chloesimaginationthings · 11 months ago
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The scene I fear most happening in the FNAF movies..
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dragon-creates · 7 months ago
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She Was Like A Sunflower
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1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12
Yeah, I just finished this so there may be some spelling mistakes. I just didn't want to delay the second chapter any further so I'll fix them when I wake up. Also, WHO PUT DOOMED YURI IN MY FUNNYBUNNY FIC?!?! Also, come support me and Pandora's new au on our shared tumblr called 'The Amazing Digital Redacted AU'. If you love indie horror like Bendy and the Ink machine, Poppy Playtime, FNAF then you'll love this AU. Here's the link Don't forget to check out twitter as well All that said, enjoy chapter 2! (and dont kill me pls)
2. Marjorie
What died didn't stay dead
You're alive, so alive
And if I didn't know better
I'd think you were singing to me now – Marjorie by Taylor Swift
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Cloudy skies, not a hint of light coming through. It was going to be that type of day today, and that type of mood by the way Winter observed Riley’s behaviour this morning. The redhead was at the table, drinking coffee and bouncing Percy on her knee. Winter could tell whenever a smile was pretend, and the way her wife smiled right now was no exception.
Could she blame her? Winter was a wreck when Jack went missing and knowing how close Penny and Riley were, it made sense for her wife to behave the way she did. But the thing is, Riley didn’t, or scream, or get angry. The passionate, loud, amazing women she married wasn’t the one holding their son at the table. There was only a shell. And after that visit she had with David, Riley’s shell had only gotten tougher.
If Riley said anything that related to Penny, it would be to trying to find her. She never spoke about how it made her feel, never saw a tear, or the grieved anger that one would expect. Riley was always so loving towards anything about her sister, it unnerved Winter seeing her wife like this.
“Look at him,” Riley cooed at the little baby on her lap. “We have the cutest kid in the world, look at him.”
Percy giggled as his mother held him up under the arms, thrashing his legs about as he peered at his mama over the kitchen island. “He is the cutest baby in the world,” Winter agreed. “Um, I know Captain Rae is okay with you working on this case. But are you sure-”
“We should get him a new mobile,” Riley cut her off, focusing her attention on Percy. “I think the other one isn’t working to well, he never pays attention to it.”
Winter pursed her lips, tapping her fingers on the kitchen counter. She wanted to at least say something about Penny before Riley had to leave to drop Percy off at Laura’s. “Listen, Riley,” she spoke, making her wife turn to her. “You have been nothing but patient when I found out Jack went missing, I know this type of this is so fucking far from easy. Whatever you’re feeling, I’ve felt it too. You…you know that right?”
“I know,” Riley smiled warmly. “You know, you can say if you’re missing Jack again. You don’t have to be light about it to make me feel better, okay Hun?”
“No, no, that’s not what I’m trying to say,” Winter pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’ve heard you in the night, waking up crying. I understand what you’re feeling, you can talk about Penny-”
“-Okay Percy,” Riley turned back to her son. “Are you ready to see Grandma?” She immediately stood up, holding him by her hip as she grabbed her own bag, Percy’s baby bag and car keys from the table.
It was as if a switch was flipped, a wall was put up and the shell was hardening. “Riley, wait!” Winter went round the kitchen island as she chased her wife to the door, “Riley.”
Riley froze as she opened the door, facing the outside, her face hidden. Winter heard her take a sharp intake of breath before facing her with the same faux smile that she had been wearing ever since she came back from David’s “Yeah?”
“I…It’s just,” Winter tried to find the words, to say something that didn’t involve her life leaving without at least finishing a conversation. But she knew that no matter how hard she tried, Riley would find an opening in order not to face it, and it would only make Winter’s efforts even harder. The dark-haired woman sighed, “I’ll see you at work later. I…love you.”
A glimpse of a real smile appeared on Riley’s face, “I love you too carrot cake.” The redhead pressed a kiss to her wife’s cheek, “I’ll see you soon.”
“Yeah,” Winter nodded solemnly, “See you soon.”
With that, Riley turned her focus back on Percy and shut the door behind her. Winter let her soldiers sag, a painful ache forming in her heart. She knew Riley was hurting, she saw it flicker in her eyes every time a dead end came up for Penny’s case, she heard it when Riley awoke crying from nightmares – yet Winter pretended she was asleep in order for Riley to not feel ashamed – and she felt every single anger and grief that she knew Riley was having because she had felt it when Jack went missing.
So why wouldn’t Riley talk to her?!
Winter took a deep breath, trying to cancel out the negative energy. Everyone copes differently with these types of things. Besides, she and Riley were as strong as cement, they could work through this despite how bleak everything seemed.
Riley would come to her eventually…maybe…hopefully.
So why did Winter feel so lonely?
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“Okay, let me understand this as best as I can,” Ragatha started. Pomni and Jax had set up some bean bags for everyone while they sat on the bed, just finishing up their rundown of everything that happened in the last day. “You two have your memories back?”
“Yup,” Jax nodded.
“And you two were engaged before you got sucked in here?” Zooble questioned.
“That would be correct,” Pomni agreed.
“And now you guys might know a way to escape this place?” Gangle asked.
“That is a plausibility,” Jax replied.
Ragatha pressed her hands together and held them near her face, taking a long, deep, exhausted breath, “This is a lot to take in.”
Pomni bit her lip nervously, “I know this is the last thing you were all expecting, but you’re all handling this well all things considered.”
“I’m just confused on how you managed to fall in love with Jax of all people,” Zooble muttered, glaring at the rabbit.
Jax rolled his eyes, “Thanks Zooble.”
Pomni frowned, taking his hand into hers and squeezing it tight, “Because he loved me despite everything, saw me at my worst yet stayed because he knew I could thrive into my best. And right now, he helped me find a possible way to get everyone out of here. Do I excuse what he’s done to all of you? No. And I’m still not happy with how he treated me and Ragatha on my first day. So don’t think I’m taking sides, I’m simply observing.”
Zooble sighed, almost feeling guilty…almost. But they trusted Pomni’s word, not Jax’s (they didn’t know if they ever would) but definitely Pomni’s. “Fine” she muttered.
Kinger looked more lost than he usually did. The usual quiet brainstorm he would have in the middle of the room increased like wildfire. “Memories…returning,” he mumbled. “This…I don’t…I haven’t seen anything like it.”
Jax turned to the chess piece. He didn’t like this reaction, not one bit. It brought up too many painful flashbacks of someone similar to Kinger going through the same thing a long time ago, “Kinger, buddy, stay with us.”
It was like going in one ear and out the either for the royal character, still shaking like a leaf, “How…what is…something is…a trip?”
Trip? Jax didn’t want to see how far this would go, how far Kinger would go unless he’d – no, he wasn’t going to finish that thought and he wouldn’t let this continue. “Kinger!” Jax clapped his hands, the sound ringing through the room and snapping the chess piece out of his mumblings.
Kinger blinked. Once, twice, “Oh Jax.” And once again, he was back to himself, “Apologies, I must have been lost in a dream. But it’s so nice to know you and Pomni were together, young love finds a way.”
Despite the chess piece giving them all a scare, that statement alone made the rabbit and jester blush. Would it be rude if he kicked everyone out and smother his fiancé with attention? Yes, yes it would. And while it was tempting, Jax couldn’t afford to indulge. Not when the giant elephant in the room was still being addressed.
“It is really sweet,” Gangle whispered. It sounded like a genuine compliment from the masked woman – and it was don’t get her wrong – but there was something else lacing her tone. Something else that suggested the bodied ribbons couldn’t be as happy as she wanted to be. But she didn’t say, it wasn’t her place. No one could even tell from that slight lilt in her voice that she felt this way.
But Zooble noticed.
“Okay, still a little confused but I think I’m getting there,” Ragatha finally spoke up again. “Listen, Pomni. You know I trust you whole heartedly, but we’ve been here for years and no one has seen an exit until now, are you sure that what you’ve seen is accurate?”
Pomni’s face fell. Despite the door in front of Ragatha, despite everything she told her, why did the ragdoll still doubt her? “But we told you. The exit door is right there,” Pomni pointed to the door on the wall, desperation filling her eyes. “I know it seems impossible but I really think we can get out of here!”
Ragatha gasped, covering her mouth with guilt at what she said, “Sorry, sorry Pomni I phrased that wrong. It’s just…we’ve all tried looking for a way out and it always backfired, even when we think we’ve gotten so close. I don’t want the same thing to happen to you.”
Pomni opened her mouth, about to speak when-
“Ragatha,” Jax spoke. Everyone’s eyes widened, he never said Ragatha’s actual name, and so seriously either. “We saw her mother. She saw us send out a message to her. She knows we’re alive.” He paused, watching the ragdoll process everything with shock written all over her face. “Someone knows we’re here now. I know you’re scared, but this is a real chance of finally leaving.”
Ragatha’s mouth opened and closed, cutting off words before they even arrived at her lips. She thought she knew everything about the circus, had accepted that no matter how much they tried they could never escape. It was a horrible thing to accept, but she had to if she wanted to stay sane and not end up like…she could still feel herself almost crumbling away when Kaufmo’s abstracted form attacked her. No, no! She can’t lose herself now. She should be grateful that Pomni and Jax managed to find a way to be free, so why did it feel so hard to grasp onto that hope? “Okay,” she sighed. “I trust you, Pomni. But what about Caine, do you think you’ll tell him-”
“NO!” Pomni cut her off, fear swimming in her red and blue eyes. Even everyone seemed shocked by her sudden volume. Jax held her close, hugging her trembling form as the jester took a few breaths to calm herself down. “No, I-I don’t think that’s a good idea. He already had a weird way of trying to make things ‘fun’ here, I don’t know how he’ll feel when we say we’ve found a legitimate exit. What if he tries to take that away?”
The rest of the group nodded slowly. Even before Pomni arrived, Caine had always shut down the possibility of an exit being possible. And every time it was shown to him, he would twist it and prove to them that it was just another part of the circus. It was like he feared an exit even existing.
“It’s just your imagination!” he always said, leaving them to doubt if what they saw was actually there. And if you lost yourself in those thoughts, then it was a one-way trip into the cellar. And nobody wanted that.
“Well in that case…” Ragatha trailed off, closing her eyes for a moment. When they opened, they were fierce and determined. “Keep doing what you’re doing. This actually seems like a true way to finally get out of here. But do not let Caine find out. Keep pretending that everything is the same, you two are just friends, you don’t remember your past and that there is no way an exit is even here.”
“Got it,” Pomni and Jax said in unison.
“Which means that you two should stop acting like a couple whenever you’re in public,” Ragatha stated.
“Oh we know,” Pomni smiled innocently.
“Yeah, it’s not as hard as it seems,” Jax replied cooly.
Ragatha raised a coy brow at the two of them, “Pomni, darling, you’re sitting on Jax’s lap.”
Oh, right, the two of them forgot about that. They were both quick to slip back in to how they used to be before the circus, which meant a lot of trusting physical contact that the two were proud to have developed over the years. But then again, Ragatha was right. Something like that would be extremely obvious to Caine that something was up.
Pomni slid of the rabbit’s lap, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly while Jax coughed nervously behind his fist. “Right, sorry,” Pomni laughed sheepishly, while Jax pouted at the lack of contact.
Ragatha pinched the bridge of her nose again, this is gonna be a disaster.
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Riley paced back and forth in her mother’s living room, her phone held to her ear as she chewed on her fingernail. “Oh god I fucked up, I really fucked up,” she mumbled as the dial buzzed in her ear.
“Riley, sweetie, it’s gonna be okay,” Amber put her hands on her daughter’s shoulders, ceasing her pacing. “If this Samual boy is as nice as you say he is I’m sure he’ll listen to you.”
“I was really awful the last time I saw him, Mom,” Riley winced as she remembered his cries, ignoring him as the elevator doors shut behind her. “And the worst part was, I genuinely believed he was telling the truth. You always told me to trust my gut and I did! With him! But then Jason Wood said stuff that sounded plausible, and I feel so fucking stupid because even my head was screaming at me not to believe him. I didn’t know whether to trust the facts because both of them were laid out to me and I-”
“Hey, hey,” Amber’s voice was soft yet firm.  “This isn’t like anything you’ve ever worked on before. We are dealing with something that we didn’t even know existed, and its personal since both Jack and Penny are involved in this. In a normal case, maybe someone like Jason is right about this. But this isn’t a normal case, and we have proof that this Jason guy isn’t to be trusted.”
Riley nodded, “I have to let him know how sorry I am. This kid, he’s been through so much, all I did was make his situation worse. If Jason really treated him like that them…oh god…oh god Mom we really need to help him!”
Amber nodded feverishly. When Riley told her what Samual went through, with his parents going missing and how Jason was like to him whenever they were brought up, all the mother saw was nothing but red. The only time Amber looked like she was ready to kill was with David after the car crash all those years ago, and again when he showed up at both of her daughters’ homes unannounced.
Riley was about to speak when-
“Hello?” Samual’s voice answered through the phone.
“Ah, Samual!” Riley gasped, keeping the phone tight to her ear. “Samual you were right about everything! We couldn’t trust Jason!”
“M-miss Riley?!” His tone was small and frightened, almost trading on eggshells at the sound of her. “What are you talking about?”
Riley only wanted that type of fear from the voices of those who wronged her, not from innocent kids trying to help. She wanted to slap herself in the face for making that mistake, “Samual, you know the emails you showed me? Of the mystery person? The same thing happened to my Mom, my sister, I think she’s trying to get into contact with us.”
There was a small pause on the other line, before the boy spoke meekly, “You…you believe me?”
“Yeah, yeah kid I do,” Riley was nothing short of breathless. The last twenty-four hours have been nothing but a blur. But the way she spoke to him, at the height of her anger. Even if this situation wasn’t real, she shouldn’t have spoke to a hurting kid like that. “Samual, I owe you an apology.”
“Oh no, you don’t need to-”
“Samual, please,” she gently cut him off. “The way I spoke to you was nothing short of cold and rude. I was in a bad place and me and my family have gone through so much pain, but that’s no excuse and I should never have taken my anger out on you. I’m so sorry Samual.”
There was a pause, Riley waited with bated breath. Mere seconds felt agonisingly long until Samual finally answered, “I forgive you.”
Riley felt her lungs fill with air, finally letting herself breathe, “Really?”
“Yeah, I get it. Jason has a history of getting people to believe his stories,” Samual said. “I don’t blame you. And now I’m guessing we have more proof that he’s lying?”
“That’s right,” Riley confirmed, “Are you free to come check it out?”
“I’ll be there as quick as I can,” Samual’s excited and curious tone returned. “I can’t wait to get started on our secret FBI work!”
The line cut off before Riley could say another word. She grinned, shaking her head.
He forgave her.
“I’m guessing it went well?” Amber asked, her own smile gracing her lips.
Riley nodded, relief washing over her again and again, “We might actually be getting somewhere.”
Amber faltered a little. For a while, she was starting to lose hope that she would ever truly hear those words. But somehow, mercy was gifted to her and her family. “We’re gonna find her,” she stated firmly to her eldest daughter “We’re gonna get Penny back.”
“We will Mom,” Riley agreed, “We will.”
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Yes the option to not go on Caine’s adventure was always available, but it didn’t mean that the ringmaster was too happy whenever someone decided to stay behind. Right now, Zooble was idly walking down one of the hallways on the tent, kicking their foot against the carpet a few times. Ironically enough, Zooble wasn’t the first and only one who volunteered to stay behind for the day. Nope, it was Gangle who asked first.
Normally the ribboned lady wouldn’t mind tagging along on an adventure with everyone else, but today she turned away at the offer trudging back into the circus. Zooble had instantly recognised that it wasn’t Gangle’s usual behaviour and decided to stay back too. He would deal with Caine’s shenanigans once the pair of dentures came back with the rest of the crew.
Zooble paced up and down the hallway, the day was nearly up but she hadn’t actually worked up the courage to see if Gangle was okay. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but Gangle was one of the sweetest and sensitive people here. Zooble cherished the fact that someone like her wanted to be friends with someone like him, to the point that they even got a bit nervous when talking with her one on one. But right now, there was something obviously wrong with Gangle and Zooble made the choice to stay behind to make sure that she didn’t feel less alone. Yet here she was, keeping a distance from the masked lady because he was nothing but afraid.
But then they stopped. When he was in the gloink hole, Gangle was the only one to realise he was missing, even being brave enough to try and bring her back. It would be selfish of Zooble to not at least try to comfort the girl and see if she was okay. Swallowing both his fears and pride, Zooble marched themselves down the hall to find Gangle.
He found her sitting on the stage, her silk legs drawn up to her chest as she sighed to herself, her comedy mask was once again broken and she had to rely on her secondary, sombre one instead. Under Zooble’s stoic expression, she was absolutely terrified. They didn’t know why, Gangle was their friend. Why did they feel afraid to start a conversation alone with a friend. Their sweet…kind…pretty friend. Ah! Pull yourself together! Gangle needs you!
Zooble took a deep breath, he could do this. And so, he walked up to the stage, slipping into their usual and calm posture, “Hey Gangle. No adventure today?”
She jumped a bit at the sound of her name, relaxing when they saw who it was, “No, not today. I wasn’t in the mood.”
“Oh,” Zooble nodded awkwardly. They weren’t really good at the emotional fluffy stuff, every time they tried she somehow always reached a dead end. But he didn’t want Gangle feeling this lonely, he had to at least try and help her out, “Any reason why?”
Gangle rubbed her arm, giving Zooble a sad smile, “It’s okay Zooble. If you have somewhere to be then you can go, you don’t need to stay and talk to me if you don’t want to.”
“No I do!” Zooble said a bit too quickly, making Gangle squeak. “Gah, sorry, sorry! I didn’t mean to sound like that. It’s…ugh how does Ragatha do this so easily?” They closed their eyes for a moment, breathing deeply before opening them again. “I’m here because I want to be. And I’m always willing to lend an ear if you need to talk. Gangle, if there’s anything you wanna say or do, I’m here.”
The ribboned woman seemed to be taken aback by that, not fully expecting that level of support from the usual reclusive assortment of parts. But she wasn’t complaining, she liked seeing this side of Zooble. “Well, it’s just…” she started, fiddling with the ends of her ribbons for a moment. “I’m happy that Pomni and Jax have their memories back, really I am. And it really is sweet that they used to be together, but…”
“But?” Zooble asked.
“…Jax has done nothing but torment us, prank us and make our lives miserable,” Gangle spoke. “Every day, he’s done nothing but go out of his way to annoy us just because he likes seeing funny things happen to people. And now he has his memories back and we’re suddenly happy for him?! After all he put us through. As if it erases everything he did to us! With Pomni, I’m glad that she remembers who she was. She was so scared when she got here and Caine has done nothing to help her, so it’s good finally seeing her smile. But with Jax? It might be wrong for me to say but it doesn’t seem fair! We’ve been trying everything to remember who we were, all the while he laughed at us for doing so! Like he hadn’t tried doing so in the first place as well yet he still made fun of us! And now he gets them back just like that! I wanna remember! I tried so hard to! Yet he berated me for trying and he-”
She covered her mouth, ashamed. She said too much. “Oh gosh, that’s horrible what I just said!” her eyes darted round the area. “I need to find my comedy mask, that why I’ll stop talking like this and be happy! Where is it? I swore I had it here somewhere, it’s not broken. Oh god, what if it is?! No, no, no! I need my comedy mask! I need it! I wanna stop feeling like this!”
“Gangle! You’re okay!” Zooble quickly caught Gangle’s flailing hands in theirs, holding them firmly yet gently. “You’re not a horrible person for saying that and I get what you’re trying to say. I know you don’t mean anything bad by it and I understand your frustration. Am I glad that bozo has his memories back, sure. But it doesn’t mean that I forgave and forgot all that he put us through, and you don’t need to either. If someone as weird as Jax can get his memories back, then someone as amazing as you can get yours back too.”
Gangle lips parted for a moment, speechless at the honesty in Zooble’s tone. “Y-you think I’m amazing?” she whispered.
Zooble’s voice got caught in her throat, her entire face flustering up as she removed his hands from Gangle’s. “Well, yeah,” they replied nonchalantly. “You don’t overwhelm me like Caine or annoy me like Jax. Plus I like your acts you put on.”
Gangle practically beamed at that, “You like my acts?”
“Hehe, of course,” Zooble’s eyes gleamed. “You got a real talent for that.”
The masked lady giggled, “You know, for someone who doesn’t think they’re good at soft stuff, I think you did a pretty great job with talking to me.”
“Oh,” Zooble blushed, clearing their throat before mumbling, “Thank you. And your comedy mask, you wanna leave it or…”
“No I can’t leave it,” Gangle quickly told her. “Everything just gets too much in here, I need my mask to make it easier, to make me happier. That way I won’t bring everyone down and I’ll be as happy as I need to be.”
Zooble furrowed his brows at Gangle’s statement, “But you don’t bring-”
“Oh, I think I know where it is!” Gangle grinned. “I’ll be back soon! Thank you Zooble!” She then tore off down the hall, all the way back to the bedroom quarters.
“Wait but…” Zooble reached out an arm to her, but Gangle was already gone. “But you don’t need your mask to be happy.”
They sighed. They had seen Gangle smile without the mask, a real genuine smile that wasn’t forced by some code from the character model forced onto her. If anything, Zooble swore that the mask only made things worse for Gangle, making her rely on it more and more. Zooble wished to see that real smile again.
Their train of thought was interrupted by the sound of a group of voices, tired and groaning. She turned, looks like the adventure was over for today. “Jeez, what happened to you guys?” they asked.
“Football stadium adventure,” Ragatha mumbled, rubbing her lower back. “Turns out when you put four inexperienced players against a group of NPC’s coded with tons of knowledge about it, you tend to face a lot of back pain.”
Zooble hissed through his teeth, “Yikes.”
“But it’s all a part of the adventure!” Caine boomed, making them all jump. “After all! How boring would it be if you didn’t learn at all!”
“You couldn’t at least give us a tutorial?” Jax grumbled. “Was that really too hard for you to do dentures?” He wasn’t really angry for himself. Well, he was. But Pomni had a really hard time on her feet during the whole game, easily being outnumbered and beaten by the NPC’s.
At one point, one of them kicked her in the leg instead of the ball, sending her to the ground. For a moment, Jax had forgotten all about the pretending, tackling the NPC to the ground before checking on his secret fiancé. Thankfully, Caine saw it as Jax thinking they were playing soccer (despite him literally kicking the ball for hours on end) and being a good teammate. Jax had never been more thankful for the AI’s naivety, especially when it gave him a chance to take Pomni to a nursing room and dressing her wound (he wouldn’t forget about how her cheeks turned red when he kissed the side of her bandaged knee).
“Anyhow!” Caine fiddled with his cane before tossing it away, a cartoonish sound effect resonating from where it landed. “I suggest you all rest up! We’ve gotten even more adventures planned for tomorrow and you’ll all need a good feast and rest before that!”
“Oh great, its not as if we heard that line before,” Jax muttered. Pomni crossed her arms over her chest, raising a brow at the rabbit. Jax only grinned, rolling his eyes at the pair of dentures before circling his finger at the temple of his head, clearing stating his opinion of the ringmaster. Pomni scoffed, failing to hide a smile at her fiancé. Jax’s face softened, he’ll never get tired of making her smile.
 “I’ll leave everyone to themselves before dinner!” Caine boomed with his usual, yet unsettling, toothy grin. “Take care my superstars!”
Like the same song and dance he had done many times before, the pair of dentures vanished in a puff of smoke. Jax waited a few seconds, making sure that the ringmaster was gone before rushing over to Pomni. “How’s your knee? Does it still hurt?” he asked, brushing his hand over the bandage.
“Yeah Hun I’m okay,” Pomni reassured him, petting behind his ears. “I’m sure it’s just a bruise now with the way things work here.”
His brows furrowed worriedly, “You sure? No more aches?”
“No more aches,” Pomni repeated.
“Good, good,” Jax let his thumb brush over the bandaged skin one more time before standing up. “So, you ready to get back to business.”
Pomni took in a sharp breath, both excitement yet a hint of nerves washing through her, “Yeah, let’s go see my Mom.”
Jax nodded, the two of them going down the hall again, unable to feel the gaze of everyone else’s eyes on them.
“Still having doubts Rags?” Zooble turned to the ragdoll.
“A little bit,” Ragatha nodded, a bit of shame shown on her face. “It’s not that I don’t trust them. I guess I’m just…scared. We never had anything like this. It could go either really well or…” She didn’t want to finish that sentence. She didn’t want to finish that thought! Never before had they tittered on a tight rope so close to collapsing. If this went wrong, then all of them could suffer a fate worse than abstraction. No, no she wasn’t going to think about that. It she was brought down, then so would everyone else. And she wasn’t going to allow herself to act so selfishly, “Never mind, how about I go see if Bubble would like help making dessert?”
Zooble frowned at Ragatha’s shift in mood, “Don’t do that.”
“Do what?” Ragatha questioned innocently.
“You always do that, act like you’re not sad when you are,” Zooble told her. “You’re allowed to not have good days, you know that right?”
“Oh Zooble, you worry too much,” Ragatha patted his arm. “I’m absolutely fine, no bad thoughts in my head whatsoever. Now, I think a pie would do well for dessert for tonight, don’t you think?”
With that, the ragdoll turned on her heel and headed to the kitchen. That was two people in a row that pretended to be happy to Zooble. He hated when that happened, when they forced down any type of negativity in the fear of being abstracted. It wasn’t fair that this threat kept hovering over everyone’s head, and Zooble hated it that Caine didn’t do anything to sooth their worries, instead leaving them to wallow with shallow adventures that they all hated. It was another reason why Zooble felt bitter with Jax, he kept pushing them on the brink every single time while knowing how much they all feared the fate of the cellar, yet he never stopped. Zooble felt frustrated tears at the corners of her eyes, allowing them to fall. The others might be too scared to cry, but they didn’t want to (part of them was glad that Pomni felt the same way as well).
He felt a hand cover her shoulder, rubbing it carefully like a parent would do with their child. Zooble turned his hand, it was Kinger. His eyes didn’t meet theirs, still lost in his own worlds of chaos and insects. Yet his hands moved on their own, as though another part of his mind wanted to reach out and sooth them. Zooble sniffed, if they could smile then he would be smiling at Kinger right there and now. As crazy as it sounded in her head, Kinger somehow seemed to be the sanest of them all.
