#it’s been a decade since i saw my grandma for [mumbles] reasons

[dreamwritesimagines]

Burn The Witch 5 - Cross Your Heart [Bucky Barnes x Reader]

A.N: Thank you so much for your wonderful support and feedback my loves ! ❤ Here’s the next chapter, I hope you like it as well and please let me know what you think! ❤ Thank you! ❤❤❤

Warnings: Enemies to lovers, fake dating, mentions of blood, sex, violence, death, manipulation, language, guns, knives.

Summary: Lying is supposed to be easy for spies.

Series Masterlist

You were beginning to think undercover operations were some sort of punishments given to agents, because lying was one thing, but creating a whole life around that lie was another.

Not only were your knives replaced by a bunch of paintings on the wall, you now had some photos in frames; old photos of people you didn’t know, people who were supposed to be your “cover” family.

You’d still prefer to have your knives on the walls though.

“You’re my best friend, you’re supposed to be on my side!” you pressed the phone between your shoulder and your ear, and heard Chloe’s laugh.

“I am on your side, I just can’t do anything about your uniform.”

You plopped down on the couch, setting your heels down on the floor.

“Bucky might be from 1940s, but he knows that it’s the 21st century now,” you said, putting the heels on, “No reason to make me dress like a….weird pin up waitress.”

“It’s a part of your mission,” she reminded you, “What, you can kill a target with a wine glass but a pin up costume is where you draw the line?”

You clicked your tongue, “Anyone can kill someone with a wine glass. It’s not that hard.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Babe it’s not rocket science, you just break the bowl part, then use the stem to stab them in the—“ you got distracted when you opened the kitchen cabinet, “I’m sorry, why do I have so many kitchen supplies?”

She held her breath in excitement, “Do you like them?”

“I don’t know what to do with most of them.”

“Cover Y/N likes cooking!”

“And the real Y/N can’t stand her,” you deadpanned, making her stifle a laugh.

“So he hasn’t texted you yet?”

“Barnes?” you asked, “Not yet. Why?”

“Well, I took the liberty of taking a look at his messages the other day.”

“Oh God, don’t tell me,” you said, “He’s seeing someone else?”

“No no, not at all,” she said, “He’s totally single, and probably ready to mingle. With you, that is.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“He and Wilson were talking about you the other day. Well, more like Wilson was telling him to get his shit together and ask you out.”

“I don’t think he’s the type to ask someone out via text,” you said, “I think he will come to the shop one of these days.”

“Why?”

“He looked sort of….” You searched for the word in your mind, “Uh-clueless?”

“Clueless?”

“Yeah, you know how assassins usually flirt,” you ignored her noise of disagreement, “He wasn’t like that.”

“You really need to focus on the personal details of his file.”

You scowled, “What is that supposed to mean?” you asked, “I know his favorite weapons, what knives he—”

“Personal file,” she repeated, “You know there’s more to people than their weapons of choice right?”

“I might have to engage in combat if I’m ever compromised, and do you know how many people walked away alive after engaging in combat with the Winter Soldier in all these decades?” you asked, “Three. Three people; Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, Natasha Romanoff, and they are legends. I might be good, but I’m not that good.”

“Just memorizing his arsenal can’t help you in this mission,” she said, “Did you know that he hasn’t exactly dated since becoming the Winter Soldier? His ex Connie ended up having 3 kids and a long career at the post office—“

“What am I supposed to do Chloe, stalk grandma’s Instagram?”

“No, she passed away 5 years ago.”

“Of course she did,” you mumbled, “Listen, I don’t have time for this. I’m already knee deep in my own cover, I can’t get into Barnes’s past when it’ll give me no advantage in the mission.”

“Y/N-“

“Trust me,” you cut her off, looking in the mirror to fix your uniform, “I have everything under control.”

                                              ***

You had maybe like one thing under control and that was the milkshake you were currently pouring into a mason jar. After a crash course in different recipes yesterday, you barely needed any help from your coworkers and seeing that the shop wasn’t very crowded, you didn’t have to rush.

And now you knew how to make three things; pasta, eggs and milkshakes.

If Keith were here, he would’ve said those were 3 main food groups.

“Tara, we’re running low on maraschino cherries,” you said as you shook the can and your new coworker turned to you.

“Oh that’s okay, there’s another jar are under the counter.”

You put the cherry over the whipped cream, and handed the jar to her. “There you go.”

“Another week of working here and you will come up with your own recipes,” she said, “Tell me the truth, are you like a spy sent by a rival company?”

You stared at her, then forced a laugh.

“I wish,” you said, “Maybe I’d be paid more.”

“Good point,” she said and walked to give the milkshake to the customer while you put the empty jar aside, then went under the counter to search for a new jar.

“Strawberries….” You read the labels out loud as you heard the wind bells chime by the door, “Figs, berries—cherries!”

You reached out to grab the jar and stood up but as soon as you did, you caught the sight of the figure by the door and held your breath, the jar slipping from your grip before you caught it mid-air.

“Bucky.” You breathed out, before you remembered to plaster a smile on your face.

Naïve, soft hearted civilian.

He stole a look around as if he expected someone to attack him at any seconds in a milkshake shop before he stepped closer to the counter you were standing behind.

“Hi.”

“Hi-hi there!” you said, putting the jar down, “You came!”

“You sound surprised,” he smiled and you shrugged your shoulders, shooting him a mischievous look,

“Better late than never, I suppose.”

He hissed in a breath, “Ouch, was it that late?”

“Just a little,” you said “So what can I get you?”

He looked up at the board over the wall, “What are my options?”

“Well, we have Unicorn Cotton Candy, Pumpkin Spice Latte, Candy Cane Passion, Lavender Macaron—“ you stopped talking when you saw the clueless look on his face and cleared your throat, “Or hey, maybe chocolate? We have chocolate milkshake.”

“Chocolate sounds good.”

“Coming right up.” You took a mason jar from the shelf to get to it and he grabbed his wallet, making you raise your brows.

“Don’t even think about it.”

“Oh come on—”

“I’m going to make you an overly complicated milkshake if you try to pay for this,” you warned him, shaking the can before putting whipped cream on top of the milkshake, “It’s on the house, I owe you.”

“You don’t owe me anything,” he said quickly, making you point at him with the straw.

“Either way, I’m warning you. I’m armed and dangerous.”

“Consider me intimidated,” he said with a grin as he put the cash into the tip jar and you narrowed your eyes.

“Bucky.”

“Well technically, tip doesn’t count.”

“I wonder where I heard that before,” you muttered under your breath while he walked to pull himself a seat.

“Hm?”

“Nothing,” you said, reminding yourself that your cover probably wouldn’t make dirty jokes and went to place the milkshake in front of him.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” You waved a dismissive hand and rested your elbows on the counter, leaning in slightly.

He was gentleman enough to not check out your cleavage, instead kept his gaze on your face, making you suppress a smile.

