#because I was bored as a very small child and thank god for that

[cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut]

How do people write big stories? I am awestruck and filled with gratitude that people can do this, and I will continue to devour them and throw so much love at the authors, but…how is it done?

[fatuismooches]

OH NY GOD THE CHILDHOOD CRUSH CONCEPT BUT WITH DOTTORE 😭😭IF THAT'S OKAY?? reader is the only one who was interested in his endeavors and helped, so probably they're just as bad as him so they're partners in crime 👉👈 he's gotta have done experiments on then but they were never painful, only for them fr

♡ 𝐃𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐂𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡 ♡

synopsis: When you were a child, there was a peculiar boy who seemed to never have any friends, alienated away from the others. Perhaps you could be his first one.

includes: dottore w/ gn! reader

notes: Yes yes yes, I love this! This is so very cute, thank you and I hope you enjoy this! The use of Dottore's real name, Zandik, is used mostly in this because, well... that's what he was called as a child. (And to be honest, if you're dating any of the Harbingers you have to be somewhat... you know. And I think pre-Fatui Dottore would be different when it comes to affection and such... so yea. Subby Dottore I guess?)

Childhood was something you cherished growing up in Sumeru. The pursuit of knowledge, the Akademiya, being a scholar, was something that was drilled into the heads of the young ones even from an early age. But when you were a child, you had the freedom to actually live, the ability to dream, to have fun, to run around and play freely without having to worry about all that boring stuff. So needless to say, you made sure to spend every second of your childhood the way you wanted as much as you could. You were going to have as much fun as possible! Perhaps that was why the rumors about the teal-haired boy did not make you waver in your pursuit to befriend him too much.

Despite the child being your neighbor, you didn’t really know much about Zandik, but what you did know was that Zandik’s mother was a kind woman. She always waved hi to you when you saw her and made small talk with you. Besides that, you never really thought about it further until your friends brought it up one day.

“That lady really seems to really like you, [Name].”

“Hmm? Oh yeah, she’s always nice to me. She even makes me Pita Pockets sometimes!”

“Her child is too creepy though,” your friend complained. You were taken aback by their statement.

“What do you mean?” you questioned.

“Zandik’s always just been weird. That’s why no one ever plays with him. I heard that he always wants to do these weird… um, experiments I think. There are other rumors too, but I just know the way he acts is just bizarre.”

“I feel bad for her,” another one of your friends chipped in. “It must be hard to deal with such a freak. Aren’t you his neighbor, anyway? Don’t you know this?”

You just frowned and shrugged your shoulders. You didn’t really like the way they spoke about Zandik. Surely he couldn’t be as bad as they made him out to be. Maybe he was just an introvert?

Then again, you barely ever saw Zandik before. He never played with anyone, never spoke to anyone, hell, you didn’t even know if he left his house. The most often you saw him was when you happened to be walking by and caught a glimpse of him through the windows. He always quickly moved away when he was spotted though.

“Well, it doesn’t matter. Just try to stay away from him, [Name].” You nodded your head, but your mind was already made up. You were determined to find out how bad Zandik actually was.

—

You did say you were going to befriend him, but you soon realized you were not sure how to go about it. You had never met someone like him before, so your choices were limited. The easiest thing you could think of was waiting near his room’s window. It was a bit embarrassing hiding behind a tree, seemingly waiting for nothing, but soon enough you saw him take a seat near the glass. You weren’t sure what he was doing, but he looked very focused on it, and you were a bit mesmerized for a second, as this was your first real look at him. But you soon snapped out of your daze and came out from behind the tree.

“Heyyyy!” You yelled, jumping up and down, attracting his attention. Zandik’s shoulders jumped for a second at the noise, and when he looked up, he was greeted by your figure on the ground. Your expression brightened when you noticed he saw you and began to wave your hands, mouthing something he couldn’t hear clearly.

Zandik was stunned. If he recalled correctly, you were the person who lived next door. He saw you occasionally but of course, did not care much about you. So why were you here? Were you standing there the whole time? What did you want? His active mind produced many questions, but in the end, he knew what you were. Your intentions could not be different from the other children.

The boy looked at you incredulously for a moment before getting up. Your smile grew wider, oh, was he going to open the window and say something? But then he pulled his curtains shut on you, blocking your sight into his room completely. Damn it. 

Well, that failed terrifically, but it was a bit stupid now that you thought of it. You sat down against a tree and tried to think of your next plan, unaware of the now slightly drawn curtain and curious red eyes peeking out of it.

—

Any other ideas you tried had failed, and you were not sure what to do. You had become aware that he was closed off, unwilling to interact with you or any others. But this had only made you far more interested in him. So, you had only one plan left - to go directly to the person who could tell you all. And so you knocked on the front door of his house, revealing a familiar face.

“Oh? Hello, my dear! What a pleasant surprise to see you, [Name]. Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Hi, ma’am. You see, I, um, have a request. I need help with something.”

“Well, I’ll certainly do my best to help you then,” Zandik’s mom affirmed.

“I want to see Zandik,” you said bluntly, shocking the woman for a second. “I want to befriend him and talk to him.”

“I-I see. It’s not every day another child comes and asks for my son. He is a… peculiar case, after all, and he doesn’t like speaking to other people. Are you sure about this?”

“Please, I really do want to be his friend,” you said resolutely. Her face softened and she relented.

“Alright, my dear. I know he usually frequents this spot…” the woman gave in and gave you directions to where Zandik apparently spent much of his time. 

As you made your way there, you were a bit in awe of how he managed to find such a place. You never knew this route existed until now. Soon, after a bit of trekking, you found an opening that boasted lush grass and smooth stones, with trees surrounding it in a circle. It was quite pretty. And then that was when you saw Zandik in the middle, his teal hair matching the greenery. For a moment, you pondered over how to approach him, but you did not need to think long since he spoke first.

“How did you manage to find this place?” His voice echoed throughout the clearing, letting you know that you were spotted. You tentatively took a few more steps closer, his small body getting bigger.

“I asked your mom,” you began, “and she told me I could find you over here.” He let out a sigh.

“Admittedly, I did not expect you to go to such drastic lengths. You are more persistent than the lot of them,” Zandik acknowledged, though still not looking up from the rather complicated and thick book he was reading. Then, he snapped it shut and stood up. 

“So, what is the reason for your tireless pursuit? Perhaps you’ve come to ridicule me? Or are you here to see whether the rumors are genuine? Do tell, I am truly curious as to what would warrant such an extended hunt.”

You were a bit stunned at that whole statement, but you only had one thing to reply with. “I mean… it’s none of those. I just want to become your friend.”

A moment of silence passed before a chuckle broke it. Then, full-out laughter rang out, echoing throughout the forest. It was almost maniacal, and you couldn’t lie that it kind of scared you a bit, but you bit your lip and remained calm.

“Aha, hehe, why, I have not heard that one yet. How creative. I must say, they are getting better at these.” After that little outburst, Zandik returned to his previous sitting position and became absorbed in his book again. You were honestly unsure of how to react to that. Did the other kids truly pick on him that much, for him to think another wanting to become his friend was a lie? You stood there unmoving until Zandik spoke again in a dismissive tone.

“You can go now. It was amusing while it lasted,” he said disinterestedly, waving his hand. You were dumbfounded but determined, so you answered back very simply.

“No. No, I won’t leave,” you declared so firmly that the boy stiffened.

“No?”

“Yes, in fact, I’m going to come over there right now. You know I wasn’t joking in the first place?” you said rather calmly, trying to seem as serious about this as possible, taking steps toward him. 

He scowled, his attention drawn from his book once again. “No, you won’t. You won’t dare to come near me,” he stated just as firmly, having recalled how the other children wouldn’t even look at him. You grinned and picked up your pace until you were only a couple of footsteps away from him, and that was when he truly realized you were not joking. Zandik hastily tried to get up to avoid you but you dashed towards him, nearly tripping as you lowered yourself to a squatting position, becoming face to face with him.

You leaned in close to Zandik’s face, your nose almost touching his. His unique, red eyes held annoyance and a variety of other negative emotions, but there was something foreign in there too, which was the reason he didn’t pull away - confusion and curiosity. You smiled.

“Well now, hopefully you finally get it into that head of yours that you are now my friend. So, why don’t you tell me about what you’re reading?”

At first, he vehemently denied your friendly advances. He’d mock you, roll his eyes at you and such, or flat-out ignore you which was what he usually did. Zandik was honestly not very welcoming, which you began to expect at a certain point. But you persisted nonetheless. You followed him around no matter where he tried to go. You’d sit close to him but not too close. You’d speak sometimes and would either be met with silence or a sarcastic remark but you began to somewhat enjoy it. You’d stretch your neck to try and read the books he always brought with him in an attempt to better understand him. Though, the day he put the book on the ground so it could be read by both of you was the day you knew you won.

Zandik would always tell you not to come back, but you always came back of course. He’d roll his eyes and scoff at your tenacity, but you came to realize that he liked it. After all, he could very well just go to another hiding place, or arrive at a completely different time if he truly didn’t want to see you. He’d never admit it, but he warmed up to you. You also learned that Zandik really liked to talk. At first, when you would ask him questions about science, he wouldn’t respond but you could see him biting the inside of his lip, restraining himself from going on a tangent. It was the first time anyone had shown any real interest in him. Zandik would ramble on about many, many things, often transferring to a new topic in the blink of an eye. Even when he spoke about less-than-pleasant things, he looked to you all excitedly to hear your thoughts. When it came to those kinds of topics you satiated him with a smile, but you always voiced your thoughts as much as possible which pleased him greatly.

Eventually, you started to invite Zandik over to your house. His mom was positively ecstatic and encouraged this behavior. And yet you didn’t do what typical children did. He wanted to do experiments. Which did not really surprise you after everything was done and said. Despite being your age, he always spoke in such an… advanced way. It was hard to describe, but he always employed these big terms and used such proper grammar and language, something that was very uncharacteristic for a child. And experimented he did. Zandik’s experiments were not limited to mixing and combining different elements but also extended to you, somehow. He wanted a strand of your hair, your eyelash, a paper with your fingerprints all over it. What he used these for, you didn’t know.

Your own parents were scholars, so even though you didn’t see them very much, they left a multitude of advanced books and texts in the house. While you had never cared for them much, Zandik devoured them with ease. Even though you invited him to your house to talk and play together, there were times he’d just take one of the books and read for the whole time, shushing you whenever you tried to speak. You had to settle for simply sitting next to him and trying to follow along, which he… surprisingly did not mind. Under his breath, he’d mutter phrases like “Khaenri’ah” and “Visions” and “ruin machines” which frankly did not make much sense to you, but you always happily entertained him.

One day, Zandik wanted to go somewhere deep in the forest. You had played around there a couple of times, but you had never entered into the depths of it, heeding the warnings of danger from the adults. Naturally, you were a bit worried and scared, but you knew that Zandik would enter with or without you, for there was no length he wasn’t willing to go to cure his curiosity. Though he would not tell you why you were making this journey, you followed him nonetheless, until you reached an area with many damaged stones and pillars. As to how he found this location, you didn’t question it.

“There it is,” Zandik said almost breathlessly. You were confused at first but then you followed his line of sight, and then you saw it. A Ruin Guard sat on the ground, unmoving. Your jaw dropped as you had never seen one of them before, only hearing about their destructiveness from others and in books.

“So you came here to look at that?”

“Indeed. But we are not merely going to look. I’m going to investigate it.”

“Huh?! But what if it awakens and attacks us?” Even though the two of you were a good distance away, you could easily tell the Ruin Guard dwarfed your tiny bodies by a great amount.

“From what I’ve read and heard, it should be deactivated. There is no need to worry,” Zandik affirmed. 

“What do you mean by ‘should be’- hey, wait up!” Before you could finish your sentence, your friend had already made his way toward the Ruin Guard. You scrambled to catch up with him and soon enough you two were close to the robot. Both of you stood there for a bit, just taking in the sight until Zandik couldn’t hold back and approached the Automaton, circling around it, clearly fascinated.

Clink.

The two of you stiffened at the sound.

“Zandik… did you hear that?” He did not respond, but soon enough your question was answered as the eye of the Ruin Guard beamed awake.

Zandik could only stare in amazement as the complex machine glowed and lit up back to life. You were momentarily shocked but you quickly regained your senses and grabbed his hand to get away from there, because you two would be dead in a couple of seconds if you didn’t move. You had to literally drag him because the machine had him in an astonished stupor.

“I thought you said it was DEAD?!?!” you practically screamed at him as the Ruin Guard lowered itself to shoot missiles at you both. You managed to hide the two of you behind a small stone wall as the projectiles hit that instead. “And snap out of it!!”

“I suppose I have miscalculated.”

“You suppose?” Your voice had quieted down so as to not bring back the attention of the robot, which was now walking around the area since it had lost sight of you. “We need to leave before it spots us again.”

“No,” he disagreed. “We’ll incapacitate it ourselves.” It took you a few seconds to process what Zandik said to you.

“Are you crazy? Ah, never mind that. I already knew you were from a long time ago. But this is something far from our level!”

“I believe that we would be able to disable it.”

“Trained adventurers have died from that thing,” you insisted.

“We aren’t adventurers. We are better than them.”

“We’re children,” you deadpanned.

“Two intelligent children,” Zandik corrected you. For a second you were shocked that he called you smart, as you did not expect that sudden compliment. You always considered him the brains and you were… the supporter from the sidelines. “Furthermore, I have a plan.”

You sighed and rubbed your temples. “Fine… what is it?”

“It is quite simple. First, you will hit the eye of the Ruin Guard twice to stun it, and while it’s knocked out, I will remove the core to deactivate it.”

“...Yeah. So simple, Zandik,” you said sarcastically. “And how do you suppose I manage to hit its eye? It’s extremely tall and my aim is nowhere that good.”

“I would not have brought up this idea if I did not think you were that incapable. You are quite useful to me,” he said straightforwardly. Boy, did Zandik have a very odd way of cheering you up.

“I… well, okay then. And you know how to get the core out of it?”

“I’ve read multiple passages of these machines in textbooks. I assume I have enough knowledge to do so.”

“I’m not going to even say anything. You owe me a play date after all of this,” you pouted. Zandik rolled his eyes begrudgingly.

“I suppose I can engage in your nonsensical childish activities when all of this is over. But just for an hour,” he proclaimed. You gleefully smiled, pleased to have won him over.

You didn’t care much for the Archons or Gods but you suppose they must have been watching over you because you eventually managed to stun it. Keyword: eventually - after whole minutes of running around dodging missiles and picking up random stones along the way, while Zandik sat there waiting for the right moment. You swear he was laughing at you. And true to his word, the young boy dismantled the machine’s core, rendering it unable to operate.

“Wow… I can’t believe we actually did that,” you mentioned, still in awe of it all.

“Of course we did. I would expect or accept nothing less. Now, come here. We have work to do.”

Somehow he had brought along small tools to try and dissemble the Ruin Guard. The red-eyed boy’s intelligence had always amazed you. Although it may seem boring to others, watching him fiddle was quite interesting for you. Zandik had also apparently appointed you as his assistant without informing you until now, so you always sat next to him. You made sure to keep an eye on what he did, for sometimes he would put his hand out and expect you to pass him a tool or screw without saying anything. At the end of the day, at least you could say the two of you had feats that no other child could claim to have accomplished.

It had gotten to the point where Zandik constantly wanted your presence around him, claiming that it would do you well to join him since you had nothing better to do. (He just didn’t want to admit he craved your attention and company.) You had accepted this with no complaints, having enjoyed spending time with him far more than your other friends. But you couldn’t deny that your friends were somewhat right about their thoughts towards Zandik - he cared little for others’ lives or feelings, was interested in things others would find disturbing, and even as a child you could tell he was not too right in the head. And yet his morals being concerningly low despite still being a kid, you could not bring yourself to care much. Heh, perhaps he was starting to influence you too.

Many years had passed since the two of you were little kids. Zandik had grown into a handsome, young, man. His mother was no longer in the picture, but the two of you were still together despite it all. And as much as you wanted to end your story off with a cliche everything was well, nothing could be farther from the truth. The atmosphere of your hometown had begun to grow tense. Why, you ask? Because of Zandik. The villagers had always not been the kindest to him, never fond of his rather strange ideas, though Zandik usually brushed it off with disinterest. But as he grew older, it seemed that the town’s dislike for him grew as well. And while you were a bit worried for him, you weren’t too concerned. You were sure the two of you would leave the place one day anyway. No way in your wildest dreams did you think you’d look outside your window and see people waving around pitchforks and clubs. And if that wasn’t bewildering enough, they were pointed toward Zandik.

You never scrambled to your feet and out the door so fast in your life, rushing to your dear friend’s side. His expression was unreadable when he saw you.

“Hey. Hey! What is this all about, huh?” you demanded to the crowd.

“He has to go. He is no longer a child, and so we no longer have any reason to have to harbor him here. He is a threat to this town,” someone spat.

“He’s never even hurt you,” you argued. “He never laid a hand on any of you. It was rather you who did that!” You think you heard Zandik whisper your name quietly.

“He’s a heretic,” another voice hissed. “He and his ideas do not belong here.” The clattering of pitchforks pitched in to agree. Zandik remained silent.

You gritted your teeth. You could see there was no point in arguing anymore. “Fine. Fine then. We didn’t even like it here anyway,” you fumed. In your spur of anger, you clasped your friend’s hand and practically dragged him in the opposite direction, blocking out the boos and mockery from the rest of the town.

Surprisingly, Zandik did not say a word throughout your little journey to who knew where, until you had to take a break from the sheer exhaustion. Embarrassingly, you had to release his hand that you had kept hostage the whole time, but Zandik seemed far less perturbed than you. Perhaps he saw it coming, with how assured his next statement was. 

“We shall attend the Akademiya.” Out of all the possible things he could have said, you did not expect that one for some reason.

“The A-Akademiya?”

“Yes,” Zandik said quite simply.

 “I mean, it’s not a bad idea but… the people there might be…” You did not finish your sentence, but you were referring to how the place could have a good amount of judgmental “scholars.”

He laughed bitterly. “After this morning, I highly doubt anything they do shall ever bother me.” You did not know what words would console him, so the only thing you offered was an agreeing nod and your silent presence.

“They did not exile you, [Name],” he said all of a sudden.

“It doesn’t matter. Getting rid of you would be the same thing as getting rid of me. I wouldn’t stay in a place where you aren’t,” you shrugged simply, placing your pinky over his own.

Zandik did not respond, but he didn’t move away.

—

The Akademiya was… an experience, for sure. It was many things all at once, the different Darshans and the beautiful architecture, the great looming trees. And the dorms were far nicer than you expected. At least they were spending their funds decently enough. So, the two of you settled into the scholarly life relatively easily. Zandik easily climbed to the top of his classes in no time, quickly garnering the attention of others and then losing it equally as fast when they encountered his prickly personality. There were always gossip and rumors floating about, many of which proclaimed Zandik to be a madman and a monster. And while he rarely ever showed any expression to these words, besides perhaps a roll of the eyes and chuckle or a scoff, you wondered if it really did bother him. As such, everyday life for you was being known as the normal person who hung out with the weirdo.

But, the years spent in the institution were ones you cherished deeply. You were close with your friend for many years, but perhaps staying together in such close quarters deepened the relationship. The two of you would sneak out after hours to do whatever Zandik demanded to be done. You were a bit iffier about breaking rules, but Zandik was firm on not letting anyone hold him back in his pursuit, so you began to think less of it. Many nights would pass by with the two of you staying up until unreasonable hours, whether it was studying together (or more like Zandik helping you study), or listening to him ramble on about his latest ideas and inventions. The strangest times were when he made you stay up despite not speaking at all. You would blink through bleary eyes as he remained silent, the only noise the clinking of bolts and nuts. In your heart, you liked to think he just liked your presence.

But the day you found out Zandik was to be expelled from the Akademiya was one you’d never forget. You knew he had a tendency to act without permission, to turn off others with his radical ideas, so perhaps you shouldn’t have been surprised. You also had some knowledge of what happened in his expeditions with the team - almost everyone did, considering what happened with that girl - and you knew deep down what her true cause of death was. And Zandik knew that you knew too; you could feel it unspoken in his eyes when the subject matter was brought up briefly. You knew you were too far gone when you accepted it. But still, him being expelled was still a shocker. Yet the only thing he bemoaned was losing his space to work.

“It is quite literally your last night in this dorm and you’re sad about losing your progress on your experiments?” Actually, now that you thought about it, it was quite a Zandik thing to think.

“It was the only good thing about this place,” he shrugged. “It is too bad. I shall have to find somewhere else now.”

“They’re going to exile you to the desert, aren’t they?” you frowned. “That’s what they do with the expelled and mad scholars, no?” He nodded in agreement.

“You can’t go. You won’t be able to continue your kind of research there,” you argued.

“And what do you propose? That we fight them?”

“Yes! I’ll fight them! I’d ambush them or something!” you knew you sounded crazy by now but you couldn’t help it. The idea of no longer being with your childhood friend was tearing you in half. “You know, the matra stationed there keeps an eye on all of the scholars who were exiled there, in order to keep them in check. Even if you managed to escape, it won’t be easy to survive in such conditions and they could find you,” you insisted.

“Good thing you’re so eager to fight,” he chuckled. You knew what he was thinking when he laughed like that. “I have a plan.”

You raised your eyebrow. “Oh really?”

“Did you really think I’d go in there without preparation?” he scoffed. “In due time, I shall find a way to contact you.”

You sighed. “Alright, just… let me know who I have to fight later,” you responded. “And…” you trailed off, not knowing if you should verbalize your true worried feelings. He seemed to notice, and he contemplated, trying to figure out what to say.

“You need not worry about me, [Name]. We both shall be fine.” The words felt foreign on his tongue, as they were things he would never say. But he did anyway.

And that was the last you saw of Zandik. But unbeknownst to either of you, he would be visited by a special man - the first Harbinger. 

—

You stood outside on the small balcony, gazing down at Sumeru’s city. You had managed to nab one of the dorms with the platform, much to the dismay of the other scholars. The two of you always loved seeing them fume, as they had to take their star gazing elsewhere. Neither you nor Zandik had cared much for the stars, but admittedly it was just… nice to feel the wind blow. 

Sleep had escaped you ever since Zandik left. Not hearing the usual metal clink and unscrewing noises, soft grunts, and occasional chair shifting from Dottore had left you unsettled and bothered. You had begun to think about whether you should continue to stay in the Akademiya. Zandik was no longer here, and the place crawled with rumors and gossip regarding him. You weren’t so popular anymore either, as the whispers even extended to you, his roommate who people began to question if you were truly innocent.

You had been feeling a bit lost in general since Zandik had been expelled. You were fully aware of the heinous things he had committed. You had come to terms that he was a criminal, and you were accomplice of sorts as well. Actually, the moment you decided to associate yourself with him was the moment you became not so good of a person. But that wasn’t what bothered you. What bothered you was Zandik’s absence.

Any normal person would have called you absolutely crazy for desiring such a madman’s presence. And you couldn’t blame them. They were right. Yet your heart could not let go of the man who you stuck with since childhood. You could not let go of the boy who scowled and doubted your intentions at first, the boy who eventually warmed up to you, the boy who demanded you be his test subject and assistant at the same time, the man who tutored you in science and maths and everything else, the man who stayed up to ungodly hours to tinker.

The man who you fell in love with.

The revelation was enough to make your knees weak, and suddenly the cold air was too much for your warming body. Quickly, you locked the doors to the balcony and stumbled onto your bed, rubbing your temples at this acknowledgment. Archons, how stupid were you? You were in love with someone whose character was… words you could not describe. Though you knew it all along. You just were scared to admit it. You internally cursed Zandik for doing this to you, as you knew you were too late to say anything. Not that you’d have a chance though, considering his whole outlook. He’d think that love was for fools only, a waste of time when he could pursue more fruitful endeavors. So all of this only caused you to miss him so terribly much more.

You missed his eyes - such a unique red that could only be compared to the one that flowed through living beings. You missed his hair - the softness that you only felt once, when you gently caressed the locks when you thought he was sleeping, but he grabbed your wrist so quickly it nearly scared the living daylights out of you. You missed his sharp and smart tongue that could put someone into their place in a matter of seconds. You missed everything about him.

But you shouldn’t sulk. No - you would not brood. If he was here, he’d probably be reprimanding you for being distracted when there was so much left to do. Sooner or later, you knew in your heart you would see him again and-

Knock-knock.

You bolted up at the series of knocks. Were you hearing things? Surely no one would be at your door this hour of the night. Did Zandik make you delusional now?

Knock-knock-knock.

Nope, you still had some of your sanity left. You swung your feet off the bed, about to head towards the door when a rather strange shadow blurred across the floor. It looked oddly like… a figure… at your balcony… Your heart pounded as you convinced your head to look up.

