#our protective instincts over my sisters will win don’t worry

[abby420]

there is no greater alliance than an eldest daughter and her mom

[unhealthyfanobsession]

If you’re still taking prompts:

“Keeping a secret from your best friend is difficult... but when that secret is that you're madly in love with her, it's downright impossible. At least that's what Cassian thought, until he was a little tipsy and sharing a sleeping bag with said best friend. (College, modern AU)”

With smut please?🧎🏾‍♀️🙏🏽👀🥺

Oh hey bestie! So I think maybe you had like after a college party in mind for this but I went a… different way. Also it’s only smut-adjacent because I think good smut requires a Drabble of its own I think I’m sorry. Hope you enjoy!!!

Camping.

Nesta had two weeks between the end of her internship and the beginning of her last year of college, and somehow, she let herself get dragged along on her sister’s annual camping trip.

Their whole friend group was weird and twisted around like Ivy vines with who was closest to who, who was related to who, who was dating who, who had slept with who’s father (looking at you MOR!), and Nesta tended to avoid the big group things.

But this was only Feyre, Rhys, Azriel, and the real reason she was there… Cassian. Fucking Cassian dragging her off into the woods.

Nesta loved her sisters. She did. She wouldn’t spend time with them and pretend she didn’t hate their boyfriends if she didn’t love them. (Pretending not to hate Rhys and Lucien, for Nesta, pretty much required the energy of a full time job.)

She loved her sisters. But she was there for Cassian. Because she liked Cassian. Genuinely and entirely liked him. Nesta Archeron liked another human being. They’d been best friends since eighth grade when he tried to ask her out on the swing set and she elbowed him in the jaw.

Saying yes to that middle school date would’ve been the worst mistake of her life. Because then she’d have had this short drama filled relationship with Cassian and she wouldn’t have gotten to keep him. And she really loved that she got to keep him. Even if sometimes she wished he’d been her first kiss instead of Tomas.

Anyway, when he said he was going on this camping trip Nesta realized she had to go too. Because there was no way she was spending her free time somewhere that he wasn’t. He was her person. The person she wanted to spend her free time with.

“Pathetic,” Cassian grinned, plucking the pack right off of her back as if it weighed no more than a purse. As if she hadn’t been struggling under its weight for the past 4 kilometres.

“I agreed to camping. I didn’t realize a 7 hour hike was involved to get to the damn place.”

“Two hours at most, sweetheart.” Nesta scowled, pretending, as she always did, to hate his little endearments. “And all of the best spots require a hike. Otherwise they’re overcrowded.”

“Maybe overcrowded is a good thing. Maybe overcrowded means loud and safe instead of offering ourselves up to be a bear buffet.”

“I’ll protect you from any bears, I promise, Nes.”

Nesta glared. “You’re going to fight off a bear if it tries to eat me?”

“Of course I am,” Cassian nodded. “These muscles aren’t just for show.”

Nesta laughed. “How sad I’m going to lose my best friend on this trip. Don’t worry I’ll come up with something nice for the tombstone. “Here lies Cassian. Tried to fight a bear so his muscles would have a purpose.”

“I take it back, you can get eaten by the bear.”

“I’m going to shove you in front of the bear.”

Their water break had landed then both a few hundred feet behind Feyre, Rhys, and Azriel, so Cassian kept hold of her backpack as they moved, teasing her that he was still faster with two packs than she was with none.

When they arrived at the little clearing Nesta had to admit it was beautiful. Serene. A big patch of grass surrounded by trees with a stunning view over the mountains from a clearing just a few feet away.

“Worth the hike?” Cassian asked as he set up their tent. That was the deal. If Nesta was going to camp then he had to do all of the work. Because she didn’t know how to do it. Also he had to share his tent with her because seriously? Why would she own a tent? She wasn’t a damn mountain man.

“It is really pretty.”

“I told you you’d like camping, Nesta!” Feyre called out from over fifty feet away where Azriel, Cassian, and Nesta all banded together to force her and Rhys to put their tent. Far away from the other two. Nesta was so not sleeping on the ground AND listening to her little sister have sex all night.

“Cassian?” Consciousness pulled lightly through Cassian’s sleepy mind. “Cass? CASS!” He shot bolt upright, body instinctively turning to Nesta, looking her over, checking her for injuries or any other thing that might have her yelling his name into the pitch black tent.

“Oh good, you’re awake.”

Cassian laughed. It was probably 3am and she’d just woken him up, and still he was laughing. Man he had it bad.

“What’s up, buttercup?” He made a show of flipping around to face her even though he couldn’t really see her.

“I’m freezing.”

As his eyes adjusted, Cassian looked her over with a frown. She was bundled up in her sleeping bag, wearing his sweater… which he hadn’t given her, but he had discarded in between them before he went to sleep so that was fair game he guessed. It was far from the first time in over a decade of friendship that she’d stolen his sweater, but man… it still did something to him.

“Your sleeping bag isn’t made for below freezing temperatures, is it?”

Nesta stared at him. Blinked. “No. Why would it have to be? It’s August!”

“It’s colder up in the mountains,” Cassian explained. “Especially over night.”

“Great. I’ve been brought into the mountains to freeze to death and now Eris is going to win the gold medal for our year.”

Cassian laughed, “Well I can’t allow that. The horror.” This was probably a bad idea. No it was definitely a bad idea, but the words couldn’t be stopped from leaving his mouth once they popped into his mind. “Come share mine.”

Cassian half unzipped his sleeping bag and made a show of shuffling himself over.

“You’re too big.” She said.

“Thanks I work out,” Nesta glared at his cocky smirk. “Come on Nes, it’s this or letting Eris win the gold medal.”

Nesta huffed, but unzipped her sleeping bag and crawled over to his, her legs were cool as they tangled with his in the tight sleeping bag. Cassian pulled her in, one arm wrapping instinctively around her shoulders to pull her against his chest, before he zipped the sleeping bag up again after her.

This had been such a bad idea. But what could he do? Let her freeze?

Cassian told Nesta everything, so it was already difficult enough to be keeping a secret from his best friend... but when that secret was that he had been madly in love with her since middle school, the situation became impossible. And pulling her perfect body tight up against his and wrapping her in his arms, hands moving up and down her shoulders quickly to try and warm her up, was not helping the situation.

“Thanks,” Nesta murmured sleepily. “I’m already a lot more comfortable.”

Me too, Cassian thought but would never say.

“Hey Cass?” Nesta’s voice was teasing. “What do we do if you wake up with morning wood?”

Cassian chuckled into her hair, a little bit drunk on the familiar scent of rosehips and iron will.

“Then I guess we’ll finally have sex.” He deadpanned.

Nesta’s jaw dropped. Ok. Bad joke. “I’m not having sex with you for the first time in a tent Cassian!”

Now Cassian’s jaw dropped. That was her issue with his suggestion? “I… Nesta I was joking. But… the tent is the problem? The only problem?”

“Grow a pair!” Nesta batted at him with her hand, an impressive feat considering she was all but pinned between him and the sleeping bag. “I thought this was you finally making a move.”

Cassian stared down at her. It was pitch black, but even with just the shadowy outlines of her features, he could see her exact expression in his mind.

“I wouldn’t use you freezing as a ploy to make a move, Nesta.”

“And why not?” She humphed, “it’s the perfect opportunity.”

“It’s… coercive.”

“Do I look coerced to you, Cassian?” Nesta ran her foot up his bare calf and Cassian shuddered.

“I can’t have sex with you if you’re looking for a friends with benefits, Nes.” Nesta paused her movements. “I… fuck, our friendship means so much to me and I’m so afraid to fuck it up. And if we start having sex I won’t be able to handle it being just sex and you’ll start to resent me so we just… shouldn’t go there.”

Nesta’s arms wrapped around him now, struggling to span the full width of his chest. “And if it wasn’t just sex?”

“Please don’t fuck with me about this,” he whispered. Low and Ernest in a way he almost never was.

“What?”

“Dont joke about this if you’re playing around or I don’t… you have to know, Nes. You have to know how completely in love with you I am.”

“Yeah,” Nesta tucked her head under his chin. “I know. I’ve just been waiting for you to make a move.”

It was dark. Cassian could barely see her. But there, with his arms around his best friend in the world, sharing a sleeping bag to keep her warm, Cassian nudged her out of his chest and found her lips in the pitch black.

Why had he kept this secret for so long? Everything in the world was better when he was kissing his best friend.

[fandom-puff]

Cloak

Pairing: Sandor Clegane x Reader

Requested by: anon ‘Hi!!! So I saw that your requests are open and I absolutely ADORE your writing, so may I ask for a Sandor x stark!reader in a established relationship where maybe Sandor proposes and then the two marry? Could it be more centered on the marriage and very fluffing and loving? I love to imagine how his enormous cape would fit on the small reader! Completely fine if not tho!! Thank you!!💕’

Notes: so in this, you’re the oldest stark child, around 19, and it’s set around the time Margaery comes to King’s Landing ish. Sandor doesn’t escape after Blackwater. It’s all a bit vague and definitely not canon compliant, but just go with it I guess :)

Warnings: swearing, Joffrey being... Joffrey.

Gif creds to owner

“Are you not frightened of the Hound?”

You smiled gently at your sister as you brushed her hair. “I’m not. Why D’you ask?” You said, pulling her fiery hair into northern style braids. Sansa’s pale cheeks flushed and you grinned mischievously. “What’ve you heard, Sister?” You tease. “Do you still believe some of the knights in your pretty songs exist?”

Sansa nibbled her lip- a nervous habit you both have- and shook her head. “No- I- well... it’s just that I heard... I heard the King say something about marrying you off to him, now that he’s been released from the Kingsguard. To make an example of the Starks,”

You sighed softly. “Look at me, Sansa. Everything the Lannisters do is at the expense of the Starks. You’re starting to understand this now and I’m proud of you for it. But don’t you worry about me. I’m not scared of Clegane. Besides... they’ve too much on their minds with the Tyrells coming to court. Stick to them, Sansa. The Tyrells are smart, the Reach is a valuable resource that the North has always relied on. Befriend Margaery. Win over Ollenna. Sing and dance with Loras,”

“But we aren’t in the north anymore, YN,” she whispered and you tipped her chin up.

“No. But we are northern ladies. And we are the sole heirs to Winterfell for all we know. It’s time we started playing the game of thrones properly, don’t you think? Now go. I’m sure Margaery is waiting for you to rescue her from her grandmother,”

***

With Sansa’s unease put to rest, you got yourself ready, braiding your own hair and dressing, before leaving your chamber.

Precisely on time, you passed Sandor in the hallway and flashed him a brief smile. “Clegane,” you said softly.

“Lady Stark,” he replied, giving you a rare hint of a smile as you backed into an alcove.

“Sansa has heard talk of... of a wedding,” you said lowly. “Between us,”

Sandor towered above you, but his massive hand was gentle when it cupped your cheek. “Would a wedding to me be so bad, aye?” He teased, but when he saw the severity in your eyes he frowned. “Joffrey did make a jest of it. I think it was more to torment the little bird, to make her uneasy,”

“She still thinks you’re a great hulking monster even though you’ve protected us since they put my father’s head on a spike,” you said bitterly.

“Don’t fret, my little wolf,” he said softly. “The cunt makes japes like that all the time. At the expense of our houses, our families. Only the joke’s on him if he goes through with it. Because then we will be married, all proper,”

You nodded and stood on tip toe to press a gentle kiss to his lips- well, more like his chin, even reaching up like you were. “I love you. I need to go, so do you, before people notice we’re gone,”

***

“Ah... Lady YN,”

You blew out a shaking breath as you steeled yourself to deal with Joffrey. You turned around and sunk into a low curtsey. “Your majesty,” you said sweetly, though you made sure to let your broad accent ring clear, to remind him that as long as the starks lived, winterfell would never be his.

“I have been looking all over the Keep for you, my lady,” he said, grabbing your arm. “I thought you had escaped... like your silly bitch of a younger sister,” you gulped, knowing he was talking about Arya.

“I’m sorry you had to look for me, Your Grace. May I ask what I am needed for? I would be honoured to serve Your Grace,” you spewed the words you knew boosted his ego, following him as he walked you back to the throne room.

“I have a gift for you,” he said casually. “At first I considered giving it to Sansa... but I already gifted her her father’s head... no, I think it’s your turn to receive a gift from your king,”

“Yes, your highness, thank you,” you said with a tight lipped smile, urging yourself not to start shaking. Joffrey walked you to the throne room, grinning madly to himself. He left you in the centre of the room and seated himself casually atop the Iron Throne. Your eyes darted around the room, soon landing on Sansa, who was with Margaery Tyrell in the shadows, her eyes red rimmed.

“Lady Stark, I think it’s time you found a husband! Your sister has been betrothed for some time, so I think it’s only right for her older sister to be wedded and bedded before her,” your eyes widened slightly and you nodded slowly. Cersei and Tywin were stood to the left of the throne looking thunderous. Clearly they weren’t happy about the heir of Winterfell being married off as a jest.

“Your grace?” You said carefully. “You’re very kind,”

Joffrey smirked. “I am, aren’t I? Dog? Come forward. I have found you a pretty little wife... do as you would like with her. The ceremony will be in ten days’ time,”

You shut your eyes and exhaled, making sure you looked relatively frightened. Sandor stepped forward, though he didn’t really need to, as he towered above the rest, and gave a solemn nod, murmuring “yes, your grace,” you repeated his words before you were all dismissed.

***

Straightening the neckline of your dress, you sighed, sweeping off invisible dust. It was light grey, almost white, with long velvety sleeves and a tight fitted bodice with tony direwolves embroidered on the trim. You let your hair- dark like your father’s- fall in loose waves over your shoulders, only the front part braided back.

“Oh, YN, you look beautiful,” Sansa whispered, flinging her arms around your neck. You smiled softly, rubbing her back.

“Come on now, sister,” you said, although your voice cracked slightly. Together you walked to the carriages that would take you to the Sept; you were to be married before the Gods, and you knew exactly what Sandor would have to say about that. Fuck them.

As you stepped out and climbed the steps, you held your head up, your face a stony mask of serenity. You entered the sept and took a deep breath, gasping when you felt a hand grab your arm.

“Don’t fret, Lady Stark... I’m going to give you away to the Dog, seeing as your father had his head cut off for being a dirty traitor,” you nodded as Joffrey began walking you to the start of the aisle. “He’ll tear you apart at the bedding ceremony,” he whispered in your ear. “And failing that, his sons will rip you in two the same way they did my grandmother,”

You ignored his words as he began walking you down the aisle, smirking to himself as you looked up ahead at the stained glass. You heard the court’s whispers as the disgraced stark girl was marched up the aisle, the small laughs at Ned Stark’s daughter being whored out to the Hound. At the alter, Joffrey let go of your arm and returned to his place by his mother as the Septon began talking.

“We stand he before god and men to join man to wife. If you would take your bride under your family’s sigil...” you looked up at Sandor for the first time in your ceremony, your eyes soft as you turned around. Your knees buckled under the weight of his thick cloak- yellow, with three black dogs embroidered onto it- as he draped it over your shoulders; you could easily use it as a blanket, spread out like a starfish and still have plenty of room. Instinctively, you tugged the fabric closer to you, his scent wafting up from the huge cloak as you both repeated your vows.

“For I am his as he is mine. From this day, until the end of my days,” you said softly, and finally, you didn’t have to speak anymore, because Sandor was kissing you, hard, probably harder than was decent in the Sept, and as the crowd of clueless ladies and lords cheered, you could hear Joffrey raging to his mother that you were supposed to be terrified...