“You were right,” Bucky said, his eyes darting around the café after a couple of seconds, “About how this place looked. It is creepily accurate.”

“Really?”

“I mean we didn’t have a neon flowers corner, but…” he trailed off, “Yeah. Yeah, I would say so.”

“Is that why you look like you expect someone to jump out of shadows and attack you?” you asked and his head shot up before he scrunched up his face.

“That obvious?”

“Not that I have lots of experience but so far none of the customers looked this uncomfortable while drinking a milkshake,” you said, “Is it because deep down you actually wanted to try Unicorn Cotton Candy?”

“Oh no, I’m good with classics,” He held up his milkshake, “No I just think that I’m a bit….uh, rusty.”

“Rusty,” you repeated, “On what?”

“On this.”

You batted your lashes, looking up at him and you could almost feel him being lured in.

“I’m sorry, I don’t follow,” you said softly after a beat and he gulped, taking a deep breath.

“It’s just that you’re—“ he cleared his throat, “You’re very beautiful and it’s been decades since I last asked someone out for a date.”

Winter Soldier, credited with over 100 assassinations, you reminded yourself Don’t lower your guard, it’s just a cover.

Don’t believe in your own cover.

You bit down a smile, tilting your head.

“Well, I didn’t think you were rusty,” you said and he raised his brows.

“You didn’t?”

“Not at all,” you said, “For the record, I’m definitely going to say yes.”

“Are you?”

“Absolutely,” you grinned, “Once you actually ask me, that is. With words, not an implication.”

His smile was almost playful, “With words, huh?”

“I’m old fashioned like that,” you taunted him, “Let’s see how we can make it less awkward for you though. Would you feel more comfortable to ask me out if you knew some weird stuff about me?”  

“You know, that would help a lot actually.”

You tapped your fingernails on the counter, looking up at the ceiling, pretending to be in deep thought. Your superiors had always said the best cover stories were somehow based on real life without revealing your identity, so you figured telling him random things about you wouldn’t hurt or put the mission in danger.

“Well, I really like grapes but I don’t like the skin, so I end up peeling every grape I eat, one by one,” you counted with your fingers, “I watched a documentary once and now I can’t swim in any lakes because I keep thinking I’ll get attacked by that weird flesh eating bacteria. When I was sixteen, I was the president of the chess club but I had a boyfriend who didn’t believe in the moon landing—”

“I heard about the moon landing!” he said quickly, “I didn’t get around to watch it yet though.”

“Oh my God, you should.”

“What else?”

“I’m scared of peacocks,” you confessed, “I know everyone says they’re beautiful but they look like they’re waiting for the right time to attack you.”

He looked like he was fighting with himself not to laugh and he pressed his metal fist on his lips, his whole attention on you.

“You can’t laugh!” you exclaimed and he shook his head, trying to look as serious as possible.

“I’m not!” he managed to hide his chuckle with a cough, “Keep going, this is very helpful.”

You heaved a sigh. “Well, do you want to hear the most embarrassing one?”

“Absolutely.”

“I normally keep my phone on mute 24/7 but since last week it’s been on full volume because I was terrified I’d miss something important.”

The amused light in his eyes got softer and he lowered his hand, a smile warming his face.

Hook, line…

“I was um— I was hoping for you to call, you see.” you said, averting your gaze from him to look down for a second, biting on your lip.

His voice was raspy; “Were you?”

You shrugged your shoulders, mumbling an inaudible maybe, and his eyes trailed down to your lips before snapping up to lock your gaze in his.

“What time do you get off work today?”

And sinker.

Time to pull back.

You sucked in a breath through your teeth, “I work at the soup kitchen tonight.”

“Oh –I thought you said it was on Mondays and Wednesdays.”

“I did, I’m just covering for a friend tonight. Family emergency, she says.” you said and pushed your hair behind your ear, shifting your weight, “But my shift is over at 6 tomorrow and I can be ready around 7, I live really close by. If you’re- if you’re free, that is.”

“I am.”

“It’s a date, then.”

“It’s a date,” he repeated and stood up, “See you tomorrow, Y/N.”

“See you tomorrow Bucky.” You smiled as he walked out of the shop and Tara came closer to you.

“Wow, you’ve been here a month and you met someone that hot?” she said and winked at you, “Good job there.”

Right.

Good job.

                                             ***

“So, wait—“ Chloe came closer to sit between you and Keith, holding a huge bowl of popcorn, “He just showed up?”

“Mm hm.”

“And you have a date tomorrow?”

Keith uncapped your beer and handed you the bottle as you rested your feet on the coffee table.

“You’re being careful, aren’t you?” he asked you and you nodded.

“Sure.”

“He doesn’t suspect anything?”

“No, he’s buying this whole naïve soft hearted civilian thing,” you said while Chloe snatched the remote from Keith’s hand, ignoring protests.

“And are you?”

You dragged your eyes from the list of movies on the screen. “I want a horror movie.”

“Well too bad, I want an action movie.”

“We’re watching a rom-com and that’s final!” Chloe pointed at both of you, making you groan.

“Why does this keep happening?” Keith asked to no one in particular and she snapped her fingers.

“It’s my turn and my place so I pick the movie,” she said and shot you a look, “I’m still waiting for an answer, by the way. You don’t….you don’t have feelings for Barnes, right?”

Keith stole a look at you before turning to Chloe,

“I don’t think our dear friend here wants a relationship beautiful,” he told her, “Not after what happened the last time.”

You could feel the goosebumps rising on your arms as a shiver ran down your spine.

“I don’t even know Barnes all that well yet, but I can assure you he’s not the type to—“ you paused, “Do something that cowardly.”

Keith gritted his teeth. “Where is that asshole anyway?”

“Hungary,” Chloe said and you raised your brows.

“Undercover?”

“Yeah. I hope he gets compromised and dies there.”

“Very unlikely,” you murmured, “Anyways, what brought this on? My feelings for Barnes?”

“It’s just that I recently read Vincent Smith’s file,” she said, “You guys remember Vincent?”

“Who?”

“His code name was Marco.”

“Oh, I remember Marco!” Keith said, “That guy took down a whole unit by himself. What happened to him?”

“He is missing.” Chloe said and you pulled your brows together.

“Since when do agents go missing and we don’t know where they are?”

“Since they fall for the target.”

“No way,” Keith chuckled, “Badass spy Marco fell in love? Poor idiot.”

“You’re a terrible person, Keith.”

You sat up straighter, “Wait, did you say he fell for the target?”

“Yeah, I saw the reports from his handler. And now he’s missing, and I don’t want you to run away with Barnes like Marco did with his target.”

You and Keith exchanged glances and you clicked your tongue.

“Chloe babe, he’s not missing.” you said “He’s dead.”

She pulled back slightly, “You don’t know-“

“Yes I do. You don’t fall for the target and compromise the whole mission, not unless you want to end up dead.”

