#i agreed to it because she kept asking and badgering me and i hated every milisecond i could not tolerate it for even one

[zapsoda]

i know im like predisposed to mental health issues. and this is entirely my own hubris. but i just cant imagine myself getting post op depression after top surgery

[nothingbutimagines]

Everything You Want (Peter Parker)

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Warning: Cursing, lots of fluff and cliches

Summary: When Y/n breaks up with her ex, she declares to her friends that she will never, by any means, fall in love again. To her surprise, Peter seems to take this as a challenge, trying to win her heart in a mere afternoon.  

Author: Dizzy

A/N: I was on a bit of an unexpected hiatus, but I am here to stay. School and quarantine was kicking my ass and my family is moving halfway across the country so things have been very hectic around here. But, with Falcon and the Winter Solider and me rewatching all the Marvel movies to cope with this wack ass time, I am feeling inspired.

Masterlist Request Any Of These Peter Parker/Tom Holland Masterlist

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“That’s it!” You slammed your lunch tray down on the cafeteria table as you huffed and sat down beside MJ. “I’m done with men. I hate love. I’m over it.”

MJ looked over at you and sighed, rolling her eyes. She didn’t believe you, especially since the boy you’d broken up with was the boy you dated not even a week after swearing off men the last time. 

“What are you talking about?” Ned asked before receiving a swift kick from MJ.

“Don’t ask about it.” The girl replied through gritted teeth as she fully turned on the bench to face you. “Y/n, you know I love you, but I can’t help but think you’re being a little rash.”

“Rash?” You scoffed. “You wanna talk about rash? MJ, you broke up with Ethan Brooks in eighth grade because he accidentally stepped on your foot at the winter formal.”

“I know you’re just being harsh because you’re heartbroken, but let’s be real, Y/n, you don’t hate love.” 

“Yes, yes I do. I’m never, ever, ever going to fall in love. I’m not even going to think about it. I now will live in a world of tragedy and heartbreak because love does not exist.”

You stabbed your fork into your mac and cheese aggressively. Maybe MJ was right, you thought, you might have been being a little harsh and you were very heartbroken. 

You had the unfortunate curse of being a romantic, loving the idea of love and anything having to do with a good rom-com. You couldn’t help but fall in love with everyone you’d ever had a romantic moment with. You just loved the experience that came with being in love. 

However, now sitting heartbroken and eating your feelings in mac and cheese, you really really didn’t like the idea of falling in love and would have rather fallen off the face of the earth than like another boy.

MJ sighed heavily, reading your body language and knowing you wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed and watch a sad movie. 

“Y/n, I know you’re sad, but look on the bright side, you have more time to hang out with us. We’re going to the movies after school today.” 

You looked between your three friends, smiling shyly. “Thanks, guys, but I really just feel like being alone.”

“Oh, come on, Y/n.” Peter sighed, giving you a nudge with his foot. “I know you secretly want to pig out on popcorn and see that new horror movie.” 

“I don’t think so, Peter. I really don’t feel good.” 

Peter pouted, giving you puppy dog eyes. “Please, Bug, come on. You blew me off last week to go out with Brad and we’re best friends. You owe me one.” 

“I thought we were best friends.” Ned spoke up, earning another swift kick from Peter. “Ow! What is with you guys and abusing me?” 

You smiled, rolling your eyes at your friends. Especially at Peter, who seemed serious enough to use the only face you couldn’t resist and a nickname that always seemed to keep your attention on him. 

“I’ll think about it.” You caved, taking another bite of your food. 

“Don’t think. Just say yes.” 

“Are you seriously going to be pushy right now, Parker?” You raised a brow at him. “I am heartbroken. Sick with sadness.” 

“I’m just saying, the best way to get over someone-”

“Is to get under someone.” Ned stated proudly, cutting Peter off. 

“Ew, no!” Peter gave Ned a light shove. “I was going to say that the best way to get over someone is to be around people who care about you.”

“Or burning his personal belongings before he asks for them back.” MJ added, stealing a fork full of your mac and cheese. “We could always burn Brad’s stuff and roast marshmallows over it.” 

“I like MJ’s idea way better than going to the movies.” You agreed, pointing to the girl beside you while you locked eyes with Peter.

“We’re not going to burn his stuff!” Peter exclaimed as MJ frowned. “I’m pretty sure it’s illegal to burn someone else’s property and we already made plans to go to the movie.”

“Well, damn.” You frowned. “Now look who’s being harsh.” 

MJ began to chuckle beside you as Peter began to frown. 

“Harsh would be me forcing you to go to the movie.”

“Oh yeah, and badgering me to go isn’t forcing me right, Peter?” You raised a brow at him as you finished the last of your meal. 

“At least I’m asking and not physically forcing you to go.”

“That is true.” You shrugged. “I guess I’ll come, but if I am having a terrible time, you have to take me home.”

“Always.” Peter smiled, nodding as he reached forward and grabbed your hand. “It’ll be fun, Bug. I swear.” 

You shrugged, squeezing the boy’s hand as the bell rang loudly. You pulled away quickly, catching a glance at your now ex-boyfriend and the girl attached to his arm as he walked past your table. You cleared your throat, corralling your things together as you rose from your spot on the bench. 

“I’ll-I’ll, uh, see you guys later. I’ve got to get to Chem. I can’t be late again or I’ll get a detention.” You stammered, feeling the tears prick at your eyes as you pulled your books in your arms. 

“Let me walk with you.” Peter offered, noticing the sudden change in your mood as he rose from his seat and rounded the table to where you stood. “I have to get to Bio next door anyway.”

You nodded silently, surprised when you felt Peter’s hand press lightly against the small of your back as he guided you through the crowd in silence. 

“You know, Bug, it’s okay to say things aren’t okay.” He finally said as you made it into the outer corridor of the cafeteria. 

You bit your lip at his words, holding back the tears as you glanced over at him so he could finally see your eyes and cheeks red with pent up feelings.

“I’m fine.” You choked out, swallowing the lump that formed in your throat. 

Peter pulled you aside, out of the way of the walking students. His eyes, you could see as he rested his hands on your shoulders and forced you to look at him, were full of concern.

“I know you’re not. You want to talk about it?”

You couldn’t help it, the warmth and care in his brown eyes caused your tears to begin to fall as your hand shot up to wipe them quickly.

“You must think I’m pathetic.” You laughed uncomfortably as you spoke, “I’m crying over some stupid boy and you have to watch.”

Peter shook his head, his expression clearly showing the confusion in his mind as he looked at you. 

He never found you pathetic nor would he ever. On the contrary, he found you to be the most amazing person he’d had ever known, and not just because you were best friends. Watching you cry, he realized something he’d never wanted to take a good hard look at. 

You were the girl he’d always wanted to be with and you’d always kept him on the sidelines. You were everything he’d ever wanted and yet you always kept him as the best friend, the shoulder to cry on, the boy who often kept you afloat. 

For a girl so in love with romance and cliches, you’d never realized how much of a walking cliche the two of you were. 

Not that Peter was upset. He would never be upset by that, especially when you still allowed for him to be so close by your side. 

“Oh, Y/n.” He pulled you into a hug after giving you a moment to clean yourself up. “I would never think you were pathetic. You’re the best person I know.” 

You sniffed, bringing your arms around him to embrace him back before pulling away and looking up at him. 

“You really think so?”

“I know so.” He gave you a shy smile as he glanced down at you.

Your eyes traveled from gazing into his and looking to the spot on his shirt that you had now stained with tears and mascara.

“Even if I stained your nice white shirt with my make up?”

Peter pulled away, looking down at the shoulder of his shirt as he tugged at it to see the stain better. He sighed, chuckling lightly as he looked at you with a smile as warm as the look in his eyes. 

“I have other shirts. I didn’t really like this one, anyway.” 

“Peter, that’s your favorite one.” 

Peter shrugged, letting go of the fabric between his fingers as he looked at you, wiping away the last remaining tear that clung to your cheekbone. “I’ll just have to find a new favorite then.”

You swallowed a bit, your hand reaching up and resting on his wrist as you smiled shyly, sudden feeling nervous. 

“I should probably get to class.” You said softly, your voice barely above a whisper. 

Peter’s hand fell from your face quickly as he became aware of the new energy between you two. 

“Yeah, yeah.” He cleared his throat harshly. “I should get going too.”

You nodded, allowing for silence to fall between you two as you quickly rushed to class, giving him a small wave before walking into the classroom. 

The rest of the day felt uneventful and monotone with spurts of sadness and confusion here and there. You could feel the heartache of your breakup settle in every once in a while, especially in moments in which you let your mind wander while watching your ex-boyfriend now flirt with the girl beside him.

When your mind wasn’t wandering with thoughts of pain and heartbreak, it was full of thoughts of Peter and the moment you shared in the hallway. 

It wasn’t that you’d never had a moment like that with Peter before, you’d had plenty of moments in which he comforted you while you were upset and visa versa. You were best friends, of course you’d have your fair share of comforting moments, such as the time when you spent a week at Peter’s house after his uncle passed away. 

However, while you sat in class with your pen between your lips as you watched and counted down the minutes to the bell ringing,  you couldn’t shake the feeling that that moment in the hallway meant something more to you. 

As the bell finally rang, you practically ran out of the classroom and into the hall, only to run into the person you were looking for. 

You feel backwards and onto the floor, slightly shocked by your bottom hitting the ground as Peter’s hand shot out towards you as he bent over. 

“Shit, Y/n, you okay?” He asked as you grabbed his hand and allowed for him to help you up. 

You dusted yourself off before picking up your bag. “Yeah, I’m fine.” 

“What were you running for?”

“I was, uh, looking for you. We’re supposed to go to a movie, right?”

Peter nodded, starting to walk towards the front entrance of the school, his hands shoved into his pockets as you walked closely beside him. 

“Are you feeling better?” He asked after the silence between you felt too heavy for him to bear. 

“I don’t know.” You shrugged. “I don’t know how I could really feel better while having to see my newly ex flirt with another girl not even 24 hours after our breakup.”

“I’m sorry, Bug.”

“It’s not your fault.” You shrugged, kicking a rock that sat on the sidewalk in front of you. “He can do what he wants. He’s a single man now.” 

“I wouldn’t call him much of a man.” Peter admitted, taking a look in your direction.

You kicked the rock again as you approached it, watching it bounce and tumble down the sidewalk and into the grass. 

“Are MJ and Ned going to meet us at the theater or what’s the plan?” You asked, trying to derail the conversation from the topic you had no interest in rehashing.

Peter pulled a hand from his pocket and rubbed the back of his neck before putting it back in his pocket. He should’ve known you’d ask about the other two people who were supposed to be in attendance to your evening out. 

“MJ had to go to detention since she’s behind on her sketchbook work for art class. You know how she is, likes to draw people in detention for whatever reason. And Ned went home sick after lunch. He made the mistake of eating the meatloaf.” He lied, surprised he thought of something believable off the top of his head. 

In reality, he paid MJ twenty dollars to refrain from going to the movie and to lie about her whereabouts, something she never had trouble at doing, and he promised Ned that he’d spend the rest of the weekend helping him build another Star Wars lego model even though Peter wanted to grow out of the habit of playing with legos. 

You frowned a bit, having hoped you could’ve had some much needed girl time with MJ and wanting the funny commentary and banter of Ned during a movie that would normally terrify you. 

“Oh. Well, that sucks, but it’s okay. At least we’re still going together.” You raised your frown into a slight smile. 

Silence fell between you once again, leaving the only audible sound to be the wind and your heels hitting the ground in unison as you walked towards the movie theater. 

“Don’t worry about paying tonight. It’s my treat.” Peter stated as the theater came into view on the horizon. 

“Oh, Peter, you don’t have to.” 

“No, I want to. Just let me treat you to a night out. I feel bad that you’ve been having a rough day, so it’s the least I could do.”

You reached out and grabbed his arm, stopping him in his tracks before you engulfed him into a hug with your arms tight around his neck and your perfume filling his nostrils. 

“Peter Parker, you are truly my best friend and the love of my life.” You announced proudly, not realizing that the words warmed Peter in a way he’d never experienced before.

“I love you too, Y/n, but I cannot breathe with you choking me out like this.” He said softly, pretending to wheeze as you pulled away, giving him a shove.

“You are so dramatic.” You chuckled, starting to walk down the sidewalk once again. 

“I’m dramatic?” Peter scoffed as he jogged to keep up with you. “Aren’t you the theater nerd?”

“Doesn’t mean you’re not also a drama queen.” 

“I’ll have you know, I am very good at keeping my cool.”

“Tell that to Flash Thompson and your little rivalry.”

“Flash is an asshole.” 

“I’m not saying he isn’t,” you argued, “all I’m saying is that you get a bit dramatic with him. I like to think he’s secretly in love with you.” 

“Ew, gross.” Peter shook his head. “Flash is the last person I’d want a dramatic romance with.” 

“I think Flash is the last person anyone wants to have a romance with.” You laughed.

Peter was glad that it seemed your spirits were lifting as you finally made it to the theater. He could feel his own spirits lifted by your bettering mood which left him not needing to worry as much. 

He didn’t know whether it was the elation in mood he was feeling between the two of you or the instinctive urge to keep you close and protected that had him reaching for your hand as he opened the door to the theater to let you in first, but as you walked through the corridor, he grabbed it without thought or hesitation. 

You didn’t know what possessed him to grab your hand either, but you found yourself refraining from questioning it, wanting to feel the warmth and caring touch of someone else. Though your spirits were lifted a bit, you still felt lonely deep down. 

“Are you okay?” Peter asked, glancing down at you as he grabbed the tickets from the girl at the ticket counter and began to guide you towards the snack bar. 

You nodded, unsure of what to say as Peter continued to watch you closely. You held your breath, suddenly nervous with his eyes on you before you were saved by his eyes travelling to view the menu far above your head. 

“I’m thinking we get a large popcorn and two sodas.” He thought out loud as you frowned. “Unless, that’s not what you want?”

You blinked, shaking your head quickly as you spoke. “No, no, sorry. I got lost in thought. That sounds fine. I’m not that hungry, though.” 

“How are you not hungry? You ate two bites of mac and cheese at lunch and then pushed it around on your tray.”

You shrugged, pulling your hand from his and crossing your arms over your chest. You were somewhat building up an appetite, but every time you did, you suddenly felt sick by your own intrusive thoughts about your heartache and break up with a boy you knew you shouldn’t have been crying over. 

“I guess I’m not really in the mood to eat too much.” You finally said. 

“Well, I’m still getting the large and if you ask for any, I won’t give you some. You already said no.” Peter teased. 

“Oh, you would never say no to me.” 

“You wanna bet?” Peter raised a brow as you reached the front of the short line. 

“I’ll bet you a bag of overpriced M&M’s.” 

“I thought you weren’t hungry.” 

“I am always hungry for M&M’s.”

Peter smiled with a light eye roll. “Alright, but you can’t eat any until we determine who won.” 

“Deal.” 

You smiled as he turned away from you, ordering your snacks and you began taking each one from him before he carried the popcorn and his drink and you carried your own drink and the bag of M&M’s you were so excited to win. You watched your feet fall to the ground to his in unison as you two stayed silent, trying to navigate the hallway for the theater your movie was in.

“Hey, Peter?” You caught the boy’s attention as he walked through the open door of your theater, a fistful of popcorn in his hand as he looked at you. 

“Yeah?” He began walking backwards as he faced you and tossed the popcorn into his mouth.

“Can I have some popcorn?” 

“Yeah, sure.” He nodded as he spoke through his mouthful of popcorn and held the bucket out to you. 

You began laughing, taking a few pieces of popcorn and popping them into your mouth. 

“Why are you laughing?” Peter asked as you were giggling beside him now following him up the stairs of the theater before looking down at his bucket. “Oh. I guess you can have those M&M’s after all.” 

“We just made this bet! How’d you forget already?” You chuckled, walking past him and into an aisle, picking the perfect seat in the middle of the theater. 

“I-I don’t know! I got so involved in the popcorn I forgot.” 

“I guess that’s one way of saying you want to marry a food item.” You teased as he rolled his eyes and took a seat beside you. 

“You know, I’m not going to get mad cause you’re going through it, but when you’re over it, I will get you back for this.” 

“How? You’re already a victim of premature Alzheimer’s. You won’t remember this by the time I get a new boyfriend.”

You reached over, grabbing a handful of popcorn and beginning to eat the pieces one by one as you watched Peter closely. 

“You know, sometimes I hate you.” 

“No, you don’t.” 

“How would you know?”

“Cause you don’t even have a mean bone in your body. Flash bullies you mercilessly and you don’t even say anything back.” 

“Is that a bad thing?”

“No.” You shook your head. “It makes you a good guy. And we need good guys in this world.”

“You think I’m a good guy?”  Peter raised his brow as you nodded wildly at him.

“Of course I do.” You leaned over, placing a hand on his. “You’re not just a good guy, but a guy too good for this world, you know? You deserve the world, but the world doesn’t deserve you.” 

Peter leaned in close to you. “Sorry, I don’t think I heard that.” 

You could feel your breath hitch as he leaned in, his face a few mere inches from yours. It wasn’t that you were scared, but nervous at your excitement at the thought of him kissing you. 

Peter could feel your anxious energy as he leaned in close, the urge to kiss you in the way he’d always wanted to growing strong as he moved his head so your lips were lined up to his ear. It wasn’t that he wanted to kiss you, but he didn’t want to take advantage of your loneliness in that moment. 

You leaned in close to his ear, your nostrils now full of his shampoo as you spoke softly. “I said that I thought you were such a great guy that you deserve the world, but the world doesn’t deserve you.” 

“You mean that?” He answered back, his voice as soft as your own.

He did dare lean back or move his head from the position it was in for fear that he’d kiss you so soon. The words you were saying were ones he always wanted you to say, but never thought would come out. He wanted to be everything you ever wanted, but your words now felt somewhat short yet so close to that sentiment. 

“Of course I do.” You replied, your own urge to kiss him rising steadfast in the back of your mind. 

You couldn’t tell if it was your loneliness or the sudden dimming of the theater lights that had you realizing that all you wanted was to cross the line of friendship with Peter, a line you never realized was made to be crossed when it came to your friendship. 

Every touch, every sweet nothing, every thing about him you loved began to swirl around in your mind as you pulled away from him and gazed into his eyes before planting your lips on his, pushing him back into the armrest of his seat. 

Peter was shocked by the gesture as he leaned into the kiss, his hands resting on your cheeks before you pulled away from him breathlessly. 

“Y/n, I-”

“Peter.” You cut him off before giggling. “Go ahead.” 

“Bug, I don’t want you to think I’m taking advantage of you and your feelings about your breakup even though I really like you and-” 

You cut the boy off with another kiss, not wanting to hear what he had to say. You knew he was going to give you some speech about how you might not know what your feeling and so on, but you didn’t care. You knew that you kissed him and you liked it and that it felt more right than any date with Brad. 

You pulled away, putting a hand over his mouth before he could speak as you began to instead. “Peter, I know how I feel. I like you too, okay? Now, can we just take advantage of the fact we’re some of the few people in here and just hang out?”

Peter nodded, pulling your hand off of him. “I think I’d like that.”

[arcturusreads]

A prompt for you darling!!

Meredith and Hayes make their public debut as a couple and everyone at the hospital is shocked. Even their bosses and friends.

Of Telling The Truth - Merhayes

Ooft I struggled a bit with this one just because I feel like everyone in the hospital knows something is going to happen between them or at least their friends do but I hope you like this x

“Are you sure it was a good idea not to let your sisters know beforehand?” Cormac briefly looked over at his girlfriend, one hand on the steering wheel of his car and the other on her knee.

Meredith stopped chewing her lip to reply. “If we had told them then the entire hospital would have known within two minutes. Trust me, it’s better this way.”

Cormac hummed in agreement, trusting in Meredith’s judgement. “Alright, but if they come at me then I’m blaming you.”

Meredith laughed, “You aren’t telling me that you’re scared of Amelia and Maggie?”

“I’ve seen Shepard on a warpath with her residents when they mess up,” he shivered. “And Pierce…”

“Maggie wouldn’t say boo to a goose,” Meredith quickly argued but she had to agree that Amelia could be a little scary at times.

Cormac shook his head, “That’s what you think but I can bet ya that she’s like a honey badger. They look all cute and cuddly but the minute they’re aggravated, they go berserk.”

“Alright, babe,” Meredith placed her hand on top of his, still laughing. “I promise that I’ll protect you from my sisters if they decide to attack.”

The pair had been dating in secret for the past month and a half. Cormac being a more private person and not used to having his entire personal life known by the hospital staff hadn’t wanted to let everyone know from the get-go. There was also the fact that he needed time to process this relationship without the prying eyes of other people. Meredith was the first person that he had been with since Abigail and she’d been patient with him every step of the way. Never trying to push him and letting him take things at his own pace.

Cormac’s sons had known from the start that he was dating. It hadn’t been something that he wanted to hide from them, with the boys being old enough to understand what was going on. Meredith on the other, with kids much younger, had waited a little while to make sure she knew where this was going. She’d sat the kids down the previous night and told them that she was dating someone and whilst she’d been bombarded by a million and one questions about it, they didn’t seem upset or angry with the news.

After dropping the three of them off at school this morning and coming back home to grab her bag and some charts, Cormac had picked her up. The two of them had decided that it was time to tell their friends about their relationship. With Meredith’s kids now knowing, it wouldn’t be long before one of them let it slip to Maggie or Amelia when they came to visit.

“Are you sure you want to tell everyone today? If you need more time, we can always wait.” Meredith checked in with Cormac for the second time since he had picked her up.

“I promise you, Mer, I’m ready to tell them. I want to tell them. It’s been driving me insane having to ignore you at work.”

“As long as you know that you’re the reason we had to ignore each other!

Meredith had ended up realising what a huge flirt Cormac actually was after they started dating. The day after their first date he had walked into the attendings’ lounge whilst she was making coffee, wrapping his arms around her waist. They’d quickly jumped apart when they heard Owen’s voice approaching. After a few other close calls, Meredith realised that if they were going to keep this quiet, they were going to have to keep some distance between them whilst they were at work. It had ended up with them barely saying a word to each other, no longer popping into each other’s offices for drinks and trying to act indifferent when they did have to be around each other.

When the car had finally parked up, the two of them got out and Cormac walked over to Meredith’s side, lacing their fingers and giving her hand a squeeze.

“Alright, let’s do this.” Meredith stared up at the hospital, squaring her shoulders and straightening her back.

“You sound like we’re about to go to war, Meredith,” he shook his head, smiling, amused at her actions. “I thought you were the one saying that it would be fine.”

“I said my sisters would be fine… Bailey might be another story…”

Cormac winced; she had a point there. He hadn’t really been at the receiving line of Bailey’s wrath, but he had seen it and heard about it enough to be afraid. It wasn’t something that he was aiming for, and he held onto the hope that she would just be happy for them and that would be that.

The pair looked at each other and Cormac gave Meredith that immediately put her at ease. “Let’s go,” he whispered, placing a brief kiss on her lips.

Strangely they had managed to get all the way up to the attendings’ lounge with no one having seen them, and if they had no one questioned them holding hands.

“Hey, Mer.” Sat at the table, Maggie briefly looked up from her phone when she heard someone enter and quickly did a double-take. “Hayes…” she trailed off as she looked from their faces to the joined hands.

Confusion was evident on Maggie’s face, and she kept looking up and down from their hands to their faces. Realising that Maggie wasn’t saying anything anytime soon, Cormac let go of Meredith’s hand towards the coffee machine.

“Coffee for you both?” He asked grabbing some mugs.

“Please,” Meredith took a seat at the table with Maggie who was still looking between the two surgeons.

“Uh, yeah, coffee would be good.” Finally snapping out of her daze, Maggie was able to form a sentence. “Are you two…?” she asked trailing off pointing a finger between the two of them.

“Are we what?”

Meredith asked innocently.

“There was hand holding!”

“You’re a married woman, Maggie,” Amelia interjected as she breezed into the room. “Adults holding hands shouldn’t be too much of a shock to you.” She took the seat on the other side of Maggie, sitting opposite Meredith.

“You’re hilarious, Amelia,” Maggie deadpanned. “Did you know that there was something going on between these two?”

Cormac placed a mug of coffee in front of Maggie and Meredith before standing behind his girlfriend’s chair, one hand resting on the back of the hair whilst he took a sip of his coffee. His face gave nothing away but the proximity to Meredith was enough to confirm Maggie’s suspicions.

“Wait, the two of you are together?” Amelia stared at them wide-eyed.

Meredith took a long sip of her coffee before nodding, “Yup, seems like it.”

“But…”

“We thought you guys hated each other,” Amelia finished off Maggie’s sentence.

“What? Why?” It was Meredith’s turn to be confused now.

“You just stopped talking about him and you guys seem to dodge each other whenever you’re in a room together.”

Maggie nodded along in agreement. Both her and Amelia had been convinced that Meredith and Cormac must have had an argument or some kind of falling out because Meredith had suddenly dropped him out of every conversation. They hadn’t asked about it though, as much as Amelia had wanted to. Maggie had stopped her knowing that Meredith wouldn’t be likely to say anything even if they had asked her about it.

“So, you just thought we hated each other?”

Meredith felt Cormac press a kiss to her temple, “I’m just going to get changed, you ladies have fun with this.”

She shot him a glare in an attempt to make him stay but Cormac just gave her a cheeky grin, placed his cup on the table and walked away.

“I don’t understand!”

Maggie cried out after watching the small exchange.

Meredith couldn’t help but laugh at her sister’s reaction. “We’ve been dating for the past month and a half and the only reason we’ve been dodging each other in work is that we didn’t want anyone to know.”

Maggie nodded slowly looking slightly crestfallen. “You didn’t even want to tell us?” There was hurt in her voice that made Meredith's chest ache a little.

“It’s not that I didn’t want to tell you,” Meredith sighed, this was not the reaction that she had been expecting from Maggie. “It was just new and…” she trailed off, not wanting to air Cormac’s life out to everyone.

“And Meredith’s the first person I’ve been with since my wife so I just wanted to keep things quiet for a while whilst I got used to it all.” Cormac had walked in, pulling his lab coat on and saving Meredith from coming up with an excuse.

Maggie stood up suddenly, her chair screeching against the floor, “Get up,” she looked down at Meredith.

“Maggie, I’m really sorry that we didn’t say anything sooner but-“

“Get up.”

Looking at Cormac, Meredith slowly stood from her chair. Maybe he had a point about Maggie being like a honey badger. When she’d stood fully Maggie wrapped her arms around Meredith with a vice grip.

“You’re happy?” She asked still not letting go.

Relieved that her sister wasn’t angry with her, Meredith returned the hug, “I really am,” she whispered. “But you are cutting off my oxygen supply here.”

“Oh, sorry!” Maggie quickly let go.

Amelia walked towards them looking slightly awkward, “Look, I know we don’t usually do the whole hugging thing…”

Meredith laughed, pulling her other sister into a short hug which Amelia returned. “You deserve to be happy, Mer. I have to go clip an aneurysm but I’m coming to your tonight and you are telling me everything!” She ran out of the door before Meredith had the chance to object.

“I’m joining in on that!” Maggie squeezed her sister’s shoulder and grinned up at Cormac before leaving.

***

“Meredith Grey!” Bailey was storming down the corridor the moment she caught sight of her Chief of General Surgery.

Meredith quickly turned on her heel, attempting to get away from Miranda. Praying that a resident would call her, or she would get a page.

“Don’t you dare walk away from me, Grey. Schmitt! Schmitt, stop her from going anywhere!”

Panicking, Levi quickly stood in the way of Meredith’s path, arms outstretched. Every time Meredith tried to step around him, he moved quickly to stop her from getting away. As much as he respected Meredith, he was terrified of Bailey and the latter had the power to fire him.

Having finally caught up Miranda let Levi go and turned to face Meredith. “Do you want to tell me why I had to hear about your little tryst with my Chief of Paediatric Surgery from Richard?”

“Uhh…” Meredith had been planning on telling Bailey after Amelia and Maggie had left but her pager had gone off and she hadn’t had the chance. She’d naively hoped that no one would have found out before she and Cormac had the chance to tell Bailey and go to HR but she should have known better.

“Uhhh if all a rumour? Or uhh, I’m sorry Chief Bailey that I didn’t come to tell you and HR?”