But that didn’t matter.

Sandor leaned down to whisper in your ear: “Fuck the gods. Fuck the king. You are mine and I am yours,”

Tags: @lotsoffandomrecs @zodiyack @rabeccablake @simonsbluee @wonderwoman292 @little-bit-of-randomness @doozywoozy

[sunatooru]

Hi🥰i loved your blog! Can i request a headcanon for Asahi, Nishinoya and Kageyama (and maybe Aone if it's not too much) with a secret admirer who leaves chocolates and sweets (milk for kageyama) and cute notes to their desk like "don't forget to drink water today" "you look so cute today" "you make my heart go boom boom" or "Don't mind! You can work harder for the next match, i trust you!" if they lose a match. But somehow they never can caught her? Thank you!!!

Thank youuu xx I had to cut some parts so Tumblr could let me post it haha

Asahi

* You'd seen him around school before, I mean with his height it was hard to miss

* He seem so mature as if he had his life together, you thought he was cute but nothing worth acting upon

* Then one day he was standing at you classroom door stuttering as he ask if he could borrow spare notebooks

* You watched how he always had a soft yet nervous smile, how as intimidating as he seemed he was just a soft boy who didn't want to let others down

* When you heard about how all his spikes were getting shut down against Dateko, you took it into your hands to hold him up

* You would wake up a few minutes early to buy some treats to give to him

* You waited about 5 seconds at his desk before you chickened out and wrote down a quick notes next to the small tray of chocolate

* Cue panic 'Someone left their things on my desk' 'omg what if this was for someone else but got our desks confused' Yeah heart was pumping

* When he finally opened the letter he was shocked

* "Don't mind! All your spikes will make it next time, Ace x"

* But he didn't go back to the club so You would leave something every day

* "I'm sure you'll play again one day x"

* "You hair has gotten so long, it suits you x"

* He once saw you leave his classroom but didn't add the two as he nervously avoided your gaze

* And then the day finally arrives where he played once again

* "I told you, you're my ace! x"

* He's blushing hard at this. He kept all your notes, keeps one on him whenever he need reassurance

* And this time he writes something back

* "I hope to hear your voice one day"

Nishinoya

* The boy is grinning like full on cheeks in pain grinning

* "You're the best libero I've ever seen! You make my heart go boom boom boom"

* I'm telling you right now he's walking with so much suave the whole day

* He's showing off this note to everyoneeee

* Shows his bestie Tanaka and laughs at his friend getting jealous that he didn't receive a note too

* you would pick stuff up after school ( sleep just triumphs anything else ) But also you wanted to add a little touch to it, seeing as you wasn't ready to tell him things face to face

* So now you leave him a couple of lollipops and another note

* "You're very cute when you're happy"

* He looks forward to a note everyday now, he wants to know who you are

* Tried to use some weird tv tricks to uncover clues. Flopped of course

* And then the game against seijoh happened where they lost

* You could see the whole teams mood bring down, especially with Yuu it made your heart break

* The guy who was always lifting everyone up was trying so hard not to break

* You left a note "I know you'll win the next game!""

* He didn't come in that day but that didn't stop you

* "I can't wait to see you play again!"

* "I love how brave you are to receive like that. It's amazing!"

* You motivated him so much

* He couldn't let you down, he needs to be his best if he wants to meet you

* One day he came late and was only met by a note

* "I hope you enjoy this desert, it's actually my favourite"

* Huh? Where is it?

* Did someone take it? He's annoyed, he wanted to eat what you loved

* He sees Tanaka looking guilty

* He's trying to rolling thunder over Tanaka now (don't worry he kept your note safe)

Kageyama

* At first you was intimidated by him, his presence was just huge

* He would usually be alone and he didn't seem phased about it

* You found out he has a milk preference

* He was buying it from the vending machine everyday, you laughed at the boy with such a intimidating face who could become so soft from a simple drink like milk

* You started leaving notes for him and also bought him his milk drink every Monday (you'll be broke if you did everyday)

* "The vending machine is ripping you off! Here's some better and cheaper milk "

* Confused, what do you mean ripping off?

* And then he tasted the drink and fell in love (with the milk)

* "You're very skilled at setting"

* "You're weird quick is so cool!"

* "Don't forget to drink today!"

* Okay he's starting to like you now, he's not sure who to talk to about having a secret admirer (which is something he realised after his sister told him)

* "Kageyama how comes you always have a drink at your desk?" Hinata ask

* "Uhh someone leaves them here"

* "What??? Someone just buys you milk and that's it?"

* "Yeah"

* You accidentally forgot one day and he was really confused

* He was actually a little worried so he decided to leave a note at the end of the day

* "Hello there was no drink today and I hope you are okay. I mean the drink is not that important really but I did miss your note today - Tobio"

* You squealed when you read it

* "Sorry about yesterday! I'm okay and I missed not giving a note too "

* He's smiling as he drinks his milk

Aone

* Protect him at all costs! Please he's so sincere it makes me want to cry at people judging him by his appearance, he's a kind mannered boy and an absolute gentleman (unrelated but important)

* You absolutely adored him. You found him so interesting in how he wasn't a man of many words yet was so kind and respectful to others even if they are initially scared of him

* Your heart actually aches when you hear people speaking about him and how he needs to open up and be more social or else people will leave him (the urge to fight them is real)

* Once you saw him smile when Karasuno's Hinata spike won a game and you vowed to get him to smile like that again

* It started will a short note on his desk accompanied by a small tray of chocolates on a Friday

* "You're instincts as a middle blocker are so sharp! I hope you have a great day today"

* He was a bit hesitant with the gift but whispered a 'thank you' as he shared the chocolates around

* "I hope you like the chocolates. I just wanted to say I think you're very sweet x"

* Aww he's blushing

* He keeps this note. It made him happy so he's keeping it

* "Don't forget to drink water today as it's really hot! x"

* He listened to you, made sure to keep his water near him as you told him

* He now has an allocated section in his room that has all your notes

* He sometimes think about how you would sound like, he really wanted to meet the person who liked him in the way no other had, in the way he has never liked anyone else before

* You once left some food for lunch

* "Happy birthday! This is for you x"

* He was so happy like you took your time to cook for him specifically for his birthday

* Also, unknown to him, you could always know how he reacted to your gifts and notes thanks to your friend taking pictures for you

* You saved his reactions they same way he saved your notes

* One day when you was about to leave your note and gift you saw a wrapped up present

* "Thank you for treating me so kindly - Aone"

* This cutie made you lunch! And not just that, no no no, he bought a little teddy bear keyring!

* So now every time you go to leave something, he has left you something already

* Does he know who you are? No

* Will that stop him from falling for you? No

[soulmate-game]

I was feeling angsty. Read at your own risk, there is very little comfort in this and a whole shit ton of hurt. Probably a bunch of emotional triggers, so seriously be careful guys.

—*—*—*—*—*

Liquid pain ran down her arm like poison, the slash in it burning hot and spreading it’s agony like an invisible waterfall inside her flesh. But she did not grip her bicep where the wound had been inflicted, her gaze blank as she forced herself to hide her turmoil behind glass eyes. Her brother’s snarling face was only inches in front of her own, his katana moving from her arm to her throat.

“Useless! To think we share any blood relation is humiliating!” He growled at her. She did not move, did not emote. Her blades fans, the weapon she was loved most, lay half-opened on the ground beside her. Abandoned. But she knew Damian’s sword would not kill her. Blood family was a bond that was not to be severed by murder unless ordered by Ra’s or justified by the murdered family member in question betraying the League. She had done nothing to betray the Shadows, and Ra’s would not waste time and energy, or the breath it would require, to order her death. Just as he would not waste the precious waters of the Pit to bring her back again. She would not die today, and she knew it.

Sure enough, it was only a few more insults in various languages before Damian Al-Ghul stepped back and scowled down at the blood on his blade. Her blood. “If you don’t even have the stomach for real combat, you do not belong here,” he spat.

“That is where we agree, Grandson,” Ra’s sharp voice echoed through the room, his beady eyes never once bothering to glance at his granddaughter. “Maria, you are hereby stripped of the name Al-Ghul. Banishment from the League is the only mercy you shall be granted for your dishonor on our blood. Be useful and use whatever is left of your mistake of a life to stay out of the League’s way. Shall I, Damian, or your mother ever see your face again, your burial will follow shortly after. Am I understood?”

“Yes Gr— yes, Ra’s Al-Ghul.”

—*—*—*—*—*

Maria Al-Ghul was seven years old when she was disowned and sent away from the League of Shadows without so much as a penny to her name. She was only allowed to take the change of clothes she carried, and one small backpack’s worth of items. Her mother— Talia— had watched vigilantly as she packed those items, assuring that Maria did not take anything of worth.

The girl traveled by foot, too small to get away with driving a vehicle. Unless she could manage to steal a motorbike— she knew how to adjust the seats and pedals on most models to accommodate her size. But she was far too far away from civilization for that.

She knew that most of the League expected her to die in the jungles that surrounded the temple. After all, there were ninjas scattered throughout it with strict orders to kill anyone who was not one of them. And Maria now fit that description.

But if there was one thing Maria knew better than anything else, it was how to hide. How to hide feelings, intentions, involuntary movements, or her whole body in almost any setting. She covered herself in mud, matted her hair with dirt and took off her shoes. Barefoot was always quieter, and her feet would be more sensitive to any change in terrain. She would have to move more slowly and be on the lookout for traps, ground litter that could harm her, or dangerous wildlife, but she would be much harder to track.

It took her a month, but she made it to her first Tibetan city alive and decently healthy. She begged for food for a day before snatching a child’s outfit off of some hanging laundry lines and stealing the first decent vehicle she found. It was an old moped, but it beat walking and was already built small. She made it work.

That was how she spent the majority of the next year. She traveled from town to town, stealing what she needed until she could earn money normally. She used that money to buy herself a fake identity, even if she had to use the skills she had hoped to never need again in order to afford it.

Marinette Shiwang was born when she was already eight years old.

It was only a year after her new identity was created when she bumped into a woman in a street market. That was nothing new, those places could get crowded. But when Marinette looked up and saw valuable bracelets and necklaces of gold and jade, she knew she needed at least one. The money she would get for it would have her living comfortably for a short while. So Marinette’s theft-experienced fingers darted out and unclasped one bracelet in a fluid movement. It took less than a second. She barely had the piece of jewelry in her hand before she started to take off, hoping to lose herself in the crowd.

But a small hand clamped around her shoulder, a sturdy thumb pressing against a very vulnerable spot right at the back of Marinette’s neck, at the base of her skull. A clear threat from somebody with experience.

The sweet voice that followed didn’t match the gesture at all.

“Oh, I need that back dear. It was a gift from my husband, you understand.”

Marinette did. She cared about survival more. The small girl twisted, knocking the hand away from her before it could do damage and darting down a side street. The woman followed. It took three hours, but Marinette decided she had finally lost her pursuer before slumping down in the tiny, closet-sized bedroom of her cheap apartment. Her eyes closed for only a second before the window opened, and the smell of newly-baked sesame buns filtered through.

It was the woman and a much taller, much more masculine man. He was practically a giant, reminding Marinette of a certain member of the League that she used to know. They were both smiling.

“My wife figured you would be more open to an exchange than just giving up the bracelet for free,” the man’s voice was deep and inviting. “You can eat as many buns as your stomach can handle, if you give it back.”

Marinette accepted. Mostly because of her fear for people who could track her to her home so easily, when she had been certain she had not been followed. The League has tuned her senses well, there was no way the couple had been close enough to see her when she made it to her apartment. Yet they were still there somehow. Then, it also had to do with the promise of food, and the heavenly smell of the food itself. And then, lastly, Marinette was tired. She didn’t like stealing, it was just a necessity. She would not hurt these people over a mere bracelet that she wished she didn’t have to take in the first place.

Useless, she thought. So much of a bleeding heart that she just gave up what could have paid for two months rent. Too soft to even protect herself. The Al-Ghuls has been right. She was a waste of space and time.

Marinette was ten years old when she became a Dupain-Cheng. Somehow, that strange, dangerous couple had become her new family. Not even she knew how. But she was grateful— they took her back to Paris with them and she didn’t have to worry about rent, or food, or money anymore.

She vowed, that day that she received her spacious attic bedroom, that she would repay them. She would make herself useful, for the first time in her life. She would stay out of their way, be the perfect most unobtrusive daughter ever. She would help in the bakery, keep a smile on her face so that they never doubted that they were doing a good job. So that they never wasted time worrying about her. She smiled, and laughed, and became successful for them. Competent and reliable even though her memories would sink into her dreams every day and make it near impossible to drag herself out of bed in the mornings.

And then, when Marinette Dupain-Cheng was thirteen, she was given a pair of magical earrings and a tiny fairy-god. And Tikki was thorough, at least. Diligent in her explanation. Marinette listened to every word, dread seeping in as she doubted her ability to carry out such an important task. Save a city? Defeat someone much more experienced and magically powerful than her?

Useless little Maria could never. Slightly less useless Marinette could never.

She was only ever meant to play a support role. Stay on the background and make everyone else shine, without ever succeeding in anything worth noting. That was who she was.

But then Tikki gave her the Warning. The catch that came with the Ladybug abilities, and Marinette felt the long-rusted determination in her begin to fire up again. Maybe she could be Ladybug. Maybe she could be useful, at least this once. At least for just this one scenario. She could fight and win the war against Hawkmoth, and that achievement alone could make her happy. Let her die knowing she did something worthwhile.

—*—*—*—*—*

Damian Wayne was seventeen when he and his family found out about the Paris Situation, and immediately went over to offer help. Damian Wayne was seventeen when he watched Ladybug stumble at the sight of him, and immediately run away. But the two of them were twins, and though twin telepathy might be a myth they always did have a certain instinct when it came to one another.

Damian Wayne was Seventeen when he said, aloud on the top of a random Parisian building and surrounded by his family—

“My sister is Ladybug.”

Damian didn’t wait for their reactions, having entirely forgotten about the existence of his father and brothers, before taking off after his spotted sibling.

—*—*—*—*—*

“I knew you were alive.”

In hindsight, those probably weren’t the best words for him to say when Maria clearly thought he was still an assassin.

Damian watched as Marinette spun to face him, her face so much more expressive than he remembered. He could actually see the resignation in the slump in her shoulders, he could feel the fear in her bluebell eyes. The eyes she was lucky enough to get from their father while he was cursed with their mother’s green irises. He used to envy that about her, especially after joining the BatClan. But now he only felt comfort when he looked into her eyes. Comfort that she was different than him, and always had been. In the best of ways.

He watched as his sister was enveloped by a bright flash of pink light, detransforming right in front of him. And without the mask, it was impossible to ignore the relation between them. She had their father’s eyes and nose where he had their mother’s, but other than that they were almost carbon copies of one another. Her blue-black hair was pulled back into twin braids though, something he noted distantly as oddly fitting. They suited her, he thought.

But all those thoughts instantly turned to dust as she dropped to her knees in front of him, head bowed in complete submission.

