#and they have a silk tulle I’m DYING to try out

[makingfiend]

Barely restraining myself from purchasing fabric

[yandere-sins]

The Knight’s Squire [Part 3]

I want to slowly catch up to the current days, so I’m trying to post a bit more ^-^ Finally married! But not necessarily a reason to be happy...

Fandom: Original Work Pairings:  M!Yandere!Squire (Alec) x F!Darling!Knight (Reader)     Warnings: Yandere, Sexual Activities (Masturbation, Dry (but lowkey wet) humping, Mention of cunnilingus, stripping, Lots of cum mention, Unwilling handjob, Begging, obviously Non-Con), Violence (Reader lashing out and slapping Alec, Wrestling Reader down to the ground) Arranged Marriage/Marriage of Convenience, Obsessive Behavior, Threatening loved ones in exchange for obedience from the reader, Alcohol mention, Power Imbalance, Needy Yandere

Prompt: @sintember “You didn’t think I was going to touch you, did you…?” - Is that contempt you hear, pity? Or the threat of something else out of sight? Don’t they know how cruel it is to play with your emotions?

»»———————— ♡ ————————««

The only thing you dreaded more than your wedding was the night after.

You had been inconsolable all day, being ushered around like a temper-tantrum-throwing child by your mother. Woken up way before sunrise, you had been washed, dressed, bejeweled, and thrown into a carriage to drive you back to the capital while you were nothing short of apathetic. Everyone was so hyped and chipper as they chatted and praised you for looking pretty with every layer of tulle they forced you into until you finally fit their image of a pretty princess about to get married to her happy-ever-after prince.

But you weren't.

And you hated every second of it.

You hated the decor of a wedding you didn't plan. The flowers in your hands were too white, too clean for the dirty scumbag of a man you were marrying. Everyone was too happy when you felt angry and frustrated. The only tears you shed were those of contempt. Alec's eyes were sparkling with joy, and he had a smile so wide it should have gotten stitched up as he led you out of the church, the masses throwing petals into the air and doves flying over your head as you were brought to the reception. Where you—the bride—were the only one looking as if someone killed your beloved pet.

For hours you sat through congratulations, never once speaking a word. They conveniently let out the part at the ceremony where you should have said, "I don't!" Instead, the pastor just kept talking about the glorious union between you two while you scowled. He skipped vows and objection, going straight to, "You may kiss the bride," after talking everyone's ear off about how happy this day was. Most guests didn't care that Alec did all the talking, thanking them and accepting one lavish present after another. However, you did meet the eyes of some guests that looked at you pitifully. They knew this wasn't a marriage of love as Alec made it out to be, but rather one of convenience and power.

Glancing into the reflection of your gold-rimmed mirror, you had never looked at yourself in disgust before. No matter how many scars, muscles, or changes there were on your body, you always revered yourself as, well, yourself. You always saw the good things, and the man who loved you, your brother-in-arms, had done the same without ever commenting on your appearance. Alec, to his credit, probably didn't care about your looks either. But now that you stood there, clothed in silk and lace like a doll while your mom rattled off how to behave on your wedding night, you truly felt appalled by the person they had turned you into. She still assumed you never did anything indecent while you were out there fighting your battles, tensions so high you were in dire need to let off steam, and the fear of dying ever-present in your mind. But even if she knew, she wouldn't have wanted the royal maids to gossip, so she continued to tell you how to behave and accept anything your husband did to you.

Your husband. The sound of it made bile rise into your throat and left you choking on the insults you would have liked to hurl. As you walked through the gilded hallways of the residence, which Alec received as a wedding gift from his father, the only sounds to be heard were the remnants of celebration from the ballroom. You still remembered your father drunk and jolly, roaring festive songs with your new father-in-law as if the two had no care and no status in society. But you were the embarrassment of the family, eh?

The closer you got to Alec's room, the more you felt your hands tremble. Not necessarily fear, but anxiety building, anger demanding to be unleashed before your husband, who you had barely seen throughout the preparations. He made his claim and left you to deal with the damages yourself. That bastard. You would have decapitated him long before the wedding if he wasn't a prince of the kingdom you swore your fealty to.

Oh, you were going to go in there and raise the hell you should have raised the day they came for the engagement! You'd make him a head shorter, even just figuratively. There was no day you'd live under his reign, letting him decide your future for you just because he had money and status. If you had to suffer under this arrangement, so did Alec! To hell with your mother's prim and proper etiquette on how to let your husband knock you up on the wedding night. As if you'd even allow him to touch you!

The maids bowed before the door, wanting to give the newlyweds privacy, and a guard waiting outside opened the massive wood for you. After your little pep talk, you no longer trembled from your emotions. Instead, you strutted inside, confident and ready to put Alec into his place.

But you hadn't considered what awaited you in the privacy of his room.

The moment you walked in, you were already walking right up towards the bed, Alec sitting on the edge of it, stark naked. The pervert, as you've come to realize he was, had already begun masturbating way before your arrival, and you were met once again with the sight of him jerking off, his eyes darting upwards as you entered the room. With a strained gasp, your name fell off his lips as he came, jizz shooting straight forward and staining the expensive carpet while Alec moaned loudly, hips jerking into his hand fervently. 

Some drops went as far as your nightgown, leaving visible stains of indecency on you despite you not having done anything but walk into the bedroom. You were speechless as you watched the white fabric turn clear. Then you looked up at him, Alec having fallen back on the mattress, breathing heavily but fixating you with his eyes intensely, his hand bopping up and down his cock still, not giving the red flesh any mercy. 

"Mhm, finally," he murmured, sloppily sitting up again, his erection standing taut between his legs. His head fell to the side, eyes dazed with pleasure as he looked at you feverishly, his cheeks red and round like apples. "Come," he demanded, reaching out both hands, one dripping with semen, as he invited you to join him.

As if you were going to do that.

"No, thank you," you sneered at him, feeling nothing but disgust for your squire-turned-husband as he impatiently bopped on the edge of the bed. 

"[Name]," he whined. "You're supposed to make me feel good tonight, you know?"

Clearly, he had seen the bottom of his wine glass a few times too many tonight as well. Or maybe he really was this drunk on the idea of you playing the role of his sweet, obedient wife. As if a ring and a wedding certificate would change anything between you two. It was off-putting seeing him pout and in dire need, every muscle tensing in his refined legs as if he was going to jump you any second now.

"You… didn't think I was going to touch you, did you…?" you muttered, your eyes, unfortunately, darting to his massive cock swinging with the movements he made for a moment before you scolded yourself to face Alec. The latter seemed to get needier by the second.

"Yes, yes you will!" he announced, the assertiveness of his words lost with his whiny voice.

"No, I most definitely won't. I am just here because I was forced to come, but I will go back now."

"Noooo!" he mewled. You were about to turn around when you heard the loud thud of something hitting the ground, your head snapping back instinctively as you suspected danger. But all you found was Alec's pitiful form on the floor, crawling towards you with alarming dexterity.

"I waited so long," he whimpered, grabbing your ankles with a bone-crushing grip. You gasped as he pulled you to the floor with him, a fight of limbs ensuing as he climbed on top of you, and you tried to wrestle him off. You were supposed to be the stronger one. The one with all the muscles and skilled hands after years out there fighting, but maybe his reaction was just a few seconds better than yours since he was younger. Perhaps it was because you still harbored a tiny bit of respect for your country that you hesitated initially. But he pinned you down after just a few seconds of a scuffle, pressing your arms apart while straddling your hips.

"I wanted you every damn day out there! I stood by your bedside, wishing you'd invite me in; let me taste your sweet little cunt! Don't you remember how you'd loll in bed indecently when I brought you home after drinking too much? I could barely control myself. I- I…"

Stopping himself in the middle of his tirade, Alec breathed heavily as he stared down at you, his cock pressed into your stomach. He began rocking his hips, dragging precum all over your nightgown until it soaked through and onto your skin. A moan escaped him despite Alec biting his lip, his eyes gleaming with lust as he watched his cock slip over your body. "I want you! Always! And I need you to touch me. I need it even just this one time!"

His confession fell on utter repulsion inside you, and you prepared to scream at him when he pulled your left hand off the ground. This time it was you trying to pin it right back on the wooden floor, but somehow he overpowered you, squeezing your hand between his and your stomach. You let out a horrified gasp as you felt his cock against your palm, and Alec groaned in delight, rutting into the space between your body and your hand.

"I promise I'll take care of it after tonight! I'll never bother you again! Just let me… let me have this once, please! Please, please, please…" he gasped in between pushes, his pace rough and erratic. You could feel the hot, pulsing muscle ready to cum, and with even more horror, you realized it was going to shoot all over you. He groaned loudly, holding back nothing from the servants outside the door and screaming your name as you sprung into action, your body tensing and jerking to throw him off you, but it was already too late.

Despite your best efforts, you moving so abruptly only helped with spreading his jizz farther. Your face, tits, stomach, and hands were all sullied with his cum while Alec convulsed with every spurt of his orgasm, still laying half on top and half on the floor next to you. His face was shrouded in bliss, a sight of heavenly pleasure resting on him as he didn't seem to stop any time soon.

For you, it came as a total shock that you were suddenly sprayed with his essence, way before you could say or properly do anything against it. Just another way he had to ruin your life more, and the disgust raging inside of you made you tremble again as you raised your hand, jolting it over his cheek before you knew what you were doing. You weren't known for such rash actions, for using violence to get your point across, but besides hatred and anger, there was nothing inside of you that could have stopped you. There was no reasoning with Alec, and neither with you it seemed.

He looked at you wide-eyed, surprised you'd raise your hand against him. You could only speculate that no one ever dared to treat the prince like that, making it all the more shocking to him. However, even after letting yourself be pushed over your limits, your anger hadn't resided, and you were still trembling. Hitting him didn't even make you feel better and it was so aggravating that nothing could help soothe your soul.

"It's okay," he breathed, his expression turning worried as he reached out, cupping your face in his dirty hands, and you could feel his thumb rub his cum further over your skin. "You can hit me if it helps, I don't mind anything you do to me. There…"

Lifting your hand to his face, he encouraged you to strike him again with some soft claps on his cheek. But now that he was offering himself up as a sandbag, violence lost all its enticement. Alec clambered back on top of you when you didn't react, pulling your face closer to his and stopping only inches away from his. "I don't…" he started, his breath smelling like alcohol as it hit you, and you scrunched your nose, which made him bite his lip. In shame or delight, you couldn't tell.

"I don't mind it if you… hurt me," he mumbled. A lie that was not hard to figure out. "But we'll always be together now, and I plan to make you as happy as you make me. So if you need to hit me, scream at me, ignore me, I will endure it. For us. You can do whatever you want with me."

He looked down at you with puppy eyes, large and round and filled with a silent plea that he voiced before you could tell him all the things you wanted to do to him and how he'd regret ever falling in love with you.

"But please, don't hate me too much, okay?"

"Too late," you replied bitterly, and it was strange to see him tear up, hurt and aggrieved over your statement. A prince brought to tears by his spouse not playing along was a sight people would have talked about for centuries if they could have seen it. Would they have seen you as the victim or the bad guy? Would they have tried to romanticize the life of you two unlikely spouses or written dramatic operas about it?

It didn't matter to you at that moment.

"Don't," he whispered, pulling you into a kiss, his lips softly fluttering against yours.

"Or what?" you replied, punching a fist into his stomach. Alec shuddered, the punch not hard enough to throw him off but to make him stop.

"There are… other ways to hurt," he pressed out between clenched teeth. "Starting with your little boy toy."

His eyes snapped up again, and there was nothing left of the lovey-dovey crap he had broadcasted to you all day. Now, they were wide open with malice, seething, dripping hatred as he talked about your former lover. "I can strip him and his family of their name, their land, their titles, and then I'll do the same to your family. When I'm done with them, they will have to beg on the streets to buy a loaf of bread. I'll let them suffer just as much as you force me to, and when I am done, you'll come crawling back, begging me to spare you of a fate much worse, I promise."

This time, you shuddered. Not out of anger or frustration, but of guilt and fear. A part of you recognized how insane he sounded. How little of those promises he could actually do. But you had been away from the noble life for so long, you didn't know what and what not he was truly capable of. While you harbored hatred for your own family for what they did, there was a massive part of you not wanting your beloved to suffer any more than he already did after you broke up with him because of this.

"So if you know what's good for you…" Alec muttered, still in his crazed state even while he stood up, his cock springing up again and right into your line of sight as you flinched, turning your head away. "Then get on the bed and let me taste you. Because I am so sick and tired of waiting for you to come around."

Stalking back to the bed, he climbed on, laying down in what would be a life-long supply of pillows for a mere farmer. Alec lounged between velvet and furs, lazily stroking his length and beckoning you closer. You clamped your legs shut, unwilling to comply with his orders to obey him. Instead sitting there on the cold floor, he left you behind on it like a dog and not his dear wife. For the first time, as you saw him lay between luxury with a look full of contempt, you felt as if he looked at you, not in admiration from below, but as if you were a mere whore and he was the king paying for you.

But as the image of your former beloved sparked up in your mind, of him laughing and happy, telling you of the life he'd live with you by his side and the family you'd have together, all you felt was guilt for not being able to give him at least a good life, if not one with you by his side. It made you feel like you had no choice but to comply if you didn't want to ruin lives just like yours, which was already in shambles.

