#and you realize... your siblings and other family members also weren’t doing anything wrong. we’re they?

[sammydem0n64]

I love lingering when it comes to introducing oc story and lore because ohh oh ohhhhh it’s fun seeing reactions to plot points and discussing them and what not. But it’s also scary because I won’t like it if I’m judged for a story direction because people don’t like a character or smth. But also who caresssss I call it a jumpscare to see horrible people fully comprehend that they’re horrible and try to fix themselves and build themself from the ground up. I call it that fucked up people can realize their wrongs and change themselves for the better. I call it nuance. I call it look at these ocs boy

[platoniclokiimagines]

Loki being a sucker for pet names? He says he's a monster but when you use a pet name for him he just s t o p s

WC: 1654

TW: mention of counseling and anger management

A/N: I couldn’t remember the pronouns of who sent this in, because it’s been like Two Years, hence the “Lady” used in this fic, but for future reference, when I re-open requests, if you could please let me know the pronouns you’d like in the fic, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you!

A/N 2: There were many, many ways I could have gone with this, but naturally I went a little whumpy. Sue me. And enjoy~

The first time you called Loki a pet name, you hadn’t meantanything by it.

It was your night to make dinner, and Loki, still new tobeing around the compound and therefore not as trusted by most everyone else,had been given the task of helping you with whatever you needed. You didn’tmind. Loki was quiet and didn’t ask a lot of questions, and that made them nicecompany. Certainly better that Stark and his not-so-subtle jokes and smartassquips, or Thor Thor with his twenty questions about everything Midgardianwhenever the two of you did something together.

It didn’t even make you nervous that Loki seemed to watchyour every move, like they were waiting for you to say or do something thatmight put them in danger. You just let them study you, hardly even looking upat them as you read over the recipe on your phone.

“Loki, be a doll and pass me the salt, please? It’s thatcontainer just by the stove.”

“I quite beg your pardon?”

Loki’s slightly offended tone gave you pause, and you lookedup at them, brow furrowed. “…salt? It’s a seasoning. That white,crystal-looking-”

“No, I know what salt is, Lady Y/N.”

“You don’t have to call me that. It’s just Y/N.” You smileda bit as you watched them. “…was it the term of endearment? I can stop, if itmakes you uncomfortable.”

“…endearment.” Loki seemed genuinely confused, and you filedthat away to remember it.

“…yes? Nicknames are much faster to say than Loki, God ofMischief, you know.”

“…right.” After a long moment, Loki turned to the stove andfetched the salt, as you had asked, and said nothing else as they handed it toyou.

You weren’t sure what else to say on the matter, either, soyou just smiled and murmured a quiet thank you before turning back to yourcooking.

You supposed it made sense, given everything Thor had toldyou and the rest of the Avengers about everything Loki had been through, thataffection and endearment was something Loki wasn’t accustomed to. You wouldn’tbe surprised if you found out Loki had never been called by anything other thantheir name or the snarky nicknames Tony had for them.

It seemed like a terrible way togrow up, with little affection between you and your family members. All themore reason to show it now, you decided, and it was with that thought in mindthat your mission to test out pet names for Loki came to fruition.

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

Days passed before you comfortably had the chance to slipanother affectionate nickname into conversation with Loki. Even with such ashort time period between the two points in time, Loki had seemed to warm up toyou even more, sometimes going so far as to choose to sit on the same couchwith you as they read, while you either watched tv or fiddled on your phone.

Not wanting to make them uncomfortable, you waited to makesure that you were the only two in the room before you glanced over at them,mostly so you could watch their reaction. “Loki, dear, can you hand me theremote? I’ll turn it down so it’s quieter for you to read.”

Just as before, Loki hesitated, like they weren’t entirelysure how to handle being calledsomething affectionate, and it took them a few moments before they seemed tosnap out of it. “…that’s really not necessary, L… Y/N. I’m used to reading in far louder environments. You think Thor’sloud now, you wouldn’t believe theamount of noise he made as a teenager.”

You laughed a bit. “Yes, I imagine Thor was one of thosekids that was easily excitable and loud in expression.”

“Yes, that’s it exactly.” Loki smiled a little, as well, andyou released a breath you didn’t realize you were holding.

One way or another, you weregoing to get Loki used to being treated nicely. Even if it took months.

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

As part of the agreement that ensured Loki could stay on atthe compound, Loki had been placed in an array of different therapy sessions,ranging from anger management to sibling counseling with Thor to just regularone-on-one counseling.

Unfortunately, that meant that sometimes Loki came back fromthem in a storm of a bad mood, wanting nothing more than to separate themselffrom the rest of the group and sulk somewhere where they could beself-deprecating or angry or hurt in peace.

You hadn’t particularlymeant to stumble upon Loki in one of these moods; mostly, you just wanted tomake sure that they were okay, and to see if there was anything you could do orget for them.

Hesitantly, you knocked on the door, not wanting to startlethem and risk upsetting them even more.

“Loki…? It’s Y/N. Can I come in?”

Loki gave no response, but after a pregnant pause, you heardthe door unlock, and you took that as an okay to go ahead into their room.Making sure to lock the door behind you, out of politeness, you turned aroundto see Loki curled up in the smallest ball you imagined they could manage.Unsure if you should try to get closer, you stayed where you were, watchingthem in silence.

“…can I get you anything? Some water, or… tea? We have someof that chamomile that you like. I made sure to get plenty of boxes the lasttime we went to the store, and-”

“Why do you bother?”

You were a bit taken aback by Loki’s words, not because theyheld any bite, but because they seemed so earnest.Like they genuinely couldn’t understand why you wanted to help.

“…I’m sorry, I don’t quite understand what you mean.”

“I mean why areyou going through all this trouble? Being nice, talking to me when no one elsedoes, checking up on me? Don’t you ever get bored with it?”

“…why would I get bored with it?”

Loki turned to look at you then, scowling, though you weren’tentirely sure it was directed at you. “Because no one likes being thesacrificial lamb, the… the balance between sides.”

“…I suppose I don’t see it like that.”

Loki didn’t scoff or roll their eyes, like you expected theymight, but instead, they just looked at you, almost more earnestly than you’dever seen them look before.

“And how do yousee it?”

“Well… We’re friends.” You smiled a bit. “We’re two newpeople, getting to know each other while also getting used to being around theothers, too.”

“We can’t be friends.” Loki said it almost robotically, likeit was a trained response. “For one thing, you’re a human, and I’m a god and…Y/N, I’ve done things that are terrible. Horrible, horrible things, with verylittle by means of making up for it. Ask any one of the people in the room outthere, and they’ll tell you. I’m nothing but a monster.”

“I think you’re an absolute angel.”

You said it without even thinking about it, and whateverLoki had been in the process of saying or thinking didn’t matter, because theyjust stopped. Didn’t move, didn’tspeak, didn’t even seem to breathe. They just looked at you.

The silence in the room was almost deafening, and part ofyou wanted to think that you might have said the wrong thing, but a greaterpart of you knew that what you’d said was not a lie. You thought the world ofLoki, and you told them as much, once they’d had some time to process.

“Loki, you’re one of the strongest people I’ve ever met inmy life. You’ve been through so much.I’ve heard the stories. And yes, you’ve made mistakes, and perhaps some ofthose mistakes have had a body count, but… you’re trying to be better. You’retrying to do better. I know you are. Thor knows you are. And the others will catch on eventually, too,in time. But for now, I’ll pick up the slack. I’ll remind you that you’re doingbetter. I’ll bring you tea and sweets when you’re having a bad day. And I’ll keepcalling you pet names until you’re so used to them that you don’t freeze up outof confusion anymore. Whatever it takes for you to believe that you’re becominga good person, that’s just as worthy as love and affection and happiness as every other person in thiscompound. Okay?”

You hadn’t meant to say so much, but once you’d started, you’dfound yourself unable to stop, andnow that you’d finished, you just watched Loki, waiting for their response and hoping you hadn’t overstepped any boundaries.

After a long moment, they nodded to themself, seeing to cometo terms with what you’d said. “…I suppose I never considered things in thatmanner.”

You nodded, as well, offering a small smile when they lookedat you. “…it’s gonna be okay, you know? I know it really sucks right now, andeverything is new and strange and different. And counseling really, reallysucks at the beginning when you have to hash out all the things you neverwanted to revisit, but… it does get better. And I’ll be here to help. As longas you’ll have me.”

Loki took a slow, deep breath, like they were deciding whatthey wanted to say, but instead, they seemed to settle for nodding, and so youjust nodded, as well.

“….so tea?”

“I would appreciate it immensely, Y/N.”

You smiled and nodded, heading back to the door. “Sure,thing.” As you turned to leave, you couldn’t resist poking your head back in. “Angel.”

Loki just looked at you, almost as though they were embarrassed,and you just smiled softly.

Yes, you thought you and Loki were going to get on quitenicely, from here on out.

[btsqualityy]

Assuage: Chapter 2

Yoongi x Reader

Genre: ABO (Alpha/Beta/Omega) dynamics, angst, fluff, smut, enemies to lovers

Warnings: None to note.

The following week that Yoongi spent in the medical cabin was quite possibly the most boring of his life. After what he had been through though, he realized that he almost preferred the quiet and stillness that was trademark of the medical cabin that he had been staying in. 

In addition to memorizing how many indents were in the right hand side of the wall right next to the cot that he slept on (73, to be exact), he also learned just how annoying of a person Kim Taehyung was. 

“Come on hyung,” Taehyung whined playfully as he pulled on Yoongi’s right arm. “I really wanna show you around pack territory.”

“I didn’t say that you can call me hyung,” Yoongi grumbled back. 

“I snuck a peak at your medical records when Y/N-ah wasn’t looking. You’re 27 and I’m only 22 so you’re my hyung,” Taehyung smirked mischievously.  

“And I don’t need a tour,” Yoongi continued on. “I’m not staying here.”

“No offense hyung, but you’re a Prime Alpha,” Taehyung pointed out. “Your injuries are more than healed enough for you to be able to leave so if that was what you really wanted to do, then you would’ve done it already.” Yoongi just glared at him then, hating the fact that the Beta was very much so correct.

“Alright, fine,” Yoongi relented. “But make it quick.”

“I promise hyung, super quick,” Taehyung nodded in agreement. 

After pushing Taehyung away when he tried to help Yoongi up, he slowly followed Taehyung outside of the medical cabin and this was the first time that Yoongi had seen the surroundings of the cabin. There were several large buildings that weren’t far from each other, and Yoongi figured that this area served as a “town commons” of sorts. He could also see some smaller cabins that were further in the distance, and he just assumed that those were for individual members of the pack and their families. 

“As you know, this is our medical cabin,” Taehyung began as he motioned behind them before pointing his finger over to the right. “That over there is the schoolhouse for the pups and right next to it is the dining hall.”

“Everyone has to eat there?” Yoongi questioned, the idea of being forced to eat around a large group of people not appealing to him in the slightest. 

“No, we mainly just use it for big ceremonial events, like parties or if another pack visits, stuff like that,” Taehyung explained. “It’s still open everyday though, for all three meals, for whoever wants to go there and eat if they don’t feel like cooking themselves.”

“Ahh,” Yoongi nodded.

“That over there,” Taehyung continued, pointing over to his left now. “Is the Head Hall, which is where Namjoon and the other leaders of the pack work. And right next to that, is the hardware shop.”

“You guys have a hardware store?” Yoongi interrupted him. “You guys just don’t get furniture and stuff from the Betas in Seoul?”

“Nope. I think you’ll realize that around here, we tend to follow the Old Way of pack life, and that includes making everything that we need ourselves,” Taehyung told him. “Speaking of that, do you have anything that you’re particularly good at?”

“Um, I’m pretty good with my hands and building things, I guess,” Yoongi shrugged.

“Cool, Namjoon hyung will probably have you working with Kibum then. He’s the head carpenter,” Taehyung said as he began to walk away and Yoongi trailed behind him. “That is, if you decide to stay.”

“Hmm,” Yoongi hummed noncommittally. Just then, a loud bell rang out into the air, causing Yoongi to almost jump out of his skin. “What the hell was that?”

“Oh, that was just the signal that if anyone wants it, there’s lunch in the dining hall,” Taehyung grinned. “Personally, I’m starving. What about you hyung, you hungry?”

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

Yoongi was very much not hungry, but he couldn’t tell Taehyung that before he had managed to grabbed Yoongi’s good hand and lead him into the dining hall. The dining hall was separated by two large rooms, one with multiple stoves and other kitchen appliances and the other with multiple long, rectangular dining tables complete with chairs. 

After bypassing the rectangular buffet style table that sat right in front of the entrance, Taehyung dragged Yoongi into the room with the dining tables, leading him over to one of the tables in the front that was full of people.

“Oh, he let you drag him out,” a tall, slender man snickered and Yoongi could tell by his scent that he was an Omega. 

“Don’t make fun Jin hyung, be nice,” Taehyung grumbled as he sat down, motioning for Yoongi to do the same. 

“I’m always nice!” Jin shot back, making everyone at the table except Yoongi laugh at him.

“Yeah right,” a woman sitting right next to him giggled before turning to look at Yoongi. “Hi, I’m Hyorin, Pack Omega and Namjoon’s mate.”

“I’m Yoongi,” he grumbled back in reply.

“I should’ve done introductions huh?” Taehyung suddenly spoke up, as if remembering his manners. “Yoongi hyung, this is Park Jimin.”

“Hi, I’m an Omega and I’m the teacher for the pups in the pack,” Jimin added with a wide smile. 

“This is Jung Hoseok, but we call him Hobi,” Taehyung said as he motioned towards Hobi. 

“Alpha,” Hobi nodded evenly at Yoongi.

“This meanie over here is Kim Seokjin,” Taehyung rolled his eyes playfully.

“Omega, I only go by Jin, and I’m not mean!” Jin stated firmly.

“Are you guys related?” Yoongi found himself asking, and both Kims shrugged their shoulders.

“Yes, but not in the way that you’re probably thinking,” Jin replied.

“We’re cousins,” Taehyung elaborated. “My father and his mom were siblings.”

“Ahh,” Yoongi nodded.

“Hey hey,” a sudden voice called and when Yoongi looked over his shoulder, he saw a tall, muscular man walking towards him, you and Namjoon following behind him. 

“Hey, took you long enough,” Taehyung smiled widely, his scent increasing when the man leaned down and kissed his forehead. “Yoongi hyung, this is Jungkook.”

“Nice to meet you Yoongi,” Jungkook nodded towards him, his eyes widening when he took a sniff of the air. “Holy shit, you’re Prime.”

“Tae didn’t tell you?” Namjoon chuckled as he took a seat next to Hyorin. “I figured he wouldn’t be able to keep his mouth shut.”

“I was trying to let Yoongi hyung rest and not be bombarded,” Taehyung explained before looking over at Jungkook, who had sat down on the opposite side of him from Yoongi. “Sorry baby Alpha.”

“I’m hurt,” Jungkook smiled, reaching over and lightly running his fingertips over Taehyung’s wrist, where his scent gland was. Suddenly, there was another bell and Yoongi noticed that people were beginning to get up and move towards the long buffet table. Yoongi began to get up as well, until Taehyung’s hand on his shoulder stopped him. 

“Not yet hyung,” Taehyung said and Yoongi’s eyebrows rose as he looked at him.

“Why not? The food’s ready, right?” Yoongi wondered.

“Yeah but in our pack, pups and elders eat first,” Taehyung told him. 

“Seriously?” Yoongi chuckled in disbelief. “Shouldn’t the Alphas eat first, if anyone?”

“And why would they eat first?” You questioned from your seat next to Jimin, and Yoongi cut his eyes at you. 

“Well for starters, Alphas are the ones who hunt and bring back the food in the first place,” Yoongi began. “And secondly, Alphas are at the top of the hierarchy anyways.”

“Not around here, they’re not,” you chuckled. “Look, in this pack, anyone who wants to hunt can, so it’s not just exclusive to Alphas. And we feed pups and elders first because without the elders, our pack would have no guidance and without the pups, our pack would have no future so we respect them as such.”

“Well, that’s not how it worked in my old pack,” Yoongi shrugged.

“We’re not your old pack and for the sounds of it, that’s a good thing,” you smiled. An awkward silence settled over the table then, everyone not knowing what to say. Yoongi looked over you, noticing that you had a tattoo on your right shoulder.

“Oh, would you look at that?” Hyorin spoke up cheerily. “Looks like the pups and elders are done.”

“Come on Yoongi,” Jimin spoke up as he stood, motioning for Yoongi to follow him. “I’ll show you how to get the food.” Yoongi nodded and stood up, noticing out of his peripheral vision how you looked at him as he walked away. 

After they all had received their food, they all took their previous places at the dining table, chatting and making jokes among themselves. Yoongi sat there, silently attempting to feed himself with his left hand because he wanted to work on trying to strengthen it again from the fracture.

“Yoongi, how are your injuries doing?” Hyorin wondered suddenly and Yoongi looked up at her before shrugging. 

“They’re ok, I guess,” he replied.

“His fracture is almost completely healed,” you interjected and Yoongi looked over at you. 

“Oh, what I would give to be Prime,” Jungkook moaned playfully, making Taehyung laugh as he gently patted Jungkook’s hand. 

“It’s ok baby Alpha,” he cooed. “If it’s any consolation, you smell better than Yoongi hyung does.”

“Rude,” Yoongi muttered, almost jumping out of his skin when everyone at the table laughed. 

“He smells like freshwater, with a little hint of mango,” Jimin noted after taking a quick sniff of the air. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Unless you’ve grown up around saltwater all your life,” you joked, making Yoongi narrow his eyes at you as the table giggled at your joke.

“I’m an Alpha,” Yoongi reminded you. “I’m supposed to smell strong and stable. Besides, I’d prefer that over a fake ass, industrialized bubble gum scent.”

“First of all, it’s not industrialized or bubblegum, you dumb ass. You’re the one with the ‘Prime’ senses, you should be able to tell,” you spat back. “It’s white peaches and oranges.”

“Oh woop-de-damn-do,” Yoongi growled, and your eyes widened momentarily before you released a hiss of your own.

“Alright you two, cut it out,” Namjoon stated firmly, and both you and Yoongi glared at each other for a few moments longer before stopping.

“Thank God, I can’t eat with too many pheromones' in the air,” Jin rolled his eyes.

“So Yoongi, Tae was telling me that you’re pretty handy,” Namjoon suddenly said, expertly changing the subject and Yoongi was grateful for the out.

“Yeah,” he confirmed. 

“Well, I’ll set you up with Kibum then,” Namjoon told him. “He’s a little older and he’ll probably be happy to have the extra help. That is, if you’re willing.”

“I mean, I guess,” Yoongi shrugged carelessly. 

“There’s also a free cabin just on the edge of our territory that you can stay in,” Namjoon continued. 

“Hyunbin’s old one?” Hobi interjected and Namjoon nodded his head.

“If you want, I can take you there after we get done eating,” Namjoon offered. 

“Sure,” Yoongi replied and that was the end of that conversation as everyone resumed their previous discussions. When Taehyung first told Yoongi about the dining hall, he had balked at the concept of having to eat around complete strangers but now that he was actually doing it, Yoongi had to admit that he kind of liked the company. It wasn’t something that he was used to in his old pack, but it’s not as if he would’ve wanted to eat or even converse with most of his former packmates anyways. 

The whole thing was very abnormal to him but when he allowed himself to think about it, he had to admit that he kind of....liked the whole thing. He wasn’t ready to admit that out loud though; not yet, anyways.

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

Once lunch was over, Yoongi followed silently behind Namjoon as he led him to the cabin that he had told him about. As they walked, Yoongi made sure to take note of how to get there, since he would be staying there until he figured something else out. 

“And here we are,” Namjoon announced as he walked up the front steps to the cabin, pausing and taking a key out of his pocket to unlock the door before stepping inside. When Yoongi walked in behind him, he took a look around the cabin. Stepping through the front door led straight into the living room, and Yoongi could see that there was a little kitchen off to his right and a small hallway off to his left, where he assumed the bedroom and bathroom were.

“It’s bare because it hasn’t been used in about 7 months, but you can feel free to do what you wish with it,” Namjoon explained. “Working with Kibum though, I’m sure that this place will be filled in no time.”

“Yep,” Yoongi mumbled as he walked around Namjoon in order to get a better look around the cabin.

“Look Yoongi, I understand that you might be a little weary of me and the pack after what happened to you,” Namjoon began and Yoongi turned around to look at him. “But I do hope that you can understand that there’s no one who wishes to harm you here. We are a pack who takes care of each other and that now includes you, even if you decide that you want your stay to be temporary. Ok?”

“I get it,” Yoongi nodded, hesitating for a few seconds before continuing. “Thanks, for the cabin and...everything else.”

“You’re welcome,” Namjoon smiled, holding out his hand and when Yoongi reached out as well, Namjoon dropped the key to the cabin into his hand. “Well, I’ll let you try and get settled.”

“Alright,” Yoongi agreed easily, watching as Namjoon nodded at him once before turning and walking out of the cabin, shutting the door behind him. Yoongi then took another look around the cabin, sighing heavily when he realized that complete strangers had treated him better after only knowing him for a week than his old pack had after knowing him his entire life. 

[maibi]

The Past Never Forgets

Pt. 1

Dabi x reader

Warnings: killing, cursing

Summary: as a cast out by society you find your way to the League of Villains. Your family that had given up on searching for you after you ran away , but after 5 years, in some mysterious way, they found your hide-out. 

