#me? back on my lamp au bullshit? yea

[patton-croc-agenda]

LAMP AU Where Roman is Kinda a Super Villain for a While

Me, listening to Bad Romance on the radio: I could make a LAMP AU out of this…

In this world, having superpowers isn’t exactly common, but it’s not super rare either? It’s about as common as having blue or green eyes. A recessive trait if you will. All of our boys got something bc plot

Powers do have varying levels of rarity, however. Like a common power is flight, while an uncommon power is necromancy.

Roman has a very rare ability, and a strong one at that. He can make anyone fall in love with him to the point of willing to do anything for him simply by singing to them. The louder and clearer they hear his singing, the longer and stronger his control over them

Roman, obviously, uses the power as much as he can as soon as he learns about it. Charming parents, teachers, and peers into falling in love with him. The only person immune to his charms was, sadly, Roman’s crush in middle school. A boy named Logan who had the ability to cancel out others’ powers.

So yeah, Roman grew up not really understanding how to take “no” as an answer. So when he accidentally quite literally hypnotized an entire audience of people at his first big performance, well...he found that it benefited him, so why stop?

Roman took over the entire city in a matter of weeks, and his influence is continuing to spread

Three years after Roman took control, Logan and a few other people who have managed to escape Roman’s mandatory-attendance weekly performances are building a resistance to take Roman down.

Logan leads the resistance with the help of his childhood best friend (and long-time crush) Patton and his other best friend, Virgil (and other crush)

Virgil has the power of flight. A very basic ability that Virgil refuses to use because he’s terrified of heights. He jokes that if he does ever use it, he’ll never carry Logan bc he might accidentally cancel out Virgil’s flight like 100 ft up

Patton claims to have prophetic dreams, but they’re all very vague or basic, so Logan doesn’t believe him. That’s fine with Patton- he knows they’re real.

For a while they do small things for propaganda; things like graffiti and posters. They don’t really work, as everyone is too far under Roman’s control

Logan comes up with an idea to fight against Roman physically- try and take him down by force if you will. He still needs to hide his identity so he doesn’t get arrested should he fail, so he comes up with a really simple costume.

Logan sneaks out in disguise and finds where Roman is thanks to a double agent. He manages to jump Roman while he’s out on a walk which surprises Roman. He doesn’t have guards bc everyone loves him???? Why would he need them???

He wrestles Roman to the ground and is actually planning to kill him for the greater good, but suddenly Logan is on his back and Roman is hovering over him and he chuckles and grins “Bold of you to assume I don’t work out,” he teases, “now I just need to call the police on you and-” Logan kicks him in the stomach, which causes him to fall off and Logan bolts

Roman is very interested in this guy and how he managed to escape Roman’s control (could it be his childhood crush? No...impossible.), and so he decides to kinda mock him by continuing to not have guards and just going out and about the town.

Obviously, Logan sees this as a challenge and attacks Roman like three times a week. Roman obviously enjoys their little “sparring” matches where they wrestle and mock one another.

Logan claims to hate every interaction with Roman he has, but Virgil and Patton are like “You sure are obsessed with this guy and interacting with said guy as often as possible despite the fact you claim to hate him :/” and usually those arguments end in Logan leaving in a hissy fit

Unrelated and totally not relevant at all- Patton gets one of his prophetic dreams and he excitedly tells Logan about the eyes in his dream that he thinks belong to his soulmate. They do not match Logan’s eyes. Logan is only slightly bitter.

One day, Logan catches Roman off guard and gets a knife up to his throat. Roman can’t defend himself since he knows his singing won’t work. Logan sees fear in his eyes...and suddenly he’s back in seventh grade and Roman is chattering excitedly about poetry with him and he. Can’t. Do it. He runs off

After confiding in Virgil about how much of a failure he feels, Virgil decides to finish the job for Logan. As much as he hates flying, he does it anyway and flies up to Roman’s balcony in an attempt to sneak up and kill him in his sleep

OoPs Roman’s awake and he saw Virgil fly up. But Virgil is wearing Logan’s disguise and he’s delighted to tackle down his enemy and snark at him.

Virgil is a lot weaker than Logan, so he goes down with minimal effort. Roman notices the style of insults and voice are a lot different than before, but he doesn’t think much of it. Roman hums to himself as his rival snarls at him “I like you- I’m gonna keep you I think.”

That makes Virgil panic and he’s able to struggle away and leaps off the balcony and flies home. He ignores Patton’s worried questions and heads to bed

But Virgil can’t help but remember how interesting it was to snip at Roman and how fun it was to see him turn red with annoyance. So he starts to regularly sneak out when Logan isn’t and Roman is slightly suspicious of why his mysterious rival acts so different every other time he visits/attacks, but he loves both versions of him equally so he doesn’t comment on it.

Meanwhile Patton is hM because his boys are acting more spacey recently and are seemingly ignoring all the rebellion stuff in favor for “attacking the enemy head on” as Logan says and “stuff” as Virgil says

Patton is heading up all the rebellion stuff in the meantime and he...he’s not a fighter, so it’s hard. It’s really hard.

Patton realizes if he can’t do this Virgil and Logan’s way- he’s gotta do it Patton’s way!! He knows Virgil borrows Logan’s costume sometimes so he snatches it and goes to find Roman

He finds Roman sitting on the roof of a building and they sit in content silence for a while, occasionally speaking. It’s nice. He doesn’t look towards Patton the entire time, but that’s okay. Patton ends up leaving, deciding to come back again and slowly make Roman see reason about what he’s doing and how it’s wrong

And so there are three versions of Roman’s enemy. The one who attacks during the day, meeting his strength equally and shooting insults and banter- the one who meets him at sunset and sits with him as they talk softly about life and morality and happiness and puppies- and finally the one who attacks by night with biting quips almost as creative as Roman’s own and a sort of grace that would make dancers envious.

It’s one day he’s sitting with Patton when he asks “Why do you act so different depending on the time of day you visit? I’d assume it’s because of your power if not for the fact the midnight version of you can fly.” He turns to meet Patton’s gaze and Patton freezes because those are the eyes he’s had dreams about!!