So you gulped, standing up, slowly trudging over towards Alec, whose expression changed to conceited. "Take it off," he ordered, waving his free hand at your nightgown.

And for the first time in your whole life, you felt real shame as his eyes roamed your body, lips curling into a smile and a word formed on his lips.

"Now, I'm going to feast."

[peterxwade24]

Safety Found in Red Sleeves

Chapter 7

So, who’s ready for Gotham ft. Thana and friends? Also, Uncles Ed and John show up at the end so, look out for that.

Anyways...

Jason woke up early that next day, and he decided he was just going to have a little bit of a lie in. He smiled and pulled Damian closer, shushing him when he made a noise in protest. “I’m pretty sure the girls are going to join us in a little bit, and then Tim a little while after that.”

Just like he expected, Steph and Cass joined them in the bed not too long after he said it, and then Tim joined in a few minutes after the girls. The five of them laid in bed, everyone finding comfort in each other. No words were passed between the family, they didn’t feel the need to speak.

That’s where Dick and Wally, and their kids, found them about an hour later.

“Why weren’t we called to join the cuddle pile?” Dick pouted and crossed his arms over his chest, while Mar’i, Jay, and Iris ducked around their fathers and climbed into the bed. They, like Damian, chose a Wayne and clung to them. Mar’i clung to Tim, Iris clung to Steph and Jai clung to Cass.

“There’s a nine-year-old practically asleep on my chest. My phone is on my nightstand. None of them brought their phones to my bed.” Jason whispered and carded his fingers through Damian’s hair.

Dick shot a look at Wally, Wally simply shrugged as though to say “when in Rome” before he too got into the bed.

“C’mon Dickiebird. We don’t have anything to do today. We don’t start guiding or protecting them till tomorrow.” Jason’s words were slightly slurred in his comfortable state.

Dick huffed good-naturedly before climbing into the bed with his family and the Wests.

---

Tim’s phone blared from the room he’d claimed, stirring the almost completely asleep cuddle pile into wakefulness.

Jason frowned and shifted Damian from his chest to Steph’s other side. “I’ll be right back. Imma go answer Timber’s phone.” Jason slowly got out of the bed, being careful to not displace the other kids, and quietly left the room. He made his way into Tim’s room, grabbed his phone off of the night stand, and, without looking at the caller ID, answered the phone. “Timothy Jackson Drake’s phone, Jason speaking.”

“Why do you have his phone?” Bruce’s irritated voice came over the line.

“Because Tim’s in my bed asleep with most of my family and he left his phone on the nightstand next to the bed he sleeps in.” Jason’s voice didn’t change despite a grin forming on his face. “If something’s gone wrong at Wayne Enterprises, then shouldn’t you as the CEO be stepping up to solve it? And not your seventeen year old son.”

“You have no-” Bruce growled.

“I have no what? Room to care about my little brother? Right to care that my brothers and sisters would perish in your care?” Jason’s tone took on a deadly edge. “I have killed for less. I have killed to keep my son safe. I am not above maiming in the defense of those I love.” Jason hung up the phone and put it back down on the nightstand with a weighted sigh. He turned and the only indication he was surprised by Cass’s appearance was a slight widening to his eyes. “Hey Cass.”

Cass simply walked towards her brother and let herself slump against his chest. She wrapped her arms around him in her own display of thanks.

Jason simply rubbed circles into the older girl’s back. “I will not let him hurt any of you ever again. Harvey and I will fight tooth and nail if we have to, he has already given up his parental rights to Damian. You and Steph and Tim are just as much my siblings as you are my kids, well, you not so much a kid but you know what I mean.”

Cass shook with silent laughter and nodded. She patted Jason’s back and pulled back. She flashed him a smile before pulling him back to the rest of the family. 

---

Jason smiled as Damian ran around the park with Mar’i, Jai and Iris. Damian hadn’t had many opportunities to open up to children his age, as there hadn’t been any in the league, and despite the fact that he was older than the other three the four of them got along fairly well. Jason watched as Dick fretted over the three younger kids, Wally stood beside him with a small affectionate grin on his face. Tim was riding a skateboard around the park, Bart keeping pace beside him. Cass sat with Kon while Steph, Cassie and Cissie chatted a few paces away from the other two.

Damian, Mar’i, Jai and Iris ran around the park, weaving around other patrons and laughing. Damian looked over his shoulder at the other three when he ran into someone.

“Are you okay? Oh I’m so sorry.” A girl, who was with the person Damian ran into, spoke with a French accent. She was significantly taller than her companion with long black hair, the bangs and tips of which were dyed purple, and copper coloured eyes. She fretted over both Damian and her friend, who Damian was finally taking in. Her friend was short, just a head or two taller than Damian, with blue eyes and short pink hair, part of which was pulled back into a spiky ponytail.

Damian nodded. “I’m fine.”

Mar’i, Jai and Iris, upon seeing Damian standing, turned and ran to get their fathers.

The taller girl nervously flicked her bangs out of her face before frowning. “Are you sure you’re okay? Alix doesn’t always look where she’s skating.”

The other girl, apparently named Alix, looked ready to comment when Dick and Wally approached.

“Are you okay Damian?” Dick’s tone was filled with concern while Wally hung back with the three other kids.

“I’m fine Uncle Dick.” Damian frowned, “where’s Baba?”

“He’s gathering the other three, then they’ll be over here.” Dick reassured his young brother/nephew.

Jason ran to his son and scooped him up. “Oh Kutlat Saghira. Are you okay?” He turned to look at the French teens and smiled. “Thank you for stopping to make sure he was fine.”

Alix’s eyes widened before nodding. “Yeah, uh, no problem.”

Juleka gave a shy smile and nodded. “It was the least we could do.”

-*-*-*

Thana stared at her friends, the three who had always had her back and the two newest additions to their ranks. She took a moment to thank Plagg and Tikki, without whom she may never have met her closest friends and allies. She took in her friends and the way that all of their outfits seemed to go together without being obnoxiously matchy-matchy.

Alix seemed to be vibrating in her shoes, which were custom made turtle shell patterned Heelys. She wore dark gray distressed jeans with a dark forest green racerback tank top. She had a black and red men’s flannel over her tank with a red beanie perched on the top of her head. She had a dark green turtle themed shoulder bag strapped across her back.

Nino, standing next to Alix, had similar shoes done in snake skin instead of turtle shell. He wore loose-fitting blue denim jeans with several snake related patches around the side seems, he had a gray collared shirt under a red sweatshirt. He had a black shoulder bag across his back, on the opposite side Alix’s was. He had his normal headphones around his head while he had a pair of black headphones atop his head.

Adrien wore black and white checkered vans with white socks. His pants were salmon with baby pink criss-crossing stripes covering them. He wore a baby pink sweater with a light gray fanny pack.

Chloé wore a layered yellow skirt with a pair of foxes chasing each other around her hem, her skirt was made up of a solid layer of yellow silk under two or three layers of tulle. She had a white crop top tank under a red knit cardigan. She had an orange coloured baguette purse at her side. She had black converse with black socks to finish off her outfit.

Kim wore a pair of black running shoes, with gray sweatpants and a white shirt. He had a red zippered hoodie on top of that. He had a tiny gray ox with a smaller black cat curled up on its back on the hem of his shirt.

Thana had a pair of black running shoes, with gray leggings and a white tank top. She had a red crop top hoodie made of the hoodie she’d received from Jason all those years ago with a few added panels. Her tank top had little depictions of the Vietnamese zodiac animals on her chest.

Alix smiled brighty. “So, Kiti, you’ll never guess who I ran into, almost literally, yesterday.”

Thana hummed in acknowledgement as she led the group to the elevator. “Who’d you run into Rùa?”

“Oh, just, your brother, his brother, and an assortment of children.” Alix grinned as Thana froze and turned to look at her.

“What?” Thana’s voice was almost too quiet to hear, prompting Kim to drape his arm across her shoulders while Nino settled his normal headphones around Thana’s neck.

Chloé stared at Adrien, her blue eyes seeming to stare into Adrien’s soul.

“Hey, Al, that maybe wasn’t the best thing to say when we’re trying to get to the lobby to go on a tour with the rest of our class.” Adrien attempted to gently tell her off, but it backfired.

“Whatever.” Alix slunk ahead of them into the elevator.

---

Adrien looked at Alix forlornly as Alix chatted with Juleka. He knew he’d have to apologize eventually, he may have one fear as Monsieur Punaise (which was his partner) but he had two fears as Adrien Agreste, and they were disappointing his father and an angry Chloé Bourgeois. He shook his head and looked back at Chloé, who had a frown on her face as her eyes continued to scan the streets.

Nino fiddled with his phone as he kept pace a step behind Chloé but a step ahead of Thana and Kim. He looked to be fully absorbed in his phone but he was quick to pull Chloé away from the street a few moments before a car came whizzing past.

Their tour guide, a pleasant man who’d introduced himself as Richard, despite the fact that the bodyguard had snorted in response before neglecting to introduce himself, led them around Gotham. He pointed out all of the touristy destinations, while Thana mumbled what could be considered sad facts about each place.

Thana kept flicking her eyes to the bodyguard, there was only one Gothamite with the exact same build as their bodyguard with the same scars littering his cheeks and jaw. She was worrying the cuffs of her jacket sleeves when she heard the distinctive tap of her Uncle Ed’s cane. She whipped around to attempt to locate him, before seeing him and his tacky suit and her Uncle John and his equally as tacky suit approaching from behind Kim. She broke away from the group, causing the rest of her class (as well as the tour guide and bodyguard) to turn to stare at her as she threw herself into her Uncle Ed’s arms.

“Little Hood. It’s good to see you.” Her Uncle Ed held her close while Uncle John finally reached the duo.

“Hey Mini Todd.” Her Uncle John ruffled her hair before settling an arm around Ed’s shoulders.

The three reunited for a moment under the watchful eyes of the class’ bodyguard, Thana’s friends, and Marinette’s class. Kim pulled out his phone to take a picture to send to his Mẹ, because she had asked for any updates on Thana’s family situation. Nino took a picture to send to Thana, because he knew she’d want to have photographic evidence of when she reunited with her two of her uncles.

“I missed you two so much.” Thana whispered into Ed’s neck while John settled his hand on the back of Thana’s head.

“We missed you too.” John assured their niece, he knew that she’d had doubts about whether or not they had actually missed her as much as she’d missed them, and he hated her father for giving her that complex every day.

Lila let out a blood-curdling scream before appearing to tremble as she pointed at the trio. “Marinette is hugging The Riddler and Scarecrow!” Lila then proceeded to pretend to faint, luckily for her Alya was right there to catch her, unluckily for her everyone else was focused on their classmate and that fact that she appeared to have tears streaming down her cheeks.

Taglist:

@southamericangothamite @maribat-is-lifeblood @mystery-5-5 @our-preciousss @mochegato @chocolatecatstheron @throneoffirebreathingbitch @2confused-2doanything @wannajointhecrabcult @dreamykitty25 @tomanyfandomsonmymind @moonlightstar64 @justafanwarrior @mialuvscats @pheony1882 @pepelachanel @moongoddesskiana @abrx2002 @ladybug-182 @greatcatblaze @thatonecroc @vixen-uchiha @superbwhispersconnoisseur @lilkymilky @susiej1118  @bluesimani @thatonecroc

[ceilingfan5]

can i please get a 6 "make me" / 33 "this is too easy" for the dialogue prompt?

im so sorry this is so long

“Ohhh, this? This is too easy,” Taako mutters to himself, waiting in the wings for his cue. The wedding music is so loud it rattles his teeth. If he weren’t clenching them in anticipation, he’d be worried about accidentally spitting one out. But he straightens his silk cape and his tulle veil with the beautiful embroidered flowers and he pastes on a smile like he’s happy to be there. If anyone spots a crack in his expression, they’ll surely chalk it up to it being an arranged marriage. 

And not, in fact, the dark deed Taako has to do right after the ceremony. 

The attendant waves him on and Taako steels himself and walks like he’s floating on a lilypad right up to the altar. 

And falters. 

He knew he would be charged with assassinating a prince. He knew that it would be a dirty job, a thankless job, and that he would be at great risk for doing so. But Taako was put into a position that made it impossible to refuse, and he justified it quietly to himself that royalty deserved their fate, and that there was no way an arranged marriage would go well for him anyway. Who would want Taako, after all he’d been through? 

But when he sees that gentle smile on the prince’s handsome face and he receives Taako with a supportive arm around his waist, Taako forgets how to breathe. 

He’s beautiful. Taako’s heart is singing, a desperate little bird calling for one last shot at a real life, before almost certainly being executed for his crimes. But at least they’ll let Lup go when he’s done. 

If he can do it. The prince pulls him close and Taako’s skin feels like champagne at every touch, and he looks back up at the prince’s face and the prince smiles back down at him, reassuring and so sweet. 

“You look a little nervous,” he whispers. “It’ll be alright.” 

If only that were true. 

“Do you, Prince Kravitz, Raven of Divinity, Inheritor of the Seven Seas, Lord of the Northern Passage, take Prince Taako of Amare to be your lawfully wedded husband?” 

“I do,” he says, with such certainty that Taako wishes for lightning to strike him right then and there and get the whole business over with. 

“And do you, Prince Taako of Amare, take Prince Kravitz, Raven of Divinity, Inheritor of the Seven Seas, Lord of the Northern Passage, to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I-” Taako’s throat is closing over. How stupid of him. He’s been doing this since he was thirteen and he’s falling in love with a target now? “I do.”

