#he waved at me yesterday in camp and when we bumped into each other on the way home and we talked a little too

[my-thirteenth-reason]

I JUST BUMPED INTO HIM WHILE I WAS BEGRUDGINGLY MAKING MY WAY TO THE MALL WHAT THE SHITTTTTTTT. DAY HAS BEEN MADE MOOD HAS BEEN LIFTED SMILE HAS BEEN SMILEN I AM NO LONGER EXHAUSTED I AM SKIPPING TO THE MALL HAPPILY

[robininthelabyrinth]

How about a canon divergence where wen qing doesn't bump into wwx but instead bumps into nhs and nmj. Would it be a tragedy or a fixit? Would nhs temper nmj's hatred for wens? Would nmj act honorably at seeing the old men and women and children doing hard labor or would he only see the clan he hates?

1

It was Nie Huaisang’s fault, probably. Someone tripped over someone else’s feet, and then he apologized and she apologized and then they both apologized, and then there was the whole “you go first, no you go first” dance and anyway eventually Nie Mingjue stormed over to yell at his younger brother for wasting time. He took one look at the ash-faced girl, caught her by the shoulder and said, “Aren’t you that Wen Qing? I used to see you at discussion conferences – what are you doing here?”

The whites of her eyes showed in her terror, and he scowled fiercely. “I don’t slay unarmed women or children outside of combat,” he said. “The question was literal – what are you doing here? The Jin sect said they resettled the remnants of the sects somewhere they wouldn’t make trouble.”

Wen Qing pressed her lips together, then couldn’t help herself and snarled, “If you call hard labor camps where everyone dies ‘resettled’ – they took away my baby brother! They took me to another city, I didn’t want to leave him, but I didn’t have a choice and when I returned…my brother’s as soft as yours – they’re going to kill him!”

Nie Mingjue’s scowl deepened, and his eyes flickered over to Nie Huaisang, the words ‘hard labor’ clearly ringing through his mind and struggling with his deep and abiding hatred for the Wen sect, the memories of Nie Huaisang being snatched away from him and sent to an indoctrination camp to be used as live bait. The very reminder of it made his face black in anger. 

Nie Huaisang looked between the two of them and covered his face with a fan. “Dage,” he said, and his voice helped break through the haze of anger. “Maybe we should – check?”

It’s not like we trust the Jins, given the way they want to be the next Wens, he meant, and maybe there’s a little bit of Isn’t our sect’s guiding principle to stamp out evil wherever it’s encountered, human or not?

2

“Sect Leader Nie, I demand an explanation!” Jin Guangshan shouted. “You cannot barge into my territory, threaten my sect’s disciples, take away the prisoners won at war –”

“I’m not so blind as to tell the difference between captivity and torture unto death,” Nie Mingjue snarled in return, not even slightly moved. “Not only did I take the prisoners from Qiongqi Path, I demand you turn over every other one you have, no matter where –”

“Those were legitimately captured prisoners of war! We took them instead of spoils –”

“If the allocation of every penny matters so much to you, you may have the spoils seized by my Nie sect in exchange,” Nie Mingjue said, flicking his sleeve disdainfully. It couldn’t be more obvious what his implication was: that the Jin sect, despite all its riches, cared more for money than for honor.

Jin Guangshan’s eyes narrowed. “It’s most unlike you to get up in arms defending Wens, Sect Leader Nie; wasn’t it just yesterday that you called them all Wen-dogs and sought their utter destruction?”

Nie Mingjue sneered at him, but he continued, oily smile spreading on his face like a stain, “It couldn’t be that Sect Leader Nie has changed his implacable mind so quickly – perhaps it is the pressure of war on a man so young…you should take care for your health, make sure you’re not being unduly confused. People in your family die so very young, after all.”

“Enough nonsense,” Nie Mingjue said, eyes very nearly red in anger. “If my mind is so unclear, why did you choose to follow me during battle? When Wen Ruohan threatened, you dithered and delayed, and when there was no other choice but war, my blade was strong enough for you to hide behind, but when we have peace you rush to the front to claim a position that shouldn’t even exist – no one should be Chief Cultivator, Sect Leader Jin, no sect placing themselves and their own interests above another’s! But if the alternative is you, perhaps I should strive for it after all!”

3

“Is your brother actually going to try to be Chief Cultivator?” Wen Ning asked Nie Huaisang shyly; he was the only Wen currently inside the Unclean Realm, on account of needing heal his injuries. The remainder were all living in a small valley not far away where Nie sect cultivators kept a close watch.

Nie Mingjue hated injustice above all else, even Wens, but only by the smallest margin; in their new homes they were given food and water and medicine, but not freedom. Too many cultivators, male or female, had hidden themselves among the helpless to launch sneak attacks and assassinations; even children could carry a knife and swear to avenge their fallen parents.

Those like Wen Qing were watched most of all – she led one of the Supervision Offices that everyone had so hated, and she did nothing to stop them; she was indifferent to evil, and to Nie Mingjue that was very nearly the same as evil. It was only that the war had been officially ended that held back his hand; if they had still been at war, he would have executed her without so much as blinking an eye.

Still, Wen Qing had told Wen Ning that she was pleased with their current situation. A true prisoner of war camp, however strict, meant that they would be kept safe from all those who sought personal revenge, and Wen Ning couldn’t help but agree that the trade was worthwhile. The Jin had all but sold opportunities to those who wanted to get in a kick at their fallen bodies, just to say they’d been involved in the Sunshot Campaign; the Nie sect had those types of people, too, glaring and hateful, but the Sect Leader’s military discipline made them too afraid to do anything more than raise angry voices – and what were angry voices, compared to angry hands?

After all, if they’d come even a few shichen later – if Nie Mingjue hadn’t already known where the Wens were being kept, due to his position as sect leader, and been able to fly there on his sword at full speed – it would have been too late for him. Wen Ning didn’t even recall exactly what had happened, but two of them had been beating him and the chief inspector hadn’t stopped them, only told them to be sure to throw his body over the cliff when they were done with him…

“No, of course not,” Nie Huaisang said, pretending to be busy by his side. He had no skill at medicine, but it was a way to spend his time that his brother approved of and wouldn’t interrupt, so he came as often as he could. “He hates the idea, thinks it’s rotten to the core – like we’re all a bunch of sheep, needing a shepherd. No, he’s just saying it to annoy and distract Jin Guangshan. Besides, imagine if they made the position inheritable; that would make me the next one, and wouldn’t that be terrible for everyone?”

4

“The children young enough not to remember may join the Nie sect as guest disciples, if they wish,” Nie Mingjue said, his tone brooking no argument. “The adults will remain as they are.”

Wen Qing crossed her arms. “There aren’t many cultivators left among us, and it’s fine for all of those - they’d be happy to take up a life farming,” she said. “But those of us who are already on the path of cultivation should not be stymied –”

“You mean your brother, Wen Ning.” Nie Mingjue had some natural sympathy for her position, due to having his own weak-willed younger brother, but not very much. “No. In the end, he’s a Wen; we will not raise snakes to bite us later.”

“What wrong can you put on my brother’s shoulders beyond his surname?” she challenged. “What evil does he have?”

“Indifference to evil –”

“He was hardly indifferent!” she snapped, pushed beyond her limits. “I told him to do nothing, me, and yet he wouldn’t listen, time and time again. He kept Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng hidden after the destruction of the Lotus Pier, smuggled the latter out, even carried him out on his own back, and if that wasn’t enough, he collected what he could of the Jiang masters’ ashes for them – later, when Wei Wuxian asked me for help, he even –!”

She suddenly seemed to realize she’d said too much and shut her mouth.

Nie Mingjue looked at her thoughtfully. “You’ve already said this much,” he said. “There’s no point in stopping now. What did Wei Wuxian ask you to do?”

5

“Shh, don’t tell anyone I’m here,” Nie Huaisang said, gesturing for Wen Ning to join him in the closet where he was hiding.

Wen Ning, still a little uncomfortable in his new Nie robes, confusedly obeyed, even though he was still sweating from saber practice – he’d had to start over, alongside the children, but to his surprise he’d found that the straightforward brutality of the saber suited some secret resentful part hidden inside of him that wanted nothing more than to chop up everything he saw. “W-what’s going on? Why are we h-hiding? We’re in the Unclean Realm. What can harm us here?”

“Feelings,” Nie Huaisang said. “They’re the worst. My poor brother has to sit out there and listen to it directly, too – the burdens of being Sect Leader. I’m glad it’s not me.”

Wen Ning blinked. “Oh,” he said. “Are Wei-gongzi and Jiang-gongzi still fighting?”

“No, they’ve moved on to crying.”

“They were crying while they were fighting.”

“Yes, well, now they’ve moved to the just crying stage. There’s been lots of hugging, too; they stop for half a breath and then set each other off again, it’s awful. Can’t they be all manly and stoic like we Nie?”

Wen Ning gave Nie Huaisang a doubtful look.

“Well, me excluded, of course,” Nie Huaisang said with a laugh and a wave of his hand. “And anyway, even I only like crying when it’s going to get me something. Or out of something!”

Wen Ning suddenly felt as if he understood much more about his new Sect Leader’s endless frustrations with his younger brother. “But why are you hiding?” he asked.  

“I have a reputation of avoiding work to maintain,” Nie Huaisang said, totally puzzlingly, but a few moments later there was a knock at the closet door.

“Huaisang, I know you’re in there. Get out of there and have an emergency,” Sect Leader Nie said. “Anything, as long as it requires my personal attention, and have it happen as soon as their sister, the young madam Jin, arrives – that’ll just set them all off again, especially as she’s pregnant.” A pause. “Do you think I can order Wen Qing to handle this as part of the terms of her parole?”

[anotherspnfanfic]

Holy Muffins, Batman

Summary: She needs somewhere to work, Dean has just the place.

Pairing: Dean x reader

Word count: 1612

Warnings: none, it’s all fluff

Squares filled: Cafe owner!Dean for @spnchristmasbingo, burgers and fries for @spndeanbingo

A/N: I kind of love how this one turned out. 😊

~~~

She walked into the cafe and smiled when she saw her favorite corner booth was empty. As she slid into her seat, she pulled out her laptop.

“G’morning, sweetheart. You’re here early today.”

She looked over and spotted Dean headed her way. “Yeah, tell me about it.” She stifled a yawn. “But I have a deadline. I stared at a blinking cursor for at least two and a half hours yesterday. I figured a change of scenery might do the trick. My editor will hunt me down if she doesn’t have something from me today.”

“So extra large on your latte then?” He was already slowly backing away from the table to go prepare her drink.

She nodded eagerly. “Please, and keep ‘em coming.”

He returned a couple minutes later. He set a large mug on the table and a plate with three muffins. “Here you go, sweetheart.”

“Holy muffins, Batman.” She laughed.

He chuckled and shrugged. “Blueberry, your usual. The others are a gingerbread and a, uh, lemon cranberry.” He sounded uncertain. “Jody made them. Something about us needing Christmas-themed options. Figured you could test them out and let me know what you think.”

She lifted the one with cranberries and smelled it. “I think I can handle that. They smell amazing.”

“I’ll let you get to work. Let me know if you need anything.” He smiled as he turned and walked over to greet a recently-occupied table.

Sipping her latte, she looked around the cafe and watched as a handful of people came in for their morning coffee and promptly left again. She pulled off pieces of each of the muffins, munching as she people-watched. When she had finished off one muffin, she finally opened her laptop and powered it up.

Accessing her previously saved Word document, she heard Dean laugh. The sound drew her attention to where he stood behind the counter, joking with a couple placing an order. She couldn’t help but mirror his infectious smile. She turned her attention to the screen in front of her. Before she knew it, she had several paragraphs written and the inspiration was, finally, flowing freely.

Some time later, she reached for her mug that had been nearly empty when she’d last taken a sip. Instead, she found a new, full latte in its place. She wondered when that had appeared and how she had missed the delivery. She looked up and spotted Dean wiping down the table two over from her. “Thanks, Dean.” She lifted the mug as she spoke. He winked before resuming his task. She felt the blush creep over her cheeks as she turned her attention back to her writing.

She finished a chapter and was emailing the document to her editor when a hand waved between her face and the computer screen. She looked up to find Dean standing beside the table with a plate in his hands.

“I think you’ve looked away from that screen once in the last four hours,” he started. He set the plate down. “And that was ten minutes after I brought you a fresh latte. I figured you might be hungry, but I didn’t want the burger to be cold before you noticed it.”

“It has not been…” She trailed off as she looked at the clock. “How has it been four hours?!”

He shrugged.

She picked a fry off the plate and ate it. “Well, you were right. I am actually starving.”

He chuckled. “We can’t have that. Is there anything else I can get you?”

She bit her lip to contain her smile. “Hmm, yes. Some company would be nice.”

He smirked mischievously. “Sure. I can send Jody over. You can tell her what you think of the muffins.”

She rolled her eyes. “Not who I had in mind. The boss does give you a lunch break, right?”

“I think he can make an exception today,” he teased. Both of them knowing he was talking about himself. “I’ll be right back.”

He came back two minutes later with another plate with his own burger and fries. He set the dish on the table before sliding in across from her.

As he settled, she took a bite of her burger and moaned loudly. He raised his eyebrows, amusement playing across his features. “Sorry,” she mumbled, quickly covering her mouth.

“You won’t ever hear me complain about getting a woman to make that sound,” he said with a cocky smirk. He winked before lifting his own burger off his plate.

“Smooth.” She took another bite and waited until she had swallowed to continue. “Seriously though, I hope you know you’ve ruined burgers from anywhere else. These are incredible.”

A small, proud smile replaced his smirk as he broke eye contact momentarily. “Thank you.”

They continued to eat in a comfortable silence. Munching on the remaining fries, she asked, “Do you have any fun plans for Christmas?”

He nodded as he finished chewing. “Kind of. Just dinner and gifts with my brother, his wife, and our parents. What about you?”

“Pretty much the same. Dinner and gifts with my sister and parents.”

“Just the one sibling?” he asked.

“Yup. Just me and her. Just you and your brother?”

He nodded. “Older or younger?”

“She’s older. I’m the baby of the family.” He stole a fry off her plate and she smacked his hand. She scowled the best she could while trying not to laugh.

“Sammy is four years younger than me.” There was a fondness in his voice that told her how much he loved his brother.

“So you torment him.” It wasn’t a question.

Dean chuckled. “Well, it is in the older sibling handbook. It’s actually required.”

She finished her fries then lifted her napkin to wipe her mouth. She set it on top of the empty plate.

He watched as she eyed her laptop quickly. “What exactly is it you’ve been typing away at all morning?”

“The beginning of my next book. It’s the third of a series,” she explained.

“Wow. What are they about?”

“Monsters.” She watched as his eyebrows rose in surprise. “Werewolves, vampires, changelings… you know, all the things that go bump in the night.”

He cleared his throat, letting the information settle. “I don’t know what I was expecting but that wasn’t it. Please, tell me more.”

She shook her head. “You are just going to have to read the books if you want to know more.”

“Okay.” He reached toward the laptop to try and pull it over to himself.

She pushed his hand away. “No, no, no, nice try. I was referring to the published ones.”

He pouted. “Fine. I guess I should let you get back to it.” He stood and picked up the empty plates.

“Thanks for joining me.” She pulled her laptop in front of her and was back to writing before he was ten steps away.

Several hours and lattes later, she finished sending yet another email to her editor before starting to shut down her laptop. Glancing around, she noticed most of the tables had the chairs set up on top. Dean was sitting at a table near the window, Christmas lights now lit in the trees outside. She smiled at the view for a moment. She could see his concentration as he typed something. Pulling her eyes away from him she finally noticed everyone else was gone, including his staff.

“Where is everyone?” she asked, causing him to look over at her.

He checked his watch and chuckled. “I actually closed up about twenty minutes ago.”

“What?” She closed her laptop and put it back into her bag. “Why didn’t you kick me out?”

“You looked like you were on a roll.” He gestured toward the surface in front of him, littered with papers. “And I wasn’t ready to head out anyway.”

Grabbing her bag, she stood and moved towards his table. “Don’t you have a perfectly good office for all of that?”

He gave her a lopsided grin as he glanced back down at the table. “Yes, I do, but I didn’t want you to look up and find no one here.”

She shifted her bag on her shoulder. “I appreciate that, and thank you for letting me camp out here all day.”

“You are welcome to camp out here anytime you want to, sweetheart.”

She blushed. “So, what do I owe you?”

He waved his hand dismissively. “On the house.” She shook her head and opened her mouth to protest. “I insist.” He reached forward and pulled down the laptop screen, smoothly closing it.

She groaned. “Fine. If you insist. Thank you, again.”

He stood and placed his hands on both of her arms. He tipped his head down and looked her in the eyes. “Any chance you want to go get some dessert somewhere? I know a place that has great pie.”

She looked down at the table. “I thought you said you weren’t ready to leave yet.” She looked back at him and watched the smallest smile appear.

“Did I?” He feigned innocence. “Huh, well I can finish this later.”

She considered his offer. “On one condition. We also walk around downtown to look at all the Christmas lights.”

“Sounds like a deal.” He offered his hand for her to take. As she took it, he ran his thumb across her knuckles. He took two steps backwards before turning toward the door and pulling her with him. He flipped the lights off and locked the door as they left.

Enjoying each other’s company, they slowly strolled hand-in-hand down the sidewalk toward their destination, taking in all the lights and decorations along the way.

~~~

Tags: @deanwasscaredbyacat @babypieandwhiskey @muchamusedaboutnothing @defenderrosetyler @akshi8278 @like-a-bag-of-potatoes @thoughts-and-funnies

[lokis-army-77]

If You Please

Chapter two

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Word Count: 1726

I'm bad at writing descriptions, so this is basically a reader insert into The First Avenger and then we'll see how it goes from there.

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Masterlist

Early the next morning, before the sun was even out, I was awoken by something gently stroking the side of my face. Then Bucky's gruff morning voice greeted me.

"Hello Doll, I've been waiting for you to wake up," he whispered, breath tickling my ear. I replied with a short, soft grunt and buried my head between us. I felt his chest jerk ever so slightly from him chuckling at me. I felt him try and scoot my body away from himself so he could get up, but I wrapped my arms tighter around him.

"Doll, let me go, I've got to get up. You don't want me to be late shipping out do you," he questioned while trying to pry my arms off him.

I shook my head saying, "No I'm not letting you leave, you have to stay right here."

"I know, but I've got to go, not even you can get me out of this one. I'll be back here in your arms before you know it." He lifted my head up so we could look at each other. I saw the traces of sadness in his eyes as he looked at me. "Will you come to see me off?"

"Of course I will. I wouldn't miss that for the world,” I paused, “Steve will want to come too." I slowly let go of Bucky and watched as he slipped out from under the covers and threw his legs off the side. He fumbled with his shoes for a minute and then stood up. Then he turned around and looked at me.

"I'll need a proper goodbye kiss before I leave," he smirked. I huffed out a laugh and inched my way over the bed to where he stood. I got up onto my knees, snaked my arms around his neck, and pulled him down into a sweet but firm kiss. I felt his hands grab at my hips and a second later he was pulling me closer. The kiss lasted a moment longer and then I gently pushed him away.

"Go, before Steve catches you here or I change my mind on letting you leave." He gave me a quick peck on the lips before he made his way to the window and opened it. He slipped out quickly and quietly, soon after it was like he'd never been in my room at all.

Two hours later at seven I had woken Steve up and gotten breakfast ready.

"Hey Steve, I'm going to the docks to see Bucky off, do you want to come with me," I asked while putting the plate of bacon and eggs in front of him.

"Yeah, that would be great. What time does the boat set sail?"

"Boarding starts at eight so I'd say the ship sets off at about 8:30. We'll need to leave in a little bit, it's a twenty-minute walk and you need to get dressed.

When Steve and I had made it to the pier it was so crowded you could barely move two feet without bumping into someone. We looked around for a good ten minutes before I heard someone calling out mine and Steve's names.

"Hey, I'm over here! Steve!"

"I see him over by the rope fence, let's go," Steve declared while grabbing onto my hand, to lead up to where he had seen Bucky. Pretty soon we were both scooped up into a group hug. We all three laughed and pulled away.

"I’m glad you both could make it,” Bucky smiled.

“You’re family, we wouldn’t miss this for the world,” Steve grinned.

“Now don't go do anything stupid until I get back, that applies to both of you," Bucky says while pointing at Steve and me back and forth. I gasped and feigned offense.

"How could we, you're taking all the stupid with you," Steve retorts jokingly.

Bucky shakes his head, "You're a punk, you know that right?"

"And you're a jerk, so I guess we're even. Stay safe Buck," Steve sighed and gave Bucky a hug.

Then Bucky turned to me and teased, "Now I mean it when I say stay out of trouble. You're a handful and then some.”

“I make no promises Barnes,” I countered, playfully shoving him. He then grabbed me and brought me into a tight embrace, placing a peck atop my head. I could feel the tears coming when we pulled away from one another. “Please be careful Bucky and write to us when you can.”

He wiped the tears from my eyes and smiled sadly, “ I will kid, I will.” He turned away and gathered up his bags and then turned back to Steve and me. “Well, I guess I’m off. I'll see you two again in no time.” he started to walk away and I moved closer to Steve, grabbing hold of his hand.

“Don’t win the war until I get there,” Steve called to Bucky’s retreating figure.

“Sir, yes sir,” Bucky called back, turning to give us one last salute. We watched him as he boarded the ship. I kept my eyes on him the whole time, waving to him whenever he looked our way. The ship finally left port and a few minutes later the crowd started to disperse.

Steve and I stood together watching as the ship grew smaller and smaller on the horizon. He squeezed my hand and looked over at me. “We’ll see him again, he’s too hard-headed to leave us alone,” he laughed.

“You’re right, he’s been a constant pain in my side for the last thirteen years. Come on let's go home, I've got the day off.” I turned around to start heading back to the apartment. After walking a few feet I noticed that Steve wasn’t following. I looked back at him, he was standing with his head hung low and hands in his pockets. I slowly walked back over to him and poked his arm. “Penny for your thoughts,” I asked.

“I don’t want you to freak out but I have something really important to tell you,” he started. “Yesterday night before you and Bucky found me, I went to another recruitment office.”

“God Steve, we talked about this already, if they find out that you’re lying on your form you’ll be arrested. You need to stop doing this, I won't be able to get you out of legal trouble.”

“Well you see,” he started, but I was quick to interrupt him.

“Oh my God, Steve, how are you not in jail. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me this last night,” I chastised.

“I told you not to overreact, let me explain. I did get caught but there was a doctor there who represents this group called the Strategic Scientific Reserve. He was interested in why I have tried enlisting five times. When I explained my reasoning, he decided to give me a chance.”

I stood quietly beside him for a while, processing what he had said. Working for the SSR I already knew he was talking about Dr. Erskine. “What do you mean chance? Like you've been recruited,” I speculated.

