#also let's be honest. half these kids are only here because you want free babysitting. the learning is purely accidental benefits | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

elsanna-shenanigans · 3 years

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April Contest Submission #4: Stupid For You

Words: ca. 6,100 Setting: Modern AU Lemon: No CW: None

Anna adjusts her car visor to block out as much of the sun as possible. Just because the weather feels nice enough to keep her windows down, doesn’t mean she’ll allow the sun cook her through the windshield.

It’s 2:25 PM on a Friday. Back in college, she would have been powering through her final class of the week, racing back to her dorm on her longboard, changing into her pajamas, and replaying the entire Mass Effect trilogy for the fifth time. Now, she spends it idling in the parking lot of West Arendelle Elementary, breathing in exhaust fumes from other idling cars, and pitifully swiping through a dating app.

And to be honest, she might like this routine a little more.

But only because, in a couple of minutes the bell will ring and her favorite ten-year-old will burst through the front doors, skip down to her car, and tap on the passenger windows with both hands.

Not that…she knows any other ten-year-olds, she only knows this one. She doesn’t have like a top ten list of favorite children.

Anyway yeah.

Anna presses against the corner of a parking sticker peeling off at the bottom of her windshield, knowing she’ll have to get a new one soon. The sound of her phone buzzing grabs her attention, and a little bit of hope rises in her as she checks the notification. Unfortunately, it’s just a text from her mother saying not to park behind her when she gets back home.

Anna grumbles, “I swear there’s like zero lesbians in this entire freaking city.”

She’s saved from her petty lamenting by the forementioned bell, and suddenly the barren entrance of the elementary school is buzzing with activity as children pour out of the doors in droves. Some are running, some are walking slowly with their group of friends, but only one of them is skipping.

Or at least Anna could only see one skipping since she wasn’t focusing on any other kid.

Gleefully making her way to Anna’s car is a little girl in a bright-blue skirt, a clean white polo, and a messy braid. Her hands are clutching the straps of her glittery backpack and her lunch box is hanging on for dear life around her neck.

Serah Langford, the self-proclaimed “cooliest” ten year-old in Arendelle.

Serah predictably taps her knuckles against the passenger window and Anna rolls it down. “What’s the password?” she asks.

“Fart Sniffer,” Serah says confidently.

Anna shakes her head, “That was last week’s password. What’s this week’s?”

Serah looks off in the distance and purses her lips. A second later, she says, “Alright I said it!”

“Say it out loud.”

Serah rolls her eyes and says in a dramatically bored voice, “Anna de Milo is the greatest, prettiest, most wonderful babysitter in the world and deserves a million dollars.”

Anna unlocks the door and grins, “That’s the one!”

The embarrassed fourth-grader shuffles into the car, placing her bag by her feet, her lunch box in her lap, and her phone plugged into the AUX cord. Anna would be offended if they didn’t have the exact same taste in music.

A babysitting job wasn’t at the top of her list after she graduated, but when months passed and she exhausted all the search results for “Writer” on Indeed, she was starting to get desperate. Her mother advised her to look for any job so at the very least she could have a steady source of income while she continued to look for writing gigs.

That’s when she found Bizzybee.

Bizzybee is a company that prides itself on being “Tinder for babysitters”, which is a horrible vision statement but she kept from mentioning that during her interview. After a surprisingly long assessment process, Anna was placed into their system and she was free to take on any babysitting/housesitting job she wanted based on the profile of the parent and their needs. Everyone started with the same hourly rate, but with enough good reviews she would be eligible for raises.

The first five families she worked for weren’t a good fit for different reasons (one of the fathers actually tried to make a move on her, which is an entirely different, creepier story). She was beginning to lose hope until she stumbled on the profile of a recently divorced mother named Elsa Langford.

From the very first interview with Elsa, Anna knew she’d finally found the right babysitting job for her. She and Serah hit it off right away, and they worked out a Monday-Friday schedule which allowed Anna to continue searching for jobs while still getting great hours.

Six months later and, despite a couple of job offers, Anna decided to stay on as Serah’s babysitter. It was risky and not at all the path she set out for herself after college, but she found herself enjoying babysitting much more than she thought she would. And because of that, she stayed.

Well…that, and another reason.

Anna snuck a peek inside the lunch box at a red light and frowned at the unopened bag of cookies inside. “Seriously?! I thought you liked Chips Ahoy!”

“Only the chewy ones,” Serah argued.

“They can get chewy if you dip them in milk.” Anna waved the bag obnoxiously close to the little girl’s face. “These things are expensive, you know.”

“They’re $20 on Amazon if you buy them in bulk.”

“$20 is still a lot of money.” The light’s turned green, so Anna has to open the bag with her teeth. When she does so successfully, she pours a couple of the cookies right into her mouth. Chewing with righteous indignation, she says, “You know what you can buy with $20?”

“Dinner with my mom?”

Anna almost chokes on the cookies.

She hears Serah giggling up a storm while handing her a water bottle to keep from dying. After downing half the bottle, Anna takes a deep breath and gets back into the center of her lane to ensure neither of them is going to die. “Serah! What did I tell you about saying that kinda stuff while I’m driving?!”

Serah bounces proudly in her seat, “Well maaaaybe if you didn’t have a crush on my mom, I wouldn’t have to bring it up.”

“It’s not…I’m not…” Anna slumps in her chair, wondering why she even bothers denying it. “Whatever.”

Yes, she has a big, stupid gay crush on the mom of the kid she’s babysitting. But have you seen Elsa Langford? She’s gorgeous. Pale skin, light blonde hair always in a neat, tight ponytail, eyes like calm pools of water, and a killer body she worked tirelessly on after giving birth to Serah. Anna had to drink three glasses of water just to get through the interview with her.

But there’s nothing to it, and nothing’s gonna happen anyway. It’s just a crush.

A stupid, dumb, big, stupid, fleeting, doesn’t-mean-anything, stupid crush on a stupid, sexy mom.

It’s stupid.

[Line Break]

Anna pulls right into the driveway of the Langford’s small, one-story house. It’s in the middle of a long suburbian row of houses that look nearly identical in their mundanity, but this one always stands out to Anna. Not because she’s been to this house countless times, but also because it’s got a vibrant feel to it; like you can feel two main characters live here. Serah skips over to her front door with Anna close behind. She notices the grass is getting a little tall and wonders if Elsa might need some help mowing it this weekend.

She unlocks the front door and Serah immediately takes off her shoes by the front door, places her lunch box on the kitchen table, and hums to herself while she walks to her room. The schedule used to be on the fridge, but by this point Anna’s memorized it.

Make a light snack for Serah, help her with her homework before dinner’s done, clean around the house (that’s not a requirement, Anna just does it), make sure she doesn’t watch the next episode of Grey’s Anatomy on Netflix yet, and then kick back until Elsa gets home. In between this time, Serah continues to tease her about her crush.

It’s been like that for weeks now, ever since Serah stole her phone one day and read the text Kristoff sent to her about Elsa. The subsequent conversation about what a “MILF” was didn’t exactly help things either.

This time, however, is different. Around 7 PM, while they’re watching an episode of American Ninja Warrior, Serah says something that doesn’t sound like a joke.

“She’d say yes, you know.”

“What are you talking about?” Anna asks cautiously.

“If you asked my mom out, she’d say yes.”

Unsure of how she’s supposed to react, Anna goes with an uncomfortable snort/laugh, “Wh- stop it. Stop kidding around, that’s…that’s silly.”

Serah shrugs like she didn’t say something crazy, and then she proceeds to say something even crazier, “She talks about you all the time.”

“Well yeah, I mean duh. I’m the babysitter,” Anna says like that’s supposed to be her superhero identity.

“No, she doesn’t talk about babysitting stuff.”

Finally, unable to help her curiosity, Anna asks, “What does she talk about then?”

Of course, she doesn’t get a chance to hear the answer. The front door unlocks and the woman they were just talking about arrives from work. Serah rushes to greet her mom and Anna stays sitting to let them spend their mother-daughter time together. And also because, like usual, she’s trying to figure out how to greet Elsa.

She decides on a cheerful “Hi!” followed by asking how work went; it’s casual and unassuming, but shows she cares about her. With that game plan prepared, she takes a quick breath, stands up, and walks over to the happy, little family.

“Hi!” she says with a practiced wave of her hand, though her voice is a little higher pitched than she’d like it to be.

Elsa’s clearly tired by the look of her, but when she smiles at Anna it feels like she’s genuinely happy to see her. Which of course makes Anna’s stomach do backflips, especially when Elsa walks over to her and gives her a hug. Even after taking off her heels, the exhausted banker still has a couple of inches on her.

“How are you?” she asks with her sweet, caring voice.

Anna tries to ignore the faint, flowery scent of perfume on Elsa’s neck, and the intrusive thought of wanting to hold her until all of Elsa’s troubles melt away. “Doing good,” she finally answers with her voice still an octave too high.

Elsa pulls away far too soon, keeping Anna at arm’s length while the younger woman is trying her best to pretend she doesn’t want to know how those lips would feel against hers. “Well let me write you a check and you can head out.”

What? No! Thinking fast, she replies, “No, you look exhausted. You can just rest, you don’t need to pay me right away.” Which is a lie, she has bills due next week.

“No I’d feel terrible if I let you go empty-handed. Trust me, it’ll only take a few minutes.”

“Ms. Langford, it’s okay. I’m in no rush tonight. Give yourself a minute to breathe, at least.”

Elsa frowns, but whatever she’s about to say gets interrupted by a long yawn. “Okay fine, if you can give me half an hour, I’ll have your check ready by then.”

“Sounds perfect!” Anna squeaks.

“And again, you don't have to call me Ms. Langford. Elsa’s fine.”

Elsa pats her on the shoulder and walks over to her room, Anna gets a glimpse of it before the door shuts and she can’t help but wonder what it would be like to be in Elsa’s room one day. Her shameful thought is interrupted by someone bumping her hip.

She looks down and sees Serah with a smug grin on her face.

“Oh hush,” Anna says.

[Line Break]

Anna hates taking breaks, and she especially hates days off. Not just because that’s one less day she gets to see Elsa, but also because that’s who she is as a person. Days she isn’t working provide zero structure, and she forgets how to be a human being without a structure.

The weekends, then, are a tumultuous time for her. If she doesn’t have pre-made plans with her friends, she’ll spend the days thinking about doing everything, inevitably end up doing nothing, and then dragging herself out of the house to do something.

This particular Saturday, that “something” happens to be grocery shopping. With a list that only has “Eggs?” on it, she ventures through every single aisle, wondering if she could get herself hungry enough to buy whatever she’s currently looking at.

So far, aside from the eggs, there’s only one other thing in her cart. And it’s not even for her.

“Pop-Tarts…I don’t know, they might sound good later.” She reaches to grab a box of the frosted strawberry ones but waves it off at the last second. Maybe the next aisle will have something she thinks absentmindedly as her cart almost hits the person in front of her.

Who somehow happens to be Elsa.

“Hi! Hey! Wow hi!” Anna says while Elsa looks at her like she’s genuinely startled. “H-hey there, Ms. Langford.”

After registering that the person yelling at her isn’t a threat, Elsa smiles. “Anna! It’s so wonderful to see you.” She looks as if she’s going to take a step towards Anna, but changes her mind at the last second.

Unfortunately, Anna took that as a cue to also step forward and didn’t move back fast enough. So now, she’s just standing between both carts like she’s commandeering both. “I-I didn’t know you went grocery shopping. Here, I mean. I’m sure you shop, but like…I live near here. Like five minutes away actually.”

Elsa chuckles, and honestly it sounds like honey-dipped guitar strings. But less sticky, and more sexy. “Well I was in the area dropping Serah off to her karate lesson, so I figured I might as well do some shopping while I wait.”

Right, Serah started her lessons last week. She told Anna that she was super excited about “getting to punch bricks and stuff”. Still unsure if she should move yet, Anna adds, “Well I like this place a lot. It’s like one of my top ten places to be- to go. Maybe top five.”

“I’ll make sure to keep that in mind,” Elsa grins like she really is happy to have run into her. She shifts her gaze down and remarks, “Oh, that’s a really nice chopping board.”

Oh. Right. The chopping board’s…still in her cart. Anna lifts it up and holds it like she’s showing off the finest new features in chopping board technology. “Yeah thanks, it’s on sale actually.”

“That’s good news, I’m looking to replace the one we have. I’m tired of scraping plastic off my chicken when I’m cutting it.” Anna knows this, of course, because Elsa’s muttered it to herself every time she’s in the kitchen. “Which aisle did you find that in?”

Forgetting why she has the chopping board in the first place, Anna holds it out and says, “Oh it’s okay, you can just have this one?”

“Are you sure? Don’t you need it?”

Now remembering why she has it, Anna shamefully pulls it away, “Yes. I mean no. No I don’t, I don’t need it. It’s in my cart, but I don’t need it.”

Elsa’s eyes narrow, “I-I’m sorry, I’m confused.”

Well this is happening. And it’ll be even more awkward to explain things if she shows up with the chopping board on Monday. She sighs, finally admitting defeat, “I…I heard you mention you needed a new chopping board, so I wanted to get one for you. This one, actually. This is the one I was going to buy. And then give it to you on Monday.”

Elsa goes from confused to flattered in a second, and much like all of her expressions there’s an inarguable authenticity to it. There’s no exaggerated gasp or a drawn-out “Awww”, instead there’s a smile that could melt a million hearts and a casual touching of Anna’s upper arm.

“I knew I picked a good one,” Elsa says, oblivious to the screaming and fireworks occurring in Anna’s head.

“Ah, i-it’s nothing really. I’m using my paycheck, so in a way you’re buying it yourself haha,” Anna tries to laugh but she squeaks like someone’s just pumped her full of helium.

“Nonetheless, you’ve helped lift so much stress off your shoulders and I want to show how much I appreciate you.” Elsa straightens up a little and looks at the frazzled redhead curiously, “What do you think about coffee?”

“You mean like a coupon?” Anna shakes her head. “I mean a gift card?”

Elsa opens her mouth to respond, but another thought seemingly goes through her head and she purses her lips. A second later, she smiles again, “Yes. Like a gift card. Young people still drink Starbucks, right?”

Anna scoffs, “Ms. Langford, you’re only nine years older than me.”

“And yet you still insist on calling me ‘Ms. Langford’, which always makes me feel much older than I actually am.”

A ton of bricks falls on Anna as she realizes her grave mistake. “Oh my goodness, Ms. La- ah I mean I uh…I’m so sorry. I didn’t- I mean that wasn’t my intention. You’re young, a-and beautiful, and still in your prime. No you haven’t even reached your prime yet! If I made you feel like you weren’t, I’m-”

She’s silenced by the feel of Elsa’s hand coming to rest on…her shoulder? Well that’s new. And exciting. Anna focuses half of her mind on calming down and the other half on what Elsa’s saying.

“Relax Anna, it was just a joke. You can call me whatever you want.” Though Elsa’s voice is reassuring, her smile has a glint of proud mischief from catching her off-guard. “I’m not about to police my favorite babysitter on what words she can use.”

Anna tries to speak but finds her throat too dry. She clears it and tries again, “Really? I’m your favorite babysitter? You’re not just saying that?”

“I went through far too many babysitters before I found you,” Elsa lets out a breathy laugh, eyes glancing to the side as if she’s remembering back to the years she’d had to find the right fit to take care of Serah. Anna wonders what makes her so different from the others, but thinks that’s too invasive to ask. “You’re the best.”

The casual yet loaded compliments and the feel of Elsa’s fingers so close to her bare skin combine to create a dangerous, stomach-churning reaction in Anna. One that sets all her impulses alight, screaming at her to kiss Elsa.

Before she even has the chance to compose herself, Elsa’s already pulled away and is back by the safety of the handrails on her cart. “Well I think I’ve used up enough of your time this weekend. And besides, I need to find something for dinner tonight. I’ll see you Monday, okay?”

Anna blinks, still trying to register things that happened five minutes ago. “Uh yeah, no problem. Sounds great,” she replies without knowing what she’s saying.

Elsa smiles at her and turns the corner, disappearing from direct sight. After an eternity of standing at the end of the aisle like an idiot, Anna groans and covers her face with her hands.

“Stupid,” she mumbles to herself.

[Line Break]

“The evil scientist shouted, ‘This ain’t over, Super Gal! One day-”

Anna presses the buzzer she bought at a dollar store. “There’s no such thing as the word 'ain’t’,” she corrects.

Serah groans, “You’re the worst.”

“You asked a girl with an English degree for help with your story. What did you expect would happen?” Anna taps against the table like an evil villain.

’“I didn’t expect you to not go easy on-”

Anna presses the buzzer again. “Double negative!”

“I’m not even writing!” Serah protests.

“My buzzer, my rules.”

The sound of the front door opening interrupts them bickering like long-lost sisters. Instead of running over to greet Elsa by the door, Serah shouts with exasperation, “Moooom! Anna’s being a jerk!”

“Well that’s what happens when you ask an English major to look over your story, honey,” Elsa replies.

Anna gives Serah a smug grin, the little girl sticks her tongue out in response. Elsa joins them at the dinner table, the tiredness on her face is less concerning tonight but Anna catches her wince when she sits down.

“You okay?” she asks.

Elsa smiles, “Fell off a ladder at work.”

“Oh my gosh, how bad does it hurt? I could-” Anna has to take a pause to let the unhelpful thought of massaging Elsa’s back go away. “-get you some ibuprofen or an ice pack.”

“Thank you, Anna, but I’m sure I’ll be fine in the morning once I sleep it off. After all, I’m not even in my prime yet.” Elsa winks at her, and Anna has to pretend her insides haven’t turned to jelly.

“Is this like that time you fell in the bathroom while trying to pull your pants up?” Serah asks.

“Serah!” Elsa hides her face in her hands, though it’s still possible to tell the remorse she feels through her voice. “Why did I even tell you that story?”

Serah feigns innocence and shrugs, “Because I’m your daughter and you like telling me things?”

Elsa sticks her tongue out in response and it’s much cuter than it has any right to be. Unable to help herself, Anna asks, “Are you sure I can’t do anything for you? I mean like with your back…or whatever.”

Elsa rests her head against one of her hands and doesn’t try to hold back the tiredness in her smile this time. “You’re very sweet, Anna, but I’ll be okay. Just need some rest.” She mumbles afterward, “And a vacation…”

Anna lets her mind wander for a second, thinking of what it would feel like to take Elsa somewhere she could unwind. Like to a spa, or a lake. Elsa feels like the kind of person who finds solitude near water. In her mind, she sees Elsa in a baby blue sundress and a wide brim hat, looking out at the crystal clear waters from a creaky, wooden dock. She sees herself walking down the same dock and Elsa turning to her with a smile, holding a hand out and beckoning her to come over.

“What do you think, Anna?”

The wishful thought dissipates, and Anna’s pulled back into reality by a question she’s not ready for. “Sorry, I was uh…thinking of a story idea. What were you guys talking about?”

Thankfully not asking where Anna’s mind was really at, Elsa repeats herself, “Serah was wondering if you wanted to go to her play tomorrow.”

“I’m playing a tree!” Serah says proudly.

This invitation comes as a wonderful surprise. Serah’s been hyping this play up for forever, but Anna always assumed she would want Elsa to be there. “Oh, I…did something happen? Can you not make it?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t dare miss seeing my little girl play the part of Tree #2. But I really-”

Serah clears her throat obnoxiously loud.

“Right. We would really love it if you came. Tickets are free, but they’ll be selling popcorn and soda for $2.”

“You can sit next to my mom!” Serah adds, and her failed blink shows she knows exactly what she’s implying. It feels odd having a ten-year-old be her wing woman, but Anna’s learning to roll with it.

“No pressure, though,” Elsa says while wringing her hands together. “It’s on a Friday night, and I know you might already have plans.”

“I don’t,” Anna responds far too fast.

Elsa’s eyes widen in surprise, “Oh. Then do you want to go?”

The chance to sit next to Elsa for an hour in a dark auditorium? Anna would be an idiot to pass that opportunity up. And it isn’t lost on her that it felt like Elsa was about to say she would personally love it if she went.

“Sure, I’d love to go.”

[Line Break]

Far too many questions are still punching Anna in the brain as she pulls into West Arendelle Elementary’s parking lot and walks towards the auditorium. Should she have eaten something beforehand? Is she overdressed? Is she underdressed? Should she have texted Elsa to coordinate outfits? What if this is all some elaborate prank to make fun of her for her stupid mom crush? Did she sweat through her shirt? Is it noticeable?

Her crazy thoughts are interrupted by her phone buzzing. She pulls it out of the back pocket of her jeans and sees it’s a text from Elsa. She’s waiting by the door so they can find some seats together.

Well, that eases her worry about trying to find Elsa in a crowded auditorium. Though crowded might be an understatement. It’s a fourth-grade play, not an opera at The Met.

Once inside, Anna takes a second to admire the impressive renovations of what used to be a musty, old gymnasium (they even put in carpets and sound dampeners). But she’s not here to appraise this place, she’s here to root for her favorite fourth grader/tree and keep the ogling of Elsa to a minimum-

Holy baloney, Elsa’s wearing a dress.

It’s got blue-and-white stripes, short sleeves, and a similar colored waist sash. And instead of her hair being in a tight ponytail, the nearly silver locks fall across her shoulders and down her back.

It’s casual, it’s cute, it’s gorgeous, it’s beautiful, and it’s a stark reminder of how absolutely smitten Anna is.

“I was getting worried you might not show up,” Elsa says with a smile akin to the one she showed off at the grocery store.

Up close, Anna also notices a thin, snowflake necklace around Elsa’s slender neck and she’s already failed in keeping her ogling to a minimum. “You can always trust me to keep my promises, Ms. Langford,” she says with a goofy grin meant to reflect something called confidence.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Elsa responds.

Feeling like she has to mention it, and also because her brain’s still currently fried from seeing an angel, Anna adds, “You look beautifuller. I-I mean not like fuller, I just mean you look more beautiful than usual. Oh gosh, not that you usually look bad because you don’t. You never look bad, you’re-”

Elsa lays a hand on Anna’s shoulder again, which might as well be her reset button. “Anna, do me a favor and take a breath.”

Anna takes a breath.

“Good job. Now let’s go find some seats, okay?”

Anna follows her, too caught up on the feeling of being told she did a good job.

They find a spot at the end of an aisle and close enough to the stage that Serah will be able to find them without looking too hard. Elsa takes the seat on the left, Anna takes the seat on the right. They don’t start talking again right away, not until the conversations all across the auditorium become a blanket of white noise.

And then Elsa lets out a breath, “This feels nice.”

Anna turns to her and notices her eyes are closed, but she still commits to perfect posture so it looks like she’s meditating. “What do you mean?” Anna asks.

“Being…present. Not having to rush to make dinner or beat traffic or anything like that. It feels nice to have a break and just be.”

Anna finds it hard to understand what constitutes this as a break, but then again she isn’t a mother. And she doesn’t know much about what it means to take a break anyway.

Elsa tilts her head like she’s about to rest it on Anna’s shoulder, but instead, she turns to look at her. “Thank you again.”

“For the chopping board?”

“For the chopping board, for taking care of Serah, for being someone I can trust…for everything. It’s hard to- I mean you know it hasn’t been easy for me relationship-wise.”

Anna nods. Learning about Elsa’s divorce and her subsequent failed relationships was a part of why she took this job in the first place. She sympathized with the single mother and knew even then that Elsa could really use someone to have her back too.