“Definitely the latter. I was meant to come and tell you this morning, but you saw came into the ER!”

“Mhm,” Miranda pursed her lips looking unimpressed. “I’m surprised, Grey.”

“About?” Meredith asked.

“I didn’t think Hayes was your type.”

Meredith raised her brows, partially because she hadn’t expected Bailey to care this much.

“You guys were at loggerheads when he first started here. I’m pretty sure I remember you coming into my office and telling me he had too much of an ego to have a job here and that I needed to fire him?”

“I mean… I still think he has an ego,” Meredith was pretty sure that wasn’t a surgeon in existence who didn’t have a least a little bit of an ego.

“But you’re dating him?”

“I am. And I’m going to see HR in my lunch break about it.” Meredith quickly added on, making sure that Bailey knew that she was going to be doing things by the book. In this case at least.

Miranda nodded, “He treats you right?”

Slightly taken aback at Miranda’s concern, Meredith still couldn’t help but smile. “Better than I deserve.”

“He does anything wrong you let me know okay?” and with that, Miranda turned around and walked off before their chat turned more sentimental than she could handle.

***

“Were you ever going to tell me that you finally asked Meredith out?”

Jo seemed to appear out of nowhere as Cormac did his rounds in the NICU.

Not batting an eyelid at her sudden appearance, Cormac carried on looking through a chart. “I’m sorry?”

“Oh, don’t go playing dumb with me. The entire hospital knows that you and Meredith Grey are a thing. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me! I can’t believe she didn’t tell me!”

Cormac finally looked up at her, “My sincerest apologies Wilson but you seem to know now, so what’s the issue?

“The issue is that I just created a Tinder account for her, and I have four guys ready to go on a date with her!”

Throwing her hands up in the air, Jo stormed off and Cormac couldn’t help but look bewildered. He was definitely glad they had told everyone now.

[sanchoyo]

danny phantom episode 4-7 Thoughts: (under a readmore because, these got kinda long!)

-the outfit danny had to buy for dash's party. CLASSIC 2000S i cannot stop laughing. And also showing up to the party and everyone is dressed like the trio is hilarious. and further proof that everyone looks good dressed goth.

-dash has a closet full of cute lil bear plushies?? LOVE that. adorable. also his response to danny trashing his room fighting a ghost was SO valid if somone BROKE MY BED IN HALF ID BE PISSED TOO.

-technus being like 'oh smart, u should be a tutor!' then later being like 'forget tutor, be a teacher!' :) supportive king <3 I also really like his upgraded suit/design. AND SPOCK CAMEO??? HELLO??

-the music in this show is super. its so funky. I looked it up and the guy who does it, guy moon (awesome name) also did music for other cartoons like fairly odd parents, barnyard, chalkzone, billy & mandy, AND some actual movies like FIGHT CLUB??? the whiplash I got from reading that)

-sam being rich explains a lot about her, actually.

-I know the moral of the episode was supposed to be 'dont ditch your friends for popular people/spend a lot of money on clothes that arent You to Fit In'. but tbh. it wouldve been easy for danny to have been like 'well, okay, ill come but only if my friends can!' but I get. that hes 14. so. not a lot to say there.

-BOX GHOST IS BACK!!!!! also, danny sitting up and wearing the dress/wig/makeup. umm thats how I dress everyday LMFAO. unironically me. (hate the jokes that boil down to 'haha funney man in dress' tho. but this is a look)

-jazz being protective of her brother once again being like NOOO YOU GUYS BETTER NOT STAKE OUT HIS (actually haunted) LOCKER!! shes aware of how people perceive him and she wants to help :( which is also probably why she told dash to invite him to that party even tho she had no interest in going!! she wants to help him out :(

-gotta say im with tucker on the whole 'should danny use his powers to get back at bullies' debate. 100% yes. let him teach kids to fight back. making dash throw his food at paulina out of the blue? no. but when hes actually about to pick on someone? yeah! for self defense? YEAH! if dash and his friends just threw food at him, I think rather than. idk doing sneaky shit with frogs he couldve just threw it back and not pulled punches if they tried to fight. I kNOOWWW its a kids show so they are like 'if u fight back ur just as bad!! violence bad!!' but. theyre HIS POWERS. WHO CARES.

-like my only gripe is that dash really isnt LEARNING ANYTHING WHEN DANNY GETS BACK AT HIM IN THE MOST PETTY INDIRECT WAYS. whatever they had to add a bully psa episode I guess. I hate it and I hate the way cartoons usually handle it because these methods simply Do Not Work. 'aND YouRE USinG YOur poWErs FOR EVill???!' this is Not Evil. even when poindexter takes dannys body, theyre only being 'nice' bc hes stealing soda for them!! bitches deserve what they get (nothing too brutal bc theyre high schoolers but damn, if they pick on danny he doesnt need to be the 'bigger person' he needs to start biting people)

-SAM TRYING TO SMUGGLE FROGS OUT OF THE BIO LAB?? girl in middle school when we had to dissect frogs we could opt out, also, they came to us already dead and preserved...

-sidney's lingo and the fact hes in black and white is sending me. also, danny is a ghost celebrity apparently for being a halfa?? ok. thats interesting to know

-the DENTIST BEING EXCITED ABOUT THE COTTON CANDY FLOOD IS THE FUNNIEST THING SO FAR.

-I LOOOVE the trope of 'wishes gone wrong'. not crazy about the stereotypical genie, or the use of the dreamcatcher looking design. (also, I KNOW theyre scientists but the way theyre handling a cold...are the fentons ANTIVAX)

-the genie. she. whitewished paulina. JKASDFHKJ. (the ghost literally just being hello kitty???? im dying) 'why do i feel that im special and wonderful? because I AM! <3' paulina ilu self worth queen. felt bad for her also getting possessed by (2) boys later who were arguing INSIDE HER. WTF.

-imagine being the guy trapped in his now flying car. he thought danny and tucker were HALUCINATIONS. imagine being trapped in a flying car with two, what you think are imaginary arguing 14 year olds convinced ur gonna die. i WOULD say this dude is gonna need so much therapy, but he seemed totally fine and excited when they landed (I would be happy too if a chicken was on my head. chickens rule) stoner rights

-sam's bat slippers??? iconic. SO cute.

-I think desiree's backstory is so :( do all ghosts have messed up sad backstories?? poindexter's was sad too...cannot imagine box ghost has any kind of fucked up backstory. but what if. his mom got pushed off cliffs by boxes...........a la cruella... anyway her 'no man may lay a hand on me' iconic. ilu

-I know danny has no concept of how much bras cost but my god dont attack tucker with some girls bra. those are so expensive.

-its really. well its not a GOOD THING he went into the portal and got fucked up, but its good danny was the one to do it rather than sam or tucker. because even tho he was being influenced by desiree and kept getting more malicious and it prob wasnt 100% him...he sucked as a ghost like most the people he 'pranked' were innocent ppl just Chillin and he didnt want to help anyone at all. I think danny is the most responsible out of them but also, hes 14 and shouldnt HAVE to feel obligated to fight every ghost. hes a good kid and wants to, but I also feel like he feels like...responsible for the portal turning on?? because his parents did give it up,, but it was an accident and not his fault (if anything, why was the on switch on the inside. why was it that easy. why was there no safety measures. that seems like smth OSHA needs to hear about). like thats my son. hes a good boy. and hes never done anything wrong in his life, ever. if anyone hurts him im killing everyone in this room and then myself. etc.

-danny's curfew is 10PM????? DUDE. when I was 14...shit I couldn't be out that late, I had to be back at like, 8 at the latest, and my parents had to know exactly where and who I was going with, AND i had to call/text them regularly...is this a case of my parents being overbearing, or the fentons sucking??? the only time i could EVER be out that late was if I was at an overnight sleepover or smth...

-the vultures have lil fezes. why do they have fezes...theyre so fuckin funny 'ask him for directions' 'I KNOW WHERE IM GOING' these ghost vultures are my new grandpas. pick them up, put them in the adopt box.

-'I wonder why those guys were trying to waste dad!' THEYRE GHOSTS. YOUR DAD HUNTS GHOSTS. why is that not a conclusion you'd immediately jump to??

-*jazz voice, clearly disgusted* WISCONSIN???

-mrs fenton with the lab coat and leg warmers and PERM. YESSS STYLISH.

-was going to say 'ew billionaire' @vlad but. super valid he used his powers to assumedly steal and cheat to get that money, thats how all billionaires do it! but ew hes a SIMP. and spending your billions on FOOTBALL STUFF?? you are Not Valid overall. I DO respect the fact you have a castle instead of a mansion. in wisconsin. if youre going to be stupidly rich might as well go all out, torches on the wall and all. I DO like his ghost form's little kitty ears. catman. and his cape! every design can benefit from a cape. and how different his forms look, like danny looks the EXACT SAME IN BOTH FORMS ASIDE FROM COLOR CHANGES. vlad's is like,, I could believe they were different people!! also I love the drama. but dude you are fighting a 14 year old. lame. also he was like, telling danny he wanted his mom and him and like, wanted him to renounce his dad?? WHAT ABOUT JAZZ?? bitch. those r MY kids and they are both important and special. I do agree they need better parents but thats not u sir <3

-I thought vlad's 'little badger' nickname for danny came from the football mascot of the packers, but google says they have NO MASCOT?? so now I'm like?? is it because his hair is sometimes black and sometimes white?? I hate to give him props but thats a PERFECT NICKNAME. theyre also tiny and vicious!

-why did I get so excited that Skulker is back!! its been like. 2-3 eps LMAO. AND THE DAIRY KING. ICONIC I LOVE HIM. hes the nicest guy ever :) more nice ghosts please. danny cannot be fighting alone everytime with no ghost buds like every ghost being hostile sucks :(

-mr. fenton knew vlad was controlling him, but a few episodes ago he had no clue danny was doing the same thing...is it something about how malicious the ghost is?? he just seemed to think his memory had gaps the first time, this time he was INSTANTLY LIKE 'GHOST'. then again in this ep when danny did it again he was just slightly confused but not immediately freaking out like he did with vlad possessing him!!

-'my parents will accept ME NO MATTER WHAT' so. so why haven't you come out to them yet, danny?? if you really think that?? if theres no harm, and you're sure??? if vlad is a real problem, wouldnt that make dealing with him easier, to expose him???? SO WHY HAVENT YOU COME OUT YET?? COULD IT BE,, MAYBE YOU HAVE DOUBTS ABOUT WHETHER YOUR PARENTS ACTUALLY WILL ACCEPT YOU??? 🤔 ... 🏳‍🌈 I get why people say He Is Trans. I totally totally get u danny.

-sorta unrelated, but it just occurred to me in one of these eps they go to casper HIGH not casper middle school??? theyre 14?? dont highschools usually do ages 15-18? (I didnt go to hs so I might be wrong, if I am ignore this...) freshmen are usually 14-15, could just be a case of them not turning 15 yet but they will sometime in the school year (I say they because tucker said he was 14 too)? I know the show has 3 seasons, so by the end of it will they be older? thatd be neat but usually cartoon characters stay the same age...I love shows where you can see the characters age and grow up, though...three seasons seems like a long time to spend on like, 1 year...

[cherrychonk]

The Transfer part 7

You wake up the next day disoriented and confused. Your eyes still puffy from the night’s weeping and your arms still clinging on to the badgermole plushie. Looking at the large window you see the sun already out and proud which disoriented you even more, it felt like you slept a lot but also woke up the same day. You sit up and carefully get off the bed, walking towards the bathroom. The walk wasn't as painful as it was before but it was very draining and when you arrived you had to sit down on the toilet’s lid until you regained your strength.

“Y/N!” Your name being called startled you.

“You shouldn't walk alone! You could've fallen!” Kya said exasperated as she reached for you.

You chuckled and allowed her to lift you and gently walk you to the shower. Gently undressing you and turning on the water.

“Kya, I got it. I can walk, I'm not an invalid. I'm sure in a few days I'll be good as new.” You say as you wash yourself, hearing her moving and taking things from the room.

“You may look and feel better but inside there's a lot of healing to do still. You have to be careful and you need to ask for help until your bones are fully healed. That and after I send you home you need to start doing physical therapy.”

“I'm fineee-” You say as you dry yourself. Doing simple things like that made you tired faster than before so after getting dressed you sat on the closed lid again.

Kya entered the bathroom and gently helped you get dressed before guiding you back to your bed. The sheets were changed and cleaned and your new friend rested near the pillow.

“Who got me the badger-mole?” You asked as Kya hands you a tray of food.

“An officer, she visited every day but you were unconscious until recently. She left you that along with some chocolates.”

Your mind instantly went to Jia, she was someone that would definitely do something like that. You smiled hugging the animal as you ate happily.

“Was it Jia? The officer that had lunch with me?” You asked expectantly.

Kya smirked. “I won't say who it was Y/N.” She chuckled, clearing your dirty clothes. “But, you know, a lot of your fellow officers have come to visit you and left gifts and other things too.”

You smiled. “They are so sweet. I'm going to miss them, didn't even get a chance to know them well before I got fired.” You chuckled.

Kya looked at you and smiled softly before laying a hand on your shoulder. “Everything is going to be okay.”

You smile back and nod. “I know. Thank you, Kya.”

“I'm going to fetch you some breakfast, don't go anywhere.”

With that Kya left the room and you sat in your bed petting the stuffed animal.

You fidget around in your bed, grabbing the stuffed animal and raising it up to eye level. It's eyes looking at you. “We have to give you a name, little one.” You looked at the black button eyes. “Molly? No, too childish. Badgy? Nope, too weird. Browney? Nope, not my favorite…”

You kept looking at the animal and thinking of names when a soft knock interrupted your train of thought and you looked up to the door. The Chief was standing there in her metal uniform. You instantly felt your face pale. Were you getting arrested? Fuck-

“Chief…” You feel your breath hintch as she stares at you. She keeps waiting for something and it hits you, she's waiting for you to invite her in. So you do.

“C-Come in.” You hesitated.

She walks towards you and drags a nearby chair to sit by the side of your bed. She sighs and gets comfortable before looking at you, she instantly looks down to your chest where the stuffed animal laid as you hugged it. She looked back at you with an eyebrow raised.

You blushed indignantly. “She calms me down okay!”

Lin nodded calmly. “I didn't say anything.”

“You don't have to, your facial expressions speak volumes.” You huffed looking away.

Lin sighed. “I'm here to talk to you.”

You look back at the Chief, her hands are fidgeting with each other and she looks at you gently.

“I'm sorry.” You say immediately. You raise your hand before she can interrupt you. “For disrespecting you. Not for what I did that day, I won't apologize for that. But I am sorry for the disrespectful, untrue and mean things I said about you. I don't know you enough to form such strong opinions and I cannot judge you for a reaction you had because I did something against the rules-”

It was Lin’s time to raise her hand. “Listen Y/N, what you did upset me greatly. I won't lie about that. No one has ever talked to me the way you did. It was humiliating and distasteful. Never had I had a subordinate talk to me in the matter you did and for that alone I would've gotten your badge.”

You swallowed thickly as she stared you down intensely. You were sure she was lavabending you in that moment, the heat of her anger making you sweat bullets.

“But you did say some things that were true. I cowered at that moment. I didn't think of that child and that was my mistake. I also called you names which were out of line and just as disrespectful. As your superior I should've had more maturity. In that moment I acted purely out of anger instead of assessing the situation correctly. That was my mistake.

Her face seemed to relax just a little as she looked at you. Her green eyes seemed greener and far more soothing than yesterday. Her eyebrows weren't as furrowed either, this calmed you immensely.

“Y/N, I didn't care about my reputation, it's not because of work or anything like that either. I was upset because you almost got yourself killed.” The earthbender spoke gently.

“I was…” She sighed. “I was afraid you were going to die, so when I saw you alive I felt many things and lashed out like an asshole… and I'm sorry.”

She's sorry?

You looked at her like she had grown another head. She looked down at her hands and took a deep breath.

“I'm the Chief of Police, my priority should be all life, but that day I neglected to find a way to save that child because I was selfish and I was afraid. I was afraid to go into the fire so I didn't ask anyone to do it either. I won't ask my men to do something I'm not willing to do myself, so when you ran towards that building I felt a lot of fear for your life.”

Her gaze went back to her hands as she took a deep breath.

“It was a very awful feeling, thinking that I had to be the one to identify your burnt remains. You would've been the shortest lived officer in my time as Chief, less than two weeks and you were already in a body bag. My officers are my responsibility, whether they live or die is in my hands. I hate when good people get hurt Y/N, and you may be stubborn and don't think before acting but you do have a great heart. I know what you did was out of love for the people, especially children you wish to keep safe. I get the sentiment, I feel it too.

“But I can't have my officers acting sporadically and getting themselves killed. You may not think of the aftermath but the thought of having to tell your family that you are dead isn't fun Y/N. I know death and injuries are part of our line of work but you can't take that to heart and go do crazy shit like this. You're gonna run out of luck one day… and I don't want to be the one that has to escort your remains back to the morgue.”

You felt a tug at your heart seeing her so worried… about you? You weren't sure but you felt an urge to comfort her. You saw that she cared, cared about others. It was refreshing to see this part of her. You smiled.

“Look, Chief, I understand. I know the pressure you can be in. I understand the tough decisions you have to make as a leader and I shouldn't have called you a coward for making them even when I don't personally agree.” You sighed. “But, I also have a duty and it's to do everything in my power to help people even if it can get me killed.”

You look at her softly. “I can't promise you this won't happen again because I would be flat out lying, but-”

Lin looked at you questionably as you spoke.

“I can promise that I will always give the best of me to help others… including you, Chief.” You smiled at her.

You can swear you see a light blush on her cheeks before she covers a cough with her fist. “Talking about duty…” She interrupts as she adjusts herself on her chair.

“If you still want to, you're welcome back to work as soon as you're cleared.”

You beamed with joy, if you weren't so tired you would leap from the bed and hug her right then and there. You settled by just smothering the badger-mole and smiling widely.

“REALLY? YOU REALLY MEAN IT CHIEF?!”

Her expression seemed to soften almost like she was going to smile, even if she didn't. “Yes, of course. Though some things need to change. Since Mako couldn't keep you in check, I'll be your partner from now on. You'll be supervised directly by me, you'll also be on desk duty until I find you are obedient enough to follow my orders and not just the ones you like.”

“OKAY!” You smile. “Man and I thought you were here to get my badge or something.”

She raises an eyebrow crossing her arms in her chest. “When I told the rest of the officers that I was considering firing you for insubordination they almost riot. They have your back and so do I.”

You imagined the officers burning trash cans in the office and jumping on top of their cubicles and it made you chuckle a bit. It also made you feel welcome the way they protected you like you were a part of them, it made you feel at home.

“You have gained a lot of supporters from many communities, especially the body modification one. Laws about helping to change how people view tattoos are also in motion, the law about work places and tattoos being the most popular. You have a lot of fans now, even Avatar Korra and Asami Sato want to get to know you.”

“Wow!” You stared at her in shock. “That's… a lot.”

“You also have a lot of interviews once you're ready, even President Moon wants to talk to you herself. A lot of lawmakers, the newspaper and a few other people want to talk to you personally.”

That's when the smile left your face and you started to feel anxious. “Oh umm… I'm not the interview type? I've never been in an interview. Not even for work.”

Lin looked puzzled. “Then how did you-?”

“It's a long story. I'm sure we're going to have more than enough time to discuss it.” You chuckled.

She nodded standing up. “Well, that's settled. If you need anything, call the station and I'll be here. Don't do anything to further injure yourself and listen to what Master Kya and Doctor Amara tells you to do.” Lin said in her chief voice as she walked out of the room. She paused for a moment at the door and looked back over her shoulder.

“By the way, your tattoos don't make you a thug. They do make you strong as hell though… It matches you.” She said like nothing, leaving you astonished.

You smiled like an idiot hugging the plushie. You could keep your job, and the Chief was not as angry as you thought. You felt something warm in your heart and chugged it up to the pure happiness you felt.

“Will you look at that. Officer Y/N still on duty.” Kya said, walking into the room with a hot tray of food.

“Can you believe that!” You laughed. “She didn't fire me!”

Kya hummed. “So I heard. Told you everything would be alright didn't I?”

“From now on I'm taking everything you say to heart!”

She laughed, setting the tray down and helping you with the plates. “Let's just get you ready. I know that if you follow my advice you're going to feel better real soon.”

“Thank you, Kya.”

The healer smiled, placing a thick blanket on your lap and then a plate on top so you didn't get burn.

“My pleasure”

[twilights-800-cats]

<< Chapter 6 || Chapter 7 || Chapter 8 || From the Beginning || Patreon >>

Chapter 7

Sunhigh had come and gone by the time Stoneheart, Wolftooth, and Pinewhisker made it to the edge of ShadowClan territory, where the marshlands and the Twolegplace met. The long stretch of fence, broken up into different materials depending on the size of a Twoleg’s territory, made a boundary that was difficult to miss, especially since ShadowClan had been marking the very bottoms of those Twoleg fences for seasons now.

“What’s the point of this?” Pinewhisker asked as they approached. His tail had been flicking the whole trip, and he looked back at Stoneheart. “I thought this lake of yours was where we’re meant to be.”

“It is,” Stoneheart grunted, noting Pinewhisker’s skeptical tone.

Wolftooth raised his head. He’d been sniffing at the boundary, to make sure that it was still intact, but now his pale eyes were glowering right into Pinewhisker and Stoneheart. “Russetstar says that Twolegplace is an option, so an option it is. The warrior code says her word is law.”

Pinewhisker still didn’t look satisfied. “Then let her come and scout it out,” he mumbled.

Stoneheart rolled his eyes and forged ahead, staring down the line of Twoleg fences. Most here were well-maintained, but further down the line there was a well-known spot where cats could squeeze through a gap in the wooden planks and come and go between Twolegplace and marshland. It had been suggested ages ago to block it, somehow, but ShadowClan’s leader at the time, Raggedstar, had disagreed.

“Let the kittypets come,” he’d reportedly crowed from atop the Clanrock. “They’ll feel ShadowClan’s claws and flee like the cowards they are. If they don’t, we’ll keep them!”

Stoneheart didn’t know how true that was, but the hole in the fence was real enough. He raised his tail when he found it, and Wolftooth and Pinewhisker were soon by his side. It smelled as if no cats had made their way through it in a few moons – likely because of the Twolegs stomping through the forest.

Wolftooth went first, his broad shoulders scraping at the edges of the wood. Pinewhisker was a thinner cat, and he slipped through with ease. Stoneheart took up the rear, ducking to avoid the feeling of wood rubbing against his ears and anxious not to be stuck.  

The yard beyond the broken fence was somewhat famous in ShadowClan for how in disrepair it was compared to the yards and dens around it. Stoneheart couldn’t imagine a Twoleg wanting to stay there for more than a moon – the windows were broken, and some walls had rotted-out holes as big as a badger. Twoleg trash of all shapes and sizes were strewn about in the long, unkempt grass, and the smell of crow-food hung faintly in the air.

It reminded Stoneheart of the Twoleg nest he and the other journeying cats had taken shelter in with Purdy in his big Twolegplace – though, somehow that one had seemed cleaner. Self-consciously, Stoneheart licked at his shoulder. The rat bite he’d gotten there had long since healed, but the injury had certainly been an inconvenience to himself and the others.

“We should keep moving,” he meowed, feeling wary. “There might be rats around.”

“Right,” Wolftooth agreed. He lifted his tail. “Let’s go.”

The big gray tabby led the way through the grass towards the fence. Pinewhisker took the rear as they followed the ragged slats of wood around the old den, towards the Thunderpath that lay past it. Stoneheart pricked his ears, noting that this was a smaller Thunderpath, one that could only fit two lines of monsters.

He tasted the air and found only the reek of monsters, but at least it was on the stale side. “Seems quiet,” Stoneheart meowed, whiskers twitching.  

Wolftooth’s eyes flashed. “Good,” he grunted. “I’m tired of Twolegs – their monsters, too.”

“We should wait until night,” Pinewhisker pointed out, glancing at Wolftooth. “The Twolegs would be less active.”

“We’re on a time limit,” Stoneheart reminded him. “Moving at night would be best, but it’ll take too long.” If the missing cats are here, we have to find them!

Wolftooth was nodding in agreement. “He’s right. For now, let’s keep away from the Thunderpath and to the shade. That ought to keep us hidden.”

Following that thought, the three cats clustered together. Though they were arguably the three warriors most familiar with Twolegplaces in all of ShadowClan, Stoneheart had to admit that they all felt the same level of discomfort. This place was not meant for cats, and Stoneheart felt it in every fiber of his being, like he had in Purdy’s Twolegplace.

What if Russetstar ends up choosing this place for us anyway? Stoneheart wondered with a shudder. The decision would no doubt divide ShadowClan. I certainly don’t want to live here!

“So, what’re we even looking for?” Pinewhisker wondered. The three of them had crossed into another yard, heading away from the forest. “We’re not going to find a marsh in all this.”

Wolftooth kept them close to the fence, following it even when it touched the side of a Twoleg den. As they brushed their pelts past the pockmarked stones that lined the den walls, Wolftooth glanced back and meowed: “There might not be marshland here, but there are places where there could be enough shelter for a Clan.”

Pinewhisker scoffed. “Surely not all in one spot!” They broke into a trot, crossing the open yard to the fence on the opposite side. Stoneheart could feel his Clanmates puffing, their bony sides heaving. “Some Twolegplaces have spots that might be big enough, but there wouldn’t be enough prey!”

“Trash attracts mice,” Stoneheart pointed out, glancing back at a scrapcan pushed up near the fence behind them.

“It also attracts rats and raccoons,” Pinewhisker returned, curling his lip. “Have you ever fought a raccoon?”

“Can’t say so, no,” Stoneheart admitted.

Pinewhisker narrowed his eyes. “Well, you don’t want to!”

“Just keep a look out,” Wolftooth meowed, looking back at the other two. Stoneheart felt the older tom’s frustration in his gaze. He’d already voiced his disagreement with living among Twolegs again. “Alleys, old dens... there are places to live in a Twolegplace.”

“But can you live well is the real question...” Pinewhisker mumbled, when Wolftooth had turned his back.

Stoneheart had to agree, but he also had to admit that, as they stalked along Twoleg dens and fences, he wasn’t looking for a place to call home – he was looking for any signs of the missing cats, a goal he was aware that the others were ignorant of. So far, there was nothing – and he wasn’t sure what he ought to be looking for in the first place, and the sounds and smells of the Twolegplace were clogging his every sense.

What if they’re not here? His heart trembled with worry. We could spend a moon searching this place and find nothing at all! He thought of Rowanclaw, lost to the Twolegs – what would they do to his beloved? Stoneheart couldn’t imagine Rowanclaw settling into a kittypet’s life! Would he be forced to live like a rogue?

“Let’s have a rest,” Wolftooth suggested finally. He pointed with his nose to what lay ahead – it seemed like the end of their quiet journey was almost done, and taller buildings took the places of the smaller dens beyond what looked to be a larger Thunderpath.

Pinewhisker flopped down. “Thank StarClan – my paws hurt.” He bent to lick them.

Stoneheart glanced about, finding some broad, leafy dock growing just along the fence they were near. He pulled off a few leaves and began chewing them, like he’d seen Shadepaw do many times on the journey. His poultice was messy, but he passed it off to Pinewhisker.

“Thanks,” Pinewhisker mewed, rubbing his pads in the green goop.

“Want some, Wolftooth?” Stoneheart asked.

Wolftooth shook his head, and turned over his pads. They were hard and gray, toughened to stone. They reminded Stoneheart of the Tribe cat’s paws. “I was born here, remember?” Wolftooth meowed. “I’m good.”

Stoneheart nodded in understanding and rubbed the dock on his own paws. He hadn’t had much of a chance to hunt with the Tribe cats while he’d stayed in the mountains, so his pads had hardly developed any toughness before they reached the forest again. Still, it seemed like they didn’t sting as badly as Pinewhisker’s.

“I thought you lived with Twolegs, too?” Stoneheart wondered to his Clanmate.

“Not in a place like this,” Pinewhisker admitted. “I grew up on a farm beyond the Carrionplace – my mothers were mousers. Twolegs might’ve pet me now and then, and I might’ve seen a vet; but I didn’t cross too many Thunderpaths.”

