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waitimcomingtoo · 3 years

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In Case You Don’t Live Forever

~sixth chapter rewritten~

Pairing: Peter Parker x Venom!reader

Synopsis: you are Peters greatest love and Spider-Man’s greatest enemy

Series Masterlist

Two months later, you sat outside The Daily Bugle and impatiently bounced your leg. While waiting to see if your boss liked your first draft of the Cleatus Kassidy article, you reflected on your past two months in New York.

It was now June. You and Venom had fallen into a routine. You’d work on the Cletus article by day and go patrolling at night. Of course, being Venom wasn’t a nightly occurrence. You’d only go out eating once or twice a week. Still, you managed to have 11 run ins with Spider-Man.

You and Peter had become significantly closer in that past two months as well. You’d help him with his homework, though you secretly thought he was smarter than you, and he helped me with your story. Some nights, he’d visit you on your fire escape and watch the sun go down. You had no idea how he got there, but you didn’t care.

You’d send him science puns while he was at school and he’d bring you food and keep you company when You had writers block. Your favorite was the long talks on the roof. You would sit there for hours and tell each other everything. You knew all his secrets and he knew yours.

Well, not all.

But the best part of all was that every now and then, you’d catch the other staring. Then, the other would stare back until someone, usually Peter, started to lean in. Every time you thought you were finally going to take the next step, something would interrupt you. Whether it was May knocking or Ned barging in or Peters phone ringing. That was another thing about Peter. His damn phone was always ringing and then he’d have to dash off somewhere, leaving you with a random excuse or something about an internship. Sometimes, you’d wish he’d just throw his phone aside and kiss you already.

“Great work so far, L/n.” Your boss tore you away from your thoughts. “I knew you’d be right for the job.”

“Thank you, Mr. Jameson.” You stammered as you stood up. “I really appreciate you giving me this job. I was kinda blackballed back in San Francisco.”

“I know.” He shrugged. “But you ask the hard hitting questions that people want to hear. Once this article is out, I want you to write one on Venom.”

“Venom?” You gulped at her name.

“Yeah.” He nodded. “You know that scary black monster that’s been fighting Spiderman? I’m thinking an exposé on that menace webhead and his latest enemy, and I think you’d be perfect for the job.”

 “I would love to.” You said quickly. “I’ll start researching right away.”

With that, you turned on your heel and left the building before Venom caused a scene.

“Monster?” Venom roared once you got in your car. “Scary?”

“I know.” You whined. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know he was gonna call you that.”

“His whole job is reading about the most dangerous criminals in New York. If he thinks we’re scary, what’s Peter gonna think?” Venom asked. You laughed in dismissal until you thought about what he said.

What would Peter think? What if you told Peter who you really were and he ran away? He was sweet and understanding, but how understanding could he possibly be when you tell him you can turn into a flesh eating monster?

That’s when you realized you were scared. You were scared of letting Peter in and him letting himself right out. You were scared of repeating the mistakes you made with Andy. No, not scared.

Petrified.

What if Peter didn’t like what he saw? What if he realized you were too messy to be with? Or had too much baggage? Peter deserved a nice girl. One with a normal family and friends. One without depression. One without a flesh eating symbiote attached to their immune system.

“What’s wrong baby?” Venom asked with concern. She cuddled around your neck and nuzzled into your cheek.

“I can never be with Peter.” You whispered, mostly to yourself. Hot tears of frustration filled your eyes so you looked up to keep them from falling. Admitting it felt like a fatal blow to the stomach. Venom tied your hair up with one of her arms and wiped the tears from your face.

“Why do you say that?”

You thought about it for a moment before answering. You didn’t want to tell Venom that you were feeling insecure. She freaked out on you whenever you said something negative about yourself. You didn’t wanna another 100 slide PowerPoint titled “why Y/N L/N is the baddest bitch in the galaxy”. Especially since forty of those slides were just pictures of your butt. You appreciated Venom wanting to help but you were feeling the kind of insecure that a pep talk couldn’t fix. You needed to figure it out on your own. So instead, you told her a different fear you had.

“Because. Look at us. We’re the only thing keeping each other alive.” You reasoned. “What if we get separated and die? I can’t become one of those people in Peters life who loved him and then left him. His mom, his dad, his Uncle Ben. I don’t want to die and leave Peter behind. He’s been through enough. He’d be so much better off without me.”

“We’re not gonna die. You protect me and I protect you. Nothing will hurt us as long as we have each other.” Venom assured you.

“I can’t protect you like you protect me.” You said softly. “I’m just a human. What if something happens to me and you die because of it?”

“Nothing will happen to you, Y/N. I promise. I won’t let it.” Venom swore. You looked at her and gave her a sad smile.

“I won’t let anything happen to you either.” You said, but you didn’t promise it. You knew you couldn’t promise it.

“And you can be with Peter.” Venom insisted. “On Klyntar, we mate for life. And we think you’ve found your mate in Peter.”

“What does that mean?” You wondered.

“It means we’ve become attached to him and will never be happy with anyone else.” Venom said. You let out a shaky breath as that wasn’t what you wanted to hear. You needed a reason to shut your feelings for Peter down.

“Like soulmates?” You asked.

“Exactly like soulmates.” Venom answered.

“Well what happens on Klyntar if someone is your soulmate but you’re not theirs?”

“Then we go into a cave and mourn until we die alone of heartbreak.” Venom said simply.

“That sounds about right.” You laughed sadly as you took a second to think.

“I’m gonna call that guy back.” You said suddenly.

“What guy?” She asked.

“They guy who asked me out at the coffee shop this morning.” You reminded her.

“The one with the stupid hair? Why would you call him?” Venom asked angrily.

“What was wrong with his hair?” You laughed.

“It was blonde. We like brunette.” Venom said with a devilish grin.

“His hair was fine.” You rolled your eyes. “And I’m gonna call him to say yes to the date.”

“Why would we do that when we like Peter?” Venom whined.

“Because if Peter doesn’t like us, I don’t want to die of heartbreak alone in a cave.” You admitted.

“He does love you.” Venom protested.

“We don’t know that.” You shook your head. “It’s just one date. I need to get back out there anyway. I haven’t gone on a date Andy and I broke up.”

“Fine.” Venom grumbled. “But this is a terrible idea and I’m going to complain the whole time and sing the Les Mis soundtrack in your head.” This was one of those moments where she felt more like your toddler than your symbiote.

You gave the guy a call before driving back to your apartment. As fate would have it, you ran into Peter in the hallway on your way to your room.

“Hey Y/n!” Peter greeted you. “You want to come over later and help me with spanish? I’ll amo you mucho.”

You wanted so badly to say yes but you had to stick to the plan to squash your feelings for Peter.

“Aw, I’m sorry Pete. I wish I could but I have a date tonight.” You frowned, instantly regretting it when you saw the look on his face.

Peter’s heart sank to the floor as he emotions went from feeling devastated to feeling white hot anger in a matter of seconds

“A date?” He sputtered. “With who?”

“Some boy I met at the coffee shop.” You said weakly, knowing you were hurting him.

“Oh.” He said dully.

“Some boy.” He thought angrily. “Some freaking dirty ass sissy coffee boy asked my girl out.”

Peter felt like hunting the man down and smacking the shit out of him. Or at the very least, webbing him to a wall leaving him there until he missed the date.

“What’s his name?” Peter asked suddenly, wanting to put a name to his new mortal enemy.

“Matt.” You nodded slowly.

“Freaking Matt.” Peter thought. “Freaking dirty ass bitch ass Matt. Was Matt Spider-Man? No. Could Matt treat you as well as I could? Probably. But did he like you as much? No. Did he have inside jokes with you? No. Could he make you laugh your beautiful laugh just by doing a Captain America impression? No. He wasn’t good enough for you. He couldn’t do the things I could do. He was trash. He was a trashy dirty ass rat boy.”

“Interesting.” Peter said, keeping his thoughts to himself.

“I’ll text you when it’s over and maybe I can help you then.” You offered. That sound okay, guapo?”

Peter nodded sadly, not even acknowledging that you called him handsome. Actually, he probably had no idea that you did. He was smart, but only in English.

“That’s fine.” He nodded glumly. “I’ll see you later.”

You watched Peter trudge into his apartment and felt a pain in your heart. He seemed so upset all the sudden. It couldn’t be from your date, could it? It’s not like you told him you got engaged or something. It was one little date. And it’s not like Peter even made a move. He had no reason to be upset. You brushed it off and went into your apartment to get ready.

Just as Venom predicted, the date went horribly wrong. You drove back to the apartment in silence afterwards, leaving Matt to clean himself off back at the restaurant.

“Why did that happen?” You asked her after a long drive in silence. You were mortified from the events of the night but you needed to know why they happened.

“Because he wasn’t your soulmate.” Venom said simply.

“We defiled that boy.”

“It happens.” Venom stated.

“It shouldn’t.” You said, shocked at how nonchalantly she was being.

“But it does.”

You rode the rest of the way in silence, shooting Peter a text before asleep on your couch. You woke up a few hours later in a cold sweat and in tears. You didn’t know it, but Peter was listening to your breathing from his apartment. He had picked up the small cries of his name in your sleep with his superhearing and stayed up to see if you were okay.

You weren’t, by the way. You had had a nightmare that shook you deeply and left you shaking. It was about Peter, but not in a good way. In this dream, he laid injured on the ground after a fight. You were separated from Venom and bleeding out near Peter. You couldn’t do anything to save him. You couldn’t scream for help. And worse, you couldn’t protect him. It caused you great agony to not be able to reach him.

Without giving it another thought, you got off your couch and made your way to the door. You needed to see Peter and tell him how you felt.

You didn’t care about your insecurities anymore. You didn’t care about all the things keeping you apart. You only cared about him, and that was enough. He needed to know that and you couldn’t wait another second.

You swung open your front door, only to find Peter Parker outside it in pink Hello Kitty pajama bottoms and a tight white t-shirt. His hand was raised, like he was about to knock.

“Hey.” you breathed. His hair was tousled and sticking up in random places. He looked heavenly.

“Hi.” He said shyly.

“I was just about to go to your door. I had a bad dream.” You told him. You were anxious to skip the semantics and cut right to the chase.

The chase being, “I love you and I’m yours if you’ll have me.”

“Yeah, I heard. That’s why I’m here.” Peter explained. That’s not what he wanted to say. What he wanted to say was, “I’m always here if you need me. I’d go to the ends of the earth for you. I love you. It’ll be okay.”

Peter looked at you funny for a moment, like he was seeing something beneath the surface.

“She looks so beautiful.” He thought. Makeup free, hair a little messy, and nothing but an oversized sweatshirt to cover you. Peter recognized the sweatshirt as his own, one you had swiped from his laundry basket because you had been freezing while watching Alien in his room. He felt so honored to know that you slept in it. Peter wondered how many times he could fall in love with you in a short span of time. In the past few seconds, he’d fallen about 15 times. Once for every breath you took. And you were breathing quite heavily.

“You heard?” You asked, wondering how he

had possible heard from his apartment.

“My hearing is excellent.” He said quickly. “Are you alright?”

“Please be alright.” He thought. “I’d stop anything that tried to hurt you. I’ll protect you from the storm. Don’t shut me out. Don’t turn me away. Let me love you.”

“Um…” You trailed off and looked behind you at your empty apartment. The darkness looked anything but inviting. You couldn’t go back in there just yet.

“No?” It came out as more of a question.

“No? Do you want to talk about it-“ Peter was cut off when you rushed into his arm and hugged him tightly. He seemed taken aback, seeing as you nearly knocked the wind out of him. But as soon as he found his footing, he wrapped his strong arms around you and held you close. You relaxed in Peters embrace and let out a sigh.

“I had a nightmare.” You croaked. “You died and I couldn’t save you.”

“I know. It’s okay. You’re awake now. I’m here.” Peter said soothingly.

“I’ve been here the whole time.” He thought. “I will never abandon you. You are safe in my arms. Nothing can hurt you now. I won’t let it.”

You pulled away a little and looked at his face, seeing how tired it was.

“Would you stay with me?” You asked timidly. You didn’t want him to go. Not now, not ever.

“Always.” Peter answered with a smile. “As if I could ever leave you.”

Your lips lit up in a smile as your eyes fell to his lips. They lingered there for too long, or maybe just long enough. Peter took the hint and slipped his hand behind your neck and began to pull you closer. As your lips were about to touch, your door slammed, causing you to jump out of each other’s embrace.

“Shit balls.” You said immediately, letting out an annoyed sigh.

“What?” Peter asked, giggling a little at your choice of profanity.

“I just locked myself out.” You realized as you jiggled through door handle. Peter laughed louder this time and put a hand on your shoulder.

“Come on. You’re sleeping over.” He said, leading you back to his apartment with his hand on the small of his back.

You entered Peters room for the millionth time, but it felt the first time. Sure, you’d become good friends in the time you’ve lived in the building, but bedrooms were intimate places. The context of you being in Peters bedroom after going to him for comfort changes how you saw the place. After all, bedrooms were windows into the soul. Oh wait, that’s eyes. Still, the room was different. You didn’t feel like you were entering it. You felt like you were returning.

You looked around with a content smile on your face. He still had his academic decathlon posters on his wall, along with a few Avengers posters. Peter was pretty neat, but he was still a teenage boy. Socks and sweaters were strewn across the room. You saw him kicking a pair of boxers under his desk out of the corner of you eye. His room was so cute. It was so…Peter. You noticed a first aid kit on his desk next to his chemistry textbook and wondered what on earth he could be using it for.

“I’ve always liked your room.” You complimented as you touched a decathlon trophy on his dresser.

“Oh thank God.” Peter sighed in relief. “I thought you’d take one look at my nerdy ambiance and run.”

“Star Wars bedsheets?” You asked when you noticed the Death Star poking out under his duvet. You definitely hadn’t seen those before and found them endearing. Peters ears reddened and he fixed his duvet to cover them up.

“Those aren’t mine.” He said quickly.

“Are they Mays? As in May the force be with you?” You played along and he gave you a defeated smile.

“That was the worst thing anyone has ever said. Ever.” Peter joked. You laughed and he gave you a shy smile.

“Fine. They’re my bedsheets. Star Wars is cool, okay?” Peter defended. You took a seat on his bed and shrugged.

“You don’t have to explain anything to me Peter. I just didn’t know you were a loser, is all.”You said simply. Peter sat down on the bed next to you and rolled his eyes.

“Very funny. You’re the funniest person I know.” He said sarcastically. You nudged him with your elbow and he and hit you with a Yoda printed pillow.

“Mm. Good with the force you are.” You commented. Peter groaned loudly and told you to shut up.

“Enough playing around. How was your date?” Peter asked as he turned to face you. You could hear the pain in his voice and regretted ever telling him about the date.

“Oh, you know.” You shrugged. “Terrible.”

You weren’t going to let him off the hook that easy. If Peter really did like you and want to be with you, he needed to say it. He couldn’t just grumble and wallow in self pity when you were with another boy. You wanted to test him to see if he’d ever actually admit his feelings, but a part of you was still scared there were no feelings to admit to.

“Really?” He said excitedly. He cleared his throat to cover it up and grunted. “I mean, really?” He asked calmly.

“Yeah it was awful. I definitely won’t be seeing him again.” You sighed sadly, but you weren’t actually sad. You were just putting on a show for Peter. Peter bit the inside of his cheek to stop the smile from emerging.

“That’s terrible.” Peter lied. “What went wrong?”

His acting was equally as bad as your own. He had a shit eating grin on his face, pretending to be sad when he was clearly over the moon.

“It was going fine all night until the kiss.” You sighed dramatically, looking longingly out the window. You might as well have thrown yourself onto the balcony and cried out for Romeo. Peter, however, was buying every second of it.

“You guys kissed?” He asked, his voice heavy with disappointment. He looked miserable. All you wanted to do was throw your arms around his neck and tell him he was the only one for you. Instead, you kept your feelings to yourself and nodded slowly.

“Almost. He leaned in and…” instead of finishing your sentence, you just shrugged. You could tell Peter was on the edge of his seat so you dragged it as long as you could.

“And?” Peter practically begged. You let out another long, dramatic sigh as Peter took a slow sip of his water bottle.

“And I threw up on him.” You said simply. Peter spat out the water in his mouth and burst out laughing, doing his best to cover it up. You gave him a fake angry look but ended up laughing as well.

“What?” Peter laughed.

“He was such a tool.” You whined. “He talked down to me the entire night and then had the audacity to try and kiss me. I don’t know what happened but all the sudden he was leaning in and I was throwing up. He deserved it though. He treated me like was an idiot. I’m almost glad I threw up on him.”

Peters was overjoyed. He was about to say something when we heard a straggled cry of your name.

You and Peter rushed to his peephole and saw a familiar blonde haired boy standing in the hallway.

There he was, Matt, outside your apartment door with his phone on full volume playing “Hungry Eyes” from Dirty Dancing.

“What the actual hell?” You wondered out loud. “I better get rid of him.”

“Y/nnnnnn. I’m sorry I was a jerk.” Matt slurred. “Please talk to me. I told the doorman we were cousins. Then I told the elevator guy that I was your husband. You may need to move now. Y/nnnn.”

“You definitely can’t go out there.” Peter shook his head. “He could have a knife.”

“Or worse.” You whispered, making Peter looked at you fearfully. “He could have the same loser bedsheets you do.”

Peter scrunched his nose at you and picked up you swiftly to threw you onto the couch.

“Since when are you so strong?” You laughed in shock. Peter shrugged and held out a hand.

“Let’s go to bed.” He said. You raised an eyebrow and he quickly added, “In a non-sexual, platonic way.”

He was always so cautious of offending you or making you uncomfortable. You appreciated how much of a gentleman he was and knew Aunt May had implemented those qualities in him.

“You can take the bed.” He offered. “I’ll sleep on the couch. Let me know if you need anything.”

You nodded and climbed into his bed, patting the the space next to you.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” You told him. “Get in.”

Peter looked at you with wide eyes, looking very unsure of himself as he toyed with the hem of his shirt.

He was torn. He wanted to get into the bed, but he also knew you were vulnerable right now and he didn’t want to take advantage of you. He didn’t want to do anything you’d end up regretting in the morning.

“Get in, in a non-sexual, platonic way.” You added. Peter relaxed but stayed standing. You pretended to splash Peter and twirled your hand around the bedsheets as if they were water.

“Come on in Parker. The waters warm.” You said in a low voice.

“I am…repulsed.” Peter deadpanned. In reality, he was dying to get in the bed. He wasn’t gonna try anything, he just wanted to feel you close. He wanted to comfort you and take the pain of the night away. Finally, he got into the bed and pulled the covers up. He shut off his lamp and we fell into comfortable silence.

“Good night, Peter.” You whispered, turning your back to him and cuddling into his pillow.

“Night, Y/n.” He whispered back. You felt his eyes on the back of your neck still. He didn’t want to close them and fall asleep. He wanted to stay in this moment as long as he could.

You soon felt hesitant arms wrap around your waist. Peter was very unsure of himself and kept his hands loosely on your hips, barely touching. You turned your neck around and looked at him quizzically.

“What the hell are you doing?” You demanded. His hands flew off your waist and his eyes widened with fear. He looked so apologetic, you thought he might cry.

“Do you not know how to cuddle?” You asked before he could blurt out an apology. You grabbed his arms and pulled them tightly around your body. You held his hands in your own, flush against your chest. Peter felt really tense at first and a bit stiff, but he soon relaxed and nestled into your hair.

“You smell really good.” He muttered. You laughed softly against his body, prompting Peter to hold you even tighter.

“I’ve wanted this for so long, Y/N.” He whispered. He said it so quietly, you figured he thought you had fallen asleep. “Sweet dreams.”

You woke up the next morning in Peter Parker’s arms. Subsequently, you wanted to wake up every morning for the rest of your life in Peter Parker’s arms. You were a mess of tangled limbs and hair but you found yourself firmly in his embrace, inhaling his cologne.

Peters eyes fluttered open suddenly and you were nose to nose.

“Hi.” You said softly, a playful smile resting on your lips. He was so pretty in the morning. He didn’t even have to try.

“Hey.” He chuckled. “This is new.”

“It is new. Is it okay?” You asked him, not wanting to overstep his boundaries.

“Is waking up next to the actual sun okay?” He teased. “Uh yea, Y/n. It’s okay. You can sleep over anytime you like if it means more mornings like this.”

Of course he said that. He held all your strings and knew just how to tug them.

“Did you really not enjoy that date?” He whispered, but in his head thought, “Do you want to be with anyone else?”

You didn’t know why he was whispering, but the look in his eyes told you he was dead serious.

“Not in the slightest.” You answered honestly. What you wanted to say was, “Because it wasn’t with you.”, but you didn’t.

“Would you…would you want to go out with me sometime?” He asked shyly. “I promise I won’t throw up on you.”

He said the second part as if it was the only way you’d say yes to the date, which made you laugh.

“Peter Parker, I have waited exactly 64 days for you to ask me that question and you just had to ruin it by promising you won’t throw up on me?” You playfully scolded as Peters eyes lit up.

“Is that a yes?” He asked excitedly.

“It’s a yes.” You nodded, holding his nearest hand. “It’s always been a yes.”

“Can I-“ He began.

“Don’t ask.” You whispered. “Just do it.”

Peter leaned in slowly and you did the same. His lips had just ghosted yours when Aunt May knocked on the door. He bolted out of bed as you sat up.

“Breakfast is ready. Did you clean your room?” Aunt May called from the other side of the door.

“Yes.” Peter called back. You looked around. No he didn’t

“No you didn’t.” She said knowingly. She didn’t even have to see his room to know it wasn’t clean.

“I’ll clean it after.” He groaned.

“I’m coming in.” She said suddenly, making you and Peter look at each other in fear.

“Don’t! I’m naked.” He screamed.

“Fine. But it better be clean after breakfast. And put some clothes on. You should not be naked at 7 am.” Aunt May said. You heard her footsteps walking away and knew it was safe to speak. You got out of Peters bed as he got up to lock the door, his back still to you as he did it.

“Alright.” He sighed. “That should buy us some ti-“

The second he turned around, he was met with your lips on his. You had your hands on the sides of his face and your head tilted to the left. You felt Peters eyes flutter shut as his eyelashes tickled your cheeks. He was frozen at first, but slowly wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you closer. You melted into him and he melted right back into you. The kiss was short and sweet, but absolutely perfect.

When you pulled away, Peter gave you the softest eyes ever. A grateful smile was on his lips.

“I am so over these interrupted moments.” You laughed softly as you shook your head. Peters eyes twinkled in agreement. The sun was coming through the window and made his brown eyes look like pots of honey. You could stare at them forever.

And then he kissed you again, with confidence this time. He wasn’t ready for the last one since you caught him off guard. You let your fingers tangle in the messy curls at the back of his neck, something you thought you’d only get to dream of doing. Peter groaned slightly into your mouth as you tugged on his hair, indicating that he liked it. He put his hand under your neck and slipped his toungue in your mouth. Who knew Peter Parker knew how to kiss? He tasted like morning breath, spearmint chapstick, and something you could only identify as being exclusively Peter. When you pulled apart, he looked up at the sky and sighed.

“If I wake up and this is all a dream I’m going to fight you.” He said menacingly.

“Did you just threaten God?” You laughed.

“For you? Anthing. I’ll fight anyone for your honor. Our Lord and Savior can catch these hands can square up.” He promised.

“You’ve gone to far.” You joked. “We need to break up.”

“Don’t even joke. I’ve waited too long for this.” Peter said as he wrapped his arms around you.

“I’m only teasing. I’ve waited my whole life for you Parker. I’m never letting you go.” You told him. He burst out in a smile and kissed you swiftly, then promptly got down on one knee.

“Will you please be mine, darling? Officially?” He pleaded softly. There was so much hope in his eyes so you pretended to think about it.

“Sorry.” You shrugged. “I’m pretty busy with Matt.”

Peter stood up and gripped your hips, pulling you closer while you let out a small gasp.

“I never want to hear his name again. He had the privilege of taking my girl on a date and treated her poorly?” He raised an eyebrow. “He’s a deadman if I ever see him around here. Now, I need you to tell me you’re my girlfriend before my heart explodes. Tell me you’re mine. I won’t believe it until you say it. ”

You nodded yes as you wrapped your arms around his neck and kissed his lips.

“Peter Parker, I always have, and always will be, yours.”

#peter parker x reader #peter parker x y/n #peter parker x you #peter parker fanfiction #peter parker imagine #peter parker x venom!reader #venom!reader #tom holland x reader #tom holland x you #iron man #tom holland fluff #tom holland fanfiction

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retroellie · 3 years

Text

Dating Ellie Williams Headcannons

Summary: Headcannons for dating ellie

A/N: Have this because my last imagine was ass... I think i like writing headcannons way more than imagines lmao

Warning: TLOU2 spoilers, Mentions of death, PTSD, and NSFW/dirty talk

Word Count: 1.8k

- She fell in love with you when she first saw you

- She had just come to Jackson after the incident with the fireflies

- You being around the same age as her tommy asked you to show her around and tell her what’s what

- “Ellie this is Y/n, Y/n this is ellie.” Tommy introduced y’all

-Her heart stopped when she saw you, she couldn’t help the blush that was forming.