A/n: I got the quirk idea from someone else bc my brain isn’t working with me. They have a lot of other fan made quirks I will put the link right here, you can check it out!! ( https://www.wattpad.com/672985786-my-fan-quirks-venom ) 

—————————————————————————

Life wasn’t really something that had been going great for you. In fact your life had been pretty shit. You were an outcast, hated by society, hated by your own family. All because of your unbearable quirk. You had no place to feel safe and no place to call home. Your family made sure you never used your quirk because it could cause deaths among your loved ones. Your childhood was ruined all because of the image they wanted to hold as a family. they put their desires of fame above your well-being and you saw only one option to change that. And that was by running away. The only thing you had been taught was to hate what you used to love, you were basically emotionless.

As a teenager of 16 years old you decided to run away from home. You never got treated right and you were seen as a death-threat. You yourself didn’t see any problems with your quirk, but your family had other opinions about that. There were rules for you, and only you. None of your siblings had any of these rules, because their quirks were hero-like and yours was villain-like. If you used your quirk without permission you would be left in a dark room with no food for a whole day. They would call this discipline, but in reality this was child abuse. The only person caring about you was your grandma, but after she passed away you had no reason to stay in that house.

Your family tried searching for you, but gave up quickly when they realized life would be much better without you around. You quickly realized that life would also be much better without them. You had blamed yourself for your quirk. For all those years in that place that was a so called home, you had believed that your quirk was a threat to society. That if you made the wrong moves they would take a hold of your life. But after running away, and finding people that adored you for your quirk, it made you realize what a real family was. And you realized that your quirk was more than just a threat to society, it was something that belonged to you and only you. 

You were the holder of the Venom quirk.

For 5 years you wandered around, going from city to city and doing about anything to provide yourself some food and a place to sleep. You never stayed put, that wasn’t your way of going. You went from place to place, exploring different streets from every city and making yourself known within the “villain community”. It wasn’t every day people got to see a venom quirk in action, so they were all curious enough to let you stay with them.

One day, before you had settled down, you were wandering around a new city, chewing on some stolen buns, you walked in a side street, hidden from the citizens. You saw blue flames and it struck to you. You had always liked the color blue, it was a pretty color compared to your dark purple venom, you didn’t like the color purple after all. You had watched the holder of the blue flames do his thing on a person who was trying his hardest to escape. He was unable to let out a sound as the blue flame man was keeping his hands strongly around his throat. 

You were interested in this person, not because he was probably a villain, but mainly because you thought his quirk was cool. Oh yeah, and of course because of the color blue. You wanted to know who’s quirk would be stronger. You were curious, so you budged in, not caring about what would happen. You threw your bun on the ground.

“I mean, that’s pretty kinky”, you said. 

his hand shot in your direction, but you were quick to react. Before his flames could hit you, you had made an X motion with your arms, letting out your venom in a shield form, protecting you from the burning flames. If there was one thing you had learned from wandering on your own, it were quick reflexes. you felt that his flames were powerful, but you knew for a fact that he didn’t use all of his strength.

“You got some good reflexes”, he said continuing to strangle the small dude. 

“You seem... interested in that kind of stuff”, you said, pointing at his hands around the man’s throat. 

“well what can I say, it’s tempting sometimes”, he said with a smirk. “I mean you can join in if you’d like that.”

He dropped the man and watched him crawl his way in the other direction. “That’s your prey, you sure you wanna just let him escape?”, you curiously asked, smirking back at him.

“He can’t go far, the next person will get him”, he said as he properly turned around and leaned against the stone cold wall. You couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of him actually freezing against the cold wall right now. “Now tell me, what brings you to this side of the city?”

“I saw blue flames and I like the color blue”, you shrugged, placing your hands in your pockets. “Nothing more.”

He walked closer to you, examining you from head to toe with his eyes. You let him, because in the end what did you have to lose? If he wanted to kill you, he would have probably already tried to do that. But he was just looking at you, probably trying to figure out how your quirk was supposed to work. 

“You saw blue flames and you like the color blue”, he silently repeated your sentence. His eyes stopped trailing down your body when he connected eyes with you. “Do you have any clue as to who I am?”

“Not the slightest”, you answered, breaking the eye contact first by walking past him to the direction the person that was a victim of his blue flames. He was gone, with only a splash of blood and a limb on the ground. You smiled to yourself. He had not survived just like flame boy said.

This could get interesting. You had thought to yourself. 

“What exactly is it that you do around here”, he asked while walking behind you. “Never saw you around here. You new?”

“You could say that”, you answered. But left out the fact that you were only new to the city and not to the whole “villain” thing, because giving away your life wasn’t really your plan yet.

“What about you? I never heard of you”, you said.

“My name is quite known here”, he smirked, walking closer to you. “The name is Dabi.” 

“Nice to meet you infamous Dabi”, you said as you inched closer too, showing him you were by no means intimidated by him. “I look forward to hearing and seeing you more often.”

After that you had made yourself known in the new city you visited, the city were you had met Dabi, the so called famous villain. You did hear a lot about him, making him a lot more interesting. There were many encounters between the two of you and he had tried to convince you to join his little group of friends called the League of Villains. You liked to work independent, so you kindly rejected his offer. 

But it wasn’t after a very fierce battle that Dabi had been heavily injured. You wouldn’t consider yourselves friends at that time, but you were close enough to not let him die. You hadn’t received from him what you had wanted. So you brought him to his hide-out, where the other members of the League were. 

The time you had spent there as just “a visitor”, had turned into you wanting to have more fun so you decided to join, without a plan. You were still allowed to move on your own so you didn’t see that much of a problem. They weren’t people with rules, or whatever. You lived freely, and you were happy about that.

You had made that place your home. Things that started off as a joke, turned into things that were important to you. These people were the people that didn’t fear you, but were happy to battle with you. These people wanted to get stronger for their own sake and didn’t live up to the will of other’s. Even if they looked like emotionless people, they cared about each other. And that was a place you liked to call home.

that all lead to the present. You were sitting with Dabi at the edge of high building, thinking about some random plan Shigaraki had made you think about. It wasn’t even necessary, he just needed a back-up plan.

“We’re not really gonna write this down are we?”, you asked as you held a piece of paper and a pen in your hands. “Shigaraki has to be kidding if he really wants a back-up plan for this one. I’m 99% sure we’re winning this one.” You slowly watched your venom eat up the paper as you threw the pen off of the building. 

Shigaraki had planned to attack UA, you didn’t really care about UA, but because Shigaraki had let you do just about anything while being with them you didn’t mind helping him out. “We can never go wrong with a back-up plan, you know.”

“But I mean, he has been planning for over a month now. How wrong can stuff go? Worst case scenario is that we retreat. They can’t possibly be this cautious beforehand?”

“Oh, you don’t know UA. They do just about anything to keep school grounds safe. They have everything ready for literally the worst case scenario”, Dabi said.

“But everything has been planned out, we literally searched for every possible thing that could go wrong and we found a solution for that. I really don’t think we need this. Besides, since when does Shigaraki want back-up plans, he never did-”, your head shot up in realization and you slapped dabi across his chest as you lightly gasped. “You little shit. Shigaraki didn’t ask us to make a back-up plan! Why did you bring me here then?!”

“Ding ding ding, someone caught on”, he said as he slowly rose to his feet.

“But why!”, you asked as you also stood up.

“To protect you”, he said smugly.

“To protect me?”, you said questionably. “And why would you do that? I survived on my own for 5 years on the street, I think I can handle some high school children.”

He came closer to you and kissed your lips for only a second. He did this often, it’s not like it was the first time he did it, but it always left you a little flustered. It was not everyday you had received any form of affection, so it was all new to you. You two weren’t in a “relationship”, but it sure was something along those lines. Whenever he’d kiss you, your so called superiority went down a little only because you did not know how to act. But you never let yourself get trampled over. 

“Dabi I’m serious here, why did you take me here. If Shigaraki is fighting some people right now we should at least help him. Your own feelings shouldn’t come first place when it’s such a dangerous thing. I can care for my own, so let’s go help Shigaraki. He helped us out too many times to leave him alone there”, you said in a strict tone, showing him that you were by no means playing. “Besides I haven’t thrown a good punch in a while, I need this.”

“It was him that told me to bring you here, tho I would have even if he didn’t ask me to”, he said. “Your family found your occupation. Not the real hide-out, but you know the one where we-”

You slapped a hand on his lips, making sure he didn’t continue that sentence. Your face was flushed and his lips turned into a smirk. You didn’t like it when openly talked about your intimate relationship. He knew exactly how to fluster you, but right now wasn’t really the best moment to do so. 

You looked at the ground, eyebrows furrowed. Your family really had the audacity to come search for you now? It felt like bullshit to you. You looked at Dabi and straightened your posture. “All the more reasons for me to head over and take a look.”

[scarletemeterio-thesecond]

Can I request a Zuko x Waterbender!reader where the reader is Sokka & Katara’s sister and she gets super heartbroken when Zuko betrays her in the Crystal Catacombs in Ba Sing Se? Then when he arrives at the Western Air Temple, Katara and Sokka get very protective when Zuko tries to make amends with the reader? Thank you and I love your writing!! ❤️

Hi, thank you so much for requesting! For this let's just pretend like the reader was the one who was with Zuko in the catacombs. And yes, I chose this title only because I was listening to the ouat soundtrack from the musical episode and I thought it would fit, hope you like it!

•••

Happy Beginning (Zuko x Fem!Reader)

Warnings: none.

Genre: Fluff.

Fandom: Avatar, The Last Airbender.

Summary: See request.

Word Count: 2306.

I couldn’t believe what was happening and for a moment, I thought my mind was tricking me. But there were no tricks involved, Zuko was actually standing in front of us, asking to join our group. When he started talking about how much he’d changed, I found it hard to believe and since I wasn’t the only one, we told him to leave.

“Why would he try to fool us like that?” asked Katara.

“Obviously, he wants to lead us into some kind of trap,” said Sokka.

“Yeah, this is just like when we were in prison together in Ba Sing Se,” I said. “He starts talking and makes you believe that he’s an actual human being with feelings”.

“He wants you to trust him and feel sorry for him so you let your guard down, then he strikes,” said my brother.

“I know, and the worst part is that it worked. I did feel sorry for him and thought that maybe he had changed for the better, but I was wrong”.

We all started talking about everything else Zuko had said and when we said that he was a liar, Toph told us the opposite.

“I’m just saying that considering his messed-up family and how he was raised he could-ve turned out a lot worse,” said the girl.

“So what? Should we give him a medal or something?” I asked, now a bit mad.

“Yeah, what about the ‘not as much of a jerk as you could’ve been’ award?” Agreed my sister.

“All I know is that while he was here talking to us, he was sincere. Maybe you’re all just letting your hurt feelings keep you from thinking clearly”.

“Easy for you to say, Toph! You weren’t with us when he did all those awful things to us.” At this point, I was angry. Not at Toph, but at myself because I didn’t want to believe him and risk getting hurt once again.

And then she said something that I hadn’t really thought about: Aang needed a firebending teacher, and Zuko was probably the only one willing to do the job. I hated to admit that she was right, but we needed the Prince, even if we hated him or the idea of being around him. Of course, everyone else was in denial, so then Toph stormed off and left us all with our thoughts. Right after that, I went to my room, not wanting to deal with anything nor anyone; however, my loneliness didn’t last long since my brother decided to keep me company.

“Hey, sis, everything okay?” I looked at him, not needing to let a single word out of my mouth for him to realize that I definitely wasn’t okay. He sat next to me on the floor and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “What is it, (Y/N)?”

“What if Toph is right, Sokka?”

“Wait, you’re not seriously considering-”

“Where would we be able to find another firebending teacher for Aang?” I interrupted him. “I know none of us like the idea of him joining our group, but what if this is our only chance at winning this war?”

“Why are you switching sides all of a sudden?”

“I’m not! I’m just saying that maybe we should at least consider his offer, you know?”

"I don’t know, (Y/N). He’s tricked us before, especially you back in Ba Sing Se, I just don’t want him to hurt any of us again”.

I nodded, understanding his words and we stayed silent for a few minutes before changing the subject.

Our conversation was interrupted by Katara’s voice a little later, calling us for dinner. We all sat around the fire, except for Toph since none of us knew where she was.

“So… Sokka and I were talking earlier and I was wondering… Do you really think we should let this opportunity go without even thinking about it?”

“Please tell me you're not talking about Zuko, (Y/N).”

“I am, Katara. Look, I know he’s done bad stuff, but he literally came to us and offered to teach you firebending,” I said, looking at Aang for a second. “I don't want us to keep arguing about this, but I’m just saying that maybe Toph wasn't so wrong after all.”

“So should we just let him join us and forget all the bad things he's done to us?”

“No, I’m saying that maybe we should give him, this, a chance.” I let out a sigh as I looked at everyone else. “I think that this goes beyond our anger and hard feelings against the boy.” We all stayed quiet after that, and as soon as we were done, we went to bed.

The next day, Toph finally showed up, and her feet had been burned; turns out that Zuko was the one who’d hurt her. We were all around the fountain when suddenly Combustion Man decided to show up. A few moments later, the Prince appeared as well, trying to stop the assassin. It didn't work, though, and we were forced to hide while we tried to figure out a way to defeat him. We were able to do it thanks to Sokka and his boomerang, although Zuko helped us too.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this but thanks, Zuko,” said Aang.

“Listen, I know I didn’t explain myself very well yesterday. I’ve been through a lot in the past years, and it’s been hard. But I’m realizing that I had to go through all those things to learn the truth.” He made a pause and laid my eyes on him for a moment and when he looked back, I turned my gaze to the floor. “I thought I had lost my honor and that somehow my father could return it to me. But I know now that no one can give you your honor. It’s something you earn for yourself by choosing to do what’s right. And all I want now is to play my part in ending this war, I know my destiny is to help you restore balance to the world”.

I didn’t know why, but this time I did not doubt that he was being honest, maybe it was just because my anger had been overcome by the need to put an end to this war.

“I’m sorry for what I did to you. It was an accident.” He said while looking at Toph. “Fire can be dangerous and wild. So as a firebender, I need to be more careful and control my bending so I don’t hurt people unintentionally”.

“I think you are supposed to be my firebending teacher” started saying Aang. “When I first tried to learn firebending, I burned Katara. And after that, I never wanted to firebend again. But now I know you understand how easy it is to hurt the people you love. I’d like you to teach me”.

“Thank you. I’m so happy you’ve accepted me into your group”.

“Not so fast. I still have to ask my friends if it’s okay with them,” and so he started asking every single one of us for our opinion. Everyone agreed, and when it was my turn, I took a deep breath before speaking.

“I’m not the biggest fan, but I know that letting him join us is the right choice”.

And just like that, he was with us. Soon after that, my brother took him to his room, and me and my sister decided to start making lunch.

“Wait for me, I’ll be back in just a second.” I looked at her a bit confused, but she didn’t give me any time to ask her anything, so I just brushed it off; we would have time to talk later.

When she was back, she had a small smile on her face and when I asked what had happened, my sister said that she had only talked about some things with our newest member.

I knew how Katara could be, so I got a little worried, but she told me to calm down, and I did. However, I started getting suspicious after a few days since every time I was about to spend some time with Zuko, one of my siblings magically appeared out of nowhere. I could tell the boy tried his best to avoid me, but I didn't know why.

At the moment, I was looking at Aang and Zuko while they trained near our campsite, and when they were done, the boy practically ran away from me.

"Aang, can I ask you something?" I said while looking at the young airbender in front of me. He nodded and I took that as my cue to keep talking. "Is there something wrong? Because Zuko's been avoiding me since the first day he joined us and I'm sure Sokka and Katara have something to do with it."

"I, uh, well- I think it's best if you talk to them about it," he said and I silently agreed. So I walked away to do that and, lucky for me, they were already talking to each other.

"I think we need to talk," I said. They both looked at me pretending to be confused, but I knew they were aware of what this was about. "Just tell me what you said to Zuko."

"(Y/N), I don't know what you're-".

"Stop lying, Sokka! I can tell that he runs away from me every time we're about to be alone, and I've also noticed how at least one of you strategically appears at just the right moment to prevent us from being by ourselves." They both stayed silent and looked at the floor, clearly ashamed.

"We didn't want him to be near you," started saying my sister, "we just don't want him to hurt you again, we want you to be happy."

"Did you guys ever think that maybe you don't get to decide who can or cannot be close to me?" I was angry, but I also was a bit sad. I knew they loved me, but for some reason they treated me like a little girl, despite being only one year younger than Sokka and the same age as Katara.

"You're our sister, (Y/N). We were trying to protect you". I took a deep breath; I wanted this conversation to be peaceful and the only way to do that was by remaining calm.

"Look, Sokka, I get it. I care about you too, but I'm not a little girl who needs to be protected, okay?" I made a pause to look at them before continuing. "It's nice that you care about me, but you have to let me make my own choices, even if I end up getting hurt."

"I know, (Y/N)." Katara took my hand and looked at me in the eyes. "We're sorry, you know we love you and we meant no harm but, maybe this didn't go as planned".

"Yeah, keeping you guys apart was stupid, it's inevitable," agreed my brother.

"What do you mean?"

"It's pretty obvious you guys have a crush on each other, maybe a little more than just that and, well, our behavior was very immature". I agreed with her and I obviously decided to forgive them, they were my family after all. We spent some minutes just talking about nothing and everything at the same time when suddenly I saw Zuko just a few meters away from us. I could feel both of my siblings' eyes on me and when I looked at them, they were also smiling a bit. "Go talk to him".

And so I did. I walked up to him and when he was about to leave, I let out a little laugh.

"You don't have to do that anymore," I said. "I spoke with Katara and Sokka, they won't force you to stay away from me," I explained.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, I'm sure. This means we can finally spend some time together, right? I mean, only if you want…"

"Of course I do," he said quickly before blushing, which made me let out a chuckle.

"You're pretty cute when you blush" I mumbled just loud enough for him to hear me. He opened his eyes with surprise and then he smiled.

"Um, thanks. You're pretty cute too, all the time," and now it was my time to blush.

"Do you want to walk around the temple?" I asked and he nodded in agreement.

I'm not sure of how long we were away from the others, but it had been long enough for us to talk about pretty much everything in our lives. We sat down, letting our feet hang from the edge of a little bridge, and we looked at the horizon.

"I'm sorry about everything that happened in Ba Sing Se, I was a jerk and you didn't deserve that; neither of you did".

"I know, but it's okay. You've changed for the better, Zuko".

"So, um, we're here looking at the sky and… is this the right time to tell you that I like you?" He said extremely quick, making it a bit hard for me to figure out what he was saying.

"I mean, you kind of already did," I said while chuckling. "But I think it's the right time to say it because I like you too, Zuko." Right after saying that, I pressed my lips against his cheek, and while I was backing off, he quickly laid his lips on top of mine. The kiss was short and sweet, but it was everything we needed at the time. When we pulled back, I saw the biggest smile ever on his face and realized in that moment, that all I ever wanted was to see him smile that for the rest of my life.

[i-know-my-value-darling]

Supernatural stars reflect on the show's undying legacy

Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, and Misha Collins discuss 15 years of fantasy, family, and flannel. 

"We only get one shot at this." Sam and Dean Winchester are surrounded. The monster-hunting brothers are standing on the edge of a cliff. They look to Castiel, their brother in arms — or is it wings? — but even he can’t help. One move in the wrong direction could ruin everything. After years of fighting demons, going toe-to- toe with Satan himself, and saving the world multiple times, they once again find themselves in a position of having to perform under pressure. But this situation is unlike anything they’ve ever dealt with before. All eyes are on them as they have one shot…at getting the perfect picture.

It’s a dry, hot August day in Malibu — when people were still allowed to gather outside — as Supernatural stars Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, and Misha Collins prepare for the last setup of their final Entertainment Weekly cover shoot. With a bottle of champagne in each of their hands, Ackles once again reminds them they get “one shot” to do this right. But if their characters can shoulder the weight of the world, surely these three can handle a photo. Read the whole story below

The champagne soaking is meant to be a celebration of 15 years, of making television history. Supernatural, the story of two brothers destined to save the world, is the longest-running genre show in the history of American broadcast television. (So old, the first three seasons shot on this thing called film.) What started as an underdog story, living its first few years on the verge of cancellation, has become an institution, a milestone to which other shows aspire. Supernatural not only survived the move from The WB to The CW after its first season — it’s now the final WB show left standing — but became the backbone of the now highly successful CW network. Over the years, the sci-fi series has aired on every weeknight, helping to launch shows including Arrow and The Vampire Diaries. The network moved it one final time, most recently, to Mondays, to help Roswell, New Mexico expand its audience. “Supernatural is a major link to many of the shows that we have successfully built to market,” The CW’s chairman and CEO Mark Pedowitz says. “Almost every one of our shows has had it as a lead-out or a lead-in.”

And to think, it all started as a promise to bring horror to television. After Supernatural creator Eric Kripke had finished working with Warner Bros. on 2003’s Tarzan series, he pitched the idea of a reporter who travels around hunting urban legends. As he puts it, it was a Kolchak: The Night Stalker rip-off. But when he realized the story would benefit from having brothers at its core, he started writing. “At the time, The Ring and The Grudge were huge hits in theaters,” Kripke remembers. “We said, ‘We’re going to take that experience and we’re going to put it on TV,’ and the initial goal was to be scary.” After Warner Bros. passed on his first, what he calls “uptight,” draft, Kripke had to reassess the kind of show he was creating. “I canceled all my Christmas plans and wrote that second draft in three weeks,” he says. “That was when the show got its sense of humor, because I was locked alone, over winter break, in my office. I couldn’t do anything fun, so I started entertaining myself.”

