#like yeah shits dangerous but u gotta ease peoples minds???

[soulsdontbreaktheybeeend]

Dessert delayed. (Part 1)

Arthur Fleck x You, Arthur Fleck x female reader

Summary: You attend to a christmas dinner at your parents place with your boyfriend Arthur Fleck. A certain situation makes you want to delay dessert.

Warnings: Fluff turns to smutty moments oopsie / only nsfw when somebody looks at your screen exactly that time you’re reading the word cock which I mention one single time.

Words: 2,182

I’ve never written a fanfic before in my entire life. Now it has happened. I had this idea stuck in my head and wanted to try writing it. English is not my first language, so I’m sorry for all the weird typos or time jumps. I’m so sorry if this is shit and really weird to read lmaoo. Let me know what you think, if you want to.

I don’t even know if someone’s gonna read this at all lol, but I’ve been having thoughts about a Part 2 including all the smut that follows after Arthur and you arrive at your shared apartment.

Okay so Part 1 here we gooo...

________

“Arthur, I’m ready. We can go!” You shout from the hallway, putting on your black coat and casually wrapping your red scarf around your throat.

No answer.

“Arth- “, you ask for him again, as you take a glimpse into your shared bedroom. He’s standing in front of the big mirror, fumbling nervously at his red vest.

You know Arthur Fleck well. You can tell he’s having trouble believing that your parents would actually approve the fact of you being with him. You can tell his mind is racing with thoughts of disbelief, anxiety creeping up on him more and more by the hour. You had been trying to ease his mind all afternoon, which would normally work pretty good, but you could tell that event has such an important meaning to him, you had only succeeded calming him with little impact. 

You’re standing in the doorway, leaning against its frame letting out a soft sigh. A smile growing on your lips as you approach him. You take a look at him through the mirror, letting your gaze fall over him, from his hair that’s been slicked back, to his red dress pants and down to his dress shoes and back up to meet his insecure eyes.

“Arthur... darling, they’re going to love you!”, You wrap your arms around his slender form from behind, stopping his fumbling hands to interlace them with your own, gently stroking them with your thumbs. “I know, I do.”, you whisper, grinning, leaning the side of your head against his shoulder, again searching for a smile of his in the mirror, gladly finding it.

You grasp for his waist and turn him towards you, placing a tender kiss on his lips. “Come on baby, we gotta go. Otherwise we’re going to miss the train.” you let him know kindly, as you make a move away from him with the intention of handing him his red jacket. 

Arthur grips your wrist and pulls you back to his chest, smashing his lips against yours kissing you deeply. You melt into the kiss and can’t help but let out a soft moan, as the sensation of his demanding lips struck through your body.

A short moment you think about not leaving your apartment at all. Since you weren’t really fond of family gatherings, at least not with the family of yours.

 Finding it hard to break the kiss, but you really need to catch this train. 

“Arthur... we really need to go.”, you purr against his mouth.

“Mmhh alright.” he returns persuaded.

You make your way over to your parents home, Arthur still not speaking that much. Spending more time in his head, trying to prepare himself for the worst of scenarios.

At the beginning of your relationship, Arthur had had a hard time believing you were really his. Had he doubted your real presence so many times. Wouldn’t be the first time you were imagining a woman, he thought to himself at some nights. With the affection you had given him since day one, you were glad he started to open up to you more and more. The man you loved, hiding a number of layers about his truest feelings, that even he had given up on counting.

So complex in every way. You were more than willing to unravel every single one of them no matter how many more you would find underneath the layer you just had discovered. You managed to evolve this beautiful strong bond between the both of you, for no-one else to see but you.

As much as he held this bond close to him, remembering it every so often through his hard days of work. You were his home. His only safe place.

Walking the streets of Gotham without you by his side, made him feel insecure in every way. Too much cruelty soiling the streets of Gotham.

Nearly every day this City had some new ugly plan secretly waiting for him in one of those dark alleys, people calling him a freak more often than by his actual name. He’d hoped so much, your parents wouldn’t think of him the same way those people do. What if they think he’s freak, too? Would they talk you into believing he’s not enough for you, having you leave him? He couldn’t blame himself, as he had so little to offer. Always short on money, no big apartment, no expensive gifts, not even for Christmas. All he had to offer was his unconditional love for you, he’d hoped so dearly would be enough for you to keep you by his side until his last breath. Little did he know that his love was more than enough. You tried to show him everyday anew. So much enough it hurt at times and his love being everything you could ever wish for.

“It’s right over here.”, moving your right arm up and pointing your index finger at an old grey house in front of you, while your left arm is wrapped around Arthurs lower back.

The closer you two get to the door of the apartment, the closer he’s pulling you to his body. Fearing for the worst, it could be the last time to hold onto your soft form. You notice him pulling you closer to his side. Taking a minute before ringing the doorbell, you cup his cheeks, caressing them softly with your thumbs.

Searching his eyes before you speak up softly, “I understand you’re being nervous about meeting them, baby. It’s gonna be fine, I’m here with you and if at any point you’d rather choose to leave, give me the signal and we’re out of there in a second.” 

You kiss his cheek and add, “You look very handsome tonight, Mr. Fleck.” Ringing the doorbell, you earn one of his genuine smiles, you cherrished so deeply.

You made it more than half through dinner, as your aunt asks for another bottle of wine. In your thoughts you thank your aunt for that. You could go for another glass of wine, too. You take the opportunity to catch a moment with Arthur alone, signalizing him to come with you to the kitchen. 

As soon as you get to the kitchen, Arthur leans against the counter and lets out a breath through his nostrils. Not unnoticed by you, you turn around to face him, as you whisper, “I know.. it’s exhausting.” Giving him an understanding smile, while stepping closer to him, wrapping your arms around his lower back, letting your body fall into his. “No, they seem nice. It’s just I.. All of this is new to me, you know.” he tells you, lifting his forehead.

He had some nice conversations with your parents, being the polite and kind man he is. Even throwing in a joke now and then. You’re kind of relieved your aunt is having one of her more quiet days. You wouldn’t fear your parents to dislike Arthur, but not so much with your aunt. Not that it would bother you what she thinks. But you feared her intruding questions for Arthur. 

You linger in his arms for another moment, before you whisper, “Well, you’re doing great, baby.”, giving him a sweet kiss, assuring him so.

With the bottle of wine in your hand you make your way back to the living room, Arthur walking next to you. He grabs your chair for you to sit down, pushing it closer to the table as you lower yourself onto it. “My my.. what a gentleman you got yourself there, Y/N.”, your aunt says with an astonished nod.

You pour yourself another glass of wine, feeling that she may be getting into her chatty mood. A proud smile appears on your face as you reply “Oh Arthur quite is, thank you!” You can barely finish your sentence as your aunt starts to blather. 

Oh no here we go.

You take a big swip of that wine, knowing she’s not going to stop shooting questions at Arthur very soon. You take a quick glimpse at Arthur, meeting his eyes. You can see him reading the I’m so sorry in your eyes. 

He’s smiling kindly at your aunt, trying to catch up with her fast pace of talking. You immediately want to make this situation any less stressing for him, so you slide your chair a bit closer to him, switching your hold on the glass of wine to your left hand, so you can reach down under the table with your right one.  Resting your hand on Arthurs thigh to show him he’s not alone in this.

You feel him tense under you touch, causing you to look up at him seeing him blush a little. You can’t help but give him a sly smile. You’re enjoying this way too much. 

Arthur quickly looks back to your aunts direction. He’s so eager to catch up and answer every question of your aunt, as she’s still shooting them at Arthur like there’s no tomorrow. Still lingering at the same point on his thigh you start to rub your thumb against the thin fabric of his dress pants, letting your hand slide up a bit ever so slowly. Your body sure feels warmer now. 

Maybe it’s caused by the wine. Or-

it’s the feeling of the soft fabric between your fingers, knowing where you’re going to place them next.

Your aunt shoots the next question, “Do you watch any tv shows, Arthur? I really like Murray Franklins Live Show! Do you know it?”

You speak up to fill in for Arthur, “Ooh yeah, Arthur-”

Your hand moving dangerously near to his crotch, you can feel his cock pressing slightly against the fabric, as you caress the spot near the zipper.

You continue, “you really enjoy Murrays Show, too-”

now reaching fully for his crotch, you finish your sentence, “don’t you, darling?” 

His leg starts to quiver at the sensation of your touch. He’s making a jerky movement as he squeezes your hand tightly, pushing it off of his crotch, down his thigh for relief. Arthur lost track to the blather of your aunt right at moment you laid your hand on his thigh. He tried really hard to continue listening, but your hand burning on his thigh was the only thing that his senses could focus on.

Your little game goes unnoticed by your family, as they chatter on. Your mother announces the dessert is going to be ready in a few minutes.

“Please excuse me for a minute.” Arthur says into the group. He’s leans over to you, “Y/N, could show me the way to the bathroom, please?”

“Sure, darling. I’ll show you.” You nod, walking out of the living room, having him following you. It wasn’t his intention to use the bathroom. You kind of knew, he wanted to talk to you about your behavior. You were out of sight from your family in the living room, when you pushed Arthur with his back to the wall, pressing your body against his. Arthur bit down hard on his lip to suppress a moan, as he felt your hand reach down between your bodies grabbing for the same spot he had pushed your hand away a few moments ago.

“Fuck... Y/N, wha- what’s gotten into you?” He manages to whisper as you tighten your grip between his legs, feeling he’s enjoying your tempting behavior as much as you are.

You start kissing up his neck, leaving wet traces going for his ealobe, nibbling at it softly, then whisper seductivley into his ear, “I think... we need to delay dessert.”

You had managed to come up with something to get your escape from the family gathering. Saying your goodbyes to everyone, your mother hugged the both of you with a frown, but mocking you “Well, you’re the ones missing out on dessert.”

 Oh you would get dessert. And a better one even.

Maybe you really have been drinking a bit too much. Though you knew you would be. Your love for family gatherings was as little as your faith in humanity. Very little to none at all existing.

The few people at the subway sharing your ride, giving you annoyed gazes at your behaviour. You’re giggling without a pause and can’t keep your hands off of Arthur, causing the other passengers turn their heads. You’re fumbling at the buttons of Arthurs red vest.

“Y/N, everyone’s staring at us.”, Arthur whispers, catching your hands into his, bringing them down to your own lap, obviously unfamiliar with the situation and attention it is seeking upon him, people noticing him. 

“I don’t care, baby. Everyone should see that you’re mine!” You manage to bubble out in a rather loud voice. 

Arthur couldn’t help but blush a little at your bold statement. Though he knew you were as deeply in love with him as he was with you, he had never heard you say such a thing in public before. For everyone to hear. He could acquire a taste for that. But it wasn’t just the fact that it was for everyone to hear, but also to see. To see him, having a beautiful looking woman like you clinging onto him like that. Despite from the arousal growing inside of him, it made him feel treasured and so proud.

[my-creative-hell]

Sick (Normal au)

Waking up slowly, Grave frowns and hums in concern as she notices Scarlet beside her. Though that wasn’t what was concerning, they had gone to sleep in the same bed. But Scarlet, someone Grave knew to always be cold, was now very warm, her skin pallid as she sleeps beside Grave.

Glowing in worry, Grave moves in the bed, shaking Scarlet gently in an attempt to wake her up, though Scarlet doesn’t stir, body heavy and limp in a deep sleep.