Zandik was on your balcony. How he managed to get up so many stories of the building, you had no clue. No longer did he don the Akademiya’s uniform, but clothes that were rather nice and expensive looking. It seemed your stupor lasted longer than his liking as he tapped impatiently on the glass door and pointed towards the lock.

Well, it seemed your reunion with him was happening sooner rather than later, that’s for sure. Quickly you scrambled to open the door and pull your beloved inside.

“Z-Zandik,” you sputtered, not believing your eyes. “I- what- how are you here? Did anyone see you? You have to leave, they’re going to catch you!” You fumbled over your words, fighting with the happiness of seeing your friend again but also concerned about him being caught. “What happened with the plan? What happened in the desert? What are you wearing? How did you-?”

Zandik quickly shut you up by tapping his newly gloved finger on your lips. “You must not speak so loudly. But you are correct, we do not have much time.”

“You’re r-right,” you agreed, lowering your tone. “But I just need at least some kind of explanation. Why and how did you come back…?”

“The Fatui has recruited me.”

“The Fatui?” you echoed softly, trying to remember what that was. A few seconds of thinking and remembering the daunting masked men and women who carried around weapons caused you to snap back to life. “The Fatui?!” you whisper-yelled. “Those scary people who always eyed us up when went into the forest and stuff?! I- ah, I won’t even question it anymore. Just… go on.” Zandik smirked at your halting.

“They have provided me with sufficient equipment and a space to work. We no longer have any reason to stay at this ignorant institution,” he declared. “And, from now on, I am to be called Dottore, a new Harbinger.”

“Dottore?” you repeated. “How clever,” you snorted at the irony of the name. “And… what do you mean by ‘we’?” your voice got quieter towards the end.

“I mean what I said. You shan’t stay here any longer.”

You already knew you were following him, but your chest twinged due to your recently newfound feelings. What if you somehow turned out to be a nuisance for him? Eternally distracted by this foolish love? 

“Oh really? And what makes you think I’d follow you so easily?” You don’t think he was expecting you to say that. He cleared his throat.

“I’ve already made it clear to the Jester I shall not work without a competent assistant. There is only one person who has proven themselves to be capable. I will not settle for anyone else,” Zandik stated resolutely. “And,” he paused, uncharacteristically unsure of how to voice what he wanted to say next. He had always been a man who would proclaim the most damning ideas with no remorse. Yet he had trouble formulating his thoughts because of you.

“You are… infuriating,” he began, making you raise your eyebrow. How charming of him. “Since that day in the forest, I knew you were going to be vexing. You would not bend to anything I said, would not leave me alone no matter the methods I used. Infuriating,” he repeated.

“But,” he very cautiously raised his hand to hover near your cheek, just barely making contact, “I never thought I’d become so… accustomed to you. I remember your habits and likes just as much as I remember those formulas you hated so. It’s laughable to think that almost all of my memories have you there somehow.”

“You are irking, but without your presence, I am strangely irritated myself, which is far more of a hindrance than I would have ever anticipated. Without you, I find my mind wandering - it is like nothing I have experienced before,” he finally cupped your cheek with hesitance, as if he himself was in disbelief at his own actions.

“I have known you almost all my life, yet I seem to still need more time to truly figure you out. I am not merely speaking as a scholar, but as… me,” he finished. Now, that was the last thing you expected from a man such as him. But he quickly regained his composure as he asked you the final question.

“Now,” he concluded. “What say you?” For all his talk of bravado and confidence, his hesitant show of affection revealed all the vulnerability that you desired to see and gave you the answer you needed. You placed your own hand over his one on your cheek, maintaining eye contact with him as he stiffened at the feeling of your skin against his, even if it was clothed. You moved closer to Zandik, until your chests were nearly touching. 

Zandik knew what you were going to do. Although the thought of such affection usually made him… ill and annoyed, he could not help but think that the feeling would be different if you were the one initiating. How would his body react? Would he enjoy it? Would he want to do it again?

You moved closer to his face, and without hesitation, you kissed him. Zandik was rigid, the foreign sensation of another’s lips against him was completely unfamiliar to him. But it seemed that the answer to his questions was a resounding ‘yes.’ You pulled away from him, trying to gauge his expression. You did not know too much about kissing, but you knew your newly found lover understood even less, which spurred you to continue. 

Running your hands down his firm arms, you leaned in again to nip and suck at his neck, drawing out a shudder from Zandik. He felt intoxicated by you all at once. He would be sure to write some notes on this later… they would be needed for further… research and experimental trials. He nuzzled his face into your soft locks, silently encouraging you to continue your course of action, eager to indulge in it with as much excitement as he would indulge in forbidden knowledge.

But then you released him with a pop of your lips. “Well, let’s not get too carried away,” you teased. “Wouldn’t want your new subordinates seeing you like this, hmm?” you straightened his collar and smoothed out the wrinkles you created on his clothes. To say he felt bewildered and betrayed was an understatement.

“And if that wasn’t enough of an answer for you,” you changed your tone to a soft, honest one, “Wherever you go, I shall go too. I decided that a long time ago, Zandik.” There was no need for either of you to say the three words that many others longed for. You knew that the relationship you now had with him was far stronger than a few mere words could describe.

Zandik quickly regained his composure. He would be sure to pay you back for your little stunt later. “Well then, there is much to be done. We have not a moment to waste,” he grinned, halfway out onto the balcony. “Take my hand, and we will be off,” he extended his arm, his gloved hand awaiting your own.

Taking his hand meant abandoning this current life. It meant embracing a new life that was far from morally right, one that should surely lead you to be despised by many. It meant becoming a part of the Fatui for Archon’s sake, an organization that was far from reputable. Zandik and [Name] would become lost to the world, the names only being remembered by the two of you in loving, soft-spoken whispers. Others would only know Dottore and his loyal assistant. If you took his hand, there was no going back… 

And yet with no hesitation, you placed your hand in his. 

[akumakosuke]

Yay, I finally finished the first chapter of my new fic...

†Our cursed love†

This is my first time writing an actual fic so it might not be that good, constructive criticism is welcome and encouraged! I would really like to know your opinions on what I'm doing right and wrong, things I should change and so forth.

A little PS this is not going to be absolutely canon, there will be some changes to the lore and techniques so be warned. I am also fully up to date on the manga so there will be manga spoilers.

Please enjoy the first chapter of ‡Our cursed love‡.

No warnings

~_Our cursed love._~

Chapter 1- Our pedestal.

~No one POV:~

The day is like any other day to most people. The sun blazing high in the bright blue sky, perfect white fluffy clouds dot the sky, moving along swiftly with the breeze. The sound of streets full of vehicles and streets full of people fills the air.

The day was like any other to non-sorcerers.

They all go about their lives, completely oblivious to the two Gods currently walking among them, blissfully unaware of the evil seeking to destroy these two Gods.

The day was like any other to the two Gods. Aware they’re being hunted but unaware of each other.

It’s true what they say, ‘ignorance is bliss’ and our two Gods will have to learn that lesson the hard way.

~3rd Person POV~

A young boy, around the age of 9 walks with an unusually cold face for a child wearing a blue hoodie with beige shorts and black sneakers. His expression isn’t the only eye catching thing about him, his eyes are quite simply breathtaking. Strikingly brilliant sky blue orbs. His short, fluffy white hair gently swaying in the breeze.

To passers by he seems like a relatively normal child with oddly spectacular looks but normal is not a word fit to describe this God.

Satoru Gojo decided to take a trip to Shibuya for no other reason than boredom. He knows it’s ‘dangerous’ because of the many, many bounties on his head but does he care? No, of course not.

Why would he care? He’s a ‘God’ right? All these fools are beneath him, besides its clear that none of them would even be a problem, he might be 9 but he knows his place in this world, he knows the ‘blessing’ he’s been born with and he knows how to use it -albeit not well- one glare is enough to dissuade anyone crazy enough to target him.

He can sense them all around him, thinking they’re hiding their cursed energy well but nothing can get past his six eyes, nothing.

~10 minutes earlier~

A young boy with long grey hair tied into a neat pony wearing a (f/c) shirt and (2/f/c) pants that are clearly too big for him and a pair of (f/c) boots steps out of a fancy black car in the middle of Shibuya. The 9 year old closes the door and the car drives off, left unattended which would be odd if he were just a boy, although his expression is somewhat normal for a boy his age, relatively bored, his eyes hidden by a pair of blacked out glasses with a circular frame.

He confidently makes his way through the busy streets, despite his small size he easily navigates a path through the much taller adults, some only sparing him a brief glance but none question why there’s a clear gap between him and everyone, a physically space none of them an seem to cross, naturally and absentmindedly moving around the boy to avoid it.

M/n Goto is aware of this gap as it’s intentional. He’s practicing although the few hungry pairs of eyes on him are distracting. M/n knows venturing out alone is ‘risky’ because of how valuable he is but hes a God isn’t he? Those fools are beneath him.

They’re clearly trying very hard to hide their cursed energy but alas it’s in vain, M/n sensed them following him since he left his estate. It’s not like any of them would be a problem for him, he knows his place in the world, he knows the ‘blessing’ he was born with and he knows how to use it -thanks to his loving father training him since he could walk-, one glare is enough to dissuade any idiotic enough to try and mess with a God, besides nothing can touch him without his permission, nothing.

~present time~

Destiny is a funny thing, many argue its existence.

If destiny exists then freedom cannot.

If freedom exists then destiny cannot.

Many argue its existence, many chose to deny its existence, they chose freedom.

The freedom of choice.

M/n Goto and Satoru Gojo do not believe in destiny.

M/n Goto and Satoru Gojo both chose to come to Shibuya today because they wanted to, they were bored and chose to do the riskiest thing by leaving unsupervised.

They both chose to walk this random street, they both decided they were tired of being followed and chose to turn around. A completely, random choice.

Completely random.

“Huh-?!”

“What-?!”

Time suddenly stops for two young, lonely, untouchable Gods.

M/n Goto and Satoru Gojo do not believe in destiny, so what is this feeling? Not the physical feeling of their shoulders colliding.

This sudden tug, this oddly familiar feeling like meeting a different version of yourself.

Luminous, sparkling sky blue orbs meet now uncovered blazing, blood red orbs and for the first time both are in absolutely awe of another’s appearance.

~M/n POV~

‘He- he bumped into me… his eyes… they’re… how did he-? This feeling… who is he, i feel like I should know… wait… he’s…’

~Satoru POV~

‘I didn’t sense him-? He touched me… i was sure i had it on… those eyes, they’re breathtaking… who is he? Why do i feel like I should know him? Wait… he’s…’

~3rd person POV~

“Cursed.” They both mumble at the same time causing both their eyes to widen, both taking a step back from the other.

The warm, carbon filled air suddenly feels a whole lot more suffocating, the feeling tugging at both of them gets stronger and they both know the other feels it.

It’s an odd sight, two unsupervised 9 year old standing in the middle of a busy Shibuya street just silently staring at each other in what can only be described as bewilderment.

For the longest time they’ve both believed them to have no equal. From the moment they opened their eyes they were forced to live in a word beneath them filled with people beneath them. They were put on pedestals so high no one else could ever hope to climb it and yet…

Their lonely pedestal is apparently bigger than they thought, all they had to do was turn around and be confronted with the other.

A shared pedestal is something everyone told them was impossible, they were born Gods among mortals, they were special, miracles, forever alone.

“Goto M/n…” M/n, finally regaining his brain, blurts out, feeling something he’s never felt before, nervous.

“Gojo Satoru…” Satoru eventually replies, having taken a few more seconds to recover and identify the unknown feeling in his chest, anxiety.

“We should probably lose them first before we talk…” M/n suggests, hesitantly turning his gaze away from Satoru and toward one of the groups of curse users currently hiding out in a tall building across the street with horror on their faces because the sheer amount of power coming from the two Gods is mind breaking.

Satoru turns his gaze towards another group hiding on a rooftop few building’s down with the same expression and hums in agreement. He slowly reaches out to grab M/n’s hand, he doesn’t know why but he just does.

The moment their skin makes contact they both jump, the feeling of physically touching another is so foreign, so intrusive yet so natural.

They quickly easy into the feeling, Satoru pulling M/n along and M/n following without complaint.

This action feels so normal it’s almost easy to forget the innocent looking 9 year old boys are running away from assassins hunting Gods not boys.

They both in this moment, forget they are Gods, they forget they are cursed, they both, even if only for a fleeting moment just feel like two normal boys, running freely through the streets of Shibuya, unsure of when they actually started running but unwilling to spend any time thinking about it.

They just run, the destination isn’t a concern to either of them and after running for what felt like both a lifetime and barely a second they stop in a dark, dirty alleyway, joyful laughter still bubbling from their chests as they catch their breath.

“Phew, I’m pretty sure we lost them.” Satoru comments as he leans against the wall, relaxing a bit more because he can’t sense anyone else.

“Hmm, it would be foolish of them to follow.” M/n adds, leaning on the opposite wall, also relaxing.

A short, comfortable silence envelopes the two Gods as their gazes lock, again being completely caught off guard by the other’s eyes. Millions of questions run through both of their minds, having finally found another like them is something they didn’t think possible , they were told it’s impossible.

“How… how did you touch me? Get past my barrier which I’m positive was active?” M/n asks incredulously, he should be absolutely horrified someone can bypass his technique but he isn’t.

Satoru looks at M/n in slight shock, now being made aware the other also had a barrier active at the time of contact.

“I… I don’t know, i also had a barrier active so maybe they cancelled out?” Satoru would have never thought he’d say that with such a casual tone, someone being able to bypass the one thing that makes him untouchable, he should see M/n as a threat but he doesn’t.

“So we both have a kind of barrier technique and they cancel out somehow… that should be horrifying right? Our one impenetrable defence rendered useless…” M/n’s voice drops to a low whisper but there’s no hint of defensiveness, simply taking in the fact he can be touched, he’s not unbeatable.

“It should but honestly it just makes me excited ya know?” Satoru chuckles, his eyes sparkling even more as his usual cold expression replaced a small grin, his heart is still pounding in his chest, the tugging feeling getting stronger the longer the talks to M/n.

M/n mirrors Satoru’s expression, feeling the same pounding in his chest, the tugging feeling moving his feet forward as he takes a seat on the floor next to Satoru, his barrier preventing his clothes from getting dirty. Satoru quickly joins him, activating his own barrier to stay clean.

Although both of them are just 9 years old, being born basically ‘God’s’ they naturally possessed some basic control of their techniques, both already having trained to use their techniques for a few hours none stop before they get tired.

“It is isn’t, my entire life I’ve been told no one would be able to challenge me and I thought how boring that sounds, they said I stand on a pedestal made for Gods and that I alone stand atop it, atop everyone else and then I thought how… lonely that sounded…” M/n says, pulling his legs to his chest as he rests his head on his knees, looking at his new found friend.

Satoru adopts the same pose, his mind and soul filled with pure joy as M/n speaks because he understands, he understands so well and he never thought someone else would understand.

“Mhm, they called me blessed my entire life, a miracle. Showering me in praises and gifts alike, telling me how special I am, how I’m better than everyone else. They also call me a God, put me on a pedestal too tall for a kid… They don’t see the view from the top, they don’t see how big and empty that pedestal is…”

M/n listens to Satoru, there’s something freeing in listening to him speak, like a weight lifted off his shoulders, the weight of being called the strongest and the loneliness that comes with it, a weight no 9 year old should even have to know about.

“Well it was big and empty but perhaps we can share it?” M/n asks with a hopeful tone, somehow already knowing he doesn’t really need to ask.

“I… I would like that. Our pedestal?” Satoru has never felt this type of excitement, the idea of sharing, being equal to someone else, of not being alone is enough to make him feel like a normal kid.

“Our pedestal.” M/n repeats, the word ‘our’ rolling off his tongue so naturally.

“So what do you normally do for fun? When you’re actually allowed to do what you want ?” Satoru asks, clearly excited to do whatever friends do when they hang out, he’s excited because he doesn’t really known what others do because he’s never bothered to pay attention to anyone else, they were beneath him so there was no point in getting to know them but now, now he’s never been more interested in another.

M/n grins, suddenly standing up and looking down at Satoru with a sparkles in his already spectacular eyes. Satoru still can’t believe he likes someone else’s eyes more than his own, his attention immediately glued on M/n. They both feel that tug again as M/n extends his hand towards Satoru, the idea of physical contact regardless of their barriers still seems so absurd but so enticing.

“Wanna find out?”

Satoru takes M/n’s hand, the unfamiliar warmth of another comforting their souls , penetrating their minds. M/n pulls Satoru up and their hands stay linked as they exit the alleyway, M/n leading the way, unknowingly staring the first chapter in a very long and dangerous book.

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

Tag list-

@itsgivingitalian

[rottenpumpkin13]

A spell goes terribly wrong and Sephiroth is reverted to a toddler. What goes down and how do AGZC react? (Thank you for all your headcannons btw, they are wonderful!! ♥)

Accidental Toddler Sephiroth Acquisition

• Zack heads over to the materia room on the 49th floor to drop off some naturally formed materia he had found on a mission he just got back from. He sits around waiting for one of the scientists to assist him.

• He spots a basket of bright green materia orbs, mindlessly picks one up and starts playing with it. Then he's informed by one of the techs that the scientist responsible will only be in the office tomorrow. Zack forgets the materia isn't his and pocket it as he thanks the tech and leaves.

• Zack heads over to Sephiroth's office because he's bored and wants to see his buddy. He opens Sephiroth's office door. He is greeted by Sephiroth. Uh oh the materia is burning in his pocket. UH OH IT'S BURNING IN HIS POCKET.

• He takes the materia out and panic-drops it on the ground. He watches Sephiroth stand up and walk over to the materia to see if he can deescalate the situation.

• The materia explodes.

• And suddenly he's standing before three-year-old Sephiroth who looks very scared and confused.

• Cloud comes to Sephiroth's office after Zack had called him freaking out. Zack called Cloud first because Cloud is notoriously level-headed and won't yell at Zack for his mistake.

Zack: Thank god you're here! I don't know—

Cloud: WHY WOULD TURN SEPHIROTH INTO A TODDLER?

Zack: I MADE A MISTAKE.

Cloud: NO, MRS. FAIR MADE A MISTAKE WHEN SHE GAVE BIRTH TO YOU.

Zack: .......

*The yelling upsets Sephiroth, who buries his head in his hands and starts crying*

Cloud: Oh no! I didn't mean to scare you. Come here—*Cloud picks him up, immediately Sephiroth buries his head in Cloud's neck as he consoles him by bouncing him up and down*

Cloud: Wow so he really reverted back into a toddler.

Zack: Yup! And the worst part is *Zack picks up the broken materia* I have NO idea how to fix this!

*Sephiroth stops crying and gazes up curiously at Cloud's hair*

Cloud: Why don't you go back to the materia room and get help?

*Sephiroth reaches up and touches Cloud's hair*

Zack: Are you kidding me? I'd be in so much trouble! The best thing to to right now is find Genesis and Angeal. Genesis will know how to turn him back and Angeal will know how to care for him in the meanwhile.

Cloud: That sounds like a good idea. Are you up for it, Sephiroth?

Sephiroth: A chocobo!

Cloud: .........

• Zack and Cloud run into the elevator en route to Angeal's apartment (where hopefully Genesis will also be). Unfortunately they run into Director Lazard.

Lazard: .......

Zack (to Cloud): Maybe if we don't mention the child he won't ask about the child.

Lazard: I'm inquiring about the child.

Cloud: There's a perfectly good explanation for this. Right, Zack?

*Zack wraps an arm around Cloud's back*

Zack: We got married and this is our child.

Cloud: WHAT?

Lazard: Why does the child look like Sephiroth?

Cloud: There's a perfectly good explanation for that. Right, Zack?

Zack: Sephiroth was our sperm donor.

• Zack, Cloud and Sephiroth stand there awkwardly as Lazard retrieves a small pill bottle from his breast pocket and downs it with a liquor flask.

*Zack and Cloud bang on Angeal's door until it opens and Genesis greets them*

Genesis: How wonderful. You have a child!

Zack: We can explain—

Genesis: There's no need. I already know what this is.

Cloud: You do?

Genesis: Of course. You two had been in love all along, and then you went ahead, tied the knot, and thought it was a brilliant idea to ask Sephiroth to spare his sperm to create a child that looks exactly like him.

Cloud: Am I the only reasonable person around here??

Genesis: Either that or Zack accidentally turned Sephiroth into a toddler by misuse of materia.

Zack: Yes.

Genesis: Oh sweet goddess we're all going to be arrested.

• After explaining the whole thing thoroughly to Genesis and Angeal—who spends a good 10 minutes after yelling at him (while Genesis pulls Sephiroth's hair into a french braid), they inspect the broken materia.

• According to Genesis the spell can't be permanent, which means they should wait out Sephiroth's transformation until further notice.

*Cloud turns to Zack*

Cloud: You know what this means, right?

Zack: Yeah, it means we gotta take care of Sephiroth and make sure Hojo doesn't find out about his transformation.

Cloud: No, you asshole, it means that we just became parents and you never even asked me out for a date, much less put a ring on my finger.

Zack:

Genesis, with Miniroth in his lap, who's playing with his earring: Now hang on, Angeal and I are older, and he's to stay in Angeal's apartment while he waits out the spell. This clearly means that Angeal and I are his parents.

Angeal: You don't even like children!

Genesis: How wrong you are. I rather enjoy the presence of certain—ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow take him take him TAKE HIM.

*Sephiroth is pulling on Genesis' earring*

*Zack grabs Sephiroth back*

Zack: How dare you?? Me and Cloud are his parents! You and Angeal can be his uncles.

Cloud: If anything Angeal is the mom friend, so he can be the mother.

Angeal: Don't be ridiculous.

*Sephiroth perks up at the mention of mother and looks at Angeal*

Sephiroth: Mama?

*Angeal breaks down crying, takes Sephiroth and runs off*

• They're all giving Miniroth a bath. Sephiroth initially protests, but Angeal's soothing voice and gentle demeanor quickly put him at ease. Zack and Genesis are using plastic cups as a makeshift boats, and battling each other's ships with overexaggerated noises to make Sephiroth laugh.

• Cloud distracts Sephiroth by blowing bath bubbles and popping them. This makes Sephiroth giggle uncontrollably and attempt to make bubbles too.

• This results in Sephiroth splashing water at all of them and making a mess. No one can be mad because he looks so happy, and it's doubtful he was ever allowed to merge bath time and playtime in the labs under Hojo's "care"

• Then they feed him, another joint-effort as everyone thinks they know what's good for Sephiroth. Genesis cuts up Banora White apples into small, manageable pieces. He erupts in praises and cheer when Sephiroth manages to eat half the apple.

• Zack feeds him chips, but is a bad influence, and teaches Miniroth to blow the chip bag up and pop it. This of course results in chips flying everywhere and now Zack is stuck with a broom, cleaning it all up.

• Cloud offers him some milk (fun silly-straw included). Sephiroth accidentally knocks the cup over and spills it all over the table. He starts crying and apologizing, expecting them to scold him for the mistake.

• They absolutely don't do that. Angeal picks him up and console him while Zack and Cloud wipe up the mess. Sephiroth tearfully explains in his broken toddler speech that Professor Hojo always gets very mad and punishes him when he makes a mistake.

They have to physically hold Genesis down because he's all but ready to go down to the labs and kill Hojo, which is tempting, yes, but it would alert R&D of Sephiroth's transformation.

• They move on to playtime next in hopes it'll tire Sephiroth out enough to be put down for a nap. Imagine they're shock once they realize little Sephiroth doesn't have a lot of experience when it comes to playing with toys.

• He doesn't know what to do with the lego pieces Zack provided him with (which is good, in Angeal's opinion, because a three-year-old could definitely choke on them)

• Genesis coaxes Sephiroth into playing with a toy sword. It both amuses and pains him to realize how comfortable toddler Sephiroth feels with a weapon, as he's now play fighting with him and Cloud.

• Angeal finds a coloring book and crayons. He finds it very unnatural how Sephiroth tries his best to color inside the lines and doesn't make any mistakes. He chalks it up as another product of Hojo's ruthless "parenting" and encourages Sephiroth to scribble.

• Sephiroth learns that he loves to scribble.

• Sephiroth now wants to scribble everything in sight.

• Sephiroth spots Genesis' copy of Loveless.

• Genesis will have an unpleasant surprise later.

• They finally put Sephiroth down for bed. Zack had ran all the way back to his place in search of every stuffed animal he could find—which just so happened to be 4 stuffed chocobos.

*Sephiroth looks at the stuffed chocobo*

Cloud:

*Sephiroth looks at Cloud*

Cloud:

*Sephiroth looks at the stuffed chocobo*

Cloud:

*Sephiroth looks at Cloud*

Cloud: AlriGHT I GET IT.

• Sephiroth falls asleep in Angeal's bed under a heap of blankets as Genesis reads him a bedtime story. As everyone else files out of the room, Zack decides to stay back and watch over him in case he wakes up.