Kravitz raises the veil, and tenderly, like he’s been waiting for this moment his entire life, Kravitz kisses him, soft and sweet and deadly. 

The rest of the ceremony is a rush, and Taako barely takes in any of it, even the delicious food or the sweet little things Kravitz keeps whispering in his ear, or the way his ankle keeps brushing against Taako’s in clear invitation. They don’t retire until well into the night, and Taako almost seems to wake back up when the guards lock their chamber for their wedding night. 

Kravitz smiles at him. 

“I hope this isn’t too much for you. I know arranged marriages aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I really...I really think we can grow to love each other, Taako, and I’m so excited to start that journey with you. I’m so ready to help your land recover from those awful wars--there are so many people we can help-” 

He’s too nice. He keeps talking like that, but Taako’s ears are ringing. He can’t kill this man. But if he doesn’t, he loses Lup. He has to do it. 

He can’t. 

But he must. 

“My prince,” he interrupts, sickly sweet. “I’ve been thinking of nothing more all night than getting close to you. Perhaps you could help me with the fastenings on my outfit-?” 

“Oh, oh, yes, of course!” Kravitz bounces adorably on his toes and hurries over to help Taako out of his ridiculous garb. 

This doesn’t feel too easy anymore. 

He holds still as Kravitz unlaces every ribbon, and he gasps as he can finally take in a whole breath, and relaxes slightly as his coverings pool on the floor and he’s left in his undergarments. 

“Would you like help with these as well?” He presses a soft kiss to Taako’s cheek and Taako tries to keep breathing.

“Of course, my love,” Taako says. 

And Kravitz does, unlacing all the smallest bits like Taako was a present he’d been waiting for for twenty-one years. Taako hates what comes next. He can’t--but he must. 

“Is this……………..a dagger...in your pants?”

“I’m just happy to see you,” Taako quips, and he spins and presses the cold blade to Kravitz’s throat. For all his charm and wit, Kravitz just blinks stupidly at him. 

“I don’t understand?”

“What’s to get, stupid!” Fuck. Taako needs to keep his voice down if he’s going to get away with blaming a bandit coming through the window, or something. “You have to die tonight.”

“It’s an awful night to die on.” Kravitz frowns. “I was really excited to share the evening with you.”

“I’m not a fucking prince!” Taako hisses. “I’m an assassin, and you’re dying!”

“Well...Why? What have I done?”

“I don’t know! I just have to- or- or-” 

“Or what?” Kravitz’s neck is bleeding, but he still seems just put out by this situation, as if Taako had sat on his wedding cake instead of plotting to murder him in cold blood. 

“Or-” Taako can’t do this. “Or they kill my sister.” 

“Oh. Well, we can fix that. I’ll have them executed.”

“They’re too quick! You won’t get to them in time! She’s going to die if I don’t give the signal in the next three hours!”

Kravitz thinks for a moment, and then a slow, sly smile spreads across his face. 

“What if we fake my death until we can have them arrested?” 

Taako stares at him like he grew a second dick and offered to share it with him. 

“What? Why? Why are you doing this for me? I’m trying to kill you!”

“Not very hard,” Kravitz points out. “And I like you. I want to spend my life with you.”

“I’m not even a real prince!”

“My kingdom doesn’t know that. And I’ve always wanted to have an adventure. Let’s do this!”

Taako shakes his head in disbelief. 

“Fuck,” he says, hoarse and tired, lowering his dagger. “Why not.”

[multiverseofmiracleshq]

Emma Frost attempted to throw herself a ( thirtieth ) twenty-seventh birthday party at Krakoa’s White Palace. The party was crashed first by Cable and the three time displaced X-Men he had taken hostage so he could find the young and a currently at large Scott and Jean. The second intrusion was the aforementioned young X-Men and a surprise appearance by Doctor Strange, who claimed to have a solution that would involve no one permanently dying or being sent away. Time was not their friend, however, and there  was only one chance to be had.

THIS IS THE OFFICIAL COMPLETE CHAT LOG COVERAGE OF THE IC

EMMA: Who didn’t love a party? There were some people out there ( those dreadful souls ) but they were irrelevant. It was easier to ask who did love parties, and there was only one relevant answer: Emma Frost. A privileged state of existence had made her privy to many of them but too often they slipped into the void of boredom and disinterest. If you wanted to throw a party you had to throw a good one, and Emma had done just that on all accounts. The White Palace was always primed for people, an alabaster tomb awaiting guests. Diamonds were shipped in, table cloths were spread and every hair on each servers head had been smoothed to perfection. Per instruction a rather large white chair ( a throne, if you wanted to be technical ) had been placed on the dais at the front of the ballroom. A full thirty minutes before guest were allowed in she had taken to it so that every layer of white silk could be arranged just so. Once everyone of note had filtered in Emma waved off whoever she had been speaking to with one gloved hand before rising. The half hour in the chair did its job - she noted mentally - as the dress moved along with her exactly as the designer had promised. “I’m thrilled to see you all here.” Accented syllables cut over the crowd. “Even if it’s six days late. That doesn’t matter. What does is that we are all here and looking divine. There may be conflict in our world, but please, try to enjoy yourselves. It’s a party.” A party for a year she was not turning for the third time. White painted lips covered fangs, claws put away for the night. “Run wild, darlings.”

MESMERO: He sat quietly and on his own, martini in one hand and fingers tapping in the other. He and Emma weren't what one would call friends but nevertheless he was here. This was more out of desperation than anything. He was bored. He desired to do something, to sew chaos, to see a little action but he fought against such villainous urges and drowned his ambitions in alcohol and false friends. "Well isn't this a lovely twenty-seventh birthday party?" he said with air quotes around Emma's supposed age to no one in particular.

SCOTT: Memory problems had been the beginning, what followed had proven to be a whole lot worse. The delirium, the dissociation from himself; Scott was even losing what little control he had over his abilities --- forgetting to put his glasses back on, not knowing even when they were on. It was a surprise to himself that he even attended this bash, that he'd left Jean in her state. But apparently, there was news, something in the pipeline that could help. If he were being honest, he couldn't really distinguish if that were a dream or not, but regardless he couldn't just sit around. Jean was down for now and to keep his mind distracted, he just couldn't miss Emma's party. Hopefully there was a solution. Hopefully Nate found the original X-men.

ERIK: Erik wasn’t one to ‘run wild’ as it were, per Emma’s advice. Not at parties at least.But it was nice to have an excuse to dress up in a nice suit every once in a while. He acquired a drink and kept quiet as the party began, glancing around the room and observing the crowd as the volume slowly increased. Per usual, his white suit made an appearance tonight. It was paired with a bright purple tie and a pocket square to match, and the color stood out well. Wearing this outfit around Emma made him smirk-- an expression that he hid while taking a sip of his drink.

IDIE: Idie had been one of the first to arrive. Being late was something Idie did not enjoy -- being late gave her anxiety, which often led to her getting sweaty, which was something she did not need in a white dress. She was fond of the dress she had found; it was an ivory white dress, which cut off just below her knees. It had a plunged neckline, and a black waistband which was embroidered with sequins. The skirt of the dress was a mixture of delicate tulle and silk, and flowed as Idie walked. It made Idie feel like a fairy -- she hadn't felt this dressed up in a long time. Her hair was braided and twisted up into a neat bun that sat on top of her head. She looked around the ballroom, eyes glancing over familiar faces. She wasn't sure why she was invited. It felt strange to be at such a place. Making her way through the room, a waiter passed and offered her a drink, which she accepted. She clutched the flute in her hand, eagerly looking around for someone she was more acquainted with.

LORNA: Emma Frost, as a rule of thumb, sucked. She sucked and Lorna knew for a fact she was like thirty but who was she to rain on a parade? No one, this time. “It looks like it should be themed winter wonderland.” Lorna scoffed in response to whoever had spoken. With all the diamonds it was a bit extra but again, she wasn’t raining on parades. Turning then to look at how actually had spoken, heavily lined eyes narrowed at Mesmero. “Out of all the places I expected you to be, here wasn’t one of them.”

MESMERO: “Seems a little too innocent for Her royal highness." He said returning a glance with who turned out to be Lorna. He wasn't eager to be in her vicinity. "I could say the same to you. You hardly strike me as a fan of all of this excess." He said before sipping his beverage.

LORNA: “I’m a fan of free booze.” She gestured with her glass. “And we all know something’s going to go wrong.”

MESMERO: "For once we can agree on something." He replied with a faint smirk. "Only reason I bothered showing up was in the hopes of seeing something go wrong if we're being honest."

CABLE: There was a party happening tonight-- that’s what everyone was getting together for, right? Nathan had only been to a handful of parties and they had all been.. fairly interesting. He wasn’t quite sure if he liked them yet, and tonight wouldn’t help him make up his mind. There was no time for fun tonight. It was time to end this, and he didn’t care what anyone else had to say about it. Nate had three of them already, this was good. After securing them, Nate had taken them all to his safehouse and began scratching things off his checklist. At the top of the list was getting Warren his real wings back, and that wasn’t pretty. Truthfully, he felt a bit bad about what he had to do. Grafting new wings onto the other mutant was a painful process, one that left Warren weak and barely conscious even after the drugs had worn off. Nate grabbed him and dragged him over to join Bobby and Hank, who were both handcuffed just like Warren. The other two were almost fully awake now, and it was time to go. “Ready to take a trip?” It wasn’t a question he was going to wait for them to answer. He linked the three of them together, the device coming to life with a hum and blue energy radiating off of them. Then he grabbed onto them, pulled the hood of his cloak over his head, and one of the gadgets on his arm teleported them away. Seconds later, they appeared in the middle of Emma’s party. A blue light preceded their arrival and then the four of them were surrounded by dressed up mutants who were suddenly face to face with them. “Hey guys.” Nate spoke up, his voice carrying through the room. “Anyone wanna tell me where I can find Jean and Scott? Oh, and who wants to watch these three for me? I’d owe you one.”

EMMA: Oh, for the love of -- “Nathan.” Emma’s voice was carefully confined, ice cold anger slick under pleasantries. “I was very clear about the terms of your invitation, and I believe this exceeds them.”

MESMERO: "That didn't take long." Mesmero muttered to Lorna.

LORNA: Green eyes flashed in interest. “Erik owes me five bucks.”

LAURA: Living on edge was something that Laura was used to but didn’t like. Her instincts had told her to come to Emma’s excessive party and it looked like they had paid off. Logan hadn’t attended for a more pressing reason and out of respect for her friend Scott she had kept an eye on his older self. The second the blue light faded away and her vision returned, one fistful of claws popped out at the sight of the young X-Men. “What did you do to them?”

SCOTT: Once he'd started rejecting the alcohol and refused to mingle, he started to question why he even bothered showing up. A part of him wanted to speak with Emma, but as she was the center of this party, he didn't want to get in the way of her spotlight. A few of the other X-men were here, but he wasn't too concerned with sharing their present dilemmas. Just as he was debating his departure, a bright light illuminated the center of the room and lo and behold, Nathan. "You found them." He said, his voice too quiet to carry. But no, two were missing, and of the course the two missing were --- "Emma," he said her name as he came up behind her. "Do you know what this means?" They had to stay hands off for most of the hunt, mostly because when their presence bounced off one another, it started creating ripples that reflected just how narrow their time was. Nathan had to handle it, and for the most part, he had.

CABLE: Nathan offered Emma an eye roll and nothing else, then turned to Laura. “You can put the claws away. They’re fine.” His normal sarcastic tone was lost for a moment, being replaced by a stern and somewhat caring one. “Like I said before, Warren needed his wings back. So.. he’s a little tired. But they’re all fine. It’s easier to transport them when they’re knocked out, that’s all. Make sense?”

EMMA: One did not scream at their own birthday party, otherwise Emma would have done just that. A full blown shriek because of course they had to have this little drama on the one night she had ( openly ) claimed as her own. “Yes, darling.” One hand gently fell to rest on Scott’s arm. She loved him differently than she once had, but seeing a proud man suffer was never pleasant. Here she was throwing a party while one mutant hung close to death and four others followed closely behind. “If we knew where Scott and Jean were, we wouldn’t be in this predicament, would we?” The blonde hummed. “See, the two you haven’t caught may very well be the hardest due to sheer hormones and willpower.” Scott and Jean: an obnoxious set of lovebirds. “I can tell you, Nathan, you’re out of time. Your father is here and your mother isn’t, so you need to do more or they’ll both be gone.” Scott may have been happy at the sight of three but Emma was malcontent. Lips twisted into a sneer then as she cast a disinterested look towards Laura. “The boy is right. You can stand down, guard dog.”

IDIE: Idie had long finished her first drink, and was now onto her second one. The peach flavoured drink had left her feeling a little spacey, but the sweetness she had very much enjoyed. Taking sip from the flute, Idie's attention was suddenly caught by the mesmerising blue light. Edging closer to see what the commotion was, her eyes widened in horror when she saw the state the three young X-Men were in. She could feel her body tingle with adrenaline, and she fought to calm herself before she did anything drastic. She watched Cable speak, her eyes locked on Warren, Bobby, and Hank. It felt as if her heart was beating in her throat. She watched Emma as she spoke with a calm dignity. "Don't call Laura a guard dog," Idie said -- a little too loudly. There had been a roughness to Idie's voice as she had spoken, her eyes fixated on Emma.

