catch mice for us!" Scar said.

"Maybe, maybe," Cub said, unconvinced.

The kitten moved, curling up on Scar's chest. Cub gave them some little scritches, envying the small animal's ability to sleep at all. Did he sleep? No, he did not. He lay there, trying to silence his thoughts, trying to pull himself together. He couldn't just fall apart. He wasn't a baby! He wasn't! He just had to be strong. Strong enough that Scar didn't worry about him so much maybe. He could do that, right?

-

"Seems she's taken a liking to you," the old man said he served breakfast.

"Indeed she has! She was on my bed all night!" Scar said with a laugh. The kitten was still attached to Scar, curling around his shoulder to sleep. It distracted Scar from how tired he was, and not just because he felt so happy to have a cat again.

Cub was still quiet, Scar noticed, but perhaps a little less morose than he was yesterday. He might cheer up once they get going again and he begins to feel a little safer.

"You reckon you can care for a cat, boy?" the man asked.

"Oh, yes! I've had plenty of cats before! I love them!" Scar said. "Please, let me take her? I'll take very good care of her, I promise!"

"Hmm. Very well. Bast did send me to find you, after all. She might be sending you off with a guardian," the man said.

"Maybe, yeah! Thank you!" Scar said, containing his excitement. "I'll make extra offerings to Bast tonight. She really has been looking after us well."

"Of course She has. Cats don't slack when their kittens are in harm's way," the man said. "Now, get that food into you and I'll get you all provisioned up as best I can before you go. Now, where are you heading? I might be able to steer you clear of any danger."

"Just-, well. Away, really! We have no plan, we just want to be safe," Scar said. "Any help will be greatly appreciated."

"Hmm. Okay. I'll think on it. There's a few places I can think of," the man said.

-

Cub clung on tight to Scar's waist as they set off again, only this time, a small kitten had nestled herself in his lap, finding whatever shade was available. Bast wasn't his goddess, though of course he was thankful for Her protection. His devotions lay elsewhere.

But as the sun rose and the heat in the air increased, and Scar began singing silly songs to distract him, Cub felt a larger cat snuggle up next to him, pressing against his back, and soon enough, Cub was asleep, and this time, his mind was blissfully silent. Thanks, Bast, Cub thought, as he drifted off, the kitten sleeping on.

[starsfic]

Spider Queen finding a 9-month-old Xiaotian laying in her "porch" and decides to raise the baby as her own

Zhizhu was used to seeing weird things in her lair.

She literally lived next to the city's sewer system. It was a surprise to see what kind of things people flushed away.

But this? The screaming baby wrapped in a blanket, perched at the end of the sewer line? This was new.

Zhizhu stared at the baby before another pitiful howl made her wince and scoop them up. It seemed that all the child wanted was to be held. The instant she was holding them, the wails ceased. Instead, the baby snuggled into her arms.

"Is that a baby?"

Huntsman, followed by Goliath, had finally shown up it seemed.

"Can you find who left them?" Zhizhu asked, turning to display the baby.

Huntsman eyed the child before leaning in and taking a sniff. He leaned back with a growl. "I can't smell them," he said. "The sewer smell is taking it all up." Zhizhu nodded in understanding, stepping to the side so he could get a look at the line.

It was big enough for a human to walk through and she, after a moment to remember, knew that there was a ladder up to the surface. Hopefully there was some tracks. Huntsman headed down with a quiet "I'll be back soon, your Majesty."

And then he was gone.

The silence was broken with a "Who just leaves a baby at the end of a sewer line?"

Unknowingly, Goliath had said what Zhizhu had been considering. She gave a glance over the child. She knew people left sickly children to die back in the old days.

Nowadays, hospitals are better, so that has stopped. And it didn't appear like the baby was sickly. After all, their lungs had been loud enough for Zhizhu to hear throughout the caves. Weren't there orphanages and much better places to leave a child if you couldn't care for them?

Now that she thought about it... the blanket looked rather lovely. It was an orange blanket with images of golden monkeys that made her think of a certain king. She ran a hand down it, and the side of her that liked the finer things in life gave a pleasurable purr. Yes, this blanket wasn't cheap.