-She couldn’t stop looking at you when you were talking about the shops and sights around Jackson

- It seemed like you were liked around town, you were friendly to everyone and everyone knew who you were

- She will never forget the thing you said to her when you guys were in front of her new home

-”Tommy told me a lot about you and i just want you to know, you're safe now.”

-She felt for the first time she could let go, relax for a minute

-You helped her move into the garage, trying to make her as comfortable as she could be

- She wrote about you a lot in her journal, writing poems and drawing pictures of you

-You guys hung out a lot with Jesse and Dina but she would much rather hang out with you alone

-You two had become really good friends by the time you guys were 16, i mean Ellie opened up to you more than she did anyone

-Opening up meaning talking about her interests and some of her favorite childhood memories

-She was honestly too scared to tell you about her immunity and even more scared to tell you about her past, afraid that she was gonna scare you away

-You introduced her to cat and you definitely regretted it because cat liked her

-When they started dating cat was definitely the third wheel because you and Ellie were so closer

-You held Ellies hand when she got her tattoo, she couldn’t hide the blush than but blamed it on the pain

-You guys shared the same love for music, you showed her most of the music she listened to

-You would sleep over at her place a lot

-You guys would watch movies, talk about space and dance horribly to old music

-Y’all could never get bored of each other

-When you spent the night at her place you would sleep in her bed with her but it was as friends, Ellie didn’t want you sleep on the floor and you didn’t want to force her out of her own bed

-Ellie would always get so embarrassed when you slept over, she would always go into a gay panic

-By the time y’all were 18, she was head over heels for you

-You two were still best friends but her feelings got in the way so she was distant

-It got to the point where she didn’t want to be with anyone else, it was either you or no one

-She didn’t really have time for relationships so she didn’t really mind it

-She would play guitar for you when you came over, even attempting to teach you

-Everything she owned was yours and everything you owned was hers

-”God damn it, where is my Walkman”

-”Oh, I took it. Mine broke.”

-Ellie bashed on everyone you liked, Little did she know you liked her

- You liked the boy who worked at the bar? She had something to say about him

-You found out she liked you when you two were dancing one night

-Your arms were wrapped around her neck and hers around your waist, it was like a scene from a movie

-You both felt the tension, it made the butterflies in your stomach go crazy

-”I’m just a girl.... not a threat.”

-”Oh ellie... I think they should be terrified of you.”

-Next thing you know her lips were on yours

-The kiss felt like it went on forever until you pulled away, panting for air

-No words exchanged just a smirk and her pulling you out of the church

-She didn’t waste anytime, She’s been waiting for this moment

-Now that you guys were together, you guys were too powerful

-You guys spent a lot of time in her garage, i swear you basically lived there

-You guys could spend hours tangled up together or have heated make out sessions that lead to so much more

-Soft kisses and 80s movies

-endless sex i swear this woman is going to be the death of me

-I have said this before but this girl is always horny, i mean she still has raging hormones so she’s always on top of you

-She tries to highlight her tattoo when pleasuring you because she knows it drives you crazy

-She loves when you sit in her lap, it’s both cute and hella sexy to her

-Her kisses make you lightheaded, like you gotta sit down for a minute after she kisses you

-She finds your body fascinating, like it sounds cringey but she love everything about you body

-She likes to explore your body a lot, like what gets the best reaction out of you

-She’s kinda new to sex, she’s had a fling or two but nothing long term so now she really has to get this shit down

-She’s the top, i said what i said

-Joel has walked in on you two lots of times

-”Hey elli... OH FUCK. SORRY, I’m sorry.” He says while covering his eyes

-You both have to stop for a minute just to laugh your asses off

-Y’all were really loud too so like y’all got complaints a lot

-”Sorry, Y/n came over for a minute.” Ellie says busting through the door

-”Yeah i know, i heard y’all.” Joel joked

-She makes really bad cheesy pick up lines to you

-”You know I’m jealous of your heart, because it’s pumping in and out of you and I’m not.”

-”I’m literally gonna break up with you.’

-She never fails to make you laugh

-Her with her fucking puns mama, you can’t hide from her silly side

-Joel is a proud dad, he loves his lesbian daughter and her girlfriend

-Later on into the relationship ellie fully opens up to you

-You were tracing her tattoo one day, feeling the bumpiness of it

-”What happened?’

-She debated on telling you, Joel said not to tell anyone

-She gave in through, telling you about riley, her immunity, her and Joel's trip, even David

-She ended up crying, you’ve never seen her that broken down before

-You held her most the day, giving her all the kisses she needed

-When Joel died, you were basically always with her. Not wanting to leave her alone

-You were the one that found them. You shook ellie awake, Letting her sob into your shirt

-You brought her home, she could barely move. She was in so much shock and pain

-You cleaned her up and took days off of rounds just to lay in bed with her all day

-The nights were the worst

-She would wake up in tears, sweat drenched her body. She would bury her face into her chest, crying her eyes out

-”I saw him. All the blood..”

-”I know baby, it’s okay. I’m here.”

-you guys were still so in love with each other at 20, maybe even more if that was possible

-The trip to Seattle and trying to kill Abby really brought y’all even closer, seeing sides of each other you guys never had

-The fear and the defeat you both felt on that trip, it made ellie more in love with you that you stayed

-You two lived in a small farmhouse after the trip to Seattle, it was nice and quiet

-You lived like two cottagecore lesbians out in the middle of nowhere, it was a good change

-Ellie would love to paint you with flowers, she found that you and flowers together created a perfect masterpiece

-Ellie was kinda a city girl so you had to teach her a lot of stuff, you mostly read books about farms because you didn’t have a clue either

-You guys lived without pants, like no one was there to see y’all, no one to impress so like fuck it, who needs pants

-Ellie loved waking up to you in the kitchen, with messy hair and nothing but her t-shirt on.... Yes please

-To save water y’all would take baths together, it mostly always turned into bath sex

- Ellie was glued to your side, like wherever you went she was there with you

-She was very distracting, always kissing up your neck or moving your hips on hers

-I swear this woman was distracting without meaning to be

-When she was doing farm work and her tattoo would stand out, it made you want to jump on her every single time

-Sex with her back then was great but sex with her now was so much better

-She really matured a lot, she knew what she wanted and just how to do it

-Your pleasure came first to her, she loved the feeling of being able to pleasure you

-Don’t worry, you didn’t leave her out. You made sure she felt just as good as you

-She wasn’t shy so dirty talk was her thing

-”Just one more time baby, i wanna see you cum on my fingers one more time.” I’m so gross im sorry AHDS

-She would fuck you on literally everything in the house

-No one was near to hear y’all and y’all could do it anywhere and at anytime, it was fucking heaven for y’all

-Y’all were together a lot and although ellie loved it, she knew you liked your alone time

-She would go into her painting room and play guitar or draw, doing anything to keep her busy

- After a hour or two went by you would come in and sit on her lap, hinting that you were getting a bit lonely

-You were always there for her when she went through her attacks, telling her it was going to be okay and you were here with her

-”Y/N! I- I can’t.. can’t breath.”

-”Ellie baby, you're okay. just keep taking deep breaths for me, okay?”

-Seeing her like this broke your heart but you were nothing but patient with her, she was really thankful for that

-You never talked about joel or even riley, you knew those were sensitive topics so when she did talked about them you listened and allowed her to rant

-”You know, I think Riley would’ve really liked you.”

-”You think so?”

-”Yeah, she would’ve liked your weird taste in music.’

-Ellie dreamed about what it would've been like in a normal world

-She could see you two meeting at a movie theater, hitting it off and eventually getting married, Maybe adopting a kid or two

-She was so in love with you, no matter what you looked like or what your body type was. She loved you

!Credits to gif owner!

#the last of us #the last of us fanfiction #the last of us x reader #Ellie Williams #ellie williams x reader #tlou ellie

298 notes · View notes

thatasianstereotype · 4 years

Text

Damn, You’re Looking Fine.

To my utter delight, my crack writing Fuck. I’m Gay. got a good reception. I was not expecting to write more for this AU/pairing. But why not? I got some ideas and a computer to write them down on.

So this fic is the took-a-while-to-put-together sequel. It’s focused on the downfall of one certain Liar-la, Damian wooing Adrien with all the flair and romantics as his Chaton deserves, and Adrien being a blushing hot gay mess.

P.S. Damian’s formal way of talking is an utter pain to write but hilarious to read.

P.S.S. Creative liberties were taken. Again. I just feel this needs to be mentioned.

So Status Update:

Adrien and Damian are definitely dating (It is totally official. Told you ya boi got game).

Adrien still calls him Hot-And-Sexy from time to time much to his utter mortification (He can’t make himself stop. Please send help). And Dami gets amused by it every single time, that arrogant smug jerk.

Marinette still puts the fear of god in Damian and he is wary of her. She feels very proud about that. Adrien wants to facepalm.

Fuck Gabriel Agreste.

And Lila Rossi is still a bitch.

Adrien and Marinette were made aware about Damian’s alter ego —well mostly because he is utterly terrified of Marinette’s seemingly sweet (icy) smile she gave him when she politely asked how he obtained the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculous and partly because of Adrien’s pouting kitten eyes.

They truly were a pair to reckon with.

“I am not sure why the Justice League dismissed your concerns and pleas for assistance. So I am taking the initiative. My name is Damian Wayne, the son of Batman and the current Robin and leader of the Teen Titans.”

He’s a superhero too?! And it’s Robin!!! One of his favorites!! Can you hear him internally squealing in excitement?

Adrien bit his lip to keep from fanboying right then and there. But a slight pink hue spread across his face.

“You’re not lying.” Mari has gotten pretty good at deciphering through people’s bullshit. Whether it’s because she is now a Guardian or because Lila’s bitchiness made her a human lie-detector remains unknown.

Damian took it in stride. “I am not.”

“Paris is still our city.”

“I am only offering my assistance.” He won’t barge in on their superhero duties to the city. He has more class than that.

Mari didn’t have to look at Adrien to know his decision.

She smiled, a bright genuine smile. “Then we’re allies.” Before her eyes gained a spark of mischief and her smile turned teasing. “Hot-And-Sexy.”

“Marinette!” Adrien immediately covered his blushing bright red face with both hands, utterly mortified.

His sister was evil. E. V. I. L. And why is Damian smirking and looking so smug? Fuck! He even makes that look completely hot. Curse his Adonis genes. And curse his teenage hormones.

He regrets introducing the two of them together. What a pair they make. Truly a couple of fur-midable terrors here.

Back to the matter at hand, Marinette is able to ensure that Hawk Moth and Mayura will never be out again and another akuma won’t be made. She already made sure that the miraculous were better protected.

Damian has enough evidence to put them behind bars for their crimes but Marinette wanted to go through it and make sure that Adrien won’t suffer the repercussions of having a villain for a dad so they held onto it until they figure out how best to protect their sunshine.

Ah Shit.

“Duusu? Where are you?”

Did Gabriel lose the miraculous again?

But when he looked into the last place he left it, he groaned. Fuck. His brooch was a fake again.

He knew he shouldn’t have made a miraculous fashion line and had replicas of the miraculous jewelries made. It was his most popular items to date. He has gotten lot of praises for getting the details just right and capturing the essence of each miraculous holder. No surprise there. He deals with them on a daily basis. He should get the details fucking right.

It’s a wonder he only came up with a line because there was talk that he was becoming obsolete with no new ideas coming forth and if there is one thing that Gabriel Agreste isn’t, it is being obsolete.

The line was just a joke, a parody of the heroes and villains if you will, but apparently people like it. Ladybug and Chat Noir were the most popular obviously (he should’ve seen that coming to be honest). Hardly anyone buys Hawk Moth or Mayura and he is left with boxes of fake brooches.

It is annoying.

Especially since he keeps fucking misplacing his miraculous.

Adrien felt like he could be a Disney princess and just skip his way to school and sing for the world to hear.

Now that the Butterfly miraculous were safely with Marinette, he doesn’t have to worry about another akuma. He could just die happy right now. His dad doesn’t have a hold over him anymore. He doesn’t have to put up with Liar-la anymore. But if they put up a fuss? Well, worst case scenario is he becomes a Dupain-Cheng.

And he doesn’t mind. He’s already an honorary one.

And if that somehow doesn’t work out (which he highly doubts), Damian offered to make him a Wayne.

Françoise Dupont High School experienced a shock that morning. Specifically Ms. Bustier’s class.

When they saw Adrien and Marinette walking in class with arms intertwined, laughing and smiling together.

What the actual fuck?

Did they cross into an alternate universe? Marinette is a nasty bully and Adrien’s a pure sunshine child. Why would they be acting like they were the best of friends?

Lila glowered darkly when she saw them walking towards the back and sitting at the same table. Didn’t Adrien care about what his father thinks? Doesn’t he want to still be able to go to school?

She bit her lip and turned on the waterworks, her eyes close to bursting into tears. She made herself be the very picture of a pitiful woe-is-me victim as she cried out in a hurtful and betrayed tone. “Adrien, what are you doing with her? I thought we were close friends.”

The sheep class instantly catered to Lila, pointing their fingers at the pair.

Alya, her biggest supporter, led the charge as always. “Adrien! What do you have to say for yourself? How could you cheat on Lila like this? And with her?”

Adrien narrowed his eyes at his former friend. Bitch, how dare she implies he was in an actual relationship and had feelings for that harlot.

Wow.

He has been spending way too much time around Damian.

"Yeah, bro!” Kim said, raising his voice. “How could you do her dirty?”

“Okay guys.” Adrien cut in. “I don’t know where you heard that but me and Lila are not dating. Like at all.”

“Please.”Alya waved him off like he didn’t know what he was talking about (he was highly offended at the notion he didn’t know what his heart yearns for). “We all know you have feelings for Lila. You’re just in denial over them.”

Bitch, what?

Is no one catching onto his chaotic gay vibes here?

And oh, how his fragile little heart was betrayed yet again when he saw Nino supporting his girlfriend. He still couldn’t believe the first friend he made all by himself was a part of their rabid pack. He deeply mourned the loss of such a great friend in the midst of that deceiving fox’s claws.

“How many times do I need to say it?” At this point, Adrien was about to throw hands. “I don’t like Lila like that. I feel nothing but pure spite for her. Also, me and Marinette are not dating if anyone’s wondering. We’re just really good friends.”

“But Marinette’s a big bully.” Alix piped up, a hard edge in her voice. “She treats Lila horribly.”

“Marinette didn’t do anything to her. Rossi is lying.”

“Oh Adrien.” It was Mylene of all people who spoke up. “Did Marinette get to you with her lies?”

He was done.

Completely and utterly done.

He looked over at Marinette who shared his exasperation at the class’ antics.

Adrien already said it before. But it bears repeating.

Lila Rossi is a bitch.

Luckily (or maybe unluckily), that was the moment Ms. Bustier chose to step in the room and class started.

When the teacher’s back was turned, Adrien pulled out his phone and proceeded to spend the rest of the time alternating between taking notes and texting with Damian.

They were currently at the stage of their relationship to be sending animal pics and memes back and forth, with a few puns added from time to time.

He really does have the perfect boyfriend.

They cornered him after school.

One: Rude.

And two: Double rude.

He was excited to meet Hot-And-Sexy (daMn iT! It’s Damian! Get it right brain) at the bakery and spending time with his two most favorite people in the world (Tom and Sabine don’t count because actual parents don’t have a ranking).

His former friends were looking all concerned and everything because they somehow collectively came up with the idea that Marinette actually brainwashed him to believe Lila was evil.

The fucking irony.

They actually had the audacity to say that Marinette —sweet and honestly badass Marinette— was no good and just wanted to use Adrien to get ahead in the fashion industry (as if Mari actually needed him for that). He shouldn’t be around her. Lila was a much better person to keep as company.

Adrien laughed in their faces and left.

Onto happier events, Adrien was having a blast hanging out with Mari and Dami. His boyfriend (he still can’t believe he managed to score such a hottie!) fit right in the everything-that-matters siblings’ dynamics.

They were in Mari’s room. Adrien was cuddling with Damian on her bed. And Mari was at her desk working on fashion designs.

“So what’s your family like?” He played with Dami’s hair. It was so soft. Like what the fuck. It is so unfair.

Damian thought about it for a few seconds. “My family is a bit...crazy. We drive each other insane every other day but at the end of the day, I have no doubt they have my back as I have theirs.”

“You guys sound close.”

“We were not always. We had an extensive amount of issues to work through before we actually bonded as a true family.”

It was quiet for a minute until Damian casually said. “I would appreciate it a great deal if you can make time to visit Gotham for the summer.”

Adrien stopped playing with his hair to look at him with wide incredulous eyes. “Summer’s only two months away.”

“I am aware.”

“You really want me to meet them? Isn’t it too early?”

“I met yours the day we started dating.”

True but....

Adrien averted his eyes. “Do you think your family will like me? You guys fight criminals and my dad’s a villain.”

Damian put his hands over Adrien’s and gave them a light squeeze, making his Chaton look back at him.

“My mother is a villain and I was raised as an assassin. Yet despite of that, my father accepted me. And I am fairly confident he will do the same to you. Mon amour, you have a pure and selfless heart. You are a better person than I am. I have no doubt that my family will love you from the start.

“Are you being fur real right meow?” Adrien tried to lighten the atmosphere but he could feel his eyes tearing up.

"I wouldn’t lie to mew.”

He let out a small laugh, wiping his eyes. How did he ever get so lucky to land such an amazing guy? “You always know the purr-fect thing to say.”

“We get it you’re in love. It’s amazing. Now stop it with the puns.” Mari rolled her eyes, utterly exasperated at these idiots who just ignored her and pulled out even more cat puns. “You have got to be kitten me.”

Before she noticed what she said and groaned in faux despair. “Oh you two are so dead.”

Adrien stuck out his tongue playfully. “You can’t catch me. I got a handsome knight in shining armor to protect me.”

Damian interlaced their fingers. “Always, mon amour. I’ll protect you from everything like your wicked father.”

“Does that make me the dragon here?” Mari joined in. “Cool. I can breathe fire and torch people. Too bad I can’t do that to a certain liar.”

“Liar-la is totally the witch here.” Adrien said before thinking for a few seconds. “Does this make me the princess?”

“Well, knights always have to save the damsel in distress.” Mari said.

He frowned before crossing his arms indignantly. “Dami, I love you more than Plagg loves his stinky cheese, but I’m no damsel in distress.”

Damian rolled his eyes. “Tt. Of course not. You can destroy things with a single touch. It would be not be in my best interests to downplay your abilities.”

Adrien relaxed and beamed a sunny smile. “Good. Remember that.”

“Mon amour, I look for an equal as a partner, not some weak spoiled harlot that can not defend their self.” Damian placed a flower crown (that was just sitting on Marinette’s nightstand, must be one of her projects) on Adrien’s head. “Having said that I do believe you are a prince that deserves all the love and care in the world.”

And oh my.

Adrien can feel his face burning scarlet and his heart almost bursting at how sweet this incredible, conceited Adonis was.

He was falling in love with Damian over and over again each time they meet up.

“You deserve love too, Dami.”

And sweet, caring Hot-And-Sexy (Ah, fuck it. He will never grow out of that) placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

Oh dear, he didn’t know his face can burned any redder.

He could almost hear Mari cooing in the background.

And in case anyone was wondering, Tom and Sabine adores their everything-that-actually-matters son’s boyfriend. Damian Wayne seems like a responsible young lad. And he makes Adrien really happy which is a major plus. Anything that makes their son happy is good in their books.

Lila was not at all pleased.

Why was Adrien suddenly hanging out with Marinette? Yeah, he doesn’t buy into her lies but she was confident he will be lured into her charms. Why wouldn’t he be? She was young and way more beautiful than a baker’s daughter. He was supposed to be hers.

She and Gabriel are going to have a talk about his rebellious son.

Except when she arrived at the Agreste mansion, Gabriel was apparently too busy to see her.

He was too occupied with searching through boxes of fake miraculous to find Duusu to bother with her.

“I don’t have time for you.”

“Excuse me?!”

She was aghast. How dare he speak this way to his biggest supporter —well, besides Mayura and Nathalie.

“You’re excused. Now leave the premises.”

Before the door shut in her face and she was left fuming, her face an unflattering angry red.

Being Damian’s boyfriend, Adrien has come to learn that Damian does nothing by halves. Including asking him out on a date. And the actual dates themselves.

Today as the sun fell down and night came about, Damian and Adrien were taking a stroll in the park. It was relaxing and it was nice. They talked about everything and anything.

Adrien did not think Damian planned anything more.

But he really shouldn’t underestimate the son of Batman.

Because when the last of the sun’s rays were gone, Damian led him to a gazebo strung up with beautiful lights giving the whole place an ethereal feel. And with the bright moon out tonight, it looked like fairies dancing in the garden.

He didn’t notice Damian pressed play on his phone and classical music filled the air.

He definitely noticed Damian bowing with a flourished and holding out his hand with a charming smile. “May I have this dance, Chaton?”

Adrien would have to be a huge fool to say no.

“I’ll loved to.” He placed his hand in Damian’s and let the Adonis lead him in a simple waltz.

This was his life.

His life was one big sappy romance novel. And you know what, he doesn’t care if it is. Between dealing with his shitty father and Liar-la, this kitty deserves some happiness.

It was a scene from one of those Disney fairy tale movies Adrien used to watch as kid. The magic. The love. The romantics. He felt like Cinderella and wished this night will never end, that the clock will never strike midnight. He just wanted to stay in his Prince Charming’s arms forever.

Under the starry night sky, the lovebirds danced to their heart’s content and when another song ended, Damian tilted his head down to place a tender kiss on Adrien’s lips.

“I harbor a great deal of non-platonic affections for you, mon amour.”

“I love you too, Hot-And-Sexy.”

What the fuck?!

Seriously.

What the actual fuck?

Lila was simply walking home after her disastrous meeting with Gabriel (She was still not over how he simply dismissed her like she was nothing. How dare he).

When she saw them.

Adrien and some guy (she’s pretty sure that was a guy) dancing in the park. She can feel that disgusting jealousy just burning in her veins, a cold anger thrumming underneath.

Things were not at all going her way.

First, Adrien is back to being friends with that Mari-whore. Then, Gabriel ignores her. Her. And now, she is seeing her Adrien in the arms of someone else.

Oh this will just not do.

She took out her phone from her pocket and snapped a couple of pictures, making sure Adrien can clearly be seen. She didn’t care too much about the other guy. He’s probably just another pretty airhead Adrien knew through his father. He’s not important.

A cruel smirk appeared on her face at the thought of the perfect revenge. Adrien was going to have a rough time at school tomorrow. After all, he should’ve known better than to make a move against her.

“Seriously?!”

“Wow.”

“I’m sure there’s an explanation for this.”

“Yeah. Adrien is obviously gay. That’s the only explanation.”

“....Maybe not? There could be another reason.”

Lila had watery eyes and a sad frown on her face but inside, she was fucking smiling like a Cheshire cat. She made sure to be at school early so she can show the class the picture of Adrien’s little date last night. Who —predictably— were shocked at their sunshine child being with a guy and made plans to confront him about his supposed sexuality.

She glowed at the thought of her plan working. This will teach Adrien to know his place or become a social pariah like his little friend Marinette.

“I thought Adrien had feelings for me.” Lila wiped the “tears” from her eyes. “How could he lead me on like this when he’s been gay all along?”

Alya —predictably— comforted her. “I’m pretty sure he’s just confused. He doesn’t know what he’s feeling.”

“I’m sure that’s it.”

The pair didn’t notice Juleka and Rose glaring at them.

Damian was not at all pleased.

He was rightfully angry.

How dare that poor sense of fashion taste trollop tried to shame his mon amour for being gay. How dare she try to say he was simply confused and didn’t know any better. How dare she defame his reputation because he holds nothing but spite for her person.

How dare she.

As Adrien’s boyfriend and future husband, it is his duty to correct this travesty and defend his Chaton’s honor.

When the Damian Wayne, youngest son of Bruce Wayne, appeared at Françoise Dupont High School, you know that people are gonna stare and talk.

When he headed towards the courtyard where Adrien and Marinette were sitting at, boy are things going to get juicy.

Lila and her followers who were sitting a bit father from the outcast pair were utterly confused. They could possibly get Adrien knowing such a super hot celebrity but for him to be on good terms with Marinette too? How inconceivable. Absolutely flabbergasted.

“Hey Lila didn’t you tell us you knew him and his family?” Max brought up.