Patton also realizes Roman is still waiting for an answer so he stands and attempts to run but Roman grabs him by the arm and refuses to let go. He’s still a bit of a brat who’s not used to not having his way so his face gets dark and he pulls Patton closer.

“I’m not letting you run again. I want to know you- the real you- and you’ll stay as long as it takes for that to happen.” And Patton nervously pauses before he nods and takes off his mask and hood

Roman is a little breathless at how beautiful he looks, and his nervous smile seems to put the sunset to shame “Okay...my name is Patton.”

Meanwhile, Virgil is getting ready to go out and find Roman so he goes to get the costume and it’s not there.

He assumes Logan is out and kinda sulks and goes to Patton’s room to complain, but Patton isn’t there. Logan is though.

“I thought you were out” “No, why would you think that?” “Your costume is gone…”

Que panicked searching for both Patton and the costume. Since they aren’t as dense as Roman, they put 2 and 2 together and assume Patton took it and is after Roman so they go to break into Roman’s penthouse only to find Patton in Roman’s room looking perfectly fine. Roman is luckily not there

They try and tug him out and Patton insists he’s fine and he was trying to talk Roman out of his takeover and while it’s not going great Roman is at least listening. They still try and get Patton out.

Roman walks back in and finds two men with his rival/love and he starts to sing to try and convince them to leave

It doesn’t work on Logan, obviously, but to everyone’s surprise it doesn’t work on Virgil or Patton either (though Roman wasn’t trying to use it on Patton)

“Jokes on you, bitch, it’s impossible for me to love you anymore than I already do,” says Virgil.

Patton is the one to finally explain that there are three of them running around. Logan thought he was the only one, and Virgil thought there was only two so both are shocked.

They all sit down and have a nice long chat about feelings (much to everyone but Patton’s distaste) and now everyone is dating niCe

Well, they’ll all be dating on one condition: Roman has to promise to let go of his hold on the city and move away with them.

Roman is obviously hesitant, but he doesn’t want to lose these wonderful boys...so he agrees.

They move away, and soon the city regains control of itself and seemingly forgets Roman ever existed

The boys all teach Roman about how to handle taking “no” for an answer and how you actually have to work for things. It’s hard, and it takes years, but they’re proud of how their boyfriend grows.

They eventually move back to their old city and all get married and they’re so happy and in love

That’s it that’s all I got

[write-orflight]

Light the Lamp: Chapter 1

**Gif Not Mine**

Prev -  Next

Pairings: Bucky Barnes X Reader (Friends to Lovers, College/Hockey AU

Rating: M

Words: 2.2K

Warnings:  College kids being college kids, drinking, swearing, talk of sex(No smut yet but will be)

Request: OPEN/CLOSED

Summary:  Love and Hockey were kind of the same, everyone’s just rushing to score. So why couldn’t you?

A.N Summary bad but I literally couldn’t focus on writing anything else until I finished at least the first chapter of this. let me know what you think, Message/reply/inbox to be tagged.

  Chapter 1: 1st Quarter

Hockey wasn’t the sport Bucky wanted to play originally. He wanted to play baseball like his old man but when Steve decided he wanted to take ice skating lessons, he made Bucky tag along so he wouldn’t be the only boy in the class. Soon, they found themselves recruited in the junior rec hockey team and had been playing together ever since. It wasn’t a surprise that when recruitment came around that school’s were trying to pick up both of them. People knew better than to separate Cap from the Winter Soldier. Steve’s nickname was easy to figure out. He had a natural authoritative nature that made him the Captain of almost every team he played on. You never knew why they called Bucky the Winter Soldier until you played against him. Bucky was like an assassin on the ice. While everyone was focused on Steve in Center, Bucky was on left wing scoring the goal before you knew what hit you. So both of them getting recruited to play for the Avengers at Wilmington University wasn’t surprising. 

Meeting you was. 

At first, it was a sort of form of hazing. When they were starting their Freshman year so was the Coach’s daughter. He had asked senior members of the team to ‘keep an eye on her’ and make sure she didn’t get herself into any trouble. The seniors’ thinking that was lame, were more than happy to pass the task off to the two eager freshmen trying to make a name for themselves. So that’s how it started, The two boys walking you to classes and home from the library late at night, much to your demise. 

“I should’ve known my dad was going to do something like this.” You complained when you saw the two boys waiting outside your dorm the first week of classes. “Thanks for coming. But you can tell my dad that I’m not going to be the freak being escorted by hockey jocks everyday.” 

“No can do, Doll.” Bucky says. “We leave you, we’re doing drills the rest of practice.” 

“Doll? What’re you? A 40s newscaster?” You say, with an annoyed expression walking passed the boys who just followed suit behind you. “Ugh, this is such bullshit. He literally begged me to go to Wilmington and promised I’d be able to have a ‘normal college experience’. What about this is fucking normal?”  

“I know it’s less than ideal but hey, we can make the best out of this.” Steve smiles. “I’m Steve, by the way.” He says extending a hand. 

You shake it. You couldn’t blame them for your dad not trusting you. “Y/N. You?” You asked the other boy next to you. 

“Bucky.” He provides. 

“Bucky?” You question. 

“Well, it’s James but my friends call me Bucky.” 

“And that’s what we are? Friends?” You ask. 

“Might as well be, since we’ll be seeing each other a lot this semester.” 

And that’s how your semi-unconventional friendship started. Pretty soon, even though your dad had eased up on the 24-hour watch, per your mom's request, you still found yourself walking and getting coffee with the two in the mornings. Even, found yourself waiting in the rinks watching practices so you could hang out afterwards and that became your life for the next two years. Now the three of you we’re entering your Junior year of college. Steve was right back in his title role of Captain, Bucky was now first string Left Wing and you were… still watching from the bleachers. You didn’t mind though, you grew to love the sport due to it being your dad’s profession. Hell, you were on skates before you could even walk. But you never found yourself on the women’s team, Hockey wasn’t something you really wanted to do. You still supported the girls team though, which is why you found yourself watching their practices too. 

“Hey, Y/N!” Carol said, skating to the end of the rink where you were sitting next to her girlfriend, Maria. A position you often found yourself in, entertaining player’s girlfriends while they practiced. Maria was cool though, at least you knew about the sport. 

“Hey, Marvel.” You called her by her nickname. Thing about Hockey is everyone was called by their nicknames. 