But what was under the blanket?

Zhizhu unwrapped it. The child made a whimper as the cold air of the sewer hit them. But she was more focused on the dirt and such that covered the baby, as well as the clearly dirty diaper and the skinniness that suggested that meals were small...or someone just didn't care enough to feed them.

Thoughts started to click together.

"Goliath," she said. The strong spider straightened. "Go to the market and get diapers and formula. Use my purse." He bowed in understanding.

When he was gone, Zhizhu turned her eyes to the baby. "Alright, sugar," she said, glancing at the blanket. Qi Xiaotian shimmered there. "Let's get you a bath."

She had already decided, no matter what Huntsman found.

[phoenix-before-the-flame]

Writing from me on the very first day of the year? Absolute blasphemy!

Either way here's to hopefully a more productive year of writing and drawing from this phoenix!

Lucy held up the bottle to the light, sloshing around its clear contents this way and that with squinted eyes.

It had a gleam to it, an unnatural sparkle that made it seem a little too perfect inside its glass container. Even the way it sloshed about seemed strange, perfectly rounded circles with never a single drop out of place to run down the inside of the bottle.

Levy leaned forward from her seat on the kitchen counter, thumbing its underside as she eagerly awaited Lucy answer. "Well?" She prompted, gnawing on her lip eagerly. " isn't it cool?!"

She swirled it around once more for good measure, hoping to garner some different results but to no avail. Lucy hopped up on the counter next to her friend, Levy leaning in closer to Lucy, her shoulder pressed up against her and practically vibrating with excitement as Lucy rolled the round bottle in her palms. A deep frown tugged at the corners of Lucy's mouth.

"Where'd you get holy water from?" Lucy asked, leaning into her friend. "This stuff's really hard to come by."

"I won it! Some trivia contest at work. Prize went to whoever translated the most of those new alvernian manuscript. And I'll tell you it was a tough one, there was someone from another department who almost beat me to it, but I think they were cheating because honestly they-

"Levy you're spiralling." Lucy tugged levy's hairband into her eyes playfully with a smirk. She pulled it back in place, swinging her legs back and forth , though her excited vibrating thankfully calmed down.

Levy pressed her finger hard against the bottle to leave a smear that was cleaned off in seconds, like an invisible cloth was ran over it. Lucy cocked her head to the side, now that she noticed it the bottle was clean of her own fingerprints as well.

"It seems legit but......."

But? Levy, what but?" She didn't like that tone, when Levy trailed off in a sentence like that. It usually led to four little words that made Lucy want to curse her friend's overtly curious nature.

"I wanna test it!" Yup, there it is. Those words.

"Levyyyyyyyyy." Lucy groaned.

"C'mon Lucy! It's holy water, nothing bad can happen."

"That's what you always say. Do you remember the pixie dust incident? You were floating for months. Gajeel had to tie a rope around you to keep you from floating away."

Levy waved her off, instead cupping her hands around Lucy's and bringing the bottle closer to their faces. Not even their reflections were distorted on the rounded bottle, perfect like a little mirror.

"That was fun, I dunno what you're talking about. But just listen Lucy, holy water only affects cursed non human entities, so regardless of anything we'll be fine! It can't do anything to us!"

Levy shook their hands encouragingly, sloshing the bottle to support her argument. " I know my work place wouldn't give me something fake but just think about seeing what it could do in action! Wouldn't it be cool to see? C'mon Lucy please!"

She batted her eyes at her friend and Lucy caved, once Levy had an idea in her head there was no chance of changing her mind. Lucy slid off the counter with a sigh, slipping her hands from Levy's grasp.

"You're lucky you're cute Lev. Else I'd never go along with this." Well that and the fact that Lucy was also a curious soul. Now that it was in her head too she also wanted to know what it could do, to find out its properties. And it didn't help that Lucy had the perfect means of finding out.

Lucy giggled slightly at Levy's little cheer as she kicked away the rug on her floor in the little area between the kitchen and living room revealing a deep char mark, the black mark smooth and seamless with the wood like it was always there but it was a recent addition. A year old at most.