“Uhhh....” Lila knew she dug herself in a corner here. She never thought that the Damian Wayne would ever visit here. At this second rate school.

“Well, let’s go, girl!” Alya exclaimed. “I’m sure Damian just hasn’t seen you. That’s why he didn’t walk towards you.”

Before proceeding to practically drag Lila to where Damian was talking with Adrien and Marinette.

Lila, on the other hand, was cursing out Alya in a bunch of different languages in her mind while trying to come up with something to dig herself out of this mess. If they talk to Wayne, the class will realize she was lying all along.

She was not going to lose control of her kingdom like this —well, not without putting up a fight.

But when they and the rest of their classmates walked close to the trio, they were shocked when they saw Marinette playfully punching Damian in the arm.

“Okay. How the hell are you so close with Damian Wayne?” Straight off the bat, Alya was on the offense as she glared at Marinette as if it was Mari who did something wrong.

Damian answered before the bluenette could. His face was impassive and his glare cold. “I’m Ms. Dupain-Cheng’s top model for her fashion business.”

What?

Even Lila was taken aback at the news. She knew that goody two shoes likes designing but she didn’t think anybody would actual buy her stuff. She didn’t think a Wayne would like her stuff.

She could feel her fists clenched. How dare Marinette steal the spotlight again.

“I’m also Adrien’s boyfriend.” Damian continued casually as if that wasn’t a huge bombshell.

Everyone’s minds screeched to a halt.

They knew about the possibility of Adrien being gay since Lila showed him on going on a date with an unidentified but clearly male person yesterday. But they didn’t think there was actually something there.

Lila could feel her anger clouding her mind. Adrien was supposed to be hers. He was her ticket to fame and fortune.

“And what about Lila? Aren’t you guys best friends?” Alya put her hands on her hips. How could Damian just ignore someone he is close friends with but give Marinette all the attention? Lila deserves better than that.

Damian was unamused. “I don’t know her.”

“Yeah, you do.” Alya ignored Lila’s gestures to stop talking. Lila was too shy about her achievements and she was going to have her amazing best friend’s back. “She’s the one who helped your family out multiple times.”

“She did not. And I am appalled that you believe I would know a harlot like her in the first place.” Damian’s face twisted with disgust as he glanced at Liar-la like she was a mere insect. “Please. I have class and dignity.”

“Take that back!” She screeched. “You are so rude.”

“Are you honestly going to lecture me on my rudeness when you plebians are being hypocrites?”

“What? I’m not a hyprocrite.”

“Lila Rossi is a pathetic liar who begs for attention like street dogs beg for scraps. She never once saved Jagged’s cat nor does she help out with green charities. Lastly, she is not on close terms with myself nor with my family.”

“No! You’re lying!”

He raised an unimpressed eyebrow. “Ok then. Look her up on the internet. If she is as grand as you lot seem to think, she should have articles dedicated to her. Show me proof of her actions that isn’t your subpar blog and I will give you an exclusive.”

Alya’s eyes gleamed at what should be an easy challenge. But when she pulled out her phone and typed Lila’s name and what she did in the search engine, her smile disappeared.

She spent the next few minutes scouring the net for anything, any mention of a Lila Rossi that wasn’t on the LadyBlog.

She found nothing.

Lila Rossi was a fucking liar all along. And Alya and the rest of the class believed her.

“We tried to warn you.” Marinette said in a soft voice. But anyone who knew her knew she was trying to hold back her laughter.

“Marinette,” Rose cried out as she realized the class has been total jerks to the one person who always had their backs. “We were horribly wrong. Can you ever forgive us?”

She shrugged. “I forgive you. But this doesn’t mean we’re friends again. Because we’re not. Seeing how easily you drop me for that liar without even looking for any kind of proof hurts and I’m not eager to be friends again. Maybe in the future but not right now.”

“That’s goes ditto for me.” Adrien added his two cents.

Their former friends classmates wore gloomy expressions, utterly devastated at ruining their friendship with their Everyday Ladybug and Sunshine Child.

And with that, Adrien and Marinette left the courtyard, with light hearts and heads held high.

Damian shot the class a razor sharp grin. “Well, it’s been nice to meet you.”

Everyone knew he meant anything but.

“I always knew teenagers were prone to be foolish imbeciles. But seeing the collective stupidity of you people today made me realize that the bar can in fact be lowered.”

Adrien was fucking ecstatic.

Elated. Overjoyed. Jubilant. Drunk on happiness. All the synonyms associated.

Because Lila was finally exposed. The class realized what utter assholes they have been. His father will receive his due (soon according to Mari and Dami).

He was happily humming a tune as he swung his and Damian’s intertwined hands back and forth.

He was entirely grateful that Damian showed up to school today. Although he was a bit mean for Adrien’s taste.

But oh man. Payback was so sweet.

He smiled giddily.

Mister Hot-And-Sexy definitely earned himself a kiss.

#ml x dc #ml salt #ml salt fic #lila rossi salt #class salt #gaydrien #adrien is a hot mess #bamf marinette #adrien deserves better #marinette deserves better #adrien agreste x damian wayne #adridami #well would you look at that #turns out to be 3.8K fic this time #I'm still down with this ship

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actingwithportals · 3 years

Text

I have regained the will to live since losing my huge ass post I wrote up about my thoughts on Herrah, so here I am writing out a new one because dammit I love this spider so much and I have THINGS TO SAY ABOUT HER

So to begin, I think Herrah is first and foremost just,,,, the most loving mother. She absolutely adored Hornet and would do anything for her if it was within her power (and honestly she'd still give it a go even if it wasn't). Hornet was someone who meant more to Herrah than anyone, and in her later years much of what she did was motivated by her love for her daughter.

But she wasn't a perfect mother, and I think she knew that. She brought Hornet into the world knowing she was going to leave her someday, far too soon, and she would have known this would only serve to hurt Hornet. But she made the deal anyways, because Herrah could justify that it was for the ultimate good, and that Hornet existing at all was worth the price of future pain she would have to endure. And whether or not Herrah was wrong to do so,,, that's really up to Hornet.

I think Herrah and the Pale King would eventually come to be friends. I don't think the feelings regarding their dalliance were much beyond "this is business and we're both here to get what we want", but between having and raising Hornet, Herrah would probably come to respect PK more, and I think he would feel the same for her. There would always be that sort of teasing nature from Herrah towards him - a need to keep him on his toes a bit because Herrah knew well that she was always playing a dangerous game, attempting to gain equal footing with gods, but it was a game she enjoyed and really he was someone she could grow to care for, as the father of her child and as a respected friend.

Her feelings towards the White Lady were probably similar in that early on things were strictly business but overtime after getting to know each other better they would grow into a genuine friendship and respect. The White Lady was far older and wiser than herself and Herrah would treasure what she could learn from her, and the two probably did find pleasure in time spent together.

But both with WL and PK... there would always be something that Herrah could never truly look past, could never truly just.... pretend away. I don't think PK told the Dreamers at first (except for Monomon), but eventually I think he would clue them in on just what the vessels were, just what Hollow was. And that would strike a nerve with Herrah. Because she's a mother, and Hornet is her world, and the knowledge that PK and WL could take these actions towards their own children.... that would never sit well with Herrah. No matter how close the three would become, how much she would respect them as rulers and allies and even friends,,, she couldn't ever forget that they were killing their children. That they were sending them off to a horrible, eternal fate. And she was playing part in that.

It's an itch that would forever tug at the back of her mind, but ultimately she would look past it. Because she had to make the world safe for Hornet. Everything she had done was all for Hornet. And so she would go down complicit in this crime, just like PK. Just like WL.

As for Herrah as a queen, I think she was well-loved and extremely competent. She led the people of Deepnest well and in earlier days were formidable adversaries against Hallownest. Strength and power were things she held in high regard but they weren't the only things, and those who were weak by typical standards were still considered useful and valuable to the Deepnest society that Herrah hoped to sow. If one couldn't fight then they could weave. If they couldn't weave then they could hunt. If they couldn't hunt then they could care. And if they couldn't care then they could exist and those who did fight or weave or hunted or cared would help cultivate a world where those who could not would be able to exist. But one had to want to survive, one had to be willing to try. Honesty and earnest and determination were things Herrah valued greatly, and that showed in the way she ruled. And I think for the most part, her people respected and admired that of her.

But she wasn't perfect as a queen, either. She was hotheaded and quick to stab before negotiate. She didn't trust easily and her patience wasn't bountiful. She made mistakes and some of those mistakes cost lives that didn't have to be lost. Herrah wasn't born into power, she clawed her way up to it, and so she constantly had to learn along the way. But in spite of her mistakes and her shortcomings, Herrah always tried, and that was something others could respect.

I think she and the old Sire of Deepnest were close. I don't think they were in love, at least not in the traditional sense. I think Herrah loved him and he loved her, but it wasn't quite the same way that PK and WL loved each other, and it took a while for Herrah to realize that (long after he passed on, tbh). He was one of her dearest and most cherished friends, and she would have given him the world (and he to her). Losing him was one of the worst pains Herrah endured, and it would leave a permanent scar, but that didn't mean she Loved him, not like that. But that love was still valuable, still powerful and deep and real, and it wasn't something she would ever forget.

Herrah would have realized the difference in that love once she fell for Vespa. It was unexpected and exciting and for a while a "would they won't they" situation, and that almost added to the thrill, tbh. Herrah fell for Vespa first, in a startling realization of "oh I don't want to stab her I want to win her heart". They would eventually make their feelings known to each other (Herrah made the first move) and from there it would be pretty well known that the two of them were as good as wives. Of course nothing official ever took place, there were too many political hoops to jump through, other world shattering threats to face, the Hive wasn't even one to culturally have much acknowledgement of such unions, so they were married in word alone, and really that suited them well. It wasn't a secret, but it wasn't broadcasted news either, and they liked it that way.

Knowing she would be leaving Vespa behind too was yet another one of Herrah's deepest pains. But she knew she could go to Dream more easily with the knowledge that Vespa would be there to watch over Hornet, and likewise for Hornet to give life and hope to Vespa.

As for Midwife, I think Herrah and her always were and always would be the best of friends. They grew up together - hardly knew a time apart - and both supported each other in their many endeavors in seeking out a life for themselves and discovering who they wanted to be. As queen, Midwife was Herrah's closest and most trusted confidant, and she knew she could always depend on Midwife to be honest with her, even if that honesty hurt. And likewise, Herrah was always ready to offer Midwife the same.

I don't think Herrah had the easiest upbringing, and neither did Midwife. So having always had each other to depend on, even in their darkest moments, there was a bond between them that nothing could really match.

As for personality, I think Herrah is someone who loves fiercely, fights relentlessly, takes no shit but does no harm, fails spectacularly but always rises to try again, and never settles for seconds when she believes she can get what's first. Not just firsts for her, but for anyone who depends on her, whom she is responsible for. And that's part of what made her such a loved queen. I think Herrah is serious and stern and terrifying and fierce, but she's also thoughtful and considerate and fun and tells the worst dad jokes and has a weakness for puns and can't cook or swim wake up early for the life of her, she took years longer than most to learn to weave, math confounds her, and fire makes her skittish in any quantities larger than the candles gifted to her from Vespa.

She's so multi-faceted and I just. I just fucking love Herrah so much and I know that pretty much all of this is my own headcanoning but DAMMIT THAT'S WHAT WE ARE HERE FOR AIN'T IT.

Love Herrah. What a good spooder. 10/10 would live for her.

#hollow knight #hollow knight herrah #didn't proof read any of this cuz i'm so fucking tired so hopefully it's comprehensible #god the thing i originally wrote was so much longer too and i'm still so mad about losing all of that #but alas #here is my subpar infodump on herrah thoughts

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justasimplesinner · 3 years

Note

Roschach is hurt from a battle and s/o take him home. After taking care of his wounds, they share a bottle of rhum. You can say that is Rhum-antic. ( Yeah they just said a pun and no they are not ashamed )

*insert a picture of a white mug with huge “#1 Dad” written on it*

Rorschach getting patched up hcs:

you really had to prove yourself for Walter to even trust you with the knowledge of his... "nightly escapades", let alone for him letting you mingle with his world. he wanted to save you from the horrors, keep you separate, have that one thing outside of his vigilante career if i can call it that, not have you patch him up. but alas, even when faced with that this disgusting criminal underworld had to offer, you did not lose your innocence and beauty, you... stayed the same. you stayed his anchor. and so, sometimes he comes to you instead of Dan, whenever the thing he dealt with was traumatizing

he doesn't tell you what happened or what he did. all you'll get from him is something along the lines of "drug cartel boss. dead. his underlings too." and don't you dare pry for more because he won't come to you again. you may have forcefully tangled yourself into his mess, but he's not going to let it stain you, he's not going to make you suffer more than you already have knowing that he's out there getting hurt

he grumbles a little and acts slightly grumpy, but despite everything, you make him relax. you take off Rorchach's face and you just let him be Walter, you let him breathe a little, rest from all that fighting he's doing. you almost make him forget there's evil in the world, but then he remembers that not everyone is like you. not everyone is good and kind

he doesn't really flinch when you disinfect and patch up his wounds to the best of your abilities. you've even learned to sew some cuts closed for him and to perform procedures not every person knows is necessary, though he does hate himself for forcing you to learn about the horrible things and making you see his state, his wounds, his failures and help him back up. that's why he doesn't choose to come to you that often, only when he really... needs comfort. he doesn't want to subject you to all that. you shouldn't have to see this

the whole time you bandage him up, he's intently staring at your face (when you look at him in return, he averts his gaze, but the second you turn away, he's back to staring). it feels overwhelmind to a point, even rude, but you've learned to read him. he takes comfort in that. although not as much comfort as he takes in watching you simply walk around the kitchen, preparing him something to eat so he doesn't faint, bringing him water. it's almost as if nothing happened. almost

and then you pull out the rum. and he knows what alcohol does to people. but he also knows what it does to pain. and, despite not showing it, he is in pain, no matter how hard he tried to train himself not to feel it. so he accepts the glass. but just so you know, you're not getting him drunk. not even tipsy. he'll drink a glass or two and once he feels the pain lessening and his body relaxing, he's done. not a drop more. and he'd rather not see you drunk either. it's disgusting and disrespectful to your own self in his eyes, it's critical thinking that should be dictating your actions, not alcohol

maybe you're an expert in dry jokes, maybe you've just gotten a little tipsy because you're lightheaded, but the words flow from your mouth before you even realise and when you do, the damage is already done. Walter's face doesn't budge a bit. he won't smile. he never smiles (yes, yes he does, always because of you). he's not even going to grace that with a response. how is patching up his wounds romantic? how are you even coming up with jokes like these? how are you not ashamed?

he will roll his eyes if you laugh at your own joke, and yet you'll see him inching just that little bit closer to you, to your laugh, to your body

#homophobic #walter kovacs #rorschach #my writing #headcannons #fluff #i guess #sprinkle of angst #cuz rorschach #tw injury mention #anonymous #boy oh boy am i glad to see a request for this idiot #after the whole drama i though i aint gonna see those in my inbox for a while

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halothenthehorns · 3 years

Text

TLTNL THE THIRD TASK

Lily sat there, fidgeting in unease before she forced herself to start her chapter, but at least there was the comfort that the last task coming up would be the last of it.

Noticing his wife's hesitation, James gave her the chance to stall for a few moments more as he called to Sirius, "you going to sulk over there all day?" He wanted Sirius in easy smacking distance if he found an excuse to use his name pun again.

Sirius stretched leisurely, eyed his mate for the tone, but then got to his feet and decided it was worth the risk as he flopped back on Harry's side and declared, "Who's sulking? Just because I don't want to sit by your ugly mug all day."

"You've tragically put up with it for years," Remus reminded, "I think you can stand it a little while longer."

Lily actually managed a giggle at the boys picking as she began.

Ron asked if Dumbledore really thought You-Know-Who was getting stronger?

"Why do we keep starting these chapters with Ron recounting stuff?" Lily sighed. "I'd be much happier listening to you all discuss your Charms homework."

"Glad you would," James wrinkled his nose, "I'd rather keep talking about all the ways to get Snape out of that school."

Harry had just finished recounting his Pensieve event to his friends, after first writing it all and sending it to Sirius.

"Finally," Sirius gave a dramatic sniff, "I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about me."

"How could I ever do such a thing?" Harry demanded back in exasperation, "you keep talking in my ear about how important you are."

"He learns fast," Remus snickered.

The three had been sitting around ever since exchanging all the knowledge they'd gained this year, and Harry's head finally understood what Dumbledore meant about wanting to siphon a bit off.

"You're fourteen, you shouldn't have to know what that feels like yet," Lily sighed.

"I don't know, I had the most thoughts in my head when I hit that age," Sirius smirked.

Lily kept reading, loudly, before she had to hear any more about that.

Ron was mostly stuck on the fact that Dumbledore trusted Snape, though he'd been confirmed as a Death Eater.

Hermione hadn't spoken for a time while Harry and Ron spoke, her head bent towards her knees as she looked like she could do with a Pensieve as well. Her first words were Rita Skeeter.

James began laughing raucously at once, bright eyes shining as he said, "I'm just so glad Hermione has her priorities in line."

"You ever worry about Hermione becoming a wee bit obsessed?" Remus snickered.

"What, her? No, never," Sirius' tone was going to bleed him out of sarcasm with that one sentence.

Ron demanded how she could be worrying about her?

"Worry is the wrong word," Lily shook her head.

Hermione corrected she was thinking about what Skeeter, and Winky had said about what they knew about Bagman. That Death Eater trial where he'd been accused must be it.

"You guys put that stuff together so much faster," Harry sighed.

"Helps to have more than one genius in the room," Sirius smirked.

"Hey!" Harry yelped.

Ron asked if Fudge really thought Maxime had been the one to get rid of Crouch, and Harry agreed Fudge had said so, while Ron did acknowledge they'd never considered her before, and she did have giant blood and didn't want to admit it.

"Well yes, but that doesn't actually have anything to do with Crouch," James rolled his eyes at Ron trying to put every mundane thing together.

Hermione said she didn't blame her, look at what happened to Hagrid, but that didn't mean she had motive. Hermione would lie as well.

"I'll give her that," Lily nodded fairly, "it's practically suicide in this day and age just to go around saying you're a Muggleborn, but I still don't think that gives you the right to throw other people under the bus to protect yourself."

"We don't know that's what Maxime did," Harry sighed in defense of her.

"True, but we can't think of any other ways Rita's getting these interviews without a first person account," Sirius' scowl didn't lessen one bit.

Then Hermione checked her watch and began scolding them all at once for not having done any practice tonight, they'd have to work extra hard tomorrow on their curses. Then she ordered Harry off to bed.

Harry'd made the joke before, but it really was something to hear his friend try to mother him while his mother read that.

While Harry crawled into bed, his eyes flickered over to Neville in the adjacent one. True to his promise, he had not mentioned that lone part about his parents.

Lily's voice hitched into unrecognizable as she forced that out, her hands trembling slightly along the pages as she couldn't get the image of Alice screaming in pain out of her head.

Harry had often received sympathy for being an orphan, but Harry thought Neville deserved it more for having parents that were alive and didn't even recognize him.

"I really don't think anyone should be deciding who gets more sympathy for what they go through in life," James sighed. "You just happen to be slightly more public, but I can almost guarantee if Neville didn't have his scary grandmother around him outside of school, he'd be getting the same thing." His mind lingered on how well known and liked the Longbottoms were, and even Dumbledore saying how the public had been whipped into a panic of what happened to them. It was just as likely the people in that day knew Neville's name as well as Harry's, though he could believe not the other kids their age.

As Harry drifted off to sleep, he thought of all the people that continued to be harmed by the Death Eaters; the Longbottoms, Crouch's son. It was all Voldemort's doing, his existence that continued ruining all these lives.

"It can help to look at the big picture," Remus sighed in agreement.

Ron and Hermione were supposed to be studying for their exams,

"Almost forgot you got exempt from those," Remus said in surprise.

"I didn't," Sirius rolled his eyes, "it's so far the only good thing that's come of this mess."

which would finish on the day of the third task, but they were putting most of their efforts into helping Harry prepare.

"I really love your friends," Lily smiled sweetly.

"As do I," James agreed, "but I don't know why you bring this up now. I'd do anything to stop studying for exams, helping out my friend is just a bonus."

When Harry tried to convince them of this, Hermione just brushed him off, saying this was just extra studying for their DADA class.

Sirius mock gasped in outrage, "how dare Hermione equate practicing useful spells to learning in a classroom, I'm shamed for her."

"I'll pass the message along," Harry chuckled.

Ron agreed this was all good training for when they all became Aurors, while managing to Impediment a wasp buzzing around.

They were all genuinely impressed at that skill, not just anyone could hit a moving target small as a bug.

"I'm believing that more and more as this goes on," James chuckled as he looked to Harry. "You really think you go on to do that?" He emphasized the word think so as not to upset Harry.

He mulled it over for a bit, but only gave a small smile for an answer while saying, "I can see it, but I don't know if that's just me at fourteen still seeing it."

"So how many Auror noses have you seen to change your opinion?" Remus smirked.

Harry chuckled lightly at the joke again, though he did somehow wonder if he ever did meet other Aurors besides Mad-Eye?

The mood in the castle couldn't be more excited as everyone was looking forward to the last task a week before school ended.

Despite the nerves coloring her tone, there was also some palpable relief mixed in. Finally the last task, this really should be the end of their big worries the rest of this year. It didn't matter how stupid it was to be afraid of these things looking at her full grown boy, those tasks were a nightmare.

Harry was practicing hexes at every available moment.

"On who exactly?" James asked innocently. "Just so we can keep track is all."

"Harry doesn't go around doing that like some people," Lily snapped at him before Harry could respond.

James rolled his eyes, but Harry blinked at the pair in surprise. It was foolish to think James hadn't cursed Snape at some point with all the animosity they'd been throwing around, and yes they'd admitted several times now to pranks, a few of which had some bad results, but just how often did his dad go around cursing people for the fun of it? It sounded more like something Malfoy would do for kicks? He'd really always put his mother's comments like that down to her exasperation, but the more she said it, the more sure he was she wasn't really exaggerating.

He was walking into this third task more confident than he ever had for the others as he realized Moody was right, he had faced barriers and enchantments like this before, and he'd even had time to prepare for these.

Harry was immediately distracted by wanting to laugh at his younger self for being an idiot. Something about this task was going to go horribly wrong, he'd been thinking that from day one of rehearing about this, and he still had no clue what.

McGonagall had quickly grown tired of walking in on the three practicing in empty classrooms, and so had allowed them to be using hers while she wasn't.

"Sounds like McGonagall," Sirius nodded along. "Tries to hide her act of helpfulness by saying it annoyed her otherwise."

Harry had quickly mastered a plethora of useful Curses, as well as a handy find called the Four-Point spell, which pointed him north and would help him find his way along in the maze. Now all he was struggling with was his Shield Charm.

"That's a common tricky one," Remus agreed, "instead of one burst of energy to blast a spell, you're expected to hold it up and linger on the magic, very hard for people to learn to adapt to."

He was still stumbling around after Hermione's Jelly-Legs Jinx got through his.

"Now see, wouldn't wiggling ears be better than that," James smirked.

Ron was hovering by the window going over some new lists of spells, and called them over to have a look at Malfoy.

"Nothing good," all the boys muttered at once.

They peaked down and saw Malfoy and his usual cronies all huddled under a tree, Crabbe and Goyle apparently keeping watch and smirking.

"Definitely not good," Sirius corrected.

Malfoy was holding his hand up to his mouth and speaking into it.

Harry's eyes narrowed behind his glasses, for some reason he was convinced now more than ever Malfoy was talking to an electronic bug, no matter how impossible Hermione said it could be, but why now though? What could Malfoy be doing down there?

Harry guessed he was using a walkie-talkie from the looks of it.

"What's that?" James asked eagerly.

"You talk into one end, and you can hear someone on the other end," Remus shrugged, "good for long distance type things, but they do have a range shorter than a telephone."

"That sounds brilliant," at once his eyes gleamed, and they could all guess what he was immediately thinking before he said it. "Wish we had those at school, would have come in real handy."

"Sadly, as I'm sure Hermione's fixing to remind, it wouldn't have done us any good," Sirius sighed.

Hermione again repeated how those wouldn't work here, and then told Harry he had to get back to work on that Shield Charm.

"But we were actually having fun spying on Malfoy instead of vice versa for a change," Sirius sighed.

Sirius was sending daily owls now.

"I am biting my tongue not to make a mother hen joke at you right now," Remus snickered.

Sirius sighed and grumbled a bit, but knew he would have taken it in stride if anyone had, he both deserved it, and thought he was in the right to be doing so as well as everyone else. Even Harry couldn't be too annoyed at his paranoid Godfather, the constant mail and worry was the most support and worry he'd ever got in his life.

They were all filled with warnings to concentrate on getting out of this task and leave everything else for afterwards because it wasn't his responsibility or in his power to do anything for now.