“Lucky,” Wolftooth grunted. He glanced at the stone river nearby, wincing as a monster crawled past. “I’ve seen many a cat die on a Thunderpath.”

“They were probably running away from you,” Pinewhisker joked, whiskers twitching.

Wolftooth’s eyes hardened, and his claws flexed in the grass. “They were,” he growled, no humor in his tone.

Stoneheart suppressed a shiver, and he heard Pinewhisker gulp. The thought brought back memories of fighting at Fourtrees, battling for the safety of the forest with his sister and four Clans' worth of apprentices. It was easy to forget that Wolftooth had been a part of BloodClan, and how ruthless those cats had been – especially for cats like Pinewhisker, who only knew the stories.  

“Was BloodClan really as awful as they say?” Pinewhisker wondered, his voice quiet. “Cats passing by our barn didn’t often mention them, but when they did...”

Wolftooth nodded. “Meaner than you’ve probably heard, in some ways,” he rumbled back. “But as far as I know, they’re gone now.”

“I hope so,” Pinewhisker murmured. “I’d hate to share territory with anyone like that.”

Stoneheart fidgeted, and he decided that now was as good a time as any – there was no way he could search on his own: “Russetstar made it seem like staying here wasn’t her plan.”

“What do you mean?” Wolftooth wondered, raising his chin. Beside him, Pinewhisker looked hopeful, suddenly, his ears pricking up as Wolftooth went on, “She went on and on about how it was an option to consider and all that!”  

Stoneheart blinked, feeling faintly embarrassed – but he twitched his whiskers and explained: “Cats from all the Clans have gotten captured by Twolegs, not just Rowanclaw. One of them was Tawnypelt – I think that if we find her, we might be able to change Leopardstar’s mind and get her to come with us to the lake. Russetstar wasn’t sure whether or not the missing cats would be here, but...”

“But she thought it’s a good place to start,” Pinewhisker finished. He sagged with relief. “Thank StarClan, Russetstar hasn’t gotten bees in her brain!”

Wolftooth swallowed, and suddenly he avoided Stoneheart’s gaze. “I never got to say that I’m sorry about what happened to Rowanclaw...”

Stoneheart stiffened. “Wolftooth...”

“I tried,” Wolftooth sighed, staring at his paws. It felt strange to see the proud older warrior look so upset. “I’ve gotten cats out of that situation before, Stoneheart, I swear it by StarClan – I tried everything I knew! But it just wouldn’t open... and then the Twolegs came...”

Stoneheart hesitated. He’d never thought about being upset about Wolftooth’s failure – the only thing on his mind had been Rowanclaw’s safety. Stoneheart got to his paws and touched his nose to Wolftooth’s ear.

“It’s alright,” he promised. There was a tug at his heart, like a claw was pricking him there. “I’m not angry. I understand. I just want Rowanclaw back.”

“We all do,” Pinewhisker murmured.

Wolftooth raised his head, and the older warrior looked determined. “We’re going to find him,” he declared assuredly. “I swear it by StarClan.”

Stoneheart felt warm from his ears to his toes. “Good,” he purred, “because I’m not leaving him behind ever again.”

“Ugh, what is this?” crowed a voice from above. “I want to retch, it’s so annoying.”

Stoneheart looked up, and his heart began to race. Balancing on the fence were four ragged, lean cats, their pelts rumpled and marred by scars. They each glowered down at the ShadowClan patrol with hungry, angry eyes and, worst of all... Stoneheart saw that two of them bore collars bristling with dog’s teeth.

“BloodClan!” he hissed, springing to his paws. Curse this Twolegplace! If there hadn’t been so many smells and sounds, there’s no way these rogues would have snuck up on them! And Wolftooth was just saying how BloodClan was gone...

Pinewhisker and Wolftooth were immediately on alert, claws unsheathed and spines bristling. Stoneheart’s mind began to race – there were four of these ragged cats, and three of the ShadowClan warriors; but BloodClan fought without remorse, and this was their territory. Even if the ShadowClan cats were smarter and more disciplined, they were at a huge disadvantage.

“BloodClan?!” repeated one of the cats – a ragged ginger-and-white she-cat. She looked offended by the name. “BloodClan hasn’t been around for forever - we’re IceClan cats!”

IceClan? Stoneheart glanced at Pinewhisker and Wolftooth, confused.

“Yeah,” said another of the “IceClan” cats, a gray tom with a foul odor. He gathered his haunches, glaring down at Stoneheart with narrowed green eyes. “We’re IceClan... and you’re going to regret setting your nasty forest paws on our territory!”

All four IceClan rogues were on alert now, hostility and eagerness rippling through their pelts. Stoneheart squared his shoulders, feeling Wolftooth and Pinewhisker press up against him in preparation for an aerial assault.

StarClan above, Stoneheart thought desperately, glaring into the eyes of their leader, I hate Twolegplaces!

[askaceattorney]

Dear 91teivos,

Mod Vera: Thanks! Everyone in the world is going through some kind of existential crisis, so it made sense for the AA characters to join the party! (And since it was another follower who gave us the idea, we might just keep that idea in the think that after all...)

Dear dawsongfg,

Mod Vera: No need to apologize! We like to space out letters from specific people a little, but we’ll answer as many as we can!

(Referenced Letter)

Dear Bluedragoncody,

Co-Mod: Don’t worry.  I doubt they’ll have much luck against the Ace Attorney crew, even without the Proto Badger.  They have the ultimate weapon against despair in their arsenal, after all.

...They’re doomed, aren’t they?

I can’t make any promises, but if I ever gain enough skill in the art of animation (which has been a dream of mine for a long time, it turns out), I’ll keep that idea in mind.

Dear skibot99,

Mod Vera: Probably Tumblr bein’ weird. (What else is new?)

Dear sheeeesh,

Mod Vera: Mods get brought on as needed, as you can see with the arrival of Mod Edgeworth! Also, DGS2 is one of the few AA titles I’ve never played, but rest assured. Where there’s a letter, there’s a Mod who can answer it!

Mod Edgeworth: To add to Mod Vera, even if you weren’t accepted during any mod applications, that doesn’t mean you have lost all chances. I applied early January and lost to Mod Vera. Regardless, Co-Mod informed me that, even though I was rejected, he saw my potential and kept me in mind for if I was ever needed. Now, here I am.

Just because you get rejected, that doesn’t mean it’s game over. Show that you have potential and make yourself known by sending letters to us. That is what I did, after being rejected. I made myself known to the mods by sending letters. We do read them and they tell us how much you know the characters and games of AA more than any application. Of course, you must also follow the guidelines. That just goes without saying.

Co-Mod: I think my actual words were something like “Don’t tell anyone, but you were my second choice.”  But yeah, what they said is true -- becoming a Mod here, like many things, may or may not happen to you, but you can definitely increase your chances by waiting patiently and demonstrating your potential.

As for DGS2 letters, I’m afraid those are still off-limits unless you know of a way to play or watch the game in its entirety, translated into English.  I guess I could check to see if the Dai Gyakuten Saiban 2 channel finished translating...

(Translation: Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?!  ...D-Don’t tell me?!)

...Okay, looks like I have some watching to do.  Don’t know how I missed that.

So, uh...  That part in bold was what I was going to say.  Now that both games are finally getting an official English version, all I can say is, hang tight!

(Previous Post)

Dear Inferno again,

Co-Mod: Yeah, I agree.  I was just joking around.  For anyone who didn’t catch it, that was a reference to Sbemail #108.

The event’s technically over, but we’ll answer the rest of the April Fools’ Day letters when they reach the bottom of the queue.  I’m as eager to see Trucy’s reaction to the news (after the stunned silence) as anyone else, after all.

(Video in Letter -- Strong Language Warning)

Dear Ella,

Mod Edgeworth: 

I can’t see the first link and....

How did you find this masterpiece and where can I play this game?

Co-Mod: We don’t check for direct messages on Tumblr, if that’s what you’re referring to, so it wouldn’t have made any difference anyway.  You can always send links in your letters, of course.

(Previous Post)

Dear Inferno,

Mod Edgeworth: That mad lad would be me and thank you. 

I like to put my heart and effort when answering these letters. With this one, I figured you wanted to see Trucy in costume, so I just searched up an image on Google for the Ancient One’s costume, a sprite of Trucy and a bald head to put on her. The rest I photoshopped on GIMP. 

We’re still going through letters from January. Hopefully we will get the rest of yours soon enough.

Mod Edgeworth: Thank you very much. Your support and the others’ support that have liked, commented and reblogged it mean a lot. As you have stated, a majority of the fandom seem to consider him the worst. I’d like to think it’s because how AA had created this villain of a character to be universally hated was pure genius. Not even the Phantom gets this much hate… and that’s saying something.

Unfortunately, I’d like to keep my real identity outside this blog a secret. I write a lot of letters here and I don’t want to break the spell for anyone. Think of it like a Disney theme park. The cast that play the characters will never admit their true identities, outside of family and close friends, to prevent the experience from being ruined. I want to do the same as a Mod. I don’t want to break the spell of writing to your favorite AA characters. This blog had helped me through my tough times and I want to help everyone else as a mod.

However, I will answer your letters and, if you post anything on your account, a mysterious friend I know may linger and give you a like ;)

(Previous Letter)

Dear Ali S. Fakenamington,

Co-Mod: Beautifully so.

(Previous Letter)

Dear Sinyove,

Mod Edgeworth: That letter was made in 2012 before AA5 and AA6, which was WAY before I became a part of the AA fandom. I’m certain a lot of us were not here when this letter was made, except maybe Co-Mod, but you’ll have to speak with him about this. I will say that the mod that answered this is no longer working here... I think. At the very least, I haven’t heard from him.

That being said, AA4 or Apollo Justice was the first AA game I’ve ever played. Despite all of the hate I saw towards that game, I still loved it regardless. Though, having not played the trilogy, playing the tutorial of AJ was a pain in the ass. I remember going to YouTube to find out how to beat it, because it was so hard. I also played it on PC.

I do see where The Mod was coming from. Had the two sequel games never existed, Apollo Justice would have more holes than my brothers’ socks. My only critique is that Phoenix wasn’t any better either with having Mia babysitting him during almost every trial AND investigations. Hell, Phoenix needed Mia to know how to talk to a kid, talk to a perverted old man, almost gave up in most of his trials in the first game and never conducted a trial without Mia until Turnabout Goodbyes when Maya literally couldn’t summon her. For the most part, Apollo was doing fine on his own without Phoenix, with only Trucy assisting him for the two middle trials, only almost giving up once and Phoenix having assisted him during times when Apollo was not in a normal situation (like when the criminal turned out to be his own co-council/mentor or when he had to lead a trial that included the Jury System). That’s more than Phoenix ever did on his own in the first two games and I think Apollo deserves more credit than he got in that letter in my opinion.

For me, Apollo Justice is one of those games you either like or you hate. I love it for what it is. My least favorite AA game would have to be Ace Attorney Investigations, the first game. The second one is my absolute favorite.

Co-Mod: Sadly, I haven’t seen or heard from the Mod in a while, so it may be time for us to declare him MIA again.

Erm...  Sorry, poor choice of words.

I’m fairly certain I wasn’t around 5 years long ago, but I have to say, Capcom did a great job of making Apollo and his story more interesting over time.  He may not be Phoenix, but he certainly carried his legacy forward pretty well, both as an attorney and as an Ace Attorney protagonist.

Now, WHAT ABOUT ATHENA ALREADY!?

Dear BDC,

Co-Mod: It fits like a glove, if you ask me...although it also kind of reminds me of 101 Dalmatians.  And thanks for that bit of info!  I never get tired of watching people enjoying the fun dialogue and plot twists of Ace Attorney, so I might have to look him up.

I’m not sure I feel the same about watching Dahlia’s voice actress, though.  I’m sure she’s a nice person and all, but the thought of hearing that voice for so long...  *shudder*

(Previous Letter)

Dear dawsongfg again,

Co-Mod: I wasn’t trying to say that natural deaths can’t happen in the Ace Attorney universe, just that most deaths aren’t what they seem.  I knew right away that Archie Buff’s death was no accident, for one thing.  Waaaaay too much of a coincidence, know what I mean?

-The Mods

[random-imagines-blog]

Under The Stairs {Cedric Diggory x Reader Oneshot}

Requested by: @mminerva15 Wordcount: 3002 Summary: Cedric wants to tell his friends about your relationship. With you being a Slytherin, you didn’t think that was going to go well. You hate being proved right sometimes.

Dating in Hogwarts was never easy. There was no such thing as privacy, since it wasn’t as if you had your own room that you could pull your significant other into. Even hanging out in the common room, if you were lucky enough to be dating someone in your own house, could easily be watched over by everyone else. Hogsmeade dates were not only overseen by other students, but by the people who actually lived and worked in the village, who sometimes gossiped with the teachers, which was extremely embarrassing. The most that one could hope for was finding an abandoned classroom, and even then - sometimes Fred and George would miraculously find out where you were and toss in a dungbomb for their own sick entertainment. That happened more than once, but you managed to track down the twins and show them what it meant to miss with a Slytherin. Your Hufflepuff boyfriend, Cedric, tried to laugh it off, and managed to keep it to a tickling curse rather than one where they were covered in leeches.

But you two did manage to find a spot where people hardly looked. Under the stairs. The staircases moved back and forth, taking students to different destinations but the ones that lead to the dungeons were stationary, and beneath them was a dark alcove without a torch. Perfect for the occasional snogging session, and it was rather close to your common room so you could sneak back easily. Being secretive was all well and good - until your boyfriend approached you with a strange suggestion.

“I think we should tell people,” Cedric said, pulling away from you with puffy lips.

“About our secret spot? No way,” You scoffed. “It was hard enough for us to find this one, let alone try to find somewhere else because some stupid Gryffindors will try-”

“No,” Cedric laughed, taking your hand and pulled you to where there was a bit more light so he could see your face. Your green robes contrasted against his yellow ones. That’s what you liked about being in the dark. There was no difference. “About us. We’ve been snogging down here for a month now and it’s been great but...”

“But what?” You asked. “You want to ruin that?”

“I don’t think telling our friends would be ruining that. Why do you?”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, Cedric but I don’t think that I’m the sort of girl that your friends would pick for you.” You said, voicing something that had been on your mind for a while. It was nice to finally let it out. You were the one who had insisted on sneaking around for so long, and this was the first time you were able to give him a reason why. “I know they’ve been pressuring you to ask out Cho Chang. That’s the kind of girl that they think is good for you.”

“I’m not interested in Cho,” Cedric said, softly.

“I know, you don’t have to convince me of that,” You chuckled. “I’ve never been worried about you liking another girl. The hicky I always have to cover up with a spell makes me very secure.” You wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling him in closer so you wouldn’t have to speak loudly and get anyone’s attention. Even the ghosts liked to gossip around here. “I just think that your friends will give us a hard time, and we don’t need that.”

“I’m more worried about your friends then anything,” Cedric said growing defensive.

“What, because they’re Slytherin? I mean, you have no problem dating a snake, why would the judgment of others bother you, hmm?” You shot back, letting go of him, and crossed your arms in front of your chest. “Tell you what, Cedric, I’ll join you for breakfast tomorrow and we’ll just see who is cooler.”

“I guess we will.” Cedric said, walking away from you, turned on his heel and ascended up the stair case to the main level. Though he couldn’t see you, you stuck your tongue out at him, and under your breath, cursed that you agreed to this. Tomorrow morning was going to be very interesting.

-

The Great Hall was filled with the buzzing of students enjoying their breakfast and getting ready for a day of classes. A group of fourth years were sitting together and doing last-minute studying for a Transfiguration test. Fred and George Weasley were watching the Slytherin table carefully, like they were waiting for something to happen. When you walked in, you noticed that right away and started to think that perhaps your idea wasn’t terrible. You didn’t want to be a part of whatever was going on there. You straightened up your shoulders, shook your hair back, clutched your morning books to your chest, and strolled to the Hufflepuff table with confidence.

Most people didn’t pay attention at first. They were so busy enjoying their food that they didn’t care. But when a Slytherin made her way to the Hufflepuff table and sat across from the golden haired Quidditch star? That got a little bit of attention.  

“Morning, Ced,” You said, taking a plate and started to pile your favorite breakfast foods on it. He looked a little amused, but also taken aback by the fact you were actually doing this.

“Morning, beautiful,” He said in return, pouring some orange juice for you into the cup next to your plate. You smiled in thanks, and arranged your plate the way that you wanted, and started to pick on it. “You’ve got potions first thing, right?”

“Yeah, a morning full of Snape,” You said with a shrug. “That’s the only time that I’m really glad to be a Slytherin. I get ten points just for showing up.”

“Lucky. I got five taken off for dropping my book,” Cedric said with a dramatic sigh.

“Okay, what’s going on here?” The guy sitting beside Cedric said, looking between his friend and yourself. You stared over at him with a blank expression, waiting for him to clarify. “Morning beautiful?” He mocked the male Hufflepuff.

“She looks great this morning, what can I say?” Cedric smiled over in your direction, though he seemed a little more shy than usual.

“As opposed to what - every other time?” You questioned, shoving food into your mouth. Cedric coughed into his own glass of orange juice. “And you, are you calling me ugly or something? Because that’s a very rude thing to hear first thing in the morning.”

“This is a joke, right?” The guy said, looking at Cedric now, flat out ignoring you. You rolled your eyes, gave Cedric an 'I told you so’ look, and went right back to eating. Whatever answer that your boyfriend was going to give was interrupted by the sound of liquid hitting the ground. Thick liquid. The entire Slytherin table was absolutely coated in a green sludge.

“Weasleys,” You muttered under your breath with a shake of your head. “Whatever hits them, they brought it upon themselves.”

“At least whatever it is doesn’t smell,” Cedric said, right before all of hell broke loose. The Slytherin girls started screaming about their hair, their books and their outfits getting ruined, and swore revenge on the Gryffindor boys. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who it was that had brought on this prank. The twins were the biggest pranksters to hit the school in almost twenty years. The boys, meanwhile, had a pack mentality and all together, chased the redheads out of the great hall, with more than a couple of teachers following behind to break up the mess. “Are you going to do something?”

“Doesn’t really affect me much, since I’m over here. Thank Merlin for that too, looks like it was some sort of dye,”  You noticed. “Oh by the way, I guess I should introduce myself, though we’ve been going to school together for six years now. I’m y/n, Cedric’s girlfriend, and you are?”

“Confused,” The Hufflepuff said in return. “Since when?”

“Pleased to meet you, confused,” You said with a little snicker.

“About a month now,” Cedric said, avoiding your eye, continuing to stare at the chaos that was behind you at the Slytherin table. “We wanted to keep it a secret originally but ... I really like y/n, and I want my friends to know.”

Alright, if you were any more of a girl you would have put your hands on your heart and let out a big 'aww’ because it was too damn cute. However, you kept it inside and instead just smiled at your food.

“Okay, yeah, sure,” Confused said. You were pretty sure his name was Calvin or something close to that. You could tell that he was going to be a problem. He was glaring at you pretty heavily and to your surprise, Cedric was doing nothing about it.

“Well, this has been a joyful breakfast,” You said, wiping your mouth with a napkin before setting it down on your empty plate. “But I have a class to get to. I might get points for being the only one on time.”

“Maybe I’ll join you for lunch?” Cedric suggested, looking at you hopefully. You softened under that look. This boy - he sure was growing to be a weak spot.

“I don’t know. Ask your handler,” You looked Calvin up and down before blowing your boyfriend a kiss and exited the Great Hall to return to the dungeons.

-

Turns out, the Slytherins were far more preoccupied with how to get revenge on the Weasleys than they were about your relationship with a Hufflepuff. “Better one of em than a lion,” Your best friend said as she joined you at your cauldron. “Does this mean you’re going to go support their Quidditch team over ours?”

She didn’t even mind that her hair was green from the prank. She thought that it was fun, and you thought the look suited her well. “Nah, I’ll still be in the Slytherin stands. Might go give him a private congratulations though if he catches the snitch, if you know what I mean,” You nudged your friend and she laughed.

“Gross. But I guess he is pretty dreamy for a badger.”

“You have no idea,” You chuckled.

After class, you stayed late to help Snape clean up after a disastrous Ravenclaw somehow grew distracted and their potion overbubbled into a huge mess. Extra ten points for Slytherin, well done you. So you ended up being the last one to leave the classroom and walk through the dark and dingy corridor towards the staircases. However, there ended up being a group of four keeping you from their path. Badgers, come to show that they had claws too, apparently.

“Good morning,” You sighed, seeing them, feeling like the points you just earned were slipping through your fingers. You could anticipate a fight happening. “Or is it afternoon already? I haven’t had a chance to look at a clock.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Calvin said, or at least it seemed to be him. “It’s time for you to stop feeding your poisonous love potion to Cedric.”

“Wow, okay,” You said, clutching your wand which was in your cloak pocket, ready to bring it out to defend yourself if you had to. “I was expecting low but love potion? That’s actually really messed up, even by Slytherin standards.”

“Slytherins don’t have standards,” One of the other Hufflepuffs said.

“Alright, I’ll let that one slide,” You said, exasperated. “Look, I’ll swear to you right now that I’m  not doing anything other than being my lovely, charming self in order to get Cedric to care for me. No potions, no spells, no anything. And you’re being really bad friends if you don’t accept that he found someone. Even the Slytherins aren’t making a big deal out of it, so why are you?”

“There’s no way that Cedric would fall for a snake. You’re going to ruin his life, you know that right? He’s meant to be with one of his own kind, or even a Ravenclaw. We wouldn’t even complain about a Gryffindor. But a ... a death eater?”

Your mouth fell open as he accused you of being something that you would never, ever be. It might be a little foolish to take it so personally, but you did not fall into the Slytherin bad-guy stereotype. You wanted nothing to do with blood feuds and evil wizards. “And we Slytherins take the time to get to know someone before we judge them, so who is really the snake here?” You asked, releasing your wand. They wanted to get a reaction out of you, and though they had, you wouldn’t let them see it.

“If I catch you anywhere near Cedric, I’ll go to Dumbledore and tell him about how you’ve been using love potions. I’ll go to the Ministry. I’ll take it to the top if I have to, and you’re going to go to Azka-”

“Any trouble here, Mister Wilson?” The smooth voice of your potions professor said from behind you. You looked over your shoulder to see him step out of the shadows with arms folded in front of him.

“Not yet,” Calvin said, but he tapped on his friends shoulders and they proceeded up the staircase before they could get into any trouble.

���Miss Y/L/N?” Snape questioned, but you weren’t about to bring a teacher into this mess. Especially not Snape, who probably could not relate to teenage drama.

“Only trouble I have is forgetting to switch to my afternoon books, heh,” You laughed nervously, rubbing the back of your neck. “So I’m just going to go and do that now... see ya.”

You hurried towards the Slytherin common room, but didn’t go in. Rather, you circled back to the staircase once you were sure Snape was gone, and enveloped yourself in the shadows beneath. “Did I really just say see ya to Professor Snape?” You groaned to yourself.

Sitting down, and wrapping your arms around your knees, you thought about everything that was said to you. You weren’t sad about it, they didn’t bring you down or make you insecure. You were downright furious, and trying to stick to the blackness so you wouldn’t go charging up those stairs and making a scene.

The minutes ticked by, turning into hours. You didn’t have a watch but you realized that you were missing your afternoon classes. That was fine. You needed to wait until you cooled down to be able to focus anyway. You kept repeating those words inside your head - death eater? Was that what Cedric thought of you, before the two of you were picked to be together during an Arithmacy assignment and started to fall for each other?

Were the Hufflepuffs so high and mighty that they really looked down on everyone else? What happened to the fairness, or the just or whatever word the hat used for them that year. Wankers, that’s all they were. A bunch of wankers.

“Lumos,” A male voice said, and a bright light interrupted your stewing under the stairs. Cedric stood before you, his robes slightly torn at the sleeves. “I thought you might be here.”

“What happened to you?” You asked, slowly getting to your feet to look at what had happened to his sleeves. You could smell something earthy, and see the stains.

“Herbology - and my friends being bastards,” He said with a shrug, tugging his sleeves out of your hands. “I’m sorry for what happened. You were missing at lunch, and then they hinted at what happened. Something about removing the curse or freeing me from it or something like that. It took a little while to put two and two together but...”

He replaced the fabric that was in your hand a moment ago with his own hands, and stood with his forehead pressed against the top of your head. Your anger was dissipating. Looking into his golden eyes, you realized that he couldn’t have thought those awful things about you. He wouldn’t be here now if he had.

“... they’ll be leaving you alone from now on. I made sure of that.”

“What did you do?” You asked, blinking, feeling your eyelashes brushing across his skin. “You didn’t fight them, did you?”

“No,” Cedric chuckled. “I did threaten to leave the Quidditch team though, and that got them to shut up fast.”

“You shouldn’t have to threaten your friends in order for them to be happy for you,” You sighed, squeezing his hand.

“I know, but they’re the only friends I’ve got until we graduate,” He said, smiling cheekily. “Maybe they’ll grow up, we’ll see.”

“I guess we will,” You said. You pressed a soft kiss upon his lips which he returned. You could feel how chapped they were. As if he had been biting them, which he only did when he was nervous. “Were you really that nervous about them getting to me? You know I’d never break up with you just because I’m threatened by some badgers, right?”

“Maybe I was a little concerned...” He said, sucking on your bottom lip which brought out a moan. “But I know now - and they’ll have to learn.”

“They say Hufflepuffs are good finders,” You said, pulling him out of the dark and into the light before things could carry on too much longer. “I guess I can hold out hope they’ll find their heads in their arses one day.”                                                                                              

[pinkhairedlily]

Chapter 3 - Student Council President Sakura

SCPS AO3 | PREVIOUS CHAPTER

“Good morning, Sensei.”

Long trails of pink hair fell just inches above Kakashi’s face. He opened his eyes from a short morning nap and found Sakura shielding him from the summer sun. The book he was reading was on his stomach, turned down and split on the page he stopped.

“Good morning, Sakura. You let your hair down.”

She grinned at him and took a few steps back as he stood up. “I didn’t have time to dry my hair. I didn’t want to be late on my first day of class.”

“You had time to wake me up though.”

Internal panic coursed through Sakura which intensified more when he yawned and smirked, obviously teasing her, but it emphasized the small mole above his chin – something she was always fascinated about. “It’s bad impression when freshmen students find their teacher littering on campus grounds, Sensei.” I’m so proud of my quick wit. She happily sauntered away from the speechless, heads-over-heels, oblivious student trap.

Kakashi walked with her until the main entrance of the building, easily avoiding Sakura’s inquisitions of his summer break shenanigans and pinning the lack of it on the endless teacher trainings and seminars. Just before he left her to go the faculty room, he took a rubber band from his wrist and gave it to her. “In case you’ll get conscious and want to tie your hair. Have a good day, Sakura.”

She wasn’t conscious at all; she let it down for him, the hair tie in her skirt’s pocket – her pink strands freed at will to demand for his undivided attention, but she opened her palm to receive his offer all the same. She sighed after his fading figure in the gathering crowd.

New class lists were pasted on the bulletin board, and she scanned for names. Two particular people caught her attention. Ironically, they also appeared within her field of sight.

“Oh, Sakura. Good morning!” Naruto’s loud voice was ringing even though he just entered the building. If she would describe him, he was the embodiment of sunshine. He just had that positive energy around him which she liked. Walking close behind him was Sasuke, the stoic genius of their batch, and the opposite of Naruto. “How was your summer, Sakura?”

“Hmm, nothing much.” She glanced ever so quickly at Sasuke and saw him pay no mind. She liked that about him because while he was so unlike his loud, chatty friend, his energy was warm and kind, just hiding behind a tall wall of vulnerability. “I heard you joined the baseball team. Congratulations!”

Naruto shyly scratched his head. “I’m still a rookie though. I’ve got ways to go.”

That wasn’t entirely true. Sakura heard through the vine that he got mad agility skills, and that every sports team wanted him to try out. So much has changed in a year.

“Come on, we’re gonna be late.” Sasuke said.

“I haven’t seen which class I’m in yet!”

He grabbed the blonde by the collar and led the way. “We’re classmates.”

