#and seeing him grow is just.. agh heart pain extreme! in the best way!

[thewildomega]

Second Chance Ch.17

More people had been tossed into the cells with you and Enola, one looked like a humanoid dog and another you guessed was a fishman. As the number of people grew you had made sure Enola stayed by you when a few of the people seemed sketchy. At one point the pirates had brought down a few measly loafs of bread and everyone in the cells went nuts. After fighting with one of the human men which had proved to be almost more than you could handle because of your weakened state you had managed to snag the little girl a half of a loaf to eat. She had quickly offered you some of it but you had shook your head and moved to rest back against the wall with her in your lap. You had no desire to eat, no desire to go on. 

You had no idea how long it had been but your pants had started dropping lower on your hips as starvation started to take effect. Closing your heavy eyes you laid your head back against the wall and thought back to the man you loved. You wondered if he had meant any of those kind words he had ever said to you? Probably not, he was most likely just playing his card right since you had offered him a place to stay and everything else while he was stuck in your world. Like he said, he had never loved you, you were simply there for his amusement and once he grew tired of you that was it. He was never going to marry you, he didn't want you apart of his family, the family you had been so excited to call your own. You knew the truth now, you would never have a family of your own. No one would ever want you, no one would ever love you. With a heavy sigh you felt that clenching in your heart intensify. 

"Don't know why you are so attached to the girl, in a few days it won't matter..." 

Opening your heavy eyes you looked across the cell to the man you had just fought, his nose still dripping blood. 

"...she'll be sold off ta the highest bidder jus' like the rest of us." he finished.

Hearing a whimper you looked down to the little girl sitting in your lap and saw she had started crying again. 

"Those tears ain't gonna save ya brat, ya better toughen up now." He huffed. 

"I...I don't want to be.. sold... I want to g..go home." 

"Ya ain't ever goin' 'ome, yer gonna be a slave fer the rest of yer life." 

"That's enough!" you snapped. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"Oh shut it bitch, I'm just tellin' the little runt the facts..."

"Why?! Does it make you feel like some big macho man to scare little girls?" When he only narrowed his eyes at you you raised your chin, refusing to back down. "She is suffering enough as it is you don't have to make it worse." 

"Whatever let her live in 'er dreamworld but that's what's gonna get 'er killed. Ya on the other 'and... Well ya already look like yer knockin' on death's door. " he chuckled before he turned his back to you both. 

Sighing you looked back down to Enola and saw her crying quietly. "Hey it's alright, don't pay him no mind..."

"I don't want to be a slave... I... I don't want to die..." she cried. 

Feeling her turn to cry into your chest you lifted your hand up as much as you could with your chained wrists to rub her back. Swallowing hard you blinked slowly. She reminded you so much of yourself. A frightened child who wanted nothing more than to be with her family, the people who loved her. It was then you decided that you would not let her suffer like you did. That man had been right about one thing, yes you were close to death but if it was the last thing you did you would save this child. "Enola." you whispered, dipping your head down so only she could hear. When she lifted her tear filled eyes to yours you gave her the best grin you could. "I need you to listen very closely to me and do everything I say okay..." When she nodded hesitantly you licked your dry, cracked lips. "I'm gonna get you out of this..."

............................

One by one the others were led up the stairs. When it came time for you you sat quietly as the man unlocked the cuffs on your ankles. For the past few days you had been laying on your worsening condition a little more than how you truly felt. Not the you didn't feel like absolute shit but you wanted these men to think you were nothing to worry about. 

"You gonna be able to walk?" 

Nodding you stood, holding back your smirk as you stood up, wobbling a little bit when your head spun. Watching as the man tied a rope around Enola's tiny wrists you clenched your teeth but said nothing. Being led up the stairs you couldn't help but breath in the fresh air as it washed over you. Blinking you looked out over the island and saw snow. It was nighttime so you couldn't see the entire layout of the land but you could make out the silhouette of mountains in the background along with something roundish looking that was much bigger than all the mountains. It was windy as well, the cold air cutting into your bare skin like knives. You couldn't help but shiver but you wouldn't say a word. 

"Bet you wished you would've kept your coat huh doll?" the captain huffed, looking down to the little girl who was wearing the extremely large coat. Walking over to the tall woman he sighed at her weakened state, "Try not to die before I can make a few berries off of ya." 

Refusing to say a word you watched as he turned and started off the ship, everyone else following. Feeling the one man pull on your chain you started walking along behind him, keeping Enola close. Walking along the snow covered ground you felt your shivering increase. Stumbling a bit you noticed the rest of the crew and captives get a little further ahead. 

"Agh get a move on will you cunt!" 

Feeling him yank on your chains you started coughing and doubled over. Glancing up as the captain looked back and rolled his eyes before turning to continue on you narrowed your own. Acting out your part you heard Enola ask if you were okay. When the man holding both your chain and her rope shoved her back and made her fall you grit your teeth as he started yelling at her. Quickly grabbing hold of the sword on his hip which was more like a large knife to you, you shoved it into his chest when he turned towards you. As soon as he let out a croaking scream you made your move. Snatching your chain from his hand you lifted Enola up into your arms and ran for it. Hearing yelling behind you and then the Captain yelling orders for his crew to stop you pushed on harder. A loud gunshot rung through the air and then you cried out as a sharp pain hit your leg. Stumbling into the side of the nearby building you bit your lip. Hearing the yelling growing closer you took a shaky before taking off again, pushing through the immense pain in your thigh. 

Refusing to stop you kept on, holding Enola close. Seeing trees up ahead you ran for them, hoping to get some sort of cover. Your bare feet were becoming numb from the frigid cold but you wouldn't stop. Running through the trees and rocks for some time you made a sharp right turn when you noticed the smoke in the sky and saw a small home up ahead. You could still hear them coming behind you and swallowed hard, your heart hammering in your chest. Panting you ran towards the door and knocked desperately. Hearing nothing at first you knocked again and this time saw a small light come on in the window. When the door flew open you saw a old man standing there with a old woman behind him. 

"Wha.. what can i do for you young lady?" he asked.

"I don't have time to explain sir but I beg you to please take this girl." Sitting Enola down in front of you you saw the old couple look to her and then up to you with wide eyes. 

"What's going on dear? Is somethin.."

Seeing the chains on the woman's writs the man looked down to the girl again. "You are runaways.... slaves..."

Shaking your head you looked him in the eyes. "Not yet... not ever." hearing the yellign getting closer you breathed heavily. "Please. Please you have to take her, you have to hide her. Please don't let them find her, she's just a child." 

"No. No, Y/n I want to stay with you..."

