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wosoamazing · 4 months

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A New Chapter

Y/N Williamson Epilogue?? (My last fic before I refresh my page/content...)

IMPORTANT: This fic involves a heterosexual relationship between R and a Fictional character... If this is something you don't want to read I suggest you move on. WARNINGS: bad injury (hip), mentions of hospitals and surgery, moving away, rehab, heterosexual relationships, some swearing, periods, endometriosis, vomit/mentions of, being scared to return home, mild sickness, kids?, hints/links to miscarriage (not everyone will notice), suggestive?? - it's long so there are a lot, I have tried to list them in order, however if you do really want to read it but you can't bc of some of the warnings message me and I can see if I can cut that part of the story out for you. A/N: Not properly edited yet, I will edit it later - so sorry if any mistakes. Also sorry if the second half of it feels rushed, it was getting so long but I may have accidentally rushed it trying to make it not insanely long... (Word Count: 7462 - be prepared, hopefully it's not boring)

Your dream of playing in an Olympics Final came crashing down 15 minutes into the Matildas’ opening match of the tournament. A corner had been given, Steph kicked it in and the next second you were on the ground in agony, it seemed to happen in fast forward for you. However for Leah, who was watching at home, the moment unfolded so agonisingly slowly, she saw Frohms place a hand on your shoulder restricting you from jumping, as Oberdorf jumped into the air behind you, if it wasn't for Frohms’ hand on your shoulder the goal could’ve been yours, she was angry and hoped the ref had picked up on it, however she wasn’t angry for long, as she saw the trajectory Oberdorf was coming down on, her jump slightly too high meaning she lost control. Time slowed to an almost stop as Leah froze sat in front of the TV, watching as Oberdorfs midsection completely landed on top of your left shoulder, she almost felt her heart stop as she saw your left leg brace, watching as it popped out from the force of Oberdorfs head hitting your thigh, causing you to completely crumple onto the ground. Thankfully the players around reacted quick enough to grab onto Oberdorf and flip her, otherwise your injury wouldn’t have been the worst, and something unimaginable could’ve happened. She saw your body jolt as you were turned onto your back, the look on your face along with the scream you let out indicating your hip most likely popped back into place. The full weight of it all occurred seconds later when a phone was brought onto the pitch and steph did something on it, Leah’s phone started to ring.

“Leah, she,” Steph breathed out not knowing what to say

“I know. I saw. Can I talk to her?” Leah asked before hearing some shuffling from the other end, watching Steph crouch down next to you on the TV.

“Le-ah,” your voice came across the phone, it was full of pain and fear, Leah was honestly surprised you hadn’t passed out from the pain yet, but maybe you were running on adrenaline or shook, all she was certain about was that she needed to be there for you, in one way or another.

“Hi bug, you’re doing so well, being so brave. They are going to take good care of you, I promise. I love you so so much, and I’ll be there very soon, you’ve got this bug,” she told you before Steph took the phone back to her ear as the medics needed to move you, “we’re coming, our flight is in like an hour, we are actually about to leave now,” she informed her club teammate as she watched her fiance leave the bedroom wheeling a suitcase behind her.

______

You were immediately taken into surgery, where they did x-rays and scans. You woke up a few hours later surrounded by machines, unable to feel your left leg, but your left shoulder and torso ached badly, but quickly you noticed Steph, Sam, Leah, Lia and Alexia all sitting around the white washed sterile room. The people who you looked up to in your life and who inspired you, all in a hospital room, to be there for you, for some it meant taking time out of their teams olympic tournament. Maybe even risking unfair punishment and her mental health for one. For two others it meant getting on a plane last minute, dropping all other plans, including the IVF appointment they had waited a year for, not knowing when the next one would be, willingly letting go of their hope to have kids in the near future for you. In that moment you realised how much you meant to them, never before had the meaning of you to them been so tangible, they meant the universe and more to you, but maybe you meant ever more than that to them.

Leah noticed your eyes open and moved beside your bed, “Hey bug, how are you feeling?” she said ever so softly, and you just blinked groggily at her as she leant in to kiss your forehead mumbling “I love you very much,” before her hands moved to cup your face and her thumbs wiped away the silent tears that had started to fall from your eyes. The others all got up and left not only to find a doctor but give you two a moment of privacy.

“Hi, Y/N, nice to see you awake, I’m Dr NAME and this is Dr NAME, we were the two surgeons who operated on you,” one of the doctors spoke as they walked in, smiling at you, you kind of nodded at them and watched as their gaze turned to Leah before going through your chart, “and you’re Leah,” she nodded at them. “Okay so,” he started talking but you were too tired to listen and zoned out, hearing the words, dislocated, hairline fracture, Iliofemoral and Pubofemoral. You would eventually come to find those are the things that happened to your, during the fall your tore your Iliofemoral and Pubofemoral ligaments, which then meant when Oberdorf’s head hit your thigh it was a lot easier for your hip to dislocate which it did, you had a hairline fracture in your femoral neck but it was unknown which mechanics of the injury caused that, sometimes they would insert a pin but as yours was only small and you were young, they didn’t, it also meant they likelihood of you returning to football was higher, however you still would most likely never return.

You were stuck in Paris until the end of the tournament, the risk of you flying back home versus the ‘risk’ of you staying there were incomparable and so you and your crutches, along with your bandaged hip, sporting the equivalent of a hinged knee brace but for a hip over your leggings, were dragged along to the final match, the first time you had been in the public's eye properly since your injury. You were dreading this match for multiple reasons. It meant you would be in the media’s sight, and you would also have to interact with the people you had been ignoring. But even more it meant you had to watch your teammates and ‘family’ get to do the one thing you had ever dreamt of, the thing that was almost never going to happen now. You stood alongside Sam during the national anthem, wearing an official match jersey, your own name on your back, as a tear rolled down your cheek, which after the anthem Sam wiped away before hugging you tightly. She understood the pain to some extent, however she knew well and truly before the olympics started the team could make it to the final and she would be standing on the sidelines, for you it was different, you should’ve been on that pitch today, if it wasn’t for your injury you would’ve been starting, as the main forward, but that didn;t matter now, you would probably never start for the matildas or any football club/team again, she knew it, the team knew it, the world knew it, you even knew it, you just didn’t want to have to face that reality.

The whistle blew and every single member of the Australian’s on the sidelines got up and sprinted onto the pitch, except you, every single A.O.C football personal was on the pitch celebrating, but you weren’t. You couldn't, you couldn’t get up, but that's not the reason you were not on the pitch, you didn’t want to be, you didn’t deserve to be.

The next second the whole bench shook, Kyra had catapulted herself into the row of seats in front of you, you looked up, her face shiny from sweat, holding the world's biggest grin, “come join us,” you just shook your head, “I can help, I’ll be sensible and careful. Please?” she begged, causing a tear to roll down your cheek, causing her face to quickly drop as she moved to hug you, making you cry more, causing more girls to start to filter over to you, all leaving with dampened moods, all having failed attempts at cheering you up and failing to convince you to join them. All celebrating as they walked across the stage receiving their medals, whilst they lifted the trophy, but the pain in their eyes was evident, you watched Kyra bite her nail nervously as she looked into your direction, you were still sat in you seat, having refused to collect your medal, you played 15 minutes you didn’t deserve it. You burdened the team, Steph spent way too long laying awake in her bed, the moment replaying in her head everytime she closed her eyes. Kyra cried herself to sleep almost every night, she missed you, you might’ve been with them physically but that was it, she knew she would have to go back to Arsenal without you and most likely never play with you again and that hurt her. Macca couldn’t shake the feeling of horror that ran through her body as she heard your scream so loud and clear from the other end of the pitch, she hadn’t even had her hearing aids in and yet it sounded like you were inside her ear. If anything the team had won in spite of you, you had in no way helped them get there, you were the cause for their pain, you didn’t deserve a medal at all.

“Bebita,” Alexia said softly as she bobbed down in front of you, “No,” you harshly snapped at her, “Et mereixes una medalla, les vas aconseguir aquí i vas formar part de l'equip sigui el que passi. (You deserve a medal, you got them here and you were part of the team no matter what),” you just shook your head at her, “Bé, doncs, almenys deixa'm agafar el teu i guardar-lo segur per a tu, per quan el vulguis després. (Well then at least let me take yours and keep it safe for you, for when you want it later.)” you shrugged your shoulders and so she placed your medal around her neck, for you. Before pulling you into a tight hug and not letting go for a very long time. The no you said to Alexia had been the last word you spoke to anyone before flying back under the intense supervision of the medics to England, where Lia and Leah meet you at the airport, taking you home.

______

“What’s wrong?” your sister asked, having put up with your attitude for way too long knowing you needed to break and rather than continuing to walk on eggshells waiting for you to break she decided to do it the hard way, allowing you to use her as a punching bag until you broke.

“What’s wrong, you’re fucking joking right, are you somesort of imbesile,” you sneered at her, “Oh I don’t know, maybe the fact I’ll never fucking play again, my career is over at 18, the rug has literally been swept out from under my feet, and none of it was even my fault, noone even got a fucking red, for ending my career, the ref decided that a career ending injury didn’t equate to a red. I had to watch as my friends my family lived out my dream, my fucking dream, I’m olympian, but am I really, 15 fucking minutes out of a minimum 540 minutes, I’m 2% of an olympian, I suppose that 2% counts though right? It’s not like I helped the team, I made it harder, I don’t deserve a medal but everyone else seems to think otherwise.”

“But you do bug, you were there, you got your team there, you were going to be the best young player of the year,” Leah tried to reason with you.

“Going being the key word there, I was going to win a Balloon d’or, I was going to be in the fifa best 11, I was going to win a golden boot, I was going to be and do so many things, but going is past tense, it’s never going to happen, I’m never going to get any awards ever again.” You shouted at her.

“Where are you going?” Leah asked as she watched you stand up, the room having fallen to silence moments ago.

“Away from you, I-, I-” you shook your head trying to clear your mind, Leah stepped closer to you, knowing your walls were about to crumble.

“What am I meant to do now, Le?” you asked, completely and utterly broken, “What happens now?”

