#i don’t know for Certain that you can’t get anything new from them in ch4

[the-meme-monarch]

I need to play deltarune ch3&4 (translation: get my brother to play ch3&4 and i read out the voices) just so I can make him run up against the wall to get any sliver of new information on sweet capn cakes bc nobody’s been insane enough to do it in my stead and put on youtube

[thedevildomdaily]

Demonic Possessions Ch4: Drooling in Majolish

Find previous chapters HERE! Sorry for posting this one late. Hectic week! This chapter had was a way to show off how the triplets get along and for the OM! characters to learn about them. Things happening in between ***** are meant to show that it is happening at the same time as the rest of the story. People blankly watching as idiots do their thing.

Warnings: None. Just swearing this chapter. Lemony goodness will happen, just gotta build those relationships yo! n_<

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After 2 more classes, Lena and Leviathan met with the twins on their way to lunch. Of course they had to make haste in order to keep up after Beelzebub. He was excited for whatever was on special, or so he said. Satan clarified that he was excited for anything he could eat.

“Even the atrocious slop Solomon ‘cooks up’?” Lena asked. Immediately the three brothers at her side laughed. So it wasn’t just with the Devildom ingredients. ‘To be fair, Sol’s always had servants prepare his meals. Being this independent is a first for him…”

Just as they entered the cafeteria, Lena was able to spot the rest of the people she'd met in the Devildom, along with her brothers, and Solomon.

“Well, speak of the Devil…-contracting imp!” she chuckled. She returned a wave to him and approached the giant table they were congregating around. Before she could get a word out, Azri intercepted his sister.

“Le, who did you hair?” there was a serious look on the towering nephilim's face. There was over a foot and a half height distance between the two of them. “Oh, Asmo did it! He did a great job. And he braided it the night before so I had no tangles…”

Azri gave a sigh of relief and continued to examine her. The rest of the table and a few passers-by observed the siblings. “Dude, will you stop!? People are staring and you are embarrassing me…” Lena said with gritted teeth.

“Oh ignore them Le, I am just looking at this uniform of yours. It does suit you well...though this material is, well, a choice. And the color of the shirt...I don’t get what we’re going for. A Totalitarian....Spring? I just can’t! At least this shade of green brings out our eye color.”

“And I’m about to bring out your eyes with my fork if you don’t sit the fuck down and eat lunch!” The female nephilim took her seat between Lilly and Asmodeus, who wrapped his arm around her as a welcome. They and everyone else were taken aback by her threatening words except for Zak and Solomon who were chuckling as they began to eat.

Zak finally spoke, “Don’t take Lena so seriously guys. She’d have done that without warning if she was really pissed.”

“Yes, you should have seen her back in ancient Rome…”

“Don’t talk about Rome Sol!” Lena warned. “Seriously, you guys live to embarrass me don’t you? No! Don’t even answer.”

Azriel took a seat across the table from Asmodeus. Zak was to his left, and Mammon to his right. He had most of his classes with Lilly, Mammon, Asmo, and Satan. There were also the angels who were now joining the table.

“Asmo, you did a wonderful job managing Lena’s hair. It can be quite unruly for the untrained...and for her. Can you continue the upkeep since we aren’t staying together?” he really was the worrisome mother hen of the triplets.

The Avatar of Lust gave a sly smile and nodded, “Of course! It’s nice to finally have someone with long hair to play with. And she is quite the patient customer at salon de Asmo.”

“Don’t talk as if I’m not here…” Lena reminded them, “Though I am really grateful to you for helping me. Nephilim hair grows back within 10 minutes of cutting it. And all dye is temporary. We have cursed locks I swear!”

The rest of lunch was full of banter. Mammon and Satan got into it again over the book that was stolen and pawned. Asmo, Azri, and Lilly discussed fashion. Lena chimed-in every now and then, but had moved to see what Leviathan was playing. She ate half of her food and gave the rest over to the bottomless pit that was Beel. Lastly. Zak was talking to Simeon, Luke, Solomon, and Satan. He was a huge history buff and wanted to know things about both the Celestial Realm and the Devildom.

Before they all split up again for the day, a meeting place and invite for everyone was made. Lena decided to show pictures of her attic room to Azri so he might faint, just to spite him for that earlier embarrassment. Zak was interested in learning about the cool hang-outs and to get in on some Devildom poker and street racing. Of course Mammon had all of the information he wanted for that. Lilly made the demon agree not to go without her, their chaperone after the shopping ended.

~

When their last classes ended, Mammon flew down the hall to meet Asmo, Lena, and Leviathan. Lilly was left in the dust, trying to catch up to him.

“We need to hurry guys!” He exclaimed.

His brothers didn’t budge. “You’re trying to hurry off to collect your check from Hell’s kitchen so you can spend it before Satan takes it. LAME!” Leviathan called him out, hitting the nail on the head with his older brother.

“Dude, that’s really cold. To your own brother!” Lena shook her head, feigning deep disappointment.

“Ah, I dun wanna hear that from someone who threatened her sibling’s eye removal at the lunch table…” he narrowed his bright eyes at the short nephilim.

“I’d say touche, but he did provoke me…” was her only response. She wasn’t sure if they should go on ahead, or meet outside of RAD like they’d agreed.

Lilly frogged Mammon’s arm when she caught up to the small group. “Thanks for taking off on me you ass!” He barely felt anything from the tiny human, but was annoyed nonetheless. “Hey!”

“Let’s just go towards the meeting location,” Asmo said with a slightly annoyed tone, “If you wanna take off, then go. Just don’t involve us. If Satan asks, then I’m going to tell him what you’re scheming.”

Leviathan nodded, “Yeah, it’d be the wrong route choice siding with you over Satan.” They didn’t want the Avatar of Wrath on their case.

Mammon sighed and then decided to bolt anyways.

The small group went ahead to the meeting spot. Everyone was there, save for Lucifer, from the House of Lamentation. Satan had anticipated that Mammon would try an escape. Azri, Zak, and the rest of Purgatory Hall arrived shortly, and they all left together.

~

When they arrived at Majolish, a couple employees instantly greeted them and rushed to Asmodeus. They were all blushes and giggles while Asmo proceeded to charm them over and talk about his recent collaborations.

Lena and Lilly both ran over to the shoes. “A girl after my own heart!” The human shouted. They were both major shoe collectors. And, what was even better, the two learned they had the same size. “We can swap!” Lena insisted.

“You know what, I’m not gonna say ‘no’. Normally I wouldn’t want to risk it for the biscuit when it comes to borrowing expensive things...but shoooooeeeessssss!” Lilly squinted.

Azriel stood in the center of the store, with an index finger drawn to his face to indicate how deep in thought he was. He was observing all the textiles the store carried. He noted the locations of all accessories, the jewelry, the perfume. He looked intense, like a predator about to strike.

Then he instantly rushed to Lena’s side and told her to grab 4 specific pairs of shoes. Great, she was about to be dragged around. Mammon had been sulking in the entry way, watching everyone else happily shop. Seeing two of the nephilim start racking-up items made his eyes widen slightly. “Look at em go…”

*****

He was half talking to a sleepy Belphegor that didn’t feel like browsing, and Leviathan who was waiting to get to the crane game he’d mentioned to Lena. They both looked over to the siblings. Lena was becoming a walking stack of clothes.

“Weird……” Belphegor mumbled.

Lilly joined them, unable to keep up with what was happening. “It’s not weird...it’s cute.” since they didn’t have parents and Lucifer was hypercritical most of the time, it made sense that the brothers wouldn’t understand the way Azri was taking care of his sister, wanting her to look perfect. Which, in Lilly’s opinion, was unnecessary since Lena was stunning already.

“Yes, he is taking care of his little sister the way you and Beel take care of each other.” Simeon joined in their conversation. “Though it seems like he’s a little too involved.”

“LOL. He’s literally smothering her...with clothes!’ Leviathan laughed. “It looks like he's about to lose the game of Tetris he’s made out of her stack of clothes.”

“Did you guys notice it though…?” Lilly asked, “Lena is only a bit taller than me...and yeah I know she’s curvier than me, but look at how easily she’s managing.” They all nodded. So this was a tiny bit of her power on display.

*****

Zak had picked a couple of things out for himself, talking to Beel, Luke, and Solomon. When he caught his siblings in the corner of his eye, he let out a huge sigh, “Excuse me for a moment guys. Looks like I need to intervene.” He left his stuff at a counter with his new friends.

“Hey Azri, you’re going nuts with the clothes…” he called to his brother. It was no use though. Azriel was possessed by all things fashion. He wanted to know how things felt. The durability and the way they folded. What sewing techniques they used!

Taking half of Lena’s stack so they could actually see her face again, Zak cleared his throat loudly. He was trying to stay calm and civilized. It didn’t help that Lena was in a zombie-like state with the dumbest grin he’d ever seen. Was that drool?!

“Well I’m certain that’s a first!” Asmodeus appeared out of nowhere, “Someone is actually drooling in Majolish after my line of clothes!” Of course that boosted his ego even further. “You look so cute Lena Darling!” He quickly went to take her stuff for her.

“NO! She needs to try that on.” Azri came out of his fashion trance to stop Asmo, before continuing on enchanting cotton, latex, leather, velvet is gross, real silk.

Zack quickly put the stack he’d grabbed from his sister onto the counter at the checkout and returned to his deranged siblings. “OI, Azri! You are not wasting everyone’s time by making Lena try all of this stuff on. It’s not like this is our only day to shop!”

“B-But the Mary-janes, the stilettos with the skulls...batty boots! Zak, they have batty boots!” Lena whined. Zak was embarrassed, rolling his eyes as he took his sister’s hand.

He led her over to sit by Mammon. “Guys. Watch her for a moment. Do NOT let her wonder off.” There were a few nods.

Zak went back to Azri and Asmodeus, telling the demon to add the stuff he was holding to the pile at the checkout. It was no exaggeration that Azri and Lena picked one of every single thing out in Majolish. And this was their first store. They hadn’t actually bought any amenities for their rooms. And that was the only goal of their trip. “AZRIEL VAN HELSING!” he shouted.

Azri snapped out of it, “Oh my. What do you need Zak?” he looked as if he had no idea where he was. After looking around for a moment, he sighed, “I went over board-”

“You went overboard.” -_-

“I’m so sorry.” he scratched his head sheepishly, then bowed to the Majolish employees standing around dumbfoundedly by what was happening, and to his new companions who were just enjoying the show. “Let’s hurry and pay for this. Lena needs sheets and curtains and a proper dresser…” He was already starting to chant items to buy at the next store without knowing where it was.

*****

Mammon’s eyes widened so much, Belphegor had to ask what had him so shocked. “D-D-Did you just see...they have a Black Royal card!!!”

“What?! OMFD!” Leviathan responded equally as shocked. Of course Lilly didn’t know what that meant at all.

Simeon chuckled softly and volunteered to explain, “A Black Royal card is the only thing that trumps Mammon’s Goldie..er gold card. It’s so rare that I believe only Lord Diavolo and possibly Lucifer has one. If he does have one, I’d imagine he never uses it on account of being extremely frugal compared to these two.” He referred, of course, to Mammon and Leviathan.

Those two brothers had the biggest track records for blowing lots of cash on nonsense. The third worst was Beelzebub with food costs being outrageous. His saving grace is going to places that offer free meals for completing eating challenges. They were starting to pop up less frequently thanks to the parfait incident when the carnival came to town.

“Oh I see. Yeah, Lena told me that the Van Helsing family was loaded. They are, after all, the princes and princess of Solitva.”

“A p-p-princess?” Leviathan gasped, “She came from another world against her will to live with demon lords...this is just like that manga I told you about!”

“Ya know what, Levi, you’ve actually got a point with this one!” Lilly laughed. Lena had actually made the same remark when she was talking to her about it.

They watch in awe as the triplets paid for all of the clothes, with a promise to return soon. Zak lectured Azri, since he was the one in charge of family finances. “Ya know it’s pretty bad when I become the voice of reason!” His arms were loaded with bags. So were Azri’s, Lena’s, Solomon’s, Simeon’s, Lilly’s, and even Luke’s.

“I don’t know how we’re gonna even make it to the next store…”Lena sighed, feeling tons of regret.

“I’d carry it all back for you sis, but you know Azri will go nuts if I leave…” Zak said with a sigh.

Solomon gave his signature smile at the siblings. The smile that stopped them both in their tracks. Clearly the genius sorcerer had a solution and was waiting for them to ask.

“Okay Sol, spill the beans…” Lena said, taking the bait.

Beel perked up, “Beans? Where?” It bummed the redheaded hungry machine to learn from Lilly that it was just a figure of speech which caused Leviathan and Asmodeus to laugh.

“I have the perfect people for the job so you can continue your shopping trip..” In a flash, Solomon summoned 6 lesser demons he clearly had a contract with. “They will take your stuff to The House of Lamentation and Purgatory Hall for you…”

“HEY! Why don’t ya ever do that for any of us!?” Mammon complained. Asmo and Levi agreed since they were also avid shopaholics, ‘Yeah why not lend us some helpers?”

Azri handed his bags over and took the ones Luke and Simeon had and gave them to one of the lesser demons. Nonchalantly, he answered the brothers, “Probably because he doesn’t owe any of you an eternal debt of gratitude…” He flipped his long, flowing hair as he glanced at himself in the windows of Majolish, “And I do mean that.”

Solomon didn’t give a reaction; ever the poker-player. Asmo, on the other hand, had a good idea about that debt. It involved Rome, a certain female nephilim, tigers, and a huge fire. He grinned mischievously at Lena, but received a pair of sky blue eyes glaring back. They told him not to say a word, and he would keep his promise not to.

~

After the shopping bags were no-longer a burden on anyone, the large group finished the day of spending by getting all of their bedroom furnishings and extra amenities. Azri went into another designer-obsessed mania trip while Lena floated around in her zombie state. Zak chased his lunatic siblings about, but they ended everything on a high note.

“And you were all worried about them!” Lilly said to Belphegor as they all spectated the scene, “I see no difference between them and you guys getting into silly situations…”

Belphegor could see it. And after spending some classes with them, began to lift some of his suspension for the time being. He also wasn’t salty with Lena any longer for getting his Attic hang-out. She described the dorms at Belmont Academy, their supernatural school, that she shared a room with 4 others for years. He couldn’t imagine sharing a room with any of his other brothers besides Beel.

The group agreed that their next stop was going to be Hell’s Kitchen. Satan called ahead so they could reserve a large seating area and to warn them that Beelzebub was on his way. His excitement was so apparent that it spread over to Lena. She was a bit of a foodie herself.

The two of them seemed to rush ahead of the group. Beel was smiling, listing off all the menu items to her, recommending everything basically. Her mouth was watering after the weird-as-well-you-know ingredients she was about to devour.

Mammon was in third, after them, with an angry Satan on his heels. It was obvious that he planned to rush in, collect his check, then slip out during their meal to A. avoid paying for his own meal and B. void paying Satan his whole check for the dick move he pulled by selling his brother’s tome.

Too bad he picked the wrong one to screw over. The intellect; the crafty one; the avatar of WRATH! Was not someone that easily forgot who did him wrong. Not only did he see through his older brother’s schemes, he was going after him to make sure he did get his check and to directly hand it over to him. “MAMMMOOOOOOON!”

[ikenbar]

Mr. Love: Ike’s Choice CH4 PT11

Second to last part until Chapter four comes to a close! I’ll hate to see it go but I’ll be back on my regular schedule after this. Not to mention, Chapter five has got to be one of my favorites. It’s one I actually go back and read when I have spare time! So get excited!! :D

Warnings: Blood, fainting, setting of a dislocated arm (you more hear about it then witness it), cleaning wounds, we got fluff, we got angst (only a tiny bit tho), and we got some of that sweet farm raised and grass fed cliffhangers!! :D

(Chapter Four (Victor and Gavin) Prologue, and part one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, and ten can be found here!)

Please read the author’s note (and the beginning of the story) on chapter one part one if you’re new here :D

And an additional note in a previous part of chapter four part three here! (I promise these notes are important)

Chapter four:

Part ten:

“No bodyguards.” I insisted for the uptenth time as Adri and I climbed the stairs to my apartment, “I told you I’m fine. Just a minor scrape.”

“It’s not your scrape that makes me worried.” Victor’s voice had a sense of importance, “It’s how you got it. You were driven off the road, Ikamara! What if you had gotten killed?!”

“It takes a lot more than a few cars and guns to kill me, Victor.”

“Ike-”

“Victor,-” I interrupted, moving the phone to my shoulder to grab my keys from my pocket, “I’m-” I grunted. A sharp pain rushed through my chest. I gripped my side and I handed the phone to Adri. “Talk to victor for me while I grab my keys.” I groaned, trying to keep face. Adri nodded slowly then held the phone up to her ear. 

“Hey Vicky!... It’s a no to ‘Vicky?’ Alright, well, Ike blasted some holes in their tires. They aren’t going anywhere. I promise. And, if they do, you’ll be the first person we call, ok?... alright police first, and then you!” Adri paused a moment as she listened to Victor, “... You want to send a doctor?... Well...” Adri gave me a once over. I threw the keys into my door knob and yanked the phone from Adri’s ear.

“No doctors.” I deadpanned, “I’ve dealt with worse injuries than these. We’ll be fine…” I unlocked my door but didn’t open it right away.  I looked over to Adri, “... Although, one thing is strange to me.” 

“What tipped you off? Was it the fact that you were thrown off the road by a bull headed man, perhaps?” Victor asked with sourness on his tongue.

“No, My-”

“Hold on.” Adri took my phone again but, instead of putting it to her ear, tapped the speaker phone button and held it up between us, “Sorry, V. I was hearing one part of this conversation and it was getting old. Please, Ike.” She gestured for me to continue. 

“... Thanks, Adri.” I cleared my throat, “My evol makes it so I have nearly impenetrable skin. Not even bullets can get through it... if that’s the case-”

“Then what cut your arm?” Victor and Adri had caught on quickly as they asked the same question at the same time. I looked down at my arm. 

“I don’t know. The last time I remember being cut this bad was when I was younger and my evol was still developing.”

“Didn’t you get a cut on your date?” Victor asked, “Do you know what could have caused it?”

“No. I-” I paused, “... that waiter’s cufflink. It was what tore at my shirt so it must have been what cut me too.” 

“Do you remember what kind of cufflink it was?” Victor asked. I looked down and hummed in thought.

“Wait.” Adri said, snapping her fingers, “Some construction work requires them to drill or grind into hard and heavy materials so that the building can be sturdy under certain conditions such as earthquakes or thunderstorms.”

“Interesting fact.” I rolled my eyes, “What does that have to do with-”

“Some of the equipment they use had diamonds embedded in them.”

Something clicked in my head.

“The waiter’s cufflink,” I said slowly, “It must have had a diamond in it as well…”

“Exactly.” Adri nodded.

“Ike,” Victor said, gravely, “Did Montu see your injury?” I felt my blood run cold.

“I… I don’t know.” I gasped, thinking hard about the events that had just transpired, “We were talking for some time but... I don’t think he knew I was hurt… but I was covered in blood.”

“Maybe he thought it was mine.” Adri said quickly and reassuringly, “You were bleeding on me when we were hiding in the ceiling.”

“Let’s hope that’s true.” Victor seemed to have said that more to himself then to me, “... Are you two sure you’re alright being alone right now? If not I can send someone over to-”

“We’re alright.” I reassured, though a little unsure, “No need to send anyone. If I really do need someone over... I have my neighbor. He’s a cop so he’ll be able to protect us if we need it.”

“... He?” Victor asked in a strange tone.

“... Yeah? Why?”

“Nothing. I’ll let you go then. Let me know if you need anything.”

“Alright.” I said, complicated feelings rising in my chest, “Hey, send me a bill for your tires. It was my fault they were-”

“Stop.” Even over the phone, Victor’s tone was still harsh enough to silence me, “It wasn’t your fault. I’ve got it handled so don’t worry about it.”

I sighed, “... Thank you, Victor.” 

“If you feel as if you can’t go to work tomorrow-”

“I’ll be there.” I said quickly.

“... Ok. Get some sleep.”

“You too.”

“I will. Good night, Ike.”

“Good night, Victor.” 

“Good night, V!” Adri chimed.

“... Good night, Adrienne.” Victor sighed. I hung up the phone and Adri tossed it to me, a teasing smirk rising from her lips.

“For a moment it felt like you two had forgotten about me.” She taunted, wiggling her eyebrows, “Maybe I should have just left you two alone!”

“Shut it.” I rolled my eyes and twisted the doorknob to my apartment. The door creaked open revealing a quiet, empty, and dark room. I knew no one was in there but for some strange reason, I felt as if I was being watched. Images from the warehouse flashed in my mind. A room where there were photos of me sitting on the sofa or making something in the kitchen. Montu knew where I lived and had been watching me. I wasn’t afraid of them. I beat them that night. I got away from them… but now…

I looked down at Adri. I had taken the sleeve of her jacket and propped her arm up so it wasn’t hanging so loosely by her side. I grit my teeth as I brushed my side again with my hand. This time, it wasn’t just me in my apartment. It would be my sister too. A bloodied and bruised sister whom I couldn’t rightly take care of alone in my situation… 

I was going to need some help.

With a sigh, I locked eyes with Adri. “We were in a car accident.” I enunciated each word I said with precision, "Got it?"

"Uh, sure?" Adri replied, looking very confused.

I nodded and closed my door as I turned to the apartment across from mine. After a long moment of hesitation, I walked over and knocked on the door. There was a moment of silence then movement came from the other end. Instant regret flooded my body.  I frantically looked down at my bullet ridden clothes and bleeding arm. I quickly pulled off my jacket but my blazer was just as destroyed. I groaned as the door opened to reveal a casually dressed Gavin in the doorway. 

"H-Hey birdcop." I stammered, sounding even more guilty than I looked. At first Gavin looked at me confused, but his face dropped and his eyes dilated. 

“What happened to you?!” Gavin’s voice, though stern, shook slightly as he immediately grabbed for my blood soaked sleeve and inspected it. 

“Car accident.” My jaw felt tight as I spouted out my excuse. Gavin looked up at me.

“This was from a car accident?” Gavin’s voice made it clear he was unconvinced.

I nodded and kept the ball rolling, "I hit a snag in the road and fell head long into a construction site and onto some tools. I scraped up my arm pretty bad… and may have broken a couple of ribs.”

“We need to get you to the hospital.” Gavin reached inside his apartment to grab something.

“No!” I quickly grabbed his arm, wincing as my side sparked in pain, “If I’m in need of any kind of sewing, they won’t be able to poke the needle through my skin and find out I am an evolver. I have the stuff we need in my bathroom. Can… you help us patch up?" 

“Us?” Gavin looked up. His eyes locked on to something. I turned and saw a red faced Adri staring blankly at Gavin, clearly at a loss for words.

“My sister was on the bike with me.” I said, guilt and regret riding on my tongue, “I protected her pretty well but she still has some injuries. Mainly her shoulder being dislocated.”

“Why didn’t you take her to a hospital?” Gavin asked, gesturing with irritation.

“They would insist on working on me if I took her.” I said, folding my arms and looking back at Gavin, “Besides, I figured I could handle it.” Gavin glared down at me. I arched my eyebrow. “If you don’t want to help I’m sure I could-”

“No.” Gavin quickly interrupted me as he walked out of his apartment, “I’ll help.” 

“Good.” I nodded and walked back to my apartment, “Thanks, Birdcop.” Gavin grunted from behind me. I rolled my eyes but a warm feeling still tickled my heart as I reached for the door to my apartment again.

“Are you alright?” Gavin’s soft words made me turn around. He was looking worriedly at Adri, who was looking down at the ground, avoiding all eye contact.

“Y-yep!” She stammered, face somehow getting even redder than before.

“Are you sure?” Gavin reached out to her, “Your face is really red. Are you cold?” The moment Gavin’s hand touched her elbow, a small yelp came from Adri’s mouth. She quickly covered it with her free hand and ran next to me.

“Open the damn door.” She whispered, pulling on my sleeve.

“I don’t know.” I cooed, arching my eyebrow as I smirked, “I kinda wanna see where this goes.” Adri cursed and forced my hand away from the doorknob. She threw the door open and ran inside, despite how dark the room still was. I bit back the comments riding on my tongue as I switched on the lights. Suddenly the apartment had become as inviting as it usually was. I sighed lightly with relief as Gavin walked in behind me. I looked up at him. Worry and confusion played on his eyes as he looked at Adri. I patted his arm lightly. "Don’t worry.” I whispered, causing him to look down at me, “She’s always like this.” 

“Really?” Gavin’s expression softened slightly. I nodded.

“Now, make yourself at home." I said in my normal tone as I walked into the apartment and towards the bathroom, "I’ll be right out with what we need.” I walked past Adri, who had fallen onto the couch, slumped over, and covered her face with her jacket. I smirked and continued walking, deciding against making fun of her. At that point, she would kill me faster then Montu would. 

Just as I got to the bathroom door, I paused to look back at the room. Gavin had made his way to the couch, sitting next to Adri delicately. He spoke to her in a tone soft enough that I couldn’t hear them. I had some idea though when Adri’s nervous expression turned into one of horror. Gavin was likely telling her how he was going to set her arm. Something he shouldn’t have to do because the whole ordeal was my fault. But there was no way I could with my ribs being the way they were. 

I tapped at the door, watching them a little longer before finally entering the bathroom. Whether or not it was my fault was not important. No matter what, Adri was still hurt and she needed help, and Gavin was going to help her… 

He was going to help us.

After I was sure I was out of everyone’s eyeline, I collapsed onto the counter in pain. I clutched at my side and gritted my teeth. When had it become so hard to breathe? I panted in short breaths as I opened my mirror. I immediately located the first aid kit.

… on the top shelf. 

Of course it was.

I cursed and tapped my finger on the counter. Would it even be worth the pain? I could just run the scratch over some water and be fine! I’ll use an old t-shirt or something to stop the blood! We’d be-

I heard a painful cry come from outside of the bathroom. I cringed as guilt rushed through my stomach. After another moment of thought, I took a deep breath and reached for the first aid kit. Pain erupted and pushed throughout my chest. Gritting my teeth to the point of breaking, I quickly grabbed the first aid kit and collapsed once more unto the counter. But, because I had used all of my energy to grab the kit, I slipped onto the floor instead. I hit the floor hard as I fell to my knees. Nausea rushed through my throat as black dots flooded my vision, threatening a blackout. I clutched my head and moaned, fighting to stay conscious as the familiar feeling of exhaustion hit me like a truck. 

Hurried footsteps approached the bathroom. I tried fixing myself to look less pathetic but the quick motion ended up making me feel even worse. A figure appeared next to me, kneeling down and surveying me closely. “Hey,” Gavin’s worried voice echoed slightly in my ears, “Are you alright?”

“Peachy.” I gasped, looking over at him. Gavin’s form seemed to be shifting slightly, making it hard for me to focus on him. I closed my eyes and rubbed them as I shoved the first aid kit into his stomach. “Here.” I groaned, “take that to Adri. She’ll…” My balance faltered. The hand on my back quickly moved to my arm, pulling me into Gavin’s chest.

“Hey,” Gavin quickly patted my cheek, “Stay with me, Ike.” I shook my head and weakly brushed away his hand.

“I’m fine.” I lied, “Just give the kit to A-” Before I could finish, I felt the first aid kit slide back onto my lap. I opened my eyes in time to see Gavin slip his arm under my knees. “W-wait-” I began, but it was too late. Gavin carefully pulled me close to him and lifted me up, making sure to take it slow so as to not make my condition worse. I fell further into his chest and gripped at his shirt, closing my eyes again as another wave of nausea crashed into my throat.

“You still here, Ike?” Gavin asked softly, rubbing his thumb over my arm.

“A warning would have been nice.” I groaned, letting my head fall onto his shoulder. Gavin held me tighter as he moved out of the room. A small gasp came from somewhere in the room. 

“Is she ok?!” Adri, through the exhaustion in her voice, sounded incredibly worried as Gavin led me further into the room.

“She’s fine.” Gavin said, his voice vibrating through his chest, “She’s just pushed herself a little farther than necessary.” I weakly flicked at Gavin’s chin. Gavin chuckled, the air from his nose teasing my bangs and cooling the cold sweat on my forehead. 

I opened my eyes as Gavin gently placed me down next to Adri on the couch. He lay my head on one of the throw pillows on the couch and raised my knees up as he tucked a pillow underneath them, keeping them from falling. Gavin took the first aid kit and placed it on the coffee table behind him. Once he was sure I was taken care of, Gavin knelt down next to me.

“Ike-” He began. I raised a hand.

“Ice packs are in the top door of the fridge.” I took my raised hand and pointed it to the kitchen, “Grab one for Adri. While you’re there you can grab me a juice box from the fridge so I don’t pass out.” Gavin nodded and quickly stood from my side. I looked over to Adri. She was watching Gavin, gripping her shoulder tightly. Though she was putting on a tough face, I could tell she was in pain. “Hey, kiddo.” I kicked her lightly, pulling her attention to me, “How are you doing?” Adri looked at me strangely for a moment, then she sighed.

“You know,” Adri elbowed me playfully, “If someone wasn’t already trying to, I would kill you right now.” She smirked. Although it was weak and obviously full of pain, I was glad to see her smile again. I smiled too, winking playfully to her.

Gavin walked back over to us, two ice packs and a grape juice box in hand. He handed me the box. I carefully moved to sit up as I reached for it. Gavin’s hand twitched. I gave him a a reassuring look as I took the box. He hesitated a moment, watching me take a few sips of the juice before moving to sit next to Adri. “Sorry.” He said, handing her an ice pack, “I wish there was a better way to get it back in.”

“It’s fine.” Adri sighed, taking the pack from him and placing it on her shoulder, “I feel like we have grown closer to each other this way.” Gavin chuckled lightly, causing a warm blush to push through Adri’s cheeks. She cleared her throat and stood up carefully from the couch. Both Gavin and I reacted, moving to help her. “I’m fine!” She said, hurriedly waving away our hands as she held her arm up, “I’m just gonna take a quick shower. Ike, you don’t mind if I borrow some clothes do you?”

“Do you think a shower is a good idea?” Gavin asked seriously, “I just set your arm.”

“Well, I’m covered in dirt and blood, so I’m gonna say yes.” She walked across the room and to my bedroom.

“Maybe a bath would be better.” I said as Adri opened my closet, “There’s less of a chance that you could accidentally hurt your arm. And you can keep that ice pack on you.” Adri paused at the door, thinking over my offer, “... I have bath salts under the sink.”

“Sold!” Adri chimed, smiling excitedly as she reached into the closet. She pulled out one of my flannels and a pair of yoga pants then shut the door. She turned to us. “Make sure she hurts like I did, Officer.” Adri said, skipping into the bathroom, “I wanna hear her scream!” I shook my head and glared at her. Adri spit out her tongue and closed the door behind her, leaving Gavin and I alone together on the couch.

Gavin cleared his throat as sat closer to me. “How’s your side?” He asked, handing me the second ice pack in his hand.

“Could be worse.” I grunted, taking the pack and swinging my legs off of the couch, finally feeling strong enough to completely sit up. Gavin reached out but I shooed his hand away. Instead I looked him seriously in the eye. “Thank you for doing that.” I said, tone matching my stare, “I know it must have been hard setting her arm on your own.”

“Don’t worry about it. It wasn’t that far out of place.” Gavin replied just as seriously as he looked me over, “Besides, it was nothing compared to how it was seeing you on the floor back there.” My heart froze. Gavin reached out and touched the back of his hand to my forehead, “I heard a thud so I rushed to check on you. You were as pale as a ghost. I was scared I didn’t get there in time.” Gavin’s hand fell onto my cheek. I quickly turned my head away from him. I didn’t want him to feel how warm my cheeks were getting.

“Y-yeah. Sorry about that.” I said, swirling the juicebox in my hand absentmindedly, “You said it yourself. I just... pushed myself a little farther than necessary.” There was a soft pause. Then Gavin sighed and reached to inspect my arm once more. The moment his calloused fingers grazed my wound, shots of electricity strung up my body. After he inspected it closer, Gavin let go of my hand. His expression changed to one of determination and he reached over to grab the first aid kit. Since the kit was so far from him, Gavin had to lean over me, rubbing his chest on my arm and pushing his leg against mine. I could feel the heat emanating from his clothes as he leaned even closer to me. I felt the burn in my cheeks rise. I quickly turned from him and covered my face, coughing awkwardly to break the air.

After what had seemed like forever, Gavin finally pulled away from me, first aid kit in hand and obliviousness dripping from his aura. He moved a little further away from me and placed the kit on his lap. 

"Take your clothes off." Gavin said nonchalantly as he opened it’s lid.

My eyelids flew open. "Excuse me?" I arched my eyebrows and looked at Gavin with a smirk, "I'm flattered, Birdcop, but buy me dinner first." 

"I mean take off your jacket and shirt.” Gavin rolled his eyes, as he pulled some alcohol and cotton out of the kit, “How do you expect me to clean your wound with your clothes on?”

“Carefully.”

“Ike, just the jacket and the shirt. Stop making this harder than it has to be.” 

I rolled my eyes and moved to remove my jacket. The pain in my chest reappeared.  I hitched my breath and grabbed my side, grimacing through the pain. 

There was a moment of awkward silence. 

We both knew what had to be done.

"Can I-" Gavin started. I held up a finger to quiet him. After a moment I sighed and used that finger to point at him.

"No one tells Minor." I muttered, glaring at the image of Minor's face that popped into my mind, "Agreed?"

"Agreed." Gavin answered resoundly, a tone of dread leaking from his tongue. I nodded then moved closer to him. Gavin also slid closer and grabbed my blazer by the collar, slowly and carefully pulling it down and off my shoulders. Fragments of debris rained onto the couch as folds of fabric came undone. "Glass?" Gavin asked. 

"... I crashed through a window." I said, hesitantly.

"Where did you crash?" Gavin's voice almost had a hint of laughter.

"Just off of Aspen and Brooks." I answered honestly, "There's a new apartment being built there."

"Really?" Gavin sounded skeptical as he moved the jacket steadily past my scrape, "I just received word from a cop buddy of mine that there was gunfire coming from there."

"Really?" I asked, thinking fast.

"Yeah, multiple shots."

"My tire blew and I fell into some tools. I wonder if someone thought it was gunshots and miss called."

"Maybe." Gavin finally pulled my jacket off of me, "I was told it was a false alarm." Mixed feelings welled in my chest as Gavin came closer to me. How did Montu get out of there in time? If the police was called for gunshots, there was no way they would get those cars out of there in ti-

Gavin's hands pulled at the buttons of my shirt. Flustered, I quickly pushed him back. "Uh, I-I can do the buttons." I stammered, unbuttoning my shirt quickly and shakily. Gavin backed away quickly, holding his hand up to his mouth and nodding.

"R-right." He muttered, "Sorry." I looked up at him. His ears blossomed into a bright red as he searched frantically around the room for something to look at. I smiled slightly, both from how adorable he was acting and also from the quick distraction from the subject.

I finished undoing my shirt and Gavin helped pull it off of me. I thanked my lucky stars that I wore a tank top that day as Gavin took a better look at the damage done to my arm. He pursed his lips but didn’t say much more. Instead, he moved back to the alcohol and cotton from before and set the box back on the coffee table. Gavin took the cotton ball, coated it in alcohol, then carefully cleaned the wound. I winced as it stung my arm. Deciding to focus on something else, I kept my eyes on Gavin. He was extremely focused on the task at hand. His hands brushed over my skin with a sort of movement that proved that this wasn't his first time dealing with this type of wound. 

My thoughts seemed to drift as I looked into his eyes. They were full of determination but there was also a soft note of worry. He seemed to be detracting himself from the worry by cleaning my arm but he couldn't quite hide the fact that it was still there, bugging him obsessively.

That tone vanished as Gavin locked eyes with something on my arm. He stopped cleaning as his worry and determination were replaced with shock. Then anger. "So," Gavin said, clicking his tongue slightly, "Where did you land exactly?"

"I… already told you." My defences rose slightly to his change of attitude, "I crashed my bike into some construction tools."

"Oh really?" Gavin's grip around my arm tightened, as if prepared to stop me from running. He grabbed a pair of tweezers from the first aid kit then used them to pluck something out from the middle of my arm. I winced and looked at what he had grabbed. My blood pooled to my feet.

"I don't remember bullets being used in building construction." Gavin waved Dylan's flattened bullet in front of my face.

"...oh yeah." I shakily said, repositioning myself on the couch, "I also ran into Montu while I was there."

The bullet fell from the tweezers.

“You what?!” Gavin's tone changed dramatically as his grip tightened even further, "When were you going to tell me about this?!" Gavin spoke sharply. 

“After Adri had left.” I groaned and pawed at Gavin’s hand, trying to get him to let it go. He did so by throwing it aside and standing up.

"Why do I not believe you?!" Gavin growled, pulling out his phone and tapping it fervently.

"...what are you doing?" I asked, fear rising in my gut.

"I'm calling it in!" Gavin put the phone to his ear, "This is agent-"

"No!" I jumped at Gavin and took his phone. Pain erupted from my side but I merely grunted through it as I hung up the call and tossed the phone aside. Unable to take it anymore, I hissed and fell to my knees, catching myself on my coffee table before I completely hit the ground.

"What are you doing?!" Gavin barked, bending down to help me up, "I was jus-" I covered Gavin's mouth.

"Montu's room from the warehouse had pictures from my apartment." I spoke in a harsh whisper, "I have no idea if he is listening right now or not. Saying your emergency code right now may not be the best option.” Gavin stared at me intently for a moment. I stared back meaningfully.

Ultimately, after a long moment of silence, Gavin pulled my hand from his face and looked at me with a softened expression as he clutched it tightly. I eased my shoulders slightly, looking in his eyes for any sign of contentment. Gavin noticed this and sighed. Before I could say anything, he leaned forward and rested his forehead against mine. “You’re going to be the death of me.” He softly said, rubbing his thumb against the back of my hand.

“I’m pretty sure I’d be the death of me.” I said, leaning against his forehead. Gavin chuckled. Something pulled at my chest. His laugh, which was once a sound of reassurance, now sounded strained, as if he was holding something back. 

Without delaying any longer, Gavin helped me to my feet again and onto the couch. He brought the first aid kit to his lap as he grabbed my arm again. “...Gavin.” I started, “I-”

“Ike.” Gavin interrupted, cleaning my arm once more from newly formed blood, “No more excuses. Talk to me honestly. What happened?” I froze. He sounded exhausted. Likely from me hiding so much from him and my constant lies. But if I told him anything, I would be taken off of the case! And I couldn’t afford to lose the progress I was making. Not to mention, the progress I had made with him! If I told Gavin now, he would hate me and we would just go back to the way things were before. I would never forgive myself if that were to happen. I needed to keep this a secret for as long as possible. For him… for us.

I sighed, “I had just gotten back off from work…”

>>>

I traced my finger down the bandage around my arm. Gavin and I had been sitting in silence for what seemed like forever, brewing over what just been said. 

“... That’s it?” Gavin said, looking at his hands as he slumped over the couch.

“Yup.” I sighed.

“You blew holes in their tires then left.”

“Right.”

“And you are certain they said that they were going to visit another evolver tonight as well?”

I closed my eyes, “Yeah. Very certain.”

“Alright then.” Gavin stood up, “This is a good lead. And it looks like you were right about Dylan. I’m going to need his information for when we take him in for questioning.”

“Right.” I said, but my thoughts didn’t agree. If Montu meant what he said, there was no way he was going to let Dylan go after losing me again. Whether that meant through death or something else, I didn’t know. All I did know is that there was no chance we were hearing from Dylan anytime soon. 

“And Dylan said he did that on his own? No one made him go after you?” Gavin asked.

“Yes.” My voice shook slightly as I stood up as well. Gavin held out a helping hand but I brushed him off casually as I made my way to my bedroom, “Dylan told me outright that he had a vendetta against me. And that he was the one that threw the bomb.” I reached my closet and sighed, “Now, can we be done? I’ve had a long day.” I opened the closet doors and reached for a fresh set of clothes.

“One last thing.” Gavin walked up behind me. Before I could figure out what was happening, he had pinned me between himself and the closet, shutting out any way of escape. He grabbed my shoulder and spun me, locking my eyes in his. There was a flurry of emotions in his honey-like glow. Each emotion moved so fast, I couldn’t keep up with any of them. 

I moved to look away but Gavin grabbed my chin, pulling my face back onto him. “I need you to promise me that there is nothing else you are keeping from me.” Gavin spoke in a tone I had never heard him use. It was full of earnestness and determination… and worry, “And I need you to promise me you don’t have any life threatening secret that you are keeping from me. Promise me you have and will always tell me everything that pertains to this. That pertains to your safety.” I hesitated. Gavin’s grip tightened, “Please, Ike. 

“Promise me.” 

I couldn’t move. Nor could I promise him something so important. But, I knew what would happen if I didn’t...