“There’s no report of that,” she insisted and Keith sipped his beer.

“What did his report say, sweetheart?”

“That he was removed from his mission before going missing.”

Keith scoffed, “Rest in peace Marco, you won’t be missed.”

“How do you know—“

“Because that’s the code,” you said, “If the report says he was removed from his mission and went missing, it means he was killed by an agent on our side.”

“We killed our own agent?” she exclaimed and you turned the beer bottle in your hand,

“He stopped being our agent the moment he fell for the target.”

Chloe covered her mouth with her hands, worry etched into her expression, “Y/N, please, please promise me you won’t somehow get too involved in this mission and fall for Barnes and put yourself in danger.”

You let out a small laugh, grabbing a handful of popcorn.

“It’s the Winter Soldier we’re talking about,” you reminded her and chewed on the popcorn, “Trust me, that would never happen.”

“Cross your heart?”

You heaved a sigh and clinked your beer bottle with hers.

“Cross my heart honey,” you assured her, “There’s no way I’d sign my own death warrant by doing something that stupid.”  

Chapter 6

[heyitsyn]

MANAGER!SEIJOH AU

a/n: this is kind of an au like what if you were

for more seijoh content, check this masterlist out!

anon:

- 🥺👉🏻👈🏻 i would like to request a seijoh!manager reader who’s a first year and is siblings with ushi and the team’s reaction to finding out that she was supposed to go to shiratorizawa with ushi and their reaction with her getting along with the shiratorizawa volleyball team and maybe the manager is a small cute soft little energetic ball of sunshine 🥺🥺 also hewwo, hope youre doing well! ☺️ -🎷🐛

- Ir seijoh manager series is so gooood. Can we get something where by some weird reason yn-chan is close to ushijima and tendou and the seijoh boys dont know about it and how they'd react to her being so affectionate w them ahahwindkdn

EVERYONE SHUT UP AND LOOK AT HOW FREAKING PRETTY TENDOU IS LIKE AKLFDJLASKFJDLSKFJDSFLKD

okayokayokay

so this is a what if thing

like what if ushijima was your older brother

SLKFDJADFLIJSDKLDF I CAN ALREADY IMAGINE OIKAWA SCREAMING

you didnt exactly have the best relationship with your mom

you remember when you were younger that she used to yell at your brother for using his left hand and you got angry a lot because you were fiercely protective of your brother

this caused her to yell at you too for being nosy and being involved in something you shouldnt be in

duh we know that ushi’s dad takashi actually supported him for this and protected him too and you were also a papa’s girl so you always ran to him

he understood you both better and while your mother worked, he was at home taking care of you two

then when they mentioned wanting to separate, you were very sad but somewhat relieved

mostly because you hated hearing your parents arguing and you felt bad for your brother as he constantly did whatever to get you out of the house

thats what brought on your love for volleyball

you werent exactly the best player but you were interested in it and often watched matches with him

but you also liked volleyball because your brother liked it

you liked whatever your brother liked

he adored you too and he was a boy who didnt talk much due to your mother but he was always a talker with you

especially when you couldnt sleep, he would sneak you out of your room and you both would run to the kitchen and eat ice cream

even with just a 2 year age difference, he looked as if he was older than you due to his massive height

‘just wait nii-chan! i will drink enough milk to reach your height!’

*insert lenny face*

AKLDJFSLDKFJDF I HATE MYSELF

CAN I PLEASE DIE

however

when they divorced, you thought your father would take both you and ushi

like the lady at the court even asked you where you wanted to go and not a breath of hesitation you chose your father

you weren’t very concerned because you knew your brother was going to choose your dad as you both were closer to him

so imagine your surprise when he said he didnt care and naturally, the mother would get the child

lowkey you felt hella betrayed and when your dad whisked you away overseas, there was this grudge you held against toshi

yall youre like 5

i would be hella mad too if my brother chose the person who yells at him all the time

in california, your father made sure you still remembered your brother and you tried to detach from the japanese lifestyle to your new one but you just couldnt

maybe around 6 years you were already fed up with the hot california heat and you wanted to go back to japan to see toshi again

you got over that grudge years ago but your mother refused to have any contact or anything to do with your father and so that included you too

she refused to let you both video chat and any type of connection

your dad obviously noticed your sad expressions and your obvious longing to go back to your brother again and so he arranged something

you shut the door gently before taking off your shoes by the doorway

the large house was often quiet except for the constant typing of a keyboard in your father’s study

‘tadaima’

you meekly mumbled but his sense of hearing never wavered so he heard your voice

‘oh? y/n?’

his voice echoed through the hallways and you heard his chair squeak as it was moved back so he could stand

your sock-cladded feet padded against the hard wood floor and you walked towards his study where indeed he was standing there

your father has definitely aged yet his job as a coach made him as fit as he was decades ago

as much as it disgusted you, you could tell what your friends meant when they said your dad was good-looking

they actually said your dad was hot but you refuse to acknowledge that

you and your friends are like 12 tf

you closed the door and sat down on the loveseat at the corner of the room as it was your designated spot

‘hey, papa’

you greeted with a smile and he gave you the same grin

‘i ordered f/f (favorite food) for dinner tonight so try and listen for the bell to ring, okay?’

you nodded

there was bit of small talk and you asked about his team while he asked about school and you both arranged to hang out over the weekend at some ice cream shop

the conversation dragged on until you heard the doorbell and you ran to the door to answer the delivery man

your dad put out the plates on the table and you excitedly dug in

‘also, you remember your grandmother? and her terrible back?’

oh god of course you did

they lived about 30 minutes away from your house in japan and she constantly worried your father bc the woman was approaching 90 and was still picking peppers!

with old coach ukai

‘what did she do now?’

your father chuckled at the exasperation in your voice

‘she misses you. says something about the family’s princess needing to go back to her country or something’

there was a smile in your face

your grandmother was your favorite and she always said you were the princess

she hated your mother because of how insensitive she was so she only acknowledged you as the only other female in the family

obviously your brother was also liked but there was just a special bond between you and your grandmother

‘so when are we going back?’

you asked and it was clear that you were excited at the thought of going back to japan as you havent been back since you moved due to your father’s busy job and your school

takashi swallowed his food before revealing the news

‘actually, if you want, you could finish your schooling there. but only until college first though because your old man needs you over here too’

nah bro you didnt even care about the last part

literally your fork fell to the table and you shrieked 

‘WHAT?! SERIOUSLY?!’

and thus brought you back to japan

you stayed with your grandmother on your dad’s side and you quickly got accustomed back to japan life

OH

your BROTHER!

okay

so waka-chan def heard you coming back

your mother was grumbling about it the other day and he was sure he heard your name in there

‘sdkfjkdslfjdkslfj y/n dkfjlsdkfjldkf’