The show was still scary, but it was also funny and, over the years, would continue to evolve. Sure, you could say it’s a little bit X-Files — in its early days, the show often used the line “The X-Files meets Route 66” — and there were definite Star Wars influences (Sam and Dean were originally based on Luke Skywalker and Han Solo). But no combination of pop culture is going to perfectly describe Supernatural because the show has managed to do something remarkably rare in the age of peak TV, where audiences are so overwhelmed with content that an original idea seems foreign: It’s created a truly one-of- a-kind experience.

For starters, it’s a show about two flannel-wearing, beer-loving, blue-collar dudes from Kansas who for a good chunk of their lives traveled from cheap motel to cheap motel, paying for gas and greasy diner food with a mix of fake credit cards and money they earned scamming people at the pool table. “Almost all television is about rich people or, at the very least, middle-class people,” co-showrunner Andrew Dabb says. “The fact that we’ve been able to take this Midwestern blue-collar approach to this genre feels like we’re breaking the mold.”

But the mold-breaking didn’t stop there. Supernatural might’ve started out as a horror show with some snarky one-liners, but it evolved into some of the boldest, most experimental (and certainly strangest) stories on the small screen. “We’re a show of big swings,” co-showrunner Robert Singer says. “I used to say, with every idea, ‘This will be a home run or they’ll cancel us,’ but every year we wanted to do something really nuts." And when he says nuts, we’re not just talking about the episode with the talking teddy bear or the murderer targeting imaginary friends. Those are just some standard monsters of the week. We’re talking about the black-and-white episode shot like a classic Hollywood monster movie, or the episode that introduced Chuck (Rob Benedict), a prophet — who’d later reveal himself to be God — who was famous for writing a book series called Supernatural. That, of course, led to Sam and Dean attending a Supernatural fan convention as the show continued to redefine what it meant to inject a series with meta humor. And the swings never stopped. Season 13 featured a Scooby-Doo crossover as an animated Sam, Dean, and Castiel solved a case alongside the Mystery Inc. gang. And in season 14, after giving God a sister a few years prior, the show made the Big Man Himself its final villain. “I don’t think any idea, barring some production concerns, has been viewed as too crazy,” Dabb says. “Because we know that our fans are smart and that they’ll follow these guys anywhere.”

So long as each episode features Sam and Dean — and the occasional heartfelt talk on the hood of the Impala — the show can do just about anything, which is another reason Kripke had to rewrite his first draft of the pilot. Originally, Dean was the only brother who knew about monsters growing up, bringing Sam up to speed later in life. It wasn’t until Kripke figured out that they needed to be in this together that the series snapped into place. Because at the end of it all, they’re two brothers bonded by the loss of their mother and a life spent on the road with an absentee father. (It just so happens that their mother was killed by a demon and their father hunted them.) The familial dynamic — the irrational codependency, as the angel Zachariah (Kurt Fuller) once called it — is the most important part of the show. “The first inkling I had that we had something special was shooting the pilot,” Kripke says. “It was the scene on the bridge when Sam and Dean talk about their mother. It was the first time that you really saw their chemistry and their connection as brothers on full display. Because I’ve always said this show begins and ends with whether you believe that sibling relationship.” But Sam and Dean weren’t just the center of the show. For many years, they were the show.

Supernatural has never been an ensemble drama. For the first 82 hours of the series, Ackles and Padalecki were the only long-running series regulars — Katie Cassidy and Lauren Cohan briefly joined for season 3, appearing in 12 episodes combined. But Sam and Dean weren’t just in every episode; they anchored every episode. (They skipped table reads because there would’ve been only two actors there.) “I had many moments of not only questioning, ‘Can I keep this up?’ but an answer of ‘I cannot keep this up,’ ” Padalecki, 37, who’s been vocal about his struggle in the early seasons, says. “I borrowed strength from Jensen.” But even Ackles, 42, admits it was a tough job. “The 23-episode seasons were nine and a half months of filming,” he adds. “It was a lot of work, but I always came back to: I still enjoy it, I still like telling the story, I still like these characters and the people I work with.”

Not only did the guys stick around, they built a reputation of having created one of the warmest sets in the business, with a number of crew members staying with the production all 15 seasons. It all dates back to a talk Kripke had with his stars during the filming of the series’ second episode. “I said, ‘The show is about your two characters, and with that comes this responsibility,’ ” Kripke says. Padalecki remembers the exact setting of what he calls their “Good Will Hunting moment,” a bench in Stanley Park in Vancouver, where they film. It was a chat both actors took to heart. “We’d both been on other sets,” Ackles says. “We knew we wanted to enjoy it, to have fun with our crew; we wanted them to like us and us to like them and to have fun doing what we do.” It’s an attitude Pedowitz hopes bleeds into other CW shows, an attitude that launched an annual tradition where the CW chairman/CEO takes his new casts out to dinner with the Supernatural guys, a chance for the vets to share advice. “It’s always the most flattering situation,” Padalecki says, recalling a moment he had a few years back with the late Luke Perry, who was a part of the Riverdale cast. “Luke was sitting next to me and he was like, ‘What y’all have done and what we hear about you guys, it’s really cool to be associated with y’all in some way, shape, or form,’” he recalls. “And I’m sitting there pinching myself.”

It’s a behind-the-scenes legacy that’s perhaps just as impressive, if not more so, than the onscreen legacy. Collins, 45, who started as a guest star and the show’s first angel in season 4, has become the show’s third-longest-running series regular, and he still remembers walking onto set his first day. “When you’re coming onto a show as a guest star, it can be a little bit nerve-racking,” Collins says. “Coming to this set, it was an immediately different vibe. Think- ing about working on other shows in the future, that’s something that I aspire to bring with me.”

A similar reputation extends to the fans as well. Not only is the #SPNFamily one of the most dedicated fandoms out there, it’s also known to be a pretty nice one. (Not many fandoms can say they’ve helped launch a crisis support network for their fellow fans.) But their dedication isn’t just about seeing what crazy twist God throws at Team Free Will next. Thanks to fan conventions and social media, the viewers are just as invested in the lives of the actors. Supernatural’s not just about the words on the page, it’s about the actors saying them. “When you’re dealing with the public taste, there’s an alchemy of great writing, a great idea, and the close-up that’s required,” Peter Roth, chairman of Warner Bros. Television Group, says. “You need stars who you want in your living room.” And you need stars who want to be in your living room, and who, even after 15 years, care so deeply that they get emotional while taking photos in Malibu.

"It's going to be a long eight months," Ackles declares. Standing on that same ledge, an hour before the champagne shot, Ackles, Padalecki, and Collins walk away from a group hug after unexpectedly starting to tear up. It might be the setting — looking out over the ocean — or the occasion: their last-ever photo shoot. Or maybe it’s the fact that they’re almost a month into filming their final season.

It had been a question posed to the stars for years: How long will this show continue? How long can it continue? “Even my mom and dad were like, ‘When are you going to be done with this?’” Ackles says with a laugh. It was a decision the network and studio had ultimately put into the actors’ hands, and it was a conversation they’d been having for a while. Back in 2016, Padalecki told EW, “If we don’t make it to [episode] 300, I think Ackles and I will both be truly bummed.” But in season 14, they hit 300…and then kept going. While filming episode 307, they announced the upcoming 15th season would be the end, which will bring them to a total of 327 episodes when all is said and done. “[Jared] and I were always married to the fact that we never wanted to go out with a diet version of what we had,” Ackles says. “We wanted to have enough gas left in the tank to get us racing across the finish line. We didn’t want to limp across.” Padalecki remembers the moment it hit him — not the decision to end it, but rather the opposite. “We had that moment where he and I both realized that we didn’t want it to end,” he says. “It finally got to a point, ironically, where it was like, ‘I never want to leave this. I could do this until the day I die, and then if I get the choice when I’m dead, I’ll re-up!’ But you never want to be the last person at a party. We just knew. That’s not to say there haven’t been vacillations, but we all trust the decision that was made.”

Starting in July 2019, the cast and crew returned to Vancouver to begin filming the final season, but in March 2020, with two episodes left to go, they were sent home. For years, fans had wondered what, if anything, could stop the Winchesters, and now it seems we have the answer: a global pandemic. As sets closed amid social-distancing measures due to the spread of COVID-19, it didn’t take long for fans to start connecting the dots, sharing relevant GIFs from episodes that featured viruses, most notably Chuck telling Dean to hoard toilet paper “like it’s made of gold” before the end of the world in season 5’s “The End.” (Did we mention that Supernatural is also kind of psychic? In a season 6 episode, Dean calls Sam “Walker, Texas Ranger,” which just so happens to be the role Padalecki has lined up after this ends.)

When production paused, it all felt a little like we were living in an episode of the show, just waiting for Sam and Dean to drive up in Baby, open those creaky doors, and save us. They might not be able to do quite that, but the thing with the Winchesters is that they never stay down for long. When Supernatural is able to safely resume production, it will. And though there are only two episodes left to film, fans will enjoy a total of seven unseen hours, including the return of Charlie (Felicia Day) and a mystery woman who visits the bunker and, for some reason, gives Sam and Dean all the holidays they never got to celebrate. “She makes Christmas for them and Thanksgiving, birthday parties, and all that. It’s a very good episode,” Singer says, adding, “I don’t know when it’s going to air.”

That’s the thing—no one knows, not even the guys who took out Yellow Eyes, stopped Leviathans, defeated Death himself, and are supposedly destined to be the messengers of God’s destruction. But Sam and Dean do know the value of a good plan B. “Obviously it’s a horribly unfortunate situation we’re in, but the silver lining is that it gives us an opportunity to recharge,” Ackles says. “We had just finished episode 18, we shot one day of episode 19, and I was reading these two monster scripts thinking, ‘It’s like we’re at the end of a marathon and they want us to sprint for the last two miles.’ I feel like this almost gives us an opportunity to refocus and go into the last two episodes and hit them with everything we got.” Because when they do return to set, shave their quarantine beards, and step back into Sam and Dean’s shoes for the last time, they’ll have one shot at ending this thing…and they’re determined not to miss. 

Photos: Peggy Sirota for EW 

https://ew.com/tv/supernatural-stars-cover-ew-to-reflect-on-the-shows-undying-legacy/

[mrvdocks]

Plus One

It’s Joyce and Hopper’s wedding. A new member is added to the household, and things get real.

(chapter one)(two) 

It’s a Wednesday in February when he returns home and plops down onto the couch. The bar shifts just seemed to get worse. In the span of three minutes, he had to break up a fight, have the bouncer kick out a guy for harassing his manager, and clean a spill a drunk party group had made.

I’m not paid nearly enough for this, he thinks.

A sneeze breaks him from his misery. 

“Bless you.” He says with his eyes closed. They shoot open when he realizes you don’t sneeze like that. 

He sits up and looks at the moving thing under the pillow. His heart races as he hears some kind of breathing. 

Please no, he thinks. We just took care of the plumbing. 

He lifts the pillow carefully, expecting to see a pile of rats or mice or worse. Instead, he’s greeted by a sneezing dog. 

It’s a Scottish Terrier with big eyes that just seem to interrogate him as to why he interrupted his sneezefest. 

“Uhhhhh, where’d you come from?” He scans the apartment, seeing a dog bed at the corner of the lazy boy across from him. 

This had to be the work of one person only.

Steve calls out for you, hearing you run out from the bathroom in a hurry and a towel haphazardly wrapped around you. 

“What’s the emergency? Oh, I see you’ve met Mickey.” 

He’s speechless, looking at you like you’re out of your mind. “Mickey?”

“Yeah, they brought him in today and I felt really bad that they were taking him to the choky tomorrow. I had to save this poor baby. And who can say no to his little eyes?” You singsong the latter half of that sentence in a baby voice, kneeling to ruffle your fingers through Mickey’s fur.

“What if Tony finds out we have a dog? What do we say? We can’t keep him.”

You roll your eyes. “Relax, he’s quiet when he eats the jerky from Tom’s.”

“That’s my jerky!” Steve whines.

“Okay! I’ll get you extra then. Don’t be such a sourpuss.” 

Steve glances back to Mickey still staring at him. He puts out a cautious hand, Mickey getting close enough to sniff and then lick. 

At least it was nice to have another man in the house. 

He runs his hands through Mickey’s surprisingly soft coat, earning a low whimper from the pooch. Mickey lies on his side, clearly loving the scratches Steve is giving him. Steve catches himself smiling, suddenly forgetting the looming threat of eviction for a moment.

He’s wanted a dog since he was six, but his dad would never let him keep one. Not even a goldfish. He thinks maybe if he’d had a dog, he wouldn’t have turned out so cold in his teens. He just wanted to love something and have it love him back.

“Hmm, maybe you’re not so bad.” 

Mickey responds by kicking his tiny paws in the air, writhing on the couch.

Steve is so bewitched by the creature he doesn’t even notice when you come back into the room or even left for that matter.

“So, anything from that Sissy girl you were seeing?”

“No,” he pouts, “I mean I think she was scared off by this.” He gestures to himself.

“Oh my god, you’re doing it again.”

“Doing what? I just felt like there wasn’t any long term potential there.”

“You guys went on one date, and you didn’t even kiss! You blue balled her!”

“Okay first of all, who takes their date to their family member’s birthday party and expects a whole relationship to blossom from there? And second, when you’ve been single as long as I have, you just know what you want and what to expect.”

You snicker. “But you don’t know what you want, you have like, the worst standards.”

“Uh, I like to think they’re realistic.”

“Oh yeah? Well, I don’t think it’s fair everyone has to compare to Phoebe Cates.”

“Phoebe was a great product of her time, thank you very much. And, I mean what about Tessa Grey?”

“Tessa Gr - my co-worker?”

Steve nods adamantly. “I would date her. You know if she wasn’t - engaged.” 

“Alright we have to unpack that sometime but first why do you always say their names like some sort of serial killer?”

“Because,” he thinks, “they’re firsty-lastys. The same way I’m Steve….” 

“Oh please don’t say it.” You cover Mickey’s ears. 

“Steve “The Hair” Harrington!” 

You groan in response, bringing Mickey to rest on your chest while you put your feet up on Steve’s lap. 

“Sounds like someone’s jealous.” He mimics. 

“Oh, please. Okay, okay, let’s say for the sake of this being hypothetical, Tessa breaks off her engagement and she shows up here and says, ‘Oh my god, Steve Harrington I would love to have your babies, let’s get married! You can meet my family and eat my famous pasta, wahhhh!’” You flail your hands around for effect, seeing the amusement in his face.

His face screws up, “Geez, am I dating Wario now?” 

“That is exactly how she sounds! Plus, you would find something wrong with her and then you’d bail.”

“That is not true.”

“Oh but it is! It’s so true. In fact, anyone as grotesquely tall and hair-obsessed as you cannot be so picky.”

“I’m just trying to make sure I find the -”

“Don’t say it.”

“The one.” 

You groan, shoving your face into Mickey’s chest. 

“Oh yeah? I don’t see you bringing anyone home. Still not over Danny?”

Your mouth forms an O, you kick his thigh with the heel of your foot. 

“For your information, I have been seeing someone.”

This piques his interest. “Who and is he an escaped convict?”

“Okay,” you scoff, rolling your eyes. “I haven’t talked to him but he left his number at the desk so who knows?”

“Hmm, I may be wrong, but I don’t think that was meant for you. You are a receptionist after all.”

“We’ll just have to see, won’t we? But I just have some stuff to take care of beforehand.”

He nods.

“Personal…..maintenance.” 

“Yup.” 

“Gotta mow the lawn.” You emphasize.

“No yeah, I got you the first time. But come on, let’s be honest here. You’re stalling.”

“For what?” 

“Jumping into the unknown. Danny was a huge part of your life so I get what it’s like to lose that connection.”

You laugh sarcastically. “Okay, grandpa are these your words of wisdom? I am totally over Danny. At this point, I can say screw Danny! I have all the time in the world to find someone else!“

You weren’t completely wrong. Danny had been with you since senior year of high school. You thought it would be like one of those fairy tales where the high school sweethearts end up living together in an amazing house surrounded by all these treasures and all that jazz. Nothing could tear you down.

And then junior year of college came and he slept with one of your college friends. You transferred soon after. It was your first relationship, and you just felt like a failure. 

You don’t view California so great anymore, instead choosing to uproot yourself and finding the first place you could in New York for cheap.

It worked out fine, you think. It led you to Steve and Robin. 

Even though you clowned him for it, you also wanted that special connection. Love that movies taught you but you’d learned the hard way they weren’t going to translate into real life the same way. 

“Uh-huh. I mean there’s no shame in it, I was the same way with Nancy.”

“I wasn’t moping around and wallowing in self-pity like you, though.”

“C’mon what was that whole period of just ‘Danny!'” He mimics your voice crying and eating out of an invisible tub of ice cream. 

You feign being offended, chucking the couch pillow to him as he catches it and smothers himself with it. 

“Your dad’s crazy. Yes, he is.” You pout to Mickey. 

Joyce & Jim’s Wedding

Chincoteague, Virginia

March 1-3rd 

“I remember during ‘84, Chief Hopper had a special visitor waiting for him in his office to talk to him about the disappearance of her boy. At the time she was just the town’s nut, but I bet no one would guess the wild ride these two would go on to end up here.” The man who Steve tells you was one of Hopper’s officers back home, toasts.

It sat poorly with the guests, including a somewhat already even more pissed off looking Hopper. He seems to get the idea and ends his toast blessing the couple in their late forties. 

Jonathan goes up next, greeting the crowd. He’s dressed impeccably, his hair somewhat slicked back and his ring very prominent when the light catches it.

“I would like to thank everyone who came out to help us celebrate. I’m very proud of my mom and at first, I was a little wary about her settling down with someone. Not because I was moody about it but because she’s done so well on her own taking care of me and my siblings. She’s always been both parents to me but Jim,” Jonathan raises his glass.

“I want to thank you for helping us years ago, for believing in us. For being patient with us and sticking with us through thick and thin. My mom lights up every day like a Christmas tree and I think that’s evidence enough for me to happily welcome you into the family. To my mom and Jim!”

“To Joyce and Jim!” The crowd toasts. 

The wedding was held in a gazebo near the beach on the East Coast, with Joyce getting married in a white tea-length dress with lacing decorating her collar down to her arms and Jim in a grey suit decorated with one of Joyce’s favorite flowers in his pocket. They’d both changed for the reception, Joyce into a red sheath dress and Jim into a black dress shirt and pants and a blazer matching Joyce’s dress. 

You were seated with Jonathan and Nancy and another pair of family friends, talking and catching up with the other nuptials. They both told you the craziest stories about Steve from high school to when they last saw him, all the while he sat mere inches from you and hid behind his hand when something particularly embarrassing came up. 

You’d often erupt in fruity laughter, hearing about the time Steve got his Scoops Ahoy uniform stuck in the fridge or when he’d played Dungeons and Dragons for the first time only to lose every time. 

“So, how long has this been going on?” Nancy queries, gesturing to you and Steve.

You glance at Steve, lost for words for a moment. “We’re just friends.”

“Yeah, friends,” Steve adds right after you.

“I’ve been rooming with him for the past two years since Robin left.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she concedes. “I always hear you call him Honey over the phone sometimes.”

Your eyes widen.  Curse your sarcastic nature.

“Oh no, god no,” You laugh nervously. “I just like to mess with him.”

You drown yourself out with the drink in front of you, leaving Steve to pick up the rest of the conversation.

“We got a dog.” Steve blurts out, trying to fill in for the painfully embarrassing silence.

Jonathan raises his brows, “Really?” 

“Yeah, only instead of being the dad of the group back then, I’m a dog dad now.” He reveals.

Nancy and Jonathan laugh, almost as if to help ease both of you back into not being awkward. 

“Hey, you guys heard Dustin’s getting married right?” Nancy pouts with her bottom lip drawn out. “He’s so old now.” 

“Yeah, Steve loves the little guy.” You blurt. Steve glances at you.

“Last I heard he was starting up some fund for kids with CCD in California,” Jonathan alleges.

“Oh yeah,” Nancy remembers. “The Palm Springs wedding.” 

The music begins playing for the guests and Nancy jumps, exclaiming that she loves this song and asks Jonathan to dance with her. They turn to you and Steve and urge you onto the dance floor, but you say you’ll be there in a second.

“What was that?” He whispers in a shrill tone.

“I panicked!” 

“They probably think we’re idiots now.” 

You cock your head down and glare at him. “These are your friends, Steve. They would never think that. It’s just been a while since you’ve all seen each other they probably understand.”

Steve bounces his leg in response. You put your hand on his thigh, stopping him. 

“Look, we are gonna go out onto that dance floor and we are going to find you the best damn lover you’ll ever have.”

He nods rapidly, hooked onto your every word. 

You lead him in when a couple leaves, guiding his hand to rest on your lower back and rest your left hand on the lapel of his suit. Your right-hand holds out for his, swaying until you can match the tempo of the music. 

“Okay, what about violet in glasses?” You suggest, feeling him turn you to catch a glimpse.

“Too bookish.” 

“What’s wrong with bookish?”

“I already have you, don’t I?”

You roll your eyes. “Alright, what about red with the pony?” 

“Where?” 

“Behind you, rotate.”