“You going to the Sigma Pi party later?” She asks. 

“Uh, no one told me about it.” You say, awkwardly. 

“I’m telling you now.” Carol says like it's obvious. “You never go out anymore and I refuse to let you become a cat lady before you turn 25. Come over ours at 7, we’ll pregame and head over at 9. What do you say?” 

“Fine, I’ll come.” You say. 

“Great!” Carol says, pumping a fist before signalling her girlfriend to come closer to the rink. You look away as they kiss. Couples made you uneasy, especially hockey couples. You wanted that more than anything, for your guy to skate up to the gate just to sneak a kiss from you. Not that dating anyone from the team was even an option with you dad coaching. The team saw you as a little sister and if anyone was caught even looking at you in any way, their ass was grass by either your dad or Bucky, who’d become protective of you over the years. 

“Marvel, stop flirting with your girlfriend and GET BACK ON THE ICE!” You heard your dad scream. 

“Sorry, Couch!” She called. “Sorry, baby i’ve gotta jet. Y/N, don’t forget. 7 o’clock!” She says before skating off. 

“I won’t!” You call after her. 

---------------------------------------------------------

You can’t help but look at yourself in the mirror awkwardly at the tight Satin dress your roommate, Wanda practically forced you in. You were just going to wear a sweater and jeans, your regular wardrobe but Wanda insisted everyone had seen you in that and what they haven’t seen is you in a dress. Especially, with your new body, you had gotten over the summer working at a sports camp. Who knew running after kids would be such a great form of exercise? 

Wanda also did your makeup, something you didn’t typically wear, giving you a natural glow eye, a layer of mascara, and sticky gloss that made your look ‘dewy’ as Wanda described it. You tried to keep your hair in the bun but Wanda insisted you keep your hair down. Saying it made you look hotter, you shrugged knowing you’d have to take her word for it. 

The two of you made your way to Carol and Maria’s apartment. Carol swung the door open and looked at you in surprise. “Woah, Ice Baby, you clean up nice.” 

“Don’t start, Marvel. And you know how I feel about being called that.” You hated the nickname but since you were the coach’s daughter and you stuck around the rink any chance you got, The seniors had started calling you Ice Baby your freshman year and the nickname unfortunately stuck long after they had gone. 

“Right, sorry, I always forget.” Carol said moving out the way for the two of you to come in. 

The four of you drink and play games until it’s time to head to the party. You’ve got a pretty strong buzz going as you enter the party and you regret the strappy heels Maria made you borrow before leaving. You’re sitting in the corner when someone comes to sit way too close to you. You look up to see Brock Rumlow, or Rum as the team liked to call him. 

“I almost didn’t recognize you, Ice Baby. You look good.” 

“My name is Y/N but thank you.” You say, annoyed. 

He holds his hands up in mock surrender “I forgot you hate that nickname. Let me bring you a drink to make up for it. What you want.” 

“Rum and coke, please.” 

“Oh, so you like Rum?” He says, obvious double entendre hanging off his tongue. 

“The drink? Yes.” 

“You’ll like the man soon enough.” He winks, smirking at the flush that spreads across your cheeks. 

The two of you spend the night like that. He brings you drinks and shamelessly flirts with you as you get drunker and drunker. The two of you even dance for a bit in the sea of grinding bodies. Soon you’re telling him a story and a hand drifts to your leg. You turn and he’s much closer to your face than you thought he was. 

“Wanna get out of here?” He asks. You nod but before you can even stand, Bucky is there towering over Brock.

“You can leave, Brock. But I’m taking Y/N home.” He says. 

Brock rolls his eyes. “Forgot you had a Winter Soldier guard dog. No worries, dude. I’m leaving anyway.” He says, before turning to you. “You’ve got my number, call me if you wanna hang this week.” He says, nodding to Bucky before walking away. 

“Ugh, Bucky. What was that for?” You whine, drunkenly. 

“You’re drunk. I’m taking you home.” Bucky says. “Come on, stand up.” 

You shakingly get up and Buck is there immediately under your arm, his arm around your waist helping you walk out. 

The cold breeze hits you as soon as you step foot out the party and take the long trek home. 

“I think I drank too much.” You point out. 

“You think, kid?” Bucky says. “You’re lucky, I was here meeting Sharon otherwise you would’ve been shit out of luck.” 

“Brock would’ve taken me home.” 

“Brock’s a lowlife. Don’t worry about him, I’ve got you.” 

You sigh. “Sorry for ruining your night with your girlfriend.” 

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll call her when I make sure you get home so if you could pick up the pace.” 

“My feet hurt.” You complain. 

“Yea, I bet. God, when did you start wearing heels, Doll?” 

“I wanted to look good tonight.” You sigh. 

“You always look good.” 

“Fine, I wanted to look hot.” You provide. “For once, I wanted to be the one guys paid attention to at parties.” 

“You can be yourself for that, Y/N.” Bucky says. “You’re a catch.” 

“If I was, someone would’ve fucked me by now.” You drunkenly admit. That makes Bucky double-take. “I mean, think about it? 3 years into my college career, I turn 21 in a couple months and still it's where no man’s gone before down there.” 

“Y/N, are you saying you’re--” 

“A virgin? Yea, Bucky catch up.” You groan at the pain in your feet. Bucky looks and takes sympathy on you. 

“Here take off your shoes.” He says, toeing his off as well and sliding them over to you. 

“You’re just going to walk barefoot?” You ask, putting on the shoes, holding your heels in your hand. 

“Better than you walking barefoot.” He shrugs. 

“Anyway, I decided over the summer that maybe I was putting too much thought into it. I mean almost everyone loses their virginity in high school and it's never good, no one ever says their first time was good. I just thought maybe I should just, you know, get it over with.” You slur. “Which is what I was trying to do until you chased my date away. God, you always do that, Bucky.” 

“I’m not fighting with you while you’re drunk.” Bucky says, trying to get you to drop the subject but you persist. 

“Every time I try to talk to a guy, you butt in--” 

“Maybe I wouldn’t butt in if you picked the right guys for you.” 

“There’s nothing wrong with the guys I pick! You’re just a cockblock.” 

“That’s not true.” 