LMAO THATS ME TRYING TO SAY THAT WAKA COULDNT UNDERSTAND WHAT SHE SAID SINCE SHE WAS MUMBLING SHE WASNT KEYBOARD SMASHING LMAO

there was a mutual giddiness in there too and he was excited to see you again after many years without contact

however

there was a bit of fear in there that thought back to when you were younger and his choice of not really having a specific parent despite your pleads to stay together with him

but he was going to make sure your bond was still intact!

he would do anything in his power to do so!

when you arrived

your dad accompanied you back to japan and you both were walking out to the exit of the airport when you saw your grandmother excitedly waving a sign around

in bold sparkly letters, it said ‘USHIJIMA’

okay wait i love grandma usui 

you quickly ran over to her and she grasped you into her arms

‘nana’

you sobbed and she hugged you tightly

‘im so happy youre back home’

your father shook hands with the friend she brought to help drive you guys back home

old man ukai was basically the chauffeur but hes really good friends with your nana so it was okay

the entire ride you guys basically caught up with each other and you couldnt help but laugh whenever your dad would go on a rant about your grandma being too reckless and your nana defending herself

‘oh stop it, takashi. i was only given one life and if it’s over, it’s over. for now, ill live it how i see fit!’

your old family home was exactly as you remember it but you didnt expect the 6′2 boy in the living room

‘nii-chan’

you meekly whispered and he let out a soft smile before opening his big arms

you ran into them and he held you tightly

‘i missed you. so much’

he whispered and you nodded 

it was def such a nice thing to have your brother again

oooo your dad been knew that you would be sticking to waka like you did when you were itty bitty young

so when you practically begged waka to stay at your nana’s house the entire summer, he couldnt refuse you

duh your mom went to see you but you just quietly sat there and smiled at her

polite but distant

due to being around waka so much, you naturally went to his volleyball practices and their training camp

there

you met his friends and you guys quickly got acquainted especially with tendo bc he was just so fun

and he was your brother’s boyfriend best friend

the others were still kinda distant with you ahem ahem im looking at you shirabu

but they were mostly amazed at how powerful the genetics played in your appearances because wowza you were beautiful

lmao dont let waka hear them say that bc they would be benched all season in a single snap

during training camp, you usually sat at the sides or you would be their stand-in manager

goshiki absolutely LOVES you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GOSHIKI MY SON MY BABY

him and you were the same age so there was an easier way of being friends and your energies just matched so well

he would run up to you whenever he got a play right and you would ruffle his hair affectionately

LADKSJFLDSKFS FLASHBACK TO TENDO!SISTER X GOSHIKI

‘y/n-chan!’

‘y/n-chan!’

‘y/n-chan!’

hell even ushi was getting annoyed at goshiki’s constant need for you

tendo would steal you away and he would be giggling to you about how adorable you were and you just giggled along bc wow this beautiful man is really talking to me right now

ALKSDJFLKSF CAN YOU TELL IM ALSO A TENDOODOO SIMP?

‘cmere, y/n-chan. i taught toshi this the other day and he was very impressed and wanted me to do it again. okay so it goes in a rhyme, ya ready?’

you nodded along and he shot you a close-eyed smile before starting to draw on the dirt with a stick

‘there once was a man with-’

lets just say

you were definitely your brother’s sister

sometimes though

you would try and go towards the calmer players to get away from the rowdiness from baby daddy tendo and baby goshiki

you would find them at the gym just doing drills and at the sight of you, they would turn red but continue playing

they didnt really mind seeing you there bc youve always been such a positive energy and cheered them on which gave them strength

‘NICE ONE OHIRA-SAN!’

‘WAHHH SO COOL YAMAYAMA-SAN!’

you were like a cute ball of serotonin >o<

‘wah, of course its expected for you guys to be the top in the prefecture. youre like,,,,, silent but deadly~!’

duh a compliment from a girl?

dead

shirabu’s bangs would get in the way of his vision sometimes yall i will never stop making fun of that ridiculously adorable haircut so you would use a clip and tuck it away for him

this big babie is so awkward that he turns red when you whisper in his ear that you were done

semisemi baby and you got along bc you guys had a similar taste in music and because you lived in california, he was fascinated that you were in the music capital of america

‘did you see celebrities down the street?’

he asked you excitedly one day during lunch

you stopped then smiled softly

‘semisemi-kun, i didnt live at that part of california’

nah to him, america is just filled with celebrities

OH DEAR BABY BOY KAWANISHI

taichi is a generally quiet guy

like you thought he was actually selectively mute when you first met him

but you gradually got him to talk and you would help him whenever he would want to practice

usually it was during the ungodly hours of the morning

you woke up and went to grab a drink from the common room but you noticed his large build exiting the door so you followed him into the gym

‘kawanishi-san?’

you called out and felt guilty when he jumped 

‘oh, hey’

he aknowledged

‘wha-’

you stopped to yawn causing your eyes to close making you miss the brief second of softness that flashed in his eyes

‘what are you doing?’

you tiredly asked

taichi dusted off his trackpants after kneeling down to rummage through his bag and you couldnt help but gawk at his height

‘im training early’

he answered

‘why? is it because you want to keep up with the others?’

you mumbled and he was surprised for a second but reverted back to his stoic expression

‘i have to make sure i am able to reach my seniors level for next year’

taichi turned away to grab a stray ball and you moved to go to the storage room for the ball cart

‘oi, what are you doing? go back to bed’

he said from the other side of the gym but you just looked back at him with a tired grin

‘meh, i want to spend time with you, senpai’

you reasoned

he shook his head before walking over to you then ruffled your hair

‘no wonder youre so tiny. you dont sleep enough and let your body grow’

yep that was the closest youve gotten to taichi joking with you

usually, hes training and when hes in the zone, nothing else has his attention but the ball

maybe thats why the others ahem goshiki has said that he was very scary

his game face was practically a mean face

basically you spent the entire training camp with them and then soon, you were going back to school

duh everyone hmm maybe not shirabu bc he most definitely read the school book of rules thought you would be going to shiratorizawa with them 

but you broke the news to them one afternoon and imagine the tears from both tendo and goshiki

‘WHHYYYY!!!!’

‘NOOO!!!!!’