“So thank you, for being my…the person I needed through all this. My knight in shining armor.”

The lights haven’t dimmed yet, so she needs to hope the blush on her cheeks isn’t too noticeable. She bites the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling too wide, and then says, “Well, outstanding service is the Bizzybee guarantee.” It’s supposed to be a playful joke, but Elsa doesn’t seem to take it as such.

She frowns, “Do you really only see this as a job?”

This is different, but it doesn’t feel like a good different. Elsa doesn’t usually look like she’s staring into her soul, and she hasn’t asked anything this personal since the initial interview. To Anna, the answer is obvious, but she’s also caught up on wondering what answer Elsa wants to hear. If she says the wrong thing, will she lose her job? What’s the right thing to say? When did it get so warm? And is that citrus she smells in Elsa’s hair? Gosh, why is she so weird?

Shrinking further underneath Elsa’s stone-cold curiosity, Anna finally decides to approach this with honesty. “No,” she starts far too softly. “No, I think I would probably do anything for you…r family. You mean a lot to me. Y-you and Serah, I mean.”

She really hopes that doesn’t sound like a confession. The last thing she wants to do is get fired and have to run out of an elementary school auditorium in tears.

A soft, warmth presses against her hand that’s been resting on her seat. Anna looks down and sees Elsa’s hand on top of where hers should be. If this is a dream, then she never wants to wake up.

“Thank you for saying that,” Elsa replies just as softly.

Finally, the lights dim and the principal is on the stage talking about how hard the fourth-graders have worked on this rendition of The Giving Tree. And maybe it means nothing, but Elsa still hasn’t pulled away. Anna pushes away the thought of her own hand being too sweaty, and the notion that this could be a fulfillment of her craziest wish. Right now, she just tries to enjoy the feeling.

Serah turned out to be an excellent Tree #2.

[Line Break]

Next Monday, everything falls apart.

Or at least that’s what it feels like is going to happen when Elsa gets back from work and immediately asks Serah to go to her room so they can talk alone.

Anna’s never seen her this distraught before. Her ponytail is poorly put together, she’s not wearing any makeup, and there’s a coffee stain below her collar. When she asks if she can do anything to help, Elsa’s response is a quick but harsh, “No.”

She stiffens up. “Oh. O-okay, I’m sorry.”

Elsa shakes her head, places her hand on top of one of the kitchen chairs, but then pulls back like it’s hot to the touch. “Could we maybe sit on the couch?”

Right now, Elsa could tell her to cut off her hand and Anna would do it. She nearly trips walking the five feet from the kitchen to the living room couch, and tries to take up the least amount of space as possible when she sits down. Elsa sits on the far side, clutching a pillow to her chest with her mind probably anywhere else but here.

It’s not a good sight, and Anna’s not only worried about the safety of her job, but Elsa’s condition. She purses her lips to keep from saying anything stupid, and hopes this isn’t the horrible nightmare she’s expecting it to be.

Elsa closes her eyes tight, “I’m afraid I have to let you go, Anna.”

Anna completely deflates. Had she not been expecting this, it would have come as a greater shock to her. But when she pushed her luck at the play by trying to hold Elsa’s hand…she knew her days as a babysitter were numbered. “I understand,” she says sadly.

“I don’t think you do,” Elsa replies, quickly turning to look at Anna. Her eyes look like they’re pleading with her, like she doesn’t want to do this. “You were amazing, and I will give you the best endorsement for any job you apply for. But after the play-”

“I know. I was out of line.”

There’s a tense, awkward second of silence where the two women are looking at each other with equal levels of guilt and remorse. Though their reasons are vastly different. Elsa sighs and places the final nail in the coffin, “No, you weren’t.”

…what?

“Anna, I wanted you to hold my hand.”

What?

“You did?” Anna asks, trying her best to curb her optimism. This can’t possibly be going the way she thinks it is.

Elsa nods, “I’m not- well okay, first of all, I don't want to fire you. Serah, she thinks of you as her big sister, and the thought of separating you two tears me up. But this needs to happen because I…having you around…I feel something for you.”

“Feel something?” Maybe someday she’ll be able to say more than two sentences again.

Again, Elsa closes her eyes. A sternness falls on her face which Anna can tell she’s had to use a lot “Say it out loud,” Elsa mutters.

“What’s wrong?”

One agonizing moment later, Elsa reopens her eyes, and the guilt in them has worsened. “I-I’m attracted to you, Anna, and it’s getting to me. Really bad. I can’t sleep without thinking of you, I got a ticket for speeding a couple of weeks ago because I couldn’t wait to get home to you and Serah, and when you held my hand? Gosh, I felt something I never felt with anyone I’ve ever been with. I have feelings for you, and I have to let you go before I do something I might regret.”

She’s not dreaming, Anna knows that for sure because there’s no weird fog around her and Elsa doesn’t have a horse head. Yet she still can’t wrap her mind around the fact that this is happening.

Elsa Langford, the most beautiful mom- hell, the most beautiful woman- she’s ever known has just confessed she has feelings for her.

But she has to know for certain, so she finally musters up the lucidity to ask more than two words. “Do you really mean that?”

Elsa laughs. But it’s not a “gotcha” laugh, it’s a deeply embarrassed, caught-in-the-act laugh Anna’s far too familiar with. “Yes. I like you a lot.”

That’s all the confirmation she needs. With all the social grace of a bowling ball tumbling down the stairs, Anna responds. “I like you a lot too. Like attractively, I-I mean romantically.”

Elsa’s eyes widen, “Really?”

Anna shows off her expertly crafted awkward laugh. “Of course! You’re sweet, caring, and you’re so beautiful I bet a potato sack would look good on you. When I look at you or even think of you, I just see like rainbows and flutes and warm stuff like blankets or bedrooms- I uh, I mean like…soup. It was just a stupid crush at first, but honestly I don’t think I’ve ever felt this strongly for anyone before. Elsa, you’re a dream come true.”

Elsa’s pale complexion makes the redness that appears on her cheeks much brighter and more beautiful than Anna could ever imagine. This magical moment…it’s something she’ll always cherish and will never forget.

“I love the way you say my name,” Elsa says quietly.

“It’s a very pretty name,” Anna adds.

“Gosh, just kiss each other already!” Serah shouts from the hallway.

They talk for another hour. Despite the looming threat of being fired disappearing, Anna still agrees it’s best she stops working for Elsa. There’s now a conflict of interest, and the last thing they want is for either of them to get in trouble. Which means it’s back to job hunting. On the bright side, however, Anna can now come over whenever she wants so Serah will still have her “big sister”.

As for her and Elsa, they both agree to take things slow to make sure they won’t drive each other crazy. In a bad way, obviously. They both have big, stupid crushes on each other, but with Elsa’s track record for relationships and Anna’s overall social awkwardness, it’s clear that attraction will only get them so far. They have to work for this, if this was something to work for. Nonetheless, they remain optimistic and their first date is set for next week.

Elsa just needs to find a babysitter first.

#elsanna #submission #April 2021 contest #prompt: break

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darklymelanatedstories · 4 years

Text

Dance with my mother (ft Trunks)

"What do you mean you can't?!",father shouted, his fist clenched with her necklace in it.

"I'm so sorry but I can't. It's against the Grand Priest's orders.",Shenron said, he looked truly sorry that he couldn't do anything. Grand Priest forbid the Dragonballs from bringing someone back to life until all the Super Dragonballs were found. Sounded pretty suspicious to me. But what did I know. I was a kid.

"Damnit Shenron!!" My father slammed his fist onto the ground, breaking half of the lookout in the process. He held back otherwise it would've been obliterated.

He couldn't hold it back anymore. He broke into tears. I ran over to him, tears also running down my cheek, and for the first time in forever, I embraced him. At first he pushed me away but I guess he needed a reminder of her so he pulled me back. We were on our knees crying. Fxck Saiyan pride. It didn't matter.

He didn't care about his pride at that moment, he didn't care that everyone saw him at his most vulnerable. What he cared for most was gone. My mother was gone. And she wasn't coming back.

It's been 4 years since the incident and to be honest we still weren't coping but we survived.

To be honest I think the only real reason we tried to keep it together was because of Bulla. My spoilt, little sis. Daddy's princess. I remember how I was disappointed when I found out I was getting a sister but now seeing her blue hair, pretty eyes and fascination with my mothers old tools, it just reminded me of mom. She was a little version of my mom. Stubborn, beautiful and smart...even for a baby.

I was babysitting my little sis and she ran off somewhere when I wasn't looking.

"Not again." I sighed.

I went around our large house to look for her and finally reached my parents old room. Father doesn't sleep there anymore. Too many memories that it hurt him to wake up with my mother not next to him.

I quietly entered and found the little troublemaker playing with my mothers old CDs. I quickly grabbed them before she could damage them. Big mistake.

She burst out crying and I didn't know how to calm her this time. So in panic of getting a huge scolding and maybe a "discipline" from my father, I quickly put it in her CD player and played it. On it came one of her favourite old songs by this one artist. Luther I think. Luther Vandross, Nothing better than love.

Even though she's ahead of the times, my mom found nothing more enjoyable and nostalgic than playing an old song her parents listened to when they were teens.

Immediately Bulla calmed down as she listened to the music. I lifted her up and started swaying to the beat. Usually I would hate listening to this but I felt connected to my mom when I did. It reminded me of the times we'd dance together.

When I'd dance with her. How I'd love to dance with my mother.

All the memories came flooding back. When my mom's favourite song would play and she get us to dance, and force my dad to as well, though I could tell he enjoyed it.

Family bonding, she'd call it.

I danced with little Bulla in my arms. She smiled and giggled which warmed my heart a bit. Dang, I become such a softie when I'm around her.

Unfortunately our moment was ruined when an angered force entered. Father.

The music stopped and my heart sank.

"What are you doing?",he asked angrily.

"I–I was just, Bulla got–"

He held the disc in his hand and I could see and those emotions he bottled up were ready to be set free.

"Get out!",he yelled, startling Bulla. The poor thing started sobbing which broke my father's heart. His eyes told me.

He sighed. "I'm sorry. It's just–"

"It's okay, dad. We'll leave.",I said as I headed to the door trying to calm Bulla. "Come on sis, let's go watch SpongeBob."

The mere mention of his name perked her up.

I heard my dad sigh and the door shut. I turned around but he was nowhere to be seen.

"He finally went into the room."

As Bulla and I were watching her favourite ridiculous show, I heard something. Something breaking.

I put her down on the carpet and ran towards my mother's room. I listened outside the door.

It reminded of the days I would do so when he locked himself in there. When he was tired of being vulnerable in front of people and just needed to be alone to let out his sadness.

I heard something else break.

No.

I kicked the door down and lunged myself at him to stop him from destroying a framed picture of our family on vacation. My mother looked especially beautiful, like always. I grabbed the picture from him.

"Stop!",I yelled.

My father's eyes were red and a bit puffy but I tried to ignore that. He bared his teeth in anger.

"Boy!!" He raised his hand and I shut my eyes preparing for impact. He's never been violent with me before, it's the first he's even raised a finger at me. I guess he finally broke. And you know what? I was gonna take it.

He brought down his hand and muttered an apology before leaving.

I looked at the picture frame in my hand and realised I crushed it by accident. Tiny shards of glass fell onto the floor in slow motion. The picture was still okay. That what mattered.

If I could get another chance, another step, another dance with her. I'd play a song that would never end.

"How I'd love to dance with you again, mom."

I just put my lil'sis to bed and my father was nowhere to be seen. I understood his pain. There's a reason Saiyans were raised with little love and emotion.

I went to my room early. Today was too much. My emotions were killing me. And I was only 12. Where have the years gone?

I played the CD I saved, in my room and shut the door.

I let myself fall onto the bed and listened to another song by Luther Vandross. Dance with my father.

The title and song needed tweaking for me.

I decided to rest my eyes a bit and enjoy the music.

I opened my eyes to another familiar setting. The lookout. Shenron was in front of me with the grand priest.

I was on my knees, tears in my eyes. Next to the Grand Priest was my mother. My dear mother. I tried to stand and grab her but it was as if I was stuck to the ground.

"Why are you here child?",the Grand Priest asked.

"I want–I need my mother back. Please!",I begged. "Me, my father, Bulla. We need her. Our family isn't the same with my mother."

"I'm afraid I can't do that. For you see–"

"I know, damnit!!!",I shouted.

"My, my, what a feisty child.",Grand Priest said. "Just like your mother."

"I'm not asking for much." Tears started flowing to my eyes. "Could you just bring back the only woman he ever loved? Please. Dear Lord he's dying...to dance with my mother again."

The grand Priest tilted his head and tapped his chin.

"Hmm.",he hummed. "No."

My sadness turned to anger. I turned Super Saiyan as I tried to attack him but I was stuck. "Damn you!!"

"If I could get one final step, one final walk, one final dance with her...",I whispered. But a miracle happened. He heard me.

"Very well then."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "What? Really?! But–"

Before I could continue, I heard my mother's voice as she ran over to me. And as if the weight of what was holding me down was lifted, I got up and ran towards her. She hugged me and I felt compelled to keep her in my arms.

"I'd play a song that would never ever end." I looked my mom I'm the eyes. "Because I'd love to dance with my mother again."

She wiped a tear from my cheeks, her eyes starting to water. "Don't cry mom.",I whispered. I was so happy. She was here again.

As if on cue the music started playing. Yep you guessed it. Luther Vandross. I felt a bit obsessed with him.

I started dancing with my mom enjoying every moment until I felt an arm on my shoulder. I looked back to see my father with Bulla in his arms. I took Bulla in my arms and watched as my parents danced together. Like the good old days.

I hoped this song would never end.

Thing is...

It did.

Once it did, everything went dark. My mother vanished and my father turned to dust. I reached for my sister but the closer I got, the further she did.

I let out a scream and before I knew it...

I woke up. It was a dream. The same yet different. The songs never did play forever. Which was weird because this time I put it on repeat. I sat up and went to check on the CD. It was gone.

"He needs it more than me."

I went back to bed and thought about my dream. We were happy, after so long. But it never lasts. It never did.

Everytime I fall asleep, this is all I ever dream.

#Trunks #sad #vegeta #bulma #Luther Vandross #Dance with my father #bulla

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adonis-koo · 5 years

Text

1 2 3 drink (M)

Note: this was suppose to be like an attempted BJ fic but it turned into an actual one ??? help ? this highkey wasn’t suppose to be an M Oneshot but here we go.

Also I should probably say right now 8th Member series isn’t in chronological order so this takes place before both previous oneshots.

Pairing: Platonic!Namjoon/8thM!Reader, romantic implied!Jungkook/Reader

Tags: Blow job, hand job, male receiving, slight hair pulling, Sub!Namjoon

Plot: In which Namjoon has to babysit you after one too many drinks.

Word count: 3996 this was suppose to be a drabble x)

Namjoon sighed exasperated, the poor guy never seemed to catch a break and today was not an exception as he cringed inwardly. Watching you throw your head back downing another shot of tequila, your fourth shot of tequila to be exact. How could someone so small hold so much alcohol? You were arguably the most heavy drinker out of Bangtan constantly “looking for a good time” but more times then less you found trouble before you found anything remotely fun.

Maybe it was because you were one of the youngest members, or maybe it was because you always went hard on drinking. Namjoon wasn’t quite sure anymore and frankly it was too mentally taxing to figure out why you did it so much. If there was any sort of ulterior motive or underlying reason you hid it incredibly well. Watching you smack the countertop with a loud laugh Namjoon had the distinct feeling it most likely was because you just genuinely enjoyed drinking.

Raising your hand lazily to ask for another shot, Namjoon’s view of you was suddenly blocked by the familiar black hair of his elder. Seokjin turned to look at you before looking back at Namjoon, “Guess you could say she’s pretty shot huh?” He suddenly laughed that loud- as Jungkook often teased- wind shield wiper laugh at his own, in Namjoon’s humble opinion brain dead dumb joke. Pulling his lips into a harsh fake smile that made Seokjin laugh even laugher. Finally patting the younger’s shoulder as his laughter calmed down, looking amused at his suffering before finally offering consolation, “I can watch her tonight if you want.”

Namjoon was half tempted by the idea, all you had done was slur for the last half hour on how Naruto and Sasuke would always be superior to Naruto and Sakura before slumping in your seat. Taking another shot before saying something else incomprehensible. You were an honest drunk, a funny and incredibly honest one. But you were also someone who gave way too much information. One moment you were talking about Naruto and the next you were babbling about being between Red Velvet, Irene’s legs during the after party of an award show. Zero to sixty real fast.

Sighing Namjoon peered over Seokjin’s shoulder before shaking his head, it was his turn to babysit you tonight and he wouldn’t bow out now, despite how tempting it was, “It’s fine. You should go ahead and take Jimin home, he’s been slumped in the corner crying for the past fifteen minutes about what if ‘dogs only dream about their owners since that’s all they know’.”

As if on cue they both heard a whimper, turning around they watched fat crocodile tears rolls down Jimin’s cheek as he cuddled against Jungkook, who sat indifferencely on his phone looking bored and ready to leave, just as he had been for the past 45 minutes , “Kookie listen-“ he sobbed out, “Kookie! It only makes sense, dogs only know their owners-“ he suddenly hiccuped before bursting into a new set of tears, “Humans are so mean! We d-don’t deserve them.”

“Mhm.” Jungkook replied, not looking invested in the least at his elders drunk babbling as he continued typing with both hands, not bothering to look up at his elder that continued to hug against his arm crying. Taehyung had been sitting across from them letting out a loud obnoxious laugh, one Namjoon was surprised the other drinkers hadn’t come to knock him out yet for being so loud, “Don’t listen to him Jiminie,” Taehyung practically cooed out coaxing him on with a shit eating grin on his face, pulling out his phone to video it, “There’s no other explanation.”

Namjoon was positive he would’ve gotten up but he had been strapped to his seat on the couch. Where Hoseok, who had long sense passed out laid sprawl across his lap, having the lowest alcohol tolerance in the group he had inevitably fell asleep after his fourth beer, why did they even go out drinking? Nobody seemed to be able to handle their liquor, and even the ones that did never bothered to limit themselves to be sober by the end of the night. It would’ve been nice if Yoongi had atleast entertained the idea rather then promptly saying ‘No’ before shutting the door to his studio.

Shrugging Seokjin got up, putting a hand on the youngers shoulder as he replied, “Good luck, we all know how handsy she gets after so many shots.” They gave you one last look, you had currently been chugging a whole bottle of beer due to boasting to the bartender, he had promised a free drink if you could actually chug the whole bottle and naturally with you being so competitive you couldn’t say no, slamming the empty against the countertop before doubling over beside the bottle, putting a hand on your mouth in attempt to keep the substance down. Seokjin parted ways from the leader, walking over to Jimin before bossing Jungkook to carry the near passed out and sniveling drunk that sobbed against him.

Obviously despite being made out of pure muscle Jungkook whined before caving in, he had pressed his lips together taking a glance your way before asking Seokjin something, who shrugged nodding to Namjoon before making way to Hoseok’s collapsed figure. Sighing Jungkook effortlessly threw his elder over his shoulder who didn’t even put up a fight. Jimin dangled over his shoulder like a leftover rag dog as he let his floppy black hair cover his defeated, tear stained face.

Taehyung sighed as well not appreciating the kill joy but helped Seokjin regardless to pull Hoseok up. His head jerking down towards the floor before flopping back up towards the ceiling as he muttered something incoherently in his unconscious state. Watching the doors to the private bar close as Namjoon sighed, pulling out his phone once more while keeping an eye on you, this wasn’t his ideal Saturday night but all the extroverts of the group, including you had wanted to come.

The late evening went by fairly fast and you had slowed down in drinking thank god, nursing the margarita you held for the last half hour, a new record of self restraint. Or more like in attempt to keep yourself from throwing up, it came in very visible phases, your face would pale and you’d shift in your seat before hunching over putting a hand on your mouth, after a few minutes you’d resume your normal position and continue drinking, but regardless you had slowed down. The only thing that didn’t was your voice as you would cheerfully though rather slurred, talk to anyone who was even remotely close to you. Namjoon didn’t think anything of it at first, you were a bubbly person drinking or not.

The alcohol only made you all the more outgoing, not like you needed the extra help but when you started drinking it was always difficult to get you to stop. He had stopped in his tracks though when he noticed a man clad in a three piece suit talking to you, leaning in, smiling while letting his knees brush against yours, he wasn’t an idol definitely, or an actor, which left him to obviously be a business man.

Regardless of status you were absolutely wasted and not in any state to get laid whether you believed it or not. Namjoon instantly stood up, trudging over as he put a hand on your shoulder, making you stumble in sentence as you swerved around, confused as to who interrupted your difficult train of thought, only to suddenly smile again at seeing your elder. Wrapping your arms around his waist as you buried your face in his stomach, “Joonie! (hic) meet my new friend!”

Namjoon glanced down at you before straightening as he glanced up at the stranger unamused, taking advantage of a drunk girl was not something he’d ever approve of, especially when it was from someone who looked like he was in his mid thirties with a wife, judging by the ring on his left finger and most likely had two kids waiting at home, “Nice to meet you,” he gave a forced tight mouthed smile, suddenly hauling you up out of your seat making you stumble towards him with a whine, not understanding why he was handling you so roughly as he continued, “We’ll be going now.”

Swallowing thickly the business man made no attempt to stop him, the pro to his staggering height made him considerably intimidating to anyone who wasn’t in his inner circle of family and friends. You continually whined as Namjoon pulled you along to the door, stumbling out a sentence that suspiciously sounded like, “I (hic) was about to...” trailing off your eyes dilated as if forgetting what you were going to say before suddenly shouting, “To get laid! (hic) why did you- you cockle...” you suddenly giggled out at your last slurred word before repeating it again, “Cockle...”

Namjoon sighed exasperatedly, “It’s almost one in the morning Y/n you already have a hard time sleeping as it is,” being the pragmatic person he was he couldn’t let you continue on at the bar regardless of if someone was hoping to get into your pants or not. Which he wouldn’t have interfered with had you not took over seven shots, three beers and a half drank margarita. With having someone so sexually active in the group it was just easier to let you go about your business without mention of the details or who it was with.

BigHit had put you on birth control the moment you turned legal which said something in its self, but with that being taken care of the only scare of you getting pregnant was put to rest and no one bothered or nagged you about your sex life anymore. But still, nothing good could come out of you getting some while drunk. Even if you wouldn’t regret it in the morning Namjoon not in a million years would risk that. So you sat pouting in the backseat of a taxi beside Namjoon whining about being horny and so close to having it took care of. It was mostly drunken slurs at that point, thankfully even the driver couldn’t make out what you were complaining about.

And Namjoon had ended up tooning it out as well, looking non pulsed until you arrived home. Helping you up the stairs of the building, drunkenly you refused to go to bed stating you wouldn’t sleep anyways. Doubting how true that was Namjoon hadn’t bothered putting up a fight though, when Y/n didn’t want to do something she wasn’t going to do it. Letting you follow him around like a lost puppy until he settled down into his studio in hopes of getting some lyrics written that night. He had been going back and forth between writing a line down when you peered from behind, sitting like a lost puppy behind him, “Joonie?”

He gave a hum in response, not turning to face you but letting you know he was listening, “(hic) why did you stop me from sleeping with that guy?”

