#hearing someone flew to the edge of the universe to save everything is one thing

[warlordfelwinter]

i love how alarmed wuk lamat was by that giant bird, contrasted by how much fiver and g'raha reacted to it with the energy of "must be tuesday" absolutely zero hesitation before chasing after it. like a giant talking bird simply doesn't rank on the list of scary things they've faced. what must she think of them and the type of people they are and the situations they've been in

[pearlsinmyhair]

₊ ⊹ the price of the name.

synopsis: reader has had a hard life, and now she’s an orphan. but someone just as lonely comes into her life to take her under his wing.

warnings: angst. lots of hurt, very little comfort. miguel is a hardass who pushes people away. death.

platonic!miguel x daughter-like!reader. no seriously, reader is eighteen and young. this is found family, not romantic.

the intention is for this to be multi-part. how many parts? idk.

word count: 1.3k

pt i : fate

　　　.   　　˚　　 　　*　　 　　✦　　　.　　.　　　✦　˚ 　　　　 

being a spider person was always unfair. mercy from whatever divine being that controlled their universes was hard to come by.

you were no exception.

your father died early, shot by a man who ran with someone’s purse. you didn’t know him well, you were only three after all. but your mother fought hard to teach you about him, to make sure you remembered some semblance of him.

and all was well for a time. you went to school, made some friends, started working for some extra cash under the table.

you were reaching up into your attic when the sharp sting of a spider bite zinged up from your hand. you killed it with a slap, but nothing could stop the venom that now traveled through your veins.

the rest was history: you became your universes one and only spider woman, learning her trade as she went.

the cannon event hit later, and it was different from the others.

you had no uncle to find dead on the street.

but you did have a mother.

she was working the late shift at the hospital when a spouse of a dead patient burst through the doors and demanded to see a doctor. apparently, the man wanted revenge for the hospitals failure to save his wife, and he had come to instill justice.

your mother had raised her hands and tried to plead for him to stop, to calm down, to lower his gun.

the shot made your spider-senses go haywire, and you practically flew to the trauma center. the security guards had no idea what to do, so you just ran past them to find your mother bleeding on the cold white tile.

it took everything in you to remember that behind your mask, no one knew you were this woman’s daughter, and you’d have to respond carefully. you watched as the officers called the next of kin, and you were thankful that you had had the mind to put your phone on silent that day.

no one noticed the tears streaming from your eyes behind the suit. you swung back home as fast as you could, answering your phone when they called you again.

pretending to not know what was going on was the second worst thing you had to do that day. you had to fight from chocking on tears as you answered the call.

eighteen and orphaned, standing over your mothers open casket. a part of you thanked that you were older, because it meant that you didn’t have to go into foster care. but nothing could truly quell your grief.

and then the universe decided to send you a big middle finger in the shape of a Doc Oc right after the funeral ended.

you knew that you couldn’t keep going like this. no one should process grief this fast. but as the villain sent a tidal wave through the streets of new york city you relized that you didn’t exactly have a choice.

with great power comes great responsibility.

and saving these people was your responsibility, no matter what mental state you were in.

this Doc Oc looked to be from some other dimension. instead of mechanical tentacles like that of your Doc Oc, he had real ones, and he apparently threw actual octopi at people when he was pissed off.

it was no easy task, and at one point he had thrown you against the wall and knocked your head. as your vision swam, he picked you up with one of his suctioned limbs and squeezed.

it all happened so fast.

a flash of orange and yellow swirling at the edge of your vision. orange silk shooting into your captors face. and then someone shot forward and sliced the tentacle that held you.

you sank to the ground as you caught your breath, vaguely hearing someone say “Lyla, run a diagnostic. what’s the best way to take this guy down?”

as you wheezed, a large hand rested against your shoulder, and a soft voice greeted your ears.

“Sit tight, kid. I’ll handle this.”

you didn’t have time to argue when the hand vanished, and you peered up just in time to see a large spider-man in a blue suit throwing himself at the villain.

you stood as you caught your breath, rushing right back into battle to help the man that had saved you. the Doc Oc dragged you both to the bay, sinking down into the water. it was advantageous for him, being a water dwelling creature, and you and the man struggled. it took another spider, a woman on a motor cycle, showing up to help defeat him.

but it was you who dealt the final blow, wrapping the villains limbs to a nearby pier to keep him underwater. when the pair of new spider people got him all tied up and prepared to take away, you just…collapsed.

everything came down on you at once. your exhaustion, your sadness, your loneliness. everything.

you barely heard the spider woman murmur to the brash man across from her, and it was only when you felt a pair of strong arms wrap around you and pick you up that you snapped back to reality.

but just as quickly as you zeroed in on the feeling, your brain whispered sleep in your ear, and you passed out.

₊ ⊹

you woke to a strange bare bedroom and an odd watch that flickered with light on your wrist. noticing the glass of water on the bedside table, you chugged it, coughing when you got too eager.

“You’re awake!”

you screamed, a small voice coming from right beside your head unexpectedly. you turned to see a small woman illuminated in the light from your watch.

“no need to be afraid. i’m lyla.”

lyla. that rang a bell.

“where am i?” you asked as you noticed the clothes folded in the corner of the room. you cast a sideways glance at the projection, and lyla turned to give you the illusion of privacy.

“miguel will answer all your questions. i’ve alerted him of your new condition.”

you slipped on the black sweatpants and top gratefully, relishing the feeling of soft cotton against your skin. as your hands moved over your body, you quickly noticed various cuts and bruises.

that’s right, i passed out.

“where is this miguel?” you asked as you studied the watch, noticing the flickering ‘EARTH-928’ across the screen.

almost immediately, little glowing footsteps were projected from the watch, making you whip your hand away from your face.

“i guess that’s my answer?” you asked lyla, and the woman nodded.

you sighed, figuring you might as well follow them.

fantastic survival skills from the one and only spider-woman.

well, you thought, not the one and only.

₊ ⊹

the man before you seemed almost nothing like he was when you were fighting Doc Oc.

he seemed…infinitely tired. his shoulders hunched, head ducked down. you supposed that you were distracted during the fight.

but his expression revealed much more than his body language. he had deep eye bags, and his cheeks were sunken in a way that expressed not just natural bone structure but also a lack of eating and sleeping properly.

miguel looked drained.

you were still processing what he had told you, about the cannon and the ‘Spider-Society’ and the ‘Arachno-Humanoid Poly-Multiverse.’

you had actually openly scoffed at that one, and he looked dejected by your reaction.

“but i can’t just send you home now. i’m pretty sure jess would actually web me for all eternity if i did.” he was saying, rubbing his brow.

“so what exactly am i doing here, then?” you asked, curious but hesitant.

he turned his back to you, looking forlornly at his screens.

“i’m going to train you.”

“why?” came your response, surprised and uncertain. you may have only known miguel for less than an hour, but you could already tell that taking on a young apprentice wasn’t exactly in his character.

he didn’t turn to you. he just kept looking at a picture of a young girl on one of his screens.

“because you remind me of someone.” he said quietly. then he looked at you, and you were struck with the amount of guilt and suffering that lived in his eyes.

“and because you remind me of myself. and i can’t let you become like me.”

masterlists | part ii

[bubbleteaimagines]

You Can Rest Now

Levi Ackerman Oneshot

Summary: People often wonder why Levi’s so cold. For a man that’s lost everything, it’s not so hard to see

Pairings: Levi Ackerman x Reader

Warnings: Ansgt, gore, death

Authors Note: I got this idea suddenly and decided to break my heart

there was speculation. there was always speculation, but none more about levi ackerman.

the short man had a notorious reputation. he was cruel, nonchalant and just generally didn’t seem to care.

he was different. cold. so cold in fact, that death didn’t even seem to faze him. he could watch someone die and be fine the next minute.

but was he? it seemed so.

all the recruits admired his bravery and strength, but they feared his attitude.

what had made him so cold, exactly? so...closed up? who or what had turned his heart into stone, causing him to shut out the world around him so easily?

how did he do it?

why did he do it?

what had caused him to snap?

it was simple, really. levi had made a mistake. long ago, when he was foolish enough to still believe in love and happiness in this retched world. long ago before he realized that love made you weak, he make the mistake of loving someone in this cruel, cruel, world.

-

flashback —

“shit! y/n, they’re gaining on us!”

after three years in the survey corps, you could safely say that those words were anything but a good sign. scratch that, those words were the worst thing to hear out in the field. an omen of death, if you will, but you tried not to think about that as you furrowed your eyebrows and gripped your horse’s reigns tightly.

“how close?” you made the mistake of asking your comrade. a lump grew in your throat as you guys trekked across empty land. no trees, no buildings, absolutely nowhere to even think about using your 3dmg gear.

“i...,” he was at a loss of words. neither of you dared to look back, so he had to go off of the thumping footsteps that were getting closer and closer. “i reckon in the next minute or so they’ll be...”

“got it,” you pursed your lips together, not wanting him to finish that sentence. you knew what was coming. you both did. the very ground beneath you shook due to the titan’s footsteps. the monsters that you had been battling your whole damn life. “you ready to kick some ass, then?”

“always.” his voice was weak, his hands trembling as he reached for his swords. but his spirit had not yet been broken. neither had yours.

the footsteps were getting closer.

“i say we stay in rank but finish this thing off. then we’ll speed up and catch the others in case some more come,” you told him

anxiety pooled in your stomach as you thought about the rest of the soldiers. wrong place, wrong time, you knew that. but you couldn’t help it — your mind flashed images of him and you couldn’t help but feel scared for him, wondering if he had made it back to the wall safe or if he was still stuck on the ground, like you.

levi was a much better fighter than you. he was fast, efficient, and a valuable fighter. humanity needed him, and he had to be kept safe to fight another day.

that was the only reason you guys had been split up. he was on the special forces team, you weren’t. a damn good soldier you were but you were needed on the outer side of the formation, you were needed to protect levi.

after two years, he still hated the idea of you risking your life to protect him. he had fought tooth and nail with you and just about everybody else to keep you safe, to keep you next to him at all times. but commander erwin wouldn’t allow it. he couldn’t, levi was needed to save humanity. you weren’t.

you guys had had this argument time and time again. and time after time, you had reassured him that you would make it back. that he would always find your tired but yet still smiling face waiting for him on top of the walls.

why should this time be any different?

“let’s move!”

before you could even think, you had a ten meter titan lunging at you causing you to yelp and yank your horse out of the way. the beast whined in terror, it’s fear possibly rivaling your own. unfortunately though, that didn’t cause it to go any faster. you were gonna be forced to take it down yourself — you wouldn’t be able to outrun it all the way back to the wall.

“y/n!” your comrade yelled as you were swiped at again. this time though, you stood up on your horse and launched yourself at the titan, your gear lodging itself in it’s shoulders.

“keep moving! i’ll take care of this!” you yelled out to him.

letting out an angry cry, you whipped around the creature at astonishing speeds and aimed straight at the back of it’s neck.

a routine kill, that’s all this was.

fire danced behind your eyes while the creature moaned and swatted it’s hands at you. 36, that was your number of solo kills. and soon, it was 37.

“take that you fat bastard,” you yelled and sliced it right in the weak spot, never missing a beat as you carved up the flesh. blood splattered everywhere from the fatal wound and steamed as it got on your face and clothes. the titan went limp, and soon you propelled yourself back to the ground and back on your horse.

“well, looks like petra and me are tied. can’t wait to tell her,” you grinned as you carried on riding, your partner sighing in relief.

“you really are one of the best, you know that? you totally just saved our asses,” he grinned back at you.

“yeah, and you’d do well not to forget it,” you chuckled. “next time there’s cake, i want-”

“Y/N LOOK OUT!”

there was a scream, and then there was a sudden pressure as an abnormal came leaping out of nowhere and hit you dead on.

you didn’t have time to react. you barely even had time to scream before everything went to shit, your horse flying away from you and you — oh god. your comrade screamed as you flew through the air, and appeared again only as you were clutched in the titan’s mouth.

“w-what?” you couldn’t move. your vision was blurry from the hit but what you could feel was it’s breath. blindingly hot, and rancid. you had a first row seat as you hung from the monster’s jaws, everything from your waist and below clutched tightly in it’s teeth.

“y/n, no!” the strangled cry of your fellow comrade was all too familiar. it was a helpless cry, one you had heard many times from many different people. it was a cry of death, a cry of sorrow if you will. it was the type of sound people made when they were face to face with death.

“son of bitch,” you moaned as you lifted your head up, your (e/c) eyes meeting the bright blue ones of the titan. “you’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

of all the ways to die, of all the times and situations, this just had to be it. with your luck, you were gonna be split in half by the ugliest goddamn titan you had ever seen.

“fuck me.”

dread pooled in your stomach.

as you stared down your killer, as you stared down death itself, only one thought crossed your mind.

“c-comrade,” you glared as the titan opened it’s mouth to devour you. “g-get out of here! you don’t need to see this!”

“y/n no! i’m coming!” he desperately clung to his gear, standing on his horse and preparing to take down the monster that was gonna kill his teammate. he couldn’t let that happen. he wouldn’t.

but you weren’t gonna let him die either. not whilst you were still alive.

“comrade! i said go! i’m the leader of this team so that’s an order!” you screamed at the solider causing him to freeze in place.

“no,” he whispered, watching as the monster’s jaws came down.

it was as if it were in slow motion. the universe dragging it out just so he could witness every detail. the moment you screamed profanities at the titan, promising that you’d see it in hell one day. the moment you ripped off your cape, letting one last piece of you remain on this earth. the moment you screamed for levi, yelling one last time how much you loved him.

the moment the titan’s jaws finally came down, cutting you in half.

everything stood still after that. time stopped completely, and your comrade couldn’t even scream, couldn’t even cry out for you as your eyes finally fluttered closed and your body went limp.

you were gone.

-

levi paced anxiously as he stood on top of wall maria. he had his hands behind his back, but his eyes were on full alert, searching the terrain in front of him for any signs of life.

for any signs of you.

levi didn’t understand. it had been well past an hour, and everyone had made it back except for your squad.

it wasn’t even a squad, really. just two people — so how could two people possibly be taking this long?

“captain, you should calm down. i’m sure y/n is gonna be fine,” petra placed a gentle hand on his shoulder but it did nothing to sooth levi.

“if they were fine they’d be back by now,” he snapped, his eyes darkening.

he didn’t want to admit it but levi was starting to lose hope. being gone for this long usually only meant one thing — but he refused to think about that. he refused to even let the thought cross his mind, shoving it so far back it was practically non existent. levi couldn’t think like that. he wouldn’t.

because it was no question whether you were okay or not. you had to be, there were no other options. no other scenarios other than you coming back alive and safe.

“captain—”

“silence!”

levi strained his ears as he heard hooves in the distance. he perked up.

it was the sound of a horse, most definitely. in fact, it was the sound of two horses, and in the distance he could see them galloping towards the wall, a titan right behind them and the lone rider.

levi’s heart swelled with hope.

“y/n!”

he was breathless as he ran towards the edge of the wall, igorning his fellow soldiers protests. extracting his swords, he quickly cascaded down the wall towards the person, hoping beyond hope that it was you.

commander erwin held out a hand to stop anyone from following him.

“don’t,” he warned, seeing how levi’s squad was gearing up. “this one’s for him.”

levi had never felt more eager in his life to escape into titan territory. quickly, he flew towards the rider and practically tackled them as he reached them.

“y/n, you—”

levi stopped dead in his tracks. confused, he tilted his head as he saw the grief-stricken face of your partner, but not you. in fact, you were nowhere in sight as the titan’s footsteps got louder.

“soldier, you had someone with you, yes? where is y/n?” levi demanded, completely ignoring the haunted and agonized expression of the solider.

“c-captain...i...,” how did he get the words out? how did your comrade look his captain in the eyes and tell him that you were gone — lost to the titan on a simple mission.

“well? we don’t have all pissant. spit it out,” levi snapped, becoming irritated at the lack of response.

where were you? if you hadn’t come back with your partner, then where the hell where you?

the soilder’s mouth moved but levi barely heard anything he said.

perhaps it was because he wasn’t standing close enough. or perhaps the titan’s thunderous footsteps drowned it out. or perhaps...it was because levi heard something he didn’t want to hear.

“dead?” levi tilted his head as if it were a foreign word. as if he had never heard the word before, when in reality it was probably the most used word in his vocabulary. “what do you mean y/n is...dead?”

the pieces didn’t fit. the word ‘dead’ and ‘you’ were apart of two completely different puzzles; they didn’t fit together. it was too wrong, too confusing for levi’s brain to pick up.

“t-they’re gone, sir,” the solider spit out painfully, letting out a wail. “w-we were on flat ground...the titan came out of nowhere...the abnormal...”

“shut up,” levi held his hand up as the pieces began to mold themselves. slowly, they transformed to fit each other.

“i-i’m sorry sir,” the soldier stammered, “t-they’re gone. they left this behind...but their body—”

“I SAID SHUT UP!” levi growled as anger began to flow through him, his fists twitching. the solider flinched back as levi’s death glare settled on him, burning holes through his skull.

“where do you get off on this? HUH?” levi yelled as he grabbed the man roughly, yanking him off of is horse. the beast whined in fear as the titan approached, but levi ignored it. instead, he focused on the red spots in his vision, pushing away the pain. pushing away the imagery that followed the solider’s words. all that was left of you was a cape...

“i’ll have you executed for this you bastard! you lying piece of shit—”

“CAPTAIN LEVI!” levi’s attention was diverted as commander erwin yelled out his name. briefly, he turned his attention to the wall where his fellow comrades and commander stood, horrified, “YOU HAVE A SITUATION!”

levi tore his gaze away from erwin and glanced over his shoulder. fast approaching was the titan that had followed the solider to the wall. an abnormal by the looks of it, with blood splattered all over it’s mouth.

levi felt his heart stop.

in the moment, it suddenly became real. he glanced at the solider’s terrified face, the cape in his arms that had your initials printed on it, and then back at the titan.

everything hit him at once.

and levi snapped.

“YOU BASTARD!”

he retracted his blades, squared his shoulders, and then zoomed off to battle the titan that that had murdered you. the love of his life.

levi saw red as an animalistic scream left him, his entire vision clouded with crimson as he made his target and slashed. levi slashed until there was nothing more to slash, the titan long dead and already dissolving by the time he was done.

“YOU ASSHOLE! YOU TOOK THEM! YOU FUCKING BASTARD!”

“CAPTAIN! soldier, you need to restrain him and get back over the wall, NOW!” commander erwin shouted.

more titan’s were approaching. too many people were standing by the walls. too much prey.

but levi didn’t care. he was angry, hurt, and beyond the levels of revenge. his blades were stained with the blood of your murderer. he wouldn’t be able to rest if he didn’t end them all, right then and there.

“CAPTAIN LEVI! WE NEED TO GO!”

levi ignored the solider’s plea and stood his ground, hatred burning behind his eyes. he’d kill them, he’d kill every last one of them for what they did to you. his life be damned.

in that moment, it didn’t matter that humanity needed him.

he needed to avenge you.

“FALL BACK! DO NOT ENGAGE! I REPEAT, DO NOT ENGAGE! EVERYBODY STAND BACK!”

levi braced himself for the attack. he was running on pure hatred now.

he was dangerous when he was calm. but he was unstoppable when he was deadset on getting revenge for the one person he had left to care about.

“holy shit—”

“no way—”

“did he just?—”

all around levi was blood. crimson red soaked him to the bone, pouring over every inch of his body. it rained on him, like a sadistic waterfall carved out by levi’s sword.

but it wasn’t his.

none of it, not a single drop of the blood was his.

levi sheathed his now broken swords and leaned down to retrieve the only thing not soaked with titan blood. the only thing that wasn’t stained or reminded him of their treacherous, godforsaken existence.

“i did it,” he whispered, clutching your cape tightly. he held the fabric in his trembling hands, holding it over his heart as a way to hold you close— one last time.

“i killed that thing. you can rest now.”

[alwaysmarveling]

The Incident, The Aftermath

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x fem!reader

Warnings: Amputation, an explosion, hints at PTSD (it’s a wee bit sad but I promise it gets happier)

Word Count: ~3k

A/N: So I finally got the guts to post something... If you like it, thank Camz :) If you don’t, sorry mi dude, I’m working on it (but constructive criticism is greatly appreciated!).

You’d slipped into the tank top and shorts easily enough, and here you were standing in front of your dresser. One look at the unruly mop atop your head caused you to let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. You carefully ran the brush through your hair, allowing the knots to loosen up one by one.

You’d been leaving your hair down every day since The Incident, but that was two weeks ago. Assuming everything healed properly, Tony and Bruce were going to fit you for a prosthetic in a week, but until then you had to work with what you had… which was one less arm than you were used to having your entire life.

The universe wasn’t being very thoughtful of your adjustment—it was supposed to get up to ninety-five degrees today—so maybe today would be the day to try putting it up. You had seen some people do it on YouTube, and it didn’t seem that difficult. Plus, if you had enough dexterity to wield a knife with one hand and still leave your opponent in pieces, you should be able to put up your hair with one hand easy peasy.

You stared at your reflection in the mirror, unsure of what to really do with it. You didn’t see a braid working. You could pin some of it to the side so that it wouldn’t fall in your face, but with the heat, you wanted it completely up. A messy bun could work, though; it was simple, got the hair off of your neck, and it was meant to be a bit untidy. Perfect. With the style in mind, you pushed an elastic around your wrist and set off to work.

Twisting your hair was easy enough. Looping it around to actually form a bun was slightly more difficult, but you managed. When it came time to actually loop the elastic around the bun, though, things got more complicated.

You copied the video, pressing your head against the wall to hold your hair in place while you secured the elastic. However, looping the elastic around the bun without significantly shifting your hair was proving to be extremely difficult. Nevertheless, you managed to do it. The mirror then filled with your reflection as you examined your handiwork.

Handiwork was one word for it. Simply put, it looked like a toddler had done your hair. You weren’t sure how exactly you had messed up since you couldn’t really see behind your head, but you could see the result, and it wasn’t pretty. You let out a puff of air, pulling the elastic out and reaching for your brush. One glance at the clock told you you had enough time for two or three more attempts before you had to call it a day.

Five tries later, you were no better off than you were before. Sure, the bun was supposed to be messy, but there was a certain art to a messy bun. This just looked like a giant cat spit a hairball on top of your head. On top of that, you were now running late to meet Wanda for grocery shopping.

“Miss Y/N,” FRIDAY started.

“Tell her I’ll be down in five,” you sighed, your eyes brimming with tears. You supposed one more day of leaving your hair down wouldn’t kill you even if it was going to be hot, but you just wanted to be able to take care of yourself. You hated seeing the looks of sympathy your teammates gave you every time you had to ask for help for the simplest things, whether it be grabbing a plate at the bottom of the stack or setting up equipment for training.

Sure, things were getting a little easier, like dressing yourself without help. You could deal with the phantom pain. It was excruciating, but pain was one part of the job that you were used to. You had also managed to hide your frustration from the team pretty well since The Incident, but you weren’t sure if that made it any better; half of them seemed like they were walking on eggshells when they were around you.

When it came to the nightmares, though, that was much harder to hide, especially considering you shared a bed with one of the lightest sleepers in the world. You hated waking her up every night, your body soaked in sweat and chest heaving as you forced yourself to remember that it was all over, forced your mind to believe that you were safe even when your body didn’t.

Before you could really understand what was happening, your emotions from the last few weeks bubbled over. Anger, frustration, anguish, and countless others flew to the surface, demanding to be released. Your fingers dug into your hair, yanking on the elastic—along with several strands of hair—until they flew out, hitting the floor somewhere you didn’t care to find. The hairbrush was next, being snatched from the top of the dresser and chucked at the door as hard as you could manage.

“What the- Y/N? Are you okay, babe?”

The thwack of the brush hitting the door caused you to flinch even though you were the one who caused it. Not processing your girlfriend’s muffled words at first, your eyes widened as you stepped back, and for a split second you were transported back to The Incident.

---

You grabbed the last civilian who had fallen behind the others, practically tossing them out of the building before it could explode.

“Y/N! Get out of-” Before Steve could finish his sentence, the building burst into flame, and the blast sent you flying in the air.

When you came to, the only thing you could focus on was the excruciating pain radiating from your elbow. You couldn’t make out exactly what had happened to it, but, wow, to say it hurt was an understatement.

It was several minutes later before the ringing cleared from your ears and you finally realized someone was talking to you.

“Y/N! Y/N, love, please, where are you?” The familiar voice drove you to use the little energy you had left, lifting your head off of the pavement to scan your surroundings. The dust and debris from the explosion made it difficult to see, but you could just make out her shape a few feet away from you.

“Turn… around, you doofus… I’m… behind you,” you wheezed out before letting your head hit the ground.

“Y/N! Oh my god, I thought we-” The second the former assassin saw you, her mouth dropped.

“What is it, Natty?” you asked weakly.

“Nothing, sweetheart. Just give me a second, okay? I’m going to get the rest of the team so we can get you out of here.”

“Liar,” you wheezed, half-teasing, half-panicked, but your girlfriend had already turned around. Squinting your eyes, you could just make out the small movements of her lips that told you she was talking, but the chaos and your pain and exhaustion—and probably blood loss, but you didn’t know that at the time—was making it impossible to hear what she was saying.

“Okay, they’re coming,” she reassured you, kneeling down next to you.

“What happened?” you tried again.

“You’re a hero, babe,” the redhead murmured, smoothing back your hair and brushing dirt from your face.

“Yeah?” Your voice was growing weaker, and you were becoming loopier than someone who had just come out of wisdom teeth surgery. Natasha knew it was only moments until you passed out.

“Yeah, you did it, sweet girl. You saved them all.”