“Tom and Sabine are innocent,” she told him. “They adopted me out of nothing but goodwill, and they have been nothing but good to me. I never told them a single word about my origin, I swear it on our blood. They think I am just an orphan that was abandoned in Hong Kong—“

“Maria—“

“—so please, don’t harm them. I’m begging you. And there is no need for you to waste energy killing me. You are welcome to stay in Paris as long as no harm comes to Tom and Sabine, but just wait and watch. I know who Hawkmoth is, and our final plan is almost ready. I’ll have him taken down by next week. Just— wait until then, please. My death will take care of itself afterwards, but Paris deserves to be free, and killing me now will set this entire war against Hawkmoth back by at least a year. And I also need that time to pick my successor—“

“Maria! I am not here to kill you!” Damian had to yell to get her to stop babbling and begging. She froze, but didn’t dare to sit up or even raise her head. So Damian took the initiative and sat down on the ground with her, though he kept his distance so that he didn’t scare her too badly. He couldn’t blame her for her reaction, it had been ten years since they had seen one another and their parting hadn’t exactly been pleasant.

But he had changed a lot since then, matured a lot.

“I am completely disconnected from the League,” he admitted. Of the blurry memories he had of her, he did remember that being blunt was the best way to handle information with her. Beating around the bush had always done nothing but make her exceptionally nervous and jittery. Sure enough, his admission was enough to make her look up at him with disbelieving eyes. He risked a small grin. “I didn’t come in my old uniform, did I?” He gestured to himself in the bright Robin colors. Sure enough, Marinette’s rapid blinking proved his theory that she hadn’t even registered his clothing at all to be true. She had run as soon as she recognized his face.

But Marinette did not speak. She sat up a little, still eyeing him cautiously. But her silence helped him finally realize where they were— where she had led him.

The sounds of traffic and other big city noises were all muted, as if muffled by several layers of cloth. Shadows fell over them abundantly, and they were surrounded by dilapidated concrete walls.

She had brought him to an abandoned area far from any activity, where a body would take ages to find. She had then disarmed herself of her only weapon, her magic suit, and had gotten on the ground in total submission.

She had purposely given him the perfect setting to kill her, where there would be no witnesses and plenty of time before her body would be found for him to escape. That realization hit Damian square the chest, leaving him breathless for a moment.

“I am not here to kill anybody,” he reiterated, his voice noticeably much gentler than before. “Not you, not you adoptive parents, nobody. I left the league when I was eleven. Mother—“ he took a breath, but Maria deserved to know. “— she cloned me. Her clone killed me. He no longer exists, but that is of no consequence. She killed me, she and Grandfather disowned me when I made it clear I was not returning. Father— our father,” he was insistent as he leaned forward, not continuing until she met his gaze. “You remember who our father is, right? Bruce Wayne? Mother had dropped me off to be raised with him when I was ten, but of course it was all just one of her plots. It was her miscalculation though, because I ended up growing close to them. To Father and his adopted children. You would get along with Gra— with Dick, the best I think. Although T— Jason would also be a prime contender as your favorite brother, I think. He shares your love of motor bikes, if that hasn’t changed?” She just stared at him, clearly confused and experiencing a lot of feelings at once. He stayed silent for a moment to allow her to sort through them a little.

“I’m Robin now,” he made his voice quieter, but still easy for her to hear. “I’m a member of the Bats. I’m sure they would all welcome you, if you chose to meet them. Though be warned, they can be quite in—“

“Why are you doing this?” Marinette’s voice was barely above a whisper, Damian almost didn’t hear her. But he did, and fell silent. He watched as his sister licked her lips and tried to find the right words to say. “If what you say is true… you have a perfectly good family. Brothers, Father, a comfortable life. Why follow me then? Why offer me… any of that?”

Damian frowned. He didn’t remember Maria being so gloomy, but then again she had been raised to never show her emotions. Maybe, after years away from the temple like him, her true feelings were just easier for him to see now. Closer to the surface.

“I want to get to know you— to get to know my sister, again,” he told her. “Don’t tell them, but Father and the others have taught me to appreciate family. The way I treated you when we were children was not right, and though it was heavily influenced by Mother and Grandfather, I want to make up for it nonetheless. Maybe we can get to know the new us, together?”

Marinette’s eyes went wide with disbelief, but then she clenched her jaw and shook her head.

“We can’t.”

“... right, I understand if you do not forgive me. I didn’t even consider—“

“It isn’t that,” Marinette was quick to correct him. “When I said that my death will handle itself, I mean it, Damian. The Ladybug… the earrings that give me my powers, come with a price,” she absently ran her fingertips over the unassuming black studs in her ears. “If a Ladybug uses the miraculous for more than three years, the powers of Creation will demand to be balanced. Already, the Miraculous is powering itself on nothing but my life force now. Once I defeat Hawkmoth, there will be no need for Ladybug anymore. The moment I take the earrings off, they will cease keeping me alive.”

Damian’s face fell. No— no, that wasn’t right. He was finally able to find her, finally able to apologize and try to fix his past mistakes. This couldn’t be how the reunion went. This couldn’t—

“Not even the Lazarus Pits can bring me back from a Miraculous death,” Marinette went on. “So you and your family should go. You don’t need to be here when I—“ Marinette paused, gasping. “Damian, why are you crying?! Stop that!” Her voice became desperate, Marinette crawling over to him as quickly as she could and wiping away his tears as if they were something terrifying. Damian wasn’t sobbing or making any noise, it was just a silent stream of tears running down both cheeks as he stared at her wordlessly.

“I…” he finally managed to choke out. “I wanted to make up for everything. I wanted for us to be twins again, together.”

Marinette paused, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. “I know a magic user who can erase your memories of me,” she offered. “But you don’t have to feel guilty for anything. You never said anything that wasn’t true.”

Damian’s green eyes widened. He had said nothing but cruel things to her, that last year they spent together as children. Did she really believe all of that? Did he and their childhood really affect her self worth this severely and irreversibly?

“Maria—“

“My name is Marinette, actually,” she corrected him with a small smile. “I’m not Maria Al-Ghul anymore. Marinette Dupain-Cheng is actually useful, Damian. I can actually do things right— I’m doing something right right now. Beating Hawkmoth will be the first worthwhile thing I’ve ever done, don’t you see? Once it’s all over, I will have brought honor back to our blood. I’ll have proved to you that I really am your twin, that I wasn’t a mistake. That I was born for a reason,” Marinette’s eyes got dreamy even as Damian just felt like he was impaled again, this time by a spike of ice rather than a sword. “And I’ll be able to die before I ruin it. It’s a perfect scenario.”

“A perfect scenario implies that nothing important is going to be lost,” Damian breathed. Marinette just blinked.

“Yeah, I know. That’s the plan. Defeat Hawkmoth, save Paris, and nobody dies.”

“But you’re going to die!” He growled. Marinette leaned back, bewildered by his violent reaction.

“Yeah, but it’s not like I actually matter. Nobody needs me. Tom and Sabine might be hurt for a while, but they will recover just fine. And it’s not like I have friends or any—“

“Stop worrying about other people, damnit!” Damian surged forward, grabbing her shoulders hard enough to bruise and shaking her a little. “Even back then! Even when we were seven, you threw down your blades because you were more worried about hurting me than you were about how Grandfather would react, even though you knew he would be tempted to kill you for what he thought was cowardice! You never put yourself first, and it’s finally starting to piss me off!”

“Damian—“

“No, listen to me!” He shook her again, his tear stained cheeks only making his glare all the more potent as he stared right into her eyes. “You are alive, and your life matters! You were never worthless or useless, you just didn’t fit what our abusive situation wanted of you. They wanted a cold hearted killer, a tool they could use, and you were always too warm hearted and clever to fit either of those goals. But I did, I was the killer they were looking for and the pawn they wanted. If anything, that makes you better than I ever was! I was too young and naive to see it back then, but I’m trying to make up for it now. You are my sister, whether you go by Maria or Marinette, Al-Ghul or Wayne or Dupain-Cheng, I don’t give a damn! And so help me, even if I have to surgically attach those earrings to your skin, I am not letting you die before you gain at least a modicum of respect for yourself. Do you understand me?”

A wet sniffle met his ears, and he pulled Marinette in for a hug. She returned it weakly, sniveling and sobbing into his cape.

“D-d-Damian?”

“Yes, Shaqiqa?”

Another sniffle.

“I-is it really o-okay for me to stay with you?”

“Of course.”

“I-is… is it really oka-ay for… for me to live?”

Damian’s arms tightened around her. “Always. Always, always.”

Marinette buried her face into his shoulder, taking a deep shuddering breath.

“Th-then… I wanna try.”

—*—*—*—*—*

Not sorry. Ha 😎

[thoughtsaboutshows]

18. My parents love you

This one was a little tricky because all their parents are dead, but here’s something from many years in the future.

18. My parents love you

“Nicholas Scratch. What are you doing?” Sabrina whisper-yelled at her husband when she found him with his ear pressed up against the front door of the mortuary. His face twisted into one of a child who’d had their hand caught in the cookie jar. But his dopey look wouldn’t get her this time and she just placed her hands firmly on her hips and raised her eyebrows.

“I don’t trust the guy.” Nick told her as he waved Sabrina to come closer, encouraging her to listen too.

“Nick, Grant is literally one of your favorite students.” Sabrina stood her ground and crossed her arms. “And he’s Agatha’s kid so it’s not like he’s a stranger.”

“And being a weird sister’s son makes you feel better about him being on a date with our daughter?” Nick asked her as his eyebrow shot up. She furrowed her brow and he smirked, knowing he had her. She rolled her eyes and murmured something he couldn’t make out before crouching down next to him.

“This is such an invasion of privacy.” Sabrina mumbled as she pressed her ear to the door.

“I’m pretty sure I remember very similar things happening to us when we were on the other side of this door.” Nick argued, thinking of countless times that Hilda had barged in Sabrina’s room with tea or Ambrose trying to hear the end of their goodnight when Nick dropped her off.

“Just because we moved into my family home doesn’t mean we had to become my family.” She stated, feeling bad that she was spying on Diana but her motherly instinct to protect winning over.

“Feel free to stop, Spellman.” Nick told her with a sly smile. “I’m staying right here.”

They heard scuffling and figured Diana and Grant had finally made their way all the way up the steps. Sabrina shushed Nick, even though he wasn’t talking, drawing an eye roll from him.

“You wanna come in for some tea or something?” They heard Diana ask him.

“I don’t know, Di, I don’t really wanna run into your parents.” The young warlock responded.

“Come on, my parents love you.” She explained. “My dad tells me all the time how smart you are. And mom says you’re sweet.”

“They may think I’m smart and sweet, but that all kinda goes out the window when you date their daughter.”

“See he is smart.” Nick whispered to Sabrina who smacked him quietly and held a finger up in front of her lips.

“So that's a no then.” Sabrina could hear the eye roll in her daughter's voice, but took note of the playfulness too. Grant would likely be getting a second date.

“Maybe next time.” The boy told her. Sabrina and Nick heard what sounded like a kiss goodbye followed by the actually words goodbye and they realized they were nearly out of time and would likely be caught.

They scrambled to their feet and tried to back away, but Diana walked in so quickly she almost knocked Nick over.

“Unholy shit, were you guys spying on us?” Diana stared them down with a fire in her eyes that reminded Nick far too much of her mother.

“Um, uh- no- we just-”. Nick started to stammer but Diana just grew more annoyed.

“You were.” She crossed her arms and stared her parents down. “Uncool, guys. That was very uncool.”

“We’re sorry.” Sabrina said with a shrug and sincere face. “We were just nervous.”

“Oh I’m so telling Uncle Ambrose how old you guys have gotten. Spying on your daughter’s boyfriend like some mortal.” Diana chuckled.

“Old?” Sabrina gasped as Nick spoke at the same time.

“Boyfriend?!”

Diana watched in amusement as her parents faltered and laughed, heading up the stairs to her room.

Sabrina turned to Nick with wide eyes.

“She called us old.” She scoffed out a laugh.

“She has a boyfriend.” Nick narrowed his eyes to emphasize that that is what they should be worried about.

“Let me make you a drink.” Sabrina tapped Nick on the shoulder as he leaned against the wall for support. His eyes were still oceanswide when she returned and she guided him to the study, kissing his cheek until the shock had worn off.

[poptod]

In the Heart of Atlas (Rami Malek x Reader)

Description: He doesn’t fear you––who thought such a simple thing would win your affections?

Notes: this is my first time writing for Rami himself! anyway, this is for the rami week. happy birthday rami!!! this is a bit of a strange story but i hope yall like it anyway. WC: 5.6k

+

His body twitched slightly before his eyes opened, slow and dry across his grey irises. A deep dehydration had seized his bones, as though his blood was drudging through his veins and muscles, losing water by the second. Still, he sat up, his head a weight upon his shoulders.

To his surprise, he found himself in the middle of an empty parking lot, the highway beside him mostly vacant. He looked around, finding a large but abandoned mall to his right, the lights long shattered and broken. Tension welled in his brow as he tried to piece together just how he got here.

"Most people don't get knocked out after they get ejected from their bodies," said a voice from behind him. He whirled around, scratching his pants on the rough pavement.

"Who are you?" He asked, scanning you.

For the most part, you looked normal. The only thing that stuck out was the massive katana strapped to your back and the darkness swarming around your eyes. He could barely see your face beneath the hood of your black sweatshirt, but that didn't matter all too much to him––there were more pressing, more important questions that required answers.

"Demons and angels call me (Y/N), but people call me the Reaper," you said as you offered him your hand.

He gingerly raised his hand to accept your help, faltering when your sleeve pulled back to reveal prominent bones and veins in the back of your hand. The bones poked out of the skin, glowing a faint white, while your veins remained a simple shade darker than your skin. Looking back up to you, he found no malice in what little expression he could see. With that he accepted your aid, pulling himself to his feet.

"The Reaper?"

"I go by a good many names. In the north alone I am called Gwyn ap Nudd, Cù Sith, the banshee, the Ankou, and more simply... death. Most of the time I have others collect souls, but.. you're an interesting case."

You reached forward, and though he instinctively flinched back, he soon regained control of himself and allowed you to cup his cheek. Even with that allowance, however, there was a decent amount of discomfort within him.

"I'm dead?"

"Not quite yet. That's where the interesting part comes in. Come––let's find a place away from the sun," you said, drifting past him and heading towards the abandoned mall.

Looking upwards, he found a blistering sun. He hadn't felt the heat, and looking back at the black pavement, he realized he hadn't felt that astonishing heat because he was, as you said, dead. No longer in his body. With that realization, he jogged back over to walk at your side.

"I'm a little confused, here. How did I die?" He asked.

"Again, not dead yet. Just out of your body. It's quite interesting, really," you said, opening the creaking door.

He entered gingerly, turning and waiting for you before wandering in any further. When he turned back to scan the building, he found instead a drawing room with a Victorian rug spread out across a hardwood floor, and red velvet couches filled to the brim with pillows and blankets. Paintings from all cultures covered the walls, nailed into place alongside maps of different eras. He hardly noticed his gaping mouth till you passed by and closed his jaw.

"Well... what happened to me?"

"Take a seat, Malek. I need to ask you some questions," you deflected, herding him to sit on one of the chaise lounges.

A clipboard materialized in your hands, a pen following as you sat down opposite of him.

"Now, what's your name?"

"You just said my name."

"And?" You said, quirking your brow.

He let out an exasperated sigh before answering with, "Rami Malek."

"What do you spend most of your time doing?"

"Work, mostly. I'm an actor."

"I'm aware. Most of your alternate reality personas look exactly like you. That usually only happens with actors," you said, scribbling down words with a harsh pressure on your pen. "You are given one million dollars. What do you do with it?"

"Um... I'd put it into my savings, let it collect interest until I die, and then donate it," he said after a moment's contemplation.

"Calculated. Nice. Significant others?"