• Everyone's perspective shifts after this incident.

Genesis: He had always nursed an unspoken envy for Sephiroth, but it wasn't until he saw a child denied their innocence and so not used to being carefree, all in the relentless pursuit of an untouchable hero status, that he truly understood the depth of Sephiroth's troubled childhood. Genesis vows to both show more understanding and affection towards his best friend, and maim Hojo.

Angeal: Seeing Sephiroth's vulnerability as a child tugs at Angeal's heartstrings, not because he's clearly traumatized, but because he can identify traces of child Sephiroth in adult Sephiroth, remnants of a childhood he never had. He sees this realization as an opportunity to make up for lost time and provide the love and support Sephiroth never received when he was a toddler.

Zack & Cloud: They had long idolized Sephiroth as a hero, but now, having gained a deeper understanding into the struggles he endured to become that hero, they develop a newfound respect and empathy for him.

*Lazard corners Zack and Cloud on the SOLDIER floor*

Lazard: I finally understand what happened. That child wasn't yours, it was Sephiroth who turned into a toddler after you undoubtedly cast a spell on him.

Zack: Argh! You got us. But you're wrong about one thing, though.

Lazard: What?

Cloud: The child, was in fact, ours. But we officially handed custody over to Angeal and Genesis this morning.

*Just then Angeal and Genesis walk by. Angeal is carrying fully grown and back to normal Sephiroth in his arms, while Genesis trails behind them, feeding Sephiroth apple sauce*

Sephiroth: For the last time, there's no need for this. While I understand that you needed to care for my toddler form to ensure my safety, I'm fully capable of taking care of myself now.

Genesis: Here comes the airplane! Say 'ah'

Sephiroth: Ahhh

[strongheartneteyam]

I wish I could

Chapter 2

Pairing: Neteyam Sully x female!curvy!human reader

Neteyam is aged up.

CW: lots of fluff, childhood friends to lovers, reader loves na'vi children so much and dreams about being a mom one day, angst, the whole Sully family loves reader (including Neteyam but she doesn't know that yet lol)

Author's note: as this is an Avatar AU, reader doesn't need a mask to breathe Pandora's air and not die. Maybe because she was born there, never left and was adopted by a na'vi woman since she was a really small child, she was gradually exposed to Pandora's environment and some kind of mutation happened, so she can breathe, because her body adapted to survive in the planet without the need of a technological device. Idk if it makes sense at all honestly, but, what the hell, fanfics are supposed to be fun and not make 100% of sense, so... just try to not think too much about it n enjoy ahaha

♡

Chapter 1

♡

"Oh my God, such a cute little thing you are" You said while squeezing Tuk in your arms. Even though she was bigger than you because she was a na'vi child after all, you held her like a human toddler. You loved her so much, as if she was your own child. And she loved you too. She was giggling so happily while you squeezed her tight. She was so fond of you that Neytiri would always leave you to take care of her when she left for a hunt. She trusted you, thought you were a really good kid. And you were known in the tribe for helping na'vi mothers with their children. From babies to pre-teens.

You thought Neytiri to be such a beautiful and wise na'vi woman. You desired to be like her one day. You also wanted to have a big beautiful family like hers but that thought would always soon turn from a happy one to one that filled you with angst and sorrow. You were just a human after all, left to the care of a sweet na'vi lady after your parents died in a battle against the Sky People when they came back to Pandora once again. Those horrible days are over now, thank Eywa. Your biology was so different from the na'vi that you didn't even know if it was possible for you to get pregnant from mating with a na'vi male. There are couples of a na'vi and a human out there but none of them ever tried to conceive a hybrid child. The closer someone got to it was the Sully kids who have na'vi and human blood running in their veins but their father had an Avatar body, not a human one, so, it's technically not the same. Why couldn't you just marry a human guy and have a human child?, you may ask. Well, you never knew how to say it without sounding weird but you never felt attracted to the males of your own species. They just looked so plain and boring next to the na'vi men, so passionate, family-oriented and fearless. And also, you couldn't deny that the way they towered over you and their blue skin that shone in the dark because of their freckles played a big part in your feelings too. Yeah, that will never not sound pervy.

You wished you could just mate with the na'vi you fell in love with, but you didn't even know if Neteyam would ever look at you that way. Your small, soft frame might look weird to him. Specially since you were really curvy and a bit fat even for human standards. But still, you dreamt about his big hands touching your skin and his blue beautiful lips kissing yours, so tenderly. Sometimes you woke up and cried, realizing it was indeed just a dream and you were alone laying in your mat.

The na'vi woman you learned to call "mom", Ao'ite, took you as if you had been born from her womb, she always showed you love and took great care of you. And even though she was a great mother to you and you loved her so very much, you never felt like it was enough. It pained you to say it because it sounded ungrateful and even cruel, but you always wondered what it would be like if your parents hadn't die. You didn't remember them, since you were only 2 years old when the murders happened, but you always thought that if they had raised you, maybe you would feel like you belonged somewhere. You loved Pandora and would always call it your one and only home, felt so connected to the trees, animals and oceans, but you would never be a na'vi girl. You could never tame and have your own Ikran or go through any important and beautiful thing only the na'vi can do. That crushed your heart.

You were so lost in your thoughts and immersed on Tuk's little laughs, in a mix of sweetness and sadness, that you didn't even notice how Neytiri's and Jake's older son was looking at you. Neteyam had a spark in his amber eyes when he looked at you holding his little sister. He thought you looked so beautiful and motherly when you played with her. He thought you'd be a great mother one day. He knew how much you wanted to have a family and he only wishes he could be your mate and give you little na'vi children. The smile that was adorning his lips died a bit and he looked away. He didn't know if you found him a suitable mate or if you were just disgusted by how different and odd he looked compared to humans. It hurt him to think maybe you could never reciprocate his feelings. He has loved you since you guys were little kids and he saw your - then weird to him - appearance. He was puzzled in the beginning but with only an hour playing together with you, running through the forest, just close enough so his grandma wouldn't lose sight of the two of you, he found his little heart beating fast inside his chest. And it wasn't just because he had been running, he realized. It was because he knew that you were the one he was gonna chose to be his mate, to spend the rest of his life with, no matter how different from him you looked. What confused him in the beginning was now the most beautiful sight to behold. And it never changed. 15 years later, when you're now both 20 and not 5 anymore, he still looked at you like you were the Pandora skies at night. So beautiful and enchanting to look at. He could look at you for hours, and sometimes he almost did, while you were sitting somewhere in the middle of the people, when they reunited to have meals together at night. You were close enough for him to be able to look at you but far enough for him to not be noticed and perceived as a creep to you.

One day Jake sat next to his elder son and realized who he was looking at. He told his son you were a great girl and he should try courting you if he liked you. Neteyam was shy in the beginning and even denied he was looking at you but his dad knew him far too well so, seconds after that, Neteyam sighed and told his father that he truly loved you and wanted you to be his mate. Jake smiled. That reminded him of what he felt when he was being taught the na'vi ways by Neytiri and fell in love with her. He was immeasurably happy when he realized she loved him too. He just wants his son to be happy and he was glad he had chosen you. Jake always felt something good coming from you. You were like him when he was still stuck in his human body: you loved the na'vi ways more than the human ways and wanted to be one of them. He just wishes it wasn't so dangerous for you to be transfered to an Avatar body. You had once told him you would try, just so you could feel like you were one of the people. But in Jake's heart you were and would always be one of them, even if you were a tiny human girl. And he knew most na'vi felt the same about you. You were really loved by the people.

Neteyam looked at you again, as you were holding his little sister's hands and she was asking you to let her braid your hair. You smiled and said yes and she smiled even wider and started touching your hair. You had beautiful, soft hair and it would always end up a bit entangled when Tuk would braid it. She was a child and was still learning so her braiding skills were still not on point. But you didn't care. You always let her braid your hair and would sit patiently while she did. And you would wear the braids she would make for days, even if they looked a bit funny. It was so special to you how that precious na'vi child showed so much love towards you. Such an innocent little soul. You wished so hard that one day you could have your own na'vi child braiding your hair. Na'vi babies were the cutest thing you had ever seen. Even though you would look enormous carrying a na'vi baby in your belly (if that could ever happen, in your wildest dreams) and you probably would feel so heavy and bloated, you just knew without a shadow of doubt that you would love that child more than you loved your own life and die for the little being if you needed to. To protect them from any harm.

Little did you know you had a na'vi in front you willing to give you as many na'vi babies as you'd let him. Neteyam loved you so much it hurt. And little did he know you loved him too. And little did you both know that having a hybrid child was actually possible.

•.°☆•.°☆•.°

Sooo... it's my first fanfic in English and it's not my first language so please be gentle with me and forgive me for any mistakes. This story is gonna have more parts written soon. I'm thinking of writing some smut within the story and maybe put some breeding kink coming from Neteyam and his human loving it. What do you guys think? Would you want me to? Tell me in the comments haha Please, like and/or reblog this post if you like it. Love you guys 💙

[inactivewattpadauthor]

Kung Lao x Reader: Do Not The Cat

Context: After a small mission in the Netherrealm, you make it back home with Kung Lao with a secret in your bag. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Returning to your room with your Shaolin boyfriend, you were joyous to relive the familiar scent yet another day. The mission to hell was pretty simple, but still there were a few close calls. Bombarded by starving, scorching devils and nearly tripping over embers into lava. It was quite embarrassing until Lao, who was laughing at you, almost did the same thing, tripping over pebbles and almost eating up karma.

"Today was boring. I wished we done more." Lao huffs, taking off his weapon and laying back in your bed. All you did was roll your eyes, thankful that the dark thunder god didn't command you two to something more reckless.

"Want to make tonight different?" Your man sits up with a mischievous gleam on his face. Boy, was he always like this.

"We just got back!" You retort with some sort of amusement. "Like, can I shower first at least? Damn." You murmur under your breath, but he could still hear.

"So, is that a no or yes? After a shower?"

Scoffing and shaking your head from his silly idiocy, you turn away to take off all your protective gear and weapons. Lao smirks, always finding it funny when he annoys you. In his peripheral vision, he sees some movement from your duffel bag, making his attention go to it.

At first, he thought his mind was playing with him, but he clearly sees and hears something shuffling in there. "Y/n! There's something in your bag!" He calls out, standing from the bed and grabbing his hat defensively.

Oh! How could I forget?? You walk out your bathroom and to your bag with no concern like Lao's. Unzipping it fully open, something leapt into your arms. One look of it screamed out that it's from the Netherrealm.

"By the Gods! What is that?!" Lao's face held fright, pointing his sharpened hat at the hellish creature snuggling in your arms. Studying it more, it seems like a resembled cat, but instead of normal fur, it was made with rocks with small lava flows between the faults. It was somewhat unique, the lava flows portraying the stripes of a tabby cat. But either way, Lao needs to know what that demonic creature was doing in your bag and why it's snuggling in your arms like a normal house pet.

"He was brushing up against my leg when we were about to leave the Netherrealm. I couldn't leave him in such a dreadful place." You fake a pout, gently rocking the cat in your arms like a baby.

"Raiden let you bring it with you?!" The absurd question makes you furrow your eyebrows. "Hell no! That's why I snuck him in my bag. I don't want that tyrant around my child."

"Your child?!" Lao looks at you like the crazy person you are.

"Our child. My bad."

Kung Lao wants to cry inside now. Many questions were raiding him, but he doesn't even know what to say. So, he just stands flabbergasted, watching you play with the cat.

"You know what? I think I'll name you Magmastar. Because I bet you can lead a whole clan of strong cats! Yes, you can!" You coo at Magmastar, whom just purrs roughly, nuzzling against you. You turn to see Lao's judging look, one that makes you feel patronized. "It's a reference to a book series I used to read when I was younger. Don't give me that look."

"Right. What do you think Lord Raiden would say if he sees it?" The monk grimaced at the thought, biting his knuckle.

"He won't, because it's not like I'm gonna do a show and tell, and for as long as he has that stupid amulet, he's not allowed in my home." Your tone is grave. "And I trust you won't rat me out to him." Your eyes looked into his with plea. Is Lao's heart faithful to you, or the red lord, someone who doesn't even treat him nearly as well as Liu Kang?

"Of course I wouldn't, my love." Lao sighs. He can't fathom getting you in trouble with someone dangerous. You smile gratefully at him, walking to him and holding Magmastar out. "He's very nice, I promise."

Setting down his weapon again, he softly smiles back at you. He's nervous, but he trusts your word. He takes the cat gently from you, holding it with cautiousness. It definitely feels rocky just like it looks, and is especially warm. Other than that, the average friendly cat, not wanting to claw your eyes out unlike most Earth cats or anything from hell.

"Wow. This... isn't bad." He holds the fiery feline with more ease and comfort.

....

And after a shower, you walk out in a towel seeing Kung Lao asleep with your Magmastar curled up on his stomach. Cute! ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Today, I say the science will not science because the very flammable cat - made of burning rocks with a few lava stripes - doesn't hurt if you cuddle/pet it!

[downbad4mark]

i'll only make you cry

( haechan / reader )

a/n: my bad i was listening to CAS and remembered haechan

genre: angst

wc: 860 (very short! thank god because i was getting sad typing it out)

the strains of your love with donghyuck were like melodies intertwined, harmonising in a delicate dance that echoed through the chambers of your heart. 

in the early days, when the world was still painted in the vibrant hues of new beginnings, donghyuck was a beacon of light amidst the shadows, a steadfast presence that anchored you in the storm. he would surprise you with small gestures of affection, leaving notes scattered like breadcrumbs for you to follow, each one a whispered promise of his love. and on lazy sunday afternoons, he would whisk you away on impromptu adventures, exploring the hidden corners of the city with the enthusiasm of a child.

it was the little things that spoke volumes, the moments that lingered in the quiet spaces between your heartbeats. he would wrap you in his embrace when the world grew too loud, holding you close until the storm passed and the world fell silent once more. and when the weight of the world threatened to crush your spirit, he would be there to lift you up, his laughter a beacon of hope in the darkness, his smile a reminder that even in the depths of despair, there was still beauty to be found.

but as the days stretched into weeks, and the weeks into months, the notes began to falter, discordant and fractured, drowning in the cacophony of life's demands.

donghyuck's days were consumed by the relentless rhythm of idol life, each moment dictated by schedules and obligations that left little room for rest or respite. as the pressure mounted with each impending nct comeback, you watched as the lines etched themselves deeper into his brow, the weight of the world pressing down upon his shoulders like an unyielding burden. hell, sometimes he would even come back home smelling like smoke and alcohol.

you tried to be understanding, to offer him solace in the midst of the storm, but the distance between you grew with each passing day, a silent chasm that widened with every unspoken word.

the cracks had begun to form long before either of you dared to acknowledge them. you could feel it in the way donghyuck's smiles grew more strained, in the distance that lingered in his eyes whenever he thought you weren't looking. but still, you clung to the hope that maybe, just maybe, it was all in your head. and though your heart ached with the knowledge of his pain, you dared not burden him with your own.

but even as you watched him slip further from your grasp, you remained steadfast in your love, a beacon of hope amidst the encroaching darkness.

and so, you stood by his side, offering your silent support as he navigated the treacherous waters of fame and fortune. you bore the weight of his problems as if they were your own, sacrificing your own needs for the sake of his dreams. you buried your fears beneath layers of forced laughter and fleeting kisses, clinging to the fragments of a love that seemed to slip further from your grasp with each passing day.

but in the end, it was not enough to bridge the growing chasm between you, to mend the shattered fragments of a love that had once burned bright. for even the strongest hearts can falter beneath the weight of expectation, and even the most resilient souls can be broken by the harsh realities of life.

the nights were the hardest, when the silence wrapped around you like a suffocating embrace, suffused with the weight of unshed tears and shattered dreams. you would lie awake, listening to the steady rhythm of donghyuck's breathing beside you as he slept facing away from you, wondering if he could hear the silent cries of your heart breaking into a million pieces.

and he could.

he turned around to face you. as he stared at your face, puffy and laced with tears, he uttered the words that shattered the fragile illusion you had clung to for so long.

"hey… i can't do this anymore," donghyuck confessed, his voice barely a whisper as he turned away from you, unable to meet your gaze any longer. "i thought i could, but… my heart isn't in it anymore."

the words hung heavy in the air as you laid next to each other, each syllable a dagger that pierced your already wounded heart. you wanted to scream, to beg him to stay, but the words caught in your throat, suffocated by the weight of your love for him.

a single tear fell from donghyuck's eye, a silent testament to the love that had once bound you together, now lost to the winds of time. "i'm sorry," he whispered, his voice laced with a pain that mirrored your own, as he wiped the tears off your cheeks. "i-i never meant to hurt you…"

but the apology offered no solace, no balm for the ache that consumed you from within. for in that moment, you realised that love was not always enough to mend what had been broken - that sometimes, even the strongest bonds could be eroded by the passage of time.

©downbad4mark

[towriteloveontheirarms]

You know I have no choice (JJ Maybank x Kook!Reader)

synopsis: You love him more than anything or anyone, but no matter how much you wish you could stay with him, it can never be. Not like this.

warnings: angst, break up, mentions of weed, mentions of difficult relationship with parents, afab reader

word count: 1.6k

taglist: @hopelesswritergall

(If you want to be tagged for a specific character/fandom or in general let me know in my asks, comments or DMs)

A/N: Thank you @valeskafics for making me cave and finally start watching obx, simply by posting your Rafe stories. I love you babes!💜

Dividers by @saradika-graphics

It had been the longest week in your life, you think as you plop down on your bed after coming home after a very tense dinner with your parents. Not that things had been any different ever. Especially after they had found out your friends were poor, because God forbid you had friends you liked. Everything sure did a turn for the worse when your mother found the smallest amount of weed and the pill, as well as some condoms hidden away in one of your drawers. What followed was a catastrophic afternoon that ended in you being grounded like a small child “Until you learned to behave and found friends that were fitting of your social standing.” Your fathers’ words not yours, obviously.

´I miss you so much. It´s so boring here without you and the others around.´ Your fingers fly over the keyboard of your phone to send a message to JJ. He had snuck into your room every day for the past week, but it just wasn´t the same as hanging out with him, Kie, Pope and John B all day doing whatever.

´I miss you too, pretty girl. It´s not the same without you here.´ Came his answer in a matter of seconds. Making you wonder once again how he could answer you so fast every time, yet loving it nonetheless.

´Are you coming by again later?´ You ask him hopefully, though the answer was already clear.

´Wouldn´t let you go to bed without a good night kiss, would I? You chuckle at the text, practically being able to hear him say the words in that teasing way only JJ could.

´I´m already counting the minutes.´ You add a mouth emoji before sending the text, biting your lower lip at the thought of laying in JJ´s arms, even if it was only for a couple of hours. Ever since you couldn´t hang out every day anymore your body began to crave his touch like nothing else and without the chance to always have at least one of his arms around you… it would be a lie to say it wasn´t becoming a problem.

With a huff you turn around in your bed, to face the window, with no idea what to do to kill the time until your parents went to bed fastest.

In the end you settle for mindlessly scrolling on your phone. A state that is broken by a few pebbles hitting your window. Finally. He was here. You open the window and watch the messy blond hair of JJ appear in it, seconds before the golden retriever of a person lands in your room.

“Jayj…” You whisper and fall into his already open arms, hugging him as tightly to you as humanly possible.

“Hey, pretty girl.” JJ rasps in your ear and kisses the crown of your head.

Without leaving his grasp for even a second, you manoeuvre the two of you over to lay back down on the mattress and bury your face in the space where his shoulder and neck met.

“I missed you so so much. You have no idea.” Your words are muffled by the pale skin.

“I might.” The blond chuckles lightly.

“You have to promise that you´ll never leave me alone again. Not even for one second.” You are dead serious in your words, even thought that could never come true as long as you lived with your parents.

“I promise, doll.” The air that releases from his lungs as he makes the impossible promise moves hair that is mussed on the top of your head from cuddling so close.

You fall into a comfortable silence. However, the peaceful moment between the two of you doesn´t last much longer than that. Your parents must have been awake still or somehow you were too loud and woke them up. You can´t explain how it happened, but only moments later the door to your room bursts open to them staring daggers into the two of you.

You don´t have to look up to know that you are royally fucked. Yet you are still surprised by how truly fucked you were. What you had thought they would give you as a punishment was more grounding and their usual bullshit about how the pogues weren´t the right people to associate yourself with. Well, at least you´re only half wrong about that one. Your mother pulls you out of bed and away from JJ, downstairs to the living room, but even from there your voices get transferred upstairs to a very confused and quite frankly scared JJ. And though he doesn´t understand every single word that is being said, the blond knows there would be nothing good coming out of this.

Downstairs you have a hard time fighting the scalding hot tears that burn in your eyes, sitting across your parents with crossed arms and a restlessly bouncing leg as they go on and on about your poor choice in company for the thousandth time. This time something is different though. You feel it before they say it and then your mother makes the outrageous demand.

“You will break up with that boy now and you won´t ever see any of them again!”

“Or what?” You yell back at her. “What do you want to do? I´m old enough to decide who I want to be friends with on my own.”

“You may think you are old enough, but you know nothing of the world. So, either you do as we say or you are no longer a child of ours. Do you understand me young lady?” Your mother´s words are a kind of cold that sends a shiver down your spine. She and your father look at you like they never have, and it hurts like a knife to the heart. Your mother raises a questioning eyebrow at you, waiting for an answer of any kind. Either decision would seal your fate to a path of hurt and unluckily for JJ, your parents were years of manipulation ahead of his positive influence.

“Can I at least do it outside, in private?” You sigh, reverting your eyes to the ground as you give in to the outrageous demand. A stoic nod of the head was your only indication that your request was granted.

Leading JJ outside by his hands and sitting down with him on the step to the front porch, has your stomach swirling with something akin to the feeling of leading a beloved dog into the yard to throw it´s ball one last time as a distraction before having to shoot it. Like in the movies.

His large hands holding yours feel so bittersweet and you don´t even dare to look into his eyes in fear of what would come from it. It feels like eternity that you struggle to find words that would hopefully hurt him the least, but in the end, you just blurt out a weak “I´m sorry, Jayj.”

The first tears spill over as you do so, burning their way down your cheeks.

“Don´t say you´re sorry, please. Nothing good ever comes after I´m sorry.” JJ´s own tearful voice quietly rings through the night.

You lean your forehead against his, like you so often had before, feeling him near for probably the last time ever.

“Please don´t make this harder than it already is. You know I have no choice.” Your voice breaks miserably as you try to hold yourself together as much as possible. An intention that fails just as miserably as your voice does, when he cups your burning cheeks in his warm hands.

“We can make it work. We always made it work so far.” JJ tries to bargain. Placing little, pleading pecks to your lips and all over your face in the hopes of changing your mind.

“How could we possibly? We got lucky with how things turned out this time. I don´t want to know what would happen the next time we get caught.” You hold onto his face too now. Daring to look up into his wet puppy eyes and your heart breaks into a million little pieces.

“But… I love you, pretty girl…” With every word exchanged between the two of you, the grip on each other’s face turns more desperate. Eager to ingrain the feeling of the other into your mind. Every little detail about the other every little feeling you felt while you held each other, even if it had turned bitter now. Even if you hated yourself more than ever for doing this.

“I love you too, Jayj. I will always love you, nothing and no one will ever change that. But I… I just can´t keep doing this to you. You deserve better than to be forced to sneak around and only have a few limited moments. You deserve everything. You deserve the world and I just can´t give that to you like this.” As much as JJ wants to beg and bargain with you, he knows that you are right. As long as you were in this situation, there would be no way for you two to be together in peace. And it wasn´t fair, but when was life ever.

The two of you are silent as you let the harsh reality set in. The sounds of your sobbing and the occasional car driving past are the only sounds around you two and for the fist time since you had met the blond, time seems to fly in his presence. There was no longer a bubble shielding you from the world around, only harsh reality all around you caving in steadily and robbing you of your last breath.

In the end there is nothing left to do, but to share one last kiss. One last lingering proclamation of love to seal your betrayal to the one person that truly loved you and the only person you would ever love. You don´t even get granted the relief of all-encompassing numbness as JJ slips from your touch.

[mexhim]

boy next door • p.sh

# • pt.1??

☆ • pairing; neighbor!sunghoon x m!reader

☆ • genre; fluff, romance

☆ • summary; you meet sunghoon while giving out leftover food to your neighbors. thats when things spark between you two.

☆ • includes/warnings; none

yesterday, your older sister had come over because she wanted to throw a gender reveal party for her incoming child. it was fun, you admit, even though you're not much of a party person. no one was upset with the fact that it was a boy, and the food that your mother had prepared was wonderful. however, she did make a lot, and there was a lot leftover.

"mom... why did you make so much food? you didn't even have that many people over." you ask, crossing your arms.