“I did? I seriously hope Helen is a superhero too because someone’s going to need to save my arm. God, it hurts.” Natasha only let out a huff at your poor attempt at a joke, but you appreciated it nonetheless.

“Just hold on a little longer for me, okay? Can you do that?” Something wet hit your cheek, making you realize that your girlfriend was crying.

“Of course,” you scoffed. “Don’t…” You left her hanging.

---

After what felt like years, you finally regained your breath and returned to the present. “I’m fine,” you yelled out, your voice wavering. You knew Natasha wouldn’t believe you. Not only was she your girlfriend, but she was literally one of the best spies in the world. Sure enough, she tried to open the door, her efforts in vain since you’d locked it when you were changing.

“Hon, can you please open the door?”

“I’m fine, Nat,” you breathed out, your tone slightly more stable.

“Just let me in,” she pleaded. “Please?” Her soft voice made you sigh in resignation as you wiped your eyes. You tugged your fingers through your hair, trying to tame the bird’s nest on your head at least a little before showing yourself to her.

“Hi,” you practically whispered, not making eye contact with her once you had opened the door.

“Hey,” she responded softly, taking your hand in one of hers and using her other hand to lift up your chin. Rather than saying anything else immediately, she pressed a soft kiss to the top of your forehead as her second hand slid down to completely wrap your one hand in both of hers. The two of you stood in the doorway for a while, eyes closed and hand in hand. You weren’t a super soldier, but you were sure you could hear both of your heartbeats, yours slowing down to beat in tandem with hers.

“You okay?” she finally asked. You nodded slightly, your breathing now back to normal and the tears no longer streaming down your face.

Natasha always had a way of calming you down. You didn’t get frustrated or angry often, but when you did… the rest of the Avengers always joked that you were seconds away from becoming the next Hulk.

The former assassin slowly reached up to untangle your locks, noticing how you flinched when she first reached your hairline.

“I’ve been thinking,” she started with the faintest hint of uncertainty, “It’s been a while since I did your hair, and I saw this new hairstyle online that I thought would look really good on you…”

“Thank you,” you sighed quietly as you leaned into her touch.

“My pleasure,” your girlfriend smirked, pushing you inside your shared bedroom and closing the door behind her. She guided you to sit on the floor as she sat on the edge of the bed behind you. Brush in hand, Nat started sectioning off your hair. A small smile graced her face when you closed your eyes, allowing yourself to fully enjoy the contact.

Now halfway down your head, she spoke up again. “You know I’ll always be here for you, right?

“Nat…” you warned, although you had nothing to say afterwards, and the redhead took advantage of that.

“I can only imagine how upset you feel about losing your arm-”

“Nat,” you interrupted, your voice slightly harder this time. Natasha sighed as she continued to braid your hair.

“I’m just trying to say that I’m here for you. I was here for you before, and I’m here for you now. The number of limbs that you have doesn’t affect that. It also doesn’t affect your worth. You’re not useless, Y/N. You never were, and you certainly aren’t now.” Despite your best efforts, tears began to trail down your face. Natasha pursed her lips at the sight but continued, knowing that if she stopped now she wouldn’t have another chance to say what she needed to. “You are-” Nat’s fingers froze when you mumbled out something unintelligible, the hand over your mouth preventing you from enunciating. “What was that?” You sighed before speaking again.

“It’s not the arm. It’s not just the arm,” you corrected.

“Then what is it?” She resumed braiding your hair, her voice matching the tenderness in her hands.

“It’s- it’s the- god, this is embarrassing.”

“You have absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about, love. I’ll never judge you for anything you’re feeling,” the redhead promised, pausing once again to brush her lips above your brow bone.

“It’s the fear, Nat. I can’t go one second without thinking about the explosion. About… losing it. I’m scared 24/7, Nat, and even if I could forget about it for even a moment, I have a constant reminder.” Natasha didn’t have to see your face to know that your eyes had flickered to the remainder of your arm that hung by your side. “And, god,” you laughed bitterly, “god, does it make me feel weak. What kind of Avenger constantly lives in fear and panic? How am I ever supposed to help anyone like this?”

“Y/N.” She stopped braiding your hair for the third time, pulling on it slightly so that you were forced to meet her eyes above you. “You are the strongest person I know. I know you’re scared, but guess what? You went through something super traumatic. It’s okay to be scared. Honestly, I might be more concerned if you came out of that and you weren’t scared at all. All of us get scared, and that’s perfectly valid because being scared does not make you weak. Being scared means you value your life, and that’s a good thing.” She paused her speech to relax her grip on your hair, but your head remained tilted, captivated by the passion and emotion that filled your girlfriend’s face and voice.

“And the Avenger that lives in fear and panic is the same one that was ready to give up her life to save people. You helped people in the past not because you had two arms or because you weren’t scared of stuff. You helped them for the sole reason that you made a commitment to helping others, to making the world a better place, and that is the sole reason why you will still be able to help others.” Natasha’s whole body was trembling. The hands that held your hair were white at the fingertips as she clenched them. 

“I admire you more than anyone else in the world. You’re a hero, Y/N. Not ‘were,’ but ‘are.’ You’re the hero of every single person whose life you saved, and you’re my hero.”

“I didn’t-” Despite your interruption, the spy didn’t stop talking.

“You saved my life, Y/N, the second you walked into it. You give me a reason to live, to wake up every morning. And you’re my hero even more so now than before because you get up every day with a smile on your face, no matter what’s thrown at you.”

“Not much of a smile now,” you sniffed. Despite the tears that blurred your vision, you couldn’t stop the corner of your lips from curling up slightly. Nat laughed at the juxtaposition, finishing up the intricate braids woven in your hair before turning you around to face her.

“But look how quickly that changed,” she teased, pecking your lips after she wiped the tears from your face.

“Thank you,” you repeated for the second time in less than fifteen minutes.

“It was my pleasure. Plus, I was right, this hairstyle does look really good on you.” You bit your lip in embarrassment as you turned your gaze to the floor. “I’ll always do your hair for you, milaya.”

“I was actually thinking of shaving it off,” you smirked. As you examined your reflection in the mirror, you couldn’t help but agree with Natasha. You looked good, missing arm and all. A little teary-eyed and runny-nosed, but amazing nonetheless.

“Don’t you dare,” your girlfriend scoffed. “I know I said I wasn’t leaving, but I might at that,” she winked.

“Hey!” You tackled her to the ground. Reaching for her abdomen, her eyes widened as your grin grew larger.

“Y/N, don’t you dare-” You talked over her, not paying attention to her threat.

“I can still tickle you with one arm.” The spy didn’t get the chance to respond before you pounced, smiling at the sound of her laughter.

“Stop, Y/N, please!” she managed to get out.

“Are you going to leave me then? Huh?”

“No, no! I won’t! I’ll never leave you! Please, just stop!” You let up on the tickling, gently brushing away the hair that was thrown over her face seconds ago. “Great,” Nat groaned, “now I need to redo my hair.”

“Sorry,” you giggled sheepishly. Seeing the pout on her face, you bent down and met her lips with yours.

“I meant it, though.”

“That you need to fix your hair?” Natasha laughed at the way your head had adorably cocked to one side.

“No, silly, that you’re my hero. That you’re the strongest, most admirable person I know. That I’ll always be there for you, and that I’ll always do your hair for you, even when you don’t need me to do it for you any longer.”

“I love you.” You kissed her again. “And I will always love you.” Noticing a slight shift in her face, you paused, studying her expression. “Don’t you dare start singing that song.”

“Miss Y/N, Miss Maximoff is wondering if you are alright.”

“Shoot, I need to go grocery shopping with Wanda!” You scrambled to get off of the floor, smoothing out your clothes before looking for your shoes. “Uh, FRIDAY, tell her I’m so sorry and I’m coming down right now.”

“One more for the road?” Nat pouted just before you reached the door.

“Of course. Thank you again, for everything.” Your lips melted together for a second before you pulled away.

---

“Wanda, I’m here, I’m so, so sorry!” You half-ran, half-slid down the hallway to meet your best friend at the door.

“Hey,” Wanda turned to greet you. “What took you-” She paused upon making eye contact with you. “I like your hair,” she grinned.

“Thanks,” you smiled back, “Nat did it for me.”

[caesthetix]

A LITTLE FEAR — Pt. 3 The Last Goodbye

↪Jean Kirstein mini-series

↪content; canon universe, description of violence, season 4 spoiler, forbidden love, marleyan!reader, scouts!jean, chapter 138 spoiler

Everyone was waiting, a dozen pairs of eyes looking at you with hope, wanting to hear any command from your lips. You were the only one who could calm them down, the only one who was still alive, the hope that shone even when everyone was on the brink of death.

They could not unsee it, those gigantic monsters called titans. Slowly but surely, walking towards where they were right now. You had sent all of your ships ahead to drop all the bombs in hope that it could stop them, or maybe just slow them down.

But it was no use, all of those brave soldiers were now dead knowing they tried to win this fight. The fight that they never prepared to have, the fight that was probably triggered by your own country, the fight that they couldn't win. You knew it, but you were not going to back down without giving all of your might.

"Commander! Look!" One of the troops called, pointing at the flying boat that flew from behind the line of titans. "That's the cart titan! And— the armoured titan, commander! We are saved! They will win this fight, we just need to wait!" He shouted so anyone could hear, wanting to share the news. "Even the island devils too! They are joining forces to stop that monster!"

The sound of cheers followed right after the troop announced that. It only needed the fact that someone else was taking care of the fight, that was the only thing they needed to lift the burden off their shoulders. At least for a while, they have the privilege to feel that.

You wanted to speak up, tell them that it was not the time to celebrate yet. But as you turned away from the fight ahead and looked behind you, finding your soldiers sobbing out of relief and crying from the happiness that perhaps they had a chance to live — you didn't dare to take that away from them.

Deep down, you wanted to believe that they were going to win. You wanted to take some rest too, believing them completely. After all, two titans could help them do anything, and perhaps the Ackermans were there too, enhancing their success rate even more.

But you could not rest, ever since you knew that Marley sent ninety percent of their army to attack the Paradis altogether, you could not sit down and do nothing. You needed to occupy yourself with anything, even though it was just staring at the horde of colossal titan, at least your mind was preoccupied with the thought of war.

At least your mind was not preoccupied with the thought of him.

You cursed your higher-ups when they told you to stay in Marley. Saying you are the wittiest commander, the one with a clear mind and with a good sense of war on top of that. You didn't know what happened on the other side of the sea. Whether your country won or not, you didn't know.

Until this morning, of course. Until when you woke up in your private barracks this morning. Everything was in chaos, soldiers running around to pack up, saying things about how Marley was already lost. Or more accurately, the whole world had lost.

Liberio was already gone, thousands or perhaps millions of titans were sent to wipe the entire planet clean. They said the devil in Paradis wanted to commit genocide to the whole world, leaving nothing but empty ground filled with thousands of corpses on top of it, working as a fertilizer for a brand new world.

But that was it. That was the only information you got. Everyone was waiting for your command after delivering the message to you, and you wanted to curse yourself since the first thing that came into your mind was not a war strategy, not a plan to keep on living, no.

You wanted to curse yourself as a commander that the first thing you thought about was — is he safe?

It was a question, stopping your brain to think about anything else. You were human too, grief and sadness were something that you could feel and you just needed a minute alone to calm yourself down. But you couldn't succumb yourself to such a thing as you were the only hope the Marleyan Military had right now.

So here you were in this moment, standing tall on the Air Force Unit base in Fort Salta. You called every troop who still wanted to fight, and for those who wanted to leave you promised them there wouldn't be punishment. And you were proud to know that the majority of them chose to go with you.

But they're dead now. Those pilots carried out the command that you gave without hesitating. It was a simple task, fly on top of the colossal titans and drop the bombs. They were supposed to go back, reporting to their post that they could slow the movement for a little or maybe kill some of the titans.

No one expected the beast titan to appear out of nowhere and throw shards at them, no one expected the bomb to detonate far from the lines of titans, no one expected that the force would die with no result at all. And for those who stayed beside you could only ask, "What should we do now, commander?"

There was nothing else that you could do. And at a time like this, you wondered why they decided to be here. Unlike you, they had someone who greeted them when they came home every day. They had a family; a mother who cooked them dinner, a lover that would warm their bed, they had kids that listen to them as they read a bedtime story.

And yet, despite knowing they could spend the last moment of their life with the people who loved them, they decided to stay.

Yes, they were loved, unlike you.

Your parents disowned you the second you decided to get passed down over the family business, you had no real friends that cared for your well-being, you had no one else outside of the military and that was the only reason you were here right now instead of abandoning your position.

That, and the wishful thinking which perhaps if you stay alive, you would meet him again.

"Commander?" You jolted when one of the soldiers called you. Clearing your throat, you erase all of the stupid thoughts that occupied your mind.

"Yes, soldier?" Your voice was stern, wanting to portray that you were not wavering. You waited for him to answer your question, but it seemed like he hesitated. His eyes scrutinized you with worry, and that was enough to make you question him. "Soldier—"

"Why are you crying, commander?"

Your pupils dilated when you heard his words. You frantically wiped your cheeks with your fingers, not wanting to let him see how vulnerable you were at this moment. He was kind enough to give you space after that, muttering an apology before leaving your side, and you wished he didn't say anything to the others.

Right now, you were their power and hope. If you showed any sign of weakness, it could decrease their morale, and you didn't want it to happen. So you just looked forward after that, perfecting your stance as you prepared your binocular to see better what happened up there.

And as you did so, you wished that Jean was not up there. Or if he did, then you could only hang on high hopes that he would survive.

Because you refused to acknowledge that you had no chance to say goodbye.

Never have you felt like this for so long. Perhaps, you never felt like this for all the years you lived your life. Your whole body felt so warm as the carnal desire that you had before slowly subsided. Sweats coating your skin, making the strands of your hair sticking to it like it was glued.

You were sprawled out on top of this cheap mattress, eyes scrutinizing the pattern on the wall as you inhaled and released the air out of your body bit by bit, recalling what happened a few hours earlier. You never thought that this weekend would be different from the others. Hitting the bar after such a long week was like a celebration for you, and so, you were there, seated yourself on the right end of the bar, and drinking whatever alcohol they served you.

But you didn't expect your night to unfurl like this. Laying in the arms of a stranger who introduced himself as Jean Kirstein. His intense eyes mesmerized you as he gazed down upon your figure, vivid brown looking so bright under the dim light of the bar — and it didn't change, even when you laid under him in this dark motel room with the moon as the only source of light.

Never once you ever let a stranger string you along like this. Whether you were sober or under influence of the alcohol, you could always stand your ground. So when you took his hand and ran giddily beside him like stupid, hormonal teenagers, it was all your choice by the end of the day.

The rattle of belts brought you back to the present. You turned your head to find the stranger already dressed neatly as if he didn't just turn a fierce commander to be a lady who had to fulfill her needs. Whatever happened tonight was a mistake, at least that was what his body language told you as he scrambled around the room, searching for his belongings.

You propped your elbow and laid on your side, watching him intently while your naked body still hidden under the blankets, really a contrast to him now. His face filled with worry, and now it made you wonder why a man could be so afraid of something like a one-night stand.

He turned to look at you as he fetched his fedora hat from the ground, plopping it on top of his head with newfound confidence as he was done calming himself. His eyes popped a little, not expecting you to stare at him with a gentle smile on your face. Without regret could be seen inside as if you enjoyed his company more than anyone else.

"I thought you were still asleep." He whispered out, knowing well that it was so late at night.

"And let you go without saying goodbye? In your dreams, Kirstein." You mockingly said with a sultry note, rolling your body so now you sat at the edge of the bed, still locking your gaze with him.

He rolled his eyes, wanting to look as if he was annoyed. But the small smirk forming on his face didn't go unnoticed by you.

"Guess you wouldn't let me go that easily, huh?"

He took off his fedora once again, clutching it tightly as he pressed it on his chest. For sure you would think that he had a title or some kind of aristocracy in his blood with how much of a gentleman he had been this whole time.

Or maybe he was just a normal Marleyan, someone without any special role. Yes, a simple man, being attracted to a simple man wouldn't be so bad after all. Then again, that kind of fashion was one of a kind, he could be an underground criminal too, perhaps, you could never guess.

But now though, with how enchanting he looked right now with those challenging gaze thrown at you — you didn't care where he came from or what kind of dark secret that he hides. You didn't know anything about him and yet it didn't stop you from giving him some attention.

Because despite your blindness, you still wanted him. So much.

"I wouldn't let you go without saying a proper goodbye."

You closed your eyes, easing the pain that suddenly throbbed your skull as you recalled the first night that you spent with him. Your mind played some of the memories that you had like a broken record, never-ending and felt like a nightmare most of the time since you knew it was just a distant past that could never happen again.

It was not the time to think about yourself or worry about his existence. You needed to let it go for now, and you had to be the commander that everyone expected you to be. Right now was not the right time to be a normal human. Not when your whole life was filled with peculiarity.

"Thank you."

You gave Mr. Leonhart a firm nod and a smile as you helped him up. "I always knew that you are not like any other Marleyan Commander, you did the right thing by firing all those rounds into the air." He chuckled softly, making his wrinkles more visible by it.

The Marleyan and Eldian clashed before, having both sides pointing their guns at each other. But you stated before that there was enough hatred in this world, and you needed to start from here, emptying the bullets that the Marleyan had to the sky, followed by the Eldian doing the exact same thing as they knew it was time to let go of the hate.

And now, it seemed like the rumbling had stopped. You saw it with your own eyes how yellow lights from a transformation engulfed your vision. Everyone was blinded, no one knew what happened until the lights subsided. Even now as the Marleyan helped those who got injured, no one in this fortress knew what happened out there.

There was a high possibility that the joined forces had won the battle since now you could feel the ground had stopped shaking. The explosion from before must be from the colossal titan that fell on Paradis's hand, successfully crushing the founder and stopping the rumbling.

"Dad?"

Not too far from you, stood a woman with blonde hair and beautiful ocean eyes. Mr. Leonhart immediately turned to face her, and he was frozen at the spot, couldn't believe his own eyes that he finally reunited with someone that you believed was his daughter.

It was so beautiful to see such a reunion. You knew that Annie Leonhart was still stuck in Paradis due to some circumstances, and for them having a chance to see each other again, must have felt like a blessing.

But the serene moment didn't last more than a few seconds. There was a sudden smoke engulfing the air around you. No one knew what it was, but it suffocated everyone as it filled their lungs. And your instinct told you to run — finding its source.

Right now, you needed to stop being a commander.

"Captain! You are the one in charge while I am gone!"

"Wait, commander!"

You couldn't stop. Your heart was beating a thousand times faster as you ran and left the fortress, ignoring the shout from your troops as you trotted past the smokes. You needed to understand what happened, and you needed to see if maybe he was here too.

There was a gush of wind, and you squinted your eyes to find a titan flew from the edge of the cliff. It was the same titan that you saw carrying the joined forces right before the explosion. And you wondered why they left so abruptly.

Was it because of the smoke? Were they going to come back later? Why they seemed to be so afraid with—

"Jean?"

Just like that, you couldn't think of anything else. It was as if the time had stopped when your eyes laid to the familiar ash-brown mullet that you always loved to run your fingers to. He wore the straps and belt that you knew what it was for, and even though his hair was dishevelled right now, he still looked so breathtaking.

He carefully turned to face you, and his brown orbs immediately filled with relief and something else entirely that you could not fathom. And despite the smoke surrounding the place, he was the only thing that you could see, the only one that you could focus on.

He looked so tired as if he wanted nothing but sleep for years. His eyes glinted under the sun and yet the shone inside those chocolate orbs looked dimmed already. You couldn't hear what his friend told him, you couldn't see the horror on his friend's face as you stood there — only ten feet apart from the man that you have been longing to see.

You took a few steps forward, just a little more and you could feel his body heat once more. It was the only thing that you wanted in the world, especially at this moment. To feel his warm embrace once again, to capture that plump lips with yours.

Jean could believe neither his eyes nor his ears. He heard your voice so vividly before, and now he could see you, standing flesh without any prominent wound on your body. What Pieck said was true, you would be here and very much alive. So there was only one thing left that he needed to do.

But then he felt Connie's arms wrapped around his torso.

"Jean! Snap out of it!"

No, you were so close, he was so close to giving the key back to you.

"She could be burned by the transformation!"

Then his pupils widened at the realisation.

You were there, right in front of him. And you kept walking forward without understanding the situation. Your eyes glistened with tears, hopefully, it was happy tears. And with how his vision blurred as he saw you this close, he knew that he was in the same state as you.

Maybe, then maybe just having another look at you was enough for him.

"Stand back!"

He stopped you from taking another step, making you halt your feet as he backed away from where you were. Giving you space from him and the others Eldian so you didn't get hurt later, but enough for you to hear him in this stretched-out moment.

There was no time, he could turn into a titan a few seconds from now. Running to you and returning the key to your palm would be too risky, and he didn't want you to die just yet when he felt like the world was finally free from fear.

Free from hatred and war, free from oppression. And perhaps — free to love whoever you want.

This time, he was actually grateful that he fell in love with a Marleyan. If that meant his love could live and see the world that they always wanted, it was enough for him. He was happy enough to know that you would stay alive while he would be gone as a soldier who fulfilled his duty.

If only that cursed creature was not here in this world. If only it didn't emit the smoke that could turn the Eldians to a mindless titan. If only his body didn't have this blood flowing through his veins. If — God, everything filled with that word. Just if only he met and fell in love with you under different circumstances.

Maybe he could live with you on prime real estate in wherever place that you wanted. He could live a long and happy life with you and future children, then he could bring you to meet his mother too, he was sure that she would adore you solely because you love him.

But it was all just a fantasy that would never come true.

So perhaps, he needed to do it any other day.

"I am sorry, love."

"Wait, Jean!"

"I'll give you back the key someday."

"Jean, I—"

A booming voice rang through your ears as your body was thrown away from the force. Your head slammed to the building behind you before your figure fell to the ground, making you feel detached from the rest of the world as your consciousness floating through the empty space, filled with static.

You heard a roar, and the ground beneath you seemed to shake once more. You tried to open up your eyes, only to find out that your vision blurred from the impact your head took just now. But you could still see it, gigantic feet filled your vision as you started to understand what happened.

You were supposed to move away, shielding yourself from these mindless titans that suddenly transformed. You should have remembered one of Zeke's miracles about how he could use a cloud of smoke to control an entire village in Paradis a few years ago. It was the same as back then and you should have remembered.

You should have remembered that you were in love with an Eldian, and something like this was bound to happen.

Now you knew why Jean's friend pulled him away from your figure. Now you could finally hear the warning and understood why they tried to keep you within a safe distance. They didn't want you to be burned alive, afraid that you would die if you were just a little too close.

Coughing up from all the rubbles that impaled your lungs, you gently leaned your back to the building that was still intact, waiting for your eyes to see everything clearly. All the Eldians were transformed, including those who were inside the fortress.

So you decided to sit there, watching how he turned into a titan as you wish that this nightmare would end soon. The familiar ash-brown hair titan roared as it looked around, perhaps searching for any human that it could devour.

You didn't try to run away just yet as you still need time to accept the fact. The burning sun and the rough ground that scratch your skin were nothing compared to the discomfort that swirled in your stomach just now. Realising that Jean was gone, accepting the fact that he was now a titan would be the hardest thing that you ever did in life.

It turned to look at you, at least to where you were right now. Maybe it would be alright if you died in his hand, you let your body go limp and just stare at his now empty eyes. He was not there anymore, he couldn't think or have a mind of himself. Now Jean became a puppet for the cursed creature.

You thought that this would be the climax, a tragic ending for the star-crossed lover. There was no happy ending in this story, in the grey relationship that you had with him. So it didn't matter anymore how cruel your death would be, you died in a war and you had no regret over it.

Though, he just stood there. His eyes never left your figure, not even moved an inch or gave away any sign that he would eat you alive. He just looked at you — as if he could still think, as if your Jean was still there, saying goodbye and muttering apology inside his mind.

The time seemed to slow down as you could see a single tear slipped from his eyes. Either it was your imagination or reality, you didn't know that. You were not given any explanation or a chance to take another look at him as he suddenly turned his back on you and ran.

Just as simple as that, he jumped off to the cliff along with the other new titans, gone from your eyesight and gone from your life. Completely, without a chance that he would come back again and stand in front of your door like what he used to do.

The two of you were not in Marley, not cooped up inside of your apartment where you could relish his presence. He was not just a stranger that slipped into your life, becoming a part of your routine and made your day felt more beautiful and worth getting by.

Tomorrow you wouldn't see him again, or feel his heartbeat as you laid on top of him, fingers following the line of his marks like what you loved to do.

Instead, you needed to face reality where you could no longer greet him with a confident hello that always made him smile. You needed to face reality, that you couldn't give him a proper goodbye, with him planting a kiss on your lips to reassure you that he would be back tomorrow.

Because you knew that he was already gone. And despite knowing how hard it would be for you to keep it in mind — you needed to accept it.

Even if it took you a lifetime to carry out.

↪Back to Wall Maria

↪Send an ask if you want to be a citizen of Paradis (taglist)!

[winter-soldier-vibes]

You saved me (Steve Rogers x reader)

You saved me

Steve Rogers x reader

Summary: Steve Rogers loses you (his girlfriend) in the battle of Wakanda (set in Infinity War) and mourns. Until he finds out he might be able to bring you back

Word count 2146

Warnings: spoilers for one, death/dust, mourning

A/N: THIS CONTAINS INFINITY WAR AND ENDGAME SPOILERS. Also, I know that this isn’t verbatim what happens, but I paraphrased. A lot of the battle is included here, so seriously, if you haven’t watched the movies, don’t read this quite yet. Sorry if I got something wrong. I DON’T OWN ANYTHING MARVEL the battle in Infinity War and Endgame are both mentioned and paraphrased but it is not my ideas.