“Yeah, we’re classmates.” Sakura fell in step with Sasuke, Naruto frozen in shock. What an odd trio they must have been.

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

Their seating arrangement was pasted on the board when they came in. Sasuke got the seat beside the window – a good position for daydreams and afternoon naps. Sakura was placed beside him with a nice center view of the room, and Naruto was in front of her.

“Hey, Sakura. I need to tell you something, but it’s quite embarrassing. You see, I tend to fall asleep in the middle of class and since I’m in front of you…..erm….uhhh.”

“What he meant to say is he drools,” Sasuke interrupted. This apparently irked Naruto who full on glared at him.

“Well, yes, I drool. I have short attention span and classes make me so sleepy, but I hope that won’t disturb you. Just please look over my head.”

“How can she when there’s a porcupine sitting on it?”

Sakura chuckled at their weird, friendly banter. “Yeah sure, whatever you say Naruto. I don’t get easily distracted anyway.” She forgot to ask earlier if Kakashi will still be teaching Math for second years or which section his homeroom will be. As if her thoughts conjured him, he walked in their room, his silver hair glinting against the sunlight, and his eyes wandering in search for a face. Hushed gushes of admiration spread through the students, awed by the silent imposition of his presence. Then, his eyes fell on her.

He bridged the gap between them in easy, wide strides. “Ms. Haruno, the student council is looking for you.”

“They really sent you on an errand, Sensei?” No one dared to look beyond their interactions. She was easy-going, casual without being disrespectful, the model cheerful student, and the teachers’ pet. Teasing him with her half-truths hanging in between words was not difficult to cover up.

“Of course, I’m the council’s adviser.” And of course, she was thankful for his obliviousness.

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

“What do you think could it be? Did Sakura get into a scuffle?” Naruto asked after Sakura left with Kakashi. “No, that’s not really possible.”

Sasuke shrugged. He just wanted the day, or rather, the term to end quickly. He purposely avoided visiting the café, going in the mornings rather than late nights, partly because he didn’t want to run into her and partly because he was scared. He was just safely keeping his distance.

Sakura returned just before the next class started with an exuberant expression. The next teacher basically confirmed the news. “Congrats, Ms. Haruno Sakura. Thanks for stepping up to be the next student council president.” The position was left vacant after the initial appointee decided to focus on preparations and review to move abroad for college. The council, with faculty approval, recommended her to take the rein.

Hmm. They trust her abilities to this extent, huh. Sasuke looked outside, uninterested with the unfolding event and the break of congratulations around her. He saw her reflection on the window, smiling widely at her classmates, but her hands told another story, her fingers just solely focused on the rubber tie around her wrist.

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

Naruto had to stay behind for baseball practice which Sasuke was thankful for, but his feet didn’t want to go back home so he hid in their spot, napped for a while, and waited for Naruto’s message. When the blonde finally finished, Sasuke went to the field to fetch him.

“Sasuke, they’ll be joining us for dinner!” Naruto said.

“Sure, invite another team more.” Just his luck, Sasuke hated company, but like all other instances, he kept being dragged within his friend’s orbit. The team waved at him silently, knowing for a fact now that he didn’t respond to anyone other than Naruto.

“Really?” Naruto’s eyes perked up then a moment later realized that Sasuke was being sarcastic. He wrapped an arm around his shoulder and led the way to their usual ramen house.

“Get your hands off me, you vermin.”

“Awww they told me this was probably your love language – friendly banter.”

“Naruto, that didn’t come from us. We don’t want to get killed!” his teammates collectively chimed behind him. “Sorry Sasuke.”

Sasuke released a heavy sigh, quickly glaring at the players, but also letting the remarks slide. At least, this was a better option than being early at home and alone. After dinner, Naruto badgered him for desserts.

“I think I need a sugar rush. All the sugar left my body during practice. I envy Team Captain Haru.”

“The one with the undercut? His hair looked boring.”

“He has a steady supply of sweetness in his life. His girlfriend, Hinata, always visited during summer break. Quiet but supportive of our practice games. She cheers for him on the side and brings us snacks. I want a girlfriend too.”

“That’s normal, considering you’re a hormonal teenager.”

“Aren’t you the same?”

“Nope, I’m just a teenager.” His feet unconsciously led him to the café where Sakura worked. Ah, shit. “Hey, let’s go to another place.”

“This looks okay, grumpy! Besides, my feet hurt. Please have mercy on your dear friend.”

“You’re not my friend.”

“That’s a part of your love language too. Ehe. Come on now.”

Despite internally wishing she wasn’t present this evening, he found himself face to face again with Sakura. She had the usual disguise, but her makeup was on the heavier side – cat-shaped eyeliner just made her eyes stood up more. When she saw them, the first thing she did was look at him, conveying a questioning look, possibly on whether Naruto knew who she was. Sasuke subtly shook his head once.

Ever the simple-minded, Naruto’s focus was on the sweets. “I’ll have strawberry milkshake and a slice of red velvet cheesecake please!” It was going so well until he saw her face. Leaning in to Sasuke, he whispered. “She kinda looks familiar, don’t you think?”

“Your order, Sir?” Unfazed, Sakura continued doing her job. Her eyes looked towards the last plate of cream puffs.

“One slice of tomato cake and a matcha latte.”

“What?” Sakura and Naruto said at the same time.

“Even the lady agrees that that dessert sound unappetizing!” Naruto stuck out his tongue for a more theatrical effect. “Get a brownie or a cream puff.”

“I’m treating you so let me eat my tomatoes in peace.” Sasuke held out his card to Sakura who was still weirded out by his selection. Did he really give off a strong impression of his cream puffs inclination?

“I feel like we have a vibe going on.” Naruto leaned towards the counter, seemingly flirting with Sakura-in-disguise. “Maybe it’s because you have the same eye color?”

Before he could embarrass himself any further and prematurely confess his yet half-hearted feelings, Sasuke dragged Naruto away from the counter and on the farthest table of the café. “You made her uncomfortable. Stop it.”

“She looked like Sakura! But of course, our student council president looks more ethereal. I bet she’s so busy with school and club activities, she won’t have time for this.”

He spent an hour or so listening to Naruto talk about his baseball practice, the expired ramen he accidentally cooked last night, and the difficulty of their classes. It somehow ended on a note, much more like an imposition from Naruto, that Sasuke will give him supplementary lessons in this café and with his allowance.

They were about to leave when Sakura beckoned them over. She had two paper bags in her hands, and Sasuke noticed the absence of cream puffs. Someone must have ordered it already.

“Here’s a treat on the house – one for each of you. We’re giving freebies if you order within this timeframe. Come again!”

“This is so great! Thank you!” Naruto beamed at her but remembered something. “Hey, I’m sorry if I felt like a creep earlier. It wasn’t my intention.”

“Uh, that’s all right. I get that a lot.” She beamed back at him.

“You have the same beautiful eye color with our classmate. She’s cheerful, assertive, and has this positive energy around her. We hope we could be friends with her. Thanks for this again!”

Sasuke was too late to stop Naruto’s ramble, but he guessed it turned out fine. She just continued smiling like a good ole polite employee. “Get going, Naruto. I want to rest.” The two of them stepped out on the street with the fresh evening breeze.

“I feel like I still creeped her out.”

“Maybe you did.” Sasuke smirked at the tortured expression on Naruto’s face.

When he came home, he opened the paper bag to place the contents inside the fridge. It didn’t occur to him to ask why that promo wasn’t offered to him when he came last time, but nonetheless, he was a bit glad that he had something to munch on aside from processed food. His thoughts halted when he saw the cream puffs inside. His hands fetched his phone and he quickly dialed Naruto’s number.

“Grumpy, you missed me already?”

“What did she give you?”

“Who? Oh? You mean the café lady? Brownies! Do you think I can share these with Sakura tomorrow?”

Sasuke hang up on him without answering his question. He just kept on staring at the cream puffs on his kitchen counter.

Yeah, I better keep my distance.

AO3 LINK | NEXT CHAPTER | CHAPTER 4

[maritimeericandersen]

We’re Gunna Need A Bigger Boat: Shark Week, Part IV

Henry, Rose, and Eric go to find the creature that attacked someone in the lake with a different method than usual for this sort of thing. 

Things don’t go to plan.

TW: Violence, blood, slashing, biting, drowning

@charmed-henry @thehuntress-rose @brucewhite @gabriella-marino

ERIC

Eric had figured it might have been a bit suspect if the three of them were to meet up in the dorms and walk over to the lake together. Especially equipped with weapons— and Eric’s very pungent cooler of meat and fish. He got out there about an hour earlier than the agreed upon time to dig out the spot where he had hidden the net he had scounged up, having to make a few modifications to ensure it was big enough for this thing. (Whatever this thing really was.) It had taken him a few goes to make something that would hold but after he’d gotten the first knot down it had been like riding a bike. The muscle memory from all those boat rides and hunting trips taking over. 

So far the lake had been quiet, the only signs of movement had been the lapping of the water against the shore and the wind sweeping through the tree branches. (Beside the badger that had scared the bejesus out of him when it had come clambering out of the woods only to take off when he’d shined his light toward it.) It might have been reassuring had this not been his first hunt in what felt like ages. Instead it left him unsettled. Like whatever it was had run off everything else that frequented the lake.

He had dragged the net out and settled behind the equipment shed, resting up against the wall as he sat and waited. His eyes had closed before he knew it as the late hour caught up with him. The sound of footsteps, soft as they were, roused him. He stood and rounded the shed, not really thinking it would be anyone else but Henry or Rose. 

The dark made it hard to make out the figure but he still called out to them, arm waving. “Oi! Over here!” 

HENRY

Henry had also headed out from the dorms early, though not as early as Eric. He had been gathering weapons all week, his sword and some knives and some other hunting supplies at the advice of some guys at the Hunted Deer, and they were all quite heavy. That had slowed him down a bit. Henry was relieved to see that Eric had already arrived, though, because as much as Henry trusted Eric, he had been a little bit worried about Eric falling asleep or something. But that didn’t seem to be the case.

“Shh! Not so loud!” Henry stage-whispered, struggling to cross the sand with all the weapons. Maybe he should have left with Rose, at least to have help carrying things. 

He assessed the setup. Net, cooler full of bait, Eric looking a little sleepy but ready to go. It was almost like old times again. He set down the crossbow and the set of knives. “Rose should be here soon. I didn’t really get a chance to tell her everything about you, so we’re gonna have to go over that real quick, but she knows about the lake attack. So once we get our story straight, we should be good to go. Remember, she’s not my girlfr--” 

Henry cut himself off quickly when he saw the familiar outline of Rose approaching in the distance and waved. “Oi, Rose!”

ROSE

She didn’t think she was late, but was still the last to arrive it seemed. She prepared in different ways than the two boys had. The huntress assumed they’d go all in on weapons and nets and bait, so she brought some other items in her bag. Rose rolled her eyes as Henry waved her over and called out. So much for covert. They needed the cover of night, but could yell across the beach just fine. Strolling in with her energy drink in hand, she looked to both of the boys. The one she didn’t recognize looked young, “So you’re Eric? I’m Rose.” 

She looked this new character up and down. Henry had only mentioned that he knew about the lake monster situation and he could help. Rose wasn’t sure how, but the net and smelly cooler was assuring. She knew if she needed to know this guy’s deal, they’d tell her. If it wasn’t necessary to the job, she wouldn’t ask. There was an unspoken understanding in organizations like her’s; it’s all need to know. If Henry vouched for this Eric boy, she could trust him. “Oh, and I brought liquid energy. I figured Henry would be so Type A that he’d bring enough supplies for the whole town to trap this thing so I brought night ops essentials.” She swung her backpack around and opened it to show the goods. 

ERIC 

Eric didn’t really have any expectations of Rose. He never had expectations from most people since he didn’t have the mind to think that far ahead. Wasn’t to say he hadn’t been curious to meet her— an American who hunted. And a girl at that. 

He smiled, giving a nod of his head as she said his name, glancing at Henry to gauge if this reaction was a positive or a negative since he knew her better. Eric leaned forward over the space to stick out his hand but Rose had already turned her attention away to pull her bag around so Eric just closed his fingers into an awkward thumbs up and retreated. “Brilliant. Wouldn’t have even thought of that. Thank you.” 

After a moment he clapped his hands together. “Alright then! Yeah, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Rose. Erm— bit of a disclosure here to make sure we’re all on the same page. Technically, to the Order, I’m dead. So if you could just not tell anyone you saw me here or know I’m alive that’d be great. Really appreciate that. And we’re also not trying to kill this thing unless completely necessary. Capturing and containing it should be our first priority.” He let out a breath, lips buzzing. His hands fell to rest on his hips as he looked between the two of them, brows raised. “Anything else?” 

HENRY

Well, that was one way to put it. It got the message across, at least, anyway. Henry had been a bit worried about how Rose would respond to that. Out of everyone in the Order, she wasn’t the most loyal to Tom or John (Henry was pretty sure) but she still had a pretty close relationship with Phil. And while Henry trusted Phil and thought the world of him, he also worried about how Phil would react if he found out about this. It would reflect badly on Henry.

“Yes, that’s very important-- very long story, but basically, Eric and I trained together, but he’s figuring some things out right now, and it will sort of get in the way of the mission if it comes out that he’s around. But we need his help for this mission so… yeah. Sorry I didn’t mention before. It’s sort of a need-to-know basis thing.”

There was something else that bothered Henry. What was Eric doing, trying to contain the creature like an animal-lover releasing a fly into the backyard rather than swatting it? What were they going to do, keep it as a pet?

He glanced at Eric. “As for the plan... if the creature puts up a fight we can use self-defense. I’m just saying. We have to prioritize our own lives. I don’t want anyone getting hurt unnecessarily.”

ROSE

Rose’s face fell when Eric explained his drastic measures to leave the Order. She was talking to a ghost; and yet, instead of a chill she felt jealous. Was that all it took? In order to disappear, you had to die. She looked to Henry next. How did he keep this a secret? He was in on this? For some reason, there was a cord inside of her that tied her to the boy even tighter now. He’d kept this secret for a friend for some time. She could trust him blindly. He’d proven it over and over now. She looked back to Eric, eyeing her expectantly. 

“Okay. I’m in.” She exhaled, “I won’t tell anyone, but why can’t we kill it? That thing tried to eat Candace and I’m sure it won’t hesitate to take a bite out of any of us! And even if we can catch it, what the hell do we do with it? We don’t even know what it is. I say we kill it and end it all tonight.”

ERIC

Honestly, Eric hadn’t been expecting such little resistance on the whole I’m dead but not bit but he was expecting the push back on not going for the kill. Before the wreck, he would have thought the same thing. It was much easier, anyway. And, they were right. It had hurt someone. It would have probably done a lot more damage than it had if they hadn’t been there to save the girl— to save their friend. 

But this Eric was not the same as the one from before. He had lived a life here without ties to the Order just to see what it was like with magic around every corner. Eric had met a load of Magicks, was on a volleyball team with ‘em, checked out their groceries, borrowed one’s pencil during lecture. Hell, he had met a werewolf (twice over) and not gotten killed or bitten either time. It taught him that they weren’t so monstrous as the Order had made them out to be. Yes, magic could be dangerous, but so could Mundus, and they didn’t go around hunting them. 

“Look, I get it. I do. You know I do— “ Eric gestured to Henry but still, he shook his head. “But you’re right. We don’t know. We don’t know what it is or why it did what it did. I want the chance to find out. I mean, don’t you? After all this time of learning about how these things are monsters, don’t you want to know why? The Order never told us, they just gave us the weapons and pointed a finger and I think that’s because they never stopped to ask.” 

He let out a breath, glancing between Henry and Rose. “My family’s been hunting things like this for generations but I’m only alive now because of one. So— I’m not asking you to risk your lives, if it tries to kill you, defend yourself. But if it doesn’t, if it’s caught and we can contain this, all I’m asking for is a conversation.” 

HENRY

So this was worse than Henry had thought. Swynlake had gotten to Eric, even more so than it had gotten to Henry. He wondered if he had failed Eric by not pushing him hard enough. Henry had been so worried about losing his friend, about pushing him away, that he had let him lose all sense of what he had been taught. Maybe it wouldn’t be as easy as Henry had thought to bring him back into the Order.

Henry wanted to hate this godforsaken town so badly, with its quirky magic that lured people into a false sense of security. And then it quite literally bit back. But Henry could see how Eric had been drawn in… Henry had, after all, fallen in love with a Magick. A completely harmless one, of course. But still. How could he hate a place that had given him so much?

It was far too complicated to think about now. One thing was for certain, though: Henry had to keep Eric and Rose safe, and make sure nobody got hurt. Or worse.

Maybe Tom and Phil had been right. Maybe Henry should have left this to the experts.

But this was his plan and he was going to have to stick to it, so Henry just nodded, though his expression betrayed a slight annoyance, a hint of concern. “That’s… noble, mate, but I’m just warning you, I don’t think this thing’s gonna want a conversation. It’s not a pretty one like you might be used to. It’s more beast than human, I’m telling you,” Henry said seriously. “I won’t go for a kill right away, but I’m not going to let anyone risk their life for this thing’s safety. Can we agree on that, at least?”

ROSE:

His words struck a chord in her. Eric was right. The Huntsclan was the same in the way that they gave orders and they were followed. No questions asked and no compassion for the creatures was allowed. It disarmed her in a way that she had been before. She didn’t know what had caused Eric to see the humanity in monsters, but she had also seen it first hand. Once upon a time she’d been in love with one, however those days were long gone. 

Rose held his gaze for a second longer than she meant to. She had decided to trust Eric, but showing that kind of weakness to him was a far off impossibility. The huntress kept unusually quiet as she mulled over their options and her feelings about it all. 

She was in a weird middle ground. One boy was fully dedicated to the cause, and one was already free of it. And what was she? 

Rose shrugged noncommittally, “Fine, you can have a chat with it if you want. I don’t know how much you’ll get out of it, Henry’s right. But I’m with you.” She put a hand on Henry’s shoulder and shared a look. We should let him have this, a silent conversation took place. 

ERIC

Henry’s answer had been about what he had been expecting— supportive of Eric but in the end not willing to bend what the Order had taught them. 

It was Rose he was worried about. He didn’t know her or her fighting style. She didn’t know him, either, and yet here Eric was asking two big things of her upon their first meeting. The air in his lungs began to burn as he held it in there, waiting for her response, not wanting to so much as breathe in fear that one wrong move would persuade her against him. Her answer knocked it out of him, his slack jawed shock turning into delighted surprise. 

“Brilliant! You won’t regret this!” He stepped forward to put one hand on Rose’s shoulder and the other on Henry’s unoccupied one to complete the trifecta, not realizing he was intruding on their moment. Eric grinned at the two of them and clapped their shoulders before moving to look out at the lake. “Now that we’ve got that put away, here’s the plan! You see those boats?” 

He pointed to a pair of small wooden dinghies, one with an outboard motor attached to the back. “We can attach the net between ‘em to take out on the water. With the chum we can lure it out and I’ll lead it back to the net, where you two’ll be waiting. Once we’ve got it in the net we can bring it on land and— see how it goes from there.” Eric turned to look back at them, hands formed into two thumbs up. “Sound good?”  

HENRY

Henry still thought Eric’s idea was silly, honestly, but he could at least respect the intention behind not wanting just to kill something on sight. Still, Henry was going to reserve the right to attack the minute the creature threatened Eric or Rose. He was not letting any other friends get hurt in front of him. Absolutely not. 

He frowned back at Rose, but understood that they weren’t going to get anywhere if they stood around arguing. That was soon interrupted, though, by Eric, and for a moment, Henry thought they looked like a team. Just like old times in the Order, maybe even kind of like Tom and John and Phil. 

“Sounds like we’ve got a plan. Thanks, Eric,” Henry said, his tone still just a bit grim. He looked between the two of them. “Why don’t the two of you take one boat and I’ll take the other?” Henry wanted to be in the same boat as both of them, just in case something happened, but he didn’t want to leave either Rose or Eric on their own. At least Rose would keep Eric on task and Eric would be able to draw on his aquatic creature expertise. Still, Henry didn’t like this idea of splitting up. It seemed to be the only way, though.

ROSE:

Rose wouldn’t pretend to know anything about aquatic magicks to these two. It was her own hubris making her act so assured when Phil and Tom had talked to them about the situation. She nodded along with Eric’s plan, but she still felt the same hesitation Henry did. Maybe it was the air of camaraderie; Rose felt like she should be a teamplayer and listen to the boy with the plan. The benefit of the doubt was surely earned. 

“Alright, into the boats we go?” Rose wasn’t sure about splitting up, but logistically they needed the two boats for this to work. And the huntress had a few questions for the ‘dead’ Prince that Henry might not understand. 

ERIC

He stuck out his lower lip and shrugged, not really thinking it mattered who was in what boat since his plan would be eventually getting into the water anyway so, either way, everyone was going to be on their own at some point. 

“Sure, yeah. Get your things, I’ll get the net attached.” Eric smiled, rounding the shed to go drag the big net down toward the dock where the dinghies were tied up. It took him a while to get the net fastened to each of them as he wanted to make sure the knots were secure, but eventually he stood, wiping his hands dry on his shirt. “In we go. I’ll untie you from the dock.” 

He pulled the first boat closer for Henry, keeping one foot on the dock and the other in the boat to keep it stabilized while he got in before untying it from the cleat, and giving an extra push. He did the same for Rose, only following in next to her with the cooler before pushing off from the dock. “And Henry, mate, if you see anything just say so! Sound going from air to water doesn’t carry that well so you probably won’t spook ‘em! You’ve not got to shout or anything just—” He waved off the rest of what he was going to say. “You’ve got it.” 

HENRY

Henry gave a quick, serious nod in acknowledgement and laid his weapons down in the boat before he started paddling. 

It was strange to have Rose here. Even though Henry and Eric’s missions had been Order-adjacent (or, rather, Henry’s subtle attempts to try and get Eric to see how rewarding Order missions could be) he had still felt like he was living a double life. He trusted Rose to keep Eric’s secret, but up until now, it had always been Henry and Eric on these missions. Bringing Rose in brought a new dynamic to things.

“I don’t see anything yet, do we want to search the middle of the lake or head for the river?” Henry asked, glancing at Eric and Rose’s boat. Eric probably smelled like fish after handling all that seafood-- did that make the other boat more of a target? No, he couldn’t start getting himself worked up. “The thing’s got to be out here somewhere.”

ROSE

Rose stepped into the tiny boat and had to balance herself from the slight wobble of it. It had been a long while since she’d been on a small dinghy like this one, but she kept her agility and her wits about her. The water was calm, so it didn’t shift too much under her boot. It was almost enchanting, watching the water. It wasn’t nearly as beautiful as the ocean on the last night of Spring Break, but still, the water did in fact have a siren call no matter the size. If only their weren’t some killer beast lurking underneath the placid surface. After she sat down and Eric and Henry had their exchange, she called out, “I dunno. Damn thing could be anywhere now. I say we go out a bit further and then let it come to us.”

She leaned in towards Eric, now that they had drifted a ways away from Henry. And with a lowered voice said, “How did you do it? Fake your death, I mean… and why?” Her brows knit together in genuine concern and curiosity. “I won’t tell,” she interjected herself, not wanting to sound untrustworthy. “I just, well, dying is about the only way you can get out of these kinds of things. Do you -- do you want back in?”

ERIC

He rolled his eyes at Henry and Rose. This was always how it went with people who hadn’t frequently hunted on water. On land it was different, everyone was on even ground for the most part and it was easier to see the signs of the prey. Footprints could be left in the mud, a broken branch clipped as they hurried passed. Water washed all that away. The earth was forgiving for the most part, leaving those that fell against it alone. Water didn’t care. Humans had crawled their way out of it for a reason. Moving to somewhere kinder. 

“Just got to be patient. If it’s here, it’ll show.” But he complied, helping to row the boat out to the middle of the lake where they could idle for the time being. As they worked their way across every so often Eric would reach into the cooler and toss out a piece of chum into the water. 

His eyebrows lifted as he looked up at Rose, her questions catching him off guard. Not that he minded. He just didn’t think she would care as they had only just met and all. 

“Erm— well it wasn’t exactly something I had planned. I was on a mission for the Order. We were tracking something that had been taking out fishing boats and a storm hit. It took the boat, we all had to abandon ship. Next thing I know I’m waking up, bloody freezing, on a beach watching a pair of flukes disappear into the water.” He paused then shook his head, looking down as he put the lid back on the cooler.

“So, I wondered, if we were wrong about mermaids, what else could we be wrong about? I had the payphone in my hand to call home but I— I dunno. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t go back to them until I knew the whole truth. It’s why I came here.” Eric gestured, turning to look around them, the lights of Swynlake far off into the distance. “I don’t know if I’ll ever really go back. That’s why I want to talk to this thing. I need to know if what we’ve been doing, acting as judge, jury, and executioner, has been right or if we’ve just been going by the words of a bunch of scared people clinging to a world that doesn’t exist anymore until we turn into them and the cycle repeats.” 

GABRIELLA 

It seemed that Gabriella Marino had a knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time these days. 

Or, really, the past few years of her life. Tonight was no exception. 

The call to the water had been playing in the back of her mind over the passing days, only growing stronger the longer she resisted it. All her life she had been able to ignore it with ease, happy with her feet rather than her tail. It was only after spending to much time in the ocean that she had really accepted how much it was apart of her rather than something to be hid away. Now, being away from it for so long, felt like she was taking three steps backwards after only just having taken that first step forward. 

She figured tonight would have been a safe bet. Some time had passed since the attack and it was in the dead of the night. Who would be out on the lake this late? So off she went, making her way through the town to reach the bank, where she found not one but two boats out on the water. They were a ways away, the figures within them unrecognizable in the dark. 

What the hell? What were they even doing out there? And why did they have to be here tonight of all nights?

Gabriella bent down, walking along the edge of the lake until she had a better line of sight. She watched, confused, as one of the people closed the lid on a white box. With a handle on the top. Was that...a cooler? Seriously? Where they just here to get drunk or something? Hoping that they were at the end of their bender, she decided to wait and see if they would leave soon so that her trip out here hadn’t been a waste. 

BRUCE

Bruce couldn’t take it any longer.

After the run-in with the fox-fae, he thought he was done. At least for another month. At least until he could find some way to stop himself from this horrible monthly habit that he just couldn’t get away from. But the hunger returned, not quite satisfied, aching deep in his bones and pulling him toward the water. Not the same as the ocean, but close enough. 

At least it was the middle of the night this time. Maybe if Bruce swam out to the deepest part of the lake, as far away from humans as possible, when the other merpeople would hopefully still stay away, he could avoid hurting anyone. It had never worked before, but Bruce had to justify himself somehow. As long as he could avoid blood…

The good news was that Bruce did not smell blood. The bad news, however, was that Bruce smelled something just as pungent: an entire cooler full of fresh bait, right in the middle of the lake, leading a trail to two boats full of unsuspecting uni students. 

Suddenly, Bruce only had one thought on his mind, and it was food. It was rare to find so much of it, or to find it so fresh, just sitting there waiting for him. That thought propelled him forward and he rocketed toward the boat, launching himself out of the water and at the man bending over the cooler. His teeth clamped down hard on the man’s leg, drawing blood. All Bruce could think about was his hunger.

ERIC

The stillness was disrupted when something moved. He caught it out of the corner of his eye, a figure moving along the shore, but as soon as he went to see what it was the shadows had taken ownership of them again.  

Eric’s brows furrowed together and he stood, trying to get a better angle. Something moving in the water was one thing, but someone spying on them from the shore was a whole other beast that they couldn’t be bothered with right now. He continued to stare at the spot— waiting to see if the person or animal would move again. 

When they didn’t he shrugged, reaching back over for the cooler. “Sorry, I thought I saw—” 

The water jumping out of the lake cut him off. 

The creature bit into him and Eric didn’t scream— not at first. His leg was taken out from under him by the force at which the thing had breached the surface, his head slamming against the side of the boat. The small thing rocked violently, the extra weight throwing it to the side almost to the point of tipping but Eric falling evened it back out on the other side, the wood crashing back down into the water with him. It takes him a few tries to get his vision to work properly so he can see just what the hell was happening. 

