#and leo refusing to let someone so bright ever be hurt again

[lunar-lair]

quiet gear turning sounds as i attempt to puzzle out leo and caseys relationship

its so. like this is the very Core of found family, in that their relationship is simply…undefinable

theyre brothers and theyre master and mentor and the ghost of a father and his son, still here and still alive, and theyre best friends and simply family in every way there really could be

caseys other relationships are decently cut and dry; friends, brothers, sisters. (except for cass, thats a whole different can of worms.)

leo loved casey the moment he learned he had been apart of their family, whether in this timeline or another, regardless of his placement there.

theres this innate way casey looks up to leo that he tries to live up to, little mannerisms and things that make leo proud and endeared in such special little ways. hes still one of the first people casey goes to when he has nightmares, because he always sings the same song and holds him the same and hes home in a way none of the others can manage

and hes not him and casey knows that. but thats ok. hes still here, just a little younger, more compact, a tad more complicated

there are things leo learns from him and casey learns from leo, and there are still ways leo worries about him more than some of the others and things casey trusts leo with wholeheartedly, whether due to this invisible master-student tether that matters less than weightless air or just the ways they care

yet they roughhouse and they tease and they fight over the last slice of pizza and call each other stupid names and goof off

its this intricate kind of thing. they mean so many different things to each other. a brother, home, someone to hold onto, to take care of, however leo can, someone to look up to, however casey wishes, as long as leo can provide. they stick close on the couch, casey lulled to sleep by quiet lullabies and careful braiding of hair leos refused to leave unchecked. leo frets as loudly as he always has about caseys injuries, always so comforting and careful, and a little more ‘hey, be careful’ in his every action than with his brothers. casey follows behind leo, like a little brother and a student and the one whos taken care of, and leo leads the way ahead, gentle and careful and loving and just-barely-wise.

and the very next morning, they wake up and fight over the last pancake and stick their tongues out at each other from across the lair and leo calls ‘try not to get caught up in another apocalypse!’ before casey leaves and casey only cackles back with, ‘and dont get caught in any prison dimensions while im gone!’ because their gallows humor is their finest trait, and leo teases him when he gets back about how he got injured after hauling him in gentle and firm and comforting when he showed up and treating wounds with gentle hands, and they wrestle and laugh before they fall into bed together, both finding it so much easier to sleep with someone else, casey always curled up in leos grasp

its so, so nebulous. found family always is, but casey doesnt go to the others for comfort the way he does leo, they dont treat him quite so gently, because to him, theyre more brothers than anything else. its not so clean cut, but its simpler.

leo woke up after the kraang and took two sentences to ask how casey was doing.

he learned casey had seen the elder version of him as a sensei and a father and he never looked back. by god, hed be home for this boy if it killed him. this boy that saved their world. kind, and sweet, and oh so innocent for everything hes been through.

leo could never resist holding him close, calling him darling and my star and little lilac, and casey could never resist letting him, could never resist reminding him of their age and making sure they could have fun with it, call him comet and supernova and little sensei.

[dark9896]

Day 29 [Klaus/ Leo/ Zapp]

Prompt: "Please, don't look at me..."

Klaus

Klaus stood up, a slight growl escaping past his lips. This job would never get easier, he knew that all too well. It was merely a fact at this point. Though his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a loud noise.

"This is where we let go! Hands up--"

Turning toward the familiar sound, Klaus's heart plummeted as his eyes fell on you. Standing just outside the alley where he had just proven how utterly brutal he could truly be. The look of abject terror on your face cut Klaus like a knife.

"Liebling." Klaus's voice and mannerisms had softened to an extreme degree as he took a few tentative steps forward, "I can explain. This is merely part of my work..."

"This is part of your work?!"

You were torn between wanting to run and knowing Klaus wouldn't hurt you, or would he?

"But... but you... You wouldn't hurt... I mean, sure you're... But! I... I guess I just..."

Klaus gingerly placed a hand on your shoulder. Hearing your confusion and doubt, seeing that look on your face, it was too much. You looked like you were trying to convince yourself that Klaus was harmless... and you were failing.

"Please Liebling," Klaus whispered as he raised a hand to cover your eyes, "Please don't look at me like that."

.

Leo

This feeling was too much for Leo, sure he worried a lot. But this time you had been actively pushing him away without any reason. You were ghosting him and he wasn't going to take this lying down.

Standing outside your door, Leo couldn't help but wonder what kind of excuse you would give him. He wasn't the cynical type, but a certain someone had gotten into his ear with social horror stories. The number of times this kind of behavior led to abrupt change in relationship status was unreal.

"[Name]! C'mon! Open up!" Leo couldn't help but click his tongue impatiently, "It's me! You know, the guy you've been dating? The one you're currently avoiding for no reason? Can't you at least give me an explanation?"

For as slowly as the door opened, Leo's jaw dropped long before your eye peered out. A crimson tendril had eased out the door as it opened, and there was no mistaking that kind of aura. Not when Leo's very job was to seek out aura like this.

"You're... you're a..."

"Vampire" "Blood Breed."

You stopped, blinking at what Leo just called you. Whatever it meant, it couldn't be good, not when it sounded so... professional. The look on his face, somewhere between worry and fear, it made you feel guilty and ashamed. And you couldn't be sure why, it had just been instinct to avoid and look away.

"Please," You muttered, trying o close the door, "Please don't look at me."

"[Name]." Leo wedged his foot in the door, "I can explain some of this. I can help you, I'll try everything I can to do so. But please, please. Don't push me away again. I want to help."

.

Zapp

A loud groaning startled you awake, despite the restless movement of your partner. The tanned, silvery white-haired man beside you twisted this way and that as if he were a cat, all the while moaning like a ghost. All his shifting and noise was quite the ruckus first thing in the morning, though it wasn't the first time you'd dealt with him like this.

"The f&^k time is it?" Zapp had wiggled his way over you, attempting to bury his face in your chest, "Why the ever-loving-f&^k is the light so god damned bright?"

"C'mon, the sun is shining and its a beautiful day." You teased, "Time to wake up and smell the coffee."

"Hardee har har." Zapp's voice was muffled, refusing to lift his head, "Next time, I pick the joint. That place had sh*t booze."

"Oh? Big bad Zapp can't handle a little party?"

"Like hell I can't!"

You snickered in his face before he could settle back down.

"What?" He shot, "Lookin' so smug over there."

"Nothing." You smirked, "Just thinking about how cute you are with your hair all messed up like that."

"I am NOT cute!" he huffed, "And don't look at me like that."

Despite being the reason you were chuckling, Zapp still thought the sound was highly attractive. Spurred on more since he was currently face down against your chest, and he wasn't wasting time having a little fun with his postion.

[chiliiscereal]

Chosen last: part 5

Summary: the turtle boys try to figure out how to comfort reader after a terrible experience with a boy, and Donnie does his best to apologize

————

Here’s the part before! In the part there are also links to the rest!

https://chiliiscereal.tumblr.com/post/651628962334769152/chosen-last

Donnie had no words to say.

Well, for the first five minutes of complete and utter silence.

You could feel him gaping at you but you couldn’t face him. He was right. He was right all along and you were a fool for hoping.

The rooftop wind howled, reminding you that you were still there.

“D-did he..?” Donnie cleared his throat and started over, “did he succeed?”

You shook your head and pulled your jacket closer. “He came close.”

He glanced at the jacket you were wearing. Underneath he could see your dress had rips in it. Even worse, he could see a small trail of blood.

Probably left by fingernails.

He didn’t know what to do.

He didn’t know what to say.

Not even how to ask if you were okay or if you needed him to help in any way.

So he did the best thing he knew how: make a plan.

“We’re gonna kill him.” He decided, standing up furiously. “We’ll kill him, resurrect him with cpr or defibrillaters, and then give him to the police.” He began pacing the rooftop, his mind turning and processing this information. “I need his address, I need his phone number, and his mother’s number.”

You just listened to him walking instead of his words. It was comforting in a way.

You couldn’t believe that almost happened though.

You couldn’t believe that even though you did your best to stop the worst, he came close.

What if you hadn’t listened to your gut?

What if you had told yourself you were overacting?

“We’re gonna call your friends.” Donnie decided. “You can stay the night with them. You shouldn’t be alone after-.”

“I’m not staying with those assholes.” You spat, much to his surprise.

“But... they’re you’re friends!” He was extremely confused. Did he not have all of the story? “Shouldn’t you-?”

“I said no.”

“But you could really use-!”

“I said NO!” You shouted at him, finally turning to face him.

He finally got a good look at how much damage was done.

Your eyes were red.

Tears leaked down your face.

A scratch decorated your cheek.

And... those eyes... they were so hurt and lost.

He messed up. He messed up bad.

Donnie shut his mouth immediately. “Okay, okay! But... do you want to be alone?”

You turned away again, shaking your head.

“Can I take you to the lair then?”

You hesitated for a second and then nodded.

“Okay, alright, come on.” He gently offered his hand to help you up, not sure how he was supposed to handle this.

You accepted it and let him assist you to your feet.

He didn’t make you talk on the way there.

Probably cause he didn’t know what questions to ask to get the answers he wanted.

You were fine with that. You didn’t need to talk.

Not now, anyway.

You’d have to talk eventually though. There was no way to be in the lair without saying anything.

————

When you arrived you could hear the sounds of the tv playing. Even the sound of the air hockey table.

Maybe the boys would be too busy to notice you.

Donnie lead you quietly through the lair and into the living room where his brothers and April were sat at.

You two tried to walk behind them but Leo noticed once you had your back turned to him, both of you almost to Donnies lab.

“Hey, y/n!” He grinned, pausing the tv. “You’re back already?”

“Yeah, how was the party!” Mikey leaned over the back of the couch excitedly. “Did you have fun?”

You kept walking, more tears spilling.

Raph immediately sensed something was wrong. “Hey, what’s up? Are you good?”

You stopped, so so SO close to breaking.

Donnie didn’t know if you wanted him to answer or not so he waited.

“Is it okay if I stay here tonight?” You asked quietly, still not showing your face.

“...yeah? Yeah you can stay?” Raph tilted his head in confusion and stood up from the couch. “What’s goin’ on?”

“Nothing’s going on.” You tried you keep walking but Raph stepped in front of you faster than you’d ever seen him move.

“Clearly there’s something going on.” He placed his hands on his hips, refusing to move. “Did Donnie pester you or somethin’? Did he make you leave early?” He sent his younger brother a small glare.

Donnie held up his hands innocently. “Just because I thought about it does NOT mean I did it.”

You kept your eyes on the floor, hair in your face and cheeks flushed bright pink.

“Y/n, you know I love you, but you’re a TERRIBLE liar.” Leo joked, throwing an arm over your shoulder. “Now, what happened?”

“You wanna know what happened?” You growled, too overwhelmed. “I’ll tell you what happened! Donnie was right!” You shoved Leo’s arm off you and glared at him. “All of you were! And I was STUPID to think that someone would actually like me!”

Mikey rushed over quickly. “Hey that’s not true-!”

“Then tell me, Mikey!” You whipped around to glare at him to, “tell me why Eric was only being nice to have sex with me! Tell me why he planned it with my friends to get me alone! Tell me why they thought that if I had ‘a good time’ then I’d loosen up and stop being a PRUDE!”

The boys stood there in silence, mouths open and eyes wide.

Donnie just looked at the floor in embarrassment.

Oh there was no stopping the tears now. You swiped them away furiously, cheeks flushing brightly.

You didn’t want to have this outburst now.

But there was just too much going on in your head!

“You guys were right.” You muttered as you strength faded. “I should have listened to you. I shouldn’t have gone to that stupid party and I shouldn’t have believed him for one second.” You locked eyes with Donnie. “I shouldn’t have believed he liked me for me.”

As if everything else wasn’t making him feel guilty that was just another cherry on top.

April was at your side quickly, arms wrapped around you and hands rubbing soft circles on your back. “It’s okay, the important thing is that you’re back here. With US.” She held you at at arms length. “Let’s go clean you up and talk, okay?”

You nodded, desperate to finally get away from the pitying stares you were getting.

“Donnie, can we borrow your lab?” She asked the purple masked turtle as she began to lead you in that direction.

“Yeah yeah sure.” He confirmed immediately. “There’s a... a first aid kit... if you need it.”

April whisked you away, leaving only the sound of echoing footsteps.

———-

“Oh man.” Raph sat down on the couch, head in his hands. “I can’t believe...” he trailed off. He didn’t even know how to finish that sentence.

Mikey sat down to.

Donnie and Leo, on the other hand, both stayed standing.

None of them knew what to say.

There were too many things dumped on them at once.

They’d heard about things like this happening but that always felt like something that happened in movies or to strangers.

Not a close friend.

“Well...” Leo tapped his fingers against his arm, “how’d the apology go?” He needed to find something else to talk about. He couldn’t think about it for very long without feeling this anger building up inside him.

“Well...” Donnie started, “I didn’t really... get to the apologizing part.”

“Please tell me you didn’t start gloating when you saw that y/n’s night hadn’t gone well.” Leo crosses his arms, already knowing the answer.

Donnie’s eyes went wide. “Why would you assume that? I am hurt.”

“Because that’s what you always do when you find out you were right.” Mikey insisted.

Donnie caved immediately. “Yeah... yeah I did do that.”

“Donnie!” His brothers chorused in disappointment.

“I know!” He threw his arms out angrily. “I know I shouldn’t have! I couldn’t help it! I knew something bad would happen I just didn’t know that it would be something like this!”

“You didn’t even apologize!” Leo scoffed. “You just rubbed it in her face!”

“I know.” Donnie sighed. “I’ll apologize when April’s done.”

“You better.” Raph ordered, standing up. “In the meantime, we’ve got some planning to do.”

   ““But what CAN we do?” Mikey brought his knees to his chest and watched his older brother sadly. ““There’s not evidence and we can’t be seen by people!” 

  Donnie rubbed his chin. ““No evidence…. Yeah there’s not much we can do without OH AND THEN HE REMEMBERED HE INSTALLED THE CAMERA PROTOCOL!” He whipped out his wrist device and began tapping immediately. “I’ve got her phone set to audio record whenever she’s headed somewhere suspicious! How could I forget I launched it before she went?”

   His brothers huddled behind him and watched.     “We convince y/n to tell the police what happened, hand over the audio, and land that asshole in juvie!” Leo caught on quickly, slapping his brothers shoulder with excitement as if he was doing a drumroll.  “That’s exactly what he deserves!” 

  ““I personally think he deserves a visit from doctor delicate touch.” Mikey crossed his arms. 

  “Not just from doctor delicate touch.” Raph agreed. ““A visit from us and then a REAL doctor.” 

  “Hey doctor delicate touch IS a real doctor!” Mikey protested. ““He doesn’t need a PHD.” 

“Quiet.” Donnie ordered as he kept working. “We’re not gonna scare the life out of him without y/n’s permission. We’re not even gonna send this in without her say so.” 

  Mikey turned his attention away from Raph. ““What are we gonna do then?”

  Donnie straightened up and looked back toward his lab. ““Offer it as an apology. Y/n will decide what to do with it. It’s her choice.” 

  ————

The tears stopped maybe ten minutes ago.  Maybe twenty. 

You didn’t really know.

But you still felt dirty.

Disgusting even. 

Being with April helped though. She kept you present. She did her best to keep you from thinking about that slime ball of a boy.

  “Alright, your cuts are all cleaned.” She nodded to herself proudly. “You’ve got a pair of my pajamas, a blanket, and your best friend. I think my work here is done.” 

  When you didn’t respond she leaned down to make eye contact with you. “Hey, do you need some alone time?”  You wanted to talk.

You really did.

But you couldn’t stop seeing that boy dragging you to the bed.

You couldn’t stop see him trying to rip the dress off you.

You couldn’t stop seeing your friends yelling for you to come back as you ran from the house.

If it hadn’t been for Ralph’s self defense lessons…

April sat down beside you on Donnies bed.  “You’re safe now.” She pulled you into a side hug. ““He ain’t ever goin near you ever again. Not if he wants to deal with April O’neil.” 

  You gave her a small laugh. “I’d pity anyone who’d have to deal with April O’neil.” 

  She jumped on that immediately. If that’s what would get you to laugh then she was taking it and running with it. “You know it! I’ll hit him with my bat so hard his future KIDS will be feelin’ it!” 

  You gave her another chuckle. “Look out Eric,”

She squeezed your shoulder again. “Exactly. And as for your terrible friends, I’ll send mayhem after them if they even look at you.” 

   You nodded. “Thanks April.” 

She smiled back at you, standing up. “I’ll go call your mom and tell her you’re sleeping over, okay?” 

You nodded again. “Okay.” 

Before she even shut the door, her spot was replaced by someone else.  you didn’t need to look at them to know who they were. 

“Yes Donnie?” You pulled your blanket closer.

 He took a deep breath, not fully ready for what he was about to do. ““I… I messed up.”

That seemed like a good start. 

“So did I.” You grumbled. “Making friends with people like that-.”

“No.” He interrupted. “You couldn’t have known. I… I should have known better.” He fiddled nervously with the recording device in his hands. “Whether something like that would have happened or not I shouldn’t have gloated. I should have been a reliable friend and let you figure things out yourself.” You didn’t say anything else so he kept going. “I know I can be unbareable and controlling and… not understanding, but I should have put that aside. I know that this won’t make up for it in the slightest but…” he placed the recording device in your hands, “I have a recording of what happened. I Installed a device that would audio record whenever I thought you could be in danger when I last fixed your phone for you.”

You flipped the small object over thoughtfully.  “I didn’t listen to it.” He stated immediately as his nerves grew worse. “I know it was a violation of your space by not telling you. But… here it is. You can decide what you want to do with it. If you want to leave it in the past or turn him in-.”

“Or let us seriously mess up his face for you!” Leo interrupted as he came in without knocking, brothers behind him.

You hadn’t even known the rest of the boys were there. But it was still appreciated that they wanted to be there for you.

  “Or have him talk to doctor delicate touch-.” Mikey grinned and sat down beside you.

  “It doesn’t matter.” Donnie finished, relieved to have his brothers beside him. “It’s yours.” 

You didn’t really know what to say.

Well you did.

You had a lot to say.  you just couldn’t get to words out.

Donnie held his breath. 

Finally, you looked up and him and strengthened your grip on the device. “Why not all of it?”    He did this to you.

Your friends did this to you.

They deserved a little bit of karma heading their way. The boys cheered, swarming you in a giant hug right as April opened the door.

“Did I hear something about revenge?” She grinned and joined immediately. “Cause this girl is all over it!”

Oh Eric, if only you had done the bare minimum and had respect for your decisions.  This guy had it coming. 

That night, you stayed with April and splinter while the boys went out, promising to record every priceless moment and give it to you.

Tomorrow, Donnie would walk with you to the police station in disguise as your moral support while you turned over the audio.

[fruitcoops]

Hey I was wondering if you could write something kinda angsty but with a pretty ending with the cubs, I’m trynna project getting stood up and turning it into something nice and good, even if it’s just in my head. No pressure but I just wanna smile for a bit and your work always makes me do so :)))

Hello lovely! I’m so sorry that you were stood up--that feels awful and whoever did it missed out on a wonderful person. I’ve combined this with some other asks in the same vein (y’all wanted my boys to hurt) so I hope you don’t mind. Sending love and hugs your way! Sweater Weather credit goes to @lumosinlove​ <3

1. Bad mental health day for Finn + pushing himself too hard + passing out (ft. Bee anon!)

2. O’Knutzy boiling over with a fluffy ending

3. Insecure Leo

TW for internalized guilt, vaguely implied self-harm (pushing himself too hard at practice), and relationship arguments

Finn had a few bad habits. He left dirty dishes in the sink, could never remember which setting the laundry was supposed to go on, and barely wiped his shoes on the doormat before entering the house. He wasn’t proud of his flaws, but he acknowledged that everyone had some—as long as they didn’t hurt anybody, it wasn’t the end of the world.

This one…this one was different. Even Finn knew that.

He gritted his teeth for the next set of squats, ignoring the ringing in his ears and the climbing nausea in his gut. The chart only said to do three reps, but he had been beating himself up for slacking a set earlier in the week and decided to do five to make up for it.

That, it seemed, was a poor decision.

His thighs were shaking when he finally put the weight down and he leaned on the wall to stabilize himself. “Fish? You okay?” Logan asked from the yoga mat to his right, staring up at him in concern.

“I’m fine,” Finn lied. “Just straightened up too fast.”

“D’accord.” He could feel Logan’s eyes on his back as he left the gym and headed toward the showers.

Finn’s worst habit was taking care of himself, and it wasn’t something that could be explained away as “oh, silly Harzy” like the washing machine. He made a mental note to take some ibuprofen before driving home so he would be marginally less sore in the morning, but he had the sinking feeling it would be a rough practice the next day.

Remus and Talker were playing some sort of volleyball with an old balloon between their stalls when he entered; he missed getting nailed in the head by a narrow margin and waved off their apologies with a forced smile.

A hand closed around his bicep as he passed, snapping him back to reality as Leo’s bright eyes came into focus. “Hey, lovey, is Lo with you?”

“He’s finishing up.”

A small furrow appeared between Leo’s brows. “Is something wrong?”

“Nope.” Finn faked a yawn and stretched his arm over Leo’s shoulder, dragging him down for a kiss on the cheek. “Cap’s workout just kicked my ass today.”

“That’s what they’re supposed to do,” Sirius said, rolling his eyes playfully as he passed. “You’re not a rookie anymore, O’Hara.”

“Yeah, yeah, alright.”

Logan entered the locker room a few minutes later; Finn closed his eyes and breathed in the thick steam of the shower until the fog in his head cleared a bit and he couldn’t feel the skin on his shoulders. It billowed off him as he dressed again and tossed the keys to Leo, who raised his eyebrows. “Me?”

“You. There’s a little bit of slush left, and you still need to learn how to drive in it.” And I feel like I’m going to pass out at any minute. He swallowed down the last thought and pasted a teasing grin on his face—what Leo and Logan didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them. It was his own fault for being lazy in the past.

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

What Leo and Logan didn’t know apparently did hurt them. In hindsight, Finn should have seen that coming before he passed out in the middle of a scrimmage.