"I don't really think that part was necessary though," James had a fixed smile in place as he really wanted to snap at Sirius for overstepping his bounds, and then having to remind himself Sirius was the only one there setting those bounds. "He's not like you, he doesn't think the outside world revolves around him as much as that castle."

Sirius laughed because he knew he was supposed to, but no one could miss the catch of annoyance in James' voice. To be honest it was the first time Harry noticed it though, and he felt like an idiot it had taken him this long to realize his dad might be jealous of Sirius doing all this. He wasn't really sure what to say though, it felt like an empty promise to tell someone they couldn't be replaced when he'd never met him before, while it would also be downplaying how much he really was touched at everything Sirius did for him.

Sirius promised that after this was all over, they could put their attention on other matters.

"What other matters?" Remus couldn't help but ask even if it didn't help the odd lingering silence in the room. "What exactly do you plan to do with him once this task is over, take him Voldemort hunting?"

"Nah," Sirius waved him off, "more like take him into the forest and give him some survival skills, that seems like much more fun."

"The worst part is, I can't decide if either of you are kidding," Lily muttered as she decided to ignore them both.

Harry was starting to grow uneasy the closer the date began, but it wasn't nearly so bad as the previous two. At least this one he'd done everything possible to be prepared for.

"To be fair, I still don't see how you could have been 'prepared' for the first task. You weren't given anything to work with," James pointed out to sketch out his own feelings.

"Least with this one I wasn't having crazy time jump skips," Harry shrugged, "it finally felt, I don't know, final."

There was something about the way he said that that gave them all a deep chill that even Harry didn't seem aware, he had a faraway look in his eyes when he finished.

The best part was, this was the final one. Good or bad, after this it would all be over.

"There's the bright side," Lily said with forced chipper that didn't seem to get through to anyone, not even herself.

Breakfast of the morning gave Harry a special treat, Sirius had sent him an extra good luck note. It was only a muddy paw print on a page, but Harry smiled as he tucked it away.

Sirius covered the happy feeling that gave him with a snort of mirth, telling Harry, "always good to know what you appreciate, just let me nip out into the rain right quick and I'll be back with a whole room full of mud."

"You'll do no such thing," Lily said at once without looking up, "I haven't forgiven you for singing my rug yet."

Sirius blanched and sat very far back in his seat, dang, she had noticed.

An owl arrived with Hermione's Daily Prophet, and while she began unfolding it and taking a sip of her drink, she quickly spat that in surprise.

"That's an encouraging start!" Remus went bug eyed at once, all of them feeling like jumping out of their seat at once in panic.

Both boys tried to ask what was going on even as she tried to tuck it away,

"Exactly how believable does she think that is?" James demanded faintly.

but Ron was quicker and took it away. His first words were to call someone a cow.

Harry at once guessed Skeeter, while Ron tried for a no more effective plan of putting the paper out of Harry's sights.

Sirius actually did laugh, Harry really had the best friends who were far more alike than they ever would have admitted aloud, both thinking that would work.

Harry was in no way surprised as he guessed it was about him, while both answered no in the same unconvincing tone.

"Should we be worried they're compulsive liars?" Remus rolled his eyes, still forcing himself to remain in his seat rather than trying to take a peek over Lily's shoulder already and find out what this was.

Harry hadn't a chance to argue anymore as Malfoy called from the Slytherin table about how Harry was going to go berserk on them any moment.

"Err," Harry muttered in surprise. Malfoy had used a lot of lame insults on him, but that had certainly come out of nowhere.

"Oh just tell your friends to give you the paper already," Lily scowled hatefully, "might as well get it over with."

"It's not like he can avoid it," James regretfully agreed.

Malfoy had his own copy of the paper in his hands, and all along the table Slytherins were laughing and pointing at their heads and casting Harry looks.

"To be fair, the whole hall was actually looking at me that way," Harry grumbled, "Malfoy just somehow has this way of spotlighting his table."

Lily gave him a small smile for that, happy to see he really didn't just single out that house.

Ron finally handed over the paper and Harry read the headline 'Potter Disturbed and Dangerous'

Lily could already tell someone was wanting to interrupt her with a splurge of anger, but though red faced and furious herself at just the start, she forced out.

Rita Skeeter began her report by stating their Boy Who Lived could possibly be unstable.

"Gets right to the bleeding point with this one," Remus said through gritted teeth.

Evidence had begun appearing about Potter's strange behavior, casting doubts on his suitability to compete in the Triwizard Tournament,

"No one was arguing he shouldn't be in the Tournament!" Sirius blasted.

"Though for completely different reasons than this," Harry shook his head in disgust.

or even to attend Hogwarts.

"Oi!" Harry shouted indignantly at once at that one. Taking digs at him was one thing, but to say he shouldn't even be allowed at his favorite place on earth!

There were reports of him regularly collapsing at school and complaints of head pain resonating from his scar, an old relic of You-Know-Who's attempts on Harry's life.

"Someone in your Divination class really went and told about this?" Sirius barked in disgust.

"But, they're all, well I mean, not one of those kids should have a reason to," James's face was coloring with hurt for his son.

"Well someone blabbed," Lily spat.

Monday Potter had even been unable to complete one of his Divination lessons, the reporter had witnessed him storming out.

"Witnessed?" They all parroted.

"She can't mean that one, it must be an exaggerated detail," Remus said at once. "There's no way she's following you around the school, even if she was using an Invisibility Cloak, someone should have caught her, or something."

"Maybe she's just not doing it anywhere near Moody's class," James offered without hope, as Sirius immediately pointed out the very flaw he'd been thinking in that.

"It still doesn't explain some of her earlier times, like Hermione and Krum, where Moody confirmed Skeeter wasn't anywhere around. She must be using the same method to hear all of this, how many tools can she have?"

"I guess, Remus is right," Lily sounded far too regretful to be saying that in Remus' opinion, "she must have made that detail up to give credibility."

"Or hide her source," Sirius scowled, still thinking an eyewitness to this was the most likely.

Harry chose not to confirm, or deny any of this for fear of the pain it would cause, but he couldn't deny even to himself how sure he was they were wrong, Skeeter had been there...

Skeeter had even interviewed some Medics from St. Mungo's, who had offered another suggestion that the original attack may just be causing some delusions of pain.

Lily was spluttering in shock and hatred before she could even get that all out.

"How the bloody hell would anyone know that!" Remus snarled. "Dumbledore doesn't even know what's going on with Harry's scar, who are they to say what could be affecting him?"

"With any luck it's more of Skeeter making everything up to fit her story," Harry sighed to try and curb them all just a bit, he was still far more distracted with the upcoming task to really bring himself to care about whatever Skeeter said about him.

One even agreed he could be pretending all of this for attention.

James snarled in outrage for that one! Harry hadn't had any say in this article being posted, had hardly mentioned to any more than four people of this pain, who was anyone to call his son that!

Harry did feel an echo of that being said to him before though, and wondered just how popular this article became, how many people believed he'd become attention seeking? Why would they!

The Daily Prophet had found even more facts to be released to the public that Albus Dumbledore never had.

"Because it's private information!" Sirius howled in outrage, already more than sick of watching this ruin his friend's life, now his little pup was next. "Where does this woman get off putting anything about Harry's life without his say so?"

"I think the Muggles have some laws against that," Lily seethed, "and I really want to start looking into it. Normally we have spells that detect when lies are being told about someone on print, and then you have to sign something saying it's not being used for educational purposes if that happens to your work. Clearly the Daily Prophet does not endorse that, and new laws need to be put in place so they do."

"Lockhart found a way around those," Remus reminded, "if he can, I'd believe anyone can."

"I will fund that project," James vowed.

Draco Malfoy had confirmed Potter spoke Parseltongue,

"I'm honestly surprised he's waited so long to tell the press," Harry sighed. "As much as he likes to brag of his father's connections."

"Guess it didn't occur to him until this year how much fun it could be," James thought his face was going to get stuck in that scowl and he still couldn't change it.

Remus was frowning in confusion though, thinking there was no way it was a coincidence Malfoy had been spotted doing something certainly not good, and only a few days later this was coming up. What on earth had Malfoy been doing that day that connected to Skeeter now knowing this?

and there had been a lot of attacks in their second year that all seemed to revolve around Potter who was known for easily losing his temper. It was all hushed up, but this had all come from the same guy who was friends with a giant and a werewolf.

Remus felt himself flush as that really registered. It had never occurred to him what his even talking to Harry could do to him publicly. Not that Harry had ever showed he cared about that, but it certainly wasn't comforting when Remus realized he seemed to have done Harry far more harm than good his one year there, his one lone helpful bit was something that any competent teacher could have taught him after all- "ouch! Merlin's shit Sirius, that hurt!"

Sirius said nothing back, his face absolutely clear saying he'd do worse if Remus started a guilt trip for this, he didn't even tuck his wand away as Lily uneasily kept going.

The article briefly explains what Parseltongue is, and how it was known for only being done by those of Dark Arts.

Harry sighed as he remembered back to even how his family had looked at him when they'd first found out about this, and had no delusions there wasn't a person left on earth who now wouldn't consider him some freak.

"I think it's cool," his dad surprised him by saying with a sniffy voice. "No matter how he got it, I'll give him credit for something unique. People are just jealous."

"I'm so sure that's it," Sirius snickered on his other side, "in fact, you'd think Harry would get some thanks for this, he could start his own service. Any time you have a snake problem, just call Harry, he'll come over and talk the snake out of the house."

James was trying to hide his laughter in his hand, while Lily was forcing herself to keep going around these boys' antics.

A member of the Dark Force Defense League had been quoted saying how he found anyone with the ability untrustworthy and needing to be investigated.

"Investigated of what?" Harry asked in surprise.

"No clue," James rolled his eyes, "but I trust it's nothing good."

"I can't wait until the next article now," Sirius deadpanned. "She's gone from putting you in three different lights now, you think she'll switch back around to one, or try another new angle?"

"Here's hoping Hermione catches her before we have to find out," Lily huffed.

The quote continued by saying that anyone who associated with such Dark creatures as giants and werewolves would be more than likely to have a fondness for violence and this shouldn't surprise anyone.

Sirius still had his wand held threateningly in his hand, as he kept his eye on their werewolf, he'd do it again if he caught Moony thinking like that, idiot that he was.

Remus for his part was grumbling in annoyance and still rubbing his knee where the stinging hex had hit, but at least grateful he hadn't gotten a whole mouthful speech accompanied by James, yet.

Dumbledore should be considering whether a boy such as this should be allowed to compete in the Triwizard Tournament.

"If I actually get kicked out of the Tournament because of her, I think I'll thank her," Harry shook his head.

"I think I'd be just a tad annoyed," James said without a trace of meaning it. "You've come so far, may as well get your last kicks in."

"Wasn't it my suggestion Harry should act like a lunatic to get thrown out in the first place," Sirius said with an obvious look at Remus, waiting to be corrected. "Where's my thanks if that happens to be true."

It was not forthcoming as Remus was now glaring at the fire and obviously trying to ignore them, so Harry filled the awkward silence. "I'll send you a letter."

The public should be fearing Potter using his Dark Arts to even win such a prize on this very night.

"She did a really bad job of posting this so late," Lily sniffed, "if her goal was to get you booted out of the Tournament, they couldn't have pulled it off in time anyways."

"Well darn," James snapped his fingers, "next time she writes something about Harry, I'll make sure it gets forwarded."

Harry was at least laughing slightly at them all playing this off.

Harry was not impressed as he folded the paper and handed it back to Hermione.

"What an underwhelming reaction," Sirius shook his head at him. "I'm sure Ron and Hermione were disappointed, did they expect you to go off the rails when you saw that?"

Harry shrugged and laughed at the idea, wondering for a moment why he had a spot of guilt at yelling at his friends about anything?

At the Slytherin table, Malfoy and his friends were still busy making faces at him and wagging their tongues like snakes.

"I'd imagine they look stupider than they're trying to make Harry look," Lily snapped at the idiots.

Ron was scanning through the article more carefully now, asking aloud how she'd known about his Divination moment.

Harry reminded he'd opened the window, maybe she'd heard it from the grounds.

"There's no way she heard you from the top of the North Tower," Remus disagreed, finally stopping his glaring at Sirius, and probably not even going to get him back for it later.

Hermione disagreed that still shouldn't have made it possible, while Harry asked if she had any updates on this magical bugging thing she had to be doing.

Hermione's face went slack in a dreamy expression.

"Err," the boys muttered, partly in concern, and partly in confusion of what had struck Hermione with that line.

The two watched as she first ran her fingers through her hair, and then brought her hand up to her mouth and muttering into her palm.

The only thing they could work out from that was Lily's muttered, "so, did she figure out what's going on?"

"I have no idea how those two things are supposed to be put together," James huffed, wondering when the surprise would wear off Hermione seemed to know a lot more than them.

The boys exchanged a look as Hermione muttered off into space about how this would be perfect, even Moody wouldn't spot it, and she could have been at all of these places.

"How on earth did that fourteen year old tie all this in together," Sirius threw his hands up in frustration.

"Must be magic we haven't seen yet," Remus scowled in frustration, "we've already seen that at least a few times, you know it's always adapting and new spells are invented every few years. That's the only thing I can think of, Skeeter's doing something we've never heard of."

Somewhere deep inside, Harry wanted to laugh at the idea of the Marauders saying this, but aloud he agreed it was just frustrating Hermione never shared what she was thinking.

Hermione yelped about going to the library to confirm something and then darted off.

"What on earth has that library ever done to her, to possess her like this," James groaned.

"She wouldn't be Hermione if she didn't check her work," Harry shrugged.

Ron called to her retreating back they had a History of Magic exam in ten minutes! Then he turned to Harry in shock, saying how much their friend had to hate her to possibly risk missing the start of an exam.

"It's good to see Hermione's finally sorted out her priorities," Sirius smiled for that one.

Then he asked if Harry was going to spend the test reading?

"I think I just felt my heart break," James declared as he eyed his boy. "Reading, during class, what has come over you?"

"I've nothing else to do," he smirked and shrugged at the same time. "Can't even doodle with Ron since he's the one who's busy, and I got caught last time for trying to practice spells. I'd go crazy if I just had to sit there staring at the ceiling."

"Oh yes, fine," James muttered.

Harry had spent all previous exams doing this, looking up more spells to practice for his third task, and Harry agreed he was most likely going to do so this time until McGonagall approached him.

"Has that ever been a good thing?" Lily groaned.

"Not that I can recall," Remus sighed.

She told him the champions were all meeting in the adjacent chamber after breakfast.

"Why!" Harry practically screeched, wondering if he'd somehow gotten the time stamps wrong.

"Relax, I'm sure you'll ask her then," Lily soothed, not denying one bit she was biting at her lip in worry as well as their semi joke still stood.

Harry began panicking at once, saying the task wasn't going to start until tonight!

McGonagall agreed she was aware,

"She gets so crispy about things being pointed out to her," Sirius couldn't help but utter with an old smirk.

this had to do with the champion's families coming to visit, and they'd be staying to watch the final.

"Err no, actually I didn't know," Harry admitted, wondering if anyone had mentioned this before and he hadn't been paying attention.

He wasn't too surprised when no one around him looked particularly enthused at this kind of declaration, they were all thinking the same as him, it's not like Sirius was going to be there.

She left then, Harry gaping in surprise that she actually thought the Dursleys would make an appearance.

"Somewhere in there is a really good question about whether Muggles would be allowed to attend this," Remus sneered.

"My best guess is still a not," Lily snarled. The only thing she'd ever even heard of coming close to this was a mention of Moaning Myrtle's parents coming up to school, and even then they'd never gotten confirmation of whether the girl was Muggleborn and this would be a problem, and if it was if they would have met outside the school premises...and all of this had nothing to do with the fact that the Dursleys would sooner make an appearance than hug Hagrid.

Ron gave a shrug, but then had to excuse himself to go off to his test.

Harry finished his breakfast slowly as the rest of the Hall emptied as well. He watched his fellow Champions making their way to that door behind the staff table, but Harry wasn't even going to bother poking his head in. He had no family-

Lily's voice gained a terrible hitch, but she forced herself to read past that moment and pretend like it never happened. Her Hare Bare was here with her now, he had all the family he could ever want, and damn these books for saying otherwise.

at least none who would turn up to see him risk his life.

Remus was twisting the sleeve of his robes down so hard, a few loose strings were appearing, that didn't change how bad this hurt. It had only just occurred to him, but he'd never even sent Harry a concerned note about him being in the Tournament. He'd had a million opportunities since his departure, and had never once reached out to try and be any part of Harry's life. There was a better chance of the Dursley's making an appearance than him by this point.

As Harry was finally leaving, thoughts of going to the library himself to do some hex research,

"That's what I always want to do whenever I think of those Muggles," Sirius snapped.

the door opened and Cedric told Harry to hurry up, they were waiting on him.

"They?" everyone repeated in shock, their mind floundering to come up with any good explanations for who this could be, and just as equally hurt that it was so confusing anyone would show up.

Utterly perplexed, Harry changed directions. The Dursleys couldn't possibly be here, could they?

James struggled hard to get the words out, "did you want them to be?"

Harry sat there for a long time in silence, his mind suddenly back to three years old and trying to ask his Aunt Petunia why they never said they loved him like they did to Dudley all the time, and only getting the same response he ever did, 'don't ask questions.' He knew for a long time in his childhood some part of him had wanted to understand why he'd never been cared for, and then he'd gotten his answer, so he responded with clear sincerity, "sure, would finally be able to curse them and not get in trouble."

The honestly unexpected joke caused them all to crack up laughing, hard. Harry making light of this was a blow none of them could gloss over, it would never not incite murder in all of them at the mention of those useless beings, but at least the bright smile he got for making them laugh felt worth it.

Inside was Krum talking to a dark haired man who Krum held similar features with, and a woman, all three speaking Bulgarian. Fleur was off to one side jabbering in French with a beautiful woman who had to be her mother, and Gabrielle.

Sirius opened, then closed his mouth. Remarkably thought about it for a moment, then decided screw it and really did ask, "How exactly is she part veela? I mean, I've never even heard of how Veela reproduce, they're an all female species, so are they asexual unless they sleep with a wizard or?" He watched the others dumbfounded faces for a moment, before cracking a smile and saying, "what, don't tell me you haven't been wondering the same thing. Now I'm realizing, with her dad not being there, well-"

"Please stop," Lily practically begged. "One, it's none of your business Sirius, and two, we've no idea."

She actually paused like she expected, almost hopefully, someone to correct her, because she wasn't pretending to deny it was a good question.

Remus thought about it for a moment, stating, "The only facts I can offer is if you take a hair from a veela's head, they're said to die, but I somehow don't see Fleur speaking of her grandmother like that if she'd been killed, so most likely the veela pulled it out herself as a gift."

"That was not helpful, about anything," James pointed out.

Mrs. Weasley and Bill were standing in front of the fireplace, beaming at him.

Lily felt her voice tying off, equal amounts of annoyance and even hurt rearing up at Molly making an appearance for her baby after all the embarrassment and even idiotic ways she'd acted towards both him and Hermione this year, all while also just a warm flood of gratitude there was still someone out there looking out for Harry.

Her reaction was subtle to Harry's, who flushed in shock and began stammering something even he wasn't quite sure of. An apology to those around him, gratitude being the most dominant thing to him for even though he'd never said it aloud, throughout his years he'd pictured the Weasley's the closest thing he'd ever have to a family, he'd never realized they'd felt the same!

"How would they even have known to come?" James's voice sounded odd, but he genuinely seemed to be trying more for curiosity than what he knew his wife was feeling. "I mean, if the notice they could appear at the final task went out to families?"

"Maybe Dumbledore personally sent it?" Sirius tried, "I've no doubt he knows Harry spends the majority of his time at the Weasley's over the holidays, so kind of as a courtesy thing?"

"All that tells me," Remus was trying hard not to frown, "was that Dumbledore must have a good idea of Harry's feelings for the Dursleys though." His voice came out too sharp, he was still more frustrated with himself for being right about not being there than anything.

They all felt a lot of different things about this moment, but one look at Harry and suddenly they were almost at peace with it as well. This had to be the first time they'd seen that kind of smile on his face this whole time, the only moment that had come close was when his real relation to Sirius had been revealed, and that had been pretty muted compared to the following events. So Lily bit off the head of how she was really feeling about this, put it away in a corner for later, and managed to keep going with a true smile.

Mrs. Weasley shouted surprise at him.

"Understatement," Sirius muttered.

She gave him a kiss on the cheek as she explained they'd come to watch, while Bill asked how he was doing?

"Eh," James sighed, waving his hand vaguely, though Harry thought that was more to do with his actual answer than answering for Harry.

Charlie had told them all about that Horntail and how incredible he was.

"Charlie's the lucky one," Remus muttered under his breath, thinking so far no task had really gone well enough for any spectators to exactly be 'enjoying' these events, but that was probably just his personal opinion. He could only imagine picturing this through someone other than Harry, and it could sound like a bit more fun.

Fleur was eyeing Bill with great interest over her mother's shoulder.

Harry tried very hard to forcefully smother laughter for no real reason he could tell.

She clearly had no objection to long hair or earrings with fangs on them.

"A lot of girls don't," Sirius' grin flipped to saucy at once, "I considered getting one myself, though of course now I'd just be accused of doing it because of Bill."

"Yes Sirius," James said back deadpan, "every woman you meet will think the kid who's more like my babies age absolutely pulled this look first."

Sirius' smile actually brightened all the more.

Harry was thanking them both, muttering his surprise that for an actual moment he'd thought the Dursleys-

Mrs. Weasley cut him off by pursing her lips tight. She'd never said anything about them to Harry, but he always saw her eyes flash when they were mentioned.

"Remind me, how did she take the news of starving and bars?" Lily muttered, but there was no real ill will in there. She knew now like she had then she didn't blame Molly for this in the first place, Harry refused to say much of anything on them really, so Molly had slowly been drawing her own conclusions after that event. If it was even a portion of what she'd conjured up in believing Skeeter's stories about Harry and Hermione, Molly was still only hitting the tip of the iceberg when it came to the Dursleys.

Bill didn't seem to notice, as he began talking about how great it was to be back at the castle, he hadn't been here for five years.

"Wow so he's actually, eleven, now. Give or take a birthday, it's really hard to picture." Sirius said mostly to himself.

"I'm sure a lot of this'll be hard to picture if we ever get out of here," Remus rolled his eyes as just a few instances came to mind.

He asked about the Fat Lady still being Gryffindor's portrait, and Mrs. Weasley said she'd even been here in her time.

"I was under the impression she's always been the Gryffindor portrait," James agreed.

She used to give such telling offs when her and Arthur returned late-

Bill cut his mother off in surprise, asking what she was doing out of bed after hours?

"Well why'd he go cutting her off for!" Sirius yelped in protest. "That could have been some amazing fodder to use against his mother, especially if he passed it along to the twins next time she went off on them!"

"I don't even blame Bill," James shook his head, "remember when my dad tried to tell us about that time he turned McGonagall into a Pekingese. The idea just messed with my mind so much, I didn't want the material."

Sirius nodded in agreement.

Mrs. Weasley just grinned at her eldest, admitting she'd had a few late nights with her husband.

"I can't believe she's answering," Remus already looked traumatized, he got enough stories from Sirius that started like that to predict results.

"She is talking to her kids," Lily's cheeks were starting to tinge a little pink, and Harry no more wanted to know what she was thinking than whatever Mrs. Weasley was going to supply, "I'm sure it won't be explicit."

Arthur had been caught out, and he still had the marks Pringle had given him, that was the caretaker in their day.

"The bloody hell did Pringle do?" Sirius yelped in concern, it was really something when someone made Filch look like a kindness.

"I'm guessing rules were a bit more lax then," James said with honest pity. Arthur seemed like such a nice guy, he didn't want to imagine what had been done.

Bill changed topics by asking Harry for a tour, which he readily agreed to. They passed Amos Diggory and his wife on the way out, Amos stopping Harry.

"Oh not this again," Remus groaned.

"Harry's been neck and neck with him every step of the way," James's smile wasn't at all pleasant, "so he can't even say anything to you this time."

"I'm sure he'll still try to come up with something," Sirius rolled his eyes.

Asking if Harry felt as full of himself now that Cedric and him were tied?

"When's Harry ever been full of himself?" Lily snapped of no one. "If anything, he's the opposite."

Harry chose not to answer, half proving Lily's point.

Harry asked what he meant, and Cedric told him to ignore his father.

"I've been trying," Sirius scowled, "yet somehow I've had to hear him anyways."

"It's much more effective in person when you can either plug your ears or Silencio them," James agreed.

Explaining that he'd been sore about this since that first article when Skeeter had made it seem Harry was the only Hogwarts champion.

That did admittedly put them stumped for a moment, it was a valid point on Amos' part and would have infuriated anybody, but that still wasn't any reason to take it out on Harry!

