#and he is very well behaved really like i haven’t heard one bark or anything

[dontwanderoff]

louis the dog trying to escalate our friendship by jumping on the couch beside me like bestie we are not there yet

[dreamingofaizawa]

Good Kitty

Shouta Aizawa x Chubby! Kitty Hybrid! Fem! Reader

***18+ Fic***

If you are under the age of 18, leave. Thank you.

Warnings: Kitty hybrid reader, smut, fingering, unprotected sex, praise kink (?), reader has insecurities, Shouta is soft and lowkey feral?, chubby kink (sorta), reader has a heat for the first time, barely implied virginity loss, a touch of dacryphilia

Word Count: 2.4 k

Author’s Note: This is inspired by @cupcake-rogue ’s fic Not Allowed on the Bed. I got permission to use it as inspo so here we are! Tbh the orignal had me feeling all sorts of feelings because, as a very subby sub that loves to please, I definitely have a praise kink and I WILL CRY if I’m called a bad girl. HOWEVER, Katsuki being the rough-around-the-edges guy he is wanting reader regardless of size made me very happy and warm and fuzzy. 

The premise with this is pretty much the same, except I made reader a kitty hybrid...and of course I wrote for Shouta, love of my life he is. I’m such a fucking simp. I’m not the biggest fan of the ending, but this has been sitting in my WIPs for too damn long and it’s decent enough for me to feel ok posting it.

Also, for reference, reader has black fur regardless of hair color. Reader could be blonde, but still have black ears and tail. That’s just the way I’ve chosen to write this for some reason, don’t ask me why, I’m weird like that. 

I think this is the first time I’ve written for a hybrid, so cut me a little slack.

Anywho, enjoy~

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You can’t remember life outside the shelter. You’d grown up here, the caretakers said they’d found you on the street as a nearly newborn kitten and immediately scooped you up and brought you back here. That was a long time ago. Now you sit, waiting, your hopes for getting adopted diminishing with every passing day.

It’s unfortunate, but you still haven’t been adopted. It’s not that you’re bad, you always behave, you make sure you do. But you’ve overheard time and time again the people that gazed down at you and whispered about how you were too chunky, too big and too squishy for a kitty hybrid. And some even called you bad luck. The pitch black fur on your ears and tail warded off many.

Today was just the same as any other day. Wake up, get fed, wait in your room while potential owners pick and choose not you. Adults and children alike would take chunks out of their time to play with you, but they all left the shelter with another smaller cat. It was nearing bed time now, dinner just finished and the caretakers were about to start closing when the little bell on the front door jingled. Someone had just come in. You ignored it all the same.

Two pairs of footsteps began making their way past rooms, whoever it was that had entered smelled good, like coffee and tree bark. A smooth hum accompanied the caretaker’s voice, it made your ears twitch and tail sway gently. Still, you decided to just curl up in bed and try to sleep. The chance of him adopting you was slim, if it existed at all.

As you lay there your ears pick up their footsteps, the lazy set that dragged familiar, the nearly silent set less so. You listened as they came closer, never stopping as the man strode past each room and peered in the windows. You waited for them to pass right by your room, as they had been, but suddenly the footsteps halted. The caretaker spoke first.

“Y/n? You awake?” You let your eyes flutter open and sat up, tucking your legs under you and sitting up straight. They asked the man if he wanted to go in and see you, and he gave a simple nod. When he entered you finally looked up at him. The first thing you noticed were his eyes, tired and bloodshot with dark circles beneath them, a deep scar curved under his right eye. His long black hair fell around his shoulders, swaying lightly with every measured step he took toward you.

He stopped right in front of you, a large hand stretching out and you give it a small sniff before nudging your head into it, letting him pet your hair and scratch at the base of your ears. It felt nice to be getting attention like this. A small purr sounded in your chest, your tail gently swishing behind you.

“How long have you been here?” His voice is deep and calm, tired even, but it sounds so welcoming. It’s so soothing to your sensitive ears, like a warm blanket. You give a small hum before answering.

“A long time. I don’t remember anything outside this place.” At that he raised an eyebrow, turning to the caretaker with a questioning look.

“Most people look for...specific traits in the cat hybrids. Y/n here is well behaved, a perfect house kitty really,” you purred a bit at the praise, “But she’s a little larger than most. And her black fur wards off the more superstitious.” The man gives a curious hum before looking back down at you.

“Do you want to come home with me, kitty?” The question caught you a little off guard. Nobody really asked the hybrids if they wanted to go with them. You looked over to the caretaker, who nodded their head with a gentle smile, encouraging you to answer. All you could do was give a small nod, and soon you were in the car, on the way to your new home.

He’d told you to call him Shouta. He was nice, always quiet and never got mad. He never smiled, but you supposed that’s just the way he is. He gave you your own room, and always let you rub up on him when you wanted to, taking the opportunity to pet you. Occasionally you got the odd kiss on the forehead when you nuzzled into his neck. Those always made you purr. He never came seeking you out, which was good since there were times you really didn’t want to be touched. 

The longer you’re with him the closer you get, and you find yourself doing things you’d never thought to do before. Sometimes you found the floor more comfortable than the couch, and would kneel down and rub up on his leg, your tail wrapping around his ankle. There were times you’d see his fingers idly drumming on his lap, and you’d lay down and nibble on one with your little fang-like canines. He didn’t seem to mind that little oral fixation, and he always let you do whatever you wanted. All in all, life with Shouta is great.

But today you feel weird. You’d been cooped up in your room for the first hour or so of the weekend morning, not quite wanting to go out and make it known something was off. But it’s gotten abnormally hot, your face and chest especially warm, and between your legs as well. Your panties are beginning to feel damp, your thighs starting to feel humid and sticky. It’s a little uncomfortable. And your tummy is starting to boil, neediness beginning to cloud your mind. This never happened at the shelter.

Reluctantly, you step out of bed onto slightly wobbly legs and peek your head out of your door to see him sitting on the couch, a book in hand and a mug of coffee on the table. His hair is loose, his strong lean body relaxed as he read. The sight of him and his scent made the feeling worse, made your panties and thighs wetter, your chest beginning to heave with your panted breaths. 

“Sh-shouta…” Your voice came out shakier and quieter than you wanted it to, but he’d heard you regardless. He closed the book and peered over at your shaking form in the doorway.

“What is it kitty?” You nearly mewled at his voice, his heavenly smooth baritone sending a shiver down your spine through to the tip of your tail.

“Something’s wrong...I feel weird…” As you tell him about everything that’s happening to your body, he’s dragging his eyes over you, taking in every detail. Soon he’s on the phone with the doctor, you can’t quite comprehend his words, only catching snippets. ‘Help’ and ‘how long’, followed by agreeing hums. It was all jumbled after that, your mind refusing to focus as you leaned heavily on the doorframe, your quivering legs barely able to hold your body.

Shouta’s large hand came up and cupped your cheek, letting you nuzzle into his palm. When had he hung up the phone? He ordered you to sit on the bed, and you obliged, watching as he swept up his hair into a loose bun and strode over, tilting your chin to look up at him through half-lidded eyes. He’s so close, his scent overwhelming and making your brain fuzzy.

“You’re in heat, kitty.” Heat...where had you heard that before? Back at the shelter, maybe? It was all a distant, unfocused memory right now. Shouta leaned down and kissed you sweetly, lips melding with yours as you purred and mewled, your tail thrashing behind you. His hands tugged at your clothes until you were bare before him, every inch of you on display. 

“You’re such a pretty kitty, you know that? So beautiful. Lay down for me.” The praise made you purr, made a chill crawl up your spine and your tail flick wildly. You obeyed the command, laying flat in the middle of the bed and he slotted himself between your legs, plunging two fingers into your tight hole. He let out a groan, pumping and scicssoring his fingers to stretch you out. You were already a sloppy mess, loud squelches ringing through the room in between your loud, whiny mewls and panting. 

It felt so good, the heat in your belly burning and tightening until Shouta’s fingers curled up into a spot that made stars dance in your vision. The pressure in your belly snapped hard, your legs trembling as he kept fingering you through it. His fingers slowed when you whined about it being too much, too sensitive. But you still felt hot all over, now it was worse, you wanted something so bad but you didn’t know what.

He got up and undressed himself and you licked your lips at his naked body, scarred skin pulled taut over thick muscle. What stood between his legs had heat spreading like fire through your body. You’d never seen a naked man before. He was quick to return to you, slotting his hips between your thighs and guiding the thick head of his cock along your soaked folds. 

“Relax kitty. I’m gonna make you feel good.” You gave a small nod and then he was pushing his thick cock inside you, groaning at the way your pussy clamped down on him. Your tongue lolled out of your mouth as he slowly pushed and pumped his hips, cock dragging along your wet warm walls perfectly. Mewls slipped past your lips, high pitched whines and pants like music in Shouta’s ears. 

His hands wandered over your body, squishing and pulling at every piece of you he could get his calloused fingers on. It made you squirm beneath him, your own hands trying to push his away, but he wasn’t having any of it. He grabbed both your wrists and pinned them above your head in one strong hand, then went right back to groping your body with his free one.

“I can’t have you stopping me from touching you, kitty.” That’s all he said before focusing back on your body. He tugged at your belly, your sides, every place that was fatty and squishy. He’d never admit out loud how much he loved how soft you are. You’re perfect, plump and meaty, just more for him to touch, to look at, more to squeeze and pinch and pull.

He groaned out as you whined beneath him, tears beginning to clump in your lashes because he just kept squeezing, and he isn’t fucking you hard enough. Your orgasm built slowly with his languid pace, not nearly enough to get you to that peak and you were frustrated because you wanted relief but it wouldn’t come. Shouta picks up on your hips jerking and rolling, trying to get him to fucking move faster. He pulled his hips back and slammed back in, setting a brutal pace and making you whine high and long. 

Tears begin to fall from the sheer ecstasy of it, and he’s realizing how much he loves to see you cry from the pleasure he can give you. With a groan, he’s releasing your hands and wrapping his arms around your waist, burying his face into your breasts and biting and sucking at your skin as he pounds you into the mattress. He isn’t normally an impulsive man, wouldn’t let himself let go like this. But for you. For you he’d give in to his lust and ravage you like you need him to.

Your orgasm slams over your body like a tsunami, your muscles locking up and a loud yip ringing from your throat, pleasure making your whole body shake. Shouta let out a hiss, your nails digging into the muscles in his back furiously, but he wouldn’t stop for that. He never stuttered in his pace, just kept ramming his hips into yours, heavy balls slapping against your ass and lewd squelches coming from where your bodies are connected. 

You’re overstimulated, throat feeling raw and tears still falling down your heated cheeks as you thrash from another orgasm, this one just as powerful as the last and making your vision spot black. This time Shouta leans back, wrapping a hand around your throat and licking the salty trails away.

“Such a good little kitty for me, so good.” With a few more thrusts he’s spilling inside you, and you can feel the warmth spread in your belly as you lay there, boneless. He lays down on top of you, both of you sweaty and tired and he starts whispering sweet words into your twitching ears.

“So pretty. You’re so pretty, kitten.” 

“Such a good girl for me.”

“You’re all mine, kitty. So good, all for me.” Tears begin to spill from your eyes for a different reason. Up until now you’d lived your life believing nobody wanted you because there was something wrong with you. You never felt ugly, never really felt like there was something truly wrong with you, but you always felt...unwanted. Unloved. Unlovable. 

But Shouta makes you feel wanted, and loved, and pretty and all the things you always assumed you didn’t deserve. You’re his kitty now, and you’re such a good kitty for him too. He’s showering you with affection that you’d never known before and you’re shaking from all the overwhelming emotions. He can feel your body quivering, leans back to look at you and cups your face in his warm palm.

“What’s wrong, kitten? Why are you crying?” Your nose twitches as you sniffle, which he mildly notes is fucking adorable.

“Do you mean it? Am I a good kitty?” His eyebrows furrow and he rolls the both of you over so you’re on top of him. He’s peering into your big sad eyes as if reading your soul through them, trying to read the emotions you’re feeling, but it isn’t hard for him to figure out what’s racing through your mind. You nuzzle your nose into his neck and breathe in his scent, his hand coming up to pet your hair and ears.

“Of course, kitten. You’re such a good kitty.” The small reassurance makes you feel warm and happy, your tail flicking softly before curling around both your leg and Shouta’s, the end brushing his skin gently. You can’t help but want to stay with Shouta forever.

[storiesforallfandoms]

man’s world ~ harley quinn;birds of prey

word count: 1965

request?: no

description: every bad guy in town is after harley quinn after the announcement of her breakup with the joker, but harley is about to make a very powerful friend to have on her side

pairing: harley quinn x female!reader

warnings: swearing, violence, mentions of murder

masterlist

There was no need in counting the money given to me. I could tell by the size of the tack that it wasn’t enough. “You stiffed me again.”

Roman rolled his eyes at me. “I told you I’d pay for a clean kill, that wasn’t a clean kill. You’re lucky I paid you at all.”

“What do you mean? How can a kill be any cleaner than arsenic poisoning? I even framed that chemist guy that had a grudge against the target, it’ll never be traced back to you.”

“Sorry, did I say clean? I meant I wanted a messy murder. Your plan was smart, but I love the theatrics of it all. Next time, I want a show.”

I rolled my eyes and started to walk away. I really wished I could find a new employer. Roma was the absolute worst boss. He was an asshole misogynist that overworked and underpaid me. But he had a lot of leverage on me, what with me being his hitwoman and all, so until I could find a new employer, I was basically bound to Roman.

“Wait!” Roman said. I sighed and turned back to look at him. “I do have a pretty big job for you. If you do this, I promise you I will pay you in full. A large sum, too.”

“I’ve heard that before, Roman,” I said and turned to walk away again.

He stood from his desk and quickly approached me, grabbing my arm to stop me. I raised an eyebrow and yanked my arm away. Most people were too afraid of Roman to behave like this around him. However, most people weren’t his hitwoman, meaning they didn’t have the dirt on him that I did.

It was a balanced relationship we had, whether Roman wanted to admit it or not.

“I mean it, (Y/N),” he said. “This is a big job. If you do this, I will pay you double, no triple the original price of this hit.”

I should’ve walked away, I could’ve walked away. Roman wouldn’t stop me if I did. But I couldn’t lie, the money sounded good - if Roman actually gave me what he was promising this time.

I sighed and motioned with a hand for Roman to go on. He smiled like a kid on Christmas morning.