Other such chars dotted her apartment, from the bedroom to the bathroom and even in her writing room. But this was the only place she ever willed him to appear, the others were just him cheekily appearing of his only volition.

Lucy grabbed her nail file from the little table near the couch and wordlessly pricked her thumb, pushing at the broken skin for the blood to bead and ignoring the little wince of pain. She flashed off the drops on the burn mark, waiting for the tell tale sizzles and the swirls of smoke rising off in intricate curls that were almost ancient runes if she squinted hard enough. They thickened to a heavy curtain that smelled sweet and familiar, like a campfire or the fire of a hearth. Smelling like home, which isn't a scent one would expect from an ungodly demon.

Levy gave an excited squeak and ran over by Lucy's side when the smoke started to dissapate, the demon's green eyes that settled on lucy looked bored with the slightest tinge of annoyance.

"Oh so when I show up here unannounced it's a problem but you can call on me anytime huh?" He muttered accusingly at Lucy, dark eyes narrowing. Actual dark eyes, black scleras making the clear green of his slit eyes seem to shine out from his face. "Hey levy" He added, smirking at her wave.

He was probably something to be intimidated by, with the scales that blended evenly with his brown skin. His head cocked to the side, the spiraling horns that stood almost a foot from his shaggy pink hair seemed to slice the air with their sharpened points. But he didn't strike any sort of intimidation now, walking around to plop down on her couch, stretching out like a cat on her cushions.

"So whaddaya want -"

"Drink this." Levy shoved the flask in his face, the glass clinking on his metallic scales. She rubbed it encouragingly on his cheek and he snarled weakly, eyes darting from levy to Lucy questioningly.

"What she means is we wanted to try something." Lucy tugged her friend's hand away from Natsu, shooting him an apologetic look. He was nice but no one appreciates having random things shoved in their face.

"We got some holy water, or at least we think it's holy water and we just wanted to test if it's the real deal or not......." Her explanation trailed off at the incredulous look he gave her, eyebrow judgingly raised.

"A test?" He directed his query towards levy, "didn't you learn from the pixie dust incident? And giving a demon holy water? That's you guys' best idea for trying it?"

"I mean you don't have to drink it. Maybe just rub a few drops of it on your skin. Just to see?"

"Or drink it." Levy chimed in.

"Levy!"

"I'm just saying! That works too."

Natsu chuckled at their antics, grabbing the flask out of Levy's grasp and stabbed a pointed claw into the cover and uncorked it silently, throwing the stopper over his shoulder. "You guys are a riot, ya know that? Giving me more dumb stuff to do than I've had in a millennia. I'll be your test subject."

"Alright thanks. So all you have to do is just dab a couple drops and-" Lucy stopped, watching as Natsu turned it to his head like levy suggested and gulped a mouthful, Levy eagerly leaning forward.

"Well?"

He grimaced, holding the bottle out to levy with his tongue sticking out in disgust. "That's legit stuff. Tastes like shit so it's good."

"Isn't that gonna hurt you?" Lucy questioned, voice tinged with concern.

"Only works on lesser demons. All it just does for me is leave a bad taste in my mouth. You have no idea how many times I've encountered humans who thought the stuff could do me in. And they sure did pay the price for that." He mumbled that last part more to himself, too sharp teeth revealed in a devilish grin. His eyes held an unnatural gleam.

It disappeared seconds after, the slightly bored expression returning. "The rest of that is regular water now that it's been tainted by me. And like that I just satisfied your curiosity. You're welcome."

"Well that was a bust. So what do we do now?" Lucy shrugged in response and they both stared pointedly at Natsu.

"I dunno. But I'm not leaving here now without getting something in my stomach. You summon me, you pay the price."

[myguccifiedwig]

•° In a tribe, 1270. °•

She's walking around the tribe, fulfilling her duty as a leader and making sure everything is going where it must be, pushing down every ounce of pain from the past month and letting life do its thing. Something like that.

"Mrs. Diana!"

She heard from her back. Oh god, what now?

"Hey! Um, how have you been?" The combatants' leader, Timothy, said with his best friend, Ben, at his heels.

"Um, could be worse," She replied truthfully, "how's the training going? Hopefully our little heroes are gaining their strength!"