Coming forward to stand beside her husband she looked to the young woman. "You are hurt..."

"I'll be fine. I'll lead them away. Please I'm begging you." They both just looked at you for sometime before each other and then nodding. 

"Hurry child inside." the old woman said. 

Forcing her to let go of your finger you heard her start crying. "Enola stop. It's okay, it's okay you... your going to be okay." you told her, feeling her hug your leg you rubbed her hair and swallowed hard. 

Hearing the yelling he took a deep breath. "We must hurry or they will find the both of you." 

Nodding you pushed her towards the elderly woman and watched her take her towards the room in the back. Looking back to the man you tried to keep yourself from passing out. "Thank you." 

Taking a deep breath he nodded, "Go down to the river, make a right at the fallen tree and then a left after the big boulder. There will be a trail on your right, it will be grown up some no doubt but it will lead you back around to here. It's a long trail, steep as well but if you can lose them at the river and make it back here we will hide you as well."

Nodding you forced a small grin. You knew you weren't making it back but it was kind of him to offer, "Thank you." Looking to the door Enola had went into you saw him look up to you. 

"She will be safe. Go."

Taking a deep breath you bowed your head and took off back towards them.  Glancing back you saw the old man brushing up your tracks with a broom. Running towards the pirates you felt your bloody pants cling to your leg, the pain was almost unbearable but you knew what was at stake. Cutting through the trees you saw the lights from the pirates and ran a little ways in front of them, seeing them instantly take the bait and follow after you. Keeping your back to them so they would think you still had Enola you heard them running behind you. Shots rang out around you as you ran up the cliff side. Getting to the top you turned around when one got too close. Kicking him with your bad leg you felt it shoot with pain but watched him roll down the hill. Turning back around you made it over the peak and tried to go down but tripped and began rolling down, your body slamming into the rocks and roots as you fell. Stopped suddenly by a tree you screamed when another gun went off and the bullet hit your lower back. Gasping you looked up to see the group making their way down towards you. You were too close, too close to Enola, they had to think you had hide her away somewhere further. Rolling to your side you pushed yourself up, whimpering out and feeling something warm run down your back. 

"Don't let her get away!"

Holding your aching ribs with one hand you continued running. Pushing yourself as much as possible you lost them for a short time in a thick patch of trees. Coming to the river the old man was talking about you shuddered as you ran into the icy waters. Shaking so bad you could hear your teeth chattering you moved out into the water, making your way across to where you saw the fallen tree on the other side. Swimming when it got deep you gasped for air. Getting out of the river you stumbled across to the tree, you were so cold, your whole body was going numb and in turn it was getting harder to move. 

"AHHH!" 

Snapping your eyes to the man when he lunged towards you you caught the blade of his sword with your chain and spun out of the way. "AHHaaa!" Crying out you backed away into the side of the tree and looked down to see a slash along your right hip. Shaking you just did manage to roll away when he swung his sword again. Clenching your teeth you slammed into him when he was off balance but fell to the ground as well. Your head was spinning, your body growing weak as your adrenaline started wearing off. Feeling him land a hard punch to your jaw you looked up to the night sky, the stars mixing all together. 

"You're a tough one, I'll give you that... but not tough enough. Where's that little one at? You're stupid if you think we won't find her..." looking down at the woman he grabbed ahold of the necklace around her neck and lifted it up before ripping it from her neck and looking over the junk. Scoffing he tossed it to the ground. 

Enola.. You couldn't let them find Enola. Using your little strength to wrap your chain around his neck you held it tightly as he struggled. Clenching your teeth as he hit and elbowed your battered body you tugged harder. Slowly he started to go limp. Holding it around his neck for a little longer you finally let go and shoved him off of you. Panting you shook, your eyes desperate to close. You were so tired. You wanted to sleep, you just wanted to sleep. NOT YET! Snapping your eyes back open you rolled over and pushed yourself up onto your unsteady feet. Grabbing his sword and your necklace you started stumbling along the snow cover ground. 

Making it to the big boulder you looked to the grown up path not to far away and swallowed hard, taking in a shaky breath. You couldn't lead them back to her, back to those kind people that had helped. Looking to the opposite direction you saw the sea far down the mountain and blinked your heavy eyes slowly. Lifting your heavy limb you turned towards the water. You couldn't go on much longer, you were already past your limit. Holding onto the trees as you made your way down you got to a ledge of sorts with many large boulders and trees around. Stumbling over to one of the big rocks you leaned back against it and slowly sunk down. You couldn't go any further. Sitting on the ground you leaned back against the cold rock. At least with being so cold you couldn't much feel pain anymore, couldn't much feel anything. Your lids felt like someone had attached weights to them. Fighting to keep them open a little longer you starred out over the sea. The sun was just beginning to start it's rise, the sky turning pink and orange just over the water. Moving your arms you held the sword in your right hand on the ground next to you while you moved your left one to your lap. Glancing down to your palm as you shakingly opened it as much as your frozen fingers would allow you looked down at the yellow sea glass and swallowed hard. Feeling a clenching in your heart you felt your lip tremble and a tear roll down the side of your nose. What you wouldn't give to see him one last time, to have him hold you in those big, strong arms. Tightening your grip on your most prized possession you raised your eyes back to the sea once more. Your last thoughts being of the man you loved as your eyes finally slipped close. 

........................... 

Twelve days it had been twelve days since he had last seen her, since he had last held her. Noticing the sky starting to brighten along the horizon he sighed, thirteen days. Staring out over the seemingly endless sea he closed his eyes as the invisible blade in his heart twisted. They were supposed to be married by now. She was supposed to be his wife. He was supposed to be her husband. Right now they should be laying in their bed, blissfully enjoying one another in the ways newly weds should. Instead they were who knows how far apart and she was enduring who knows what. The constant pain in his chest ensured him that she was hurting. Undoubtedly emotionally, mentally and he had this horrible feeling it was physically as well. Stirring the ship in the direction his constricted heart was telling him to go he stood by the wheel and pushed his hand into his pocket to fish out her phone. Turning it on he looked down to the picture of the both of them. They were both smiling widely, her face attempting to hide away in his neck. God he missed her so much. That incomplete feeling that he had felt his whole life until she had shown up was now back and worse than ever. It was like his very soul was telling him how much he had failed his soulmate. She had been taken, hurt, to what extent he still didn't know but those punks that took her better pray not one scratch came to his darling.

"Hey Pops! We're coming up on Applenine." Hartura yelled down from the crow's nest.