Feeling more worry flood through her, Grave shakes Scarlet more, starting to panic as Scarlet stirs slightly, a hushed whine escaping her, sounding groggy and disorientated.

Buzzing quietly, Grave continues to shake Scarlet gently, wanting to be able to help her as Scarlet seems to stir, weakly lifting one of her arms to cover her eyes, the world scorching itself into her sensitive retinas.

Opening her mouth, Grave quickly shuts it again as she realises she doesn’t know what to say to eased the situation, her worry making it impossible to form a coherent thought as Scarlet groans, trembling slightly.

Frowning, Grave kisses Scarlet gently, in hopes of healing whatever’s wrong. But Scarlet groans again, moving slightly as she shakes, her skin still pale and covered in a thin sheen of sweat.

Feeling confused, Grave gives her another kiss, glowing more as Scarlet coughs quietly, her eyes forcing themselves open sluggishly to look at Grave.

“But??? Why?” Grave questions softly, kissing Scarlet repeatedly in hoped something will work, not wanting her to be in pain any more. But Scarlet scrunches her face, whining in confusion as she stirs more, feeling groggy.

Frowning more, Grave thinks as she curls herself into a ball, feeling scared as Scarlet reaches for her weakly. She attempts to sit up, but her body seems too tired to even do that, leaving Scarlet to sink back down to the bed.

Grave pulls Scarlet into a hug, holding her gently as she shakes, feeling Scarlet lean into her as she struggles to keep herself awake, feeling groggy and disoriented.

Trying to comfort her, Grave strokes her hair softly, hearing Scarlet hum as she dozes slightly, her body not wanting to deal with the illness as Grave presses a gentle kiss to her forehead, some small tears forming in her eyes.

Interrupting them slightly, someone knocks quietly on the door to the room, forcing Grave to get up from the bed to answer it.

“Hello?” She questions, her voice quiet as she pulls the door open slightly, enough to see Lola standing outside of it.

“Oh good I am at the right place.” She comments, tapping her foot against the floor impatiently. Deciding against letting her in, Grave immediately closes the door in Lola’s face.

“Don’t you think that was a little rude?” Lola questions, scoffing softly as she continues to knock on the door.

“That’s a compliment compared to the way you treat me, dickhead.” Grave insults her in return, keeping the door closed.

“Look I’m not here to play catfight with you, alright?” Sighing, Lola lowers her voice as she speaks again.

“Mhm, s u r e you aren’t, Lola.” Grave responds, sounding sarcastic as she snorts in dull amusement.

“I’m really not. I heard Scarlet got sick.” Lola explains, her voice turning serious as she speaks now, making Grave hesitate.

“Come in.” She gives in, opening the door for Lola, despite not liking that she has to let her inside.

“Thank you.” Lola moves inside the room to sit beside Scarlet on the bed. “When did this happen?” She questions, looking to Grave for an answer.

“Today…” Grave explains, sitting down on the floor as she closes the door behind them, feeling more worried by the second.

Frowning, Lola moves to check Scarlet’s temperature, who has already fallen back asleep on the bed as Grave watches, curling into a ball as she fiddles with her fingers, unsure of what she could say.

“Well, the good news is it can be fixed.” Lola explains, sighing as she stands up from the bed.

“Really?” Lifting her head to look at Lola, Grave feels some excitement build at the idea that Scarlet can be helped, a tiny smile spreading on her face.

“Yup. Just gotta get some shit and find the dick who did this.” Lola explains, moving away from the bed.

“Yaaay.” Grave smiles, but its less happy as anger rises within her, making her glow in response.

“Pretty much. Coming with to catch em?” Lola questions, huffing quietly as she looks down at Scarlet.

“Of course, the fuck type of question is that?” Grave asks, standing up from the floor quickly.

“Just askin. Scarlet should be fine for a while so we can get it done and over with.” Lola explains, leading Grave outside with her.

“Gonna fight some assholes!” Grave exclaims softly, a small smile on her face as she follows Lola.

“Kill em maybe, depends on how much they annoy me.” Lola explains. “My cars outside.” She continues.

“Oh… we’re taking a car… c o o l.” Grave looks at Lola in confusion before noticing the car parked outside.

“Quicker than walking, and I’m sure you can agree we want to get this sorted as quick as we can.” Lola explains, unlocking the car for them both.

“I wasn’t talking about walking either, but this is cool too.” Grave explains, playing with her hands as she gets inside the car.

“Either way, we don’t wanna be too noticeable. The dudes who did this don’t play nice.” Lola explains, getting inside the car and placing the keys in the ignition.

“Oh really? I never knew.” Grave’s voice is dripping with sarcasm as she curls into herself.

“Look, I know you’re stressed and all but you don’t gotta lash out at me. I’m stressed too.” Lola counters, staring the car as Grave sighs, nodding

“Alright, sorry.” She apologises, half meaning it as Lola huffs quietly, starting to drive away.

“I know we don’t get along but I’ve been trying to lay off recently.” Lola explains, able to see Grave rocking gently in the corner of her eyes.

“T-That’s good…” Grave comments, her feet tapping carefully against the floor as Lola looks at her for a moment.

“Well it just makes sense given the… situation.” She explains, driving down the road quietly.

“Yeah… it sucks ass!” Grave explains, glowing in both good and bad energy as she watches the world go past them.

“Well yeah, there’s this… and you also are kind of dating my family.” Lola explains quietly, focusing her eyes on the road.

“Cuz we h o m e o f s e x u a l s.” Grave explains, feeling confused by Lola’s words, but not willing to question her on it.

“She really didn’t tell you anything, did she?” Lola questions, frowning as she looks to Grave.

“Nah… its fine though.” Grave explains, shaking her head as she looks out of the window, away from Lola.

“Well there’s some things you should know, and I can only assume Scarlet kept them from you for fear of being left.” Lola explains, sighing quietly as she focuses back onto the road.

“O-Okay…” Grave comments, biting on the string of her hoodie nervously, fiddling with her hands.

“Its only her being paranoid since she likes you so much…” Lola continues, huffing quietly. “Well I guess you should at least know my relationship with her.”

“I… sure, why not.” Grave agrees, trying to smile as Lola sighs, focusing on driving to their destination.

“I’m Scarlet’s sister. Twin sister, to be more precise about it.” She explains, sounding calm.

“T-That’s cool…” Grave comments, nodding as she prevents herself from asking questions, fearing being yelled at.

“I know it’s probably a lot to process, feel free to ask things.” Lola explains, flicking her eyes to glance at Grave quickly.

“A-Are you sure? I don’t wanna ask to many and bother you…” Grave argues softly, feeling confused.

“Nah, I don’t mind. We normally get questions so it’s not new.” Lola explains, snorting indifferently.

“That’s not related at all…” Grave argues, frowning as she shakes her head, thinking it through.

“Look, it wont bug me so go for it.” Lola continues, a small smile on her face as she looks to Grave.

“Why were you so mean to me most of the time? A-And why arte you even being nice to me?” Grave questions, frowning.

“…It’s a defence mechanism. Me and Scarlet… don’t have the safest life.” Lola begins, frowning as she stares out the windshield. “I don’t wanna bring people into it. If I’m a bitch, no one will ever like me. I’ll never make friends; never have anyone close enough to get hurt. But now… Scarlet’s in danger and… I don’t know what to do.” She admits, sighing softly.

“Oh…” Grave trails off, fiddling with her hands. “I-I’m sorry for asking.” She apologises.

“Its fine.” Lola reassures her, a small smile on her face. “It doesn’t really matter.” She continues.

“It does though!” Grave exclaims, frowning as she shakes her head in concern, watching as Lola sighs.

“Grave, look, once this is over I can go back to being hated and you can go back to hating me. It’s a win win.” Lola explains.

“Do you want that?” Grave questions, frowning more as she wraps herself into a ball, watching Lola shrug.

“Want or not, it doesn’t matter. Its what I know. Our mother hated us and left, and father is busy most of the time. Am I just supposed to let people get close?” Lola vents quietly.

“You could try it…” Grave explains, trying to smile as she thinks, glowing softly as Lola frowns.

“And if they get hurt? Then it’s my fault.” Lola frets, turning to look at Grave, slowing the car more.

“Nope! Its not your fault unless you hurt them yourself.” Grave explains, tapping her feet against the floor as Lola stops the car.

“Won’t I mess it up? I’m not good at this shit…” Lola continues, Grave seeing a genuinely distressed expression on her face for the first time in knowing her.

“I could help you!” Grave exclaims, holding herself back from holding Lola’s hand, unsure if she would want that.

“Why help me? Haven’t I kinda fucked this up already?” Lola questions, a sad smile on her face.

“W-We could always… try again? Only if you want to tho.” Grave offers, frowning as she looks away from Lola.

“I-I wouldn’t hate it…” Lola admits, looking at Grave slightly as she processes her words.

“Good!!! You wanna start now?” Grave questions, smiling sweetly at Lola as she parks the car,

“Lets start with getting the fix for Scarlet.” Lola explains, flashing Grave a genuine smile.

“Yeah, the sooner the better.” Agreeing, Grave clips outside of the car, glowing softly as Lola follows her, locking the car behind them. Stretching silently, Lola pulls out a gun from a hidden pocket in her clothes.

“Oh, shooty shooty.” Grave comments, wiggling as she looks at the building in front of them.

“Yup. I’m gonna shoot at the fuckers while you grab the antidote to the poison they managed to slip Scarlet.” Lola explains, smiling.

“I thought we were gonna yoink the antidote and then blow the whole place up but that’s easier.” Grave smiles in amusement as Lola points to a door in the building.

“The antidote is in the locked office pas that door in a safe, though I doubt that’ll be an issue for you.” Lola explains the route quickly.

“Good!!” Ceasing her glowing, Grave cuts the conversation short, running to the door as Lola snorts, firing a bullet upwards to gain the attention of the people inside.

“Its… an office. Totally unexpected.” Grave speaks sarcastically as she clips through the door, looking around the office as she notices a safe in the corner, faint sounds of shooting coming from outside.

Moving over to the safe, Grave quickly clips her hand inside, a loud shot sounding off outside before things go quiet.

Feeling worried, Grave quickly grabs the cylinder inside of the safe, clipping outside to see what is happening. As she gets outside, she can see bodies of some men strewn about, riddled with holes, though one seems to be holding a shotgun.

Frowning in concern, Grave hides the vial quickly, ceasing her glow as she looks around, seeing Lola’s feet from behind the car.

Deciding quickly, Grave runs over to the car, revealing Lola lying near it, turned away from Grave.

Moving to her, Grave shakes her gently, a worried frown on her face as Lola remains unconscious, the wound in her abdomen bleeding profusely.

“Oh yeah, that’s kinda really fucking bad.” Grave frets, glowing in concern as she notices Lola’s pale skin from all the lost blood.

Not hesitating, Grave presses a gentle healing kiss to the wound, hoping to help at least a little, watching in relief as the wound closes itself up, some life returning to Lola’s skin.

“Fuck yeah!” Smiling softly in relief, Grave keeps herself quiet as Lola shifts slightly, not yet waking up as a small frown appears on Grave’s face, gone as soon as it appeared.

“That’s fine, that’s great.” Reassuring herself, Grave opens the car door as Lola stirs slightly, seeming very groggy and disorientated. Unsure of whether to wait for Lola to wake up or just move now, Grave watches as Lola opens her eyes slightly.