Amos was being his usual boastful self as he slapped his son on the back, praising him for being so humble he hadn't corrected the papers, and how he had no doubts Cedric would win this thing! He'd beaten Harry once before.

Mrs. Weasley snapped at him that Skeeter was known for causing trouble,

"Well that was rich," Lily sniffed.

"Yet true," Harry also defended uneasily before he stopped to consider. Harry wasn't even sure why he should feel bad about correcting his Mum regarding Mrs. Weasley, but in any case, the only reaction Lily gave was a soft hum before she kept going.

and he should know better.

Mr. Diggory looked as though he was going to say something angry,

Harry looked ready to say something nasty right back, he knew he would not take kindly to anyone saying a bad word about Mrs. Weasley after what she'd done for him today!

but his wife laid a hand on his arm, and he instead turned away.

Then Harry realized that all thought of mothers was slowly starting to be erased from his mind, and instead a thick black pain was starting to trace every inch inside him. Something so bad he didn't even want to consider what it could mean, but it involved the Diggory's...

Harry had a fun filled morning as he strolled the grounds with the Weasley's, who greatly admired the carriage and ship. Mrs. Weasley was personally fascinated by the Whomping Willow

"Should have been torn up long before now," Remus muttered to himself.

and regaled them about the old gamekeeper Ogg.

"Well that's actually fascinating," Sirius said honestly, though it was hard to picture the grounds without the Willow.

"He's most likely the one who trained Hagrid," James agreed, "so I'd kind of like to hear about him just for that."

Harry asked how Percy was doing.

"Harry!" Sirius groaned, "we said we wanted to hear about old gamekeepers, what are you doing changing the subject?"

"I can tell you a few things Mrs. Weasley told me later about Ogg," Harry chuckled at their grumbling even while Lily ignored them.

Bill's first response was to say, not well.

That did catch their attention though. They may not like Percy much, but they didn't want to hear about anything bad happening to him.

He was in trouble at work for not realizing sooner something must be up with Crouch, and should have reported the instructions he'd been receiving and was now being questioned about it all.

"Uh oh," Remus muttered.

"Actually I'm really not sure what to think of that," Sirius ran his hand through his hair in thought. "Crouch was acting like a loon, I honestly think that had to be a progression over time, but really we haven't given this much thought. He's been acting odd for months now, but Percy was insisting he was just hunky dory."

"I think we can put that down to faulty information on Percy's part," James frowned, "for all we know, Crouch really has been acting worse and worse, but Percy was pretending otherwise."

They still had a lot more questions about what was really going on with Crouch, but studying Percy would help no one.

Percy was under a lot of stress and not being allowed to continue Crouch's job, not even as judge tonight.

"So who's going to?" Remus began to ask almost exactly as Lily finished.

Fudge would be instead.

"See, this is what your questions get you," Sirius laughed at Remus' eye roll.

No one yet noticed Harry starting to lose a drop of color at every word spoken closer to the start of this task, now with Fudge there... he was really starting to look terrible.

They went back inside for lunch, where they were joined by the rest of the Weasleys and Hermione. Mrs. Weasley asked Ron how his exam had gone, and he admitted he'd made up about half of it, but all the names were something like Urg the Unclean.

"I am fairly confident that's an actual name," Lily giggled.

"Boys quite brave himself to be admitting this to his mum," Remus agreed.

Halfway through the meal Harry remembered Hermione's sudden Skeeter inspiration,

"I haven't forgotten," Lily murmured eagerly, she'd love Hermione to say this in front of Molly in particular, if just a slight payback for that Easter egg.

but before he could ask Hermione shook her head and looked pointedly at Molly.

"Why wouldn't you tell in front of her?" Sirius pouted at once, they'd waited in suspension long enough for this treat, they wanted Skeeter to fall already, and if they knew anything about Hermione by now, they were sure she was at least onto something!

Harry seemed to have drawn Mrs. Weasley's attention onto Hermione though, and Molly greeted her very stiffly.

They all gave a grumpy little huff for that, how could she stand up to Diggory one moment and then be like this the next?

Hermione gave a friendly enough smile back, which was not returned.

Harry at once told her that Skeeter's story had been ridiculous, Hermione was not and had never been his girlfriend.

Sirius actually began applauding Harry, stating, "Look who can take a hint?"

Harry smacked his hands to get him to stop, but then Remus just kept going with that same smirk in place. "Well he's right, it's really saying something of you for stepping up and saying that, I can think of others who wouldn't have picked up on it."

Harry wasn't sure if he meant his own friends or Ron, but Harry still wanted to ignore the look he was getting so was more than grateful when Lily kept going hopefully.

Mrs. Weasley at once said she'd known that, but from then on she treated Hermione perfectly normal and polite.

No one could deny they were pleased, but it was still rather grating all the same as she hadn't even apologized.

Up at the staff table, all the judges seemed to be having a good enough time, except Fudge who was sitting right next to Maxime.

"Can't pretend to be disappointed," James curled his lip, thinking Fudge deserved it, the arrogant prick.

Maxime was concentrating on her plate, and Harry thought her eyes looked red.

"Should I be worried?" Remus said, and he actually did look it.

"Nah," Sirius tried to wave him off, "I'm sure she's had another lovers spat with Hagrid, and hopefully the big guy won again and he'll be along to dinner shortly." Even he didn't sound as confident as he wanted to, no one really wanted to think about Fudge actually trying to do something against Maxime for the wrong reasons.

Hagrid kept glancing along the table at her.

Sirius would have looked far more superior about being right if he wasn't just as relieved as everyone else.

There were more courses than usual but Harry, who was starting to feel really nervous now, didn't eat much.

"You'd think they'd take a hint," James muttered, thinking back to this time before the stupid tournament had even started and their own comments about how a feast should be held when there was a winner, not stress for all involved.

When the ceiling above finally began ebbing into dusk, Dumbledore rose to his feet, and silence fell at once.

Lily had to swallow very hard around a dry throat and even took a sip of water before she could force herself to continue, her only advantage being that finally this was the last one.

Harry had gone exceptionally quiet, only marginally playing along with the boys like usual, and the longer this carried on and the more sickly he kept looking, the harder it was to convince themselves that this should be an easy task.

He announced the third task would be starting in five minutes, and asked the contestants to go down now with Bagman.

Harry was wished luck on all sides as he joined the others, Bagman catching up to him at once and asking how he was feeling?

"Least this'll be the last time he asks you that," James muttered to himself.

Harry told he was alright, and for once it was the truth. He kept running down the list in his mind of all the spells he'd learned for this, and pleased he remembered every one.

"This has got to be worse than any pre-exam jitters," Remus agreed, though just as impressed that Harry had learned a lot in a short amount of time, all the more proof of what Harry's specialty in magic was in these spells.

Their Quidditch field was now completely unrecognizable, the twenty-foot-high hedge ran all the way around the edge of it.

James and Sirius gave an involuntary flinch at just the idea, wanting to sit and berate this stupid school for hours for using this stupid tournament anywhere near their field! They'd already been denied Quidditch this year, this felt like adding insult to injury! They both kept themselves at bay though because they kept hopping Harry would instead, no matter how obvious it was he was only half paying attention at best.

The stands began filling almost the moment the five were huddled around the entrance, and were also joined by Hagrid, Moody,

Harry felt himself shiver straight down to his bones as too many things tried to align themselves at once. Moody, Diggory's, Fudge, and that maze...

McGonagall, and Flitwick who were all wearing vests with bright red stars on them. McGonagall explained they would be patrolling the outskirts of the maze, and if at any time they wished to leave it they were to send up red sparks.

"That probably falls under automatic disqualification from the Cup though," Remus was clearly saying to himself, "so I cannot imagine anyone doing it."

Harry was wiping some sweat that was starting to appear, trying to get his mind to flip to any good thought, but all he could land on was when Hagrid had first taught him to do this his first time in the Forbidden Forest, and that was only making his feelings worse.

Bagman announced it was time to go, and added the Sonorous charm to his throat so that all could hear.

James muttered something inarticulate about better times at the World Cup, he'd much rather hear that all over again than this crappy version of a Cup.

He spoke grandly to the stands about how the final event of this Triwizard Tournament was coming to a close! Then he listed off the order the champions stood in.

Sirius really wanted to make a pompous remark about his proud school double beating out the others, but it would never erase the annoyance of Harry having to be in this at all.

The cheers and applause sent birds from the Forbidden Forest fluttering into the darkening sky.

"Congratulations," Remus snorted in surprise.

"Why are they holding this at dusk anyways?" James rolled his eyes at the idea, "there's a reason the other events were all held in the middle of the day."

"I suppose they would have put the same charm on the stands as they did during the lake event," Sirius shrugged, "but my best guess is that some of the things they did to the maze may have been time activated, or maybe some of the beasts Hagrid offered are nocturnal."

"Sirius I will make you read this if you don't stop putting ideas in my head," Lily threatened, causing Sirius to zip his mouth shut at once.

Bagman finally announced that on his whistle, Harry and Cedric would be allowed to enter. After a short countdown, the shrill noise rang, and the two were inside the maze.

Lily took another deep breath just as Harry exhaled his own, though both were at complete opposite mindsets by this point. Lily was almost happy to finally be doing this, the problem was nearly over, where Harry was fighting back the urge to scream the worst hadn't even begun.

The hedges were so high they seemed to block the rest of the world out, and either because of thickness or magic, no sound from the crowds came through.

"The second," they all muttered, still eyeing Harry with growing concern, but Remus still tried to keep a casual conversation as he said, "wouldn't want someone shouting and giving directions after all."

Harry vaguely acknowledged him with a hum.

Harry and Cedric were on even until they reached a split, where Harry went left, and Cedric right. Not long after, a second and then third whistle was heard, and all champions were in the maze.

The boys were really starting to get twitchy with nerves, all of them shifting around or fidgeting with whatnot. Harry had this air about him like they should be expecting an attack any second, and wasn't even trying to downplay it for once.

Harry kept looking behind him. The old feeling that he was being watched was upon him.

"I'm sure everyone in the maze feels like that," Sirius muttered.

Harry knew what he meant, but still the idea lingered, thinking he was being watched, but just by one, or maybe just one eye...

When Harry hit his next crossroads, he used his Point Me spell. As his goal was northwest, the wand turned compass pointing him north was the best way to find himself.

"That's brilliant," James's eyes lit, "you remember the direction you headed for when you first met Bagman on the field."

"It was the same time of day too, so that really was an advantage they gave you all," Sirius agreed.

Harry was having a hard time concentrating on a single word they were saying, his hand wrapped securely around his wand and very sure he never wanted to reach the center of this maze.

He took the turn that would lead him in that direction, and made several more without running into anything. He was starting to feel uneasy, thinking he should have hit an obstacle by now.

"I agree," Lily nodded, her fingers turning white she was clutching the book so hard for anything to jump out any second.

"I think it's another tactic," Remus muttered, "lull him into a false sense of security for the first half."

Harry had no idea why he wanted to correct Remus about that, instead something in him was convinced his own path was being altered and helped along, but of course no one would be doing that...

He should have found something by now, but perhaps this was a trap for a false sense of security.

"Hey look, Harry agrees with you," Sirius smirked.

Then he heard movement right behind him.

They all tensed at once with that, a crup appearing right now would have had them all freaking out.

He held out his wand, ready to attack, but its beam fell only upon Cedric,

"Gah," Sirius gasped, massaging roughly at his chest to keep his heart beat in rhythm. "I swear I'm going to kill that kid, he's been driving me cr-"

Harry cried out so loud that Sirius leapt away in shock while James accidentally shot a curse into the wall that caused it to sprout a white fur pelt. Harry noticed nothing as his hands curled into fists pressed against his pounding forehead.

"Merlin pup, I was kidding," Sirius tried to pacify while everyone was left a shaking mess, Harry still not registering a thing as he sat there staring at nothing and panting with exertion.

"Deep breath Harry," James soothed, ruffling up his hair and casting his mind around for any form of distraction. "If I knew Sirius' stupid humor was going to do this to you, I'd have turned him into a terrier already."

"That's insulting," Sirius pouted at him, "I'm a deerhound and proud of it."

"Is that what you tried to transfigure the wall into?" Remus asked curiously as he waved his own to put the pattern back.

"I still have small dogs on the brain," James admitted.

Harry actually managed a laugh for them, something about the thought of a terrier really did put him back in a good mood, but it didn't erase the haunted look behind his eyes.

Lily tried a different tactic, "I'm sure you're just worried about Cedric, perhaps something from your own time like you were with Ginny. Nothing's going to happen to Cedric now." Even to her own ears the words came out flat, it was so incredibly hard to downplay how much pain her baby was clearly in, how odd he'd been acting since he'd even first heard Cedric's name, but the thought of her fourteen year old actually knowing someone who had died during this tournament was nearly unbearable. He was just too young for that to be happening to him on top of everything else he'd been through. Still, he seemed to have marshaled himself, so whatever was fixing to happen she still kept the knowledge alive her baby was fine while she forced herself to keep going.

He came tumbling out of an adjacent path, and his sleeve was smoking.

"Sounds like he's having a blast," Sirius muttered to himself as he sunk back into his seat, trying to keep that one from Harry's ears so he didn't cause any more problems with the mention of this one.

He caught sight of Harry and quickly explained it had been a Skrewt and how enormous it was,

James opened then closed his mouth, a snappy little joke about how he wanted to kill Hagrid for putting those bleeding things into this on the tip of his tongue, but he didn't want to imagine what Harry's reaction could be next.

and just as quickly ran off.

Harry stepped up his pace a bit, he had no desire to run into that. Instead he turned down the opposite way Cedric had gone, and ran into a dementor.

Lily moaned under her breath, her hands beginning to shake as the fear of Harry having to relive that memory returned even if he could summon a patronus to get rid of them, the screaming that would start in his ears would always be an echo of the worst.

Reacting on instinct, Harry quickly summoned up the idea of himself celebrating with Ron and Hermione once this was all over to summon the spell Expecto Patronum.

Remus hummed softly to himself, he always enjoyed knowing what other people's memories were when they conjured that spell, and Remus was more than happy if this became a recurring one for Harry. They were familiar and a common presence in his life, while also always managing to create new and happy memories for Harry, a great bonus as using the same memory over and over had been known to start lacking in use after a time, as if repetitive dementors feeding on the one memory could actually deteriorate an older idea. He was so lost in his own thought he hardly paid attention as Lily went on, absolutely confident in Harry's ability to conquer this.

The silver stag appeared, stampeding down the hooded figure, which began to stumble back.

"Do what?" Sirius yelped in surprise.

"Um," Remus had to blink a moment in surprise to spin his brain back and catch up with what he'd only half herd. "Oh, yes, it must be a boggart then, that's the reaction it would have with a proper patronus on it, simply hovering and considering another attack."

Harry recognized that dementors never did such a thing, and realized this must be a boggart, so instead switched spells to Riddikulus.

It vanished with a loud crack and only a vapor of smoke left.

"Must have been a really weak boggart," James raised a brow at this. "You didn't even have to smirk at it, it simply vanished with the spell."

Harry nodded without answer, that feeling still lingering heavily in his chest about how this was too easy, how he was getting help, and still that extra layer that wouldn't leave him of something concerning Cedric.

The silver stag was already fading, but Harry wished it would stay, he'd have liked the company.

"Why didn't you just cast the spell again then?" Lily offered, "It will linger as long as you keep your happy thought in mind with purpose."

"Never practiced that," Harry said distantly, taking a deep rattling breath as that too seemed to hold some meaning to him, and he was truly going to be sick soon if the feeling didn't fade.

He kept pressing on, often running into dead ends and still going many directions without running into anything but always trying to go as north as possible, until finally he came across some golden mist.

Lily could practically feel her mind flipping through an old fifth year text as she blurted, "It's a good thing you don't have anything in your pockets, that sounds like Limbo Caligo, or Limbo Mist. Easy enough to get through even if you don't know the counter charm, Gravi."

"And how do you do that?" Sirius asked for Harry since he clearly wasn't going to do so himself, he was still too distracted, but even hearing them talk seemed to be keeping his eyes at least darting to each person as they spoke. Plus, not that he'd admit it, but Sirius honestly forgot.

"Determination," Lily smiled sweetly at her son, "you just have to be brave enough to realize this isn't magic that actually turns off gravity." She didn't need to even think if Harry would figure out this second option, any boy who jumped on the back of a mountain troll would certainly gamble the odds that was how this spell could be defeated.

"What about his glasses?" James asked in concern, pushing his own slightly up the bridge of his nose only for them to fall right back down.

Lily did acknowledge that could be a problem if he didn't react quick enough, but thankfully once the spell wore off they'd just fall right back beside him, hopefully undamaged, or at least he knew how to repair them now.

Harry went towards it cautiously, his first thought to put a spell through it to blast it away.

"Honestly, I'd try that first too," James chuckled.

He chose Reducto, but it merely glided through the twinkling haze without disruption.

"Still never hurts to try," Remus shrugged.

Harry tried to consider what would happen if he went through, or if he should double back.

Then he heard the scream.

Harry gave yet another horrible shiver for what that could mean, it was happening so often they were all starting to wonder if Harry was going to fall into an involuntary fit even if he was clearly trying his hardest not to touch his memories. This scream though wasn't the one Harry was fearing this night, and though he twisted in concern for Fleur, she wasn't the one in danger...

Harry called for Fleur, but received no answer. Taking a deep breath, he knew which direction he had to go through, and so began charging the enchantment.

Lily smiled and wanted to smack her son all at the same time. Even if she did know what this Charm was, she hated the idea of him just charging into anything, but also couldn't be more proud her's was a boy that never hesitated to help a person in need.

He hadn't made it halfway across when the world seemed to flip upside down, his shoes now rooted to the grass as he seemed to dangle out into oblivion, his reflexes the only thing saving his glasses from toppling into the stars.

"There's those Quidditch reflexes," James smiled, which vanished at once as Harry still wasn't focusing on anything in this room.

He could feel the blood pumping into his head, thinking that if he tried to move he'd fall off the earth forever.

Remus shivered in disgust, now vaguely remembering learning about this spell himself, but he'd thought about it in the classroom, where it sounded sort of funny to be dangling from the ceiling like this. Harry made it sound terrifying.

He tried to think of some way out of this, but the blood rush was hard to work through, did he dare move his foot?

"I'd really like to think Harry would realize they wouldn't actually put a spell in there that would kill you like that," Sirius sighed, "but now that I know those Skrewts are in there, I don't blame Harry."

He could still send up the sparks, surely someone would see them right side up and get him off this flipside earth.

Harry muttered something under his breath how he was wishing he'd picked that option, but it was at least some form of his communicating again.

He still felt that scream echoing in his head, and so taking one long deep breath, he wrenched his foot free.

Lily's smile widened, she really was just so impressed at her Hare Bare committing to something like that when less brave people would have coped out already. It helped she knew the end results and he'd be fine.

The world flipped right side up again, the moon and stars above having their ever friendly glow while the golden mist twinkled innocently behind him as he ran off.

"The most dangerous things are often the cute looking ones," Sirius grumbled in agreement, thankful Harry hadn't run across any sweet smelling plants from those greenhouses yet.

It was at the next junction he hesitated again, wondering why he'd never seen any sparks after Fleur's scream. Had she fought off whatever had caused it, or was so injured she couldn't reach her wand?

"Oh I'm sure it's not that bad," James twitched in unease.

Even as he kept through the shrubbery, in the very small back of his mind, he heard himself think 'one down.'

That caught Harry's attention full force, as he looked shameful and tried to utter an apology.

"Nah," Sirius waved him off, "I'm confident she's just fine, I'd be celebrating too."

Harry felt warmed and slightly more in control that his first instinct was finally to agree with that good news.

The cup had to be close by now, and for the first time since he'd heard about all of this, that image again appeared before his eyes. Rising from here in victory in front of the rest of the school...

Then Harry choked and instantly lost whatever small bit of color he'd gained, and no one could deny any more how confused and terrified they were at all of this. What the bloody hell happened in this maze that was affecting him so bad? Lily didn't want to keep going, it was clearly going to be traumatic for him to relearn, but then she comforted herself at least she was here now to help him through it, he was going to be fine, she had the proof in front of her.

Another long stretch of time passed again before he found his next run in, a Blast-Ended Skrewt.

"Oh joy." Remus meant to say that with sarcasm, anything that sent Cedric running like that couldn't be anything actually good, but he'd never deny his thirst for more knowledge about beasts, especially a new one like this. It was clearly bigger than the last time Harry had seen it, which meant more to hear about.

Cedric had not been exaggerating, it was enormous. Ten feet long, it now resembled a headless scorpion with a curled tail over its back.

"That is the scariest pink thing I have ever imagined," Sirius nodded to himself.

He at once shouted Stupefy!

"Stunners starting too nice," James frowned at the idea of anything that size approaching Harry.

It rebounded off the carapace and Harry only just ducked in time, but could still smell burning hair.

"Bloody hell, Hagrid really knows how to create some monsters," Remus' eyes widened even further.

"Maybe it has the same kind of weaknesses as acromantulas, and it's best to hit them on their underbellies," Sirius offered.

"Let's see if Harry thinks of that," Lily said with hope.

It had singed the top of his head.

"So fire can come out of both ends?" Remus sighed.

"Unless it tried farting in Harry's face," Sirius agreed.

"Nope, it fireballed me," Harry told, making all of them actually smile. It wasn't a happy image, but any normal response from him would be appreciated.

A jet of fire came out of the other end, surging it even faster towards him, and Harry kept trying to shoot off the Impedimenta.

"Well now you're panicking," James groaned, "using the same spell twice."

"Saying it louder hasn't ever made it better," Lily agreed, bite marks starting to appear on her lip from how often she was going at it.

The skrewt was practically on top of him when the spell finally landed a hit on its underbelly. Harry began edging backwards, then turned tail and ran as fast as he could, knowing that wouldn't last long.

"That is true," Sirius agreed, "but major credit to you, you've learned a very important lesson about a lot of creatures. Their weakness is usually their belly."

"I'll keep that in mind," Harry promised, wiping more sweat from his temple at another sharp stab telling him this would come back to him sooner than he'd think.

Harry lost track of his way a bit and had to carefully back track to be heading north again, when he heard another scream, this time much closer by as Cedric demanded what was going on.

Krum's voice rent the air as he yelled Crucio!

"K-Krum!" James yipped, entirely sure he'd heard wrong.

"I, wow he-" even Sirius looked stunned at this turn of events, his suspicions of Krum's headmaster really hadn't even lead him to believe the guy would use an Unforgivable Curse!

Harry was frowning so much deep lines were starting to appear in his face. Now he knew there was something off going on, something just plain wrong with this scene, and it wasn't the curse being used, but something to do with the real person giving it.

A horrible yell tore at the night from just one hedge over, but Harry kept sprinting up and down and couldn't find a way through! Finally he used the Reductor Curse, which only caused a very small hole to appear, but after much forcing his way through, he broke into the new path.

James was temporarily surprised to realize Harry hadn't just been doing this all along, he could have been blasting his way right to the center of the maze like that. Now wasn't really the time to be thinking about that though.

What he saw was Cedric, twitching on the ground, with Krum standing over him.

Lily's voice was quivering over every word now, after recently learning what would happen to Frank and Alice, that spell took on a whole new level of horrifying to her, something she hadn't previously thought possible.

Harry at once tried to put a spell on Krum, but the moment he caught sight of Harry, he tried to run.

"Run?" Sirius demanded brutally. "How do you curse someone like that one second and run the next, you'd think he'd just turn on Harry."

"Isn't everyone in the crowd watching this?" Remus reminded, "He should be disqualified immediately already. Merlin, someone could set a case for him being sent to Azkaban for using this, all for a bleeding Cup."

James was as blasted as the others at this turn of events, they'd really had nothing to see this coming, but even still he pointed out, "well it's good to know Krum really is a scumbag in on whatever plans been going around Harry this year, but I don't buy it Krum's behind everything, so let's let Lily stay on track."

Harry was saved yet another wave of pain from what he was sure was an inaccurate statement from his dad by at least being comforted by the end and agreeing.

Harry shot Stupefy

"That was a kindness," Sirius said darkly, but he supposed he'd be even more shocked if Harry had used anything else. He'd proved time and again he was too good a person to be throwing curses around, even to someone's back after they'd just used the worst kind.

which hit Krum in the small of his back. He face planted the grass while Harry ran to Cedric and asked how he was.

Harry made a soft whimpering noise he didn't even seem aware of, his body's way of trying to warn him he wouldn't have long to wonder just how bad that spell could hurt.

Cedric agreed he was fine while he uneasily got to his feet. Harry asked if he'd heard Fleur scream earlier as well, and Cedric thought Krum was responsible for her as well.