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Knock, knock
Riley rushed to the door, opening it wide as it revealed the startled face of one Samual Abel. “Samual,” she gasped. “Thank you so much for coming! I’m so, so sorry!”
“Miss Riley, it’s okay,” he smiled softly. “I already told you I forgive you.”
“I know, I know,” Riley brushed back some of her red hair. “But you didn’t need to. You could have just accepted my apology and moved on, but you forgave me. Why? The way I spoke to you was awful.”   
Samual shrugged, “When I was a kid, my Dad always taught me that forgiveness is a heavy thing. Many people will feign an apology just so they can unburden themselves with forgiveness without actually being sorry. I don’t forgive a lot of people, I don’t think I can forgive some of the people at C&A for lying to me and letting Jason control me, I know that if they said sorry it wouldn’t erase all that happened over the years. But you, you didn’t know. You were tricked and I know that you meant how sorry you were. That’s the difference that my Dad taught me about, I’ll know the right people to forgive and not to bring myself down with the people I don’t choose to give that right to.”
This kid was just too kind, speaking with a wisdom many people who lived longer on this earth lacked, “Your father sounds like a good man.” Not many people have that luck.  
“Both he and my mother were great people,” Samual’s eyes were warm, lost in a memory of love and comfort from so many years ago. He blinked them away, his face simple yet determined. “Anyways, you got something to show me?”
Riley nodded, slipping back into business, “Yeah, let me introduce you to my Mom. She’s the one who got the messages.”
She led Samual into the house, shutting the door behind him. Amber came into the room, her hands clasped together and a cardigan wrapped around her shoulders. “Oh, hello,” she blinked in surprise at the sight of the boy. She turned to Riley, “Is this Samual?”
“Yeah, this is him,” Riley confirmed.
“Hi, it’s so nice to meet you,” Amber walked over, wrapping her arms around him, his eyes widening in surprise. “Riley told me what happened, I’m so sorry all this happened to you.”
He stood frozen for a moment, as though he wasn’t used to someone wanting to hug him back. But his arms wrapped tight around Amber like Riley expected, burying his face into her shoulder. He was shaking a bit, she couldn’t hear any sobs but Riley was certain that the kid hadn’t received this level in security in a while. Hopefully with how things were going so far, that would change soon enough. Soon, Samual pulled away, trying to still his shaking hands. “Right, so,” he took a step back, his hands shoved into his pockets. “Ready to get to work?”
Amber nodded, grinning, “This way.” She guided him to the sofa, letting him sit down as the computer switched on next to him. “It was so bizarre. I’m not sure what your experience was like, all I know from Riley was that you only received messages.”
Samual lifted a brow, “I guess yours had more to it.”
“Yes,” Amber confirmed. “Before I got the messages, all my lights were flickering, like something or…someone was controlling it. That’s when I got these.” Once the computer was up and functioning, Amber clicked onto the documents that held the words from her daughter.
Samual shifted closer, “Yeah, this is certainly…different. I only got emails, but it looks like someone wrote this if it’s on a document.”
“That’s the thing,” Amber turned to him. “I don’t know how but Penny was in this room. I couldn’t see or feel how but she was there, controlling the lights and writing to me.”
Samual’s eyes widened, no disbelief was seen but rather surprise at this new revelation, “Your daughter is trying to communicate with you. She even managed to be here with you somehow.”
“Yes, yes!” Amber exclaimed, grinning. “She was right here in this room.”
“But you said not physically?” Riley asked, her tone curious rather than accusatory.  “She managed to speak to you but her body wasn’t here?”
“Unfortunately,” Amber’s face fell slightly.
“So wherever she is, she’s still trapped,” Riley sighed.
Samual got up, facing the two women, “But it doesn’t seem impossible to find her. If she managed to get here the first time than its possible that she could come back.”
Riley bit her lip, “But how would we know?”
“Riley’s right,” Amber agreed. “I might have spoken to her then but I don’t know how to get in contact with her again-”
The lamp flickered, the trio’s attention focused in on it. “I’m guessing that wasn’t my eyes playing tricks on me?” Riley observed, her toes curling at the thought of who she hoped it was.
“Nope,” Amber’s grin returned, whipping back round to the computer. “Penny, is that you baby?”
Hey Mom
I’m back
Riley’s hands covered her mouth, her knees dropping to the ground, “Penny? Is that really you?”
Unbeknownst to Riley, Pomni had done the same thing. Matching her sister as she tried to stifle a sob, “Hey Jax, do you mind?”
The rabbit chuckled behind her, watching the exchange go down. There were no memory-like pathways this time, just a simple walk through the door and they arrived right back in the living room, “Yeah babe, I got it.”
She’s here, she just got a little overwhelmed seeing you all again
Hi Mrs Reed
It’s good to see you again
Amber brows furrowed in confusion for a moment before realisation struck. There was only one other person that she knew who disappeared the way her youngest daughter did, “Jack?”
Yup, that’s me
Hope you’re not too disappointed
The older woman let out a breathless laugh, about to reply with how happy she was to see him…until she was interrupted by another voice, “YOU SON OF A BITCH!”
Jax’s ears pressed flat against his head as Riley stood from the ground, fury written all over her face. Pomni, Amber and Samual had to take a few steps away from the raging woman.
“YOU TELL MY SISTER THAT YOU DON’T WANT TO MARRY HER AND TRY TO MOVE AWAY ON THE DAY OF YOUR WEDDING! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!” Riley screamed loudly. “YOU’RE SO LUCKY I CAN’T SEE YOU OTHERWISE I WOULD RIP OFF BOTH YOUR ARMS AND LEGS AND FEED THEM TO WOLVES WHILE WATCHING YOU BLEED OUT!”
Jax gulped, he should have known this was coming. After all he heard from Winter how Riley slammed someone’s head against a table just because they looked at Penny funny, if he wasn’t in the circus he would be on a missing poster by now. He took a deep breath, typing away on the keyboard.
You’re allowed to be angry
Furious
What I did was unforgivable and I understand if you won’t forgive me
But please understand then when I say sorry, I mean it
I’m so sorry Riley
For hurting your sister the way I did
For everything
Riley crossed her arms as she scowled, letting herself think long and hard about it, emphasise on long (she wanted to make him suffer at least a little bit). Jack was an asshole for what he did, but she knew what he went through as a kid and how hard he tried to make things right both for himself and for everyone else. She looked to Samual, the boy giving her a smile and a thumbs up before she turned back with a sigh, “Thank you for your apology.”
Jax’s stomach did a flip. There was a thank you, but no forgiveness. It was expected, a bit disappointing, but also a good start.
You’re welcome
Riley’s face turned soft again, shifting her feet on the rug below her, “Penny, are you…can you speak to me?”
Pomni clenched her hands, grinning and trembling with excitement as she rushed over to the computer.
Hey Riles
Please don’t kill Jack when we get back
Riley sniffed, wiping a stray tear from her cheek, “I’ll try not to, but I’ll do it for you Pen. Oh my god I missed you so much.”
Pomni bit back her sob, if she missed her mother so much already, then the weight of missing Riley hit like a bag of bricks.
I missed you too
You’re making me cry Riles
“I can’t help it,” Riley laughed. “You’ve been gone for three months.”
I know
You have no idea how much I wanna hug you all – Penny (did that so you can tell who you’re talking to)
Jax hummed, amused by her quick choice, “Smart.”
She gave the rabbit a quick grin before she turned her gaze to the boy in the living room, tilting her head curiously.
Who’s that guy?
Jax followed her gaze, letting out a small gasp of realisation at who it was, “Samual Abel?!”
“Wait, you mean-?” she realised now who he was talking about.
“Penny, Jack,” Riley walked over to the boy. “This is Samual Abel, son of Kaleb and Quinn Abel. He’s gonna be helping us get you home.”
“Uh, yeah,” Samual replied nervously. “Hi again Mister Jack, nice to meet you Miss Penny. Um, I’m really sorry I couldn’t do more for you when Jason came up to you that day Jack.”
Jax frowned as his fingers reach for the keyboard again.
It was nobody’s fault but my own kid
I was the one who took up Jason’s offer
Don’t beat yourself up about it – Jack
“Copycat,” Pomni stuck her tongue out at him.
Jax chuckled, “Couldn’t help it little lady,”
“But I should have done something!” Samual stood so fast it nearly gave him whiplash. “Jason always does this! He knows it’s dangerous when people touch that stupid game! The moment he said where he was sending you I knew what job he was talking about! I could have stopped all this!”
Riley faced the boy, confused, “Game? What game?”
“That fucking game!” he cursed. “It’s been the root of all of our problems yet he never got rid of it! It started small with people disappearing in the company with headsets left behind, but then it started spreading somehow to the public! And now we lost the file! It keeps jumping from place to place and we can never catch it! All because Jason was too stubborn to get rid of it!”
“Sam, Sam, hey,” Riley clicked her fingers in front of his face, his attention solely focused on her. “What game are you talking about.”
Samual’s buried his face into his hands, a stressed groan leaving his mouth, “It was supposed to be a VR remake of the first game my dad made, but Jason kept making too many shaky choices with it. Then my parents disappeared. I hate that game… ‘The Amazing Digital Circus’.”
Pomni gasped, “That was the game I saw when I tried to find you!” She turned to Jax, “We’re stuck inside the game!”
“I-I remember!” Jax clenched his hands. “When I disappeared! That was the file I saw!”
It fell on deaf ears. “The reason why Jason wanted to send Jack away was because that was where the last person went missing, the last time we saw the file,” Samual told them. “He wanted to send Jack there as a way to retrieve the file and get back to working on the game again, even if he knew it wasn’t safe. Unfortunately the file routed its way back to this city and took Jack with him.”
“And then it took Penny,” Amber whispered.
“Okay,” Riley gathered herself, her mind settling back into business. “Jason sent Jack away and lied to everyone for all these years. That wasn’t your fault Samual.”
“But I-” he tried to speak.
“You told me that whenever you tried to speak up to talk to someone then Jason would get in the way and scare you into stopping,” she stated firmly. “Don’t blame yourself because a grown man was enough of a coward to bully a child.”
He looked like he was about to retort, but a stern glare from Riley was all that he needed to heed what she said, “Ok Miss Riley.”
“Next,” she moved on. “What should be our second course of action.”
Pomni quickly moved back to the computer.
No one else in the circus has their memories
Is there a way we can try and help them get them back? – Penny
“Oh, oh wait!” Samual piped up, an idea bright in his mind. “I overheard Jason talking about this. He has USB files of each person that went missing, including their past leading up to this point.”
“You overhear a lot of stuff kid,” Riley crossed her arms. “I didn’t mean that as a criticism, just observing.”
“Hehe, well, when you’ve been isolated from everyone and everything all your life you tend to get a bit bored,” Samual replied with a wry smile. “Case in point, eavesdropping on the guy you’re suspicious off in order to gather information.”
“So if we get the USB files and hook them into this computer,” Amber started to catch on.
“It could help get their memories back,” Samual finished. “I’ll get to see if my parents are there!”
“This is amazing!” Amber cheered. “Well, not fully amazing because their all still stuck but we’re getting somewhere. Oh wait till Winter hears about Jack being alive!”
A wide grin appeared on Jax’s face. Winter, his sister, he could finally see her again! Reassure her that he was alive-
“-Wait! No, no!” Riley quickly interjected, making everyone become quickly confused at her sudden outburst. “We can’t tell Winter, not yet at least.”
Amber blinked in surprise, “Honey, she’s your wife. She’s been missing Jack for so long, she needs to know the truth.”
Pomni watched as Jax’s ear twitch, a slight scowl was on his face. He didn’t like this one bit.
 “I know that,” Riley said. “But you weren’t there when Jack was gone. She went nearly catatonic, unable to move, speak or eat. The devastation of losing him for so long nearly broke her. We nearly lost Percy in birth because of the impact. I…I can’t risk that happening again.”
A slow, angered breath released through Jax’s nose as he started to type again.
This is a mistake Riley
Winter deserves to know
You can’t keep this from her – Jack
Riley shook her head, “I’m doing this to protect her. It’s for her own good Jack.”
He wasn’t convinced, turning away from her. Riley shouldn’t have to make that choice for Winter, it wasn’t fair! She needed to know, not be kept in the dark!
Pomni patted his hand softly as she went to the keyboard.
But he’s right Riley – Penny
“I’ll tell her eventually,” Riley reassured everyone. “J-just not now, until I know for sure that everything will be fine.”
Pomni sighed. Riley was as stubborn as they came, there was no changing her mind with this.
Both rabbit and jester jumped when they heard the dinner bell ringing from outside the exit door. It was time to go.
We have to leave
You better know what you’re doing Riley – Penny
“What? But you just came back!” Riley cried.
Amber put a hand on her daughter’s shoulder, “Don’t worry. If this interaction has proved anything, they’ll be back.”
Riley was unconvinced, but if there was anyone she trusted more than anything, it was her mother. “Ok,” she nodded, “Just…please be safe Penny.”
I will
And like that, both rabbit and jester rushed out the door. They were able to make it on dinner on time, and Caine was none the wiser about what happened. But despite the feast laid out in front of him, everything that Riley said left a bitter taste in Jax’s mouth. After Penny, Winter was the one he was closest to out of anyone in his life. He might not have been the greatest person, but Winter was the furthest thing from bad. She was the reason that he started to believe that good things could happen in his life, and now Riley was refusing to tell her that he was here and alive.
It felt so wrong.
Pomni’s hand was on his leg, still yet reassuring. It was a silent confirmation that she was on his side about this. He laid his hand atop hers, making sure it was out of Caine’s sight. He squeezed it, hopefully things would be okay…they had to be.
.
.
.
“Riley…”
Black, everything was black.
“Riley…”
It was like she was stuck in inky tar, unable to move her feet, stuck in the black substance.
“Riley.”
She looked up, the redhead gasped as she saw one very familiar, visible figure.
“Penny?” Riley’s voice sounded louder in her ears.
The brunette was wearing the same outfit Riley had last seen her in, a plain white T-shirt and grey leggings. Though it looked dirtier than she last remembered, and why were her eyes shut?
“Why did you leave me?” Penny’s voice echoed.
Riley was startled by the sudden statement, “What?”
“You’re my big sister,” Penny mumbled. “You’re supposed to protect me…yet you didn’t.”
“No, Penny I didn’t mean for you to get trapped!” Riley yelled out for her. “I’m doing everything I can to bring you home!”
“You said you would always be there for me,” Penny whispered back. “You said that no matter what happens I would be safe if you were there…but you weren’t…you didn’t save me…you’re a liar.”
“I’m so sorry Penny,” Riley sobbed, hands on her leg as she tried to pull them out, but to no avail. “I’m really sorry!”
“Liar,” Penny repeated.
“Liar!”
“LIAR!”
“L̷̩͚̯̲̖͖̙͔̹̬̮͉̲̝̑̊̀́ͅỈ̸̢̹̝̝͓͔̟̠̌́́̆͝Á̵̬͎͛̐̑̔̃̈́̓R̶̳̪̩̹̳̬̻̜̫͇̓̏̀͐͒͂̚͠͝͝”
Riley gasped, trying to run but she was frozen solid in the ink. Suddenly, the darkness was replaced by thousands of multicoloured eyes staring at her as Penny drew closer.
The brunette grabbed Riley by the collar of her shirt. It was nothing but silence.
Then her eyes opened.
Riley screamed when she saw that they were as hollow and black as the ink.
Penny opened her mouth again, the same ink leaking out from her lips as she screeched one more time.
Ļ̷̨̛͚̙̭̖̩̥̝͇̮̻̼͍͎̗͉͍̦͖̹͎͔͈̞̰̟̯̩̝̠̻̫͕̱̝̎͊̽̈́̇̀͊̄̑͋̅͊̔̄͒̃̀͌̈́̏̈͆͐̋̓͐̾͛̊̈́̈́́̏̋̀̄̏̈̚̚͘͘̕̕͠ͅÌ̶̧̧̧̛̛̪͔̝͚̫͎̝̬͈̺̫̭̱̞̹͖̞̹̳̻͖̫͉̋̓͋̈́̓͂͗͐̈́̐̈͐̒͗͆̏͛̈̏͌͗͑̈́̐͐̔̂̊͊́͆͆̒̓̾̀̀̾͘̚̕̕̚͜͝ͅͅA̷̢̧̛̛̻̳̞̬̟͇̟̟͉͔̻̻͙̩̣͈̖̘͙̪̱͎̰͙̝͚̣͈̓͒̎͛̆̓̋͌̅̈́͂̏̎̈́̅̍̈̈́̆̕͜͝͠͝ͅR̴̡͈̞͔̮̻̩͋͂͑̚ͅ
.
.
.
Riley awoke with a scream tearing from her throat, her hands fisting the bed sheets beneath her. She failed her, she failed Penny, she couldn’t save her, she was nothing but a failure-
“Riley, Riley!” Winter reached out, taking her wife’s hands in hers. “It’s okay, see, everything is ok.”
Riley was still trembling, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Breathe with me babe,” Winter told her, taking deep breaths in and out again. Riley gulped down a sob, repeating her wife’s pattern. Eventually, she breath was even again and she was calm enough to see her surroundings. There was no ink, no eyes. She was in her bedroom with Winter as the other woman turned the lamp on beside the bed. “It’s okay, it was just a nightmare.”
She was about to bring Riley back into her arms, before the redhead pulled away and stood up, “Sorry I didn’t mean to wake you. I’ll go sleep in the guest room, to let you rest before work.”
“No, wait, Riley!” Winter shouted as her partner gathered up her pillow and a spare blanket. “I just wanna talk, you don’t have to do this.”
“I want to get some sleep before work, alright? Conversation over,” Riley stated, gathering what she needed in her arms before marching to the door.
“Riley enough!” Winter yelled, making Riley freeze in her tracks still facing the door. “We can’t keep doing this.”
“Doing what?” she retorted bitterly.
“You avoiding me,” Winter told her. “Especially when you’re hurting. You can’t keep pretending that I don’t exist just because you’re too scared to talk about Penny.”
Riley bit her tongue, nearly drawing blood, “I’m not scared Winter. Stop it.”
“Where were you last night?” Winter questioned, unrelenting. “Yesterday you wouldn’t answer your phone after I tried calling you for hours. Where were you?”
Riley couldn’t say, she couldn’t. If Winter was told about Jack, she feared about what could happen. She still remembered Winter’s pale face, nearly slipping in and out of consciousness during Percy’s C-section. She nearly lost both her wife and her son that day. She couldn’t tell her, it’s for her own good.
“My mom’s house, my phone was on silent,” she said, her voice void of emotion. “I’m tired.”
She slammed the door behind her, leaving Winter all alone. The black-haired woman brought her knees to her chest, too exhausted to cry. Too tired to keep having these moments with Riley. She would give anything just to have her wife back.
.
.
.
“Well good morning little lady,” Jax bowed as he walked out of his room the next morning. “And how was your sleep last night?”
“Aren’t we supposed to be subtle?” Pomni placed her hands on her hips. “Cause as far as I can’t tell, I don’t think this is what it’s supposed to be.”
“But it made you smile, right?” he smirked.
Pomni blushed, he was right, she was smiling, “Shut up.”
He chuckled, nudging his head to the direction down the hallway, “Hungry?”
“Yeah, I could eat,” Pomni nodded. She was about to walk beside him when she noticed something in the corner of a door from one of the past circus members. She cocked her head to the side as she inspected it further.
Jax paused in his tracks when he noticed that his fiancé wasn’t next to him, “Pen?” He saw her staring at the door of an old string-worm character, coming up behind her carefully so he wouldn’t spook her. “What is it?”
“Do you see that?” she inquired.
“See what?” he asked.
She pointed to the corner, “That.”
Jax’s eyes squinted as he followed her fingers, they widened when they finally noticed what Pomni was talking about. The corner was glitching, similar to how Ragatha was when Kaufmo attacked her on the jester’s first day. “How is this possible?” Pomni observed.
“I…I don’t know,” Jax replied honestly. “I don’t think we’ve seen anything like this.”
Suddenly, the glitch sparked wildly and loudly, making them jump back in surprise. It started to spread across the door, erasing the face of the string worm with its flashing colours. Jax held Pomni protectively, guiding her away from the door as they stepped away slowly. They watched as little by little, it swallowed up the door, before disappearing entirely.
Both of them panted in surprise, this wasn’t good. It wasn’t good at all. “I think we need to hurry with our escape plan,” Pomni told the rabbit holding her.
“Agreed,” Jax nodded. “We’re on a timer Pomni.”
“The question is how long do we have?” her voice shook slightly, gripping onto him.
“Long enough for us to get out of here,” he told her, reassurance in his voice. “That much I know.”
“O-okay,” Pomni hated that she was stuttering, but the sudden fright of what happened didn’t seem to be letting go of her anytime soon.
“Come on, let’s get downstairs before Caine tries to find us,” Jax stood, holding out his hand and helping up the jester.
While the two walked down the hallway, they couldn’t ignore the sinking feeling of what just happened. Did they really not have enough time? Was it just another strange part of this world?
Those questions rung through their mind as they walked down the hall, unaware of a second little glitch behind them in another little corner of the hall.
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konigsfaerie · 3 years ago
Text
Compass
Chapter One
Summary: Falling in love with two people isn't normal, but after fighting your way out of the TVA, you can't help but develop feelings for both Loki and Mobius. Hiding your emotions has never been your strong suit, and your resolve has been fading with each passing day you spend together at the compound.
Word count: 4,630
Loki looked across the common room to find Mobius rifling through papers, undoubtedly studying another timeline that would need to be fixed. Loki watched his hands turn the crisp pages, watched his index finger travel down to find a specific word.
He decided to break his gaze and clear his throat, shaking himself out of his daze. “Don’t you think we should take a break? We’ve been at this all day.”
Mobius looked up from the folder and raised a single eyebrow. “You mean I have been at this all day. You’ve been sitting there looking pretty while I have been isolating timelines we need to fix without so much as a lunch break.”
If not for his Frost Giant heritage, the blush on his face would be unmistakable. Suddenly words left him, so he decided to stare out of a window, his dark thoughts immediately returning.
He left who he used to be back in New York. The jealous god, the god who was angry at everything and couldn’t love anything simply out of fear. It seemed that all of the sudden there was too much love in his heart, the kind that made him feel the most guilty he had been in a long while.
Loki, Mobius, and you fighting through the TVA was no small feat, and even now there was no time to rest.
“Although I suppose we should check on y/n. She’s been cooped up in her office all day,” Mobius observed, pushing away from the desk and stretching his arms up. Loki noticed his torso as he stretched, the fabric revealing the slight V of his waist. There was that nonexistent blush again, the panging he felt in his chest.
“I’ll get her some food from the kitchen.” As Loki left for the kitchen, it was now your features that plagued his mind. Your soft skin, supple thighs, full cheeks, y/e/c. How could this be possible, to love two people at the same time? Just years before he would have destroyed an entire planet without thinking, and now every action he made, he’d run it over in his head before doing so just to make sure he didn’t say something wrong that could hurt yours or Mobius’ feelings. Although Mobius wasn’t exactly the most sensitive of the bunch, Loki cringed when he thought of all the terrible things he said to both you and Mobius when he first arrived at the TVA.
There were cooks of course, The Avengers Tower was huge with so many people coming in and out, but he wanted to make you food by his hand.
-
Your feelings for Mobius and Loki were… complicated at best. The passion you felt for Loki made your head dizzy, but the tender love you felt for Mobius made your heart ache. You ran a hand down your face, the guilt gathering up in the pit of your stomach again. How was this even possible? You loved them both, and while they probably didn’t even have a clue, you couldn’t imagine letting either one of them go. And if you lost both of them...
You heard a knock at your door, and you tried steeling your face into indifference again, but ultimately failed. “Come in!” Instead of indifference, you tried to look as happy as can be, providing a smile as bright as the stars.
As soon as you saw both of them come in at the same time, your face immediately fell. You tried to look away from their faces, your eyes pointing downward, pretending to do something you were working on before you were about to have a breakdown. You couldn’t actually be in control of your emotions when Mobius started acting all gentle and kind and Loki started a war of who could use the most sarcasm in one sentence. (Hint: He always won.)
“Is there something the two of you needed?”
Loki sat down in the chair in front of your desk, placing a covered dish in front of you, planting his feet on your desk, which he knew you absolutely hated.
“We can’t visit our favorite girl unannounced?” Mobius spoke, giving that little grin of his.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Favorite girl. Were you really… their favorite girl?
His excited smile faded. “Unless you’re busy… I don’t want to interrupt you.”
You slid a hand to Loki’s boots, roughly slapping his feet off the table and uncovering the dish. “No, I- Well, I guess I haven’t eaten all day.” Part of your job to create a new task force of Avengers to fix the timelines destroyed accompanied by Doctor Stephen Strange. He usually was in your office with you going over the candidates you thought would make a good addition to the team, but he was currently out convincing them to come back to the compound.
“Sorry. I should’ve brought food up to you a long time ago.”
Loki eyed you as you took your first bite into what had to be your favorite meal of all time. You started to shake your head at his comments, but instead you closed your eyes for a moment, letting a moan sneak past your lips. “This is so good! It tastes much better than what the cooks usually make for us. Who made this?” Usually it was all leafy green salads and juice the color of baby puke (doctor’s orders, and by doctor, you mean an overprotective philanthropist), but thank the gods, it was something actually cooked in oil.
“Loki cooked it for you,” Mobius said with a teasing smirk, but then his lips went into a pout. “While I eat this salad for the twentieth night in a row.”
A blush crept up on your nose and you giggled. “Guess I’m just that special.”
“Yes,” Loki remarked. “You are.” His eyes burned into your own.
The blush deepened into a shade of ruby red. Loki was always one for bluntness and didn’t always understand how humans communicated with each other. Yes, that was all it was. Just him reminding you how much he cared for you as a friend. The sentiment was new to him, after all.
You filled your face with more food, your eyes staring down so that you didn’t have to meet either of their pair of eyes. After finishing your food, you heard a bottle of alcohol thud on your desk. You laughed and gave a little shake of your head. “Don’t you know that the use of alcohol or other substances will hinder our training?” You mocked Tony, his strictness fueled by FRIDAY.