He could feel the blood, warmer than the sun heated lake water, start to ooze against his skin, into the fabric of his trousers. Could feel the teeth in the meat of his leg, his whole body simultaneously trying to crumble around the point of pain like a leaf caught aflame and yet it wanted to escape, spreading back out thin against the floor of the dinghy. 

ROSE

Rose listened to his explanation with an open mind. Her own prejudices were tested since coming here, so she could see how Eric felt about it all. She had dated a werewolf (for a scheme, albeit, but she did fall for him anyway) and Eric was saved by a mermaid. For a brief moment, she wished she could be shipwrecked and gone with the wind. The moment was fleeting, but recurring. Rose had yearned for this before. But this life was all she knew. She was comfortable in that. 

Before she could voice her response, she didn’t even know what it would be, the boat rocked. It rocked violently and water poured in, soaking her legs. In a matter of milliseconds, Rose thought they were going under and then they were righted. Only, they had a guest now. The creature she’d fought off once before was merely inches in front of her again. Thrashing and hanging out of the boat.

“Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit,” she chanted like a life saving mantra while standing up to get a better angle. Feet far apart to distribute her weight, she grabbed the closest thing to her. An oar, discarded in the commotion of it all. Rose lunged for it swiftly and smacked the creature with whatever force she could muster. 

“Fuck, the net! Henry, the net!”

HENRY

It all happened so fast. When Eric noticed something moving in the water, Henry froze, but he didn’t have time to relax again before Eric was almost ripped off the boat and dragged beneath the surface. 

“NO!” Henry cried hoarsely, reaching for his sword (it was a good thing he had it this time). He had already mourned Eric once. He was not going to lose him again. In the Order, not in the Order, it didn’t matter, Eric was Henry’s oldest friend. And regardless of Eric’s feeling on the matter, Henry was out for blood. “GET AWAY FROM HIM!” He swung the sword wildly but only grazed the creature’s shoulder, drawing blood. He tossed the net to Rose. She could try to capture this thing if she wanted to. But Henry was aiming to kill. 

He raised the sword again, aiming to stab from behind, when he heard more splashing in the distance. Henry hesitated-- if there was another one coming, he wanted to be prepared-- then raised the sword higher and prepared to swing it downward.

GABRIELLA

She froze in her spot, like prey caught in a predator’s path, when one of the figures stood. It felt like they were looking right at her and she knew, if she moved even an inch, she was going to get caught. Her heart picked up speed as she thought maybe they already had spotted her and were yelling, she just couldn’t hear them. 

The next few seconds felt like whiplash as she watched on. 

The person settled back down. Gabriella relaxed so much she fell back on her ass against the ground below. 

Something came crashing into the boat from out of the lake, the boat’s movements aggressive. Gabriella shot up to her feet. 

What did she do? Go fetch help from the town? Or would it be too late? Did she try to help them herself? Was it worth the risk, now that she had only barely settled into this town? 

All of this overthinking was swept to the side as the glint of metal reflected. Gabriella ran forward until her legs were no longer needed, her tail easily replacing them as it slapped down against the water to boost her forward. The closer she got, the familiar figure of a tail came into view amongst all the chaos. It wasn’t like anything she had ever seen, even in her time spent in the open waters of the sea, but she could recognize a likeness. And if this merperson was like her, in any capacity, then they were going to need help. 

She got closer to the surface, around the other side of the second boat. Her eyes widened as she saw the blade of a sword, a sword??, rising into the air. Gabriella swam upward until she could grab hold of the side of the boat, bushing down harsly to boost herself up and grab hold of the wielder’s shirt tails to pull him back, keeping the swing from hitting its target. 

BRUCE (tw lots of blood descriptions)

First, the oar smacked against the side of his head, knocking Bruce off-balance and causing him to falter. He released the leg briefly and had just lunged forward to sink his teeth in again when the sword slashed his shoulder and Bruce cried out in pain, a low-pitched groan. He could smell his own blood now, and feel the warm trickle down his shoulder. Hunger still rumbled beneath Bruce’s skin, but it was getting harder to fight. 

His teeth scraped the man’s leg as he struggled to hold onto the side of the boat. Bruce was sure he was done for when, suddenly, the figure behind him stopped. Bruce’s head whipped around to see a pale pink tail in the moonlight, and… oh no. Was that a familiar face?

Gabriella?

Bruce had to get out of here. He had taken so much care to avoid revealing who he really was to Gabriella and the entire Whosits and Whatsits staff, and now all of that was in jeopardy. Would Gabriella recognize him? He couldn’t stick around to find out. 

Leaving a trail of blood in the water behind, Bruce swam toward the far end of the lake and transformed back into his human form before collapsing on the beach. He could still taste blood on his teeth, and the gash remained on his shoulder, a searing pain. If anyone showed up, Bruce was sure he would look incredibly suspicious. But he didn’t have the energy to go hide. Not yet.

HENRY

Henry swung the sword down, but was pulled off-balance when someone grabbed the back of his shirt. He stumbled, trying not to fall out of the boat. He had been right. Another one. This was worse than Henry had thought. The mercreatures were multiplying.

With some effort, Henry managed to wriggle out of the grip of the creature and turned to see not a shark staring back at him, but a girl. He immediately recognized her, brown eyes and round face, the new girl at Pride U. Gabriella, Henry thought her name was? His eyes traveled behind her to see a long, pale pink tail. How had Henry never suspected?

It didn’t matter. She was trying to drown Henry just like that other creature, and Henry was not going to let anyone else endanger his or his friend’s lives. 

“You!” Henry shouted. He raised his sword again, trying to ignore the fact that this was one of his peers. She was a dangerous sea creature, and she had tried to kill him, and Henry had to protect the rest of the town. It was for everyone’s good. “You’ll pay for this!” He lunged forward, rocking the boat slightly.

GABRIELLA 

She watched, breathing hard from both the physical strain and the utter relief of seeing the other merperson taking off back into the water. At least they knew when to cut their losses. Gabriella had been about to mirror them and disappear but when the other merperson moved, a new scene was found. 

With the girl in the other boat, there was a boy lying in the floor of it. He looked...hurt? Her heart sank into her stomach to create a terrible, painful, pit there. The merperson...they had attacked someone? ...again? 

And she had just helped them get away. 

She didn’t have time to process everything, to think about the guilt that now made her sick or if this had been some kind of gross misunderstanding she had come across and only made that much worse, the boy closest to her was turning around. Gabriella lifted her eyes to meet his. She knew him. Henry Charming. Vanellope had once warned her that he was someone to stay away from. 

Gabriella shook her head, eyes darting to the other boat, trying to communicate that she hadn’t known. She thought-! 

As he lunged forward she ducked under the water, the ends of her tail lifting up behind to get her as far away from the range of the blade as she could get. 

ERIC (TW: alludes to drowning)

His fingers dug into the lip of the dinghy, hands shaking from the vice-like grip he had on the wood. He could feel bits of it coming off underneath his fingernails but he didn’t care. Eric had seen this happen before. Had watched as someone got dragged below the surface of the water— and he knew he couldn’t let that happen to himself. Not again. With his wound and this thing’s seeming lack of care for his life, there was no way he would come back. All he could do was hold on and trust that Henry and Rose could get it off him before it decided to pull him along with it. 

A shout built up in Eric’s throat when he saw Henry’s arm pull back, sword hoisted into the air, even though he knew it would be in vain. As it turned it out, he wouldn’t have to. At first all he could see was Henry stumble back and Eric thought— he didn’t know what he thought, he could barely think at all, but maybe the wobbly boat had made Henry lose his footing. 

It didn’t matter anyway. The creature using him for a midnight snack leapt back into the water, leaving the boat to sway heavily in its wake. 

Eric sat up then, gritting his teeth as he reached out to his leg. Trembling fingers pressed down on the wound to test and he hissed. And oh god, it hurt. The pain clogged every sense, sight, sound, breathing. It almost distracted him enough to not notice that Henry had started yelling again. The creature was probably circling back around for him, and Eric leaned forward against the side of the boat to— again, he didn’t know. The only thing in his head was help Henry. 

Then he saw it.

The flukes, water droplets falling from them as they rose and smashed back down. And then they were gone. That was them. That was her. Just like he remembered because it had been a memory not just a waterlogged hallucination of an explanation that made sense as to why he was still alive. 

“He— Hen—” he tried to get out, his breath coming in but not enough. Finally he swallowed everything down and his voice came out in a desperate, pathetic, plea. (And not just for the mermaid, or for himself, but for his friend who was about to kill someone.) “Henry! Henry, no! Please!”  

Eric tried to lift himself up, using his good leg and one hand on the side of the boat. But that hand was slippery with blood and the side of the dinghy soaked with water. He put too much weight forward, trying to keep it off his leg, and his palm didn’t catch on the surface like it was supposed to. His body twisted and this white hot snap blinded him for a moment before he went plunging over the side, head first. 

His eyes blurred, whole head blurred. He felt like ink swirling in the water— drifting and aimless and slowly diluting. Like the blood he left behind as he sunk lower and lower. 

ROSE

Rose caught the net but so many things were happening at once. Henry swung at the creature, causing it to retreat. But then another one appeared? This one shimmered in typical mermaid fashion, unlike the creature they were hunting. There were two of them? Was this creature a mermaid too? 

Eric screamed out, startling her more than this already precarious situation was. It wasn’t a cry of pain, but fear. Henry… no… please! Was he— trying to stop him? She could understand wanting to talk to the monsters to see what made them tick, she was a psychology major. But begging for their lives once they’ve tried to end yours is too much empathy for her to comprehend. 

He leaned dangerously close to the edge. Rose couldn’t tell if the monster was still circling. She whipped her head around, keeping an eye out on the water. When she turned back, that teetering balance Eric had found ended. She tried to grab whatever she could find purchase on as he plummeted into the black water. “Eric!” 

HENRY

“Eric!” 

Maybe Eric meant it as a plea for Henry to stop attacking, but Henry only heard a cry for help. Terror seized Henry and he dropped to his knees, gripping the side of the boat and leaning dangerously close to the water. Phil’s warning about Charles Norrington flashed into Henry’s mind. What if this was it? 

No. It couldn’t be. Henry would have to find a way. He wanted to jump in and save Eric, but the mermaid was still lurking. What if she tried to kill Henry, too? Rose would be left all alone. He would just have to finish the mermaid off first.

Henry stabbed at the water at random with his sword, fueled by rage and fear. Order training had taught him to stay calm in moments like this, to hold in his emotions and focus on the task at hand, but Henry couldn’t. Eric was his oldest friend. Practically his brother. Henry would not lose him again. “You’ll pay for this!” he threatened, his frustration growing as the mermaid managed to avoid his jabs. “Rose! Help me finish this! Or distract her! Something!”

GABRIELLA

She couldn’t hear all the yelling going on but she had certainly felt the splash, even under water. Gabriella turned to look back at the scene she had just fled, wondering if that other merperson had decided to make their return. 

There was a shadowy figure in the distance, sinking in a line that led back to where the surface was fixing itself back over from being breached. The outlines of the two boats were still there. A large part of her still wanted to swim away. What if that Charming kid had jumped in and if she decided to get close again, she would just get shish-kabobbed!

But she had been in this position once before. Had been in the wrong place at the wrong time and watched a boat succumb to the sea. Above had been a violent crash of waves but below the water was still calm and from there she had waited to see what would happen. She had gotten a front row seat in watching as a boy jumped from one of the lifeboats the crew had taken to in order to help someone, only to get left behind. That display of selflessness had moved her forward to catch him before the ocean could truly take him for her own. She had swam him back to the nearest beach she could find, but as soon as he showed signs of life she had high tailed it out of there.

Gabriella, against her better judgement, swam closer to see...a boy, drowning, blood colouring the water in stripes above him. Something slashed at the water from the boats and Gabriella had a moment’s hesitation. Was it fair to the rest of the merfolk living in this town to let him live? These three had probably come out here to kill their kind, judging by the freaking sword on hand. But was it fair to let this one die? He had been a victim, too, hadn’t he? 

And would she be able to live with herself if she just let him, when she knew she could do something? The answer was the same as it had been in the frigid water from so long ago. She swam down after him, wrapping her arms around his middle, and hauled him upward, intending on returning him to the boats. But that stupid sword was going in and out of the water. 

Instead Gabriella swam them further away, back toward the shore. They broke the surface just out of range of the boats but she continued to carry him, making sure his head was above water as it rested on her shoulder. When they reached the portion where the lake was shallow enough for him to not take on any more water, but still deep enough that she could make an easy escape back to safety, she allowed him to lay back. Gabriella startled when she saw it, a gasp escaping her, hand coming up to cover her mouth. 

It was him. The same boy. Same dark curls. Same pale face. 

She panicked now, something opening up inside her chest like a black hole. Her hand shook as she brought it underneath his nose to feel if he was still breathing. 

ERIC

As soon as he’d hit the water he had tried to get back to the surface. His feet tried to kick but his bloody (no pun intended) leg couldn’t handle the movement, making him convulse and lose more distance between water and air as pain shot up his side. He hadn’t had time beforehand to gather air into his lungs, having not prepared for this, and he had already been struggling to breath properly in the boat. His brain began to panic against his body’s base need— caught between thinking it best to just breathe and knowing that would only kill it faster.

In the end, instinct won out. Eric tried to inhale. 

He didn’t register anything else except the always present pain and a distant feeling of moving until he was being laid down on his back. Instead he rolled over onto his side, coughing up the water and allowing air to rush in to take its rightful place. Eric braced himself with a palm against the ground, unsure of how he’d managed to get there. Then he remembered with startling clarity, Henry, Rose, the monster— 

A feeling brushed against his skin, that odd sort of sense people had when they felt like they were being watched or like they weren’t alone. Slowly, Eric turned his head to find a mermaid looking down at him. His eyes followed the shape of her body to the pink tail that sat behind her. He pushed on his hand, extending his arm until he was sat up, breathing in short bursts through his clenched teeth as his leg protested doing anything. Blood was still leaking from the wounds, the warmth of it a contrast to the air hitting his wet skin. 

Eric couldn’t really do anything but stare at her for a long moment. He felt like he had seen her face before, probably one of the many wandering around town. What an odd thing to think. All this time he had been searching for her and she had been there, right under his nose. 

Christ, he needed to say something. 

Something caught his eye, off in the distance over her shoulder. Refocusing he found the two dinghies. Henry and Rose. 

“Fucking hell.” Eric glanced back at the mermaid and immediately brought a hand up to cover his mouth. “Sorry. Shouldn’t have said that. Erm— my friends, are they alright?” 

ROSE:

“What am I supposed to do? Jump in?” She said, with her arms out in annoyance. 

He was crazy if he thought she was going to get in the water after what just happened. Rose knew she needed to act fast though. Eric wouldn’t be able to swim with that leg. So she bent down as low as she could go and swished the net around in the water, hoping to catch something entirely different than they’d come here for. Her arms plunged as deep into the water as the boat would let them without tipping over. Something shimmery glinted around the boats and caught her attention. That wasn’t Eric. It was a true mermaid, unlike whatever creature they were hunting. It could also be a mermaid of some sort… but she’d need to do more research. 

“Henry, stop! You could hit Eric,” Rose held up a hand. She knew he wouldn’t stop on behalf of the mermaid in the water. But with her face barely inches from the surface, she saw it. The girl grabbed Eric hesitantly and pulled him away from Henry’s ineffective, yet sharp sword. “We need to get to shore,” she said, standing. “Eric is gonna be okay, Hen.” 

HENRY

For a moment, Henry had no idea what was happening. Eric was deep under the water, the mermaid was getting away, and Henry was stabbing randomly at the water, as though it would do something, anything. He was just about to jump in himself, try to fight off this mermaid in her own territory (it was a terrible idea but better than standing idly by) when he saw movement under the water. Gabriella had grabbed Eric, she was pulling him away, surely to drown him…

Or… 

Could it be? Was she actually saving his life? Eric had said a mermaid had saved his life once before.

Still, one could never be too sure. Mermaids were tricky creatures. Henry was not leaving Eric alone with her, not when she could change her mind at any moment and drag him back into the water (or perhaps that was her whole plan from the start. Henry wouldn’t rule it out). 

So he grabbed an oar and started paddling toward the shore, a look of grim determination on his face. “We don’t know that,” he said, rowing as fast as he could. “Why would a mermaid save a man’s life? Out of kindness? These are ruthless creatures, Rose, we have to make sure--” The shoreline started to approach and Henry changed his focus. “You! Get away from him!” Henry shouted. He jumped out of the boat into knee-deep water and splashed over to Gabriella and Eric. “What do you think you’re doing?!”

GABRIELLA

Odd how when the boy finally seemed to suck in air, it felt like Gabriella could breathe again, too. The relief was almost as painful as the pressure that had been expanding in her chest because it left a hollowed out place for the questions of, now what? What would he do to her? And what was she supposed to do now? He was okay, still bleeding and turning the water red around them, but alive for now. 

When he stared at her she could only do the same in return, stuck in place with her own curiosity about him. Gabriella couldn’t help the fluch that rose from her chest, up her neck, and into her cheeks when his eyes moved down to her tail. No one but other merfolk, and very few outside her family, had ever seen it. Which was different because they knew what to expect, they didn’t stare like it was some kind of anomaly. But, well, if she transformed back to her legs she figured that would be way more embarrassing! 

She watched his mouth move but shook her head when it seemed like he was asking her a question, his expression curious and eyes focused in on her. Gabriella pointed to her ears, hoping that would get the point across that she couldn’t hear him.

She went to motion to his leg, a request for his permission to help, but suddenly the movement of the water changed. The consistent waves were disrupted and she whipped her head around to see the other Mundus approaching. Instinct took over and she made a move to flee.  

ERIC

His eyes narrowed as he watched the mermaid’s movements. She shook her head and panic welled up inside him, thinking that was her answer. Rose and Henry were still out there in danger and what the hell was he doing? Sitting around like a lemon. Eric attempted to get up but his leg wouldn’t let him, the nerves fraying when he so much as moved. A disgruntled sound was forced from his throat and his hands went to stabilize it, keep it from getting jostled anymore than it already had. Then he looked up and the mermaid was pointing to her ears, again shaking her head. 

“What’s wrong? What is it?” He shook his head at her, the movement slower as his brain tried to process what she was trying to tell him on top of everything else that was going on. What the hell did that even—? “Oh.”

Right. Well didn’t he feel like the biggest idiot. 

“Sorry, I didn’t know—” Then, realizing that meant shit all to her, Eric shook his head and tried to think of how to communicate without making a bigger fool of himself than he’d already done. Just as he was trying to make out what she meant by pointing to his leg he looked up to watch Henry and Rose approach, too. The mermaid moved, as if trying to make a break for it, and Eric couldn’t blame her but he couldn’t let her leave. He’d already lost her once, he wasn’t going to, again. 

So he reached out, another noise emerging through gritted teeth as he dove forward to wrap a hand around her wrist. He shook his head, pleading with his eyes at her to just stay put. To trust him. Hoping it would be enough he let her go and looked toward Henry and Rose. 

“Henry, mate, I’m fine! See? All in one piece!” Eric motioned to himself, choosing to ignore his leg for argument’s sake. “It’s her! It’s her, the one I told you about, it’s her.” 

ROSE:

Henry didn’t leave much room to argue. So she didn’t. Instead she followed after him with an equal speed and intensity. Even if she didn’t think the mermaid was going to hurt Eric, he was still in danger of bleeding out on the beach. 

When they finally made it to the shore, she saw how close she was to Eric. And he didn’t seem to be scared. Henry jumped out first, but Rose followed right behind. Trudging through the dangerous waters once again. She needed to stop him before he hurt someone who was innocent. “Henry, wait!” 

She knew her partner was impulsive and that his friend had just been attacked but she was not his attacker. They could at least afford her the courtesy of leaving her be seeing as she saved him. Maybe the huntress was getting soft. Rose had to raise her feet up to get more speed in the water to catch up. “Henry!” she called out, grabbing his shoulder as he closed in on the ‘threat.’ 

The girl didn’t look like much. Just a girl, frankly, she looked familiar. And quiet. And sweet. And then it all hit her with Eric’s words. It’s her. The mermaid he had just told her about. The one who saved him then and who was saving him now. “She saved him. You can’t hurt her.” 

HENRY

It took Henry a moment. The look on Eric’s face. Rose’s hand on his shoulder. He softened, looked from Gabriella to Eric and back to Rose, and then the weight of it hit him. This was the mermaid who had saved Eric’s life. The one he and Eric had been searching for. 

The reason Eric was still alive. Twice, now. 

“Oh,” Henry said softly, the fire and fear and anger gone from his eyes now. He couldn’t believe he had been so rash. To think that Gabriella was trying to kill Eric when she was really saving his life-- and sure, maybe it was better to be safe than sorry, but if Eric hadn’t stopped him, Henry shuddered to think what he probably would have done. 

He fell to his knees next to Eric and looked into Gabriella’s eyes. “Thank you,” he said seriously. “I’m sorry I-- I just assumed-- but anyway, you’re the reason Eric’s still here, and… well, I don’t know what we could ever do to repay you.” He probably should have paused the dramatics to attend to the massive wound Eric now had, but he was fixated on this. “I don’t understand, though, why? Doesn’t your… your kind normally try to kill us?”

GABRIELLA

Gabriella had every intention of jumping back into the water, already thinking about how she could haul ass out of this town. She didn’t know where she would go, maybe just return to the ocean and hope that her family was still alive in Avalor. She knew it would be a cowardly thing to do, to leave the Princesses here despite having said she would help their cause in getting their country back, and to not say goodbye to the Triton’s, who had been so kind to her, or Finn, or Bruce, or anyone. 

But the boy stopped her, his hand around her wrist. She fought to get away, stopping only when she looked up at his face. His eyes were bright and so earnest that he didn’t have to say anything for her to understand what he wanted. She stayed, heart in her throat, and watched as the other two approached. 

After a short, albeit very terrifying!, moment it seemed like the other two said something to make the Charming guy settle down. She straightened as he approached, chin lifting a little in the hopes it would hide the fear that was making her stomach turn into knots. 

Gabriella held his gaze, glancing to his mouth when he started speaking. She didn’t know what he was saying but he no longer looked like the monster she had seen in the boat. Just another boy, who had probably been as scared as she had been. 

And as much as she wanted to extend this moment, to find a way to communicate with them properly so they could get whatever had happened sorted out, there was no time. Gabriella, unknowing of the question asked of her, which was probably for the best now that Charming was within slapping range, pointed to the boy’s leg. It was still bleeding. They needed to get him  help. 

ERIC

He nodded a little, both agreeing with Rose and trying to encourage Henry to snap out of that all too familiar place. Eric had no doubt in his mind that Henry wouldn’t hurt her and remained relaxed as he approached, knowing the worst of it was over so long as the mermaid made no move to antagonize. (His heart was thumping painfully in his chest, but he assumed this was just the nerves of nearly biting it again and adrenaline wearing off in his system.) 

Then Henry started to say stuff and Eric went to stop him, to explain what she just had to him— but he couldn’t when he heard the sound of Henry’s voice against the apology. He shut his mouth, wincing a little from second hand embarrassment but not wanting to interrupt. (His breathing was coming in rapid and shallow. Eric thought he was still trying to catch his breath from having nearly lost it all together.) A hand came up to move the hair that was sticking uncomfortably to his forehead. His eyes cut to the mermaid to assess her reaction, as if willing her to come out with it and put an end to the suffering before it got too far. But she looked— well, she looked kind of like she understood, even if she couldn’t hear him.  

Only when Henry asked his last question did he move to intervene. “Sorry, uh, she doesn’t know what you’re saying. I think she’s deaf.” Eric reached forward to clap Henry’s shoulder. (His hand was shaking, the usual weight behind his touch lacking.) “But that was great. Remember that for later when you can write it down for her, yeah?” 

He smiled (his face had paled considerably, but he couldn’t see that) and turned to look at the mermaid as she motioned. His vision blurred and he blinked, thinking it was water dripping into his eyes. Ah. Right. His leg. 

“It’s not that bad.” He shook his head, waving a hand at her in dismissal of any concern. The movement was sluggish and clumsy. “I’ll be— I’ll be fine. Just need to—” Eric shut his eyes tightly as dark spots danced at the edge of his vision, head going a bit fuzzy. “—sleep it off. Take ibuprofen or something.”  

ROSE:

Rose untensed every muscle in her body when Henry softened. She wasn’t prepared to fight him over someone she didn’t even know. Though, she was sure Eric’s endorsement would be enough. 

It had to be.

“We need to get him to the hospital, she’s right. Right now. And I know that this isn’t what any of us want, believe me, I don’t want it either… but we need to tell the other guys.” Rose looked at Gabriella hesitantly when she said this. Surely she could read lips. She couldn’t risk giving out names of other hunters to a mermaid, no matter how much they pissed her off. “Eric could have died, hell, we all could have died! It’s bigger than just us now, Hen,” she stepped up beside the boys and lended a hand to Eric.

Looking at the injured one of the trio, “I’m sorry, Eric, but this creature isn’t the kind that can be reasoned with.” Rose was solemn but stern in her delivery. No matter how good some of these monsters pretended to be, at the end of the day they were still monsters. She wouldn’t forget that again. 

“Now come on, you need to get help and she--” she sent a pointed look to Gabriella, “needs to get out of here. We can keep her secret, but we can’t protect her.” 

HENRY

Henry was snapped out of his poetic moment by the realization that Eric was losing blood. Quickly. He nodded at Gabriella and Rose, then turned his attention to Eric. You weren’t supposed to let injured people lose consciousness. The Order had prepared him for something like this. 

He only barely heard what Rose said as he started to get to work. “Right. Sorry. Gabriella, thank you for your help--” It occurred to Henry that he wasn’t sure she could hear him. Blast. Henry didn’t know sign language-- well, he knew a little, being friends with Devyn-- Henry at least knew the sign for ‘thank you’.  He signed it quickly and then switched gears, realizing the urgency of the situation. 

He looked around for some kind of makeshift bandage, but of course, any supplies were back in the boat. On a splitsecond impulse, Henry pulled his t-shirt off and started wrapping it around Eric’s leg. “Mate. Stay with us. The last thing you want to do is go to sleep, just… keep talking, alright? You’re okay, but we need to--”

That made Henry realize what Rose had just said. He froze, his stomach sinking. Tell Phil? And Tom and John? It was… probably the right thing to do, but after that talk with them a few weeks ago, it was the last thing Henry wanted to do. “Wait, I’m sorry, Rose, did you say we need to tell the other guys?” A wave of anxiety hit him. “Maybe we can just-- everyone’s fine. Eric’s going to be fine.” He shook his head and went back to wrapping Eric’s leg. 

GABRIELLA 

Gabriella shot the boy, perhaps she would start referring to him as ‘Tonto’ it seemed fitting, when he shook his head. Seriously? Did he have some kind of death wish? 

To say she was surprised to see Charming using sign to express gratitude would have been an understatement. It always made her feel some type of way to see someone sign, no matter how little their vocab knowledge, but to get it from the guy who had only just been trying to stick her through with a sword? Couldn’t really put a name to that feeling. 

She glanced back and forth between him and the blonde girl as they seemed to talk to one another. This was one of those frustrating moments being deaf, surrounded by hearing people who couldn’t properly talk to her and in a situation where there was no time to do anything else but leave her out of the know. She didn’t know what they were discussing but time was running out for Tonto, her anxiety building up enough for her to turn back to Charming and start to get his attention again. Only then he went to take his shirt off, and, yeah Gabriella was completely lost as to what the-

Oh. She blinked as she watched him apply it to Tonto’s leg. He was helping. 

Gabriella wanted to go with them but first she needed to get back to her clothes. She was already embarrassed enough having shown not one, not two!, but three Mundus her tail. There was still some dignity to be left. Only, how did she communicate this? 

Tentatively she reached forward for Tonto’s hand. It was too cold, just like it had been the first time. And, like the first time, he was going to be okay. She squeezed his palm and hoped he would understand what she meant when she looked at him. I’ll be back. Then her eyes moved to Charming with a bit of a harder stare and grabbed his hand, too. She put Tonto’s into his and let go. I’m trusting you with him. 

With a curt nod to the girl she pulled herself back into the lake and swam off, tail splashing down on the surface. 

ERIC

“What’d you mean?” Eric’s face scrunched up at Rose. “It stopped trying to kill me, didn’t it? That’s— that must count for something.” 