"Oh, yeah, they're doing wonderfully! Big men, they are," He said, almost... Guardedly?

Her suspicions were answered when Tim started scratching the back of his neck and gave a quick glance at Ben, who hasn't spoken a word, Diana noticed.

"Um, are you free at the moment?" Tim asked slowly.

She looked at him quizzically before answering, "I'm just walking around, so, yes,"

"We have somewhere we want to take you," this time it was Ben who spoke up, "have to,"

"Oh..." She studied their faces for a second. Tim and Ben were um... Louis' best friends. Her now dead husband. Ex husband. Who no one knows where his corpse is, some believing that he was burnt to ashes while on a mission, which... Isn't something she necessarily likes to think about. They only found his ring, which she has now worn every single day of those two months of him being gone.

She trusts Tim and Ben. How could she not? They're what she likes to think as what she has left from Louis. So she follows her heart.

"Um, alright," she nods to herself and snaps up at them, "yeah, where do you want to take me?"

Timothy looks around with a serious look on his face before turning back to her, "We kind of can not tell you, you'll have to find out for yourself,"

"Should I be worried...?" She started getting very suspicious.

"We really have no time, this is really important, just get yourself and your horse ready, we're leaving in ten minutes," Tim excludes impatiently and throws his giant axe, that she has no idea how he lifts, over his shoulder and the two start walking towards horse stable.

She's left staring after them before she sighs,

"Okay..."

••••••••••••••••••••

"Guys, we have been on the road for three hours, where the fuck are you taking me?!"

She's getting impatient, if you can't tell.

"Nearly there, Di, just be patient," Ben answers with another frustrated sigh.

"Since when have I been So?!" She furrows her eyebrows at him.

"Louis never told me how annoying you are..." Ben whispers.

"Hey!" She quickly got riled up, "he-"

"we're here!" Timothy announces loudly, cutting them off.

"Um..." Diana looks around confusedly, "where?"

They ignore her question and get off their horses, to which she huffs exasperatedly before following their steps.

They tie their horses to a tree before Timothy turns to her.

"This is it, just go inside that cave over there." He points to where it is exactly.

"What, why?! Where are you guys going?!" She stares at them incredulously.

"Can you just go already?" Ben asks fake-sweetly.

She glowers at him before turning to Timothy, who was watching them tiredly before talking.

"we'll be right out here, we're not going anywhere."

"How do I know I'm not going to be killed?"

"Because you trust us,"

"No, I don't"

"What's going on here?"

A new voice joins in.

Ben grins, Diana freezes.

"Hey, man, she's right here. Tough to handle, that one is, don't know how you do it," Ben comments.

She doesn't have time to think of a comeback because the laugh she hears is so familiar.

So, so familiar.

She abruptly turns around and stares.

"Who is that?" She asks slowly. "Stop fucking with me, why am I here?"

"What do you mean, you don't know who that is?" It was Ben's turn to be confused.

She is fuming.

"You guys brought me all the way here, just to make me see a man who looks like my dead fucking husband? For what? Do you even know how cruel it is to-"

"Dee," The man frowns, "It's me, Louis,"

She looks around at everyone and tears pool in her eyes.

"Get away from me, who is this, it's not fair to play with someone's feelings like that,"

The guy finally comes close enough for her to see his features. Man, he looks just like Lou, she thinks.

She shakes her head and takes a step back when he got too close for her liking.

"Who are you?" She steadily keeps the eye contact.

A hand on her shoulder abruptly shakes her out of her trance, and she turns around to see Tim's pitying eyes,

"Trust him, trust us,"

She looks back ahead distrustfully and doesn't move when the man takes another step closer.

Not when he gets close enough to raise his hand and caress her cheek carefully.

To the point where she got cross eyed trying to keep eye contact.

"Figured it out yet?" He whispers.

She feels woozy.

Her once confused teary expression turns into an angry one in a split second and she abruptly moves away.

"You... How could you?!" She's mad.

"You made me think you were dead... You made us think you were dead! You know how much crying I've done these past two months?! They've all been for absolutely nothing! My heart feels like it's torn in half you bloody dick!" She gives his chest a strong push to express her anger even further.