Taking a deep breath he narrowed his eyes as the silhouette of the island came into view. Appleline, that was apart of that psychopathic Doflamingo's territory. He knew the punk was big into the slave trade. Clenching his teeth he took a deep breath as they got closer to the island. Being the first off the ship he looked around to the snow cover island. "Search the town, find out what you can." he told his sons and saw them all quickly take off. Walking along he was busy looking over all of the small homes with the apple shaped roofs when he heard Marco call for him a few meters away. Looking his way he moved over and quickly noticed what had caught his son's attention, a large amount of blood colored snow. Seeing it smeared in a direction he started following it, hearing Marco right behind him.

Whistling for some of the others to come with them, they all quickly followed after their father.

The smear ended after a while but it wasn't hard to spot the auction house. His pace quickened, the two men standing at the door stiffening as he approached. 

"Hey, hey you can't..."

Cutting through both of the men with one swing he kicked in the large door. His sons went to work stopping everyone who tried to get in their way. Scanning the room he saw the man at the desk stand abruptly and go to run but not before Marco could grab him. 

"If you want to live you will tell us everything we want to know." Maroc warned in a clam voice. 

"Where are the slaves being held for auction?" he asked and saw the man waste no time pointing out the right door. Kicking it down when he found it locked he walked down the long hall, getting to another door that was made of iron and locked up tight. Punching the door it flew off the frame and across the dark room. Ducking to fit inside he stood back up and scanned the room that was made of nothing but holding cells. Walking down the hall he clenched his fist as he looked to all of the chained people of different races, sex and ages. As he made his way through the room he saw some of their eyes lift to his, some holding fear others just looked like they were defeated. He quickly found his Y/n's face not among them and felt a sense of dread come over him. 

Searching over all the cells as well Marco saw his father standing there with a lost look on his face. 

"She's not here." he said with a heavy heart. 

"Perhaps there is another one on the island or they are holding her somewhere else..." Vista added. 

Going to work releasing the other slaves Izo looked to Jozu. 

"Have any of you seen a tall woman with long h/c hair, s/c skin..."

"I've seen er'." 

Snapping his eyes to the gruff sounding voice he walked down to stand in front of the cell that the voice had came from. Seeing a middle aged man inside, sitting against the back wall with chains along his wrists, ankles and neck he narrowed his eyes when the man looked to him, a hint of amusement in his eyes. Waiting for the man to speak he grit his teeth in annoyment. "Well?"

"Gonna cost ya." 

Huffing he narrowed his eyes at the man, "You'll tell me or I'll leave you here to rot." 

"You think I'm afraid of dyin'?" he chuckled. 

"Not dying punk, suffering." when the man continued to stay silent that shit eating grin on his face he felt his lip lift into a snarl.

"Come on Pops, he don't know anythin...."

Seeing the giant man go to walk away he raised his chin. "Y/n, I think that's what I heard that little brat callin' er'." 

Freezing when he he heard her name fall from the man's lips he turned back starred down at the man. 

"Ah so that is the one yer' lookin' fer."

"Where is she?" 

"Dead most likely, or wishin' she was." he told him with a tilt of his head. "She ran off when we got here, took that little one with her."

"Little one?" Izo asked, coming to stand beside his father.

"Yea, little girl they took ta sell wit the rest of us. Little brat wouldn't stop crying the whole ride here." he huffed. "She seemed real smittin' with that doe yer' lookin' fer."

"What do you mean she ran off?" Marco questioned. 

"I mean that as soon as they got us off the ship and started us 'ere she managed to grab the girl an' run off. Can't tell ya which way, I was further ahead an' couldn't see em but I can tell ya that she managed ta take out the one that was in charge of er'. 'eard the captain say it was his brother an' she was gonna pay fer his death. As soon as they got the rest of us ere he gave the order ta go find er'." 

Breathing heavily he felt this heart speed up and went to hurry out but heard the man speak again.

"Can't say yer gonna like what ya find, been earin' gunshots all night and she won't lookin' too hot in the first place." 

Quickly making his way out of the building he saw some people standing around looking to them. 

"Pretty sure some of the men we took out before were some of the ones that took Y/n." Marco said. 

"I want the whole island searched. Leave no stone unturned." he told his first in command and saw him nod. "You find the Captain, you leave him for me." 

"Understood." Without another word he watched his father start marching through the streets. 

..................................

Trying to let his heart lead him in the direction of his love he felt only this sharp, twisting pain. It was nearly enough to send him to his knees but he pushed on, desperate to find her. Following the tracks into the forest he walked through the trees, listening for any sound. Going on for a while he heard a gunshot followed by the sound of yelling. Running towards it he came up to a small home surrounded by a few men. Getting closer he saw an old couple standing there as the group f men went about questioning them. 

"...you'd both do well to tell us the truth."  one of the men threatened. 

"We known nothing of these two you are speaking of young man." The old man went to say but was cut off when one of the men came forward and shoved him aside to barge into his home. 

Hearing a child scream he watched as the man that had went into the home tossed a young child out into the snow, the others aiming their guns and swords towards the elderly couple. 

"Now you are going to tell me what I want to know or I'ma blow your wife's brains right in front of you an' then I'ma call inthe captain and he'll make you wish you were never..."

Jumping in he swung his blade through the air, cutting down one after another. Punching one of the men in the head he knocked him back into the tree and watched him fall to the snow. Grabbing the one that had been threatening the old couple he shoved Murakumogiri through his torso. Dropping his lifeless body down to the ground he turned to the couple and saw them both looking to him with fear filled eyes, the small child cowering behind them. Walking forward he shoved his naginata in the ground to show them he meant no harm towards them. Taking out Y/n's phone he turned it down and showed them the picture of her and him. "Have you seen this woman?" The two looked to the picture before looking up to him. However before either of them could speak two curious eyes were peeking out from behind the woman. 

"Hey that's Y/n..." 

Hearing the child's small voice he looked down to her and saw her clinging to the older woman's skirts. Crouching down on his hunches so he might not look as intimidating to the child he looked into her green eyes. "You know my friend?" he asked and saw her nod. Just now noticing that the little girl was wearing his darling's coat he felt his lip twitch when he noticed the blood stains on the tan material. 

"She saved me from those bad men." Enola spoke in a soft voice.

"The young woman showed up on our steps late last night, begging us to take this child in, to hide her from those men you just killed." the old man told the young man.

Looking to the man he saw the man looking him in the eyes. "Do you know where she is now, which way she went?"

"She said she was going to lead them away from us and the girl. I told her to head to the river on the other side of the hill, make a right at the fallen tree and then a left after the big boulder. There's a trail on the right, I told her if she took it it would lead her back here."

"We've been waiting for her to come back so we could help hide her away as well but.." the woman added but stopped when the little girl at her side moved into her more. 