It was a very odd feeling, the one that was taking residence inside him now. The adrenaline was leaving and something else was coming in to take its place. He felt pissed but without the warmth of the alcohol— he’d just lost all functionality. Eric Andersen really never thought about what he said before it came out of his mouth but now that filter was completely gone. His brain was too busy working on keeping its systems running to pay full attention to all that.

He squinted when Henry took off his shirt and then snorted, his head lulling back heavily. There was an attempt at a low whistle but when that didn’t work he said, “Wa-heey! Oi’, come— come on mate, why’ve you got to show me up?” 

Eric turned to Rose, tapping at her to get her attention like he was a school boy all over again, wanting to tell her a funny story about Henry he’d just remembered because, hey, they were all friends now, right? Only he couldn’t get it out in time before Henry moved his leg and Eric let out a startled yell. A hand shot out to punch down against the water to meet the lake floor. 

“Fucking hell! Yes! Alright! I’m talking! Happy, are you? Bleeding christ—” He cut himself off when Henry did, eyebrows jumping up. Mirroring the mermaid, his eyes bounced between the two hunters, confused. “Other guys? What other guys—?” 

Then the mermaid reached forward to take his hand. Her touch was warm. Such an odd thing. Fish were usually cold, he had always expected mermaids to feel the same way. The look she gave him seemed to be some kind of promise, one he was too out of it to really process before she’d replaced her hand for Henry’s. But the warmth was dragging something else into him, up from his chest, all the exhaustion, all the cold. Feeling Rose and Henry’s touch were such contrasts to the burn beneath his fingernails, the cuts on his face, his leg— the cold, and underneath all of it. Exhaustion that had soaked the blood from his veins and left him light-headed and half dead. 

Once again, he watched the mermaid swim away, but this time, he knew she was real. He gripped Henry’s hand and brought the other one up to wrap his fingers around Rose’s arm. 

And, this time, he hadn’t been left alone. 

[weaselle]

As if i would do ANYthing to hurt my dog!!

Today somebody on a bike snarled their opinion on me biking Badger, which in this instance was “I think what you’re doing to that dog is ridiculous”.

And then she was past me. I hate when people do this. It happens to me a few times a year (and even more often to his other owner as she’s obviously a woman, of course). If she had stopped and asked questions, I’m sure I could have addressed her concerns. I also have concerns, because I care deeply about my dog, so I’ve put a lot of thought into how I exercise him. I’m still irked about today’s interaction, so I’m going to break it down for anyone who is curious.

When he was just starting to reach his adulthood, I became aware that our walks were not enough for Badger. To assess this situation, I cleared my schedule one day and walked him for seven hours. We did more than 12 miles. When we got home I was exhausted and within 15 minutes he was asking to go again.

I knew I’d need to run him. He is mostly husky after all. And I am not a runner at all. So I started biking him. But holding the leash seemed dangerous. So I found a solution.

This is the brand I use, after careful consideration. It keeps your dog on the right side of you (so you are between them and traffic) it prevents them from getting in front of the wheel, it leaves your hands free for safety and puts the point of contact lower on the bike (instead of at your handle bars, like if you are holding the leash with your hand) so if they pull to the side they have to drag the tires sideways instead of being able to tip you from the highest point on the bike. This version has springs inside the pipe, so if they do jump sideways after a squirrel or something, there is some shock absorption. Below is a pic of me making use of one with a client, because it worked so well for Badger I used to offer it as an alternative to dog walking

even so, some people still loudly, angrily, self righteously tell me I’m mistreating my dog when they see us out biking. Here are some specific concerns I’ve from people who at least did more than drive by and yell “you’re hurting your dog!” or “that’s animal abuse!” 

“He’s too young”

This is one I get sometimes, because Badger looks just like a husky, but he’s about 1/3 the size. At 6 years old, however, he is a grown ass dog

“It’s too hot to run a dog of that type”

I agree. Usually I get up at 6 or 7 to run him before it heats up, but sometimes I can’t make that happen. For instance today I couldn’t start him until 11am, before the full heat but still quite warm and getting hotter. Given the choice between running him in the heat, or not running him for a second day in a row, I chose to very carefully run him -- we did a shorter distance, I brought plenty of water and his collapsable bowl, we took water breaks in the shade (where I inspected his feet) and instead of staying in the bike lane as usual, I rode him as much as I could on the sidewalk where the lighter pavement heats up less.

“It’s mean to make him run with you / drag him along like that”

Dude. It is his FAVORITE thing. He will, and I have seen this twice, drop a mouthful of chicken and bolt for the door if I pick up his harness and ask him if he wants to go for a bike ride. Sometimes people see him being reluctant to run with me and it’s because we’ve turned around to head home and he wants to run more - the second I turn off of the route home he perks up and surges forward (I’ve tested this). When I had clients, their dogs all LOVED it -- wolves are persistence hunters designed to run a lot, and many dogs are still in touch with the running part of their heritage.

Also, Badger can stop the bike whenever he wants. He stops me to poop, he stops me when there’s a spot he just HAS to pee on, and the rare occasions when it happens, he stops me when he’s too hot or tired and wants to rest. And I’m never dragging him. I feel when he puts resistance on the leash, but just to be sure I look down often and check that the leash is always either lose or pulled forward, never tight back. In fact, if it’s cold and he’s had a day off, he’ll often pull the bike the first half mile... I’ll spend that time using the brakes and never pedaling! For a little 30 pound dog he’s got a lot of torque. 

“It’s too scary / not safe for a dog to run where there are trucks and busses etc”

Okay, first of all, I know my dog and can definitely tell when he is scared or overwhelmed. And second of all, he grew up in downtown San Francisco, and I took him everywhere. He saw a hundred people and ten dogs every time he had to pee. He’s ridden the subway and busses. Construction and people fighting and sirens and crowds and traffic absolutely do not bother my dog.

Also, I do safety drills with him. I leave his harness juuuust loose enough that he can shrug out of it, so if I wreck he doesn’t get dragged along and tangled up with my bike. He knows if the bike falls over and he slips his harness, he is to get on the sidewalk and wait - I have a command for that just in case he doesn’t do it on his own. And we practice: I’ll lean the bike over him or push it over the other way, and he pops out of his harness and gets on the sidewalk. The two times I’ve fallen on my bike, he’s stood there unharmed looking at me as if he thinks I’m an idiot. Every once in a while the bike will fall over off it’s kickstand while I’m picking up poop or something, and it’s the same, but without the judging look.

“That kind of exercise is bad for your dog’s health and body”

So, before we started biking him, we checked with three different vets about the health concerns involved. Mostly it centers around his feet and joints (especially on pavement) and of course one shouldn’t over exert one’s dog or let them overheat - that last one is important because dogs are not typically good at dissipating body heat and can overheat easily. We give him supplements for his joints, inspect his feet often, and pay close attention to him during exercise. And we’re sure to not run him every single day of the week; anything can be bad for you if you do it too much.

I’m extremely into taking proper care of my dog (as you might have guessed by now, lol). I grew up with all kinds of animals, and learned from my parents who are both medical professionals and kept all their animals alive through a lot. Our three dogs from my childhood lived to be 16, 17, and 19 years old, happy and healthy to the end. I would never play fast and loose with my dog’s well being.

Moreover, Badger’s other owner has spent her entire professional life working with dogs and after two years of animal health education is currently a vet tech at a practice where she assists in surgeries and takes care of every kind of dog issue. Badger receives excellent care.

Anyway, thats what I wish I could tell each person who seems to think I’m harming my dog somehow by running him alongside my bike.

[cee693]

I Loved and I Loved and I Lost You.

Cee693

Summary:

The Paragon of Love deals with life alone at the Vanishing Point.

Notes:

Brief, based on how *awful* Barry looks in the new promo pictures.

This wasn't the plan.

Barry leaned heavily against the stone wall where he spent the majority of his days and used a shaky hand to pull out his cell phone.

His fingers moved unhurriedly along his phone screen. They had been in this place for a long while and he still didn’t understand its rules. The remains of the oculus that Sara was trying to get to--- well he didn’t know exactly what--- remained dark in spite of their tinkering, but his cell phone still worked as if he were still on earth. In cruel ironic twist, he could still even make calls. Not that there was anyone left in the galaxy to call.

Still, he dialed one number without fail every night before he fell into restless sleep. Of course there was never any answer. Her line never even rang. It just went straight to voicemail which he appreciated. All he wanted was the sound of her melodic voice apologizing for missing him, asking him to leave a message or try again later.

He always did.

But, that’s not what he was after right now.

The apology was for nighttime. The daytime was meant for her laughter.

He tapped into his own voicemail and pulled up the message he'd been playing on loop every day since they'd been in this place.

It was from a little over two years ago. He'd saved it to his phone back then after it'd come through.

Iris had called from the loft after work wondering when he would be home.

She didn't know he was already upstairs getting changed after a shower. He'd heard her leaving him a message as he crept downstairs to her.

Iris's back was to him and he tiptoed up behind her. He grabbed her sides and growled playfully in her ear and she shouted in fright.

The message muffled for a few seconds as she turned in his arms.

When the line cleared, it was to the sound of her lightly chiding him for scaring her.

That wasn't very nice. And to think I was excited to see you because I'd brought you a treat."

Barry remembered her sliding her arms around his neck and pulling him close to her.

"I don't even want it."

"Is that right?"

"You're all the treat I need."

Iris had chuckled breathlessly. "Alright, smooth talker. Slow down."

"Barry!" She laughed.

Barry's eyes shut in pain.

In his head he can see the scene. The setting sun sprinkling dusk in their apartment.

The golds and earth tones of the loft reflected the warm hues and glowed against Iris's warm skin. Her teeth blinding him as she laughed.

He’d stopped peppering her face with kisses long enough to ask what she’d gotten him.

Iris demurely reached behind her and grabbed a familiar pink bag.

Barry had grinned and taken the bag from her, recognizing the logo of their favorite bakery.

She stopped him before he could open it though. “Okay, I may have exaggerated to make you feel bad for scaring me. Maybe a more accurate statement would’ve been that I brought you the gift of leftovers.”

Barry peeked inside and saw that there was in fact only a half-eaten cookie sitting on top of a bunch of parchment paper.

Iris bit her lip when Barry looked at her quickly.

Amusement colored her face. "Sorry."

Barry tossed the bag on the counter and he'd tickled her then. Long and hard. And her laughter had filled his ears then just as sweetly as it did now.

She eventually escaped his clutches and he'd chased after her, not using his powers.

Her phone had dropped somewhere and with both of them occupied, neither noticed the call still recording.

Eventually, his voicemail ended her message, but before then he had a few glorious minutes of the faint sound of her laughter ringing somewhere from the apartment.

The recording ended too soon, just like it always did and he was once again in the morbid landscape of the Vanishing Point.

This wasn't the plan.

He grabbed his hair and used all his energy to keep the scream bubbling in his throat down.

He felt broken. Not like himself. Not like any human with a heart still beating.

He felt dead inside. Like his life force had left him long ago.

Like the Barry from 2024.

He thought he'd changed that future, but he guessed not.

Because this was who he couldn’t outrun. The person he would always become without her.

It was inevitable.

Though, he'd tried to fight it. Tried to put plans in motion to prevent it.

After Yorkin. After Savitar and the Speed Force, he'd sat Iris down and had a talk he needed to have more than anything.

"I know I've asked you for so much," Barry had started. "But, I need you to promise me something. And I need it to be a promise you never break. Okay?"

She had nodded slowly, unsure of what could be so serious. So vital.

"In sixty or seventy years, when it's time for us to go, let me go first," he requested.

Iris was at first taken back and then horrified. "Barry! What-"

Barry shook his head just needing her to agree. Not to question- or worse reassure- him.

He knew what he was asking.

"I can't do it," he told her seriously, trying to calm the tidal wave that had encompassed him ever since that first time he saw her die on Infantino Street.

"I can't. Not even for a second. I've been to hell and it's you dying and leaving me here. I can't do it again. So when the time comes in the far-off future, whenever you're ready, just hold on long enough for me to go first."

Tears had pooled her eyes and she swallowed hard at the thought, but she searched his face for a long pause and she saw that he meant what he said.

So, she nodded once and touched his hand. "I promise."

And yet here he was. In hell. Alone.

This wasn't the plan.

Iris was dead. Everyone- they were all dead.

He touched his wedding band.

He was a widower. He was all alone.

The other six were still fighting. Still trying to save the world. Hell, even Lex Luther had stepped up to the plate.

But, he couldn't. He wasn't who they thought he was.

He stood among them a fraud.

They were Paragons independent of the world around them.

Truth, honor, hope, humanity.

They chose to embody these things in spite of the world around them.

Their strengths came from within themselves.

His came from another.

Truth.

Destiny.

Honor.

Humanity.

Hope.

Courage.

Those things were inside of heroes. They were virtues that heroes found inside themselves when all else was lost.

Those things were innate.

But, love... Love was taught and love was found.

Love had a source. A center. It had a face. It had a name.

His Love had a name.

And she'd taught him everything he'd ever need to know about love. Boundless love. Unconditional love.

The source of his powers both as the Flash and as a Paragon was her. And now she was no more.

And his fight- his purpose- were no more too.

So he sat. And he grieved. And he raged. But, he couldn't help the others.

He couldn't pick up all the broken pieces of himself in time to be of use to anyone.

And, in spite of mostly bit tongues, he knew all the others hated him for it.

Well, not all.

Ryan Choi got it. Ryan left him alone. Ryan was all but leading the charge, never losing hope, but he understood enough of what Barry was feeling to show him sympathy.

While everyone else yelled in frustration or badgered him to do his part and try, Ryan brought him water and sat with him in silence at his favorite spot on the floor.

Ryan understood.

J'onn too.

Two men who had loved and lost and had no other choice but to keep breathing.

They got it.

Everyone here had lost family, friends, home.

But, losing your soulmate. Losing your guiding light - it changed your DNA.

He had lost everything.

This wasn't the plan.

He didn't belong here.

Truth.

Destiny.

Honor.

Humanity.

Hope.

Courage.

All meaningless words without love.

Above all else, Love was and always would be the driving force in his life.

When the truth was hard or hidden, Love made him see it clear.

When destiny showed him death and destruction, Love told him that there was another way.

When his morals wavered- when he was tempted to throw them away to save the day, Love reminded him exactly who he was. Love was his honor code.

Love was the center of his humanity. The thing that kept him grounded in a storm of the impossible. His lightning rod. Even before the speed force. Since they were kids. Love was what kept him alive in a sea of death.

Love was hope. Loving Love meant years of hoping they would one day be together. Years of believing in a happy ending.

Now she was no more.

This wasn't the plan.

What courage could be found here when he was only fearless with her? The thought of her is what made him keep going even when he was terrified.

It's what filled the cracks of broken bones long enough for him to hold his tired body up and persevere.

If anyone wanted to know about his courage, it was her. She was his courage.

He was a fraud.

She powered the hero. She sustained the man.

He was the face of the operation, but she was its soul.

And now she was no more.

His Iris.

He began to weep again.

It wasn't long before he heard commotion a ways away.

"---just give him some space."

"He's had all the space in what's left of the world! What about the rest of us? We've all lost everything. Not just him."

Batwoman, he recognized. She sounded angry. And Ryan who was holding her back sounded exhausted.

"Get the hell up, Flash!" Kate shouted angrily over Ryan's shoulder. "There's work to do."

It had taken a lot for the normally reserved and understanding woman to lose her cool. Days trapped in this place had done her in.

Or was it months?

Barry didn't know. He didn't count. He didn't care.

And Kate had put up with that apathy until she couldn't anymore.

"Pariah put us here for a reason! We're the only ones with a chance of saving the multiverse, but only if we work together. All of us!"

'Pariah,' Barry thought with a snarl.

If he ever saw that man again, he'd kill him with his bare hands.

Pariah could've saved them all.

Why hadn't he saved them all?

Why hadn't he waited long enough for Barry to grab Iris's hand? He could've brought her with him.

Pariah had saved the Paragons. The universe’s last hopes. But, those were just titles with no meaning.

If Pariah had really understood what it took, if he really understood just exactly what constituted as a hero, his golden streams would’ve flowed right past Barry and encompassed his wife.

Pariah had saved the wrong Allen.

And now here they were at the center of nowhere. Where nothing grows and nothing speaks, with no more of a plan than the day they'd arrived.

“Get! Up!” Kate gritted out. "Get up and try! Fight!”

The rest came between them, trying to calm Kate and throwing Barry looks that ranged from pity to disgust.

He was unmoved.

Barry watched silently as Ryan and Kara gently led Kate off somewhere. He could hear Kara's soft words of comfort.

And then he heard Kate whisper brokenly. “We all lost. All of us…, Sophie… I couldn't save her. I couldn’t…”

He felt the tiniest bit of intrigue before he felt nothing at all.

He hadn’t counted correctly, Barry realized. There weren’t only two others.

Kate understood too.

And he understood why she was so mad.

He’d had that fire right at the beginning. When they’d first arrived, before the finality of it all had settled in, he’d raged against the rest; yelled at them to find a way back to the Waverider.

But, no one had listened and they made him see why going back was impossible.

And then he grew silent and he'd found his favorite spot on the floor.

Once Kate’s outburst was quelled the others meandered off, back to whatever tasks they’d been busying themselves with.

And Barry was once again left to the quiet of his thoughts.

He was grateful.

His trembling fingers picked up the phone he'd put down and they swiped at the screen.

He opened up the folder of the saved voice recording and he pressed play once again.

[ninaahelvar]

Chivalry Fell On Its Sword (16/23)

Summary: All Arya wanted so to feel normal and go outside of the damn castle. Now, through a series of unfortunate, she’s stuck with a bodyguard that she accidentally flirted with: Gendry Waters.

AO3

A/N: yeah....i didn't edit this. what of it. (edits will come in the morning) PLEASE ENJOY! 

“Gendry,” The queen said, offering Gendry a seat across from her in her private study. He was nervous when he called her in - all he wanted to do was talk with Arya but was pulled away when she answered the door.

“Your Majesty,” he greeted, sitting down. “I have to be honest, I wasn’t expecting to see you. You haven’t exactly been the most welcoming person to me,” he explained, though when she looked at him with a stern gaze, he suspected that he may have said too much. 

“I’m not the most welcoming person to anyone. I’ve found that distance keeps me safe. The only person I’ve ever truly opened up to is my husband,” she said, reaching over to the coffee table between them, and picking up a cup of what he assumed was tea. Taking a sip, she continued what she was saying, “but now, I feel as though I must open up to you.” 

“To me?” he said with a furrow in his brow. “I don’t think that’s necessary, your majesty,” he chuckled, readying for the night to be finished and he could leave. 

“For this conversation, and this conversation only, refer to me as Catelyn. I want us both to be honest,” she said, and Gendry swallowed.

“Alright,” he said with a nod.

“Tea?” she asked, gesturing to the teapot that rested nearby. 

“Sure,” he replied, though he were still unsure this was all happening.  Catelyn poured him a cup and slid it over to him. 

“Arya and I don’t get on that much, I suspect you’ve known that,” she explained, to which Gendry shook his head.

“I wouldn’t say that, your majesty,” he replied, to which she looked at him with a frown.  “Catelyn,” he corrected. 

“Then what would you say?” she asked. 

“I’d say she’s so willing to make you proud, but can’t measure up to you. She’s scared you won’t love her,” he replied, clearing his throat as he spoke words meant to be from someone else. He knew Arya well enough to know what she thought of her mother - though fear she instilled in most people, Arya didn’t ever think she’d be one. Until she was smothered by her mother and it became clear that disappointing her was the last thing she wanted to do. 

“I love that girl with all my heart. She’s everything to me,” she said, clearing her throat as he voice got choked up, “all my children are. I know she’s Ned’s favourite. She looks like his sister,” she said, to that Gendy didn’t know. He knew that Ned loved Arya unlike the others, but he didn’t know what Arya truly meant to the patriarch. “But Arya has greatness in her. I just want her to use it,” she finished, sipping at her tea again. Gendry reached for his own, sipping at it in case she looked at him with that scowl again. Gods, even if he wasn’t afraid of people, Catelyn had a way about her that made him feel like he was about to be shot. 

“She is,” he agreed.

“She started to. When you were with her,” she commended, “I may have been blind to your love, but I should have seen it. Arya lit up when you were around. You pushed her to be better. To be her own warrior, like she’s always wanted.” 

“Why am I here, your -” he stopped as she glared at him again, “Catelyn, why was I called here, really? Because I know it isn’t to talk about my wanting to change details.” 

“Please stop waiting.” It was a direction that Gendry wasn’t allowed to disobey. The stern gaze she held him in was enough to tell him what he needed to do - he needed to stop being a fool, and follow what he should have from the beginning - his heart. “I love her, and seeing how she’s changed, it breaks my heart. And she loves you. She’s so stubborn, like me. We build walls to keep those that would hurt us out,” she said with a sigh as she looked out the window, as though it were hard to even admit - or maybe a memory was too hard. Either way, it took her a minute to compose herself. “I don’t want her to have walls,” she said, turning back to him, eyes sadder than a few moments ago. 

“Your majesty, I love your daughter, I do. But wouldn’t it better for her to fit with any of the matches that you found for her?” he asked, clearing his throat, trying to read the queen. To that, she shrugged.

“It would make the world easier, but that’s not the world. That’s not Arya’s heart. I have a profound respect for you, even if you don’t see me showing it to you. I hope that in the future, I will get more opportunities to show you that.” It was a matter of fact, she was willing to open up, tell him the truth, even though she seemed uncomfortable to say it. Like she said, walls are kept up to protect the heart - exposing it meant there was a possibility of attack. “You would make her the happiest woman in the world. And me, the happiest mother,” she said, a smile forming before behind hidden by her cup. 

“Thank you,” Gendry said with a nod, not sure what else to say. As the queen took her final sip, she put it down and reclined back in her chair. 

“Now, I’ll tell you the simplest way to get back into a stubborn heart,” she said, a rise in her chin, as though the confidence she had lacked before had now come up without restraint. 

“What?” 

“You really think Ned and I had the smoothest sailings? Like I said, she and I are alike,” she scoffed, and Gendry leaned forward, waiting for the advice, “tell her everything.” 

“Excuse me?” he replied. 

“Every burden your heart has had to bear, why it had to shatter, why you feel the way you do. Give her every part of yourself, even if you’re frightened that she’ll turn away. She wants to see your walls go down too,” she explained, as though she were recalling something that helped her in the past. The kindness in her eyes, the sincerity, it made Gendry feel welcomed into a part of a person that had closed off most people. It was hard, and he understood, so he gave her a nod, swallowing the lump in his throat from what she showed. 

“Thank you,” he replied. Then, as she reached for her cup, she gestured for him to leave. 

“You’re being moved to Robb’s detail for a short time. Until everything is settled, I think it’ll be best. Robb and Arya don’t see each other a lot, so it works in your favour,” she said, sipping her tea, smiling to him. 

“Thank you, your majesty,” Gendry said, bowing as he got up to leave. As he turned, the queen cleared her throat, which made him turn. 

“I quite like being called Catelyn. That’s why I asked,” she said, and shrugged to his questionable look. “I still hold authority even without my title,” 

“I’ll keep that in mind, Catelyn,” he smiled back, and for a moment, it seemed like she had enjoyed the way he said her name. 

When he left, he had every intention to tell Arya what was going on, but when he was met with Ned Dayne kissing her, something built up in his chest so fast, he closed himself down. It took him a lot of alcohol to buck up the courage to go back and tell Arya everything. 

He wondered if Catelyn ever had to resort to such things, but that was a drunken thought as he banged on Arya’s door at two in the morning. 

 *~*~*

 It had been two days since Gendry had stumbled to her room late at night, and stayed with her until morning. Neither of them regretted the night, but Gendry didn’t handle his hangover well. Especially when Arya dragged him to her parents, announcing to them that she was dating him again. What she wasn’t entirely expecting was her parents colliding into an embrace and dragging Gendry into hugs that he took very awkwardly. 

After her parents explained they were happy, then came the awkward part. Well, in Arya’s opinion, it was awkward to admit that her boyfriend was technically a Baratheon, but a bastard one that had never met his father. What she wasn’t expecting was her father to not react at all - his best friend had fathered a bastard, but it wasn’t a surprise. Really, it wasn’t a surprise from what Arya knew of the man, but to be her boyfriend, she was a little shocked on that note. Catelyn, on the other hand did react, though not the way Arya expected. Catelyn said that the information wouldn’t come out, that the family would protect Gendry’s privacy in the matter and no one would ever think Gendry couldn’t fit in with the image of the royal family, regardless of their home life. 

After that, Arya took Gendry back to her room where she got him to lie down. He looked sick for most of the meeting, as though at any second he’d keel over. He wasn’t sick or anything, just hungover and needed some rest. Taking care of him, spending time casually made Arya feel wanted and needed. And she knew, the minute he could, he’d repay her tenfold. He just loved her. Arya loved feeling loved. 

When Gendry had to go home after his shift, Arya held onto his hand as long as she could, trying to keep them together as long as possible. Instead, Gendry kissed her, dragging her up onto her toes with his hands on her cheeks to guide her to him. With her breath stolen, she was dazed to his wandering off. She hated that he bested her, but loved the smile he held when he looked back at her. He felt loved too. 

The day following, Sansa came crashing into Arya’s room after breakfast. It was briefly mentioned that the pair were back together, and even after her siblings badgered her with questions, she remained tightlipped and went back to her room to go over some notes she needed for a public appearance for her organisations first public event. It was nerve wracking, but knowing Gendry would support her was enough. 

“I’m so glad you guys are back together!” Sansa screamed, pushing Arya back into the bed and wrapping her entire body around Arya. All of Arya’s notes were scattered off her bed, and 

“Can you shut up? Gendry is at the door,” Arya said, pulling herself up to see Gendry grinning at the edge of the door. 

“And I can hear you,” he shouted into the room and Arya collapsed into the bed, holding her hands over her face, “plus I’m used to it by now, can I come in?” 

“Yes,” Arya called, to which Gendry came in, closing the door behind him. He walked in, sitting at the edge of the bed, watching as Sansa hugged at Arya’s side, kicking at Gendry’s thigh - though he didn’t seem to mind. “I’m gonna miss you around all the time,” Arya confessed, pouting as she was unable to move at that moment. She would have found her place in his arms as many times she could, just to make sure it was all real.

“Just hang around Robb all the time,” Gendry smirked, and Arya wriggled out of her sister’s embrace, colliding with Gendry, who held her in his lap comfortably. 

“You two are gross,” Sansa groaned. 

“Hey, you wanted this, you pay the price,” Gendry said and Arya cackled, looking at Sansa’s face, trying her hardest to be mad at his answer, but she did in fact push for this to be their norm. Instead, she smiled and shook her head. 

For most of the day, Arya went around organising things with a few different staffers, making sure that everything in two weeks time would run smoothly. It would also be the same time that Gendry would no longer be on Arya’s detail, so she found herself glancing over to him, making sure he was still there - which he was, but she didn’t understand why she was so scared. That he’d leave, that’d he’d disappear right under her nose. It wasn’t fair to him after they’d sorted things out to still feel like she couldn’t trust him. 

At lunch, she told him as much. Gendry wasn’t offended, but rather said that she needed to feel comfortable around him. He wasn’t going to leave her willingly, so she didn’t need to worry. Time was a factor in all of this mess, and she’d trust him not to leave again. But time would be the thing that told them as much. 

Every time they talked, Arya found herself falling more in love with him - that there was an openness to him that there wasn’t before he came to her door drunk as hell. Gendry told her everything, even when he didn’t have to, but he was just being honest, and seeing him unguarded and unashamed of showing himself off to Arya made her feel special. 

He left the same way he had the day before, kissing her and making her feel hazy that she couldn’t keep him around. She reasoned that one day, she’d overcome the way he made her feel, that she’d trap him into staying for a little while longer. Yet, there was another part of her that craved the feeling to never leave, to constantly fall for him regardless of how he kissed her - she’d always feel her heart leap and she couldn’t catch up with him. 

