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yellowsuitcase · 4 years

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Snowy Dances // Draco Malfoy

Request (from wattpad) - Could you write one where the reader is a half-blood Ravenclaw and is going going meet Draco's parents, then, Draco proposes to marry the reader and Lucius and Narcissa approved? Thanks, I love your stories!

A/N: Omg I did NOT expect this to be so long. I literally just started writing and couldn’t stop. I’m absolutely in love with this imagine, I think it’s one of my favorites that I’ve written. I really hope you enjoy it!

Summary: Draco takes Y/N to meet his parents for the first time and proposes to her. So much fluff.

Waring(s): Mentions of death

Word Count: 4.2k

Draco examined the little black box in his hand. Today was the day he was going to ask his girlfriend to marry him. He pocketed the ring box and called out to her, “Are you ready, love?” from their downstairs kitchen. He and Y/N had been dating since their fifth year at Hogwarts. They’d bought a little cottage in Godric’s Hollow. They'd been living there since 1999, a year after the Battle of Hogwarts had ended. It was now 2003, and Draco thought it was about time for Y/N to meet his parents. The half-blood Ravenclaw, however, thought otherwise.

“Not quite,” he heard her yell from her upstairs bathroom. Draco sighed and put down his cup of pumpkin juice, a beverage he’d always been fond of from his time at Hogwarts, and began walking up the stairs. When he reached the top, he cautiously walked to the bathroom door and knocked. “May I come in?” he asked. A few moments later, the door opened to reveal Y/N. She was wearing a velvet blue floor-length dress. Draco thought she looked stunning, but before he could tell her so, she spoke up.

“I just need a few more minutes; my hair isn’t cooperating,” she said softly. It seemed as though she was having a hard time pinning her hair to the back of her head. This was a hairstyle Draco had seen Y/N pull off many times, so he knew that she was biding her time by pretending to have trouble with it. He watched as she got more and more flustered as she reached behind her skull and weaved the pin through her locks. Draco gently took her hands in his and swiftly took the hairpin from her grasp and slipped it into his. Y/N let out a sigh and watched in the mirror as Draco lovingly took some pieces of her hair and tucked it underneath the pin, then clasped it with a snap.

He met her eyes in the mirror. “You’ve been stalling,” he said. She averted her eyes, giving Draco more evidence that he was correct. “There’s nothing to be worried about; they’ll love you,” he assured her while stroking the back of her neck. He could feel the tension in her shoulders begin to fade as he did this.

“But what if they don’t? You’ve said a million times how much they value blood status, and my mother was a muggle. Surely they already have reservations about me,” Y/N said. She knew that when Draco had written to his parents, he’d told them she was a half-blood.

“My parents may have their beliefs, but they also are aware that I am an adult who can make his own choices. And if I choose to be with a half-blood, then they’ll just have to accept it. And even if they don’t, it’s not going to change anything, alright?” Draco asked as he grasped Y/N’s shoulders and turned her around to face him. “I need you to understand that no matter what anyone says, whether it be my parents or a stranger on the street, nothing will change the fact that I love you,” he said. His eyes never left his lover’s. A blush crept up her neck and onto her cheeks. His words made her heart squeeze.

“I love you too,” she said softly. Draco smiled and pressed a kiss to her temple.

“Ready to go now?” he asked. Y/N inhaled deeply, willing the butterflies in her stomach to fly away. She nodded as a determined look emerged on her face. “That’s my girl,” Draco mused. “Now, shall we apparate to my childhood home?”

Y/N bit her lip and rocked back and forth on her heels. Draco raised an eyebrow, questioning what was going on in his woman’s head. She looked up at him, and he could see the look of mischief in her eyes. “Well, I was hoping we could take the bus,” Y/N said, her voice barely above a whisper.

“The bus? As in the muggle bus?” Draco asked. He was visibly puzzled as to why she’d want to ride the bus all the way to his family’s manor. It would take a good four hours to get there that way.

“No, silly. The Knight Bus. I haven’t ridden it since I was sixteen, and I thought it’d be fun,” she said sweetly. But the sparkle in her eyes began to fade when she saw Draco’s apprehensive expression. She lowered her head and mumbled, “We don’t have to, though; I’ve probably made us late already.”

Draco’s hand found her chin and tilted it upwards. “I’m sure my parents will live even if we’re a few minutes late,” he said. Y/N’s face lit up at his words, and she grabbed his hand. Before he could process what was happening, he was being dragged down the steps and through their front door. He hardly got the chance to lock it since Y/N was yanking on his arm, eager to hail the bus.

When they got to the sidewalk outside their home, Y/N immediately raised her wand hand to summon the bus. It came barreling down the street and then to a screeching halt in front of the couple. A thin man greeted them with a smile and said, “Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. My name is Stan Shunpike, and I will be your conductor this afternoon.”

Y/N flashed Draco a smile and ran up to the stairs of the bus. She ran inside the bus while Draco passed Stan a galleon and five sickles to pay for the both of them. Stan took them and pocketed the coins into his breast pocket. Draco didn’t miss the disgruntled look Stan had given him, but he didn’t care. The only thing his mind was focused on was Y/N, and the night ahead of them.

When Draco entered the bus, he saw his lover settling into a cozy armchair at the back of the bus. The day was still young; thus, the beds were nowhere to be found. Draco took a seat in the blue chair next to Y/N’s green one. Once his bottom touched the cushion, the bus propelled forward at a ridiculous speed. Draco felt like he might puke. Meanwhile, Y/N looked like a first-year student in Honeydukes.

“Where are you two headed to?” Stan asked.

Y/N noticed her boyfriend’s face turning green, so she spoke up. “Malfoy Manor,” she said. Stan raised an eyebrow, and suddenly, Y/N realized her mistake. Malfoy was a well-known surname, and not for good reasons. She felt the eyes of other passengers turn to her and her boyfriend. Her hand found Draco’s; she clenched it tightly and silently prayed that they wouldn’t be kicked off the bus. Draco saw the look on Y/N’s face and was filled with anger. He knew that because of him, she was now scared. His family name was powerful, yes, but in all the wrong ways. And now it was causing problems, something it seemed to do quite often nowadays.

Draco lifted her hand to his lips, where he planted a tender kiss. He lowered her hand but began to stroke the top of it with his thumb, hoping to soothe his girlfriend’s anxiety. She gave him a sheepish smile. “Maybe we shouldn’t have taken the bus,” she said softly. Draco’s heart sunk. He felt so guilty. Today was supposed to be a good day, the best day. It was going to be the beginning of the rest of their lives, and he’d be damned if he let his past ruin it.

“Hey, look at me,” he said. Y/N removed her eyes from the floor. “They don’t matter. We have every right to ride the bus as they do, alright? Don’t let them get in your pretty little head.” Y/N couldn’t fight the smile that was creeping onto her face. She nodded and reached forward to give her man a kiss. He welcomed it with open arms.

Suddenly, the bus took a sharp turn. It made Draco’s chair slide to the left and bump into Y/N’s, causing her to giggle. “What’re you giggling about?” Draco asked bemusedly. Y/N continued to laugh before answering.

“It’s bumper chairs,” she stated plainly as if it was apparent.

Draco raised an eyebrow. “Bumper chairs?”

“Well, in the muggle world, we have an activity called bumper cars. It’s a fun little game that they have at carnivals and fairs, and what it is is you sit in these little buggies and drive them around and try to crash them into other people. It can get really competitive, but it’s a breeding ground for laughter. My mother and I would always take a spin in them before leaving the fairgrounds,” Y/N mused, her voice growing sad at the thought of her late mother.

“That does sound quite fun; we’ll have to try it one day,” he said. He really did wish to try this muggle activity.

Y/N smiled at him. “She would’ve loved you, my mother. I wish she could’ve met you.”

Draco frowned at her words. He knew Y/N’s mother had been a significant person in her life. He was with her when she’d gotten the news of her passing. He remembered sitting in front of the fireplace that night. She had stayed curled up in his arms, sobbing the night away. By the look on Y/N’s face, she remembered the memory as well.

“I wish I could’ve had the pleasure of meeting her as well. She must’ve been an extraordinary woman considering she made you,” he said comfortingly. Y/N let out a chuckle. “She was. But I’m sure your mother is equally as lovely, considering she made you.”

Draco laughed, “I see what you did there, you sly dog. But yes, she’s lovely, and she’s going to adore you. I can feel it.”

Y/N grimaced. “You sure?”

“I’m certain. I’m beyond excited,” Draco assured her. Just then, the bus came to a halt, which launched the pair off their chairs and onto the floor. “Malfoy Manor!” Stan called. Y/N and Draco turned their heads to look at each other. They burst into laughter as they clambered to their feet. Ignoring the stares from fellow passengers, they hopped off the bus, but not before giving their thanks to the driver and Stan.

Once they set foot on the road, the bus zoomed away in a flash, leaving the couple alone in the street. Y/N’s anxiety had already returned; Draco could sense it. “Just breathe, darling. They’ll like you.”

They began walking down the long concrete pathway to the front door. “But what if they don’t?” Y/N asked, her eyebrows furrowed with uneasiness. “You’re the wittiest woman I know, not to mention your creativity and fast thinking. You’ll know exactly what to say to charm the hell out of them. Believe in yourself like I believe in you,” Draco said encouragingly.

Y/N let out a big breath and nodded. Draco grasped her hand and led her up to the tall black doors. “Whenever you’re ready, love,” he said while reaching his other hand into his pocket to make sure the ring was still there. It was. Y/N held her breath and raised her fist to the firm wood. She rested her knuckles on it for just a moment and then knocked twice. “Oh god,” she mumbled. Draco squeezed her hand. Then the door opened. Lucius Malfoy had his hand on the doorknob, his wife, Narcissa, stood behind him. She was clothed in a luxurious black dress, silver decals lined the collar. Lucius wore a long-sleeved leather suit paired with a long black robe. They looked like the definition of intimidating.

“Draco. Welcome home,” Lucius said as he opened the door wider and motioned for the two of them to come inside. Draco squeezed Y/N’s hand again and led them through the doorway. “This must be Y/N, of whom you’ve told us so much about,” Narcissa said calmly. Draco looked at Y/N, urging her to speak. Fear swirled in Y/N’s stomach, but she pushed past it and said, “Yes, that’s me. It’s so good to meet you at last. You’ve raised a wonderful son.”

Narcissa smiled softly and glanced at her husband, who had a smug look on his face. “Well, I should hope so. He was quite a handful as a boy. Frankly, he still is a handful,” Lucius said. Narcissa lightly patted her husband's arm as if to scold him, but it was apparent she had little to no say over his actions. “I couldn’t have been that bad. Right, mother?” Draco asked. Narcissa smiled at him and reached up to caress his cheek.

“You were quite the young boy, but you’ve grown into such a handsome young man. It’s been too long since we’ve last seen you. Why did you never visit sooner?” she asked her son. Draco inhaled sharply and looked at Y/N briefly. He went to reply but was interrupted by his mother saying, “Let’s have a seat, and you can tell us all about what you’ve been up to these past years.” The couple nodded and followed the Malfoys to their grand dining room. Y/N felt the air turn cold as they entered. Luckily, Draco’s parents led them through that room and into a living room. Black leather couches surrounded a massive white marble fireplace. Narcissa and Lucius took a seat, as did Draco and Y/N. Once they’d all gotten comfortable, Draco began to speak.

“Well, these last four years in Godric’s Hollow have been really nice. We’ve spent a lot of time traveling. I think I sent you both an owl with a photo of us in America. We visited amusement parks, skyscrapers, and we even stayed in a little beach house.”

Y/N cut in to comment on their travels. “We also visited Asia. Japan was incredible; we got to ride flying carpets! It was so different from brooms; you felt as if you would fall off at any moment,” she laughed. Draco snickered along with her. “I almost did fall off,” he stated. Y/N’s laughter grew, “Oh my gosh, you did. I’d forgotten all about that.” The couple kept laughing and failed to notice the fond expressions on Lucius and Narcissa’s faces.

“Sounds like you’ve had quite an eventful time together,” Narcissa mused. Y/N turned away from Draco to look at his mother. “Oh, yes, we’ve had the most wonderful trips. I’m glad I’ve had him by my side all these years,” she said fondly. Draco smiled at her and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “And I, you,” he said. They were caught off guard by Lucius’s question.

“So you’re in love then? With a half-blood?”

Y/N’s heart sank. This was what she was afraid of. She wouldn’t be able to look at Draco the same if his parents disapproved of her, and Lucius’s brutally unfiltered question made her panic. Draco puffed up his chest and looked into his father’s eyes. “Yes, father, I am. I love Y/N so much, in fact…” he trailed off as he got to his feet and reached into his pocket. Y/N looked up at him in confusion and apprehension. And then he lowered his knee and held up a little black box. Slowly, he opened it to reveal a ring. Y/N felt tears spring to her eyes.

Draco’s heart was pounding against his ribcage, sending pulses of anxiety through his entire body. He’d been planning this proposal for months, even though he knew he wanted to marry Y/N since the first time he saw her. He still remembered that moment. It was during their fifth year at Hogwarts. Draco had just left potions class and was walking past the courtyard when he saw a Ravenclaw tie on the ground. He didn’t bother picking it up but still lifted his head to look around for who might’ve lost it. And then he saw her. She was standing in the middle of the courtyard, arms outstretched and mouth open wide for snowflakes to fall into. It was as if time had stopped ticking when he laid his eyes on her. She was so effortlessly beautiful. Ethereal, almost. Her laughs echoed through the courtyard as she twirled and twirled.

Draco knew he had to talk to her, so he reached down to pick up the tie. When he had it in his grasp, he began walking towards the girl. He called out to her, “Did you drop this?”

She turned towards him. Her eyes flickered to her tie in his hand. “Yes,” she replied plainly. Draco was at a loss for words. He’d been expecting a bit more words than just one.

“Uhm, would you like it back?” he asked.

She shook her head. “That’s alright. I knew it was there.”

Again, Draco didn’t know what to say. Why wouldn’t she want her tie back? “So you don’t want it?” he asked once more.

“No, thank you. You can leave it where you found it,” she said softly. “Would you like to spin with me?” she asked. Her big doe eyes gazed at the blonde boy who was positively puzzled by the girl in front of him.

“Spin with you?” Draco asked. The girl nodded and smiled. “Yes, spin with me. I promise it’s fun,” she said. The young Slytherin was perplexed. Who was this girl?

“Aren’t you supposed to be in class?” Draco asked. She smiled.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in class, Malfoy?” she retorted.

Draco’s heart leaped. “You know who I am?”

“Of course I do. Everyone in our year knows who you are,” she replied as if this was common knowledge. It caught Draco off guard. She rolled her eyes. “Well?” she asked.

“What?” Draco replied. The Ravenclaw sighed. “Are you going to spin with me or not?”

Draco studied her for a few moments. She was looking at him with a slightly annoyed expression. Her hip was cocked to one side, and snowflakes were embedded in her hair. The strands were growing damp. Some had even begun to stick to her forehead. Her eyes seemed to sparkle, and her lips were bright red from the crisp air. She was almost otherworldly. Something about her was… different. Draco liked it.

“I’ll spin with you…” he trailed off. “Y/N Y/L/N,” the girl replied. Draco nodded and watched as she lifted her arms to the sky and began to twirl. The blonde boy hesitantly joined her. He was unsure at first, but after a few circles, he was already feeling lighter. When he began to feel dizzy, he stopped spinning and shifted his eyes to Y/N. Her eyes were closed; she looked peaceful. Draco was absolutely mesmerized.

She looked as ethereal and beautiful as she did on that snowy day in the courtyard, even with tears in her eyes. “Y/N Y/L/N, I’ve never been so enamored by anyone in my life as much as I am enamored of you. You are the most intelligent, pure, generous person I have ever met. I admire you more than I care to admit. I’m so glad that I saw your tie in that corridor. I don’t know where I would be right now if I hadn’t picked it up. You make me feel whole, Y/N. You’ve been the center of my life for eight years and... I’d like to ensure that you stay in the center for the rest of my years. The rest of our years. With that being said, will you marry me?”

Tears were streaming down Y/N’s cheeks. She could see the overflowing amount of love in Draco’s eyes when he looked at her. He looked at her as if she was the only person left on earth. Slowly, she glanced up at Draco’s parents. Narcissa was crying as well. She smiled at Y/N. Lucius was stoic, but there was tenderness in his eyes. When he made eye contact with Y/N, he nodded. She looked back at Draco and smiled. “Yes.”

Draco let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. He took the ring from the box with shaky hands and held it between his thumb and index finger. He grasped his now fiancé’s left hand and gently slipped the ring onto her finger. It fit perfectly. Draco sprung to his feet, took Y/N’s face in his hands, and without hesitation, pressed his lips to hers. Their salty tears mixed with each other as they silently celebrated. When they pulled away, Draco turned to his parents. His mother welcomed him with open arms, and he rushed into them. Y/N watched fondly. And then Narcissa opened her arms once more for her. Tentatively, she walked forward and allowed herself to be embraced by her future mother in law. When Narcissa’s arms wrapped around her back, she felt a sense of peace overtake her. It felt good to have a mother’s hug again.

Lucius stared at Draco intently. Draco stared back just as firmly. Y/N was afraid of what might happen next. What if he was angry? What if she had only imagined that nod he’d given her. Her fears dissipated when Lucius laid a hand on Draco’s shoulder. “Well done, Draco,” he said quietly.

Draco’s chest swelled with pride. His father’s opinion and approval was something he’d been chasing for more than half of his life. So to finally hear those words fall from his lips was an exhilarating and freeing feeling. Both couples smiled and retook their former spots on the couches. Everyone felt lighter; the afternoon’s previous tension was now gone.

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Later on in the evening, Draco and Y/N were getting settled in Draco’s old bedroom. Narcissa had convinced them to stay the night so they could begin wedding preparations at once the next morning. They’d been shocked by her eagerness at first but shrugged it off when they remembered that her only son had just gotten engaged. Of course, she was excited.

“I can’t believe this is the first time I’m seeing your room,” Y/N said as she wandered around his room. She stopped at a mahogany desk facing a window. “Is this where you wrote me all those love letters?” she asked teasingly. Draco rolled his eyes. He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her, giving her a back hug. They stared out the window at the starry sky, and Draco pressed a kiss to Y/N’s nape. Then he pulled away. “Come, I want to show you something.”

Y/N looked at him skeptically but followed him out of his room and down the stairs anyway. He led her through twists and turns. They passed the kitchen, Lucius’s study, and a dark green living room before arriving at two tall doors. Draco smiled at her before placing both hands on the handles. Wordlessly, he turned them and pushed the doors open to reveal a magnificent marble ballroom. A gasp fell from Y/N’s lips.

“Oh, Draco, this is beautiful.”

Draco smiled and sneakily plucked his wand from his pocket and cast a charm on the piano in the left corner. It began to play soft classical music. He stuck his wand back in his pocket and turned to his fiancé. “Care to dance?” he asked while holding out his hand to her. She smiled lovingly at Draco. Her hand grasped his, but before they could dance, she reached down to grab her shoe. She removed one black heel and then the other. Draco wasn’t surprised; she’d never been one for fancy shoes.

“My mother would have a heart attack if she knew someone had put their bare feet on this floor. In fact, I think you might be the first to do so,” he said. Y/N shrugged. “It’ll be our secret,” she said. Draco smirked and pulled her out to the middle of the ballroom. His hand found her hip, and hers found his. And on a count of three, they began to waltz. The music grew quiet as the presence of one another took center stage. Their eyes never left the others. The two of them were so entranced by one another. So in love, they were.

They danced, and they danced. The music seemed to guide their steps as they moved forward and backward. For each twirl, Draco held his lover’s hand tightly, never wanting to let go. She looked breathtaking. Her eyes sparkled with the reflection of the grand chandeliers hanging overhead. Her skin glowed with joy as she twirled, and twirled, and twirled.

Suddenly, something in the window caught Draco’s eye. It was snowing. He felt his heart jump, and he quickly grabbed Y/N’s waist. She looked at him, confused as to why he’d unexpectedly grabbed her. But she didn’t have a moment to ask him any questions because he bent his legs and lifted her up onto his shoulder. “Draco!” she squealed. He paid her no mind as he began to run towards the balcony. When he reached the glass doors, he pushed them open and walked himself and Y/N out onto the stone terrace. He set her down and watched as her confusion was replaced with awe. Snowflakes had already begun to embed themselves in her hair. She gazed up at Draco and smiled.

“Would you like to spin with me?” she asked.

Draco grinned and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, eliciting a giggle to escape her. “Yes, I would.”

The couple lifted their arms to the sky and began to spin.

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s-creations · 3 years

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Return the Flames - Chapter 14

All at Dead Bird Studios knew of Amos' (The Conductor's) ability. How the owl could suddenly erupt into flames if angered enough. When the studio first opened, Dominic (DJ Grooves) was told that Amos had his ability under control. Nothing to worry about. No possible loss of anything from an open flame.

A few years later however, and that control seems to have lessened to a dangerous degree.

It should have just been a simple, week long drive to fix the problem. It really should have been.

Dominic should have asked a lot more questions and should have been prepared for a twist ending.

_________________

Fandom: A Hat in Time Rating: General Audience Relationships/Pairings: The ConductorXDJ Grooves Warnings: Eventual depictions of violence, slow burn relationship, named characters, attempt of an accent, being hunted down, a race against time (sort of).

Author’s Note: This is the final chapter for this story, but don’t fret! I have three sequel stories currently in the work for this AU. So there’s a lot more to explore with this pairing and story. Thank you so much for reading this!

It wasn’t cold…

It wasn’t warm…

It wasn’t bright…

It wasn’t dark…

Amos wasn’t fully sure where he really was. All he knew was, after touching that feather, he woke up here. Floating in...nothing. He wasn’t even sure where he was or how long he’d been there. Wherever ‘there’ was. Just floating in nothing. Unsure of what he was supposed to do.

Just as he felt himself going insane with nothing happening, Amos jumped in surprise when a bright light appeared before him. Warmth hitting him after so long. It was inviting, Amos started to move forward. Desperate for something else besides this nothingness that he’d known for what seemed like forever.

“Amos!”

He paused. He knew that voice. It sounded so...desperate. So sad. Why did it sound so sad?

“Amos, please come back… I need you to come back…”

Looking around, Amos was shocked to find the Moon lying below him. Glowing softly, almost gently compared to the harsh light above him. The heat is almost unbearable. Even more so compared to the calming cool. Without a second thought, he started to move towards it instead. Easily landing on the soft surface with a plume of dust being created at his feet.

It was comfortable, calming, on the surface. Amos somehow knew this was where he was supposed to be. That the light above was going to be the end of everything. Quite literally everything. The moon, somehow, feels like home.

“...Dominic?”

It was uncomfortably hot. Amos finding it very stupid that someone had decided to drap a blanket over him. He let out a low groan as he slowly sat up. Whipping the blanket off and moving to sit on the edge of the bed.

“What the peck happened…” Rubbing his forehead, Amos took his surroundings in. Quickly realizing he was back in the medical hut.

He was only able to have a few seconds to himself before the blanket in the doorway was pushed aside. Light spilled into the small hut as Dominic stepped through carrying a tray with food and water on it. His eyes on the ground with his posture showing nothing but defeat. The penguin, lifting his gaze up from the flattened dirt, froze upon realizing Amos was awake. Both starting each other down, Dominic looking absolutely stunned.

“...Uh… Mornin’?” Amos flinched when Dominic dropped the tray. All items break when they hit the ground. The owl had no time to recover or comment before Dominic kissed him. Full of desperation and want pushed into the action, Amos’ gripping onto Dominic’s shoulders to ground himself. The moment ended when the penguin pulled away and smacked his arm.

“Ow! What the peck was that for?”

“For being an absolute idiot! A peck neck if you will. You...scared me. Everything that is holy and decent Amos, you… I thought you were pecking dead.”

“I…” The owl frowned, fully taking Dominic in. The penguin looked absolutely exhausted. Hair disheveled, signature sunglasses off to reveal deep bags under his eyes, feathers unkempt. In all honesty, Dominic looked dead on his feet and the worst Amos had ever seen him. “How long have I been out?”

“...5 days.”

Amos swallowed weakly. “Oh… Do ya think everyone at home thinks we’re both dead?”

“You absolute peck neck.” Dominic laughed softly, sitting down next to the owl. “...How are you feeling?”

With the initial shock now wearing off, Amos realized the fire from within was… Well, it wasn’t as strong as it was before. He could still feel it burning. But he wasn’t in pain nor did he feel as if the power was going to flare up. After so many years, he felt as if he was the one in control of the burning power.

“Better...far better… The C.A.W. agents?”

“Ah, well, the majority of them fled…”

“Do I want to know?”

“Probably not.”

“Alright…” Amos let out a weak sigh, leaning against Dominic. “Do we just...go home?”

The penguin laughed again. “Don’t make it all sound so anticlimactic!”

“A near death experience wasn’t good enough? Can’t we just have one peaceful moment that doesn’t lead to almost disaster?”

The Elder walked in to find both birds clinging at each other while laughing hysterically. “I suppose this is where you release that built up energy. You seem to be doing well Amos.”

“I believe I’ve earned my ‘oh-my-peck-I-survived’ hysterical laugh.” The owl teased back.

“That is a fair assessment. All joking aside however, how are you feeling?”

“Better than I have in years.”

After a more than thorough medical check up (Amos swears his tail feathers weren’t laying properly afterwards) they prepared to depart. Bakle was thrilled to see Amos was awake and well. The owl easily caught the young Nomad who had basically launched himself into Amos’ arms. The large father merely gave a hearty clap onto Amos’ shoulder. A silent indication to show he was happy the other was alive. As the rental car was being uncovered, the Elder gave the request to have the duo return next year.

“Do ya think I’ll be in that poor of shape again?” Amos asked.