"She hasn't come back yet." the man finished, glancing down to the child. 

"They hurt her...those bad men." 

Snapping his eyes back down to the child he saw her looking down, her little lip trembling. "What do you mean they hurt her sweetheart?"

"They hit her, beat her, the..then last night when she was running away they s..shot her." she told the giant in a cracking voice. 

Watching the little girl cry he felt his heart hammering in his chest. 

"Her leg was bleeding when she was here last night." the old woman told him. 

Standing back to his full height he looked up and gave a loud whistle. Within a few seconds marco was flying overhead and landing beside him, the flames on his body dying away. Seeing his eyes look over the scene and then up to him he glanced to the couple and girl. "Keep them safe, if anymore show up keep them alive for now." Seeing Marco nod he grabbed Murakumogiri and ran in the direction the old man had pointed him in. 

Making his way up the hill he saw many tracks in the snow along with a few drops of blood. Getting to the peak he looked down and saw much more of the snow and dirt disturbed. Running down the hill his eyes snapped to the larger stain of blood in the snow and grit his teeth. She had fell. Running faster through the woods he could make out where she had stumbled and fell, blood here and there in the snow. She was losing blood. Getting to the river he saw ice chunks floating along the surface. The current wasn't rough, his lass was a damn good swimmer, she would have been able to make it across but he was worried about how cold it was. Taking a few steps back he made the jump across, landing only in a few feet of water, enough to get his feet wet but he could care less right now. 

Seeing the fallen tree and then the body laying on the ground he felt his heart speed up at the sight of more blood. The man had no injuries on him, this blood was hers. Noticing the bruises on his neck he knew immediately that she had strangled him. "That's my lass." he spoke to the air. Going on he followed her tracks, being able to tell she was stumbling more now. Making it to the large boulder he moved around it to see the path the old man had told him about but there was only one problem, the snow there was undisturbed. She hadn't went that way. Turning around in circles he tried to figure out where she was. This high up the snow was only in patches on the rocks. Had she continued upward? No, there was no way she would be able to. Turning left he looked through the thin trees to see the sea in the distance. The water, she would go to the water. She wouldn't lead them back to the child. Moving over he started making his way down, blood here and there along with a few bloody footprints on the rocks. She wasn't wearing shoes? 

Stepping down from the small ledge he looked around but felt his blood run cold when he saw a small bare foot and jean clad leg sticking out from behind the large rocks. "Y/n. Y/n!" he yelled, his feet moving for him. Rounding the boulders his heart dropped to his stomach and his breath caught in his throat when he finally stared down at her. "nn..no...NOOO!" he roared. Dropping Murakumogiri to the ground he heard it clatter but paid it no mind as he fell to his knees beside her. There was so much blood. Reaching out for her his hands shook. He was so afraid to touch her, so afraid he would hurt her worse than she already was. Gently pulling her to lay in the nook of his arm he hissed at how cold her skin was on his. She was wearing nothing but her black lace bra and her bloody jeans. There was ice on her hair and lashes, her skin was flushed of color and her lips had a bluish tint to them. She was freezing.

Quickly shrugging his jacket from his shoulders he wrapped it around her, his eyes snapping to the bloody slash across her hip. Forcibly opening her hand so she would release the sword he tucked it inside his jacket as well. Looking back up to her face he swallowed the knot in his throat. "Y/n, lass wake up." he said in a shaky voice. Licking his lips he moved his other hand to stroke her battered cheek, brushing it up to her stiff hair. "D..darlin' come on look at me." Nothing, she didn't make a sound. Feeling tears leak from his eyes he gave her a shake. "Y/n." he grit out between clenched teeth. "Wake up." he demanded, his voice rough and deep. Pressing his ear to her chest he heard nothing but his own blood pumping and growled out, tears now pouring from his eyes. "No. No you wake up. You look at me!" he yelled. Sobbing out he hugged her close, "PLEASE!" 

Shaking he kissed her temple and then her cheek, laying his forehead on hers. "Please. Please lass don't le..leave me. I can't go through life alone again. I don't want to have this second chance if you're not apart of it." he sobbed. When she made no signs of life he leaned forward, holding her tightly as his heart shattered. "I'm so sorry darlin'. I love you." he spoke in a broken whisper. 

"...e..eed..."

Hearing the barely audible whisper he quickly sat up and looked down to her. "Lass? Darlin'?" Not hearing anything else he was sure it was just his mind playing tricks on him but then he saw her small fingers twitch and he was sure his heart was going to beat out of his chest. "Y/n?!" 

That voice. A deep voice that called out to you even from the darkness. You had felt nothing and then there was warmth, a soothing warmth. It couldn't be, could it?

When she whimpered softly his breathing turn erratic. Looking over her face he saw her lashes fluttering, her eyes attempting to open. Feeling his face crack into a large smile he cupped her face gently. "That's it, that's my stubborn woman, come on open those pretty eyes, look at me lass."

Ed? Your Ed, he was here? 

"Yes beautiful I'm here. I'm here darlin' and I'm never leavin' you again." he assured her. 

Had you spoken out loud? You couldn't open your eyes, couldn't move. Everything hurt, oh God it hurt. 

Watching her face contort into one of agony  and her eyes continue to try and open he heard her whimper again, this time sounding more desperate. "Shhh it's alright lass, everything is gonna be alright." Holding her close to his chest he pushed her head close to his chest, covering her other ear with his hand. Giving a loud whistle he looked up to the sky, "MARCO!" he yelled as loud as he could. Hearing the sound of his son's phoenix form call out he whistled again and in no time he saw the flaming blue bird overhead. Waiting for him to land he felt his Haki alert him to danger and quickly lept out of the way just as a gun was fired and the bullet whizzed past him. Landing a few feet away he snapped his eyes over to the man who looked about Jozu's size, that had to be him.

"I'll be takin' my property back. The bitch and I have some unfinished business." 

Landing beside his father he looked to Y/n and knew she was critical. "Pops.."

Gritting his teeth at the man he felt pure rage come over him. That was him, that was the one who had taken his soulmate, hurt his soulmate. Crouching down when he heard Marco call for him he pressed his lips to her forehead, "Marco's gonna take care of ya sweetheart while I take care of this punk. You just hold on for me okay, you keep fightin'." he told her in a deep, quiet voice. Kissing her brow he gently laid her down on the ground, wrapping his jacket around her. Stepping back he watched as marco turned to his phinox form and carefully grabbed hold of his jacket with his talons, lifting y/n up into the air and carrying her back towards the ship. 

"Marco the phoenix of the Whitebeard pirates huh? So what does that make you the old man's replacement?"

Huffing he raised his chin. "I'm gonna enjoy this." 