The lights of the coach’s office made his headache even worse. “Care to explain?” Arthur asked in a voice like frost. To his left, Sirius was glowering.

“I already told Hestia—”

“Yeah, I know what you told Hestia,” Arthur interrupted. “I want to hear it directly from you.”

Finn sighed through his nose and picked at a stray thread on his jersey. “I…I pushed myself a little too hard at yesterday’s practice and didn’t say anything when I started feeling bad.”

“Why.” Sirius’ eyes were hard as flint.

“Because I didn’t want to be a pain in the ass! I can handle some aching muscles, it’s not a big deal!”

“Not a—”

Arthur put his hand on Sirius’ shoulder. “That’s enough, Black. O’Hara, I want you to look me in the eyes.” Finn raised his head. “This was a dumbass mistake and all of us expected better from you. Your safety and health come before any workout routine, and it is your responsibility to speak up before you scare the shit out of us by dropping like a rock.”

“I’m sorry, Coach.”

“Apology accepted. I also want you to call Heather when you get home and schedule an appointment with her.” Some of Arthur’s frustration melted into genuine concern and guilt crawled up Finn’s throat. “Doing that to yourself isn’t healthy, Finn. You’re a good man, smart, and I know you know better.”

“Can we talk for a second?” Sirius asked quietly, glancing at Arthur. He nodded and left the room.

“I’m sorry.”

“What the fuck, Finn?” Sirius ran a hand down his face, suddenly pale. “What the fuck was that?”

“It was stupid.”

“Yeah, no, I got that part.”

“I slacked off a set on Monday.”

“Wow, nobody’s ever done that before,” he said sarcastically, sitting down in the chair by the wall as Finn resumed messing with his hem. “You scared the hell out of all of us.”

“I know.”

“You know I’m not mad at you, right? I’m upset that you thought you had to do that at all.”

Tears prickled the backs of Finn’s eyes. “I know.”

“I’m sure as hell not your coach or your dad, but I’m going to say this as your friend, okay?” Sirius leaned over into Finn’s field of view. “Whatever you need, I’m here for you. This team wouldn’t be the same without you. I wouldn’t be the same without you. We need you to take care of yourself, Harzy.”

Finn nodded silently and Sirius gave his hand a quick squeeze, which he returned. “Does everyone know?”

“I told them you were under the weather, nothing more.”

“Classic media answer.” He tried and failed to crack a smile. “Thanks for not telling on me.”

“That’s not my job. My job is herding cats on ice skates for five hours a day.”

Finn’s smile was real that time and he managed a light laugh as he swiped away the dampness on his cheeks. “Love you, man.”

“Love you, too.” Sirius helped him stand up and hugged him tight for a second before letting go. “Speaking as someone who used to do the exact same thing, talking to Heather makes a world of difference.”

“I’ll give her a call.”

The cold feeling returned to Finn’s gut when they stepped out of the office; Leo and Logan were waiting by the opposite wall, looking angrier than Finn had ever seen. Sirius patted his shoulder once before walking off down the hallway toward the locker room, where he would no doubt deflect even more questions.

“Hey,” Finn said, barely above a whisper. Logan continued to stare at the ground.

“You lied to us,” Leo said bluntly. “Several times. Both of us asked if you were alright and you told us you were fine.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I accept your apology, but I don’t understand.” He ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. “Finn, this isn’t how we deal with things. We agreed to be a team.”

Finn bit his lip. I fucked this one up. “We did. I am so sorry for scaring you—”

“We’re not mad that you scared us,” Logan snapped, still looking anywhere but his face. “We’re upset that you refuse to take care of yourself and then lied to us about it.”

Leo nudged Logan’s shoulder before turning back. “Why did you do that, Finn?”

“I didn’t want to fall behind. I was just trying to make up for the set I skipped on Monday.”

“What? Twenty squats and some pushups? That’s not worth your health, honey.” The pet name soothed the terror clutching Finn’s heart and he took a deep breath. They still loved him. This wasn’t the end.

“It was a stupid thing to do and it won’t happen again.”

“Good. Let’s go home.” Logan grabbed his duffel bag off the ground and started walking toward the door; Leo looked like he was going to say something, but Finn gently took his elbow.

“He’s going to need a minute,” he said under his breath. Logan was a hothead about many things, but lying was in the top three. Finn knew he hurt him deep.

“Did you…” Leo trailed off and pressed his lips together as they followed Logan into the parking lot. “Did you feel like you couldn’t tell me?”

Finn shook his head. “No. This was all on me.”

“It’s just that I know I’m younger than both of you and I’m new to the hockey lifestyle, but I never want you to think you can’t trust me—”

“Leo.” Finn stopped walking and tugged on Leo’s hand, turning him around. Worry was painted all over his face and it sliced to Finn’s core. “I trust you and Logan with everything, but I got into my head about this and I wasn’t thinking about how it would hurt you. Please believe that.”

Leo sighed. “I do. I just don’t get it.”

“Neither do I, to be honest.” Logan was already sitting in the car with his headphones on as they crossed the lot. “It’s going to take him a while to talk to me, isn’t it?”

“He was really upset.”

“We’ll figure this out.” He tightened his grip on Leo’s hand. “We’ve made it through worse.”

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

The apartment crackled with tension until Finn literally had to stick his head out the open window to get a breath of fresh air. Waves of frustration and hurt rolled off Logan, though he still refused to look Finn in the eyes.

After dinner, Leo slid into the armchair before Logan could get there, leaving only the couch available. They carefully sat on opposite sides—Finn stole glances at Logan out of the corner of his eye for the entire first half of the movie. Ninety minutes of action later, he felt something chilly poking at his calf.

Logan kept his gaze trained on the TV as he scooted his freezing toes under Finn’s legs. Relief flooded Finn’s veins; he felt a little like crying, but instead schooled his expression into a small smile and rested his hand on Logan’s ankle, where it stayed until the movie ended.

Leo had fallen asleep by that time, splayed out sideways on the cushion with his face smushed against the armrest. “Il est mignon,” Logan said softly. There was a beat of silence and he looked over at Finn. “He’s cute.”

“He is.” Finn cleared his throat and met his eyes. “I’m so sorry, Lo. I never meant to hurt you, but I did, and I’m sorry.”

“Promise me you won’t do that again.”

“I won’t.”

Finn had a few bad habits, but backing out on his promises would never be one of them.

[higuchimon]

[fanfic] Flesh Wound

Alit hadn't winced when Leo's blade bit into his arm, bright blood flowing free. But when Emperor Leo wiped the wound down with a wine-soaked cloth, he found himself hard pressed to stop a small yelp. Leo chuckled in amusement.

"My finest gladiator afraid of a little injury?" He teased softly, before picking up a second bowl, this one with vinegar, and carefully used that to ensure the injury remained clean. Alit kept his lips tightly pressed together, refusing to allow a single breath to pass until the sting eased off.

"I'm not afraid," he declared when it ended. "You just took me by surprise, that's all." He rolled his shoulder carefully; the wound wasn't serious, but he suspected Leo would want to wait until it healed before they sparred again.

The young Emperor merely regarded him with a hint of amusement in his eyes, before he leaned forward, whispering prayers to the gods of healing that the injury, small as it was, heal clean and quickly. Alit wasn't so sure if they would have any effect, but he wasn't sure if they wouldn't either. He'd always offered his prayers to the gods of combat, tactics, and victory. So far, they'd honored and blessed him, so he did the same to them. That was all he'd ever found necessary.

Truth to tell, he'd offered a few extra prayers at the temple of love, after the first time he and Leo came together. He'd not actually believed for quite some time that the Emperor himself had an interest in him. It seemed like some sort of wild fantasy, that someone so powerful and wealthy and so much better than he was would want him.

Alit had no illusions about what he was. He'd been born into poverty and becoming a gladiator was his only path to bettering himself. So he'd learned how to fight, and found a knack for it when it came to doing so bare-handed. For years he'd sparred against anyone who would come up against him, being sold from one person to another, finding those of wealth who would sponsor him in the arena.

It wasn't often that the Emperor himself deigned to enter the arena and when he did, whoever he fought against almost always lost. Those who found themselves victorious often ended up worse off than before. City gossip held that some of his councilors ensured that those rare victors were sold elsewhere, if not actually set up against someone in a death match. Death during the games didn't happen often but it wasn't impossible. Other methods could be used as well - wounds not treated properly or someone ambushed in the night - death struck in many ways.

But when Leo and Alit fought that first time, Alit refused to let him win without working for it, and he emerged the victor. He did wonder what might have happened if Leo hadn't held a hand out to him and said quite simply, "I'd like to fight against you again."

Alit stared at the extended hand for a few seconds, then clasped it in his own, the two of them smiling at one another, emotions flickering that flowered later. "My pleasure, Your Majesty."

So it had begun. They sparred against one another day after day, and all the best sponsors in the city politely lined up to offer Alit everything he could ever want. A few of the wealthier - but not noble - ones even made marriage offers. He'd turned them all down as politely as he could. He'd never found himself that interested in marriage. Though he did admit, in the silence of his mind, if it were possible, then he might have - no. Alit knew better than to have some dreams.

One day Leo would marry someone else. Alit suspected that their relationship would still continue, just on an even lower level than it was now. The entire court knew what he and Leo got up to. Leo was the Emperor - he could and did have anyone in his bed that he wanted. He might not be as open about it once he actually married someone, but it would continue. At least, if Alit wanted it to. Alit didn't know, in all truth.

For now, however, he didn't worry about it. Leo wasn't even betrothed to anyone else. All he had to worry about was the next time they sparred against one another.

"So when do you want to do this again?" Alit wanted to know as Leo wrapped his arm with a clean cloth. The wound barely even hurt anymore. It had been a clean hit and he'd won the fight anyway. As far as he was concerned, he could have gone up again without any problems at all.

Leo regarded him sternly however. "Not until the priests can assure me that this is healed all the way. I want you at your best." He grinned a bright grin, like the sun given mortal flesh. "It wouldn't be as interesting to fight you if you weren't doing the best you can."

Alit wasn't going to argue that, even if it mildly annoyed him. Leo guided him to a pleasant little nook where he could get some rest - rest he wasn't going to admit that he actually needed. But the sun streamed in and there was wine in a fine cup and a splendid meal waiting for the both of them. He settled down there, Leo next to him, weapon-hardened hand resting against his own skin. Alit could not have found a more perfect moment if he'd gone to search for one.

But he saw no reason to look when everything he wanted was right here with him.

The End

Notes: You know, post-canon, Leo and Alit would both be Emperors of a sort. Or both just ordinary people, either way. That could be fun to explore.

[etherealhoneybee777]

My first ever fanfiction! (Work in Progress)

Summary:

Mikey has been feeling depressed for weeks, but mean comments about his cooking send him over the edge. Leo comforts Mikey and talks to him about his feelings, and he realizes the impact that words can have on his little brother. 

I wrote this fanfiction because I have a history of mental illness, and I project pretty hard onto Mikey. I wanted to see what it would be like if Mikey was depressed, and how his brothers would help him cope. Please excuse the potential bad writing! This is the first short story I’ve written in a long time :) TW for depression.

Link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13941733/1/Small-Words-Tumbling

The fanfiction:

Small Words, Tumbling

Mikey was curled up on his bed, watching small slivers of light stream through the blinds of his window.

Worthless. Screw-up. Good-for-nothing. Waste of space. Everyone would be fine if you were gone.

He had spent the better part of the day in his room, only coming out to train and prepare meals. Although his brothers would often make fun of the disturbing things he would eat—like anchovy jellybean pizza-Mikey knew that they relied on him to cook practically everything, since they were hopeless in the kitchen. Mikey loved cooking because it made him feel valuable to his brothers. Mikey always had the unshakable feeling that he wasn't as good as the rest of his family. Donnie was a tech genius. Leo was the leader. Raph was a badass fighter. And Master Splinter was, well, Master Splinter. The rest of the family had something specific and valuable to contribute, and all Mikey could do was cook. Cooking was Mikey's talent. No one else in his family could do it. Sure, he wasn't the best fighter, but if Mikey didn't cook, no one could eat. Mikey had been feeling deeply depressed and worthless for months now, but the fact that he could cook made him feel valuable to his family. It was the only thing that made him feel valuable anymore, if he was being honest.

That's probably why what happened that morning hurt Mikey so bad.

That morning, Mikey strode into the kitchen confidently. He had the best idea in the world: grape French toast. Grape soda was delicious. French toast was delicious. So why not combine them?

And so Mikey labored in the kitchen, stirring flour, egg yolks, butter, and sugar until it made a smooth mixture. Then, he pulled the grape soda out of the fridge and poured a generous amount into the mixing bowl.

"Yeah!" Mikey screamed to the empty room, "This is gonna be awesome!"

Thirty minutes later, there were four plates piled high with vivid purple French toast. Mikey pulled out a can of whipped cream and a bottle of syrup and placed them on the counter next to the plates.

"Hey guys, it's time to eat!" Mikey bellowed into the layer. Raph, Donnie, and Leo, who had been watching some morning Space Heroes, got up and sluggishly walked to the kitchen.

"Thank God, I'm starving," Raph said, rubbing his plastron. As he walked into the kitchen though, his slight smile turned into a scowl. "Mikey," he growled, looking at the purple pieces of toast, "What the fuck is this?"

"It's grape French toast, dude!" Mikey said as he tried to hand the stacked plate to Raph. Suddenly, Mikey lost grip of the plate, and three pieces of grape French toast went flying towards Raph's lap.

"Seriously, Mikey?" Raph sneered. Then, he picked up a piece of the purple French toast and waved it in the air, "Whatever this is…it's disgusting!" Raph lowered his voice to a hesitant grumble. "I just wish we'd order takeout instead of letting this genius cook. Honestly, I don't know what to do with him sometimes."

Mikey felt hurt blaze through his chest, for reasons he couldn't explain. He was used to being insulted by Raph, even though he was grumpier than usual today, but no one ever insulted Mikey's breakfasts. Sure, Mikey's cheesy jokes were often met with annoyance, and he was often belittled for being unfocused during fights, but no one ever insulted breakfast. Breakfast was Mikey's one sanctuary, the one place where the things he did could be appreciated.

Mikey looked at Donnie and Leo for some reassurance, but he couldn't find any. Leo was silently flicking his pieces of toast into the trashcan and reaching for a granola bar. Donnie was reluctantly sniffing his pieces of toast but refusing to take a bite.

"Maybe you should go back to cooking the regular breakfasts, you know?" Donatello said, not unkindly. Mikey's heart felt like it was about to burst as he watched Donnie scrape his toast into the trashcan and wash his plate.

"I'm sorry, guys," Mikey said, looking at the ground sheepishly, "Eggs and bakies tomorrow, I promise!" he continued with forced cheer.

Raph grumbled as he walked out of the room and sat on the couch to continue watching Space Heroes. Donnie scurried off into his lab. Leo moved to walk out, but not before he caught a glimpse of the hurt in Mikey's bright blue eyes.

"Hey, Mikey," Leo said, lips bent downwards in concern, "Raph is just a little grumpy today."

But the damage had already been done. As Leo turned away, Mikey's eyes started stinging, and all of Mikey's negative thoughts came flooding to the surface. You're not good enough. You're not as good as your brothers. You can't get a single thing right. Screw-up. They would never miss you if you were gone. Mikey ran to his room, making sure that his brothers couldn't see the tears welling in his eyes.

He stayed in his room for most of the day, only coming out to train. When Mikey trained that day, he only spoke to answer questions and say Hai sensei. He didn't see his brothers trade looks of concern with each other. When training was over, Mikey walked briskly back into his room.

"What's wrong with Mikey?" Raph asked, a tone of annoyance veiling his concern.

"He'll probably come out and tell us soon enough," Leo replied, looking anxiously towards Mikey's room.

Mikey sat in his room for hours. It was so impossibly lonely, not being with his brothers, but how could he face them now? He wasn't good enough, and he didn't want to be a burden to them. He had cried his eyes out for an hour, until he felt like he couldn't cry anymore. It was so stupid that he felt this way over an offhand rude comment Raph made about his cooking. But, the truth was that Mikey had been feeling pretty worthless for weeks, and Raph's comment seemed to validate Mikey's feelings. Mikey desperately wished he could be someone else, someone focused and attentive during battle, someone who knew how to talk to people. He wanted people to laugh with him, but they only laughed at him. Like he was some big joke.

Mikey didn't want to be a joke. He wanted to be a leader, a badass, someone with a purpose. But he was just a burden. A screw up. And his brothers were left to pick up the pieces. Honestly, they would be better off if he wasn't around.

Mikey slowly felt himself sinking deeper in his bed as his thoughts consumed him. He almost didn't hear the slow, methodical knock at the door.

"Mikey, can I come in?"

Leo.

Mikey didn't answer. He had started crying again, and besides that, he just really didn't want to talk to Leo. Mikey was surprised when the door squeaked open and golden light filled his room anyway.

"Mikey!" Leo's eyes widened as he saw the tear tracks on Mikey's face. "Oh my god."

Mikey felt Leo place his weight on the bed. He turned to look at Leo's eyes. Cool and calm. But Mikey could tell that beneath his collected exterior, Leo was panicking.

"What's wrong, buddy?" Leo said, a little too gingerly. Leo was used to comforting Mikey after his nightmares when they were young, but, now that they were older, Leo no longer knew the words to make his brother feel better.

Mikey stared at Leo. He felt like there was a huge blank expanse between them, like a black sky with no stars. Mikey desperately wanted to reach out and close the divide, but Leo would never understand how Mikey felt. Leo was a fearless leader. He always knew what to do, and people took him seriously when it counted. Meanwhile, Mikey felt that he was the last person anyone would trust in an intense situation.

Leo furrowed his brow in concern at Mikey's silence. "Talk to me, Mikey. Was it the thing that Raph said this morning? We didn't mean to hurt your feelings by not eating the breakfast you made for us."

Mikey shifted his eyes to the floor. "Uh…it is and isn't about what Raph said this morning," he said finally. "I just…I don't know. I just feel like everyone has their thing, you know? Like you're the leader, and Donatello is the smart one. Raph is super good at fighting and Master Splinter has taught us everything we know. But no one really needs me. And I always screw up our fights, too." Mikey's mouth felt dry now that he had said what he had been feeling for months out loud. Surprised that it came out that fast. But he had wanted to say it, needed to say it.

Leo's bright blue eyes widened in surprise. "Mikey, we do need you." He put a comforting hand on Mikey's shoulder. "And your thing is being Mikey. The team wouldn't be the same without you. And sure, you've messed up our fights sometimes, but you've saved us more times than I can remember," he looked down and continued gravely, "We are all equally valuable in this family."

Mikey refused to look at Leo. Leo's words were comforting, but for some reason, Mikey's throat felt like it was filling with clay. It was only when his vision blurred that he noticed he was crying. The crying quickly evolved into full-on sobbing. It felt like a torrential storm, punctured only by the choked sounds of his shaky breaths.

"Oh god, oh god. Mikey…"

Before Mikey knew it, his head was buried in Leo's chest, and his body was wrapped tightly in strong green arms. Leo rubbed Mikey's head, which he usually only did when Mikey was seriously injured. Mikey should have felt closer to Leo, but he felt the black, starless expanse between them getting wider and wider.

Mikey pulled away, wiping his eyes. "You just wouldn't understand."

Leo's eyes flashed with hurt, but he quickly replaced it with his signature practiced calmness. "Wouldn't understand what?"

"You're the person that everyone needs. You're our leader. If you were gone, nothing would ever be the same. You don't understand being worthless. You don't understand what it's like to be the kind of person that could disappear forever, and no one would ever miss. That's my life, dude," Mikey said, his voice strained from all the crying.

Mikey looked at Leo. And he was surprised to see that the pantomimed calm patience that usually occupied Leo's eyes be replaced by an intense, gripping fear.

"You're not worthless, Mikey. You mean so much to all of us," Leo said. "I love you, little brother" he continued. Mikey could tell that wasn't all that was on his mind.

Leo paused a long time before finally speaking again.

"Mikey…you haven't ever thought of hurting yourself, have you?" Leo's voice was shaky and deeply sad. Even though Mikey had been crying, for some reason Leo sounded sadder than he was.

"No," Mikey answered quickly and with certainty. Truthfully, he had never even considered it, at least, not in any real way.

"Promise?"

"Promise." Mikey gave him a slight smile.

Leo pulled him into a second embrace, squeezing Mikey even harder than he did last time. This time, Mikey didn't pull away. He just stayed there, leaning against Leo's neck, feeling a million times lighter than before. The black expanse between the two brothers had vanished, and he felt closer to Leo than he ever did.

"Mikey…" Leo started, and then paused. Mikey could tell by the strained choke of his words that Leo had started crying.

"Mikey," Leo began again, "If anything ever happened to you, I would miss you for the rest of my life."

[perseusjackson-jasongrace]

Kingdom Collisions XIV

Masterlist for other parts, more jercy, crackships and bad ideas

writing fic=more description=(hopefully) improve writing

no prewritten chapters=sporadic updates=as surprised as you about what happens

Tell me your thoughts, I'm insecure about this chapter. Also sorry for the long ass wait I haven’t felt in the writing mood but hopefully I'm back.

together or not at all. find him. find him. find him.

Crown Prince Jason’s dream starts as all his dreams do. Him sitting on a cloud looking over a burning meadow. He feels himself wince as if his body already knows its going to be hurt and then he is pulled under, under, under and suddenly the dream is a memory. One he had forgotten about, one he wishes he'll live through for the rest of his life.

"Prince," A soft, warm voice calls. "Are you in here?"

There is a moment of quiet, the crackling of the fire and the turn of the page the only interruptions.

"I'm here." The reply is gentle, and sweet, and full of the brightest days.

Jason blinks, looks through long blonde lashes. "Hello my Ardor"

Leo sinks into the couch, grabbing his hand with the need to be close and comfortable and together. "What are you doing here so late?"

"I had some things to research before tomorrow meeting with FreedomtoFeed."

The Captain of the Guards raises an eyebrow and gives a pointed look to the raunchy cover of the novel he has clasped in his hands. "That looks very appropriate for a feeding-the-people initiative."

He blushes crimson and shuts the book with a huff of embarrassment. "I finished the research."

Leo pulls them together until their foreheads bump gently, "I'm only teasing. But you should go to sleep."