“Yes, he's given me the chance to do something, to be more than the little guy at home not doing anything. I can’t just sit here and let others go fight for our country without even trying to join them. Even you’re closer to this war than I am. I just want to do what’s right,” he said with conviction.

“I know you do, but I’ve already got one person I care about going to the front, I don’t think I can handle you going also," I sighed. "I won’t try and stop you, but I don’t know how I feel about you doing this.” I grab hold of his hand again and tug him along. “Let's go, we’ll have to start getting your things ready for basic training.”

“Alright, but stop tugging on my arm, I’m right behind you.”

“Sorry, just making sure you’re following.”

“Anyways, thanks for understanding. You know your support means everything to me, Shortie,” he said lightly nudging me with his shoulder.

“You’re welcome and stop calling me shortie. I've been taller than you since I was 13,” I shook my head laughing. “Now can we get going, I want to be home before lunch.”

After lunch had passed I got to doing chores around the house as Steve packed up his trunk in preparation to go to Camp Lehigh. We were both running around the small Brooklyn apartment doing our own little things.

“When do you have to be at Lehigh,” I called out to Steve who was walking back and forth from his room to the bookshelf in the small living area.

“I have to be there tomorrow. We’re jumping right into training, but I'm ready, I’m excited,” he answered while carrying a handful of books to his room.

“Steve, sweetie, I don’t think you’ll be needing that many books at boot camp. I doubt you'll have time to even pick one of those up,” I giggled, putting the laundry basket of folded clothes onto the kitchen table.

“‘I know I probably won’t but if I do have the time, I’ll want some form of entertainment. Anyways, it's better to be over-prepared than not prepared at all,” he quipped back.

“I guess you’re right. Here, they’ll give you your uniform when you get there but it’s good to bring some of your regular clothes.” I grabbed a stack of Steve's clothes and walked over to hand them to him.

“Thank you,” he said softly. I watched as he neatly placed the stack into the trunk at the foot of the bed.

Sighing I sat next to the trunk. “Are you sure this is what you want to do,” I questioned?

“Yes I’m one hundred percent sure this is what I want to do,” Steve confirmed. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

“Okay, I just want to make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into. It won’t be easy. All of it will be harder than anything you have ever faced before.”

“I expect it to be. If it wasn’t a challenge they would let anyone join if they wanted.” He looked up from the trunk and gave me a small smile then went back to what he was doing.

[prettyboyjackhughes]

-Little Crosby-|D. Cozens| [Part 6]

Here is part 6! I can't believe it’s already part 6! But Dylan and Ava’s story continues and there's a bit of a surprise! I know @prettyboycozens and I were so excited about this part and what happens! So enjoy and please let us know what you think!

2 weeks after the draft, Dylan and I finished packing a few things from his parents’ house and headed down to Buffalo. Until I started college in the fall, we would be living together. It had taken Dad a while to get used to the idea, but he would get me back for the school year which he liked. But being away from Dylan again would be hard. Things seemed to be serious between us especially with the whole moving in together thing. Kirby and Carter helped move us into the apartment and then headed to Chicago for Kirby to report for camp. But before that, we had a week with just the 4 of us at the apartment, hanging out. Carter and I spent the days getting the apartment set up and organized while the boys attempted to build furniture. Since Dylan and I hadn’t made it to the grocery store yet, we ordered food a lot, figuring out what places around the apartment are good and we should remember to order from. Since I was pregnant, I got to decide what sounded good because certain foods made me sick. Most nights, we ordered pizza from a little place about 20 minutes from the apartment, just because I had no problem with it because it didn’t make me sick.  

“I’m hungry.” I say, glancing up at Carter as she walks back into the living room.

“We’re literally getting pizza in like 20 minutes. What are you hungry for?” Carter asks, sitting down on the couch next to me.

“I don’t know. I kinda want pickles?” I say, looking over at her. Her eyebrow immediately goes up.

“You? Want pickles? You hate pickles.” She says, crossing her arms.

“Pickles sound really good right now. Can you call the boys and have them bring pickles back with the pizza?” I ask, leaning my head against the back of the couch.

“I’ll just go get you some pickles, you weirdo.” Carter says, grabbing my car keys off the table and heading towards the front door. About 10 minutes after she leaves, Dylan and Kirby get home with the pizza.

“Where’d Carter go?” Kirby asks, setting the pizza on the kitchen table and then coming to flop on the couch next to me.

“Store. She should be back soon.” I answer as Dylan walks back into the room and over to the couch. He nudges Kirby to move over and pulls me into his lap.

“Avs, you’re pretty.” Dylan says, gently kissing the side of my neck. Kirby is absorbed in his phone, not paying any attention to the two of us. Ever since that night, after the draft, Dylan and my relationship has moved to a whole new level. He’s much more physical, which I love. He also makes me feel so loved. Not that he didn’t before but he’s more physical about his love.

“Ava Grace! I got the pickles!” Carter calls, slamming the front door of Dylan’s apartment. She hands me the jar of pickles and I smile happily. Kirby looks up at her as she slides her arms around his neck and accepts a kiss from her.

“You hate pickles. Why did she go get you pickles?” Dylan asks, looking at me, amused.

“I wanted pickles. They sound good.” And so, as everyone else starts eating the pizza the boys brought home, I eat happily out of my pickle jar. Dylan keeps looking at me, sitting down on the floor, munching away on my pickles, and shaking his head with a smile on his face.

“Hey, what was in the bag you brought home?” I ask as I finish off the jar of pickles and look over at Carter.

“I bought more lip gloss, that’s all.” She says, pulling out a tube and waving it at me.

“It tastes really good.” Kirby says, laughing. I roll my eyes and lean back against Dylan’s leg. His fingers twist through my hair gently and I relax even more.

“Wait did you eat all of those pickles?” Carter asks, sitting up all of the sudden.

“Yeah...Why? Actually, I think I want more.” Carter’s face screws up and she stands up, Kirby’s hands slipping off her waist.

“Let’s go get more pickles then.” She says, taking my car keys off the table again and walking towards the door. Dylan and Kirby both look confused and Carter looks concerned. As soon as the door closes behind us, she turns on me.

“Did you and Dylan use a condom that night after the draft?” I reel back, confused.

“I-What? I don’t know?” I say, starting to panic and trying to think back through that night. We were both so into each other and very very excited from the draft and just got a little carried away.

“Did he stop before anything happened?” As I realize what she’s hinting at, I shake my head.

“N-No...I guess we didn’t. Shit and I didn’t get my period this month.” I say, the realization hitting. I run my hand through my hair, my eyes wide and on Carter.

“We’re going to get a pregnancy test. Get in the car.” She says, turning back around to go inside and grab her purse. She tells the boys we’re going to get ice cream and runs back out the front door. She follows me out to her car and we get in on our opposite sides.

“Ava, don’t freak out just yet. You haven’t taken the test yet, it could just be a fluke. And you know that no matter what, you’re still my best friend and I’m gonna be here, no matter what that test says.” She says, her hands on either side of my face, forcing me to look at her. I nod, pushing all the emotions and feelings rushing through me down.

The drive to the store is silent, both Carter and I left to our own thoughts. She leaves me in the car, attempting to avoid the impending breakdown she can probably see on my face, and comes back with 3 different pregnancy tests.

“When we get home, we’ll send the boys down to the basement and lock ourselves in the bathroom upstairs and you can take the tests. Is that okay?” I nod, still completely lost in my thoughts. Another silent car ride back to the house, and Carter sends the boys down to the basement, shutting the door and locking it from the outside. She hands me the bag with the tests in it and she follows me into the bathroom. I do everything I need to do for the tests and then Carter sets the timer.

“Now...we wait.” I say, watching the timer count down. I couldn’t even look at the tests, leaving Carter to see the results.

“Ava...They’re positive. All 3 are positive.” Carter says, her voice low and soft. Her hand slips into mine and she forces me to look up at her.

“You’re pregnant.” As the words come out of Carter’s mouth, all I can think about is having to tell Dylan and Dad that we fucked up and now I’m pregnant.

“Ava, you need to breathe. We have to talk about this. You’re going to have to tell Dylan and your dad soon. Before they start to notice a bump.” She kneels down in front of me, looking into my eyes.

“It’s gonna be okay. Dylan and your dad love you.” I start to cry, leaning into Carter’s chest as she holds me.      

Dylan’s P.O.V. As I walk into the bathroom outside of the bedroom Ava and I share the next morning, I see something sitting on the counter. I ignore it, do what I came in there to do and then glance at it again. Ava keeps our bathroom ridiculously clean, so the fact that there’s something out on the counter is weird. So I make the decision to grab it and figure out what it is. As I do, I almost instantly regret it. It’s a positive pregnancy test, which causes my stomach to turn. Ava and I have been the only two  in the house for the past couple days since Kirby and Carter just got here yesterday, meaning that the test could only be from her.

“Hey man, let’s get going! The girls are meeting us at the store.” Kirby yells, coming down the hallway. Ava and Carter got up early, went out to breakfast and then went shopping for bedding and things for the apartment. He pushes the door open and stands in the doorway.

“What are you doing? You’ve been in here for like 20 minutes.” He says, crossing his arms and leaning against the doorframe.

“Uh um, this is a pregnancy test. A positive pregnancy test.” I say, turning and handing it to Kirby. He glances down at it and then back up at me.

“Yeah...What’s the issue?” He asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Ava and I have been the only ones in the house for the past week. This test has to be from her.” Kirby’s eyes widen a little but he keeps his cool.

“So? It could be a false positive. Dyl, don’t think too much into it. But if you are worried, maybe talk to Ava about it?” He says, following me out of the bathroom and back to my room.

“But what if it’s not a false positive? What if it’s a real positive? What if she’s pregnant and we’re going to be parents? I can’t be a dad yet.” Kirby sits down on the bed as I pace around the room.

“Cozzy, listen to me. You’re gonna be fine. If it is positive and she is pregnant, then you’re gonna be a dad. And you know what? You’ll be just fine as a dad. If anything, you’re the best one out of all of us to become a dad so young. Dylan, this is between you and Ava. Talk to Ava if you’re really worried about it.” Kirby may be an idiot most of the time but he’s a really good friend. Probably my best friend.

“Cozens, if you are gonna be a dad and Ava does have a baby, you’ll get the future you’ve been talking about having with her for the past two years. It’ll be a little earlier than you planned but you’re getting everything you’ve wanted. You’ve talked about having a future with her since you started talking to her, right after the game. Everything you wanted, could be happening.” And as I sit there, listening to Kirby talk me down off the ledge I had walked myself up, I realize he’s right.

“She’s everything I’ve wanted. She’s everything I want. I do want a future with her and if that future includes having a baby at 19, then I guess that’s my future with Ava. And I’m okay with it.” Kirby squeezes my shoulder, nodding.

“You’re not going to talk to Ava about this, are you?” I shake my head.

“If she is, it’s up to her to tell me.” Kirby nods and hands me my jacket.

“Let’s go get our girls.”

Ava’s P.O.V.

Carter and I got up early, went to the doctor and confirmed what we already knew and that I would be having a baby boy, which was the most exciting part of our visit to the doctor, and then had to come up with a plan for how to tell Dad and Dylan.

“You could just flat out tell them? I think that would be the easiest option.” She says as we wander around the baby section of the clothing store we found.

“But that’s not fun. I need to make it fun so I have something to distract myself from the fact that I have to tell my boyfriend who I love beyond belief and never want to lose, and my dad who had me way too young, that I’m pregnant.” She nods, looking at the tiny clothes surrounding us.

“Okay, I think I saw something like this on Pinterest the other day but, what about getting two of their jerseys and putting Daddy on the back of Dylan’s and then grandpa on the back of your dad’s?” As I think through the idea she just proposed, I start to like it more and more.

“That’s a good idea! I could probably talk to the people who do the Sabres jerseys. It might take a couple days but we’re not going back down to Pittsburgh till the weekend so as long as we have them before then, I can just tell them this weekend.” Carter nods and we continue to wander around the store as I type up an email to the girl who does all the jerseys for the Sabres. A few minutes later, the boys show up and Carter and I make a point of getting out of the baby section before they meet up with us. As we’re eating lunch, an email buzzes my phone and I turn to attempt to hide the screen from Dylan who’s sitting next to me, his hand resting on my thigh. The girl says she’ll do the jerseys for free as long as I provide them. So as soon as we get back, I order the jerseys which get there the next day and take them over to the arena while Dylan is with Kirby, looking at something for the apartment. On Wednesday, before Dylan and I head back down to Pittsburgh for the weekend, I convince Dylan to stop by the arena for a few minutes. As I wander the halls of the arena, I think about the fact that under Dylan’s sweatshirt that hangs loosely on me, a growing baby bump is starting to show and soon, I’ll be bringing a baby with me to all of Dylan’s games.

The jerseys turned out fantastic and I’m so excited to give them to Dad and Dylan. And I can barely contain my excitement the whole 3 hour drive to Pittsburgh. Dad isn’t there when Dylan and I get to the house but I still have a key and let us in. Dylan carries our bags up to my childhood bedroom and I pick up a few things around the house, getting things together before Dad comes home from practice.

“Hey Sweetheart! Sorry I wasn’t home when you guys got here. Practice ran a little late today.” Dad says, coming in and kissing my forehead. Dylan comes downstairs and sits down on the couch next to me.

“Don’t worry about it. I still have my key.” Dad pats my shoulder and then moves to hug Dylan who stands up and hugs him.

“Can we do dinner tonight? Or did you have plans?” I ask, looking up at Dad as he walks back out to the kitchen.

“We can do dinner. Do you want to order something or do you want to cook?” I glance at Dylan and he shrugs.

“I’ll just make something. Why don’t you and Dylan go to the store for me and I’ll get started cooking.” Dad nods and calls “Just make us a list.” I write up a list and hand it to Dylan who follows Dad out to the car. Them being out of the house for a little while, gives me time to get the jerseys ready and get everything prepped.      

As I fold the two jerseys a few hours later, my hands shake a little. I was cooking dinner for Dylan, Dad and I, planning on telling him and Dylan about the baby after dinner. Dylan and Kirby happened to be home, visiting Carter’s parents so they were over too.

“Hey, I have something for both of you.” I say, as I head back out to the dining room after we’ve eaten and set one box in front of Dylan and the other in front of Dad. Carter and Kirby have disappeared outside, like I had asked. I wanted to tell Dad and Dylan first before Carter and Kirby found out.

“Ava, what is this?” Dad asks, as I turn around from watching Kirby and Carter through the sliding door. Dad’s holding up the Penguins number 87 jersey with grandpa stitched where Crosby should be. Dylan’s eyes widen and he tears the box in front of him open.

“D-Daddy? What’s this?” He asks, looking at the jersey and holding up the sonogram photos.

“Um...I’m pregnant? With a boy?” I say, running my hand through my hair and taking the pictures from Dylan. He stands up, the jersey still clutched in his hand.

“You’re serious?” He asks, his hands on either side of my face, forcing my eyes to meet his. Dad is silent, which is the scariest part of all of this.

“Yeah...I’m 21 weeks along.” Dad’s face is now buried in the jersey, his face hidden from me.

“Oh my god. Baby!” Dylan says, hugging me, then dropping onto his knees to talk to my slightly protruding belly.

“Ava, is this real? Dad’s voice says, suddenly breaking through the silence. He’s standing, the jersey forgotten on the table. But as my eyes meet his, I don’t see the anger and frustration I was expecting to see. Instead, excitement and happiness fill his eyes.

“I’m gonna be a grandpa!” He says as I nod. He grins and pulls me into a hug. Dylan stands back, letting Dad and I have our moment.

“I guess this means you’re officially a part of the family?” Dad says, keeping his arm around my shoulder and looking over at Dylan.

“I mean, he’d better be. He is the father of your first grandchild.” I say, tugging Dylan to me and wrapping an arm around his waist.

“Well in that case, welcome to the family, Son.” Dad says, shaking Dylan’s hand. I smile and then the 3 of us sit back down. Dylan’s hand rests on my thigh and I lean against his shoulder. Carter and Kirby come back in and sit down with us, a knowing grin on Carter’s face.

“What’s with the jerseys?” Kirby asks, pointing at the Sabres jersey sitting on the table.

“Oh yeah, Kirby, you’re gonna be an uncle. Ava’s pregnant with a baby boy.” Kirby’s mouth drops open and we all laugh.

“You got her pregnant Cozzy? Seriously?” Kirby asks, laughing and leaning back in his chair.

“I did and you don’t need to give me anymore shit about it because believe me, I’ve heard it all.” Dylan says, pointing at him. The rest of the night, we all spend time planning for the baby and talking about names, nursery themes and everything else baby-related.

Later that night, Kirby wanders into the living room while Dylan is in the shower.

“Hey Kid, how you feeling?” Kirby asks, flopping onto the couch next to me. I glance down at my stomach where my bump is starting to show more and more every day. “Baby Cozens was up all night last night kicking so I’m pretty tired but other than that, pretty good.” He nods, glancing at my stomach, a smirk growing on his face.

“I still can’t believe Cozzy got you pregnant. I’m really excited for you both but it’s a lot to take in.” I nod, my hand resting on my stomach.

“It’s going to be a big adjustment. I mean, you’re gonna be Uncle Kirby now.” He laughs and nods.

“Ava, you know I care about you a lot. I mean, you’re pretty much my honorary sister and I love you. So if you need anything, ever, I’ll be here. I wanna help out as much as I can. Filling my uncle's duty.” He says, laughing and slinging an arm around my shoulders.

“I really appreciate it, Kirby. It means a lot, especially coming from you. I’m trusting you and Carter with this baby boy if anything ever happens to Dylan and I. I don’t think I’m supposed to tell anyone and I haven’t talked to Dylan about this yet but you and Carter are the godparents and I wouldn’t want anyone else to be responsible for my baby. Y’all are gonna spoil my son, aren’t you?” He nods, a grin on his face again.

“Between all of us hockey players, that child is going to be unstoppable on the ice.” I laugh and nod.

“Well anyways, I just wanted you to know that I’m here and that I want to help take care of you in any way you need me to.” I nod, smiling at him. And with a nod and smirk, he leaves me alone again.  

Telling Dad and Dylan lifted such a weight off my shoulders. Both of them are thrilled, especially Dylan. He’s fully transitioned to Dad mode, planning the nursery and getting it ready, thinking about names, talking to the guys he plays with who already have kids to get tips. The 9 months before the baby is born fly by. And before Dylan and I know it, it’s month 9 and I feel like a whale. Dad has kept himself busy but he’s excited to become a grandpa. But I think my favorite telling people about the baby moment was when I sat my uncles down, around month 6.

I set the box of donuts Dylan and I had picked up on our way to Geno’s, on the counter in the kitchen. Dylan takes my hand and we walk out to the living room.

“Dylan! Glad you could come too!” Kris says, getting up off the couch to go and shake his hand. They’ve all been around Dylan a few times now and they all seem to get along really well. I guess that kinda comes with the whole hockey player thing.

“Oh you brought donuts?” Marc says, walking out of the kitchen with one in his hand.

“You weren’t supposed to eat them yet! There’s a whole thing that goes with it!” I say, pointing at him from where I’ve settled myself on the couch next to Dylan and Kris. He shrugs and sits down on the other couch.

“Fine, go get donuts.” I say, leaning my head on Dylan’s shoulder. Dad follows all 3 uncles into the kitchen to get donuts, Marc making sure to get another one.

“How much are we betting that they won’t even look at what’s written on the box?” I ask, looking up at Dylan.

“Your dad knows about it, he’ll make sure they look at it.” He answers as they all make their way back into the living room. I look up at Dad who just shakes his head and laughs.

“Hey did you see where I got the donuts from?” I ask, looking over at the 3 uncles.

“No, why does it matter? The donuts are good.” Kris says, eating the donut in his hand.

“Go look at the box please. All 3 of you.” I say, crossing my arms and raising an eyebrow. Marc leads Kris and Geno into the kitchen again and they’re in there for a few minutes.

“I swear, you put food in front of them and they don’t pay attention to anything else.” I say, rolling my eyes and waiting for them to come back into the living room.

“You pregnant? With a baby?” Geno asked, walking back into the living room with the other 2 behind him. Kris sits back down on the couch, his arms crossed and eyebrows raised. Marc, who just happened to be in town for some reason, looks concerned as he sits across from me.

“She’s 6 months pregnant.” Dad says, looking down at me, sitting on the couch next to me and smiling.

“This obviously is a little different from the plan Dad and I have had for the past couple years but it’s going to be a good thing. It’s already a good thing. Dylan and I are really excited.”  The uncles still look a little confused and slightly concerned but they all seem happy. Knowing that I have the support of the 4 guys who raised me throughout my whole childhood, plus Dylan of course, is making this whole pregnancy so much easier. But of course, everything has its ups and downs and the up I’m feeling slowly turns into a down very very quickly.

“This is all because you couldn’t keep your dick in your pants and I hate you for it. I’m misreable now because of you and your stupid dick.” I say, glaring over at Dylan. He shakes his head and runs his hand through my hair. It’s 3 in the morning, the baby has been up kicking and moving around inside me all night and I have not slept at all. Dylan, on the other hand, has slept like baby boy Cozens is supposed to be.

“Baby, it’s gonna be okay. As soon as he’s born, you can tell him about how miserable he made you while you were pregnant. You can sleep all day tomorrow, we don’t have anywhere to be. Oh wait, shit. Isn’t tomorrow the dinner thing for you dad?” I groan and slouch lower into the blankets.

“Why did you remind me?” I groan as he tugs me into his chest and presses a kiss to the side of my neck. I close my eyes and try to settle into the peace being cuddled into Dylan’s chest gives me and somehow, it works. I wake up feeling a little better but still in an awful mood. Dylan attempts to cheer me up by getting me ice cream after lunch but it’s still a long day. I manage to squeeze my too pregnant body into the dress Carter and I bought a few months earlier. Dad shows up to pick the two of us up and I prepare to suffer through a ridiculously long dinner and talking to people I don’t know and don’t want to talk to. After what seems like forever, it’s time for Dad to make his speech for whatever honor he’s receiving that night and I prepare for the absolute bore that it will be. I love hearing Dad talk and usually I enjoy listening to him give speeches but tonight, I’m too miserable to enjoy it. All of the sudden, I feel stabbing pains. I shift a little, trying to make it go away and Dylan glances at me out of the corner of his eye. He raises an eyebrow, checking to make sure I’m okay and I brush him off with a nod. But then the contractions, or at least that’s what I assume they are, get worse and closer together.      

“Baby’s coming.” I say, my nails definitely digging into Dylan’s bicep.

“Now? Like right now?” He asks, his eyes growing wide in panic. He glances down at my dress, seeing the darkened spot on my dress. He stands up, getting the attention of everyone in the crowded room. Dad, who had been on stage giving a speech about something I hadn’t been listening to, looks over at our table.