“... I… I promise.” I said, already beating myself up for doing something so stupid. Gavin’s stare was intense as he read my face, looking for some sort of lie. Before he could find it, I pushed his hand away and reached behind me, pulling a sweater off from a hanger. “Like I can keep anything from you anyway.” I scoffed, pushing him aside as I searched for clothes, “You’ve pulled everything I’ve tried to hide from you out of me anyway. Might as well just come clean, right?”

“I hope you mean that.” Gavin practically whispered as he backed away from me. I hummed but decided not to say anything more, too afraid to let anything slip.

After I had found an outfit, I turned and looked at Gavin. He had his arms folded and was staring at the ground, lost in thought. Sensing my eyes, Gavin looked up at me. I twirled my finger in the air. Gavin blushed and quickly nodded, turning on his heel to face away from me. From this angle, I could see just how red his ears had gotten. I smirked and carefully removed my tank top, avoiding using too much effort. The last thing I needed was to be in so much pain that Gavin needed to help me undress as well.

Gavin cleared his throat, "I think it goes without saying that I'm spending the night here." 

"Oh does it?" I hummed, only half paying attention as I got dressed.

"Yes. For your and your sister's protection."

"Thank you for the offer but I think I can handle it from here."

"But you're injured." Gavin slightly turned his head, "How can you expect to protect anyone in your condition?"

"Carefully." I pushed Gavin's head back around. 

“You should copyright that phase.” Gavin grumbled. After a pause, he sighed, "Ike, I just want to make sure you’re safe. Just one night. That’s all I ask.”

I thought for a moment. I wouldn’t be able to talk to Adri about anything while he was here. Not to mention, Gavin wouldn’t have any place to sleep as Adri would be taking the couch… but he was right. If something were to happen while Adri was here, I wouldn’t be able to protect her. After all, Montu looked pretty peeved last I saw him. It would be nice to have a cop stay the night…

“Fine.” I said, buttoning the last button on my new shirt as I walked into Gavin’s view once more, “But you need to promise not to bombard Adri with any questions. The whole thing was pretty traumatic for her.”

A bang came from the bathroom door. “Alright!” Adri came walking out of the bathroom with a large flannel and loose yoga pants, “Who’s ready to get this party started?!”

Gavin folded his arms and turned back to me, “Oh yeah. She looks like she is positively shaking from trauma.”

 (Next)

[lastbluetardis]

Chemical Reaction (17/22)

Summary: Though their chemistry class is now over, the chemistry between James and Rose is just getting started. Together, they navigate the highs of new love and the lows of coping with past trauma to forge deep and unbreakable bonds of love and commitment. Part 2 in the Catalysis series. Tagging @doctorroseprompts

This chapter: ~8400 words, explicit (for one small scene). Here we are folks! The culmination of the feels of the last several chapters. Enjoy xo.

If you like my stories, consider leaving me a tip? I know these are trying times, but if you are able, I would really appreciate it xoxo. And as always, comments and reblogs are very much appreciated as well.

AO3 | FF | TSP

Ch1 | Ch2 | Ch3 | Ch4 | Ch5 | Ch6 | Ch7 | Ch8 | Ch9 | Ch10 | Ch11 | Ch12 | Ch13 | Ch14 | Ch15 | Ch16 | Ch17 | Ch18 | Ch19 | Ch20 | Ch21 | epilogue

April was usually one of James’s least favorite months. The weather was wet and cold, and with it being the last month of the semester, it was always busy with exams and projects. This year, however, he had the pleasure of knowing it was his beloved’s birth month; even though he didn’t know the precise date, that made it all the more fun as, day after day, he greeted Rose with a ���Happy Birthday” snog.

Yet every day, she giggled and said, “Not today.” He wasn’t sure what he would do on the morning she kissed him and replied instead with, “Thank you.” Despite his brilliant, magnificent brain, he was stumped on a way to make an ordinary day extraordinary for her.

Though she said she didn’t want anything for her birthday, he couldn’t help but preemptively get her a simple gift: a silver necklace with an infinity heart pendant. The heart was studded with blue zircon—one of his birthstones—while the infinity loop was studded with small diamonds, her birthstone. Cliché, he knew, but the design had caught his attention. He hoped Rose would like it.

James had been carrying it around with him since the start of the month to be presented to her on her date of birth. Whenever the hell that was.

The weeks seemed to fly by, and still it wasn’t her birthday. He had several chilling moments of panic that maybe he somehow missed it, but then resigned himself to the fact it must be at the end of the month. Her so-called hint to him had told him it wasn’t the first or last day of the month… Rose would be cheeky enough to call that a hint if it turned out her birthday was the second to last day of the month. Nevertheless, James was having fun with their little game and worked to make the month special for Rose.

Though he knew she had been teasing when she’d suggested they make love every day so that she would wake up to birthday sex, they nearly met that goal, thanks to Rose staying overnight at his house more often than not. They were both growing to love the routine of cohabitating; James would drive them into the university in the morning, they would attend their respective classes, then they would meet up at the end of the day for him to drive them home again. Even on the days when one of them started earlier than the other, they drove in together, regardless.

While James’s main goal was to make April particularly special for Rose, he found himself realizing that even if it wasn’t her birthday month, he wouldn’t have done anything differently. It was a happy coincidence that the month happened to be filled with a multitude of romantic date night opportunities.

He had surprised her with tickets to the play put on by the university’s theater program, and had told her they would make an entire night out of it. He had dressed in a suit and tie; she had donned a gorgeous evening dress. Reminiscent of their Valentine’s Day plans, they’d had an early dinner out at a nice restaurant before driving to the university for the show. And when they’d gotten home, they peeled the other out of their nice clothes and made sweet love until midnight.

And when he took her to the cherry blossom festival in Washington, D.C., it wasn’t a birthday surprise, either. He would have wanted to tour the capital with Rose and bask in the beauty of the cherry trees no matter the month. There was nothing more romantic than walking hand-in-hand with Rose beneath the pink and white trees while the soft petals floated down around them. Nothing made him happier than seeing her face light up with awe as she took photograph after photograph of the scenery. Though the cherry blossoms weren’t as stunning as typical years, thanks to a warm snap in February followed by an arctic blast that killed some buds in mid-March, the scenery was stunning nevertheless.

They’d had fun exploring the various museums and historic sites in the city as well, but James’s favorite part was watching Rose scribble furiously in her sketchbook when they got back to their hotel room each night. She filled over a dozen pages during their four-day trip; she shared every single one with him, including the portrait of him she’d drawn one morning when she had awoken before him, and had occupied herself with sketching him asleep in the nude. Unlike her previous nude sketches of him, she did not cover his nether regions with a sheet, or simply not draw them at all. No, she had drawn every naked inch of him, down to the morning erection he had been sporting (which had also prompted her to draw a caricature of that very piece of his anatomy, making him howl with laughter when she eventually showed him the picture of a very prominent, very erect penis on a teeny tiny little person). 

Playing tourist with Rose was one of James’s favorite things to do, so even if it had not been Rose’s birth month, he would not have changed a thing. It was a mere bonus, pure happenstance, that they managed to go on so many romantic dates that month.

As the month plowed on, bringing him ever-closer to Rose’s elusive birthday and to the end of the semester, another date idea came to him. And this time, he intended to make it double as a birthday gift.

With only a week and a half left to go in the month, and Rose’s birthday falling somewhere in that time frame, James woke up one morning to an email from the student life office at the university. They were advertising discounted tickets to a Philadelphia Phillies baseball game at the end of the month. Perfect! He loved showing Rose more of the state she lived in, as well as the culture of America. And honestly, what was more American than a baseball game?

Rose was still asleep as James read the details of the email, though their alarm was due to go off in a few minutes. He silenced it on his phone and instead gently woke Rose up with a series of kisses to any part of her face not smooshed into her pillow. She grunted and buried her face completely into the pillow.

Chuckling, he tried again, this time pressing the long expanse of his body into hers. He shivered when his hips rubbed into her upper thigh; he woke up hard nearly every morning, and today was no exception. Some mornings, he didn’t feel a pressing need to do anything with it; others, when he snuggled up against Rose, his heartbeat concentrated into a dull, throbbing, insistent pulse between his legs. He was experiencing the latter, and hoped she would be in the mood to make love with him.

“Rose,” he murmured, nuzzling his nose into her hair. He wriggled down a few inches and tucked his nose into the join of her neck and shoulder. He kissed her there and smiled when she shuddered. “Rooooose.”

“M’sleepin’,” she mumbled, but she tilted her head to free up her neck for him.

“Oh? Well, I guess we can’t partake in any morning activities I might’ve had planned,” he lamented, though he pressed slow, open-mouthed kisses to her neck. Goosebumps spread across her skin and he could hear her breathing going ragged the longer he kissed her.

She moaned softly when he scraped his teeth across her ear lobe. Finally, she stopped pretending. Turning her face out of her pillow, Rose slung her arm around his shoulders, hauling him closer for a proper kiss.

“Got another date idea,” he breathed between kisses.

“Don’t care,” she answered, chasing his lips.

“I’d like for it to double as your birthday gift.”

“Don’t care,” she repeated. His head emptied of all coherent thought when she reached down between them and took him in her hand, pumping him firmly. His nerves sparked with pleasure as desire settled heavily in his lower belly.

“But I… oh, blimey… I care… God…”

She nipped at his bottom lip and gave him a small squeeze on the upstroke that made stars burst behind his eyes. “You care more about that than what we’re doing?”

He could hardly draw in breath, so focused was he on the addictive rhythm of her hand. Each drag of her fist up and down his length heightened his need for her until he was certain nothing in the world was more important than being inside her.

But the smirk on her face brought out his competitive nature.

“Well, I’m quite cl-clever,” he choked out, trembling when she tightened her hold around him and picked up the pace. “I can walk and chew gum… talk and have se-ex shit!”

Rose guided him between her legs, nudging the tip of him into her wet heat. God, he’d barely paid any attention to her and yet she was so ready. He swallowed down his impatient whimper when she merely teased him, rubbing him through her folds rather than guiding him in.

“Hmm, I clearly am not doing a good enough job,” she mused, her voice frustratingly steady while he could hardly contain his gasps and sighs.

His brain nearly short-circuited. Not doing a good enough job? It was taking every ounce of concentration and restraint he had to try to hold this conversation with her; he would be done for if she tried any harder.

“The university is sponsoring another trip to Phillies… er, Philadelphia,” he squeaked, squeezing his eyes shut to think past the desperate need throbbing through him.

“Oh?” she asked, voice breathless as she stimulated herself with the head of his erection.

“Yeah, yep.” He cleared his throat, hoping it would stop cracking. “A trip to a Phillies game. Professional base-ball!”

Rose slung her leg over his hip and took him inside of her in one smooth, deep movement. Her momentum sent him to his back. Taking full advantage and giving him no reprieve, she sat astride him and began a brutal rhythm that stole his breath, stole his thoughts.

“Shit!” he rasped when the burning pressure in his belly bottomed out. Don’t come, oh God, please don’t come… Baseball. Think of baseball. Phillies, Philadelphia, bus trip, baseball game, showing Rose the stadium, teaching Rose the game… Rose… Rose… 

Rose was squeezing him from the inside, giving him such delicious friction as she arched her hips hard into his.

Fighting a losing battle, he choked out, “Sorry… gonna come… sorry… shit!”

Rose caught his lips in a searing kiss as he grunted and panted and moaned his way through his release, trying not to be mortified and to instead enjoy the pleasure and love flooding through him.

He was trembling when his ears stopped roaring. Cheek burning, he groaned and covered his face with his hands.

“That was delightful,” Rose said, a grin in her voice as she lightly tugged at his fingers.

“That was embarrassing,” he countered, moving his hands to her hips. “Sorry.”

She slowly pulled off of him and collapsed onto her back beside him. “You do realize I was trying to do that, right? You’re always so damn considerate and attentive. It was my turn to focus solely on you and getting you off.”

“I feel selfish for coming first,” he complained.

Rose shrugged and pecked a kiss to his temple. “How do you think I feel when you pleasure me more than once before you get off?”

“Hopefully extremely satisfied,” he drawled, winking at her.

She rolled her eyes, but kissed him soundly. “I enjoyed doing that very much for you, so shut up about it.”

He zipped his fingers across his lips, though a grin stretched across them. He caught her lips in another kiss as he let his fingers walk down her body, between her legs. She must have woken up as randy as he had been, because it hardly took any time at all before she arched her back and cried her pleasure into their quiet bedroom.

As she panted and trembled beside him, he stroked her hips, her belly, her thighs, any part of her he could reach, and tried his initial conversation again.

“The university is sponsoring a trip to a Phillies baseball game,” he said. “Have you watched baseball? It’s a fun sport. One of my favorites, actually. I probably ought to get my UK citizenship revoked for that, but I can’t get into the football matches. Though plenty of people find baseball to be boring too. To each their own. Anyways, tickets are twenty dollars, and it covers admission to the game and transportation to and from the stadium. It’s on April twenty-sixth. It’s a night game… 7:05 start time. I would like to make this your birthday gift. Well. One of your birthday gifts, since, really, I want to go to the game anyway, to hell whether it’s your birthday or not. But since I’ve only got about ten days left to choose from, I figure that’s a close enough window to claim it as a birthday gift for you. What do you think? April twenty-sixth… does that sound like a birthday gift to you?”

Rose giggled and pinched his side, drawling, “Very subtle, love.”

James pouted. “Seriously? You’re still not gonna give me your birth date? I’ve been patient all month long!”

Rose cackled. “You liar! You have not at all been patient. At least once a day you beg me to tell you when my birthday is.”

“That is me being patient,” he grumbled, though he grinned when Rose laughed at him again. Even though they would need to get up soon, he tightened his hold around her and snuggled closer to her soft, warm body. “Wanna go to the Phillies game?”

“Sounds like fun,” she replied, running her fingers through his hair. His scalp prickled pleasantly, and he could have easily fallen asleep. But alas…

“We need to get up,” he groaned, burying his face farther into her neck. Rose heaved out a sigh, clearly as reluctant to move as he was. “Wanna share a shower?”

“How could I say no to that?”

With a parting kiss, they rolled out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom.

oOoOo

“You know, I’ve never been to a professional sports stadium before,” Rose said as they strolled, hand in hand, away from the packed parking lot towards Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team. “Wasn’t much into sports back home, and didn’t really have the money for it.”

James gave her hand a squeeze and watched her out of the corner of his eye. Something was… off. She’d been agitated when he’d picked her up from her flat that morning to drive her to the university. She was short and snippy with him, but insisted she was fine even though she obviously wasn’t, which had only annoyed him in return.

He had nearly called off their date to Philly, since she obviously wasn’t having a good day and he didn’t think he could stomach an entire night of forced joviality. However, after classes, she had met him in the library as planned and was decked out in a red Phillies sweatshirt and matching lipstick, greeting him as though their tense morning hadn’t happened.

“Where did you get that?” he’d asked, fluttering his hands at her top.

“The internet. Turns out everything exists on the internet,” she’d teased, bumping her hip into his.

He had been thrown by her chipper mood, and Rose must have sensed that. She reached up for a hug and squeezed him so tightly, it was as if all the tension that had been settled over his body was suddenly gone. She lightly kissed his cheek and whispered, “Sorry for this morning.”

“What was the matter?” he asked, keeping her in his arms for several more seconds.

“I’ll explain later,” she said. “I don’t really wanna talk about it now. I wanna go watch some baseball!”

It had taken everything he had to not snap at her to just bloody talk to him. Instead, he promised himself he would check in with Rose after the game, or perhaps tomorrow, since it would be late by the time they got home. But he wanted to know what was bothering her, and what had been intermittently troubling her these past few weeks.

That dark day she had had nearly a month ago still niggled at the back of his mind. He wanted to ask her what had happened, but so long had passed that he wasn’t sure how to broach the subject.

Hey Rose! Remember that day you yelled at me in the food court then started crying? What happened?

No, that wouldn’t do. Because what if she didn’t remember? What if nothing at all had happened and she’d had a breakdown over a bunch of little things that didn’t matter anymore? He had been hoping she would tell him on her own time, because he didn’t want to press. And it wasn’t as though he had forgotten about the episode, but he often got too caught up in the present with Rose that he wouldn’t think of it until he was alone again. Part of his brain admonished him, telling him that he could easily have that conversation with Rose through text.

Presently, they scanned their admission tickets at the front gate and stepped through the turnstile into the stadium. James inhaled deeply, catching a whiff of cigarette smoke, fresh air, grass, and greasy food. There was a unique and distinct scent of a baseball stadium that he loved.

Rose let go of his hand and darted forward, her gaze locked on the field in front of them. James followed, smiling to himself. He stood behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist as Rose drank in the sight of the enormous baseball friend in front of them. The grass was lush and verdant, neatly trimmed in the familiar crisscross pattern most baseball diamonds favored. The dirt of the infield looked soft and dry, though the grounds crew were in the middle of hosing it down. The late evening sun cast long shadows across the field while the stadium lights, already switched on in preparation for the night game, created a multi-shadow effect as well.

“Selfie?” James asked, fishing his phone from his pocket.

“Need some help?”

James glanced over and saw a young couple approaching them. The woman held her hand out for his phone, which he handed over. He then wrapped his arm around Rose’s middle. She turned into his side and linked her arms loosely around his hips.

The young woman took several photographs for them, all of them beautiful. James thanked her, then reciprocated the gesture, snapping a photograph of the couple with the baseball field behind them.

When the couple had departed, James took Rose’s hand again and they leisurely strolled around the concourse of the stadium. There was a beer stand every dozen paces, it seemed, and though it was ridiculously overpriced, James forked over the money and bought them a beer apiece. They sipped it as they walked, inspecting the various food stands and merchandise on display.

“What the bloody hell is that?”

James laughed when Rose picked up a plush toy of a furry green creature with a plump belly and elongated snout.

“He’s the team’s mascot,” James answered. “The Phillie Phanatic.”

“What is it?”

James shrugged. “The Phanatic. He’s not really anything, I suppose. He’s his own creature. Don’t knock him, though; the fans love him.”

Rose glanced dubiously up at him, but replaced the toy. James made a mental note to order one for her as a gag gift. 

As they continued walking, James’s belly rumbled with hunger when he smelled the intoxicating aroma of bread, beef, and cheese. 

“If I get a cheesesteak, will you eat half of it?” he asked. “‘Cos I wanna get crab fries too, but I can’t eat both of those by myself. Actually, the crab fries are right over there.” He took Rose’s shoulders in his hands and pivoted her gently, pointing to a concession stand with a giant logo that read Chickie’s & Pete’s. He rooted in his pocket for a crumpled twenty-dollar bill. “Will you get us an order of fries? With cheese.”

“Er… okay,” Rose said, blinking. “What the hell is a crab fry?”

James snorted. “French fries—chips—with old bay seasoning. They’re really good, I promise.”

Rose leaned up and pecked a kiss to his cheek. “You’re lucky I trust your taste in food.”

She left him to go get their crab fries, while he stood in the Tony Luke’s line for a cheesesteak. Though the line was nearly thirty-people deep, it moved very quickly. Ten minutes later, he spotted Rose waiting for him in a secluded corner near the ramp they would need to take to go to their second-deck seats.

The university had bought out an entire section in right field, and James recognized many of the students lounging in the seats. He had managed to procure front-row end seats for him and Rose. He allowed her to take the end seat, then plopped unceremoniously onto the hard blue chair beside her.

“Beautiful, innit?” he asked, nudging his elbow into her ribs.

“It’s a gorgeous night,” she agreed. “Look at that sunset.”

“View’s nice too,” James said, leaning forward in his seat to look down at the field. Apart from losing a little bit of vision of the right field playing area directly beneath them, they could see the entire ballfield very well.

There was a half hour to go before game time, so they ate their dinner and chatted mindlessly with each other and with their fellow schoolmates who had come on the trip as well. They posed for a giant group photo that was then shared to all of the university’s social media pages.

James was full and content by the time the Phillies players took the field, and he draped his arm around Rose’s shoulders as he explained the rules of baseball to her.

The game was fairly straightforward, with no tricky calls he had to break down for her. There was a ton of action in the first few innings, with both team getting a few home runs, including a grand slam by one of the Phillies’ stars. The stadium erupted with cheers and the LED Liberty Bell began to ring as the Phillie trotted his way around the bases. Rose appeared to be caught up in the atmosphere, jumping and cheering along with the crowd.

It was fun, James thought, to be sharing this with Rose. He made a mental note to keep an eye out for other discounted ticket specials, even if it wasn’t for the Phillies. A minor league team was based close to the university, and he imagined he could get tickets fairly cheaply, if it would be something Rose was interested in.

During one of the inning breaks, Rose had turned to him, flushed and beaming. She looked breathtaking, with the lights from the stadium glowing behind her and casting her hair in a golden halo around her head. He felt his mouth go dry and his heart kick up a notch.

Rose frowned at him. “What? You all right?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I…” He swallowed thickly, then smiled at her. “You’re beautiful.”

Her cheeks flushed a deeper red and a shy smile crossed her face. He reached over to brush a stray wisp of hair from her face, but then kept his hand on her cheek. “Love you.”

They moved at the same time, leaning closer until their noses brushed, then their lips pressed together. The noises of the stadium disappeared, lost in the heavy pounding of his heart as he kissed Rose. Her mouth was warm and soft, though felt a little funny with the slightly waxy texture of her lipstick.

He had meant for it to be a quick little kiss, though he should have known better; how often was he able to give Rose only one kiss? Angling his head slightly to the side, James lost himself in her, in the warmth of her hands. One of them was on the nape of his neck, the other at his waist, clinging to his sweatshirt as he devoured her lips. His tongue swept along hers, then trailed across the roof of her mouth. He delighted in her full-body shiver.

Before he could do it again, there was an explosion of noise around them.

“Hey, you’re not making a porno here!”

James wrenched away from Rose, blinking dazedly at the person who had interrupted them. It was one of their fellow students. He nudged James’s shoulder, then pointed towards the giant screen above left-center field.

His own dazed face looked back at him.

Kiss Cam. Oh, dear…

He grinned sheepishly at the camera, then pecked a chaste kiss to Rose’s temple. She looked equally abashed. Blessedly, the camera panned away from them, though the crowd of university students around them continued jeering and teasing.

“Sorry ‘bout that,” he murmured to Rose.

“S’not your fault. I wasn’t exactly beating you off of me.” He snorted and kissed her cheek. “You’ve got lipstick on you.”

James licked his swollen, tingling lips. A moment later, Rose cradled his jaw in her palm and rubbed a damp napkin across his mouth. It came away stained red. Her own mouth was smudged with lipstick, and he helped her clear it off, too.

“You are too enticing,” he concluded when they were lipstick free. “How am I supposed to restrain myself from kissing you?”

“Maybe you shouldn't,” Rose drawled, and she leaned up to plant a hard kiss to his mouth again.

Of course, the Kiss Cam found them once again, to the delight of the stadium, and to their fellow students, who didn’t let them live it down for the rest of the night.

The last few innings passed without much excitement and ended with the Phillies winning seven to four over the Miami Marlins. They were exhausted as they traipsed to the charter bus that would take them back to the school.

It was just after eleven o’clock when the bus returned to campus, and almost midnight by the time James pulled up in front of Rose’s flat. For once, he was staying overnight with her, per her request. The climb up to her fifth-floor flat was exhausting, and James wanted to curl up with Rose and go directly to sleep.

“What time is it?” Rose muttered to herself when she unlocked her front door and stepped into her dark flat. She flipped on the lights and glanced in the direction of the stove; 11:42 glowed green from the digital display. “Ooof, gotta wee. Stay here!”

She sprinted down the hall and slammed the bathroom door behind her. James was left laughing and shaking his head at her.

He set his keys and wallet down on the kitchen table, but as he was about to toe off his shoes, an open, hand-written letter caught his eye. He didn’t mean to snoop, but his eyes and brain worked independently of each other and before he knew it, he’d glanced at the end of the letter, where the name Jimmy was printed in a messy scribble.

His ears rang hollowly and his head swam. Jimmy. Jimmy? As in, Jimmy Stone? Jimmy Stone, Rose’s wanker of an ex-boyfriend?

A righteous anger welled up in James; what the hell did Jimmy want with Rose? And how dare he contact her out of the blue after all this time.

Before he was entirely aware of his actions, James plucked up the piece of paper, eyes frantically scanning across the words.

Rosie,

I’ve started this letter half a dozen times now, and I’m no closer to knowing how to say exactly what I want to say. It seems surreal that we’ve been talking again. I’ve missed you so much, you have no idea. It’s like I’ve found a piece of myself I didn’t know was lost. I’m not complete without you, and I hate the person I am without you.

This past month has been the happiest of my life because I’ve been able to talk to you again. I am thankful that you let me apologize, because there is nothing more I’ve wanted to do for the last six months. Getting sober has made me realize a lot of things, but it especially showed me that I missed you and that I want you. The worst mistake I ever made was how I treated you, and I will spend the rest of my life hating myself for it. I will spend the rest of my life (our life?) making it up to you.

I love you, Rosie. I love you so fucking much. You make me feel like I can do anything, and I love how I feel when I’m with you. We were the best thing to ever happen to me, and I’m such an idiot for destroying the perfect, wonderful life we had made together. I think I was scared. I was scared of not being able to support the both of us with my music, and I was scared about how much I needed you. You were a comfort to me, something I knew would always be there for me, something reliable, and it was scary for me to need anything that much. But I’m not scared anymore, and I know I can make it work this time. As you said, we were young, stupid kids and we made young, stupid mistakes. Now we can start fresh and build something even better than before.

I know you’re at school in America (which I always knew you could do! I always knew you were smart enough for school, despite what you said about yourself). I’m happy you’re enjoying your time in America. I want you to enjoy your time there, while you can. I’ll be here waiting for you when you come home. I’ll wait forever for you because you’re worth it. You’re so worth it, Rosie. I would wait a thousand years for you if I needed to. I hope I don’t have to though.

This time we can work harder together to make us work. I know you might not be ready to trust me yet, but I promise I will show you how serious I am. How committed I am. I will do whatever it takes to make this work between us, because I hate the thought of my life without you in it.

In the meantime, texting you will hold me over. I cherish every day, every moment that I can talk to you.

All my love,

Jimmy

James could barely think, could barely breathe. Something was squeezing his chest tighter and tighter until he thought he might suffocate as he read and reread the words of the letter. The love letter. The love letter that Rose’s ex-boyfriend wrote to her after a month—a month?!—of them having texted back and forth.

Acid churned in the pit of his stomach, eating away at his guts and making him certain he was about to vomit all over Rose’s floor. And worst of all, his chest was collapsing in on itself and his heart was breaking into more pieces than he thought possible. An entire month, Rose had been texting her ex-boyfriend—the ex-boyfriend she had supposedly written off and hadn’t deigned to contact in three and a half years.

And she hadn’t told him. A month, and she hadn’t said a single word.

His pulse thundered in his ringing ears so loudly that he didn’t hear the approaching footsteps until the sheet of paper was abruptly yanked out of his hands.

oOoOo

It was a relief to empty her bladder after holding it for most of the trip home. She had been tempted to use the toilets at the stadium, but the lines had been impossibly long.

With that need dealt with, Rose washed her hands and then her face. She felt greasy and grimy, and would have preferred to get a shower, but she only had a couple minutes before midnight, and she could finally tell James it was her birthday. She deserved a damn medal for not spilling the beans early—though there had been a few close calls—but she couldn’t deny it had been fun to play with James all month. She couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought to simply look at her identification card, where her birthday was plainly printed in bold. But that was her James, wasn’t it? The smartest idiot in the room.

She rushed to brush her teeth and comb out her hair before she left the bathroom and skipped to her kitchen/dining/living room.

James stood by the kitchen table, a sheet of paper in his hands and a stricken expression on his pale face.

Oh. Oh, no… Her stomach dropped. He was reading the disgusting letter that had arrived from Jimmy out of the blue yesterday afternoon.

She didn’t know whether she was more embarrassed, considering the content of the letter James was reading, or angry that he had snooped through her things and read her mail. The former won, but fueled the latter.

Rushing up to him, Rose yanked the letter harshly out of his fingers. He flinched as though she had struck him.

“What are you doing?” she snapped, folding up the paper and setting it on the kitchen table beneath one of her class notebooks.

“What am I doing? What are you doing? You’ve been chatting with your ex-boyfriend for an entire month?!” 

There was an awful combination of accusation and hurt in his voice that simultaneously grated against her nerves and broke her heart. This wasn’t supposed to happen. He wasn’t supposed to find out about Jimmy like this. He wasn’t supposed to read that letter until she had explained the past couple weeks to him.

No, not merely a couple weeks. A month. It had been an entire month (and a little extra) since Jimmy first contacted her, and Rose hadn’t said a single word about it to James. Shit.

“I was going to tell you,” she said weakly. “I just…”

“Just hid it from me by accident, did you?” he said, condescension dripping from his every word.

Rose clenched her fists and her jaw before coldly replying, “I didn’t realize I needed your permission to talk to anybody, or that I needed to tell you about every person I talk to. Sorry, d’you want to know about the bloke I chatted to while I was waiting for you in the library today? Wanna know about the girl I met at work ‘cos she’d recently broken up with her girlfriend and needed to talk to someone? Wanna know about…”

She knew she was being ridiculous but she couldn’t make herself stop until James interrupted her.

“Of course you don’t need to tell me about everyone you talk to.” Two pink stains spread across his cheeks. “But I would have hoped you would have trusted me enough to tell me when your ex-boyfriend, the ex-boyfriend you claimed to despise, contacts you!”

Rose crossed her arms in front of herself, gripping the fabric of her sweatshirt so tightly that her fingertips began to ache. “This isn’t about trust, James.”

“No? Well, it sure seems like it is. Because you don’t actually trust me, do you? Not nearly to the extent that I trust you. I’ve shared everything with you, Rose. Everything! I told you about the worst night of my life. How it still haunts me and gives me nightmares like I’m a child again rather than a grown man. But you…”

He flapped his arms wildly before letting them fall limply to his sides, clearly out of words. But he didn’t need any more words; the ones he’d hurled at her hit their mark, cracking her heart wide open. He didn’t think she trusted him?

Suddenly wanting him to hurt as much as she did, she met his eye and said, “I didn’t make you share any of that with me. You did that on your own. You opening up to me doesn’t mean I’m obligated to do the same to you.”

It happened almost in slow motion, the way his face crumpled. The way his chin wobbled and his lips parted slightly with a soft, nearly inaudible, “Oh.” The way a crinkle formed between his brows, and beneath them, his eyes grew shiny with moisture. 

Shit. Shit shit shit!

“James, I…” I’m sorry… I didn’t mean that… 

His throat bobbed as he swallowed thickly, then his face smoothed into a mask of a person she didn’t recognize. Even before they became friends, when he was the random cute bloke sitting in front of her in their chemistry class, he exuded more warmth than he did right now.

“How silly of me to expect some level of reciprocity in this relationship,” he said coolly.

“I didn’t mean that, James,” she muttered, wringing her hands in front of herself. “Really. I didn’t. I’m sorry. I just… I didn’t want you to find out like this. I wanted to tell you the whole thing. I was going to tell you all about it, I swear.”

He barked out a laugh, and it was one of the worst noises she’d ever heard. “Oh, yeah? When were you gonna drop that one? When we’re old and gray in rocking chairs in a nursing home? ‘Darling, remember when we were first dating? Remember that horrible ex-boyfriend I had? He texted me—ha! Remember when texting was all the rage?’ Exactly when were you planning to tell me?”

Any sympathy she had for him had evaporated and her rage returned with a vengeance. 

“Obviously if you’re acting like this, I was right to not tell you! Why are you being so unreasonable?”

“Unreasonable? Unreasonable?! My girlfriend has been texting the bloke she used to be in love with, and I’m being unreasonable?”

“Yes, you are! So what if I was texting him? What does it matter who I text on my own bloody phone?”

“You’re missing the entire bloody point!” he shouted, his voice cracking. “I’m not angry that you’re texting him…”

“Clearly,” she grumbled, grinding her teeth together.

“…I’m angry that you felt the need to keep it a secret,” he continued as though she hadn’t interrupted. “And I’m upset because why did you keep it a secret? And what on earth could you two have been talking about if he sent you this… this…” James flapped his hands uselessly to the table and the notebook under which Jimmy’s letter sat. “...this love letter?! For all I bloody know, you could be wanting to get back together with him and…”

“No, don’t you dare,” Rose hissed, voice trembling. Tears of fury and heartbreak burned behind her eyes, blurring her vision. “Don’t you fucking dare accuse me of that. After everything I told you about Jimmy—and don’t tell me I haven’t told you anything. Just because you seem to have selective memory doesn't mean I never told you about his drinking and partying, and how he stopped paying his half of the bills, and how he manipulated me to always feel badly about myself. After everything I told you, how could you even think I would want to go back to him?”

A flash of guilt appeared in James’s eyes. He blinked and lowered his gaze, staying silent.

“Even if he hadn’t treated me like shit, how could you take away everything you and I have done together? Everything we’ve built together? How could you think I would leave us behind for someone I fell out of love with years ago?” She sniffled as her tears finally fell, streaking down her cheeks in hot, wet rivulets of grief and misery. “Do you think that little of me? That I would willingly go back to a relationship like that when what we have is so wonderful? Do you think so little of us?”

James scrubbed his fingers through his hair, making a tousled mess of the limp and somewhat greasy strands; they were in dire need of a wash.

“No. No, of course I don’t…”

“You just said so,” she argued, impatiently wiping her face dry. “You just said…”

“I didn’t really mean it. But you have to understand… relationships are so new to me. You’re the longest relationship I’ve ever been in, and we’ve only been dating for four months. Christ, teenagers in school manage to have longer relationships than this. How pathetic am I for being so illiterate when it comes to love and romance? I barely know what I’m doing half the time, and God knows if I’ve been mucking this all up but you’re too nice to tell me…”

Rose’s head was spinning as her heart fought to beat its way out of her chest. She’d heard this before… she’d heard this all far too many times.

I didn’t mean it; I just drank too much…

You’re remembering wrong, I didn’t say it like that…

You’re being ridiculous. Calm down and maybe we can talk like normal people…

I was so drunk I don’t remember doing that…

I’m the worst piece of shit, Rosie, and I’m sorry, please forgive me… 

She shook her head as though she could physically shake Jimmy’s voice out of her ears. Instead, she tried to focus on James’s words rather than map them on top of Jimmy’s.

“This is me telling you now that you are mucking this up…”

But James continued on as though she hadn’t spoken. And with how dry her mouth had become, she wasn’t sure if her words had been audible.

“...And you could be wanting to be in a relationship with someone who’s got a bloody clue as to what they’re doing. Why wouldn’t you prefer to be in a relationship with someone else…?”

“Because I love you, you stupid fucking arsehole!” Rose yelled, which caught his attention. He met her eyes and blinked slowly, as though confused. As though she were revealing a secret he’d never been privy to. “Yes, I love you, but you knew this! At least, I thought you did. I love you so much but you are breaking my heart, James. Haven’t you believed me these last four months?”

His mouth worked wordlessly for a few long and agonizing seconds.

“I… yeah.” His tone suggested otherwise, though, and she nearly began crying with frustration. All this time… all these months… Had none of it been real? Had he been pretending this whole time?

“Thanks for that vote of confidence.” She pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes until bright lights burst behind her closed lids. “Thanks a lot, James.”

“I just…” He groaned, sounding as miserable as she felt. Good. “I’m so bloody new at this! I’m making it all up as I go and I’m worried I haven’t been doing a good job. I get nervous that one day you’re going to wake up and realize how rubbish I am at this. That you’ll get sick of holding my hand through all of this as I learn. I’m terrified you’re going to decide you’re done wasting your time with me, because you’re wonderful, and you deserve the best and I…”

“Stop!” Rose cried, a sob stealing the air from her lungs. “I don’t want to hear this. You have just… broken everything we’ve been building, James.” She hiccupped on another sob and impatiently sucked in a lungful of air. “We were supposed to be partners… I wanted us to be partners… I thought we were partners. We were supposed to be equals in this relationship. I don’t want you to put me up on a bloody pedestal, or for you to talk down about yourself or make excuses for yourself. I don’t want there to be this… this inequality between us for the rest of our lives. But if that’s always how it’s gonna be… if that’s how you’re always going to see us, as you being somehow lesser than me…” The force of her tears made her entire body shake. It felt like someone had blown a hole through her chest; she couldn’t breathe. “…then I don’t think we can make this work.”

The tears that had been threatening in James’s eyes fell down his pale cheeks. “What? Rose…?”

She buried her face in her hands, willing herself to calm down. But how could she be calm when it felt like the world was spinning too fast? James had been her tether, her anchor, keeping her grounded to the surface. But he’d let go, or maybe she had, and now she was crashing alone through the void. Lost. Adrift.

“You… are you breaking up with me?” His voice was so hoarse that she could hardly hear it. Though that might have been because her pulse was thudding in her ears instead.

Was she breaking up with him?

“I don’t… no… yes? I don’t know. I don’t want to. God, I don’t want to.” She swallowed the thick lump in her throat. “I love you more than I’ve loved anyone. And right now, that really bloody scares me. I fought so hard, put up with so much, to make things with Jimmy work when I should have called it quits long before it all ended. And I didn’t love him nearly as much as I love you. I’m terrified about what I’ll let happen… what I’ll excuse… I can’t do that again, James. I won’t do that again.”

He reached out for her, but she couldn’t let him touch her. She couldn’t feel his fingers on any part of her body. Not right now. 

She raised her hands in front of herself and retreated a pace, nearly tripping over her shoes from where she’d kicked them off at the door.

The door.

With trembling fingers, Rose undid the deadbolt. “I- I want you to leave now.”

“No, wait,” he pleaded, raw urgency in his voice. But he didn’t come any closer to her. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Rose. I didn’t mean… I didn’t mean anything… I didn’t mean… I didn’t… Please…” 

She’d never heard James, her eloquent, loquacious James, struggle this much for words. His eyes grew wild the longer he went without managing a sentence.

“Please,” he repeated, frantic. “Please, Rose. Don’t do this.”

She drew in a shuddering breath and closed her eyes. It was late, and she was so bloody exhausted. She didn’t want to be having this conversation anymore, but she knew it was far from over.

“I need a break,” she said wearily. “I’m tired, James. I’m so tired.”

“We can’t leave it like this,” he rasped through a stifled sob. “Please.”

Rose met his gaze. Everything was written on his face, his grief and terror and heartbreak. He looked impossibly young.

“We’re taking a break for the night,” she repeated. She paused for a beat, then, scrambling for some sort of comic relief, quipped, “Not Ross and Rachel’s version of a break, mind. A time out, more like.”

James either didn’t process the joke or didn’t find it funny, because he was still staring at her with that stricken expression that made her want to wrap him in her arms and apologize for everything that had been said that night.

But she couldn’t make herself move.

“I love you, Rose,” he whispered.

“I know.” That’s why this is so damn painful. “I love you too.” Maybe too much.

Rose had always thought of their love as a fire. A soft, cozy fire, and together they basked in its light and warmth. But maybe they’d gotten too comfortable, gotten too confident, gotten too close; now they were burning, and oh, God, did it hurt.

“Goodnight James,” she murmured, opening the door for him.

He numbly walked towards it, completely forgetting about his phone, keys, and wallet on her table until she went and picked them up. His hands were cold and sweating as she handed him his things.

“Drive safe,” she said. “Text me when you make it home.”

He made a wordless noise she thought was assent, then he was gone, walking silently down the many flights of steps they’d cheerfully bounded up mere moments earlier.

God, how long had it even been? It felt like an entire lifetime had passed. Rose glanced at the clock. 11:58. Sixteen minutes. Sixteen horrible, heartbreaking minutes was all it had taken for Rose’s world to come crashing down around her feet.

She went to her window and peered down at the dark street, waiting. Half a minute later, James stepped out from beneath the front porch of her building and ambled slowly to his car. He moved as though through treacle, as though he were tugging an invisible weight behind himself.

She continued watching him, but James simply sat there in his car in the dark. The clock switched over to 12:00, ringing in April twenty-seventh. She’d planned to kiss him at midnight, as though it were New Year’s Eve, and tell him that he could finally wish her a Happy Birthday.

All of a sudden, her game of keeping her birthday a secret wasn’t fun anymore, and twenty-two didn’t look as optimistic as it had been.

The distant purr of an engine drew her attention to the street below. James had started his car and was pulling away from the curb, taking off down the empty street.

Rose fully gave in to the sorrow she had been fighting back for the past quarter of an hour. Sinking down onto her couch, she bent double over her knees and sobbed her heart out, grieving for all that had shattered that night, and for the unanswerable question of whether broken things could be ever mended.

[space-helen]

Where Have You Been? - Chapter 1

Words: 1641

Pairing: Jack Thompson x Reader

A/N: Ok I’m pretty proud of this Series so far! Probably one of my favourite things I’ve written to date! I’ve already written the first 3 Chapters and I plan for at least 4. I’ll probably post 1 part a week but we’ll see :)

PART 1 - CH1      CH2      CH3    CH4     CH5

PART 2 - CH6      CH7      CH8    CH9     CH10

PART 3 - CH11    CH12    CH13

___________________________

“I know you’re understaffed in New York don’t try and deny it.” 