"Will you join me?"

The fingers dancing at the nape of his neck still, and smoldering brown eyes catch his. "Of course."

They release twin breathes and move impossible closer, until lips brush against skin and oxygen is sparse.

"You are so beautiful," The Prince whispers, kissing his jaw. His cheek. Nose. Throat.

"Please kiss me." Leo is shaking with anticipation, arousal.

And who is Jason to refuse such a precious request? He brushes his lips gently across his Ardor's and groans at the softness he finds. Pillows, and peaches, and sweetness that only intensifies when it deepens. Their tongues dance, explore each other languidly. Like time is nothing but a suggestion. His fingers brush silken warm cheeks and dance across Leo's skin until they're resting on his thighs.

Jason is breathless when he breaks away, "You are—" His words are cut off as the Guard pulls their faces together.

"No talking now my Prince. Tonight we only feel."

Jason feels himself frown, as the memory becomes hazy, disjointed. This wasn't how it happened.

‘Together or not at all. find him. find him. find him.” Leo gasps, his head falling on the Prince's shoulder. "Jase, I can't—" He's cut off by a cry.

And suddenly all his beautiful brown skin is turning to ash under Jason's hands. He tries to grab on to anything, any part of Leo, but the more he holds the more ash comes away.

"Ardor?" He cries. This isn't how it happens. This isn't the way it goes. He can't go like this. They can't leave each other. He just got him back.

He can't, he can't, he can't, he c—

Prince Jason Grace wakes up with a scream, blunt finger nails tearing into his chest as he attempts to rid himself of the nightmare. And when his eyes adjust to the world he only knows darkness and despair. The love of his life is still dead and he is still far away from his dear kingdom. Actually he has no idea where he is at all. That thought is the final pick in the ice and suddenly his body is wracking with sobs. His life is a complete fucking mess. And he doesn't want to do this anymore. Every event piles onto his chest like boulders until he can't breathe, until he is hyperventilating.

Far from home; Leo is dead; kidnapped; tortured; his husband is—

Wait where is his husband? The thought shocks him out of his panic so fast he's reeling as he sits up. The cold floor underneath his fingers ground him to the present and he pushes off the concrete onto shaky legs. He feels so weird, like his body is not his own, like he's been forcibly removed from it and shoved into a whole new one and now he has to learn how to be human all over again. He feels like he's died. Slowly he stumbles around until he hits a wall and then plastering his right hand to it he walks. Or more like drags himself along, nails scraping against the brick and a bare shoulder scratching against the roughness.

His eyes are useless for anything further than his feet and he sees no evidence of light. But the room, or what he's beginning to suspect is a hallway, continues so he to keeps going. Someone will fill in all the blanks in his memory but first he has to find his husband. There is a deep chasm in his chest and he has the ugly feeling it will only start filling when he sees those green eyes and floppy curls. It almost disgusts him how much he needs to see the Prince of Mare. It's like his body, his heart, has forgotten about Leo entirely. He feels sick to his stomach at the thought so he banishes everything but the need to get out of here. Suddenly he hits a wall, hard enough that he knows there’ll be a bruise tomorrow. With a silent prayer to gods he didn't care to believe in, he turns his body and keeps walking. Right hand still on the wall.

There is nothing and no-one. He feels likes he's in the inside of a black hole. There is not even the faint sounds of outside. It is just his dragging feet and his cracking nails and the ringing in his ear from the sheer lack of sound.

He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will—

There's a scraping sound. Someone gives a sharp inhale. A pinprick stings his neck. He is never getting out of here.

together or not at all. find him. find him. find him.

Prince Jason clutches his rolling stomach, and without warning throws up the little contents that may have been in there. Before he even opens his eyes he knows whatever he will see cannot be good. Even behind his eyelids it is unnaturally bright and he can hear hushed whispers coming from somewhere. They sound angry. He will get the brunt of it.

"Well well well," A rapsy voice echoes around him.

He forces his eyes open and blinks back the harsh neon lighting to see Annabeth Chase, his previous kidnapper, and Grover Underwood.

"It's such a pity you don't remember me." She pouts unhappily, but there is nothing but viciousness in her grey eyes.

He wonders what he should remember.

"How do you feel Jason?"

"Like I died. Like I want to get out of here. Like I need to see my husband." He spits at the man leaning against the wall so casually.

"All in due time. But while we have you here I think we could use you."

"Why should I help either of you?" He curls his lip, anger making his vision blur, "You," He points a disgusted finger at the blonde girl, "Kidnapped me and Percy and then proceeded to torture us." She giggles and he wants to bury that sound six feet underground. "And you," He looks to Grover, the advisor to Mare and Percy's friend. He looks every bit the enemy. "I don't trust you one bit. Not if you can have her in your presence so calmly."

"I'm not looking for your trust Prince," The man, the being, scoffs. "I just need your cooperation. Otherwise Annabeth here has permission to get as creative as possible."

Grover tilts his head to her, a silent conversation passing between them, and then he leaves without so much as a glance to him.

"I'll never tell you anything." He growls at her.

She grins, pretty white teeth gleaming in the horrible light. "Let me tell you a story Prince Jason Grace, about the day you lost your sister."

"My who?"

She gives a secret smile and begins.

Twenty seven years ago a girl with blonde hair and grey eyes was born to The King and Queen of Mare. She was a sweet little girl with pigtails and a sharp mind and she kept her parents on their toes every second. One day this little girl's mom came to tell her that she would soon be getting a little sibling to play with and care for. The little girl was undeniably excited, or as excited as you can be when you're three years old and get told you're getting a small person just like you. Needless to say a little boy with blonde hair the exact same shade as hers, and blue eyes as bright as the summer skies was born. While she had eyes the exact shade of her mother’s he had their father’s eyes. And it was dangerous, but nobody knew that then. The little girl loved him immediately and with all her heart. They spent every moment together. Growing up and learning and loving each other as if it was the only natural thing to do. But when the little girl turned eighteen she received some horrible news. Her mother had died. Her brave beautiful mother who gave her kisses and taught her chess and spent hours reading to them. Understandably the family was devasted and they took it very hard. The girl— not so little anymore, grief will do that to a person— was angry and broken and unwilling to listen to the world that had so unfairly taken from her. So she rebelled against their father and lost their mother. And in her quest to feel something she engaged in nefarious, sinful, delightful activities. It was there that she met the love of her life. The Crown Princess of Hekima. Reyna. They got married within a year and have been together ever since. But the girl found out something about her mother's death and she was so furious as she rightfully should be that she renounced her title and vowed to bring down the very thing that killed her beloved mother.

together or not at all. find him. find him. find him.

“You are terrible at telling stories.”

Annabeth smiles like a lion ready to pounce. "Figured out who the little girl is?"

"You." He heaves, chest constricting as he takes her in.

"And her little brother?"

"How come I don't remember you?"

"When we kidnapped you we put a serum in that would make you forget certain aspects of your life." She shrugs as if she's discussing the weather.

"And you feel no remorse for hurting your brother?" He spits at her feet.

Her grey eyes flash like steel and she gets into his face. "I have no family."

"Why tell me at all? Why not just let me be ignorant?"

That makes her smile- no, bare her teeth. "Because unlike me Jason Grace you would do anything for the people you love, for the people you think you owe. No matter the cost."

"I'm not telling you anything." His voice is hard. Like the concrete he is pressed into. Like thunder.

"Nah uh," She grins at him, "I'm your sister remember. You wouldn't deny your sister the information she wants."

"Try me."

It must be a sibling thing because a challenge enters both their eyes and it shines bright enough to dull the horrid neon lighting in the room.

"How do we kill Crown Prince Perseus Jackson?"

He blinks at her. Blinks again. And then he starts laughing. Knee slapping, stomach aching, wheezing kind of laughter. He can't breathe. He can't even see because his eyes are so filled with tears.

"I'm serious." She grinds out.

"How the fuck should I know? We don't discuss ways to kill each other," He rolls his eyes, muttering "Even if we do think about it."

"You must know. You have to know. It is woven into your DNA. You meet each other in every lifetime and die. You have seen it for centuries."

His fading laughter vanishes completely as he whips his head up to look at her. "What?"

"You and Perseus. You guys are immortal deities who appear whenever the world needs to be remade.” Her voice is impatient as if he should know this. As if she’s explaining it to an incompetent child. “You as the healer and him as the destroyer. But people and beings alike have been killing you for centuries because your presence means they will cease to exist. You have watched each other die multiple times. You have revived each other multiple times too."

"So you're saying we're soulmates?" He can hardly believe what he's hearing. It sounds like the biggest load of bullshit he's ever heard.

"No. You're more than that. You aren't just two halves that fit to make a whole. You aren't even two wholes that fit to make a pair. You are each other. You do not exist without him. He does not exist without you. You are not bound by souls or hearts or whatever us humans believe is the epitome of love. You are bound by life."

"I don't believe you." He rolls his eyes. This is garbage. This is nonsense. This is not real.

"I don't really have time to argue with you about it. Just tell me what I need to know and you will be spared."

"Why should I?" He's not even considering it. He would never betray his husband like that. Would never put the Prince in such volatile danger.

"Because if you don't," She gives another of her terrifying grins, "The kingdom you know and love will crumble to nothing."

"You're lying."

"It's already started Jason." She cackles, "The more time you spend with Perseus the more he will bleed into you and you into him. There are already cracks in the castle. Do you really want to risk it?"

His heart is pounding but she is wrong. Isn't she? "I don't believe you." He says again.

"Oh Jase," She gives him a pitying look and he wants to rip her eyes out and toss them in a lake to watch the fish. "The Castle of Caelum is falling to the ground. Your Prince's blood spilled on mom's roses and they crumbled to dust. There are splinters in the stone. They will become chasms. Either you help us or you risk your precious kingdom turning to debris right before you."

"And what's in it for me?"

"You'll be spared from the slaughter of the monarchs."

"And my husband?"

"He will die. This is non negotiable. One of you must, to stop you from fulfilling your fates. We have someone with him right now."

Wrong answer. But he bows his head and pretends to mull it over. Inside his thoughts are whirring like a new machine and plan after plan formulates in his mind.

"Okay Annabeth Chase, my sister," He smiles soft and sweet. She returns it in triumph. "I will join your rebellion. I will tell you how to kill my husband."

And as she picks him up from the floor and removes the invisible ties keeping him pinned to the concrete he allows himself a secret smile of his own. It hints at the malice, the destruction, to come. They made the biggest mistake of their lives when they took him away from the Prince. They will pay.

I'm coming for you Percy.

So Crown Prince Jason Grace loops his arm through his sister's and makes friends with his enemy.

together or not at all. find him. find him. find him.

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

I don’t really know how I feel about this part. Feels a bit all over the place but at least we’re getting some clarification which is cool. Also are Annabeth and the rebels the good guys or bad guys for wanting to save the world from Jase and Perc? *raises eyebrow curiously*

Tags (if you want to be added to/ taken off the tag list just let me know, all my channels of communication are open):

@nishlicious-01​​

@queen-of-demons-and-hell​​

@leydiangelo​​

@sparkythunderstorm​​

@makos-bi-awakening​​

@aalikun​​

[onmywaytobe]

Dissidia Writeblr March 2021 Week 3

so i got way too excited and this is way too long and i even made myself a little sad there at the end so i guess that's how you know it's good?? thank you as ever to @dissidia-writeblr for running this event and thank you @maple-writes for collabing with me I will miss you!!

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Tidis grins at their agreement. Leo tries not to think too much about what that might mean for him, hoping for the best outcome. Tidis turns and leads Warren and Leo back out of the room, through the winding hallways of the building. Leo keeps track of what turns they make just in case he needs to make a run for it. It’s absentminded, practical, noting every exit. It starts to get tricky with so many doors, and none of them clearly marked. This place is full of fire hazards, Leo notes.

Warren glances at Leo before asking him a question. “Feel free to ignore me if you want,” they say hesitantly. “But is there something you’re hoping they can help you with?”

They’re a perceptive one. Leo freezes for a second, stumbling while he considers his response. “I’ve been sick my whole life,” he finally admits. “I want to know what it would be like if I wasn’t.”

“Really? That’s tough,” Warren replies. Leo lets out a sigh at the familiar sympathy. Thankfully, Warren is preoccupied by other aspects of their situation. Or maybe they’re too kind to press Leo on something he clearly doesn’t want to talk about. “I hope this works, then.”

“Yeah. Me too.” Leo starts to notice that no one is looking at them as they pass. Tidis and his wings are pretty intimidating, but the way these people are avoiding his gaze feels less like respect and more like fear. Nerves tighten in Leo’s stomach as he reassesses the situation. Everything is not as it seemed.

Tidis continues to ignore the two of them as he leads them through the halls, giving no indication that he cares about their conversation. Leo doesn’t want to make it too obvious that he’s staring at Tidis’s feathery back, so he asks Warren, “Why are you going with this guy? Are you sick too?”

It was an offhand comment, but Warren’s response surprises Leo. “Not really,” they begin. “But I don’t like the idea of wandering alone until whenever it is we end up going home.”

“Fair enough.” Leo hadn’t considered that. He was so used to being alone that he thought of that as the default. It makes him want to protect Warren if he can. At the very least, he wants to stick together.

The small-talk ends when they make it to a hangar with something that looks to be a spaceship in it. Leo swears under his breath. He was not expecting to go to space today.

Tidis gestures for them to go onto the ship, but as they do, two soldiers walk past, bumping into them. Leo knows a lift when he feels one, and his fingers immediately go to his pocket, where he traces the corner of a piece of paper. He glances at Warren, who doesn’t seem to have noticed.

As soon as he has the opportunity, Leo whispers to Warren, “Did you feel that?”

“Feel what?” Their voice is too loud. Tidis has walked away, presumably to make sure everything is in order with the ship, but he might still be in earshot. He has wings, who’s to say super-hearing was off the table?

Leo glances around pointedly before dropping his voice even lower. “Those guys just put something in my pocket.” Warren’s eyes go wide and they reach into their pocket. Leo pulls out his note as well, and they find that the papers are identical, reading: We will help you out when we can.

“This doesn’t seem good,” Warren says.

Leo doesn’t get the chance to respond as Tidis returns. “What are you waiting for? Let’s go,” he says, ushering them up the ramp onto the ship.

Flying was a lot more comfortable than Leo was expecting, though the inside of the ship looked about how he thought it might. It reminded him of that old movie, Space Odyssey or whatever. Carter claimed it was a hallmark of cinema, but he didn’t see all the fuss. He maintains that it could have been at least an hour shorter and it would have been better. At least there didn’t seem to be any evil robot computers aboard this ship.

Leo’s mind is still spinning about the note when Tidis walks up to them with a smile. He points towards the biggest moon in the sky. There are several, something Leo had missed before. “This is the moon we live on. It’s named Tallis. We study the magic up here. We’re the only ones who have gotten the magic of this world. At least from what we know.” Honestly, Leo didn’t care much about the magic beyond its healing capabilities. But now he cares less about the note in his pocket promising help. Those guys are on a different planet now. Besides, how much help could they be? Tidis is already offering everything Leo wants.

He looks over at them with a smile. “We’ll be separating you to ask questions. I hope you don’t mind.” Leo resists the urge to glance at Warren, but they seem afraid of Tidis. Neither one of them speaks up. So much for sticking together.

The spaceship lands on Tallis, and Tidis immediately takes Warren to one room while a woman with his same angel wings takes Leo to another room. Leo squares his shoulders and tries to ignore the sudden sadness welling within him. He feels like he’ll never see Warren again.

He convinces himself that it’s silly to have such strong feelings about someone he just met, but Warren was the friendliest face he’s encountered so far. There’s something disingenuous behind the eyes of everyone here. Tidis with his polite smiles, Sichoris with his endless explanations. They’re hiding something, Leo’s sure of it. And if they’re dangerous… He swallows, realizing that Warren would be in danger because of him. They only got on this ship because they didn’t want to be alone. And now they are, and it’s Leo’s fault.

He pushes the worry from his mind when the woman with the angel wings tells him to sit down. She sits down beside him, offering a smile that doesn’t touch her eyes, just like Tidis. “My name is Zeph. Would you like me to heal you?”

“What’s the catch?” Leo says, keeping his voice as even as possible. He’s kicking himself for not asking any sooner, before he agreed to come here. Because of course there’s a catch. It’s too good to be true.

Yet Zeph shakes her head, looking at him like he is young and foolish. “There is no catch. You have been summoned to this world for a purpose. Perhaps it was to meet the Chikara and be healed.”

Her eyes are mesmerizing. Leo’s heart pounds as he searches her face for any hint of a lie. Soon his resolve crumbles, and he looks down to her outstretched hand, unable to maintain eye contact. “Okay. I want you to heal me.”

“This won’t hurt a bit.” He can hear the smile in her voice, the tight smile that doesn’t reach her hypnotic eyes. But how can he refuse, when this is the one thing he’s wanted for his entire life?

Leo’s eyes close as Zeph places her hand on his chest. He tries to focus on his breathing like he would whenever he was in the hospital. In and out.

He reminds himself that there’s no harm in agreeing to something in a dream. You can’t die in dreams. Even dreams that feel more real by the second.

In, out. In, out.

Zeph’s hand grows warmer on his chest. Leo grits his teeth, staying as still as possible. It’s starting to feel uncomfortable, but he’d really been hoping for too much when he believed it would be painless.

Carter flashes into his mind. If he’s healthy, he can have a normal life. He can finally be with her fully, give her everything she deserves, when his days are no longer numbered.

In, out. In, out. In–

Leo gasps as pain shoots through his chest, his breath cutting off. There is a flash of bright light, and then nothing.

[zahra-kha]

Dear Diary 36

I’ve written in you less and less of late. This makes for less of a chronicle of my life if I don’t write in you diligently doesn’t it? Well, to be honest, I don’t feel like I need to remember every detail of my life. Especially with everything that’s been going on lately.

However, not all of it has been dark spots. Some of it has been grey, some of it has been bright. I’ve been wading myself through uncharted territory and I can’t say I’ve always made the best or correct decisions but I’m also not perfect. 

I wrote in my previous entry that I didn’t know what I was supposed to do now that my troupe was...the way it was. I didn’t know what my purpose was here in Eorzea. If I’m honest with myself, I’m still not entirely sure. I’m frightened, nervous, and there are times when I feel alone. The people who I thought were my support - it’s a mystery if they ever really cared about me (which I’ll get into in a bit) - turned out to be a source of immense pain. I’m trying to recover from that but I wish I could explain to people how difficult that is. How hard it is to trust again when family betrays you.

There’s insecurities there that weren’t before. When I spoke to Sid, I initially told him that it probably wouldn’t make a difference if I left to return home, because everyone had their lives and everyone would eventually move on with their lives. I said that, but I didn’t really mean that. To be honest, I was just scared. It’s easier to leave than to be abandoned, easier to walk away than learn later you were never wanted or needed. Easier to pull away than get rejected.

But my whole life I’ve been running. I walk forward so I can run from something that’s been chasing me. I felt like this time if I moved forward, without looking back on what I’d gained, I’d lose something really precious. And I felt like something in me would break and never recover.

I spoke with Sid for a while at the Bojza camp - it was helpful. I wasn’t looking for answers, I don’t think I was. Maybe just some clarity from my chaotic thoughts. It was easy to talk to him. He was kind and patient with me as I rambled. He didn’t try to push me in any direction, and I was grateful. I wanted to know a bit more about him, I felt maybe he understood a bit of what I was feeling. I thought maybe if I understood him, it’d help guide me to a decision. Was that selfish? Writing that down, it almost sounds as if I was using his feelings and experiences. But I also genuinely wanted to know more about him. I think he’s an interesting person that carries a profound sadness, but it also seems he’s managed to find happiness and a sense of purpose. 

That’s what I want, a sense of purpose again. Sid wondered if maybe what I’m searching for is what I lost - my family. I conceded that maybe that was it. But I’m just so hesitant in calling another group family again after what happened. I spent half my life with those people, and none of it was real. I loved them, but I was just a means to an end for them.

It would break me, shatter me beyond repair, if I fell into that trap again with everyone currently in my life.

I want to, I so badly want to believe and trust in them. They’ve been there for me, they’ve helped me, healed me. Cared for me during this whole ordeal. Hells, they have bled for my sake. And of course, I have not hesitated to jump into the fires for them as well. But that’s completely different from fully giving my heart. I just...can’t. I’m trying, but every time it’s like something cold and hard grabs hold of my throat and claws down, screaming I’m a fool. Fear consumes me, and I feel as if I’m drowning.

For now, I’m just content to be here. Sid helped me organize my thoughts and realize my path lies here. I want to heal here, and be around the friends who have shown me care. I want to relearn how to believe in true bonds again. I want to walk forward and see where the road takes me, and I don’t want to be afraid - I don’t want to do it alone.

That’s what I’ve decided.

I managed to tell Quin (Leo?) a bit of this, I hope I didn’t worry him too much. I was a bit under the weather when the truth came out, I’d been shot on the battlefield and was recovering - but it was a good talk. It’s amazing, when I first met Quin, I don’t think I had a good impression of him, and I don’t think he had any real impression of me. Now I think of him as a silly little brother. 

Speaking of, Quin and Erith got fake married! That was...interesting? I probably should have done more to stop it but it wasn’t official so I didn’t really see the harm. Uh, save for Erith putting Quin at shotgun point. I don’t know, I don’t really like getting between their dynamics because they have a really unique relationship but it’s quite clear they deeply care for one another. So I just go with their antics. Should I though? Am I enabling bad behavior?  [There’s a drawing of a dizzy Zahra along the margins]

I wonder if festivals bring out romance? There were quite a few couples seeking blessings and marriages, so I guess maybe they do? Erith was looking for a husband for Bernon so there was that. I didn’t really know how to feel about it. Not really lonely? Wistful, maybe? I can’t say I’m looking for a profound relationship, but I think having someone to laugh with and share small moments with would be nice.

Maybe...not quite the same as what Erith and Quin have. Being at shotgun point is frightening. I completely understand why Quin started drinking. Heavily.

I’m rambling, but my mind has been all over the place. I’m avoiding talking about what’s really going on in my head because I’m not sure if writing this down, reliving it, will be easy.

I’m talking about my confrontation with Sahrin.