‘why can’t you?’

semi asked and you were about to answer when shirabu beat you to it

‘the school doesnt allow late transfers’

oh right

the american school system was set in a different schedule than a japanese school system

it was considered the summer for them yet school already started a few months ago

since shiratorizawa was a very academically and physically prestigious school, they refused anyone who would potentially be late or behind their curriculum

‘so where ya headed to then, chibi?’

tendou pouted and you leaned against his arm

‘hmm some school named aoba johsai? i dont know its near my grannie’s so that’s all that mattered’

oh dear

USHIJIMA NO Y/N WILL NOT ASK TOORU TO GO TO SHIRATORIZAWA

they consider seijoh a rival bc theyve played against them practically in every prefecture tournament and they were worried for that infamous setter

‘ne, y/n-chan, promise us that you won’t be swept away by them! especially a guy named oikawa tooru!’

uhhh

well

tendou’s warning was kinda ignored bc you ended up being seijoh’s manager

hehe

surprise?

but they weren’t really really shocked tho bc they knew you liked volleyball so you would naturally be in the volleyball team

even as a manager

meanwhile in seijohhh

OooOOOoOoOooooo sEiJOOhHHHH~~~~~~

okay so you were actually registered under your father’s last name usui rather than the ushijima last name

therefore you werent exactly immediately known as HEY! USHIJIMA’S SISTER!

you still became the manager the way you did as mentioned in part 1 

and you still are their adorable baby manager

you were aware of their oikawa’s hatred for wakawaka so you try not to talk about him even though youre literally the closest person to him

was it traitorous? 

maybe

but you actually even help them when they practice

duh the boys are like eyebrow raise emoji 

‘wow youre really into volleyball, huh, manager-chan?’

matsukawa commented and you just smiled

‘hmm, my family likes it so ive picked up a thing or two’

LMAO

little do they know your brother is literally the best volleyball player around and is a member of the under 19 team and your father is a volleyball coach in america and would someday be someone iwaizumi hajime (19) would apprentice under

there was a lot of times you thought you would slip up like your home screen was of you and waka but youve been careful to cover it up

BUT

you cant always be sneaky

it was during the first day of the tournament and you were filling up their water bottles I SWEAR WHY IS MANAGER-CHAN ALWAYS FILLING UP WATER BOTTLES when you found a familiar bunch of boys at the end of the hallway just chatting

you havent seen tendou and the boys in so long so you placed the bottles down and rushed over there so quickly

‘TOMUTOMU!’

you shouted and the oddly-haired boy turned and he gasped before grabbing you into a large hug

this grabbed tendou’s attention and he cheered then hugged you too

your giggles and happy cheers were so infectous and they just absolutely missed you so much 

these tall boys were at a advantage so someone scooped you up and you were just affectionately being talked to and hugged and LKDSJFSLDFJ SO LUCKY SO LOVED

meanwhile

the plant babies were wondering where the heck you went to 

‘y/n-chan?! where is she?!’

oikawa panicked quickly while iwaizumi hit him to shut up

‘be quiet! you won’t find her if you’re too busy freaking out!’

‘ill find her’

matsukawa volunteered and they nodded, feeling at ease of him being capable to find you if you were in trouble

but when he returned empty-handed and with large eyes, they knew something was up

they ran behind mattsun to stop and copy his shocked expression at the sight in front of them

is that

you?

with

shi

ra

to

ri

za

wa

oh my god

‘y/n-chan!’

oikawa shouted, being the first to speak

you jumped and your own eyes widened

‘oh. oh no’

you mumbled

the others were so stunned and seijoh itself was so hard to make speechless but they were just shocked

period

‘what is happening’

iwaizumi mumbled

yea the others were just shocked period

‘hey guys’

you waved and you motioned them closer

‘uhh,,, well,,, um they are my friends’

you smiled uneasily and they could see that

‘aaand?’

oikawa signalled you to say everything bc he knew it wasnt the whole story

you sighed

‘ushi,,, jima is my brother’

you mumbled the last part

but they heard you

‘HAH?!’

you cringed and the shira boys were about to move to protect you but they saw you glare at them

‘what? what about it? hes my brother? and?’

you babbled

‘but,, why are you,, in seijoh? dont get me wrong! its just,, youd naturally go to shiratorizawa right?’

mattsun waved his hands around and asked the question thats bugging the team

‘i came to the country late’

‘THE COUNTRY?!’

well,,

turns out you havent exactly told them everything about you yet :/

even when youve cleared the air and introduced waka as your brother, seijoh still didnt say anything

they were stuck in this shocked and surprised moment even at the end of the day and when you went straight to the shiratorizawa team,

they watched with wide eyes as you laughed with goshiki and was jumping around with tendou

‘AH! TOMU! MY HAIR!’

‘TORI-SAN! SATORI-SAN! TAKE THAT!’

wow you were actually really beautiful when youre happy

‘i dont think ive seen her this happy with this much energy’

makki said and they nodded

it was true

you were usually calm and collected and was the perfect balance to this chaotic team

so seeing you so free and loose with them was so refreshing, even if it was with damn ushiwaka

you finally went back to the seijoh boys and they all sent glares to the violet team before sending you a smile

‘you ready to go, manager-chan?’

watari ruffled your hair before handing you your bag to start walking to the bus

‘yea. lets go home’

as you all walked, oikawa was already starting his tantrum

‘y/n-chan~! why aren’t you that happy around us? are we not enough for you?’

oikawa whined and pouted

but you just turned to smiled at him and stopped walking to pat his head

‘im not their manager, therefore im not pressured to act like anyone except as a friend and a spectator. but i try to be as professional as i can with you guys to make sure you dont appear bad to others. and you guys are perfectly chaotic enough, adding me into the mix will just about kill coach’

oikawa didnt seem satisfied though

‘but! thats not fair! they get to see you smile and i dont!’

iwaizumi growled at him to be quiet but you beat him to it

well

you smiled at tooru but your eyes shone maliciously

‘i knew you would act like this, oikawa-san. as punishment, i gave nii-chan your phone number. good luck avoiding him now’

oikawa screamed

a/n: AAWWWWW LETS NOT KILL COACH IRIHATA OKAY? HES LIKE OUR GRANPAPA AND PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LEAVE OIKAWA ALONE WAKAWAKA-KUN!

[primatechnosynthpop]

A Rose Shall Bloom (And Then Shall Fade)- part 8

It was all well and good for Claire to tell herself she wasn’t going to spiral back into depression, but it was easier said than done. Truth be told, despite all her years of experience, the right balance between bottling up her feeling and falling into despair still eluded her. When Tracy finally passed away, Claire attended her funeral because it was held relatively close to where she lived. She felt kind of bad about the fact that she wasn’t able to attend all her friends’ funerals, since many of them had lived far away from her, but being there was in many ways just as bad as not being able to be there. It always forced her to fully acknowledge the loss of life. No matter how long and full and content that life had been, it was still a person who wasn’t there anymore.

Micah made a nice speech at the service about how, although Tracy hadn’t been his mom, she had still been important to him. After the service, while the attendees were milling about and reminiscing, Claire approached Micah to compliment him on the delivery of his speech. She tried not to look at the gray creeping into his frizzy hair. Claire would never get used to seeing people who were younger than her looking so much older than she did. He offered her a glass of wine, and although alcohol didn’t effect her, she took the glass anyway. She had fallen into a habit at this point after decades of drinking out of pure social expectation, and she saw no reason to stop now. It was bitter and rather unpleasant in taste, but Claire was growing accustomed to it at this point.

“She owed a lot to you, you know,” Micah said. “You and your dad. You guys really helped turn her life around.”