Jack sighed he knew he was fighting a losing battle against Peggy “Alright ok I’ll give them a chance. Who’ve you got for me?”

“If you liked working with me you’re really going to like Agent Y/L/N, she’s superb-” “She?” it accidentally slipped out.

“Yes Jack, a woman. I wasn’t the only female Agent. You’d never believe it but the S.O.E did recruit more than one woman into the war. She’s a friend ok, give her a chance?” “Where’s she been until now? How am I to trust she’s up to standard if she’s only coming to work now?”

“Some of us had things to deal with after the war, it changed everything for a lot of people.”

“That doesn’t answer my question Marge, what’s she been doing?”

“I can’t tell you Jack. Ask her yourself.” he grumbled. “She should be there today. Play nice and trust her, she’s one of the good one’s” 

Jack hung up the phone and walked to the window and looked out with his hands on his hips. He couldn’t deny how good Peggy was and he hoped you’d be the same, but the mystery of you not working for the SSR sooner played on his mind.

Your first hurdle had been trying to get past the girls in the telephone company, you kept telling them you were a new recruit and they wouldn’t believe it until you demanded they called the Chief, eventually the girl just rolled her eyes and let you through, she figured that if you weren’t supposed to be there they’d just throw you in a cell anyway.

You walked slowly through the SSR and took in your surroundings remembering everything you could about the place. A couple of people who you assumed were scientists were moving between labs and some Agents were walking in and out of different rooms. Each of them looked at you suspiciously as you passed.

The bullpen was bustling with work as you entered. You looked around before locking eyes with the Chief's office and began to approach it until an Agent stood in front of you with his arm out to stop you going any further. “You shouldn’t be in here. How’d you get in.” you could see the man reaching for his gun subtly.

“I work here.”

“No you don’t. Don’t try and fool me, just because you have a pretty face-”

“Agent Miller what the hell do you think you’re doing.” a man who you assumed was the Chief spoke from the office doorway, he could clearly see Morris reaching for his gun.

“I was just going to escort this woman out.”

The Chief threw his head back and massaged his forehead with his hand “C’mon guys don’t be so stupid.” he put his hand on his hips and gestured to you with the other “This is our newest Agent, Agent Y/L/N.” Agent Miller looked you up and down and relaxed his stance “Y/L/N in here now.”

Brushing shoulders with Agent Miller, you walked past him and into the Chiefs office, he gestured for you to take a seat and you obliged and put your briefcase on the floor, he took a seat opposite you behind his desk, the beautiful light of New York lighting the room in just the right way. “I’m so sorry Agent Miller treated you that way, he wasn’t here when Carter was so he’s clearly not used to women in the workplace.”

“It’s ok. I’ve had to deal with idiots like him before.”

Jack smiled “I’m Jack Thompson by the way.” He leant over his table and put his hand out to you, taking it you introduced yourself.

“Y/N, Y/N Y/L/N.” you smiled warmly at the man and he noticed how your eyes sparkled in the light.

“So Y/L/N what brings you out to New York?” he leant back in his chair and relaxed.

“Peggy told me how good the SSR was and how you needed more staff so I thought why not? I couldn’t pass up this opportunity.”

“Too busy to join us earlier? We probably could have used you, especially if you’re as good as Marge says?.”

“Marge?” you laughed

“Yeah Marge.” he gave you a sweet smile but took in your expression, waiting to see if you’d answer his question as to why you didn’t have anything on file for the past two years. “Were you busy?”

“Yeah you could say that.” you paused briefly and Jack caught a flash of a different emotion cross your face for a second but he couldn’t quite place it. “Do you have any ongoing cases right now?” 

He sat forward and his chair creaked “There’s been a ring of bank raids recently. Whoever’s doing it is usually just going for cash but sometimes goes for safety deposit boxes too.”

“Why aren’t the police department handling it?”

“It’s suspected to be the doing of some soldiers who just weren’t the same after coming back from the war. Plus we can actually get into the banks before the raids since we can predict where the possible next hit is going to be.”

“You don’t sound convinced.”

“If it were up to me the police department would still be handling it. Yes it’s high profile but the SSR shouldn’t really be involved.” he slid some files across the desk. “Have a look at these while you get settled, get to know the case.” He stood and pointed at a desk through his window. “That one’s yours.”

Jack opened the door for you as you left the room, placing your briefcase next to your desk you pulled your chair close. 

Your notepad was soon filling up with notes about the case and ideas about certain evidence already found ready to share with Chief Thompson. You heard the Chiefs office door fling open and you looked towards it. “C’mon boys we’ve had a tip.” The majority of the men in the room started to move out of the door. You stood and approached the coat stand to grab your Jacket. “Y/L/N where do you think you’re going?”

“With you? You’ve had a tip right?”

“How about you sit this one out. Agent Sanchez will give you a tour of the place, have a look around and watch the phones will ya?” he pointed towards a young Agent sitting in the corner of the room eating a sandwich with his legs propped on his desk.

“Whatever you say sir.” hanging your coat up you moved towards Sanchez’s desk and waited for him to get up but he just continued to eat his sandwich and read his newspaper. Rolling your eyes you cleared your throat to get his attention. “Ready to give me the tour Agent?”

He begrudgingly swung his feet off his desk and swept the crumbs from his body before standing up and spreading his arms wide “This is the SSR.” he smugly smiled and sat back down.

“As much as I love your humour could I actually get a tour of the place.” 

He grumbled “whatever, follow me.” 

The guided tour hadn’t taken long so you soon saw yourself back at your desk making notes. Other agents working on less high profile cases coming and going. About two hours after the ‘raid’ team left they were back, all talking about the suspect and possible leader of the ring who was going to be interrogated. 

You slipped away quickly and made your way to the interrogation viewing room where Chief Thompson was with another Agent. You peered at the man in the interrogation room “Chief do you have a second?”

“Yeah what is it.” The other agent left the room.

You flipped open the file in your hands “I’ve been making notes about the case and have some theories about suspects. I think the leader of the ring isn’t that man but instead a Mr Jonah Martin, he’s been unaccounted for for several weeks but before that had a pretty normal life-”

“We’re still going to interrogate this man.”

“I’m aware of that and considering the evidence you have he’s probably involved but I just thought I’d share what I’ve found.”

“Thank you for that. Was there anything else?”

“I know I’m still new but could I maybe sit in on the interrogation or view it from here?”

Jack looked towards the man sitting at the table, his eyes briefly going to the stick that he had in the viewing room. “I think it’s best for you to be at your desk for now.”

You let a breath out through your nose and nodded before leaving the room.

An hour later the Chief trudged through the bullpen, passing your desk and going straight into his office. You noticed the redness on his knuckles. You swiftly tidied your desk slightly before grabbing a cup of coffee and moving back through the pen to the Chief's office. Tapping the door you heard him call you inside and you admitted yourself before closing the two of you in. 

“I thought I’d bring you a coffee” you placed the cup on his desk as he turned around the phone wedged between his ear and shoulder as he picked it up and took a sip. As he looked at you it hit him, they’d been treating you exactly how they treated Peggy. Hanging up the phone he took a sip.

“How’d you feel about proving how good you still are and coming on a raid?” he asked nonchalantly, a small amount of guilt inside of him.

“I’d like that very much.” 

“You’re going to need to blend in as a Woman going to the bank. Be downstairs by the cars in five.” 

Next Chapter

Tag List: (open)

Jack Thompson: @fandomsandxfiles @itsmissdahliahayward

All Marvel: @marvelsangels

​

[plutoismydaddy]

I can read you like a book 3

Jimin x reader Gangster au

In the midst of a gang war Jimin finds himself in his own war, a war between himself and the feelings he was developing for the girl with the fuzzy pink scarf.

CH1 CH2  CH3 CH4 CH5

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You dragged the rag across the table, granting the stains no mercy, with a sigh you stood up, your back aching in strain. Maybe laying on a roof for hours and then getting 3 hours of sleep wasn’t one of your greatest ideas. You walked into the kitchen and threw the rag in the dirty laundry bag, either way you had to get used to it. 

Three weeks had passed, three weeks of surveilling the small building. You looked over to JM. After all this time it had become like a routine, JM laying beside you as you huddled together eyes not leaving the small building. As tiring and cold as it was you couldn’t hide the slight excitement when you thought about spending time with the man beside you.

Your head jerked up from where it was resting in your palm at the sight of a short hooded figure. It wasn’t the first time you had seen the person, shiny jewellery coating their body, it was hard to forget, but that was not the thing that made you so interested in them. No, it was the way the guards seemed to stiffen up as they approached the building, or how whenever they came, it seemed to be a more important meeting. There was something special about them. You elbowed JM and pointed toward the person “Do we know anything about them?” JM shook his head “no...no I don’t think so”. Eyes fixated on the hooded figure the two of you watched as they walked into the small house. “Let’s go.”, you turned to the man beside you, but his eyes were still fixated on the small building. “What?” JM shoved his bouncers into his bag “Let’s go, we both know we’re wasting our time”.

You followed the man as he crossed the roof, questions filling your head. Eyes hooded by his furrowed eyebrows and jaw clenched JM walked down the stair, walking beside him you couldn’t help but wonder what had made him so upset. He seemed fine a minute ago. Your eyes followed JM’s hands as they raked through his hair, his pale forehead peaking through, he sighed before turning to you, the corner of his lips rising slightly. Your stomach did a backflip at the attention, “where...where are we going?” you turned and stared forward “Let’s just drive around for a bit”. You only nodded in respond.

Music hummed through the quiet car as JM drove, the street lights glowed a yellow shine onto his face. Your eyes scanned over his relaxed face, his half lidded eyes and plum lips contrasted against the earlier furrowed eyebrows and cleaned jaw. “So, what happened earlier?” JM’s eyes flickered to you before they returned to the road “What?”. You chuckled at his sudden memory loss “You got all grumpy all of a sudden.”, JM’s shoulders tensed as he cleared his throat ”Ooh, I just got tired of laying on that roof I guess. You know we’ve been there for weeks without seen anything”. You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion, sure you hadn’t caught some big boss, but you had gathered small pieces here and there. You looked over at him, anyone would understand that things like this took time “Are- did one of the bosses speak to you. Did Shin say anything?”. JM’s grip tightened on the wheel as he took a deep breath, “Let’s not talk about work now”, “What else would we talk about?” you cocked your eyebrow at him. “It’s not like we’re some colleges in an office” JM chuckled “yeah you’re right, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get to know each other.” his lips curled into a small smile as he glanced towards you. 

There he goes, changing his mood in a second “I already know your name, so it’s only fair if I told you mine. I’m Park Jimin.”, butterflies filled your stomach at the introduction. There was something intimate about knowing his first name, it was like JM was a mask that had now fallen to finally let you see Jimin, the real Jimin. Realizing your lack of response you gave him a smile “Nice to meet you.”, he mirrored your smile. “So why did you start working for the gangs?”. You tried your best to not show the slight discomfort that had filled your stomach at the question, you let out an awkward attempt at a chuckle “I had to pay off some family debt”. “By jumping into the world of crime instead of getting a job at a cafe or something” Jimin laughed, and you followed suit “The pay is better, I got more money talking to some crack heads in a week than serving people for a month”. Jimin only laughed more at your reasoning “Well why did you join? Did your mother abandon you as a child and you had to fend for yourself, and you are now looking for revenge!” you finished your dramatic speech with a sigh before the two of you burst out in laughter again. Jimin leaned forward as he laughed his warm hand grazing against your thigh as he grabbed your seat, the two of you gasped for air once you calmed down. “Naah Namjoon threatened to tell my mother that I had sex if I didn’t join his gang”. Silence filled the air as the two of you blinked at each other before you burst into laughter “And you called me dumb” you gasped out “I was in 9th grade” Jimin wheezed back.

The car had stood in front of your apartment for a while, already going over the allowed parking time, but the two of you didn’t stop talking. Jimin threw his head back in laughter at your little story, you could spend a lifetime watching the man in front of you, but you knew you had to go home and get some rest. Watching the sun’s first rays peek over the horizon you listened to Jmin’s laughter quiet down to chuckles “I should go home.”, Jimin followed your gaze “Yeah, I guess it’s late.”. Despite the words, neither of you moved from your spot the silence wrapping itself around you like a warm blanket. Letting out a sigh you sat up straight in your seat “Thanks for the drive it was lovely” you resisted smiling as you watched Jimin frown in slight disappointment. “It’s nice, you got some hilarious stories” he let out a chuckle “Well I’ll see you tomorrow, same place, same time.”, you opened the car door, the cold air biting against your skin “Yeah...no” you blinked at him “We should, I don’t know, change our tactics”. “What, why?” you froze, the car door hanging open “We’ve already identified like 5 members of the gang just by watching from that roof.” Jimin paused, his gaze seemed to shift into a slight glare as he crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat. “I just think we could do this more efficiently.”, “well this is wo-” your voice died into silence as Jimin leaned forward his voice low. “Come to one Soomin”, hearing your name fall from his lips seemed to squeeze something inside of you “Let’s just try a new plan, if it doesn’t work then we’ll just go back to the dumb rooftop shit.”. His nose grazed against yours as he breathed, you had never done any drug, but you were sure this was what being high felt like. “What do you think, hmm?” Jimin’s question pulled you out of the maze that was his eyes and back into reality “I, uh I mean yeah we could try...we could try,”. A smile grew on his lips.

Your body was heavy as you reached over to turn off the alarm, with a groan you laid back in your bed. You didn’t have work today as the cafe was going through some renovation, you weren’t complaining, body heavy with exhaustion you weren’t sure could have worked anyways. You rolled over onto your side, you had spent the night thinking, well trying to. There was something off with Jimin, you knew it, but every time you tried to figure it out in your head, your thought wandered back to how close he was, how his eyes had flickered from your lips back to your eyes and how low his voice was as if he only wanted you to hear him. And just like the night before you buried your face into the pillow, and kicked your feet against the soft mattress under you. That man was going to drive you crazy. There was definitely something going on. You sat up and swung your legs over the edge the cold floor attacking against your bare feet, you had to go back to that roof a last time, but with no car and Jimin definitely not an option you were stuck. Scrolling through your contacts, you tried to think of a good excuse as to why you would need to be dropped off at the outskirts of the city. Your eyebrows twitched upwards as your eyes fell on a certain name, Seokjin. 

“So why did you call me? I don’t mind, of course, I just thought JM was supposed to be your partner.” you bit your lip, you wanted to tell him about Jimin’s weird behaviour, but they were in the same gang after all, and probably trusted each other more. “Yeah, but he seemed a bit tired yesterday, so I thought I’d go alone this time.” you shrugged. Seokjin nodded slightly as he furrowed his eyebrows in thought “yeah, he seemed a bit stressed yesterday” you raised your eyebrows as you eyed Seokjin “Oh?” Seokjin appeared clueless to your sudden interest as he let out a small chuckle turning on his turn signal. “Usually, that guy is the chillest person ever, we could be walking through rival territory, and he’d be scrolling through Instagram or something.”. You let out a chuckle as you leaned back in your seat, thoughts running again “I guess he must have been really tired, huh?”

“Where do you want me to park?” you scanned the area “How about there?” you pointed to a building a bit further to where Jimin used to park. You undid your seatbelt as the car stopped “It’s freezing, and I won’t take long, so you could stay in the car” you smiled at the man beside you, you weren’t going to force him into the cold also you only came for one person. “Ahh thank you, I hate the cold” he sighed as he pulled his coat closer when the cold night air filled the car.

Clutching your bag to your chest you kept close to dark walls as you walked, you approached the now so familiar building. Looking around before running towards it you force, there behind a small shed stood a slick black car, the same black slick car as Jimin drove. Same registration plate and all. But Jimin had made it very clear that he didn’t want to come back here though, eyes not leaving the car you pulled out your camera and snapped some photos of the vehicle. You never thought you’d use it against Jimin of all people. Turning your attention back to the reason you came here, you looked around the area again before running to the building, but instead of entering through the battered doors, you followed the cold walls. Once you were close to the edge of the building, you laid down on the ground and crawled the last bit. You were basically lying right in front of the Balck dove’s den shielded by nothing but the shade of the building beside you. Like a sniper on the battlefield, you laid there peering through your camera waiting for your target. 

You don’t know how much time had passed, but the cold was starting to get to you. Thinking back to how you would press yourself against Jimin for the warmth you instinctively pressed yourself against the wall beside you, but you were only met with the cold concrete. The low buzzing in your phone pulled you from your thoughts, eyeing the guards a last time you moved slowly and pulled out your phone. Your stiff fingers worked the passcode into the phone to unlock it, One unread message from Jimin stared back at you. Eyes flickering to the building in front of you and seeing nothing had changed, you pressed on the notification. Hey, I might be a little late tonight, I’ll pick you up when I’m done <3. You stared at the screen anger slowly bubbling in your stomach. What the fuck are you doing Jimin? You shoved your phone back in your pocket, you didn’t have time for his bullshit; they should be here any moment now.

The quiet sound of the shutter filled our ears as the short figure walked in front of you, like a model on the catwalk they walked with confidence. As usual, the jewellery hugging their body shimmered in the light, a golden chain wrapped itself around their waist showing off their curves, and the golden coated heels and buckles on their shoes made their every step shine. You had seen these ornaments so many times, but this time you could get a good look at them, and some even better pictures. Your eyes followed the figure as they walked through the doors. Like a sniper laying on the battlefield, you located your target.

You plopped onto the seat with a huff, the warm air of the car coating your body. “Welcome back. Did you find anything?” you smiled back at Seokjin “I got exactly what I needed”. With a smile, Seokjin started the car, filling the silence with conversation Seokjin headed towards the city, but the car slowly came to a stop before you could. Seokjin leaned forwards furrowing his head as he stared past you, “Isn’t… Isn’t that JM’s car?” you turned your head not sure if you should act surprised at the parked car. Deciding you were tired of all the lying and pretending you turned and stared back at the man beside you with a bored stare “yup”. Seokjin’s eyes returned to the car “But he said he was at home” his voice was low almost as if he was talking to himself. “Home?”, “yeah, I texted him to see how he was doing, and he said he was just resting at home” that’s it you thought, You had to talk to Seokjin. “Let’s talk as we drive, so he doesn’t see us”, with a nod he drove away.

[cinnamoonsworld]

Two Worlds Collide - Chapter 8 [Aizawa x fem!reader]

Hi everyone!  We are now almost at the end of the fanfiction, few chapters are missing!  Enjoy <3  Thanks to my boyfriend for the translation.  -------------------------------------------------- Previous chapters: ch1 | ch 2 | ch3 | ch4 | ch5 | ch6 | ch7 You can also find me on Ao3! Word count: 1332 TW: just a little bit fluff  ---------------------------------------------------- Weeks went by, and the relationship between you and Aizawa got better and better. You had begun to spend much more time together, for example by correcting the boys' homework together (he asked for your help because he hoped to be able to rest a little more before his evening patrol) or asking for advice on what to do the surprise tests. The Professor, the first dayss, was constantly reprimanded for judging you just for your singing job. He did not expect to work in contact with a girl so attentive to the needs of others, sweet and caring... However, the more he began to know you, the more he liked to be in your company. Strangely enough, you didn’t rattle or scream like most of his friends, who always gave him a migraine. Every once in a while he stared at you longer than the others when you walked into the teachers' lounge and greeted everyone with one of your usual glowing smiles. "Hello? Anybody there? Aizawa?! Are you with us?!" Nemuri exclaimed by snapping his fingers near Aizawa’s face, which distracted his attention from you who had meanwhile gone to make photocopies. The raven gave him a very angry look. "By now we have noticed that you keep staring (Y/N) more and more often, why?" Hizashi asked him approaching him with the desk chair. Both he and Nemuri noticed that their friend was with you a lot, and how they caught him staring at you more and more. "Come on, tell us what you’re hiding!" Midnight chased him with elbow strokes on his arm. "I’m not hiding anything from anyone." Aizawa spoke staring at the computer screen. "I was thinking about all the red marks I put on yesterday afternoon in the homework the kids handed me." You waved at Aizawa with your hand, and he responded with a nod. You too had begun to appreciate the time more and more with him. Almost surprised you when, at first, you noticed when he was always very worried about his class and how much he cared about all of them even if he never showed it. You’d always found him a charming man, but because of his character and his attitude toward you, you’d always found it scary to even talk to him about the bare minimum for work. Now you wanted to spend hours and hours talking about everything that went through your mind and maybe go somewhere just the two of you... you always felt comfortable and at ease with him. You were both realizing that, as much as you came from two different worlds, you were much more alike than you thought and how different you were at the same time. And that’s why you two were so good together.

"Ah, did you all get Nezu’s email about the Christmas party?" Present Mic asked out loud "Apparently there are some news..."

The teachers rushed to read the email, and suddenly you found everyone’s looks on you. You thought you got a pretty big coffee stain on your shirt. Nemuri signaled you to come to her, with a smile running all over her face. You started reading the e-mail with the headmaster’s instructions, and you scratched your eyes. "Wait...what does it mean that I will perform?" you wondered confused with the heart that began to beat wildly. "In the sense that you will be our flagship performance for the evening." Nezu calmly said that, in the meantime, he had arrived in the teachers' lounge. "Mr Headmaster..." you moaned embarrassed as you grew redder and redder in your face. "U.A. Christmas Party is a very famous event in Musutafo, where all the Pro Heroes of Japan participate and in which, every year, money is donated to charity. We usually did a charity auction...but this year I decided to change, since we have a very well-known name in our staff like yours, (Y/S/N)". "I thank you so much for this opportunity...but I don’t think I will be able to sing the songs I did before... I don't feel them like mine anymore... you see?" Aizawa immediately felt the sadness in those words. He happened to go and see some of your videos or old shows once, and he realized that now, as a woman, you didn’t feel comfortable singing certain things. "There’s no problem!" exclaimed the principal. "If you want, you can also sing covers!" "Or...can I sing some original songs?" you asked a little embarrassed and with the tone of voice a bit lower than usual. "Of course!" Nezu emphatically said, glowing in the face. "I would be truly honored! If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask me or Present Mic, thanks to their radio show he knows many musicians!" Hizashi nodded in your direction. You were feeling immensely grateful for the opportunity they were giving you "(Y/S/N), I think this year I will attend the Christmas party for the first time" Aizawa told you while eating his soba. It was lunch, and you were eating on the roof of the school like a couple of high school kids. There was a nice mild climate, and Aizawa had decided that, that day, you would eat there. "Honestly, I’m surprised Nemuri and Hizashi never forced you into it." You said and laughed as you ate a mouthful of rice. "Well, you know...I don’t like social events. The thought of having to spend the evening having to talk forcefully with people I don’t even know then, I nauseated myself." He supported the hero. "Even this time it will be so, I don’t think it changes much..." You sighed. "This year there’s you, I can make a tear." Aizawa said. You felt your cheeks go up in flames and your heart start pounding in your chest. You were afraid he might feel it too. "T-Thank you." You stuttered with a very shy smile. Aizawa found you incredibly adorable when you did that, and it happened every time someone gave you a compliment or said something nice to you, and he never got tired of seeing that look on your face. "You know Aizawa..." you said as you watched the clouds sluggish over your head. "I want you to know that singing is very important to me. I don’t consider it a hobby or something to do in your spare time...since I was a child I have always found it difficult to express my feelings to people, and singing for me was the only way to bring out what I had inside."    The raven was surprised to hear you say that. It was the first time you had expressed something very personal to him, and he felt grateful for it. "You’re also lucky to have a good voice, so you don’t even bother to say how you feel without smashing people’s eardrums." He declared Aizawa by hinting a smile and making you laugh. "That’s true." Asserting yourself by continuing to eat and laughing. "I can’t wait to hear your new songs, I’m sure they’ll be really good." said the hero with a sweet smile on his face. You looked at him with a dreamy look, and you were sure people could see your face from outer space for hou much you turned red. "Thank you, Aizawa." you smiled back. "Shouta." The raven announced. "When we’re together, you can call me Shouta." "All right Shouta...and then you can call me (Y/N)." You both looked each other straight in the eye. It was strange to call each other by name, but you were happy to be more intimate with each other. Aizawa felt a strange but pleasant feeling of well-being, almost as if he was looking forward to calling you by your name. You wanted to run and scream from how happy you were at that moment. You started eating again by talking about what you should have done in class that afternoon, calling each other by name and feeling thrilled to call each other by name.

[seekingseven]

The Most Sincere Kind of Lie (Ch4)

Chapter 4 of my Linked Universe fanfic! Also available to read here on AO3

┍━━━━ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ━━━━┑

Legend woke up to the sound of humming and the disturbing sensation that the fabric of reality was being torn from underneath him. He sputtered and sat upright in the bed, promptly smacking his forehead into Sky's chin.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to wake you up," Sky said with a half-lidded smile. "It's just that the lady wanted to wash this bed sheet and I offered to help her out. Somehow Hyrule got cream all over it and she said it'll make the linen go bad." The bleary, confused look on Legend's face was met by a gentle chuckle from the other hero. "You can sleep on one of the other beds, though, if you'd like. We’re not going to be leaving for another half an hour or so.”  

It smelled like morning and clouds and screaming, weeping demons. Legend felt his muscles spasm and his eyes roll to the back of his head.

"Woah! Legend, Legend! It's alright. It's alright, look, it's just me. Look, hey! Look here. Look! Listen to me, Legend! Legend! It's me, it's Sky. You know me. It’s alright. It’s okay. Calm down, you’re safe. It’s just me."

The cool metal of the Lens of Truth and the Magic Mirror pressed up against the bones on the underside of Legend's fingers. The skin of his knuckles stretched tight over his bones, and the artifacts’ handles shook under his grip. Everything was blurry. Everything was red. Everything smelled like burning clouds and tears and crippling guilt.

That voice, though...

He knew that voice...

His femur crunched against the bone of his hip socket as his chest tipped forward. He was falling…

Falling..

Falling...

"Hey, I've got you,” Sky cooed. “It's alright. Whatever happened was just a dream, okay? You're okay. It's okay." Unfamiliar fingers ran through his hair. Legend squinted at the blurry form in front of him and, upon recognition, nearly crumpled in relief.

Sky. Oh, it was just Sky. Oh, thank Hylia. It was just Sky. Just the happy, lazy, vaguely irresponsible Sky, who had blue eyes, not orange ones, who had blond hair, not red. Legend’s temple rested against Sky's collarbone for just a moment longer before he pulled himself out of the embrace. His heart wasn't pounding anymore. Legend blinked quickly and got to his feet, trying to walk off the pins-and-needles in his legs, deaf to the words falling out of Sky’s mouth. So many words were said, words of the comforting, meaningless, cliche sort, words he didn't really hear. There was mention of breakfast and travel and laundry and red and green and a blue sword and a broken-hearted hero with a soul so wracked with grief it found no relief outside of self-flagellation. And then the world was black and grey and Legend was left with the sinking, sinking hopelessness that came with knowing you had no control. His breath became short. He blinked quickly. The world came back. Sky kept talking, a confused, sluggish smile creeping back on his face as he mistook the Legend's blank stare for attentiveness. Words, words, more words, and Legend found himself breaking the brief lull in their one-sided conversation.

"Hey, I can take those from you," the veteran heard himself say.

"The bedsheet?" Sky wondered aloud as Legend took the bundled linens out of his hand, "Oh! That's quite nice of you. Are you sure? You don't look too good."

"Mmmm, don't worry about it." The prickly, uncomfortable conviction that he should say more tugged at the hairs at the back of his neck. Sky, clearly baffled but not one to argue about having mundane household chores lifted off his back, shrugged and smiled. The veteran found himself walking downstairs and out to the backyard, where a small tin tub and block of soap stood waiting.

He didn't realize he'd taken the lens and mirror along with him until he dumped the sheet into the tub and heard the tell-tale clank of metal on wood. Oh no. Oh no. Every half-decent mage knew that magic and water rarely mixed: the artifacts’ enchantments were liable to dissolve if left in there for too long. Blood screamed in the small matrix of veins behind his ears, and his hands shot forward into the tub. He pulled both artifacts out of the water before his heart had taken another full beat and neurotically dried them on his tunic. A hot glob of air stuck itself in his throat. Legend coughed dryly. Praise Hylia, both artifacts looked fine.

A demonic, curious part of him hummed with relief.

"Mr. Legend!" a feminine voice cried out behind him, "please don't worry yourself about the linens! Sir, please. I can't have a guest do housework in good conscience." The Wise Man’s daughter crept up next to him and fiddled awkwardly with the corner of her apron. Her face was set in a tight, uncomfortable grimace.

"Ma'am," Legend began with a smile, "please believe me when I say these chores are more of a pleasure to do than anything else. I've been traveling for a long time. It's nice to something normal like this every now and then." His eyes lingered on the white, frothy suds drifting lazily on the top of the water. He turned to face the woman. "However, would you mind terribly if I did ask you a favor?"

"Oh, of course not!"

"Sky and Wind. You know them?"

The woman nodded slowly, a thoughtful look on her face. "Wind is the little one with the blue shirt, and Sky is the, uh..."

"The sleepy, lazy one, yeah." Legend smiled as the woman giggled into her hands. His focus drifted to the blue mountains in the distance. "May you please, if possible, give them something sweet to eat? A pastry, perhaps, or maybe something cold for the journey? I understand if it's not possible, I really do. But, well, don't let them know I told you this, but they've...been through a lot lately. Maybe this would cheer them up a little bit."

The woman's face brightened at the idea. She started to say something, but second-guessed herself and quickly hurried off towards the house. Legend's heart was warmed by her eagerness. It was a good thing to know that people didn't necessarily need the blood of the hero to be altruistic and compassionate. He turned his attention away from the woman and back to the laundry in front of him. The water swirled and burbled happily as Legend gently cleaned the bedsheets. There was something soothing in the repetitive, mindless movements. Scrub, press, check for stains. Repeat. Scrub, press, check for stains. Repeat. Repeat. Watch the cream stains fade and surrender, watch the cloth darken with water. Scrub, press check for stains. The mountains looked so pretty from where he was sitting. Repe--

"Legend!"

The veteran turned around, not at the sound of his name, but at the loud, uneven footsteps he would recognize anywhere.

"....morning," Legend said, suspiciously eyeing the bottle Hyrule carried in his hands. Brownish, clumpy water sloshed around within, and the murky silhouette of what looked like a dead fish floated inside.

"Good morning," Hyrule cheerfully responded. "I got you breakfast!"

"Where is it?" Legend questioned, trying to distract himself from his growing dread.

"Right here!"

Of course.

The bottle.

Legend opened his mouth slowly, carefully picking his next words. "What is it?"

"Fesikh," Hyrule answered. "You've never seen it?"

"Can't say I have."

"It's something like, uh, pickled fish. It's really good, a delicacy, even! The Wise Man’s daughter and I made it just for you!" The excited grin on Hyrule's face started to slip when he saw how Legend shirked away from the bottle.

"Thanks, but I don't think I'll be able to eat that. I haven't -- uh -- I'm not really hungry. Maybe something lighter? Do you guys have any bread and cheese?" The skin of Legend's hands had started to wrinkle and bloat in the soapy water.

"Oh, uh, I think Wild made omelettes. He's in front of the house with the other guys -- Time went out to ask the townspeople if they needed help with anything and we're just waiting for him to come back before we head out."

"Sounds good. I'll be there in a few minutes."

Legend turned back to the soaked bed sheet, which looked mostly clean at this point. The sound of Hyrule's footsteps faded behind him as the veteran hung the sheet up on the laundry wire. He'd done a good job cleaning it; not even a memory of the whipped cream could be found. Legend knelt down in front of the tub and washed his face and neck with the leftover water, scooping the less-sudsy bits of water into his hands and combed it through his hair. It trickled down his neck and along the ridge of his spine, leaving wet spots behind on the back of his tunic. Oh, that felt so much better. He stood up and strung the lens and mirror to his belt. Now that the bedsheet was clean, he might as well go and get breakfast.

The smell of cooked eggs and steamed vegetables was almost too much for Legend's empty stomach to bear. He found himself sprinting around the house and over to Wild and barely refrained from tearing the proffered plate from the latter's hands. There was no doubt in anyone's minds that Legend would have eaten the whole thing with his hands if Four hadn't cautiously extended a set of utensils to him. A wet breeze skittered above the grass. Legend admired the small, careful clusters of horsetail grass that skirted the nearby river as he stuffed his face with breakfast. The other heros chatted quietly amongst themselves, drifting in and out of the house to collect and assemble their things. Warriors dropped off Legend's stuff on the step behind him, muttering something about only doing it because the veteran looked a little bit preoccupied.

A witty response was already building itself on the tip of his tongue but was cut off by the low, authoritative rumble of Time's voice. The Old Man had returned, and the tight look on his face betrayed the fact that he didn't come with good news.

"Alright, boys. From what I could gather, everyone in Saria Town is relatively happy and healthy. However, the River Man said something about a certain Darunia Town seeing a higher frequency of monster attacks than usual. From his description, they seem to be of the infected sort, and some of them have made their way to the city bounds."

Hyrule's eyes went wide at the news. Everyone turned to look at him, this was his Hyrule, after all, and he was the only one who could properly gauge how bad this situation was. And, if the ghostly pallor on his face meant anything, things weren't good.

"We'd better get going quickly, then," Hyrule began. "Darunia Town is in East Hyrule -- we'll have to cross the sea to get there and the closest dock is at least half a day's walk from here."

"Does the town have a militia to fend off the attackers until then?" Four wondered aloud as the group of heros began to pack up.

"Not exactly a militia, more like one knight. He's a very talented knight, of course, but I don't think he can protect the town by himself. The thing that worries me most is that Darunia has more children than any other town in West or East Hyrule."

"They need all the help they can get, then." Twilight asserted. The entire group nodded in agreement. Legend picked himself up off the step and tried not to heave -- this was exactly what happened when one ate too much too quickly -- slinging his bag over his shoulder as he hopped off the porch.

Just as they were all about to leave, the front door swung open and the Wise Man hobbled out.

"Gentlemen! A moment, please. I'm so sorry to disturb you all," the Wise Man apologized as he made slow, unsteady steps down the stairs. "I just need to speak to Mr. Legend about something. Is he still here?"

Legend, who was straggling behind the rest of the group, stuck his hand in the air. After a few seconds of deliberation, the group moved on without him, leaving the veteran with the warning to join them as quickly as the conversation was over. Slowly but surely, the Wise Man made his way over to where Legend stood. A yellow scroll, flaking at the edges, was bundled in his withered hand.

"I wrote the fusion spell down on this scroll, in case you wanted to attempt it once again," the Wise Man explained.

Legend took the scroll in his hand and casually unfurled the edges. He was half-inclined to give it back and explain that he couldn't read (he could, of course, just not anything written in Hyrule's Hylian) but the words died immediately in his throat.

Every word was written perfectly in his Hylian.

"It is a very ancient spell," the Wise Man continued, "so if you think you might have trouble reading it, I've got a dictionary right here that translates Modern Hylian to the Ancient variant."

"It's alright, sir. I can read this just fine."

"Of course, I should have expected no less from a young mage as talented and well-versed in magic as yourself."

Legend's throat burned. His stomach clenched. His fingers shook with adrenaline and his obsessive curiosity rejoiced with him.

"Thank you," Legend heard himself say, "but I don't think I'll have a chance to use it."

He cringed at his own blatant lie.

━━━━━━━━━▲━━━━━━━━━

The beach's pink stand crunched loudly underneath the multitude of leather boots. Hyrule stood alone on a tiny dock -- not even a dock, really, more of a pathetic outcrop of rotted wood -- and stared at the crystal blue waters ahead.

"Is something wrong?" Sky questioned.

"Yes." Hyrule confessed. "I mean, uh, kind of. I realized just now that my raft probably won't be big enough for all of us." The thin, wiry brunet stepped aside from the doc to reveal a Hyrule-sized wooden raft bobbing in the water. "And the sea isn't safe to swim in...unless you're a River Zora with a, uh, magical force field or something, you won't be able to make it across."

For some reason, this earned a chuckle from Time.

"I mean, we could just make another raft," Wind suggested.

"I've got a few extra bundles of wood with me, as well as some rope. It’s pretty flimsy, though, so if anyone has got binding materials that are a little tougher it might be a good idea to use those instead," Wild said.

"Perhaps we should buy some rope," Warriors mused. The captain turned to Hyrule. "Do you know if there's any place nearby where we can find some?"

"They might sell some sort of fishing rope over in Mido Town," Hyrule said, pointing to the distant shadow in the vague shape of a town. "We can also get lunch from there, since Wild would be using most of his firewood to make the raft."

"Mido Town?" Time mumbled to Legend. "What an odd name."

"I dunno, 'The Water Town of Saria' was also pretty weird."

"I suppose you're right," Time conceded with a wistful smile.

Wild, with Twilight's help, had already laid out a rough raft scaffolding. Four suggested that they just head into the nearby woods to cut down a few trees and expedite the process, but Wind pointed out that the forest was too unfriendly for exploits of the kind.

"Ah, you remembered what I told you about the forest?" Hyrule sheepishly asked Wind.

"Of course. I listen to you when you talk, Hyrule."

This only made the traveler smile wider, but the sailor had already gotten himself knee-deep into a squabble with Warriors.

"Please, Wind, I think I can handle something as simple as overseeing the construction of a raft," Warriors asserted, chin pointed loftily over his shoulder.

"I'm an islander and a sailor!" Wind protested. "I know a thing or two about rafts. I can handle being in charge for three seconds, you know!"

Legend watched the entire exchange with a bitter taste in his throat.

“Wind, just go help Four untie that bundle over there,” Warriors sighed, waving away the indignant sailor glaring up at him. The captain turned his eyes to the rest of the group. “We’ll need two people to go into town to get rope and lunch. Wind, Sky, that will be you guys.”

Legend grinned. This was the perfect opening.  

“Hey, Wars, d’ya think I could swap out with Wind?” the veteran questioned off-handedly.

“What, scared of a little hard work? Wait, no, let me guess, you’re scared of rafts? Is that right?” Warriors teased, obviously a little more than irked at the constant questioning of his leadership.

The veteran chuffed at Warriors’ comment and shrugged, blinking slowly and lazily. “Nah, not quite. I haven’t been feeling too good lately, Sky can testify to that,” he said, jerking a thumb towards the smiling Skyloftian, “and I think a little walk would help clear my head. You know? And also, I think the sailor’ll do a much better job of overseeing this than you think. Don’t forget that this guy literally stuck the Master Sword in Ganondorf’s forehead.”

The Links were silent.

Legend smirked so hard that his cheeks hurt.

Wind looked like he couldn’t decide if he wanted to cry or crush Legend into a massive hug.

“So, what’ll it be, pretty boy?” Legend quipped.

Warriors rolled his eyes, but there was a resigned scarlet flush on the tip of his ears. Legend was sure it wasn’t from the heat.

“Okay, sure, whatever. Wind can supervise. I’ll supervise his supervising. Is that better?”

Everyone nodded in casual agreement, and Wind let out a wild whoop . His eyes met Legend’s for a brief moment, sparkling with gratitude.

For some reason, even this victory wasn’t comforting. It was too temporary of a fix. Legend broke eye contact and looked away.

“Uh, everyone? I-In regards to lunch, do you guys want to know what they sell in Mido Town? I spent a lot of time there during my journey -- they’ve got really good food. If you guys want to, uh, want to choose, I can tell Sky what they have, and he can write a list. Then you guys can choose what you like.”

Everyone was grateful for the diversion Hyrule supplied and crowded around the traveler without a second thought. It was only a matter of minutes before each hero had decided what they wanted, and more than one Link was watering at the mouth at the prospect of lunch.

“So,” Sky began, reading the finalized list out loud, “Time, Wars, and Wild want meat rice, Twi and I want salad, Wind and Four want shrimp, Legend wants, uh….bread?”

“Hey, I‘m not a picky person. Carbs are good for long term energy storage, anyway.” Legend explained. Four hummed in quiet agreement. Sky shrugged and continued on.

“And finally, Hyrule wants...oh dear, I can’t read my handwriting. Hyrule wants… H-A-L-V-A?” Sky said, the questioning inflection thick in his voice.

“Halva!” Hyrule replied cheerfully. “It’s like a really sweet paste. Don’t worry, there’s only one food vendor in the whole town, and he sells all of this stuff. You won’t be able to forget anything even if you tried.”

Sky and Legend looked at each other and shrugged, waving goodbye to the group as they veered off the path and made their way to Mido Town. The thwack of wood-on-wood and the high-pitched shout of Wind’s instructions faded as the two heroes walked on. The sun beat down relentlessly, glinting off the glassy sand and burning into the lacy hair on their heads.

Mido Town was even hotter and quieter than the path leading to it. A sun-baked wind blew through the shells of abandoned buildings, pushing around the crumbled remains of brick and mortar. Pink sand hovered in gritty clouds. It fluffed and plumed up to their waists every time the two heroes took a step. The faint imprints of their footsteps were swept away by a floor-length wind.