[tumblunni]

OH MY GOSH

I’m doing a reread of the older books that MarkReads did, cos he released his reviews in ebook form after his first site’s hosting went down and we lost the original posts of them.

Its really cool cos he includes an entrie second review of everything that he does years later with all this hindsight and stuff, commenting on the series as a whole and how hilarious unprepared he was in the original review. As well as all sorts of other bonus features and footnote stuff of cool!

And he even edited out any predjudiced or uncomfortable jokes that he’d made back when he was less experienced as an activist for LGBT rights and mental health and stuff, like originally the review about the dursleys in harry potter was framed as a psychologist’s report about how craaaayzy they are, and now its a detective’s report on how criminal they are. Cos seriously its “just a joke” and all but it kinda has unfortunate implications to imply that literal abusive parents are only that way cos of mental illness rather than yknw.. making the choice to be abusive. the “joke” wasnt intentionally meant to be saying that but its still how it ended up. And the really good part about it is that he didnt just take the opportunity of the original site being gone to pretend like he never made those mistakes, he edits out the actual content of the controversy itself but talks about what happened during his self re-review bonus section at the back. And he talks about why exactly he felt that this review was innapropriate and how he’s changed since then. Cos seriously over these years he’s been diagnosed with depression himself and started getting help with it and tried to become a really welcoming community for other mentally ill people! And he was always out about being gay even when he started his first review of Twilight, it was like 5 seconds into the first review before he couldnt restrain himself from yelling “is this really how straight people flirt??” XD But he used to kinda be a bit awkward maybe and uhh.. that relateable feel of trying to be “one of the good ones” according to bigoted standards? Like “oh im gay but i dont act TOO gay and i totally make gay jokes about myself ha ha ha”. I obviously can’t know for sure because i cant read his mind, but the impression i got from the reviews is that this was why he made some of his more crude jokes earlier on, despite being an absolute cinnamon roll of a man who didnt seem to believe any of the bigotry behind them. Either that or just genuinely not knowing that jokes were bigoted at the time, yknow? We all make mistakes and a lot of people amoungst minorities have a history of stuff like this cos internalized shame is a hell of a drug. I internalized transphobic stuff so hard that i was terrified of admitting i was trans, and overcompensated with trans jokes to try and convince people i was normal. And i didnt even properly comprehend what being trans WAS, i had this bigoted messed up idea of something i should be ashamed of, something that was “sick perverts getting off on dressing up” so of course it couldnt be me because I just felt.. yknow.. unhappy with what i was born as? Not any sort of big devious evil reason for it, just “dressing this different way makes me not want to kill myself”. But here’s lil kid me being told that the Only Possible Reason to want to do that is Gross Pedophile Reason, thus I built a big old labyrinth around my feelings and blindly repeated the rude shit my parents said without even understanding what it meant. Sighhh it was a big ol mess!

ANYWAY IM GOING OFFTOPIC AGAIN

I just made this post cos its really cool to see how your favourite creators have changed, especially when they had personal growth like that as well as just getting more and more awesome at the things they create. And it really warms my heart to see Mark being at peace with his own mental illness nowadays, and having like one of the most well regulated forums ever that doesn’t accept any form of bigoted behaviour and strives to welcome people like he is right now, and educate.. well, people like he was back then! And he’s also become so much prouder in his sexuality and found people who support him for who he is, after his super harrowing backstory of being abandoned by his parents and emotionally abused by fundementalist christian authority figures. And he now has an awesome adorable goofball of a boyfriend who even joins in on guest reviews sometimes, and it is absolutely AMAZING to see them teasing each other singing theme tunes to stuff and just generally being the definition of relationship goals!

AND THAT IS THE AWESOME THING THAT MADE MY HEART EXPLODE TODAY

Cos i bought the old harry potter review ebooks, and IT TURNS OUT HIS BOYFRIEND IS HERE! He cameos in prisoner of askaban yeaaaars before they started dating! he was actually the friend who’d already read the series and reccommended it to mark, so he’s kinda responsible for kickstarting the entire MarkReads blog?? THEY WERE DESTINED TO BE TOGETHER AWWWW!! Seriously YOOO i was like “huh he mentions a friend here with the same name as- OH MY GOD ITS HIM” And his cameo appearance is a dual review just like the ones he’d do later on, tho here its a transcript of an IM chat rather than an actual video. Man this is so early on that they didnt even live close to each other! God its Love Origins, holy shittt

fuck NOTHING warms my heart more than seeing the journey my fave creators go on! this man has come so far and im so glad he’s in a better place than when he started!! he’s just so happy and bubbly in his current reviews and he started off so grumpy on that first Twilight review and his Harry Potter review was like a kid in a candy store cos he was GENUINELY SURPRISED TO FIND AN ACTUAL GOOD BOOK! Aaaa his future boyfriend’s reccommendation led to him recapturing his love of reading and starting a whole career out of reviews. God thats so romantic!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fuck! My bigass heart cant handle this!!

So yeah uhh if you’re interested in a gay positive review series with an adorable bear of a man with the cutest beard and sleeve tattoos who just squees constantly about all the emotions he was taught to repress during an abusive childhood AND ALSO SMOOCHES HIS BOYFRIEND AND FINALLY GETS TO BE HAPPY YES, check out MarkReads and also the sister site MarkWatches! or his name in general is Mark Oshiro to find all the stuff he’s done. As I said before, there’s kind of this issue with archiving where all of his earliest posts are lost. And he rereleased them with all this bonus content as ebooks so we’d have a way to donate to support the site. So it might seem a bit intimidating for the “place to start” to be a pay-only thing, but I’d reccommend not reading in chronological order honestly. Its best to just go through his site and see if he did any books/shows that are your favourites, then start from there. That’s what i did, i think i discovered him via Buffy and Angel? And then I started watching ATLA because of him and WOW we had very similar levels of fanboy screaming, lol! So yeah you might discover some cool new series via this sweet man’s wonderful bloggings! :D

[dangan-stray-dogs-blog]

Day Three of Soukoku Week- prompt: Historical AU

ao3: http://archiveofourown.org/works/11334882/chapters/25369455

words: 1697

@soukokuweek

“Sit up properly! You’re a prince, aren’t you?”

Yes. No. He didn’t want to be.

“Absolutely not even the slightest tilt in your posture!” His tutor shouted. “How many times have we gone over this?!”

Nothing would be enough. Straight to punishment was always his fate.

“I suppose you’ll have to learn posture the painful way, then.”

It didn’t matter. At least it made Mori stop his incessant shouting.