“Uh… hi.” Grave waves quietly as Lola groans, feeling out of it as she struggles to focus.

“Grave?…” She questions, voice hushed and unsure as Grave nods in response, wanting to calm her.

“Yeah, you passed out. It wasn’t good.” Grave explains, trying to reassure Lola calmly.

“Did you get it?” Lola questions, whining as she attempts to sit herself up on the floor.

“You mean this? I dunno, maybe.” Grave pulls out the vial, holding it up for Lola to see and confirm.

“Then it’s worth it. That’ll help Scarlet.” Lola relaxes at the sight of the vial, nodding to confirm it is the correct one.

“Good! Do you think you can stand up or do you want me to carry you?” Grave questions, smiling gently.

“I think the second I try and get up I’m gonna pass out again.” Lola admits, a soft sigh escaping her.

“I’ll carry you then!” Grave exclaims, carefully picking Lola up, watching her close her eyes as she relaxes into her.

“I would ask you if we should just n y o o m back but… car.” Grave explains, putting Lola in the seat gently before getting in beside her.

“Can you drive?” Lola questions. “I’m still n the verge of passing out again.” She explains quietly.

“I can drive very well!!!” Grave reassures her, nodding as a soft glow spreads over her.

“Good…” Smiling, Lola leans into her seat in the car comfortably as Grave starts it up.

“Ssseatbelt…” Grave remembers, doing Lola’s for her as she starts to drive, speeding a reasonable amount as Lola struggles to stay awake in her seat.

Grave increases the speed slightly, but not too much for fear of hurting Lola, who is half asleep as she shifts in her seat to get comfortable. Giving up on being reasonable, Grave speeds faster, too worried about Scarlet’s health. Lola winces as the car moves quicker, but she soon relaxes back into the seat, dozing quietly.

“Sorry, Lola…” Apologising, Grave frowns softly, keeping her voice quiet as Lola hums in response, calming as she slips in and out of consciousness.

“We h e r e!” Grave exclaims, pulling up in front of the house and clipping outside of the car excitedly, Lola stirring slightly, though her movements seem sluggish.

Thinking, Grave carefully picks Lola up out of the car, carrying her inside as Lola curls into herself, eyes opening slightly to watch Grave.

“Hi…” Smiling softly, Grave glows as Lola wakes up more, a small smile of her own gracing her face.

“Hey…” She answers quietly, still sounding slightly groggy as she speaks, voice low and tired.

“I’m gonna give Scarlet the antidote, you still want me to carry you?” Grave questions, giggling softly.

“You can leave me down here, Scarlet’s the priority.” Lola explains, smiling up at Grave as she speaks.

“O-Okay…” Grave agrees, placing Lola down carefully as she moves upstairs to Scarlet, feeling nervous as she glows.

Opening Scarlet’s room, Grave can see that she is still asleep in her bed, her skin pale and sickly as she trembles.

“She’s gonna be fine soon, its okay.” Grave reassures herself, keeping quiet as she administers the vial of antidote to Scarlet, watching some colour return to her face as she relaxes into the bed.

Grave glows happily, wanting to give Scarlet kisses as she waits for her to wake up, Scarlet shifting slightly in the bed as she stirs from sleep.

Squeaking happily, Grave’s feet tap against the floor as Scarlet scrunches her face up, her eyes opening a tiny bit as she starts to wake up more.

Grave opts to sit beside Scarlet on the bed, giving her space as she smiles, fiddling with her hands as Scarlet opens her eyes more to look around, feeling groggy and weak.

“H-Hi…” Waving, Grave gently pokes Scarlet’s nose in greeting as she hushes her voice, watching Scarlet smile.

“Hiya…” She responds quietly, leaning into the gentle touch as Grave pulls her into a hug, littering her face with love filled kisses.

“Are you okay?” Scarlet questions happily, a light giggle coming from her at the affection, giving Grave a gentle kiss of her own.

“Of course I am! A-Are you okay?” Grave squeaks as she returns the question, giving Scarlet a gentle kiss.

“I’m still tired and weak, but I think I’ll be okay…” Scarlet explains, smiling tiredly as she leans into Grave.

“Good! I like it when you’re okay.” Grave explains, smiling as she presses a soft kiss to Scarlet’s forehead, hearing her hum as she closes her eyes, hiding in Grave comfortably.

“I love you…” Grave comments, holding Scarlet in her arms, glowing softly in happiness as she speaks.

“I love you too…” Scarlet returns the sentiment quietly, nuzzling into Grave’s warm body as she grows sleepy.

“Wanna pretend all this never happened and we just hung out all day?” Grave offers, feeling Scarlet nod as she pulls her in to cuddle.

Returning the cuddle, Grave presses one more gentle kiss to Scarlet’s forehead as she falls asleep in her arms, following behind swiftly.

[rrrawrf-writes]

closet pt ii

this one’s for @lux-scriptum​, i hope u had a good sleep~

part one || part two || part three

tw: minor violence, threatening, claustrophobia, cursing

Forty-eight hours.

Winn shivered, running his hands down his bare arms. The female guard stayed sitting on the stairs across the room, not even looking up from her phone.

Shivering again, Winn anxiously paced the limits of the closet. He mentally tracked Rembrandt as the man went upstairs - and kept going up. Winn ground his teeth together, looking towards the doorframe. If he -

But Rembrandt stopped at the door to the room Rhiannon was in, and stayed there for only a few moments, next to whoever was watching Winn’s girlfriend. She crossed the room to the, both, and Winn tensed - but then, a moment later, Rembrandt turned away.

Winn let out a hiss, but he didn’t relax until Rembrandt had walked out of the building, down the street, into some kind of car, and drove away, finally leaving the uppermost radius of Winn’s powers.

Dropping to the floor, Winn let out a shaky breath, curling his knees up to his chest. He could do this. He had to. Forty-eight hours wasn’t very long. He had enough room to lay out. Winn needed to catch up on his sleep anyway, and his neighbor would watchi his animals.

He had to do this. He had to, for Rhiannon.

--

Winn didn’t get very much sleep at all. There was no door to close him in, and he couldn’t decide if that made his situation better or worse. He’d physically never been able to leave his cell at the PCC, not unless it was at the whims of the guards, but all that kept him in this prison was the knowledge that leaving would put Rhiannon in danger.

There were no windows in the basement; the only exit was the stairs. Winn tried to keep track of the time, but after the second instance he startled awake from a doze, his heart pounding, he had no idea how long he’d been stuck in the closet.

He blinked, and dragged a hand through his hair. What had woken him up -

Rhiannon. She’d left her room. Gone to a smaller one - but by the time he managed to gather up and refocus his power more accurately, she was walking back from the smaller one. The toilet, he realized. She’d only gone to use the toilet.

He pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes, until stars bloomed behind his eyelids. “Hey.”

The woman - now more comfortable in a folding chair at a card table - didn’t look up from her book. Winn pushed up to his feet. “Hey,” he repeated.

She just scowled more intently at her book. Winn rubbed the side of his face. Had it gotten colder? “Hey, I gotta take a piss.”

She grunted. “Go ahead.”

The closest bathroom was upstairs. Winn toed the line separating the closet from the rest of the basement. “So I can go up?”

Finally, she looked up at him. Her sharp gaze made Winn take a step back from the open doorway. “I didn’t say that.”

Winn scoffed. “So, what, am I s’posed to piss myself?”

Shrugging, the woman went back to her reading. “If that’s what you gotta do.”

Winn fidgeted, looking around the closet. This was stupid. “Look, I’ll put myself right back in here -” “You step one toe outside of that closet, your girlfriend gets shot in the head.”

Winn froze. His thoughts darted right back to Rhiannon, four stories up, and now back on her bed. With her guard right next door, and armed.

Scowling, Winn slumped against the wall. “You got a bottle, or something?”

“Shoulda thought of that yourself,” the female guard drawled, flipping a page in her book.

Winn stared at her. “Fuckin’ prison was better than this.”

“Why didn’t you stay behind bars, then, if you liked it so much?”

Winn had known the newcomer was coming downstairs, but his stomach sank at the familiar voice. He tensed as he recognized Jonas Huntington, an oversized lackey of Rembrandt’s that Winn really hoped had died by now.

He licked his lips nervously. Jonas’ favorite hobby was kicking people when they were down.

“Missed that ugly face of yours,” Winn said. “Needed to see something to remind me my life’s not completely horrid.”

Jonas sneered at him. Scoffing in disgust, he turned to the woman. “You can go home.”

“What time is it?” Winn asked. No one answered him.

“Thanks, Huntington, but I gotta wait for my ride,” the woman said. Jonas shrugged and went to the wall, grabbing a second metal folding chair from where it had been propped up against the cement. He undid the button on his sleek black suit jacket before he sat.

Winn waited for him to get comfortable before he spoke up again. “You really still doing the grunt work for that bastard?”

“Shut up, Vinn.”

“Winn. Still can’t even get my name right.” Sticking his hands in his pockets, Winn tried to ignore how cold he was and eyed Jonas. “Look at you, wearing the same kinda monkey suit Remy does. Fuck, ‘least before, you weren’t this bad of a copycat suck-up.”

The female thug arched her eyebrows over at Jonas, who was stoically doing his best to ignore Winn, poking at his phone.

Winn probably shouldn’t needle him. It would only end in blows.

He didn’t care.

“What’s the matter, Remy-two?” Winn asked with a sneer. “Six years without anyone intelligent to talk to, and you forget all your words except, ‘may I wipe your arse, sir’?”

That was it. Jonas shoved his chair back from the table with a scraping noise, and the woman set down her book, finally finding something more interesting.

That was the moment Winn realized he had nowhere to run.

He backed up a step as Jonas filled the doorway to the closet. Winn’s grin turned nervous, now. “Careful. Don’t wanna get blood on your hand-me-downs.”

Jonas crossed his arms over his barrel-like chest. “You didn’t learn a damn thing, did you?”

“I took some  courses at the PCC.”

“Yeah, musta had nothing else to do, when they stuck you in that tiny little cell the whole time.” Jonas leaned against the doorframe. “Kinda like this, right? Heard it made you crazy.”

The back of Winn’s neck prickled, but he forcing himself to keep smiling. “Oh, it was nice. Peaceful. Didn’t have to smell that booze breath of yours.”

Jonas snorted. He dropped his hands; Winn kept an eye on the man’s fists as Jonas stepped forward. “Peaceful, huh? Going to bed every night on that hard little board, locked up, trying to remember the last time you saw the sun?”

He walked forward as he spoke, forcing Winn to back up. The closet was so narrow that there wasn’t any room for Winn to dodge around Jonas, not unless he wanted a fist in his gut. Two steps later, Winn’s back hit the wall.

“Shut in, day after day,” Jonas went on, his voice low and deadly calm. “Knowing you finally got thrown into the one hole even you couldn’t wiggle out of. How’d that feel, Vinn? Feel nice and relaxing? Feel peaceful?”

Winn shut his eyes for a moment, trying to shove back the memories of day after day after day in solitary. He forced out a laugh and opened them, because staring up at Huntington was better than the images of cell doors and sneering guards and walls with barbed wire that crowded his mind. “Wow. You really been playing the part, huh? Give it up, Jonny, Rembrandt doesn’t even intimidate me. What makes you think you can?”