The villagers eyed them quietly. No one smiled. No one waved. Blinds closed. Doors shut. If it weren’t for the suspicious, life-weary eyes peering at them through darkened windows, Legend and Sky would have assumed the place to be abandoned.

Was this the kind of treatment Hyrule received during his journeys?  

“Are you alright?” Sky queried, only half-looking for the vendor Hyrule had mentioned.

“Mmmm. It’s a great thing to see that this is the world I left behind for Hyrule. Nice to see that this is the fruit of my labors.” Legend’s voice was deadpan and flat despite the obvious ire in his words.  

Sky said nothing. Grief flickered across his face.  

“This is the world I left behind for all of you,” Sky mumbled to himself. His voice was barely audible over the humming of sifting sand.

“Ugh, Sky, you aren’t to blame for any of this,” Legend said. “And anyway, there isn’t a point in looking for someone to blame. It’s, it’s not going to fix anything. Beating yourself up for something you can’t control isn’t...uh...it isn’t a very smart thing to do.” His voice and thoughts and confidence began to trail off, but Legend forced himself to continue. “Let me just say that you’re so much stronger than you think you are. I, uh, I think Hylia made a wise choice.”

Legend turned to his companion and rested a hand on Sky’s shoulder. He had no more words left to say, nothing left inside his brain but the overwhelming conviction that he should be doing more. Should he confess? Should he tell Sky that he knew -- that he knew so much more than he should? That he knew everything Sky was trying to hide?

His soul fragmented under the weight of his guilt.

Sky gently curled his fingers around Legend’s wrist. His thumb rested on a vein on the underside of the veteran’s arm, and his breathing slowed to keep time with the blood’s calm thrum. A tear dribbled off Sky’s face and landed in the hot dust below, darkening and clumping the fine grains together. Eyes, dark and dull and unbelieving and flashing with ghostly wisps of orange, glittered with tears. Legend squeezed Sky’s shoulder and pulled away, lost for words and lost in thought.

┕━━━━ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ━━━━┙

[justatiredghost]

Fixes to the Timeline Ch4

Dave was alive again, he was here in the future with him and Klaus couldn’t be happier. So why was there still an ache in his chest and the nagging fear that everything still might go wrong? After all, Dave lost everything by coming here and they’ve both been through so much pain. How were they supposed to heal and move on from that? 

-

When Klaus woke, it was with a heavy certainty sitting in his gut like a stone. He’d had another one of those damned dreams, he’d been able to hold Dave again, to hear his laugh, but now he was awake and Dave was dead and Klaus was more alone than he’d ever felt before. Dave was gone and nothing would ever truly be okay again. 

He felt tears prickling his eyes as he curled farther in on himself, a horrible ache in his bones, the bed feeling painfully cold and empty. He bit his lip, stifling a sob as he felt his grief flood back in full force like he was losing Dave all over again, like it was always waiting in the back of his mind to drown him over and over. He thought it might be less painful to have his heart ripped from his chest.

“Klaus?”

Sure, hearing a voice in his bedroom wasn’t exactly rare, there were always ghosts screaming his name, even now he wasn’t free of them as they lurked at the corners of his vision, but he would recognize Dave’s voice anywhere. He sat up so quickly he felt disoriented as he frantically looked around the room. 

And there, sitting in a chair by the window, was Dave, wearing pajama pants and a tank top that didn’t fit quite right, not his uniform covered in blood. He looked concerned and a second away from jumping to his feet, gripping the arms of the chair like he was poised to launch himself forward. He must have seen something in Klaus’ expression because he did just that, quickly moving to sit beside him on the bed, pulling him into a tight hug.

For a horrible moment, Klaus expected his arms to go through him and he almost told him to stop, he wasn’t sure he could handle that right now. But then warm, solid arms were wrapping around him and he had to fight to choke back another sob as he remembered that Five really had saved Dave, none of it was a dream and they really were together again. Dave was alive. He was safe.

Klaus pulled him closer, holding him tighter until he was all he could feel, all he could smell, all he could see. Klaus was gripping him so tightly he was afraid it might hurt but he was so terrified that if he even just loosened his grip a tiny bit, Dave would disappear, he would be gone and Klaus would be alone again. 

It took a while, but eventually, listening to Dave’s soothing voice as he whispered comfort and reassurances, he finally started to relax. He’d stopped crying at some point and now that he realized, he took in a shuddering breath, quickly rubbing at his face as Dave readjusted so he could run his fingers through his hair, placing a kiss to his temple. 

“You wanna talk about it?” Dave asked, voice hushed as he continued to play with his hair..

But what was there to say, really? Klaus had watched the life leave Dave’s eyes. It didn’t seem to matter that he was here and very much alive now, Klaus still didn’t know how to move on, how to stop reliving the worst moment of his life, in a life already filled with terrible moments. There wasn’t anything to grieve anymore, except maybe the months spent apart, but he’d been grieving so long he wasn’t sure how to stop.

But then, while Klaus had to watch him die, Dave was the one who had to go through the pain. It didn’t seem right to whine about it when he had it so much worse. Dave was here and he should be focusing on that, on being there for him. He didn’t want to make this all about himself. He should be comforting Dave, not the other way around. 

Klaus just wanted them both to be happy again. To put all of this aside so they could go back to how things were before, but better without all the war, preferably. So he pushed it all down, just feeling Dave against him and trying to focus on the present.

“Just a nightmare,” Klaus said dismissively as he cuddled more closely against Dave, grip more relaxed than desperate, hoping he wouldn’t press. “Better now.” 

“Good,” Dave said with a chuckle, probably seeing through him but, thankfully, not demanding answers.

Klaus felt like he should be doing more, but he didn’t know what would even help. The image of how he had been sitting away, over by the window, flashed through his mind and the worry was back in full force. They’d both never been particularly good at sleeping, but what if it was space he had wanted, and instead Klaus had forced him closer. He steeled himself, trying to prepare for the worst, but he owed it to Dave to try.

“Hang on,” he said, hoping he sounded convincing. “Why were you up? Couldn’t sleep?”

“You know,” Dave said with a smile. “I spent all that time in Vietnam missing propper beds and now that I get to sleep somewhere nice again, it’s actually too comfortable.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Klaus said. “We’ll get some nice rocks in here and maybe a thin itchy blanket to lay over the top and it’ll feel like home in no time.” 

“Perfect, there’s hope for me, then.” 

It didn’t feel fair to doubt him, but Klaus couldn’t help but wonder if that was really all there was to it. They both did tend to deflect with humor after all. So much had changed in such a short amount of time for Dave, it somehow felt inevitable that he might grow bitter. Sure, Five had saved his life, but in coming here he’d lost his friends, his family, everything. It would only make sense for him to have regrets. 

Maybe that wasn’t fair, Dave was too kind to hold anything against them. Then again, experience had taught Klaus to expect the worst. Maybe this would be the thing that finally pushed Dave too far. It was bound to happen eventually, wasn’t it? Klaus knew he wasn’t an easy person to deal with, he saw what putting up with him had done to his family. Klaus was good at pushing people away, at ruining the lives of those who cared about him.

But he didn’t want to push for reasurances, to make Dave comfort him once again when this shouldn’t be about him at all. 

“So, how are you—” Klaus eventually got the courage to ask, waving his hands vaguely as he searched for the right words. “—handling all this?”

“I don’t know,” Dave said, hiding his face briefly in Klaus’ hair before the two of them got into a more comfortable position. “Honestly I’ve been trying not to think about it. It kinda feels like a dream still, like I’m gonna wake up and be back there again.”

“I know what you mean,” Klaus said, remembering what the culture shock of suddenly returning to life away from the war had been like for himself, and Dave had it even worse with the whole being displaced in time thing. “I wish I could say it gets better, but I haven’t seen it yet.”

“Did Five really do all this without telling you?” Dave asked and for some reason he seemed so apprehensive, not quite meeting his eyes. 

“Yeah, he was probably worried I’d come along and ruin everything,” Klaus said. “He takes the timeline stuff very seriously.”

“Sounds like an awful lot of trouble to go to just for me,” Dave said and Klaus could hear how he was forcing his voice to sound casual.

“Hey, no, don’t say that,” Klaus said, raising a hand to Dave’s cheek as he pulled him closer. “Please don't.”

“Okay,” Dave said, mustering up a smile that wasn’t convincing at all.

“Really,” Klaus reemphasized. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Hey, I’ve got a question, actually,” Dave said and that mischievous grin of his was back which was a relief. “Does all this mean I sold my soul to your brother?” Klaus burst out laughing even as Dave continued. “No, seriously. Is he gonna expect me to kill for him? Is he gonna show up in fifty years and demand some sort of morally dubious favor?”

“If anything, I’m probably the one who owes him,” Klaus said, still giggling. “What could he possibly want? My firstborn? Whatever, still worth it. I really am glad you’re here.”

And there was his genuine smile again. Klaus kissed him, held him close as they closed their eyes. Maybe they could both actually get some sleep now. He knew they should probably talk more about this and maybe it wasn’t fair to fall silent now, but he couldn’t help but be selfish. Maybe they could have this for just a little longer. 

-

It was early morning when they finally gave up on sleep and dragged themselves out of bed. Klaus was fairly certain that no one enjoyed a good bath more than himself, but Dave definitely came close after so long using the terrible shower tents the military provided. Then they got to spend some more time going through Klaus’ closet. He couldn’t wait until he could take Dave shopping for his own clothes. They’d have so much fun going to thrift shops and trying on every ridiculous outfit they could find.

He was smiling to himself at the thought as he went to find them some breakfast, leaving Dave to finish getting dressed. He was practically skipping down the halls when he spotted Ben. Was it the weekend already? Klaus had very little concept of time anymore, but he was always excited to see him back from college for a visit. But at least for once Klaus was the one with news to share.

“Ben, Ben, Ben,” he said as he bounded up to him, draping an arm across his shoulders. “How have classes been, oh brother of mine? Tell me everything.”

“What did you do?” Ben asked, barely suppressing a grin as he swatted him away. 

“I hate that you always know when something’s up, you know that?”

“I spent almost 15 years haunting you, you can’t hide anything from me anymore.” 

“Fine, yes, okay,” Klaus said, waving his hand dismissively. “But I think I actually have a surprise that even you won’t see coming. And it’s even a good surprise!”

“Did you get me a puppy?” Ben asked. 

“Shit, I didn’t know you wanted a puppy, but I could probably steal you one.”

“Nevermind, forget I said anything,” Ben chuckled.

“Oh no, we’re definitely talking about this later, but for now, I have someone I want you to meet.”

“Who?” Ben asked with amused suspicion. 

“It’s Dave! You finally get to meet him!”

“Were you finally able to summon him?” Ben asked in surprise.

“Even better,” Klaus exclaimed, gesturing broadly. “He’s here and he’s alive, Five saved him!”

“Holy shit, Klaus,” Ben said, taking his arm to stop him. “That’s amazing, I’m so happy for you.”

“I know, right?” Klaus said, elbowing him lightly as he continued to lead him along. And when they entered his room, he raised an arm dramatically. “Ben? I’d like you to meet Dave. And Dave? This is my brother, Ben.”

“Wait,” Dave said, taken by surprise where he had been looking through his book collection. Klaus felt a little guilty for taking him by surprises like this but he was just so excited to be able to introduce them at last. “Ghost Ben, Ben?”

“The one and the same,” Klaus said, nodding proudly.

“Yeah, I died but I got better. Seems that’s going around lately,” Ben said with a warm smile. “Good to finally meet you, Dave.”

“That’s awesome, good to meet you too. I suddenly have the urge to hug you,” Dave said, arms spread invitingly.

“Yeah, resist that urge,” Ben said, with a good natured laugh.

“Duly noted,” Dave let his arms drop quickly, but he was still smiling so at least he didn’t take it personally.

“I’ll give you a hug,” Klaus said, moving to stand beside him, throwing his arm across his shoulders.

“So, how are you doing?” Ben asked. “It’s gotta be weird being in the future. How long have you been here, anyway?”

“It’s only been two days,” Dave said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t think it’s really sunk in yet.”

“Yeah, I get it, being alive again is weird. So what have you got planned for today?” Ben asked, looking between the two of them.

“We were gonna eat breakfast, then, I dunno, watch a movie maybe?” Klaus asked, glancing at Dave. He didn't want to wear him out, after such a restless night it might be nice to take things easy.

“Sure,” Dave said with a shrug. “Want to join us, Ben?”

“I’ve got some time, sure,” Ben said.

Klaus was fairly certain he was grinning a bit too widely as they all headed back downstairs together. He was just so happy to have his two favorite people here together. For now he could put his concerns aside and focus on this moment. Allison was still out of town, but maybe he could sort of introduce Dave to her by watching one of her movies.

[globgor-of-mewnie]

Since When Has Our Relationship Ever Been Easy?

Okay, here comes a subject that everyone loves to talk about when it comes to the Butterflys: Mewberty! We all know Eclipsa never learned to dip down and only achieved her Butterfly form when she entered the realm of magic, so it kind of sucks that she probably went through the misfortunes of Mewberty for nothing. Oh well. It’s still a lot to think about! She’s already one of the weirdest queens in Mewni history! Let’s see what happens when things get a little weirder…

Ages: Globgor: 13 Eclipsa: 12

Prologue CH1 CH2 CH3 CH4

CH4-My Friend Becomes My Prey

Everyone made sure to make good friends with the wall as their queen came thundering down the hallway. It was best not to get in Solaria’s way on a good day, but when she was clearly as steamed as she was at the moment? Anyone who stood her in path would be quickly and painfully run over.

 As usual, her elite Solarian Warrior Mina was hot on her heels (as well as the only one brave enough to go near her in this state). “Your majesty, I can always fill in for the princess if you want! In hindsight, I’m probably more informed about our enemies-“

 “This is the very first meeting my daughter has been requested to attend!” Solaria didn’t even bother looking at the girl as she made a beeline for her daughter’s room. “She’s going to be there, ready, pleasant, and ON TIME!” She raised her voice to give the princess a hint as to why she was about to start pounding on her bedroom door. She beat her fist against it, making it evident that she wasn’t in the mood for games.

“Eclipsa Butterfly! The High Commission is waiting for you! What in the name of all that is corn is taking-“

 “I’m not going.”

 Mina, as well as a few guards, gasped at her insolence. No one had ever dared cut off the queen like that! Sure enough, the warrior monarch looked flabbergasted before returning to her usual look of fury. “What the bloody heck are you talking about?! Of course you’re going! It’s your duty as the princess-“

 “I don’t want to go.”

 Mina looked away. As much as she enjoyed watching the brat of a princess getting into trouble, even she couldn’t help at cringe at the attitude being sent through the door.

 Solaria felt an eye twitch as she took a breath to control her temper. “Eclipsa, this is the very first meeting you’ll be attending with the High Commission. Your behavior is going to reflect on what kind of queen you’ll be when the time comes. Do you honestly want your first impression to be that you’re a selfish child who only leaves her room when it benefits her?”

 “Motheeeeeer! Just leave me alone!”

 Oh for heaven’s- “Eclipsa! If you don’t open this door right now I’ll-!”

 The queen’s words stopped as the door was suddenly flung open. Standing there was her soon-to-be-teen daughter Eclipsa, her face covered in an array of royal purple spades. Her hair was undone and falling in mops over her face. Her mauve eyes looked at her mother pleadingly.

 “Look at me! I can’t go out like this! I look like a freak!”

 Solaria glared at Mina, who tried to stifle a giggle at the princess’ woe. The woman placed a hand under her chin, giving her daughter a studious look. She hummed to herself as she lifted a curl to look at the miserable face underneath. Finally, she sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

 “Mewberty….of all days, why today?” She sighed to herself. “Maybe the High Commission will understand. I mean, they’re not the most tame-looking of people either…”

 Eclipsa moaned and leaned her head against the doorframe. What a travesty she had woken up to! And just when she was starting to take careful consideration on how she looked! If she was being perfectly honest, she really didn’t care what the Commission thought of her. It never mattered what she did, it always seemed to be wrong in their eyes. This was just one more thing to add to the list.

 But she was supposed to meet with Globgor that afternoon! She didn’t want him to see her like this! Lately, she had really wanted to look her best whenever they had their meetings, which was odd because they were anything but formal. The Size-Shifter was her best, or really rather her only, friend. There was no one else she could be more herself with.

 But that didn’t matter at the moment. She couldn’t bear having him see her so gross and sick-looking! He would be repulsed! She would be humiliated! What if he decided he didn’t want to hang out with her? Maybe not ever again?! No, he’d rather spend time with other monsters….maybe some pretty girl monsters….

 Her head snapped up when she heard the sound of familiar, custom-designed boots running up to her room. In another instant, her mother and Mina were shoved aside by her uncle, who looked at her with intense love and alarm. “Clippy!”

 “Uncle JJ!”

 Jushtin ran up and cupped his precious neice’s face, studying it closely. “Oh my sweet girl, what has adolescence done to you?!” He turned to his fuming sister. “Send the others away, Sis! This is a family emergency!”

 “Jushtin! You can’t just-“

 “DO IT!! Do you want to lose this child?!!”

 Solaria gave him a bewildered look, obviously not used to him barking orders like this. She looked like she wanted to argue, but finally opted to do what her brother said. With a wave of her hand, she ordered her guards and Mina away, the latter more reluctant to leave than the others. “Don’t you think you’re overreacting just a bit?”

 “Shut your filthy mouth!” he cried, startling the other. He reached into his sequence jacket and pulled out a compact. He then fervently began applying it to the young girl’s face. “My baby is having a fashion crises! What could possibly be more important than that?”

 Solaria rolled her eyes. “Oh I don’t know….the fate of Mewni?”

 “Just ignore her,” Jushtin whispered to the princess.

 “How did you know I needed you, Uncle JJ?” Eclipsa asked.

 He placed a hand on his chest. “I felt it right here, Clippy. I’ll always know when you need an emergency makeover. You can count on it.”

 “Give me a break.”

 Jushtin turned to his sister. “Why don’t you love your daughter?”

 “Ack-WHAT?”

 “Uncle JJ, I don’t want to go through Mewberty! At least not today!” Eclipsa whined. She could practically feel her body deflating. “What do I have to do to make it go away?”

 Jushtin tsked and ran his fingers through her pine-green locks. “I’m sorry, Clippy. You’re gonna have to let nature take its course.” He laughed and looked over at his sister. “You should’ve seen your mama when she was around your age! We had to put the entire castle on lockdown! She was a ferocious beast, beating up every boy she came across!”

 Eclipsa tilted her head, ignoring her mother’s sputtering in indignation. “Mother was attacking boys? Why?”

 Jushtin rolled his eyes. “Because she doesn’t have a tender bone in her body, I swear!” He gave a satisfied smirk as she closed his compact. “Alright then! Good as new! Now all we need to do is keep you away from boys for the next few hours, and this should be the smoothest Mewberty transition in Mewni history!”

 Eclipsa rushed over to her mirror, admiring her uncle’s handiwork. You couldn’t even tell she was breaking out underneath the carefully applied makeup. She sighed in relief while pinning her hair in a way that framed her face.

 “There, crises averted!” Solaria threw up her hands in the air as she ushered for her daughter to leave the room. “Now will you please keep a hold of hormones until after the meeting? A future queen must never lose her composure when facing her people!”

 Eclipsa sighed and nodded to her mother. She was about to follow her when her uncle placed a hand on her shoulder. He pulled her back so he could get a good look at her dress.

 “……Clippy, did you not have time to accessorize?”

 “OUT!” Solaria bellowed as she moved behind her daughter and forcibly pushed her out of the room.

 ____

 “-use the braid as an actual fishhook! Would she still be so high and mighty then? I’ll bet-“ Rhombulus gasped and sat back in his head. “Oh shoot, she’s back. We’ll finish this later.”

 The three Butterflys entered the room and took their seats. Eclipsa made sure to sit straight, wanting to give a honest attempt at impressing the High Commission. She certainly felt a lot better than she did before. She would have to ask her uncle for another touch-up before she headed out.

 “Sooo….you guys are late.” Hekapoo’s voice was highly unamused as she studied each royally.

 “We had an emergency,” Jushtin informed her.

 “Is it something we should know about?” Omnitraxus said from his crystal ball.

 “No!” Eclipsa pipped in before anyone else could.

 Her mother sighed. “Since this meeting is starting later than any of us would have liked, wouldn’t it be best to get started effect of immediately?”

 “Baaaaaaaah.” Lekmet pulled out a giant map and laid it across the table. There were circles etched around certain areas with the names of different breeds of monsters written around them. “Baaaaah.”

 “Lekmet says that the monsters have been colonizing all over Mewni. They’re forming new colonies based on breed and making sure to spread their communities as far as possible.”

 “How is this any news to us?” Jushtin asked. “Of course those of the same breed tend to stick together.”

 “Yes, but the thing is all the colonies are communicating with each other,” Omni said, his voice low. “We suspect that the strongholds are forming alliances with each other, strengthening their numbers.”

 Solaria pointed at the Xs etched on the map. “How could that be possible? Look at the distance between them! There’s no way they could send each other messages without us catching them! They’d need some kind of-“

 “Tea?”

 The queen frowned and looked at the young servant boy who was offering her a cup. “Uh, no. I’m fine. Thank you.”

 While the queen returned to speaking with High Commission, Jushtin’s attention became focused on the boy pushing the tea trey around and offering beverages to everyone in the room. He felt himself sweat nervously once he finally landed on Eclipsa. Crud, he needed to do something! His super cool niece was going to flip out once that boy got within breathing distance of her! Total style meltdown!

 “Would you like some tea, Princess?” the young servant squeaked.

 Eclipsa looked at the steaming cup. She looked at the boy. Finally, she smiled and took the cup with a grateful nod. “Yes, thank you!”

 Jushtin released the air he didn’t know he had been holding. Aw, he should’ve known Clippy had this covered! She was such a level-headed kid. He should’ve known she wouldn’t lose her mind like her mom did. He leaned forward a bit in his seat and gave his niece a proud thumbs-up, which was happily returned.

 “Jushtin!”

 The former ruler straightened up at the sight of Hekapoo giving him a condescending look. “Jushtin, are you paying attention?”

 “Of course I am!” he said with indignation.

 “What did I just say?”

 “…….” He looked nervously around the room. “Um…you said…”

 She sighed. “Jushtin, meet me after the meeting.”

 “Aw...”

 “It seems like the monsters are finally forming something akin to civilization, but it’s not under the hopes of serving the kingdom!” Reynaldo pointed at one of the monster pictures in the top right corner. “The Frog Men tend to stick around aquatic areas, but we’ve noticed a surprising birth rate springing up in the stronghold in the Spiderbite Forest.”

 Pop!

 Jushtin was the only one who took notice of the sudden noise. His eyes widened in alarm as he looked over at his niece.

 “The Slime Men are usually pushovers, but you shouldn’t let your guard down.” Reynaldo pointed to a picture of said monster. “They can be pretty sneaky with their cute faces and charming smiles, but trust me, slime can be pretty hard to land a hit on!”

 Pop! Pop!

 Jushtin frantically nudged his sister and gestured towards her daughter with his head. Both Butterflys flinched as they saw spades begin to rapidly appear over the girl’s makeup covered face. Her eyes matched her family’s. It was apparent that she knew exactly what was going on.

 “And the Septarians? They’re the biggest threat of all. Just look at those slender scales, gleaming fangs, and mysterious eyes-“

 “They’re our enemies Reynaldo, not Mewni’s top bachelors,” Omni interrupted, giving him a skeptical look.

 “Yeah, I know that! What’s your point? I was just nonchalantly pointing out the-“

 Popopopopopopopopopopopopopopopop!

 The sound went off like firecrackers. Eclipsa suddenly had the entire room’s attention as her face exploded with an array of spades. The princess looked mortified as she pulled her pine-green locks over her face.

 “Uh, is she okay?” Omni asked.

 “Wait, is she going through that mewberty thing?” Hekapoo accused.

 Rhombulus grimaced. “Ew, gross!”

 It was all too much. With a distressed cry, Eclipsa leaped out of her seat and bolted out of the room.

 “Eclipsa, stop!” her mother cried.

 But she was already gone.

 ___ 

Globgor gave a high-pitched roar as his head bounced off a boulder resting nearby. Stars danced around his vision, but he didn’t allow any time to rest. His vision cleared just in time to see a boot coming to stomp on his face. He rolled out of the way and pointed his speak at the Mewman soldier.

 “You’re going to pay for crossing over onto monster territory!” Globgor hissed, pointing his spear at the enemy.

 The soldier didn’t even bother answering him, instead opting to swing his sword at the other, barely missing his face. Globgor jumped back on his hands before using his tail to smack the other in the face. This caused the man to growl, grab his tail, and fling him on to the ground.

 The air left his lungs in a single whoosh. He made a reach for his spear again, only to have it kicked out of the way by his attacker. He grunted as he felt the Mewman place a booted food against his chest, pinning him down in the process.

 “I’ll have your tail for a trophy, monstser!” he sneered, pointing his sword at the child’s face.

 “Globgor!”

 The boy barely made out the sight of Tigre charging to his rescue, only to be tackled by another soldier. The other boy struggled, his eyes locked with Globgor’s. The Size-Shifter would feel touched by the other’s desperation if the situation wasn’t taking all of his attention.

 “So are monsters seriously sending kids to do their dirty work now?” A redhead soldier with a gold tooth said. He looked at the captured children with amusement. This was obviously not even a victory for him. It was just a matter of disciplining a group of rowdy kids.

 This infuriated Globgor.

 “I’m not a kid! I’m a teenager! I’m on my way to becoming a man!” Globgor hissed, clawing at his captor’s armored leg. “Don’t you dare look down at me, Mewmans!”

 “Globgor, please! Don’t make them mad! We’re in enough trouble already!” a Septarian child who had accompanied them said.

 Redhead smirked. “Well, look at that. I thought you lizard-people were supposed to be the most bloodthirsty of monsters. Yet you’re the first to submit? How sad.”

 The Septarian frowned. “I didn’t say we submit….” His voice was quiet and quickly trailed off.

 Globgor struggled to look at his comrades. He, Tigre, the Septarian, and Todd the Frog Boy were all being held down these Mewmans soldiers. They had all gone out to hunt and had run into them by mistake. Of course they had opted to fight, but they had been outnumbered by one. Not to mention they were all still very young while the Mewmans were full-grown adults.

 Redhead grabbed Globgor’s spear and twirled it around. “You shouldn’t play with sticks, kid. You’ll poke one of your creepy eyes out.” Before the monster could retort, the man stood back and studied each child carefully. “Okay so, let me educate you kids on how this works. Whenever we capture one of your kind, we-“

 “NO!” Globgor barked, fury burrowed deeply on his face.

 Redhead clicked his tongue. “You don’t even know what I was going to say.”

 “We know darn well how this works. You give your captives two options. They can either live the rest of their lives as slaves to the Mewman kingdom, or you’ll slay them where they stand.”

 “We won’t surrender.” Tigre gave a reassuring look to Globgor, letting him know they were on the same page. “We’d rather die right here then shame our race by groveling to you!”

 Redhead raised an eyebrow at the boys. He took his sword and pointed to each of the boys. “Okay so, dead, dead-“ He pointed at the Septarian. “What about you?”

 The boy went quiet. He looked over at Globgor and Tigre. Both boys looks at him with fierce glares, though not directed at him. They were keeping their faces strong, not wanting the Mewmans to see any traces of fear. This seemed to give the Septarian a little courage as he looked up at the leading Mewman with fierce, light-brown eyes. “I won’t.”

 “Dead.” He pointed his sword at Todd. “And you, froggie? What’s it going to be?”

 Before he could respond, the captain was caught off guard by the Septarian flinging dirt in his face with his tail. The soldier holding Globgor loosened his foot, as if debating whether or not to rush over to help his leader.

 That was the opening Globgor needed.

 He rocked back and kicked his captor’s foot off his chest. Once he was free, he shrank down and launched himself at the Mewman’s face, clinging on for dear life.

 Tigre followed his example by reaching forward and sinking his fangs into his captor’s wrist. With his earned freedom, he charged at the Mewman with his claws bared. He cut at his face, sending him staggering back, then charged to the one Globgor held and cut him down as well.

 “Pull yourselves together, you idiots!” Redhead cried out, charging at the boy’s with his sword held high. “They’re just children!”

 Globgor returned to his average size and ran in between the legs of the Redhead. He grabbed his spear and sent the Septarian’s weakened captor flying. The Mewman holding Todd released him exchange for a duel with the four-eyed monster. Sword clashed against spear, anger and pride bearing into the other. All the while Globgor couldn’t help but think if he could just increase his size, he would be able to overpower the other Mewman with ease. He wouldn’t be looking down at him like he was. He couldn’t stand being looked down upon especially by Mewmans!

 “Globgor, come on! We need to go!” Tigre called from the edge of the border.

 Snap!

 Globgor’s speak snapped in half.

 The Mewman raised his sword to slice him in half. He dodged by rolling out of the way. He climbed over the man and leaped towards the direction of his friends. He skidded to a stop once he noticed that Todd was the only one who hadn’t reached the border that lead into monster territory.

 “Todd, come on!” Globgor was about to charge for the still kneeling Frog Boy, only to be held back by Tigre. “They won’t dare follow us into monster territory! They’ll have every monster in the forest after them! Let’s go!”

 Todd was silent as the guards instantly surrounded the boy. Globgor was right. There was a very strict yet fragile agreement that Spiderbite forest was divided into two halves-the monster side and the Mewman side. Any members of either race caught trespassing was liable for death or capture. Should the guards follow the children now, they would be quickly outnumbered.

 Globgor strained against his friend’s hold. “Tigre, let me go! I have to save him!”

 “G, don’t you get it?” he gave the other a little shake in his arms. “He doesn’t want to be saved!”

 Globgor froze. He looked at the look of resignation on the captured monster’s face. There wasn’t a trace of a fighting spirit to be had. He looked ashamed. Defeated. No….no way. There was no way.

 “Todd!” he called out again, struggling with all his might to return to the Mewman side of the forest. He couldn’t break Tigre’s grip though, or that of the Septarian that just joined in holding him back. “Todd, don’t do this! Come on! Run! Or fight back! Do something!”

 “I….I can’t.” Todd slowly held his hands up as Redhead slapped a pair of cuffs on him. “I’m….I’m sorry, Globgor. I’m…I’m too scared.”

 “Don’t be scared! Just come on!”

 “G, let’s go!” Tigre began to pull his friend away, doing his best to advert his own eyes as Todd quietly walked away with the soldiers.

 “Todd!” Tears of anger and grief stung Globgor’s eyes. “You’re a coward!! A traitor! You’re bringing shame to all of monsterkind!”

 Realizing there was nothing else that could be done, Globgor finally turned around and went with the others, knowing he would never see his companion again.

  ___

Globgor mindlessly toyed with the ponytail that hung at his neck. His heart was filled with disappointment, disgust, and betrayal. He had heard of the monsters who had brought dishonor to their people by choosing to save their own skins by serving the enemy, but never would he have thought that there would be such a person in his own village. Not someone he considered a friend. Todd’s hatred for Mewmans had always been apparent. How could he ever think to submit to them?

 “You doing okay?” He didn’t look up as he was joined by Tigre. He didn’t like to show anyone any weakness, not even him. He wasn’t a little child that needed to be coddled. He was on his way to becoming a man. Geez….why couldn’t he grow? When was he going to be able to increase his size? What was taking so long? Was there something wrong with him?

 “Hey, G! You still with me?”

 Globgor finally looked up at his friend and nodded. “Yeah, I’m okay. I just….can’t help feeling like we lost that battle. I feel a little ashamed to go back home like this.”

 Tigre hummed and tilted his head to the side. “Well, I mean, do we have to tell the grown-ups what happened?”

 “Of course we do!” How could his friend even suggest they do otherwise? “We have a duty to them! They need to know there were Mewmans on our land!” He sighed. “Plus I think they’ll notice that Todd is gone now.”

Tigre shook his head. “Oh yeah, I didn’t even think about that…”

 Globgor paused to look back at the dark-haired Septarian walking quietly behind them. He didn’t know the kid very well, but he had asked to accompany them on their hunting trip. He was a shy little guy, but he had showed more courage today than other members of the party. A half-smile appeared on his face as he slowed down enough for the guy to catch up.

 “Well, things probably would have turned out a lot worse if we didn’t have this guy to help us out.” He patted the monster on the shoulder in emphasis.

 The Septarian looked startled. He had obviously been lost in thought. He pointed a finger at himself, looking at the older monster with wide eyes. “Wha-who me? Oh, no. No, no. I didn’t do anything really.”

 “Hey, don’t be so modest. That was quick thinking there with the sand! I don’t think I would’ve broken free if you hadn’t done that!”

 “No, no really! It was just a cheap trick!”

 “A cheap trick that saved our butts!” Tigre said with a smile.

 Globgor titled his head, amused by the humbleness displayed by the lizard monster. “Hey, I don’t think I ever got your name. What is it?”

 The Septarian gripped his right arm and looked off to the side. “Um, m-my name is Toffee.”

 Globgor smiled and gave a light punch to the other’s shoulder. “Well Toffee, I’m glad you decided to come along with us-“

 “-Why?” Toffee cut in before the other could continue what he was saying. “I’m not strong and agile like you are. Or my dad.”

 “’Dad’?”

 “The head of the guard? The guy who’s been training you and the other recruits?”

 “Wait, hold up!” Tigre cut in, looking at the Septarian with wide eyes. “Captain Seth is your dad?! I didn’t even know he had any kids!”

 Toffee gave a nervous laugh. “Uh…yeah. He doesn’t like to talk about me much….I’m usually in my room. Studying. I enjoy reading. I’m good at that.”

 Globgor paused before shrugging. “Okay, so you don’t have all the moves down, but it seems what you lack in strength you make up for in brains!”

 “Yeah, well try telling that to my dad. You really think he appreciates having a son who ‘knows a bunch of things’?

 Tigre and Globgor both groaned. Seth was a strict, merciless leader. He prized strength above everything else, and the minute he saw a trace of a weakness in someone, he would make them suffer for it. No doubt he had little to no appreciation for his son’s booksmarts.

 Globgor placed a hand on Toffee’s shoulder. “Well, hey! If you want, you and I could practice together in private. Maybe a little extra training with a more patient teacher is all you need to get the hang of things!”

 A smile appeared on Toffee’s face. “Really? You’d do that for me? I mean, I really don’t want to get in your way-“

 “No, not at all! Any way I can make our forces stronger, I’m happy to do it! Besides, I see a lot of potential in you. With a little more time and dedication, I can definitely see you becoming a fearsome foe of Mewni!” Just as he was finishing his declaration, Globgor’s eyes happened to look up the sun. He felt his stomach drop once he realized what time it was.

 “Okay we’ll talk about this later guys gotta go!” Globgor rushed as he started to head east.

 “What? You can’t just leave us to tell the grown-ups by ourselves!” Tigre called after him.

 He got an apologetic look sent his way. “I know, I’m sorry! But I need to get started on my size shifting training!”

 “Is…that where you go every week?” Toffee spoke up, scrunching his brow in confusion. “I don’t mean to be rude, but what exactly do you need training in that for? You just have to shrink and return to normal size.”

 Globgor gave a deadpan look. He held out his hand and made it shrink to the size of a baby’s. “I change the size of my body parts too. This takes a special kind of workout. It’s a Size-Shifter thing. You wouldn’t understand.”

 “Can’t you do it tomorrow? You know, considering the circumstances?” Tigre asked.

 Globgor spun around continued to jog down his path. “Can’t do! If I put it off, I won’t get to it! Gotta go! Save some dinner for me! Bye!”

 “Wait, G!” his friend cried.

 But he was already gone.

  ____

Despite the horrible events that had transpired before this meeting, Globgor couldn’t help but hum to himself as he made his way to the secret bay hidden on the edge of the woods. He knew the place by heart at this point. Good thing it wasn’t a popular spot. The sun was beginning to set, which meant it was time to meet up with his secret friend.

 Okay, okay, so maybe he had a teeny, itsy-bitsty, wittle bit of a soft spot for her. As in, he liked her a lot more than he should have. How could anyone blame him thought? They’d been friends for five years now, and they’d always met once a week. He still thought that Mewmans were the scum of the mewni, but Eclipsa was that one rare gem that managed to remain uncorrupted by her toxic race. She’d even gone as far as to sneak food, clothes, and other resources out of the castle for Globgor to deliver to his people!

 Oh, how he looked forward to the day when she became queen! If she kept this tolerant attitude towards monsters, then maybe things would finally start looking up for them! And then they wouldn’t have to hide their friendship anymore!

 ….Heh! Not that that was particularly important! She just…really had a weird effect on him. She made him feel….lighter. Happy. Wasn’t it natural that he’d enjoy feeling that way and the person who made him feel as such? It was only logical, really.

 It was really no surprise that his mood drastically improved the closer he got to his destination….the surprise came from what he saw when he finally saw the girl in question. She was sitting by a tree, a paper bag covering her head and long, yellow globes that really didn’t go with the rest of her outfit. What in the world…?

 “Eclipsa…?” Globgor’s voice was cautious. He was used to the girl’s weird hijinks by this point, always surprising him with the things she said and did. Still, this was the first time he saw her do something so….nonsensical. Plus, her hunched form made it seem like she was trying to hide herself. For as long as he’d known her, the princess had always been unapologetic for her strange nature. Why did seem so timid? “Are you…okay?”

 The girl gave a small gasp and looked in the direction of her friend’s voice. “Oh, Globgor! Hey there! I’m so glad you’re here! I’ve been waiting here for awhile. I guess I just couldn’t wait to see you…”

 “Uh huh…” Globgor looked the girl up and down before taking a seat next to her. “Yeah, it’s good to see you too. Um…what are you wearing?”

 Eclipsa ran her gloved hands over her clothes. “A midnight blue dress.”

 “I mean on your head.”

 “Oh, it’s a bag.”

 “……”

 “……”

 “Eclipsa.”

 She groaned and held her gloved hands up to her covered face. “I’m…..I’m going through Mewburty.”

 “…..Going through what now?”

 “You’ve never heard of it?” When the boy confirmed this, she scratched the side of her bagged head, trying to think of a way to explain it. “Well….it’s like….” Oh, this was humiliating. Was it even appropriate to discuss Mewberty with a boy? Did she care? “It’s something we Butterflys go through during our early teen years. It’s like….what you’re expecting with your growth thing!”

 Globgor’s eyes widened at this. “Wait, really? Are you saying that your inner power is starting to wake within you?”

 “I…..I think so…”

 “That still doesn’t explain your makeshift armor you’re donning.” Globgor put a hand on the bag, only to have the girl shoot away from him with a squeal.

 “No, don’t! I’m hideous!” She scrunched up again while pulling the bag tighter over her head.

 Globgor frowned. “Eclipsa, are you seriously going to spend all our time together with your face covered? This is ridiculous. Just take the bag off.” He sighed when she shook her head in response. “Come on, I’m not going to hold a conversation with a paper bag! Quit being silly!”

 ….

 A whimpering noise came from Eclipsa as she slowly removed the bag, her gloves being discarded shortly after. Every inch of her was covered in spades, making it look like she had a bad case of the chicken pox. She looked at the other with the most pitiful of expressions, clearly feeling very embarrassed by her predicament.

 Globgor gave her a studious look. His eyes took in every exposed mark. “Hm….so this is Mewberty?”

 Eclipsa nodded.

 “Is it permanent?”

 “No…”

 “Then I’m not sure why you’re making such a big deal out of this.” Globgor shrugged and scooted closer to the girl. “It’s just the two of us here, and I couldn’t care less about what you look like.”

 Eclipsa felt her face heat up at this. “You mean…you think I’m pretty no matter what I condition my skin is in?”

 “….What?”

 “Nothing!” The girl covered her cheeks in embarrassment and ducked away. She shook her head, groaning in disgust. Why was she suddenly She would’ve started slapping herself if she didn’t know it would make her look like a bigger dope. Why was she suddenly acting so weird? And not in a charming way? It was just Globgor! Why did she feel like she was going to pass out?!

 “A-Anyway, I’m sorry I didn’t bring any food or stuff for you to take back to the village. I had my first meeting with the High Commission and then like out of nowhere, I started breaking out like crazy! I don’t know…I just wanted to come see you right away. I knew you’d throw a fit if I went to your village though, so I came here to wait for you instead. Ugh, of all days why did it have to be…”

 Unbeknownst to Eclipsa, Globgor was barely paying attention to her words. Instead he was focused on the deep red spades that littered the girl’s ivory skin. Before he knew what he was doing, he took a fingernail and began scratching at one of the marks. It came off like a sticker. He silently gasped. Crud! Was he allowed to do that?! He quickly put it back on her arm. It fell right off. He grabbed it, licked one end, and stuck it again.

 “-get what I’m saying?”

 “Huh, wha-huh?” Globgor raised his hands in the air, trying to look as innocent as possible.

 Eclipsa frowned. “Globgor, have you been listening to me?”

 “Oh yeah, sure, why not?” He pulled his knees up to his chest. He gave the girl a tender look, one he reserved only for her. “Look Eclipsa, if you’re not feeling well-“

 “You’re not about to tell me to go home, are you? We only get to see each other once a week! If we skip today, I’ll just die!”