“Okay, we gotta go!” He says, tugging me to my feet as I groan. My guess is that the next 24 hours are going to be chaos-filled.  

Tag List:

@theblushinglittle

@2manytabsopen​

@nhlboyshavemyhart88​

@kirbyy-dach​

[depressedhatakekakashi]

Mistaken Identities

AU: Pokemon Au

Words: 1373

Rating: General

Pairings: Hatake Kakashi/Maito Gai, Hatake Sakumo/Maito Dai

Warnings: None

Summary: Kakashi and Gai pay a visit to the Pewter city for a nice relaxing night, only to have the Pokemon Center nurse mistake them for far more embarrassing people.

Getting a vacation when you were a Gym leader was no easy task. There was paperwork, approvals, replacements. The number of letters and approvals he had to deal with alone had earned him an entire week of relaxing.

After all of the work he had put in just to get a week off, he deserved to rest. Maybe find a nice beach somewhere and enjoy the sun or a show at celedone city gym. Anko always put on an amazing show with her poison pokemon.

Instead of doing either of those things, though, he was in veridian forest.

Training.

Because apparently, he didn’t have the willpower to say ‘no’ to his boyfriend when he decided to turn their one-week vacation into a boot camp.

Now he was tired, desperate for a good meal and a comfortable bed, and questioning all of the choices he had made in his life that led him to this moment. He might even question his choice in dating Gai in the first place, but then he’d see that bright smile and hear that enthusiastic voice boasting about all of the things they had accomplished today, and he knew.

There was no other choice to be made.

“Tomorrow we’ll have to work harder!” Gai declared as they stepped into the pokemon center. “We can do five hundred push-ups with our pokemon, and an obstacle course around the forest.”

Delightful. He couldn’t wait.

Stepping up to the counter, he took his Pokeball’s off of his belt and placed them down for the nurse while Jolteon sat down by his feet.

“Please tell me there’s a room available,” He was pretty sure just looking at him told a whole story of his day. With leaves still stuck in his hair, and at least a few sing marks on his clothes from his pokemon’s electric attacks. There was even a nice bruise on his cheek where Jolteon had managed to tackle him during one of Gai’s more rough training sessions. “Please. I beg of you. If you say no he’s going to make me sleep in a sleeping bag and I cannot.”

He was spoiled. Having a beautiful room at his gym with a comfortable bed. If there was one thing he didn’t miss about traveling the world it was sleeping in a tent out in the cold.

“I-I have a room,” the nurse chuckled, clearly amused at the situation in front of her. “You won’t have to sleep under the stars tonight, I promise.’

Oh, thank Arceus.

“You act like I’m torturing you, Rival,” Gai grumbled behind him. “What’s so bad about sleeping under the stars? It’s good for the soul. Fresh air and some peace and quiet.”

“I am not giving up a comfy bed for fresh air. I can open the window if I want some of that,” picking up Jolteon’s Pokeball, he turned towards his partner. “See you in the morning.” Jolteon cried out, her way of saying ‘goodbye’ before she disappeared into her Pokeball.

“You’re such a drama king,” Gai sighed, finally stepping up and placing his Pokeball down beside Kakashi’s. “It was a good day of training.”

“Training?” The nurse tilted her head, a small smile on her face that made Kakashi uneasy for some reason. “Is that why no one saw you today?”

“We just got into town until just now,” Gai argued. “How could anyone have seen us before today?”

Her smile faded, a look of disappointment taking its place.

“Don’t lie to me,” holding out a finger she waved it between them. “Everyone has been talking about you two for the past three days. Everywhere we look you two are being adorable. Flirting, kissing, making love eyes at each other. There isn’t a person in the town who doesn’t know about you two.”

Kakashi could feel his soul leaving his body.

Why, of all the places in Kanto that they went, did his father have to come to Pewter city just before Kakashi and Gai made it? And to bring his boyfriend along with him and make a spectacle out of themselves?

Gai was always telling him he was overreacting. That his father wasn’t that embarrassing.

Lies. It was all lies.

He could practically feel Gai vibrating with laughter beside him, his shoulder bumping up against Kakashi’s playfully. “Nurse, I’m afraid you have the wrong people,” He stated, supporting Kakashi’s denial of the things they were being accused of. “My boyfriend and I really did just get into town. What you saw was-”

Reaching out, she poked Gai on the nose. Effectively cutting off the rest of his sentence. “I wasn’t born yesterday, you know,” She scolded him. “Just because you shaved off your mustache and he cut his hair and decided to wear a mask today doesn’t mean I don’t recognize you two. You look exactly the same in every other way.”

Rude.

He did not look like a fifty-year-old man. There were no wrinkles under his eyes or back pain to show his age. He was in his prime. A young man. He wouldn’t say it out loud, or Gai would never let him live it down, but he was in the springtime of his youth damn it.

“Just admit it you two,” she huffed, air filling her cheeks. “It’s not even that embarrassing. You were just being adorable. The whole town was loving it.”

The next time he saw their father’s, he was going to have Jolteon zap them. Maybe then they’d stop making fools out of themselves and dragging Kakashi and Gai down with them.

“You’re not zapping them,” Gai scolded him, clearly already knowing what was on his mind. “Jolteon wouldn’t even obey that order. She likes your father too much.”

“Maybe if I give her treats,” it wouldn’t work, of course. Gai was right. Jolteon was a sucker for his dad and she’d probably just drop onto her back for some belly rubs instead. The little traitor. “Oh, what if I-”

“You’re not having Rockruff blast them with a stone edge.” Gai scolded him before he could even hope to finish his sentence.

“So…” Glancing back at the nurse, Kakashi narrowed his eyes and watched as she processed everything they had said. ‘Wait, those two actually weren’t you?”

Finally!

“No, they were not,” he groaned, stamping down on the celebration going on in his mind. He refused to act happy about the fact that the obvious had been picked up on. “They’re our dads.”

“Oh!” A smile cracked across her face. “Ok, weird, but Ok.”

With that out of the way, she collected their Pokeballs and carefully set them into separate trays for her Chansey to take away.

“Your Pokemon will be ready to go when you wake up in the morning,” she promised with a bright smile. “Relax, enjoy some food, and please try not to follow in your father’s footsteps. I don’t need to hear about another grossly adorable couple this week.”

Now all he could think of was being as completely, utterly, ridiculously adorable as possible with Gai.

Sure, it might ruin his reputation of being a stone-cold ruthless Gym leader, but it wasn’t like that reputation would last long anyways with his father running around the entire Kanto region making out with his boyfriend.

Honestly, he’s surprised anyone was still afraid of him. Surely his father had embarrassed him enough to turn him into the laughing stock of Kanto already.

“Come on, Rival,” feeling a hard slap on his back, Kakashi glanced back at Gai. A small smile pulling at his lips when he saw the proud toothy grin that his boyfriend was giving him. “We need lots of food and a good night’s rest if we’re going to start our morning with three hundred laps around the town.”

“Three hundred laps!?” Death. This was certain death.

Why had he fallen in love with a mad man? He had no real explanation for that. All he knew was that tonight he was going to get cuddles, and tomorrow he was going to complain the entire time that he was spending his vacation running laps around Pewter city instead of enjoying a show or relaxing on the beach.

The things he did for love.

[doitjake]

The music in us - P2

Jake kiszka x reader

warnings: none.

Request: “two rockstars meeting in a festival, and both bands hanging out cause they are both friends with the struts, then jake starts falling in love w this person because of their personality, talent and charisma, they start to match in the second day of camping at the festival and then the bands have to play in the same day, jake tells his feeling and the reader doesn’t know how to react.”

A/N:  sorry it took so long to bring the second part and unfortunately or luckily we will have part three! I hope you guys like it and if you want to see a specific scene in the second part comment here or you can send me a message / question!!

Requests here: https://forms.gle/6uMRSCzFvyR2FgZPA

"Wake up, bitch." I open my eyes and see Ana climbing down from her bed, going straight to mine. Strange, usually Lexa who has the job of waking us up.

I sit up in bed before Ana could reach over and start pulling my covers off. Ana looks satisfied and walks towards Lexa's bed.

"Let me sleep, Ana." Lexa covers her head with the sheets.

Poppy comes out of the bathroom, already with her makeup and hair done. "This is what happens when you spend the night hooking up with a drummer." Poppy stops next to Ana who laughs looking at Lexa.

"Hanging out with WHO?" I finally really wake up and still hit my head on Ana's bed, which is on top of mine.

"Lexa and Danny kissed yesterday at karaoke." Ana speaks excitedly and Poppy continues. "Momma got it off!"

In less than 2 seconds Lexa stands up and appears at Poppy and Ana's side. "Shut the fuck up." I can see her red cheeks as she walks past me to go to the bathroom.

"What about you, honey?" Poppy looks at me arching her eyebrow."You and Jake hm, I felt the tension."

"WE ALL FEEL IT!" Lexa shouts from the bathroom, over the sound of water.

"Why don't you talk more about yesterday, Lexa?" I yell in response, causing her to shut up.

"Did kissing happen?" Ana asks.

"Oh my God people, he just walked me to the bus." Lexa comes out of the bathroom and I walk in right after her. "You guys are watching too many movies." I say already inside the bathroom.Inside I take a quick shower before some of my band mates start complaining.

Back in the room I get my boots and some necklaces and rings to complete my outfit, Poppy comes to me saying that Ana and Lexa are already gone to make it to a concert of some indie band at the festival.

Poppy and I get out of the bus and head towards the stages, which are already starting to get crowded. We pass by the security guards - who for some reason laugh when they see us - showing us our badges to enter the VIP area of one of the stages, which is now occupied by the members of Bloc Party. When we enter we see Luke, Adam, Sam and Josh at one end of the stage.

"Hi girls!" Sam is the first to see us as we approach and am I going crazy or did I really see Poppy blush now?

"Hey guys" Luke offers us each a bottle of beer. Poppy accepts, going to sit on one of the benches below the stage, I nod my head no. "It's not even noon, Luke." I laugh walking over to Poppy. "May I ask why you sat down, dear? We have to be on the big stage in 15 minutes for the Aerosmith show, they're opening."

Poppy's face contorts into a grimace as she looks across the festival to the stage. "You know Y/N, you who are an Aerosmith fan here, you're not going to make your pretty friend walk all this way to see a band I don't even listen to much?" Poppy smiles childishly at me.

"You are the worst friend in the world!" I speak to as I walk past the boys to say goodbye to them.

"I love you too!" Poppy shouts as I am almost at the stage exit.

As I walk to the other stage, I realize how beautiful the festival is. Camping tents circle the lawn, groups of friends take fun pictures lying down, not caring about the grass and a little bit of mud. Food trucks begin to set up their trailers to receive the drunken crowd in need of something solid in their stomachs, Poppy and Ana are included in this crowd. I laugh with thought and only realize that there was someone in front of me when I bump into her as I enter the vip air of the stage.

"I'm sorry." I raise my gaze to the person and am relieved that it is not a stranger who would probably cuss me out. "Oh, hi Jake!" I smile at the man in front of me.

"Hi Y/N." He laughs making room for me to pass. "How are you doing?"

"Well, how about you?"

"Fine too." Jake leans against one of the bars, he's even more handsome in the daylight, shit! "Still feel like you're going to pass out at any moment?" He smiles at me.

"Don't even remind me of that!" I smile too. "And you Sir, you have to promise that even if I faint you won't let anyone take me away from this privileged place." I point to the VIP area we are in, which is less than a meter from the stage.

"Okay, I promise!" Jake laughs and runs his fingers through his bracelets, coming closer to me, to speak something in my ear. "I know the whole festival has probably already seen this, but I think it's only fair to warn you that your badge is backwards." He looks at me amused and waves his own badge.

I look at my badge and see that all the writing and pictures are upside down. I try to turn it over still holding the rope, but I only make it worse, making the badge fall into the grass.

Before I can duck to pick it up, Jake does it for me and he also catches the badge cord around my neck with his own fingers and puts the badge away easily.

"There!"

I look at him and smile at the same time blushing. "Thanks."

Jake shrugs his shoulder smiling.

We both look over our shoulder when we hear familiar voices. Coming towards us are Ana, Gethin and a little behind them Lexa and Danny. Very close.

I laugh at the scene and Jake seems to read my mind and follows me smiling at the 'couple'.

"Cute, huh?" Ana nods to Lexa and Danny, making them both blush.

I pat her arm lightly and turn to Gethin and Danny. "Hi guys."  

"Hey Y/N." The two respond in unison.

Gethin crouches on the floor opening a bale of beer and handing it out to each of us. I get tired of rejecting drinks, so I accept. Before I can open mine, Danny and Gethin are already toasting with their bottles.

I shiver at the whisper right next to my ear. "I said, beer guys."

I turn to Jake smiling at the memory of our first conversation.

The half-computerized voice comes out of the speakers, announcing that soon the band will take the stage. And maybe it's the adrenaline from the concert about to start, but I take courage and approach Jake.

"So, today the girls and I are going to build a bonfire on the lawn behind our bus." I look at him, who has a sideways smile on his face and nods. "Do you want to join us? I mean, you and all the boys too."

"Sure."

We smile at each other and only stop when seconds later, Joe Perry and Steven Tyler enter the stage, being followed by the rest of the band afterwards.

"No fainting, eh." Jake speaks low to me, but loud enough for me to hear over the beginning of 'DREAM ON.'

"No getting me out of here if I faint." I speak would be but can't stand it and follow Jake in laughter as he throws his head back.

And now the show really begins.

I spend the next two hours singing (screaming) all the Aerosmith songs, some hours cuddling with Ana, other times helping Gethin open another bale of beer.

Jake, Ana and Gethin spend the last 4 minutes of the show laughing at me and Lexa, because we were crying of 'I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing' until we saw that Danny was also almost crying and then we were all engaged in the mission of laughing at him.

Definitely one of the best moments of my life.

When the concert of a small alternative band starts, we leave the VIP area and head towards the food trucks. Ok, maybe I am also part of the audience that needs something solid in the belly.

As we sit down on some folding chairs, Josh, Luke, Jed and Adam come towards us. Josh frowns, taking a seat in one of the chairs in front of me.

"Where are Sam and Poppy?"

"Are you guys too drunk and have you forgotten that they were both with you?" I ask laughing and the 4 boys in front of me look even more confused.

"They said they were going to meet you in the VIP area of the big stage." Adam replies.

All ten of us stare at each other's faces. Then Josh can't help himself and lets out a laugh and everyone starts to understand what really happened.

"Wow, two couples in less than a day of festival?" Luke hisses.

Even though I am a few chairs away from Lexa and Danny I can feel them both wanting to hide when we all give them quick glances, my glance is quick but so much so that I miss the scene of the two of them smiling at each other.

When I finish eating everyone is still too busy discussing Poppy and Sam and how they match as a couple.

I feel a hand on my shoulder and turn to Jake, who has also finished eating.

"We have an hour and a half until the Stones concert and I have half a bottle of Whiskey on the bus." He raises one of his eyebrows with an inviting smile.

"I'm in."

No one seems to care much when we say we're going for a walk around the festival. No one except Ana.

"Hey, Luke, look at the third couple!" She points to me and Jake laughing.

And for the second time in the day I feel all my blood rising to my cheeks. But I still have a little bit of bad bitch attitude left in me, so I yell back. "Only if you and Josh are the fourth." I hear Jake laugh behind me and get up the courage to look back, where I find Guitarist with his hand raised so we can have a high-five.

I slap his hand and look at Ana again and see a unique scene, my cousin embarrassed as Josh winks at her playfully.

Jake and I make our way back to the buses, stopping to look at a stall full of handmade jewelry. I leave with a lanyard with a pendant of James Jamerson's miniature Fender Precision bass and Jake with a leather bracelet, also with a pendant, a miniature Fender Stratocaster, Hendrix's trademark.

We stayed chatting about these iconic instruments until we arrived at his bus door.

"Welcome, Miss." He opens the door for me and I walk past him laughing.

Their bus is not much different from ours, except for the amount of drinks in one corner. But who am I kidding? If it weren't for Lexa, ours would be like this too.

Jake goes over to the corner and says he's going to get the glasses and the bottle and I sit down on the small brown leather sofa.

I pick up a book that was on the little table next to the couch, "Is it yours?" Jake comes over to me holding a bottle of Jack Daniel's and two glasses, one with ice and the other without.

"Yes." Jake sets the glasses down and opens the bottle. "Have you read it?"

I look at the paperback edition of an Edgar Allan Poe book of short stories and nod. "A classic." Jake fills both glasses with the liquid. "The best kind for touring."

Jake smiles and holds out one of the glasses to me. "No ice, right?"

"Right!" I smile at him.

We toast with our glasses and relax on the couch.

"Do you want to hear something?" Jake asks pointing to the small radio on the small table.

I say yes, even though the silence between us is not at all uncomfortable.

I smile when Five By Five by the Stones starts to play.

Jake lays back on the couch smiling as well "Just to get in the mood."

"I get it, Keith Richards's 'fangirl'." I wink at him, getting a laugh in response.

By the time the fifth and final one starts, we are at the end of the bottle.

I look at Jake beside me, his eyes and hands are focused on filling our glasses for the last time. A wavy lock of hair falls across his face, while the rest is tucked behind his shoulders.

And it must be the fault of the damned drink that I take my fingers to this lock and curl it around my finger, making it almost curl when I let go.

Jake looks over his shoulder and laughs anasaly. I pull my fingers out of his hair, embarrassed.

"Sorry, it was kind of irresistible." I give him a nervous smile.

Jake offers me my glass and smiles, "It's okay, Y/N!" He props his glass on the floor and brings his hand up to my hair, curling it in his finger, the same way I did with him.

Jake rests his cheek against the back of the couch and smiles. "Sorry, it was kind of irresistible."

I laugh and stare at the ceiling for a few seconds, but when I turn my gaze back to Jake, he is no longer smiling. But he doesn't look angry or upset. He scans my entire face, until his gaze meets mine again. My hair still curled on his finger.

"Would you be mad if I said I really want to kiss you?" Jake asks and shit I feel time stop and all that silly teenage nervousness come back.

I look at him and Jake looks anxious, waiting for an answer.

"No." I speak low, because for some reason my voice seems to get lost inside me, "I wouldn't be mad."

"And you wouldn't be mad if I actually kissed either?" Jake smiles sideways at me.

Without moving much, I leave my glass on the floor next to his.

"I would be mad if you didn't kiss." I admit smiling at him.

His fingers that were holding a lock of my hair, go to the back of my neck pulling me closer, one of my hands goes to his arm and the other goes through his hair.

And then our lips are together and when I briefly open my mouth, Jake gets the message and begins to explore my entire mouth. One of his hands goes to my waist, looking for support to deepen the kiss.

Neither Jake nor I care when the music stops.

Our breaths are a pleasant sound to both of us now.

His hands slide to the back of my thigh, pulling me onto his lap.

My two hands go to his neck while trying to make as much contact as possible with his mouth. I curse Jake mentally as he separates our kiss, he realizes my disappointment and laughs as he brings his mouth to my neck and I take back all the swearing I did second before.

Just as I am about to start the last buttons on his shirt (the only ones that were buttoned) a noise at the door and voices make me quickly get off Jake's lap.

"There are locks on these buses you know, brother?" We look at Sam who is dying to laugh at the moment.

And when Poppy's head appears through the door I realize that he is not the only one dying of laughter.

[slytherinbarnes]

Sub Rosa [20]

vii. long into an abyss

Pairing: Bellamy Blake x reader

Word Count: 5.7k

Warnings: Reaper things, drug withdrawal (kind of?? the 100 style), violence, near death things, language, mentions of blood, choking.

Summary: Everything hinges on Lincoln’s recovery and survival, which seems less likely as time passes. 

a/n: in case you didn’t see my post yesterday, I finished writing s3 and it is a looong one! but I’m really happy with it and so excited to eventually share it with you guys! until then, here is part TWENTY! and yes, the taglist for this series is open!! I hope you enjoy, please let me know what you think!!!

previous chapter // season masterlist // series masterlist

You’re halfway between the Delinquent Camp and Camp Jaha when Bellamy glances over at you, looking around Lincoln’s head. “You need to go get Clarke. We’re gonna need her if we’re going to figure out how to save Lincoln. Octavia and I will get him to the dropship.”

“Okay.” You shrug out from underneath Lincoln and Octavia takes your place, ready to carry him home. “Be safe.”

“You too.”

You turn from the siblings and break into a run, heading straight for Camp Jaha. It isn’t long before you hear the sounds of the camp in the distance, and you slow to a walk, moving to walk parallel with the perimeter so you can sneak in the back way. You walk until you find the small break in the trees and then you duck through it and jog up the short path to the fence. You look around for a stick and toss it at the fence, relieved to find that it isn’t electrified, before ducking inside and creeping from behind the buildings. 

When you step into the camp, everyone is gathered in the center of it, looking towards the doors of Alpha Station. There your mother stands, with Jaha at her side, both of them looking tense. Your brows furrow as you watch the former chancellor, sure that the last time you heard his name it was because they were telling you that he was dead. “I have faith. And right now, given the alternative, that's good enough for me.”

“Not for us.” You turn when you hear her voice, eyes quickly scanning the crowd to find your twin. You catch her when she steps forward, closer to Jaha and your mother, Finn right beside her. Her voice rises angrily, “If we leave here, what happens to our people in Mount Weather?”

Leave here? Jaha’s gaze locks on Clarke. “As your mother said, that is a very difficult decision to make. But the time has come for each and every one of us to ask, ‘Is this how the story of our people ends? Did we come all this way just to die tomorrow?’ Because if we're not gone by the time that sun rises, that is exactly what will happen.”

You shake your head in confusion, trying to make sense of what he’s saying. The crowd murmurs, in fear or anticipation you’re not sure, and you start to sneak towards your sister as your mom wraps up the meeting. “No decision has been made. In the meantime, please report to your station supervisor and gather emergency supplies.”

Everyone starts to turn away, and you use the chaos and movement to make the final steps towards Clarke, reaching out and grabbing her arm. She spins quickly, shock and relief crossing her features. “Where have you been?”

“You need to come with me right now.”

“Why? What's happened?”

You shake your head, “I'll explain on the way. Grab your med kit and meet me at Raven's gate.”

She nods once and you turn away, ducking from the crowd and dropping your head to avoid eye contact with anyone who may be watching. You stop by the supply room on your way to Raven’s gate, and slip inside unnoticed. You jog past the shelves of clothes and head straight for the rations, grabbing a few extra and stuffing them in your pack. You make a u-turn and head towards the locked up weapons, reaching out to grab the lock and inspect it. You smirk when you see it, easily breakable, and turn back to the shelves of supplies to find something to put pressure on the mechanism with. As you’re searching, you hear the door slide open behind you, and you duck down, peering between the shelves to see who it is. 