Claire wasn’t sure whether the dad he was referring to was Noah or Nathan–what he said could have applied to both of them. She supposed it didn’t really matter, since it was true either way. She nodded and took a sip of wine, resisting the urge to screw up her face at the tangy flavour.

“My dad definitely helped,” she agreed. “But ultimately, I think it’s up to people to redeem themselves. Outside influence can only take you so far. Anyway,” she added hastily when the corners of Micah’s mouth quirked into a frown, “I’m glad she had such a good life.”

“How are you doing these days, by the way?” Micah asked. “I haven’t seen you in ages.”

“Yeah, it’s, ah, been a while since the last time our whole gang had a get-together,” she sighed. “But I’ve been doing pretty good, and you?”

She didn’t mention any specifics of her life–such as the fact that business at the restaurant was dwindling again, or that Peter was considering moving into an old folks’ home, or that Gretchen’s sight and hearing were getting progressively worse. Micah was just asking out of courtesy, and even if he did genuinely care about Claire’s life, she didn’t want to make him more depressed. He was already at his aunt’s funeral; the last thing the poor kid (no, he was over sixty now, she reminded herself with a slight wince) needed was to hear about how miserable things were in Claire’s corner.

“Thing are about the same as always,” he said with a shrug. “I’d like to retire soon, but I don’t know if I can afford to stop working yet.”

“Are you still working at the electronics store?”

“Yup. You still a waitress?”

“I run the restaurant now, actually.”

“Ohh.” Micah raised his eyebrows, chuckling. “We really haven’t talked much in a while.”

“Yeah,” Claire said, setting her wine glass down and stuffing her hands in her pockets. “I guess we haven’t.”

*

A few months went by. Peter moved out of the house he and Emma had lived in for almost forty years and into a nursing home. It looked eerily similar to the one Noah had ended up in–much of the layout was identical, and the walls were painted the same shade of light yellow that managed to be both cheerful and subdued. It was a completely different building, of course, in a completely different city, but Claire always got a pang of nostalgia when she went to visit her uncle there.

Not long after, Natalie announced that she was pregnant. This took Claire a bit by surprise, since Natalie was rather old to be having a child; she hoped there wouldn’t be any complications.

“You know, I always wish we had adopted a child,” Gretchen mused when Claire told her the news. “I mean, I get why you didn’t want to, but… you would’ve made a great mom.”

“I’m glad you think so,” Claire replied.

She had been thinking, lately, about the prospect of having kids one day. Whether she liked it or not, she had all of eternity ahead of her. Eventually, she would almost certainly take on another romantic partner–probably quite a few, over the centuries. Having children wasn’t completely out of the question for her in the future. It would hurt like hell, of course, to see that child grow up and eventually grow old while she remained the same as always, but if that ever-present anxiety wasn’t reason for Claire not to get close to people, then logically it shouldn’t have prevented her from having kids either. Still, even if that did happen, it wouldn’t be until quite a ways into the future (Claire thought this as if she hadn’t already lived through so many vaguely distant futures becoming the present).

Thankfully, Natalie had her child without complications. It was a boy, who they named Julian after Victor’s grandfather. Natalie sent Claire some photos of the baby, and sure enough, the photos were pretty adorable. For a while, everything went pretty smoothly in that corner, or at least as smoothly as raising a child could be expected to go. Then, just over one year after Julian was born, Natalie called Claire up in the middle of the night.

“Something is happening to Julian,” she said, speaking so quickly that Claire could hardly parse what she was saying. “He was sniffling a little earlier today, so I took his temperature, and… well, he hates getting his temperature taken, so he started crying, and the reading on the thermometer started… started just glitching out. When I put my hand on his forehead, it was like… it was scalding! I don’t, I don’t even know what’s going on… I couldn’t even pick him up to cuddle him–I burned my hands on his skin!–so I couldn’t get him to stop crying… Victor finally put on some calming music and got Julian to sleep, but there’s still just this, this insane heat radiating off him… what should I do?!”

“Woah, woah, okay.” Claire pinched the bridge of her nose and tried to process everything her cousin was saying. “Julian must have a power! Like, super-heat or something. It makes sense, right?”

“I don’t have a power, though,” Natalie said.

“The gene must have skipped a generation with you, then,” said Claire. “I don’t know, I’m not a geneticist, ask…” she trailed off when she remembered that Natalie couldn’t ask Mohinder, because he wasn’t alive anymore. “Um, why don’t you ask Peter?”

“I called the nursing home and they said Dad is asleep, and I didn’t want to wake him,” Natalie explained. “I know you have powers–I mean, uh, obviously–so I just thought, I don’t know, you might be able to help?”

Claire grimaced, feeling a pang of sympathy for her cousin. She wished she knew how to help, but she honestly had no idea how to best handle such a situation. However, she could think of another person who just might be able to help.

“Hang on for a moment, Natalie,” Claire said. “I’m going to make another call.”

When it came to people whose powers had manifested at a very young age, Claire was only familiar with one: Matt Parkman Jr. Only problem was, she didn’t have his number saved to her contacts (although she’d had his father’s number saved, she and Matt Jr had never really hit it off). However, she did have all her employees’ phone numbers, and that included one MacKenzie Parkman.

The phone only rang once before MacKenzie picked it up. Claire figured this must have meant MacKenzie was still awake, and quite possibly scrolling through social media. She considered scolding the young woman about this, since it was past midnight on a work night, but Claire would have been lying if she said she wasn’t guilty of that same action on many occasions.

“Y'ello?” MacKenzie mumbled sleepily. Then, as if she had just realized who was making the call: “Boss, you ain’t calling to tell me I’m fired, are you?”

“Oh, no,” Claire assured her. While not her best worker by any stretch, MacKenzie was still a good kid (adult now) and Claire wasn’t the type of boss to just lay people off without good reason. “I’m actually calling about your dad… about his parents, technically, but since they’re not around anymore–”

“Oh, actually, grandma Janice is still alive,” MacKenzie said. “Do you want to talk to her?”

“Um, if you could give me her number, sure.”

A few minutes later, Claire was on the phone with Janice Parkman. Not wanting to stop and explain her entire situation, she simply introduced herself as a friend of MacKenzie’s.

“Now, Ma'am, your son’s powers manifested when he was just a baby, right?”

“That’s right, dearie,” said Janice. “Not that I had any clue what was going on. Why do you ask?”

“Well, my cousin has a baby,” Claire said–she might as well tell the truth about that part, at least– “and that baby has powers that just manifested. So I was wondering if you had any tips as to how to, er, deal with that.”

“Afraid not,” Janice told her. “Parenting is different for everyone, you know. With Mattie, I barely had any idea what I was doing half the time, even before I knew he had powers. That’s just what parenthood is like, especially the first time around. I’m sure your cousin will be able to work things out in time.”