“Oh no, far from it. But it would be a good measure to make this a yearly pilgrimage. To make sure you don’t reach such a dangerous level again.”

Supposed they couldn’t argue with that logic.

It wasn’t before long that they were back on the road, one final goodbye before they started heading home. While the road in the jungle was still just as bouncy as before, there was nothing heavy hanging over them. Amos wasn’t unconscious. There was (hopefully) no one hunting them down. Just a wobbly, silent ride back towards the paved road and then a straight shot back home.

“Oh boy.”

Amos was pulled away from his thoughts, turning away from his window to look at Dominic. “Oh boy?”

The penguin merely nodded before them. An uncomfortably familiar scene was put on the road. Numerous black cars were blocking their progress. Instead of crows however, there were a number of different beings standing by said cars. The closest was a large eagle. All wearing black suits and dark sunglasses.

“If we’re startin’ this peckin’ dance again…” Amos growled darkly.

“Calm down...let’s just see what this is.” Slowing their car to a stop, Dominic put it in park and climbed out. Amos follows behind closely. The eagle pushed away from their own car and met the duo halfway.

“Gentlemen.” The eagle nodded to them both. His voice was deep and commanding.

“Are...we in trouble?” Dominic cautiously asked.

“Far from it actually. Merely here to take your statement.”

Amos huffed. “And who the peck are ya.”

“Agent Mobus. Department of Mystical Operation.”

“Are you with C.A.W.” The penguin frowned.

Agent Mobus shifted and cleared his throat. “No. They are actually who we need a statement about.”

The duo gave a raised brow exchange before Dominic replied with, “Are you...associated with them, in any way?”

“Far from it. They are an organization that claims they’re tied with the government even when they’re not. They have the mindset that those who are...different need to be removed.”

“What is your philosophy in all of this?” Amos asked.

“We look to preserve and protect.”

“You did a peckin’ great job.”

“Amos.” Dominic quietly berated.

“No, he is correct to question our motives and our actions in this matter,” Agent Mobus replied, “We’re normally able to follow their course closely and intervene before C.A.W. can cause any real damage. We couldn’t understand their sudden change in destination. Until we were then told of the dinner burning down.”

Amos crossed his arms. “Not one o’ my finest moments.”

“It still took us a while to understand what they were going after.”

“Even after the dinner burnt down?”

Agent Mobus’ mouth twitched, as if holding back a smile. “You’ll have to understand. Phoenix’s are rare. Even more so when it’s a child of said creature. This is a situation that...well, has never happened.”

“So,” Dominic slowly began again, “what do you need from us?”

“Merely statements, or at least a few answers. Do you know where the C.A.W. agents are?”

“No, they fled when things became a bit...heated,” Dominic tried not to smirk when Amos glared daggers at him, “But I will say that one agent...didn’t survive.”

Amos turned away, frowning deeply at what that statement meant.

“Which one?” Agent Mobus asked.

“What I assume was their ringleader? He was the loudest out of all of them, that’s for sure.”

“Do you know at least the direction to which the rest of the agents ran off to?”

“No, sorry.”

“Very well. We’ll be in contact if we have further questions. Enjoy your trips home.” Agent Mobus turned to return back to his car.

“Wait, that’s it?” Amos questioned.

“What else were you expecting?”

“Being arrested?”

Agent Mobus sighed softly and faced them again. “I understand your concerns. But, you clearly have a solution to your ailment. Unless you start using your ability maliciously, there’s nothing we can ‘do’. Or even have anything to worry about. Until that day possibly comes, enjoy your drive home.”

Nothing else was said. The group of black cars driving off. Even then, the duo didn’t get back in until the cars disappeared over the horizon. They shared a look, said nothing themselves, and drove off.

It was strange traveling home. It only took about two days with no interruptions or possibility of death looming. They stopped to pick up food, take small breaks, and slept in the car when they couldn’t stay awake any longer. Hand clasped together as they moved forward.

It was a relief when they entered the city. Sure, Amos found the towers and tall apartments a little claustrophobic, but the familiar sight was still comforting. The roads leading them back to the studio. A silent agreement between them that, with the rising sun, it would just be best to go there right away.

No doubt their workers wanted to know right away they had finally returned.

The parking lot was full. Very opposite to how they had left it. Amos even spotted his daughter’s car parked in one of the closer spots. Dominic pulled into his assigned spot, both stepping out. Eyes traveling over the area, neither truly believing that they were standing where they were.

“Well...shall we go in?” Dominic looked over to Amos. Who gave a deep breath and nodded.

“Yeah...let’s go in.”

Just as this entire trip, their hands connected and they entered into the busy studio.

1 Year Later

“And you will call me every step of the way. And no lying. I’m serious dad. You keep that cell phone on you at all times.”

Amos sighed softly but nodded to Amelia’s demands. Her eyes staring him down. “Aye, I will. Promise.”

Amelia, seemingly still unconvinced, looking over to Dominic. Who merely smiled back and nodded. “We’ll call.”

“Good,” she let out a small sigh with her shoulders relaxing, “Just be careful, please?”

Amos smiled softly, placing a gentle kiss on her brow, and they climbed into the car. The trunk was closed, two workers giving a wave before stepping away. The duo waves to all in the parking lot seeing them off. The duo waved to all in the parking lot as they left, the sun barely seen over the horizon and soon enough the city was far behind them.

As they exit the city, Amos pulls out a rolled up piece of parchment. One of the numerous that had been sent to them since last summer. Stories filling them from Bakle, the Elder, and many others in the small village. This final one being sent to inform the two that everything was ready for their arrival. “Think Bekal will like the present we got him?”

“Of course. Although, I’m sure he’ll just be excited to see us again.” Dominic commented. He reached over and took Amos’ hand. “How are you feeling, Sweetheart?”

Amos smiled back over, placing a kiss on the back of the penguin’s hand. “Absolutely perfect Darlin’.”

#A Hat In Time #discotrain #the conductor #dj grooves #ahit conductor #ahit dj grooves #s-creations #fanfiction #Multi-Chapter

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symphonicscans · 3 years

Text

Fujimi Orchestra - Wandering Violinist (Book 2, Part 1)

Author: Akizuki Koh Illustrator: Keiko Nishi (Read Book 1 Here)

Content Warning! 18+ Yaoi/BL/Soft Noncon This volume doesn’t have rape per say, but there are references to what happened in the first volume, so just in case I’m still providing a warning. Nothing is super explicit. Also, if you want to start with this book there is plenty of recap throughout the book to catch you up on characters and situations.

And we’re onto book 2! This book also has two parts, so hopefully I’ll have the second done in the next few weeks. If you want to read on Google Docs: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSuh6ZZf--fQVn8mkSKkovlnZgIfKcD0vL1dmNRBBo2xVNMPw3EHBpNChs0vW4zq5qymXWQcZsvZmib/pub#ftnt1

Part I : Wandering Violinist

I have no apartment… no roost… not for tonight. I looked around in the hot and humid summer night; I couldn't even mumble because I was completely stunned by the situation. If I had to guess at the statistics, I’d say that the Fujimi-cho neighborhood -- where 80% of the residents live in apartments -- is like a ghost-town every year around this time. This is because there are many brave people who insist that they celebrate the ‘Bon Festival in my hometown,’ undeterred by the hustle and bustle of expensive flight tickets or the hellish rush to return home. It kills two birds with one stone: they make their dutiful family trip, and they don’t have to pay for accommodations when they get there.

Actually, I — Yuuki Morimura — was one of those people. The reason I say ‘was’ is because I had just returned to my dear home-town after a two year absence on one such obligatory trip. I’m 23 years old and a music instructor at a public high school, as well as a violinist and concertmaster of the Fujimi Citizen’s Philharmonic, also known as the ‘Ni-chome Philharmonic’ or just ‘Fujimi.’ I seem to be considered a quiet and serious person because of the glasses I’ve worn since junior high, and often mistaken as younger than my age thanks to my slim body and feminine face (that I’m not so pleased with); I actually think I’m a pretty assertive person. I moved to Tokyo for music school, and then Fujimi-cho, which has become my second home ever since.

Since my mother passed away, Fujimi feels even more like my second home. So as I returned from my three-day ‘homecoming’ trip and smelled the familiar scents of Fujimi, I breathed a deep sigh of relief. I arrived before Fujimi’s rehearsal day, just after nine o’clock in the evening. Many of the shops in Fujimi Ginza around the small train station were already closed, each shutter with a sign on the door that said they were closed for tomorrow’s Obon holiday; well, as far as the rest of the country is concerned, tomorrow is the real Obon holiday. I took advantage of the fact that I work at a school with summer vacation to beat the rush of people returning home. This was always my trick that I used in the summer when I would go back home to the country. I would take care of my obligations before the proper Bon Festival and spend the three days when Fujimi-cho was quiet, playing the violin in my empty apartment building. It was the only thing I enjoyed in the summer, as I don’t have any other hobbies.

Now the steel frame of the building was exposed to the sky, and underneath my feet was rubble that seemed to be made from the collapsed walls, along with black trash that must have been furniture. I had entered the alley and turned the corner as usual, and saw the scene that was now in front of me; it was a total loss fire. Both my building and the one on the other side of mine were at least 80% burnt down. I scratched my head and turned to the right. The liquor store on the corner was still open.

“Excuse me, good evening!” A lady came out while using a fan. She looked me up and down and made a sympathetic face. “Ah, the Miyajima apartment building over there burned down yesterday evening, I heard about it on the NHK news,” she said.

“I didn’t hear anything about it, I was back at my parents’ house.”

“Oh, you lived there?” The woman scratched her cauliflower-like permed head with the handle of her fan, probably because she was uncomfortable dealing with a person she didn’t know. “That’s terrible. The fire spread quickly and the firefighters didn’t show up for a while because it was right in the middle of rush hour, you know.”

“Um, did anybody...die?”

“It was a blessing that you weren’t there, the people who were left were burnt to a crisp. They were all dead by the time the firemen got there.”

“I see…”

“I heard it started from tempura oil. Yamamoto-san on the first floor was the origin of the fire. His wife always looked very careless.”

“Ah...Thank you,” the lady seemed like she wanted to keep talking, but I hadn’t recovered enough from the first round of information to keep up with more rumors. I bowed my head and left the store. The only question for now was where I could sleep tonight… I wondered if there were any hotels in this town. I remembered seeing a few love hotels, but as I walked towards the station I realized I needed to find something else: money. I didn’t have any.

I put down my travel bag and violin under the streetlight and checked my wallet. No matter how many times I counted it, there was only 3,000 yen. Naturally I didn’t have much left, since I had given most of my money to my sister when I left my parents’ house. It was only fair since I stayed for three days at the place she was living with four children and a husband on the salary of a civil servant, while also maintaining a large country house and fields. I wanted to be considerate, and also make a small gesture since I was now a salaried employee, so I left her with enough money for a meal. But now…

“The bank won’t be closed even on Bon holidays,” I said to myself. No — tomorrow is Saturday! No, wait, I can still withdraw money, my card is in my wallet. So in the morning I can get money. I picked up my bag and case, which was now all I had to my name, and started walking. Oh yeah, my scores, my CD player, the CDs themselves, my clothes, my wardrobe, my futon, my toaster… all burned. Everything, everything…! I was hit with the sound of an oncoming car and rushed to get out of the way. As I looked at the red glow of the receding tail lights, I thought of the word ‘penniless.’ I have a violin, an ATM card, and a few clothes for the time being, so I’m not completely broke, but I’d be grateful if I could at least talk to Ishida-san, the caretaker of Fujimi, who I know I could rely on. But he’s on his usual week-long summer vacation. His whole family left for Hokkaido in the country on the same day that I left, and of course his coffee shop Mozart is also closed.

There were only two other members of the orchestra who knew where I lived: Natsuko Kawashima, a flutist, and the conductor, Tounoin. I had been in love with Kawashima for three years, even proposed to her, but we finally settled as friends in the orchestra. And Tounoin… well, I thought about going to him. He would be more than willing to let me stay, but that ‘willingness’ was the problem. He was gay, fell in love with me, and raped me — though the rape was an accident, as Tounoin had thought I was also gay and that I wanted to have sex with him. I respect Tounoin as a genius conductor, and I also think he’s a very good man, as he was willing to give up his affections towards me and not bring that kind of trouble into our relationship as musicians.

That’s why… I don’t think I should go to his place to stay. No matter how much help he offers or how strong his willpower is, I don’t want to give him the opportunity to spoil me. He’s a human being too, and you never know when his self-control might slip… I don’t want to ruin the friendship we’ve established. I couldn’t impose on him like that, but I also couldn’t think of anywhere else that would let me stay. The list of Fujimi members and school staff had burned to ash in the fire, and there were a lot of people that I couldn’t remember their full names to look them up in the phone book.

I was flipping through the pages of the city phone book, trying to find a hotel, when I heard the sound of rain. It started raining. Then it was pouring. It seems like bad luck was following me like a bad smell. I took out ten yen from my wallet and picked up the phone.

“Hello, do you have any rooms available? Yes, for tonight. Oh, that’s great. Where are you located?” I thanked them, hung up the phone and wondered out loud, “Yeah, that’s pretty far. The cab fare alone would wipe out all my money. I wonder if they would let me stay without a deposit?”

I heard a noise and looked outside. A soaking wet businessman was waiting, so I opened the phone booth and said, “I’m sorry to have kept you waiting,” and dashed under the eaves of a building to avoid getting wet. I hurriedly wiped the drops of water from my violin case. I decided to wait for the rain to let up and then walk to the hotel; since I only had 3,000 yen I really couldn’t spend it on the cab. But the evening downpour, which I assumed would stop if I waited it out, did not let up even after an hour. I waved my hand at the approaching lights of an empty cab and repeatedly counted the contents of my wallet in my head.

---

After going through 5 other hotels, the sixth hotel receptionist — my last ray of hope in the whole town — was a gentle, motherly woman with a pleasant appearance and tone of voice… “Oh, that’s the thing, isn’t it?”

I said quickly, “I have an ATM card, so if the bank is open tomorrow morning, I promise I can get the money! I know you have a rule that you have to pay in advance, but I won’t cause any trouble!” Needless to say, I’m not very good at this kind of negotiation. But there was nothing else I could do. I was so embarrassed that my forehead broke out in a cold sweat, but I persisted desperately. “I’m begging you. I can’t stay out in the open in this rain!” The woman, who seemed to be going through hardship of her own, looked down with a troubled expression. ‘One more push,’ I thought.

“I know it’s a lot to ask, but if there’s any way…”

“Well, let me have your driver’s license.”

“Oh, that’s —“ I was sure that I had finally found a solution. “I don’t have it.”

“You don’t have a driver’s license?” It was heart-wrenching to see her face, which had finally softened somewhat, switch back into cold rejection.

“...my insurance card was burned. But..!” I pulled my ATM card out of my drenched back pocket. “I’ll leave this with you!”

The woman shook her head apologetically. “That doesn’t prove your identity, does it?”

“But if you look up my card number…”

“Can you prove it’s yours?” I was about to open my mouth to argue against her rude suspicion when the sound of rain started up again.

The easy-going face of welcome had turned into a cruel mask when she looked back at me. She said quietly, “Anyway, we don’t accept single guests.” Basically, I was interfering with their business, so get out of here.

“Ah, I see. Thank you.” Apparently this is the way the city is. I thought I could handle the love-hotel atmosphere, but I was naive. I gave the guests that had entered behind me some space so I wouldn’t have to look at them, but it seemed to be an unnecessary precaution.

“Oh, let’s take this room!” I heard the excited girl’s voice behind me as I walked out, not feeling the least bit guilty about being in a love hotel. This was the last of my hotel choices, and I had run out of ideas. I wondered if the heavens had come to regret their cruelty to me, as it was raining lightly when I went outside. But the situation wasn’t any better just because the rain was lighter.

“Police, maybe?” I had heard of something called ‘tiger boxes’ that were used to protect drunks, but I wondered if they would have anything for a lodger like me. ‘It’s all so bad!’ I thought, but that was the only option I could think of at this point. However, the police station was behind the Fujimi train station, which took me 20 minutes to get there by car, and now I had to walk back... “I’ve got 820 yen in my pocket, so I have no other choice.”

The problem was the violin, which could not get wet. I decided to put it in my travel bag, and used my summer jacket as a furoshiki for my overflowing clothes. I walked out into the rain, which was cold on my already soaking body. There was nothing else I could do.

—

“Achoo!” I sneezed, waking up. I was greeted by masculine-smelling air and unnecessary air conditioning. It seemed that I had caught a cold. I put my glasses on and looked at the round clock on the wall; it was barely 7am… I had stumbled into this police station a little after two in the morning, managed to get them to understand my situation, and they let me stay in the dormitory nap room.

“Achoo!” I guess it’s time for me to leave. After all, the air conditioning was too cold in here. I folded the blanket I had borrowed and left the dormitory room. I looked around for the middle-aged policeman that had helped me earlier, but maybe his shift had ended. I turned around and saw a policeman who looked younger than me.

“Oh, you must be Morimura-san.”

“Yes, I was staying here. Thanks to you, I was saved. This is for the person who helped me last night,” I offered him a box of sweets that my sister had given me to take home, “It’s a little wet from the rain, but inside is manju.”

“Oh no, that’s too much.”

“No, I’m really grateful.” As I was saying this, my nose started to itch again. I sneezed and bowed.

The city was already hot and humid, so I was grateful for the chills that were creeping into my body. I bought the cheapest lunch at a convenience store in the middle of the street and headed for the bank. It was 7:24am on August 13th, and in 30 minutes I would be able to say goodbye to the miserable feeling of having just 500 yen in my pocket. But I didn’t know… I didn’t know that today is the day the door of hell would be flung open.

It’s hot… the cicadas are so noisy. And… there was no money. The lack of money I thought I had was extremely shocking, there must have been some mistake. I’m sure it was just some small clerical error, like a paycheck failing to transfer. I did buy a new suit for the school year and paid for it in one lump sum with my bonus, but that should have gone through in July… but the ‘balance of 2,637 yen’ on the statement the cashier spit out was an unquestionable fact from the employee that was working that Saturday. He told me to come back on Monday for more details. The bank book, which was supposed to be a clue to solve my money question, had been reduced to ashes along with my personal seal and ID card. And the only thing that could guarantee that I am Yuuki Morimura was an ATM card, which could be stolen or picked up…

If it had been the bank where Kawashima-san worked, she probably would have taken care of it. Fujimi’s most beautiful flutist, Natsuko Kawashima, who had rejected my desperate proposal, was the type of person who would be strong in an emergency situation like this. But she’s not here, and anyway as a man I couldn’t just go to my girlfriend’s workplace and cry to her. For an hour I was at a loss for what to do, wondering what the hell I did to deserve this, envying the heavens and cursing my fate. Maybe I was stupid to have left with only my violin and a few changes of clothes. But! I had taken proper precautions against fire, and I was only gone for three days. Usually you don’t have to think about the possibility of your apartment burning down in such a short amount of time.

The sun was shining on the benches, and shadows stretched out over the ground. I was craving grilled fish… but what was I supposed to do now, when it’s two more days until Ishida-san comes back? I was able to withdraw 2,000 yen from my credit card, but with a grand total of 2,511 yen it was barely anything. I pulled out the notepad I kept in my pocket. I knew I had only Mozart, Kawashima-san’s house, and the number of the school staff room written down. The school was closed for the Bon holiday and there was no answer on the phone. Kawashima-san was the only one who could help me. But… I said to myself, ‘Is it really worth it to go through all this?’ Of course, I wanted to just wait it out, but if I had to… if I did, I’d have to stay out in the open for two more nights. The policeman last night was kind enough to help me, but the way he acted made it clear that the police were not a hotel, and I was already feeling sick from my search for shelter in the rain. My pride as a man wouldn’t let me rely on Tounoin.

As I soothed my dry throat with lukewarm water from the park fountain, I made up my mind. By the time I found a phone booth, I had sweated out more than I had drunk. I wondered if Kawashima-san would be at work or if she was off? In this case, I could barely spare even ten yen. In a desperate mood, I figured that she would have gone to work, so I looked up the number of her workplace in the Town Pages, which I was grateful to have even if it was in tatters.

The reply on the other end of the line was, “Kawashima-san is off today.”

I took my wallet out again… oh, ten-yen coins, you are valuable after all. I dialed her home number, and the voice that answered was that of a mother.

“I’m Morimura of the Fujimi Philharmonic. Is Natsuko-san at home?”

“Ah, the concertmaster. Thank you for always taking care of my daughter,” said the warm voice. I felt the dark clouds in my chest clear. Thank God.

“Oh, of course. So, where is Natsuko-san?”

“This morning she went scuba diving in Izu with a friend. She’ll be back the night of the 15th.”

I couldn’t remember if I had said a proper greeting when I hung up the phone… as I exited the phone booth I felt that my last hope was gone. I’m finally going to have to live on the street. But… but… what the hell am I supposed to do? I asked myself over and over, and reluctantly arrived at the answer I already knew, the only solution. I have no choice but to go to Tounoin. Go to him… I’ll just borrow some money. As long as I have money I can do whatever I need to do; get a hotel room, ask the principal for a new ID when school resumes after Bon, go to city hall to get a certificate of seal impression, and then take it back to the bank. It’s just a debt, I will owe him a favor, but I can pay him back as much as I borrow.

I walked, keeping my face down from the sun that was beating down on me. I was sweating profusely, yet an inexplicable chill ran down my spine. I put my hand to my forehead, which wasn’t even hot, but I felt like I was having a heat stroke. I need to borrow money to buy some cold medicine...a hotel… a cool room… I should have called Kawashima-san last night instead of trying to be proud and stick it out on my own. But it was so late at night… and either way it was too late now.

—

The Telephone Pole Mansion was silent and open as usual. On the wall opposite of the door to apartment 11 there was a row of mailboxes with numbers from 11-71 on them, and on box 71 was a handwritten name: “Kei Tounoin.” There was an elevator door next to it, and in front of the door an abandoned tricycle with the name ‘Mamiko’ written on it in permanent marker. I pushed the trike aside and pressed the button. I got off at the fifth floor — which was the end of the line — and climbed the remaining two floors, breathing hard. They say only idiots catch colds in the summer, but I felt myself getting more and more sick. But I had to act cool in front of Tounoin. He’ll probably tell me to use his place instead of a hotel, but I don’t want to accept a favor I can’t return. I had rejected him. Actually, he really wasn’t the kind of guy I could borrow money from, either… I finally managed to get to the apartment, and was anticipating getting to change clothes since the ones I had been wearing were soggy from being worn since yesterday. I put my hands in my pockets — I just remembered, I don’t have the key…

I usually have the key to his place. It was the middle of last month when Tounoin offered me his apartment, since mine didn’t allow the practicing of musical instruments and I had no other decent place to practice. At the time, we were still like a rabbit and a wolf, and I was the rabbit running away. I resisted and resisted, not wanting to be lured into the wolf’s house by some kind of trick. But then we developed a proper relationship as friends, and I decided to accept that his offer was out of kindness, not a trick. Since then, I’ve practiced here every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday night, and Sunday afternoon. I have a duplicate key because Tounoin’s apartment is soundproofed, and he plays music so loud that he doesn’t hear if somebody knocks. He gave me the key so I could come in on my own, but I had left the key in my apartment. On the morning I left, I put it in a bag of rice in the kitchen, along with my personal seal, bank book and other valuables…

He had no doorbell. I knocked on the door, but there was no answer. I knocked a few more times, then thought to put my ear to the door, but it seemed to be silent behind it. Just to be sure, I looked for a window, but there was not a single window on this side. I went to the edge of the aisle and looked, but no, there was no window on that side either. There was a window across from the door inside… but regardless there was no sign of anybody being in the apartment.

“He’s finally away…” did he go to his parents’ house, or on vacation, or just out shopping? No matter what Tounoin was doing, my situation was simple: I had no other place to go, no other option. As long as I had the key, I could go in; Tounoin wouldn’t mind if I came in when he wasn’t home. It would be much easier to wait in an air-conditioned room, and I would without hesitation, but without a key… it’s metal, so there is a possibility that it didn’t burn up in the fire. But to find it, I would have to go back down the stairs and walk for twenty minutes in the hot sun. Then I’d have to dig around in that pile of rubble, and what were the chances of finding it? Even if I did find it, it might be useless, and either way I’d have to come back here… by then, Tounoin might have returned. So I decided to just wait. Fortunately there was a roof over the passage, and the elevated location allowed for good ventilation. I sat down in the aisle with my violin case beside me on the concrete, which was cool and pleasant in the shade. Looking through the bars of the railing, the city was the color of scorched gold in the midsummer sun. I’ll wait here until it cools down in the evening, and if he doesn’t come back I’ll go look for the key…. but what if the key doesn’t work? Whether it’s there or not, I’ll have to come back, but what if Tounoin doesn’t come back tonight?

Then I’ll just spend the night here outside. No one but Tounoin comes up here anyway, and it’s summer so it shouldn’t be a problem to sleep overnight… but what if he’s on vacation? I haven’t heard anything about that. He’s probably shopping or something, he’ll be back in the evening. As I stared blankly at the scenery thinking about this, I began to feel sleepy. To tell the truth, I didn’t want to move anymore. The sooner I went to look for the key the better, and the sooner I could take some medicine the better. I didn’t have much of an appetite, but I was thirsty and I knew I could get a cold drink at the convenience store downstairs. But once I was sitting like this, I didn’t feel like getting up again. I felt like I didn’t actually sleep much at the police dormitory, and yesterday was still yesterday…

I had helped Mimiko with her farm work in the morning, took my nephews to the town swimming pool, and taken a six-hour express train ride home, and then when I was feeling relieved to be home, the apartment was gone. And all that time I wasted looking for a hotel… after all that, it’s not surprising that I didn’t get a good night’s sleep. In other words, I was utterly exhausted. And to top it off, I was coming down with a cold. I laid down with my bag as a pillow, just to give my body a rest. After a short nap I would take a fever reducer… and then go find the key… I laid down, staring at the concrete ceiling of the aisle and the blue sky beyond, thinking about the pile of scores I had that were now burned. I hadn’t finished learning more than half of them, maybe I should have brought at least those with me… I couldn’t help thinking about it now.