And it wasn’t as though Mori hadn’t been expecting this outcome, Dazai thought to himself as he noticed the cooking pot with bubbling candlewax boiling over the stone fireplace in the front of the room.

----

“Dazai, why is your back always covered in bandages?”

Chuuya Nakahara. An innocent soul, a poor peasant boy raised near the castle. About his age, 14, perhaps a few months older. Dazai would often visit him whenever the opportunity presented itself. Chuuya had no idea he was a prince, but Dazai wanted it to stay that way. He’d listen to Chuuya groan about the misgivings and unfortunate things of his daily life.

One in his position could argue that for how much Chuuya complained, he had it so much easier than Dazai, and thus had no right to complain. But Dazai surprisingly didn’t mind it as much as he’d thought. Chuuya lived in such a stark contrast of a world compared to him, and Dazai treasured every word he could hear about it. Not to mention, it was very nice to be treated so normally for once. In a place where no one knew him was a place he clutched dearly to his heart.

However, sometimes Chuuya was too curious for his own good.

“It’s nothing, Chuuya!” It was not nothing. Dazai still could barely breathe without the burns on his back spiking with the phantom pain of boiling hot wax being poured on his bare back. “You should stop worrying so much, or else you’ll get grey hairs!”

While he’d said it as a joke, it was a genuine issue. While hiding from Mori, he’d seen a slave kitchen boy with choppy, uneven white hair, in the midst of a severe punishment from his superior. What was it? Ah, that’s right. The poor young boy was told to hammer a nail in his own foot, only to hesitate and allow the superior to carry out the deed instead. Screaming was not allowed in the castle from poor servants, so he’d been dragged off to the dungeons for more punishments. Extreme stress wore down your hair, bleaching it, thinning it, and even more. Dazai didn’t want that to happen to Chuuya’s pretty red hair. It was long, luxurious, and an even fiercer fire-like color than the flames in the stone fireplace of Mori’s torture room.

Chuuya stood up. “Hmph, is that so? If that’s so true…” He stepped closer to Dazai, before raising a hand and plucking out one of Dazai’s hairs with unmerciful precision.

“Ack! Chuuya, what are you trying to do?” Dazai whined, but didn’t move an inch. It would have hurt too much to try to move again, and he wasn’t prepared to risk visibly flinching and worrying Chuuya again by moving.

Chuuya raised his eyebrow condescendingly as he looked down at Dazai. “What, you’re not going to get it back? You’re so lazy.” Yes, yes, he was lazy. Let him believe that. It was for the best. “Anyways, if you’re right about worrying making your hair get grey, what’s this?”

He held out the hair he’d plucked from Dazai’s head in front of his face. It was a single, white/grey hair.

Crap.

Dazai feigned surprise. “Whaaat?! Where’d that come from!” He moaned in fake despair. “Agh, I know who must have done it. My younger brother Q must’ve wanted to prank me while I was sleeping.”

If only Yumeno was sane enough to prank him again. It had hurt to be the one to lock him up in the dungeon. It was another attempt of Mori’s to break Dazai’s spirit.

Heh, it had almost worked, too, had it not been for Chuuya.

“Q?” Chuuya echoed. “You never told me you had a younger brother.”

“Hmm, really? I could have sworn I already mentioned him…” Dazai already knew he hadn’t. He didn’t tell Chuuya a lot of things about himself.

“Nope. Not a word about this supposed younger brother.” Chuuya narrowed his eyes, emphasizing on ‘supposed’.

Oh. Chuuya thought he was lying about Yumeno. “What, Chuuya doesn’t believe me when I say I have a younger brother?! Such betrayal, I’m wounded!”

“Oh, quit your whining already. Honestly, you’re a complete waste of bandages.” Chuuya muttered.

“Your words cut me deep, Chuuya!”

Chuuya sighed impatiently. “Whatever… What’s under those bandages, anyways? You already avoided my first question, so you have to answer this one!”

“It’s a secret, Chuuya! I can’t tell you that!” Dazai put on a kid-like façade. He hoped Chuuya would stop prodding.

“Stop it!” Chuuya hissed annoyedly, looking as though he would throw a tantrum right then. How childish. “Tell me the truth, or else I’ll rip those bandages right off your skin!”

Dazai couldn’t let Chuuya do that. He prayed he hadn’t let any fear slip through his false face for Chuuya to expose.

But it appeared he must’ve, as Chuuya suddenly sobered from his previous anger. He looked concerned. No.

“You… are you…” Chuuya mumbled, blinking. “are you scared?”

Dazai had no answer to offer Chuuya. His voice had died in his throat ever since Chuuya had threatened to tear off the bandages.

“Hey… tell me what’s going on!” Chuuya looked scared for Dazai. “We’re friends, aren’t we?”

“Dazai!” He called out again. Dazai snapped his head up to face to look Chuuya in the eyes.

How beautiful of a face it was.

“Burns.” Dazai’s words slipped from his mouth before he could stop himself.

After all, who could say nothing to a face like that? No point in hiding now.

“My teacher poured boiling candlewax on my back, and melted it off with a torch as soon as I’d proved to him I could stay even-faced despite the pain, and maintain proper posture.”

Chuuya looked absolutely horrified. “Your voice is too empty for words like that! At least… cry or something!”

“Excuse me?”

“No! Ergh, I meant, that's so horrible, and you pass it off like it's nothing more than an inconvenience!” Chuuya corrected himself, his face burning red from either frantic embarrassment or from yelling so much. “You haven't moved a millimeter since you plopped down on that grass, so clearly you're not moving because it hurts so much!”

Dazai couldn't keep up with Chuuya’s yelling. “Uh, and your point is what exactly, Chuuya?” He asked dumbfoundedly.

“My point is, you're being a dumbass! If it hurts that much, cry about it! Moan in pain! At least show some suffering, rather than hiding it for god-knows-why!”

“I can't just do that, Chuuya.” Dazai sighed.

“Why not?” Chuuya sassed back.

“Because I can't compare this pain to what it would feel like not to be in pain. I can't remember what it feels like.”

Chuuya was silent for a moment, before he stood up slowly and walked over to get behind Dazai. Dazai didn't bother turning around to see what he was doing.

Smack!

“Agh-” Amidst the pain, Dazai almost let out a cry, but he quickly cut himself off.

Chuuya had just smacked him on his back, right in the middle of his burns.

“Quit being dramatic! You felt that, didn't you?”

Dazai could only barely nod. The spot Chuuya had hit was still burning in intense pain.

“But you still won't show any pain, even though any grown man would be howling if they were you. Who the fuck are you being so righteous for?” Chuuya wasn't yelling anymore, but his words still carried the same seriousness as before.