 Globgor groaned and rolled all of his eyes. He cupped the girl’s face and leered at her. “Have you ever considered you’re a little on the melodramatic side?”

 Eclipsa stares at him blankly.

 “……Eclipsa?” He snapped his fingers in front of her face. “Eclipsa? Princess? Hello? Wha-“

 “Touch me again, Globgor.” She reached forward, now being the one to cup the other’s cheeks. She began to breath heavily as she leaned forward and rubbed her face against his.

 Suffice to say, alarms were beginning to go off in the monster’s head. “Uh….Eclipsa? What are you doing? This stuff isn’t contagious, is it?”

 “Globgor….so soft…never knew you were so soft…”

 Globgor found himself in a bit of a wrestling match as he struggled to keep the Mewman girl off of him. “Eclipsa! Seriously, this is really weird! And I mean, more weird than usual! I need a little personal space here!”

 “I AM your personal space!!” Eclipsa suddenly lunged at the boy, knocking him on his back. She made cooing sounds as she buried her face in the crook of his neck. She inhaled his scent, getting light-hearted from the warmth spreading throughout her body.

 Globgor sputtered in indignation, struggling to resist her forceful cuddles. “Eclipsa, what are you doing?! Knock it off! Get off me! I’m serious!” Taking his tail, he forced it between the two of them and threw her to the side. He sat up, getting ready to give her a piece of his mind, when-

 BAM!

 A pair of white wings burst out of back. She made a high-pitched wailing noise. Before her friend could move, she took to the skies, zooming off into the horizon.

 ……

…….What the heck just happened?!

 His friend evolved into some sort of moth creature right in front of his eyes! How come she never told him she could do that?! Was this part of the whole Mewberty thing? Man, Mewmans even got power boosts during their “changing” years! No wonder monsters could never catch up with them!

 …..Speaking of catching up, it’d be in his interest to do so because ten Princess was currently heading straight for his village!!

 Globgor bolted back in the direction of his home, waving his arms around wildly. “ECLIPSA!! WAAAAAIIT!!”

 Sweet corn, how many times was he going to have to chase after this girl?!? He needed to get a leash for her or something!!

 ____

 Oh crud oh crud oh crud oh crud oh crud oh crud

 He knew he didn’t stand a good chance of beating Eclipsa there, but he didn’t expect her to cause this amount of chaos before he arrived!

 There were webs everywhere, coating each and every cottage. Many of the boys of the village were trapped within, rightfully panicking. Soldiers were grabbing their weapons, yelling over the panicking villagers. No doubt they had seen Eclipsa and were preparing to fight her.

 He simply couldn’t let that happen.

 His eyes searched frantically as he pushed his way through the stick and fear surrounding him. He needed to find her! What if someone recognized her? She’d be killed on sight! Or captured! No!

 He eyes locked on to Tigre, who was standing next to Puma and Toffee. “Guys! Hey!”

 Tigre looked up and waved him over. “G! You finally made-“

 “Who did all this?!” He grabbed the other by the shoulders, his bottom eyes baring into the other’s. “Where is it?!”

 All three pointed to a milky white butterfly form currently slinging a batch of monsters into a sticky web. Globgor could feel his stomach drop to his feet. What in the name of mewni was she doing?! Had she completely lost her mind?! What was she planning on doing with those boys anyway??

 “Don’t worry, my father is getting a weapon. He’ll be here soon,” Toffee informed.

 “No! No, we can’t fight it!” Globgor moved in front of his friends and held his arms out, blocking the way to Eclipsa.

 Tigre’s brow scrunched up at this. “What? Since when do you back down from a fight?”

 “We….we don’t need to hurt it! Clearly it’s just a monster who’s very confused-“

 “What kind of monster?” Toffee interjected. “I’ve studied up on all kinds of monsters, and I’ve never seen-“

 “It’s probably just a rare type! One that’s not in your books!” Globgor was a flailing mess. He cared a lot about these guys, but he didn’t know what would happen if his secret was blown up right then and there. Because there was no way he could let anyone hurt her. He just couldn’t! Did that mean he was ready to be painted a traitor in exchange for her safety? Wait, no! He wasn’t a traitor….was he? Their friendship was harmless! If anything, he was gaining strong intel on Mewmans by hanging out with her!

 “Hogwash!”

 Globgor was yanked out of his stupor. “W-What?! What is?!”

 The group stepped aside as a green muscular Septarian approached them. He pointed at the flying creature with a clawed finger. “Are you kids blind? That thing isn’t of our kind! It’s in the shape of a butterfly!”

 The group looked alarmed, particularly one Size-Shifter. “P-Personally I think it looks more like a moth-“

 “Obviously this creature is some kind of spell from the royal family! Some kind of unstable version of their cursed Butterfly forms!”

 ….A spell? Okay, he could work with that. “Y-Yeah! I guess you’re right, Captain Seth! Those blasted Butterflys!”

 “AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!”

 The group looked to see yet another monster succumb to the capture of the “spell”brought on by the Butterflys. He was wrapped up in a cacoon and sprayed with an array of spades.

 Toffee sucked in air through his teeth. “I sure hope she doesn’t plan on feasting on them later, like a spider.”

 “I think she’s pretty!” Puma pipped in.

 Seth held up his flail and gave it a sharp turn. “I’ll take care of this beast. You kids just stay back.”

 “Um….” Toffee cleared his throat and softly approached the elder. “Dad, if you need some help-“

 “I’ll get your sister.” Seth’s expression made it clear he wasn’t willing to discuss the issue. “I’m pretty sure you won’t be able to read the enemy to death, son.”

 Toffee immediately retreated back to his original position. “U-Um….right.”

 Seth placed his fingers to his lips and gave a high-pitched whistle. “Tish! Let’s go!”

 A female Septarian suddenly burst out of a house’s window and leaped for the fluttering invader, brandishing a sharp ax. “YAYAYAYA! FOR MONSTERS EVERYWHEEEERE!!”

 “No wait! Please!” Globgor cried, standing in front of Seth and spreading his arms out.

 Utter contempt appeared on Seth’s face. “You dare stand in the way of the captain of the guard? Just who do you think you are?” he sneered.

 Globgor looked frantically from side to side, trying to find an answer. “U-Um, well-“

 He gave a harsh ooof as Seth shoved him aside with his tail. With that distraction put out of the way, he charged to join his daughter in the fight.

 Tish shouted with fury as she swung her ax at the butterfly creature, cutting several webs and spades along the way. Even with her traps discarded though, the butterfly thing barely gave her a glance. Even when the Septarian managed to nick off one of her hairs, the most the thing did was blink.

 “Taste my wrath, createn!” Seth swung his own weapon at the creature, who zipped away at the nick of time. She didn’t look concerned, just confused.

 Before the Septarian could strike again, Eclipsa shot him some of her webs, stopping his attack. Tish meanwhile took a swing for the girl’s head. The girl’s face remained blank as she grabbed a hold of the ax blade and clung to it with all her strength.

 “What the-? Ew, ew, ew! Get off! Literally get off!” Tish wailed.

 Down below, Globgor was fighting off a panic attack. Seth was the strongest monster in the village, and his daughter was no easy foe either! If he didn’t do something soon, Eclipsa was going to be clobbered!

 “Guys, we have to do something!” He looked to his friends in desperation.

 Tigre looked up at the commotion going up on the rooftops. “Why? I’m pretty sure those two have got it.”

 “Yeah, but…” What was he supposed to say? He couldn’t very well tell them the mysterious ‘spell’ was actually the princess of Mewni and a very dear friend of his. He had no idea what this craziness was all about, so he knew he’d have no way to explain her actions, even if his friends somehow decided to be cool with his forbidden friendship. “Um….what if, uh….what if it’s secretly really strong? What if it’s getting ready to blow the Septarians out of the sky! We have to make it leave the village before then!”

 “Are you suggesting we reason with a magical spell?” Toffee asked, his face more concerned than aghast. “Sorry to say, no matter how sentient a spell may look, it’ll always obey the one who cast it. It has no free will of its own. The only chance we have is to destroy it.”

 Puma reached inside the basket she always seemed to be carrying and pulled out a container full of fresh meat. “Maybe we should offer it some food. Do spells get hungry?”

 “You want to feed a Mewman spell Mewman flesh?” Tigre asked in mild disgust.

 “No!” Globgor cried, snatching away the container. He doubted the meat would get Eclipsa’s attention, but oh wow, the thought of her eating some of it made him sick to his stomach. He made a mental note to himself to NEVER let the girl eat anything that came from his village. Particularly the meat. She’d need to stick to her….

 An idea suddenly struck him. He handed Puma back the container and headed for his own makeshift living quarters. “I’ll be right back! Don’t go near that thing, guys!”

 The three monsters exchanged confused looks.

 ___

 “Why can’t you just hold still?!”

 Tish put up a good effort, swinging her ax back and forth, diagonal, and everything in between. Every swing was met with a blank stare and a dodge, which only fueled the other’s anger.

 However, while the girl’s attention was seized, Seth managed to come up behind her and clutch his muscular arms around her in tight grip. He then bodyslammed her, pinning her down under his weight. “Tish, now!”

 His daughter nodded eagerly, holding up her ax with bloodthirsty delight. She raised the weapon, getting ready to decapitate the fluttering brat when-

 “Hey! Over here!”

 The three of them looked down to see Globgor below them, fervently waving some sort of chocolate bar in their direction. He motioned with one hand for his target to come after him. “Come here! You want this? Come and get it!”

 As if the monster had somehow tossed the girl his strength, the pale butterfly broke free of Seth’s gasp and charged after him. The man looked at Globgor incredousely. “What the heck do you think you’re doing boy?!”

 “I’m going to lure it away the village! You free the captives!” he called before heading out with his trusty chocolate held high.

 “Exscuse me?!” Seth bellowed after him retreating form.

 Tish sighed and shook her head. “Candy….why didn’t we think of that?”

 ___

 “Okay, okay, follow me. Follow me. Keep your eyes on the prize…”

 Globgor breathed a sigh of relief once he felt like they had retreated far enough from his village. He glared at the girl, his fangs grinding against each other. “Okay, you owe me a huge explanation, Eclipsa! What were you thinking? I mean, have you actually lost your mind?”

 He rolled his eyes at the girl’s still eager expression staring at him. “You don’t deserve this, y’know? I swear, you drive me crazy sometimes!” He dejectedly threw the snookers bar at the girl.

 Eclipsa didn’t even look at it. Instead she fluttered closer and closer to the boy, batting the weird millions of eyelashes she had suddenly gained with this transformation.

 Globgor’s eyes widened as a sneaking suspicion started to creep into his mind. He flashed back to the boys of his village strung up against their will. He gulped and began to sweat.

 “….Whelp!” He clapped his hands together. “Today was fun, but I really should hear back to my village and check up on everyone because you kind of caused a ruckus and-“

 “Boooooooy…”

 The first word she had said since her transformation.

 “Ok, bye!!” He spun around and began charging in a different direction. Despite his words from before, he couldn’t allow himself to go home. Not yet. If she followed him, he’d be right back to square one. He just needed to outrun her until she got tired. Surely she’d get tired of flying before he got tired of running, right?

 “Boooooooooy….”

 Oh geez oh geez oh geez oh geez!!

 She was actually chasing him!!

 Eclipsa, snap out of it already!!

 Taking a deep breath, the boy shrank down to his minuscule size and took to the trees. He began hopping across the branches, hoping escaping in this size would stop the girl from following his trail.

 This went on for awhile before he finally ran out of energy. He panted as he flopped down on the high branch he had been standing on. He immediately had to cease his breathing when he heard what sounded like fluttering wings. He covered his mouth and looked around frantically for his predator. He gave a soft sigh of relief once he saw it was just a bird.

 This was getting ridiculous. Never in all his wildest dreams did he think he’d be running scared from Eclipsa of all people. She was completely harmless! A little too bold for her own good, but harmless! He had no idea she could be so terrifying! It was making him see her in a completely different light.

 ….But what kind?

 Globgor was still pondering this when he finally decided it was safe to leave his hiding spot. He climbed down the tree and returned to his normal size. If he was being completely honest with himself, there was something….exhilarating about being hunted down like prey. Well, he knew he wouldn’t have felt that way if it was a Mewman soldier chasing him, but with her it was….appealing? No, er, entertaining? No, that wasn’t it either…

 Before he could continue his thoughts, he found his world flung upside down as a makeshift trap tightened around his ankle and sung him upside. He gave a distressed cry once he saw the trap was made out of sticky web material. How did-?

 “Booooooy.”

 He squeaked and turned his body to see the upside down form a white butterfly. Her expression hadn’t changed since he last saw her. She didn’t even look a little tired.

 “Okay Eclipsa, this has gone on long enough! Let me go right now!” The boy crossed his arms in a show of his impatience.

 The girl flew up the captured monster. Instead of releasing him, however, she took more of her webbing and glued his folded arms to his chest.

 Well, in hindsight he supposed be should have seen that coming.

 He grimaced in fear as the girl approached him from the front. What was she going to do to him? He never saw what she had intended for her captives in his village. She was going towards his face….was she about to suck his brain out or something? Was this really how it was going to end for him? He was going to be taken out by Eclipsa of all people? The one person he cared most about? He squeezed his eyes shut, unable to watch the girl’s face any longer. He needed to-

 A small, wet pressure was placed on his cheek. Then another on his other cheek. On his forehead.

 His eyes sprang open as the actions became more frantic. Wait…..was Eclipsa….kissing him??  She was! She was fervently peppering kisses all along his face! But….but why? Was this what she had in store for the other poor monsters back at his village?

 “E-Eclipsa, stop!” He moved his face and forth, desperately trying to make sure she didn’t come in contact with his mouth. “Have I done or said anything to make you think this is okay?! Get ahold of yourself!”

 His cries fell on deaf ears. He wiggled like a fly caught in a web, trying to ward off the unwanted acts of affection. Unwanted. Unwanted. Unwanted? Un….wanted? Wait, what was going on? Why was he feeling all fuzzy? It….it was because he was upside down, right? Yeah, all the blood was rushing to his head! Right?

 Why wasn’t he protesting any more? Fight man, fight! You know, on second thought, maybe he should just accept his fate. After all, that chase had really gotten his heart pumping, so he was really tired but still full of adrenaline, and well, maybe it wouldn’t be the worst thing ever if he let her kiss his mouth after all he was a teenager now and he had to get his first kiss at some point and well, since she was already attacking him with her affection…

 Globgor hadn’t realized he had started puckering his lips until he heard a sharp gasp come from his captor. His eyes snapped open as the girl collapsed on the ground, suddenly shedding spades at an alarming rate. She groaned in what sounded like agony as she curled herself into a tight ball.

 “E-Eclipsa? Eclipsa! Are you okay?”

 A pause. The girl’s white wings suddenly shot back into her body, as if they were window blines that had suddenly been released. Another groan could be heard as she slowly stood up, revealing that her milky exterior had disappeared. She was back to have curly, pine-colored locks with only two spades to cover her cheeks. She stretched her arms and blinked wearily. She looked as though she had just woken up from a nap.

 “Eclipsa! You’re back to normal!”

 The girl looked confused before it fully dawned on her that her friend was currently in front of her, hanging upside down by some sort of sticky trap. She ran up to him and pulled on the webbing, her eyes wide with alarm. “G-Globgor?! How did you get like this?!”

  ____

Well, after that little adventure, Globgor wasn’t surprised to discover he had a lot to think about on his way back home. He had explained to Eclipsa everything that happened, putting empathies on how terrified his people had been of her. She apologized in her Eclipsa way--by sounding as if she had just accidentally bumped into someone, rather than traumatizing all he held dear. It appeared like the girl was too relieved to be back to normal to feel too much remorse. She had to go home shortly after that to let her family know that she hadn’t run off to another dimension or something.

 Now Globgor was by himself as he made his way back to his village, thinking over the events that had just transpired. He kicked aside every rock that crossed his path. Every now and then he hands would move up to his face, tracing the areas that his friend had attacked him with her sweet kisses.

 Attraction. That’s the name of the word he had been feeling. Having her chase him like that, capture him, and enforce her dominance….it had made his blood race. His heart was pounding. His body was sweating. At the time, he had felt actual attraction for the Mewman girl.

 What the corn?

 No. No, no, no. He could not go down that path. Yes, of course he cared about her. She was his best friend. But…attraction? How could he be attracted to her? Her creamy soft skin, her shiny curls, her deep eyes, why was he thinking about her physical features in a complimentary fashion?!

 AUGH! Ok. Ok, ok. Eclipsa was the exception to the whole ‘all Mewmans are scum’ rule. So, maybe she could be the only decent looking Mewman as well? Like, she was a really nice girl. A handful, sure, but good. Surely that had some sort of effect on her physical appeal. Yeah, ok. Her pleasant personality was affecting the way he saw her appearance.

 Not that he was going to act on this feeling, of course. Nooo way. There would be no more kissing in the future. Nu uh. He could justify his friendship with her, but anymore more was just barbaric. Right? Right. Good talk, self.

 Once Globgor entered the gates of his village, he was yanked out of his thoughts by the quite whispers surrounding him. He looked up to see the entire village looking at him with wide eyes. For a horrifying moment, he thought his secret had been found out. Perhaps his people had seen him being attacked with butterfly kisses. This was his fear before Tigre pulled himself to the front of the crowd and looked at him expectantly.

 “Well?”

 Globgor looked rapidly from side to side. “Um….well what?”

 “What happened to the butterfly thing, G?”

 Ooooh, right. He lead her right out of the village. He scratched the back of his head and grinned uneasily. “Um, yeah! Don’t worry about it! I got rid of it!”

 The crowd erupted in applause, much to the boy’s surprise. They rushed over and began carrying him on their shoulders as a group somehow. They clapped and cheered and chanted his name.

 “That’s my best friend!” Tigre cried out, pointing proudly at the elevated monster boy. “My best friend saved the village!”

 “Oh, he’s a hero!” Puma called before pelting the boy with chocolate chips she had in her basket.

 Globgor laughed nervously, not knowing how to take this sudden praise. Was this wrong? He did technically get rid of the threat. Who cares if it wasn’t by killing it? No one had to know about that. He wasn’t lying. He just wasn’t correcting anyone’s assumptions. He could just enjoy this and eat the throw chips, right? He wasn’t doing any harm. He was giving his people hope. He needed to stop overthinking everything.

 Unbeknownst to the boy, the Septarian family of three were standing a few feet away, watching the celebration. The only one of them that seemed pleased by the sight was Toffee, who couldn’t help but smile in admiration. “Wow. Globgor is really proving to be something. He’s getting stronger by the day. It’s only matter of time before he’s stronger than-“

 Toffee was immediately silenced by the glare sent his way by his father. His sister nudged her father in the elbow, grinning cheekily at him. “Relax, Dad. He’s only this strong cause like, you’ve been training him so well, y’know?”

 Seth sighed and gave Tish an appreciative pat on her head. He turned his back on the jubilee and motioned with his head. “Come on, Tish. We’ve got some training to do. And Toffee…” He shook his head with a groan. “Go read your books or whatever. Just don’t embarrass me.”

 “…..Yeah. Of course.” The boy muttered as his family left him on his own.

  ___

Eclipsa chewed at the end of her pen as she looked over the different pictures of monsters she had cut out from some books she found. She was going through each one, rating them from 1-10 out of physical appearances. She was surprised to see the she found the Septarians to be the most appealing, with those bird people being the least.

 What a discovery she had made today! She was attracted to monsters! They were way more interesting to look at than boring old Mewmans! Who would’ve thought? She wondered if a Mewman had ever been attracted to monsters before? Surely someone had to. Yeah, there had to be someone out there, they just didn’t want to admit it. Well, Eclipsa wasn’t afraid to admit it! Well, to herself anyway. Saying it out loud, ooh! That would be a complete disaster!

 Hmm…she wondered what it would be like to date a monster? And how come she couldn’t find anything on Size-Shifters?

 Knock! Knock!

 “Eclipsa? It’s Mother.”

 Oh dear. Eclipsa hurriedly stuffed her photos underneath her mattress. She grabbed a brush and pretended to be transfixed on her hair. “Come in!”

 Solaria entered the room, a pair of snooker bars in her right hand. “Hello, darling. I’ve come with a peace offering.”

 Eclipsa smiled softly. “Oh Mother…I’m sorry I ran away like I did. I just started freaking out and then I was so embarrassed…but I know I didn’t make a good impression on the High Commission.”

 Solaria sat beside her daughter and handed her one of the candy bars. “Well, maybe that wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t just brushed off your Mewburty the way I did. Forgive me for that. It’s so easy for me to forget the trials of growing up. It wasn’t that long ago when I was a child myself. Heck, when I went through Mewburty, I wanted to throttle every boy I came across. I sent many to the hospital. They had to lock me up, I tell ya.”

 “Did Uncle JJ ever go through it?”

 Solaria snorted. “I think so. His transformation lasted for five minutes before he sneezed, then it was done. It was so weird.” She frowned as she looked at her daughter. “So….did you have any strange obsessions during your transformation?”

 Eclipsa shook her head. “Nope. I just flew around the woods for awhile until I finally calmed down.”

 “I wish you hadn’t done that. A monster could’ve seen you, and then who knows what would’ve happened?” She sighed and opened her own candy bar. “Still…you shouldn’t have had to gone through that on your own. I’m sorry, my darling.”

 Eclipsa smiled softly and rested her head on the other’s shoulder. “It’s alright, Mother. I know it can be hard balancing being a queen and a mom at the same time.”

 “You used to cry whenever I’d get too busy,” Solaria said softly.

 “I’d like to think I’m a little more mature now.” Eclipsa moved her hair to reveal a pair of tiny white wings fluttering rapidly. “So, do you really think I’ll be able to turn into a Butterfly when I get older?”

 Solaria giggled. “Well, let’s hope so! I think you’d make a beautiful Butterfly. I’m kind of sad I didn’t get to see your Mewburty version of your Ultimate Form. I’ll bet it was quite the sight!”

 Suddenly, a certain purple-haired man shoved his way in between the girls. “I’ll bet! Clippy, you should’ve saw me in my Mewburty form! I was just fabulous! Wingz for dayz I tell ya!”

 Eclipsa laughed while Solaria gave him a bewildered look. “Jushtin, when did you get here?!”

 “I’m tellin’ ya, Clippy. I was the talk of the town for a long time!”

 “It only lasted five minutes! A lot of people question whether or not it actually happened!”

 “And where’s my snookers? I like candy too, y’know? Why was I not included in this yummy for tummies meeting?”

 “Will you just give me a moment with my daughter?!”

 “Give me a moment with your candy first!”

 “UGH!”

  ____

Whew! This took a while to write! I’m so sorry for the delay, but at least the chapter is really long, right? Anyway, something that I noticed in my story so far is that I’m showing a lot of what happens to Globgor and Eclipsa as a result of their relationship, but I haven’t taken the time to show what that relationship is exactly. I mean, I’ve said again and again that they’re close friends, but I haven’t shown them just being friends. Okay so, that’s something to look forward to in the next chapter. There’s not going to be any Globgor having to chase Eclipsa down, for a change. In fact, Globgor’s village won’t be in it. We’re going to see what kind of hijinks these kids get into when they’re just hanging out and spending time together. And what will that be like now that they realize that they have a newfound attraction towards one another? Stay tuned for the next chapter to find out!

[depressed-chicken-man]

Cooped Up

Shane x OC

CH1 CH2 CH3 CH4 CH5

Summary:

After failing to start her dream in the city, the fashion designer turned farmer tries to cope with her new life in the last-ditch effort to make a happy home for herself. She has so many concerns for her new life. How much of her identity is stuck in the city? Will she even make a difference?

Even if she doesn’t think so, it’s undeniable that she will make a difference for a certain depressed coop keeper.

Chapter 5: Flower Dance

Chapter 5 on Ao3

“Honestly, I think I like this slight tan on you. You’re as stunning as always and the pink peonies were definitely the way to go. You look sickening.” His sing-song voice complimented as he weaved the fresh flowers into her caramel blonde hair. He dropped the braid and pulled it apart, spraying a generous amount of instant freeze hairspray, the smell mingled with the aroma of the caramel latte he brought her.

“Thanks, Brad,” she said, taking a deep gulp of the latte, savoring the flavor she had missed for so long. She hadn’t had good coffee like this since she arrived in the town and after over a month, it felt like heaven. It felt like home.

The past few weeks had gone by and her farm was still intact by some miracle. The parsnips she had planted were growing and with her excitement taking hold, she planted a lot more crops while the season was still in full swing. Her chicks, on the other hand, were something she had gotten more used to. To put it lightly, she could bear to feed them. Whenever she tried to pet them, they would chirp and bounce over to her. She was still uneasy and didn’t want to pick them up, but she found that ruffling the soft yellow down feathers wasn’t so bad.

She cringed to think of what would happen when they grow older. Larger claws and more anger, she guessed. For now, she was content and had even named a few. Stinky was her favorite chick, but Abe Lincoln was growing on her.

The bathroom door swung open and Haley bounced in, her already completed half up half down hair style was finished and her eyeshadow sparkled in the warm light of the bathroom mirror. She tapped her foot and looked at her phone.

“Are you finishing up? I wanna get there early to practice my dancing and get a few solo shots. You’ll practice with me, won’t you?” she asked, her voice carried her words swift. Jennifer sighed and looked to Brad, who tsked and held a mirror behind her. As usual, the style was perfect and looked picturesque. She admired Brad’s skill and she was stunned by how much he had improved since he insisted on doing her hair in highschool.

“Uh-huh,” Jen responded, admiring her braid and the placement of the pink blossoms. “I’ll definitely need to practice. Maybe we can get a picture under the cherry blossom tree?”

“That would be lovely. I’m no professional, but I can take the photo so you can get the whole group.” Brad offered, pulling the mirror up to his own face as he flicked at his own hair. The white-blonde style was always cut and crisp. Catching Brad looking messy was a rare sight and usually meant he was either way past his drinking limit or upset.

“That’s perfect.” Haley exclaimed, clapping her hands together. She had gotten glitter on her fingers from her dress and heels, the brilliant white made her look as if she were going to walk down the aisle.

Jennifer stood from the kitchen chair that they had to bring in and smoothed out the light blue ballroom style gown that Brad had brought for her. Truly, he was her savior most of the time when he wasn’t getting her into trouble.

Taking the cue, Haley, led both her and Brad from the restroom and began to gather her camera and such for the day. She and Brad waited and she inspected her whole look, smiling to herself.

“Oh Jen, you’re going to have to visit me every month. I can’t let you fall out of touch just because you have this farm. Besides, those stick on nails are no luxury for you. Don’t let this farming gig make a manicurist weep.” he said and bumped her chin up with his knuckle. “You’re better than that so take care of yourself okay?” he said with a smile, but she knew he was concerned.

This was one of the things she had tried not to let slip away from her, something that was as much a part of her as her skin was. She couldn’t let anything mess with her appearance or her style. Yes, she was going to pull weeds and look stunning doing it. She owed that to herself and her friends. It was what set her apart and she was determined to keep it up until she was too old to stand.

“Yes, stick on nails aren’t my style.”

His fingers twitched, desperately resisting the urge to pull the flask from his suit pocket. No, instead, he had a wet wipe in hand and was looking around in the sea of white dresses and blue pantsuits.

Shane didn’t know what he was doing dressed up and he swore he would never, ever come to this dance without the intention of grabbing a plate of free food and leaving immediately. He didn’t know how he was convinced to have a clean shave so early in the morning and fix his hair with gel that he hadn’t touched in years. He had no clue as to how one little girl could bat her eyes and tug at his leg and make him come out, dressed and polished, which he almost forgot how to do.

Yet, here he was.

And the little girl responsible was running around excitedly, covered in a chocolate cupcake that she was offered. Jas had not shut up about the Flower Dance in weeks and he half blamed Marnie for showing her an abundance of period dramas set in the victorian era. Tea parties, dances, and writing with a dip pen were on Jas’s mind and she wouldn’t let up. If all he could do was dress her up and bring her to a useless town dance, then he hoped she would be content with it. Hell, he hoped giving her a chicken feather as a makeshift quill pen would be enough but she had gotten upset with how bad it was at writing. Maybe this would make up for it.

With each second that he scanned the small but surprisingly dense crowd of dresses, he felt more and more inclined to pull that flask out. He wasn’t sure if it was for the best, but he soon spotted her standing next to a familiar blonde farmer.

Her blue, flowing dress almost brushed the grass and her hair was braided with some kind of pink flower. The petals had begun to fall from the flowers and were caught in her hair and gripped the back of her low cut dress.

She was as pretty as usual and perhaps now even more unapproachable. He didn’t want to say that he had taken a liking ot her, but she wasn’t as unbearable to be around as before. Every so often, she would come into the saloon, order a pizza, and then bring him half. The first few times, he had told her to get lost and to stop, but she never listened. She would simply ignore him, slide the plate to him, and tell him to have a good evening before she would leave. He had gotten to the point that he would no longer argue and just accepted that she would never learn to leave him alone.

Instead of telling her to get lost, he would mutter a thanks and she would be off. It didn’t matter, the result was the same. She would still give him pizza and she would still leave immediately afterward. He wondered if it was the thought of bothering him that had her leave promptly, but the smarter half of him knew that it was probably pity. She would give him pizza to “help him” as some kind of meaningless charity, and then when she felt better about her good deed of the day, she would leave. She didn’t want to talk to him and she didn’t want to stay.

Besides, there was no telling what her new buddies had shared about him. She probably knew better than to place hope in him at this point.

Mentally steeling himself, he trudged over to were Jas was happily talking to her, her sugar rush giving her a surge of friendliness. Her grin was punctuated with chocolate icing like dimples.

“You look just like a princess! I wanna look like you when I grow up!” Jas giggled and swayed from side to side, her hands clasped in front of her. He flower crown hung loosely and threatened to fall to the grass.

“Like me? I’m no princess. You’re the one with the crown, miss thing!” she said in mock shock, her hand placed humbly over her heart as if taken back by the child’s beauty.

“My uncle is going to dance with me! Are you dancing with anyone?” She asked, and Jennifer nodded.

“Your uncle? How nice!” She gave and pointed over to Haley, who was practicing her footwork a few feet away. “My friend there is going to show me how to dance. I’m not any good, but I’m sure you’re great!” she said and Jas beamed.

“Oh, I can show you, miss. I watched a docu-documemory about it!”Jas bragged and reached for Jennifer’s pristine, blue skirt, her chocolate covered fingers promising a stain. He didn’t want to be responsible for that argument.

“Woah there, pumpkin!” he interjected, reaching down in the knick of time to capture her hand. Jennifer jumped a bit in surprise, surely not expecting someone to swing in and grab the child she was talking to. He ignored her and wiped the chocolate from Jas’s fingers clumsily.

“Uncle Shane!” she whined and gave a looked of disgust when he leaned down to wipe her face with the scented wet wipe.

“Just a second, kiddo. Can’t be messing up the lady’s dress.” He explained and Jas gave a look of realization at her now clean hand, as if she hadn’t thought of the possibility of getting anything dirty. A small voice shouted out about something in the background and Jas’s eyes lit up as she looked around the clearing.

“Vincent is here! Please let me go, dear sir!” she pleaded, taking the language from her period dramas. He sighed and studied his clean up job. Good enough. He released his loose grip on her arm.

“Alright, but no more cupcakes. I don’t want you getting-” and she was already gone. He straightened up “-sick…” He stood in silence for a moment and only realized that Jennifer was still watching when she spoke up.

“What a cutie pie. Looks like you have your hands full.” She joked and then gestured at him. “I hardly recognized you, all cleaned up.” She admitted.

He shrugged and looked at the ground, pulling at his sleeve.

“Yeah… She wanted a dance partner for the dance and I couldn’t say no. She’s a handful but she’s a cute little squirt.” He said and paused. Why was he telling her that? Before the blonde could respond, a white haired, froo-froo looking guy in a ritzy tracksuit bounced up and pulled at her bare shoulder.

“Jen, picture time! Let’s go!” he sung and the dark blonde gave Shane a quick look.

“I’m sorry. I have to go. Have fun with the little one, uncle Shane!” she dismissed and was gone in a few seconds. He looked at his feet and mentally cursed himself. Why did he try to talk to her? It wasn’t as if he was going to be her friend and it certainly wasn’t like he wanted to hang around her.

No, the sooner she was gone, the better.

Shane was sure she knew that and that she would go back to the city where she belonged. She didn’t belong here and her farm was a joke. Besides, she didn’t even fit in and even now that was apparent. Her dress was blue when it was supposed to be white.

Closing his eyes, he turned back and looked around for Jas. She was with Vincent, who was holding up a cricket that he found in the grass. Jas wasn’t scared of the bug and leaned in the get a closer look, her eyes wide. A better time than ever to mess around with her.

“Scared of that little cricket?” he asked and she shook her head. Vincent gave Shane a smile. He was a well-behaved kid and he was glad that Jas had him to play with.

“Nope! A lady is never scared!” she proclaimed, mocking a british accent like in the dramas. Shane crouched down and pointed at the cricket.

“You’re not scared of this thing? For real?” he asked, and she once again shook her head, this time accompanied by crossed arms.

“You should be,” he began, making it up as he went, “These crickets are even more mean to little girls who aren’t afraid. They get ya when you don’t expect it.” Jas dropped her guard and gave a wary look at the cricket, Vincent had resorted to holding it farther from him.

“No they don’t. You’re just messing with me like last time, right?” she half asked, her disbelief waned. Shane stood back up and gave her a short laugh.

“Right, kiddo. Just messing with ya.”

She giggled in response and was gestured away by Vincent, who wanted to show her something. Shane looked over to the table that gleamed like a beacon to him. It was covered in casserole dishes and plates of sweets and finger foods.

Making himself comfortable, he made his way over to it and began to fix himself a plate, ignoring what he was certain was a glare from a passerby that he hadn’t bothered to look up at. Plate in hand, he looked over his shoulder into the mass of practicing dancers and onlookers. He wasn’t sure what had made him curious.

Practicing in the far corner, Haley and Jennifer held each other close, their dressing swaying with each step. They both adorned smiles and their lips moved with words that he couldn’t hear as Jennifer stumbled a bit.

His mood soured, and instead of being drawn to his plate, his hand quickly found the flask tucked away in his pocket.

CH1 CH2 CH3 CH4 CH5

[ineffablecolors]

THE WIFE [20/?]

 The Wife || Ch 20 ~ 6.6k || Ch1 Ch2 Ch3 Ch4 Ch5 Ch6 Ch7 Ch8 Ch9 Ch10 Ch11 C12 Ch13Ch14 Ch15 Ch16 Ch17 Ch18 Ch19 || FF.NET&AO3

Summary: No one knows all that Emma has been through and certainly no one knows all that Killian has been through and being husband and wife doesn’t make them any less unknown to each other. And really, how can you help someone heal when you don’t even know how hurt they are?

A/N: 1. It’s only referenced but Rumpel/Rumbelle fans might not enjoy some things 2. Mentions of hunting and trophies, nothing graphic

Breakfast at Captain Nemo’s home is an unnecessary lavish affair. Emma wonders if the man bothers with so many different beverages, fruits, pastries and meats even when he is eating on his own. She is almost certain that he does. The captain does everything with certain aplomb that she finds both amusing and, on occasion, a tad exasperating. Judging by Killian’s face, none of it is out of the ordinary so she just tries to acclimate herself to the best of her abilities.

The task becomes somewhat easier when the men close themselves inside Captain Nemo’s study to discuss the business that brought them here in the first place and leave Emma to her own devices. Much as she would’ve liked to have Killian’s company, she is far from bored.

If their home has touches of a ship’s interior about it, Captain Nemo’s makes her feel like she has been plunged into the very depths of the ocean. Emma doesn’t care much for all the stuffed animals and sea creatures that are present in almost every room – she touches a boar’s tusk but can’t make herself put her hand on its brittle fur and eyes the long fish that line the walls with morbid interest.

The different stones and shells are much more pleasing to her eye and cool and smooth beneath her fingertips. She recognizes a few from Killian’s collection on the mantle in his—their bedroom, but Captain Nemo’s haul is much larger and more meticulous. When she picks up an oval grey stone that she has no fear of dropping or damaging, Emma discovers the writing underneath. Too curious to be cautious, she gently turns one of the seashells over and discovers a black inscription in blocky letters on the smooth white surface inside it. It takes her another minute to realize they are ordered alphabetically and her laugh echoes a little off the high ceiling.

But it’s the paintings and maps that truly take her breath away. The ones depicting the depths of the ocean manage to conjure up a ball of awe and unrest deep in her belly and she finds that she can’t stare at the almost black blues and greens that hang in the drawing-room without starting to imagine all sorts of creature lurking within them.

There is a world map in the captain’s sprawling library that takes up almost at entire wall and that’s the one Killian finds her sitting on the floor in front of, her legs crossed and her skirts spread all around her. She can’t help but smile at the way he drops to his knees and carefully rearranges the fabric so that he can sit beside her without trampling on her gown.

She turns around and cups his chin in her hand, bringing his mouth to hers.

“Did all go well?”

He nods against her, his nose brushing her cheek as he kisses her one more time before pulling away.

“Our dear host has declared that, if my naval skills were as good as my business touch, I would’ve never made it past a midshipman’s post.”

In the absence of anyone else, Emma sees no reason to restrain her eyeroll but Killian continues with a smile.

“I pointed out that I do not make a habit of coming into a man’s home to eat his food and drink his whiskey and then try to cheat him out of his money. On the whole, I believe he was left thirsty for some good old-fashioned bargaining and squabbling,” Killian sighs with regret that his twinkling eyes tell her he doesn’t feel in the least. “If it were Liam who entered that room with him, you wouldn’t have seen either of them until dawn broke out tomorrow.”

“Well, that’s just one more reason to be glad you’re not Liam,” Emma says and pushes lightly on his thigh so his legs open further, encasing her between them.

“I thought you liked my brother, love,” he says with a teasing grin even as his hand slips over her waist, the corset preventing her from properly feeling the touch, much to Emma’s disappointment.

“I do. I just like you better.”

She kisses his neck above the cravat he doesn’t bother with at home and grins in satisfaction when Killian tugs her closer sharply. Perhaps the floor of his dear friend’s library is not the best place for her to be reaching for her husband’s ass – their position also rather limits her success, which is, frankly, the part Emma is more upset about.

They woke up too late to do anything but get dressed and hurry down to breakfast this morning and she has tried not to obsess over their conversation the night before all day but she needs this. She needs the confirmation of coming together to know that she has truly alleviate Killian’s fears. Truthfully, she needs it to be certain that none of her own will resurface as well.

“I hope that will still be the case after I disclose what I agreed to in order to placate the old man.”

“Please tell me you’re not moving in the room across the hall.”

She feels his neck vibrate with his laughter and bites down lightly, cautious to not leave a mark and only slightly irritated that she has to make that concession.

“Eventually, you will have to let that go, my queen.”

“Eventually.”

“But, no. I am still permitted to spend the night in my wife’s arms,” Killian says and she hums in approval. “As long as I spend the afternoon in the forest.”

“In the forest?”

She pulls back to look at him in confusion.

“Aye, Nemo will have me hunting my own dinner apparently, so much for hospitality,” he jests lightly. “The man loves his sport and I promised to indulge him in recompense for making him such a fair deal on the stock.”

She would roll her eyes again, if she wasn’t so busy trying not to pout. She was saving the explorations of the grounds for when Killian was free to go with her but she tries to tell herself that it makes perfect sense that his friend would want to spend more time with him.

Unsurprisingly, he picks up on her unvoiced disappointment.

“I could still refuse him, say I—“

“No, no,” she tugs and smooths his cravat back into place, realizing that she’s left a small pink mark anyway and feeling her cheeks heat. “Don’t do that. You should go, enjoy yourself.”

“Hunting has never been my chosen pastime, but Nemo has promised that we shall just try for some birds. It’s too cold to go too deep into the forest regardless.”

That doesn’t sound as dangerous and gruesome as the picture the trophies painted in her head earlier and Emma chews on her lower lip thoughtfully. She doesn’t need anyone to tell her that the idea in her head is preposterous but then again—

“Emma.”

Killian’s thumb pulls lightly on her lip, saving it from getting bloodied by her teeth.

“May I come?”

“Pardon?”

“I’m sorry, that’s— Forget I said—“

“You want to come hunting with us?”

“It’s stupid, forget it.”

“Have you ever gone hunting before?”

She huffs and crosses her arms over her chest.

“No. As I said, it’s stup—“

“Love, stop saying it’s stupid,” Killian’s voice sounds just exasperated enough that her eyes snap to him in surprise – she realizes her request was obtuse but she didn’t think he would be annoyed by it. “What’s so stupid about it? There’s a first time for everything.”

Emma blinks and lets her hands drop back to her lap.

“Nemo doesn’t like having any servants around when he hunts. It will be just the three of us. He knows I was always better with a sword than a gun, I hardly think he would expect much of the outing.”

“You don’t think he would mind?”