I don’t know what I was expecting when I demanded answers from him. I think I was expecting him to explain why Sai did what she did. I was hoping he’d smile at me and tell me everything was a misunderstanding, or that they’d been acting on their own accord and he hadn’t know anything.

I didn’t mind Gail putting pressure on him - she understands what it means to be a leader, and how hard it can be to have people do things behind your back, and the heavy responsibility that leadership entails.

I also realize what I’d done to him - I appeared out of no where and threatened him into a meeting right after he’d seen everything he’d built up burned to the ground. Of course he was confused, of course he wanted answers. I’d given him nothing. I’m sure he tried to look into it on his own, but he likely didn’t get very far since he’d been gone so long deal with Armand and was unaware of all that’d been going on.

No one is omniscient, but I wasn’t entirely in a caring mood. People I had once cared about deeply had tried to kill me more than once - I was tired.

Father once told me that there are always two sides to a story, and what you know is always just a small part of a whole. He said it’s always good to know and understand the full picture of things, but never let that knowledge influence how the ending needs to be written. And if I can help it, I should always be the one holding the quill to those short chapters in my life.

Sahrin told us about Sai and Esila, and then he told us about the foundation of the troupe and what its original purpose had been. The first troupe they’d all been in - I knew they had worked for the government covertly, doing their bidding under the belief they were serving their nation. Even if it was unpleasant, someone has to do it.

Sahrin and the others felt the troupe wasn’t looking at the real threat - the Empire. And I suppose I can understand their fear. With the way the empire was expanding, the idea that Thavnair would have remained a free nation forever was questionable at best. The Empire wanted to be a world power, once they’d conquered all they’d truly desired, why not take Thavnair too?  Would we had really been able to stop them, if they had truly put their forces to it? 

"We’ll be on their list eventually.” was a legitimate fear. It was one I’d heard on the lips of some nobles and commoners growing up. Not everyone liked the Empire in Thavnair. Not everyone felt the arrangement we had was beneficial. For all the ones who welcomed them for business and trade, there were those who feared them. 

I guess Sahrin had been one of those people. He’d become frustrated with his troupe and decided to form his own. Except he couldn’t be normal about it, no. He took others who had anti-Imperial sentiment and they all decided they were going to bring in children to train and raise them - and by raise I mean brainwash - into perfect anti-Imperial fighting tools.

I cannot express the emotions I went through upon hearing that.

I mean, yes, it’s preferable to bring children into a troupe’s fold because it’s easier to train a dancer when they’re younger, more flexible, and their minds retain things easier, than to start them when they’re much older. I’m going to try and give them the benefit of the doubt and hope that’s what they - no, what Sahrin was thinking when he started this. I don’t want to think of Sahrin as a bad person. There’s just a part of me that refuses to do that.

But I can’t...forgive him for creating the troupe with those intentions. It really doesn’t matter that ‘he grew a conscious’ with me and changed his mind. Congratulations, I guess? Maybe one day when I’m not feeling so angry I’ll send him a cookie for deciding not to be quite the terrible person he could have been.

Okay. I’m feeling petty. And angry. And hurt. But his admission ripped the floor of my reality right out from under me. I admired him, looked up to him - I had wanted to be like him. I had wanted to grow up and eventually be a role model to others because of him. And then to learn all of that had been based on a foundation of lies - that I had initially been nothing more than a tool for his ambitions...

Even if he had changed his mind, clearly the others hadn’t, and that hurts. And he knew that. He’d known and I guess had been trying to change them. But you can’t change people who actively choose to hate - even if they feel their cause is righteous. There is a right way to go about change, and using - hurting - children is not it.

Sahrin helped us decipher some of the letters, and it honestly made a bit more sense when he put them into perspective. It looks like Esila really was trying to sell me out to some guy named ‘Darling’. I don’t know why he wanted me so badly, but apparently, Cecilia was getting traded to Sabe, and I was gonna get sold off in some auction had everything gone well. In exchange, I guess they were going to get their audience with Orhan and incriminate Sahrin. Sahrin guesses this was all to get a connection back to the old troupe.

They wanted a way back to the old troupe so they lied, cheated, and were even willing to kill to do it. The warmth, smiles, all of those good times we had were all fake.

I was at a loss of what to believe in. I felt like an idiot for falling for their schemes for so long. I should have seen it - hadn’t I grown up surrounded by scheming adults? I should have known better by now.

I told Sahrin I never wanted to see him again, and then after that the rest of the night was a bit of a blur. I know everyone came back to my apartment. I served them drinks and sandwiches. I wanted to make sure Quin was okay. Outside of that, I don’t remember much. They left and I remember taking Bitey and  Fènghuáng away. I still haven’t gone back to the kennel to pick them up. 

I went back to my apartment and I just...suddenly I hated everything about it. It reminded me of home, of my troupe -  and everything went white, then red. My heart felt heavy and my eyes burned. I think I screamed. I know I cried. And then I fled. I ran and ran and ran. Until my legs turned to rubber and my lungs screamed and I fell down...somewhere. I didn’t recognize the surroundings. I think I was around a lot of trees and sand. I just know the breeze felt good against my skin, and the grass was cool and comforting. 

I cried, an ugly, gulping, gut wrenching cry - until there wasn’t anything left. And then I sat back against the cliffs and stared up at the sky until the sun rose. I didn’t want to return to the apartment, so I didn’t.

And then the next day I went and dyed my hair black. I need to find some white clothing, to mark the passing of the troupe, my family, and for Esila. The Esila I knew and loved - not the one who wanted to trade me to I guess slavers. The woman I had known to be a good person.

I will mourn her death, because she had lived, and she had brought me joy, even if it had been made of lies.

[angrylizardjacket]

dirty souls {Nikki Sixx}

Summary: Soulmate AU // Some people are born with a tattoo that represents their soulmate, in the place their soulmate will first touch them. You would think this makes life easier, but it just makes those with soulmarks into spectacles.

A/N: @misscharlottelee i love these kids. ALSO WARNING FOR CHILD ABUSE, physical and psychological, as well as the loss of a parent. it talks about lola’s childhood nd its not a positive time. / unedited and written in 4 hours. if you like it, please leave feedback! xx

{Run To Paradise AU}

In a world where having a soulmark is about as rare as winning the lottery, Lola - then Katie -, much to her parents surprise, was born with a broken record on her shoulder. At first they thought it was a birth mark, but it was too dark to be any ordinary birth make, and it grew as she did, solidifying it’s shape and colour by her fourth birthday. The image itself was raised, unlike a normal tattoo, and the vinyl image was thick and dark, and the label was bright red, but unreadable, and she loved it; it was the size of a hand, stretching from her shoulder blade all the way to her shoulder, with a single crack breaking the perfect circle.

“Whoever that’s for, is either gonna love or hate music,” her father, Leo, had told her once, grinning as Katie, on her tiptoes, watched a copy of Elton John’s Honky Chateau spin on the record player, bopping to Honky Cat. She was five then, still not quite understanding just what it meant to have the record on her shoulder. It didn’t matter, Leo was more than happy to go through his entire record collection with her.

Her parents hadn’t been soulmates, no-one she knew had a soulmate, she was the only kid in her entire school district with a soulmark. Of course she knew soulmates existed, she’d been logged into the American Soulmate Registry since her parents had confirmed that it wasn’t just a regular birthmark. As of 1975, there were 1032 people with soulmarks in America, 230 of whom had found each other, which left 801 potential soulmates in America, and 17 in Massachusetts with her. There’s countless others all over the world, should anyone wish to investigate, each country with their own Registry of sorts.

Later, when she was older and angrier, she’d be mad at the system, at the invasive nature of it all, would be glad she changed her name and ran away, to avoid anyone looking for her, hoping she means something to them. Destiny was just a new excuse to stalk someone. But now, it was just a sort of abstract concept, a mark that would mean something eventually, but didn’t right now.

What it meant for her now was questions from everyone, teachers and parents more than students, people eager to know what it was like to be destined for someone else.

Weird.

That was always her answer. Everyone else felt so entitled to her life that she felt like a spectacle; she couldn’t imagine the pressure the few celebrity soulmate couples would be under. When everyone had been excited over the news that there had been a new listing added to the registry, Katie had always pittied them.

Despite all the pressure on her from the world around her, her father was always a calming force, always told her ‘you’re in no rush, it’ll happen when it happens, I promise Lola, don’t let that stop you from being yourself and enjoying your life’. He had always called her Lola, a nickname derived from her birth name Keola, which he prefer to her mother-given nickname of Katie. Soon, Katie would prefer Lola too.

Everyone else, her mother included, was so ready for her to find the one that it was a little overwhelming.

“Where did you get these?” Leo asks, eyes tired as he sees the papers in her mother’s hand, having just tucked Lola in for the night. “This is stalking, Irene, just because you found them in the phonebook doesn’t make it right; it’s destiny, it’ll happen when it happens.”

“She’ll be happier with them!” Her mother would argue, voice raised loud enough for Lola to hear, to be intrigued, to be lured downstairs in the shadow of the handrail.

“She’s eight, let her be a damn child,” Leo snapped. It would be the first and only time Lola would ever hear anger in her father’s voice. He took the papers Irene was holding, and threw them in the trash. The next day, Lola finds it, sees a print-out of the registry, and addresses written in Irene’s unmistakable, perfect handwriting.

Leo was Lola’s hero, and losing him was like losing a limb.

Lola was inconsolable for months, could barely stand to leave the house, even as her mother grew weary and irrational.

“Why would he leave? Why would he just leave?” Lola tried to reason with her mother, who insisted that he was still alive, still out there somewhere, just refusing to come home.

“Because you’re here!” Irene had snapped at her daughter, only a few months shy of ten, “you’re meant to be someone else’s problem,” and she shoves Lola’s soulmarked shoulder, and Lola feels cold betrayal pool in her stomach. Her father had always insisted that the soulmark didn’t change her, but he wasn’t here to defend himself, and she was already so fragile.

There was a strange, jagged dichotomy in play in their house after that, with Irene insisting she’s too busy to ferry Lola around to her potential soulmates, while also insisting that Lola’s too young to be vising stranger on her own, however she still should be someone else’s problem, so her father can finally come back. All Lola knew was that she was a burden, and for the next six years, that’s all she knew how to feel.

Everything comes to a head the night Lola packs a bag and tells her mother she’s heading for the bus station, a list of addresses for the soulmarked in her state.

“No.” Irene blocks her way to the foyer.

“No? I’m almost sixteen, I can take care of myself -”

“You’re a child, Katie, you’re being delusional.”

“I thought you’d rather I was someone else’s problem?” Lola’s lip curled, and Irene glared at her.

“Not if it’s going to make your father think I’m a bad mother.” And her gaze flicks to the photo of Leo kept on the foyer table, next to the candle she always kept lit for him.

Lola’s mouth gaped open as tears pricked her eyes, and she tries to shoulder past.

“I’m going!” Lola tried to insist, but Irene was stronger, and held her back, “you know what? You are!” She shouted, stumbling back, and Irene looked at her, confused, a little hurt, “you’re a terrible fucking mother, you know that? Maybe the reason dad never came back was because you’re a fucking psycho who keeps pushing your problems onto me!” Lola snarled, tears dripping down her cheeks.

For a moment, there’s quiet, and Lola thinks she’s won. Trying to pass Irene again, however, she’s barred when Irene sticks her arm out.

“Take it back.” Irene’s voice is cold as ice, and Lola feels fear curl around her heart, “Katie, you take that back,” and Irene turns to her, but something’s snapped inside her mother’s head, and she shoves Lola back, against the table, against the wall, against the candle. Demanding louder and louder as Lola starts screaming, with flames curling up her back, Irene’s only focused on Lola taking her words back, rather than the pain she’s putting her daughter through.

Only when Irene’s hands start burning, and Lola’s whole back and backpack is alight, does she let go, and Lola collapses. The walls and the curtain are already catching, and it’s only moments before the fire department arrives since one of the neighbors calling them, followed by the police, alerted to the young girl’s screaming.

The trial was nation-wide news, and Lola’s face was printed in newspapers alongside the headline ‘I Was Punished For Having A Soulmark’; even if it was a half-truth, it sold out papers in mere hours. Irene was demonized, and everyone in America loved Lola for all of five minutes. A few other soulmarked people found her through the news, asked her where her soulmark was, and Lola, whose soulmark now was a twisted mess of scarring, along with the rest of her back, offered her hand.

“If you’re my soulmate, it doesn’t matter where you touch me, the mark will be there,” and then she prompted them to shake her hand. They did, but none of them were ever her soulmate.

Frank Ferrana, however, doesn’t watch the news.

He’s seventeen when Lola meets him, covered in tattoos already, along his arms and legs, and a few on his chest, and he’s probably the coolest person she’s ever seen. They’re put into the same group home together, but she can’t bring herself to talk to him at first, too intimidating by him, his tattoos, his leather jackets, the way he smells like smoke and freedom. The ladies at the group home coddle her, and all but wrap her in bubble wrap, and want to know all about her soulmark, and if she’s ever found her soulmate.

“If I had, do you think I’d be here?” Lola asks them over breakfast, voice deadpan. The ladies all look a little guilty, but Frank snorts into his coffee at the other end of the table. He and Lola share a grin, and he gets a little less intimidating in that moment.

He seems to go see bands every other night, and Lola finds herself staying up, waiting for him. Usually she doesn’t make it, falls asleep on the community sofa at about two in the morning, but this time she brings a book.

When he gets back, he gives her an indecipherable look that turns into a smirk, as he makes his unsteady way to the sofa, and collapses down beside her. When he reaches up, his hand gripping her shoulder for support, she thinks more about the pain of tugging at her newly-healed scars, and not of his hand on the exact spot her mark would be, and shrugs him off, readjusting where the shoulder of her shirt had fallen down.

She asks him where he goes, and he’s terribly evasive,

He calls her Katie, like the ladies do, like her mother did, and it grates on her like nails on a chalk board. No-one used her real name apart from her dad, but he was gone. So that’s the night she decides to take back the one thing her father had left her, the nickname only he used. If he ever came back, he’d be coming back to his Lola.

That night, before she gets in bed, she’ll feel her shoulder stinging, and usually after being touched, the stinging goes away after a few moments, but it’s still there. Looking in the mirror, despite the awkward angle, she sees something strange; the record on her shoulder, despite how it’s been disfigured by her scars, is still almost completely the same. Apart from one thing. The record is no longer broken. It’s a complete, black disk with a red label.

Holy shit.

And she remembers Frank’s hand on her shoulder and the burning sensation and -

The next morning, she introduces herself to him as Lola, wearing a grin that’s all teeth, with butterflies in her stomach. She thinks she remembers seeing a Frank on the registry when she’d checked it a few years ago, and this must be him. He must feel it too. In the face of her early morning excitement, he rolls his eyes, and immediately acts like an asshole about her new name; even so, she likes the way he says her name. But he’s still definitely an asshole, acting like nothing happened and nothing changed, so she kicks his bare shin, right in his tacky, little unlit candle tattoo, and storms away, missing the way he immediately yelped like she’d burned him.

If he’s going to act like nothing happened, then so will she. Frank Ferrana isn’t her damn soulmate and that’s fine by her. 

More than likely, he doesn’t even have a soulmate.

Even so, he seems to have taken a liking to her.

He seems to want to be around her more often than not, and finally acquiesces and starts taking her to gigs. They get ready at his friend’s house, Nadine, and from the first moment she opens the door, Nadine also takes a shine to her.

“You’re Miss Lola I’ve heard so much about,” Nadine also does not watch the news, as it turns out, and Frank turns bright at her knowing smile in the face of Lola’s confusion. Everyone knew Katie, but no-one knew Lola. Until now.

Nadine explained that a few years ago, Frank and her brother Joe had been in a band together in Seattle, and Nikki explained the band was the only escape he had from his mother. Nadine and Joe had moved to Boston a year before Frank, and he knew when he ran away from his mom, they’d help him out. Which they did. 

Lola makes a name for herself alongside Frank, as his roadie, slowly becoming his best friend, and much to her own guilt, developing feelings for him. If he wasn’t her soulmate, then it was unfair to her real soulmate if she fell in love with someone else. But Frank’s actually kind of nice to her, and doesn’t treat her like a kid, and yeah, they fool around together, but that’s because they’re young. When one of them is spotted, the other one is never far behind. 

Occasionally she catches him giving her a much gentler look than she’d expect, or he’ll gently trace the edge of her soulmark when it peeks out from the top of her shirt, and she wants to ask him, but can’t find the words. He’s the only person she knows who hasn’t asked about it, apart from Nadine. 

But they leave Nadine, and all of Boston behind, heading for sunny LA, and the first night in the back of the van they now call home, Lola, high as hell, traces the tattoos down his arms.

“You have a lot,” Lola says quietly, and Frank makes an indecipherable noise, but turns and plants a gentle kiss on her soulmarked shoulder. Lola has no idea what to read into that. 

They lie and cheat and steal their way into a barely-livable apartment, but it’s home, and Lola’s thrilled, until Frank brings a girl home and Lola’s left on the sofa, her heart aching and traitorous tears in her eyes. She shouldn’t feel betrayed, he’s not hers, and she’s not his; she’s got someone waiting for her, so getting heartbroken doesn’t even make sense. 

The next day, she’s awake before either of them, up at the crack of dawn since they don’t exactly have curtains to stop the light hitting her on the sofa as it rises. If she sees either of them, she’s pretty sure she’s going to scream, so instead, she decides to speed up destiny, and heads to the public library.

The American Soulmate Registry is publicly accessible, incase people like Lola want to find each other, and each entry lists the person’s full name, year of birth, and state where they were born. It’s far too easy to sort by year of birth, and pick everyone within three years of her. Usually soulmates are close in age, though there are few exceptions, the universe seems to know what’s best. As the list is printing, Lola’s at the front desk asking for a directory. The man at the desk is skeptical, people looking like Lola usually only use the directories to start fires. But then Lola’s pulling at the shoulder of her shirt and batting her eyes.

“Please, I’m looking for my soulmate; you wouldn’t stand in the way of destiny, would you?” She asks, and he’s all but bending over backwards to help her out. Lola thanks him sweetly, and heads to the printer where the list is taking an age to print out. 

One by one, she reads the names, mulling over them; there’s about 59 in her age range, and a few of them sound kind of exciting. Charlotte Lee, 1961, CA; probably not too far away -

Frank Ferrana Jr. 1959. CA.

She rips the paper out of the printer before it can finish the rest of the list, running back to the apartment. 

The woman from the night before is in her kitchen, drinking coffee, and she gives a sleepy smile, but Lola ignores her, heading for the bathroom where she heard the shower running. Kicking in the door, she’s unsurprised by Frank’s angry yell, but she just pulls the curtain to the side and holds up the paper.

“Fucking knock!” Frank tries to pull the curtain back around, but Lola forces it open.

“You have a fucking soulmark?” Lola all but yells, and his expression drops. He blinks slowly. “Why the fuck are you hanging around me if you know you’ve got someone else out there for you?” She asked, “this’ll only end badly!”

“Why are you with me?” He demanded in return, stark naked, glaring, and Lola drops her gaze, pressing her lips together in a thin line.

“Because I-” looking furtively around, Lola spots the girl in the door frame, gawking at the pair of them, “can you fuck off?” The girl’s eyebrows rise, and Lola stalks towards the door, slamming it closed in the girl’s face. Turning back, Frank is still looking at her with an expectant, half-angry expression.

“I’m a masochist, okay? I’m half convinced you’re my soulmate and even if you’re not, I kind of... kind of... I love you, or whatever.”

“You think I’m your soulmate?” Frank’s voice is soft, and Lola finally looks him in the eyes, nervous and raw and vulnerable. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because you acted like nothing happened -”

“You acted like nothing happened!” Frank fires back, stepping out of the shower to put his leg up on the sink. Dripping wet, naked, and not exactly in a flattering pose, he gestures to the flame tattooed on his shin. She’d never paid much attention to it amid all the others, but she remembers thinking it was tacky that it was unlit; why would anyone want an unlit candle? But there, a little, orange flame lights the wick at the top of the candle, and when Lola reaches out, she feels how it’s raised, like hers was. 

“Right where you kicked me,” he told her, and Lola’s mouth opened in shock, before scrambling to take off her shirt, to show her tattoo.

“This used to be broken, but you -! The night we first talking, you -” he presses a kiss to the tattoo, kissing his way up her neck to her lips, but she pulls back, eyes wide; “we’re the dumbest people I know.” She whispers, and he snorts a laugh.

“Almost like we’re made for each other.”

And that’s enough for her to kiss him, and now she knows why it feels like it makes sense. 

Things don’t change much after that, not on the surface. Soon, Frank becomes Nikki, and Lola finds herself music that the registry might never know what happened to them, and that she really doesn’t care. Lola gets new tattoos at Nikki’s suggestion. As it turns out, he’d gotten tattoos to distract from his soulmark, so people would stop asking questions, and it works. 

People can’t tell anymore, and Lola’s not the little girl from the news that everyone knew, and she’s so glad to no longer be recognized. All anyone knows is that Nikki and Lola are a package deal, and that if you mess with one, you’re going to bring on the wrath of the other. 

“Did your mom really set you on fire because of this?” Nikki asks, tracing the warped ridges of her tattoo one night. Lola huffed a laugh, pressing her face into her pillow for a moment.

“Not because of it, because of my dad, and... her own delusions, I think,” she mused, “she wanted so badly for me to be someone else’s problem, and growing up, dad would always be taking care of me, but then he died, and she was stuck with this kid who, looking back on it, I think she resented me for taking dad’s attention, but now she couldn’t just ship me off to some stranger, even if they were my soulmate, because everyone would think she’s an awful mother.”

“She sounds awful already-”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong, she was atrocious,” Lola agrees, “but the mark was an out for when I was too old for dad to look after, but then he was gone and I was still there.”

“That sucks,” Nikki muttered, wrapping an arm around her, and Lola snuggled up to him, humming in agreement, “my mom always hoped my mark was something she could use, like my soulmate would be some billionaire, and I’d make her rich because she found them or whatever.” He snickers, rolling his eyes. 