Your stomach flips when your eyes land on Shumway, who is heading over to the locked up weapons, keys jingling in his hand. You take a step back and duck down further, dropping from his view, but as your foot moves, you lightly bump the shelf beside you, rattling a can above your head. Shumway spins around, eyes landing right above you, and you hold your breath, praying he doesn’t spot you. His brows pull together and he pulls out his pistol as he starts to walk towards you, searching. You pull out your knife, your gun tucked away inside your backpack and push yourself backwards, into the shadows, until your back touches the wall. Shumway draws closer and closer, and you know it’s only a matter of seconds before he walks around the last shelf and comes face to face with you, clutching a knife and backed into a corner. Just as his boot crosses the line of the shelf, the door to the room slides open, and another guard steps inside.

Shumway spins towards him, gun raised, and the guard lifts his arms in surrender. When Shumway recognizes him, he lowers his gun. “What are you doing man? Help me get these guns ready for evac.”

“I thought I heard something. Someone.” Shumway tosses one last look in your direction before heading over to the guard and unlocking the cabinet, emptying all the weapons and ammo and loading them into bags. They each grab a few bags and Shumway starts to step towards the door when he stops and drops them. “I’m gonna find one more guy to help us carry these. Stay right here.”

The guard nods and drops his bags too, turning to lean against the wall and wait for the man’s return. Your eyes start scanning the room frantically, looking for a way out, before they land on a small window at the back of the room, blown out from the crash landing and open to the outside world. You creep towards it, your gaze jumping from the guard to the window as you maneuver your way closer to freedom. When you reach the back wall, you pull off your pack and toss it through, dropping to the floor as it hits the ground on the other side. The guard spins at the sound and looks around for a second, before turning back and leaning against the wall again. 

You stand and jump up quickly, and hoist yourself through the window before dropping to the ground on the other side. You hear yelling from somewhere behind you as you reach down and snag up your bag before breaking into a run and heading towards Raven’s Gate. You come around the corner and find your sister already there and waiting for you. “Where have you-”

You cut her off and grab her hand, tugging her behind you until you reach the fence, quickly ducking through. Clarke is barely through it when you hear the fence start to hum with electricity again, and you turn to her in surprise. She grabs you and starts to lead you into the treeline, out of sight. “They’re probably checking over everything because of the threat.”

“Threat? What threat?” 

She drops your hand when you reach the treeline and steps back to let you take the lead as she explains. “The Commander sent Jaha back to camp with a message: leave or be killed.”

“I thought Jaha was dead?”

“So did we.”

You turn to look at her, face serious. “Clarke, we can’t leave. The 47-”

“I know. I already told them that. For now, mom is on our side and doesn’t want to go, but I’m sure it won’t be long until she takes Jaha’s side.” Her eyes scan the area around you, lighting up with recognition. “Are we going back to the dropship?”

“Yes.” You step over a fallen log, and turn to make sure she makes it over too. “We found Lincoln. But he’s...not himself.”

“What do you mean?”

You take a deep breath and watch her from the corner of your eye. “He’s a Reaper.”

“A Reaper?” You nod. “How?”

“We don’t know.”

The trees open up to a clearing, revealing the fallen perimeter of your former home. Clarke doesn’t ask anything else, and allows you to lead her to the dropship. You ascend the ladder first, Clarke hot on your heels, and as soon as Lincoln spots you he lunges towards you, screaming with rage. You and Clarke jump in surprise, and Bellamy steps towards you both, offering some comfort. “It's okay, it's okay. He's been restrained.”

You both watch as he strains and pulls against his restraints, reminding you of when Bellamy tortured him. Octavia is on the ground near your feet, hunched over and exhausted. She lifts her head to meet Clarke’s eyes. “Can you help him?”

“I don't know.” She steps towards him, slow and tentative, eyes never leaving the struggling man. “I knew Mount Weather controlled the Reapers. I had no idea they were creating them.”

Bellamy shifts closer to you, voice low. “If they can do that to Lincoln, what're they doing to our friends?”

Your stomach drops, thinking of the 47 being beaten, tortured, and drained for blood. You work to swallow a wave of nausea, as Clarke mutters, “I need more light.”

You, Bellamy, and Octavia all grab your flashlights and shine them towards Lincoln, hoping that it’s enough. Your flashlight passes over his leg, his wound still bleeding, and Clarke turns to face you. “What happened to his leg?”

You watch Ocatvia’s face fall, then harden, as she avoids everyone’s eyes. “I shot him.”

“Clarke, he's lost a lot of blood.” Bellamy’s voice pulls her gaze away from his younger sister, and back to Lincoln. Her gaze rakes over him quickly, but you see her squint as she tries to get a closer look at something. “Can you shine the light on his neck?”

Clarke steps closer as Octavia lifts the light to Lincoln’s neck, and he turns away from the bright beam. “Needle marks.”

You step closer to her, confused. “You think he's being drugged?”

“Maybe.”

As soon as the word leaves her mouth, Lincoln pulls one of the chains keeping his arm restrained free. It hits Clarke as he grabs her and pulls her closer, trying to rip out her throat with his teeth. You jump into action and run towards them, only to be flung to the side and into the wall. Octavia suffers a similar fate before Bellamy runs forward, hitting Lincoln’s arm until he drops your twin on the ground. Lincoln rears his head back and collides it with Bellamy’s, sending him backwards while he shrugs himself free of the other arm restraint. You all scramble backwards as Lincoln lunges towards you, managing to stay just out of reach. Bellamy rolls and grabs the shock baton, jumping to his feet and running towards the possessed Reaper. Lincoln pulls one of his legs free just as Bellamy reaches him, deflecting the shock baton and tossing Bellamy to the ground. You watch as Lincoln delivers blow after blow to Bellamy’s face, blood blooming and spreading beneath his fists. 

You jump up and run to them, screaming out in rage as you reach Lincoln and kick him in the side. He turns towards you and smacks you across the face so hard your neck cracks, and you hit the floor. You taste blood rolling over your tongue as Clarke runs over in your defense, only to catch a fist to the stomach that sends her flying. You roll closer and kick out at Lincoln, trying to keep him away from Bellamy, who you hear calling out your name in protest. Lincoln grabs your legs and pulls you closer, hitting you in the face a few times before his hands close around your throat and cut off your airway. 

You hear Bellamy yelling in fear and anger as he lunges towards Lincoln, but he is knocked to the side easily by the Grounder. You feel your fingers reach into your pocket and pull out your knife, fingers closing tight around the handle as black spots dance in your vision. You plunge the knife into his side, but he doesn’t even flinch. Your lungs scream for oxygen as darkness starts to edge out your vision. And just before you think it’s over, Lincoln’s head snaps up and to the side as Octavia hits him twice with a large metal bar. 

You take in a large gasp of air, nearly dizzy from the sudden influx of oxygen, as Bellamy staggers to his feet and stumbles over to you. He drops to his knees at your side, taking your face in his hands as he whispers, “You’re okay, you’re okay, you’re okay.”

Tears well up in your eyes as you think about your closeness to death (again), and he leans down and kisses you, thankful that you cheated death once more. He pulls away and looks at you for a long second, affection and worry written all over his face. You smile at him, trying to reassure him, as you hear Clarke drop down beside you. Bellamy leans back as she reaches forward, her fingers gently tugging your collar down to look at your neck. She presses the skin around the already darkening bruises, and you wince. Her hands lift and skim over the cuts on your face, checking their depth before she meets your eyes. “You’re gonna be okay. Just some bruises and shallow cuts.”

They help you up and you turn to Octavia and reach for her, pulling her into a tight hug. “Thank you. I know that wasn’t easy for you.” She sniffles and nods into your hair, and you pull away and give her a serious look. “We’re gonna get him back. I promise.”

She nods again, and you both turn to look at Clarke and Bellamy. “We should get him tied up before he wakes up again.”

Everyone agrees and you all tear apart the dropship looking for things to restrain him with. Minutes later he is held back once again, this time with a series of ropes, cables, ties, and a net, all securely held into place at multiple anchor points. You all gather around him and Clarke begins to look him over again. “We have to stop the bleeding and get the bullet out, and patch up the knife wound. Hold his leg down.”

You and Bellamy move to his leg and pin it down. At the same time, Octavia tries to help Lincoln drink water, but he screams and spits it out, wasting what little water she had left. She closes the lid on the canteen and stands with a determined look. “That’s okay, I’ll get some more.”

She leaves the dropship and you all watch her go before Clarke turns her sights back on Lincoln’s gunshot wound. She digs around in her kit until she finds a surgical clamp, which she uses to dig the bullet out of his leg. Lincoln screams out in rage and pain and attempts to fight you off, but you and Bellamy bear down on him, keeping him in place. He only fights for a second longer before passing out from the pain, making the removal process easier for all of you. Once she has the bullet removed she cleans and stitches the wound before turning her sights on the next one. 

She looks at the knife in his side before pulling it out and passing it to you. You wipe the blade off on your pants before tucking it back into your pocket. Clarke uses Lincoln’s unconscious state in her favor and cleans and stitches him quickly before he wakes up again. You whisper to her, “Mom would be proud.”

As she finishes she looks over at you, voice quiet. “Mom would know how to save him.”

She turns towards her kit and starts to drop her supplies inside, and you and Bellamy lean back from Lincoln and watch her. To the right of you, the hatch swings open and Octavia steps into view, followed by another person. The Grounder from the village, Nyko. You scramble to your feet in shock and Bellamy makes a mad dash for his gun, while reaching out to pull you behind him as he lifts the rifle to his shoulder. 

Octavia steps in front of Nyko, face etched in panic. “Bellamy, don't! He's Lincoln's friend and their healer.”

Below you, Lincoln starts to grunt and shake, and Clarke leans over him, voice high with panic. “He's seizing again!”

The room is held frozen by a moment of tense silence, until Bellamy lowers his gun slightly and nods towards Lincoln, giving the healer permission to help him. Nyko pulls out a satchel and unrolls it, revealing a collection of vials, all full of different colored liquids. He scans them before picking up one with clear liquid inside and uncorking it. 

“What is that?”

He ignores Clarke’s question and leans over Lincoln, whispering, “Yu gonplei ste odon.”

You glance over at Bellamy, who is still tensed up, and then at Clarke, whose gaze is bouncing between the vial, Nyko, and Lincoln. As he tips the vial and a drop starts to fall out, realization hits her and she sticks out her hand, catching the droplet. “Wait!”

Nyko pulls out a knife and Bellamy lifts his rifle again and aims it at the man. “Back off! Right now!”

You see Clarke’s mind spinning as she repeats the Grounder phrase. “Yu gonplei ste odon. It's what they say before death.” She turns to look at Octavia. “He's not trying to heal him, he's trying to kill him.”

Octavia turns and glares at Nyko. “Is it true?”

“Yes. Death is the only way.”

“Hold on. There could be a way to bring him back.”

He looks at her, and drops the knife. “None that I've ever seen.”

No one has a chance to answer before the dropship is thrust into chaos again. Finn’s head pops into the room, and you hear him say something about needing to leave before Nyko jumps up, full of rage. “You!”

He runs at Finn and grabs him, yelling at him in his native tongue. He slams Finn into the wall as Bellamy turns his gun on the Grounder once more. “Get off him!”

Nyko ignores him, hands shaking with anger as he pins Finn to the wall. “You slaughtered my people. Elders. Children. Innocents.”

His hands close around Finn’s neck, squeezing tightly, and you see the color drain from Finn’s face. “Nyko, you're killing him!”

“Blood must have blood!”

Clarke is frozen, eyes locked on Finn as the life drains from his body, and the Blake siblings scream back and forth about whether to shoot Nyko. You watch everything in a frozen panic before remembering the baton. You run to the other side of the room and grab it, lighting it up on your way over and pressing it to Nyko’s back. He screams out in pain and instantly drops Finn, and you see Clarke run towards him to check on him. You turn off the baton and your gaze locks with Bellamy’s. Octavia’s voice breaks the silence of the room when she yells, “Lincoln! He's not breathing!”

Clarke runs from Finn to Lincoln, checking for a pulse. “His heart's stopped. Move!”

She starts performing CPR, and Octavia watches on in horror. You and Bellamy stand over Nyko, his gun still lifted and your baton still in hand as you watch Clarke bring Lincoln back from the dead. He takes in a deep breath of air, gasping, and Nyko shifts beside you. You turn, ready to stop him again, but he stares at Clarke in fascination. “He was dead. How did you do that?”

Clarke turns towards him. “You've tried bringing Reapers back before?”

He nods and she asks, “And they died like this?”

You see her brain working again, and you meet her gaze. “What is it?”

“I know how to stop the attack.” She stands and turns to you. “I need you to come with me. We’ll need a united front to convince mom.”

You nod, agreeing, as she turns to the others. “Keep an eye on Lincoln and Nyko. We’ll be back soon.”

“What about Finn?”

She turns to look at Nyko, and then over at Bellamy. “I’ll take him with us, just in case.”

She steps away and heads down the ladder, and you move to the other side of the room and grab your pack. Bellamy steps up behind you and you pull the extra rations out, passing them to him. “You should eat. All of you. And you should get some rest. I don’t know when we’ll be back.”

He takes the rations and sets them aside, before turning back to you and giving you a serious look. “Be careful.”

“I will.” He pulls your collar aside and takes a peek at your bruises, before his eyes meet yours again. “I mean it.”

You stand on your tippy toes and give him a quick kiss. “We’ll be right back, I promise.”

You smile and then turn away, lowering yourself down the ladder and onto the floor. Clarke and Finn turn and step away from each other, and you can tell from the tension in the air that they were having a serious conversation. You look between the two, and start to head towards the door. “Come on, we have to hurry.”

They follow you out into the cool night air, the moon beaming down and cutting through the trees. Finn jogs ahead and leads your trio, leaving you and Clarke to walk side by side. You glance at her, searching her face. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. No.” She shakes her head. “I don’t know. Things are just...off between us right now.”

You reach out and grab her hand, squeezing in comfort, letting her know that you understand. She shakes her head, clearing her thoughts, before turning on you and twisting her mouth into a smirk. 

“So you and Bellamy?” You blush and turn away. “I had my suspicions, but I thought he wasn’t your type.”

You bump her shoulder with yours, “Shut up.”

You both laugh, but she squeezes your hand. “I’m happy for you. You guys are good for each other.”

You give her a soft smile, thinking of what Octavia said to you a few days ago. “That seems to be the general consensus.”

She’s about to ask something when Finn turns back to you both and whispers, “Shh.”

He stops and listens for a minute, and you and Clarke follow suit, but you don’t hear anything other than the owls in the trees and the scurrying of animals through the bushes. A look of fear passes over Finn’s face before he grabs you and Clarke and mutters, “Run!”

You all break into a sprint, tearing through the trees, following Finn as he guides you through the darkness and towards safety. You don’t stop running until you reach the gate, and the guards open it and let you all inside. Your mom and Jaha are standing nearby talking, and Clarke calls out to them. “Mom!”

She runs towards you, looking angry until her eyes land on your face, adorned with fresh cuts, and her expression softens a little. “Where have you been? We're leaving.”

“I know how to stop the attack.”

Jaha spins towards Clarke, “What're you talking about?”

“We haven't been able to negotiate with the Grounders because we haven't had anything to offer them. The biggest threat they face is from the Reapers.”

You piggyback off your twin’s statement, “The Reapers are being drugged by the Mountain Men. Created by them. We think we may be able to eliminate that threat for them once and for all.”

Your mom is silent, considering both of your words before she asks, “How?”

“Abby.” Jaha’s voice is stern, a glare plastered on his face, directed between the three of you. “You can't seriously-”

He cuts himself off when the camp falls silent, his gaze locking on something out beyond the walls, you turn to follow his gaze, watching as four torches of fire glow in the distance. And then the four turn into eight, and then 16, 32, multiplying until there is a wall of fire right outside your walls. Your mom turns and looks at all of you. “Inside. Now.”

You follow her into the council room, grabbing Byrne and Sergeant Miller on the way, and you all stand around the table, staring at each other, considering the options. You’re the first to break the silence, “They're not attacking yet, which means we still have time.”

Your mother turns towards you, shaking her head. “We have two hours until dawn.”

“Let me talk to the Commander.” Clarke steps up from beside you, locking eyes with your mom. “She was Anya's Second. Maybe she'll listen.”

Jaha throws up his hands in frustration. “We don't even know if the Commander is here.”

“Yes, we do. Nyko told us.” All eyes turn to Finn as he comes in defense of Clarke. “You have to at least let her try.”

“Abby, we're wasting time. Give me the authority now.”

You turn a disgusted look towards the former chancellor, instantly put off by his tone. Your mom seems to feel the same way, because she cuts in, “Hold on. You said that Lincoln is going through withdrawal.” She hesitates, considering every angle. “We don't even know what he's withdrawing from. The detox alone could kill him.”

“That's where you come in.”

She looks at you, expression neutral. “And if I can't save him?”

“That's not an option.”

Her gaze locks with yours, reading your expression, running through the possibilities. She does the same with Clarke, noting your conviction, your desire to fix this now and save everyone. Jaha seems to get tired of this and grows incredulous. “We are risking everything on a bluff? Abby, we have an out. We have a way to save the lives of our people.”

You spin towards him, voice hard. “Not all of them.”

He jumps to his feet and slams his hand on the table. “We will come back to save the kids inside Mount Weather!”

“We all know that's not going to happen!” You feel Finn and Clarke step towards you, agreeing, joining in your defense. Jaha steps towards your mother and stops right beside her. “Abby. This has gone on long enough. If you do not give the order to begin the exodus, you are killing us all.”

“I'm sorry.” She pauses, leaving a moment for you to all wonder who the apology is for, until she turns to Jaha. “I can't give that order.”

He closes the space between them, dropping his head to speak directly into her ear. “Abby. Give the order.”

“No.”

His eyes grow wide and his energy grows more erratic as he glares at your mom. “I...am the elected Chancellor of the Ark. And I am not going to let you risk the lives of more people; do you understand? I'm going to ask you once again: give the order to begin the exodus.”

“No. Are you through yet?”

You watch as he starts to shake slightly with anger, and you reach your hand into your pocket, closing it around your knife, genuinely convinced he’s about to attack your mother and everyone else in this room. But then he seems to remember the audience, because his gaze shifts over to the rest of you. You can see him visibly trying to calm himself down as he steps away and walks over to Byrne.

“Sergeant Miller. Major Byrne. I am relieving Doctor Griffin of her command. Place these four into custody, but make sure they are ready to leave with the rest of us within the hour.”

Byrne and Miller stand completely still, unmoving. And Jaha’s voice rises in anger. “Right now, Major! Or the blood of everyone in this camp will be on your hands, too.”

Still, she doesn’t move. And despite your annoyance at her continuous spying, you commend her loyalty, because she doesn’t move until your mom opens her mouth. “Major Byrne, Sergeant Miller. Put Chancellor Jaha in the stockade.”

“Yes, ma'am.”

They reach for him, but he shakes out of their grasp and spins around in anger, looking at the woman who dares to defy him. “Everything we did to survive…” He trails off, looking over at you, Clarke, and Finn. “You're just throwing it all away. Why?”

“Because I have faith, too.” Her gaze shifts over to you and Clarke, standing side by side, her shining star and her little la lune. “In my daughters.”

You feel a rush of affection for her, unfamiliar, a foreign idea clouded by the strain in your relationship. Clarke is the first to step forward and address her. “Thank you.”

“I'll send the guard detail with you.”

“No.” She shakes her head. “They'll see it as a threat. I have to do this on my own.”

You step towards your mother, “I’ll take you to Lincoln.”

She nods, and you squeeze Clarke’s hand as you pass. “See you soon.”

Your mom and twin share a hug before she turns towards you again, now ready to follow your lead. 

-

The run back to the dropship is taken in complete silence, too much stress, fear, and anxiety on your minds to hold a conversation with each other. You make it back to the camp as the sun is rising into the sky, signaling the end of the timeline given to your people by the commander. You can do nothing but hope that Clarke is granted an audience and buys you enough time.

You step up into the dropship first, and Octavia sighs with relief as soon as she sees you. “Oh, thank god. Where's Clarke?”

“Trying to stop a war.”

Your mom immediately steps around you and heads for Lincoln, slipping into doctor mode as soon as she sees the state he’s in. “Pupils are unresponsive.” You catch Bellamy and Octavia sharing a concerned look before your mom hands rubber tubing to the younger Blake. “Tie off his arm. Tight as you can.”

She does as she’s told while your mom digs through her bag and tries to offer her some comfort. “Thanks to the supplies your brother found, he might have a chance.”

“What's that?”

“This will bring down his fever.” As soon as she starts to enter the needle into his arm, Lincoln gains consciousness and pushes her away. Your mom turns to you and Bellamy. “Hold him down!”

You both run over and restrain him, just as convulsions start to rock his body. They only last for a second before he grows still again. Your mom checks his pulse, and her voice is full of alarm when she says, “His heart's stopped.”

She directs Nyko on how to assist her during CPR, as she pushes down on his chest and attempts to restart his heart. There is nothing the rest of you can do other than watch on in terror as your last hope for a peace treaty with the Grounders dies with Lincoln. 

You don’t know how long has passed before your mother stops, leaning back and looking down at Lincoln in pure defeat. Octavia glares at her, “You're stopping. What's wrong?”

“I'm sorry.”

“Mom…” You trail off, unsure what to say, keep going, you can save him, they’ll kill us all for this, but she just gives you a sad look. “He's gone.”

Octavia pushes her aside, taking over. “No, it's not possible. You're wrong!”

You and Bellamy kneel beside her as she sobs and pushes on his chest, desperate to get him breathing again. You hear the hatch open as Octavia stops, a broken sob pushing past her lips. You make eye contact with Clarke as she steps inside, and you see her gaze drop down to Lincoln’s still body before meeting your eyes again. You can see the silent question there and you shake your head. A second person steps into the dropship, a girl with long dark hair and war paint smeared over her eyes. She exudes power and authority, and you’re almost positive that you’re looking at the Commander. 

Her eyes are on the unmoving Lincoln, and you can see her rage grow as others step into the dropship to join you. You turn towards Bellamy, touching his hand, and his eyes shift towards you. You glance at his rifle and he reaches for it, and you turn to look around you for a weapon, stomach dropping when you find none. One of the Grounders looks at your group, and then at the commander. On her signal, she snarls, “Kill them all!”

Everyone in the room jumps into action. The Grounders all pull out their swords, Bellamy lifts his rifle, and your mother grabs the baton from the floor near your feet. You grab your knife from your pocket and wrap your other arm around Octavia, as she remains unmoving, still mourning the loss of Lincoln. Clarke looks at the commander, voice shaking in fear. “Please. You don't have to do this.”