"I'm sure it was something else," Remus said instantly, "and she's still in the game." None of them wanted to consider otherwise, even Krum wouldn't Crucio someone into submission and leave them to die...right? Had they, and Hermione, and everyone been fooled so well?

Then Cedric suggested they should just leave him here and press on, but Harry corrected he was going to put red sparks above Krum, lest a skrewt eat him.

"There are worse fates," Sirius sneered even if he knew he wouldn't have disagreed with Harry.

Cedric muttered how he'd deserve it,

Sirius gave a soft laugh, he hadn't expected to be mimicking someone he'd been threatening so much lately, but still a bit pompous his point had been repeated.

but did indeed raise his own wand and put the sparks up. Then he turned to Harry and suggested they keep moving.

Harry was surprised for a moment, their having come together against Krum had temporarily distracted him they were opponents.

"Um, wow, yeah." James had to blink a few times to realize he needed to move past this moment no matter how badly it left a taste in his mouth. "Congratulations, Hogwarts won."

"That's all we wanted in the beginning," Lily sighed, wondering where all that good mood had gone, and how long it would take to come back.

The two went off together again, but split at the next fork. Harry traced his way through now very distracted, trying to understand why Krum would risk a sentence in Azkaban just for this tournament.

"I wouldn't have believed so," Remus agreed, wondering if Harry just wasn't putting together what they were thinking, Krum had been a part of the idea from the beginning of putting Harry into this task to hurt him...but then why hadn't he turned on Harry in that moment? Why had he in fact done the opposite?

He almost ran smack into a sphinx.

"Oh boy," James sighed.

"I never had the patience for these things and their riddles," Sirius agreed.

Remus hushed the other two, undeniable excitement lighting him as he got to hear about one of these in a new way, hear one of their riddles in as close to in person as he'd ever get.

It mostly resembled a lion in body, but with the head of a woman. The whole thing combined was eerily pretty.

Harry hesitated to raise his wand, as she was not crouching to spring,

"She won't do that until you get it wrong," Sirius muttered for Harry, who had gone back to only half listening again, Krum weighing back on his mind just like Cedric, and whatever was coming at the end of this.

but instead blocking his path.

She spoke to him in a throaty voice of how close to his goal he was, and Harry politely asked her to move.

Lily couldn't stop a surprised giggle busting out, quickly followed by all but Harry, who snapped back to here with a roll of his eyes. It had been worth a shot.

She instead explained how this would go. He could hear her riddle, and if guessed right, he could pass. If wrong, she would attack. If he gave no answer, she would let him leave without question.

"I wonder if someone like Dumbledore made a deal with this sphinx like he had the mermen," Remus mused. "In the wild, they're much less known for forewarning you like this, they simply see you, spring the riddle, and if you don't guess right they pounce."

"I can imagine that," Lily agreed happily, "so when she says she's going to attack you, she's most likely just going to chase until you send up the sparks."

Aside from that dragon, this Tournament really hadn't been as bad as they'd all been fearing. In fact it was the stuff outside of it which had really been the worst, could that be what was bothering Harry? Not the maze itself, but whatever happened after he got out? It wasn't exactly encouraging, but Harry was watching his mother with some delight again as she finished, "well never the less, I am hoping Harry at least hears the riddle, I love figuring those out."

Harry felt his stomach twist in concern, it was Hermione who was good at this type of thing.

"Sadly this isn't a buddy challenge," James gave a small smile, his mind going back to Harry's first year, and Hermione solving Snape's riddle. He hoped Harry had at least picked up some tips from her in the meantime.

Harry decided he wanted to hear the riddle, with the option in mind he could leave if he wanted to.

The sphinx took a seat and recited:

Insert sphinx riddle

Lily was actually smiling by the end, much to everyone's annoyance.

"I will never understand how you enjoy riddles and poems," Remus shook his head at her. "Sometimes the answers are so contrived."

Lily ignored him as she reread the riddle again to herself, then out loud, shushing whoever tried to speak up as she turned it all out, before speaking aloud, "well the first part's a bit hard to find an exact match, it seems broad but doable if you find at least one other part. The second is one I've seen hidden in other riddles, the letter d. The last bit is facing the same problem as the first, you need some kind of information to string them all together for the final answer. I'm wondering if it might rhyme with kiss, but no, the riddle feels complete by rhyming with this. Hum, so perhaps building from there, err something you wouldn't want to kiss with a d in it regarding a liar as well as a noise, no wait, err, person could be an actual-"

"Lily," James finally begged. "You know I love you, and honestly I'd love nothing more than to sit here and watch you puzzle this out, but don't you want to see how Harry does?" James had honestly meant it, he'd been sitting there with an old fond expression his friends had seen more times than they could count in school as he'd watched the love of his life go through all this in her own way. He had no doubts she would get there in the end, but Harry was starting to look sickly again at watching her even as he was smiling along.

Lily sighed, but gave in with minimal dispute.

Harry asked for it again more slowly, and his first response to something he didn't want to kiss was a Blast-Ended Skrewt.

Remus snorted with laughter even as Sirius got over his cackling and agreed, "Hey, it even fits the answer, the middle of middle and end of end, both could link into the name of that thing."

"I don't think so," Lily said critically, not at all laughing as she was still hovering over what this could be even as she read. "I don't see that being the answer."

James kept laughing all the harder for her taking this so seriously, but quietly enough she was ignoring him.

Still, he didn't feel that was actually the answer, so he began working out the clues, first thinking aloud how a person in disguise could be a liar, like an imposter, then quickly shouted at the sphinx that wasn't his guess!

"Yeah, it's probably safe to keep that clarified," Remus agreed.

Offering a few more options as well as a spy.

Lily hummed at the idea with approval, though wasn't entirely sure herself, and was glad Harry was tackling another one instead.

He had not a guess for what the second part could mean, and erred to himself aloud what the last thing of mend was.

Lily's mind finally gave a click as she uttered that noise aloud, putting all three pieces together, and suddenly beaming as she kept going, sounding happier right now than she had during any combined Tournament moments.

Then he asked for the last line.

"That second one really is easier to figure out if you're looking at the actual words instead of just saying them," Remus agreed over Lily's actually happy reading. They were all watching her with amusement now, as they realized she'd gotten it, but didn't bother asking her to share, if she was going to she would have.

Harry kept saying err aloud as he tried to figure out a sound he'd make for a hard to find word, then realized the exact noise he was making, err was a sound!

"You certainly say it enough," Sirius quipped.

Harry stuck his tongue out at him.

He tried tying his first and last clue together, muttering about a spy-er, spy-er, then yelping the answer spider!

"Don't you ever again try to say you're not smart," Lily praised, "that was brilliant love."

Harry was flushed at the praise, meeting her eyes and still never growing tired of watching the color match back. There was some small part of him, even underneath all the dread anger and fear he was holding for this night, that left him in no doubt that this one moment where he was sitting beside his father being praised by his mother would mean something incredibly special on this June night as well.

The sphinx smiled at him, and then stepped aside.

Harry thanked her as he dashed past, baffled at his own brilliance.

James threw his head back and laughed hard at that one, he'd had his own moments of that in his school when he'd come up with some brilliant on the spot moves, but nothing as clever as this.

Harry turned one last corner, and there it was at last, the Triwizard Cup gleaming on a plinth yards away.

Harry watched those around him light up, and for just that one moment he let himself feel that too. The feeling that this was all over, Harry had won, he was about to walk out victorious against all odds.

Suddenly a dark figure hurtled out onto the path in front of him.

Sirius snarled in frustration, there just always had to be that one more thing.

Cedric had arrived as well,

"Oh bloody hell," James yelped in outrage, he knew he'd be beyond furious if Cedric took this win now! Harry had come so close, he shouldn't have even been in here, yet despite everything he honestly deserved it more for all the crap he'd been through. Where were the brooms when you needed them? Harry'd have him beat in moments.

his legs were longer, he had the further advantage, and Harry realized that cup was lost.

"Then stun him!" Remus blurted as he bounced in place.

Harry just shook his head, realizing the thought wouldn't cross his mind, for that one moment he'd been going to let Cedric win...which flooded him with so much worry in that moment Harry knew he should have done just that, done everything in his power to stop Cedric getting to that Cup. Harry wasn't that petty though, he shouldn't care that much about winning...

Cedric only had eyes for the cup, and as Harry watched his precision, he saw what Cedric had not, a dark figure scuttling along about to collide right with him.

Harry called out a warning, and Cedric only had just enough time to dart to the side as a gigantic spider was on the path.

"Gah!" Lily screeched. "That blasted riddle was as much a warning! Curse Hagrid and those bleeding spiders." She kept reading too fast for anyone to say otherwise even if they'd wanted to.

Harry shot Stupefy at once, but all this achieved was drawing the arachnid's attention.

"Oh but there's the bright side, you got it coming towards you now!" Sirius mock cheered.

"Harry has an awful knack of doing that," James groaned.

Harry kept shooting curse after curse, but it was doing no good, and without a moment to run the pincers caught him up by the waist and began lowering him towards its mouth, and Harry screamed in pain.

Lily's voice was starting to hurt it was pitching so high in fear. It was such a contrast to how happy she'd been moments ago and seeing Harry's win in the light the differnce left them all lagging in shock of a proper emotion.

Harry could hear Cedric trying the same spells he had, to the same effect, so Harry desperately tried Expelliarmus.

"Credit for originality," Remus muttered, "I don't think anyone's ever tried disarming a spider."

The Disarming Spell finally did something, Harry was released, only to sail to the ground and crash on his bleeding leg. Being half under the creature's mandibles, he aimed for the belly and shouted Stupefy just as Cedric did the same.

Spells combined, the spider finally keeled over and crashed through a hedge.

Lily felt herself shaking back into the cushions in relief. This had to be over now, she couldn't imagine anything worse protecting the Cup.

Cedric called for Harry in concern, asking if the spider had landed on him?

"Cedric really is such a good guy," Sirius shook his head in fondness, "I can think of a dozen other people who would have gone on for the Cup. The moment he touched it the Tournament would have been over, it would have done Harry just as much good as sticking around helping him while also giving him the win."

Harry felt a sudden stinging in his eyes, unable to understand why he was happy for that one moment where Sirius had finally admitted he'd liked Cedric.

Harry called back at least that hadn't happened, while he inspected his leg. It was bleeding freely, and a black thick substance surrounded it were the pincers had torn the flesh.

"That would be the beginnings of a paralyzing secretion," Remus shivered, "so tell Cedric to hop along already and get you out of there before it sets in."

He tried heaving himself to his feet, but his ankle wouldn't support him, he'd certainly at least sprained it in his fall.

Cedric was weaving his way through the legs to Harry's side, while Harry demanded what he was doing, telling him to get on with it and go grab it.

Cedric took a deep breath,

"Oh he's not," James' started to smile.

and told Harry in thanks for saving Cedric twice in here, he'd let Harry have it.

"Oh but he is!" Sirius barked in triumph. "Finally, some proper payback for that dragon tip!"

Harry was rubbing at his leg as he remembered that pain, ignoring the both of them as he was now running an internal monologue of regret that he didn't leap at this opportunity on the spot and do just that, instead he just knew he'd argue the point with Cedric, and Cedric would pay for it.

Harry snapped back that wasn't how this worked. His leg was hurting him more every second, he pulled himself up and only stayed that way by support of a wall, full of regret Cedric had beaten him in this as much as he had with asking Cho to the ball.

Lily gave a soft sigh, wanting to give her son a hug for feeling so seconded by Cedric all year, and now was certainly the worst time.

Cedric tried to say otherwise, but Harry insisted he couldn't even try a race on this leg, it was Cedric's. Still he said no.

Remus couldn't help it, he was starting to laugh a bit at this exchange. When, in the Cup's history, had two champions ever reached it and then argued over who deserved it more? He thought both boys should take it now, it honestly seemed a way to make everyone happy.

Cedric pointed out how he wouldn't have even made it this far if Harry hadn't helped him out with the dragons.

"I'm positive no one would have," Sirius grumbled.

Harry snapped back he'd had help with that too, and that favor had been returned with the egg.

Cedric confessed he'd had help with that as well.

Harry felt like he was standing inside a church bell as it was being rung his head hurt so bad, he closed his eyes tight to try and convince his brain not to be the death of him for how badly he was aching because of all of this, but that helped nothing. It was much more soothing to keep his eyes open on his mother, a small smile lingering on her face as she kept going. No one seemed that surprised Cedric had gotten help in the first place, clearly everyone in the Tournament had been getting help from someone, it seemed perfectly natural to them.

Harry still pointed out that made them square.

Cedric wasn't having it, insisting he should have acted like Harry back in the second task and stayed behind for the other hostages, Harry should have flat out won that. Harry insisted he had just been the only one thick enough to take that song seriously.

"Now what did you go calling me thick for?" Sirius demanded, and was instantly concerned when for the first time Harry didn't smile at that. His eyes were glassy, his lips trembling as he was clearly using all his willpower to repress saying something. They were all starting to feel the beginnings of panic set in, what could be so bad about this? Lily was starting to rush a bit in getting this finished, hoping the problem once they got out of there really was something they could help Harry cope through.

Cedric still refused, walking farther and farther away from the prize, and Harry realized he was serious.

"No, I am!" Sirius tried again a little desperately, anything to snap Harry out of it, and it seemed to work for just a second as Harry glanced at his godfather, but it helped nothing with whatever was eating the poor boy alive. Was that guilt?

He was actively walking away from Hufflepuff glory the house had never seen, all while insisting it should be Harry's for the taking. He crossed his arms and met his eyes, absolutely decided.

"Well now we're all doomed," James tried to pop some humor as well which fell dead flat around him.

Harry looked past him to the cup, for one second the image again in his eyes of being lifted into a cheering crowd, Cho's shining eyes only on him and that gleaming cup.

"If Cho dumps Cedric for you, just because you won, I honestly won't approve," Lily grumbled to herself.

Just as quickly though, Harry blinked it all away, telling that they both would take it.

Harry moaned, tears trickling out of the corner of his eyes as he shook his head desperately, knowing he'd give anything to take that back.

Lily made to put the book down and go to her son, but Remus caught her and reminded her what always seemed to help him best when this was eating away at him. Get the memory over with. She didn't agree, nothing they could be getting to would make any of this feel better, but she saw just how little she had left, and she honestly wanted her completion to be done just to have the thing out of her hands.

Cedric at first could only splutter in surprise, but Harry insisted on the idea. It would still be a Hogwarts victory, they'd helped each other every step of the way, they both deserved it.

Cedric's eyes lit with delight, and he agreed to the idea, offering Harry a shoulder over to their prize. Harry took it, and the two awkwardly made their way into the slight glow, each grasping a handle.

Harry felt as if his world was crumbling down around him, that one last moment he had left of seeing that smile on Cedric's face, the triumph gleaming in his eyes as his fingers grasped that at the same moment as Harry's. A million regrets tumbled through him of why Harry hadn't just touched it one moment sooner, why he'd let this happen-

Instantly there was a jerk in his navel. His feet had left the ground. He could not release the Triwizard Cup; it was pulling him onward with Cedric at his side.

Harry lost his thin tether he'd been holding, and vomited.

HPHPHPHPHP

Just before anyone asks, I'm not going to bring up the 'why didn't they just put the portkey spell on any object' plot hole up until the end of the book, where there's just going to be a whole chapter curled around the many aspects of this particular book. If you send me a suggestion of what you want to see in said discussion, there's a chance I'll slip it in if I don't already have a better spot for it.

I recognize the next three chapters all kind of go together, and since they're relatively short compared to what I've been working with lately, I promise I'm not completely a monster. I will do my very best to get them up even quicker than my normal updating, so with any luck the next one will be up Tuesday.

Completely unrelated side note, has anyone else taken the WOMBAT test? If not, see

www. hp-lexicon source /other -canon/ jkr /jkr -w2/

The commentary on these questions is hilarious, and I usually chose John/Steve's answers because they're sarcastic little shits like me, but Belinda embodies me a lot too.

#The LIfe that Never LIved #Harry Potter #fanfiction #reading the books #GoF #The Marauders #jilly #James Potter #Remus Lupin #Sirius Black #Lily Potter

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abduct-me-helen · 4 years

Text

Class 108's Apocalypse Field Trip | Chapter 6.

If Sydney was anything other than cautious, she would consider herself observant. Partially because of the caution, she knew, but she chose to separate those traits when thinking about herself. It was for this reason that she began to notice Tabitha changing.

It was the little things, really. The way her hunger for knowledge had now manifested as ferocity. She didn’t like that look on Tabitha, who was usually so carefree.

Well, Syndey thought, maybe not carefree as much as good as putting on a persona.

It didn’t come out often, but what Sydney was really the most wary of was the statements. Rosie hadn’t told her about why she’d wanted to listen in on the Buried statement but Sydney had decided to mind her own business. It wasn’t as if it was a danger.

Or was it?

If it was, she decided, she’d deal with it when the time came.

“Lost in thought?” Katie came up behind her, raising an eyebrow while maintaining her token blank expression. Sydney and Katie had always got on fine, but Katie didn’t really seek anyone out for conversation. Except for Eva.

She didn't think about Eva.

Sydney gave a shrug in response, and Katie narrowed her eyes. “You’ve noticed too.” It was a statement, not a question, and Sydney nodded warily.

“It’s hard not to. Do you think we should say anything?” Sydney asked her. Katie shook her head.

“No.” She answered shortly.

Sydney raised an eyebrow. “Why not?”

Katie shrugged, and her eyes seemed to be glassy for a few seconds before she sighed. “I just wanted to check. Anyway, Martin and Mr. Sims are calling the rest of the class. Apparently, they want to say a few things before we continue.”

They hadn’t been resting for long, but time didn’t truly exist in this new world, Sydney knew. She nodded Mutely, and followed Katie’s trace.

“Marcy’s what?!” Tabitha shrieked, eyes wide. Her stomach felt loopy, and her vision began to blur in a mix of relief and fear. All she could think off was Marcy’s limp body being puppetted by spiderwebs, the scent of blood and the sound of her own laughter. She shivered, hands curling around herself.

Rosie put her hand on Tabitha’s shoulder to steady her, applying pressure just forceful enough to ground her without being painful. Tabitha seemed to steady some, digging her nails into her palm to focus.

“How…how do you know this?” Cal asked quietly. They’re eyes were fearful, but a dullness had seemed to set in that made Sydney uneasy. Apathy wasn’t good, even if it hurt less. She just wanted everyone to be okay.

“Annabelle Cane.” Martin answered, beginning to explain who she was. Sydney tuned him out, looking up to the sky and scowling at the Eye. The others could joke, and hell, she did too, but she loathed it with a passion.

Not just because it was evil, enjoying their suffering, but because it was in the sky. She’d always loved the sky, more than most things really, and the Eye had the audacity to take up so much space.

“So, she’s a spider lady, basically.” Elliot simplified, and Sydney thanked him inwardly for explaining since she’d tuned out what Martin had said.

Tabitha looked pale, but she nodded slowly, eyes filled with terror. Sydney felt for her.

Jon spoke up, looking around at the class and meeting all their eyes. “It’s complicated. We don’t know how she’s alive, because she was dead and Oliver didn’t bring her back. He’d have no reason to. He suspects the Web is involved, but Annabelle said she didn’t know what was going on.”

“That could very easily be a lie.” Rosie mused, biting her lip in focus.

Jon nodded. “Hence why I’m telling you all to keep your guard up. There’s obviously something going on here and I don’t trust it one bit.”

There was a brief silence, before the smell of heat wafted into Riko’s nose.

“Is that…fire?” She said, trying to get a glimpse of where the smell was coming from. Jon’s eyebrows raised in surprise.

“You can smell that?” He asked incredulously.

She raised an eyebrow. “What, you can’t?”

The rest of the class warily shook their heads. Jon sighed.

“We are near the domain of the Desolation…” he mused aloud, and Tabitha seemed to perk up in surprise. Sydney eyed her warily, and she glanced over to Katie who seemed to have a similar expression of reproach.

Riko shrugged, but something glinted in her eyes. “That’s the burning one, right?”

“Destruction, pain and fire.” Martin listed, thinking to himself. Jon nodded, gesturing to him in agreement. Riko narrowed her eyes and her face fell into an expression Sydney couldn’t decipher.

Raphi chimed in with a helpful- “those are the guys who like wax play, right?”

Jon choked, coughing, and Martin patted him on the back.

“Mhm!” Tabitha said, seemingly unfazed and coming back to herself. Sydney was glad to see the color return to her face.

“That’s hot.” Elliot said, grinning at his pun and giving finger guns at Raphi. Rosie groaned, and Raphi snickered. Katie’s face was notably blank, but Riko’s had raised an eyebrow incredulously, before shaking her head in an attempt to forget about Elliot’s terrible joke.

“Hi hot, I’m dad.” Jon deadpanned, turning to Raphi, and Martin’s eyebrows raised comically.

Tabitha snorted, and the rest of the class grinned, (minus Katie, who had never smiled in her entire life, or so Tabitha said).

“Is Martin mom then?” Sydney joked sarcastically. Tabitha’s eyes lit up, and Sydney groaned, already regretting her jest.

“…Tabitha?” She asked warily.

Tabitha just batted her eyelashes, and didn’t say a word. Rosie looked amused, but chose not to comment, and Jon cleared his throat.

“Anyway, we’re going to be…smiting this avatar.”

The class began to cheer.

“PENUT MURDER JELLY TIME!” “LET’S GET THIS BREAD!” “CEASLESS WATCHER, TURN YOUR GAYS UPON THAT WRETCHED THING!” “Gaze?” “Gays” “MURDER! MURDER! MURDER!”

The class began to chant, and Jon began to get a headache.

On the walk to the Desolation’s domain, the kids pestered Jon with questions.

“Where’d you get those scars?” Tabitha asked, grabbing his arm and wobbling it a bit. He rolled his eyes, and sighed.

“Which one?” He raised an eyebrow dully.

Tabitha wasn’t fazed. “The circles.”

“…Worms.” He said, grimacing. Martin had the same expression on his face.

“Worms?” Riko said incredulously.

“What kind?” Tabitha asked, before he could answer Riko’s inquiry.

“The kind that hate me.” Jon said simply, and Cal laughed softly.

The class’ eyes widened, and they all looked around, silently communicating as if a hive mind. Martin and Jon shared an apprehensive glance.

It was unnervingly silent.

They continued their walk in silence for the next few minutes, but then Cypress started to hum. It was a childish toon, but Martin could recognize that he’d heard it before.

The rest of the class began to hum, before Tabitha started to sing.

“Nobody likes me, everybody hates me, I think I’ll go eat worms.”

Martin’s eyes widened comically and Jon choked. Christ, what had he gotten into?

“What-”

“Big fat juicy ones-” Elliot continued.

“Eensie weensy squeensy ones-” Sydney chimed in lightly.

“See how they wiggle and squirm!-” Raphi sang, grinning.

“Down goes the first one, down goes the second one. Oh how they wiggle and squirm! Up comes the first one, up comes the second one. Oh how they wiggle and squirm!” The class now sang in unison, privy to Jon and Martin’s growing horror at the situation.

“Wait a second now-” Martin started, but Raphi cut him off with a grin.

“I bite off the heads, and suck out the juice, and throw the skins away!” He jeered, singing loudly.

Jon facepalmed, horrified and uncomfortable at how the class seemed to work as a hive mind just to taunt them.

The class once again began to sing in unison.

“Nobody knows how fat I grow on worms three times a day! Nobody likes me, everybody hates me I think I'll go eat worms! Big fat juicy ones, eensie weensy squeensy ones; see how they wiggle and squirm!” They were a cacophony of voices mixing horribly against Jon’s ear.

He was reminded of Grifter’s bone, and decided that their music couldn’t possibly be any worse than this.

Martin was still open mouthed, and Jon had his head in his hands.

“That was so smexy!” Tabitha said dreamily, referring to the song. Martin balked.

“No-no, wha-okay, you know what, lets keep walking, yeah?” Martin grabbed Jon’s hand and began to speed-walk ahead, tugging him along. Class 108 snickered.

“Hey, can your boss hear us right now?” Cypress asked, and Jon raised an eyebrow.

“I suppose so. Why?” Jon answer cautiously, not liking where this was going. Cypress grinned, his teeth glinting in the green light of the eye.

He turned around and started pointing at the coward in the tower. “HEY! YOU! PISS BITCH! EYEBALL DADDY’S SUGAR BABY LITTLE BITCH VOYEUR! I BET YOU’RE GAY!”

“Cypress, aren’t you gay?” Cal asked, trying to told back his laughter.

“That’s not important. What is important is that-,” Cypress stopped, pausing to think before turning to Jon, “what’s your boss’ name?”

“Jonah Magnus, but I really do not think you-”

“JONAH MAGNUS? MORE LIKE JONAH MAGNET, BECAUSE YOU REPEL ALL THE POSITIVE PEOPLE WHEN THEY SEE YOUR AWFUL FACE YOU UGLY REGENCY LOOKING ASS BITCH!” Tabitha shrieked, going to join Cypress in his epic pursuit of victory.