“Do you know who Harley Quinn is?”

~~~~~~

It didn’t take long to find where Harley Quinn decided to live after the Joker kicked her to the curb. It was severely under protected, unless you classified a sweet Asian man as “protection”.

He tried to stop me as I made my way to Harley’s apartment. “Who are you?”

“I’m an old friend of Harley’s from Arkham Asylum,” I responded. “I wanted to surprise her, I just got out.”

“She’s not home right now.”

“Even better! It’ll be a big surprise!”

I hurried away before he said anything else. I knew he’d be suspicious, but I trusted him to not tell Harley I was there.

I picked her lock and let myself in. The moment I stepped into her apartment, her pet hyena sat up at attention, assessing the stranger that had just entered his home. I pulled the hamburger I had bought from the bag in my hand and offered it to the hyena. He raced over and excitedly gobbled down the food.

I knelt down to pet his coarse fur. “Good boy. I’ll take you in when I finish with this job.”

Luckily, I didn’t have to wait for her long. Shortly after my arrival, the sound of the doorknob turning alerted myself and her hyena that she was back. I pointed the gun as the door swung open. Her eyes widened when she saw me.

“Hello Harleen.”

Roman’s words - “I want a messy kill” - echoed through my head as I pulled the trigger. Harley quickly jumped to the side, just narrowly avoiding my bullet. She dove behind her couch and I continued to shoot bullets into it, causing feathers and fluff to fly into the air. Harley’s hyena let out a laugh-like bark that was drowned out by my gunshots. When my clip was empty, I quickly changed it to a full one.

Knowing that the gunshots would’ve alerted Harley’s landlord, I quickly crossed the room to her open door and closed it, locking the door and even breaking the knob a little for good measures. I wasn’t going to let this job bust, not with so much money on the line.

“Look, whatever Mista J did to you, I’m sorry!” Harley called from somewhere in the room. “Haven’t ya done your research? He brainwashed me! I only did what he said cause I thought I loved him!”

“Joker never did anything to me,” I told her. “I’m just here on someone else’s behalf.”

“That’s a long list to narrow down,” she responded. “Mind giving me a hint? Maybe an initial?”

I traced her voice to a desk that was turned to face me. This wouldn’t have normally been suspicious, if it weren’t for the fact that the desk was pushed right up against a wall, rendering it technically useless. In the small slit between the bottom of the desk and the floor, I could see Harley’s colorful shoes peaking out.

“Actually, I have a message from him,” I said. “Roman says ‘Good Riddence.”

She must’ve known I had found her, as, just before I pulled the trigger, Harley jumped up from under the desk, successfully launching it at me. The sudden movement startled me enough that my shot lodged itself in the ceiling instead of in her head.

“Oh, Romy!” Harley exclaimed. “Couldn’t even be bothered to come kill me himself? What hurts!”

She dove behind another plush chair as I took another shot at her. I exclaimed in frustration and went to approach the chair. Before getting close enough, Harley raised her hand, which was now holding the white t-shirt she had arrived in.

“Truce!” she called. “Just for one minute, give me a truce. And then you can decide if you want to continue with your killing. I won’t stop you, you ain’t the first to try and off me today.”

Against my better judgement, I sighed and shoved my gun back into the waistband of my pants. “You have five minutes to say your piece, Quinn. I have a lot of money on the line here.”

She popped up from behind the chair like a Whack-A-Mole. She was now in a plush, pink sports bra, her suspenders pulled over it now instead of the white t-shirt she was holding in her hand.

“I can’t blame you for wanting to cash in on a good paycheck,” she said. “I wanted to get a look at ya for a minute. You know, without the bullets and whatnot obstructing my view. I wanted to see if I recognized ya.”

“Why would you recognize me?”

“I frequent Romy’s club a lot. I think he only tolerated me because of Mista J, which would explain why he sent a hitwoman after me when I announced our breakup,” she explained. “You do look familiar. Do you frequent the club, too?”

“I don’t tend to talk with Roman about business in public. It’s not exactly the smartest move.”

“I suppose not, but I’m sure I’ve seen your face there before.” She thought for a moment before snapping her fingers. “Oh! I know! You were there the last time I was! I broke a dude’s legs and you were talking to Romy at the time!”

Oh wait, she’s right. I was there that night.

I could remember well: I had just finished a job. Roman had called me to his club for my payment. I guess he knew I wouldn’t lash out in front of all those witnesses when he stiffed me again. I was furious when he handed me less than half of what he had promised. That job had almost gotten me killed, but he viewed that as a failure. He told me he was debating not paying me at all, but knew I’d walk if that was the case.

His smug as smile as he walked away still infuriated me to that day. I wished I had punched him right in his stupid fucking face, made a scene in his club and announced to the world that Roman Sionis had hired a killer to take down the people he didn’t like. I’d go to prison if it meant Roman went with me.

“Man, you were angry,” Harley said, leaning her arms against the chair and resting her head in one of her hands. “What were ya talking about? Did a hit go wrong or something?”

“Nearly,” I responded, looking away from Harley so she wouldn’t see my anger again. “Listen, I gave you five minutes and they’re almost up, so maybe you should - ”

“He stiffed ya, didn’t he?” Harley cut me off. “I bet he does that a lot. He doesn’t exactly treat his female employees all that nicely. You heard the stories from that singer he has? The Canary? I can’t believe she quit working for him and made it out alive.”

She almost hadn’t. I had to save her ass from Roman that night. It was the night I almost walked out, too. The first time, anyways.

“He’s a misogynistic prick,” Harley hissed. “Thinks women are objects that should be beneath him. I don’t know why you let him treat you like dirt when you do all the dirty work for him. You should be the one stiffin’ him for cash!”

“It doesn’t work like that,” I told her. “Being the killer for hire for Roman Sionis, he has too much dirt on me. If I tried to leave, or if I did anything he didn’t like, he could ruin my life in a second. I’m stuck with him until I can know for sure that I’m safe.”

“How do you know you wouldn’t be safe with me?”

I scoffed at her question. “You’re wanted by everybody - every villain, every hero, and every regular pedestrian. You don’t have the Joker to protect you right now. You’re a walking target, being with you is the unsafest place to be.”

“Safer than with Roman Sionis,” she said. “Sure, I can’t pay you top dollar for killin’, but I like to get my hands bloody myself. I ain’t here for this hitman/hitwoman shit. You and I, we could do some serious damage together.”

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like her proposal. Even if it would land me in a world of danger, working with Harley Quinn was a lot better than having to work for Roman Sionis anymore.

“The two of us alone, no matter how powerful or how...psychotic, are not enough to go up against Roman,” I told her.

Harley smiled brightly, knowing that what I was saying was technically an acceptance to her invitation. “Way ahead of you sister! I’ve already recruited Romy’s ex-Canary, and that legendary Crossbow Killer. We’re puttin’ together our own little girl gang.”

I raised an eyebrow at her. “Sounds like you were prepared for this.”

“Let’s just say, you’re not the first person Romy has sent after me.”

I had a feeling there was a reason Roman didn’t warn me about the first person sent after Harley Quinn.

She approached me and threw an arm over my shoulder, as if we were magically best friends. I looked at her close proximity before looking back up at her smiling face. “I could kill you right now, you know.”

“I know, but you won’t,” she said. “We’re best friends now, and we’re gonna take down Roman Sionis together.”

I couldn’t help but smile at her as she said this.

[monstersandmaw]

Male drider x female reader - WIP, Part Two (sfw)

Edit which I’m including in all my works after plagiarism and theft has taken place: I do not give my consent for my works to be used, copied, published, or posted anywhere. They are copyrighted and belong to me.

After a teasing Part One last week, here's 3.5k words of Part Two, featuring two poems, neither of which are my own... Things get off to a very rocky start between the lord of Widowsweb Court and the reader, with the drider not exactly behaving in a manner befitting a lord... Naril, the firbolg gardener that everyone seemed rather taken with, continues to be a complete cinnamon roll.

Hope you enjoy, despite 'his lordship's' terrible manners and behaviour... Part Three has just gone up on Patreon today. He also got dubbed ‘cranky spooder’ over on our Discord server, which I adore.

Enjoy x

On the day you first met the lord of Widowsweb Court, you’d opened up one of the enormous windows to breathe a little life back into the stuffy library.

Having spent four weeks getting to know the collection as it was, you’d taken the opportunity to dust a little as well. That had the added advantage that you were now able to let the air back in without fear of choking clouds of dust billowing up into your face. For a house as enormous as Widowsweb Court, you had been surprised to learn that the staff was so minimal - no more than Naril and his father, Chiara the housekeeper, a valet of the lord whom you never saw, and two other members of staff; one a cook, and one a maid.

Standing beside the heavy, ragged old curtain that dragged its hem on the floorboards like a sullen teenager scuffing their heels, you sighed and stared listlessly out at the enormous park beyond. There was something melancholy about it. The grounds were meticulously kept by Naril, not a leaf out of place, and yet it was deserted.

There should have been parties, the voices of people laughing, the chink of glasses and the murmur of conversation in the evenings as people gathered to watch the sun go down over the stunning vista beyond. Music should have floated across the terrace behind the house, washing out to mingle with the dancing splash of water in the fountain, but that basin with its fantasy carvings and rearing stone centaurs, laughing fauns, and wide-winged harpies remained silent and dry.

“Why is it so sad here?” you whispered to yourself, the backs of your knuckles trailing down the old, warped glass of the leaded window. The shutters of this window had been thrown wide too so that you could see what you were doing, and the light poured in over one of the three long, research tables that lined that half of the dour library. Over the course of the past week, you’d stacked books pertaining to poetry up into huge, teetering piles that now looked more like a model city than anything, with skyscrapers reaching for the moulded plasterwork of the triple-height ceiling.

A low, bitter voice from behind you made you jump. “The name didn’t give it away?”

You yelped and tensed, turning sharply to find a figure occupying the shadows between two looming bookshelves. Unable to see them behind the chiaroscuro contrast in the room, you squinted. “The name?” you croaked when you’d finally recovered your senses.

A long, black, needle-thin leg emerged first from the darkness and you almost recoiled in surprise before another appeared beside it. A drider. The voice belonged to a drider. “Widow’s web…” he said in his low, gravelly voice, the tone heavy and dripping with sour sarcasm.

“Oh.” You blinked and curiosity flared in you. “Do… Do you work here as well? I haven’t met you before…”

The emerging drider stopped, the shadows still concealing his upper body, but you could see that he was one of the deadly, flash-quick driders; slim-built and light boned, and probably full of venom. You swallowed. Perhaps he was some kind of security agent? Perhaps it was his job to keep an eye on the place and make sure people kept their distance from the place. Perhaps he had come to check up on you.

For a long moment, the drider remained silent, and then without a word, he flung a thin volume onto the nearest end of the table, only a yard or so from where he still hung back, half concealed in shadow, and turned wordlessly to go. “See that this one is shelved with the rest,” he growled.

You caught a flash of red on his spider’s abdomen before he completely disappeared. His needle-clawed legs made almost no sound on the floorboards, and if you hadn’t been so stunned by his unexpected appearance and behaviour, you might have gone after him to scold him for treating what had to be a first edition - everything else so far had been - so callously. By the time you heard a sharp creak and the soft click of a secret door closing somewhere, it was too late to follow.

So instead, you left the window and picked up the book. It was an anthology of poems, and as you let the volume fall naturally open in your hands, it revealed a short, painfully bitter poem.

And like a dying lady, lean and pale,

Who totters forth, wrapp'd in a gauzy veil,

Out of her chamber, led by the insane

And feeble wanderings of her fading brain,

The moon arose up in the murky East,

A white and shapeless mass.

No wonder he was so gloomy if this was the kind of thing he read. With a sigh, you closed the book and laid it with the other poetry anthologies, and spent the rest of the day trying to shake the encounter from your mind.

At lunch, Naril leaned over the table and frowned. “You alight?” he asked. “You look kind of… far off…?” It was just the two of you that day, with Naril having come in from the gardens a little later than usual, and his father having already eaten.

You sniffed and blinked, not realising you’d been staring into your bowl without really seeing it. “Yeah,” you croaked. “Listen… I’ve not really asked about… this place much. Why is it called Widowsweb?”

He leaned back in his chair and crossed his lanky arms. He was tall, even for a firbolg, and that day he had scraped his long red hair back into a thin plait that hung down his back. His eyes, bright green, turned a little distant. “Apparently a dowager from the Silkfoot family had a falling out with her son, and he was so desperate to be rid of her that he exiled her here and gave the entire estate to his cousin who went with her. The two families diverged there, and never had anything else to do with each other since.”

So what Sarrigan had told you, about the two families being at least distantly related, was true. You wondered if the part about the Silkfoot family not liking humans had played a part in the disagreement. “I know one of the Silkfoots. Not well, but he’s a friend of a friend. He seems nice, but he says his family’s mostly awful.”

Naril was still watching you. “What’s brought this on?” he asked after a moment.

You took a breath and said, “I’m assuming your master is a drider then?”

Naril nodded. “Yeah. You… You didn’t know?”

You shook your head. “I hadn’t given it much thought, if I’m honest. Your father was the one who employed me and dealt with everything on behalf of your ‘master’. I… I think I met him this morning though.”

It was Naril’s turn to look a little surprised. He batted his long-lashed eyelids a few times and then barked a rough laugh. “Seriously?”

“Why is that so strange? He lives here. I find it weirder that I’ve not seen him yet.”

“He never shows himself to any of us. He lives in his wing of the house and literally never goes out. Chiara, and his valet Mason are the only two who ever interact with him directly.”

“Why?”

The firbolg’s surprise melted into something softer. “It’s said he’s cursed, but my father says that’s bollocks.”

“If he’s not cursed, then why? Why live as a recluse?” and why was he so rude?

Naril gave a half shrug and then stood, reaching across the table to collect your plate with his scuffed, scar-knuckled hand and take it to the sink. You murmured your thanks as you waited for him to speak, but he didn’t for a long time. You stood watching him, his shirt dirty and sweat stained, ripped here and there, presumably from the vicious thorns of the roses you’d glimpsed from the windows.

“He lost his wife and their entire clutch when they’d only been married a year or so,” he said at last. The splashing of water in the sink as he washed up almost masked his words, but something in your chest panged when you caught them. “People said he did it. People said he was cursed. People said his whole line was cursed.”

“People say a lot of cruel and stupid things,” a harsh, female voice interjected from the doorway behind you and you turned to find Chiara glowering at the pair of you. Naril cringed and turned his attention back to washing up. “You’d do well to ignore all of them, and repeat none,” she said, fixing her yellow eyes on you. The harpy’s tone was as sharp as her claws, and you didn’t fancy crossing her.

You nodded. You weren’t part of the staff, no matter how welcome Naril and his father had made you feel. You were here to reorganise the library, and then you were going to leave. You had been there for one out of your six contracted months already, and the task seemed gargantuan, but you were determined not to let it get the better of you. Time to get back to it.

“Chiara,” you said carefully, “We weren’t gossipping. I believe I met your master this morning, though he didn’t fully show himself to me. I just wondered who I’d met, that’s all.” With that, you turned and put your hand on Naril’s arm. “Listen, I’d better get going. Thanks for doing that,” you added with a twitch of your chin towards the soapy dishes in the sink.

He bowed his head, his large, cow-like ears waggling softly, and closed his eyes briefly. “Take care up there in the library, eh? Don’t go falling off something or lifting more than you can carry. You look worn out.”

“I am tired,” you said, cracking a yawn almost directly on cue. “I haven’t been sleeping all that well here. Could I borrow you tomorrow for half an hour or so? There’s a massive chest that’s been parked in front of a shelf and I need to move it to get to the books behind it.”

He grinned, his odd, almost feline nose twitching. One lip pulled back to reveal his blunt, herbivore’s teeth and he nodded. “Happy to lend a hand, you know that. After lunch?”

You smiled, feeling a slight heating of your cheeks, and turned for the doorway. “Thank you.”

The rest of the day passed uneventfully, and you finally cleared enough shelves to begin putting the first phase of your plan for the library into action.

Three days later, though only as you tucked yourself up in bed for the night, you realised you’d left your phone behind in the library. Cursing, you knew you’d have to go back for it if you were going to get up in time the next day to start work. No one formally kept track of your hours, but your professional pride demanded that you start work at nine, and you didn't fancy sleeping through til gods-knew when, especially given your erratic sleeping patterns of late.

Dressing hastily in jeans and a t-shirt, you grabbed the back door key, with which Mr. Ambleside had entrusted you after your first week on site, and let yourself into the main house.

If Widowsweb Court was creepy in daylight, it was unfathomably eerie at night. Pipes creaked and groaned sporadically, and a draft whistled up the corridor as you fumbled along the passageway that would lead to a servants’ staircase, and eventually, emerged onto the second floor near the library.

Were it not for the light of an almost full moon beaming in through the windows along the corridor, you might have missed the library doors altogether, but as it was, they illuminated the brass fittings so that they gleamed like gold, sparkling and winking at you almost fatefully. You scoffed at the thought, and pushed into the library, the door giving its usual raucous yelp on the hinges.

“Gods, I’ve got to get Naril to look at that,” you grumbled, moving across the floor and wondering if you dared turn all the lights on. Part of you expected a hoard of ghostly spectres to be drifting around the shelves like shades through gravestones.

Before you’d gone three paces, you froze. The whisper of a page turning caught your attention, and you swallowed, heart thudding. Again, you were not alone in there.

“Who’s that?” a sharp, male voice demanded from a table at the back of the room.

“It’s me,” you replied, immediately realising how stupid a thing that was to say to someone who wouldn’t have been familiar with you. You added your name, and followed it up with, “I’m working on the library catalogue.”

“At this time of night?” the scratchy baritone growled.

“I left my phone in here,” you said weakly as you stepped around a bookshelf and found him standing behind the furthest research table from the door. You knew immediately who it was, and your heart was thudding as you wondered just how well the lord of the manor would take it that you were sneaking about his house at this hour of the night. “I need it for my alarm in the morning.”

“It’s over there on the windowsill,” he said carelessly, moonlight running along his outstretched arm like mercury. From what you could see of his body, silhouetted against the light from outside, he was unhealthily thin, and he had long hair that fell loose and unrestrained down his back. He was also huge. Sarrigan was squat, fluffy as a tarantula, and muscular, but this figure was spindly and ominous, and built like a black widow.

“Thank you,” you croaked. “I’m… I’m sorry for disturbing you.”

As you picked up your phone from the sill, you heard him clear his throat, and glanced up to see him shifting a little. He looked like a nightmare demon from a shadow-play, all legs and pendulous body, but something about the angle of his head gave you pause.

He took a slow, rasping inhale. “How… is the work going?”

“Slowly,” you said with a rueful smile. “Mr. Ambleside might be a little out of touch with the collection… It’s larger than I was expecting.”

After a pregnant pause, the drider snorted softly and you broke into a nervous laugh at the innocuously-spoken innuendo.

“Anyway, on that note, I’ll leave you to it. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” he said and you watched him walk towards the window. As he moved, you realised what was unnerving about him. One of his legs was missing. Where most driders had eight legs, he had only seven.

You thought about him all the way back to your accommodation, and even after you’d set your phone on your bedside table and lain back to stare at the ceiling, the master of the house still occupied your thoughts.

The next morning, you found your feet taking you to that furthest table, and there you discovered that a book had been left open.

The poem that graced these pages was older by many centuries than the one about the moon. It was written in a language that had long evolved beyond recognition, but you stared at it and trailed your fingers down the verse, murmuring the words aloud in the Old Tongue. It was one you’d studied at university during one of your shorter modules, and you barely remembered any of its translation.

Oft him anhaga     are gebideð,

metudes miltse,     þeah þe he modcearig

geond lagulade     longe sceolde

hreran mid hondum     hrimcealde sæ

wadan wræclastas.     Wyrd bið ful aræd!

You frowned, muttering words aloud until you’d muddled out a tiny bit of it. “Often, the one who is alone finds grace for himself, the… mercy…? The mercy of the lord? Although he, sorrow hearted… heavy hearted?”

“‘Sorrow-hearted’ works,” came a now-familiar voice from behind you and you jumped, nearly knocking the book from the table. This time you turned to find the drider advancing on you in full view.

Slowly, you let your eyes slide up his body to his face. He wore a crisp white shirt that looked like it had never been worn, the stark, monochrome contrast with his black spider’s body almost jarring. His hair was black, with a thick streak of bright, blood red falling around the right hand side of his face, which was gaunt and sallow, with dark shadows beneath his four red eyes. Around his right two eyes, his white skin was stained dark - almost purple - down his face and a little way onto neck, the birthmark looking like a swirl of watercolour. He blinked slowly at you, as if expecting something; waiting for you to say something rude or thoughtless.

With a start, you remembered the poem, and turned back to it. “Was this what you were reading last night?”

“Mmm. You’ve studied the Old Tongue I take it?” he said, and you turned to find him approaching slowly.

You tried not to let your gaze snag on the void where his leg should have been, and instead looked at the text again. “A little, and it was a while ago. I’m rusty… I think I remember this one. It’s called The Wanderer, isn’t it?”

He nodded, his hair sliding forwards like a black theatre curtain to hide his sunken face. “Not going to chide me for leaving it unshelved?” he sneered as he turned and headed once again for the back of the library. “I never did like librarians, you know?”

Grinding your teeth, and forcing yourself not to snap something rude at the person who was technically your employer, you said, “I’m an archivist, and this is your collection, not mine. One book being out of place is hardly going to though the whole thing into chaos, is it?”

He froze, on the point of leaving, and with an almost theatrical slowness, he turned to regard you. After fixing you with his eerie, red stare, he lifted one side of his upper lip and snarled, “I suppose not.”

And with that, he left you alone and unnerved again.

Work progressed at a glacial pace on the library, but you eventually moved from poetry to non-fiction: travel journals and histories, geographical texts and maps.

Naril grabbed you one bright, weekend morning after breakfast and dragged you out into the gardens for the first time. The two of you spent a couple of glorious hours touring the kitchen garden, the walled garden, the rose garden, the knot garden, and finally the orchards and arboretum. As the pair of you walked, hot and honestly quite tired, back up to the house for refreshments, your eyes naturally found their way to the library windows that overlooked the terrace and lawn at the back of the house, and you were surprised to find them flung open.

You paused and scowled.

“What?” Naril asked. “What’s wrong?”

“I was sure I closed the windows last night…” you murmured.

“Maybe the master is in there,” he said. “You know, I think you’ve seen him more than I have now. What’s he like?”

“Sad.” That was the first word that came to mind. “He strikes me as someone who’s incredibly sad. I’ve only seen him three times now, but each time he seemed so bitter and prickly. It’s like he’s curious about what I’m doing in there, but he doesn’t want to talk to me too much.”

You passed beneath the windows and slid into the house, sighing as the air of the cool stone passage wafted over your sun-warmed skin. No more than an hour later, you found yourself back in the library, but the master wasn’t there and the window was shut again. Easing yourself down into a comfortable chair beside the casement, you let your head loll against the back, and wondered if he ever set foot outside. If Naril was to be believed, the drider never left the confines of his wing for anything other than quick trips to the library.

After a while, you found your eyes drooping, and you inhaled deeply, letting the weight of a doze seep through you like the warmth of a hot bath.

A noise stirred you, and you opened your eyes to find that the light had changed to the vibrant magenta of a clear sunset, and that you were not alone. Squinting at the shelf, with his face far closer to the books than yours needed to be to read the titles, was the lord of Widowsweb Court.

You watched him in silence for a moment, not sure if he knew you were there or not, and took in the lines of his black legs - skinny, barbed, and deadly. The chair creaked as you sat up straighter, and he whipped around, dropping the book with a bang onto the floorboards and rearing up, his front legs rising like lances ready to strike.

“Sorry,” you gasped. “I didn’t mean to make you jump. I didn’t know you hadn’t heard me.”

As he lowered himself back down, you looked up into his face and the expression you found there made your heart stop. He looked furious. “Get out,” he barked. “If you’re not working in here, get out.”

Without another word, you rose and fled the room as sedately as you could muster.

Part Three --->

To be continued next Wednesday… Part Three is currently up on Patreon so you can read it right now on the Pixies and Goblins Tier.

I really hope you folks enjoyed this one! Don’t forget to let me know if you did enjoy it by leaving a like and/or reblogging it!

__

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[danddymaro]

Resistance | Leone Abbacchio x Reader

Anime Abba if no one minds; Just an advance since I know the manga and anime have different color schemes.

Thoughts are italics in quotations = ‘Example’

Flashbacks are in italics = Example

Word count :  3229

 After the fight With Illuso Abbacchio can no longer hold back 

 Stay Back

 His glazed, golden eyes stayed trained right ahead as his body sluggishly slumped over the brick wall. He struggled to stay upright, somehow pushing past the overbearing pain for just a moment longer as the strength of the human spirit coursed on within his tired, worn being long after he’d accepted his fate.

Like a traveling sludge, he'd left a sticky trail behind, one that would be evidence of his sacrifice, all of which would be the only thing left behind aside from his cold carcass,

And he was fine with things being left as they were; so long as the mission was a success.

After all, they'd gotten the key, and as messy as things got, it was a win in his book.

' That's all that matters… ' he thought with content, struggling to breath, his sight beginning to blur as occasional little black splotches scattered across his hazy vision,

"Yeah...At least… At least I did that right," he thought with a snicker, albeit a rather bitter one, humored that while his life had been a waste, he’d done just one thing successfully,

'But...there's just one thing…' he thought to himself, chuckling wearily at the recollection of a rather dejected face he’d last seen, deeply wishing that hadn’t been his last memory of her, but somehow grateful that it was, because then he could live on with the idea that he died with her resentment.

And maybe then, she wouldn’t miss him. Maybe then he’d only be an ugly memory she’d be willing to forget, finally getting it through her head that he wasn’t ever worth the worry.

“Just stay back!” he barked at her, looking back at her with hardened golden eyes narrowed fiercely at her as she tried to leave along with them.

“Keep watch if you want to feel useful,” he said in an offhand sort of manner, making her face fall, disheartened.

(e/c) colored eyes then hardened as he followed up with more expected backlash, the woman visually preparing herself for his sharp tongue, swallowing it all down with a quiet nod.

“Why the hell Bucciarati insisted on you coming… it's a mystery to me.” He said lowly, completely turning from her by then, not sparing her another glance after the uttered words.

Frowning, Giorno stepped towards her, his hand raised to touch her slumped shoulder before she shook her head, immediately perking,

“Okay!” She agreed, “I’ll stay here!” She chirped, “Abba’s Right,” She went on, “Besides, I wouldn’t want to get in the way,” She added, an undertone of hurt weaved through the façade she put on.

“So you guys go ahead. I’ll take care of things here.”

All the while her eyes were stuck on the other man’s back, watching as he drew further, his shoulders squared and tense as he went in search for the important item, the other two males following in suit, though seeming just as exasperated as her at the elder man’s choice of words.

“I’ll have a talk with him,” Fugo said softly as he walked past her, offering her a lax, apologetic grimace of a smile.

‘You always do,’ (f/n) mused, smiling back nonetheless, finding his effort to help her to be sweet, yet futile because it never changed anything.

‘It won’t change a thing,’ She added, her expression dying as they drew further from her.

She wished it wasn’t so and that somehow, the cycle would cease.

“By now… She should hate me…” Leone said to himself, his heart weighed down by the thought,

'But it's all for the best, ' he silently added, lazily blinking.

‘It’s better you’re not here…It’s better you stayed back,’ he thought with true gratefulness, a shuttered, thankful breath falling past his painted lips.

He thought of her running into the Stand user herself, doubting she’d have any better luck than he did, because after all, her stand wasn’t made much for the offensive, just as his own stand wasn’t.

Hers was meant for love; to care for and tend others. It did wonders on everyone else, the drawback being that the power was useless to her, something that was befitting of such a selfless person.

She could do wonders for others, but not for her own self.

‘And If you were hurt...I just know that bastard Giorno would have the time of his life fixing you up,’ He thought bitterly, hating how close the two had gotten, right from the start,

“It’s nice to have another healer,” she said while showing off a happy, little, quirky smile, one that made Abbacchio’s jaw clench, and seemed to have its own effect on the younger male as well.

Sweetly, Giorno smiled back, a featherlight blush dusting over his features, “(f/n), right?” He said back, meeting her halfway to grasp her hand, the small contact being something the elder man paid attention to keenly because it bothered him so much to see her cozy up to the rookie as though they were old pals.

“ Bucciarati mentioned you briefly.” He revealed to her, making her smile grow,

“Really?” She said surprised, “What did he say?” She asked curiously, wondering just what her Capo had said about her to the rookie.

What was she known for?

“He said well...” Giorno trailed off while suddenly growling nervous as the words formed a knot in his throat, “ Oh well, nothing really!” he insisted, not wanting to repeat that he’d actually referred to her as ‘the pretty, little sweetheart,’ much more, that he’d actually agreed with him the second he found himself locked eyes with her and she smiled to him, seeming to be the most amiable of the group.

It was easy to tell that in some sort of way, Giorno liked her and it irked him. It bothered him even more so to see that not only Giorno showed interest in her, but also had the nerve to go out of his way to make her giggle, finding any excuse to do so, behaving innocent with each attempt, 

"Usually the flowers trail behind you," Giorno started, falling into step with (f/n) as she walked alone, "But today..." he trailed off, humming, "I don't know, " He started, “You don't seem as bright," He added, quirking a brow, stopping right before her, reaching down to lift her chin up.

"It just isn't right," He told her, concerned, the genuine look of worry crossed over his features.

"What do you mean?" (f/n) asked, her dimmed (e/c) colored eyed gleaming up at him, curious as to what he meant.

She knew that perhaps she seemed dull, but to be fair she hadn’t had much sleep to begin with.

"You haven't smiled today," He explained, "which isn't right, as the sun should always shine," He added.

Shaking her head, (f/n) giggled, finding the quirky, little line to be even cornier than Mista’s own cheesy throw-away ones. She was ready to comment on it when his stand appeared before her, the humanoid being’s power at work,

" Giorno," She muttered, watching with growing eyes as a little flower sprouted from the blonde’s hand, the golden, little face of the white petaled blossom facing her,

"Ah...There we go," He mused, a cute, little dust of pink on his own face, chuckling at his own moronic actions.

Perhaps it was over the top, but he knew it would liven her up, and that's all that mattered to him at the moment, because to him, if anyone deserved to have a smile drawn over them, it was the kind woman.

All the while, (f/n) thought of him as sweet, the charming young man being someone she greatly appreciated for his considerate nature, while on the opposite end, the other man in the room brooded, annoyed.

"Tch, " Leone clicked his teeth, his eyes fallen far away from the pair as he ground his teeth together, turning his nose,

'She'll grin at anything he does,' He thought irked. 'She'll just stupidly smile at any shit anyone tells her,' He added, wanting to turn back and eye the cute, little expression, but knowing full well it would scathe him as he remembered just why it existed.

"Shit.." He muttered, trying to push the thought of her away as he realized that she’d yet again invaded every bit of his mind, even during his final moments of what was supposed to be peace.

And it seemed as though somehow, his thoughts had reached her, because before him a small moving blur grew, coming closer to him with hasty speed,

“Abbacchio!” He heard her say, following up with large pants as she knelt before him, immediately falling to both her knees to be more on his level, the skin above both joints burning from the sudden, harsh friction.

He could smell the sweet scent of her perfume, the smell very faintly wafting into his nose as she came even closer, slipping through the personal bubble he’d kept himself in. 

During then her (e/c) colored eyes skimmed over him and every beaten bit of him that was visible, visually shaken at the sighed of his missing limb.

'she came…' he thought to himself, 'she….bothered to come…' he added, grimacing.

After he ordered her to stay…

After he'd pushed her away so many times already…

‘You always come to me…’ He said to himself, falling forward, his heavier body almost toppling her over with the sudden action.

"Hey!" She began worriedly, steadying him, slowly easing him back towards the wall to sit upright, “Come on now,” she encouraged him, her comforting smile present as her hands which were firmly placed on his shoulders immediately went to cup his cold cheeks,