Sighing he let his hands drop from the keyboard, swiveling around in his chair to face you, your eyes dark with circles and your cheeks red flushed from alcohol, “You’re drunk Y/n, you didn’t know him. Even if you wanted it- which you wouldn’t have sober trust me- and still even if it was consented, if you changed your mind midway there was a likelihood he wouldn’t listen. Im not going to take that chance when you aren’t sober. Do I need to remind you of what happened back in our debut days?”

Explaining word for word to you as if you were a little school girl, and when you were drunk you were definitely the equivalent of such in demeanor. Teetering between filthy minded and so naively drunk you missed the innuendo, there was never an in between. Licking your lips you thought for a moment before replying, “And what if it was someone I did know? And I did trust?”

Namjoon curved an eyebrow, leaning back in his seat as he shrugged, “I mean if you trusted them then maybe. But that’s still a risk I can’t let you take, not when you’re this drunk.”

You suddenly whined, kicking your legs in your seat childishly before crashing onto the floor, stumbling between his legs as you buried your head into his thigh, “But you wouldn’t do that would you (hic) Joonie?”

Namjoon’s pupils widened as his lips parted, unsure of what to say at the suddenly movement as you continued to nuzzle your nose against his inner thigh, it was a tempting offer but he could in no way, especially let himself do it with you, “Y/n....” he sighed pinching the bridge of his nose, wanting to smack himself from feeling the arousal travel between his legs, “I wouldn’t do that too you. But you don’t know what you actually want right now.”

Whining again you shuffled to get closer into his legs as you looked up at him, big pouty lips and puppy eyes to match as you fumbled out, “I-I...” You furrowed your brows, as if trying to figure out how to speak, “Just want a dick right now, I don’t really care if it’s yours Joonie (hic)-“ you suddenly hiccuped again before looking down at his clothed members, which had been frustratedly hardening at your words much to his disproval, “I’d say the same thing if you were (hic) sober- me I mean if I was s- (hic).” You had the case of hiccups now, causing you to wrinkle your nose in frustration at the phenomenon that continually cut off your speech.

Gritting his teeth Namjoon could feel a vein popping out from his neck in self restraint, “Why don’t you just go see Jungkook? You like him don’t you?”

You frowned while giving another hiccup, “B-but his room is all the way upstairs (hic). And you know I’m not (hic) good with feelings.”

Namjoon parted his lips, raising his eyebrows in almost disbelief, did you just confess you actually liked the maknae? Sure the elder line had teased you about it but you had never crumbed to their curiosity, until now atleast.

Whimpering you didn’t seem to notice his expression as you rubbed your nose against his thigh again, “P-please? If you’re so concerned about me not consenting then atleast let me suck you off.”

Namjoon suddenly jolted in his seat, feeling your hand suddenly squeeze his clothed members pumping his base, making him grab the armrests of his chair tightly. You suddenly stopped as you frowned looking as though something had just occurred to you with parted lips, “(hic) unless you don’t want too....”

“No!” Namjoon stumbled out a little bit louder then he would’ve liked too, quickly constraining his voice has he tightly closed his eyes murmuring, “Fuck...Fine I’ll let you, but no more outside of touching got it?”

Nodding you eagerly grinned, something innocent that should not have been on your lips as you squeezed his hardening length again, stroking it from the base all the way to the tip as your lips parted in awe, “You feel so big.”

Attempting to keep himself from bucking into your hand Namjoon closed his eyes. Feeling his face become hot at your words as you more then happily continued to stroke and pump his clothed length, finally licking your lips as you looked up at him, “C-can I take it out?”

It was hard to say no to your doe eyes and parted lips, tongue peeking out as if ready to be beg if necessary, running a hand through his hair he nodded. Not trusting his lips or his hands to be anywhere else as you excitedly pulled down his sweats and boxers. Letting his hardened cock spring free. The angry red tip that oozed of pre cum was more then enough to make you rub your thighs furiously in hopes of getting friction.

Gripping the base you slowly gave a few pumps, squeezing his shaft tighter as you stopped at the mid point. Gauging his reaction you watched Namjoon freeze, his body tense and his eyes closed in trance, his head hung back looking as though he enjoyed every moment that also felt like utter agony before suddenly bucking against your hand impatiently.

Making the base of his cock reach your grip before sliding all the way back down to his tip. Finally cracking he let out a shaky moan with parted lips as you smiled coaxingly, “Go ahead, you can buck into my hand, I know it feels good.” You had practically purred it out half lidded as his hips obediently bucked into your hand. Switching between a tight grip at the base of his cock before letting it soften at the tip. Feeling him strain beneath you, muscles clenching and relaxing repeatedly from being edged so close to his orgasm.

You sighed, watching as his hips sloppily thrusting into your hand faster, his cock twitching and pulsing as his released came closer and closer, “You don’t get to cum without my say,” You pouted sighing once more, almost tsking at his over eagerness leaving you no choice but to abruptly let go of his dick, making him shakily whimper as he cracked his eyes open. Watching as you shrugged casually, almost looking more sober then you had all night as you continued, “My hands, my rules, understood?”

Namjoon bit his lip looking towards his cock, which stood up eager to be used again and desperately waiting to release, nodding he still couldn’t speak. Unable to in this situation, Sure you had slept with some of the younger members. But the older ones? He didn’t think you were honestly interested, he was obviously wrong in his assessment as you regripped his cock, flattening your tongue on the mid of his shaft before letting your wet muscle slide up to his tip. Swearing Namjoon clenched the armrests of his chairs again, he didn’t realize you were so dominant until you huffed looking up at him again sternly, “Remember, no cumming until I say so.”

Namjoon quickly nodded, wanting your tongue back against him as soon as possible. Complying you gently pumped the base of his cock while letting your tongue drag back up against his shaft. Hearing him twist and moan beneath you as a smirk curled onto your lips, “Eyes on me okay?” You murmured. Watching him obediently look at you. Keeping his gaze you opened your mouth as you began to suck his tip, making him attempt to buck against your mouth. He was extremely big, just his tip stretched your mouth, making you sigh as you retracted away from his thrust, “You’re so big...It’ll be difficult to deepthroat you but I think I can do it.”

He suddenly bucked harshly against your hand that squeezed his cock, wishing you had a firmer grip as he finally whimpered out, “Please Y/n, I can’t last much longer.”

Curving an eyebrow you laughed, “Yes you can, you will.” You’re voice didn’t leave room for debate as you began to lick the precum from his tip making him give another whimper while moaning, attempting to thrust into your mouth as you felt his cock twitch in excitement. So close but not enough for you.

Finally giving in you began to pump his base faster, taking in his tip before hollowing your cheeks. Letting him fill your mouth as his cock painfully stretched your mouth. You hadn’t even gotten half way down his shaft when you felt his tip hit the back of your throat.

His cock continuously pulsed and he began to moan repetitively trying to keep his body from twisting and withering as his knuckles turned white from clenching, “Please!”

Taking him all the way down your throat you began to bob your head obviously enjoying his begging. Noting he wouldn’t last much longer you lifted your mouth from him as you looked up, pausing for a second as he withered beneath you, “What are you waiting for? Use my mouth to cum.”

You could barely laugh as you felt a large hand suddenly grab your hair, knotting it tightly as you felt your mouth forced back against his cock. Standing up hurriedly he suddenly slammed himself in and out of you.

His size making tears that already stung your eyes began to stream down your face at the raw burning in your throat as you felt his size painfully squeeze against the tight space. His hips had become erratic and rough as he yanked your hair moaning as he closed his eyes.

Namjoon was so close to his orgasm so, so close. Just a few more thrusts. He quickly picked up the pace, mouth fucking you as rough as he could go. Oblivious to the shuffling outside the door.

“Jesus what’s going- okay nevermind.” Neither of you had bothered to notice Yoongi open the door for a rough estimate of ten seconds before instantly closing it as he sighed, “Seriously?”

Feeling his cock twitch one last time Namjoon gave one last thrust before feeling a string of hot thick liquid slide down your throat.

Lips hanging open as he sighed, slowing down his thrusts until he fully stopped staying there for a moment before letting his softened members out of your mouth. Tear stains streaked your face but you grinned cheekily letting yourself collapse into your back in satisfaction.

“T-thanks.” Namjoon stuttered out, unsure of what to say as he ran a hand through his hair closing his eyes.

He was going to offer to help you out as well but as soon as he opened his eyes he sighed, you were knocked dead out asleep.

---

“Okay but seriously? In his studio?” Seokjin rose an almost judging eyebrow as he mixed his bowl of soup around. Why did you constantly sleep with the other members, did you have some sort of secret pact to get all of them in bed one by one?

Namjoon only groaned as he ran a hand through his hair, looking at you red faced and thoroughly apologetic as memories of the night before came to mind, “Are you sure you’re okay Y/n?”

Raising an eyebrow you gripped your glass of water, sighing at your worried leader before taking in the only other two people at the kitchen table.

You didn’t necessarily regret it, you just wished you had been sober so the poor guy wouldn’t be so worried about you, bless his heart. In fact, you were glad drunken you had blowed him, in your humble opinion he deserved it. Namjoon didn’t ever like talking about it but he had the preconceived notion he was one of the “ugly members” of Bangtan and you wouldn’t stand for that kind of talk or mentality.

Taking a sip of water before replying you kept your eyebrow rose, “Unless you’re referring to my headache the answer is yes, of course I’m fine Namjoon. I don’t really see what the big deal is.” You rubbed your head as if trying to recall last nights events, “I honestly don’t remember half of the blow job. I do remember your size though,” you blew a dramatic breath of air as you laughed, “Not gonna lie that was the biggest di-“

“Okay I’m gonna stop you right there,” Namjoon held up a hand flustered, you had been with a lot of people, so to say his was the biggest was probably the most flustering thing he had ever heard, “Let’s just pretend like you didn’t turn me into a bitch last night, okay?”

Coughing on your water you slapped the table, “Wait you subbed for me!?”

“Y/n!”

#bts #bangtan #bangtan boys #kim namjoon #bts kim namjoon #namjoon x reader #namjoon x you #namjoon smut #bts smut #8thM!reader #Namjoon x 8thM!reader #namjoon reader insert #bts reader insert #reader insert #jungkook x reader implied #if you squint you can see it #bts x reader #burn the stage series

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voidgremlin · 4 years

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An Oath to Hope (Chapter 6)

Chapter 6: Dear Diary, Today I think the stars went out.

Dear Diary,

Today I told my parents that I didn’t liked the sheep. They are smelly, they are loud and they annoy me. [Drawings of flowers]

Dear Diary,

Today I prepared my bag and re-told my parents that I didn’t liked the sheep, I called mean auntie Sharon to ask if she was ok with me being at Leadworth with her. She said nothing. But that’s not a no. [Drawing of Amy with orange hair inside a car passing by a sign named Leadworth]

Dear Diary,

Mom and Dad don’t like the idea of letting me go to town, they say they don’t mind driving me to school for hours. But I mind a lot ! I HATE THE SHEEPS !!!! [Drawings of sheep being crossed out].

Amelia Jessica “Amy” Pond is a kid that would make most parent proud. Bright mind under layer of passion and anger and at the core: poetry but of course no parents would be able to describe their own children with such clarity. To them, she is a kid that never caused much trouble and was helpful at the farm and slaughterhouse that the Ponds owned. Despite her many many attempts to tell them she hated it here, or the fact that all she wanted was to leave and her tantrums. To Augustus and Tabetha Pond, all is well in the best of the world. Parenthood is a difficult thing to be, but the Ponds were not trying that hard.

Amy is small kid who rather be close to friends than isolated and she understood that very quickly: she didn’t wanted to be alone and her family wasn’t good enough expect the sheep, they were good but smelly. So she provoked her transfer to Leadworth, it was long and difficult, she didn’t even liked her aunt. She wasn’t … Evil but had the special brand of Pond’s care. But in her head she will be close to school, close to friends and she won’t be alone anymore. So it was worth the argument. In the end it was the call of Sharon who begged her parents to make her stop calling her home and be done with it that changed their mind. If Amy could hear the tone of her aunt she would understand why the hell, the next day, her baggage’s were packed and she was off the Pond’s property.

The goodbye were short and curt, they told her that she could come back any time, even for tea.

The Hellos were as well, curt and short. Her aunt gave her a nod before showing an empty and bare room. Letting her installing herself on her own.

She was 9 years old.

And more maturity than her pairs.

First, she tried to go back to her parents each weekend but they never could go pick her up so she found alternative ways that required many buses. It was tiring but more than that was the fact that home was still awful. Her parents were busy, the cattle loud and her alone.

After a few weeks the going didn’t make any sense anymore. She stopped, and through the daily calls it didn’t seemed like they noticed her absence. But her aunt noticed her presence in the house.

“Is there nothing to keep you occupied those days ?” she said during the first holidays they had together clearly annoyed of someone being in her space during her little free time. Amelia doesn’t think she answered that day but it didn’t stopped her aunt to take action about it.

She hired a babysitter.

Well she hired the neighbor’s kid and asked him if for a few bucks he would like to play with her Amelia. The floppy haired kid who is dressed like Sharon’s grandpa, didn’t knew any better and wanted the money to do crazy and stupid stuff to his moms’ demise. He accepted and showed up the next day in front of Amelia’s door.

Which led to a lot of screaming because one, he showed up in front of Amy’s bedroom door at 6 a.m. on a rainy Sunday where all Amy’s wished was to sleep in peace. Two, he is a weirdo. Three, he was two years younger than her.

“Aunt Sharon ! What do you mean a babysitter !! He is seven ! I could be his big sister ! What the hell auntie !”

“Language young lady and he is your babysitter because I said so. You better not bother me anymore, I have a paper to write.” She snapped back closing the door in front of the two kids. Who awkwardly stayed still in silence before the door open again and aunt Sharon showed up, money in her hand addressing herself to kid in suspenders. “Here Alexander, watch over her would you. And you Amelia do not call me auntie again, it’s silly.”

Before the kid could answer a thanks, the door closed again with force and Alexander turned himself to Amelia who was shaking in anger.

“You… You can call me auntie if you want.” He said smiling at her.

She doesn’t know if it was because it was kind, or because he was the kid next door who keeps waving at her hello, but she didn’t snapped back. Instead she asked him to come to the kitchen, she wanted a good breakfast and he told her that he knew the recipes for the most greatest one, his words.

The breakfast he proposed, gave the young girl fear for her and the kid’s sake. Who eats fish fingers and custard in this world ?

“Are you from this world ?” Amy asked.

“Nope ! My mothers got me from somewhere else. I don’t where though.” He said thoughtful before beaming up “They told me they would tell me at my next birthday if I want ! I’m just not sure to want to know. What if they say I’m from the moon ?”

She smiles “ Alright moon boy, what do you mean by that ?”

“I’m adopted.”

“Oh !”

“But I am totally able to babysit you ! I already know how to read already and algebra !”

“Algebra… Wow. Doesn’t make you able to guard me.”

“Your ‘auntie’ thought it does.”

Amy let out a groan before digging back to her toast.

The ‘babysitting’ was meant to be for only a few days, the holidays, Amy said so, and it was nice to have someone to talk to and have fun with. Even if it a weirdo whose holiday project was to built a jiggily timey, aka a toaster that wake you with breakfast ready. It never worked but it was funny to try. Amy’s project was to write more in her diary but it was difficult with Alexander who was always requiring her time.

The holidays over, the kid kept showing up, after school showing her what he did and telling her how bored he was. He told her about nightmares he sometimes have, his stupid fear of being afraid that she couldn’t see him anymore.

How could she forget such a good and wonderful boy.

He listened to Amy’s calls and offered her cake for his mom when she was sad. Gradually Amy found herself into the boy’s home more often than not. The Songs where lovely, making a place for Amy’s at each dinner, if she ever needed to crash in there. Listened to her story and displayed her drawings in the kitchen. The Ponds got quickly the knowledge of the young boy who was all over their child’s life. And their only reaction was to ask the size of the little one to knit him a sweater.

Also there’s sheep named Amy in farm. Family’s pet.

Amelia hearing the news took it very well, spreading the news with a grin.

“I got a little sister !” She says under the worried eyes of the Songs. She was hurt of course, she was hurt. She felt like she needed to be a sheep to be accepted in this crazy family. But she chose to not care to much. She was here. She was happy and she got her moon boy.

Dear Diary,

Today, Rory stayed with me all night for the studying. He stayed to read my writing. I think he liked my stories I have written. Even told me I should publish it. I think I am gonna marry this man.

She met Rory. Beautiful and smiling Rory, who wanted to help people. Wonderful and kind Rory, who despise it all was here. Childhood was long over and she didn’t even saw him, in all her weirdness. She knew in retrospect that Rory did followed her around since the beginning but … She didn’t saw. It didn’t made her a bad person. Does it ?

Rory gave some stability, because to be honest Moon Boy was anything but stable, he gave up very early school and kept doing odds job, even introduced Amy to the job of kissogram. His house was a mess of trinkets and half assed invention and way too many times the fire alarm went on.

Rory was showing up everyday with a smile and asking the question of how she was doing. Rory was making sure she had a meal and a kiss on the cheek every day. He helped her with sending letters to different publishers for her books, helped her rewrite when needed through sleepless nights, he rewrote for her even when she gave up with his stale, matter of fact style of writing and... He didn’t stopped even when he started to be a nurse.

She loved him.

Amy was blessed she thought, maybe it was the sheep, maybe it was luck.

But even as an author, she didn’t think of a lot of things to say when went down on one knee showing him the ring that Alexander begged to make. He looked at her with those sweet eyes. And all she said was:

“Hey wanna spend the rest of your silly life with me ?”

The gasp that moon boy made was enough for both of them to watch him being all emotional about their moment, it made her add.

“And him, because Alex and I we are a weird package deal.”

He only laugh before kneeling in front of her and kissing her.

I guess that was yes.

#dw #doctor who fanfic #an oath to hope #amy pond #rory williams #my stuff

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deathofmissjackson · 5 years

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What would I do without you?

This is my entry for @keepingupwiththeparkers 4K celebration and for @the–sad–hatter fic writing challenge. (Even though I went over the word limit, whoops)

The prompts I used were “what would I do without you?” and “no one in the history of torture has been tortured with the torture like the torture that you’ll be tortured with”

Summary: You have been assigned to look after the new avenger, Spider-man. Peter makes you feel welcome on your first day at Midtown High, while he is making sure that you get home safe he discovers that you may be more than you seem.

Pairing: Peter Parker x Fem! Enhanced! Reader

Warning(s): Swearing and people being idiots

Word Count: 2679

Key: (F/N)- First Name, (L/N)- Last Name, (F/F/N)- Fake First Name, (F/L/N)- Fake Last Name

A/N: So, as I said this is my first fic so be gentle with me guys, I’d appreciate feedback and if you didn’t like it tell me why so I can improve. My memory’s a tad foggy so if I have messed up the canon timelines you can correct me in the comments or just accept that these are the series of events that happened in order for my story to take place. Oh, and I am not American so I had to do some research on American schools, I apologise if I got anything wrong. This takes place at the beginning of Homecoming but in this Ned already knows the truth about the ‘Stark Internship’. Also, your powers are a mix of Wanda’s and Loki’s with the added benefit of being half angel (hence the long-life span and the ability to shapeshift) :)

Prompts are in italics and bold

You’d been around for almost 2,000 years and Fury had you babysitting a kid. You’d agreed to join S.H.E.I.L.D after you saw how well they had handled the attack on New York a few years ago. You were there when the aliens attacked the city and had been present when Loki was taken away, not that they had seen you, only the shadow of your wings as you flew away, confident that they were able to handle the situation without you. That’s when you got the moniker ‘Angel of Death.’ You thought it suited you and you were happy to let them call you what they want as long as they left you alone.

When the fight broke out in Germany between the Avengers you stepped in, you wanted to leave Earth again and go and help another world, but you couldn’t do that if Earths best defenders weren’t defending it because they were too busy fighting each other. You found Fury and demanded to be put on the team. When the fighting was finally over you were introduced to the team minus Peter, (he had to go back to school) as Agent (L/N). Your wings only appeared when you wanted them to so no one would ever know who you truly were. They didn’t know your first name, they didn’t need to, it’s not like you existed in any databases anyway, such things didn’t exist when you were born.

Fury had taken your insistence on being recruited and you saying that you wanted to help the Avengers, as you meaning that you wanted to protect the newest Avenger. That’s how you had ended up here, walking into Midtown High with a backpack of your shoulder. You’d stopped ageing physically at 24 but you’d used your abilities to appear slightly younger so you didn’t look out of place in the school full of kids. Fury had created you an alias, you were now, (F/F/N) (F/L/N) a 16 year old, British, science nerd, You had transferred here when your Dad had got a new job in Queens. You walked into your first class of the day receiving a few strange stares as people tried to place you. One benefit of not being an actual avenger was no one had seen your face before. The outfit that you normally wore sported a large hood, kind of like the grim reapers, adding to the fear struck in people when they realised who you were. Yes, ‘Angel of Death’ definitely fitted you, not that the kids in the Chemistry class in front of you would cower in fear, more likely check you out, wondering if you are competition for the upcoming quiz, the winner had 5 points added to their overall score at the end of the year. You weren’t bothered, you knew everything you needed to know, being alive for 2,000 years meant that you had a lot of free time to research and read up on as many subjects that existed. Not that it really mattered if you passed or not, you were only there to make sure the kid didn’t get himself in any unnecessary trouble.

That’s when you spotted him, your target with his fluffy brown hair flopping over his eyes and the crinkle in the corner of his mouth as he laughed at something the guy in front of him said. You knew that it was Ned from the file Fury had given you. You liked to be prepared about these kinds of things, even though it was probably one of the easiest missions you had ever been on in your long life, you were gonna complete it to the best of your ability. You were not one to half-arse things. You sat in the empty seat next to him and gave him an award-winning smile. “Hi, I’m (F/F/N) (F/L/N).”

He smiled up at you, “Hi, I’m Peter Parker, this is Ned Leeds. I don’t mean to be rude, but you don’t sound like you’re from around here?” Ned was now also looking at you, obviously intrigued to see what your answer would be.

“Nope, I’m from London, I’m here now because my dad got a new job, an international accountant, he works for some business around here. To be honest I’m not 100% sure but it means that we live here now. So, anything fun to do in Queens?”

The conversation flowed between you three and by the time the teacher finally called for silence Ned had invited you to help him and Peter build his new LEGO Death Star. When Peter had scoffed at Ned and said there was no way you’d want to hang out with their nerdy asses to build LEGO, you’d surprised him and said you’d love to. You would even bring snacks. The day went by quickly after that. You were in all Peter’s classes to his surprise, though not your own, he was the only reason you were there after all. He had told you all about his Aunt May and his ‘Stark Internship’ and how he wanted to work for Stark when he finished school. You, of course, knew exactly what the ‘Stark Internship’ truly was but he didn’t need to know that. It had surprised you how much he had warmed up to you in the space of a day, he told you a lot more about himself than you had thought he would, some of it wasn’t even in the file you had been given. He, of course, knew nothing about you except the name you had given him, and that you were there because your dad had a new job, both of these being a lie. You found yourself actually looking forward to spending the evening with him and Ned. You’d also met MJ at lunch and Ned had invited her too, but she turned him down, she needed to practise for a test she had the next day, you wished her luck and went to your last class of the day. That also went by in a flash and when the bell rang to signify the end of the day you and Peter headed to your lockers to meet Ned. Your locker was mysteriously right next to Peters and you gave him a slight smirk when he raised his eyebrows in surprise as you fiddled with the lock and it sprang open. “Lucky coincidences? you offered. He just beamed at you, turning suddenly when he heard Ned call your names. He was carrying a large bag, you assumed it contained the model you would be building.