"well, I didn't know that. if they wanted seconds, there was plenty." there were about ten go-to plates that were filled and put into a black delivery bag. "can you do me a favor?" she asks, and you hum affirmatively in response. "you are gonna give out these leftovers to our neighbors."

"oh." normally, this wouldn't be an issue, but considering you live near a dead end and you had one neighbor that you weren't ready to talk to, you were unsure about this favor. "but-"

"ah-ah-ah. you gon' do it." your mother says with a smile. You sigh, walk over to the bag, and put it on your shoulder. luckily, you were already wearing decent clothing to go out with. As you head to your door, your mother yells a 'thank you!' and you respond with a 'yep.'

the next house was an issue. should you skip them? hell no, that's disrespectful. you know what? just do it, you're sure his parents will be the ones to answer, right? you walk up to their door and knock, praying to the gods that he doesn't answer the door. You hear steps and your heart races, really unsure of who's going to open the door. you shut your eyes just before the door opens.

"are you...okay?" your eyes open to see sunghoon, the neighbor you've been seeing around. the one that you cant help but stare at. the one that haunts your mind everyday. you don't know why, but he is so stunning to you, and if you're ever near him, your heart would practically beat out of your chest. it's not like you have a crush on him, well you do, but think of it like a hallway crush. you know absolutely nothing about him.

"oh yeah no, i'm fine. um..." he's looking at you, and i mean straight into your eyes. your gaze quickly averts to the ground beneath you.

"what do you need?" he asks, beginning to lean on the doorway and cross his arms. even with your head down, you can feel his eyes boring into your skull.

"oh, right. my mom made like so much food yesterday, and she wanted me to give out her food to the neighbors.” you respond. your voice is small, and your hands toyed with the strap of the bag. you open and reach into the bag, pulling out a tray full of warm food. you pick your head up and hand the food to him. when you glance at him to see his face, he's still looking at you, and then his eyes immediately lock with yours. quick to react, your eyes immediately drop down to the ground once again, earning a giggle from him.

you don't know it, but he finds it very cute. he's seen you around as well and definitely thinks the same way you think about him. he'd take the chance to approach you, but you seemed to be avoiding him every time he's around, so he respects your space, as he should.

"tell her I said thank you," he says. "are you sure you're okay? why are you so nervous?" at this point, he's reading you like a book. not that he's cocky, but he knows that he's making you act like this, but he doesn't question it.

"it's nothing, enjoy your food!" you turn on one heel and walk away. sunghoon calls out to you but you act like you don't hear him and begin to speed walk to the next house.

you open the door too your home and see your mother on the couch, watching her usual tv shows. “you’re back!” she turned to smile at you. “you finished?”

“yeah”

“oh, by the way.” she begins, sitting up and turning towards you, “i saw you talk to that boy. the one next door.” she grins.

oh dear.

“this is the year my son finally gets a boyfriend!!” She celebrates quietly, humming a tune and clapping her hands.

you groaned and reminded her, “we only exchanged a few words and some food, don’t get your hopes up.” she laughed, earning an eye roll from you.

"alright. whatever you say." she goes to sit back down on the couch. you head to your room, overthinking everything that occurred. fortunately, this puts you to sleep instead of keeping you up.

# • author’s note; im ngl guys i had no fucking clue where to stop this. so if it was abrupt im so sorry. and excuse the no caps thing i like the look of it.

[cinnamontoastcrunch-15]

The Grand Proposal - Part 2

Part 1 here!

Masterpost here :)

My favourite hippie and scientist are FINALLY getting engaged!!

I know it’s been a long time coming but I deleted and restarted it 6 times because it wasn’t coming along the way I wanted it to

HOWEVER writing this version had me kicking my feet and giggling like a child so I hope you like it!!

Saturday

"Sirius, lovely! Hi!" Hope Lupin's familiar, enthusiastic voice sounded the moment her door swung open, Sirius almost immediately being pulled into a hug. He smiled to himself, wrapping his arms around the short woman. "I was just cleansing the house! Want to help?" She asked quickly, pulling away to give him an excited grin.

"Of course, sounds like fun," he answered, following her inside.

As Hope lit her incense burners, Sirius grabbed a bundle of crystals and set to work placing them at different points in the room.

"I remember the first time I asked you to do this," she hummed camly, and Sirius snorted.

"God, don't remind me. Remus still makes fun of me for asking where the cleaning products were." Hope laughed lightly, sending a spike of warmth through Sirius. "So, uh… there was a reason I came here, actually…" Sirius started, and he could feel the nerves start to wash over him.

"You want to propose?" She supplied. Sirius stopped in his tracks, head whipping around to face her.

"Sorry? How did you-?"

"I've had a feeling for a while now. Thought today might be the day."

"Christ, you're like magic, or something," he said to himself, stunned, and Hope just laughed.

"Tune in to your intuition, lovely, you'd be surprised."

"I- yeah. Anyway, you mean the world to Remus, and I know we're not exactly a… well, a normal couple."

"Normal is boring," she added, tranquil, and Sirius couldn't help but breathe a light laugh.

"Yeah, it is. Still, I wanted to ask for your- your blessing, I guess." He had stopped laying down crystals, taking to watching her anxiously. She turned around, incense in hand.

"You love Remus," she stated. Sirius nodded, despite being pretty sure that it wasn't a question. "Since he first brought you to meet me, I knew you were sticking around. The way they talk about you, look at you, everything. You were part of our family from the moment you two first met. If the proposal is something you want to do, I'm more than happy for you to do it." Sirius felt himself tearing up a little at that, quickly swallowing it down.

Hope Lupin was the fucking best.

"I'm meeting James to go and pick up the ring soon, actually," Sirius said quickly, and Hope smiled.

"You'd best be heading out, then. Take the green jade with you, it's for luck." Sirius glanced inside the bag he was holding, pulling out the small, tumbled crystal and setting the rest of them on the windowsill.

"Thank you, Hope."

"Anytime, Sirius. Truly."

-

Remus pulled his purple silk cardigan on, glancing at it in the mirror before promptly pulling it off again. He wasn't usually one to panic about what he was wearing, but they couldn't help it. Proposing turned out to be bloody stressful.

"You almost ready, darling?" Sirius' voice called from the kitchen, and Remus groaned inwardly, picking the cardigan back up. It would have to do.

Quickly, they went over the plan in their head.

Sirius was taking him to dinner, giving him ample time to mentally prepare himself for what he was going to do. Or to panic and watch the time crawl past, but still. Time. Remus was driving, so as they left, Lily and Mary should have set everything up, and then he could just… divert their route a little, get Sirius inside, and do it. Propose.

How hard could it be?

The moment they got into the kitchen, he felt their breath catch in his throat.

Sirius was fucking gorgeous.

He accidentally gave Sirius a very obvious once-over, taking in his red dress trousers, black shirt with just a few buttons undone, the amethyst necklace Remus had gifted him hanging visible in the space and a red jacket hanging from his arm. His black hair tumbled past his shoulders elegantly, and as Remus dragged their eyes back to Sirius' he realised that Sirius was smiling, amused.

"You're so beautiful, my gods," Remus murmured, kissing Sirius quickly.

"Please, you're fucking ethereal." A laugh was drawn out of Remus, then. Trust the scientist to pull out the strangest compliments, and draw all of the heat straight to Remus' face. "So, I thought we could go to Giovannis? I've booked the same table, and I've called in advance to make them prepare some sort of vegan selection." Remus surveyed him carefully for a moment, quiet nervousness and a small amount of confidence hidden in the few tells Sirius could never quite quash, not when it came to Remus. Everything connected in their brain, his heart stopping for half a second.

Shit.

That was where Sirius took them for their first date. Their absolutely disastrous first date that ended with them sitting on the pavement outside a food truck, Remus doing his best not to laugh while Sirius apologised and apologised, every inch of that stone cold, frustrated scientist gone. It was the day Remus realised that Sirius Black wasn't going to be some casual, fun fling. He was someone who either stuck around or broke Remus' heart.

He was so fucking glad it was the first one.

Well, up until that moment.

Sirius was going to fucking propose, wasn't he?

Same table, an actual vegan selection, the fact that he was wearing red? God, he was going to beat Remus to it!

Remus wasn't about to let that happen.

Sorry Lily, sorry Mary, Remus had to do something.

"Yeah, that sounds nice. I'll be right back, then we can leave." He turned and walked straight into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door as calmly as he could manage before pulling their phone straight out of their pocket.

He tapped the very inconspicously named 'L and M' groupchat, pressing 'call' and holding it to their ear.

"Pick up, pick up, pick up," Remus muttered under his breath, finally hearing Lily and Mary's voices through the phone.

"Remus?" Lily said, confusion laced thick through her voice.

"Hey, everything alright?" Mary asked.

"Hey, there's been a slight change of plans. How quickly can you get everything set up? Benchmark."

"Uh… if I pick Mary up, we could be there in ten minutes, so maybe… twenty five?" Lily concluded, and Remus nodded to himself.

"Twenty if everything goes smoothly," Mary piped up.

"Okay, right. Once you've finished setting everything up, don't leave. Just… hide somewhere, make sure Sirius doesn't see you leave."

"Sounds good, I'm leaving now," Lily said, the rustling of her keys sounding. "See you in a second, Mary. Good luck Remus!" With that, she hung up, Remus doing the same.

Twenty minutes. He could do that.

They pulled the lock free, opening the door and stepping out, phone sliding straight back into his pocket. He shot Sirius a smile.

"Right, should we head out?" They asked, Sirius nodding. "Let me just grab my keys." He walked over to the small key cabinet Sirius had made, pulling it open and frowning as he stared right at his small black car key, his astrology keyring attached to it. "Hm… have you seen my keys, love?" As he rustled through the rest of the keys, 'looking' for his, they pulled them off the hook along with Sirius' motorbike key.

There, no other options.

Sirius walked over, confused.

"They're not there?"

They spent ten minutes trying to 'find' Remus' keys.

Once his phone buzzed, a quick 'we've arrived, setting up now xx' coming from Mary, he 'found' the keys under the sofa. Fucking perfect. At least their new plan was actually falling into place.

He took his careful detour with a calm, unassuming look, Sirius not even batting an eye. Not until Remus got close to the Observatory and forced the car to stall. Sirius turned to Remus, concerned.

"Is everything alright?"

"I'm not sure, uh… hold on." He glanced around their surroundings, pretending to notice the Observatory for the first time. "Hey, I'm pretty sure Mary's working today. They can help." They pulled the car door open, stepping out and watching as Sirius did the same. He didn't even have to ask and Sirius followed.

Remus thanked everything in that moment that Sirius was into motorbikes instead of cars.

They walked into the Observatory hand in hand, the lights dimmed slightly. Remus smiled to himself as he surveyed the decorating job. It was fucking impressive, how quickly Lily and Mary had pulled everything together. There were fairy lights strung across every rail, with rose quartz, moonstone and aventurine crystals tumbled and carved into hearts and hanging off different surfaces. Remus owed them more than one night out.

Their eyes went to Sirius, watching as his eyes widened.

"Are those-? Those are love crystals," Sirius said carefully.

"Hm. Maybe there's an event," Remus observed calmly. "Come on, I think they work up here." They walked up the stairs together, Sirius watching everything in slight awe. He quite clearly hadn't bought Remus' event excuse, but Remus wasn't bothered in the slightest. He was still walking, still going.

As they reached the top of the stairs, Remus gently pushed a door open, listening to Sirius gasp.

The room was absolutely beautiful.

Darkened, soft carpeted flooring, and the ceiling was adorned in constellations. Thank fuck Mary worked there, they had only gone and brightened the Canis Major light. It dazzled, standing out so perfectly, so unbelievably Sirius-like, that Remus could almost feel his own breath catch in their throat.

"It's…" Sirius trailed off, stunned. He turned to Remus. "Is this…?"

"For you?" They finished for him, nodding. "Surprise, love." With that, he reached into his pocket, taking a deep breath and willing himself to stay in one piece until he had actually asked him. "Since the-"

"Hold on." Sirius seemed to snap out of his own shock, blinking harshly. "Wait. No, no, what are you doing?"

Remus frowned, confused. Their heart sped slightly. Was Sirius about to say no? Before he had even asked?

"Uh… well, I had a bit of a speech prepared before I actually asked you, love."

"You- Moony! I- Giovannis, I had a whole plan! I was going to-"

"I had a feeling." Remus interrupted smoothly, a small smile appearing on his face.

"You…" Sirius searched his face for a moment, before dropping his head into his hands. "God, of course you did. You're bloody psychic." Remus just shrugged, warmth spreading comfortably through his chest.

"So, what now?" He asked. They weren't exactly expecting Sirius to interrupt their proposal.

"I- I don't know,” Sirius said honestly, and Remus wanted to… well, laugh and cry. Everything was falling apart and falling together in a way that was so perfect.

"Well… since the night we first met, I knew you were going to stay on my mind," Remus started softly, watching as Sirius smiled at him. "You and that stubborn phone call, anyway." A laugh escaped both of them, then.

"I didn't think I could ever feel the way I do about you. Never," Sirius said gently.

"Being able to share my life and every aspect of myself with you has been the biggest honour I've had. I feel so fucking lucky that you've let me in, Padfoot." Remus' felt their face warm, a few tears starting to form.

"If- if you had told me ten years ago that you were going to swoop in, in that calm way of yours, and balance out everything that made me feel off kilter, I wouldn't have believed you, but… you do, Moony. You quieten the noise, stop the world from spinning off its axis," Sirius murmured, the hands that were still clasped tightening slightly.

"God, Sirius, if first loves are the strongest, then I must not have loved anyone before you. I love you so much it hurts."

"I- you complete some part of me that I had no clue wasn't complete. Like I had been walking around with half of a heart and didn't know it, until I met you."

"Padfoot…"

"Moony…"

Christ, it was actually happening, wasn't it?

Remus nodded, trying to string together the final few words.

"Will you marry me?"

"I- yes. Fuck, of course," Sirius said, voice practically a whisper as he threw his arms around Remus. Remus dropped his head against Sirius' shoulder, still slightly thrown at the way everything had turned out. "What about… you? Will you… marry me?" A loud laugh from Remus had them pulling away and kissing Sirius.

"Yeah," He said breathlessly, barely pulling away. "Think I might do, actually." As they felt Sirius smile against his lips, he realised just how perfectly everything had worked out.

Yeah, his proposal went a little… awry, but it was better that way.

It was their proposal, exactly how it should have gone.

[hanitje]

Penny, The Rescuers

So I was a bit pissed off when some dude bros (and some nasty women) complaint on social media about Penny; saying things like how boring her character was and she wasn’t like any of those “strong” princesses. 

First of all, she was a CHILD. She was around five to six years old in the movie, and also an orphan. She didn’t have any friends except for an old cat named Rufus at the orphanage.

And then she was KIDNAPPED by a nasty woman named Madame Medusa, an antique dealer who brought her to a river boat. She was forced to get into a small bucket and thrown into a hole to find a freaking diamond while sometimes sea water almost drown her.

She was also being verbally abused by Medusa that she was so ugly, nobody wanted her. Medusa even threatened to “kill” her teddy bear if she didn’t do what the lady said. I dare y’all not to cry to see this little girl holding everything to herself while hearing Medusa just sweetly called her useless. 

On top of all that, she was calm and collected, and even brave enough to sent a message in a bottle where The Rescuers found it. She never wailed while crying, although she deserved a good cry. When she found out that her rescuers were a bunch of mice, she was disappointed at first, but both Bernard and Ms. Bianca were good to her, and encouraged her to take some action.

She realized she needed to rescue herself, grabbed the diamond, and ran off the boat (after the swamp creatures wrecked some havoc to Medusa and her boat) on her own, driving away with the speed boat. She went home to New York orphanage, got adopted, and gave the diamond to a museum. She became famous and being called a hero. But she didn’t care with any of that; she found a loving parents, and the scene where her adoptive parents kissed her and hugged her, it was so beautiful. And she found friends in a form of small mice, and she thanked them.

Despite her youth, Penny breaks the traditional mold of the "damsel in distress" prototype by repeatedly making an effort to rescue herself, rather than wait passively to be found and rescued. She was only five years old and very shy, but the fact that she was defiant against Medusa and her crony (I forgot his name) and didn’t give up makes her a very interesting character. Everyday she tried to escape but always failed, however she kept trying.

She should become a role model for children. People calling her boring and weak especially from dude bros is a testament that they didn’t watch the movie because I don’t think they’d be able to handle a kidnapping situation where they’d have to face huge crocodiles, dangerous swamp, a trigger happy nasty crazy woman, a water hole, and death threats - and she was only FIVE/SIX YEARS OLD. How dare they called her boring and weak! 

Just because she didn’t have magic powers, a fairy godmother, gods, spirits, a prince, or even a weapon (but her small critter friends) didn’t make her boring and weak. Her character development was good; from an insecure first grader to this brave little girl who would not give up and rescued herself. She was a strong good character. 

Respect Penny!

[eddiemunsons80sbaby]

Marry Me a Little

Pairing: EddieMunsonxFemReader

Summary: This was a request and it's a bit of a longer one.

I had an idea where the reader and Eddie are dating for 4 to 5 years and they are engaged and turns out Eddie has been saving up since they got together for the wedding cause he doesn't have a lot and wants to give her the best wedding ever cause he wants her to have the perfect day and she knows he also is saving up to start his band with his friends and when she sees what Eddie has organized for the wedding all the luxury she calls it off without Eddie knowing and when he finds out she explains to Eddie she loves him for him and not for a big wedding cause she knows he will love her and that's what's important to her and they hold a small but cute wedding and later on the reader goes with him on tours and becomes his manager for him :) you can decide the ending maybe with a child :)

18+ only

“What?” you ask Gareth, thinking you can’t possibly have heard him correctly. 

“Eddie has been saving for this day since he met you. He’s been saving for four years,” Gareth repeated. 

You furrow your brow in confusion, “But why would he do that? There’s no way he could have known that we were going to get married.”

Gareth shrugged. “He claims he knew from the moment your eyes met across that bar when you came to our show. He knew he didn’t have a lot and he wouldn’t be able to give you the kind of wedding you deserved if he didn’t have some stocked away so he started saving the next day.”

This made no sense. You and Eddie had been dating for four years. You could still remember the first time you laid eyes on him. Your friends had convinced you to go out and you hadn’t been feeling like it. You’d just gone through a nasty break-up and all you wanted to do was lie in your bed, eat some ice cream straight from the carton, and get lost in someone else’s problems on the television. 

But thank god you hadn’t because, little did you know, your destiny was waiting at that bar. The minute that man stepped on stage, your breath vanished from your body. Just poof. Gone. Those brown eyes, so warm and soft, met yours as they started their set and held your gaze for the rest of the song. You were shocked when it ended to find you weren’t a puddle on the floor of the bar but still on your stool. 

The beginning of your relationship had burned hot and fast, the two of you lost in a frenzy of desire and need. There was never enough. It was a raging inferno that couldn’t be tamed. You stole every moment you could with heated kisses and roaming hands that always ended with the two of you naked, tangled up in one another. 

You remembered fearing that the flame of desire that had raged so hot within you two would eventually fizzle into nothing but cold ashes. It never did. It went from a raging inferno to a steady burn. You still couldn’t get enough of each other but now there was also a level of comfort in your relationship. You were just as happy curled up watching a movie together as you were animalistically ripping each other’s clothes off. Sex with Eddie has never gotten boring or stale. You both ensured you kept replenishing the fire, adding kindling to keep it burning. 

You knew Eddie was your soulmate, if such a thing actually existed in the world. You couldn’t imagine your life without him in it. He was the missing piece to your puzzle, the other half of you, your very best friend. But it was sending you for a tailspin that he had been saving money for a wedding he couldn’t possibly have known was going to happen. What if the two of you hadn’t worked out? There was no way he could have known he would marry you from the first night.

“Gareth, that doesn’t make any sense,” you argued, still unable to comprehend this information. “Besides, you probably just got it mixed up. He’s been saving for you guys to cut a demo that you can pitch to record companies. He’s been saving so you can get Corroded Coffin off the ground and out into the world. That’s what he’s been saving for, not a big wedding.”

“No, I am telling you, he’s been doing both. But the way he’s dropping money on the wedding, there won’t be any left for the band,” Gareth told you. “Look, I don’t want to be that guy. I love you both. You know I do and I want you to have the most perfect day because that’s what you two deserve. But Eddie is going a bit off the deep end with all this fairytale wedding shit. There’s no way he’ll have enough left for us to cut a demo. Jeff and I, we’ve been saving some too but studio time is fucking pricy, man. I…damn it, I feel like a jerk for even saying these things.”

“No, you’re not,” you argued. “Gareth, you guys have worked too damn hard for him to throw all that money away. I mean, yeah, I want a beautiful wedding but it’s only one day out of our whole lives. I don’t want him spending a fortune on it. What the hell is he even paying for? He’s been so secretive, telling me he’s got everything handled.”

“Okay…fuck, he is going to be so pissed at me,” Gareth muttered, running a hand through his hair. “But whatever, someone has got to talk sense into him and he won’t listen to us. I think you’re the only one he will listen to. So, he booked the Harmony Lodge for the reception.”

“What?” you shrieked. “That’s the fanciest place in town. That had to be expensive.”

“It was, but then he upgraded to their most magical day deal. So, they decorate with fairy lights and do all the centerpieces with fresh flowers and there’s like, dresses for the chairs or some shit. I don’t even know. It sounds absolutely insane to me but he’s adamant that this is going to be the perfect day.”

“It will be the perfect day because I’m marrying him,” you groaned, tossing your hands in the air in frustration. “He knows me. He knows I am not fancy. I don’t need any of that. I would marry him wearing a burlap sack, standing in front of his trailer. I don’t want all that.”

“I know!” Gareth agreed. “Trust me, we’ve told him that and I think he knows it too but he’s become obsessed with it being, and I quote, ‘The most magical and perfect day because that’s what she deserves.’”

“Fuck!” you yelled, grabbing your purse. “I am going to take care of this. If he keeps this up, we won’t have any money to live.”

“Good luck,” Gareth called as you walked out the front door. 

_______________________________________________________________________

You were sitting on the couch in the trailer, reading a book, feeling much calmer and pretty damn pleased with yourself. While Eddie had been at work, you’d taken yourself down to Harmony Lodge and canceled the whole thing, getting Eddie’s deposit back. Then you grabbed Robin and headed down to City Hall to get a permit to have a wedding outdoors at Lover’s Lake. Robin had helped you spend the entire afternoon finding more cost friendly options for the wedding. Dustin’s mom was great at baking and she offered to make your cake for free. Robin had a band friend from high school who was willing to DJ for a third of the cost of what Eddie had booked. And all of your friends had been more than willing to help decorate. You and Robin had found cheap twinkle lights marked way down from leftover Christmas at Melvald’s General Store thanks to Joyce. Hopper said the police station had a bunch of banquet tables and folding chairs they used for a variety of functions and you were welcome to borrow them for your day. 

Yes, it was all coming together without having to break the bank or drain Eddie’s savings. The front door opened with a bang and you looked up from your book to find him standing there, looking at you with a mixture of confusion and annoyance on his face. Well, shit. Standing up, you laid your book on the table next to you, prepared to defend yourself because he obviously knew what you’d done.

“Hey princess,” he said, pulling his denim vest off and casually tossing it over the back of the chair. 

“Hey baby,” you replied, giving him the most innocent and sweet smile you could muster.

“So, it’s so funny,” he began, his tongue running over his bottom lip before he looked up at you. “I got a call at work from the Harmony Lodge confirming my cancellation of our reception but I didn’t cancel anything.”

“I know. I did.”

“Why? What? How the hell did you even know I booked it there?” he demanded and you had to press your lips together to fight back the smile. He was so damn cute when he got all flustered. You just stared at him and he groaned, slamming his hand against the wall. “Damn Gareth!”

“Hey, don’t be mad at Gareth. I didn’t understand why all the wedding plans had to be such a secret anyway until he told me what was going on. He is just trying to look out for you, Eddie.”

“No, he’s looking out for himself because he’s worried about the fucking demo. I didn’t tell you because I wanted the day to be this perfect surprise.”

“Eddie,” you chastised, crossing your arms over your chest, “he is not just looking out for himself. The band is not just one member. It’s all of you. You have all worked really hard for the chance to get picked up by a label. You’ve been saving for years for this and he doesn’t want you to throw it all away. And neither do I. Don’t throw away a life long dream for what is just one day.”

“Just one day?” he scoffed. “Just one day? Sweetheart, it’s our wedding day. It will be the most important day of our lives and it has to be perfect. I just…” Eddie paused, running his finger along his eyebrow. “I just wanted you to have everything you deserve. You deserve the perfect, fairytale day. You deserve everything. I love you so much and I wanted to show you how much.”

Crossing the room, you came to stand in front of him, taking his hands in yours. Jesus, you loved this man so much. He was so impulsive, making decisions without thinking them through, but you even loved that about him because he always kept life exciting and interesting. 