“Abba,” She urged him, “ Stay with me,” She added as she gently eased his lolling head straight, trying to get a better look at his paled face with frantic (e/c) colored eyes.

“I’m right here now,” She told him, “ So you're going to be just fine,” She assured him with an unshaken determination.

He squinted, trying to get his eyes to work right, only to find himself stuck on her own shining (e/c) colored gems.

Her (dark/light) eyes looked into him, and as she did so, he felt an electric charge run up his spine at the glance, the powerful bolt that came down on him raking his entire being with unforgiving violence.

He was spiritless in the motion, yet somehow found it in himself to stray his golden orbs away, deciding to not challenge her own look with his own fading will, the man slowly growing even smaller beneath the grace of her sweetly trained stare.

“Quit staring...Quit looking...at me...like that,” He grumbled, savoring down the bitter metallic taste in his mouth, "Tch… you damn idiot," he rasped, slowly shaking his head from her sweet hold, doing so with all the mustered strength he had left.

He couldn't feel anything, and yet it burned, her touch scathed him, the unbearable ache that was present bursting through from deep within his being.

Maybe she was overreacting she reasoned, chuckling wearily, but unable to fight back tears,

“ It’s just...I...I thought I’d come here too late!” She cried out, not able to resist the urge to hold him, latching onto him with desperation, the bloody grime over his body sticking onto her clothing, causing her smell of sweetness to be masked by his pungent gore.

By then his head was pressed to her chest, placed right over her heavily beating heart as she continued to shake, holding on tightly in a desperate embrace, 

“For just a moment there…” She muttered, “ I thought I was going to lose you,” she added, little tears still pricking her eyes as she began to heal him, her (e/c) colored eyes closed as she coddled him.

'stop...stop touching me ...' he thought to himself, his lethargic body beginning to squirm as she tended him, her hold on him remaining unmoved.

'stop crying over me,' he added feeling her tears fall over him, the droplets falling onto his face even after she’d expressed her relief, despite the fact that gradually his body began to feel warm again, function slowly coming back to him.

'stop…' he pleaded, his bottom lip quivering, wanting to snap at her and make her go away altogether.

He could feel his fingers begin to move, his gaze beginning to align right with the more time he spent under her care.

“(F/n),” He rasped lowly, her head rising at the utter of her name as her face lit up the sound of his voice. And it was then that she drew back from him, her brightened eyes gazing into his glowing eyes with expectancy.

(E/c) eyes stared right at him, her face streaked with salty tears and as she saw the dimness from his golden eyes begin to fade, her face lit up with sheer joy,

“Leone,” She said softly, a smile gracing her, very faintly taking over her, "I’m so ha-," she started, cut off as his hand that was now healed, took hold of the back of her head, tightly weaving itself through (h/c) strands as he grabbed her,

"Why don't you just stay away from me?" He said lowly, teeth grit together as he shoved her down, straddling her as he glared down at her, " You shouldn't be here," he reminded her, “remember?” he asked her, having thought he’d been very clear.

“Are you an idiot?” He went on, his grip on her hair bound tight enough that it began to sting, causing her to wince, “If that asshole was around still...what would you have done?” he asked her, already knowing the answer.

He thought about it with so much rage it had him shaking,

‘ Don’t you get it? I’m doing this for you!’ He thought to himself with utter frustration. 

All the while her eyes were wide as she wordlessly looked up at him, caught beneath him as he continued to loom over her, the sight making his hold slacken for just a fraction of a second, realizing just what he was doing,

“Damn it (f/n),” He grumbled, continuing to look down at her, completely taken by the sight of her in her current state, his vexation slowly dying out.

Through teary-eyed and bloodied, she seemed beautiful lying beneath him, her (h/c) colored strands caught in his hand and tangled there to create the very same scene he’d selfishly conjured up on more than once occasion.

Mindlessly, his eyes then drew down to her lips, tempted by the sight of their inviting curve and thickness, causing his own to press together with longing.

She was filthy now, drenched in his blood, her back pressed onto the filthy ground as well, and even then, it took nothing away from her beauty and much more, the undeniable attraction he had for her.

“It’s so damn annoying when you think I need you,” He told her, trailing off as he came down closer, his lilac-colored lips almost touching her (color) ones, “...even more annoying when you're right.” He muttered, hating just how perfectly she fit beneath him.

They fit like two puzzle pieces slowly being inched together, and he’d already known it would be the case.

“Leone...I want to tell you I l-”

“I know,” He said quietly, “ I already know,” He told her, his heart racing, not wanting to hear her say it, because he knew he wouldn't know what to do with himself if he actually heard her say it.

He was currently struggling, unable to function right, and the single admittance would undoubtedly rattle him, making him do something he’d long fought,

“So quit crying. And quite following me around like a lost dog,” He told her, his voice soft, the words meant to be snide, but missed all the bite they needed.

“I...I don’t want you around me,” He struggled to say, biting his lip afterward.

‘You say so.. but you haven't drawn back,’ She noticed, ‘You’re shaking...And all the while your eyes...Your eyes are so soft,’ she mused, a sudden realization falling down upon her with the weight of a ton,

‘...You’ve been doing it purposely.’ she understood, ‘ But you’ve also been hesitant.’ 

"...Why do you do this?" She asked him, her heart heavy as she looked up at him, seeing the same hurt crossed over his features as he tried to push her away yet again.

It was a frail shove, but a sign of resistance nonetheless.

‘Whenever I feel so close to you...Whenever we’re just inches apart, you find a way to drift back away.’ She thought to herself, helpless as she was stuck in the same repeated cycle with him.

Yet again, he was so painfully close, but all the same remaining distant, blocked off as though there was a stone wall between them.

"- It's better," He said to her, though sounding unconvinced.

He shook, his breath being both inhaled and released in the same shaking manner as for just a second, his lips brushed hers, accidentally smudging the soft color of his lips onto hers,

“How?” she dared to ask. 

“ Don’t you get it? I’ve been trying to fight it... But when you go out of your way for me, I just want you more,” He admitted, swallowing down harshly. "So just quit it already," He begged, "Before I regret it...before you regret it too," he added.

"I'd never regret it," She insisted, "because I lo-"

Cutting her off, he smashed his lips to hers, his palms both pressed to her cheeks as he rocked his body to hers, wanting to completely melt over her,

“(f/n)” He said in between the heavy kiss, “What did I tell you,” He panted roughly, his lips trailing down her jaw, falling over the flesh of her neck with long, wet kisses as his hands traveled down to her waist, holding her still.

“Just stop, “ He argued, also being a hypocrite, occupied with trailing his mouth over her, not being the one to draw back instead.

“No..” She breathed, “Because I...I love you.” She said instead, feeling his body suddenly tense, his actions stopping, suspended as he held in a breath.

“I love you. I love you. I love you so much Leone,” She said to him, her hands reaching for his long strands of hair, the silky lengths weaved through her fingers before she curled them down to her palms, tugging them whilst he released the air in a small, light groan.

‘And I don’t want to ever lose you,’ She thought to herself, eyes shut tightly as she focused on the feeling of his hands roaming over her body, desperate to grip every bit of her.

As she’d seen him bloody, and barely alive, she knew she couldn’t live without telling him the truth that lay locked within her chest, much more when she began to understand his own reasoning.

“(f/n)...I...I love you too,” He finally admitted, breathing along the side of her neck with tightly shut eyes as the last bit of his resistance died, by then the only thing he held back on was the threatening tears that welled in his eyes as his body relaxed, finally finding ease.

So this was basically Abba the Tsun-Tsun （≧ｙ≦＊）

[maraudingthrough]

i loved your mac n cheese lil fic! its lovely, i am in love with you carachterization of sirius. i was wondering if i could request a oneshot with him when they are still at hogwarts and they have been dating for a few years and sirius is disowned and goes to the potters. when they come back to school he tells y/n and she promises him that as soon as they finish school they will get married and have their own family. i think its a cute concept and you'd rock it!

Gimme Shelter: Sirius Black x Female!Reader One Shot

Word Count: 1.5K

Warnings: fluff, at the end I added a nonsense part that you’ll be like?? what??

A/N: Hi honey! Thanks for your kind words! I didn't like too much how the Mac &Cheese turned out, but I'm really happy you liked it! So Sirius gets disowned in 1975, I believe summer as he was in his house. He was sixteen apparently and he would be starting his fifth year. For the sake of making sense reader knows Sirius since the first years at Hogwarts but started dating him recently, half in their fourth year. I hope that’s okay! Also Reader is not a pure blood witch, for the sake of some minor plot points.

A/N 2: Not about this story, but I might be a little inactive for a week or two, I got midterms and I have to start studying 😒 Feel free to leave requests, I’ll receive them but take a little more time to do them! All request that I received until now are wonderful! So if you sent me a request, it was well received! Don’t worry that I’ll reply them as soon as I can 💕💕 

To claim (Y/N) was pissed (and really, really worried) was an understatement. She had sent Sirius letters all summer. The first few weeks he had replied almost immediately, but around August the witch sent letters and they remained unanswered. A few days before the term started, however, she received a small piece of parchment from the Black’s family owl, a neat and gorgeous handwriting detailed “Kindly stop sending your letters to this house”; it wasn’t signed, and the handwriting didn’t look like Sirius’. So (Y/N) started thinking, and thinking and thinking. 

What if his mother found out she wasn’t a pure blood? Oh Godric! Maybe she had read the letters!? (Y/N) was mortified and embarrassed. What if Sirius was punished because of her? Maybe his mother was so pissed she arranged a marriage for Sirius? Did Sirius break up with her? Did she miss a letter?

Distressed, (Y/N) sent letters to anyone who knew Sirius. It was pointless really, as they where returning to Hogwarts in just 3 days and she would see everybody there, but maybe someone knew something.

She got a small letter from Remus, who told her he haven’t heard from Sirius. Similar responses from Peter and Lily arrived later. She received no response from James, but usually James took for ever to reply so she wasn’t expecting no response from the start. 

(Y/N) took a lot of time and effort on making her hair beautiful the morning when she was starting the term. She looked all around the platform, but didn’t find Sirius or The Marauders, maybe because she arrived way too early. Eventually (Y/N) got distracted when her friends arrived, and got dragged to a compartment. 

Her friends were so exited and had done so many thing over the summer that she was really distracted. She didn’t notice when the rain started to move, it wasn’t until she saw Remus Lupin and Lily Evans walking down the aisle she remembered.

“Hey! What are you guys doing?” she asked, walking out of her compartment.

“Hey (Y/N). We are on prefect duties.” Remus greeted, pointing at their badges. The witch gasped and smiled, hugging both of them quickly.

“Congratulations guys!” both Remus and Lily thanked her, but dismissed her quickly, having to go back to their duties. (Y/N) got back to her friends, as they where calling her, needing her opinion on who was the most good looking wizard outside of Hogwarts, they had pictures from Witch Weekly Magazine to help them decide. 

(Y/N) had to go to the loo, so she got out of the compartment, all flushed and happy, wiping small tears of laugher from her eyes, still chuckling at something dumb the girls had said. All of a sudden, she collided with someone. “Sorry! I wasn’t looking where I was going” she said giddy and full of happiness, endorphins flowing all over her body. She met her boyfriend’s grey eyes, he looked awful. “Well, hello stranger.” she greeted, her happy high plummeting to the ground at his miserable face, clearly he felt awful, but why?

Before (Y/N) could open her mouth to talk again, Sirius embraced her so tightly he knocked her air out of her lungs. She returned the hug immediately, but was really worried now. He usually greeted her with a cheeky remark, a flirty comment and the kissed her forehead, but he didn’t even speak a word.

“Sirius, are you okay?” she asked, still in his arms.

“I missed you so much.” He whispered, his breath shaky. The witch started to believe he might be crying. They needed privacy ASAP, so she pulled him inside with her to the girls changing room and locked the room.

“What happened?” she asked cupping his face, his crestfallen eyes making her worry. “You are making me worry love.”

“I ran away.”

“Oh Godric.” she gasped. “When? Where did you go? How did you manage? You should have come home, you know I would let you stay.” Sirius smiled, grabbing her hands and squeezing them. 

“I went to James’ house. I was well received. The Potters are very kind.” (Y/N) wanted to smile, but wasn’t able to.

“Did she... did she do something to you?” she asked, afraid that Walburga Black’s rage got the best of him. “I won’t hesitate to kick her arse.”

“As much as I would love you to defend my honor, she didn’t do anything. I just had enough.”

“You should have told me. I was worried sick, and then I got a piece of parchment from your house that told me to stop sending letter and I thought that maybe you were going to marry some stuck up pure-blood bitch and that you were going to break up with me-”

“Wow, wow.” Sirius stopped her, cupping her cheeks. “Love, stop. I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want you to worry.”

“Well, I worried all the same!” she exclaimed, crossing her arms and flushing, realizing it might have been a little childish to think all of that. Sirius smirked and leaned down to kiss her gently. 

“I’m sorry.” he whispered and kissed her again. They got caught in the moment until someone knocked on the door.

“I need you both to come out know before I’m obliged to take Gryffindor house points.” Remus’ voice sounded through the door. (Y/N) giggled as Sirius started to kiss her all over. “Padfoot!” he exclaimed.

Sirius sighed and opened the door, a happy and flushed (Y/N) waved at Remus, smiling apologetically. “Sorry.” she apologized, as Remus shook his head. Sirius took her back to her friends and kissed her forehead. “Let’s talk later, yeah?” she asked, Sirius nodding his head as he returned to his friends.

***

(Y/N) successfully sneaked past curfew to the Astronomy Tower, waiting for Sirius. She wanted to ask him all about his summer, why did he ran away and what did he do at the Potters.

He arrived and got himself comfortable, laying in (Y/N)’s lap. “Hello to you too.” she told him, raking a hand though his hair. “Now, tell me anything.”

“I ran away. And got disowned.” he explained calmly. He sighed and explained how it happened. “The worst thing is that Regulus is still on that house.”

“D’you reckon he’ll be alright?”

“I think so, yeah. I was never part of that family to begin with, not since I got sorted out in Gryffindor. Regulus was the perfect son to my mother, so I did not exist anymore. As long as Reg behaves the way he had been until now, he’ll be alright.” 

(Y/N) felt pity for him, he deserved a family that loved him, he was a good boy, he was noble and kind, contrary to what he usually showed to anyone who wasn’t a friend.

“When we finish school...” she started, but stopped herself. If she told him he might freak out.

“What?” Sirius asked, curious.

“Nothing.” she replied, looking anywhere but his face. He sat up and nudged her, pulling her arm like a little boy.

“C’mon, tell me.”

“You’ll laugh, or freak out.” 

“I won’t.” he smirked, squeezing her hand.

“When we finish school, and if you want, of course... we can...” she took a deep breath. “We can make our own family, we can marry and have our own children.” Sirius was silent, so (Y/N) started to talk really fast. “I know we are young and we have been a couple for a few months, but I really like you and I want you to have the family that you deserve.”

“Promise?” he asked, his voice weak and fragile. “Do you promise?”

“I promise. As long as you don’t get tired of me.” He hugged her and kissed her deeply.

“I could never get tired of you.” he admitted, kissing her over and over again. “So, how many kids do you want?”

“I- I haven’t though about it.” she told him, her cheeks flushed. “A cute boy, with your hair.”

“And my personality?” he asked, eyebrows raised.

“Gosh no, with mine.” (Y/N) told him, making him bark with laugher. They fooled around with some more, sharing kisses and praises, commenting about the future.

“How many times do I have to warn you two? Five points from Gryffindor.” Remus stern voice sounded from behind them, making (Y/N) yelp. Sirius laughed and helped (Y/N) up.

“I’ll escort the young lady to her chambers.” he declared, bowing comically at Remus. Moony rolled his eyes.

“If I find you two again fooling around I’ll give you detention.” he said, crossing his arms.

“Noo, Remus!! Don’t pull that card on us! We’ll behave!” (Y/N) told him with a smile, jumping and riding his back. Remus gasped (but grabbed her legs, letting her piggy ride his back) and Sirius laughed, walking by their side.

“Keep your voice down, we’ll get detention if anyone catches us.” despite his tone, Remus was smiling. (Y/N) climbed down his back and jumped to Sirius’ back instead.

“Run, Sirius, run!” she squealed, giggling when Sirius started running down the hall.

[winryofresembool]

Things We Lost in the Fire, ch 28

aka Caleo uni au

Fic summary: Calypso starts studying at a new university, but to her annoyance her new flatmate is a loud mouthed mechanic who also likes to sneak his dog in whenever. But as she learns to know him better, she realizes they might have more in common than what she first thought. Eventually, even the darkest secrets come out…

Chapter summary: At Waystation, pt 1/?

A/N: Alright, an update and this time /almost/ on time! So, here's the thing: we are starting the so called 'Waystation arc', which will be many, many chapters because I have way too many ideas despite the fact that Leo and Cal won't even be there that long. So, please bear with me, I know this chapter is kind of a fillery one but I can't really skip the introductions 😅 More interesting stuff will definitely happen soon enough!

I hope that you guys enjoy (seriously it really always warms my heart to see your wonderful comments ♥) and maybe leave some nice words if you feel like it!!

Words: 2700+

Genre: romance & hurt/comfort

Warnings: none

previous chapter / AO3

...

”So, here we are…” Leo told Calypso when he stopped his car, the faithful Argo II, in the yard of Waystation. Both of their exams were finished and Calypso had taken a few days off work so she could join Leo at his family home for the holidays. “What do you think?” he asked, possibly a bit nervous about his flatmate’s opinion. Calypso could understand that; she knew that it was a very important place to him.

She took in her surroundings: a big, old house where the family lived and several other buildings such as a garage and a shelter for the animals next to it. Even though she and Leo were still in the car, she could already hear the sharp barking of Festus the German shepherd somewhere further in the yard. The place wasn’t all that showy especially compared to what she had seen in her childhood, but there were a lot of mysterious corners and fascinating looking objects around that screamed to be observed more closely. Unlike the place where she had been living several years of her life, to her this place… seemed home-y.

“It… looks cozy,” she finally answered Leo's question when she realized he kept looking at her expectantly. “I think I can see why you like it here.”

“Yeah!” Leo seemed happy to hear Calypso liked it. “I like to call it a well organized chaos - just the way it should be in Leo’s world. But c’mon, my fam must be waiting already.”

“Let’s go, then.”

Leo barely had time to open the door of the car and stand up when Festus ran and jumped at him, trying to drown him in wet dog kisses.

“Woah, buddy! I’m glad to see you too!” Leo exclaimed and attempted to pet him even though it was hard because Festus was all over the place. “It’s my holiday break so I’ll be here with you for a long while! Isn’t that great?”

Festus gave him a small bark and wagged his tail even faster as a response. Calypso followed the exchange between the boy and his dog with amusement.

“Not sure if I should be jealous of your… you call it bromance, right?” she teased, while smiling widely. Already she had noticed that Leo seemed more relaxed in this place, and for some reason that made her feel warm and fuzzy even though she tried to battle such feelings.

“Aww, why would you be jealous? I have space in my heart for both of you,” he winked and Calypso had to look away so that he wouldn’t see her blush - again.

“No reason,” she mumbled and got out of the car as well, causing Festus to leave Leo alone and come to greet her instead. “Hi, you!” she managed to say while getting showered with love by the dog. “I guess this means you still remember me!”

“Of course he does,” Leo grinned at her. “I think you made quite an impression on him earlier. Hey, boy!” he whistled at the dog who returned to him. “I’m still your number one man, right?”

“Now who’s jealous?” Calypso chuckled at him. “He was just getting started with me.”

“That’s what you think,” Leo claimed. He had already taken his luggage from the car and now he was waiting for Calypso to do the same so he could lock the doors. She just stuck her tongue out at him instead of replying to his comment.

“Wait, are you planning to move here?” He asked with amusement when Calypso dragged her suitcase out of the car. Even though she would be staying at Waystation for less than a week, she had taken quite a lot of things with her just to be sure she wasn’t missing anything. “Not that I have anything against you living with my family… It’s just that that…” he pointed at the suitcase, “… looks a bit excessive considering we’re not staying that long and we can just drive or even walk back to our flat any time we want to if we need something.”

“You can never be too well prepared in situations like this!” Calypso stated, pulling her suitcase behind her while Festus followed her happily.

“Okay, okay,” Leo put his hand up in defeat and started following Calypso towards the house. “I believe you.”

…

“Calie, Calie!” a young brown haired girl exclaimed happily when the flatmates made it inside the house. “You came!”

“Hi, Georgina!” Calypso greeted the girl. “I did promise you, and both you and I know that promises should be kept, right?” Even at the risk of the trip being very awkward because of everything that was currently going on between her and Leo, she wasn’t planning to disappoint this little girl. She knew too well how that felt.

“Right!” Georgina agreed with her. “So, how has my brother been lately? Super annoying, as usual?”

Calypso was unsure what she should answer to that question, especially since Leo was listening right next to her. “Umm… he hasn’t been that bad, in my opinion… Sure, he has his annoying moments but I think the exams have kept him so busy that he has mostly been behaving himself.” She smiled at the girl, one part of her hoping Leo knew better than to take her too seriously. But then again, they had been bickering since day one, and apparently, he still liked her.

“Yeah, and Calypso has been somewhat behaving herself too, thanks for asking,” Leo intervened, looking slightly annoyed. “Well, what about you, sis? Did you pass all your tests?”

“I did but the math one was super difficult! Maybe you can help me with it when the school starts again?” Georgina gave Leo the kind of puppy eyes that would have been hard to resist for anyone. And sure enough, Leo’s frown melted quickly when she kept looking at him pleadingly.

“Of course I can help! That’s what I’m here for, right?” he answered without hesitation. Then he frowned again. “But where are our mothers? I thought they’d catch us like hawks the moment we arrived.”

“They’re probably busy making a big dinner,” Georgina noted. “I don’t think they’ve talked about anything else except you two the whole day…”

“Really?” Leo asked. “That’s… weird? I do visit here often enough…”

“Yeah, but how often do you visit with a girl?” Georgina pointed out sneakily. The girl was really observant for her age, Calypso thought. She and Leo exchanged quick looks before Leo answered.

“Listen, Georgie. Cal and I are friends. And flatmates obviously. But we are not dating, I hope you know that,” he said firmly, even though Calypso could sense that he wished he could have told her something else.

“Then how come she’s spending the holidays with us? Doesn’t she have her own family to spend it with?”

It was an innocent question, as Georgina had no idea about Calypso’s home circumstances, but it had still hit a bit too close to home to Calypso and Leo knew that. That’s why he rushed to answer for her: “Hey, now, miss Nosy! Cal has her own reasons why she prefers spending the holidays with us, and she doesn’t have to explain them all to you. The main thing is that she’s here and I hope you won’t bother her by asking more of your annoying questions.”

“Now you’re just being rude,” Georgina grimaced at him. “But fiiine, I won’t ask more questions. I’ll go tell moms that you guys arrived.”

“Go do that,” Leo sighed, and rolled his eyes when she was already out of sight. “Sorry ‘bout that,” he told Calypso as he showed her where she could put her outerwear. “For the first 15 years of my life I didn’t have a sibling and somehow I thought it would be great to have one… She /is/ pretty great most of the time but no one told me beforehand that sometimes siblings can be quite nuisances too.”

Calypso’s face fell a bit as she thought about her own sister and how much she sometimes wished she could see her again. Luckily Leo seemed to realize pretty fast that he had said something wrong.

“Oh, shit, I’m sorry! I didn’t remember… I mean, I know I’m lucky to have a sister like her, I just… Um, I’m just gonna shut up now.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Calypso tried to calm him down. “It’s an easy mistake to make. I haven’t talked about her a lot to you…”

“As someone who has also lost a family member, I understand why you don't wanna do that, Sunshine. But hey,” he stepped closer to her, sticking his index finger close enough to her chin that she had to lift it, but not close enough that it would have touched her. “You’re visiting casa de Valdez & co and we have a rule here that we should put the nasty stuff behind us, at least during the visit.”

“You mean like, ‘Hakuna matata’?” Calypso asked, having heard the story of Leo loving Lion King as a child. As their eyes met, she could feel the butterflies flying in her stomach again.

“Yep, now you’re speaking my language, babe.”

“Babe?” Calypso raised her eyebrow but was interrupted before she could say more because Leo’s adoptive mothers finally entered the room. Calypso had already met Jo earlier, but Emmie hadn’t been with her and Georgina that time. She had a long, grey braid, and something about her posture told her that the woman had done a lot of sports back in the day. She was wearing an apron over her work clothes and she was smiling at her in a friendly manner when their eyes met.

Jo greeted Calypso first.

“Hello, it’s nice to see you again.” Then she pointed at the woman next to her. “This is my wife, Emmie. You haven’t met her yet, right?"

“Correct.”

“Well, hello dear,” Emmie spoke, shaking Calypso’s hand. “You must be the Calypso I keep hearing so much about. I’m not sure which of these kids has been more excited about your visit; Georgina has been asking Leo every time he visits when he’ll bring you with her. I guess that day is finally here!”

“Oh, that’s sweet,” Calypso mumbled, a bit overwhelmed by the excitement with which Leo’s Waystation family welcomed her. The more she heard, the more it felt like they really thought that Leo was bringing home someone who was /not/ just a flatmate. Despite that, she knew these people were just trying to be polite, so she couldn’t get angry at them. Especially since in different circumstances they may not have been wrong. “Thank you for having me. I’ve been looking forward to seeing this place! And of course I haven’t forgotten that I promised to teach Georgina some baking so I had to come.”

“I hope it’s not too much trouble,” Emmie said, a lot like Jo during the visit to Leo and Calypso’s flat. “Leo has of course told us that you’re a rather busy person these days so we wish you get some resting time too.”

“No, it’s not a problem at all,” Calypso shook her head, smiling at Georgina who was looking at her expectantly. “I like having something to do with my hands; I’m not used to just sitting around.”

“That’s great,” Emmie said approvingly. “I don’t think you will have a boring moment in this household. Now, let us show you to our guest room upstairs and then we can all go dine together.”

“Sounds good,” Calypso agreed and started following the women further into the house.

…

After setting her things into a guest room with a big bed, an old mahogany desk, some flowers by the window and a fascinating looking bookshelf, Calypso was led into the dining room where the dinner was waiting.

“Smells so good,” she told the others before she knew what kind of meal Leo’s mothers had prepared. “Reminds me of something I’ve tasted at home…”

“A little bird told us that you like Greek food,” Emmie said mysteriously.

When Leo had told his mothers Calypso and he would be visiting Waystation, they had asked him what kind of food she liked. Calypso had once mentioned that she missed eating some of the traditional Greek foods she had gotten as a child, so that’s what Leo had suggested. The women of Waystation had ended up making moussaka and along with it (much to Leo’s dismay) some salad with lots of olives in it.

“You didn’t...!” Calypso exclaimed when she saw what was inside the frying pan, clapping her hands together. “I loved it when mum made this when I was a kid! I probably last ate it when I was 10…” Something warm rose to her chest when it sunk into her that someone had seen that much effort to make her feel welcomed. “Thank you so much.”

“You’re very welcome, dear,” Jo said. “We know you’re a very important person to Leo – even though he may be a bit bad at expressing his real thoughts sometimes – so we wanted to make sure that you know that you’re always welcome to visit us.”

“I’m sure I would have been convinced about that even with less effort,” Calypso reassured Leo’s mothers, pretending to ignore the hidden meaning behind the older woman’s words. “But I appreciate it a lot.”

“Guys, I don’t know about you but I’m starving, so can we please skip the pleasantries and just start eating?” Leo asked impatiently, drumming a glass on the dining table with a spoon.

“Some things never change,” Georgina joined the conversation, elbowing her adoptive brother. “Leo’s always so impatient when it comes to food.”

“But Leonidas,” Calypso started when she took a closer look at the salad that was being served, giving him a lopsided grin. Clearly Georgina’s mischievousness was already getting to her. “Are you really that excited about olives? The last time I checked, you weren’t particularly enthusiastic about them.”

Leo seemed a bit less excited about the food when he realized that she was right, but before he had time to comment, Emmie spoke first.

“What? You made Leo eat olives? That’s a story I’d like to hear,” she urged Calypso, and the latter mentioned did not have to be convinced twice to tell the story.

“Alright. One Saturday evening we decided to cook some Greek and Mexican style food just for fun. I of course had some olives in the salad I made and asked Leo to taste it, but he didn’t like it so somehow we ended up making a deal that if I eat one of his chilis, he eats his olives.”

“Yep, and you lost,” Leo pointed out immediately.

“I’ve said this before and I will say it again that it was an unfair bet! Those chilis were /hot/. Olives can actually be consumed without burning your mouth.” Calypso retorted.

“Wait, are you talking about the chilis that Leo has gotten from here?” Emmie asked. “Ouch, Leo, those things really are spicy. I am on Calypso’s side here; it /was/ an unfair bet.”

“Not you too!” Leo protested, crossing his arms. “Nothing happened; she only ate a little and I gave her some bread and milk afterwards. And eventually we both laughed at the whole thing.”

“Wow, brother, that was almost gentlemanly of you,” Georgina stated, clearly proud of the fancy word she had just used. “Calie, he would probably have just let me suffer if I had eaten that chili pepper.”

“Yep, because you’re just a little twerpette,” Leo replied while ruffling Georgina’s hair affectionately.

“Ahem,” Jo finally interrupted the banter. “I love hearing these stories but we don’t want Calypso’s welcome dinner to get cold, do we? So let’s dig in.”

The others didn’t have to be told twice. As everyone was eating the moussaka (Calypso noticed Leo had even taken an olive on his plate to show the others he could) and chatting about various things, Calypso really did start feeling welcomed and she even caught herself thinking that Jo was probably right; she wouldn’t be having a boring moment here.

[momoh-chiin]

Steven Universe x Female Reader - Angst Prompt!

Well I was really going to sleep since it’s 12:15 AM as we speak- buT I saw this in my DM’s and WELP here we are!! Even after everything, I have a soft spot for Steven- he went through too much?? I cri Anyways anon, order up!!

Female!Reader + “I don’t know who you are anymore.”