The bus ride to Peters apartment was filled with light conversation and playful remarks as you got to know the other two better, only offering pieces of information about yourself when asked, even then trying to avoid those kinds of questions. You didn’t want to lie to them, finding it easier to just avoid the topic of you at all costs. It was easier when you reached the apartment. Your earlier suspicions had been correct, Ned’s bag did contain the Death Star and you were sitting on the edge of Peters bunk bed reading the instructions to Ned as Peter was in charge of finding all the pieces that were needed. It took hours, not that any of you noticed as you munched your way through the snacks you had brought. Packets of chips and bars of chocolate were sufficient nutrition for all of you until May had come home, calling out to Peter that she had brought Chinese takeout home for him and Ned. She walked into Peters room still mumbling about the queue in the restaurant and did a double take when she saw you sitting there. Her shocked expression quickly transformed into a warm, welcoming one. The very same smile that her nephew had given you at the beginning of the day. “Pete, are you going to introduce me to the girl sitting on your bed?” She smirked, keeping eye contact with you. You smiled back warmly as Peter sputtered out a reply. “OH, oh, um Aunt May, she’s new to Midtown, her and her father just moved here. She didn’t know anyone so Ned invited her to build th- “

“Peter.” Your voice cut across his, giving him a look then turning back to May. “While your nephew here managed to give you my life story, he neglected to give you my name. I’m (F/F/N) (F/L/N) its lovely to meet you, Peters told me so much about you.” Her smile widened, “I like her Pete, but I’m afraid I didn’t know she’d be here, or I would have brought more food.”

“Oh no, it's okay thank you, I really should get going.” You didn’t really have anywhere to go but you’d placed a protective barrier around the apartment so you knew it would be safe. You’d forgotten how tiring it could be to interact with people all day, having been on your own for so long. You felt secure enough in your own magic that you knew if something was to try and get through the barrier you would know and would be able to get there quickly. Out the corner of your eye, you saw Ned and Peter exchange a look. Ned seemingly remembers an assignment that he was supposed to do and makes his excuse to leave as well. As coincidental timing as it was, you didn’t question it too much, well at least you didn’t until Peter offered to walk you home. “I'm fine honestly, I don’t live that far away.” You reassured him, if he walked you home, he’d know you lived at Stark Tower and that was not ideal. So, you turned him down, despite his protests. You gathered your things, said your goodbyes to Aunt May and walked out the door with Ned, thanking Peter for having you and making your first day bearable. Now Peter had told you that he would let you go by yourself, but he had said nothing about the other guy. Telling May that he was going to go after you to hand you a book that you’d left in his room, he shoved his suit into his backpack and ran out the door, pausing briefly to change once on the roof of his building. He webbed his bag to the corner of the roof and pulled on his mask, asking Karen to track your whereabouts.

Peter’s Point of View

Although you’d promised (F/F/N) that you would let her go home alone you hadn’t mentioned what Spider-man would do. He was going to make sure that she was fine. You had felt an undeniable connection to her, all you wanted to do was protect her and make sure that she was safe. Little did you know that she could protect herself.

Your Point of View

Since you’d left Peters building you could feel someone watching you, you were on high alert, fingers brushing over the small knife that was hidden in the pocket of your jacket. You stopped as the feeling of eyes on you intensified, slowly turning around and observing your surroundings, the hairs on the back of your neck stood up. A hand clamped over your mouth and a cold metal object was pushed into your back. “Don’t scream or we will make it worse” a gravelly voice threatened you in your ear. Peter was aware of what was happening, he had been one of the pairs of eyes on you, but before he could react you were already in action. You slammed your heel into your attacker's foot, he yelped out in pain, you twisted around and grabbed at the gun he was holding, he had been too surprised by your movements to pull the trigger. With your knife in one hand and his gun in the other, you kicked the man hopping in pain so that he was on his knees in front of you. His partner was just standing and watching the events taking place, it wasn’t until you rested the knife against his friend’s throat and trained the gun on him that he seemed to become animated again. With a completely straight face and a menacing look in your eyes to delivered your favourite line, “If either of you two ever try to hurt another person, I will find you, and I will personally see to it that no one in the history of torture has been tortured with the torture like the torture that you’ll be tortured with. Got it?”

“Yes ma’am” They both whimpered at the same time. For added effect you dug your knife in just enough to draw a trickle of blood then shoved your foot in between the shoulder blades of the guy on the flood, effectively pushing him to the ground where he immediately scampered up and ran, his partner hot on his heels. Until then Peter had been watching in awe of the events taking place before him. Only when you were alone did he dare to swing down onto the street next to you. “Miss are you okay, do you need some help?” Peter cringed at how he sounded, of course, you didn’t need help, you're a badass. “I think I have it handled, thanks though Spidey. But God imagine if you hadn’t been here, what would I have done without you?” Peter couldn’t do anything but sputter as you walked away. The girl he had met today was not at all who he thought she was, of course, he didn’t know that he was exactly who you thought he was. He made mental notes to get to know you even better than he was already planning to, and to somehow ask you if you had had any self-defence training, without sounding like a weirdo.

School had suddenly got a lot more interesting now he knew that you would be there.

A/N: Okay so I know that this ending sucked, but I really struggled with how to finish it off. I've had that encounter with the attackers and the prompts swimming around in my head for so long that I just had to put them on paper, well on a screen I guess. If anyone has a better way to finish this off I’d love to hear it and if this gets a good response I might carry it on as a series possibly? Maybe with Peter seeing Agent (L/N) getting up to stuff and trying to figure out how she does it until he finally sees her in the Tower joking around with the Black Widow one night, leading to months of questions being answered? I don’t know, I'm just playing around with ideas. Oh well, thanks for reading, I hope it wasn’t too crappy :)

A hint of what could come or just a well placed GIF?

#kuwtp4kwc #hattersficparty #peter parker x reader #peter parker x you

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mtvswatches · 5 years

Text

Jane the Virgin 2x11 Chapter Thirty-Three

Spoilers disclaimer (please read before sending messages or writing comments.)

Click here for previous recaps!

Stray thoughts

1) So, the opening flashback has Jane giving Xiomara grief over not having a regular job and not giving up her dream in spite of not being able to offer her daughter proper living conditions. I guess this will be somehow connected with Jane’s motherhood and her dream of becoming a writer? Maybe?

2) As per usual, Rogelio continues to go overboard when trying to help either Xiomara or Jane. In this case, he brought a whole team of stylist, hairdresser, and photographer to get Xiomara’s picture taken. He couldn’t remember the names of each of them, but for some reason, I can’t hold any of this against him. I think it’s because he… tries, you know? He doesn’t do any of this on purpose. And now he’s jumping at the opportunity to babysit Mateo, which, let’s be real, is a show I’d watch the hell out. Jane reluctantly accepts.

3) The duplicitous bitch continues to milk the Solanos tragedies for views. Shocker.

4) Jane is lusting over her professor, and I couldn’t be less invested or more bored.

5) The moron seems to be dating Michael’s partner, whose name I just learned is Susanna. Again, I couldn’t care less.

6) Elena is Rose’s stepmother? So that makes Rose… Rafael’s stepsister? And the moron’s, too? That’s… twisted…

7) Now Jane has blurted her professor’s name in the middle of her smut reading, and I guess she’s considering dating him? And I’m like, why? She’s been going back and forth between Rafael and Michael since episode 1, and it hasn’t worked out with either, so maybe… be single? There’s nothing wrong with that.

8) Xiomara found Rogelio’s mother’s ring in his bedroom and Jane blurted out that Rogelio was going to propose. And while I’m glad Xiomara didn’t freak out and seems to be absolutely happy with the idea of marrying Rogelio, I can’t help but feel she and Jane are making a lot of assumptions here. Yes, he kept the ring, but there haven’t been any indications that he was about to propose in the near future. I don’t know. I think he was going to wait it out a bit, which I completely understand.

9) Okay, Jane and Xiomara came clean immediately. But instead of proposing, he gave it to Jane? Proves my point, though.

10) Weird flex, but okay…

PETRA: You really think you can charm a woman about to get married? RAFAEL: It worked with you.

I liked that the flashback showed that they were both playing each other. It’s a wonder that relationship didn’t last…

11) Yep.

12) The professor is not taking any hints and instead, he wants to get a free tour around Rogelio’s set. Okay, I’m still zero invested in this storyline.

13) “The Trophy Wife”!

14) Oh. This sucks. Now that Xiomara has an actual shot to make her dreams of becoming a singer true, she gets shot down because she’s been prioritizing her family.

15) OMG Rogelio’s tweets as he’s babysitting…

Ten minutes looking for the perfect shoes to compliment my eyes. 👞 😤 🌈

On the phone with my agent, fielding multiple offers. #WhatWillRoDoNext. 🙈

Exfoliating. #Loofa

Trying on all my fedoras. #HidelnAHat.

I’m 100% convinced he’s tweeting all of this because he can’t disappoint his fans or something like that, but he’s definitely taking great care of his grandson. I’d bet my life on it.

16) See?

He was taking care of Mateo, and he’s even sharing with his grandson that he is, in fact, going to propose to his grandma. But now I’m afraid Mateo is going to swallow the diamond because Jane just called in the middle of him showing it to the baby…

17) Yep. I saw that coming. Jane is going off at him, and it seems unfair. It’s so common for babies to swallow stuff, they just poop it back out, it’s no big deal. And I do feel it’s kind of Jane’s fault? Rogelio wouldn’t have been distracted if she hadn’t called because she was so paranoid that he would mess up. It’s like a self-fulfilling prophecy. Besides, Rogelio acted appropriately. He realized immediately what had happened and took his grandson to the doctor. But whose fault was it when you allowed your child to be in the middle of a violent fight between his dad and your ex and he got hurt?

18) At least she apologized the next day, so there’s that.

19) Oh, Petra, the trophy wife thing really did get to her. And honestly, I really like who Rafael and Petra used to be? They truly were a healthy couple.

20) Okay…

Yeah, I think her telenovela life and her romance writing have somehow given her the idea that every man she meets will instantly be into her. I really hope it’s not just her making the fool of herself and then it will turn out that he was really into her, though. Can a male character in this show not be in love with her for once? She’s not all that great.

21) So, Petra came up with a smart solution to secure the wedding and she had to give up a little bit of her pride in order to do so, but kudos for her.

22) I really liked this bit and it reminded of a point I’ve been meaning to make but always forget to…

I think it’s very cool how Jane is a straight-up romance/erotica writer and no one in the show has ever made fun of her because of it? Everyone encourages her and takes her seriously – her family and her mentors, too. And it’s a wonderful message to send because usually romance writers are looked down on and the genre is seen as a joke, so it’s refreshing that here it is presented as a valid, respectable career choice.

23) Oh, Xiomara feels Rogelio is not being supportive, but in reality, he’s just insisting she skips the gig because he was planning to propose…

24) But he skipped the party and went to her gig to show her how much he supports her. Have I told you that he’s my favorite?

25) The moron must have a golden pussy, how do all the girls fall for her? SHE’S A MORON!

26) Okay…

I mean, I can get behind this ship, sort of. Mostly because of Petra. But… wasn’t he like super in love with Jane two days ago?

27) Bless her. She asked him if he was over Jane. Like GTFO dude, how dare you trying to use Petra to make yourself feel better? When she’s pregnant with your child?

28) And this is why Rogelio is my fave…

JANE: And look, Dad, I overreacted, too, and I'm so sorry I yelled at you. ROGELIO: That's not why I was upset. It's just… what if it's true? What if I'm not good with kids? I mean, I want them with your mother. JANE: Dad… ROGELIO: What if I'm terrible at it? I mean, you turned out perfect without me. JANE: Trust me, I wish I had you. And you'll be great, you know? You'll learn as you go. You can't just jump in and expect to know everything. I promise. You'll get there.

And then he goes and kisses the hell out of Xiomara to show her how proud he is of her. How can you not love Rogelio?

29) This is, without a doubt, one of the sweetest proposals I’ve ever seen. And you should trust my judgment since I don’t believe in marriage…

My buddy, Ryan Gosling, said, “The only quality I look for in a woman is that she's Eva Mendes. There's nothing else I'm looking for" At this point I was going to wave to Eva, and then look at you, and tell you that you are what I've been looking for. And I think back to when we first met, when we were 16, and I think that my whole journey up to now has been about finding my way back to you. I haven't had time to have it set. It's a long story. Xiomara Gloriana Villanueva, I want to spend my life with you, and raise kids with you so will you marry me?

And that’s why it’s almost heartbreaking when Xiomara semi-rejects his proposal when she realizes she doesn’t want to have any more kids because she wants to spend the rest of her life doing things for herself. And I say “almost” because this is also a valid life choice, and Rogelio’s also is, and I applaud both of them for being so upfront about what they want.

This show tends to present Jane as the mature, level-headed person who had taken on the role of mother of her mom since a young age but to be quite frank, characterization has always shown otherwise. Jane might have been mature for her age when she was younger, but I feel she’s completely clueless. As she should be. She’s so young!

We were always told, from Jane’s perspective, that Xiomara and Rogelio were immature, sort of suffering from Peter Pan syndrome, never wanting to grow up and be mature, responsible adults. But what I’ve seen so far has proven the contrary? They might be silly and extravagant and prone to tantrums, but they are mature.

They’re probably the only reason I’m still watching this show?

30) I mean, when is Jane going to have sex, for fuck’s sake?

31) Ugh, no, she told her advisor that she needed to get someone else because what had happened was getting in the way of her writing and now he’s asking her out, and I’m here, like, NO. I don’t want this garbage.

32) So Rose’s back.. and she didn’t get a face change…

33) I gotta be honest, so far, Jane’s love life has been the least interesting aspect of this show for me. It’s been a season and a half, and I keep wondering when will it get interesting for me, you know? This is a rom-com, after all, but the rom part has been sorely missing for me, at least. I love Xiomara and Rogelio, mostly because I love Rogelio, but they don’t give me the butterflies I always get with my ships, so… *shrugs*

34) Hope you enjoyed my recap, and, as usual, if you’ve got this far, thank you for reading! If you enjoy my recaps and my blog, please consider supporting it on ko-fi.Thanks!

#Jane the Virgin #Gina Rodriguez #Jane Villanueva #Rogelio De La Vega #Petra Solano #Rafael Solano #Xiomara Villanueva #JTV recap #JTV 2x11 #mine

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insane-control-room · 6 years

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If You’re Joey Drew and he’s Joey Drew, Then Who’s Watching all these Children?

Johan’s hands get quite full when he decides to babysit for a bunch of artists in the making.

[TAG TIME! Magenta is @halfusek‘s, Magician is @lady-lampblack‘s, Gingie is @pipesflowforeverandever‘s, Snowy is @aceofintuition‘s, Egg is @greenghostlyjekyll‘s, Joy is @jovialdrew‘s, and Hyde is @startistdoodles‘s. Johan is mine :>]

“I don’t wanna study the civil war anymore,” Joey whined, pushing away the heavy textbook. “It’s boring, and it happened so long ago!”

“It might be boring,” Johan reprimanded, “But it’s also your grade, Maggie. Now, let’s try again, what happened when the south lost Savannah?”

“Um… Sherman’s March?” Magenta suggested. He relaxed as a smile bloomed over Johan’s face. “That was from Atlanta to Savannah, and it made the south lose supplies and morale.”

“Good job,” Johan grinned, ruddy eyes glinting at him. Magenta grinned back. “I think it’s been enough studying, eh? An hour and a half, seems good enough.”

“It’s only been an hour and ten minutes, though,” he commented, tilting his head in confusion. Johan got up with another grin, packing up all their supplies and materials, holding his hand out to Magenta. The young boy shook out his sweater to take it, following after his tutor’s long strides. “Where are we goin’?”

“Thought you might want some ice cream for getting that B plus, hm?” Johan prompted with a wink. Magenta beamed at him and picked up his speed with a skip in his step. “Any questions? About anything.”

“Why do we always learn about the winners?” Magenta’s grip tightened on his for a moment. “In history. What about the people that were doing things that they thought were right?”

“Well, usually we learn about what the old white men up top want us to learn,” Johan rolled his eyes. “And sometimes it’s not the full story. Usually it has half of the right story, and the rest are embellishments. We don’t learn about the bad Columbus did because we don’t want to believe or acknowledge our society is formed on genocide and theft.”

“Weird,” Magenta muttered. Johan smiled at him. “But you’re not that old, and you’re not white either. Or on top of anything, being honest, Jo. What do you want us to learn?”

“The truth, I suppose,” Johan hummed after a moment of thinking. “It’s always good to know what’s true and false without painting either side in a good or bad light.”

“Ah, ok.” Magenta nodded. They neared an ice cream truck, Johan pulling out some cash while Magenta decided what he wanted. Eventually they settled on a park bench, Magenta happily devouring the chocolate cone he picked out. Suddenly he perked up from his snack, chocolate smeared all over his cheeks, and vigorously waved another child over. “Magician! Over here!”

“Magician?” Johan rose an eyebrow as the lab coat wearing kid began heading toward them. “May I ask why you call him that?”

“He does magic!” Magenta explained with wide eyes. “Also he’s also Joey. So he’s Magician.”

“Mhm,” Johan replied, bemused. The other lad approached, looking over him suspiciously. Johan smiled at him. “Hello. I’m Johan. And, I’ve heard, you are Magician? That seems quite mysterious and incredible.”

The young boy instantly warmed up to him due to the flattery, grinning broadly.

“Of course! My experiments are mysterious and incredible!” he boasted gleefully. Johan chuckled softly to himself. So self centered and confident. “That’s why I’m Magician!”

“Indeed,” Johan agreed. Magician and Magenta picked up a lively conversation about how learning history was unnecessary and should be removed. Magician stated something that may or may not have offended the slightly older boy, Magenta staring at him in a struck silence for a few moments before blinking. Johan’s watch beeped. “Aw, sh… come on, Mag, time for you to go home.”

“Aw man…” the little boy pouted. “I don’t want to go home….”

“I know, buddy, but you have to,” Johan looked at him with some sadness, kneeling down to him and pulling a wipe out of his pocket to clean his face from chocolate. “Don’t worry about it, I’m picking you up after school tomorrow, got it?”

“Yeah!” Magenta exclaimed, then blushed, trying to hide his enthusiasm over such a small thing. He turned to his small companion. “Wanna meet us here?”

“Sure,” Magician grinned. “I’ll be prompt.”

Magenta made sure they took their time in getting home. Johan allowed him to.

“See you tomorrow?” he asked with hope in his eyes. Johan nodded, ruffling his hair. “Okay. Promise?”

“I promise,” Johan affirmed, and walked up with him to the house. “Hello, Mr. Drew.”

He received his payment without a word being spoken in his direction, and his heart ached when he watched Magenta get steered into the house, the door slammed in his face.

“Son of a bitch,” he muttered disdainfully on Magenta’s father, counting the money, trying to make sure he was not being underpaid again. He hated watching Magenta go home. Still, it marked the time that he had to pick up “the free spirit”, as he nicknamed the Joey nicknamed Gingie. The baby, or young toddler, was not much of a troublemaker, but tended to run wild, finding every opportunity outside of Johan’s sight as another sign to go on another adventure of sorts. Typically that included dashing off.

Unless Snowy, yet another Joey, was around. Snowy and Gingie were like peas in a pod from two different planets. Snowy had the habit of habit, sticking to the way things were and disliking too much of any change. Gingie, bless his rambunctious and bubbly soul, brought out his curious side, and he eased Gingie’s… radical… expressionism. He knocked. “Hello, ma’am.”

“Oh, please, Mrs. Drew is fine, Johan,” she smiled, he returning it sheepishly. “Thank you again, dear.”

“No problem, ma’a- Mrs. Drew, ma’am,” Johan knelt as the red headed boy peaked around his mother’s leg. He extended his hand for him to take. “Ma’am, we’ll be back the same time as always. We’ll see you soon, ma’am!”

She waved them off, before vanishing back into her home. Johan was almost certain she did not need his help, her being more ethereal and mysterious than a faery or an angel or a hooded figure from his hometown. He hardly knew what she did, and he hardly minded. She was wonderful all the same.

He was ninety nine percent certain she only employed him because she somehow knew he needed it to survive.

She was wonderful.

Just as her son who was eagerly dragging him off to wherever he desired. Unlike his previous watchers, Johan allowed him free reign. That path happened to be leading them directly to the park again. Magician was still there, and he squinted at Johan before reapproaching with another two youngsters trailing behind him.

“Weren’t you just here?” he inquired, raising an eyebrow. “And with Magenta?”

“Yes, but now I’m here with Gingie,” Johan explained with a smile, sticking a hand out to gently grab the wild child’s shoulder as he attempted to dash off again. Gingie frowned, but it was just for half a fraction of a second. He then looked at the two younger children with curiosity. “May I ask who are you two wonderful beings?”

“Egg.” one replied obstinately, lofting Johan’s lithe hand and examining it before taking it in his own. “Or Stripes. He’s frog.”

“No! I’m Joy!” the other protested, lightly shoving the other. He pointed at Gingie. “I saw you before! Hello again!”

Gingie grinned and stepped to them and started up a conversation.

Good.

It meant he would not suddenly run off.

Johan relaxed as he watched over the children, letting out breath he was not aware of holding. He was so pent up, but at least he had something to distract himself with. He loved kids. In addition, children tended to like him or at least be comfortable around him. Most of them had very robust and pushy (almost) personalities, a soft contrast to his nervous calm.

Egg seemed wary but sweet. He constantly would pause just to contemplate, saying his little observations one at a time. He wore a striped shirt, and Joy wore suspenders. Joy was very much like his namesake, however, he also seemed to be able to get quite sad from small things. Johan cheered him up every few minutes.

Gingie was a center of attention, but the other children were showstoppers of their own sort.

Despite only knowing them for less than an hour, Johan knew that he would do anything for them, for each of them.

“Where are your parents?” he asked each of them. He received shrugs from some and points from others.

“Ron’s over there,” Joy explained.

Egg pouted.

Magician frowned.

“Don’t like being at home much, huh?” Johan inquired, more to the air, not expecting an answer. He did not get one. He snapped his fingers. “What do you all think of a… hm… club?”

“What kind of club?” Egg, now intrigued, tilted his head and asked. “Like a dance club?”

Johan had to stop and look at the boy again to affirm that yes, this was a child.

“No, I meant like… a hangout club. One where you all can get together and just have a good time, and I guess you can dance if you’d like,” Johan reinstated. Magician made a thinking expression Johan nearly exploded in laughter at. Joy looked interested, and Gingie was smiling with excitement. “What do you guys think?”

“Yes.” Egg answered.

“Sounds like a good idea,” Magician hummed, still ponderous. Gingie nodded. “To me at least.”

“Joy!”

The little boy perked up when Ron called him. Johan followed after (with Gingie), wanting to talk to him.

He exchanged a few words with the young man. It turned out he was Joy’s older brother.

He joined them on a brisk walk home to talk to their mother, who apparently took care of the two boys.

She seemed a sallow and sad woman, but with a bright inner strength. A full schedule was marked behind her, with appointments and med reminders. Johan quietly requested to speak with her, and proposed his idea.

She seemed reluctant at first, but then he pulled down the calendar and pointed out a few dates and times. Relief seemed to fill her. She thanked him.

He and Gingie returned to the park. Magician’s parents were there already, there to pick him up, so Johan quickly spoke with them as well. Egg’s were just as simple.

Johan smiled to Gingie, the lad grinning back.