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

It had destroyed Steve so much. You were fighting with him inj Wakanda against Thanos, and had joined him to try and protect Vision and the Mind stone while Wanda was trying to destroy it before he got to it. You were a skilled fighter, and had learned from Natasha years ago. Fighting was your specialty.

You were fighting some of Thanos’ army when you heard a yell from Steve and turned around just in time to see him get punched by Thanos

“STEVE!” you yelled, running over to him. Thanos paid no attention to you, turning back to Vision. You crouched down beside him, checking to make sure he was just unconscious, not dead. You put your ear to his chest to feel his heart still beating. Thank God, you thought. 

You tried waking him up, slapping his face gently. “Come on, Steve. They still need us Cap…” you said. You took a breath before giving him a hard slap across the face.

His eyes opened and he made a move to defend himself. “Hey hey hey, Steve, it’s me, it’s y/n. I’m sorry babe, I just had to wake you up.”

He nodded, sighing in relief. “Where’s Thanos?” he asked.

The two of you looked around to see Thor fly out of the sky and shove his axe into Thanos’ chest and push it further. You sighed in relief. Maybe it was finally over.

You could see the two of them talking, and Thanos raised his left hand. You heard Thor yell “NO!” as he snapped.

Confused, you watched light flash out from the stones and you looked around, trying to figure out what had happened. Nothing seemed to have changed, but then you started getting this weird feeling in your stomach, like you were about to pass out. 

You tried to stand, but stumbled. You looked at your hands to see them turning into dust. “Steve….” you looked up from your dissolving fingertips. “I - I don’t know what’s happening.” you said, starting to panic as your arms vanished.

The last thing you heard was Steve saying your name

Steve watched in horror as you dissolved into thin air. He knelt down in front of where you had been, running his hands through the pile of dust on the ground. He looked up when he heard his name from his friend Bucky

“Steve?”

He looked up just in time to see Bucky dissolve just as you had moments ago.

He went over to where Bucky had just been, seeing the dust fall to the ground just like it had with you.

He found out later that the same thing had happened to trillions across the universe. Thanos had done it. He had annihilated half of the population. 

When they followed Nebula to where Thanos was living to retrieve the stones, he was devastated when he learned that the stones were gone. Along with any chance of saving you.

He spent the next 5 years in despair. He tried to look on the bright side, tried to move on like he told everyone else to. But he was falling apart inside. When he woke up after being frozen for 70 years, he thought he had lost Peggy. A few years later she had really died. On Zola’s train, he thought he had lost Bucky only to find out that he was the Winter Soldier in 2014. When he found you he had finally been moving on from all of that. Starting over. But now you, and his best friend, were really gone.

He would try and replay every memory he had of you, making sure to remember every single detail. He couldn’t let himself forget. It was painful to remember, but he couldn’t bear to think of not being able to remember everything he had with you.

The love you had for each other.

Gone with the snap of the fingers

Literally dissolved into nothing.

He tried to keep it together for everyone, tried to get people to look on the bright side, but he never was able to himself. He couldn;t help but wish it had been him instead.

He didn;t know what to do with himself. There wasn;t a fight anymore, you weren;t there and neither was Bucky, he needed to do something but there wasn;t really anything to do. 

They were the longest years of his life.

Eventually he learned to move forward, but never fully. He couldn’t ever hope to find love again. He still loved you. No, he ran a group to help people cope. He figured if he couldn’t help himself he could help other people.

When Scott Lang showed up at Headquarters rambling about the quantum realm and time travel, he dared to hope again.

Maybe he could actually bring you back.

He went to Tony’s house with Scott and Nat to ask him about Scott’s idea. He tried not to show it, but he was desperate. When he said no, he tried to understand. But once again, he was crushed.

When Tony showed up a few days later having figured out a way to go back in time successfully, he tried to contain his excitement. He didn;t want to get his hopes up too high, but he couldn’t help it rising within him. He might actually be able to save you this time.

The entire time of gathering the stones and time travel, he kept you in mind. He’d do anything to get you back. Whatever it takes.

He stood there as Bruce snapped, and he looked around. Clint looked at his phone that had started ringing, and he could tell by the way he spoke that it was his family. That had died 5 years ago.

“Did we do it?” someone asked.

Steve just stood there in shock. Could it actually have worked?

A missile was shot through the ceiling, blowing everyone back. “What the hell was that?”

More missiles were shot, scattering everyone throughout the compound, and smashing the compound the smithereens. Most of the people fell down into the earth, along with the gauntlet and the stones. The missiles had come from a ship that was making its way down through the atmosphere, and it was apparent that it was Thanos.

How the hell did he get here?

Steve was one of 3 that hadn’t fallen underground, and Tony stood over him with his shield. He handed it to him, helping him up and walking to where Thor stood at the edge of the wrecked building, where he saw him

Thanos

Sitting on the edge of a rock, just waiting. But for what?

The 3 of them walked over to him. “You could not live with your own failure. And it brought you back to me. I thought that getting rid of half of you would cause those who survived to be grateful. But you’ve proved me wrong” he laughed to himself. “At least now I know what I must do.” he stood and picked up his sword. “I’ll build a new universe.”

“Out of what? S[illed blood?” Steve asked.

“At least they won’t know it.” He replied.

Tony suited up and Thor summoned lightning, helping Tony blast Thanos. He stumbled back, but grabbed Tony just in time to block Thor’s hammer from hitting him. Tony flung back and the impact knocked him out.

Thanos turned to Steve and threw him before throwing his sword at Thor. He battled with him before flinging him to a rock and standing over him with the axe Thor had been using.

Steve got up and focused his concentration, holding his hand out and praying that this would work. He saw the hammer start to move, before it flung past Thanos and into his hand.Hell yeah.

Thor shook his head. “I knew it.”

Steve walked toward Thanos and began fighting him with the hammer, summoning lightning and even surprising himself. He directed it to Thanos, and ran towards him to hit him in the head with the hammer. He missed and Thanos grabbed him and threw the hammer out of reach, before holding his shield up to block the sword. His shield began chipping away until he barely had half of it and was thrown across the battlefield, flat on his back. 

Steve pushed himself off the floor, not listening to what Thanos was saying to him. He watched as his army was beamed down from spaceship after spaceship. He kept trying to stand, trying to figure out a scenario in which this ended well. He finally stood up and heard on his earpiece,

Steve, do you read me?

He stood there, trying to believe what he was hearing. It had sounded like Sam

Steve it’s Sam, do you copy?

He felt the breath leave his lungs.

On your left

He turned around in time to see an orange portal open and T’Challa, Okoye, and Shuri standing there. After having a silent conversation through their stares, Sam flew through the portal, and more portals began opening around him, the people he mourned walking through them. Steven Strange, Peter Parker, Wanda, Bucky…

He looked around, only looking for one person in particular. And then he found them

You. 

You stood there. Suited up and ready to fight. You nodded at Steve, smiling. He wanted nothing more but to run over and hug you, but he knew there was a war to be run first. More people pooled through the portals, all of them ready to fight. An army stood beside and behind him and he held out his hand for Thor’s hammer. “Avengers!”

He caught the hammer whirling at him.

“Assemble.”

Shouts were yelled and everyone began charging, the world vs Thanos and his army. It was brutal. For you it had just been moments ago that this same battle took place, and you didn;t know what had happened in between your arms dissolving and a sorcerer showing up from the sky saying that 5 years had passed and the battle was still happening. For you, a few minutes had passed. For Steve, it was a lifetime.

You fought beside Steve for most of it, like you usually did when you were on a mission. When there was a brief moment, you looked at your boyfriend. “Since when are you able to use that thing?” referring to Thor’s hammer. He looked at it. “About 5 minutes ago.” You nodded, turning back to the incoming aliens and stabbing them.

You kept fighting them as they came, not willing to lose this time around. It happened once, it could happen again. You had never fought so fiercely in your life.  A Few times you were overwhelmed by the sheer number of aliens around you, but a bolt of lightning would save your ass and you’d go back to fighting.

You don’t know how long it lasted, and you were covered in lacerations and blood, but as you were running out of stamina, the aliens around you began turning into dust. You looked around, panting, as Thanos’ army began to disintegrate, eyes landing on Tony laying limp against a pile of buildings. You were about to go check on him, when you felt someone grab your arm.

Steve.

You turned around to meet his eyes that were bloodshot. “Y/n?”

You smiled and let out a breath, bringing your hand to his face. “It’s me Steve. I’m okay.”

He pulled you into a bone crushing hug, and you could feel him trembling. Hell, you were trembling too. The adrenaline was wearing off and the pain was setting in. 

“I missed you so much y/n.”

You hugged him a little tighter. “I know. I missed you too.”

You knew it had been a lot longer for him, but you didn’t want to seem insensitive. You couldn’t imagine living 5 years without Steve, especially if you didn’t know he was coming back.

“I’m here Steve. I’m safe.”

He spoke with a wavering voice. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t protect you.”

You pulled back and shook your head. “No, Steve. You did everything you could. It’s not your fault.”

He cupped your cheeks, shaking his head. “I thought I lost you.”

You smiled. “You didn’t. You saved me, Captain Rogers.”

[weepingvoidpenguin]

The Gods’ Blessing (Pt. 3)

Part 1, Part 2 , Part 4 , Part 5

Summary: In your world, everyone had a soulmate. That’s just how things went. Everyone had some sort of Indicator that their other half was out there, be it telepathy or a red string that connected these two strangers. Yours was one unspoken of, in fact, you’d never heard anyone say that they had the same Indicator as you. And because of this rarity, you longed to meet the person who could gift you with what you lacked, maybe not so much so to be with the person but more so to finally see what others took for granted. Yet, you held onto the hope that one of your best friends was your Meant-To-Be but he has his eyes on another girls and the little green monster slowly engulfs you at the deterioration of your hope.

Warnings: None

Word Count: 5,129

Author’s Note: I’m so sorry for the long wait!! I’ve literally been sick for a week straight and the few days after I’ve had a pestering cough and I’ve been so busy I just haven’t had a moment to sit down and focus so I’m sorry if this is trash. I just wanted to get something out without making the chapter too long because if I had kept going it would’ve been upwards of 8k so I’m saving the rest for the next chapter. 

  “No,” he said, pulling the mask back down over his chin.

  “No?” You asked incredulously, eyebrows furrowed at his decision, “Why?”

  He turned around and started walking towards the edge of the roof, “I just don’t think it’d be a good idea.” He shrugged his shoulders.

  You scoffed, almost disbelieving that this was actually happening, “But you’re my soulmate, I’m supposed to know who you really are,”

  You took three long glides towards him and reached for the hem of his mask, momentarily not caring that he didn’t want to share his identity with you. He reached out of your grasp and spun to the side.

  “(Y/N), listen, I’m just not ready for you to know who I am yet,” he said, keeping a distance in case you tried to pry his mask off again.

  “You’re not ready?” You took a step back and turned away from him, walking back towards your fire escape, “So you can kiss so passionately that the stars align, literally, but you won’t tell me who you are? You want to keep this strictly between me and Spider-Man? Not whoever the hell you really are?” You snapped.

  Before, you hadn’t cared who your soulmate had been, you just wanted to see the stars that everyone else could see. But now that you finally met him, it was different. It was as though he were your source of light, that he was providing you the stars, and now he didn’t even want to tell you who he really was. You rolled your eyes and threw one leg over the side of the roof, making sure your foot was sturdy against the ladder and began to descend, not wanting to hear any of his excuses.

  He knew who you really were, wasn’t it only fair that you knew who he was?

  “(Y/N), wait!” He called, grabbing your hand that was still gripping onto the edge.

  “What?” You asked, glaring up at him but then looked away because even though you couldn’t see his face, it hurt to look at him.

  “Please, you have to believe there’s good reason,” he tried to elaborate but you held up the hand he was gripping to silence him.

  “Unless you’re gonna tell me what the reasons are, I’m done with this conversation,” You could feel the knot in your throat forming and you wanted to leave before it prohibited you from speaking.

  Spider-Man stood there, obviously chewing on his lip through his mask, but he remained silent. You looked him up and down, looked at all the places you wanted to touch and hold against you, all the places you wanted to kiss and explore and in that moment of observing him you felt your heart twinge, knowing that despite having kissed and literally feeling like the universe aligned for the both of you, he wasn’t yours. He wouldn’t be until he was honest with you, until he wanted you to know not just Spider-Man but his true self. You couldn’t have a night time relationship with someone.

  You wanted someone you could bring to movie night with your group of friends. Someone who you could introduce to your Mom. Someone that you could bring around Peter Parker so you could finally not feel the ache you always did whenever you saw him with Liz. Someone you could study with and learn with and grow with. But if you were being constricted to just night time Spider-Man and not allowed day time true identity, then you didn’t want that. You wanted him and all of him.

  And he wasn’t willing to give it to you.

  “That’s what I thought,” you said and descended down the ladder one step at a time until you reached the metal floor and hopped off.

  A loud thud landed next to you, rattling the fire escape and you gripped onto the railing to balance yourself.

  “Wait!” He held up his hands, stopping you in your tracks.

  You crossed your arms over your chest to prevent from reaching out to him, “Please, move,” you begged, the knot in your throat now becoming painful.

  You could see him open his mouth through his mask but no sounds came out and how you wished he had something, anything to say to make it all better. But he didn’t so he stepped aside and you made your way down to your window before hopping into your room and locking it behind you.

~

  The next morning you nearly slept through your alarm and ended up missing breakfast, as in you didn’t have time to grab a granola bar for the ride to school, and almost forgot your phone on the nightstand. You flew through the door and locked up behind yourself, knowing that no matter how late you were it was better than leaving your house unlocked.

  “So how was your date with Brad?” MJ asked once you plopped down at the lunch table. She had asked you earlier in the day and yesterday but you weren’t up for much talking so you promised you’d inform her at lunch.

  “Give me those details,” Ned joked.

  You avoided looking anyone in the eye and shrugged your shoulders, “It was okay,”

  “Just okay?” MJ asked with a quirked eyebrow.

  You nodded, wondering whether or not you were going to see Spider-Man again. That’s what had been consuming your mind all day. Whether or not you’d allow him to wretch your heart some more to spend time with him or if you were going to cut him off completely until he was ready to tell you who he was. But you knew you weren’t capable of doing that, your entire being yearned for him and leaving him yesterday night had been so difficult. It went against everything your body craved and plead for. It felt like you had ripped the strings right out of your heart and the only way to heal was to hold him. You knew it sounded dumb and cheesy but it truly was heart-wrenching to pull away from him, it took all the strength you had.

  And despite all of the pain and desire and yearning, you weren’t sure if it was requited. It was as though he had no real problem saying good-bye. You didn’t want to know who he was to expose him, you wanted to know so you could be with him. The real him. But it seemed like he hadn’t even considered telling you, like he wanted this secret between the two of you to continue.

  So when MJ asked if you would go on another date with Brad you nodded.

  “Possibly,” you said, “I mean, he really was a gentleman and I didn’t have a bad time,”

  “Why go on a date with him if you don’t even like him?” Peter asked, finally looking up from his twiddling thumbs.

  Everyone turned to you, waiting for an answer, “He’s . . . he’s a good distraction,” you admitted not elaborating.

  MJ squeezed your thigh, thinking you were talking about Peter and in a way you had been. Despite yearning for Spider-Man, you could feel the same present pull for Peter you always felt and it had confused you. You thought that once you met your Soulmate, your desire for anyone else diminished and your longing for them was gone. But it hadn’t disappeared, only intensified.

  You could barely look up at Peter and how his fingers intertwined with Liz’s. The familiar knot formed in your throat and you cleared it in an attempt to fight the intrusion. You trailed their hands up Peter’s arm and observed how his eyes and cheeks appeared sunken and how intense the dark circles were. It looked like he hadn’t slept at all last night.

  He kept his eyes down when you answered his question and Liz threw her arm around his shoulder, pulling him closer to her before twisting his hair in her fingers. He sighed and closed his eyes, inviting the comfort she offered.

  The knot in your throat evolved into a pit in your stomach and you leaned up against MJ, more disturbed than ever with Peter and Liz being together. It just hadn’t felt right to you. Seeing them together. It never felt right but before you could just ignore them and shove down your feelings. Now they were more intense, more demanding of your attention. They sat at the base of your stomach and moved through your chest, grabbing hold of your body and consuming it in unease.

  The sick sensations controlling you had diminished the joy you’d felt earlier. You woke up this morning and noticed that everything was brighter. Everything that had been slightly dulled before now shown with a vibrancy that took your breath away. You had been walking around all day with your eyes wide open, indulging in the wonderous new intensities of the world around you. At one point, you’d asked MJ if she’d always been that pretty.

  And as much as you wanted to take everything in, the distress in your mind prohibited any of that.

  “He messaged me yesterday,” you said, remembering the text Brad sent you that you had been too preoccupied to respond to.

  “He did?” Peter’s head shot up, his loose curls now in his face.

  You nodded, “Yeah, he asked if I wanted to go see a new movie that was coming out this weekend,”

  MJ wiggled her eyebrows at you, “Those are the details I’m looking for. Looks like things between you two are getting serious,” she teased.

  For the first time that day you smiled, “Stop. It’s just a movie, besides we had agreed to go see it together,”

  “We still can.” She motioned towards everyone, “We can make it a group date,” MJ looked around the table for everyone’s approval and everyone seemed on board.

  “Then it’s a date,” MJ stated, motioning you to pull out your phone and let Brad know.

  You hesitantly messaged Brad about the group date and he instantly responded, saying he didn’t mind and that it sounded like a good idea. So the date was set, this Friday after school you’d all head to the theater.

  “Hey (Y/N),” Peter called for you and he couldn’t help but notice this was the second day in a row you’d tried dodging him.

  You kept going, only minimally slowing your pace so he could catch up, “What’s up?” You asked once he’d took his place beside you.

  “I just wanted to know if you were okay,” he asked, his eyes glued to his feet as you travelled through the hallway.

  “I’m fine,” you lied and a sting in your chest from being so close yet so far from Peter caused you to take a deep breath and compose yourself.

  He eyed you up and down, nervously chewing on his lip as he watched you. “How about we have a movie night tonight. Just me and you? Like we used to in Freshman year?”

  Your heart jumped at the idea and you turned to face him, “You sure?” You asked, walking through the door to your classroom, “Won’t Liz be upset?”

  Peter scoffed and his features brightened a bit, “We’ve been best friends longer than I’ve known her,” he said and took his seat next to you, “I’m sure she won’t mind,”

  Your smile reached your eyes and you nodded, “Okay, we can walk to my place after school,”

~

  “And what about this one?” Peter asked, holding up an old picture of you as a toddler.

  “It was my birthday,” you explained, letting him look at the photo in his hands.

  “Cute.” He chuckled, noting the frosting on your nose and how your tongue stuck out to try and lick it off.

  “This one’s my favorite,” you said, reaching up to carefully pry the picture off the wall. You had the photo to Peter and watched as his eyes scanned over the four goofy faces chosen for the camera. “We had gone to our first Decathalon tournament that day,”

  Peter trudged around the room and propped himself on your bed, “I remember,” he said, not taking his eyes off his dearest friends, “We were so nervous,”

  You nodded and sat next to him, “If only we knew we’d make second place,”

  “I miss those days,” he murmured and you giggled.

  “We’re still in those days,” you countered and grabbed the bowl of popcorn off your nightstand before offering him some, “We just can’t let them pass by so quickly,”

  He placed the photo back in its original spot on the wall and took his spot next to you on your bed before deciding what movie to watch. You sat together with the bowl of popcorn placed respectfully between the both of you and watched in peace.

  It’d been nearly months since you hung out with Peter alone. He’d been too preoccupied with the Stark internship to really spend time with anyone really, and it’d started to take a toll on you. Your weekly movie nights had been postponed so often that it’d just been you and MJ for a few weeks straight but she insisted on keeping it going less it die out altogether. So whenever Peter managed to spare some time for the simple folk, you’d relished in it. You’d ask over and over about the internship and if he liked it or learned anything new from it. Of course, he was always reluctant when answering but you didn’t mind the somewhat curt responses because each question elicited a new gleam in his eyes that you admired with vigor.

  “What are you looking at?” Peter asked once he’d noticed you’d stopped watching the film.

  “I’ve just missed you,” Jesus Christ. The heat to your face could not have come more quickly and you stammered in your embarrassment, “I-I mean, I miss hanging out w-with you. Not that I miss you- miss you. Well, I mean I do miss you but-”

  Peter’s amused smile grew with your stuttering and he chuckled, “It’s fine, (Y/N), I know what you meant,”

  No, you don’t, you thought.

  You rested against your headboard and grabbed some popcorn just to be doing something with your hands. Peter continued to watch you though and the words he wanted to say danced on the tip of his lips, moving fiercely to get passed his tongue.

  “So,” he started, once the urge overcame him, “how have you been recently?”

  You cocked your head to the side a little at the question but faced him all the same, “I’ve been okay,” you hesitated, not knowing what all you should tell him, “just lost somewhere in my better judgement,”

  He raised his eyebrows, urging you to go on.

  You sighed, “It’s just- it’s complicated.” You grabbed a mouthful of popcorn to stall.

  “Complicated in what way?” he asked, leaning in as if to avoid straining his ears.

  You crinkled your nose and stood up, beckoning Peter to follow as you went out onto your fire escape, your thick blanket in tow. You spread it out and folded it to add more cushion before sitting down and tapping the barren spot beside you. He sat down, a little closer than you two had been before, and watched you as you watched the setting sun and looked up towards the sky.

  “I just wanna hang out here, okay?”

  He nodded, not questioning your sudden desire for a change of scenery. “You okay?

  You nodded, not noticing how he watched you search the night sky for the boy in red and blue. “I feel torn,”

  “Between?” He asked, scooting closer to you.

  You pried your eyes from the slithering galaxies above you and looked at Peter, something who, despite the sky’s beauty and call, you’d prefer to look at. You smiled at him, loving how his chocolate brown eyes observed you and how his lips parted ever so slightly whenever he waited eagerly.

  “Between two guys,”

  Peter lurched back slightly with a sudden shake of his head and his eyebrows furrowed together, “What?” He asked, a tinge of hidden pain in his words, “Who?”

  You chewed the inside of your cheek and stared down at your feet, “There’s this one guy that I’ve liked for a long time and then there’s this other guy that I’m 99% sure is my soulmate,”

  “99%?” His tone peaked up.

  “I know it sounds ridiculous but MJ always told me that once you meet your soulmate you lose all attraction for anyone else,” you started, admiring the single curl that fell onto his forehead and fighting the desire to twirl it in your fingers, “But-”

  “But?” Peter intensified his look on you and you could swear he was starting to glare.

  “But even after I met that guy I still have feelings for this other guy and I don’t know why it’s happening I just know that it’s going to tear me apart,” you confessed, despising how you still desired to feel Peter’s lips caress your own.

  “Well who’s this guy?” His expression softened a bit but there was a twinge of secrecy hidden.

  “I-I can’t tell you, it’s a secret and even I don’t really kn-” you stopped yourself mid-sentence, wondering how you could explain that you met your soulmate and still have no idea in hell who he is.

  “No, who’s the other guy?” Peter asked.

  “The other guy?” You chirped back, confused as to why he would much prefer to know about, well him, rather than your soulmate.

  Peter leaned back a little and his eyes darted everywhere except for you, “Yeah, well, I mean, there’s gotta be something special about the person that isn’t your soulmate if you still have feelings for them,”

  Your eyes widened and now it was your turn to panic. Who’s the other guy? You couldn’t very well say it was him, especially considering how wrapped around Liz’s finger he is. He would cut you off right then and there, apologizing about how he couldn’t do that to Liz and how he only has eyes for her. So you scrambled up the only logical excuse you could come up with and blurted it out.

  “It’s Brad,” Brad? You thought. You couldn’t have lied about anyone better?

  “Brad?” He repeated after you, as if not believing your words.

  “Yyesss,” you drawled out, trying to convince yourself that was the best route to take, “It’s Brad,”

  “Why?” He asked incredulously.

  “Why what?”

  “Why do you like Brad?”

  “I don’t know!” You suddenly burst, the inner turmoil of having feelings for Peter but knowing that you’ve met your soulmate building up inside of you. “It’s not like I want to like them both, I just do!”

  “Well shouldn’t you only want your soulmate?” He asked.

  You rolled your eyes, hugging yourself, “Yes, Peter, hence why I’m torn,”.

  “But it doesn’t make sense, why would you want anyone but your soulmate? That’s never been how it’s worked. I don’t want anyone but yo-” Peter shut himself up, cursing himself for letting the words slip out so easily.

  “Yeah, I get it. It’s you and Liz against the world, Peter.” You scoffed, feeling your insides beginning to boil, “It’s always been you and Liz!” You shouted, not caring if your neighbors heard because something about those words stung in ways they hadn’t before.

  “When you meet your soulmate it’s like the universe itself has guided you towards each other in that moment and nothing feels more right or perfect than you two. And I have this pulling inside my body to be with him but he can’t even be honest with me! How am I supposed to be with someone who can’t tell me the truth?” You practically yelled, now pacing back and forth on the fire escape.

  Peter winced at your words but bit his tongue and let you continue.

  “And then, there’s yo- uh, I mean, Brad and I cannot get him out of my head. I need him here just as much as I need my soulmate here but that’s not how soulmates work. I’m supposed to meet him and forget that anyone else ever existed! And to top it all off, it feels like neither of them wants me back!” The tips of your fingers burst with heat and the light up above glowed with an intensity you’d never witnessed.