“How-how did you know he was from the regency era?” Martin asked, confused.

“He just gave me those vibes, ya know?” Tabitha asked, though Sydney sensed that she was a little off-put at where she’d gotten that information.

“…those vibes?” Jon deadpanned, noticeably off-put as well.

“Mhm. What do you mean he was from the regency era though?” Tabitha questioned, tilting her head curiously.

Jon sighed, and Rosie noted in her head that this was the eighty-first time he’d sighed in response to Tabitha’s questions. Typical.

“He’s a body snatcher-” Jon started, only to be interrupted by Raphi.

“Like Koh?” he asked, and Riko snickered

“Who-you know what, never mind. Sure. He basically put his eyeballs in other people’s sockets to steal their bodies and continue running the institute.” Jon explained, and a look of mild horror crossed his face as Cypress began to grin.

“So what you’re saying,” Cypress began, and Cal groaned, putting his head in his hands, “is that he put his balls in other people’s holes?”

Tabitha keeled over, snickering, and Riko flipped him off. Katie, who was as stoic as ever, sighed, but Cal could tell she looked amused.

Jon and Martin wore twin looks of horror in response to Cypress’…interesting sense of humor.

They knew it would not be the last time.

#tma #the magnus archives #teacher!jon #teacher jonathan sims #teacher!jon sims #apocalypse field trip #apocalypse field trip au #class 108

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averykedavra · 4 years

Text

Only Logical

(Hey y’all! My first time posting a story on Tumblr! This is a cross-post from my Ao3 account, which you can find here) Enjoy!

Summary: Thomas is worried about his changing life…again. And all the sides are practically incapacitated with emotion. Again.

Logan’s trying, he really is, but he’s tired of putting up with this. He knows the logical solution is to move on and stop falling into the same holes. But nobody’s listening to logic.

He could force them to listen to him. He could take them to his room and let them see his side of the story. Or he could sit back and let them sort things out. Again.

Maybe it’s time for Logan to take control.

ships: platonic LAMP

warnings: self-hatred, panic attacks, anxiety, logan being a jerk (but he gets better), forced silence and a few consent issues (but just forcing someone to stay somewhere against their will).

word count: 9126

“What’s up, everyone?”

Logan heard the familiar intro and took a deep breath. Already he heard the strain in Thomas’ voice. This was going to be a big one.

“So I just helped a friend of mine move. And it hurt! Not just because I’m really out of shape and strained my back picking up their TV, but because they’re moving. It’s only a few states away, but for someone who barely leaves their house most days? That’s pretty far away!” Logan heard Thomas’ sigh. “And I know I already learned what to do about this, and I know I have to accept the change, but there’s a difference between knowing something and knowing it, you know?”

Logan closed his eyes and sunk out of his room, rising in the living room. His guess was correct. Thomas’ hair was uncombed and his eyes were red. He was in serious need of logic.

“No, I don’t know. Your statement makes no sense.” Logan adjusted his necktie. “If you have access to this knowledge, why do you not act upon it?”

“Hi, Logan.” Thomas didn’t seem very enthusiastic to see him, something that hurt was only to be expected, given his current state. “You’re helpful, you are. It’s just—sometimes knowing something isn’t enough.”

“Are you implying that Logic,” Logan said with a wave at himself, “is not enough to solve a problem? I am the problem-solver. I have the solution and you are unwilling to listen.”

“I know!” Thomas nodded. “I know, and you’re smart and I know. But I don’t feel like listening to you. That’s not a problem with you at all. It’s just how I work. I’m not only made up of logical thoughts, and sometimes other thoughts…overpower those.”

“So the solution here is to convince you of the benefits of Logic?” Logan asked.

“I guess?”

“Then we must call in the others, much as it pains me to do so.” Logan rolled his eyes. “Patton! Virgil! Roman! We have another problem with…feelings.”

Patton rose up first with a big smile. “Don’t I know it, kiddo! I’ve been feeling blue-dad-ba-dee-dad-ba-die all day.”

“I thought it was da-ba dee—oh. I see. You made a pun.” Logan blinked a few times and tried to hold back his laughter sighed at Patton’s foolishness. “Patton, please try to be serious about this.”

“Wow, I seriously can’t believe you’re putting me down like this, Lo.”

“I am not putting you down. You seem to be standing upright as usual.”

“Won’t you stand down, Logan? I can’t stand this!”

“Burn. Burn in a pit of outdated encyclopedias, you Neanderthal.”

“Guys!” Thomas waved his arms. “We get it. Puns are evil. Now, where are the others?”

“You may rejoice!” called Roman, rising and spreading his arms. “Your savior is here!”

“Nobody needs saving,” Logan pointed out. “Except, perhaps, myself.”

“Is there a dragon witch threatening your throne, my good sir?”

“Well, there’s a Patton threatening my sanity.”

Roman looked over at a smiling Patton. “Oh, goodness, Padre, the puns?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Roman. They’re so much pun!” Patton paused and his smile slipped a bit. “That wasn’t good. That wasn’t good! Sorry.”

“Patton?” Logan asked. “Is everything all right?”

“Of course everything’s not all right.” Virgil popped into place on the stairs, his hood pulled over his hair. “Thomas is upset, which means Patton is upset, which means he’s trying to hide it with excessive puns.”

Patton bit his lip and looked down. “Yeah. I’m feeling a little down in the dumps.”

“Aww, Patton.” Thomas looked at the moral side with affection. “That’s okay! It’s understandable. I’m so sorry I didn’t notice.”

“Oh, Padre.” Roman looked ashamed. “The burden does rest upon my shoulders as well.”

Logan should have noticed Patton wasn’t okay. He’s supposed to be smarter than this.

“No, it’s all right, kiddos!” Patton giggled. “The important thing is that we’re all here now, and we can talk through it together! How are you all doing?”

“I’m wonderful!” Roman squealed. “Well, mostly.”

Patton quirked an eyebrow and Roman sighed. “I’ve been thinking up plans to get them to change their mind and stay here. I’m not exactly my fabulous self today.”

“That’s okay, Roman.” Thomas smiled. “I’m sure those plans are rather unrealistic, but I appreciate the effort.”

“I’m performing adequately,” Logan said. No one asked any follow-up questions.

“Virgil, buddy?” Thomas asked. “What’s up?”

Virgil growled and hunkered deeper into his sweatshirt. “I’m fine.”

“Falsehood.” Logan resisted the urge to raise his voice on the word, fearing it would upset Virgil further. “You are clearly disconcerted. Please divulge the nature of your concern, and we may do our best to remedy the situation.”

“You know the ‘nature of my concern’, Siri,” Virgil snapped. “I’m worried we won’t stay in touch with them, and then other friends will move away and we’ll be alone and sad and have no purpose for existence and wither away to nothing watching Parks and Recreation. The usual.”

Thomas nodded. “Yep.”

“Virgil, kiddo, I’m so sorry!” Patton screwed up his face. “I know you love your friends, but I promise I’ll never leave you! Ever!”

Virgil stared. “Um, Pat, you okay over there?”

“I’m always okay when you’re around!”

“Oh dear.” Logan tried to keep the frustration out of his voice. “It seems Patton is reacting negatively to this change. Again.”

“So I’m more confused than on avalanche?” Patton asked.

“No. Yes. You’re confusing me. You’re correct, but that’s not the right word—”

“Okay.” Thomas looked around. “Okay, okay. So everyone’s upset?”

“I’m not upset,” Logan pointed out.

“Everyone but Logan is upset.” Thomas rubbed his eyes. “This isn’t good.”

“No, it’s not,” Logan snapped. “We’ve been here before! Roman is trying to obtain someone’s good graces and company through strange means, Virgil is worried we will lose our friends, and Patton is more confused than on avalanche—average. I thought we solved these problems in both the Making Some Changes video and the Moving On videos! I thought we had reached a consensus, and yet the same problems keep occurring. Logically, we should be out of this hole by now.”

“Logan,” Thomas chided. “I think there are some processes we all go through. There are cycles we’re in, and it’s okay for some days not to be great.”

“So you’re saying it’s okay for you and the others to be in a detrimental loop, but not for me?”

The words came out too loudly. Logan didn’t mean to let his frustrations slip out say his point in an unhelpful way.

Thomas seemed taken aback by the harshness. “Logan, no, I didn’t mean that.”

Logan composed himself and continued. “The last time a so-called loop was discovered, we devoted all our energy to correcting it. Now you seem content to waste away your mental energy in another. As your logic, it is my duty to remind you that this is counter-productive and unhelpful.”

“Well, what would you suggest, Lex Poo-ther?” Roman winced at his own joke. “Sorry, Logan. That was insulting and also terrible.”

“None of us are at our best, are we?” Patton agreed.

“Tell me about it,” Virgil muttered.

Logan looked around at his friends coworkers and felt a surge of annoyance. Why did every little thing sideline them? Worse, why was it when they were sidelined, he was never listened to? They seemed to be upset when he left the conversation altogether—past experiences had dictated that—but there was no point to his participation if no one listened to him.

Why was he here if no one listened? Would they really even notice if he left? Although Logan would never dream of ducking out (quack quack) he felt an urge to vanish and retreat into his room.

His room.

There was a way they could listen to him. A way he could increase the influence of logic in the dilemma, something Thomas clearly needed.

But he had promised himself he wouldn’t do that. Not after seeing firsthand the effects of Virgil’s and Patton’s rooms on the other sides—and on Thomas. Risking the mental stability of Thomas was a terrible idea and one he fought against vehemently on every other occasion.

But if it could help them…

“Logan?” Thomas asked. “Do you have any ideas to restore…you know, logic to the situation?”

And now he had to share an idea or Thomas would think he was useless and stupid more than he already was, he was already failing at helping them what would Thomas think if he knew that Logan didn’t know something that he was a failure of a side-

Logan took a deep breath. “I have an idea, but it’s risky and I’m not sure if it would be productive.”

“Tell us, Logan!” Patton beamed. “I wanna hear all your awesome, amazing, wonderful ideas, you sour little marshmallow, you.”

“Uh-oh, feelings.” Logan stepped away from Patton and avoided his peppy, sentimental gaze.

“Do tell, Logan. If it’s terrible, I can make it better.” Roman smiled self-importantly. “I am the idea guy.”

“If you really want to increase your logical and critical thinking,” Logan began, “we could go—”

“No.” Virgil pulled off his hood. “Logan, no.”

“It’s an option—”

“It’s a horrible option! Last time we did something like this, Thomas became a mess, Patton and Roman almost ruined everything, and you left! The time before, I had to save all of you from being stuck there forever! You’re the one telling us we shouldn’t be stuck in a loop, right? Well, I think we should learn from past mistakes and stay away from the rooms.”

“The rooms?” Thomas looked at Logan. “You’re saying we should go to your room?”

“I’m saying, logically, it might work.” Logan resisted the urge to pull at his hair with nerves. “It would definitely enable you to think more…impartially about all this. It might even calm the others down.”

“Might being the key word.” Virgil glared at Logan. “It also might put everyone in serious danger.”

“My room is not dangerous,” Logan protested. “It is a place of higher, sophisticated thinking.”

“And Patton’s room is glittery and sunny and full of things that make you smile,” Virgil responded. “It’s also the scariest place I’ve ever been.”

“Virgil, I appreciate your caution, but you are often rather…you often…” Logan searched for the right words. “You are apprehensive about most things we do. But both your room and Patton’s did indirectly solve our problems in the end.”

“Yeah, by forcing us to confront them before it was too late.” Virgil tugged his sleeves over his hands. “I dunno, Logan. You’re the smart one here. I’m just sounding the alarm like I’m supposed to.”

“I think it’s a fantastic idea!” Patton clapped his hands together. “A little logic is what we need. And if there’s trouble, Logan can get us out, right, Lo?”

Who knows. “Of course.”

“Then we should at least give it a shot,” Roman agreed, “much as I dread venturing into the tragic kingdom that is Logan’s room.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Thomas asked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Logan fired back. “My room is optimized for easy use.”

“It’s so boring!” Roman complained.

“It is functional, and that is what counts.”

“You can be functional and fun-ctional, Specs.”

Patton squealed. “Roman! Pun buddies!”

“Oh yeah, Padre. High five?”

“No!” Thomas waved his arms. “No stretchy arms. We’re getting off task. I need you all to agree on this or I won’t go. Virgil? Can we do this?”

Virgil sighed. “I hate taking the risk, but…Logan’s always the best at finding solutions and calming me down. I gotta think his room might help out. Whatever works.”

“That’s what you said last time.” Thomas raised a finger. “And now I’m scared it’s going to be like last time.”

“It will not be like last time.” Logan needed them to go in his room. Even though it would probably lead to something terrible it was necessary for them to see his perspective. “Patton, you were in a bad state when we entered your room. I am perfectly operational—”Lie. “—and have no intention of letting things slip out of control. If you recall, I was the one who first caught on to the troubles caused by your room. I promise if anything begins to go wrong, I will take immediate action to get you out. I am in control. Things will be okay.”

Patton and Thomas looked reassured. Roman nodded and even Virgil looked a little calmer. “Thanks, Logan,” Thomas said. “I appreciate you looking out for us.”

“It would be illogical to let harm come to you or any of the sides. It would possibly destroy your mental state.”

Logan didn’t know what he’d do without the others.

“Well.” Thomas took a deep breath and steeled himself. “If we’re all in agreement, let’s go.”

“Focus on your logical thoughts,” Roman instructed. “Facts, memories, all the boring stuff cluttering up your head—”

“—watch it—” Logan muttered.

“—and that’s where we need to go.”

“Inertia is a property of matter.” Thomas closed his eyes. “The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.”

Patton sunk down.

“Mesopotamia is the cradle of civilization, meaning the land between two rivers.”

Roman waved goodbye on his way out.

“I before E, except after C.”

Virgil sighed deeply and sunk.

“The Fitness-Gram Pacer Test is a multi-stage aerobic capacity test—”

Thomas’ voice faded away as Logan felt himself sinking. He reached into the ether and tugged himself to his room, feeling for the others. He grabbed a vibrating blue string, a ribbon-like red string, a purple yarn rope, and a simple white string. Wrapping them around himself, he felt their thoughts connect to his.

This is a bad idea.

This is an awesome idea! Logan’s so smart! We should talk more!

Now we’ve been to all the rooms except for mine! That won’t do. I should take them to my kingdom so they get a sense of real interior design.

–that gets progressively difficult as it goes on—why do I remember this so well—

Logan felt their thoughts tickle in his skull and hoped they couldn’t read his.

And then they arrived, yanked into being.

“Whoa.”

Logan didn’t know who said it, but from the others’ expressions it could have been any of them.

To his annoyance, his room had taken the form of Thomas’ living room. The shelves had shifted to accommodate the couch and kitchen and stairs, things Logan had no use for. Patton rose in front of shelves and books piled against the window. Virgil rose onto the stairs, which were covered with sticky notes boasting Logan’s neat blue writing. Roman’s corner was smaller than usual, but it was covered with ticker-tape spools and little black boxes. Logan looked around and saw books covering the table, old diplomas and certificates adorning the walls, and a science lab bubbling in the kitchen.

Home sweet home.

Logan felt the pressure slough off his back, pressure he didn’t even realize he felt.

“This is amazing!” Thomas said.

“It’s a little messy,” Logan apologized. “From reorganizing itself. Please excuse me.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Patton spread his arms wide. “This is like organization central!”

“All these boxes are color-coded,” Roman noted. “So are the books. Is this what you do in your free time?”

“I have an appreciation for structure and efficiency.”

Thomas picked up a book spread-eagled on the floor. “Oh, this is an old astronomy textbook! I remember this from high school!”

“Every book you’ve ever read,” Logan said. “Every fact you’ve ever learned, every song you’ve ever listened to, every memory you’ve collected. It’s all here.”

“Reminds me of my room a bit, Logan!” Patton said with a smile. “I mean, this is nostalgic too, in its own way! You just kept different things!”

Logan shook his head. “It is nothing like your room.”

“Oh my gosh-darn-goodness this is the entire soundtrack of Hamilton!” Roman was unrolling one of the ticker-tapes. “I’m already up to My Shot!”

“Don’t—” Logan reached out. “You’re going to mess it up.”

“Oh, relax, Chris STEMsworth.” Roman tossed the tape aside and grabbed another. “Ooh, this one’s Be More Chill!”

“Can I have a look at these books, Lo?” Patton asked. Without waiting for a response, he grabbed a book off the shelf. “2016.” Flipping it open, he read “Thomas ordered a pizza but forgot to add pineapple for his friend Valerie. He worried she would be mad, but she ate the pizza anyway.”

“I think I remember that,” Thomas said. “It was March, right?”

“April, actually,” Logan corrected. “April 10th.”

Roman rolled his eyes, unspooling Merrily We Roll Along. “Pineapple on pizza? She’s better off without it, the heathen.”

“These are…” Virgil fingered a few Post-It notes. “70 percent of the human body is water? A platypus has venomous spurs on its feet? Amelia Earhart may have been eaten by crabs?”

“Facts,” Logan clarified.

“How do you know they’re facts?” Virgil asked. “What if she wasn’t eaten by crabs? What if the numbers are off?”

“To the best of my knowledge, they are facts. I leave the conspiracy theories to you.”

Roman picked up one of the boxes and pressed the button on top. The sound of a crackling fire filled the room. He turned it off and tried another—this one a bit of Moonlight Sonata. The third was a rap song Thomas had gotten stuck in his head six years ago. The fourth was a gum commercial.

“This place is so…cool!” Thomas said. “Logan, it’s incredible how much is in here!”

“Well, I am your logic,” Logan said, trying not to let on how much the compliment meant. “It is my job to maintain this.”

“Wow.” Thomas spun around for a second. “So…what do we do now?”

“We explore!” Patton suggested.

“We…leave?” Virgil begged. “I mean, this room is calming me down, which is nice, but also this room is calming me down which feels kind of invasive.”

“How about we talk?” Logan suggested. “We do our usual strange, roundabout conversation in a more calming and rational environment and see where that takes us.”

“Okay, that might work.” Thomas looked around at the others. “Who wants to start?”

“I will!” Patton volunteered. “I’d like to say, Logan, thank you for not having spiders in your room.”

“Why—why would my room possess spiders?”

“I wouldn’t put it past them.”

“Well, okay, then.” Logan shook his head. “Patton, do you want to talk about your feelings instead of the spiders?”

“You only had to ask, kiddo!” Patton said with a smile.

“I—I did ask—just now—”

“You’re confusing him,” Virgil said fondly. “Be careful or logan.exe will crash.”

“Now you’re just confusing him more,” Roman protested.

“I am not confused. I stand here before you, very un-confused.” Logan waved at himself. “Patton, back on task, perhaps?”

“Of course!” Patton clasped his hands together and smiled at them all. “I hate everything!” he squealed cheerfully. “And I feel like a real grumpy-wumpus and I want to crawl into a blanket burrito and hide ‘til the sun goes away!”

Logan took a second to process that. Roman looked at Patton with undisguised concern, and Virgil let out a breath.

“Pat?” Thomas asked. “You’re really that upset?”

“Well, not as much as I was. Your room is really calming, Logan.”

“Still, that’s—” Thomas sighed. “Pat, that’s not good. You have to tell us.”

“You don’t have to,” Virgil amended quietly. “But you can. We’ll help.”

“We shall do our best to assist you in any way possible,” Roman agreed.

“Well, thanks, kiddos!” Patton said. He glanced over at Logan, who nodded as well. “That means a lot.”

“Wonderful,” Logan said. “Is your dilemma concluded?”

“Logan,” Thomas said. “I don’t think that’s how this works.”

“You’re right.” Logan rubbed his eyes. “Although it would be far easier if you could shelve this problem with a few simple words, human emotions are not so kind to us. This will be an ongoing battle, Patton. Is there anything we can do right now?”

“I mean,” Patton said with a sly smile, “if you mean anything…“

“Within. Within reason.” Logan frantically held up a finger. “There are limits to this.”

“I’m just saying, I might feel a little better if you made a few dad jokes—”

“No. Dad jokes are childish.”

“Childish?” Patton gasped.

“Yes, Patton. Now stop gawking, you look like a clown.”

Patton blinked and shut his mouth.

“Jeez,” Virgil muttered.

“That was kind of harsh, dude.” Thomas frowned at Logan. “Everything okay?”

“I am adequate,” Logan said quickly. It wasn’t a lie. He detested lying. And being in his room always made him feel more levelheaded. It quieted the whispers in the back of his mind. It quelled the anger that he didn’t feel and the guilt that didn’t follow him. It squashed away every bit of himself that he hated and let him do his job.

“Your turn, I presume?” Logan asked, looking to Roman.

“Yeah, I guess.” Roman shrugged. “Don’t have much to say. I’m trying not to mess it up by, you know, sabotaging their car or getting in a plane to surprise them or holding them hostage.”

“Thanks for that,” Thomas agreed. “I’d like not to get arrested today.”

“Jail would be a snore.” Roman untangled the lyrics to Mamma Mia from his arm. “And I know that kind of thinking is wrong, and I’m trying not to be…a burden on you all, but…it’s hard to stop wishing.”

“I know,” Thomas said.

“Well, I don’t.” Logan adjusted his glasses and levered a stare at Roman. “Is this another of those knowing-but-not-believing things again? I don’t understand those.”

“It’s like…” Thomas waved his hands in an attempt to explain. “Roman, you’re my creativity. Help me.”

“It’s like if you’re used to…living in a house filled with purple,” Roman said. “Everything’s purple. The walls, the floors, the furniture. And one day you decide it’s time for a change, so you paint everything…red!”

“Why would you paint the furniture?” Logan asked. “For that matter, why only one color? This seems like terrible interior design—”

“Like you know anything about design, Bill Nye the Science Tie. It’s a metaphor.” Roman rolled his eyes before continuing. “After that, for a while, you know the house will be all red. But every time you walk in, you can’t help expecting—feeling—that it’s gonna be purple. You’re used to that pattern. Logic can’t override what you feel.”

“That’s the problem, isn’t it?” Logan said. Too much bitterness leaked into his words. Thomas and Patton looked at Logan with concern.

“Logan, it’s important to strike a balance,” Thomas insisted. “Both your input and the feelings I possess are valid. Repressing them won’t make them go away or have things make more sense. Life is messy and complicated sometimes.”

“I understand that feelings are complicated. I also understand that feelings are making you act pathetic.”

Logan experienced a pang at Thomas’ hurt expression, but it felt buried under layers of water, something intangible and unreachable.

“Thomas, this needs to stop. You cannot let your emotions…override your logical functions. Facts are facts, and the fact is, your inability to climb out of these emotional holes are doing you damage. None of you are listening to me. If you did, perhaps things would be better off. As it is…”

Logan took a deep breath. He didn’t want to say it, in fact he barely believed it, but it needed to be said.

“I think you would be better off if I took more control on a daily basis and you put the others in the backseat. They have their functions, but unchecked and unmaintained they are useless at best and detrimental at worst.”

And he was no better than any of them. He was the worst of all. He let their icky, complicated human emotions get to him, and now look where he was—believing he could feel things. Believing he was part of a team.

Logic worked alone. Logic got the job done. Attachments weren’t part of the deal.

Patton froze in place. It looked like he almost flickered. Roman winced and bit his lip. Virgil was already retreating into his hoodie, but he looked up with concern. “Logan…”

Not Logan. Logic. L-O-G-I-C. Why was that so hard? He’d gotten along fine without a name until Patton had used it. Sweet, naïve Patton, who would never understand how his misguided efforts only hurt Thomas more.

“Logan, are you okay?”

Logic stared at Virgil. “Why do you all keep asking that?”

“Because I think you aren’t. Not completely.” It was Thomas talking now. Thomas. Thomas, trying to find emotions somewhere in Logic. What was wrong with them all? What was wrong with him?

“Is it the room, buddy? Is that what’s happening?” Thomas reached out. “Logan, talk to us. This isn’t like you.”

His room. His room would have detrimental effects on the others at some point. Or did they have to be detrimental? Maybe they could be positive. Maybe they could work everything out. Maybe they would see that Logic was right, Logic was sound, Logic knew what to do.

Logan didn’t know what to do.

“I do not believe the room is affecting me infinitesimally.”

Patton giggled. “Logan, you used it wrong again.”

Did he?

“Be quiet,” Logic snapped. “If I use it that way, it’s correct.”

“Whoa, dude. You’re acting fishier than the kraken’s crack.” Roman held up his hands. “Did we do something? You sure the room isn’t tying your tie in knots, Teach?”

Logic adjusted his glasses. “Maybe it is taking away a bit of my filter. I have never been one for softening the truth.”

“That’s not the truth,” Thomas argued. “That can’t be. Logan, I know you, and I know you’re fond of us. You wouldn’t say this stuff normally.”