“Keep lying to yourself, Vinn, maybe one day you’ll even believe it.” Jonas poked Winn in the chest, his thick finger hitting right over Winn’s heart, in the middle of the crosshair scars Rembrandt had carved into his skin. “How do you get any sleep at all, with that target on your chest?”

“How do you get any sleep,” Winn shot back, panic forcing his words out in a rush, “when you spend all your time sucking Remy’s -”

He ducked, Jonas’ fist just skimming the top of his scruffy yellow hair. Even with nowhere to go, Winn tried diving for the narrow slice of space behind Jonas and the wall. He didn’t quite make it before Jonas snapped his elbow out, hitting Winn in the side of the head. Rebounding off the wall, Winn didn’t have the room to escape Jonas’ grab for his arm. The bigger man punched Winn in the stomach, and as he doubled over, heaving for breath, Jonas snapped his knee up and into Winn’s right eye.

Winn swore with what little breath he could suck into his lungs and leaned backward. Jonas still managed to grab a chunk of his hair, though, and then backed up, dragging Winn with him.

There was nothing in Jonas’ clothes or pockets that Winn could use to get away. He hissed and spat like a cat, bracing his bare feet against the floor, and finding no purchase.

“Hey - shit, stop - wait -”

Jonas swung Winn around with ease, scraping Winn against the wall for a second. He gave Winn a good shove.

Swearing, Winn caught himself on the doorframe, before he could fall backwards out of the closet. Jonas huffed in disappointment.

Regaining his balance, Winn glared up at Jonas, heart pounding in time with the throbbing of the blow to his eye. He took a step forward, from that invisible line he couldn’t cross. Not if he wanted to keep Rhiannon alive. “It doesn’t count if you throw me out.”

“No one gives a damn if you walk out or fall out,” Jonas said. Winn flinched, squashing the urge to run as Jonas stepped forward, looming over him. “How much you like that girl of yours?”

Winn braced his hands against the doorframe, eyes wide and his pulse thundering in his ears. He should’ve kept his mouth shut -

“You gonna answer me? Or am I gonna push you outta here?”

Winn’s mouth went dry. “Hunt - Jonas - don’t, leave me alone -”

“Why?” Hunt’s lip curled. “Hell, Vinn, you don’t know how great this is for me. All that bullshit you pulled, always makin’ me look like an idiot -”

“You are an idiot,” Winn interrupted without thinking.

Jonas smashed his fist into Winn’s ribs, prompting a strangled yelp. “Who’s more of an idiot?” Jonas snapped, and hit Winn again. “Your girlfriend’s life is on the line, and you’re down here runnin’ your mouth like an asshole.”

He dragged Winn closer, as the small man dry-heaved and struggled for breath. “Tell me why I shouldn’t drag you up there and make you watch me blow her pretty little head off her pretty little shoulders?”

Winn coughed and tried to pull his arm out of Jonas’ grip. “She - She doesn’t have anything to do with - with any of this -”

“So? None of our business ever had anything to do with you.” Jonas gave Winn a good shove, and Winn hissed as he tripped over his own feet. His hands snapped out to catch himself on the doorframe again, before he could stumbled over the threshold. “Sure as hell never stopped you.”

Winn looked up, but Jonas settled his massive hand at the base of Winns throat, before he could move. Slowly, Jonas pushed forward, the slight pressure forcing Winn to straighten up from his aching ribs. Gritting his teeth, Winn dug his fingers into the doorframe and stiffened his arms. “Huntington - Jonas, stop -”

“Why should I?” Jonas asked lazily. He increased the pressure, forcing Winn to lean back, and all he could think about was the female guard behind him, phone in hand, and the other one upstairs near Rhiannon, a gun under their jacket.

Licking his lips, Winn tried to push back. “Jonas,” he whimpered, “please - please don’t -”

Jonas stopped pushing, his eyebrows shooting upwards. He didn’t relieve the pressure, though. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say ‘please.’”

Winn opened his mouth - and then, for the first time he could remember, closed it again, and actually thought about what he wanted to say.

“Please,” he whispered again, the word acid on his tongue. “Don’t hurt her, Jonas.”

“I been wantin’ this for a long time, Vinn,” Jonas growled. “Give me a reason not to ruin your life.”

Winn closed his eyes, teeth grinding, before he bit out, “What do you want?”

A slow, cruel grin spread over Jonas’ face. He stepped back, finally letting Winn straighten up, take a step away from the door.

Then Jonas grabbed Winn by the jaw and swung him around. He slammed Winn against the wall, digging his fingers painfully into Winn’s skin. Leaning in close, Jonas hissed, “I want to see you beg.”

[faunusrights]

OFFAL HUNT REMASTER LIVEBLOG // CHAPTER 8? IS IT 8 ALREAD- YEAH IT IS.

oh god its been 8 weeks already i dont like that these chapters reveal how much time im WASTING but c’est la vie as always lets put these assholes on blast:

moving SWIFTLY on!!!!!!!!!!!!

(also what do you mean ‘it’s the meat chapter’. wh. what meat. hello.)

She slumped back against uncomfortably warm stone, trying to tuck her feet back into the shade.

it’s a known fact that glynda is all Long all Angles and also a lot of Beef,

this is? the date, right? the date chapter? yes? all the chapters have been shuffled around i have NO sense of where i am because all thats happened for 7 chapters is ive been assaulted by lesbians but given the distant chanting of meat meat meat this must be the date.... right.........................................

OH THAT MEANS WE GET TO SEE CINDER’S DRESS NICE

Cinder’s smile flashed through Glynda’s mind, and she shifted against the stone wall, reaching for her Scroll.

my favourite thing is how whenever cinder and glynda think of each other its never not got crazy gay energy............. this is LITERALLY like the whole ‘i sleep next to a photo of my enemy’ deal!!!!!!!!!!! they’re both just attracted to dangerous (and also stupid) people, is the thing,

The Grimm swarmed, biting insects with snapping mandibles, their chitinous exoskeletons all scraping against one another with their constant, eager writhings.

YES thats some GOOD IMAGERY RIGHT THERE IF I DO SAY SO MYSELF UH-HUH

honestly i- OKAY LOOK I SAID IT BEFORE BUT I STAND BY HOW OFFAL HUNT IS SO VISCERAL... i love writing thats like............ kinda Uncomfy to imagine but also rly detailed and just rly digs into the gore and the grossness............ its GOOD CONTENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! thank god offal hunt just whaps u in the face w/ it like a damp sock,

we’re got a bit of slow start here which is a nice way to  slice the difference between earlier ‘gotta go fast’ glyn and this ‘actually i’m way out of my depth’ glyn. wow! i can BREATHE. and we havent had anything massively cheeky pop up yet which may be a new record all round

The ripples of its being reached Glynda with ease, consuming those of the smaller Grimm. It was dangerous. More dangerous by far, even out here among these ancient beasts.

mmmmmmmmmmm this is- okay slight spoilers but i presume this is hati? aka he who had like a handful of lines in the first version and was generally just... look hati was winner of The Most Vague award in the first version so i’m hoping its hati because i am CURIOUS ABT THIS BOY.................. who i coincidentally love. who is he? we’re not sure (yet) but i love him. its just a fact!

It wasn’t just consumption. It was desecration. Vile unmaking. The Grimm stripped away her flesh. Tasted of her marrow. Gorged itself on the gristle between her bones and peeled back her ribs to reveal the chasm within. It sucked the soul from her chest in a wash of red and agony that spanned centuries, each running over the raw meat of her like long, black claws—

I JUST LOVE THE WAY THIS SHIT GETS DESCRIBED ITS SO SATISFYING also i feel like there should be a tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiny fingerguns in here t e c h n i c a l l y but im not gonna cause its vague enough i can kiiiiiiiiiiiiiinda move on kinda slightly maybe

It felt like death itself had caught her in its massive maw, chilling her organs, reaching for the soul at the core of her.

OKAY FINE 👈😡👈

OKAY FINE YEAH THE REST OF THIS IS ALL CHEEKY FINGERGUNS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that said this is all RLY VITAL STORYTELLING and im rly glad we’ve got some expanded Glynda Lore because it was Lacking in the archived version... but now we’re full on until glynda backstory babey!!!!!!!! yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fear itself couldn’t touch her, and even as she thought this, she felt it drain away.

Her breathing slowed. Her body relaxed. Information trickled in, unburdened by emotion.

👈👈👈😡👈👈👈

glynda rly DOES only have half a braincell Huh

OKAY DATE TIME? DATE TIME? YES? MAYBE?????????????? god ive been looking forward to this stupid gay date for so long. EIGHT WEEKS. EIGHT.

A pause. “Are you familiar with the Hill of Roses Massacre?”

ah the return of the Plot (that Isnt The Gay Bit)

i was gonna Say A Thing, and then answered my own question, and then realised it’d be spoilers anyway. YAY SPOILERS! YAY NOT BEING ABLE 2 SAY ANYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so yeah theres a lot going on here dsdjhgf

“Well, it was your class, so.” She couldn’t help but smile at the memory.

/ticks off ‘anything to do w/ ozpin’ off the bingo card, again,

“I’m afraid it’s a bit more complicated than that, Glynda. With this meeting on the horizon… I fear I would cloud your judgement.”

oz i love u and yr cryptic bullshit but this will not the first Nor The Last Time glynda and i are both exasperated w/ u. please. blease.

Ozpin had never misled her before.

👈😂👈

“I’m only following orders.” Written with the same implication as a wink. “Now, is there anything else I can help you with, Professor?”

i fucking adore winter schnee i’d DIE for her

i may have to make a spoiler version of this later because theres Some Shit being said here and i DIRELY have to expand upon it but that will have 2 wait dskfjsdf

When they saw she was human, they waved her through without any trouble.

i still feel like im being targeted for my url!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! U ASSHOLES,

As much as she could, Glynda tried to avoid the constant bump of shoulders and too-tight quarters. As large as she was, it was nearly impossible,

what did i say!!!!!!!!!!!!! we LOVE one beefy bitch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(im literally getting SO excited for the date reveal im VIBRATING)

She still didn’t have much of an idea what waited within, but she had quite a few reservations about using the front door.

me: knows whats coming also me: glynda please

As a Huntress who’d been trained in both subtlety and stealth, Glynda had a few ideas.

The next person who stepped outside was thrown roughly aside,

ME: GLYNDA PLEASE,

you have no idea how often im just. i have my face in my hands. glynda’s never heard of a repercussion in her life. cinder once saw the word ‘consequences’ and broke out into hives. im. where’s the thinking-

And then she noticed Cinder.

here comes the peak gay im so ready HERE IT COMES-

Her hair was tossed over one shoulder as always, but in place of her usual crimson dress, she wore black tonight. Dark fabric with but a hint of iridescent specks rippled around her ankles, rising up to stretch tight across her hips. It rose all the way to the hollow of her throat and was cut to be sleeveless, though Cinder wore gloves of the same material that rose nearly to her shoulders.

HERE IT IS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

oh my god u may know i drew a shitpost of this scene and now i Have to redraw it to be even Sexier!!!!!!!!!! also i know glynda could argue she’s being Observant but i also think, she’s a home of saxophone, and is gay,

LIKE ‘stretch tight across her hips’ WHY YA L O O K I N

Glass heels clicked over the dark stone floor as Cinder stopped right in front of Glynda, looking up at her from beneath lofty bangs. Gold eyes swept from the crown of Glynda’s head to the crop gripped so tightly in her hand—and then Cinder smiled.

there is No heterosexual explanation for this

Cinder clicked her tongue. “Well, now that you’re here, shall we?”