“You lied, and you're out of time.”

Before anything else can happen, your mother drops to the ground beside Licnoln and activates the shock baton, pressing it to his chest. His body jumps and lifts from the power, before dropping back to the ground, still unmoving. Your eyes never leave his body as you mutter, “Hit him again.”

She complies, and this time the electricity jump starts his heart. Lincoln pulls in a deep gasp of air, and Octavia tugs herself out of your arms and into his line of sight. “Lincoln.”

He looks at her for a second, and then whispers, “Octavia.”

She sighs in relief and you turn to Bellamy, both of you looking at each other in shock as the tension from the last few minutes starts to melt away. You can hear the Grounders sheathing their swords, taking you out of danger for the time being. Bellamy smiles and you let out a quiet laugh of relief, before reaching for Octavia and squeezing her hand, celebrating the return of Lincoln and your hope for peace.

For now. 

-

next chapter

[ren1327]

Sweet Survivor Ch.9 Final

He moaned as he woke up, hearing a loud but steady beep to his left.

Why was his right side so warm?

He took another deep breath and heard a hum in his ear from the warmth under him.

“Kenji?”

His vision cleared and he found Ben pressed against his side in robe matching his, legs and feet bare.

Ben had bruises on his collar and a cut on his lip. But he was smiling at Kenji so brightly, Kenji swore he had never seen him look so beautiful.

Kenji was in a bed with him curled against his side, an arm around his neck.

If this was heaven, he would enjoy eternity in Ben’s arms.

“Did I die?” He asked him, leaning close to kiss him.

“You better had not!” A voice said from over them, startling them apart.

Kenji looked up to see a short plump woman with mocha skin, her curly black hair put up in two panda buns. Her soft cotton shirt that said “Property of Kon Incorporated” stretched over her baby bump. Her soft green eyes looked down at him in worry and he wanted to cry as her always warm hands stroked over his cheeks.

“Mijo, you scared me!” She crooned and took Kenji’s face in her hands and kissed his forehead. Ben moved back to give them space.

Kenji sniffed as she used her thumbs to brush away his tears before they fell.

“Candy?” Kenji asked. “Where am I?”

“You passed out from blood loss, Kenji.” She said, voice shaky. “Your father got you and your friends private rooms. Ben is technically supposed to be in that bed over there, but…”

She chuckled and hugged him. “Neither of us could leave your side.”

The Puerto-Rican smiled sweetly, eyes shining with unshed tears. “I want to tease you, but I’m just so happy you’re safe. Your father was a mess and little Carmen kept kicking as if to tell us her big brother was still…”

She sniffed loudly, looking up and fanning her face. “Dios mio…”

Ben smiled at Kenji, who finally looked around to see he was in a large private room, a bay window looking out over a busy city. He and Ben were in hospital robes, the lights turned low and a curtain most likely hiding the other bed and the door where he could hear people passing by.

“You’re in San Jose, Papa.” She said. “We’re staying at my old apartment.”

“We’re…We got away.” Kenji said.

“We did.” Ben said. “And Bumpy is okay from what I saw…”

Ben shook his head, schooling his anguished face into a shaky smile.

“Candy was telling me how she and your Dad met when he first came here to see Jurassic World.” Ben said. “And we just kept talking.”

“Yes.” Candy said, sitting on a plush armchair with a groan and stroking her belly. “Your Dad went to go pick up your friends families. Ben told me about Toro and Bumpy and the suck-os.”

“Suchos, Mom.” He said and Candy squeaked.

“Baby boy, you’re lucky I can’t get up right now or I’d smother you with love.” She said with a blinding smile, reaching out a hand and waving it like a fan.

Kenji took the hand she offered, noting her nails were bitten and chipped. He looked at her again, noticing how red her eyes were. How tired she looked.

“So,” She said. “I’m assuming I’m going to be getting use to my future partner hanging around?”

“What?” Kenji asked.

“Ben here has some amazing ideas for new products. A white tea mask with carob seed extract? I had no idea it could be a daily moisturizer!” She said. “That nice girl, Yazmina? She had packed a lot of things in hers and Sammy’s bags, including a book Ben said you gave to him and he has been going off about how different plants can be crushed, or oils extracted. I always get so bored when my scientists tell me this and that, but Ben really has a zest for this!”

She waved her free hand around excitedly. “I’m thinking a new daily skin care line! The launching off point of my new and improved company!”

Ben smiled up at Kenji. “She likes my ideas.”

“And I need to try that banana carob loaf.”

“Ben!” Kenji exclaimed with a blush.

“I’ve was working on that vest of yours, honey.” She said and held up his vest with thick black stiches holding the claw marks together like torn flesh. “I can get it repaired at home.”

Kenji laughed, imaging Candy struggling with the needle and her excited face when she would make the thread connect the two sides.

“Thanks Mom.” He said again.

“Oh, Baby boy.” She said as the door opened.

“Candela?” Mr. Kon called.

“Kosei!” She called. “They’re awake!”

A woman with a messy brown braid threw the curtain open.

“Ben!” She yelled and gathered Ben in her arms, picking him up like he weighed nothing, holding him like a toddler. She was petite and thin, but obviously had hidden strength.

“Whoa! Mom—" Ben said, holding on tight to her shoulders.

“Oh, my baby! I’m so sorry! I will never ever force you to do something you don’t want to ever again—”

“Sandra, he might be injured!” A broad blond man in a rumpled and stained button up said. The poor guy looked like he lived off coffee and pure anxiety.

“David!” She hissed, making him flinch back. “I thought my son was dead yesterday!”

“Ma’am?” Kenji asked.

Her big blue eyes snapped to Kenji. Her husband came up next to her.

“He has a bruised tailbone, so he should take it easy.”

“O-Oh…Was he in the same bed as you?” She asked, looking very confused as Ben hugged her back and swung his legs down to stand. His father pulled him into a hug too.

“Hey, Son.” He said, voice thick as he rubbed Ben’s back.

“Hey Dad.” Ben sniffed and turned to hug his mom again. “I missed you guys so much!”

Mr. Kon sat next to Kenji and stroked his hair.

“Mrs. Pincus?” He asked in his stern voice.

Ben’s mom looked at the man in the clearly expensive business suit. “Oh, yes, Mr.…?”

“Kon.” He said. “Kosei Kon.”

“Of Kon…” She swallowed. “Kon Incorporated?”

“Yes. I am very sad to hear of what happened to Simon.” He said, face falling as he bowed his head.

“Yes. He was a good man.” She said softly. “It’s going to be hard without him. And I know it will displace a lot of good people who loved him, loved working for him…”

“Do you have a resume handy?” Candy asked from her seat.

“Candy!” Mr. Kon scolded lightly.

Candy blinked at her husband and pouted. Kosei stared her down and her bottom lip wobbled a bit as she stroked her baby bump. The older man’s cheeks reddened at the sight of her big eyes practically begging for something unspoken between them, and he sighed.

Ben was impressed with how she was able to break down such a stern looking man.

“Mrs. Pincus. My wife would like to rebuild her own business after our daughter is born and I…we were wondering if you would be able to help by joining her employ.” He said. “I was planning on asking you after our children had rested enough, but now seems as good a time as any.”

“I’m sorry, but how do they…how do they know each other? From the camp?” Mr. Pincus asked.

“He’s my boyfriend, Dad.” Ben said, making Kenji’s head snap in his direction.

“Kosei Kon’s son is your...” Mrs. Pincus said.

She sat on the bed.

“Yeah. We kinda confessed after I survived falling from a monorail when Pteranodons attacked us. After almost dying, like, more than once,” Ben said with a tilt of his head. “We thought it best to just be honest about our feelings.”

Mr. Pincus sat down next to his wife.

“Oh.” They both said at the same time.

 *

 “You’ll come visit, right?” Sammy asked as Yaz’s Dad loaded her backpack in the backseat of their cab and her Mom hugged both of Sammy’s Dads.

“Well duh.” Yaz said, taking her girlfriend’s hands. “Gotta come see my sponsor’s new investment!”

Sammy smiled and kissed her cheek, hugging for the umpteenth time.

Darius waved as his mom hugged him close.

“Don’t forget to message me!” Brooklynn called.

“Every day!” He promised her, sliding in his own cab behind his brother.

Roxy gave Brooklynn a big hug as her mom and aunt thanked Dave and Claire over and over, her aunt still crying happy tears.

Kenji held Ben’s hands as their parents waited for them in separate cabs.

Kenji rubbed his thumb over Ben’s bruised knuckles.

“It’ll only be a few months, right?” Kenji asked.

“Well, we need time to pack, pick a house and settle.” Ben said softly. “Besides…still…a little fast for me.”

“Scared of the B word?” Kenji joked.

“Scared of the expectations that come with being a boyfriend. Not to mention all the new things.” He said. “I mean, realistically…we might not even last.”

“Don’t worry.” Kenji said. “When you move to California…I’ll drive over whenever you want to see me and give you space when you don’t.”

Ben blushed and gave him a blank look.

“Who are you and what have you done with Kenji Kon?” Ben asked, making a face.

Kenji kissed the wrinkle over his nose. “I’m still Kenji. Being the best at everything. Including boyfriend.”

Ben leaned up and kissed his jaw. “You already are. No expectations needed.”

“Back at you.” Kenji said, kissing him softly. “Besides. I think my Mom and Dad love you too much for me to mess this up.”

Ben chuckled and smiled softly up at him. “See you later?”

Kenji put on his rose-gold aviators.

“You betcha, Sweet thing!”

Ben wrinkled his nose, but couldn’t hide his smile as they parted.

  THREE YEARS LATER…

 The shrill beeping of his phone went off.

Kenji took a deep breath and tried to sit up, but two arms refused to let him budge.

“Seriously, what’s with this grip?” Kenji whispered, trying to peel off his boyfriend’s fingers.

“No…” Ben whined, adjusting to hug him around the waist, the thin sheet covering their bodies falling to expose more of Ben’s skin.

“Baby, I gotta get my phone.” He said and Ben whined again, hugging a pillow.

He sat up and reached over to get his cell, seeing Brooklynn and Darius’s picture on it. He swiped it and sighed, seeing it was four am.

“What is it, Dino-Nerd?” He asked. “Ben has class tomorrow and I got a meeting I gotta shadow with my Dad—”

“Is Ben there?” Darius asked.

“My boyfriend of three years who lives with me? That Ben?”

“Kenji!”

“Yes! Ben is here!” He groaned and Ben sat up, pulling the sheet up to his chin. “Aren’t you supposed to be at Claire’s office or—”

“Put me on speaker.” Darius said.

Kenji tapped the button and sighed. “Done.”

“Ben?”

“Yeah?” He asked sleepily. “Did the relocation go okay?”

“Bumpy was moved.” Darius said, sounding out of breath.

“Yeah, you told me Zia said they were gonna be relocated to—”

“She wasn’t relocated to the island!” Brooklynn’s voice said suddenly. “We came to check up and—oh my god, they’re getting away!”

“What?!” Ben yelled, and Kenji hugged him close.

“I can see Claire and Owen!” Darius said in the background.

“Guys? Wait, then where is she?” He asked.

“She’s on the mainland!” Brooklynn said. “She was taken to Lockwood Manor and—Darius, duck!”

They heard a squeal. “We’re okay.”

“Lockwood Manor?” Kenji asked.

“She’s not the only one!” Darius said. “There’s so many! Wait is that…Toro?!”

“Get in the car, get in the car!” Barry yelled over the phone. “We’ll recon around the property and pick them up.”

They heard a far-off roar and the sound of an engine.

“Guys!” Ben yelled.

“We’re okay! But you need to spread the word! Get your families up north as soon as possible! We’re going to stay and help Claire and Owen!” Darius said. “There’ so many and I know Owen and Claire are going to need help. We hate to ask you…”

Kenji looked at Ben. His boyfriend nodded; determination set on his face.

“We’re in.”

[writing-the-end]

WS Chapter 57- The Calm Before

Previous Chapter

Masterpost

Time for war! Or at least, first some good old reflection, tying up loose ends, and preparing for battle! Y’all ready, the end is coming near, I can’t believe we’re only three more chapters away from the end!

Ecto belongs to @cooler-cactus-block

Red belongs to @theguardiansofredland​

Selene belongs to @to-dem-stars​

Mentioned: Star belongs to @thatonewannabedragon​ , Perri belongs to @hyperfixatingparrot​ , Pierre belongs to @cabbagesenpai​ , Kai belongs to @the-cheshirefox​ , Storm belongs to @stormjay0​ , Abyss belongs to @abyssvoidsstuffs​ , Bre belongs to @mintyhotchocolate​ (if there are any I missed lmk)

The first nether portal appeared just before the sky began to grey with the morning sun. Star was on guard at the time, and they quickly alerted the entire camp of the impending attack. The grounds scrambled to life, grabbing blades and falling into battle stations. 

At the top of the rise, above the campground, the wanderers sit together. Watching the sun rise and a few more nether portals appear. Nothing has come through them yet, leaving a sense of nervous waiting across the overworld. The entire land holding it’s breath, waiting for the first move. 

A brush of wind flutters behind the wanderers. Brushing through Avon’s wings, playing with Red’s hair, and tugging on Ecto’s scarves. Jessie hops across the three heads, settling into Ecto’s hood. She looks over her shoulder, before resting her hand on the hilt of her sword. “We’ve come a long way, haven’t we?” 

“It feels like just yesterday we first met one another.” Red whispers, looking up at the other wanderers. He giggles. “I’m pretty sure Avon’s way to say hello is by pointing her trident at your face.” 

“Ecto was the one that immediately started fighting me!” Avon reaches over and bumps Ecto in the shoulder. Jessie chirps, disturbed from her nap in Ecto’s hood. “You nearly jumped to your death.” 

“I would’ve survived. It takes more than that to get rid of me.” Ecto laughs. She goes quiet a second, a weak and warm smile easing onto her face. “Thanks for coming back for me, both in Area 77 as well as the nether.” 

“Of course we weren’t leaving you behind, you’re our friend! We stick together.” Red’s voice is laced with disbelief. It was never a thought to leave Ecto behind. She’s the most clever, the funniest. She’s a part of the team. “And look at what going through that portal has given us! So many friends, from a completely different world!” 

The three look out, seeing Scar and Doc trading items. Potatoes for potions. Grian, Iskall, and Mumbo hunker low, Iskall and Mumbo with their hands on levers and Grian with his elytra ready to fly. Xisuma and Ren stand near the rear, arrows nocked and ready to fire. 

“We’ve seen a lot as well.” Avon whispers. “Not all of it good.” 

All three grimace, thinking of their homes. The empty skies of the End, the frozen wastes of the desert, the ghostly coral of the sea. But Ecto isn’t going to let them linger on the bad, not when so much good has happened as well. “I got to see the ocean, see a mesa.” 

“The Nether, a woodland mansion. Two different worlds full of incredible builds. We saw so much.” Red adds. 

“And we did it together. We fought a bit-” Ecto and Avon look to each other, and laugh, “A lot, maybe. But I wouldn’t have wanted to go through this with anyone else. Or even alone.” Avon sighs. She learned a lot. And...the struggles are worth it, to find good friends. People like Red, and Ecto. 

They turn back, noticing the purple rifts shifting and changing. Blue wings open wide before them, and Perri lands on the hill. “They’re here. There’s people… they look like you guys. And I swear… I feel like I saw someone that looked like me. They’re waiting for more to come through. Maybe they’re waiting for you guys?” 

The time has come. Everything they’ve done, everything since that first scent of brimstone on the sand of Red’s ocean, has led to this. Avon takes off, Jessie following after her. Ecto slides down the hill, pulling out her sword. Red sprints after the taller two, catching up by jumping into the moat and swimming down the canals. 

The three pop back together, surrounded by hermits and other members of their world. Red squeezes between Tango and Impulse, noticing the vial of redstone at the flame haired hermit’s hip, the comparators in the hands of Impulse. He can still see the golden scars from falling into the rosepit. Where the totem healed over his wounds, slowly fading away.

 Avon flourishes her trident, looking over her shoulder. Over the huddle they’ve got. “The nether has arrived, and as you can see… they’ve got a lot of weapons. I don’t think they’ll hold back. To the hermits- don’t forget that death is permanent in our world. If you start to get overwhelmed, fall back immediately.” Avon notices Red’s eyes, and offers an easy smile and a nod. “And try to be as nonlethal as possible. We’ve got some pretty persuasive people here. Show them that creation is a lot more fun than destruction.”

“Now that, us hermits can get on board with.” Scar laughs, Perri and Abyss nodding in agreement. 

What Avon doesn’t notice as she directs the overlanders to their battle stations is that Red swiped one of Tango’s vials of redstone. He watches the dusted ore glimmer and glitter in the glass vial, and pops it open. A few hermits as well as Pierre notices Red’s tongue stick out as he pours some of the redstone out. A coy grin is shared across all three. 

Ecto also notices, but makes a point to keep Avon busy. She wants to see this as much as anyone, and she knows Avon will take it away from Red if she sees. Avon turns to appoint Tango and Impulse to their pitfall trap, but Ecto grabs her and points out where Kai was struggling up a tree. 

So when Avon notices the flecks of red in the kipling’s hand, pinching the redstone onto his tongue, it’s already too late. She leaps across the huddle to snatch the vial, but she’s half a step too slow. 

A zinging sensation strikes across Red’s body, zapping from her tongue, all the way down her tongue and across her limbs. Toes and fingers curl and Red swears he can feel electricity course through every muscle and vein within him. Red’s black and orange locks stand out and his eyes widen. He jolts upright, causing an uproar from those watching as his tongue sticks out. Ecto laughs the loudest, with Avon groaning on the ground as they both see the redstone circuits completing themselves in his mouth. After a minute of electricity coursing through his body, numbing his tongue, Red manages to talk. He sets the vial down, patting it back in Tango’s pocket. “Tastes spicy...but also vaguely sweet?” 

The laughter howls across the battlefield, even Red and Avon eventually joining in. Red has been attempting to taste redstone for almost as long as the wanderers have been together. Of course on today, of all days, he finally gets his wish. 

The army sobers up, remembering the battlefield they stand on. Seeing hermits huddled together, fingers antsy on triggers and hips laden with totems of undying. Red pats his own pocket, feeling Fred nestled close to his heart. The other overlanders from their world are scattered about. Fighters like Kai and Storm at the forefront, Star in the center with their fists of hardened bedrock and Pierre’s fire charged redstone. At the back, Abyss pours some of Bre’s potion over her arrows. Beyond the moat, Perri waits beside Selene with her menagerie of health potions. And a crossbow- just in case the worst happens

“Who do you think is going to be the first-” Ecto’s question is answered before she even gets to finish her sentence. A flaming arrow careens from the center of the nether army, followed by a roar from Blu’s voice. Red blocks the projectile with a wall of water, steam rising from the extinguished arrow. Avon rolls away, commanding to return fire on the incoming army while Ecto dives into Red’s water. Swimming higher, to the crest of the wall. From there, she begins to pelt the invading force with cactus. 

Two armies clash. The ragtag team of builders, wanderers, and everyone between against an army honed for death. For destruction. They’re outnumbered three to one, but they have an advantage- clever minds. 

From the air, winged and elytra adorned warriors let loose arrows to disperse the army. Trying to be as least lethal as possible. Storm and Grian peel away, avoiding a fire charge shot at them. Singed elytra wings smoke, but Grian doesn’t hesitate to dive bomb the army. He tips his bucket, water pouring out over the crow. 

And from there, Red slides in. Armored hellspawns flee from her, her whips of water and splashes of waves. The water singes their heated skin, incapacitating them. Red is measured with every strike. Just enough to hurt, but almost never enough to kill. She squeaks when a hulking hellspawn braves the water, potion effects swirling around his massive form. Water resistance potion, a hellspawn design like their flaming weapons. Red scrabbles back, but the rushing water continues to push her forward. 

“No you don’t!” Etho shouts, before the sound of a cannon fires. A fire charge careens over the water, so close to Red that his cheeks turn rosy from the heat. It knocks the hellspawn off his feet, allowing Red passage further into the throngs of soldiers. Towards his inverse. He turns, seeing Etho and Pierre high five. Red gives a thumbs up, and chases down a squadron that attempts to flank from the side. 

But the squadron has stepped into the desert. Into Ecto’s domain. She whistles to gain the group of flaming forms’s attention. They stop charging, staring at Ecto as she moseys around the sand. Digging her feet through the grains, kicking up the sand. She gives a sideways glance as they charge her. A slick smile crosses Ecto’s face, and she digs her feet into the sand at her side. 

The sand collapses, the hellspawns with it. Trapping them deep in the pits, arrows flying out haphazardly. One arrow is snatched, Selene appearing in a flash above the pit of angry soldiers. As quickly as she appears, she disappears, handing the arrow off to Avon as she swoops low. Selene overs a smug smile, one hand still behind her back. With a snap of her fingers, she disappears back into battle.  The tip is still flaming as Avon tips to her back and shows the flame to Jessie. The little dragon’s purple eyes glow, watching the flame. “Time for you to learn to breathe fire, little one.” 

Avon tosses the arrow to the side, the blaze cascading down into the clash of swords and blast of traps below. Jessie and Avon land atop a large portal, the baby dragon mimicking Avon’s open wings. But when Avon launches her trident, it’s not the only projectile coming from the dragons. 

A purple flame spits free, crashing into the hellspawns from behind. Knocking them off their feet, purple acid flames stinging at the army’s toes. And while the hellspawns are hopping free from the acid, Star reels back her fists and punches them. Sending the flaming foes head over heels into the grass. She turns to Avon, sticking out her tongue and giving a thumbs up. Avon only smiles, and imitates the gesture. 

A crack is heard over the battlefield, yellow and green sparks wisping into the sky. Everyone turns, looking to see who caused a totem to break. Perri runs from the safety of the camp, aiding Kai as she helps a limping Scar from battle. She pushes her own totem of undying into his hands, laying him out and letting Perri heal his wounds. 

The overworld was winning. Keyword ‘was’. The distraction, the sudden reminder that they are battling for their lives, it was all the nether army needed to gain an upper hand. Ecto scrambles up to Avon and Jessie, sweat beading across her forehead. “I...I think they figured out we aren’t shooting to kill.” 

Red rises up, aided by a wave of water. “They’re using it against us. We can’t let our friends die.” 

“We need to deal a blow to the hellspawns. Hit them somewhere it’ll hurt.” Avon whispers, holding Jessie and watching as the front line collapses. Lava is poured over water, turning the canals into bridges for the nether. Etho and Doc are arguing over a redstone contraption, each flick of the lever leading to no reaction by the machine. Perri holds onto a wounded hermit, one hand wrapping wounds while the other shoots her crossbow. Life and death, good and bad. Dark and light.

Inverses. Ecto snaps her fingers. “Where are we?” 