“Eddie, you don’t have to spend a bunch of money to show me how much you love me. You show me every single day in small ways that mean so much more. You show me when you notice my car is low on gas and take it and fill it. You show me when you see I’ve had a hard day and you get a bubble bath ready for me or offer to rub my back or feet. You show me when you leave me little dirty or sweet notes on the steamed up bathroom mirror or the little papers you leave for me to find. Baby, I don’t need some big, expensive day. Our wedding day is going to be perfect because I get to marry you and that is all I want.”

Eddie’s head dropped, his forehead resting against yours, “That’s all I want too, but sweetheart, the wedding is a month away and now we don’t have a place to get married.”

“Oh, you have such little faith,” you chuckled. “No worries. I have taken care of everything.”

“In one afternoon you planned an entire wedding?” he asked skeptically.

“I sure did. You should have included me all along. Turns out, with Robin at my side, the two of us are capable of just about anything.”

“Well, now that I believe,” laughed Eddie, softly pressing his lips to yours.

_______________________________________________________________________

“You ready?” Robin asked from your side. 

The two of you were off in the woods, hidden among the trees so Eddie didn’t catch sight of you before the ceremony. But you could see the clearing from where you were standing and all of Eddie’s doubts had to be cleared away because your wedding could be any more perfect than this. 

Soft, twinkling lights were strung from the trees and cascading off of a branch to create an ethereal, glowing waterfall of light just behind where the two of you would exchange your vows and promise to love each other forever. Tables were set up throughout the clearing, draped in lovely scarlett clothes that you’d borrowed from Steve. Apparently, his parents had all kinds of fancy shit that had been used once and then discarded. The centerpieces were fresh flowers in mason jars that Robin’s mom had cut from her own garden. Everybody had come together to create this perfect moment for the two of you and could not begin to express how grateful you were. 

“I’ve never been more ready for anything in my life,” you breathed, glancing down at your dress. You’d found it marked down. It wasn’t your traditional wedding dress but the minute you’d seen it, you’d known it was the one. It was an emerald green with a lacy bodice and a flowing tulle skirt. It had probably been marked down from prom but it didn’t matter. It was perfect and the price was right. Besides, Eddie had always loved you in green. 

At that moment, the music began and Robin flashed you a grin before she walked from the trees, making her way toward the lights. You just had a maid of honor, wanting to keep everything small. Eddie had Dustin standing beside him and that was it, your whole wedding party. Even the wedding was small, the two of you deciding to only invite your nearest and dearest. You took a deep breath as the music changed, ‘Here Comes the Sun’ by The Beatles, the song that Eddie insisted you walk out to because he said you were his own personal sunshine. 

Stepping out of your hiding place, you carefully stepped on the path that would lead you to your future and everything you’d ever wanted. Nerves raced through your body but they were instantly calmed when you lifted your gaze, finding your future husband. He looked so amazing in his black jeans, red button up shirt, and suit jacket, his hair pulled back into a low bun. His eyes were wide but soft, sparkling with tears as he took in the sight of you heading toward him. Everything and everybody disappeared until all you were aware of was the two of you. 

“Hi,” you said softly as you reached him, handing your bouquet to Robin. 

“Hi,” he replied, grinning. “You…Jesus, sweetheart, you look beautiful.”

“Thank you,” you smiled. “You look so damn good, baby.”

“You just wait until…”

The sound of someone clearing his throat caught your attention and you both turned to see Hopper, tilting his head, eyebrows lifted. He’d agreed to become ordained and marry the two of you. The man acted gruff but he was a teddy bear in reality and he’d gotten Eddie out of some jams in the past and been a surrogate dad for you for years. You couldn’t think of anyone more perfect for the part.

“If you two are done talking about how good you both look…”

“Hey, you know we look good,” Eddie teased, tugging on the lapels of his jacket.”

“That you do,” he laughed, “but maybe we could get this wedding started?” “Yeah, yeah, of course,” Eddie nodded. 

“Alright, let’s hope I don’t screw this up,” muttered Hopper before standing tall and raising his voice. “We have all gathered here today to witness the joining of these two in marriage. Many of us have watched their relationship progress from young puppy love to the deep, lasting connection they have created together. Thank you for joining us for this happy occasion. Now, the couple have written their own vows that they would like to share.” 

He gestured toward Eddie, who reached into his back pocket and pulled out a napkin that was marked all over in black ink. You smiled. Eddie was forever jotting things down on any random thing he could find as ideas came to him. It felt fitting that your vows were on a napkin.

“Princess, from the moment my eyes found yours across that bar, I knew you were going to be my wife one day. I can’t believe I tricked you into agreeing to this.” The guests all chuckled and Eddie turned, giving them a sheepish grin. “But damn if I’m not the luckiest bastard alive. I promise that I will spend every day for the rest of our lives doing everything I can to make you happy and to show you how much I love you. I promise to always fill your tank with gas. I promise to always read to you when you’re having trouble falling asleep. I promise to try to aim better in the bathroom, empty my ashtray, and not leave my cans laying on the table or my shoes in the middle of the room. I promise to rub your back and hold you close when you’re having a bad day. I promise to try to get my clothes in the hamper instead of all over the bedroom. But mostly, I promise to try to be the best husband I can be because that is what you deserve.”

You blinked back tears as Eddie slid your wedding ring on your finger, gazing at the face of the only man you’d ever truly loved. His vows were perfect. You’d been nervous he would try to be flowery or poetic or ask someone else to write them but they had been just what you needed to hear. They had been quintessentially Eddie.

You turned to Robin who handed you your vows and inhaled slowly through your nose to try to stop the tears. It would be hard enough to get through this without you starting it by crying. But after hearing Eddie’s, you decided to wing it to match him. 

“Eddie, you are everything I could have ever wanted and more. I had no idea that night we met that you would be husband but I knew that I didn’t want anyone else, ever, within days of us meeting. I promise to love you every single day for forever. I promise to try not to nag you about your clothes, your cans, your ashtray, or your aim. I promise to scratch your head when you’re feeling anxious. I promise to always come and watch your shows. I promise to support you in all of your dreams. I promise to be the best wife that I can be because that is what you deserve.”

Eddie smiled down at you as you slid his ring on, his face full of so much affection and love that it felt like sunbeams were caressing every inch of you, warming you from the inside out. 

“Well, alright then,” said Hopper, “then by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. Lay it on her, man!”

Eddie’s arms swooped around you, tilting you back in his arms as his lips found yours. Once again, everything but the two of you ceased to exist as you lost yourself in your first kiss as Mrs. Munson.

______________________________________________________________________

Two Years Later

Eddie rubbed a towel roughly over his hair as he walked out of the bathroom of your hotel room. A pair of sweats hung low on his hips, the only thing he was wearing. The show tonight was amazing, just like every other night. There was nothing you loved more than watching your man do what he loved on that stage. The raw passion and talent that oozed out of him over their two hour set was incredible. It was amazing to see others finally appreciating what you’d known all along, that Corroded Coffin was the real deal. 

After the wedding, Eddie and the guys had pooled the money they’d all saved to get studio time. They had cut a demo with three tracks, asking for your input on which three most highlighted who they were as a band. They had sent the demo to dozens of record companies. Just as they were getting discouraged with the multiple rejections, they got someone who was interested. 

Thrash Vibe, based out of L.A. had offered to fly all of the guys out for a meeting. You had paced back and forth in yours and Eddie’s apartment, biting your nails almost down to the cuticle as you waited for the phone call. When it came and Eddie told you they’d been signed, you’d been just as excited as they were because you knew they deserved it. 

Part of the negotiations was being the opening act on tour with Motley Crue, a huge deal, and Eddie had forced them to name you their tour manager. You tried to say it wasn’t necessary but he’d insisted, telling you that you had always believed in them and had always been their biggest fan. You had been willing to have a smaller wedding so they could have their shot and he wasn’t willing to spend months away from you so he was making sure you went with them. They might try to say a girlfriend shouldn’t come but they couldn’t say a tour manager couldn’t. 

Now, a year and a half later, they were headlining their own tour, their debut album had gone platinum, and they were working on their second. Your lives were a whirlwind of long treks on a tour bus, late nights at shows, photoshoots, interviews, and award shows. But you wouldn’t change a single bit of it. Life with Eddie had always been exciting, he’d always been larger than life, and he was born for this. 

“How are you feeling?” you asked him as he stretched out on the bed next to you. You worried about him sometimes. He gave his all every single night and you didn’t want him to run himself into the ground. 

“Tired,” he admitted with a low chuckle. “I am so glad we have a night off tomorrow. I could use a lowkey day.” His arms came around you, pulling you against him and pressing his lips to your forehead. “I could use a day with you. I say we stay in this bed, order room service, watch movies, and have ungodly amounts of sex.”

You laughed, snuggling into him. “That sounds perfect to me.” 

“Hey, so speaking of sex, I’ve been thinking…”

“No,” you stated, your head snapping back. “Eddie, I told you, I am willing to try a lot of things but that is not…”

“Not that,” snorted Eddie, shaking his head. “Although, I have not given up hope of convincing you. No, I was thinking we should make a baby.”

“What?” you asked, shocked. “Eddie, are you serious?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? Look, we’ve been married for two years, together for six. It’s the next step, right? I mean, don’t you want kids?”

“Of course I do. You know I do, but Eddie, do you really think this is the right time to start a family?”

“Sweetheart, if this isn’t the right time then when is? This crazy life of ours isn’t going to stop. But if there’s anything I know, it’s that you and I together are capable of anything. We could totally do this and just imagine a tiny little human that’s part you and part me. I mean, come on, is there anything more perfect than that?”

And just like that, you could see it. You could see Eddie singing lullabies to your child when they couldn’t sleep. You could see him patiently teaching them how to play guitar. You could see him making up insane stories that would keep them on the edge of their seat. Eddie as a father was going to be amazing. 

“Okay,” you whispered. 

“Okay?” he asked, grinning. In one swift move, he hovered over you, his hands caging either side of your head. “Yes, princess. Let’s put a baby in you.”

You giggled, fingers tangling in those long waves that you loved so much as Eddie’s lips moved over your cheek, across your jaw, and down the side of your neck. His fingers nimbly worked the buttons on your pajama top, pulling it open and then he was kissing and licking every inch of your skin ravenously. You sighed, soft moans falling from your lips as you squirmed under him, a yearning ache quickly building within you. 

Eddie’s lips traveled further south, his fingers gripping onto the edge of your pajama bottoms, slowly pulling them down your legs. His hands gripped your knees, pressing your legs apart and opening you up to him. As his mouth rested over your panties, he released a long, slow exhale that left you ravenous for more. 

“Yes, sweetheart. Jesus, I love this pretty little pussy,” he purred, running his nose along your panties until you were gasping for breath, your hips driving toward him, needing that little piece of fabric gone so there was no barrier between you and his mouth. 

Eddie slid your panties to the side, two of his fingers slipping inside of you. He moaned at how wet you already were, pressing open mouthed kisses along your inner thighs as he drove his fingers into you again and again. Without warning, he sucked your clit between his lips and you keened, almost coming off the bed. 

“Careful there, princess,” he crooned, placing his open palm on her belly, fingers splayed as he held you in place. “Be a good girl and stay still for me.”

Eddie could be insatiable when he was pleasuring you and tonight was no exception. His pleased groans sent gratifying vibrations along your core with every sound you made. Eddie’s fingers were talented, anyone who watched him on stage could see that, but only you knew how his tongue rivaled them. Your eyes rolled back in your head as your hips rolled toward him.

“Eddie, yes, Jesus…that’s so good,” you groaned, one hand gripping the bed sheets, the other gripping his hair as you ground yourself against his face. 

Eddie’s tongue teased you, flicking over your clit and forming circles around it before his lips would pull it back in, sucking just hard enough for it to be painfully satisfying. Your leg muscles became unyielding, legs rigid, as you felt yourself rising to orgasm. Those adept fingers curled within you and you came completely undone.

“Eddie!” you shrieked, gripping his hair tightly in your fist, your back arching off the bed. 

As you lay, trembling and spent, Eddie placed kisses over your body, making his way back up until his mouth found yours again. Desire roared within you once more as you felt his stiff arousal pressing against you. Using your feet, you pushed his sweats down off his hips, reaching between you to take him in your hand. 

“You want me to put a baby in you?” he asked, his eyes shining with excitement and urgency. “You want me to fill you up with all the makings of a little Eddie?”

“Fuck yes.” You groaned as he pressed into you, never ceasing until he had bottomed out within you, stretching you fully. 

“Goddamn, sweetheart,” he hissed, grabbing your feet and pushing them backward until your knees were up by your ears. You both gasped at the new angle, the way it allowed him to hit you in all the right places, to go even deeper. “Holy shit…”

You reached your hand behind his neck, pulling him closer to you, running your tongue along his bottom lip before nipping harshly at it. He released a low growl, thrusting his hips even harder against yours until all you could hear was the sound of your bodies colliding against each other. Your hands slid to his arms, gripping his ropey biceps for purchase as he plunged into you again and again, sending you quickly toward your second release. 

“Eddie, yes, yes,” you gasped, nails digging into his skin as that knot formed in your belly, the telltale sign that you were quickly heading right over the edge. “Baby, just like that. Oh my god. Eddie…yes!”

You held on, riding the waves of your release as Eddie’s hips continued moving against yours. He quickly followed, a strangled gasp emitting from deep within him. His hands released your feet and your legs fell, floppy and useless onto the bed. You collapsed back against the pillows as Eddie collapsed on top of you, his head resting against your chest. 

“Mmm…” he murmured, his lips nuzzling against your skin, his fingers tracing over the gentle curve of your stomach. “What do you think, princess? Do you think we made a little Munson?”

You smiled, fingers scratching his scalp, “I don’t know but if we didn’t this time, we’ll just have to keep trying no matter how many times it takes.”

His head lifted and he flashed you one of those mischievous smiles that always made your stomach flip, “Now, that sounds like fun.”

[layla4567]

Hello! thanks for the D-90 fanfic, I know he was a secondary character and there is no so much material about him and I appreciate that you agreed to my request and did your best :D ! this time, may I request a mobius x reader? super cute super fluff

Thank you for your nice message, I appreciate that you liked it even though it was a little short. (I made it a fem reader but I never really describe the gender of the reader I hope you don't mind)

My silly little man

Mobius x Fem!reader

Summary: You want to organize something special for Mobius because you started to think that you don't really know when his birthday is, in fact, no one who works at the TVA really knows when they were born. After discovering that you were not created by the time keepers, your mission will be to find out Mobius' birthday with the help of Loki and give him a nice gift.

Warnings: just fluff

Word count: 3k

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With your hands framing your face and your elbows resting on the table, you listened attentively to Mobius talking about his favorite topic, jetskis.

"They are super fast vehicles and glide through the water like fish. I think it would be great to get on one of those, I would feel like Poseidon!"

Mobius' little eyes shone with excitement with every sentence he said and his body language was that of a happy child, he leaned over the table, moved his hands and from time to time he giggled, in short, he couldn't stop moving.

"And the best of all is that despite their size they are very light and can be carried on by more than one person.."

You nodded and smiled, memorizing every useful fact about jetskis. Suddenly Mobius remained silent, looking at you somewhat embarrassed.

"Hey… I'm not boring you, am I?"

"No! Of course not! It's funny when you talk to me about those jetskis"-you said surprised

He smiled with relief and ate a piece of his key lime pie. He wanted to take a break and decided to go with you to the pie room where you two were now. Whenever he felt stressed or discouraged, his favorite dessert that gave him the best comfort was key lime pie.

"You haven't tried your pie, aren't you hungry?"

"Oh, when I listen to you I forget everything else."

He seemed to blush and smiled shyly, you decided to take a taste of the pie. It was mint green and had a scoop of cream on top. When you put the fork in your mouth, your eyes widened.

"My God Mobius! It's delicious!"

"Have you never tried it before?"

"Ah ah"-You shook your head as you stuffed your cheeks with the delicious key lime pie. You looked like a bloated squirrel.

You finished the key lime pie before Mobius but you did it in such a hurry that you didn't realize that you had gotten cream on the corner of your mouth.

"You've got something… a little dirty. Here, let me help you."

Mobius took a small handkerchief out of his jacket pocket and wiped the corner of your lip as you moved closer to him and made eye contact.

"Better?"-you asked

"Much better"-he said smiling

You smiled back warmly, he was a great man always willing to help. So gentlemanly and helpful with a fatherly attitude that no one else at TVA had. Although it is true that sometimes he was a little strange and made bad jokes, you always laughed because you adored him.

"Well I thought I was the only person who loved pie´s but I see that someone else beat me to it."-He said pointing to your empty plate.

You laughed, looking down and shrugging your shoulders, and when you looked up again you saw on the clock that it was time to go back to work.

"Oh, I think we talked too much, I better go back to my office, I don't want Miss Minutes to get angry."

He waved his hand dismissively. "That cartoon clock? Don't worry, she's probably busy chatting with Mickey Mouse and his friend Donald Duck."

You laughed again this time harder at his silly joke as you both got up and went back to your offices.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Hours later you were sitting pretending to work but in reality you were looking through the Mobius archives looking for important information, while from time to time you looked through their jetski magazines. Loki, who was next to you, looked at you out of the corner of his eye, intrigued. Suddenly he rolled up a magazine and hit you on the shoulder with it, you jumped and turned around offended.

"Ouch? What are you doing?"

"I could ask you the same thing. Shouldn't you be working?"

"Ugh forget it Loki, you're not interested in what I'm doing."

"Right, but do you know who would be interested? What was the name of that grumpy judge who was a friend of Mobius? Oh, I remember, Ravonna! She'd be very upset if she caught you lazing around."

He made to stand up with a mischievous smile to tell Ravonna about your lack of efficiency when you stopped him by the wrist before he left.

"Fine, you win!! I'll tell you what I'm doing but don't tell Ravonna."

"I'm listening"

"I need to know Mobius's birthday"

"Why do you want to know that?"

"It's just that… haven't you stopped to think that no one here remembers the day they were born? Now we know that we are variants but we don't remember our birthdays, for example, you remember when you were born, right?"

"Of course I remember"

"See? That's my point, it's important to remember our birthday to know who we are, and Mobius needs to know who he is, or at least be reminded."

Loki looked at you for a while, thoughtful.

"Are you sure that's the only reason you're doing this?"

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"Well, I mean, it's curious that you only want to know Mobius's birthday and not anyone else."

You avoided making eye contact with him and blushed slightly, you didn't want to lie to Loki because he was after all the god of mischief and no lie escaped him, but you didn't want to be so obvious either.

"Well, you know, Mobius is an important worker at the TVA, he is very good and understanding, loyal and patient and… he is someone important to me.."-you said in a low voice

Loki laughed, unable to contain himself, and you looked at him, frowning. Did he dare to mock you just now?

"I already knew that, I just wanted to see you admit it."

You punched him in the arm with your fist while he continued laughing. A while later he calmed down and told you

"Okay, I'll help you with whatever you need."

"I knew you would do it"-you smiled

You both agreed to use a Tempad to be able to travel to the Mobius timeline, without anyone finding out.

Walking shoulder to shoulder the two of you advanced through the halls of the TVA finding a place where you could open the time door without anyone seeing you, unfortunately Mobius was nearby talking to B-15 and saw you.

"Oh hey Loki, Y/N where are you going?"

"Oh uhh we were going to… we…-"-You murmured nervously.

"An alert sounded on our Tempads, it's just an annoying variant. Not very dangerous"-Loki said confidently helping you get by.

"How strange, no alarm went off in my Tempad"

"Not in mine either"-B-15 said, looking at them suspiciously.

"Well, I guess you'll have to send them to O.B to check them."

Loki smiled calmly and placed a hand on your shoulder, gently pushing you to continue walking. They both walked away from Mobius and B-15 without looking back for fear that they would follow them. When they finally made sure that you and Loki were alone, they opened the time door.

"Phew, that was close."-you sighed

"Yeah, and be thankful that I saved you because you don't know how to lie."

"Hey!"

You couldn't say anything more because Loki rolled his eyes and pushed you slightly so that you crossed the time door and he followed you from behind.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

When you two walked out the door, a strong ray of sunlight hit your faces, forcing you to squint. A fresh breeze moved their hair and the soft singing of the birds sweetened their ears. In front of you was a picturesque house with toys lying in front near the sidewalk. Loki put his hands on his hips and you stood still waiting for something to happen.

"So, this is where the original Mobius lives, not bad, I mean, it's not the palace of Asgard but it looks comfortable-"

"Shh, someone's coming!"

From afar you saw how Mobius approached carrying two huge garbage cans making it difficult for him to walk. He was wearing a white shirt and pants with a blue vest, you sensed that it was the uniform of his original job.

"Ok guys we have a new rule and that is any toy found outside your room is gonna clasified as garbage. That is trash"

You watched as Mobius gathered the toys and felt your heart sink, so he had children. And if he had children that meant that maybe he also had a wife… you wrinkled your brow just thinking about it. Suddenly a blonde boy who was squatting ran out while Mobius called him shouting his name, to make matters worse another slightly older boy came out from behind the house and went for his brother. You lowered your head a little crestfallen, you no longer felt so much desire to visit him.

"Hey, what's wrong?"-Loki asked you worried

"Nothing, I don't think it was a good idea to come…"

You were about to turn around when Loki stopped you by the arm.

"No, no hey, hey wait. I know this seems strange but just because he has a son doesn't mean he should have a wife. Maybe he's a single father."

You didn't seem very convinced but you still stopped and turned to look at him.

"Besides, do you really think that if he had a wife, all those toys would be lying in the yard? Don't you think she would have already gone out to see what was going on?"

You hadn't thought about that, of course, Mobius seemed more like the kind of father who would be single and his children would drive him crazy. You smiled tenderly as you thought about that and as you remembered his fatherly attitude at the TVA, it made sense now.

"You're right, we shouldn't dramatize so much. Let's try to talk to him."-you sighed in relief

You and Loki walked towards the house where Mobius was still gathering the toys, carrying them under his arm as best he could. He suddenly turned around and was surprised to see the two of you.

"Oh hello there, do you need anything?"

Why did your throat feel dry every time you went to talk to him? The words didn't seem to come out of your mouth and your hands were sweating. You hated him. Loki once again came to your aid.

"We wanted to ask you something"

"Do you want to buy a jetski?"

Suddenly you forgot all nervousness and took a step forward

"Are you a jetski salesman?"

"Of course! That's what I dedicate myself to. Don, to serve you"

He extended his hand to shake it and you gladly did so. You were happy to know about his past and why he was always interested in those vehicles, finally the pieces of the puzzle were beginning to fit together.

"Come with me, I have some excellent jetskis in my garage that I want to show you"

Don stepped forward and you whispered in Loki's ear.

"Don is a nice name, it suits him"

"So you think?"-he grimaced

The gray-haired man opened the door to his garage and showed them two beautiful jetskis in good condition.

"These are my greatest treasures, I shouldn't sell them to you but my wife is no longer here so no one is stopping me."-he laughed softly

Upon hearing that you raised your eyebrows without being able to contain yourself. Loki spoke to downplay your not at all hidden reaction.

"They are beautiful but we are looking for other models, could we chat inside? If you don't mind, of course"

"Alright, do you want something to drink? I have a couple of beers."

"It wouldn't be wise, we have to get back to work in a bit."

Suddenly Don seemed to notice your clothes and nodded smiling. Upon entering Don's house you could see that the disorder was also present there and not just in his yard. There were plates and pots piled up in the kitchen sink. On the table there were crayons, papers, glasses and tin soldiers. He hurriedly took out those things, apologizing profusely.

"Sorry for the mess, single dad."-He smiled embarrassedly.

"Do not worry I understand"

You looked at him, smiling tenderly, watching each of his movements and how you moved away his children's toys and drawings. Despite everything you thought he was a great father

"Well, sit down please, what model of jetski were you looking for?"

The three of you sat down and you and Loki looked at each other in silence not knowing what to say, you hadn't planned what to say, usually you improvised on the fly, especially Loki.

"Well we needed a big jetski of a specific color..."-it occurred to you to say

"Yes, yes and it is a special color to identify it from the other jetskis"-Loki said

"Okay, what color would it be? We have green, yellow, blue.."

"Purple maybe?"

"Or how about mother-of-pearl and gold?"

"Ok, that's a unique color."-Don said

You looked at Loki wanting to rip his head off. After all, he couldn't stop being the eccentric prince that he was. Don looked at the two of you confused, trying to guess if you were playing a prank on him.

"Look, I'll bring a magazine from the store where I work so you can see the prices and colors. I'll be right back."

When the gray-haired man left the kitchen you jumped up and looked around the place trying to find something that would tell you Mobius' birthday. On his refrigerator there were a lot of photos and notes stuck with magnets. His children's birthdays were written in the notes but not his, obviously. You sat back down quickly when Don returned with a jetski magazine.