Leah swallowed back her emotions “I don’t know bug, I’m sorry,” you collapsed into her and she picked you up being mindful of your hip, before lying down on the couch, your body on top of hers. You buried your head into her neck as you sobbed, your whole body shook, and all Leah could do was hold you, and try and comfort you and reassure you in a moment where there were no answers, how are you meant to comfort someone and give them reassurance when the doctors don’t even know. How are you meant to tell someone it's going to be okay when the only way to know what will happen is for them to go through an excruciating rehab process only to then very likely be told they could never play again.

____________________________________________________________

You were cleared to fly long distances 3 months after your surgery, 2 months since you returned, so that’s what you did. You flew to Australia, bought an apartment and started a new life essentially, one that not everyone knew your past in intricate detail, however being a Matilda most people knew who you were but it was different.

Charlie got Lachlan to keep an eye on you and so you did things with his friends and sometimes even his team. You found yourself getting closer to one of his friends in particular, he always made sure you weren't left behind because they were walking too fast, he was ‘coincidentally’ at the same rehab gym you went to when you first put weight on your leg still relying on your crutches heavily, he celebrated for you but quite, not to make you uncomfortable, he offered to drive you to your appointment the one where you were allowed to use only one crutch, he celebrated for you then too, a bit more openly but not nearly as enthusiastic as he would’ve liked. You invited him to the appointment where you would start walking without any assistance, he celebrated quite loudly for you that day, insisting he needed to take you out for dinner, you accepted it, hoping it would lead to something more, and it did. You quickly found yourself spending more time at his house than yours, more of your belongings there than you had at your own home. He was honestly perfect, and for whatever reason you had this feeling that a shoe would drop any second.

— FLASHBACK —

One night he woke up to you crying in your sleep, sitting up slightly he noticed there was blood on the sheets underneath you. Shaking you softly, he woke you up, before quietly saying “Baby, I think you’ve come on.”

“Shit,” you sighed out before curling into a tighter ball, “Why don’t you go have a shower and I’ll change the sheets,” He offered as he kissed your shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” you mumbled, rolling over to your back, “why?”, “because I’ve bleed all over the sheets, sorry,” “Baby, it's just a little blood, it’s okay, don’t worry,” you nodded before getting up and hobbling to the bathroom.

“Hey, babe you okay?” he asked as he approached the bathroom door, having finished changing the sheets, you didn’t reply to him, but he heard the muffled sounds of you crying, “I’m coming in okay,” he told you before softly opening the door, seeing you on the floor, your legs curled underneath you, as you sobbed, he bobbed down next to you, placing a hand on your back, “Do I need to take you to the hospital? I don’t think this is normal,” you shook your head as you reached to grab his hand as another wave of pain washed over you, taking a deep breath you fought off the nausea before blurting out “endometriosis,” hoping he could make conclusions from that.

“Do you need your tablets or something?” he asked and you looked at him confused. How did he know?

“My sister's girlfriend has it, I don’t know much about it but I know some things. Are your tablets in the drawer in the kitchen with the tape and stuff, are they the things in the arsenal pouch?” He asked and you nodded, being in too much pain to talk. He quickly left and returned, with your tablets, some water and heat packs.

“Not blue box,” you told him and he nodded before popping out some of the other tablets as per the labels and handing them to you.

“Do you want me to hold you?” he asked as a tear rolled down your cheek, “But-” you tried to protest weakly.

“I honestly don't care. I just want to help, I want you to feel better,” you nodded shyly at him and he picked you up placing you in his lap as he handed you a heat pack, you curled up and hid your head in his chest, falling asleep eventually.

— END FLASHBACK —

You met up with some of the Matildas’ for coffee during one of their camps, and he and Lachlan came, him on the basis he was Lachlan’s friend.

“How long?” Steph asked as she walked alongside you, both slightly behind the others.

“What?” “You know what I mean, how long?” “I don’t know, it started as friends and then the lines blurred and then somewhere along the way he asked me to be his girlfriend,” she hummed in response, “Have you told Leah?” “What do you think,” you asked her before Harper ran up to you.

Later that night you were lying in bed next to him, head resting on his shoulder as his finger drew soft circles on your hip, over your leggings, when your phone buzzed.

Steph: You need to tell Leah. I know you don’t want to, but just think about it this way, at least you won't be telling her in person. But no, I seriously think telling her sooner rather than later would be better.

You sighed after reading her message dropping your phone on the mattress next to you, you dreaded telling your sister, especially when you already barely spoke.

“What’s wrong,” he asked as you rolled on top of him, letting out a heavy breath.

“Steph figured us out and is insisting I tell Leah,” “Oh, why don’t you want to tell Leah?” “Do you want to tell your brother?” “Shit no,” “Exactly,” there is a pause, “but I do need to tell Leah, especially if I am going to go back when you go on holidays,”

“You can stay here, you know that right?”

“No, I have to go back. Barça wants to announce my departure officially anyway. I don’t have a choice,” you sighed out, “what if I messaged and then just threw my phone out”

“You know you can’t do that,” he chuckled softly, causing you to groan as you rolled off him.

“I don’t want to have to face them all, I ran away, they probably want nothing to do with me anymore anyway,”

“I don’t know if that’s true, Steph and Kyra were so happy and excited to see you today, so was the rest of the team but especially them.” he said and you nodded before he spoke again, “Well I don’t know about Charli, she was too busy catching up with Lachy to even notice you were there I think,” you laughed at his comment, you turned the TV onto the Arsenal match which was about to start as the pair of you feel into silence.

“Would you ever want kids?” he asked you out of the blue.

“Um, yeah, most likely, especially now it won’t be interrupting my career,” you tried to joke, “why?” “Oh, just curious, you were just really good with Harper and her little brother today, and I don’t know why but that thought came up. Also, doesn't Steph have a kid?”

“Yeah, he stayed in London with Dean for this camp,” he just nodded as your attention both went back to the game.

____________________________________________________________

“What do you want for lunch?” Leah asked as you sat down in one of the kitchen stools as Leah and Lia walked into the kitchen. Leah had picked you up from the airport but as Harry was actually on holiday with his friends you went your separate ways, however you had a lunch planned for tomorrow with him, you, Leah and Lia.

“Not eggs,” Lia injected before you could answer, you were confused about her answer but just nodded anyway.

“Um, I don’t really care, I’m not that hungry anyway,”

They decided on Ham Sandwiches for lunch and as you ate you caught up with them, before ending up on the couch watching TV with them, they were still talking however you had fallen more silent, leaning into Leah’s side for a hug, “You okay? You’ve just gone a bit quiet and look a bit pale,” Leah asked looking down at you.

“Mmm, I’m just a bit tired,” you admitted.

“Why don’t you go up to sleep, we have no plans until tomorrow.” you nodded before moving to go upstairs.

______

“Bug you okay?” Leah asked as she sat down on the edge of the bed, brushing her hand over your face causing you to stir slightly.

“Mmmm, sorry do you want me to go?” you mumbled half asleep.

“No, it’s okay, you can stay in here, just wanted to check you were okay,” you nodded slightly before letting out a rather chesty cough, “you sure about being okay?” you just groaned at her before rolling over, feeling her slip in behind you and pull you in for a hug, it felt just like old times.

“What are you doing in here?” Leah asked as she entered the bathroom, obviously just waking up from her midday nap.

“I feel like I’m going to be sick,” you informed her.

“Oh, scoot forward,” she instructed you and you moved away from the wall. She sat behind you before pulling you onto her lap, you collapsed back into her, resting your head on her shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” you said breaking the silence as you turned your head on her shoulder so you could look at her, “I should’ve told you, you did some much for me, you were there for me my whole life and then I just up left, no warning, nothing, and then I basically ghosted you,”

“It’s okay,” she told you

“But it wasn’t, I even told you about Harry over text, the first thing I told you in months after not even telling you I could walk without crutches was that I had a-” “Boyfriend,” “Well yeah,”

“I understand, and I understood, it was hard, don’t get that wrong, but it isn’t the only time one of us has just upped and left, I think you’d remember how once I got my professional contract and I had to move, I didn’t tell you, I couldn’t bare to see your sad little face when I told you, so I just left, at least you had a reason, I didn’t have one at all, and you technically had two reasons, the injury and payback,”

“I forgot about that, but thank you for reminding me, I will use it if Mum or Dad get angry at me,”

“Please don’t, but I do understand. You did it for you, you needed to find yourself, figure out who you were without football, which meant you needed to be separated from everything that reminded you of what was once, of what you loved and still love, and that included us, and it;s okay. I was never angry, I just really missed you, you’re still my baby sister, and no matter what happens you will still be the most important person in my life.”

“Oh,” you felt your gut sink at her confession, suddenly the feeling of being sick became very real, “I’m sorry,” you replied quietly as you moved your head back flat against her shoulder, staring at the ceiling. You felt your mouth fill with saliva and closed your eyes taking some deep breaths.

“Should we cancel lunch tomorrow?” Leah asked as you continued to take deep breaths knowing why you were.

“No,” you said as you shook your head, the nausea having finally passed, “I’ll be fine, I just need to sleep more,”

“Okay, also Lia has an appointment with the medics tomorrow just so they can do some checks and stuff, it's before lunch but you’ll probably have to come and just hang out at the club because otherwise we might be late to lunch,” you nodded your head before you felt yourself dozing off.

____

“Hey, how are you?” Aaron asked as he walked into the gym followed by Declan, you had decided to do some of your rehab exercises while you waited for Lia and Leah.

“Yeah, pretty good. You?” You replied kindly

“Alright, know much about your prospects yet?” he asked, referring to your hip, you froze, not knowing what to say.

“Um, not yet, still another month until I find out,” you lied, you had already been told, but you weren’t ready to tell anyone else yet.

As you continued with your exercises, you couldn’t help but notice your heart rate get faster and your chest get tighter as time passed. When you felt yourself slightly shaking you slipped out of the gym, sliding down the wall in the hallway, your actions didn’t go unnoticed by declan who quickly followed you out but walked past you down to the medics office. He returned following behind Leah, who bobbed down next to you before looking up at him.

“Please don’t tell anyone about what we were speaking about in there,” she asked him

“Of course I wouldn’t Leah, it’s your own personal information, I’m sorry for interrupting, it’s just that,” he gestured towards you, “and if you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“No thank you,” she said before shifting her focus to you.