As afternoon snuck in, Arya felt the urge to do something she hadn’t done since she was eighteen. From the depths of her closest, she found the blonde hair that had been hidden under shoes and got everything together. With the bralette wrapped in straps with a crisscross against her chest, emphasising her cleavage - even the little that it was. Over it she wore a flannel, half red and half white, the two competing flannels sewn together one night by Sansa. Her sister had the matching piece. Arya’s outfit was paired with black jeans and boots, and she was almost ready. With round glasses on, she fixed her hair beneath the blonde wig and fixed herself into a presentable person. 

When she was younger, she thought the best way to sneak out of the palace was to be someone completely different. In the end, she used it only a few times before she realised she just had to escape her security well enough to make it into town. With hundreds of different routes through the palace, she made it impossible to follow her. 

Heading into town, she was unrecognised by those that passed her by, and she easily made it to the apartment that held memories that no one but the two of them could touch. Knocking a fanciful beat, Arya stood with her hands behind her back. When once she tried to run away from him, she now ran to him. 

Gendry opened the door and blinked, as though he had to take her in a few extra seconds to make sure it was really her. Arya beamed back. 

“Hey, what are you doing here?” he asked, opening the door up wider and guiding her inside. Gendry seemed relaxed, in sweatpants and a tank that had been worn out from use. Seeing him like that often made Arya’s heart flutter - a way that no suit could do. With him every day in a suit, seeing a relaxed Gendry was her favourite version of him. 

“Wanted to hang out, and knew if I texted you would have told me to stay home,” she explained, throwing her things on his kitchen counter and looking back at him. He grinned as he walked over to her. As he stood a foot away from her, his hands graced up to her cheeks before they gently drifted to her hair, combing back the wig and laying it perfectly on the counter. 

“You have a weird fascination with my apartment,” Gendry grinned as he leaned down to her. His lips grazed her own and Arya felt herself lose her breath, as though he had intended to take it. The kiss he laid there was brief, but allowed Arya a moment to recover.

“It feels like a home,” she confessed. 

“Well don’t get too attached,” he scoffed.

“What? Why?” she asked.

“I’m moving,” he said, going to his fridge and taking out a beer. Arya frowned, rounding the bench and not allowing him space. He was taken back by how quick she moved, but her heart was hammering for an answer. 

“W-what? I thought we were passed all this and you said you -” 

Gendry’s eyes went wide and put his beer down, holding onto her shoulders. “Ah! Don’t get worked up. I’m moving to a house closer to the palace. It’s cheap, and Pod said he’d move in with me to help for it, so I’m moving to be closer to you,” he explained, and Arya felt her face get hot - embarrassment washing over her.

“Oh,” she said, “you’re kinda clingy,” she tried to play it off. 

“Says you,” Gendry said, nose nudging against hers. She hated that it worked to calm her down.

“Yes, says me. Your beautiful, royal girlfriend,” she said, leaning against the counter, trying to seem as seductive as possible. She wasn’t sure if it’d work after her whole freak out. 

“That’s a first for you. Embracing the royalty thing,” he said, hands either side of her on the bench, cornering her in her spot. She felt the air shift, heat fuelling their interaction more than it should have. 

“You should see me in a tiara,” she said, voice low, dripping with allure. She begged for him to fall for it. He didn’t, as he scoffed and moved off from the bench, taking his beer, and heading back to the rest of his living room. 

“Oh please, like you’d allow your family to force one on you,” he reminded. He was right, but she couldn’t let him know that. 

“You’d be surprised, I can be very girly when I have someone to impress,” she said, following after him, biting at her lip, wondering if he’d turn around. 

“I feel like you’re reaching for something here,” he glanced over his shoulder, crackling

“A kiss, mostly,” she said, smiling. Gendry turned, putting the beer down on the coffee table, hands going into his pockets. 

“Oh I know, you usually have to reach for that. Short ass.” 

“Ok, not my fault you’re practically a giant,” Arya retailated, her chest heaving as she tried to calm the storm of lust that was filling her body. It was no use when Gendry gave her that cocky look, like that day they first met - major cunt was coming out to play and she almost hoped he stayed. 

“I think you’re the one that’s stunted. I mean, I’m not even that tall. Most people are taller than I am.” He cracked a smirk and Arya was gone. 

He should have known what teasing would get him. Or maybe that was why he did it. Arya ran into him, pulling hard on the back of his neck to tug him down and have their mouths meet. It was hard, and mostly teeth, but it softened when Gendry guided Arya up into his arms. Their heat fuelled their encounter and their skin burned as they touched, leaving streaks of wonderful bliss in their bodies. 

Gendry crashed them to the couch, dragging her flannel from her arms as he kissed the length of her body. He tasted her for what seemed like hours but was only a few minutes. Either way, Arya became impatient and dragged him back to her, kissing him as she fumbled with her belt and Gendry stripped himself out of his clothes. 

As their clothes fell around his apartment living room, Arya back in her favourite place, sitting upon his lap and taking strides like it was a place made for her - she felt perfect. Her world had rounded to a point where she only cared about being with the man that gasped every time she sank down back into his lap. He lingered kisses on her collar as though they were his last, but every time he kissed her, he made it clear that he would never stop kissing her for as long as he lived. 

Arya didn’t care how long they lasted, she just wanted to be with him. When she looked at Gendry, his features tight with a coming release, she cupped his cheek. Watching how he softened, allowing himself to fall apart with his eyes focused on her before he sighed, whispering into her skin like she were a miracle he had to continue to pray for. Arya fell in love with him every time he looked at her - and she knew, every time their eyes met, Gendry was feeling the same. 

Gendry had placed a throw blanket over their bodies as they laid on the floor, the tv playing some show that Arya didn’t pay attention to. She had drifted in and out of sleep, adoring the beating heart that lay beneath her ear, and the sensation of her boyfriend breathing was enough to settle any fears that lay within her. She hadn’t realised what time it was until Gendry’s finger poked in her cheek. 

“Hey, we should get you back to the palace,” he said, voice harsh as though he had just woken up himself. Arya looked around, finding a clock that read 11:45pm. Arya fell back against his chest. 

“Ugh,” Arya groaned, holding him closer, “I don’t wanna.” 

“Babe, come on, we can’t have you out this late,” he whispered, trying to shift out of her grasp. Instead, Arya pulled on him again, her chin on his chest and looking up at him.

“I love you,” she said, smile on her face. Gendry laughed, his nose nudging against hers, heart fluttering to a comfort. 

“Yeah, I love you too, but I’m still not letting you stay here to spite your mother,” he said, finally managing to move around and grab his clothes. Arya clutched at the throw, pulling it to her chest as she watched him extend to get her things. 

“Which reminds me, what did my mother say to you that night Ned Dayne came to my room?” she asked, which made Gendry’s attention whip back to her. He had a pink blush running over his cheeks. 

“We don’t need to -” 

“I’ll go home if you tell me,” she bargained. Gendry savoured the query, taking a few moments before he sighed. 

“How about I’ll walk you back,” he asked back, pulling his sweatpants on as he went to gather up her things. 

“Ok?” she replied before Gendry asked if she wanted to burrow warmer clothes for the night. They changed into comfortable clothes, rugging up with Arya’s wig coming back on. Gendry pulled a scarf around her shoulders, making sure she was cozy as they walked arm in arm along the sidewalk. There was something so special about it - it would be natural for any ordinary couple to do, to take care of one another even if it were just to dress for the weather. But still, everything about Arya’s life wasn’t ordinary. Gendry gave her the simplicity of normalcy, though she doubted he realised he did it. 

“So, why are we walking back to the palace and not having you drive me?” she asked, head resting on his shoulder. Gendry huff, a plume of frosted air billowed from his nose.

“Your mum cares a lot about you,” he replied, and Arya looked up at him with a curious look. 

“Okay? But that still doesn’t explain why she wanted to speak with you,” she said, tugging on his arm a little. He chuckled to himself as he looked back at her. 

“I don’t feel right talking about this without her here. I have to say, she’s a very frightening woman, I see where you get it from.”

“You’re avoiding the subject,” she reminded him. 

He stopped, looking back at her, as though it were sensitive to breach the topic. Gendry sighed before he spoke. “We talked about you. About us.” They continued to walk but Arya wanted to hash this out in one spot, so it didn’t feel like they were running away from another conversation. 

“What did she say, I swear to -” 

“She wanted me to make things right,” he interrupted, and Arya’s brow knit. She hadn’t expected him to say that. What happened that night that he wouldn’t say. He seemed stiff, as though something were holding him back. 

“What? What did she say?” 

“I won’t tell you that,” he replied, jaw set tight. 

“Why?” 

Gendry stopped again, worry in his eyes. “Arya, I love you. I won’t lie to you, but that was something your mother…” he stopped, and even Arya realised the mistake. Whatever happened that night made him comfortable enough to not refer to her by her title. Part of it made Arya scared. The other felt proud that he were as welcome as any other person. “ - the queen confided in me. She wanted it to be between she and I. I want to respect that if I’m going to stay in your life,” he explained, and Arya held her tongue. She had to trust him on this, everything in her told her as much. 

“I understand.” 

Gendry took hold of her hand, fingers lacing with her own, and all she wanted to do at that moment was kiss him. He had a way of making everything normal feel like an extra ounce of magic, that it were so much more special than just being a normal action. They continued to walk, like any other couple in the middle of the night. “You can talk to her, you know,” he said, bringing her hand up to his mouth, kissing her knuckles. 

“What do you mean?” she asked. 

“You could have told her, like you told your dad. She loves you in a way that your dad doesn’t,” he said, a confidence in his words that she didn’t have. She didn’t understand what happened in their conversation, but it was enough that gave Gendry sympathy for her mother. 

“I know that, but...she’s hard to get to know.” 

“You’d be surprised how similar you both are,” he smiled. Arya tugged at his hand, making him look down at her. 

“Are you being mean?” 

“No? Of course not. I’m just telling you, you don’t have to be afraid of her when you both have the same hearts,” he said,  “how do you think I got the courage to talk to you that night?” 

“A bottle of whiskey?” she scoffed. 

“And two mothers punching me in the head for being an idiot,” he replied, shaking his head with a smile pressed to his lips. 

“Why do you have to say the sweetest shit when we’re out in public?” she groaned, head leaning against his shoulder once more.

“Cause it give you a reason to kiss me extra hard when I leave to go home,” he joked, and Arya pouted, knocking her hip into his. 

“I’m going to kick you first.” 

“I’m sure the kiss will make up for any pain,” he said, and Arya scoffed. They looked at each other with joy, something that Arya was long since gone between them. Everything felt like it was falling back into place, and that breaking the pair apart would be impossible now. 

Arya made good on her promise to kick him, her foot making impact with Gendry’s backside. It wasn’t anything hard - barely a lovetap, but the minute he reacted, Arya shot up into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him with every ounce she could. Gendry was right - he won a kiss that was extra hard for being so sweet and she wasn’t able to show it in the moment. Ever since getting back together, Gendry made it a priority to say exactly what he wanted - to say the sappy shit that Arya lied about hating. A part of her loved it - it meant she was like every other girl, to be loved without hesitation, and fully to the point where lines like that worked. Gendry loved her, told her so, and made sure she felt it all. 

Arya never thought she’d feel loved like that. Ever. 

But Gendry made it so easy. He smiled, and kissed, and held her like she deserved so much more than he was giving. In reality, it was always the perfect amount for her. They crashed into a wall, hiding themselves from prying eyes for a brief moment, only to be interrupted by a sharp clearing of a throat close by. They shot apart, wiping their lips clean as they laughed to themselves. At the bottom of the stairs stood the queen, her arms folded, and Arya felt a blush run over her cheeks. She knew most of her siblings had been caught in a similar situation, but it was never something that had happened to Arya. It felt like she were experiencing things as she should. 

“Goodnight, Gendry.” The Queen was stern and Gendry bowed to her, briefly stealing another kiss from Arya before he bowed to the queen once more. 

“Goodnight, your majesty,” he said, backing away from her.

“You’re being polite again,” she called out. Gendry stopped, laughing as he combed a hand through his hair. 

“Yes, sorry, Catelyn,” he said, and Arya nearly gasped, looking back at her mother with shock. To her surprise, the queen smirked, shaking her head at his words. 

“Still the queen, bodyguard!” she bellowed and Arya stood in shock for a few more moments before she finally walked over to her mother. Arya shifted out of her wig and looked to her mother. 

“What was that all about?”

“What?” 

“Ok, you’re being weird now,” she replied to her mother’s coy nature. 

“Invite him to dinner,” she said in return, making Arya confused. 

“What?” 

“Invite Gendry to family dinner tomorrow night,” she said, but it was not lost on Arya that the next day would be Arya and Gendry’s last day as protector and protectee. “I would like for him to be a part of family events from now on. In private or public, however you wish,” Catelyn replied, smiling before she pulled her robe in tighter, tucking herself together before she went to go up the stairs once more. 

“Thank you, mum,” Arya said. Catelyn stopped, turning to her daughter.

“Always, sweetheart. Always,” she said, smile sweet and wonderful. 

“Can we have lunch tomorrow? I want to talk to you,” Arya called out, her mother the one now confused out of the pair. 

“About what, darling?” 

“My life, if that isn’t too inconvientant?” Arya questioned. Like Gendry said, Arya should have trusted her mother the same way she trusted her dad. She knew there was still a ways to go between them, but if what Gendry said was true, that she fought for the two of them to be together, she should have trusted that her mother always had her best interests at heart. 

“Of course not, I’d love to,” Catelyn said, smiling so wide, it was such a foreign look that Arya had never seen her mother make. It was a type of joy that was reserved for her father, not for Arya, and it felt like a blessing to get it. 

The pair walked up the stairs together, planning their lunch for the following day, perfectly at peace with one another. It felt right, to be in such a radiant glow, and for a moment, she wondered if she and her mother shared the same light, but they were so enamoured with their own to see how brightly the other shined. 

The next day came in, and where Arya thought she’d get to spend the day with her boyfriend for whatever time she could, he was whisked away to run down his new position. They were sure he’d switch back as soon as a few of Robb’s different press tours were over with, but it still hurt that she didn’t get to spend more time with him. Instead, Arya dressed for her lunch with her mother, held in the queen’s quarters, her own formal dining area in the palace, one that Arya had only been in a few times before. 

Their lunch went smoothly, a few jokes passed between them to Arya’s surprise. They were able to speak of Arya’s life, how she felt overwhelmed about most things, especially with the organisations and being the face of those things. Also how she felt about Gendry, from start to finish, she was honest with her mother about how she felt. She left out the night they got together...or the night before. It would have stunted the conversation, she could tell. 

After that, her mother told her about the things she was working on. It was honest and rather funny to find that her mother didn’t particularly like doing certain royal activities but was forced to in order to seem like a giving queen. She was rather shy, she only warmed to certain people, Catelyn confessed, but she found that opening herself up more was feeling a lot more freeing than she once anticipated. 

After that, Arya went to her room, going over notes that were sent to her for a meeting she had with a few different organisation to form the gym or gym programs that would help what Arya was aiming to do. It was hard to sift through it all, as Arya felt like she was going cross-eyed, but she eventually found her way to getting through them and sending back her own notes to all parties. When she was done, it was late afternoon and everyone was running about, getting ready for dinner that would soon be put on the table. 

Arya got a text from Gendry and she raced down the stairs, finding him at the bottom in a casual dress outfit, like he were taking Arya into town. He looked nice, but not at all too formal for their family dinners. Which had just occurred to Arya that she never spoke to him about it. As she reached him, pressing a kiss to his lips delicately before she sighed. 

“So,” she started, “you heard.”

He gave a soft shrug, taking hold of her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers, and they walked slowly to the dining hall. “You dad texted me, which I didn’t realise I had your dad's number, but that’s a different conversation.” Arya laughed, holding his hand tighter.

“You look nice.”

“Thank you,” Gendry smiled, kissing at her crown. As they walked through the doors, the family had already gathered around, taking their seats and enjoying each other’s company. As the pair walked in, Gendry gripped at her hand, a slight hitch in his breath as he stood blankly for a moment. 

“Hey Gendry!” Sansa greeted, bounding towards them and tugging the pair into respective hugs. Gendry smiled, though Arya could still tell he was nervous for all of this. He knew he were the main attraction to the night’s event, but it would be his first and last night in the spotlight. 

“Hey everyone,” he greeted, waving politely to the family that screamed back hellos - save for the king and queen, which Arya expected. When Ned sat down at the end of the table, everyone followed. Arya sat down next to Sansa, and Gendry stood for a moment at the seat beside her. 

“Sit down, dummy,” she whispered, jabbing a finger in his leg. 

“Right, sorry. Used to standing when you guys are eating,” he laughed, sitting down next to her, sighing out his nerves, though when she looked at his thigh, his leg was obviously jumping. Putting a hand on his thigh, she felt him relax. As they settled, their meal was brought out, everyone leaning over each other to reach for their desired sampling. 

“Welcome to the fray outsider! How does it feel to sit at a table full of pompous assholes,” Ygritte said.

“Ygritte,” Jon warned. 

“Jon, look at your family for a second and tell me which of them isn’t snickering under their breaths?” Arya glanced around, seeing her siblings laughing to the side as they tried to bite into their meals. 

“Is there a club for us outsider Starks? Those that join?” Gendry asked, taking a forkful of food into his mouth. He had certainly calmed down some since being around them for much longer than an introduction. 

“You’re called Stark wannabes by us,” Rickon confessed over a mouthful of food. When the table went silent, he looked up and mumbled, “was I not allowed to tell him?”

“I’m guessing you and Talisa got most of this already?” Gendry laughed. Ygritte and Talisa looked to one another and shrugged back. 

“Fun to finally have a lad to poke fun at. They’ve been rather sensitive about us ladies,” Talisa admitted, much to Arya’s surprise. Talisa rarely spoke ill or even so much as spoke at family dinners. Now, she seemed like once she was part of the family, she was beautifully a Stark. 

“I’m used to dating her. Family can’t be much worse,” Gendry said, to which some of her siblings snickered. 

“I’d say we’re only getting started, but Arya added you straight to the group chats, so you know how brutal we are,” Sansa regarded. 

“Wait, he got added before he started dating Arya?! What the fuck Jon!” 

“Can we please not swear at the table,” Catelyn suddenly interrupted before she shook her head, as though she remembered herself, “sorry. Forgot you weren’t my kids. You can keep swearing,” she said, taking a small piece of her meal. 

“Thanks, your majesty,” Ygritte replied.

“Ygritte! You’re about to become a daughter-in-law. You’re allowed to bloody well call me Catelyn.” 

“The queen going off tonight!” Ygritte said with a beaming voice, elbowing Jon in the side, who simply blushed at all of it. He really did hate how wild the family got sometimes. 

“Someone has put a little extra something in mum’s tea,” Bran said as he reached for his drink.

“It was me. You are all insufferable,” Catelyn murmured as she sipped at her tea. Everyone went silent. It took a moment before Ned snorted over his water, snickering to himself as the rest of the family remained stunned. 

“Did mum just make a joke?!” Rickon howled before the table erupted in joy. Gendry grinned at Arya’s side, as though what she had promised him so long ago was now a possibility - her family was his own, in any capacity 

The dinner went off without a hitch, everyone talked and no one was excluded. It felt like a perfect family, all found within each other, even those who had no blood between them. Arya was in her twenties, and it was truly one of the first times where she felt as though she belonged in her family. Sure, she got along with them, and enjoyed spending all her time with them, but it didn’t feel like family. Until Gendry. It felt whole, as though before, there was always a missing piece that she could never quite place. 

Dinner ended, and Gendry walked Arya back to her room. They were slow, as though to drag out the last remaining parts of their time together. It wasn’t until they reached her door that they had a chance to freeze their time together. It still felt all for naught. Instead, Arya held onto his hand, looking up at him with a pout, trying not to feel as sad as she looked, but that too was for nothing. 

“I don’t want this to be the last night you’re my bodyguard,” she admitted. Gendry laughed, tucking hair behind her ear.

“I’ll always be yours,” he reminded.

“Ew, why do you make it sound so gross,” Arya said, smiling even though she wanted to act tough. 

“Ok, I’m leaving,” Gendry said, jokingly pulling away. Arya tugged him back, making sure he stayed where he was. Arya walked backwards into her room, dragging Gendry with her. 

“Nope. You’re mine. I get to keep you however long I want,” she said. Gendry’s eyes went dark, and Arya knew exactly what it meant.

“How do you want me?” he asked, voice low. It ripped through her, lust feeling like it was pouring from every part of her. Gendry shut the door behind him. 

“Now Gendry, that sounds like something bad,” she whispered. 

“Then you’re getting the right idea,” he smirked, leaning over her and kissing her quickly. He scooped her into his arms as though she were weightless. She curled her legs around his hips, rising to allow their bodies to form against the other. 

They fell around her room, stripping bare, colliding with furniture as they stumbled to the bed. The rest of their night together was spent finding each other in bliss. They found their bodies in sync as they often did in her bed - rolling with one another as they let each dominant side of each other win out. Arya could sit upon his lap, take stride to reach her end, Gendry could hold her hips as he thrust above her. They both came undone and found comfort in her bed as they had done so many times before. 

Arya was laid at his side, holding onto him like she were to hold him for the last time. It wouldn’t be, but every time she left his side, she felt an absence from herself - as though a part of her was missing, split into him to create who they were. She carried a part of him, as he carried a part of her. It would remain that way until they were together, entangled in sheets. 

As she watched him sleep, curling himself around her, his arms holding her like a vice, not allowing her an inch to escape, she couldn’t help but love the feeling. Trapped in his embrace, she didn’t want him any other. They were their own selves, hidden from sight, and Arya loved that. She’d always love that, the secret nature of their love - not that no one knew, but no one could understand the love they shared for one another, even if they knew the pair were together. 

“Stop staring, would ya. I’m not going anywhere,” he said, surprising her. She thought he was asleep. 

“You say that, but you left after a night like this,” she reminded him. Gendry peeked through one eye to look at her. 

“You’d have to kill me to get me away from you again,” he said, voice groggy, his arms tiring around her.  

“You really think you’re going to stay with me for the rest of your life?” she asked with a slight giggle to her words. 

“If the Gods allow it, oh you bet your ass,” he said confidently. Arya smiling, tucking herself in further into his embrace. 

“I love you,” she said, finally resting her eyes.

“Love you too. Now go to sleep,” he said, though she needed little prompting. 

 *~*~*

 Since Gendry had started with Robb, two weeks after the dinner, Gendry had been welcomed fairly easily by the other members of his team. He had spent little time with the prince himself, but Gendry expected as much. 

As for that day, it was a special event, something to do with kingdom communication that was being announced throughout the seven kingdoms. Gendry didn’t quite care about them, but it meant a bigger role for him to play when the prince was on stage. 

Fixing up his tie, the prince came out of his bathroom. He was wearing a navy suit, and it certainly complimented his appearance for the day. 

“Your Highness. Good morning,” Gendry greeted. Robb looked over to Gendry and he gently smiled. 

“I’m glad you’re on my team today,” Robb said, though because he hadn’t spent much time with the prince, gendry wasn’t sure how truth his statement was. 

“I serve at the pleasure of your highness,” Gendry said, standing at the door and his hands going behind his back. Robb slowly turned to him, a scowl of disgust running over his face. 

“God I hope you don’t say that to my sister,” he said, and Gendry winced. 

“I hope you don’t mind if I’m frank here,” he said, clearing his throat, “but fuck, that is absolutely disgusting to even think about.” 

“So you drew a line?” he asked, fixing the cufflink back into place. 

“If I can remain frank with you,” 

“Sure Frank,” Robb said with a grin. He was definitely going to be a dad one day cause the jokes were on par. 

“Yes. I know when duty outweighs the heart. I respect the crown.”

“You didn’t when you started dating my sister,” Robb reminded. Gendry frowned. 

“Are you mad at me?” 

“I’m mad she didn’t tell us, and if I’m taking that out on you, I’m sorry,” he said, giving a stiff nod to her. “I also don’t like the fact that you two stole the light of my wedding, but whatever,” he said under his breath and Gendry scoffed. 

“Arya was right,” he said with a laugh. “You love the sound of your own voice.” 

“I’m your future king, Gendry,” Robb warned. 

“I’m from the South, your highness, you sure as hell aren’t my king,” he said back confidently. To that, Robb laughed, chuckling as he shook his head. 

“I’m just giving you a hard time cause I’m the older brother. Nothing more. I have nothing against you or Arya, and definitely not your relationship. I wish you two all the happiness,” he said. 

“Thank you, your highness,” Gendry replied, trying not to nod like an idiot. 

“Seeing as how you’re dating my sister, you can probably call me Robb,” he said with a soft shrug. 

“Probably?” Gendry scoffed. 

“It’s still weird, please just let me get used to it,” Robb replied.

“That’s fine.” 

With one smile, Robb was off and Gendry was following behind. Robb was in his own world, getting texts that he needed to reply to, as well as people coming up to him to confirm what was going on. It was clear that he had a lot on his plate, and was going to be used to the schedule as the future king. 

“My wife keeps complaining about this grey streak in my bloody hair,” Robb said suddenly over his shoulder. Gendry realised Robb was talking to him, as Jon was at the end of the hall waiting for them. 

“I’m not a stylist or anything, your highness, but from what I’ve seen on the internet, the people really love the streak,” Gendry said. 

“You mean women,” Robb corrected. 

“Yes. Daddy material right there,” Gendry shrugged to which Robb stopped, cackling hard, holding his side.

“Why do you have to say things like that?” he said, clearing his throat and finally they made it to Jon, who informed them both on the day’s schedule and what Gendry needed to know about the venue. 

It was an open event, for as many spectators to see as possible. They had nearly all security pulled, with the family coming as well to keep everyone secure at the same time at the event. Gendry needed to be Robb’s body man to be able to protect him as Jon needed to observe the entire event for any eventuality.  

When they arrived, Gendry didn’t realise how open space Jon meant it to be. It was huge with hundred, if not thousands, of people scattered around. It didn’t allow any room for someone to study every person like a smaller venue could have. It was open air, which meant open opportunity from every conceivable angle.

Anything could go wrong, they were walking into a pit, readying for anything to come and attack. There were so many people, so many enemies, that any of the people in the crowd could be it. Ordinary didn’t mean safe - where normalcy was the binary, the outlier was anyone. There was always a way to tell where someone was feigning it compared to others, that they suddenly were out of place in a crowd. But in a crowd that huge, it was as thought finding a needle in a haystack. 

Even as they walked towards the podium which Robb was meant to speak at, Gendry felt that there was something he was missing. The minute he got there, Gendry felt as though there was something out of place. Everything felt perfect, there was a right amount of security around, there was everything in place. The only thing he could work out was the crowd. 

It was chaotic, with too many people to discern amongst the crowd. Picking one out was going to be impossible. Robb took to the centre of the stage, speaking into the microphone. Gendry stood close by, but he just felt like he needed to find what was bothering him. There was no way to tell, but all he could do was wait. 

Robb continued on, the crowd standing in settled silence. Yet, it wasn’t. There was something…

There was someone...

“Something’s wrong,” he whispered to himself. Sam at his side scoffed.

“What are you talking about?” 

“I don’t know, I just…” he started, until he saw the gaze of a man in the crowd. It was determined, angry. And he was charging the stage. “Your Highness!” Gendry shouted, getting to the prince’s side, and the gun came out. 

“Down with the seven kingdoms!” The man yelled. Three pops went off quickly. And the crowd scattered, screams erupting as people scrambled for safety. Gendry saw Beric tackle the guy to the ground. 

Gendry had pushed the prince to the side. The prince fell into Jon’s grasp as Gendry was knocked to the ground. The sound had come and gone by the time Gendry hit the floor. Everything came far slower than he realised - his mind and body acting in two different timelines. Either a second apart or a million years, he wasn’t sure. 

It felt like he was punched in the chest, and then the overwhelming need to fall down. When his body started to go, he knew where the bullet had landed. He wasn’t sure the exact location, but it was painful enough to say an approximate; his chest. As he made impact with the ground, he felt the world rush. He wanted to breathe, but that proved to be a challenge. Right. Chest. That’s why. 

He felt up his chest as he stared up at the sky, all he could think about was putting pressure on the pain. Being met with the wet stain on his chest, he knew he would go into shock in a moment. 

“Arry,” he said, before he coughed, something wet touching his lips. 