“Shall we…?”

“Glynda,” she chided, rolling her eyes. “Dinner, of course.”

IM LOSING MY MIND AAAAAAAAAAAAA THEY’RE LESBIANS HAROLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HAROLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

okay. okay. this still isnt QUITE THE DATE CHAPTER BUT WE’RE RLY IN IT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! im so scared that a whole chap has been saved for this meal because its going to be so long and charged w/ lesbian energy and its gonna kill me BUT OH WELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! anyway i loved it. the end.

[skia-oura]

Orange Lilies 12/12

A/N: Here we are, at the conclusion. Thank you all for taking this journey with me!

Prologue // Previous

Ao3

What comes after.

Epilogue

           Tommy Hangar, while late-night dusting, absentmindedly turned on the TV to a ‘breaking news’ report about some disaster in Kabul. She paid it little mind—it was just for background noise, after all—until she heard the magic phrase, “Alcor the Dreambender,” and then suddenly she was Very Invested in this cover story. Tommy dropped the Everlasting Handheld Dustmop (also known as a rag with a bunch of spells in it in order to make it hardier and better at dusting) and stared for a moment before she recovered her wits.

           “Hon,” she called out, easing onto the couch like she was afraid it might bite, gaze focused on the screen on the wall showing a couple of well-dressed reporters. “Hon, you want to see this!”

           “I’m in the bathroom!” Filara’s voice was muffled by the door and distance between them. Tommy reached out with one finger and slid the volume up on the television unit.  

           “…see, the damage to the city was located in a somewhat economically depressed sector just east of the main downtown center. It seems to have started in this block of rented townhomes, as you can see from the aerial shot provided by first responders to the scene.”

           “Then hurry pissing and get out there, you want to see this!” Tommy yelled.

           “It’s a number two!” Tommy heard, but shortly after there was the sound of the toilet unit being flushed. Tommy leaned forward, her elbows on her legs, and stared at the devastation depicted even as the news anchors described it.

           “Shockwaves were reported at 3:26 local time to a nearby fire station from a location nearly a kilometer away from the epicenter. Shortly after, several buildings shook as though an extended earthquake event was occurring. Pedestrians were thrown from their feet, and some were crushed under collapsing walls that were torn apart by the force of the blows exchanged between two demonic forces. As we said earlier, one of the two demons was positively identified to be Alcor the Dreambender.”

           On the screen, buildings were partially to fully collapsed the closer they were to the epicenter, a partially still-standing block of townhomes. One of them had a hole in the roof, from what Tommy could see before the view faded back to the two anchors, faces stern. Down the hall, the bathroom door opened.

           “That’s correct, Penny,” the centaur said, their tail swishing behind them in what Tommy thought might be agitation. “Several consulting demonologists on the second-response team were quick to point out that not only was Alcor the Dreambender participating in a fight, but his opponent was another rather strong demon titled Lilith. From what we understand, the battle lasted perhaps three minutes above Kabul before being relocated to the nearby Hindu Kush mountains, but the consequences of the short encounter were huge for Kabul.”

           “All right, what do I have to see?” Filara asked, reaching over the back of the couch and pressing a kiss to Tommy’s neck. Tommy shivered and reached up to curve her hand along Filara’s cheek.

           “Just watch,” Tommy said. Filara hummed, then did that thing where she just climbed over the back of the couch instead of walking around to the other side like a normal person. Tommy sighed, and adjusted so that she could lean against Filara, her chin hooking into the valley of Filara’s shoulder.

           “So far, almost five hundred residences and places of work have been labeled non-viable, just over fifty have been found dead, and a further ninety six people have been injured. Experts estimate that there should be another one hundred casualties, though they differ in opinion on how many of these casualties should be fatal or simply injured.”

           Filara hummed. “This is awful, but why should I be seeing this?”

           “Shh,” Tommy said, patting Filara’s stomach.

           On screen, the centaur’s human companion nodded gravely. She picked up a data pad, glanced down at it, and then addressed the camera. “While it is historically one of the less traumatic incidences of fighting between Alcor and other demons, experts say to exercise caution. According to these experts, Alcor’s reemergence after such a long period of inactivity is something to watch. Please do not attempt to summon Alcor the Dreambender, as you will be putting your life as well of the lives of everybody around you at risk.”

           “Oh,” Filara said. She rubbed her hand down Tommy’s side. “Ah. I see.”

           “Unsurprisingly, when looking at historical cases such as the event that caused the formation of the Californian Federation over two millennia ago, this demonic encounter also made big changes to the environment. Mishana, take it away.”

           The centaur nodded. “Of course. It seems that, from initial reports, that the massively toxic Kabul river has somehow been purified of said dangerous toxins. The river has never been clearer. This footage, of the site where experts are nearly certain the remainder of the demonic encounter took place, will show you this odd phenomenon currently taking place.” The camera shifted to pan a view of what looked like it was a normal mountain range just a while ago, but now was some kind of weird freaky smooth melted-stone valley. The hair on the back of Tommy’s neck stood up just looking at it. She got further goosebumps at the way the river changed from murky and viscous to clear and quick at one point near the far end of the valley.

           “Well,” Filara said. “I’m not sure I ever want him in my house again, nice as it was to talk to him.”

           “Don’t think we have any kind of choice,” Tommy said, quietly. She stared at the screen. “And, well, as fucking awful as that horror shit looks, it can’t be all bad? I mean, the river’s so clear you could probably peep through it and see somebody changing on the other side.”

           Filara huffed. “Yes, romantic, way to remind me of how we met.”

           “Accident,” Tommy drawled. She had let Filara know that her windows should probably be dimmed, just in case, and by the way that was a cute mole she had on her butt. “Also, this house is in one piece, right? And so are we? And that little kiddiwink hangs around him. Could be worse.”

           On the screen, the news agency showed videos of the destruction in the mountains next to ones of the devastation in Kabul proper. Filara sighed. “Could be worse indeed.”

Pandemonium Server: “Sigil_Works”

General Channel

 Karl Svinhish 7:39 AM

Posting in all channels: Just as a reminder to all personnel, today is a half-day! Please only work three hours of your six. If you work more, we will know. We will find you. You will go home at some point.

 Ennis Hart 7:41 AM

lol what u gonna do, u can’t stop us from thinking at home, we got shit to get done and thru before the Terminator comes back

also u don’t gotta do that in all channels smh

 Karl Svinhish 7:41 AM

We cannot stop you from doing anything outside of the workplace, but please be reminded that as Thinktank department personnel, our insurance does not cover you for any sigil work done outside the premises!

 Sally Minh 7:42 AM

wait, mr. farkas is back??

 Ziyi Zhang 7:42 AM

Wait what??? My favorite????? Where was he????????

 Ennis Hart 7:42 AM

how the shit is bentley farkas, destroyer of dreams and rejecter of perfectly good plans, your fav

 Ziyi Zhang 7:43 AM

Bentley Farkas is a God among Mortals and you should not profane his name like this

 Sally Minh 7:44 AM

honestly, mr. farkas is Sigils Goals

 Anish Wellington 7:44 AM

Do we know what happened to him? He was kidnapped, right?

 Lucas Onderon 7:45 AM

yall are loud way too early in the morning. go away morning people

 Ennis Hart 7:45 AM

yeah he kidnapped i think?? i think sally took that phone call

also lucas turn us on mute if you want to sleep

 Lucas Onderon 7:46 AM

But now were talking about the mysterious mister farkas I need to put in my two cents

 Sally Minh 7:47 AM

yes, the police said that there had been an incident and that it looked like mr. farkas had been the victim of some kind of kidnapping, and had officially been listed as a missing person. they only  told me because literally nobody else was at work.

 Anish Wellington 7:48 AM

Thank you Sally. I will be sleeping again but if there are any updates, please tag me.

 Sally Mihn 7:48 AM

Ok!

 Lucas Onderon 7:48 AM

and that is that benny boy might act super nice and be super smart and all that shit, but he got a stick up his ass and needs to chill out instead of freaking out over every single proposal we send him. hed gotten unbearable after minhaj left.

 Ziyi Zhang 7:49 AM

#internlife

also u know that @BentleyFarkas is in this chat, right?? He’s going to see all of this.

 Lucas Onderon 7:50 AM

hes nerver in here nayways

lkadjklwj

*never in here anyways

 Karl Svinhish 7:50 AM

Please refrain from being rude! We do not tolerate bullying and rudeness in this chat, especially when those being bullied have been kidnapped and recently escaped said kidnapping!

 Ennis Hart 7:51 AM

holy shit wait he escaped?? Not police action or whatever??

 Sally Minh 7:51 AM

Is he okay?

 Ziyi Zhang 7:52 AM

yeah is he ok? Any deets?

 Lucas Onderon 7:52 AM

Bentley ‘gives in to puppy dog eyes’ farkas actually escaped? What?? you cant just leve it at that

*leave

@BentleyFarkas explain

 Karl Svinhish 7:53 AM

Leave him alone! He is recovering, and will be on indefinite leave of absence.

 Lucas Onderon 7:53 AM

Paid???

 Karl Svinhish 7:53 AM

There is the possibility that he will be working remotely!

 Ennis Hart 7:54 AM

But u said we cant take work home???? insurance doesn’t cover outside work premises????

 Karl Svinhish 7:54 AM

That’s for the Thinktank department! Bentley Farkas has been consistently attentive to detail and is one of the leading minds in this field, and as such we have entered negotiations with our insurance agency.

 Ziyi Zhang 7:56 AM

why you hatin? bentley farkas is a god of sigils. i would say more but bentley is in this server.

 Ennis Hart 7:56 AM

U don’t see him in thinktank do u

 Sally Minh 7:56 AM

bc hes too good for thinktank

Bentley Farkas 7:57 AM

That’s bc Im too good at practics 4 u

 Lucas Onderon 7:57 AM

bc hes overrated is what and thinktank knows that

 Ziyi Zhang 7:57 AM

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BENTLEY??!??!!??!?

 Sally Minh 7:58 AM

mr. farkas???

 Lucas Onderon 7:58 AM

holy shit

 Bentley Farkas 7:59 AM

The rumors of my death were highly exaggerated. but im only saying that im alive and have my hands on a phone. i probs wont be coming back to work for a while. working things out.

 Ennis Hart 7:59 AM

send us a pic or ur an imposter

 Karl Svinish 8:00 AM

Please don’t feel pressured to do anything Bentley! We’re with you all the way. Also please send me the documents we discussed yesterday as soon as possible.

 Bentley Farkas 8:00 AM

It’s ok, promise not to scream.

IMG_59703

 Ziyi Zhang 8:00 AM

@AnishWellington GET BACK IN HERE HOLY SHIT

WHAT THE FUCK BENTLEY

           “Hey, this is Torako Lam! Leave a text for me after the beep, unless you’re my dads, in which case leave me a VM so that I can hear your voices! Have a great day, and stay cool.”

-beep-

           “Hey Tora, this is your dear old Dad! Just calling in to check and see how you’re doing. You missed our weekly call yesterday. I know that Bentley going missing has been a big blow, and I’m worried about you. Please call me back! If nothing else, I can sort of keep you company for a bit. Love you lots!”