"Not right now."

"Family members?"

"I've got a twin brother and an older sister. And my parents, of course."

"Are you religious?"

"Yes, sort of. My parents raised me Coptic Orthodox but I don't really interact with it much in my life."

"Is there a heaven and a hell?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" He asked.

"Answer the question, Malek."

"I don't think there's a heaven or hell."

"Good choice. Alright," you said, straightening your back after hunching over your clipboard. In a quick flash both the clipboard and pen were gone, and you were back on your feet. "Do you have any questions for me before we try to fix this dilemma?"

"Yes, lots," he chuckled humorlessly, watching you circle over to a liquor cabinet. "How did I die? Or – how did I get 'ejected' from my body?"

"Remember the movie you were just working on?"

"Yeah, James Bond."

"You tried to do your own stunts since your double was missing. You missed the catching net, landed on the ground, and your essence was accidentally absorbed by the earth. The earth decided you would be safer here––in Thailand."

"Thailand?? I have to finish filming. I can't be in Thailand," he said, jumping to his feet.

"Calm down, pretty boy. I'll take you to your body in due time, and from there we can decide how to move next. This is a rare opportunity for you," you said as you poured two glasses of sherry. "People don't usually get to see me. If they do, it's pretty much assured they won't interact with me. You're very lucky. I could also just reap you and get rid of the problem, but you're not supposed to die. Not yet."

"What, do I have something to do on earth yet?"

"Yes," you said, handing him the glass in your left hand. You sat back down, sipping from your own cup.

"Then what happens if people accidentally die?"

"The world goes on. We correct our calculations and figure out the fate of the earth again. It happens very rarely, thank everything. Our I.T. would be in hell if it happened a lot."

"What affect do I have on the world?"

"I'm not really allowed to tell you that," you said, eyeing him.

"Oh, sorry."

"I'm just kidding. I rule this universe. You're going to have a fan at one point who is very suicidal. They meet you on the street, get the will to live again, and their daughter will write a mystery novel that both furthers space-travel technology and surgical technology. Happy?" You took another sip from your cup.

"... I guess."

It was certainly, if anything, an interesting time to find out your entire existence was being protected by the embodiment of death just so a woman you didn't know could further technology just slightly. He didn't feel fantastic about it.

"It's not your only purpose, if you're worried about that," you said, noticing his fallen expression. "You inspire a lot of art and a lot of stories. Everything you do and inspire adds to the color of the world. Humans are one big organism and they can't seem to see that––I hope you, and others, will realize that soon."

"I hope we do as well," he said with a sigh, leaning back into the velvet. "I'm quite sick of people getting angry at each other all the time for useless shit."

"Yes, well..." you swirled the mixture in your cup, "the human condition, and all that."

"Were you ever once human?" He asked quietly.

"No. I am not truly a being. I am what you imagine me to be, a mirage of what you expect from death," you said in a low voice. "I will be here to kill God, and in the end of time I will be all that remains. The representation of all that ever existed, and its' inevitable demise."

"... comforting."

"Isn't it?" You said with a sardonic smile. "Are you ready to see your body yet?"

"I think so," he said. "What kinda state am I in?"

"I don't know. The state of destruction your physical form is in will dictate whether or not I can return you to yourself or take you into the unknown."

"Okay," he said, taking a deep breath in hopes of calming himself. "Take me to myself."

"Very well," you said as you stood, setting your cup aside and offering him your hand once more. He took it and rose to his feet.

In a single blink, and without warning, he was in a hospital––an American one, or at least one where the signs were all in English, and the nurses were speaking that same language. Fluorescent white light filled the room, mixed with the dreary daylight of a bright but cloudy day. The shades were open to the city outside, but what first caught his eye was the centerpiece of the room––him.

Gauze, linen, and casts covered more than half his body, cradling his leg, chest, head, and both arms. His eyes remained blissfully shut, not even fluttering from the bruises and cleaned scars circling his face.

"You look good," you said, unable to tear your eyes away from the body.

"Wow, thanks," he said sarcastically.

"I'm serious. You fell, like, 35 feet. Not a lot of people survive that, much less still have one of their legs."

"So does that mean I can go back to living?" He asked, sudden excitement filling his words.

"I suppose so. You've been out for a while, though, so be careful when you get back in. Listen to your doctors. Keep safe, and let professionals do stunts," you said.

He chuckled, turning to you before saying, "I thought Death would want me to die, not live."

"It doesn't matter. I will reap all. For now I can let society grow, let lives multiply to greater heights, as in the end you will all join my kingdom. I'm old as the universe. I can wait."

"Your kingdom?"

"Me. I carry the souls of the dead in my memory. They all live within me."

"And that's what happens when we die?"

"When you die, you become one with the universe. I become part of you just as much as you become part of me. Is that a comfort to you?"

"... yes, actually," he said softly, looking back to his body. "I think I'm ready to go back to living now."

"Very well, Malek. Take my hand," you said as you offered your see-through hand.

The moment he touched you, he noticed that he, too, became see through, and he wondered if that had always been happening and he simply hadn't noticed it. He had little time to think about it before you were leading him forward, taking him to the side of his hospital bed. From there you helped him into the bed, lining his soul up with his physical body, and telling him in a soft murmur to close his eyes.

The very next moment he remembered was opening his eyes to blistering hospital lights shining down on him. His memory of you was vague and blurred, but nonetheless present in a way that tested his image of the world, questioning if he was truly living his life.

Doctors, nurses, and friends rushed to his side once they noticed his consciousness, hurriedly asking questions and preparing tests on him. His bruised eye was swollen shut, but the other one could see alright, and it was a blessing to be able to see his mother above him. It took a good deal of time, but he returned to health and was luckily not disabled by the fall.

Years later the incident came to him in a dream, in a perfect clarity that he hadn't ever had as a waking person. He bolted awake, heavy breaths emphasizing the thin sheen of sweat that now covered his chest. You had explained to him the way the world worked––his purpose in life, the inevitability of humans and of the universe, and the beauty in that. The happy ending in that unavoidable death.

Never in any other time had he desired to see you again more than he did at that moment, stuck awake in the middle of a night plagued by rain and thunder. Wide eyes stared straight ahead, to the twisted sheets covering him, to the closet on the other side of his bedroom.

Shaken to his core, he slowly moved to his feet, the cold floor shocking him awake further. As he walked towards the kitchen, he attempted at calming himself with slow breaths. Once there he grabbed a glass of water, chugging the entire glass, and slamming it back down on the counter as though he'd done a shot, which it might as well have been this late at night.

Would it be possible to summon death? he thought hypothetically, before realizing the incredible stupidity of that statement. Who would want to summon death? Also, summoning death would probably involve putting himself in a dangerous situation, which you had specifically advised him against.

"Jesus Christ," he muttered to himself, leaning against the counter as he rubbed his face.

"His name is Yeshua, and he can't help you right now."

He jumped, spinning around in his kitchen to find you sitting on the counter across from him.

"Death!"

"People aren't usually that excited to see me, but yes," you said, looking down to scan your fingernails before looking back up at him with a smile.

"How did you know I was thinking about you?"

"You had one of my true forms in your thoughts. I remembered you from a little bit ago. How long has it been again?"

"11... maybe 12 years? I haven't thought all that much about the incident, but... I had a dream tonight. I remembered –"

"I know. You're not supposed to remember me while you're still living, so I had to come back and fix that," you said, jumping off the counter and approaching him with determined resolve.

"Wait, no!" He tried to back up, but he was already pressed against the kitchen island.

"We will meet again, quite shortly, you'll see," you said with a smile, a weak attempt to calm him as you raised your hand to his forehead.

"I don't want to forget you," he pleaded, fingers dug into his palm.

"That's awfully unfair to all the other people whose memory I had to fix. Makes their sacrifice a little silly if I allow you to go and tell the world how it'll all end just because you're pretty."

"I won't tell anyone. They'll think I'm crazy."

"You're a celebrity. Someone is going to believe you."

You pressed your thumb to his forehead, and in that moment he lost all control, leading him to make the first action he could think of, the one thing that might deter your work. He grabbed you by your sweatshirt, balling the material in his fists and pulling you till your chests met. With that he smashed his lips into yours, feeling your hand slip away as you weakened, shocked into stillness.

He wasn't quite sure whether you were actually enjoying yourself or if you were just shellshocked, but he continued to kiss and move against you for a moment before releasing you. When he let go of you and drew away, he watched your unmoving expression, staring at him with parted lips and wide eyes.

"What the fuck was that?"

"... a kiss?" He answered meekly.

"What does it do?"

"You don't know what a kiss is?"

"Malek, I have two trillion different planets that I reap from, all with multiple different societies and beliefs. I'm not going to memorize each of your customs."

"Oh," he said. He would have to devote some time, later on, to let the fact that there were aliens (and a lot of them) truly sink in. "It's a show of affection. It's kind of personal."

"So it is a gift," you said with deep concentration.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"What for?"

"I like you. You're knowledgeable, and kind, and... I think you're pretty," he admitted, almost sheepishly in his low, rough voice.

Flirting with what could essentially be labelled as an eldritch monstrosity was a tad difficult, especially since you were millions of years older than him. From that point of view, he felt more like a child speaking with you, admitting to some silly, meaningless crush.

"You think I'm pretty?" You asked, your voice high pitched and coming out in almost a squeak. He nearly gawked at your reaction.

"Of course I do. Do people not tell you that?"

"I don't really talk to consciousnesses much, Malek. And most people don't find my bipedal form very nice to look at," you said quietly, looking down to the floor with fidgeting fingers.

He reached forward, pulling off your sweatshirt's hood, and allowing the warm light of his kitchen to finally show him the whole of your face. The skin around your eyes still retained that mystical darkness, like the ink of space, surrounding the cosmos of your eyes. It was quite clear now that you were not human, which explained the reasoning of hiding the whole of your whole form. 'Bi-pedal,' you called it––you had to fit in with alien worlds as well as his human world, and thus hiding many parts of yourself was required.

Now he would be the first person, the first creature, the first consciousness, the first life, to see your entirety. No one else had thought to flirt with death, but apparently that was how to avoid it. Ironic, considering the earth phrase 'flirting with death'.

You had gone into such a fluster by his words and actions that you stuttered out instructions for him to stay safe, and promptly disappeared in a cloud of smoke. He wouldn't see you again for three years, which saddened him greatly, but he made sure to remind himself that ten years for him was the blink of an eye for you. 2 trillion planets with life on them needed your attention.

In 3 years he found himself victim of yet another incident. He had been sitting in a donut shop for a little while, enjoying himself on his phone, before another customer entered and began to make a fuss. The man started yelling and he rose to the occasion, stepping over and attempting to take some of the stress off the poor teenager working on the till. Before he knew what was happening, he had a gun in his face, staring down a dark barrel of metal.

"You move and I'll slit your fucking throat," you said, appearing in a flash with your katana pressed against the stranger's throat. "Your gun's on safety mode. It'll take more than one move for you to kill this guy. Want to take that chance?"

The man faltered, and with that you nodded to the cashier, who quickly dialed up the police.

"Put it down, Michael," you said. The man, apparently Michael, slowly looked to you with wide, horrified eyes.

Rami could almost laugh at the incident, but his heart was far too full of fearful adrenaline for him to smile, much less laugh. It all happened so fast. The little bout was won the moment Michael met your eyes. He set the gun on the floor, turning to you with contempt and raised hands.

You waited until the police arrived for the sake of the cashier, but before anyone could question you, you were off again with Rami on your tail. Disappearing in a puff in front of mortals would do you no well, thus you had to start off with walking––something he could certainly follow. 3 years since he'd last seen you––grey had pervaded his hair more and more, skin more freckled and imperfect. You remained as you always were, even 15 years ago.

"Met anyone interesting lately?" He asked when he caught up with you.

Ideas of what creatures you were meeting, the types of things you got yourself into had been a decent source of inspiration for his daydreams. Such was his interest in what you wouldn't tell him that he wrote a screenplay, directed it, and shown it to the world. People often commented on the creativity of his imagination, but he always believed you to be the true source of actual creativity.

Of course, he hadn't ever actually heard about anything that you did. It was purely what he hypothesized.

"I met creatures that reproduced by stringing together DNA by hand. They are new consciousnesses in the cosmos, only recently earned souls... or what you would call, self-awareness," you said, staring ahead to the empty streets lined with cars.

"That's what gives something a soul? Self-awareness?"

"Not quite that simple, but for the most part, yes."

"How long ago did humans earn souls, then?"

"Longer back than you'd imagine. Remember, it's represented as more than self-awareness. It's societies, too, and ants have societies. I can't quite remember, but it was back when you were living in the trees," you said, taking moments to pause and correctly recall the facts.

He continued to walk alongside you for a moment more, pondering upon that information.

"Anyway. That's enough questions from you. What the hell were you doing?!" You said once you were out of sight from the cops, balling his shirt in your fists and forcing him up against a wall. Rami spluttered.

"What the hell were you doing? Aren't you not supposed to interfere with that kind of shit?" He asked, rattled from the sudden movement, and feeling bruises already building in his back. His skin and muscles had become more prone to injury over the years.

"I can do whatever I want. I don't have to worry about losing my mortal body. You're still tethered to this plane!"

"Who cares if I die? Everyone has to at some point, and helping others seems like a good way to die," he said, trying to ignore the aching in his body.

"Don't you have a wife? Kids? Family or friends? You're really ready to leave that all behind at the drop of a hat?" You scanned him.

"I was helping others," he hissed. "And I don't have a wife. Or kids. I've had more important things on my mind."

You watched him for a little while, trying to gauge his thoughts from his eyes. Eventually you released him, letting him drop to the ground, and watching carefully as he brushed off his clothes.

"Why do you want me alive now if I'm going to die soon anyway?"

"You're not going to die soon –"

"Relative to your sense of time, I'm going to die very soon," he interrupted, satisfied when you had no rebuttal. "Why do this? It's not even helping me. I know I won't really disappear when I die."

"Yes, you will. Gods, I shouldn't have told you about anything," you sighed, rubbing your face tiredly. "You misunderstand the concept of death. You, as you are, will not survive. You will disappear. I will carry your memories, but I will not be you. You will not be inside me, your memories will. I'm like a library, not some sort of vacation resort. Are you getting this?"

The blank look on his face told you everything you needed to know.

"There is no heaven or hell and I am not a substitute for their nonexistence! When you die, that's it. You're gone. Forever."

"I became a soul on earth. What about that?"

"Because you weren't fully dead, just separated from your body, like astral projecting. You either return to your body or you really die within a year. And if you try to astral project for that long, even if you do return to your body, you'll lose more and more control of it because you can't remember what it's like to have a physical form. It’s complicated, just – just stop getting in dangerous situations!" You practically yelled, clasping his head in your hands and talking quite loudly right in his face.

"There are a lot of technicalities to death," he said, putting his hands over yours and gently leading them down.

"There are a lot of technicalities to life. Why would I be any different?"

"I know, I just – I guess I don't know. Death, I... is it.. you're the only... consciousness I've ever.. loved," he admitted with a broken voice, unsure of his every word.

Your eyes widened, and you almost stumbled backwards with your own surprise. He kept you from doing so by keeping his grip on your hands.

"You want to know if you can stay with me," you said in an instant, soft realization.

He nodded.

"I don't understand," you murmured, suddenly shy. "I've tried to erase your memory so many times. Why do I keep failing?"

"You said none of your other victims ever spoke with you. I remember you because you're unforgettable, Death. I couldn't let go of you."