“Well,” Loki laughed. “I am not in training,” he continued, popping the cork off with his mouth. “Because I am already amazing.” He put the bottle to his lips and took two long swigs.
Both you and Mobius groaned, Mobius grabbing the neck of the bottle from him and doing the same. As he passed it to you, you thought that maybe this was a bad idea. You never really got too drunk unless you were “reveling” with Thor, but you were constantly afraid your feelings might slip out. One wrong look, and they might figure it out.
Mobius passed it to you, and you downed four long gulps. Maybe the alcohol would make you momentarily forget your feelings instead of bringing them to the surface. Immediately your head felt lighter as you passed it back to Loki, but instead of the smiles that were there before, two worried glances were presented on their faces.
Loki put the bottle down. “What’s wrong?” The concerned look on both of their faces made your heart thud in your chest. They really, actually cared about you. About what you thought, what you felt, if you ate, if there was too much on your plate. That was more than just being friends, right? When you were with them, you felt different. Lighter, safe, like nothing could really hurt you as long as you three were together.
“Nothing,” you defended, taking another bite of your food as the buzz you had started to ebb and flow. Trying to keep the tears springing from your eyes was no small task, but you couldn’t do this now, in front of them. You hated lying to them and you didn’t even know what excuse you could possibly make if tears started running down your cheeks.
But the truth was that you cried often. Late at night after hours of exhausting work, not only isolating timelines but trying to convince people with abilities to help your cause, usually wielding little to no results. After all that tiresome work, it wasn’t the universe or your collective impending doom you thought about; it was Mobius and Loki. How they take care of you, how it might feel to have Mobius’ lips on yours while Loki wraps his arms around you from behind and kisses your neck...
How long have you been looking at your empty plate without saying anything?
“Y/n? Sweetheart?” Mobius started, reaching for your hand across the desk which made Loki look at the pair of yours. Why did he call you that so often? Ever since coming to the TVA, even when it looked like he wanted to scream at Loki until he was hoarse, even when you joined forces with Loki and he couldn’t understand why in the world you would, he wanted to protect you. Both of them did.
It felt like your heart was just continually skipping beats. It was absolutely insane that one word was the thing that was finally going to undo you.
Sweetheart.
Our favorite girl.
Your eyes went back and forth between the two of their faces, your lip starting to wobble. Loki immediately got up from his chair in front of you, moving towards you and crouching down to your eye level. “What is it? What’s the matter, y/n?” His concerned blue eyes searched yours, his eyebrows knitting together in worry.
Mobius was hovering over you at your desk with that same look, waiting for your response.
There were lies you could tell, of course. I’m just tired. I miss my family. I want to piece this god-forsaken universe back together already. It was all true of course, but the real reason you lay awake at night with tears streaming down your face was because you were in love with the both of them and if you did anything about it, you’d lose them. And your heart could absolutely not handle that. They were everything to you.
You could only imagine it, which you did often. Their confused looks which would make you feel like the weirdest person on the planet, the neverending silence as they only talked to you about work. How could you possibly handle them not barging in on your space every night, not making you feel like the luckiest girl on the planet just to have friends like these?
Nevertheless, the tears came and the sobs started racking your body as they both came to your rescue, enveloping you in their arms, which only made you cry harder.
“Y/n-” Mobius started, but was cut short because of… that look you were giving him. The one that said everything, the one that also traveled to Loki. It was unmistakable. With them, you were an open book and your face were the words on the page.
Loki pulled away, but only to put a hand on your waist. Was he… giving you the same look? When you looked back over to Mobius, his hand was at your waist as well, his hand flying up to dry your tears. “Sweetheart,” he breathed.
As soon as your eyes fluttered, Mobius’ mouth was on yours, giving you the most tender kiss you had ever felt. His lips slightly pulled away as Loki’s finger hooked under your chin and his lips flew to yours. Back and forth you played this little game until your knees were threatening to buckle underneath your feet, both of them slightly rubbing your waist.
As you pulled back slightly, their lips finally pressed against each other. The kiss between them was more rough but just as loving.
You couldn’t believe this was happening. No, there was no way they felt the same things you did. Ever since spending time with the both of them in the TVA, the thoughts that plagued your mind were perhaps the darkest you ever felt. Not just because you knew without a shadow of a doubt whatever conclusion you came to you would get hurt, but because you might hurt them in any way. The love you felt for them didn’t seem natural, but it definitely felt it. But this…. They felt it too? Not only that, but they felt things for each other as well? For how long?
Suddenly you didn’t want to be cooped up in this office anymore so you grabbed both of their hands, locking their fingers with yours and started moving to the stairs that led to your room. As soon as you closed the door, Mobius was pushing you against it while Loki ran a finger down the length of your arm.
You didn’t need to say anything for now. Your faces said so much. Words might be necessary later, but now…
Loki nudged him over while his lips explored yours again and Mobius kissed your neck. A moan escaped your lips again, but this one wasn’t because of the pleasure of food, rather the pleasure of the two men controlling your every movement. Mobius’ hands were still pinning you to the door, and you couldn’t help it as your waist moved against Loki’s.
“Please,” you breathed. “I n-need-” God, it was hard for you to talk with Loki’s lips hovering over yours, the heat rising in you as you imagined all the marks Mobius was making on your neck, claiming you as his.
“What do you need, darling?” Loki whispered, moving to the other side of your neck. Mobius shoved his leg in between yours, your hips making quick work of him.
Apparently that was all the answer they needed. Mobius grabbed your waist, moving you to your bed as they both joined you and started on your neck again while Loki began slowly untying your top, testing to see if you were comfortable.
Usually you were shy around them, but you had enough of just fantasizing about them doing this. You would be perfectly happy if they decided to rip your clothes off and spread your legs.
“I’m tired of waiting,” Mobius snapped as if reading your mind, shoving your pants down as Loki threw your top onto the floor. They both beheld you in your matching lacy white bra and panties. They looked… hungry. Like they’d both been waiting for this, only now they realized all three of you wanted it just as much.
You swallowed as they stared into each other's eyes just a moment before taking each other’s shirts off. Even though you needed them to rip off all your underthings, you were nervous. They definitely had more experience than you, and Loki was a literal god who could get whatever or whomever he wanted.
As Mobius placed his lips onto yours again, his tongue teasing your own, you could feel Loki’s hands gripping your panties, sliding them down. He took in a breath, giving himself a moment to take you in. “You’re so beautiful,” he breathed, just before spreading you with two of his fingers.
“Mmm, fuck,” you moaned against Mobius’ lips, moving so that Loki had perfect access. All you wanted was his tongue on you, or even his fingers filling you up.
Okay, that’s not all you wanted, but it was a start. What you really wanted wasn’t just his fingers filling you up, but either - or both of their cock’s inside of you, hitting that one spot you really loved-
“Loki!” you gasped as his mouth connected with your clit, his finger easily sliding into you. You bucked against him, biting your own lip as Mobius slid down near Loki, giving him a kiss before removing his finger and sucking on it, tasting your juices. The look in their eyes when they looked at eachother - it was sending you over the edge already.
“Look at her, Loki,” Mobius observed. “She’s already wanting to cum on your mouth. Should we let her?” Was he teasing us? You were dripping at this point, coating his mouth with your juices, gripping the covers with your fists. The look in Loki’s eyes was feral as his tongue flicked over your clit and then swirled around it. The only answer he provided was a groan of pleasure from having his tongue play with your clit. He was waiting for permission.
“Not yet,” Mobius decided, grabbing a handful of Loki’s hair, pulling him back. Loki’s face was pure disappointment, which he soothed by licking his lips, tasting you again.
Loki moved towards you, his face hovering over yours. “You taste so good,” he whispered. “Do you want to taste yourself?”
You gave a nod, staring up at him and he gave you the most passionate kiss you’ve ever felt, his tongue enveloping yours. You sucked on it, moaning against his tongue as you savored yourself.
As you sucked on his tongue, you realized you were one-hundred percent more wet than you started off, and you couldn’t help but squirm as Mobius spread your legs ever father, his finger moving slowly up and down your clit. This was fucking agonizing. You didn’t want to be teased, you wanted them to take you right here on this bed.
“Good things come to those who wait, y/n.”
You stared at Mobius who was currently sliding a single finger into you excruciatingly slowly, a pleasured smile on his face, most likely because he knew how bad you wanted him, wanted the both of them to be inside of you.
“Please,” you begged as Loki started to unhook your bra, placing his mouth on your nipple. “I-I want-”
Mobius stopped pumping his finger in and out of you, joining Loki in playing with your nipples. “Yes y/n, tell me what you want and I may even give it to you.” Before you could speak, he slid his finger into your mouth which just made you buck your hips even more.
“Oh, is that what you want?” Suddenly, he grabbed Loki and started taking off the remainder of his clothes, finally sliding off his belt and undoing his pants, shoving them down with his underwear and exposing his cock. “Is this what you want? You need to be fucked?” You glanced at Mobius who was currently stroking Loki who tilted his back in pleasure. The sight was fucking angelic, and all you could do was speechlessly nod without abandon.
Loki was rock hard, probably from the moment he saw your glistening pussy. As you rose to your knees, you met his face as you pumped him with your hand, taking over from Mobius, exploring him. “Do you like that?” You wanted to edge him on. You wanted him to lose control, especially because you could see how much he was trying to contain himself. Mobius saw it too, which was part of the reason he was teasing the both of you so much. The other reason was because he wanted to see just how bad you wanted him.
No response, just another groan. You heard Mobius taking his pants off but was utterly focused on pleasuring Loki.
Suddenly you could feel Mobius’ cock against your ass, him coming behind you and feeling on your breasts. “Now tell Daddy exactly what you want.”
Fuck.
“Both of you. Inside of me.” You turned your head to look at him, biting your lip out of embarrassment.
Surprise lit his features. “Are you sure about that? I don’t want it to be too much for you… Yet.”
You nodded quickly. “I want both of you to fill me up.”
Mobius tore you away from Loki, pushing you face forward onto the bed, placing a hand on your stomach to prop your ass up. You took that as a clue to arch your back. “Good girl,” Loki remarked, moving you over momentarily to move under you. Loki started teasing you, placing his cock at your entrance.
“No, no more teasing,” you begged, letting out a little wine. “Please just… Please fuck me!”
“Isn’t she impatient, sweetie?” Mobius pondered, lubing himself up with something you didn’t recognize, then going to his fingers so he could stretch you out. From this angle, Mobius could control everything. He slid a finger into your ass which caused a moan to slip out. Honestly, this wasn’t a normal thing for you, but you had to have both of them. You didn’t want to wait or deny yourself any longer.
You bucked against his finger as he slid another one inside of you. It hurt a little, but in the best way possible. You could feel him stretching you out, taking his time, just as Loki rubbed himself against your clit. Loki’s little pants and quiet moans were only teasing you further, and even Mobius looked like he was losing his resolve to go slowly.
Words wouldn’t, or rather, couldn’t escape your mouth. You already felt so filled up with Mobius’ fingers pumping in and out of you, Loki threatening to slip inside of you. The feeling you felt was best described as… helpless. They were controlling your every move, how fast or slow you went, when or even if you would cum.
Mobius gave a look to Loki, silently giving him permission as he slowly slid his fingers out of you. “Are you ready, sweetheart?” Loki asked, his soft and wanting eyes staring up at you and pushing your hair behind your ear. “Would you like to feel me inside of you?”
“Y-Yes!” You leaned further onto him so that Mobius would have easier access to your ass and so that Loki could easily slip inside of you. His breathing turned ragged as the head of his cock teased your entrance, but you were tired of being teased. All those nights fantasizing about this, fantasizing about the looks they were giving you now. Never in a million years would you think they would want this too, but here they were, one under you and one on top, showing you how much they cared for you.
Even though Mobius wrapped his fingers around your hips, moving Loki’s legs slightly so he could have as much access to you as he needed, you slid onto Loki’s long shaft, sending shocks throughout your body. His grip tightened just as you could feel Mobius’ lubed cock slide into your ass.
Filled up is what you felt. You almost felt overwhelmed with it, but you could take it. You could take both of them as they started pumping in and out of you. You closed your eyes, almost feeling high, feeling like the universe was moving throughout your body.
Mobius couldn’t have possibly known your eyes were closed, but you felt one arm wrap around your waist as his fingers tightened in your hair. “Look at him pumping inside of you, y/n. Watch him fuck you.” His breath was ragged too as you moved between them, your hands tightening around Loki’s shoulders for purchase.
The moans coming out of you were loud, probably loud enough to wake the entire compound, but you didn’t care. They were stretching you out, filling you up entirely. You had never felt more loved than this exact moment. “Please-” you moaned. At this point, you weren’t sure what you were saying. You weren’t sure of anything, and you especially weren’t sure where you ended and Loki and Mobius began. “I don’t know if I can-” you started, pausing to look at Loki’s feral glance. You knew you were dripping with want, with need. You were wet, so wet, and so tight, and you loved the feeling of him inside of you. He was a god, and that almost all-powerful thing inside of him threatened to come out with every thrust, every new moan you made.
“What’s wrong?” Mobius asked, moving his hand from your hair to your chin, making you look at him. His eyes were almost glossed over, and he was still fighting his composure.
You shook your head, moving to buck back against him, which prompted him to move his hand back to your hair, controlling your every move, your every thrust. “I just don’t think I can-” Another shock rang throughout your body as they grew even more in sync with each other, picking up their pace. You felt totally dominated, and your mind was reeling from the fact that the two people you loved so much were fucking you into oblivion. The blush spread to your nose as you bit your lip. “I don’t think I can last long,” you moaned, rolling your head back momentarily as Mobius loosened his grip, kissing your soft lips.
Fuck, you saw stars. You were so close already, and his lips on yours didn’t help, his tongue exploring your own. His moans vibrated against your mouth as he grabbed a handful of your hair again, pushing you down to kiss Loki as he chuckled, some sadistic part of him enjoying seeing you on the edge. While you were usually so in control of everything around you, Mobius liked seeing you completely out of control, at his mercy.
Loki was close too. You could tell, because his grip was tightening even further on your waist, holding you completely in place while he slid in and out of you, his teeth gently pulling on your bottom lip. Through all three of your moans, you could hear the wet slap of his cock as he fucked you. He kept hitting that exact place you wanted him to, which made you cry out in pleasure. You were so glad they were both holding you, otherwise you didn’t think you could hold yourself up anymore.
Mobius’ hand moved from your hair to your throat, his grip tightening around you. Your eyes widened as any control you previously had completely disappeared along with your resolve to hold on. Your eyes squeezed shut for a moment as your pussy tightened around Loki’s cock, causing him to cry out in turn. Your eyes opened again, watching him shoot his cum inside of you. “Y/n!” He cried out your name as he reached for you, his hand tightening around your own.
“Fuck,” Mobius swore. Galaxies exploded inside of you as you gripped Loki’s other hand too, biting your lip as you felt Mobius shoot inside of your ass with a loud groan.
As your orgasm finally calmed, you felt the both of them slide out of you and let out an involuntary whimper. The feeling of being filled up, it was… everything. And now you felt empty. But as soon as they heard it, they came to your rescue, Loki turning over and pressing your face to his chest as Mobius laid down at your side, stroking your back and covering the three of you up.
“Better?” he whispered.
You nodded, moving your head to stare up at him, your lip wobbling a little. You felt completely exhausted, and the world felt like it was spinning around you, but as soon as you felt their arms tighten around you, you came back to Earth. He planted a small kiss on your lips, giving you a smile that made all dark thoughts completely disappear. You could see things in that smile, things that had been left unsaid.
“So much better,” you sighed.
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amyscascadingtabs · 3 years ago
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the way you keep the world at bay for me
post-the set up, a.k.a jake taking care of hungover amy, hungover amy taking care of sad jake, and mac caring mostly about himself because he’s a baby 😌
read on ao3
Jake doesn't get a lot of sleep that night, and for once, it's not even Mac’s fault. It's not even due to the pizza parlor simulator game either, although he does play a couple of rounds when Amy's finally snoring next to him after ranting to herself about the babysitter’s club for a solid ten minutes, but not even that can fully distract him from the dull sense of doom that's made itself at home deep in his chest. 
This is bad. Holt wants to see him tomorrow, and Jake knows there will be consequences. There has to be. There should be. He made a mistake, and he's going to get punished for it, and there is nothing he can do but accept his defeat. He already knows what he has to do; the nerve-wracking thing is the fact that it's still hours away, and his brain is spinning too fast for sleep.
He really wishes he could talk to Amy. She's sleeping on her stomach with her mouth open, arms straight out to the sides like she’s trying to push him out of bed, but he still can’t be mad at her. He hasn’t seen her this drunk since before she got pregnant, and he’s seriously worried about the hangover she’ll be sporting tomorrow, but he also knows she did it for him. Because they’re a team. Because she trusts him, sometimes even when it turns out he was wrong.
He wrongfully arrested someone. The sentence keeps repeating in his head, appears pasted in bold font on the inside of his eyelids if he tries to go to sleep, and displayed in luminescent letters on the ceiling of his bedroom when he gives up and opens his eyes again. He should have known better, has learned his lesson time and time again since his early days of constantly glorifying his job and letting his impulsivity get the best of him, and he still made a mistake.
  /
He just wants someone to tell him it doesn’t make him a bad person. If only Amy wasn’t so drunk he’s scared to wake her up right now, Charles wasn’t so devotedly biased in all questions involving Jake’s role as a detective, and Mac wasn’t, well… so completely unable to grasp any of the concepts involved in the question.
Amy lets out another mighty drunken snore, and Jake hopes she will consider it a testament to his love for her that he doesn’t voice record it. He turns his head instead and picks up his phone to go back to the pizza game. Maybe just a few more virtual customers will be able to lure him to sleep.
 ~
 He must have fallen asleep eventually, because when Mac does start babbling to himself over the monitor, the morning sun is shining through the windows, and Amy’s stopped snoring. She’s only moaning uncomfortably to herself now, and Jake’s guessing from her strained grimace that the headache has kicked in hard.
“I’ll get you coffee and aspirin as soon as I’ve checked on Mac,” he whispers to her with a kiss to her neck, and he thinks he sees the hint of a smile as she reaches out for him in what’s probably an attempt of a pat on the back, but ends up more of an unintentional slap to his butt. Or maybe she’s still drunk, and it is intentional. It’s hard to tell.
  /
Mac may have no clue about what’s currently going on with Jake, but at least it’s impossible not to smile when he hauls himself up and rocks back and forth on unsteady feet in excitement over the fact that someone’s coming to get him. He greets Jake with that wide grin that shows off all of his four teeth – two up and two down, and they’ve kept everyone up at night for weeks, but they’re so pearly white and cute so maybe it was worth it – and a laugh that’s been Jake’s favorite sound on Earth since the first time he heard it.
“Good morning, bud,” Jake tells his son as he lifts him up in his arms. “What do you say we get you a bottle and mama some coffee? Hmm?”
“Bah,” Mac repeats. Jake decides to give him the benefit of the doubt and say it means he agrees on the bottle.
“Bottle, exactly. You're so smart,” he says, booping his little nose and smiling as it makes Mac giggle. “Let's try another one. Dada.”
There's a tense moment of them both just staring at each other, and then finally, his son goes,
“Bah.”
“One day,” Jake says with a sigh as he carries Mac out of the nursery. “As long as you say me first, okay? We’ll get there. We’ll practice.”
  /
He puts Mac in the high chair while he tries his best to work the coffee machine and the bottle warmer at the same time. It's trickier than to be expected on almost no sleep, but at least he manages to pour the breast milk from the freezer bag into the bottle and not into his coffee this time. He's only made that mistake once (fine, maybe twice, and he kind of liked how sweet it tasted but he's never gonna tell anyone), but he suspects Amy's never gonna let him live it down. He gets Aspirin from the medicine cabinet while he waits, and puts a couple of slices of toast in the toaster. His own day feels already pretty much beyond saving, but at least maybe he can improve Amy's.
  /
Though, when she stumbles out of the bedroom, still in her pajamas with her huge glasses and hair on end and looking like she's either seconds from being sick or going straight back to sleep, he worries whether she might just be beyond saving, too.
“How are you feeling?” He asks as she gives him one drained look before walking up to the couch and face-planting on it with another pained groan.
“I think I might be dead.”
“That's called a hangover, babe. I think you used to be familiar with the concept once upon a time, but I guess it's been a while.” Jake grins at Mac, who only reaches his chubby hands out for the bottle out in response. “Toast?”
“Do I have to?”
“It's going to help.”
“Fine.” Amy pushes her head off the pillow to look at Mac. “He's not drinking the milk I pumped yesterday, right?”
“I poured that out for you. I know they say moderate amounts of alcohol are fine, but, well, you were speaking British.”
“Good call,” Amy mumbles as he puts the coffee, aspirin, and toast down in front of her. “See, this is why I married you.”
Jake just hums, but he does smile to himself as he goes to grab his own cup of coffee.
  /
“I wish I could call in sick to work today,” Amy says between bites of toast, and Jake looks up from where he’s absentmindedly brushing crumbs off the countertop while finishing his own. “My head feels like it’s going to explode.”
“I mean, you did very much go through contractions while managing an entire precinct during a blackout once. You could think about that?”
“No, this is worse than giving birth,” she states confidently, and Jake has to try very hard not to laugh. “Don’t tell my past self I said that. Or my future self if I ever give birth again.”
“Yeah.” He grimaces. “I’m pretty terrified to go, too.”
“Why?”
“Because yesterday? All of it?”
“Ohh.” Amy sighs. “Right. Maybe we should both just stay home.”
  /
Jake’s about to tell her how much he wishes that was an option when Mac drops the finished bottle against the tray, immediately starting to twist in his seat. Jake unclasps the belt and lifts him out before he manages to rock the chair – that kid’s shockingly strong – and Mac immediately crawls away towards the walker. He doesn’t use it to move yet, but he’s been pulling himself up with it for over a month, and the anticipation is high every time he lets go with one hand only to sit back down on his booty the next second. Sometimes Jake could swear his son does it for attention. At least Mac doesn’t seem to have inherited his impulsivity, Jake thinks, and then he’s back to beating himself up in his head.
  / 
“I just don’t know why I did it,” he mutters as he sits down on the floor next to Amy’s head on the couch. She nods slowly, and Jake takes it as a sign she might actually be able to listen to him now. “I should know better, right? These are, like... the kind of mistakes I used to make. I thought I’d gotten better at this kind of stuff. Smarter. Less impulsive. Less of a bad cop. But instead I arrested and tailed an innocent man, all because I thought I had a gut feeling and thought I was being set up.” He shakes his head. “I guess that FBI jerk was right about gut feelings.”
“You’re a great detective,” Amy says without missing a beat. “A lot of the time, your gut feeling is right.”
“That doesn’t excuse it. I still shouldn’t have done it.”
“No.” Amy sighs. “You shouldn’t have.”
“It sucked.”
“Yeah. It did. But there’s nothing you can do to change it now.”
“Do you think I’m a bad person for it?” The question comes flying out of him, and Amy frowns.
“Why would I think that?”
“Because it was a shit move! And because I’m definitely gonna get suspended for it, and that’s going to lose us money. And then we’re not going to be able to save as much for Mac, or pay for his baby music class or baby gymnastics. And then he’s going to end up broke and untalented and it’ll all be my fault, and then you’ll be ashamed of me and leave me and I’ll die sad and alone in a ditch.”
“And you don’t think you’re spiraling just slightly right now?” Amy asks. The smile on her lips is one of amusement, and it humbles him, bringing him out of his cycle of self-pity.
“I don’t know. I didn’t get a ton of sleep last night.”
“I don’t think you’re a bad person,” she says, and that does make him feel a bit better. “I think you made a really stupid mistake. There's no getting away from that. I’m not happy about it. But… I know you'll take responsibility for it. That’s already a whole lot further than a lot of people care to go.”
  /
Her fingers brush through her hair, calming him as she speaks. The hangover has made her voice a little scratchy, Jake notices when she's this close. It reminds him of mornings after long evenings out before they were parents, a time that always feels far longer ago than it was. Sometimes he thinks everything before Mac might as well be another lifetime.
  /
“And we'll work it out if you do get suspended,” Amy continues, talking over the obnoxious melody playing from a toy Mac has found. “It's not great, of course. But we can save lots of money on daycare if you stay home with Mac. That helps.”
“Like a paternity leave,” Jake says. He does like that thought.
“Oh yeah.” Amy laughs. “You’ll be just like one of those hip Scandinavian dads who get to stay home with their kids because they live in countries where they don’t hate people for having kids. And you two can go to all of the cool classes and playdates together. You’d be the sexiest dad at baby swim class for sure.”
“Wouldn’t I also be one of the only ones?”
“Good point. Make sure to mention your wife a lot. But hey, Mac’s going to love it.”
 /
As if wanting to confirm Amy’s point, Mac crawls over to Jake and tries to climb up on his knees to sit in his lap. He does this sometimes when he’s playing on his own; retreats to their arms for a hug or a quick cuddle, only to try and wriggle out of their grip and go back to whatever it is he’s doing in the next moment. Jake thinks it might be one of their son’s sweetest qualities. Mac rests his head against Jake’s chest, almost hugging him like that, and he wonders, not for the first time, how a person that’s not even one year of age can make every other issue in the world seem so insignificant. Even if it's just for a moment, it's a pretty damn good moment.
 / 
Fueled by the most powerful motivation of all – their son’s love and attention – Amy sits down on the floor too, patting her knees.
“You want to come to mama, Mac?”
Mac squirms for a moment in Jake's arms, and Jake lets go of him. Using the couch as support, for a second it looks like he’s almost about to take a step toward her. Both parents gasp in anticipation, and it must confuse him, because he reacts by giving Amy a shocked look and sitting right back down on his butt. Jake laughs as their son crawls away again, heading for the soft building blocks outside the playpen.
“He's such a tease.”
“He gets that from you,” Amy says, and Jake huffs in mock-offense. “Are you sure we shouldn't just stay home from work?”
  /
Jake thinks of his upcoming meeting with Holt. He's been fearing it for so many hours now, and he's starting to wonder if the anxious anticipation might just not be worse than the meeting itself. He already knows what he has to do; the only thing left is to rip off the band-aid.