“I don’t think he would say so even if he does,” Killian’s eyebrows fly across his forehead. “I think he finds you a little intimidating.”

Emma shakes her head in dismay, even though it matches what the captain himself told her.

“That’s just ridiculous.”

Killian hums and pulls her closer again, his hand reaching for her shoulders, working the tension gathered there.

“I don’t know about that.”

She looks at him in surprise.

“Were you ever intimidated by me?”

“I—“ Killian huffs a half-laugh and her eyes widen. “I wasn’t intimidated, per se. I just… I thought it would be rather hard to win your favour.”

“And then I fell so easily for your charms,” she sighs in faux disappointment and tries not to smile at Killian’s laughter.

“I would not phrase it like that, though, yes, I was prepared to have to prove myself to you.”

She frowns a little and finally twists around so they’re fully face to face, her hands coming up to frame his face.

“I didn’t need you to prove anything. I just needed to get to know you.”

Killian swallows audibly.

“And then?”

She smiles, her eyes flying over his face.

“That’s when the falling happened.”

The door opens exactly as Killian’s tongue slides over her lips and both of them pull back so quickly that Emma has to put her hands behind her so she doesn’t fall on her back.

“Oh,” the maid that just came in blushes in three different shades of pink and turns a little to the side, staring out of the window. “Captain Jones, Captain Nemo wanted to know if you’d like to have tea before you leave for your hunt.”

“Yes, of course,” Killian tries to cough the huskiness out of his voice but if the maid’s brand new shade of pink is any indication, he is not doing too well.

He rises with as much dignity as he can muster and hurries to give Emma a hand, helping her to her feet and, much to the servant’s further embarrassment and dismay, bending down to smooth out and arrange her skirts.

The girl seems to realize that she can run away now that she has received an answer and, even though her back is already turned, Emma is sure that her face is pinched when Killian stops her.

“Could you let the captain know that my wife would be joining us?”

“For tea? Yes, of cour—“

“No, no, for the hunt later.”

“Oh.”

Emma resists the urge to hide her face in Killian’s shoulder and tell him that it’s fine and he doesn’t have to bring her along but his hand settles comfortably on her waist, just a bit lower than it would’ve if anyone could see and she decides she would rather scandalize Captain Nemo’s staff than spend the whole afternoon away from him.

“Of course, I would inform the captain.”

“Thank you,” Killian’s smile is perfectly polite and composed, contrasting strongly with the way his fingers squeeze her in silent promise.

*****

Astride one of Nemo’s beautiful golden mares, among the vivid greenery that makes her eyes shine even brighter, Emma looks the very picture of the goddess Artemis. The wide-eyed girl that asked him to pick a gun for her minutes ago is nowhere to be seen as she spurs her horse forward and grins widely at him as the wind ruffles the hair streaming from under her hat.

They race each other for a few minutes – laughing and disorderly like a pair of children let outside after a long punishment and their host dutifully takes on the role of the exasperated governing figure, trying to get them in line. Nemo might be an excellent shot but Killian likes to think that he is the better rider. That fact that his wife whispers something about him astride a horse – that she has no business even thinking while they’re outside and in company – doesn’t hurt his confidence either.

But it’s the sight of Emma later, trying to aim at the target he sets her, that makes this outside and in public exercise so damn difficult. The way she scrunches up her nose and pokes her tongue out as he adjusts her arm is simply precious but it’s the way she pulls her shoulders back and raises her head – her neck long and slender even under the scarf he made her wear, that makes him forget most of everything that isn’t related to the image of her astride him rather than the horse she sits on.

Inconvenient as it is at this precise moment, the sensation is absolutely exhilarating. For nearly two decades, Killian has had precious little interest in knowing a woman the way he is getting to know Emma. When the notion that she wanted more than just his name and protection first introduced itself to him, he thought long and hard exactly how well he could please her with such intimacy having become so foreign to him.

It’s only the last couple of months that have made him realize that there are more than just Emma’s desires simmering between them. With certain exceptions, where he was helpless to resists her attentions, he has done his best to focus on her needs and wants when taking her to bed. Being conscious of the risks of losing control and getting her with child also put a limit of sorts to his indulgence.

Now, with her expressed desire – her assurance – that it is a limit they should do away with, with the way she holds the reins in one hand and the gun he helped her select in the other, Killian finds his own yearning running wild beside their horses.

They haven’t actually shot at anything yet, which Killian is perfectly content with – he has always preferred meeting men in battle than hunting animals for sport, but Emma is doing well enough with her practicing shots and even better with handling her weapon with care so that he feels confident they won’t have an accident on their hands.

Nemo seems to agree, if he is willing to start joking about the matter.

“I used to know a man – a sour-faced fellow, don’t think I ever heard him laugh, even when he was well into his cups – who would never take any of his wives hunting.”

“How many did he have?” Emma turns back to the captain with interest and even Killian finds himself confused for a moment.

“Five, if I’m not missing any, which I very well might be. Practically every time I returned home there will be a new Mrs Gold at the neighbouring estate.”

“Oh, that gentleman,” Killian says, aware that his tone implies that he considered the man anything but a gentleman.

“Aye,” Nemo says but his grin falls away as he catches sight of what Killian presumes is now his own very sour face. “Ah, I forgot you had some… entanglement there.”

Killian can feel Emma’s curious gaze on the side of his face but he is surprised to find the dull but deep throb in his chest that used to accompany that particular “entanglement” almost completely absent. He turns to look at his wife with an ease that he doesn’t need to fake, when he can feel the air thicken with her interest and Nemo’s discomfort.

“A long time ago I was engaged to one of those many wives.”

He sees the moment the pieces connect in Emma’s mind and her eyes widen a little – it’s not surprise so much as a question and he is glad to be able to answer it with a reassuring half-smile.

“One of the luckier ones,” Nemo supplies, obviously having decided that Killian doesn’t mind the topic enough for him to drop his story. “She ran away.”

“What happened to the others?” Emma asks with a furrowed brow and Killian starts to doubt the entertaining factor of the tale.

“Two died in childbirth and Mrs Belle Gold is now a cheerful widow and still the mistress of Darkstone. The other one... Well…” Nemo clears his throat and seems to regret starting on this path as well. “It’s somewhat uncertain. It was reported as an accident but many believe the lady took her own life.”

“And you associated with that man?”

Killian can’t really blame Emma for the indignation in her voice but he comes to his friend’s defence. Even he and Liam found themselves in a hunting party with Mr Gold once.

“The man was a snake when it came to the way he acquired his lands and treated his tenants but he was cleared of all other suspicions.”

Emma doesn’t seem placated but she shakes her head and composes her expression.

“Well, from the little you’ve said I’m not surprised he wouldn’t allow his wives to hunt.”

“And why is that, Mrs Jones?” Nemo asks with some of his humour returning.

“Why, he obviously didn’t think it was their place. Probably fancied they wouldn’t know which way to hold a gun.”

She doesn’t say it scornfully and Killian remembers her own hesitance to request coming along just hours ago but there is a note of impatience in her tone nonetheless – an indignation that she might think unreasonable but feels regardless. By all means, Killian shouldn’t like that but he does. He silently marks the occasion for the next time she asks him how anyone could think her intimidating.

Nemo just grins widely.

“Quite the opposite. He was afraid they would know just which way to hold it and turn it on him.”

“Oh.”

“Load of good that did him.”

Emma tilts her head in obvious confusion.

“He got mauled by a bear,” Nemo says breezily and seems almost amused by the way Emma’s eyes widen and her hand flies to her mouth.

“My God.”

“Are you trying to scare my wife, old man?”

“Not at all, you know there aren’t any bears for miles. Just keeping her entertained.”

Killian shakes his head and urges his horse between Emma and Nemo’s, catching her eyes and trying to bring some levity back into the day.

“You should be very flattered, love, tis not one or two men who would rather avoid arming their wives and riding into the dark forest with them.”

She continues the stare at him for a couple of seconds before her eyes roll toward the grey sky above them and she huffs.

“My, I must be doing something terribly wrong, if you think I want you dead.”

Killian urges his horse as close to hers as possible and leans over to speak directly into her ear.

“I gave you the best gun, didn’t I?”

*****

Her head connects with the door with a solid sound.

“Forgive me, love,” he mumbles into her hair but continues worrying a sizeable mark behind her ear as his hand tries to rid her of her hunting jacket.

“I’m not sure I could, if you stop.”

Killian groans and drops his own forehead to the wood above her shoulder even as his hips press harder into her through the much less layered gown that she was riding in. He bends his knees so he can get his hand under it.

He has been dying to have her since she swung her leg over her horse but is pleasantly surprised to find Emma as wet as he is hard.

“Don’t, I’m almost—“

He pushes two of his fingers inside her with ease and the only reason he hears the noise she makes is that she buries it in his face as she bites at his jaw and her hands slip down his back and below his breeches with startling speed. He teases her for a moment and is just about to pull his hand away and rid them both of their clothes when there is knock on the door they are still very intimately pressed against.

“Mrs Jones? Your bath is ready.”

He doesn’t have a hand with which to catch her head before it hits the door again.

“Mrs Jones?”

Thankfully her groan of frustration is silent, though he can feel the hum of it over her whole skin.

“Bloody hell. Tell her you’ll go to supper dirty.”

“Killian,” she hisses and then calls out that she will be there in a minute.

He can’t do what he planned to in a minute but he still manages to do something in five.

*****

In hindsight, Emma should have realized that Captain Nemo wouldn’t bring up a man that both he and Killian clearly disliked for no reason at all, she just never could’ve imagined that the reason would be Mrs Belle Gold’s presence at dinner that night. So Emma is going to choose surprise as justification for the tightness in her chest as she watches Mrs Gold beam at her husband.

The fact that Killian calls her “Belle” instead of “Mrs Gold” doesn’t escape her attention. The justification here is that he obviously held less than amiable feelings towards Gold and Mrs Gold was once upon a time a woman that he hoped would be Mrs Jones instead. That train of thought doesn’t reach nearly as reassuring of a destination as she hoped it would.

The fact that Belle looks absolutely resplendent in her golden gown as Captain Nemo helpfully points out also doesn’t escape her attention. No justification is needed. It is simply the truth.

Belle’s impeccable manners, her shining hair and perfect hourglass shape, her bright and clever eyes and the way she has a masterfully-worded opinion on every topic that Nemo introduces also makes an impression. On everyone in the room, she is sure.

It is her own silence and the frequency with which Emma lifts her wineglass to her lips to avoid the awkwardness of just sitting there that does escape her attention.

“Are you alright, love? You were very quiet through dinner.”

She allows Killian to take her arm and lead her into the drawing-room, leaning into him both to reassure herself of his presence beside her and to counteract the effects of the wine.

“Just tired.”

It’s not a lie but it also fails to mention that, unlike the previous night, Killian didn’t try to draw her into the conversation earlier, seeming perfectly content to sit back and admire Belle’s knowledge of books and architecture and the Fairy Islands apparently.

When glasses of Captain Nemo’s “above mediocre” whiskey – she supposes this was brought out in honour of Mrs Gold and cringes only a little at how bitter the thought is – are passed around, Emma knows she should refuse, a proper lady would refuse. A proper lady would excuse herself at the pretext of being exhausted after the hunt and retire for the night so nobody notices that she is already less than perfectly sober. No, no, a proper lady would never be anything but perfectly sober in the first place. Mary Margaret would never be anything but perfectly sober. Elsa might indulge herself but never in public.

The thought makes her throat feel tighter still and she takes a glass.

At some point she thinks she notices Killian’s confused and concerned eyes on her but what she certainly notices is the way Mrs Gold pulls him to the side when Captain Nemo somehow manages to engage Emma in conversation. She is not entirely certain what they are conversing about. Piano playing, she believes. She doesn’t play, of course, but she is certain that Mrs Gold does so beautifully – Mrs Gold whose hand is definitely on Killian’s arm and has been for a while now. Captain Nemo readily agrees and begs the woman in question to regale them with a performance. For a moment, Emma thinks she might be sick.

But the moment after that, Killian is kneeling by her chair.

“Emma? Would you like to retire for the night?”

Belle is playing and Captain Nemo looks for all the world like he has never heard anything better. She plays marvelously, of course. Emma doesn’t know what she is saying as she lurches to her feet.

“Yes, of course, I don’t want to be in the way.”

“You’re not—“

She thinks Killian was trying to take her hand but she starts moving toward the door before he can do so. She hears him making excuses behind her – she forgot to take leave of their host and his guest. Of course, she did.

When Killian catches up to her and sets his hand on the small of her back, she can’t make herself pull away.

“You don’t have to see me to my room.”

“I’m not seeing you to your room, love, I’m coming up with you.”

She turns on her heel and loses her balance a little. Killian’s left arm wraps around her waist and her chest is suddenly pressed to his. She looks down at herself. She doesn’t like the cut of the dress she is wearing, she doesn’t know why on earth she put it on. Likely because she liked it just fine before she came down to dinner and met the “resplendent” Mrs Gold.

“You don’t have to do that. You were enjoying yourself. Go back.”

“Emma,” Killian’s fingers settle under her chin and urge her head up. “I always had in mind for us to retire early. For a number of reasons. But now I have a slightly more pressing concern, namely the fact that you most certainly did not enjoy yourself.”

“Oh, you noticed that?”

Killian reels back as if she’d slapped him and his hand falls away from her face as she feels her features crumple.

“I’m sorry, I—“

It surges up from the back of her mind – the knowledge that Killian hasn’t done anything wrong, that he would never do anything to hurt or shame her. It’s not his fault that women smile at him in a way that she doesn’t like, or that they are more beautiful and more accomplished than her.

“No, I’m sorry,” Killian swallows and she feels the overwhelming urge to slap her hand over his mouth, to stop him from saying whatever it is he is about to say. “I got carried away in—“

He looks around, realizing that they are still in the hallway, the fact had escaped Emma’s attention as well.

“Please, let’s go upstairs.”

She nods and lets him lead her to their room, her body feeling a bit numb even as her head is buzzing incessantly. The sudden instability of the world around her is making it very hard for her to steel herself for whatever Killian has to say, still she tries to remind herself that she should not be angry or upset about anything that might have transpired before they were wed. Perhaps even— No, no, she doesn’t believe that and it’s not—

“Emma. Drink this.”

She blinks, surprised to find herself sitting on the edge of their bed. Killian is kneeling in front of her again and urging her to take a glass of water – the fire behind him makes his hair seem darker than usual but his eyes look older, troubled. The cool liquid makes her realize how thirsty she was.

“How are you feeling, love?”

“A little dizzy.”

“Have you ever been drunk before?”

The question is not accusatory but Emma finds herself blinking back tears suddenly.

“No,” her voice sounds small and choked and in the next second Killian is sitting beside her and pulling her into his arms.

“Shhh, sweetheart, it’s alright. It will pass. You’ll get some rest and it will pass.”

She slips her arms around his waist and squeezes him hard, Killian just runs his hand up and down her back for a few moments, whispering words she can’t quite comprehend in her ear and Emma thinks she would’ve fallen asleep if the darkness didn’t swirl around every time she closed her eyes.

“Let’s get you into bed, alright?” Killian pulls back and moves around her and she feels him start working on the laces of her corset.

She lets him work in silence for a few minutes, while he loosens her corset and helps her out of her dress and takes off her shoes and her stockings. It’s when his hand slips into her hair – only half a dozen pins holding a few strands together while the rest of it she left down – that she feels something inside her pull and release. She turns in his arms and slips her hands into his hair, pulling him closer and slipping her tongue inside his mouth without preamble.

He is hers, he is in her bed, he is taking her clothes off, he is— pulling away.

“Stop. Emma, stop.”

It takes her longer than it should to peel her eyes open – his lips are very pink and kiss-swollen and she tries to capture them again but Killian pulls back and that’s when she realizes he is holding both of her hands in his own large one. He is holding her away from him.

“W-what?”

“Not tonight, sweetheart. Let’s just go to sleep and—“

“Why not?”

Her voice is a mix of angry confusion and something heartbreaking and the look on Killian’s face tells her he hears it too.

“Emma. Emma, I love you very much, but I’m not going to bed you when you are drunk.”

“I want you to!”

“No.”

“Why?!”

His brows furrow and the heartbreaking bit is in his eyes now. He sets her hands on her lap and gets off the bed, glancing at the door in hesitation. That gets through the haze in her head.

“Oh.”

Killian turns to her and she watches his shoulders relax at the realization on her face.

“I’m sorry.”

The moment she says it she feels something around her heart break off and she falls forward on the bed, burying her face in her hands as she cries. When she feels his arms around her again, she just shakes her head.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“Hush, love. It’s alright, we’re alright.”

This time she lets him soothe her and undress her completely, slipping her nightgown on and tucking her into bed. She doesn’t try to kiss him again but she doesn’t let go of him either and, thankfully, Killian seems fine with that. She also can’t seem to stop saying how sorry she is – he is less fine with that but she is still mumbling apologies as she falls asleep in his arms.

*****

She wakes up feeling like she has slept the day away but it’s hard to tell with the curtains pulled closed. There is light, sneaking between the petals on the fabric but she can’t tell if it’s morning light or early afternoon. She is warm, can hear the crackling of the fire that is keeping the room at a temperature that makes the two blankets she is under too much, and her head feels fine but she is uncertain if that will still be the case once she lifts it from the pillow.

When she does, her eyes immediately land on Killian, sitting on the rug before the fire and using the perfectly comfortable armchair behind him as a backrest. Part of her feels guilty that he has stayed to watch over her but most of her is just glad that he is here.

She takes a moment to recall the night before and swallow her shame.

“I’m sorry I embarrassed you in front of your friends,” her voice is rough and the words catch in her throat but they are audible enough that his head shoots up.

He gets up with a little grunt, rubbing at his knee, and goes to the table by the window. There is a tray of food but he just fills a glass of water from the decanter and Emma sits up, leaning against the headboard as he brings it to her. She drinks the whole thing and when she hands it back, he presses a kiss to her forehead that makes her squeeze her eyes shut.

“You didn’t embarrass me in front of anybody.”

“Of course, I did.”

“No. And I’d hoped you wouldn’t wake up just to keep apologizing.”

Killian sets the glass on the floor and settles on top of the covers, wrapping his left arm around her legs.

“I’m the one who should apologize.”

Emma frowns and goes to shake her head and that is certainly not her brightest idea. She feels Killian reach up to cup her cheek, stall the movement and comb her hair behind her ear before he drops his hand to take one of hers.

“I was so focused on my ridiculous ideas that I realized you were having a miserable time much too late.”

“I wasn’t—“ his look makes her swallow the lie. “I was just…”

She takes a deep breath and squeezes his hand, she means to look into his eyes but that seems to be asking too much of herself so she addresses her question to his fingers.

“When were you— were you… together?”

“Pardon?”

She looks up and down again, catching a glimpse of Killian’s confused look.

“You and Belle.”

“Me and… Belle? Emma, why would you— Of course not. She was married when we— but that’s no matter, I’ve never— love, I am under the impression that Nemo has set his sights on the lass and, knowing them both, decided to promote the match.“

“Oh,” things shift and rearrange themselves in her head. “Oh.”

“Bloody hell, did you think—“

“Not now,” she says helplessly, the only accusation she is innocent of. “Just… she is very— she is quite lovely and you seemed very close and…”

“Christ.”

Killian lets go of her hand, wracking his fingers through his hair before he leans forward, his mouth stopping a breath away from hers.

“Do you want me to kiss you?”

She’d laugh but her throat is rough and she still might cry and that will only waste time that he could be kissing her.

“Of course.”

His lips are gentle at first but then his hand wraps around the back of her neck and his tongue finds hers and that’s better. The idea that he is anything but hers seems preposterous when he is kissing her like this. Still her hands remain in her lap, her eyes half-open, and she doesn’t feel like she deserves to have him in this moment. But Killian kisses her long and thorough, his fingers digging into her neck where at least half of all the tension inside her body seems to have gathered.

“Emma,” he pulls back, kisses her shoulder and looks up – something almost indignant in his eyes. “How could you think I’d want anyone else when I have you?”

“I…“ she groans and finally lets herself reach for him, her nails digging into his forearms even through his shirt. “I’m sorry.”

“Please, stop saying that.”

“I—“ she swallows the apology and laughs mirthlessly at herself.

“I’ve never even looked at Belle that way,” he says earnestly and she tries to avert her eyes, ashamed that he has to say it at all but Killian presses his forehead to hers and it’s hard to hide behind the single strand of hair trapped between them. “No, sod Belle, I’ve never— Emma, I’ve never felt about anyone the way I feel about you.”

She feels her next breath cut short at that.

“Not even—“ she swallows the question quickly, chides herself for continuing to interrogate him when—

“Not even then,” Killian says calmly and she squeezes her eyes shut. “Don’t. Don’t do that, love. I— I want you to know that. I want you to know I’ve never loved anyone like I love you. I’ve never trusted anyone like I trust you.”

It should be impossible for one sentence to fill and pierce her heart at the same time.

“I trust you too,” she means it with her whole being but the words come out more as a plea than a statement. “I swear, my heart, I—“

“I know. I know you do, love.”

“Can I say I’m sorry again?”

“No.”

“No?”

He kisses the tip of her nose and shakes his head.

“I love you,” she says instead.

“I know that as well,” he grins and she pinches his side, feeling the fog start to clear from her head as his face grows serious again and his knuckles stroke her cheek. “And I hope you know I wouldn’t love you more, if you played the piano brilliantly, and I wouldn’t love you less, if you couldn’t so much as get on a horse.”

Air rushes into her lungs much too fast and Emma is not surprised that he understands something she doesn’t even want to explain. She is also not surprised this is the moment she loses the battle with her tears.

“I don’t want you to ever doubt that, Emma.”

“I don’t.”

“You do,” he says simply, honestly, and it just creates more tears for him to wipe away.

“It’s not your fault.”

It’s the most she can give him in this moment, little as it is – that the wreckage he is trying to salvage is not of his own making and he has just been doing so well that even she forgot how absolutely demolished some parts are.

Killian doesn’t seem terribly surprised, he doesn’t seem uncomfortable or disappointed, his eyes are full of love and sadness that make them seem even deeper than usual. He looks thoughtful for a moment, his head tilted to the side and studying her as his hand continues to comb her hair and wipe her cheeks.

“It’s like your drawings.”

“My drawings?”

He ducks his head for a moment but when he looks back at her, she feels like he’s pulled back the curtains and let the sun fully inside.

“Aye. The ones you leave everywhere at home.”

“Oh. I thought Mrs Lucas threw those away.”

“No. I have them.”

“You have them?” she can’t hide her surprise or the little hitch in her breathing, in her heart.

“Aye, I have them all. I love them all. And yet… it doesn’t matter if there will be one more or one less, all that— all that matters is that they are yours.”

She swallows heavily and feels her heart beat hard against her chest, trying to get to him. The knowledge that he loves her is still the most wonderful and overwhelming thing she has ever experienced, acquiring an understanding of why and how he loves her feels – much like him – like more than she deserves, and yet, she cannot help but listen and look at him and realize that nothing else could quite soothe her soul like this.

“What I’m trying to say – very badly,” he chuckles and she shakes her head, slips her hand up his side, caressing the scars there. “It’s that… there are a hundred things I love about you, Emma. I love each of them and yet, in the end, none of them truly matter. Only you matter. The entirety of you.”

She feels her mouth open a little but no sound comes out – she is unsure if she will ever be able to produce another sound that isn’t her soul sighing and her heart beating for Killian Jones and for him alone.

“Does that sound completely mad?” he chuckles again and it’s soft and nervous and this time she slips both arms around him and pulls until he is close enough to feel the heart that she has given him.

“No. I understand perfectly.”

He looks at her for a moment before his face breaks into the most beautiful smile – he presses it into her lips and she takes it happily.

*****

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[spiritedquill]

Sonny’s Home For Boys:  Chapter 9

Ch1 | Ch2 | Ch3 | Ch4 | Ch5 | Ch6 | Ch7 | Ch8 | Ch9 |  Ch10 |

AO3 | FFnet

Summary:  He wasn’t staying. There was no way he could stay, even if Sonny treated him like one of his own. He had to get back to Sammy. His dad would come back and he’d go back to doing what he did best: hunting. Still… the mysterious blue-eyed boy named Castiel made it really hard to not want to stick around and never go anywhere else again.

Chapter 9: 

“Hey, Dean!” 

Dean looked up from his food when he heard Benny’s voice and saw him running towards him. He glanced at Robin apologetically and gave Benny an unamused look. “What is it, Benny?” 

“Dude, are you going to the Homecoming game tonight?” Benny asked, as if it was the most urgent thing he could possibly be asking. Dean chuckled and raised an eyebrow at him.

“Hadn’t thought about it,” he shrugged, then glanced at Robin. “Are you going?”

Robin pouted. “They need me to help set up for the dance. But you should go. It’s a lot of fun.”

Dean considered it. He glanced at the look on Benny’s face, rolling his eyes when the boy waggled his eyebrows at him. “Fine, I guess it could be fun.”

“Dude, yes!” Benny exclaimed, grabbing his shoulder and shaking him a few times. “Promise, Chief, you won’t regret it.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Dean chuckled, shaking his head. Benny was already heading back to his table where Ash and Chuck were bickering about something or other. Dean turned back to Robin and smiled, a bit forced. “I don’t have to paint my face, do I?”

Robin laughed, shaking her head. “Not unless you want to. Benny only goes for the cheerleaders anyways.”

“Yeah,” Dean laughed, grinning. “To tell ya the truth, I’ve never actually been to one of these things.”

Robin’s eyes widened a bit in surprise. “Never?”

“Never.” 

“Wow,” Robin said thoughtfully. “I definitely thought you’d be the sporty type.”

Dean laughed, a little wistful, and Robin gave him a curious look. “Cars and hunting, that’s about all I learned how to do for basically my whole life.” 

“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Robin said casually, and Dean stifled a very, very bitter laugh. 

“You have no idea.”

Robin watched him for a few moments, trying to decide whether or not to press for more details. Based on the guarded look Dean was wearing, she decided not. 

The bell rang and they stood up, standing there awkwardly for a moment. 

“So I’ll see you later--”

“I guess I should--”

They both spoke at the same time and then laughed softly. Dean smiled hesitantly at her and leaned in to kiss her, a brief, feather-light touch. “I’ll see you later,” he said. He hated that his smile felt so forced. Robin deserved better. 

They parted ways and Dean noticed Cas leaving the cafeteria, holding hands with Balthazar. His stomach turned and he felt sick. He had noticed before that Balthazar’s feelings for Cas were maybe a little more than platonic, but he didn’t think that Cas… 

Stop it, he scolded himself, averting his gaze and heading to class. If Cas wanted to date Balthazar, he could. Dean couldn’t stop him. And why should he? Even if Cas did want to be with Dean, it would never end well. The life of a hunter didn’t allow for things like love and commitment. The incident at the carnival had made him realize that. They had been lucky. But next time, and there was always a next time for him, what if Cas got hurt? Dean could never forgive himself if he let that happen. 

So it was for the best. Dean knew that. But knowing didn’t make it any easier when he got to chemistry class and saw Cas and Balthazar walk in shortly after, holding hands once again. 

Jealousy. Yeah, that was a new one for him. 

…

“Bal, you know I have no interest in sweaty jocks giving each other concussions over a big leather peanut.” Cas looked at Balthazar, unamused, as they walked to chemistry class together, holding hands. Cas was grateful for the touch from his best friend. It was calming, comforting. It kept him grounded and reminded him of what mattered. 

“Come on, Cassie, it’ll be fun,” Balthazar said, then smiled suggestively. “Besides, some of those sweaty jocks look damn good in those pants.”

Cas’s face flushed and he laughed. “You’re incorrigible,” he scoffed. “But fine. I’ll go. If only because I love the popcorn they sell at the concessions booth.”

Balthazar grinned. “That’s the spirit, Cas!”

They walked into the chemistry lab still talking and laughing quietly, and Balthazar squeezed his hand before letting him go to his seat, next to Dean.

Cas could feel Balthazar watching them from across the room, suspicious and brooding. He looked up when the teacher started the lesson, keeping his focus lasered in on taking notes. He was glad that it was a textbook kind of day and not a lab partner kind of day. It made things a bit less awkward.

Dean was struggling to keep up with the note-taking, his attention drawn to Cas’s hands and his quick, elegant writing. He wondered why he’d never paid much attention to Cas’s hands before. His fingers were long and nimble and Dean couldn’t help but remember the way they felt against his skin, pushing his shirt up just so… 

Dammit. 

Dean shifted in his seat, pulling his jacket down and attempting to hide the evidence of his train of thought. He couldn’t help himself, though, he kept sneaking glances at Cas. Even when Cas wasn’t looking at him, he could see the slight drawing together of his eyebrows as he concentrated, and the tiny frown on his face as he subtly mouthed the words he was writing. He was wearing a dark blue shirt that brought out his eyes, topped with a black hoodie, and his hair was sticking out in every which way. 

He was sitting so close and it was simply intoxicating. But Dean couldn’t look away. 

“Mr. Winchester,” the teacher said, annoyed, pausing in his lecturing. “Please, stop daydreaming and start taking notes. This will be on the test.”

Dean nodded quickly and directed his eyes to his notebook, jotting down crap about molecules and atomic numbers with a shaky hand. He could feel wondering eyes on him and he wished he could crawl under the lab table and hide. That is, until he noticed a certain pair of eyes sneaking a couple of not-so-subtle glances at him. He looked up just in time to catch Cas’s eyes, and it was the first time in more than a week that Cas had actually looked at him. 

He wanted to say something, but nothing seemed quite right. Not here, not now, not enough. He just wanted his friend back. And maybe, if he was lucky, he wouldn’t mind Cas kissing him again. He hadn’t had the presence of mind to appreciate it enough the first time and he missed the feeling. He wanted another go. 

The opportunity to say anything at all was lost when Cas cleared his throat and turned his attention back to his notebook. Dean felt like he’d screwed up his only chance.

Before he knew it, the bell rang and class was out. Cas was up and out the door before Dean could even gather his books. Sighing, Dean slung his backpack over one shoulder and made his way to the library. Oh, if Sammy could see him now, actually doing homework and shit. He’d be so proud. 

He made it about an hour before he’d had enough. He decided to head out to the football field and try and get a good seat. He didn’t know when Benny was planning on showing up but he didn’t really care much about that. He was mostly going because it was easier than going home and being ignored by Cas all night. He could only take so much of that. 

He saw the band getting set up in their section of the bleachers, and Dean decided to make himself comfortable on the end closest to the exit. He had a feeling he wasn’t going to stick around for the whole thing. 

“Hey there, chief!” 

Dean startled a bit and looked up when Benny sat down beside him, clapping his shoulder roughly. “Hey man,” he said with a light laugh. 

“Ready to watch some babes in tiny skirts do cartwheels?” Benny asked with a wide grin, which quickly turned to amusement. “Oh right, I forgot, Winchester’s got a girlfriend now.”

Dean shoved his shoulder. “She’s not my girlfriend,” he muttered. 

“Right,” Benny scoffed. “If not Robin then Chatty Cassie. Take your pick.”

Dean grumbled incoherently and shoved him again. Benny laughed and shook his head. 

“Just speaking the truth.”

“Yeah, well, shut up,” Dean snarked. 

“What?” Benny asked, holding his hands up. “I’m not judging. Just saying it’s obvious, the way you look at him.”

“I… I don’t…”

“Yeah, you do,” Benny said, staring at him with a deadpan expression. “Look, man, it’s fine if you don’t wanna talk about… whatever’s been going on with you two. But it’s eatin’ at you, I can tell. Just talk to him, for god’s sake.”

Dean shook his head, staring out at the field where a couple of players were getting warmed up. “I’m pretty sure he doesn’t wanna talk to me. I’ve tried.”

Benny shrugged. “If you say so. You’re both just so mopey. I almost liked it better when you guys made gross doe-eyes at each other all the time.”

 “We didn’t--” Dean stopped short. There was no use lying, and he was tired of it anyways. He wasn’t going to admit it out loud, what Cas meant to him, whatever this thing was between them, but he couldn’t quite deny it either. “I fucked up,” he said finally, a resigned whisper. 

Benny nudged him with his shoulder, gently, offering a warm smile. “Trust me, man, he looks at you, same way you look at him. Whatever you did, you can’t fuck that up. Not so easy, anyway.”

Dean felt something dangerous tug at his heart: hope. He sighed and leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. Benny didn’t say anything else, but it was enough for Dean to feel like he was drowning. 

They sat in silence for a while, except for Benny nudging him and pointing at the cheerleaders when they started their routine. “If you don’t got a girlfriend or a boyfriend, then maybe what you need is a distraction.” 

Maybe Benny was right. Perhaps Dean could use a distraction that wasn’t going to end with him hurting someone he cared about. Robin was great at distracting him from Cas, but he knew that he was only going to hurt her and he hated it. 

So, he let himself enjoy watching the cheerleaders. No harm in that, right?

Once the game started, Dean found himself actually getting into it, cheering and booing appropriately. He’d never had much of a chance to care about school sports teams, but it felt kinda nice to feel like he was part of something. At some point, Ash joined them, painted in school colors from his chest up. Benny and Dean had to stop him from tossing his shirt onto the field after a particularly exciting play. Dean was laughing and cheering and jumping up from his seat, getting lost in the crowd mentality and the deafening sound of bass drums and trumpets. 

All of that was drowned out into the background, however, when he noticed a familiar head of unruly black hair. He froze, staring after Cas who was heading towards the concessions stand.

He ignored Benny asking him if he was alright, and he was walking towards Cas before he even gave his legs permission to move. He hesitated before he reached the concessions, trying to work up the courage. Balthazar wasn’t next to him and the boy’s from Sonny’s weren’t around to interrupt. This could be his only chance. 

A flick of movement in the darkness caught his eye, over by the school, and he frowned. Instinctively, he stuck his hand in his pocket and wrapped his fingers around his knife, already walking closer to get a better look. 

“You better not have forgotten my hot dog, Cassie.” Balthazar grinned as Cas came back from the concessions stand, but his smile fell when he saw the look on Cas’s face. “What’s wrong?” He followed Cas’s gaze and saw Dean sprinting back to the school. He sighed. “Cas, he’s not worth it. Leave it.” Cas hesitated and Balthazar added, “Please. Let’s just watch the game and cheer for the wrong team, okay?”

“We all play for the other team, anyways,” Charlie chimed in with a sneaky smile, and Cas actually choked out a laugh. Balthazar smiled. “But I swear to god if you guys cheer for those heathens, I will skin you both alive.”

As Dean got closer to the school, he caught a glimpse of Gordon running inside. Running from someone. No, something. 

“Dammit,” he muttered, following Gordon and that thing into the school. Gordon may have been a dick, but Dean was a hunter. And saving people was his job. Even people like Gordon. 

“Get the hell away from me!” 

He heard Gordon shout, panicked and fearful, and Dean ran faster to catch up to them. He followed a trail of drops of blood to the bathrooms, approaching cautiously as he heard Gordon’s voice echoing scared and shaking. He was going for the element of surprise. And it would’ve worked if Gordon didn’t look right at him as soon as he rounded the corner. So much for that.

Dean slapped on a half-cocky, half-terrified grin, getting into a fighting stance as the monster turned to face him. Now that he had a better look, he realized it was a vampire. The thing bared its teeth at Dean and he stuffed his knife in his pocket. It was useless here.

“Look who came for dessert,” the vamp sneered, grinning darkly as she studied Dean hungrily. Gordon was frozen in the corner, sweat and blood dripping from his forehead.

“Well, I would say eat me,” Dean said with a shrug. “But, well, you know.”

The monster lunged at Dean and he threw a punch, groaning through his teeth and shaking his hand out. Shit, that hurt. 

The vamp made a sound that resembled a laugh and Dean glared. “You won’t be laughing in a minute, you blood-sucking bitch.”

A plan formulating, Dean circled around, getting in between the vamp and Gordon. “Come and get it,” he taunted, grabbing his knife again and cutting a thin line into his arm. He winced a bit but didn’t let it show. “Come on, I taste delicious!”

The vampire let out a shriek and jumped at him, and Dean side-stepped. He used her momentum to shove her towards the stalls, opening the door and then slamming it shut with expert timing. The head rolled out from the stall and Dean made a face, breathing heavily. “Don’t lose your head or anything,” he muttered, smiling to himself.

He looked back when he remembered Gordon, and his stomach dropped. Shit.

“You… Those teeth… the head… What the fuck?” Gordon scrambled to his feet and backed away from Dean towards the exit. “You stay the fuck away from me, freak!”

Gordon ran out of the bathroom and Dean rolled his eyes. “Yeah, don’t thank me for saving your ass or anything.”

Dean wiped his hands down his jeans and looked around. Well, someone had to clean up this mess. And something told him the janitor wouldn’t keep his trap shut.

…

The game was nearly over by the time Dean had cleaned up the blood and disposed of the body, and Dean was exhausted. He decided to head back to Sonny’s and call it a night. 

While he had to admit some part of him enjoyed the adrenaline rush that came from killing a monster, he couldn’t shake the feeling of dread in his gut. First the carnival, now this. He should’ve known that he couldn’t run away from his past, from his life. He was a hunter. And hunters didn’t get normal lives. It just didn’t work like that. You fought and saved people and then you died young and bloody with 2 dollars to your name. That was just how it was. 

But Dean had accepted that a long time ago. It was nothing new, as much as he despised the reminder. As he approached Sonny’s porch, he realized the real reason why the vamp attack had him so shaken up. 

Cas. If there were hunters and monsters around, then Cas was in danger. If Dean was around, then Cas was in danger. Bad shit followed him wherever he went, and it was selfish to want to be close to Cas because being close meant putting him in harm’s way. That was one of the first things a hunter had to learn. If you cared about someone, the best thing to do was to get as far away from them as possible. 

Dean refused to expose Cas to his life, to the darkness. No matter how badly he wished he could tell him everything and no matter how much he hoped Cas would pull him close and tell him he loved him anyway.

Dean’s shoulders slumped as he got ready for bed, brushing his teeth and slipping into some sweatpants before crawling under the covers. 

…

“Dean!”

Panicked and breathing hard, Dean ran through the halls of the school, trying to find the source of the cries for help.

“Dean!”

Letting out a groan that was verging on a sob, he skidded to a stop and turned on his heels. How was it behind him now?

“Help me!”

The voice echoed, seeming to come from every direction at once, far away and out of reach. 

“You can’t save them, Dean.”

He jumped and turned around, the color draining from his face when he saw who was standing there. 

“Sammy?”

“You can’t save them.”

“Who? I don’t…”

“You can’t save anyone, Dean. You couldn’t even protect your own brother.”

“Sammy…” Dean collapsed to his knees and Sam disappeared. Dean cried out, desperate, “Sammy!”

“Dean! Help me!”

Forcing himself to get to his feet, Dean tried to focus. He still had a job to do. Saving people. That’s what he was good at. 

He held his gun and flashlight out in front of him, ignoring the fact that he hadn’t had them a minute ago, and started kicking open doors. 

“Dean!”

The voice was becoming more familiar as Dean got closer. It was still foggy and Dean couldn’t quite place it.

As Dean came to the end of the hall, ready to kick down the last door, suddenly the voice was crystal clear.

“Dean, help me!”

Cas.

Dean barged into the room to find Cas on the floor and a vampire standing above him with blood dripping from its mouth. 

Not bothering to think about how he suddenly had a machete instead of a gun, Dean cried out and lunged at the monster, beheading it with one hard swing. Then he fell to the ground beside Cas, landing hard on his knees. 

“Cas,” he choked out. “Cas! Stay with me, don’t you die on me.”

“Why didn’t you save me?”

“What?” Dean flinched away, startled, and Cas reached up to touch his face. His throat was ripped out, he should be dead, but he was talking to Dean.

“You were supposed to save me, Dean,” Cas said again, and Dean choked out a sob. “You did this to me, Dean.”

“Dean!” 

Dean shot up in bed, sweat and tears indistinguishable against his pale skin. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he grabbed his knife from under his pillow, going for the throat…

“Dean!” Cas gasped, and the knife fell from Dean’s shaking hand.

“Cas?” he whispered, his voice cracked and trembling. 

“It’s just me, Dean,” Cas said softly, his features heavy with worry. “You’re safe. It was just a dream.” 

Dean let out a shaky sob and collapsed against Cas’s chest. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Cas…”

Cas hushed him and crawled up into Dean’s bed, holding the boy to his chest. He rubbed his back gently and whispered calming nothings in his ear. Cas started singing softly and Dean choked out a sob as he recalled something he’d long-since forgotten. 

He didn’t remember much about his mom. But as soon as Cas started singing-- “Hey, Jude… Don’t be afraid” --Dean remembered her favorite song and her sweet voice as she sang him to sleep. 

Dean cried softly into Cas’s shoulder as his shaking fingers curled into Cas’s shirt and refused to move. He tried to focus on Cas’s low, rough voice, on his heartbeat. Steady, real, alive. Cas was alive. Not another innocent doomed for just having known Dean. He was safe. That thought was enough to calm Dean’s violent trembling and eventually he slumped, exhausted, in Cas’s arms. 