“Me? Righteous?” Dazai wheezed shakily. “How absolutely hilarious.”

“Want to tell me what's so funny, bastard?” Chuuya growled, frustrated by Dazai’s uncooperative, passive attitude.

“Screaming, crying, moaning, what you call these in relations to expressing pain, what others may call as showing weakness, is not allowed in the torture room.” Dazai explained lazily, raising his finger in a manner mocking a teacher. “I suppose I've just gotten used to not voicing out the pain.”

“That's what's so strange! It's normal to cry if you're hurting! I just smacked a spot where candlewax was poured and melted off of your skin, and you barely fucking flinched!” Chuuya was yelling again. “That’s not normal! You are human, aren’t you?”

Dazai was positive any answer he could give to Chuuya for that question wouldn’t satisfy him, so he chose to treat it as rhetorical. “It’s probably… not very normal for someone like you.”

“Someone like me?”

“I’ll say it as my tutor does.” Dazai cleared his throat in preparation to do an impression of Mori. “A noble should be as proper as his predecessors as not to shame his legacy. A noble shows no weakness, no twitch or false of face, but remains forever even-expressioned and tempered in the face of anything. A noble maintains posture and manners, is properly educated on all customs of the house and beyond. You must become this noble, the ideal, perfect sovereign.” Dazai had exchanged prince in favor of noble, but besides that, it was word for word. Mori had said it so many times it clung to him like dried shit on a pheasant's foot.

“The ideal sovereign?” Chuuya mocked. “What kind of shit is this tutor of yours spouting? It’s not like you’re the prince.”

“Try not to scream it to the world, Chuuya.” Dazai chided blandly. “In a place where no one knows me is a place where I am happiest.”

Chuuya was quiet for a moment. Dazai would have loved to see his wide-eyed expression at the realization.

“If this place makes you happy, why not stay and escape your tutor?” Chuuya sat down next to him again, his tone growing calmer and more genuine than his previous yelling.

Dazai turned his head and stared into Chuuya’s vivid blue eyes.

If only it were that simple.

[welp-here-i-write]

Wickling Shenanigans Chapter 1 ~ Wednesdays

Disclaimer: I love these nerds but do not own them in any way.

Chapter 1:

I fucking hate Wednesdays. I mean, how could you not? It's the middle of the week, nobody cares anymore, you're not waiting for anything because nothing quality is around Wednesday and nothing good ever happens on them. Wednesdays are hell.

I woke up at the normal time. 5:00. Followed the same dull routine. Wake up. Get dressed. Brush teeth and put deodorant on. Eat breakfast. Do homework. Go to school. Fucking Wednesdays. I began walking towards my first period when some asshole tripped me. I looked at them and simply glowered before moving on. “Hey Kaplan! Watch where you’re going dumbass,” the kid says as he tries to taunt me. Kids are such assholes.

I just sat through most of AP Physics, finishing my busy work then being bored out of my mind for twenty minutes. By the time the bell rang, I couldn't be more ready to leave. Second period was dull at best and then English was just Mr. Daren yelling at us about “the importance of commas” and then assigning a paper on it.

Thank Scarlet Witch for fourth period. My only period where I get to actually get to deal with manageable people. But sadly, that flew by faster than Quicksilver. Then lunch. Fucking lunch. Kesler found me as soon as I walked out of class, his giant, terrifying smile covering his face. “Well hey there Kaplan! Funny seeing you here! Me and the boys were just talking about going to lunch, but we seem to lack the funds. Good thing we found you, eh?” I can't help that my eyes widen at the statement. I begin wildly fumbling at my pockets, not bagging eye contact with him, memories of how last time ended when I broke it. My still bruised chest throbs with the phantom pain of remembrance.

I can't find my wallet. God dammit. I smile weakly at Kesler. “Um, looks like I'm fresh out too. I could maybe go and grab some cash somewhere else?” I try to ask, not getting any further before I feel a fist slam into my side. I recoil from the fist, almost falling to the ground. I look to where the fist came from. One of Kesler’s goons is standing there proudly, looking at Kesler. He simply smiles before looking back at me.

“Now, now. You know the rules. A proper gay should always support their heterosexual betters. You can't be forgetting something as important as your wallet. I'm sure my boys will find it on you somewhere. Boys?” Kesler’s smile just grows. The four other guys that were with him smile like idiots.

“Yessir. Don't worry, the fag won't forget his wallet again.” The largest says, before charging me.

The rest of the session with Kesler was a blur. Punches all over my sides and a few on the face. I can't really remember when I passed out, but I know I did. I woke up sometime after, my face looking up towards the sky and my body hurting everywhere. Kesler and his goons were nowhere to be seen, but I was still in the same spot. Sighing, I got up and checked my phone for the time. Fucking hell. It was 2:00. 6th period ended in 30 minutes. I had to present my project in 5th. “There goes my grade.” I muttered. I decided that it would be better than nothing to finish 6th and claim I was helping someone who was getting sick or something.

[Note: Fuck past tense, I'm going present]

I begin slowly walking across campus towards my 6th. I fucking hate Wednesdays. As I pass the Palidian Building, I suddenly notice how amazing the architecture is. And then proceed to walk right into a column. It takes me a solid ten seconds to get up after feeling the extreme pain of reopened cuts and bruises getting slammed. “Hey, you ok? You seemed kinda distracted. And those are a lot of bruises.” I look up and suddenly realize that it wasn't a column. It was a guy. A really hot guy. And I can't speak.

“Um, yeah, I-I, um, fine.” I say, trying to stop the blush furiously starting to cover my face. I break eye contact and try to stand up, only to fall right back down, the pain in my right leg shooting up until my hip. “Agh!” I exclaim, trying to look as normal as I can. It doesn't help.

“Oh my God, you are totally not ok. Here, let me help you.” The guy’s voice is super concerned and sweet, and I can't help but just stare blankly. This guy's seems like he means well, and he certainly looks great, but there's no way in hell I'm trusting that. I mean, after all, last time I trusted someone like that, he broke my heart and everyone in the school knew I was gay. So yeah.

He doesn't seem to read my thoughts, and bends down, trying to wrap his arm around my waist to help me up. Instead, he brushes against a bruise and I cry out in pain again. “Oh shit! Sorry! God, I'm such an idiot.” He looks at me again. “Hey, I'm gonna help you, so I need you to help me out, tell me where I can help you up. His crystal blue eyes shine with worry and I can't help it. I let him help.

“Right around here.” I vaguely motion in a general area that seemed to be spared from the brunt of the beating. He smiles, his teeth catching the sun in a perfect way and his golden hair framing his face in the sunlight. He might as well have been an angel.