“This is all wrong.” It was the first time Virgil had spoken up, and his voice was mouse-quiet. He coughed and spoke louder. “This is wrong. The room’s affecting us, we need to go.”

“The room is not affecting anyone. I have everything under control.” Logic tried his best to look reassuring, though Virgil seemed unconvinced. “Besides, maybe a bit more logic in your systems would do you all some good.”

“Hey!” Thomas yelled. “Pump the breaks, Logan!”

Sorry.

“What? I merely spoke facts.”

“Pump. Those. Breaks.” Thomas glared at Logic, who knew better than to speak again. “Good. Now, I don’t know what’s going on with you, but you can at least agree there’s a logical possibility of some interference due to your room’s influence. Can you please calm down and help us out?”

Calm down? He was calm. He was calmer than he had ever been in his life. He felt six feet underwater, floating, removed from everything.

“Yes,” Logan said, resisting the urge to sneer.

“Great! Fantastic. We’re getting somewhere.” Thomas looked at Creativity. “Roman, how are you feeling?”

“A little more subdued,” Creativity admitted. Logic supposed he should have guessed that—the side hadn’t sung a single one of the songs now decorating his shirt. “Other than that, I’m pretty glittery, friendo.”

“Patton?”

Morality shrugged and Logic could have sworn he actually wavered—blinked out of existence and back into it again. “I dunno, Thomas,” he said, and his voice was flat. “Just kinda eh.”

“Could you be more specific?” Logic asked. “I have a natural curiosity in these things.”

“Don’t badger the witness,” Thomas chided.

“He has information.”

“He gave you information.”

“Wobbly, weird, vague information that’s as slippery and unsubstantial as the rest of him!”

Morality made a little sad sound in his throat. Logic waited for the unwelcome pang of regret, but none came. If Morality couldn’t handle scrutiny, that was his problem.

“Logan.” Thomas didn’t add anything else. His gaze was filled with disappointment.

That got a pang. A hard one.

“And how about our favorite Dark Knight?” Creativity asked, turning to Anxiety. Anxiety, who had his hood pulled over his hair and his hands tapping at his knees. He was anxious, that much was clear, but Logic didn’t know if it stemmed from the tension in the conversation or the atmosphere at large. He had hoped—listen to him, he had believed, not hoped, hoping was for dreamers like Creativity—he had believed that his room would calm the side down. Apparently that was asking too much from the perpetual worrywart.

“I’m fine,” Anxiety said.

Or tried to say.

But the words never made a sound.

Logic looked to the others. He definitely wasn’t imagining this—they looked as shocked as he was. Anxiety blinked a few times. “Hey!” he said. Again, his mouth moved soundlessly. His fingers flew to his lips and he poked at them, panic growing on his face.

“Logan?” Thomas asked. That name—he was sick of that name!

“Anxiety,” Logic said in a low voice. “What is happening?”

Anxiety said a flurry of soundless words Logic couldn’t decipher.

“I don’t think he knows,” Morality translated. “He seems pretty panicked.”

“Write something,” Creativity offered. “Is there a pen?”

Logic tossed Anxiety a pen, who caught it and quickly scribbled down I don’t know what’s happening, I can’t talk in scratchy, thin handwriting. All over a group of sticky notes about bears, Logic noted. Thomas had better not need to remember the eating habits of bears in the near future.

“You can’t talk?” Morality frowned, and there—there it was again. His whole form jumped like he had a broken connection. Logic looked to the others. No one seemed alarmed.

“This is very disconcerting,” Logic said. He didn’t know what he was referring to. At this point, it could be everything from the moment he joined this frivolous conversation.

“Tell me about it!” Thomas yelled. “Virgil’s mute! And why do you think that is? Logan, you’re shutting him up, whether you mean to or not! Your room is doing this!”

“As much as his endlessly depressing comments drive me insane,” Creativity agreed, “I would hardly wish our dear Sweeney Odd to be silenced. Logan, can’t you stop?”

“It’s Logic,” Logic corrected stiffly. “And I do not know what has happened to Anxiety. I have no way of stopping it.”

Thomas stared at Logic with that same confused frown. “Well, surely the solution is to get out of the room? It caused this. Out of it, we could regroup and think of a solution while we’re not being…influenced.”

Anxiety nodded vehemently.

Logan knew they needed to leave. Everything was wrong, going wrong, he hadn’t expected it to be this bad—

“No.”

There was a moment of dead silence. Morality reached for a book and it slipped through his grasp, his face growing pale. Anxiety pulled his knees up to his chest and took a deep breath. Creativity looked at Logic with a strange expression, a guarded expression, like Logic was the Dragon Witch. An enemy he was prepared to fight.

“Logan…” Thomas whispered.

“Stop calling me that!” Logic blurted out. “I am Logic!“

“Logic. Buddy.” Thomas spoke like he was confronting a wild animal. “You need to get us out. The room is messing with your head and—”

“It’s my room, Thomas.” Logic felt a coldness steal over him. “Maybe I’m not turning into some kind of enemy. Maybe this is who I am.”

Morality flickered. Longer and slower this time. It took him a moment to fade back into view. “That’s not who you are. You’re our friend.”

“Am I?” Logic felt everything he’d ever suppressed rise in a tide of anger. “To the best of my knowledge, friends listen to each other, and you have never listened to me. You pretend you need my help, but in the end, your own petty squabbles get in the way of everything. And you act as though this is problem-solving! There is no glory in solving problems you cause! You patch up holes, then the patches get holes and you patch up those holes. But it can’t keep working. You are in a loop. You are in an unbreakable cycle and it is because you believe you can solve every problem with a catchy song and talking about feelings. Thomas, we are not living on Sesame Street. We are living in the real world. The real, harsh, logical world that you are not prepared for, because you would rather hide in your emotions than face the truth!”

Logic closed his eyes. He didn’t want to see their faces.

“I’m tired of playing pretend with you and your sock puppets. I’m tired of doing things your way and hoping for the slightest ounce of recognition. I’m tired of being Logan. I’m Logic, and I’m doing things my way, and we’re staying in my room as long as it takes for you to see sense and know that I. Am. Right.“

He hated every word he said. He hated every word that came out of his mouth, because they weren’t really for Patton and Roman and Virgil and Thomas. They were for Logan. It was a message from Logic to Logan. And if he could make the other sides listen, if he could make them see the light, maybe he could reconcile all the parts of himself and make himself listen as well.

He knew he needed to be emotionless. But he felt a different way. That’s what Roman had talked about, right? The difference between knowing and believing. He couldn’t logic his way into believing that repression was the best idea. He tried and tried but the walls were always purple.

Logic could logic his way through anything.

Logic always knew what was best.

Logan failed to be Logic.

Logic was better than Logan.

They would all see that, eventually. Once they got over their petty emotions about the whole situation, they would understand. Logic needed to be in charge.

Even if right now, they all looked about to cry.

Was that his fault?

He didn’t know anymore.

His room was closing around him, and everything was leaking out.

Anxiety scribbled frantically on a few sticky notes and stuck them on the wall.

Let us out.

You don’t know what you’re doing.

Logan Logic please stop.

Thomas wordlessly mouthed the same things. Logic didn’t think his host had been silenced forcefully. Maybe he couldn’t find his voice. Maybe Logic couldn’t hear him anymore.

Morality pulled his hoodie tighter around his shoulders. The hoodie Logic gave him. The hoodie he always kept around his shoulders and cleaned every week.

Creativity, almost automatically, reached for his sword.

Despite himself, Logic took a step back.

“No!” Creativity said to himself. The sword disappeared. “Logan, it’s okay. I’m not going to fight you on this. I know as well as you do that this is not the answer. You’re the one always on us about repression, right? Well, forcing us to listen to you by silencing Virgil is repression. You can’t just force out emotional thoughts and hope they’ll go away. You have to work with us, not against us.”

“I can’t,” Logic said.

“Try.”

“I can’t. Emotions are…unproductive.”

“But they’re there. They’re not going away. You can’t force emotions out of your head, Logan.” Creativity Roman reached out, face full of pain. “You always have such good advice, you know. I don’t know what I’m doing. But you do. You helped all of us. You should take your own advice and accept every part of yourself.” He sighed. “Even the parts that are messy, or strange, or unproductive.”

Logic stared at Creativity and for a second something stirred deep within him, like a bottle bobbing to the surface of the ocean. Then a wind passed over him, cold and dark, and everything sunk.

“It’s my job,” he said coldly. “I am Logic and that is my job.”

“I am Creativity and that is mine,” Creativity mimicked. “But you know I’m more than that, right? I have my own dreams, my own struggles, my own life. I can’t pretend I know exactly how this works but I know I’m me. And you’re you.”

Logic shook his head slightly.

“Look at Virgil.” Anxiety winced at the sudden attention. “He’s Anxiety, sure, but he’s not just Anxiety. He’s our friend. He’s more than just a part of Thomas, and treating him like he is would be treating him like—” Creativity glanced away. “Like a bad guy.”

Anxiety folded into himself but gave Creativity a small smile.

Logan is the bad guy here.

“You hate me,” Logic blurted out, staring at Creativity. “Why are you doing this?”

Creativity’s eyes widened and something in them broke. “What? I don’t hate you, Logan. We don’t always get along, but you’re one of us.”

“We’re friends,” Thomas added, finally finding his voice.

Anxiety gave him a lopsided half-smile and shrugged in agreement.

“Family,” Morality said with all this warmth and where was this coming from, they were supposed to hate him, why were they looking at him like he was normal, like he wasn’t defective?

“You’re all wrong,” Logic said matter-of-factly, because the fact of the matter was, they were all inhibited by bias and emotion. Only he saw things clearly.

“Maybe we are,” Thomas admitted. “Or maybe you are.”

“I am never wrong. I do not make mistakes.”

Anxiety snorted loudly and affectionately. He looked at Logic like looking at a kid who had stolen from a cookie jar. It was patronizing and it was pathetic.

“Shut up,” he told Anxiety, even though Anxiety was silent.

“Shut up,” he told Creativity, who flinched but met his gaze.

“Shut up,” he told Morality, who just sighed.

“We have to stay,” he told Thomas. “There is no other way.”

And they listened. They had to. Nobody could speak and mess it up with foolish emotions or insecurities. It was perfect. It was everything Logic had asked for, everything he ever wanted.

Wasn’t it?

“I can’t stay, Logic.”

Logic looked to Morality, who smiled sadly and flickered. For a terrifying second there was just curtains and books before Morality reappeared.

“What?” Logic asked. “Morality, you have to.”

“But I can’t.” Morality held up his hands and Logic saw they were shimmering and translucent. He heard a gasp from someone but couldn’t tear his eyes away. “This is the opposite of me, Lo. This room. It’s the same for you, but you left my room in time. If I don’t leave, I’ll vanish.”

“You can’t leave me here,” Logic argued. “You need to listen.”

“I can’t listen to you.” Morality’s eyes widened. “I want to, but I can’t. Not now. Not here.”

Of course. Of course Morality didn’t listen. Of course one of them had to ignore him, had to undermine his authority. He should have expected no less. Doubtless the flickering was another of Morality’s tricks to get him to lower his guard. Logic steeled himself. He couldn’t let Morality leave.

Morality giggled blankly and waved his cat paws. “This is quite a cat-astrophe, huh?”

“Patton.” Creativity stepped forward. “Patton, you need to leave.”

“I can’t until he lets me.” Morality looked at Logic. “Please let us leave, Lo.”

Let them leave. Let them leave. Let them leave.

“Just a moment,” Thomas argued. “Give him a moment in my house. We can keep talking about this but we need to keep him safe.”

Let them leave, let them leave, why aren’t you letting them leave—

There was a thud from the stairs. Anxiety had thrown a book at the wall. His knees were pulled up to his chest and his hands were shaking.

This had to be a trick. He couldn’t let down his guard. He couldn’t let Morality’s puppy-dog eyes manipulate him into letting them go.

“Logan, it’s okay.” Morality gave him a soft smile. “I get it. Everything will be okay.”

“Shut up!” Logic snapped. “I told you to listen. Stop making up excuses, Morality.”

Morality bit his lip.

And then his whole body shuddered and skipped a few beats and faded and stammered and there was nobody there. There was just a few books and a window. Silence where a voice used to be, emptiness in the spot where his hoodie rested on his shoulders.

“Patton!“

Logan heard the yell and assumed it had been Thomas or Roman. A few seconds later, he realized it came from him. Logan.

“Patton,” he repeated. “Patton!”

“Where did he go?” Roman said sharply. “Logan, where did he go?”

“I don’t know!” Logan was too confused to suppress the waver in his voice. “I don’t know, I don’t, I—”

“Logan.” Thomas stared at Logan. “Calm down. We can’t get anywhere if you’re freaking out.”

“I’m perfectly calm!” Logic Logan Logic Logan tried to smile, but his face stretched wrongly and he felt waves crash over top of him. “I’m fine!”

“Logan, breathe—”

“Shut up, I’m fine!” he snapped, shoving everything down and yanking a lid closed on his panic. There was no time for this. “What should we do?”

“We need to leave,” Thomas said. “Now more than ever.”

Roman nodded. “Get us out, Logan.”

“But what about Patton—”

“We’ll find him. I promise.” Thomas spoke with certainty. Logan didn’t know where it was coming from. “Now, we have to go.”

Logan looked at their encouraging faces. Thomas smiled, Roman drew himself up taller, and even Virgil gave him a thumbs up. Patton’s spot remained empty.

“It’s always abrupt when I leave,” Logan admitted. “Be ready for that.”

“We’ve got you,” Thomas said. “You’ll be okay.”

He wasn’t talking about himself.

Well, maybe he was.

Logan nodded and closed his eyes. He felt himself sink into the ocean surrounding him and thoughts rose, unbidden, to the surface. Why do you listen to them? Don’t give away your advantage for a simple trick. Maybe without Morality, you’ll have more control.

Patton’s shocked face sprung to mind.

It opened something within him and a flood of memories hit him at once.

”Hey! We have the same glasses!”

“You’re so smart, you could solve anything!”

“With you, I’m always home!”

“Logan, can you stop? Please?”

Patton was the best of all of them. Patton deserved the world. He had done so much and been so kind. Logan would save him or die trying.

He reached and found three shattered strings, muted and trembling. A purple yarn strand, a beautiful red ribbon, and a neat white string. He wrapped them around his hand like a puppetmaster and he sunk, taking them along.

The space beneath his room seemed larger and emptier than before. He felt cold laughter sink into his skin, and knew if he let go he wouldn’t find his way to the surface. Thoughts spun around him.

Is Logan okay?

Is Patton okay?

Will we be okay?

And then, a voice from deep within.

Is that them?

If Logan had a mouth, he would have laughed with relief. If he had eyes, he’d have cried.

Instead, he just reached over and tied a bright blue string around himself.

And pulled them, reached for them, flew into the sun.

Logan rose in the center of Thomas’ room, his usual spot. Roman rose, Virgil rose, Thomas rose—and Patton rose. Patton. Patton was okay.

Logan felt relief and guilt crush him at the same time.

“Pat!” Virgil yelled, his voice too loud but so welcome. “You’re okay!”

“Of course I am, kiddo!” Patton shrugged and smiled. “I pulled myself out before I completely disappeared. I’m sorry if you were worried.”

“It’s great to see you, Padre.” Roman’s smile seemed to glow.

“Thank goodness,” Thomas said. “That could have been really bad, if Logan—”

He stopped himself, but Logan heard the unsaid words.

If Logan hadn’t let them leave. If Logan had ignored Patton’s problem. If Logan had become what he almost did.

They hated him. They had to. That was just logical. He had worn out his welcome and put them in danger, and now they would lock him in the room he loved so much. They’d stop pretending to be his friends and stop pretending they cared about the defective robot in the corner. They’d shun him, and he deserved that, he knew he did, so why did it hurt so much?

It had to happen. He’d messed up. He’d been a fool.

Patton hated him.

Patton—Logan almost gasped as a hot streak of pain stabbed his chest. He couldn’t imagine a world where Patton hated him.

That was reality now. He would have to deal.

“Logan.” Roman’s eyes were hard. “Logan, we need to talk. What was that?”

They hate you they hate you theyhateyoutheyhateyoutheyhateyou—

“Logan!” Thomas said. “Are you alright?”

Logan noted with some corner of his mind that his hands were shaking and his legs were growing weaker. He felt he would collapse. He thought he might faint and die right there. Black spots crowded his vision and he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t look at their faces—and maybe if he told them sorry they wouldn’t hurt him, but he knew they would, he knew he deserved all of this.

He was such a master of words and he couldn’t even talk his way out of this—he couldn’t even strike a deal to keep his job or keep his life or maybe even his friendship.

You failed you failed youfailedyoufailedyoufailed—

Logan grasped at his chest but he couldn’t breathe, he was about to cry or collapse or shatter into a million scratchy pieces digging into his lungs—

Someone was talking, their faces swum before him—

“I’m sorry,” he gasped out. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I know I messed up and I know you hate me but I’m sorry, I promise, I never meant for it to go that far, you can hate me and it’s fine, but I wanted you to know, I guess—I mean, I know it doesn’t mean much but I wanted to say it anyway because I’m pathetic like that and I don’t know what I’m doing—”

Logan felt the words tear from his mouth. He wasn’t even in control of his speech anymore, was he? Not in control of anything. The control he’d wrestled from the jaws of despair was gone, spilled on the floor and burned to ash.

But he didn’t deserve that control. He took his control and used it to hurt them. It made sense he had lost everything he cherished.

It was only fair. Only logical.

He really felt like he was about to die.

And then he heard someone speak.

“Four, seven, eight, Logan.”

Logan lifted his face to see Virgil staring intently at him. “What?” he whispered.

“Breathe. Four, seven, eight.”

Logan took a breath. Four seconds in, seven seconds hold, eight seconds out. And again, and again, and again.

“What do you see?” Virgil asked. “Five things.”

“You,” Logan managed to get through numb lips. “Roman. Thomas. Patton. The—the floor.”

“Four things you can feel.”

“My tie.” It was too tight around his neck. “The floor. My glasses, my shirt, my shoes.”

“Three things you can hear.”

“You. Um…the cars outside. Roman shifting position every three seconds.”

Roman flushed. “Yeah. Sorry.”

“Two things you can smell.”

Logan sniffed. “Thomas’ body odor and a lingering burning smell from the bread he overcooked yesterday.”

Thomas rubbed his nose. “Thanks, buddy.”

“And one thing you can taste?”

Logan licked his lips. Salt? Oh, crap. “Um…blood? It appears I bit my tongue at some point.”

“Right. Okay.” Virgil opened his palms. “How do you feel?”

“Better?” Logan suggested. And it wasn’t a lie. He still felt an undercurrent of anxiety, but it felt a little more manageable. “Thank you, Virgil,” he said with as much genuine gratitude as he could muster.

“No problem,” Virgil said, flushing at the compliment. “You do it for me all the time when I have panic attacks, so—”

“Oh, that wasn’t a panic attack.” Logan straightened his glasses and tie. “I simply became overwhelmed by the…emotions that resurface after traveling from my room. It was not that serious.”

Virgil snorted. “Cut the crap, Logan. You’re talking to the literal embodiment of anxiety. I know what a panic attack looks like.”

Logan opened his mouth to retort but couldn’t think of an argument. It was a panic attack. He, Logic, had a panic attack.

Wonderful.

“So, Logan.” Thomas spoke slowly and carefully, probably afraid a wrong word would set Logan off and get them locked in his room. “Can we talk?”

“Actually, I have some important…business…to attend to.” Logan waved his hand vaguely. “I think I’ll be going.”

“You can’t leave!” Roman burst out.

“I am fully capable of the act. Besides, I am hardly in the mood to be yelled at.”

“Yelled at?” Patton asked.

“Well, yes.” Logan looked around, confused. “I know people tend to yell when they are upset with someone—”

“Logan, we’re not mad at you!” Thomas said.

“You…aren’t?” This didn’t make sense. “But I thought you hated me. I mean, I made such a huge mistake! I hurt all of you! Especially Patton!”

Roman looked at Logan with warmth in his eyes. “No one hates you.”

“You jumped to a conclusion, Lo.” Virgil shrugged. “I should know. It’s what I do.”

“And of course we’re not mad,” Thomas promised. “We don’t want to yell at you. We just want to make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m… okay?”

After everything that happened, after everything he did, they just wanted to know if he was okay.

Logan felt a sob build up in his throat and he choked on it, trying to keep it down.

“It’s all right, Logan.” Patton smiled softly. “Let it out.”

And Logan did. He sunk to the ground, covering his face and crying. It was only a minute. He kept it to only a minute because it was humiliating to cry like this in front of the others. But for a minute he sobbed into his knees, and it felt a strange kind of great. It felt like a weight was lifted from his shoulders. It felt like he was washing all the ugliness and anger out of his system.

Then he shook himself, wiped his face, and stood up.

Everyone looked at him with pure affection and concern.

How could he ever believe they would hate him?

“Right.” Logan nodded. “I think we can agree we aren’t doing this again?”

“Definitely,” Virgil said.

“I second that,” Roman agreed.

Patton merely nodded and smiled.

“So, I think the question is, what do we do now?” Thomas looked around. “I still feel kinda bad.”

“That’s okay.” Logan didn’t even think about what he was saying. He just spoke. “Emotions are part of the deal. However you’re feeling, it’s completely normal. Emotions aren’t logical and that’s—that’s okay.”

Thomas smiled slowly. “What brought this on, Logan?”

“A world without emotions is…” Logan glanced at Patton and looked away. “Less helpful than I thought it would be.”

Roman nodded. “Thank you for that, Logan. I know this was a hard quest for you, and I’m proud that you faced your dilemma.”

“Same here.” Virgil pulled at his sleeve. “Lo, you can always talk to us, okay? We wanna help out when you feel bad.”

“Okay,” Logan said. “I can’t promise I won’t take that back in twenty minutes, but I’ll try.”

“Good enough for now,” Thomas said. “Thanks, guys. Truly. Roman, thanks for keeping us moving.”

“It was my pleasure,” Roman said. “I am very energetic.”

“Virgil, thanks for being solid during this.”

“I’m freaking out internally but okay.”

“Logan.” Thomas smiled. “Thanks for opening up to us. It was really brave.”

Logan looked away and tried not to blush at the compliment. “If emotions aren’t going away, I might as well try work with them.”

“Exactly. You really are so smart.”

Logan smiled, just a bit.

“Now, guys, I think we’re done here—”

“Wait.” Logan felt himself freeze, but he didn’t take it back. “Wait, guys. I need to say something.”

“Yeah?” Roman asked.

He glanced at Virgil’s supportive face and Thomas’ smiling one, before settling on Patton. Patton, who’d been unusually quiet. Patton, who he’d hurt and suppressed. Patton, who he had so much to say to and so little words to say them.

“Patton.”

Patton looked a little surprised. “Yeah, Lo?”

“Um…” Logan clasped his hands behind his back and took a deep breath. “What do you call an alligator in a vest?”

“What?” Patton frowned.

“An investigator.”

Patton blinked. “Did you just—”

“What do you get when you cross a watermelon and a dog? A melon-collie. What did one eye say to the other? Between you and me, something smells.”

Patton giggled. “Logan! Are you actually—”

Logan smiled shyly. “Why couldn’t the pony sing in the choir? He was a little horse!”

Patton laughed this time, a full-belly laugh that sent warmth all through Logan. “Good one! Why shouldn’t you believe an atom?”

“Why not?” Logan asked.

“Because they make up everything!”

Logan snickered, at both the terrible pun and the triumphant look on Patton’s face. “Wow, Patton. You really have this down to a science.“

“What can I say? I love inventing new puns!” Patton smiled and placed his hands on his hips. “I should file a Patton-t.“

“I think the odds of anyone appreciating these are low.” Logan waited a second, then smiled. “Gan.”

“Lo-gan. Logan.” Patton laughed. “Logan!”

Thomas beamed. “This is so wholesome.”

“I have more puns,” Logan suggested. “We could keep doing this all day. It might make you feel better.”

“Sounds practically perfect!” Patton clapped his hands together. “Thomas, I’m afraid we have plans for a pun-tastic afternoon. Can we go?”

“Of course!” Thomas waved. “Logan, Patton, I hope you have fun. And all of you, thanks. From the bottom of my heart.”

“You’re welcome,” Logan said warmly. “It was tough, but in the end, we got there.”

“Wherever you go, Logan, I will follow.” Patton nodded. “Gan.”

Logan laughed, and all the Sides sunk down, to the Commons where Logan and Patton could make puns, and Virgil could listen to music, and Roman could sing the entire soundtrack of Hamilton.

Thomas posted the video, one dilemma seen through to its conclusion, several more already clamoring at the horizon.

Nothing was perfect. Nothing was even close. They were sad and scared and angry and each their own special mess.

But they had each other.

And Logan was starting to believe that was enough.

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