  You peaked up at the sky to search what called your attention and found that the thousands of clear stars that you’d seen for the first time last night glistened with a blinding radiance. You heard the screeching of brakes from cars below and horns going off, warning nearby drivers that they were getting too close. You pulled your hand up and hovered it over your eyes, wishing the light would go away, and just in that instant, it did.

  The sky dimmed back to its usual, but very unusual, magnificence. The balls of gas in the sky providing their proper planets light and warmth had soothed to their ordinary state of existence. You knew that others could not see the sky in the same way you did as you’d never heard anyone describe it to you before and you’d never seen pictures that could compare to what was above you. But you hoped beyond hope that everyone saw what you did.

  Tell her.

  The same voice from last night whispered but it echoed from the buildings surrounding you. You whirled around to find its source but knew you should’ve been looking up as that’s where the calls have been coming from. You didn’t know how you knew, you just knew.

  Peter mumbled under his breath behind you and you looked down at him, “Tell me I’m not crazy and that you saw that too,”

  He nodded, getting up from his place on the floor and holding out his hand before retracting it quickly, “We should go back inside,”

  You nodded before throwing a look over your shoulder at the dazzling sky above and ducked under your windowsill.

~

  Friday came around slower than expected. Not because the days went by slowly but because the nights trudged at their leisure pace. Every night that week you watched out for the friendly neighborhood hero but he was nowhere to be seen and that desire in your chest twisted to pain, causing your tears to be the only thing that kept you company at night.

  Maybe you’d been too hard on him. Maybe he had good reason not to tell you who he was. You should’ve been patient and have waited to hear what he had to offer but you hadn’t given him the chance. You punished yourself every night for leaving things the way they were, making him believe he was unwelcome due to your harsh words. In all honesty, if he had shown up your pride would’ve taken over and you’d have given him a hard time for a while but you’d eventually move on because you’d just be happy that he was there.

  Your lips had been red and swollen by the time Friday night came around from all the biting in anticipation. MJ had followed you home and made you change your perfectly acceptable outfit into something a little more risqué. She hadn’t usually been like this but you were pretty sure she was living vicariously through you since she couldn’t see her significant other very often so you let her play the game her way.

  “Hey!” Ned called you over once he saw you at the entrance of the theater.

  Brad stood beside Ned, Peter and Liz while you and MJ walked up to them. You tried to fight the sinking stones in your stomach but to no avail. Watching Liz fawn over Peter, leaning against him, caused nothing but your unease. You stopped in your tracks as you attempted to regain your breath, hating how watching them together could have such a negative effect on you.

  You grabbed MJ by her elbow and held her in place by your side, “Can we please just go home and watch something on Netflix?” You plead.

  She shook her head, “Had you asked any earlier I would’ve said yes but we’re already here and if Brad sucks that much then-”

  “It’s not Brad,” you interjected and a look of understanding passed over her face.

  Her hands reached out and held both your upper arms, “(Y/N), I get that seeing Peter with Liz is difficult for you, I really do, but maybe tonight will be the first step in getting over him. Maybe being with Brad will help the emotions fade, ya know?”

  You sighed, feeling her words go in one ear and out the other, “I guess,”

  “Listen, if you really feel uncomfortable then we can go, no questions asked. But if you can pull through this and potentially see yourself having a good time, then try,”

  She took your hand in hers and led you towards the group, greeting them all once you had reached them. Brad nervously shifted his weight from one foot to another when you greeted him and he hesitated before pulling you in for a light embrace.

  Normally, you’d have been uncomfortable considering your lack of interest but something about his hold was actually comforting and you hugged him back, appreciating the comfort he offered.

  “What was that for?” You asked after you pulled away.

  “You just looked like you needed it.” He shrugged his shoulders.

~

  “So, what’d you think?” Ned asked upon leaving the theater.

  “Predictable,” You and MJ said in unison then hit shoulders lightly in a teasing manner.

  Sometime throughout the movie you had gripped onto Brad’s hand and though it did nothing for you romantically, it did wonders for you platonically. He had a strange soothing ambiance about him that drew you in and tonight you really needed as much comfort as you could get.

  Peter eyed your intertwined fingers and his grip on Liz’s own hand tightened as he felt his anger build. Ned elbowed Peter lightly when he caught Peter staring at you. Ned motioned to Liz, reminding Peter to calm down around her.

  You pushed the door open and let the cool air engulf you, sending a shiver up your spine. You looked over your shoulder towards Brad and smiled, thankful for the distraction for the night. He had offered a miniscule amount of contentment by making you feel wanted, maybe not by the people you actually wanted those feelings to emit from but the attention was nice anyway. Nice but wrong.

  It could never compare to how perfect it felt to be in Spider-Man’s arms. You couldn’t forget the heat his body emitted and his body pressed against you had made you come to life in ways you didn’t think were possible. You winced at the memory, the tugging that had been lulled by the distraction of the moving pictures now up front and center. Because despite how much you wanted to immerse yourself in all that was Spider-Man, the sensations were quickly preyed upon by the pain it had caused you to pry yourself away.

  Your fingers danced at your side, tapping along your thighs as the memory of the warmth they radiated when you’d touched Spider-Man crawled its way back in. You stopped mid pace and threw your head back, taking in the fresh air and observing your surroundings, hoping to see a figure swing across the sky.

  “Looking for something?” Peter creeped up behind you and you jumped and blushed.

  “Just taking in the scenery.” You motioned to the cloudless sky and counted all the constellations you could remember off the top of your head.

  Peter watched as you observed the stars above you, loving how your eyes sparkled brighter than the endless galaxies ever could. His eyes trailed the curl of your smile before resting on the curve of your lips and he was brought back into the moment where those very lips were pressed against his own.

  He could feel his eyebrow twitch as he resisted the desire, no, the need, to feel them again. He wanted to roll the skin between his teeth, pressing you tight against him like the first time. When the universe had revealed you two to each other. He longed to be back in your arms and to have you back in his. He wanted to feel your breath blow against his cheek, hear the quiet moans you tried to withhold from his ears, he wanted to relive it all.

  It had been hard to stay away from you ever since the revelation but he knew your character; you were stubborn and you wouldn’t take now for an answer. You’d pry his identity out of him until you were disappointed to see the man under the mask. No, he had to stay away from you. To keep this fantasy going for as long as possible. He didn’t want you to pull away once he’d revealed himself. He wanted to tell you everything, practically had to actually, but his fear made him bite his tongue when you turned away from the sky and rested your gaze on his face.

  God, how he loved your smile. It warmed his chest and managed to slightly subside the overbearing want to overwhelm himself with you. With everything about you. From the sparkle in your eyes down to the labyrinth that was your mind. He wanted it all.

  He looked down at the small gap between the two of you and felt his fingers twitch to reach out to yours. You followed his gaze to the empty space and watched as his fingers extended out to yours without every leaving his side. Your heartrate sped up and you could practically hear your blood pump through your ears and you stretched your fingers out to his own.

  “The Little Dipper’s always been my favorite constellation.” Brad emerged from the space between the two of you and you cleared your throat, blinking away the haze of temptation from your eyes.

  You giggled at Brad’s comment and Peter rolled his eyes, blowing the single strand of hair out of his face, “It’s not a constellation,” he murmured.

  Brad furrowed his eyebrows and glared at Peter.

  “It’s an asterism,” you quickly offered, trying to ease Brad’s confusion.

  He nodded and offered you his hand. You peeked over his open palm and glanced at Peter, waiting for who knows what, honestly. Maybe a protest? For him to offer his hand instead? But Peter said nothing, only taking Liz’s hand in his own when she rejoined you so you smiled at Brad despite the twist in your chest and grabbed hold of his hand.

~

Tag List: @the-ducks-umbrella​ @free-pool-trash​ @wherewecomealive​ @eridanuswave @watson-emma @imjuliabtw @powerstrangerdacre @chess-anon @le-yona @dear-selena @becausewelie @myr5heart @michaels-endtime @lastupidebichette @yetmeema @bisexualfangirlsblog @akabaneyuriko @allthings-sandy @foreverpark @courtmarie2016 @maya-t-13 @copxland04 @lostinwonderland314 @theolwebshooter @alainabooks143 @dark-night-sky-99 @shameless-dani @memequeend @chewymoustachio

[antigoneidk]

Nothing's gonna hurt you baby|t.h.

A/N : something special for this special day heheh I hope you like it! It's a little different from what I've done before.Also I'm sorry for any mistakes. I love youu(you can listen to the song if you want to,trust me you won't regret it it's in the end)

Warnings : fluff and a little smut

_

She woke up hearing the birds singing outside,flying,being free. Her eyes blinked from abrupt contact with the bright sunlight and her head switched to the other side. Although she just woke,she felt exhausted and barely moved. Her cheeks were puffy and her small eyes were like fire. Everything burnt,the worst kind of pain. The sheets were cold next to her. A man's body was missing. Moments from the previous night came to her tired mind,as feelings overwhelmed her heart.

"Babe?"her voice sounded like a melody to his ears."Do you want to watch a movie with me?"his eyes met hers. He couldn't resist to this soul, who was now lying next to him.

"Of course my love,whatever you want"she laughed like a little kid, clapping her hands together. He watched her from behind. Her hair long, covering the half of her back, looked soft and brighter. Her curves, her hands, her legs, the way she was focused on searching a movie to watch. She could literally have any man she wanted or wished for. But she chose him, she was with him.

Their legs warmed one another, her head resting on his chest, going up and down. His lips on top of her forehead, kissing it every two minutes.

She felt the most luckiest girl. His arms wrapped around her, giving the comfort she never felt in her life. Her cheeks hurting from the bright smile she wore and from the heat, causing them to turn into a light shade of red.

None of them was paying attention to the movie. Were lost in their feels. They looked at each other at the same time, giving them a good amount of laughter, before their lips connect. The world stopped spinning. People stopped moving except these two lovebirds. The kiss was slow, expressing their inner feelings. They couldn't  hear anything but their hearts beating at the same tempo. She jumped to his lap, her hands now exploring his chest and neck as his hands were placed to her waist pulling her as much closer as possible. Their tongues fighting now,their hunger to taste each other's bodies.

She wanted to feel him inside her listening to his moans, kissing her neck and whispering sweet words like every other time.

He wanted to feel her around him, hearing her moans, feeling her quick breath to his shoulder, telling her how much he loves her.

In minutes their clothes were on the floor. His tongue rediscovered her body, her breasts, her belly, her pussy. So did his fingers. Every inch was something new. It was like the universe put an effort to make this piece of art that he had under him, moaning at his touch and taking his breath away whenever she called his name.

Her hands were scratching his back and later his curls. She wasn't able to speak from the pleasure she felt at that moment. The pleasure he was giving. He looked like an angel that was sent to this world to save and take her at a better place.

"Tom"she whispered at his ear, feeling him inside her, hitting her spot. He met her eyes only for a moment before she closed them again, leaning her head back and moan his name once more. He was the luckiest man in the world.

Her heart was exploding through her chest,not being able to calm. Her legs around his body, shaking and burning. Her skin was so hot under his touch, it wasn't even possible for a woman to feel like this. He had this power over her and he wasn't even realizing.

In fact he was scared that someday she'll fly away from his arms. She'll find love somewhere else, far away from him. This was the main reason he felt the need to express his love to her always, making her feel good in so many different ways. Kissing her,spoiling her, dancing with her, sing to her, writing about her, making love to her. He saw her eyes getting brighter, her smile bigger, her hugs longer. He knew she was going to be forever his, but still the fear of losing her was present.

Y/n was terrified too. That he will get bored, that his love for her will stop at some point, that one day he might me gone. His arms will hug another person's body, his lips will not longer kissing hers. The thought of it was enough for her to tear up. She didn't want to lose him. He was her soulmate, her world, the meaning in the miserable life she was drowning. He was her savior.

And although they were scared for the other person's feelings, the only thing both didn't doubt was their unconditional love they felt for each other. She was in love with him. He was in love with her.They knew they wouldn't stop loving and cherish the other. They were convinced that this was their destiny, to be in love.

"I love you"their voices blended so well. Their bodies started to move faster and both couldn't breath easily. Their moans filled the entire house, and even further, not being ashamed if the neighbors were able to hear them. They didn't care about the rest of the world. It was just the two of them, in that bed screaming as they were closer to the edge.

They finished at the same time. Tom's body moved to the side trying to catch his breath. She turned to him, placing her head to his bare upper body, giving little kisses.

"I'm gonna make something to eat okay?"she smiled as she watched him breathing hard and barely speak. She was responsible for that, but he did more to her in ways she couldn't express, and probably never will.

A satin robe covered her naked body. She was standing in the kitchen, moving every now and then to take things, add some, throw some others, mixing, baking. She wanted to thank him. He was the only one to take her away and travel in places even God had forgotten. He was the only one to make her smile so much. He was the only one that made her feel so weak just from a touch. He was much more than just a man walking down the streets every day and night. But she didn't know that she was the one that saved him.

When you are feeling lonely, it seems that everyone is happy except yourself. You don't have someone to talk to, share thoughts, laugh with, give your love to. Just silence. And then you start feeling less and less. That's how he was feeling the day she accidentally threw her drink all over him. She became that person he was searching for years. That made him start feeling again. Who knows where he would be of they didn't met there.

He leaned against the door, just watching her cook. Her hair up now, showing her neck that was full of hickeys he left moments ago. Her body so flawless, that made him want to feel her again.

"Y/n"she stopped and looked at him. "Can I have a dance with you?"

"What about this?"he grabbed her hand and started walking to the living room. She laughed a little and waited for him to put a song. She didn't know why his heart desired dance so much. She loved watching him dance around the living room though, he looked like happier like that. And she was always looking at him with a full heart.

His hands pulled y/n's body closer to his. He started swinging and she followed fascinated from him and the way he looked under nothing but the moonlight.

"Whispered something in your ear, it was a prevented thing to say but I said it anyway, made you smile and look away"

Her head was resting on his shoulder, her eyes closed enjoying the dance. Tom's head was resting on the side of hers, his lips next to her ear.

" Nothing's gonna hurt you baby. As long as you're with me you'll be just fine. Nothing's gonna hurt you baby, nothing's gonna take you from my side"

That's how she felt with him. He was the shield she needed. Nothing was getting to her anymore, 'cause he was the one that protected her. She never felt unhappy or worried about things she used to. Tom was the person that made her feel happy, loved, carefree.

And that's how he felt with her. Y/n took the pain away from him. She was there when his friends couldn't. She listened and cared. Only beautiful emotions got through him because of her.

"When we dance in my living room, to that silly 90's R&B. When we have a drink or three, always ends in a hazy shower scene"

He picked her from the ground, her legs around him. She rested her forehead to his looking to his brown eyes, darker that usual. Her butterflies flew inside her entire system. Their lips connected again as their emotions got the most of themThe only thing that bothered him was that robe that blocked her beauty. He wanted to see her from head to toe naked every day all day. She was like a drug, the most dangerous one he couldn't say no to. She was allowed to ruin his life if she wanted to.

They lay down, hunger take over them for the second time. Just with kisses and she was already wet enough.

"Waterfall is overflowed"he whispered to her ear, his fingers playing with her, moans coming from her mouth.

"Nothing's gonna hurt you baby. Nothing's gonna take you from my side"

He was now inside her, the pleasure hitting him like electricity. She was tight around him, fitting him better than anyone. His heart next to hers, his eyes scanning her expressions one by one. Every girl would be jealous from her beautifulness and every guy was wishing to be him right now.

"When we laugh into the microphone and singing, with our sunglasses on to our favorite songs"

They both remembered the same day. Their first road trip. It was a hot summer day, music was loud and they were singing, or dancing, or laughing, or kissing. A day spent away from where they lived, next to a river just the two of them.

She finished first only a few seconds before him. The moon was even smiling seeing their tired bodies come closer, hugging one another. She kissed his lips with lust and mostly love. She tried to make sure he knew she was there for him. And she was staying.

She got up from the bed, sun watching her naked body. She got her robe again and made her way to the living room where she found him. He was standing next to the window with a cup in his hand, only wearing his grey sweatpants. He knew that they would drive her insane and she knew that he was aware of that weakness.

"Good morning baby"her voice made him smile before he felt her hand to his curls.

"Good morning"he kissed her." How was your sleep?"he asked as he caressed her cheek.

"I slept good"she laughed."When did you moved us from the ground?"

"A couple hours ago" he sipped from his cup,pulling her to a hug." I made you breakfast. Well you did last night but something came up"

"Yes I know. What a pity!" she smiled at him before starting running around the furnitures with him behind her.

____________

I hope you enjoyed it. Here's the song:

[hearts-hunger]

together wing to wing || chapter five

Read on AO3 | Masterlist

chapter one | chapter two | chapter three | chapter four

Series Summary: He’s offered his protection before, on the Green. In the hospital, Cee wonders if he’ll offer it again, and Ezra wonders if she’ll even want him to.

Chapter Summary: Ezra makes a promise.

Pairings: Ezra & Cee (platonic!)

Genre: Fluff, hurt/comfort, angst, whump | Word Count: 3.4k

Warnings: hospitals, injury, mentions of canon-typical violence

A/N: We’ve reached the end of this fic! I’m pretty proud of how it turned out, and I’m so thankful for everyone that has taken the time to read it. Thank you for letting me share my thoughts on this little space family with you! ♡

Ezra’s eyes flew open in a panic.

He couldn’t breathe - something had his lungs in a vise grip, some heavy weight in the direct center of his chest that pressed so hard he thought his ribs would crack. He wheezed and coughed and gasped like a drowning thing, like he had on the Green.

The Green. Wherever he was now, it was too damn bright to be the Green. He screwed his eyes shut and heard the ragged, clawing sound of his breath as he sucked in greedy inhales. 

Where was he? He’d followed Cee into the Green. He’d promised he would. He needed to get to her, to find her - she was lost, the little thing, out there on her own - 

He felt something press against his face, hot and unwelcome; he twisted to get away from it, but he was so tired. 

“Stop fighting me, you idiot - breathe.” 

Well, that was certainly one way to talk to a man on death’s door. He trusted that voice, though, without having to think - he tried and failed to remember a time trust had come to him so easily, so implicitly.

The weight on his chest left as quickly as it came, and his lungs gusted full with clean, warm air. It was muggy, like the inside of an environment suit worn too long - maybe he was in the Green. He didn’t care. He kept his eyes closed and breathed as deeply as he could manage, fearing the ability would be lost to him again if he didn’t.

His hand was the thing being crushed now - a shaky, fearful grip that bruised his knuckles. It didn’t hurt like everything else. His surgical scar burned, his lungs were tired, the skin of his chest felt burned, of all things. His lost arm pulsed with a loud sort of pain, clamoring for his attention. His head, too, in a way it hadn’t before, as far as he could remember. But that tremulous squeezing of his hand - he’d felt that before, somewhere, as if from a dream he couldn’t quite recall. It reminded him of home, of long fields of tall-grass and glittering stars. He squeezed back, weakly, and hoped whoever it was would keep a hold of him while he got his breath back.

“Don’t do that to me again.”

The same voice that had rebuked him a moment ago, much softer this time. A little bird’s voice, weak and scared out of her wits.

He swallowed. “Cee.” His voice was cracked and hoarse, not at all up to his usual verbosity. He hoped the use of her name sufficed.

Another touch was given in response, like a hand laid on top of their joined ones. She held his only hand in both of hers, and then his knuckles were wet, like the first raindrops of a summer storm.

He opened his eyes, wincing against the brightness. His breath fogged into a mask over his nose and mouth - not an environment suit - and the hospital came into focus. He sighed so deeply with relief that his breath caught again, hitching until he eased it with another round of coughing. 

“Stop doing that.”

She looked at him with fire in her eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks, the lines of her face set in a determinedly unhappy expression. He wondered how often he’d be on the receiving end of that look, how many more times he’d fan that spark of anger and hurt that seemed to live like a trapped thing inside her rib cage.

He coughed again. “Doing what?”

“That,” she said. “Coughing. Dying.”

He took a slow breath. “Nobody’s dying, birdie.”

She shot to her feet, mad as a pit viper who’d met an unwitting, unfortunate boot tread. He took off the mask to see her better; his breaths came less easily, and he coughed to compensate. She flinched.

“Quit that,” he snapped. His head hurt, and somehow he was hurting her, and he couldn’t figure his way around both of those things together. “I’m not dying. My lungs are just shit.”

She stamped her foot in frustration, and it was such a childlike thing that it reminded him how young she really was. 

“Birdie - ”

“No!” she spat. “I don’t want to hear how you’re fine, how you’re not dying.” Her chin wobbled, and absolute anguish filled every inch of her expression.

“You were dead, Ezra,” she said. “Your heart stopped. You left me, and I hate you, you miserable bastard!”

He sucked in a sharp breath, and it made him cough again. He held up a conciliatory hand before she directed her fury his way again.

“Hold on,” he managed. He caught his breath again and tried to keep steady as a wave of dizziness compounded the pain in his head. He couldn’t think with her so tightly wound, looking ready to bolt should he show any sign of leaving her again - looking ready to leave him first. He weakly patted the side of the bed.

“Sit down, birdie.”

She did as he said, but it was a hesitating thing. She worried her lip again, and he knew it would bleed again soon.

“Say it again,” he told her. “Don’t yell at me. My head hurts.”

Her breath caught on the edge of a sob. “The doctors said your heart stopped.”

He felt a prickly, icy feeling in his chest that had little to do with his lungs. 

“No, that can’t be right,” he said. “I’m here, aren’t I? Wouldn’t Kevva be welcoming me into the hereafter if that had happened?”

She pressed her hands over her face, like she had when her nightmare frightened her so badly.

“They brought you back,” she said. “I...”

She dropped her hands to her lap; a smear of blood on the heel of her hand matched the bright red on her bottom lip.

“You fell when you passed out on the roof,” she said. Then, her expression twisted with guilt,  “I didn’t catch you in time, and you hit your head.”

That explained the pain there. He hoped she didn’t blame herself - she couldn’t have broken his fall, not with her tiny frame and his unconscious dead weight.

She took a shaky breath and continued. “I ran inside to get help, and when they brought you back inside, they said the dust infection had come back. They said that happens sometimes.”

He nodded. “It does.” He’d seen it happen before. Not in the hospital, of course, but on the Green, where there was nothing to be done for it. A body wasted away like that, drowned with dust until the lungs simply couldn’t draw another breath. The dust grew and festered and filled every corner; it was slow until it wasn’t, and in retrospect, he should have known that’s what was happening on the roof.

But, on the Green, if your heart stopped - it just stopped. There was nothing for it but to honor the dead as best you could in that murky wet soil and hope to Kevva they were some place better. That’s how he should have gone. That’s how he would have gone, were it not for the reckless, too-caring hands that flexed uncomfortably near his now, wanting to cling to him but thinking better of it.

“They said they couldn’t believe you survived it,” she said, almost in a whisper. Her face had taken on a deathly pallor, worse than he’d seen it in cycles. She looked like she had on the Green, half-starved, half-grown.

Her eyes lighted on the monitor that measured each heartbeat. “You weren’t breathing. Your heart stopped. They had to inject you with something, shock you with something - you were dead, and you jerked up like - like - ”

She shook her head, and her eyes glazed with tears.

“Alright,” he said, hoping to soothe; his rough, weary voice did little to help. “That’s alright, birdie. You don’t have to tell me. I believe I can untangle what happened from there.”

He wished to spare himself the image as much as he wanted to spare her the telling of it. The thought of his own body, wrenched lifelessly like a marionette whose stings had been pulled - he knew that’s where the burns on his chest had come from, electricity crackling though him, trying to wake something very nearly gone.

Cee looked back to him. “I thought you left me.”

Never in his life had he seen a more pitiful-looking thing, this little girl with too much grief and too few hands to hold. He took her hand in his and held on tightly.

He took a deep breath, tried to gather his strength. The thought of his heart failing again left him restless, eager to rise and prove he wasn’t going to make it out of the jaws of the Green just to drop dead in a hospital on Central. He shook with nervousness and pain, feared for his own body and feared for the little bird perched beside it.

He thought of what he could say to ease her, to bring her back from the terrifying edge of almost having been truly alone in the universe. He couldn’t bear the thought of it. More than his fear for himself, his fear for her was unconquerable by any method. She was alone, save for him, and it was a sorry excuse for good fortune; but it did not alter the fact that he was no more willing to let her venture off into the world without him now than he had been on the Green.

Even then, when all he knew of her was a venomous bite and an uncommon bravery - bravery her father had not had, bravery he had not enjoyed in a long while - he could not stomach the thought of her alone. In the pod, he knew the moment she decided to go after the mercs by herself, and a panic that had long lay dormant suddenly reared its unforgiving head. Panic like that was for those you loved and children and stray dogs, not someone with a thrower whose bite he’d already tasted. But she was a child and a bit like a stray thing, if not someone he loved. Those mercs would take everything from her, not just in the way she feared. He knew too much of being a lost, used thing to let her go alone and become one herself.

And so he’d offered protection. Useful, still, even with his wound; he was big, and strong enough to let her get away, at least, if it came to it. Even now, if he ever got the use of his lungs back, he would be a formidable guard against the things that preyed on little birds like her. Did she want him to be?

I thought you left me. Her words hung between them, stretched across the thread of fate and circumstance and dependence that kept them together despite how thinly it had been worn down. That panic stirred again, and he wondered if it hadn’t been right all along - it was for someone he loved, a child, a stray thing. His little bird.

“You said you would help me,” she said. “On the Green. Remember?”

“I do,” he said. He wondered if her thoughts had tended in a similar direction to his.

She looked like she wanted to say more, but her father’s taste for silence and a learned dislike of vulnerability held her tongue. He searched her face.