...I opened my eyes with a start and realized I had fallen asleep. My body ached all over, probably from lying on a concrete bed. But I didn’t feel like waking up, I was feeling very sluggish, as if I were being held in a metal box. I wanted to look at the time, but I couldn’t lift my arm to put on my watch. ‘Never mind,’ I thought, ‘This is the top floor, and the only room up here is Tounoin’s, so I can afford to take my time. I’m sure he’ll have something to say when he gets back, and there’s no need to move when it’s still so hot…’ With this thought, I was sucked back into the darkness of sleep. But it was a sleep that I shouldn’t have fallen into, like what people experience when they’re in distress on snowy mountains.

I was burning hot when I woke up again. I forced open my heavy eyelids. Through the bars of the railing, at the same height as I was lying, the orange sun was blazing, and I was basking in the west sun. I tried to get up, but my body felt like a bag of wet sand. If I stayed here, I would dry out in the sun. I managed to crawl up on all fours and move to the little remaining shade by the top of the stairs. As I let my head fall limp, I thought of something. The violin! I shouldn’t have left it in the sun like that… I crawled back to the apartment door, grabbed the violin case, and went back to the shade. The coldness of the concrete made me feel uncomfortable, like a myriad of worms were slithering under my skin. Chills kept running down my spine incessantly. I was already starting to doze off, thinking of how awful this was. The sound of cicadas chirping somewhere in the distance was becoming more and more faint. Water… water… when it gets cooler, I’ll have to go to the convenience store… barley tea, juice...water...water…. I found myself depressed. When I came to, it was pitch black. I felt cold, and when I moved my entire body was filled with aches and pains. My head also felt like it was going to crack open, and the breath on my lips was hot. I felt like I couldn’t get up, but I managed to do so because I knew I was in danger of dying out here. Going down the stairs, however, was even more dangerous. My legs were unreliable, and my hands were shaking as I clung to the railing with what little strength I had. Still, I somehow managed to reach the elevator and descended to the ground floor.

I staggered the 30 meters or so to the corner store and went in. The brightness of the white lights hurt my eyes.

“Excuse me,” I said, leaning against the register, “Do you have any fever reducers?”

“No, we don’t,” the cashier replied, “But there’s a pharmacy a little bit down the street.” He seemed kind.

“How far is ‘just a little bit…’” It was too far for me now. “Could I have a bottle of Pocari?” The clerk asked me which one. “No, a large one.”

“Two bottles are six hundred and eighteen yen.”

With trembling fingers I took the change and the heavy package and left the store. I didn’t have time to go looking for the keys. I literally crawled back to Tounoin’s front door on the seventh floor, relieved to see that the violin I had left behind was still there, and then I completely ran out of steam. I would fall asleep intermittently, waking up with chattering teeth, and then fall asleep again only to wake up drenched in sweat… each sleep and awakening had a similar sense of torment and nightmares, and time passed slowly. Every time I woke up, I would first check to make sure my violin was safe, then take a sip or two of Pocari, touch the violin case again and fall back into another painful sleep.

I felt like my beloved instrument, which was ‘only two million yen’ in the eyes of musicians, was still very precious to me even at this moment when I felt on the brink of death. When I was a student, quite a few of my friends had instruments worth 2 million, and some played on ones worth 3 or 5 million. I wondered how they managed to squeeze that out of their parents. The violin is a small but expensive instrument, with the best ones like Stradivarius costing hundreds of millions of yen. Because of their nature, being made with wood, the sound gets better with age, so the 300,000 or 400,000 yen new violins lined up in the window of a music store are only considered entry-level instruments. When I was a student, I used a brand new violin that cost 700,000 yen. My mother spent all of her savings to buy me the best one she could find in the country, and that was how much it cost to get the violin and the bow as a set. The sound is somewhat proportional to the price, so no matter how hard I tried my instrument could not match that of a 3 million yen instrument. That’s why when I got out of college and started a temporary job, the first thing I did was buy this violin. I had already given up being a professional, but I really wanted an instrument that had a better sound; it was the culmination of around four years of frustration. I sold my 700,000 yen set for 600,000 yen, keeping the bow, and then added 1.4 million yen of my own from a personal loan to purchase my current instrument. I was really happy at the time, and now with only one more payment, my beloved instrument will be mine in both name and reality. Then, I will buy a suitable bow for it… probably something around 500,000 yen… with a loan again, but I will do it to get a new bow. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to afford it. And then I wished I could play the violin just one more time before I died, if this was to be my last moments…. when I think about it, I was being as sentimental as something you’d see in a shoujo manga, and later I blush when I recall being like that. I’m proud of myself for being a violinist, and under normal circumstances I wouldn’t have ever thought of pawning my violin for money. But I’m a fool, and in some way it’s more manly to be foolish.

That was what I was thinking about when I absentmindedly changed thoughts to the man who seemed to not be coming back, no matter how long I waited. I thought I heard footsteps, but figured it was just another hallucination. But the sound was getting closer… a white object appeared on the stairs, quickly turning into a Panama hat with black eyes under the brim. As I was lying on my concrete bed, all I could see was what came into my field of vision from the other side — a man with only a head, then a neck… his eyebrows were tight, the eyes underneath long and narrow, with a well-defined nose that even from the front you could tell was high.

“No way,” the lips murmured. Then the shoulders appeared under the man’s neck, and a hand came up and lifted the Panama hat, which he fanned his face with. The man’s dark hair was long and full, tucked in tightly from the hat; it didn’t look rude or obnoxious because the style suited him. “Morimura… san? What are you doing here…?” With a clatter of footsteps the whole body appeared, a solid 190cm tall body in an elegant linen suit. He was holding a trunk that had customs stickers in one hand. Had he been traveling abroad…?

“Hey,” I smiled, or at least I thought I did. It was Kei Tounoin, the 22 year old unknown genius conductor who had dropped out of the Music Department of the National Fine Arts University — which he was accepted straight into — because he had ‘nothing more to learn’ after one year, and then he studied abroad in Germany and Austria. His present status was as the permanent conductor of the 2-Chome Phil, or Fujimi Orchestra, an amateur ensemble of people who love music. “I’ve been… waiting for a while…” I said in a raspy, shrill voice. Before I realized it was me speaking, I was folded into the chest of the suit that had quickly appeared.

“Morimura-san! What’s going on? What the hell are you doing in a place like this?!”

I was going to answer, but I lost consciousness…

When I woke up, I was in the water. At first I just felt vaguely cool and comfortable, when I heard a chuckle in my ear. My face was wiped with a cold towel dripping with water, and I opened my eyes.

“Oh, you noticed,” The one who said this in a very relieved voice was Tounoin, who was looking right into my face from above. I tried to sit up, as I was using his arm as a pillow, but I heard a bang and realized I was lying in a Western-style bathtub filled with water. Completely naked.

“Wha-ah…” I jumped in shock.

Tounoin said in a serious voice, “I had to hurry to lower your temperature, it was over 40ºC.” I was relieved to hear that, but then my eyelids began to feel heavy… “Wait! Just one sip before you go to sleep,” he said with a panicked voice, and his arm snatched me up in a hug while he placed something hard and cold to my lips. A cup…? “You’re dehydrated, just drink as much as you can,” he said. Adam woke up and took a bite of the apple, but when I covered my crotch with my hand I felt even more embarrassed. “Sorry,” he said and shoved a thin object into my mouth. “It’s a thermometer,” he told me.

When he saw the temperature dropped to 37º he let me lean back into the water. I noticed that the sleeves and chest of his expensive linen suit were soaked from where I was leaning against him. “I’m sorry… I feel lost… put it on…” when I mumbled with the thermometer in my mouth, Tounoin smiled.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” I was scared because I was afraid he was going to kiss me. But he only leaned in to read the thermometer. The door behind him slammed open, and he murmured, “It’s about time he got here.”

“How is it? Has it gone down a bit?”

“Seven degrees in one minute. I’ll move him to the room. Oh, can you get a bath towel for me from the cabinet over there? Two or three for the bed.”

“I should have brought a nurse,” said the man, opening the cupboard as he thrust his stethoscope into his pocket. Tounoin tried to pick me up, but I said I could walk myself. Both of them got irritated at me, thinking that I was just embarrassed. But the problem was the bed that I was brought to… two months ago, I was raped in this bed… but I couldn’t very well say that to Tonouin, who had taken care of me like a mother, nor to the doctor. After all, I don’t have a place to go home to, and I can’t look for an apartment until I get better.

“I’ll give you some glucose. You can still give him water. Basically the only medicine he needs is water and rest. Let him have some porridge when he has the energy to eat. I’ll come back tomorrow to see how it goes,” said the doctor, who left quickly after finishing his diagnosis.

I had enough energy to talk, “Are you related to that doctor?”

“He’s my uncle,” was the reply. I tried to tell him that there were pajamas in my bag, but he ignored me.

Instead, he pushed the dial button on the phone he pulled out from under the bed, but I couldn’t quite hear what he was saying. “Hello, this is Kei. No, from Fujimi… please tell him it will be a little while before I can come back. No, I have a guest.” As I listened I felt his voice soften, and it occurred to me that he had a family, too. I hadn’t thought about it before…

When I woke up after a good night’s sleep I felt much better. I put on my underwear and pajamas, went to the bathroom on my own, which also made me feel better. My precious violin had been placed on the shelf above the audio components. When I told Tounoin about my unfortunate situation, he expressed his deepest sympathy and said I could stay in his place for the time being.

“I can’t annoy you any more than I already have,” I said. He had taken care of me and slept on the floor so I could use his bed.

“I see…” he said, his tone of voice sounding slightly angry. “I don’t think it’s annoying.”

“Well, I think it will still be two or three more days until I can get everything sorted out. So I’m sorry for that.”

“Yeah. But there’s no rush, you can stay here until you have the energy to play the violin. Conductor’s orders.” I laughed, and Tounoin laughed too. He’s a handsome man, but with his usual expressionless face he looks dour and misanthropic. However when he smiles, he looks very youthful and friendly.

—-

It was the third day I had occupied Tounoin’s bed. I had been thinking that tomorrow I could go out and look for an apartment, but I fell asleep… I woke up in the middle of the night because of a faint sound of music, just a murmur. 'That is… that’s Tannhäuser,' I thought, the song that filled up this room when it was at full volume on the night two months ago, when Tounoin forcibly embraced me! ‘Oh my god!’ I thought, and felt like jumping to my feet. But my body stayed still like it was bound up by rope. No, I was holding my breath like a rabbit who had heard the snort of a wolf, who was stalking him. I stifled a gasp, then fearfully opened my eyes.

The room was dark, illuminated only by moonlight streaming in through the window, where the blinds were lowered… Tounoin was in his usual place, looking like his usual self on the other side of the room: facing the console cross-legged with his back to the bed. The sound of Tannhäuser was leaking from his headphones. The broad shoulders of his back made me wince, and inwardly I took an escape stance. Tounoin raised his arms and folded his hands behind his neck, then slowly curled his body forward. He stayed like that for quite some time. I could only see his curled back as I secretly watched him, fighting the memories that came back to me no matter how hard I tried to push them away. I don’t want to remember, but why is it that inconvenient memories are so vivid? I was attacked and raped while this song was blaring at maximum volume… the feeling of his thing going into me, the pain of it tearing my ass and the sensation of my internal organs being pushed out of my mouth when he was penetrating me. The uncountable minutes of humiliation, feeling crazy, embarrassed, terrible… I felt unbearably miserable, I really want to be able to erase this from my memory! Of course I didn’t want to do it… but I had gasped and moaned, and he was saying, “I love you”... no way! I wish I was lying, but the facts are what they are.

I don’t know why he’s listening to that song, but before I knew it the sound stopped, and the silence made me choke up even more. The sound of my heartbeat throbbed in my ears as I pressed my head into the pillow, and I was worried Tounoin would hear it. I swallowed hard… how long was the silence going to last? Tounoin, motionless as a stone, murmured faintly, “Yuuki… Yuuki…” in a piercing whisper. Then he took off the headphones and stood up. I shut my eyes quickly. I felt a presence approach the side of the bed, and the raggedness of his breathing was stifling. I tried my best to pretend to be asleep. Tounoin seemed to be staring down at me. “If… if he’s willing…” he said quietly.

I decided what I would do and how I would do it, but I was confused. If he comes at me like he did that other time, I’m going to punch him in the face and run away, but… can I do it? ‘I will!’ I shouted at myself. Tounoin is a good man, and he saved my life, but that’s one thing and this is another! It has to be different! Tounoin was still standing there. The tension in my throat was so great that I felt my face begin to flush, thanks to the struggle to stifle screaming and the feeling of wanting to leap out of bed.

I thought I had reached my limit when I heard his baritone voice say, “I’m sorry…” and he softly ruffled my hair. I opened my eyes when I heard the footsteps move away from me and the sound of blankets being spread out. Tounoin was lying with his back to me on a blanket on the wooden floor, instead of his bed that he had given up for me. He knew. He knew that I was awake, that I was curious about him. He knew I was afraid that he might do something, even though Tounoin had sworn never to force me and was keeping his vow. I wanted to tell him I was sorry, but I was scared to do that because it would give him hope… if I made him want to try again, when he was trying to give up like a man…. well, honestly I was afraid of Tounoin. Our friendship was built on the thin ice of his self-control, and if I take one careless step and it cracks, I will be swallowed by the flames of his passion that are still burning underneath. I knew that for sure from that afternoon in July.

I also knew that I couldn’t allow myself to succumb to pleasure in the arms of a man; I couldn’t forgive myself after my body confessed itself unintentionally. He had hugged me with arms that were free of lust and apologized. I had said ‘I understand, but I’m not going to be in a romantic relationship with a man no matter how much he loves me.’ He accepted it when I said those words, and then we settled down into the normal friendship I had hoped for… but the way Tounoin was fighting with himself now, the bitter battle between his true feelings and the pretense he showed me tonight, that was the truth. He only put on the ‘just a friend’ act for me, a false image that twisted his true feelings. I knew I had to snap out of it with an ‘I’m sorry,’ which I was able to say by pushing down my emotions through reason, but it was much more painful than I had expected. He said that we would go find an apartment tomorrow, and that was the scream of his suppressed emotions. I knew I shouldn’t have stayed here… I like Tounoin as a person, but I can’t accept him the way he wants me to. I’m like a fish laying in front of a cat, ready to be eaten. I can’t let him do this to himself anymore.

The next day we took a cab to the real estate office. I said we could walk, but Tounoin was adamant, so we drove. We actually went to four real estate agencies, but couldn’t find anything that I liked so decided to try again another day. While we were out I also went to the school I worked at, which was two stops away by train. The vice principal was there, and he expressed his deepest sympathies for my situation and gave me a new ID card after I had requested him to reissue it over the phone. I immediately went to the city hall, got my seal registration card and went to the bank. Tounoin asked the branch manager to check my bank account in a calm and unobtrusive tone, and got the answer that I should wait for a few days. The bank book with a balance of 637 yen was quickly reissued with a single three-sentence stamp, since he showed his passport and acted as my guarantor. It seemed my body was still not up to full condition since I fell asleep in the cab on the way home, which worried Tounoin a little.

As soon as we got back Tounoin pushed me to go to bed, and then Ishida-san came to visit suddenly. It seems that Fujimi’s caretaker was very worried about me, since I had been missing since the fire. He said, “Well, I got a call from my landlord as soon as I came back from my vacation. He asked me if I knew where you had gone, so I called your family but they replied that you left them on the 12th. I didn’t say anything about the fire, I just told your sister that I had urgent business for Fujimi. Since the police assured us that nobody died in the fire, I didn’t want to worry her unnecessarily.”

Come to think of it, Ishida-san was my guarantor for my apartment contract. “Thank you for everything,” I bowed my head from the bed. “I was going to call my sister after I found a new apartment,” I added, “But Tounoin didn’t think I should mention the mishap with the fire. It’s not really a nice thing to talk about, after all.” Ishida-san nodded in agreement.

“It’s a good thing you have shelter right now. How is your cold?”

“I'm getting better. I’ve been troubling Tounoin-san a lot.”

“So, are you going to find an apartment?"

“It’s hard to find a cheap place where you can also practice violin.”

Ishida laughed, “I hope the landlord decides to rebuild, but he is getting old. I did hear that he will be compensated for the spread of the fire."

“That’s right, even though the landlord didn’t start the fire.”

“Well, that’s about it. So…” Ishida-san rummaged through the bag he brought with him. “There’s not much in there, but be careful when you open it,” he said, placing an envelope next to my lap.

“Oh no, no, you shouldn’t have.”

“It’s not much, just a gift. This is the kind of situation for it, after all. And you don’t need to give anything back in return; we’ve known each other for a long time, even if it doesn’t feel like it.” He smiled at me and sat up. “Are you going to stay here until you find an apartment?”

I was about to reply ‘no,’ but Tounoin said “Yes.”

“That’s good. I’ll see you later, then. Is rehearsal still off for tomorrow?”

“No, I’ll go.”

“Oh, yes. Well, we can’t have rehearsal without Morimura-chan, and Tounoin-kun isn’t going to attend either. You don’t have to force yourself.”

After Nico-chan left, looking busy, Tounoin and I had a disagreement about where I would stay until I found an apartment.

Tounoin said, “I’ll be staying at my parents’ place from tonight, so you can take your time finding an apartment.”

“That’s…! No, I’ll go to a hotel.”

“That would be a waste of money,” I choked up… it’s true that if the bank doesn’t figure out my situation, I’m penniless.

“But I can’t just kick you out of your own place…”

“It’s okay, I should be dutiful to my sponsors sometimes, after all.”

“Where’s your hometown?”

“Seijo.”

Wow, a high-class residential area! “But then, won’t it take you nearly two hours to get here?”

“Well, yes.”

“I can’t bother you like that.”

“I told you, it’s not a bother.”

“But it’s definitely inconvenient.”

“It’s about time I slept on a decent futon anyway.”

“Well, let’s switch. I’ll sleep on the floor tonight.”

“You’re a sick man.”

“I’m better now!”

“Then why don’t you go for a run around the town?”

We were dancing around the subject, he knew it and I knew it. Tounoin wants to get out before his emotions get the better of him. I can’t make the man who saved my life leave his own apartment. But to hold him back would be to continue tormenting him… 'Oh, righteousness or humanity!' I thought, and then I realized that it wasn’t out of duty or courtesy that I wanted to keep him around, is it? It’s just my stubbornness, and that I don’t want to admit that I’m actually afraid of him….

“Okay,” I said. “I feel really bad for you, but if it makes you feel better…”

Tounoin laughed with a huff, “I’m telling you that I don’t think you can sleep well with me around, so I’m removing myself.”

I was pissed off that he pointed out the truth so bluntly, “I trust you, don’t I?”

“Do you?”

Now I was really annoyed, “So why don’t you sleep with me tonight?” I thought I’d lost it as soon as the words came out of my mouth, but I couldn’t unsay it. “If you don’t want to sleep on the floor, then sleep next to me. I don’t mind,” I told him, confident he would refuse.

“Oh, that’s a good idea,” he said with a sly smile.

“Then let’s go with that.” He smiled at me as I looked up at him, feeling like I had dug my own grave.

“I’m a better sleeper than Morimura-san.”

—

… Tounoin’s daily routine is that of somebody who is young and doesn’t have a regular job (I think, I never asked him about it), but is very precise. He wakes up at seven in the morning and has bread and coffee for breakfast. Then, he runs the washing machine and cleans the room with a rented mop. When he's done, he takes out a book or two from the cabinet full of scores, spreads them on his knees and studies them. He wasn’t playing recordings this time, but apparently just reading the music in his head; I had heard that only geniuses of Seiji Ozawa’s level could do that sort of thing without the assistance of an instrument. Usually you play piano or something at least. Conductors use the score, a book of music that contains all the parts of the orchestra (brass, woodwinds, strings, percussion), and each page has all the staves needed for the instrumental parts. The conductor’s job is to understand the flow of each part and how it interacts with the harmony in the complex combination as a whole. To be blunt, it was a task that my mind could never handle, but Tounoin apparently can construct it completely in his head. I knew he was a true genius. But of course, he didn’t seem to be doing it effortlessly either. He was doing it in his usual manner, with the score on his knees, but the level of tension and concentration was completely different from when he was reading with the recordings. He doesn’t talk to anyone, but I feel like I need to refrain from even breathing…

He does this from around eight o’clock, sometimes until the afternoon, without taking a break, and then would take a nap. After sleeping like a dead man for an hour, he would put on recordings in addition to reading the scores. Then he had dinner delivered from a restaurant (today while waiting for the food, he remembered the laundry and went to put it in the dryer), and after he finishes eating, goes back to playing recordings and score study. He finishes up around twelve o’clock, takes a nightly bath, and goes to bed. He doesn’t have any sort of nightcap or alcohol; he was a man who lived a life completely immersed in music.

I looked at the clock every five minutes, waiting for midnight to come. Well, maybe waiting wasn’t quite the right word, it was more like being in a state of trepidation. It was a little past midnight when Tounoin took off his headphones and turned the components off. He turned around to see if I was asleep (of course I pretended to be), turned off the light and walked past my side of the bed to the back door. Incidentally, this apartment is very well designed, except for the fact that the room isn’t square in shape. The first thing you see when you walk in is the audio equipment with five speakers that look like they cost a million yen. When you remove your shoes, you can see a large window at the other end of the room, and when you step inside the flooring is cork. The bed is at the far end of the room, and next to the double-sized bed there is a row of doors on the wall. The three closest to the entrance are cabinets full of musical scores. The fourth one leads to a cabin in the back, which houses a bathroom with a Western-style toilet, a storage area with laundry facilities, and a dining/kitchen area, all crammed into one functional space.

After finishing his nightly studies, Tounoin went into the captain’s room for his usual bath, but he didn’t come out for a long time, while I waited and waited pretending to be asleep. He usually doesn’t take long baths, but it was over thirty minutes at least. Tired of nervously waiting, I actually dozed off instead of pretending, waking up when I felt the bed sink. Tounoin had laid down in the empty spot by the wall. He fidgeted a bit behind me with his back to me, but he soon quieted down. Then came the sign of someone who was satisfied with the comfort of sleeping. I couldn’t help but listen attentively to the sound of Tounoin’s breathing less than a meter away. If it didn’t switch to the sound of deeper sleep, I wouldn’t be able to sleep peacefully myself… but it wasn’t long before I started to hear his breathing slow and fall into a regular pattern. For now I was relieved, and was ready to fall asleep too. But… my mind was still racing and I couldn’t quiet it. It wasn’t that I wasn’t tired, but I hadn’t been out of the apartment in days, and even if my body is tired my mind is so sharp that it refuses to sleep. And then the more impatient I am to sleep, the more I hear Tounoin’s sleeping breath, the smell of his shampoo, and other things poking at my consciousness that brought back memories from that night and afternoon. This man who suddenly revealed himself as a passionate person, who attacked me and stole me away, when I had only known him as an impudent and calm conductor… this man who plucked my pride and twisted my flesh into a type of affair I’d never known… this man with wide shoulders, a broad chest and strong arms, that held me captive and dominated me, stopping me from challenging him with his strength…

For a moment, I remembered the feeling of something thick and hot ramming into my ass. I twitched, and at the same time I realized that my penis was on the verge of rising. Why is my body in such a state of rebellion against my will? How was it that a single, forced experience made me a homosexual who wants a man? But… but… smelling Tounoin’s scent… his presence… is what causes this change in my body. He already understood, I convinced him that I can’t be his lover, and he has not laid a finger on me as promised. I...I...I… stiffened at the sound of a sigh behind me.

“What’s wrong? Can’t sleep?” The sleepy voice had a faint hint of a teasing smile. The bed creaked as he turned over, and then Tounoin fell asleep with a swoosh.

‘Damn it!’ I thought. I was supposed to be worried that he would break the chains of his reason! Yes, I was. He really wanted to have sex with me, but out of concern that he couldn’t keep his vows he was going to stay at his parents’ house. Because I hinted at that, his vain counterattack was this accusation that I didn’t trust him. The rest was just saying words for words’ sake, but… okay, I’ll buy it. I’ll buy it. I’m determined to see how much more of this you can take, until you give up! But if you lose it and come after me, I’ll laugh my ass off and ask what happened to your vows! Yeah, that’s right, I’m going to laugh about it. Once my mind was made up, all I had to do was sleep. Oh yeah, I’ll laugh it up. He’s going to get a real good night’s sleep…

I woke up twice in the night. Why is that? ‘I’m a better sleeper than you…’ get out of here with that kind of joke!

—

I woke up in a daze. It was cool and chilly, and I nuzzled my nose into the warmth in front of my face. I heard, “Good morning.”

“Mmm…” I replied softly. Huh?

The warmth was the chest of Tounoin’s pajamas, and I had slept hugging him! I tried to sit up, but he pulled my head back and said, “Now do you understand? I have confidence in my ability to reason,” reminding me of what I had thought before I fell asleep. I steeled myself to prepare for an escape.

“Yes, but you’re not a good sleeper, are you?”

Tounoin laughed, “I’ll be as careful as possible.” Now I’m sure you’ll be sleeping with me as long as I’m here. Don’t start barking now that your tail is out, wolf… I’m perfectly fine with it. But the AC is so low in this room that it feels good to be together… I’m in trouble… I fell asleep again and was woken up for lunch, and I felt embarrassed.