“She put adds in papers across the country, basically selling me; people wanted to meet their soulmate so badly that they’d pay her fifty bucks to have me touch them. It sounds a lot worse in hindsight,” his expression sours, and Lola runs her nails in a gentle rhythm up and down his arm.

“What if my mom had seen one of those ads, and we met back then?” Lola asks softly, smiling gently. Nikki blinks for a few moments, coming out of his memories, before looking back at Lola.

“Was your family rich?”

“Not especially; dad owned a little burger joint, but mom ran it into the ground out of spite after he left,” Lola admitted, and Nikki shrugged.

“Then my mom would probably act like nothing happened, even if it did -”

“And my mom would probably insist that I was her problem now.”

“It’s why I ran,” Nikki admitted, “I didn’t want anyone else to be trapped with her, least of all the person who was supposed to love me for the rest of my life, you know?” And Lola sighs, and gives him a nod and a squeeze of support, “I’m glad we met how we did.” He admits.

“Me too,” Lola tells him gently.

When they start to form Motley Crue, only Mick seems to recognize her a little, though he drops it when she asks him to. Looking from Nikki to Lola, he gets a strangely fond, knowing glint in his eye, and looks to Lola with a question in his eyes. Tentatively, Lola gives the slightest smile and nod. Mick blinks a few times, surprised, but can’t help his own smile as he processes the information. 

He doesn’t say anything, and it takes a while for the others to catch on.

It’s almost a full year after the band forms, and they’ve gained considerable traction on The Strip, when Vince and Tommy are clued in.

“I didn’t know tattoos looked so good even after scarring,” Tommy noted during practice, seeing Lola’s record on her shoulder as she moves about the kitchen in a singlet. “Where’d you get it?” 

Lola and Nikki share a look.

“Born with it,” Lola tells him, pulling a cup from the counter and filling it with water. Tommy is dead silent, considering, the cogs in his mind ticking over, frowning with concentration. Lola swallows some pills and follows it with a gulp of water. 

“Are you serious?” Vince asks, catching on much faster than Tommy.

“As a heart attack,” Lola tells him with a slight smile. Nikki makes a noise in the back of his throat and Mick picks out a melody on his guitar.

“So you’re- you’ve got a -?” Vince asks, eyes wide.

“Holy shit, Lols, you’re soulmarked?” Tommy crows, and Lola gives a toothy grin, inclining her head to agree with him. “I’ve never met one in person,” he says, starry-eyed, and Nikki huffs a laugh, “I mean, I have, my cousin’s soulmarked, but like... dude, what are the odds?!” 

“What are the odds?” Lola says gently, looking directly at Nikki, who hides his laugh with a cough, trying not to ruin the bit.

“Have you met them?” Vince asks, he and Tommy looking like eager little puppies to hear more when Lola looks back at them, “your soulmate, I mean.” Mick stops his strumming, giving Lola a long suffering look. Lola, however, looks at Nikki, kinder this time.

“Yeah,” Lola says softly, and Vince and Tommy look like they’re about to explode, “I’m one of the really lucky ones.” 

“You’re killing us here, Lols,” Tommy groans, and Nikki can’t help himself, “who is it? Where are they -?”

“You really think she’d leave her soulmate?” Nikki asked with an amused snort, and the boys turn, eyes wide as saucers. “It’s me, dumbasses.” He confirms, smugly, and there’s silence as the other two process the revelation.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Vince all but yells, but he’s excited, beaming from  ear to ear, “of course you assholes seem like you were made for each other, you literally are!” He crows, and is immediately pestering Nikki to see his tattoo.

“This makes so much sense!” Tommy’s still looking at Lola with wide eyes, before his expression turns sunny. “You guys are so fucking lucky, holy shit!” And Lola grins; yeah, every moment with Nikki, she does tend to feel pretty lucky.

[imma-lil-teapot]

TMNT 2003/2k3 Headcanon: Crying - (Leonardo)

Feel free to scroll past this first part if you’re not interested in my silly rambling and nonsense. I won’t mind. Promise. ;)

Okey-dokey then, with the global epidemic that is the Coronavirus well in action and most of the world stuck in lockdown (starting this Friday for us too), felt like getting the ‘ol creative juices flowing with a little headcanon-y thingy in preparation for -possibly- more fandom writings to keep myself busy during the house arrest (well... it kinda is!) and hopefully my mind off all the bad news. :( 

Also, this is totally my first one on the blog! WOOT! Please bear in mind that I’m SUPER rusty! Haven’t written in ages so there are bound to be typos and all matter of general errors scattered throughout the post. Don’t pet them! They bite!  

Anyhoo~ Despite attempting to create and share with the goal in mind to uplift spirits, I decided to start on a rather upsetting subject (PLEASE DON’T LEAVE! They end on happy notes ;) ) because, Imma just come and say it, I enjoy seeing my favourite characters shed tears (not for just any old reason -their personality plays a huge role in this- and CERTAINLY not for sadistic reasons, land sakes no! But... well, you’ll see~ ;) ) It makes me all gooey and fuzzy inside to see them display such raw emotion and I just wanna leap into the TV screen to hug and console them. I dunno why. Maybe I’m nuts like that. (Remembers Raph crying at the farm when Leo was badly injured and wishes she could just hug them all and take away the pain) Oh well, if you enjoy visualizing the same, then *High Fives*. :)

So yeah, if you read the title, you’ll know this is based on the 2003/2k3 series (my favs). Hope you all enjoy~ :D Grab tissues cause sad turts ahead! :’(

Jibber jabber stops here~

TURTLES~

LEONARDO - You are here

RAPHAEL

DONATELLO - Coming soon

MICHELANGELO - Coming soon

WARNING(S): Because of the subject, Angst and Hurt/Comfort will be present.

RATING: G (General)

WORD COUNT: Don’t have the foggiest.

ANYTHING ELSE TO ADD:

And apparently gifs too, so without further ado: (Completely unintentional but in actuality, totally intentional rhyming)...

TO THE HEADCANONS~~~~

~LEONARDO~

-- It’s no easy feat to make the leader in blue turn on the waterworks. Leo won’t cry for any old reason. It’s not because he has no emotions, far from it, but being the leader of a small ninja clan -who happen to be family as well- is no easy task in itself: he has a lot on his young shoulders and deals with many issues on a daily basis few his age ever have to.

-- It’s because of these reasons that Leo doesn’t cry often. One of the lesser likely to out of the four brothers. But when he does, it’s an emotionally distressing sight to behold. 

-- Leo tends to cry whenever those closest to him -namely his brothers, his father/master and truest friends- are severely injured or are in a dire situation. Remember his angry/moody arc? The thought of losing any of them causes him great pain and distress, especially if he were the cause of any of it, and when that happens, he can’t stop the dampness that forms around his eyes and soaks into his mask. 

-- He’s not fond of crying, especially in front of others, even though he fully comprehends its normalcy. He feels he needs to be everyone’s rock, their fortress of physical and emotional stability to turn to for strength when things get rough... So when the tears start to fall, he feels he can’t show them, can’t allow them to watch him crumble under the gripling weight of helplessness and anguish.

-- He frantically wipes at his eyes and desperately attempts not to sniffle, but it’s a hopeless battle, for his tears are already a steady stream. 

-- He’ll try to hide when possible, usually retreating to his room to allow the worst of the emotions to spill over before returning to the others... Though he may be in there a while: when Leo lets his emotions go, it can be just as powerful as his red-banded brother’s rage. 

-- He spares no time in making sure the coast is clear for the tears are already streaming by the time he reaches his futon, and there’s no stopping them now as he lets himself drop to his knees, only halfway onto the mattress. He purposefully leaves the room unlit, cloaking his form in the darkness. 

-- He sniffs a few times as he shuffles up against the wall, sitting upright against it, bringing his legs up and hugging them loosely and droops his head against a single knee pad. 

-- His voice desperately wishes to escape. To express its misery. But he won’t allow it to, often placing one hand over his face in a bid to quell the sadness and remain silent in the battle against his own inner turmoil. He refuses to let anyone see him in that state of utter sorrow and vulnerability.

-- He whimpers ever so slightly and coughs a few times as breathing becomes difficult. He knows this episode won’t be over any time soon. Fortunately, he keeps some tissues next to his bed for such rare occasions and tries not to blow too loudly. He thinks back to the last time he cried so hard... It’s been a while. It felt like a build up. 

-- Time has been forgotten as he’s lost in deep thought. By the time he slips a hand across his eyes, only the material of his mask is still slightly damp. He clears his nostrils a couple of times before considering whether he was ready to return to his family. He’d of course straighten up his bedding beforehand, and would also require a trip to the bathroom to wash his face. A true ninja leaves no evidence. 

-- Leo tries to put the horrifying images out of head before leaving his quarters. He doesn’t wish to be weighed down again and thus maybe cause his emotions to come out a second time. He knew someone would catch on that time. Instead, he holds his head up high, focusing on the there and now to carry him forward.  

BONUS EXTRA~

-- Failure is also one of his greatest foes. Leo despises it, but not in the irrational sense; he fully comprehends that in order to grow, one has to lose in order to learn and thus, succeed in turn, and while it can frustrate him when he’s unsuccessful at mastering a martial arts technique for example, he understanders it’s part of the process and that no one’s perfect. 

-- It’s when his slipups could spell casualties or death to his family and/or friends is when it weighs down on him like a boulder strapped to his shell. 

-- A really big one. 

-- And it hurts. So much so that it causes him to become despondent and often teary-eyed when no one’s looking.

-- Boi Bloo might also cry from especially sad movie scenes. He gets seriously into the story, and when the scene is just right -perfect music, perfect timing etc.- you may just catch Fearless with watery eyes. 

-- He can’t help it. After all, he’s a leader, and very caring and kind-hearted individual, so movies showing children or anyone/anything defenceless getting hurt has him not only visibly upset, but also angry at the cause. He’s a softie like that. 

-- He won’t have a meltdown, of course, but the tears are definitely there. Just don’t tease him too much; he’s easily embarrassed by it. ;) 

BONUS EXTRA EXTRA FEMALE READER OR S/O EDITION~ (Can also use an OC/FC insert if you wish, up to you)

You had figured something was up by the time you’d finished greeting everyone in the Splinterson household except for the Turtle you’d long to see most and he hadn’t made his presence yet known. 

The idea that he must’ve been practicing or meditating swiftly vanished when Mikey told you he’d been in his room in the dark for the past few hours. “The guy hardly ever naps, and even so, never this long.” He’d told you. “I dunno, (Y/N), we were about to check on ‘im when you arrived, but maybe you should be the one to. Think he’d really appreciate it.” And there was absolutely no argument from your side as you were already making your way up to the room.

You didn’t know what to expect as you neared the doorway. Could he possibly still just be sleeping? Meditating in the dark instead of his usual spot by the training area? Or... was he sick? The latter now had you concerned and you picked up your pace... Only to pause mid step when an unmistakable sound reached your ears: a sniffle.

Had it come from within his room? It was the only logical explanation as everyone else was downstairs. You were truly perturbed now as you stood outside the doorway and called out the ‘eldest’ Turtle’s name.

There was some shuffling to be heard but you were unable to tell for sure what he was doing -probably trying to neaten up his bed- “(Y/N)? Just a second, okay?” he responded in a rather awkward verging on frantic tone, and you were certain you heard another sniffle escape him. 

That, along with the way he’d replied really didn’t help to put your mind at ease. “Leo, are you alright?” Nor was the pitch blackness in which he remained concealed in.

“Yeah, just... l-looking for something.” There was some more shuffling as if to prove his point, but you were having none of it.

“Then maybe this,” you began, turning around to flick the light switch, “will help?”

“No! Wait!” But it was a split second too late for as soon the brightness illuminated the entire room, you had caught the telltale signs of an emotional meltdown in progress plastered on his face before he quickly turned away and briskly wiped an arm across his face, attempting to hide the shame... or perhaps embarrassment? 

“Leo...?” your heart and voice softened, “Hey, what’s wrong?” You automatically walked to him, closing the gap he was now trying to form. 

“Nothing,” he lied, and acknowledged it was a fruitless attempt but still couldn’t stop himself. Autopilot panic mode was enabled now. “It’s nothing.” 

Unfortunately for him, autopilot mother hen mode was activated for you as you reached with both hands to his carapace and shoulder, gently turning him to face you. “I can see that it’s something.” Your words were gentle, and you wanted nothing more than to take away his pain. “Look at me, Honey.” His body was turned but his head remained to the side. It was clear he didn’t want his obvious distress on display, even to you. “Please, Leo?” You tried again, and slowly but surely, his eyes met yours, and you felt your heart sink further.

The fabric of his mask was wet and eyes were still red with fresh tears that threatened to fall. He appeared so broken and helpless as he stared at you, and even though he uttered no words, you could practically hear him despairingly ask “Is this what you wanted? To see me at my lowest?” from his expression alone. 

Never had you witnessed the leader of this band of mutant brothers cry. At times you had wondered if he ever did, and yet here he was; the incredible pillar of strength and dignity you had come to know and adore, in tears and so dejected that you couldn’t stop your own eyes from becoming damp the more you gazed at him. “Oh, Sweety...” You whispered as you felt your soul shatter. It was too much to bear. You slowly wrapped your arms around him, one around the midsection and the other over his shoulder, and buried your face into his leathery neck, offering every ounce of comfort you could muster.

It didn’t take him long at all to sink into the embrace and return the action. Beyond the point of concerning himself with showing the pain he felt -or the wetness now soaking into your shoulder when he placed his forehead against it- he sniffed and finally allowed the tears to fall once again as fresh waves of emotion surged throughout his body.

And this time, he couldn’t keep the whimpering to himself.

“Shh~ It’s okay, it’s okay,” you soothed, lightly patting and rubbing along the scutes of his shell as he weakly sobbed, finally letting go of all the sadness that gripped him. 

You weren’t even aware of what was wrong, and you most likely wouldn’t find out til later once he calmed down, but right now, he just needed you to hold him. Hold him until the hurt was gone... And so you would. 

AND THAT’S ALL SHE WROTE!

ALL THE FEELS!! I EMBARRASS!!

OMGosh, this turned into a monster! The mother of all HCs!! :O No seriously, this wasn’t meant to be this long! I was suppose to squish all four into one itty bitty little post, but then it just grew... and grew... and GREW! Personally, I blame the Reader Bonus but I’d be damned if I didn’t enjoy writing it! ;P You guys here on Tumblr got me slightly addicted to them and have wanted to attempt some myself so... Anyhoo~ I can’t really say if I’m entirely content with the whole thing, I dunno. I feel some parts are better than others (writing style-wise) but yeah, I really need to get back into the swing of things...

Speaking of which, I DO plan on adding my two cents on the other bois as well, but judging by how this one turned out, they’ll most likely all be this length, more or less, so each Turt will get his own post so I can really jot down those details with all the freedom in the world! That being said, I can’t say when they’ll be added but hopefully soon-ish. :) Raph's next on the list!

Thank you all so much for the read and hope you enjoyed~ :D

~Drag0n Mistr3ss’ Random Fandoms*

[whumpy-tales-and-thoughts]

Hello oo! May I request "fainting " for the bthb please ?

Thank you for your request and support!! I hope this matches your expectations!! <3 

Words: 1.639

Taglist: @mnmlover2002 

TW: Illness, non con touching/ thoughts, manipulation, left out in the cold. 

****

  It started as sore throat, something Leo was getting used to, what with all the screaming. There was a heavy rainfall the day before, and he’d not pleased Marcus enough for him to leave him alone, so he found it funny to see whether his shouting could be louder than the rain. His whip wound hurt when he sank himself in a hot bath later that night, but he still woke up sore and in pain and he felt kind of weird, but he chose to ignore that. It had been around two months since he had been brought here. Feeling weird was routine by now.

  Marcus knocked on the door, and he pretended to be asleep. He was up later than he’d thought, if Marcus had to come upstairs himself and wake him. He covered himself up before the door creaked open.

  “Good morning baby,” the man’s mellow voice reached his ears, and he rolled his eyes underneath his eyelids. Leo flinched when Marcus placed his hand on his shoulder. “So, you’re awake”, he said, unamused, and pulled the blanket off of Leo’s head.

  “Good morning,”, he said, his voice hoarse. “I just wanted to sleep more”.

  “Too bad you don’t get to choose in here, huh”.

  Leo only pressed the pillow against his ear.

  “I don’t like you today, you’re too irritable”.

  “I don’t like you any day”, he replied tiredly and tried to resist when Marcus grabbed him by the arm, but found he didn’t have enough strength for that.

  Marcus practically pulled him to his feet, and Leo felt the need to sit down again, his vision dark with a dizzy spell. It had been a while since he’d had one of those. “You might want to buy me some iron supplements”, he said, putting on his shirt, turning his back to Marcus’ stare. He never hid that look of his, and it made Leo feel more unsafe than ever. He changed into his usual clothes as soon as humanely possible.

  “Come, let’s go have breakfast”, he smiled, taking his hand and leading him down the stairs. It was unusually difficult to trot them down, even though his legs weren’t injured. His head felt heavy on his shoulders, heavier than the rest of his body. He paid it no mind once more.

  Leo didn’t eat a lot of the French toast Marcus had made; his appetite was lacking. Marcus kept staring at him funny, and Leo really wasn’t up for his games today.

  Marcus was annoyed. He didn’t like it when Leo was being unsocial; he thought it more as him being ungrateful, being resentful and rejecting him, his owner, his boyfriend -although in the making. Taking a deep breath, he stood up, banging his fists on the wood of the table. Leo flinched, caught off guard.

  “I’ve been rough with you, I’ve hurt you, I’ve punished you and you still don’t get how you’re meant to act? What else do you want me to do, hm?” he walked towards the smaller man with loud, heavy steps, which were enough to pin him in place by now. He laughed. “Look at you. I’ve done nothing more than come near you, and you’re freezing up. You know I can hurt you. And you still choose to act like this? I feed you, I let you roam free, and all I get back is disobedience.” He reached down, grabbed Leo’s chin rather violently and smiled at him. He noticed his face was rather red. “Look at you, blushing. You’re so cute, so pretty, my sweet Leo. Don’t make me hurt you so often”.

  Leo averted his eyes. He was, most definitely, scared. But he didn’t want to be hurt, not today, not tomorrow, not ever again. He grimaced on his comment. Hearing he was pretty was getting revolting and each passing day, he hated himself in the mirror more and more.

  Marcus reached for the butter knife by Leo’s plate, while the younger wasn’t watching. Tilting his hand -and with that motion, Leo’s chin- towards his face, he leaned to plant a kiss to his forehead, smiling all the while. As Leo’s attention was diverted to the man, he jabbed the knife into the hand Leo had placed on the table. It was a swift motion, which earned him a quick reaction. Leo pulled his head away as he screamed and groaned in pain, using his other hand to remove the utensil.

  He brought his hand close to his chest, staining his gray t-shirt with blood. His body felt extremely hot now, and he was sweating. Probably from the shock of the pain, he thought amongst other thoughts of agony. “What the hell was that for?!” he yelled, tears prickling the corners of his eyes.

  “It was just to bring your attention back to me, love. See, now you’re focused only on me”.

  “Yeah, you and the pain in my hand which you fucking stabbed!”

  As he was getting angrier, he was also getting dizzier. His ears had begun ringing, as well. This wasn’t good, not at all. He took a deep breath, calming his inner voice, which was screaming at him to turn on his panic mode.

  “Let me help you patch it up, lovely”, Marcus offered, but Leo slapped his hand away.

  “I think you did enough”.

  Those were not the words Marcus wanted to hear. He grabbed him by the arm, using every bit of his strength and, basically dragged him to the front door. Leo was stumbling, his legs weren’t listening to his dazed thoughts. Hit by the heavy raindrops, Marcus brought Leo to the wooden storage by the house, and tied him to the tall, wooden pole in front of its door.

  “Stay here for a while, why don’t you, dear. It’ll be nice for you to reflect on your actions, once in a while.”

  Leo struggled at first, he always did. But today he couldn’t bring his body to cooperate with his scrambled thoughts. He was cold and weak and scared. His hand hurt, and so did his head, and his ears were buzzing and he was dizzy and suddenly, he felt like a little child again. He felt as if someone had taken his comfort blanket away from him. He was alone, in the rain, with his only savior, a sadistic serial killer who claimed to love him. This was all horrible and horrifying, and he didn’t know why he still struggled against Marcus. He knew there was no way out; he knew he couldn’t earn anything but pain by going against him. His hands were bound behind him. He couldn’t bury his face in them, so he brought his knees near his head and settled with that, for a while, as he was crying.

  He let out a shuddering sigh. He was so cold but felt so warm. It was a weird, disgusting feeling. He was shivering, though; he knew that much. He had been staring at the drifting clouds for what he thought was a few minutes now, but Marcus had come to get him, so it must have been longer than that. He unlocked his handcuffs and ordered him to get up. Leaning against the pole, Leo breathed heavily as he stood up.

  “Go on in”, Marcus ordered, not even looking at him. He passed by him and the pole and was about to unlock the storage to get some things he needed, when he felt a tug on his shirt. He turned around; looking very pleased with what he saw, he smiled. “What is it, dear?”

  Leo let out a breath. His face was bright red, his vision was dancing and Marcus kept going left and right in front of him, as if he was refusing to stay in one place. “Stay still”, he whispered to the man who was really, very much unmoving. “I’m not…”

  He didn’t manage to finish his sentence. Swaying, he fell forward, right onto Marcus’ chest. God, he felt horrible. His eyes wouldn’t open and he didn’t have the strength or the will to get himself straight, and if Marcus wasn’t in front of him, Leo knew he’d have planted himself face first into the mud. His body had now decided on a temperature, and he was downright cold. And he felt exhausted, as if he’d been running for a day or so. He just wanted to get warm and sleep. Or disappear, whichever was easier. For now, though, he couldn’t do anything but breathe heavily into Marcus’ shirt. He hated it, sure, but he didn’t see any other alternative.

  Marcus placed a hand to Leo’s forehead and let out a laugh. “My oh my, whatever am I supposed to do with you…” He picked him up and led him up to his room.