“Yea what about Charles? He asked me on a date freshman year and took it back not even an hour later. I had to beg Steve to tell me why and it turned out that you threatened him if he even thought about going out with me.” 

“Y/N, you had just turned 18 and X was a 24 year old senior! I didn’t trust how he was just waiting. So yea, I told him to fuck off. And Rum is an asshole who can’t get a girl to sleep with him unless they’re shitfaced. So yea, I told him to fuck off.” Bucky exclaims as the two of you make it up the stairs to your apartment. “Y/N, you’ll find someone right for you and that right person will make your first time special. I just want you to find someone who’ll make you happy.” 

“And I just want you to remember for next time that if you want to tell a girl who she can and can’t fuck, you have Sharon for that. Not me.” You said, taking off the shoes as you arrived at your front door. 

“Y/N, wait--” You hear him say but you don’t care, you slam the door in his face regardless. 

Who did Bucky think he was? Sure, he was your best friend but so was Steve and he’s not nearly as protective as Bucky was. You honestly couldn’t tell who was worse at this point, your dad or Bucky. You loved both of them but they had the fatal flaw of forgetting you weren’t a kid. You were a woman, a woman with needs. And one particular need you needed to get rid of.   

So you picked up your phone and called Brock. Bucky couldn’t be right about everything.

Taglist: @buckybarneshairpullingkink @riverofcrestmont @babymango-writes @astralsaf @gabi-socio @hereforalongtime512​

[unfortunate-stranger-losers]

All Those Things They Couldn’t Say - A Runaway Baudelaires AU

{ao3} {tumblr} {masterlist}

Chapter Twenty-Three - Quigley goes on the Lam

They planned out their route as soon as Quigley had stopped crying. When he calmed down, Inky returned and led Beatrice to Monty’s chocolate stash, which she quickly gave to Quigley when they went down to the eerily empty Reptile Room. Beatrice spread out the map Quigley had previously marked on the table, placing a few lamps on either end to keep it open, and then she traced multiple possible paths to Prufrock. She had a very distinct frown when she was concentrating, one that Klaus and Sunny also shared. Bertrand watched her carefully, occasionally glancing at the chair Quigley had curled up in, though the boy also peered over, watching Beatrice mess with the map with a sort of fascination. 

“I think our quickest route, assuming the children are at Prufrock- it should only take them a day or two by bus to get there from Paltryville, where we assume they were last, and it took us about a week to get here, so they should be at the school already. Considering how much gas is left in the car, we should have about two days straight before it gives out, so Quigley can stay in the backseat and we can switch who’s driving. We’ll abandon the car instead of filling up on gas- people will notice the stolen car. After that it’s a week’s walk to the school, but we can cut that time in half if we use public transportation to hit this city, this city, and this one. It may take longer depending on if we can find a place to sleep or if we have to walk all night, and if Olaf catches up to us, we’ll take two days to divert him by traveling in this direction. It’s not a short trip by any means, but it’s the fastest way to our children.” 

“Sounds good.” Bertrand nodded. 

“Wow.” Quigley said. “You know the city layout that well? Public transportation isn’t even marked on this one.” 

“Well, you learn a thing or two after being raised in a cult and then stuck on the run for fifteen years.” Beatrice smirked. “Quigley, pack as much food as you can so we don’t have to stop for it on our drive. Bertrand, let’s find new bags to store supplies in, there should be some around here somewhere. Then we head out.” 

Quigley met them outside, tilting his head curiously as the adults did their best to hug a snake. Inky gave them cuddles with its head, then hissed and slithered away. 

“What’s that about?” he asked, moving over. 

Beatrice smiled sadly. “Inky has somewhere it wants to be, so it’s going to catch up to us later.” 

“It’ll find us. That is a smart baby eldritch horror.” Bertrand said. 

“Well, I got the snac- sorry, baby what?” 

“You got the food?” Beatrice asked.

“Uh, yeah.” Quigley shrugged and slid open his bag, rifling through it. “Almond bags, granola bars, whatever was still nonperishable in the house basically. And then I shoved all the water bottles that could fit.” 

“Good thinking.” Beatrice said. 

“I got some books, too!” Quigley added, showing them a stack he had under his arm. “For the ride. I can read them out loud if you guys want, to keep us entertained. I used to do that on roadtrips with my siblings.” 

“Thank you, Quigley, but that’ll just tire you out.” Bertrand smiled, taking some books from him so he could swing his bag back over his shoulder. “We can explain some things to you on the drive. VFD, the Snickets-” 

“Our kids.” Beatrice added. “And you can tell us about your family.” 

“Yeah.” Quigley paused, and then smiled. “I’m seeing my siblings again!” 

“Hell yeah you are!” Beatrice said, holding up a hand for a high-five, an opportunity Quigley quickly took. “Let’s get in the car.” 

Quigley smiled and ran to the backdoor, jumping in and dropping his bag on the ground beside him. He hesitated, though, as Beatrice and Bertrand got in the front seat, his hand hovering over the door handle. 

“You guys are safe, right? You’re not gonna kidnap me?” 

Beatrice and Bertrand shared an incredulous look, and Bertrand said, “You only thought to ask this now?” 

“Father used to say I have the opposite of trust issues. I trust a lot.” 

“Ah.” Bertrand sighed, then turned back. “No, we won’t kidnap you. In fact, soon as we find your siblings, we are finding you a safe, permanent place to live away from all this bullshit.” 

“Promise?” 

As Beatrice started the car, Bertrand leaned his hand back and took Quigley’s, shaking it slightly. “Promise, kid.” 

“Good.” Quigley shut the door, and then said, “I suspected you were trustworthy, anyway. You’re very well-read.” 

“Oh, God.” 

The first day of driving, Quigley was mostly quiet. He pulled out a purple commonplace book to take notes in, only now and again asking a question while they talked. Every so often he’d throw in a trick question to try and figure out if they were lying, but thankfully they were pretty honest with him, so he relaxed quite a bit. He ended up passing out a few hours into the drive, apparently not having done much sleeping the last few days. Beatrice and Bertrand parked every few hours to swap who was driving and who was sleeping, and once Quigley fell asleep, they kinda stopped chatting. Not much to talk about. Not anything that wouldn’t make them feel worse. 