“I don't think it will make anything better if we don't.”
“Yeah.” Amy sighs, closing her eyes and leaning on his shoulder. “I love you.”
“Love you too. And you should probably shower and put on makeup unless you want everyone to know exactly how hungover you are.”
“I know you're right, and I hate it.”
Jake grins and strokes her hair before getting up from the floor. “I’ll go get Mac ready for the day.”
  /
“Jake?” Amy calls out before he can leave for the nursery with Mac in his arms, and he turns around. Her voice is still a little hoarse.
“Yeah?”
“It's going to be okay, babe. We’ll figure it out.”
 / 
Jake brushes his fingers through Mac’s already unruly curls. He thinks of playground dates, the storytime for toddlers their library holds every Wednesday, and how much time he’ll have to make sure Mac says his name first now. Then he thinks of the bigger image; of daring to set a good example for this child, even when it's hard. If he wants the world to be a better place for his son, he's going to have to start by taking responsibility for his own actions.
“Yeah. I know.”
  /
For the first time that day, he dares to believe it.
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13uswntimagines · 4 years ago
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Better Luck Next Time (USWNT x Baby!Reader)
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Request: Reader is really bad at expressing her feelings and talking about things she loves, so the team helps her as best as they can. And one evening she calls them all into a room and tells them how much they all mean to her and how happy she is to have them
Author’s note: Special thanks to @literaryhedgehog​ because without her this imagine would not have been nearly as cute or cohesive. It’s set up kind of like a three times she didn’t and the one she did format. I also couldn’t help the little hint of Mal x reader that i stuck in here. Let me know what you think! i freaking live for feedback. Hit me up with questions, requests or if you just wanna say hi. My inbox is always open!
3 days on the team
Fuck the beep test. 
You fell to your knees panting heavily, sweat pouring off your forehead as you stared in disbelief at Kelley. How the fuck was she still going? The rest of your team had already been eliminated, everyone except for the flying squirrel. 
You had barely made it to the line on time, and there she was, running off to the next one in time to hear the next one like you hadn’t just done 70 reps. You had to up your game if you wanted to keep your spot. Your plan was simple- beat the best players and show them why you belonged. 
A bottle of water appeared in your peripheral vision. You flinched waiting for the icy spray to hit your face, but it never did. 
“You did good kid. Don’t beat yourself up about getting out earlier than Kelley. I don’t think anyone could actually beat her.” She said, pushing the water bottle into your hands and making you take a sip. 
You opened your mouth to respond, but no words would come out. You weren’t sure if that was because The Alex Morgan was talking to you, or if it was because your lungs were no longer in your chest. 
“I swear, the rest of us could tag-team this thing and she would still probably outlast us,” Alex said, shaking her head as she walked away, already used to your non-responses (though she was sure she saw your lips twitch up) “I’ve stopped trying, it’s so not worth the knee pain tomorrow.”
You opened and closed your mouth several times as if you were going to call some sarcastic response after her, but the words just wouldn’t come out. You just sighed, resting your head on your knees, your chin hitting your chest-- better luck next time.
*****
6 months on the team
The bus was a tricky situation. On most days the team didn’t care where you sat, but you knew that would change drastically during important tournaments, like Olympic qualifiers big. You had already been warned that where you sat- where everyone sat really- mattered. 
Screwing it up could bring the team bad luck, and you really didn’t want to be the reason why your team wasn’t going to the Olympics for the first time. 
For that reason you tried to be the last person on the bus, so you could tell where to sit based on what seats were open, but Emily had forgotten something and so she and Lindsey had run off to grab them, and now you were staring down the aisle of a partially filled bus wondering whether you were about to cast an omen of doom if you set your bag down. 
“Third row on the left is open, or 8th on the right,” you hear a voice pipe up from behind you. One of Christen’s warm hands settled on your shoulders, the other held her duffel bag partially over her shoulder. 
You felt yourself relax at the directions, incredibly grateful for the woman who had become one of your many team moms. You hadn’t ever spoken a full sentence to the woman, but she embraced your shy nature without blinking. 
“You could also crash with Mal, she doesn’t have a bus buddy,” Tobin’s bead popped up on your other side, wiggling her eyebrows. It was funny to most of the girls that their two team babies had things for each other. 
A light blush spread across your cheeks as you nodded. “Thanks” You mumbled, throwing your bag into an empty row, unwilling to sit with your crush. Tobin snorted as she settled back down, propping her feet up on the seat in front of her, her head on Alex’s shoulder as she slumped halfway down in her seat. 
“Better luck next time kid,” Christen winked at Mal and tossed her a small package of Oreos when she pouted. 
*****
9 months on the team
Going against Japan was never fun. They were a technically sound team with none of the friendly players like Leah or Jessie. That and they still held a massive grudge from the 2015 World Cup. 
As the second half had progressed, the Japanese team had become increasingly desperate. In their attempts to get the ball out of their defending half and into the US box, they had left giant gaps in their defense that Linsey and Sam were exploiting. As forwards, you and Alex were getting sent through balls and crosses. 
You collected a particularly nice ball threaded by Lindsey and broke towards goal, beating the two defenders that were marking you and looking for Alex. You were so focused on tracking her position that you didn’t see the center back coming in for a tackle until it was too late and you were staring up at the clouds, tweety birds fluttering around your head. 
You could feel the headache forming, like a growing stress ball where the base of your head met your neck. That was going to hurt once the adrenaline rush was over. 
“Hey Beaker, you alright?” Emily’s head appeared in your immediate vision, her worried form slightly fuzzy around the edges. 
“Meep meep” You huffed, sending the woman a little smile. It was weird to see Sonnett so serious. She put down a hand to pull you up and began brushing the grass off your jersey.
“How the fuck is that not a yellow or a PK, her studs were up and she wasn’t even going after the ball,” Lindsey yelled towards the ref, jogging past you to get right in the woman’s face. 
“Go help your girlfriend, mm fine” You mumbled, embarrassed by the attention you were getting. Emily’s presence was comforting, but couldn’t block the feeling of thousands of eyes throughout the stadium, watching you to see if you were going to be pulled from the field. You wondered if many of them were almost hoping for it. 
Emily sent you a worried look before patting your shoulder. “That was almost a goal too! And hey, they wouldn’t have fouled you if you weren’t killing it out here!”  She nudged your shoulder lightly with hers and released you to the medics, walking over to Lindsey and pulling her away from the ref before she got a red. 
You watched them for a bit before someone shined a flashlight in your eyes. Maybe next time you would find the words to thank them, someday when you weren’t feeling so dizzy. You’d have better luck next time. 
*******
1 year on the team
Oreos were the quintessential after practice snack. It appeased the vegans and catered to the sweet tooth of the younger side of the team, and really, anyone who didn’t like Oreos was surely messed up. 
Normally the team took turns bringing the packets of double-stuff, hiding them in duffel bags so coaches wouldn’t see and remind them about the diets they were all supposed to be on during season (and Dawn was like a bloodhound when it came to contraband). 
But to celebrate something the team would forego the normal packs set out by the coaching staff in favor of double, triple, or mega stuffed ones and some funky flavors. And right now was a celebration if you ever saw one. The team was jubilant after their extremely entertaining scrimmage. Your team, Cool Beans (named by Tobin), had beaten team Hot Stuff (Alex’s team) 6 to 5, you scoring 3 of said goals. 
You smiled lightly from your place on the locker room bench, munching happily on your mint Oreo and listening to several of the conversations happening around you. You felt so comfortable tucked between Mal and Christen, so safe and welcome. 
“You know, I really love you guys,” you said. There was a lull in the conversation, and several girls turned toward you in shock. 
“Holy shit, Meep Meep just talked!” Emily exclaimed, all eyes turning to you and your very red cheeks. Perhaps you hadn’t meant to say that out loud...
“We all knew she could talk,” Mal protested, throwing a balled-up cookie packet at her. Emily only smirked as the piece of plastic drifted through the air, falling about a foot short of its intended target. 
“Yeah but she said more than 3 words,” Lindsey rolled her eyes at the 2nd youngest forward, wiggling her eyebrows at Mal who had wrapped her spare arm around your waist. 
“I just-... you guys make me feel safe and I’ve never had my friends become like family before, and I love you guys,” You said, smiling at the ground. 
“We love you too Kiddo,” Christen said, from behind your left ear. 
“Group hug!!!!!” Kelley yelled before anyone could stop her, the women sharing a conspirator look before rushing you. 
You tried to protest, but in the end, there was no stopping them. A bundle of arms wrapped around you, dragging you to the floor in a dog pile. 
“Isn’t this nice!” Emily said from somewhere above you.
“Would be nicer if your elbow wasn’t embedded in my spleen…” You grumbled, hushing when Mal leaned up to kiss your cheek. Yes, these women were crazy, but right now you felt like the luckiest woman in the world.
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kenanda · 3 years ago
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Love your lonelyeyes fics!! I'm waiting for the sequel you mentioned and the abo one.
If you want to, no pressure, for the kissing prompt whichever you want to pick 11, 23 or 62 would be amazing. Have a lovely day !!!
Hello! I'm so humbled that you enjoy my fics, thank you so much! I'm a bit swamped atm, but I have those fics all outlined. I still plan on writing them, so bear with me!
Also, thank you for your patience, I know this took a while xD I've come back (sorta) after a week of being ill to commit more LonelyEyes crimes. I hope y'all are ready for some tooth-rotting fluff!
Since I'm still a bit under the weather, I decided to do what I never do and pick only one prompt (oh noes!). But here it goes:
Kissing prompt 23 - Exhausted parents kiss
Rating: PG-13 Words: 1,2k Pairing: LonelyEyes Characters: Jonah Magnus!Elias Bouchard; Peter Lukas; Martin Blackwood; Tim Stoker Tags: Established Relationship; Parenthood; Gentle Kissing; Fluff; No Hurt Only Comfort; Parents!Lonelyeyes; Domestic (like VERY); Doting Parents LonelyEyes; yeah Tim and Martin are their kids in this one; Prompt Fill
Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me. They are the property of Rusty Quill's The Magnus Archives.
Warning: If you're squicked by any of this, back out. Don't read. Thanks!
After nine years of being a parent, Elias had learned to recognise the shy knocking on his and Peter's door for what it really was. The day and hour — just a little past 11PM on a Sunday — were also a hint. Tim was supposed to be in bed by ten, and yet here he was, a small figure standing awkwardly on the threshold.
Elias lowered his reading glasses and elbowed Peter in the ribs when he failed to turn off the TV.
Peter jolted awake, having been on the brink of sleep. "Tim- Timothy? What's wrong?" Peter grumbled.
Between the two of them, Martin let out a tiny sound in his slumber.
Tim rubbed the back of his leg with a foot. "I just remembered… I have schoolwork… For tomorrow..."
Elias sighed, wondering why in the deepest part of his heart. But what could he do except help his forgetful child?
"I'll go get the cardboard and old magazines," he said and got up, careful not to jostle Martin.
Tim smiled. "Thank you, Daddy."
Unfortunately for him, Elias was rather weak to his child's eyes. Something about them reminded him of Peter; an acquired trait, maybe? Elias knew he was doomed the moment he saw the same little wrinkles appear on the sides of Tim’s eyes. Alas, he would die for this child — the love blooming in his chest upon noticing that their boy looked more and more like them was evidence enough.
Elias picked Tim up on the way out. Just as he was about to leave, he noticed that Peter hadn't moved an inch.
"Ahem.”
Peter wiggled out of bed with many a groan.
"Keep an eye on Martin while I help Tim," Elias told him.
Their youngest had just turned two; they were having some trouble getting him to fall asleep in his own bedroom. Martin was adamant in sleeping between his dads, even with the TV and the lights on.
Since Martin was out like a light, Peter picked him up and carried him to his bedroom.
Elias and Tim got to work in the kitchen. Elias should have known better than to not check Tim's assignments, but he believed it was good that their oldest had some responsibilities.
Elias also believed in dealing with the aftermath of one's own actions, but he wasn't a cruel parent. When the yawning and eye-rubbing became too much, Elias gently patted Tim on the back.
Wordlessly, Tim crawled into his arms. Elias could finish this alone. He would wake up exhausted the next day and have a busy day of meetings at work, but he at least could drink coffee.
Just as he was putting Tim to bed, he heard a yelp followed by a wail from Martin's bedroom. His heart raced, but hopefully it would be just another nightmare. If Peter had dropped their kid...
He strode over to find Martin plastered against Peter's chest, tiny arms wound too-tight around his neck. Peter gave Elias a look and a shrug.
"Stepped on a god forsaken Lego on my way out and let out a cry. Woke him up."
Elias relaxed. He could empathise, having been on the receiving end of a painful Lego-stepping more than once. It hadn't been pretty.
Peter sat on the blue armchair near the curtains, the one that was too small for him. Elias pulled up a chair next to them and gently helped rock Martin to sleep. Their baby boy was sniffling, so Peter started humming an old shanty that both Martin and Elias loved.
Elias was ready to sleep right there when Peter nudged him. Martin's arms had gone lax.
Elias removed him with a care that one would only employ to defuse a bomb, but managed to tuck him in bed.
They tiptoed out and heaved another tired sigh upon checking the hour. Way past midnight.
"I've still got Tim's assignment," Elias whined. It sounded almost like a cry.
"Come.” Peter encouraged, gently pushing Elias towards the kitchen “Four hands work faster."
By the time they were done, it was almost one in the morning. Peter would be able to sleep in on Monday (he was only needed at the harbour by noon), but Elias would have to be up in five hours.
Bleary-eyed, Elias put the finished work aside. Peter massaged his shoulders and nuzzled his hair, offering him some tea. They could certainly do with a cuppa, but all they needed right now was sleep — though not before one last check
Peter poked a head into Tim’s bedroom and Elias into Martin’s. The kids were fast asleep and thankfully it seemed like no more trouble would arise that night.
The pair crawled into bed and only whispered a tired good-night before turning off the bedside table lamps and immediately falling asleep.
***
Getting the kids out of bed the next day was torture. Martin was throwing a tantrum for having woken up yet again somewhere other than his parents' beds, and Tim was cranky due to the lack of sleep.
Elias could relate, but he still roused them with a smile and a kiss.
While Elias dressed Tim, Peter prepared Martin's food. Elias was in charge of dropping Tim off today. Peter would stay in with Martin until the minder arrived — a lovely young one called Sasha.
"Don't forget your assignment!" Elias told Tim as they were getting ready to go. Tim ran to get it. And to the pair of scoundrels he was leaving behind: "You two, no biscuits before lunch! I mean it. And don't forget to put away the laundry, I left it running last night."
"Will do. You take care as well!"
Martin was currently too entertained by his food to co-sign. Also, he was only two.
As they were about to leave, Elias remembered something. He did a little sprint to the kitchen and gave Peter a kiss.
Peter smiled (as he always did) and kissed him back. It lingered.
They had no idea what awaited them when they'd first decided to move in together. Even less so when after a few years, they had come to the conclusion that there were too many empty rooms in that house.
Elias had never once pictured himself as paternal and frankly, neither did Peter. But now, with way more grey hairs than when they started and many stories to tell, both agreed that it had been their best idea.
"Love you," Elias told him.
"Eww," Tim exclaimed. "That's gross, Daddy!"
"Come now, we don't talk like that about your Father. He has feelings, you know."
"Hey!"
Peter gave him a reprimanding pat on the bum.
Martin giggled at Elias's yelp with a face covered in carrot porridge.
"See you in a few," Elias said, ignoring Tim's now sudden protests that they were going to be late.
This was their life now — from sleepless nights in the ER to the swelling pride at school events; to the chaotic rush of mornings and relying on each other more than they ever had before.
Peter may be all smiles today, but Elias knew that he was just as tired. He also knew that neither would trade this for anything in the world. They were in this together.
"Miss you," Peter said.
"You won't have time for that." Elias looked pointedly at Martin, who was now making a sculpture of sorts out of his food.
"Yeah, you're probably right..."
"Appreciate the sentiment, though."
"Dad!" Tim warned.
"Right. Coming!"
Peter waved them away and blew a small kiss in Elias' direction. Elias caught it in mid-air and put it in his pocket, then blew one of his own. Peter held it in his hand.
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ifliamsmile · 4 years ago
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Days Gone ll Dick Grayson Imagine CH1
Summary: Reader’s powers try to warn her that something bad is coming up while Dick has to travel to a Justice League mission and something terrible happens.
Pairing/Relationship: Married!Dick Grayson x Titan!Wife!Reader
Warnings: ***100% angst***, i cried while writing it so..If you like angst, you’re hopefully going to like it too.
**y/sn= your nickname
It was going to be one of those days.
You felt it by the way that the rain covered San Francisco. The feeling in your chest wasn’t clear but you recognized it as the same feeling you felt in the day your parents died when you were just a kid.
The rain fell non-stop as you looked  through the window of your and Dick’s shared room. You were still in your pajamas when the boy entered the room, he had woken up earlier as usual to check the tower and the team, leaving more time for you to sleep.
“Hey, gorgeous, how you’re doing this morning?” You heard your husband’s voice; you turned to look at him, only to find him staring at you with half smile on his face, the same one that used to bring you peace, but now, not even it could take the bad feeling out of your chest.
“Good Morning, love” you smiled at him “So do you think i’m still gorgeous even with a sleepy face and my pajamas?” you pushed him by the the collar of his famous social blue shirt that you loved so much.
“You’re always going to be the prettiest woman ever” he caressed your hair with his hand leaving the free hand to place it in your waist “I love you”
“I love you, Grayson.” You answered him with a hint of sadness in your voice.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Dick asked you
“I don’t know, Dick, something’s wrong. My powers aren’t making it clear to me so I can’t see what exactly will happen but it’s unquiet here, you know? My mind is as misty as today’s sky and I don’t have a good feeling, not at all.” He listened to you carefully as he always did, so compreensive.
“Maybe you just have to wait, baby. They will make you understand better when it’s time, i’m sure. Don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe, right?”
“You, protector of Blüdhaven, Gotham City and San Francisco will keep me safe? Well, I feel honored.” You mocked him trying to ease the tension. “I’ll be fine baby, as long as you’re with me."
He smiled tenderly at you. 
“I came here to tell you something” he said, changing the subject
“What’s up?” You asked him
“Clark and Diana called. They need me in Washington to help the Justice League.” He told you. That same feeling you were harbouring this morning came rushing back and settled in your chest, heavier this time. Your expression changed immediately.
“Dick..” you breath deeply, looking down and his hands run to your face.
“Hey, just one mission and I’ll be back, Bruce will be there.” he said 
“Tell them you can’t go, tell them we will need you tonight here in San francisco.. just please, don’t go” He felt the fear in your voice as you tried to make him stay. You would never ask him to decline a misson but it wasn’t a normal kind of situation.
“Listen, I know what you’re feeling and I don’t think you should ignore it. But I can’t decline a call from Clark, he wouldn’t call me if it wasn’t important..It’s Clark, I can’t do this to him.”
You felt your eyes watered and you looked down.
“ I don’t want this bad feeling to be about you because.. I wouldn’t bare losing you, Richard” You said in a small voice.
“I’ll call you every minute i’m free to tell you that I’m okay. Hey” he lifted your face with his finger  “I’ve done this many times, and I came back, I always came back to you.” He said softly caressing your cheek
“You better do that" You did your best to keep a serious face, but when he kissed you you instantly melted.
------
Dick packed what he needed with your help, he got his suitcase and his favourite jacket and walked down towards the elevator.
“Promise me you won’t get too worried, alright? I love you” Dick said touching his forehead with yours.
“Be carefull, Wing, I Love you too”
The brown haired guy kissed you deeply and waved goodbye to the others too.
“Bye, guys, be careful, see you soon.”
“Bye Dick” Rachel replied.
The doors of the elevator closed and you took a deep breath while Donna put a hand in your shoulder.
“C’mon, let’s watch some GOT, girls time” and you both made your way to her bedroom.
You and Donna binged watched almost the entire first season.  You glanced at your watch thinking it was almost time for Dick to arrive in Washington and as if your thoughts were connected, your phone started vibrating and his smiley face appeared on the screen.
“Hey Donn, it’s Dick calling, be right back.” You told the black haired woman who was still watching TV and didn't even pay attention to you.
“Hey, I just landed and now i’m on my way to meet the league.”  Dick said.
“Hey, Wing, how was the trip? All fine?” you asked him
“I just feel a tightness in my heart, you know?” He said and you tense “It’s because I miss you” he laughed.
“You’re an ass, you know?” you laughed along with him.
“It's true” you heard his deep breath “I wish you could be here”
“Me too”
“Babe, i’m already in the league’s base. I’ll call you before we leave to the mission, alright?”
“Alright, be careful.” you replied.
“Love you"
Hearing that he was okay was a relief, maybe your bad feeling was about something else, you hoped. You entered Donna’s bedroom and found her on her feet ready to leave the room.
“Hey Donn, wanna train?” You asked her.
“Let’s go, so I can kick your ass” she mocked you.
“As if you could” you laughed.
---
It was already night and you have just finished cleaning the kitchen. You, Donna, Dawn and Rachel were having a girl’s talk when you heard your phone ringing.
“I’ll be back in a minute, girls” you told them.
“Hey, bird boy” you said.
“Hey, babe. Just wanted to update. We're about to leave for the mission. It’s the Legion of Doom, they’re causing panick in Washington. Just called to say that i love you”
“Couldn’t they give a break? Damn.. go there and end them. I love you so and watch out.”
“I will, don’t worry, see ya soon” he said softly an you hung up.
--
The next morning, you woke up earlier. It was 5am when you got up. Normally you’d wake up later than Dick, but something was wrong and it disturbed you so much that you couldn’t get a decent night of sleep.
You glanced at your phone looking for a message from Dick or even a call but nothing. Maybe things were bigger and they took more time to solve it. You’d wait.
It was night when you and Hank were training Gar and Rose on an intense class of martial arts. Your mind was somewhere else and you were doing your best but Hank knew you well enough to notice.
“Hey, Y/n. You got your head in the clouds?” he asked you smiling.
“I’m sorry, guys, Let’s do it again, I’m here now” you smiled weakly and you all returned to training.
Later that night, when the training was already over, you took a bath and went to the living room, he should be coming back home, you wished he was, so you kept waiting.
No call, no message, no nothing. It wasn’t like you were obsessed but it wasn’t normal of Dick to wait this long to text you, even more so when he knew how you were feeling when he left. It was weird and you tried to think he was okay, he was just busy.
You ended up sleeping on the couch waiting for him. the next morning, you felt a hand on your shoulder and you woke up wishing you could see his figure, but it was just Rachel, who was worried about you.
“Hey, y/n, why don’t you go to bed?”
“Hey Rache” You smiled at her “I just fell asleep here”
“He’s not back yet, but i'm sure he’s just doing he’ll be back soon.” She talked about her mentor with pride and you smiled at her keeping the your thoughts to yourself. She didn’t need to know or worry about it.
4 days later
You were getting crazy
Five days had passed with no news about Dick. You knew something was wrong,you just couldn't quite put your finger on it. You tried to call Bruce many times, but he never answered.
It was like they had disappeared.
Night came without any news either, and the titans were reunited in the the room before the training. Rachel and Gar were inside their room, hopefully studying, while the others were talking about life like you all used to do.
You were trying to keep your mind out of it and think that he was okay, because after all, that’s what he asked you to do.
Suddenly, the elevator doors opened, and you stood up with a sight of hope that it was Dick who came back from Washington, but it revealed someone else: Bruce Wayne. He looked at you specifically, you didn’t know what to expect or what to say.
“Hey, Bruce. What’s up?” You heard Jason’s voice and Bruce kept a serious look on his face.
“Hey, Bruce. I tried to call you but i didn’t get an answer, where’s Dick?” You asked him, waiting for what he had to say.
“I...I’ve tried to figure out a way to tell you that...” He seemed to be out of words “Dick is dead Y/n, I’m sorry” he said looking in your eyes.
You stood there in silence,  trying to understand what you had just heard.
“What do you mean?” It was the only thing you were able to say.
“He got shot in the head, Y/n. I’m truly sorry. He’s gone” He had an apologetic look on his face. His voice seemed so far from you
He is gone.
Your chest felt heavy. As if someone had dropped a ton of bricks on top of you, cutting the air from reaching your lungs. You finally understood what Bruce meant.
Dick died.
Your realised you were crying when you tasted the salt of your tears.
“No...” you tried to ignore the lump that formed in your throat. “No, he- he left for a mission and he should be back by now. You were with him, and now you tell me that he is gone!?” You asked in desbelief.
“How dare you coming here and telling me that my husband is dead?” You spoke a little louder, you got closer to him now to face him;
“I’ve been waiting for him to come back home for 5 days, can you understand it? I’ve waited for him to come back, to see him or hear his voice and I got nothing, Bruce, how could you let it happen?” you screamed at the man, you were in too much pain to care about anything
You felt a hand on your shoulder. It was Jason trying to show you some support, he was also crying, the other titans were too shocked to react.
“I’m truly sorry” Bruce didn’t know how to tell you this, he tried to come earlier but he was too hurt, just like you “I brought you this box with all his things” he left a box on the table and left.
The whole situation was too much, your mind tried to process while your body couldn’t answer and the feeling in your heart was of hundreds of knives stabbing it.
Dick wasn’t coming back home anymore.
When the man left, all you could do was cry, you couldn’t move, so you stood there. Jason guided you to the couch so you could sit. The room was silent, they were also trying to digest such horrible news. Jason brought you the box, it was the only thing you received.
You took the box and thanked Jason, you needed to breath, you needed to be alone to understand, but the truth was you just wanted to run and find him. You wanted to believe it wasn’t true and that  any moment now he would walk through the  door saying he was finally back.
“I’m sorry guys, i...” You said trying to excuse to leave to your bedroom.
“Don’t worry take your time” Donna said, she understood what you were feeling because she also lost the love of her life.
You nodded  and left with the box in your hands.
When you got in the bedroom, you were broken. Every little thing you looked remind you of him. His smell was still there. You grabbed the box and opened it.
It was extremely painful, but it was the only thing he left before dying.
All of his clothes were inside;  the jacket he wore when he left.  You pulled it to your chest, hugging it hoping that the numbness would go away.
His wedding ring was also there, he used to take it off to wear the suit. You cried your heart out. You just wanted him back.