“I won’t leave you again,” he said. Simple, by his standards, but more meaningful and meant than anything else he’d said. He raised their joined hands and nudged a knuckle against her jaw, a clumsy attempt at affection; he’d had so little cause to hone the skill that it seemed crooked and broken-down, like he was.

But, oh. The tears she’d kept back with valiant effort finally would not be stopped, and her shoulders shook with sobs. He opened his palm and cradled her face; she pressed his hand to her cheek and cried until she couldn’t any more.

“Shh, little bird,” he said after a while, brushing his thumb over her cheek. She was feverish, exhausted; he wondered how long it had been since she had really cried, for as long as she needed to. He couldn’t imagine her father enduring it, and knew with certainty he had not comforted her even if he had.

“Sorry,” she said, though she made no move away from him.

“No, birdie, it’s alright,” he told her. His thumb continued to trace over the freckles on her flushed cheek. “I don’t mean to rush you. I only mean to offer some consolation, if I can. I’m afraid I’m not very well versed in it.”

She drew a choppy breath, but her tears were winding down and she looked very tired as she started to settle. She leaned into his touch and closed her eyes.

“You’re not too bad at it,” she said. He allowed himself a smile.

She raised her sleeve to her face to dry her tears, and he let his hand fall beside him. He was tired, and hurting, but he wanted to make his promise clear.

“Cee,” he said. She looked puzzled at his use of her given name, like it had become unfamiliar to her, or perhaps just sounded odd in his voice. 

“Birdie,” he tried again, and she softened. He felt his chest tighten in the way of feeling a swell of pride and love long denied.

“I’ll stay with you as long as you’ll have me,” he said. “My protection, my help, whatever you need from me - you have it. You need only take it.”

Every word felt like a stone dragged up from underwater, weighty with physical pain and vulnerability, a thing of heavy, hard work - but he’d do hard work for her, if she’d let him. Please, Birdie, let me. I cannot bear the loss of you. 

She swallowed. He watched her face for some sign of response, some indication of her thoughts towards his proposition; she looked unsteady, uncertain.

“You mean it?” she finally asked.

He let out a breath, a gusting sigh of relief.

“I mean it,” he said, more sincere than he’d been in his whole life. “Candid discourse, remember? I won’t ever lie to you.”

He wanted to hold her gaze, to communicate his willingness to talk more, if she was so inclined; but he was so tired. Of a sudden, his pains caught up with him, unhindered by his worry for her now that their relationship seemed so comfortingly sure. He leaned back on the pillow and closed his eyes against the gamut of pain his body seemed so keen to run. 

“Forgive my malaise, birdie,” he said, wheezing a little. “Takes a bit out of a body to die and come back, I’ve found.”

She huffed a laugh, and he took it as a good sign.

“You should have been sleeping,” she said, a tinge of guilt to her voice. “I shouldn’t have kept you up. I’m sorry.”

He waved his hand, a weak dismissal he hoped she saw. “No need to apologize. Your company is better medicine than most.”

She drew a congested breath, drying the last of her tears. “If someone crying all over you is your definition of good medicine, maybe you’re not as smart as I thought.”

He cracked a smile then; he could imagine the wry expression on her face, flushed and tear-streaked though it was. 

“You should get some rest, birdie,” he said. “I’m sure you’re worn out.” He doubted she had slept at all while he’d been unconscious, keeping vigil by his bed. He felt guilty for it, for frightening her so, and tempered it with the warmth that her care for him brought when he thought of it.

They shared the silence for a few moments, his breathing labored.

“Ezra,” she said quietly, like she was afraid he’d fallen asleep.

He hummed a response, saving words for when they were needed. He’d never been so sparing with them before, and couldn’t decide if he liked the change. He waited for her answer; when none was forthcoming, he wasn’t surprised when he felt her start to fidget beside him in a telltale bout of nervousness.

“Birdie,” he chided gently, hoping to ease her embarrassment, if that’s what it was. “You don’t have to mind your words so much around me. What is it?”

She sighed, perhaps at being caught out, but it seemed a touch relieved.

“You’re in a lot of pain, aren’t you?” she asked.

He frowned and opened his eyes, wincing a little against the brightness of the lights. She reached behind him and turned them off.

“Thank you,” he said hoarsely. He cleared his throat. “I’m just sore, little bird. Nothing to fuss over. The pain medication will ease that quickly enough.”

That wasn’t completely true - really, he hurt something awful - but she didn’t need to know that. Like he’d said, it was nothing the high-grade painkillers wouldn't solve with time.

She considered that. “You probably want to rest.”

He raised a brow. “Probably,” he agreed, puzzled at this line of questioning. Surely it was a roundabout way of asking something else, something she wanted but didn’t quite know how to ask for; he was determined to be patient with her, to try and ease her hesitation.

“You need to rest too,” he said again. “Why don’t you try and get some sleep?”

She shook her head, suddenly earnest, stubborn. “No.”

He sighed. “It won’t do either of us any good for you to be bone-tired. You’ll only make yourself ill.”

“I don’t want to,” she snapped defensively, but he knew better. He’d used frustration to mask fear, too, and knew she was worried about something.

“Birdie,” he said kindly. Getting things out of her was like pulling teeth, sometimes, and he wondered if anyone had been patient enough to do it before.

She looked almost surprised at his gentleness, like she’d expected a rebuke for snapping at him like that. Her shoulders slumped.

“I can’t,” she amended miserably, tired and defeated. “I can’t sleep.”

Ah. So, that’s what it was. Not her stubbornness, nor a need to spite him - she was frightened, too wound up to even try.

She gave him a miserably pleading look. “What if something happens?” He heard the unasked question: What if you die again?

He shook his head.

“Nothing’s going to happen,” he soothed. “I told you I wouldn’t leave you. Trust me.” He hoped to Kevva he could keep that promise, and he’d do his utmost to ensure he would.

“Please try, for me,” he said gently.

She didn’t say anything; then, in a desperate kind of voice, she said what she’d been meaning to all along.

“I don’t want to be alone,” she said softly. “Can I... can I stay with you?”

He softened. “Oh, birdie. Of course.”

He’d never felt this kind of responsibility towards anyone before, this easy, heart-rending concern that welled up in him whenever he looked at her. She needed caring for, and he’d do it as long as she’d let him. He knew that admission had been a vulnerable thing, and he knew its worth; he was keen to value it and her with patience and tenderness. 

He moved over to make more room for her, biting back a groan as his body protested to the movement. She curled up against him almost instantly, warm and so little, desperate for the kindness of a caring touch. He let her set the boundaries between them, giving her all the agency he could; he wanted nothing less than for her to be uncomfortable, to feel unsafe. No such worries seemed to cross her mind, though, and she pressed against his arm and buried her face against his shoulder like a child seeking comfort.

He was surprised at how much he was comforted by it, how her breathing steadied his, how her warmth soothed the pain to a dull racket. They needed each other, he thought - two lost things in need of companionship. He breathed a prayer of thanks for her, for this little bird who’d made a home in his heart.

“Ezra?” she mumbled, halfway to sleep already.

“Hm?”

She breathed a sleepy sigh. “Thanks for not leaving me.”

He smiled. “My pleasure, birdie.”

He listened as she fell asleep, her breathing evening out, finally resting after so much fear and worry. He wanted that for both of them, and was determined to find it for them and settle somewhere peace grew in abundance; for now, he rested with her, and it was a more tender kindness than any he’d known before.

pedro pascal character taglist: @punkgeekcryptid​, @tv-saved-the-teenage-girl​, @stardust-galaxies​, @theorganasolo​, @qhbr2013​, @willowtheewisp​​ ♡

series taglist: @insomniamamma​​, @motherofallthesmallthings​​ ♡

[justcourttee]

I Won’t Try Again-Pt 32

Marinette was fighting for her life, the vine creatures swamping her, wave after wave.

“C’mon Beloved, we can make it out. Just push a little further.”

She couldn’t see the man but at the sound of his voice, she felt herself surge with strength. Row and row of the vines fell until she was standing knee deep in their bodies.

“Well down Marinette. I believe this calls for a celebration.”

Turning, she came face to face with a handsome man, his green eyes glistening with pride as he cupped her cheek, pulling her forward. Their lips were a centimeter away when a piercing pain knocked her backwards. Tears formed, sitting at the edge of her lashes as she looked down to find a vine sticking through her chest. Her eyes traveled back to meet the man’s, but he was nowhere to be found.

“Hold on shortie, Don’t die on me now.”

A dark haired woman appeared, helping the girl lower herself to the ground. Marinette tried to ask her what was happening, but it was as if someone had stolen her voice, only whimpers of pain escaped her mouth.

“Marinette. Marinette! No, no, no, please don’t go.”

She felt the warmth as the woman pulled her into her lap, her tears hitting Marinette’s forehead. Fear coursed through the girl as she felt the life slowly draining from her.

“I don’t want to die.” It pained her to talk, but it seemed to be the only thing she could say.

“Beloved, it’s too late. Just let go.” The man appeared once more, offering his hand to the woman, pulling her from the ground and into a hug. They both turned away, leaving the girl alone in a pile of vines.

“I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die.”

“Honey, please wake up. You’re scaring me.”

Marinette darted awake, gripping her chest, a sob tearing through her room.

“Oh, baby. It’s just a dream, you’re okay.”

Sabine gathered the girl’s shaking frame into her arms, allowing her tears to soak her night gown.

“It felt so real Maman. I thought I was gonna die.”

Sabine stroked her daughter’s hair, trying her best to get the girl to calm down. After she had revealed her double life, the woman was always sure to stay on alert for these night terrors.  Marinette’s phone buzzed softly on her pillow, causing the girl to pull away to reach for it. Looking at the time, she frowned, putting the phone to her ear.

“Alya?” Her voice was still shaky from the dream, but it began to fill with worry. It was three in the morning, something had to be terribly wrong.

“Marinette?” The tears were obvious in the girl’s voice, Marinette could hear Alya choking back her own tears as she waited for an answer.

“Are you okay Alya?”

“It’s really you, oh god, Mari-” She cut herself off again, her crying becoming louder and choppier.

“Alya, Are you at the apartment? I’m coming over right now.”

She shared a knowing look with her mother as she moved to climb down the ladder. Alya didn’t respond, her crying turned into sobs, so loud that it surprised Marinette that neither of the boys were woken. Slipping on her shoes, Marinette gently woke Tikki, opening her bag for the kwamii to fly into.

“I’m on my way, I’ll be there in 5.”

She didn’t hang up as she pulled her mom in a tight hug, promising to be home in time for dinner.

“Marinette, Honey?”

“Yes Maman?”

“Happy Birthday Baby”

Marinette flashed her a smile, blowing her a kiss from the doorframe.

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

In no time, she found herself in front of her best friend's apartment, unsure as whether to knock.

“Alya? You still there? I’m standing outside.”

She heard some shuffling from the other side of the door as her phone line went dead. Slowly the door creaked open, Alya’s red eyes peeking through the crack.

“Alya?”

The door flew open as the girl crashed into Marinette.

“It worked, oh my god, it worked. You’re here, you’re really here.”

Her tears soaked the girl’s shoulder, crushing her in a tight hug. Marinette tried to rub her back in a comforting manner, she was clearly wasted, it had to be the only explanation.

“Let’s go inside, okay?”

Alya nodded, loosening her grip. Marinette made sure to close the door, locking up, before turning back to face her friend. Silent tears still fell from her eyes, her smile borderline hysterical as she grabbed Marinette’s hand, pulling her onto the couch with her.

“You have no idea how happy I am to see you. I didn’t think it would work but here we are. It’s your birthday again.”

The designer shook her head, giving Alya’s hand a light squeeze.

“Alya, what are you talking about?”

The girl gave her a cautious look, pulling her knees into her chest.

“Marinette, I need you to keep an open mind here. When I told Nino, he brushed it off to only being a bad dream, but it’s more than that. It actually happened, I’m sure of it.”

It was Marinette’s turn to give the girl a cautious look as she nodded. With a deep sigh, Alya pushed her glasses up her nose, looking at the ground.

“You died Marinette. I saw the vine pierce your chest, I held your dead body, I watched the life drain from your eyes. You died.”

Her eyes began to water again as she choked on her sentence. Marinette opened her mouth, but Alya shook her head, swallowing hard before she continued.

“I know how it sounds, but it happened.  Your birthday passed, you took a job in Gotham that I secretly applied for, you met your soulmate, Adrien met his, you became Lady Rouge and when we attended the Gala near the end of your six-week trial, a Gotham Rogue attacked and you sacrificed yourself to save your soulmate.”

Her breathing was slow and laboured as she tried to avoid breaking down again.

“Alya,” Marinette tried to keep her voice level, she really didn’t want to set the girl off again. “If all that happened, why don’t I remember it? How am I sitting in front of you?”

“Sass! The kwamii said it wasn’t sure how far back we’d get sent, just that you would be alive! They also said some of us would lose all recolation of the account, which is why Nino doesn’t believe me! I promise, ask Tikki!”

The kwamii flew from Marinette’s bag, a perplexed look on its face.

“Alya could be right Marinette. I feel like something is unbalanced, like the time stream was messed with. Something new was created, a second chance.”

“But that would mean, the universe would take someone else in place of me, to keep the balance?”

The kwamii shook its head, a thoughtful look passing it’s face.

“Not necessarily, not with Sass’ ability. There is always a balance to the universe, but Sass’ scale is not as large as mine or Plagg’s.”

A sick feeling settled over Marinette’s stomach. Her face slowly paleing as she replayed Alya’s words.

“I had a dream Alya, before you called. A man with dark hair and green eyes and there were vines, vines were everywhere.” Her voice dropped as it all connected. “A vine pierced my chest.”

Alya nodded, slowly uncurling herself to face her friend. She opened up her arms, allowing the small girl to fall into them. It was Alya’s turn to comfort her friend as her breathing began to accelerate to the near point of hyperventilating. Her blue eyes were wide, tears flowing down her cheeks. Panic rolled off of her in waves as she gripped Alya’s arm for support.

“Focus on your breathing Marinette, you can do this. Four seconds in, eight seconds out. Four seconds in, eight seconds out.”

Within twenty minutes, both girls sat in silence, no more tears left to cry. Marinette curled into Alya’s side, adjusting her head to look at the girl’s face.

“Is he nice?” Her voice was soft, almost hesitant as she waited for her friend to answer.

“He is very generous, he didn’t throw his money around, but used it in a subtle way to make you feel special.”

Marinette nodded, the green eyes from her dreams burned in the front of her mind.

“Tell me more.”

“He loved you so much, even if it took him forever to realize it. He wanted to help people, he’s a vigilante in Gotham. He was way too smart for his own good, but only came off as condescending when provoked. He-”

Marinette closed her eyes, making a mental list of everything Alay said. She met her soulmate and lost him in less than six weeks, it was a cruel joke.

“What’s his name?”

“Damian Wayne.”

Both girl’s returned to the silence, lost in their separate thoughts. After a while, they both settled into the comfort of each other, slowly drifting back to sleep, both wondering the same thing. What happens now? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  

Marinette stared at her wrist, rereading her new phrase over and over again as she leaned against the bakery counter. Alya had told her what her original words were, even explained the misconception behind them. It seemed like a lost memory to Marinette as she stared at the beautiful script. With a sigh, she picked up the broom, continuing to sweep the bakery floor.

She had just finished when the door opened, the bell sounding through the empty store. Without turning around, Marinette placed the broom back into the closet.

“I’m sorry, but the bakery is closed.”

“You can’t make an exception for me Angel?”

Her whole back stiffened as she sucked in a sharp breath. Slowly she turned to face the man, his green eyes shining with humor.

“Damian?”

“You remember?” His smile broke her heart as he raced forward, only for her to step back. She held up a hand, stopping him in his tracks.

“Marinette?”

A single tear fell from her eyes as she internally cursed. This was the most she had cried in her whole life and it had only been one day. Concern washed over his face as he put his hands in his pockets, trying not to scare the girl.

“I remember parts. I remember my death, I remember a dark haired woman, I remember you holding me as I died. I-” she paused, trying not to choke on her words.”I remember I love you, but I don’t remember why or how I fell.”

He slowly nodded, his expression completely shattering her as he looked as broken as she felt. As if instinct, she moved forward to cup his cheek, pulling his face toward hers.

“But if I have a second chance, I don’t want to waste it. Help me remember, please.”

His eyes were so sharp, she didn’t remember the gold flakes in them, but the longer he stared at her, the more she noticed. Finally, his face melted into a small smile as he carefully lifted her hand to his lips, pressing a light kiss to them.

“When do you want to start?”

Her stomach flipped as she felt a smile begin to grow.

“Now would be great.”

He stepped back offering his arm to the girl.

“Then shall we Miss Marinette?”

Something tugged at the back of her head, like a sense of deja vu, but she ignored it, accepting his arm with a fake curtsy.

“We shall Mr. Wayne.”

The two left the bakery, strolling down the darkening Paris streets, neither saying much, just relishing the feeling of being together again.

Tag List:

@amayakans @maribat-is-lifeblood @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @moonlightstar64 @myazael @anonymously-odd @zebrabaker @crazylittlemunchkin @moonystars14 @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @mandy984 @mysupporthyperfixations @smolplantmum @cutechip @mochegato @messymessyml @emotionalsupportginger @jabalem @fusser90 @thequeenofpotatoeunicornss @fontegagrilledcheese @maybemanymuffins @jardimazul @clumsy-owl-4178 @alessialeone6997 @pheonixashtree @kuroko26 @bluefyoto94 @novicevoice @dontbenddontbreak @noirdots  @vixen-uchiha  @floralfi @dast218 @achefisachef @miraculous-simmer7 @mermaidreject @corabeth11  @spicybelladonna @loveswifi @the-fusionist @bee-wrecker @theg0ddesspersephone @sassakitty @not-annoying @tog84 @zestyzealot @queenmj10 @redscarlet95 @bigpicklebananatree  @valeks-princess @kae690 @fatimaabbasrizvi @jessigurl-design  @toodaloo-kangaroo @kking13 @miukiiu @tis-i-beanbandit @mochinek0 @lemurbox @queengeorgiaaa @damianette-is-life @constancetruggle @colorfulmongerpsychicranch

[doc-pickles]

the jolex college AU that literally no one asked for

Soooo I did a thing. I’ve actually had 90% of this in my drafts for awhile and I just decided to finish it today. (nina you said you didn’t have any fics in your drafts. WELL I’M STUPID SO THERE’S THAT) I’m not planning on expanding this past a one shot but it’s a fun little AU that my mind kicked up one night while watching 14x15 and drinking too much sangria. It’s not polished up or beta read but I figured something is better than nothing :) 

also TW// jo swears like a freaking sailor in this fic

“A fucking fire alarm? Really?!”

Jo Wilson was not one to be inconvenienced, especially not while she was in the damn shower. She let a groan out as the water above her shut off, probably an incentive to get her out of the building in case it really was on fire. 

“I’m going, I’m going,” Jo muttered to herself, reaching for her towel. After wrapping it around herself, she realized that she hadn’t brought her clothes with her. “Oh you’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.”

Fuming with anger, Jo began to walk down the two flights of stairs to the ground floor and out the front door of Earl Hall. Various cat calls and whoops met Jo’s ears, but she was too angry with whoever the hell set off the fire alarm to acknowledge them. 

“Wilson! You trying to give us a show here,” Jo turned at her name, staring down Andrew DeLuca as he attempted to get under her skin… or under her towel. “I wouldn’t say no to a free peep show.”

“Oh shove off DeLuca, you’ll fuck anything with a pulse,” Jo retorted, earning a howl of laughter from DeLuca’s friends. “I’ll show off the goods to anyone who can tell me who set off the fucking fire alarm while I was showering though.”

“That would be me.”

Jo whipped around, one hand coming to hold the bottom of her towel in place as she came face to face with the person who had effectively ruined her day. 

She hadn’t met the man before, but Jo was instantly mesmerized. He wore a dark blue shirt and plaid boxer shorts, hair ruffled at odd angles and the beginnings of a scruffy beard appearing on his sharp jawline. The man was handsome and by God did Jo just want to fuck him right there and then. 

Kill him. Kill him right there and then. 

Jesus Christ Jo, pull your head out of your vagina. 

“So you’re the asshole that set off the alarm,” Jo asked, eyebrow raising as if daring him to refute her words. “Well hi, I’m Jo and I’m fucking pissed at you.”

“I’m Alex and I really enjoy your talent for slipping the word ‘fuck’ into almost every sentence that comes out of your mouth,” Jo stared back at Alex, unamused by his joke. “Listen I’m sorry, I was trying to study for chem and my hot plate burned a hole through my notebook. You should be back in soon if it’s any consolation.”

As if by fate, the fire alarm stopped ringing and someone shouted that it was safe to go back in. Students began to file in but Jo and Alex kept their staring match going. She couldn’t tell if it was the mounting sexual tension between them or just plain old hostility, but Jo couldn’t tear her eyes away from the man in front of her. 

“You’re on my fucking shit list Alex,” Jo stated firmly before walking away. “You better watch it!”

“Hey! You didn’t hold up your end of things,” Alex called out, causing Jo to turn back around and lift an eyebrow in question. “You said that you would ‘show off the goods’ to anyone who told you why the fire alarm went off. Well that was me.”

Jo paused momentarily, thoughts racing a million miles a minute before she moved closer to Alex and opened her towel up. Eyes wide, Alex immediately diverted his gaze away from Jo, not anticipating that she would actually flash him. With a satisfied smirk, Jo tucked her towel back into place and walked back towards the dorm hall. 

“Have a good fucking night Alex!”

+

“If I never end up at another frat party it’ll be too soon,” Jo complained, swatting a hand away from her ass as she followed her roommate towards the kitchen. “Why’d you have to drag me out here, Hannah? You know Brandon trolls these parties looking for unsuspecting girls to trick into dating him so he can cheat on them a month in.”

Hannah looked at Jo with a bored expression, as if to say she was tired of hearing this story over and over again. 

“We get it, you hate Brandon Thomas and everything he stands for,” Hannah rolled her eyes and handed a red solo cup to Jo. “But you realize that this is the Kappa house and Brandon is in Chi Omega. They’re sworn enemies, you’ll never see him here unless the planets align and someone’s sacrificed a virgin to the moon god.”

Jo rolled her eyes, lips coming to the cup and taking a large swallow of the jungle juice inside. She didn’t really know anyone at these parties, but there was always free alcohol and she had a pocket knife stashed in her bra in case she got into trouble. 

“Jo, promise me you won’t kill me but Brandon is here,” Jo’s head whipped around to look at Hannah, eyes wide as she stared her roommate down. “He’s by the front door, just turn around and walk towards the backyard and you’ll never see each other.”

Jo eyed the back door, only 50 feet from where she was standing. She could definitely make it there without being noticed. Weaving through the crowd, Jo was positive she would get out without accident. 

“Jo! Is that you?”

Brandon’s voice sounded over the crowd, making Jo cringe as she realized she had been caught. She looked around in a panic, almost yelling as a pair of arms slid around her waist. 

“Just play along, I hate that douche bag too,” Jo looked up in shock, realizing that the person that had grabbed her was the guy who had set off the fire alarm last week. “Nice to fucking see you, Jo.”

“Oh you’re a piece of- MMM,” Jo was cut off by Alex’s lips pressing into hers. Jungle juice and adrenaline coursing through her veins, Jo presses back against him. Alex holds her against him for a minute more, one hand trailing to grab her ass while the other pulls her closer into his embrace. Her free hand unconsciously comes up to tangle in the curls at the nape of his neck and Jo swears she can feel him moan under the pounding sounds of bass music that surround them. Finally, after what feels like a lifetime, he pulls away with a crooked grin. 

“Sorry, that prick Thomas was walking by, had to give him a show. You’re welcome.” 

Alex walks away from Jo then, leaving her standing in the middle of a frat house party completely confused. 

+

“Jo! I’m walking out the door but your alarm has been going off for 20 minutes!” Hannah slammed the door to the dorm room, abruptly waking Jo up. She looked to her bedside clock, groaning loudly as she realized that she had 15 minutes to get across campus to her 9:30 AM class. 

“Well fuck,” Jo bemoaned as she rolled out of bed, grabbing whatever clothes were around her and throwing them on. “Fuck, fuck, fuck. I can’t miss O Chem again. Fuck!”

Rushing out the door, Jo let her worn out sneakers pound across the pavement towards her Organic Chemistry class. It was only week two of spring semester and she couldn’t risk missing class for a second time. 

Skidding into the lecture hall, Jo raced past a few students and slid into the back row of her class only five minutes late. She let out a loud breath, pulling her notebook out of her backpack as she tried to tune into the professor.

“You know you might be able to learn more if you show up on time,” Jo’s head snapped up as she looked to her left, realizing that the seat she had chosen was right next to Alex. “Funny seeing you here.”

“You have a lot of nerve trying to talk to me again after what you did at that house party,” Jo kept her eyes locked on her notebook, refusing to even glance at Alex as she started writing notes. “Even if you did save my ass, who goes around kissing strangers?”

“We’re not strangers. I know that your name is Jo and we live in the same hall and you smuggle cereal out of the dining hall when you think no one is looking,” Alex shrugged, eyes trained on the lecturer at the front of the hall. “And you’ve shown me your rack, I feel like that counts for something too.”

Side eyeing the man next to her, Jo watched Alex listening intently to their professor. He had a serious expression painted on his face, one that made him look years older than he was. Today he wore a forest green sweatshirt that bore the university’s wrestling team logo. Jo thought back to the first time she met Alex, remembering the way his shoulders and arms were built up more than anything else on his lean body. His dark hair and eyes that had instantly caught Jo’s eye seemed harsher under the fluorescent lighting of the classroom. This version of Alex that she was staring at today seemed so different than the Alex who accidentally set his chemistry book on fire and kissed her at a party to help her avoid her cheating ex. This Alex… well he seemed cold and unapproachable. 