"You have to listen to me, Dee, just give me a chance to-"

"You think you have the right?! I've been trying to manage double the work all on my own while you're hanging out in your bloody cave?!"

He sighs frustratedly.

"No, I've not just been hanging out in here, there's a lot to explain, just... Can I just hug you? I missed you an awful lot,"

Her face falls and she stands there limply before hugging him tightly, "of course I missed you, I just really hate you right now,"

He laughs and kisses the crown of her head before she adds, "But like, you told them but didn't tell me?! I have no idea how you even like that Ben guy, he's insufferable!"

"Hey, I'm right here!" Ben crosses his arms and huffs, but Tim was too busy grinning at the scene while patting Ben's back a little too hard.

"Let's go inside, there's a lot to explain to this feisty one," Louis smiles and beckons all of them inside.

"Nah, I'm saying here, I'm not gonna be close to her any longer," Ben refuses.

"We'll just go back, you guys make up for the missed time," Tim winks at Louis unsubtly, to which he laughs at.

"Alright, lads, see you tonight," He waves them good-bye while Diana stands there confused.

"Tonight?"

"Get inside, I have to clarify a lot of things."

•••••••••••••••••••••

"So they basically left my ring to make you guys believe I'm dead, which would obviously cause havoc,"

"I know we're in war, but... What do they get from that?"

"Me,"

She snorted, "Yeah, 'cause you're the best one out there, huh?"

He made an affronted noise and hit her shoulder jokingly, "You make me sound so selfish,"

She laughed at him and gestured for him to continue from her place next to him on the ground.

"They um..." He raised his right hand, "did this,"

She reached out to hold his bandaged hand but immediately retracted it when he winced.

"What did they do?" She frowned.

"Um..." He hesitated for a moment, "it doesn't matter,"

"Lou," she looked at him pointedly.

"They hit a nail into the middle of my palm," he squeezed his eyes and said it in one quick breath.

It was silent for a while.

"What...?" Tears pooled in her eyes as she picked up his hand, a lot more gingerly this time, "Lou, that's... I can't imagine that, I don't want to,"

He sighed, "You really wouldn't,"

"When was it?" She asked after giving it a little peck.

"About... Three weeks ago? I still need to reach out to Chris to make me something that can help me hold a sword without it hurting, that's Ben's mission for today, trying to get him to get him all this stuff without him knowing I'm still alive,"

"Why are you still hiding, love? I don't see the point,"

"I'm running away from them, still, I kind of escaped from the place with the help of another victim, they might have attacked the entire tribe if they knew I was there," he explained.

"Right..." She sighed.

He leaned his head back against the wall and smiled warmly at her.

"You okay?"

"I missed you..." She looks up at him, "Your mum is heartbroken, you sisters, everyone is, they think our tribe is going nowhere with just me in charge,"

"I know it could've went just fine if I were to pass away,"

"Shut up," she looked up from his hand on her lap to look him in the eye, "don't mention you dying anymore, I hate it,"

"Okay," he smiles before turning a little more sad, "and uhm, about my family, I miss them a whole lot and I feel so bad for doing this, but I can't have you telling anyone just yet. We need to keep this a secret until the coast is clear, we're going to attack their base tonight, Ben, Tim and I,"

"With this hand?!" She looked at him like he had two heads, "Lou, you can't just hold a sword with it,"

"I really wanna go home as soon as possible," he looked at her guiltily, "it's why Ben's getting me something to keep my hand in tact,"

"And if it doesn't work?"

"I... Guess I'll have to wait until it's safe to hold a sword,"

She thought silently for a moment and made a decision.

"I'll go instead of you,"

"What?! No! No way! This is my problem, I'm gonna fix it!"

"Ours, love, ours. I do know how to use a sword, you know that right?! It's what made you fall for me," she smiles.

"I fell for you because of so many things," he says, "either way, no,"

"It's safer, Lou, they don't know who I am, we could finish them off and none of them would know we're with you,"

"I made up my mind, it's a no," he looked to his side with a serious look on his face.

She sighed.

••••••••••••••••••••

"Alright, stay safe,"

"You're one to say,"

He sighs.