You started getting tired, it was too much for your body to take, so you slept attached to his jacket.
“Save me, y/n, save me” Dick said with blood streaming down his head.
“Tell me what I can do, Dick, I’ll save you” you cried trying to hold him.
“You can’t” He said disappearing.
Kory woke up when she heard you screaming. She ran to your bedroom, finding you asleep, disturbed by nightmares.
“y/n wake up, it’s just a nightmare.” She told you trying to shake you awake. You were covered in sweat and panting.
“Kory” You hugged her, now crying
“Shh, calm down, it’s okay”
“He asked me to save him, Kory, I couldn’t and now he’s dead”
“Listen to me, it wasn’t your fault. if you want to blame someone, blame the person who killed him, okay? You need to sleep, you’ve been through a lot.”
You nodded at her and before she left she hugged you. You were thankful for friends like Kory.
--
Days passed t and the grief was taking over you, little by little. The nightmares never stopped and the numbness never left you.
You were in the rooftop watching the sunset; you breathed deeply accepting the air from the cold breeze of San Francisco in your lungs before releasing it.
“Hey Dick” you were talking to the sky in a hope that he could hear you.
“I’m lost” You try to hold your tears “When you left, you took everything with you. The abscence of you is everywhere I look. It’s like a huge hole have been ripped through my chest and the pain only reminds me that  you are not here anymore.” tears streamed down your face;
“Wherever you are Wing; know that you are safe in my heart.”
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yesloverboy · 5 years ago
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You and Michael playing PC games in the Sanctuary. Everything was okay until Michael decides to play the infamous "Cat Mario". That fucking fan made game that you can even past the first level. His rage level just explode with this game. I took inspiration from that youtuber named "Rooster Teeth".
listen y’all this is pure crack, but it was super fun to write. thanks so much for such a hilarious idea! 
…  
When Michael finally brought you to the Sanctuary, it was everything you dreamt it would be. Your new home felt like it existed on an entirely different plane of reality; a little slice of what you imagined heaven would be like, yet it was so much more. It was better than heaven, all because Michael had created it, and he created it just for you. It certainly wasn’t a complete picture of what yours and Michael’s new world would be, but for now, it was everything you could ever need to enjoy your victories and plan for the future.
 The Sanctuary itself was like an oasis in the desert, overflowing with lavish gardens, ornate palaces, and artful sculptures that were seemingly derived from all the rococo masterpieces you could recall from the previous Earth. The sun always shone brightly, and it only ever thunderstormed when you were tucked safely inside; a blanket wrapped securely around your shoulders and a book in your hands. 
 Best of all, Michael seemed relaxed, more relaxed than you ever remembered. The scowl he had adopted back in the Outpost had melted away, his mildly cherubic face becoming one of ease, the soft look in his eyes making your heart flutter. He still maintained his elegance– after all, he is the son of Satan and heir to Earth’s throne –but now, Michael was free to breathe a little. As the days went by, he became the playful boy you first fell in love with, indulging you in movie marathons, ruthless game nights, and impromptu dances in the kitchen. 
 As elegant as your Sanctuary was, it wasn’t long before you and your beloved ventured back into some of the more nostalgic creature comforts of your previous lives. You’re unsure how, but Michael managed to save the remnants of whatever the human race had left of the internet before the nuclear fallout. 
 On a particularly lazy day, you find yourself in Michael’s study, diving deep into the rabbit hole of PC games from your childhood. You’re halfway through Resident Evil 2, when Michael strolls in, the sound of him humming softly under his breath drawing your attention away from the computer screen. His hair is pulled back into a loose bun, and a pair of beige linen pants hand loosely on his hips. You smile to yourself as an image of Michael in crimson velvet flashes in your mind, and you feel proud of how much he’s let himself grow. 
 Sure, he’s still the antichrist, but now the darkness inside of him doesn’t have to fight for space anymore. There’s no good half or bad half, human or nonhuman– there’s just Michael. Your Michael. 
 “What are you up to, my love?”
 You open the game menu, pausing your progress for a moment. “Oh nothing, just rotting my brain with the old Resident Evil games. You remember these? God they used to scare the shit out of me.” 
 “Language, darling,” he teases, poking fun at your casual mention of the Lord Almighty. “Mind if I join you?” 
“I thought you’d never ask!” you giggle. “Now pull up a chair so I can kick your ass, pretty boy.” 
 Michael drags one of the plush lounge chairs over to the desk, all the while chuckling to himself. “Someone’s feeling feisty, today. Why don’t we find something we both can play? I wouldn’t want to inhibit my baby’s progress in her crusade against the undead.” 
 You playfully shove Michael as he flops down beside you, the chair squeaking against the wooden floor as he stumbles into it. “Hey, you don’t have to make up excuses, I’d be intimidated by my zombie-killing prowess, too.” 
 Michael just rolls his eyes, a coy smile tugging at his perfect lips. “Oh yeah, that’s definitely it. Now hurry up and pick something before I change my mind.”
 You save your progress on Resident Evil 2 and close its window, promptly opening your folder of games you filed away for later. You had all the classics: the rest of the Resident Evil series, Silent Hill, Doom, Super Mario Brothers, Super Mario World, and a few indie games you had yet to try. 
 “What about this one?” Michael asks, pointing to a game labeled Cat Mario.
 The game looks innocent enough. Based on appearance alone, it seems to be the exact format of a regular Mario game but just a little more homemade. Rather than having the adorable Italian plumber you know and love being the game’s main protagonist, a little white cat stands in his place. The instructions are in Japanese, but everything about it is virtually the same game– how different could it be?
 “Sure! I mean, I haven’t played it yet, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t love a good Mario rendition.” 
 “Game on,” Michael grins, “Why don’t you go first?” 
 You happily oblige, and select the only available stage on the colorful screen. It may not be a true Mario game, but the delightful pastel blue sky and white little clouds make you feel right at home. 
 The first thing you notice as you move the little white cat is how much slower everything is. No problem, you think. Maybe it’s just a little hiccup in the developer’s design. It is an indie game, after all, so you can’t expect it to be perfect. It isn’t until you reach the first green pipe that you realize something is terribly off about the whole thing.
 Rather than your adorable little cat character hopping inside and materializing through another pipe, the cat sinks within in and the pipe flies off the top of the screen, effectively wasting your first life. 
 “Whoa, what the fuck?” you look over at Michael, but his confused expression is just a mirror of your own. 
 “Yeah what the fuck is right,” he murmurs, “Are you sure you’re doing it right?”
 You scoff indignantly, “What do you mean, am I sure?”
 “Here,” he smiles confidently, “Let me give it a shot.” 
 Pushing yourself away from the desk, you allow the office chair to roll you out of Michael’s way, wondering what he could possibly do that would be any different from what you were trying. 
 Annoyingly enough, Michael gets farther than you did on your first attempt, quickly correcting every mistake he had observed you making. 
 “You know, the controls may be slow, but once you get the hang of it–” Michael starts, but is immediately cut off by the sight of a floating platform falling from the powder blue sky and onto the little white cat. 
 “Are you fucking kidding me?!” Michael growls, “That’s never happened in a Mario game before, has it?”
 Even though you’re just as perplexed as Michael, you can’t help but be amused by just how much he hates losing. “I don’t know, boy wonder. Has a green pipe ever flown off-screen in a Mario game before?”
 Michael just turns his attention back to the screen, his teeth clenched tightly in frustration. “Whatever, I’m trying it again.”
 This time around, Michael tries to make the cat jump and punch a question block, only for it to soar upwards and out of his reach. 
 “Please tell me you’re seeing this shit, and I’m not going crazy.” Michael whines. 
 “Oh you’re going crazy, alright,” you smirk, trying your best to bury the laugh that’s starting to bubble in your throat. 
 Michael continues on a little further, dodging green pipes and avoiding slow-moving enemies like the plague. You’re just about to tell him that he might be out of the woods when suddenly, the little white cat jumps up to hit a series of hidden blocks, only to be immediately boxed in by every single one of them. 
 You don’t have to look at him directly to know that his face is bright red with aggravation. In all the years you’d been with Michael, you’ve spent enough time with him to know that it’s taking him everything within his power not to smash the PC to bits with the wave of his fingers. 
 “This isn’t happening, this isn’t fucking happening.” Michael huffs, his eyes darting between the pastel-colored screen and your face, trying to gauge your reaction. “Listen, I’ve seen a lot of evil in this world– hell, I’ve done a lot of evil –but this is something else.” 
 You let out a hearty laugh and plant a firm kiss on his anger-flushed cheek. “Well, if it makes you feel any better, I’m sure that whatever internet troll invented this horrible thing probably perished in the blast.”
 “Kicking and screaming?” Michael inquires, a hint of humor returning to his velvety voice. 
 “Kicking and screaming,” you confirm, “Although, I can’t help but wonder what that kind of evil genius could have done for the new world…”
 Michael looks at an empty corner of the room thoughtfully, his brilliant eyes sparkling. “Well, we could always do a good old fashioned blood ritual later tonight…maybe bring the bastard back. You know, for old time’s sake.”
 You grin, feeling an overwhelming sense of affection for your competitive husband. He may be the son of the Devil, but he had all the competitive fire of a Greek God, scorned and beautiful all at the same time. 
 “It’s a date.”
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shannygoatgruff · 5 years ago
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Talk to Me
Stay Safe, Stay Home Writing Challenge - Prompt #16 (Call me if you need anything)
Genre: Romance
Pairing: Modern Ivar x OC
Warning: Language, sexual innuendo, insecurity
Rating: M
Chapter 1 || Chapter 3
Chapter 2
Sitting in Terminal 19, Ivar wasn’t sure how he was going to make it through this entire vacation without killing Hvitserk. 
From the car to their current spot, they argued, non-stop. First, Ivar didn’t want Hvitserk's with his leg braces through airport security. Then, they argued because Hvitserk wanted Ivar to use a wheelchair because it was faster. But, Ivar didn’t want to use a wheelchair; he could walk. He had his braces had brought both of his forearm crutches. It would take him a bit longer, but he could get to the terminal on his own. After calling Ivar a spoiled dick-wad, Hvitserk then insisted that they use the airport shuttle service to get to the terminal. He thought it was only fair since he was the one that had to lug around their carry-on bags. Ivar just called Hvitserk a lazy asshole as he listened to his brother curse at him as they walked to the terminal. 
As soon as they sat down Hvitserk wanted to get food. All Ivar did was ask why they didn’t stop on their way to the terminal? He was hungry, too, but now he was tired and needed to rest. This particular disagreement turned into an actual slap boxing match where Hvitserk got the last sucker punch in on Ivar’s bicep and ran away from where they were sitting.
Telling his older brother that he wished he'd get herpes, Ivar pulled out his vibrating phone. “Hallo, for Ivar.”
Just hearing his deep, yet gentle voice with that Norse accent, did something to her every time. She couldn’t tell Norweigan from Swedish from Icelandic from Dutch – it was all Scandinavian to her. The accent was just sexy as hell. “Hey.” Cash bit her lip, as she folded her legs under her on the floor at the Munich International Airport. “I made it to Munich. My next flight leaves in 2 hours.”  
“I’m sorry,” Ivar put his hand over his phone and spoke in Norweigan to Hvitserk before drawing back his fist in order to hit his brother if he didn’t get away from him. “Did you have a good flight?” He was relieved that she did. “I just made it to the airport. My flight is leaving in about 1 hour. It should take me about 2 hour, 20 minutes to reach Vienna.”   
“So, we’re going to see each other in a few hours, huh?” Cash could feel her stomach drop at the thought. Part of her wanted to go up to that ticket counter and change her return flight ticket. She wanted to hop on the first thing heading back to Baltimore. But another part of her, the part that wanted to see if this thing, whatever it was, could really be something.  
Ubbe is right. I have to tell her.  “Yeah, just a few hours. Do you know what time you want to meet tonight? Our hotels are just a few streets away.”  
“Um, I don’t have any idea how long it will take me to get through Customs when I get to Vienna.” She picked at the lent on her PINK sweatpants and thought. “Plus, I’ve been traveling overnight and haven’t slept at all. I’m exhausted – I may try to take a quick nap.”
“Okay.” Ivar was a little disappointed because he wanted to see her right away, but it at least bought him a little time. “But, you know if you sleep when you get in, you will never adjust to the local time. It is best to stay awake through it all. Besides, I make a really comfy pillow.” He held his breath for a second, trying to find the words to tell her about his condition. Instead, different words came tumbling out of his mouth, “I cannot wait to see your face.”
She chuckled nervously at that statement. Oh, that. Did he have to bring that up again? The last time they talked about exchanging photos, she ended up sending him a bunch of avatars. It wasn’t that she was afraid to show him what she looked like, but what if her mother was right and he ended up being some sort of homicidal maniac? She didn’t want to give him a photo to post on the wall of his creepy den of debauchery to jerk off to.  
What if he didn't like the things about her that she was already insecure about? She was short – only 5’3” and skinny. No matter what she tried, she couldn’t gain weight where it counted. She wasn’t sure what happened but the chests, hips, and butts that all of the women on her mother’s side of the family were blessed with, those genes skipped her completely. Her neck was too thin and it made her head look big. And though she loved her curly hair, it was big, too. Not that easily tamed curly hair that looked good on commercials, either. We’re talking totally unruly big curls on a short, skinny girl, with a big head, big curly hair. 
There were probably only like 3 black people in all of Norway, to begin with. What if Ivar didn’t appreciate all of her melanin? She was sure he knew she was black from her avatar, but they had never really talked about their races or ethnicities before. “I still don’t know what you look either. But, I think it makes meeting a complete stranger in a different country much more romantic when you don’t know who you’re looking for, don’t you?”
Over the last six months, he had been the one reluctantly to video chat with her. He was so afraid that she would see his braces or crutches. It was just better if they kept it to calls and messages. Plus, there was something really exciting about getting to know her and having her like him without the pity. God knows he had enough pity dates courtesy of his older brothers. “Not so much for me. I’m thinking, maybe we should exchange photos now.” He looked over his shoulder to make sure Hvitserk wasn’t nearby. “I want to look at you while I am on the plane.” 
This was only ever supposed to be an online friendship. All Cash did was reply to a comment he’d left on a YouTube vlog they both subscribed to. Somehow that turned into them emailing and chatting. Then that turned into texting and talking on the phone, and late nights and giggling in the dark. The next thing she knew, six months later, she was flying to Vienna to meet him. “Does it make sense that I’m nervous for you to see me?”
 “Why? I already think you are beautiful.” He said quietly.
Oh lord, I’m gonna fuck this boy.  She rubbed her brows and shook her head at the thought. Cash had tried so hard not to get caught up, but there was such sincerity in his voice. “Okay. I’m going to send you three pictures. No matter what you think, don’t say anything. That way, if I’m not your type, then there are no hard feelings. We can just have a great time and hang out as friends.”
“You know that is not going to happen. You are so much more than my friend." He hoped he could still be this smooth in person, "But, I’ll play along. I will send you some pictures too and you will not comment, either.”
“Okay, I’ll call you back in a few minutes. I have to look through my phone to find somewhere I don’t look crazy.”  
It took Ivar about 30 seconds to choose the pictures to send to her. Most of them were from the chest up or showed him sitting, so he was pretty confident that she wouldn't notice his affliction. He hit the send button and anxiously awaited her pictures in return.
When her phone pinged she closed her eyes. Did she want to open them?  Okay, he is not going to look like Eric Northman, so don’t be disappointed.  Why she had it in her mind that he was going to be some 6’6” blond vampire-Adonis like Alexander Skarsgård, was beyond her. 
But, didn’t all Scandinavian men have that look to them? Sexy, long, lanky, blonds, with sad blue eyes that were slightly darker around the sockets and looked like they moonlighted as vampires. That’s what secretly hoped that Ivar looked like. A sexy blond vampire – she could be Tara and he could Eric…Girl, get yourself together. This is not True Blood.  She shouldn’t have binge-watched the show on her flight.
When she opened her eyes, her breath caught in her throat. He didn’t look like Alexander Skarsgård, but this tasty morsel here… 
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Wait, what was she thinking? The only thing she could think to do was forward the pictures to her bestie, Glenn, with the following message:
Biiiiitch...Call Catfish immediately!  This can’t be Ivar!!!!!
She didn’t care that it was 4am back home.  This was an emergency.
 As she waited for Glenn to respond, she found herself almost regretting having sent him real pictures of herself. Now he knew what she looked like. If he was catfishing her, he was going to have a field day. But, if he wasn’t, then he was going to be mighty disappointed.  
Their beauty ratios didn’t match. She had this theory on the attractiveness of couples and had broken them down into ratios of beauty: high:high; low:low; high:low; equally yoked. The only couples that could stand the test of time were those that were equally yoked. 
Two extremely beautiful people were destined to fail, (ie. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.) One would think that Nick & Priyanka Jonas would have taken the hint from their former beautiful couple predecessors. Cash gave them a good 10 years before they would crash and burn. They were just too pretty. Mirrors were destined to turn themselves inside out when they walked by. The world just wasn’t ready for all that sexy. 
On the flip side of that coin, two extremely unattractive people wouldn’t last long, either. Take her cousin Maq and his wife Crystal, for example. One day, they would both wake up and be sickened, because they would take a good look at one another and realize that might doom the world by having a baby. If they had a child with their collective genes, the planets might malign...stars might blink out of existence. It could be the end of the world as Cash knew it.
Then you had the high:low ratio couples. Those were the people where one person was really attractive and the other was, not so much…a la Jay-Z and Beyoncé. Yeah, they made cute kids, but Cash was sure one of them (and she was sure it wasn’t Beyoncé) probably always felt like the ugly duckling in that relationship.
If this was truly Ivar, they weren’t equally yoked. She wasn’t as jaw-droppingly sexy as he was. Granted, she thought she was pretty damn cute, but not like him. She wouldn’t put them on them Jay-Z: Beyoncé scale, but the scales of beauty were slightly tipped in his favor.  
What the fuck was she thinking? Here she had just flown to another continent to meet a guy she didn’t know from Adam, only to be set up by him pretending to be someone else. There was no way on God’s green earth that this sexy specimen of man was the guy she had been talking to for the last six months. If it was, he either had a girlfriend, 2 wives in 3 countries, 35 children, was a sadist, serial killer, drunk, drug addict, or he was on the run from Interpol, or all of the above. Cash’s life didn’t work that way.   
Men like him didn’t happen to her. Not without all the fine print. 
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When Ivar’s phone chimed, he couldn’t hit the icon fast enough to see the photos Cash had sent him. He had wondered for so long what she looked like, no matter what it was she was going to be beautiful. He was sure of it. Even if Hvitserk liked to joke that she was probably looked like Floki in drag.
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“What is that dumb look on your face?” Hvitserk handed Ivar his sandwich wrap and coffee, before sitting down to peel back the wrapper on his own food. He eyed his brother suspiciously when he shook his head.
Without making a sound, he snatched the phone out of the younger man’s hand and looked at the screen. “Wow…who is…Is this who you’re going to meet?” Hvitserk’s smile was huge and his chest swelled with pride for his little brother. “Well done,” his voice raising an octave in his approval. He couldn’t resist nudging Ivar with his elbow a few times. “You are finally gonna get laid,” he laughed, taking a big bite of his wrap ignoring the bits of lettuce falling on his lap.
Why was Hvitserk on this trip? More importantly, why couldn’t Ivar have been born an only child? There was no way he was going to get to know Cash better or get any alone time with her with him around. Ivar thought about killing him, but then he would have to explain it to his remaining brothers at home. “I have had sex before, Hvitserk.”
“Yeah, but if you haven’t done it in over 3 years, I think you go back to being a virgin,” Hvitserk responded with a mouth full of food. “I think I read that somewhere.” Hvitserk shook his wrap in Ivar’s direction, as he tried to recall the statistics.  
Hvitserk wasn’t going to go into what Ubbe had told him about Ivar’s ill-fated sex life. Ivar’s confession to Ubbe was supposed to be in confidence. But of course with Ubbe and Hvitserk being best friends, naturally, Ubbe shared their youngest brother’s woes, and then Hvitserk told Björn. So now they all knew about Ivar’s impotence.
Poor Ivar, they’d all thought. They all knew that when he tried to lose his virginity as a teenager, he was too nervous to "rise to the occasion". So, when the moment did finally happen, with his last girlfriend that they all lovingly (hated) referred to as, ‘that stuck up bitch’ Freydis, he was unable to reach a climax. And what did his ever so beautiful and loving (bitch) girlfriend, Freydis, do to try to help him in his situation? She stopped having sex with him, that’s what.  
Ivar had begged Ubbe to take him to the urologist, fearing that his disease was the cause of him not being able to sæd, or whatever the term was for it in English. But, the doctor told him that stress and anxiety were most likely the causes of his impotence and he needed to relax – maybe consider seeing a therapist. But, he wasn’t crazy – he didn’t need a shrink.  
What he needed was to get rid of his mounting case of blue balls that had him on edge 24/7.
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artificialqueens · 4 years ago
Text
Lemon's Misadventures in Dating, Chapter 7  (Lemon x Life) - Mermelada
A/N: And she’s back, back, back again! I hope you all enjoy this one! Friendly reminder to drink in moderation and socially distance <3 tw for drugs and alcohol in this one, as always, I love all the feedback I’ve been getting! Thank you all, big kisses!
Saturday rolled around quicker than Lemon had expected, and she had a dilemma: Jan had a fancy dinner with her boyfriend’s parents; Jackie was still studying in New York; and Brooke Lynn was performing in Giselle every night for the next ten days. But she was so keen to go to Scarlett’s party - and not be stood alone like an awkward, well, lemon - that she had done something that was probably very, very silly. 
“So let me get this straight, you want me, a girl you hooked up with once on Tinder, to come with you to a party you were invited to by another girl from Tinder, and help you get laid?”
When she put it like that, it did actually seem very weird. “Well, not necessarily the last part, but yeah, it’s just a party, right? It’ll be fun!”
Kyne sipped her fruity cocktail, brow furrowed, not letting Lemon see any of her current thought process. The blonde’s eyes darted around the bar, smoothing her yellow skater dress along her thighs, as she thought of Plan E should the brunette say no. But on the plus side, she contemplated, trying to convince herself that her plan wasn’t completely doomed to failure, she did agree to come and meet me at short notice. And we’ve been chatting pretty regularly, so we can totally be friends, right? Her inner monologue was cut short when Kyne finally spoke up. 
“And there’ll be booze and lesbians, you say?”
“Yes, Kyne, I can guarantee you will be surrounded by booze and lesbians.”
The click of her high heels echoed through the bar as she jumped off her stool, grabbing her coat. “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”
***
Walking arm in arm as they navigated an unknown neighbourhood, the pair were able to laugh and chat like regular friends. Clearly having learned from her previous missteps, Kyne even appeared to be taking an interest in Lemon, asking about her life - she was even excited to find out about Lemon’s new job.
“Okay, okay, one thing I have actually been dying to know… is Lemon REALLY your name?? Like do your parents love fruit or something?”
Lemon turned and deadpanned her answer. “Yeah, I have a brother called Lime.”
She could see the cogs turning inside Kyne’s brain as her mouth rounded in a confused “oh”, but she could only keep her serious façade in place for a few seconds before she snorted into an easy grin.
“You bitch! You really had me thinking you were part of some fruit cult! So what’s your real name then?”
“Do you promise not to laugh?” pouted Lemon, shifting her eyes to the girl beside her.
“I promise nothing, but I’ll try my best.”
“Luisa.”
“That’s really pretty! Why would I laugh at that? But even bigger question now, where the fuck did Lemon come from?!” Kyne all but screamed as they turned the corner onto Scarlett’s street, the pair looking at every door to find the correct apartment block. Their plastic bag of recently-purchased alcohol and snacks (and a red velvet cupcake for Scarlett, it was her birthday, after all) swayed between them as they zig-zagged down the pavement, trying not to trip over the uneven surface in their heels. Lemon was so focussed on finding number 143 that she almost forgot to answer, until she felt Kyne’s elbow on her bicep.
“Oh, I don’t even know, I guess I loved yellow as a kid? Plus I’ve always been sour as hell.”
Looking up, they caught a glimpse of a girl with light-blue hair hanging out of a window, smoking, who noticed Lemon and Kyne approach the front door immediately. She tilted her head to the side and shouted loudly, seemingly at nobody. “Sissy! Whores at the door for you!”
Looking between each other, both panicking that they’d made a huge mistake, the girls stood on the front step, trying to ignore the glare of the girl above them.
“I’m scared, she’s mean,” mouthed Kyne, causing Lemon to reach out and hold the younger girl’s hand, also as an attempt to calm her own racing pulse. Before they could do anything else, the intercom crackled and buzzed, the door shifting slightly as it unlocked. Biting her lip, Lemon led the brunette inside, never letting go of her hand. The smell of weed radiated around the stairwell, the dull thud of a dancey bassline penetrating the concrete walls. Slowly, they climbed the stairs up to the third floor.
“Do you smoke?” Lemon asked, dying to break the silence and put the younger girl - but mainly herself - at ease.
“Sometimes”, she hesitated, tucking a strand of her wavy chestnut-coloured hair behind her ear. “You?”
“Sometimes.”
They eventually reached the source of the music, where a girl Lemon recognised as Scarlett stood at the open door, already clearly hammered.
“Oh my god, you must be Lemon!!!” she screamed, immediately engulfing her into a tight hug. She was a good couple of inches shorter than Lemon, but she was very, very strong. Scarlett smelled of a combination of weed and flowery perfume, and Lemon couldn’t help but notice how her tattooed biceps flexed as she gripped her. “You are even more beautiful in person, oh fuck, sorry, thank you so much for coming!” Finally letting go, she placed her hands on Kyne’s shoulders, staring deeply into her eyes like she was reading a sign. “Is this your friend? She’s gorgeous too, it’s not fucking fair!”
As if a switch had been flipped, Kyne was suddenly oozing fearless confidence, her demeanor reminiscent of the first time Lemon had met her. “Hi, yes, I’m Kyne, and I fucked her first.”
Lemon’s jaw hit the floor as Kyne smirked, before being enveloped in Scarlett’s arms. The birthday girl laughed like it was the funniest thing she had ever heard, her hands wrapped tightly around the Filipina’s waist. “Oh my god! You are so funny, I love you! Welcome, welcome!” Taking a step to the side, Lemon produced the cupcake in its paper container from their shopping bag. 