“Okay that only proves that you’ve been stalking me,” Jo rolled her eyes. “What do you want? Are you expecting me to sleep with you? Or help you with your homework? Because that’s a no on all of the above.”

“Nah figured you needed a friend,” Alex shrugged, pencil tapping against the edge of his textbook. “You seem like the lonely type.”

“I am not lonely,” Jo’s voice comes out louder than intended. Her next words are softer as she glares at Alex, their teacher and lesson long forgotten. “I’m just selective about who I spend my time with.”

She does try to concentrate on her work then, but Jo can feel Alex’s eyes boring into the side of her head. He frustrates her, angers her in a way that nobody has before and she can’t decide if she wants to punch him in the face or kiss him until she can’t breathe. 

Wait what?

Jo shook her head, trying to clear out the image of a shirtless and sweaty Alex out of her mind. She was not going to start fantasizing about the handsome muscular man who’s lips felt like velvet against hers and who’s hand on her ass made her feel like-

“You’re drooling.”

Her hand flew up to her cheek, wiping at the small pool of liquid as her cheeks flamed red. She chanced looking over to Alex, who wore a shit eating grin that was slightly crooked. Damn it, keep it in your panties Jo!

“I was thinking about… dinner tonight,” Jo nodded, keeping her gaze forward. “Probably going to get… take out, something fast and easy.”

“Fast and easy, huh?,” Jo could swear that Alex’s voice took on a husky quality to it as he lowered his volume. An involuntary shiver ran up her spine as she futilely tried to calm the rising sensations in her body. ”That’s my favorite. For dinner I mean, I love it fast… and easy…” 

Whipping her head around, Jo locked her eyes with Alex’s. The intensity of their stares almost scared her, but more than that Jo was desperate. She wanted this complete stranger (and total asshole) in the worst ways possible, her mind conjuring up images that would send her straight to Hell if she dared to say them out loud. 

“I have no idea what the professor is talking about,” Jo admitted, eyes watching Alex’s lips as her tongue darted out wet her own. “But I really wanna get out of here.”

“If I fail this class because of you, you’re never gonna hear the end of it,” Alex was hastily shoving his books into his bag, slinging it over his shoulder as Jo rose and made a beeline for the door. 

The pair ignored the stares they got from their classmates as they raced out the door, jetting into the empty hallway in a fit of giggles. Before she could comprehend what was happening, Jo found herself in Alex’s embrace. He pinned her against the wall, lips hungrily devouring hers as her hands fisted his hair roughly.

“Come on lover boy,” Jo smirked, hand tangling in Alex’s own as she broke apart from him and dragged him down the hall. “My roommate has classes for the rest of the day so my dorm is empty.”

[jjmaybanksblog]

Lost Sweater- Kiara Carrera

Kiara x female reader

Summary: Alternative Universe where when one person loses something, their soulmate receives it. 

Word count: 2,028

Warnings: None

B/N: Brother/ boy name

Y/N: Your name

Y/A: Your age

Soulmate. A simple word that brings many thoughts to the brain. Someone who you're supposed to spend the rest of your life with, happily. Someone who will treat you in ways you could only dream of. Many people believe in them, others don't. You grew up a non-believer never understanding why God would make something so amazing, such a difficult task for people. Your friends all around you had begun receiving their lost items, all of them meeting their soulmates, meanwhile you remained confused and alone.

You were a non-believer until one day your missing sweater wound up on your bed with a note attached to it.

"You must have misplaced this, I was confused when I was sleeping and the cotton fell on my face, fun fact I almost suffocated. Anyways, hi. This must belong to my soulmate, damn that's crazy. In my entire life I never believed in this shit, my parents telling me about how they met because my dad found and returned a necklace that meant a lot to my mom. I always thought it was bullshit until recently. Here's your sweater back, I 'lost it' throwing it out my window. I hope to hear from you soon.

Your soulmate"

You read the letter over and over as the thoughts finally sunk in. Maybe you wouldn't be alone after all. Gently biting your bottom lip, you suddenly felt a rush of adrenaline run through your body. You ran out of the room and into your brother's room.

He was sitting down at his desk when you barged in. He turned around towards you, only to be nearly tackled in a hug. "Who are you and what have you done with my sister. You barely hug me." B/N asked as he saw the letter in your hand. "Ohhh shit. You got your soulmate." He mumbled, putting the pieces together.

"I'm not gonna end up alone!" You smiled. Your brother knew of your fear. You had talked to him before, explaining your thought process about this all. You were afraid you would die alone, not knowing what it would be like to love and be loved. You knew it was irrational, but growing up you never pictured someone falling in love with you. You took it to heart so you just shut every romantic aspect out of your life.

Your brother congratulated you before you ran back into your room, writing on a lined piece of paper.

"Dear soulmate,

Wow. Just writing those two words felt foreign. Sorry about my sweater almost killing you, I'm just a clumsy person that loses things a lot, but I'm glad you're okay. I also was a non-believer. I always saw the people around me finding their soulmates and being happy, meanwhile I was in the corner watching all my friends find the one. For the longest time I was convinced that maybe I just wasn't meant to have one, but knowing you're out there makes me feel... safe. Attached to this note is a picture of me, I figured maybe if you're curious enough you would want to know what I look like. My name is Y/N I'm Y/A years old and I can't wait to find out who my soulmate is. Xx

Y/N

You took an image of yourself and stapled it to the back of the letter. Opening your window that led to her backyard, you grabbed a scrunchie and wrapped it around the note. You carelessly threw the note and picture out of the window and watched it effortlessly fly away in the night sky. You fell onto your bed, staring happily at your bedroom ceiling. 

Slowly drifting off to sleep, your eyes snapped open when you heard a soft popping sound echoed by your desk. Rubbing your eyes, you stood up and walked over. Another letter was displayed on the wood, you smiled softly as you sat down. Your eyes scanned the letter as you read it out loud.

Y/N,

Wow. Just wow. I can't even think of words to form right now. You're absolutely breathtaking. I'm not gonna lie I wasn't expecting a girl, but God, do I feel blessed knowing that you're my soulmate. Your letter and picture were actually soaking wet. But it smelled like salt water, so I'm guessing you live possibly on a coast. I live in the Outer Banks in North Carolina. When I got your letters it just smelled like home. I wanna go traveling, to you, out of the country, just explore new things. I totally understand how you felt about feeling like you're not gonna find a soulmate. I've watched more than half of my high school senior class find their soulmates during the year. Meanwhile I was acting like everything was completely fine and I wasn't distraught. I should be asleep right now, but I'm dying to talk to you. Get to know you. Later on if you'd like, I would love to call you. To hear your voice and your laugh. I think you should get some rest as well. I have no clue what time it is where you are but I want my love to be well rested. Goodnight Xx

Kiara Carrera

You flipped the paper around to see a beautiful mixed girl with carmel colored skin. Her hair was curly and beautiful, flowing from wind. Your eyes were drawn to her smile, you could tell she was laughing and you wished to be able to hear her laugh.

For days on end you and Kiara had been 'losing things' with letters attached to them. Tonight was the night where Kiara was going to call you. Both of you were on the edge of their seats, your hearts beating rapidly. Kiara's hands shook as she dialed your number, pausing between each number.

After what felt like forever, the phone began to ring. You audibly gasped at the sound of a bell ringing. You hesitantly picked up your cell phone that was placed on the bedside dresser. "H-hello?" You spoke into the phone. Kiara broke out in a grin, "Y/F/N, Y/L/N." Your name rolled off her tongue, goosebumps rising on your arms and back of your neck.

"Kiara Carrera" you spoke back, Kiara internally squeaking at the soft, velvety voice that spoke her name. "My god your voice.. okay I totally don't mean to sound weird but it's just so calming and relaxing. God okay wow hi, I never thought I'd see the day where I'd be on the phone with my soulmate." Kiara spoke as she nervously chewed her bottom lip.

"Honestly, me too. Growing up I always... ugh I don't mean to sound like I was sympathy or attention, I always grew up insecure and pictured myself as someone who could never be loved. And everyday I always saw or heard about people finding their soulmates in different ways. It went on for years and everyday I lost hope, but now I'm here talking to you and I feel nauseous, but in a good nervous way. Does that make sense?" You asked, rapidly shaking your leg.

"No I totally get it, I feel really hot right now mostly because I don't know what to say to you. Like my whole life I've planned on things to say but now that I'm talking to you I have no clue what to say or how to say it." 

Kiara threw herself on her bed, her smile never leaving her face as she closed her eyes, listening to your soothing voice. "So, tell me about Kiara, what it's like to live in the Outer Banks?" 

4 months later

After months of planning, you had managed to save up enough money for a plane ticket to OBX. You were currently walking off the plane and into the terminal, your heart beating a mile a minute. You stood to the side as you were about to text Kiara, asking where she was. 

That was until you locked eyes with the girl you'd recognize from the pictures. Kiara's heart felt like it was about to leap out of her chest as your eyes met. You held your suitcase tightly as you made a run towards your girl. 

You released your items mid run as you opened your arms out. With one swift motion Kiara picked you up in her arms, holding you close to her. Your legs wrapped around her waist as you held each other tightly. "You're real." Kiara mumbled into your neck as she held back tears.

You pulled away from the hug, your legs still around her torso. Her fingers brushed their way through your hair, subconsciously leaning into her touch. Kiara pecked your cheek as she placed you down onto your feet. Your hands intertwined as you guys walked to her car, your thumb rubbing over her knuckles.

They spent the car ride debating on which Beyonce song was truly the best. Kiara blasted the music as loud as she could take as she sped down roads to her house. 

She drove past the beach, your eyes not leaving the beautiful view in front of you. Your head was turned to the window as colors of the sand and the ocean blurred by. "You want to go?" Kie asked you as she saw you admiring the waves.

You were left speechless, only able to nod your head. 

As soon as they got to Kiara's house, her family was waiting at the door to be introduced. You felt an overwhelming amount of support from her family, none of them giving you attitude or being rude. No one was being homophobic, they were so welcoming towards you which made this day even better.

"Let's go get changed. Bathrooms down the hall and to the left." You dragged your suitcase behind you as you entered the bathroom. You quickly changed into a teal bikini, both pieces of fabric covering you properly, throwing on an oversized shirt for comfort. Kiara grabbed 2 towels and waited for you at this point her face ache from smiling but she couldn't stop.

You walked back out, giving your girl a thumbs up. Joining Kie in the car, she set off to the beach which was only 5 minutes away. It was currently 7:42 p.m. and the sun was beginning to set. The sky was painted in a mixture of purples and pinks, splashes of orange thrown into it as well. You laid down the two towels and sat down on one of them, patting the space next to you.

Kie sat down, instinctively wrapping her arm around you. You rested your head on her shoulder, sitting there in a comfortable silence. You were still in awe at the sight, the waves rising and then quickly falling onto the sand. This was everything compared to the beaches in New Jersey. The birds that flew above, diving down at any food they could find. The sounds of the waves crashing relaxed you to another level. 

"I can't believe you get to see this everyday." You whispered. "You could get to see it everyday too. Well, one day. Well only if you want of course." Kiara nervously stumbled on her words, not knowing how to recover from that. "I'd love that." You simply said, looking at her. The sunlight reflected perfectly off her skin, giving her a sort of Golden look. 

"Kiara?" You questioned, your eyes falling to her lips. "Hmm?" "Can I kiss you?" Kiara was taken back at your question, but immediately answered by moving in toward her. She leaned forward, her lips brushing against yours. You made the final move and pushed slightly so you two were finally kissing. Both of you melted into each other's touch as you smiled into the kiss. You two shared a passionate kiss for a few seconds before pulling away, your noses gently touching. You pressed a kiss to her nose as she shyly bit her bottom lip. 

You rested your head back on her shoulder, staring back into the sunset. "I'm really glad I lost that sweater." You admitted.

"I am too."

[sweetest-honeybee]

To Hell and Back

Chapter 27

Summary: Hels discovers that he does, in fact, love Ex. But, this isn’t the end of anything yet.

Characters: Hels, Ex (Xisuma mention)

TW: Some crying, mostly a heated argument, almost dying, some cursing, annnddddd I guess some smooching I’ve that makes you uncomfortable

I’m not overly happy with this chapter but it gets the idea across :)

————————

Seeing a dim light through the thick layer of darkness sent one of the strongest waves of relief over Hels than he’s ever felt in his life.

Exhaling a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, he made his way down the rest of the stairs quickly. At some point, he wondered how far underground they even went given that Xisuma’s bee farm ended right at ground level. Ex didn’t seem to have a lot of private plans going on in his life. He was almost always around the other Hermits so seeing it dug down so far below was odd.

When he finally reached the bottom, that relief was slowed to a halt at nearly identical hallways tunneling throughout the lower area of Ex’s base. Looking around for some kind of sign, he discovered the Evil X was not the kind of person to label anything. Great, he thought, just great. Thinking back to it now, he could vaguely remember someone telling him that the man didn’t label any of his chests in the flower shop either which brought a deep frown to his face.

He groaned. Lord only knew where any of these tunnels went- and quite literally, The Lord probably did- and Hels now wished on the most evil star he could that he had his powers back. Now, he was just some pathetic knight aimlessly walking through tens of corridors. It was like a maze at least hundreds of blocks long. Left, right, go back, left, left, right again, go back to the start. This continued for nearly ten minutes at least and with one more tread back to the beginning, he threw a punch at the stone wall.

“For the love of everything Ex, can you put one sign anywhere?!” The knight ducked his head with a sigh, closing his eyes. “Where are you….”

In his moment of brief thoughts to just give up and have Xisuma come look for him instead and handle Wels himself, something repeatedly kept hitting his boot. Opening his eyes, he looked over to see a small silverfish rapidly running back and forth trying to attack him. At first, he snorted at the pathetic attempts to hurt him. The little guy wouldn’t do much damage unless it decided to crawl on him like the others but this one seemed too stupid to really try anything worth worrying about.

Then Hels remembered a fact about silverfish: the little guys didn’t spawn much unless you were in an extreme hills biome or near an end portal. Given that Ex’s base was in or near a jungle- Hels couldn’t remember for sure how the biome separation worked- he only assumed that the silverfish followed him back from somewhere near a portal room.

The knight perked up, reaching down and picking up the silverfish, with gloved hands of course. It wriggled and squirmed but made no attempts to bite at him, probably with its size. This silverfish was just half the size of one of the normal ones. Absentmindedly, Hels wondered if that had anything to do with anything else going on related to Wels. He’s never seen anything like it, but it was a possibility.

Hearing another small squeak, he turned his head to another silverfish in the doorway of one of the tunnels. He sat the first silverfish back on the floor, following where the new trail of silverfish had begun spawning from. He approached the next silverfish, the creature definitely much larger than the first and had more ill intention for sure. He walked past it with a brisk pace, seeing another silverfish a few more feet away.

He followed the trail of silverfish, some spawning out of the walls, others simply coming out from cracks and crevices that were never patched up. It wasn’t more than about two minutes until he saw the familiar stone bricks lining the walls and he silently thanked the universe for not letting him be lost in the corridors again. After another couple of turns, more and more silverfish climbed out of the walls, biting at his ankles and knees. He paid no mind to it, however, when he finally reached the portal room.

“Oh thank god,” he exhaled. With that, he wasted no time mildly jogging up the steps and jumping into the portal.

The End wasn’t his turf, he knew. He never really came here except to visit Evil X and he glared at the sheer amount of enderman wandering around. He hated enderman. The creatures here in The End, the dragon especially, were so unnecessary. The End dimension as a whole was unnecessary and just a way to make players feel good about themselves by killing a dragon with exploding beds.

He scoffed to himself. Lame.

Hels looked around, not seeing any signs of Ex being around. Surely he couldn’t have gotten far, right? The knight called out for him a few times, receiving no answer. He better not have just flown off a million miles away, because that meant Hels would have to fly around to find him and his elytra wasn’t enchanted. In fact, it lost nearly two thirds of its durability since he’s last repaired it.

Which was just barely three days ago.

If they broke while he was flying, he was done for, be it a fall onto the flat surface of the endstone or reaching his demise in The Void. Either way, his stomach churned at the thought but what was the point of turning back now? He’s already spent his time getting all the way here, and punching a wall in the process. He might as well try.

For Ex, he thought, but the entire reason he was coming here was literally to painfully reject him and leave him to his own devices while Hels went back to the overworld to help with Wels. It didn’t feel any better to him than it certainly would for Evil X, but like he’s told himself over and over, there was nothing between them. They’re better off as friends, or even enemies, if it came to it after their discussion. Yet, he still went to do it.

With that, he lifted off into the near black sky, sucking in a breath of the thin air when he began to fly over The Void. What direction would Ex even be in, he wondered. If the slowly declining durability was anything to go by, he probably had enough to last one trip out about ten thousand blocks in one direction and one trip back to the portal.

Hels stopped mid flight and hovered to look around. The knight began trying to recall where Ex said they’ve been and where he’s gone. The counterpart said he’s traveled over a hundred thousand blocks into the distance which Hels prayed on everything that he wasn’t out that far. That would just be a waste of time. Then he had a thought.

Out south.

At one point during one of their conversations in The End, Evil X mentioned that he’d go out south when he needed some space. The Hermits never traveled more than about twenty thousand blocks to save the durability of their elytra so about as far as that would be where he kept himself alone. How or why Hels remembered that, he personally had no clue. But if it was anything to go off of, then he’d take it. Though, like he mentioned to himself earlier, there was only enough durability in his wings to last twenty thousand blocks or so. If Ex was out that far, the knight wouldn’t make it back without some kind of aid. And he wasn’t the type to just ask for help. Help was for cowards.

He sighed. The Void didn’t look any more inviting with that thought process and again, too far to turn back now unless he could turn back and use the broken elytra excuse. But he was trying to maintain some degree of respectability among the Hermits so that they wouldn’t be so rude to him. It was their whole little thing to help each other and make sacrifices for each other if the situation called for it and Hels gagged at the thought. Yet, Ex again came to mind, encouraging him.

The knight continued on anyways. This inevitable conversation wasn’t going to start itself. He flew further. Not because he was worried about Ex but because he wasn’t going to live with the humiliation that Evil X threw onto him. Yes, that was why. Because again, his kind wasn’t capable of love and even if they were, he didn’t even remotely like Ex, not romantically. Definitely so. And the current blush creeping across his cheeks at the mere thought of the other was his best proof.

He shook his head. Sidetracked, sidetracked, he was always getting distracted by Ex and his stupid scar covered face.

At some point, he managed to reach a barren End City like the ones Ex told him about when he rambled. The other said that there used to be life there. Older versions of Evil Hermits used to live there with him and then the Hels dimension became a thing and slowly but surely, everything was abandoned. He glanced at his elytra durability displayed just on the upper left of his field of vision. Nearly broken, just a few points left.

Hels circled the city, trying to find any signs of someone there. Soon, his eyes landed on a figure sitting on a floating ship. If he could just make it to the ship with this last point-

And he didn’t.

The knight found himself falling quickly just as he was near landing and his stomach dropped at The Void growing larger and larger as he fell. He reached out, rapidly swinging his arms to catch the boat’s back end and the figure, whom he assumed was Ex by the looks of things, was running to the back of the ship as well. Just barely did his hands meet Hels’s wrists but nonetheless, he was caught and dangling over the edge above the intimidating Void.

“Do not let go, I swear to god, Ex!” He reached up and grabbed Ex’s hand with his other hand.

“Don’t plan to,” he simply replied. With strength even Hels didn’t know he had, he pulled the other up onto the ship easily. The two stumbled backwards and onto the deck, the knight flopping on top of the other. “Ow….”

For a second, the two laid there with heaving breaths, Hels not bothering to move himself. He was just thankful he had some kind of ground to stand on. Internally, he cursed because now he didn’t have an elytra to return back to the portal. Ex lifted his head, pushing himself up on his elbows.

“You alright there? What on earth are you doing here?” he asked. Hels almost completely forgot how his voice sounded without the helmet. It was just so regular, so much higher pitched than what he grew used to hearing. Evil X sounded identical to Xisuma but it was odd to him because this wasn’t Xisuma.

“Yeah, give me a second, I just almost fell into The Void, you know.” The knight huffed, pushing himself off the alter ego. “Xisuma said I needed to come find you.”

Ex seemed almost too surprised at the statement for what Hels expected. He thought the two were practically joined at the hip and just kind of knew where each other was all the time and always talked. That technically wasn’t inaccurate but he couldn’t really assume since that wasn’t the case with him and Wels. He raised a brow.

“What?”

The other frowned sadly. “I didn’t think he’d wanna know where I was.”

Hels sat back on his legs, now taking in Ex’s appearance. It struck him now that he almost never saw the other without his suit and he was much smaller than he expected. Scrawnier. Maybe just long and lanky, but fairly lean nonetheless. Either way, Hels questioned him further.

“Why? He said he probably upset you or something in chat.”

Then, Evil X stumbled while standing, heading over to the small pile of items at the front of the boat. Hels followed, curious as to what the other was even up to out here. Ex picked up his communicator from the pile where Hels noticed a flower sat. The other began scrolling profusely.

“Oh! You guys were….actually worried. I think.”

Of course we were, you idiot, Hels wanted to say, but he bit his tongue. This wasn’t what he was out here for. You left without telling anyone.

The knight rolled his eyes instead. “Yeah, yeah, sure they were, but I wasn’t. Don’t get your hopes up about it, they had other issues you know.”

Visibly, Ex deflated at the statement, the previous sadness lasting from before making its way back into his expression. “Oh….Right then. Why are you here if you weren’t worried? You flew all this way until your elytra broke.”

The knight’s stomach twisted. It could just be his mind switching over again, but he actually began feeling bad for destroying probably what was the last shred of hope Ex even had of anyone wanting to find him. Maybe this was the wrong time to do this.

“Xisuma said I need to talk to you about what you did earlier.”

Much to Hels’s surprise, Ex scoffed. “Of course. Because he wants to tell me that he’s not gonna clean up my messes and then decides I’m not responsible enough to decide when I’m ready to talk.” He walked over and sat next to the mast. “Can’t believe him.”

Absentmindedly, Hels sat down as well, across from him. “Clean up your messes?”

“Yeah, he told me I embarrassed you and all that. I said some things, he said some things. In the end, he just flew off saying that he wasn’t gonna help me anymore.” The evil hermit drew his legs up to his chest at the memory. “But here he goes, walkin’ in like he can just change his mind….the scumbag.”

To Hels, Xisuma just sounded incredibly immature and that was saying something when Hels hung out with Evil X more often than not. To hear that Xisuma would just ditch his counterpart like that only made him wonder about his current mindset brought on by Wels’s mental transformation. Maybe Ex was being punished as well. Or, Xisuma was genuinely angry but even Hels doubted that.

“Right then,” Ex added, pulling the knight from his thoughts. “Let’s hear it.”

Hels stared at him, dumbfounded. “Hear what?”

“What do you mean ‘hear what’? Get on with it then! The rejection! Just say you don’t like me and get it over with.” The man gestured wildly as he spoke, raising his hands repeatedly. “Honestly, just say you never wanna see me again and we can be done with it.” He crossed his arms and leaned against the mast. “I know you, Hels, that’s why you came.”

Well this wasn’t exactly how Hels intended for the conversation to go. He thought maybe Ex would at least talk about it first. And, it was almost scary how Ex knew that it was why he came here. The counterpart really must’ve spent too much time with him to simply know those things and how his brother would send the knight to talk to him. But instead, Hels grew naturally defensive to that statement, deciding that he wouldn’t immediately reject him to give him the satisfaction of being right.

“Why’s that? Because I’m hateful?” The knight laughed. “And you think for a second that I don’t care?” He thought for a second. “Okay, that’s fair. But still, you can’t just assume.”

“What, are you saying you do?” Ex spat. “Honestly Hels, you can't just tell me that you weren’t worried and say that you care now out of spite. You were going to reject me, weren’t you. But because I knew, you just want to make it look like I was wrong because of your stupid ego.”

“How do you know,” the knight growled. “How come you can just know those things?!”

“Because I took the time to get to know you when we hung out.” Ex held up his index finger, pausing the knight before he could reply. “And so did you. You remembered I would be out south despite me telling you that weeks ago.”

Hels stared at Ex in surprise. Okay, Ex was correct about that. But that didn’t mean anything, you can do that with your friends. Yet, Ex was only confusing him. He doubted that Ex really knew what he was talking about either given that Xisuma most likely had to explain it to him in the first place. The knight sighed defeatedly, deciding it wasn’t worth it to argue further.

“You know what? I don’t know, then.”

“Hels I swear-“

“Ex, I don’t know. You’re right, okay?! I came here to reject you and cut you off and just go back to the overworld and help Xisuma and just leave you to do whatever, alright? I was going to hurt you and get it over with but….”

Ex leaned forward. “But?”

“But I don’t want to,” the knight stated firmly. “I don’t want to hurt you but I don’t know what I think.”

“I don’t care what you think, I just want to know how you feel, Hels. They’re different. You’re making the decision here. Not me, not Wels, and certainly not The Lord of Darkness.”

Hels shook his head, growing more frustrated at his thoughts. “I barely understand my own feelings! I’m not feel-y! I’m a villain in this story, Ex.”

The other stared at him, but it quickly turned to sadness. “In my story, I was a villain and I changed, Hels. I became more than what The Lord of Darkness wanted me to be. You can do the same, make up your mind.”

Hels rolled his eyes, but admittedly, his emotions were beginning to get the best of him. “Well, Evil Xisuma, why don’t I let you know then. I. Don’t. Know. You brought me out of there and threw me into this damned world and I- I enjoyed it, but this-“ he gestured to himself. “This isn’t how my story ends. I don’t grow and change, I do what I’m told.”