When Quigley awoke, they pulled over at a gym to freshen up, and then took off again. Quigley started talking, then. About his siblings. It sounded like Klaus would be good friends with Duncan, you said he was into research? Duncan’s an aspiring journalist, he’s amazing. He’d love Isadora, too, she’s really into poetry. They could talk about that together. 

When he talked about his parents, his voice fell, and he curled up a little, muttering about how they used to travel a lot- now he understood it was VFD, and now he wasn’t sure if he liked that- but when they were home they spent all their time with their children. 

“They were… great.” Quigley muttered, trying not to cry. 

After a pause, Beatrice, who wasn’t driving, turned and put her hand over Quigley’s. “You must miss them very much.” 

“Yeah.” Quigley nodded, and he shook slightly. Jacques hadn’t said that to him, hadn’t mentioned his parents after saying he knew them. “Did you… know them well?” 

“Only a little, I’ll admit.” Beatrice said. “We saw each other in class. Went on a couple missions. But… I know they were good people, Quigley. Wonderful people. And…” she patted his hand again. “We’re honored to help their children any way we can.” 

Quigley smiled. “What… what did you guys do?” 

“Once we went to Paltryville, we were in a large group.” she said. “We nearly burnt the town down but we stopped the fire so technically we were the heroes in that situation.” 

“I got hypnotized.” Bertrand said. 

“Hypnosis?” Quigley bounced slightly, leaning forwards. “You didn’t tell me that! What’s it like?” 

Beatrice shot Bertrand a concerned glance, and he sighed as he turned a bend in the road. “Wish I could tell you. But you’re kinda… amnesiac during it.” 

“Wow.” Quigley said, fascinated.  

Beatrice smiled, bit her lip, and said, “Your Mother trained crows, right?” 

“Carrier birds. She loved them.” Quigley smiled. “We all kinda absorbed the basics just by listening to her.” 

“Did we tell you I trained bats?” 

“No!” Quigley bounced again, pulling out his commonplace book and flipping to a new page. “How different is it from birds?” 

“Well, they sleep in the day, usually.” Beatrice said. “They’re nocturnal.” 

“So were you when you were younger.” Bertrand said. 

Beatrice laughed and punched him on the shoulder. 

When they ran out of gas on the second day, night was already starting to fall. They managed to ditch the car at the edge of a town, and Beatrice helped Quigley shoulder his bag before they made their way through, passing building after building. Finally they found a hotel, and Bertrand went in while Beatrice and Quigley waited outside. When he came out, Quigley said, “Did you get a room?” 

“No, of course not, we don’t have cash.” Bertrand said. “But I managed to scope out which rooms are empty. We’re gonna break into one of those, come on.” 

Quigley jumped, and then stuttered, “Um- okay?” 

“Higher floor is less likely to get sold late at night.” Beatrice said. “We can climb in through a window.” 

“Um-” Quigley began. 

“Room 315.” Bertrand said. “Quigley, get in there and make it to the stairwell, wait outside 315 until we open the door. Don’t go with anyone else.” 

Quigley nodded. “What if you get caught?” 

Beatrice and Bertrand shared a sad look, and then she said, “We won’t. Go on in.” 

Quigley nodded, quickly scampering into the building. He kept his head low, trying to remain unnoticed by the other people milling about the lobby. He found the stairs quick and raced up, playing with his hair to calm his nerves- it had gotten a bit longer than he normally kept it, but he was fine with that. He actually kinda liked it. Now he could see why Isadora was so excited to have longer hair instead of matching her brothers. It was fun. 

He made it to the third floor and pushed the stairwell door open, cautiously creeping down the hall, jumping when he heard noises from other rooms. His mind drifted to the idea of them getting caught, of people grabbing and shouting at them that they shouldn’t be here, getting handed over to the police… 

He stopped outside of Room 315 and started playing with his hair again. That would distract him, at least. The soothing, swishing feeling… it was so nice. God, he needed to grow it out a bit more. Maybe to the shoulders. That’d be nice without getting distracting. If it was too long it’d fall in his face and he wasn’t sure how he’d keep it out. 

He jumped as the door in front of him started to rattle, and stepped back as it swung open. Bertrand smiled down at him, put a finger to his mouth, and then gestured for him to come in. Quigley beamed and skipped in, watching as Beatrice shut the window, tossing her hair back like it was no big deal. 

“Can you show me how to do that?” Quigley asked, as soon as Bertrand shut the door. 

“When we have the time, yeah.” Beatrice nodded. “We’ll sleep here and set out in the morning. We’ve got a long walk but if we can get to the bus station by tomorrow night we can sleep as it drives.” 

“I’m good at walking. We’ll be fine.” Quigley said. He moved to a bed, bouncing slightly on the mattress. 

“Will you be alright?” Bertrand asked. He dimmed the lights some more, as Beatrice sat by the window to start their first watch. 

“Sure.” Quigley said. He hesitated, and then said, “Just wake me up in an hour or so, I can keep watch.” 

“Oh, honey, no.” Beatrice shook her head, smiling. “We’re used to this. You get your sleep, okay?” 

“But I’m on the run with you now.” 

“No,” Bertrand said quickly, “We’re just getting you to your siblings. You go to sleep, okay? Get some rest.” 

“I want to help.” 

“You can help by getting rest. We’ve got a long walk.” Bertrand reminded him, sitting on the other bed and smiling at him. “Goodnight, kid.” 

“...okay.” 

Quigley ended up crawling into bed, but after several minutes of laying there, he found he wasn’t able to calm down enough to rest. His head felt a bit bleary- that feeling when you’re tired but still can’t sleep. That was normal, right? 

So he rolled over and said, “I can’t sleep. Can’t I just… stay up with you guys?” 

Bertrand and Beatrice sighed, and Bertrand moved over to Quigley, sitting beside his bed. “What do you normally do to fall asleep?” 

Quigley shrugged. “Nothing, really. I don’t sleep a lot.” 

“Insomnia?” 

“I think so, yeah.” 

Bertrand smiled and glanced over at Beatrice, who nodded at him, before turning back. “When my kids were younger, I’d just recite poetry when they were too nervous to go to sleep.” 