“Happy Birthday, girl!”
Scarlett’s eyes suddenly became glassy, and she put an arm around each of the other girls as her bottom lip trembled. “Ladies… this is the nicest thing anyone has done for me today, you are both angels!” Lemon tried to hold the small cake aloft to avoid squashing it any more, meanwhile Kyne appeared to be biting her lip in a vain attempt to not laugh. Scarlett, however, showed no signs of stopping her emotional tirade. “My own girlfriend didn’t get me a cake! I mean she baked some edibles for tonight, but it’s just not the same, y’know? This really means something, so thank you so much.”
A cough at the door interrupted the moment, and from the corner of her eye, Lemon saw the blue-haired girl from the window earlier, quickly realising that she recognised her from her heart tattoo under her eye. Ilona.
“Sorry to interrupt, babies, but we should take this inside. Scar, our neighbours don’t need to hear this again.” She spoke curtly, and despite the smile plastered on her face, it was obvious to everyone how she was really feeling. She was mad.
As Lemon and Kyne detangled themselves, edging towards the entrance, Scarlett spoke up again, sounding much less merry than before.
“Oh I’m sorry, sissy! Fuck my feelings, eh? Come on, ladies, let’s go party!” And with that, the remaining three girls could only watch the short blonde hair of the birthday girl bounce through the front door, leaving them in an awkward stalemate. Luckily, Kyne spoke up first, addressing the burning question that Lemon wasn’t brave enough to mention.
“So are you two, like, a thing?”
Ilona’s face had completely changed, her vulnerability now evident through her knitted eyebrows. She sighed heavily, ushering the others inside. “Yep, one wonderful year of this,” she muttered as she gesticulated wildly into the air, closing the door behind her and all but stomping down the dimly lit hallway. “Leave your shoes and jackets here, smoke out the window, and don’t have sex on my bed.” 
This was definitely a bonding moment for Lemon and Kyne, the two giggling quietly at each other as they slid off their shoes, leaving them in the messy pile which had been erected by the door. Lemon felt Kyne’s warm hand brush against hers, so she took the hint and interlaced their fingers again. They smirked at each other, knowing that tonight would be interesting, no matter what happened. As they heard Scarlett’s strained voice shouting at her girlfriend from the room at the end of the hall, they padded along the wooden flooring, ready to see where the night took them.
***
“Hey! Kyne! Watch this!”
With slightly dilated brown eyes and a vacant smile focussing on her, Lemon slid her legs along the carpet, straight into the splits. She posed, grinning, with a ‘ta-da!’
“Wooooo! Go Lemon!! She’s a dance teacher, people!” screeched Kyne over the music, running over to Lemon with a bottle of Fireball. Both girls took a generous swig, laughing as the brunette took the blonde by the hands and attempted to drag her across the floor, legs still splayed. The party, so far, had indeed been interesting. Scarlett had disappeared shortly after they had arrived, so Ilona had joined them on the couch with a bottle of expensive-looking vodka and a plate of pot brownies. Lemon and Kyne had half-heartedly listened as she cried about nothing they knew anything about; then Kyne had cried about how she had started to develop feelings for her roommate, but how she was too scared to ever say anything; which left Lemon sat in the middle with her arms around them both, stroking their hair, waiting for their temporary downer to end. As quickly as it had started, they had both perked up again, and pulled Lemon onto the makeshift dancefloor, the alcohol in her system making her brave enough to pull out all her tricks. The blonde couldn’t help but notice that the unlikely pair were getting on rather well, Ilona’s hand never far away from any exposed part of Kyne. As she stood upright again, shaking off the strain in her groin muscles, she stood and hazily watched as both girls slid into the hallway, taking the bottle of orange alcohol with them. As Lemon pondered her next move, a voice from above knocked her out of her daze, with strong arms guiding her toward the kitchen. For the second time that night, Lemon couldn’t help but feel she recognised the dark-skinned woman. She wore her hair in two long boxer braids which swung down her back, her plum lips turned up in a smile.
“Come play with me, we’re doing gin pong!”
Lemon let the woman’s velvet voice encompass her, when her brain finally connected the dots.
“Tynomi?!”
The woman in the denim playsuit looked startled as she looked Lemon up and down, before having her own moment of realisation. “Ah, lesbian Tinder? Nice to meet you…?”
“Lemon! I’m Lemon!”
“Lemon, it’s a pleasure! I’m afraid I haven’t found you yet, otherwise I’d know you better by now.” She winked as she sashayed through the beaded curtain which separated the kitchen from the living room, Lemon following her like a puppy would its mother. She readily took the plastic cup Tynomi offered her, filling it with a potent-looking mixture of rum and ginger beer. “I don’t spend as much time in Toronto as I’d like, sadly, which means so many lovely ladies fly under my radar.”
Trying to hide her wince as she sipped the strong drink, she leaned towards Tynomi, who was busy preparing a drink for herself with at least six different types of alcohol in it. “That’s a shame, do you live out of town?”
“No, no, I live two blocks away actually! But I’m a flight attendant, so it’s hard to keep something serious going, you know?” She raised her glass to toast with Lemon, both women holding eye contact as they sipped. Before Lemon had the chance to ask any of the hundreds of questions running through her mind, Tynomi had already turned to the long table with cups set up at both ends, grabbing hold of a ping-pong ball. “Anyway, shall I start?”
***
Lemon had lost all concept of time and space by the time Scarlett reappeared, her pixie cut looking ruffled as if she’d just rolled out of bed - which, to be fair, she probably had - jumping around the kitchen excitedly, attempting to drum up support for going to a club. Looking around the packed room, there was no sign anywhere of Kyne or Ilona, and after three attempts she managed to unlock her phone to see if the younger girl had messaged. Thankfully, she had.
[22:04] Leeeeeedmon im ginna sleeo here tonight with alina hopw u get bsck ssfe txtx me luv u bye xxzzxxxxxxzx
Despite not fully understanding what she was attempting to read, she decided that Kyne was fine. Why not go out with Scarlett? She found the blonde back in the kitchen, chatting to Tynomi, when she wrapped her arms around them both. “Let’s go out out! You’re both, like, so cool, I wanna dance!” And in a blur, Lemon found herself being whisked into the back seat a taxi between the other two girls, singing along to Alanis Morisette at the top of her lungs.
How the bouncers at the front door decided they were fit enough to be let in, Lemon will never know. But here she was, jostling through the crowds, ready to order some more drinks with money she didn’t necessarily have, but she didn’t care right now. Tynomi and Scarlett had decided to stay outside for a cigarette break, but she had assured them that she was absolutely fine. Completely fine. She heard a sudden thud, and as she bent down to search for her dropped phone on the dark floor, a familiar voice stopped her in her tracks.
“Lemon?”
“OH MY GOD! RITA!!!!!!!” Grabbing the slippery device and clumsily skipping towards the area where Rita was standing with another woman - whose giant boobs were the only things Lemon could actually focus on - she threw herself head first into the Québécoise, not noticing the death stare she was receiving from the ashy blonde beside her.
“Who are you here with, mon chou? Are you okay?”
“We were at a party! I’m not sure where they’ve all gone, but oh my god, I can’t believe you’re here! I’m so drunk! Let’s go dance!”
Rita and her companion exchanged a worried glance, and both helped Lemon balance as she wobbled between them. “Lemon, this is my friend from work, Jimbo. Jimbo, this is my friend, Lemon.”
Despite the alcohol coursing through her system, Lemon still picked up on the way Rita’s mouth ever so slightly twisted into a smile as she looked over at her friend, or the way she maintained wide eye contact with her afterwards, wordlessly begging the drunk girl not to embarrass her or do anything stupid. She put everything together and realised that this was the woman Rita liked. But as she twisted in her seat to shake the other doctor’s hand, she was once again interrupted by a voice from behind her.
“Rita? Is that you?”
Tynomi approached the group, somehow still walking like a runway model, with her arms open wide. Rita immediately found herself enveloped in Tynomi’s embrace, the dark-skinned woman planting kisses on both of her cheeks. She held tightly onto Rita’s upper arms, looking each other deeply in the eye, leaving Lemon and Jimbo to feel like they were spying on an intimate moment. “Rita, you look amazing! How are you doing?”
“Oh, you know, the same really! How are you? It’s great to see you again!”
The tension hung thickly in the air as Rita and Tynomi chatted, not even Scarlett’s alcohol-fuelled attempts at speaking French could dissipate it. And as Lemon squinted her eyes to the tall girl beside her, a stiff arm around her waist still holding her upright, she noticed the angry scowl now painted on her face while she watched the others. Lemon may be completely and utterly wasted, but she knew that look well - she wasn’t lying when she said she was always bitter - and felt obliged to do something. After all, Rita had just helped her get a job.
“Jimbo, wanna come smoke outside with me?”
The blonde glared at her for a second, before letting go and walking straight towards the door, leaving Lemon to trot after her. She found her again standing against the front wall of the building, arms folded, lips still pouted like a child who didn’t get their way. 
“You like her, don’t you?”
Jimbo slid her back down the wall until she was crouching, allowing Lemon to sit beside her, no doubt getting her yellow dress covered in dirt and who knows what else. Jimbo groaned as she threw her head into her hands. “I can’t help it. It’s Rita, you know, she’s wonderful. But she goes for people like you and those girls inside, not some ugly, big-titted whore like me. I’m such an idiot, bad Jimbo!”
All too familiar with this narrative and in no mood to let the party mood be dampened, Lemon grabbed both of Jimbo’s hands, rubbing them softly with her thumbs, but it wasn’t enough to stop the tears falling from the other woman’s eyes. “Hey, no you’re not! You’re amazing! Rita definitely likes you too!”
But unfortunately, that only made her cry even more. “You don’t even know me! Why are you being nice to me? Who even are you?” Lemon continued holding her hands, shuffling closer so they could share body heat in the cool autumn air. Normally, when she was sober, she was pretty terrible at dealing with emotional people, but now she was feeling like a qualified therapist. How could it possibly go wrong?
“Look,” she began, moving her arm to around Jimbo’s shoulders, the other blonde leaning into the touch as she sobbed into Lemon’s chest. “I don’t know Rita as well as you obviously do, but I do know a lot of deep shit about her, right?” Stroking the long, blonde hair in front of her, she thought of how to best articulate her plan. “By the way, do you speak French?”
“I mean, enough to understand when she talks to herself in the office when she thinks no one else is there? Oh fuck that sounds so creepy, she hates me!” Jimbo was shaking with tears now, leaving black mascara marks on the front of Lemon’s dress. But that was a problem for future Lemon.
“Well, she turned me down a few days ago. Apparently I’m not her type. She said she liked someone else, from work, who speaks French with her, who makes her tea and compliments her lipstick, and makes her laugh every day with her silly impressions. Does that sound like anyone you know?” Lemon stopped touching Jimbo’s hair, allowing the voluptuous woman to look up at her, still crying hysterically. For a moment, Lemon almost panicked that she had horribly misread the situation and was speaking to the wrong person entirely.
“I… make…. her… tea…” she managed to stutter through jumpy breaths. Now it was her turn to grab hold of Lemon, squashing her head into her large breasts, Lemon making a mental note to ask later if they were real or not. “She… she always wears amazing lipstick, and I always tell her so,” she hiccuped, wiping her tears on the top of Lemon’s head. “She always laughs when I do my Joan Rivers…” Sitting up, she looked at Lemon in shock, finally appearing to have stopped crying. “Does Rita like me?! You’re lying!”
Lemon repositioned herself again, sliding her legs out in front of her, back to sitting beside Jimbo on the ground. “I’m dead serious, that’s what she told me!” She couldn’t get another word in before she was once again being dragged into a vice-like hug by the older woman.
“Oh my god, I am so fucking glad that work drinks got so messy tonight! Oh my god, what do I do now? Help me, yellow lady!!” Lemon managed to pry herself away, taking a deep breath to make up for all the breathing she’d missed out on.
“What do you mean, you dummy, just tell her!”
“I can’t just tell her! When has that ever worked?!”
“I told one of my friends once and we ended up dating for three years, so I…” Lemon’s words caught at the back of her throat, why did she have to say that? Of all the stupid things her drunk brain could think of, of course it had to be Juice. There was no point in fighting it, she just had to get her emotions out, even if she was a very ugly crier. “I… I loved her so much, Jimbo, why did it have to end?” Her trembling lower lip soon transformed into a loud sob, leaving Jimbo to hold her tight again and clumsily run her hand along her arm.
“Don’t cry, darling, she sounds like a total fucking bitch. Forget about her!”
“She wasn’t though! Why did I break up with her? Oh god, what have I done?” 
“No no no no no, don’t cry, you’re gonna make me cry again!”
And so the pair stayed sitting on the dirty concrete at the front of the bar, holding each other and crying for what could have been hours, not noticing any effects of the cold air or damp pavement against their bare arms and legs. They didn’t speak another full sentence to each other, communicating only through grunts and high-pitched wails, much to the amusement and confusion of the other customers milling around outside. Eventually, they felt the presence of somebody else squatting in front of them, the liquorice scent of Rita’s perfume and the grounding feeling of a hand on each of their knees bringing them back into the real world.
“Ohhhh là là, I am not nearly drunk enough for this. Let’s go back inside, ladies, Aunty Scarlett has just bought 100 Jägerbombs and we only have an hour to finish them all.”
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secret-engima · 5 years ago
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OH BUT as long as we've got the whole canon-meets-au thing fresh in mind, imagine Regis meeting Regina. Or Regina!Noctis casually breaking everyone's minds when he tells them his mom is Queen Regina and it's really weird seeing her counterpart as a man -
*screeches in* YOOOOOO DID NOT MEAN TO FOGRET I HADN’T ANSWERED THIS BECAUSE IT’S AN AWESOME IDEA. BUT I’M HERE NOW SO LETS RAMBLE (note that I shall refer to the canon counterparts of everyone but Regis as C!Name to differentiate from Regina’s crew):
-It’s C!Cid that encounters them first. Because of course he is. They trickled into Hammerhead after an Encounter with Solheim magic, and C!Cid gets this ... feeling of confused doom when he sees the Regalia plus like- two motorcycles trundle into Hammerhead.
-The feeling of doom multiplies when out of the Regalia climbs a lot of familiar faces, plus three not-so-familiar faces and one face that should be familiar except its FEMALE.
-Regina gets off her motorcycle (that Cor is perched on the back of btw) looks around this larger, busier Hammerhead with fascinated eyes, then turns and grins at her Sun, “Found civilization!”
-Cid and C!Cid are already staring at each other, and Cid just- SIGHS heavily at Regina’s chipper mood, “Ah blame ya for everything about this, ‘Gina.”
-Regina just laughs and C!Cid can feel a headache coming on.
-C!Cid, after hearing their jumbled story and learning why the group is both bigger and younger than it was in his timeline (TIMELINES. FRAGGIT REGGIE THIS IS YOUR FAULT SOMEHOW HE KNOWS IT), grumbles and herds them all off to Insomnia. Because this is Reggie’s problem and he’s going to deal with it. Not C!Cid thank you.
-Needless to say, this was NOT how Regis expected his afternoon to go. A servant comes to inform him that Cid Sophiar is waiting in one of the guest lounges with a sizable group of young adults and teens, Regis and C!Clarus exchanged baffled looks before rounding up C!Cor and trundling down to greet their old friend and his apparent gaggle of strange young ones.
-They walk in right as Cor tries, yet again, to best Regina in combat as per their deal for his coming along with them on this trip. Regina doesn’t even blink as she disarms the feral Bby Cloud and pins him to the floor with her boot on his neck, still casually chatting with Ardyn and Titus the entire time.
-Regis and the C!Co all stare. Because What.
-Seeing the goggle eyed king, C!Cid greets his old friends, then immediately yeets them under the bus by calling over Clarus and saying, “Clarus, this is Clarus. His Reggie did something stupid in them old Solheim ruins and now they’re here. Ah figured they’d have a better chance getting home here than in Hammerhead.”
-While C!Clarus gapes and younger Clarus eyes his older counterpart with some wariness, C!Cid takes possibly too much glee in introducing the rest of Regina’s motley cast of misfits (Cor is still struggling under Regina’s shoe, turning slightly blue in the face because of his refusal to yield). Weskham is all polite manners and mischievous smirks as he greets the C!cast and ... admittedly stares in worried fascination at Regis (a MALE Regina, that must have been an interesting change to their childhoods, he’s so ... off balance too, Regina hadn’t even blinked at the dimensional travel problem, yet this counterpart looks like he needs a good sit down and a glass of water, and is that a CANE he’s using? Whatever for? He’s not that old-).
-C!Cid, because he is a troll at heart, introduces Regina LAST. Admittedly, Regis and C!Co should have been expecting it by the time they were introduced to the counterpart of Sylva and C!Cid had pointed out the wheezing, snarling Corling on the floor, and YET-.
-Regina looks up with perfect timing from where she’d been trying to talk Cor into just yielding already before he passed out, smiles a smile that is positively Fae and introduces herself, “Regina Lucis Caelum, Crown Princess of Lucis, daughter  of King Mors and current runaway fugitive from said father.” She tilts her head as Regis makes a faint dying whale noise, her grin still in place as she muses, “Somehow I thought I’d be ... taller if I was male. But we’re about the same height actually.”
-C!Clarus manages to stay upright himself long enough to help Regis to a chair. Then they both sit down hard. Weskham calmly begins pulling a tea set out of armiger out of sympathy while Titus just- sighs and Ardyn shyly points out to Regina that she could have broken the news a little more gently and also Corling is eighty percent passed out so she might want to let him up now.
-”Not until he yields,” Regina retorts cheerfully, then looks down at the twitching Cor and comments, “You know that if you pass out, I’m going to do something embarrassing to you. So pick your poison, Murder Child, the embarrassment of yielding? Or letting me do whatever I want while you’re unconscious?”
-Glaring pure murder and hate, Corling slaps the floor three times with a hand. Regina takes her boot off his neck and lets his wheeze curses into the floor as she turns and examines the C!cast with a critical eye. She spots adult C!Cor, who has been drifting steadily closer with a feral fascination in his gaze, and smiles like the sun, “Murder Child! You grow up into such a lovely Murder Adult!”
-Cor wheezes something profane from the floor while C!Cor raises an eyebrow and Cid sighs heavily as he helps Cor up from the floor and gives him a canteen of water to help his throat.
-In the midst of watching this ... entire Thing play out, something finally clicks into place in Regis’s brain and he manages a strangled, “Runaway fugitive?”
-Regina casually flops onto the arm of the chair Regis is sitting in, kicking her legs almost like a child as she chirps, “Yep! Ran away at fourteen because Prophecies, but Daddy Dearest,” there is a definite sneer when she says that and a flash of almost murderous magic in her eyes, “didn’t believe me. So I’m a fugitive from his Crownsguard. Have been for a few years now. Murder Child over there was the latest attempt to bring me back to the Citadel, but it didn’t work and now he’s my Cloudy Murder Child.”
-”Stop calling me Murder Child!”
-”It’s that or Baby Cloud, Murder Child, take your pick.”
-Cor snarls at her while Titus snickers and Clarus looks to the heavens in exasperation. Regina continues her story to an increasingly horrified Regis, “Anyway, ran away at fourteen, was not believed that I was on a Holy Quest, or that I had good reasons for asking the Oracle Princess to come with me on my quest.”
-Sylva, from where she is loyally lurking next to Ardyn and sipping on Weskham’s tea, points out, “You broke into my room in the middle of the night and we left before dawn. I’m fairly certain the world thinks you kidnapped me, ‘Gina, my mother’s proclamations to the contrary or no.”
-”Kidnapped, asked, semantics,” retorts Regina, blatantly not caring when C!Clarus makes a garbled noise of protest at that (and HOW is Regis’s counterpart this ... blasé and insane? Seriously being a different gender should NOT make this much a difference right? RIGHT?)
-C!Cor who is the only canon member coping with this well (C!Cid is already drinking the whiskey Cid passed him in sympathy), asks, “And the Chancellor of Niflheim is with you because....?”
-Regina tilts her head at C!Cor with genuine confusion, “Who? Ardyn? He’s not Niflheim’s anything. I broke him out of Angelgard.”
-In the horrified silence that follows that proclamation, C!Cid dryly comments, “Does yer pa think yer planning a coup or something, cause it sure sounds like ya are.”
-He Regrets™ opening his mouth an instant later when Regina spaces out at the wall with a LOOK in her violet-tinted eyes. Clarus’s head snaps around from where he was holding a staring contest with C!Cor and goes very pale, “Regina no.”
-Regina curls her lips into something too inhuman and cruel to be a smile as she whines, “But my Storm-Shield....”
-Clarus stomps over to physically collar her, as if that will stop the idea from taking root, “No. We’re in enough trouble as it is.” He narrows his eyes at her and growls, “If you plot a coup against Mors so help me I am NEVER doing paperwork for you again. Ever. You’ll have to deal with every scrap of paper your mess generates from now until the end of time. Besides,” he adds with a hint of hysteria in his tone that indicates he is well and truly trying to talk Regina out of an idea (that indicates that Regina is taking C!Cid’s sarcastic comment SERIOUSLY), “Ardyn’s already lived through one royal coup, you’re not going to make him live through one again are you?”
-Regina’s expression falls into a pout as she glances at the suddenly very subdued Ardyn, “....Fine. No royal coups.”
-Cor makes a noise of vague disappointment that makes C!Cor stare at his younger self in alarm, and in the various strangled noises from the C!Cast, Weskham calmly begins passing out cups of tea to soothe the nerves. Weskham sees Regis’s wide-eyed look and smiles a little ruefully, “I would like to say, Your Majesty, that she isn’t usually like this, but I’m afraid I would be lying.” Weskham looks innocently over at C!Clarus, who looks a half-step away from having some kind of heart attack, and asks, “Your Regis wasn’t like this as a teenager?”
-The resounding, scandalized NO from C!Cid, C!Clarus, and Regis himself makes Regina cackle.
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willsherjohnkhan · 4 years ago
Text
The Time Trap
Chapter 7: The Showdown
***
From the moment the concept of Time came into existence its trajectory has been one of forward motion, tunneling through a never-ending corridor that has grown ever longer as years, centuries and millennia whooshed past at an ever-increasing rate.
Time had borne witness to an untold number of changes. But only briefly, as its progress through the corridor marched relentlessly on, and only ever as a witness, never as a participant.
With so much progression going on around it, it should not have come as any surprise that Time itself would change, acquiring conscious thought. And when that happened it began to question such things as why its motion was limited to only moving forward.
So it began to experiment. Using its army of Time Ghosts, it tried going back in time, then breaking through into present time.
These time breaches, no matter how small and seemingly insignificant they may have appeared had the ability to cause untold havoc for those that Time had chosen to play their tricks on. Initially their actions went unchecked, but as Time grew in confidence these breaches began to cause ripples throughout multiple dimensions.
An Agency was appointed with the task of keeping an eye on Time’s activities, and sealing irregularities detected and returning Time to its continuous flow before it could cause too much damage.
The main body of the agency was called The Guardianship. At its disposal it had nine medium atomic weights that it used as Agents and Specialists that dealt with the breaches. These beings were immortal and possessed unique abilities to assist them in tracking down the source of the breach and reversing its effects.
There was also a secondary level of the agency known as The Dominion. They too had their own workforce, the Transient Beings. As their names suggested they were not gifted with a permanent lifespan. They were also not allowed to travel in time, doomed to remain in the past unlike their Guardianship counterparts, who could go when and where they pleased.
It was these clearly defined demarcations that had led to deep divisions between The Guardianship and The Dominion.
***
13 MONTAGUE STREET
Planning had continued all through the night. The task at hand was dangerous for all concerned. None more so than for a small child who had become the unwitting catalyst to events she had no knowledge of.
*
13 MONTAGUE STREET – FOYER
By early the following morning everyone knew their precarious assignments. Gold was to remain with Mary, John and Rosie. Their task was to foil Time’s attack and seal the breach. While Sapphire, Steel and Leads goal was to draw out Copper, Jet and The Dominion.
But just as they made their way to the front door, Gold barred their way, to make one final objection.
“I don’t like this. You’re walking into a trap, not making one. You’re going to be outnumbered and overpowered.”
“I’m well aware of that,” Steel replied with some irritation. “But there is simply no other way.”
Before Gold could continue his argument, Steel added. “Of course, should you wrap up everything here, I certainly wouldn’t say no to some additional backup. But something tells me you will have your hands full.”
Gold knew he was beaten, and with great reluctance finally allowed them to leave.
***
221B BAKER STREET
As they approached their oft preferred bolthole, Sapphire noted. “Mrs Hudson won’t be pleased.”
“She never is,” Steel responded, a hint of a smile appeared briefly on his lips.
Barely discernable though it was, Sapphire spotted it. “Steel, what did you do?”
Caught out, Steel admitted. “I may have increased the dose in her herbal soothers on our last visit. She won’t be aware of what’s happening until it’s over.”
By the time they entered the premises and made their way to the upstairs flat, Steel’s cool, logical demeanour had returned. “This is a place of strength. This is our territory. They want us then this is where they will need to come.”
“And you’re certain they will?” Lead queried.
“Oh they’ll come, have no fear of that.”
“Then I think we should use the time we have left to get everything ready,” Sapphire stated.
***
13 MONTAGUE STREET – ROSIE’S BEDROOM
With obvious reluctance Mary placed Rosie in her cot, before turning and leaving the room, closing the door firmly behind her.
*
13 MONTAGUE STREET – LANDING
She made her way over to John and Gold who were waiting for her.
Gold was leaning casually against the wall opposite to the bedroom, the ever present umbrella now being used so that he could rest his hands, as he stood apparently lost in thought.
Mary turned to look back at the closed bedroom door. “How long do you think we’ll have to wait?”
“I shouldn’t think very long,” Gold responded.
“How can you be certain Time won’t realise it’s a trap?” John asked.
“Oh I’m certain that they’re more than well aware,” Gold advised calmly. “Mary’s duplicity will make Time even more determined to finish what it started. And that we can use to our advantage.”
Gold noted John checking his army pistol. “I’m afraid that will have no effect on those we’ll be up against,” was his lofty assessment.