"Well here it is, I hope I haven't kept you waiting too long."

You took the magazine smiling and approached Loki so you could both see the jetskis, obviously you had to feign interest so Don wouldn't get suspicious, but how could you get him to reveal the information you needed? Suddenly something occurred to you

"We are actually looking for a jetski to give to a friend for his birthday"

"Wow they must love their friend very much. I would have loved to receive that as a birthday gift"-he laughed

"Really? When is your birthday?"

"Oh it's already happened, it was October 15"

You looked at Loki and smiled at him, winking, he looked at you surprised at your abilities.

"Well in that case, happy belated birthday."

"Thank you"

You and Don looked at each other smiling tenderly, Loki smiled happily but then cleared his throat, bringing you back to reality and reminding you that they had to leave. With regret you saw Don again

"Well, I think we'll come back another day, there are so many jetskis that I can't decide"

"Yeah, and also if we don't go back to work our boss will get angry."-Loki said

The gray-haired man looked a little sad but managed to give a small smile.

"Oh ok, I got it. Please come back whenever you want, you are welcome in this house."

He walked you to the door but before leaving you grabbed his hand and gave it a loving squeeze.

"Thanks for everything"

The way you said it suggested that you thanked him for more than just showing you his jetskis. You and Loki left the house and returned to the TVA through the time door.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

"And now what will we do? We already know that Mobius's birthday is October 15th but we still don't have any gifts for him"-You sighed frustratedly, sliding into your seat.

"And we should decorate the place too, just saying"

You rolled your eyes, growling and covering your face.

"Loki, you are not helping, instead of saying what I already know we should do, propose an idea"

"Sorry i'm trying! I have never had to organize a birthday party before"

You scratched your head, frowning and trying to come up with something.

"Well we could ask O.B to design something for Mobius, maybe a miniature jetski, you know O.B is good at inventing and fixing things"

Loki nodded listening attentively.

"And to decorate the place we will have to ask B-15 and Casey for help. We won't be able to do it alone"

"Pftt speak for yourself"

You looked at him frowning and he laughed but then he got serious and cleared his throat.

"Alright, let's go see that little inventor."

It didn't take long for the two of you to reach the basement where O.B worked. As always he greeted them smiling happy as a clam.

"Guys! It's nice to see you! What are you doing here?"

Suddenly you felt a little bad about what you were going to ask him, O.B was already a busy man and his office seemed like the result of a whirlwind of things, all messy. But Mobius was priority now

"I need you to try to recreate a miniature jetski, it doesn't have to be perfect. You can do it with whatever you find, screws, wires, whatever you want. Just try to make it look like a jetski"

You handed him a magazine that you had taken from Mobius's desk drawer so he would know the exact shape he should recreate.

"Ok! May I ask why do I have to do this?"

"Well, it's a gift for Mobius but don't say anything, it's a surprise."-you winked

"Alright, I won't say anything, I promise"

You and Loki left the little bespectacled man to work and headed into the hallways looking for Casey and B-15. They went a long way when they found Mobius again.

"Hello again, have you caught the variant yet?"

"What variant?-"

Suddenly you stomped on Loki to keep his mouth shut. He grabbed his foot, growling and looked at you angrily. You only saw Mobius and smiled nervously.

"Yes, we already caught it, luckily everything turned out well"

"Hmm, right."

You quickly took Loki by the arm, cursing inwardly while Mobius stood with his hands on his hips, looking at them suspiciously. He wasn't stupid, it was obvious that he knew something was wrong, and Loki almost ruined it.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Mobius was upset and confused, pacing back and forth trying to figure out what you two were up to. He was racking his brain trying to figure out if they had gotten into trouble and were afraid to tell him. To console himself he ate a slice of pie. He suddenly realized that you spent a lot of time with Loki and he felt weird. Was it jealousy? But why would I be jealous of Loki? He was his friend and you… you… well, anyway. He told himself he didn't have to worry. When you finish eating the pie. He went to see O.B and was surprised by the silence there was, it was a heavy, suffocating silence as if something was lurking and was about to attack him. When he got to the basement he didn't see anyone, he turned around to look somewhere else and that's when he found a large banner with his name and the phrase "Happy Birthday."

"What the..-"

Suddenly Casey, O.B, Loki, B-15 and you came out from behind the engineer's desk and yelled "surprise!". Mobius turned around, startled and confused.

"What is all this??"

You approached with your hands behind your back and smiling from ear to ear.

"It's a birthday party, listen I know it sounds weird but you never knew when you were really born so Loki and I went to your original timeline and found out! Isn't it amazing?!"

Mobius opened his eyes wide and murmured.

"You and Loki did what? Why?"

"We all deserve to know where we come from to know who we are. We must know our past to understand our present. Today is not October 15 but we still wanted to celebrate that somewhere and at some time on earth you were born"-you looked at Loki and the others

"And remind you what a good person you are, and a great friend too"

"A loyal and helpful TVA agent"-B-15 said

"The man who always visits me and asks me how I am"-O.B said

"Or the man who is always patient and knows how to listen"-Casey said

Mobius looked at everyone moved and then looked at you.

"And most importantly, the person who is always there for everyone, who is understanding, passionate and optimistic. You always know what to say and when. We care about you Mobius, especially me"

Mobius didn't know what to say and his eyes were already wet, when from behind you you took out the gift that O.B had finished, a pocket jetski made of metal and welded. It was a little rustic and lacked paint but it was perfect

"I apologize for not being able to paint it, I didn't have time"-O.B said

Mobius laughed tenderly and grabbed the jetski, tears of happiness now running down his cheeks. He admired the piece of metal as if it were a treasure, that was more than he could wish for or imagine. He looked at all his friends smiling, he couldn't believe they had done something like that for him.

"I really don't know what to say, thank you"

"You don't have to say anything"

You hugged Mobius and gave him a kiss on the cheek, he melted into your arms inhaling your perfume and closing his eyes like a newborn being lulled to sleep.

"I love you silly little man"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

small note: I'm not an astrologist or anything but I couldn't decide whether to make Mobius of the sign cancer or libra, in the end I decided on libra lol

[deathmetalunicorn1]

Hello! I wanted to know if you could write about the child reader, who comes home crying because at school all the kids in her class ignore her for being "weird" and "unbearable". I recently discovered that for these reasons when I was little nobody spoke to me and I remember the number of times I cried for it. Thank you very much in advance <3

My sweet love, you are perfect the way you are, so many people have toxic viewpoints of others, they judge before they truly know others. I’m sorry you had to deal with something so awful because people can’t teach their kids to never judge others. I’m here for you if you ever want to talk my darling. Besides, being weird and unusual is way more fun than being normal and boring!

-The door barely made a sound as you opened it, closing it behind you, your gaze downcast as you slipped your backpack off followed by your shoes, leaving them by the front door in the shoe rack.

-Loki saw you as he was heading from the living room to the kitchen, “Hey Y/N! welcome- Y/N?” his voice was bright and cheerful to start off with, then full of concern when you didn’t look at him, not even acknowledging him.

-He came over and squatted before you, holding his knees together as he brushed your hair out of your face, a frown on his lips as he saw the tears swimming in your eyes,

-You bit your bottom lip which trembled lightly, as you were trying hard not to cry.

-Nikola overheard Loki and exited the living room, seeing you as your hands started to grip at your shirt, seeing you upset as tears started to bubble out.

-The two men were quickly trying to console you as the first sob ripped from your throat, trying to figure out if you had fallen and were hurt somewhere, trying to get an answer out of you.

-Kojiro heard you sobbing, as did Zeus, the two older men coming to your side, trying to comfort you and calm you down.

-You clung to Kojiro, stepping into his arms after he kneeled, and he rubbed your back gently while the four men shared a small look, worried.

-Once you were calmed down enough to talk, Zeus wiped your tears from your cheeks, “My-my friends… they don’t-they don’t want to play with me anymore!”

-Loki instantly glared, quickly becoming furious, “What- why?! You’re so much fun to play with!”

-You sniffled softly, rubbing your cheeks with the back of your hand, “They said I’m weird- that I talk too much about history and about gods. They said I’m annoying!”

-You were only five, but you knew so much about history and different gods because they were literally your family, they told you stories about their lives, and your mind was like a sponge with them, you were considered a genius because you knew so much about history!

-But to hear that your friends thought it was annoying that you knew so much that you were so smart, it broke their hearts but also made them so angry to hear that other children were being so cruel to you.

-Tesla, having faced something similar, as he hadn’t been like the other kids he grew up with, was the one to hug you close before grinning down at you, “There’s not a thing wrong with you, Y/N! You’re absolutely perfect! They just don’t understand that you’re much smarter than they are!”

-Loki then grinned brightly, “Yeah- our Y/N is the best!!” your eyes widened a bit at their words as Zeus ruffled your hair, “Most bullies will try to intimidate others that they are afraid of, that’s probably why they don’t want to play with you, they’re scared of you!”

-You didn’t want your friends to be scared of you, but Kojiro was quick to add on his own view, “What Zeus meant is by they might feel like they’re not good enough to play with you, since you’re so smart. And that fear might be making them want to push you away.”

-You sniffled softly, asking what you could do to change so your friends would play with you again, so they would want to be friends with you.

-Instantly all four of them shouted, “No!” which shocked you as they all told you to never change yourself for others. You should be happy as you are without having to change anything about yourself!

-Their words of encouragement made you smile, but the ice cream Loki got you afterwards, the five of you sneaking out for a treat, was even better!

-The next day you went back to school with your head held high, a bright grin on your face as you greeted your friends who were a bit surprised that you were talking to them, after they had told you to leave them alone.

-You pulled out a book on Greek ruins for show and tell, something Zeus gave you, and you showed all the pictures of the buildings, talking about them in great detail.

-Some of your friends still thought you were weird, not wanting to have anything to do with you, but some came over and asked you questions about the buildings which you told them about and you beamed when they expressed interest in seeing more of your book, after show and tell was over with.

-They wanted to know more about other ruins and cool places and you were happy to oblige!

[anotherrosesthatfell]

╰┈➤ Tomorrow is another day

This is Angst perspective of his family or his so called depression...

Tomorrow is another day.

Father beat up mother for useless reason. She was feeding Merciless, she should just listen to father.

"Mom... I brought the bandages. Mister Cross is calming father down." I said as I sit next to her.

Her eyes are lifeless, yet... She still smile at me with such genuine smile.

"Thank you Angst... You're a kind child.." She smiles as she hugs me.

It feels like I am comforting her right now.

Tomorrow is another day.

"Hey, Angst. Do you want to read book together?" Crescent showed me a fairytale book.

It's the same book we read, father did not gift him any new books.

"Sure... Anything for my twin brother." I force myself to smile.

Crescent would be sad if I didn't smile. As the oldest, I should make my brother happy.

Tomorrow is another day.

I am in my study, Crescent skipped his lesson so the tutor is chasing after him. That's when I saw a small figured sneak it.

"Hey, who are you." I caught the little one.

He has the same hair as my mother... Who...?

"A-Are you one of my brother?" the child spoke.

Ah... The realization hits me. This is Merciless, the child that father locked him away from us.

I let go of him and place him on my seat gentle. He is too.. Fragile. His body is full of bruises and his hair seem like it never was washed.

"Hello little brother. I am Angst, your oldest brother." I said as I patted him. "Mom talked a lot about you."

"Mom did?" he beamed happily and smiles.

That smile.... It's so precious. How could father ever hate this child...?

"I-I am happy to meet you older brother. Mom always tells me story about my older brothers and I like to meet you!" he smiles "B-But I have to go now, the evil man will be angry at mom again..."

The evil man...? Oh, right... Father is the evil man.

"Actually... How about you stay with me?" I smiles. " Father would listen to my request, don't worry."

"R-Really? Thank you!" Merciless hug me as he excited to get along with me.

How refreshing....

Tomorrow is another day

"I heard you been 'hanging out' with that rat." Father glares at me.

"And?" I look at him with bored. "I am the heir of this family, I can do whatever I want including playing with my little brother."

"That rat is not your brother!" father grabbed my wrist as he yelled at me. "that bastard child—"

"Let go of me Father." I said. "If you seriously want proof that he is not your son, I can use my magic to do so." I smirk. "But of course, you don't want to know right? Because you don't want to handle the feeling of guilt."

Father is quiet for a while. He let go of my wrist and look away.

Tch, I have a pathetic father...

"Don't forget I am your son, father. I know your weakness very well." I said as I walked away.

Tomorrow is another day.

Mother gave birth to a daughter. Father changed his heart immediately for his new born daughter.

Disgusting.

"Do you want to hold your little sister, Angst?" My mother got my attention.

I put down my book at look at her. What was her name again? Ah yes, Artemis... The God of Greek name.

Father truly changed for a mere child.

I fake my smile and took Artemis as I hold her. She is so small and fragile, not fragile as Merciless yet... Her in my arms, I could kill her anytime I want.

"she is pretty like you, mom." I gave a false sincerity. "I'm so lucky to have a little sister. Now my little brother won't be so lonely anymore."

I don't want her in my life.

Tomorrow is another day.

Merciless and Artemis birthday is a day apart. How sad... Merciless birthday wasn't celebrate at all while Artemis birthdays is extravagant and grand with blessings.

"Brother Angst, brother Crescent! Thanks for making it on time!" she beamed with a smile, it's not precious as Merciless smile.

"Yeah! I skipped all my lessons and I bought you a gift!" Said Crescent.

He love Artemis but he did not love Merciless. I don't understand.

"Awe, thank you Crescent. I don't need a gift from you because your presence is enough for me!" Artemis hug both Crescent and me.

How suffocating...

"Right, Artemis is so nice... She grew up nothing like us so she always think positive." I said with a fake smiles.

Crescent could sense my insincerity but Artemis couldn't. She still believe her older brother love her.

"Right... Artemis, you should go cut the cake! Angst and I will follow you later." Said Crescent.

"Okay!" Artemis excitedly run towards the table.

Crescent gave me a dead glare and look disappointed.

"What's wrong with you? This is our little sister birthday, be nice!" Crescent rolls his eyes.

"I am nice. You should be glad I don't ruin her birthday." I said. "Now if you mind, I will go to Merciless and mom instead because apparently you didn't wish his birthday yesterday." I scoffed.

Crescent is quiet, he seems disturbed for some reasons... Oh, Crescent never meet Merciless. He didn't know Merciless birthday too.

"... Let's just have fun for our little sister sake. You can go to Merciless later or else Father will be upset that we are not presence enough in Artemis life." Said Crescent as he hold my hand.

How can I blame him... Crescent is still immature child that need to be guide. He listen to father too much....

Tomorrow is another day.

"Brother Angst! Is it true I have another brother?" Artemis cried as she found out the truth. "W-Why I never get to meet him?!"

"Artemis..." I sighed as I comfort her. "Father don't like him and you shouldn't be around him." I said.

"B-But that's so cruel!" She frowned. "I will talk to father about this! He will listen to me."

... Daddy's girl truly annoying but Artemis brings advantage for Merciless sake. If she managed to convince Father, I can teach Merciless how to read at last....

"alright, I believe in you." I smile. "I'll be by your side to talk with Father."

And Father finally got Merciless his own room.

Tomorrow is another day.

Merciless fell asleep. I guess he is sleepy after I read him a history book.

I carried him to his room and put a magic barrier so those lowly servants would not disturb him.

I guess I should go to the library..

"How could you eat so much when your brothers had to starved themselves."

Oh? Is this mother voice...?

Mother is scolding Artemis.... This is amusing.

"I-I am sorry mama—"

"Don't call me that." she glares at Artemis. "You should think more about your brothers..." mother left after telling Artemis those words.

I can sense mother was forced to said it. It was father orders, so Artemis wouldn't get attached to mother....

I step closer to Artemis and pat her.

"Artemis, why are you crying?" I fake my concern.

"Brother Angst- I—"

"Did mother said something harsh? I will tell father so he will punish mother." I said a lie.

"N-NO!" Artemis quickly wipe her tears. "I tripped and fell! Mother was worried about me and told me to be careful next time!" Artemis hold my hand as she trembles.

That's right... She should live quietly, a child born with golden spoon. Just be lucky that I am still nice.

"Alright... If you said that. You should go to the doctor for treatment." I smiles.

Artemis nodded quietly and left. It was fun for a while...

Tomorrow is another day.

Crescent finally left home to be a priest at the church of light kingdom. Good for him...

Artemis became a popular singer and befriend with a prince of light kingdom. Father wasn't mad at all....

Merciless finally know how to read, he also got a beautiful fiancee. I am happy for them.

Mother met a witch, she is happier and she forgets about her children...

And Father....

"I think Artemis should be the Queen of this kingdom." Said father as he took a sip of the tea.

"Really?" I laughed. "Father... How could you be so gentle and stupid? Artemis power can't be compare to mine, I am far stronger than her and you." I gave a bored eyes.

Father is still silence. He is too pathetic...

"If you dare to make Artemis the queen then fine. I'll kill you and her by my hand, I'll destroy this kingdom too." I threatened him. "I already let that useless girl live a quiet happy life, I pretended fo be a supportive brother and I am kind enough to let her believes that you are 'super nice dad'. "

"Tch... You are truly like me." Said father.

"I guess I am." I smirk. "But I am kind enough to let you two lives. If I weren't, our family would be dead already in my hands." I stood up from my seat. "But again, I am kind enough to spare Merciless if I were to kill our family."

I pat my father shoulder as a threat not to speak nonsense in my presence again.

"You should know better." I said as I left the room.

And that's the last time I spoke to my father.

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

Artemis and a sunflower in full bloom Au belong to @abloomingsunflower / @itzcherrybonbon

[griffin-girl-r]

A mother's love

Created: 25.02.2023

Finished: 26.02.2023

Edited: 14.09.2023

Age: Newborn, 6, 9, 19

Word count: 12,782

Warnings: Blood, Violence, Coma, Health problems, Medical equipment

Request: Yes (Wattpad user)

Summary: After your solo mission goes wrong, Natasha is left to deal with the aftermath.

"Do you have everything?" Your mother asked you worried "Spare guns, enough weapons, two suits, all the information about the target, your Widow Bites?"

—

"Calm down, Mama." You calmly stated, placing your hands on her shoulders "I have everything I need. Besides, it's only a one-day mission." You pointed out "I'll be back before dinner."

"You better!" Your godmother, Wanda, laughed as she passed by you and your mom talking in the living room "I'm making your favorite for dinner tonight to celebrate your first solo mission."

"Thanks, Aunt Wanda!" You shouted after her "You are the best!"

"Alright, that's enough." Your kom sternly told you and you frowned at her, not understanding why the sudden change in her behavior "Promise me you'll be safe. Okay?" She said now in a soft and hushed tone "I need you to promise me that you won't start wandering off, doing God knows what, stupid things you might do instead of finishing your mission and do not, and I mean it, do not, by all means, let your guard down or ignore Maria's orders from the base. Do you understand it? Since you're going to be alone, there will be no one to have your back. That's why you need to be very cautious."

You sighed and rolled your eyes, tired of your mother's speech.

"Fine. I promise." You dragged out in a bored tone of your voice

"Thank you." Natasha nodded before moving her hands and resting them on your cheeks as she gently cupped your face "I love you so much, baby. Please be careful. I can't risk anything bad happening to you. You're all I have in this world. My miracle."

"You know, one day you'll have to finally tell me why you keep on calling me your miracle." You chuckled "It's not like you're the only woman in the world who had just one child."

Natasha kept silent for a moment before nodding as she gave you a small, shy smile.

"How about you come back to me in one piece and unharmed tonight and after dinner, I'll tell you why I call you that? Huh?" Natasha asked

"Deal!" You nodded quite excited about your mom's trade

Natasha pulled your face closer to her as she leaned and kissed your forehead.

"Be careful, my love." She whispered once she rested her forehead on yours, booping your nose with her own "Mama loves you so much."

"Love you too, Mama." You brightly smiled before having to interrupt the sweet moment "I really have to go now. See you at dinner." You called out as you started walking away to the QuinJet, leaving your mother alone with her thoughts and worries

—

"Natasha Junior? Do you copy?" Maria Hill asked you through the comms as she had been assigned to be the one to coordinate your mission from the S.H.I.E.L.D. quarters

"Firstly, I do, Agent Hill." You responded "And secondly, why do you keep on calling me Natasha Junior? My name is Y/N!"

"One day, kid." Maria answered "Maybe one day I'll tell you. Now focus on the mission." The brunette instructed "Your target is supposed to be on the fifth floor. Eliminate it!" She ordered

"My pleasure, Agent Hill." You smirked as you cut the transmission through your comms

You started to check every level of the building to make sure you eliminated any possible danger before making your way to the fifth floor. But something was awfully strange because there was no one in sight. Literally. Not one person in all four floors you checked before reaching the fifth.

"How's it going, Agent Romanoff the Second?" Maria asked

You rolled your eyes at her comment, getting more and more tired of people treating you like either a baby or as your mother's double.

"Maria, something's weird about this place." You answered, your voice slightly shaking, as you chose to ignore the nickname that Maria gave you only seconds ago

"What do you mean, kid?" Maria worriedly questioned as, back at the base where the older woman was, she made a sign with her hand, sending everyone around her in alert

"This building it's way too empty." You pointed out "Way too quiet."

"I think you should retreat, young agent." Fury's voice boomed in your ears through the comms as he, just now, connected his comms to your frequency, just like Maria "This doesn't smell good."

"Wait, Sir." You said as you loaded your gun "I'm going inside the room where our target is."

"Romanoff, no!" Fury shouted "I said retreat! Get out of there!"

"Too late, Nick. I'm going in." You ignored Fury's instructions and direct orders and banged open the door

The room was empty, with just one lonely chair sitting in the middle of the room. It was creepy. Just like in those movies you used to watch on a team movie night that your mother totally disagreed with the boys on letting you watch. One man, sitting on the chair, with his back at you, was the only other thing present in this room. You couldn't see his face, but from behind, it looked very much like your target. Approaching him with careful and silent steps, you held your gun up and aimed at his head.

You knew that by now, the man was supposed to notice your presence. But even if he did notice, your target made no move to indicate that he knew about your arrival. Slowly, you put your hand on the man's shoulder which felt so skinnier than any other normal shoulder, and spun the chair around.

"Cyka blyat!" You loudly cussed in Russian as you came face to face with a skeleton dressed in clothes and that was wearing a wig "It's a trap!"

"Y/N, get out of there!" Maria shouted "Now!"

You bolted towards the door, only to stop when some men started entering the room.

"I'm outnumbered." You let the headquarters S.H.I.E.L.D. team know what was happening

Maria, who was asked by your mom to take extra protection measurements for you on this mission, has ordered her backup team which was already on the field, waiting for Maria's orders, to go and take you out of there.

"Hill, hack the security cameras or any device that can show us what is happening over there." Fury ordered

"Already on it, Sir!" Maria started to quickly type something on her computer as multiple images of the same scene, viewed from different angles, popped up on the big screen for everyone to see

There you were, surrounded by different men, clearly outnumbered by far.

"Hi, guys!" You nervously laughed at the men in front of you "So I think this is a little misunderstanding. I have no idea who you guys are and I'll just leave." You looked around for a way out of this situation

You quickly spotted a window, not far behind you and you quickly turned around, ready to jump out through that window, only to be pulled back and pinned to the ground by one of the creepy men that started to form a circle around you.

You didn't even get time to register that you were now on the ground when those men started beating you.

Punches were thrown at you at an incredible speed as well as legs that were hitting you full force either on your back, stomach, or in your face.

"Great job, boys." The deep, cold voice of a man echoed throughout the entire room

The mysterious figure started clapping alongside with an evil laugh that made your ears feel as if something was scratching them from the inside out.

"Did they really think we wouldn't find out about their plan?" The same man asked "Let me see who they have sent after me this time."

All the men quickly stepped aside to allow their boss a clear view of your face.

You painfully rolled on your side and looked up at the man.

Your eyes going wide once you've recognized the man in front of you.

"My, my, my..." The man you now identified as your target, chuckled "If this isn't Natasha Romanoff herself!" The man smirked

"Actually..." You groaned "I'm her daughter, you moron."

The man's eyebrows shoot up in shock at your statement before a wide smile spread on his face.

"The universe never stops blessing me I see." The same man spoke "I'm looking for a Widow, only to come across an even more important little Widow. The greatest Black Widow's, Natasha Romanoff's, only offspring!" He laughed "The sun is shining on me today!"

You reached for your secret gun, only to have your hand smashed to the floor by one of the enemy's feet.

"I was just so hoping they would send your dear old mother here today as I have an old, unfinished business with her." The man continued "But seeing you here today, it's so much better than seeing her because I can get to your mother through you."

"Never!" You breathed out as you spitted some blood out of your mouth "I'll never tell you where my mother is hiding."

"Oh, but who said something about going to look for her when I have a better revenge in store for her and S.H.I.E.L.D. that will make them suffer immensely." The man laughed once again

"Oh yeah?!" You mocked him "I'll let you know that nothing you could ever do will manage to make them suffer even in the slightest."