A week later, they were all at the park under Johan’s watch.

By the end of the week, Johan almost had enough money to purchase a small studio. He frowned as he counted over the money. Two hundred short.

He looked over at Gingie, who was playing kitchen with Egg and Magenta.

Well, he hated asking for money… so he waited another week.

By then, he also had enough to not only purchase the place, but also childproof the place, which he did over the weekend, selling his apartment and moving into the back room of the studio turned daycare. He stood up from the carpeting he finished installing, wiping his forehead, smiling at the almost finished handiwork. He would paint the walls with the kids, as well as put together the furniture he bought.

That would be fun.

When his parents heard that he had a building, Snowy joined them, much to Gingie’s delight.

The first day they were there, Johan smiled and said he had a surprise for them.

They loved the studio.

Though Egg complained that the white walls were droll.

Johan grinned as he set up the paints and told them to go wild. The walls were their canvas, and they could paint whatever they wanted.

They did.

Robots and candy and wolves and shapes and smiles and scenes bloomed on the walls. It filled Johan’s rainbow heart.

The name Joey Drew was written too.

All of the boys were named that, so Johan painted their dominant hands and they all made a handprint on a blink segment on the wall. Then he wrote Joey Drew(s) Studio in big letters and wrote their nicknames under their handprints.

“Nice,” Magician beamed, his fisted hands on his hips, his hands dripping with red orange paint. “This is a great creation! Our great creation!”

“Yes! Absolutely!” Gingie exclaimed, gold and orange paint splattered somehow everywhere on him, incredibly even on his back. “We’re the kings of the world!”

Egg continued painting after, the others watching him, enraptured. He was a wonderful painter, the walls being covered with pastel patterns and designs.

Most of the boys were quite artistic.

Johan noted to buy canvases and more paint, questioning if he should buy other materials in addition to all that.

A bang brought him out of his thoughts. Gingie and Snowy looked at him from the door that they had forced open with large innocuous eyes. Johan swiftly got up, but Gingie was already gone. Johan quickly scooped up Snowy, rushing out the door to wrap an arm around Gingie.

“Don’t do that Gin!” he huffed, carrying him back to the building. “We can go out to the park soon, but don’t just run off like that!”

“Park now.” Gingie demanded.

“We’ll see,” Johan yawned, looking over to the clock. “Maybe tomorrow, it’s getting late, Gin.”

A small playground would make a good investment, too.

The next week was filled with fixing up the old place while the kids were not there, and when they were building and putting together furniture and the such.

Hyde joined them. It was a rushed thing, the young child entering their ranks as a Joey Drew.

“Hello, Johan,” Snowy’s mother, beside Gingie’s, greeted, looking flustered, distracted, and bewildered as they dropped off the two best friends. “I hope your hands aren’t too full, since, well… this is Joey ‘Hyde’ Drew. His mother and father needed to go out of town and he’s been staying between myself and Mrs. Drew.”

She gently pushed forward the little boy. He seemed perpetually grumpy, clutching at her skirt in a tired grip.

Johan knelt and held out a hand to him. He blinked at him and then consulted the two women by looking up at them. Gingie’s mother nodded to him. Hyde grabbed his hand.

“Hello,” Johan softly smiled at him to meet him. “My name is Johan. Can I call you Hyde?”

“Fine.” was the curt reply. “Johan.”

“We’ll be good,” Johan mouthed to the mothers. Then he hesitated and bit his lip. “But… about payment? I don’t want to seem selfish….”

“No, don’t worry dear,” Mrs. Drew, Gingie’s mother, waved off his concerns. “This was discussed with his parents.”

“Good,” Johan smiled. Hyde tugged on his hand. “Well, I’m sure he’ll be just fine.”

Hyde was the sleepiest thing to grace earth.

Johan did not even know something could just fall asleep so often and so sweet.

Hyde tugged his hand at one point and pointed at the wall with their hand prints.

“You want one?” Johan asked, passing Joy to Magenta. Magenta grinned at the little boy in his lap, bouncing him happily. Hyde nodded. A rouge brown joined the prints, Johan carefully writing Hyde’s name beneath it. “Is that good?”

“Yes.”

Hyde joined the other boys in much happier spirits.

Magenta and Hyde, incredibly, got along wonderfully. Hyde liked leaning on the oldest boy’s arm, and he liked especially to watch him draw. Magenta was talkative around Hyde, bubbling over as he shared things with the lad.

Snowy on the other hand, almost had a personal vendetta against Magenta. At least it seemed like it, with the amount of times Magenta got injured around the little swoopy haired boy. Snowy just seemed to be an omen for Magenta to avoid, but he continuously shoved his hand back into the foxhole.

Joy constantly found himself in precarious situations, and Johan had learned from trial and error how to preoccupy the boy to prevent him from ending up on the roof or something of the sort. Blueberries, though messy, where a good precaution.

Egg continued to paint on things. You could find the child by following wet the paint splats that would trail behind him.

Pastels were his favorite color scheme to use, and it was so soothing to Johan’s sore eyes.

Magician loved storytelling, and he was (excuse my french) damn good at it. He knew how to enthral an audience, he knew how to pull them in and he was funny and clever.

The boys all had a brilliance to each of them, shining brightly within them and only glowing brighter around the others. They tended to bring out the best in each other, even if they thought otherwise.

Except on the days they brought out the worst.

It was havok.

Johan did not really figure out what triggered the mayhem, but it broke out anyways.

Hyde had just woken from a nap, and so Johan had handed Snowy over to Magenta to go and pick up the whimpering bab. Egg latched onto his arm when he knelt to hold him, gripping him tight, a koala in the rain. He whipped around when-

“NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” Magenta hollered with a bright grin on his face, holding Snowy above his head, giving Johan a miniature heart attack. A creak snagged Johan’s attention and he watched as Gingie ran out, Johan nearly tripping on Joy who somehow managed to find the one place Johan would have stepped. Magician shrieked as something he set on fire combusted. Egg refused to release Johan’s arm, and Hyde squinted with displeasure (and sleepiness) at the noisiness, gripping Johan’s shirt. “Ow!”

Johan nearly died a second time when he watched Snowy fall, and he leapt to snatch him out of the air, twisting to land on his back for the child to land on his chest, knocking the wind out of him.

“Why did you drop him?” he wheezed with alarm to Magenta. The boy was holding his nose, red seeping through his fingers. Johan set down the three children latched on him, shimmying his arm out of Egg’s grip, rolling over the fire Magician set to put it out, then rushed over to Magenta and carefully pulled away his hands from his face, sighing with relief. “Oh, it’s just a nosebleed. What happened?”

“He kicked me,” Magenta explained as Johan washed his face, handing him tissues. “Maybe I shouldn’t’ve held him so high up.”

“Maybe,” Johan huffed, looking out the open door. Gingie was in the doorway, staring with wide eyes at Snowy. Johan smiled at him. “Come on back in, Gin. Come on.”

He entered back in, going over to his best friend who was sitting on the floor where Johan left him.

“You okay?” he asked him, wrapping his little arms around his shoulders. “Too scary?”

“Too high!” Snowy explained, hugging him back.

Hyde came over to Johan and tugged on his ripped jeans.

“Sleep now.”

“Again, Hyde, is it not too soon?” Johan asked gently, smiling and raising an eyebrow. The boy shook his head and tugged on Johan’s hand, pulling him to the cushions he bought for napping, making him sit first, clamoring onto his chest. “Well… I suppose.”

More gentle pressures formed around him. He looked to one side, Snowy, Gingie and Magician there, and on the other, Magenta, Joy, and Egg.

Johan felt himself drifting off as each of the children surrounding him dropped off into la la land.

His limbs, pinned to himself by the young ones, felt so heavy, and so did his head….

Giggling woke him.

“Shh, shh, he’s waking up!” Magenta whispered, his voice bouncy and excited. “Mornin’ Jo!”

“‘Ello, Maggie,” he slurred. Hyde, still on his chest, was beaming at him. “What’s with all the smil-”

He had reached up to rub his eyes, and collectively, all the boys quickly leaned over to stop him, taking his hand and pulling it back. Gingie laughed in delight and rose a mirror.

Johan stared at himself.

A beard and a moustache were painted on his face, along with glasses (in addition to his real ones) and patterns and crescents. Pastel marked Egg’s territory on his face, and he noticed it on his neck and arms. His long hair had been plaited by them as well.

“Well?” Magenta asked, grinning. “What do you think?”

“I think it’s great,” Johan chuckled, running a hand carefully over the paint, making sure not to smudge or smear it. “Who’s idea was the moustache?”

“Mine!” Magenta eagerly answered. “Hyde thought of the beard!”

“I picked the glasses!” Magician beamed, “Snowy did half of them and I did the other!”

“Very good job, boys,” Johan grinned. “I look great.”

It eventually was time for the boys to go home.

Gingie’s mother was picking up almost all the boys, having invited the families for dinner.

She stared at him for a good minute when he opened the door.

“You’re looking,” she held in laughter, “Good?”

“Why thank you, ma’am!” he bowed slightly. “I got a makeover.”

She bid him farewell with a trail of children.

That left Magenta.

The boy was sitting by the table, swinging his legs.

“Hey,” Johan nodded to him with a wink, sitting beside him and pouring for him some chocolate milk. Magenta smiled at him, but it was tinged with sadness. Johan steepled his fingers and studied him. “You doin’ alright, kid?”

“Yeah! I’m really happy that all the other Joeys are here and we all just hang out!” Magenta commented. He continuously glanced at the clock with some nervousness. His shoulders slumped, and he pulled his arms into his oversized sweater. “Jo?”

“Yeah, Mag?” he answered, heart aching from the sad look that filled the young boy’s face. “What’s up?”

“I don’t wanna go home,” he whispered. Johan felt his breath stop. “Can I stay here?”

“Oh, Mag… I can’t, I’d get in so much trouble and then you won’t be able to come here at all,” Johan told him gently, putting a hand on his shoulder. “But…” he looked to the clock, “We still have an hour and a half.”

“Can we learn history?” Magenta inquired, looking at him hopefully. “Then ice cream?”

“Yeah,” Johan smiled at him. “For both. That way we’ll be doing what the old white man up top wants and what we do.”

Magenta grinned as he took out the textbook.

#tooth rotting fluff #fluff #batim #bendy and the ink machine #control writes #joey drew #joy drew #magician #magenta #johan ramirez #joey snowy drew #hyde drew #gingie #egg #mention of domestic abuse #(babies)#batim fic #control art

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mwahahahahahahaa · 7 years

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30 days of domestic fluff: Day 6

Hey! Time for Day 6.

Link to Ao3

Day 6: Shopping for needs

Eponine wrote down the list in their notebook, checking the fridge and freezer to make sure they’d written down everything they needed as they listened to the sound of Cosette coming down the stairs, ready to leave.

“Come on, ‘Ponine.” Cosette called from the hall. “We don’t want to be out too long.”

“Just checking what else we need.” Eponine replied. “Can you think of anything else?”

Cosette came in, and read over the list whilst Eponine checked the cupboards.

“Only soap and toilet paper. Possibly shampoo. Oh, and bread. Do we have any bread?” Cosette asked.

Eponine shook their head. “No, we ran out yesterday. Okay, I’ll add that. Hopefully that’s everything.”

“If it’s not, we’ll remember in the shop. Or we can go to the forgot shop later.” Cosette said.

“Yeah. Okay, let me just find my bag.”

“I brought it down for you, love, it’s in the hall.” Cosette said, smiling at her partner.

Eponine felt their own lips turn up. “Thanks.”

The journey to the local supermarket wasn’t that long, about a half hour walk. Cosette and Eponine made the journey hand in hand, talking about whatever came to mind, from the latest Star Trek episode to politics. It was a good time to catch up, to discuss things that weren’t particularly important but nice to talk about. By the time they got there, both had been smiling most of the way. They headed in, grabbing a trolley and moving into the store. Eponine reached out, grabbing a box of rice crispies almost straight away. Those were Gav’s favourite. It was followed into the trolley by frosties, the only thing Michel would eat. Azelma and Jean didn’t mind, and Eponine grabbed a box of Weetabix for themselves. Eponine pulled out the list, crossing over those three items. Cosette looked at them fondly. She’d never really bothered with a list herself, but Eponine found it useful to remember things, and to be honest, it did work.

“Right, in this aisle, we need bread, porridge oats, and jam.” Eponine said, eyes fixed on the list. Cosette pushed the trolley, moving down the aisle to where those items were. Eponine shoved the list back in their pocket and moved with her, reaching out to grab items as they passed.

The bread was a multigrain loaf, which luckily all the kids were fine with eating. It wouldn’t last long; with sandwiches being made most days for lunches and toast being a popular breakfast option, bread went very quickly when shared between six people. They kept moving, Cosette taking Eponine’s hand in hers and swinging it as she pushed the trolley one handed down the aisle, Eponine only pulling away when they reached the jam. They usually got multiple flavours. The kids usually went for strawberry, but Cosette and Eponine tended to get blackcurrant jam as well, both for themselves and in case any of the kids wanted variety. There were various other sandwich fillings they used – Eponine usually made egg mayonnaise Sunday evening, and kept it in the fridge until it was used – but jam sandwiches were popular. Jean in particular loved strawberry jam and cheese sandwiches, and Gavroche would have them sometimes too.

Moving on, they collected the porridge oats and moved onto the next aisle, Eponine reaching out to grab eggs, milk, and cheese as they passed. Then they dragged Cosette over to where the pasta and pasta sauces were kept, selecting several different sauces, as well as some rice and a curry sauce. Unfortunately, they had to stick to nothing spicier than a korma in order to keep Jean happy (after all, he was only five, and spicy food wasn’t something he enjoyed). Next stop was vegetables, where Cosette grabbed some leeks, peppers, potatoes and onions, thinking about what she’d cook. Spanish omelette could be a good idea, and if they needed something simple the kids would never complain about baked potatoes, as long as they had toppings.

The pair talked as they moved around the shop collecting various items. Soap and other toiletries were last, being loaded into the trolley carefully so they didn’t squash the other food. Frozen pizzas were in there, as well as some ice cream, and biscuits. Eponine picked up some fruit juice, orange with no bits and tropical juice. Fruit juice was a good way of tricking the kids into being healthier. They all preferred it to water, and whilst it was more expensive, it did help.

“We forgot actual fruit,” Cosette pointed out. “Want me to run and grab some?”

“Yeah, I’ll get the rest and meet you at the till.” Leaning in, Eponine kissed Cosette on the lips before taking the trolley away from her, and looking at the list again just to check everything necessary had been collected. No tomato puree, they realised, and walked back to that aisle, taking a tube and throwing it into the trolley.

That was the last thing on the list as far as Eponine could see, even though they’d picked up a few extras. It was going to be a pain to carry all this home. Luckily there was a bus that went almost to their door, but even so. It was times like this that Eponine really wished they had a car. They’d only had driving lessons in the first place because their father had wanted them to work as a getaway driver, but it was a useful skill to have. Unfortunately, it wasn’t that useful when you couldn’t afford a car or insurance. They had their siblings to look after, and that was much more important than wasting money on a car they couldn’t actually afford, and didn’t necessarily need.

There was no point worrying about it, so Eponine shoved the list back into their pocket and moved towards the till. The lines were long, which, while annoying, meant Eponine didn’t have to worry about Cosette getting back with the fruit in time. Sure enough, there were still two people in front of them when Cosette joined Eponine at the till, placing the fruit with the other items on the conveyer belt. Surprisingly, Cosette wasn’t alone.

Bossuet was beaming at them from beside Cosette, holding a bag from the in store bakery.

“Hey Eponine! Cosette said she’d pay for my croissants if I gave you guys a lift back.”

Eponine felt their shoulders relax. “I am fully in support of that. You sure you can spare the time?”

“I’m free all day now, was just heading back from dropping Musichetta off at work. I forgot to have any breakfast, so stopped in here.” He explained. “And what good luck! I get my food paid for, and the company of two of my close friends!”

Eponine smiled. “I mean, it’s in exchange for a lift, so not entirely free. But thank you, Bossuet. I was dreading carrying all this back on the bus.”

“No worries. It’s not like you live that far away.” Bossuet pointed out.

Cosette grinned. “Still, thanks. You heading home to spend time with Joly after?”

“Nah, he’s been called into work too, they needed him at the hospital.”

“You can spend some time at ours if you want. Gav will be glad to see you, as will the others.”

Bossuet brightened, if it were even possible. “That sounds like an improvement over spending the afternoon by myself.”

Eponine grinned. It was almost like free babysitting, having Bossuet over. He loved spending time with the kids, and they loved him. It would let them put all the shopping away and start on making lunch without being interrupted every five minutes. Bossuet knew that would happen, but also knew that he’d get free lunch, and that they’d be joining in after lunch anyway. It was one of Eponine’s free days, which was nice. It meant they could spend the whole day with their family.

They reached the front of the queue, and the cashier started putting through their items as Eponine pulled out their purse and several plastic bags, Cosette and Bossuet both taking up the task of filling those bags with the purchased items. The croissants, when they went through, were quickly placed in Bossuet’s large coat pockets instead, whilst everything else was bagged and then put back in the trolley to make it easier to carry it to the car.

Eponine paid the cashier once everything was through, and, wishing the cashier a nice day, started pushing the trolley towards the exit, Bossuet and Cosette following. They walked out to Bossuet’s car, and started loading everything into the boot. The sheer volume of stuff made Eponine grateful all over again for Bossuet’s willingness to give them a lift.

Cosette got into the front next to Bossuet, Eponine themselves sliding into the back. Bossuet’s music started playing almost immediately – Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody.

Before long, they were all singing along and laughing, enjoying themselves. The journey back was much shorter than the journey there, simply by virtue of travelling by car. It was under ten minutes before Bossuet parked in front of their house, having surprisingly good luck finding a parking space for once. Eponine texted Gavroche and Azelma.

Hey, come help us carry everything in. Boss gave us a lift.

As Bossuet opened the boot and started passing bags out, the door opened to 4 kids who were much more excited than usual to help. Eponine and Cosette knew better than to think Bossuet wasn’t the reason, especially considering Jean and Michel both greeted their friend with hugs.

Bossuet laughed. “Nice to see you too, guys. Okay, okay, let’s get all this in and then I’ll teach you how to be better at Mario Karts.”

Gavroche and Azelma were more restrained in their responses, but both still very happy. Everyone grabbed some bags and started moving in, just about managing to get everything in one trip. Bossuet locked the car behind them.

“Okay, everything into the kitchen for now.” Eponine called as the kids went into the house ahead of them. The instructions were followed fairly well. Whilst not everything belonged in the kitchen, it was easier to have all the bags in one place to sort through.

Bossuet, once he’d put his bags down, pulled out his croissants to eat.

“You guys go play in the lounge,” Eponine said. “We’ll put everything away.”

Jean and Michel beamed, practically dragging Bossuet away. Azelma hesitated.

“Are you sure you don’t want any help?” She asked.

Eponine smiled. “It’s fine, don’t worry. We’ll put it all away, you go and relax. Or work on your homework, if you haven’t finished it.”

Azelma pulled a face, but left, though whether to actually do homework was anyone’s guess.

Eponine and Cosette, meanwhile, turned their attention to the shopping bags before them. Cosette smiled, leaning forwards with a kiss.

“Makes it a little more interesting, don’t you think?” She teased, before moving to search through a bag. Eponine rolled their eyes, but couldn’t keep the smile from their face. They never could, when it came to Cosette. One hand searching through a bag, the other reached for Cosette’s hand to squeeze. It wouldn’t take too long to put everything away, but they could always take advantage of a few moments by themselves anyway, a moment to hug without Jean, who always got very excited by hugging, joining in. Not that they didn’t love Jean’s hugs too, of course, but it was nice to spend a few moments just with Cosette.

Surely the shopping could wait just a moment longer, Eponine thought, and they reached to kiss Cosette again, both of them smiling.

“We should do this after we’ve put things away.” Cosette said, her eyes warm as they met Eponine’s.

“Yeah, true.” Eponine forced themselves to pull away. “But if you think I’m not cuddling you all afternoon on the sofa, you’re very mistaken.”

Cosette grinned. “That sounds perfect.”

#30 days of domestic fluff #30 days challenge #Eposette #les mis #Eponine #Cosette #genderfluid Eponine #my writing

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burndownthehousetonight · 7 years

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((How long’s it been since I put up a compilation post for a @tinyredartist rp? Way too long, and this one was kind of a doozy ‘3′))

A few days had passed since they found a location on Leo's apartment. There were leads, sure, but they didn't seem to lead them anywhere, and the clues they found couldn't only lead to circumstantial theories at best. An despite a metric ton of wanted posters being hung everywhere from the castle outskirts to far off cities of the kingdom, there were no calls reporting the missing otter.

Basically, the investigation was screwed from the start, and Manic and his husband were dropped off the investigating team like a hot potato. They weren't even detectives, let alone anyone who dealt in investigating these kinds of disappearances. Everyone was feeling dejected, confused, concerned. Scared, to some degree. But at least they were scared together.

"We just gotta wait, I guess." Manic said in some vain attempt to calm down Aria. She didn't want to leave her bedroom that morning, so Manic came right on in to give some company.

"Talking about this is just gonna make it worse, ain't it?" There was that chuckle, that happy chuckle like nothing was wrong. "You can come out of here and have some fun, man, you're gonna be safe. Honest."

“Manic, I appreciate the help but… I’m getting really overwhelmed. There’s so much I’ve got to take in and I need to do it alone. I’m sorry.” She was upset, but rolled over, back towards him. Shutting out yet another green hedgehog and pulling the covers up over her head to block out noises.

She was mostly inconsolable by any party. The king tried. Castillo tried. Even Faolán and Fiona tried. But she turned them all away at the door. Terra had almost taken time off work, but Aria insisted she go in order to get out of the “depression bubble”.

Damian even tried to get in, but he was especially shut out. While most everyone got some kind of excuse as to why she didn’t want to see them, her brother only received a door to the face. He clearly was expecting that. But not the question she asked him from the other side.

“Don’t like being thrown out. Do ya?” It pretty much felt useless. What the hell was he supposed to do for someone who wasn't going to help themselves? "Bluuuuuuuh." He gave a long, exaggerated, and slightly silly groan while he sat down in a chair, far away from Aria's room. "I've gotta play somewhere tomorrow morning, too, but I don't wanna leave her hanging." "She ain't gonna open up to anyone," Castillo said bluntly. "When she needs help, she'll ask." "That doesn't mean I have to like it," Manic groaned. Even though they had to start driving back home for work, it almost felt like they didn't have a choice but to stay. And by the looks of it when he walked in, Damian didn't have any luck either. "She didn't give you a chance either?" Manic asked, knowing the answer. “She … Kind of threw something I did back in my face… And I deserved it so… No. No luck. She doesn’t even want to hold David or play with Faolán. I’ve got nothing.”

He flopped down in a chair and sighed, covering his face. “Mom would know what to do if she was here… Our older sister had moods like this sometimes and she always opened up to Mom.”