  Marcus changed Leo’s clothes, and although Leo was semi-conscious, he didn’t put up a fight, and Marcus didn’t hesitate to take advantage of the situation, sliding his hands around Leo’s torso, until he remembered that, there was a time and place for everything, and today was not it. He placed the younger man on the bed, covering him up with the blankets.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked, and Leo only groaned in return. Marcus knew. He knew Leo had had a fever since he’d kissed his forehead a few hours before. I need you to become depended of me. Forgive me for this tease, he thought and smiled at him. “I’ll go make you some warm soup. Just stay cooped up, alright, baby?”

  Leo didn’t get to eat the warm soup. He didn’t have the appetite for it but, that wasn’t the reason. As soon as Marcus left the room, he relaxed into the warmness of his bed and, although still shivering, he allowed his unconscious to take over. He needed a break from the pain, from the tiredness. He wanted out, and he was thankful to his sickness for giving him a temporary hideout.

[golddaggers]

cruel summer

pairing: thor x reader;

warnings: well there are some mentions to smut but nothing explicit. maybe some curse words. nothing too extreme. 

a/n: okay so i am drunk and secretly on my mum’s laptop. forgive me any mistakes on it? i guess? and i’m breaking the dry spell on this blog!!! sheesh. i hope y’all like it and send me some feedback. it’s nice, really. 

word count: 2,8k+ i think

[summer]

The first time it happened was unintended. Drinks at the bar after a long, long day, a lot of careless flirting that turned into making out and eventually lead to where I knew I'd always end up: his arms.

In my defense, how was I supposed to say no to Thor? Say no to the gentleman he always was with me, a comforting hand always heavy on my shoulder when I needed it? Heck, how would I deny someone who would seek after me once we weren't in the battlefield just so he knew I was alright? I couldn't.

And of course, I wasn't going to be the one refusing that gorgeous man. So tall, so wild. Everything I wanted. Everything that seemed so out of reach.

But I should have found the will to say no. It was insane. We worked together, damn it. Given, we were both a little alcohol intoxicated and with a pent-up energy that was desperate, clawing its way out of our bodies. Nonetheless, by the end of the night we agreed, between shared breathy laughs in the dark, that we wouldn't do it again. That it was the sensible thing to do.

Lord knows what'd happen if Tony were to find out about this one night stand. We were lucky enough nobody saw us heading back to my apartment, a rented place in Cornelia Street. It was small and somewhat messy, still, the place was enough for the two of us. We christened every single room that night, ending sprawled on my bed, chuckling at our recklessness.

Being around him was easy as gasping for air. Plus, how can I say it? Thor had skills no man before him had showed me. Even the smallest of thoughts about it sends shivers down my spine. I indulge my mind then, contemplating on how easy it was for him to pick up on my tastes. He definitely spoilt me to other men in that aspect. Some others too.

I woke up in the morning after feeling sore everywhere. My legs felt as if they didn't belong to me any more, so I limped my way into the kitchen, finding him in nothing but black underwear. I was suddenly very conscious about my nudity, which was brushed off when he came to me, a childish grin followed by a peck on the cheek.

At that moment, I hoped we could really just keep this as a dirty little secret. It wouldn't happen again, we agreed, so we might as well linger a while longer. Enjoy whilst we could.

How wrong I was, though. Nearly every night along that summer, we kept finding our way towards each other, sloppily kissing while our bodies were one. Surrendering to an overwhelming desire that crept inside us. It felt like he was a strong magnetic force that kept me bound to him.

The bliss came to an unexpected halt when I saw him entirely invested in a conversation with somebody else. I was aware that I was in no place to be jealous, but she was so beautiful. The straight blond hair falling scarcely to the middle of her back, green eyes sparkling with the won interest of him. Body curved like an hourglass. My heart clenched, uneasy. I couldn't control it, not now.

I felt so silly to have trusted our rushed promises between the snaps of his hips against mine. It was obvious he didn't care about me like that, the crazed, jealousy infusing kind of way.  What in Heaven's name was I doing anyway? Was I out of my mind?

It was cruel to have allowed myself to do this. And stupid. We both agreed to no-strings-attached and here I was, so damn knotted. Sinking deep into something with no future. Typical me.  

From a distance, I watched as his eyes followed me out of Steve's birthday party, forcing myself to run to the back yard. I couldn't be around him. Couldn't let him see how wrecked I was.

The grass was wet below my bare feet when I took off my heels, throwing them to the side. At this point, I could feel the alcohol effects clouding my brain, I needed some time to calm down, to get my shit together.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" His hand was warm on my shoulder, "You left in a hurry."

I was sitting on a cold swing, my head resting against the chain. Green grass pickled my feet, it grounded me to the present. To what was truly happening. I often slipped into my thoughts, blocking out everything else.

This was a moment I wanted to keep.

"I'm fine," I shrugged, croaking out a response, I didn't want him to know I was crying, "I mean it. I just needed to catch some air."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, Thor, I am," Wiping away the tears discreetly, I hoped my puffy eyes would go unnoticed, "You don't have to worry about me."

There was a shift in his breath, a low chuckle, and he stood before me, one hand cupping my cheek. In that position, he looked even more massive than he already was and it made me feel tiny, meaningless.

Molten deep blue bored into my soul when I dared to look up at him. He was lost, unsure what to say, how to deal with me when I was like that. I knew Thor didn't want to hurt my feelings or burn the bridge that kept our friend in place. He was scared. Just as I was.  

"I always will." Thor whispers then, deep and certain, "We are, as you say it, screwing things, are we not?"

"What do you mean?" My mouth suddenly feels dry.

"This, being together-"

"The thing is, we aren't," A huff slips from me, "We aren't together, Thor. Isn't that what we agreed? That it was too risky to date?"

"I recall us saying we would test things, that this… It was a trying out."

I got back on my feet then, his figure still dwarfing me. There was no refraining on touching him, my hand gently palming his strong torso, avoiding his eyes - Yes, we would try to make it work. But could we? It was easy to destroy everything at this point.

The thought of breaking up with him, severing the ties that bound us together… I don't think I would ever fully recover. It wouldn't ever be the same. That heartbreak was the kind time couldn't ever mend.

Thor was so gentle when he lifted my chin, I melted into him, a smile pulling up the corners of my lips.

"Do you want to leave this party? Go somewhere else, just the two of us?"

"What if somebody sees us?" Anxiety peaked, sweat hoarding under my bare armpits, "You know how they can be with inside dating."

A laugh fills the buzzing silent night, cutting through the insistent crickets' sound. He tugs me even closer, arms around my waist lifting me up off the ground just a hair. With forearms bare, I could feel the full extent of his sizzling skin on mine.

Our lips brush in a tender kiss, it's quick and soothing. In that moment, I feel I would stay there forever.

Wind stings my cheeks and the sky cracks. I chuckle, cocky. It feels nice to know I evoke such strong emotions on him. Powerful, even.

"Let's leave. Now," A subtle command underneath his composed voice, "I cannot…"

I tilt my head, feigning curiosity, which is dismissed as fast as it came. The night breeze dips colder, my body starts to shiver, he can notice very well how I am in need of warmth. Likewise, I notice what he means. The reading between the lines. I smile.

We leave, then. Sneaking out from different places. I tell Natasha I feel a little bit under the weather, I blame the glasses of champagne. She seems to believe. I don't know what Thor tells the others. It doesn't matter.

Later, I am pouring myself some water. Chilled, I am thirsty for it. Thor's still half asleep in the bed, snug to one of my pillows. There's this urge, for me to watch him, to observe the soft creases by his eyes, so peaceful. Not the warrior I know, just a man. A tired man.

He's been through so much.

My lips, they're still rather swollen, press against his forehead. He sighs, tightening his arms to the soft of the pillow, mumbling for me to get back. It's cold. It's late. I indulge, finding my place amidst his arms.

Yes, I would stay forever.

If he'd let me.

[late fall]

The nightclub was trembling with the loud song. It had been Wanda's idea. A celebration for Tony and Pepper's engagement. She held a strong point, we needed a break, all this pressure on fighting had taken its toll, each and every one of us were in need of a light gathering.

Brown leaves floated around me. Alcohol pumping through my veins. I needed air, needed to think. For about a month now, Thor had been gone. Said he needed some time to think, to gather himself after losing his brother. I understood. Of course.

Only after I heard that Jane had returned to the United States I truthfully comprehended. It was never about Loki, no. He needed to find out if he had got over his ex and that reached my gut like a sharp knife.

That is why you should never cultivate hope. It's deceiving and impelling to get you hurt. To be surrounded by the knowledge I was his band-aid… That forced tears to cloud my vision. I had to end this. Everything.

My tiny black dress didn't do much for the fall weather, but it took me several minutes to realise I was shaking from the cold, not my compulsive crying. I wanted to go home, so I did. Tugged Nat by the elbow, she seemed worried, though she didn't ask why my eyes were puffy and tiny mascara lines stained my cheeks. I told her to send Pep my apologies.

Leo greeted me when I returned home, his bright orange fur tickling my calves as he rubbed himself into me. Poor thing, he wasn't used to me being gone for so long. I had found him not shy from two weeks and, in the meanwhile, hadn't picked up any new missions, hence all my time was for him.

It clicked, at that instant, work was my way out of this situation I threw myself in. Plus I was sure kicking some douchebag's ass would at least make me feel avenged. I'd pretend it was him.

"Your mama will come back to you," I murmured, already tucked into my bed, my cat's green eyes staring at me in plain curiosity, "Be sure of that."

Next thing I know, I'm in a different state, running. Trouble followed wherever I went, so I was counting on that to find some sort of peace of mind. To let all my insecurities behind. And it sufficed.

At first, anyway.

Tony would call Friday evenings, surprised that I had finished things already. To be fair, I trained for this, a warrior's mind prepared to find the best solution in the smallest of time. My father, should he be alive, would be proud.

Hotel rooms were passive, cold. I hated being there, the neat wallpaper and golden furniture. Only during those nights, in which I wasn't tired enough to ignore my surroundings, I would think of him.

In my memories, it came his smile first, a hand stretched before me so we could dance in the middle of my living room, under the pale light of the moon sneaking past the window. I felt so safe then. Laughing like a child.

Eyes closed, my mind drifts. I see everything and I cry. No one cares if I am loud, so my sobs fill the room, the pillows being thrown away. I hated that I allowed myself to be led on, to be a mere, ordinary replacement.

My phone lit in the black, a few nights later, a single text showed. Come back. That simply wasn't enough now.

[winter]

Reality sinks in at ease, my entire body aching. Last thing I remembered was being in a fight. Two guys, maybe three. I knew I could take them, wouldn't have said yes if I assumed otherwise. Or maybe I was being extra reckless.

Either way, it came with a price. A deep pungle of a knife, just below my ribcage, I was lucky to be back in New York, lucky to find in me to call Steve, lucky that he picked it. Crimson red pain washed through me, I lied still in his arms.

After, all turned into a blur. There were bright, white lights above. A clean, septic-smelling room. Slouched on the couch, long legs pried open, Thor slept. So alike to my dreams, I deemed to be asleep.

The soft grunt of pain spilling past my lips woke him, deep blue into me. I looked the other way, this was much harder.

"Why… I tried talking to you."

"I know," My voice is coarse, I must have been asleep for hours, "I didn't want to hear you. Didn't want to face reality."

He stands, mighty, handsome.

"What reality?" A wrinkle appeared between his eyebrows, he's confused, I realise, "Birdie, tell me."

"Don't call me that," I frown, it's much too intimate, "Not when you are about to break up with me. I know about Jane."

There's a moment of stillness, Thor doesn't come any closer to my bed. Confusion switches to a hint of anger. I feel he's about to say I am not entitled to say anything about Jane when I called Steve first. Steve, my old crush. His friend. He doesn't like to know he was the last to be aware of my injuries.

Or at least I think he feels this way.

"What about Jane?" He asks then, a large hand grasping one of my own, "I have the right to know," His voice is soft, "Please."

"I heard Pepper telling Nat. I just… Well, you were always so in love with her!" Shameful tears escape, "I thought…"

"Thought she would come back and I would open my arms to someone who left me?" Bitterness soaks his remark, "Look at me," It's childish, but I don't, I want him to touch me, to smoothly grip my chin and make me look at him, which he does, rough fingertips just right on my skin, "I should have made it clear that all I wanted was to be with you. From the beginning. Somehow I think all of this is my fault-"

"Thor…"

"Let me," Thumb strokes my cheekbone, I nod, "It is my fault because I let you think I was not serious about this. My fault I complied to your request to keep it between us."

The thrum of my heart intensifies, I can feel it on my ribs. Never in my life someone had made me so nervous, anxious. I have isolated myself, pushed him out of my life, yet, here he is, apologising for something that wasn't his fault.

I wanted to hug him.

"This time away helped me to realise I am very serious, because all I could think about, dream about, was you. Little and armourless in my arms," Blue flickers, it's bright, shiny, a sea in daylight, "I love you. And I am sure that is the worst thing you have ever heard."

A smirk crosses my face, I can't help it. There's nothing I can say. I whisper, like a secret, a confidence, that I love him too. Have been loving him for quite a while. It was torture being away from him and I meant it.

Nobody could convince him to leave, not when the nurse came to change my bandages or Tony swung by to talk. Our hands rested intertwined the whole time.

Track of time was something we didn't focus on. I cried at some point, regretting the way I acted. It was my tendency to break things I loved, to be insecure they'd leave anyway then taking one step in advance. It's better to leave before you get left.

Thor comforted me, pulling me to lie closer. The bed was small, so we had to be super snug to one another. I wasn't complaining. I missed the warmth. Missed the light conversations.

We filled in the blanks, talked until we could do nothing except enjoy the nice silence. Sleeping together. An old, yet renewed, intimacy.

Now I was sure I'd stay there forever.

"Promise?" The sun was peeking through the curtains, I was still sleepy, soft between his arms, "Promise you will stay forever?"

I smile, eyes closed still, a syrupy happiness spreading as fast as the daylight embalming us.

"I promise," It's hushed, meant for him, "Forever. All your summers."

A happy, smooth laugh slips from him, Thor brings me closer, a tight embrace. I feel, after everything, truly happy. A cruel summer, a happy winter.

There was no doubt from this forward, they'd all be happy. I was certain, that was everything I needed from him to completely surrender. Certainty.

I surrendered.

--

tags!

forever

@sea040561 @momc95 @qxeen-of-hearts

marvel

@frenfics @mrscutiefandobhaz

thor

@lancsnerd @odinson-barnes @rishlo​ @desia22

[writingbymel]

Syndicate - Part 3

Author’s Note: Thanks for all the lovely messages and comments so far! Sorry for the kinda slow start to this story there’s a lot of background information I need to set up for this haha! Enjoy! As always feel free to shoot me a message with feedback! 

Date Posted: 11/05/2019

Summary: Klaus, Y/N, and Damon set off on a road trip to Mystic Falls. Damon has questions about Klaus’s and Y/N’s past. 

Pairing: Klaus Mikaelson x Reader

Word Count: 2,500+

Parts: Part 1 - Part 2 

SYNDICATE MASTERLIST

“So how did you guys meet?” Damon asks not taking his eyes off the road. Klaus shifts uncomfortably in the front seat. I sigh a bit not in the mood to take a trip down memory lane. I look out the window watching the trees pass by. Silence. “Alright forget I asked,” Damon responds. I feel Klaus’s eyes on me but I continue to look out the window refusing to make eye contact. It was so hard to see him again after all these years. After what I did to him.

“Y/N needed my help one day and I saved her,” Klaus begins. “I didn’t even know her at the time.”

“You and I both know that’s not the full story Klaus,” I say with my arms crossed. I hear him laugh a little.

“Well that’s how I know this is going to be a good story do tell Y/N,” Damon says.

“Klaus’s hybrids kidnapped me because they thought I was someone else,” I sigh.

--

“Alright Y/N,” my friend Sami states holding up two dresses. “Pink or blue?” She holds up both to herself looking in the mirror.

“You’d look good in either Sami,” I tell her. “Do I really have to go to this dance?”

“Come on Y/N,” Sami replies tossing the blue dress to the side. “Do it for me and the super cute guy who invited me to this. Plus it’s a masquerade ball you’re a sucker for those.”

“Knock knock!” I hear at the bedroom door. I open door to see Leo in a mask and a fitted purple suit. He removed his intricate mask. “Almost didn’t recognize me huh.”

“Sure Leo,” I say laughing.

“Why aren’t you dressed yet Y/N?” Leo asks. Sami throws on her pink dress which fit her like a glove. She looked like a real life princess with her blonde curls.

“Don’t you guys find it suspicious that this random family we don’t know invited the whole city to a party?” I ask rifling through the dresses that Sami laid out on the bed for me to choose from.

“Come on Y/N,” Leo says. “Don’t try to make an excuse not to party at one of the largest homes in New Orleans.”

“You never know Y/N you could meet the one,” Sami chimes in.

“Fine fine I’ll get ready,” I laugh feeling defeated. I knew there was no way to talk my way out of this. I grabbed a light cream dress off the bed and ran to the restroom to change. I walk back into the room, doing a little twirl. Leo and Sami start clapping and I roll my eyes at them. “You guys are ridiculous.”

“Come on let’s drink to this joyous occasion! Y/N going out at night for the first time in months,” Leo hands me a drink and we all do a quick cheers before heading out for the night. I gulp the champagne. Boy was it strong.

After a short walk, we make our way to the huge house that I always walked past. I’ve always been curious what it looked like inside and now I was finally going to see. As we walk in we are met by a huge crowd of people talking and enjoying their time.

“Cute guy 5 o’clock,” Leo says in a sing-song voice. He quickly runs off towards that direction, but not before grabbing a drink off a table nearby.

“Typical Leo,” Sami and I say in unison. Before Sami can say anything else, a mysterious guy appears seemingly out of thin air.

“Sami you made it,” he exclaims.

“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world Kol,” Sami flirts. “This is my friend Y/N.” Kol extends his hand to me to shake it.

“Nice to meet you Y/N,” he says.

“You as well,” I reply with a smile. “Go have fun you two,” I shoo them away as they disappear into the crowd.

I sigh being left alone. I wander through the crowds of people attempting to find some sort of food. I look at the table of appetizers and I grab a small piece of what looked to be quiche. I take a bite and it was one of the best things I have ever tasted.

“There you are,” I hear a voice behind me. “Klaus will be so pleased.” I turn around to see a man whose eyes start to turn a bright yellow.

“Who are you?” I ask. He grabs me and covers my mouth before everything goes black.

Klaus’s POV

“I met this girl the other day, she’s absolutely stunning,” Kol continues to go on and on about some girl he met at the bar.

“Drink, brother?” I ask pouring myself a drink into my glass.

“No thank you,” Kol responded. I roll my eyes at him. He never did know how to let loose. “I invited her to the ball.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” I ask turning around to face him. “You know what I’m planning tonight.”

“Don’t you worry older brother I won’t interfere with your plans,” Kol says. “I believe we should tend to our guests downstairs.” Kol gets up and walks downstairs. I set my drink down only to hear a knock on the door.

“Come in,” I respond.

“We’ve found her Klaus she just came in,” one of my hybrids tell me.

“Well you know what you have to do,” I tell him.

“Yes Klaus,” he says walking out the door. I follow suite shortly making my way to the festivities that were about to unfold.

Y/N’s POV

I slowly wake up to a room with a fire place and tons of antiques adorning the walls. I look down to my hands and noticed they were tied. Where was I? One second I was downstairs enjoying the appetizers, the next I was kidnapped. The man I recognized as the one who grabbed me came into the room.

“Klaus will be here soon,” he tells me.

“I’m sorry who?” I ask irritated.

“Don’t play dumb,” he continues. “There’s no way out of this.”

“Look I don’t know who you think you are, but I think you have the wrong girl,” I say angrily. He speeds over to me unnaturally grabbing my neck.

“I would shut my mouth if I were you little girl,” he growls.

“What the heck dude what are you? Besides crazy,” I ask.

“That’s quite enough Kyle,” I hear another voice at the door. “I told you I needed her alive didn’t I?” The guy quickly rushes out of the door only to be stopped by the man at the door. “Where do you think you’re going?” The man pushes Kyle back into the room and he lands on the ground roughly.

“You said you’d let me go Klaus once I found her,” Kyle says. “I found her now let me go.” Kyle attempts to get up again but Klaus pushed him against the wall.

“I’ll let you know when you can leave,” Klaus growls. Kyle sits down feeling defeated. I looked up at Klaus. Something about him made me feel nervous. More nervous than I have ever felt in my whole life. He slowly approaches me placing his hand under my chin to take a closer look at me. He lets go and slowly walks over to Kyle. “You’re free to go Kyle.” Kyle tries to rush out the door, but Klaus stops him pushing his hand into his chest and pulling his heart out. Kyle collapses to the ground.

“You’re dreaming Y/N,” I say. “You’re dreaming.” Klaus approaches me again with his bloodied hands. I flinch when he reaches out for me before untying the ropes around my wrists.

“Sorry…” Klaus trails off not sure what my name is.

“Y/N,” I finish.

“Yes, Sorry Y/N, I’m Klaus,” Klaus says. “There appears to have been a mix up love. Go downstairs and forget what you saw.” He stares deeply into my eyes.

“What are you doing?” I ask. “Are you crazy I just saw you murder a guy in front of me with no problem and you’re asking me to forget what I saw? You psychopath I’m gonna call the police.”

Klaus’s face is flooded with confusion, “You can’t be compelled?”

“What are you talking about?” I ask trying to leave the room. He rushes in front of me.

“I’m sorry I can’t let you back out there if you don’t promise me you won’t tell anyone,” Klaus pleads.

“How did you do that?” I ask referring to how fast he ran towards the door. Was everyone in this house just super athletic or something?

“Look that doesn’t matter,” Klaus says. “Please.” I feel his breath on my face which causes me to blush.

“Fine whatever,” I say. “Just let me go.”

“Promise Y/N,” he says. I sigh.

“I promise,” I say rushing down the stairs. I quickly scan the room for any sign of Leo or Sami. I needed to get out of this place as soon as possible. I see Sami slow dancing with Kol and I didn’t want to interrupt. I decided to just leave without them. They would understand. I made my way out into the dark of the night.  I take a few steps.

“It’s not safe to be out in these parts alone at night,” I hear a voice behind me. Great first witnessing a murder and getting kidnapped. Now some creepy guy was following me.

“Just kill me and get it over with,” I groan. I turn around to see Klaus with a smirk on his face. “Don’t you have a party to host?”