-beep-

           “Torako, is everything okay? You haven’t responded to my texts or your Father’s. Your workplace said that you were on suspension. I just want to make sure that you’re doing all right. Tyrone hasn’t answered his phone either, and Bentley is obviously out of the question. Please call us back. Any time is okay, even at a god-awful hour in the morning. Love you so much, bye.”

-beep-

           “Torako, this is Mama. Your Father called me, said that your Dad and he hadn’t heard from you at all lately? What’s up with that darling? They’re getting frightened that you’re dead. I told them that that’s nonsense, you’re far too tough for that. Your Father and I made you, after all! Then again, we made you, so I am a very small bit worried. If you have some troubles you can’t tell your Dad or Father, you can tell me. I know I’ve been busy recently, but I can make time for you. Loves and smooches, your Mama.”

-beep-

           “Torako, what’s going on?? It’s been a week, and all we’ve heard out of you is one solitary ‘I love you, I’m alive’ text. Which, thank you, but also that’s worrying! Are you in danger? Is Tyrone gone too? I tried talking to some of your old hurling friends, but none of them know where you are. I will get on a port to your apartment in the next day if you don’t respond. I love you, but please tell me that you’re okay! Goodbye.”

-beep-

           “Yo, Tora, it’s Hana, long time no talk! So your Dad contacted me yesterday about you being like out of town or out of touch or something? And I’m a little concerned?? I heard from him that your life partner went missing, which is sad and also makes me worried about you. Are you okay? I’m here for you if you need me. Catch you later!”

-beep-

           “Torako, this is Officer Akuapem. Hepsa has been getting better. They think she can return to work next month. I hope things are going well for you. We are continuing to investigate. There seems to be a lead into Canada. We have been tracing emails. Maybe you already know this; we had a report of a break and enter a few days ago. It was to someone we thought might be tied into the investigation. Please be careful. Don’t do anything stupid.”

-beep-

           “Tora, this is Lata’s mom. She said something about seeing you last night! Thank you for following up on that message; you don’t seem to have received any of my texts, so I thought I would try my had at a VM. It’s been so long since I left one! Again, thank you very much. When you find Bentley, let him know he was missed! I hope he is okay. That’s all, thanks! Goodbye!”

-beep-

           “What’s going on Torako? Why did you send me that cryptic message that you love me and that if you don’t message me again you failed? What are you failing? Are you doing something stupid? Please don’t do this Torako. Don’t do this to us. Please be safe. I love you. Be safe. Stay safe. We love you.”

-beep-

           “This is your Father. Please be careful. Your Dad is worried sick. We love you. Stay safe. Come home soon.”

-beep-

End of messages. Do you want to delete these messages? Select yes, no, or other options.

Other options selected. Your options are: respond with call, respond via VM, respond via text, respond via film video, select and archive messages, forward mes—

Respond with call selected. Which messages would you like to respond to? Please select the releva—

Message “What’s going on Torako? Why—” selected. Sender: Dad. Time: 3 hours ago. Are you sure you want to select this message? Yes or—

Understood. Calling in three…two…one.

-ring-

-ri—

           “Torako??!”

“Yo, hey Dad. Uh. Hi. How are you.”

“Torako?? Are you okay?? Where are you, what’s going on, is everything all right, what in the Fathomless Seas made you send such a frightening message?”

“So, funny story.” A laugh. “Not funny, but I’m more or less okay, only minimally hurt and traumatized. It’s fine. Also we’re outside right now.”

Silence.

“Outside??”

“Yeah, and uh,” Torako said, “Bentley’s been through shit and there’s some stuff we haven’t told you. So like. Yeah. Don’t scream when you come outside.”

Footsteps. “Scream, why would I scream?”

Opening door. Quick inhale, then the start of a scream before it is muffled behind a hand.

“I’ll explain everything, I promise,” Torako said. “Can we…come in?”

A pause. When spoken, the voice is a little strained. “Okay. Come in please.”

“Thank you, now let me just—” A click, and a dial tone that cuts out.

           The study was large and well-lit by two giant windows. Their thin, magically reinforced glass panes somehow seemed to let in more sunlight than they should be capable of, like they were capturing brightness and magnifying it to a subtle degree. There was a slightly dusty off-white desk in front of the shorter window at the head of the room. Stacks of books and papers and tablets towered in neat, short little hills, and there was an old-fashioned ballpoint pen sat in the middle, near a clear space for the user to sit at and work. A pair of archivists gloves was nearby, and a desk lamp floated at one corner. At the other corner, there was a small vase with two bright orange lilies caught in stasis.

           Runes flared along the edges of the ceiling, turning brighter and brighter until they burst in a small thunderclap of sound. The wallpaper tore, burned, and ash rained down on the formerly pristine room. It dotted the long red couch perpendicular to the desk in deceptively soft flakes, fragile and dangerous all at once. Flakes of burning wallpaper continued to fall down even as another presence filled the room, blacks and golds and browns and pale skin. Alcor the Dreambender cast his gaze about the room, face utterly still as he took it all in. The ash did not touch him. Nobody entered the room.

           He blinked, long and languid, at the floor to ceiling storage shelves containing all matter of memorabilia and research materials. He stared out the window at the deep, endless ocean, waves crashing against the cliffs below. He set his eyes on the desk, inhaled, and then drifted closer. With one gloved hand, he picked up one of the stacked antique books—Gleeful, Silent, Ferocious—and looked through it, flipping the pages slowly. He paused on one and read it more carefully, then snorted. “They get the funniest ideas,” he said, and he shut the book, set it on the desk carefully.

           Then he tilted his head at the tome. It had some wrong bits, but it wasn’t all that bad. There were a few that were decent, actually. Dipper tugged them from under the other stacks, sending them sliding down and across the desk. Torako would like them, he thought. And a couple were like, super rare, so if nothing else she could sell them online and get bank.

           Alcor slid the books into his stomach, feeling a little sick at the memory of pulling the three of them out of him: Bentley unconscious and with a sluggish heartbeat, Torako wide-eyed and trembling and barely keeping it together, Haji freaked out beyond measure. He’d made a deal—those memories for the means to get out of Kabul and somewhere safe—but Torako had refused to, clutching Bentley to her with a wild, nearly feral look on her face. But they were safe, now. They were safe.

           Though, Dipper thought as he considered exactly what he’d just done with the books, he’d still be careful about pulling them out in front of people. Maybe he wouldn’t pull them out in front of Bentley or Torako at all. Yes. That was the safest option. Torako’s dads would also possibly mind it if he extricated the books from his demonic bowels via tentacle too, thinking about it. Alone. Alone it was.

           He then looked up at the splash of orange, the lilies in the crystal vase, spinning slowly midair. Alcor the Dreambender reached out, and his gloves melted away so that his bare fingers could touch the petals. Lurid. Bright. Beautiful.

           If he’d gotten his hands on Fantino’s soul, they would have either been eaten, or would have suffered debilitating allergies to flowers for the next several lives.

           Instead Dipper withdrew his fingers and looked at the flowers. Then, he reached out again, blue fire sparking along the channels of friction ridges in the pads of his fingers, and touched them. The fire sputtered, then flared, consuming the flowers and shooting down the line of magic tethering them to the desk. Dipper stared at it, looked through the desk to the manuscripts of new publications in progress, and smiled. The fire wouldn’t stop until the house burned down.

           Dipper stayed a moment longer just to see the books and the desk and the tablets burst into flame, and then he blipped out of the study and its long, beautiful windows and its pristine pale features. The windows caught the light inside and amplified it, gently, subtly, to glow a soft blue that didn’t alarm the neighbors until it was too late for anything of Dr. Vallian Fantino to be saved.

           The air was heavy with salt, enough that when Bentley opened his mouth and breathed he could taste it on his tongue. It was also heavy with the sound of the tide, crashing and crumbling and receding with the tide. This beach was empty because of the dangerously sharp rocks tumbling on the seafloor not even two meters in from the edge. Honestly, though, that suited Bentley just fine, early in the morning with the night coolness still clinging to the breeze. Bentley closed his eyes, and breathed it in.

           It had been five days since they’d gone home, to Torako’s parents, and he still wasn’t tired of the feeling of natural air against his skin. He was tired of having to eat soft, bland food, and was tired of how odd it felt to go to the bathroom, but he wasn’t tired of being somewhere that rubbed against his skin and filled his chest with thrumming energy. He wasn’t tired of being able to refuse to go to a hospital, and instead have a hospital come to him.

           He also wasn’t tired of the feeling of sand on his skin. Bentley smiled, and wriggled his feet deeper into the soft sand. When he opened his eyes, the residual magic of it glimmered, just enough to be noticed but not enough to be distracting. It was nice. It was okay. It would be okay.

           Out further, where the sand became damp and the waves foamed with the force of their collisions, the water also glimmered, deep and dark like Dipper sometimes was. Bentley could see it now, more than ever: Dipper’s continuing influence on the islands, even after a long two millennia. It would have been something that explained how Dipper was able to hide his energy signature here so well. It would have been something Bentley’s Dad would have loved to know. Bentley set his face in his hands, his elbows on his knees, and looked out to sea.

           “What would you have thought of all this?” Bentley wondered out loud. The wind picked at his short hair, his long sleeves and his pants, and he felt cold despite the relative warmth. He thought about Fantino, and said, “What do you think of me now?”

           “What does who think of you now?”

           Bentley stiffened, but let out a deep breath and looked up over his shoulder. “Torako,” he said, and the warmth inside him wasn’t fake even if his dumb brain wouldn’t let go of the fact he’d dreamed about her being mean. Ugh.

           “Me? I think you’re pretty great,” she said, a crooked smile on her face. She dug her toes into the sand, sandals hanging from two hooked fingers. Bentley let out a fond, exasperated sigh.

            “Thanks,” Bentley said. “I think you’re pretty great too. Most of the time, at least.”

           Torako gasped and held her hand over her heart. “Only most of the time? Your conditional love wounds me.”

           Bentley snorted. “Sit down already, you goof.”

           She laughed and sat, legs stretching out, heels digging long trenches into the soft sand. Bentley watched how the morning sunlight glinted off the scars running root-like over her shins and calves, tangled and thin and innumerable. They too glimmered with magical byproduct. Everything glimmered these days, just about.

           “Hey.” Torako nudged his shoulder with hers. “It’s not a big deal, doesn’t even hurt.”

           “Because the doctors caught it in time to mitigate the damage, you mean.” Bentley shut out false memories of physical and emotional abuse and leaned into her. “Otherwise, you might have barely been able to walk because it would have hurt you so much.”

           Torako hummed. “Eh.”

           “Your bones had been shattered and then fused back together,” Bentley said. “You’re lucky it was fresh enough and magical enough that they could do a localized rewind on the bones.” Curses weren’t generally regarded as lucky, but in this case it was lucky that they could treat Torako’s leg as a curse.

           “Not the end of the world.” Torako shifted her legs so that her ankles crossed. Sand clung, dry, to her toes. “Besides, it didn’t happen, I’m fine. It’s a non-issue at this point, unlike you.”    

           This time, Bentley gasped and held his hand over his heart. “I’m an issue?” He knew when to leave something alone, even if shattering and melting was pretty damn traumatizing in his book.

           “Shut up, you’re not,” Torako said, grinning. She tousled his hair, and he hid a smile behind one hand at the familiarity. “No, I’m talking about what that place did to you—and don’t say it’s just cosmetic, you little shit.”