“Hey, what's going on? You okay? Do you feel sick?” she asked in a soft, concerned voice, you couldn’t manage to speak so you just shook your head, “Take some deep breaths, you’re okay, it’s okay, nothing happened, you’re safe.”

“I can’t play,” you managed to get out after some deep breaths, the words almost immediately lifting a weight of your chest, “I’m never going to play again, I can’t,” you told her before breaking down into tears.

“Oh Bug, I’m so sorry,” she said as she pulled you in for a tight hug.

“How much longer are we here for?” you asked as you pulled away, having calmed down slightly.

“Probably ten more minutes. Have you thought about what you’re going to do?”

“A little, once I was out long term the offers started to come out anyway but I haven’t really considered them. I’m thinking of coaching though, I just can’t decide,” Leah hummed in response to you, and you sat in silence, just embracing her presence until Lia came out.

____________________________________________________________

After you spoke with Leah and Lia about not playing it was decided you needed to ask someone who wasn’t affected by your choice in any way. So you decided on going to Barcelona at the same time as Harry, for different reasons though. Hoping Alexia could help and give you some guidance.

So that’s how you found yourself sat in your seat on the plane as it sat on the tarmac waiting to disembark, your right knee bounced up and down uncontrollably as you nervously looked up and down the aisle. When you felt a hand placed on your knee, you jumped slightly before relaxing into the touch slightly, “It’s going to be okay, stop worrying, from what you’ve told me they will only care that you are okay and safe, they might be slightly annoyed but they’ll understand.” You nodded whilst stilling looking around, “and remember you can call me at anytime and I can come to you at anytime you want me to, the boys won't mind, they might just make a condition that they have to meet the team if that occurs,” you both let out a light laugh at that.

As you walked out of customs his hand slipped into yours, and you dropped your head onto his shoulder, causing him to kiss your temple. Just ahead you saw Lucy, who had raised her eyebrows, ignoring her you turned to him and hugged him. “I’m going to miss you so much,” you mumbled into his neck, “Same, but remember you can call whenever you need and I’ll call every night,” you nodded before you pulled your head out of his neck and your lips connected, your legs lifting to wrap around his waist as he wrapped his arms around yours.

“All right you two, stop sucking face, we need to go,” Lucy said interrupting you.

You huffed at her and she gave you the same look she would give you when you huffed at her for not getting you second ice cream when you were younger at England camps.

“Didn’t take you as someone who would be into PDAs Mini Leah,” Lucy teased you knowing the nickname would set you off.

“Well Lucy, when you’re in love, those things don’t matter,” you replied to her dramatically as you followed her out of the airport.

____

Its safe to say walking into the place you called home two years ago was emotional, and as you stood there waiting for Lucy to get everything she needed out of the car, Alexia and Mapi walked by, however Mapi halted, she was stopped in her tracks, as she was behind alexia who hadn't noticed you, and kept walking.

“Ale, Alexia,” Mapi stood there calling for her, “Alexia” she shouted,

“Què (what)”, Mapi couldn’t do anything other than gesture to you with her head, Alexia came running back down the hall and froze when she saw you.

“What’s wrong with them?” Lucy asked as she finally walked through the doors.

They stuttered, not being able to get words out, Lucy just ignored them and pulled you along behind her, to the pitch, where everyone was celebrating. Making your way over to where Ingrid, Frido and Ona stood, all giving you a hug, before a small girl came running up to you, “opp, Klem,” she said whilst she made grabby hands at you, she was Ingrid and Mapi’s daughter.

“I’m sorry, I can’t pick you up because I have an ouchie hip,” you said as you looked at her softly before looking back up at your old teammates, who all gave you sorry looks.

“Please don’t do that, that’s not why I came,” you sighed out before walking over to where Olga was standing by herself.

“Hi,” she said as she smiled and hugged you, you caught Alexia looking at you with a concerned look from the corner of her eye, Lucy and Kiera were talking to her and Mapi, most likely about how you didn’t want to be treated differently etc.

“Hi, is she mad?” you asked Olga, stepping away from the hug slightly.

“What?” “That I didn’t come to the wedding?” “A little upset Si, but not mad, more concerned, but we understood.” you nodded at her “it did take a week to calm her down after she found out you left England, she wasn’t mad though, more scared of whether you were safe or not,” you nodded weakly as you bit your bottom lip.

“Bebita,” Alexia said as she came up to you hugging you, before standing between you and Olga, almost the whole team following behind, creating a circle as they all started talking, it felt just like old times, like no time had passed, but it had almost been two years, you were struggling to follow the conversation like you used to, having not used your spanish in so long, everything was bringing back old times, old memories, memories you wished you could keep living, but this chapter of your life was over now, you moved to stand in front of Alexia and hug her, she wraps her arms around you whilst continuing her conversations, your shoulders started to shake softly as you started to cry and everyone looked at her concerned however she shook her head, indicating for them to continue and ignore it. After a while you seemed to have managed to calm down and you pulled away from Allexia slightly, she cupped your face in her hands, “Whatever happens, it's going to be okay.” you gave her a weak nod before moving to stand next to her.

“We are going for dinner at Ingrid and Mapi’s tonight, most of the team will be there and I think Harder and Erikson are coming too, you can come if you want.” Alexia said as you entered the ever so familiar house.

“Um, okay,” you said as you placed your phone on the table and went to grab a drink from the fridge before hearing your phone ring, Alexia caught a glimpse of the screen as she handed it to you. She knew exactly who it was from the look on your phone, not who the person was but who they were to you.

“Don’t tell anyone please, not many know yet,” she nodded, “do I get to meet this boy?”

“Alexia,” Olga called out sternly from the living room, clearly she still was in charge, something that hadn’t changed.

“Maybe, I think his friends and him are going to the game this weekend,” you said before you answered the phone and retreated to the spare room noticing how it was still your room and not a spare room at all.

____

You were sitting on the floor with Hailee, having been dragged away from your conversation with Mapi, Ingrid, Alexia and Olga by the small girl into her playroom. Not that you really minded though.

“They’ve told you you can’t play again haven’t they,” you were startled slightly by the unfamiliar voice, looking up to see Madga leaning on the door frame.

“How did you know?”

“I don’t know, I just could tell, maybe because I only knew you as football, where as they knew you as football and you, so they can’t see it. Does anyone know?”

“Yeah, Lia and Leah, and someone else, and now also you supposedly,” you flatly replied.

“What are you doing tomorrow?” you looked at her blankly, “I’ll take that as nothing, what if you came over to Frido’s while the team is at training and Pernille and I help you decide, we have no connection, it could help,”

“Bayern don’t need a new coach?” she shook her head, and you just nodded slightly, “okay so it’s settled then,” she said before turning around, “Frido, do you have a big whiteboard at home? If no, we need to buy one before tomorrow morning,” you heard her yell out as she walked away.

____________________________________________________________

Having made your decision with the help of Magda and Pernille you returned to England with Harry. To tell Arsenal, after it was official, just not yet announced, you went for lunch with Leah, Lia and Harry to tell them all, Lia and Leah took it well however Harry jumped out of his seat saying he needed to be somewhere, and since he wouldn’t return your calls, so you had no clue if you would see him or not, maybe he was leaving you.

“Turn around,” Steph said as she saw Harry running to the facility doors where you were waiting for Lia and Leah to get out of the car, having a chat with Steph.

“Will you move in with me?” He blurted out, slightly puffed as he reached you.

“What?” You questioned not understanding what he meant.

“I didn’t answer your call, or your message or your subsequent calls because I was doing something, for you, for me, for us. Remember how I played Rugby Union in high school,” you nodded, “well, I wasn’t ignoring you because I was mad you took the job, I wasn’t ignoring you at all, I was trialling for a rugby club, so we could be together, I love you too much and you mean too much for me to go back halfway across the world from you. They offered me a contract, it isn’t the greatest, but it will do, anything that means I can stay with you is perfect,” tears started to fall from your eyes, “I’m sorry,” he said slightly panicking, questioning if he said something wrong.

“No, no,” you said as you shook your head, wrapping your arms around his neck and picking your legs up “Thank you,” you mumbled into his ear before placing your head on his shoulder, not believing it.

“I’m assuming it worked?” Leah asked as she walked towards the three of you, he nodded in her direction as you let go, “ready to do this?” your sister asked as she looked at you and you nodded, starting to feel nervous agin.

____

“I’m coming back to Arsenal,” you told everyone as you stood in front of them, Harry standing on the sides, Jonas inisting he come in considering he was there already, they all cheered slightly before you interrupted them, “but not in the way you probably all want, I’m going to be part of the staff, the coaching team, I-,” your voice cracked, as you took a shaky breath “I won’t-, I-I can’t ever play again. I will never be able to play again, it’s uncertain whether I will be able to run without pain, let alone play,” you sniffed, you felt panic rise within you, “I’m sorry,” you said quietly before walking out the door tears streaming down your face, trying to ignore the looks of sorry, disappointment or confusion. Leah’s immediate reaction was to stand up and go to you, but Lia tugged her arm forcing her back down in her chair, gesturing to the figure that was rushing out the door after you.

“I’m sorry, I-'' you blubbered out as someone came towards you, “Hey, none of that, baby none of this is your fault, and you literally have nothing to apologise about,” he said as he stood in front of you, you immediately fell into him at the sound of his voice and felt his strong arms hold you tight as you buried your head in his neck, he started swaying you and gave you a small kiss on the side of your head every now and then, trying to calm you down, knowing that was probably one of the hardest things you had to say, he knew you always wanted to finish your career at Arsenal, and now that was never going to happen, at least in the way you wanted, you would never be a Matilda again, you would never walk out onto a football pitch in the same way again, your goals were changing and you were struggling with that. He knew that, no matter how much you tried to hide your feelings.

The door creaked as it opened and Harry looked over to it, seeing Steph walk out, who handed him a water bottle as she gave him a soft smile before walking back into the room. He continued to sway you both slightly, keeping one hand around you as he took a quick sip from the bottle.

“Baby, do you want some water?” you nodded, taking the bottle of him and drinking out of it.