 You started dating Steven at fifteen. You knew him since you were thirteen. You got along with his family and friends. You were there helping with little Homeschool since the very beginning. And no matter what, you both always had a little time for each other; it didn’t matter if it was in person, with texts or calling.  Steven was someone affectionate, and you loved it! At first he was shy, he couldn’t grab your hand without melting! But he soon warmed up to you.  You knew that he had a lot of problems because of his mom. You helped him every time you could! Cuddling his problems and insecurities away, kissing him everywhere until he had this big goofy smile and a little blush. You also gave him space if he needed it; sometimes he needed to talk to the gems or Greg, and that was cool!  However, things started to go down after the whole Spinel thing. While he tried to act normal, you could feel him being tenser and stressed out.  He had less and less time to spend with you, wouldn’t talk not only with you, but to anyone at all, he didn’t even send you a little text of “good morning” or “good night” like he always did!  To say you were worried was an understatement. Where did that goofy and cute boy go? Why wouldn’t he let you help him? One day, you were hanging around with the gems. You needed to clear your head and think about anything besides Steven and how to help someone who didn’t want to be helped. Maybe space was everything he needed? After insisting so much, you decided you didn’t want to push the teen. And after all, he would just leave you on seen, so you really didn’t have a choice. —So, we were there! Pearl did her jazz moves, Garnet did her… Garnet thing, and I was awesome, so we formed Alexandrite! — Amethyst was saying, a huge grin on her face. You both were drinking some hot chocolate, while Garnet and Pearl were just listening, small smiles on their faces. You have heard the same story over and over, but it was just better every time.  Things went smoothly, until you all heard the door opening. An obviously stressed Steven could be seen. You, along the gems, couldn’t help but tense up.  The gems knew you two weren’t really on the best conditions, mostly Steven’s fault, so they couldn’t help but feel like they were busted doing something behind his back, even if it was something as normal like hanging with his girlfriend.  You lowered your gaze to the cup on your hands, even if you felt Steven stare on you. You didn’t know if you should greet him or not. You also didn’t notice your hands starting to shake. Could you really be that nervous around your kinda boyfriend? Were you even dating at this point? —…You are all late — Steven said after a while, a deadpan on his face. The gems couldn’t help but tilt their heads in confusion. Steven just sighed, exasperation could be heard —. You guys were supossed to go to Little Homeschool to help me with some errands, like, an hour ago.  If the air was tense before, just imagine now. —Oh! We are really sorry, Steven! We just got carried away with (Y/N) here, why don’t you join us? — Pearl said, a nervous smile on her face. —Yeah, man! We also haven’t seen you with (N/N) around these days! Or, weeks! — Her chuckle was empty and tense —. And we haven’t hang out in days!  Steven groaned, with a now annoyed expression. —We could hang out more if you just take your job seriously! Really? Leave me hanging for a whole hour just to hang out with (Y/N)? — He exclaimed angrily. —At least they do hang with me… —You murmured, hurt heard on your voice. Sadly, not only the gems could hear you. —…What was that?  You turned your gaze to Steven, his expression unreadable, stoic, very weird with him. Before any of the gems could interfere, you spoke again. —At least they don’t leave me hanging for weeks, Steven! — You now yelled, while standing up and making your way to him, tears about to fall —. They talk to me! They listen to me! They spend time with me! Things that you haven’t done for at least three fucking weeks, Steven Universe! — Venom could be heard in your voice. And you didn’t care, you have had enough! Why could Steven be all distant and cold with you, and you should wait for him to just say something as simple as “hi” to you? —What do you mean by that?! Can’t you see I’m awfully busy?! — He yelled back, startling everyone in the room. You didn’t turn back, though. —You’ve been busy since the day we met, Universe! — Steven flinched; he knew that if you were fighting and used his last name, you were truly mad —. And even then, you had time for everyone, even me, to hang out! And you had a fucking war behind your back, mind you! —That was then, and now is now! — He barked — I have to help all this gems to find a purpose for themselves! I have to teach the diamonds to behave! I have to-! —How about you stop thinking about everyone else and start thinking about you, Universe?! — You interrupted, tears now falling freely down your cheeks —. You need help! What your mother did was fucked up, yes, I’m aware! But how do you expect people to understand if you just push everyone away!  Both of you yelled to each other back and forth. Despite their whole experience with wars and fighting, the gems couldn’t find enough courage to step between you both. —That’s enough! — Steven screamed his lungs out, and now you noticed he was a bright pink. You didn’t remember that power. —. It’s not my fault you are so pushy and annoying! That you can’t understand that I can’t be around you all the time! I have to mend every single thing my mom did wrong! How can you be so awful?! — The last thing he said came out as a roar, making you fly behind you back because of you being so close to him. Luckily, Garnet grabbed you before you could get hurt.  Steven saw around; the broken floor, some chairs and the table of the living room now broken and away from him. But most importantly, he saw you hugging Garnet tightly, fear evident in your eyes as you were shaking strongly. Amethyst and Pearl were on both of your sides, in a defensive pose. Your (h/l) (h/c) was all over the place, and even then he could see your tears running violently from your eyes to the floor or anywhere they could land.  Gasping, he turned to his old self, regret evident in his whole body. He tried to get closer to you, but you just clenched harder to Garnet, while the gems took an even more defensive pose. —(Y/N)!! I-I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean anything I’ve said! I didn’t mean to hurt you! Please forgive me- —We’re over. A cold silence surrounded the atmosphere. —…What? — Steven asked, eyes full of surprise, hoping he just misheard whatever you had said. —We’re done for, Universe. I’ve been nothing but, but patient and nice! I’ve waited for you, not knowing if you would come back! — You muttered weakly but lowly enough so everyone could hear —. I’ve been blaming myself because I couldn’t help you, but this isn’t my fault, Universe! No matter how hard I try, if you don’t want my help, I can’t do much about it! Silence filled the room. You could see Steven’s tears starting to fall down, but you wouldn’t budge. Enough was enough. —(Y-Y/N)! I- —I… I don’t know who you are anymore, Steven. You aren’t the Steven Universe I fell in love with… — You choked with your words as you started to cry harder —. I hope you can get the help you need… But I can’t handle this anymore…  The gems decided to step up then. Made their way with you to the warp pad, deciding to take you somewhere you could relax and clear your mind. Before setting off, the gems just sent a disappointed look at Steven and with that, they left.  Now all alone, Steven fell on his knees, crying loudly. Not only were all of his friends leaving, now you also left him.

 And he could only blame himself for that.

WOWIE HAHA ANGST SURE IS HARD HAHA- ;; 7 ;; I wanted this to end nicely, but a thing led to another and, welp!~ I hope you all enjoyed your tears! ♥ If you want me to do a second part (fluff, I hope-) just let me know, my requests are open!

See you soon! ♥

RULES!

[anotheronechicagobog]

Just Like Old Times Part 5/Ending

written by @anotheronechicagobog

A/N: This Kelly Severide, Erin Lindsay, and Gabby Dawson bashing (sorry, I was in a mood while writing this)

WARNINGS: swearing, mature themes, minor violence, alcoholic Kelly, Kelly Severide Bashing, Erin Lindsay bashing, Gabby Dawson bashing

Natalie had pounced on him before he could fumble out an excuse or explanation. She kicked him in the balls and waited until he was on his knees, his face crinkled together like he’d eaten a peeled lemon whole. When he was compromised from pain, his arms going to cup his groin, she laid the strongest blow you’d seen since O’Loughlin smack your ass in front of Jay. Kelly fell to the ground after a loud crack and began to curl in on himself as the cries and moans of pain bounced off the walls in the corridor. You watched as Natalie Manning retrieved her fallen bags calmly and gracefully. Will’s unsurprised eyes met yours before the love of his life stood beside him, facing you. “So, are you going to let us in?”

“Yeah, sure. You guys want some eggs?”

“With chive?”

“Duh, is there any other way to make them?”

“Eggs with ketchup are my personal favourite.” You and Natalie looked at Will with revulsion clear on your faces. “Not in my house you’re not.”

“Y/N... It’s not your house. It’s actually not a house. It’s Jay’s apartment.”

Will was met with the two unimpressed faces of the women who’d each swept a Halstead off his feet... And reconsidered his breakfast choice. “... Chive is good. Chive is very good.”

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“Calanthe honey, I need to talk to you about something important.” 

“Is Jay okay? He didn’t get hurt again, did he?”

“No, honey, Jay is fine. He actually got tickets for a cubs game tomorrow for all of us.”

“Yay!”

“Yes, it’s going to be a lot of fun, but that’s not the important thing we need to talk about. It’s about your biological father.”

“Oh...”

“He... Contacted... Me recently. He wants to meet you. If you want to meet him, I’ll set it up. If not, I’ll tell him that you don’t want to see him. You don’t have to decide anything now, and you can always change your mind.”

“I don’t want to meet him.”

“Honey maybe you should take some time to think about it.”

“I don’t need to think about it. I have you, and Jay. I don’t need him. I’ve never felt bad because I didn’t have a dad, it’s just annoying when Karen makes games and stuff that require dads when she knows that I don’t have one. Or didn’t. Cause I mean, I’ve got Jay now... Right?”

“Yes. You do, he’s promised me numerous times that he’d always be there for us.”

“He told me that too. Plus, I can change my mind later, right?”

“Yes, you absolutely can.”

“Okay, then I don’t want to meet him. He chose to exit my life, I get to choose when or if he re-enters it.”

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FIVE MONTHS LATER

You still hadn’t spoken with Jay about the things he said, mostly due to the fact that he didn’t seem to remember them. It was still partly due to your cowardice though. In your defence, you had a daughter to think about. You couldn’t drag a parade of men and women through your daughter’s life, that wouldn’t be good for her emotional development. And to make things worse Calanthe had gotten attached to Jay. He was now a regular fixture in her life. They went to her ballet recitals and hockey games together. He came over for dinner most days, brought you lunch when he could, and he had taken you both to numerous District 21 fundraisers and events. You’d been ignoring the impending explosion, just focusing on enjoying the three of you as a loving, supportive, healthy unit. “Oh hey, someone tell Halstead his girl is here.” You froze, trying to slow your heartbeat. “She’s not Halstead’s girl.” Erin’s tone, glare, and gritted teeth were more than enough to make the officers shrink away in fear. Not you though, she didn’t scare you. “Detective!” Trudy barked out, eyes lit with fire, “you are a Chicago police officer, not a character on One Tree Hill. Calm down and behave yourself.Y/N, I’ll let Chuckles know you’re here.”

“Thanks, Trudy. Calanthe and I made your favourite cookies the other day so I brought you some.”

“You two are heaven-sent, I swear.” She gave you one of her dazzling smiles as Jay came down the stairs. “Good morning gorgeous. What did I do to deserve this visit? And treats?” His smile was contagious, filling you with energy. “Trudy’s favourite? Y/N, I’m hurt.”

“Hey! You’re practically married to her! Let me have my happiness!” Jay ducked his head and put his hand on your lower back. You were guided over to the office off to the side of the entrance. “Thanks for the cookies but what are you doing here?”

“It’s about Calanthe.”

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, it’s just that... Calanthe’s school is having a father-daughter dance... And they won’t let me take her. The PTA bitch Karen said that her dad has to bring her. And... I know that this is a lot-”

“Yes. When is it?” 

“Two weeks on Saturday. But would you mind if you pretend you don’t know? Calanthe wants to ask you herself, I just wanted to make sure that you were actually okay with her asking.” He smiled softly, gently rubbing up and down your arms and pulling you closer. “This is the best news I’ve heard all day. Seriously. I am looking forward to this evening even more now. Calanthe... You... I don’t want to imagine a life without either of you. You two have become incredibly important to me... And I have never been more grateful for anything in my life. I love you- I love both of you.” His eyes were wide, his voice had become panicked at the end. “We love you too.” You wrapped your arms around his middle and tucked yourself into him. You could feel his body exhale against you as he returned the gesture.

“Is the PTA bitch’s name actually Karen?”

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“What smells so good?”

“Mom’s making boxty! She said it’s basically an Irish potato pancake.”

“Boxty? I haven’t had that since I was a kid.”

“Mom said that you said that you missed your mom’s cooking, so she asked Willie if she could borrow your mom’s cookbook.”

“She did all that? For me?”

“Yeah.”

“And my brother actually lets you call him ‘Willie’ he hates it when I do that!”

“Well, I’m cute, so...”

“Oh!,” a hand went to his chest while a look of mock hurt plastered itself on his face, just below his beaming eyes, “and I’m not? I’m hurt Calanthe, hurt. You know what this means... You get a visit from the tickle monster!”

“Eep!”

You entered the living room to announce that dinner was ready when Jay was just about to catch your daughter. “Mom!” She darted behind your legs, “don’t let him tickle me!”

“Oh, so the tickle monster came out, huh?”

“Yes, but in my defence, she implied that I’m not cute.”

“Well you’re not cute,” He tried to hide but you could see his body deflate and his eyes dim, “you’re smokin’ hot.” He perked up instantly visibly happier than before. “Ewwwwwwww mom!”

“Alright guys, go wash up before your dinner gets cold.”

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“Jay... Is it okay if I ask you something?” His eyes darted to you before returning to your daughter’s nervous form. “Of course, you can ask me anything, always.”

“In two weeks, on Saturday, there’s a dance. At my school. It’s a father-daughter dance. And I know that you- you’re not... My dad... But I’d like you to be...” Your heart was stuttering and soaring at her words, “I- will you come with me? To the dance?”

“Yes,” You were shocked by the hoarseness in his voice, “there is nothing I would rather do more.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

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“Mom?”

“I’ve already read you two stories, it’s time for bed now.”

“That’s not what I was going to ask.”

“What were you going to ask, then?”

“Do you love Jay?”

“Honey... I... Yes. I do.”

“I think he loves you too.”

“Honey-”

“You should date him. That’s what people do when they love each other, right?”

“Yes, you’re right. Tell you what, after the dance, I’ll talk to him.”

“Yay!”

“Now go to sleep.”

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The two weeks flew by, you’d gone dress shopping and gotten her a dress that your pants-only daughter was, for once, excited to wear. 

You were growing antsy. Anxiety gnawing at your insides, making you quite jittery. “Eep!” You jumped up, startled before seeing that it was only Natalie. “Oh, Nat. Sorry, hi, uh, what’s up?”

“I’d ask you how much coffee you had this morning but I know you hate coffee. So, are you going to tell me what’s making you so nervous”

“I... After the dance at Calanthe’s school, I’m going to talk to Jay.”

“About?”

“Feelings. My feelings. About him.”

“Really? This is great Y/N! Just take some deep breaths, okay? I know that this is nerve-wracking. But I think that you’ll feel better once it’s all out in the open.”

“I think so too.” Your best friend hugged you, intended on instilling you with ease and calmness. “Now,” you separated and straightened up, “I need a consult. Tender age male with a gnarly broken leg.”

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The day had finally arrived. Calanthe was deciding what shoes to wear when you heard a knock on the door. Confused as to who was at the door because Jay has a key, you opened the door, and Kelly was there. In a suit. “What are you doing here, Kelly?”

“I heard that Calanthe’s school was having a father-daughter dance. So I’m here.”

“Kelly, what are you doing?”

“I’m here to take my kid to a dance.”

“She is not your kid. She is the biological daughter you abandoned before she was even born.”

“I have the right to-”

“You signed away your parental rights years ago.”

“Well, who is she going to go with, then?”

“Jay.”

“Halstead?”

“Yes.”

“ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!”

“Lower your voice and mind your tone when you talk to me. The only time you have ever shown interest in my daughter was when your girlfriend started asking questions. My daughter does not deserve to be thrown aside when you lose interest. She does not deserve to have you pop in and out of her life when it suits you. After your first ‘visit’ I asked her if she wanted to meet you, she said ‘no’. You need to respect that.”

“I don’t need to. She is MY daughter! Not his!”

“You need to go. Calanthe asked him. Calanthe chose him.”

“Calanthe chose him, or you chose him?”

“This conversation is over.” You tried to slam the door but he blocked it with his foot and pushed the door open. Entering your home without permission. “Kelly, you need to leave. Now!”

“NO! I am going to take MY daughter to her school dance, and then we will go out for ice cream with Penelope!”

“Mom?”

“You must be Calanthe. I’m Kelly Severide your-”

“Kelly-” He shoved you into the brick wall on the left side of the apartment. 

“-I am your father. I’m taking you to the dance and for ice cream. Come on.”

“No. Don’t touch me, and get away from my mom!”

“Calanthe, don’t be difficult.”

“I want Jay!” Your daughter shrunk behind you when she saw the look on Kelly’s face. “What are you doing here Severide?”

“Taking MY daughter to the father-daughter dance Halstead!”

“It doesn’t look like they want you here. I think you should leave... Y/N why is one side of your face all scraped up?”

“Jay...”

“Get out or I’m calling for backup.”

“Is that a threat, Halstead?”

“A promise that I will protect my family no matter what.”

“Your fam-”

“You have ten seconds to get in your car and drive away.”

“Don’t-”

“Ten, nine-”

“Halstead-”

“Eight, seven, six-”

“FINE!”

Kelly stormed out and was gone by the time Jay got to one. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. We’re both fine.”

“I’m glad you’re here Jay.” she gripped his waist as tight as she could, he responded by wrapping his arms around the top of her shoulders. “So am I.”

“You two should get going, or you’ll be late.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“The three of us have been looking forward to this for weeks. You two are going to go to that dance, and I am going to Natalie’s for pizza and nature documentaries. Kelly Severide be damned. And then after all that we are going to come back here and have a double chocolate cake.”

“Alright. That sounds good to me. Calanthe!”

“Let’s gooooooooooooo! We’re going to be late.” Jay allowed the pint-size human to drag him out the door, laughing all the way.

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You slammed the door, furious. You’d had fun at Natalie’s, until you had to leave early. At first you had brushed off all questions about your minor injuries. Once the pizzas were finished and you’d watched three episodes of This Strange Rock on Netflix, you could hold them back anymore. Everyone was shocked at Kelly’s behaviour.

*FLASHBACK*

“I don’t even know how he found out what school she goes to, much less that there was a father-daughter dance. He said that he heard about it, but from who? I only told you guys.” Natalie, Ava, Maggie, April, Sylvie, and Kim all shook their heads. Gabby and Erin looked very interested in their glasses of wine suddenly. Something that didn’t go unnoticed and made you sit up straighter. “Gabby? Erin? Do you know anything?”

Kim’s eyes suddenly widened in realization. “You didn’t. Erin, tell me you didn’t.”

Gabby and Erin looked at each other before pursing their lips. “He deserved to know Y/N.”

“No, he didn’t Gabby! He gave up his parental rights before Calanthe was even born! The only reason he ever came around was because he got a girlfriend! And the only reason she found out about my daughter is because you told her!”

“Hey! Don’t get mad at her for doing the right thing Y/N!”

“Erin, Jay doesn’t love you. I’m sorry that you feel hurt but you need to stop acting like this! You almost got Adam and I killed today! You blew our cover because you feel entitled to Jay! You need to stop. He loves her, everyone can see that.”

“What did you two do, anyway?”

“April, you’re Kelly’s friend-”

“Yes I am, but I know when not to tell Kelly things! He’s impulsive and possessive when he’s not drinking a shelf a night, it’s a thousand times worse than when he is! And even then, Kelly did sign away his rights a long time ago. He can’t just change his mind about it. Y/N has said, numerous times, that if Calanthe wants to meet Kelly she’ll make it happen.”

“And my daughter said she doesn’t want to meet him. His unannounced, and illegal, visit only scared her and solidified her urge to not meet him. How could you?”

“I heard Jay talking about how excited he was to Antonio, he won’t even talk to me unless it’s case-related anymore. I didn’t have time to tell Kelly myself, but I ran into Gabby on a call and when Sylvie was busy, I told her.”

“I told Kelly, I know what it’s like to lose a child and I couldn’t let Kelly go through that.”

“KELLY DID NOT LOSE MY DAUGHTER! HE ABANDONED HER! HE MADE A CHOICE TO LEAVE AND NOT CONTACT ME! HE IS NOT THE VICTIM HERE!”

You’d grabbed your things and left, too angry to stay in the same building as those two woefully misinformed traitors. You didn’t miss the look of rage and utter disbelief on the faces of the other women as you left. Nat’s in particular. Erin and Gabby would be put in their place, that you knew.

*FLASHBACK OVER*

Jay and Calanthe wouldn’t be back for a couple of hours, so you decided to angry-clean your home. And angry-cook. By the time your two favourite people returned home the entire apartment was spotless, not one stray dish or article of clothing was left unwashed and unorganized. You weren’t a neat freak so Jay raised an eyebrow at the state of your living room. “Who’s ready for cake?”

“Me!”

“Ha, well alright then. I already served up three plates. I’m assuming you want one too, Jay?”

“Absolutely.” Laughter and stories from the night flowed easily until Calanthe was yawning. It took some coaxing but you got Calanthe, upstairs, out of her dress, and in her bed. Her arm wrapped around her favourite stuffed animal, far, far away in dreamland.

“So, how was movie night?”

“I can tell by the look in your eyes, that you already know something happened.”

“Yep.”

Sigh.

“Erin told Gabby who told Kelly about Calanthe’s school and the dance. They thought that since Kelly is Calanthe’s biological daughter he’s entitled to... Her. He came around because he got a girlfriend and Gabby told her he has a daughter. And she’s been badgering him about her. I talked to Calanthe, I asked her if she wanted to meet him, and she said ‘no’. He just... I don’t know. I don’t want him to treat Calanthe like Benny treated him. Popping in and out of her life, making promises he can’t keep, and leaving messes in his wake.”

“You’re pissed, I get it. You deserve to be. I have to say, I don’t like how Erin has been behaving lately. I think I need to talk to Voight about changing partners.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Why? Her actions are not your fault.”

“I know, I’m just sorry you have to deal with all this drama, I guess.”

“Hey, as long as you and Calanthe are close to me, I don’t care. Drama won’t scare me away. The two of you hold a lot more importance in my life than you realize.”

“Yeah,” you shifted in your seat, nervous, “about that. Jay, I need to tell you something.” He sat up straighter his eyes tightening their focus on you. “Is everything okay? What’s going on?”

“I know that you probably don’t feel this way, especially cause I’m a single mom and I doubt you would want to get involved with me knowing that she’s part of the package...” Jay suddenly sucked in air and you braced yourself for the rejection you knew was coming. That would break not only yours, but your daughter’s heart. The rejection that would ruin your friendship and be known about in detail by everyone in your social circle by the end of the week (who were you kidding it would be 48 hours max). “I am in love with you. I have been for a long time, actually, since the rubber duck incident.” A dry chuckle escaped your lips, remembering that day in the barracks. His gaze seemed magnetized because you couldn’t resist returning his gaze anymore. “I didn’t search you out after we got discharged because I knew we both needed time, otherwise we’d total our relationship. Granted that’s what’s happening now, and I have Calanthe which could complicate things... I... I am beyond a shadow of a doubt, irrevocably, in love with you Jay Halstead. And it’s okay that you don’t love me back.”

“This... Is the best day of my life.” Your questioning eyes met his elated ones as he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you further into the couch and towards his athletic body. “First I get to take the little girl I’ve wished was my daughter since the day I met her, the woman I’ve been in love with since I was eighteen just told me she loves me back, and that I could one day have everything I wish for. You, as my wife, and Calanthe, as my daughter. I have been dreaming about this for so long, and when I was on pain meds, I actually dreamed that I told you, and it felt so real, but none of those dreams, fantasies, could in any way compare to the real thing. God, I love you so much. You and Calanthe... Can I kiss you?”

“Please.” The world faded, and it was just you and Jay. His chapped lips slanted against your soft ones. It was an otherworldly experience, feeling anger, doubt, and anxiety vanish. And replaced with... rightness. It was the only word that fit this feeling of knowing that he was the love you were waiting for. That he completed the puzzle embedded in your soul.

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“Jay,” he turned to look at you holding onto your keys instead of putting them in the lock, to release Natalie of babysitting duties and effectively ending your second date, “remember how you told me about the dreams you had when you were on morphine? About telling me how you felt?”

“Yeah? What about them? You want details, don’t you?” His smirk edged closer to your giddily pursed lips. “No, well yes, but what I’m trying to say is that the confession pain med dreams weren’t actually dreams. You told me that you loved me a few times, actually, high as a kite.”

“Seriously? I did?”

“Yeah...”

“Oh my God.” His ears were flushed pink and you were giggling as you tilted his embarrassed face up to face yours. “Don’t be embarrassed, I hear worse all the time, I’m just happy that you actually meant it and that it wasn’t just pain-killer rambles.”

“Oh? Do you get a lot of men professing their love while on Tylenol three?” His mock jealousy only made you laugh. “If I didn’t know you better, I’d say you were jealous.”

“Well it’s a good thing you do know me, and know that the only thing I am jealous of is that Will gets to spend all day working with you and I don’t.” Once the laughter almost suffocated you both you slid the key into the lock. “Want to come inside and see Calanthe? From the sounds I can hear she’s still up.”

“More than anything.”

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Please comment on this fic if you want me to write a one-shot for the ‘rubber duck incident’!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ALSO, comments are just generally appreciated on my fics! Please leave one if you can, it's very encouraging and helps me write more.

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@jayhalsstead​ @jayxhalsteads​ @jaysoffer​ @chicagopd-chicagofire​ @jay-halstead​

I think you guys might like this! (Also my posts haven’t been appearing in searches lately so I figured tagging you guys would make it easier to find)

[knuffled]

discipline & punish - chapter 3

no smut in this chapter, but i think there will be in the next chapter. if you enjoyed the chapter, i would appreciate it if you reblogged! i do read all the tags and they bring me great joy.

here’s the ao3 link

chapter three - the greater good

Annabeth woke to the sound of falling rain pattering against a window pane, punctuated intermittently by a shrill, mechanical beeping noise, and an aching pain in her side that was somehow both dull and sharp at the same time. When she opened her eyes, the fluorescent light above her bed nearly blinded her, but when she raised her hand to shield them from the glare, she noticed that her hand was a lot heavier than normal. Her entire body pulsed with pain, making the task of sitting up excruciating, but she managed it all the same and blearily took in her surroundings.

Once she regained some semblance of clarity, her lips curled downwards when she saw the IV drip running down the length of her right arm. Her eyes fell to the heart rate monitor by the window before moving to the bedside table to her right where someone had left a bouquet of flowers with a get-well card taped to the plastic. It was hard to make out the handwriting scrawled across the card even though she was sitting right beside it.

Whatever they had sedated her with made it near impossible to form a coherent thought. To make matters worse, her sensitivity had heightened to an uncomfortable degree. On top of the lights and the awful noise the monitor made every few seconds, someone had taken the liberty of removing her clothes and slipping her into a hospital gown, and the fabric felt starchy and uncomfortable against her bare skin. Even the sterile quality of the air made it painful to inhale.

The pain in her sides didn’t help either. She tentatively probed the affected area with her free hand and inhaled sharply when a horrible piercing pain shot through her. The pain was so vivid, in contrast to how languid everything else was, that it jolted her memory. It felt like Percy’s sword was stabbing her at that very moment. The mere thought of him made her muscles tense immediately.

If she was in the hospital, who was handling him? What sort of chaos was he causing without her there to stop him? It was hard to tell with the heavy downpour outside, but it seemed that New Athens wasn’t burning to the ground, at the very least.

She screwed her eyes shut and took a deep breath. It was useless to worry about the camp when she was in such critical condition. Mentally, she replayed the fight with Percy and tried to fathom how she could have possibly thought intentionally getting stabbed was a good idea, but no answer made itself clear to her.

The clock hanging above the door frame to her left showed that it was early in the evening. With great effort, she pulled the bouquet towards her and examined the card on the front. It was Piper’s messy handwriting informing her that she had dropped by the visit when Annabeth had been asleep before wishing her a speedy recovery and promising to visit her again soon.

Seeing her friend’s familiar handwriting brought a small smile to her face, but her eyelids persistently continued to droop. It was hard to say if it was because of the injuries or all the painkillers flooding through her veins that made her feel so tired even though she had only been awake for a few minutes at best, but already sleep beckoned to her.

She was about to sink back into the bed when there was a commotion outside her door. It sounded like two people were arguing, but she couldn’t make out what was being said. However, only seconds later, the door burst open and a blonde man strode into the room, a dark look on his face, even as an orderly feebly tried to stop him.

Annabeth blinked owlishly and said, “You don’t look very happy to see me, Jason.”

“Gods, look at you. I heard what happened, but I didn’t believe it until now,” Jason said, clenching his jaw. “What were you thinking, Annabeth?”

“Nice to see you too.”

For an instant, Jason’s lips quirked upwards before setting into a hard line again. “This is no time for jokes. You almost died, Annabeth. Will told me that if you had been brought to the hospital even five minutes later, you would’ve been beyond saving.”

Annabeth sighed and said, “I don’t know what you want me to say.”

“I don’t want you to say anything. I just need you to understand that what you did was very stupid, and I would like it if you didn’t do something like that again,” Jason said.

Despite her heavy injuries, Annabeth found herself glaring at him. “I did what I thought was best. There was a threat, and I dealt with it. That’s all there is to it. Doing nothing would’ve been even more dangerous,” she snapped.

“You can’t mean to tell me there was no better way,” Jason said, frowning.

“Like I said,” Annabeth repeated. “I did what I thought was best.”

Jason stared at her for a while before deflating in front of her. Annabeth felt her heart squeeze in her chest at the look of unabashed concern on his face and instantly felt bad for being so glib with him when he was only worried about her.

Annabeth looked to the orderly who was still hanging awkwardly in between the door-frame and said, “We’re fine. You can leave us.”

The orderly looked between her and Jason before nodding tentatively and leaving. Once he was gone, Jason shot her a look of gratitude before sinking into one of the chairs by the window, cupping his face with his hands. There was a dull roar of thunder and the wind howled against the windows, making the entire building creak in protest.

After a while, Jason exhaled heavily and whispered, “I’m glad you’re okay.”

She stared at her hands, resting on her lap, and mumbled, “Thanks. Sorry for being so bitchy. I’m still really out of it.”

Jason snorted and ran his fingers through his hair. “That’s probably because you’re shot full of enough painkillers to tranquilize a fucking horse.”

Annabeth barked a laugh and said, “Pretty sure that would kill me.”

He studied her face for a moment before giving her a significant look. “You look like shit, by the way,” he said.

“Okay, that was uncalled for.”

“He got you real good, didn’t he?” Jason said, a hint of admiration in his voice. “Never seen you so bruised up before. Must’ve been a hell of a fight.”

A part of her wanted to protest that it was because she had been so out of practice, but, although she would never admit it out loud, Annabeth wasn’t sure she would’ve been able to win if she had been at her best anyways.

“It was,” she admitted quietly.

“I know you’re probably worried about him, but you can rest easy. At least for now. He’s being treated here at the hospital too, although I’ve been told his injuries aren’t nearly as bad as yours. Apparently, he’s been fairly well behaved so far, but I’m not sure how long that’ll last. I can’t stay for long – they need me in New Rome in a week – but I will keep an eye on him until you recover,” Jason explained.

Annabeth breathed a sigh of relief and sank back farther into her bed. “That’s good news,” she said. “Thanks for doing that.”

“So what happened exactly? I haven’t been able to get a straight answer from anyone. Although, I suspect that that’s because they don’t have a clue about what happened either,” Jason said, the hint of an accusation creeping into his voice.

“I know, I know, I should’ve told someone about what was going on, but there was a lot on my mind, so it didn’t really occur to me at the time,” Annabeth said, trying her best to sound apologetic.

Jason nodded, seemingly satisfied with her display of penitence, and leaned back in his seat while he listened to Annabeth relate what had happened since Percy’s arrival at camp. There were parts where he raised his eyebrows and parts where he clenched his jaw, but he didn’t otherwise interrupt her, something she was grateful for. More than anyone else she knew, Jason had the rare capacity to listen to people. It was what made him so good at his job as New Athens’s ambassador to New Rome.

When she finished, he shook his head and said, “I came to New Rome a few days after Percy was driven out of the city, and let me tell you: it was not pretty, Annabeth. It was utter carnage there. Took them nearly two months to fix all the property damage, not mention all the people that he seriously hurt or killed.”

When she was silent, he leaned forward, his hands clasped in his lap, and said gently, “Look, I know you beat him and everything, but from what I’m hearing, it sounded like you were lucky not to get killed. I’m not sure that losing makes him any less of a threat. You haven’t seen the bodies he left behind in his wake in New Rome. He cannot stay here.”

Annabeth shifted in her seat and said, “I– I understand where you’re coming from, but I don’t think that he’s going to try anything.”

“What makes you so sure?” Jason demanded. “You said it yourself – he’s like a wild animal. How long do you think it’ll take before he decides to hurt someone?”

“I don’t know how to explain it, but I think he was trying to figure out where he fit into all this,” she said slowly.

When Jason raised an eyebrow, Annabeth said, “Like, I think he wanted to know where he fit into the pecking order. Since I beat him, he knows that there’s someone stronger than him, someone he has to listen to.”

“I get that you feel that way, but I still think it’s too risky to let him stay,” Jason said, his brow furrowed.

Annabeth made a sound of frustration and grit her teeth when her body screamed out in pain as she sat up straighter.

“He came from the Wolf House, right? Well, I’m not an expert or anything, but wolves live in packs, and packs have their own hierarchies. At the top, there’s an alpha that is in charge and then there are betas that obey the alpha,” Annabeth explained.

Jason frowned and said, “So the fact that he challenged you for the right to be the alpha and lost makes him a beta? You think that’ll be enough for him to listen to you?”

Annabeth shrugged and said, “I don’t know, but if he’s been living with wolves for the last eighteen years, then he’s gotta have picked up some of their behavior.”

Jason didn’t look convinced. “It’s a good guess, but it’s still a guess.”

When Annabeth was silent, Jason sat back in his seat and shook his head in disbelief. “I don’t get why you’re so hesitant about this. As Camp Director, your responsibility is towards all the citizens in New Athens. If there is even the slightest risk to their safety, you are obligated to eliminate it, despite your personal feelings. That’s the burden of leadership.”

Annabeth squirmed in her seat and played with her fingers, unable to think of a way to argue with what he had said.

“I also hope you realize that there are other consequences to letting him stay here too. Like, I can guarantee that Reyna and the Romans won’t sit quietly knowing he’s being sheltered here. They’ll take it as an insult, and it could risk undermining the peace and trust we’ve worked so hard to establish over the last five years,” he argued.

He was right - every point Jason had made was perfectly valid. Even two weeks ago, she would’ve also been vehemently opposed to the idea of letting someone like Percy into camp, but there was still something, some part of her that she couldn’t explain, that silently opposed the idea. As absurd as it was, making Percy leave camp felt wrong.

He had been kicked out of New Rome already. If she chose to exile him as well, then he wouldn’t have anywhere safe to turn to. Leaving him out on his own was basically a death sentence. Annabeth knew without a fraction of a doubt that Percy would draw monsters to him like flies to honey. Even as strong as he was, it would be impossible to survive an endless onslaught forever. At some point, tiredness would get to him and he would let his guard down and that would be more than enough to get him killed.

Keeping him at camp risked the lives of everyone else that lived there, and she couldn’t, given her responsibilities, prioritize the safety of one person over the collective, especially not when it could incur the wrath of New Rome, but at the same time, the image of her first encounter with Percy flashed in her mind. She recalled how haunted and tense and, frankly, how scared he had looked. Percy knew as well as she did that he couldn’t last out there on his own forever. There was a reason he’d traveled the length of the entire country to get here after all.