He rotates you to the left and makes a face. “Too mean.”

“What? She seems nice.”

“The red makes her seem aggressive.”

You sigh. “Okay, pink with the braid?”

He glances quickly to his right, “Yeah she’s cute.”

“I’ll go and spill my champagne on her and then you just swoop in and dry her off.” 

“Is there any way you can do this without assaulting someone?”

“It’s not assault, I’m just very hands-on with this.”

“That sounds like it’s textbook definition.”

“When have you picked up a textbook? Nevermind, you want to try this or not? I haven’t failed you yet.” 

He purses his lips, thinking back to the first wedding. 

“Don’t. I know exactly what you’re thinking.”

As the song ends you retreat to your table, grab your glass, and start sipping. Steve stays behind, watching you fake stumble and fall against the woman and drench her with the drink. She gasps as the cold beverage hits her, and Steve pulls out one of the fancy napkins from the table.

“Showtime.”

"You think she hates me now?” You say, drawing circles in the sand with your feet.

“You mean because a drunken guest dumped their drink on an expensive dress she was planning on returning?" 

You stare at him, unamused. 

"I appreciate the try. She just seemed….too hostile.”

“I get it, I mean a guy like you coming up to me and trying to pat my breasts down - I would want to leave too.” You chuckle to yourself.

Steve stands, smacking off the sand on his pants. He takes hold of your shoulders and leans you close to the waves as they crash against your ankle.

“Oh my god, Steve! You know I can’t swim.”

Steve is laughing like crazy, teasing you. He takes hold of your waist in a second, carrying you as far into the ocean as he can while you’re shrieking. 

He twirls you as you grip his hands tight, digging your nails into his skin and still screaming to be put down.

“Be careful what you wish for.” He says into your ear and drops you on your ass. The overwhelming cold and seaweed cover your body as you try to stand only to be wiped out by a wave. 

Steve is howling in hysterics, clapping like a seal.

“Oh my god, I’m gonna kill you!” You don’t sound too threatening, if anything your wet appearance was akin to that of a wet kitten just meowing in protest. 

Steve runs and dodges you, moving in a zig-zag pattern as you try your best to chase him through the water.

“You’ll never catch me!” He fronts. 

Anticipating him to move in a pattern, you wait till he moves to the left to start running to the right and knock him down against the sand with a hmph!

“Gotcha!” You exclaim, putting your hands on his chest and completely unaware of the position you’re in. 

You’re straddling him, legs on both sides and your face is inches away from his trying to catch your breath. He smells like salt and champagne.

He’s frozen in place too, one of his hands firmly on your lower back. 

Your eyes flicker from his to the rest of his face, focusing on the moles decorating his neck. He can smell your perfume still even through the saltwater. It inundates his senses, disorienting him momentarily. Your necklace dangles and touches his chin, taunting him. 

This is the moment you’ve been looking for, the one that the movies oh so love to display over and over again. Something in you tells you to do it, to just lean down and see if he tastes like you do. 

Instead, he pushes you to the side softly, catching his breath and patting your thigh. “I guess you got me.”

You nod, taking your dress by the ends of it to walk back onto dry land and leave him sitting there. You’d see him back at the hotel anyway.

@mochminnie​, @wolfish-willow​

[borhap-au]

Joe Mazzello: the fluffy chronicles.

Joe defending your relationship against his family. 

Joe was very excited about introducing you to his family. After all, you were his first serious relationship since that unfortunate incident a few years back, that ended in a heartbreak for Joe. You already knew his mom and his siblings, his nieces and nephews loved you.

Before it actually happened, you weren’t sure how Joe’s closest family members would react to you, after all, you were much younger than him. But Joe said they all thought you were a nice girl, and it was “really up to him” who he was dating, after all, it wasn’t their call. Unfortunately, that wasn’t what the rest of his family believed in.

You met them at a big family party. It was unfortunate for you, because you hated family parties, you hated being in a center of attention in a group of strangers, and you hated that Joe was all the time asked to go somewhere, so you were alone most of the time. You were obviously trying to be very nice and kind to whoever you were talking to, trying to show your best side, but also, you were always looking around, hoping to spot Joe and excuse yourself from the conversation. At the party you had the most fun around children, playing with them, because that was the only place you knew for sure you weren’t being judged. Unfortunately, that didn’t really help your case.

When you finally spotted Joe, he was going inside to the house, so you followed him. You thought he was going to be alone, but when you heard his voice in a mix of others, you stopped yourself from going there. You wanted to go back, but then you heard your name. At first you thought someone was calling for you, so you moved a little in the direction of the door, but then you realized, it wasn’t to you. It was about you.

“Come on, guys, just give her a chance. She’s really nice and smart. You will like her,” you heard Joe’s voice and sighed quietly. So all of your effort was for nothing.

“She’s out there playing with the kids, Joey. She’s a child herself. You should find yourself a real woman,” one of his cousins said.

“First of all, she looks younger than she really is. Second of all, she’s not a child. Sure, she’s younger than me, but she’s been an adult for a good few years now, so don’t worry, she is a woman,” Joe didn’t give up fighting for you and it was really sweet in your opinion. Although you didn’t really want him to fight with anyone, especially because of you.

“The age difference is too transparent. What you two even talk about? She’s probably into Justin Bieber and that Miley girl, while you listen to the old classics. Does she even know who Freddie Mercury was? Has she heard of Queen?” another of his cousins said.

“Excuse me, you don’t appreciate her enough. She actually loves old rock n’ roll. She listens to the classics more than I do. Her favorite movie is The Godfather. We have so much to talk about,” he took a breath, probably to drink something, while his female cousin gave her two cents.

“If she loves old things, that would explain why she wants you,” she joked, and the rest of them laughed. You were sure Joe rolled his eyes at that comment.

“Are you her sugar daddy or something, Joey? Is that what it is?” you heard another voice saying.

“No, I am not her sugar daddy. She has a job, she has her own money. She’s not even comfortable with me buying her expensive gifts. She’s not in this relationship for money, don’t insult her like that, Karen,” oh, Karen. Now the comment made sense to you.

“Okay, but what does she even know? Those young kids these days, they don’t appreciate anything. Only social media are on their minds. Facebook, selfies, no culture, no nothing,” you heard one of the older aunts.

“I’m about to prove you wrong. She actually loves literature, she knows a lot about cinema, her hobbies include sports and taking frequent breaks from social media to be around nature. We often go on small trips around the country, she is a great photographer. And she has unbelievable knowledge about history. We don’t only have million topics to talk about, it often is that she talks and I just listen, because she has so many important and fascinating things to say. And she also has very strong views and beliefs, and your old school view on women is definitely something she would disagree with. She’s smart, she’s independent and she’s with me because she loves me. I really do not understand, what is your problem, people,” Joe was actually starting to get mad, and you were mad as well, but even more so because of the fact that they made him mad. You didn’t want anyone putting Joe down because of something, or someone, he loves.

“Well, if she’s not in for the money, then probably for the fame,” you heard that voice before. Apparently Joe didn’t persuade them enough.

“No, none of that. She refuses to go on red carpets with me. She doesn’t even allow me to post anything about her on my social media. She doesn’t want the attention. She wants the relationship to be a private matter, and frankly, that’s what it should be. I shouldn’t even have to explain that to you,” despite all the nasty comments about your alleged motifs, Joe didn’t give up fighting for you, even if that meant going against his family.

“Let’s just all calm down. We spend too much energy on a topic that’s not even worth it. It’s just a whim, he will soon come to his senses,” you weren’t the one to really care about some old woman’s opinion, but that one hurt you. For anyone to assume you were just a quick thing for Joe, it was hurtful and unfair.

“Oh, no. I beg you pardon. I want none of those kind of insinuations. She’s not a doll to throw away when I’m done playing with her. She’s a real person, with a heart and soul and she’s so much more than you give her credit for. You guys are awful, you know? You didn’t even give her a chance! How is she supposed to prove you wrong, when you dismiss anything she says? Stop belittling her. She did nothing to deserve this. I really expected more of you,” he scoffed.

“Come on, she’s not a wife material for you, and most definitely not a mother material. She was a child herself not so long ago,” another person added.

“Once again, you are wrong. She’s most definitely a wife material and I would be more than happy to marry her someday. Don’t be surprised when you get an invitation to our wedding. Or if you don’t get one, if you’re going to continue to act like that,” you smiled hearing that. Becoming Mrs. Mazzello was a dream come true for you, but you had no idea Joe even took that under consideration.

“Before it comes to marriage, Joseph, you will change your mind five times,” another aunt, another wrong statement about Joe. You thought that they not only treated you like a child, but actually also him, not listening to a word he says.

“Maybe, or maybe I already looked for a ring. We’ve been together long enough. Some of you were married after shorter periods of knowing each other,” oh, you could feel that he smiled ironically. And wait, were you supposed to hear that? I mean, you weren’t really supposed to hear any of this… But maybe you just found out about a surprise engagement… One way or another, you were overjoyed.

“But she may change her mind. She may change a lot in the next few years. She’s still growing, discovering herself as a woman. You’re a grown up. That’s the difference. Where you want to settle down, she only starts her journey,” nice quote, but no. You were all about setting for a journey together, helping each other grow, give each other peace and love.

“Actually, I have no plans of holding her back. She can grow and discover herself as much as she wants, whether it’s in the relationship or in a marriage. I want her to find her path, pursue her dream career, become successful and do whatever she wants to do. She’s a woman with big dreams and plans,” Joe said, but was quickly interrupted.

“Yeah, I bet a girl in her 20s wants to stick with one dick for the rest of her life,” one of his cousins said, and you almost threw up in your mouth hearing that.

“First of all, don’t be disgusting, there are ladies in this room, and you’re talking about a lady as well. Second of all, despite of what you’re implying, not every young woman’s dream is to party and change partners all the time. Some actually want to settle down. And she’s one of those women. I know that, because contrary to you, I listen to what she says. She focuses on her career and her relationship, trust me, she’s not missing anything,” some of the guys laughed, but most of the girls acted more tasteful.

“Is it about your former girlfriend, Joe? You try to patch up a broken heart by having a fling with a much younger girl?” oh, wow. You didn’t expect that one.

“I’m long over that relation- whatever that was. I’m not trying to make up for anything here. I met her, I fell in love with her, and now we’re happy together. You really think I would bring a ‘fling’ to a family reunion? For what, to brag? Come on, you know me better than that. And if you really think I would do something like that, then maybe I’m wrong, maybe you don’t know me at all. But I’m not wrong about her. Now excuse me, I’m going to find my girlfriend and I plan to spend the rest of the evening with her. Have a nice party,” you realized you should probably escape quickly so that nobody finds out you were listening to all of the conversation. So you quickly run to the bathroom and then got out of it soon enough so that Joey saw you and knew where you are.

“Oh, hey,” he smiled, and moved his arm around you. “There you are, I was looking for you. How’s the party?” he had an empty whisky glass in his hand. Clearly, the conversation exhausted him. He quickly put the glass away when he saw you looking at it.

“Oh, the kids here are amazing. Your niece won’t let me have a break,” you chuckled quietly, and he smiled.

“That just proves how great of a mommy material you are,” he pointed out as you were walking out of the building together to get some fresh air and get away from people.

“Well, then I’m happy that I was able to find a perfect daddy to match my greatness,” you smiled at him.

“Honey, I told you not to call me that around people,” he joked, and you softly punched him in his chest.

“I’m never complimenting you, ever again,” you pretended to be mad, but soon rested your head on his shoulder, petting the side of his body, as you slowly walked around the garden in perfect harmony and peace.

“What if we stay together until the end of the world? Then you won’t compliment me either?” you smiled slightly hearing that, because you knew what he really was asking you about. He wanted to be reassured that he didn’t fight for you for nothing, that you really wished to be with him forever, or at least you hoped that it would all work out between you and you would still love each other after all those years.

“If you promise me we will be together forever, then maybe I’ll change my mind,” you teased, because even the most serious topics turned into a light-hearted conversations between you two.

“Want to get married someday?” he asked, petting your arm with his thumb and smiling at you with such love in his eyes, that you fell for him all over again.

“I’d love that,” he smiled in response.

And guess what? A year after that conversation you were actually married. And Joe made sure that everyone on the wedding reception knew he remembered about the conversation he had that day, when during a toast he mentioned how “nobody believed in you two, but for him it really could be the whole world against him, because he didn’t care as long as he has you by his side to support him through the roughest times,” and how “you were there for him even if nobody else was standing by him.” After that, you were always strong together, loving each other, and even produced a few newest members of the Mazzello clan.

[bangtan-sonyeonddaeng]

Epilogue

Summary: Soulmates have different ways of being connected to one another. Sometimes it’s through being able to write on their arms and having it show up on their soulmates. For others it was having their first words spoken to one another permanently tattooed into their skin. You had a unique connection with yours, one that you really hadn’t ever heard of happening before. Whatever song was stuck in your soulmate’s head was also stuck in yours and the same was for them. When Yoongi realizes one of his songs is playing on repeat in your head, he immediately takes to writing songs to communicate with you in hopes it will finally bring you two together.

Genre: Fluff. Just pure tooth rotting, sweet fluff.

This also will be the final part to this series. Thank you so much for reading I am blown away by how much love this received and am so incredibly happy too. 💜

Part 1   Part 2      Part 3     Part 4     Part 5

In the months you had spent with Yoongi, it had been more than you ever could have imagined. After you went back to your home country to make arrangements to move over to be with him it was pretty clear being apart from one another was something that wasn’t going to be possible. You were only on the plane for 5 minutes when your chest started aching and you had felt the need to text him and tell him that you missed him already. And he felt the exact same way. You were only home for two days before you were back on a plane and heading to your home. Because as far as you were concerned no place was going to feel like home if it wasn’t with Yoongi. 

The members quickly adopted you into their little family. You were like a sibling to them and they were all very protective of you. Some even more so than Yoongi. Whenever you went out, Jungkook insisted on going with you if your soulmate couldn’t.  You had argued with him that him being seen with him would just draw more attention than if you went alone, but he insisted, claiming that “Hyung would have all of our heads if anything happened to you”. You often had gaming nights with Taehyung and Jimin. Jin had been teaching you how to cook traditional Korean dishes for Yoongi, as you felt bad that he was always doing the cooking for the two of you even if he swears he didn’t mind. Namjoon was who you seemed to grow closest to. You felt like you could trust him with anything and often would wake up early to go on walks with him to talk about anything that came to mind, or just walk in comfortable silence. He also was teaching you Korean so Yoongi didn’t always have to speak to you in English. Hoseok had even been giving you dance lessons. They all had taken up a space in your heart and you honestly couldn’t picture your life without any of them in it.  

You settled in quickly. He had put in a good word so you could get a job at his company so you two could spend even more time together. Everyone around you two were amazed that you weren’t sick of one another but you were very much in love, and seemed to fall harder every day. Yoongi always told you he didn’t think it was possible for him to love you anymore, however at the end of the night it became his thing to kiss your forehead while mumbling “I was wrong” against your forehead. He didn’t need to explain, you knew what he meant. And the warmth that spread throughout your chest knowing he felt just as strongly as you felt for him was indescribable. 

Currently you are sitting at home making dinner when a text comes through from him. 

Really? You still have that song stuck in your head? It’s been in there for 2 days straight now.

You giggle and immediately reply. 

Well maybe SOMEONE shouldn’t have just dropped the greatest mixtape of all time and I wouldn’t constantly have your songs stuck in my head. YOU’RE THE KING YOU’RE THE BOSS. 

Also are you aware of how sexy you looked in that video too?

Yoongi chuckles as he reads your message. 

I’m glad you like it, angel. And seeing as how you tell me this everyday, multiple times a day yes I am aware, not that I am complaining. 

Hey I have to finish up something up with these lyrics and then I’ll be out for dinner okay?

Okay Yoongi. Love you!

I love you too. So fucking much. 

He had been in the office working on song lyrics for almost an hour now. You never disturb him while he is working, knowing that once he gets in the zone there is no way you are bringing him out of it. You continue walking around the kitchen making food when a new song drifts into your head. 

And darling I will be loving you 'til we're 70 And baby my heart could still fall as hard at 23 And I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways Maybe just the touch of a hand Oh me I fall in love with you every single day

You smile to yourself. Lately when Yoongi misses you he has been purposefully getting love songs stuck in his head as a way to tell you that he loves you. You hum along and sway back and forth as the melody continues. Before a new one enters in your head. Which you find odd. Usually Yoongi doesn’t have very many songs stuck in his head, especially when he is working on writing lyrics to other songs. 

Promise me You'll always be Happy by my side I promise to Sing to you When all the music dies And marry me, today and everyday

You nearly drop the pot you were carrying to the stove. He can’t be.. can he? You shake your head back and forth, scolding yourself for thinking he was going to propose to you. There was no way. You would have noticed he was planning something you two spend almost every moment together. Plus it had only been a few months. Although you two waited so long to finally meet one another, and you were soulmates after all.  

“Y-Yoongi?!” You call out to him and soon you start to hear him softly humming a melody as he comes down the hallway and into the kitchen. He approaches you, taking your hands in his and kissing the backs of them, lips gently brushing against each knuckle. “Yoongi what are you doing?” Your heart is beating wildly in your chest. 

“Just like the songs says.” He reaches into his pocket and you immediately feel tears falling down your face when you see him pull out a ring. “I didn’t want to do a big grand proposal so I hope this is okay.” He rubs the back of his neck, a habit you noticed pretty quickly that he does when he’s nervous. “I just.. music has always been the way I expressed myself and my feelings. It’s the reason we were able to meet, so I wanted to include it and have it be a part of this next chapter in our lives. I wanted to write my own song as my way of asking but, I just couldn’t wait any longer. I know we haven’t known each other long, but I just waited to finally meet you for so long. And I know I want to spend the rest of my life with you so I don’t see a point in waiting. I want to marry you. So.. um.. will you-” You cut him off with a firm kiss against his lips. His eyes widen in shock for a moment before he returns the kiss eagerly. You reach your hands up to cup his face, when you feel the tips of your fingers become damp. You pull away, surprise forming on your face when you notice he’s crying. 

“Yoongi? Baby, what’s wrong?” You reach down to hold his hands and they are shaking so much. 

“I’m nervous as fuck. Like, you kissed me and everything but is that a yes then? Or did you just want me to shut up? Do you want to marry me? Just because we’re soulmates I don’t want you to feel like you have to. Is it too soon? Oh gosh it is isn’t it? What was I thinking?” 

“Hey, hey shh. Yoongi it’s okay come here.” You pull him into your arms and he immediately relaxes. “Of course that was a yes. There is no one else on the face of the planet I’d rather spend the rest of my life with. You’re it for me.” When you pull away he’s absolutely beaming at you. That adoring gummy smile you have grown to love the sight of so much. He slips the ring onto your finger and places a kiss to it. 

“I promise I’ll spend the rest of my life making sure you’re happy and never doubt for a moment how much I love you.” He places a quick peck to your lips and you smile into the kiss. 

“As long as I have you, then I’ll be happy. As long as you’re by my side then I’ll know. And I hope you know the same goes for you.” He nods his head and pulls you into another hug, nuzzling into your neck and placing kisses there knowing you’re tickling, causing you to giggle. 

“Your laugh is still the best sound to me. Better than any melody I could create.” 

“You’re so cheesy you know that?”

“Yes, but I’m your boyfriend and you love me for it.” 

“You’re not my boyfriend.” You see panic slightly take hold in his eyes. “You’re my fiancé now.” Yoongi sighs in relief, feeling rather silly for his reaction. 

“Right. Gosh I’m so happy you said yes! When should we get married? How about right now?”

“Yoongi don’t be silly it’s 8:00 at night where are we going to go?” 

“Right. Right, sorry. I’m just so happy right now. I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy in my life other than when I met you.”

“You want to just order takeout tonight so we can cuddle?”

“Yes! Please.” He looks at you with those eyes you can’t resist and you nod, taking his hand in yours and leading him to the bedroom. He practically tackles you onto the bed, attacking your face with kisses letting your laughter ring out into the room. When he finally stops he’s looking at you with so much love in his eyes. You thank whatever forces of the universe are listening for bringing you two together. You stare into each other eyes, words being shared without speaking. That’s the way you two have always been. You’ve never needed words to express how much you love one another. It was written in your eyes, and could be heard with the melodies playing in your head that only the two of you could hear. He lets himself settle down on your chest as you card your fingers through his hair. 

“You sure we shouldn’t just go get hitched somewhere now? You aren’t going to change your mind?” 

“We don’t have to rush off and get married, Yoongi. We have forever. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Forever with you huh? I don’t think there’s anything else I could ever want more.”

Tag list: @anoesjkaax​​​  @just-call-me-trash-can​ @thestral-balerion​ @xcastielbabyangelface​ @rukinamukami​ @r-e-d-i-s-h​ @heartblackerthancoffee​ @rosita7703​   @jacjacwashere​   @purpletigertaetae​  @woodstockisjustlikealittlekid​  @supernatural-bangtanboys​ @loveyoongles​ @barbikatherine​ @atulipandarose​ @bookluver01​ @cioccocalderoni​ @lyoongx​ @gali-005​

[petersasteria]

Red - Tom Holland

Pairing: Basketball Player!Tom x Reader

Requested? Nah

6k reads celebration on Wattpad x

Tom Holland Masterlist || Ultimate Masterlist

* * * *

Everyone is destined for someone and they're called 'soulmates'. You've always believed in soulmates and you've always dreamed what it would be like to meet them. You never really understood how the soulmate system works before, but as you grew older it wasn't that hard to understand.