Quigley frowned at him. “Yeah but I’m thirteen, I’m not a baby.” 

“It might help. Sometimes it’s easier to fall asleep with something in the background- music, recitation, calming noises, that stuff.”

“We don’t have music,” Beatrice said, hugging her knees and smiling, “But we do have my husband and his wonderful extensive knowledge of John Godfrey Saxe.” 

Quigley hesitated. “Sometimes Isadora would read poetry til we passed out. I guess it might work. If you’re okay with it.” 

“Sure.” Bertrand laughed. “My kids think it’s embarrassing so I usually just do it with Sunny. What do you know about John Godfrey Saxe?” 

“A bit, from Isadora.” Quigley said, before grabbing a pillow and hugging it. “She’s a poet like you, I think I mentioned?” 

“Yeah.” Bertrand nodded. “I can’t wait to meet her. We’ll talk your ears off.” 

“I can’t wait.” 

Bertrand smiled, and then sat against the dresser, resting his arm on his knee. “Well, The Blind Men and the Elephant. And you try to sleep, okay?” 

“I’ll do my best.” 

Bertrand looked over to Beatrice, who just beamed at him and waited. 

“It was six men of Indoostan, To learning much inclined, Who went to see the Elephant (Though all of them were blind), That each by observation Might satisfy his mind.” 

Despite his insomnia, Quigley was asleep by the final verse, exhaustion pulling him again. Bertrand stood up, making sure to tuck the boy in and ensure he was actually sleeping and not just pretending. He smiled and said, “That always worked on Klaus.” 

“And my singing worked on Violet.” Beatrice sighed. “We’ll try that with him next, I guess.” 

Bertrand sat on the other bed, glancing cautiously at his wife. “Should we have even taken him with us?” 

Beatrice didn’t meet his eye. “If we didn’t, he’d either be abandoned in that house or taken to VFD. Either way, he’d be fucked.” 

“If Olaf catches up to us-” 

“He won’t.” 

Bertrand sighed and moved to sit beside his wife on the windowsill. He reached over and took her hand, and played with her fingers for a bit. She smiled and relaxed against the wall, leaning her head on her shoulder. 

“If he does,” Bertrand said seriously, “We’ll have him run. Pretend he doesn’t know us.” 

“Pretend we don’t know him. So Olaf has no interest.” 

“That way at least he won’t be…” 

They were silent again. Then Bertrand hesitantly pulled his wife’s sleeve back and ran his hand over a dark bruise. Beatrice didn’t move, but she did shiver slightly. 

“I never thought he-” 

“There’s a lot we never thought he could do.” Beatrice whispered. “A lot we never thought we could do.” 

Bertrand moved his hand back to hers, and squeezed it. “Bea… it still doesn’t give him the right to-” 

“I know.” 

Bertrand shut his eyes. “The things he did-” 

“I know.” 

“The things he said-” He clenched her palm again, and she leaned forwards, using her free hand to cup his face. 

“We won’t let any of it happen.” she said, but Bertrand could feel her trembling. “Not to our babies. Not to anyone.” 

“Beatrice…” he slid his hand to her arm again, and then said, his voice breaking, “If- if he goes near Violet-” 

“He won’t.” Beatrice said certainly, that fire lighting behind her eyes again. “We’ll kill him.” 

“That’s what scares me, Bea. I- I never thought he could- he would even think-” 

Beatrice sighed. “Time flies by, and carries away our tender caresses for ever. Time flies far from this happy oasis and does not return.” 

“We are not sure of sorrow, and joy was never sure.” Bertrand replied. “Today will die tomorrow, time stoops to no man’s lure.”

“Farewell past, happy dreams of days gone by. The roses in my cheeks already are faded.” 

“Man hands on misery to man. It deepens like a coastal shelf.” 

They looked at each other, and then Beatrice leaned further, giving her husband a soft, comforting kiss. 

[irepookie]

Infinity Chapter 5

Summary: QUEEN AU where Rog (aka Rowan Queen) is a young single dad struggling to make it into music industry.

Warnings: not really. Just fluff, sappiness and swearwords here and there

Disclaimer: I don't own the pictures. The boys are based on Queen, but Piper, Gina and Callie are mine.

CHAPTER 4: MEET THE FAMILY PART II

In which Row and Gina finally confront each other.

"Thought you didn't want anything to do with us" Row made his presence noticeable for the woman sitting on the rocking chair.

He had been watching them for a couple of minutes, since returning from a last supply run for Piper's stuff. He was only gonna get a few more onesies, but ended up with:

3 rattles, six onesies (one of each color of the rainbow),

a nightlight (which, come to think of it was ridiculous because his room didn't have lids so it was never really dark due to street lamps)

and another two pinkies to add to the collection of 9 he already had at home.

Gina looked up from her granddaughter and to his son, who leaned against the doorway with arms crossed.

"If you can't beat them, join them. Is that what you're doing, mom?" He added, before she could speak.

"I'm not your enemy." She said

"Bloody seemed like it."

Gina sighed. She really didn't want to fight now, so she looked down to the infant again "Gotta admit she's gorgeous." She grinned.

He beamed proudly "You bet"

"And how are you?"

"Nearly as gorgeous"

"I mean mentally.  Cause you look like shit"

"Why, thanks Mom"

She rolled her eyes. "How are you sleeping lately?"

"Funnily enough I can't sleep at night because I'm worrying about her. Really. Had a week when I could last sleep through and I couldn't"

"Good start"

"I'll manage"

"Just promise me something"

"Depends"

" If she's actually yours..."

"She's mine mum."

"Listen. There will be times when she won't let you be. On your bloody ears for days on end. I believe you made me lose half my auditive capacity. And that's stressful. Now, you've never been the best on anger management..."

"Mom..."

"Let me finish. It's normal. It will happen. You will probably want to suffocate her with a pillow -I did sometimes when you were this little-. If that or any close thought comes to mind just put her down and walk away from her, and hit something. Do whatever you have to do, and call me. I'll help you out. But put her down first somewhere safe. Understood?"

"Mum I don't need~"

"Understood?"

"Understood"

"It's not her fault"

"I know"

"Don't make her pay for it"

"I'd never"

"I hope so"

"Really mum. I love her. I'm gonna do my absolute best, I'll be the best dad ever, I will always be there for her, I'll put her always first, I won't let anything happen to her."