No one had ever thought of wooing you. You'd met creatures who tried to seduce you, yes, or to pay you off, but never romantically seek after. This would be the first time in your 14 billion years of being alive that someone did this––spoke sweet words and used your name without fear. Without shame. As though you were something to be honored.

Living things fought you so valiantly, and you loved them for that. Their desire to stay alive, to continue existing even when existing was more painful than simply facing you, to thrive in environments you yourself would've given up in. People were terrified of you. They hated you. Rightfully so––you were an easy scapegoat, something to pin blame on, like the actions of Kings weren't what actually killed them, but were the fault of the one who had to clean up the mess of souls left in an army's wake.

People also romanticized you. Thought of you as something to beat. Something to find beauty in, bliss in that nonexistence. People who hated being alive, who found their worlds too dull, or their minds too plagued with thoughts they couldn't help. It was not a true love––it was a desire to escape what they believed to be an inescapable life.

But people did not honor you. You were not a thing to give gifts to. You were not some sort of god of death––you were death. The essence of it. The misery and grief left in the wake of a taken friend.

Tears welled in your eyes, burning a bright white that trailed down your face like melted silver. The streaks were clear against the shadowed skin of your eyes. Instantly Rami thought he had done something wrong, said something to upset you, but he had no chance to apologize before you disappeared in a puff of smoke. In your wake you had left two tiny little puddles of silver teardrops on the pavement, reflecting sunlight like a mirror.

Years later, when he died, he expected to see you. He crawled out of his body, leaving behind the prolonged ringing of the heart monitor, and drifting away from his family. Long had he expected this, awaited this almost eagerly. But when he died, he was met by a man named Jynq, who went on a long spiel about death and the true meaning of the universe.

"Where is Death?" He asked once Jynq gave him a moment to speak.

"I am Death," he said with a confused frown.

"No, you're one of it's workers. I want to see the real Death," Rami stated firmly.

Jynq's expression fell into seriousness, the polite exterior of a worker making way for his true personality.

"It's on the other side of the universe right now. Several planets have been having a war for a while now, and the deathcount has kept them there for many years now," Jynq answered truthfully.

"Can you take me to them?"

"How do you remember Death?" He rebutted instead.

"They spoke to me. On several occassions. They tried to wipe my memory but it didn't work," he explained.

"You spoke to Death on several occasions?" Jynq asked, his mouth falling open.

"... yes?"

"Alright. I'll take you to it, but the journey will take a while. I hope your soul is resilient," the reaper said.

"Doesn't it take a year for a soul outside the body to die out?"

"Hm. You really did talk to it. But yes," he offered his hand, which Rami took, and they began to ascend towards the heavens, "it takes a year for the average soul to die. This journey will take several years. Are you ready for that kind of commitment?"

"Yes."

There was no spaceship in which to find a home, nor any set spot for rest or food. Neither he nor Jynq required any food or water, and certainly not any sleep, so the method of travel was a long, straight line towards the edge of the universe, unbreaking and unmoving.

Cosmos passed him by, and he became a part of them, leaving behind parts of his essence in the form of star dust that trailed after him. The further and faster he travelled, the more of himself he left behind, till he became a translucent outline of who he used to be. Jynq remained the same, just as you did. He couldn't calculate just how much time had passed, but as more of it did, he got a sense that he was experiencing time at a much faster rate than he imagined. Still, he remained oblivious to how much time was left in the journey.

At times he would go through solar systems, beside stars with planets that certainly carried life. Worlds made of diamonds, suns bigger than the whole of his home solar system, clusters of stardust reforming into young stars. Each of these worlds was one you had met––one you had left your mark on, no matter how young or old.

Life on earth didn't seem quite real when he reached the warring planets. There was so much going on in the universe––things humans would never know about. Worlds full of people that would never be found.

Jynq stopped Rami on the moon of a green planet, keeping him there while he went to go find you. He took the opportunity to sit, to rest after years of drifting through space, and to wonder which thought of his many collected thoughts he should first tell you.

"How in all the fucking WORLDS alive do you keep managing to endanger yourself, even after you die?!" You screamed, appearing in front of him in a millisecond and grasping his face tight again. "Are you insane or something?! Like clinically insane??"

"You've clearly never met someone who's in love with you," he chuckled, taking your hands and, again, gently pulling them away from their tight clutch on his face.

"Ohh, Malek," you said, anger falling away to the aching sorrow in your tone. "Look at you. You're so thin... does it hurt?"

"I feel weak, but I also feel light. I am okay," he assured you. "I left a trail of myself all across the universe. I've given myself back to the stars. Now I want to give what remains of me to you, but I had to talk to you again. Just once more."

"You speak like you’re old," you said with a weak laugh.

"I am old."

"How old do humans live to be?"

"The oldest was around 120 years, I think."

"Oh. Well, then I guess you're a little old. Not to me though," you said, flipping his sheer hands and taking them in yours.

"I'm old enough that I have accepted my own fate. I'm ready for you, Death," he said, his smile only visible in the bits of glittering stardust that made up the frame of his face.

Your smile fell.

"No," you said.

"... no?"

"No. I'm not going to do it," you stated.

"Can you do that? Like, legally?" He asked, quirking a brow.

"Who's going to stop me? I'm Death."

"Good point."

"I just wish I could heal you," you murmured, reaching up to stroke his cheek only to have your thumb fall through his face.

"I don't mind it," he said softly.

"Hmm," you said, taking a moment to think critically. "I think I know how to help you."

You found him a home in the heart of a star––Atlas, a part of the Pleiades that shone bright beside its' sister, Pleione. The intense pressure was lost on both of you as you entered, making your way to the heart, where the elements of matter and life were formed in overbearing heat. As was the nature of space, the center of Atlas was dead silent, leaving you and Rami in a white, detail-less expanse.

Slowly, over the years, parts of his body returned to him, building off the star-lit frame of his soul. As you suspected, the workers of the dead and afterlife were extremely dissatisfied with you, but could do nothing. You were older than all of them, and you decided you could allow yourself this one indulgence––this one moment of straying from the rules that Gods had so often broken.

They allowed you this one comfort: a home in the heart of Atlas, in the arms of a man who had given himself to the world, and then to the universe. The one Death who had taken so much from the universe, who would eventually take everything in the universe, wrapped in the embrace of the one who had given every part of himself to the world he lived in.

[lifedistractions]

After her therapeutic shower, Amy returned to their semi private hospital room. The curtain that had enclosed the bed was half drawn on the other side that faced the window. She heard her husband’s voice speaking in a soft, gentle tone to their brand new baby boy. The tiny figure was asleep on Jonah’s bare chest with a light blanket the nurse had provided on top of both of them. Amy quietly approached but stopped short of interrupting the newly minted father and son. Instead, she chose to sit down on the bed and listen behind the curtain.

“You know what, little man? The two of us are pretty lucky. Your mom is…an incredible woman. What she did today? That was amazing. I was there for your brother’s birth too and I gotta say, I don’t know anyone who is as strong as your mom. I couldn’t do it, that’s for sure,” he chuckled. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m no pushover. And when it comes to protecting those I care about, I am there like a brick wall. You don’t ever have to worry about that. I will always be here for you. Same goes for your mom.”

Amy blushed at his steadfast declaration. Jonah’s devotion was always so clear. And now hearing him give his first private heart to heart talk to his baby made her feel so warm and sentimental.

“You chose a pretty great family to be born into. You’ve got an older brother Parker who can’t wait to meet you, even though he insists we call you Monkey. We may have to humour him and give you that nickname. Hope you’re okay with that. He’s so funny. He’ll make you laugh every single day. I’m sure you two will be best friends. I wished I was best friends with my older brothers but that didn’t quite work out. But you two will be different because Parker’s not a- well, he’s not like your Uncle Josh, let’s put it that way.”

Amy covered her mouth to stop a giggle from escaping.

“Your older sister Emma is awesome. She’ll keep you straightened out. She’s got great instincts. And not unlike your mom, she’s as strong as they come. Not to mention she’ll whoop your butt in any video game. Word to the wise though, just between you and me, Emma is a big softy. She has a tough outer shell but if you earn her trust, she’ll let you get to know the real her. Personally, I don’t think you’ll have much trouble. Looking like this. You are pretty darn cute. You’ll win her over in a flash, no doubt.

Carter squirmed a little and his mouth curved into a sleepy smile. Jonah continued to rub his back softly while gently moving the rocking chair they were snuggled in back and forth.

“Sounds pretty good, huh? Yeah, and as for me and your mom, we love you so much. In fact, in this very moment, this might be the happiest I have ever been. About to jump into our new adventure, the five of us. The Sosa Simms family adventure. Has a nice ring to it, don’t ya think? And yeah, I know we probably will have some bumps along the way. But I just want you to understand that no matter what happens, whatever parent/kid arguments we might have, and we will have them, that your mom and I love you more than anything, so don’t you forget it.” Jonah tenderly kissed the top of Carter’s already full head of dark brown hair.

“I can’t wait to see you grow. Not too fast though, okay? I want to soak it all in. The rolling over, the sitting up, the eating solid foods, your first steps, your first giggle. Oh man, your first day of school, your graduation, your wedding day? So many moments, I’ve dreamed about and we’re just at the very beginning of it all. Do you know how excited I am? We are literally living out my dream, right now.”

Amy thought back to when she first met this excited dreamer. The man who thought it was a good idea to spend all of his first day of work wages, and then some, not mention the hours spent, plastering the Cloud 9 store ceiling with glow stars. All for her. That ‘moment of beauty’ man was now skin to skin bonding with the baby they made together. A new life to impart, and with any luck, carry on his dreamy optimism. She had a good feeling about whatever the future held. If for nothing else, she had to admit to herself, she too shared his dream. A dream of a family that they had manifested, with so many moments of beauty still to come.

…..

I drew the sketch above after i wrote this fic. Hopefully you enjoy both and they compliment each other.

Follow me on Twitter @simmstan1

[hellothirteenhere]

formation a (and other related stories)

Summary: 

Or, the five times that Megumi received unsolicited protection from the members of the Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical college. 

(And the one time he asks for it)

Part 1 of 6

A/N: This is based on a post I did a couple of days ago about Episode 23′s Jujutsu Stroll. I would be posting the completed fic in all its entirety (plus extra scenes!) on AO3 eventually but for now, however, enjoy!   

Everyone warned Satoru from taking in the Zenin bastard child. 

It would distract from his studies and his training, they wheedle - he was born to be the new god ruling over the jujutsu world, not to play house with two children. (Why not both? Satoru shrugs, swiftly putting an end to that particular piece of bullshit)  

What would people say, when they find out that the sole heir of the illustrious Gojo clan had taken in two runts from the streets? (The clan elders did not think that one through - Satoru would love nothing more than to give the jujutsu world a good shake. By taking two little brats of dubious parentage - one without a lick of cursed energy - into his care and protection on a seeming whim, when there were hundreds of dodgy old sorcerers clamoring for it; that, he decides, was a good start.) 

Most unfairly of all, however, was Yaga sitting Satoru down the day he broke the news to the college. It was not fair to the children, he said. The Fushiguro kids needed - no, rather, they deserved a stable parental figure instead of a flighty excuse of a guardian who can barely afford to stay for a day. (It was unfair because Satoru can’t deny that). 

However, at the end of the day, it was only Satoru who could protect Megumi from the Zenin clan. Whether he deserves him or not, Megumi was stuck with him. 

And he’s determined to do right by his precious student. 

Work keeps him out of town more often than not but whenever he could, he would swing by to check on the kids, keep them company for a couple of hours, maybe spoil them a little - or as much as Megumi allows him to. 

Which is why he found himself humming as he pressed the doorbell of their apartment, returning before the sun had gone down for once.  

“Yo!” Satoru grinned as the door swung open. “You look well, Tsumiki-chan.” 

“Gojo-san,” Tsumiki smiled. If it had been anyone else other than Satoru, they may have missed the brief millisecond of disappointment in her face. 

But she knew it was Satoru standing in front of her - she knew who she was dealing with, so he didn’t waste time with pleasantries. 

“What’s wrong?” His eyes instinctively scanned her from head to toe. Before he even got to her feet, he already knew that she was alright. But his Six Eyes immediately alerted him of the possible cause for her distress.

Megumi wasn’t home yet. 

Satoru looked at her in the eye. “Where is he?” 

“I -,” Tsumiki started, before breaking off with a sigh. “I don’t know. Not here.”

That wasn’t like Megumi at all. For a kid that’s all but ten years old, he sure acted like an old man. He went home immediately after school ended, often did his chores and homework without kicking up too much of a fuss, and stayed holed up in his room unless he was called for dinner. At least, he did. 

“He’s been g-having trouble in school lately,” She wrung her hands nervously. 

Well, that confirms it: something was definitely wrong. 

Satoru quirked an eyebrow at that, a smile frozen on his face. 

Tsumiki flushed, knowing that she had been caught in a lie. “He’s been getting in trouble at school lately,” she admitted. “The teachers -” 

Ah. Satoru breathed out.

“Old bastards giving our Megumi a hard time again?” He said lightly. 

Tsumiki’s shoulders slump. “Yeah.” 

“Well,” Satoru rolled his shoulders back, reanimated now that he'd identified the root of the problem. “It’s up to your Satoru-nii to go talk to them, right? Don’t worry, Tsumiki-chan -”

“Please don’t -” 

“Don’t go too far - yeah, uh-huh, got it. I’m not gonna hurt anyone,” he waved a careless hand at that. “I’m just gonna scare them a little -”

“Gojo-san!” She protested. 

“A little!” Satoru jutted his lower lip out, looking at her pleadingly. “What’s the point of being your Satoru-nii if I can’t deal with the big bad adults for you? You’re lucky to have such a proactive older brother in your life, you know.”   

Tsumiki sighed at that before looking at Satoru with a weary smile on her face. “Don’t get too carried away, Gojo-oji-san.” 

“That’s cold,” Satoru complained as she closed the door on him.   

Smiling, he started his walk towards Megumi’s school. He could teleport, of course, but he actually had a pretty good idea where the kid was. His Six Eyes told him that Megumi was at a park around five minutes away from his home. He couldn’t help but crack a grin at that. 

Typical Megumi - rebelling by staying away from home, while still staying at a safe, walkable distance as to not worry his step-sister too much.  

Personally, he had never been as nice of a kid as Megumi is, so he doesn’t know how Megumi’s brain works exactly. However, he could guess that he probably chose that park because, while it was close to home, it was out of the way enough from school that Tsumiki probably didn’t think to check there. 

His best guess was that Megumi had wanted to stay close to home in case his sister needed him, but that he didn’t want her finding out where he was unless he came to her. 

And for good reason too. 

Because his Six Eyes shows him not only where the kid but that Megumi - quiet, responsible Megumi - was fighting with someone.  

Satoru hummed lightly. It should probably worry him that a seven year old kid was fighting with what seemed to be older neighborhood kids who all towered over his slight frame. A stable parental figure probably would have bolted to the park, running as fast their 9-to-5 limbs could take them. 

However, his Six Eyes shows him that, despite being outnumbered and outgrown, Megumi had a fair chance of winning. 

So he walked. 

Megumi was too young to learn how to fight curses just then but it wouldn’t hurt to let him learn how to fight assholes at this age - maybe if he gets him mad enough one day, he could sic him on the elders. He grinned at the thought. 

“Get off me, you psycho!” 