“Ok.” He reaches around, and I wince, but it's not as bad as he helps to hoist me up. I lean on him when we finally are both standing, trying not to put any weight on my right leg. As he begins walking, I can't help but feel how great his arm feels, wrapped around me, and how warm he is. After about 20 seconds, I realize that we aren't heading for the nurse, but rather the parking lot.

Mustering up the energy to speak, I look at him questioningly. “You aren't going to drug and sell me are you? Please? I've already been through enough today.” I'm only half joking. His laugh is one of the greatest things I've heard. And a welcome change of pace to the fake one I hear much too often from my family or the cruel one Kesler often gives.

“No, I'm driving you to the fucking ER, you look like you can't even do anything right now. Then, you're getting sold.” He winks at me and I think I might die then and there. Whether from blood loss, the concussion or him, I'm not sure. Nonetheless, I trust this Adonis of a man and willingly let him place me in his passenger seat.

His car smells like vanilla and is completely immaculate, totally not matching the earrings that he wears. I raise my eyebrows at him when he enters from the other side. He looks at me. “What's the face for?” I smile at him.

“Nothing.”

The car ride is short, and he quickly helps me out of the car when we arrive. We get to the front desk and an older woman with red hair that falls into curls around her head behind the counter immediately stands up upon seeing me. “What happened to him?!” She says. Suddenly, the guy’s face turns red and sheepish.

“Um, I don't know, I just found him at -” I quickly interrupt him.

“I fell during a hike. He found me at the base of the hill.” I quickly say, trying to manage the best lie I can.

The woman seems to believe it and just motions for me to sit down while she heads back into the actual hospital, looking for a doctor. In the meantime I'm stuck with Mr. Nice next to me. That's when I realize I haven't even asked his name. “Um, what's your name? I'm sorry I didn't ask before, I guess it slipped my mind, what with the blood and broken leg and everything.” He asks, looking at me with the same adorable red face.

“Billy.” I say, feeling the a familiar blush hitting my face as well. “Yours?”

“Teddy. Teddy Altman.” He replies, the same small grin playing at the edge of his lips. God dammit he really is cute. And his eyes are so fucking entrancing. We stay quiet for another minute before he breaks the silence yet again. “Why did you lie about how you got hurt?” He asks, face etched in worry.

I look away, anywhere but him. “I don't like talking about it. Would you tell someone that someone beat the shit out of you when that someone’s family has enough money to out-lawyer then buy said company of the prosecutor? Because that's Kesler for ya.”

He nods. “I guess I wouldn't. I wouldn't want to hurt my family or myself any further.” Yet another minute passes. Then another. And then it's me who shatters the veil.

“So what do you do for fun, Mr. Teddy Altman?” I try to ask casually. It’s his turn for his eyebrows to raise as he looks at me suspiciously.

“Nothing much. I used to play basketball, but I love a good night in reading the latest issue of Captain America.” He finally says after a moment of hesitation. My ears instantly latch onto the words “Captain America”.

Trying to be as nonchalant as possible, I look over. “Captain America?”

He looks back at me with the same suspicious face. “Yeah. What’s wrong with Captain America? You don’t support my nerdiness?”

I can’t help but laugh at how serious he sounds. “Dude, I invented nerdiness. But Scarlet Witch  is my favourite.”

“Isn’t she a villain?” He says, and I can’t tell if his smile is from joy of talking about comics or just because he knows how upset that will make me. I can’t stop myself.

“No! Are you kidding me!? She has Magneto for a father yet wants to be a hero. It has to be hard choosing between family and ideals. I mean, clearly -” Before I can get very far a man in scrubs and the same woman come out of the door.

“Mr. Kaplan? We can take you now.” She says. I get up with Teddy’s help and work my way over to the wheelchair that they brought out. She begins wheeling me through the doors when Teddy speaks up.

“Hey, Billy, don’t worry, I’ll stay out here and wait for ya.” He states. The nurse chuckles as the door closes behind us.

“Your boyfriend is so sweet darling! How long have you two been together?” Her eyes have a twinkle of amusement in them as she continues wheeling me towards the room that the doctor quickly maneuvered himself into.

“Um, we aren’t dating. I told you, he found me today at the base of the trail.” I say. She just deadpans and looks at me with the most serious face I’ve seen of her.

“Kid, you weren’t on a trail. We both know that. I can accept the fact that you don’t want to say who it was, but it certainly was a beating of sorts.” She then leans down and looks me straight in the eye and simply whispers, “Was it him? Out there?” She seems so worried.

“No! No. Just, someone else I know. It’s a long story.” I can’t help it. I still can’t tell anyone about Kesler. I mean, it’s not like she can do anything. The doctor checks me out quickly, saying it’s a normal case of battery. I just nod my head along with everything he says and he eventually tells me I’ll need crutches until my broken leg heals. Accepting it, I take the pills he prescribes and take the crutches. Boy, this will certainly be a fun story for mom. She’s seen me beat up before, but this is completely new. I leave, and Teddy immediately stands up when he sees me. I know it’s weird, but for a second, I almost think that I see relief in his eyes.

“Hey! Are you ok?” He asks, coming up to me. I smile weakly.

“Yeah, quality enough to sell.” I wink at him, feeling confident.

He laughs again and we both smile. “So, I’ll take you home if you want. Make sure your parents don’t murder you or something, right?” He says.

“Yeah. Mom will flip, but she’ll accept it. She always does…” I trail off, unable to really continue a sentence. Teddy looks at me with those kind, worrying eyes.

“Hey. It’ll be okay.” Despite his strong build and impressive figure, I can’t help but recognize his weak smile. God, I wish he was gay. Why are all the good ones straight? He helps me back to his car and we drive, casually discussing comics and television on the way back as I lead him to my apartment.

We finally pull in front of the complex, and he looks at me. “Are you good to head up yourself?” He asks.

“Yeah, I think I’m good. Thank you for everything today.” I look at him and genuinely smile at him. I throw on my backpack and start heading towards the elevator. As I get about five feet, I suddenly hear a voice from behind me.

“Hey, um, Billy?” I hear Teddy ask from his car. I turn around and raise an eyebrow.

“Yeah?” I ask.

“Would you maybe wanna go get dinner sometime? Or maybe just head to the comic store?” His face is furiously red and at the sound of those words, I swear I’m about to die from excitement.

“U-Um. Yeah. That sounds great! Here,” I say, fumbling out a piece of paper and a pen, “is my phone number. Text me!” I hand him the piece of paper after writing down my phone number. I look at him and we both kind of just stare at each other for a second. “I’ll see you later Teddy!”

“Seeya Billy.” I fucking love Wednesdays.