“I feel like that doesn’t apply here.” The king responded, giving Castillo and Manic a warp ring so they could get home faster if they wanted. They silently took the warp ring, knowing they didn't need to head back until that evening. "Maybe it's the kind of deal that'll only get figured out with time?" Manic said, spinning the ring around his finger as he thought. "Or maybe just like... she needs silent company, someone she can just sit with?" "Just time," Scourge added. "Give her space... and booze. Lots of booze." He didn't leave a pause for debate, immediately swerving the topic off course. "No one's seen nothing of him?" Scourge added. "Not under any of his names?" “Nothing. He’s switched names again. Aria gave me a written list of names to try, but none of them come up as having been used. The whole country is on edge looking for this asshole. If what we think actually happened, he could be really dangerous. There isn’t a cop in the city who could see him and not report back,” The king sat down and put his head in his hands, sighing. “ I just feel useless. She’s all alone and this is something that’s a major hit to the trauma. There’s nothing we can do but doing nothing feels awful.” They sat in silence for what felt like hours. Waiting for news or for Aria to come out of her room. The news came first via a younger detective, and that was a good thing. “Sire! One of the names on the list that you gave me is active. Someone using a credit card was flagged in the city. How likely is it that someone shares a name with anyone on this list?” “Highly unlikely,” Damian said, shifting on his chair, “Traditionally, names are based in our language. I’m the exception because I was a favor. I highly doubt there is anyone with the same name because Aria and I are the only two people who can speak it. Which name was it?” “Aquam Regis, sir.” The cadet said, and the hedgehog grew all sorts of emotions, none of them good “That sick bastard.” Scourge didn't know the first thing about languages, but Manic was at least a little aware of these words. On bottles and in random trivia, these terms had popped up from their original source. "Water god?" Manic said, not so much disgusted as disapproving. "I'd call him a lazy asshole for that name if he wasn't being such a smug asshole." The rush to get up and get information was broken momentarily from a crying sound. A young crying sound. Scourge paused, and for once, had more than one person he wanted to help out immediately. He owed Aria for everything he did to her, but Faolán wouldn't understand- He let out a grunt as Manic shoved him from behind. "Look after your kid, man, we'll tell you this stuff!" They rushed down the hall, Scourge still pausing before running with Manic's plan, like usual. "Alright, what's that name really mean?" Manic asked as they rushed to see this new information. "Cause it don't sound like you think he's just being smug." The cadet also explained that they had witnesses as the men rushed down the hall. The king looked to Aria's brother, waiting for an answer.

Damian was slowly growing more and more enraged. His jaw clenched, hands grew fidgety and the king pulled Manic back just in time to avoid the enraged hedgehogs punch to the nearest wall. The heave of his shoulders and flicks of his ears clearly showed that whatever the name meant, it wasn’t a good connotation

“Not… Not water god. King of the Water. And I swear on the land that this bastard tried to sell, if I ever see him I will rip his heart out.” When the hedgehog walked away, the king grabbed him by the arm, waiting for a proper explanation. With a sigh, the doctor relented.

“Aquam Regis is our Father. And I wanna go see those witnesses.” Was it a good idea to let someone this invested and enraged in a case talk to the witnesses? Manic sure didn't think so, but he knew he wouldn't take no for an answer. "Well, let's find him and punch his light out. Just... maybe let's wait a sec. You got any punching bags, Scourge?" He was going to need another qualifier for the king's name soon, because the other Scourge stumbled up to them after Damian had a chance to get out at least a little of his fury. "What's up, what was going on with Fao?" "Ari didn't want to play with him and wouldn't talk to him. And your kid tried teething on his arm." From behind Damian, Manic looked at Scourge and made a cutting motion across his neck to say, 'absolutely don't blame him for anything you stupid snot.' So he clammed up. Damian sighed and wiped his face with the hand that the king didn’t have an iron grip on. Seems like his son was, if anything, the only way to keep him calm.

“Sorry… For both of them. But we need to get this solved fast because I don’t want to see either of the kids upset. David was calling for her earlier today too… Maybe you should talk to her Scourge. You’ve been in that kind of mood, if I remember.” Damian suggested to the king, who shrugged and left, urging Manic to text him updates.

They all continued on their way and once the witnesses arrived they were all pleasantly surprised.

“Heyyy!” Dante said with a smile, all three members of the band recognizing their friend. “Long time no see!!” "You're the witnesses." Castillo said in almost a monotone. Manic wasn't half as monotone, happy for the distraction and high fiving the crocodile and cheetah. "What is UP!" "We got to be witness to a crime again." Detour said, half joking. "Again." His face was withering just a bit. He grimaced and held his face in his hand, remembering all the hijinks he'd had to pull them out of. "...Again. We... weren't involved for once." "We've gotta celebrate that!" Dante smarmed out in that smug tone, Drench pulling Detour closer in a friendly embrace. Instead of getting annoyed, he actually seemed to grin a bit. As much as he disliked babysitting them, their presence was too fun not to make him smile. “Hey, so I count most of the gang here, but where’s our favorite bartender and our Royal Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free Card?” Drench asked, looking around for the two he expected to see.

Damian, who had been brooding silently at this point, was not amused. If these were their witnesses, they were screwed. But judging by the way they talked about his sister and the king, he deciding texting them both saying that their friends were here might help.

Several minutes later, a showered but still depressed Aria shuffled into the warp room, blanket on her shoulders. The sight of the band made her crack the first smile in days. "Yooooo." Drench was the most vocal with his happiness. "How ya doing? Ain't seen you in a while, you look like hell! Nice blanket!" Despite the blunt few lines, Drench didn't seem mean spirited in the slightest. To him, it was more an excited blunt observation and a compliment on what was a very lovely blanket. "Hey, nice to see you." Detour joked as he patted Aria on the back. He could at least see that this was more serious than Drench was taking it. "You should have come with to that concert last month," Dante chuckled, "Drench got drunk before the second set and got arrested for trying to take off his clothes on stage!" Dante laughed the loudest at this, with Drench as a close second. Her smile was there, but it was small and weak and even the boys couldn’t get a laugh out of her. She nodded at Detour and just shook her head at Dante and Drench.

“You’re both idiots and you need much more alcohol than you consume,” she said, patting Detour on the shoulder. “I hate to be a party killer, but what are you guys even doing here? Judging by the fact that we are in the war room, I’m guessing you have something to tell us.”

She felt and looked like shit, but even then Damian stood behind her, ready to grab her in case she grew just as angry as he had earlier. And Aria didn’t have a soft spot like he did. Drench's eyes lit up. "Right, yeah! There were all those wanted posters, right? With the gold otter?" Certain details weren't disclosed to the public, and none of the three had any idea what the otter meant to her. "We were just at some pet store trying to get a fishbowl," Dante started, not bothering to explain why they would need a fishbowl. "We went to pay, and he was at the counter!" "He was just buying... a lot of plastic boxes. A LOT of them." It took a second for Detour to come up with a guess. "There must have been a dozen in his bags. I'm the fastest, I went to chase him, but-" He scratched the back of his head. "Even I couldn't catch him. He has some kind of super speed." “Hmmm… Well at least we know he’s in town.. And that he’s still got some magic left in him… Could this get any worse?”

When the cadet handed over the information they had gathered, Aria skimmed through it before they could stop her. She reacted to his name change much differently from her brother, and burst into tears. It wasn’t surprising, since she hadn’t cried over all of it while she had been moping, and so it was a sudden burst of emotion.

“That fucking asshole! After all he’s done he pulls this? Why can’t he just leave us alone?” She wailed, clinging to Damian as he hugged her to comfort her. "Trust me, when we're catching him, we're beating his face in." Manic promised, Scourge silently agreeing and standing like they were going to go out and punch him right there. The sudden burst of emotion left the band members uncertain of how they could respond. Dante was the one who finally stepped up to her, much more somber than usual. "Hey, uh... calm down, you'll be alright-" It was already too late. Castillo was on her other side, trying to move towards the door. "You can't handle this stuff yet," Scourge told her, "you should get outta here." “No, I wanna stay!” She whined, ducking out of everyone’s arms. The constant smothering was making her sick and she didn’t need to be enclosed in a small space at the moment. “Okay, you can stay. But if I notice you’re taking this too hard, I will carry you back to bed kicking and screaming, okay?” The king compromised, keeping his distance. Aria was acting like the nine year old she was when it all happened originally, and this time around her mood swings and sensitivities were lethal if pushed too far. Personal questions were going to have to be put aside for a while. They had to start digging into something less painful, something boring. "So like, what kinda boxes are we talking?" Manic asked the obvious question. "Alright, he was buying a ton of boxes, but what was in them? Like, was he just getting a bunch of pet food or something?" "No, they were empty." Dante added. "You know, the- the plastic boxes! They're square, with green tops. And a whole bunch of slits in them?" "Habitat!" Detour piped up. "They're bug habitats, he was buying bug habitats." “Bug habitats…. Unless he’s going the true evil route and training a giant lizard, why all the habitats?” Scourge asked, looking to Manic and Aria to see if wither had a clue.

Arias glance went to Castillo and she had a thought. “Wait! The bugs on our land, if he’s trying to get magic they would provide a decent amount, since they’re primary forces of decomposition… But that means he knows where they are. And he can get in, somehow.”

She knew it sounded far fetched but that had to be it! That’s why he was able to hold onto the magic for so long! "Maybe he's using his speed, or something?" Manic offered. "Maybe he's jetting off a tree or ramp or something and going over?" Manic didn't even need to ponder bringing in Sonic, knowing that it would be a bad idea... for some reason. And besides, he had another supersonic runner on his side, now cracking his knuckles. "Lemme at it," Castillo said with a grunt, "I'll break in somehow." "Maybe we should call in... I dunno, some of those endangered species people, whatever they're called? The guys who protect really rare animals and stuff?" Not exactly an elegant explanation, but at least some form of plan. "If that's where he's getting his powers, we just gotta stop him from getting them." “NO!” Both Damian and Aria were adamant against calling the services that helped endangered species. The king made the cutting motions across his throat, signalling a bad idea. No explanation was offered

“Besides, it's basic physics. If he’s going fast enough, he could easily clear it with a jump.” Aria considered. “We don’t need to test it. But maybe we should go for a visit just to check up on Mom and Dad.”

Aria rubbed at her arm and Damian rubbed at his shoulder blade. Both were clearly sensitive to the topic of the endangered species control unit. "Alright! Alright, we won't call anyone." Manic immediately backed off. "But we gotta have someone look at them! What if they're messed up, or a whole bunch are missing, or something? Is anyone gonna know a lot about these things?" Castillo could only grin smugly and ruffle Manic's fringe, getting an annoyed smile out of his husband. It was barely a minute later that Faolán rushed into the room, tail whapping against every surface he walked near. "Are we going back to the forest?!" Castillo silently motioned from behind him to Aria, showing off a holster. If his son was going to be their bug expert, he was going to make sure no one would get near him. She didn’t want to get him involved. But what choice did they have? The hedgie reluctantly warped the whole crew to the forest, bypassing security completely. By the time Damian stepped out, the place would be slightly hostile. The leaves would shake as they passed, the trees displeased.

They went the long way, avoiding her family. She let Fao play with the bugs and pointed out tracks to the rest of the men. Footprints. And a very agitated pine, who shook as well.

“The whole place is disturbed… But I don’t know if its because of all this, or because this is the first time someone has visited.” She almost sneered at her brother. Normally sunny skies were clouded over, and everything in the area felt worse. It almost felt as though the land had been traumatized. Trees shook in their presence, the chilled breeze blew against whichever way they walked. Everyone was on edge for some reason. The way Manic and Faolán rejoined them after going to visit the bugs wasn't about to help. "Daaaaad!" The little wolf rushed up to his father, sadness blatantly painted on his puffed eyes. "Th-the pointy bugs are gone! The ones who- the ones who liked chirping at me!" "He must've come already" Manic said quietly to the king while Fao was distracted. "Calm down kiddo, they're probably on an adventure or something." He squatted down to his son's level. "You ain't mentioned 'em before, what did they look like?" "They're..." A pay wiped away an escaped tear. "They're the gem bugs. The ones- the ones with the pointy crystals on their backs. They're almost all gone..." “Aria, what are you doing?” The king asked, watching Aria take photos of the tracks before walking in them.

Specifically, she lined up her shoeprints with the ones left behind, noting imprints near the river.

“He jumped across the river. He must have super speed or the jumping power from… I don’t know who.” She shrugged, kneeling at Faolán's level and offered her arms for a hug.

“I’m sorry I was mean earlier. That wasn’t fair of me.” He was still a bit of a stubborn kid, even if it was someone he trusted, and the snub from Aria still stung. But he definitely didn't reject the hug. It was always nice from Aria, and the sadness from all the missing bugs meant he needed a lot of comforting. "Hey, kid." Scourge said, ruffling his son's hair. "Let me check, maybe they're back now." Really just a thin excuse to get him away so the others would have space to talk. "So... How're we gonna catch this fool?" Manic said, stating the obvious. "We gonna put up sensors or cameras or summat above the fences? Or like, have someone fast camp out? Maybe one of you Scourges? I mean, my bro doesn't really like me, but he's always up for fighting evil." Aria wanted more hugs, but settled for holding herself. “Maybe not… But what if we attach something to some of the trees so they shake when he shows up?”

The system wasn’t a bad one. Many devices existed that would send off a signal with movement. But which trees would be marked?

“Capito.” both siblings said, once the king asked them.

“He’s the brother in between us. His power was super intelligence, so he would be a good place to start… Then the trees closest to the beetles, a few around the perimeter…” Damian suggested, until the smell of cherry blossoms filled the air, sickly sweet.

“Someone needs to go see mom.” Aria insisted. Manic turned his head. His husband wasn't there, but the other Scourge sure was, and that glare between them was riddled with dread. This was not good. Whatever it was that was about to happen, there was no way it was going to be good. They might not have been able to speak to the trees, but they knew they were angry at something with Damian's presence. "Uh... you guys gonna be alright?" Manic asked, knowing full well they absolutely weren't going to be alright on their own. "Like, maybe the king and me should just follow you guys? Or this something you gotta do alone?" “Well… You know how sometimes if you don’t call your mom she gets really mad? That’s what this is. Half of the forest is upset about the intruder and the other half are upset that this is the first time he’s been here since everything happened. He’s safe, mostly. *

The hedgehog sighed, rubbing his neck and walking back over to their family. Aria followed along, motioning for the boys, to follow once Castillo and Faolán returned. She had a feeling her nephew would be needed to soften the mood. Thankfully, the walk avoided the graveyard this time, but that didn't mean the trip wasn't unnerving. It felt like someone was going to jump out at them at any second, like they were always being watched. But the trees weren't deeply focused on any of them except for Damian. By the time they made it to the beach, the approached the same semicircle of trees. Sure enough, the prior damage Scourge did seemed like it never happened. Those intertwined trees even looked a little taller, a little brighter. A lot more fragrant, that was for sure. "Uh... hello." If Manic had tried, he still couldn't have sounded much more uncertain and awkward talking to a tree. The way the trees shook, it was like an earthquake. The eight already there were either excited or displeased with him. One of the saplings threw fruit.

“See? Just a good old fashioned family argument.” She showed them, and the angry rustling stopped as Manic was greeted by the eight before the “yelling” continued. Aria went to one tree in particular and started explaining what was going on. There was no "good old fashioned" kind of family fighting in Manic's mind. Not in Scourge's mind, either. Not even for the king. But Aria was taking the whole affair bizarrely blithely, and what were they supposed to do? Tell her to be more afraid? Family fights never ended well for most of the onlookers, and they could only hope this family wouldn't take the ugly turn it had for any of the others. Scourge could feel his heart stop for a second when he noticed that Faolán had snuck away and up to the trees while they were distracted. "Kid, get back here!" He yelled as he saw the child touch the shaking tree on the rightmost edge. The tree slowed down it's movements the moment it was touched, but that didn't stop Scourge from grabbing the child and rushing away like the tree golems were going to attack him next. "What are you doin', kid, they'd cream you!" Scourge had gotten annoyed at his son before, but this kind of yelling was new, and they could watch the little boy's heart get crushed. “Easy Castillo. They get that he’s still a kid. He’s the safest person here. But sweetie, please don’t touch the trees. They’re covered in moss and your mom wouldn’t want you to get dirty,” Aria insisted, while the trees behind them stopped shaking. Damian rejoined the group, rubbing the back of his neck.

“They’re done with the yelling-.” The doctor started, but his sentence died off when he saw the sniffling child. He shut his mouth.

“We’ve got all the information we can from here I think. Time to go home,” the king suggested. "Ah, kid- Kid, don't run up to shit that's flailing around!" Manic nudged Scourge to try and get him to watch his language near the child, but he didn't respond. They waited a few moments, but it was obvious the little wolf wasn't going to forget it that easily. "I'm not angry at you, squirt. Don't wanna see anything happen to you." He put aside all macho nonsense and just hugged the child to comfort him. The sniffles were dying down. things were looking better, and Manic was comfortable enough to ask. "So what's the plan? And what do y'all need from us?" “Well if Luci would STOP THROWING TWIGS AT ME THANK YOU VERY MUCH!” Damian turned to yell at a tree who merely rustled and threw at stick at his forehead, making Aria laugh.

“Lucett. Stop, he’s just being a baby again” Aria insisted and the tree would have crossed its arms if it could have. “Right now I need motion based signals we can attach to some trees… And a drink.”

She sighed at her siblings bickering. Even separated by plains of existence they still fought. The rustling of several other trees and Damian’s rusty switch into their native tongue would have been humorous if Aria couldn’t understand her brothers words and the tone that everyone else was communicating in. She covered her ears to block him out. The first time hearing the language spoken by someone else in years, in anger. It wasn’t helping. "Those'll be real easy to find, we can string up some signals easy." But what was he supposed to say to the fighting? She might have been playing it off as a simple family argument, but the way Aria's ears clutched to her head made it obvious this was anything but normal. "Uh... maybe we should go back without Damian, leave him a way to warp back?" He suggested sheepishly, hoping that wasn't the worst possible idea. The words were grim and uncomfortable. Their moods were grim and uncomfortable. Even Fao was scared and confused by everything. "You mind mixing us all drinks before we get back to work?"

Scourge tossed a warp ring to the doctor and he caught it. The king lead his friends into another clearing for aria to warp them back

“Yeah I can do that Manic” she insisted, scratching open a portal and scooping up Fao to snuggle with after they got to the castle.

“What do you guys want?” She asked, setting the kid down on a barstool and booping his nose gently as she rummaged around the bar.

The air felt more comfortable to the young child. Fiona had loosened his leash around Scourge - the king, not his father quite yet - and these were the situations he’d see them in most. Cozy, usually having something to eat or drink, pretty much always with his dads. He was calming down more, and Aria speaking the most was definitely helping. Scourge leaned forward to look at all the bottles. “You got Black Lashes back there…? Yeah, just some of that scotch, straight.” “Just a red russian.” Manic was caught up in patting the child’s back to try and comfort him, and barely even looked at Aria.. “You want a soda or something, buddy?” Those small eyes gazes at the brilliantly colored and labeled bottles he knew he couldn’t have, and thought on some things he might like to drink. “A r- a red russian?” “No,” Manic said firmly, “only I can order that. It’s law.” Another spot of thinking. “Can I get the lashes drink?” He just gave a sassy, if amused, look at him and ruffled his hair. “Ask when you’re a little older, buddy.”

Aria mixed the drinks they asked for, serving up the Red Russian, Black Lashes, and a Shirley temple for her “nephew”. She slid the king his usual wine and got herself a bottle of sugar vodka she drank from. It was quiet between them all. For once it was peaceful. Aria pet the child, scratching behind his ears idly with a soft smile.

“So munchkin. What’s new?” Fao was always a source of cuteness and purity, this time was no different. "The beetle people like all the photos," he said as he sipped away. "I put up more pictures and they all wanted to see more of the gold ones. A scientist told me she wanted to see if they were a new species! I told her to go away for you." At least he was thinking about Ari, regardless of how he was using that trust. His expression soon turned sour as he swirled the drink to mix in the bit of whipped cream on top. "But someone else had pictures of the jewel bugs, maybe they flew away and don't like me anymore..." Manic and Scourge took a moment to process those words. "Uh... what's he post about them?" Manic asked, trying to sound casual. "He asked for those gross organ pictures, I think he wants to hurt them. I told him I didn't have any, but he kept asking, so I told him to suck a lemon." “Gross organ pictures?” Aria looked a little confused up at her friends, and even more worried at her nephew. Kissing his forehead, she smiled.

“Well thank you sweetheart. That was very nice of you to tell all those people to go away. I’m sure the bugs are fine. Maybe they’re just visiting someone. I’m sure they’ll be back. But did you wanna show me the place you post these photos on? I wanna see something.”

When the phone was fetched, she looked through the conversations. Quite a lot of people were interested. One account stood out and Aria showed it to Manic.

“If this is his account, can you trace it?" She asked quietly while Fao finished the sweet drink. "Totally." Manic raised his glass like he was going for a toast, downed the last gulp left, and made his way over to his laptop bag. None of them could have been more concerned about that string of words, and Scourge was quick to snatch up that open page. A forum of some kind. "ILoveBeetleBugs" was clearly his son, just from the total lack of any kind of proper writing. As new as he was to literacy, he seemed to know plenty of terms in this specific area. At some point, his shoulders finally relaxed. "He wants to know the organs they've got. One of those anatomy diagrams with organs and crap." He turned back to the child and held down the phone to show a shot of the thread. "Don't tell these people anything. You don't know these assholes, might be someone bad." Faolán seemed confused by these words, staring up blankly at his dad. There was a good few seconds of silence. "O-okay." He said sheepishly. "Can I still look at-" "Look at whatever the hell you want, just don't tell anyone anything." Fao was surprised by a gentle punch to his stomach - judging by his giggle, some kind of ritual between them. "He ain't hurting any of 'em. Speaking of... he put up any pictures of them?" With a nod, he began going through the forums again, finding pictures of a few select beetles a few days old. The habitarium they were in was virtually empty, with some grass and leaves chucked in carelessly. Maybe there would be something in the background they could use? Aria hummed as she looked over the picture, displeased with their care obviously. Several people called him out on the poor treatment though, which made her feel better.

In the background was a window with the blinds half drawn over it. The only things they could see was part of a balcony, a part of another building and the sky turning orange, light spilling into the room he was in to illuminate the bugs glittering shells.

“Wait… Maybe we can use the view here… His balcony faces west… And maybe we can grab a shot of that building and see what we can find? Or am I delving too far into the unreasonable crime drama side of things?” "Sounds pretty alright to me," Castillo shrugged. "But hell, that'll be pretty convoluted, we ain't even got a city yet. Looks like some bland building, too, ain't too distinct..." "IIIII got a rough location!" Manic would eventually shout out, standing up and walking down the room. "Okay, like, you can't get TOO specific with an IP, but we're looking for some city called Greyling. But he ain't put up any emails or nothing, without something else, can't really hack into his stuff." When he would look up from the laptop, Scourge would be giving that overly smug toothy grin. "Y'all know something I don't?" “Greyling isn’t very big. I bet we could find the building with a quick web search and a map” the king suggested

Aria had left them to figuring it out, and happily scooped up the cub. “Whatcha doing there munchkin?” She asked, watching him play his video game. She enjoyed his joy at the device and the game. He was amazing for lightning the mood and she thought to take him out for ice cream when this was all over. It definitely wasn't a hard platformer, she could see that from a distance. Of course he didn't care, it was a fun, mindless distraction. Something all of them needed, frankly. The little orange bat flapping around was in some kind of an autumnal Halloween world, even if the date was months away. It was easy to see why the little boy would be attracted to a game detached from reality on such a simple level. "And you eat a bug and get- you change your power!" He was explaining things in detail Aria could ascertain from what was already happening, but no one particularly cared if it was redundant. Even though the work the three were doing was simple, it was hard to ignore the little boy as he spoke on and on. Eventually, Castillo would stand up, pat the king on the back as he left, and sit down near the child. "What'd you say about werewolves?" A fake question - he was fully aware of the enemies, he just wanted to make up with his son over his yelling. Go back to being the fun dad. And with as much as he dove back into his passionate explanations, it was clear he wasn't holding it too harshly against him. Aria and Castillo were just as interested in the he as the child was, but really they were just glad he was enjoying himself. She did wonder where Fiona had gotten off to, and asked Castillo quietly.