Satoru got to the park in time to see one of the older boys creep up behind Megumi as he pounded his tiny little fists on another boy’s chest. The kid reached over and grabbed Megumi’s hair, yanking him off his friend with a sharp tug. 

He felt the edges of his vision go red for a second. 

“Hey, let go!” Megumi protested, kicking at the kid’s legs. 

“You’re such a freak, Fushiguro.” The boy he had been sitting on scrambled to his feet clumsily. He gave Megumi a nasty look. “Girls aren’t su -” 

“I’m not a girl!” Megumi growled, kicking his legs out at the kid. 

“Yeah?” One of the kids taunted. “Well, you sure fight like -”

Yeah, no.    

Satoru called out, “Playing with your friends, Megumi?” 

The children all froze at the sound of his voice and turned towards him. He could feel the older boy’s apprehension at the sight of his height. 

“Who are you?” One of the kids - the one holding Megumi by his hair - asked. 

Satoru paused. His omnipresent eyes took in every little detail before him - the scruff and frays in the kid’s clothes that suggests that it was not his first playground fight, the defiant look on Megumi’s face that suggests that it was not his first playground fight, and, perhaps most telling of all, the pudgy little fingers fisting the hair over Megumi’s ear. 

Ah. The entire-boys-will-be-boys thing had always sounded ridiculous to Satoru, who had been taught by private tutors of the Gojo family before coming to the college. 

But he never would have thought that there were actually children who would take the term ‘pigtail-pulling’ way too seriously.    

“What if I told you I’m his dad?” He smiled at the kid who dared pick on his precious student. All because he didn’t know how to process the emotions that came with a first crush. Ah, youth. He thought, strolling up to the kids with his hands tucked into his pockets. 

“W-what?” The kid holding on to Megumi paled, letting go and backing away. 

Megumi fell to the ground, barely catching himself. He glared up at Satoru with those wide, defiant green eyes of his. How cute. 

“No way!” The other kid protested. “You’re way too young to be a dad!” 

Satoru grinned at him with entirely too much teeth. “We have good genes.” 

“Just look at my pretty boy,” He leaned down, wrapping a hand around Megumi’s arm and pulling him up. Megumi reluctantly allowed Satoru to pull him close, a sulky expression sourind his face. “Doesn’t he look just like his dear old papa?” 

He could see their eyes flicker from his white hair and blue eyes, to Megumi’s dark hair and green eyes. Despite himself, Megumi snorted under his breath. 

“Boys,” The kid gritted out, looking up at Satoru with a scowl on his face. “Boys can’t be pretty. Only girls are pretty.” 

“Really now?” Satoru gasped in mock-surprise. “I think I’m quite pretty myself.” 

He could practically see the gears of the boy’s brain stop at that. 

“Of course, my son is still the prettiest.” Satoru brought his hand up to ruffle Megumi’s hair. His eyes flicker to the boy who had grabbed Megumi. “Isn’t that right?” 

He watched as the boy’s face flush into a bright, splotchy red. The other boy continued to glare at Satoru, oblivious to his friend’s crisis. And Megumi - oh, sweet summer child Megumi - had no idea what’s going on. 

“I- uh, no, b-but -” The kid stuttered as Satoru leaned forward, placing a hand over each of the boys’ shoulders. As much as he could with the Infinity, of course. 

He deliberately pitched his voice down, squeezing down on their shoulders with deliberate force - not enough to hurt them, but enough to make a statement. “And I don’t like seeing anyone pick on my cute son. You wouldn’t want to see it too, don’t you agree?””

Satoru deliberately allowed his sunglasses to slide down his nose a little - enough to show the kids a flash of his eyes. Enough to scare the living shit out of them. 

Just a little, he remembered promising to Tsumiki. 

Well, he amended. Just enough.

Upon seeing them nod, Satoru straightened up, pleased to see that kids looked as though they were about to piss themselves. “Glad we’re in agreement, boys.”

“Off you two go, then. Wouldn’t want to worry your mothers by getting in late.” He smiled cheerily, pushing them to a running start. They didn’t waste another second and took off, sprinting as though the devil himself. One of them, however, kept tripping over himself by looking back over his shoulder at Megumi every now and again, eyes wide as though he was seeing him for the first time.

Satoru scowled at that. 

That was not part of the agreement. 

[solartranslations]

AF2 Common 12/28: A Long Night

Even if they’re somewhere new, what doesn’t change is the time they spend at the bar. …It’s the start of a long night

~*Scene: Nordia Bar*~

Pace: So gooood! I’m so glad Nordia has lasagna too

Debito: Ahh, that hits the sport…Nordia has the best drinks

Luca: I can’t believe you two…a client is coming to meet us soon. Be professional

Debito: What for. I thought this was a friend, not a client

Pace: *eating*…Debito’s right! Wouldn’t she actually get mad if we acted that way?

Luca: Maybe, but…

Felicita: Who is it? A friend of yours, Luca?

Luca: Yes. You met her the other day. It’s Agata

Felicita: Agata is…

Debito: Don’t worry, Bambina. She is strict, but she won’t do anything while over a meal

Pace: Huh? She’s scolded me while I was eating before. Agata’s whip sure is painful

Agata: That was because your behavior required discipline. I don’t raise my hand to others without reason

Pace: Uwah!? Agata, when did you get here? Don’t scare us like that

Debito: Our guest of honor is finally here. You’re late

Luca: Sorry for calling you out here when you’re so busy

Agata: I don’t mind. I wanted to talk with you all too

Agata: It’s been so long since we were all together. Debito, Pace, Luca, have you all been well?

Pace: Of course! You still got your whip, Agata?

Luca: Pace, don’t be rude! That’s no way to greet someone

Debito: You could show us if you wanted. It’s been a while after all

Luca: Debito! I said not to be rude!

Agata: Haha, you really haven’t changed. They sure must be a handful for you, Luca

Luca: Yes, dealing with these two certainly is

Pace: Really? I thought Luca was the handful. Right, Ojou?

Felicita: Um…

Debito: Yeah, Bambina’s definitely had it the hardest. You tell her how much of an airhead your attendant is

Luca: Are you trying to say that my head is filled with nothing but air?

Luca: It’s not true. I think a lot about Ojou-sama, but not air…

Pace: Same thing, isn’t it?

Debito: Yeah, it is

Luca: It’s not!

Felicita: You all need to settle down…

Agata: You all are causing trouble for your lady. Pay more attention to those around you

Debito: Wow~, nice one, Agata. You haven’t lost your touch at all

Pace: Your whip sure is quick, Agata. …It’s scary though

Felicita: Um…thank you, Madam Governor

Agata: Agata is fine. No need for titles. I regret that we couldn’t talk more the other day

Agata: So I was excited at the chance to talk to you now. There’s no need to be humble, just act as usual

Felicita: Thank you, Agata

~*Scene: Nordia Bar VIP Room*~

Felicita: [There was a room for special guests in the back of the bar]

Felicita: [We were able to talk freely there]

Agata: So tell me, why did you call me here?

Debito: Well we had to say hi to you since we came out to Nordia after all this time. It’s a courtesy, right?

Agata: You’ve got guts to talk about courtesy. There’s more to it, right?

Luca: Ah, it’s nothing too important…we just wanted to see you, that’s all

Agata: —Let me put it this way then. Are you curious about the contract with Vir that I mentioned the other day?—

Pace: Why are you bringing that up? Didn’t you say you couldn’t talk about it?

Agata: I just thought it’d be a dull and pointless topic to end things on

Agata: Anyway, I have things I wanted to ask you too

Agata: If that girl with Vir really did hurt Sumire, then I can’t stay quiet about it either

Agata: It won’t sit right with me until I hear the whole story

Luca: Agata… you don’t need to worry about Mama

Luca: Though she did suffer some shock and will need to recover with rest

Felicita: We don’t know why Mama got hurt. But…I don’t think Neve is the kind of person who would do that

Agata: Right, Neve. I know of her too

Agata: Sumire is like a little sister to me. I understand why you’d blame Vir, and I have no intention of sticking up for him

Agata: But for Nordia, Vir is—

Agata: Someone we need. The basis of our contract is that Vir lends us his power

Agata: So we can’t lose him, no matter what…

Agata: I’ll say it again. I won’t get in your way. But I can’t help you either

Agata: I’m under that contract. It’s to protect Nordia—

Felicita: If it’s to protect Nordia…. Can we help with that in any way?

Pace: Yeah. If it’s something Vir can do, we might be able to help you instead

Agata: No, it’s…

Luca: You can’t talk about the details of your contract then

Debito: Any more talk is pointless. I have an idea. How about we play a game?

Agata: A game? What kind?

Debito: Chess. We used to play it a lot, right?

Agata: Hmph. Looks like you’re all quite desperate to get information out of me

Debito: As you know, I’m the kind of person who doesn’t do anything without a good reason. And I’d still only do the minimum

Agata: Huh, interesting

Agata: The masquerade is soon. We should have a match for the tournament on its last day

Debito: Then let’s make a deal. The loser will have to do one thing that the winner wants

Pace: Huh!? Should you really promise that? Every time we played against Agata before…

Agata: I’m surprised you’d bet with such high stakes against me…

Agata: Hm… did you forget our games in the past, or are you that confident you’ve improved?

Luca: Debito…are you sure? Do you have a plan?

Debito: No I don’t. It’s just the only way I can think of to get any information

Agata: Having the loser listen to the winner’s request is too obvious. You just want information on Vir, right?

Agata: How about this. The loser will tell the truth about what they’ve been hiding. You’ll be witness, Felicita…

Agata: We’ll use “The Lovers”

Felicita: You want me to use “The Lovers” to see if you’re telling the truth…

Luca: I see. Even if it was a lie, Ojou-sama’s powers will see through it

(*smirk) Debito: I’m fine with that. Let’s get started

—And then—

~*Scene: Nordia Bar VIP Room*~

Pace: Yay! Haha, I won!

Felicita: Amazing, Pace! Even Debito and I couldn’t win…

Luca: It must have been his animal instincts

Agata: I truly didn’t think I would lose. I underestimated you

Debito: Since we won, we’ll be asking the questions then. Pace, what have you got?

Pace: I’ve been curious about something ever since we started playing

Felicita: Curious…?

Pace: Yeah. We never told you about Ojou’s powers, right Agata? So how did you know that she can use “The Lovers”?

Felicita: Right

Luca: Can you tell us, Agata?

Agata: That’s simple. I heard about them from Vir. That’s all

Luca: It was from him? But we never told Vir about her powers

Felicita: Yeah, I don’t remember saying anything

Agata: You didn’t have to. He knows everything about the Tarocco…

Pace: Huh? Is Vir really that smart?

Debito: That’s not what you should be impressed about

Agata: He knows about the Tarocco you all host too

Luca: …Just how much does he know?

Felicita: Who exactly is Vir?

Agata: Vir has formed a contract with “Agata” to protect Nordia for generations

Debito: Protect it from what?

Agata: A great storm that occurs once every 100 years, “Acqua Tempesta”— (TN: storm water)

Agata: It causes much greater disasters than when a normal acqua alta raises water levels (TN: when high tides cause flooding in Venice etc.)

Agata: And Vir protects Nordia from that threat…as is our contract

Pace: But that doesn’t make sense. Vir still looks so young…

Debito: Don’t be dumb, Pace. She said it was for generations

Debito: She just means he inherited the name “Vir” like she did with “Agata”

Luca: He’s right. Even if we don’t know how old he is, a person can’t live for hundreds of years

Luca: Probably, I think…

Agata: …Yes. You’re right

Debito: So the contract you made with Vir was that he’d protect the city from the Acqua Tempesta…now it all makes sense

Felicita: So that’s why Agata says she can’t help us

Agata: I had no choice but to keep it a secret. But it’s just as you say

Agata: The next Acqua Tempesta is in January…when the New Year comes, the whole town will be washed away. We can’t stop it on our own

Agata: I will protect Nordia no matter what. It’s my reason for being “Agata”—

Felicita: Your reason for being “Agata”…?

Agata: If we survive this Acqua Tempesta, the next one will be in a hundred years

Agata: In that amount of time, I can persuade my people to move elsewhere to safety

Agata: And if technology advances enough so that we don’t have to, all the better

Agata: Time brings change and progress. But, time makes people forget as well

Agata: I wasn’t able to get my people to believe me in time

Agata: The burden I carry from my ancestors is heavy—

Felicita: Agata…

Agata: People are like pawns in God’s game

Agata: And right now, I’m a failure at carrying out my duty as a pawn

Debito: Saying that’s not like you

Pace: Yeah, it’s like you’ve gotten old, Agata

Agata: Idiot, just say I’ve matured. I’m only old enough to be your sister

Luca: You’re older than Mama though

Agata: …I thought you were a genius when you were younger, but now I know you’re just normal. Well, maybe not. I see you have a one-track mind with your Ojou-sama

Luca: Um, why am I the only one you’re saying that to?

Pace: Why don’t you like hearing that? Being obsessed with Ojou is something to be proud of!

Felicita: Pace, I don’t think she means it in a good way…

Luca: It definitely isn’t praise!

Felicita: [Agata shoulders the responsibility of Nordia and its people. No matter how hard it is, she doesn’t give up and tries to find a way]

Felicita: [Agata is strong…that’s clear to me. I want to protect Regalo too, so I send my thoughts out to its people…]

Agata: Isn’t there anyone besides Pace who can challenge me?

Luca: You’re just too strong, Agata. Strategy games like this are your forte

Agata: You’re not wrong. I couldn’t be governor if I wasn’t

Felicita: Agata…I want to play another round with you

Agata: We’ve already seen the outcome, so no. Maybe another time

Felicita: …Please?

Agata: *sigh*… Children are so tiring. If you were my son, I’d have brought out my whip

Pace: You did that to us too before

Debito: Yeah. No mercy at all

Luca: Then, how about you play against me next? Is that alright?

Agata: Yes, let’s give it a go

~*Scene: Nordia Bar VIP Room*~

Luca: It’s been so long since I’ve played chess with you, Agata

Agata: Yes, it has. And just like before, only Pace would be able to win out of the three of you

Luca: I think I’ll be joining him this time. I will win

Agata: I can’t believe you can say that while looking at the board now. Your king and queen are cornered

Luca: This is where I turn things around

Agata: Haha, very interesting

Felicita: Luca’s good at chess?

Pace: Hmm, he could get pretty far but…

Debito: Yeah, but he could never finish it. Neither of us have ever won against Agata

Luca: If I take this pawn next…

Agata: That won’t work, unfortunately

Luca: Wha?

Agata: Checkmate

Debito: Oh well. Luca lost

Luca: Another loss… You certainly are strong

Agata: Those who think too hard about their actions won’t win against me. But people who act on instinct are harder to read

Agata: I’ve won this time…but you were the ones to ask questions during the last round

Agata: I know. I’ll give you an opportunity

Pace: What opportunity?

Agata: You can do it when I’m not around, but answer one of Debito’s questions

Luca: We’ll answer Debito’s questions…?

Debito: Huh? What’s that about? I didn’t ask for you to give me your prize

Agata: Luca, you are a very stubborn man. You try to maintain balance even while fooling yourself. It’ll be easier if you break that just once

Luca: ……

Pace/Debito: ……

Agata: I will take my leave then. You all can do as you wish

Felicita: I should probably go too…

Debito: …Yeah, let’s go. I’ve got nothing to ask anyway

~*Scene: Nordia Street*~

Pace: Wow, it’s totally dark out. All the shops are closed too

Debito: It’s not that late. And isn’t this when grown-ups really start having fun?