His hands were a pathetic amount of pressure he was applying, until he felt the pain radiate through his chest. His hands were moved aside, as everything in his vision started to shift, not quite able to focus where he wanted. Then, he was met with Brienne’s face, concern written into her where he could focus on her face. He watched the head of security look him over, hands pushing into the wound on his body, but even that started to feel numb. 

“Gendry? Gendry, can you hear me?” He wanted to answer, but it felt like something was weighing down his chest. He knew what a gunshot felt like - he had enough to know what it felt like - what he wasn’t used to was feeling his lungs fill with blood. He couldn’t breathe, choking on the thing that gave him a pulse. 

Even with people above him, searching for a sign of life, and his eyes darting between them, all he could think about was Arya. 

Arya, in the morning light with white sheets surrounding her, making her look like a gift from the gods. Her hair sat at her shoulder, albeit a big messy, but he wouldn’t have her any other way. She smiled, and it welcomed him, like home. 

Arya was his home, and his last thought before everything went dark.

[professordrarry]

In Six Parts

It is absolutely unconscionable to post something this long on Tumblr. I'm really hoping you'll just forgive me... (warning for acknowledgement of the existence of sex)

Part one.

In which several things are revealed, not the least of which is that Harry Potter is apparently gay now. 

Well, no. Not gay. Pansy would kill him for saying gay. 

Do I constantly insist that you are straight Prince Malfoy of the ridiculous? Then stop saying I'm gay. I'm queer. Bi if you must, but enough with the gay. 

So. No. Not gay. 

But Draco knows the important part is the disastrous reality that if Harry Potter is capable of being attracted to men, as this first authorised biography would suggest, then Draco is even more pathetic than he was before. Because if there is a possibility of Draco's exhausting little crush being reciprocated, then the fact that they have been fighting even more than normal, and not just on the pitch, just becomes hopelessly depressing. 

The hate and anger have always made Harry sexy and alluring in very indecent ways, since Draco despised simpering affection or softness, preferred to have a bit of fight with his fuck. The only time Draco ever felt he was close to understanding Harry was when they had spent time together on the Quidditch pitch in years before. And that time is past. 

There is a war and a half between them now, and Draco understands less than ever about the world. 

Part two. 

In which Draco learns that Harry died. Not, 'was gravely injured or lost consciousness' or 'medically had no heart beat'. But actually fucking died. 

That awful, insedious man had had the audacity to fucking cease to exist for a moment. As though the world would have just carried on, unchanged. 

He is livid for the entire next day. He beats Harry in a head-to-head training ritual by using sheer brute strength, knocking one side of the podium off kilter so that it goes into Harry's path and he misses the snitch by a fraction of a second. The move is illegal, and Mora threatens him with a three game suspension, but Draco hits the showers feeling better. 

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Harry snipes at him a moment later, throwing his leather shin strap at Draco's head. He ducks neatly out of the way. 

"Pulling a dangerous fucking maneuver like that on a team mate in a practice." 

"Just get out of my way, Potter. Don't be a sore loser."

The sneer is fake and Harry seems to feel it. He scrunches up his nose, wrinkles his forehead, pauses for a second before huffing and walking away. Draco knows he'd have thrown a punch—or worse—had Potter asked him what was wrong. 

Part three. 

In which the details of the the few years after the war appear. It is more than Potter has ever been willing to divulge. Draco knows because he's read all the articles. 

The details are specific. The start of a very promising Ministry career, the painful burn out. The decision to try out for the Beacons, the minor league team that doesn't quite understand who they have on their pitch until they are faced with the best Seeker anyone has seen in over thirty years. The quick rise from the lower levels, fame upon fame dragging him out of the gutter against his will. 

Potter has been reclusive since the moment he joined the team. He doesn't travel to away games with them, doesn't stay in the same hotels, doesn't come to team meals. Draco thought he understood why; after all, it took him a year to be dragged away from his own ghosts and made to be human again. A year of badgering and pestering from the captains that if he wanted to be on the team, he had to learn to trust them. 

But no one seemed to badger Potter. It infuriated Draco. 

Until he reads part four. 

In which the government is using Potter as a political scapegoat. In which photos of his every romance, affair, and—most terribly, of family vacations with his very young God children—surface every time he tries to rejoin the public eye.

In which there is a price Potter has to pay for any haphazard, youthful mistake. A price that takes the form of his worst memories, all of which are lauded as heroism. A price of headlines that exclaim his return to normalcy, even a decade late. Harry Potter is not allowed to be 'Harry Potter, incredible, talented Quidditch star' without also being 'Harry Potter, saviour of the world'.

And Draco stops in his tracks. 

It's dumb, of course it is. He should have understood this about Potter's life. Fame is one step to the left of notoriety. Draco understands the latter more than anything else in the world. 

They have Tuesdays and Wednesdays off after travel games and Draco has gone home instead of to the pub. He's too tired, run ragged by being put on first string for the first time since Potter's arrival. The man himself took mysteriously 'ill', though Mora would give no details. 

Draco finishes the book on a Tuesday night, a glass of scotch in his hand. It's the third, or possibly fourth. He doesn't care that he is drunk, even though that is why the quote breaks him in half. 

"You took it all from me," Potter said patiently, holding out a book filled with cut out articles from the Prophet. "I was just a kid. No one seemed to care, ever, about that. All I want now is a minute to breathe. Maybe fall in love. Maybe even make some mistakes I'll regret in fifty years. Can anyone tell me that their hopes are different than that?" 

And no, Draco thinks. No one can say that their hopes are any different than that. 

He curses and cleans and eats too much cheese on Wednesday. It's a strange response, he agrees. But the book is clutched in his hand all morning Thursday as he gets ready to go back to the field. He doesn't have a plan. Shoves it in his bag as he takes up his broomstick, and quite honestly forgets all about it as they fly. The only thing stopping him from ramming Potter off his broom when he appears, twenty minutes late and pinch-faced, is that he is on thin ice with the league as it is. 

They play a friendly game, Mora calling for a quick, mid-air colour change. But Potter gets his transformation done first, donning the green jersey they use when they practice. The colour sets Draco off even more as they shake hands at centre pitch and wait for the release of the quaffle. 

Draco is distracted, so Harry finds the snitch quickly and easily. Thursday practices are short. Mora calls it moments later. He suspects she's a bit hungover. 

They all stomp back to the change rooms in a neat line, always on display in the practice pitch. The reporters' clicks are audible even from a distance, and Draco has to fight the urge to run up and sheild Harry with his cloak; the sensation reminds him that the biography is sitting, blazing Harry's photo in full view, on top of his bag. His face heats with embarrassment. 

In the change rooms, the normal cajoling begins. The team's won the past three games, so everyone is jovial and loving. The ribbing is gentle, only picking on things that are known to be safe. No mean laughter, even with Draco. For a minute, he wonders how it is possible he is included, at all, let alone treated the same. 

And it hits him. 

They have all moved on. The world has kept on spinning. He suddenly knows exactly what he will do. He grimaces because it isn't what he wants to do. 

What he wants is to wait for the room to clear, to corner Potter, who is always the last to leave—part of his secrecy, Draco suspects. He wants to wait and confront Potter, wave the book in front of his face and demand answers. 

He can see the scene clearly in his mind. Harry, damp and flustered, possibly still not wearing a shirt. Draco, tall and proud, telling him to get over himself and let the past be the past. He'd have Harry speechless in seconds, have him in his mouth a moment later. Draco on his knees on the hard ground, taking what he wanted and leaving no doubt behind. 

Or else in the doorway, up against a wall, dragging moans from the rubble of their past and waiting until Harry begged, jutting his groin against Draco's thigh with abandon until Draco finally conceded and took him in hand. 

Or maybe in the showers, waiting for permission from the next shower stream, muttering filthy things while he palmed himself, daring Potter to flee. Harry would not back down, because he was Harry Potter, and Draco was sure he wouldn't deny their obvious chemical attraction. And if he stayed, Harry could have him, right there, buried deep in the base of his spine until Draco forgot his own name. 

These were the things Draco wanted. But they were not the things Harry needed. For some reason, he cared about the difference. Draco cared. 

So instead, he waited as the room slowly emptied. As people went off, in twos and threes. Off to their days, their lives, their families. 

He waited on the bench, calmly holding the book, as Potter showered and emptied his locker. As he sat on his own bench, facing away from Draco.

"Heard you played well, Malfoy. On Saturday. Sorry I missed it." 

Draco resisted his quip, about how if he hadn't missed it, Draco wouldn't have played. He murmured what he hoped sounded like a grateful mumble. He stood. Slowly, he put his bag on his shoulder, turned and put the book on the bench beside Harry's toweled form. He let his eyes linger on his chest, let himself imagine a thousand more locker room fantasies that would never be enough. 

"Part five," he whispers, his voice soft and gruff despite his efforts to remain calm. He's hopeless. So attracted to this man his voice can't even remain neutral. He clears his throat and tries again. 

"Part five, in which two sworn enemies bury the hatchet over lunch," he asks, hesitant and nervous. "In which the asshole apologises, buys the pints, and tries desperately not to spend the whole hour staring at the hero's mouth." 

Harry stares at him. He picks up the book, opens the cover. It's a signed copy. Draco had been hoping he would never find that out, but somehow, he had always know they would end up here, with his infatuation spread out between them like a thick blanket.

Draco waits, breath caught.

Finally, Harry laughs a small laugh; it's a new sound to Draco, light and carefree. He's instantly addicted. He needs more of that sound. 

"I've been waiting for you to just pin me to a wall," Harry says simply, as though he's slightly disappointed. "But lunch sounds good. On two conditions." 

Draco tilts his head, captivated. Harry stands and steps toward him. Draco instinctively backs up, never having had a good experience Harry Potter advancing on him. 

"One," Harry says, holding up a finger, "that is the last time you ever use the word 'hero' around me." 

Draco nods. He can understand that. 

"And two," he continues, "we get the fact that I want to pin you down and snog you out of the way right now. Or else I won't be able to focus on the apology you plan on crafting."

Draco is approaching comprehension when his back hits the lockers and his knees buckle and Harry's soap is in his mouth as he presses his face to Draco's neck. 

"You took a long fucking time to figure this one out, Malfoy."

Draco technically hears the words, although he's preoccupied by the fact that they are murmured in between wide mouthed kisses along his windpipe. Harry pulls his face back, pins Draco's arms to his sides, leans in until their foreheads are touching. 

"Part six" he mumbles into Draco's lips as he presses down. "In which Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy probably should have just fucked in eighth year."

The kiss is not nearly enough. It is perfect, and uncomplicated, and it doesn't sear him the way he is anticipating. But it is not nearly enough. Draco smiles as Harry pulls away, turns away without even a pause, puts on a shirt and drags on some shorts. 

Lunch is as good a place as any to start correcting his mistakes. 

[warriorsfireandwater]

Chapter Five

“Before the Clans, but after the time of the Great cats, we were scattered throughout the territories,” Beechpaw began. “Many cats were loners, but there were some that traveled in groups. They were small, though, nothing like the Clans we have now. They didn't know the first thing about loyalty, and most groups that actually stuck together tended to be family.”

“What are ‘great cats’?” Firepaw asked, as Beechpaw paused.

“Shh,” Graypool shushed him quietly. “Another story for another day.”

“Yeah, well, there was one cat that was a newcomer to the territory,” Beechpaw went on. “She was said to have come from beyond the mountains. She kept to herself for a while, watching the ways of the other cats. In winter, when prey was scarce, cats would fight over every scrap of prey, and many would die. There were no laws, and there was no Code to guide them. They weren't above killing if it meant their kits could eat.”

“You forgot her name,” Shadepaw cut in.

“Oh—sorry.” Beechpaw licked his chest, embarrassed. “I don't get to tell stories that often. Her real name has been forgotten to time. But we call her Wind, because she was the first leader of WindClan, and the first real leader of any Clan. It's believed that WindClan was the first of all Clans, and that others came together shortly after. Anyway, Wind hated to watch the senseless fighting. She was said to be incredibly wise, and she believed that if only the rogue cats could work together, they could all survive prey-starved seasons. So she set about the moorland first, trying to speak to any cat that would listen to her. Most turned their noses up and went back to their dens.”

“But there were some that joined her. They were mostly cats with no family groups. They were the most vulnerable, and the most easily chased off from their catches. Even though Wind could rarely get cats who stuck with their family to join her, she based her plan on them—those cats, though they had more mouths to feed, usually were able to hold on to their dens, hold onto their catches, and even chase cats away from their own prey. She believed that this could be expanded to include more than just one’s mate and kits, that if a large group of cats banded together with a common goal of companionship and survival, they would do just as well, if not better. Over time, Wind was able to gather a large number of cats as her followers. They truly believed in her wisdom, and readily stuck together. As they grew in size, they grew in strength, and began to establish a territory where only they could hunt. Anyone who would not join them was chased off to ensure that the prey in the moor remained theirs. Of course, this didn't bode well with other cats who had lived there. Though they recognized the strength that came with numbers, they were too furious to just fall in line with Wind and live on the moorland with her.”

“The second Clan is said to be ShadowClan. They were chased across the Thunderpath, towards the barren land they now live in. They found a common interest in their hatred for Wind, and ironically, it drove them to form a large group of their own and establish a rigid territory as well. They had even greater need to stick together in that place. ShadowClan territory has always been scarce of prey, even in the summer. Because they didn't have to kill one another to keep from starving, they were able to hunt together and share their meager findings.”

“As the marshland group grew, they began to invade Wind’s territory. Their confidence grew with their numbers, and they realized they could beat Wind at her own game, and chase her cats off of the choice parts of their territory in return. The fighting was always vicious, and lives were constantly being lost. This began to take a toll on cats on both sides. Many just wanted peace, not senseless fighting, and some cats began to abandon their groups and head south. Some came here, to the river, and found like-minded cats who had been otherwise loners.”

“This was the start of RiverClan, the third Clan. The few loners that lived along the stretch of the river lived relaxed lives, plump and beautiful from the bountiful fish. The former group cats that found themselves at the river loved the promise of a calm life, and they settled down here. Even those from opposing sides eventually began to stick together—while they’d hated the constant fighting, they'd learned that there was sense to having a group.”

“Don't think that it means RiverClan can't fight,” Shadepaw added, her claws unsheathing for a moment.

Beechpaw rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. We’re tough.”

“RiverClan is like the river we’re named for,” Graypool said. “Always flowing, often calm, but ever strong. ThunderClan looks down on us because we know how to relax, but they underestimate our strength.”

Firepaw pricked his ears. Someday I'll be strong like the rest of RiverClan, he thought.

“Anyway, back to the story,” Beechpaw meowed. “The group that became RiverClan stuck together on the shore of the river, protected on all sides by the river. Because of this, they were able to contently avoid most of the conflict. For a long time, they didn't actually mark their borders, believing the river to be enough of one to keep out cats that didn't want to be there. The first medicine cats were said to come from RiverClan, because of the lasting peace, but that's a whole other story too.”

“So then there was the group that later became ThunderClan. They came last, but they'll all tell you that their Clan was the first or that we all became Clans at the same time because they're too embarrassed to admit it. Anyway, most rogues and loners, even those in once-safe family groups, had been chased all over the territories as real, strong groups began to spring up around them. Those in the forest really had no choice but to join together, or risk being overrun by a different group. Plus, the forest is teeming with badgers and foxes—which is deadly for a lone cat with no friends. They joined forces, and the few cats left that still didn't want a life as part of a loyalty-bound group fled for good. Many became kittypets or roamed at the edge of the territories, forever bitter over the loss of their homes, but never brave enough to take us on.”

Badgers? Foxes? Firepaw still had questions, but he didn't interrupt.

Beechpaw cleared his throat before he continued. “So life continued like this for a while. Wind was proud of the group she had amassed, but in doing so, she’d only strengthened those who wanted her land and prey. Because there was still no code in place to bind them to honor, fighting went on and cats kept dying. Wind came to the conclusion that the groups must all unite, or they would risk falling apart and returning to their old ways. She called for a meeting with all of the group cats, and to her surprise and relief, the three other groups agreed. As with her group, the others had all naturally found someone capable of taking charge, and they had decided they liked the taste of power. When all four groups gathered at Fourtrees, Wind came forward from her cats to speak to all cats.”

“‘Thank you for agreeing to meet me”, she told them. “I will try to be to the point. I gathered my followers because I saw that our land was rife with fighting and suffering. Those who were alone starved or died to defend their scraps of prey, while even cats who stuck with their family hardly got by. In the time that my group and I have joined together, I have watched us flourish. Our kits do not starve, and we do not have to fight each other for the prey on the moor. But still, we fight all of you, and I know you fight with each other.’”

“‘We know this, rabbit-breath,” hissed the leader of the forest cats. He was a massive tom, with a handsome brown tabby pelt. Even Wind herself stiffened at his voice. “It was you who first chased cats from the moor and caused the same to happen across these territories. Get to the point.’”

“I heard he had a ginger pelt,” Shadepaw interrupted with a flick of her tail. “That's what Sandpaw told me.”

“Oh, who cares about what his fur looked like?” Beechpaw groaned. “Are you telling this story, or am I?”

“Sorry,” Shadepaw muttered. “Go on.”

“Thanks,” Beechpaw muttered. “So Wind says, “I want to put an end to our rivalry. I think that all of our groups should join forces as one. This will allow us to stop the fighting and focus on surviving together.”

“‘That's ridiculous!” protested a cat from the river group. She was the one that her group looked to for guidance, as she was the first one to teach herself to swim. “There are so many of us and so much land. Who would lead all these cats?’”

“The marshland group’s leader stepped forward. He was a skinny thing, but he had a dangerous, cunning look in his eye. “I don't see why I couldn't step up,” he hissed. “My cats may have the worst choice of land, but we’re by far more resourceful than the rest of you.” Of course, this didn't sit well with cats from outside his group. There were protests from the three other groups, and each began to shout for their own leader to challenge him. It isn't known who struck the first blow, but first it was two cats who leaped for each other, and within moments, chaos broke out among the groups. Cats turned on each other as they fought ruthlessly, still thinking of nothing but their own survival and dominance.”

Beechpaw stretched out his legs and cleared his throat. “The battle raged until nightfall. There were so many cats and so much blood—it was impossible to tell friend from foe. Cats fell like leaves in the winter, and their friends and family kept fighting to avenge them. It seemed that they would keep fighting until every last cat was dead in the clearing. The only light illuminating the clearing in the darkness was the moon—but out of nowhere, the clearing was suddenly plunged into total darkness. Clouds, as though appearing from thin air, had covered it fully, blocking out every ray of light. Cats ceased fighting and began to cry out in fear and confusion.”

“Suddenly, dim light began to shine from around them. The spirits of their fallen allies had risen from their bodies like wraiths, and all fell quiet as they gazed upon them in awe. The spirit-cats weaved around the living, finding their loved ones among those that remained. “You must stop this violence,” the spirits told them. “But not like this. You have found your own ways, in your own homes. But without change, there can only be more death. You must find honor in your life, and stick to your own borders. You cannot be rogue groups any longer—you must become noble Clans, or you will fall apart and kill each other like you have tonight.’”

“‘But I thought this was the way,” an exhausted Wind said. “I didn't want a fight, I just wanted us to join together!’”

“One of the spirit-cats shook their head. “You had good intentions, but this isn't the solution. There are too many differences between you and too many old grudges to create an alliance. You must all build honor within your groups, but you must keep to your own places. Defend your territory, but do not needlessly trespass on another. You must find a way to create structure, or you will all fall to battles like these.’”

“And then, like mist, the spirits dissolved and rose to the sky. The living watched as they went up, and after they had vanished, the first stars appeared in the sky. The stars are the spirits of our ancestors, and they watch over us with Silverpelt. Our souls will all pass on one day and go to be with Silverpelt, and we will make the night sky a little brighter as we watch over our Clanmates for all time to come.”

“Silverpelt?” Firepaw echoed.

“The sky, the mother of cats,” Shadepaw explained. “But she's part of a different story, too. All you need to know for now is that she created us, and she watches over us with the moon and the sun. She keeps the souls of departed warriors close to her, providing them a comfortable afterlife as they join her in the sky.”

“Silverpelt is an important figure in our Clans, too,” Graypool explained. “But you've got moons to learn about her, and more about StarClan.”

Firepaw thought on this for a moment. The stars are the spirits of warriors… He wasn't sure he entirely believed it, not yet, but the idea did sound nice.

“I'm sure it's quite a lot to hear,” Graypool went on. “But StarClan is very important to us. They watch over us and guide us in times of need. You'll see, though—perhaps your trip to the Moonstone will convince you more.”

“What's that?” Firepaw asked. I swear, if someone says ‘another different story’ again…

“Silverpelt dropped it into the mountains when she gave life to us,” Shadepaw explained. “It allows us to see StarClan, in rare times. Mostly just medicine cats, though.”

“Warriors don't speak to StarClan,” Snowfang muttered. “Foolish apprentice.”

“Snowfang is just old and bitter,” Graypool sighed. “He didn't dream when he got to visit the Moonstone.”

“We don't talk about whether or not we dreamt, Graypool,” growled Snowfang.

“What apprentice doesn't?” Graypool chuckled. “Now, go on with you three. I think Snowfang needs his space and I'm quite tired myself.”

“Yes, Graypool,” Shadepaw meowed. “Have a good rest.” She was the first to stand and leave.

Beechpaw stood, but hesitated. “Did I do a good job?” he asked. “With the story?”

Graypool laid down and tucked her paws under her chest. “Oh, of course you did,” she said, smiling. “You're getting much better at storytelling.”

Beechpaw puffed out his chest proudly and grinned. “Thanks!” He turned towards the mouth of the den. “Come on, Firepaw. You eaten yet?”

Firepaw quickly rose. “Not yet,” he replied. “Not since yesterday.”

“Great StarClan!” Beechpaw exclaimed. “I can't go even a half a day without eating something. Come on, then. We eat well in RiverClan.”

Firepaw purred gratefully as he followed Beechpaw out of the elder’s den. I'm not sure what to make of Shadepaw, but Beechpaw sure is nice!

[wolfpawn]

I Hate You, I Love You, Chapter 8

Chapter Summary -  Tom overhears half a conversation, but does not think to look further into it, and Benedict realises there may be something for Danielle to be concerned about.

Previous Chapter

Rating - Mature (some chapters contain smut)

Triggers - references to Tom Hiddleston’s work with the #MeToo Movement. That chapter will be tagged accordingly.

authors Note - I have been working on this for the last 3 years, it is currently 180+ chapters long.  This will be updated daily, so long as I can get time to do so, obviously.

If you wish to be tagged, please let me know.

tags: @sweetkingdomstarlight-blog  @jessibelle-nerdy-mum @nonsensicalobsessions @damalseer

Tom sighed, the meeting with the directors and producers of Bond seemed like a distant memory now, and he still heard nothing; he was beginning to get worried. Luke had informed him that public sway had a lot to do with the role, and his increasing public profile was not helping. The producers had told him a lesser-known actor was always their target, Loki had shot him onto the radar on many aspects, but as he was not an Avenger, but the antagonist, they seemed to look past that and his role in the Night Manager very much was something they were happy with, his relationship with Taylor however, had made him front page of every sort of magazine cover, and not all of it good. As Danielle had spat at him, being on the front of the National Enquirer did not help him in any manner. Frustrated, he threw the script in his hand onto the table in front of him. Nothing seemed to be coming to him as they had before, nothing inspired any excitement in him, as though begging him to embrace a character as Adam, Loki and Captain Nichols had, or even challenge him as Thomas Sharpe and Hank Williams had instead, he had only had offered ‘chick flick’ trash that would undoubtedly grace the ‘Razzie’ lists of years to come, not an award he coveted.

He swore to himself and decided to get himself a coffee, knowing that Taylor was in her writing room, no doubt coming up with another song for her album that would collect her several more awards. ‘How many could be at your expense?’ a small voice in his head kept asking, but he shook it out. Taylor had not let him hear any of her songs, but she had said she would when they were ready, he respected that; songwriting, like many other arts, was something that took from the writer's very soul, to force its exposure too early would not be recommended and could hamper her artistic talent.

Sighing to himself, he made his way quietly to the kitchen area, not paying any real attention to his surrounds. In the months he had been dating her, things with Taylor had been very fast and hectic, but they were celebrities, that was to be expected, but as he looked at LA outside of Taylor’s home, the Hollywood sign in the distance, he found himself missing London and indeed, the comforts of its temperate, cooler climate. He had not really spoken to his mother since he was last there, Christmas was just around the corner, and Taylor had made it clear, she had expected him to spend it with her and her family. In his thirty-five years, he always spent his Christmas’s with his family, even Sarah, who was married, and was living in India for some time had made point of coming home for them, he knew that his family would assume that he would be going home to them, and in truth, he wanted to go there, he wanted everything to be as it always had been with them. They were so close; he yearned for that once more. Taking the coffee, he headed back to his scripts, perhaps somewhere in that trash, there was a good one, he had to hope after all.

As he passed the room he knew Taylor to be in, he heard her on the phone, the door slightly ajar. “Do you know what that bitch said to me? That I can’t sing for shit. I know she is something else. I know; I am totally going to deal with it. I don’t care, I’ll sue her. I can’t remember; nothing important, driving an ambulance or something. I have to do something, though, the way she spoke to me; like she was actually someone. No, he doesn’t know, he would totally try to talk to her about it. Yeah, I have an idea. Bye Sweetie. Kisses.”

Tom frowned, it was clear that Taylor was talking about Danielle, but he was not aware they even had spoken with one another, what interaction was she talking about? Startled, he walked off back to his scripts, his mind spinning over her words.

“Hey, Johnny, it’s your favourite celeb. How are you? I am great thanks. Listen, I have something good for you. How about all of Tom’s school photos and a few silly stories, interested? I thought you might be. Catch? Oh, Johnny, you know me so well. Your source is a neighbour of his mum, by the way, no specifics, great. No there is no way this can go like the Kanye thing, there is no trail. You’re the best, thanks. Just look for an email from Hughes D, your great.” She sang as she said goodbye. “Kisses.” She hung up the phone. “I’ll teach that bitch not to try and dance with me.” She grinned snidely, turning and realising she had left the door slightly ajar. Opening it slightly, she looked out, and noticed no one in the hallway, before closing the door and setting up the email address under Danielle’s name.

*

“Well, look at you.” Danielle turned and smiled. “What brings you here?”

“The company’s fear that you will screw up and get injured.” She smiled.

“I am running down a street,” Benedict argued indignantly.

“And you are a big star, so if you fall, I need to be here to tend to your ass. Well, the stunt double they have for you anyway. Please tell me they are not shooting from the front, he looks nearly as much like me as he does you.”

“Will is a good stunt double, but no, he is not really like me in looks.” Benedict agreed, looking at the other man across the street. “So, you are on duty this evening?”

“Yeah, I work the night shift all the time.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t have to worry about silly things like family and kids, speaking of whom, how is the little man?”

“Christopher is the hardest role I have ever had in my life.” He sighed dramatically.

“Wouldn’t change it for the world, though, would you?”

“No, I am badgering poor Sophie about it of late.”

“Well, she has to do the work.”

“I have some role in it.” The actor argued.

“Getting your jollies is not working, sorry to tell you.”

“It’s an integral part.”

“That’s true.” Danielle conceded. “Speaking of pricks, have you heard from Tom recently?”

Benedict laughed slightly. “No, I haven’t, you?”

“No. I did have the pop princess on my doorstep not too long ago telling me to back off from Tom and his family.”

“Fuck me.” Benedict’s face was one of genuine shock.

“Yeah, so naturally, I told her to beat it, and I was told ‘I’ll be hearing about this’.”

“Jesus, does Tom know?” Danielle shrugged. “That’s mad.”

“Yeah, well, what can you do? He’s a big boy, he has to get himself sorted.”

“You’ll have a song about you soon.”

“‘The Bitch Next Door’; I’d get a t-shirt made.”

“As long as it isn’t ‘I Heart TS’.”

“I’d get caught for copyright then I assume.” She laughed. “I better go, this Will guy has to do something stupid to make you seem awesome, meaning I might be needed.”

“Take care, Danielle.”

“You too.”

Benedict watched as she walked over to the crew, thinking over what she said, worried, he looked through his phone until he found the number he needed. When he found it, he pressed the call button and waited. “Hey, it’s Benedict, when you get this message, could you call me back, it is sort of important, thanks, bye.”