In the afternoon the two of us went out to look for an apartment again, but we didn’t find anything that day either. I withdrew my requirement for being able to practice the violin. I was satisfied with my modest request to be able to afford the rent, and making sure it was in Fujimi-cho, not too far from the station. But I couldn’t even find one that would satisfy those modest wishes. Most of the apartments in Fujimi-cho are bedroom-focused, and the emphasis on family units seemed to be a bottleneck. I didn’t mind living in an apartment with one or more baths, but the rent was accordingly expensive…

I had a Fujimi rehearsal in the evening, but I was tired from visiting real estate agencies. But I had promised Ishida-san that I would attend, so I started preparing in the evening. I realized that if I don’t play for a day, I can’t move my fingers the following day. Aside from the right hand that uses the bow, the left hand has to play on the strings almost of its own accord. To make up for a week’s absence of practicing, I spent three hours before heading to the Civic Center. But… fuck! This is just Allegro! Why can’t I move my fingers better than this?

“Morimura-san.”

Oh, I’m depressed, I missed it again. And it’s in such an easy position…

“Morimura-san!” He shouted in my ear. I looked up to see Tounoin looking down calmly.

“Go ahead, I’ll be on my way shortly.”

“Are your clothes OK? If you want to change…”

“No, thank you. It’s fine, it’s fine.” I only had two sets of clothes in my travel bag, and the ones I was wearing at the moment were procured by Tounoin because he thought it would be inconvenient to keep wearing the same clothes. He has good taste.

“So, we should leave soon. We can stop at Fujimi on the way home for dinner.”

“Yeah,” I nodded and thought to myself, is he acting like my guardian? Yeah… he is.

—

Fujimi’s summer vacation lasted ten days, and I returned on the second rehearsal after the vacation. I was escorted (or so it appeared) by Tounoin. We stepped into the main conference room of the Civic Center and got down to business as usual. I took out the folding chairs from the storage area and arranged them, took out the folding table and arranged it, then the tuner and checked the batteries… Tounoin helped me quietly, and when he was done he disappeared to somewhere else.

The first person to arrive was Ishida-san with his double bass, “Well, you’ve come out after all.” Apparently he had come to set up the venue in my stead. Everybody else seemed to come very quickly as well, and when they came up to talk to me they all knew about the fire in my apartment. I shouldn’t have felt annoyed that they were worried about me, but I also felt embarrassed, so I just said, “Thank you” and “It’s okay.” Kawashima-san also came to give her condolences.

“I was worried when I heard from my mother that you called me. Where on earth did you go…?” as she said this, the beautiful flutist looked at me with a puzzled expression. She knows about my relationship with Tounoin, except she stopped short of saying anything out loud.

I took the initiative, “Yes, actually, I’m staying at Tounoin-san’s right now,” Ishida-san knew about it, anyway. I added firmly, “In a clean and respectable way, as a housemate.”

Kawashima ran her white fingers through her pretty hair, “So are you still following the trend?”

“Of course not! I’m not gay!”

Kawashima-san cut me off, chuckling, “I’m sorry, I have to admit I have a little grudge against you, so I felt like teasing.” It was a one-way love triangle between me, Kawashima-san and Tounoin. I was in love with Kawashima-san, she fell in love with Tounoin at first sight, and Tounoin fell in love with me… then I was dumped by Kawashima-san, she was rejected by Tounoin, and of course I have no intention of becoming a lover to a man. But it was a joking manner of resentment. After all, she’s the one that keeps trying to get me and Tounoin together. She seems to think homosexual couples are ‘trendy,’ but you know… a man and a man bedding together is just an awful sight.

That evening we were supposed to be finishing up Finlandia, which we’ve been working on since last month… I took a break, and hadn’t touched my violin for a week. I looked at Igarashi-kun, the student cellist, and thought, ‘Well… let's see.’ I clapped my hands to get his attention. “Since everybody seems to be ready, can we try playing the part together? Strings, let’s do all the strings together and all the winds together. Timpani, please join the winds. Kaizuka-san, please take the lead of the wind section.”

The principal oboe raised her hand to gather the other winds, and I joined the string group, taking advantage of the rattling and rearranging. “Ichiyama-san,” I called the second violin leader. “I’m sorry, but I need you to be the leader today.”

“But Concertmaster, why are you stepping down?”

“I haven’t played for a week, so my fingers are completely rusty. I want to get back in shape before Tounoin-san gets here. Sorry to be so selfish.” Ichiyama, who was an accounting manager of a construction company in the next town, nodded seriously.

“I heard you were sick in bed with a cold. How are you feeling now?”

“Better, thanks.”

Igarashi-kun smiled at me as I joined the circle. He was especially happy, but everyone was already tired of practicing the monotonous long notes. The winds began to play and Ichiyama-san frowned. “I can’t hear very well,” he said. For the next forty minutes, until eight o’clock, we concentrated on uniting the string section.

“Stop, stop! We have to listen to each other more. If the string parts are not played like a single instrument, it will be more disjointed when we put it together with the winds. Then, let’s take it from bar 32.” The group with the timpani added to the woodwinds and brass seemed to be working hard to create the right harmony, playing and stopping. Playing and stopping. I had been able to instruct them on the right way to practice.

“Sorry,” said Nico-Chan, scratching his head. Ishida-san, who held the title of ‘Fujimi Citizen’s Symphony Orchestra Caretaker,’ had been sentenced by his wife to have his instrument taken away when he almost destroyed his main business, Mozart coffee shop, because he was so devoted to Fujimi. As a relief measure for the situation when we lost our bass player, we won her pardon so he could return to playing after almost ten years of being benched. He couldn’t help that he couldn’t produce a solid sound, but Ichiyama-san had been a friend of Ishida-san’s since the formation of Fujimi, and therefore had a relationship that allowed them to complain freely. Ishida-san apologized and tried his best to meet the order of playing ‘crisply’ in a serious manner. This was one of the things I liked about Fujimi, how in the family-like atmosphere warnings and advice were exchanged very naturally. We were all getting better together while having fun.

“Morimura-chan,” Ichiyama-san’s voice made me turn around. “You’ve got a lot of tension in your shoulders.”

“Oh, yes,” I lowered my violin and did some exercise with my shoulders. I’m getting really stiff.

“So, let’s start at measure forty-eight,” It’s really wonderful to have such colleagues, I thought. Oh, I’m in tune… yes, it’s going well. Eventually, at exactly the right time, Tounoin walked through the door after his five-minute observation and climbed up on the podium. I wondered where he had gone off to; I had thought he was going to be there for the earlier part of the rehearsal since he came over with me. Then I realized something: could it be that he did it for me? I didn’t mind at all, but it's true that I didn’t want it to be obvious that we had come to rehearsal together.

—

I was packing up to leave after Tounoin’s usual, ‘We’re done’ when Igarashi-kun came up to me, looking like he wanted to talk.

“So I heard that you were laid up for a while,” Igarashi is a current student in the cello department of the local music university, who started school the same year I graduated. He’s a cute guy who looks up to me for some reason. He’s talented, motivated, and cheerful, and also tends to be the ‘mood-maker’ in Fujimi.

“I caught a cold when I got stuck without a place to stay,” I replied, “But I’m all better now. Why?” I opened the floor for him.

“Actually…” he scratched his head, “The thing is… I’ve been ordered by the orchestra director to transcribe some music. It’s for a program in next month’s school festival, and it’s due tomorrow. I gathered my friends and we worked hard, but we still have a third of the score left to do.”

“Haha… what’s the piece?”

“A symphony composed by Kitagawa, a senior student in the composition department. It’s long and complicated.”

“Then you shouldn’t have come to rehearsal tonight.”

“If I didn’t take a break from it, I’d be dead by now. I’ve been up all night for two days and still haven’t finished.”

“So are you trying to get another cat’s paw?” Igarashi rubbed the back of his head as I talked.

“Sempai, please. I’ll get you midnight snacks and breakfast!”

Transcribing music is literally copying music, but not the easy way with the photocopier. What Igarashi and his friends were doing was creating parts from the conductor’s score, the music that represents the entire piece. However, for each player in the orchestra the score is inconvenient, since all the notes of the instruments are written in the music, and each page only consists of four to six measures per page, requiring frequent page turns. So for the performers, a part must be made from the score, a transcription of the part from the general score, and it must be done for each instrument; for first violin the first violin part, oboe for the oboe, percussion for percussion. Of course, for major works by popular composers such as Mozart, Beethoven and Toshiro Mutsu, the publishers give you both the score and parts if you buy them (or if there are copyright restrictions, you can rent them for a fee) — or copy them if you can get away with it. However, the ones that Igarashi and his colleagues are working on are by a student composer, with only the original score to work with…

In other words, the only option was to take the score and write out the parts, which I had done many times. The ‘Freude Orchestra’ was formed as a music college club, and had a tradition of playing newly composed pieces by fellow students mixed in with regular concert programming. In Fujimi, whenever I needed to make my own arrangements for missing parts, I was the one to do the transcribing (Nico could do the arranging as well, but as a busy coffee shop owner he usually didn’t have time to do it). So I know firsthand the difficulty Igarashi and the others are facing.

“Okay, I’ll help you out,” I answered. “Where have you been working on it?”

Igarashi looked relieved, “In my apartment, we only have the string parts left to do.”

“Is it a good piece?”

“It’s not bad. Mayuzumi said it was a great work, but…”

“Hahaha!” I realized that the only people left in the practice room were me, Igarashi and Tounoin, and everything but the chair I was sitting on had been put away. I told the tall conductor, “I’m going to go with Igarashi-kun to help him with some transcribing right now, so please go home first.” He stared at me for a moment and nodded. He quickly left the room. “I’m staying with him for right now, since I haven’t been able to find a reasonable apartment,” I explained.

“Oh…” Igarashi nodded. After that, I felt like he was secretly biting back a laugh, but that was probably my paranoia. “Well, you really saved my life. I was wondering what I would do if Morimura-san refused me.”

I finally escaped, didn’t I? But while listening to Igarashi’s smiling voice, I was thinking of how Tounoin’s back looked somewhat depressed as he walked away. It’s not a bad feeling to have somebody worry about you, but he’s being overly protective. I’m a full-grown man, I can take care of myself. I don’t need a guardian anymore.

—-

Igarashi’s apartment was on the third floor of a newer reinforced concrete building, just a few blocks from my old place that had burned down. The room, which was about six tatami mats with a kitchen, was fairly clean, and two exhausted-looking coworkers were waiting for Igarashi to return with his helper. The windows were open and the air was a bit stuffy, but there was no fan running. A pile of staff paper scattered about the room was the reason why they couldn’t have any inadvertent breeze.

“This is Kikuchi on clarinet and Oyama on piano.” Kikuchi was a small man with pouty lips that looked like the type of person who would play clarinet. Both of them were dressed in running shirts and pants, and their eyes were red, their faces full of stubble and fatigue.

“I’m Morimura. How many more pages do you have to do?” The symphony, titled Yuguna, is a large work with a performance time of fifty minutes, filled with waves of sixteenth notes mixed with thirty-second notes in modulation after modulation, a characteristic of modern music. I could tell from a glance of the score that it was a difficult piece. However, I could see a glimpse of talent in the unique melodic quality of the phrases, which was probably why it was chosen as the piece for the Freude Orchestra’s regular concert. But...I put my face close to the handwritten copy. Is that a C? Or is it a D?...D apparently… it’s hard to tell.

“It’s hard enough to read, isn’t it?”

“I think you should probably re-write the whole score while you’re at it,” I said, and the atmosphere quieted down. I realized that I had lost my mind. Damn it, these people…

“Well, I guess Kitagawa-kun will conduct, so I’ll just leave it at that.”

I tried to recover my position, but then one of them said, “Yoshida is the senior in the conducting department, he’s going to conduct it…”

“So…”

“I’ll take care of the conductor’s score.” Igarashi’s face lit up as I said it with a sacrificial look of resignation.

“I’ll do the second violin,” Kikuchi said, “Who’s gonna take cello?”

“I don’t mind doing the cello part,” Oyama said, staring at the copy of the score, “Just the cello.”

“How much time do we have?”

I flipped through the part, trying to assess how long I thought it would take, when Igarashi said in a small voice, “I promised to have it done by nine o’clock…”

“... in the morning, right?”

“Hahaha, well…”

“So we’ve only got ten hours! What are you waiting for? Staff paper! Pens!” There was no point in transcribing music if you can’t make it accurate and legible. And most of the time, you have to race against the clock.

I started with the first violin part, one of the two that I had been assigned. There is only one conductor’s score, but there are eighteen violins in a full orchestra. Priority was given to the many. I wrote in the note heads as fast as I could, going back and adding the stems after I had written a few measures' worth. Then I wrote the accidentals as needed — oops, it’s in B-flat from here. Damn it, I don’t want anybody to get keystroke from… for moving chords around so much. It’s a six-bar break, not five. Oh, is it natural or sharp? No, it’s natural. Hey, is that an E or an F or… uh…

“Igarashi-kun,” I called out to him from halfway across the table, where he was focused on his own work.

Without looking up, Igarashi placed something in front of me. It was dice.

“Is this..?”

“If it’s an even number, it’s E.”

“So you want me to roll the dice to decide which pitch it is? That’s random…” I mumbled, and began to examine the chords to try and draw a conclusion from their spelling.

“Iga, give me the dice,” said Kikuchi, who was behind me using a beer container as a desk. Igarashi tossed him the dice.

“I need them too,” said Oyama, who was also using a makeshift desk next to me.

“What, you’re all doing it that way? You’re lousy transcribers, aren’t you?”

Kikuchi muttered to me as he rolled the dice for Oyama, “I’m sure Morimura-san will figure out why soon enough.”

I knew that if I had to guess and interpret every chord, I would never make the deadline in time. Damn it, if it’s difficult, it’s probably a great piece. I don’t get this music at all! I started working on it about ten o’clock, and it was past midnight when I finished the violin part with the measure numbers written in. I skipped checking the music at this point and started transcribing the whole score. If there were any mistakes, they could find them in rehearsal and if not, then it’ll be what it is. After all, I had to finish this thick book of sheet music by eight o’clock at the latest… But let’s be real, this is impossible! It’s physically not possible to do in seven hours what it would take three people like Igarashi and his team two days and nights to do. But we had to get whatever we could done. As I wrote the names of the parts on the second sheet of the score, I called out to Igarashi, “The piano parts are done. I can’t finish the score by nine o’clock, but I’ll do as much as possible.”

“You’ve finished the violin part already?”

“Really? Wow, that’s fast!” Igarashi picked up the completed part. “I can’t believe this is handwritten! Morimura-san, you could make a living as a transcriber!”

“What? Which one? Wow, that’s great.”

“That’s true, the first violinists are lucky.”

“Ah…” I didn’t have time to be happy even if they praised me. Okay, brass is done. Next is…. but it’s so hot, even with the windows open, because there’s no breeze coming in. The rest of them were wearing only their underwear; they had told me to take mine off too, and I would feel better. So I took my shirt off, though I wasn’t wearing underwear so I was only naked on top, but it’s only guys here anyway.

I was writing out the harp section on page 43 when I heard, “Oh, it’s finally done!” Oyama exhaled a deep breath and suddenly fell back onto the tatami floor. “It’s already four o’clock and I’m starving,” he said and rummaged through the bag from the convenience store that was left there.

“There’s a ramen if you want it,” replied Igarashi, still moving his pen.

“If you make it for me, I’ll eat it.”

“What about you, Morimura-san?” He asked me. I was about to answer ‘no’ when I remembered that I had skipped dinner, and I was almost at the limit of my energy with my stiff shoulders.

“I’ll eat. I missed dinner.”

“So you want me to make two?”

“No, just one.” I quickly sipped the cup of ramen while reading the rest of the score, and returned to my writing. As I started the fiftieth page, Kikuchi announced that he was done with his work. As soon as he finished his ramen, he flopped down beside Oyama, who had fallen asleep, and he did the same.

“So depressed that they’re done already,” muttered Igarashi. Oyama was snoring, Kikuchi had a peaceful sleeping breath, and the sound of Igarashi and my pens running on the paper… the smell of ramen and the sweat of tired young people… I noticed a cool breeze coming through the window, and when I raised my eyes it was light outside. I breathed in the brief freshness that comes between the tropical night and a hot day. Now only a hundred pages to go.

When Igarashi packed his and the other’s finished bunches of parts into paper bags and left the apartment, I was still wrestling with a job that would take another six hours. The sun was on the way up. The hot room was somehow even hotter; sweat dripped from my hair as I bent over the staff paper, so I wrapped a towel around my head. It trickled down my bare chest and armpits, even on the back of my hand. Sweat gushes out in beads no matter how much I wipe it off, making the pen slip in my hand. I took a short break when I had just started the 100th page. In order to reduce the remaining 50 pages as much as possible, I did one more page in the three minutes I was waiting for the cup o’noodles to be ready, but it took me longer than I thought it would, and the ramen turned into udon.

As I slurped down the bloated noodles, I thought about how I was too good-natured. I felt like an idiot for staying up all night on a job that has nothing to do with me or Fujimi… speaking of which, I wonder if Tounoin was worried about me. But at this hour, it would be an imposition to make a phone call, and I don’t even know his phone number in the first place… well, it should be ok, I already mentioned that I was doing the transcription, and he should know that it’s a time-consuming job. I finished the soup, drank two glasses of Aquarius to rehydrate myself, and took up the pen to resume work. Ahh, my hands hurt, my eyes are tired… but if I rested now, I wouldn’t be able to finish the job. Give me strength… I wrote the last symbol on the last page, and the long, long job was done. Eighteen hours of work! My fingers were so stiff they creaked when I tried to put the pen down. I took off my glasses, which felt like they were burrowing into my nostrils, and placed them on top of the finished score. I was tired~

Igarashi and his friends had not returned yet. Come to think of it, he said he had rehearsal in the evening. It’s hard for the underclassmen when they’re overworked by their seniors… I was going to just leave my score behind and go back to Tounoin’s place, but when I laid down to stretch my back — which was stiff as a board — I didn’t want to get up again. I decided to sleep while looking after the house until Igarashi returned. Feeling my tired body falling asleep, I patted myself on the back for a job well done.

—

I smelled food and drink. The sound of voices, sometimes loud and sometimes guttural. It sounded like I was in the middle of a drinking party. I turned over in my sleep, thinking it was too noisy.

“Oh, Morimura-san, are you awake?” I heard Igarashi’s voice say, and felt him come over to look at me. I pretended to still be asleep. They were probably celebrating being done with the transcription, but right now I wanted to sleep more than drink.

“Morimura-san, we have Oden. Hey, Morimura-san.” I didn’t want it, just let me sleep.

“No, he won’t wake up,” I heard Igarashi say to his friends.

“Ah, well he’s a great person. Did you see the score? He rewrote it down to the last page. I admire him,” Kikuchi replied.

“He’s a very serious person, he never makes mistakes on the violin. He practices like a pro, I bet.”

“And he’s cute, too…” Oyama’s voice said, “I didn’t notice it until I saw him sleeping just now. So amazing.” His speech was slurred, so clearly he was drunk.

“Hey, Oyama, don’t be weird,” Igarashi said with a laugh.

“What do you mean ‘weird’? Beethoven and Karajan had male lovers. Genius lives in homosexuality,” after making this startling counterargument, he seemed to stand up.

“Hey Oyama, sit down,” Igarashi said.

“Hehe, just look at him,” he said, and inwardly I frowned as I felt liquored breath on my face. “The more I look at him, the more attractive he is… so cute. Haha, he has such a beautiful chest… and smooth skin… and perky nipples.”

“Hey if Morimura-san wakes up he’s going to kick your ass!” Kikuchi yelled. Oh, I’ll kick his ass alright.

“Beethoven, Karajan… why are you making up that kind of bullshit?”

“Someday you’re gonna get killed, saying that kind of stuff.”

“It’s not bullshit, and I’m a genius. When I see a guy like this I get so horny… he’s so sexy...” The reason I didn’t take action until the person speaking slammed into me was because I was just too tired to bother moving.

“Whoa!” It wasn’t me who screamed, but Igarashi and Kikuchi. My mouth was blocked by the boozy lips stuck to my face. As I struggled, Oyama gasped and said, “You look so sexy, ahh…” as he groped my chest and stomach.

“You idiot! Stop it! Stop it!”

“Oyama, goddamn it, stop!” The two of them were yelling and trying to pull Oyama off of me.

I twisted Oyama’s ear, which he grabbed with his struggling hand, then I slapped him as hard as I could in the face.“You perverted son of a bitch!” I shouted and glared at him.

Oyama looked at me soberly, “This… you! You hit me! I’ll fuck you up!!”

“Oyama! That’s enough!”

“I’m sorry Morimura-san, so sorry!”

“Dammit, let me have a shot at him!” Oyama yelled, and still tried to grab at me while being pinned down by Igarashi and Kikuchi. I almost punched him, but I thought twice about it when I noticed a poster of some chamber music group on the wall behind Oyama. That’s right, I’m a violinist, and my hands are my most important tool. I looked around and saw a bottle of wine. I grabbed it in my other hand and swung it over Oyama’s head; he thought I was going to crack his skull, and Igarashi held up his hands in surprise. But what I threw at his head was… alcohol. After I emptied the contents of the bottle on Oyama’s head, I threw the bottle down.

“There, I’ve cooled you down a bit, asshole!” I spat at him between my clenched teeth. I glanced at the three rigid men and put on the clothes I had taken off. Damn it, if I had known I’d get mixed up in something like this, I wouldn’t have agreed to do anything. I stepped into my sneakers and opened the door.

“Oh, Morimura-san, please wait!” Igarashi dashed after me, but I ignored him. “Sorry, I’m so sorry! I’m really sorry this happened after you helped me so much. I’m sorry!” Igarashi was crying. “When he gets drunk he turns into a monster, but he usually doesn’t do that sort of thing! I’ve never seen him do anything like that before.”

“So are you saying it’s my fault?” Igarashi fell silent for a moment when I sprayed him with the cold anger that was inside me. I looked at him sideways. Igarashi followed me and wept with a crumpled face. I sighed and stopped. “...I know it’s not your fault. I can’t tell you not to worry about it, though.”

“I’m sorry…!” Igarashi squeaked out and sobbed. “Oh I… I can’t go to Fujimi anymore.”

“...are you saying you’re going to make the cello section vacant?”

“No, because I…”

It came out of nowhere. The blood that had been frozen in the pit of my stomach shot up to my head and I yelled as loud as I could, “Don’t be stupid! Don’t you dare waste that shit score I just transcribed for you! And now I’m repaid by getting teased by a drunk and being told that our only cello is quitting? Do you think I’m an idiot?”

Igarashi’s eyes darted as he looked up at me, mumbling, “I’m sorry...I’m sorry…”

“It’s all right, as long as you understand,” I said, and walked away. I thought how the tone of voice I used was like Tounoin’s. Come to think of it, Tounoin… is he worried? It was already night again, and I had left my watch in Igarashi’s apartment, but it was too late to go back. I hurried through the humid night, passing by the convenience store near the apartment. Remembering that I was hungry, I turned around. No, wait, I don’t have any money. But I went ahead and took a peek at the clock at the cash register before I turned the corner again; just before one o’clock… ‘I wonder if Tounoin is asleep,’ I thought, and then I realized: I don’t have my keys. I still haven’t made another spare since I lost the last one, and the last time I left the apartment I was with Tounoin, so I didn’t realize that I would need it. I’m in trouble… guess I’ll have to camp outside of the door again…

I knocked several times, but there was no answer and the door didn’t open. I twisted the knob, hoping that it would work — the door was unlocked. It was dark in the cool, air-conditioned room, and Tounoin seemed to have fallen asleep. Feeling like a curfew-breaking teenager, I stealthily took off my shoes and entered the room, trying to dampen the sound of my footsteps. Tounoin was in the bed, asleep. I slipped my violin case on the shelf and walked quietly to open the door of the cabin without making any noise. I took a quick shower (the hot water needs some time to come out, but I didn’t want to wake up Tounoin), changed into my pajamas, and crept into the kitchen to get at least a piece of bread. I found a sandwich from the convenience store sitting on the table, a box of cup soup, a cup and a pot of hot water. As I took a bite, my heart was filled with a sincere feeling. ‘You’re a good guy, Tounoin…’ as my rumbling stomach settled down, I was ready to forget about what stupid Oyama had done to me, that damn drunk. I turned off the lights in the cabin and snuck back into the main room. I slipped into the space Tounoin had left open for me, and breathed a sigh of relief.

I heard a half-asleep voice say, “Oh… you’re back…”

“Yeah,” I replied.

“Did you finish the transcription?”

“It was an all-nighter, eighteen hours of work.”

“...are you okay?”

“Yeah, I just want to go to sleep.”

“Good night.”

“Good night,” I said, and I fell asleep right away… around what seemed to be dawn I woke up because it was cold, but it was too much effort to get up and turn off the air conditioner, so I chose to huddle closer to the warmth that was near me. It was so warm… Tounoin seemed to notice and hugged my shoulder, but I was already drifting back to sleep so I didn’t know, and didn’t care. I’m not sure if it’s because I trusted that I would be safe with Tounoin, or because I believed he was different from Oyama and that narcissistic, violent homosexual Yasaka.

—

The next day was super, as if all the bad luck I had been having was turned upside-down. It was literally my lucky day. First of all, the manager of the bank came to visit me with a gift. He told me that due to a computer processing error, my salary — which should have been deposited into my account — had been transferred to another customer’s account. The manager bowed his grasshopper-like bald head and said, “Please keep this matter to yourself.” He left me a noshi envelope with a greeting card and a brush writing on it. Inside was two months of my salary. I showed it to Tounoin.

“This is how much they gave.”

He sniffed in frustration, “I’m not sure if that is adequate compensation for their part in causing these difficulties.”

“Well, yes, but it’s all over now…”

“If that’s what you want, then it’s not my place to tell you otherwise.”