John carefully replaced his weapon. “I know,” he replied, turning to look at Mary. They both gave a brief nod, acknowledging an agreement, before turning back to Gold. “It’s not for them.”
***
221B BAKER STREET – FLAT
The flat was quiet and in almost complete darkness.
In the middle of the room Sapphire, Lead and Steel stood motionless. Lead, though there primarily to assist Steel had taken up a protective stance between the two agents, ready to help Sapphire should she require it.
The clock on the mantelpiece that had been ticking steadily suddenly began to slow down, and then abruptly stopped.
“They’re near,” Sapphire reported calmly. “They’re not alone. There are others”
“Can you tell how many?” Steel asked.
Sapphire’s eyes glowed blue briefly. “Hard to say, they’re masking their presence. But I think it’s fair to say that Gold was correct in his estimation.”
When several minutes later they still hadn’t put in an appearance, Steel decided he’d had enough of their games.
“Well, we’re here. You have our full and undivided attention.” When he received no immediate response, Steel began to move carefully around the room. “Oh come now, shy and retiring doesn’t suit either of you,” he taunted. “Show yourselves, and please introduce us to your new collaborators. We can’t wait to hear what they promised you to ensure you turned traitor.”
No sooner was that word uttered then there was a definite change in the air.
The time for games was over.
***
13 MONTAGUE STREET – ROSIE’S BEDROOM
As Rosie lay in her cot she began to feel unsettled, but she was unable to fathom quite why.
A few minutes later she became aware of a sound she had heard once before, when her mother had been taken from her.
Was she about to lose her once again?
The sound that resembled the tearing of paper and the grounding of broken glass grew louder.
Rosie rolled over, grasping the bars of the cot to haul herself to her feet, she stood watching as the texture of the wall opposite began to melt away, making a gap big enough for Time, in a hideously ghoulish form, to break through.
*
13 MONTAGUE STREET – LANDING
The increasingly distressed cries of the baby girl grew loud enough to be heard throughout the house.
Mary moved towards the door, only to be halted by the firm grip of Gold.
“Wait,” he ordered tersely.
But Mary would have none of it. Wrenching her arm free she raced over to the bedroom door, opened it and entered with John right behind her.
“Damn it,” Gold muttered grimly, before he too entered the room.
***
221B BAKER STREET – FLAT
The walls of the flat began to shake violently, sending anything not secured down crashing to the floor.
“I think you got their attention,” was Lead’s sage observation.
The lights, which were switched off, began to flicker on and off.
The display left Steel unmoved, while Sapphire and Lead were mildly amused.
“You dare to call us traitors!” Jet shrieked in indignation, finally putting in an appearance, Copper at his side.
“If not traitors, then what are you?” Sapphire calmly queried.
Copper stepped forward, her head held high, she stated emphatically. “We’re liberators.”
“And who exactly is it you believe that you are liberating?” Steel coolly asked.
“You know very well who.”
“Tell me anyway,” Steel coaxed. “Tell us all about why they need liberating, and what you’ve been promised in exchange?”
Jet pulled Copper back to his side. “Don’t answer him,” he ordered. “They’ll find out soon enough.”
The words were no sooner out of his mouth, when...
“You can step aside now. You’ve served your purpose,” was the snide instruction. “It’s time for the adults to take over.”
“Is that how you see yourselves?” Steel queried derisively. He hadn’t regarded The Dominion with that much authority when they’d approached Sapphire and he before. And he felt even less now. ”So how did you make them believe that becoming traitors was so noble?”
“They were so gullible, so eager to please, so willing to prove themselves worthy that they failed to notice that we had no intention of making good on what we promised them.”
Jet visibly chafed clearly furious for the way he and Copper had been so easily taken in and cruelly deceived by The Dominion.
“Fallibility is the rite of passage of the young. But their true gift is that they will learn from this mistake.” The statement was about as close as Steel was ever likely to get to defending the young agents. He then turned his attention back to the far more pressing matter at hand. “So, you resort to the coercing of two young, inexperienced agents in order to arrange this little tete-a-tete, when you’re fully capable of doing so yourselves. It’s not as if you haven’t done so previously.”
“I’m afraid you’ve completely misunderstood the whole purpose of this reckoning,” a second Dominion representative stated.
“I doubt it.”
“Always so arrogant and confident in your abilities to handle any situation you find yourselves placed in.”
Steel’s patience was running thin. He preferred to get straight to the point. “So why don’t you enlighten us?” he demanded.
“We gave you and Sapphire the chance to join with us, in the hope that you would be able to assist the Transient Beings in being given a more equitable standing with the Time Agents. But you rejected those requests out of hand, to carry on your own merry way.”
“We’re not responsible for the limitations placed on the Transient Beings. We are all given our appointed assignments, and are expected to perform them to the best of our abilities,” Sapphire argued.
“But they have sacrificed so much in their efforts to keep Time in its place.”
“It’s not us you should be bringing your grievances to. You should express your concerns to The Guardianship directly.”
“You think we haven’t tried? They won’t listen. But you two are their best agents, they would listen to you.”
“We sympathise with their situation...”
“We don’t want your sympathy. We want action.”
“You intend to start a war,” Steel’s voice hinted at the horror he felt as he realised just how far The Dominion were prepared to go.
“If that’s what it takes,” was the belligerent response.
“A war,” Steel continued, his horror turning to a simmering rage. “Where the only winner would be Time, causing untold grief and havoc unchecked because there will be no-one left to reign them in.”
“Then that is the sacrifice that must be made if we are forced to fight for the equality that is so richly deserved for the Transient Beings.”
There was a deadly silence as all sides faced each other down, waiting to see who would make the first move.
“We do not condone your intended actions,” Steel stated, his tone grim and unyielding.
“Then you will be its first casualties.”
***
13 MONTAGUE STREET – ROSIE’S BEDROOM
Gale force winds whipped and raged around the small room, attempting to destroy everything in its path. And all the while the air was filled with deafeningly furious howls.
But strangely to Gold, the only sounds he focused on were the pitiful whimpers of the small child under the rubble of her destroyed cot, and the desperate cries of her parents as they attempted to locate her.
Gold looked with contemptuous disdain at the ghoulish figures spilling unchecked into the room. Striding forward, he brandished his unopened umbrella as if it were a sword.
The Time Ghost’s response to this display was to cackle and hiss. They knew they had the upper hand. Victory was there’s for the taking.
Over the ear-piercing shrieks, Mary called out. “We have her.”
Gold turned his head to confirm where they were, before ordering. “Get behind me.” He then took another step forward to confront the oncoming horde. “Return back foul beasts to where you belong,” he ordered.
The order was refused.
“We do not take orders from the likes of you,” they roared, as they pushed relentlessly forward.
But Gold held his ground.
He was soon joined by Mary, who told the horde with utter conviction. “You will not take my child from me.”
***
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kpopshitposter · 5 years ago
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Requested by @minsugagal​ | A Christmas Surprise
With his recent success, boyfriend!Hongjoong has been struggling more and more to take you on dates. With Christmas around the corner, you’re feeling disappointed and worried about your future together. 
Reader x Boyfriend!Hongjoong x Wooyoung x San (a tiny bit)
Warning: Hongjoong’s aegyo 
You had your head on his chest, because where else would it be? From here you could listen to Hongjoong’s heart - the very one which has been promised to you. You were scrolling through his phone, looking for inspiration on what to do for Christmas. It was your first holiday of any kind together. So, uh… NO PRESSURE.
“Oh, what about this? It looks really fun!” you’d say.
“Ah… but a lot of people will be there. People might take pictures of us or approach me.” he’d reply.
“Okay… this? You need tickets for it so fewer people will be there.”
“That’s very popular….”
“This?”
“My manager doesn’t let me do things like that.”
“What about-”
“We’re not allowed to-”
“How about-”
“We can’t-”
Sigh. We can’t, we can’t, we can’t.
The nerves and excitement were transitioning into disappointment and dread.
Was this a hint as to how your whole relationship will be? Frustratingly worried about Hongjoong being recognised? About fans invading your privacy and taking pictures of you together? Is your entire relationship going to start and end on this very bed, isolated from the world and new experiences?
The thoughts which were consuming you vanished at the sight of beautiful Christmas decorations. It was a grand tree outdoors, surrounded by sparkling fairy lights wrapped around lamp posts and benches. There were even angel-like figures in the sky, glittering like stars watching over everyone who walked by. This was an event - one with fireworks and sparklers and delicious food. The figures all changed colours and there was a fountain music event. It seemed fun and beautiful and romantic!
You squealed a little and zoomed in on the picture.
“It’s so pretty! Look - the lights and the water move in time with the music!”
“You like the Christmas lights?”
“Yeah! it’s kind of always been a dream of mine to go to something like this. Don’t you think Christmas lights are really romantic? It would be such a cute date.”
“Ah, really…” Hongjoong holds you a little closer. “But… something like this…”
Yeah. You know. Something like this is in public.
“It’s fine, Hongjoong, just…” you rubbed your face and sat up. You tried to not let his broken expression get to you. “I’m gonna go home.” you start to shuffle off the bed but he instantly reacts. He sits up and wraps arms around your waist, pulling you back down onto the bed with him.
Your boyfriend rolls you over onto your back and straddles your waist. He whines, cutely ditching his phone and lacing your fingers together.
“NoooooOOOooOOOoo.” he whines your name and pins your hands up by your head. You start to laugh as he wiggles his shoulders as if throwing a little temper tantrum. “Don’t leaaaaave!”
“Hey! Let me go!”
“I don’t want tooooOOooOO.”
“Stop acting like a baby!” but you can’t keep the laughter back as he starts to pout.
“But I’m your baby!” he releases you only to start a little aegyo routine. He’s trying to cheer you up and convince you to stay.
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“You’re a grown man!” you joke, trying to struggle free but Hongjoong holds on tighter (and honestly you’re enjoying the view from down here quite a bit…).
“My darlingggg.” Ignoring you, he starts to kiss all over your face, small, brief, little pecks. They were enough to make you feel momentarily better. You knew Hongjoong didn’t do this on purpose, you knew he didn’t want to stop you from being able to make memories with him. He loves you. It’s obvious.
 But that changed nothing.
Your friends were all posting pictures of the cute Christmas dates they were going on with their partners. Boat rides, fireworks, light shows, kissing under mistletoe… the more you see the more isolated you feel. You knew you were lucky to have Hongjoong, someone who has always given you his whole heart and held nothing back, but you couldn’t help feeling a little upset by the restrictions. 
You also couldn’t help but imagine how this will impact the rest of your lives together.
Will you ever be able to get married under the public eye? Will you really never be able to do... anything? It was making you question whether or not this was really a relationship you wanted to be in. What if you were just setting yourself up for pain…?
You were trying to clear your throat and wipe away your tears as you answered the video call request, but Hongjoong wasn’t fooled.
He softly said your name, full of caution and concern.
“Yeah?” you sniffled.
“What’s wrong?”
I’m just worried we’re doomed. I’m scared if I tell you this, it will be the start of a conversation I don’t want to have. I’m terrified of losing you. “Nothing. I’m okay, just getting a cold I guess. What are you up to?”
Hongjoong wasn’t convinced but didn’t want to pressure you into telling him… but this went on for days. You were lost in your imagination, paranoid about whether or not you’re only doing this for sorrow.
As he held your hand and kissed your cheek you wondered if you should pull away. As he nuzzled your neck you wondered if you should twitch. As he slid his hands into your sleeves, pretending he needs you to warm up his hot palms (probably sweating from carrying the weight of the relationship) you wondered if you should recoil.
One day, it wasn’t just a problem you had in your thoughts anymore.
You had been waiting for Hongjoong in his bedroom and so when there was a knock you expected it to be him. Instead, a timid Wooyoung could be heard calling your name from the other side of the door.
Oh.
You stood and opened the door letting him in with a smile. 
“Hey, Wooyoung.”
He lowered his head politely to you in a little greeting, allowing the door to close behind him.
“... Is everything okay?” he nodded to your question but something definitely seemed off.
“Can we talk?” 
Oh… yikes. “Yeah, sure. I was waiting for Hongjoong, he’ll be here soon.”
“Ahh. I just want to talk to you.”
Okay… this is getting awkward. You move to sit on the bed and pat the mattress beside you. Come on. Whatever you have to say, just say it. I’m ready for any extra aching you’re about to leave me with.
“Read this.” Wooyoung passed you his phone, open on a conversation between him and Hongjoong.
You read each message twenty times, but Wooyoung sits there patiently waiting for you.
“He’s worried about you.” he says when you finally look up and hold the phone out.
You’re silent.
“He said he’s scared to lose you.” You know. You read the same conversation. “He… loves you.”
“I know he does… I love him too.”
Wooyoung places a hand on shoulder, giving it a little squeeze before running his fingers down your arm. He was trying to comfort you, and that made you want to cry.
“Do you want to talk about what’s wrong? If you can’t talk to him I can try to help.” 
His concerned stare, the way Hongjoong had seemed so upset in the texts, the other’s kind hand on you, Wooyoung always helping whoever he can as much as he can…
It reduced you to tears.
You can hear a little worried gasp fall from his lips as he pulled you in for a hug. He simply held you. It was exactly what you needed.
“Wooyoung, I’m so scared!”
He rubbed your back, allowing you to speak and melt over his clothing.
“We can never do anything together. We can’t go to the cinema or go for dinner or do anything!”
“So you don’t enjoy your time with him?”
Rubbing your face, you pull away. “No, it isn’t that…”
“You’re not satisfied?”
“It isn’t that… it’s more like I’m scared this is all we’ll ever have. We’re going to miss out on the whole world.”
“Hm. When did you start to think like this?”
“I don’t know. I guess when everyone started posting their pictures together. We can’t even do that.”
Wooyoung is quiet for a moment before he tilts his head, “Do you think your friends are as happy as you are with Hongjoong?”
That immediately made you scoff. “No way. They argue SO much. They’ve even cheated on each other.”
He smiled as if you proved his point. “Then you’re worried about something that hasn’t happened yet to be more like bad relationships?”
Wait… what?
When you didn’t say anything, he continued, “If you’re happy now why would you want to be more like unhappy couples now? You don’t have to do what everyone else is doing. You will make your own memories in your own way.”
You stared at him and then squinted. “Oh my- when did you get so wise, huh?? What have you been watching?” you teasingly hit his arm, making him laugh and nudge you.
“I’ve always been wise! You just never deserved to see!”
“I deserve it now, though?”
“Desperate times.”
You rolled your eyes, rubbing your cheeks once again. “So what do you think I should do?”
“I think you should talk to Hongjoong.” he patted your head and laughed as you pushed at his side.
“You’re banned from talking to me. I’m gonna block you everywhere!”
“It’s okay. Destiny will bring us together somehow.”
You laughed more, grabbing a pillow to whack him with.
In the next few days, you try your best to keep remembering to enjoy the moments you get. Perhaps you’re a little clingier than usual, but Hongjoong seems to like it after how distant you’ve been. However, while it certainly cheered you up and helped you put things into perspective, it didn’t completely wash away the nerves.
Especially since Wooyoung isn’t the only one to hit you with “Can we talk?”
This time it was a text from Hongjoong, which is never good. Normally, Hongjoong video calls you, even if it’s just for five seconds. He’ll always pick seeing you over not seeing you, so it worries you when he acts out of the norm.
He tells you to meet him in the practice room after a rehearsal, so it must be something so important he can’t wait 5 minutes to find somewhere else…
Whatever.
Whatever is about to come, you’ll just have to hope you’re strong enough to take it. You’ll just pretend like the fact that it’s Christmas should give you a free pass from bad news.
You arrive at the practice room and it’s pitch black - not a person in sight.
Wrong room…? You double-check Hongjoong’s message. Huh. It’s definitely right… and now it’s starting to rain.
You try the door. It’s open. You scurry inside, using your phone as a torch you feel around for the light switch, but before you could complete your task the room is suddenly flooded with sparkling white lights. You freeze, amazed.
The beautiful white stars are soon joined by red and green. The lights all come together to reveal that the practice room had been coated with fairy lights of different kinds. Still, blinking, and colour-switching. They winked at you in an inviting dance.
You feel yourself moving forward through the lights, noticing that as you move closer to the center they align with the wall mirror to form a large butterfly. You start to smile at the beautiful sight. It was all so peaceful. 
A slow melody had you turning your head towards the sound. You saw Honjoong stepping closer to you, a shy smile on his face as he swayed a little to the romantic Christmas music. 
He intertwines your fingers together and they slotted in perfectly.
There’s a cheeky glimmer in his eyes as he pulls you in. He doesn’t say a word. He simply holds mistletoe above your head and brings your lips to his.
“What is this, Hongjoong?” you whisper against his mouth the moment you have the chance to breathe again.
“I can’t take you to all of these places… but I can make right here a place you want to be.”
Your smile is strained from the effort to hold back your tears. Enough crying for one year. “Anywhere where you are is where I want to be.”
He squealed and poked your cheek. “Cute.”
“Did you do all of this by yourself?” you asked after giggling and swatting at his hand.
“No… San and Wooyoung helped me.”
“Where are they?”
Still holding your hand, Hongjoong stepped aside and gestured to where he had emerged from in the sound room.
San saluted you and Wooyoung came out waddling and cheering, clapping with joy.
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You suddenly become shy (because… uh… did they see the kiss???) and turn your face into Hongjoong’s chest. 
Just as well that you looked away, the movement allowed you to not see the flicker of jealousy across San’s face.
But that’s a story for another time.
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emeraldwaves · 5 years ago
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Title: A Hint of Something Magical Pairing: Jerejean, Alvarez/Laila Rating: T Word Count: 4059 Ao3 Summary: Being with the Trojans is a very different experience for Jean. They're happy and friendly, everything Jean believes he's not. He soon learns that even someone as bright as Jeremy Knox has a deep, unexpected obsession. The first fic in a small jerejean series i’m working on about them at disneyland <3. Full fic under the cut
Standing in the middle of Main Street, U.S.A at Disneyland, Jean feels overwhelmed. There are too many people hitting against his shoulder, bumping into his side, and he tries not to panic. Kids dash in front of him, laughing, not paying attention. By the front store to the left, a baby starts wailing and Jean resists the urge to cover his ears.
The worst part is, he's here by mistake. Not that he casually stumbled into Disneyland, but he made the mistake of saying he had never been in front of Jeremy Knox.
And unbeknownst to Jean, rule #1 of being a Trojan is to never mention Disneyland in front of their captain.
Which, of course, happened earlier in the week.
"You know," Jeremy explains, "Indiana Jones. The ride at Disneyland. Bumpy, dark, a little thrilling, totally worth waiting in the line even when it breaks down. One of the best rides in the park."
Jean's not sure if this is a compliment or an insult. "Are you comparing my play style to a ride?" he asks.
"Uh, yeah," Jeremy smiles, so genuine, so real. Jean's still not used to his demeanor; his whole sunshine personality is overwhelming. "One of the best in the park! Or do you disagree?"
Okay, apparently it’s a compliment.
"Uhm," Jean shifts his weight and he catches eyes with Laila and Alvarez who immediately start swiping their hands in front of their throats. He's not sure what that means, but he looks back to Jeremy who's blue eyes are eagerly shimmering, waiting for his answer. "I have never been to Disneyland."
"I knew it," Laila says.
"Uh oh," Alvarez sighs.
"We're officially doomed," Laila mutters, leaning against Alvarez dramatically.
Jeremy's eye twitches and he shakes his head. "No," he laughs awkwardly. "What? You've been in California this long and you still... you mean even before this you've... never..."
Jean tilts his head, confused by what Jeremy is doing. It looks like this is impossible for him to process. He blinks a few times, staring incredulously at Jean.
"Jeremy.exe has stopped running," Alvarez snorts. "We tried to warn you, Moreau."
Ah, the hand signal must have been some sort of warning. He logs that away to remember for the future.
Jean glances at the girls, but it seems this situation is a lost cause. "I wasn't allowed to leave the Nest unless..." he trails off, not wanting to expand on that topic anymore than he has to. He has been avoiding discussing the Nest in depth. There are so few happy memories there, and the last thing he wants to do is bring down the Trojans with his unhappy stories. They deal with his outbursts and frustrations enough.
"Shit," Jeremy mutters. "You really haven't been." He looks like he's still in shock. Shaking his head, he slams the bottom of his stick against the court and Jean jumps back a little. "This is unacceptable," Jeremy says, and shoves his hand into the pocket of his shorts. He pulls out a little card, decorated with the faces of Mickey, Donald and Goofy. "This weekend, we're going to Disneyland."
"I knew it," Laila says, a soft sigh slipping from her lips.
"Do you really keep your annual pass in the pocket of your shorts?" Alvarez snorts, rolling her eyes.
"Yeah!" Jeremy smirks. "You gotta be prepared for impromptu Disney trips at all times."
Jean blinks, watching the scene unfold. So far Jeremy has been one of the most relaxed exy players he's ever come across. He's incredibly talented, focused, a light of positive energy on the court. He has this way of making Jean feel he can do anything, even when he's angry and trapped in his old habits. Jeremy makes him feel like someday he can break them.
But this...
This is the most intense Jean has seen Jeremy in a long while.
"It's okay-" Jean begins to say.
"NO!" Jeremy yells, immediately cutting him off. He leans in towards Jean, gripping the pass in his hands. "It's Trojan tradition to go before the official start of the season anyway. We'll buy you a pass, and you can experience the happiest place on earth!"
Jean doesn't like the sound of that. It seems like the opposite of everything he is. He swallows and glances at the card. "Aren't those expensive?"
"Jean, don't worry about it," he says, placing a hand on Jean's shoulder. He gives it a gentle squeeze, the most physical contact Jeremy ever has with Jean. He sees him hug the girls and many of their other players, he high fives them and pulls them into huddles, but he always leaves Jean alone, letting him have whatever space he might need. This is as close as he'll get to physical contact right now. "I think you deserve a little happiness."
Jeremy smiles, and Jean still doesn't know how to say no. When Jeremy gets all smiley and excited, Jean's not sure he wants to.
And that's how he ends up at Disneyland, surrounded by far too many people, trying not panic.
"Jean!" Jeremy waves, and rushes back to where Jean waits at the top of Main Street, Laila and Alvarez right behind him. "What are you doing?" he asks. He's got on red and gold Mickey ears, the USC colors adorning his head. Jean thinks he looks kind of foolish, but then again, the majority of the people are walking down the street with varying colors and styles of these strange ears.
"I... Je... Je... me sens dépassé," he whispers, switching to his mother tongue. He doesn't want to disappoint Jeremy, especially when he seemed so excited to take him here.
"Okay," Jeremy says, obviously not understanding "I was gonna wait, but I do have a surprise for you."
He flips his backpack around, unzipping it to pull out a matching pair of ears. Laila and Alvarez have the same ones, the Trojan colors. It must be some sort of team thing they do. The ears look stupid, but Jean doesn't want to complain.
"Tada!" Jeremy says, reaching upward to place them on his head. "I got these custom made for you, so you can match us. Official Trojan member," he smiles. "You have to wear them when we come to the park!"
Jean blinks, adjusting the awkward way the headband sits on his head. "Have to. I understand," he mutters. This must be another sort of Trojan rule. In many ways, the Trojans are the exact opposite of the Ravens, but he supposes they do have some things they do as part of their team rituals. He can't complain. As silly as the ears look, they're not painful to wear, and Jeremy seems excited about it. Jean can handle this.
"Yup!" Jeremy smiles and nods, until he stops suddenly. "Oh. Oh! No!" he gasps and lunges forward, yanking the ears off his head and throwing them in the opposite direction, the headband flying down Main Street.
"Not again," Laila sighs.
"I chased after the last pair he threw," Alvarez grumbles.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm going," Laila says, jogging after the headband set.
Jean blinks, glancing from Jeremy's upset face to Laila jogging down through the crowd. He has many questions, unsure of what just happened, and why it, apparently, has happened before.
"Jean," Jeremy says, looking intently in his eyes. "I'm sorry. I... I shouldn't have done that. You don't have to do anything. Never. I promise. If you hate the ears you don't have to wear them."
Swallowing, Jean stares at Jeremy, still completely baffled. "...What?"
"I don't ever want you to feel like... you have to do something. We... I, will never ask you to do something you don't want. We are not the Ravens."
Jean doesn't know how to respond. No one has ever said anything like this to him before. The Ravens always looked through him, just as Riko instructed. He was their property. No one has ever looked at him like he's a person; with feelings and thoughts, opinions.
It's overwhelming.
Everything about this place is overwhelming, and yet something about the sincere way Jeremy is looking at him grounds him. 'You're not there anymore. You're here. Isn't this place perfect proof of your freedom?'
"I..." he starts to say, but Laila jogs up, gripping the headband in her hand.
She pants, rolling her eyes. "They made it all the way to the Starbucks."
"I think that's a new record," Alvarez mumbles.
"Here," she says, holding them out to Jeremy, but Jean leans forward and yanks them from her hand before Jeremy can grab them.
"Hey- Jean! I just said-"
He places the headband atop his head, the red and gold ears looking just as ridiculous as they do on everyone else. "I will wear them." He supposes he's starting to fit in.
Jeremy's cheeks flush, or maybe the sunlight hits his skin at just the right angle. He's a beacon for things like that, Jean's noticed. "O-Okay," he stammers. "But only if you want to."
Jean nods, and Jeremy stares at him, as if he's waiting for Jean to change his mind. When he doesn't move, Jeremy clears his throat and zips up his backpack, flinging it over his shoulder.
"Anyway, we're riding Indiana Jones first, because I need Jean to understand what I mean." Jeremy says, leading the group down Main Street.
Jean continues to follow them down the street. It's hard to believe this is a place people actually enjoy and find fun. Kids are wailing to their parents, the colors on the buildings are practically blinding underneath the California sun, loud music plays over the speakers and it’s so artificially happy.
Laila snorts, bringing Jean back to the group. "Yeah, because one ride on Indy is really going to give Jean the full scope of what you meant."
"What did you say anyway?" Alvarez asks.
"Bumpy, dark, a little thrilling, totally worth waiting in the line even when it breaks down," Jean repeats the words perfectly.
"Woah, you really took that to heart," Jeremy says, glancing back toward him.