CABLE: The softer tone Nate had just used fell away instantly as his gaze flicked back to Emma. His jaw tensed, and the bright glow from his bionic eye flashed for a brief moment. The two he had left to catch were his parents. If anyone understood how stubborn they were, it was him. “Yeah. I get that. I’m here because I need help-- something I don’t like asking for.” He saw Scott next to Emma, and his resolve hardened even further. “Sorry about your party, but this is a little more important.”

LAURA: She hadn’t expected anyone to speak up for her, and while her initial look at Idie was cynical the mutant softened to give her a small nod. Her claws slowly slid away until all that was left was a closed fist. Her eyes moved then to lock on the young X-Men. If they showed they were in pain she’d cut them out.

EMMA: “Well, I don’t know about that.” Emma muttered under her breath before rolling her shoulders back to look at Nate. “Fine. I’ll try Cerebro, but we already did that. Your small mother is masking their minds, or using someone else. Unfortunately, darling, I had to put your normal sized mother down this morning and Charles is away on diplomacy so we’re rather low on aid. Hank, Warren,” Emma looked to the older versions of the chained X-Men. “Care to assist carting your younger selves to a holding cell?”

STRANGE: The plea to save the original X-men from predestined fates had proven to give him pause, but Strange had originally wanted to turn them down. As the Sorcerer Supreme, his duties were laundry list long, and included on that list was allowing for fates to play themselves out. If the original X-men were predetermined to follow a specific path, he was not the one to write them a new one. However, that had been before he'd been made aware of the Krakoan resurrection pods, and before he'd decided that he would sever a group of young kids from their present realities once again. With the two remaining original X-men and Gwendolyne Poole, Strange created a wide portal, triangulating the position based on Scott's tether to his elder self. Stepping through, they appeared amongst many. Obviously a party. "Sorry to interrupt." He spoke loudly, although the room was already fairly quiet. "But it appears you may be looking for these two."

TIME-DISPLACED JEAN: “Are we late to the party?” Jean couldn’t help but use false confidence to cover shaking hands. She had nothing but time during the hiding portion of their fugitive days and that time had led to practice and refining control. Her head turned to her captured teammates and there was a brief flash of pink before their cuffs clattered to the ground. “We’re not going back, but he,” that was directed at Strange. “--he won’t let you guys die either.”

CABLE: ”What the--” Alright, so this wasn’t exactly part of the plan Nate had put together in his head. The flash of pink caught his eye and when he saw that his capture X-Men had been set free, a sudden rush of anxiety and anger hit him. ”Hey!” Warren wasn’t exactly in a place to run-- or fly-- away, but the other two were awake enough to flee if they wanted. “What the hell is going on?”

GWENPOOL: This was a par-tay. Super over the top with some we’re richer than god kinda vibes, but still nice. Gwen had taken a stroll when Jean had started talking, momentarily distracted by a scantily clad server in white to grab a lil’ dish of caviar or whatever they were serving. She had just gotten her hands on it and back to the group she had so stylishly arrived with when the angry murder Cable started talking. Really, she was more familiar with the sexy Josh Brolin was but she was willing to ride this plot out. Grabbing her mask and yanking it off her head so that pink and blonde hair hung wildly around her face, she waited for Cable to finish having his temper tantrum. “This guy is what the hell is going on.” She jutted a thumb towards Strange. “For those new to this shindig, this my very good pal Doctor Stephen Strange,” a slight exaggeration, “And he helped me out a few years ago when I was having a tiny little reality problem. As in, he severed my ties to my reality and got me a sweet permanent existence here. When Kid Asshole ( that was Kid Omega ) mentioned what was going down I thought to myself: geez, gwen, what a great time to help the children. So, here we are! I connected ya babes with my dude and he can help them live here as their own people.”

IDIE: Idie noticed the nod from Laura, and shot her a soft smile back. Finishing off her drink, Idie starred at the newcomer, but it was Gwendolyn who caught her eye. Eyes flickered to the young Jean who had just spoke, and then in a flash the young X-Men were free. Idie felt as if everything was moving fast, and she was going in slow motion. "You were going to kill them?" Idie almost shouted. A mixture of disgust and anger swirled through her body. She walked slowly away from the crowd, and went and stood by Gwendolyne. She could feel her body shaking. What had been in her drinks?

LAURA: There were a lot of heartbeats escalating in the room. The weird one who spoke too fast was - surprise surprise - speaking too fast and everyone was paying attention to her so Laura stalked to the other side of the room where Idie was. They weren’t friends. They knew of each other than anything else, but Laura could smell the booze and she seemed scared. “You’re drunk and you need water.” Her voice was low. The servers were still there so she signaled for one to bring over a glass. “I need to go check on them. You can come if you stay calm.” A sloppy ( probably first time ) drunk  was the last thing she needed but Laura didn’t want her freaked out. Moving over to the stirring X-Men, one boot clad foot kicked away a set of the restraints. “Hey,” she crouched down in front of Warren and Hank. “Are you guys okay?”

TIME-DISPLACED HANK: Hank shook his head quickly feeling the effects of the drugs wearing off as the the migraine set in. "Ordinarily if I were put in this situation the answer would be a resounding no, however, all things considered, I'm peachy." Hank said with some strain as his vision began to finally focus in on all that was going on around them.

STRANGE: Strange passed a glance to Gwen, watching as she gave a very colorful rendition of their plan. Regardless of the circumstances, this was not something he wanted to spur into a habit, so to find himself in a similar position as he had been in before was making him want to cut her off and get to the point faster. However, he remained quiet until she was finished, where he could tack on some points. "Severing them from their reality would wipe the present X-men from existence, which is where Krakoa comes in. I'm told mutants are now able to resurrect infinitely. We will have to have a talk about how that damages the fabric of reality at a different time, but we can use the pods to our advantage. In essence, the original X-men will die." As he scanned the room, he could tell they were running out of time. With the original X-men within walking distance of their present selves, it seemed to have been almost accelerating the symptoms. "You," he directed his words at Nathan Summers. "Will have to allow the original X-men to be transported in my care, along with these two." he indicated the two X-men he had standing with him. "And we should do it now."

TIME-DISPLACED WARREN: It was all a haze. Warren had felt them teleport but even after Jean had released them, he had barely moved. It was almost impossible to get his eyes to focus correctly, and all the voices around him were muddled and foggy. He knew they were arguing about them, but that was easy to figure out. Laura’s voice managed to break through, but he kept his hands pressed over his face, covering his eyes. His wings hung limply at his sides and spread oddly around him across the floor. They ached, almost burned-- more than they ever had even when they had been made of fire and metal. Every inch his arms moved, his shoulders cried out in protest. Luckily, the muscles on his back were almost numb. “I’m.. I don’t know.” Warren finally managed to answer. His voice was groggy and rough, but it was there. “I have feathers again, don’t I? I’m not imagining that part?”

IDIE: Idie stared at Laura. "I'm drunk?" She took the water from Laura and started drinking it. "I only had the fizzy peach drink..." Her voice trailed off and she stared down at the glass. "Did that have alcohol in?" She followed Laura as she tried to wrap her head around this new found information. Kneeling down beside Laura, she looked at Warren, her eyes wide. "Yes, Warren." Idie's voice was soft, but it trembled slightly as she spoke. "You have feathered wings again. Try not to move, okay? We'll get you out of here." She was unsure of how they would get the young X-Men out, and unsure of the plan Gwendolyne had explained would work. Taking a breath, she tried to calm her nerves, and took a large sip of her water.

LAURA: “You’re drunk.” Laura repeated bluntly. “There was alcohol in there. I smell it.” From her position on bended knee Laura gave Hank a tight smile. “You look peachy.” The words were supposed to be gentle enough to be slightly teasing. Offering an arm, she rose slowly to help him stand if he needed it before crouching again before Warren. One hand hesitantly reached out to brush one of the white feathers, the soft down confirming they were real. “It seems that you do. I’m assuming Cable followed through on what he promised.” She echoed after Idie. Her mind was numb at times to torture. She had been through enough herself to be desensitized, but here she was forcing her mind to go into the painful places of empathy. She shook her head when the other mutant spoke again. “No, they want you two moved, and I’d rather help you than have Cable drag you along. Can you stand?”

CABLE: Nate reacted to the finger being pointed at him by instinctively moving in front of the three younger X-Men he had managed to get hold of. Their plan sounded insane. Everyone had been shocked, practically appalled, at his ideas when he first brought them up. But this? This was really the solution they wanted instead? “You do realize that if we kill them, even for just a few minutes, that will result in their older selves being wiped from existence. You realize that, right?” It sounded so obvious to him. Why it didn’t to everyone else, he couldn’t imagine. “Severing them from their existence sounds great in theory but pulling it off is a whole other thing completely! My plan leaves everyone alive.”

EMMA: “Our darling resident hothead brings up a good point.” Emma hummed in a begrudging agreeance. He was far too much like his father for her liking. “The X-Men are clearly barely  hanging on. Scott, Hank, Bobby and Warren can testify for this personally. Jean isn’t here at all, and the second any of you die we run the risk of losing them all and that unborn child. Jean,” Emma glanced to the shorter redhead and moved towards her. “You need to do this for yourself.” For a moment her eyes went white as Jean’s went pink, two telepaths talking among themselves. “No,” Emma broke away with a shake of her head. “Whatever you’re planning is too dangerous. Cable will escort you to the past and I will personally wipe your minds since you are unwilling.”

STRANGE: As if he hadn't analyzed every possible outcome already. Hadn't anyone paid attention before? Exhaling, Strange rubbed his brow. "As we are running out of time, young Summers, I did not believe I would have to explain every facet of the plan, but that is already taken care of too. I would not be here if this wasn't going to work. I do not waste my time with bad outcomes."

TIME-DISPLACED JEAN: “You’re wrong, Emma.” Jean shook her head firmly. “It’s going to work. Doctor Strange is going to put you guys in stasis temporarily. We die and then they regrow us in the Hatchery. Two of us. That way we can stay and one set can go back where I’ll be the one to wipe the memories. No fighting it. You know the Five can do it quickly, and Strange will help Tempus with the time part. You have to at least give us a chance.”

TIME-DISPLACED WARREN: ”That asshole.” Warren muttered under his breath, both angry and in pain. It had been a strange journey for him throughout their entire time here. At first, Warren had wanted nothing else except to go home to their correct time. He hated it here. He hated what he saw himself become. Despite it all, he had fought hard to find a place here and make sure history wouldn’t repeat itself. And now, all of that had been taken away from him. He was left with limp wings and a head full of pain and confusion. “My legs might work, but my wings? Not so much.” A half-hearted laugh escaped him as he attempted to move and stand up. He was still pretty weak. A couple blinks later, and his vision was at least improving. But the best he could do was sit on his knees, letting his arms and wings hang limply against him. “Where exactly are we going?”

SCOTT: "And what if it doesn't work?" he knew even posing the question to Strange would get him a look, but it needed to be asked. "I don't think we have enough time for this to go south. This isn't something I want to take a chance on."

TIME-DISPLACED SCOTT: "I'm willing to take that risk." he spoke up. "It is my future after all."

IDIE: Idie nodded, taking in what Laura had said. Her heart felt heavy as she watched Warren attempt to move. Reaching out, she placed her hand softly on his arm. "I don't know, but they have a plan." She could hear the two Scott's talking, and did her best to drown their voices out. "Let us help you stand, Warren. We won't let go of you, okay?" She looked at him, her eyes wide. Her vision felt slightly blurred, but she did her best to power through it. "I promise."

EMMA: “Then your wife and unborn child die.” Emma turned to look at Scott. “As do you and your friends. Why is this a debate? Fine,” there was a sigh of frustration. “The Council voted, but now let the five of you do the same since you’re ruined my party. Do you want to indulge this fantasy and risk death or send them back?”

CABLE: ”Two of you?” This plan sounded more and more ridiculous as it was explained to him. “That’s---” Slowly, his expression shifted from one of horror and surprise, to one of understanding. It was coming together, even as his father protested like he had been doing moments before. “---that could actually work.” He took a glance at the X-Men behind him, and then back to Strange. His anxiety pooled in his gut, One thing he hated was deviating from a plan once he had settled on it, but it was dawning on him that maybe he couldn’t win this fight. But he wasn’t fully convinced yet. This was an outcome he hadn’t predicted, which would create a timeline he had no insight into. That’s what scared him. “This is crazy.”

WARREN: “What the hell, let’s just go for it.” The older Warren made himself be heard. His mind was muddled but he was present enough to hear everything that had been said so far. “This is already a mess. We need to stop fighting and do something about it.”

BOBBY: He had been staying silent so far, but Bobby nodded when Warren spoke. “Okay -- cool. But that has to be it. We can’t take any more risks after this.”

HANK:  Hank offered his younger self a small smile before shutting his yellow eyes tightly do to the pain of just being near his younger self. "I suppose it is my turn to speak then, yes?" He said clearing his voice. "While I am entirely sympathetic to the struggles and tribulations of my younger self, it is with a most heavy heart that I must decline this proposition. While I am comfortable risking my own life for your sake." He said giving a look genuine sympathy to the time displaced five. "I cannot in good consciousness risk the loss of Jean's child when she is not here to speak her mind."

SCOTT: He looked incredulously between Warren and Bobby. "You're willing to risk your lives, Jean's child, for what -- a maybe? Sending them back has a 100% success rate, you can't actually be considering this. It's a no, two to two. We'd need Jean to break it and I have a feeling she's not going to take the risk."