“I’m not going to kill you love,” Klaus says with a smile. He takes a few steps to catch up with me. “I’m going to walk you home.”

“Why do I feel like I don’t have a choice?” I ask annoyed.

“You really don’t,” Klaus replies. “I’m glad you understand.” We both continue walking down the streets.

“Who did Kyle think I was?” I ask breaking the silence.

“That doesn’t matter Y/N,” Klaus says.

“It kind of does I was kidnapped,” I reply. Klaus stops in his tracks.

“Do you want to tell me why you can’t be compelled? You must know something surely?” Klaus asks. What was he talking about?

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I say honestly. He searches my body for something. “My eyes are up here.” Klaus sheepishly grins at the comment.

“Sorry I’m just looking for any sign of vervain on you,” Klaus says.

“Ver-what?” I ask. This guy was getting on my nerves now.

“Look, just thank you for not telling anyone,” Klaus replies.

“Again, you didn’t give me much choice,” I say. “And based on how you killed that guy I’m not taking any risks with you.”

“I’d never hurt you,” Klaus tells me. I scoff.

“You barely know me,” I respond. The rest of the walk Klaus and I walked in silence looking over at one another for no more than a second. Once I reached my doorstep I sighed, “Thank you for walking me.” I say kindly. He smiles widely.

“Anytime,” Klaus states. “And remember it isn’t safe around these parts at night.”

“Okay,” I respond searching my bag for my keys.

“Again sorry for the mixup,” Klaus says.

“Don’t worry about it,” I say. “Just don’t kill my family.”

Klaus laughs, “Goodnight Y/N.” Before I could respond he vanishes into the night. Once I made it back into my apartment I grabbed my laptop. I opened Google and typed in “Vervain” in the search bar. The next word that popped up next to it sent chills down my spine “Vampire.”

-- 

“Dang that’s one romantic story,” Damon says with a smirk.

“Shut up Damon,” Klaus and I say in unison. He catches my eye in the rearview mirror, but quickly look away.

“Well have no fear lovebirds we made it to Mystic Falls,” Damon says pulling up to a nice house. “Our first destination: The Gilbert House.” We all exit the car making our way to the front door. Damon gives a little knock. I see Elena open the door with a wide smile on her face giving Damon a hug.

“Oh my gosh you’re back,” Elena gushes. “I thought Klaus killed you or something for sure.”

“Right here Elena dear,” Klaus says. I laugh a little.

“Wait Y/N?” Elena asks. “It can’t be…”

“Elena what’s with all the commotion?” I see Bonnie appear behind Elena followed by Caroline. They both stop in their tracks when they recognize me. Before I knew it I was attacked in hugs.

“How are you here?” Caroline asks. “I thought you disappeared for good…” Caroline trails off before she gives a knowing look between me and Klaus. “Oh I see what helped you come out of the shadows.”

“It’s not like that Car—” I start.

“While this reunion is all fun and games,” Damon says. “There won’t be much celebrating when half the vampires in town are dead because of this hunter.”

We all file into Elena’s house.

“So this hunter is a girl,” Stefan explains. “She’s super strong, but she isn’t supernatural, not that we know of.”

“Do you guys have a name or anything to go off of?” I ask.

“No name, but we know she’s staying at a bed and breakfast in town,” Stefan responds.

“Well let’s go there then,” I say.

“We can’t just march up there, Y/N,” Klaus responds.

“Well do you have a better plan?” I ask.

“Actually I do,” Klaus states.

Three Hours Later

“I can’t believe you all convinced me to do this,” I say looking down at my costume posing as a mail carrier. Klaus attempts to stifle a laugh.

“Something funny Niklaus?” I ask earning a few “Oos” from the crowd.

“Look Y/N you are new to town,” Bonnie says. “She won’t recognize you or even suspect anything. This way you could get more information about her like a name or anything.”

“You all owe me big time,” I say. “I come back from hiding after centuries and this is how you guys repay me?”

I make my way up to the bed and breakfast and compel the front desk attendant to let me in. I look down at the piece of paper with the room number #342 scrawled on it. I quickly knock on the door holding my breath. I hope this hunter couldn’t smell the fact that I was a vampire. I hear the locks clicking behind the door. The girl opens the door slightly only to open it all the way.

“Sami?” I ask in shock seeing my old friend after years.

“Y/N?” she responds. “What are you doing here? What are you wearing?”  

“I thought you died Sami,” I say. “You refused to complete the transition and you died.”

“You should come inside Y/N,” Sami says slowly opening the door for me. I hesitantly step inside the room nervous for my life.

[msjr0119]

Cordonian Wags

Part 22

In a world full of Professional footballers and their demanding wives- can their football team nicknamed the ‘Cordonian Apples’ succeed? An American female physiotherapist joins the club. Will this cause issues with the footballers wives?

*This series is based on The Royal Romance characters who belong to Pixelberry - AU Plot switch*

Warnings: Swearing, heartache, illness.

Tags: @annekebbphotography @burnsoslow @ladyangel70 @kingliam2019 @bbrandy2002 @butindeed @bascmve01 @drakewalker04 @pedudley @captain-kingliamsqueen @duchessemersynwalker @insideamirage @of-course-i-went-to-hartfeld @kozabaji @texaskitten30 @ibldw-main @kimmiedoo5 @nikkis1983 @dangerouseggseagleartisan @gnatbrain @walker7519 @lodberg @cmestrella @hopefulmoonobject @addictedtodrakefanfic @angi15h @liamxs-world @rafasgirl23415 @notoriouscs @whenyourheartskipsabeat @jovialyouthmusic @nz1091 @yukinagato2012 @indiacater @seriouslybadchoices @rainbowsinthestorm @cordonianroyalty @desiree-0816

******

“Erm. About that future we planned. There’s something I need to tell you...” Drake looked at her concerned, wondering if she was having second thoughts about all that they had planned. Deep down he knew something was fishy regarding Xavier’s ‘death’. Regretting feeling sorry for himself- drinking himself into oblivion whilst the love of his life was being hurt yet again, he would hate himself for the rest of his life.

Liam and Leo woke up surrounded by a sticky residue- scotch that had leaked from the bottle. Neither of them could remember the night before apart from Drake discussing how he was going to propose to Riley- then him crying. Liam heard his phone ringing, the noise now adding to his migraine he had occurred due to his hangover.

“Liv... where are you?”

“How drunk did you get? Did you not read my thousand text messages? I knew I shouldn’t have left you. I’m in New York!”

Thinking back he vaguely remembered her mention it. “Riley’s hurt. She’s in hospital. I’m with her, Lindsey is cleaning up my mess. Get your hungover arses to New York ASAP, bring Walker!” Shooting up, the room was spinning but hearing that Riley was hurt broke his heart.

“What do you mean she’s hurt? Lindsey is cleaning up your mess? What the fuck has happened?”

“Xavier didn’t die in that car chase, he was in New York. He hurt her. I killed him. She was bleeding. Just hurry!” Hanging up the phone, he hit Leo across leg- before pouring the remainder scotch over him.

“What the fuck Li?”

“Get up! Riley needs us! We need to get Drake. Is he still here?”

“What’s happened?” Liam explained the brief explanation that Olivia had said on the phone. “Shit!” Storming through the door of the spare room, they were relieved that Drake had stayed the night.

“Walker get up! We have a flight to catch!”

“What?”

“Liv killed Xavier! He’s hurt Riley. He was in New York as you suspected.” Drake felt as if he couldn’t breathe- he allowed her to become hurt and he wasn’t there to protect her.

“What is it?” Riley looked into his eyes, they provided hope. She couldn’t tell him the truth not yet.

“Erm, the nurse has just advised me to not have sex for a few weeks. That’s all.”

“Ri, I don’t care about sex. Just having you in my life, when we are ninety with a football team of grandkids that is all I want.” Ninety. Grandkids. Shit. I’m going to break his heart.

“Me too, I’m a bit tired. Why don’t you go and see the others?”

“Okay. I’ll grab a coffee, then I’m not leaving your side.” Kissing her on the forehead, the nurse walked back in as he stood up to leave. Making sure none of her friends were close by, she knew the staff had an inkling regarding the tests they did upon her arrival, and was eager for answers.

“So? Can you explain what we spoke about last night?”

“Miss Brooks, after the examination it does look as if the results will show positive......”

“Am I going to die?”

“It happens less often than it used to, but yes, it’s possible to die from cervical cancer- I’m not going to lie Miss Brooks. Generally speaking, the earlier cancer is diagnosed, the better the outcome. Cervical cancer tends to grow slowly. We are hoping to have caught it early, if you didn’t go through the trauma you’ve been through we may not have known for a while.”

“I had one chance at being a mother, I had that taken away from me. I’m never going to be able to be a mom am I?” Drake, I need to let him go. He doesn’t want to be my carer. Watch me die. He deserves someone who could provide him with the family he wants. The nurse opened her mouth to respond with negative news regarding fertility- until the door swung open muting their conversation immediately.

“Hey what are you doing here?” Shit I’ve been crying he’s going to worry.

“I forgot my wallet. Are you okay? Why are you crying? Do you want me to stay with you?”

“The nurse just explained that I was probably bleeding due to coming on to my period due to the stress. That’s all. No need to worry. I’m just crying because I’m on my period- women problems.” Lying she faked a laugh, knowing she needed to tell him the truth at some point.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes Drake. I love you, I always will do- please don’t ever forget how much I love you.”

“I love you too. You have made my life complete- I’m so happy fate brought us together. We’ve gone through enough drama in the past, but we have each other. Our future is looking bright. I’ve got so many plans for the two of us.” Attempting to hold the tears in, she pulled him towards her- wrapping her arms tightly around him.

*****

A few days later, everyone landed back in Cordonia- Drake took Riley to his cabin, Lindsey had offered to collect her belongings from her apartment and bring them over. Watching Riley on the flight, Drake noticed her body tremble whilst she slept. Feeling useless, he held her tight to him- hoping at some point in the future he could cure her from all the pain. Walking through the cabin, Riley always believed it had that homey atmosphere.

“I’ll run you a bath baby. Then I’ll cook us something - okay?”

“That sounds amazing Drake. Thank you so much.”

“No need to thank me Ri. I’ll do anything to make you happy. Bastien and Lindsey are due any time though.”

“Good job we can’t have sex for a few weeks then- I wouldn’t like to see their reactions if they walked in on us.” Trying to make a joke, deep down she was hurting still.

In my nightmares I am dragged by my hair out of bed after refusing sexual intercourse with my ex husband. He’s angry again. Seeing me attempt to gain help by using my phone, he throws it just as I press send- grabbing the lamp, my head forms a huge lump immediately as he smashes it against it. Holding my arms tightly, he forces my body to move- I can’t fight- I feel useless. I’m trapped in the cellar. I can’t move my hands without feeling the restriction of the straps. My head is spinning, my vision is blurry. I lay against the cold damp wall with every ounce of strength- I still can’t budge. “Be the good wife that you always was.” Forcing my legs open, he pushes his penis inside me, I can’t prevent it. I am grateful that he has blindfolded me, as I could bare to look into his eyes or direction as he completed this despicable act. My back hurts right from the base of my spine to the tail bone. Saliva is pooling in the back of my mouth- mixed with his saliva. Once he finishes he places a gag in my mouth to shut me up, I gain a slight adrenaline rush- enabling my legs to kick him, attempt to push him away from me. One punch in the ribs. One forceful punch in the stomach. I am defenceless. I am now alone. My ears can only hear silence, mixed with my heavy breathing. Self infliction most people would say. My hearts pounding ready to explode. I hope to hear signs of someone coming to help. No one. I am still alone. I am back in hell. It’s like being back in Manchester all those years ago. My personal hell. No longer is the door open for me to escape, even if I could break free from the restraints keeping me trapped. Four concrete walls are surrounding me - I am left to potentially die. “Riley! Ri! Where are you?” It sounds like my sister, is it just an hallucination? I scream for help, hoping it would be loud enough with the gag in my mouth.

*****

Riley was still in the bath when Lindsey and Bastien arrived. Drake welcomed them in and offered them a drink.

“How is she?”

“She’s still quiet. It’s going to take time to heal. How are you Lindsey?”

“Well of course it will. I’m fine, I have Leo. I’m just glad I took Olivia with me. She had a plan, and Riley understood the hint of what she was about to do. I’m just grateful that the police believed her self defence story because he could have been dangerous to all of us. Riley thinks she’s clever and strong- no one could outwit a man like him unless you are called Olivia Nevrakis.”

“What did he do to her? I keep asking but I don’t want to force it. She remains silent or changes the subject. I should have been there to protect her.” Lindsey looked at bastien for reassurance, he nodded. He knew Drake felt guilty enough.

“If I tell you, don’t tell her that I told you. Let her open up to you.” Drake nodded, not really wanting to know but he needed to know to support her. “She told us that she wasted time in the bathroom waiting for me to arrive. He checked her phone and noticed she was checking the flights. He got in bed next to her, and tried to have sex- she refused. He pulled her hair, then dragged her out of bed. She managed to grab her phone and text our neighbour for help- before he hit her across the face with a lamp. Forcing her into the cellar- he tied her up, gagged her and put a blindfold on, before he ra- ra-raped her. She tried to put up a fight, but he punched her in the ribs and stomach. I’m assuming that is why she was bleeding. But neither she nor the staff confirmed this- they just said stress brought on her period early. I’m so sorry Drake, this was not your fault. Please don’t blame yourself. He was venom. A man like him could never change.”

“Drake, she’s stubborn- she believes she’s always right with the actions that she takes. She would never blame you for what happened. You went as soon as possible. She loves you, she knows you would never hurt her. Look after your girl, my niece. Have you still got your grandmothers ring?”

“Of course I have. Why?”

“When the times right, make sure you have it on you son.” Shaking his hand, Drake was happy with the support from Bastien and Lindsey- imagining Riley as his wife made his heart flutter. Riley Walker, has a nice ring to it he thought. Riley walked in to the lounge with a towel wrapped around her body.

“Hey.” Looking still fragile and exhausted- the three of them walked over to her. Drake held her waist and kissed her on the forehead, causing the visitors to smile softly at him.

“Hey sis. I’ve brought some stuff over- I wasn’t sure how long you’d be staying.”

“Erm.. well Drake did ask me to move in. I suppose I can collect the rest of my things another day. I’ll still keep my apartment.”

“Did he now?” Lindsey smirked at Drake, wondering when he was going to ask her another certain question.

“Yes I did. Why are you smirking?”

“Ohhh no reason.” Lindsey winked at him, now knowing that moving in together was the first step towards their future. “You look tired Ri. Are you okay? Do you need me or Bastien to get you anything?”

“I’m fine Linz. I’ve got marshmallow to look after me.” Looking up towards Drake, she smirked knowing he would potentially berate her for using her nickname. Instead he shook his head, and held her closer towards him. “But Bastien, I may need you to cover the next match for me.”

“Sure of course I will.”

“Does anyone know what happened with Constantine?”

“What do you mean?”

“He set up the whole faking Xavier’s death. He planned it all.” Bastiens eyes widened, he was now furious beyond words.

“Drake keep her safe. Lindsey I will drop you off at Liam’s immediately. I’m going to have words with him, I’ll meet you in the car Linz I need to make a phone call.” Before Riley could stop him, Bastien was dialling a number and headed out of the door. “He will be calm down, don’t worry. Enjoy your night together. I love you. Text me if you need anything.” Hugging the two of them, Lindsey smiled as she left the cabin.

*****

Riley and Drake had something to eat, his mind imagined Xavier hurting her, every thought broke him. Watching her try to get dressed independently, was frustratingly upsetting.

“Let me help you. Please. You’re struggling.”

“Drake, I need to try for myself. It’s just newly bruised ribs- but they do hurt. You’re not always going to be here, so I need to do it for myself.” Ignoring her, he assisted Riley getting her dressed. As he did, he kissed her ribs and stomach- the touch felt as if it had healed immediately, that was until his lips left the area. Laying next to her in bed, she snuggled into his embrace, locking his eyes onto hers as he held her lovingly.

When he looks at me it is as if every ounce of breath is taken away from my lungs floating into the air effortlessly. Every time he kisses me it feels like the world has stopped, melted away- leaving just the two of us. Holding me for eternity in his arms I've grown so accustomed to. This is what falling in love was like, a story that I never want to end. For so long I had longed for it, to be loved and not used as a punch bag- now I couldn’t bare to lose it - lose this person that makes me feel so complete. Would I lose him if I told him the truth? I want to protect him from becoming hurt. It’s strange how you can go from someone being a complete stranger, a slight jerk to begin with - to then being completely infatuated by him and wondering how I was able to live without him. I need to be honest. The results could come back with positive news- positive news that it was mistake and not actually be cancer.

“Drake?”

“Yes?”

“Erm... I don’t know how to say this... or how you’ll react... but what if I can’t keep to our promise about our future?”

“What do you mean? I know you’re hurt Ri. But please don’t split up with me- we don’t have to rush into anything. I’m happy just having you in my arms every night.”

“What if it was for the best to split up?” She bit her lip as she averted her gaze not wanting to witness his expression.

“We take one step forward and two back. Riley please, I’m begging you. Just be honest with me. Have I done something wrong? I’ll fix it. I can’t lose you. You mean too much to me.”

“But you may lose me.” Riley felt the muscles of her chin tremble, the tears burst forth like water from the dam, spilling down her face.

“Why will I lose you?”

“The reasoning.... for why I was bleeding.... I wasn’t on my period....”

“Riley we can get through this. I will never hurt you like he did. He’s gone.” Assuming she was about to suggest the bleeding was due to Xavier raping her- his eyes pleaded with her to give them a chance and to not give up.

“It’s nothing to do with him Drake. The hospital was concerned with the bleeding. Olivia thought I was pregnant and miscarried. I honestly believed it was due to stress. They did, a smear test and a pelvic exam....” Pausing to take a deep breath, she closed her eyes as she spoke the next words.

“They think I may have cancer.... if I do... you may lose me...” Drake remained silent, feeling like a selfish jerk thinking about himself yet again. “If Xavier didn’t do what he did, I wouldn’t have known. That’s why I was crying when you walked back into my room. I’m so sorry for lying, I wanted to protect you. I don’t want to hold you back Drake, I know what we had planned but I now may not be able to give you that. I don’t want to prevent you from living your dreams Drake. I want you to be happy. I need you to be happy, if I’m not here anymore.”

Drake thought back, all the memories of how they had reached this point of their relationship.

“Nice to see you in the flesh Walker. I look forward to working with you all.”

“I was never a ‘wag’ Savannah. I hate them. I was the odd one out. Biggest mistake of my life has been marrying a footballer- no offence Drake.”

“Um.. none taken... you’re married to a footballer... you’re a physio.... anything else you need to confess?”

“Excuse me? Mr Rhys knows all about my background, my estranged husband. There’s nothing more to tell. It’s none of your business Walker. My business is to make sure that none of you dumbasses injure yourselves too much!”

“You’re going to be trouble, I can already tell! You are.. look no offence. But this place is vicious. Full of secrets. If I was you I’d get back on a plane to America pronto!”

***

Before Riley could escape, he grabbed her wrist pulling her closer to him. There was a tingling sensation spreading throughout his stomach. Standing frozen, she could hear his heartbeat rapidly increase, every second he held her. Slowly he lent down, before crashing his lips onto hers whilst inhaling her fruity fragrance. The short kiss- made him feel intoxicated, she was going to be his newest drug- one he couldn’t wait to taste again. Riley looked at him with sorrow in her eyes as she pushed him away with an almighty force. Immediately she ran away as fast as she could. Not looking back, she was hoping to just be able to sneak out of the party without anyone noticing her. She was uncontrollably shaking, regretting that she didn’t do anything to prevent the interaction that had just occurred.

***

I know you probably don’t want to hear from me- I just had to get your number from Bertrand. I can still smell you on me- I haven’t stopped thinking about that kiss. I haven’t stopped thinking about you, I’m sorry that it was impromptu- it felt right. I hope it doesn’t ruin our friendship. 😞

You need to stop thinking about it. Everyone was drunk. It was a drunk stupid moment. I shouldn’t have allowed it to happen. We will never have a friendship- for the next nine months all we have is a professional relationship. Goodnight!👋🏼

So it meant nothing to you then? Nothing at all?🤔

It meant nothing. Please don’t text me back. See you at training.⚽️

Lie to me. Lie to yourself. But there was a spark there. We need to talk about it. See you tomorrow 😘

***

“Just pretend and give me it back after training” he whispered.

“Won’t your significant other half need your credit card to go on a shopping spree?” She whispered back before using her usual tone of voice.

“Thank you. Whilst you’re here- fill this form out for me please.”

“You can’t avoid me. We need to talk.”

“As I said to you, there’s nothing to talk about. You need to go inside and get ready for training.” He removed his top, smirking at her as he discarded it on the floor.

“It’s a sunny day.. might as well get a head start before the lads arrive...” Riley couldn’t help but admire his muscled and ripped body before shaking her head and making her way towards the dressing room. He’s taken, I’m married- you are here to work Riley Brooks.

***

“Wow!”

“Shit!” Grabbing her robe, she attempted to cover her body up- assuming it was Maxwell, she didn’t really care about him seeing her dressed like this. “What do you want?”

“Ive been telling you since last night that I wanted to talk. About you know what.”

“And like I have been saying since last night- it was nothing.” Riley feeling frustrated really didn’t want to talk whilst she was still drunk. “Can I come in? If anyone wakes up and sees us?”

“No. And if anyone sees you, I’m sure you could come up with another lame excuse.” There is no us - attempting to shut the door she failed as he forced the door to stay open with his foot.

“What did you want me to say? ‘Hey Bertrand, can you give me Riley’s number because I’ve just had the most amazing kiss with her.’ “

“No, but maybe you should have just not asked for it in the first place! I’m not a home wrecker. I don’t want to be the reason for a relationship breakdown. You should have just left it be.”

“You would never be just the other woman or the reason for my relationship breakdown. I like you. And I can’t show it in front of everyone. You are beautiful and I can’t lie and say that kiss didn’t mean anything.”