You thought you were the only one with this problem, but it was completely normal. Your parents explained it to you when you were younger.

Apparently, everyone is born seeing all of the colors except one. It varies from person to person and it's like that, because it has meaning behind it. The meaning depends on how the said soulmates felt when they met. For your parents, they weren't able to see the color pink until they met. Pink means hope. It gives a sense that everything will be okay.

Your parents met each other at a mutual friend's wedding and coincidentally, they're the only ones in their group of friends that aren't married yet. But they're still hopeful. So they unknowingly went to the open bar together at the reception and when they made eye contact, they were able to see the pink flowers and pink decorations. They smiled at each other and they just knew.

Then of course, they got married and had your older brother, older sister, then you.

Your brother found his at the early age of 9 and your sister found hers at 16. Both of your siblings are now married and engaged and you're now 18 with no boyfriends, no flings, and no soulmate.

After a person meets their soulmate, they go to the soulmate agency to get matching tattoos to signify that they're each other's soulmates. The agency also sets up their date based on the information that the agency has on them. The agency then sends an e-mail to the newly found soulmates' families to inform them on the joyous occasion.

You found it a little bit weird that there's a soulmate agency to do all that, but that's life.

"Chad asked me to homecoming!" Y/B/F squeals. You roll your eyes and turn to her, "Well duh! He's your soulmate! It was bound to happen. Why are you so excited? It's not like he'll ask someone else to homecoming."

Y/B/F frowns, "What's wrong? You never have an attitude unless something's wrong. So, what's wrong?"

You sigh heavily and clutch your books to your chest, "My sister's stressing about her wedding and she's been such a bridezilla and as her maid of honor, I had to deal with her in planning! Her negative energy is rubbing on me."

"Well that's upsetting." Y/B/F giggles. "Anyway, I have to go. See you tomorrow!"

"See you tomorrow!" you call out to her. You then realize that you're the only person in the hallway and you make your way out of school to go home. Just then, someone bumps into you and you fall face first into the ground. Your books are scattered and the very important notes for your sister's wedding are flying away before you even get the chance to get them.

At this point, you didn't care about your books. You didn't want your sister to yell at you again so you immediately scramble to your feet and quickly grab the very few notes that are still on the ground.

"Watch where you're going!" a voice yells. "You're so fucking careless!"

This made you mad.

You turn around to see a boy and for some reason, both of you are experiencing headaches. You look at the boy and the basketball uniform that was grey, is now a very strong and vibrant color of red.

He looks at your grey scarf which is slowly turning red and his eyes widen in realization, "Y-You're my soulmate?"

You were about to say something but he cuts you off, "Ugh, I can't believe this! I can't believe I'm soulmates with someone who can't see where they're going."

"You're the one who bumped into me! If anything, you're not watching where you're going! You made me lose HALF of the notes for my sister's wedding!"

"Well if you stood up faster, you would've gotten all of it!"

"Well if you just paid attention more, you wouldn't bump into me and none of this wouldn't happen!"

"Mr. Holland, are you ready to go home?" both of you look at the man in front of you wearing a tux and he has a serious look on his face. He looks about 45 years old or older.

"I'm kind of in the middle of something here, Bernard." the boy next to you says. "I'm arguing with- with- I don't even know who the fuck you are!"

"Y/N Y/L/N." you snap. "There. Are you happy Mr. Tom Holland, member of the basketball team?!"

He rolls his eyes and scoffs, "I'd be happy if you weren't my soulmate. I've waited for my soulmate for YEARS and this is what I fucking get?! Fuck you, Y/N."

What he said hurt your feelings. It was an asshole thing to say.

"Well, it's not my fault, is it?" you say softly. "I'm just as disappointed as you are, but you don't see or hear me blaming you."

"Pardon me, sir. But if you are soulmates, you must go to the soulmate agency right away." Bernard interrupts.

"I'm not going anywhere with her!" Tom says in disgust which makes you hurt even more. Your own soulmate didn't want you. How depressing.

"But it's the rule. There's a consequence." Bernard says.

"What's the consequence?" you ask. Bernard shrugs, "I'm afraid no one knows, because no one dares to break the rule."

"How does the agency know that we've met, anyway? They're not here. How do they know someone is breaking the rule?" Tom challenges.

"Oh, they're here." Bernard taunts. "They're watching everywhere."

You and Tom couldn't help but feel scared and find that information creepy. Bernard continues, "So, shall we go to the agency?"

"Fine." both of you grumble in response. Both of you are now sitting in the backseat far from each other. You were sitting in silence when Bernard breaks it, "It's really nice to have a soulmate. It's great to know that you'll have a partner for the rest of your life without second guessing. You'll realize that soon."

The car stops and you look out the window to see that you're in front of the soulmate agency's building.

"I'll wait at the outdoor parking lot." Bernard informs as you both thank him and get out of the car. Bernard drives off and you and Tom look at the building.

"I can't believe we're actually doing this." Tom sighs, walking inside as you follow him.

"I can't believe I'm actually here." you mutter.

You both walk to the receptionist who immediately smiles at you, "Mr. Tom Holland and Ms. Y/N Y/L/N, correct? You met at 2:45 pm outside of your school and now you can see the color red."

You and Tom look at each other in shock. Bernard was right; they're watching everywhere.

"Um, y-yeah. Who-Who do we go to? What happens next?" you stammer.

"Go to the second floor. They're waiting for you." the receptionist smiles and nods at the direction where the elevators are. Both of you quickly walk inside the elevator and press the 2nd floor.

You arrive at the second floor and see only one person there. The second floor was weird. It's only a long hallway from left and right, the elevator doors open at the center of it, so you're greeted by the wall. You and Tom exit the elevator and begin to walk to where the person is. You reach the person and see a woman in her mid 20s.

"Tom and Y/N, I've been expecting you." she smiles and motions for both of you to sit on the chairs across from each other in front of her desk. "I'm giving you your matching tattoos which will be placed on your wrists just like everyone else. So, would you like to tell me why your colors are red?"

"What do you mean?" Tom asks.

"When you saw each other, you both saw the color red. Why is that?" she asks.

"I'm sorry, I'm a bit lost. I don't know what you're talking about. Does that have a meaning or something?" Tom is confused. He was interested in the thought of soulmates, but he wasn't aware on how it works.

"Red means anger." she shrugs. "So why were you both angry when you met?"

"I wasn't actually mad at him. I was just having a bad day. My sister's getting married and she's all bridezilla and she made me write down important notes for her special day." you confess. "Now half of those papers are gone and I can't even imagine how angry she'll be when I get home without those."

"I wasn't mad at her too." Tom sighs. "I got a D on my paper on history and I really worked hard on it. I got so mad and yeah... here we are I guess."

She grins, "Your matching tattoos will be paper, because that's what made you mad." She starts preparing her tools and does both of your tattoos. After some time, she finishes and smiles at the both of you, "You may now go to the 3rd floor where you can see each other's files."

You and Tom thank her and leave. Both of you look at your matching tattoos as you walk to the elevator.

"You know," you start. "I guess it's not that bad."

He shrugs, "I guess. Sorry about what I said. I was just so mad and stuff."

"That's okay. I'm sorry too." you both enter the elevator and press the 3rd floor. You arrive there and the third floor is the same as the second floor. This time, there are three people there. The one in charge and the soulmates.

As you walk closer, you can hear them giggling. Soon, the soulmates stand up and happily leave. The one in charge is a lady who looks 30. She motions for both of you to sit down on the chair that are next to each other in front of her desk.

"I've now sent an e-mail to your families and I've now set a date for both of your families to meet. Now, it says here that both of you strongly dislike Halloween. Why?"

"I've had a bad experience." both of you say at the same time and look at each other in shock after that.

"Well, let's give it a good experience, eh?" she winks. "Your first date will be on the 31st of October."

"Why so far?" you ask.

"Well, your files say that both of you are extremely busy and you're unlikely to arrange something."

"Okay, but why Halloween?" Tom asks.

"Like I said, it's to give you a good experience." she chuckles. "Besides, you might end up loving that day, when you go on a date together."

You and Tom stay silent, still not believing that this is all happening.

"Okay, you may leave now." she says.

"What happens after the first date?" Tom asks.

"You're free to do whatever you want, but you must stay loyal to your soulmate. You're technically dating at this point, but you have the freedom to officially ask her to be your girlfriend at any time after the first date." she answers.

"Why ask her to be my girlfriend after the first date? Why not before?"

"Normally, people ask someone to be their girlfriend after the third date and that's the formal way. But you have the freedom to ask whenever after the first date. Besides, you wouldn't have time for each other at the moment. That's why I set the first date on the 31st of October, remember?" she chuckles.

"Right." Tom nods. "Well, thank you." Both of you stand up from your seat and she calls out, "I'll see you again when you propose!"

-

"Bernard can drive you home." Tom says as you and him walk to the outdoor parking lot. You shake your head, "Nah, I'm good. I'll just walk home or catch a bus."

"Y/N, don't be silly. You're my soulmate now and I'll blame myself if anything happens to you." Tom blushes. You giggle, "Fine. Only because I don't want you blaming yourself for anything." You smile at each other and you both get inside the car.

Both of you sat close to each other and both of you knew that things will be different from now on and things will be alright now that you have each other.

* * * *

Thought I'd write a soulmate au but like it's super different from what you usually read sksks

Tagging my mutuals: @fanficparker @myblueleatherbag @sweetdespairbarnes @justasmisunderstoodasloki @tommysparker @marvelousell @lcvelyparkers @lovingsiriusoswald (thanks for helping me sis uwu)

[maddrmatt]

Kairi’s Epic Journey: The Quest for Sora

New to this fanfic? Click here to properly begin!

Chapter 22: Elsa Accused

Arendelle

Kairi, Anna, Elsa and Kristoff stared at Eimyrja in shock.  They could not believe what she had just said.

‘Crimes?  What is she talking about?  Elsa hasn’t done anything wrong,’ thought Kairi as she gazed at the confused face of her friend.  ‘Has she?’

“I-I don’t understand,” stammered Elsa.

Eimyrja clapped her hands together to extinguish the flame in her hand.  “No, I suppose you wouldn’t.  After all, you’ve been too busy running your kingdom and playing the beloved magical queen for your people that you’ve been blissfully unaware of the pain you’ve caused others.”

“That’s enough!  How dare you accuse my sister of something she’s never done on top of trying to destroy her palace and chasing away our…” Anna stopped as a horrible feeling of realization came over her.  “Wait a minute.  How did you get past everyone who was standing watch outside?”

“How did you even get behind us when we saw no other trail coming up here?” asked Kairi.

Eimyrja gave a sinister chuckle.  “We’re sorcerers.  We know how to cover our tracks.   As for your so-called guards outside, I cannot believe you all would have been so naïve to believe that a creature we earlier chased away from here would be able to keep us out.  We only let it get away from us the first time because we needed it to bring your sister up here, Your Majesty.  And now that you’ve arrived, it has outlived its usefulness and there was no need to show that same mercy a second time,” she said vindictively causing the group to gasp in horror.

“You didn’t!” exclaimed Kairi.

“Yes.  We reduced that beast to a puddle.  As for that little chatterbox of a snow creature, we dealt with it in the same way.  There’s nothing left of either of them,” stated Eimyrja.

“Olaf!  Marshmallow!” cried out Anna as tears streaked down her face.

“Don’t waste any tears on them, Your Majesty.  After all, it’s not like they were actual living beings,” said Eimyrja

Anna growled.  “You…” she began before Kristoff piped up.

“What about the animals that were with them?” asked the ice harvester worriedly.

“Yes.  The dog and the reindeer?” asked Kairi fearing that Pluto and Sven had suffered a fate just as horrible.

Eimyrja gave a look that almost looked regretful.  “We did try to subdue them as gently as possible.  But they resisted and, in their desperation to get away from us, they ended up falling off the edge of the mountain.  I doubt they survived.”

“No!  Sven!” exclaimed Kristoff.

“Pluto…” muttered Kairi as a tear came to her eye before screaming, “How could you?  They did nothing to you!”

“I will admit, being an animal lover myself, it was tragic to see them suffer like that.  But then again, you shouldn’t have involved them in the first place and now they are two more lives ruined because of the queen,” said the Order’s leader.

“Stop saying that!  I don’t know what you’re talking about.  But Elsa’s not responsible for anything you’re accusing her of,” shouted Anna.

“Yes!  I’m sure that this is just some kind of misunderstanding that we can resolve peacefully, and no one has to…,” began the Duke before the leader interrupted him.

“You will be silent, or my cohorts will reduce you to a pile of ashes at my command,” snapped Eimyrja.

The Duke looked to the two Order members holding him.  They gave him a threatening gaze causing him to cower in the clutches of his captors.

Eimyrja turned toward the group and gazed at Anna.  “As for what exactly our grievance is with your sister, Your Majesty, I’d be more than happy to give you an explanation.  All of you really ought to learn the full truth of her crimes.”

“If you think we’re going to listen to anything you have to say…” began Anna in a threatening tone as she began to step forward again.

Elsa immediately grabbed her sister by the shoulders.  “Anna, let’s not provoke them.”

“How very wise of you, Your Majesty.  I don’t think it would be in your best interests to put yourselves at the mercy of our fire magic.  If we wished to, we could incinerate all of you where you stand,” said Eimyrja.

“Anna, I think we should hear what she has to say and find out why they’re doing all of this,” said Elsa.

“Elsa, this is not the time to be diplomatic,” said Anna angrily.

“I’m with Anna on this one, Elsa.  They have no right to expect us to listen to them after what they just did to our friends,” asked Kairi.

“Kairi, that is the reason I don’t want to risk putting anyone else in danger from this Order.  If their magic was strong enough to destroy Marshmallow, then it may even be more than a match for my own.  We also don’t know how many of them are actually here.  There may be more of them nearby.  So, I believe that the best way to avoid anyone else getting hurt is to hear them out,” said Elsa.

Kairi considered Elsa’s words.  ‘She has a point.  When we came up here, we certainly weren’t expecting to deal with a group of fire-toting sorcerers.  I may not even be able to fight off all of them.  They’re a far cry from Captain Hook and his pirate crew.’

Anna, while she had calmed down somewhat, still didn’t look fully convinced.  “Kristoff, what do you think?” she asked her boyfriend.

Kristoff rubbed the back of his head and sighed.  “Anna, Kairi, I’m just as upset about what they did to our friends as you are.  Sven’s been my constant companion for as long as I can remember.  But Elsa’s right.  We shouldn’t risk getting into a fight with these people.  Especially since we may have no chance of winning.”

Anna let out a sigh and then turned toward the Order.  “All right, Eimyrja.  We’ll hear what you have to say.”

“But please release the Duke first,” added Elsa.

“You’re hardly in a position to make that kind of request, Your Majesty.  But since our grievance is with you and not with him, we will do so.  Release the hostage,” commanded Eimyrja.

At her order, the two members holding the Duke let him go.  He immediately rushed over to the group and stood at Kristoff’s side.  “Thank you, Your Majesty,” he said gratefully to Elsa.

Elsa gave him a nod and then faced the Order’s leader.  “Now, Eimyrja, tell me.  What exactly is it that you are accusing me of?  Because if you and your Order have been wronged in any way, perhaps there is a way I can make amends to you.”

“I assure you that once you have heard our tale, you will see that there is no way to repair the damage you have caused us.  Now picture this if you can, Your Majesty: an idyllic country farm tended by a close-knit family.  The work may be hard and demanding at times.  But the family loves it and they love each other so very much.  They can’t imagine a better life,” said Eimyrja in a wistful tone of voice.

Then her voice dripped with anger.  “But then, one day, everything changes. In the middle of summer, the farm is besieged by an unusual snowstorm that came out of nowhere.  Completely unprepared for the sudden change in weather, the family struggles to save their farm.  But it is all in vain and everything is destroyed.”

Kairi, Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, and the Duke’s eyes opened wide in shock.  The implication of Eimyrja’s story dawned on them.

“But that is not the end of it.  As it gets colder by the minute, one by one, the family succumbs.  And when the storm is finally all over, all that remains of the family is the eldest daughter.”

The group’s horror increased at this revelation.  “You mean…” began Kairi.

Eimyrja nodded.  “That is correct.  The farm and the family in this story were my own.  I lost everything I loved in that storm.  A storm that happened because of you, Queen Elsa!” she roared pointing at the queen.

The leader then gestured to the other Order members standing behind her.  “And I was not the only one.  All of us who stand before you lost someone dear to them in that storm.  A parent, a sibling, a child, a wife, a husband; the list goes on.  One by one, we found each other and after learning the true cause of our woes, we vowed that we would get justice for those we lost.”

At that point, some of the Order members conjured up flames in their hands like their leader had before.  They gazed at Elsa with looks of barely restrained desire to unleash their magic on her.

“That is when the Order of the Flame came to be.  Knowing we stood no chance against a sorceress who commands the snow and the ice, we dedicated ourselves to learning the ways of fire magic to counter it.  Normally, it takes years to master such magic.  But I believe our burning desire to avenge our loved ones enabled us to master the fire far quicker anyone has ever before.  Now, after months of training and preparation, the day we have waited for has finally come,” said Eimyrja as the Order members extinguished their flames.

Everyone stared at the Order of the Flame with a mix of emotions as they took in what they had just heard.  Anna was shocked.  Kristoff looked like he was trying to make sense of the situation.  The Duke looked uncertain.  Elsa, however, covered her eyes and began to sob.

Kairi gazed at the queen with sympathy.  ‘I know what Elsa must be feeling.  It’s that same self-loathing I’ve carried since Sora was lost.’

“It can’t be true!  It just can’t!” exclaimed Anna.

“You try and deny it all you want, Princess Anna.  But the hard truth is that your sister is responsible for the loss of many lives,” said Eimyrja.

“But this doesn’t make any sense.  After the Great Thaw, we went all over Arendelle to help the people with anything that they needed, and we learned that no one had perished at all in the winter.  The people considered it a miracle,” said Kristoff.

“A miracle indeed.  Well, it seems your kingdom was very lucky to have been spared any losses.  But did you even consider that the storm reached further than your kingdom’s borders and affected others who weren’t as fortunate to be spared that fate?” asked Eimyrja.

‘What have I done?’ thought Elsa as tears dripped down her cheeks.  “Eimyrja, I am so sorry for everyone you and your Order have lost.  I never meant to hurt anybody.”

“I’m afraid your apology is not and will never be sufficient, Queen Elsa,” said Eimyrja bluntly.

“Then what will?  You’ve said what you wanted to say and made Elsa aware of what she’s apparently done.  So, what happens now?” asked Kairi.

A dark look came to Eimyrja’s eye.  “Now we deliver the most appropriate punishment for the queen’s crimes.”

“And what would that be?  You’ve already taken several of our friends from us.  Isn’t that enough?” asked Anna even though she had a pretty good idea of what the answer was.

“No.  The animals’ demise was something we never intended to happen.  As for the snow creatures, they are hardly a loss since the queen can simply create more like them,” said Eimyrja.

Anna’s anger increased.  “How dare you act like Olaf and Marshmallow are replaceable?!” she shouted.

Ignoring the princess’ outburst, Eimyrja continued, “Originally, as your sister’s punishment, we had planned to put an end to her permanently, Princess Anna.  But now an opportunity has arisen for something far more fitting.”

‘I don’t like the sound of that,’ thought Kairi.

“We decided that death isn’t a suitable enough punishment for her.  That would only release her from the guilt she should feel forever.  Instead, she should suffer as we have and lose the last remaining family she has,” declared Eimyrja pointing at Anna causing everyone to gasp in horror.

Kristoff immediately moved in front of his girlfriend followed by Kairi.  “We won’t let that happen!  You’ll have to get through us if you want to hurt Anna!” she said.

“We’re perfectly fine with doing away with all of you so are you certain you want to throw your own lives away and add more losses to the queen’s conscience?  We will not be denied our justice,” said Eimyrja.

“This is not justice!  This is revenge!” shouted Kairi.

“Call it what you will.  But it must be done.  Maybe then the queen will think twice before losing control again.  Those powers of hers make her a danger to everyone around her,” said Eimyrja.

“But it wasn’t her fault!  Elsa had no idea how to control her powers back then!  She never meant to start that winter and she didn’t believe that she could stop it,” said Anna stepping out from behind Kairi and Kristoff.

Then, in a pleading tone, she said, “Please.  If anyone should be punished for your losses, it really ought to be me.  It may have been Elsa’s powers that started the winter.  But it would never have happened had my foolishness and desperation for love lead to setting her off.”

“Anna, no,” said Elsa gazing at her sister sadly.

The Duke then piped up.  “If I may say something, I can understand why you believe Queen Elsa to be a danger even a monster.  I once thought the same thing.  In fact, when I saw what she could do, I believed the worst of her and sent my own bodyguards to destroy her.”

The Duke then hung his head in shame.  “But now I know that she was just a frightened woman with a power she didn’t fully understand and struggled to control all her life.  She is no monster, and I was very wrong to assume she was.”

Anna gazed at the Duke in a mixture between amazement and admiration.  Never in a million years would she have thought that she would hear the Duke of Weselton of all people defending her sister.  ‘Maybe, just maybe, he is capable of being forgiven after all,’ she thought.

“The Duke is right.  Elsa never asked to have those powers of hers and the last thing she ever wanted was for anyone to get hurt because of them.  We can understand how you all feel after suffering such horrible losses.  But what you’ve done and what you’re planning to do will not make it any better,” said Kairi.