Leah was still inside crying into Lia’s shoulder, most people had left the room now giving everyone a bit of space. “Do you want to go home? Is this about what just happened or this morning?”

“All of it. It’s stupid, I just feel like I’m losing her now too, and it’s dumb, she was never mine in the first place but-” Leah confessed, before getting cut off by Lia.

“It’s not stupid Le, we have a lot of things happening in our life, a lot of news, and not a lot of time to process it all, it’s hard, and I know you feel like you have to be strong for her, for me, for us but you don’t, it’s okay,” Lia tried to reassure her.

“I shouldn’t be upset, I mean you're the one going through it all, and here I am complaining about my life.” Leah hiccuped.

“Hey, I might be the only one going through it physically but mentally we are both going through it, and you have more on your mind then I do, I understand, you don’t have to apologise for being upset, no matter if I’m experiencing worse, we are a team forever and always no matter what happens, no matter whether we have an addition to our team or not.” Leah nodded before pulling away from her and standing up noticing you had come back inside.

She pulled you towards you and wrapped you in a much needed hug, you didn’t want to let go, and neither did she.

____________________________________________________________

2028 Olympic Games

As the final whistle blew your players immediately ran over to you and your staff, celebrating as a team.

Commentator One: And they’ve done it, the Matildas have won the Olympics for the second time in a row.

Commentator two: Y/N Williamson has led the Matildas to victory after a drought, a much needed piece of silverware for the team that was starting to lose the country's hope.

It was a risky decision for Football Australia to choose you as new head coach, even you knew it, especially as you would only be joining the team in person at camp three weeks before the Olympics started, due to circumstances, but you started work much earlier than that, much to everyone's disbelief. You were however quickly ushered away from your team for a post match interview, causing you to catch sight of your sister who has collapsed onto the floor in tears. Taking a mental note to go over and comfort her later.

“Do you want to go see your Auntie?” You said to the two small people who clutched onto your hands as you walked onto the pitch.

“We-ah,” “we see Weah,” they piped up at the mention of her and you let go of their hands, “go on then,” you watched as they ran over to her, smiles bright, not knowing the meaning of the moment that just happened, them being so happy just to see their Aunt.

“Alessia, hand the baby over,” you said to her as she held the newest addition to the Williamson family.

“Do you want to go say hi to your Mummy?” you asked the 3 month old as you placed her against your chest.

Leah’s face softened even more as she watched you approach her with her daughter, “you know, I’m never going to be able to thank you enough or repay you for this,” she said as you passed Lilly over to her, “but maybe you taking the gold away from me, means I don’t have to.”

“I told you, it’s nothing, honestly, you don’t have to repay me, buuut…..” you dragged on, she raised an eyebrow, “can you take the boys tonight, I have some celebrating to do,” you told her as she rolled her eyes.

“You literally carried our baby for us, I do owe you, and yes of course I’ll take the boys tonight, I need some quality time with them before they leave me for Australia,” she replied.

“It’s only two weeks, it's just a short camp, and it’s time we went on one of Daddy’s camps and meet all their uncles, but they honestly think they are meeting Kangaroos, they don’t quite understand that Wallabies is just the name of the team” she laughed at your comment before pulling you in for a hug. It sounds cliche but you knew in that moment your life had turned out perfect, it is nowhere near what you imagined but you honestly couldn’t have asked for anything better.

#woso fanfics #woso imagine #woso x reader #arsenal wfc x reader #awfc x reader #barcelona femeni #barca femeni #barca femeni x reader #matildas x reader #auswnt x reader #leah williamson x reader #lionesses x reader

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spacebaby1 · 1 month

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Helloooo May I request a law x any gender reader fic/headcanons where reader is also a survivor of the Amber led poisoning and WAS one of law’s friends from school (they weren’t close close friends). Reader managed to escape in time and somehow found a devil fruit that could also help her with the disease but it left her marks in her body which she is insecure abt (like faint white spots over her body and face.

Thank you and have a good day!

I love it when y'all request to write for Law Trafalgar! Enjoy! This hit home to me as girl with surgery marks left behind😩

Sitting in the small library table with medical books all over the table and almost hiding you behind then you searched for the solution. For the last few years of your life, you kept searching for a cure, a solution to why your devil fruit powers were limited and didn't help you recover fully.

The disease killed all of your loved ones. You weren't even sure how you got out alive because the only thing you remembered was passing on the school grounds and waking up in another village. Turns out a couple had found you, and someone took you out of the whole disaster. A fisherman had sold the devil fruit to your new guardians in exchange for a lot of gold promising them your recovery in return; which was absolutely true. You had gained your health back, well, part of it. Even though the illness was gone. Some marks were left behind for the world to always turn their head around to look at you. They weren't that bad, but they felt like a burden you had to carry. It was hard to figure out if the people looking at you on the streets were just looking or they were looking at your marks. Even if they were just on the left side of your face, you had learned to hide them; with your hair mostly or a scarf or a hat.

But you needed them gone only to come to no end with your research. With a sigh, you shut the last book, running your hands through your hair before getting up and returning the books to their shelves. The small island you had travelled to was a quite one, occasionally some rocky pirate would find their way there for food and supplies without causing trouble; you had once run into the most known pirate none other than Shanks himself. You had completely forgotten how to breathe because you had only seen him in the newspaper or his bounty poster, and seeing him in person was shocking, other than the fact that you feared pirates.

You sighed as you entered the small cafe and ordered a hot tea before sitting in the back and grabbing the newspaper to read before heading home. You flipped the pages, and your eyes caught a glimpse of a familiar someone. It was a bounty poster. Your eyes widened, and you burnt your lips with your tea as you read the name over and over.

Trafalgar Law

The heart pirate?

It said that he could be heading east from polestar island; that's where the small island was. You gasped, standing up and grabbing your things before heading back to the library. Asking the lady there for any papers related to pirates or the heart pirate crew you gathered them and finally were sure that your long lost friend from childhood was a famous pirate. There wasn't much information about him other than his unique ship and crew. Later that night, you were walking home with that newspaper in your hand; the island was lively at night because of all the singing and partying at the bar from the drunk pirates. You stopped in track when you noticed the new ship, and it looked different than the others. A lady who worked at the bar had just come out from the backdoor and saw you. She waved, and you smiled at her, "they never stop partying." She spoke, and you nodded, " I can hear them from all the way down the road." She laughed, "there are new ones, and they seem less lively, but I think they will not stay long -"

"The heart pirate crew?" You asked clinching on the newspaper hopefully to see Law. She shrugged, "Not sure, but they do seem different. Anyways, you're welcome to join the party, I'll head back inside." You waited a few minutes after the lady went back in. You didn't know why, but the thought of walking in and the possibility of seeing Law was driving your heart insane. It wasn't like you two were best friends, but you were classmates and "friends" when you were in school, everyone is your friend. Law wasn't the friendliest with a lot of the students, but he was always nice to you and would help you with your homework. The thought of him being alive and safe after everything that happened made your eyes tear up; you did think about him often after you survived and the guilt of him dying made you have nightmares sometimes, you never forgot about him because he was still your friend. Slowly making your way towards the bar, you stopped and backed away just standing there, not knowing what to do. Just then, someone exited the doors and stood to the side. You could recognise the hat from anywhere. You breath hitched when you saw him, for a second he looked at you then away probably not recognising you in the dim street lights, he looked around before making his way towards the door and just when he was about to enter- "Pookie Head!" You called out; a nickname you gave him when you were little because you kept teasing him about his hat having spots that reminded you of your dresses, the polkadot dresses that you owned as a kid. Law stopped in his track, hand on the bar door, you let out a sigh you weren't sure that you were holding. His eyes widened at the familiarity with that silly nickname. No one else called him that name except for you. He turned around with wide eyes staring at you and dropped his katana that he was holding over his shoulder. "N-nice hat." You felt a tear slip on your cheek as you chuckled. "Y/N-YA?" He asked, rushing towards you, not caring about his katana. You weren't expecting him to fully embrace tightly so much so that you almost fell backwards.

The hug was enough for him to know that it was indeed you. He recognised your aura immediately as he wrapped his arms around you. "You're alive. You're alive." He kept mumbling to himself. "So are you, I missed you, thought I'll never see you again." You were laughing but started to cry as you held onto him because the memories of everyone; you family, your friends came rushing to you and that horrific day. "I was so s-scared." You cried, and he caressed your hair, "I know, I know. But -" He pulled back cold hands cupping your face, "you're okay? You're-how-i mean- h-how did you - " he went to remove your hair from the left side of your face, but you stopped him, placing your hand on his and shaking your head. "D-Don't look at me. The marks never left." You said, looking down and hiding your face behind your hair. "Don't hide from me, I spent my whole life thinking you're d-," he sighed, not able to say the word.

Gently, he cupped your face, "Look up at me, let me see you." You sighed and looked up as he gently and carefully pushed your hair behind your ear. He smiled at you. "You're still as gorgeous as the day I saw you last." You couldn't hold your tears and tried to look away, but he stopped you, "hey, hey. I promise you I'm being honest. It's not bad, not as bad as you think it is. Just let me look at you, please." You looked down, "I tried everything b-but I get rid of them, I can't look at myself without reminding myself that I'm always there between all my friends a-and they're dead but I'm not." You cried it was true; every time you'd walk past the mirror, it only reminded you of the reflection of that day, and it was agonising. "But how did you survive?" You asked him between sobs, and you saw the hurt look on Law's face, "Cora-San, he died to save me. He put his life to get me the devil fruit." Your eyes widened, "d-devil fruit? That's what I ate, and it healed me but not the spots and marks. I-I just can't figure it out how to use it. Sometimes, I'll heal others and myself randomly, but I don't know how to use it. I'm a complete idiot, I didn't even know that you can't swim if you're a devil fruit eater." You said that last part with a confused look that you always had when you couldn't do your homework as a kid and it reminded Law of the old days and how used to think that pouty look was funny evertime you pulled it unintentionally.

He chuckled resting his hand on your head, "you've never been much of a swimmer and you fear the ocean." You smiled blinking the tears, "you still remember that I fear the ocean?"