Luca: Only for you. And if that causes you to stay in bed until noon, I think you need to reevaluate your priorities

Debito: It’s not your problem

Luca: It is. The Coins are always…

Felicita: !?

Luca: That person getting off the gondola is…

Pace: It’s definitely Vir

Debito: Perfect. We’ve got business with him after all

~*Scene: Nordia Waterway*~

Vir: Hm?

Luca: Haaah!

Vir: *laugh*…

Luca: He knocked away my attack!?

Vir: It looks like alchemy hasn’t advanced one bit

Vir: It’s the same as it was 400 years ago. No, it’s actually gotten weaker

Luca: …!

Debito: I guess Agata meant what she said literally

Pace: You mean when she said she’s known him for 400 years?

Vir: You really thought such a small flame could capture me?

(*click) Debito: Nope. These are the real goods

Vir: That’s quite the greeting. Hm? Your right eye…

>Debito Route

>Pace/Luca Routes

Vir: What a nice gem. It should last you the rest of your life. Perhaps I should sell some in my store

Vir: But, that amethyst won’t last much longer. Do you have a replacement ready?

Luca: Why would you know…we don’t need your concern. I have a replacement

Debito: Tch, you really do know everything…

Vir: That gem was made with alchemy. Is it your creation?

Luca: …

Vir: You’re even better than your teacher. You couldn’t have made that if you hadn’t watched him for so long

Vir: I’d love a gifted student too. Will you join me?

Luca: I humbly decline

(Luca: Because I have Ojou-sama) (This line is Luca route only)

Vir: Unfortunate. But, it seems those two do need you too. Now then

(*shing) Felicita: You aren’t getting away

Debito: We came all the way from Regalo to capture you

Pace: Yeah. Finding you here makes things a lot faster

Vir: Didn’t Agata tell you? You can’t touch me yet. This is Agata’s city. You aren’t the law here

Vir: And I’m not someone you can catch that easily

Vir: Haaa!

Dodge!

>Hit

(+10 Amore)

>Miss

(-20 Amore)

(*dodge) Felicita: Hah!

Felicita: Ah…

Luca: Ojou-sama! Watch out!

Luca: … L’Armonia della Luce!

Vir: Haha, you can run if you like. I’m not in the mood to fight you today

Felicita: Well I am!

Vir: Stubborn aren’t you…fine then

Debito: You’re fighting me too. So don’t turn your back!

Felicita: Debito! I’ll cover you!

(*whish) Felicita: Yah!

Attack!

>Hit

(No Amore)

>Miss

(-20 Amore)

Vir: Guh…

Vir: That’s all you’ve got?

Vir: You have to mean it if you’re going to attack me. And you won’t catch me anyway

Pace: If you’re just going to run away, doesn’t that mean you’re actually weak?

Vir: I’m running for your sake. If you hit me with your powers, punishment will befall you

Felicita: Punishment…

Debito: You’re not going to trick us with a joke like that

Vir: Is it really a joke?

Pace: If you won’t attack, then I will!

Pace: Hyaaah!

Vir: Hah, that won’t hit me…

Debito: Didn’t I tell you already? You’re not just fighting one of us!

Debito: Hahaha!

Vir: Those bullets won’t work on me. I’ll just erase them

Felicita: No you won’t!

(*whish) Felicita: Haaah!

Attack!

>Hit

(+10 Amore)

>Miss

(-20 Amore)

Vir: Guh…Right. You’re here too

Vir: Where are you aiming?

Vir: …So tiring. This is all the time I have for you today

Vir: Haaah!

Luca: All of you, get away from Vir!

Luca: I’ll block his attack, so get behind me!

Felicita: Right…!

Luca: Guh…

Vir: See you tomorrow then

Felicita: Luca! Are you alright?

Luca: *panting*…Yes. I’m sorry. It’s been a while since I’ve fought that hard…

Debito: I am interested in one thing he said

Luca: ……

Debito: He said “You couldn’t have made that if you hadn’t watched him for so long”

Felicita: …

Debito: If this hadn’t happened, I never would have asked…

Debito: Back then…who’s side were you on?

Pace: Debito…

Luca: I…

Debito: Honestly, I don’t care what the truth is though

Pace: It feels late bringing this up now, but I’ve been hiding things too

~*Flashback: Back Alley*~

Pace: Um, because of a special trait of my Tarocco, I––

Pace: I can only live until age 30

~*End Flashback*~

Pace: I guess Debito’s been the most honest out of us

Debito: Shut up, Pace

Pace: I guess the best thing is for Luca-chan to come clean and for us to give him one good hit for hiding it?

>Luca, I want to know too…

>I think you should tell Debito and Pace

Luca: Ojou-sama…

Luca: Right. I never was good at keeping secrets

Luca: And I didn’t plan on hiding it this long either

Luca: It might make things easier if I just told the truth…

Luca: I don’t know if hearing this will help them

Luca: But I think it will be better for me

Luca: It hurts to keep this a secret. …I just want to tell you

Luca: This is the opportunity that Agata gave us

Luca: I’ll tell you…about the secret I’ve been keeping

Luca: Back then, I had a lot of feelings that I had a hard time putting into words

~*Flashback: Bedroom*~

Debito: Uw, ahhhhh!

Pace: Debito!? Where are you?

Luca: I can’t see him…but I can hear him. Are these Debito’s Arcana powers…?

Debito: *panting*…

Pace: Ah! There’s blood near the bed… Debito, are you there?

Debito: Uaa, Pace…

Luca: If I could see you, I could neutralize your powers with mine, but I can’t touch you like this

Pace: Ah! I see him! Debito, can you hear me? Debito?

Debito: ……

Luca: He’s not conscious. And his right eye is bleeding…he hit himself on that pillar…

Luca: Hurry, Pace! At this rate, Debito will…

Pace: But where should we…

Luca: We’ll take him to Jolly

~*Flashback: Alchemy Room*~

Pace: Jolly! You have to help Debito!

Debito: Guh…ahh…

Jolly: …What happened

Luca: Debito’s powers are out of control. He struck his eye against a pillar…

Luca: He settled down after losing consciousness, but he hasn’t woken up yet

Jolly: His powers…

Pace: Jolly, what’s going to happen to Debito?

Jolly: He’ll die if we don’t do anything. He must not have the emotional strength to handle his powers

Luca: …No way

Pace: I don’t want Debito to die! Since you experiment all the time, can’t you save him!

Jolly: …I have an idea. But I can’t guarantee that it will work

Jolly: Do you still want to save Debito?

Pace: Of course we do!

Luca: Yes…

Jolly: Good. I’ll get started

Jolly: We’ll put this gem in Debito’s right eye. It will amplify his emotional strength to make up for what he lacks

Luca: An amethyst…

Pace: You’ll stick that in him!?

Jolly: He won’t be able to use his eye anymore either way. This is better than dying

Debito: Ahhhhhh….!!!

Jolly: This should last for a while

Pace: Thank you, Jolly

Luca: Thank you

Luca: Jolly…

Jolly: Pace already left. Was there something else, Luca?

Luca: I know you saved Debito…but will he really be alright like this…

Jolly: Hmph, I don’t plan on leaving this be. You’ll be paying me back for saving him

Jolly: …How about this. From now on, you’ll have no contact with Debito or Pace

Luca: Wha…

Jolly: Or you’ll help me with my experiments again. It’s an equivalent exchange. You’ll pay me back one of those two ways. The choice is up to you

Luca: …I…

~*Flashback: Bedroom*~

Pace: Don’t worry us like that, Debito. I told you not to push yourself

Debito: Yeah, but I had to. I’m not good at staying put

Luca: Calm down, you two. Debito’s awake, and that’s all that matters

Luca: I’ll be going now. I’m doing a little favor for someone

~*Flashback: Alchemy Room*~

(*knock knock)

Luca: It’s me

Jolly: Come in…

~*End Flashback*~

Luca: My…heart was always with you two, but I was acting on Jolly’s orders

Luca: I stayed to protect you. But, it’s true that I was still observing you as directed by Jolly too

Luca: I wanted to protect you, but still felt guilty. I thought protecting you was my duty

Luca: And it’s why I feel so conflicted into inaction now

Luca: And then, Ojou-sama’s powers went out of control

Felicita: …!

Luca: I was ordered to live with Ojou-sama, and went to that small house with her and Sumire-sama

Luca: I had a peaceful life there. And that’s when I realized that I was making up for what I did to you two…

Luca: It’s because of Ojou-sama that I found the strength to accept myself

Luca: It’s thanks to Ojou-sama…that I realized what I should protect

Luca: I’m the weakest one out of us. I just couldn’t live on if I lost even a single one of you

Felicita: Luca…

Luca: ……Is that all you wanted to know?

Felicita: Luca…!

Luca: Wah! O-Ojou-sama…

Debito: You shouldn’t be crying at your age

Pace: Yeah. You’ve hit a milestone so you really should grow up

Felicita: Luca, how could you keep smiling before now?

Luca: Because…you all…were with me

Debito: Oh get a grip! Pace, let’s throw Luca in the canal!

Pace: Okay! Heave-ho!

Luca: *bubble bubble*…

Felicita: Luca, are you okay!?

(*splash) Luca: *cough*…

Debito: Yeah, he wouldn’t drown

Pace: Yup. That’s his punishment from us instead of getting hit

Debito: Yeah I figured

Luca: You weren’t going to let me get washed away, right!?

Debito: Okay, let’s head back

Pace: Oh wow Luca, you look just like Dante. Let’s go, Ojou

Felicita: O-okay…

Luca: Can you at least pull me out of here!!!

~*End of Scene*~

(Continue to Common Route December 31 (Pace Route)) Coming Soon!

(Continue to Debito Chapter 4)

(Continue to Luca Chapter 5)

(Back to Directory)

[sixx02]

One More

“Arc… Arc… vs Arc… and Nikos… ugh… why are there three of you?”  The combat professor scratched his head as he stared at the names on the board.  “Whatever…”  

Jaune did not like where this was going, they had only been here for a few weeks but he’d seen just how good Pyrrha was.  Okay, well he could tell right away after her first fight with Nora.  He just kind of hoped they’d be together… ‘Not together together!  Just on the same team… right that’s what I meant!’  Yep he definitely didn’t think she was super darn awesome, or really pretty, or super badass or anything like that!  He also didn’t notice her well toned arms and legs when they were training, nope!  He’d never pay attention to things like that.

Of course… he couldn’t help but pass glances to her now and again, she was really awesome.  Though… he doubted he’d have a chance, and honestly he needed to concentrate on himself… right… he didn’t want a repeat of before.  Turning towards the professor he waited for the actual teams. 

“Ugh, whatever, boys versus girls.”

Both Lie and him stopped, “Uh… sir, could we uh… could you reconsider?”  

“No!  Now get your stuff and get up there!”  

Both boys turned towards one another, “Oh no.”  

Lie and him weren’t terrible by any means, heck they were in the upper half of the class!  But, well… Nora and Pyrrha were at the very top constantly competing for first place.  And there was talk about Pyrrha actually competing in the upcoming tournaments!  The trio had opted out of it, they didn’t really want the attention and honestly speaking they didn’t want to be in front of a crowd.  

“Hurry up!”  Both boys sighed, relenting to their future domination. That was till they were both pulled into a powerful hug.

“Yes!  I can’t wait to fight!  It’s going to be a ton of fun!”  

Jaune loved Nora, she was his wonderful sister after all.  But, well… he wasn’t sure he could agree with that last bit.  Though he didn’t really have the heart to deny her answer as she continued to squeeze the two boys together.  

“Nora I think they get the point.”  Pyrrha’s gentle tone caught his ears.

“Okie dokie!”  Nora let them go at the behest of her, in her own words, besty better than the resty forever!  Honestly despite his obvious… not so obvious, crush on her, he was just happy that she got along with Nora.  Like he said he loved Nora, but she had a lot of energy, a lot of energy that caused a lot of people to think she was stupid or dumb, well they always got what was coming to them.  

“Still, this should be a grand fight!”  

“Right right!  Grand.”  

“Yes… Grand.”  Lie’s response was far less enthusiastic than his own.  Both boys however gave way, once they gathered their things adjourning at the arena.  The girls had already been prepared, Pyrrha had her own specially made weapon.  “It seems they’re taking us seriously.”

“Yep… I wish they wouldn’t!”  Jaune didn’t like where this was going!  He had seriously thought about how they’d handle the dynamic duo, but every single idea and thought was always just crushed by overwhelming prowess and might.  “Well nothing left but to do it then ya?”  

Lie simply nodded, they would have to take this one step at a time after all.  

The moment they lined up with the girls the professor started the count down.  

“Alright!  3...2...1… GO!”  

Hopefully this wouldn’t be too terrible.

“This is terrible…”  

A week earlier.

Charles couldn’t believe what they’d run into, he was starting to truly and fully believe that him and his wife were harbingers of doom… or at the very least ones that came in the aftermath of great destruction.

“Who would do this?  This wasn’t a grimm attack… they don’t just set fires to homes!”  Jeanne didn’t like this, not at all… they’d been on a mission when they’d seen the smoke rise into the air.  When they got to the small farm they’d found the home razed to the ground, if only they’d gotten here sooner!  She clenched her fist as the air around her began to warp, her aura flared wildly, the ground cracking beneath her feet.  

“WAAAAAAAAAH!”  

In an instant she cooled off, “Did you hear that?!”  

“Yes!”  Both husband and wife turned towards one another, in an instant they were off, the ground cracking beneath their feet as they made their way towards the sound. 

In an instant they found themselves in front of a Cellar, wasting no time they dug through the debris blocking their way.  

“What…”  Once they’d opened the doors they’d found a young boy who appeared to be the same age as their twins.  “Oh god…”  Jeanne winced at the terrible wounds on his chest rising up to his neck.  

“No… not again.  What do we do?”  Her husband’s words sunk in.

“We...  we have to take him… see if he has family?  Find out who he is…”  

“P...please… help him…”  Their eyes snapped towards a younger woman.  They hadn’t noticed her before, but… but she wasn’t going to make it.  The clear indications of severe wounds present on her body, scars and gnashes… the seasoned hunters almost looked away.  “Please… he has… no one else…”  

“Hold on don’t ta…”  Charles stopped as he drew closer, “...She’s dead.”  

Once more they let the silence seep in, “We… we have to take him.”

Her husband stood there for a moment, “Alright…”  

They would bury the woman, and they would take the young boy home with them.  The young man who they would later learn the name as Oscar Pines, the young man that would later be known as Oscar Pines Arc.

Jaune had been wrong, he had been terribly terribly wrong!  This was worse than terrible!  This had gone downright ugly!  

His legs buckled at Nora’s powerful swing, the arena beneath his feet cracked.  “SERIOUSLY?!”  He knew that these things were supposed to be made of sturdier stuff, and he knew that if he hadn’t been pumping aura into this metal sheet of a shield it would have caved right in.  

“AHAHAHAH!”  Her body was surging with dangerously high levels of electricity.

“Your semblance is so unfair!”  

“Says the walking living aura generator!  Now on your knees my favorite minion!”  

“NOPE NOPE NOPE!  LIE!”  In an instant Lie pulled himself away from trying to defend from Pyrrha, pumping his aura into his legs he dashed over towards his manic sister, his palm colliding with her waist sending her flying.  Unfortunately she was able to stop herself from getting ringed out by smashing her hammer into the ground beneath them.

Jaune’s hand swiped past Lie as he continued after Nora, in a single burst he’d filled his brother’s Aura up once more.  WIth a burst of strength his own Aura began to refill, only to stop a Pyrrha peppered him with dust rounds.  