"I just don't understand why you want to do this"

He shrugged, reaching over to caress her warm cheek "I just can't get enough of her, I guess. I can't explain it. She makes me... I don't know. But I can't imagine her with any other last name or any other father."

Gina grinned to herself. It made perfect sense "Speaking of last names, you got a full name?"

"Oh yes um... Piper. Piper Rock Queen" he smiled

"Oh... Err, Rock?"

"As in Rock'n'Roll of course"

Gina couldn't help an eye roll "It's too late to talk you out of it, isn't it?"

"Very much so. She's already registered." Row smiled as he had already predicted mom wouldn't like it. The idea of naming her Gina had briefly crossed his mind, but that was more common. And he knew his daughter was special, so she deserved a cool, unique name.

"So Piper Queen" Gina looked.at the tiny being in her arms.

The mentioned opened her baby grey eyes as if she knew she was the topic of conversation.

Gina had to smile. She was beautiful. She already had Row's eyes.

"Hello there Piper . I'm grandma." She cooed instinctively.

Row would deny it, but he was relieved to hear her say that. She was there for him. For them. And that was more reassuring than anything.

"Yes, hello dearie."

She let out a distressed moan

Row looked at his watch "She must be hungry" then leaned over until he was inches away from his daughter, in her short distance field of vision "You wanna come with Daddy? I bet you do." He cooed, and carefully slid one hand under her the back of her neck and her back

"Mind the head"

"You're 8 days late" he said, taking her with ease -as he had been doing it for a week- and nestled her on the crock of his arm "Good morning, you beautiful thing. We're going home tomorrow. Yes we are, I'm so excited" he spoke with high pitched voice as he gently bounced her, and Gina had to admit that he was quite a natural.

The genuine love in his eyes was the same -or even more intense- as he had have 8 days before when he had first laid eyes on her.

But that could still change quickly, a little voice reminded her.

"You're so lovely, darling." Her son continued, eyes fixed on his new daughter as if she was the only thing that existed.

His daughter.

The realization that she was now a grandmother shrunk in Gina.

Damn she felt old

And if this was to become a tradition, 19 years from now maybe she'd be a great-grandmother.

God no.

She then registered what he had said

"You're getting discharged tomorrow?"

Row looked up at her voice as if he had been snapped out of a trance "uh?".

"You're getting discharged tomorrow?" She repeated

"Oh, yes" he smiled, looking down again "Yes we are. We're going home! Yes darling. And we'll have so much fun..."

"Do you have the equipment?" Gina had to interrupt their little conversation:

It was good that he was genuinely looking forward to it, but that didn't mean he had any clue or had thought about alll of the things a newborn needed. We're talking about a boy who tried to put the washer on without detergent, and who would always leave coins in his jeans when throwing them in the laundry.

He was capable of letting her sleep in the couch and feed her cow milk from a tin a can and a straw.

"Yes. The basics anyway. Carseat, clothes, bottles, formula, diapers, pinkies, more pinkies, more clothes... Oh, hopefully I'll get the boys to help me out building the crib. Haven't had the time yet"

"Where will she sleep until then?"

"With me in bed. I know it's dangerous cause I could suffocate her and blah blah blah, but that's not gonna happen. I'll be careful and... Well let's face it we're not going to sleep much, are we?"

Gina had to chuckle "You have it all thought through."

"Of course I do"

"Okay, not bad. What about bathing?"

"The sink will do cause she's so little, right?" he cooed, and she whined in response so he went to a bag and got a bottle out "Yes sweetheart, that's your milk. Yes. I'm gonna have it heated up for ya, okay? We'll get Callie." He smiled, and as if on cue, the young woman walked past the room. She stopped for a moment when seeing the older woman.

She smiled: she knew she'd come. She stuck her tongue out at Row when he noticed her, as if saying <<I knew it>> and he waved her away with a wink, tossing her the empty bottle so she could refill it.

Gina stayed the rest of the morning. She was curious, actually, about seeing her son as a father. Turns out he handled it quite well. Once she was fed, he changed her, played with her (game consisting on him making all sorts of faces to her as she stared intently up at him, one hand on his hair and the other around his index) until she got tired and fussy. After that, he only had to call Callie once cause he had really messed up with the swaddle and both him and his daughter had lost their nerves.

"There, all done. Don't worry baby, your daddy will get it eventually." The nurse cooed at the bundle, as Row scratched the back of his blond head.

She then turned to Gina with a bright smile, and repeated the same words she had told her When they had first met 8 days earlier.

"And you must be Grandma"

And this time, Gina smiled and nodded "I am"

Then the nurse turned to Row, whose  attention was back to his child, and mouthed an "I told you."

And when he had have to go the the toilet and the babe had woken up, there had been nothing Gina could do that had calmed her down until Row finally came out and held her on his chest.

"Already a Daddy's girl. Goddamn it" the new grandmother commented with a slight grin of disbelief and marvel.

"Well I'm not complaining" Row smiled back, as he walked around the room in hopes he'd get her to sleep.

"Wait until girl wants daddy three times in the middle of the night" Gina half teased.

"Well, daddy will get up. As many times as she needs me I'm gonna be there" he kissed Piper's forehead, as she began to let her eyelids drop.

Her smile grew at the confidence in his words. Perhaps they could all make this work.

She watched as he walked the room a few more times, humming a little tune Gina hadn't heard before, and only when being sure she was off, he laid her down and sat on the sofa, between the cot and his mother.

"She's a real doll" Gina commented quietly as they both watched her sleep. "Or at least appears to be."

"Yea. She manages to stay cute even when she's crying like crazy."

"That's cause she's your daughter. I thought the same about you, but that's bullshit: every newborn baby is, objectively, ugly. But we love them anyway and that's why they become, in our eyes, the most beautiful thing in the world" she looked through her purse and got out a cigarette. (Remember this is the mid 80s, where smoking was allowed everywhere, as far as I'm concerned).

"No, mom. Not here" his eyes flicked to his sleeping daughter

"Why not?"

"It's not good for her."

"The cigarette's for me, not for her."

"She'd be second hand smoking. And her lungs are very vulnerable."