“We? We’re in a plains biome.” Avon pitches her trident, trying to aid their friends. 

“No, not ‘we’,” Ecto motions at the three standing atop the portal. “The other ones, the other we! They’re the idiots running this whole thing, if we go after them, we can collapse this whole operation. It’s the easiest, most direct way than just throwing bodies into some battle.” 

“I haven’t seen Blu since the first arrow shot.” Red states. “But they have to be here. We just have to find them.” 

“Then we find them.” Avon states. “And one way or another, they will be stopped. Let’s go, wanderers. One last time on the run.”

[calitraditionalism]

Arc Two: Chapter Two

(AO3 counterpart here.)

The next day came, and with it a patchwork of clouds that pleasantly cooled down the usually warm morning. True to their words, the brothers decided to take the half-hour trek into the center of the Territory's valley to visit their mother. Beetlefoot had silently stood nearby, shifting his feet, until Mistface took the hint and invited him to come with them. Beetlefoot had then made a point of agreeing with a reluctant tone of voice, as if he had much better things to do than see Nettlecloud. Greyleaf and Mistface knew by now to just humor his strange pride and say nothing else.

Beetlefoot seemed to forget that he was supposed to be sullen about getting dragged along almost as soon as they were out of earshot of the rest of the group by the border of the settlement. He perked up, his regimented soldier’s stride relaxing more and more the closer they came to where the Vultures were residing. By the time they could see a small group lazing about together, he was almost walking like a normal cat.

A dark-striped ginger tom was the first to notice them, being the only one actually sitting up. He turned to a plain grey blob behind him and said something.

The blob shifted, and Nettlecloud’s head raised up, blinking the sleep out of her eyes. Her fur was as droopy as usual, but it reflected what little sunlight poked through the clouds and shined brighter than Mistface was used to seeing on his mother. Her tired eyes lit up and she slowly rose onto her haunches as the three toms reached the group.

“Oh, and you even brought Beetlefoot,” she croaked, purring. “Greyleaf, love, where have you been?”

“Busy, Mama.” Greyleaf greeted his mother with a gentle headbump. “I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you what’s been going on – I was asked to help out in Clast. I meant to send a messenger, but…”

“I’m just happy you’re alright,” Nettlecloud said, and drowsily smiled at him. “And you’re so close by! I could even make the walk, if your brother would let me.”

“Or if Rushroot would let you,” the ginger tom said. He looked at Mistface. “We’re glad to have her, by the way. She’s a treat. Minnowpounce already loves her.”

At the name, a dull brown-and-white molly with an incredibly round belly half-rolled their way, resting on her back. She nodded to the trio of newcomers and yawned.

“She’s planning names for my litter,” she said. “I told her we don’t know what they’ll look like yet, but…”

“It’s the closest I’ll get to grandchildren.” Nettlecloud looked back at her and spoke with a pointedly sweet and indulgent voice. “I know my darlings here won’t do it.”

“Mama-!“ Greyleaf and Mistface immediately started.

“I’m teasin’, my loves, only teasin’.” Nettlecloud trilled a soft laugh at their joint flusterment. “Maybe Beetlefoot will, one day.”

Mistface looked at Beetlefoot and immediately forgot his own mood to stifle a guffaw at how large Beetlefoot’s eyes were. His fur on his back stuck straight in the air and he was stiffly standing like he was trying to join it and fly into the sky.

“I don’t- I-“ Beetlefoot said, and spluttered a few more starts to a sentence before giving up and turning away in embarrassment. It was a very amusing look on him.

The ginger tom snorted and shook his head. “You’re something else, Nettlecloud.”

“An old lady like me loses all sense of social niceties after a while.” Nettlecloud chuckled and added to Beetlefoot, “I’m sorry, dear, I was just pokin’ fun at your expense.”

Beetlefoot’s response was a delayed clearing of the throat and a nod like he had just been told he had escaped death.

To save him from having to say anything, Mistface said, “Don’t wear out your welcome too soon. If you’re mockin’ everyone-“

“Stars above, no!” Nettlecloud blinked and playfully frowned at him. Out of the corner of Mistface’s eye, Greyleaf winced. “I’d never point a single cruel word at such lovely cats.”

Mistface rolled his eyes as he affectionately rasped a tongue over her ear. “Whatever you say, Mama.”

The conversation mellowed out a bit, and the longer they talked, the more the other cats stirred from their sleep and watched them. Occasionally, they would offer a comment or laugh at a joke, but otherwise it was mostly Nettlecloud, Mistface and Greyleaf. Beetlefoot, still looking a little embarrassed, gave a response now and then, but he seemed to be just fine sitting within the small circle and listening.

Eventually, Greyleaf cleared his throat. “Well, I’m sure you’ve heard by now, there’s been a predator sighting or two around this area. They haven’t sent a patrol to look at it yet, but…”

Beetlefoot and Mistface’s eyes met in a silent understanding. The leaders had claimed that there were other animals in the valley to try and keep cats away from the Clast camp, and therefore away from Redheart. Adding to that, there was a patrol nearby, but they were assigned to linger out of sight yet close enough to the settlement that Beetlefoot could sneak off and give them reports, so that they could relay that message to the leaders.

“I’ll be fine, dear.” Nettlecloud lifted and lowered her paw in a gesture of reassurance. “You just worry about yourself and y’all in Clast. You’ve got a lot of work to do there!”

Greyleaf took a slow breath, his eyes reflecting something Mistface couldn’t name. “You have no idea, Mama. No idea.”

---

Laurelclaw was a little lost.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to talk to others – he did, very much – but as he looked over the much shorter cats passing through camp, occasionally swiping at each other with a laugh, he couldn’t figure out for the life of him how he was supposed to make any friends without getting into a fight.

He had been sitting against the wall of one of the houses for half the morning, occasionally standing to take a step into the crowd and then shyly sitting back down when someone looked at him. He hadn’t even gotten any prey from the center of the clearing yet in case someone challenged him over food. Not that he was extremely hungry – Plage cats, who traveled back and forth from the sea to the Territory, were used to not eating more than one or two meals in a day, and walking besides.

Still, he thought, it would be nice to be a little smaller so he could walk through without grabbing attention. Cats were always staring at him because of his height. Perhaps if he-

“You there!”

Laurelclaw wanted to hide. He knew that challenging tone of voice.

Nervously, he turned his head to see a black-and-white molly looking up at him with her head cocked. Her eyes were slightly squinted, like she was appraising him.

“You’ve been here since yesterday, and you haven’t said a word,” she declared, as if revealing some massive secret.

Laurelclaw’s awkward laugh stumbled out of him and flopped miserably on the ground. “Right, uh… well, I’ve just been, you know, I…”

“Looking for a good fight?” The molly smirked at him. “Not many who could take you, I bet. Where you from? Plage?”

“Yes, but- see-“

“I’m Peregrinefang,” she said, marching right over his mumbling. “Best fighter in the Clast, or at least the best native fighter. Who are you?”

Not for the first time, he loathed his suffix. “Laurel…claw.”

“Ah!” Peregrinefang’s eyes lit up. “You’re worth scrapping with, then. You know, plenty of cats around here would be very impressed with-“

“Oh! Coming!” Laurelclaw leaped to his feet, grinning apologetically at the molly. “Sorry, friend I came with, must be looking for me, nice to meet you-“

He poured out verbal nonsense over his shoulder as he trotted away as fast as he could without actually running. Peregrinefang watched him go, visibly unimpressed.

Laurelclaw perhaps should have been looking where he was going, because right before he looked ahead of himself, he bumped into something small and heard it squawk in alarm. He halted in his tracks, even jumping back a bit, ready for another deluge of apologies, when he blinked in surprise.

He had knocked over a tiny fawn calico that he recognized.

“Excuse me,” he said quickly. “I wasn’t being careful. Are you okay?”

The apprentice shook her head and sat up. She looked a little miffed, but she smiled up at him. “It’s fine, I was, uh…”

She trailed off and tilted her head. She seemed to recognize him too.

“Sorry, but...” She squinted a little. “Are you Laurelclaw?”

Laurelclaw brightened up. “Yes! Hi! You’re Littlepaw, right? We met at the Coterie.”

Littlepaw actually seemed delighted that he remembered her. Her curly-furred tail waved back and forth. “I didn’t think I’d see you here!”

“Same to you!” Laurelclaw lowered his head quite a bit to touch noses with her in greeting. “I thought you were off training to be a seer in Hillock?”

“I quit!” Littlepaw beamed and puffed out her chest. “Well, I ran away, but I did technically quit. And now I’m here with a friend I met!”

“Oh!” Laurelclaw said, having no idea how to respond to this. He floundered in his mind for a heartbeat or two. “That’s… quite a change!”

“It is!” Littlepaw’s beam turned into a wide grin. “I mean, I’m not really any good at fighting, and I’m still learning how to hunt well, but-“

“Littlepaw, who are you talking to?”

Laurelclaw flinched like he was in trouble – he was always expecting to be – and looked up to see the ticked grey tabby who had won the fight yesterday approaching. She wasn’t exactly scowling, but there was a wariness in her eyes as she looked Laurelclaw up and down.

Littlepaw almost hopped in place to turn to face her. “Flyfang! This is Laurelclaw. I met him before I met you. He’s nice, don’t worry.”

Flyfang tilted her head a little, appraising Laurelclaw. Despite his size, he felt as though he was a tiny kitten under her stare. “Is that so?”

“Hello,” Laurelclaw said meekly.

“Flyfang found me when I ran from Hillock,” Littlepaw explained. “Actually, she was running too, so we decided to come here together.”

“Marish for me,” Flyfang said, and the more she looked at Laurelclaw, the more her posture relaxed. “You’ve heard about them.”

“I know it’s hard to leave,” Laurelclaw affirmed. “But not much else.”

“They’re a secretive bunch.” Flyfang rolled her eyes. “They don’t want whatever stupid things they think are worth hiding getting out, so you’re not allowed to leave. But I have, and now I’m here.”

“Well…” Laurelclaw fumbled for something appropriate to say again. “That sounds like it was brave of you.”

Flyfang’s smile was oddly subdued. “One could say that.” She huffed quietly and gave Laurelclaw a friendly look. “You came in yesterday with Greyleaf’s brother, right? I caught your group splitting up. What’s a blind cat doing here?”

Laurelclaw’s brain stuttered. What was he supposed to say about that that wasn’t technically a lie?

“Flyfang!” Littlepaw jokingly swatted her friend with her tail. “Blind cats can do what they want.”

“I never said they couldn’t,” Flyfang said, half-laughing and batting the tail away. “I was just curious why one would come to Clast, especially now.”

Right, Laurelclaw suddenly remembered, we’re not supposed to know about the rumors. “What, uh, what’s wrong with now?”

“You haven’t heard?” Flyfang gave him an incredulous look. “I thought everyone knew. Redheart’s been talking about leaving the Territory.”

Laurelclaw did his best to look surprised. “Really? Why?”

“Something about ‘being true warriors’ or whatever.” Flyfang dismissively waved a paw. “She’s waiting for more cats to arrive before she has a meeting about it, I guess. Frankly, I don’t know what to make of it until she gives more details, but plenty of newcomers are showing up to check it out. The Clast cats are getting annoyed, if you can believe it.”

“They don’t like that not everyone is here to fight,” Littlepaw half-whispered to Laurelclaw, in a stage voice. “So they’re not too fond of me either.”

“Huh.” Laurelclaw pulled his chin a little towards his chest, thinking. “Strange.”

“They like you just fine,” Flyfang said patiently to Littlepaw. She looked back at Laurelclaw again. “So what are you here for, if not for that?”

“Just-“ Laurelclaw rolled a shoulder as casually as he could. “Just looking for a change of scenery. Maybe, um, maybe not the best place for me to come, though. I’m not much one for fighting.”

“Then why are you a -claw?” Flyfang’s head tilted again. Before Laurelclaw had to answer, she shook her head. “No matter, don’t worry. You’ll get along fine with the newcomers. They’re not all fighters either.”

“Well, that’s good.” Laurelclaw sighed in relief. “I was worried everyone would challenge me. I haven’t really even gone over to get prey in case they did-“

Right on cue, his stomach made a low, threatening growl. He winced a little, but Flyfang simply chuckled and walk close enough to nudge him with a paw.

“Come on, then,” she said. “We were about to eat too. We’ll protect you from the crowd.”

“Much appreciated.” Laurelclaw knew he didn’t really need help, but he was very grateful for it. Flyfang took the lead and started for the prey-pile.

“Oh, Laurelclaw!” Littlepaw took up position beside him as they walked, though she had to trot pretty quickly to keep up with his steps. “You should see some of the cats we’ve met here. There was this one…”

Laurelclaw listened as she started on a story about a tortoiseshell with an underbite, feeling easier by the moment now that he had some proper, mission-separate company.

[soranihimawari]

are you serious?

estranged friends to lovers featuring this lovely dude ^ and thanks to some meddling from both sides of their lives, miya atsumu finds out that maybe he should date you. after all, what are you going to do once msby guys see you on the evening news when you make the cut to be the vice captain of the ladies beach vbc olympic team?

warnings: none yet, so sfw for now ;]

+ note: will make this a weekly series if i get enough notes eventually

tagging: @m0nstergeneration20xx​

is it serious? --osamu

[[1 new photo]]

those three words illuminate underneath the backlight of his phone screen. the blips play at the strings of his heart. the run-in at the gym was completely by accident and truthfully you weren’t expecting the glow up fairy to fuck with both of your perceptions of the other. both of your posture changes from confusion to flirtatious the moment his eyes illuminate with the recognition.

“who’s your friend atsumu-san?” 

you divert your attention to the rest of the rookie teammates while you nod your head acknowledging the oncoming arrival of the other members of the MSBY team. you rapidly exchange greetings and names in an efficient manner. 

“i should go. seems like you want to celebrate,” your tone is honey incarnate causing even the ones under the medi-masks to absorb your warmth. “see ya miya-chan.”

when you wave over your shoulder, you shake your head wondering if your heartbeat would stop nervously beating out of rhythm because you caught yourself walking away from the afterglow. 

at the restaurant the lads usually buy dinner after another successful victory, the topic of conversation circles back around again to the mystery stranger who had a connection with their starting setter. the team dinner was an idea that everyone including meian thought would be good to have at least once (or twice) a month. 

“she’s an old friend,” he bashfully admits. 

“that makes you look like a lovesick war hero?” their libero busts his pride a little.

“it’s nothing like that,” bokuto defends, “right?”

miya shrugs and their captain pieces the information together for the rest of the team after being there many times himself before he had settled down with his lady.

“she was your almost,” meian states matter of factly. their ears perk up including atsumu who just stared at his captain registering the word in his head. 

“you two seemed pretty close when we arrived,” meian continues. “call it a hunch, but you shouldn’t throw away fate’s design ‘tsum.”

the television in the restaurant moves on to it’s countdown for the upcoming olympics. it creates a certain ambiance of familiarity at the family style restaurant which the team are frequent customers.

“and in other news, seems like the women’s beach volleyball roster has officially been announced,” the anchor says. there is a wide angle shot of the beach courts on the coast of Okinawa.

“Holy shit,” bokuto says and it’s the only time meian allows his team to use such language at their dinner. your sporadic movements on the sand court makes for insane sets for your teammates on the court. 

“their young vice captain makes her presence known as her teammate sets the ball to ‘the missile,’ and wow! a clean pipe that proves why the name stuck in the underground leagues. and you can catch up with the rest of the beach volleyball team when the summer games begin next month. now back to you guys in the studio!”

“fuck me, she’s probably more dangerous than omi-san,” meian says finally. atsumu just scoffs at the compliment because he knew there were other monsters in the world, but none that made him more nervous than you. 

...

“are you for real?” your roommate exclaims. you tell her about the run-in on the street and she flips. you could of told her you saw the Almighty and she would have an easier time believing that.

“did you at least get his contact info?”

“no! of course not,” you answer with a strained voice. “besides, he hears the banter of his fans everyday, so what difference does it make if he has my number or vice versa.”

“because those compliments came from the vice captain of team japan women’s beach volleyball?”

you laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. after all, you were also watching the news story that was filmed last week tonight with her on the couch. in your wine glasses, you both share the last bit of blueberry powerade because you wanted to be sober in case you’d have to talk to the boy who christened you with the nickname one fall evening in hyogo. sure you were first years, but the bitterness of rivals with clashing styles on the court proved to be a little challenging especially since your schools respectfully had their golden week of training at the same resort.

“your phone is going to start ringing soon,” your friend shares a laugh with you. and usually she’s not wrong, but then again, her closest ally was sitting with her telling her the story of the nickname. the familiar chime of your phone going off caused her to only laugh harder before she watches you scramble to answer.

you shut your door the moment she yells, “no fucking between nine a.m. and five p.m.!”

clearly the other person on the line starts laughing hearing the voice clear as day before he clears his throat. atsumu is finally in the comfort of his own home in his side of the city. he asked his seniors if anyone had a way to contact you, so you were surprised the social media team readily gave him the phone number. funnily enough, it was the same one you had scribbled down on the back of an ice pop receipt.

“you didn’t change your contact number,” he states. 

“neither did you,” you said. a half rest of silence comes over you both, but he speaks first again. 

“i saw the news tonight with the team.”

“you guys have team dinners? that’s cute.”

you flirtatious remark didn’t go unnoticed, so atsumu decides to hit you with a genuine compliment. it’s the first thought that came to mind when you were younger due to the run in you had with each other at the bathhouse.

“you’re cute.”

“i’m sorry, i didn’t quite catch that miya-senshu. i think you called me cute?”

“i-i...ugh yeah.”

“pfft. if this is you flirting with me, i’d say you are doing a lot better than most of my flings.”

“listen, the guys are going to have my head if i don’t follow through with this, so will ya--”

“meet me at roppengi station at seven tomorrow morning. dress casual.”

there was something in the way you had asked atsumu out in a charming manner he wholeheartedly agrees. after your conversation wraps up, you go about your evening plans of talking with your roommate who is beyond thrilled to tease you about a long-overdue date. 

atsumu stares the at clock on his phone before turning on his side thanking his captain for giving him an extra day off from practice tomorrow. according to the way meian explains it simply to their athletic trainer was that their starting setter needed a personal day.

you meet at the appointed location after much deliberation of wearing and you often quote your roommate’s line of, “you need your best ‘professional’ revenge outfit babs.” now that you see what she means as you spot the athlete you bumped into yesterday: long sleeve mocha graphic shirt with the designer house logo stitched on paired with tapered casual friday pants. you on the other hand, are a splash of dark academia styled clothing with sensible shoes.

“and here i thought about leaving you behind on my adventure,” you muse as atsumu gives you a once over. he was over analyzing your silhouette as the rust belt flecks in your eyes decide to taunt him. all his life, he had trouble not focusing on anything other than volleyball related (aside from school work and such), but now he had a transient lady friend look up at him like he was not the local playboy prince of the volleyball club.

“i’d bet good money you wouldn’t because no one would want to hear about me missing morning practice because of a covert date with ya,” he sees the way your eyes narrow a smidge. he knows this stare; he’s seen it before at the training camp because of someone making a snide remark about your financial situation at home. you lead him down the platform and when you board the standing room only train, you both stare at your reflection in the window. your stop is not longer than fifteen minutes away, but you allow atsumu to hold you steady with one hand on your waist and the other on the rail above him. you fill him in on the tour you’re planning to take him down to the shopping district where you know people would go about their days not realizing who they were (celebrity athletes).

“you two look good together, isn’t that right hue?” 

“thank you granny,” you said with a smile at the elderly woman who sits a few rows to your left. her husband nods with a funny smile. you really sell it with the way you place your hand over the one he has on your waist when the traini comes to a stop. 

you and atsumu, once you make it to the surface head into the east village where you see the local trattorias begin setting their outdoor seating arrangements and one of the servers stops you both asking if you’d like to part take in a taste testing for his family’s restaurant.

“senpai’s amazing,” the server says like it’s the easiest answer he ever had to say. “she paid for auntie’s medicine last time she visited here. you really are lucky to be on a date with her.”

after your orders are put in, atsumu decides for once to not be a complete jackass, somewhere sakusa runs into a butterfly and he chuckles to himself because it means someone was using their brain properly. and in the quiet hours of a local village fifteen minutes away by train, a miya twin is falling back in love with his date one minute at a time. 

“are you ok atsumu?” you ask as you pour some apple juice from the carafe into your glass. it was then you had your epiphany the moment he asks you if you’d like to visit his brother’s store on a dinner date before you head out for the taping of the opening ceremonies. 

“i’d like that,” you reply. “but let’s make it through this one first, mmk?”

“good because i couldn’t look you in the eye if ya said no star-chan.”

“star-chan?”

you lean back in your chair and tilt your head to the side in thought. your brows furrow together a bit confused by the nickname therefore atsumu enlightens you to the best compliment anyone had given you (in your young adult life):

“because i finally see what meian says when he says he loves the sunspot in his life,” he sheepishly admits. you can tell he was being sincere when you glance at the way he becomes more flustered when you encourage him to hold your gaze for a few seconds.

“seven out of ten,” you say with a rosey lilt in your tone. at this, your companion at the table leans in clearly annoyed with your score. “but given the fact that you’re here with me now at eight twenty on your day off, and the smoothness of that confession, you’re clearly a nine overall because i highly doubt you’re not going to let me go again, right?”

he nods. he finally replies to his message from earlier last week from his brother after taking a self-ca with you on the promenade before you head back to the train station around two in the afternoon.

yeah ‘samu. you could say i am.

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[rosemaidenvixen]

A Secret’s Worth

Chapter 6: Toby

Ao3

The squeak rubber on linoleum got louder as the footsteps came closer. 

Toby didn’t move an inch, eyes locked on the gap beneath the stall door.

Coach Lawrence’s sneakers stepped into view.

The muscles in his legs were wailing in protest, cramped in position to keep him perched on top of the toilet. Toby forced himself to ignore the pain and held his breath, staying as still as he possibly could. They were close, so close, he couldn’t mess things up now.

They hadn’t come this far just to trip at the finish line.

Seconds ticked by, each one feeling like an hour, before Coach Lawrence’s shoes turned and headed out of the bathroom. Toby letting out a silent cheer of victory as the door shut behind him. He waited a few more moments, just to make sure Coach Lawrence wasn’t trying to fake them out, before dropping down to the floor and peeking out of the stall. 

“Coast is clear Jim,”

Right on queue Jim stepped out of another stall and hurried over to meet him by the door. A quick glance to make sure the halls were clear, then they made a break for it. Running through the school as silently as they could, taking care to make sure they wouldn’t be seen.

When they reached the side entrance Toby was shaking, half from excitement and half from fear. Part of him was convinced that Señor Uhl was going to be standing right outside waiting for them, two detention slips held at the ready. Their adventure over before it could even begin. Palms sweaty, he slowly pushed the door open, when he saw that the walkway was clear his heart leapt.