But Eimyrja remained unmoved.  “Unless the queen has some kind of power that can bring back our loved ones, your attempts to defend her will do no good, girl.  I think we have spoken long enough.  Now my comrades, it is time to accomplish what we have set out to do.”

At the end of her words, Eimyrja and the Order of the Flame made their way toward Anna.  They raised their hands with their palms facing toward her that could unleash their flames any moment.

Anna looked nervous.  But at the same time, she gazed defiantly at the Order as she stood her ground.  Kristoff did the same with his fists clenched.

‘Looks like it’s time for a fight.  I don’t know if I can win against all of them.  But I’ve got to try.  I must protect my fellow Princesses of Heart,’ thought Kairi as she prepared to summon her Keyblade.

But before she could, Elsa stepped between them and the Order.  “Wait!  Don’t hurt her!  Don’t hurt any of them!  I’ve thought of a way I might be able to atone for what I’ve done to you all.”

“Hold,” commanded Eimyrja as the Order stopped in their tracks.  “And what might that be, Your Highness?”

“If me losing my loved ones is what you wish, then I know a way that it can happen,” stated Elsa causing her sister and friends to gasp in surprise.

“Elsa, what are you saying?” asked Kairi.

“Do not interrupt her, girl.  What do you propose, Your Highness?” asked Eimyrja.

“When I first created this palace, I intended to use it to live away from everyone so no one would get hurt by my powers.  So, in light of what you’ve told me, I will remain up here all alone for the rest of my life.  I will never see my sister, my friends, or my home ever again and you will not need to harm anyone else,” said Elsa.

“Elsa, no!  You can’t!” cried Anna.

Elsa turned to her sister.  “I have to, Anna.  This is the only way I can possibly pay for what I’ve done to them without you getting hurt,” she said sadly.

The queen then turned back to face the Order and their leader.  “Will that satisfy you and your Order, Eimyrja?”

Eimyrja’s eye gave a thoughtful gaze.  “Allow the Order a moment to discuss your proposal, Your Majesty.”

The leader turned around and gathered the Order members into a huddle.  All the group could hear from them were barely understandable whispers.

Suddenly, Anna grabbed her sister by the shoulders and whirled her around to face her.  “Elsa, don’t do this!”

“Anna, please don’t make this any harder than it has to be,” said Elsa.

“But we just got each other back!” exclaimed Anna.

“I know.  And these past months with you have been like a beautiful dream.  But I guess it was a dream too dangerous to have.  Now this monster has to go back in her cage,” said her sister sadly.

“Don’t talk about yourself like that.  You’re not a monster.  You never were,” said Anna.

“Maybe not.  But I am still a danger to others.  What happened to the Order is proof of that.  It looks like me living away from everyone was the right idea all along.  At least this time, I know how to control my powers so nothing like this will ever happen again,” said Elsa.

“But Elsa, are you sure you want to do this?  Can’t we find a better way?” asked Kairi.

“I don’t think there is a better way, Kairi.  The important thing is keeping my sister safe no matter what happens to me.  After all, she sacrificed herself to protect me once.  How can I not do the same for her?” asked the queen.

Elsa’s words caused Kairi to think.  ‘Elsa’s willing to do anything to keep her sister safe even if in the end, they both end up unhappy.  Is that what you were thinking as well when you were saving me, Sora?’

Finally, the Order’s huddle broke and Eimyrja once again faced Elsa.  “The Order of the Flame accepts your proposal.”

“Thank you,” said Elsa.

“But heed this, Your Majesty.  If we ever find out that you have violated the agreement we’ve made here, then nothing will save your sister or your kingdom from our wrath,” warned the Order’s leader.

“You have my word.  This palace is where I shall remain for the rest of my days,” said Elsa.

“Very good,” said Eimyrja before looking to Anna.  “Come now, Princess.  We will escort you and your friends back to Arendelle before we take our leave.”

Anna didn’t budge.  She just looked at the floor sadly.

Elsa placed a hand on her sister’s shoulder and then said to Eimyrja, “Can you please just give us a little more time together?  There’s a few things we need to talk about before we say goodbye.”

The Order’s leader gave a look of consideration before saying, “Very well.  I guess we can allow you that.  You may have one hour.  We’ll wait outside in the meantime.  Order of the Flame, let us go.”

At the end of their leader’s words, the Order members began to file out of the room.  Eimyrja followed as well briefly before turning back to the group.

“But hear this, Your Majesty.  If your sister and the rest are not outside this place and ready to leave before the hour is up, then we will consider our agreement to be null and void.   And then they will face the consequences.”

With that final warning, Eimyrja then followed her group out of the room.  All that remained now were Kairi, Anna, Elsa, Kristoff and the Duke.

For the first few moments, none of them were sure what to do.  Then Anna threw her arms around her sister and embraced her tightly.  Tears rolled down their cheeks as they held each other in silence.

Kairi, Kristoff and the Duke looked at the two sisters sympathetically.  The whole scene was absolutely heartbreaking.

They all stood in silence before the Duke cleared his throat.  “Um, forgive me if this is insensitive and know that you have my sincerest condolences on this unfortunate turn of events.  But this whole ordeal has been a bit much for me.  So, if you don’t mind, I think it’s best that I excuse myself and try to regain my composure elsewhere.”

“Of course, Your Grace,” said Elsa.

“Thank you.  I imagine you have some things to discuss that don’t concern me so I will wait downstairs for you,” said the Duke as he made his way out of the room.

“Your Grace?” called Anna causing the Duke to turn around in response. 

Over her sister’s shoulder, Anna gave the Duke a grateful smile.  “Thank you for defending my sister.”

“It was my pleasure to do so, Your Majesty.  I only wish that I could have been of more help,” said the Duke solemnly as he left the room.

“Come on, Anna.  Let’s go out to the balcony. There’s a few things we need to talk about before we part,” said Elsa as she parted from her sister’s embrace.

“Okay, Elsa.  Plus, it would be good to spend our last time together somewhere with a better view,” said Anna indicating the ruined room they were all still in with the bonfire remains.

Anna then turned to her boyfriend.  “Kristoff, I hope you won’t mind if Elsa and I…”

Kristoff held up a hand.  “Say no more, Anna.  If this is going to be your last time together with your sister, then you should make it count.”

“First, I have a few things to say to you, Kristoff.  You too, Kairi,” said Elsa turning toward their friends.

“First of all, Kristoff, I’m really sorry about Sven.  I never would’ve thought that our friendship would end up costing you your oldest friend,” said the queen to the ice harvester.

“Elsa, I don’t and will not ever blame you for that,” said Kristoff.

Elsa smiled.  “Thank you.  You’ve been a great friend to Anna and me and I hope you’ll continue to watch over her when you return to Arendelle.  Just know that there’s no one I trust my sister with more than you.”

Kristoff sadly nodded.  “You can count on me.  I won’t let you down.”

Elsa then looked at Kairi.  “Kairi, I know we haven’t known each other for very long.  But it was very nice to meet you and I really hope you find Sora.  Please tell him that I really wanted to be true friends with him if we ever met again.

“Thank you, Elsa and I will,” said Kairi.

“And I’m really sorry about Pluto,” added Elsa.

“It wasn’t your fault,” said Kairi though inside, she was dreading how she was going to explain to Mickey what happened to his dog.

Her words finished; Elsa turned back to her sister.  “Come on, Anna,” she said as she placed an arm around her sister’s shoulder.

They walked side by side towards the doors to the balcony.  With a gesture from Elsa, the doors opened.  They continued outside, leaned on the railing, and looked out at the spectacular view in front of them.  Elsa gestured once again and closed the doors.

From what she had seen of the scene in front of her, Kairi couldn’t help but be reminded of the better times of the past.  Her heart ached as she remembered how she always watched the sunsets on the Play Island with Sora and Riku. 

It ached even further as the dream about Sora vanishing from her side as they watched the sun set entered her mind.  And in less than an hour, a similar fate would befall Anna and Elsa as they would be unable to do anything together ever again.

If there was anything Kairi knew, given all that she had experienced especially from recent events, nothing hurt more than being separated from the ones you held dear.

________________________________________________________________

Onto the next chapter!

[asgardianthot]

Hunting Season (sambucky) – Part 3

Series Masterlist

A/N: I know I promised this update over a week ago, and I’m sorry it took so long:/ I’ve felt really down for the past few days, I’m having a hard time with online classes and with my lack of serotonin lol. This was not my greatest week and I suspect it’s got to do with the quarantine. I know a lot of us are having a hard time coping with everything and it can be very stressful and draining. We’re all struggling to find the energy to do what we love, and *not* seizing our free time to create or be productive can make us feel very frustrated or disappointed – I just want you to know it’s okay to seize your free time to just rest, even if you haven’t done anything exhausting per se. Emotional draining is part of the global situation, and you have every right to simply exist. People are dying or losing loved ones – I think existing is more than enough right now.

Words: 3106

Summary: A shitty guy has entered the chat. You know who.

Bedtime had come, and Sam followed Bucky to their assigned room. It was, apparently, the one he had been using ever since he and Rebecca were old enough to stop sharing bunk beds. When Rumlow came into the picture, the family allowed the jolly couple to share the queen-sized bed. Hence, that was the set-up for Sam and Bucky.

"Yeah, I forgot to mention." Bucky apologized as they shut the door behind them.

The entire house seemed to have gone silent at that time of the night, making them feel like they should speak in a lower tone than usual.

"It's fine." Sam brushed it off while he kicked off his shoes near the door.

"Nah, man, I can sleep on the divan." Bucky shook his head, "I'll go get some blankets."

The last thing he wanted was to put Sam in any more uncomfortable situations. He was already in the most uncomfortable position anyone could ask of their friend, and Bucky felt guilty every single second of their stay, which had only lasted for less than a day so far.

"Dude, it's fine." Sam insisted, "Not like we've never shared a bed before."

Although they effectively had spent a number of after-parties in the same bed or the same couch, this setup felt a lot more intimate, somehow. Maybe it was the silk sheets, or the elegant shade of white which adorned the room, or the dim nightstand lights that made it all feel so cozy. Maybe it had to do with the fact that that's how boyfriends sleep, and them having to pretend to have that dynamic. Still, Sam wouldn't agree to Bucky's solution.

"Yeah, but it's seven nights." Bucky reminded him with a wince.

"If I get tired of you I'll send your ass to the divan." Sam ended the topic with that, stretching his arms to communicate his deep need of going to bed already, "I just wanna get some sleep, it's been a long* day."

Bucky snorted, "I told you." He smirked as he opened his bag to find his pajamas.

Sam sat on the edge of the bed. He had, in fact, agreed to this insanity. Clues and riddles and family drama and money*. He was there to help his best friend through a tough time, and that was his primary concern, but if he ever got too tired of the Barnes' crap, he could always remember the gold at the end of the rainbow. He let a loud sigh, almost like he was finally dropping off the weight of the 'boyfriend' act, and allowing himself to look exhausted. He dramatically dropped to the bed on his back.

"Two millions, right?" he raised an eyebrow at Bucky.

The appellee nodded, "Two millions."

-

Day 2

One of the many responsibilities the Barnes family had was continuously being good guests, which meant inviting relatives and neighbors and co-workers to spend a day or two in the lake house. Most of them had their own vacation residence nearby, or were vacation-buddies who could hop on their boats and grab lunch with the Barnes. Only a few guests would actually join the house accommodations and spend time with them. It was the case of a friend of Nana, one of Colin's co-workers, Aunt Ida's new boyfriend and distant cousin who would be spending the night, according to what Winnifred said during breakfast.

Sam had a hard time processing the fact that they had all that extra room for futile acquaintances; in fact, he very subtly lashed out at Bucky for allowing his family to set their staff in small bedrooms behind the kitchen when he had such luxuries. Bucky, head hanging low at the empty breakfast table, explained that even if he had Sam's revolutionary momentum and eloquence, his parents would never listen. 'I'm actually the last person who could change their entitled, outdated mentality', was the exact finishing sentence.

Sam once again got that sour reminder that he had to portray something for Bucky's parents. He had to pretend to be okay with the way Winnifred spoke to the maid through hand gestures instead of polite words. He had to pretend to act like he knew what the hell those big New York impresarios were talking about during the first tray of appetizers. Hell, he didn't even know that appetizers came in successions and that those successions were called 'trays', until now.

Most importantly, and at the moment Sam was standing in that big yard with freshly cut grass and a lake view, he had to pretend to belong. He had to walk among senior citizens with more money than they could spend in the few years they had left, young folk who looked like they had too much access to their daddy's bank accounts, and women who spoke exactly like Winnifred, as if different tones or voice inflexions belonged to a lesser class. Sam had to meet them all, and he had to act like he didn't feel as foreign as he'd ever felt.

"You're a saint, Sam." Bucky sneaked up on him and spoke in his ear, standing behind the lost man, "You can stop greeting wealthy dinosaurs now."

Sam realized he had done more than what was asked of him, and so, he dropped his shoulders in retreat. He turned around and gifted Bucky one tired smile.

"You okay?" the latter grabbed his shoulder tenderly, with concern, "This was too much, wasn't it? You should've called in sick like I-"

"I'm not traumatized by rich people, Bucky." Sam rolled his eyes, "I'm dating you, 'member?"

The verb caught Barnes by surprise, until he immediately remembered he meant the farce they were putting up for the family. However, during that millisecond of doubt, it felt like Sam was implying something with a double meaning that Bucky wasn't entirely sure disturbed him. In other words, he felt like Sam was flirting, but obviously, he was quickly reminded of the situation.

"I was just thinking what my mama would have said in a place like this." Sam confessed with a soft laughing tone.

The image was pretty funny. In the few times Bucky had spent time with Darlene, he was overly captivated by her strong personality. She was so caring, just like her son, but patience and subtlety weren't her strong suit.

"She would have been so... justifiably rude to all of them." Bucky dared to guess.

Sam chuckled, "Yeah."

"Would've ruined the mood for everybody." Bucky joined in the loud laughter.

The two were still smiling to themselves when Bucky's mom and Rebecca approached them, both holding cocktails in their hand.

"Whatcha talking about, lovebirds?" Rebecca teased them.

As much as she knew she couldn't raise the curtain to their farce, out of love for her brother, but also because engaging in a hassle like that one would take her out. That didn’t mean she couldn’t make this the most annoying family holiday Bucky had ever had.

"Mind your business." He replied dryly.

"James." The sibling’s mother reprimanded Bucky’s rudeness.”

"I was just messing around, ma’am." Sam jumped in his defense, effectively stopping the potential fight. "I'm not used to so much... elegance."

"You mean all these old and dull people in fancy clothes?" the woman suggested her own disappointment regarding her guests, and nodding happily when she noticed Sam’s surprised grin. "Trust me, lots of us have a hard time adjusting to them."

"Some of us think we shouldn't adjust, but the other way around." Rebecca reproached, which earned her a single head tilt from her less confrontational mother.

Wilson took the opportunity to be the lovable, polite boyfriend, "Are you having trouble with these men too, Ms. Barnes?" he asked with a gracious smile that accentuated his cheekbones.

"I wouldn't call it trouble." She, expectedly, diminished her statement to avoid being interpreted as discontent.

Rebecca gave up on the eye-rolling to start using an annoyed, distant glare. As much as she had always been closest to her mother than Bucky ever had been, their ways of dealing with their life and other people were very different, along with their worldviews.

"They're bigots, big surprise." The young woman used a rude sarcastic tone, yet got no reaction from her Winnifred, who was now decided in de-aggravating the topic of conversation.

"Our friends tend to be on the conservative side.” She said before waving her hand in her own defense, “Don't get me wrong, I'm no liberal."

Bucky snorted, "No one was thinking that, mom."

Sam merely pressed his lips together in order to stop a smirk from becoming too visible.

"But lots of them are very behind time.” Winnifred continued nonetheless, “Treating their wives like housemaids, interrupting me..."

The irony was so palpable, all three younger characters could barely conceal their own personalized expressions, which varied from shock to laughter, because Winnifred Barnes treated her housemaids like lesser humans and interrupted everyone. Sam gave Rebecca a look, which she replied with a nod that implied ‘I know’. She then drew a zip line across her mouth for him to drop it.

It had also been Winnifred herself who stood by George when Rebecca went to a Women's March with her friends and the married couple believed it to be 'too dangerous' because who knows what kind of people can be in a march! Giving credit where credit was due, however, Winnifred had her daughter's back when a family friend grabbed her butt in her sixteenth birthday, and Rebecca, being the strongly voiced person that she’s always been, let everyone know ‘what kind of perverts his father hung out with’.

"Yes, they’re keen on the rich male supremacy around here.” Rebecca sighed, unable to keep listening to her mom pretend to know what she was talking about, and willing to change the subject to go back to bullying her brother, “It's a bummer. So, guys..."

"Oh." Winnifred suddenly said, fixating her eyes on something in particular, past her company.

"What?"

The three followed Winnifred’s view and found a man most of them recognized perfectly. The dark hair gelled back, the expensive but tasteless clothes, and the way he stood his ground like he owned it. It was a look that had once enamored Bucky, but it seemed more like a horrible nightmare right now.

As soon as Sam noticed James’ breath hitch and his face freeze, Sam knew that it was Brock Rumlow. He had only seen the devil through social media pictures, and he wasn’t very recognizable from afar, but the reaction it brought Bucky was hard to miss.

Apparently, Rebecca was even more upset than Sam about the man’s presence.

"What the fuck is he doing here?" she let out with deep rage.

"Rebecca!" her mother prioritized the lady’s manners over the downright astonishing situation.

Rebecca ignored it, "Who invited him?" she whisper-shouted.

"I believe it was your uncle Teddy.” As soon as the woman realized everyone’s stare in reaction to her nonchalant way of speaking, she placed a hand on her son’s arm, “He didn't know, James. What was he supposed to do? Un-invite him?"

"I'm lost. Why is he here?" Sam cut in.

"Oh, don’t worry about him, Samuel!” She gave him a very inappropriate smile for the occasion, “He's a family friend. His father and George are business buddies."

Sam realized he had missed a big part of the information. He knew Bucky had met Rumlow through family contacts, and that they have known of each other’s existence for a couple of years before they actually got to know each other. What he had no idea of, was the close relationship between the Barnes and Rumlow fathers. Had he known, he would have expected the ex-boyfriend to show up, but judging by his fake boyfriend’s state, Bucky wasn’t expecting it either. Probably because he was underestimating Brock’s maliciousness and hoping he wouldn’t invade his space.

Sam spoke directly to Bucky, using a calming tone, "You wanna go somewhere else?" he offered an out.

Unfortunately, before Bucky could reply, Rumlow saw him and began walking directly to him.

Bucky took a sharp breath, "Too late now."

Nobody said a word until Brock joined them.

"Ma'am.” He politely nodded in Winnifred’s direction, then turned to his former partner with a false smile, “James. Care for a walk?"

Bucky knew he was speaking a lot more formally than usual, because Winnifred was there. Care for a walk was just a fancy way of spitting out ‘let’s talk’, and Bucky despised that offer with every fiber of his being, but he wasn’t able to respond. His tongue was tied. He clenched his jaw, feeling powerless, and was rescued by Sam, who extended his hand.

"Samuel Wilson.” He gave Brock a big, play-pretend grin, “And you are...?"

It wasn’t a surprise that Rumlow was being rude, as he had been ignoring Sam and Rebecca’s presence like they weren’t even there.

"Brock Rumlow." He shook the man’s hand.

When Sam dropped his hand away from Rumlow’s, he took Bucky’s in his, as a painfully obvious demonstration of their romantic involvement. Brock lowered his eyes towards the intertwined fingers and bit the inside of his cheek, before nodding with a partially amused expression on his face.

"I take it you're..." Brock tempted, earning an affirmative look from Sam, "And I take it you know who I am."

Wilson tilted his head, "You just told me, you're Brock."

"This doesn't have to be awkward.” The unwelcome man smiled, glancing at Winnifred to make sure she approved of his manners, but even she kept looking away, “We both know James and I-"

"Look, Brock.” Wilson cut him off, “Nobody here really cares. Do you care, love?" He asked Bucky.

Bucky couldn’t help but smirk at Sam’s successful act, "Irrelevant." He agreed.

"Unless... it matters to you, Brock.” Sam frowned sadly, putting up the most condescending act he had ever pulled, “In that case, I'm sorry if this is painful."

If looks could talk, Rumlow’s would have stated a very easy ‘fuck you’.

"We'll see ourselves out, actually. Nice to meet you." He said, then turned away.

Bucky gifted his ex a fake host smile, "Have a good one."

As soon as the couple went back inside the house, Bucky let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He murmured grateful words as the noise of the gathering outside became muffled, and Sam squeezed his hand, which he was still holding. As a matter of fact, they didn’t let go of each other for a while.

-

"I brought us some food." Sam announced when he reached the top of the stairs.

Bucky had hid himself in the small living room which welcomed guests to the second floor. He was sitting on the couch, watching crappy TV, avoiding the large amount of people talking downstairs.

"You sneaked lunch up here?" He asked with surprise.

"Yes, Bucky, I stole two plates of crab risotto and an apple sorbet.” Sam mocked his naivety with sarcasm, “I made sandwiches in the kitchen, you doofus."