Furthermore, there was something significant about him, although she couldn’t say what it was. The timing and nature of arrival in conjunction with his raw power and mysterious past all screamed to her that he was important somehow, and if she was the only person he might be willing to listen to, then she had an obligation to keep watch over him.

Annabeth sighed and said, “I understand where you’re coming from, and you are totally right, but I can’t throw him out to the wolves, no pun intended. If we force him out of camp, it’s as good as executing him. I’m not willing to hand out a death sentence so easily.”

Jason scoffed and said, “Annabeth, he’s a criminal! He has hurt and killed people, innocent people. It’s not like you are being asked to turn your back on a normal demigod; he’s already proven beyond the benefit of a doubt that he is too dangerous to stay here. I can’t believe you, of all people, need to be convinced of that considering he nearly killed you!”

“You’re not wrong, but I can’t turn my back on someone who needs my help,” Annabeth said, shaking her head. “You know as well as I do what horrible things have been done in the name of the greater good. If I choose to forsake my sense of morality just because it’s convenient or the situation demands it, then having any morals at all becomes meaningless.”

Jason opened his mouth to say something more before he closed it and stared at her. “You really aren’t going to change your mind about this, are you?” he said quietly.

“I am not,” Annabeth affirmed.

“Even though this could blow up in your face spectacularly?”

“I’ll assume responsibility for whatever happens,” Annabeth said. “Besides, if I’m wrong, you can always tell me ‘I told you so’.”

“Well, let’s hope that day never comes,” Jason muttered.

“I’m a Daughter of Athena. We’re not usually known for being wrong,” Annabeth said, a half-smile on her face.

Jason shook his head in fond exasperation. “I’ve missed you, Annabeth,” he said.

“Me too,” she said, softening. “I take it Reyna is keeping you very busy.”

He breathed a laugh and said, “That’s a gross understatement. It feels like there’s always someone pissed off about something or another. I don’t know how she does it honestly.”

“She’s strong, stronger than either of us,” Annabeth admitted.

Jason nodded, but there was a look of concern on his face. “I worry about her,” he said, sighing. “She tries to do too much on her own. Has trouble depending on people. Like you, I guess.”

“I depend on you,” Annabeth noted.

His lips quirked into a smile. “Not nearly enough though.”

Annabeth cleared her throat and said, “How’s Piper?”

For the first time since he came into her hospital room, a genuine smile crossed Jason’s lips. “She’s good. We’re good. Busy, but we make time for each other,” he said.

“That’s good,” Annabeth said softly.

“Yeah,” Jason said, sounding distant.

“She dropped off some flowers earlier when I was asleep apparently,” Annabeth said, nodding to the bouquet on her bedside table.

“I’m surprised you could read her handwriting,” Jason said, grinning.

“I’ll be sure to let her know you said that,” Annabeth teased.

Jason laughed and looked like he was going to say something more when he stopped and fished his phone out of his pocket. He shot her an apologetic look and had a quick, hushed conversation. Once he was done, he stood up and pocketed his phone, looking suddenly weary.

“I have to get going,” Jason said with a wan smile.

“Duty calls?” Annabeth asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Duty calls,” he said, sighing. “Get better soon, Annabeth. I meant what I said earlier, you know? I’m here for you, so feel free to rely on me more.”

Annabeth nodded, her lips curled in a small smile, and watched as Jason made his way out the room, but he stopped between the doorway for a few seconds before turning to her.

“I just hope you know what you’re doing.”

He left before she could have a chance to respond, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

:::

A cold breeze blew against her face, rousing her in the middle of the night. Annabeth sat up groggily and looked to the window, which was now open even though she could’ve sworn it had been shut when she’d fallen asleep. It wasn’t raining anymore, but the wind was still strong, diffusing the earthy scent of petrichor into the sterile air of the hospital room. The curtains billowed, briefly obscuring the figure sitting on the window sill, staring at the moon. Annabeth froze when she realized that it was Percy and immediately scanned the room for anything she could use as a weapon.

“Relax,” Percy said, still not looking at her. “I’m not here to hurt you. Besides, if I wanted to, I wouldn’t have waited for you to wake up.”

“I wouldn’t put it past you to wait till I’m awake. Your moonlit silhouette suggests that you seem to have a penchant for theatrics,” Annabeth said, trying to keep her tone light.

“Theatrics, huh?” Percy snorted. “That’s amusing coming from someone who intentionally let herself get stabbed to win a fight.”

“I did what I had to,” Annabeth said carefully.

“You’re right. If you hadn’t taken such a risk, I would’ve killed you that night,” Percy said.

“I didn’t peg you for a sore loser.”

Finally, Percy turned to look at her and, as always, meeting his eyes froze her. “I know you’re not stupid enough to think you deserved to win that night. You’re lucky to still be alive, and you know it.”

There wasn’t any venom or heat in his voice. He spoke matter-of-factly, like he was simply relaying the truth of the matter, leaving no room for argument. Not that she could really disagree with him anyways. In her heart, she knew he was right.

“Is that why you’re here? To gloat?” Annabeth asked wearily.

He shook his head with a strangely nervous look on his face. When he spoke, he was unable to hide the quiver in his voice.

“Now that you’ve won, will you force me to leave?” Percy asked.

“That depends on you. Will you behave yourself if I let you stay?”

“I have no choice since I lost,” he said bitterly.

“I don’t know what you’re expecting, but I’m not going to like enslave you or something. I won’t ask anything of you that I don’t ask of anyone else,” Annabeth said. “You’re free to do as you wish as long as you don’t hurt anyone else.” Percy furrowed his brow, seemingly taken aback by her answer, and processed her statement in silence. “But I still have to obey you,” he said slowly.

“If that’s the way you see it.”

A stony look crossed his face as he pursed his lips, making her grit her teeth. Why couldn’t he see how far she was going for him?

“Look, everyone else around me wants you gone. They think you’re too dangerous to keep around. I am the only one in favor of letting you stay, so I need you to understand that I am not your enemy,” Annabeth said, trying not to sound as irritated as she felt.

Percy cocked his head to one side, looking thoroughly unconvinced, and tapped his chin with his index finger. “What if I just kill you right now?” he mused.

Annabeth gave him a cold smile, black rage rising in the pit of her stomach. “You can certainly try, you little shit,” she said, feeling strangely confident despite her injuries.

They stared at each other in silence for a while before Percy looked away and nodded tersely. “Very well,” he said. “I will do as you say.”

Immediately, the anger brewing inside her dissipated and left her feeling oddly pleased. “Good,” she said lightly. “Then there shouldn’t be a problem.”

There was a pause before Annabeth coughed surreptitiously and said, “Will that be all?”

Percy shook his head reluctantly, and when he spoke, there was noticeable frustration in his voice. “No, I also– I wanted to see you.”

Annabeth suppressed the urge to laugh once she saw the conflicted look on Percy’s face, and, despite the situation, found herself studying him instead.

Now that they weren’t trying to kill each other, she was finally able to properly look at him. Again, the word “beautiful” came to mind. His wavy, dark hair, long enough to tickle his eyebrows even after his haircut, was silky and smooth. The wind tousled his hospital gown, teasing her with a glimpse of his bare chest, taut muscle glistening like freshly fallen snow under the glow of the moon. The shocking, feral sea green of his eyes. Everything about him seemed to tempt her.

If only he wasn’t so young, she mused.

Annabeth caught herself and shook her head, trying to dispel that dangerous train of thought, afraid of where it might lead, and tried to focus. Even though he had said he didn’t come to hurt her, it would still be foolish to let her guard down.

She cleared her throat and asked, “And why is that?”

He looked down thoughtfully for a few moments before he said, “Because– Because we are the same. We both have monsters inside us. We would both rather die than submit to someone.”

His words struck a chord in her, confirming the vague sense of kinship she had felt since she’d first seen him. At the same time, she didn’t miss that there was also a tense contradiction in what he had said.

“Yet you yielded,” Annabeth said.

“Yet I yielded,” Percy agreed begrudgingly.

Annabeth frowned and tried to think of where he was going with this before a theory came to mind. “And you don’t know why?” she said.

He nodded, his eyes lighting up, and said, “I was prepared to die if I lost, but when the time came, I hesitated and I don’t know why.”

“It’s not strange to want to live,” Annabeth noted.

Percy withered in front of her and Annabeth couldn’t help feeling like she had just broken his trust. “I thought you of all people would understand,” he said quietly. “I guess I was wrong.”

“Wait! I do,” Annabeth said quickly, strangely desperate not to break whatever this newfound connection was between them. “I do understand.”

When he looked at her suspiciously, Annabeth licked her lips and continued, “The reason I won, the reason I took that crazy risk when we fought was because I couldn’t stand the idea of losing. I couldn’t tolerate the idea of submitting to another person. That was why I took your blade, knowing full well it might kill me, as long as it meant that I wouldn’t lose.”

Percy breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Yes, exactly. That’s why I can’t understand why I chose to surrender.”

There was a lull in the conversation as Annabeth reflected on what he had shared with her. Outside her window, a tree creaked in the wind. Eventually, Annabeth sighed and said, “I don’t really have answers for you.”

Percy shook his head and said, “I didn’t expect you to. I think I came here to confirm something.”

“Confirm what?” Annabeth asked, frowning.

The shadow of a smile crossed his lips, and Annabeth couldn’t help thinking it suited him better than the brooding look he usually wore.

“Confirm what I wonder?” Percy said lightly.

The breeze blowing into the room carried with it that familiar, haunting scent of cedar and elderberry. She probably had the opiates to thank for the fact that she had been unaware of the smell for so long despite Percy sitting so close to her. Still, Annabeth was surprised that it wasn’t overpowering her like she would have expected it to given his proximity. Instead, the sillage was present only ever so slightly, not so subtle that she wouldn’t have been able to detect it, but still weak enough to leave her wanting more.

Annabeth gripped her bedsheets hard as a sudden irresistible impulse to touch him washed over her. More than that, she wanted to possess him, to dominate him. Every time she encountered that scent of his, it unhinged her just a little bit more. Annabeth prided herself in her self-control, but she knew that she was dangerously close to losing it at the rate that things were going.

Images flashed to mind of him handcuffed to her bed frame, blindfolded and gagged and gorgeous, as she fucked him into the mattress hard, her hands wrapped around his porcelain throat. She subtly rubbed her thighs against each other as a flood of want washed over her. Annabeth bit her lip and tried frantically to think of a distraction, anything to dispel the image from her head, but the more she tried, the more it took root there.

This was dangerous.

Christ, he was only eighteen. He was six years younger than her, almost the same age as her step-brothers, but her body already burned with arousal. Annabeth couldn’t remember the last time she felt so turned on by someone who hadn’t even touched her. She forced her gaze away from him and cleared her throat.

“If that’s all you need from me, you should leave. I want to get some rest,” Annabeth said, much sharper than she intended, desperate for any excuse to get him away from her before she did something stupid.

“Of course,” Percy said, but the tone in his voice suggested he knew she was hiding something from him.

The intensity of the scent swelled for a moment and then, just like that, he was gone, and the scent with him. She stiffened for a moment before taking in deep lungfuls of air, part of her desperate to see if she could still smell him while the other part was relieved she couldn’t.

Annabeth couldn’t fall asleep for the rest of the night. The self-loathing bubbling in her stomach made it far too difficult to relax.

[ellana-ravenwood]

A fitting name - Dick Grayson x Reader

Summary : You’re dating Dick Grayson, aka Nightwing, and contrary to popular belief...he ISN’T always that happy-go-lucky people think he is. Actually, you’d even go to the extend to say that he was a moody bitch sometimes.

This story has been sitting in my draft for a while, but every time I did a vote about which one you wanted to see next...it lost by a landslide. This time however, it won by ONE vote haha, so bam here it is, hope you’ll like it :

My masterlist blog : @ella-ravenwood-archives

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It had been going on for a while already. And it all started over such a silly thing...A few months ago, out on a mission, you got badly injured. But you were finally back on your feet and ready to go out there again.

Well, it was without counting on your boyfriend, who suddenly decided to become overprotective of you ! Usually, you wouldn’t have mind. In fact, you would have thought it was pretty darn cute, how he wanted to make sure you were alright. Showed that he cared. A lot.

Only problem was : you weren’t particularly known for your patience, and he was REALLY insisting on you staying behind, ignoring all your comments about being completely fine and healthy. 

Things escalated quickly, as you got vexed he didn’t think you were ready. But also got angry that he was basically ordering you to stay home ! How dare he ! Who was he to order you around like that ?! If you wanted to go, then you would go ! 

So you rose your voice a little bit. Because he was being unreasonable, and too damn controlling. He knew you hated that. 

Only that got him to raise his own voice too, and then just like that...You were yelling at each others, not quite sure how the hell it got that far. 

Well, “not quite sure”. 

You actually knew what happened. You were calm at first, and only started to get angry because he was getting angry. And though you knew his anger could suddenly blow out, and you probably should have had defused things instead of pushing him...Well, you just weren’t about to let anyone walk on your feet, even if it was him ! And even if everything started with the best intentions ! 

Sure it was cute that he wanted to protect you, but you didn’t need his protection right now, you needed his trust in believing that you were alright and ready to go back on the field !! 

In fact, after months of convalescence and feeling like you were useless, his support was essential to you ! He had been so great in reassuring you and nursing you back to health, you were so sure he’d keep going on that way. 

But his fear of loosing you, and his worries got the best of him. And here he was, bitching that you “never listened to him” while it wasn’t the truth...Oh but Dick Grayson was often very unfair, when he started to get irrationally angry. And his mouth often ran faster than his brain. 

“Oh my God, sometimes, your name fits you perfectly !” 

You shouted at him, and he looked at you and oh how fucking dare he roll his eyes at you like that ?! It made you even angrier, as he said : 

“What are you on about ?!”

“Your name, it’s a perfect fit.”

“What ? Why ?!” 

“Because you’re being such a dick ! And a dumb one at that, who can’t seem to remember his own damn name !” 

“Don’t call me dumb, you’re the one being stupid right now !”

“And you’re acting like a child !”

“I’m not ! You’re just so...STUBBORN !” 

“I wouldn’t be if you weren’t being a jerk !” 

“How am I being a je...I just want you to be safe !” 

“I earned my place here as much as anyone else ! Also, I could break you like a twig so pluh-ease !” 

“Well I never said you couldn’t ! But you’re still healing !” 

“I’m fine ! Do you really think I’d come if I thought I could be a liability to the team somehow ?!” 

“I never said you would, stop twisting my words !” 

“You implied it when you didn’t fucking drop it !” 

“I would have if you weren’t being so damn stubborn and pushed all my buttons on purpose !” 

“You pushed your own buttons buddy, getting all worked up like that.” 

“Don’t be condescending.” 

“Don’t be such a dick !” 

“I...You...They...I...GGGRROOOAAAH !!” 

Dick yelled, throwing his hands in the air out of frustration. And pacing back and forth in front of you, grumbling a little more and shaking his head in annoyance. 

You knew what had just happened, he had just reached his “too mad to find words to answer you” phase. Which meant that any seconds now, he was going to...Yup, and here he goes, leaving the room in a fury, barking a “let’s go” to the rest of the team. 

The rest of the team. 

The Young Justice. 

The future of heroes. 

And right now, they were all staring at you, utterly shocked. You were pretty sure they never seemed so confused before, not even when you guys got caught up in some pretty shady multi-dimensional shenanigans. 

Still annoyed to no end by your boyfriend’s behavior, you glared at them and asked, a bit harshly :  

“What ?!” 

They all took a step back (survival instinct), and you realized maybe you should take it down a notch. They didn’t do anything, after all. 

There was an awkward silence, and you were about to apologize when Dick came back in and yells : 

“ARE YOU GUYS COMING OR NOT ?!” 

Before rushing back out with angry steps, groaning some more unintelligible words as he leaves. And you knew your friends must be completely dumbfounded when none of them even retorted anything back, while many of those guys would usually not take someone’s shit like that. 

They just walked out of the room towards the plane that’ll take them to their next mission (Dick is already starting it up, well guess he’ll be the captain today...), and kept a bit of distance with you. 

Except for Wally and Artemis who fell back behind with you. The archer asked : 

“Are you ok ?”

“Yes, why wouldn’t I be ?” 

There was still a little bite in your words, but they knew better than to take offense to it. Especially after what they just witnessed. Wally said : 

“It’s just...this all kind of came out of nowhere ? He was all nice and all, worried about you and so sweet it made my teeth rot, and then all of a sudden BAM ! He got super angry because you were adamant you wouldn’t stay behind. Like you just walked on a mine or something.”

“Yeah well, he does that. Things trigger him and he explodes. Nothing new really. He’ll calm down just as fast, and will realize how stupid he’s just been and apologize. I probably should say sorry too...I did push his buttons on purpose because he was getting on my nerves...” 

There was a small silence as you’re almost to the plane, and both Wally and Artemis slowed down. Out of reflex, you slowed too and gave them a curious look. 

“Why are we stoping ?” 

You asked with your normal tone, as if nothing just happened. As if you and your boyfriend didn’t just yell at each others for the past ten minutes. As if all this was quite a regular occurrence really, and you were already so over it. As if this small talk with them calmed you down. Artemis was the first one to speak : 

“What do you mean “he does that” ? I’ve never EVER seen Dick mad. I mean, I’ve seen him get angry during fights, but we all do that. This back there, that was something else. I always pictured him as that calm smiley guy, who has jokes ready in the most desperate of situations so...” 

Ah. So that is it huh ? Evidently, your friends haven’t been around Dick long enough to truly see some of his ridiculous outbursts of anger. Or rather, they weren’t ALWAYS with him like you were..

Well, it made sense really. When you guys were hanging out with the team, it was either to go on missions or to have fun. And to be honest, some other easily angered members definitely stole Dick’s spotlight when it came to it. 

Conner, for example, used to always be angry or annoyed, and had difficulties to control himself. Dick felt compelled to behave in those cases, to crack jokes to loosen the atmosphere and such. So of course they never really saw him get mad, and thought he was just that happy-go-lucky guy. 

Like Artemis said, he got angry sometimes on missions, but that’s something that indeed happened to all of you. If a plan was going south, if a friend was hurt, if the villain was particularly despicable...So it also made sense they never really took notice of the rage Dick could find himself in. 

Which kind of makes you roll your eyes. Really hard. You say : 

“Ah, well of course you’d think that of him. But let me tell you guys, sometimes, Nightwing can truly be a moody bitch !” 

“Hey ! I heard that !”

Dick yelled, turning around in his seat at the front of the plane. You just stuck your tongue out at him, which ended up annoying him further (as you knew it would), but he was already so far in his anger that he didn’t even bother to answer and instead smashed some buttons and got the plane off and on to the mission. 

He knew he was being stupid right now, that he should calm down and that all this was just silly. That you were right, you were ready, and he should just accept that. But he was just so afraid of loosing you, and when you wouldn’t listen and stay back a little longer...He lost it. 

He simply lost it. Because he cared too much. That was one of his biggest problem, and a constant source of burst of angers, really. 

He turned around to you, but you were resolutely looking elsewhere, nose in the air, purposefully ignoring him. Which riled him up some more. He sped the plane up, and suddenly, he just couldn’t WAIT to get on with this mission !

Kicking some asses would help him relax...

************ 

It always surprised you, when people thought Dick was that always positive guy who never got angry and cracked jokes instead. 

That guy who, when he was on the verge of anger, would just smile and say something witty. 

That guy that just didn’t know the meaning of the word “furious”, because he always just danced around it by laughing infuriatingly and smiling in the face of whatever could make him mad ! 

Because oh, oh did they ignore a big part of his personality by thinking that !

Well, that wasn’t quite right. It is true that a lot of time, Dick was able to hold back his anger and be that happy-go-lucky person everyone thought they knew. And he did have a higher stamina against people trying to make him angry. Plus, he was definitely seeing the world in a more positive light. 

He had to, because otherwise he would fall into an bottomless pit of depression. Bruce always nursed this overly positive side in his son, because he tried more than anything to lead his boy onto another path than his. Because he didn’t want Dick to end up like him. 

So yes. Dick Grayson was a cheerful guy, who always had a good joke and on whom you could count on to turn your frown upside down in tough moments. 

But on some topics ? In certain situations ? Oh the man could loose it very fast ! Like with you, when you refused to “stay safe”. When his fear of something happening to you turned into pure anger and he was unable to control himself. 

But of course, you guess rare would be the people to actually witness such outbursts, right ? You had to be pretty darn close to him, to see it. To truly understand him. 

It’s true that, much like his father figure, his beloved mentor, the Batman himself, Dick often hid behind a mask when in public. Even with with friends. Because it was easier to play a part, sometimes, than to show his true nature and his true self. 

It was self-preservation really. Dick Grayson had suffered enough in his life, that of course he would build up some walls around him and protect his heart. He often pushed people away, like that. At school, he used to be a “loner” because it was easier to not make friends, stay alone and not get hurt when he’d ultimately lose them...Again, just like the man he came to call “dad”. 

Very few people actually managed to break his shell. 

So rare were the people to see this darker side of him. To see him throw tantrums or get irrationally mad over things that shouldn’t matter so much. 

But still, sometimes, you were wondering how the hell some people never even suspected that he could get like that. 

Like Superman for example, the guy knew him since he was a child, and yet always seemed very shocked whenever Dick acted out, saying stupid things like : “Jason/Damian, get out of Dick’s body !” and such. 

Which by the way, annoyed Dick even more. 

He hated whenever someone implied that only his two younger brothers had anger issues in the family. Because they ALL had anger issues. Hell, he saw Tim truly mad a few times, and it was absolutely terrifying. 

But both Jason and Damian were loud and needed so much attention...Of course they’d gain this reputation of being “the angry Robin”, while really, this title should have fell on Dick Grayson.

After all, he was the only one who decided to leave Bruce mainly because of his anger. Well, Jason “left” too but it wasn’t quite the same was it ? He was suppose to be dead, but got resurrected and then decided not to come back home right away, as he was angry towards his father.

Jason’s infamous anger towards his dad is what got him the “angry Robin” nickname, but he had every rights to be angry. And except for the feud he had with his father, and the shock his death and revival had on him, making him more violent than before...Jason was actually a pretty chill dude. 

He had a lot of confidence issues, so no insult ever phased him much as nothing could be worst of what he thought of himself. And in recent years, he even tamed down his killing spree and anger and...Well it was actually rare to see Jason Todd genuinely angry. 

He would bicker away with his father and brothers, but it seemed like recently, he had come back to how he used to be : it was very difficult to truly annoy him. To rile him up. To make him angry. 

Because the only thing that ever truly angered Jason Todd, was the fact that Bruce didn’t kill the Joker...And he had been able to move past that. Nowadays, to get a reaction out of him if you tried to annoy him, would be quite impossible. 

But Dick ? Oh if you knew what triggered him, you could send him in such fury ! He destroyed his room more than once, in his teen years, out of frustration.

When something unjust happened, mainly. Like him getting scolded by Bruce while he was sure he didn’t deserve it, or things like that. 

Talking about Bruce...Did no one ever wonder why Dick, in his late teen years, decided to leave his home ? Did no one ever wonder why he dropped the “Robin” mantel to take on the “Nightwing” one ?  (Important Author’s note : there’s different origin stories, of course. “Comic books” ya know, things always change. The original reason why Dick left was that he got shot in the shoulder by the fucking Joker (always him) and Bruce was like “you should quit being Robin”, and Dick got angry and was like : “Hell no dude” and left to join the Titans, becoming later on “Nightwing”...this is a extremely SUMMARIZED version of the original story but, basically that. While I’m using the “Batman : The Animated series” version + what kind of became canon later on, where Dick left because he didn’t agree with Bruce’s methods (again, summarized). I’m using this Nightwing “origin story” mainly because 1. I like it better, 2. it fits better with the story I’m writing right now and 3. It gives Bruce and Dick a nice “growing up and learning” arc, ok, we can carry on with the story now. But a big thing to remember is that in almost every single origin stories, what prompted Dick to become Nightwing was the fact that he was angry. Just thought this was an “important” note...or maybe it wasn’t and I’m just once again blabbering about comics).

Did they think Bruce was just letting his son grow up on his own for a bit, and become his own person and all ? Control freak Batman ? Letting go of his precious son on purpose ? Right. Fat chance. 

No. No the truth was something else. 

And to you, who was one of the person who knew Dick the best, it definitely made sense. 

************

Your boyfriend grew up alongside Bruce. Alongside Batman.

People often forgot how young Bruce was, when he took Dick as his ward. How inexperienced at being a father figure he was, and how lost he still was over so many things. At the time, they were both learning.

When Bruce took him as his ward, he had not been Batman for very long, and he still saw his crusade as a war. Not figuratively. Bruce saw himself as a soldier. At this point, the Bat outfit was just a gimmick to catch his enemies off-guard and give them something to recognize. And to fear.

Enemies.

Bruce saw criminals as enemy combatants. That's exactly how he treated them, except that he avoided killing as much as possible. 

Dick was never really on board with the anger and the darkness. He was trying to help people who needed it.

Bruce was trying to hurt those who deserved it. It was a way to escape his pain, and in the beginning, he definitely enjoyed giving them pain. His own pain, at the time, was still festering inside him, and the only way he knew how to cope was to hurt those he deemed guilty. 

While both Bruce and Dick fought the same fight, that difference in approach became too much to tolerate on a regular basis. And as Dick grew up and began to think for himself more and more, things broke. 

It is noteworthy to also mention that Bruce was accustomed to acting alone, with no one questioning his actions or his motives. But as Dick got older, he started to question everything. Loudly.

And he was right.

For Bruce, it was too much at the time. He always hated being wrong, so when he was faced with the truth by his own son...It was too much. 

Wether Robin quit or was “fired” is still unclear (author’s note : read that as in “it HIGHLY varies depending on who writes the story so I’d rather not take a side as I like both explanation and the fact it has an “obscure area”), the basic facts remain : Bruce delivered an ultimatum. Dick could fall in line or get out. 

Dick chose to get out.

There was a lot of anger on both sides.

And it ended with Dick going away for a while. Which was a good thing at the time. For both of them. He came back later knowing what he wanted, with a new name and a new costume, and ready to face Bruce and this time, stay until he changes his mind. 

Only a big fight wasn’t necessary. When Dick came back, Bruce had already realized on his own, as he was left alone once more, that he had lost his way. 

He decided the “no kill rule” for sure at that time. And instead of punishing Gotham, he started to protect it. This was made obvious by how he taught the “Robin job” to Jason, Tim or Damian. 

And this was all because Dick Grayson got mad at him. 

Eventually, they mended pieces together and Dick calmed down, after a long time being angry at his mentor (though always respecting and loving him). It’s Jason’s death, and how devastating it was for Bruce that brought Dick back. It’s that confirmation, when Bruce didn’t kill his son’s murderer, and how much it hit him hard that finally calmed Dick’s anger and made him come back home...

And this anger ? The reason why he was angry ? It’s a main source of why still nowadays Dick Grayson gets angry. 

He has always cared too much. Now he’d say “you can’t ever care too much”, but in his case, you really can. Because sometimes, he feels so much, he loves so strongly, that he doesn’t think straight.

And damn can he hold a grudge !

Now, in this particular case, Dick’s anger was justified. And it changed a lot of things in the Bat’s life, for the better. But it isn’t because that one time Dick got super angry for a reason (and dragged his anger for years, by the way...you always thought that it was a little too extra, the way he was mad for so long, though you understood...but just that in itself should make people see that Dick had a darker side ?), that he never got angry for the most ridiculous things ! 

************

There was two kind of angers, with Dick. The first one, was the reason he got mad at Bruce. The fact that he cared too much. An easy example : 

You met Dick in a peculiar situation. 

Well, maybe it wasn’t so peculiar for a city like Gotham.

It happened a normal morning, as you were on your way to school. You were late because you had to get your little brother to primary school first, as your parents were already at work since the sun came up…Nothing unusual really, you were used to have much more responsibilities than a young 13 years old should have. It never really bothered you though, as you knew no other ways.

You were running through the streets, hoping to make it in time and…Yeah, you never made it to school that day.

As you were only a few blocks away from it, you found yourself in the middle of total mayhem. You have no idea what really happened, but you remember little bits of it. 

You and a few other civilians getting stuck in between Batman, Robin, and a bunch of villains. You barely remember Batman and Robin able to put everyone on the side safely, but you not paying attention, worried about being late, and walking right towards the commotion. 

Then you only remember flashes of things. 

You almost getting chomped on by Killer Croc, and holding your arms up reflexively and then all of a sudden you were down on your ass, Killer Croc was passed out in the street, and everyone was staring at you. 

Next thing you know Batman grabs you by the arm delicately, gets you back up on your feet and tells you « follow me, and cover your face » and so…you did exactly that. 

What else was there to do ? He was the goddamn Batman, of course you were gonna listen !! You climbed in the Batmobile, floating in a weird dazed, not sure if this was real life or a wacky dream. 

The windows were blacked out, and you couldn’t see a thing, but after a short drive, the back door opened again on Batman and Robin, and you were in...the Batcave ? 

Everything was so crazy. Everything was going so fast. That day was still a blur, and forever will be. Which was kind of sad, considering it was the day you met the love of your life. 

Dick was very reassuring, and smiled a lot. It’s all you could really remember of him that day. 

Of course you knew him only as “Robin” at the time. You had no idea who they really were, and Bruce didn’t trust you enough yet to tell you. 

But he still brought you back to the Batcave, which was a big deal. According to Dick, you were the first person outside of him, Batman and Al...Penny1 (whoever that was) to come down there. Of course, you had absolutely no idea where it was exactly, but it was still pretty cool. 

That first day, Bruce didn’t brusque you or anything. He just made sure you were alright, and when he saw you didn’t remember everything, send you back on your way...

You discovered later, when the shock of what happened finally wore down, why Bruce brought you back there. As the Batman himself, and his trusted Robin (who was smiling a lot) came back for you to bring you again to the Batcave.

And that’s when your world was turned upside down, as Bruce revealed to you that you were...a meta-human.

A few quick research on you (you gave your real name to Batman when he asked, not able to think straight), and Bruce discovered that your father adopted you. Your mom was your biological mom, but...WHAT ?!

You didn’t even know your dad wasn’t really your dad. That your mom had you prior to meeting him. Well, you were barely one year old when they got together, and he became the only father you ever knew. But this was quite a shock ! 

You remember Dick scolding Bruce for telling you the news so abruptly...But Bruce had his reasons. Because out there ? In the streets ? Faced with Killer Croc ? You did something, and it was impressive. 

You “repulsed” him with lightnings ! But when Bruce asked you further questions, it was clear that this was the first time it ever happened ! You were so lost, and so shocked...Thanks to Dick bringing back Bruce to the “real world” and telling him that you were just a kid, things got easier. 

Bruce apologized, and said he would do further researches to know who your real father was. Only if you wanted to. But hey, you had just basically fried Killer Croc (he owed it only to his thick crocodile skin to not have burned alive really) and this new power was scary, so yes, you definitely wanted to know who your dad was !

Over the next few weeks, you came back often to the Batcave, after school. To train. To try and learn your power. At first, nothing would happen. 

Bruce quickly understood that your powers needed to be triggered to work, and threw a harsh assault on you ! It got you knocked on your ass, but also made some sparks ! Quite literally ! 

But this little event ? It’s what made you discover the first kind of anger Dick Grayson could feel. 

The one that happens because he cares too much. The one that happens because he couldn’t bare to let anyone get hurt. 

In a matter of seconds Dick was between you and Bruce and yelling at his mentor. See, when he got hurt during training, it was alright. Because he knew what he got himself into, and he wanted to get better. But seeing you, a new friend, getting hurt like that ? It drove him nuts (years later, when Bruce got a little too rough with Jason, Tim or Damian, Dick would enter this same kind of anger, and yell at his mentor for his harsh ways, getting angry because he dared to hurt his little brothers). 