He smiled at you, "I never forgot anything about you." He cupped your face, "You look tired, are you okay? Is it gone? The disease?" You nodded, rubbing your eyes. You didn't realise how tired you looked after spending hours and hours to find a cure for your marks. He sighed at the tired look of your before pulling you in a hug and you felt your eyes heavy with sleep, "you know I can help you with removing them, I'm sure I can if that's what you want." You looked up at him, "you would do that for me?" He nodded with a smile, "I don't see the difference in it because you're always beautiful to me, but if it makes you happy, I can figure it out if you want." You nodded happily because you did feel proud of surviving that horrible day, but you always wanted to for once look in the mirror and not remember the past just for that night. You rested your face on his chest and closed your eyes, falling asleep in his arms immediately; he's always been your safe haven.

The next morning, he had already warned his crew mates to not just burst into the surgery room because he wasn't sure if you wanted anyone to look at your face or make you uncomfortable. You sat there watching him go through his notes with the katana in hand before he forwarded it towards you to examine but you pulled your knees to your chest with a frightened look on your face, "Why is that huge katana in front of me? You're not gonna slice my face, are you?" He couldn't help but chuckle at your question before shaking his head and explaining to you the procedure to which you replied in an "ohh, okay." You just sat there with eyes closed, and he examined you. And when he figured it out, he explained to you that it would be an easy surgery and that you won't even feel it. He laid your head on the bed carefully, still holding your hand because he could see how much you were shaking. "Don't worry, I will not let anything happen to you. Okay?" You nodded, "good girl. I need Sachi to help me here. Is it okay if I bring him in?" You nodded again with a small smile. After Law was ready to start the surgery you still couldn't calm down, sachi offered his hand, "hey, you can hold on to my hand and squeeze it like a stress toy if you'd like. I've been told I'm a very calm machine." Law eyed him, "Sachi!" You laughed before holding Sachi's hand and closing your eyes, "thank you, sachi." He just chuckled.

No matter how hard you helf Sachi's hand he didn't even yelp but kept trying to calm you down by rubbing his thumb on your wrist and just like Law promised you didn't feel a thing not before falling asleep because of the peng and not after waking up to find Law standing by your bed as you slowly opened your eyes. "Hey, are you feeling okay?" You nodded sleepy, "I don't feel any pain." He smiled, "it's all done now. You won't feel any pain." You to find Sachi, and he waved at you to which you waved at him half asleep before turning towards Law reaching your hand for him which he immediately held, "What's wrong?" He asked. "C-Can I see?" You asked in a low sleepy voice. He nodded, helping you sit before handing you a small mirror. You blinked the blurry vision away and finally saw your reflection. The marks were gone, you didn't feel like the bad memories rushing in as you looked at your face, tears filled your eyes and you sniffled before reaching for Law and hugging his side, "T-thank you, Pookie Head." He laughed at the nickname before hugging you, "I'll do anything for my sweet girl, anything." Sachi got up, "Okay, I need to go." He said before rushing out. Meanwhile, you hugged Law and cried happy tears after so many years.

#one peice #one piece headcanons #one piece imagine #angst #law trafalgar #trafalgar one piece #one piece corazon #corazon and law #trafalgar law x reader #trafalgar d water law #one piece law #trafalgar law #law op #law trafalgar x autistic reader #law trafalgar x you

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am-i-the-asshole-official · 5 months

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AITA for debating hiring outside help for my husband and I's house because we can't keep up alone?

For context: My (26 Fae ftm) husband (28M) live very happy and healthily together. While I'm unable to medically transition due to a bunch of reasons we'll get to, he has been nothing but a solid rock in my life and the one person that has always been on my side. Through dragging me out of an abusive household to helping me with my chronic illness, he's been an absolute angel despite dressing like the devil himself (he's goth). So I don't want any hate on him.

He is ADHD and I'm Autistic. Yes, hello, we are that couple~♡ This does cause us some issues tho as he is unmedicated and I'm just struggling in general with sensory issues for certain chores. So far we keep each other some what afloat, having him do chores that my sensory issues can't handle and my doing ones he can't focus through.

However, as previously mentioned I'm chronically ill. I won't get into many details but it's basically I'm internally bleeding at random intervals. And before people think I'm talking about just my period, no it's so bad that I have once had to go to the ER for a blood transfusion due to this internal bleeding and had times when I was bleeding for over 4 months straight.

My husband and I because of this condition are pretty much struggling financially. I can work but it makes me extremely fatigued since I'm essentially working with constant Anemia. It gets bad enough some days that he can't wake me up without over an hour of effort, even after I've slept 10hrs. The fatigue is REALLY bad. He works just as much as I do, sometimes more because his work is so shortstaffed and he likes to pick up extra shifts to try and save up for the surgery that would hopefully fix everything.

This has culminated though in us both being extremely exhausted near 24/7 for the last year-ish but we have finally hit a break. I recently got a huge pay increase (nearly $200 a week increase) so we are hopeful for the first time in months. We're starting to pay down my extreme medical debt and being able to just go get dinner when he doesn't want to cook.

Here's where I may be kind of TA... Despite this hope, my condition recently did get worse. I've now gone another 3 months still bleeding and having to suffer my Anemia symptoms and medication. This has caused me to fall massively behind on what should be my chores, and while my husband doesn't begrudge me it, it has caused our home to start becoming very, very unhygienic. As someone who grew up with a clean freak mother, it kinda upsets me. He's focusing more and more on me and less on the house so even his chores are falling behind too.

None of that is his fault. He loves me so much he wants to help Me first but it has gotten to where we are both going "we really need to clean the house..." but neither of us have enough battery to do so. Me becuz of my condition and he becuz he's stuck caring for me.

We have enough that we might be able to afford to hire a cleaning service to help us out, but it would cost us some of the freedom and paying down medical bills. I think it'd only be a temporary thing, once I recover from my current episode, we can probably get better... but I don't know how long it will be.

On top of this I'm worried paying for this service will further put off my surgery as we struggle to save up for it again... We've already had to tap into that savings cuz my current episode lost me 2 days at work.

Is it unfair for me to ask to use our new extra money for essentially my not wanting to have to bother doing basic chores? I know I'm tired but I've lived with it so long I could and should probably just push through.

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

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beewolfwrites · 2 years

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Hiii! I've been on your blog for a while and really liked everything you wrote Chishiya related (I'm reallyyy looking forward for the new chapters in vThe Oar in the Sand", I literally spent the whole night reading your series and now I'm hungry for more of it :3)

Anyway besides screaming my love for your writing I came to humbly ask if you could write some chishiya x fem!reader, where his coworkers didnct know he had and S/O at all and are pretty shocked (honestly I ate this prompt every time)

Have a wonderful day and drink water! Can't wait to hear from you :3

Hey! Thank you so much, I hope you enjoyed the series so far, and I've started writing the next chapter of The Oar in the Sand so hopefully I'll be able to update it soon, and I may even post a little snippet of the new chapter later today :)

I really enjoyed writing this, even if it's mainly Chishiya destroying the dreams of one hopeful nurse. Your water reminder was kind of an inspiration too.

Have a wonderful day too!!

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

Long shifts were always tiring. Not so much because of the complexity of the surgeries - with my skills, even ten hour operations were manageable, and once you removed yourself emotionally even the most intricate surgeries felt mechanical. No, what drained me most was the small talk, that calm, reassuring bedside manner that I'd spent years mastering. It was like playing a role, one that I felt no familiarity towards, no joy. And then there were the questions…

‘Will I be okay, Doctor?’

‘What will happen to me? Will I be able to live a normal life?’

‘Will I see my family again?’

Such ridiculous questions. Everything in this world comes with risk. They were more likely to die in a car accident on the way to the hospital than on my operating table. And if life was simply a gamble, what difference did it make?

The hospital was quieter now as the night staff began to arrive, trading shifts with their daytime colleagues. Outside, the sky had darkened into dusk and the city skyline burned neon. I headed back to my office, shrugging off my white coat and hanging it on the wall beside a dusty looking picture that had been part of the room long before I moved in. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of leaving the office door open.

‘Chishiya-sensei?’

One of the nurses, Honoka, was lurking in the doorway, her fist raised as if she had intended to knock before seeing that I was there. She was only a couple of years older than me, but clearly lacked the ability to realise when her presence wasn’t needed. Or wanted, for that matter.

‘Honoka,’ I replied cooly. I was too drained to bother with a false smile.

Again? Let’s get this over with.

She fluttered about nervously, one hand hidden behind the door frame. How pathetic. Obviously she was hiding some kind of token - a gift, of sorts.

‘Is it a bad time? I wanted to catch you before you went home for the day.’

Losing interest already, I diverted my attention to my bag, searching through the pockets and feeling around at the base. Hospitals were funny about their rules, what you can and can’t wear due to risk of infection. Still searching, I cut to the chase.

‘Did you have something for me?’

Her jaw dropped and her eyes averted immediately. ‘How… How did…’ She shook head and revealed her hand. She was holding a bottle of strawberry flavoured water, which she immediately presented to me. ‘I just wanted to congratulate you on the surgery this afternoon.’

I glanced at the bottled water. ‘The appendectomy?’

A basic one-hour procedure… talk about grasping at straws.

‘Err, yes.’ She gulped.

She was unsure of herself now, possibly because I lacked any and all interest. Sighing, I checked one last pocket in my bag before finally finding what I was looking for. The wedding band was cool and familiar in my palm, and I slipped it on my finger.

‘Thank you Honoka,’ I said, taking the water from her. ‘I think I’ll save this for my wife. She’ll probably be tired.’

Honoka’s expression drained of all colour. ‘Your… your wife, Chishiya-sensei? You never mentioned you were married.’

I smiled - the same cheerful mask I had worn for years now. ‘I don’t believe anybody asked.’

And I don’t believe it’s anybody’s business.

I slotted the bottled water in my bag, only for Honoka to flinch. ‘I just thought you might have been thirsty.’

Hauling my bag onto my shoulder, I slipped past her in the doorway on my way out. ‘My wife likes strawberry. I’m sure she’ll appreciate it.’