Bucky usually felt less than Sam at many things. Sam was smarter, he was resilient, he was hardworking and he was happier than him, most of the times. Seeing Sam in his messed up world only fomented that, because Sam was a fish out the water among the Barnes and their guests, and still, he glowed brighter. He was better than anyone Bucky had grown up with, and certainly better than himself. That’s why Sam had probably asked the kitchen staff if he could bother them for a second while he made two sandwiches, and he probably talked to them the entire time, and he probably let them speak longer than he did because he didn’t want to seem rude.

Bucky just knew that’s what he had done, while, if he were by himself, he probably would have skipped lunch and snacked on leftovers later, when no one was looking.

"What did I do to deserve you?" he sighed, receiving the plate Sam had prepared him.

The appreciation made Sam feel fuzzy. As much as he loved helping Bucky because he was his best friend, he never wanted Bucky to depend on his help. And yet, this time, he liked the idea of being needed by him.

He shook off the idea and sat on the couch, "That's a good question."

"I think God sent you when he saw how shitty everyone else in my life is."

Wilson laughed, shifting closer to Bucky’s and taking a big bite of his sandwich.

"Becca ain't so bad.” He remarked with his mouth full, “She comes around eventually."

"Yeah, she does." James agreed, thinking of how protective the young woman had become as soon as she saw the man who hurt her brother.

"You ever get tired of getting all your parents' shit when you watch her get away with stuff?"

Bucky shrugged. "I'd do anything for her. And they already see me a certain way, might as well protect her from that."

Wilson smiled to him, a warm sensation taking over his chest, "You're really good to her."

As much as Barnes wanted to take the compliment, the exchange had become too intimate, and if there was one thing Bucky had been rejecting during the whole boyfriend act, was intimacy between them. He feared he might get confused.

"You trying to pamper me, Wilson?" he bumped Sam’s shoulder playfully.

The latter rolled his eyes, and they went back to the TV show on screen while they ate. A few minutes later, something was twirling around Sam’s head so heavily, that he had to speak out.

"Hey, uh... A bit of- a really foggy bit of what I said when I was blacked out might have come back to me." He told Bucky, avoiding eye-contact.

James knew exactly what that was. Sam had just seen Rumlow for the first time, which brought back a very specific part of the conversation they both had, but only Bucky remembered.

"You remembered shitting on Brock?" he raised an eyebrow, amused.

"I mean, I'm not sure, but I bet I didn't have anything nice to say about him."

"Nothing you hadn't said before." Bucky lied.

Sam most certainly had said some things about the ex-boyfriend that he had been keeping to himself, and only had the guts to let out while blackout drunk.

They sat back and switched the channels, finding a better movie to watch, ignoring the lunch party completely. Eventually, Bucky found himself laying on Sam's chest, sort of sided, but he was too comfortable to move away.

[afandomroom]

Separated

Note- Angst, also here's the prequel of this story

“WHERE IS SHE!?!” 

Daemon strained against his vengestone restraints, a harsh glare fixed on the ninja as he roared at them. There had been an attack on the village he and Safa were living in. It was a small, rural area, didn’t draw much attention, good for laying low. Of course, Safa thought it was because Daemon liked the “fresh country air”. With that small lie, they had actually managed to build a good life there. Without his reputation, Daemon had a decent, legal job. He could send Safa to school with the money he made, and his little sister had friends. They were happy, they were safe But then some mob had gotten gutsy, deciding they needed more territory.   Daemon hadn’t wasted anytime running home from his job, not bothering to explain to what was happening to Safa has he scooped her up and started running for the outskirts. All he had said was that she needed to stay quiet, and keep her head down. He could tell she was scared. He just wanted to get out of the village, so they could be safe again. Then he had spotted a couple, backed to a wall by a group of cackling gangsters. He tried to stay focused, to only care about Safa and himself.   But there was something about the fear in couple’s voices, that forced him to stop. Thinking quickly, Daemon had found a corner to tuck Safa away in, instructing the small girl to stay there and remain quiet, promising her that he would return. The ninja hadn’t seen him tear the goons away from the whimpering couple. They hadn’t seen him fight the goons off, defending the lovers. The only thing they had seen was a terrified couple, running out of the alley while screaming…and a roughed up Bizarro following soon after.   He didn’t want to fight the ninja; he had tried his best to dodge attacks, to convince them to focus on the gang members, the immediate threat. He barely had time to hope his little sister would stay hidden, when Kai landed a flaming hit. Adrenaline and rage flared, as the Bizarro landed his first punch. The ninja could’ve died, he realized, if it weren’t for a familiar, whimpering voice just beyond the fight. The sight of a wide eyed Safa had frozen Daemon, as he realized she’d seen him slip into his old ways. He could hardly breathe, as he stared at her shocked confused and even terrified expression. The prick in his neck barely registered, as Zane stuck a needle in. His focus was entirely on his young companion. He could barely hear her shouting his name, running to him as he slipped into unconsciousness. He watched through blurred eyes, as Kai scooped up the small girl, holding her back as she struggled and cried out for Daemon. Then everything had gone dark. Now here Daemon was, arms bound tightly behind him, captors glaring at him with suspicion as he struggled and seethed. He didn’t know where Safa was, they wouldn’t tell him where she was. He hated not knowing if she was ok, if she was being looked after. Kai leaned against a wall, arms crossed. He didn’t appear at all phased by the Bizarro’s rage. “Look man, we don’t know how that kid knows you. We don’t know why you gave her a fake name, or why someone like you was anywhere near her. But we do know this- “The fire ninja stepped forward, placing his hands on the table that separated him from the Bizarro, leaning in close, “You’re not going near her, ever again.” For a minute, Daemon didn’t move, didn’t say anything. He just locked eyes with the brunette as his words processed. Alright, at least he knew Safa was safe. He then proceeded to slam his head into Kai’s forehead, sending the red ninja stumbling backwards. Kai   gripped his head with a groan, swearing. Daemon’s scowl deepened through the ache in his own head. “Daemon is my name, ya idiot. Jus’ cause I look like your friend, don’t mean we share a na-“His head snapped to the side, as Nya punched him. Daemon wasn’t the only one in the room who didn’t want their family messed with. It’d been a while since a punch had hurt Daemon, courtesy of the vengestone. “DON’T TOUCH HIM!” Nya squirmed in Jay’s grip, as he held her back from throwing more punches at the bound Bizarro. “Nya…please calm down…” Jay mumbled, holding his girlfriend around her waist. Kai pushed Zane away after letting the nindroid check for a concussion, stepping back towards Daemon, though he seemed to be more cautious of the space between them this time. “If you honestly think we’re letting someone with a record of beating up people for kicks near that little girl, you’re dumber than we think, pal” Daemon almost spat out another retort, when it hit him. He fell slack in his chair, giving up on his struggle, staring at Kai without a trace of anger left. The ninja could only watch in cautious confusion at his sudden mood change.

Why had it taken him so long to understand? They thought they were protecting Safa, just like he tried to. They thought he was going to…hurt her. They thought he was a threat to her safety.  It made sense, like Kai had said; he had a history of beating people for entertainment. His mind drifted back to how scared Safa had been, seeing him rage against the ninja in that village. He thought back to when they first met, how scared she’d been of the large Bizarro.  He thought about how scared she would be if she had seen him head but Kai. He thought about the lies he had told her. Maybe they were right; maybe he was a danger to her. Daemon lowered his head, releasing a shaky sigh as everything set in. When he finally spoke again, he found that his strong voice had turned shaky.   “I...I would never...hurt Safa.” He looked at them, confusion doubling in their expressions, “I...I just want her safe…please…please jus’ let me see her…” He swallowed; confused at the statement that next left his mouth. “Then you can take me t’ Kryptarium. You’re right…I cause too much pain; I’ve caused too much pain. I-I’ll go willingly…Jus’ let me see her…let me say good bye…” He could feel an unusual fear bubbling up in his chest, as the ninja looked at each other, and left. They had no reason to agree to his demand, and every reason to drag him off to Kryptarium without giving a second glance. He was never going to see Safa again; his last memory of her would be her eyes staring in fear and her voice screaming his name. His little sister was going to be dragged off to some orphanage, pushed into some over filled home that couldn’t care less, without knowing what happened to her big brother. She’d think he’d abandoned her, left to save himself. But he would never do that. He would rather die than let her be alone, to feel abandoned again. He wished his hands weren’t bound, so he could wipe away the building tears. His throat felt tight. Why was this so terrifying, so heart breaking? It had nearly been an hour, when he heard the door open. He didn’t look up, assuming it was a ninja here to drag him off. He didn’t speak when the footsteps stopped beside him. His heart swelled with hope when he felt a small hand gently shake his shoulder. A sad smile appeared when he heard a soft, scared voice call his name. “D-Daemon?” He looked over at Safa, wishing he could hug her, and tell her it would be ok. The best he could do was lean over, letting the small girl wrap her arms around his neck. “H-hey kid…they treating you ok?” He couldn’t help the cracks in his voice. “Y-yeah” he could hear the sniffling, god he hated the circumstances. “The Earth Ninja was watching over me…he’s a lot like you Daemon” Daemon gave a light chuckle at this, “Not that surprised, we definitely got more than one thing in common” “Why...” Safa pulled away from Daemon, reaching out to his cuffs, “W-why did they do this? Y-you’re not a bad person…y-you haven’t done anything wrong!” He sighed, leaning back to look Safa in the eyes. He hoped she never learned what he really was, what he had done, what he had been designed to do. “Listen...kids...I…” His throat was getting tighter, as he bit back tears. This was hard, painful. “I…have...to go-“ “W-what?! No, why...I don’t want you to go, why do you have to go?!” The pain in her face was breaking his heart. He swallowed again, shaking his head. “I-I can’t explain kid…this...this is jus’ where we gotta split, I…it’s not my choice...but t’s gotta happen. But...th’ ninja will take care of ya, ‘t’s their job….” Safa hugged Daemon once more, tearing pouring as she buried her face into him. “I don’t want the stupid ninja, I want you! Y-you’re family…don’t leave me like my other family did, please!” Hot tears fell onto Safa’s dress, as her words finally broke what remained of Daemon’s dam. His voice got quiet and shaky, as he rested his head on Safa’s. The closest he could get to returning her hug. “The last thing I want to do is leave you kid. This….this is hurting me so much-“ “Then stay!” “I-I can’t kid…I…I can’t…I-I’m sorry” Before Safa could continue protesting, the door opened again, two people walking in. The siblings looked up, seeing Cole and Zane there, with Jay in the hall. Daemon frowned, but gave a nod of understanding, looking down at Safa. What remained of his heart shattered at how betrayed, lost, and broken she looked. Why was life so cruel to innocent people like her? “Listen, Safa...I need you to promise something, ok?” She didn’t respond, looking away. Daemon exhaled, closing his eyes. He couldn’t continue seeing her like this. “Keep smiling, ok? Stay brave…things will be ok, I promise, they will be…” Safa didn’t look back at him until Jay picked her up, starting to walk her out of the room. She fought against the brunette’s hold, reaching out for her brother, crying out. “Daemon! NO, DAEMON!!” Daemon forced himself to give a comforting smile, tears still pouring out. “Bye Kid” He focused his gaze on the remaining two ninja. “Let’s get this over with.”

[stayforya]

TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE | HAN JISUNG

member: han jisung

genre: to all the boys i’ve loved before!au

words: 1.5k

summary: your letters are your most secret possesions. you write them when you have a crush so intense you don’t know what else to do.

a/n: this is a series and you can find the others here. we wanted to do this for a looong time and it’s finally here :) hope you enjoy <3

you reached your phone as it started ringing loud beside your pillow

your blackout curtains leaving your room so dark that you couldn't believe it was already morning

again your phone started frantically ringing

it wasn't your alarm, and you just remembered you don't set it for weekends

with your vision yet blurry you could see your phone’s screen, which displayed "HAN JISUNG"

"hey, jisung, what's up?", you said with your dry throat almost not letting out a sound

"WHAT'S UP?! where the hell are you?? don't tell me you were sleeping, y/n! IT'S 9AM!!"

oh. my. God. you totally forgot you promised to your best friend you were going to help him babysitting his little cousin

and it was already 9am, the time you planned with him

so you jumped out of bed and took a quick shower

you had no time for looking good, but you tried at least to put nice clothes on

and jisung wouldn't care for what you're wearing, but still you unconsciously picked your best t-shirt and pants

rushed to his house on a taxi and you made it almost at the hour you two planned

jisung was sitting on the driveway in front of his house

you loved that neighbourhood, and you missed living there

jisung used to play with you on a playground in front of your houses when you were kids

the playground was still there, but it got rotten, luckily you kept your friendship with him till now even moving to another neighbourhood

there was your best friend looking intimidating to you when you arrived

he was looking so cute, what you really didn't want to admit but he was and you could not lie to your mind

"y/n, you forgot this? my auntie is probably mad at me right know"

he grabbed your hand making way to his house

"sorry, jisung, I forgot to set my alarm. you know I'm never out on weekends, so I-"

"it's ok, we're actually in time. my auntie just left and my cousin is sleeping now"

both of you got inside his house, and you realized he was still holding your hand

he seemed not to care since you were like siblings and did all that pda stuff

jisung was the person you knew the most and the longest in your life besides your family

a sudden nervousness came to you, as you watched him holding your hand even when you came inside

"you had breakfast?? you know you're at home, if you feel hungry"

"oh, yeah, breakfast, I just ate a bread on my way"

"so, you want a sandwich? you really like the ones I do", you had never felt this way over jisung

he was literally offering to do something he always done, but why did it make you flutter?

maybe you never stopped to see how handsome he became

of course since he started to grow taller than you and going through all these puberty stuff he caught your attention

but as a friend, not as a guy that could make you nervous

you watched him cutely make sandwich for you, and you really liked them

jisung was usually a lazy person, he just liked to lay down on his bed and not move at all

so you loved when he started doing something for you

also jisung is so clingy to you

since he's not too much into meeting new people, he always invited you to his house

your circle of friends was the same with the same people for years

but you are the first one he's always looking for

and you loved that privilege

but it's been a while since he got you when you weren’t expecting

the sudden hugs he always gave you had a different effect on you

you always enjoyed them, but sometimes you were afraid to make it awkward

probably he didn't realize once he was always talking about girls with you

and you also move on with these feelings

years ago when you both were just teenagers he did the same to you

maybe it was even harder cuz you were filled with all the emotional teenager stuff

but with time your mind started with the "you really thought about this option? oh hell no"

so having something with him was a plan so far from you that thinking about it would make you feel nauseous

but you both grew up, and you could appreciate him even just being his best friend

still, watching him smile just making a stupid sandwich for you was a "two butterflies trying to make a wind" on your stomach

"oh God, jisung, this sandwich was amazing. you really are good on this, you could sell it and save some money"

"thanks! I never do it to anyone, even my mother, she will never have the luck to eat these. they are a special bonus for you"

"oh damn it, can you not, han jisung", you thought

he always said cheesy stuff that you actually loved and laughed at, but at least for today they could bang you down

"now my energy for today is all gone. when the baby wake up you take care of her, she's actually a little baby monster"

jisung laid his head on your shoulder for some seconds

not a necessary information, but his hair had such a good smell

he got up and messed with your hair while giving you the softest smile ever

"what was this for?", you asked trying to mess with him pushing his head

actually you just tried to avoid some awkward reaction from you

"what?! you're my best friend, you always give me the energy I need to keep going with my lazy life"

"exactly, your lazy life, cuz you just told me to take care of your baby cousin by my own"

"it would be so boring if I stayed alone here, so that's why I called you. she doesn’t really wake up, she's always sleeping. maybe she'll just be awake when my auntie come to pick her"

in fact he always called you when he was bored

you also loved to be with him, even when you were just lying on his sofa doing absolutely nothing

he stared at you while you finished your drink

that feeling rising again on you, making you avoid his gaze

"I just saw your shirt, it's so cool"

slightly choking on the juice you tried to recompose yourself

you felt so stupid to really think he would notice your damn shirt, what's wrong with you

but he did and you weren't expecting

"don't give me hope on this, I'm trying to move on", this phrase stuck on your mind

"are you ok?", he asked since you acted awkward

"I-I am, it's just funny cuz it's an old t-shirt, I just chose anything to wear today”

"y/n! I gave you this shirt on your birthday! we were shopping and I bought for me, but you made a fuss since you wanted it, so I gave you"

oh, Jesus

now there was a reason why you unconsciously chose that damn t-shirt

"right...my best friend gave me and... I did it on purpose! checking your friendship skills to see if you really pay attention"

stupidly trying to change this situation

"you're so dumb" he laughed at you again, messing your hair up

you hated when he did that, so for a second he couldn't make you flutter or get nervous

"so what? watch a movie or just scroll down on our phones looking for a boyfriend to this beautiful lady", jisung squeezed your cheeks till it hurt, and that was another thing you hated the most when he did

but it was good

as if your life told you to open your eyes and just stuck in a friendship with him

you wouldn't be able to realize how annoying he could be to you in a relationship, but even if your feelings tricked you these days, he is your best friend and your number one supporter

so just let it be beautiful as it is as best friends

han jisung,

you can't even imagine how hard these days were for me since I was stuck on some awkward feeling towards you. I never even imagined thinking about it when it comes to you. you're the cutest guy I ever met and the one that makes me laugh the most. you're my best friend and the type of relationship we have is so precious for me, you have no idea. but I really got lost on my feelings, and I tried hard to hide them in front of you, but you just keep being so sweet that I got tricked by my heart, and I was really without room to get out of them for a while. but spending time with you made me think again, and even if I think you can be the most caring boyfriend in the world, I can't imagine you not being my best friend. so I decided to move on and leave these thoughts behind. I guess it kinda made me take a step ahead on my life decisions, and I'm so happy that you actually took part on this. thanks for everything, thanks for making a good memory that I can laugh about later. thank you for everything.

love,

y/n

[dr-passionate-production]

There was something special about looking over the balcony at night. The business of the main road had long died out, leaving just the occasional zoom of a passing car. The sun's blinding light would be hidden away for hours to come. The songs of nocturnal insects filling the ears of those around. There was something.. Special about it all, something serene.

The cat, laying idly at Kei's feet, had found solace in her silence as she did in his. His soft purring vibrating the tips of her toes. The two siblings weren't fond of TV, especially this late at night. So the usual ruckus of the day was no longer present, allowing the ragdoll to sleep soundly if he so choose.

The freedom to choose.. What a liberty, right? To allow oneself decide their own fate, both good and bad. It could be a simple decision, like what color socks you wanted to wear that day or did you want to call your mother or your father, knowing both would be on the end of either of your choices. But, as we intricate creatures continue to walk the long road we call life, we are expected, and sometimes forced, to make some harsh decisions. Ones that are sure to affect you in the long run, if not your entire life. And as Ms. Kei Sato stood there, eyes gazing away into the nightly abyss, she wondered if she chose right. Out of the handful of choices she was given, did she choose the best one for everyone?

Sighing, she looked down, a hand rubbing at her temple in attempts of easing the oncoming headache that was sure to ruin her night and morning. Curses were uttered, and her eyes glanced around dully at the surroundings beneath her. The cat.. Her toes.. The sleeved shirt she wore. When finally, her eyes landed on the glistening ring that hung from her neck.

...

...

...

"... Is the-there something wrong with it?" Hisai asked, taken aback by the way she stared at the gift. It was a golden ring, striped down the center by a lighter shade of gold. The name 'Jeong-joo' was inscribed on the inside, meaning that, yet again, it was a piece of fan merch from the TV show he loved so much. Taehyun, a starry-eyed coworker of Jeong-joo's, had given it to her as one of his many attempts to win her affection. It was an awkward gesture for the both of them, realizing how idiotic it was to give a girl a gift that expensive. It was one of the defining moments of their platonic relationship, one that especially stuck out to the tactician, seeing that he related so heavily to him.

"N-no... I-"

It was too late to reassure. He turned the box to him, worry in his eyes as he buried his face into the case, examining every last detail of the ring. And while it looked stupid in every definition of the word, it did manage to achieve his true goal: to elicit a smile from his troubled girlfriend. He noticed something was off from the get-go. Her usual smile was faded and it looked like his ramblings went through one ear and out the other. She was thinking about something important, he guessed, and while he didn't want to bother her with questions, he was supposed to be there whenever she was upset, like now.

"I- um.. I noticed you're kind of.. Out of it..? I-I guess I-..." He mentally cursed at how his stuttering voice betrayed him. "Are you okay?"

"Hisai.. What do you like about me?"

What did he like about her? What kind of question was that? There was plenty to like about her! Both as a friend and as- .. You know.. A girlfriend..! Where is this all coming from, he wondered. The bothered look on her face was one he hadn't seen before. She was serious about it, so he should as well.

"W-Well..." He stammered, a flower of red starting to blossom on his cheeks. "You're really pretty.. A-and nice... You actually listen to me instead of- you know. Ignoring me like everyone else... And I really like that- um.. That you also give everyone a chance.. Instead of shunning people away because of dumb rumors, you try to befriend them.. And stuff.." The more he spoke, the more confident he sounded in his words. Hisai wasn't good at complimenting someone like this, not like he had experience in it anyway. His mind nearly went blank at the question! Thankfully, though, he managed to pull together a nice coherent answer.

"What if.." Blink and he'd miss the flicker of sadness in her eyes. Her arms folded, as she tried to find a way to voice her insecurities without actually saying them. "What if I was different?"

"Different? Like you had a secret identity?"