He and Jim ran down the sidewalk, grabbed their bikes, and started pedaling like their lives depended on it. Not even slowing down when they crossed the street and cut through the intersection. When they finally stopped, huffing and puffing in front of the diner’s parking lot, only a sliver of Arcadia Oaks High school was visible, the rest concealed by buildings.

Toby felt giddy energy bubbling up inside his chest. They had done it, for a while he didn’t think he had it in him but he had pulled through. 

Now the afternoon was theirs. 

“Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh I can’t believe we just did that!” he hopped from foot to foot, practically jumping with exhilaration “We ditched a pep rally and snuck out of school we’re practically delinquents now! And no one suspects a thing! Oooh man if anyone finds out we’re going to get Saturday detention for the rest of the year!”

Jim was giggling and grinning from ear to ear, if anything he was even more buzzed about this than Toby was “Who cares, detention will be worth it!”

Toby gave Jim an admiring glance, he had always been so straight-laced since...well, ever. It really felt good to see him finally cut loose. 

At that moment the girls rounded the corner on their bikes, racing towards their designated meeting spot right on time.

Jim waved them over as the three slid to a stop, panting as they caught their breath. 

“You guys have any trouble escaping?”

Mary leaned heavily against her handlebars, still gasping from exertion “We nearly got caught, Ms. Janeth almost found us, we had to hide in the recycling bins,”

She perked up almost instantly “But we got away, now we have the rest of the afternoon off, and you know what that means!”

Like Toby needed to be told twice “Gun Robot 7 here we come!” he cheered, playfully bumping shoulders with Jim.

Immediately Jim stiffened, a slow shudder making its way up through his body “Tobes,” he hissed through clenched teeth “...arm…”

Oh...oops.

“Sorry dude,” he scooted away, giving Jim plenty of space “Forgot about your needle arm, at least you’re done now, right?”

“Yeah, just finished the last round of shots yesterday,” Jim replied while rubbing his much punctured limb “Thank god, if I had to get jabbed one more time I think my arm would have fallen off,”

Darci snickered “It is kind of funny that the shots you had to get after are worse than when the fox actually tried to bite your foot off,”

“Yeah, hilarious,” 

Toby noticed how Jim kept rubbing his arm as the five of them walked their bikes over to the movie theatre, there was a crackdown on sidewalk laws and they didn’t need to get busted for that of all things. 

It was nuts how Jim and Dr. Lake had been going on camping trips for years without any trouble, and then all of a sudden the most crazy-town-banana-pants thing happens.

Jim was still pretty touchy about it, he’d only ever showed Toby the injury under the bandage once. A cluster of thin red lines an inch above his ankle, not nearly as gorey as Toby had been imagining. He really didn’t like talking about it though, which was cool, Toby knew when to back off. But after enough time had passed and Jim had gotten over almost being mauled, Toby was going to try and convince him to show off the scars more. 

Scars were a huge chick magnet.

Soon enough the theatre was in sight. Not wanting to miss the start of the movie, they hurried to secure their bikes and buy their tickets. Ten minutes and three giant tubs of popcorn later they were all sitting back and watching the pure epicness of Gun Robot 7: Revenge of the Federation. 

The movie was well over two hours long, but they managed to sit through every last glorious, action packed minute of it. Except for Mary who managed a quick potty break during one of the chase scenes. 

In other words a lot better than the pep rally would have been. They should do this more often.

All too soon the credits started rolling, forcing them to gather their trash and head for the door so that broom wielding employees could do their thing.

While throwing they were all throwing their trash away, Toby happened to notice Claire looking thoughtfully at the banner advertising another movie two theatres down. 

Her pensive look broke into a wide, cheshire-like smile “What do you guys say about making this a double feature?”

Toby did a double take at her words, before shooting a discreet glance at the nearby theater employees. One behind the ticket counter trying to pretend he wasn’t reading a textbook and fooling nobody. Two at the snack bar engaged in a heated debate about the Star Wars prequels.

None of them would notice or care if five teens snuck into an extra movie. 

For the first time today Toby didn’t feel one hundred percent onboard with this. Ditching during a pep rally was one thing, but theatre hopping was another. Forget grounding, if they got caught it was game over for real. Darci’s dad might even pull strings to get them all sent to juvie.

This was stupid, crazy, if there was a single brain cell between the five of them they’d quit while they were ahead and just go to Claire’s house and play videogames. 

But that wouldn’t be nearly as fun, or as thrilling.

Mary was practically vibrating “We totally should!”

“We’ve already cut school for half a day,” Darci said with a shrug and a smirk “What’s sneaking an extra movie?”

Toby was about to say that they could count him in when something occurred to him.

He glanced at Jim from the corner of his eye, trying to gauge his reaction without being completely obvious. 

The movie they were looking at was over two hours long, which would mean for Jim to stay and watch with them he would have to break curfew.

Toby had to bite the inside of his mouth to keep from saying anything, Jim needed to make this choice by himself, pushing him one way or another never ended well.

Jim always stuck to his mom’s rules, which was one of the things Toby admired about him. But Dr. Lake still made him follow the same rules they’d had back since elementary school. They were in high school now, they were teenagers for crying out loud. Trenchcoat wearing strangers weren’t going to throw them in a windowless van if they were out on the sidewalk five minutes past dark. 

And Toby was sure that if Jim would just let himself relax and forget about the rules just once, he would realize that to. Then he could spend his nights going out and having fun with Toby and their three awesome new friends instead of being cooped up inside. Sure Dr. Lake would probably be a little upset at first, but Toby was confident that she would understand eventually.

But was today the day?

He held his breath as Jim opened his mouth “I’m in to,” his smile was giddy and carefree “What about you Tobes?”

Bliss shot through him from his head to his shoes.

Hearing Jim say that made Toby feel like he was walking on air. It was all he could do to not grab Jim in a bear hug and sweep him off his feet “As if you guys even have to ask me,”

After making a couple bathroom trips as stealthily as possible, the five of them quivering with barely restrained giggles, they scurried into a second theatre. One showing a cheesy romcom that they most certainly had not bought tickets for.

The movie was nothing they hadn’t seen before in other similar films. Completely predictable with cliche miscommunications and an obligatory love triangle, but they were all still roaring with laughter. Not so much at the movie, but at the thrill of successfully having broken multiple rules in a single day and gotten away with it.

So another two hours later they were all still laughing their heads off as they walked out of the theatre.

“We, we--” Darci’s words were broken up by loud guffaws “Should ditch and do movies more often,” 

“Totally,” 

“Definitely,” 

“No argument here,”

Toby sided up to Jim, making sure to avoid his needle arm this time, and flashed him a wink. He knew Jim had it in him, that one day he would realize sticking to old, outdated, frankly babyish rules wasn’t as important as spending time with his friends, he just had to give Jim the chance to figure that out by himself.

“Glad you decided to stay later this time Jimbo,”

“What?”

“Dr. Lake probably won’t be too mad at you for breaking curfew, just make her some of your famous spinach puffs and she’ll get over it,” 

Jim stopped in his tracks and turned to look at him, confusion written all over his face “What are you talking about? It’s only three, I’ll be home in plenty of time,”

“No dude, it’s four thirty,”

Wait. Had Jim not been planning on this? Had he just...forgotten the time?

Frown deepening, Jim rooted through his pocket and pulled out his phone “It can’t be that la-”

He stopped in his tracks, jaw dropping open. Toby could actually see the color draining from his face as Jim saw that it was indeed 4:27 pm.

Just like that the cheerful mood was gone. The waves shock and panic coming off of Jim strong enough to make it crash to the ground. Quickly picking up on the sudden shift in atmosphere, girls all looked at each other uncomfortably, Claire coming up to Jim and gently laying a hand on his shoulder “Don’t worry, I’ve broken curfew a few times, your mom might be mad but it’s n--”

Without warning Jim turned and sprinted towards the entrance. They all just stood there, dumbfounded, for a few moments before speedily following him.

Outside Jim was frantically trying to unlock his bike, his hands were trembling so badly that the lock and key slipped from his grip multiple times.

“Hey, where’s the fire?” Darci’s tone was light, but her question landed awkwardly.

Toby’s could feel his face growing hot. Whether it was anger, embarrassment, or some unholy combination of both he had no idea. 

Why did Jim have to do this? Today of all freaking days. They had been having so much fun and then he had to go and ruin it.

Why couldn’t Jim just not do what his mom told him for once in his life? 

He stepped up to him, prepared to say whatever he had to to get Jim to forget his dumb curfew and actually put his friends first for once. 

At that moment Jim finally ripped his bike free and mounted it. Looking back just long enough to flash them an apologetic look. 

“Sorry but I really need to leave right now,” he said in a shaking voice.

“Jim wa-” Mary shouted at him but it was too late, Jim was already speeding away, he hadn’t even bothered to put his helmet on.

 Expression flickering back and forth between fury and confusion, she grabbed her own bike and took off hot on his trail. Claire, Darci, and Toby rushing to get their own bikes and follow after them.

The four of them pedaled as fast as they could after Jim. Darci nearly got close enough to touch him a few times, but they couldn’t keep pace with the almost manic way Jim was pedaling. In ten minutes, a time frame Toby never before thought possible, they pulled into their cul-de-sac. 

Jim didn’t even slow down, dismounting and discarding his bike on the lawn without missing a beat, and then running for his front door at a breakneck pace.

Toby braked hard on the sidewalk “Hold on Jim, let’s ju--”

Jim vanished as the front door slammed shut with a resounding thud. Toby’s entire face was burning, he was very very aware of the girls huddling up on the sidewalk and exchanging hushed whispers.

This was bad, this was bad, this was so freaking bad.

Toby didn’t care if he had to drag him, he was getting Jim out here.

Blood pumping hot and furious, Toby jogged up and pounded on the door.

No reply. 

He was hyper aware of the girls eyes on him now “C’mon Jim open up,” he forced his tone to be light and friendly “You can’t just leave us hanging like this,”

Still nothing.

Clenching his fist, Toby tried again.

On the fifth knocking attempt the doorknob started to turn. Toby opened his mouth to unload on Jim about his uncool and uncalled for attitude, but to his surprise it was Dr. Lake that answered the door instead. 

“What is it Toby?”

He stretched his fake smile even wider, if there was ever a time to play it cool it was now “Hey there Dr. L, I know Jim has a curfew to stick to...but would it be ok if he just came out so we could say goodbye for the night?”

“Jim is in for the night, you guys can talk tomorrow,”

“Oh,” Toby thought quickly “How about I just pop in really quick, just for a minute,”

He moved to step around her and go talk to Jim himself, but before he could set foot inside her arm shot out and grabbed the door frame. 

Her expression had shifted from calm to annoyed as she stood firmly in the doorway, hand fixed firmly to the wooden frame beside her. 

Barring him entry.

“I’m sorry Toby but Jim can’t talk right now,”

Unwilling to move but able to go forward, Toby stayed where he was, feet rooted to the ground.

That was when Claire came hurrying up from behind him, Mary and Darci right on her heels “Please don’t be mad, Jim wasn’t trying to break curfew, we all lost track of time,” 

“That isn’t--” Dr. Lake let out a deep sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. 

“I’m not mad,” she said tonelessly “But Jim still can’t come to the door,”

Mary’s eyes narrowed, mouth twisting into an indignant frown “Why not?”

“He...he needs to get started on his homework,”

“We won’t take long,” Darci piped up “And besides, the only thing due tomorrow is the biology worksheet, and I know Jim’s finished it already,”

Suddenly a strange sound came from deeper in the house behind Dr. Lake, it almost sounded like...fabric ripping?

Instinctively all four of them shifted around to get a look at the source of the noise. Dr. Lake grabbed the door handle and started to ease it shut while still blocking them.

“I-- I’m sorry but the answer is still no,”

Toby felt sick. Could today get any worse? Why did Dr. Lake have to do it like this. He already knew Mary was going to give them hell about this, not to mention what Claire and Darci would think “But Dr. Lake--”

“Goodnight,” with that she shut the door firmly in their faces

They all stood there for a few seconds of awkward silence before starting to shuffle toward their bikes.

“What does she mean ‘Goodnight’?” Mary grumbled “It’s still light out...” 

Toby moved to follow them, paused, and then turned back and stepped toward the door. Jim always had lots of weird rules to follow, but this was the first time he’d broken one of them and gotten caught.

But Dr. Lake hadn’t been mad, the way she had acted was...weird. 

On impulse he tried the knob. 

Deadbolted. 

His entire body ignited in a hot flush of embarrassment. They had just missed curfew by half an hour and Dr. Lake was locking them out like they were just some random punks?

Any sense of shame gone now, Toby stepped right up and pressed his ear against the wood.

At first he couldn’t hear anything, then he started to pick up the whispers. Toby pressed closer, most of it was too quiet to make out, but some of it wasn’t.

“What were you thinking?” Dr. Lake’s voice “I must have called you over a dozen times!”

The volume died down abruptly. Toby strained to hear more, the silence ticking on.

Then her voice shot up in a sharp peak, nearly forcing him to stagger back. 

“Do you have any idea how close you were cutting it!”

After that it got really quiet.

For a while he thought that was the end of it, then Dr. Lake spoke up again, this time so soft he could barely hear her “Oh sweetie I’m sorry…stay here, I’ll get the scissors,”

Toby kept listening but things stayed quiet. Except for the hundreds of questions swirling in his skull.

He raised a fist, ready to rap it against the wood. To knock on the door one more time today.

His hand stayed like that, raised and ready for action, for five seconds, ten, twenty, thirty.

Then at forty he deflated, hand falling softly and soundlessly against the wood. Hanging his head, Toby turned and walked away from the house, back towards the sidewalk where his bike and the girls were waiting.

[schrijverr]

A hunter and his angel

Dean and Cas rescue a woman from a vamp nest. For her perspective they’re the strangest duo she has ever met.

On AO3.