“She doing okay?” She asked, concerned about the fox. She WAS leaving her son alone with Castillo. That rarely happened. She wasn’t complaining though, but she knew it might be bothering the kid. "She ain't gonna trust me. Ever." Saying this while he watched his son innocently enjoying his game made him feel years older than he was. "She doesn't trust me. She trusts you and my clone usually. I know she saw that tabloid about me pummeling the king, she knows you'll fuck me up." Scourge had shown many trashier sides of himself. For a few moments, he was strangely somber, almost looking subtly terrified. "Used to be unstoppable, now I can't even fucking handle some kid getting sick..." When he straightened his back, he would be back to his normal posture and emotions. But in that moment, he seemed like a different person. Even like the king. “He’s not some kid. He’s your kid. Your own flesh and blood. Its not weak or unmanly to care and stress about someone’s well being, nor is it unreasonable considering the medical trouble he’s had to go through. Plus, in a no powers fight between us you would win, probably.”

She tried to joke, hoping that would help a bit. They fell into a soft silence, Aria looking back over at Fao.

“If it's any consolation, Faolán seems to like you and Manic much more than Scourge or me. And he should, you’re his father. I don’t know if Fi will ever trust you but… Maybe one day when he’s a little older he can convince his mom.” Scourge didn't respond. He seemed like he didn't even hear those words, even as they slapped him again and again. He didn't want to think about his weaknesses, his age, anything, just go back to sitting pretty and enjoying life. So when Aria was done, there was no rebuttal, only a longer, heavier silence. Even Faolán wasn't immune to the words, knowing just from their tones that they were talking about something depressing again. Was there going to be another fight stopping him from seeing his dad? "Hey, look, look!" That chipper voice could usually cheer them up no matter how stubborn Scourge was being. "It's one of the secret costumes!" Not a rare find at all, but if it got them to stop being so dour, it would work, right? Manic and the king were blissfully unaware of this conversation, instead rolling through pictures of the apartment buildings and hotels of Greyling. "Like, the Datura Suites has the right kinds of balconies too. I mean there are so many brown buildings, I dunno where to start, man. Aria gently nudged the hedgehog to go spend time with his son, while Aria joined manic and the king. With a paper map, setting it out, she placed pins in the places they thought he was in. Then with string, she connected each pin to another one off to the left, thinking. Tracking the sky.

The king shook his head. “I still think there’s something up with the blinds. It's too awkward, why not open them all the way? Maybe he’s hiding something.” "He's already a huge creep, ain't he?" Manic pondered. "He's gotta be looking out at something. Like yeah, maybe he's just giving the bugs light for the photos or whatever, but... I dunno, could he be spying on someone? Maybe it's not a random place and he's looking at someone? Or looking out for someone?" Where was there in town, and who might he have been worried about? "Doesn't seem like he's working with someone, I think he's probably solo. I dunno, is there- Like, you think he might be planning a theft or something to get weapons?" “No, not like that. Like maybe there’s something identifying behind the curtain. Like part of a sign or something. Do any of the buildings you see on the list have large signs on them?”

The king didn’t know the city well, but he remembered running through it once as seeing a lot of colors. A sign wouldn't be unusual, especially if he was living in an apartment rented by his employer. Manic turned back towards the map, noting the dozens of pins that had been put into the map after searching the town. "Uh... this is gonna take a minute." Address after address. Letter after letter. Manic kept a marker in one hand, marking each location one by one by the type of building. Not a casual comb through, either. "Alright, here are all the places," Manic said, looking at the map. "All these circled dudes have something really identifiable, or are painted some really bright color, y'know, identifiable stuff. Y'all can just forget about these Xes. And these dudes here," he said, motioning for the four circled buildings with blue pins instead of red, "these are all apartments and hotels." Aria pointed at one automatically, wits string tied and making the perfect angle with the building to make the shadows they saw.

“This one. And across the street it's got a major hotel chain. It's the only place that meets all the requirements.”

Scourge went to the computer and typed in the hotel, going to check the photos of the rooms they had up.

“Look. Balconies match. He’s in one of the king suites.” The king explained. Manic was just a little slower, just a little more cautious. "I've gotten really risky with other investigation stuff," he said, "and it ain't always ended well. We're kinda presuming a lot here, are you guys sure he's there? It makes sense, but... like, if we're wrong, we've pretty much lost him again, we've got to get this right." How could they prove it? The idea came to him in a second. "Maybe call up the front desk and ask if any of his pseudonyms are there?" They all looked to each other and Aria was surprisingly the first to put her finger on her nose and shout, “Not it!!”

The king chuckled, ruffling her hair and grabbing the phone to do it himself he thought she was just being cute or funny, but once he left to make the call, she excused herself and left the room. They wouldn’t notice that she wasn’t in the castle until the king would get off the phone to confirm that the otter was using her father's name as an alias.

She was tired and stressed, and so took refuge in the nook on the roof she always did. Only her wife knew of this safe spot. For now. Manic and both Scourges were going to be working on a plan to make sure he wouldn't escape, so Fao was brought up to the guest room he was using while the adult went back to work. As fun as his game was, he was still Scourge's son, and there was nothing he loved more than a little exploration. But what was next? He had already explored much of the castle, what was... left? He only had a small window to look out of, but he could see some kind of balcony walkway outside of the farmost guest room, turning around the castle to who knows where. Maybe there would be some kind of little secret or discovery out there? So like usual, he locked the room door to make it look like he was inside, crawled through the hidden door in the closet to the adjacent room, and rushed down the hall. There were always a few rooms he couldn't unlock, maybe this would be a way in? Whatever it was, he was quick to dash through the king's bedroom and onto what was hopefully the walkway to adventure. The walkway was well maintained, if not a little unused. Regular ivy had crawled along the walls, giving it charm.

It was a little known path that passed by windows that had no visible rooms beyond them. Several were completely blacked out, with no way in. A gentle sound played from the end of the walkway. A music box let out a sweet lullaby, and next to it, Aria relaxed in her little nook of solitude. Her mother’s things usually calmed her, but now they just made things worse. The ache for her family had never been greater. Sometimes, family was the only thing that could soothe her. Friends were fine. Company was great. But there was a pain there that only one thing could mend, and that one thing was long gone. Either she was going to need to conjure a family from nothing, or continue in her misery. The clinks and dings of the music box were soothing, gently, scratchy... scratchy? They had never sounded that way before. Because they weren't coming from the music box. The sound could be mistaken for a squirrel scratching at the glass, but down the walkway was Fao, scratching at some of the blacked out windows to try and peek in, but only realizing that he wouldn't be able to do anything. The music was going to have to sate his curiosity. When he stepped around, he knew he was intruding on a private moment with herself. But he didn't want to quite leave, either. Aria was never closed off about her emotions, but this was a more subtle kind of sadness. This was the sadness he would see when Scourge would hug him close and clench his teeth as hard as he could, or Fiona would when she was close to passing out on liquor and lounged across the couch, glaring at the skyline blankly. A pain that was nowhere as obvious, and yet many times more horrifying. He only sat at a distance, listening to a light melody and wondering what words were once there. She noticed him, but couldn’t find the energy to scold him. She was very tired. The private moment could be shared, and she motioned for him to come sit.

“You shouldn’t be out here,” she told him, more a statement than a scolding. She closed the delicate music box to stop the music, and beckoned for her nephew to come over and sit. Then when he had settled against her side, she opened the box again and the gentle melody resumed. He was just expecting an adventure, nothing like this. That didn't mean the moment wasn't welcomed, of course. Aria was always nice company, and she needed company herself. He sat quietly, Aria sat quietly. It was just the delicate strains of the music box looping and chiming for them. The air was chilly, and the moment awkward while they sat near each other. Faolán nipped both problems by standing up, and moving to sit on Aria's lap. This wasn't a normal hug for them, it was more of a comforting huddle than anything lighthearted. Something to cling to while they feared for whatever was going to happen next. The little wolf didn't know exactly what Aria was trying to fight through, or even if she was sad in the first place. Whatever his thoughts were, he certainly didn't realize the familial closeness they seemed to have in those few moments. She did though. Their curled up position reflected a photo taped inside the music box of her and her mother when Aria was just a baby. She let the irony ring out for her ears alone, he was too young to understand anyways. She shifted to wrap a blanket around his shoulders, keeping him warm and snuggling him close.

The box was meant to play a lullaby, so the child might have felt sleepy. Aria was too focused on her grief to feel much of anything else. She wondered if she should explain to him what was happening. She decided against it. That was Fiona’s talk, not hers. Fao didn't want an answer, he didn't want to make her worse, and Aria didn't want to give any answers. It was a good balance. "Mom wants to send me to a boarding school when summer's over," he said quietly. "I think she wants to get me away from dad." Heavy moods got both of them thinking heavy thoughts neither of them really wanted to keep thinking. "Are you hiding too?" “I don’t think she would do that. She would miss you too much… Besides, you’re too young for boarding school.”

She tried to remain calm. Fao was certainly not old enough to be in a place full of strangers! He was still developing his brain! Plus, he didn’t know how to take care of himself yet and Aria had very low faith in any teacher.

She nodded when he asked, curling up closer. “Something like that.” Knowing nothing of Aria's situation, he didn't really KNOW anything he could do. But at least he could try, right? "I know a lot of hiding places!" He said hopefully, still sounding a little mopey. "There are lots of rooms no one goes in anymore, you could always hide there, too." No, that didn't feel right. It didn't seem like she was hiding from people, maybe she was hiding from something more immaterial? That stare was always there when his mother was feeling like a terrible mother, or when his dad was feeling lonely. Whatever if was, he wanted her to be happy again. "Do you miss someone?" “Yes sweetie. I miss a lot of people. But right now, just one in particular.”

She was quite obviously trying not to cry. Her eyes had grown red and shiny, tears just in the corners of her eyes. He breath got shaky, but she held her ground as best he could. He was a child. He didn’t need to see her break down like the blubbering baby she was.

“I’m sorry… It's just very complicated and there’s a lot of drama and bad memories getting stirred up.” She apologized,wiping at her eyes. "It's alright, mom cries too." Maybe not the best words in that moment, but a fine sentiment. Very complicated... that meant there was a lot going on, right? He had seen this crying before, and if Scourge's sadness couldn't fully explain this, what else could? Maybe... his mother did cry, it could be bits of both wirling together. There were many times where he had walked in on his mother sobbing or thinking about horrible things that had happened in the past. Anger at herself for not being able to see what Scourge was going to do to her, anger at herself for not being able to stop harm from happening to her child... At this point, he was almost being crushed in Aria's arms, but she didn't seem to notice, and he didn't mind too much. "Are you mad at yourself?" She relaxed her grip once she noticed how tightly she was clinging to him. She brushed her hair out of her face, and looked at him quite surprised. “Not exactly sweetheart. But its odd that you would ask about that.”

She wouldn’t tell him not to worry, but she also wouldn’t admit to how empty she felt without her family around her. She had many people who cared for her, and a wife who loved her deeply, but nothing could replace her family. And how were you supposed to tell a child that you wished you had died? It was too mature a topic for him. At least for now.

She kissed him gently on the forehead. “It's not something you need to worry about pumpkin.” "But you're my friend!" He almost whined the words out, as nice as he meant them. "I want to make you happy!" How was he supposed to make her happy? He had no clue. Just being a friend, that's all he could try to do. "Don't cry, you're a nice person. You're happy, and you're friendly, and you have good jokes. You're a better mom than my mom is. Don't be sad, I don't want you to be sad." The sad thought he left buried in the mess didn't seem half as harsh to him as it should have. Because it wasn't a sad thought to him, it was a fact in his mind. "Do you wanna play my Batsy Bijou game?" Orange hands rummaged through his pockets until he found his well loved gaming device, offering it over. Once again the words from his gap toothed mouth surprised her, and she gently shifted him on her lap.

“Let’s talk about you for a second. It’ll make me feel better. What do you mean ‘you’re a better mom than my mom’?”

The thought appalled her. She was reaching much too far into Fao's life if she was becoming the preferred maternal figure. However, Fiona needed to step up her game as well. Aria knew if she didn’t give Fao the attention he needed that no one would. But still, the thought of preferring an “aunt” over a mother was, in her mind, concerning. He shrugged in much the same way his father would, but the words didn't come out immediately. Even he didn't quite know what to say. "Mom's not nice a lot," he started. "She's always sad and mad and stuff. She doesn't wanna see me go outside, or have fun, and- and she's always crying or yelling. She's always talkin' about how she doesn't know what to do. I don't think she likes me." These words weren't half as painful for him as they must have been for Aria to hear. "And she's never there, she's always at work." Ears were now drooping against his own head. "I wanna see mom more." Aria pet him gently, snuggling him close for comfort. “Poor pumpkin… I’m sorry that you feel that way… I can try talking to your mom and seeing what I can do. Have you tried telling her that you want to see her more?” She asked, reaching to close and put the music box away. She knew Fiona wasn’t the greatest mother but Fao sounded like he was being neglected.

She made up her mind to question the fox, and as a cold wind blew, she wrapped Faolán's blanket around him.

“Let’s got inside,” she insisted opening a portal and carrying him in. "It's not... something you need to worry about." Word for word, taken straight from Aria's mouth. Was this just something adults did? If he wasn't supposed to care about Aria, then she shouldn't have to care about his problems, right? Not thinking about them felt a lot better anyways. No, it felt worse to say that, and he could just tell Aria wasn't going to take that. "She's not fun anymore." He nuzzled into the blanket Aria was letting him use, accepting the pampering after how sad the conversation had turned. Thankfully the warp brought them straight to his room, and he wasn't going to have to give away his way of escaping. He wanted to offer to sit down and play his games with Aria, but she probably couldn't. Everyone was busy again. She kept snuggling him, knowing how much he loved it. He was probably a little touch starved, as was she most of the time. She pampered him with affection cause it made her feel good.

“Hey pumpkin. Don’t go out on that ledge again without me, okay? I don’t want you getting hurt. You’re very important to me and I want to keep you safe. So, anything new on the bug forum?”

Fiona was missing out on a great kid, if only she took the time to spend with him… Where was she anyways? None of them knew in that moment. And unfortunately, it seemed Fao was happy with things that way. He wanted the reprieve from everyone running around and being busy, no matter how brief it would end up being. It was going to be dashed soon enough, as everyone was getting done finishing preparations for a raid that was hopefully going to finally capture their prey. Maps were laid out, blueprints gathered... "I dunno, Ari should at least know that we're gonna be pulling this now, right?" Manic expressed his concerns out of nowhere as he tapped some drum pattern into the table with his fingers. "I know this is real hard for her, but... It's her battle, right? Shouldn't she know when it's starting?" “Yeah… She should. Castillo can you go get her? She’s probably with Fao.”

The father was sent up while the rest of the group plotted and planned the final details. Damian seemed very worried about something.

“Aria is not to be left alone with this guy. She will challenge him to a fight on our turf with old rules and our family fought to the death." It was a painful thought that lingered, and only got worse the more they thought. "This guy got sneaky, too, he don't fight for honor." Fighting a fair fight wasn't going to end well for Aria, not in the slightest. "We've gotta watch her and make sure she doesn't do anything." In that moment, there was someone watching Aria. Scourge was watching from outside the hall at first, but he could tell that Aria and Fao were both clinging to each other for some form of comfort. 'Fuck, I'm getting soft,' he thought to himself, sitting down in the hall out of eyeshot of the door. Aria had to know, sure. But she didn't have to know right then. And they didn't need to start right then, either. It wasn't too long before Fao yawned a little, his jaw stretching and making a light noise as he fumbled a little in his game. He was comfortable enough that he could fall asleep, which he was very tempted to do. She cooed at him gently, urging the child to save and get some rest. She pulled the music box out again, opening it so the gentle tune floated through the air.

“I’ll have to go back downstairs eventually… But why don’t you sleep for a little while pumpkin?” She insisted, allowing him to snuggle up and pulling the blanket over them. She could hear Castillo outside the door and was a little more affectionate, nuzzling him gently.

“Sweet dreams.” If the rest of their meetings didn't hit Scourge hard, those two words certainly did. Even Aria had more chances to make Fao happy than he did, and she wasn't even his parent! But he was happy and taking his nap, now wasn't the time to say anything and wake him up. When Aria would leave, the bittersweet glop of emotions would be blatant on his face. "Planning some stuff downstairs." The tone and style of his voice were normal, but he was much quieter. "Need you to come down." They would barely be out the door before the words were out. "Thanks." Not sarcastic, but still rather jealous of her. “Sorry… I’m not trying to elbow in on your parenting but he needed some affection and I needed some company… He’s a lot smarter than we give him credit for… I’ll be down in a second, I want to call Fiona.”

She pulled out her phone and dialed the fox’s number. Trying to keep the blood from boiling under her skin. She had heard the planning the boys had been doing through an open window while she was on the ledge. She figured she should tie up all her loose ends. The phone rang. Three times. Four. Five. "We're sorry, the caller you've requested is not available at this time. Please call again, or leave a message-" Her office number was called. Then her phone. Then her cell again. Every call failed to connect her to Fiona, wherever she was and whatever she was doing. Even from the guest room, Fao could hear her placing several phone calls in the hall, hear her stomping get slightly louder. Another angry adult. They just needed to calm down. He just nuzzled up to his oversized tail and tried to rest. Grown-up stuff was always boring and sad anyways. Finally, Aria walked away from Fao’s door and left a message, tucking herself into a side hallway away from everyone else.

“Fiona, it's Aria. They found the guy and we are going after him… I don’t… I don’t know if I’m going to come back from this. And I just want you to know exactly what you need to do. You need to stop trying to tear Fao from Scourge. He’s half his biology, he’s important to the kid. And don’t send Fao off either, he’s a child. Schools like that are horrible for kids, especially for Fao with his condition. You’re … You’re a really good friend Fiona, and you try really hard to give Fao the world, but all he really wants is to see you… Depending on how today goes, he’s gonna need you a lot more. I’ve got to go. But so help me, if I find you’ve sent him away, or emotionally hurt him any more than you already have, I will haunt you for the rest of your life.”

She hung up and went to quickly write a note to Terra, spilling her heart out onto the page. Promising the moon and the stars upon her return, or her eternal and undying love if she failed.

By the time she got downstairs, she was battle ready, at least mentally.

“Let’s do this.” Plans were being set into motion finally. He was cornered. At the very least, he was coming out of this in handcuffs, but no one knew what to expect from the fight itself. There was only one person who wasn't privy to the plans in that moment. Fiona was just getting away from some meetings regarding her casino when she finally had time to turn on her phone. Several messages as usual. Several messages from Aria was anything but usual, and she hit play. Not coming back from that? She wasn't saying she was going to die, was she? The longer the message went on, the more she wanted to block out the words Aria was saying, believe that she had been doing the right thing. But the brevity and strength of those few early words was enough to stop her from blocking it out. How had she missed this?! Every instinct told her to scream into the phone, tell Aria not to risk her life like that. And then she checked the time stamp. Three hours before. Whatever was being set in motion was almost certainly out of her control now. Aria was ready to go, looking up at the boys.

“So, how are we getting in? Warp inside or knock on the front door?” She asked them, pretending to joke. But the atmosphere was serious and Aria wasn’t smiling like she normally was when she was joking. She seemed to have made peace with herself, and all that was left was anger.

Her brother looked over, concerned but silent. Castillo and Manic were made to lead the way. The tall apartment building wasn't shabby, but wasn't breathtaking either. Simply a building. If it weren't for the circumstances, it would have felt totally nondescript. "The punk's real dangerous, some of kingy's men are checking it out. Should get a word when they've got him." This wasn't going to be long, the photo gave them a small range of rooms he could be in based on the view. Manic and Damien were staying close to Aria to try and make sure she wasn't going to be completely torn up. The Scourges, however, were a short distance away, trying to look like they were just talking plans for the raid. "And what if the kid runs, how're we gonna stop it?" Castillo asked, arms crossed. "There any rules to her family battles?" “Apparently. Damian gave me a brief overview. A challenge to a battle cannot be turned down for one. They have to get to their family land, and then he said there’s some ritual shit they gotta do. They seal off their magic and it… It becomes a fight to the death. Apparently there’s also a referee that can stop the fight, which would be Damian, but it only works in cases of cheating and natural disasters… The second she calls for one, we can’t interfere.”

A solider came in. “Sire! They’ve located the balconey! We are ready to go on your order!” "Then you make sure she doesn't say shit." The alternate told the king after the interruption. "She tries to say anything, stop her. Don't care what it takes." The otter seemed too cowardly to actually challenge himself, at least in Castillo's mind. If he was doing all this running, he probably wasn't going to want a fight to the death if he wasn't forced into it. "Yo, Ari!" He yelled, motioning for the hedgehog. "You let us clear it out first, don't know what traps he's got, we'll holler when it's ready." In essence, 'we absolutely are not calling for you.' She bristled with anger. “No. My family, my revenge, my mission. I’m coming in with you, and there’s no way you can stop me”

The king didn’t like it at all, but he knew that upsetting her wouldn’t help. “Easy Aria. He’s just trying to help. No one wants you to get hurt.”

She turned from the group, grabbing a few extra weapons from the table. Several knives and one handgun. Of course, Castillo took advantage of that moment to tug forward and give them a head start. He made a motion for Manic, trying to tell him to keep Aria back. They couldn't let her go through with that. No way. The balcony was zeroed in on, but the door hadn't been knocked. In fact, if someone hadn't seen the many cars parked out of eyeshot of that particular window, no one would even know that anything was happening. If he wasn't alerted, he couldn't be half as prepared to fight back. Slowly, an officer stepped forward to knock. "Duuuude, wait." Manic didn't need to act, stepping in front of her quite alarmed and blatantly stopping her. "Dude, we've gotta wait, we don't know what he's got in there! You don't wanna fall for a trap and lose a fight with someone that's not even there!" Aria followed after them, unamused by Manic trying to step in her way.

“I’m not going in first numbskull, I’m not an idiot. They can clear the place first, but I want my turn with this son of a bitch.”

She shoved past him and joined the boys, waiting patiently as the door was knocked. She was seething anger, and the king sandwiched her between himself and Castillo so they could control her somewhat.

The agent knocking was in plainclothes, trying to make it look like she were some random pedestrian through the peephole. Everyone stood further down the hall to stop them from being visible.

There was no reply. "Hello? Are you home? You left something downstairs."

From behind the door, the cover could be heard slipping off of the peephole. It would be a few more seconds before the sound happened again, and the door barely creaked open. "You can come in," a voice said, ringing through Aria's mind and deep into her memories. The agent swung the door open without giving her a chance to recover.

The explosion was deafening, and there was barely any time to curl and protect themselves from the shrapnel.