Gina scoffed. "Dear, I smoked through the first three months I was pregnant with you, then, as soon as you were out my butt, the first thing I asked for: a cigar. And then your father too. And you're fine"

"I had pneumonia three times as a kid"

"Oh please, don't you dare blame me for that"

"I'm sure they were related"

"That's bullshit! That's a bunch of shit the government made up to raise the price of cigars and rip us off!" Gina always raised her voice when sensing she was losing an argument.

Which never failed to set his son off too.

"It's a fucking scientific study!" He yelled.

"Says the boy who would take money from my jackets to buy tobacco at 15!!"

"Yea so?"

"Don't go all anti-smoking on me, when you smoke just as much!"

"I've quitted, just so you know!"

Gina laughed "Yes right." and put the cigar between her lips, getting a lighter out her pocket.

"Get the fuck out of here" he stood up, as he tried to contain his anger.

"What?"

"Get the fuck out of here!" He repeated, louder. He could handle her questioning him: they were both stubborn as hell and he was used to it. But he wasn't gonna let her get her way and disrespect him this time, especially when it was his baby and her health at stake.

"Oh c'mon Rowan"

"You light that shit up and you won't have to worry about being a grandmother, or a mother for that matter"

She froze and looked defiantly at him with at him with the corner of her eye.

"Was that a threat?"

"Of course it was!"

"Oh c'mon, you wouldn't be able survive on your own for a week, let alone taking care of a baby!"

"Just you watch! I don't need anything from you!" It wasn't true.

"Oh please! Don't be ridiculous. Last week today you lost the last copy of your flat's key, and guess who had to save the day? Oh, I got it, the same woman who helped you buy the damn house in the first place!!!"

"Well that's what you wanted, huh? 19 years up my ass, telling me how bad you wanted me to come of age so I'd be gone!"

"Yes because living with you was a nightmare! Always had to clean after you, and make excuses for you when one of your "conquers" from the night before turned up on my doorstep because you hadn't called them back or whatever bullshit! And now this?" She pointed at Piper

Row stepped in front of the cot protectively, staring menacingly at the woman "This what? Huh?"

"I don't know what the fuck you think you're playing to, but I ain't taking care of her when you get tired of pretending to be Mr.Mom!!!"

"Oh believe me I'd rather leave with a raccoon than with you"

"Well that's a relief. Any raccoon would have a more stable life and responsibility than you!"

"Oh yes any raccoon would have more support than what I'm having!"

"I told you where I stood from the beginning! I told you I'd wash my hands off you if you chose this!"

"Then what the fuck are you doing here now?! If you washed your hands off us, why did you come? To judge me? To repeat all the bullshit you already told me 8 days ago? Or to try and convince me to turn my back on her like you?  Well, bad news for you, Gina, that ain't gonna happen. I love this kid unconditionally, more than anything, above myself and anything else, which is apparently way more than you ever loved me.

>>And you know how I know that? Cause I'll support her in everything. Even if I don't agree with it. And I won't push her, or put pressure on her to finish school or get a job. And if 19 years from now I've become a grandfather, I'll be there for them. And if she wants to drop out school cause she's sick of it, I won't force her. And if instead of a secure stable job she wants to follow a dream I can't even begin to understand, I'll help her in any way I can." He kept stepping closer to the woman as they made unbreakable eye contact, until she was against the wall, and snatched the cigar from her. "SO I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR BULLSHIT OR YOUR GODDAMN OPINIONS! SHE'S MY GODDAMN DAUGHTER, AND I SAY WHAT I WANT HER TO BREATHE!"

The small whine that usually preceded a cry broke the air, and Row instinctively reached over to put one foot on the cot's wheels to rock it back and forth and try to calm her down before she woke, holding his mother's defying gaze at all times.

It didn't work though and a wail escaped her lips, drawing her father's full attention as he turned around to look at her (with an automatic soft features that had nothing to do with the agressive behaviour he had showed no less than a second ago).

"Hey prune princess" he cooed, resting a hand on her stomach. He didn't want to pick her up while fighting with Gina. He didn't want to scare her further than he already had with that shout. "Hello sweet stuff. Everything's fine, go back to sleep, c'mon"

She whined again. Row sighed, leaning towards her untill their foreheads were glued so he was in her short distance field of vision and began to pat her tummy in gentle rhythmic patterns. He forgot Gina's presence, and their argument all together at the sight of her, because she was all that mattered.

She quieted down instantly, safe and warm below the familiar mop of blond hair that she already associated with calm and shelter. He remained in that position until she was asleep again, gradually slowing down the rhythm, untill he stopped.

But still he didn't move. He didn't want to. He didn't want to resume the fight with Gina. Why did every single one of their conversations have to end in an argument?

So he stayed glued to her, taking in all the strength and the power of will he was gonna need to face his mother again.

"I came here to meet her" she spoke, this time in a calm manner.

He sighed, pecking Piper's forehead before stretching up and turning around "And?"

She sighed. She sucked at this. But he -well, they- were her only family left. And inside, she had to admit she was at awe at his decision and determination to follow through.

Who said he couldn't make it work?

"And to apologise" she finally said.

"What for?"

"Oh you know it."

"Yea but she doesn't."

"She won't remember any of this."

"But perhaps one day she'll want to know, and I'll have to tell her Grandma was too proud to admit she was wrong."

Another eye roll "Alright." She walked to the small bassinet, which was still being moved back and forth by Row's foot "I'm sorry I was such a bitch about all this, dearie. I just know your... " She sighed, the next word still tasting weird in her mouth "your dad too well and I guess I'm worrying. Cause that's what family does. I just hope it's in vain this time. Good luck, you little bugger"

Row smiled. Gina's apologies wouldn't mean a thing without a couple insults towards him here and there. That was just her way.

And he guessed she had passed it down to him, just like one day Piper would get retention for shouting a few f words in kindergarten.

🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

Author's Note:

Please please whoever's reading this, reach me out. I'd really like to know if all this hard work is worth it!!! Reblog, Ask, Comment... Even a single emoji would make me smile.😍😍

And as always, Hola to my dearest @definitely-darcy whose marvelous mega-paragraphs help me improve way more than any English class ever has.

-Pookie