           Back at you, Bentley thought but didn’t say. “I mean,” he said instead, waving a hand at his face, “It kind of is? I look very different, and the nurse that visited said there wasn’t anything physically wrong with me.”

           “Pssh, I don’t need a nurse to tell that you’re also cold, like, all the time.” She pulled him closer and he let her, because he was cold and she looked very warm. “And you look at stuff funny sometimes, and you haven’t touched sigils since coming back, and the theft detector at the grocery store screamed at you going in. I think we need another specialist to come in to see you, actually.”

           “Let’s not. Also, the detector wasn’t my fault.” Bentley frowned at the waves further out, not because they had done anything wrong but because the grocery store experience had been awful. He would have made the very bad decision of running away if Torako hadn’t been with him, and if she hadn’t been shaking herself. They’d ended up just going home and letting her dads do the shopping.

           “Yes, that is true. But they never went off on you before, so that place absolutely did something to you. Somethings, even.”

           Bentley took a deep breath. He closed his eyes, then gave her a little noncommittal hum and snuggled into her. She was warm, as he’d thought. Torako slid her hand into his. He listened to her heartbeat, steady against the backdrop of crashing waves. They curled further into each other in silence. Bentley ended up with his legs slung over the valley of her lap, head resting at the hollow of her collarbone, her chin nestled on top of his head. Her arms were secure around him. It was…nice.

           He’d almost drifted off when she asked, “So what’s next?”

           The first somewhat intelligible sound he made was “Huh?” It was also probably the third of fourth sound he’d made, the first few being byproducts of transitioning into clearer awareness. Somewhere in the distance, seabirds called out. The horn of a fishing boat sounded, the blare of it softened by space. Bentley let out a slow breath, content.

           “What do we do now?” Torako asked. “Somehow, even if by some miracle I graduate, I don’t think that Officer Akuapem would support me entering the police force. And will you even go back to work? What do we—what happens, after the shit that we just went through?”

           Bentley cracked his eyes open. Before him, the beach stretched on into the horizon, buildings rising out of it and pressing up, up into the sky. On the left was the sea, dark with crests of white, shimmering with sunlight and supernatural energy. “I’ve been considering it. Going back, I mean. But…”

           Torako squeezed his hand, and waited for him to answer.

           “Sigils are…hard.” Bentley looked at their hands, at his mismatched fingers interspersed between hers. “And I don’t think I’ll stay there forever. Plus, you’re higher priority. I’ll go wherever you need to.”

           “No, silly, I go where you go.” She hugged him tighter. “You were in there a long time. You call the shots.”

           “And you found me,” Bentley murmured. He shifted back so he could look her in the eyes, so that she knew how much she meant. How much she mattered. “You searched long and hard and found me. I wouldn’t have…” he stopped, suddenly filled with shame and guilt and horror. He looked away, to the sea.

           Torako leaned forward to kiss him on the forehead. “You would have died,” she said. “You would have killed yourself.” Her voice shook a little when she said the words for him.

           Bentley swallowed against the stiffness of his throat, because she was right, and because he couldn’t say it. He knew it, but he couldn’t say it.

           “And that…” Torako took a deep breath. She pulled him back to her with soft but firm hands. “That really upsets me. Really. But you were—alone, and desperate, for so so long, so. I understand. It’s not okay but…I understand.”

           He squeezed her hand, watched the waves crumble into the sand. Watched them pull back, and do it over, and over, and over.

           “And we’re going to talk about that, as soon as you’re ready. First, though—what’s next? We can’t stay with my dads forever. Tyrone just about gives them a heart attack every time he shows up, I’m sure of it. They’re going to snap eventually.”

           Bentley managed a short laugh. “Yeah.” He breathed in, then out, then in and asked, “What do you want?”

           “Me?”

           “Yeah,” he said. “I might be able to do remote work. So. What do you want?”

           This time, Torako was silent, and Bentley waited.

           “I don’t want to make you upset,” Torako said at length.

           “You won’t.” Bentley turned and pressed his cheek to her collarbone.

           She still hesitated. Birds called, the ocean sang a symphony, and somebody let out a jubilant shout for whatever reason, and Torako remained silent next to him.

           Bentley shifted to press a kiss to her collarbone instead of his cheek, and then slid his forehead to the same spot. “I promise.” If he got upset, he’d get over it.

           Torako let out a sigh of frustration. “Like, I miss it. Cult bashing. Parts of it, I mean, not everything. Being away from you sucked a lot.”

           He hummed to let her know he was still listening.

           “And I hate that you were missing. Like, even cult bashing, when I knew you were safe, I hated it. When I didn’t know? Hell. It was stressful, I was always tired, Dipper was a mess and I was a mess and everything was awful. Except, it kind of wasn’t. Looking back, there were parts I liked, you know?”

           When she didn’t continue immediately, Bentley prompted, “Like?”

           She nuzzled her nose into his hair. “Putting pieces together,” she murmured. “Not having all the bureaucratic tape to deal with. The thrill, sometimes. Imminent danger, not so much, but the adrenaline was…nice.”

           This wasn’t upsetting at all, though Bentley could maybe see why she thought he would think so. He didn’t say that yet, though. “So what’s next then?”

           There was a moment where all he heard from her was her breath, and then she asked, “You’re not upset?”

           “No,” he said. “So, tell me—what’s next?”

           “I,” she said. Then, she laughed and she tousled his hair again. “I asked you first, fishbrains! What’s next, huh, Bentley?”

           “Hey!” He swatted at her hand and rolled off her lap to kneel next to her. She was smiling, hair still slightly damp from her morning shower, tank-top sliding off her right shoulder. Her eyes gleamed with something that wasn’t magic, but Bentley almost felt was. Fondness blooming gentle in him, he raised his hands and cradled her face between them. Her smile slipped, eyes wide, and she looked at him like he was the most amazing thing in the world.

           He loved her, he realized again. He loved her like he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. He didn’t love her like he wanted to engage in any kind of kissing, or groping, or even dating, but he wanted—he wanted. He wanted her with him for the rest of his life, and it was a realization that he’d made a long time ago but still didn’t know quite what to do with. Torako was—vibrant, and wonderful, and he’d long resigned himself to the possibility of another person wedging themselves between them, better and stronger. And maybe it wasn’t a healthy thought; pan trios, and quads, and even quints existed in the world, but something in him didn’t want another person. The rest of him knew that was selfish, and wrong, and that if Torako wanted to go, if she needed to go—he wouldn’t get in the way.

           But by the seas and the stars did he love her.

           “We…take it a day at a time,” he said.

           “That’s specific,” she said, eyebrows quirking and mouth slanting up, cockeyed.

           “Oh hush. We take it a day at a time,” he said again. “We figure our shit out as we go, and know that things’ll go wrong but that’s okay. We talk.”

           “I would hope so.”

           He smooshed her cheeks in, and she laughed, eyes squinting almost shut with joy. Bentley laughed at the sight of her.

           Gripping her cheeks between his fingers and pulling them out a little, he said, “We do stupid shit and try new things and try old things again. We…don’t stay on Minte de Daos, because, you know, Tyrone.”

           Torako reached out and grabbed his own face, so he quickly let go of her cheeks. She smirked at him. “Good plan. Very detailed.”

           “And,” he said, shuffling closer. The sand shifted around him. “We go back home. You see about school, I see about doing work away from work and cutting it down to part time, because I’m…messed up.” He bit his lip, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath before soldiering on. “I’m messed up, and I need help but I can’t get it because of what exactly went down. So I do my best to help myself. And I do my best to help you help yourself.”

           Torako nodded. Her palms relaxed against his cheeks. “Yeah. I can’t be your therapist, and you can’t be mine.”

           “And then, when you’re done with school…you look into options. Like, I don’t know, a private investigator.”

           She wrinkled her nose. “Ugh, that’s so much paperwork.”

           “So something else,” Bentley said, just as he heard a soft noise, like something tearing, like the sound of smoothing out a sheet of paper. “We can—we can figure it out as we go. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

           “What are we figuring out as we go?” Dipper asked. “And why are we holding each other’s faces?”

           Bentley looked up at Dipper, staring down at the both of them. Torako did the same. Dipper’s eyes were black and gold, even though the rest of him was as human as possible. “What to do next,” Bentley said.

           “Yeah, Tyrone,” Torako asked. “What’s next?”

           Dipper frowned at them. He pressed his lips together, and something flashed across his face before he shoved it down. Bentley’s smile dimmed, and he opened his mouth to—apologize? Say something?–when Dipper grinned wide and a little too sharp, and said, “There’s lots of options, but apparently one ends with either Torako or Bentley with sand up to their necks, so. There’s that!”

           Bentley looked at Torako, her face framed by his hands. Torako looked at him, and squished his cheeks a little. Then Torako looked up, smiled prettily in that way that made Bentley’s internal alarms scream with urgency, and said, “I think you left out an option,” before tackling Dipper into the sand. Dipper squawked and went down flailing his limbs and sending beach flying everywhere.

           “Get off! I am an almighty creature of pure energy!”

           Torako caught Bentley’s eye over her shoulder, and he grinned. With a little trepidation, a little nervousness, he sunk his finger into the sand. There was a moment after where he stared at the sand, its magic, and wondered if this was really such a good idea. He’d caused a lot of damage, back in the pocket dimension. The sand had power of its own, who knew how that would interact?

           Dipper screeched, Torako laughed, and Bentley drew a sigil. Behind them, the ocean undulated, waves cresting white out of the darkness of the water, seafoam fizzing against the porous sand of the shore. The tides moved, the currents shifted according to latent, now natural energy. Above, seabirds called and searched for food. A fishing boat pulled in its haul, protected by spells to ensure it wouldn’t lose any of its catch to mercenary fowl. A man on the beach a kilometer away kept staring at his phone and grinning. The mermaid civilization a few clicks away wove new birthing homes into being. A children’s class practiced hula on the shore, a cervitaur held up a shell to the sun to see how the light shone through, an old married couple held hands and walked, slow, along the tide where the sand was wet and firm and their rings glinted in the early morning.

           The world glimmered, bright.

[lilyliveredlittlerichboy]

Educating the Victim - Act V, Chapter IX

Pairing: hinted Yellow Diamond/White Diamond, hinted Yellow Diamond/Pearl

Rating: Teens and up

Warnings/Tags: none for this chapter

Read it on AO3!

Act 1 Ch1 Ch2 Ch3 Ch4 Ch5

Act 2 Ch1 Ch2 Ch3 Ch4 Ch5 Ch6 Ch7 Ch8

Act 3 Ch1 Ch2 Ch3 Ch4 Ch5 Ch6 Ch7 Ch8 Ch9

Act 4 Ch1 Ch2 Ch3 Ch4 Ch5 Ch6 Ch7 Ch8 Ch9 Ch10 Ch11

Act 5 Ch1 Ch2 Ch3 Ch4 Ch5 Ch6 Ch7 Ch8 Ch9

Insert 1 (after Act 2 Ch7)

Insert 2 (after Act 3 Ch2)

Insert 3 (after Act 3 Ch9)

Insert 4 (after Act 4 Ch9)

CHAPTER 9: Worry

The next day, Rose Quartz prepared to teach her final year students.

Dark rings under her eyes spoke of long evenings, because on top of her usual workload, she had to organise the fair. It barely gave her time to think about anything else. She'd barely had time to spend with Greg. She barely had time to worry about Pearl and Principal Diamond.