"I promise, we just need to finish off the big guy," he makes quotes with his hands, "then I'll be right back home,"

Her expression softens, "promise?"

"pinky promise," he loops his pinky around hers, a small gesture at which makes both of them smile wide.

"Horses are ready!"

"That's my cue, I guess," she gives him a disappointed smile.

He gives her forehead a small peck just because.

"Love you, don't do anything stupid," he gives her an accusatory finger but quickly retracts it because of course she's going to try to bite it.

"Love you more," she gives him a lopsided smile behind her back and heads off home with Ben and Tim, much to her dismay.

An hour into the trip, she turns to Ben.

"Hey, Ben?"

He keeps looking ahead, "Hm?"

"I want to ask something,"

"As long as it's not about tonight, sure,"

"Well..." She trails off, "what if it is?"

"Then I wouldn't really answer your question, anyway,"

"Ben," she whines, "I could help,"

"Louis gave us strict orders not to talk to you about it," he recites sternly.

"Look, I won't come on my own, I'm not that stupid," she explains, "I'll gather a good amount of combatants and we'll come as reinforcement,"

He seems to consider it for a moment, "I don't know..."

"Just tell me the base number, I promise, I won't do anything dumb," she insisted.

"Main base," he says after a moment and purses his lips when Tim gives him an unsure look, "Main base, just... Please don't get us in trouble for this,"

"You really think the three of you could attack a whole base? The main base? With Louis's fucked up hand?"

"We talked to him about it, stubborn as a mule, he is," Ben mutters.

She laughs knowingly, "The one trait we share,"

"Don't know how the two of you get along so well,"

"I still have no idea,"

•••••••••••••••••••••••••

"You ready lads?" Louis announces.

"We sure are," Tim answers, "How're you and your hand doing?"

"Not the best," he purses his lips and tries to stretch his fingers out, "But we can do this, we have to,"

"Lou, you said you'd wait if it weren't healed enough," Tim tries, "you know this won't be easy,"

"It's not impossible to use it, so we're going for it," Louis becomes impatient, "I miss my tribe, gotta get back to my people,"

Tim sighs and heads towards his horse, "yeah, alright,"

He really hopes Diana stays to her word.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••

"Alright, most of them are asleep, we can take them guards down," Louis whispers to his friends from where they're crouching down behind some bushes.

"What happens after that?" Ben whispers back.

"We just have to get to Noah's tent and do what we have to do,"

"Wow, great plan, Lou," Ben deadpans, "we won't kill him in his sleep, right?"

"If we have to, yeah, but I'd prefer not to either,"

"Alright," Tim looks at both of them, "Ben and I will take those two down, they're blocking the main entrance. We take them down and get in disguise with their clothes, it'll make it easier for us to blend in,"

"That's what I call a plan!" Ben grins.

"Yeah, yeah, sure," Louis waves them off, "Just do everything without me,"

"You can't fight with this hand Lou," Tim explains quietly, "you will if we need you to, yeah?"

"Yeah, now go, we have no time,"

Ben and Tim share a nod and approach the guards from each side, elbowing the backs of their necks and succeeding in making them pass out.

They go through the process of changing into their clothes and hiding their bodies before turning back to Louis.

"We don't know what to expect behind that gate," Tim points out.

"We'll just have to find out, then," Louis stands up.

"Wait!" Ben grabs him behind, "You can't just get in like that, you don't even have the clothes on, they're gonna recognise straight away,"

"Right..." He realises, "Well you go in before me, I suppose, and call for me when the coast is clear,"

They nod before finally standing up and going inside.

It's been five minutes. Louis counted. He's worried.

That's why he stands up and peeks behind the gate doors.

"So what might two Turkish idiots want from a place like this, huh?"

Ben and Tim are cornered. Fuck.

"Answer me!"

"I'm not saying a word,"

"Now's not the time to act all heroic, Tim, please, you literally could've made up a good lie right here,"

Louis sighs. Idiots.

And so he does what a fellow idiot would do and joins them inside. They pretty much have nothing to lose, literally every guard is there.

He steps inside and immediately grabs all the attention, but what grabs all of his is the person standing on the side that he didn't see.