EMMA: This was really a dreadful night and Emma hated playing the referee. Stripes were never a good look. “Then I suppose Scott is right. I can pull her back to conscious, but at the sake of repeating myself yet again: time is precious. Everyone relevant, feel free follow to the Hatchery. Someone call the Five. The rest of you are free to drink my very expensive champagne and then disperse.” With that Emma turned on one heel to gather the necessary people, a telepathic message being placed to Charles.

MESMERO: "Well this was more dramatic than anticipated." He said placing his empty cocktail down. "Waiter. Some of that expensive champagne out hostess was talking about. Thank you."

LAURA: With a body rigid and at attention, Laura listened to them debate before Emma left. She was still crouched down and her legs were numb but her attention turned to Warren. “Seems like you have a chance. If that’s what you still want.” The future had cut off his wings and tried to get rid of him. She wouldn’t blame him for wanting to go back. Nothing here seemed worth it. “Good things we only need your legs then.” Maneuvering carefully to avoid the trailing feathers she helped him stand and took the majority of his weight before waiting to move.

STRANGE: With a swirl of his hands, Strange opened another portal, leading those Emma deemed as relevant to the Hatchery, where the pods were kept. As they emerged, Strange took a moment to look around, the images of his mind probability finally aligning. He'd wondered what this place looked like and how exactly the mutants were managing it.

IDIE: Idie helped Laura get Warren to his feet, being as careful as she could in her current state. Idie looked at the portal Doctor Strange had opened, and then up at Warren. "Do you want one of us to help you through?" She asked quietly.

LOGAN: Everything had been quiet. It was nice, in a way. But in another sense, it was much too stifling. Logan chose to stay with Jean, even though there was nothing he could do. And then the quiet was interrupted by a portal, causing him to jump to his feet-- hands fisted together and at the ready. The group of people he was met with surprised him, and he allowed himself to relax. But only a little. “--what the hell is going on here?”

LAURA: She had known he had been in here. When he jumped up Laura stepped forward slightly even though it was a heavy step weighted down with the additional body mass of Warren. “They’re waking her up.” Her voice was quiet for the sake of her father. “And Emma is calling the Five. They may want the kids to stay here.”

LOGAN: “Waking her up?” Logan’s eyes narrowed, even though Laura was doing her best to keep him calm. “That’s a horrible idea. They can’t do that.”

EMMA: The only indication of a greeting that Emma gave Logan was a brief sniff as she entered the Hatchery. Surrounded by the large golden pods and the life that was in the process of blooming she took a second to reflect on how idiotic it all was. “The Five will be here shortly. They were at the Sextant Habitat and Illyana will be teleporting them in. This is Jeannie’s life at risk, Logan, so yes. We will be waking her up.” Moving around him, Emma made her way to where Jean was lying just as prone as she had left her. Bending down she pressed their foreheads together, fingers resting gently on the redheads temple as the telepathic connection was reestablished. The plan had been to keep her in the Healing Gardens but this had been a last minute change as an extra precaution. They said to make more mutants but had been slow to do follow through, so life had to be protected. After a few moments Emma pulled away and took a step back, body turning so no one saw her catch her breath. It wouldn’t be an issue. Eyes were likely to be trained on the telepath people preferred to stare at unless Emma had her tits out or was being decidedly more useful.

SCOTT: As Jean came to, Scott rested beside her, his first instinct to grab her hand but the situation, on top of other trivial problems, kept him from doing so. "Hey, welcome back." Despite the distance between them, his voice was soft. Speaking as quickly as he could without overwhelming her, Scott tried his best to explain the situation, doing what he could to remember the details. He managed to get all the important parts though, like how the original X-men were willing to put everything on the line for a possibility. "We don't have a lot of time. You have to decide now."

JEAN: For the first time in years, it had been quiet. Jean knew that was something that Emma had done for her, a gift for the woman who been unable to find unrest even in death. The only hum came from something she couldn’t quite place, something that she now knew to be the baby. Had her mind made that connection it would have fought and what she needed was rest. Then, Emma was back. There was almost a whisper of an apology left in her head and then people filled her vision and Scott was talking to her. Purposefully not touching her. The ache of sadness cut through the confusion as Jean shifted her legs to hang them off the cot. “That’s... a lot.” She had to clear her throat. There were a lot of questions, including what day is it? but that could be figured out later. “Putting me back to sleep my not be enough long term. That may have been our only chance at that angle.” Her mind was already filling too quickly. “So now, I’m awake. I don’t want to lose this baby. I can’t think of anything worse. But if you think you can do this, Stephen,” her eyes found the sorcerer. “You have one very quick chance.”

LOGAN: “Okay, wait just a second here--” Logan let Jean speak her mind, but it didn’t feel right. “Doesn’t any of this sound too messy to you guys? What if it doesn’t work?”

EMMA: “Everything’s messy with you lot.” There was a reason she preferred the immaculate nature of the White Palace. “If it doesn’t work we either send the children back or their older selves die. Whichever occurs first.”

ILLYANA: There was an intense glow as a portal open and six forms emerged. Illyana stood off to the side as the Five arrived: Tempus, Hope, Proteus, Elixir and Egg. They began readying themselves for a resurrection and preparing as the Captain nodded towards Emma. “They will be ready by the time you are done.”

SCOTT: He moved from where he'd been at Jean's side, standing off a bit with his arms folded across his chest. This was no longer his decision, no matter how ridiculous of a decision it was.

STRANGE: "We will have to begin by putting the present X-men in stasis so they remain unaffected by the...resurrection process." he stated his words as if he were giving the X-men are more time to choose, but he was already moving his hands, conjuring up a mystical energy that reflected as a glow around the present X-men. As he closed his fists, the glow around his hands dissipated but remained around the mutants. Then, suddenly, like a snap of fingers, the mutants were encased in an energy pod, similar to the ones the past X-men would be going in to fairly soon. And a few moments later, their time in this world was frozen in place, a stasis completed. "Now, for the fun part."

LAURA: Fun part. Laura had killed too may people for it to be fun. It was the last thing she wanted to do, the person she wanted to no longer be. Murder had been associated with her name for far too long, but when Emma’s message appeared in her mind she slowly stepped away from Warren and left a claw slide out. The younger X-Men had authorized this. It was approved. She was still nauseous as she made her way to Bobby and moved so swiftly he wouldn’t have seen it coming, one claw to the jugular so that he was dead before he hit the floor. Blood dripped from the claw before she wiped it on the white of her pants she had been required to wear to Emma’s party. They didn’t have a label, but she was still sad as she looked up at Warren. “No matter how this ends,” her voice was quiet in his ear as she rose up on her toes. “I’m glad I got to meet you.” Her lips found his then, one hand rising up so that her claw could move in a practiced arc. Pulling away, she eased the body down to the floor to rest on the stone and feathers. She knew death. They weren’t there anymore, but it was still sad all the same. Done with her task Laura nodded once to Emma.

CABLE: “I.. don’t like this.” That was an understatement. But what else could he say? As Nate primed his gun and hesitantly took aim at the younger version of his father, it felt incredibly wrong. For a split second, he debated breaking away and getting to them before anyone had a chance to do any harm. Maybe he could still slide them back in time, to go forward with the original plan and save them from killing anyone. But he didn’t. He took a sharp breath in and his elbow bent back, his gun raised and he was ready to shoot. Then he pulled the trigger, and Scott was down right along side Bobby and Warren. Nathan was good at making himself feel numb, and right now he needed to choose it more than ever.

HANK: Hank hesitated for a moment, having his eyes shut not wanting to look at the corpses of his fallen comrades. He thought back on how to end this as painlessly as possible. Thought back to the Goblin Queen and what she had taught him. With a muttering he used a spell he never imagined using. One instant he was standing the next he was on the floor, blood streaming from his ears and eyes.

LOGAN:  Upon receiving Emma’s request, he sent her a glare that was harsh enough to make his face burn a light red. His Jean was weak, barely been awake five minutes and he had missed most of the discussion that had lead them all here. Now he was expected to kill the other version of Jean? Again? It was incredibly ironic and it made him sick. It took a lot for him to be anxious, especially to make his limbs shake as a result, but he was feeling it this time. As he moved away from Jean’s side he couldn’t look at her or anyone else as he made his way over to the young version of her. Jaw set in stone, eyes only meeting hers for a brief second before he muttered a quiet “Sorry” before he released one silver claw. Logan moved just as Laura had with Bobby and Warren-- it was quick. And little Jean went limp, then he caught her and lowered her to the ground with the rest of her friends.

EMMA: Five dead bodies. Five frozen X-Men. Emma stood among the carnage and looked to Logan with what was, in actuality, exhaustion. She looked at him with sympathy and not pity because they both were powerless to help people they loved and she hated that more than anything. “It’s done.” Her voice was bogged down by weariness. “You may begin,” she nodded to the five.

EVA: It was a process. The inception of Krakoa had been the creation of the Five: five mutants with different powers bonded together for one purpose. Eva Bell had not manifested until after the events of the Phoenix. She had been swiftly taken in, a new mutant in a new world. The Five had been formed deliberately. They were brought to bring each other together, to fuel one another to defy nature again and again, multiple times a day for day after day. Even when they thought their energy would be depleted they found themselves more energized. There had been a party in the Sextant Habitat and that was where the Five had been, enjoying a nice break from the work. Emma had called though and they had come without hesitation. Eva watched the murders in a sympathy that bordered on disgust. She knew people died because she regrew them. Watching them die was just different. They were skilled at what they did though, well practiced. Eva focused on her role and felt time roll as her mutation grabbed a hold of it, Hope’s powers speeding up the process. They were fast but it could still take a day to regrow. The additional magical presence of Strange felt like an intrusion to their tight unit but Emma had advised they were needed. The group stayed silent as they worked, ten pods darkening with forms. The first five finished and Eva stepped towards the main group and held out a hands towards the pods where people were ready to be cut out. “They’re ready. The others will be in a moment.”

TIME-DISPLACED SCOTT: Dying hadn't been something he'd remembered, the process a lot more like falling asleep than a flash of light. One moment he was preparing for this inevitability (because if he were mind wiped and sent back to just become his future self it may as well have been a death sentence) and the next he was overwhelmed by a sense to breathe. The instinct was so powerful that he clawed at whatever was containing him until his arm reached open air and he felt dirt under his skin. Whatever encased him clung to his body as he tried to pull himself to his feet, his world still shrouded in darkness.

EMMA: Death gave way to life. She had watched the Five work before but it was still spectacular. Illyana had been sent away to fetch the clothing they had arrived in and it was waiting when the children emerged from their pod, completely naked and covered in what many considered to be the rejuvenating goo of Krakoa. The clothing was handed out until they were all in their time period appropriate getups and Emma reached out to take Jean’s hand. “You know what to do.” Her voice was quiet. “Make sure that the scene is exactly as you left it from every shirt tuck to hair placement. Assume your positions and then complete the telepathic wipe. You will have years of anger and tears, of sleepless nights and sorrow. You will age and you will die, but you will also love. You will laugh and you will see what it is like to grow old. You will not cease to exist, Jean, you will become who you’re meant to be. The second you do so the loop will be closed and one day in the future you will sit in stasis waiting for yourself to  make the right choice, and then you will wake and meet your baby later on. We are all better for having you here, Jean Grey. For having all of you.” Emma kissed her forehead before stepping back to allow room for Nate. “I’ll see you again soon, darlings.”

CABLE: The whole process was incredible and terrifying. Nate found himself almost unable to watch as everything progressed, his mind wandering until the young team had assembled in front of him. They were pristine, just as he had remembered them, and ready to go home. He watched and listened as Emma gave them a speech he hadn’t expected, but one he found himself glad to be witnessing. Everything had finally lined up. It was his turn to finally make things right after feeling like the entire universe was against him. After Emma finished, Nate lifted his mechanical arm and fed the correct coordinates into the body-sliding device. “We’re all set.” He looked up at them, motioning for the five of them to come close as he walked a few paces towards them. There was a hint of a smile on his face, feeling a mix of strange relief and anticipation. Once they were all linked, he activated the device and the six of them disappeared in another flash of white-blue light.

TIME-DISPLACED JEAN: For some odd reason, death felt different every time. Maybe it was because of the how and why. Once again her last memory had been of Logan and his claws, but this time she had seen the remorse in his eyes. She had refused to look away because she heard her friends bodies hitting the ground around them and that was something she couldn’t witness. And then, it was golden. Or maybe it was orange. It was hard to tell. All Jean knew is that it was surprisingly calm and she felt like she could float there forever until something in her urged her to reach out her arms and push. She pushed and the shell that held the pod in place cracked apart so she could climb out. Hank, Warren, Scott and Bobby were clamoring to the surface as well and Jean went from having seen one of her teammates naked to all of them. Still, that little sliver of calm remained as she moved forward to take the offered towel and dry off. She grabbed Scott’s glasses and put them on his face with both palms briefly caressing his cheeks before she pulled away and tugged on the clothes offered. “Okay,” she took a deep breath before looking from Strange to their future selves, frozen in time. “I take it they’re back in the past and we’re here. Let’s finish this.”