She set up her classroom. Determined to do great. Diamond would be inspecting her, she assumed, at random intervals. She had to be prepared for anything.

Amethyst felt a knot of unease as the lesson progressed, realising she drew closer to having to speak to Rose. Pearl seemed to be usually lost in her lesson, giving little time to chat. Amy could barely focus, and by the time the bell rang, she almost debated lying to Aurora and saying she'd spoken. But she then looked at Pearl and swallowed. No. Not if her friend was in danger.

"Yo, P, I need to ask Quartz a couple of questions about the mocks. I fucked them up. I'll catch you in English, alright?"

She was met with a confused nod from Pearl, who only seemed to shrug and promise to save her a seat.

Once everyone had left the room, Amy paced to the front of the class and cleared her throat. "Miss Quartz."

Of all the people that Rose expected to stay after class, Amethyst wasn't one of them.

She looked up, surprised. "Amy!" she said. "What can I do for you?"

Amy swallowed and took a look around. "Could we... maybe talk about something?" She rubbed her arm. "About Pearl."

About Pearl. Worry shot through Rose. "Y-yeah," she said, "Sure. What about her?"

"Her and the principal. She sent... a really worrying text to her sister by mistake last night. And like... I know you two are close." An understatement, to say the least. Amy shifted, feeling a pang of envy plaster a flush over her face.

"Oh?" That was, indeed, worrying. Rose clearly remembered Pearl saying that Diamond was hot. She thought of Jasper's allegations. What if...?

"Do you know what exactly happened?"

"I..." Amy swallowed. She might as well tell Rose everything. "I live with her now. Her sister has a little studio pad. And last night I came home from school and... Aurora was kinda freaking out over a text. Apparently Pearl and the Principal had some kind of afterschool sesh, she didn't tell me jack shit about it but.... apparently they did something, yanno... sexual. Maybe. Whatever. Pearl wasn't clear about it and she's not gonna tell either me or Rori anything."

Amy's words sent a surge of alarm through Rose. She straightened up, gripping the pen she was holding with needless force.

"That is indeed worrying," she said. An understatement. She loved Pearl. There was no way she would stand by and let her precious Pearl get destroyed by a force equal to Roxy Dayman.

"Thank you for telling me, Amy," Rose said, her voice carefully controlled. "I'll see what I can do."

Amy felt that despicable envy surge even more through her. She hated the terror in those eyes. She wanted to be bigger. More powerful. A part of her wished nothing more than to be the one protecting Pearl. "You, uh, keep her safe, okay? Or I'm... I'm calling the cops. And that's going to be ugly for everyone." An empty threat, she realised; she was too scared. But Rose didn't know that. "And Diamond has a chance of not getting caught. You don't."

"There's no need to threaten me, Amethyst," Rose said, her voice gentle. Amethyst was just as worried about Pearl as she was. They were on the same side. "I'm not doing anything illegal. And I'll keep you updated, if you wish."

Amethyst swallowed. "Please." The anxiety welling in her stomach made things so much more tense. "For Rori's sake, too. This is... really bad on her."

"I can imagine." Rose lowered her voice. "This stays between us, but I'm trying to get a few people together. So I have allies against Diamond. Let's just say the way she's treating me hasn't gone unnoticed by the rest of the staff. I can't do anything by myself, but if we work together we might have a chance of actually changing things."

Oh. Of course. Amethyst could only give a tiny nod. "It can't be good. She's... not good to anyone, right now. Stay safe, I gotta, uh, head to English."

"Okay. You stay safe too. Keep Pearl safe. I can't do it all the time." Rose gave Amethyst a smile. "I'll let you know if there's any progress."

Amethyst didn't return the smile. "See ya."

She turned and left, her insides completely messy. She hated this. She hated feeling like she wasn't enough.

Rose sighed and watched Amy leave.

She then pulled out her phone and sent a text to Pearl.

Can you come see me later? RQ xx

Pearl's phone buzzed. She gave a quick glance and tilted her head. Oh. Rose. She smiled. That would be nice, she'd barely had any time to talk to her in the lesson. She gave Amy a wave as her friend walked into class, late. The rest of the lesson seemed to go all too fast, and they'd thankfully made it into their lunch period.

"Rose wants to see me." Pearl sighed as Amethyst suggested going out to town for lunch. "I haven't had time to really talk to her since our date, she's been so busy. Apparently Diamond's got her doing some stuff for the career's fair. I'll see you later, okay?"

And with that, they echanged goodbyes and Pearl paced towards Rose's room.

Rose waited, anxiety tying her belly into a knot. She'd tried to talk to Pearl about this before. Hadn't gotten through to her. She had to try again, regardless.

She stayed in her classroom over lunch, expecting Pearl to find her there; and so she did.

Rose greeted her with a warm smile. "Hello, Pearl!" she said. "I hope you've had a good day?"

Pearl gave a little nod. "I'm very well! Missed you, barely had the chance to talk since the weekend. You okay?"

"Yes, just very busy." Rose smiled at Pearl, then went over and closed the door before pulling Pearl into a hug.

"I've missed you too," she muttered.

Pearl closed her eyes and let herself feel the warmth of Rose's arms. "Can we go out for lunch? Like we used to."

Rose's heart ached.

"I'd honestly love to," she said. "But it probably wouldn't be a good idea." Did Pearl know that Diamond had seen them have lunch together that last time?

Pearl frowned. "Yeah. I guess you're right." The Principal's very early comment about how she'd gained weight racked in her mind. "I don't need to eat right now, anyway."

Rose swallowed. That wasn't what she meant.

"Do you not have lunch with you?" she asked.

Pearl had been in hospital. She was supposed to be better. And yet, Rose could still see those patterns so very clearly.

"I do. It's just... something someone said. They'd noticed I'd gained weight. I'm sure she didn't mean anything by it."

"She might have meant it in a positive way," Rose said. "I, for one, happen to think you're gorgeous."

She kissed Pearl's cheek. Wanted to kiss her lips, but remembered why she'd asked Pearl to come here.

"I heard you had some kind of... tutoring session with the Principal," she said carefully.

Pearl blushed. "I've been falling behind in history, that's all."

"Is it?" Rose asked. From what Amethyst had said, it was most certainly not all. "Is she a good teacher, then?"

"Yes. She got me to answer questions, anyway."

"Hmm." Rose wasn't getting very far like this. "What did she teach you about?"

"Oh. Just history."

Rose smiled. "Are you being evasive on purpose?" she asked. "I'm just interested in your life."

Pearl looked a little taken aback. "U-um. No."

Rose frowned.

"I... heard things," she then said. "About the Principal. And you. I was just... wondering."

"Oh." Pearl swallowed. "It was Aurora, wasn't it?"

Rose ignored Pearl's query regarding the identity of her source. "I'm worried something might have happened that I should know about," she said. "Not in my capacity as your teacher, but rather... your partner." It felt... strange, saying it, but oddly right.

"Alright." Pearl swallowed. "I've been getting close to the Principal. I don't understand it, something about her has just drawn me in."

"Hmm." Rose's frown didn't ease up. "Has she indicated... reciprocation?" Because from what Amethyst had said, it had certainly sounded like it.

Pearl paused for a minute. "Yes."

"I thought she was homophobic."

"Didn't we all?" Pearl rubbed her arm, awkwardly. "It's been absolutely nothing explicit. Just.... touches. And then... yesterday, I think I may have accidentally seduced her."

"Seduced," Rose echoed.

Thoughts were racing through her head faster than she could keep up.

"Things just kept getting really intimate, you know. Her tone was different. Her touches. She sat real close next to me." She then closed her eyes. "I think we nearly kissed. I... I liked it."

Of course you did.

Rose sighed heavily. "Is that all?" she asked gently.

"Oh yeah. Definetly. I don't think she'd take it any further. Maybe she just needs some excitement in her life."

Rose relaxed a little.

"Okay," she said. "Thank you for telling me." She cupped Pearl's face and leaned in to kiss her sweetly.

She was still worried. This little anecdote showed the Principal in an entirely different light.

"Do you want it to stop?" Pearl closed her eyes and smiled into the kiss, her voice betraying her sadness.

Rose drew back.

Part of her wanted to tell Pearl yes, but she knew she couldn't.

"We're polyamorous, Pearl," she said. "I have no say in who you do what with, I'd just like to know. I... can't say that your interactions with the Principal don't worry me, though. Just be careful, okay? And let me know if anything else happens."

"Why would they worry you? She's been so kind to me."

"I've known her longer than you," Rose said with a sigh. "And very few of my interactions with her have been as positive as yours. In fact, that's the experience most people have with her." She's borderline abusing your sister. She's outright punishing me for mentoring a student. She got Ruby expelled for being gay. She drove Lars to-

"Just keep in mind that she may not be all she seems," she said.

Pearl took a gentle step back. "Oh. Oh, I see. I think I'll... I should tell her to back off the next time we have a session."

"Be careful," Rose said, yet again. "She's good at manipulating and putting words into your mouth and -" She sighed. "I don't want to bring you up against her, that's not what this is about. But I know what she's like. And I don't want you to get hurt."

She reached out and touched Pearl's cheek.

"I won't. I'm only weak when I'm with you, Rose." She gave a little smile. "Everything's going to be okay. But I'm glad you warned me about her. I guess I'm just going to have to trust you. And I do."

Rose returned the smile, a little less anxious.

She leaned in and kissed Pearl again, letting the kiss linger for several long moments.

Pearl kissed back, brushing a hand across Rose's cheek. This no longer felt like a complete novelty. Or scandalous. Just right. "Do you ever worry what would happen if they caught us like this?"

"All the time," Rose said quietly. "I try my best to make sure we're not caught."

"No one can just walk in then, can they?"

"The door is locked," Rose assured her. "We're all by ourselves."

Pearl couldn't hold in her giggle. "When you say it like that, it makes me think we could really get up to anything." She then waved her hand. "Don't get me wrong, though. Unlike our Principal, I'd rather not orchestrate anything suspect in these rooms. They are filthier than Amy's room."

Rose smiled.

"Never mind the fact that if we went beyond kissing, I would definitely be in the realm of the illegal, no matter where we do it," she said. "But we can definitely kiss."

Pearl could only chuckle. "Kissing is good. Kissing is very good."

Rose had hoped for that answer. "I'm glad," she said. A quick glance at the clock. "We have about twenty minutes left of lunch. You should eat something - but we can have a little bit more time together." And with that, she pulled Pearl close and kissed her again.

Pearl giggled into the kiss, her entire set of emotions alight. She could only kiss back. And then she realised something. "Oh! Coach Jasper said she wanted to meet with me this lunchtime. Something about physio?"

"Oh!" Rose smiled. So her chat with Jasper and Lapis had actually fruited, and not just been talk. "She did mention she wanted to see you more again. Well, there's not that much time left, so why don't you go now?"

"I know that the old school assumption that all teachers are a hive mind has been proven wrong but... you wouldn't know where she is about now, would you?"

Rose chuckled. "She's probably in the gym," she said. "If she said to meet you, that's where she'll be expecting you to go."

"That's true." Pearl nodded. "Alright. We'll hang out some other time, okay?"

"Yeah! Feel free to come see me whenever," Rose said with a smile. She tipped Pearl's chin up gently and kissed her again.

"Have a good day!"