You didn’t even have time to get back on your feet and say you were fine, as your lightning protected you, that Dick was already yelling at Bruce to be more careful and blahblahblah !

He went from 0 to 100 so fast ! And evidently, Bruce was already used to it because he stayed calm and endured the scolding, the way Dick grew angrier by the second until he became unable to find words anymore and just groaned and threw things around. 

It was...Kind of scary. And very shocking. Up until now, Dick was that guy who smiled a lot, said stupid jokes and was in HUGE contrasts with his mentor. Night and day really. But there, as you witnessed him get utterly angry ? 

You understood that there was much more to Dick Grayson than the eyes met. 

And along the years, you realized that you were definitely right. 

From that day and on, you and him grew closer and closer, up until you fell in love. It was just natural, you got each others the most. You were the only one to see him for who he really was, and vice versa. And sure sometimes it was...”electric” between you two, as you fought and such, but nonetheless your love was pure and intense. And unbreakable. 

You grew next to him, and Bruce. You discovered that you were the Northern God Thor’s daughter and...Oh. But that was another story. For another day. Right now, as Artemis and Wally seemed shocked that you revealed that Dick gets angry quite regularly, your thoughts went back to what triggered him and turned him into a jerk sometimes. 

************

This first kind of anger actually happened rather often. And the main trigger of it would be a friend of his being hurt, while he’s in charge of things...

Dick, because he was Bruce’s first ward, first student, and was raised quite strictly (a bit too strictly at times, Bruce realized later), was often thrown in the “leader” seat. 

But he hated it. 

He always hated being the one people followed. He much preferred being a “side-kick” if he was perfectly honest. Someone who was there to support the one with responsibilities, to have their back, to make sure things run smoothly...he hated being the one in charge. Which is why nowadays, except if forced to, he was always the one to “follow orders”, the one that listened to Tim (mainly), and oh man he really didn’t want to take the Batman mantel. Too many responsibilities ! He always thought it would fit Jason, Tim and Damian better (plus they actually WANTED to become Batman, while Dick...but maybe that’s the reason why Dick would actually be the best Batman ?). 

Whenever he found himself in the leader’s seat, there was a clear shift in Dick’s personality. A shift that yet nobody ever noticed...Except for you (that’s why you guys fell so hard for each others, you were always reading each others’ perfectly). 

If he was there to help out, he would be the one to release some pressure by cracking jokes, making everyone feel better by acting as if he doesn’t take anything seriously...but if he was the leader ? He was serious, disciplinarian, and focused. 

It hasn’t always been like that, he told you. 

He used to be cheerful in the leader role too...but every time someone got badly hurt. Because nobody takes a guy who jokes that often seriously, and sometimes it lead to disaster. 

So now, if the life of everyone was weighting on his shoulders, he wouldn’t be “cheerful”. Then again, no one ever really noticed that shift because it was “normal” for them for him to be more serious, but when you knew Dick, the entire reasoning behind this was heartbreaking, really. 

Dick got incredibly angry, when he failed as a leader. When he couldn’t keep up. 

He punched more than one hole in Wayne Manor’s walls. He trained way too hard out of frustration often. Angry at himself, at his failures. 

Once again, this anger came from caring “too much”. From wanting to help, and save everyone, even if realistically, it isn’t possible. 

It came from his “positive side”, a bit naive. 

And those outburst of anger when something bad happened, when a plan failed or anything of the like ? They were shockingly violent. He would destroy things, and scream at anyone who’d try to comfort him, not able to think straight (Bruce discovered that the best thing to do was to wait for him to calm down, before taking his mind off of it all by some more “fun” training...Like playing basketball, for example). 

Once again, running his mouth faster than his brain worked. Not realizing he could be a total jerk. And being totally imprisoned within his own anger. 

Bruce and you came to know how to deal with him when he was like that. And to be honest, he mainly got like that only around you and Bruce anyway, as he often just went away to release his anger, knowing how he could get. 

Which is why people didn’t know how angry he could get. But oh man when one of this “fit” started, it was difficult to defuse. And sometimes, you didn’t even want to defuse it, because man could he be such a jerk ! He could say such hurtful things too, deflecting his own failures on others...He would always apologize of course, and with age he got better, but he could really be harsh, when stuck in this kind of anger. 

He just cared so much, he couldn’t accept failures ! Or not being able to help or something of the like ! 

Which is what happened today, when he got angry at you for wanting to come on the mission. Fear for your life. Fear that something would happen to you. Which turned into anger when he realized you weren’t going to listen to him and come, and that he was powerless to keep you safe. 

Feeling powerless, would usually do the trick. Make him vent, and let out his frustration. When he first arrived at Wayne Manor, little 8 years old him often got angry at Bruce because of this. 

Because he felt he couldn’t save his parents, and he was mad that someone like Bruce, who could have, didn’t do anything ! Of course he knew this wasn’t quite what happened...but still, he would get angry and throw tantrums, destroying everything in his room, and yelling at Bruce that he hated him. 

Bruce let him. Because he knew the pain he was going through, and because he knew he needed someone to blame. As he grew up, Dick calmed down about this, but would still get incredibly angry when he felt powerless. 

Or when something unjust would happen, as stated before...

All of that, was the first type of his anger. 

The one you understood, and was more forgiving of. 

The one that people caught glimpse of sometimes, on the battlefield and whatnot, but never took as “Dick Grayson often gets angry and isn’t always that happy-go-lucky guy we think he is”. 

That first type of anger, wasn’t quite irrational. It could get a bit ridiculous, because Dick had no limits in his anger, and would enter huge rage...But it was born from something you could understand. 

Feeling powerless. Seeing people he loves get hurt. Not being able to protect them. Failing. Being frustrated by injustices. Wanting to protect. 

************

Now the second type of anger he would go through though ? That was the one that actually drove you crazy at times. The one that made you want to slap him and that made you incredible petty in return. 

The problem with Dick Grayson was that no matter what he says, he is a pretty cocky person. A lot like Bruce really. Pretentious at times, sure of himself. 

And of course he has big moments of doubts, but he also knows his worth. He knows he’s good. He knows he’s smart. He knows he’s not just a regular guy. So when someone hurts his pride ? He can get a bit...moody. 

He’s a terribly sore looser. He will often say “pff, it’s just a game !” if he loses at something, while actually fuming inside. And if you tease him about it a bit ? Oh he’ll be vexed and refuse to speak to whoever annoyed him for a while. 

He could get incredibly petty, pedantic, annoying, during those little fits of anger. In fact, tne thing you always hated about Dick, was how much he could hold the grudge too, during those moments. 

Oh god it was unsufurable ! During arguments, usually if he was loosing, he’d get events back out that happened YEARS PRIOR and throw them back in your face out of anger. 

Like : “oh remember that time you accidentally zapped me with your lightnings and my entire leg was burned ?”, which would get you angry because he was trying to guilt-trip you, and then you’d get petty and a bit mean in return and...It was very childish. 

And it was a side very few people ever saw, because it only happened with people he truly loved and utterly trusted. With people who actually knew how to hit his pride. 

His friends at the Young Justice hit the nails on the head a few times, but he didn’t get as angry with them as he would get back home, mainly because there was always someone to defuse things (namely : a certain Kaldur who was the team’s mediator really). 

But when faced with you, his siblings or Bruce ? You guys sometimes were annoyed by his little fit of anger, by how easily he would get offended/vexed by certain things, and would tease him on purpose, just to rile him up. 

Now he wouldn’t get as mad as when he’s in his “first kind” of anger...but he would get so moody and bitchy ! 

Goodbye happy-go-lucky Dick Grayson, hello edgy-emo-complains-too-much Dick Grayson ! “You guys never listen to me” and other “sweet” things would be said a lot. 

He would refuse to play a game again, he would go pout in a corner, he would get very passive-agressive...Oh Bruce remembers the time Dick got mad at him for saying he should work more as he got a bad grade on one of his maths test, and Dick proceeded to leave post-it notes all around the house about how he couldn’t study more because he had to “save this person that night”, or “help Alfred clean the kitchen” etc etc...very petty. 

His second kind of anger slowly died down, as he grew up. It rarely happened nowadays, and when it did, it was usually because one of his sibling (*cough* mainly Jason *cough*) annoyed him on purpose.

When you met him, you two were about 13/14 years old, and he would often get vexed like that. But as he grew older, he realized how ridiculous it could be, and evolved. Or rather, he hid his frustration better (but everyone knew that whenever he lost at a game, he would get angry inside haha). 

There was less things to say about this second kind of anger, but you were pretty sure it would be the one that would shock your friends the most. Because everyone always assumed he could take any jokes (wrong), and didn’t take anything very seriously (double wrong). 

So seeing him get all worked up over someone insulting him, or someone being better than him at something and boasting about it, etc etc etc...it would surely be a huge surprise. 

This side of him is what initially attracted you to him though. The realization that he wasn’t perfect. Because for real, if he was funny and witty, handsome and always knew what to say ? That wouldn’t be fair. Too perfect. 

So the fact that he would get frustrated over the smallest things like that, it reassured you. Plus it could actually be super endearing to see him get flustered and puff his cheek in anger ! 

Oh you still remember when Jason said (knowing exactly what his brother’s reaction would be) that the Harry Potter movies were better than the books...Dick went on a rant that lasted hours about how wrong this was ! 

It was cute. Dick certainly never lacked...passion (in every area). 

Yes. This second kind of anger would probably shock people the most, and though it was annoying, it was also something that only you and his very close friends and family members were privy of, which made it incredibly precious. 

************

The way he got angry at you today, was a mix of both his angers. It started with the first type, as he was afraid for you and such, but ended with the second kind as he realized you were pushing his buttons on purpose, as you increasingly grew frustrated with him. 

Which meant he never quite reached the full level of the first type, and didn’t destroy anything (thanks god, your friends were already shocked enough that he yelled, so imagine him going on a rampage in Mount Justice !). But still ended up with him getting too angry, and you too. 

And now, as usual after one of his fit, he felt like a total jerk. Like an idiot too. He knew you were strong, that you were ready, and that he shouldn’t have acted as if you were useless (you hated that, pet peeve of yours). 

He knew he should’ve shown support, instead of yelling. But this gut wrenching fear he felt at the mere thought of loosing you...it drove him over the edge once more. He was now mad at not being able to control himself.

And as he got the plane down at the mission’s area, he felt like utter shit...

Once again though, you knew him better than anyone else, and as your teammates left the plane, you stayed behind, knowing he wanted to talk to you. 

“I’m...I’m sorry. I can be such a jerk sometimes.”

He says, bashful and ashamed. And he doesn’t have to say anything else, to say why he’s sorry...You understand. You smile at him, and it makes him melt. You take his hand, give it a squeeze, and say : 

“I’m sorry too. I can be a petty bitch sometimes...” 

He gives you a gentle peck on your lips, you smile at each other and everything is forgotten. The anger flies away, as nothing but love fills your hearts. Love and adoration. And knowing the fact that you and Dick ? It’s the real deal. And if he got that angry at you, it’s actually just because he cares so much about you. 

The crisis is averted. 

To be honest, you fight from times to times (like every healthy couple really), but it never last for very long. And sure he can hold the grudge sometimes, but it only happens when he’s angry. 

It never last long, and he always comes around (even if sometimes it can take him a while, like when he left Bruce to go off with the Titans...Then again, this was a big issues, so his anger was proportional to it really). 

This all thing of him being cheerful and happy all the time, making jokes and being witty...It’s a true thing. A good 70% of his personality is that. 

But the 30% that remains ? It’s his “darker side”, as Cassandra would call it (she spend WAY TOO MUCH times watching the Star Wars movie, according to Bruce). 

The way he can get irrationally angry, and so fast. Going from 0 to a 100 in a second. 

The way he can turn into a total jerk, and say things that are truly hurtful. 

The way he’s borderline arrogant, and doesn’t like to be wrong. 

To put it simply, the way Dick Grayson is, and always will be “The Angry Robin”. 

__________________________________________________

Well I hope you liked it and that it wasn’t disappointing.I hope I was able to...somehow capture Dickiebird’s “darker” side and all...it’s very difficult, that guy is actually super complicated and...yeah I wasn’t sure how to quite tackle this all thing. I tried. As usual feedbacks = very VERY welcomed, but more importantly in this new “Tumblr Era” : REBLOGS became vital. People don’t reblog the stuffs they like anymore and it’s slowly what kills this site. So if you enjoyed this story, reblogging it and sharing it is one of the best way to show your appreciation :). Like, for real, it’s important. Thanks very much in advance ^^ !

PS : Just in case you’re thinking “but you never reblog other people’s stuffs”, I have a sideblog with over 2000 followers where I just reblog everything I love, from fanfictions to the worst of shitposts haha. So I do reblog too, just not on my main that I keep fanfic and fanfic related things only. 

[being-multishiper-be-like]

Soooo, this is officially firts ff I'm gonna post

Sabriel, background Destiel

Hurt/comfort, hurt Sam

3k Enjoy

It was evening. Sam and Dean sat in some quite cheap restaurant and waited. Suddenly Cas appeared out of nowhere.

“Hi, Cas,” greeted him Dean.

“Hi, Dean,” said Cas and blushed.

“Hi, emh, where is Gabriel. I thought, that you'll come together.” Sam looked something between nervous and worried.

“Don't worry, he'll come in a minute, he just got into an argument with Michael, when I was leaving.” Cas looked apologeticly towards Sam but it didn't seem to work.

‘‘What's so important, that he has to argue about it, when we have a date?!” Sam stood up and slammed his fists onto the table angrily. When he realized, what he's done, he sat down and sighed.

“Apparently, you.” Cas answered.

“What?”

“Michael said, that he wants you just as his ‘fuckdoll’ and that he just pretends, that he feels something towards you.” Both brothers stared at him with anger written in their eyes. But after few seconds Sammy blinked and when he opened them again, he looked really hurt.

“What?! Yeah, I knew, Michael is an asshole but this-”

“- is the last thing he'll say 'bout you, I promise.” said Gabe as he slowly flounced towards their table.

“Gabe” Sam stood up again, this time not to shout, but to hug the archangel tightly.

“So now, when we're all finally here, I'd like to have something to eat” Dean smirked a little at Cas, as if the two of the knew something the others didn't.

“So, let's eat then” responded Gabe happily. They all sat down and ordered their food. Dean and Gabriel got burger with fries. Typically. And Cas and Sam got salad. How surprising...

“How's heaven doing now?” asked Sam with genuine concern. Mainly because of what he heard Cas saying, that Michael said about him and his lovely archangel.

“Well, it's complicated-” started Cas just to be interrupted by his older brother.

“Bullshit, it's total anarchy up there, don't suger coat it, sweetie.”

“I asked you at least million times to stop calling me like that.” Despite his words he blushed a little, he trully loved the shit of his brother.

“But, yeah, you're right. We don't have an idea, what to do.” Dean suddenly grabbed Cas' hand in silent declaration, that he'll stood by him, don't matter what. Cas shortly squeezed the hand and then smiled.

The supper continued silently for a while, only a tinkling of a cutlery could be heard.

“Are you currently working any case?” asked suddenly Cas.

“Well, it depends. We are trying to find some information about- well, it doesn't matter, so yes, but actually no.” answered Dean.

“You seriously should work on your verbalization. It's terrible.” snarked Gabriel. He loved teasing his maybe-soon-to-be-brother-in-law.

“You're just jealous, because I'm more handsome than you.” And Dean loved teasing him back.

“You? Handsome? Just maybe, because you'd rather use hand, than-”

“Guys, enough. Gabe, if you want to talk about my brother's sex life, I don't care, but please, do it when I'm not in the room! Have I made myself clear?!” Sam looked genuinely exasperated. But can you blame him? The boys were adult, they should act like ones.

“Yes, mom…” said Gabe and then giggled like a friggin five-year-old. Sam sighed.

“Than behave or l'll have to give you a spanking like to a bad kid.” Sam's face was deadly serious, but the corners of his lips were twitching upwards a little.

“Sammy, weren't you the one, who got angry at us like a minute ago, because we were talking about something, you, as my brother, don't have to know 'bout?” Dean seemed like he didn't know whether to laugh, cry, kill his brother or everything exactly in that order.

“OK, what about changing the subject?” uttered Cas into an awkward silence after a while.

“Sure. The food tastes like a mud, doesn't it?” joked Dean. The waiter unfortunately heard him, so she observed him judgingly, frowned and then let it go.

“You seriously don't have to insult everyone around you. After all those years it's rather annoying.” hissed Sam. Cas couldn't stand it anymore.

“I have an idea. We're all almost finished with our meals, so I insist we pay and go to motel before we” -he sent a significant look to both brothers- “got into some serious argument. Agreed?”

“No, it just started to be funny.” Dean threw on his don't-you-dare-steal-away-my-toys-

while-I-am-playing-with-them face.

“If this is your idea of fun, I really pity you.”

“Gabriel!”

“What? He acts like a child!”

“And you don't?!”

“Cassie, Cassie. The only way I can relate to Dean is using dictionary of a child in kindergarten. Ain't it, Dean?”

“Enough, you assholes! This was supposed to be really nice dinner, but I can't be in here with you another fucking second!” Sam spitted his words out while rising from his chair. Then he simply run away from them. They haven't had a courage or maybe a certain dose of masochism to go after him.

“I should check on him. Fuck, this is my mistake.” breathed Gabe after few minutes.

“You have to let him cool down. Trust me, I know him. Right now he'd shoot you, if you'd try to approach.” admitted sadly Dean.

“I have to do something!” barked Gabriel in response.

“Gabe, Dean is right. Let's go to the motel. He'll came back when he'll think, he's able to face you two. Because he was right, you were really acting like assholes.” proclaimed Cas with his strong, yet soothing voice. And they did as he said...

***

When Sam came back, it was long after midnight. He tried to silently sneak in, but the first thing he's seen, when he turned on the light, was his furious boyfriend.

“Where do you think you've been?! I was fucking worried about you and I couldn't find you because of the sigils! And now you try to sneak in like teen-age boy, who's just drunk his first bottle of vodka and he's afraid of what his parents are going to say! So tell me. What do you think I'm supposed to say?!”

Gabriel shouted like he's lost his mind. He desperately wanted to punch him in his face and then kiss him, like there's no tomorrow.

“Who are you to blame me?! The date was my last hope to have a 'normal' life. I was looking forward it for like two months and you and the underdeveloped man, who calls himself my brother, have to ruin everything. I love you, OK? But right now I want choke you!”

“That can be arranged…” Gabriel winked and knelt down.

“That's exactly the reason, why I'm angry! You can't be serious for a moment! Stand up, or I'll leave again.” Gabriel stood up. He looked somehow, well, different. He was frowning and he seemed to be confused.

“Sammy, what's wrong? You are never running away. Not unless is something hunting you, but this is not the case, so, what are you afraid of?”

“I'm desperately trying not to get lost in this parody of reality. But I'm afraid it's too late. I'm already lost. Can you hug me, please? Because I'm not sure, whether you are actually here, or my mind is playing tricks on me. And you are one of a very few people who can hold me together, when I think, that everything is falling apart. So don't say anything and just hug me…” Sam seemed as if he lost a last drop of his energy, after he said it. He dropped on his knees and started to tremble. Gabe immediately knelt down so he could hug the shivering nothing, that's left of his boyfriend. The archangel wrapped this arms around Sam. ‘He lost so much weight, how could I not notice it?!’ he screamed at himself in his mind.

“Sammy, I'm so sorry, I had no idea, that yo-”

“Don't speak. I got used to silence and your words aren't going to help me anyway. Because you don't mean it. You'll leave me. I know it.” Sam was devastated. He was sobbing mess. And the worst part of this tragic moment was, the he truly believed to his words.

“Do you think so little of yourself? And of me and our relationship? Does it mean nothing to you?”

“No! It means everything to me. That's why I can't lose you. But yes, I think a very little of myself. I don't deserve you. You're an archangel and I'm fucked-up piece of-” Sam would continue but Gabe slammed his lips upon his. He kissed him fiercely although he got almost no reaction from Sam. Then he drew himself back.

“You say, you can't lose me. Than why are you letting me go?…”

“I don't know what to do. I'm tired and angry and I can't control it.” After this statement Gabe lifted Sam up and carried him bridal style to the bed. Then he laid down next to him and wrapped his hands around himself. The only good thing that happened in hours whas hearing Sam's breath deepening as he had fallen asleep.

***

“Cas, he'll be OK, I know it.” stated Dean as he led his boyfriend to the motel.

“But, we should-”

“The best thing we can do right now, is to let Gabe to take care of him. And you can be sure, that the first thing I'll do when I wake up tomorrow, will be hugging him. He has chaos in himself and unfortunately I can't help him to sort it out. He has to do it himself. But I will be there for him, forever and always.” Dean's vow was pure and full of love. He ment it, every single word. Cas was amazed. He has truly chosen the most loving and caring person on the entire world.

“Right now I want to spend time with you, though.” Dean giggled a little and than he winked at Cas. He leaned in and pecked him on the lips. Cas didn't hesitate for a second and deepened the kiss. Their tongues have been rubbing against each others'. The kiss was becoming sloppier and sloppier until the passion completely burned down.

“I'm not sure if it's not too soon, to say something like this, but Cas, I love you and I'm genuinely happy for the first time in my life.” Dean's voice was solemn. And this moment seemed perfect for such a declaration.

“And I love you too.” Cas conjured one of his magical smiles, that could break stones and then he kissed Dean again. This time it wasn't quick and passionate. No, it was slow, they both knew they had time, so the kiss celebrating their first ‘I love you’ has to be just perfect. Cas wrapped his arms around Dean's neck and Dean did the same but around the waist. Their lips slowly parted, but they stood still, enjoying each others' presence.

“We should go to bed, I'm quite tired.” admitted Cas after some time. Dean hasn't answered, he just led them to a bed and tucked them under a blanket.

“Good night, sweetheart”

“Good night, love.”

***

Dean did as he said the previous day. Checking on his brother was the first thing he has done in the morning.

“Sammy, how do you feel?” Dean sat down on the bed in Sam's and Gabriel's motel room. He sat next to Sammy but not too close to make him uncomfortable. Gabriel and Cas had done the best thing, they could. Walked away.

“I should be angry at you, but I feel too tired to do so. It's pity, though. If we'd got into an argument, then we'd atone and everything would be better.” Sam was visibly exhausted. He had dark circles under his eyes, that Dean was sure, it wasn't there last evening.

“If you want to argue, I'd arrange it, although it'd broke my heart.”

“Was it an irony, or not?” asked Sam with a glimpse of genuine concern.

“Well, both, obviously.”

“And now seriously. What can I do for you, Sammy? I've already sacrificed my soul for you, I'd gladly do it again.”

“You're saying, that we should be serious and you're being sarcastic. Yeah, don't say anything, I know. Denial is your shield. I know you, Dean. I know what are you terrified of.” Sam wrapped his arm around his brother's shoulders. ‘Everything is gonna be better,’ he said to himself. ‘It has to…’

“Wasn't it supposed to be 'bout you?” laughed Dean. Although he'd rather cry.

“I think that we're two halves of one whole. If is something wrong with me, it affects you too and vice versa. But you haven't said anything about my remark about you being in denial. So perhaps it is true.”

“It isn't! No, I'm not in denial. I-” Dean was interrupted in the middle of his inhale.

“-am denying that. As would any person in denial do. Dean, seriously, you have to move on. You are stuck in the beginning. Let it out, all of it. Go, be angry, crush things. Just stop pretending, it's not real, because it won't make the things you're afraid of smaller, you just won't see it for awhile. And do you know, what will happen, if you leave them unsupervised? They will grow! You have to say it. Right here. Right now.” In the middle of his speech Sam stood up to face his brother. After that act both brothers' face changed colour. Sam flushed and Dean paled.

“Weren't you deadly tired just few minutes ago?” snarked Dean in response, because he was trying to hide, how Sam's words had affected him.

“Well, I was, but someone has to look after you, since you are not able to do it yourself.”

“Are you trying to tell me, that you stopped being tired, just to make fun out my fears?”

“Do you really think I'm doing all of this, just to make a fun out of you?! I'm trying to help you, you asshole!”

“I'm sorry. You know, that you're not the one I doubt about…”

“Dean,”-Sam exhaled- “don't. Just don't.”

“So, since you are better,” Dean ignored his brother's remark, “you should spend some time with Gabriel, you two have a lot of talking to do.”

“Ugh, fine. I hate to admit it, but you are right..."

***

“Here,” Gabriel hugged Sam tightly, “I hold you and I won't let you go, 'till you learn, how to love yourself.” Sam smiled, then he leaned forward and kissed Gabe fiercely. Gabriel slightly laughed into the kiss.

“Although I find this unbelievably pleasant, it won't bribe me. I still cling to my words.”

“I know, you always do.” The archangel took a step backward and instead of a reply, he put on a serious face. It wasn't exactly pleasant for Sam, mostly because they just had a heavy make-out session like a few seconds before, but also because Gabriel was the least serious creature he knew. The room fell into a silence. The heavy, suffocating one.

“Baby steps, okay? You have to start with allowing yourself things. You made a mistake? You can allow it to yourself. Crave something? Allow it. It's the first step. Everybody has to indulge themselves sometimes. Got it?” While talking, Gabriel was looking Sam straight into the eyes and Sam felt a cold sweat run down his neck.

“Yeah, I guess. But about the mistakes- whenever I make a mistake, someone dies. It's not something to be proud of.” Sam replied resignedly.

“Sammy, how often do you think about, the people who died because of you?” Gabe asked with a sudden harsh.

“It's not like I think 'bout them constantly, it's more like they never seem to leave my head. Not really. Let me guess, it's not the answer you wanted to hear.”

“Yeah, you're right. That's exactly, what I didn't want to hear. But I can't say I'm surprised. I already know you. And here's my second question- how often do you think about the people, that are alive thanks to you, the people you saved?”

“I do think about them and I replay the memories of them but only, when I feel really, like, really bad. I do it on those days, when I'm too sick and self-pitying to even leave bed. It's when I think, I don't matter. The world doesn't need me. It needs Samuel Winchester, the man, who repeatedly saved it. Not Sam, who's more childish and broken inside, that he's willing to admit. And it's confusing, because in the end, there's just one man. Sam. Only Sam, a little boy who had to grow up too soon. Does it make any sense?” Sam looked like he just had an out-of-body-experience. He was there, he was talking, but his eyes were empty, like he was somewhere else.

“It does, actually. I'm really glad you told me.” Gabriel smiled sympathetically. Then he clapped his hands and put on a mischievous smile. “And now, since we don't have anything to hunt, I suggest we head into a bed for more pleasant activities to do. Agreed?”

“I'm sorry babe, but I'm actually kinda tired.” Sam changed his expression back to self-pitying one, even though he smiled just a moment ago.

“Let's go sleep, then. Is there anything, I can do for you?”

“Yes. I think I'd really like to sleep with my cute little spoon.”

Gabe snorted and responded, “First of all, I'm not a cute little spoon, I'm a fierce archangel. Heaven's most powerful weapon. And second of all I'm, I am, I…” Gabriel flushed. It's not usual for him to run out of words. But it was mostly because he just now at this exact moment realized how whipped Sam had him. Absolutely.

“Were you about to say something love?” Sam teased.

“Yes, let's go to bed.” Gabe's last words faded into silence. They laid on the small and crappy motel bed. To Sam it wasn't small and crappy, though. Maybe it was because Gabriel snapped his fingers and conjure a better one but he thought it was because of his love's hands running up and down his side...

[gyldenglor]

Humans are Space Orcs - Focus

"Have you seen Peter recently?"

Vy'Keen was nervous. She hadn't seen Peter since the morning meeting. By now he was usually causing some kind of issue - either he had said something that confused and scared one of her crew, or he had behaved in some way that offended someone.

Sophie looked up from her spreadsheets with a frown. "No, captain - why? Is something the matter?" She rolled her eyes. "What, did Peter get a little nick on his finger, and Vy'Tule overreacted again?"

Vy'Keen was stunned. "Overreacted? His external membrane had been pierced, he could have spilled out of it!"

Sophie grimaced. "While that is terrible imagery, I can assure you that nothing like that would happen."

Vy'Keen let it go, for now - clearly, humans had no sense of urgency. "Well, if you haven't seen him recently, I'll keep looking for him."

"Wait, I'll just ping him." Swiping her finger across her terminal, Sophie shifted from the fiscal reports over to the inter messaging system. "Why are you so freaked out about not having seen him all day?"

"Usually, by now, he's caused some kind of issue," Vy'Keen explained. "The fact that the ship has been quiet today is...unusual."

"Oh, come on, he isn't that bad," Sophie insisted. "Yeah, he tends to not think before he speaks, but he's a good guy. And besides, most of the 'issues' are just people overreacting."

There that word was again - overreacting. Did humans think of everything severe as minor inconveniences?

A light ding indicated Sophie had received a message. "He replied - see? Everything's fine." She paused while reading it. "No, no - that's just an update on our order for extra fuel… Oh, hey, we're getting a discount! That's good news."

"Indeed, but it is worrying that Peter did not reply." Vy'Keen was loathe to violate the privacy of her crew in such a way, but she had no choice.

With a wave of her hand, the ship's web of medical scanners came to life, and a screen came up showing the location of all life forms on the ship.

As was expected, herself and Sophie were in the logistics bay, right near the cargo bay.

Vy'Keen peered over Sophie's desk, and, just as the map indicated, Annie the juvenile canine was sleeping on the humans' lap. Vy'Keen couldn't help but feel fondness for the puppy - puppy love truly was a most poliferace contagion.

"Wow, you're using the bio-map? You're really freaked out about this, aren't you?"

Vy'Keen simply nodded in response. She tapped on Peter's name in the crew manifest to isolate his signal.

Surprisingly, he was exactly where he should be - in the engineering bay. However, he seemed… Fatigued.

"See? Nothing to worry about - he's just working."

"Yes, but you humans have notoriously short attention spans. He's probably made a toy out of the engine."

Sophie waited for a moment before rolling her eyes. "Oh, yeah, no offense taken."

"What?" Vy'Keen sighed - another foreign sensation she had adopted. "No matter. I'll go there immediately."

"Alright - have a good one, captain."

The captain nodded and walked away. She didn't have time to ask what the 'one' was referring to, and how it could be good.

When she arrived at the engineering bay, she was stunned by what she saw.

Peter was sitting at his terminal, eyes fixed with the focus of a true predator.

He was typing incredibly fast - faster than should have been possible, given the nature of the human finger.

"He's been like that for hours." Vy'Keen jumped a little as Vy'Tule approached, unannounced. The Kral engineer was a full head shorter than the captain, and with green scales that complimented the Captain's light blue.

"I've never seen so much focus in my life. And he's only missed a handful of keystrokes. Quite frankly, it's amazing."

With one final, exaggerated key press, Peter leaned back when a sigh. He looked up and gave a weak smile.

"Hey captain," he mumbled. "Just working on the course plotting - hopefully this will make it go a bit-" a yawn interrupted him. "A bit… Faster."

"It's quite impressive," Vy'Tule chimed in. "It is a derivative of what the humans refer to as A Star. Except it takes fluctuations of space and time into account."

Vy'Keen was taken aback. "But that has to be done manually, by reading from a network of sensors."

"Yeah, but I patched into said sensors, and automated the process of calculating the fuel usage discrepancies," the human chimed in.

Peter sat upright with a small grin as text flew across the screen. "And done! It worked perfectly - finally." He smiled sheepishly at the captain. "This is my fifth reiteration of the code - and I was really hoping to avoid having to get as complex as I did, but hey - it had to happen."

"Will you finally take a break now?" Vy'Tule pleaded.

"Wait, you haven't taken a break all day?" Vy'Keen frowned. "Even the Kral take breaks, and I know for a fact that humans are supposed to eat food halfway through the day. It's a requirement for your species. At least tell me you ate."

Peter shrugged. "Nah. I forgot to."

Vy'Keen glanced at Vy'Tule, who simply shook his head. Vy'Keen released a sigh of irritation - of course Vy'Tule wouldn't be able to force the human to take a break, or eat food. It would seem that nobody could force a human to do anything - with the exception of herself. And Annie.

"Whoa, you sigh now?"

"Because of you, yes." Vy'Keen stomped over to Peter, and with her imposingly large arms, picked him up and slung him over her shoulder.

"Whoa - hey, what the hell are you doing??"

"I'm going to force feed you like the hapless child you are." Peter had to close his eyes as he adjusted to his new position - the Kral were, on average, around seven feet tall, with most of that height being in the legs.

When he finally opened his eyes, he couldn't help but stare in fascination - he had never seen a Kral's tail from this angle before, and he could really see how it adjusted for her balance, repeatedly flicking and swaying as she walked.

"This is why I can never leave you alone. You always do something incredibly dangerous to your health, or you damage something, or you scare someone."

"Captain, I'm fine! Please put me down - you're starting to worry me."

"*Me?* Worry *you?* You're malnourished, you stupid human - you're going to get sick!"

Peter tried to argue further, but his protests fell on deaf ears.

At this point, the commotion had drawn some attention. A few crew members watched for a moment as the captain passed by, but didn't pursue. They had learned by now to steer clear of human shenanigans, especially when Peter was involved.