"Is that so?" The man mocked you back with a smirk "Well I know one trick that will do the job." He looked up at his men "Kill Romanoff's daughter."

"Wait, what?!" You shouted as you started fighting around and trying to get out of the other men's grip, as one of them took out from behind his back a gun

You made one last attempt to free yourself but failed.

"Mama..." You mumbled scared under your breath as you shut your eyes tightly closed

"S.H.I.E.L.D, get down!" You heard someone screaming before total silence as you hit the ground full force

The enemy has shot his bullet.

And that bullet stopped right in your head.

Only darkness was left to accompany you from now on.

—

Back at the compound, Natasha was trying to watch her favorite movie to distract herself from worrying about you.

Keyword: 'Tried'.

Because, for the life of hers, she couldn't concentrate on the damn movie for one second as her mind was filled with worry and different scenarios of what could be happening on your mission right now.

"Hey, Nat." Wanda interrupted Natasha's trail of thoughts "I made you some popcorn."

"Thanks, Wanda." Natasha tried to smile at her friend

"You're thinking about Y/N, aren't you?" Wanda questioned as she put the bowl with popcorn aside and sat down next to Natasha

"I can't stop thinking about her. What if she's hurt? What if she needs me? What if she forgot something she might need at home?" Natasha started panicking as she voiced her worries "I'm her mother Wanda and I allowed her to go alone on that dangerous mission. I should have gone with her."

"Nat..." Wanda sighed "I know that it's hard to not worry about her. I worry about her as well. We all do. Because we all know what these missions mean but you have to let her grow. She's already a young adult and she needs to do things on her own. Even dangerous missions. That's how she learns."

"I know but..." Natasha stopped with a quiet gasp that left her lips as she raised her hand and rested it on her chest

"Are you okay?" Wanda worriedly asked, once she saw her friend and mentor suddenly scrunching her face in pain

"Something just happened..." Natasha breathed out painfully before her face drained out of all color as the realization settled in "Y/N..." She whispered "She needs me." The spy stumbled up on her feet "She's hurt..."

"Wow... Slow down mama bear." Wanda grabbed Natasha by her shoulders, keeping her in place as the older woman wanted to bolt toward the door "I think you've let your maternal instincts take too much control over you and they slowly started tricking you."

"Wanda, you don't understand..." Natasha cried out as tears were already streaming down her face "I have this feeling in my chest that tells me that something bad happened to my daughter. You'll fully understand when you'll have your own babies."

"Okay... Breathe, Natasha. Deep breaths." Wanda instructed, taking a few deep breaths, motioning to Natasha to do the same as her "Why don't we go and ask Maria first so we can ease your worries once you hear Y/N/N is okay?"

"Okay." Natasha nodded rapidly, urging Wanda to start moving faster "Let's go."

Not even two steps out the door and the compound filled with the sound of an alarm that worried the women even more than they already were.

"Are we under attack?" Wanda shouted in order to make herself be heard over the alarm

"I don't know!" Natasha looked around the room, scanning it for any threat

"Alert!" F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s robotic voice echoed throughout the entire compound "Dr. Banner's assistance is requested in the medbay immediately."

"F.R.I.D.A.Y., what happened?" Natasha questioned the A.I.

"It appears that young Miss Romanoff was brought to the compound in critical condition." F.R.I.D.A.Y. clarified "Her vitals are hardly detectable, closer to none."

That was the moment when the world came crashing down on Natasha's shoulders.

Every word that Wanda was telling Natasha disappeared in space and time as the mother was staring into nothingness, unaware of her surroundings.

Wanda hadn't even bothered to try and snap Natasha out of her trance, as she just grabbed her friend's hand and quickly dragged her to the med bay, where the rest of the Avengers were already starting to fill the waiting room.

—

When Natasha snapped out of her daze, she found herself in a chair in the med-bay's waiting room with Clint and Wanda by each side of her.

"Clint?" Natasha whispered under her breath barely audible but the man heard her anyway as his head snapped in her direction

"Nat?" Clint quietly called his best friend to make sure he hadn't just imagined hearing her call him

"Why am I here?" Natasha mumbled confused "When have I came here?"

"You've been sitting here since about an hour ago." Clint explained "Y/N it's been in surgery ever since then."

The moment she heard your name, everything came back to Natasha.

The reason why she was sitting here.

"Where is she?" Natasha panicked "What happened to her?"

"Calm down first, okay?" Clint tried his best to calm the Russian woman from having a panic attack "The mission was a trap. They caught her and wanted to take revenge on us."

"What did they do to her?" Natasha asked through grinned teeth as anger and pain mixed together inside her

"They... umm..." Clint thought about how to say this in a more friendly way but honestly, there was none and he just sighed "They shot her."

"But she'll be fine, right?" Natasha's voice shook as the anger turned into heartbreak "Right?!"

"They shot her in the head..." Clint hesitantly continued his sentence "Bruce is trying his best to stabilize her and save her. By some miracle, she was still alive when the rescue team brought her back."

Natasha didn't have any more energy or will to say anything as she burst out sobbing.

The heart-wrecking sobs of a mother who has to live now with the fear that she might lose her baby forever at any given moment.

Everyone was silent.

None of the mighty heroes dared to say one word to their teammate, not even comforting words.

Just Wanda had enough courage to rub Natasha's back up and down.

"She's going to be okay." Wanda whispered when the silence became too much to handle "You'll see."

"What if she won't be?" Natasha sobbed "I can't lose her! She's all I have!"

"That won't happen, Nat." Wanda said "She loves us too much to leave us and we all love her even more than she loves us. If she survived till here she's going to keep surviving just like she did from the first moment of her existence."

Natasha nodded but she couldn't bring herself to say anything more, good or bad.

—

It's been the longest 10 hours in Natasha's life as she waited for any news, no matter how small it was, about her daughter's state.

"I feel like I'm about to lose my mind very soon." Natasha spoke up "That is if I haven't lost it already."

"We know, Nat." Steve sympathetically said "But all we can do is wait and hope she'll be okay."

All voices were silenced when the door of the waiting room was opened and none other than an exhausted Bruce, stepped inside with a sad look on his face.

Every person in the room jumped on their feet as some of them were sitting on the chairs and the rest of them on the floor and circled their friend anxiously waiting for any update.

Natasha being at the front and center of the waiting group.

"Please tell me that my daughter is okay." Natasha's voice was waving with emotions "Give me some good news."

Bruce took a deep breath and then took his glasses off, thinking of the best way to explain what was going on to the team, but most importantly, to Natasha.

"So, the bullet went through her right frontal lobe tip toward the forehead and well above the base of the skull, stuck inside her skull and I had to take it out, that's why the surgery took so long and also the reason why she survived with a gunshot head wound till she was brought here. The bullet fortunately hasn't hit any vital brain tissue or vascular structures."

"That's a good thing. Isn't it?" Natasha breathed out but still couldn't allow herself to relax until she knew every detail about your state

"It is." Bruce mumbled "But..."

"But what, Bruce?" Wanda snapped at him "Tell us once and for all what's wrong with my goddaughter!"

"I'm sorry, Nat, but she fell into a coma and I have no idea when she'll wake up." Bruce sadly announced, turning to look at the redhead

It was happening.

Natasha's worst nightmares were becoming a reality.

The things she has feared since the first moment she decided to have you, were slowly turning into an undeniable truth.

"No..." Was all Natasha said, shaking her head in the process

"What chances of survival does she have?" Steve asked the question everyone was burning to hear the answer to

"After the initial impact of the bullet with her skull, she had 10% chances of survival given the circumstances of the shot, which only got lower and lower with every second that passed." Bruce looked around the room "But now... None. I give her no chance of survival. It's only a matter of time until the inevitable will happen of Y/N leaving us without her. The longest I can keep her hooked up on the life support machines that are currently the only thing keeping her alive, it's 2 weeks. After the 2 weeks have passed, I'm going to have to turn them off, with or without her mother's approval." His gaze stopped on Natasha who was open-mouthed staring at him "I'm so sorry, Natasha. The only thing that can save your daughter it's a miracle from above that will make her open her eyes before the 14 days have passed."

"Can I see her?" Natasha calmly asked

Everyone present in the room shared different looks of worry on their faces as they knew that Natasha's calm demeanor was nothing more than the silence and calm before the worst storm in history happened.

Natasha was strangely too calm after what Bruce just announced and it wasn't good.

"Of course!" Bruce confusedly answered "She's in the ICU so only a selected few will be able to go in and see her and just for a short amount of time for now. Natasha is the only one allowed to permanently stay by Y/N's side if she wants to."

A few answers of agreement were murmured from around the room.

"Come with me, Nat." Bruce looked at the woman in question "But I must warn you that she isn't in her best shape. It can be hard seeing her like she is right now. So if you think that you can't handle seeing her like that, I recommend you to wait for a little before going in."

Bruce's warning seemed to trigger Natasha's anger as she gave him a death glare.

"My baby girl needs me! She's lying in that bed, waiting for her mama to come and protect her!" Natasha shouted at Bruce "Do you really think that I give a fuck if I'm ready or not to see her in the state she is?! She's my baby either way!"

"Alright, alright!" Bruce held his hands up in surrender "I was just doing my job. Follow me."

Bruce started to walk away as Natasha followed him closely behind.

—

Natasha entered inside your room with Wanda, Steve, and Clint hot on her heels as they wanted to make sure that Natasha wouldn't do any stupid thing once she was left alone.

And they had been right in following her because, as soon as your mother stepped inside the room where you were kept and laid her eyes on you, she started to fall forward as her legs suddenly couldn't support her weight anymore.

Luckily, Steve caught her right before her knees made contact with the floor and, lifting her, the man helped her walk to your bed as Wanda brought a chair for Natasha.

Clint, Wanda, and Steve retreated to give your mother some privacy with you but still waited outside the door in case Natasha would need them.

Truth be told, after seeing you, neither Wanda nor the boys were actually okay, they just managed to hold it together long enough to be out of Natasha's hearing reach, as Wanda and Steve hugged each other and cried on the other's shoulder while Clint supported his back on a wall, slid down to the floor and started crying in his hands.

Natasha hardly managed to gather enough courage to look at you.

You were looking so fragile, so pale, so small, so defenseless, so... lifeless.

It broke Natasha's heart into a million pieces to see you like this.

Your mother took a deep breath before looking you all over and seeing everything you were attached to.

There was a bandage wrapped all around your head, a breathing tube that Natasha knew was going all the way down your throat and that she also knew it would be very uncomfortable for you when you woke up and felt it for the first time as well as multiple wires put on your chest that were connected to different kind of machines and monitors.

The beeping monitors were the only thing keeping Natasha sane in these moments as she so desperately clung to the tiny bit of hope that she dared to form despite Bruce's words.

She reached to grab your hand but quickly pulled back, scared that she might hurt you even more if she touched you.

Your face was covered in bruises and who knows where else those brutes might have hit you.

"Hi, baby..." Natasha whispered, her voice being untrustingly shaking "I want you to know that Mama's here now. I am not going to leave you alone. Not again. I am going to protect you with everything I have and everything I am." Natasha sniffed "But please just wake up." She started sobbing "Wake up! Open those beautiful eyes of yours and tell me that you're okay. Tell me that this is nothing more than just another one of the silly jokes that you make to scare me because you think it's funny. I can't live without you."

And with that, Natasha slammed her head on the edge of your bed and started sobbing as she gently put her hand on top of yours.

She let out all the pain she had bottled up for so many endless hours that felt like an eternity to her.

How could anyone do something like that to her sweet and tiny baby?

"I'm not mad about the mission, if that's what you think." The woman cried "All I care about is you. If that's stopping you from waking up just know that the mission means nothing to me. Life means nothing to me as long as I don't have you by my side baby."

—

The next day, Natasha was still by your side.

She hasn't moved an inch nor has she taken her eyes off of your face, hoping you would open your eyes.

"Before you left for that mission, you made me promise that I would finally tell you why I keep on calling you my little miracle and I have to honor that promise." Natasha sighed as she took your hand in hers "Even if you haven't kept your part of the deal, I will keep mine."

~~~~~

Having babies was the one choice that Natasha Romanoff never wanted to be taken away from her.

Sadly, it was one of the many choices about her life and body that was taken away from her.

Better said, ripped away from her in a brutal way.

At least, that's what she thought for many years of her life.

That, was until one of Tony's parties where Natasha got so drunk that she didn't remember what happened at the party in the morning.

All she knows is that one moment she was having a drinking contest at the bar and in the next one she woke up alone and naked in her bed in the middle of the afternoon with an enormous headache.

When the sickness started showing up around 3 weeks after the party, she hadn't thought anything of it at first.

But after her fifth day of constant sickness, she went to Bruce for a check-up and ended up finding out that, apparently, she was very much pregnant.

It seemed that whoever took care of Natasha's graduation ceremony in the Red Room, hadn't done a very amazing job and by the biggest miracle of them all, she ended up pregnant.

Natasha was on could nine.

She couldn't have been so lucky.

It was all too good to be true and yet here she was, getting ready for the arrival of her baby in this world.

Her own flesh and blood.

She was immediately put on bed rest and Bruce, as well as other doctors, had prohibited her from even letting her make a sandwich for herself.

She was put on permanent bedrest and the pregnancy was classed as a high-risk pregnancy.

It was a little bit hard at first for her, as Natasha was used to her active lifestyle but slowly accepted that she had to do everything the doctors told her to do so she could bring a healthy baby into this world.

She was 28 weeks into her pregnancy, meaning exactly 6 months and a half, when she suddenly felt a pain in her lower back and stomach as she was lying down on her bed after she had just woken up from a nap.

It was a very sharp pain that only grew stronger and stronger.

Afraid of what that could mean, Natasha, shouted for Wanda to help her, knowing that the witch could hear her from her room.

Wanda has been very supportive and helpful throughout the pregnancy, a fact for which Natasha planned to ask Wanda to be the godmother of her child.

And as always, Natasha was right, when Wanda came running in, alerting everyone of what was happening to Natasha.

15 minutes later, Natasha was crying in the med-bay's checking room as Wanda held her hand tightly.

"I don't want to lose this baby, Wanda!" Natasha cried to her friend "I can't lose it!"

"It's going to be okay." Wanda tried to reassure her friend but couldn't hide her own panic about the whole situation very well

"Wanda, help me." Bruce stood up from his chair and quickly rushed to look through his medical supplies "Natasha is officially in labor. The baby is coming."

"No." Natasha cried "It can't be. It's too early."

"I'm sorry, Natasha." Bruce sympathetically looked at the red-headed woman "But you've entered in an early labor. This was caused by the problems you have, that were caused by the permanent damage to your reproductive internal organs. Your cervix it's too weak to hold the weight of the baby so I have to perform a C-section to increase the chances of survival for your premature baby."

"Do whatever you have to but please save my baby." Natasha sniffed as she nodded to let Bruce know she understood what he was explaining to her "But please promise me that if you have to choose between saving my life or saving my baby's life, you will always choose my baby."

"I promise." Bruce nodded without hesitation

"Thank you." The soon-to-be-mother whispered as Bruce put an oxygen mask over her face

"They're going to be okay? Both of them? Aren't they?" Wanda asked Bruce with shimmering eyes

"Natasha is going to be just fine." Bruce reassured before he took a deep breath in "And about her baby, the only thing that I can guarantee you is that, starting from this moment, they're entering in a life or death race where the little baby will fight for its life."

"Please try everything you can to help them both survive." Wanda pleaded with the man

"I'll try my best, Wanda." Bruce promised

A few hours later, Natasha started to wake up as her eyes adjusted to the, what seemed bright for her, light inside the room.

"Shh... You are okay, Nat." Wanda, who was sitting by her side, quietly reassured her

"My baby..." Was the first thing Natasha mumbled in her dizzy and confused state as the effect of the anesthetic slowly wore off

Looking around, the red-headed spy noticed that the room was filled with her most trusted friends and co-workers.

"Your baby is alive. Don't worry." Bruce spoke

Natasha painfully forced herself to sit up, using her elbows as a support "Where is it? I want to see them. What is it? What do I have?" She asked curiously as she had yet to find out the birth gender of her baby

"It's a tiny girl." Steve answered for Bruce with a small smile on his face "Oh, you should see her, Nat. She is so tiny that she fits in the palm of my hand comfortably."

A wide smile spread across Natasha's face.

A little girl.

She has a little girl.

She secretly hoped for a baby girl but didn't want to voice her wish out loud just in case the baby was a boy.

"Where is she?" Natasha smiled, looking all around the room for a glimpse of her baby "I want to see her."

"Well, I am sorry to inform you that you will have to wait for a little to do that." Bruce explained

"Why?" Natasha worriedly questioned "What is wrong with her? What aren't you telling me?"

"Given all of the health problems you have regarding your reproductive system, besides being a premature baby, she is also an underweighted baby who is trying her hardest to fight for her life. She's barely weighing 500 grams when she should have weighed around one kilogram." Bruce said

"Aww..." Natasha's eyes instantly filled up with tears "She's so tiny. That's so light..."

"I know." Bruce nodded "She is now in a special room where she is constantly monitored."

"Take me to her." Natasha rushed to say

"I'm afraid I can't, Nat." Bruce denied her request

"I'm her mother!" Natasha raised her voice "I have the right to see her. She is just a tiny little baby. She needs her mama with her."

"Natasha, listen. I don't think that's the best idea yet." Clint agreed with Bruce's words

"Why?!" Natasha shouted "I need answers! Why won't any of you let me see my newborn baby?!"

"Because she is not going to make it!" Bruce shouted back frustrated "Is that what you wanted to hear?!" He quickly calmed back down "I am sorry but her survival chances are very small. Almost close to none. She keeps on stopping breathing once in a few minutes and the oxygen machine can't keep on helping her for too long as her little body starts failing and if she does, by the biggest of miracles, survives, she is never going to be a normal and healthy kid. She will forever need someone's assistance and help even with the simplest of actions."

Natasha closed her eyes in pain.

She can't let her baby die before even getting the chance to live.

Her only baby.

The only one she is ever going to have.

Bruce already warned her that as soon as this first and last baby she had ever conceived was born, he will finish the job that the Red Room started to prevent any future health problems she might have.

She was given this baby for a reason.

The universe can't just give her a little angel only to brutally take it away from her before she even got the chance to see it for the first time.

She is going to fight the universe for her daughter's life and keep that baby alive.

"I don't care what you have to say but I need to be by my daughter's side." Natasha spoke with the well-determined motivation of a mother who was ready to do anything for her baby "I have to be there and help my baby fight for her life."

All eyes landed on Bruce as everyone was eagerly waiting for the doctor to decide.

"Steve?" Bruce sighed after a few minutes of careful thinking "Bring a wheelchair here please."

Said and done.

Less than 5 minutes later, Natasha was pushed closer to the incubator where her premature-born baby was struggling to hold on to life.

Tears rolled down Natasha's cheeks when she first took in the sight of her baby inside that incubator.

It was a mix of tears between happiness and pain.

Happiness that she got to see her baby for the first time.

Pain because not even a few hours old and her reason to live is already suffering.

'The Romanoff curse.' Natasha thought

"Hi, baby..." Natasha whispered with a small smile present on her lips as she rested her forehead against the side of the incubator "I am your Mama. You have no idea how much I have waited for this moment and you will never understand just how much I love you. Mama loves you so much, baby. God..." She breathed out as she looked at the baby's face, noticing a small tuff of red soft baby hair on top of her daughter's head "You are so tiny. So fragile. So defenseless. But do not worry sweet baby, Mama is here to protect you and take care of you forever. I promise."

Just as she finished speaking the heart monitor that was connected to the baby started beeping uncontrollably at an incredibly fast rate.

"What is happening?" Natasha frantically asked as she looked from her baby to Bruce "What is going on?"

"This is what I've been telling you about, Natasha." Bruce calmly answered once the fast beeping chased down, turning again into a steady pace beeping "This is happening once in every few minutes. She is going to keep on stop breathing until her tiny body has no energy left to resume her breathing again."

"But there must be something you could do to help her!" Natasha cried as she focused her gaze on the sleeping baby

"I'm sorry but there really isn't anything more I can do for her other than supervise her." Bruce said with a sad tone of his voice

Natasha sniffed as she carefully stuck her hand inside the incubator through the special hole and hesitantly touched the baby's hand with her pinky finger.

The baby's hand being as big as Natasha's nail on her pinky finger.

The mother gasped once her skin made contact with her baby's skin, the first physical contact between mother and baby, making Natasha's chest suddenly swell as even more love filled her heart for the little critter in front of her.

Natasha never believed it was possible to love someone so much and yet here she was.

But no happy moment lasts forever and this moment wasn't any exception as it got interrupted by the quick beeping of the heart monitor.

"It's okay, my love." Natasha whispered as she very gently started massaging the baby's chest with her fingers "Just breathe, baby girl. Mama's here. I am going to take care of you. All you need to do is to keep breathing for me." She cooed "My sweet baby girl Y/N."

As if you could hear her, the monitor went back to its normal beeping almost instantly.

"Thank you, sweetheart." Natasha smiled relieved as she kept resting her fingers on your chest just in case you need her to rub again your tiny chest.

"You're just wasting your time, Natasha." Bruce said but received nothing more than ignorance from the woman

The man left the room not even bothering to offer to take Natasha back to her room so she could rest as he already knew she was just going to deny his offer.

"That's it." Natasha praised you with a smile on her face "Big deep breaths for me, baby."

Over the next 2 days since you were born, Natasha never moved from your side as she kept on rubbing your chest day and night without rest.

She hasn't slept for at least 5 minutes in those 2 days but in all honesty, she didn't need the sleep.

All she needed was for you to be okay and breathing.

And much to everyone's surprise, you stopped breathing less and less in those 2 days until your breathing turned into an uninterrupted steady pattern.

That shocked everyone.

The team, Bruce, and even different doctors that gathered from all around the world, most of them being Bruce's friends, to see you, had been left speechless at the miracle that happened to Natasha and her baby.

"Listen carefully to what I'm about to say, Natasha." Bruce warned her at the end of the second day that the spy spent rubbing your chest "If she keeps on breathing without any incident over the night, tomorrow I'll declare her out of the danger zone. She will have to spend more time in the incubator but her survival chances will increase to 90%, the rest of the 10% it's kept aside for the moment just in case. Also, the good news is that as soon as she's strong enough to be taken out of the incubator, you can have bonding time with her and hold her. How does that sound?" He finished with a smile on his face

"That sounds wonderful." Natasha widely smiled "Thank you so much, Bruce."

"Don't thank me." Bruce chuckled "Thank yourself and the miracle that just happened, that had suddenly increased your daughter's survival chances."

"I like how that sounds." Natasha smiled with a relieved expression on her face "A miracle for my little miracle." She turned her head toward you "Did you hear that, baby? You are my miracle. My little miracle that keeps fighting despite everything being against her."

One thing was for sure, after the conversation between Bruce and Natasha was over, you never stopped breathing ever again after that day.

~~~~~

"And that's why you are my little miracle." Natasha sniffed as she wiped her tears away "Because you defied all odds and you are here. Because despite everything, you chose me to become your mom. And because you kept fighting even though everything was against you and no one was giving you any chance or offered to help you fight for your life."

The only answer Natasha received was the beeping of the machines.

"And that's exactly why I need you to prove to me that you are my miracle again and keep fighting despite everything." She continued "I know you can prove them all wrong once again."

Your mother brought your hand up to her mouth and pressed a soft kiss to the back of it. She has to keep fighting to keep you alive for as long as possible.

—

On the fourth day that passed since you had entered that damned coma, Natasha was very much still by your side just in case you woke up and needed her. She hasn't showered, eaten, or relaxed for one minute.

Steve and Wanda were taking turns bringing her food that she barely even touched.

Natasha was still waiting, still hopping, still praying that you would wake up.

"You should go and at least take a shower if you don't want to take a nap in your bed." Wanda stated from the doorframe, her gaze fixed on Natasha's back that was turned to her "You stink."

"Thank you very much for the suggestion." Natasha mockingly chuckled "But no. I can't leave her alone. What if she wakes up and instead of seeing me by her side, she wakes up alone and scared looking for me? I can't risk that."

"She won't be alone, Nat." Wanda walked over to her friend and put her hand on Natasha's shoulder "I'm going to stay here with her until you come back."

Natasha hesitated "I'm not sure, Wands."