“Not in my story. In my story, you were saved from that.” Ex retorted, tears beginning to prick at his eyes which Hels frowned even more at. “In my story, you’re the best thing that ever happened to me, and I helped you to escape.” He stopped, letting a couple drops roll down his cheeks and wiping them away angrily. Hels merely stared. “In my story, you were saved from what you weren’t meant to be.”

The knight practically felt his heart break- the heart he didn’t know he really had. He ducked his head, sighing through his nose. “In my story, I’m nothing worth saving, Ex.” He screwed his eyes shut, memories from his life in HelsCraft dancing in his mind. All of the blood and guts dripping from his hands. “In my story, made me and I’m what The Lord wanted me to be.”

Clearly, that wasn’t at all what Ex wanted, nor needed, to hear but it was what Hels believed and unlike Hels, it angered Ex. The dull, sad red eyes grew into a mightier crimson and his expression hardened with a clenched jaw. Ex hated HelsCraft, The Lord of Darkness, how he strung everyone into his commands. He almost felt bad for Hels, almost.

“So, you live knowing that there’s nothing more than being evil.”

“Ex-“

“Do you or do you not love me, Hels?! It’s simple! Because I love you more than anything!” The other snapped.

It’s really not, the knight’s mind screamed. Because I hate you more than anything.

I hate you for making me run away from the very place I used to call my home.

I hate you for letting me tell myself I’m not capable of loving anything because I’m shackled to villainy.

I hate you for making me think that I’m not worth loving because I’ve killed hundreds, thousands, of people and creatures alike because I didn’t have that damn luxury of letting go.

I hate you for having someone to guide you to kindness and sacrifice when I've drowned you in my past.

And god damn it. I hate you for making me love you. You, of all people, the man that ripped me from my world and gave me somewhere I could really call…

“Home….” Hels muttered, eyes widening. “My home.”

Ex sended him a confused expression. “Wha- Home? What are you on about?”

However, that question was answered wordlessly. Answered by soft lips intertwining with his own, set on their own gentle pace, filled with a passion lit by the fire the knight emerged from. Long, slow fingers trailing his every feature down the smallest scar. Answered so obviously with one phrase both whispered in the backs of their minds.

Ex found himself reciprocating the action, pulling the knight closer by the waist. And not for a second through any of it did Ex dare open his eyes because the world would never agree for the knight to ever lose his place.

Helsknight was not destined to let go of his past and free himself from the chain of darkness around his neck.

[smellycinnamonthundahfudge]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies) Rating: Mature Warnings: Major Character Death Relationships: Wanda Maximoff/Vision, Wanda Maximoff & Vision Characters: Vision (Marvel), Wanda Maximoff Additional Tags: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Tragedy, Heavy Angst, Suicidal Thoughts, Grief/Mourning, Loss, Family Loss, Tragedy, Sibling Loss, Post-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie) Compliant, Pietro Maximoff Dies, Wanda Maximoff Needs a Hug, Hurt Wanda Maximoff, Minor Wanda Maximoff/Vision, Pre-Wanda Maximoff/Vision, Protective Vision (Marvel) Summary:

Wanda couldn't, or didn't, want to save herself after losing Pietro. And yet, Vision did anyway. He contemplates why.

... vision being worthy hits differently after wandavision...

once again, warnings of pietro's death and wanda feeling suicidal after it...

Vision felt like he was carrying a frozen, limp, dead body as he flew away from the descending land of Sokovia about to implode onto itself.

Wanda Maximoff seemed… numb, for starters. But, Vision is aware that what she seems to be feeling was something, he probably did not know yet. An emotion powerful enough to render someone catatonic.

He did not know why, but now, he seemed to be feeling… He did not know what this feeling is. It is quite literally his first time feeling it, but, he thinks he’s feeling… sympathy, for Ms. Maximoff.

She appeared to be in a great and terrible amount of pain. And that emotion, as he understood it, was something that was not usually wished onto good people. And, despite Ms. Maximoff having worked with Ultron and Hydra, she seemed to be a good person that simply wished to protect her country and did not want to hurt innocents.

Yes, Vision felt… something, probably sympathy, for Ms. Maximoff… She did not deserve what had happened to her. Vision only wished he had the capability to give her what she needed in this moment.

However, he did not even know what that was. All he knew, for now, was that Wanda Maximoff could not, or maybe, did not want to save herself. But, that did not mean she was not worthy of being alive. And as such, he saved her. That was all he could do.

And yet, something inside him… sparked, making him want to do more…

But for now, he merely did his duty, and helped the young woman down as they had finally arrived onto solid ground.

They were a few yards away from where the rest of the Sokovians were evacuated and Vision wanted to make sure that Ms. Maximoff would be ready to acclimate to being surrounded by the tumult and noise of an evacuation area before he brought her there. And, it would be a good status check on someone that had just gone through an unthinkable loss and tragedy.

Wanda doesn’t- she can’t process it yet. She felt her body lose gravity, and then she felt it get lifted. Felt the wind and humidity from up above the sky.

She also felt the nauseating stench of the blood, ash, and smoke from the ruins of her homeland, or at least all that was left. Emanating to them even despite their high altitude.

She felt things, physical sensations after- … but, she did not even know what she was feeling anymore. She felt everything and nothing. She felt- …

She felt.

They were going down now and Wanda still didn’t think about what she was going to do. She didn’t want to figure it out.

But even then, Vision gently let her stand back on the ground, offering support in case she needed help standing up.

Wanda then, figures out the first thing she wants after what just happened. She wants to be alone.

She pushes Vision away and tells him as such, wiping the grime and tears from her face, “I want to be alone,” she inhales and wraps her arms around herself.

Vision takes a step back, out of respect. But, he’s still unsure how to handle this.

Nevertheless, he voices his concern. “Normally, I would respect your wish, Ms. Maximoff. However, we do not yet know if Ultron had other backup protocols in place in case his plan failed. And, I hope you do not think this as disrespectful, but, you do not seem to be in a fighting state right now, should anything happen.”

“I- …,” Wanda stops.

Not even a second after she was talking about something not about Pietro, she instantly remembers him.

But, she chides herself, how could she not?

How many times has she told Pietro she can protect herself? How many times- … She was with this person, her entire life. Every second she was not with him would be a glaring blaring agonizing absence in her life, a missing piece she knew she’d never get back. A hole, that would just forever be empty.

Reaching her hand out to only catch air.

She almost breaks. But, she doesn’t want to do this with someone else. She tells him off.

“I, can take care of myself,” she mutters, still not looking at him.

“Well, yes, I know that you are quite powerful, Ms. Maximoff. But…, as I understand you humans, grief and loss can irreparably change you. It would be quite understandable, and dare I say, humane to need help. It is not something to be ashamed of.”

“Ha. You do not know what I need. What I need-” … is my brother…

Fuck, she’s shivering again. She wills herself to calm down.

“I need to be alone, Vision.”

“But, if someone comes-” Vision steps closer to ask her to reconsider-

“Then let them come! Let them kill me and get it over and done with. At least-! … At least, I wouldn’t have to live in a world without the only family I had left.”

Vision, has nothing to say.

Wanda sighs, “Just go, Vision. Leave me be,” and waves him off.

Vision, realizes his place. And accepts it.

But, he didn’t know if it was safety protocols, or something else, but something inside of him prompted him to still ask, “At least, allow me to keep watch over you from the edge of the evacuation area, Ms. Maximoff...

I may not know you, your brother, or… the complexity and depth of what it is you are going through right now.

But, your brother gave his life so Mr. Barton and a child could survive. I’d assume he would want the same to happen for you, as well.”

- That’s, when Wanda breaks.

She can't-

She drops to the earth, and lets out the horrible wail that’s been building up inside of her all this time.

Vision, bends down to her, without knowing why he was doing so.

And Wanda, accepts his arms.

Wanda didn’t know what she was doing at this point except scream in anguish, shout her excruciating unbearable agony out onto Vision’s chest.

Despite having done this already and screaming her throat raw, the abyss inside her still goes on, feeling unimaginable and endless.

Vision, didn’t know what he was doing either.

He just could possibly not understand right now, what had possessed a tear to fall from his eye.

He feels himself embrace Wanda before he knew it. And Wanda feels herself grab onto Vis so tight, as if every ounce of pain begged to come out from her entire body. Vision feels Wanda's fingers grip his back so tight that although it didn't physically hurt, it still felt....

...

Humans. Odd. Possessing Grace… Is this- what, it must feel like?

Maybe Vision didn’t need to know, or maybe he didn’t want to know. All he knew right now, was that this person, Wanda Maximoff, was in pain. And right now, if sharing that pain with him, him feeling her pain, helped eased hers... He was willing to sacrifice it, without knowing why.

Humans, odd, possessing grace, anger, chaos, beauty, tumult, fear, pain, and love… he thinks it might just be the heaviest responsibility, and the greatest privilege. To feel what they feel.

Sympathy, empathy, affinity, love… is this- what it feels like?

Vision lets himself close his eyes and lie his head on top of Wanda’s almost protectively, to shield her from the world. And as he hears and feels her, still breaking down within his embrace, he lets the other tears in his eyes fall as well.

Vision, felt.

                             Notes:  

please tell me if anything felt romanticized or disingenuous or just... wrong, about Wanda's suicidal ideation and how she handled her grief... (but, uhm.. it's honestly based on what i've felt personally, my trysts with wanting to be unalive heh.. i'm asking because i've never felt a loss such as what wanda has felt, so... i want to be respectful so please, just tell me if- well as i said, just tell me. this subj matter shouldn't be written haphazardly so i take great care into making sure everything's treated carefully... that's all. i hope it's understood what my pov was on writing this is...)

wanda was stuck to where she had tried to kill ultron's main form was my main impetus on thinking she had given up on life... yes, she could just not have a handle on her powers at that point to be capable of flight. or she was just processing her grief and shell-shocked and not necessarily feeling suicidal...

this is just how i interpreted one could feel after such an unthinkable loss... once again, please don't hesitate to tell me if anything's wrong but... i still kind of hope i managed to evoke emotions with this work as it evoked something in me as i wrote it... thank you.

(also, this might have a next part. i'm open to it. i wanna imagine how the next part of their relationship, coming from this, develops...)

[jungkookiebus]

multiverse | kth | preview

genre: parallel universe!au, maybe angst, eventual smut pairing: taehyung x reader  word count: 1.6k for preview warnings: none yet for the preview summary: what if...what if you found a tear in the universe? in a world where parallel universes seemingly don’t exist, there appears to be an overlap. what you had previously believed to be a haunting has now turned into something else, something tangible. everything you thought you knew about reality is about to be upturned and crumbled like a house of cards. 

It all started with a shift a dust, caught on the wind from a window you had already closed. It flew from the shelf as if swept by a hand; scattered into the air to fall like small snowflakes. You were startled to say the least.

“Hello?”

You were talking to the air as if it would answer. You had seen it happen with your own two eyes, so it wasn’t as if someone was in the room with you. In fact, there was no one else in the house besides you and your ever unfaithful cat, Boots.

“Boots?” you called upon remembering your cat. You suddenly did not want to be alone and at least there would be another beating heart in the room with you. But, as per usual, Boots was not going to come to your rescue when you needed him the most.

You barely breathed as you stood there waiting for it to happen again or for something else to be disturbed. The air was still, and the house was eerily quiet. You had only moved in two weeks ago. The house was old, late 1800s, so you didn’t expect it not to be creepy. Slowly, you walked over to the bookshelf and stood on your tiptoes where you saw it come from. The built in had yet to house any of your books so all the shelves were layered in dust. Except for one. As if a hand had swiped across it, one of the shelves had a clean spot, crescent shaped and the ghost of the shape of a fingertip. There had to be some explanation for it. A cool breeze brushed past your calves and you turned around in a rush to see where it had come from. One of the windows in the reading nook was open, letting fresh air in. Furrowing your brows, you stood looking at the window, having sworn that they had all been closed. You rewound through your last few steps and couldn’t recall seeing if the window was open or not. You must have skipped it when you were closing the others. Walking over, you looked out of the window into the sunny garden and saw nothing but lazy butterflies and buzzing bees. You grabbed the window and pulled it down smoothly. The last thing you needed was for Boots to get out before you could fully trust him in the new house. Where he was this moment God only knew. The best thing to do would be to blow off anything that happened from here on out. Tying your hair up a little tighter, pushing out your chest, and walking with determination you went to grab a box out of the hallway to start unpacking. Getting the books out of the way would make a huge dent in the stacks now crowding your entryway. Remembering to ‘lift with your knees’ as your dad always told you to do, you set your back straight, and carried the box back into the room only to be met with a frightening sight.

Every single window in the room was open.

You dropped the box you were holding. It fell to the side as your Hemingways and Kings slid to floor.

“Hello?” you called again.

Your heart thudded in your chest as you strained to listen. There had to be someone in your house. The sound of your heart pumping and your blood rushing was like waves in your ears. You tried to count slow and time your breaths so that your heart might abate enough for you to hear. Beyond the windows, the garden was just the same, undisturbed and buzzing with various insects. Everything looked innocuous enough, but something in the atmosphere made your skin crawl. The cool breeze was suddenly no longer comforting. Rushing over as fast as you could, tripping over books and your own feet, you closed all the windows as fast as possible. You were breathing heavily now, panicked as you tried to explain away how this could have happened. Maybe there were some kids that lived nearby, and they were playing a prank on you. Yea, that was it. It had to be.

Unpacking was far from your mind now. You exited the house and walked around, only to find nothing. There were no footprints under the window and no other sign of a person around.

You were absolutely dumbfounded when you had no further explanation to how it could have happened. So instead, you went back inside, tried to control your nerves with tea, and thankfully did not have to deal with anymore ‘ghosts’.

“Are you sure that’s what happened?” your friend’s voice crackled over the line.

You wove the cord around your fingers as you stood leaning against the wall of your kitchen, gazing out of the window but not focusing on the anything as thoughts whirred in your head.

“I’m not crazy.”

“I didn’t say you were.”

“I turned around and they were all open. I had just closed the one.”

“Maybe you actually opened them?”

“I’m not crazy.”

“Okay, okay.”

It was silent on her end save for a few sounds as she shuffled around.

“I’m not sure what to tell you, _____. It’s a new house, who knows what could be wrong with it.”

You sighed as you listened to her and soaked it in.

“I guess you’re right.”

“Is that the only thing that’s happened?”

“So far,” you laughed.

“Well, let’s hope it doesn’t do it again.”

“Yea, let’s hope.”

You had no idea how awfully wrong you would be.

It had been a month since the incident with the windows and nothing else had happened. Boots didn’t even seem to care about anything in the house and as far as you were concerned, animals knew everything there was to know about the afterlife. He sat lazily in the same nook, basking in the sun. The shelves had to been dusted (out of necessity and to prevent ghosts from further cleaning them) and your books had all been put away. In fact, the whole house was now fully unpacked.

You had just settled down for the evening. The tv was on and you were sat in the middle of your bed with your laptop working on a spreadsheet when the sink in your bathroom turned on. Your entire body simultaneously flushed with a chill that ran to the bone and a heat that had sweat beading on your brow. The faucet wasn’t just on, it was on. It was as if someone had turned both the hot and cold water on as high as they could go. The most disturbing fact about it was that the only access to your bathroom was from within your room. Half a second later and the water shut off. Your body seemed to vibrate with nervous energy as you clutched the edges of your laptop. In front of you, your tv was still softly emanating the sounds of a late night show. A shuddering breath left your chest as your entire body tensed tenfold. The shower came on next. Clutching your hand over your mouth, you willed yourself not to cry and scream. You knew you were awake because fear, true unadulterated fear, did not grip your mind in dreams. This type of fear turned your bones to jello and any faculties you had were null.

Then someone started to hum.

Tears welled up in your eyes as you listened. The fear was so deep rooted now that you were sure it wouldn’t ebb with time. It was a man, his voice low as he hummed. It was as if there were a living, breathing person in your bathroom taking a shower; humming as if he were just in there like any other day. You listened as bottles were picked up and sat down, water splashed inconsistently as they bathed, and the humming; he never stopped humming. You watched as steam escaped the crack in the door, telling you that this was real. It floated out in the room and dissipated just like your courage. After maybe ten minutes the water shut off and then…nothing. There was no humming, there were no sounds of him getting out of the shower, and you waited in fear for the door to open but it never did. A laugh track played dully as you gathered the courage to finally set your computer down and stand up. Steam still wafted out of the door and it was hard for you to see in the bathroom at all. Tentatively and with shaking hands, you placed your palm flat on the door and pushed. The steam swirled in the wake of the door, curling up around your legs, and billowing into the air. Everything was out of focus as you blinked, trying to see through the haze. You held your breath as you stepped onto the sweating tile floor, stepping lightly so that you didn’t slip. There still were no other sounds besides your bare feet on the tile. You reached out and grabbed the curtain, pulling it back much like a band-aid from a cut, and peered into the empty shower. Of course, it was wet because the water had been on, there was no surprise there, but nothing else was disturbed. There was no denying now that something was in this house with you. Imagination or not, there was something very wrong here and you weren’t sure you wanted to find out what it was.

It was when you turned back around, towards the door, and facing the mirror over your sink when you broke the silence with your own voice. You yelped and almost fell back on the tile as you saw the neatly written letters in the condensation. They still dripped as if written moments before you turned around.

‘I can hear you, too.’

[darks-ink]

Absurdism Chapter 9

It’s the Danny show today, featuring MVP of this chapter: Danny’s phone.

Rating: Teen/K+ (a lil swearing, because teenagers, man) Warnings: - Genre: Family, Hurt/Comfort Additional Tags: Sibling Bonding, Family Bonding, Alternate Universe - Halfa Jazz AU, Jazz makes friends

[AO3] [FFN] [more Absurdism on Tumblr] First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

---

Chapter 9: Doppelganger

Danny let loose a barrage of (low powered) ecto-blasts, watched as Jazz’ shield wavered but held. His core rumbled in his chest, proud.

Because, sure. His presence here wasn’t ideal, and he supposed it wasn’t strictly necessary either. Based on what he had seen, Jazz would’ve managed alright on her own, too. But he was here, wasn’t he? So he might as well help.

Plus, there were only so many situations in which he got to help, and he got rewarded by people actually liking him. As Phantom, he saved Amity’s people over and over and over, and what did he get? Hatred and vitriol. Even the few that liked him changed their minds on a whim, like when Walker—

Oh.

Like when Walker attacked with Wulf.

Danny had completely forgotten about Wulf in this universe. Jazz never went into the Zone, so she never got in Walker’s bad graces. Which meant that the prison ghost never sicced Wulf on her.

Uh. Well. That was… That was something he needed to deal with. This Wulf might not know him, but still. He couldn’t leave the ghost in Walker’s hands.

“What are you thinking about?” Jazz asked, her voice snapping him out of his thoughts.

“Huh?” he said, eloquently.

She rolled her eyes. “You zoned out on me. What were you thinking of?”

He debated not telling her, but… he would have to go in the Zone to free Wulf. She needed to know if he wasn’t around to fight ghosts for her.

Instead he shrugged, a sheepish smile on his face. “I just remembered something I did in my timeline that hasn’t happened in this one. So I, uh. Figured I should go do that.”

“Why would you do that, instead of me?” she asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow. “It’s my universe, isn’t it?”

Danny made a face. “I mean, yeah, but it’s… complicated. Look, Jazz, it was a really rough confrontation, and one you avoided in this universe.”

“Okay, so?” she challenged, crossing her arms and looking every bit the stubborn teenager she was.

“So,” he said, “it makes more sense for me to handle it than for you to handle it. Besides, in my timeline I wasn’t strong enough to win, and I’m not gonna make you go through the same.”

“If you weren’t strong enough then, what makes you so certain you are now?” Her eyes were narrowed, bright and set.

He rolled his eyes. “Because I’ve got two years of additional experience. It’ll be fine, Jazz. And even if it won’t be, I need you to stay here. In my original timeline I got Sam and Tucker to bail me out when I took too long. I need you to be that backup in this universe, alright?”

She glared at him for a moment, before inclining her head in a nod. “I guess. But I’ll need to know where you’re going, then.”

“Right. In the Ghost Zone, kinda close to the Fenton Portal, there’s this huge purple building. That’s Walker’s prison, and that’s where I’m going to free Wulf. If I’m not back for our next training session, I need you to come look for me there.”

Her eyes grew wide. “A prison?! You’re expecting me to break you out of a prison?”

“Well, yeah. It’s a Ghost Zone prison. Regular world stuff, including us in our human forms, can go right through it. Which is why I’m not expecting it to be much trouble, but, well.” He shrugged. “You never know with Walker.”

Jazz squinted at him, but nodded, slowly. “I guess,” she grumbled, low. “Go flail at Walker. And Phantom… Danny?”

“Yeah?” he asked, meeting her eyes. She barely called him Danny anymore, wanted to keep him and her own brother separate. It was saved, now, for the special moments.

“Stay safe,” she told him.

He grinned back. “I promise, Jazz. I’ll be back before you know it.”

---

“Bye Mom, Dad!” Jazz yelled, and the front door closed. Danny peeked over the edge of the building he’d spent the night on, meeting her eye when she glanced up.

Jazz waved, a friendly gesture. Her eyes were narrowed, however, a warning. A non-verbal “stay safe”.

He waited for another moment or two before turning himself invisible. Go time.

Invisible, he left the roof. Phased through the walls and floors of FentonWorks until he reached the lab. It looked like his parents’ lab usually did; shiny chrome, with all kinds of half-assembled inventions scattered everywhere, and everything lit with the sharp white light of the ceilings lights, combined with the eerie green of the Portal.

Well, no time to get nostalgic and homesick. He had a job to do!

Determined, he pushed onward and through the Portal. The Ghost Zone was…

It was just like always, really. Maybe it was just because he didn’t go there all that often, but the place always looked the same to him. That’s kind of why he insisted on making maps, but he would just have to do without those for once. That would be fine, right? It was only one time.

It only took one time without supervision for him to get trapped in a different universe, his traitorous mind whispered to him. He ignored it.

Walker’s prison was pretty close to the Portal, but… but Danny didn’t want to go directly there. It was selfish, yes, but he wanted to see a little more of the Zone first.

Amity Park was always his home, but this Amity wasn’t his. He never felt quite right, quite at home. Always had to hide, stay out of sight. In the Ghost Zone, he could just be. No ghost would be able to tell that he didn’t belong, and even if they could, somehow? They wouldn’t care.

It was just… freeing. To go where he wanted to, and have no one care, not really. Because in here, the ghosts could tell how strong his core was. Most wouldn’t be eager to pick a fight with someone like him.

He flew, directionless and course-less. No destination in mind. Just flying for the sake of doing it.

Which, of course, was the moment he stumbled upon a familiar face.

The brakes of Johnny’s bike screeched as he tried to stop before hitting Danny, twisting the handlebars to dodge. Danny jerked himself the other way, but it wasn’t quite enough; his foot hooked on Johnny’s leg, forcing them both to a sudden stop.

Danny coughed, pushing himself back onto his feet. Johnny hadn’t fallen all the way down, but he was clinging onto his bike rather perilously.

“Shoot, sorry,” Danny apologized, one hand coming up to rub his neck. “Should’ve been paying a little more attention to where I was flying.”

Johnny squinted at him, a suspicious air about him. “Yeah, man. You lookin’ for more fights, or something?”

“No, just too caught up in my thoughts. Sorry.” He grinned sheepishly at Johnny, then realized… “Hey, where’s Kitty? Aren’t you two usually glued to each other’s sides?”

“How would you know?” Johnny asked, eyes narrowing even further. Then he scoffed, shook his head, and looked away. “If it matters, we’re fighting. Kitty’s jealous because I keep looking at other ladies even if we’re out together.”

“Ah.” Danny made a face and dropped his hand back to his side. “That’s… unfortunate. Not to get all up in your business or anything, but… have you tried talking it out? Communication is important, y’know.”

The biker ghost grumbled. “I don’t want relationship advice from a little punk like you. What’s it even matter to you? It’s not like we’re causing trouble in that city you and the girl are protecting.”

“You aren’t, no.” Danny finally placed this moment. If this matched with his universe, and chances were that it did, this was when Kitty overshadowed Paulina to make Johnny jealous. And he really didn’t want Jazz to deal with any of that—if she would even fall for it, knowing that it had happened to Danny. “Look, Johnny. I know Specter and I didn’t make a great impression when we met, but we’re not just fighting ghosts to protect humans. We want to make Amity a good place for everyone, and that includes you and Kitty whenever you come by. I don’t want you two to drag innocent humans into your fight, alright? Just talk it out like grownups, yeah?”

Johnny rolled his eyes. “Like grownups? You sound like a kid. How old do you think we are?”

“Not that old.” Danny shrugged. “Look, you get what I’m trying to say, don’t you? I might not look like it, but I know a thing or two about relationships. Talk with each other, and even if it doesn’t work out, at least you’ll know what’s up. Now you’re both agitated and frustrated and neither of you knows what’s up.”

“Ugh.” Johnny grunted. “Yeah, I guess that that makes sense.”

He settled back onto the bike properly, then leaned over the handlebars to point at Danny. “But I ain’t doing this for you, you hear me? I’m doing this for me, and for Kitty.”

“Of course,” Danny agreed peaceably. “Wouldn’t expect anything else.”

“You’d better believe it, punk.” Johnny squinted at him for a moment longer, but whatever he saw seemed to satisfy. His bike roared to life as Johnny drove off, following the narrow rocky pathways towards the Portal.

Danny watched him go for a moment, then heaved a steadying sigh. Well, that was one problem less for Jazz to deal with. But enough stalling; he should get going, before he runs into another (un)friendly face.