Meanwhile, the other nine humans on the ship were on their way to get Peter from the engineering bay for dinner. A lot of them had worked with him before, so they knew about his tendencies to work himself too hard - and sometimes even skip lunch!

Suddenly, their captain came from around the corner, bickering with Peter, who was at an odd angle on the Kral's shoulder. She walked right past them and towards the mess hall, preoccupied as she was with the squirming human.

The humans all exchanged glances, and a few traded bets on what had lead to this occurring.

They then calmly continued on their way to the mess hall, and what promised to be an eventful dinner.

When Vy'Keen made it into the mess hall, she barked some quick orders, flexing her authority as captain as she had the chef bring Peter's meal to him - she didn't want to risk him collapsing.

She plopped him down in a seat, and sat down right next to him, trapping him. She curled her legs underneath her seat, her three knees collapsing into one another to shorten her legs. He rolled his eyes, and finally stopped protesting.

Within a few moments, the humans strolled in, still debating what had happened. Peter's face reddened when he heard the word "date" thrown around.

Humans and aliens alike gave them a wide berth - aliens because they wanted no part in whatever this was, and humans because they wanted to observe from afar.

Dinner passed by mostly uneventfully - Vy'Keen and Peter ate in silence, although Vy'Keen watched Peter like a hawk, constantly reminding him to finish all his food.

After Vy'Keen was satisfied with the amount he had eaten, she stood with a hand on Peter's shoulder.

"Come - it's time for you to go to bed."

Peter stared at the captain, completely dumbfounded. Some of the humans within earshot snickered about Peter having a "bedtime".

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You need to rest - you worked too hard today. You skipped lunch, and I don't even want to know if you drank any water."

"Nailed it!" Heads swiveled towards Sophie, who was standing with her arms outstretched in a victorious pose. "Pay up, shit stains."

The humans grumbled, begrudgingly passing her some wage notes. Vy'Keen made a mental note to discuss this behavior with Sophie later. For now, however, she had more important things to worry about.

After being forced to issue Peter a direct command, the human sighed and exited the mess hall to go to his quarters. Vy'Keen followed him, as she did not trust him to stay on course.

"Where do you think I would go, captain?" Peter was growing irritated by this treatment.

"Back to the engineering bay. You would aim to fully deploy the algorithm you developed to the ship, which could very well take a few hours."

Peter was stunned. "Uh, okay, yeah - how'd you know?"

"I saw you message Sophie about how you were going to do just that. I watched you type it."

"I thought I was being sneaky…"

"You are wholly incapable of being anything but obnoxious."

Peter let out a bark of laughter, and Vy'Keen had to admit - she felt a surge of pride. She had, in fact, been attempting humor.

"I am glad you were able to see the humor in my words."

"That was good, captain! You're getting better at it."

Vy'Keen was very proud. The Kral valued humor - it was the ultimate form of the deliberate subversion of logic, and having a firm grasp of it showed how firm of a grasp one had upon adhering to logic.

However, since humor was a rare skill, it tended to go underused in Kral culture, and was exchanged exclusively between the intellectually elite. A cultural practice that tended to be misleading with regards to the intelligence of other species - ESPECIALLY humans.

When they finally arrived at Peter's quarters, the human was yawning every few minutes. "Wow… All that work is really starting to catch up with me. I'm exhausted."

"You humans never cease to amaze me - you have no attention span, but you can focus on a single task until it becomes a detriment to your own health."

Peter grinned. "We sure do." He scratched at his chin, and the light dusting of hair that covered it. "It means a lot to me that you were so concerned, captain."

Vy'Keen didn't know how to reply, so she went with a default for when a human professed such a thing - she hugged him. Something that the captain really only saw as a human-specific procedure - but that humans apparently saw as important to pack bonding.

"Hey, you don't need to do that!" Peter laughed in protest, despite reciprocating the hug. Another yawn wracked his body as they separated.

"Well, goodnight captain."

Vy'Keen nodded, and left him after making sure that the door had closed.

She went back to her own quarters, similarly exhausted from the excitement of the day. She sat at her desk, preparing to make an entry to the human guide regarding this behavior.

Before she did, she decided to check the map of vital signs aboard the ship one last time.

She immediately regretted it.

"Son of a bitch!" Vy'Keen found herself copying a human phrase of exasperation, before she raced off to intercept Peter, who was currently on his way back to engineering.

------

Entry #2,658,564

Author - Vy'Keen

Race - Kral

Captain aboard the S.S. Anne

Subject: Human Obsession

BEGIN REPORT

Yet another dichotomy in the nature of humans has been revealed - their attention spans.

While it has been well documented that humans have relatively short attention spans, which can last anywhere from less than a minute to two hours, it turns out that, like all things human, this is very much situational.

Today, a human aboard my ship skipped a mid-day break, did not eat his second meal, and did not ingest any water, as he was focused entirely on his work.

This same human had recently become bored during an autonomous maintenance period, and had partially disassembled his own terminal. The maintenance period had lasted for approximately thirty minutes.

And yet, he was able to stay focused on one task for well over eight hours, without pause. This surpasses even the most single-minded races in the galaxy.

This is apparently a phenomenon referred to as "obsession". It is apparently not uncommon, but the degree of obsession that my human engineer displayed today is. Apparently it is common with humans that have a condition referred to as "ADHD", or "ADD". Presently, I am not sure of the difference between the two - besides the obvious lack of a letter.

More research is needed, but after my brief observations and discussion with humans familiar with him, I would like to provide some friendly advice.

Firstly, please ensure that any humans you work with take regular breaks. Obviously, this goes for all races, even the Erqal - but for humans, if they become obsessed with something, they would gladly skip any kind of break.

Second, if you find that one of your humans has a tendency to behave in this manner, make sure that water is readily available near their workstation. When a human is so obsessed, they will neglect their own bodily functions and requirements - even the most basic need for sustenance will be ignored.

Finally, take strides to avoid being the object of a humans obsession. While the obsession displayed by my crew member was ultimately positive in nature, the predatory stance and glare clearly indicated that it could also be very, VERY negative. I dread what a human would do to something it was negatively obsessed with.

I hope I never have to learn.

END REPORT

[raywritesthings]

A Troubled Man

My Writing Fandom: Harry Potter Characters: Ginny Weasley, Sirius Black, Harry Potter, Molly Weasley, Hermione Granger, Fred Weasley, Goerge Weasley, Ron Weasley, Buckbeak, Albus Dumbledore Pairings: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley Notes: Canon Compliant, Character Death, References to Depression Summary:  “Excuse me, but I care what happens to Sirius as much as you do!” (Ginny Weasley, “Fight and Flight”, Order of the Phoenix pg 761) A look at the brief but meaningful relationship between the last Black and the youngest Weasley. *Can be read on my AO3 or FFN, links are in my bio*

The only upside to what had happened in Little Whinging that night was that their mother was far too upset to remember to charm the kitchen door, Ginny reflected as she listened through the newly created Extendable Ears her brothers were trying out, the whole lot of them crammed onto the third floor landing.

It was amazing how clear their mum’s voice was coming through. “How did the Dementors even find him?”

“Harry’s residence is a matter of public record, Molly,” explained Albus Dumbledore with exceeding patience. She couldn’t imagine how he had the time to field the Orders’ questions and run interference at the Ministry on Harry’s behalf.

“Yes, but you said he’s meant to be safe there, Headmaster,” her mum persisted. Only extreme worry would cause her to argue with Professor Dumbledore like this.

“The blood wards protecting Harry only extend to the property limits of his relatives’ house. This is why the Order guard has been necessary. The preliminary report from the Ministry says that Harry and his cousin were attacked off the property, and Arabella’s account supports this. So long as he remains inside—”

“So he’s under house arrest, then?” Asked a voice Ginny was beginning to grow rather familiar with. Sirius Black, wrongfully accused escaped convict and their host of sorts in this gloomy house that used to be his family’s. Ginny couldn’t imagine growing up in a place like this.

There were a number of weary sighs.

“No, I just want to be clear. Can’t leave the property for his own safety and all that? In that case, Albus, could you tell me for what reason we sent Harry to stay with his relatives all the way out in Surrey — spending valuable time and resources this group doesn’t really have — when he could have been, oh, here maybe?”

“Ooh,” the twins breathed together, grinning.

“You’re meant to be writing that letter to him,” her mum snapped waspishly. She hadn’t taken much of a liking to Sirius ever since they’d gotten here. Ginny thought he’d have better luck with her if he cut his hair.

“Yes, and I’ve written it on the scrap of parchment I’ve been allowed. ‘Stay out of trouble’. Not much use when the trouble came to him in the first place.”

“Harry will be moved once it is safe to do so, Sirius,” said Dumbledore.

“Not an answer, though, is it?” Ron muttered at her elbow. Beside him, Hermione shook her head.

“He does have a point, Albus,” said Kingsley Shacklebolt in his deep voice. Kingsley had an ear piercing like Bill and was therefore cool even if they didn’t know much else about him besides his job. “Moving him from one location to another is a security risk that could have been avoided.”

“I have explained before why it is necessary for Harry to spend a portion of his summers at his relatives’.”

There was a scoff at the word “necessary”. Ginny could guess who it originated from.

Her suspicion was confirmed a moment later by her mum asking, “Perhaps instead of undermining the Headmaster you could criticize your friend, Mundungus.”

“I haven’t defended him,” said Sirius. He said nothing further, though it was hardly any surprise. Mundungus Fletcher had been the one to supply Sirius a new wand off the black market. And Dung was funny in an odd way.

The front door opened and shut, though none of them could see who it was from their vantage point. Shuffled footsteps stopped with a bang and a curse as something heavy fell over; Tonks with the troll’s foot umbrella stand again.

“Quick, the Ears!” Feed began reeling them back up as, loud and clear without magical aid, old Mrs. Black’s portrait started her screaming back up again.

“HALF-BLOOD TRAITORS WALKING MY HALLS, SULLYING THE NAME OF BLACK!”

The adults could be heard rushing up to quiet the commotion, and Ginny snuck down a flight to watch the end of Dumbledore’s purple cloak disappear through the front door.

She came back up. “Meeting’s over. Dumbledore just left.”

“But we still don’t know what will happen to Harry,” Hermione said in clear disappointment.

“They can’t wait that long to move him, can they?” Ron looked to be trying to keep his spirits up. “Anyway, Harry’ll be alright. He’s fought off way more than two Dementors before.”

The twins agreed with nods, but Ginny wasn’t so sure. It was one thing two years ago; they’d all been warned about the Dementors guarding the school. It was another thing to be attacked out of the blue just streets away from your own home. Harry had to be wondering who had done it and why, just like they all were.

They were all forced to scatter at the sound of more footsteps, this time coming up the stairs towards them. Ginny peeked out of her hiding place in the drawing room to watch Sirius trudge past. He continued up to the room he shared with Buckbeak the hippogriff, and she heard his door shut with a snap.

“He’s in a mood,” she heard Ron mutter from his room down the hall.

“He always is lately,” Hermione replied in clear disapproval.

Ginny wasn’t sure what to think of that. She wondered what Sirius had been like the times Ron and Hermione had met him before and how that differed to now. Every so often she thought they caught glimpses of it, like the first night they’d arrived or whenever a good number of Order members stuck around for dinner after a meeting. He was always more jovial then, or trying to be.

Ginny looked around the dusty old room and shivered. They hadn’t started cleaning this one out yet, so she’d do better to steer clear of it for now. It felt like something or someone was watching her, holding their breath and waiting for something. She hurried back to the room she shared with Hermione to wash up before dinner.

---

Sirius hadn’t been at dinner, a point her mother refused to acknowledge. In fact, she’d made every effort to behave as though everything was perfectly fine. The only indication that it was not was near the end of the meal when the dishes were being cleared away and her father voiced a quiet question about taking up leftovers.

“He’s a grown man. He can make his own food if he doesn’t want to eat with us.”

Ginny privately thought that even if Sirius had been a grown man when he was arrested, he’d not had much experience cooking the last fourteen years or so and should possibly be cut some slack since he was forced to put up with the lot of them all summer. Ginny loved her family, but even she knew they could be a bit much sometimes to outsiders.

They were all sent up to bed soon enough. Ginny tossed and turned for a while. She just couldn’t seem to settle, mind occupied with Dementor attacks and Harry skulking around his Muggle relatives’ house — which in her mind’s eye resembled something like Grimmauld Place as she’d never seen it before — barred from leaving just like Sirius was and they all had been since the start of summer.

After a while, she gave sleeping up and rose from her bed. The house seemed even creepier at night, things looming out of dark shadows at unexpected moments. She might lose her head if she ran across Kreacher with no warning. For some reason, her feet carried her upstairs instead of down; maybe she was unconsciously avoiding waking the portraits by mistake.

Ginny paused in front of the drawing room. As much as she didn’t like it in there, she also felt some sort of morbid pull towards it, almost like…

Shuffling feet a couple floors above broke her from her thoughts, and Ginny quickly backed up out of the room. She hadn’t even realized she’d opened the door and stepped inside.

She heard the footsteps again and decided to have a look. It was coming from the floor above Ron but below the twins. Ginny didn’t actually think anyone slept on this floor, come to think of it. She passed by a door labeled pompously with the name Regulus Arcturus Black, noticing a light on in a room she hadn’t thought was in use. Ginny went to the door and pushed it open a few inches.

Inside she found a bedroom in shocking red and gold after all the black, silver and green of the rest of the house. There were posters on the walls, still like Muggle photographs, of women in hardly anything. In the middle of it all stood Sirius, who looked to be sorting through some old papers.

He glanced her way. “Shouldn’t you be asleep?”

“Shouldn’t you?”

“Point taken.” He gestured around the place. “How do you like a fifteen year old’s attempt at decorating?”

It made a very sudden amount of sense. “This was yours?”

“Yeah, when I Iived here. The first time, anyway.” Sirius looked down, his face cast in shadow.

She could tell he was likely to wallow if she didn’t rescue the conversation soon, so Ginny said, “Well, it’s very typical boy.”

He laughed, not quite the bark that seemed to be his usual. “Oh, I wanted my mother to think so. She was too busy goggling at those Muggle girls I cut out of the advertisements in the magazines to realize I was reading up on motorbikes. I built my own, enchanted it and everything.”

A man after her father’s own heart, Ginny noted to herself. “And the Muggle girls weren’t a side benefit?”

He shook his head, hair whipping about his face like shaggy ears. “Never interested me much. If I can figure out how to undo the old Sticking Charms, they’ll be coming down.”

“How come?”

“Thought I might clean this up for Harry to use. Though your mum reckons he’ll go in with Ron. Probably better he does,” Sirius muttered as he rubbed at his face with one hand. “No sense being alone in this house.”

“No,” Ginny agreed.

“Still,” Sirius said, rallying himself. “Might be worth it to show him some things. Look here at this.”

He took a photo off the pile he’d been sorting through and handed it to her. Ginny nearly gasped at the sight of an older Harry — except it wasn’t Harry at all, but a similar-looking man with different shapes glasses and hazel eyes. He was chasing a green-eyed baby on a toy broomstick around a cozy sitting room while a woman with deep auburn hair laughed and laughed.

“This was his family?”

“Yeah, his first birthday. I couldn’t be there — they were in hiding already, and the Order was spread pretty thin. Back when we could do something about all this,” he noted, though the usual bitterness was softened as he continued to gaze down at the photo of the Potters. “So I sent him that toy broomstick. Lily said it was his favorite. She sent a letter with the photo, should be somewhere...here!”

He’d gone back to his pile and withdrew two pages of old parchment filled with Lily Potter’s neat script. Ginny held her breath as she took a piece of the past. Her eyes only skimmed the text. She couldn’t really concentrate on the words themselves, only that they’d been written by a woman who’d been killed less than three months later.

“Harry writes his ‘g’s the same way as her.” Sirius pointed it out with a finger, undeniably proud.

Ginny’s eyes jumped from one ‘g’ to another rapidly, zeroing in on the two capital ‘G’s in the name Gellert Grindelwald, which was mentioned for who knew what reason.

“Does he?”

“You don’t think so?” Sirius was frowning a little, like he thought she doubted him.

Ginny shook her head. “I wouldn’t know. I’ve never really read Harry’s writing.”

“You don’t write letters at all? Not just this summer?”

“Oh. Well, Harry is Ron’s friend, really. We all like him, though,” she added quickly. “Actually, I, er, I sort of had this massive crush on him when we first met. Sort of makes things awkward. He probably wouldn’t want letters from me.” She turned away under the guise of setting Lily Potter’s letter down. “And I don’t know why I just told you that since you said that sort of thing was stupid.” He probably thought her a real idiot now.

“I said it wasn’t for me, not that it was stupid. James and the rest all thought I was the stupid one when it came to that.”

Ginny didn’t know what to say, not sure she really understood. 

“Did Harry say he didn’t want letters from you? Doesn’t seem like him. Then again, he’s yet to ask me about girls.”

Ginny shook her head. “No, he’s always been nice about it. Even during everything with the Chamber.”

“Chamber?” Sirius asked, his brow furrowing.

There was a moment where she thought her face might heat up, but it passed. Ginny was so used to everyone sort of knowing, even if they never spoke about it, that she’d quite forgotten that Sirius would have no reason to. Well, almost no reason. “Er, I was tricked by an enchanted diary in my first year, and Harry had to come and rescue me. I was a blubbering mess.”

“Ah, well that’s alright then. I was completely useless two years ago when the Dementors nearly caught me. Harry doesn’t resent me for having to rescue my sorry arse.”

Ginny found her lips curving into a grin, which Sirius matched with his own. “Will he be here soon, then?”

Sirius nodded. “The Order’s arranging a guard to collect him and transport him here. Mad Eye’s been put in charge, so he’s keeping tight-lipped. But before the week is out, I’m sure.” He looked happier just to say that out loud. Even if Ginny had yet to see them in the same room together, she could tell how much care Sirius had for his godson.

Well, good. Harry ought to have someone who was there just for him. Merlin knew those Muggles in Surrey weren’t up to the task.

Sirius checked a fine watch at his wrist. “I’ll put in a couple more hours here. You should really get to sleep, though. I doubt your mum will let you skive off chores tomorrow.”

“You think she’ll let you?”

He really did bark a laugh that time. “Maybe not, but I’ve got Buckbeak upstairs to ward her off.”

Ginny sat on the side of the bed. “I’m not tired just yet, so I may as well keep you company. No sense being alone.”

Sirius paused, his gray eyes meeting hers and for once looking absolutely clear. “No. No sense at all.”

He went back to sorting through the old papers. Some, he explained, had been left behind when he’d first ran away from this place. The others had been collected over the last few months by Professor Lupin and Professor Dumbledore. He seemed particularly happy about a set of mirrors the Headmaster had managed to locate.

“These were mine and James’,” he told her. There were a lot of those asides about his old friends. Gradually, she found it comforting rather than unsettling; the more Sirius spoke about Harry’s parents, the more he seemed to breathe life back into them so that they weren’t the silent, shadowy figures in the old Boy Who Lived story, but real people.

“I wish I had James’ old notes. He used to draw snitches in the margins and hearts with his and Lily’s initials when he thought we all weren’t looking. You might check Harry’s homework some time, just to see if he’s the same…”

She thought again about Lily Potter’s capital G, trying to imagine it on a fresh piece of parchment accompanying a Dear Ginny...and she drifted off to sleep.

---

She hadn’t meant to, of course, and woke the next morning quite disoriented. For a moment, she thought she must be in her dorm at Hogwarts with all the Gryffindor colors surrounding her — then her eyes caught sight of a woman in little more than underthings and remembered. Sirius must not have been successful about that Sticking Charm.

There was a blanket over her she definitely didn’t remember pulling over herself.

Ginny stretched with a yawn and headed downstairs to see if she could find anyone else up. The only ones in the kitchen were her mother, brothers and Hermione.

“Morning, all.”

The twins and Ron gave vague murmurings of greeting, the three of them devoted to their breakfasts. It would take a few minutes for them to regain their wit.

Her mum set a plate down for her. “Eat up, dear, we’ve a lot of work to do.”

“Which room?” Ginny asked, her mind going back to the old drawing room for some reason.

“I thought we might tackle the second bathroom,” said her mum. “With Harry coming in, we’ll have more company and that much more need of it.”

“That bathroom’s too small for all of you to work on it,” said Sirius. They all turned to find him in the doorway.

“Well, I suppose we’re not needed today,” Fred remarked. Beside him, George placed his feet up on the table.

“Don’t think I won’t find something for you two,” their mum said, swatting at George’s feet. “Even if Sirius has decided he’s making up the chore list for today.”

He hardly seemed bothered by the sullen tone; Ginny suspected he rather enjoyed getting small rises out of people. “Actually, I was hoping to borrow the girls.”

Ginny blinked in interest even as her mum asked, “What?”

“Buckbeak needs to get out in the back for a bit, stretch his wings, general business.”

“I could go with Hermione,” Ron said.

“And never come back inside,” Ginny replied quickly. She wasn’t about to let an opportunity to get out of the house even for a few moments pass her by. “You and Hermione would get so distracted bickering that Buckbeak might just decide to fly away.”

“He’d be smart enough to manage it,” Sirius agreed. “Come on, I’ll bring him downstairs for you.”

Hermione patted Ron’s hand with sympathy while Ginny made faces at all of her brothers while their mother wasn’t looking.

“Have fun cleaning up Hippogriff dung,” George said in a low voice just as the two of them left through the kitchen door.

Ginny stood in the main hall with Hermione, each of them quiet as possible considering the portrait-lined walls. She noticed the older girl watching her, though, and had a feeling a question was just waiting for the chance to be asked.

Sirius returned but in his Animagus form, as he seemed to be demonstrating for Buckbeak how a four-legged creature ought to navigate steps. The proud Hippogriff followed slowly, snapping his beak once or twice when he nearly stumbled. Ginny sent a nervous glance back at Mrs. Black’s portrait, but the curtains remained shut.

Once both animals had reached the bottom of the steps, Sirius changed back. He took the reins Buckbeak wore and passed them off to Hermione. “He’ll trust you best. Ginny, you just give him a bow.”

She did so, waiting with her breath held until Buckbeak mirrored her.

“There. You two will be fine now.”

“Er, Sirius?” Hermione asked. “What should we do with the, erm, droppings?”

“What the old Purebloods did, naturally.”

Ginny let out a snort that she hastily covered with a hand over her mouth.

“Someone will take care of it. Off you go,” Sirius said before Hermione could voice no doubt a series of follow-up questions. “He’s impatient.”

Soon enough, Ginny was leading the way into the backyard. It was incredibly small and fenced in with hardly anything struggling to grow in it. Buckbeak pawed at the ground in places and tossed his head once or twice, forcing Ginny to grab onto the reins to help Hermione. It was obvious the animal longed to fly.

“Poor thing,” Ginny couldn’t help saying aloud. “You probably miss being on the run.”

“Where did you go last night?” Hermione asked her rather than comment on her conversation with Buckbeak, which seemed to her a bit rude. She hadn’t even left him room to reply.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean you weren’t in your bed when I woke up but you weren’t down in the kitchen either. You acted like you’d just woken up when you joined us.”

There wasn’t much point to lying to her. Hermione was a much early riser than Ginny anyway — she’d gotten into the habit of sleeping in two shifts at a very young age, after all.

“I was in Sirius’ room.” At the great gasp and shocked face Hermione pulled, she let out a laugh. “His old bedroom, Hermione, not the one he’s staying in now! It’d get a bit crowded with Buckbeak in there, too.”

“Ginny!” Hermione exclaimed before immediately slapping a hand over her mouth. They both glanced about nervously, but the shout didn’t seem to have shattered the protection they were living under. “What were you doing in his old room?” Her friend hissed after the tense silence.

Ginny shrugged. “Couldn’t sleep. Sirius was sorting through some things in case Harry wanted to use the room.”

“But Harry always stays with Ron.”

“Not when he’s with the Muggles,” Ginny pointed out. “But he’ll probably stay with him here, yeah. That’s what Sirius thought mum would decide. So he was just going through some old things to show Harry, maybe. He’s got loads of stuff from his parents.”

For some reason, this caused Hermione to frown rather than smile like Ginny might have thought. “Yes, I wonder if Sirius isn’t a little more focused on Harry’s parents than on Harry.”

“What?” Ginny scrunched her nose up. “That’s barkers. He wants to show Harry their things, not ignore Harry for them. And wouldn’t Harry want to see them?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure. He hardly ever talks about them, you know,” Hermione told her. “The only things he keeps of theirs were given to him by other people. I don’t know if his aunt just keeps everything else at home or if he doesn’t like the reminder.”

“Oh.” Ginny hadn’t thought of that. Harry always seemed to be so enthralled by the atmosphere and clutter of possessions that filled Ginny’s house that she’d always thought — but maybe Hermione was right. Maybe Harry didn’t want his parents’ things. Would it be too painful?

The door opened behind them.

“You’ll have to bring him in now.” Sirius stood two feet back from the door, hidden mostly in shadow. Ginny wondered if he’d been told to keep from opening or answering the doors. Like Buckbeak, his eyes were on the sky. “Your mum’s getting nervous,” he added to Ginny. Without further explanation, he turned and retreated into the house.

Ginny sighed. “Alright, Buckbeak. You heard the rules.”

The Hippogriff did not want to go back inside, but between the two of them they managed. Hermione led the way up to the master bedroom and peered inside. “Eugh, it’s filthy.”

There were animal bones littering the floor by Buckbeak’s makeshift nest of blankets. Ginny swallowed down a spike of panic and stayed in the hall.

“Wonder where he gets the food,” she said, for something to focus on.

“Well, I wonder where he keeps his rubbish bin. Honestly.” Hermione came out and shut the door, leaving Buckbeak to resettle inside. “You mother would be horrified if he let her see in there.”

“Mum’s horrified by a lot of things. Anyway, least the bones are picked clean.” Ginny started down the stairs with Hermione following. “One time the twins forgot a plate of chicken when they left for school and didn’t tell anyone. Their room smelled for weeks.”

“Oi. Not nice to talk about people behind their backs,” said George as he poked his head out of the second bathroom. He didn’t look too grimy, all considered.

“Good thing we were to the side of you, then,” Ginny replied without missing a beat.

He shrugged. “Fair enough.”

“Girls?” Her mum called. “If you’ve finished with Buckbeak, see if Sirius needs anything else. Otherwise, I’ll have to find you something.”

“Yes, Mrs. Weasley,” Hermione answered.

Try as they might, they couldn’t find him. When Ginny checked his old childhood bedroom in hopes of catching him there, the old boxes of photos and letters were all packed up tight.

---

Harry came soon after, livening up the place with anger and nervous energy. Some of that dissipated once he learned more about the Order thanks to Sirius’ intervention — Ginny was still incredibly cross with her mother for forcing her to leave, even if she’d gotten it all from Hermione later anyway — and the rest left once the result of his hearing came back. Ginny had quite a bit of fun celebrating that with the twins.

Harry was soon roped into leaning the house with the rest of them, and Sirius began participating more obviously as well. She hesitated to call it fun, but it passed the time as well as anything.

Ginny often worked with Sirius because she reckoned if something was about to blow up in their faces it was best to be standing next to the wizard who knew the most magic and was capable of performing it outside school. When not with Sirius, she stuck by the twins for exactly the same reason.

It was also to give him and Harry some space. She knew in an ideal world, they’d have probably spent the whole summer together and come over to the Burrow for dinners or games of pickup Quidditch. Had Sirius even played? She’d seen Mr. Potter’s name on a trophy during the odd detention or two.

Sometimes Sirius would call her over on his own. “Ginny, take that end of the sofa with Harry, there. I’ve got this side.” Or, “Can you and Harry take that bag down to the front hall? Mad Eye’s collecting them to dispose of.” Always her and Harry, too.

But Harry ended up spending a lot of his time with Ron and Hermione, which was what often happened when the three of them were in the same space. With the twins holed up together planning their business and her mother on a cleaning warpath, Ginny often found herself in Sirius’ company. One afternoon she was perched on the flat surface of an unused vanity in the master bedroom as Sirius fed Buckbeak — with supplies from Dung, as it turned out. Pigwidgeon flitted about his head with slightly more calm than usual, while Hedwig slept standing on an ornate owl perch probably placed their decades I’d not centuries ago, and Crookshanks slept on the bed. He was a veritable magizoologist, and Ginny wondered if that might have been what he’d have become had there not been a war on.

Rather than puzzle about the possible career choices of Sirius Black, Ginny decides to voice her suspicions. “I know what you’re doing, and you may as well stop.”

“Think Buckbeak would be rather cross if I did,” he replied.

“Come off it,” she said, grinning in spite of himself. “Making Harry do things with me. I said I had a crush on him as a kid, not that I’m in love with him.”

“I never said you were either. Just reckon you two could be better friends.” He tossed the last animal carcass to Buckbeak, who scarfed it down with rather overdone messiness.

“Sure. But just so you know, I’ve been talking to a Ravenclaw boy the last few months. And Harry likes a Ravenclaw the year above him.”

“Hm, similar taste.”

“I’m — oh no.”

“Were you about to say it?” He finally turned to her with a full grin. “Everyone does at some point.”

“Not me.” She’d stopped herself early enough, thank Merlin. “I’m merely telling you in an earnest fashion to stop your nonsense if you think it’s helping.” Having skirted the mention of the homonym to his name, she nodded to herself.

“It could be my own mean-spirited joke. I was quite known for those in the day.”

Ginny looked him up and down, scrutinizing him. Perhaps what she knew of him was little, but, “Nah, you wouldn’t. You wouldn’t make a joke about Harry.”

Sirius’ look became one of chagrin. “Caught me out, did you? You’re pretty brilliant, you are.”

“I’ve worked hard on it,” she said, not bothering to hide that she was pleased. It wasn’t often adults saw her for much more than the youngest and smallest of seven. “Since I am so brilliant, I suppose you might as well induct me into the Order now. I promise not to give its secrets away to Fred and George.”

He barked a laugh. “That decision would be up to Dumbledore. And your mother.”

“Was worth a try,” she sighed.

“Always is.”

Two loud cracks outside on the landing announced Fred and George’s sudden proximity. “Ickle Gin-Gin? Our mother is calling us to dinner,” Fred said, loud enough to be heard from where he stood on the landing but soft enough not to carry down to old Mrs. Black’s portrait.

“Special party for the perfect Prefects before they assume their duties on the train tomorrow,” George added. “Don’t want to be late!” They Disapparated with two more cracks, probably to search for her on other floors.

“Merlin, forgot it was already the thirtieth.” The usual milestones of summer had seemed muted in the darkened house. Even her birthday had passed by with little fanfare, everyone too concerned with Harry’s hearing the next morning to be in a mood for celebration.

“So it is,” said Sirius, almost too quiet for her to make out. He went to the bed and scratched Crookshanks behind his ears. “You finished all your work?”

“Left History of Magic for last. I’ll just scribble it down the morning before first class. Not like Binns knows the difference.” Ginny hopped down off the vanity and crossed to the door. “You eating with us?”

“I might be down in a bit. Save me a plate.”

“Alright.”

He did arrive in plenty of time for the party, but though he talked and laughed with all of them, Ginny thought there was a shadow hiding behind his eyes. The way he followed Harry about the room, sometimes right at his elbow and sometimes at a bit of a distance, made her think of his Animagus form. She wondered if Harry thought the same.

---

Having Sirius accompany them to the platform had been a wonderful sendoff no matter what Hermione said about vague threats Malfoy had made to Harry. So what if the Malfoys knew Sirius was in London? They’d probably already assumed that, and it wasn’t as if they could go to the Ministry without revealing their source was an illegal Animagus himself and reportedly dead man. The sheer joy in his eyes and in that foggy grin as he’d chased birds about the sidewalk and jumped up to bid Harry and the rest of them a last goodbye had been worth it, and Ginny wouldn’t be convinced otherwise.

She thought about Sirius every so often during the first term. Wondering what was going on at Headquarters, how he passed the time. Harry might know, but he had enough to be getting on with without her pestering him about his own godfather.

As the holidays neared, she wondered how Sirius would be spending them, too.

Then her dad was attacked and they were all back in Grimmauld Place, so in a way she was finding out.

Ginny wasn’t planning to stick around long enough for that, though. She waited long enough to hear Harry’s whole story after Sirius pulled her up from the floor when they were deposited by Dumbledore’s Portkey before stating, “We’ve got to go to St. Mungo’s. Sirius, can you lend us cloaks or anything—?”

“Hang on, you can’t go tearing off to St. Mungo’s!”

Despite her and the twin’s arguments that they needed to see their dad, he refused. And she understood not wanting to draw attention to the unexplainable connection Harry seemed to have with You-Know-Who, she got that Sirius was trying to protect his godson. But this was her dad!

He made them sit and drink Butterbeer instead. What had happened to them being old enough to know things? To not being kept in the dark? Hermione had told her they’d gotten word of Sirius’ support for the D.A., so why was he suddenly acting like her mum?