STRANGE: Strange had remained on the sidelines for the events that transpired, from the deaths of the past X-men to the re-emergence. He didn't move from his place until the second set had been properly clothed and returned to some state of cognizance. Finally, this was a chance to give the young mutants and opportunity to live their lives separate from the paths determined for them, and in this case, Strange was happy to help. Another set of careful movements and the glow returned to his hands. As this was tearing through the present fabric of reality, it took more than a simple use of magic. "I will establish these mutants as a whole separate from their predestined selves." in this case, he had to guide the magic to do his bidding. "I will allow for the emergence of a new reality as a result of severing the ties between past and present." as he spoke, the glow between his hands moved in tendrils around him and the young mutants, surrounding them. "From this moment forth, your lives will be your own, untethered to the lives of your doppelgangers." as he finished, the light that surrounded them became overwhelming, crowding the room. And then, as quickly as it had begun, the magic was gone, having been swallowed up by his words, adhering to his commands. Lowering his hands, he looked over his shoulder to where the present mutants were still in stasis and with a flick of his wrist and a small pop of light, the stasis ended. "It is done." he said.

TIME-DISPLACED JEAN: It is done. With that being said, Jean’s story went from being a closed book to a new chapter. As their older selves popped back into existence Jean felt a strange stirring she couldn’t explain. They had done it. They were free of the past and the strings that would pull them into an inevitable future. Unable to contain her excitement she spun and grabbed Scott by the shirt before tugging him close and kissing him hard.

TIME-DISPLACED WARREN: The last thing he saw was Laura. He felt the light touch of her lips against his and then he couldn’t figure out whether it had felt like only a moment had passed or an eternity. But when he was conscious again, everything felt lighter. His wings were wet and heavy, weighing him down but the pain he had been lost in was completely gone. He emerged alongside the rest of his teammates and stretched out his wings as far he could manage, shaking them off and letting them breathe just as he expanded his new lungs for the first time. They were all naked. He didn’t much care. It was nice to feel awake and alive, and eventually he cleaned himself up and got dressed. Then Strange did his magic-- Warren had only been able to understand part of what was happening before he died. But he didn’t need time to think about it-- before he even had a chance to worry, it had been done. He couldn’t say whether or not he felt different. Maybe he was truly feeling what Strange had done, or maybe it was mind filling in the blanks where it was needed. But it felt.. good. It was the best he had felt during his stay in this time, and that was for the best. This was his time now. And as his gaze eventually met with Laura’s from where she stood, the idea of staying here finally settled in.

SCOTT:  What had been losing time, memories, his sense of self was suddenly transformed into a whirlwind of emotion and memories that weren't his. They were his, but they weren't his. As Scott returned to a present state, he first took a moment to take in his surroundings, processing them. The young x-men were still here, but so was Jean. His Jean. A realization came to him as he churned through years of new memories that this had worked. Against all odds, they'd all been granted lives separate from each other. For a moment, Scott had lost all reticence towards Jean and went to her. "It worked," he said, even though he knew she also knew. "It worked and we're okay." the smile that was in his voice was overwhelming as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in close. Maybe there was a way to look past all the shit that separated them after all.

LAURA: After committing double homicide Laura hadn’t been able to stand there and watch. Maybe Logan could stand idly and wait to see but Laura couldn’t. She had stalked the beach back and forth, pacing even though sand slowed her pace. When she finally returned Cable was vanishing and the new X-Men were emerging. There was a neutral indifference as they clothed themselves once more, but when they began to mingle Laura looked over to find Warren’s gaze on her and exhaled a small smile. “I’m sorry.” Her voice was quiet even though she knew she had done what was necessary. “How are those wings feeling?” As in, do you want to get out of here?

JEAN: She remembered. It was one memory and then the other as they came back into her mind. It didn’t feel like they were foreign or invasive. These weren’t a strangers memory but her own and a piece she hadn’t realized she was missing finally clicked back into place. More components of her personality were opening up as she remembered what her younger self had seen and done. The minds began to meld and Jean’s view remained her own, bolstered now by additional eyes. Even though there had been such a distance between them, Jean watched her younger self kiss Scott and for a moment remembered what it was like to fall in love with him. Then, her Scott was speaking to her and his arms were around her for the first time in longer than Jean could remember. A smile was on her face as well as she kissed his cheek and sank into his arms. Logan had been there with her, sitting by her side. Logan had been there but in that moment Jean needed to pay attention to Scott and the victory they had. Wrapped in her husbands arms, Jean gave Logan a small smile before her head nestled into Scott’s neck so she could repeat, “We’re okay.”

TIME-DISPLACED WARREN: Warren shook his head at her as he closed the gap between them, one corner of his mouth lifting up into a cross between a smile and a smirk. “Please don’t apologize.” His words were soft. “I was a mess before-- I feel great now.” Feathers ruffled behind him as his wings shook, then stretched out again. “I would be lying if I said I hadn’t missed the feathers. It’s gonna take some getting used to but-” He shrugged. “I don’t think it’ll take long to adjust. Especially if you help me test them out.” The smirk had stretched out into a full smile by the time he was done talking, and then he motioned for Laura to follow him so they could take off.

LOGAN: Jean smiled at him and Logan had been watching for it. He smiled back at her and nodded once, eyes lingering for a beat or two before he looked down and away. It was a strange mix of things that he was feeling, but the strongest of it all was grateful that Jean, and her baby, were alright. That’s what mattered in the end. Things would never be perfect, but he had accepted that long ago.

EMMA: If she were crying it would be from exhaustion, and even then her eyes were only mildly watering. Emma watched the celebration from the side before thanking the Five and sending them back to whatever hedonistic party they had been attending. Illyana spoke with her for a moment before following as well. Everyone was leaving, actually. The party in the Habitat was another booze filled blowout that the mutants loved. Jean and Scott were wrapped up in each other and for a moment her eyes lingered on Logan who was stuck in the peripheral. They had both been the leftovers even though Emma had crafted a hundred excuses to stop herself from ever being cast in that role. Standing alone in the center of a victory in a white ballgown, Emma felt entirely alone and entirely out of place. “It’s my birthday, you know.” Emma broke her reverie as she picked up her skirts and made her way to Logan. “Or, it was. What a birthday it’s turned out to be.” She always celebrated herself but there was a longing for others to do the same without it being hijacked. “Join me for a nightcap? We can celebrate that they won.” She pointed lightly to where Scott and Jean were intertwined. “I could use one, and I have a feeling you could as well.”

LOGAN: The white of Emma’s outfit grew brighter as she approached from off to the side, but Logan tried not to focus on it. It wasn’t until she spoke that he begrudgingly turned to her. He let out a light scoff, shaking his head and rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. He hated it, but she was right. They won. Logan tried to convince himself he had won too, but it wasn’t exactly the same. “You sure as hell know how to throw a birthday party.” He thought a few seconds more, then gave her an answer in the form of a single nod as he stood up. “Lead the way, I have a feeling we’ve got a lot of booze to get through.”

EMMA: Who would have thought Emma would end her night talking to Logan of all people? She certainly hadn’t, but now she had a very strange desire to drink cheap liquor. Perhaps an unfortunate side effect of her Boston upbringing. “This isn’t the party, trust me. This was a detour. The party has lots of free booze your scruffy little soul desires. Come,” Emma made her way towards the exit of the Hatchery. “We’ll play nice tonight.”

[drabblemeister]

All Revved Up & Nowhere To Go

AO3 Link: All Revved Up & Nowhere To Go Pairing: JayTim Summary: Tim dips out of prom early; he definitely doesn’t expect Jason Todd to pick him up. Comments: My Secret Santa for @assclass-more-like-assholeclass. First time participating in the @jaytimsecretsanta exchange~ Hope you like it!

Tim watched the dance floor with tired eyes, the world around him glowing and kaleidoscopic. Brilliant stretches of colored cloth draped across the banquet hall, pearl-colored streamers tangled in their folds – and the lighting, dim and sheathed by decor, made the space look like a sprawling neon storm. “ Oh my god,” Cassie said, emerging from the fray, her coiled up-do loose with curls. Her cheeks were flushed and her dress wafted like starlight – a swathe of dark blue powdered in tiny beads of glitter that caught every bit of flickering light. “Why aren’t you dancing? ”

Tim, sitting in relative darkness at one of the abandoned tables, opened his mouth to comment – but lost his words to the sight of a hand curling around Cassie’s waist from behind.

“Have you seen Tim dance?” Conner Kent laughed, slipping next to Cassie, pulling her closer by the hip. The red in his cheeks climbed to her ears and she bit her lower lip, looking like a girl swept up and into a fairytale, all magic and stardust, paired with a real-life knight in shining armor.

“Ha ha,” Tim replied, with no real bite. It gave him the opportunity to take in Conner’s appearance for the umpteenth time; slicked back hair, sleek rented suit, a boutonniere that could pass for a small, fledgling midnight sky – and dark, warm eyes and impossible dimples and squared shoulders that made Tim shift uncomfortably in his chair.

Conner said, “This dance was expensive – come on, dance with us,” and he held out a hand, looking brilliant and kind and smiling like as he always smiled, ever since they’d first met in first grade.

Tim saw it though, the way that Cassie’s grin wavered, just for a moment; he’d been friends with her for nearly as long and knew what this night meant, and thought, blandly, that this was what it felt like to be a third wheel.

“I’ve got to go to the bathroom,” Tim prompted, rising from his chair with casual grace. He was good at acting when he wanted to be, and so he donned an easy smile and shooed them off. “Have fun. I’ll find you later?”

Conner’s brows did that thing , the one where he was trying to read between the lines; it meant he suspected Tim might be lying but couldn’t quite get to the heart of it – but Cassie, unaware, let out a startled gasp as a slow song bled into the room.

“I love this one! Oh my god , we have to dance–” and Tim watched her long, slender fingers curl around the cuff of Conner’s sleeve as she took a few steps backwards, beckoning him back to the lazy, romantic sway.

Conner gave Tim a questioning look as he was tugged backwards, and Tim, being Tim, offered a wry two-fingered salute. And then Tim turned, not really wanting Conner’s lingering attention, equally burnt out of watching anymore awkward, budding adults practice the twelve-inch rule.

Sighing, he set off.

Around the hall, music reverberated. It was a gust of notes competing with the soft breath of air conditioning, interlaced with the tinkling sound of silverware against china as some prom-goers finished their desserts. Laughter spilled from unexpected places, and small clusters of girls stood off the the side, grinning as they stood, barefoot, heels dangling from their hands.

They were pretty. Everyone was. It felt likes a spell had been cast over the bargain bin populace of Gotham High, a Cinderella-like magic that gave the gift of spilling gowns and golden crowns, pearled cufflinks and lavish silk ties.

And Tim, stepping into the bathroom and pausing in front of the mirror, wondered how one could look the part and still somehow not fit in.

Dark hair, combed back.

Bright eyes, too blue against the paleness of his skin.

A suit, all sharp edges, all business – just like his dad. How could anyone put on a suit and have it feel like anything but?

Throwing on the tap, Tim doused his hands in water and ran them back through his hair, loosening the gel that held it so rigidly in place. It came apart like rebellion, and he thought, if his reflection were in a magazine, it would be fashion . Here – amidst a dance set on formality, he simply looked undone.

When the door opened behind him, ushering in a handsy couple, Tim made up his mind. Prom – it just wasn’t for him.

There was no enchantment to boredom, no real magic in celebrating high school to begin with.

Slipping out was easier than it should have been; dipping past teachers as he tugged his tie loose felt less like stealth and more like escape. The ground buzzed with bass-line as Tim weaved between elegant, draping pinafores and glitzy tulle dresses, bumping shoulders with grinning athletes holding cups that reeked of contraband liquor.

One of Conner’s teammates caught Tim’s eyes and tried to say hi , but Tim was already halfway out the door, pulling his phone from his pocket.

I’m sorry, but can you come pick me up?

Tim typed the text as he walked, his eyes scanning the hotel’s lot. It was packed to the brim with cars, and Tim lamented the fact his dad was one of those dads – one who was making him work to save to buy his own.

His phone vibrated and Dick replied: Already?

The sound of Tim’s shoes scuffing pavement almost seemed to echo. A couple of times, the front doors to the hotel opened behind him and he was caught in a sudden, sweeping draft of outpouring music. Against his neck, the notes seemed to chase him, as if trying to lure him back.

Yeah, he typed another text to Dick. For measure, he added, I’m bored.

While it was true, it wasn’t the entire truth. That had more to do with a crush long withered that somehow still had roots and, every once in a while, chose to remind Tim at incredibly inconvenient times.

Why was Conner Kent so impossible to get over?

The question haunted him, even though the answer was simple.

Because no one else knew him like that. No one else knew his favorite movies by heart, could recite quotes back and forth with practiced ease. No one else really got him, or knew what he’d gone through years back, when his mom had passed and his dad had lost it and Tim had spent nearly every other night climbing out of his window and clambering into Conner’s car, where they drove off and into the night, telling tall tales of where their lives would take them.

Tim had always thought they’d be side-by-side...

...but sports and tech scholarships didn’t really go together and that meant none of their college applications matched up.

With a sigh, Tim glanced down at his phone, where Dick had sent the message: I’m sending Jason .

Tim froze.

“Jason?” he asked aloud. No one was close enough to hear, and there definitely wasn’t anyone nearby to diffuse the definitive confusion in Tim’s tone.

Jason.

Jason.

Dick’s younger, somewhat-recently adopted brother, all leather jackets and quick wit – the type of guy you didn’t just talk to, because one sharp glare meant murder. Even though Tim wasn’t feeling prom, this alternative left him feeling a bit like: I’m too young to die .