“But I feel bad, you know… crashing in front of your apartment and all…”

“I was happy to do it,” Tounoin said, turning away from me with a sigh. I remembered that I needed to find a new apartment as soon as possible; I felt bad staying here forever.

The second lucky break came at a real estate agency in a neighboring town, where I went separately from Tounoin.

“There’s a one-bedroom and bath for 40,000 yen, a three-year old condo on the 6th floor.”

“In Fujimi-cho?” I was about to jump for it without question, but the old owner’s eyes flashed behind his glasses.

“To be honest, it’s been hard to keep occupied. Since this past April, three people have already left within a month of each other.”

“No way… did somebody just move out again?” The realtor shook his head in disbelief.

“The person in the apartment above play music loudly at all hours of the night and day. But you can’t complain about it, because it’s occupied by the landlord’s son, so you know…”

What? Could that be…? “Is it a tall apartment building down the corner from a convenience store…?”

“Oh, do you know it? It belongs to the bank president, so the facilities are top-notch, but just that one room on the 6th floor has been vacant since June. The floor is the only part that isn’t soundproof, and nobody could stand the ‘noise’ coming from the ceiling. So the rent has been discounted by 80,000 yen.”

“How big is it?” The realtor gave me a look like I shouldn’t ask, but told me that it was a Japanese-style eight-tatami-mat room with a four-and-a-half-tatami dining and kitchen. It also had AC and heating. “I’ll take it,” I said. “40,000 for a one bedroom with bath, AC and background music is too good to be true, I’d even put up with a ghost or two.”

“Well, if you say so…” the agent pulled out a contract with a face that said ‘Don’t come crying to me later.’ The name on the rental contract was ‘Inmitsu Tounoin.’ I thought of an old gentleman with gray hair, but if he was Tounoin’s father he couldn’t be that old. Rent can be paid via bank transfer; so, he’s the son of a banker, I knew he wasn’t a commoner. I’ve got three months’ deposit and money for the key, plus rent for this month and next month thanks to the ‘condolences’ money from the bank —but that’s a small price to pay for luck. “Ah, also I’d like you to get a guarantor.” The agent pointed to a blank space on the contract, “Here’s where your name and address are, please put your seal here.”

“Is it okay if I bring it back in a couple of days?”

“Yes, that’s fine. Here’s the address. Oh, right, you know where it is, don’t you? Now, the key.”

I took the key and asked, “Which bank president is the landlord?”

“Fujimi Bank, sir?” He looked at me like he couldn’t possibly not know the president of a long-established bank in this area.

“Oh… and that’s located in…”

“It’s in Seijo. But I’m the property manager. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask me.” It seems that I wouldn’t have a chance to cross paths with Tounoin’s father; I was a little curious what kind of person he is. On my way home, I stopped by Ishida-san’s Mozart.

“Oh, in Tounoin’s building?” He smiled and said, “Well, I’m glad you found a nice place.” He smiled and said, “Since you found an apartment…” he pulled out a cardboard box from under the counter. It was full of sheets, towels, tea bowls, cups, pots and pans… “Kawashima-san is indeed a solid office worker. She made a ‘list of items needed to reconstruct a house’ rather than just gathering donation money, asked people to give their unused items from their houses, and it turned out to be enough for a whole house. That was the idea.”

“She’s going to make a great wife, I’m sure.” She knew that I’d mind if it was money, so she collected practical items. The fish that gets away is always big… “Um, so, could I get some coffee vouchers?”

“You don’t have to give anything back in return.”

“Yes, but I want to give something to Tounoin-san.”

“Oh, I see. So you want some coffee coupons?”

“It’s practical, isn’t it? Please, I’ll take three books of ten vouchers.” Ishida-san smiled a little apologetically; I’m sure that he knows I’m buying them as a way to repay him for the money he gave me when he visited.

“By the way, I’d like to talk to you about something,” Ishida-san stepped up to the counter, changing from owner of Mozart to that of Fujimi caretaker, “For our next piece, why don’t we do Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto?”

“A violin concerto?”

Ishida-san looked around quickly and whispered with conspiratorial enthusiasm, “I got the hall reserved at the Civic Center. There was a cancellation for Sunday, November 27th.”

“So… would it be a regular concert?”

“Not anymore, it would be a proper concert.”

“Oh, are you sure we have enough time to prepare?” Ishida-san nodded smugly as I was leaning over the counter.

“I was thinking that we should do it this year, now that we have Tounoin-san with us. I really wanted to do it after New Year’s, but I heard that the hall would be under renovation from January to May. I happened across that cancellation, so I jumped at the chance even though I was a bit busy.”

“Yes, I’ll do it, I’ll do it.”

“So I thought I’d like to include the Mendelssohn.”

“That sounds great! But… what about the soloist?”

“There’s already one,” Ishida-san pointed at me.

“Me…? I’ll be the soloist?”

“Icchan agrees.” Come on…

“But we’ve never done a piece with a solo before…”

“So that’s why we should do it. It’s good for us to do one once and awhile.”

“But then what about the first violins…”

“We have Goto-chan, Miyake-chan, Kijima-san, Nitta-san, Yoshiko Suzuki-san, Hirota-san… why don’t you ask Haruyama-san to join from the seconds?”

“Then the second violins would be Ichiyama-san, Higashi-san, Hirai-san…”

“Seven people would be enough, right?”

“Yes, in terms of just numbers…” but when it came to balance of competence...

The door chime rang and a group of housewives walked in, and Ishida-san turned to welcome them and prepare some glasses of water. “Well, you should think about it, and discuss it with Tounoin-kun.”

“Yes, I’ve always wanted to do a concerto, but…”

“All the strings were saying that they wanted Morimura-chan to do a solo.”

“Hah...haha.”

—-

On my way home my feet were skipping lightly. ‘We can have a concert, we can have a concert. For the first time in two years, Fujimi can have a concert!’ I ran around the corner, bounded up the stairs and opened the door with my freshly made spare key. The sound of the Brandenburg Concerto hit me, but I was deaf to it today.

“Tounoin! Tounoin! I slid down on my knees in front of him, where he was sitting cross-legged in his usual spot. “We’re having a concert! November 27th!”

Tounoin made a gesture of ‘I can’t hear you, please wait’ and went to stop the music. As soon as the sound stopped, I repeated myself, “A concert has been scheduled! Sunday, November 27th, Shimin Kaikan Hall! Ishida-san was able to get a date because of a cancellation, and asked me if I wanted to play the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto!”

Tounoin looked at me from in front of the console, and I realized that I was very excited in contrast to his calm demeanor. My face flushed. “No, but do you know, it’s been two years since we had a concert.”

“November?” Said Tounoin in a cold voice.

“I know it’s soon, so it’s going to be hard, but it’s at the end of the month… so it’s about three months away, right?

Tounoin’s complexion softened, “It depends on how we do it. I don’t mind.”

“Really? Great…! So…” he glanced at the envelope in my hand.

“Oh, did you get something?”

“I was kind of lucky today, I found an apartment as well.” I pulled the contract out of the envelope, and when I was about to show it to him, I noticed the look in his eyes was somewhat complicated. At once I felt something flutter in my stomach; it was the first time I felt that. “It wasn’t a bad idea to crash here, but it was an emergency situation for both of us. Anyway, the place I got is cheap, well-equipped, and convenient. I’ve already signed the contract.”

“That’s good to hear,” said Tounoin with a deep sigh. If I remained here, it would only cause more suffering… the word ‘Love’ is very similar to the word ‘Strange’...

“Well, actually, I do need a guarantor,” I opened the contract and placed it in front of him. “Would you mind?”

“Yeah, well that’s already...” he said as he picked up the contract with a hand that was trying not to show his reluctance… I froze. I wasn’t sure if this was a good idea or not, his normally cool, long eyes were round.

“Not bad, huh?” I asked. Tounoin secretly panicked and turned his head, pretending to read the contract.

“...It’s okay, I guess. How much is it?”

“40,000. But it’s only a minute’s walk to the civic center. I think it’s great. Now, why don’t you say something?”

With his head down, Tounoin patted various pockets. Then, “I’ll go get a pen,” he said.

“I’ll also need your seal,” I said, starting to stand up.

“Please stay here,” Tounoin said, “...I’m afraid I’m going to have to hug you.” Then he ran off into the cabin. I laughed, I couldn’t believe that the man who sells himself on his pride and arrogance lost his nerve like that. Just because I happened to get an apartment in the same building as his, that’s all. Then I felt a stinging pain in my heart at the thought. I got up and went into the cabin, but when I saw Tounoin’s back at the kitchen table, I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t have the right to ask him if he wanted to continue being a snake charmer for the rest of our lives, and it’s hypocritical for me to consider his feelings when I made the decision that I wanted to be his friend and nothing more… I pulled another envelope out of my pocket and approached his back.

I was spoiled by his kindness, but that together with when he agreed to give up on pursuing me, for the time being made us even. “And also this. I don’t know if I can thank you enough, but I mean, I feel…” I put the envelope over his shoulder on the table.

He opened it as delicately as if it were a sparrow’s tapestry and froze again, but this time he got over it in an instant. “Thank you, I’ll treat you to Mozart’s coffee for the time being.” He turned around and had put on his poker face… ha, he’s not good at accepting this.

“Yeah, I’m sure we’ll be over there to talk about everything until the performance.” Here as well.

“‘I’ll never go out with you for coffee or dinner,’' He said with a smile, reminding me of what I had told him. After all, this was the game between us. I want to make sure that we are friends, and Tounoin wants to develop into lovers. But I won’t be the one to lose.

—-

I woke up in the middle of the night after being kicked twice. The next morning, while Tounoin was making coffee and I was cooking bacon and eggs, I mentioned it to him.

“Well, you stole the blanket twice and gave me an uppercut,” he replied.

“I think even a double bed is too small for two men.”

When I glared at him, he said, “Well, it’s big enough if you’re embracing each other,” and laughed… that was the first time I ever heard Tounoin laugh out loud. The kitchen here is nice and bright. For the one in my apartment, it remains to be seen.

#long post #light novels #bl light novel #light novel translations #fujimi orchestra #fo #yaoi #yaoi novel #Akizuki Koh #Nishi Keiko #kei x yuuki #orchestra #classical music #tw: noncon

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lilith-of-rivia · 4 years

Text

Daughter of mine (Daughter of Geralt! Reader)

xthemediatorx said to aphadriel-fanfic:

Hello! Please could you write something where the reader is Geralt's child surprise (instead of Ciri) and Tissaia comes to take her to Aretuza against Geralt’s wishes? 🌷

Hope you enjoy it my dear!

Masterlist

Paring: Daughter!Read, Geralt, Yennefer, Tissaia

Word count: 1,986

Warnings: Slight angst, language

Summary: Yennefer and Geralt have been raising their skilled daughter since she was 4, but 11 years later they realize she has magical abilities and so does Tissaia, she comes for Y/N and it doesn't go as she planned.

My feet slid over the cobblestone path, my ears pricking when I heard the movement. I stopped my movements, listing for the footsteps of my dad. He thought he was quiet, but his left foot always thudded louder than the other foot, because he never put enough focus on his left side as he did his right side. My arm shot up, silver in hand and it clashed with his own sword. The sound of the metal clinking made my smile grow. My feet shuffled back as each slash he threw was blocked. My ears picking up on every breath, the sound of his heart, and placement of his feet. We continued our sparring session for another few minutes until his sword caught mine throwing it across the grounds.

“Ugh! Not fair!!” I yelled ripping off the blindfold, my eyes adjusting to the sunlight, catching the cocky smile of my dad.

“You get to see! I don’t.” I huffed grabbing my sword, sheathing it. He came over to me and kicked my legs into the stance I needed and placed his hands on my elbows.

“Your right elbow needs to be tucked.” He gently tucked my elbow into my side, my left one pointing out as I held my blade vertical to my face, it caught the rays of the sun shining it along the courtyard.

“If your elbow isn’t tucked, your opponent can rip that blade from your hands in seconds as I did.” I nodded and on his count slashed through the air, spinning and turning dogging pretend blades as he called them.

I sliced my blade up and a large shock wave left my body throwing me back into the wall behind us.

“Owe.” I whimpered, Dad ran to my side quickly helping me to my feet.

“It happened again.” It was my mother, Yennefer. Or at least my adoptive mother. Neither one was my biological parent but I had been with them since I was four. Mom ran to my side checking my body for cuts and bruises making me roll my eyes.

“I’m fine mom gosh, I’ve had worse.” Her eyes caught my own, they held fear, not a concern. The look in her eyes made my stomach clench. She knew something I did. Before I could ask what was wrong I heard the sound of horses not far from us.

Dad grabbed me pushing me behind him, lifting his sword in front of him, my mother doing the same. I could see two houses pull up and women come out of a carriage approaching my parents. I could feel the tension radiating off both of them.

“You need to leave Tissaia.” My mother spoke with so much hate, I’d never heard her speak like that, to anyone.

“You know I can’t do that, piglet.” My father’s breathing was ragged and heavy as he stood in front of me.

“Speak like that again and I won’t hesitate to slice you in two.” He seethed.

“Come to me, my child.” The woman they called Tissaia flicked her fingers forwards and my body lifted and I was placed not 2 feet in front of her. My breathing was ragged and tears brimmed my eyes as the fear started to consume my body.

“You have a special gift, do you not?” She asked and put her hand up as I heard my parents step forward.

“If you’d like me to hurt the child, keep moving. Stay put and I'll let her say goodbye.” The tears were now streaming down my face as she spoke. My body began to tremble. The training from the mighty witcher falling on deaf ears. Everything I learned fell. I had no control over my emotions or body anymore, I was just a broken 15 years old.

“G-g-goodbye?” I croaked and she looked at me, she crouched in front of me.

“You have a gift. That must be tamed, and if it can't be, your magic will be put towards others.” It was then I realized who she was. My mother very rarely spoke of her, but she was the trainer of the mages around the continent. But many girls never came back after she took them. I shook my head and started to stumble back, my foot catching on a rock and I fell on my butt, crying harder.

“Please don’t take me. I won’t ever use it, please I don’t want to go.” I was sputtering on my words and she reached out, grabbing the back of my head by my hair, heaving me onto my feet.

“You don’t get to make that choice.” She started walking towards the caravan, the door opening another woman stepping out.

“Tissaia! No!” It was my mother. A large sock wave that I knew was my father using aard. It threw myself and the other women back. I fell near the wall, facing the forest behind Kaer Morhen.

I jumped to my feet, grabbing my blade from the ground, and jumping over the wall.

Run.

I began running as fast as I could through the thickly wooded forest, jumping up and over fallen trees, as fast and as far as I could. I could hear people coming after me, but I wasn’t willing to let them catch me in fear that it wasn’t my parents.

“Stop.” It was a man. He had dropped down in front of me. His hands grabbed my shoulders and he threw me effortlessly over his shoulder. He began running back to where I would be taken.

A loud blood-curdling scream left my lips, making the trees shake around me. The man threw me to the ground, holding his ears. Before coming at me again, this time he looked as though he'd kill me. So I screamed louder again. This time it made a tree fall, it fell on top of him, the blood seeping from his head.

I quickly got on my feet. Rubbing my eyes, my face red from crying, I didn’t know where to run to. To run to my dad and mom or to run so no one could get me.

I wanted my parents, I wanted to leave with them not her.

“Y/N!” I all but jumped out of my skin as I looked and saw my father standing there his face red with anger. But softening as he saw my shaking form. I looked down at the man I had killed.

“I didn’t mean to, I swear I just wanted him to put me down.” I sobbed, He took three large strides and engulfed me in a huge, his arms closing around my shaking form.

“Shhhh, you're okay. You’re gonna be okay.” I felt my mother’s hands on my back as she kissed my head, I continued sobbing into his chest, my body trembling, going hot. My mom turned me to face her, her eyes full of tears. She crouched in front of me, Her thumbs stroking away my tears.

“You have to go my dear.” I could hear my dad’s breathing quicken.

“No please, don’t make me go.” I sobbed and she shook her head.

“It’s not forever, you are gonna go, learn everything I did, learn how to control your magic for a few months, then you’ll come home. We’ll come to get you. I promise.” She pulled me into her chest and held me there till I stopped crying. She stood up pulling me with her and we walked down to where Tissaia was waiting. My dad’s hand on my shoulder as my mom held my hand we walked up to her. My dad got in her face.

“You hurt a hair on her head, I will kill you. You have 6 months to train her. Then she comes home.” Tissaia nodded.

“Say your goodbyes child. We have to go.” My parents took me in their arms and hugged me as tightly as they could, as I cried again. This time my father got down on his knees, taking my hands in his.

“Now you listen to me. You are the daughter of a witcher and one of the world’s finest sorceresses. You will not be beaten, you will master this power. And you will come home more powerful than any other woman out there. You keep your head up. You are a force to be reckoned with.” My arms wrapped around his neck as I held onto him crying gain. His hands held my back to him tightly. He stood and I pulled back, hugging my mother before turning to Tissaia.

“I’m ready to go,” I said wiping my eyes. She nodded and I followed her to the carriage, getting in and the door was shut. There were no windows so I could still see my mother and father threw the open door.

“I love you,” I yelled as the carriage began to pull away, mother was crying into my father’s chest, his eyes fixed on my face.

“We love you.”

-6 Months Later-

“Common Y/N. Show these girls how it’s done.” Tissaia said. She was standing in the center of the cavern where we had to catch lightning. I couldn’t help but smile. Today was the day she would decide if I could go home or not. I stood where she stood. She pulled out my silver blade, the one my father gifted to me, and handed it to me.

“You channel the energy you are given, use this as a conductor, control your chaos. Not for me,” She turned to the side, the doors where the brotherhood sat opened and in walked my mom and dad. My mom had a look of pure admiration as she watched me stand where she had many many years ago. “Do it for them.”

I unsheathed my blade and looked up into the sky, seeing the lighting shine all across the sky. I took my silver blade from its sheath and rose it in the sky, feeling my powers tingle throughout my body. The lighting began to get fiercer as I waited my fingertips tingling. And then it happened.

A huge flash shot down from the sky, and onto my blade. The electricity warmed my body. I sheathed my sword and looked at my hands, they were glowing with electricity. I looked towards Tissaia and smiled. She was beaming at me my powers were not of those my mother had, but more attuned to combat. I’d be able to wield fire, wind, lightning, rain anything the earth produced I could control.

“Show them what you’re made of, my dear.” I looked towards the brotherhood. There was a target placed above where they stood, it was placed for me and me only. My hands burned with energy. I put them out in front of me as if I was throwing snowballs, instead balls of electricity shout out of my hands every single one hitting the target bullseye lighting it ablaze, 7, 10, 15 balls of electricity coursed through my veins and out of my palms before I could no longer feel the energy in me. I looked at my parents who watched in both awe and had the look of utmost pride, knowing I was their child.

“Gentlemen of the brotherhood, I present you, Y/N daughter of Geralt and Yennefer. She has controlled chaos better than anyone since her mother before her. I release her back to her family.” The imaginary ten-pound weight that had been resting on my chest for six months lifted at her words. I could go home. I wasted no time in running to my mother’s and father’s arms. I felt as if I couldn’t breathe. They were squeezing so hard. I pulled back and looked up at them both my mother’s cheeks were wet with tears.

“We’re so proud of you.” She whispered and my father kissed my hair.

“Common let’s go home.”

#geralt #geralt of rivera #witcher netflix #geralt fanfic #the witcher #witcher ciri #witcher geralt #witcher yennefer #elf oc #geralt imagine #geralt smut #geralt and you #geralt x yn #smut imagine #yn smut #witcher imagine

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snatcher-no-snatching · 4 years

Text

Science Express AU - Train Rush

Doctor Conductor is back in act 2 of battle of the birds! Hat Kid pays the Science Express a visit to help the madman with some experiments, but things will naturally go awry one way or another...

"Ah, lass, ye finally made it! It's about time!"

Hat Kid didn't know what to expect the infamous Science Express to look like, but it certainly wasn't this. A hulking behemoth of metal and steam, parts graphed together seemingly haphazardly, and numerous bits of machinery moving in synch, including a giant pair of mechanical arms that set down track with impressive speed. An efficient locomotive to be sure, but it also looked as if it could fall apart if a single cog came loose.

It wouldn't take an expert to figure out this train has seen better days

"Come along now, I'll show ye where you'll be helpin' today," said the yellow... bird?

"Thank you mister... uh..." The child stopped short as she realized she had never gotten the man's name. Thankfully, he seemed to pick up on the issue,

"Ah right, how rude of me!" He stood up a little straighter and adjusted his hat. "I'm known as the great Doctor Conductor, lead scientist and engineer of this here train!" he said, rolling his r’s heavily. Hat Kid smiled, finding his boisterous arrogance rather goofy.

"Right, thank you mister Condoctor." He nodded and opened his mouth to continue, but did somewhat of a double-take once he processed the portmanteau.

"Oi! No nicknames!" He shouted, "Ye'll call me either Doctor, Conductor, or both! Take yer pick!"

"Condoctor." Hat kid nodded smugly.

The Condoctor huffed a sigh as he realized arguing with the child was futile.

“Just… follow me.” Hat Kid obediently followed him through the door at the back of the train and into what looked like a laboratory, or at least part of one. Looking around curiously, she remembered a rumour she’d overheard that the Condoctor built this whole thing all on his own. As a fellow engineer she couldn’t help but be impressed, especially given this planet’s lack of advanced technology. Of course, no steam locomotive could ever hope to hold a candle to her beloved spaceship.

As the two moved from car to car, Hat Kid found herself wanting to stop and take a closer look at the various experiments being conducted by the many avian scientists. Beakers and flasks filled with unknown substances, steel being welded into huge machines, testing chambers obstructed by the many technicians crowded around the viewing glass… Hat Kid could spot at least a dozen workplace hazards, and perhaps a few human rights violations. If birds even have human rights, that is.

This laboratory is basically 15 different OSHA violations in a steel trenchcoat plowing its way through the desert at 160km/h.

Multiple owls in labcoats and glasses straightened up as they walked past, frantically trying to look focused on their given tasks. A couple of them gave the child a questioning look, but quickly averted their gaze when they noticed the presence of their boss.

A blast from somewhere to the left startled Hat Kid, but the Condoctor didn't seem to mind the small explosion at all, not even sparing it a passing glance.

Hat Kid was beginning to understand why this train was in such rough condition.

"Alright, we're here." About six cars into the train, the bird leading her stopped at a heavy metal door. He made a sound of effort as he turned the valve-like handle, and the door squeaked open.

The first thing Hat Kid noticed was that the room was bright, compared to the dim hallway they had been walking down. It was on the small side, and plain in the way most labs tend to be. In the far corner sat two birds on a tarp that had been spread out, and between them laid a half-assembled machine of some sort, with multiple parts and tools scattered about. At the sound of the door, the owls looked up from their work and stopped what they were doing to sit up straighter

"A-ah, Doctor Conductor, do you- do you need anything sir?" One of them fumbled, having nearly dropped the wrench he was holding.

"Aye, this lil' lass is helping out for the day, and I'd like ye to put ‘er to work." The scientist in question jabbed a finger in Hat Kid's direction, and it was just then that she took notice of his rather sharp talons. She would have been a little intimidated if not for the mental image of the man making himself custom fitted gloves. Her giggle consequently caught the attention of the two owls, who seemed to just now notice her presence.

"Her?" The first one clarified.

"But- but sir- she's rather young isn't she?" The second one asked in the same nervous tone

"She'll be fine, just give her work to do. You'll be needin' the extra help, I want that machine done by the end of the day, y'hear me?!" The Condoctor shouted, and his underlings only responded with a nod and a quiet 'yes sir'.

"Good." He moved to whisper something to the owl closest to him, before turning back to Hat kid, "These owls will show ye what to do, so just listen to them. Come find me at the front of the train when yer done." He made a move for the exit, but stopped with his hand on the door to shout over his shoulder

"And ye better wear the proper gear! Get yerself a labcoat lass, the last thing ye need is a chemical burn," he tugged on his own rubber coat for emphasis. He made one more step before turning to shout one last time,

"And ye BETTER. NOT. BREAK ANYTHING."

With that, the door was slammed shut, and the two owls released the breath they'd been holding.

Hat Kid couldn't bring herself to be intimidated by his threats at all, he just came off as overly theatrical in her eyes. And why such little faith in her abilities? She had her fair share of experience when it came to lab experiments, but she couldn't make any promises. Hopefully the science express will still be in one piece by the end of the day. After all, what’s the worst that could happen?

The Condoctor sat at the front of the train peacefully overlooking a set of blueprints and occasionally sipping from his mug of coffee, when suddenly-- Boom! Crash! A loud cacophony shook the whole train, causing the scientist to stagger and throw his drink up in alarm,

“WHAT IN THE BLUE BLAZES WAS THAT?!” He shouted moments before his mug landed squarely on his head, knocking his hat away and thoroughly soaking his feathers. His coffee, which had been cold, was now surely warmed up again as the Condoctor’s ire reached a boiling point.

“There had better be a good explanation for this…” he seethed

“WHOT IS THE MEANING OF ALL THIS RACKET?!” The owls jumped as their boss burst into the car. He paused, realizing just about every scientist he had under his wing (ha) was gathered around one of the big monitors. “Yer all better not be goofin’ off in ‘ere!!”

“S-s-sir! There was a big accident-- an-- an explosion!” one of them stuttered

“An’ what else is new?!” They all flinched at the venom in their boss’ tone.

“Well, you see, uh, it was, uh, that-- that girl you told us to work with, well, she, uh--”

“Get to the point already” the Condoctor growled impatiently. The owl, his nerves thoroughly spent, looked towards his peers for assistance. One at the front of the group spoke up,

“Sir, just take a look,” he gestured towards the screen he and his coworkers had all been crowded around. On it was an interactive image of the Science Express, displaying the locomotive’s current condition. It was one of the train’s recent additions, installed around the same time as the auto-pilot function allowing for further automation.