Claire wasn’t completely sold on that, but she thanked Janice anyway and passed the advice, such as it was, to Natalie. She wished she had better advice to give than “just do your best and hope it works out okay”, but for the more unpredictable aspects of life, she supposed it was the best advice one could get. And, sure enough, Natalie grew more confident in her parenting skills as time went on. Once when Claire was visiting her, she saw Natalie pick Julian up with a pair of oven mitts. It was unconventional, certainly, but the Petrellis had always been an unconventional family. It was honestly really comforting to see Natalie, despite not having any powers herself, carrying on that tradition.

*

Claire was staying late at work one evening, wiping down some tables so her employees could go home early, when she heard a familiar sound, somewhere between a woosh and a flash, behind her. It was a sound she hadn’t heard in quite a while. She flinched when she heard it, clenching the wet rag she held and squeezing a couple drops of water onto the table she was cleaning. When she turned around, Hiro was standing there, hunched over the old wooden cane he used to get around nowadays. Claire was surprised to see that he was smiling. Of course, there had been a time when it had been rare to see Hiro not smiling, but that had been a long time ago. He certainly hadn’t smiled in Claire’s direction since… well. Not for a long time, that was for sure.

“Hello, cheerleader,” he greeted her, a faint twinkle in his eye. He donned an old-fashioned pair of reading glasses on a chain around his neck; Claire wondered what time period they, along with his cane, were from. “It’s been a long time.”

“That’s just what I was thinking,” said Claire, for lack of knowing what else to say. If he was here, and smiling at her, he couldn’t have been angry, right? And yet, he still had every right to be angry at her for what she had, albeit indirectly, taken from him.

Hiro blinked slowly, like an old cat sitting on a windowsill. “I know I don’t have very much time left, so to speak,” he said. “I’d like to spend the end of my life… elsewhere.” He nodded toward the clock on the restaurant wall. “Before I leave, though… I just wanted to tell you, I don’t blame you.”

Claire swallowed hard, a lump rising in her throat. “You mean it?”

Hiro nodded. Taking a shaky step forward, he laid a hand on her arm.

“I never–” he broke off, biting his lip. “I don’t blame you for what happened, not anymore. I don’t think Kimiko blames you, either.”

“…What about Satoshi?” she asked quietly. “I mean, take it from me–it isn’t easy to forgive someone responsible for your parent’s death.”

Hiro was quiet for a moment. He gazed out the window at the traffic passing by in a blur. The current models of cars were much sleeker than the ones of the past; the one Claire drove now barely looked like what she would have once considered a car. However, the occasional passionate collector out there still took pride in showing off their vintage 2006 Versa.

It was easy for Claire to get caught up in her thoughts while looking out the window–she had a lot to reflect on, after all. When she finally snapped back to attention, Hiro was gone. Maybe he hadn’t known the answer to Claire’s question, or maybe he had known and it hadn’t been the answer she would have wanted. Either way, she supposed she would probably never see him again. Another of her friends gone–but now she knew that there were no hard feelings between them. That was a significant weight off her chest, at least. Standing by herself in the empty restaurant, Claire let out a long sigh and went back to wiping down tables.

*

A couple years after Peter moved into the nursing home, his health began deteriorating, and his mind along with it. Claire made sure to visit him as often as she could. Sometimes he remained in bed during these visits, but other times he got up and moved about a little. Once, as they were sitting across from each other in chairs which were surprisingly comfortable despite their metal frames, he stared at her with a tinge of confusion in his eyes. When she asked him what was wrong, he blinked at her and asked, “Where’s Nathan?”

Instantly, Claire’s heart seized up. What was he talking about? He knew Nathan had been dead for… how long had it been now, fifty years? Peter’s memory had been fine up until now–why would this happen now?

“Nathan isn’t here, Peter,” she told him, reaching out to gently squeeze his hand. “He… Peter, you know he hasn’t been around for a long time.”

Peter flinched, then shook his head like he was clearing a mental etch-a-sketch. “…Of course,” he muttered, brushing a lock of scraggly gray hair out of his eye. “Silly me. Now, what were we talking about?”

“I…” Claire gulped. “I guess we were just talking about the weather.”

“Oh, yes,” Peter said, his shoulders slumping down as he relaxed into his chair. “It’s been so cold and rainy lately… not so good for these old bones, eh?”

“Yeah,” Claire echoed flatly. “Old bones.”

This couldn’t happen, not again. It had broken her heart so much when Sandra had begun to lose her memory. She wasn’t strong enough to go through it all again, not now. Not with Peter. Apart from Gretchen and Lyle (who barely came around anymore, and rarely even answered her calls when she tried to keep in touch) Peter was all she had left. She needed him, and although she’d known for a long time that she wouldn’t have him forever, losing him like this, to a slowly deteriorating memory, would be too much for her to bear.

“Peter, take my power,” she told him, tightening her grip on his hand. “I know you don’t want to live forever. Neither do I, Peter, I just… I need you to take it, okay?”

She expected him to resist, to shake his head, to calmly explain why he couldn’t do that. Instead, he smiled vacantly and nodded.

“Of course, Claire,” he said. “Anything for you.”

He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them again, his eyes, which had grown clouded with age, were as bright and clear as they’d been decades ago. A shaky breath spilled out of Claire’s mouth, and she wiped tears from her eyes that she hadn’t even realized had been there. Peter smiled–not a vacant smile this time, but one that spread throughout his face and lit up the room. Then he glanced down at Claire’s hand, still clamped tightly around his own, and his mouth quirked into a frown.

“This… this can’t be forever, alright?” he murmured. “I’ll keep your power for as long as you need me to, Claire, but it can’t be forever.”

Claire nodded, keeping the smile on her face even though tears still pricked at her eyes. “Just until…” She swallowed hard. “Just until I’m ready.”

That was, of course, a lie. She would never, ever be ready to lose Peter. She hadn’t been ready to lose anyone. She didn’t think it was possible to be ready for that. At least with Peter, though, she got a bit of extra time. That was something, right? But however much extra time it was, it would never be enough.

*

For the next few years, Peter remained in good health. Julian grew fast, as children often did, and every time Natalie and Victor sent Claire a new photo of him she was shocked by how big he was getting. Her work life continued on without much conflict or change, providing a refreshing counterbalance to how fast other aspects of life moved. A few of her best workers retired, and she hired some new people to replace them, but other than that nothing of note happened regarding the restaurant.

Lyle dropped by to visit a couple times, which was nice even though he never stayed long. He’d settled down in a small town near the California border; Claire asked him if she could visit him there sometime and he replied that he’d rather she didn’t. She had half a mind to ask him if he’d move to Costa Verde so he wouldn’t have to drive across the state to visit her, but moving house was such an ordeal, and it would be a lot to ask of him, especially at his age. Once, he and Claire drove across town to the cemetery to visit their parents’ graves. As they stood next to each other in a moment of uncomfortably silent contemplation, Claire cleared her throat and tried to come up with something to say.