He’d never been alone with Jason, much less shared more than a muffled hello , when Jason had dropped by the diner to complain to Dick about something, only to catch Tim in the storeroom instead. And, from unintentional eavesdropping, Tim had only learned a whopping three things: one, that Jason was less than two years older than him; two, that Jason had been to juvie, and three: that he apparently liked literature which, when looking at him, made absolutely no sense.

Not that Tim wasn’t an advocate for not judging books by their covers, but Jason’s cover was pretty Mad Max , and Pride and Prejudice just didn’t seem to fit the bill.

He was an enigma, really.

But Tim supposed that he was as well.

It took a few rounds of pacing before Tim got a text, and for a split second, he thought it might be Dick. Instead, it was Conner, asking where he was – which, for a moment, stoked that pitiful little undying fire until Tim made the conscious choice to snuff it.

Tried to find you, he lied, before adding: Headed home. Have fun. It earned a slew of replies; Conner asking again where he was, then asking why, then asking if he was okay.

And Tim – he didn’t answer right away because he was annoyed. He typed out and deleted just go dance three times before rolling his eyes, but the delay was a mistake; Conner came looking for him, and Tim was an idiot, standing on the hotel’s sidewalk in plain sight.

“Hey,” Conner said, and Tim noticed that Cassie wasn’t with him, which, really, didn’t mean much of anything. Conner had a knowing look when he said, “You’re bored, aren’t you?”

Tim took that and ran with it because it wasn’t entirely untrue. “I’m dying,” Tim said. “But seriously, go have fun.”

The expression that crossed Conners’ face was unfamiliar – not guilt, but close. He said, “It’s not...it’s not because of me and–” and was forced to stop, his words overlapped by someone else’s voice.

“Oi, Timmers. We got a date, or what?”

Tim frowned just before tossing a look over his shoulder, completely caught off guard by the fact that Jason was pulled over less than ten feet away, hazard lights flashing in a no-parking zone, eyes glued to Tim as he leaned across the middle consul and into the passenger seat.

“Who is that?” Conner asked, bewildered.

And Tim, having lost all sense of self-preservation for the sake of what felt like an opportunity, replied, “My date.”

Conner’s brows crinkled in concern.

“Tell Cass I said bye,” Tim smiled. Before he’d realized it, he’d turned and when his fingers met with the cold metal of the car’s handle he glanced back, offering Conner a small, departing wave.

Tim didn’t wait for a rebuttal before he pulled back the door and slid inside, the seat cool through the fabric of his pants. As he drew the seatbelt across his chest, he lifted his gaze, catching Jason’s eyes on his boutonniere, on the suit – on Tim’s general state of formal disarray.

“Can I help you?” Tim asked, because Jason seemed like the type you had to hold your own to and not give an inch.

The question earned a quirked eyebrow, and under the glow of the interior lights, Tim learned fact number four: Jason’s eyes were green. They were also intense, and even though Jason was barely older, his jawline was sharp, giving him an expert glare that Tim suspected could compete with his own.

Flicking off the car’s emergency lights, Jason leaned between them to grip the shift and tapped the gas beneath his foot. The engine hummed happily, anxious for him to release the clutch.

“All revved up with no place to go,” he sang, voice low and teasing.

Tim couldn’t help but feel like it was a pass at his attire, but his response came before he could really digest. “Meatloaf?” he asked. “Really?”

It was satisfying to see Jason look even the smallest bit surprised. “ I was nothing but an all-American boy– ”

“Could you not?” Tim interrupted, flattening invisible creases in his lapel. Then, to no one in particular and born from complete bewilderment, he asked, “Meatloaf?”

“Classic rock,” Jason emphasized, and he finally let off the clutch, giving his car the opportunity to peel out of the lot.

When the seatbelt didn’t constrict, Tim found himself clutching the edges of his seat. He could feel Jason’s eyes on him, but when he peered over, Jason was quick to look away.

Tim said, “Prom,” like that explained everything.

“I can see that,” Jason replied.

“What else do you see?” Tim asked, because sarcasm without sarcasm was tragedy.

Jason caught him completely off guard, however, when he said, “That the boutonniere I bought for you looks good.”

Tim parted his lips, completely prepared for some smart-mouthed reply, only to close them, bewildered. “You...what? Dick bought me this.”

Saying it was embarrassing; it was enough that he hadn’t had a date , but his dad had forgotten the damn boutonniere (because he had a knack for forgetting anything important ) and so Dick (his boss), acting as the older brother Tim didn’t have, had surprised him with a brilliant little burst of red orchid.

“Correction. I bought it,” Jason stated, “because Dick would have bought a fucking carnation.”

As Jason cut off a car with little to no remorse, Tim asked, “Is that bad?”

“In France, they give them out at funerals,” Jason remarked.

Tim was unimpressed. “I mean,” he said, “that kind of felt like a funeral.”

Jason snorted, then threw his head back as he grit out, “Come on baby, don’t fear the reaper –”

“Stop–”

“– baby, take my hand, don’t fear the reaper, ” Jason continued, his grin carrying into the lyrics as he lifted his fingers from the stick-shift and motioned to Tim, come hither – and Tim felt a heart-pounding rush of panic as he reached for Jason’s hand and forced it back down, fingers unintentionally interlacing in the process.

“ Baby, I’m your man,” Jason practically hummed, and Tim could feel heat rise on his skin at the unexpected lyric. When Jason’s eyes darted over at Tim’s sudden quiet, he laughed, loud and honest.

In revolt, Tim jerked his hand back and crossed his arms over his chest, irritated. For the umpteenth time, he thought, I just want to go home.

But Jason, before his humor really even faded, asked, “So really, though. Why’d you cut out early?”

“Of the dance?” Tim asked, his head lulling Jason’s direction. He wasn’t really sure why Jason would be interested in the first place.

As they entered a darker stretch of highway, shadows played across the dashboard, folding across the seats with each rare, passing light. Headlights beaded the distance, and Jason’s looked like foggy breath over old, cracked speedway.

“It couldn’t have been that bad,” Jason said.

“Did you go to prom?”

“You can’t just ask people if they’ve gone to prom, Tim,” Jason countered. His fingers were loose against the wheel when he chuckled and said, “I missed it.”

“Missed it?” Tim questioned. Then the pieces fell together. “Oh, yeah. Because you were in…” but the words trailed off. It felt like being caught knowing a secret, and he shook his head and returned his attention to the road. “You didn’t miss anything, to be honest.”

Jason smirked. “You afraid to say it?”

Tim wasn’t sure what he was. It hadn’t really occurred to him, until now at least, that he’d been picked up by someone who’d been incarcerated – and it wasn’t as if he had a clue what Jason had done.

“You were arrested,” Tim stated.

Jason sighed, and it sounded almost wistful. “Yeah. And it turns out there’re no winter formals in juvie.”

“What did you do?” Tim asked, eyes wandering the blackened spills of shadow between street lamps.

The question caught Jason as funny. “What do you think I did?”

At that, Tim did look at him, humorless. “How would I know?”

“You know a lot more than you let on,” Jason pointed out, and Tim wasn’t really sure what to make of that. He was frowning when he said, “If you don’t want to tell me, just say so.”

His tone came across clipped, and so Jason noticed – and Jason was still smirking when he glanced Tim’s direction again. It gave Tim the impression that Jason didn’t really care if Tim knew or not, but that he liked to tease.

“A truth for a truth,” Jason said. “I’ll tell you my dirty past, and you tell me the haunting story of Prom Night.”

Tim rolled his eyes, but Jason was already talking.

“My dad, he was a pretty cool guy,” Jason said. “Super smart. Stole the shit out of cars – taught me. I picked the wrong one though – belonged to the Bruce Wayne – got caught.”

Tim absorbed that – saw Jason in a new light. The way he sank into the seat of his car, the way his fingers fell loose over the gear shift, the way he seemed at home in the driver’s seat. Tim could only imagine him joyriding.

“Did you race?” Tim asked.

Jason’s eyes looked like fire. “When I knew I wouldn’t get caught.”

Tim hummed in thought. It seemed fitting, somehow. Even sitting, Jason seemed to emanate energy; he was all moving lines and forward momentum.

“So,” Jason pressed. “Let me guess. You couldn’t stay because they kept playing Despacito on repeat.”

That earned wry look. “Wouldn’t have taken you for a Belieber.”

“Oh no,” Jason’s gaze drifted skyward. “He didn’t mean it.”

Tim looked up, following Jason’s gaze. “Who are you talking to?”

“Jim Morrison. He’s up there, and he heard you say that.”

“Take the highway,” Tim said, a quickened verse with only a hint of melody, “to the end of the night ...” and when Jason looked at him, Tim said, very pointedly, “Des-pa-cito.”

Whatever Jason had expected, it wasn’t that, and so he ended up laughing, hard . He tossed furtive glances Tim’s direction, shaking his head all the while – and, as they passed a heady strobe of a low-sitting street lamp, Tim happened upon fact number five: Jason had freckles that fell like constellations over his skin.

Tim said, “My best friend and I are going to go to different colleges.”

And it took a moment for Jason’s laughter to dim a bit, for him to think on what Tim had just said.

“You decided this on the dance floor?” is how he replied.

Tim huffed, scraping fingers back and through his hair. Warm air blasted from the car’s heaters, and so he slowly began to work off his jacket around the restriction of the seatbelt.

“I don’t really believe in long distance things,” Tim decided to say. “There are other factors as well, but...I guess, it’s hard for me to enjoy these moments because it seems stupid. They just feel like the end. ”

The thought sat a bit heavy, and Tim felt like an idiot as soon as he said it.

“ The end ,” Jason pronounced dramatically, which made Tim scowl. “If you tell me that my boutonniere didn’t get one dance because you were too busy pining over philosophy–” he glanced over, pinning Tim with a searching look. And then, when Tim looked defeated, Jason said, “You have got to be kidding me.”

Tim shrugged. “It was boring!”

“Where’s your inner Whitney? Didn’t you just wanna dance with someone?”

Tim sank low in his seat, arms folding across his chest, a bit petulant. “No one wanted to dance with me.”

That had a marginal effect – in fact, Tim’s seatbelt failed to restrain him as Jason nearly screeched to a halt, pulling over onto the side of the road. The world smelled like burnt rubber and gasoline, and Jason jammed the car into park.

“What are you doing?” Tim asked, as Jason fiddled with the dial on his radio. A thousand songs battled for dominance as he surfed, until he paused on a slow, sultry song that sounded like something from a diner jukebox.

When Jason lifted his attention to Tim, he was serious. “May I have this dance?”

Tim said, “ What?”

But Jason licked his lips and Tim couldn’t help but notice, and then Jason was shifting – unlatching his own seatbelt in order to get out of the car, making his way to Tim’s side. He rapped on Tim’s window, to which Tim slowly, anxiously rolled down the window.

“No.” Tim said, before Jason could even ask again, but Jason dipped low and rested his elbows on the ledge of the window, close enough now that Tim felt the uncomfortable sensation of butterflies in his stomach.

“Dance with me,” Jason said, and Tim thought it was odd, how much he felt like he could just go along with it. After all, it didn't seem like Jason would let him not. So he was moving before he realized it, opening the door with reluctance – quickly tugged out by Jason who, Tim realized, was nearly a head taller.

“This is ridiculous,” Tim said, stumbling over gravel on the road’s edge. It didn’t keep Jason from dragging him to the front of the car, where dirt tangled with the headlights and ghosted long, pouring light. A car drove by, making Tim feel self-conscious, but Jason’s fingers laced with his and drew him close in a way that made Tim think that he hadn’t had much practice on the dance floor either.

The music came, soft and slow. It didn’t fall heavy like in the hotel; it drifted and sauntered, folding out and into the night.

“Fun, right?” Jason asked, and Tim peered up at him dryly. It wasn’t not fun, it was...silly. Different. Jason’s hands were warm, and when one of them dropped to Tim’s waist, he felt the heat through the thin fabric of his button-up. It hadn’t even occurred to him that he’d left his jacket in the car.

“Next time we’ll have to wear matching colors,” Tim said.

“You could just wear leather.”

“There are dress codes, Jason,” Tim mentioned. “Save Indiana Jones for Comic Con.”

Jason stepped forward, bringing them closer, until Tim felt like he might be able to breathe Jason in.

“Are you asking me on a date, Timothy?”

It was simple banter, but it did something. Tim felt his heart pick up and he cursed his existence – his quick wit struggled to surface, until he finally asked, “And who would I be? I can’t pull off Sean Connery.”

“Let my armies be the rocks and the trees and the birds and the sky…” Jason quoted, managing a perfect impersonation.

This time, Tim laughed. “Okay. You can be Sean Connery. I’ll be Indiana.”

Jason said, conspiratorially, “We named the dog Indiana.”

Shaking his head, Tim pulled away as a song the song changed, feeling remnant warmth and a bit lightheaded. He was tired, and Jason was hard to keep up with.

“So,” Jason prompted, stretching his arms high enough that his shirt lifted above the waistband of his denims. “How was Roadside Prom?”

From the car, a commercial blared, and Tim laughed again as he rolled his eyes. Then, very seriously, he said, “Kind of disappointing. Prom usually comes with dinner.”

It occurred to him, only after he’d said it, that it definitely sounded like a proposition, but before he had time to properly panic, Jason sighed.

“Well, I do know this diner…”

Tim narrowed his eyes just before deciding to tap his chin in thought, caught up in Jason's pace.