She sat glaring into the fire for the rest of the night until her mum came back with news about her dad. Overjoyed as she was to know he was recovering, Ginny barely touched her breakfast. They still weren’t being allowed to go right away.

Her mum and Sirius were making nice at the stove — making nice! — and talking about bloody Christmas plans or something.

She couldn’t believe the lot of them.

Ginny was still so angry she couldn’t sleep the next night, even after seeing her dad for herself at St. Mungo’s. She’d forced herself to appear happy to her mother and the others on the trip, but betrayal at Sirius’ actions the previous night stewed in her like a stomachache.

She got up, heading down to the kitchen in the hopes that a cup of tea might soothe her enough to settle for a few hours.

Except that Sirius was already sitting at the table nursing a mug of something. She didn’t much care what it was. Probably more of Dung’s cheap liquor.

“Evening,” he greeted casually. When all she did was glare, he sat up a little straighter. “Something the matter?”

Ginny scoffed. “Really? You have to ask?”

She crossed to the cabinets and started opening and closing them with loud bangs, not really looking inside. She was being so her mum at the moment and hated it, but right now she was more interested in hating him.

Then his hand reached for the cabinet handle she’d been about to grab and pulled it open, taking out a tin of herbal tea. It occurred to Ginny then just how tall Sirius was; he spent most of his time either slumped into chairs or slightly hunched over. 

It made her wonder how tall the cells in Azkaban were.

“Here. Unless you’re after something else.”

His words reminded her of her anger, and she wrapped it around herself like a cloak to ward off her chilling thoughts. “Like an apology maybe?”

She could hear the aristocratic raise of his eyebrow and didn’t even have to look to know it was there. “For?”

Ginny whirled around. “You didn’t back me up!”

“Of course I didn’t,” he said, and it sounded so damn dismissive she wanted to curse him, or punch him since that wouldn’t get her in trouble with the Ministry. “You weren’t thinking clearly.”

“And you got to decide that?”

“As the only adult in the room, yes, I did.”

Ginny petulantly opened her mouth to argue he hadn’t been the only adult in the room with Fred and George of age, but realized at the last second that would be playing into his hand.

So she struck lower.

“No one in the Order thinks you are.”

Sirius’ eyes flashed and for a single moment she was reminded of the wanted posters and how very terrified she had been of him the last several years of her life. “No, they don’t,” was all he said quietly. Then he turned his back to her.

“Sirius. I- I didn’t mean—” Somehow his lack of fight was so much worse than any shouting would have been. Because he was a fighter, and if he was giving up already then she didn’t know what that meant.

“Sometimes I forget the years. It’s hard not to, especially here. Then I see you or Harry or the others.” He glanced back over his shoulder at her. “You’re nearly as old as we were, but don’t you see? How young that is.”

Her protests all seemed to have died on her lips.

“No one told us we were too young. No one tried to hold us back.” He shrugged. “We thought we were invincible, for a while. Then the bodies started piling up. And the Inferi came. And the Dementors…” Sirius shuddered, but he carried on in a hoarse tone, “Did you ever wonder why there’s barely forty kids in a year at Hogwarts anymore?”

“No,” she admitted quietly. “I thought it was normal.”

“I want you lot to be prepared, yes. Because it’s going to get uglier, a lot uglier, before it gets better. If it does. But I don’t want you to be like me.” His gray gaze held hers, and it sent chills up her spine. “I don’t want you to have their lives. I want you to grow old and have children of your own and get fed up when they yell at you for being such a broomstick in the mud.” His eyes were wet now. “I want you to have the lives they should have had. Do you understand?”

“Yes. I- I think I am tired after all.” She turned and left the kitchen, glancing back once to see Sirius leaning his back against the counter as he rubbed thumb and forefinger over his eyes.

She did what she’d always done since the Chamber with her tears and cried into her pillow for the lives that were never lived. And the lives that this war had yet to take.

---

She didn’t have a present for him, Ginny realized on Christmas morning. She hadn’t thought they’d be here for Christmas and hadn’t known how to get it to him. Then she’d been so distraught and angry the next few days. But they were all sitting around the table talking about their gifts and thanking each other, and she realized it didn’t seem as if he’d gotten a thing.

They were shuffled off to see her dad at St. Mungo’s, but when they returned Ginny hurriedly took out some parchment and ink and scrawled out a quick card.

“It’s an IOU,” she explained when she found him still stringing up tinsel on the bookcases in the library. He was big on decorating, she’d discovered in the days leading up to Christmas. “Next time we see each other, I’ll have the present.”

He hummed as he looked over the sloppily drawn tree. “And when will that be?”

“Next summer. We’ll be coming back here if nothing changes, won’t we? Or maybe you could come out to the Burrow for a day. Have you ever been?”

“No. But your uncles described it when your parents bought the land and started building the place.”

Ginny blinked. She’d forgotten Sirius had known her uncles. Ginny usually forgot about her uncles as well, but the looming war seemed to provide frequent reminders.

“They said it was hilarious,” Sirius added.

Ginny smirked. “Is a bit, yeah, but it’s home. You’ll have to come. I know King’s Cross is too public, but the house should be alright, shouldn’t it?”

“We’ll see,” was his answer. “But I accept this delayed present on one condition.”

“Which is?”

“You help me spread some cheer today.” He threw some tinsel over her shoulder and wrapped the rest around his neck, galloping out of the room. Ginny laughed as they ascended the steps, and joined in on the second half of the verse of his carol.

“Oh, tidings of comfort and joy—”

A door flew open on the landing above, cutting them off mid-song.

“Sirius, please.” Her mum’s face was red and splotchy; probably still upset by the fight she and Ginny’s dad had had about the Muggle stitches. But she froze as she took in the sight of Ginny.

“Er, sorry, mum.”

“No. No, that’s alright, dear. It- it is a holiday,” she said. “Carry on.” Then she turned and shut the door.

“Downstairs, eh? Let’s see if we can find your brothers,” Sirius suggested, the tinsel train connecting them already tugging her in the other direction.”

“Right.” Ginny waited till they cleared the next landing, then heaved in a big breath.

“God rest ye, merry Hippogriff, let nothing you dismay!”

---

She never saw him again after that holiday.

A quick hug as she hurried down the stairs to join the others on their ride back to school was what she’d left with. She couldn’t remember if there had been words. It was a regret Ginny carried the rest of her life.

Harry at least had seen him and spoken to him before the end. She was proud she’d helped to give him that. Proud still that she’d gone with him to try and rescue Sirius. She’d do again in a heartbeat, especially if it did save him this time. But time didn’t work that way.

Three summers later, Ginny entered Number 12 Grimmauld Place for the first time since that Christmas before his death. She did it for Harry, since he didn’t want to go alone.

The house felt small and dim instead of strange and Gothic the way it lived in her memory. Kreacher wasn’t present — he’d opted to stay among the Elves at Hogwarts, lonely in his old age, they suspected. That was just as well; Ginny could only muster pity for him, no matter how much he had changed since the spring he helped orchestrate Sirius’ death.

They walked hand-in-hand through the house, using their wands to move the furniture that would be leaving to the front hall. Then Harry led them up to Sirius’ childhood bedroom, looking unsurprised as he stepped into total chaos. Ginny gasped.

“Snape did it,” Harry told her. “He was looking for something.”

“In Sirius’ things?”

“It’s complicated.” Everything with Snape was. She was still processing how she felt about her one-time Headmaster. “I wish I’d known all this stuff was here before,” Harry remarked, more to himself than anything as he looked about the parchment scattered on the floor.

“He was going to show them to you. He told me that, but I think...I think he got the impression you wouldn’t want to.”

Harry frowned. “How’d he get that impression?”

Ginny shook her head. It was on my a sneaking suspicion, nothing to get him riled up at Hermione over. They were all older now, and wiser for it. “I don’t know for sure. Only there was talk. I think he worried he was doing everything wrong by you.”

“Most everyone back then was telling him he was,” Harry said. “They didn’t understand. He wasn’t perfect, of course.”

“He had a lot of his own troubles.” Ginny was reading things, Muggle books Hermione had lent her. They talked about things they called illnesses but to her sounded like curses. Post-traumatic stress. Depression. The Dementors never had wands, but she thought they’d put a curse on Sirius all the same.

“Yeah,” Harry agreed softly. “Yeah, he did. He didn’t need to be perfect, though.”

Ginny stepped forward, circling her arms loosely around his lower back and forcing him to look at her. “He told me about some of this stuff. I can’t remember everything, but looking at it might help.”

Harry kissed her forehead. “It might.”

They packed up the boxes and antiques and furniture and left. Bill removed the Fidelus and Unplottable Charms, and it sold for a small sum before the year was out.

A weight lifted off her chest. One of her own curses gone.

---

They were having a boy. They’d gone to see one of the Muggle Healers. Her dad has been fascinated to know how much the Muggles could see about a baby that had yet to be born.

They’d gone in part because they were having trouble deciding on names. This was to be Harry Potter’s first child, after all, and like it or not people were going to obsess about it.

Her husband threw himself down into a chair. “I don’t want my name in it.”

“You have your dad’s name,” Ginny pointed out from her own seat. She preferred sitting to standing these days, though sometimes she grew stir crazy. “Bill has my dad’s, and I have my mum’s. It’s not like it’d be out of the ordinary.”

“It’s not that. It’s just...a lot to put on a baby, you know?”

She nodded.

“I’d rather give him my dad’s name. I always sort of thought I would. Only…”

“Only?” She prompted, knowing if she didn’t he’d just drew for another day or so.

“Sirius.” Harry looked at her, his eyes sad. 

“Oh,” she said softly.

“When I think of — it’s horrible, isn’t it? But when I think of a dad, or what a dad would do.” He shrugged helplessly. “I know my dad would’ve if he’d been given the chance, I know that. I just…”

Ginny leaned as far as her belly would allow and touched his shoulder. “It’s understandable, Harry. Sirius was all you knew.”

“I know, but I know he’d never want to take my dad’s place.” He put his head in his hands, hair sticking out at even odder angles.

She thought for a while. He was right about Sirius’ wishes, but Ginny wanted to honor him, too. She always would.

“James Sirius, then,” she said after a moment, and Harry looked up. “That way, they’re never apart.”

His face slowly split into a wide grin, his shoulders slumping in relief. “You’re brilliant, you are.”

She closed her eyes, smiling at memories of a young girl who’d thought herself so grown up. “Suppose I am.”

At least she’d had the chance to become one. Ginny rested her hand on her stomach, feeling James Sirius kick to meet the touch.

The life they should’ve had. The life that every child could have now. Sometimes it didn’t feel real.

She’d fight every day to keep it, though. Sirius has said once that some things were worth dying for, like the children he’d charged into battle to protect. But some things were worth living for, too.

Ginny would never forget that.

[stansbooty]

the line between love and hate // reddie

summary: soulmate au where you feel intense emotions with your soulmate & their name appears on your body the first time you touch warnings: underage drinking words: 2945

ao3 link

Everybody knew about soulmates. In fact, it was one of the first things you learned about when you went to school and one of the first things most children wished for on the birthday after. Everybody wanted to find their soulmate. It sounded magical. A person whom the universe created just for you, a perfect match sent to be with you until you died, complimenting you in every way as you did for them.

Richie Tozier came home from school they day he learned about them, blabbing nonstop about the new magic he became aware of.

“And Mrs. Johnson said that everything is better with them! That you feel a lot more. Like if you’re happy, then you’re really happy!” Richie told his mom from the backseat of the car.

“Yes, that’s right.” Mrs. Tozier laughed.

“And we get a special tattoo of their name!”

“When you touch for the first time, yes. And then you’ll fall in love. Or maybe even before.”

Richie paused for a moment. “When’s that?”

“Love?”

“Yeah.”

Mrs. Tozier sighed, trying to find the words to describe it to her 5-year-old son. “When you fall in love, you’ll know.”

“But, Mom, how?” He whined.

“Love is when you like the person so much that is almost hurts you.”

Richie grumbled. “I don’t want it to hurt.”

“Not really in a bad way, sweetie. You love them so much that you feel so full. You always want the best for them. You always want them to be happy.”

“Like with my friends?”

“Kinda, yeah.” She smiled and looked briefly back at him. “Except just so much more. It’s like being friends times a hundred.”

“What about times infinity?” Richie giggled.

Mrs. Tozier chuckled as well. “Yes, times infinity works, too.”

From that moment on, Richie knew that he wanted to find his soulmate as soon as he possibly could. He couldn’t imagine a world in which he didn’t have someone like that by his side. A friend times infinity? It sounded magical.

Richie soon found out that it wasn’t all magic. When he turned 9, his teacher told them that a lot of people don’t find their soulmates. Or sometimes their soulmates die. Or even worse, sometimes they don’t like their soulmate and their soulmate doesn’t like them.

“How does that happen? Aren’t they perfect for you?” Someone asked her.

“Well you already know that everything feels better with them.” His teacher, Mrs. Robin, explained. They all nodded. “Well everything bad also feels worse. If you’re happy, you’re more happy. But if you’re sad, you’re more sad.”

Richie pouted and that afternoon in the car on the way home, he asked his mom another question.

“Are you and Dad soulmates?”

Mrs. Tozier was a bit taken aback. “Of course we are. Why wouldn’t you think that?”

“Mrs. Robin said not everyone ends up with theirs.”

“That’s true.” She sighed. “But your dad and I are, don’t worry.”

“What if I don’t end up with mine?” Richie exclaimed, suddenly very nervous.

“Richie, there’s no need to worry. I am certain you’ll find your soulmate and be very happy.”

“Mrs. Robin also said not everyone likes their soulmate. What if I’m not happy?”

She sighed again, bringing one hand away from the steering wheel to rub at his forehead. “Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll be very happy.”

“But -”

“This is nothing to worry about right now. You’re 9, you have plenty of time to find them and be happy.”

“Okay.” He muttered, leaning his head against the car window and resuming his pouting.

--

“I hate him!” Richie Tozier, now 18 years old, slammed a hand on the table in front of him.

“What’d he do now?” Stan, Richie’s best friend, asked without looking up from his book. Bev, on the other hand, took it as an opportunity to push her textbook away.

“He’s just so infuriating! I’m just as smart as him, you know?” Richie sat down.

“I know.” Stan muttered.

“But fucking Kaspbrak thinks he’s all that just because he’s a teacher’s pet.”

“And captain of the track team.” Bev pointed out with a smirk.

“Who the fuck gives a shit?” Richie put his head down on the table.

“He’s not even that bad, Richie.” Stan finally pushed away his book. “He’s actually -”

“Don’t you dare say it.”

“Pretty nice.” Stan finished.

“He thinks he’s better than everyone. More specifically, me.”

Stan sighed and looked over at Bev, who had the same exasperated look on her face. This had been going on for the entirety of high school, since Richie had met Eddie Kaspbrak in his freshman English class. Richie had originally had a huge crush on Eddie, calling him the “cutest boy he’d ever seen”, but as they began to talk in their class, Richie realized the sheer rage he felt around the boy.

“You know, Ben is friends with him.” Bev mentioned.

“I know.” Richie rolled his eyes. “I don’t know how someone as sweet as Haystack could be friends with someone like him.”

“He says he’s a really good friend.”

“I really think you guys got off on the wrong foot.” Stan interjected hesitantly.

“You always do this. Just accept that I hate the guy and move on. You guys are my friends, you’re supposed to support me!” Richie groaned.

“I’m not going to support your childish hate of someone without reason.”

“So if I give you a legitimate reason, you’ll support me?”

Stan and Bev shared a look of confusion, but nodded nonetheless.

“I guess if you can find one, but he’s a good guy, Richie.” Bev answered.

“We’ll see about that.”

--

“So, Haystack, any parties this weekend with your other friends?” Richie asked Ben at lunch, resting his chin in his hands as he smiled faux sweetly.

“Yeah, Bev and I are going to Mike Hanlon’s party this weekend.” Ben smiled back, unaware of Richie ulterior motives.

“Can I tag along?”

Ben’s smile expanded to a grin. “Of course! That’d be great. You can bring Stan, too, it’ll be fun!”

“Benny boy, you’re so sweet to me.” Richie reached over and ruffled Ben’s hair.

“Why do you want to go?” Bev spoke up, having watched the exchange.

“Just some fun.”

Beverly squinted her eyes at him in suspicion, then turned to Ben. “Will Eddie Kaspbrak happen to be there?”

Ben shrugged. “Maybe. I haven’t asked him but I’m sure he will.”

Bev turned back to Richie and glared at him, but didn’t say anything.

When lunch ended, Bev grabbed a hold of Richie’s arm and dragged him into an empty classroom. Her grip on his arm caused him to curse as he was being pulled away.

“Shit, Bev, chill out.”

“You leave Eddie alone.” She pointed her finger at him accusingly.

“What ever do you mean?” He feigned innocence.

“If you and Stan go to that party this weekend, I want you to leave Eddie alone. This whole situation is getting so ridiculous and I honestly can’t handle it. We’re graduating soon, grow the fuck up!” She exclaimed.

“I will when he does!”

“Just shut up, Richie. This is childish and stupid and you need to forget about this.”

“Fine.” He snatched his arm out of her grip. “I’ll go and be civil to the demon.”

“Thank you for your sacrifice.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m sure it’ll be so difficult.”

“It will, Marsh.”

--

In fact, Richie actually was having a hard time being civil. From the minute he walked into the party, he had locked eyes with Eddie and felt a surge of emotions flow through his body. He immediately had torn his eyes away and walked to get himself and Stan a drink, his own being particularly strong.

He sat himself on a couch alone, Stan having gone to talk to the host (Richie was pretty sure he had a crush on Mike Hanlon), sipping his drink that would hopefully make him a more well behaved human being.

Then the couch cushion dipped.

“Surprised you haven’t sought me out.” Eddie’s voice filled Richie’s ears as he refused to look his direction.

“I made a promise.”

“A promise to what? Actually be a decent human being?”

“To be civil.” Richie spat out.

“Oh.” Eddie sunk back into the cushion, relaxing. “How’s that going for you?”

“Pretty good.” Richie tried to keep his answers short and curt, trying his best to keep his mouth from running.

“Well, thank you.”

Richie finally looked at Eddie, turning his head quickly with a confused look on his face.

Eddie took a sip of his drink. “I figured you, and me to an extent, could start being civil.”

“To an extent?” Richie barked a laugh. “Kaspbrak, don’t make me laugh.”

“That’s the last sound I want to hear, Tozier.” He mocked the venom Richie had put into his name but had a small smile barely on his lips. “I was just thinking, our friend groups have melded and we only have a few months until graduation….”

“You’re waving the white flag?” Richie’s lips quirked upward into a smirk, his eyes glinting.

“Far from it. I’m proposing a truce.”

“And after we graduate you’ll go back to being a dick who thinks he’s better than me?”

“Me?” Eddie let out a bark of laughter. “You’re the one that started hating me out of nowhere!” Even with his voice raising, it did little against the loud sound of the music.

“You’re infuriating and are constantly putting me down, but sure, I’m the bad guy.” Richie stood up from the couch.

“You make fun of me, you insult me, you go out of your way to make my day miserable, I just want you to leave me alone, because from where I stand it seems like you’re a 5 year old with a crush and you don’t know how to handle it.”

“A crush?! I wouldn’t have a crush on you if someone put a gun to my head.”

Eddie stood up as well, gripping his drink tight in his hand. He glanced down at it for a moment before tossing it towards Richie, effectively soaking the other boy’s shirt in the sugary alcohol.

“Grow up.” He spat.

Richie stood there, sticky shirt and all, as people stared, suddenly feeling more embarrassed than he had in his entire life.

A hand grabbed his and dragged him through the crowd, he glanced away from where Eddie had stomped off to see a mess of red hair and a head of brown curls in front of him.

“You’re ridiculous, I swear.” He heard Bev saying as they started up the stairs. “How immature can you two be?”

“Not to mention you cock blocked me.” Stan grumbled, causing Bev to let out a short chuckle. He shot a look at her before turning to face Richie. “This has officially gone too far and I’m sick of it.”

“I’m sorry.” Richie said, still feeling embarrassed, and now slightly sick.

“Too late.” Stan grabbed a fistful of his shirt and yanked him through a doorway, Bev following them. Mike was standing there with an equally annoyed looked on his face, his hand on a doorknob to what seemed to be a closet.

“You folks gonna murder me?” Richie looked around at all their faces.

“Maybe indirectly.” Mike shrugged and opened the door.

Using his grip still on Richie, Stan shoved him into the closet. He heard the door slam and lock behind him before he saw two glowing eyes in the darkness. He screamed and the other person screamed as well, and Richie scrambled to turn on a light.

Eddie Kaspbrak sat there with red, puffy eyes and wet cheeks.

“Kaspbrak? What -”

He quickly wiped his face with his sleeves, sniffling. “Shut the fuck up, leave me alone.”

“We’re leaving now.” Bev screamed from outside the door. “We’re not letting you out ‘til you grow up. Don’t care if it’s days from now!”

“Fuck.” Richie let out a deep sigh and slid down to the floor.

“I know, I know, you’d rather die of starvation than speak to me.” Eddie said quickly.

Richie swallowed hard and took in the other boy’s appearance. “Are you okay?”

“Okay? No! I just embarrassed myself in front of half the school and realized I’m so stupid that I didn’t figure out you actually hated me until this moment.”

“Only because you hate me.”

Eddie let out a deep sigh and rolled his eyes. “Do you really believe that?” His voice came out weaker than Richie had ever heard him speak.

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Richie,” Their first names hadn’t been said by each other in years. “I had a total massive crush on you freshman year and you treated me like dirt.”

Both boys’ hearts silently skipped a beat at the confession.

Richie swallowed hard. “Shit, Kaspbrak….Eddie, I liked you too.”

He felt a strange feeling in his stomach unlike anything he’d ever felt before. It was as if he was going to be sick, but he knew he hadn’t drank that much. It made it difficult for him to speak, his throat closing and he voice coming out scratchy.

“So, what happened?” Eddie sounded small.

Richie racked through his brain, trying to recall the first moment that he started this rivalry, so to say, with Eddie Kaspbrak. The first time he walked into school, saw his face, and the words coming out of his mouth were cruel, not gentle.

“I don’t know.” He answered honestly.

All he could remember was the feeling of anger bubbling up in his chest, he didn’t even know if it was something Eddie did.

“Our personalities clash.” Richie finally said.

“So does everyone’s. Hell, you and Stan are pretty different.” Eddie managed to let out a small laugh.

“I don’t know what it is about you.” Richie moved his body closer to Eddie’s, so they only had to speak barely above a whisper. “You always just – ugh – managed to get under my skin and I couldn’t think.” He felt a lightness to him he’d never felt with anyone else, it was bubbling inside of him and spreading across his body and made him speak without any reservations. “I couldn’t think of anything but you, and every move I made was to frustrate you, or to get you to look my way so I could say something I thought was witty, and, damn, Kaspbrak, I don’t know how you did it, but you got a tight grip on me.”

“Like a compulsion you couldn’t control.” Eddie added on.

“Yeah.”

“You’re saying I was your drug, Tozier.” He smiled.

Richie let out a small chuckle and felt a hysterical wave of laughter wash over him, forcing him to cover his face with his hands as his cheeks became red with glee. Eddie couldn’t help but join in, the two boys laughing until their stomachs hurt and they couldn’t anymore.

“I think we’re idiots, Eds.” Richie said when he caught his breath.

“Eds?”

Richie’s mouth worked quicker than his brain. “Yeah, I figured, it’s short and cute, like you.” His eyes widened when he realized what he said. “Um, I’m…sorry.”

Eddie gave him a lopsided grin. “So about that truce?”

“You got it.” Richie stuck out his hand.

Eddie reached out and they shook, but they both quickly recoiled, a sharp pain running through their each of their bodies. Eddie clutched his wrist tight, waiting for the pain to subside, while Richie slapped his ribcage.

When it had passed, Eddie looked beneath his hand to see the name “Richard” scrawled across his skin. His felt his breathing quicken and he looked up to see Richie already staring at him with a hanging jaw.

“I – um – I don’t – how -” Richie tried to speak but Eddie reached forward, pulling up the shirt still soaked in alcohol to where Richie had gripped in pain earlier.

“Let me see your chest!” He screamed.

Richie scrambled to pull off his shirt and Eddie lightly touched his bottom rib, “Edward” printed there.

“Oh my god.” He covered his mouth with his hands and tried not to scream again.

Richie looked down at the writing on his own skin. “Holy fuck!”

“Are we…does this mean?”

“We’re fucking soulmates!” Richie yelled out in glee. “I found my soulmate!” He stood up from the ground, reaching down to grab Eddie’s hand and pull him up too, a huge grin spreading across the smaller boy’s features. He turned around, banging on the door repeatedly. “Hey, let us out, we’re more than civil!

The door opened and the boys scrambled out, Richie still holding on to Eddie’s hand.

“You’re missing a shirt.” Mike pointed out, Bev and Stan with him as well, taking in the scene.

“Look!” Eddie said excitedly, turning Richie and pointing to the name on his side, then lifting his own arm up to show his.

“Well, shit.” Stan exclaimed.

Bev looked hesitant to speak. “And you guys are okay with this?”

“I can’t tell you why, but I’ve never been more ecstatic in my life.” Richie answered.

Eddie glanced at Richie, biting the inside of his cheeks to stop himself from smiling anymore, his face was starting to hurt.

Stan let out an exasperated laugh. “All these years? The unexplained anger? Should’ve realized you were fucking soulmates.”

The two new found soulmates looked at each other, smiling in a way they hadn’t seen since they met each other years ago in their English class.

Richie couldn’t remember what caused his anger to start, he could only remember seeing Eddie’s bright face for the first time that morning and thinking “This boy better be my soulmate”.

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

hello everyone i am back from the dead to post a secret santa that i was supposed to post in december (obviously for christmas) but then i fell off the face of the earth and never did it!! so here it is...and enemies to lovers soulmate au it was for

[inspired-by-the-music]

Chapter 12: Conspiracy

Ae-Young’s POV

As expected, Dad spared no expense on the engagement party. The decorations, an elegant assortment of golds and pale pinks, were arranged so to his specifications that Heechul and I were forced to sit in Dad’s study, which was off-limits to guests at parties. 

Dad glanced out at the garden. “This isn’t very traditional— waiting this long into an engagement to have an announcement party.”

“I don’t see why we have to have a party to announce anything.” Heechul tugged at his tie. “Won’t the wedding invitations be announcement enough?”

Because I grew out of liking parties a long time ago, I wanted to agree with Heechul, but I knew “This is how you’re supposed to introduce wedding guests before the actual ceremony” because Kyuhyun told me when I complained about it weeks ago. 

“Exactly!” Dad beamed at my knowledge, and I wondered if he would be happier to know that Kyuhyun taught me. “It’s networking!”

“To you, everything is networking.” Heechul rolled his eyes before focusing his attention on me. “Speaking of wedding guests, when is your Maid of Honor getting here? I really need to meet someone.”

Gagging, I prefaced, “First of all, I would never let my friend hook up with you,” and after dodging Heechul’s attempts to strike me, I finished, “Besides, I don’t have a Maid of Honor—”

“Wait—” Heechul stopped chasing me around Dad’s study. “I get that you don’t have, like, any friends, but don’t you think you need a Maid of Honor?”

I shook my head. “Nope. But if you’re offering, you have a few months to grow your hair out, and I have this dress—”

“Heechul will not be wearing drag to your wedding, Ae-Young,” Dad asserted without looking up from the guest list he was reading at his desk. And when the doorbell rang seconds later, he sent me to answer it, saying, “I have a feeling that’s your fiancé.”

Frowning at being rejected as the Maid of Honor, Heechul teased, “Who else would show up to a party an hour early?”

I acknowledged, “You’re here early—”

“But not to hang out with you—” Heechul flicked my forehead. “I’m only here for my allowance.”

Sending a hand up smooth where he hit me, I raced toward the door before Dad could scold us for bickering. 

Maybe because it was the first time I had seen him since he told me about his ex-girlfriend, but definitely because the days had been dull while he was away, I threw my arms around him. The moment wasn’t long enough to be fully appreciated. I released him almost immediately because Dad and Heechul were probably (definitely) watching. 

“I—” I was petrified by his smile. “Sorry— hi.”

“I don’t mind—” he assured. “Hi.”

And as he stood there looking like happiness personified, wearing that suit and his hair brushed out of his face, I didn’t imagine that he would ever disappoint me.

It would be foolish to ignore the role my brother played in the night’s downward spiral. He waited until Kyuhyun, prompted by my growling stomach, went to get food to approach our quiet corner where we fled to escape exhausting small talk after greeting every guest. 

My mood soured before Heechul said anything. The moment I made eye contact with the man at his side, I cursed aloud. 

“Hey, watch your mouth,” Key barked, grabbing me as I tried to walk away. “What would your husband—”

Heechul corrected, “Fiancé—”

“Right.” Key nodded and started again, “What would your fiancé think if he overheard such foul language?”

If he was expecting an apology, he didn’t get one. I crossed my arms over my chest and asked, “What are you doing here?” although no answer would satisfy me. 

“Heechul invited me.” Popping a cheese cube into his mouth, Key shrugged before his eyebrows dipped into a puzzled expression. “Wow— wait a minute so I can get this straight.” He began counting aloud, “First, you didn’t tell me that you were leaving my apartment and I had to look all over the city for you and text your idiot brother before calling the cops because you wouldn’t answer your damn phone—”

“Hey!” Heechul gawked at him,  but Key didn’t mind him. 

“Then, you didn’t tell me you were engaged— like we haven’t known each other for years, you’re just leaving me out of this shit; then I only got invited to your party because of your idiot brother—”

“HEY!”

Key’s voice rose.“And now you’re mad that I’m here? After all the trouble I go through for you?”

Unsure of how to respond to Key’s list, I ignored him and focused instead on glaring at Heechul. “I told you that we—” I broke to gesture between myself and Key— “are fighting—”

“But it’s one of your little friendship spats,” Heechul said. He linked his hands before him and swayed like an innocent child. “Do you really want to exclude your best—”

Key interjected, “And only!”

“Yeah! Do you really want to exclude your best and only friend because somebody called somebody else flaky?”

My pulse quickened at the insult. “I’m not flaky! I didn’t have time to watch America’s Next Top Model because I was looking for a job! And—”

Even in the moment, I knew that Heechul was right, but I was too infuriated that he went behind my back to bring Key and rehearsed some kind of tag-team roast to behave rationally. 

A gentle hand tapped on my shoulder before I could scold Heechul. Whirling away from Key’s and Heechul’s frightened figures, I prepared to instead berate whoever was touching me. 

But I couldn’t greet him with anything other than a gasp and a hug. “Oh my God! Leeteuk!” It had been years since we crossed paths. When we parted ways, I never expected that I would see him again, so asking him, “Why are you here?” made the night feel like the bright conclusion to an otherwise chaotic dream. 

“Hi, Ae-Young.” He tightened his embrace around me and deepened his smile to flaunt his dimples. “Heechul brought me to meet his sister and her fiancé. Why are you here?”

“Oh, well—” I looked at my brother pointedly and explained, “I’m Heechul’s little sister.”

“And I’m her fiancé.”

When I turned to look at Kyuhyun, he stood with drooping shoulders, not holding the dinner he set off to retrieve from the dining room. What’s wrong? I desperately wanted to know, but I couldn’t ask in front of everybody. 

Slinking out of Leeteuk’s arms, I smiled at Kyuhyun. “Yeah, this is my fiancé, Kyuhyun. And Kyuhyun, this is Key—” Key waved politely— “And this is Leeteuk.” 

Although visibly shaken by the sudden introductions, Leeteuk bowed, and Kyuhyun quietly returned the gesture. 

Others might not have guessed that Kyuhyun was upset, but others hadn’t spent as many days with him as I did. Something was pulling down on that corner of his mouth again, and I couldn’t imagine what it was. 

“Okay, so I know Key because Ae-Young shared a bed with him through college,” Heechul said before turning to Kyuhyun. “Do you know Key?”

I glared at Heechul for phrasing that in the worst way imaginable. Caught between Kyuhyun’s and Leteuk’s surprised, jaw-dropped stares, I explained, “Key let me stay in his apartment for one week—”

“And I made her sleep on the couch,” Key finished. He shot me a supportive glance. He might have come with Heechul against my wishes, but it was because he wanted to be included in my life, not because he was involved in this conspiracy to humiliate me. “I wouldn’t share my bed with anyone. Especially not with—”

“But how do you know Leeteuk, Ae-Young?” Heechul shifted his weight into one leg and told Kyuhyun, “He’s kind of a celebrity—”

Sensing how I shrank under Kyuhyun’s panicking confused stare, Leeteuk interrupted Heechul to say, “We met in one of her photography classes. I volunteered to be her model for an assignment—”

Key quickly summarized, “She took his pictures.”

Kyuhyun spoke up for the first time since introducing himself to ask, eyes shifting between me and Leeteuk, “What kind of pictures?”

And it wasn’t until Heechul cackled, Key failed to suppress his chuckle, and Leeteuk stiffened next to me that I understood what Kyuhyun was asking. 

Is he serious right now? My confusion was quickly engulfed by anger. I hadn’t imagined that it was possible to be mad at Kyuhyun, but I was so livid— I didn’t think about what to say before fussing, “Not that I object to depicting the beauty of the human body in art—”

Perpetually unsure of when to shut the hell up, Heechul urged, “Speak plainly, Ae-Young. You’re talking like some ancient novel.”

I balled my hands into fists and yelled so loudly everyone probably heard, “It was a school project! I didn’t see Leeteuk missing any articles of clothing. I’ve never even seen any—”

Heechul started laughing and clapping his hands like a seal before I could finish my sentence. Leeteuk’s face burned crimson. Kyuhyun— although I could barely force myself to look at him— was clenching his jaw and staring down at the floor. 

Key begged, “Stop it right there, Ae-Young, I don’t want to hear about what you’ve seen,” in an attempt to lighten the mood, but the damage was done. 

Heechul laughed harder, and I too focused my gaze on the floor as scalding angered embarrassed tears pooled in my eyes. It was better, I decided, to act on my angered feelings instead of the embarrassed ones. “If you excuse me, I’ll go get my dinner that somebody forgot before I say something I regret.”

Of course, I had to trip as I tried to run away. Had Leeteuk not secured me around the waist, I would have face-planted onto my father’s polished marble floors. I grumbled my thanks and, the second Leeteuk steadied me, I ran upstairs where party guests were forbidden to go.