"Yes and-... Yes and no.. I'm still myself." She bit her lip, teeth grinding so hard on the delicate piece of flesh that she was on the brink of tearing through. She wanted to say it. She wanted to just pull at her hair and tell him all the things that tore her apart at night. But she couldn't, the fear of rejection and sullying every last moment she had with him and their friends looming over her.

"But a different kind of 'me'.."

"I-I'm confused.. But-! But!.. I.. I'll give 'that kind of you' a chance.. Like you did to me.. Because, in the end, you're still Isa. .. Right?"

His answer was far from understandable. And he couldn't tell if what he said did anything to improve her mood or ease her stress. But the smile he gave her read as if he solved all of her problems. Like he was going to be the sunshine on her rainy day.

Isabella fought back the tears pricking her reddening eyes. He was far too sweet for his or her own good. Just gives her another reason to cherish him more. She pulled him in close, an arm around his shoulders and another to hug his head against her chest, her fingers running through his blonde hair. Isabella was sure he could feel her heart beat against his temple, but she couldn't care any less. Let him hear it.

"Thank you, Sai." She managed to whisper without choking on her tears. They'd have to work on this giving nature of his. She could easily buy him back just as many gifts but it felt as if he was trying to buy her affection. But really-

"And don't worry... I love the ring."

He didn't have to.

...

...

Hisai.. The sky was empty that night, not a single star was to be seen from the comforts of the balcony. No one was there to listen to her pleads, not even the spirits above. Can I still be given another chance..?

She had completely separated herself from the one who once was. From head to toe, from the mannerisms to the deepening of her voice, she was Kei Sato, amateur gardener, Armani family caretaker. She enjoyed long walks along the dock and the smell of a Monday brew. She watched La Ruota Della Fortuna with her mother and played cards with the pretentious prick she called a father. She made herself at home in a future she was satisfied with living. But..

"Are you sure about this one, Kid? You know you can't go back after this?"

"Kei! ... You're in our group chat now. So text us when you can, okay?..."

"...You know we would have been there for you if you told us! I could have sworn you were the one that said that we should protect each other..!"

"Addie.. What do I do..?"

"Talking to the cat is a new low, don't you think?"

Of course, she tsked. The sly bastard had snuck up on her while she was deep in thought, only to flash a chesire grin when he caught her thinking out loud.

"You look terrible."

"You are terrible.." She didn't have the energy to make a witty comeback. Seeing him next to her sapped any and all tolerance within seconds. Einosuke shifted his position, joining her to face the small area around them, his head tilted up towards the stars.

"How does it feel? The creeping sense of doubt and regret."

Her words left her the moment she tried to open her mouth. She tried to scowl but her face kept twisting back to her usual bitter look. The corners of her lips twitched and her hands reached up to wipe away bubbling tears. But the more she swiped at, the more tears that fell to the point where she had given up on delaying the inevitable. The last straw was the hand placed on her back, rubbing awkward circles as a means to comfort her.

"Miss Kei!" Kei turned to the painfully cheerful voice, her hands gripping tightly onto the suitcase she dragged behind her. The airport was packed with people yet the occultist had managed to pick her out from the crowd. The moment the clack of her shoes ceased, Chiyo held up a hand, her chest heaving as she took a moment to catch her breath. How did she fucking run in heels?

"He- Here, my dear!" Chiyo held up her phone, decorated with all types of gothic imagery and a photo of her and her beloved mothers. She displayed the chatting app she and her classmates used. With a few taps, Kei's number was slotted amongst the already long list of members in the group.

"You're in our group chat now. So text us when you can, okay?"

"Thanks.. Um.. Kageyama-san but-"

"Please." The occult took Kei's free hand into hers, the serious look in her eyes stopping her in her tracks. "Your aura.. You are harboring a lot of bottled up emotions that I'm sure you don't want to say."

She squeezed the ravenette's hand. "If you ever need someone to talk to, dearest. You know you can absolutely talk to us! If not them, then definitely me. Because I know how it feels.."

Kei was.. Stunned. What did she-. She couldn't have possibly known that-. The lump in her throat was unrelenting and so was the grip Chiyo was on her.

"I... I'm gonna miss my flight.." Kei slipped from her grasp, backing away as she shook off the thought. Chiyo was always the weird one, she reminded herself.

"Bye.." She muttered, rushing off to, hopefully, disappear into the crowd.

"Remember to text us!!" The occultist yelled, not at all bothered by the bitter looks she was receiving. She waved both of her hands with a smile, sending her off with her final goodbyes. "We're here for you, darling! Because that's what friends are for!"

"I hate it.."

[Event: Ms. Sato (End)]

[ravenloveless13]

Pack Ties (Pack Ties Series)

"Pack Ties?" Remus asked, putting the kettle in his hand to turn and look at Lily.

“Yes, apparently it is a magical contract” Lily replied back as she carefully reads the large book that rested on the kitchen table while with her other hand, she was thoughtfully stroking her swollen belly “a werewolf creates this magical bond with the members of their family, that way when the full moon comes and he loses control, they would be the only ones he could not hurt”

Remus took the two cups of tea; Lily's, with milk and sugar, and his only with sugar. He brought them to the table to sit across from his friend. That was his day to "take care" of Lily because since she had become pregnant, James had become paranoid about her safety and although all the marauders knew that the redhead was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, no one in their right mind would attempt Lily's wrath in this state. They had agreed that for Jame’s and their peace of mind (because James could become a real pain in the ass when he gets worried about Lily and the baby safety) one of the marauders would stay with his wife if he had to go out on an Order mission. On that day it was Remus's turn and although he loved spending time with his friend, he was a bit nervous about it since the night of the full moon is near.

"I've never heard of that," he said once he took a seat across from Lily and handed her her cup of tea.

“Well ... apparently it is an extremely ancient ritual, but it is not entirely proven. This contract does not guarantee that the werewolf will preserve their human mind during the transformation as the Wolfsbane potion does, but it does guarantee that the wolf does not attack their family. It says that the contract links the magic of the wolf and the other person, making it feel like they're part of their pack.

"Hmmm makes sense..." Remus muttered as he leaned back into the chair and stared at his reflection in the cup of tea in front of him.

During several of his missions from the Order, Remus had encountered several wizards with the same curse as him and had observed that no matter what, they never hurt each other on the full moon.

"We should try," Lily said smiling as she closed the book.

“Hey?”

“We should try it, maybe that will help you not to have so much pressure during a full moon. We could all join you, that way you could finally spend the nights here with us instead of in the woods”

“Lily I don't think that's a good idea, it's too dangerous”

“So are all those missions that Dumbledore makes you do and you do not protest about it.” “Those are different…”

“How is that different ...? Remy, whether you like it or not, you are part of this family, we’re your pack. James, Sirius, Peter, and I care a lot about you, especially when you have to spend the full moon all alone. And now with this war that breathes us, the ingredients for your potion will become scarce and those idiots will find it difficult to accompany you. Also when Harry is born I will not allow you to get away from us. Let us try this, please. Look, the ceremony must be done under the new moon which will be super safe. James and the others can get the ingredients that we need and I'll make the potion, so you don't have to worry about a thing…Hmmm, I wonder if by drinking it now Harry will be bonded or if we will have to do it all over again when he's older? Well, it doesn't matter.”

Remus let his friend keep talking to herself while she planned and organized everything. He just couldn't say no to her and understood that Lily wanted to help him. After all, ever since she joined them and discovered that the boys had turned into Animagi to help him, she had not only kept the secret but was responsible for making and giving him his Wolfsbane potion whenever she could. Remus's mind wandered off a bit at the thought of not being dangerous to his friends. He didn't want to get his hopes up, but he couldn't deny the fact that if the potion could work, then it would take a huge weight off his shoulders. Knowing that no matter what, he wouldn't hurt James, Sirius, Peter, Lily, and soon Harry, allowing him to breathe calmly.

"So Remy, what do you say… shall we give it a try?" Lily smiled excitedly with bright eyes. It had been so long since Remus had seen her so excited about something that he just chuckled before sighing.

“Even if I tell you no because it is dangerous and maybe it won't work, I know you will ignore me and move on or worse, you will make our idiots bother me until I give in, so why deny me if in the long run you always get away with what you want?” Remus smiled and Lily approached him to hug him or so she tried because she ended up smashing her belly in his face where Remus felt the baby kick him.

"Wooo I think even Harry agrees," she agreed.

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Summer 1985

Uncle Vernon's car pulled up outside the forest that looked dark and scary. The huge man got out of his car still mumbling under his mustache and yanked the back door open before pulling the little boy out of the car.

Harry let himself be dragged by the arm, too scared to say anything. He knew he had done something wrong, although he still did not understand what it had been. All he had done was ate a cookie that had flown into his hand when Aunt Petunia's friends were in the living room drinking tea. Harry had quickly learned that he could have a few extra snacks if he waited for Aunt Petunia's friends to come over for their weekly tea party because being surrounded by other people, his Aunt Petunia couldn't yell at him and wouldn't tell Uncle Vernon because she didn’t want to have to suspense her tea parties. Harry was quite small for his age, but his teacher always said that what Harry lacked in height, he made up for in cunning. And although Harry did not understand the meaning of that word, in his head that must be a good thing because his teacher always said it with a cute smile in her face instead of the typical grimace of disgust that his uncle made him every time they called him an ungrateful freak, two other words that Harry still didn't understand but made him feel bad inside.

Uncle Vernon released Harry causing the little boy to stagger a bit since they were already deep in the forest and if it weren't for the full moon, everything would be pitch black.

"Where are we, Uncle Vernon?" Harry asked, rubbing his arm where his uncle had gripped him so tightly.

"Don't ask questions boy!" The man yelled which caused Harry to turn away in fear, he didn't like it when his uncle yelled at him, that only meant that he was going to get hit or have a long time out in his cupboard, and Harry didn't like either one or the other.

“You are going to stay here freak so that you learn that you should be grateful for the ceiling over your head and keep all your freakiness under control!!”

“bu..but ... it's scary here” Harry is scared but not as scared when he sees his uncle's face turn red in the moonlight.

“But? Did you say but?!” Vernon growled before raising his hand to slap the little boy so hard that made his glasses fall off. “UNGRATEFUL FREAK!!! EVERYTHING WE'VE DONE FOR YOU AND THAT'S HOW YOU ANSWER ME!!! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOUR FREAK FACE AGAIN!!” He yelled before turning and leaving Harry there alone sobbing as he tries to find his glasses.

When Harry put his glasses back on, he realized that he really had been left alone in the terrifying forest. Still sobbing from the blow, Harry winced when he heard a howl in the distance. He remembered that once his teacher had read them a book about animals like wolves, foxes, and owls that usually lived in the woods. Harry's favorite had undoubtedly been the wolf, but the teacher had assured them that these were the most dangerous out there and that they should never approach one or it could eat them.

Trying to ignore the pain from his face due to the slap and his little arm, Harry wiped his nose on his shirt and started walking, unsure of where to go. Maybe if he was lucky, he would find a candy cottage like the one in the story they had started reading at school. They had not finished the story yet because the teacher stopped when Aunt Petunia completed that the teacher was fully their minds with nonsense. Harry remember that his teacher stop the story when the kind old woman let the siblings stay to eat and sleep at her house. Hopefully, Harry might be as lucky as them.

The little boy walked for a long time until he felt Dudley's old shoes hurt him, so he opted to curl up next to a tree to get some rest. He felt really tired because, after the cookie incident, Aunt Petunia made her friends leave and forced Harry to clean up the backyard, which was not strange, however, what was strange for him was that his uncle came later with his face exceptionally red and forced him to get into the car. Harry didn't like the car very much because he would always feel sick or slide down from the seat when his uncle made a hard turn, which he had done all that afternoon by not knowing where to go. When night fell, the journey slowed down, Harry thought they were heading home. The truth was he didn't understand why his uncle had taken him on such a strange ride when it was clearly noticeable, from the rudeness that he kept mumbling, that he was very angry with Harry. But now lost in that dark forest, Harry understood that this had not been a fun ride because he doubted his uncle would come back for him.

The howls were heard again closer now and Harry snuggled up in fear. A wolf was nearby and he sounded angry, very angry. Suddenly, in the moonlight, a huge wolf appeared in front of Harry. It had a stunning brown fur that Harry would have liked to be able to pet if it hadn't been showing its teeth as it growled.

Harry froze and for some strange reason in his mind, he was grateful that he didn't feel like going to pee as he wouldn't have liked being eaten by a wolf with his pants wet. The wolf's footsteps were silent as he approached Harry, still growling as his nose moved frantically in his direction. Harry noticed that the wolf's eyes were a beautiful amber color that did not leave his face. When Harry felt the hot breath of the wolf breathe on him, the little boy closed his eyes and tried not to cry in fear but the tears were already running down his face.

Suddenly and without any explanation, a large and wet tongue licked Harry's face, causing the little boy to giggle when the wolf licked him again, this time down to the base of his hair which remained half stopped by saliva.

"No Mr. Wolf, don't do that," Harry laughed as the wolf continued to lick his face, however when it licked his cheek where his uncle had hit him, Harry let out a groan of pain.

The Wolf pulled away and growled as Harry was startled again for a moment as he thought he had made him angry. The Wolf began to walk in circles, growling even louder before letting out a furious howl. The boy did not move but something inside him told him that although the Wolf seemed angry, he was not angry with him.

After a while of walking in circles, the Wolf approached Harry again, staring at him. The emerald green eyes were lost for a moment in the amber gaze until a growl came out of the boy's stomach which made him look away in embarrassment. With all the fright of being lost in the woods, Harry had completely forgotten how hungry he was, after all the last thing he had eaten had been a cookie.

The Wolf who had sat across from Harry stared at him until he seemed to make up his mind. Then, with great care, the Wolf moved closer to Harry and crouched low enough for the little one to climb onto his back.

"Can I ... can I get on?" Harry asked not quite sure why he thought he understood what Mr. Wolf wanted to say to him.

With a single nod from the Wolf, Harry scrambled up onto the animal's back. Once Harry managed to get comfortable and grab onto his fur, which was actually quite soft, the Wolf got up and started trotting through the forest, not going too fast so he would not scare or make the boy fall.

As the wind was blowing Harry's hair, he wondered for a moment if he was not dreaming because riding such a huge wolf was the kind of dreams that his aunt could considered like stupid nonsense.

After a while, the Wolf led Harry to a small log cottage in the middle of the forest. Harry was a bit disappointed to see that the cottage wasn't made of sweets, but he had to admit it looked like a nice place to live. The Wolf crouched down and let Harry get out.

"Do you live here, Mr. Wolf?" Harry asked and the wolf nodded before getting up on its hind legs to open the door. It seemed unreal to Harry that a wolf could be nearly as tall as his Uncle Vernon. When the door finally opened, the Wolf nudged Harry inside.

Again Harry was a little disappointed that inside the cottage there were no chocolate tables or candy chairs as in the story, however, the boy had to admit that the place was quaint.

The cottage had a single large room where the kitchen was, a table with two chairs and a sofa in front of a fireplace that was lit. Harry also saw some stairs that probably led to a second floor and a basement, but what really caught the boy's attention was a photograph he saw on a pile of books next to the sofa.

The photo was moving! Harry saw in this a very pretty woman with long reddish hair who laughed out loud with her eyes closed as a deer went in and out of the photo making very ridiculous jumps.

‘That is indeed a silly image’ Harry thought, but for some reason, it also made him very happy. Harry didn't realize how long he'd stood there staring at that beautiful photo until he felt Mr. Wolf sting his back with his snout. Turning around, the boy found that the Wolf had brought him apples.

"Are they ... for me?" Harry asked, unable to contain the emotion in his voice and the Wolf nodded. Harry held up the two apples and not caring that they weren't candies like the ones the siblings in the story ate in the cottage, Harry devoured them. Rarely on Privet Drive aunt Petunia would bring apples or any kind of fresh fruit since Dudley hated them, however, once she "forgot" to send Harry his lunch, the teacher had given him an apple and for Harry, it had tasted delicious. The Wolf simply stared at the boy eating the fruit with such emotion and wondered when was the last time the little boy had eaten since he hadn't weighed anything when he had carried it.

When Harry finished his fruit, he spotted a trash can and tossed the apple cores there before yawning. Already calmer and enveloped by the warmth of the fireplace in the cottage, Harry started to feel sleepy. The wolf approached and without waiting for Harry to say something, he carefully lifted him from that big shirt that the boy was wearing and carried him to the sofa, where he sat him before jumping on it and putting his head between his legs.

Harry yawned again and rubbed his eye under his glasses, careful not to bruise his sore cheek. The wolf did not stop looking at him at any moment and when Harry turned to see him, he licked his injured cheek very, very carefully. That had felt different from how Mr. Wolf had licked it in the forest, for some reason Harry felt in his heart that the Wolf seemed to want to push away the pain he felt on his cheek and that only made the boy feel safe with the animal.

“Mr. Wolf ... do you think ... I can stay here with you?” Harry asked when the Wolf stopped licking his face. His cheek didn't hurt so much anymore.

The wolf's amber eyes returned to Harry's and Harry thought that if he didn't say something quickly, the Wolf might say no.

“I promise I will be good, and and and ... and I also can clean the floor and wash the dishes. I even know how to cook eggs and bacon” Harry said quickly with his hands a little shaky. He wasn't lying, he knew how to do that and more because they were the typical chores that Aunt Petunia made him do almost every day, but he still had problems cooking the bacon because it still burned a little because he was afraid of the oil since it had been burned the first time, but he couldn't let Mr. Wolf know that or he wouldn't let him stay.

The Wolf averted his eyes from Harry thoughtfully and suffocating anguish flooded the boy's chest. What if Mr. Wolf says no? where would he go? Uncle Vernon had told him that he never wanted to see his freaky face again which meant he couldn't go back to them. What would he do now that he was homeless?

A soft sob rose from Harry's chest as he hid his little face between his knees. Since he was little the Dursleys had taught him with a strong hand that he must not cry, so Harry always waits for the darkness of his cupboard to let his tears come out if he had had a bad day, and that had definitely been a bad day, at least until Mr. Wolf had arrived. Now with a full stomach and in a warm place, Harry allowed himself to cry because now he was truly alone and forever because no one wanted him.

The Wolf got off the couch and walked over to Harry to look at him as the little boy tried to hold back his tears.

"I ... don't have a home, Mr. Wolf ... please ... please ... let me stay" Harry sobbed.

It was moments like those when Harry felt the loneliest. Where he was aware that there was no one in the world who cared about him. No one would give him a cookie once in a while or worry if he would get hurt or wasn’t home or stay with him at night until he went to sleep.

No one...

Because the only people who could have done that for him were his parents, who had died in a car crash and Harry would never see them again. The Wolf moved closer to the boy and let out a groan of sadness. To Harry, it was as if the Wolf was trying to comfort him or was sad for him, which made him calm down a bit. Perhaps no adult cared for Harry but Mr. Wolf seems to and that was enough to make the boy smile again.

Harry hugged Wolf's head for a while before the Wolf leaped back onto the couch and pulled Harry by his shirt to lie on top of him.

"I promise you will not regret it, Mr. Wolf, I will always be very good and obedient ... so please, let me stay," Harry muttered, hiding his half-asleep face between the brown fur of the Wolf that smelled of chocolate.

♡/~/~/~/~/♡~/~/~/~/~/~/~♡/~/~/~/~/♡

Harry shifted a bit on the couch as the delicious smell of bacon hit his nostrils. Sitting a little sleepy, Harry noted to his delight that he was still in Mr. Wolf's cottage, however, when he looked around, Mr. Wolf was nowhere to be seen.

No, the only thing Harry saw, other than the incredible amount of books and photos that were moving around, was a young brown-haired man in the kitchen with his back to him who was whistling to himself. Harry crouched nervously on the couch. ‘Where was Mr. Wolf? Was that man the owner of the cottage? What if that man made him leave? What if he got mad at him? What if he hurt him more than Uncle Vernon did?’ Harry thought to himself.

The man turned away from the stove and turned, making his eyes fall on Harry, but instead of looking angry, Harry sees happiness in them.

"Good morning Harry," he said approaching Harry, allowing him to notice the different scars that adorned the arms and neck of that man.

"How ... how do you know my name?" Harry asked, forgetting the rule of not asking questions that his uncles had imposed onto him.

The man calmly approached and knelt down in front of Harry who was still curled up on the couch. The man's amber eyes reminded him of Mr. Wolf's eyes.

"I've known you for a long time, Harry, even before you were born," he said calmly looking at the boy with a fondness that Harry had only seen in his Aunt Petunia's eyes when he looked at Dudley.

"Really?" Harry felt something strange inside him that made him trust every word that man said.

“Yes, your parents and I were good friends, practically family.” he said as he raised his hand carefully so as not to scare Harry and stroking his hair.

“Family ... like a pack? That's the family of wolves, isn't it?” Harry asked excitedly to remember something they had taught him at school.

The man looked at him with an expression of surprise and amazement before letting out a very pleasant laugh that caused Harry to giggle. He definitely liked that man, he wasn't scary.

“You are absolutely right cub, like a pack,” said the man taking Harry in his arms, and although Harry had learned to stay away from any type of contact that adults wanted to give him because usually they always wanted to harm him.

But something in that man's eyes told Harry that nothing and no one would ever hurt him if he stayed with him, so the boy concluded that it was okay for him to put his little arms around that adult's neck as well as had done the night before while he slept on Mr. Wolf.

"What's your name, sir?" Harry asked as the man sat him on one of the dining room chairs to put in front of him a plate of eggs with bacon and orange juice.

“Remus Lupin, cub. But you can call me Moony”