More importantly however, were the flashing lights and warning signs all over the screen- whatever exploded caused massive damage to the furthest cars. The Condoctor pushed his way past his crew so he could point at the red lights that were slowly creeping up the train from the rear, “Whot’s all this?”

“Fire, sir. From the explosion,” the same owl responded. “We already have men there trying to keep it under control, but we think we’re gonna have to detach some cars-”

“WHOT?!” the Condoctor interrupted. “We can’t just- just- detach ‘em!!” He gestured frustratedly and pointed to the caboose, “I keep some of me most important research back there! Not to mention, the.....” He uncharacteristically trailed off, earning one or two concerned looks from his men as a cold, dreadful realization crept up the back of his neck and made all of his feathers stand on end.

He shook his head clear. Focus! He has to focus--

But the feeling only amplified at his next realization;

��Where’s the li’l lass?” He asked, unusually quiet. Unnerved, the owl that had been speaking to him played with the collar of his coat and averted his gaze. The Condoctor turned expectantly towards the others for answers, only to find the rest of them looking away as well.

“Well?! Speak up! Where is she?” He demanded.

One owl cleared his throat to get his boss’ attention, but still spoke without looking up, “S-she, uh, she overheard that there was valuable research back there and volunteered to retrieve it--” “Whot?!”

“She ran off before any of us could stop her, we--”

“Where is she now?!” worked up again at this new information, he turned his attention back towards the monitor.

“T-there I believe, sir,” the owl next to him pointed at a moving yellow dot.

The Condoctor immediately brought up the security feed and looked for the car she would be in. He quickly spotted her small figure moving among the debris and flames, and quietly thanked the stars his cameras hadn’t been too badly damaged. Without a moment to waste, he opened up a comm link with the car.

Hat Kid ran through the train cars with determination and jumped over obstacles with practiced ease. With her handy-dandy sprint hat, she’ll be in and out of there in no time flat!

“Run, kid!”

“We’re doomed!” she vaguely heard as she passed a few owls armed with fire extinguishers desperately trying to control the flames. Such drama queens!

She came to an abrupt halt right before entering the next door as a screen hanging on the wall to her right buzzed to life.

“L@*=, %an y# he*] =e?” a fuzzy image appeared among the static and an unclear voice crackled from the speakers. Hat Kid tilted her head quizzically at the screen; was it broken?

“Ah sa!d, La%s, can ye hear me?” The image and voice cleared up considerably, until Hat Kid was able to recognize her favourite scientist-slash-engineer.

“Yea!” she nodded and smiled.

“Thank goodness,” The Condoctor sighed in relief before resuming in an urgent tone, “Lass, you need to listen carefully! One of me biggest bombs is bein’ stored at the back of the train, an’ if the fire reaches it, it’s game over fer all of us!”

She heard the horrified gasps and whispers from the owls through the speaker, no doubt in a panic over the new threat.

“Our best hope is to detach the car an’ get as far away as possible before it blows, now get back here, quickly!”

“I can make it!” the girl said enthusiastically

“Lass, wait-!” but it was too late, she had already proceeded through the door and into the next car. The Condoctor slammed his fist down and swore under his breath, doing his best to ignore the commotion of his employees around him. Regaining his composure, he switched to the security feed coming from the car the child had just entered, who’s communication link seemed to be down. “Keeping up wi’ her like this is gonna be tricky…”

He flinched as he witnessed her narrowly avoid getting hewn in two by a circular saw that swung down from the ceiling. He swore louder this time as he frantically pressed buttons looking for the one for the PA system.

Meanwhile, Hat Kid clutched her chest as she tried to calm herself down. A buzzsaw?! Really?! She knew this train was a steel deathtrap, but she wasn’t expecting woodworking equipment to rain down from above!

As she gazed at the swinging blades she heard a low tone and the crinkle of static from seemingly all sides

“Lass? Lass, are you alright?” the avian engineer asked over the loudspeakers, fully knowing that she wouldn’t be able to verbally respond either way. Hat Kid swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded.

“Listen to me, alright? The explosion must have set off the train’s security system, I designed it meself to be impossible to get through!” the Condoctor spoke slowly and clearly, “Just come back to the front of the train, it’s too dangerous!”

The child took a calming breath, adjusted the cap on her head and smiled. Impossible, huh?

With a running start, she leapt through the sea of buzzsaws with grace and ease, causing the Condoctor to shout in surprise and protest. All he could do was watch as she boosted herself on various shelves and platforms until she triumphantly landed at the other side of the car with a flourish, completely unharmed.

“An’ they call me crazy…” The mad scientist placed a weary hand on his forehead

Hat Kid continued through the train, the knowledge of the bomb sitting at the back of her mind like a countdown clock. Regardless, she was confident in her abilities! This security system was definitely the most bizarre she’d ever seen, but nothing she and her expert platforming skills couldn’t handle. There were piles of debris to maneuver around, steam from broken pipes to avoid, more buzzsaws, collapsing platforms, actual cannons firing at her, and a pit of vibrant green acid/goo that definitely wasn’t there before.

And, of course, fire. Lots and lots of fire. Everywhere.

She jumped and dived through hazard after hazard as the owls cheered for her over the PA system, though their boss was tense with worry-- the cameras at the back of the train were surely broken, he’d have no way to keep an eye on her. There was no telling how much longer she had left, and the sooner they disconnected those cars the better.

Soon Hat Kid found herself at the caboose without a scratch on her, and just in time, too; the fire was starting to get a little too close for comfort. A smaller explosion somewhere else rocked the car, urging her to act swiftly and get the hell out of dodge. She scoured the room quickly for what she was here to recover. Research papers, important research papers, they’ve gotta be around here somewhere....

Simultaneously, the Condoctor and his owls felt the explosion much more closely than Hat Kid did, the scientists scrambling for something to hold on to to steady themselves. In his peripherals, the mad doctor noticed a change in the monitor; the security feed had died completely, and perhaps most concerningly, the entire rear half of the train’s status display image was gone. He didn’t have long to think about it, as moments later one of the owls with the fire extinguishers burst through the door to the car. Winded and in a panic, he attempted to say something clearly important that ended up coming out as a stuttered mess,

“The- the- the train-- The cars, they-- broken--” That was all the Condoctor needed to hear to put the pieces together, and he immediately assumed the worst. He pushed his way past the owl, and ran as fast as he could through the disarray to the room where the impromptu firefighters had been stationed. They were all gathered around the scorched black door, muttering amongst themselves with trepidation, too preoccupied to notice their boss.

He quickly ushered them aside, “Out of my way, ah--” he cut himself short as he yanked the door open and nearly met his end then and there. Regaining his balance, he looked down to see the track racing beneath them, and looking up he saw the rest of his beloved train growing further and further away as it lost traction.

He swore again as he became vaguely aware of the owls crowding behind him. He thought of racing to the pilot and pulling the emergency brakes, but he knew they’d never stop in time.

The options raced through his mind as he continued to stare hopelessly at the ever retreating cars, dreading the thought of the hatted child trapped in there all alone as the flames engulfed the whole thing-- no! what could he do?! there had to be something, anything--

It was nothing short of a miracle when he heard the door of the car squeak open, and through the glare of the desert sun he saw the figure of a little girl energetically waving at him. The owls erupted in cheers of joy at the sight of her safe return, and the Condoctor finally let out the breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. Happy as he was to see her, there was still one problem;

The cars had already grown too far apart for anyone to cross. No matter how good at jumping Hat Kid may be, that gap couldn’t be traversed by normal means. The scientist racked his brain for ideas, but came up short.

“now isn’t a good time for me noggin to start drawin’ blanks...”

The next few moments happened a little too fast for him to process.

He vaguely noticed the child holding something, a blue umbrella, he thinks. Then there were various clinks, followed by a solid clunk, and next thing he knew the child was coming towards him faster than he was able to brace himself for the impact

The wind was knocked from his lungs as he fell back on top of the owls, ending up in a tangled heap on the floor.

“What the- lass, how did you…?” he mumbled as he groaned and slowly sat up, rubbing his head from when it made contact with the floor. The child, already standing herself, offered him a hand to help him up.

“Hookshot!” she answered simply and held out her umbrella, which he now noticed had a grappling claw at the end of it that wasn’t there before.

“Well I’ll be a monkey’s uncle….” were the only words the Condoctor could muster in such a situation.

The owls slowly gathered their bearings as well, congratulating Hat Kid and rubbing the unpleasantness from their own sore joints,

“You did good, kid!”

“I thought we were goners for sure!”

“We don’t get paid enough for this…”

“Are you an acrobat or something?”

“You could be an olympic gymnast!”

“But, wait a second,” one owl caught the group’s attention. “What about the research you went to get?”

The question clicked in Hat Kid’s brain as she put her fist in her hand like she just remembered something. Wordlessly, she reached up to her tall purple top hat and lifted it off her head, causing a multitude of papers and documents to flutter to the ground unceremoniously.

A beat passed, and the Condoctor cracked up laughing, no longer able to hold in the emotions from the recent events. This caused Hat Kid to start laughing as well, and in turn, the owls.

The car was soon filled with the sound of uncontrollable mirth, stopping only at the earth-shaking explosion that went off in the distance. Everyone watched through the still open door as the rear half of the train, now leagues behind them, went up in a grand display of smoke and flames.

As the fiery remains rained down from the sky and kicked up the desert sand, the Condoctor broke the silence as he burst into laughter once more, perhaps even louder than the last time. Hat Kid’s much softer giggles joined him once again, but the owls could only bring themselves to chuckle half-heartedly as they internally mourned the weeks of hard work they’d lost.

“Ahhh…” the cackles finally died down as the mad scientist wiped a nonexistent tear from his face. “That was fun.” he said, earning more than a few concerned glances from his crew.

“Well lass, it’s been quite a day.”

Hat Kid made a small sound of agreement as she hopped down from the last step and onto the platform. The train had stopped at a little town to let Hat Kid off, with the Conductor deciding to accompany her to the small station’s boarding deck.

“Mah legs hurt just rememberin’ how ye jumped around like some sort ah little daredevil; I could probably sell the security footage as an action movie-- Who knows? Maybe in another life I was some kind of director!” He paused to chuckle. “Could ye imagine that, me, one o’ them big time silver screen stars? Ha!”

The man joked as he rubbed his face; he felt tired as the day’s events finally caught up to him, and the mere thought of all the repair work that needed to be done only increased his exhaustion, but he kept a good-natured smile on his face.

Hat Kid on the other hand looked just as spry as when she first arrived, looking up expectantly at the engineer.

“Oh right! of course,” the Condoctor said as he remembered his end of their bargain, and from somewhere behind him he produced a familiar hourglass-like relic that shimmered as it caught the sun. “Here, one of them thing-a-ma-jigs yer collecting.”

Hat Kid bounced happily as he handed it to her, doing a little spin before tucking it safely beneath her hat. When she looked back up at the scientist to thank him, he was already mounting the steps to his train.

“Don’t forget to stop by again later, I’ll have some more work ready for ye by tomorrow!” He called over his shoulder.

The little hatted child waved, and watched the damaged train slowly whirr to life before speeding off into the emptiness of the desert once more. When it was little more than a speck on the horizon obscured by the dust it kicked up, she turned on her heel and walked away.

There was still lots to do if she wanted to get all her time pieces back.

#ahit au #the condoctor #aaa tumblr totally messed up my formatting.....#cam's adventures in writing #hope y'all like this tho!!#comments and questions are greatly appreciated; i'm becoming much more confident in my english writing!#I'm ok with constructive criticism too i guess; but keep in mind this wasn't really beta read;;;#or edited for that matter

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neshatriumphs · 4 years

Text

VIII. Long Live the King

Simon wasn’t sure how he was going to get out of this. He weighed his options, like any skilled warrior would. This was a perfect set up, by Amelia, he presumed, for him to have a chance to face off with the Queen, kill her to break her protective magic, and make good on his blood oath. But, that was what also brought him to his dilemma… He didn’t want to hurt Grace.

Grace wasn’t what Amelia thought. He watched her throughout the fair. She was charming and charismatic, even manipulative at times, but generally that seemed to be a defense mechanism. She was the princess. She couldn’t just do, say, be what she wanted. She had to keep up certain appearances. She had to make the people feel a certain way… and she was very good at it. She even got to him…

And when they kissed, he felt like he was whatever the emotional equivalent was of everything falling into place, being just as it should be and designed for greater purposes and his best good. It wasn’t some lust filled fantasy taking over him, either. This was real. He couldn’t say he loved her. He still didn’t know her, but he could say that he felt like he was meant to. That wasn’t a feeling that Simon Timmens ever had.

So, here he was, in a battle of survival vs sacrifice. Everything he worked for couldn’t be undone because of a kiss, no matter how life changing it felt. It couldn’t be risked for a woman, no matter how beautiful she was or how kind she seemed.

She had taken the necklace from him, so he didn’t know if Amelia could still see into the palace, if she even was still posted in the Conductor’s observatory. Most likely, she had made her way to the fortress, ready for the in that he would create whenever the Queen fell and her protective measures were weakened. Surely, there was backup magic, but many of the people would stammer for at least a moment, giving someone with Amelia’s power the ability to breach the defenses. Simon was certain that someone’s kingdom was falling tonight.

The Queen was in what was essentially her night clothes, but she had a staff with her. The King’s army, vast and full of magical creatures of all sorts, wearing uniforms of the One, wielding weapons at the ready, stood prepared in the chamber room whenever she came in. The King had changed into his formal wear. The Queen must have not even taken the threat as seriously as anyone else did, because she didn’t even have her crown and from all accounts, she was NEVER seen in anything less than her best presentation.

“Grace, come forward and tell me what this is all about,” the woman said. Her accent was different than Grace’s. But, Simon remembered that she was from a further realm, that her marriage to the king had expanded the realms of the One, and was one of the main reasons that she was chosen. She had to work to make her magic worthy enough, day and night, for 16 years, she had to train for this position, despite being granted it at birth. Royal life seemed exhausting. Simon felt like if you were powerful enough and brave enough, you could dethrone anyone.

Grace kneeled before her parents and lowered her head, “Your Highness, while out in the King’s woods, I felt a dangerous presence. I investigated and discovered a winged woman under attack. By the time I reached her, it was too late. She is being prepared for peaceful rest.” She stood and dared to look at her parents.

Her father looked sympathetic. Her mother looked irritated.

“You were out in the King’s woods without permission nor guard. You witnessed one of the most vile crimes committed in these realms… Your punishment is that fate.” Grace nodded once. The Queen sighed and turned her attention to Simon. He stared back at her, emotionless and unreadable. That would change soon. “This is the conductor that you found in the enchanted forests and brought into the safety of our grounds? And now, you suspect that he had something to do with the winged woman who was slain.”

“I don’t suspect him, My Queen. But, he is the only person that we know of who is here and I brought him before you for your wise and powerful review.” Grace moved Simon towards the Queen and he winced when her hand touched the throbbing infection beneath his arm.

He realized that the cuffs on him dampened his magic, so he wouldn’t be any match for the Queen in those regards, but she wasn’t a physical fighter. If he could get close enough to her to stop her from casting a spell, he could physically take her down. Even if he didn’t make it out of the room, the Institute would be safe. The Conductor would know that he did his best. The staff glowed brighter than anybody’s eyes could stand, save the Queen. Even the King winced in its glory. While Simon groaned in pain, feeling like he was being burned from the inside out, the Queen remained perched perfectly on her throne.

The staff stopped and she sighed. “Well. He didn’t kill the winged woman, but he shall be put to death, at once.”

Grace gasped and moved forward. “Wait, what does that mean?”

“Which words in particular were skipped during your vocabulary studies, Grace?” The Queen asked.

“I mean… if he didn’t kill the winged woman, why would we put him to death? That was the crime that he was brought before you, accused of!”

The Queen glared at him, “HE knows why.”

Grace stood between her mother and Simon and put her hands up, “My Queen, Mom… Please. There’s something else about Simon that I need you to know…”

“That you love him? I know it. But, I’m afraid that I can’t take that into account when I have now verified his crimes against this kingdom, and his plans for you.” The Queen glared at Simon and he lowered his face for the first time since coming into the room. Grace looked at him. “Right. You don’t see it. Grace, this man is not who you seem to think.” She used the scepter to lift his arm and the vile infection throbbed more than ever before. Everyone gasped. Grace didn’t know what she was even looking at. “That is blood magic. An oath that he made and sealed with the blood of his enemies, OUR people. An oath that he made to kill YOU, Grace.” Grace took a step back from Simon.

“I didn’t know you!” Simon offered.

“And you would have killed me anyway?” She asked, trying to hold back tears.

“You got to know me and still slapped cuffs on me to bring me to before your mother for war crimes.”

“And it’s a good thing that I didn’t let my feelings for you cloud my good judgment!” Grace said, tears flowing from her eyes. “I wanted to clear your name. I followed the law and you… You would have taken my life without even getting to see my face.”

“I wasn’t going to do it! This is killing me, Grace! I’m… I’m willing to die for you. I’ve never felt that way about another person. But, to have you look at me like that… that’s so much worse than dying will be..” He had tears in his eyes too.

Grace clasped her hands together and turned to her mother again, “I do love him, but that’s not what I was going to say. I brought him to the fair, as I’m sure you were told. My oracle saw him, she gave me his destiny. Intertwined with mine… Mom, this is my soulmate.”

The Queen looked at Grace with the most sympathy that Grace had ever seen in all of her years. “Pet child, please escort the princess to the healing chambers,” she said to Lucy. Lucy nodded once and reached for Grace’s hand.

“Don’t call her that! Lucy is my heiress and she deserves respect! ESPECIALLY, if you intend to kill my soulmate!”

The Queen snarled, “Grace, I don’t have time for one of your little tantrums right now. Are you saying that the life of this one conductor means more to you than all of those that he has slain? Touch him! Touch him and tell me that he is worth salvation!” She ripped one of Grace’s gloves off and forcefully placed her hand on the blood oath seal.

Grace let out a howling pain.

Simon asked, “What are you doing to her???”

“Showing her her birthright, for once. Letting her see what I see when I read you… Letting her see what you’ve DONE.” Simon sobbed and he shook his head, pleading. He didn’t want Grace to see that, but also, she appeared to be in pain. She collapsed to the ground and he rushed to kneel beside her but she crawled away from him hurriedly and cradled herself against Lucy’s side.

“So many murders. So many just to steal their power…” She sobbed. “I felt every last one of their deaths, their sorrow in those last moments… your… complete lack of empathy!”

He bit his lip and shut his eyes, letting the tears pour as they might, “I’m sorry, Grace.”

She looked at Lucy, “He’s the reason…” Lucy simply held back tears. “Your village was his first mission. I’m sorry, Lucy. So sorry…”

The Queen raised her staff, “By the power of the One and for the sake of this kingdom, Simon, the Conductor, I hereby sentence you to eternity in torment. When you have lived out the lives of every being you have slain, you will be back here, to die at my feet. It won’t take nearly as long for us as it will for you, but you will know the pain that I know, that my daughter now knows…”

“I can’t let you do that,” a voice said from the doors of the chambers. Guards were at the ready to attack, when they saw an old woman, dressed in an all white battle uniform. Her yellow eyes were focused on the Queen as she marched towards the throne, a barrier around her that none of the guards could seem to penetrate.

“You’re alive!” The Queen said. She handed the staff to her husband and greeted the old woman with a hug. Grace looked at this image in front of her. She had never seen her mother show affection to anybody who wasn't herself or her father and even then, it didn’t happen in front of others. But, almost as soon as the contact was initiated, the Queen recoiled from the woman. “You…”

“I did what I had to, in Simon’s name,” the woman said. She held her hands out in front of her, and they were gloved, but the gloves were stained in what they all knew was the blood of the winged woman.

“This?” The Queen pointed at Simon. “We don’t see you in years and you return, in such a way over THIS? First my daughter, and now you? WHAT is it about him that makes you a fool?”

“This is Simon. Abelard’s son,” Samantha said. Simon looked confused and the Queen stumbled back.

She approached Simon again, looking at him, staring at his face, actually paying attention to him, this time. She laughed. “The stupidest jawline. The thinnest lips and the frailest nose ever invented,” she said, thinking of years before. Of her best friend who died in battle, whose son she swore to take care of and raise beside her own child before his mother took him back to her home, just wanting to be safe from the life that took her husband away… “Green eyes that make you forget how stupid the rest of his face is…” The Queen’s lip quivered.

“What is going on???” Grace finally asked, annoyed and terrified and confused.

The old woman looked at the Queen, “Should I tell her, or will you?”

The Queen sat back on her throne, exhausted. “Abelard Laurent… We were raised side by side. His parents were an old nobel magic family, but his soul mate was a common girl, who magic had skipped. That didn’t matter to him. He loved her more than the moon and stars. He also loved his kingdom. He loved the One. He was willing to die for him, and the Conductor made certain that he did.

She had risen to power in his territory, claimed it in the name of her dead lover, who Abelard had suspected of vile magic. Whenever the guards seized him to be brought before Abelard, as the lord of those realms… there was a horrible accident. This wizard, a meek man with impeccable smarts and a thirst for magic fell from the horse and was trampled over. Abelard tried everything he could to save him. That wasn’t how we did things! We didn’t execute citizens for suspicion of vile magic! But… Amelia was convinced that Alrick was unjustly killed. She took up magic to get her revenge. She took over a temple of the One that Abelard was guardian of. She made pacts with new stewards, built new disciples, and murdered Abelard… We never even recovered his body from her. She did send me his skull…” Grace looked at Simon, who was aghast.

Reflexively, she put a hand on his shoulder.

“When he died, he had a one year old son named Simon. Of course, hearing the name Simon was nothing to hint to me this was the same boy. Simon is fairly common in those realms. We were going to retrieve he and his mother, bring them here for safety. She haphazardly tried a conductor’s spell to hide them, burrowed him away for safekeeping, and we…” The Queen cried, “I. Cursed him with an illness. One that could only be taken away by my own hand, or that of my daughter’s… to show her… we were where she belonged… I just… wanted to do right by Abelard and care for his son. I would have lifted the curse if I sensed him too close to death!”

“You tortured a baby with illness?” Grace asked.

“I tried to keep his mother from making a terrible mistake.”

“Congratulations to you,” Simon said, crying angrily, “You placed me right into the hands of the person who… who killed my father…" he looked at the ground as it just occurred to him what the Queen was saying, as he said it. Amelia, his mentor, his savior, his Conductor… she had killed his real father…

"And mother," Samantha said. "After using Alrick's genes to heal you, she doubled back to your mother, to ensure that nobody would claim you."

Simon glared at the woman, "Why would you let her do all of this to me? I thought you were my friend!"

She touched the cuffs and they fell from his wrists so that she could properly hug him. "I wanted to tell you when you were old enough to understand, but you were so faithful to Amelia that I couldn't. The magic that binds my blood and yours would never allow me to work against you, and Amelia has taken over your heart. If I had told you, you wouldn't have believed me, and might have killed me… then there would have been no one to support you."

He jerked away from her, "I was raised by someone who murdered my family. She took away my rightful place at the chance to be a king. You just… stood by. How is that support?"

"Who do you think fed you, cleaned you in when you were small? Did you forget? Did you think Amelia was the motherly type? She would have raised you in a dungeon as a slave! She didn't know who you were at first, but the moment she realized, she would have fed you to three headed dogs! Instead, she… made you in her likeness. Built your trust in her. Tricked you into this blood oath."

He wiped away his tears, determined to man up. "And now she gets to be responsible for falling my house. For killing the entire bloodline she feels is responsible for Master Alrick's death…"

"No. That's why I'm here," Samantha reached for her conductor's dagger and lofted it towards Grace. The entire thing happened so fast that mostly everyone missed the details. Lucy's eye noticed the blade before anyone and she jumped into defense mode, sure that the old woman was trying to kill her princess. Lucy's fingernails became claws and she lunged forward, not knowing the levels of Samantha's power nor the strength of the barrier surrounding her. Much like Simon had been ejected from Grace before, Lucy went flying across the room, unfortunately, with Samantha's dagger in her abdomen. Grace screeched so loudly ears bled and glass cracked. When she appeared beneath Lucy, her body cradled to her, the girl barely had any life left in her. "What did you do???" Grace asked.

"She had a weapon. I couldn't allow her to use it against my future queen…" Lucy whimpered. Grace removed her other glove and Simon looked at Samantha, who was just as stunnedas anyone.

"That was an accident. I wasn't going to hurt her. I was handling over my weapon," the woman said. She never liked to see anyone die, but children especially were hard for her. This Lucy child… she couldn't bear it.

Grace placed both hands on Lucy and Lucy began to convulse. Everyone looked shocked and afraid, except for the Queen. She just looked sad.

Lucy sat up abruptly, with a huge gasp and the dagger fell from her and clanked against the floor. She looked at Grace, ready to cheer her on for finally mastering her ability to heal, but when she did, Grace fell down groaning and clutching herself. Simon rushed over. "Grace?" He was hesitant to touch her, but worried.

"Her healing is empathetic. He has to feel what they felt in order to save someone," the Queen said. Simon cradled Grace and she cried, holding herself. "It's a queen's burden, to know the pain of her subjects. To protect them as she would herself…" she came over and touched Grace's chin, lifting her face to look her in the eyes, "Mummy's proud of you. But, I'm afraid the pain doesn't end here. This is merely the beginning of your labor pains." Grace sobbed, lowering her hands as her pain resided. Simon fumbled to get her gloves back on her hands.

She looked embarrassed. She felt weak. "I've never seen you feel any pain," Grace said to the Queen.

"My staff helps me to harness it." They helped Grace up and she looked at the others, still ashamed of herself. "I still must sentence," the Queen said.

Samantha kneeled before the Queen, "As familiar and guardian to the Laurent bloodline, my blood is kin."

"What?" Simon said.