He made his way to the prison quickly, and then promptly realized that he hadn’t actually planned ahead this far. Well, unless you count “break in and free Wulf” as a plan, which… well. Danny might consider it a suitable plan, but Sam, and Tucker, and Jazz all keep telling him it’s not, so. Maybe he should plan ahead a little better.

The whine of a siren snapped Danny out of his thoughts and, oops. He probably should’ve moved a little further away from the prison he was trying to break into.

Some of Walker’s guards approached him, clubs raised threateningly. Danny’s muscles tensed, fingers balling into fists, energy pouring from his core.

But, no. He forcibly relaxed himself, let the guards drag him into the prison. Who needed to break into a prison, when you could just get brought into it? Sure, it was a little unconventional, but he managed to break free just fine in his own universe. The timing was a little off, but he was sure he could still count on the same ghosts.

Actually, that would explain why he hasn’t seen some of his regulars in a while. He had completely forgotten that Walker had arrested them in his timeline, and that they hadn’t gotten free until their mutual jailbreak.

Whoops.

Rather than face off against Walker, Danny is brought directly to the regular cells. Huh. Guess that he’s considered a regular rule-breaker now. More proof that Danny had so far been successful with hiding his half-ghost nature from the others, which was… good, probably? He wasn’t keen on Vlad figuring out that there were two half-ghosts around for him to convince.

It didn’t take long for the guards to return to bring Danny to the canteen and, ah. Yep. There were all those ghosts he’d been halfheartedly missing. He felt kind of bad—he should’ve remember sooner. None of these guys deserve to deal with Walker. Oh well. Live and learn, right? He could deal with the guilt later.

Danny quickly moved over, sitting down at the table with Skulker, Technus, Desiree, and the Lunch Lady. All four look rather confused to see him. Lunch Lady, especially, was squinting at him rather suspiciously.

“Whelp,” Skulker said, cautiously. “What are you doing here?”

“Organizing a jailbreak.” He shrugged, faux casual. “I could try to break in first, but, well. This was easier.”

Skulker nodded thoughtfully, but it was Desiree who spoke up, an odd tone to her voice. “You really are something else, aren’t you?”

“I try.” Danny grinned at her, then inclined his head towards Lunch Lady, remembering that they hadn’t met in this universe. “Hi, sorry, I don’t think we’ve met yet. I’m Phantom, and you’re the Lunch Lady, yeah? I heard about you from my sister, Specter.”

The suspicious expression faded from her face now that they had finally been introduced. She nodded back, hesitantly. “Yes. The girl, she was most helpful with fixing the menu.”

“Yeah, she’s good at that.” Danny turned back to the group as a whole, where Desiree nodded in agreement. “Anyway, like I was saying. Jailbreak. Any of you guys want to help?”

Skulker’s metallic face split in a ferocious grin, and Technus followed suit, baring his oddly angular teeth. Lunch Lady nodded forcefully, and Desiree gave an affirming smile as well.

All things considered, the actual jailbreak was almost laughably easy. Hell, Danny had managed it once while he was fourteen, and on much worse terms with these guys. Doing it now, with much better standings? Piece of cake.

They overwhelmed the guards quickly, storming through the prison’s hallways. Danny flew along for most of the way, until he reached the junction where everyone else would head to the exit.

“Skulker,” he called out, moving over to the empty pathway. “I’m gonna split. You guys stay safe, and remember Amity’s rules, yeah?”

Skulker, still grinning viciously, saluted him. “You have my respect, whelp. Don’t disappoint me.”

And with that, he turned around and re-joined the stream of escaping ghosts.

“Well, no point in stalling,” Danny muttered to himself, twisting towards the special holding cells again. “Let’s go, Fenton.”

He found Wulf’s cell easily enough, the hallways empty and abandoned. All guards must’ve gone to stop the massive outbreak. A lucky break.

Once Danny had located Wulf, he shifted back to human form. He could break Wulf’s cell door, but he was fairly sure that Wulf could escape himself once he was free of the collar and chains. No need to draw unneeded attention.

Danny phased through the door, shivering a little at the weird feeling. It was intangibility, sure, but it wasn’t quite right. It felt differently from regular intangibility. The lack of control, maybe?

It was dark in the cell; Danny could barely make out Wulf’s cowering shape. The ghost was curled up in the corner, his black fur lit jaggedly by the glowing chains around his wrists. Two bright green eyes peered out at him, but they were narrowed to slits. Wulf didn’t trust him.

That was okay, though. He could work with that.

Slowly he crept closer, knowing that Wulf couldn’t get away if he wanted to. Danny crouched in front of the ghost, reached out one hand, then paused. He doesn’t think he has enough power to break the collar in human form. He’ll have to shift, making Wulf the first full ghost in this universe to know that Danny is half ghost.

He swallowed away his hesitation, and backed up a few steps.

Light flashed, the cell lit up bright by his transformation. He tried to make it quick, as if he could coax his shift to do such things, but it wasn’t enough. Wulf had balled up even further, his ears flattened to his neck. Scared. Scared of what Danny might do to him.

Danny crept closer again, hands raised placatingly. He wished he knew more Esperanto, wished that he could assure Wulf of his intentions. Instead he had to settle for trying to emit reassurance, his core rumbling soothingly in his chest.

He didn’t know if it worked, or if Wulf was just too scared to fight back, but Danny got his hands on Wulf’s collar. He swallowed away the hesitation, the worry, and wriggled his fingers in the tight space between the metal and Wulf’s soft fur.

And he pulled.

Energy poured from his core, through his arms and his fingers. Sparked bright green, straight into the metal of the collar.

And he pulled.

With a hiss—or a sizzle—the collar released. It clattered onto the stone floor, emitting a shrill beep as it deactivated.

Wulf opened one hesitant eye, flicking it to the collar and then back to Danny. He tried to shoot the ghost a reassuring grin, taking his hands off of Wulf’s neck again.

Rather than try to puzzle out the Esperanto, he reached for the chains on Wulf’s wrists, pausing before he actually touched them. The wide green eyes followed his movement, and stilled for a moment.

Then Wulf nodded.

With this permission granted, Danny quickly stuck his fingers underneath the metal cuffs. These weren’t electronic, but pure ecto-steel. All he would need for these was a bit of pure ghost-powered strength.

The cuff tore open with the groan and creak of metal. Danny quickly moved over to do the same to the other cuff, freeing Wulf entirely.

When the second chain fell away, clanging against the back of the cell, Danny stood up. Backed away from Wulf again.

Wulf hesitantly raised up as well, shoulders drawn high and head held low. His ears were still flattened, and his tail twitched uncertainly.

The ghost licked his lips, then asked, haltingly, in Esperanto, “Why did you help me?”

“It’s a long story,” Danny answered with a shrug. Even if he wanted to explain, he couldn’t. He wasn’t that fluent in Esperanto. “But you are free now.”

“Free?” Wulf repeated, ears slowly rising up. His eyes seemed extra bright, now, and didn’t move away from Danny. His tail twitched more vigorously, like a restrained wag. “I… am free?”

“Well…” Danny shrugged vaguely, unsure of how to make it any more clear. “Uh, yeah.”

Realizing that he’d said the last in English, he instead settled for making vague shooing motions at Wulf.

This, at least, had some effect on the ghost. Wulf’s muscles coiled, and with a sudden twitch, he unsheathed his claws.

Except the ghost bounded forward, suddenly, lunging towards Danny. He had just a single moment of doubt, had he somehow misjudged this situation?, before Wulf’s furry arm wrapped around him, dragging him along. He could hear a tearing noise, and then suddenly the cell was gone.

Oh. Of course. Wulf had grabbed him and taken them outside Walker’s prison. That made perfect sense.

Wulf had perked up now that they were outside the prison—and the Ghost Zone as a whole—because he stood tall again, his ears perked up and his tail wagging.

“Tell the story?” Wulf asked, cocking his head at Danny. “Why did you free me?”

Danny hesitated, taking a moment to look around them. They seemed to be in the woods somewhere in the human world, but he didn’t know where, exactly. He turned back to Wulf with an apologetic face. “I don’t speak very good Esperanto,” he explained. “Sorry.”

He wished he could explain, though. Wulf already knew about him being half-ghost, and Danny was sure he could trust Wulf. And—

And Wulf could make portals between worlds. Maybe he could even make one home.

Danny’s core churned with an unnameable emotion. Pain, regret, guilt. Could he somehow…

With a flash, he shifted back to human form. He patted down his trousers, quickly, ignoring Wulf’s confused look.

There! Danny pulled his phone out of his pocket, holding down the power button. He had realized, very quickly after coming here, that his phone was almost completely useless. He could use it for entertainment, sure, but no one could call or text him, and he couldn’t charge it regularly enough for it to really be useful. So he had turned it off, intending to save the charge so he could call his friends when he got home.

He opened the internet browser, quickly navigating to Google Translate. His fingers darted over the keyboard, and when he was happy with his message, he clicked the translate button. It wouldn’t be perfect, sure, but hopefully it would get the message across.

“It is a weird complicated story,” his phone started reciting, and Wulf perked up even further. He crept in a little closer, focus entirely on the phone in Danny’s hand as it continued to speak. “I am actually from a different universe. I am half ghost, and I accidentally traveled through a portal to this world. In my own universe, we are friends. Walker tried to have you attack me, but my friends and I took off your collar, and you helped me protect my town. I know that you are not the same Wulf, but I wanted to help you anyway, to repay you for everything you have done for me.”

They waited in silence for a moment, then Wulf nodded, a grin appearing on his face. “I am glad,” he said, tail wagging energetically, “that in another universe, I have made a friend so good that it carried over to another world entirely.”

Danny didn’t quite understand that whole thing, but he thought he got the gist anyway. He grinned back. “Well, you’re my friend.”

“Still, I wish I could help.” Wulf flexed his paws, almost experimentally, but his grin faltered. “I wish I could open a portal home for you, but I can’t. Only between here and the Ghost Zone.”

His core stuttered, churned painfully. That figured. He hadn’t thought that Wulf could, not really, but still. It hurt.

“It’s not your fault,” he assured Wulf anyway, patting his massive furry forearm. “I’ll figure something out.”

“I still want to do something in return,” Wulf insisted, shoving his head against Danny’s shoulder. “Anything to help my friend.”

Well, now his core heaved for an entirely different reason. Danny moved his hand to Wulf’s forehead, thinking it over. With one hand, he tapped out a new message on his phone.

“There is one option,” it started, and Wulf’s ears twisted towards the phone again. “In this universe, someone else is half ghost in my place. My sister. She is just as young as I was, and has less support. I think she will be okay, but it would be nice to be sure.”

Wulf pulled his head away from Danny’s shoulder, nodding vigorously. “It would be my pleasure to watch over your sister in your stead.”

“Good.” Danny rubbed his hand through Wulf’s fur, rugged but surprisingly soft, considering the circumstances. “Thank you, Wulf.”

It would be good to know that Jazz was safe when he left.

If he ever got to leave.

---

Harried footsteps echoed through the street as Danny turned down an alley. The heavy footfalls behind him continued; both Sam and Tucker wore boots instead of sneakers.

Light flashed in front of them, pale blue light bouncing off of the alley’s walls. Danny stopped, Sam and Tucker right behind him.

He cleared his throat, and the ghost mere feet away startled visibly. Its—his—bright green eyes shot upwards, towards Danny. The expression was so human, far more human than his parents’ research suggested. And it was undeniably guilty.

The ghost knew exactly who Danny was.

Slowly, the ghost clipped the Fenton Thermos in his hands back onto his white belt. From this close, Danny could tell that the entire outfit closely resembled the jumpsuit his parents had made for him, with the colors inverted. He wondered, darkly, how often the ghost had spied on them to mimic it so closely.

“Um,” the ghost said, then halted, like he hadn’t quite thought out what he actually wanted to say. He fidgeted with the cuff of one of his white gloves. His eyes, wide and unnaturally bright green, darted between the three humans opposing him.

“We need to talk,” Danny told him, trying to make it sound like a threat. They hadn’t brought anything to trap the ghost, and even if he appeared cornered, Danny knew he wasn’t. Intangibility was a bitch.

The ghost shifted, like he was strongly contemplating leaving. He grimaced. “Well, um. What about? It’s not like we’ve… met, ha ha.”

Really, he could not look any more awkward. It was almost impressive. If only the situation had been, well. Not this.

Danny glared at the ghost, and Phantom made a face. He didn’t leave.

“Don’t be an idiot,” Danny snapped. His nails dug into his palms as he clenched his fists. “I don’t know who you are, and quite frankly, I don’t give a fuck. You can haunt Amity Park all you want, and I wouldn’t give a single damn! But you’re messing with my sister, and I can’t let that fucking slide.”

Phantom shifted guiltily. He opened his mouth, but Danny cut him off before he could speak.

“I don’t want to hear it! Whatever dumb excuse you’re gonna give, I don’t want it. I know Specter is my sister, that she’s Jazz. I saw her go from human to ghost, when you two were fighting that shadow-y ghost. She was knocked out, you know that? And when she got up, she just went back out again, and I had to let her! Because I couldn’t tell her I know! Because you somehow convinced her that— that you’re her brother, or whatever!”

Phantom’s mouth tightened into a thin line. His eyes, still luminous and green, narrowed. He waited for several seconds after Danny stopped talking, before asking, caustic, “Are you finished?”

“No!” Danny snapped back. “You’re a fucked-up mess of a ghost, and you don’t even seem to realize how fucked up any of this is! You fucking modeled yourself after me, like an image of me as a fucking ghost! And somehow you convinced Jazz that you really are me, that you’re her actual brother, yet she barely talks to me. She probably spends more time with you than with me, because she doesn’t realize there’s a difference! And it’s your goddamn fault!”

The ghost lunged forward, and Danny’s heart stuttered, missed a beat. For a moment, he’d forgotten than he’d been yelling at a being strong enough to eviscerate him with barely any effort.

But Phantom didn’t cross the entire distance between them. He landed on the ground with such force that dust blew away, but without a single noise.

Light flashed through the alley again, bright white like lightning. It danced around Phantom, so blinding that Danny was forced to close his eyes. When it faded, when he could see again…

It was like looking in a mirror.

Phantom looked… human. His flesh was visibly warmer, the tone just slightly pinker, and his eyes were as sky blue as Danny’s own. His hair, previously white as snow, was now jet black. And his characteristic jumpsuit, the feature he seemed to have stolen right from the adult Fentons, had been replaced by clothes that could’ve been Danny’s own. A little more ragged than he would normally prefer them, sure, but still…

“Wow,” Sam breathed behind Danny, barely audible.

And the ghost—human?—smirked, wide and cocky. He threw out his hands demonstratively. “And that’s where you’re wrong! Because I am her brother, pal.”

Danny stepped forward before he really knew it, his hands wrapped up in Phantom’s shirt. It was like he was moving on auto-pilot, taking a backseat in the whole process.

His brain supplied, remarkably unhelpfully, that Phantom’s shirt felt oddly real. Not cold or slick like ectoplasmic clothing.

“You ain’t shit,” Danny growled in Phantom’s face, in that mirror image of his own. “You think you’re a big fucking deal, some kinda big savior, protecting our weak pathetic fleshy people from the ghost invasion, but you’re nothing. It’s all a fucking cover so no one can see the damage you’re really doing.”

Phantom’s eyes narrowed, the irises briefly flooding with bright green before they faded back to blue. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, coldly. His hands wrapped around Danny’s wrists. They were chilly, too cold. There was no force behind them.

“Don’t I? You’re out here, pretending to be Jazz’ brother, and you don’t expect me to be pissed about that? Shouldn’t you know better?” He let go of Phantom’s shirt. The last thing he needed was for the ghost to break his wrists when it got tired of being held.

“I’m not pretending,” Phantom hissed, eyes narrowed. “And I don’t give a damn about what you think of me. I’ve lived through the whole town hating me, through my own parents hating me. You’re nothing compared to all that.”

Sam scoffed, somewhere behind Danny, and he jerked. He’d almost forgotten that his friends were here, too.

“If you care so little about our opinions, why are you still here?”

Phantom’s mouth tightened again, his eyes darting over to Sam. His eyebrows were drawn together. He almost looked pained. “That’s… complicated.”

“More complicated than pretending to be Danny Fenton, son of avid ghost hunters?” Tucker asked, scathingly. “More complicated than pretending to be, what, half ghost?”

“None of that is pretend,” Phantom snarled. His eyes flickered green again as he clenched his fists. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah, because you’re not telling us, dude.” Tucker huffed, crossing his arms. His eyes were hard.

“I…” Phantom halted, then shook his head. “I can’t. I shouldn’t.” He refused to meet Tucker’s eyes. Or Sam’s.

He looked uncomfortably human.

“You gotta tell us something,” Danny snapped at the ghost. Because that’s what Phantom was. Just a ghost. “You’re messing with my sister. And even if you’re not actively pretending to be me, well. I find it hard to believe that you’re missing the implications here.”

Phantom snorted. “I’m not an idiot, yeah. Why do you think no one but Jazz has seen me like this yet?”

Some cold burrowed in Danny’s chest. No one but Jazz. So that meant that Jazz had seen it. Had seen Phantom pull off a shift so similar to her own, which had made him look just like Danny.

“No one but Jazz, and now us,” Sam pointed out. “Why break the pattern for us?”

Phantom shrugged. His eyes had moved over to Sam, but he dragged them back to Danny almost immediately. “I fucked up.”

“So now what?” she asked, crossing her arms as well. “Are you finally going to tell us why this is all so complicated? Or are you going to continue pretending Tucker and I don’t exist?”

The ghost flushed, suddenly, his shoulders coming up. Somehow, against all logic, it was red.

Ghosts were supposed to flush green, weren’t they?

“It’s—”

“Complicated?” Tucker finished for him, dryly. “Try something new, man.”

“I’m…” Phantom paused again, then sighed. His shoulders sunk down like the weight of the world was on him. He looked so forlorn that Danny almost felt guilty.

Phantom reached into one of his pockets, producing a mobile phone. It looked remarkably modern, if a little scuffed up. Was that stolen?

It was quiet for a few moments as Phantom messed around with the phone. Finally, however, he seemed satisfied. He held it out towards the three of them.

Sam and Tucker leaned in closer, and Danny took the phone from Phantom. On the screen was a photo of… the three of them. But not one they had taken, he was sure. They were in his parents lab, he thought, and they were all smiling.

“Keep scrolling,” Phantom said. Danny did.

The next photo was of just Sam and Tucker. They were still in the lab, and both holding ecto-weaponry. In front of them was some sort of shooting range, with shots clustered on two of the targets. They looked like they were arguing, but it was good-natured.

They definitely hadn’t taken this photo. How had Phantom gotten it? Were there more shapeshifting ghosts like him?

Danny’s stomach squirmed. Sam reached over his hands to click over to the next photo. Sam stood impassively, arms crossed, watching Tucker. Tucker, who seemed to be holding an energetic conversation with an enormous bipedal wolf. A ghost wolf.

“Keep going,” Phantom instructed, quietly.

It was the three of them again, except… except Phantom was there, instead of Danny. His green eyes were scrunched up, his smile wide. Sam and Tucker, on either side of him, were grinning equally widely. A smear of green ectoplasm sat on Sam’s cheek, but she didn’t seem to care.

“You’ll know,” Phantom told them, and his voice was almost impossible to make out over the rushing sound in Danny’s ears. The phone shook with such force that he could barely hit the button to move over to the next picture.

It was a picture of the living room of their house. Jazz sat on the couch, a book held loosely in her hand. She wasn’t looking at it, though. No, she was looking at Danny, who seemed to have fallen asleep next to her. He leaned against her, his head on her shoulder. Danny looked about sixteen, the right age, but Jazz…

Jazz looked like she was eighteen.

Phantom took the phone back from Danny’s stiff fingers. “Like I said. Complicated.”

“What the hell, dude.” Tucker blinked at the two of them, at Danny and at Phantom. “What the fuck was that?”

The ghost shrugged loosely. “I’m sure you can figure that out yourself.” He pressed the power button on his phone, then stuffed it back in his pocket.

“So you’re, what. From another universe?” Sam asked. Her voice was a mixture of disbelief and awe, Danny thought, but it was hard to say for sure.

“Basically.” Phantom shrugged. He seemed awkward, now, but no closer to fleeing than he was at the start. “I kind of… accidentally came here. Portals in the Ghost Zone can lead to any point in time, but apparently to different worlds as well. I… didn’t realize. Didn’t realize I wasn’t home until I met… Jazz.”

“So you lied to her.” Danny frowned at him. It sounded… well, like bullshit, but he supposed it was possible. He couldn’t think of a more likely explanation, at least. “You made her believe that you were me.”

“No,” Phantom denied immediately, shaking his head. “No, never. I told her the truth from the start. She knows I’m not you. I’m just training her, just her mentor.”

“Then why does she barely spend time with me anymore? Why does she spend more time with you than with me?”

“You think she enjoys that?” Phantom made a face, lip curled in… disgust? “Fuck, dude. She’s been trying to spend time with you for ages. She hates that she’s spending more time with me than with you. She doesn’t even call me Danny, only Phantom. It’s not me, it’s you.”

Danny’s heart felt like it stopped, like it had turned into a clump of ice lodged in his chest.

“So if Jazz isn’t trying to use you as a replacement for her brother, why is she spending so much time with you?” Sam asked while Danny was still trying to process this revelation.

Phantom rolled his eyes, then raised a hand. Blue light flashed, and then suddenly he had… something. Was twirling something smooth and shiny between his fingers. Ice? Ice was something Phantom could do, right? “If you suddenly became half-ghost, and ran into a half-ghost version of someone you knew, a half-ghost with two-and-a-half years of experience, wouldn’t you spend time with them?”

He clenched his fist, and suddenly the ice was gone. Phantom’s hand wasn’t even wet. “I offered to teach her while I was around, and I help fight ghosts so she’s not as overwhelmed as I was. And the timelines seem pretty similar so far, so I know roughly what’s coming up, and I can help her figure out the tougher ghosts.”

“You’re a source of information,” Tucker said, understanding in his voice. Realization dawned on Danny, too. Phantom wasn’t a replacement; he was the half-ghost equivalent of a library. Jazz didn’t get comfort from him because he was family, but because he knew.

“Yeah, basically.” Phantom shrugged, but he didn’t seem as tense anymore. “And backup. I had… well, you two. If I ever got in over my head, I was backed up by my Sam and Tucker, and later on, by my older sister Jazz as well. But your Jazz, this Jazz, she doesn’t have that.”

“But what about your own world?” Sam narrowed her eyes at Phantom, considering. “If you were the only half-ghost there, shouldn’t you go back? Don’t they miss you?”

Phantom clicked his tongue. “I can’t. Portals in the Ghost Zone are unreliable, so I have no way of making sure I get there. It’s better if I stick around here, where I have some system in place, and where I can help. Plus, if I stay in one place I’ll be easier to find.”

“I’m not saying that Sam and Tucker aren’t great,” Danny said, past the emotions still lodged in his throat, “But are you really expecting those two to find you in a different universe?”

Sam scowled at him, and the itch in his neck made him suspect that Tucker was doing the same from behind him. What? He was just being realistic!

“Them, or Jazz.” Phantom shrugged at his incredulous look. “There’s this invention that can track me to bizarre extents. Jazz once used it to send me a message while I was ten years in the future. And if that doesn’t work, I have a ghost ally who owns an enchanted map, which can find portals to anywhere and anywhen you want, as long as it’s in the Ghost Zone.”

A heavy silence fell. Apparently Danny wasn’t the only one who saw the problem with that.

“So then why aren’t they here yet?” Tucker finally asked, conceding defeat. “You’ve been here for weeks, man.”

Phantom’s shoulders sunk down even further, his face falling. “Yeah,” he agreed. “I know.”

“So… now what?” Sam frowned at Phantom. “You’re just gonna stay here indefinitely?”

“Might as well.” Phantom sighed, heavy and exhausted. “Like I said, there’s no point in going looking for a portal back. Wulf can’t make a portal like that, and Frostbite only let me use the map because I fought the Ghost King. I haven’t done that in this universe, so there’s no way he’ll trust me with that priceless artifact.”

“Sounds rough.” Tucker threw a look at Danny, then Sam, then Phantom again. “Can we help? You, or Jazz?”

Phantom shrugged once more. “I mean, I don’t know. My Jazz figured out my secret at the same time as you guys figured out Jazz, but she held off with telling me because she figured I could manage with Sam and Tucker. It wasn’t until that time traveling thing during the CAT test that she dropped enough of a hint for me.”

“Alright, well…” Danny took a deep fortifying breath. “How about this. You keep up your training with Jazz, but stay in touch with us. I want to know what’s going on, and I want to keep an eye on you. If she looks like she needs us… needs me, we’ll tell her we know. Until then…”

“You want to get closer again.” Phantom nodded, and Danny was startled at how understanding he seemed. “Hey, don’t give me that look. I grew apart from my older sibling too, when I became half-ghost. Then we suddenly got closer again, after she figured me out.”

“Oh.” Danny licked his lips. He wasn’t sure if it was meant to be comforting, but… it made him feel better anyway. Knowing that even Jazz, perfectly brilliant human being, had made this mistake.

There was still room for things to get better.

“Well, let us know if you need anything,” Sam insisted. “As you probably know, I’m rich. I could easily hide you in our mansion if you need to sleep somewhere that isn’t a rooftop, or whatever you’ve been doing so far.”

That startled a laugh out of Phantom. “Jazz has been letting me use her bed while she’s at school,” he admitted, grinning weakly. “But thanks, I might take you up on that. I’ve gotten seriously nocturnal though, fair warning.”