Jean nods, and Jeremy twists his lips. He looks nervous and Jean wonders if maybe Jeremy thinks he's upset about the analogy. He's not. He just doesn't understand it, though knowing Jeremy, it's anything but offensive.
"I don't know if Jean will get the full experience if the ride doesn't break down," Laila says, forcing Jeremy's gaze away from Jean.
"Who are you kidding," Alvarez scoffs. "Indy breaks down once a day."
"True," Jeremy nods. "If we're lucky, we'll get stuck on the ride." He laughs loudly, far too excited about something that sounds bad. Maybe there are some things about the Trojans Jean will never understand.
"That's a good thing?" he asks tentatively. He can feel a story bubbling on the edge of Jeremy's lips, can sense it in the twinkle of his blue eyes.
"Oh yeah," Jeremy says. "If you get stuck on the ride, sometimes you get-" He pauses dramatically, looking toward both of the girls.
"Ride evac-ed..." The girls say in unison, rather flatly.
"Ride evac-ed!" Jeremy repeats with far more energy than the other two.
"Ride... E... vacked?" Jean says, trying to repeat the word back to them but it's next to impossible. He prays this isn't him being terrible at English.
"A glorious moment we all hope to achieve," Jeremy sighs.
"It's when the ride closes down and you get stuck on the track so they have to escort you out," Laila explains.
"And that's cool because sometimes you get to see backrooms of the ride you wouldn't normally see," Alvarez adds. Neither of them seem to be on the same level of excitement as Jeremy.
Then again, Jean has never seen anyone this excited about a theme park before. Actually, maybe he's never seen anyone this excited about anything. Riko's excitement was twisted and deranged. Jeremy's is pure, like the many children rushing around them.
"It happened once on Indy before," Jeremy says.
"But we got stuck right at the beginning so they just walked us back to where they load the ride," Laila sighs. "Jeremy's dreams, thwarted."
"Only partially!" Jeremy interjects, turning left under a wooden sign that reads Adventureland. "We were stuck there long enough for us to take selfies with Mara! It's on my Instagram!"
Jean has no idea what Jeremy's talking about, but he's obviously proud of this achievement.
The three continue to chat casually about the ride and other rides they've gotten stuck on. Jean is mostly confused by the fact that they've seemingly entered some sort of jungle. Some monkey noise echoes from a speaker and Jean jumps, glancing around.
"Different parts of the park have different themes," Alvarez explains, noting Jean's clear confusion. He's noticed Alvarez is talented at reading people, though she often seems standoffish at times. It makes him wary, like she could peer into his soul and know everything about the Ravens and Riko, just by looking at him. "This is Adventureland. There's Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland. Then there are other sections like The French Quarter," she pauses and blinks, "like, uh, New Orleans, not actual France," she says, gesturing to him.
"Ah," he mutters. It would've been interesting to see what their take on France would be.
"Yeah, if you want actual France you gotta go to Florida," Laila interrupts. She turns around and links her arm with Alvarez, the two now walking side by side.
"I thought if you wanted actual France you would just... go to France," Jean says.
Laila nods. "Yeah, but I mean if you want Disney France-"
"Disneyland Paris?!" Jeremy suggests.
"I prefer regular France," Jean states.
"Well, yeah I'm sure France is... amazing. I wanna go someday!"
Jean swallows the words he was about to say. 'I'll take you.' He doubts Jeremy would want to go to France with him.
"I gotta stop at Disneyland Paris," Jeremy sighs and suddenly halts, looking up at a sign. "Hey! A 45 minute wait. Not bad."
Jean blinks. They're about to be in this line for 45 minutes and that's 'not bad.'
He really does not understand Disneyland.
"Hell yes," Alvarez smirks. Her and Jeremy high five, making their way into the long, winding line.
"Oh, Jean, you should know, it is Jeremy's dream to go to all the Disney parks around the world," Laila explains. "You should keep that in mind."
"Keep that in mind?" he asks, stopping before he enters the line with her. "Why?"
"Y-Y'know," she says, shrugging. She doesn't stop to let Jean answer either. She dashes off, Jean following behind to not get separated from the group.
He wants to ask where the other parks are, but decides to just look it up later. He knows if he asks, it'll become a long and involved thing.
It seems he's found Jeremy Knox's crazy and it's Disneyland.
The line shockingly doesn't take as long as Jean expects. Once they get to the indoor part of the queue, Laila yanks on a rubber pole, making the room flash with light. Jean jumps, but Alvarez jumps more, punching her girlfriend in the arm. The two of them laugh, and Laila leans in for a kiss, but Alvarez pushes her face away. Jeremy's laughing with them, in on the joke despite being the third wheel.
There's something... enjoyable... about listening to Jeremy, Laila and Alvarez chat. They're friends. They enjoy spending time with each other, and it's not forced. No one says they have to do this. They're choosing to 'hang out', all of their own volition.
It makes Jean tense. There's no way he will ever be able to live like this.
"Hey," Jeremy says, interrupting his thoughts. "You okay?" He walks up a set of stairs backward, the line splitting off into two. "I know you've never been to a theme park, but I promise the rides here aren't that bad. I mean, kids like 'em."
Jeremy babbles a little when he's nervous, Jean's noticed. Usually when he thinks he's upset Jean, or is doing something wrong. He rarely is, but somehow he cares enough to get nervous about it.
The ride hasn't really crossed Jean's mind. He assumes it'll be over faster than he can blink, and he assumes he'll wonder why he waited 45 minutes for 10 seconds of minor thrills.
"I'm fine," he says. "You do not need to worry about me."
"Again, I just... don't want you to feel like you're being forced to be here," he says.
"I don't," Jean nods.
Jeremy smiles, clearly happy again, Jean's words erasing his worries. "Okay, you can be honest with me though. Just, uh, want you to know that."
"I will be," Jean says. Whether or not he can actually speak up is a whole different story. But they came here to ride some of the rides and that's what they'll do.
They get loaded into the back row of the large car and Jean pulls the seat belt over his lap. He's in the middle, between Jeremy and Alvarez. Laila has to sit on a certain side of the car because she "hates the snake part."
"Oh!" Jeremy says, and he reaches up to pull the ears off of Jean's head. His fingers touch the tips of Jean's ears and he sucks in a breath rapidly, not expecting the touch. It's always so gentle, but still Jean flinches. "Here." Jeremy places the ears into the backpack in the small pocket in front of him. "I'll hold onto these."
For some odd reason, Jean's heart is throbbing in his ears. It must be the anticipation of the ride.
The ride is, more or less, exactly as Jeremy described. It's bumpy, for sure. Dark. And just a little thrilling. The car whips them around and Jean grips the bar in front of him, worried he'll be flung from the car. The snakes part isn't even that scary, so he doesn't get why Laila was so freaked out. Most of the ride is a little cheesy, fake flames, skulls, and bugs. However, Jean screams at the end, ducking his head when it looks like the boulder is about to roll toward them.
"You thought we were gonna get hit," Jeremy teases, stepping off of the ride.
"No-"
"You did, Moreau," Alvarez says. "You held your head and ducked."
"And screamed," Laila adds, a devilish smirk appears on her lips.
Jean pouts, glancing away from the group. He folds his arms over his chest.
"Don't worry," Laila laughs. "I thought the same thing the first time I rode it."
"Yes, but you were also scared of the snakes," Jean points out.
It's Laila's turn to pout and she lets out a sigh. "Betrayed. And here I was helping you look better."
The group starts the long trek back up on the exit pathway and Jeremy runs ahead with Laila, the two of them racing up the slight incline after complaining about how it's the longest exit path of any ride in the park.
Alvarez walks back with Jean and he notes how her gaze doesn't leave Laila, her dark eyes glistening with joy. She doesn't seem as outwardly emotional as Laila, but the two of them balance each other well.
Suddenly, she glances toward Jean. "You know, this is Jeremy's happy place."
"Isn't it called 'the happiest place on Earth'?" Jean snorts, watching as the sunlight pours in from the spaces on the partially covered walkway. Jeremy is jogging, just barely ahead of Laila, and his blond hair brushes against his forehead. It looks like his cheeks are glittering, and his smile is somehow outshining the California sun. He looks like a walking commercial for this place.
"Well, yeah, but especially for Jeremy. I think it would make him so happy if you really enjoyed it with him," Alvarez says, her gaze turned back towards her teammates. "I know you don't wanna talk about it. None of us are gonna ask, but we're here for you. We want you to have a good time here in California. Jeremy especially."
Especially? There are many questions burning on his tongue, but Jean doesn't want to speak. He doesn't want to ruin this sliver of happiness by bringing up any old memories.
"Yeah," he mutters.
"You don't have to say anything. Just have fun," she winks, and starts to run with the others.
Jean doesn't feel like running, but he does it anyway, meeting the group at the exit to the ride.
They stand, chatting away, laughing and Jean freezes. He almost doesn't want to approach them, scared he's going to barge in on something that doesn't involve him. The Trojans feel like this foreign entity, unfamiliar, uncharted water. They are people, so normal, so calm, and he is... him.
He doesn't really know how to be a person.
Jeremy turns and waves at him. "Jean!" he calls out, urging him forward. Jeremy wants him there, doesn't want to leave Jean behind. As much as Jean fights against it, or doesn't understand it, Jeremy makes him a person.
"Doesn't that hill suck?" Jeremy asks, and the question is so simple, yet genuine.
Jean honestly didn't even notice the walk back up, but he nods anyway. "Yeah," he says, the hint of a chuckle in his breath.
"Let's ride Pirates!" Laila cheers, thrusting her hands into the air. She grabs Alvarez's hand and starts pulling her towards the pathway.
"Hell yes!" Jeremy says, but freezes for a minute. "Hey..." He purses his lips, as though he's stopping himself from blurting out a barrage of thoughts. "Uh, hopefully now that you've ridden it you see what I mean?"
Jean blinks. Right. The whole reason they went on this ride in the first place was because Jeremy compared his exy playing style to this very ride.
"I really did mean it as a compliment, so if you hated the ride then I'm sorry, I didn't-"
"Jeremy," Jean says. It's rare he says Jeremy's name out loud, but when he does, it feels really smooth on his tongue, like it was meant to roll off it without any problems. "I get it."
"You do?" Jeremy asks, perking up like an adorable puppy.
"Yeah... I know I've been difficult-"
"No!" Jeremy says, quickly interrupting him. "I-I mean... look I just... I know it's not gonna be smooth sailing right away. I don't expect it to be, but that's part of the ride. It makes things interesting and fun, and Jean I just... I really want you to know I think you're worth it," he says.
Jean's cheeks feel like they're burning. No one has ever said he was worth anything, not in this way. He was property before, but Jeremy means it differently. His voice is gentle, his expression tender. Jean has no idea what to say.
Maybe Jeremy understands that, or maybe he's not looking for a response. Either way, he digs into his backpack and pulls out the red and gold ears. "Here, these are yours," Jeremy smiles.
Reaching out, Jean takes the ears back from Jeremy, their fingers brushing together for a moment. Jeremy's hand is so warm and Jean wishes he had the courage to lace their fingers together, squeeze Jeremy's hand so tight, and thank him as genuinely as he can.
 'Thank you for looking at me.'
 'Thank you for not giving up on me.'
Instead, Jean grips the ears in his hand, holding them tightly. "I'm glad I didn't lose them."
"Yeah," Jeremy laughs, smiling the widest he has all day, if that's even possible. "I'm glad you didn't either." He stares at him again, his blue eyes taking all of Jean in. Normally someone's gaze would make Jean cringe and curl in on himself, but Jeremy pulls him in with a warmth and a comfort Jean wants to cling to.
"Let's catch up with the girls," Jeremy says, gesturing towards the path they ran off on.
Jean nods and slowly lifts the ears onto his head, following after Jeremy.
He's not sure if he's a Trojan yet. Maybe he won't ever be one fully. But if Jeremy keeps offering him his hand, Jean is going to keep reaching for it. Jean likes to think that's a step in the right direction.
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thewebcomicsreview · 6 years ago
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Can you maybe contextualize the Homestuck epilogue for someone who has never read Homestuck but is curious what all the hullabaloo is about?
It’s 200,000 words following 8,000 pages of comic, so I’m not sure if I can really explain it “simply”, but I’ll do my best. *ahem*
Spoilers, obviously. 
tl;dr;, by the way, I actually really liked it. But I can see why a lot of people didn’t. 
So, I can, have, and will rant about the myriad of reasons everyone hated the ending, but for the sake of context let’s only focus on the main ones:
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1. The climax of the story was meant to be “John masters his powers, goes back in time, and undoes a lot of the terrible things that happen”. This didn’t at all feel like a climax, so everyone expected a “real” climax and was confused when we didn’t get one. Worse, because the solution to, say, Rose’s alcoholism was that John changed things so that she never started drinking, it felt less like characters overcoming their struggles and more like the characters we loved being replaced with alternate, better versions, and we never saw how things went for the “real” characters (John’s main change, preventing Vriska’s death in Act 5, invalidates something like 15% of the entire comic!). 
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2. Because the climax fell so flat and the big bad wasn’t defeated (and because [S] Collide ended with the music turning all sinister), everyone went in to Act 7 expecting one last huge twist. But while we were given enough information to figure out the basic gist of how Lord English was defeated, we don’t actually see it.The above screenshot, of Caliborn powering up into his Final Form, comes in the last fifty seconds of Homestuck.  
So, that’s kind of the context of the ending. Everyone went in expecting like a full act, was wildly confused that Act 7 was a victory lap, and then we all kind of figured out eventually what Hussie was going for and we were like “Oh. Okay” in a monotone. So, everyone hoped for the epilogue to “fix” the plot, but the plot wasn’t so much broken as it was badly told.
Phew. Okay, now lets talk about the epilogue. 
So, John is given the choice of whether to actually go back into the comic and kill the bad guy or not, represented as a choice of eating meat or candy for lunch. The canon, alpha timeline choice is to kill Lord English (”meat”), and the choice to stay behind and leave a time loop/plot thread unclosed (”Candy”) creates a doomed timeline. Doomed timelines in Homestuck exist as physical bubbles you can fly to, so the two “timelines” are really physical places in Paradox Space. There are three such location in the epilogue 
1. The “meat” timeline, which is the actual “canon” alpha timeline with no unbroken time loops, where most of the Meat Epilogue takes place. It takes place in the normal universe 
2. The furthest ring, a void above and around all timeline bubbles where John fights Lord English. This is normally where all the doomed timelines are, but they are getting sucked into a black hole that’s sweeping out all the “irrelevant” stuff
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Nepetaquest 2019 was never meant to be
3. The “candy” timeline, which is doomed, irrelevant, and thus sucked into the black hole. The whole thing looks like this
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The reason I’m explaining all this is because the two epilogues are actually one epilogue, and one affects the other such that you need to read them both. 
In the Candy timeline, Dirk immediately realizes that he’s no longer canon/alpha, and immediately kills himself. Rose and Kanaya are happily married and adopt a troll. Roxy goes all stepford wife and decides all she really wants is to crank out babies with John. John is all “you seem to be wildly out of character for reasons that won’t be explained but okay”. Jade, Dave, and Karkat have a miserable polyamorous relationship where the boys don’t admit they want to each other’s dicks but are willing to settle on Jade’s furry knotted dog penis, which she apparently grew after becoming a dog girl in [S] Cascade
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Pictured: The exact moment in Homestuck that Jade Harley grew canine genitalia. I had a print of this artwork and I’ll never look at it quite the same again
There’s relationship drama, but the most important part is Jane, who is now TrumpHitler for basically no reason,. She marries Jake but Gamzee cucks him and, well
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There’s a scene of Jake talking to Jade and thinking about maybe murdering a baby while his wife has rape-play sex with a clown in the next room. We don’t have time to unpack all that, because Jane is also TrumpHitler now, and sets out to commit a literal holocaust on all the Trolls for….um…..well for no reason. She’s just evil now. Jade’s corpse crashes from the sky, which is a shock to everyone, most of all Jade. Then Aradia and Sollux show up and Jane’s corpse comes to life as a god and everyone kind of just….nods…..and ignores it. The JadeCorpse is possessed by a version of Calliope who’s basically God, whom Aradia serves. Calliope explains that nothing in this timeline matters and it would normally just dissolve but she’s keeping it around because letting everyone dissolve into nothing when you can stop it seems like kind of a bitch thing to do and also she needs somewhere for Lord English’s body to land. Everything in Candyland gets as comically terrible as possible, full-on civil war. John has an existential crises about being irrelevent but gets over it, and Calliope finally finds Lord English and eats him, gaining the power to escape the black hole. Somewhere all this Dave meets up with Barack Obama (??!!?!?!) who is a god (!!!!!!!!!!!) that fucked Dave’s bro (!efefiebnfuewf) and merges all Daves together into one Ultimate Dave that he puts in a robot. Davebot, Aradia, and Calliope all leave the black hole and close the door behind them such that nothing inside (which includes the “canon” Vriska and every single alternate Timeline that existed or will ever exist) can ever get out to interfere with the canon timeline ever again. 
Also 16-year-old Vriska fucks 40-year-old Gamzee and is so embarrassed about it that she kills him. 
Feel free to take a break here
==>
In the Meat timeline, Dirk has ascended and god from God-Like-Thor to God-Like-God, and can now manipulate the story in a fourth-wall breaking way that’s effectively nigh-omniscience and mind control. He’s also evil now, but that makes more sense then Jane being Hitler. 
John recruits the pre-retcon versions of Dave, Rose, and Jade, who with John are the closest thing to the “original” versions of the main four that Homestuck is gonna give us at this point. They fight Lord English and successfully boot him into the black hole, but all die in the process. John is mortally wounded but survives long enough to bang Terezi in the back of his dad’s car and get them both home (said car ends up in Candyland, where Candy John finds it and recognizes Terezi’s cum because thanks Hussie). Jade lives long enough that she could get to Earth C herself, but this version of Jade doesn’t even know about Earth C and decides to die via black hole. Dirk tries to stop this, but Calliope, who is more powerful than Dirk, pulls her in
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It is indeed to late, and OG! Jade gets sucked into the black hole, crashes into Candyland, and leaves behind a fresh corpse for Calliope to control and all the people in Candyland to be weirdly blase over because deep down they know their world doesn’t matter. Having control over this Jade lets her possess the alpha Jade in Meatworld, which in turn lets her influence things there. She and Dirk fight about who gets to be president of earth (which doesn’t seem important unless you read Candy and know what president Jane will do), and Dirk manages to tranquilize Jade and keep Calliope from affecting anything else. 
Jane becomes president of Earth and starts off and the path of becoming God Empress of Mankind. John dies, and we get more than a hint that Dirk killed him for being insufficiently grateful of their paradise planet
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With things on Earth taken care of, Dirk mind controls Rose into become his (sex?) slave, and mind controls Kanaya into thinking that’s cool. He tells Terezi (who he can’t control, since Mind is her power) that if she comes with they can maybe revive John, and they all home into a spaceship and fuck off to a new planet. Dirk is the new Lord English, Jane is the new Condesce, and Rose -now a dreambot - is the new Handmaid. And Terezi is….also there. They find a new M-Class planet and set up to evolve some life there for a Sburb game. On earth, now of of range of Dirk’s mind control, everyone realizes that him kidnapping Rose was actually kind of fucked up, and they hop a spaceship to chase after them, with Jade-possessed Calliope giving them advice.  
And that’s the epilogue! Dirk has kidnapped Rose and become unto god, and is setting up a nefarious plan we don’t know the details of, and a the heroes are racing to stop him. Good night everybody!
I’m assuming there’s going to be an Epilogue Epilogue, because this was just a straight-up cliffhanger, and I’ll guess I’ll see when I think when that happens or when it becomes clear that won’t happen.
Hopefully that was easy enough to follow, I did my best. 
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augustheart · 4 years ago
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1, 9, 15, 20 for the writing ask meme!
This time around all of these are for fics by the way.
1. Tell us about your current project(s)  – what’s it about, how’s progress, what do you love most about it?
Like I said in the last ask at any given time I have a stupidly high number of projects I’m working on but I will take this time to talk about the ridiculously long one I’m putting most of my energy toward now! (The tab is open right now and it is taunting me with that “last updated yesterday at [...]” notification and its 32,427 word wordcount.)
I won’t say exactly what it’s about even though it’s not that hard to figure out and several people already know exact details but progress is generally pretty good! Not the fastest I’ve ever written because I write in fits and starts but it’s going pretty good! (Just jinxed it though for sure.) I’m working on chapter five of a planned ten, and I really hope I don’t overshoot that by accident. It’s fun! It’s definitely more like the things I used to write when it comes to like... the actual angst/“whump” part because there’s a lot of that here, and I’m very really mean to readers with a couple of these cliffhangers. Chapter two and chapter four are especially rude, sorry.
I love all of it. I love that I get to write about people overcoming hardship and coming together and also beating the shit out of people who hurt their loved ones. I genuinely love what I’m writing now and I think it’s probably one of my best works and I’m glad that I decided to write it all out in advance before posting it because I feel like that gives me time to really perfect it. It also makes it easier to go back and seed plot elements through the prewritten chapters, which is helpful because I keep forgetting about a character and going back to make sure that they get to be there because they’re, y’know, the main protagonist of the show. (Don’t worry there is still a character arc and a story she has, it just gets lost in the shuffle a little because there are like... six storylines going on at once that need to intersect. I think six, anyway. There are a lot. Jeez, I think it may be closer to seven, counting the villains...)
Anyway please [Eric Andre “let me in” voice] show me support when I finally post it because I imagine the fandom will be relatively in brumation when I finally do all things considered. 
9. Are you more of a drabble or a longfic kind of writer? Pantser or plotter? Do you wish you were the other?
I refuse to write really short things, it has to be at least 1,000 words for some reason, but I do both! I prefer my longfics, I think they give me more time to write plot and flesh out characters, but I’ve found that a good median wordcount for me is...like...6,000 words? That’s usually what I fall on when I limit myself to something under 10,000 that has the potential for more than just 1-2,000 words. But I do like to read and write both! As evidenced by some of my current projects shaping up to be over 50,000 words at least if they haven’t already left that count in the dust by now (hi, Half Light, you stupidly long son of a bitch). 
And I am the hellish combination of both! I usually know at least how I want it to end, but the entire journey from A to B is a complete mystery to me. Sometimes I’ll have elements I want to incorporate or characters I want to include and I’ll plan for them but I will never, ever write down my outline. The only time I write down outlines it’s when I need to know the concrete timeline for something that’s set in the past or is taking major divergent choices or both (i.e., I made a timeline outline for Heartless leading up to when Eric approaches Dorothy, a timeline outline for Two of Spades when I eventually actually work on that, a timeline outline for what I nicknamed the “I’m no longer baby I want power AU,” etc). Literally every other time I am absolutely flying by the seat of my pants. I don’t know what I’d do without Hedgi who helps me plot at least half the things I write (at least for the fandoms she’s also in), usually after I try to write them and immediately get stuck like a puppy who tried to jump into a lake and found out the shoreline was actually just a bog.
15. Which is harder: titles or summaries (or tags)?
Oh, it really depends. I’m alright at nailing tags down, unless there are categories I want to use that don’t already have a set tag, but sometimes when I think of the concept for a fic it comes ready-made with a summary and I don’t have to think about that at all, or I’m directly inspired by a phrase/lyric/etc and I can just use that for the title and spend hours deliberating on a summary. Luckily for the project I’m working on now the conceit can just be the summary, and the title took a tiny bit of research but I knew what I wanted the bare bones to be and I just needed the actual names/terms. I do think in general, though, summaries are a smidge harder than titles for me. 
12. Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)
I really, really want to answer this one to talk about the different hidden references, relationship development, and foreshadowing that I baked into damn near every level of the big project I’ve been talking about because it’s in literally everything right down to the chapter titles (and there’s a hint to pay attention to them when you read, especially once we get to chapters 6-10, which I am extremely pumped to write), but I also really don’t want to spoil anything, so... time to be as numbingly vague as possible, I guess.
I’m foreshadowing that a character will develop powers by the final act, of course, but I’m also foreshadowing that a different character will not only develop them but use them to basically save the life of another character--and related to that, there is intense foreshadowing of a character using certain things to save someone else’s life at around the same time, which is not subtle at all if you know what you’re looking for (mainly because I slipped it into plain sight) but is part of some nice red herrings if I do say so myself. It also really makes me laugh that I decided to do some, um, “homophobia-shadowing,” where I just... imply that a character is homophobic. I dunno why I just think that’s a funny thing to do even if it has real repercussions for certain characters later. 
There’s some character development mixed that I’m really excited for because it allows a character to go in a completely different direction than they do in canon but in a way that I think still feels really right for them. This happens a couple times, actually, but this one in particular is something I knew had to happen the second I realized how to tie this plot thread back into everything else. I think it’s exactly what the character could’ve needed if this had gone down and I’m really excited to write it. The other character should’ve just been allowed to do this in canon because I think it would’ve fucking ruled.
Also, in everything I write that’s comics-based, whether it’s fic for the comic directly or for a show/movie using comics as source material, everything is a reference. That number code? That could be anything from the first time someone appeared in a comic mixed with the publishing date of the comic itself (i.e. if someone appeared for the first time in 1964 but the comic began publishing in 1959 I’ll use 6459 or 5964) to the creator’s date of birth. I think that I use famous writers of the character/potential creators of the character as street names or last names or aliases whenever I need to bring them up is a lot more obvious. Same with how I use writer/artist initials as “random letters” if I think a code would realistically have one mixed in--I just checked a document for an example of this and found “ADBP5519MWGK6419.”
I also reuse direct lines of dialogue if I think they fit the situation--for example, in Butterfly Effect I lifted the “World War I chic” line directly from Giffen’s Doom Patrol run, which I mentioned in the author’s note, and there’s dialogue in my current big project that’s a direct reference to/play on the “I wish you’d died instead of Mom” line in the JSA Infinite Crisis tie-in (Johns is a fuckin’ hack for that one though and it made no sense for what he used it for, a better line would’ve been “I bet you wish I’d died instead of Mom,” but we don’t have time for that), and I’ll probably directly reference dialogue from JSA/JSA at some point in chapter nine or chapter ten. (Think really hard about how that arc opens if it’s one you’re familiar with, lmao, and remember--there’s no time travel to undo things here!) 
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