“My adoptive older brother owns it. It’s like, a pretty big deal…”

“Hmm,” Tim hummed.

Jason added, “And actually, there’s this part-timer that works there and to be honest, I always try to drop by when I might see him, but he doesn’t seem to have, you know, a regular schedule. Probably because of school. Preparing for the end and all of that.”

“ What?” Tim asked.

Fact number 6: Jason apparently had a thing for Timothy Drake.

“Do you want a burger or not?” Jason asked, headed back to the car.

Tim wondered if he could pass the flush off as cold, or if Jason would see right through him. He also recounted all the times he’d seen Jason, all the unnecessary refills, the way Jason’s gaze had seemed cutting, when it was entirely something else.

“A milkshake,” Tim said slowly, turning, feeling on fire - spontaneous.  As he tugged open his car door, his eyes danced up to Jason, whose gaze sauntered back.

“A milkshake,” he agreed.

Tim felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and pulled it out, not entirely surprised to see a text from Conner letting him know that he and Cassie were leaving and that he hoped Tim was okay - and also, who was that guy?

Tim wasn’t too sure how to reply, but he thought about what Jason had said - about things ending, and happened to look over to Jason, who was fiddling with radio stations, trying to find his way back to something recognizable.

Change wasn’t bad.

 Actually, it kind of felt like a new beginning.

[caroline18mars]

Into the night - Chapter 84

How she managed to get home without having another heartattack she didn’t know, she had almost crawled up the stairs in the hallway, and now that she had finally closed the door of her apartment behind her, it still felt like she was being chased.  She didn’t even have the energy anymore to walk over to her couch or a chair so she just let herself sink to the floor, her back against the door, in a pile of silk and tulle, ok, slow breaths, slowly in, slowly out..she tried to control her breathing and at the same time force her heartbeat to slow down. Her phone, she needed her phone, where was it? She opened her purse and turned it upside down so the content tumbled into her lap and grabbed her phone with shaking hands, thank god, ok, now turn it on, she pushed the button on the side and finally the phone sing-songed back to life, the screen blowing up with notifications of missed calls and messages with only one name attached to them..Jared.. Don’t call him on impulse, what was there to tell him anyway? ‘hey, I’ve just met Cedric, your worst enemy, he gave me a ride home’? No, no way, that would simply destroy him.. The phone almost fell out of her hands when it started ringing for real, “Jordan? Oh thank god, I’ve been looking all over for you, where are you?” Tom’s nervous voice rolled in her ear, “home, I’m home..” she stuttered. “What? Are you ok? Jordan?” he sounded like he was running all of a sudden, “no..I’m not ok..” she sighed, it was the truth, she wasn’t ok, at all, “I’ll be right there, hold on, ok?”, she heard the slamming of a cardoor and the revving of an engine before the call dropped. All of a sudden she couldn’t take it anymore and she started sobbing uncontrollably, everything seemed to be catching up with her, missing Jared so terribly, her physical limitations because of that stupid, uncooperative heart of hers, seeing Cedric, it was just too much to take. 

The first rays of the wintersun were just about to chase away the dark stripes of the night in the sky when Tom’s car stopped in front of her building with screeching tyres, and he stormed inside, taking two steps at the time. “Jordan?” he knocked on the door and wiggled the doorknob, thank god she didn’t lock it but it didn’t open completely, like something or someone was leaning or pushing against it, “Jordan?” he repeated her name with a bit of a panic to his voice as he was able to stick his head round. She was on the floor, fuck no..”Jordan, honey?” he managed to open the door enough for him to get through and he immediately fell on his knees to check on her, shaking her arm gently, just when he reached for his phone to call an ambulance, she groaned and her eyes fluttered open. “Tom..you’re here” she mumbled, drowsily trying to push herself up but Tom stopped her “No, no, don’t move, what happened? Is it your heart? Did you take a fall?” his hands quickly roamed over her body checking for bruises or other damage. “No..no..I think..I must have dozed off or fainted maybe, I don’t know..” she grabbed his hands to pull herself up into a sitting position, fighting against the dizzy spells, “why did you leave the party without me? I was worried sick when I couldn’t find you anymore, I thought something had happened to you” Tom cupped her chin and made her look up into his worried eyes. “Something did happen..I met Cedric..he took me home” she whispered, the way Cedric had looked at her still gave her the creeps but one thing put her mind at ease and that was the shock in Tom’s eyes when she mentioned his name, at least he didn’t plan for all this,  that was obvious. “You..he..WHAT? He did what? Did he do something? Jordan, did he do something to you?” he raised his voice nervously, even thinking about history possibly repeating itself made him sick to his stomach, “No, no, he just tried to chat me up, telling me how beautiful I was and stuff and he just offered to drive me home” Jordan shook her head. “He just offered? For fuck’s sakes Jordan, if he told you who he was, how could you let him take you home? Why didn’t you come to me?” Tom angrily pulled her up from the floor with him, “I didn’t know who he was, alright? He only told me his name when he dropped me off! And come to  you? You were too busy having a good time with your friends, remember, you didn’t even remember I existed the minute we walked in the club! I should never have let you talk me into all this in the first place, that stupid heart of mine can only take as much men deserting me..maybe it was nice that someone actually did seem to care for me for a while” she sarcastically spat back.

Day two of the courtcase and it was a complete disaster so far, that judge was prejudiced as hell, Amanda’s lawyer just kept piling up the evidence against him, evidence that wasn’t even evidence but nonetheless it seemed to be accepted by the judge, declining every objection his own lawyer seemed to make. Jared drove home depressed as the sun began to set over downtown LA, but the worst part of this day was hearing nothing from her, when he stopped in front of a red light, he scrolled through his phone list, here went absolutely nothing. Two rings and there it finally was, her sweet voice that rolled through his car, taking his breath away “Hey, Jared..”, for the last two days he had wanted nothing more than this and now he barely knew what to say “Babe..I’m so glad to hear your voice, I was so worried..I hate it when we fight..” he stammered, putting his foot back on the gas as the traffic started moving again. “Me too..” the sadness in her voice broke his heart, “so..are you ok? Is Tom with you?”, his question sent a shiver down her spine “Yes..yes he is” she quickly closed the door of her bedroom, she didn’t want Tom sticking his nose in this time “how did it go today?” she quickly changed the subject. “It’s a fuckin’ mess” he breathed, he could cover it up and try to sugercoat it but he didn’t want to do that, he didn’t want any more mistunderstandings “she’s determined to bleed me dry”. Jordan bit her lip, she wanted to scream at him that she had met Cedric but she couldn’t, he was worried enough as it was “I see..well, I’m sure you’ll find a way to sort this, your lawyer is one of the best in the country”, pinching the bridge of her nose, she shook her head, what the hell was she babbling about? She was so trying to avoid another fight that she said all the wrong things. Jared could hear the tension in her voice, she was still angry “I miss you so goddamn much” he blurted out, it was the truth “I want to be with you”. Jordan swallowed hard “then come back here and be with me” who was she kidding? like he would jump on the next plane out, back to her “darling..” she heard him take a deep breath “there’s nothing more in the world I would want right now but..” there it was again, his rejection, and it stung her just as hard as a couple of days ago so she finished the sentence for him “but you have other priorities, right? I know, Jared, I know! And I can’t come over there, it’s all so bloody convenient for you, isn’t it?” she couldn’t care less how sharp and snappy her comment sounded. “Babe..don’t! Please! Let’s not do this..not again” he begged her  as he pulled up to the curb again, he needed to concentrate on her now and not on the heavy traffic of the LA rush hour. “Yeah, of course, let’s not talk about this, let’s just sit by and watch that bitch destroy everything! Yeah, you’re right Jared, you’re absolutely right, let’s not do this..let’s not do anything at all, in fact I need to go, priorities you know, but I guess you know all about those” she lashed out and then the line went dead again. “FUCK!” he yelled, banging his fist really hard on the steering wheel.

”What’s his number?” Jordan came storming out of her bedroom again, the slamming door startling him so hard, the hot coffee he had just made himself after the long sleepless night, sloshed over the rim of the mug. “Huh? What number? What the hell are you talking about?” Tom grumbled, had she any idea how expensive this suit was? Coffee left no permanent stain, right?, “Cedric’s! What’s Cedric’s number?” she repeated her a question a little more forceful this time. Tom felt like he was nailed to the floor and couldn’t move anymore all of a sudden “Whoa, wait a minute, Cedric’s number? Are you nuts?” but his heart was pounding in his ears, “Tom, just give me his number!” Jordan stopped right in front of him, looking him straight in the eye. “What? No! No I’m not giving you his number, are you out of your mind?” he held up his hands and took a step back, but she took a step forward and already reached for his pocket. Just in time he grabbed her hands and pushed them away “Ok, Jordan, that’s enough! Sit the fuck down and you better start explaining what the hell happened because if you don’t, I swear I’ll leave and you won’t ever see me again”. His ultimatum dropped a silence between them and Jordan finally gave in and walked over to the couch, “ok, what’s Jared done now? I take it that phonecall didn’t go too well?” Tom sighed as he let himself fall next to her. “It’s like he’s given up, like he’s not even willing to fight her..I’m starting to think he doesn’t even want to come back” she murmured, staring blankly ahead. “Of course he’ll come back, he’s crazy about you” Tom tried to comfort her but she just shook her head “No, he isn’t, I think this courtcase is just an excuse, an excuse to put as much distance between us..so he won’t have to tell me face-to-face”. Tom frowned “tell you what? That he’s breaking up with you? No, come on, that’s..”, but Jordan cut him off “I wouldn’t even blame him, you know? I mean, what would he come back to? What kind of future does he have with a dying woman? I get it, I totally get it, but I wish he would just be honest with me and tell me the truth instead of using this whole custody case as an excuse!” her thoughts were running wild and her emotions were getting the better of her. “Jordan, listen to me, you’re not gonna die, you’re gonna get that transplant, remember? I know it’s not gonna be a walk in the park, but you will get through this, you both will” Tom put his arm around her, trying to comfort her.

”I dunno, Mom, he said he needed to pick up a few things, so I just drove home, I don’t know where he is or why he isn’t picking up his phone” Shannon was just as worried as his mother, Jared had been gone for hours now. “I’m sure he just needed to clear his head, this whole courtcase is weighing heavy on him, he’s not had an easy couple of days..yeah..ok, don’t worry, I’ll let you know the minute I find him..” he grabbed his keys and disconnected the call as he walked out the door but just when he wanted to get in his car, he saw Jared’s SUV that was parked further up the road, where the hiking trail began. His car was empty and unlocked, and he knew there was only  one place he could be so he started running down the hiking trail. Just when he was about to give up as he approached the end of the trail, he stopped at the top of the hill and looked out over the city, where was he? But just when he wanted to turn around and head back, he saw someone sitting underneath a tree just a few metres away “oh thank god” he mumbled out of of breath and quickly grabbed his phone to send a text to his mother so she could stop worrying. “You know, mom’s making jambalaya tonight, and I know how much you love her jambalaya” Shannon plopped down next to him, while Jared just kept staring into the distance, the tracks of his tears still clearly visible with the warm, orange glow of the evening sun on his face. “I talked to Jordan..” he ignored his brother effort to cheer him up, completely, “Oh?!..and how is she holding up? Things ok between you two?” Shannon pulled up his legs and folded his arms around them. “No..she thinks I’m using this courtcase as some kind of excuse to get away from her..that I don’t see her as my priority” his voice was barely above a hoarse whisper as his hands brushed away a new batch of tears. “Oh..” Shannon didn’t know what to say, he really felt so guilty for convincing his brother about the importance of the courtcase, back in London it all seemed so clear and he kinda lost sight of Jordan’s dire situation, but now they were here and seeing his brother fall apart, he knew that he had made a mistake, it was clear that Jared could only put the past behind him with his future by his side. “I’m scared, Shannon..I’m scared that she’s slipping through my fingers..” Jared picked up a pebble and threw it away with such force he thought it was sent in an orbit around the earth. “She’s not slipping through your fingers, Jared, that girl really, really loves you, and she misses you..just as much as you miss and love her, it’s just the distance talking, give her some time to adapt, send her something nice to soften the blow but whatever you do, keep that line of communication between the two of you open, don’t make the same mistake as you did with Charlotte..even though the enemy is the same..” Shannon’s words seemed to register with his brother “and never forget that you’ve got family, Jared, we’re always here and we’ll always have your back!” he put his hand on Jared’s back who finally looked at him and nodded “speaking of which, Mom’s waiting for us..she was worried sick, so come on, let’s not keep her and that jambalaya waiting any longer” Shannon slowly got up and held out his hand to Jared to pull him up.

On the other side of the world, Tom had more difficulties calming Jordan down “No, Jordan, I’m not giving you Cedric’s number! The fact that you actually met him last night is bad enough already and there’s no way in hell I’m gonna let you use him to get Jared jealous, na-ah, no fucking way in hell! I’m not putting him or myself through another Charlotte-drama again, we both suffered enough..we lost her to him, there’s no way I’m losing you too!” he shouted at her when she had insisted yet again to get Cedric's number from him. “Fine, I’ll call his office then, they’ll put me through” she shrugged it off like it was no biggie, “Don’t you fuckin’ dare, alright?!” he stomped over to her in a flare of anger which made her take a few steps back “I don’t want to make Jared jealous! All I want to do is put the record straight once and for all, I’m doing this for Jared..and Charlotte..don’t ask questions and just trust me on this, ok?”