"She intends to take your punishment, to free you from the binding of the oath. In doing so, she becomes a proxy for the bloodline she is attached to. Her death frees you," the Queen explained.

"No!" Simon shouted. "I'm the one who agreed to it! It's MY burden to bear."

"Over a hundred years ago, I vowed myself to the Laurent bloodline. If you die, my life is meaningless anyway."

"But… you're my only friend. You're the only one who actually cared about me. You said it yourself. You took care of me…"

"I see you standing next to your destiny," Samantha said, looking at Grace. "She's even more perfect for you than I thought."

Grace intertwined her fingers with Simon's and he cried again. He hated how much he was crying, but he really didn't know what else to do. This was his fault. He'd let Amelia deceive him his entire life and now, he was going to lose his best friend, his only friend… his… mother… "He's your problem now," Samantha joked.

Lucy took Simon's other hand and he looked down at her. She offered a sympathetic squeeze to his hand and a soft smile. "He's our family, now," she said in a low voice.

The Queen lifted her staff and Samantha's white robes turned red as her blood burst forth from every pore and her body crumbled to the ground, then faded to dust, while the bloody garment remained.

Simon groaned as the seal bled, the throbbing veins tremored and then set into his flesh like thorns, bleeding him for a moment, then fading into his flesh, no more than a tattoo beneath his arm. He touched it and looked at Samantha's cloak.

The Queen declared Samantha's blood payment for Simon's crimes against the kingdom, but seeing him as the future king still didn't sit right with her. Then again, it had been a long night. She dismissed everyone and she and the King remained there, to talk about where they would go from here.

Simon, Grace and Lucy all sat on Grace's bed, staring straight ahead. Nobody was speaking. After a while, Grace asked, "Are you mad at me?"

She and Lucy looked at Simon. He just shut his eyes and shook his head. "How can I be mad at you when you're all that I have left?" She collected him to herself and he cried against her neck. They crawled into the bed and Grace reached for Lucy, as well. Whatever tomorrow held, she had almost lost everything tonight… and she just needed to hold on to it, just in case she wouldn't be so "lucky" tomorrow.

#If They Didn't Get on the Train #AU Infinity Train #Infinity Train #Nesha Fanfiction #Infinity Train Fanfiction #fics

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nonsensicalobsessions · 4 years

Text

A Symphony without Strings, Chapter 1

Author’s Notes: as ever, I have music selections for you if you care to listen. As you might guess from the title, music will weave its way in and out of the plot and the characters’ lives, the way they speak, and what they do. For this opening, I have two pieces for you. The first is https://youtu.be/ohQSPR0Z1zM, and the secondhttps://youtu.be/srq45XPUNqM is which is quite short.

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

Tom received a terse text from Luke:

Take the call, twat.

He answered with, “Rude. I wasn’t avoiding you, you hadn’t even rang yet...”

Luke had no time for pleasantries. “What are you doing right now?”

“Well, I was...”

“Cancel it. I need you in my office. Now.”

Tom was bewildered. “Luke, what the hell? I have plans for the afternoon, I was...”

“And I said cancel them, and get your ass in here. Now!”

Tom was left staring at his phone. Luke had hung up.

He had just finished cleaning up after his morning run, and was preparing to spend the day with his mother and sister, working in their garden. They were not going to be best pleased about his backing out. He sighed before he rang them, and decided to have them vent all their spleen at Luke. He would make sure they had his personal mobile number. There was no way he was going to take the fall for whatever had Luke’s boxers in a twist this time. His conscience was clean. There had been no incidents with wine, women, or song.

Quite depressing, really. He needed to get out more.

Once he arrived, he was aware that everyone was avoiding his eyes. Usually there was an air of bonhomie in the office, and he enjoyed the camaraderie. But the tension could be cut with a knife now, and his stomach twisted. What was going on, he hadn’t done anything!

In desperation, he turned to Luke’s executive assistant. “Come on, Carlotta, help a bloke out. Everyone is behaving like I was caught buggering a sheep on the BBC. What in the devil is going on?”

She shook her head and sighed. “Luke is on the warpath, and everyone is seeking deep shelter. Just go on in, he’s waiting for you. And Tom? I know all sheep are safe with you.” She gave him a sympathetic smile. “I’d offer you tea, but...just...go on in.”

Once Tom shut the door behind him, she murmured, “This goes well beyond a cup of Earl Grey.”

Tom entered Luke’s office, demanding, “What the hell, Luke? Your office is behaving like I’m persona non grata, Carlotta said you have your staff looking for a fallout shelter...and I haven’t done a single thing wrong. Not one thing. I’ve been living the life of a fucking monk. I get up, I go to work, I go home. I run, I walk my dog. I visit my family. Why are you glaring at me like this?”

Luke said through gritted teeth, “What is the one thing I have asked of you from the beginning, Tom? The one thing I have begged you not to do, the one thing I have repeatedly warned you against?”

“Not to sing ‘The Bare Necessities’ after I’ve had too much to drink?” Tom quipped.

Luke’s glare deepened to the point that the mild mannered man looked almost demonic.

Tom sighed. “Not to have some woman arrive at your doorstep claiming she’s knocked up. But that is impossible, Luke. I haven’t been with anyone. In months. Christ, it’s absolutely humiliating to think about how long it’s been since I’ve gotten laid, thank you very much. I just can’t take the chance. Obviously someone has come out of the woodwork, claiming that I’m her baby daddy, but whoever the female in question is, she’s a very bad liar, and thank you for thinking so little of me. You should have done your homework better before losing your mind...”

“Let’s hit the way back machine, Tom,” Luke interrupted, his voice a deadly calm. “Five years ago. You were filming and met a young woman who was working as an extra while studying music at the local university. Her name was...”

“Meredith Skye...Merry,” Tom whispered, in shock, as memories came flooding back to him.

He had met Merry at the canteen as they both shivered, getting a cup of tea. It was bitterly cold that day. He thought the way she’d smiled at him and then looked down and away was adorable, although he knew better than to say so. He followed her with his eyes as she took her cup and walked away. Later, he approached her and offered to take her out for a coffee or tea, and she agreed. It was the beginning of an intense but short lived relationship. Both of them knew there was no future for them. She was in graduate school, hoping to be a conductor someday. She as proficient in piano, violin, and a brilliant cellist. It gave Tom the greatest pleasure to watch her perform pieces in her tiny rowhouse, sometimes in the nude, after they had lain in her small bed together...A tiny woman, Tom used to joke her cello would crush her someday...he would get lost in her music, and her eyes...she had such a sweetly lush form, to her despair. He loved that she wasn’t rail-thin, he would praise her, claiming that she had a figure that Titian would have immortalized had he seen her...Tom loved her wild, curly red hair, and her clear blue eyes that he could lose himself in as he lost himself in her body. It was such a wrench when he had to leave, but they both knew it had to be...she could not, would not, leave her studies. She was so close to her degree, so close to attaining her dream, as she was performing more and more, and her talents were being admired and even requested in very high circles...and he had to continue filming. They didn’t even consider trying to keep in touch, but felt it best to accept that theirs was a beautiful, idyllic moment in time. They were young, and had their lives ahead of them.

“No strings.” That was their understanding from the beginning, and sometimes even said with an ironic smile, as Merry would caress her instruments, and he would caress her as she played them...

“I don’t understand,” Tom shook his head. “Why would she get in touch with you now...and why are you talking about babies popping up? Merry and I were careful, and anyway, that was ages ago. We parted as friends.”

Luke’s voice was stern. “She wanted to just give you this letter.” He slid it across his desk. “I strongly advised that she speak to you, in person.”

“Merry’s here? Right now?” Tom’s head spun around, as he searched the empty office. “Where is she?” A pleased smile was on his face at the thought of seeing her again. He’d missed her.

“Which would you prefer, Tom? The letter, or to hear it from her own lips?”

Tom took a deep breath. “I really cared for Merry. If she wanted to tell me in a letter, then I will honor her wishes.”

Luke’s face could not be more disapproving, his lips pursed in a frown, but he slid the envelope towards Tom, who eagerly opened it.

Dear Tom,

I hope this finds you well. I have been following your career avidly, and I have been so very proud to see you go from strength to strength. I have kept our trysting close to my heart, even as I have longed to crow to all I see, “I know this man! He is just as amazing in person as he is on screen! He deserves every accolade, every word of praise...he is truly the best, most accomplished thespian of our age.”

Since we parted, I finished my degree, and was able to achieve my dream: I was honored to be the conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. I enjoyed every moment, and confess that I was ever looking upward, hoping to move to an even more prestigious company. You know me, always looking for a bigger brass ring, even while reveling in what I have. Ambition, how we spent many hours talking about it, remember?

However, there are a couple of things that changed in my life, and they are the reasons that I have broken my promise to not contact you again, and once you hear them, I think you will understand, and I pray you will even forgive me.

The first, and most important. I do not know how to tell you this, Tom, so I will simply come out and say it, and I ask you to please sit down.

Tom, you are a father. You have a son.

Tom stopped reading. Stopped breathing. He looked up at Luke, completely stricken.

“That...this is impossible. It can’t be. We always used protection, always. Luke, I cared about her, I wouldn’t put her in that situation...”

“Keep reading,” Luke ordered, his voice and face implacable.

I understand your shock and disbelief. I felt just the same when I realized that my symptoms were not some bizarre flu but the signs of pregnancy. The only explanation I can come up with is that night we spent in front of the fire when you were very...playful, before you actually put the condom on...? I don’t know, Tom, that’s my best guess. I will have Liam available for any paternity test that you wish to have run to validate my claim...but I think once you see him, you will know without a doubt that he is yours. Nevertheless, I understand the importance of having the legal proprieties observed.

Liam’s arrival only slowed my stride, he did not stop me. I simply took him along, and I daresay he has not suffered for the ride. He has definitely acquired a taste for music, that’s for sure! At four years of age, he can play simple tunes on both the piano and violin, but I let him set his own pace. He isn’t pressured into anything, I won’t have it. Of course it goes without saying that he is the most brilliant boy that ever was, walking at seven months, talking fluently by fifteen months...but I won’t bore you with my proud mama babble. I have given a photo to Luke so you may see it if and when you are ready.

When he was born, I did not list you as the father. Perhaps that was wrong of me, I don’t know. What I do know is when we parted, it was meant to be for good, and our mantra was, “No strings.” A child is not a string, it is a cable, and I did not wish to inflict such upon you. It didn’t seem fair. You didn’t ask for this. I refused to tie you to me when we had agreed to part and go our separate ways.

So, why am I contacting you now? This brings me to the second reason.

I’m afraid I’ve gone and gotten leukemia, Tom.

For the second time, Tom stopped reading, the air sucked out of his lungs. “Merry. Merry, no,” he gasped. As much as he was shocked with the first revelation, this one hurt his heart. He had cared deeply for the bright young woman, and the thought of her being mortally ill, her light being diminished and perhaps ultimately leaving the world, was a knife to his soul. He looked at Luke. “You did see her, right? Did she look all right? Does she need anything? I mean, is there...”

Luke interrupted. “Keep reading.”

Tom returned to the letter, anguished.

My prognosis is 50-50. I am hopeful, but I also have to be realistic. Should I not be able to beat this, I have to make sure that Liam is taken care of, and I could not in good conscience give his care to another without telling his father about his existence first.

I am not foisting his care upon you. I am not asking you for a single thing—not child support, not acknowledgment, anything. Tom, you must understand this. All choices are yours. If you would Iike to be a part of his life, that does not mean you have to be an intimate part of mine by extension, whether I live another month or a hundred years. I simply cannot let this situation continue. You can be as deeply involved as you wish. The decision is solely at your discretion.

Please forgive me for the decisions that I made. I always made them with love, with your best interests in my heart. I have always wished you well, and still do.

Sincerely yours,

Meredith Skye

Shaken, Tom lowered the letter. It was handwritten, on pale blue stationery. Of course, Merry would not have something so personal typed on plain white paper. That was not her style.

“May I see the photo?” Tom asked quietly.

Luke slid over another small envelope. It contained a professionally printed wallet sized photograph.

Tom swallowed hard, and looked, heart roaring in his ears.

It could have been a photo of himself, when he was the same age.

A smiling young boy sat on a chair, with a bear in his lap. He had blonde hair, with a touch of red, cut short but you could see the tips were trying to curl. He had his mother’s clear cerulean eyes, and an open, brilliant smile...but Tom could see his features clearly stamped on the little boy’s face.

A storm of emotions were warring in his breast, but all he could think to say was, “Well, hello, there, Liam. I’m your dad.”

Luke remained silent, even as tears coursed down his best client’s, his best friend’s, face.

Tom scrutinized the photo, looking at the child’s hands (long fingers like mine, if he wants to keep up with his music studies that can only be to his advantage), his legs (I can’t see how long they are in the photo, is he going to be a bean pole too?), his ears (ah, sorry, kid).

Tom looked up and hoarsely asked, “Is Merry here? May I see her?”

“She’s in the conference room,” Luke replied. “She wasn’t certain you would wish to see her. I was certain you would. I was also certain if she left the building, you would go haring off after her and God knows what kind of public scene you would create, so I implored her to stay here and wait for you, which is why I was so adamant you come right away.”

“She’s been there all this time, Luke, that’s uncalled for...!” Tom stood up immediately.

“Stop it, Tom,” Luke stood as well. “I made sure to keep her very comfortable, complete with every refreshment she wouldn’t ask for, and had both a sofa and recliner brought in for her comfort. Come. I’ll bring you to her.”

Like a chastened child, Tom allowed himself to be led from Luke’s office to the conference room, feeling simultaneously as though he was being brought to the headmaster’s office from his past, and about to see his future, all at one go.

Luke opened the door, and stepped aside.

“You’re not coming in with...?”

“Oh, no,” Luke replied grimly. “This is all yours. It’s your life, your decision. I just get to spin it.”

Tom squared his shoulders and walked in, thinking in the recesses of his mind if he had any idea how momentous this morning? afternoon? was going to be, he would have dressed for it. A white button up and black jeans hardly seemed appropriate for this.

Once the door was shut, he looked around, and still saw no one.

“Merry,” he called out softly.

“Tom.”

She stepped out from behind the room’s divider. “I didn’t know who would come in, so I thought it best I slip behind here, just in case.”

As much as Tom had been hit with revelation after revelation, this one was the cruelest.

Merry was but a shadow of how he remembered her. A bright head covering failed to conceal that her glorious head of hair was gone. Her face was pasty white, and her clothes hung on her frail frame. Her once bright smile was tremulous.

“Are you just going to stand there, then?” Her voice was also less sure, not the confident, laughing one that he remembered so fondly.

He crossed the room in four quick strides, and took her into his arms gently but firmly.

“Merry,” he whispered brokenly. “I can’t take everything in yet, but seeing you like this is hardest to fathom.”

“Oh, I know I look...different,” she laughed, and he wasn’t fooled for a moment.

“It’s not that, I just can’t bear to think of you hurting...Come, sit down, and let’s talk,” he urged her.

Merry had been in agony ever since Luke had left her in the room to await either his return, or Tom’s arrival. She had no way of knowing which it would be. The Tom she had bid farewell to had been nothing but warm, tender, and generous, and she hoped that he had remained the same, but it was impossible to say. With his skyrocketing fame, and fairly disastrous love affairs, she could easily see where he might no longer be so. She had sent a missive to Luke’s office, requesting a private meeting with him with regards to her past association with Tom, assuring the publicist she meant Tom no harm and no scandal, but it was important she get in touch him as soon as possible. She gave her name, and the dates and location that they had been together, hoping it would be enough to prove she was legitimately connected to Tom at one point, and not being deceitful. Apparently it was enough, for Luke got back to her swiftly, albeit tersely. Well, she could understand it. She explained she was in the area, and wished to drop off a letter. All she wanted was his word he ensure Tom receive it. Luke was quite firm she come into the office, even to the point of sending a car for her. Once she arrived, she was ushered into his private office. She could tell her appearance took him aback. Hell, it took herself aback, she looked like death on toast these days. She had just gotten the okay to travel after another round of chemotherapy, and she still flew wearing a mask, not that she had any faith in them.

Once she gave him the letter, he skillfully extracted the nature of the contents, and sighed. Merry hastened to reassure Luke that there was no incipient scandal, she was not about to sue for child support, paternity, anything. She simply wanted to let Tom know of his son’s existence. End of story.

“Mr. Windsor...”

“Luke,” he reminded her again.

“I implore you trust me. I know you must meet all sorts of people, with all sorts of agendas, and many of them self-serving. I have nothing but Tom’s best interests at heart. I would never do a thing to hurt him, or his career. The time we spent together was very special, and I hold those memories close to my heart. We parted as friends and I would never do anything to hurt him, it would be like hurting myself. I just cannot take the chance of my health deteriorating and him not knowing, any longer. If he wants to continue his life as it is, then so be it, and no hard feelings. If I had talked with him about Liam from the beginning, that would be one thing...but I didn’t. I took that decision away from him. I take full responsibility. If Tom would Iike to see Liam from a distance, well, all I would ask is that he not hurt or confuse him by being in and out of his life. I don’t see Tom doing that to a child, not with his own background...anything more than that, is his decision.”

“What if Tom should decide to battle you for full custody?”

Merry had grown even whiter, as impossible as it seemed.

“I will cross that bridge when, and if, I come to it,” was her reply. “I would hope it would not come to it.”

“He has more resources than you,” Luke pressed on. “After all, he is well known, and certainly enjoys popular opinion, the Internet’s Boyfriend and all that. He has quite an enviable bank account. The fact that you hid his child from him, well, I’m afraid that it would not look good for you. Combined with your ill health...perhaps it would be best if you, and your letter, simply walk away. Of course, I can help you with any expenses you may have occurred with your journey here, all you would have to do is name the figure...?”

Merry had leaned back, appalled.

“I don’t want to name a figure, I never wanted money, any money. You’re disgusting, Mr. Windsor. I have enough of my own money, and I cannot buy my health back, at any price. My request remains as is was when I approached you. Please just give the letter to Tom. Shit, have him read it in your presence to ensure it says as I’ve told you, or better yet, give me another envelope, I’ll open this one so you can read it yourself and I’ll seal it in another to give to Tom, and then I’m gone.”

Luke leaned back in his chair, and actually smiled for the first time.

“Congratulations, Merry.”

“What?”

“You pass.”

Tom was livid.

“I am going to kill him,” he vowed.

“You will do no such thing. He protects you, Tom. And I daresay he does it not because you are his client, but because you are his friend, and he cares about you. After all,” Merry paused, and looked down and away, in a gesture that Tom remembered painfully well, “you are very easy to care about.”

Tom leaned forward and took her hands in his. “Tell me about Liam.”

“Before I do, do you understand why I made the decision I did?”

Tom looked deeply into her eyes. “No. Yes. I don’t know, I...I want to say no, Merry, I really do. I want to say you had no right to keep him from me, I would have stuck by you, you must have known that. I could have been a part of his life from the very beginning, I could have been there when he took his first breath, I could have been there for you. What was it like for you, going through it alone? Did you have any help, any support at all? I know your family was a non-starter.”

“I managed.”

“I would have helped, though,” he earnestly replied. “You know that...”

“Tom, think. What I know is during that time, you were busy non-stop. You were shooting, doing film promotion tours...I was paying attention, believe me. Every time I thought, this is it, I cannot, I can’t do this alone anymore, I would stop and look to see where you were, and I saw it would be the height of selfishness to drag you away from your work.”

“It took both of us to create Liam,” he reproached her. “And, as you commented, it probably was my carelessness that made the situation possible.”

“Yes, and it was my decision to keep said situation going,” she responded evenly. “There was no way, no way at all, I could reject our child. Not as long as I had breath. Was the timing convenient, no, but...”

“So why does it get to be inconvenient for you, but not for me?” Now Tom was becoming agitated.

Merry shrugged, her expression rueful. “Biology, Tom.”

Tom snorted, unable to argue her point. Merry always did have a trenchant wit. And when he stopped to think about the time frame she referenced, she was absolutely correct. Should she had reached out to him during her pregnancy, would he have been excited? Pleased? It was a safe bet to say his response, at least at first, would have been one of blind panic and agitation, rather than acceptance and support. (His first response would likely have been, “Luke is going to kill me!”) Merry knew it, and had acted accordingly. She had protected him at her expense. It wasn’t fair, but he understood.

“I don’t like it, Merry, but I understand. Thank you, for coming to me now. Please know what Luke said would never, will never, come to pass. I would put ground glass in my tea before I tried to take Liam from you.”

Merry felt an enormous weight fall from her shoulders. “Thank you, Tom, for saying so. I didn’t imagine you would, but thank you just the same.”

“What about you, Merry? What can be done for you?”

She looked away from him, and Tom gently took her chin to guide her face to force her eyes to meet his again. “Please, darling. Seeing you this ill breaks my heart. What is being done for you? Is there someone in your life now, someone who is giving you the love and care you deserve?”

Merry broke away from his gaze once more. “Damn you, Tom. Always with the difficult questions.”

“How are these difficult questions?”

“You asked them before, you know. ‘Where is your family? What do you mean, they abandoned you, who could ever abandon a treasure like you?’ I remember, Tom.”

He wrapped his arms around her more and gently guided her head to his shoulder, hearing the slight tremor in her voice. She hated to cry, loathed dropping her guard unless she felt absolutely safe. Once upon a time she had felt such with him, but... “I remember, too. It’s still me, you know. Your Tom. I know how you insist on doing everything you can alone, rather than ask for a single bit of help. So I ask again...is there anyone in your life, Merry? I promise not to be jealous. Much.”

She laughed a bit. “No, no one. I was seeing a flutist for awhile. Dreadful mistake that was. Never date a flutist, Tom. The ego, dear God.”

“Noted,” he gravely agreed. “Did you fly here from Baltimore, then?”

“New York, actually. I’ve been going to Sloan Kettering for my treatment. There’s been some breakthrough protocols there and my physician at Johns Hopkins referred me. As soon as it was safe for me to travel, I left.”

“Alone, then.”

“Not alone, exactly,” she hedged. “I did have some travel companions.”

“And those would be...”

He felt her take a deep breath as she sat back to look at him steadily. “Clara, my healthcare provider. Sloan Kettering insisted that I be followed because of the clinical trial I’m in, you see...”

Tom nodded slowly, a sick feeling in his stomach. He hadn’t realized until now her treatment was experimental. It did not bode well for her, the fact she was placed in an experimental treatment, that standard care was no longer a viable option.

“I am glad you aren’t alone,” he replied simply.

“And...” she faltered.

“And,” he gently prompted.

“Aiden...”

“How does Aiden help you?”

“Aiden isn’t here for me, exactly.” She closed her eyes, then opened them again. “Aiden is here for Liam. He’s Liam’s tutor, music coach, and wrangler.”

Tom was stunned. “Liam is here? In London?”

Merry gave a very slight nod. “I never go anywhere without him, Tom. Yes, Liam is here. Right now,” she checked her watch, “they are flying kites in Regent’s Park. Or feeding ducks. Liam loves to feed ducks.”

Once more, Tom’s heart was roaring in his ears. “Can I...may I see him? Meet him?”

She leaned back into the sofa, doing her best not to wince. It was shaping up to be a long day, and Merry was exhausted. “I don’t know, Tom. How do you want to meet him? As a friend of his mother’s? Then yes, certainly. As his long lost father? Then I’m not so sure.”

Tom’s eyes snapped with anger. “Why not?”

Ah, there was the temper she recalled. “Because this isn’t a ‘try before you buy’ situation, Tom.”

“How can you dare say that to me?”

With his rage, the door came open. Tom’s head snapped around, to glare at Luke. “Eavesdropping, then?”

“Please,” Luke rolled his eyes. “Although with that last bellow, I’ve no doubt the entire floor heard you. I opened without knocking when I heard you lose your temper, yes, but I was coming to remind you that Merry is undoubtedly weary and to ask her if she would like to be escorted back to her hotel. If she wants your sorry self to accompany her, then no accounting for taste. If she would to rest for awhile first, I can arrange for a discreet location for you to meet later. If an intermediary is a good idea, I am happy to offer myself, or...”

Tom hung his head. “That won’t be necessary. My apologies, Merry.”

“All is well, Tom. Truly. I should not have been flippant with you. So much has been thrown at you today.”

As both Luke and Tom looked at Merry, they could see how very tired and uncomfortable she looked. Tom spoke diffidently. “Merry, where are you staying?”

When she told him, Tom and Luke exchanged a look.

Luke spoke quietly. “Merry, that is a lovely establishment, and I am ready to have a car drive you back so you can get some rest. But I would Iike to offer you an alternative, at least for awhile. Prosper has a suite on retainer here in the city, and I can get you and Tom there easily, where you can continue your discussion without being worried about being seen by photographers. In fact, if you choose, I can have the rest of your party moved there at your convenience, if you will require any...future meetings to take place.”

Merry’s smile was growing wan at this stage. “Luke, I truly appreciate it, but I need to return to my suite. I have my medications there, and it will be time for my next doses soon.” Tom was crestfallen at her reply, and looked hopefully at Luke, who took a deep breath.

“I will be in touch with you soon then. I have your number, and you have mine. Please do not hesitate to contact me, should you need anything, and I do mean anything, no matter how small.” Luke held out his hand, and ignored Tom’s bristling as he helped Merry to her feet. Both men couldn’t help but notice how she was shaking upon rising. “Dear lady,” Luke murmured sympathetically. “I will help you to the car.”

Tom opened his mouth only for Luke to cut him off. “No, Tom, you most emphatically will not escort Ms. Skye to the vehicle. We are keeping this quiet, remember?”

Pressing his lip into a thin line, Tom quickly circumvented Luke to stand before Merry. “May I have your contact information, at least? And give you mine?”

“I have it in hand, Tom,” Luke scolded him. “She’s exhausted already. Let me get her to the car. I’ll be back shortly.”