"Well, well, well, look who we have here,"

He narrows his eyes, "Noah,"

A guard grabbed him straight away and there he stood next to his friends with a sword to his neck. This isn't going well.

"I sometimes really question you Turks' stupidity, and honestly, this answers my question," Noah grins and steps forward until he's right in front of Louis, to the point where Louis had to cross his eyes to look at him.

"How dare you dishonour my people like that," Louis glares at him the best he could, considering the proximity of their faces.

Instead of an answer, Louis receives a kick to his stomach.

"How's you hand?" Noah smirks.

"Shut up," Louis just focuses on not crying out loud from the pain.

Noah takes a step back to pick Louis's limp hand covered in iron and laughs loud, "Wow, so efficient,"

He drops it to the floor next to where Louis is sat, which causes it to start throbbing bad.

It doesn't help that he steps on it after that. Louis screams from the agonising pain.

"Tie them to the gallows!" Noah walks back and forth, "It's been a while since we've had a party,"

Louis thinks hears everyone cheer, but he's too busy focusing on the crippling pain while being dragged to the bloody gallows.

••••••••••••••••••

"Fast guys, we have no time to waste! Tie you horses to the trees and move fast!"

Diana manages to gather thirty combatants I'm total without getting caught, although her mother in law was a bit suspicious.

"Where have you been dear? I haven't seen much of you today,"

"I have some work to do outside the tribe, I'll be back before you know it!"

She didn't actually lie, did she?

She's worried sick. They're forty minutes late for the time Tim and Ben gave her, and the possibilities are endless.

"Go, go, go!" She whisper-yells and beckons them on by one to surround the different gates and be ready to get inside as one.

She looks around to check, but she doesn't see anyone outside. That's not necessarily a good thing.

She sighs and turns to everyone around her.

"On the count of three, and soon as I put my hand into a fist, everyone with swords is going to jump out behind me and get in there. The ones with bows are gonna stay behind the bushes to cover us, have we got a deal?"

Everyone nods. That's enough, she guesses.

"Three... Two... One... Go!"

And the mission starts.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

All three of them are tied to gallows. How did they reach this point.

"The one and only, Louis William Tomlinson, the hero of the Turkish empire! Tied to gallows," Noah walks back and forth and Louis's eyes follow his moves coldly, "All because of me!"

Louis turns to his boys to find them watching the entrance nervously. Weird.

"Psst,"

"Hm?" Tim hums back.

"You waiting for someone? You didn't tell anyone did you?"

Tim snorts, "I wish I did,"

"Then-

Louis was cut off by Noah's words.

"Why let's start," He gets close to Louis's face again, always gets on his nerves, "shall we?"

Everyone cheers and Louis swallows nervously. Guess it was the right thing to make them think he was dead, then.

Pull! Pull! Pull! Pull!

He pulled.

He was losing consciousness. This was it, then.

Except, was it?

He saw... A flying sword?

He's definitely dying.

Cut.

In one swift move he falls to the ground with a thud.

"Go!"

What is going on?

He looks up to see Tim cutting the rope around his neck hastily with a knife and in seconds he felt the relief of it being off his neck.

He looked up and blinked a few times to try and figure out what's going on, and god damn it, that little shit.

He grins.

"Lou? You alright?"

"Yeah, Tim, I'm good, let me just," he tries to stand up, but putting the weight of his body on his hand failed him miserably as he fell right back to the ground, "yeah,"

"I'm gonna carry you out of here, just wait for us to be done with this, we'll be done in no time,"

"No!" Louis refuses, "no, I wanna help, just... Just help me up, please?"

"I don't think-"

"Fucking lift me up, Timothy, I chose to be here and I'm gonna fight,"

Tim sighs after a moment and helps him up.

"Please don't make me regret this,"

"You won't," Louis assures while looking at the scene in front of him with dark eyes. He missed this.

He opens and closes his hand around his sword handle, he can do this.

One last breath, and he's pulling it out of its scabbard.

And he fights. He kills two people but his hand feels tired so he stands to rest it, but-

"Watch out!"

He looks ahead and that same flying sword comes hitting a guy's skull.