"Do you remember her first ballet class?" Wanda asked

"How could I ever forget?" Natasha chuckled

~~~~~

Wanda was sitting in the back of the dance studio as she waited for Natasha to arrive from a meeting where she was stuck, so they could both watch you perform your first ballet class together.

She promised she wouldn't miss it for anything in the world and Wanda knew that even if the world was on fire, Natasha would ignore it and come to watch you perform.

On cue, Natasha burst inside the room and looked around trying to spot you in the group of kids that were present there today.

It didn't take her too long to catch a glimpse of the fierce red hair that you inherited from her.

You brightly smiled when you saw that the person who opened the door and stepped inside the room was none other than your mother whom you adored so much.

She was the center of your universe just like you were to hers.

You ran to her with your arms open, wanting nothing more than a big hug from her.

"Mama!" You cheerfully shouted as you jumped into her arms

The other parents present in the room, stared with their mouths open once they saw that not only THE Natasha Romanoff come to a children's ballet class but also that one of the kids jumped in her arms, calling her 'mama'.

"Hi, starlight!" Natasha smiled, kissing the side of your head "Sorry I'm late, but you know how Grandpa Nick is when he starts talking.

You giggled at your mother's comment "Actually, you're just in time, Mama."

"Oh, that's such a relief." Natasha giggled before kissing your cheek and placing you back down from her arms "Go and have fun sweetheart. Mama will be watching you from there." She pointed to the spot where Wanda was sitting.

You nodded and turned back to your place as your first-ever ballet class began.

Tears beamed in Natasha's eyes as she watched her perfectly healthy and fully developed 6-year-old daughter take her first ballet class.

"I know right." Wanda leaned closer to Natasha and whispered in her ear as the, then brunette, witch read her friend's mind "It's like yesterday when she was born and we had to take turns constantly watching over her."

"My little baby is growing up so fast." Natasha quietly sniffed trying to hide the happy tears in her eyes away from the world

"Look at her." Wanda awed at you "She is absolutely adorable dressed like that."

"Wanda?" Natasha's voice shook "I think I'm about to cry..."

"Aww..." Wanda chuckled and started to rub Natasha's back up and down "You are such a mom."

"Oh shut up!" Natasha chuckled as she sniffed her tears back

"What?!" Wanda silently laughed "It's true!"

The rest of the class went smoothingly and your little self couldn't have enjoyed it more.

"You've been so amazing, baby!" Natasha praised you once the class was over "I'm so proud of you!"

"Did you see me, Mama?!" You excitedly asked "I did everything the teacher said!"

"We both saw, sweetie." Wanda kissed the back of your head as Natasha was being the one to carry you in her arms to the car after the class "You were so good! You are so talented!"

You proudly smiled at both women as you loved hearing their words.

That night you were rewarded with ice cream for dinner by your mama and godmother.

~~~~~

"She was so cute in that pink tutu." Wanda tearfully chuckled

"And so proud of herself that she did so well in her first ballet class." Natasha cried then sniffed "I miss her cheerful self, Wanda. I am missing her voice, her smile, her jokes, just everything about her! I want her to wake up!"

"I know, Nat." Wanda sadly replied "But she just needs some time to rest and gain her strength back." She sighed "I want her to wake up too. We all want."

Natasha nodded "Yeah... She just needs to rest a little."

"She won't be happy when she wakes up and sees you in this state." Wanda tried again to convince the older redhead "Just go take a shower and change your clothes. I will be here the entire time. If something changes even in the slightest with her, I will immediately let you know." She encouraged "Just go take a quick shower, please. You need it."

"Okay." Natasha deeply sighed "I'll go."

"That's the spirit!" Wanda smiled

"Sometimes you're a pain in my ass." Natasha lightly chuckled "No, wait! You always are."

"That's not nice!" Wanda pretended to gasp offended before giggling

"I'll be back in a few minutes." Natasha declared before quickly rushing out of the room, leaving Wanda alone that took her place on the chair by your side

"You really have to wake up, sweetheart." Wanda took your hand in hers "I think you had enough sleep now. You can't keep doing this to your mother or us."

Despite Wanda's pleading there was no change in your state. Wanda sadly sighed as she tried to enter inside your mind and see what was going on in there, only to be blocked away and left without an answer.

"This is going to be a long day." Wanda whispered, putting her head in her hands

—

A week has come and gone since the mission and even 2 more days after it.

It was officially your ninth day of coma and Natasha was starting to grow more and more agitated and nervous as the mark of the 14 days was quickly approaching. There wasn't any change in your brain activity nor any other general change in your body and it was driving your mama insane.

She is always talking to you, hoping that you could hear her and come back to her.

People always came in and left, checking on both you and your mom.

Today, after Fury's visit, Maria decided to spend some time with Natasha and have a talk with her.

"How is Natasha Junior doing?" Maria asked Natasha once she took a seat in a chair on the other free side of your bed.

"The same." Natasha sighed "You know, you really need to stop calling her like that. I don't think she likes it."

"I told you we should have named her that. But you just didn't wanted to listen." Maria defended herself "You chose 'Y/N' instead."

"Because that's how I wanted to name my baby, Maria." Natasha shook her head "I can't believe that after all these years you are not over it yet."

"How can I?" Maria said "It was a brilliant idea and you just ignored it."

~~~~~

Natasha has just been allowed to hold you in her arms for the first time since you were born a week ago and she couldn't describe how happy the feeling of having you, lying on her bare chest made her feel as you were both covered by a blanket.

"So, do you have a name for her?" Pepper asked as all the women who lived in the compound, gathered around to find your name

So far, the only person who knew your name was Bruce and Natasha made him promise he wouldn't say a word about it till she will officially announce it.

Natasha looked down at your face as you were peacefully laying on her chest, despite all the wires you had on you and the small breathing tube in your tiny nose.

"She's going to be named Y/N." Natasha softly smiled at you before looking up at the girls that were surrounding her "Girls, meet my daughter, Y/N."

All the women awed at the name. Various 'That's such a cute name' or 'It suits her perfectly' were heard from all around the room.

"Why don't we name her 'Natasha Junior'?" Maria's confused voice silenced all the others and everyone turned to look at her just as confused "I mean, look at her, she's clearly the perfect replica of her mother. I think that 'Natasha Junior' would suit her better than 'Y/N'." She scrunched her face at your name

"No, Maria." Natasha rolled her eyes "I am not going to name my daughter 'Natasha Junior'."

"But why?" The brunette agent asked confused "It's a brilliant idea. She will be Natasha Junior and we will call you Natasha Senior. I'm a genius!" Maria smiled, proud of herself

"It's still a no, Maria." Natasha firmly stated "It doesn't matter how good of an idea you think it is. I now know why I chose Wanda as the godmother and not you."

Maria gasped offended.

"Excuse me?!" She protested "I think I would have made an amazing godmother."

"And I think 'Y/N' is the perfect name for this perfect little baby." Wanda commented, mocking Maria with the fact that she was the godmother and not the agent

"Okay, girls. That's enough." Natasha stopped the two grown-up women, who were acting like children, from continuing to fight "You are scaring my baby."

Maria poked her tongue out at Wanda and huffed annoyed while crossing her arms.

"Unbelievable." Natasha quietly said, shaking her head at Maria's behavior

"I still think we should name her 'Natasha Junior'." Maria pouted

"Maria!" All the women shouted at once

~~~~~

Maria and Natasha shared a laugh at the funny memory of that day.

"I still think you should have named her 'Natasha Junior'." Maria laughed

"You're unbelievable." Natasha shook her head with a smirk on her lips

"I mean..." Maria started "She looks more and more like you with each passing day. It's an undeniable resemblance."

Natasha turned her head toward you and lovingly stared at your face.

"You looked just like her when you were her age. I will forever remember how you looked like when Clint brought you for the first time to the agency. You were the same age your daughter is now. And I had just turned 21 back then."

"You were one tough and cold woman back then." Natasha chuckled

"You were the same, I could mention." Maria smiled but it quickly faded away "I'm so sorry that I couldn't stop this from happening to your daughter. I feel really guilty about it."

"It's okay..." Natasha whispered "Don't be. It is not your fault. You couldn't have known that something like this would happen." She sniffed "In fact, I should actually thank you. If you wouldn't have sent that backup team, my Y/N would have never made it alive to the compound. They acted very fast."

"As they should." Maria stated "They better be fast or they are losing their jobs."

"Aren't you a little too harsh with your agents?" Natasha questioned

"Maybe." Maria shrugged "But if I'm not harsh with them, they will never be good enough to face hard situations." She explained

"Okay." Natasha nodded "I'll leave this one to you. You know what you need to do with them."

Maria nodded at Natasha as she, as well as your mother, turned to look at your sleeping face. Maria didn't want to lose one of her agents who was also her niece. She could only hope that you would wake up before the 14 days that Bruce gave you were over.

—

On day 12, Natasha was looking out through the window as she held your hand when she suddenly felt something.

"You know, if you keep watching us from there it's not going to change anything, weirdo. That's called stalking." Natasha casually said as she kept looking out the window unbothered

"I couldn't help myself." Clint spoke from the vents and jumped down from the ceiling into the room "You know me so well."

Natasha turned her head and looked at her best friend without any emotion on her face.

"I can see your wheels turning in your mind. What is bothering you?" Clint asked as he walked over to the window and supported his back on the wall, turning to look at the woman

"If she needs more time then whoever has her life in their hands, can take time from me. They can take years from my life and give them to my daughter. They can take however much more time I've left to live and transfer it all to my baby. All so she could keep living. I'm ready to give up on my time and life in exchange for her having more time here." Natasha stated emotionlessly, turning to look out the window again

"Because that's just what any good mother would do. Laura says the same thing all the time." Clint looked behind him through the window then back at Natasha "Are you still going to keep on letting her be an agent after all of this?"

"I have no idea, Clint." Natasha finally looked away from the window to the man "Being an agent has been her dream since she was nine."

~~~~~

It had been 3 days since your ninth birthday that you had to spend at a party not with children but with terrifying S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who were wearing party hats and who brought you gifts.

You were the only child at your party. Your uncle Clint was away on a vacation with your aunt Laura and your cousins as the rest of the Avengers had been sent on different last-minute missions all around the globe. They all felt really sorry that they couldn't be there for your birthday but promised to make it up to you once they were back.

And of course, Natasha had to be called in for work in the base as well so she brought you along with her. Just that, Natasha wasn't actually called in for work, she alongside Maria and Fury had a surprise party ready for you. All S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had to come and pretend they enjoyed being at a now 9-year-old girl's party. Fury's orders. But much to their surprise, they actually and geniually did enjoy it. Spending that entire day among all those brave agents made you realize that you wanted to follow in your mother's footsteps. You wanted to become a hero, save the world, and fight for justice.

Natasha was sitting on the couch at Clint's farm since he and his family returned in that specific morning from the vacation, so the parents were taking advantage that their children were asleep and had a cup of coffee while chitchatting. That was until little footsteps were heard and you appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

"Come here, my sleepy girl." Natasha set the mug down on the coffee table and opened her arms

You immediately ran into them as Natasha lifted you up on her lap and you snuggled closer to her chest, starting to play with the ends of her hair.

"How did my beautiful baby girl sleep?" Natasha quietly asked, kissing the top of your head and rubbing circles on your back

"Good, Mama." You sleepily smiled up at Natasha

You were still asleep when Natasha drove you both to the farm early in the morning so she could visit Clint and Laura and ask them about their trip, so she just carried you upstairs to the bedroom you and her shared every time you stayed over and let you keep sleeping.

"Mama?" You rubbed your eyes with your fists and slightly pushed yourself back to look at Natasha

"What is it, my angel? Tell me." Natasha tucked your hair behind your ears

"I want to be just like you when I grow up." You brightly smiled at her, your big emerald green eyes staring into your mother's eyes that were the same shade and color, hoping to make your mama proud by making this choice "I want to be an agent."

Both Clint and Laura laughed and awed at your cuteness agreeing that you would make a really good agent but Natasha was still keeping silent.

"Mama?" You confusedly asked as you saw her deeply lost in thoughts and thought you had upset her

"Well if that's what my baby truly wants then who am I to stand in her way of achieving her dream." Natasha gave you a small smile "But are you completely sure this is what you want to do? You know that Mama's job can be very dangerous. I don't want you to get hurt. Mama can't stand seeing her little baby in pain."

"I do, Mama. I want to save the world just like you do and I want to be such a good agent one day that all the other agents will respect me just like they respect you. I want to fight the bad guys and win." You excitedly nodded

"Well just always keep in mind that we don't always beat the bad guys." Natasha explained "There are some times when the bad guys kick our ass too."

You laughed at your mom's use of words.

"Mama, it's not nice to say that word." You giggled

"You're right, baby. I'm so sorry. Mama was just saying silly words again." Natasha smiled at your laughter that was music to her ears "And if after everything you found out this is still what you want to become in life then I guess that we can go and talk with Grandpa Nick and Aunt Maria and I could start training you."

"Thank you, Mama." You excitedly cheered and clapped your hands "You are the best mama in the whole Multiverse!" You quickly kissed her cheek "Did you hear that, Uncle Clint?! Mama is going to help me be like her!"

"I did, Y/N." Clint laughed "And I could help you train as well. Teach you how to shoot arrows."

"No, thank you, Uncle Clint." You shook your head and laughed "But maybe you can be our practice dummy because Mama always beats you. I saw it when you were training with her."

Clint's face turned as red as a tomato from embarrassment and both Laura and Natasha burst out laughing.

"That's right, baby! The Romanoff girls will always beat everyone." Natasha laughed, kissing your cheek "Especially your uncle Clint."

Over time as you grew up and started your training as an agent, you quickly climbed your way up to the ranks of S.H.I.E.L.D. just like Natasha did many years ago and made yourself be respected and remarked through all the other agents. And you couldn't love it more. You absolutely loved what you were doing and the choice of following in your mother's footsteps has remained the best decision you ever took up to this day.

~~~~~

"You have to admit that she did an amazing job at being an agent." Clint cleared his throat "She has always been a good child, a disciplined one, quiet, smart, and cheerful."

"She has made me so proud and she still does." Natasha sniffed "But I love her regardless of the way she is. She is my baby, Clint. I'll love her unconditionally forever. There's nothing she can do that would make me not love her."

Clint walked away from the window and over to his best friend. He knew that she was just wearing her mask that kept her true feelings away from the outside world just like she always did. So without any word, he hugged her as tight as he could as the once fearless Russian assassin broke down sobbing in Clint's arms, finally showing her emotions to someone who could provide her with comfort after so many days of crying alone.

"I'm so scared, Clint!" Natasha admitted, sobbing on the man's shoulder "I'm scared that she won't wake up in time and Bruce or the others will mistake her for being dead when she isn't. She can't be."

"I know but you have to keep fighting for her as you've always done and she will keep living on her own time. Not on time that she borrowed from you." Clint said "Keep being the mother she knows. The mother that had always kept her alive through any method she could. Keep loving her and she will keep living."

What Natasha hadn't realized as she nodded along with Clint's words was that there was a deeper meaning behind the man's comforting phrases.

Natasha has to keep fighting so you can be able to keep living.

—

But much to everyone's horror, the dreadful mark of 2 weeks since you were shot arrived, and while every member of your family was already mourning your death, Natasha was still trying to negotiate with you and convince you to wake up.

She tried to bribe you with everything.

She offered to give you anything you wanted. From material things, to holidays anywhere you wanted to go and to extra cuddles each night before bed.

She tried everything and anything but you still weren't showing any sign of waking up.

Bruce was checking your vitals as everyone gathered inside your room and anxiously waited for him to give them any news about you.

They waited for him to say at least one word that would give them any reason to keep holding onto the hope that you are going to wake up.

Bruce's face suddenly fell as he turned himself to face the waiting family and sadly shook his head.

"No!" Wanda cried, throwing herself in Vision's arms and the robot hugged her tight

"No brain activity. I'm so sorry, guys. She's dead." Bruce clearly announced "I'm afraid there is nothing more I can do for her other than taking her off of the machines."

Various people started crying but Natasha was unphased by Bruce's words as she kept stroking your hair out of your face and mumbling reassuring words to herself.

"Don't worry, baby." Natasha quietly muttered "I won't let them do anything to you. Mama will keep them away from you."

"Can you give us a moment?" Bruce looked at his friends "Just Steve and Wanda stay behind in case we need to use our force against, Nat."

They all nodded and slowly emptied the room as Wanda and Steve listened to Bruce's instructions and stood behind.

"Nat..." Bruce softly spoke as he placed a hand on your mom's shoulder "I think you should go out and give us some space. I think it's time to say goodbye."

"Goodbye for what?" Natasha confusedly looked up at Bruce "My daughter isn't going anywhere."

"You should listen to Bruce, Nat." Steve encouraged "He needs some space to work."

"He is not going anywhere near my daughter." Natasha angrily threatened as she stood up on her feet.

"Calm down, Natasha." Steve tried his best to calm her "How about we just go to take some fresh air? You need it. You have been locked in here for the past 2 weeks."

Steve grabbed Natasha's arm and started dragging her toward the door as Bruce bent over you and started to turn off the machines around you and pulled the breathing tube out of your mouth.

"Get away from my baby!" Natasha screamed as loud as she could as she punched Steve in the face

Steve quickly recovered from Natasha's punch and held her tighter as she struggled to get out of his grip.

"Natasha, no!" Steve yelled as he pulled her back

But Natasha was having none of it and from a swift move, she knocked Steve out and started running towards Bruce.

Right before the ex-assassin reached Bruce to attack him, she was once again held back by a force.

This time it wasn't a physical force but an invisible one, more exactly, Wanda's magic.

Bruce bolted to the door in an attempt to get as far away from Natasha's anger as possible.

Poor Steve being left unconscious on the ground.

Once Bruce was out of the room, Wanda released Natasha from her magic hold.

Your mother wanted to take her anger out on Wanda but the lack of a certain beeping that was keeping her sane in the storm of thoughts inside her mind, made her eyes fill with tears as the realization of what she just witnessed Bruce do settled in.

She slowly walked over to you and very carefully laid down beside you.

"Please wake up, baby." Natasha quietly cried as she ran her fingers through your hair "I need you to come back to me. Please wake up and prove them all wrong. I know it's difficult but you can do it for me because you are a fighter." Your mama subconsciously brought her other free hand up to your chest and started rubbing it just like she did when you were born "There is still so much that we haven't done together, so many movies that we haven't got around to watch yet and there is still so much stuff that has yet to happen that I need you around for when it does or that I want to see you do. You can't just leave." Natasha couldn't hold it back anymore and started sobbing as she kept on rubbing your chest "Please don't leave me. I need you so much, baby girl. I can't do it alone, so just please wake up for Mama."

"Mama?" A weak, quiet voice whispered

Natasha shoot her head up and hopefully looked at your face only to see your eyes still closed and no evidence that you could be awake, making Natasha think that she only imagined everything.

Wanda lifted her head and confusedly looked at both you and your mother "I-I can feel her..." She sniffed "I can finally feel her."

"Mama..." the same weak, quiet, and dry voice whispered

But this time, Natasha saw your lips slowly moving and a wave of happy tears made their way down her cheeks as she couldn't believe her eyes

"Fucking go get Bruce!" Natasha yelled at Wanda who was frozen in shock "Why are you standing there staring?!"

"Right..." Wanda quickly nodded lost "Yeah... Okay..."

And with that, the witch was out of the door with the speed of light.

"Baby? Baby, can you hear me?" Natasha stood up as she worriedly questioned "It's me. It's mama."

"Mama... Water..." You whispered with your eyes still closed, furrowing your eyebrows and Natasha looked around the room frantically to find some water

After she gave you a sip of water, just enough to make your lips not feel dry anymore, Natasha sat down on the edge of your bed and took your hand in hers.

You had still to open your eyes but Natasha didn't want to force you. She has waited for so long and she can wait a little bit more to see your beautiful eyes again.

"Mama's right here, baby girl. I'm not going to leave you again. I knew you could prove them all wrong. I'm so proud of you, baby." Natasha whispered as she kissed the back of your hand "You are mama's brave, strong girl and there's nothing that can come between us ever. I'm going to stay right here till you open your eyes. Nothing and no one is going to make me leave, I promise, sweetheart. When you are back to your normal self I am going to take time off work and we are going to do everything that I said I was too busy to do with you. We are going to have so many adventures together, just us and no one else, you deserve all of my love and attention and I'm going to give it to you. Nothing is going to hurt you anymore. Not while I am here. Mama will keep you safe forever." She told you as she waited for Bruce to show up

—

"This... This right here is a miracle." Bruce explained shocked, to everyone that had once again gathered inside your room after they heard the bright news that you woke up "I can't believe it. I honestly have no idea what just happened here. She went from being brain-dead to full brain activity in just a few seconds. I have no other explanation for this other than saying that it is a miracle."

"Well, I do have a name for your miracle, Bruce." Clint stated from behind Natasha where he positioned himself, placing his hands on her shoulders and giving them a gentle squeeze "A mother's love, that's what just happened. A mother's love for her baby that for the third time gave her daughter life. Once when she brought her into this world, the second time, shortly after she was born, and finally once again now. Natasha was the one to bring her daughter back to life once again."

Agreements were heard by everyone's side that was standing inside the room.

"I think you are right, my friend." Bruce smiled and nodded "Y/N will need time to physically recover after these 2 weeks of not using her muscles but that's nothing that some physical therapy can't solve. Let's go and give the mother and her true miracle some privacy. They need it."

Bruce guided everyone out of the room as a few of the team members patted Natasha's shoulder with a smile, letting her know how happy they were for her.

Natasha tearfully smiled at each one of them, happiness written all over her face and also a little bit of guilt when Steve patted her shoulder with one hand, holding an ice pack to his head with the other.

"I'm sorry for hurting you." Natasha guiltily whispered

"We're good. I kind of deserved it and I understand why you did it." Steve shily smiled "I'm sorry as well for being an asshole and not trusting your intuition."

"Uhhh..." Sam and Bucky sang at the same time as they heard the conversation "Cap has said a bad word!"

"Oh, shut up!" Steve tried to hide his giggle

"Language!" Bucky and Sam shouted at the same time

"On your left." Steve shouted back as he started running after his two best friends who had already run out of the room

"I swear that, men never actually grow up." Wanda looked at Natasha laughing before leaning down and kissed the top of your head gently

"See what I have to deal with?" Natasha laughed wholeheartedly after so many days of sadness and crying "Almost 30 years of this shit."

Wanda burst out laughing even louder as she walked out of the room, closing the door behind her as she was the last person that had remained in the room.

Natasha smiled, shaking her head as she turned to look at you, noticing a small smile present on your lips.

"You think that's funny?" Natasha laughed as she pretended to tickle your side

"Mhm..." You hummed in agreement keeping the small smile on your face

And for the first time after 2 weeks, Natasha finally got to see your eyes again after you forced yourself to open them and adjust to the bright light of the room.

Natasha sniffed her tears away as she saw your beautiful eyes look at her, once again, full of life. She hadn't realized she had missed seeing your eyes so much until now.

You sadly sighed as you noticed that outside it was almost dark. Clear signs that the sun just set were present in the sky. When you closed your eyes, it was the middle of the day. When you opened them, it was night.

"I'm so sorry, Mama." You quietly sniffed

"It's okay, baby." Natasha reassured

"I swear I almost got him." You explained "I was this close to successfully finishing my mission. But I failed. I'm such a disappointment. I understand if you feel ashamed of me."

"What?" Natasha asked confused "Are you being serious right now?"

You slightly nodded "Of course. Do you know if he was caught? Or do you know his location so I could go back after him? When did Bruce say that I could get out of this bed and return to the field? I must continue to hunt that man down."

"Y/N, can you even hear yourself right now?!" Natasha raised her voice as anger started to build up inside her that you cared more about a mission than your own health

"Yeah, yeah... I know." You sighed "I messed up big time but I promise I'll make it up to you and take my revenge when I go after that guy. I promise I'll take him down with my own hands. I must finish my mission. I'm so sorry that I made you angry at me because I failed my mission."

"Baby, no..." Natasha pinched the bridge of her nose as she calmed herself down "You got it all wrong. I'm not mad at you because you failed your mission. I got angry because you care about a damn mission more than your own life. You have been shot in the head, Y/N. You spent the last 2 weeks in a coma and you had me worried sick. I thought I was going insane when Bruce declared you dead today."

"Oh..." You breathed out being at a loss for words hearing what happened

"You should care more about yourself, honey. You can't just go around, throwing your life away without caring about what could happen to you. Think about what would have happened to me if I lost you for good." Your mom sniffed the tears that were threatening to fall away "I'm lost without you."

"Come here, Mama." You opened one arm while you patted the bed with your other

Natasha complied and laid down next to you and tightly, but carefully, hugged you.

"Please be more careful and think more about your own life before putting yourself in danger." Natasha whispered as she kissed the top of your head

"I promise I will, Mama." You whispered as you placed your head on her chest and listened to her rhythmic heartbeat

No one understood how was possible that you survived but as Clint said, your mother's love was the one thing that kept you alive when you had no chance.

You will have to be more careful and Natasha will make sure that you will put your life in the first place from now on.

Missions be damned.

You should both consider retiring at this point, after this incident.

One thing is for sure, the bond between mother and daughter only grew even stronger than it was after everything that happened.