I didn’t bother to look back, even though this news would spread like wildfire around the hospital staff by the next morning. I didn’t care. If anything, it was one less nuisance to deal with; Honoka, or any of the other nurses, wouldn’t be paying any impromptu visits to my office from now on. My thumb stroked the wedding band on my finger, a constant reminder of the only thing that truly mattered.

As if on cue, my phone hummed in my pocket. It started as a one-off after a bad day, but when one bad day turned into a bad week, a bad year, and then a bad workplace, your post-shift phone calls quickly became a familiar habit. Surprisingly one that I never tired of.

I picked up, skipping the greetings. ‘You’re finished already?’

‘Yep! Just heading to the car now. Where are you?’

‘What a coincidence,’ I said, using my free hand to take out my car key. The headlights flashed in the distance. ‘I’m on my way.’

You sighed on the other line, and I could hear the muffled sounds of you sliding into the driver’s seat. ‘Today’s really dragged, huh? I can’t wait to see you. It’s been terrible.’

‘Terrible, hm?’ I opened the door to my own car.

‘Yeah. I’ve been so busy! They just keep throwing work at me and I can’t keep up. None of us can. I don’t know how long I can keep working here, Shuntarou.’

‘Well,’ I said, sliding my bag into the passenger seat. ‘I’ve got a story that’ll cheer you up.’

‘A story?’

I smiled. ‘You like strawberries, right?’

#alice in borderland #chishiya #aib chishiya #chishiya shuntaro #chishiya x reader #imawa no kuni no arisu #aib

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lucy90712 · 7 months

Text

Road to recovery- part 8

Masterlist

Part of me was hoping that the hate would slow down a bit but of course it didn't. Every time I checked any form of social media all I saw was people posting about how much they didn't like me and assuming that I'm only friends with Pablo to gain something. I thought I'd be able to handle the comments but I just can't there has been so many more than I thought there would be and people have said such hurtful things about my appearance and my character. Pablo keeps apologising and asking if I'm ok and I just keep telling him I'm fine which is a bit of a lie but I can tell he already feels bad enough I don't want to make him feel worse by telling him how I really feel. The worst part about it is that everyone seems to be drawing attention to the things I was already insecure about which hasn't helped my mental state at all.

Today though I have a chance to cheer myself up a bit as I have a big check up with my doctor to see how my recovery is progressing. I think it's going pretty good so hopefully he agrees and says something positive as that would really lift my spirits. I've been nervous about the appointment today as well which has really made the last few days even more challenging on my mental health but I'm trying to stay positive as I know wallowing in sadness and anxiety won't do me any good.

Alonso came to pick me up a bit before my appointment; when I got in the car I expected him to tease me about everything that happened with the game this weekend but he didn't instead he asked if I was ok. I was going to lie to him too but because he's my brother he knows exactly when I'm lying so I had to tell him the truth. It was kind of nice to get all of my feelings off my chest and Alonso was really supportive and gave me some good advice. He's been through things like this before with getting hate for his performances out on track so he told me to just delete the apps off my phone for a bit that way I'm not tempted to look at what people are saying. In fact he stole my phone and did it for me as I think he knew I probably wouldn't do it myself.

Once I had my phone back I went into the hospital on my own leaving Alonso to wait in the car for me. The wait for my appointment wasn't long at all and then I went in and was immediately taken for some new scans to see how everything was healing. After scans I was subjected to a load of tests on my range of movement, how much weight I could put on my leg and how much pain I was in. The testing was rigorous and honestly quite exhausting as it's been a long time since I've done this much movement with my knee but for the most part it felt good. After I had done everything the doctor left for a while to review it all and look at my scans which left me just staring at the wall hoping to hear good news. Just as I was daydreaming the door opened again and the doctor came back in, his expression was impossible to read which for some reason filled me with a few more nerves.

"Ok Lola things aren't progressing as we would like them too internally you aren't healing as quick as we thought you would and your movement isn't at the range we would expect it to be" he said

"What does that mean?" I asked holding back tears

"For now it doesn't mean too much this can happen as we can't always accurately predict how quickly people will recover but we will set another one of these appointments in a few weeks and if we aren't seeing improvement you may need a second surgery so that we can see what's going on" the doctor explained

"Ok" was all I could manage to say

"I know this isn't what you wanted to hear but don't let it discourage you if you keep working hard you won't need the surgery" he said

We scheduled my next appointment and that was as long as I could hold it together. All of my emotions that I'd been holding onto for the last few days came out all at once, as soon as I left the hospital doors I burst into tears and I couldn't do anything to stop them. I made my way back to where Alonso parked but before I could get into the car Alonso had got out and wrapped me in his arms. He tried to get me to stop crying and tell him what was wrong but I just couldn't he tried everything to help me all of which had worked before but today nothing could stop me. Eventually he gave up and let me get in the car so we could go home because right now all I want is to just go home and get to grips with my emotions as I clearly have a lot to process.

As much as my eyes were filled with tears I could tell that Alonso didn't take the turn to take me back to my place which meant he was going to take me somewhere in hopes of cheering me up. I really didn't want to go wherever it was he was planning to go but I was sobbing too much to tell him to take me home. We went a bit further before the car stopped and I looked round a bit as at first I didn't recognise where we were but then I saw Pablo's house and realised we were just down the street. I should've known Alonso was going to bring me here but this is the last place I want to be I don't want Pablo to see me like this. I knew we said we would help each other out but I know for a fact Pablo is doing better and I know he's in a better place mentally and I don't want to ruin that by projecting my problems onto him that wouldn't be fair.

Alonso had to practically drag me out of the car and down the road which was rather easy for him as I'm not strong enough to put up too much of a fight. We walked down the street to Pablo's house where Alonso left me to ring the doorbell, part of me was hoping that he wouldn't be in even though he said he had no plans today. Of course after just a few seconds the door opened and I locked eyes with Pablo who straight away rushed over as quick as he could and wrapped me up in his arms. I wanted to stop crying but for some reason I only cried more once I was in Pablo's arms it was like he made me feel safe enough to truly let all of my feelings out. Pablo said a few words to my brother before taking me inside and allowing him to leave.

Pablo took me to the sofa and allowed me to settle into his embrace with my head buried in his chest so he couldn't see my tear stained and probably red and puffy face. His hand was gently stroking my back trying to calm me down while he whispered comforting words in my ears. It wasn't anything special what he was doing but hearing his words and feeling his hands on me did wonders in helping calm my emotions which I didn't have any control over. As my tears began to slow down Pablo kept rubbing my back and he even wiped some of the tears from my face that he could reach as I was still hiding most of my face. I never would've thought he would be so good at comforting me I mean he's always so hyper and full of energy I never imagined that he'd be any good at keeping calm and radiating that onto others but clearly he is. Once I had completely stopped crying and my breathing was getting back to normal Pablo put a hand under my chin and got me to look at him.

"Can you tell me what's wrong I hate seeing you so upset and I want to help" he said

"The doctor said my knee isn't healing properly and I might need another surgery if things don't get better" I said still sniffling slightly

"I'm sorry that sounds awful but that's not the only thing on your mind is it" he probed further

"No that's it" I lied

"Don't lie to me please just tell me what's wrong I'll do whatever I can to help and I won't judge you you know that" he said

Damn why doesn't he have to be able to read me like a book.

"Ok I've been getting a lot of hate since we were seen together at the game and it's been getting to me a bit I thought I could handle it as I'm used to criticism but I can't some people are just so mean" I admitted letting a few more tears fall

"I knew it was getting to you people on social media are assholes because they don't feel the consequences of what they say but none of what they say is true" he said

"But they keep talking about how I must be using you or how I don't deserve to even be friends with you which that part is kind of true" I rambled

"No it's not true I can't even imagine what my life would be like without you I love spending time with you just because you aren't famous doesn't mean you don't deserve to be friends with me and despite what they say I know you aren't using me I know you would never do that" he said

"And before you say anything all of the things they say about your appearance aren't true either you are beautiful inside and out and they are just jealous" he added

Hearing him say that put a smile on my face. Pablo has never really complimented me before he's told me my outfit was cool a few times but he's never called me beautiful so hearing it made me feel a lot better about myself. He must've noticed that I was finally smiling again as he told me I looked pretty when I smiled which only made my cheeks heat up but luckily my face was already red from crying so Pablo probably wouldn't have noticed. Although I kind of wish he knew how he made me feel because as time goes on it's getting harder and harder to hide my true feelings from him.

Pablo's POV

The pain in her eyes just shattered my heart. She's been my rock throughout every step of the way so far so to see her breakdown right in front of me really hurt. This whole time she's been the strong one never letting anything get to her but finally it's caught up with her and part of it's my fault because we got seen together at the game and now people are tearing her apart and one person can only handle so much. I feel so awful that I'm part of the reason she's so upset but knowing that I can be there for her and calm her down makes me feel a bit better. When she arrived she was hysterical and her brother told me he couldn't get a word out of her so he wanted me to try so that's what I did. I'm not very good at keeping myself calm at times let alone other people but I tried my best and after a while of just rubbing her back and whispering to her she calmed down. It felt good to be the one to help her because she's done so much for me that anything I can do to even remotely repay that I'll do in a heartbeat.

Hearing the way she criticised herself as well it pained me. She's the most beautiful and kind person I've ever met so to hear her say that she thought she didn't deserve to be friends with me hurt but what hurt more was to see that those horrible people got to her and made her feel insecure in herself. Throughout the time we've known each other I've always wanted to tell her just how beautiful she is but I've refrained as I know once I open the flood gates there's no going back. Once I start complimenting her I'm scared that I'll let my feelings show but today she needed it so I knew I had to take the risk. Seeing the smile that my compliments gave her made the risk feel worth it though as I'd do anything to keep her smiling 24/7.

Looking into her eyes as she smiled and blushed at my words made me feel some type of way. I've felt something for her since we first met and I've kept those feelings repressed until now but I don't know if I can do it any longer. She's just the most perfect girl I've ever met and I don't want to lose her whether that be to another guy or to the fear of what us being friends might mean for her. I have to tell her how I feel in hopes that as long as she feels the same way it gives her a reason to stick around even when things are tough like they are right now. As scary as it is I have to take the risk.