Tom leaned forward and kissed Merry gently on her cheek. “You will hear from me soon. I am not going to let you escape from me so easily, Meredith Skye.”

The flush and smile she gave him was the same as the one from years ago, and made his heart swell in the same manner. “I’ll hold you to it, Tom Hiddleston.”

tagging my beloved cheerleaders, @hopelessromanticspoonie, @yespolkadotkitty, and @just-the-hiddles

#a symphony without strings #tom hiddleston rpf #tom hiddleston x ofc #tom hiddleston x oc #tom hiddleston angst #tom hiddleston #look Christine I did a thing #Nonsensical Writes

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b0sscrew · 4 years

Text

(Prompt based off a post from a @bamboozledeagle post. I hope you like it)

BLOOD WARNING ⚠️

Rap Battle Hero

Everything was going great in the lab. They'd only had one experiment explode today. Scrooge and his family also came down to praise Gyro and hang out with Fenton, or they were just dragged along. Fenton had walked out of the lab to get cleaning supplies because their supply closet was destroyed in the daily explosion.

Huey was looking over Gyro's notes while he was distracted by Scrooge and Donald was rangling in his brothers, and Webby. He was about to figure out how the formula worked when the elevator dramatically burst open. Everyone looked over to see something that looked like a shadow in a long sleeve shirt and a cape. Donald quickly stepped in front of the children next to him while Scrooge hid Huey behind himself.

The shadow looked over all of them before landing on Scrooge and Gyro. He pointed at them with a sinister look. Huey could tell the shadow would be smiling if it had the capability.

"Where are you hiding that shrink ray?" It asked the two adults.

Scrooge and Gyro knew the answer already, but glanced at each other nonetheless. Scrooge was the one to speak up.

"I'm sorry, but I don't believe you have the authority to ask that." Scrooge said with a smug smile. It was just another shadow monster, he could take it.

"Uncle Scrooge!" Scrooge heard Webby call. "That's a Rhythamow, a shadow like creature from the beginning of spoken language itself. Legend has it you should never willingly enter an encounter with it. Only words can defeat it. Unless you know what to say, it is impervious to harm." Webby explained.

Scrooge scoffed at this. It couldn't be that hard to yell it into submission. He would have been completely confident of the creature didn't give a menacing chuckle.

"I'm sorry, but you'll not be getting any farther. I hope that's okay." The shadow almost purred. And right in front of them it began to morph into a giant jaguar. Scrooge took an instinctive step back as it went on all fours.

Huey was quickly pushed to the side by Gyro, hiding him behind the desk more, also bringing him closer to Donald. Huey took the opportunity of Scrooge's distraction to run over to his siblings and uncle. Donald quickly grabbed Huey and put him right behind his self, never looking away from the Rhythamow.

There was a moment of silence and tension as Scrooge and the monster stood in a Mexican stand off. Gyro had a ray gun in his hand, aimed straight at the beast, ready to shoot once it moved. Donald had the kids backed up against the destroyed supply closet, holding a defensive stance, ready to protect his kids by any means necessary. Huey could see just by the look in his uncles eye that he wasn't going down without a fight. Huey glanced around at the kids around him. Louie looked terrified of what was about to happen while Dewey and Webby looked ready for battle. And in a split second, he made a decision he hoped he wouldn't regret.

The shadow roared as it jumped at Scrooge, who quickly jumped back. All at once the chaos began. Gyro began to shoot the beast as Donald ran towards his uncle. Dewey and Webby were about to chase after him so they could join the fun, when Huey pushed all his siblings into the supply closet. There was no door and not much protection, but where else was he supposed to put them to keep them even remotely safe? This was his best option, and the quickest.

Donald jumped onto the jaguar, locking his hands together around its neck as he pulled back. It reared back before quickly shaking him off and batting him to the side. Scrooge went to get a hit in, but a dark claw came down on him, leaving a deep cut in his arm. He was lucky he dodged in time to only get one cut. He bared his teeth to try and bite down the pain, switching his cane to his other hand as he fought the beast's claws away.

Gyro was still shooting, but realized that his gun did nothing. He stopped himself and threw the gun to the side before running to the other side of the room and sliding behind a work bench. He grabbed the prototype of what looked to be a nromal gun. He jumped up and began to shoot at the shadow again with tiny bombs. He watched the beast with every small explosion, and saw no reaction except annoyance. Gyro growled as he dropped the prototype back on the desk and looked around for what could work.

Huey watched as his uncles fought the beast the best they could, but could tell they weren't winning. He tried to think as his siblings tried to get past his arms and fight along side their family. Huey refused to let them fight after he saw the blood seeping out of his uncles arm. All he saw was chaos. But he quickly realised that nothing could hurt the beast and all of the adults were yelling at it, but none of it was working. Huey was terrified, and Louie was crying behind him as he tried his best to keep Dewey and Webby in the closet. He had no idea how he was keeping both of them in the closet, but refused to let them go.

Scrooge slammed into the metal wall of the lab, leaving a giant dent behind him as he fell to the ground with a disgusting 'thud'. He tried to stand but Gyro was thrown on top of him. He had been caught while trying to figure out what he could use against the beast. Gyro was groaning as he sat up, but Donald was then brutally added to the pile after being slammed to the ground and batted over to them. Donald was out cold as he laid in Gyro's lap, and Scrooge was sure he was close to joining him. Gyro tried standing, but yelped as he moved his arm. It was definitely out of its socket.

The Rhythamoe turned to the kids with bared teeth as he stocked towards them. Huey's siblings weren't fighting to leave anymore. Huey stood protectively in front of them as the beast came face to face with him. Their faces were inches apart and it was terrifying how he couldn't feel it breath.

"Where is it?" The shadow beast asked.

"I don't know." Huey answered without hesitation. He was scared, not stupid. Of course he wasn't gonna lie to the thing.

"What is this? What do you mean you don't know?" The beast asked.

Louie stood up, still terrified and crying, but he came forward and grabbing his brothers arm. "He said he doesn't know! Will you just let it go!" He yelled. Both him and Huey saw the beast flinch slightly, and Huey swore it's ears got just a centimeter smaller. Something clicked in Louie's head, Huey could tell with just a glance.

The beast raised it's claw, and was about to swipe at them, when they heard a door open. "Sorry it took so long. The elevator was broken so I had to take the- Que pasó aquí!" Fenton exclaimed from the opposite side of the lab, towards where the adults were piled together. He had dropped his mop and bucket, causing the water to spill all over the floor.

The beast looked back at him and Huey could feel it's smile. "Another one? It is so." The beast purred as he stalked away from the children and ready to circle Fenton.

"What are you?" He asked, a little scared.

"Fenton!" Everyone except the beast looked to Louie. "It's a rhyming monster! It only speaks in rhymes and can't be hurt! Use his words against him!" Louie shouted.

Fenton heard the slight growl of the dark jaguar, making him smile. "Huey!" He shouted. "What are the rules?" He asked, no trace of fear in his voice as he eyed the beast.

Huey was speaking before he even realized what was going on. "No swearing, no using other songs, but other languages are allowed." Huey named off. His brain finally caught up to everything and he mouthed an 'oh' as Fenton loosened his tie and took it off, throwing it on the ground.

"Just swearing? Okay." Fenton's smile seemed to grow more. Gyro groaned loudly on the sidelines and Scrooge was quickly catching onto what was going on. Webby and Dewey were still confused, but they usually were. Louie whipped out his phone and quickly went on a music app so he could play out a beat. Fenton rolled his shoulders as he stepped a little closer to the beast.

"Epic rap battles of Duckburg." Louie said in as deep of a voice as he could muster. "Fenton Cracksell-Cabrera vs the Rhythamow. Begin." He finished.

"Yo." Fenton started. "Who the heck are you? You come onto my grounds and think you can just do what you do? Unbelievable really, just coming over, thinking we're a bunch of kiwis. I mean, madre de Dios, who do you think I am? You walk in all 'excuse me ma'am' and think I wouldn't set you on fire? Look at you, you're on the ground, I'm getting higher. Magica called, she wants her shadow back. This is like a video game. What do I get? Counter attack." Fenton rapped, the most confident any of them had ever seen him. Everyone could tell the shadow had gotten smaller, but not too small.

"That was very generous of yo-"

"I'm not finished." Fenton cut in. The shadow shrunk again at his words. "You think I'm gonna stand here and get diminished? Nah man, I'm just messing around. But now we see who's really got the crown." There was a second or two of silence before Louie dramatically brought the beat back in. "I'm singing a little song. You best just move along. Just watch me and tell me I'm lying. You'll be swept up like dust while I'm reclining. Nothing in life is fair, that's what they all say. But hey, it's not my fault that you're just going crazy. You're just a little theif while I'm the God that's growing. I'm fighting a war, but you'd never know it. I'm that good! Do you think that I'm blind? You thought I was easy, well guess, what I'm blowing minds. I guess this is a video game. I'm the boss and you can't beat me. You're all trying to find a way, but you can't cheat me. I'm the God of lightning, just call me Zeus. I'm the conductor of this train while you're stuck at the caboose. Nothing's changed since we began. Well, maybe your heehaw. But that? We'll just forget it. Let's pretend that we never saw."

The kids went wild and the beast was about the size of a big puppy at this point. Louie decided to go faster and that just made Fentons smile grow.

"That's no-"

"Oh I'm not even close to done." Fenton interrupted again. "This is a speed round, so guess you better run. Did you think you could just attack a child and get away with it because you're from the wild. Get that thought out of your head. If you rather I mop, I could use that instead to beat you into submission. I never murdered anyone, but I'll make you my addition to the line of killers around the world. If I'm Freddy Krueger, than you're a little girl. You're an easy target I can defeat. I don't have me suit, but can I still grind you to meat. So here's a suggestion. How about you don't fight my familia. I'm just saying, if you didn't, this would be a lot easier. Don't you think it's funny how I wrecked you and you can't even say a word? You thought you could best me, but I'm still undeterred. I guess this is a lesson to never mess with me." Fenton walked over to the shadow that was now the size of a spider. He picked it up by the back of the neck and grabbed an open jar. "So how about you stay in there and sit reverently." He finished as he dropped the shadow into the jar. He grabbed the lid and screwed it on as the shadow shouted at him, back in its original form.

"Fenton!" Fenton looked over only to be tackled to the ground by Dewey and Webby, still holding the jar. "What was that?" Dewey asked.

"That was amazing!" Webby squealed.

"Teach me how to do that!"

"How did you do that? It didn't even look like you took a breath the whole time! "

"Fenton, you are my new favorite uncle!"

"You're almost as cool as granny!"

The two kept yelling on top of him as Huey rushed over to the adults. Scrooge was smiling proudly, but getting drowsier by the second. Gyro was trying not to show he was impressed, but was failing enough to let Huey see that he was. Donald was still out cold but he could hear his uncles quiet snores. Huey looked back to Gyro to see that his arm would be the easiest thing to take care of. He walked over to Gyro and hesitated as he reached for his arm.

"Ready?" He asked the scientist.

"Just do it." Gyro grumbled. Huey quickly grabbed his arm and pushed it upwards. Gyro let out a pained hiss but began to push Donald off once Huey let go. His arm still hurt, but at least he could use it now. He stood up and both him and Huey helped Scrooge stand. Louie walked over and knelt next to Donald, worried to death about his uncle.

Fenton finally got the two excitable kids off of him before standing. He put the jar on the desk before looking behind him to see Huey and Gyro helping Scrooge to a seat that wasn't damaged or destroyed, which was across the room. "Wait! Stop!" Fenton exclaimed as he rushed over. He stepped in front of the three to stop them before quickly putting one arm behind Scrooge. He put Scrooge's hurt arm on his stomach before just sweeping the old man off the ground and bringing him to Gyro's desk, which was mostly not harmed.

He laid Scrooge down as the other two curiously followed him. "He needs to stay still. Huey, get me a clean cloth. Gyro, call the police and tell them we need medical attention." Fenton ordered. The two nodded before immediately getting to work. Fenton glanced over to see Louie and Webby sitting next to Donald in panic. "Louie, bend Donalds leg a little so we know he has blood flow. Webby, tilt his head back and make sure he keeps breathing." Fenton ordered. Webby saluted and the two got to work.

Huey raced back over to Fenton with a small towel. "Here you go. I hope it's okay." He said.

Fenton took the towl and smiled. "That's perfect, thank you. Now go over and see if you can see any signs of spinal damage on Donald." He told the young boy.

"On it." Huey said as he ran off. Fenton looked back down to Scrooge to put the towel over the cut and put pressure on it. He then finally noticed Dewey on the other side of the desk, just watching Fenton in astonishment.

"How do you know all of this?" Dewey asked. "And how can you carry Uncle Scrooge?" Dewey added.

Fenton gave a calm smile as he tried to stay focused on Scrooge. "My m'ma is a police officer and detective. She made sure I was able to take care of others when she couldn't. And your Uncle Donald was the one that taught me all my medical knowledge. He's a very smart man." Fenton explained.

Dewey glanced back at his uncle in confusion. He knew his uncle knew this stuff and was always careful about everything, but he never questioned why. He just thought it was annoying. But now he wondered what incident caused his uncle to be so cautious.

"Their on their way." Gyro said, walking over. "I'll take over. Go check on Donald." Gyro said.

"Of course." Fenton quickly let Gyro take over before rushing over to Donald.

Louie was the first one to see Fenton rush over. He got Huey and Webby out of the way as Fenton slid over to them so he could kneel at Donalds side. He double checked Donald to see that they had done what he said. But he also saw a peice of green cloth under Donalds head. He looked to Louie to see a part of his sleeve was ripped off.

"What happened?" Fenton asked.

Louie rubbed his arm, tears coming to his eyes again. "His head was bleeding, so I did what he told me and covered in. I didn't want to risk hurting him by holding it to his head so I just laid it under him. I also didn't want to ruin your tie, so I used my jacket instead." Louie explained.

"Thank you Louie. That was a good move." Fenton praised. He double checked Donalds breathing to see it was almost perfectly normal. "Okay, he's not too back, but him and Mr. McDuck will both need stitches. Webby, go upstairs and wait for the paramedics. They won't be able to use the elevator and they might not know how to get to us." Fenont said.

"Yes sir." Webby nodded as she raced up the stairs he had come from earlier.

"Question." Huey asked. "Where are Manny and Lil Bulb?" He asked.

"They're off for the day. We had everything handled, so we let them have the rest of the day off." Fenton said without hesitation. He was too focused on Donald and trying to see if there were more injuries. He lifted Donald's shirt to check and didn't find anything but a lot of bruises. He hummed in thought at this, but put Donalds shirt back. He checked Donalds arms next.

"What was that for?" Louie asked.

"What was what for?" Fenton asked.

"That hum." Louie replied.

"Oh, your uncle has a lot of bruises in his abdominal area. It's not likely, but there's a chance he has internal bleeding." Fenton calmy explained as he checked Donalds arms over. There was nothing to indicate major injuries. "Those bruises were too quick to be anything good. But it could just be a cracked or broken rib." Fenton continued.

"So, Uncle Donald got the worst of it?" Huey asked as Louie looked like he was beginning to have a panick attack.

Fenton took notice of Louie and quickle slid over to him. "Hey, breath, Donalds okay. It's nothing he and the hospital can't handle. Everything will be alright, I promise." Fenton tried to sooth, trying to get Louie to take deeper breaths.

Huey watched in wonder and slight worry as Louie started crying again as he asked Fenton questions and Fenton just answered while holding him and trying to get him to relax. Huey never knew what to do in these situations. Only Uncle Donald could calm Louie down when he had a panic attack, but Fenton seemed to have things under control.

Soon everyone looked over as they heard the patter of feet running down the stairs. Webby was the first to emerge from the stairwell as she announced the arrival of the paramedics. Soon, the room was swamped with people trying to get the two really hurt people up the stairs and usher everyone else out at the same time. Fenton quickly grabbed the jar with the shadow, who was very slowly beginning to grow again.

It had been thirty minutes since they left and now Fenton, Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Webby were sitting in the waiting room. Soon, Gyro came out to join them, his arm now in a sling. They waited for around another hour until a doctor came out with clipboard. The dog looked them over before smiling. "Donald and Scrooge, I assume?" He asked.

Without warning, the kids were at his feet, begging for information about their uncles. Fenton quickly tried to round them up as Gyro just looked annoyed.

"Yes, we are." Gyro said, grabbing Webby by the back of her shirt as Fenton picked up the boys with a little bit of struggle. They sat the kids back down as the doctor chuckled to himself.

"Okay, good. The good news is that they'll both make a smooth recovery." The doctor told them. The kids sighed in relief, along with Fenton.

"And the bad news?" Gyro asked.

"It's not bad news, just not great news." The doctor began. "They'll both be staying for two nights, and then they can go home. Mr. McDuck's arm will be in a sling and he won't be able to use that arm until his wound completely heals. That can be from around a month to six months depending on how much he bends the rules. Don't let him break the rules."

"What about Uncle Donald?" Dewey asked, both him and Huey holding Louie. They had seen the panic building up in him a while ago and decided to keep him as calm as possible.

The doctor softened his smile and knelt down in front of the kids. "Your uncle is fine. He has a few stitches on the back of his head, so don't let him touch that area. That should heal quicker than Mr. McDucks. But because of his cracked ribs he won't be able to move quickly. So we're having him use a cane until he's all better. It'll take about six weeks for them to heal, so don't let your uncle do anything too dangerous or active. He won't always need the cane, just on days when he's having really bad pain. Can you take care of him for me?" The doctor explained.

Louie giggled to himself at this and his brothers nodded. "Of course we can. We're the Duck brothers." Dewey confirmed.

The doctor nodded before looking to the two adults. "The two won't be able to go on any adventures for a few months. Don't let them do anything too hard, or anything that requires a right arm, for Scrooge's case." The Doctor finished explaining. "If there's anymore family that wants to come visit them, they can come tomorrow during visiting hours. They're still trying to set the two up and they need all the rest they can get today." The Doctor added.

"Thank you, doctor." Fenton nodded with a relieved smile.

"It's no trouble. Have a good day." The doctor replied.

"You too, sir." Fenton said before he and Gyro ushered the kids out of the hospital.

The next day, Launchpad brought Fenton, Della, and the boys to see Scrooge and Donald. When they walked in the doctor from the day before explained that Scrooge was asleep, but Donald was waiting for them. He showed them to Donalds room, and once the door was open the boys ran over and tackled Donalds arms and legs.

"Hey boys. Is everything going okay without me?" Donald asked. He saw Fenton and Della waiting at the doorway so the boys could talk with with him.

"We're doing fine." Huey said.

"You should have seen it yesterday! That shit was crazy!" Louie exclaimed, making Donald's eyes go wide.

"Language!" He scolded.

"Fenton murdered a shadow yesterday, and you're asking me to watch my language?" Louie asked in exasperation.

"You need to get your priorities straight." Dewey said, shaking his head.

"Wait, murdered?" Donald asked, looking to Fenton. He couldn't tell if the scientist was embarrassed of uncomfortable. They seemed completely different in this moment, and yet Donald couldn't decide which one he saw.

Della was watching Fenton too. She was surprisingly kept in the dark until now because the boys wanted to tell her and Donald at the same time.

"Uncle Donald, you should have seen him rap. It was like watching Uncle Scrooge fight monsters." Huey said.

"It was so seamless, so smooth." Dewey said with a weird voice.

"It was Awesome!" Louie exclaimed, shaking his uncle's arm. Donald looked back to Fenton with surprise.

"You rap?" Donald asked.

"Eh, well sorta... It's not that good." Fenton said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck as he averted his eyes.

Della began to laugh at the boys loud protest. "I think it's their word against yours, Fen." Della told him. Fenton gave her a slight glare.

"Fenton was amazing! After he destroyed the shadow dude, he was telling us how to take care of you and Uncle Scrooge. You should have seen him. He was so calm the whole time. He even helped Louie calm down." Dewey rambled.

"Wha- I- no- it's jus- psh- Whatever." Louie denied, stuffing his hands in his pockets and looked away in embarrassment, causing Donald to smile warmly.

Fenton was trying desperately to cover his blushing face as he tried to hide how flustered he was. Della thought it was adorable. She looked to Donald before her smile softened.

"Okay, ya squirts." Della said, walking over and ruffling Louie's feathers. "My turn to talk to Uncle Donald. I need to talk with him alone." Della said.

"But mom!" The boys groaned, Fenton swallowing back a chuckle.

"No buts. Go outside with Fenton and wait until Donald says." Della said.

"Yes, mom." They groaned before all three of them walked out of the room. Fenton shut the door after giving Della a nod.

Della turned to her brother, sitting on a chair next to him. "I think I found your soulmate." Della said, making Donald quack in suprise.

"What?" He exclaimed. "Della, don't be ridiculous." Donald grumbled.

"Come on, he's perfect! You're both dorks, you both are too caring for your own good, and he's a superhero. Besides, he helped the kids." Della named off.

Donald crossed his arms and grumbled. "Stupid Dumbella, he doesn't like me." Donald pouted.

Della raised a brow. "So you do like him?"

Donalds eyes widened in panic. "That's not what I meant!" He shouted, wincing after he did so. He clutched his ribs with a slight groan.

Della looked at him in concern, gently laying him back. "Donald, what's wrong?" Della asked.

Donald sighed as he pinched between his eyes. "Ever since you disapeared I hadn't even thought about a relationship. All that mattered for years was the boys. Me and Scrooge were out of touch for ten years, I almost lost touch with Jose and Panchito, Duckworth died and came back, Launchpad was just a chauffeur until we came back to the mansion, and not to mention you were gone and I could do nothing. To say a romantic life was low on my list of worries would be an understatement. I forgot how it worked. When I met Fenton I didn't know what to think of him. But then, whenever I visited the Bin, he always made an effort to be friendly. It was a cute attempt. But then the shadow war happened and I found myself fighting a room full of shadow people. I was almost done with them when Fenton saved me from one I hadn't seen. I think that's when I realized I might actually like him. It's stupid." Donald rambled.

"No, it's not." Donald stopped to look at Della. "What's stupid is that I didn't realize it sooner. I guess I should find a way to repay you for watching my boys for so long. Maybe a date?" Della said with a teasing look.

"Della-" Donald began to warn when there was a knock at the door.

Fenton popped his head in with a sheepish smile. "Uh, am I interrupting?" He asked.

Della gave Donald a mischievous look. "No, not at all. What's going on?" She asked Fenton.

"Oh, uh, Mr. McDuck is awake. The boys went over to say hi. I thought you might want to know." Fenton explained, not noticing the smirk Della gave Donald and the glare he returned.

"Well, I might as well join them." Della said, standing. "Donald has a few things he wants to talk to you about." Della said, walking toward Fenton. Fenton opened the door all the way in his confusion. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an arm wrestling match to win." Della said before racing down the hall, calling for Scrooge.

Fenton stood awkwardly, slowly shutting the door behind himself as he and Donald just stared at each other with awkward smiles. "So..." Fenton started, taking a few hesitant steps towards Donalds bed. "How has your day been?" He asked, mentally slapping himself.

Donald almost awed at this, going for a calmer smile instead. "It's been good. My family came to visit, my ribs don't hurt nearly as much, and my head isn't bleeding. I'd call that a win." Donald said in a joking manner.

Fenton let a chuckle slip out. "That's good. That's good." He mumbled, nodding. There was an awkward pause between them as they tried to figure out what to do.

"Fenton," Fenton snapped his attention back to Donald. "Thank you."

"I-uh-what did I do?" Fenton asked.

"You're the reason I'm still here, instead of in a morgue." Donald replied with a genuine smile. "If you didn't take out that Rhythamow than I probably wouldn't be able to hold my boys anymore. My sister couldn't tease me anymore... And I wouldn't be able to see your face again." Donald explained.

Fenton could feel the heat come to his face. "Oh, uh, yeah. It was no trouble, really. If I hadn't remembered your lessons, than none of us would be here, probably." Fenton said, stepping a little closer to Donalds bed, reaching the foot of it.

"Yeah well, it's a good thing you listen." Donald chuckled. There was another pause. "...So, you rap? Do you sing too?" Donald asked.

Fenton stiffened a little. "I, uh..." He didn't know how to answer that. "I, um- I don't really sing much. And, I don't think I'm that good of a rapper." Fenton chuckled awkwardly.

"From the way my boys talk about it, you must have been at least a little good. How did you do it so fast? Dewey did say it was, and I quote, 'so seamless, so smooth'." Donald said with a slight chuckle at the end.

Fenton felt his face flush as he tried to stutter out an answer. Donald was trying so hard no to start laughing at this.

"Fenton, sit down. You're gonna hurt yourself." Donald said.

Fenton hesitated before sitting at Donalds feet. "Well, to answer your question, Mr. Duck..." Fenton hesitated. "It's just natural. My brain never shuts up, so I just, kinda, always know what to say. I just second guess myself." Fenton mumbled, playing with his tie.

Fenton snapped his head up when Donald started laughing. He was a little hurt at this, but the laugh was so cute, he couldn't be mad. "I... I'm sorry... It's just that... It reminds me of when I was younger..." Donald said as he began to calm down. "When I was younger, my brain was full of so many thoughts, that I always second guessed myself. But I kept speaking, no matter what others said. I wish I was still like that. And please, call me Donald." Donald said.

Fenton chuckled. "I guess we're not too different, aren't we donald?" He said, giving Donald a smile.

Donald returned the smile before thinking. "Hey Fenton. I have a question."

"Shoot." Fenton replied.

"Would you like to go out after I'm out of here?" Donald asked.

Fenton froze for a few seconds, giving Donald a slight panic attack, before letting a small smile slip onto his face. His smile then turned mischievous. He scoot forward before kissing Donald on the forehead. "Just don't forget your cane." Fenton teased.

Donald paused in confusion before he became furious. "I have to have a cane?!?"

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