In a second, a good chunk of wall that used to be a doorway was now a crumbling hole, the explosion strong enough that holes in the floor and ceiling could show parts of the rooms and halls the floor was sandwiched between. The agent was curled in a ball against the wall, clutching her injuries but breathing and fighting the pain to reach for her gun. Through the hole was his lair - a strangely empty yet organized room with plenty of books on Chaos magic, dissection tools and a makeshift surgery table, charts and photos of bug anatomy. The walls were obsessively and neatly lined with the strange bugs that lived in Aria's forest, looking to have lost some of their luster. The dead bugs they didn't have the time to truly look at were totally luster-free, their magic somehow drained post mortem... or even antimortem. But they couldn't worry about his psychotics in the moment, an agent was down and the suspect was close by.

"Your majesty!" A voice bleated through the king's earpiece. "The suspect's leaped from the window, he's hopping between room balconies!"

“Roger that. I want the building surrounded and the upper floors evacuated!” He ordered everyone. In all the fuss, Aria was left unattended.

That was a mistake

She booked it for the hallway window, climbing out onto the fire escape and jumping to the next balcony. Judging by the weaponry aimed at the other side of the building, he was headed right for her. Perfect.

Damian was the first to notice she was gone, and alerted the trio of green hedgehogs. "Oh hell no...!" Scourge's growl couldn't have come fast enough. Him and Manic were already booking it down the hall, towards the window Aria had evacuated through. Manic was first out the balcony, trying to grab and restrain Aria. "Aria, get outta here, he's got other bombs planted out here!" It was a total lie, but that was what Manic knew best. The otter's running wasn't clumsy or calculated. The golden creature was running like a feral cat might, not landing anywhere but the hand holds to save time as he tried to improvise an escape path. When the flash of gold came into view, that's when they knew they had no choice, and Scourge reached for Aria's face, trying desperately to clamp her mouth shut as the otter searched for another window entrance. She was just barely out of reach, and tackled the otter, sending both tumbling to the ground. Damian forgot to breathe until Aria ripped open a portal and dragged the otter through it before they hit the ground.

They dropped behind the trio of green and her brother, Aria pinning him to the ground by his neck.

“Hello Leo. Its been a very long time and we have so much to catch up on. What do you say we go say hi to everybody? The forest is DYING to have you back,” she hinted, punching him across the face several times, since her weight was pinning him down.

“Get off me you crazy ass bitch!” He called out, only recognize her when she pressed her claws to his throat. He paled significantly, like he was seeing a ghost. In that moment, Damian realized that Aria was playing a game with him like a cat played with their food. Scourge simply wanted to stop her from making the call. Manic, however, was having flashbacks. This was the same cracked glare she'd given when she was being rescued. She was going to lose it, if she hadn't already. It was Manic who lunged forward, holding down the otter to make sure he wouldn't pull anything, but still not able to totally side with Aria. "Ari, zone jail'll give him hella worse punishment than this, that'd be quick and much less painful, you wanna-" "Don't talk like- like psychos, you moldy assflap-!" Was all Leo could say in response, getting a knee to the scalp from Manic himself. "Kingy, get this dude chained up. Now!" Castillo told the king as Manic tried to barter with the hedgehog. “That's not what I want! I want him to suffer! I want him to have every. Thing. He. Cares. About. Taken. Away!”

She pushed Manic back just enough to keep hitting the otter as hard as she physically could across the face. Bloodlust wasn’t a common feeling, but she felt it thrumming in her veins. She wouldn’t be sated until he was dead by her hands, and everyone in the room knew it. No one made any move to stop her.

Leo had other ideas, and once he realized that Aria and Manic combined didn’t weigh a while lot, he extended his claws and channeled his super strength to throw them off of him. “You wanna play like that then kid? Alright. Let’s play! I need to have you dead anyways. USQUE AD OS IN AGRIS!”

“NO!” Damian yelled, but the damage was done and Aria stood up, fire blazing in her eyes.

“As you wish. Those words will be the death of you. Scourge. Warp ring. Now.” She told the king, holding out her hand. Manic and Scourge were faltering. Scourge wasn't dumb to criminal shenanigans, he knew that stepping in could have cost Aria her life, but so could allowing this to happen! Manic knew that he was close enough to probably find something, ANYTHING to take him out with just then, but what would that truly entail in a culture as powerful as Aria's? This gave them just enough time. "Oh, allow me!" His voice, his posture, Leo was certain of everything he was doing. The ring was snatched from the king's belt in a blink of an eye, and judging by how fast his hand pressed the buttons, he knew the warp coordinates for Aria's homeland off the back of his hand. He wasn't just prepared. He was begging for this moment. "What does- what does this mean? What's gonna happen?" Manic poised the obvious question as the gold otter left through his warp. “That remains to be seen.” Was all Aria said, warping herself out as Damian shut the ring. After Aria left, his hands would start to shake, visibly tremor as he realized that if it all went down hill, he would have to bury the last of his family.

The king put a hand on his shoulder, to comfort.

“Through the warp. Now. And someone.. Someone call Terra. She’s.. She’s gonna wanna be here.” He lead Damian through the portal and jumped through himself.

They would end up in a field on her land, everyone knee deep in geraniums and poppies. Aria was trying not to show how upset she was. Damian was just a little confused. He didn’t remember the field.

“I know this isn’t the traditional venture, but an exception can be made.” Leo hummed, and Aria growled as Damian’s claws extended and he started craving circles into the ground around Aria and Leo. Aria explained to the others that since Damian was the only other adult, he was forced to be the referee and to set up the battle ground. "Why's there need to be a battle? Why you need a fucking referee?!" Out of everyone on the scene, Scourge had the least problems with any kind of ceremony. "What, you gonna give this asshole a fair chance? After everything, you wanna give him-?! Fuck him, Aria, just shoot him! I hold him down, you claw his eyes out, what the fuck are you doing?!" He wasn't seeing Aria die, not at all, and with no regard for the forest, the ceremony, anything at all, he rushed past the circles and Damian, heading straight for Leo. However, the completed circle created a forcefield around both of the fighters, and Castillo ran right into it.

“Oh! Castillo! Be careful!” She scolded, pressing on the forcefield from the inside, worried about how fast he had rammed into a solid surface.

“Please. You don’t understand why I have to do this but I do. Its important. Far more important than you realize.” She insisted, removing every gun and knife strapped to her.

“Leo, you remember the rules do you not? Any other weaponry on you is an automatic disqualification and certain death. As much as I would love to see you die, I would much rather do it myself,” she reminded, growling and setting herself in a fighting stance. "Hmph." The small huffing noise Leo made was just as smug and knowing as the rest of his actions. His pockets were empties, but the only things that came out were minor trinkets and mundane items. His wallet, a burner phone, nothing of note. "I don't need any extra help, Aria. I'm a lot more powerful than I used to be." The claws that came out of his paws were nothing like Arias or Damians. Theirs were slender, metallic, elegant. His were thick and blunt, more like daggers than the normal scythe shape. Moreover they didn't appear to be metal, instead a creamy white material that wasn't natural for the species. Almost like he made them for himself, another power just as unnatural as his others. Almost like they were made of... ...bone. Damian and Aria just looked… Confused. Not horrified at the state of his claws, but just curious.

“I thought his claws were gold?” Damian asked, leaning closer to his sister

“I remember them being gold? Fillings maybe?” She responded with a shrug, tossing her weaponry out of the bubble and sliding into a fighting stance. Under her breath, she whispered out a prayer to some unknown god before stepping up to the mark, and waiting for the male to do the same. “Castillo? If I don’t make it out of this, tell Fao and David I’m sorry that I won’t be there to watch them grow up.”

As the otter stepped up to the mark as well, the ground started to shake. Every tree in the forest had uprooted themselves to circle the group, everyone vying for a spot to watch. He wasn't going to be telling those kids anything, Scourge told himself. They didn't need to grow up without her, Fao didn't need to lose someone at such a young age. But from a distance, outside some strange bubble he couldn't enter, there was nothing he could do. Just watch with the rest of the peanut gallery and try not to break down in anger. "You like them?" Leo could see Arias curiosity in his claws, his hand now waving in front of him like he was admiring them as he explained. "I carved them myself... and fused them on. I don't like leaving whole bodies out in the open, so I just left most of them." The trees rustled, but whoever those bones were once a part of was lost to time. He was in position, his claws were bared, the ceremony was prepared. Most of all, Aria was terrified. "Tell Octavius his body's incredibly strong." A total bluff on his part, but he just needed Aria's face to go the right shade of pale before heading forward. "En garde." “Here’s an idea for you, bastard. TELL HIM YOURSELF!” she screamed, face flush with anger instead of pale with fear.

Aria slammed her foot down in position, and the fight began. Instantly she jumped at him claws out and scratching at his face as hard as she could, keeping a hand protectively over her stomach so he couldn’t get at her major organs. Most of her slashes were aimed at his brow bone and eyes, trying to blind him.

Terra ran in, having been warped in by the king. She almost screamed, but all that came out was a choked sob. The king wrapped an arm around her, to try and support her as they watched Aria fight. Metal clashed and scratched against sturdy marrow, and as strong as Aria's claws were, all she could do was scraped the claws. Leo wasn't concerned about going for a kill immediately, he just needed something, some little leaping point. All Aria had to do was falter for a second, but she was too consumed with rage in that moment to emotionally manipulate. His claws closed as Aria swung at a bad angle, clutching tight and leaving both their hands useless in the moment. Leo's claws couldn't swipe, but their blunt weight and stab damage more than made up. Hands unlatched, and those three claws held together in a bludgeon aimed straight for Aria's scalp. She dodged, his claws catching hair more than scalp. Using her chin to trap his hand, she bit at the arm as hard as possible, blood dripping from her jaws.

He wretched his arm away and Aria spat the blood at him. She tried again to go for the face, almost, but at the last second started aiming for his chest and neck. If she could time a strike just right, she could stab right between his ribs…

Damian was torn looking at the scene. The trees rustled at the sight of blood, and even Aria's mother shook with pride. Or concern. Hard to tell with trees. When clenched, his claws could form a pretty solid shield, and he did his best to back away as the swung at the guard. Oh, she was biting? as much as it hurt, this was only fueling his desire to sink his claws straight into those eye sockets. The blows were consistent, aiming for the same few ribs about, and her swings were alternating. If she didn't realize this, her own swings were creating a pattern, and he threw a plan together as she swung yet again in time. There was a rip. Trees stood still, too still, and everyone watching couldn't move for a split second. The flesh near the base of one of Aria's right claws was sliced straight open, one hand holding her arm and the other tugging and wrenching her thin metal claws between larger, sturdier bone marrow. He wasn't aiming to kill, he was going to tear apart Aria piece by piece, cutting and pressing harder into her flesh until the claw popped out in a bloody snap. The scream she let out could have been enough to deafen. Terra dropped to her knees, unable to handle the volume, or the thought of her mate being hurt. Even Leo winced a bit.

Aria clutched her hand to her side, switching her offensive and defensive positions and now leading with her left. Her claw hit the ground and on instinct she picked it up to prevent him from using it. Technically not a weapon. There was no contesting that.

She jumped at him again and managed to topple him, throwing punches as hard as she could, claws back in. She was beating his face as her heels dug into his biceps. Blood was everywhere. Leo's chuckling was only going to feed her bloodlust. "You stupid bitch," he grunted between slams to his face, finally grabbing her hand as it swung and simply holding it, looking at the unharmed hand. "You could've let those damn claws out right now and won." The tumble of the two struggling to try and pin down the other may have seemed desperate on both their parts, but every move of his was carefully planned to draw this fight out, just stop Aria from attacking for long enough to watch her go pale from bloodloss. At this point, Manic and Terra were clawing at the barrier, unable to breakthrough but desperate to find some way to help. Aria's size was both a help and a hindrance. She wasn’t able to pin him down for very long, but he was unable to pin her down because she kept slipping away. Playing dirty, she delivered a swift kick to his crotch, shin bone colliding with parts unmentionable. While he was distracted by the sudden pain, she flipped him off of her and retreated a bit to catch her breath. The blood loss was making her vision blurry.

The king looked over at Damian. “Can’t you intervene?!”

The doctor shook his head no. “Stopping the fight for no reason would kill whoever is ‘losing’ per say.”

And Aria was very much losing. Leo knew this, and brandished his claws, growling. “That’s enough playtime child.” The years he had spend building his powers off of these sacrifices, everything from the original people to the wildlife that thrived off of the power that ebbed through the homeland, this was all about to come to a conclusion. But what was perfect for this situation? He wanted Aria to suffer, a chance to... No... no, offing her with fire or strength would be too easy. Aria was scarcely breathing, he wanted to savor her consciousness, torture her for himself, and what was a better way to torture her than keep her from moving? Magic restraint was the way to go. It wasn't even a totally strong shove, but blood loss was leaving her weary. One hand rose, beginning to glow with an ethereal power.. Her limbs went stiff, body still, perfect for his gory plans. For just a moment. He drew closer as the king screamed for Damian to intervene. Damian responded by reminding him that his sister was losing, and that pausing the fight might kill her. Aria's breath was coming slower as invisible bonds constricted around her, gulping down air in deeper and deeper gasps as Leo came right up to her, planning to spend a few seconds savoring the look of fear in her eyes. But the look he craved wasn’t there. Instead, she gave a breathless laugh.

“You’re… An idiot… Forgot the biggest battle rule…” She mumbled, subtly sliding the broken off claw out of her pocket.

“Oh, and what was that?” The otter asked, barely an inch from her face.

In one swift motion Aria dropped her act, stabbing upward through his diaphragm with her solo claw, and then extending the other two. Blood gushed from the wound.

“No. Powers. Allowed!” Aria said in a taunting voice, pulling her claws out and stabbing him right through the heart. The gap created between her claws by removing one blade made it easy to slip through his ribs and cut the life sustaining organ. She braced her foot on his chest and kicked him off her claws, then knelt on his chest again and started punching and stabbing him.

“This is for my PEOPLE!” She screamed, beating him several times

“This is for my FAMILY,” this time she only threw eight punches , calling out her siblings and parents names

“And this? This is for me! VALE, ET FRAGMEN STERCORE!!

With no hesitation, she slit his throat and arterial spray coated the ‘walls’ of their shield. The circles and their shields disappeared. Aria was left kneeling over a corpse.

It was over

They won. This didn't stop the terror Manic or Terra were struggling with. The wall was the only thing stopping them, and the moment it was gone, the two rushed up to Aria, Terra to cling to her and just kno she was still there and Manic wanting to get her the hell out of there. Blood was everywhere, but they didn't care, sitting down and clutching to Aria just to know this was real, this was over. Manic's husband had dealt with plenty of blood on his part, and stepped forwards to start yelling commands. "Dami!" was all he yelled to get her brother's attention. "Just stop the blood. Kingy, get some OTHER doctors in here!" He couldn't be expected to do surgery on his own sister, after all. All that was left to deal with was the corpse. What was there...? They couldn't leave a corpse sitting in the middle of nowhere, so as the three sat and recovered, he hoised Leo's body over his shoulder and started the walk, aiming for deep within where those beetles could be found. “Castillo, wait. I’m not done.” Aria mentioned, getting out of the death grip her mate and friend had given her. The body was pulled off Castillo’s shoulders and Aria grimaced as she had to pull her snapped off claw out of the gaping hole in his rib cage. She handed it off to her brother, who also seemed disgusted.

“Don’t worry about the surgeons. I can fix her with magic.” Damian insisted, working on his sisters hand while she looked down at the body.

“I’m sorry about this you guys, I wasn’t up front about anything. I promise, I’ll try to be better about telling you how and why I’m doing things but.. It had to be done. Can someone warp back to the room and try to salvage some beetles? Maybe we can restore the population.” She asked, squeezing Terra’s hand with her other one, in a lot of pain as metal and flesh reformed.

The trees rumbled, moving back to their regular spots and leaving the land seemingly untouched. Aria slumped on her mates shoulder and the bat caught her, concerned. "Don't ever- It's over, right? There's no one else you wanna have a death battle with, right?" Manic was still trembling, voice sturdy but his body weak. Watching what was essentially a surgery wasn't helping his nerves. “It's over. We need at least three members of our people. Derek won’t be old enough for a long time and I won’t be fighting my brother. It's over. It's all over.” She insisted, patting the green hedgehogs cheek. She was physically exhausted, and some cuts still bled. She looked like crap but she was smiling through the tears threatening to fall. Enthusiastic. Overjoyed. "Kingy, c'mere." Castillo hoisted the corpse over his shoulders as he restarted his walk. Even at a glance, he wasn't totally normal. His fur was metallic - TOO metallic, just like those strange bugs his body was about to be fed to. He had spent years terrorizing Aria, killed countless people, and now he was just a thing dripping blood onto Scourge's jacket. Not an undeserved fate. "Aria's NEVER having a fight like that again without us kicking ass with her. I don' care if it's tradition or what, she looks like she's snapping. Feel like she's gonna go insane if we don't stop this crap from happening." They were commanded, not requested. Rattled off almost like a list. "What are we telling Fao? Let's get our lies straight." “It's over.” The king reminded. Looking back at his friend as Aria's sobs heaved, and she burst into tears. “Tell Fao that she got attacked? I certainly don’t know what to tell him. Ask Fiona what she thinks.” "Aria got attacked," Scourge said almost emotionless in tone. "The guy's in jail now. That's all he's hearing." The paths in the forest grew more and more laden with the insects, starting to pelt Scourge more the deeper he went into the trees and landing on the body. The trees almost seemed to encourage him, shifting slightly to make his path deeper into the woods easier to traverse, until he reached a small circle so shrouded in shadows and heavy foliage it would never see sunlight on any other day. And deep within the homelands he had destroyed, Leo's body was abandoned to be devoured by the creatures that he sought to kill, and now tightly encircled by trees making sure evidence of Aria's crime would never reach the light of day. "Come on- come on, we're getting you out of here." It was almost told to Aria like it wasn't an option. "Y'all, we're gonna get you- A huge dinner or like, a spa trip? A-a lot of therapy?" The last line was barely a joke at this point, what was he supposed to do for her? “I… I think I wanna go home… Get some sleep. I'm tired.” She whined, playfully almost. Even as the tears rolled down her cheeks, she still smiled, kissing Terra’s cheek. Her wife was cuddling her close, almost possessive. Terrified of someone trying to take her away.

The return to the castle was quiet. Fao was already tucked in for the night, and soon after Aria was sitting on the bar, while Damian and Terra patched her up and she poured everyone a strong glass of alcohol. Wondering where Fiona was, but assuming she was with Fao. It felt as though they had come back from a battle to the death, that was for sure. Aria might have been happy, but she had nearly died, that was impossible to avoid. Manic was laughing, trying to smile through it, but his fear was still hard to ignore. His husband simply said nothing and acted like he wasn't invested. Bored, even. As the sun just began it's descent past the horizon, they could hear the door open again, and everyone's breath was held in horror until those tiny, energized footsteps were heard checking room to room until he was at the door to the sitting room. The room felt brightened by his presence, and he couldn't quite tell yet how serious everyone was feeling. While he did sit happily next to his father, his concern seemed to be Aria's injuries. He just stared, eating some ice cream but not wanting to ask the question. The good news was, the remnants of some wiped-off face paint on him indicated a fun day out. The bad news was, he looked fitted for a little vest with a school emblem on it that he was now staining with his treat. "Is she- is she hurt?" He tried to be quiet and onyl ask his father, but the question was loud and clear in the quiet room. Aria caught sight of the uniform and her heart sank. Her own death was fine, she hadn’t expected to live through the fight. She had hoped that would convince Fiona to leave her son close to his father. She dry-heaved suddenly, covering her mouth more out of surprised than nausea. Damian and Terra didn’t seem too surprised and the bat helped her to the bathroom. The doctor put a hand on Manic's shoulder to calm him

“Its the stress. With magic healing, nausea is normal. Especially with the level I had to do. She’s okay,” he insisted, but could hear his sister’s curses in their native language between fits of vomiting. Both he and the king noticed the sweater, and only Scourge said something.

“Hey buddy, where’d the vest come from? A little to fancy for just a day out, isn’t it?” The king asked, moving closer to Castillo in order to check his alternates rage. He recognized the crest on the sweater. Fiona walked in with a shopping bag in hand, looking terrified at the sight. Or was she terrified that they saw Fao wearing his boarding school vest? Boarding school... Actually, the crest looked a tiny bit different. Wasn't that supposed to be a lantern, not a candle? And- Actually, none of it looked the same! As Fao happily ranted on about the day's events, a little introduction fair day for the new students, Fiona sat with Aria and showed her a brochure. "Green Ivy Academy. It's a private elementary school twenty minutes away." Her voice was quiet, pose suggesting silent fear of whatever she was going to say. "It's not a sleep away school, and it's in a very secure neighborhood, I didn't mean to startle-" Aria was forced to lay back on the couch as her brother checked her over, scolding his sister under his breath. Also cussing Fiona out for being dramatic. But she didn’t need to know there was any hidden meaning hidden in his tone. The hedgehog let him finish before answering Fiona.

“Good. Glad to know it took me almost dying to get you to listen.” She was slightly bitter, but clearly not mad. Arias silent and unchecked rage had been pulled out of her from her fight with Leo. For now, all the fox got was a hint of disappointment.

But when Aria looked up when Fao started talking, Castillo and Manic would catch the look of utter relief. Joy almost. With everything that was going on, she was glad her nephew of sorts was going to stay close to home. She looked back to his mother, hiding her utter glee. “What are we going to tell him about what happened today?” "You were attacked, but you will be fine. He doesn't need to know any more than that." Her idea may have gone the same direction as Scourge's thoughts, but the question wasn't even brought up by the child. Even when he was sitting down next to Aria, he seemed polite enough not to say a word directly to her. "And the yard there is really big!" He kept bringing up small details of what must have been an incredibly expensive school to attend. "There's this big fountain with fish in it! And there's a big field... ...!" Manic leaned close to speak quietly to Aria. "You sure you should drink that much? You lost a ton of blood, man." She looked at the clear liquid, then back at Manic, holding it up. “It’s Gatorade.”

She returned returned to listening to her nephew speak, asking him questions about the people and the campus. She loved his blatant excitement over everything. Everyone would agree that his cheerful personality and his ability to make Aria laugh lightened the mood.

The room settled slowly, couples drifting together to try and relax each other. Manic and Castillo were already sitting on a loveseat together. Aria and Terra had Fao squished between them, the little boy still raving about the school. Fiona had settled in a plush recliner, and subconsciously the king found himself moving to sit on the arm of the chair. Damian had bid his sibling adieu and left to go see his own family. All was peaceful. School would only start for the child in a few month as the summer reached its end, but for now, they didn't worry. Aria would have to find a lot of emotional support in the next few days even, and the healing wouldn't be completed for a long time. But at least for that one night, she had space to laugh, space to think. Space to recover. People would weave their ways out of the room at the time passed. Manic, Damian, Castillo, Scourge, Fiona and even Fao left, until it was only Aria and Terra alone in the room, nuzzling on the couch and enjoying the comfort of the moment. For a short while, the hedgehog would find a kind of peace she had scarcely felt before.

Terra leaned over to pull Arias music box out of her bag, opening it so they had some soothing sounds.

The night was quiet as all the castle lights got turned off one by one. First, the young child was tucked in by his fathers and mother, wished goodnight by all. The green couple left to spend their night in the van, as they usually did. They would sleep curled tightly together, dealing with their own stresses from the day.

The king and the mother were left, and in his private study they enjoyed a quiet nightcap of her favorite drink before turning their separate ways.

Even the lights in the main room would be turned off by a ghostly hand when the women fell asleep. All was dark. All was safe. All was perfect.

#TinyRedArtist #Show's Over #There's A Melody Playing #violence #gore #death

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