#gavi imagine #gavi imagines #pablo gavi imagine #pablo gavi imagines #gavi #gavi oneshots #football imagine #gavi x reader #pablo gavi

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amica-aenigmata-naboo · 1 month

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Wifey

Dev Patel x Y/N - drabble - 527 WC

Masterlist

Warnings: none this is so fluffy, maybe mention of injuries in regards to Dev but nothing serious at all

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

You rushed through the doors of the hospital, instantly running to the nurse at the front desk. “Hi! How can I help -”

“Dev Patel, birthday April 23rd, 1990.” you said quickly.

The woman looked at you with an apathetic gaze, “Third floor, room 327.” she said.

You nodded at her and gave a small smile before making your way to the elevator. Once it reached the third floor you saw Dev’s manager and a few different crew members scattered in the hallway. You tried to make your way over to them but a nurse stopped you.

“Ma’am visiting hours are over, family only.” she stated, standing in your way.

You looked at Dev’s manager with a pleading look, tears starting to well up in your eyes.

“She’s his wife.” he said, walking over to you.

The nurse relinquished your arm as you made your way to Dev’s agent. You pushed your bag and jacket into his arms before opening and shutting the door once you were inside. Dev was asleep in the bed. You quietly walked to him, thumbing over his cheek gently as you looked over him. He had bruises all over. You frowned, eyes watering at the very notion of him being hurt.

“I’m fine baby.” you heard in a groggy voice.

Your head whipped to Dev. You let out a sigh you didn’t know you were holding in, “Oh my god, honey…” you trailed off, not sure what to say.

“It really looks worse than it is… a broken leg and a concussion aren’t that bad in the grand scheme of things.” he smiled at you.

You scoffed, moving to hug him softly “I’m just glad you’re alright. All they told me was that you were in the hospital.”

Dev’s eyebrows drew together, “How did you get in? Last I heard visiting hours were over…” he said.

“I may or may not have said I was your wife… Well, I didn’t. Your manager did. Either way that nurse wasn’t gonna stop me from getting to you. Fuck visiting hours.” you said with all seriousness.

Dev laughed at the last bit, holding his side with a groan. You raised an eyebrow at him, “Bruised ribs…” he said sheepishly.

You sighed, “Move over.” you said.

Dev scooted over in the bed, holding his arms open automatically. You crawled in, careful to avoid hitting any of his injuries. You kissed his neck a few times before resting your head in the crook of his neck, breathing him in.

“I’m glad you’re alright.” you whispered to him before pecking him on the cheek.

Dev snuggled his head into you before kissing your nose then your lips. “I’m sorry I made you worry… wifey.” he said, you could feel him smiling against you.

You let out a breathy laugh at the faux title, “Dork… you should get some sleep. Heal and all that shit. I love you” you said before kissing him.

Dev smiled, leaning his head against yours again, “Love you wifey.” he said, making a mental note to finally bust out that ring he bought 3 months ago as soon as he was out of the hospital.

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Naboo's Note:

Heyyyyy one small fic before my surgery on Tuesday. I hope ya'll enjoy, I have a few in my drafts so I will get around to posting those soon hopefully. :) ILYSM XOXXOXOXOXOXXOXO

#writing #dev patel x reader #dev patel #kid monkey man x y/n #kid monkey man #monkey man x reader #monkey man 2024 #monkey man

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happinessisntfun · 3 days

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taking a moment to lay myself bare once again because what is tumblr for if not to post things incredibly personal and soul bearing when you should be in bed.

I am towards the end of my scheduled two weeks of leave. I have made considerable progress, but I started at rock bottom. I was not initially honest with myself about how far into burnout I was but surprise! I burned out three months ago and didn't realize.

I tore my acl in January and had surgery for that in February. I took most of the month of March off to recover, but I did not ease back into work, I jumped back in headfirst and foolishly.

I have had pt at least once a week since March, which is physically and emotionally demanding. Friday is my last session, but tbh, I probably should keep going. I just can't any more.

I work an incredibly demanding and high stress job. I transitioned fully to working from home in July after having multiple panic attacks on my way to and from work.

My migraines have picked up to the point where I have had eight migraine free days in the past 10 weeks.

I have been dealing with extreme chronic abdominal pain that I have not figured out the cause of since April.

wow some of these things are probably connected to that pesky burnout huh

I had a colonoscopy at the end of August and did not take a single moment to breath afterwards, even though anesthesia basically destroys me.

I have not cooked since May or June. I haven't been able to do much crafting for longer.

With all that in mind, I am going to take more time off. I need to finish dealing with the leave paperwork because my bank account is really feeling the missed paycheck now. I'm fine, financially. I have a high paying job and all my bills are paid until the end of the month and once I get this paperwork together, I'll get the majority of my pay for each week I'm off. (thank you, Jared Polis)

I has survived 100% of my worst days so far and I will continue surviving through this. Just needed to lay myself bare for a bit to try and cope with the realities of being disabled and chronically ill and temporarily injured.

The hazards of extending this leave further is that I need to have some very challenging discussions with loved ones so that understandings are reached.

I also need to figure out how to talk to my employer about this situation and make sure they understand that I will be coming back as soon as I can. (Thank fuck I've alluded to health issues before this crisis point and thank fuck for my wonderful amazing gp)

and that's the end of my deeply personal post. This is largely to process all of the shit I'm dealing with and hopefully set some things down. I'm probably going to send the link to this post to a few folks so I don't have to explain myself multiple times. I wonder if my parents know what tumblr is and if I can just send them this and tell them to shove their questions up their asses.

#personal

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kelpan · 4 months

Text

Hello!

I can't tell you how good it feels to be getting a chapter out only about a month after the last update, instead of, you know, four 😅. But for any who were concerned after my last authors note, I can say I am doing a bit better than I was, a fact I'm both grateful for and still getting used to. I had a surgery at the beginning of this month, which took me down for about two weeks to recover from, but I can say it was well worth it, as I'm already seeing improvements in my health. Just trying to take it all one step at a time, even when bad days still arise.

If anything, it gave me plenty of time to work on this chapter and get it to a place where I'm happy with it. Only two more chapters left in Act 1!

Also, it was my birthday earlier this past week! Gemini season has begun! :D

Credit for the OC Chrysanthemum headshot goes to wwispie on Etsy/Instagram!

Ao3: Petals on a Stream of Stars

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Act 1, Chapter 13: Once Lost, Now Found

Wednesday

7:45pm

Chrysanthemum

Outside the walls of the daycare, the low lighting grew dense and heavy, lit only by harsh emergency lighting. Everywhere stood masses of confused patrons, huddled in groups of various sizes in shops or along corners. Somewhere, Chrys heard a mechanical voice stick out amidst the chaos, dissonant against the flow of human ones flooding the air. She dashed forward, following the direction of the sound. A human staff member may not be able to contact an animatronic, but perhaps a robotic one might.

Just a ways ahead, she found the source of the voice; A single staff bot currently attempting—and failing—to corral a large family into remaining still enough to be scanned. While expressionless, Chrys could swear she heard exasperation in the bot’s monotone voice.

“Guests, please remain in place. Scanning will commence—GUESTS. Please remain in place. Scanning will commence—GUESTS. Please remain in—”

“Hey!” Every face in the vicinity turned to look at her. She disregarded those that were human and spoke only to the staff bot. “Are you able to get a message to an animatronic? It’s urgent.”

Head cocked, her request was met with a blank stare. A red laser pinprick lit up the center of its oval iris, washing over her.

“Employee designation recognized. Request granted. What is your message and intended recipient?”

The family huffed from behind the bot, but she refused to let them distract her from her goal. If they wanted this to be over sooner, they should have been more patient and cooperative in the first place.

“Uh, for Sun.”

“Sun is off-line. Choose available recipient.”

“Wait, what?” The bot’s response made her pause. “But I literally just saw him a couple of minutes ago.”

“Sun is off-line. Choose available recipient.”

“Oook then… uh, what about Moon? Is he available?”

The bot remained silent for a moment before answering, the sound of a fan revving signifying his inner query. “Affirmative.”

“Great!” She pumped her fist. “Then, uh, tell him he needs to go to Kids Cove as soon as possible. I have reason to believe that’s where Marigold’s gone. You know, the missing kid.”

The staff bot bobbed its head before returning to duty. “Received. Message sent.”

“Great, thank you!”

Hopefully he gets there quickly…

Task completed, she let her feet lead the way back, letting the frustrated bot return to his unenviable duty. Though with each step, her assurance wavered. A peculiar knot still remained lodged in her chest, weighing on her. But why? She came to a halt when a flash of pain shot through the inside of her cheek, catching up to her that she’d been chewing at it without realizing it.

This didn’t make sense. She’d done what she sought out to do; Give someone better suited to help Marigold in this situation an advantage, point them in the right direction. That’s all that she could do, right?

So why did she feel so dissatisfied?

A single thought repeatedly clawed to the surface, eating away at what was left of her confidence. What if… what if she was wrong? What if her deductions meant nothing, and she was pulling help further away from where it really needed to be? Should she have thought to check it out herself first, and called for help later? Was she just wasting everyone’s time, sending them on a wild goose chase?

She groaned, the butts of her palms shoved to her eyes as she spun in place. She didn’t think this through! Stupid, so, so stupid! If she’d bungled this she’d feel like the worst sort of person—a detriment, with the audacity to burden others with her incompetence.

Looking out from beyond her hands, she found herself standing in the space between the front gate of the Daycare and the path which led to the elevator. The realization dawned on her that this would have been the most likely path for the party to have followed upon returning to the Daycare. What were the odds that this was where Marigold had run off?

While things weren’t crystal clear, her eyes had had enough time to adjust to the dim space that she could make out some of the graphics and advertisements around her, scanning for anything that might have caught a child’s eye. A cut-out for Roxy Raceway, a poster of Freddy singing, and—there! Protruding from a wall, a mounted arrow sign, pointing down a conjoining hallway, with the words “Kids Cove” written at its center, surrounded by what looked to be an image of palm trees.

Bingo!

Her body took off of its own volition, and soon the slap of her sneakers joined the cacophony of the crowd as she jogged, deftly avoiding wayward packs of confused and irate people until she reached her destination; A wide open and decorated archway that once would have made for a inviting display, now cordoned off by an array of wooden crates, opaque sheets of plastic and caution tape, with two signs bookending the haphazard mess of clutter. Flashlight in hand, Chrys drew close, using the light to read the message.