Cas sang to Dean until his voice was barely even a whisper and Dean was asleep in his arms. He didn’t dare move and wake him. He was grateful that the other boys were sound sleepers. 

He wished he knew what had Dean so scared. It was clearly a nightmare, but it seemed like more than that. Dean was terrified. Cas had never seen anything like it. It was like Dean thought it was real, whatever his nightmare was about. Cas really didn’t know what to make of that. 

Cas tried not to think about it. He focused on laying Dean down on his pillow. He was about to go back to his own bed when Dean latched onto his hand. Cas wasn’t sure if he was even conscious but his grip was desperate and fearful, like he didn’t want to lose him. Sighing, Cas grabbed Dean’s hand and laid down beside him. Dean was curled up on his side and Cas laid there with his arm draped over Dean’s waist. His breath caught in his throat when Dean nestled closer to him, wrapping an arm around Cas and burying his face in his chest. 

Cas couldn’t move for a few moments. He was having a hard time believing this was actually happening. Dean had barely even looked at him since their kiss, and now he was insisting that they sleep in the same bed. Cas told himself it was just the nightmare. 

It was difficult not to hope, though. Especially when Dean only pulled him closer rather than pushing him away.

…

They didn’t talk about what happened. Dean felt like he’d completely humiliated himself and scared the shit out of Cas. What else was there to talk about?

He didn’t know why Cas had agreed to stay with him all night, holding him and comforting him. Dean had pulled a knife on him. He’d almost hurt him. Why was Cas still being so kind to him?

He tried not to think about what Benny had said at the game. It was insane. Cas wasn’t in love with him. Dean just wasn’t worth that level of devotion. There had to be another explanation. Maybe Cas felt bad for him. He’d seen the pathetic darkness behind Dean’s confident facade and he was taking pity on him. Taking care of him and then turning around and mocking him for being so weak. 

Yeah. That made more sense than the idea of Cas being in love with him. 

Dean sat alone at lunch. Robin was busy with Homecoming dance preparations and Dean just didn’t have the energy to joke around with the boys. He went from lost in thought to high alert, however, when he spotted Gordon leaving the cafeteria. He didn’t trust that dick to not blow this whole thing up in Dean’s face. He had to make sure he wasn’t going to tell anyone. Unfortunately, he knew the best way to do that. 

Making sure no one was following him, Dean found Gordon behind the school. As Gordon turned around in surprise, Dean grabbed him and slammed him against the wall. He had a dangerous look in his eyes and a sneer on his face that meant he wasn’t messing around. Still, Dean was a little surprised that Gordon actually looked scared. 

“You tell anyone?” Dean growled, pressing his arm against Gordon’s neck. 

Gordon grunted and tried to push Dean away but it became pretty clear that Dean was stronger than him. He’d been holding back before. “No, you crazy freak,” he snapped. “You think anyone would believe me?”

Dean huffed out a bitter, dark laugh. Gordon had a point. He pushed away from him and glared at the boy. “Good. You try running your mouth and I swear to god you’ll regret it.”

Gordon nodded quickly, holding a hand to his throat and running off. 

Dean sighed, turning and sliding his back down the wall until he was sitting on the sidewalk. That was one less thing to worry about, at least.

The next thing on his list was figuring out what to do about the dance. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go with Robin, but he was afraid that he was giving her the wrong impression. Every chaste kiss was getting more and more forced and he felt like the worst person on the planet. 

He decided he would find her after school. They needed to talk, as much as he was dreading it. He didn’t even know what he was going to say.

After chemistry lab was over, which was as awkward as ever with Cas sitting next to him, Dean made his way to the gymnasium where he knew Robin would be getting ready for the dance. It was three days away now so Dean was cutting it pretty close. 

“Hey, Dean!” she said with a smile as she bounced over to him, pecking his cheek. “What do you think? The theme is Stairway to Heaven. I know it’s cliche, but…”

“I like it,” Dean said honestly. He looked around at the pure white decorations, the fake staircase which served as the photoshoot backdrop, and the banner reading ‘Stairway to Heaven’ that hung above the stage. “Do you have a minute?” he asked after a moment of hesitation. She gave him a worried look but nodded, following him outside. 

“Is everything okay, Dean?” she asked, and a part of her already knew the answer. 

Dean shook his head, running his hands over his face before meeting her eyes. “I… I like you, Robin,” he started. “I just… I didn’t mean to make you think…”

“Dean,” Robin stopped him, smiling sadly. She’d seen this coming. “It’s okay.”

Dean frowned, looking at her in confusion. “Wait, what? You’re not mad or anything? You don’t wanna slap me?”

Robin laughed a bit, shaking her head. “No. I knew this wasn’t some epic romance. Not starring me, anyways.”

“What does that mean?” Dean asked, afraid he already knew the answer.

Robin rolled her eyes. “Dean, you know.” When he didn’t say anything, she continued. “Cas. I’d have to be blind not to see you staring at him.”

Dean tried to deny it, but Robin gave him a knowing look and he just couldn’t. 

“Look, we can still go to the dance if you want,” she went on. “As friends. But you should really try talking to him.”

Dean was tired. He had been trying so hard to deny his feelings for Cas, but something about the way Robin was looking at him, so understanding and kind… He just couldn’t do it anymore. 

“I… I don’t know,” he whispered, his shoulders sagging as a defeated expression crossed his face. He didn’t know why he still couldn’t say the words. “He’s… Cas, he’s different,” he tried again, and it still wasn’t coming out how he wanted it to. “He kissed me, and… God, I never thought…” 

He looked at Robin, suddenly wondering if he shouldn’t be saying this to her. But she didn’t look hurt or upset. She was actually smiling. Dean swallowed thickly and continued. 

“I’ve never had a kiss like that,” he admitted. “I’ve never… felt like this. I…”

“You love him,” Robin finished for him. He grunted and averted his gaze, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“I don’t wanna lose him,” he told her quietly. 

They went silent for a few moments, then Robin grabbed his hand and met his gaze. “How ‘bout this? You and me, we can go to the dance as friends. And then you’re gonna talk to Cas and tell him how you really feel.”

“I… don’t know…”

“Not up for negotiation,” Robin said with finality, grinning at him. He couldn’t help but smile back. “I’ve gotta go help them finish up in there, but I’ll see you later, Dean.”

He nodded and she ran back inside, and then he was alone with his thoughts again. With a lot more to think about. He couldn’t use Robin, hurting her, as an excuse anymore. She actually wanted him to go for it with Cas. That was one he didn’t see coming. 

He had to ask himself what he really had to lose. Cas was already refusing to talk to him. He’d already ruined their friendship, so what harm would it do to come clean? He didn’t have a damn clue what he would even say but at least he had to let Cas know that he cared. He owed him that much. At worst, Cas would keep ignoring him. At best… Well, Dean didn’t want to get his hopes up. But the idea made him smile. 

Maybe Cas hated him. Maybe he was scared of him, wanted nothing to do with him. Maybe he would tell Dean to fuck off. Maybe he didn’t love him.

But on the other hand… Maybe he did.

@gggghik @brangaene @sold-my-soul-for-spn

[semicolonthefifth]

CROSS Ch4 - You Rascal You

A couple hours had passed since then. The music-player had been cycling through several songs and had eventually settled on “Run’ Em Off” by Lefty Frizzel - a moderately cheery Old Earth Western tune. Charlie recalled hearing Jason groan quite audibly when it played.

Charlie had never seen a man drink seven full, large glasses at a bar in one sitting - especially not without losing control of their higher brain functions.

Yet there he was - the man he’d come to know as Jason Cross. Gunslinger; bounty hunter; one of a two man team, part of a famed group that would take down raiders through skill and knowledge of the land. He was a man he only knew as a wondrous tale of wasteland justice; and there he was, chugging alcohol as if he was competing for the world’s biggest drunkard. Yet at his 8th glass in the man stood. At least that was something worth admiring.

Frankie, meanwhile, was all too busy admiring the book - his nose deep into the pages cataloging the history of Aurora. He gazed with sheer joy in detail of every photo, sometimes turning back a page just to re-admire it some more. He let Charlie and Jason be, all while he was content with catching up on the knowhow of the world.

Charlie coughed a bit before asking politely through some discomfort, “Um, Mr. Cross?”

Jason held a finger up, silencing Charlie while he finishes his latest order. After a few large gulps does he finish, letting out a long and heavy sigh. A quietness comes after, with Jason staring off into space. Charlie almost gets a word in before Jason then speaks up.

“Fuckin’ genetics, I swear to God.” He softly complains. “I should be dead now, or at least hammered. Why am I always drawing the worst luck?”

“Yeah… was about to ask about that.” Charlie wonders aloud with a worried tone. “How are you still talking, or in fact… standing?”

“Call it a curse.” Coldly replies Jason. “Let’s just say my body ain’t built like most others if my height ain’t a strong hint by now. Don’t want to get into it though… way too personal.”

“And what I just learned WASN’T personal already?”

Jason groaned more, head brought down with a thumb squeezing at his temple. His injured hand was deep into a plate of ice, half already melted at this point - all while his free hand tends to the headache. His brain was ringing a bit, but it wasn’t the alcohol that was running deep in his body. Repressed memories kept clawing out, and trying to bury them further was hurting his head more than it was worth. With a strong flavorful exhale, he picks his head back up and looks at Charlie.

“Alright, what do you want to know?”

“Y-... You serious?” Charlie asks, a bit concerned for his own safety as he was for Jason’s.

“More than I’m not.” Jason states, with hints of a tired slurring in his speech. “I’m half thinking of running out of here, but considering how shit my luck has been I don’t want to run the risk of something worse happening out there. So… ask away. Might as well ride this newfound awfulness till it ends.”

“Ok, ok…” Charlie collects himself, doing a couple of deep breaths before taking a professional, presentable angle to speak with Jason. “You are Jason Cross. Brother to Frederick Cross. Member of the Crimson Crosses, one of the most famous militia groups on the Black Road, here on on Aurora. Aaaaaand you’ve druken enough ale in one sitting to knock out a man.”

“Yup, unfortunately yes, absolutely no, and not even close.” Answers Jason with a tired look. “Fred and I haven’t been brothers for about… 5 years now. Not a word said to each other since, that I’m certain of. I’ve also not been a member of that damn group for the same amount of time - all entirely my choice. As for the drinking, I’m not close… not a little. I think I can handle some more.”

“But why?” Charlie asked, genuinely concerned - the wideness of his eyes like a boy hearing that his childhood hero was fake all along. “You two were fantastic. I’ve gotten so many stories collected about you guys. All the adventures you’ve taken, and the good you’ve done.”

He quickly snatches his collection book from Frankie, turning a large chunk of pages to a chapter highlighting the many achievements of the Crimson Crosses. There were stylized posters and photographs, all of them singing praise upon the Crosses and their exploits. Charlie began listing them off, all with a sense of innocent pride in his voice. “Here - this one’s about you guys facing off against a crook known as the Silver Stallion. And look here! ‘The Cross Brothers, and the Attack of the Screaming Mimmies!’, a widely-seen classic. Then there’s this one where you fended off a swarm of Kodvacs from ravaging some farms. You guys were heroes!”

Jason takes a glance at the photos, the memories coming back again. With it comes that tremble behind his eyes, a sharp pinch he tries to ignore before stating coldly, “Yeah, but that was long, long ago. Told you: Fred and I ain’t brothers no more. Those adventures don’t mean anything, not when things are so fucked right now. The Crimson Crosses weren’t meant to last with how they operated.”

“Why’s that?”

With a harsh cough, Jason continues. “All Frederick was concerned about was tradition, that’s it. He wanted to keep everything like it was in the old west days. How we lives; how we operated; how we even talked - if, again, you hadn’t noticed. Meanwhile, I wanted to have us improve and modernize; he thought I was ‘ruining things’, and said I had no respect. Eventually I said ‘fuck it’ and left. Left him and that group to rot.”

“That’s it?” Charlie asked softly, yet still curious. “Couldn’t talk it out?”

“Nope, and I don’t care anymore to ever return to it. I got my own thing, and he’s got his. Out here I’ve been handling myself fine these past years. Sure, there've been some… rough parts.” Jason pauses, out of the alcohol in his system or his own emotions is unclear. “Still, I can survive. Can’t say the same thing about the Crimson Crosses, but that don’t matter.”

“That’s unfortunate to hear…” Charlie said softly, looking rather devastated. Jason noticed, but he didn’t much care for it. Suddenly then, Charlie thought of something and proceeded to ask, “Well, it wouldn’t be so bad to talk to him again, right? Maybe catch up on some things? Make amends?”

“Oh to hell with that noise!” Jason shoots back. “I got better things to do.”

Frankie slides the book back to his reach, getting back into his reading as he chimes in with, “Yeah, Jason’s his own man now. Riding around, bounty hunting for the government. Last I heard he got a lead on some guy for a high price - Sid was it?” He shoots a toothy smile at Jason, exclaiming, “Ain’t that right, Jason?”

His smile suddenly weakens once he’s face to face with the sheer, utter misery emanating from Jason’s sour expression. Frankie moves away, chuckling nervously, “I uh… take it that the job didn’t go so nicely?”

Then, a THUD!

Jason’s head slumps onto the table - his face directed down, all the while he admits to his company, “Nothing’s been going nicely. Killed the bastard, but didn’t mean - then I just embarrass myself and get my fingers fucked over when I turn in the bounty. I didn’t even get a single cred for all that trouble. Seems like my luck has just about run out. Everywhere I turn to, everywhere I go… something goes wrong. Sometimes it feels like the universe is just making me out to be a joke. Sometimes… I just wish I weren’t me.”

“Now, come on Jason.” Frankie softly replies, lending a comforting hand upon Jason’s shoulder. “You ain’t unlucky. It's just some bad circumstances. You’ll pull through in no time, I’m sure of it.”

Jason tries to feel a little better, though by now it was a feat that felt harder to get over than any mountain along this cursed world. The reassurance does not last though, as a couple new guests come in through the back of the bar to join in for the night.

The two men were broad in shape, and both quite physically intimidating. One man was quite fat, with a big bushy, coal-black beard alongside a long length of hair from his pinkish head, and a slew of tattooed flames along his muscular arms. The other was far more fit and tall in appearance - white skinned and clean shaven, with dark blonde hair shortened to a buzz cut. His lower jaw jutted outward, often times showing a small row of yellowed teeth. Despite their differences, they dressed very similarly: black leather jackets; dark-red colored shirts with white horizontal stripes; brown, dirtied pants that tucked into their black boots. Each man had a knife prominently sheathed at their belts on one side, but the fatter one has a sawed-off shotgun in his hand.

Jason’s company immediately took notice of them, with Charlie quickly collecting his book back into the backpack while Frankie remains mostly still in his seat. Meanwhile, Jason was too mentally exhausted to even see them; he kept one hand one the ice and the other on the table, all the while groaning every now and then.

The Bartender also saw them - doing a table-take before moving himself away. As the two men slowly made their way to the trio, he observed carefully from where he stood.

Once the two men reached the others, the fit one of the pair looked over them with a brutish scowl - all the while his fatter friend circled over in a slow pace so as to flank the group. Frankie, nervous though smiling, tries being civil, “Hey there uh… friends. You needin’ something?”

Charlie wrapped his arms tight around his back, sticking extremely close to Frankie. The fit-bodied brute unclenches his jaw, cracking it as he adjusts it before speaking in a thick drawl, “Name’s Jessup, ‘friend’... and he’s Burk” He adds, nodding to his partner. “We here juss’ to be lookin’. No issue in’at, yeah? Juss’ a couple guys coming in for a drink is all.”

He leans close from where he stands, while his hands are kept to his side - very close to to his knife where it’s plainly seen. His mouth hangs crooked at times,with lips dipping down obnoxiously. Jessup continues, “Have been runnin’ down the road and back all nigh’ long. Going down the ways and makin’ our mark cross the dunes. We juss’ abou’ looking fer’ someone who’s causing us some problems up on ‘dere road. Wen’ in and murdered a friend of ours… and ‘den carried him off.”

A nervous chuckle escapes from Frankie’s lips, which he fails to contain as the goon Burk completes his slow round. The man gets closer to Jason, examining as best he could. Meanwhile Frankie insists, “Hadn’t seen anyone like that, sir. How do you even know your friend was killed anyhow? Maybe he ran off somewhere?”

Jessup doesn’t flinch or change his expression, instead adding, “Oh, we know he killed him. Supposed to come meet us back, and gave us some warning ‘case any problem were to come his way. ‘Course he never came back, so we checked on a bar he said he were goin’ for. ‘Course we found his body by ‘dere road - put away by his killer. Followed on over ‘tword’s dat bars he mentioned, and then soon enuff one of ‘dem squealed about who done it.”

He slowly rises back, cracking his neck and jaw as he towers over everyone. The knife by his belt tapped by his muscular hands, tense and ready. “Roughed up the owner pretty good - probably hurt his friends just as fierce, I reckon. ‘Ventually he gave a name and some general idea on where he gone on and fled. About put us through a good couple’a hours, but we got the run on the man. Man were described as a blonde, big fella - red bandanna ‘round his head, and got a vest ‘longside some goggles. Name were…. Jason Cross. That soundin’ familiar?”

Charlie was fiercely shaking in his seat, while Frankie had lost all the color and optimism in his face. The corners of Jessup’s lips curled up a bit upon seeing their reactions before he slowly turns his gaze right towards Jason. He asks with a soft intimidation, “Him, eh? Am I gettin’ right?”

Before either could answer, Jessup starts moving over. Frankie attempts to stop him by getting in front, but is quickly stopped when Jessup snatches his arms and slams the man against the table. Pinned, Frankie struggles as Jessup steals the man’s sidearm, keeping it away while his friend Burk makes his move. The Bartender can’t do anything to help, as Jessup aims the stolen gun right at the owner.

“Don’t be gettin’ any bright ideas, fella.” Jessup growls through gritted teeth. “We only wantin’ one dead man today, so don’t push us to make room for four. Keep yo’self out of our business if you know what’s good for ya’.”

All the while Burk holds up his shotgun, tapping Jason on the shoulder with a free hand while the gun was aimed. Jason stirs, looking lazily at the two as his mind starts to catch up on things. When he finally puts two and two together, he winces and groans, letting out a slow, tired, “Oh, damn it. It’s me, right? Of-fucking-course it’s me… it always got to be me.”

“Get up!” Shouts Burk, striking the butt of his shotgun at Jason’s back. Jason barely reacts, not even out of pain. His head is giving him all sorts of ringings and fog. It’s like an ongoing fireworks event is bouncing around in his head, and it ain’t letting up anytime soon. There’s enough awareness to get him to hold his hands up slowly, though he still groans in doing so.

“I’m coming, I’m coming… just give me a second ok?” Jason slurs in his remark. “My head’s a bit fuzzy.” He lightly shakes his head, not so much to push the intruders into making the problem any worse than it should. Afterwards, he suggests, “Mind we take this outside? I’d rather not die in a bar, personally speaking. I think that’s not gonna do me any favors for me after I’m dead.”

“No chance there, friend.” Jessup chimes in. “Boss wantin’ you dead. Right here, so nobody be goin’ and messin’ with us again.”

“Yeah!” Adds Burk, “So pipe down! Else, we make this a slow one.”

Jason blinked, his expression a mix of confusion, intoxication, and grumpiness. Some of it brought by the situation, part of it by the music. Just as his whole world was turning upside down; just when it seemed he was about to be done in at the worst possible way - the universe throws another wrench at the burning tractor that was Jason’s life.

Blaring from the radio like an insane bastard was about the worst song that could play at that moment: “Paraylized” by the Legendary Stardust Cowboy. It screeched with a mix of unintelligible lyrics screamed aloud, alongside a set of banging drums and cymbals. All that noise turned the fireworks in Jason’s head into a lineup of air horns playing simultaneously. It woke Jason’s sense quick, but at the cost of knowing that this song would be what followed him into the afterlife. If disappointment could kill, it would’ve done him away three times by now.

He held a finger up as he stared back between the music-player and the two goons. Then he begged, meaning it when he says, “Listen… if I’m dying, can I make one last request?”

Jessup pursed his lips, sighing gravely, “Yeah?”

“Please.” Jason pleaded aggressively, “Can I please change the song? I’ll die, alright, but it shouldn’t be to this. It can’t be to this. Anything but that piece of crap.”

All of them glanced towards the music player, to which even Jessup and his partner looked troubled at. Eye-twitching, it almost seemed heartless to make THAT the last thing for someone to hear before they die. After a moment he stepped aside, nodding to Burk to let Jason move ahead - though to keep his gun aimed still.

Slowly, on the death mark, Jason Cross makes his way to the player. He twitched and frowned at every incomprehensible shout from the singer, but prayed and gave thanks to the universe that - at the very least - he could change it before he died. For a moment he thought how easy it would be to run out through the hallway at this point, then out the back - but he knows that was his fear talking; were he to leave, it would only put his friends in danger in his stead. After a long, slow walk he made it to the music-player, studying it for a moment.

It was a neat little invention, inspired by the more modern techs made in the 21st century of the Old Earth. The player was a small rectangular box with a screen monitor that, when touched, would respond to the users action. It had a series of wires going into the walls, likely into the several speakers hidden throughout the saloon. The box was a brown color, to better match the area, but also dusted with age. The screen lit up past the dust, a sign that few ever come to change the music themselves. When Jason scrolled through the selection, he found it to be near infinite, thanks in part to the incredible storage this little box held. As he scrolled, he cycled through what music was available - as he couldn’t afford the time to be picky.

There were all sorts of songs, most of which had a country feel. There were variations of grunge, rock, and easy listening throughout the pre-selected library. Jason recognized some names: Eddie Arnold, the Larks, Dick Dale, along with some Van Morrison. He felt the clock ticking - he had to find something, anything.

If Jason Cross were to die today, he ought to die to something different.

He hovered his fingers to the monitor, closed his eyes, and picked a song at random.

Then, silence.

Nothing.

Soon, a screech - Jason’s ears perk and he cringes.

A guitar strums. The drums follow. There’s a beat that hits hard.

Jason’s eyes slowly open, and then his body eases. He turns away from the music player, and right there simply lets the music hit him. The lyrics come, sung by a dry voice that speaks of a rascal to be made dead. The song hits Jason in the way he needed, as if it woke him up - and pointed him on a path right back to those men.

For the first time in a long while, though he cannot say how, Jason felt good. A sensation crawls up his spine, and a light breathless chuckle erupts out softly.

The two men look confused, but Jessup is quick to shout in a pissed off tone, “Alright ‘den! Get on back ‘ere, Cross! It’s about time you died!”

Jason looks at them, and after a look around he slowly makes his way back. Being careful, he grabs something off the hallway wall and keeps it right close.

He moves further towards the two, stopping just right before them. Jason’s friends are unable to do much at this time, and the Bartender is just as stuck. His attention is immediately drawn to Jessup, whose lip twists into a grin - his bottom lip still sagging, enough to show his browned gums. Burk’s shotgun is aimed at the ready, and Jessup asks,

“Any final words?”

Jason doesn’t nod or shift for that moment, instead staring intensely right back at Jessup as he answers back, “Yeah…”

“...Draw.”

Quick as a flash! Jason flips his hands and produces a revolver, aimed right at Jessup’s throat. Both men were taken by surprise - the gun was too quick to register before it had already pinned close to his jugular. Jessup chokes a bit out of reflex, but he keeps his cool. He looks at Jason, right into his eyes - through the goggles he can see pure anger daggered right back with an odd greenish spark.

Rob is left surprised, holding the shotgun as he tries to get what had just happened. For a moment his eyes concentrate on the gun Jason’s holding.

“You be goin’ and making a big mistake.” Jessup scowls, spitting at his t’s and k’s.

Jason doesn’t give. He returns in kind, fierly. “I’ll be the fucking judge of that.”

Rob looks closer at the gun. He squints, and thinks aloud, “Is that a--”

SMASH! Shards of white porcelain and half-melted ice fall everywhere. Frankie is risen off his seat, holding a broken plate while all the other pieces are spread about or wedges into Burk’s head. The fat brute recoils in pain; the shotgun is lowered before it’s finally dropped.

Jason takes the opportunity, smacking the revolver upside the brutes head. Hard. Jessup falls to the side, also dropping the gun he’d stolen from Frankie before it slides far away.

Angry, Burk gets up and charges at Jason - he tackles him against the bar table and begins to lay down a series of heavy strikes against Jason’s face and body. Pinned down, Jason tries to fight back against the blows, by kicking against his fatter opponent. All the while the Bartender finally gets the chance to join in and tries to push Burk off Jason - as well, Frankie and Charlie try their best to smack at the man.

Not content with just punching, Burk ignored everything before pulling his knife from off his belt and goes for the stab.

The blade swings wildly, causing everybody around the two to step back to dodge. Burk’s hand raises high for the moment and he strikes down, landing a deep stab into the table - near Jason’s neck.

Jason keeps moving, but the man pulls and goes again for the kill - close enough to nick him on the cheek.

After a couple more swings, and a hefty shove to push everyone away, Burk slams the knife down. A hard scream is heard! Blood shoots up as the knife pierces Jason’s left shoulder!

It twists, and suddenly Jason’s adrenaline hikes up enough for him to launch the man away with a fierce kick - pushing him off and onto the floor.

Jason gets up, breathing harshly as his pained growls start to sound like a pained beast. He doesn’t have time to register the knife stuck on him, but instead his attention is immediately directed at the goon that put it there. Through the tinted goggles, all Jason could see was red.

Before Burk could even move an inch or utter a word, he’s quickly overcome by Jason - who starts to beat him with the gun he picked off the wall. Fierce blow after blow is unleashed upon the man, fueled by pure, unadulterated anger.

The others are frozen in terror. Jason goes mad with his beatings. With Burk on his ass and against the wall, there was nowhere to turn to to escape Jason’s pummeling. He’s beaten down by the gun; slammed in the face by Jason’s knee; his head kicked in by a downward stomp. In between the pain he could only catch a glimpse of how bull mad Jason was, and nothing more. Even when Jason loses his grip of the gun through the blood, he still keeps at it with his fist.

Blood splatters, against walls, tables, and chairs. The bar echoes with violent thuds and hectic breathing. Frankie, Charlie, and the Bartender watch Jason beat the man down - too shocked to get in the way. It’s hard, at this point, to even recognize the intruder’s face… or to know if he was even still alive at this point.

Meanwhile, as Jason keeps hitting, Jessup recovers and wakes from his blow. He spits some blood and a couple teeth onto the floor, before noticing the bloodied revolver that Jason struck him with - on the floor and within his reach. Struggling, he makes the grab and picks it up before aiming it right at Jason.

Jason finally notices, as does everyone else who all stare down at the grinning Jessup. Breathing hotly, and with his arms exhausted and blood-stained, Jason doesn’t do much, nor does he react strongly. All he does is look down at the injured brute aiming the gun.

Jessup lets out a pained laugh, with blood dripping off his lip. “All ya’ll are so dead. Every las’ fucking one of ya! Ain’t gonna be a soul alive once Boss Lars is done with you.”

He cackles and bleeds before pulling the trigger!

Nothing.

Not even a click.

His expression instantly sours into utter shock as he then turns the revolver - it is a replica. A fake.

Then he hears something getting picked off the floor. Looking up, he sees Jason holding Rob’s shotgun with one hand - aimed right at Jessup’s face.

Jason glares down at him, then, with barely restrained rage, states, 

“I’d like to see you try.”

Click.

BANG! Ca-click, BANG!

The bar is showered by a large mist of blood. From where Jessup’s head once was, there is now only a mess of gore splattered all over the floor. Two walls are covered in blood and brain matter, and much of the bar table is colored in similar red. Trickles of it hit everyone, but not as much as it hits Jason.

Frankie, after a long pause of shock, lays against the table as he pants and wipes the blood off his face. He tries to look for his gun, but mentally puts that off for later.

Charlie stares on like a deer in headlights. He stands completely straight, as he looks on. Frightened, shocked… amazed, though he doesn’t say.

The Bartender is the least emotional or reactionary of them all. He takes a deep breath before slowly making his way to the back closet at the end of the bar.

Then there was Jason, standing there. A shotgun in one hand, and a knife wedged deep into his shoulder. He stands tough, breathing heavily as he finally has time to register all the wounds inflicted upon his face and body. It hurts, and it’s going to hurt even more.

As if on auto-pilot, Jason starts walking out of the saloon’s front door and doesn’t say a word. His friends take notice and start moving after him.

Right outside, the people of Blondie gather around the bar. They’ve since been woken up from the commotion in the saloon, and everyone from the craftsman, the traders, the local priest, the carers and the watchmen come to see what had happened. Even the Mayor has come out, dressed in his nightly finest, as he stands front and center along his people - men and women, young and elderly alike.

They had just come once the gunfire caught their attention, and were debating amongst themselves on who would be first to enter before they see Jason exit out from the building. They stand, shocked in seeing the bloodied Jason Cross walk out from the saloon - sporting a shotgun in one hand, and a knife jutting out his shoulder. Then, coming right after him was Frankie and Charlie, who both start to stare with uncertainty in what to do now. Frankie’s first instinct is to calm everyone, but he isn’t able to get a word in… not before Jason.

Crazed thoughts run through Jason’s mind alongside a constant ringing - a ringing that felt like it never left him, and he can’t remember a time where it wasn’t following alongside him to begin with. The pain is too strong, it’s catching up to his brain now. The drinking has finally come to the station, and it’s not kind to let the pain have its way on his senses. There’s nothing but noise, and through it Jason can only think sparse thoughts.

‘Can’t say my name.’

‘All I get is trouble.’

‘All my name brings is trouble.’

‘Have to say something.’

‘Have to say something now.’

‘Sometimes… I just wish I weren’t me.’

Jason drops the shotgun, and with that he then holds both his arms up as best he could. Then, with a crooked grin, he announces aloud, “People of Blondie. My name… is Frederick Cross… and I just saved the day.”

The crowd murmurs, and some look outright shocked. Shocked… and excited. The Mayor looks outright pleased.

Jason grins some more and chuckles, all before proceeding to fall backwards onto the unforgiving ground.

The last thing he sees before blacking out are the crowd of people coming to his body. As well, the concerned looks on both Frankie and Charlie’s faces.

The people of Blondie never stopped talking that night: of the man who saved their town from a couple of gun-toting hooligans, and the very name he bore.

Frederick Cross.

[lastbluetardis]

Family of Six (6/14)

After James and Rose bring their newborn twins home, they work to find a balance between all four of their children, and each other. Ten x Rose AU, Soulmates AU.

This chapter: Teen, 6200 words

Ages of the Tyler-McCrimmons at the start of the chapter: James: 39, Rose: 33, Ainsley: 9, Sianin: (almost) 6, Twins: 3 weeks

If you like reading my stories, consider leaving me a tip? Or leave a reply on this post to tell me what you thought? And as always, reblogs are very much appreciated so more people can see this.

Next update: September 10th 

AO3 | TSP | FF | Perfectly Matched Series

Ch1 | Ch2 | Ch3 | Ch4 | Ch5 | Ch6 | Ch7 | Ch8 | Ch9 | Ch10 | Ch11 | Ch12 | Ch13 | Ch14

Later that night, after he had fallen into a fitful sleep, James stirred at a quiet voice calling his name and a small hand shaking his arm.

“Daddy?”

He grunted and opened his eyes, blinking against the darkness until Sianin’s face came into focus. His foggy brain immediately cleared. “Yes, darling?”

“Can I sleep with you and Mummy?” she whispered.

“The twins are in here,” he said.

“Oh.”

Her eyes glistened with tears and he cursed himself for his phrasing.

“I merely meant that you might hear them crying throughout the night. I know that sometimes bothers you. But you can still sleep here if you want. C’mere.” He patted the edge of the mattress. “Want to be sandwiched between me and Mummy?”

“Uh huh.” Sianin clambered onto the bed, then crawled over him until she was at the center of the mattress.

Her movements woke Rose, who turned towards them.

“Sianin?” she asked sleepily, squinting.

“Daddy said I could sleep in here.”

“‘Course you can. Is everything all right, sweetheart?”

James tucked the blankets under Sianin’s chin, then he slid his pillow closer to the middle of the bed for her. He brushed her silky hair away from her face, then continued to stroke it just because he could. After her disastrous bedtime a few hours earlier, he wasn’t going to question why his daughter wanted to be with him and Rose.

The room was silent for a few long seconds, and right when he was certain Sianin wasn’t going to answer her mother’s question, she asked, “Do you still love me like you used to?”

His hand froze mid-stroke. The question shattered his heart into a million pieces, the shrapnel shredding through his stomach and chest until his whole body ached with despair and devastation.

She can’t possible think… 

His head swam as he and Rose moved at the same time to pull their daughter into their arms, resulting in a tangle of limbs as they squished Sianin between them.

“Of course we still love you, darling,” he rasped, trying to resist the impulse to yank Sianin out of Rose’s arms so he could give her a proper hug. “We never stopped. Never.”

At the same time, Rose said, “We love you so, so much Sianin. So much.”

Sianin sniffled in the dark and turned into Rose’s chest, clinging to her mother. James tried not to be offended.

“Daddy and I love you so very incredibly much,” Rose murmured into Sianin’s hair. “I can’t begin to tell you how much we love you. The feeling is too great to be put into words. There is no five-year-old on the planet more loved than you are by us.”

“Why did you want new babies then?” she asked, her voice muffled by Rose’s chest. “Were Ainsley and me not good enough?”

“That’s not it at all, Sianin,” James said, wanting to pull her into his arms and squeeze her tightly. He thought that if he could only hold her close enough, she’d be able to feel the very beating of his heart and realize that it beat for her. “Just because Mummy and I had more babies doesn’t mean we were in any way dissatisfied with you or Ainsley. Far, far from it. We love you and Ainsley more than anything in the universe. Nobody could ever replace either of you in our lives.”

“But the babies…”

“They’re not a replacement. They’re an addition.”

Sianin continued sniffling into Rose’s shirt. James was helpless to do anything; Rose had folded Sianin so completely into herself that he couldn’t easily touch any part of his daughter. He settled for resting his hand on her arm and rubbing it with his thumb.

“I’m so sorry you thought you were being replaced,” he whispered. He wondered how long she’d thought that. Was it a more recent feeling? Since they’d brought the twins home? Or had it been ever since they’d announced Rose’s pregnancy? He prayed she hadn’t felt like this for the last seven months. “I’m so, so sorry.”

“I want things to be like they were before,” Sianin whimpered. James envied Rose and the way their daughter burrowed into her for comfort.

“I know,” Rose said, rocking her gently. “But we can’t go back to that. We need to try to move forward as best we can. It’s all right to be sad for what you lost; you knew one way of life and that’s gone now. And it’s absolutely okay to be sad about that.”

Sianin cried harder into Rose’s chest, and James wanted to snap to Rose that she wasn’t helping. But he stayed quiet; the last thing they needed was to start an argument in front of their distraught child. And maybe it was best if Sianin cried it out, long and hard, even if it killed him to watch.

When Sianin’s sobs dissipated, Rose said, “It’s okay to take as long as you need to be sad and to adjust to the new phase of our family. But try not to only see the negatives, yeah? That’s not a healthy way to look at the world. Hannah and Maddie are a permanent part of our family, and being upset or angry won’t change that.”

Sianin gulped down several lungfuls of air and sniffled thickly. “The babies aren’t what you said they’d be.”

James reached behind him for a handful of tissues, which he passed to Rose.

“How so?” Rose asked, wiping Sianin’s eyes and nose.

“Everyone said they’d be fun. That they’d be friends I could play with. But they’re not.”

“It will take a bit of time to play with them the way you want to,” Rose said.

“You should’ve said that.”

“You’re right. We’re sorry,” Rose said, kissing the top of Sianin’s head. “What should we have said instead? Hmm… that they’d come out looking like pink-faced dough blobs? And are about as squishy as a dough blob, too?”

Sianin giggled a bit. It was a thin, watery sound, but it was a giggle nonetheless.

“Or… they’d be loud little poo machines?” Rose mused.

Sianin giggled again. She was quiet for a moment, then she asked, “Does Ainsley still love me like before?”

“Of course she does,” Rose said.

“She spends lots of time with the babies now,” Sianin said sadly.

“I know. She likes helping with them and playing with them.”

“But they don’t play,” Sianin argued.

“They can be interacted with,” Rose said. “Now that Maddie is smiling, it’s more fun to be with her. Hannah will get there, too. Maybe you can join in with Ainsley when she plays with the twins?”

Sianin didn’t answer. Instead, she asked, “Can I stay in here all night?”

“For as long as you’d like,” Rose said, kissing her daughter’s forehead. She then caught James’s eye and murmured to Sianin, “Can you go give Daddy a good cuddle? I have to wee.”

Sianin rolled over and crashed into James’s chest. He didn’t know whether Rose actually needed the toilet or if she was just letting him have a turn at holding their daughter, but he appreciated it nevertheless. He had to stop himself from squeezing Sianin as hard as he wanted to, and instead clutched her to his chest and pivoted so he was on his back and her head was pillowed in the crook of his shoulder. She wrapped an arm around his middle and draped a leg over his thigh, hugging him tight.

“I love you,” he whispered into Sianin’s hair, kissing the top of her head. “I love you more than you’ll ever know, Sianin.”

“Love you, too,” she said, tangling her fists into his sleep shirt. “Will you tell me a story?”

“Absolutely,” he said. He bought himself a few seconds to think as he fussed with the sheets, tucking her in. When they were settled, he began to speak. “Once upon a time, there was a beautiful little princess named Shannon…”

“That’s almost like my name.”

“Shush, it’s Shannon, not Sianin.”

Sianin laughed and nestled further into his arms. He couldn’t resist kissing the top of her head again.

“Anyways, once upon a time, there was a beautiful little princess named Shannon who was beloved by her entire kingdom, but by none more than her parents. Princess Shannon loved doing everything by herself, because she was a big girl princess. And she loved helping to clean the castle—she helped the maids with the washing up, she helped the butler prepare meals, she helped the stable boys take care of the horses.”

“Sounds like a lot of work being a princess,” Sianin mumbled, burrowing her face into his chest.

“She enjoyed the chores.”

“No one enjoys chores, Daddy,” Sianin rebutted.

“Princess Shannon did,” James argued. “D’you want to hear the rest of the story or not?”

“I guess,” she said through a yawn.

“Princess Shannon was such a big helper around the castle, but her parents didn’t realize all she did because they were so used to the chores simply being done. Well, Princess Shannon felt very sad about this because her parents didn’t seem to recognize anything she did. So she decided she was never going to leave her room ever again.

“However, when she did that, the castle started falling apart. And not just ‘cos she wasn’t helping with the cleaning. But because the magic of the castle was…”

“The castle’s magic?”

“Yep. The magic of the castle was tied to the magic within Princess Shannon. And because Princess Shannon felt sad and lonely, the castle reflected that. It turned dark and rainy; all the trees lost their leaves as though it were wintertime instead of the height of summer. The windows weren’t sparkly anymore, and the golden halls and gem-encrusted thrones were dull, tarnished, and cracked.

“The king and queen thought a powerful curse had been set over the castle, and they were so worried about their Princess Shannon. When they got to Princess Shannon’s room, they saw that the door had turned to solid iron and nobody could get in.

“Princess Shannon didn’t even realize what was happening to the castle since she’d been in her room the whole time. Her magic and the castle’s magic managed to slow the passage of time. Time was moving slower inside her bedroom than it was in the rest of the castle. So while only a few hours passed for Princess Shannon, a few days had passed for her mummy and daddy.

“She couldn’t hear her mummy and daddy calling for her, nor could she hear any of the locksmiths’ attempts to break down the door. After a while, Princess Shannon decided she didn’t want to be alone in her room anymore. So she stood up, pushed open the door, and saw her mummy and her daddy in the corridor. They’d been beside themselves with worry and were so happy to see her and so relieved that she was safe. Queen Mummy plucked Princess Shannon up into her arms, then King Daddy plucked up his queen and his princess into his arms.”

“King Daddy must be very strong,” Sianin commented.

“The strongest,” James agreed. “The king and queen apologized to their princess, and promised never to take her for granted ever again. They joined the princess as she helped around the castle because they realized the castle looked its best when everyone helps out. And they liked spending all that extra time with their beautiful little princess, too.”

“What kind of magic powers did Princess Shannon have?” Sianin asked, her voice thick with impending sleep.

“That’ll be tomorrow’s bedtime story,” James replied, already apologizing to his future self. “Get some sleep now, darling.”

Sianin splayed out all of her limbs and somehow managed to take up nearly every inch of their king-sized bed.

Rose had returned from the loo a while ago but was sitting in the rocking chair in the corner, nursing the twins.

“A princess who enjoys doing chores, eh?” Rose teased when she was certain Sianin was asleep.

“Figured it was worth a try,” he said, sticking his tongue out at her. “Are you okay over there? Need a hand?”

“Nah, you’ve got your hands full. I thought I’d feed them before they woke up. Maybe we’ll get a few uninterrupted hours,” Rose answered. 