“It… it’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“What, since Mom and Dad died?” Lyle but his lip, brow furrowing. “Yeah, what’s it been... thirty, forty years?”

“I guess so,” Claire mumbled. “Time really does fly, doesn’t it?”

“Well, for most of us,” he said with a sideways glance at Claire. “Not for you. Shit, Claire, you still look like a college student, you can’t go complaining about the passage of time!”

Claire clenched her jaw, eyes narrowing. “Excuse me?”

“I mean, look at you,” he continued, taking a cigarette pack out of his pocket and lighting one up. “You’re coming up on eighty and you’ve got no gray hairs, no wrinkles, perfect eyesight and hearing, no arthritis, nothing! You’ve got nothing to complain about!”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Claire demanded. “I may not be aging, but I have to watch everybody else grow old and die around me–including you! That’s not lucky, Lyle, that’s… that’s…” She broke off as her voice wavered and tears welled up in her eyes. “Damn it, I don’t want to fight you about this. Just trust me, it’s not lucky, okay?”

Lyle fixed her with a cold stare as he took a drag of his cigarette. Claire hated to think about the state his lungs must have been in by now. It was a miracle he was even still alive. Regardless of his smoking habit, though, he probably wouldn’t be alive for too much longer. Why he would resent Claire for that fact, though, was beyond her. She was fairly certain he was still at least somewhat religious. Wouldn’t he want to be able to see Noah and Sandra in the afterlife? She knew she did–or would–if such a thing existed.

“Whatever,” Lyle muttered after a minute. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and shuffled away, leaving Claire standing alone among the gravestones.

*

A few days later, Claire got a call from a frantic-sounding Natalie. At first Claire thought it was something to do with Julian again (he was nearly five now, and apparently still quite a handful for his parents). However, Claire quickly realized that this was not the case.

“H-he was fine at first,” Natalie sobbed. “Then Jules hugges him, and suddenly he started coughing, and… and it was like all of a sudden, he’d forgotten where he was! I don’t understand–Dad’s been so healthy these past few years, I don’t know what happened!”

Claire sucked in a breath. She knew exactly what had happened, of course, but she didn’t think her cousin would be too happy if she told her.

“How is he?” she asked, holding herself back from jumping to the worst possible conclusion.

“The nurse said he’s likely not going to come out of it… oh, god, Claire, I just don’t get it!” Natalie said again. “His eyes, they just… just clouded up, and he fell back into his bed… I don’t know why–”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Claire assured her even though it was blatantly untrue. “Just take a few breaths, try to calm down. How bad is he?”

“I… it’s bad, Claire,” she whimpered. “You should probably come up to see him soon–while you still can.”

Natalie didn’t have to tell her twice. After ending the call, Claire grabbed her keys off the counter and her coat of the hanger. Just as she was about to head out the door, though, she stopped and looked over her shoulder to the living room. Gretchen was asleep on the sofa (she’d fallen asleep while reading, which seemed to happen more and more often nowadays) and Claire didn’t want to wake her, but she knew Gretchen would be worried if she woke up to find Claire gone without explanation. Claire grabbed a post-it note off the kitchen counter and scribbled down a note that read:

“Going to NY to visit Peter. Be back soon. Love you, Gretch.

She taped the note to the refrigerator and bent down to kiss her sleeping wife on the forehead before heading out the door.

Claire got to New York by midday. As she pulled up in front of the nursing home and hopped out of the car, she saw Victor’s truck parked nearby–he and Natalie must have been there as well. Sure enough, they were there visiting with Peter when she walked in (Julian wasn’t with them; they must have left him with a babysitter). Peter was lying in bed, eyes closed. There was a beeping machine next to him that he was hooked up to, and a nurse hovering nearby monitoring the readings. Somebody else was in the room as well–somebody Claire had gone out of her way to avoid seeing for a long time. He looked up at her when she walked in the room, and as they locked eyes, a cautious smile spread over his face and he gave her a sort of half-wave.

“Hello, Claire,” Sylar said amicably.

Claire immediately tensed up. She knew that Sylar was no longer the man she knew him as; she knew he’d grown and changed since then and was a nice, well-adjusted person now. She could accept that, but that didn’t mean she had to personally forgive him for everything he’d put her and her friends and family through. She certainly didn’t want to see him now. Still, she knew Peter and Sylar were close, and it would be rude to tell him to leave… gulping, Claire suppressed a shudder and returned Sylar’s wave with a strained smile.

“He’s been like this for a few hours now,” Natalie murmured as she stroked Peter’s arm. His loose-hanging skin was nearly translucent, with a snaking pattern of veins visible underneath. “I don’t know if he’s going to wake up.”

Head swimming with emotion, Claire pulled up a chair and sat down next to Peter’s bedside. She observed the faint rise and fall of his chest, and the way his eyelids fluttered slightly. She wondered if he was dreaming. If so, what fantasies could have been filling his head? At his side, his fingers twitched; Claire reached out and took his hand. It was limp and frail, terrifyingly so, but it still felt warm in her grip–a reassurance presence, just as Peter had always been to her.

“You were right, you know,” she whispered. “Life after high school… it did get a lot better.”

And now it’s getting worse again, she thought but didn’t say. Just in case he could hear her, she didn’t want to say anything that would worry him–or the other people in the room, for that matter. Her life, like any other, had ups and downs. Now, though, she didn’t see how things were going to get any better ever again. Her heart ached when she looked at her uncle lying there, unmoving, and yet there were no tears in her eyes. She wasn’t sure why–she wanted to cry. She should have been crying, but she didn’t. She kept waiting for him to wake up and sat something, some kind of last words. Instead, he just lay there, and she just sat there staring at him. She wasn’t sure exactly how long she sat there, but eventually, the beeps coming from the machine gradually grew quieter and then finally stopped as a final shaky breath exited his lips.

Natalie let out a sob and turned to cry into Victor’s shoulder. Sylar sucked in a breath, pushed his chair back away from the bed, and got up and left without a word. He awkwardly patted Natalie on the shoulder on the way out, but he left Claire alone altogether. Claire appreciated that, at least. In her grip, the heat seeped out of Peter’s hand.

She squeezed his hand harder as it grew cold. Come on, she thought desperately, take my power. I don’t care if it’s what you want or not, just take it! Nothing happened. Peter was completely unresponsive. He was gone. And still, no tears came to Claire’s eyes. She just gripped his hand, tighter and tighter, as though doing so might rekindle his pulse. The nurse placed a hand on her arm and murmured something that Claire didn’t really hear. She couldn’t process anything except for the hand in her grasp. All the warmth was drained from it now. It was so lifeless, utterly and completely lifeless. For a moment it was like it was forty years ago all over again, and Claire was standing in the living room hearing about her father’s death over the phone. She drew in a shaky breath, stood up from her chair, and let go of Peter’s hand. As it fell limply onto the bed, Claire exhaled and then finally broke down in tears.