“Kids Cove.” She breathed. “Closed for renovations. Do not enter without special authorization. Fazbear Entertainment will not be held liable for any harm received past this point. Well,” she sighed, craning to try and look beyond the blockages. “Trying to find a lost kid counts as special authorization, right? Right. Of course it does.”

After a minute of examining the area, she discovered a small opening between the sides of two crates, just large enough for her to squeeze through if she dropped to her belly and shimmied on her side.

“Guess I know how she would’ve gotten in…”

From the floor, nothing but a void greeted her beyond the crates. No light, no glow, only an inky abyss, one that even her flashlight couldn’t overpower, at least not from this angle. Positioning herself down to an army crawl, she ignored any dust her movement kicked up, though they made her nose sniffle, and inched her way through. Once she could stick her top half out on the other side, a quick look confirmed her suspicions; No emergency lighting present, not like the rest of the building. The air felt oppressive against her skin, tickling the hair on the back of her neck. If Marigold managed to make it in this far before the lights went out, there’d have been no way for her to have found her way back out again on her own.

“Marigold?” She called, pulling herself to her feet and stepping carefully into the dark, the flashlight acting as her anchor and her guide, lighting her way past the abstract and colorful shapes partially revealed within the minuscule circle of light.

With a bit of examination, the abstract shapes revealed themselves to be different kinds of playground equipment. Jungle gyms, slides, swings, all in various shades of underwater or muted jewel tones, with most still in some incomplete form of assembly. She had to hand it to those two attendants. For as infuriating as they were, it appeared as if they knew at least a little of what they talked about.

The further in she went, the more apparent it was how secluded this section of the pizzaplex was from the rest of the building. None of the fanfare from the guests outside could make it this far, making every sound more pronounced within the silence. Her footsteps, her breathing. Though she was here with good intentions, she couldn’t shake the feeling that perhaps this wasn’t the wisest of decisions. Ignoring the goosebumps which prickled across her arms, she pressed on, reminding herself that she was an adult, and there was a kid in need right now. It was her responsibility to keep herself under control.

“Marigold?” She called out again, her voice bouncing throughout the room. “Marigold, can you hear me?”

Waiting for the last of her echoes to fade, she held her breath, hoping to better catch even the softest of sounds.

“… Miss Chrys?”

She whipped to the side with a sharp gasp, flashlight darting to try and locate its source.

“Marigold?” Chrys repeated, hesitant to trust in what she heard as the real deal and not just a figment of her imagination.

“Miss Chrys!”

“Marigold!!!”

Certain now without the shadow of a doubt, Chrys rushed ahead, narrowly avoiding the scattered pieces of unfinished playground equipment littering the floor.

“Where are you? Are you hurt? Don’t worry, I’m—AHHH!”

Her words switched to a shout as the floor disappeared out from under her, stomach lurching as she sprawled forward, arms outstretched in a desperate attempt to cushion her fall. Her flashlight flew from her grasp, the beam darting about in erratic streaks, before going out with a bang and a crackle, leaving her blind in the dark as she hit the ground.

“Miss Chrys!!!”

Marigold’s terrified voice shrieked in her ear, closer than ever before, adding to her disorientation. Her knees and elbows smarted, having taken the majority of her weight in the fall, and her shoulder ached, but overall, that seemed to be the worst of it. The fall must not have been that bad, though to Chrys it felt like she fell a good couple of feet, at least.

“Miss Chrys, are you ok???”

Reminded of the present by a pair of tiny hands yanking and tugging at her shirt, Chrys shook herself from her daze and did her best to focus.

“Marigold, is that you? Oh, I’m so glad to—oof!”

“I’m sorry!!” The girl launched herself at her so hard she pushed the air from her lungs, and clung to her as if she were a lifeline. “I thought big brother would be here, his office is here, he’s always working! But then it was all blocked off, and I wasn’t sure if I should look behind it, but I wanted to find him so I tried, but then there was nobody, and, and then, then the lights went out, and I didn’t know how to get back, and I tripped and fell and now my ankle hurts and… and… WAHHHHHH!!!!”

The girl spoke in a single, fluid torrent, her words a bleeding mess of incoherent emotions and distress. Her tears broke into full bodied sobs, her breathing disjointed by deep gasps of air.

“Hey, hey!” Chrys sat up, scooping the wailing child into her arms. “It’s ok, it’s ok. You’re safe, that’s all that matters. Everything’s ok, shhhhh…”

She rocked in place, patting gently along the child’s back in a soothing motion, keeping her little murmurs of reassurance soft and calm and steady.

“There you go, that’s it,” Chrys said, sensing her efforts were taking effect. “Take a deep breath for me. In—” She demonstrated the motion first, pleased when Marigold imitated. “And out. Good, good.”

The poor thing sat on her lap tucked in the fetal position, head nestled up under Chrys’s chin. She hiccupped and sniffled as her tears ebbed, snuggling in as close as she could.

“Marigold,” Chrys asked, pausing to consider her words before continuing. “What’s going on, why did you run off? We were all so worried.”

The girl coughed, the sound heavy with mucus, and curled even further inward. “… he promised.”

“Promised? Promised what?”

Silence hung heavy in the air around them, until after another wet cough, Marigold continued. “Big Brother promised he’d celebrate my birthday with me. But… everything’s been so bad lately. Since Grandpa didn’t wake up, all Mama and Papa do is shout and yell and cry, and Big Brother is never home anymore! I just… I just wanted everyone to smile again, like when mama and I first moved in… he promised!!!

The wails started anew, face pressed into her chest, the tears soaking through the already wet fabric as she worked herself up again. Chrys winced alongside each of her pain-filled cries but remained silent, giving her the space to release all the pent up grief and confusion bottled up inside. She knew how it was to be so overwhelmed that you couldn’t think straight. Wrapping her arms fully around her shaking frame, she held the girl close, cheek pressed to the top of her head, rocking gently back and forth. Words wouldn’t help here. Just presence and kindness. To know it was alright to cry, to know you were safe while you let it all out, give voice to the ache that refused to leave.

To know you weren’t alone.

A memory appeared in her mind then, foggy, but there, of her mother holding her in a similar position soon after her Dad had died. Oh, how she’d cried and cried, inconsolable, but her mother had let her, holding her tight as the soft melody she sang soothed her frazzled nerves…

“When the Sun sets…”

The same song found purchase in her own throat now, vying for space amidst the child’s cries. Chrys sang just above a whisper, a purposeful breathiness intermingling with each note.

“And the Moon rises…”

Marigold shifted, turning so as the side of her face rested against Chrys’s chest, where her heartbeat was strongest. Chrys ran a gentle hand over her head, caressing the soft curls.

“The stars will dance for you. As the petals blow, from the trees embrace, carrying away your light. And there I’ll go, to the waters edge, to sing with you again….”

Marigold’s breathing settled as the last note faded, the music having won against the sorrow. The empty air around them no longer carried a sense of unease, but rather that of a comforting shield, protecting them in an otherworldly cocoon of peace and quiet.

“What… what song is that?” Marigold’s tiny voice asked, her sniffle the loudest.

“Just… a lullaby my mother taught me. It always used to help me whenever my heart hurt. Maybe it can help yours too.”

Though she didn’t reply, Marigold seemed content with her answer, snuggling in closer and twirling a lock of hair as they sat together in comfortable silence. They should start trying to find their way back soon, Chrys knew, alleviate everyone’s worry and return to enjoying the rest of the party, but… she couldn’t find it within herself to move the exhausted girl quite yet. Poor thing could use an extra minute or two.

Though, despite her wishes, fate seemed to have a different plan. A sharp clang, thin and metallic, rang out from the darkness, shattering their illusion of solitude. Marigold gasped and stiffened. Chrys remained silent, listening.

“Monster…” Marigold whispered, in the tiniest of voices. She trembled, attempting to back further into the safety of her arms. Chrys adjusted, using a free hand to wipe the wet strands of hair out of Marigold’s tear-soaked face.

“It’s ok,” Chrys replied, reassuring. “Maybe something fell, or…” In the distance, a soft tinkling sound resounded through the void, active, and growing closer by the millisecond. It took Chrys a split-second to realize what it was.

“Bells… they’re bells! Oh, thank goodness. Marigold, it’s alright, that’s no monster, that’s just Mr.—”

“No!” Marigold screeched, fighting against her “No, no! Monster, monster!!”

Tugging against her hold, her behavior grew more frantic by the second, forcing Chrys to struggle in order to keep Marigold still. If she slipped up and let her run off into the dark like this, she could only imagine how badly she could get hurt. She had to figure out a way to get her to calm down before things got out of hand.

Wait, the flashlight! Of course!

Everything always seemed scarier in the dark; it’s why night-lights were staples in childhood bedrooms. Marigold just needed to see that there was nothing to fear! Deciding to try, Chrys switched her hold to a single arm, just long enough to snatch the tool from the ground and smash the defiant button, hoping to make the stubborn thing work through sheer force of will alone.

“Come on, come on!”

The jingles grew louder, only to stop just before they would have reached them, the lack of noise louder than the sound itself. A red glow began to break through the darkness surrounding them, illuminating the dark shapes around them bit by bit. Marigold exploded the second she noticed, kicking and clawing as if her life depended on it, her tiny nails digging into Chrys’s arm hard enough that she could feel the sharp pricks of pain and warm wetness bloom across her skin. Dropping the flashlight, Chrys abandoned her previous plan and focused solely on restraining Marigold, certain now that she would inevitably harm herself in such a state.

“Marigold, stop! It’s alright! Relax! There’s no monster, I promise! You have to calm down!”

A sharp “crunch” from the side interrupted her just then, followed immediately by an eruption of light which split the space between, blinding as her pupils constricted.

Blinking against the pain, snippets of vision registered as her eyes adjusted. Blue fabric against yellow stars. Grey and blue endoskeleton. A sleeping cap more hood than cap draped over thin shoulders. And a silvery, crescent moon face, framing blood red, glowing eyes, the very same which had stared down at her while she lay on a concrete floor.

Marigold screamed.

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