Ships: Dean x Cas

Warnings: Canon level of violence against vampires

~~~~~~~~`~~~

Rachel was freaking out, she had been held hostage by maniacs for days and she wasn’t sure the maniacs were even human. They called themselves vampires and she had seen the fangs as they fed on her, but really, vampires? That would shake her world view a bit too much to think about right now.

But back to why she was freaking out, besides the vampires and the kidnapping of course. She was freaking out because two guys had just burst into the room and started hacking the shit out of her attackers.

Rachel wanted them to win, to get her out, but as she was looking she was fearing more and more for herself.

The two men were tall, one had hazel hair and the other hair so brown it was almost black. The hazel haired one had bow legs, but he moved with grace as he was beheading the “nest”. Yes, beheading, it was disgusting with blood spewing around everywhere. The dark haired one was slightly shorter than his friend, but his piercing blue eyes seemed to glow in the dark as he swirled his blade around effortlessly.

One by one the kidnappers dropped until there were four left. Hazel had just beheaded one, but in the process he had dropped his blade and before he could pick it up the next one was on him and driving him backwards.

He looked at his partner, who had beheaded one of them with the other too far away to be an immediate threat, and yelled: “Cas, knife!”

Dark hair, Cas apparently, turned and quickly threw the knife. Without breaking eye contact with his attacker he caught it and slashed the dude’s head off.

After that, he looked around with a smug grin on his face, not seeing the last one creep up behind him. Rachel wanted to scream at him, but she was gagged. He saw her distress and quickly turned around, but it was to late. The man had set his teeth into Hazel and was pushing him backwards.

“Dean” a cry pierced through the air. And Rachel distantly thought, huh, so that’s his name

Then Cas was sprinting through the room. Dean saw him coming and flashed the other a quick smile, despite the pain he must be in, before closing his eyes.

Cas had reached him and put his hand on the back of the attackers head. Rachel was just wondering what he wanted to accomplish with that when it started to glow. The man screamed in agony and fell to the ground with a loud thunk, his face turned to Rachel and she saw that his eyes were burned out.

The two men didn’t seem to care as Cas cupped Deans cheek and locked eyes with the other. They stared at each other for a few seconds, then Cas hand glowed again and he pressed it against the still bleeding neck wound. When he removed his hand the wound was gone. Dean softly whispered: “Thanks, angel.”

“No problem, Dean.” Cas answered.

Then Dean broke away from him and walked over to Rachel. He squatted in front of him and she noticed the light freckles poking through the blood on his face and his beautiful green eyes. Cas came up beside him and lightly touched her forehead, somehow making her feel much better with the light touch. Dean started untying her as he said: “My name is Dean, this is Castiel. What’s yours?”

Stunned she answered: “Rachel, Rachel Dare.”

“Good job.” Dean said, taking care of the last knot, “We’re here to save you. It’s okay, just relax and we’ll get you out of here.”

Rachel nodded and answered: “What the hell just happened?”

“I’m gonna sound crazy, but vampires.” Dean said, “This nest of pesky little fuckers likes to have one feeder, so they’ll be less noticeable. Me and Cas only caught wind of them, because one of them went rogue and on a murder spree. We tracked him here, been in the forest for days, trying to find this God damned nest.”

“Don’t take my fathers name in vain, Dean.” the other piped in.

Dean rolled his eyes and said: “Yeah, yeah, whatever angel.”

Rachel chocked on her spit, connecting the comment and the pet name, and repeated: “Angel?”

“Oh, yeah. Vampires aren’t the only thing that’s new.” Dean said lightly, “Anyway, the way back to civilization is two days by foot. Are you good to walk or do you need to be carried?”

Rachel wasn’t really paying attention, because she was still trying to work through Deans comment about the supernatural. Dean seemed to notice and he said: “Just say when you’re ready to get out, okay. We’ll be over there.”

He pointed to the kitchen and moved out of view, dragging the other man along with a soft: “Just let her cope for a second, dude.”

When she looked up again, she saw Castiel and Dean dragging the bodies and heads outside and pile them up. She followed them with her eyes as they searched the house for lighter fluid and set the pile of bodies on fire. They moved in a casual manner, with an ease that scream familiarity with the actions. Rachel shivered as she thought about what that might mean for her.

When the pile was burning steadily she got of the chair and walked over to the two and asked: “Why did you do it? Come to save me, I mean?”

Both pinned her down with their gazes, but while Castiel just stared at her with confusion, Dean answered her question: “Because that’s our job. We hunt things that go bump in the night, that’s just our life.”

“You and an angel?” Rachel asked, not really convinced.

“Well, my brother as well, but this was an us trip. He was going to catalog the entire library, I mean who wants to do that in their free time?” Dean said with a fond smile on his lips.

Rachel just nodded, kind of weirded out by Dean. She turned to Castiel and asked: “Why would an angel come to back you up?”

Castiel opened his mouth for the first time since his scream, his voice was low and gravelly: “Because this idiot needs it if he wants to survive.”

“Dude, I had already twenty nine years of surviving without you, I was managing just fine.” Dean said in an offended voice.

Tiredly Castiel replied: “You were in Hell, Dean. I don’t consider that “managing just fine”.”

Dean ignored the comment as he exclaimed: “You did the air quotes right!”

That made Castiel grin with pride and Rachel was blown away by the duality of the two men in front of her. If she forgot about the blood on their faces, she could almost forget that they were chopping off heads fifteen minutes ago.

Dean and Castiel had already fallen back into casual conversation when she mentally checked back into reality. Dean took her being back into her awareness as a sign that they could get moving to get the Hell out of there.

As they walked Dean explained more about what had happened and the supernatural, he was a pleasant conversation partner and his lightheartedness kept her thoughts away from the horrors she had endured.

Castiel on the other hand was more of an enigma. He was content with being quiet and just adding some commentary where he saw fit, like cutting down on Deans descriptions of his own badass-ery and telling her something that seemed more truthful. Other than that he kept staring at Dean, with an intensity so strong that Rachel wondered how Dean couldn’t not notice or ignore it.

After an hour of walking Rachel was too tired, a combination of blood loss, lack of sleep and adrenaline wearing off putting her down. It was still light out and Dean and Castiel knew they couldn’t afford to stop, so without a complaint Castiel heaved her on his back and marched on.

Rachel awkwardly asked: “Don’t you mind carrying me, Castiel?”

“Not a problem.” Castiel replied, “And call me Cas.”

Dean now leaned into her sight with a shit eating grin and giddily said: “Angel strength, isn’t it awesome!”

After a few more miles passed beneath their feet and the sun had started setting, they decided to call it a night and set up camp. They built a small campfire and Dean pulled a bag of beef jerky out the duffel bag he had been carrying. He shared it with her, but Cas didn’t eat a bite.

Dean offered her his jacket to stay warm and Rachel protested: “I can’t take that, you saved me. I can manage a bit of cold, you can have it and stay warm.”

Dean smiled gently at her and with a nod to Cas he said: “I have my own heat source, don’t worry about me.”

Rachel raised her brows as her eyes flicked between Cas and Dean. She never would have pegged them to be that kinda guy, but it explained the staring and the cheek caressing. So, she accepted the jacket and relaxed.

Cas had made himself comfortable against a tree trunk and smiled at Dean as he settled down next to him. Dean asked: “You’re gonna be okay with being the look out?”

“I do not require sleep and I can see in the dark, I think I can manage.” Cas replied.

“Okay, just checking.” Dean said and laid down against Cas, he then complained: “Ugh, I’m all dirty and grime-y.”

“I can fix that, you know.” Cas said while raising two fingers.

Dean waved him away and said: “Dude, no. You don’t know how good it feels to shower all this shit off, besides I’m gonna get dirty again tomorrow, so it won’t matter either way.”

“If you say so.” Cas shrugged.

“I do say so.” Dean said and snuggled into Cas’s side, the angel rolled his eyes and swung his arm over Deans shoulders and carded his other hand through the short hairs, lulling the hunter to sleep.

Rachel smiled to herself throughout the interaction. These two men were so weird, first they were cutting off heads, then they were snarking at each other and arguing over little stuff, while still looking at each other like they hung the moon in the sky and now these two badasses were honest to God cuddling on the forest ground.

She might have been saved by weirdos, but they were cute adorable weirdos, who made her believe in love a bit. With a smile still on her lips she fell asleep.

The next morning she was woken by Cas shaking her shoulder. He asked her how she was feeling and she replied honestly that she was feeling much better than yesterday. Cas nodded at that, face still impassive that didn’t really change unless it was Dean, but with a kind voice he said: “That is good to hear.”

Dean fed her a bit more beef jerky and some M&Ms he had found in his bag. Then they were moving again. Dean complained that they didn’t have any coffee and Cas shot back that Dean had drank it all, so he shouldn’t complain.

The rest of the journey continued like that. Dean would make a comment, Cas would react with a mix of fond and annoyed replies or Dean would start a conversation about something random, completely out of the blue, mostly dragging Rachel into a discussion of some sort.

By the time the shadows became longer a parking lot came into view with as only occupant a big black muscle car. When Dean spotted, his face lit up and he exclaimed: “Baby! I have missed you. Are you okay?”

He checked over the car and Rachel chuckled to herself, of course Dean would love his car and talk to it. Beside her Castiel said: “You laugh, but try having to explain to him that it wasn’t your fault that someone else busted her tail light while you were out getting groceries.”

That made Rachel laugh more, which seemed to please Cas. Meanwhile Dean had concluded that there was nothing wrong with his car and ushered them all in, with Cas riding shotgun.

When they pulled onto the highway Dean said: “Cas already healed you, but if you want to get checked over we can drop you off at the hospital. Otherwise we can bring you home or to a family member.”

Rachel though about and said: “Can you drop me off at my parents place? They live a few miles from here.”

“No problem, just tell me where to go.” Dean answered.

It was quiet for a few seconds, then Rachel suddenly asked: “What do I tell anyone? Do I go to the police?”

Dean cringed at the mention of the police and said: “I’d rather you don’t go to the police. Otherwise just say you got kidnapped, but one had mercy or something. He freed you and you ran. You found the motorway and a nice couple picked you up and brought you home. You can’t really recall what they looked like, because of the shock and you don’t know what kind of car it was, just that it was black.”

Rachel raised a brow and said: “You came up with that just a bit too fast.”

Dean shrugged and said: “Lifetime of practice.”

They lapsed into silence once more and before Rachel knew it they were sitting in front of her childhood home. Dean opened her door for her, Cas right behind him. Rachel gave them both a quick hug and whispered: “Thank you for saving me. Take care of yourselves.”

Dean put his hand on her shoulder and said: “We will, you too. I know this is hard, but you lived, make the most of it.”

Both got back into the car and as Rachel walked away she could hear Dean say: “That was a job well done, I’d say. Now, how about we celebrate by taking a shower and maybe putting you angel strength to good use in there, if you know what I mean.”

Rachel rolled her eyes, but smiled. She wasn’t okay, but she was going to be. She looked over her shoulder one last time, waving goodbye at the weirdest duo she had ever met. They waved back and waited while she rang the bell, only speeding away once the door had opened and her mother had pulled Rachel inside.

[theoverlyenthusiasticwriter]

Wondrous Misfortune

Chapter 5

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4

When the Bonce Carver’s prediction is not what it seems, Cassian and Nesta are blessed with twins of their own. In the happiness of family, there is struggle too, especially when raising two children who are more wicked than themselves.

Enjoy this Tumblr exclusive chapter that I wrote only recently. Prepare yourself for ultimate fluff, light smut, and all of the twin’s adorableness.

*****

“Why is Mommy crying?” Nesta heard Aralyn whisper to her brother.

Nesta clamped a hand of her mouth, trying to stifle the sob threatening her throat. They shouldn’t have to see her like this. She shouldn’t be like this around them.

Outside the war tent, soldiers returned to their campfires or washed themselves in the stream. Some that had gone out that morning wouldn’t come back and the casualty lists hadn’t been released.

The battle had been long coming, tensions drawn tight between the humans of Prythain and parts of the Autumn Court. It was the eighth day of battle but the first with the Night Court’s armies.

Nesta knew she was being ridiculous. If Cassian was killed, she would feel it down the bond, but that thought didn’t stop the anxiety coursing through her.

She had spent the first half of the day on the battlefield right alongside him but it didn’t take long for her power to deplete itself. Cassian made her leave, nearly hauling her away from the battle. The rest of the day was spent helping the wounded beside Madja, grumbling, and waiting for her mate to return.

Dirty, tired, and angry, Nesta paced before the tent flaps, her imagination running wild.

Cassian had shut her out of his side of the bond.

Titus whispered back to Aralyn, “I think she’s sad.”

Nesta covered her face with her hand, trying to calm herself. They were barely five years old, their birthday only days away. They didn’t need to see this.

The flap flew open and Cassian’s helmet thumped to the floor.

His armor was harsh and covered in blood, face smeared in it. He looked every bit the General Commander, but she didn’t care.

He was okay.

Aralyn and Titus leapt into their father’s arms, unafraid of the blades and the gore. Cassian set them each on a hip, kissing their faces over and over again. They giggled for they didn’t see the tears shining in his eyes.

Nesta held herself steady, meeting her mate’s gaze of the curls of Aralyn’s hair. His lips pressed to their daughter’s forehead, eyes fluttering close.

Together, Nesta and Cassian tucked the twins into a tent they shared with Elain’s daughters and sat in silence as they ate. The stew had grown cold, tasting of undercooked rabbit.

Cassian broke the silence as Nesta moved to wash the bowls, “I’m sorry.”

She set the porcelain in the sink with more aggression than necessary. “I could have stayed.”

“You were more useful here, Nesta, and I couldn’t….”

“Couldn’t what, Cassian?” She whirled on him, eyes like fire.

“Couldn’t stand the thought of you getting hurt.”

“Well, neither could I! You could have been bleeding out on that battlefield and I wouldn’t have known until it was too late.” The whole camp likely could hear her shouting and she thought they ought to.

He fell silent, staring hard at the dents in the small table. “I’m sorry,” he said at last.

Nesta went back to the dishes.

Cassian came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. He said into her hair, “I know you won’t forgive me, but will you at least try to understand?”

“I do understand. I do. That doesn’t make me any less angry.”

He kissed her cheek. “I am sorry. Really. But I would do it again in a heartbeat. I will not leave my children orphans.”

She let out a sob, turning in his arms. Her nails scratched against the metal of his armor as she clutched him to her.

Seconds, maybe minutes passed until she was able to master herself. She pulled back, sniffling. “You reek.”

His laugh rumbled through her. “Will you bathe with me?”

“No. There’s two tubs for a reason and neither of them can fit the both of us. You’ll just have to keep your hands to yourself.”

He stepped back and she helped him undo the buckles to his armor. He went to his bath before she could see him remove his clothes, stripping while she prepared her own bath. There was a canvas wall between them and she supposed it was probably a good thing.

Once clean, she slipped between the furs of their bed, watching that other tent flap.

Cassian came out naked, showing off that warriors body. Nesta sat up.

He was battered in bruises and cuts but mostly unharmed. He wasn’t grinning for once as he crawled over her in bed, pressing his lips hesitantly against hers. “I love you.” 

She slid her hands over his shoulders, pulling him closer. “I love you too.”

*****

There was something on the edge of the bed.

Nesta’s first instinct was to kick but she heard the quiet flutter of wings and a whisper. She peeked her eyes open, finding Aralyn pulling Titus up the steps to their bed. Cassian’s helmet was covering his face, nearly bumping his shoulders.

Nesta let out a quiet laugh, drawing her children’s attention. Aralyn gave a crooked grin, dropping her brother as she bounded across the bed. Titus landed on the floor with a metallic thump.

Aralyn fell on top of her mother, giggling madly. Nesta sat up, setting her in her lap while holding up the blankets with her arms. She peered over the side of the bed.

Now she understood why he was having such trouble getting into the bed. Not only his helmet, but Titus also wore Cassian’s chest plate like a dress on him and had his wrist gauntlets around his legs.

Nesta laughed louder now, grabbing her son’s arm. She hauled him onto the bed, setting him down beside her and Aralyn. Aralyn was absently fiddling with the curls of her hair, mesmerized by the gold in it.

When Nesta glanced over, she found Cassian awake, smiling at Titus. He spun the helmet on Titus’s head around, blocking his vision. 

“Daddy!” Titus wailed, yanking the helmet off.

Cassian let out a low laugh.

Nesta tickled Aralyn’s side, drawing peals of giggles from her rosebud mouth. “What are you doing here?”

Aralyn gasped, wiggling away. “Aunt Feyre said to wake you.”

Nesta frowned, glancing down at Cassian. He should have left to return to battle already. Right?

Her mate shook his head. “There was a peace treaty last night. That’s why I was out so late.”

“So we go home today?”

“Not quite yet, but hopefully by tomorrow.” 

“Home?” Titus asked, wriggling gleefully. Metal clanked.

Aralyn grinned again, showing off her missing teeth. “We’re going home!”

Nesta kissed her cheek and set her on the floor. “Why don’t you two go see if Feyre and Rhys need help with breakfast?”

Titus scrambled down while Aralyn found the discarded helmet. Together, they ran into the camp.

Nesta rolled onto Cassian’s chest, poking one of his nipples. “You didn’t tell me about the treaty yesterday.”

He caught her hand. “I was too busy trying not to get my cock chopped off.”

“You could have mentioned it after we were fighting.”

“But then I was trying to get my cock sucked.”

“Prick.” Her cheeks were on fire. “We need to get dressed.”

“I kinda just want to stay here all day. Naked. In this bed.”

“In the middle of a camp with no privacy where everyone can hear us and our children can come in at any moment.”

He snorted. “Good point.”

Nesta slipped out of bed, padding around to the box filled with their clothes. She bent at the waist, digging through.

Behind her, Cassian groaned. “Oh, you’re perfect.”

She straightened, glaring at him. His hands were beneath the sheets, moving quickly.

Nesta threw a boot at him. “Stop that.”

“I’m afraid that’s not gonna happen, sweetheart.” He closed his eyes, arching slightly.

She blushed madly. “Cassian, the kids could be back--”

“Nesta.”

“I’m serious. There are too many people awake and--”

He cut her off again, but this time with a kiss. Then he pulled her right into bed above him. “Anymore protests?” he asked as his clever fingers slid between her thighs.

Nesta gasped, then clamped her hand over her mouth to muffle herself. She shook her head.

Cassian grinned.

Their joining was hard and fast and Cassian was preparing for a second round, Nesta moaning beneath him, when the tent flap burst open.

A young soldier stood there, eyes wide. “I heard sound of struggle,” he gasped and blushed.

Cassian, not even bothering to cover them up, promised, “There was no struggle, soldier. You may leave.”

The soldier stumbled away.

Nesta sighed, running her hands through her hair. “See? This is why--”

“You consented and don’t act like you didn’t enjoy that.” He stood, reaching for his trousers. “What are you waiting for? Get dressed.”

She punched him in the shoulder, snatching up her clothes. “Go to hell.”

He snatched her ass on her way to the bathing room, hissing in a way that set her on fire. “Mine.”

Breakfast was ready by the time they made it to the large tent where it was served. Aralyn was on the shoulders of a random Illyrian while another tossed Titus in the air. The soldiers loved the children, reveling in their youth. Nesta wondered how many had children waiting for them at home. 

Cassian passed her a plate as they took their seats beside the High Lord and Lady.

“What took you so long?” Feyre asked. “We sent a soldier to check on you and he just said you were busy.”

Nesta choked on her bacon; Cassian just grinned.

“It doesn’t matter,” Nesta said, pinching Cassian’s thigh. She watched two of the soldiers nearly play catch with a joyous Titus as their ball. “Where’s Aralyn?”

At this, Cassian stopped grinning to scan the hall. He rose when she turned up empty. 

Feyre waved a hand in dismissal. “One of the soldiers probably took her outside to play.”

As one, Nesta and Cassian rose. She marched into the middle of the tent, searching the arms of every Illyrian. Cassian was already outside and shouting.

The wind shifted near her ear, whispering, “Up.”

Nesta looked up, finding Aralyn balanced on one of the ceiling rafters, grinning as she wobbled. Her heart dropped.

She was about to shout but Azriel appeared at her side. “We were playing hide-and-seek.”

“Get her down,” she gasped. “She doesn’t know how to fly yet.”

He waved a scarred hand dismissively. “She has excellent balance.”

“How the hell did she get there?” Her voice was rising with each note that came out of her mouth.

He shrugged. “Climbed. Maybe one of the warriors helped her.”

“Get her down!” Nesta shouted at the same Aralyn glanced down. Her arms flailed.

Azriel shot upwards, drawing the crowd’s attention. And just as Aralyn listed too far to one side, he caught her.

Nesta let out a breath. “Go get the General,” she snapped to one of the warriors.

When Aralyn was in her arms again, Nesta allowed herself to hold her tight for only a moment.

Then she growled at her daughter, “You know you’re not a strong flyer. Pull a stunt like that again and you won’t leave your room for a month.”

Aralyn’s lips wobbled. “I’m sorry, Mommy.”

“What were you thinking?”

“I wanted to show Uncle Az.” She wiped at her eyes, hiccoughing. “He does it all the time.”

Nesta shot a dark look around but Azriel was nowhere to be found.

Cassian rushed in, sweeping Aralyn out of her arms. He kissed her nose, eyes wide. “You were all the way up there? I’m so proud of you!”

“Cassian!” Nesta snapped.

He glanced at her, a brow cocked. He knew how against she was of Aralyn flying, even if he encouraged it.

Aralyn’s eyes crinkled. “All the way up there and I wasn’t even scared!”

“Really?” He moved away, continuing to shower her in praises.

Nesta’s lip curled. She shouldn’t yell at him in front of the crowd, but the words boiled in her throat as she stared at his back.

Tonight, she told him through the bond, you and I will talk.

I count on it, sweetheart.

Nesta sat back down, pushing her plate away. 

Feyre glanced at her in concern. “Is something--”

“No.”

She tapped her fork nervously, sighing.

It was then that Nesta noticed Titus in the High Lord’s lap, eyes wide as stars as he watched the shadows in Rhysand’s hands dance.

Her son laughed out loud when one of the shadows flicked his nose. Some of the soldiers smiled their way.

Cassian snatched Titus away a moment later, pressing a slobbering, ticking kiss to his belly.

Titus screamed in delight.

Cassian settled him on his hip as he made his way back to Nesta. “Are you still mad?”

Feyre and Rhys quickly found something else to pay attention to.

Nesta couldn’t be mad with Titus laughing like that. Cassian knew it too. “Where’s Aralyn?”

“Still playing with Azriel.”

Nesta opened her mouth but he held up a hand.

“I told him not to let her above his head.”

She closed her mouth, muttering a quiet, “Thank you.”

He set Titus on her lap. He instantly clung to her, still grinning from ear to ear. “I’m gonna get tattoos, Mommy, all the way up my arms like Daddy.” He pushed up his sleeves, showing off his baby-smooth arms.

Nesta kissed one of his wrists. “You’ll look so handsome, baby.”

He wriggled gleefully, wings fluttering. 

She smiled, pressing a kiss to his brow. “Go see if you can help Uncle Az find your sister.”

*****

They did talk that night.

Negotiations finished early, sending them home by dinner. It was after Nesta shoved Cassian onto the bed and didn’t let up until both of them collapsed.

He said, head pillowed by her breasts, “Aralyn needs to learn.”

“You remember what happened last time.” It had been horrible. They’d practiced above the lake. Aralyn had grown too confident, flying above the trees while Cassian helped Titus.

A strong gust of wind blew her straight into the branches.

Nesta had screamed.

She’d winnowed before she could stop herself, wrapping herself around her daughter.

Nesta broke two ribs before she winnowed back to the ground. 

Cassian shifted, rubbing the stubble of his face over her chest. “It still… haunts me sometimes. But, Nesta, the only way we can stop that from happening again is to teach her.”

She sat up, pulling her nightgown over her head. “What if it happens again? What if neither of us can get to her?”

“That’s why we teach her. Soon, she’ll be too old. The instincts won’t come as naturally. You see how Titus flies, he doesn’t even have to think about it. We have to give her that.”

“I’m scared, Cassian. I’m just so scared.”

“We’ll bring the entire Inner Circle up, make a day of it. None of them will let her get hurt.” He stood, reaching for his boxers. It was the middle of the night and neither of them had gotten a wink of sleep. “I’ll talk to them about it. They’d be willing--”

“I don’t want to.” She sat up, pulling her knees to her chest beneath the blanket. “A million things could go wrong--”

“She has to learn sometime, Nesta!”

Tears slipped down her face. “My baby. My baby girl.”

Cassian wrapped his arms around her shaking shoulders, pulling until she fell into his chest. “I know,” he whispered into her hair. “I know. She won’t get hurt, Nes, I promise. I swear it on my life.”

She cried, face buried in his neck. 

Their door creaked open, a small head peeking in. 

Nesta looked up. Of course it was Aralyn.

“I had a bad dream,” she said shakily, fiddling with the hem of her nightgown. 

Cassian held his hand out to her. She climbed into bed, wiggling her way between them.

Nesta ran her hand over her black curls, settling down. “What was the nightmare about, baby?”

Aralyn sniffled delicately. “There were trees and they kept on trying to keep you guys and Titus away. And, Mommy, you--” She broke down, crying so hard it wracked her little body. “You got to me and the trees--the trees swallowed you up. You were gone, Mommy.”

Nesta pulled her fully into her lap, rocking slightly. “I’m right here, baby. Nothing’s gonna take me away from you. Or Daddy.”

She bobbed her head, more tears slipping out.

Nesta carefully lay her down, on Cassian’s chest, snuggling in beside them. Cassian whispered sweet words into her ear until her crying calm and her mismatched eyes fluttered shut.

One eye for each of them.

Nesta fell asleep.

[mountaininterval]

She is my light

A girl was walking along a shore, she had been at this island long enough to know that she was the only one there. She looked at the ground and shed a tear. Her sight became blurry as more tears came gushing out. She dropped to her knees, drying her eyes. She was sick of feeling alone, like everyone abandoned her. She cried for hours, her through getting dry and her eyes puffy. Her tears came to an end when she heard footprints. She looked around but didn't see anyone. She heard footprints again, then a splash.

"H-hello? Anyone there?" she cried in a meek voice

"Look toward the water, and you will see me." the girl looked at the water and saw a girl with brown hair, blue eyes and a lower body of an octopus.

"I am Merina, a seabeing, I heard you crying earlier and want to help. What is your name?"

" S-selene..." She replied scooting back as far as she could. Merina wasn't the strangest thing she had seen, but it certainly suprised her that Merina wanted to help her. Everything else wanted her dead. Merina noticed Selene scoot back, and she wasn't surprised at all. Merina hoisted herself above the water waist high revealing a torn up pirate flag top that showed webbed arms and fingers. She gazed at Selene, not knowing why her people abandoned her.

"Selene, if you are worried that I am going to hurt you, I'm not. Just please, sit next to me and tell me why you were crying." Arlene hesitated but eventually walked over to Merina, she sat down and quickly glanced at the seabeing before gazing at the sea.

" Merina... I don't know why you want to help me. My hometown and other ...things her want me dead." Merina looked at Selene for a moment before pulling Selene in for a hug. Merina hugged Selene tight.

"Merina..." Selene stated quietly. Merina stopped hugging Selene and looked her in the eye.

"Selene, I can tell you won't hurt anyone, and I want to be your friend. We can chat and I can show you survival techniques. I promise I won't abandon you." Selene sniffled and started crying, she never had a friend.

"That... sounds nice." Selene stated through tears.

Years went by, both of the girls chatted and learned about each other. Merina showed Selene that she could turn her tenticles into legs, and Selene tought Merina to dance. Merina waltzed toward the water and dove in. She waved goodbye to Selene and dived down the depths of the water. Selene sang and waltzed on the shore, hair fluttering in the wind. She turned gracfully until she bumped into something. She lost her footing and fell to the ground. She looked up to see a tall man dressed in red. He had an eyepatch and a sword on his hip. Selene looked behind him to see other men with a 'here we go again look'. She got to her feet and apologized for running into him. He had a sly grin and bent down so they were eye to eye. He reeked of booze.

"Well, hello little lady, how might you be today. Say, shouldn't a lovely thing like you be in a town, dancin' with other folks?" He half asked, half stated. Selene took a minute to reply.

"Sorry Sir, but I've been on this island for as long as I can remember. I've never been to a town. As I do not know what towns are. Now, if you'll excuse me I'd rather get back home." Selene darted home, she ran through the woods and went straight to a water fall. She went behind the water fall in to a cave that overlooked the part of the ocean that her friend lived in. Merina showed this cave to Selene because it was a perfect chance for her to check on Selene and keep an eye out for others who would seem like they would hurt her. The captain and his crew set up camp in a cave that overlooked the beach where they met that fine young lady. The sun set and night was upon them. They slept and kept a lookout. At the crack of dawn they heard someone rush out of the jungle. The captain for up and looked outside to see who would have woken him up. He was pleasantly surprised to see that it was the fair lady from yesterday.

"Oyy! Merina! Where are you? C'mon today's the day!" Selene ran across the beach, her skirt billowing in the wind, and a pendant given to her by Merina gracefully bouncing up and down.At the opening of the cave that the pirates were in, she stopped for a second to hollor for Merina. The captain snuck up behind Selene and snatched her. Selene flailed her legs and tried to get out of his grasp. The captain took out a knife and put it up against Selenes neck. Selene saw the flint of the blade and accidentally nicked herself, her pendant coming off in the process.His crew took notice and packed up everything. They headed back to the ship. Selene tired from struggling to get away. They put Selene in one is the cells and locked it. The other prisoners marveled at her and recognized her almost immediately. She was the villager the king banned to an island full of monsters. She did no crime, yet the king felt threatened by her. One of the prisoners took his jacket and covered her up. Back at the shore, Merina looked for Selene. She went to Selenes home, hoping she was asleep. She checked everywhere Selene liked to go, but not a trace. Merina was worried, she ran along the shore and caught a glimpse of something reflective. She went over to examine it. Merina was horrified, it was a pendant she had given to Selene, covered in a bit of blood. Merina grabbed the pendant and ran back to the water, diving in. Merina swam faster than she ever had before. The fish around her took notice and knew something was up. Merina swam miles, heading to a city underwater. She went through people and opened the door to her home. She barged into her father's throne room. Her father looked up from his work and noticed his daughter was worried about something.

"My dear child, if you are worried about the reheasal don-" Merina interuppted

"It's not about rehearsals! My human freind, Selene, has just been kidnapped by pirates! Her own family wants her dead! Which is why I request skipping rehearsals to go find her and bring her back! Please father! She means so much to me, I was the only person that ever loved her!" Merina was out of breath and her father stared at her disapprovingly.

"You were friends with a human?! What did I say about befriending humans?! Go to your room, Michelle, watch her make sure she doesn't escape."

"Just because you had a bad relationship with a human, doesn't mean I do! What are so afraid of to where you have to push them out. And me! Am I just not good enough father?! Am I just a waste of time! What exactly am I to you?! Someone who will take over the throne, or someone you don't care enough about to listen to?!" Merina shot back. Michelle, the kings favorite gaurd, guided Merina back to her room. Michelle was swimming through the halls, a tight grip on Merina.

"Merina, take this pack of food and my sphere, out on my armor and act like me. Go to my ship and go save your friend. I can just say I was attacked by a shark. Now go!" Michelle ordered. Merina smiled and thanked Michelle. Merina swam to the ship and got it started. She emerged from the water and looked for ships around. She remembered Selene saying something about a town in the east. She took her shot and turned to the east.

Like if you want me to continue, and please correct me if i made any mistakes.