Moving closer to her, she bit her bottom lip- he put his hands on around her waist keeping a slight distance. Both their heartbeats were racing ten to the dozen. She wanted to push him away- she knew it was wrong, but there was a magnet pulling them closer together. Knowing the minute he touched her again her resistance would crumble. He brushed her hair away from her shoulder, moving his head closer to hers - his body now leaned against hers. Feeling his warmth- he crashed his lips onto hers, not a soft kiss like the prior night. Instead it was passionate and demanding. Picking her up he carried her over towards the bed- hovering over her, he knew what he wanted. He wanted her. Removing her robe, he began to kiss her body.

“We are both consenting adults- I want you Riley. That kiss last night made me want you more.” His eyes full of desire, deep down she was attracted to him and wanted this too. But she didn’t want to be that woman.

“I feel guilty. I can’t help it. I promised myself to never get involved with a footballer again.”

“Don’t feel guilty. I’m not like most footballers.”

***

“I was five, I hate most people and most women. But I like you. Ri.... listen to me. This is hard for me to say, because I don’t express my feelings. Ever. But... will you go out on a date with me? I’ll spoil you like you deserve to be spoilt.”

***

“I asked you to open your eyes because I want to look in them...Every minute I spend with you. I’m falling in love with you. Riley... I need you in my life. I know you’re still married to him, but I want to take you on a second date and...”

“And what?”

“I’ll look after you. I’ll protect you. I’ll keep you safe. If you’ll have me, I’d like you to be officially my girl.”

“I think we better get some sleep and allow them to get some too... I’m falling in love with you too Drake. Can I cuddle my handsome boyfriend?”

“I’d love to cuddle my beautiful girlfriend. I’m never letting you go.”

I’m never letting her go. I made that promise.

“Ri, we will get through this. Whatever the outcome is. I want to be with you, please don’t push me away. You’re not going anywhere, you’ll most likely outlive us all. Come on let’s get some sleep. I’m always going to be here. You and me. Forever. I love you Riley Brooks.”

“I love you too Drake Walker.” Almost instantly, Riley fell asleep in Drakes arms. Kissing her on the forehead- his emotions were finally released. The tears that were held in, were now falling down his cheeks.

I can’t lose you. I hope you fight baby- we have only just found each other. I’m not ready to let go just yet. I love you.

*****

“We are here today to celebrate the life of Riley Brooks....” Drake kept his head down, remaining in silence- Liam held his friend tightly. Not knowing what to say to him without sounding patronising.

The sun shone brightly through the church windows- as if Riley was still lingering around, the ray of sunshine that she was. Everything should be as dark as the emotions surrounding the room. But the birds still sang a merry tune and the flowers she had chosen for this day still bloomed- the perfumed scent lingering around. As Drake took an unstable stroll near the front the long held back tears began to flow. He was not ashamed, he loved her dearly- regretting that he never got the chance to ask her to his wife. Now she wasnt there the light had been extinguished forever in his heart. Goodbye my darling. I will always love you. Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he was knocked out of his trance.

“Drake? I know how much Riley meant to you. But I’m here still. I can heal you.”

“No! You are not Riley! Get out of my face Kiara!”

No. I love her. I’ve lost her.

Drake woke up in a sweat, his heart jumping out of his chest. Sitting up, he wiped the sweat off his brow. Turning his head, Riley was sleeping peacefully next to him. Realising it was just a dream- a nightmare, he was now dreading what would happen if it was to become reality. Laying back down, he pulled her close to him- never wanting to let go.

“Tomorrow, I’m going to ask you to become my wife. Spend every day as if it’s our last. I love you so much Riley. I will help you fight, I will pay for private treatment. I’ll do everything and anything for you.” He was forced out of his thoughts, as there was a notification on his phone.

Fuck!

Breaking News

Constantine Rhys the chairman of the Apples has been murdered in his own home. Reports initially suggested a knife had been involved in the attack. A neighbour said they had heard someone yell “I’m going to kill you” during an argument prior to the death of Mr Rhys. More news to follow.

[skycrystal23]

What if Markus had deviated like a year before the begining of the game, and had fallen in love for Carls daughter? They have the fluffiest lovestory, start to create a group with humans and android, but then Markus format his own memory to keep the reader safe. Reader leads the group alone ever since. Time skip, Markus goes to Jericho, meet the readers group and during the first demonstration, the reader gets shot to protect Markus, and then he remenber everything, but he already is with North!

I’m so sorry this took so long but viola! Request filled! 

Markus x Reader 

FORGET ME NOT 

Characters: Markus RK200, Reader, North 

Warnings: Character death 

Words: 4,000 (approx.) 

NOVEMBER 2037            

     The snow was falling, sprinkling theground outside with its frozen white flakes. An old film was playing on the television,but you weren’t paying too much attention to it. Instead you were watching yourhalf brother Leo pace back and forth muttering to himself while he nervouslywrung his hands. His gaze was fixed on the Android that was in your room whohad his back to him as he folded your clothing and piled them on top of yourdresser. You could see the steady yellow glow of his LED in the mirror attachedto the dresser in front of him.  

        Leo was on it again, the Red Ice.You could tell by his flighty and erratic behaviour. He had a hatred forAndroids, especially the one in the room. He had burst into your room a fewminutes ago but had yet to say anything. It was almost like he was strugglingto find the words. Markus jumped off your bed all too quickly when he heard theheavy footsteps approach your room at an alarming pace. You and Leo were neverreally close, he appeared shortly after you did into your fathers’ life. CarlManfred, the famous artist, who seemed to have too much fun with women in hisearly playboy years.

        The clock was ticking quietly, itwas the only noise you could focus on. Your gaze briefly flickered over toMarkus whose eyes locked onto yours in the mirror. He quickly looked away whenLeo finally opened his mouth. “I-I need some.” He said, his voice shaky. Younoticed his bloodshot eyes and the icy paleness to his skin. Leo needed helpbut whenever you offered it, he refused. You heard how addictive Red Ice was.It’d already killed hundreds of people across the country. “Leo, I don’tunderstand.” You said slowly standing from your bed. He lashed out when youtried to approach him, snarling at you and almost hitting you. 

“MONEY – I…INEED MONEY!” He screamed.

        At this point Markus turned aroundand walked over to the two of you. He seemed calm but the LED on the side ofhis head said otherwise with its red flashing light. “Do you require assistanceMs. Manfred?” He asked solely focusing on you. Just as you were about to answerLeo spoke up. “What,need your plastic pet to speak for you?” He hissed. 

“Leoyou need to leave, come back when you can think straight.” You retorted.

 “Wouldyou like me to escort you out?” Markus asked motioning for Leo to head to thedoor.

       Leo grumbled something, most likelya curse, and stormed out of your bedroom. He slammed the door behind himleaving you stood there in complete shock. You still didn’t understand why yourfather allowed him access to the house with the state he was currently in. Assoon as you heard the front door to the house slam shut you let out a sigh ofrelief, feeling all the anxiety melt away from you. “I thought he was going tosee you, see us.” You said quietly while turning to Markus. Before Leo burstinto your room you and Markus were cuddled up on your bed watching an old film. 

Humanand Android. 

Together.    

        It wasn’t exactly unheard of; somepeople were even married to specialized household Androids who were supposed toact as a significant other. But Markus was different. He had always beendifferent from day one. Markus was hand crafted by Elijah Kamski himself, agift to your father in exchange for something your father had done for him. Youwrapped your arms around Markus and sunk into him, closing your eyes and takinga deep breath. “He would have probably torn you apart if he saw you with me.”You whispered. Leo despised Markus, he thought that he was replacing him insome way.

        You wished people knew what you knewabout Androids. They weren’t just pieces of machinery; they were so much more,and Markus was proof. He was alive. Therewere others like him. They were hidden away underground. That was your sidejob, you were helping Androids like him that needed to escape. You knew justhow cruel some people were to the people like Markus. You couldn’t bare toimagine anyone hurting him. You hadn’t told your father about your sidemission, but you believed he knew, your father was a wise man and could seeright through your lies.

        Markus’s hand moved to your back andhe pulled you closer to him. He had always been this way – emotional that is.Other Androids described breaking through some sort of barrier and then havingan onslaught of errors and emotions flooding at them after. Your arms looselyhung around his neck and you leaned back in his arms, staring up at him. TheAndroid smirked at you and tilted his head down slightly. “I love you too muchto let anyone hurt you.” You said with a smile before kissing him. The two ofyou parted and you noticed how his eyes seemed to almost glow, not to mentionthe grin on his face now. “What?” You asked raising an eyebrow. “Iwould do anything to keep you safe.” He replied, his version of ‘I love youtoo’.

 DECEMBER 2037 

        The snowfall was heavy, and the sides of the roadswere growing higher and higher the more snow is pushed off of the road to theside. The temperature was only going to continue to drop. The underground wascolder than above ground. It was dark as you sat on the ground against the wallof the abandoned subway system. The subway closed down a long time ago whenself-driving cars and the new bullet trains were introduced above ground. Thisis where you and your rag-tag group of human-android friends hid.

        You were shivering down here. It washard to stay down here at night with how cold it was becoming. There neverseemed to be enough blankets to go around. Even some of the Androids werefeeling the effects of the frigid air beginning to shock their systems. Youwere hiding from the police, a lot can happen in a single month. Drearily youlooked around and could see the dozens of multi-coloured LED’s glowing in thedarkness. The steady dripping sound of the water leaking from the ceiling wasslowly lulling you to sleep. The cold was the only thing stopping you fromfully resting your eyes.

        It had been a long day of evadingpolice custody. Officers were on the streets prowling for you and anyone whomay be supporting you and your cause. Recently you had become the new talk ofthe city and the media absolutely ate you up. It was mostly because you wererebelling against the government and rescuing ‘defective’ Androids that were inneed of a safe place. The deviants came to you when they had nowhere to go andthe humans that were like you came to support the group as well. A blanket wassuddenly draped around your shoulders and a hand fell onto your shouldersqueezing it gently. 

         Markus sat down next to you andpulled you close to his side. He was dressed warm enough in some of Leo’s oldclothes you dug out of some boxes in the storage room. Androids were built likehumans in some ways, for example they needed to keep their core temperaturemoderately warm or they would begin to become sluggish and eventually theywould shut down. “You should make a fire.” He said quietly. 

“No– no fire.” You said, teeth chattering.

          He still had much to learn. Androidswere programmed to find answers for reasonable problems and sometimes did notthink further on the matter, expanded thought was not something they weredesigned to have. “W-we’re under the city. I-In a s-subway system that stillhas c-connections to the city above. P-Police can detect s-smoke and willc-come check.” You said, voice shaking and teeth chattering even more. Markuspulled you closer and nodded slowly. The LED spun yellow as he processed thenew information.

           After awhile your eyes fell closedand you snuggled closer to Markus. It was later in the night when the air ofthe subway tunnel had become more frigid when your eyes opened. The hair on theback of your neck stood and goosebumps flared up over your body. In thedistance you heard the crackling of a walkie talkie, someone was coming.“Everyone we need to go now!” You said as loud as you could without breakingyour whispered tone. Just as people were starting to stand up you were allblinded by a flood of bright white lights. “Detroit Police freeze!” A manyelled hidden behind the sea of flashlights. “Run!”You screamed.

           It was mayhem after that. The soundof gunshots popping off echoed down the tunnel as you all sprinted away. Thelights followed all of you down the tunnel, your group slowly thinning outbecause of the rapid fire the police rained down on everyone. There were twoladders on either side of the tunnel up ahead that led up to the street. It washow all of you got down here. “Up – go up!” You yelled. It was difficult toform the words you wanted to say with the shock running its course through yourbody. You were shaky and terrified out of your mind.

           You reached one of the ladders andmoved to the side ushering your group up before you. “Markus!” You yelled, eyessearching in the dark for him. The lights were coming closer and closer to youand you still couldn’t see him. The last person went up the ladder and thelight from the street above fell onto you like a halo. Your hand moved to theladder and you looked around once again for him. Then you saw his figureemerging in the distance, he wasn’t walking right, and he practically fell intoyou when he reached you. “You’re hurt.” You said looking at the Thiriumspilling from the bullet holes in his body. 

“Comeon we have to go.” You said tugging him up the ladder as you climbed. 

          His hand stopped you, he grabbedyour arm and held it firmly. You looked down at him and saw the absolutedespair in the eyes. The police were running after you, they were almost here.“Reset me.” He said. It dawned on you what he was asking you to do, you shookyour head. This was ludicrous, they would kill him either way even if he wasreset or not. “Markus they’ll kill you.” You said, tears coming to your eyes. 

“Iwill slow you down and I know you won’t leave me and if you don’t reset me,they’ll pry every piece of information on you out of my head.”

           Markus was right. Why did he have tobe right? Androids couldn’t reset themselves and the action would only pop upif a registered ‘owner’. You hated the thought of being his owner. The wordleft a sour taste in your mouth. Nevertheless, you forced the dreaded words outof your mouth. “RK200 #684 842 971 I order you to reset yourself.” You said thewords coming forced from your mouth. Cyberlife employees were really supposedto reset Androids to avoid any unwanted errors that may come with it. Deviantswere allowed to choose whether the action could be done or not which was whyresets tended to not work on deviants.

           His LED spun red and you knew it washappening. You leaned down and kissed his forehead, eyes closing as you feltthe tears roll down your cheeks. After a moment you pulled back and quicklyclimbed up the ladder and out of the manhole without sparing him a second glance. 

NOVEMBER 9, 2038

           You awoke to a harsh knock on yourdoor. Your eyes flew open and you gasped loudly. The loud knock had awoken youfrom yet another nightmare. It was always the same one that repeated over andover inside of your head, usually before something big. The nightmares werealways of that night down in the old subway tunnels where you had to abandonMarkus. This time you dreamt of seeing him get shot by the police. You wereglad the knock on your door awoke you when it did.

           Shuffling through the tiny apartmentyou opened the door and greeted one of your Android friends. Jaime wasresponsible for keeping tabs on the other group; Jericho. Whispers around thestreets said that they were marching today. You didn’t get out much anymore,not after the incident in the tunnel. Your face was plastered over everyprecinct wall in Detroit. People in your group like Jaime came and you wouldexchange information and they would go back and relay it to your group. It wastoo dangerous for your face to be shown in public…until now.

           Jericho was once a small grouplocated in an old freighter by the water. It had significantly grown in numberssince then. Your information about the new leader was very little but you knewthat his name was Markus. You already told yourself that it wasn’t your Markus.The police most likely shot him as soon as they came upon him and then dumpedhis body with the rest in a junkyard. It was also logical that there were infact other Androids out there with the same name. After all, there weremillions of Androids spread across the United States and that name wasn’t onlyspecial to one specific Android as much as you wished it was.

           Jaime followed you to the beat-upsofa in the middle of the room. You plopped down onto it while he stood infront of you looking down. This apartment building was condemned and had yet tobe demolished so you camped out here in secret. He sat down next to you andoffered you one of his awkward smiles. He’s an HR400 who escaped from the EdenClub, he joined your group a little while after what happened at the tunnels. “Theyare marching today. One of our informants inside got confirmation of this. Asyour advisor I would like to point out Jericho’s recent violent disturbances,public opinion is beginning to sway.” He informed. 

Yousighed, “What you’re really saying is that we need to confront them.”

           He nodded and you sunk further intothe couch. You had held off interacting with Jericho up until this point. Ifyou didn’t then the likelihood that Androids would survive this ‘revolution’was highly unlikely. Jericho was becoming destructive and it was damaging thepublic opinions severely. You knew this day would come, when you would have toconfront this group. The awful feeling in the pit of your stomach wasn’thelping. You sighed again and dragged your hands down your face tiredly. “Whereare they planning to do this?” You asked. 

“WoodwardAvenue.” Jaime answered.

           It wasn’t too far from where youwere currently located. As a leader you had to make the tough decisions. Youstood up and grabbed your long black coat from the bedpost it was hanging onand slid it on. “What are we going to do?” Jaime asked following you to thedoor. You pulled the hood up and looked up at him, “We’re going to stop them,cut them off before they get too far.” You answered.

           That was exactly what you and yourgroup did. You hid within the crowd of your group, your head down to keepyourself hidden. Jaime was next to you and had communicated your instructionsto the group. Some of your followers were helping the people on the sidewalksget away before the confrontation happened. You had no doubt in your mind thatthe police would show up soon. It was only a matter of time now. “He’s here.”Jaime said, loud enough for you to hear. You nodded and moved through the crowdquickly until you were at the front. You raised your head to finally get a goodlook at this so called ‘ruthless leader’.

            Your world shattered around you whenyou saw his face. So many nights you spent believing he was dead, wiped fromthis world completely. There was no mistaking him and you knew that it wasimpossible that this was some other Android. Elijah Kamski made Markusspecifically for your father. There was no other Android like him and therenever would be because Kamski didn’t make Androids anymore. You met in themiddle; he had a female Android at his side. She was a WR400 from the EdenClub. The two of them seemed close. “We’re demonstrating peacefully, is that acrime?” He asked, hearing his voice was a nightmare in itself.

            You pulled the hood down and staredat him wide eyed. “Markus.” You whispered his name for the first time in almosta year. He looked at you as if you were a threat. It was almost like speakingto a poor imitation of him. He looked like Markus but this…this wasn’t Markus.He seemed so cold and angry, something that he never was before. “Markus she’sa human.” The Android to his side said, the word ‘human’ rolling off her tonguein disgust. It was clear that she had a problem with humans. You drew in abreath, gaze hardening as you pushed the thoughts of Markus to the back of yourhead. You had to remind yourself that this wasn’t him. It couldn’t be him. “Dueto the recent outbreaks of violence from Jericho I’ve deemed you unfit to leadyour group.” You said swallowing the lump in your throat. 

“Ahuman leading our people Markus, it’s insane!” the redhead yelled.

            He stared at you completely ignoringhis companion at his side. “I didn’t use to lead alone, I had someone else. AnAndroid that I cared for very much, he helped me take care of my father. Oneday we were caught by the police and well, I thought he was gone.” You said,gaze fixed on Markus. His LED was missing, he looked like a human. There seemedto be a spark in his eyes and just when he went to speak the SWAT team pulledup behind you. The tires squealed against the pavement and armored squadsrushed out of their trucks and lined up. You turned around and walked throughyour group whom moved out of the way to make a path for you. “This is an illegalgathering, disperse immediately!” An officer shouted from behind the line up.

            The SWAT teams had their guns aimedat your group and Jericho. They took this as a threat. Your fears were comingto life. Markus had destroyed any sort of credibility you were trying to build.You raised your hands in the air surrendering and the rest of your group didthe same. “You don’t want to do this; we’re trying to save Detroit!” Youyelled. It was the truth. Jericho was going to start a civil war if you didn’tstop them – stop Markus. The officer continued to yell; his commands beingprojected through the crowd. Then you heard her voice, her voice loud and clearthroughout the rumbling of the two groups. She was talking to Markus,encouraging him to fight.

            You turned your back to the SWATteam and just as you were about to yell to stop any sort of plans, he yelled,“Attack!” Jericho ran through your group, Markus and the Android to his sideleading them and clashed with the SWAT team. There was gunfire and yelling andyour group stared at you looking for answers. You had been a mystery to most ofthem until today. “Stop them!” You yelled. They nodded and jumped into thefight as well trying to separate Jericho from the SWAT team. Through the flurryof people, you frantically looked around for Markus. That Android has beenpersuading him and you knew it. “Markus!” You yelled moving through the fightswiftly.

            You finally saw him, with her. She had a smile on her face as sheshot one of the men dawning a SWAT uniform. Markus looked at her the same waythat he used to look at you. It made your heart wrench at the thought. Anyprevious thoughts of how dangerous he was to the cause vanished when you sawone of the SWAT members aim their gun at his back. “Markus!” You yelled runningfor him and before you knew it you were tackling him to the pavement. The shotrang off in the air within an instant. You rolled off of him and fell back ontothe cool pavement feeling the cold air brush against your face.

           Markus stood up, his shadow loomingover you. “Markus we can’t let them get away!” You heard her yell off to yourright. He didn’t budge, his gaze fixated on your figure. He looked haunted, likehe had seen something he wished he hadn’t. He fell to his knees and dragged youinto his lap. Your body was cold and hot at the same time, like you werebecoming numb from the bottom up. Your stomach was the hotspot where it burnedthe most. You felt his hand press against your stomach, and you yelled. Thesound of your pain caused him to pull his hand away quickly and that’s when younoticed the blood.

 Howpoetic.

           You two seemed to be doomed, notmeant to be. It was wickedly cruel to make your relationship as tragic as this.Just when you seemed to get to him again you were the one to be destroyed thistime. “M-Markus.” You whispered; his name barely audible against your lips. 

“Whathave I done?” He whispered to himself.

            There were tears in his eyes when helooked down at you. Markus was never one to cry. He was wise and strong and tosee him cry made your heart ache. He looked you up and down, his gaze seeminglyzoned out as he did. He was scanning you and assessing your wounds and yourprobability of living. Your hand fell on top of his and you squeezed it pullinghim from his informative daze. The SWAT team had retreated and whoever was leftalive was treating those who were injured. North was looming behind Markusglaring down at him with her arms crossed.

            Your gaze flickered to his mouth andthe way his lips trembled as he tried to hold himself together. “I wish I was asdurable as an Android.” You whispered with a pained laugh. Markus shook hishead. This didn’t seem to be the first time he’s had to deal with such a loss. Thepain in your stomach was growing worse and your body only continued to growcold. The colder you got the more fatigued you became. You needed to rest youreyes if only for a moment. “We’re not all evil Markus, you used to love meafter all…once upon a time. Don’t you forget that.” You said, your words becomingslurred together.

           The deviant leader was at a loss forwords. He didn’t even know how to talk to you. He was still trying to processthe fact that this was well – it was you! Markus just got his memories back ofyou and everything the two of you went through and he was losing you. Thispainful blow was worse than when he lost Carl. “Markus you can’t ju-” North wascut off by the deadly looking Markus gave her when she began to speak.

            He wasn’t there for long. Soon hehad emerged from the crowd, face blank and tear stained as he carried your bodydown the street. Something inside of him broke. Deviancy was no longer all itwas cracked up to be. Emotions were complicated and painful, he wanted to benumb again. He knew one thing that he wanted…he wanted to never forget you. 

Andhe never did.