James hummed, then turned back to Sianin. She looked peaceful; all traces of her prior anguish were gone. He brushed his fingers through her hair as he watched her sleep. His heart ached with love for his child, and with sorrow that she’d doubted how loved she was.

“You okay?” Rose asked quietly.

“Not really,” he admitted.

“Me either,” she said.

She stood with the twins and put them in their bassinets before slipping into bed, carefully scooting Sianin to the middle of the mattress.

“She’ll be okay,” Rose said, but it sounded as though she were convincing herself rather than stating a fact.

“Yeah, she will be,” James said, kissing Sianin’s soft hair.

The night went as well as could be expected. The twins woke up every couple of hours, wanting to be changed or fed. Sianin woke to their crying each time, burying her face into James’s chest and whining that they were being loud.

“They’ll quiet down soon,” James soothed. “Close your eyes and sleep, darling.”

Since he was busy trying to get Sianin back to sleep, Rose was left to attend to the twins by herself. James felt guilty every time Rose slipped out of bed; he’d find some way to make it up to her.

Sianin’s mood returned to normal the next morning; she went about her day as though nothing in the world was wrong. It might have helped that it was her actual birthday, too. 

As per usual, the family went out for dinner at a restaurant of Sianin’s choosing. Of course she picked a fast-food chain, but she was ecstatic about it, and that was all James and Rose cared about.

The only sign she wasn’t quite okay was her new habit of sleeping with them. They would put her to sleep in her own bed, but inevitably, she would always venture into their room in the middle of the night. She also began struggling with wetting the bed—that was often the impetus for her wandering into their room.

Sianin was mortified and upset by her nighttime accidents, even though James and Rose assured her many times over that it was okay and they weren’t angry or upset with her. But they’d taken to putting a protective plastic covering on Sianin’s bed to help keep the mess from saturating into her mattress. Thankfully, she’d never wet their bed when she slept with them.

Because of their new bedmate, the amount of restful sleep James and Rose obtained decreased exponentially; not only because they would get up to take care of Sianin’s bedding, if needed, but also because they were hyper-aware of the small body beside them, and were concerned whether their child was comfortable. Not to mention Sianin tended to sleep at odd angles which pushed them to the far edges of the mattress. 

The additional loss of sleep was a sore hit when they were already losing sleep due to nighttime newborn care, but it never crossed their minds to refuse Sianin entry into bed with them.

“Do you think something’s really wrong?” James asked the weekend after Sianin’s birthday as he once more put Sianin’s soiled bedsheets into the washer.

“I don’t know,” Rose sighed. “I’ve been reading these parenting blogs and everyone says it’s normal for kids to regress a little bit after the birth of a new baby.”

“It breaks my heart.”

“Mine too. I don’t know if we can do anything though. If we kick her out of our room, we might make her worse.” Rose shook her head. “Maybe our girls’ day out will be good for her.”

“I’m sure it will. It’ll be good for you, if nothing else. You haven’t had much time to spend out with just Ainsley and Sianin.”

“Neither have you,” Rose countered. “You’ll have to schedule a daddy-daughter day with them soon.”

Rose and their eldest children had haircut appointments later in the morning, then manicures in the early afternoon.

That left James to spend a bit of quality time with the twins. He spent the morning tidying the house while the babies slept, and when they woke up, he got them fed and changed before bundling them up for their very first trip to the supermarket.

“Daddy is gonna show you two all the ins and outs of grocery shopping,” James said as he hefted the dual-baby carrier into a trolley. He fussed with it for a moment to make sure it was secure.

“The key is to have a list,” he continued, pulling a small piece of paper from his pocket and wiggling it in front of his sleeping babies’ faces. “Because if you don’t, you’ll end up buying things you don’t need and forgetting everything you do need. You also should never go when you’re hungry; you’ll buy out the entire store and your bank account will be quite sad. Vice versa, you shouldn’t go when you’ve just eaten a huge meal and are stuffed; you’ll not want to buy anything and you’ll have an empty fridge in two days’ time.”

James checked his list, then began heading through the aisles with a purpose.

“It’s also a good idea to get the not-cold foodstuffs first,” he explained, picking up a box of oatmeal and cereal. “You don’t want the ice cream to melt whilst you’re doing the rest of your shopping.”

He continued to talk mindlessly at his babies throughout the shopping trip. He was interrupted several times by other people cooing down at the twins. He was always glad to show off his beautiful children, but he didn’t want to prolong their trip and risk one of them waking up cranky.

He was finally getting to the cold section when Hannah woke up.

“Hello, my sweet girl,” he said down to her. She was blinking groggily up at him as though she had no idea where she was or who she was with. He recognized that look and began unfastening her restraints a second before her face crumpled and she let out a distressed wail. Maddie stayed blessedly asleep.

“You’re okay.” He brought the baby to his chest and brushed kisses to her scalp. “You’re okay, my Hannah-banana. Ooh, bananas. Gotta get some of those now that your mummy isn’t getting sick from the smell of them. We’re at the supermarket. It’s where we buy food, because the rest of the Earthly population doesn’t have Mummy’s breasts to feed them. Er. That came out weird. But you have no idea what I’m even saying, do you?”

Hannah continued crying into his chest. He unbuttoned the bottom of her onesie, but her nappy was still dry and a quick sniff test told him she hadn’t pooed. She shouldn’t be hungry, as he had fed her right before they left the house. But she was utterly inconsolable; her little face was red and actual tears were leaking down her cheeks. The sight of them twisted something deep in his heart.

“Oh, darling.” He rocked his torso in an attempt to soothe her. “It’s okay. It’s okay. We’re almost done here. I’ll bet you’re a tad overwhelmed, eh? You went to sleep safe and sound in Mummy’s arms, and now you’re in a whole new scary place. But Daddy’s right here. Daddy’s got you. We’re in the supermarket getting a bit of food for our Mother’s Day cookout tomorrow. Daddy’s got everything on his list except the eggs and the milk. Bear with Daddy for five more minutes and we’ll go home, my darling girl.”

James fumbled to keep his grip on his furious baby while he pushed the trolley towards the refrigerated section. He grabbed a jug of milk at random, pausing long enough to check that it hadn’t passed its expiration date. Then he went to the eggs, picking up the first carton his fingers touched without checking if any were cracked. At this point, a couple of cracked eggs would be worth getting out of the supermarket as quickly as possible.

He made his way to the self-checkout and blessedly found one that was open.

“Almost done,” he whispered, nuzzling his baby’s wispy hair. “Daddy is trying his very, very best. I know you’re not happy, Han. I know. It’s so hard being you, isn’t it? The world is so big and scary, and you’re stuck with your old dad instead of Mummy. We’ll get home soon, my love. Can’t you please calm down, eh? Please?”

His ears were beginning to hurt from having a screaming baby right next to them.

“She might be wet.”

James continued scanning his groceries until a hand touched his arm. He glanced over and saw an upper-middle-aged woman smiling sympathetically at him.

“I said, she might be wet,” the woman repeated, nodding to Hannah. “You should check her nappy. They need changing every few hours.”

James blinked.

“I know,” he said slowly, frowning at the woman. “I’ve already checked that, but thanks.”

James loaded his bagged items into his trolley, and the woman followed.

“You’re not holding her right,” the woman said. “You should try cradling her up against your chest with her legs and arms tucked up into her body. Babies that young usually like that position. Here, let me show you. I know it can be hard for some dads to get the hang of it. My husband was a bit useless, honestly.”

The woman laughed like there was some joke that James wasn’t privy to, then she extended her hands towards the baby.

“Excuse me, don’t touch my daughter,” James growled, pivoting so that his body was between this stranger and Hannah. His sharp movement made Hannah let out a shriek, and by now, he wanted to join her.

“I’m only trying to help,” the woman said, looking startled.

“I’m sure you meant well and all,” James snapped, “but she is my daughter. I can handle my own child, thanks very much. Just because your husband was bloody rubbish when it came to child care doesn’t mean all men are. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get her home.”

James turned his back to the wide-eyed woman and ignored her spluttered apologies and indignations. He paid for the groceries as quickly as he could, suddenly all too aware of the eyes on him. It seemed that everyone in the store was looking at him either with pity or annoyance.

“It’s not like I’m asking her to scream her little head off,” James grumbled under his breath, pushing the trolley out to his car. His hands shook as he settled Hannah and Maddie into their car seats. Maddie was now awake and looking as though she was contemplating crying as well. “Oh, please, Maddie, shush. You’re fine, darling. Your sister is having a bad day, but you’re okay. Right? Yes? My sweet, quiet girl?”

“It’s rubbish gettin’ stuck babysittin’ one, and ‘ere you’ve got two? Rotten luck, mate.”

James turned and saw a man helping a toddler out of a car.

“Good luck with ‘em,” the man said, giving him a salute.

“It’s not babysitting when they’re your own kids,” James hissed even though the man had walked away and couldn’t hear him. “Bloody fucking hell.” He cringed. “Oops, I’m sorry, girls. Daddy shouldn’t use that language. Though you’re only a month old and have no idea what I’m saying. But still. It’s bad practice. That man and the lady in the shop really got under my skin, you see. Daddy’s really frustrated right now.”

James sucked in a deep breath and held it for a minute, listening to his crying child and feeling as though he could start sobbing any minute now too. He shut the car door, muffling the sounds of Hannah’s distress as he loaded the groceries into the boot.

The drive home was torture. Both babies were wailing at the tops of their lungs, giving James a splitting headache.

“’Course you choose now to realize you can scream too,” James snapped bitterly to Maddie, glaring at her through the rear mirror. As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt terrible. He shouldn’t get angry with his children.

His cheeks flamed with shame, and he mumbled, “Sorry, Maddie. I’m sorry. That was wrong of me to say. I’m so sorry you’re in distress too.”

Nothing seemed to soothe his babies, no matter what he said or how gently he spoke. He made a great effort to keep his voice calm and low, yet still they wailed.

Eventually, about two minutes from home, Maddie quieted down again, but Hannah was still going strong. He kept her in her car seat as he ferried the groceries into the house. He unloaded all of the cold items into the fridge and freezer, but left the room-temperature things for later.

He then came out and fetched Maddie from her car seat. She gave him a bright smile as he unfastened all of her straps, and he couldn’t help but smile back, despite Hannah screaming in the next seat.

“I love you loads, Maddie,” he murmured to her as he took her into his arms.

He settled her into the cot in the living room, then went out for his other baby. He tried not to feel like a horrible father at the dread that unfurled through him at the idea of bringing Hannah into the quiet house.

“You can’t leave your baby in the car,” he muttered to himself. “You can’t leave your baby in the car. You can’t leave your baby in the car. You can’t leave your baby in the car…”

He continued the pep talk as he opened the car door and pulled Hannah out of her seat. He tried to support her head and neck even though all she evidently wanted to do was wriggle madly from side to side.

“Hannah, please,” he begged, his frustration nearly choking him. “Please, sweetheart, I don’t know what’s wrong. Daddy has no idea what you want. Are you hungry? You shouldn’t be, but let’s try some milk, eh?”

He hurriedly warmed up a bottle, then spent the next fifteen minutes coaxing Hannah into trying to nurse. She suckled on and off, but only got through a third of the bottle before refusing to take any more.

“What’s wrong, Han?” he whispered, walking all around the house with his wailing baby. “What’s the matter? You’re not hungry. Your nappy is clean. Are you ill? Are you not feeling well? Is maybe your little tummy hurting? ‘Cos I’ve got to admit, I’m at a loss. I don’t know what else to do for you, sweetheart. I’m trying so hard.”

James continued walking and talking, wishing that Rose was there with him and resenting that she wasn’t. As soon as he thought that, he was consumed with crippling guilt and remorse. Rose deserved to have a day out with their other two children, and Ainsley and Sianin deserved a day alone with their mum. There was no reason he shouldn’t be able to handle his own babies.

“I don’t know what to do,” he said again through the lump in his throat, making yet another circuit through the house.

It took nearly an hour before Hannah cried herself out. At that point, James himself was in the middle of a crying episode. He had set Hannah on a blanket he’d laid out on the living room floor as he succumbed to his anger and frustration. Unable to deal with his crying child for a moment longer, he shut himself into his and Rose’s bedroom—the door barely muffled Hannah’s shrieks—just as his own tears started. He collapsed onto his bed and smothered his cries and curses into his pillow as he pleaded with the universe for his baby to go to sleep.

He wasn’t sure how long it had been before he realized the house was silent. His ears rang in the silence, and he was so, so tempted to stay in his bedroom and fall asleep. But he dragged himself up and into the living room to make sure Hannah hadn’t somehow suffocated herself and that was the reason she was being quiet. But no, she was still alive and breathing, fast asleep with tears and snot streaked across her face. He didn’t dare wipe it away for fear that it would wake her again. Instead, he held his breath and draped a blanket over his child. She stayed asleep.

Maddie was contentedly sleeping in her own bassinet, looking positively angelic in comparison to the hell Hannah had put him through over the last hour and a half. 

James swiped at his own runny nose and swollen eyes as he collapsed in an exhausted heap on the couch, overstimulated and overwhelmed, with a pounding headache pulsing behind his eyes.

He must have fallen asleep, because the next he knew, the front door was being wrenched open and the pattering of tiny feet entered the house.

“Hi Daddy!”

Sianin and Ainsley made a beeline for him, and he shook off the vestiges of sleep to admire their new haircuts—they’d each gotten about an inch lopped off—and their perfectly painted nails.

“You are the most beautiful girls in the entire universe!” he proclaimed, giving them each a smacking kiss on the cheek. “You’re making me feel like an ugly old toad.”

“You’re the handsomest Daddy in the whole wide universe,” Sianin said with a definitive nod.

That declaration erased a fraction of his former bad mood. He leaned forward and scooped her into his arms, hugging her tight.

“Thanks, Sian,” he said, giving her another kiss before releasing her.

“Took a kip instead of putting away the groceries?”

James looked over at Rose. Her tone was teasing, but it sparked his irritation nevertheless.

“Got a bit worn out when Hannah went on a marathon cry,” he said thinly.

Rose’s brows furrowed.

“She didn’t like her first trip to the supermarket,” he said, rubbing his fingers into his tired eyes.

“Uh oh.”

“Yeah,” he said. “I’m a bit knackered.”

Rose stepped up behind him and rubbed her fingers through his hair. Goosebumps broke out across his scalp, making him moan and melt back against the couch.

“Can you do this for the next century?” he mumbled, letting his eyes slip shut.

“I’ll do this ‘til a child interrupts us,” Rose said instead.

“Good enough.” He hummed as she continued her massage. She knew the places to apply pressure, and he could have wept with the relief her fingers brought. Within ten minutes, she’d unknotted most of his tense muscles and had put a dent in his headache.

“I love you,” she whispered in his ear before she kissed his temple.

“Mmm.”

“Sorry Hannah was bad for you. How was Mads?”

“Perfect,” he replied. “Got a bit worked up on the car ride home, but soothed herself to sleep again. Hannah, on the other hand, decided to cry into my ear for at least an hour after we got home.”

Rose made a sound of sympathy as she began her massage anew.

“Did you have a nice day?” he asked.

“Yeah, I did. Though I feel a bit guilty about that now.”

He reached up and fumbled for her hand. He tilted his head back and forced open his eyes. “Don’t. I’m glad you had a good day.”

She pecked a quick kiss to his forehead.

“Are you hungry?” Rose asked.

“What time is it?” he asked.

“Just after four.”

He jolted upright. “Four?! Shit. The twins haven’t eaten since this morning. Shit!”

“I’ll get them,” she said, patting his shoulder. “Relax. It’s okay.”

“I’ve bloody starved them,” he grumbled.

“They would’ve let you know if you did that,” Rose said gently.

She pressed another kiss to his forehead, then came around to gather the twins.

“Get Maddie to latch first,” he said anxiously. “I gave Hannah a little bit from a bottle during her meltdown, but Mads hasn’t had anything all day.”

Rose nodded in acknowledgement and dutifully picked Maddie up out of her cot. She was awake and flashed a grin at her mother upon being picked up.

“Hello my sweetie,” Rose cooed. Maddie nuzzled into Rose’s chest, rooting for her mother’s breast. “I know you’re hungry. You were so good for Daddy today, weren’t you?”

James forced his aching limbs to move off the couch and gather up Hannah. She stayed dead asleep.

Rose sat on the sofa and got Maddie latched, then she accepted Hannah. It took a few tries before Hannah woke up enough to nurse lazily.

“God, that’s better,” Rose groaned. “My boobs were so full.”

James didn’t answer. He just sat down beside her and carefully draped his arm around Rose’s shoulders and rested his head against the top of hers.

“Your hair looks nice,” he commented when he smelled the salon shampoo.

“You didn’t notice a difference, did you?” she asked wryly.

“I did!” he protested. “It’s… shorter.”

“That’s usually the result of a hair cut. Otherwise it’s some sort of witchcraft.” She let him squirm for a second before saying, “I just got a trim. I’ve been thinking of letting it grow out a little? I dunno. Though I do need to get my roots touched up next time.”

James pulled back a fraction and saw that her roots were indeed beginning to darken.

“Why do you dye your hair?” he asked.

Rose shrugged. “Been doin’ it for so long I guess I see myself as a blonde, even if it does come out of a bottle. It’s not nearly as trashy as it was when I was a teen.”

“It wasn’t trashy,” he argued.

“I bought the cheapest bleaching product,” Rose said with a chuckle. “It’s okay. I know it was trashy.”

“I thought you were beautiful, no matter what,” he said, kissing her temple.

“You’re sweet.”

“S’why you married me.”

“Yep, that’s the only reason,” she said, rolling her eyes.

He snorted and tucked his cheek into her hair.

“Did you get your nails done?” he asked.

“Mhm.” She managed to rotate her hand from where it was propping Maddie. Her nails were a lovely shade of pastel green with little white flowers painted in the center.

“Very springy,” he said.

“‘Tis the season and all. I was gonna get our toes done, but I didn’t think the girls would sit well for that. Their feet are a bit too ticklish.”

“Good idea,” James said. He reached out and stroked his fingertips across the planes of Hannah’s face. She was half-asleep as she nursed from Rose’s breast; the constant start-stop rhythm of her feeding created quite a mess of milk around her chin and neck. “She looks like a precious little angel. You never would’ve thought she spent the afternoon deafening the entire country.”

“Sorry she was so bad for you.”

James shook off her apology. “It wouldn’t have been as bad had not this older woman made me feel like an incompetent father.”

Rose frowned. “What happened?”

“Just someone trying to help but not actually helping,” he sighed. “Hannah started her fit in the middle of the supermarket, so I tried to hold her to calm her down. Evidently I looked like I was struggling, ‘cos this lady approached me and tried giving me all this advice, including how I was holding her wrong.”

Rose gasped. “No she didn’t!”

“Indeed she did.”

“What a cun… What an arsehole!”

“I was already feeling a bit self-conscious, and that didn’t help,” James admitted. “I honestly had a bit of a cry earlier. I was overwhelmed.”

“Oh, James.” Rose leaned against him, pressing her cheek into his shoulder in a pseudo-hug. “Don’t mind anyone else. You are the best father a kid could ask for. You definitely do not hold our children wrong, and you are more than capable of handling yourself with our kids. I wouldn’t hesitate to leave you alone with all four of them.”

“Well, let’s not be hasty,” James said. 

“Of course, I wouldn’t want to leave you at the mercy of four kids,” Rose amended. “But you know what I mean.”

“I do. And thanks, love.”

“Anytime.”

James looked around the living room, finally aware of how quiet the house was. “We seem to be missing two kids.”

“I think they’re coloring in Ainsley’s room,” Rose said. “Making Mother’s Day cards. Only it’s a surprise, so we’ve got to pretend I don’t know anything.”

“Ahh, ‘course,” he said, nodding. “It’s not like it’s an annual holiday.”

“Nope. I’m in for the surprise of my life tomorrow,” she dead-panned.

James chuckled and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

If you’ve made it to the end, consider leaving a comment or reblogging? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

[themostcleverandwittyname]

There’s Power in Pain

CH1 CH2 CH3 CH4 CH5 CH6 CH7 CH8 CH9 CH10

CH11

Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

(LinkxOC)

Summary:

A farmer with a troubled past had found a fallen hero on a riverside and makes the decision to take him in. With Ganondorf gathering power by the minute, there is no time to delay in his defeat however there is a time and place for everything as well as a lesson to learn. Link will have to do the hardest thing he has ever done and that is wait until he is ready to defeat Ganondorf.

But will Link ever truly be ready to rely on help to do the impossible? To accept that even heroes need support even from the most unlikely of people?

Meanwhile, a group of thieves organize to steal the sacred sword of the Hero of Destiny for themselves.

Chapter 10: Beedle’s Bargain Bungalow

Chapter 10 on AO3

“This is Clock Town, as you can see, there is a big clock therefore, Clock Town.”

Annette said boredly, motioning to a giant tower in the center of the town square. He could hardly hear her from where she sat on her horse, the bustle and noise of the town was loud in the midday foot traffic. One thing that was discernible among the racket of raised voices and distant music was a loud, echoing tick from the tower. It was so loud that it could be heard outside of the Clock Town walls. The day was warm and very few clouds littered the sky, so it would be expected that many people would be out, but he never knew a town could be this busy. He had never seen this many people, even in Castle Town.

They made their way through the town square to a horse stable for travelers, the sea of townsfolk parting the way, sending glares their way for interrupting their strides. In no time, Annette had booked a spot for both Cordial and Epona, giving her stead a farewell petting. Link gave his horse another look to make sure she seemed okay in the stable before he followed Annette out into the busy streets. She was wearing orange baggy, Gerudo style pants, from what she had said upon leaving the house, and a black blouse tucked in.

“Keep close and watch yourself. There are thieves that lurk around everywhere here, waiting for someone to be careless. If you ever come here alone, dark alleys at night are not your friend. Just a word of advice.” she spoke to him, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him near to her in the crowd. He pressed his lips together, knowing that she meant well but she was vastly underestimating his ability to take care of himself. He felt bad for anyone who would attempt something in a dark alley that he was in. Still, the brunette held her parcel bag close to her side, and his arm with it. The concept of watching his pockets was new to him, as everywhere he traveled before was safe and most people had good will.

Through the crowd, they ventured to a nook of the square where several shops were nestled. Annette looked up at the signs, squinting to combat the sunlight that was flooding the square.

“Ah, yes. Next to the “rat’s” place. I wonder how much of a discount he’ll give.” she muttered more to herself than to him, her hand falling from his arm.

“Rat? What are you talking about?” He questioned, the area near the shops were less crowded so he didn’t have to shout over the converging voices. Annette looked up and smirked, lifting her hand to point at a general store on the corner.

“That’s Zania’s competition and she calls him a “rat” because his prices are lower than hers and she hates him. Beedle is actually a friendly guy, but Zania and I would engage in a fistfight if she knew I went into his store.” she said and mused for a moment, her fingers caressed her chin. Then with a spark of mischief, she looked up with a grin. “Wanna go check it out?” she offered, her eyebrows arched up. He nodded, intrigued by her rebellious action against her friend.

Even though it wasn’t much, it still felt like he was helping her break the rules and it was amusing. She beamed happily and grabbed his arm again, dragging him along to the storefront. Upon opening the door, the scent of incense and perfumes tickled his senses and he was almost overwhelmed by the clutter of so many things in the shop. Many tables were piled high with various items ranging from region to size. The windows of the shop allowed the screened sunlight to filter in and reveal every item. In the back of the shop were piled boxes and barrels of stock. The thing that interested him most was behind the counter, where an assortment of arrows and a shield lay.

Annette migrated to the tea set that sparkled in the sunlight and he took his opportunity to look over the arrows. Wrapped in ribbon were bundles of arrows, which he counted silently to see that each bundle was ten arrows. The man at the counter perked up as Link approached, his round eyes and large nose were defined and he was certain he would be able to pick him out of a crowd. His middle part and freckles couldn’t be missed either. Taking no pause, the man perked up and welcomed Link in a cheery voice.

“Hello, welcome to Beedle’s Bargain Bungalow, Let me know if you see anything that interests you! I see you’re a new face, so I’ll tell you that our new dynamite powder will knock your socks off!” the man explained excitedly, a giggle punctuated his sentence. Link was immediately drawn in, if dynamite powder functioned like a bomb as he got from the name itself.

“Dynamite powder? How does it work?” Link asked, his eager voice got the better of him and he heard Annette sigh from behind him. Ignoring her minute input, he turned his focus towards the shop keeper for an explanation.

“You can use it one of two ways. You can spread it on the ground in a trail and light one end with a match and watch it burn all the way to the end or you can pour a pile of the powder and light it on fire and kaBOOM, a big explosion! Please know the Beedle’s Bargain Bungalow is in no way responsible for the injury or damage caused by this product and we hold no liability for any consequences Fifteen rupees a sack!” in Beedle’s explanation, Link was already concocting ways to use the powder with his other weapons. A fire tornado when and if he got the gale boomerang back would be all he could ask for.

Link nodded, acknowledging Beedle’s spill, but taking a step back. He didn't have any rupees so there was no reason in getting too eager yet.

Instead, he resorted to giving a thankful wave and joining Annette where she was gathered around an assortment of instruments and such including cases, straps, and polishing supplies. She was looking over at a bow for a violin, it’s mahogany polish gleamed in the low light of the shop. She gave a satisfied hum and placed it down, moving to the next one. He too looked at the assortment of items and a collection of wind instruments laid in their respective sections. There was one odd-looking instrument littered with holes, the label above it read ocarina and he was curious.

Picking it up, he turned it over in his hand and looked it over, yet something close by caught his eye much more than the ocarina. A pan flute laid and it was the only one among the other instruments, the wood pipes curved and were held together with several strands of colored twine, the dark brown, orange, and blue reminded him of Ordon. Annette looked over at him as he picked it up, her hazel eyes recording his actions. After a fleeting moment, she turned her attention back down. With that, he lifted the flute to his lips, without thinking much about the sound it would make, and blew into the flute. The tone sounded out and broke the silence, drawing the attention of the shopkeeper.  

“That one is rare! It’s only fifty rupees here, but any other place would charge much more.” Beedle informed, before going back to organizing some items behind the counter. His eyes didn’t leave it as he sat it down and looked up to find the brunette biting the inside of her cheek, her eyes darted from him to the flute. Giving him a knowing look, she turned and made her way to the counter, whispering something in a hushed tone. He didn’t hear what she had said, but as he joined her at the counter, the conversation progressed.

“Well, Miss Annette, if you would let me sell your jams here, it would just make me so happy.” he said, a fond giggle escaping him as he leaned forward on the counter, chin propped on his palm.

“Thats… I’m sorry, I’ll be disowned if I do that, you know. I already have a place that I’m selling my jams and that place is quite jealous.” she explained, and Link knew she was talking about Zania. Beedle laughed in spite of himself.

“That’s a shame. I know that I would give you a higher percentage of the profits, but you can’t betray your friend. Unless you just don’t tell her?” he said, his cheery tone clashed with his persuasive words. Annette gave him a challenging grin, her nose crinkled a bit.

“Yeah? That would be an ace plan if Zania was deaf. Besides, Zania does a lot more for me than just a little more profit. But nice try.” she said, her voice dripped with a tinge of bitterness, yet could have come across as being teasing. Link had heard the difference and knew it at this point.

“Oh well, that’s a shame then. I would have loved to sell your jams so much, but all I can do is try.” he said, straightening himself up.

“Hmm” Annette began, her voice hinting at some overblown idea that she perhaps had been planning the whole time. With a knowing grin, she leaned forward as if to tell a secret and Link too leaned in, wondering what she was up to.

“You could still sell them. I have honey strawberry jams today, which as you know are a specialty and are rare. But I don’t want a percentage.” she goaded, her eyebrow arching. Beedle’s eyes widened in excitement, but his glee soon faded when he realized there was a catch. He folded his arms defensively.

“If not a percentage, then how much are you asking for them?” he inquired and straightened up, giving a wide smile.

“For five of my super rare, specialty jams? I think that perhaps fifty rupees and three bundles of arrows will suffice. I’ll pay for the dynamite powder because I’m nice like that. What do you say?” She said coyly, her deal laid on the table. Beedle gasped and leaned forward, his arms falling from his chest.

“For five jars? That’s….” he thought about it for a moment and sighed aloud, “You drive a hard bargain but those jams will bring several people straight to my counter.” He huffed and his smile returned. “That's a deal!”

“I knew you’d think so! Great, so…” she motioned and he took the hint and gathered the arrows, dynamite powder, and rupees together for her in a bag. She pulled fifteen rupees out for the powder and graciously took the bag of supplies triumphantly. Like promised, she pulled the five jars from her parcel bag and set them atop the counter. Beedle all but drooled as he pulled them back on the counter towards him.

“Thanks for the deal, Miss Annette. This is greatly appreciated.” Beedle said, beaming and chuckling to himself.”

Annette responded with a dismissing wave and swung the bag out towards Link, her mischievous smirk further proved her manipulation tactic was planned and not at all spontaneous. He looked at her, amazed that she was able to pull that off, he himself had tried to make a deal before with other merchants, only for them to laugh him off and for him to pay full price in the end. For someone who could be so rude with her words, she was clever.

“Here you go! Don’t think that I don’t pay attention, but be warned, if you catch my house on fire with that powder, I’ll strike a bargain for your tombstone.” she jested, glowing with satisfaction. He took a breath and took the sack, peering in at the arrows and promising dynamite powder, his excitement rising.

As they approached the door, Annette covered her face and giggled into her hands, pulling the door open. She looked up at him and he knew she had done something she shouldn’t have.

“Zania is going to skin me, Link.” she said, her laughter cutting through the background noise outside of the store. He gave her a look, wondering if it was just because she dealt with Beedle or if there was another reason.

“Why? Because you made him a deal? Surely she won’t-” she cut him off with a laugh filled response.

“Those were the only five honey jams and she is gonna convulse when she knows that Beedle has them.” She had to take a breath and wipe her eyes as she calmed. He wasn’t sure why, but he too found himself laughing, more from being nervous and out of the feeling that he had helped Annette with mischief, even though in general it wouldn’t be so bad. But then again, the few times he had met Zania he was convinced that she was one to blow things out of proportion.

With no more than a few sparse giggles, Annette put them back on course taking to the street to the tailor shop just next to Beedle’s Bargain Bungalow.

Annette took the discount at the tailor’s shop for his tunic to be patched up. He really appreciated it but he noticed the entire time Annette got things settled at the tailor’s her smile faded more and more. She excused herself and told him to wait there, which he did and enjoyed looking around the tailor’s shop at all of the clothing that hung on racks and were displayed on mannequins. He wondered what had her running out of the shop.

When she returned, she had two bags. Her explanation covered one bag, but not the other one.

“I felt bad so I went out to get Zania’s favorite spice to make the soup she likes. It's a Hylian spin on a Gerudo dish and it’s incomplete without this so I’ll make it for her when she gets back from her trip.” her response explained why she had seemed down after leaving Beedle’s shop. Tucking the bags into her parcel bag, he was still left to wonder what was in the second bag and why she insisted that he stay alone at the tailor.

In no time, however, it was forgotten when they left and made their way along the street to another area of the town, a bustling marketplace full of fresh fruit, a deli, and other commodities sold under small booths spread out in the square. Annette gestured in a certain direction and they walked up to a booth that sold bread and other baked goods.

“What I wouldn’t give for some garlic bread, Link. See anything you like?” she asked, rummaging through a basket for what he was led to believe was garlic bread. He looked around and a certain type of bread caught his eye. He read the label and discovered that it was a cinnamon swirl with chocolate chip bread. Annette looked over, garlic bread in hand as if she were holding up a prime catch from a fishing trip. Spotting the cinnamon bread, she nodded more to herself than him.

“I should have known. You like sweets, right?” she said, more of a statement than a question. He looked down and gave a nod, feeling kinda embarrassed. “Cool, I can give you a nice dessert recipe but um… you might wanna get a friend to make it for you.” she said, teasing at that morning's mishap with the biscuits. Just then, two women came walking by, speaking to each other rather loudly and normally Link would just chalk it up to chatter, but what they said was particularly interesting.

“I just can’t believe he’s selling that for that price. Who even knows what it is?”

“Yeah, it’s doesn’t look useful at all. He claims you can wear it on your arm like a gauntlet, but it’s so ugly who would?”

“Especially with those pointy spikes on the end. He’s lost it for sure.”

Link considered for a moment what they were saying and he immediately thought of his lost clawshot. Could it be? If so, as Annette said, he was very lucky to just stumble across it. Annette stared at him, not realizing that he was looking past her shoulder at the passing women. Without explanation, he moved past her and towards the women.

“Excuse me, uh, can you tell me where you saw the thing you’re talking about? The gauntlet thing?” he spurted out and the women turned towards him, both giving him disgusted and offended looks for eavesdropping and interrupting them.

“You mean the ugly gauntlet thing?” The first one corrected and her friend turned and giggled to her. “Sorry, why do you want to know? You couldn’t afford it anyway.  No one can at those prices.” before he could explain himself, Annette was already at his side, garlic bread forgotten.

“Just answer the question. It’s not up to you whether or not he can afford it.” Annette spoke up, her tone harsh and commanding. Not the way he would have handled it for sure, but he wanted to see where it went.

“Oh yeah, I know about you. I doubt even the cheapest things would keep your hands off, from the rumors I hear.” the second woman said, her aloof expression made Annette take a deep breath. Link looked between the stranger and the brunette but could get no further explanation. No matter, Annette rolled her eyes and went on.

“Look, I just want to know where it is. It won’t inconvenience you to tell us.” she said, faking friendliness. Link noticed that Annette was clenching her teeth under her smile. But not for long as the first girl huffed and rolled her eyes, her defenses dropped.

“Fine, okay. It’s at Marty’s.” she answered, her voice sulky for having to tell. Obviously, it was not the high point of the town as Annette groaned and the other women nodded. With a quick thanks, Annette ignored the women and they went on their way.

“So Marty might have something of yours? That’s not good.” Annette asked and Link nodded, but was certain he could get it back. Besides, he was willing to do anything and it wouldn’t be the first time he jumped through hoops to get something for someone or do something hard for something that he needed.

Annette led him out of the area and to a store on the border of the square. Link kept his eyes sharp, looking around for any indication of something he was without. From the description, he was certain it was his clawshot.

They approached the store and with hesitation Annette pushed the wooden doors open, a long row of counter space showed various odd items lining down towards the counter in the back. Most things looked like inventions that didn’t quite work and were falling apart and others were broken and modified weapons. Screws, pins, sword hilts, bowstring, and other miscellaneous parts filled metal barrels and dared to overflow. The walls were littered with shelves of jars that held fluids that contain things that Link couldn’t place. On the opposing wall, monster heads were mounted among other beasts. One, in particular, were wolves, their faces twisted into snarls. Link felt his stomach turn at the sight.  The place looked like it was filled with junk, but had something to offer for someone looking for a spare piece of something.

In the back there was a workbench and a smith with various tools laid in a messy array on the solid, stone ground. Hunched over something with a magnifying glass, a stout, balding man observed something alarming familiar. Link made his way past the brunette and to the man, who barely noticed their arrival, busy humming to himself. Scooting behind the front table, Link leaned forward to see that the man was in fact examining his clawshots, both of them. He was even luckier!

The man, without looking up, spoke up to Link directly.

“You know this device, don’t you? Had you lost it?” he asked, and Link was taken aback. Before he could answer, the man continued. “They say that devices like this are very old and I can tell that it is not from this time. It has been lost and locked away and only someone who was very determined could have found something like this.” He said and took to his feet slowly, turning towards the blonde slowly.

Link sized him up and he was a man short in stature but he looked like he worked a hard job, his large arms littered with burns. Must be a smithing side consequence. The man had a draping beard that began just under his chin, yet the top of his head was shiny as ever. His eyes gleamed.

“But, only someone stupid could have lost this, so it’s mine now and I’ll only accept 5000 rupees for it.” he said definitively, placing his hands on his sides. Link let that sit for a moment and cursed in his mind, hating how unfair that was. There was always something that could be done in exchange, always an angle. If Annette could do it, he could too.

“What if-”

“You are the one they speak of, aren’t you? The one that slain that evil king in Hyrule field? If you are, then I have a proposition for you instead of a price.” the man interrupted, his face twisted into a hopeful grin. Link gave a glance to Annette, who motioned for him to come over to her. He gave another look at the man and joined her as she led him out of earshot of the man, who looked on from his spot. She pulled him down to her and whispered in his ear.

“This guy is a nutcase and he’s been reading too many old fairy tales about the past. He’s delusional. You don’t have to indulge him if you don’t want to. I might know another way to get it back, but you won’t like it at all.” She began, her words brushing against his ear.

“Why wouldn’t I like it?” he asked in a low voice, but he knew it was probably something that he himself would never do. She closed her eyes for a moment before explaining.

“You wouldn’t like it because I know someone who might be able to get it for you, but it will be illegal. I don’t want to, but if you really need this, I can ask.” she said, her words coming out slow. He was silent and made a quick decision.

“Let me figure out what he’s asking for and then I’ll decide. Thanks for warning me.” he stated, and she exhaled and looked away, muttering a response that sounded like it was nothing . He looked back to Marty, who was waiting patiently for their private conversation to come to a close. With a moment to gather himself, Link formed his question.

“What are you proposing?” he asked, and the man perked up with excitement. He rushed over to the clawshot and scooped it up. He offered it to Link, much to his confusion. He thought the man had a condition?

“Please, show me how to use this! Then I’ll let you know my proposition.” He blurted and Link took the clawshot, it’s weight did nothing good for his left arm, so he switched it to his right. He held it out and in a silent demonstration slipped it on his arm, all the way to his elbow.

“There’s a switch in the inside, right where your fingers should reach. Pull it down and the claw will be shot towards where you aim it. It is spring loaded, so it will immediately retract.” Link explained as best he could, the man watching in awe. He aimed it across the room, towards the front door, hoping the distance would aid him when he pulled the lever. Annette too looked on with curiosity, any cynicism absent from her face.

His fingers curled around the level and he pulled it, the claw launching out from its base, the sound of rattling chains filled the silence. His hope had failed him and from across the long room, the claw still reached the wooden door, it’s sharp metal prongs crunched into its surface with a crack. Before he realized his error in judgment, he was launched across the room, his heels trying to make traction on the ground to regain some control. In any other circumstances, this would be just what he wanted but he knew what would happen if he wasn’t using his clawshot to get to some high place. Just as he anticipated, he slammed into the wooden door and fell over, the clawshot still lodged in the wood.

Groaning, he sat up, recovering from his hit, which luckily had no real consequence on his broken arm. Looking up, he saw that the man had not moved from his spot and Annette stared at him with shock, her mouth hung open. With a tug, he dislodged the claw from the door, with it breaking off a hunk of wood.

Annette, once able to shake her shock away, rushed over to him, falling to her knees where he had sat up.

“Oh my goddess, are you hurt? That looked like it hurt.” her face paled, if possible, and she reached out to tug the clawshot from his arm, setting it aside. Without asking, she pulled his right arm towards her and looked at his hand and arm in a quick one over.

“That was…” she cracked up, her worry vanishing with her nervous laughter, “...the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen.” her words marred by her snort, she fell back off her knees and onto her butt. He tried to shake away his frustration, but it flared. Pushing himself up, he felt his face grow hot with embarrassment and he scooped the clawshot into his grip. Annette’s laughter faded, and she looked up at him.

“Oh, are you mad? I didn’t mean to upset you but that was a spectacle. Just look at the door.” she said, her humor still laced in her voice. He looked at the door and immediately felt guilty. Taking the clawshot up towards the front, he heard the woman shuffle to her feet.

The man looked at him, his eyes wide as Link came back to the counter. Link shyly handed him back the clawshot, closing his eyes ready to have the man yell at him about the door. The next thing that came from the man was certainly loud, but not scolding.

“That was the best thing I’ve seen in months! How did you learn to use these! I wonder if I could make a replica for myself!?” he yelled in excitement. Link’s eyes cracked open and he felt his guilt wane.

“I’m sorry about the door…” he began and the man interjected.

“Don’t be! I have a cool story to go along with it! Besides, I would have never figured out how these things work without you showing me.” his mood had shifted and Link thought back to what the brunette had said about the man reading fairy tales.

“So, the proposition? I need those back as soon as I can get them.” Link said, hoping his impatient feeling didn't show in his tone. The man looked back at the other clawshot and sighed, realizing he would have to part with them if Link succeeded in whatever weird thing he was going to ask of him. The blonde waited and the man finally spoke after some thinking.

“My daughter made me a hat and I put all of my fishing lures into it, one of which was rare. It blew away in the wind and landed on top of the clock tower.  I miss my hat so much and I want it back so when I found these, I thought I could use them to get my hat back, but my arms can’t fit inside because I’m too muscular. If you could take one of these and bring my hat back, I’ll give you back the other one.” He proposed, and it was a reasonable request. Link had been asked to do harder things.

Glancing back at Annette, who was returning to her place behind him, he gave her a nod and she returned it, their silent communication doing well enough. He had made up his mind.

“It’s a deal. I’ll get your hat back.”

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