“Really Pyrrha?!”  

“Sorry!  But I can’t let you do that!”  She was ever the fighter after all, so he knew she wouldn’t just let him recharge.  

“Fine!”  Putting up his shield he dashed forward, allowing the bullets to graze past it or hit less important targets, like not his head.  

Upon reaching her, he did what he did best, he attempted to ram his shield into her face.  Only for her to deftly avoid him, his shield flashed black as she attempted to nudge it away.  

Ever since her fight with Nora, she’d apparently been using her semblance a lot more, taking the time to really practice with it.  Or at least that’s what she’d told them anyways.  Which was great and everything!  But it made her really frustrating to fight, so he did what he knew he could.  Pumping more aura into the shield he was able to overpower her attempt at control.

“You really do have a lot of aura!”  He would have blushed at the comment if not for her shield attempting to ram him into the face.  

He didn’t have many options, he couldn’t really avoid it, he wasn’t exactly the fastest person, so once more he did what he thought he could.  “ACHA!”  With a might slam he hit her shield straight on with his empowered forehead causing her to pull back in surprise.

“Jaune!?”  Her worried tone was apparently warranted as that blow nearly knocked his lights out.  Aura could do a lot of things, but when he messed up, well sometimes his brain couldn’t really handle the rumbling.

“I’m okay!”  Straightening himself he attempted to swipe at her midsection, only for her to parry the blow using her blade.  

“Good!”  In that moment he felt her aura wrap around his blade disarming him as her knee hit him straight in the gut.  Thankfully his Aura protected him, but that hadn’t been her goal.  In the moment that he instinctively buckled over she’d applied her aura instantly onto his shield and pushed him straight out of the ring.  “Sorry!”  

To his surprise Lie had already been there waiting for him.  “Did she golf swing you?”

“She golf swung me…”  

“Nikos and Arc win!”  

The boys could hear the cheering from the crowd, their own egos slightly wounded as no one really had expected them to win, not even themselves!  

But, well that didn’t matter in the end, “YOU GUYS DID AMAZING!”  

Pink and Sapphire eyes glanced upwards, meeting emerald and turquoise.  

“She’s right you know.  You had gotten our aura’s rather low.”  

Both boys turned towards the monitor at the same time, they’d managed to get both Pyrrha and Nora down to about 60 percent.  That may have seemed like nothing, but well, when most people couldn’t drop them even a single percent?  It wasn’t a bad thing.  “Huh!  Hey look at that, we got you guys down another 2 percent this time.”  A part of him did want to have a little snark though.

“That we did.”

“Yeah!  You guys are improving!”  Nora pulled everyone into a tight hug, her arms wrapped affectionately around her family, Pyrrha included.

“I agree you’re both improving at a remarkable rate.”

Neither of the boys could really deny it, while it felt bad to lose, well… well at least they knew they were getting better and that wasn’t a bad thing.

“Alright… well how bout… we go get cleaned up and then we can go to Saph’s house.  We could have a sleep over?”  He turned towards Pyrrha, “If you can come of course!”

“Oh!  Yes, my parents should be fine with it.  They quite like your sister.”  Pyrrha’s warm smile caused his chest to feel oddly pained.  Right, gotta concentrate on getting better.  

Pyrrha parted ways with them wanting to get ready and prepared for the oncoming sleepover.

Once they’d gotten home after getting ready, they’d noticed extra sounds coming from the living room.  “Saph?”

“MY BABIES!”  In an instant the three Arc siblings were pulled into one powerful hug.

“MOM!”  Nora was the only one to return the powerful hug meeting one with equal strength.

“Hey kids… we got something to tell you.”  As their mom dropped them they eyed a small figure behind them.  “Meet Oscar… Oscar Pine Arc, he’s your new little brother.”

[slytherinbarnes]

Sub Rosa [6]

vi. his sister’s keeper

Pairing: Bellamy Blake x reader

Word Count: 6.5k

Warnings: Language, mentions of vomit, allusions to sexual assault/scummy Shumway deals, Grounder violence.

Summary: A small group of people head staright into Grounder territory in search of Octavia, and you have a surprising moment with someone unexpected.

a/n: are we all sad about the lack of bob morley in the promo? are we all scared? is that just me? if not, pls enjoy the next chapter of my series that’s all about Bellamy (and reader) bc it’s what he desrves! also the taglist is stil OPEN. 

previous chapter // season masterlist // series masterlist

(Flashbacks are italicized)

Jake looks over at his wife, screaming out in pain, gripping his hand with a strength he didn’t know she possessed, forehead damp with sweat, and he could only think one thing. 

She has never looked so beautiful. 

He looks around at the room, stuffed with medical equipment, but empty of anyone other than himself, Abby, and Jackson.

And soon, his beautiful daughter. 

Clarke comes into the world the same way she’ll regard the world in the future. Pensive, quiet, evaluating. At first, everyone is worried, because she didn’t make a sound. But after a quick look of her surroundings, she lets out a hearty scream and all Jake can do is smile, tears filling his eyes. Jackson handed him his daughter, wrapped in a blanket, and he looked down into her face. Chubby cheeks, bright blue eyes, little shock of blonde hair; everything about her bright and shining, like a star. And then he turned to his wife, his sun, the center of his universe, and he knew his family was complete.

Until Jackson gave his wife a knowing look, asked, “Are you ready?”

Jake can’t hide the fear and concern in his voice, “Ready for what?”

Abby reaches out and grabs his hand. “I couldn’t tell you before, didn’t know how to say it...There’s one more.”

And before Jake could comprehend what she was saying, implying, you had entered the world. He didn’t want to accept it, accept you. Multiple children were against the law, they’d get floated for it. 

But he took one look at your face, his little la lune, and he knew he’d protect this secret until the day he died. 

-

Cabin searches were a reality on the Ark, but with a chief medical doctor slash current councilwoman for a mother, and a chief engineer highly revered father, they were few and far between. 

Usually, they were done by Jaha himself, and never in a very serious way, because they were friends and it was easy for the Chancellor to pass along the message that the Griffin residence was safe, passed the test. 

Sometimes they were done by actual guard members. High up in the ranks, aware that no real searching needed to be done. 

But no matter who it was, you had to hide in the space in the closet, engineered by your father to keep you quiet and hidden. 

Because it had been decided early on that Clarke would be the twin to venture out into the world. She was quiet, better behaved, calmer. And besides, she was the first born. You were the bonus. The secret. 

-

Your eyes trace the patterns of stars in the sky, naming the constellations as you go. 

The long tail of Draco, over to the zig and zag of Casseopeia, down over the round shape of Auriga, before finally landing on the shape of Orion the Hunter. As you trace over his form in the sky, his belt, over to his raised arm and shield, you hear a familiar voice tearing through the camp. “Octavia!”

You sit up in confusion, looking around, before finally locking eyes with Bellamy, who looks frantic. He jogs over to you, “You’re still up?”

“I have a hard time sleeping these days.” Your eyes scan over him, noting the tension in his body, coiled so tight you’re afraid he’ll pop. “What’s wrong?”

“Octavia. I can’t find her anywhere. You haven’t seen her, have you?”

You stand, thinking, “Not since she ran off yesterday. But she’s bound to be around here somewhere.”

He shakes his head, curls bouncing, “I checked everywhere, and no one’s seen her.”

“I’ll help you look again, just in case. You check the dropship, she tends to spend a lot of time there with Jasper and Monty. I’ll check the tents again, then we’ll meet back in the middle.”

He nods, “Thank you.”

You give him a soft smile before you both walk off, him towards the dropship, and you for the cluster of tents. You poke your head into each one, making sure to scan every face and softly whisper Octavia’s name. When you step around the side of the last tent, you come face to face with your twin, who looks at you in confusion. “What’s going on?”

“Octavia’s missing. I’m helping Bellamy look for her.”

She immediately turns and grabs her jacket, “I’ll help.”

“You don’t have to, we’ve got it. Besides, I’m sure you’re tired.”

You watch her expression change and she mutters, “Hard to sleep when I’m thinking about all those people on the Ark.” You offer a single nod, feeling uncomfortable, unsure what to say. She shakes her head, “I just don’t understand why you’d do something like that. Why would you help him throw away our only way to contact the Ark.”

“Clarke, I-” A sigh pushes past your lips, “I know it’s hard for you to understand, but things were very different for us on the Ark. I spent my entire life locked up in our place, then I got caught and locked up in the Skybox. And then, they killed our dad…” You trail off, running your hand through your hair, “I don’t have any attachment to the Ark. Nothing good ever happened to me up there. And I don’t care what happens to mom, or Jaha, or anyone else that got left behind.”

She seems to be weighing your words, forming a response, when Bellamy runs up. “Anything?” You shake your head. “Then we need to gather a search party.”

You and Clarke agree, and the three of you branch off, waking everyone up and gathering them in the center of the camp. Bellamy drops a pile of handmade weapons and tools in the center of the group, as he yells, “Hey, everybody, gather around and grab a weapon. My sister's been out there alone for 12 hours. Arm up. We're not coming back without her.”

You grab a knife with a short curved blade, and slide it through a loop in your pants, before going to find a torch to light the way. As you grab one from the edge of the camp, someone yells out nearby, “Guys, guys. Come here!”

You look up, curious, and jog over to the small group, instinctively stopping by Bellamy. You follow their eyes to the night sky, as hundreds of shooting stars fall to the Earth. But the closer you look at them, the sicker you feel, as you realize what those shooting stars are. 

Raven comes out of the tent, eyes focused on the sky. “They didn't work. They didn't see the flares.”

“A meteor shower tells you that?” You nudge Bellamy and he looks over at you as you shake your head in warning. 

Clarke’s voice is quiet when she corrects him, “It's not a meteor shower, it's a funeral. Hundreds of bodies being returned to the Earth from the Ark. This is what it looks like from the other side.”

You glance at Bellamy and watch his face fall, and you know he’s got the same sick feeling in his stomach. Raven comes marching towards Bellamy, yelling, “This is all because of you!”

Bellamy’s walls raise in defense as he retorts, “I helped you find the radio.”

“Yeah, after you jacked it from my pod and trashed it!” Clarke and Finn each grab a hold of Raven, and one of Bellamy’s girls, Roma, pushes you aside to stand closer to him. His eyes lock with yours over her head, and you think you see sorrow in them, but you also aren’t sure if it’s just wishful thinking. 

“All I know is that my sister is out there and I'm gonna find her.”

Bellamy turns and storms off, Roma hot on his heels, and you’re left standing there, looking between his retreating figure, and your twin. She meets your eyes and turns away from you slightly, effectively closing the conversation from you. You take that as a sign and turn to follow the others from camp. 

As you trudge through the darkness, a small torch your only light, you hear your name being called from near the front. Your brows furrow in confusion and you jog to the front, where Bellamy stands waiting. “You were with me yesterday, so I want you up here, in case you remember anything.”

You hesitate and glance over at Roma, who hovers near Bellamy, glaring at you. He seems to sense this and he turns to the long haired beauty. “Go find Mbege and help him search near the back. You’re better with the details.”

She pauses, weighing her options, but her desire to please Bellamy ultimately wins out. She pulls him in for a passionate kiss that lasts an uncomfortably long time, before dropping near the back of the group and leaving you and Bellamy alone. 

He starts walking again, leading the group, and you both search side by side in uncomfortable silence. The change in your relationship presses in on you, weighing heavily in your mind as you remind yourself over and over that Bellamy Blake is an asshole, and you want nothing to do with him. Right on cue, he seeks to change your mind. “There’s something I’ve been thinking about since we were in that cave with Charlotte.”

Your heart drops at the mention of her name, and you think back to that day in the cave. Only a few days ago, but it feels like lifetimes now. You glance over at Bellamy, “What is it?”

“After I comforted Charlotte, you got mad at me and said I made a joke about assault. What was that about? Because I don’t remember saying anything like that.”

You pull a face and turn your head towards him quickly, instantly annoyed. “But you did.” You turn away and look back out into the woods, “The night we found Jasper, after you took the panther meat away from me. You said ‘guess Shumway was right about you not taking a good deal when you see it’.”

You hear a sharp intake of air, as he processes your words. “I still don’t understand. Shumway just said you wouldn’t take the trade deal he offered you in order to keep your secret. Something about wanting stuff from the Privileged because he could turn a good profit.”

You turn towards Bellamy, shocked, and resist the urge to vomit all over his shoes. “That’s what he told people?” You let out a bitter laugh, “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, considering he was always a self serving, opportunistic asshole.” You shake your head, and give Bellamy a serious look. “That’s not what happened. Not even close.”

“Then what did happen?”

You take a deep breath, contemplating whether you want to tell him or not. You glance over at him, still unsure, and you don’t miss the soft concern in his eyes. You let out a sigh, and turn away from him, focusing on the woods, as you begin, “I’ve never told anyone this before, but the day started out usual enough…”

You turn the page of the textbook, scanning it for the answer to the last question of your homework. Your eyes light up when you find it, and write it down quickly, before closing everything with a smile. As you stand and stretch your limbs, you hear the door to the apartment open and close, and you glance over at the clock. 

4:30.

A grin splits your face as you realize it can only be one person. 

Dad.

You run from the room, already talking to him as you cross the threshold, “Dad, perfect timing, I just finished my homework and I’m feeling really good-”

As you round the corner, you come face to face with a man who is not your father. 

You freeze in place, panic rising in your chest, unsure what to do. He’s taller than you, with dark hair and eyes, dressed in what looks like a guard uniform. He’s eyeing you suspiciously, as he takes you in. “You’re not Clarke.”

 You say nothing, do nothing, and just stand frozen. 

He puts down the files in his hands and moves closer to you, and with every step he takes forward, you take one backwards, trying to keep the distance. He backs you into a wall, and you press yourself into it, wishing you could disappear, or run to your hidden compartment. 

He reaches up and pushes your hair out of your face, and your body shakes in fear. “You look like Clarke, but you have a lot of Jake’s features too.” He lets out a slow breath, as he makes the realization. “Twins.”

Your shaking stops as he says it, leaving you once again frozen, and he takes your reaction as confirmation. His eyes light up with something you don’t recognize, “The secret twin.”

You turn away from him and he grabs your face and turns it towards him, “A secret like this would destroy your whole family. Get your parents killed. Leave your sister alone. What is that secret worth to you?”

Your blood freezes and your eyes lock with his, realizing that his look was one of opportunity. He takes a step back and admires your body slowly, top to bottom, and you feel like you’re going to crawl out of your skin. “I’ve got a deal for you, sweetheart. I’ll come visit you, everyday, and you keep me satisfied. In return, I’ll keep your secret.”

You say nothing, and your brain screams at you to react. Say no, run, spit in his face, anything! But you do none of it, your limbs thick and heavy, like rocks. The man smirks and leans towards you, before pressing his lips to yours. Your brain shifts into overdrive, into panic mode, as he slips his tongue between his lips and into your mouth. That sends you into action, finally, as you bite down, catching part of his tongue and his lips between your teeth. You taste blood in your mouth as he pulls away with a cry of pain, and he immediately retaliates by hitting you across the face. You yelp and clutch your face, as your eye and cheekbone throb in pain. 

He wipes the blood from his mouth and looks at his hands, now stained red, and he points at you. “You’re going to regret that, you little bitch!”

And then he turns and stalks from the apartment, slamming the door behind him and leaving you to collapse to the floor with a wave of emotion. 

You don’t know how long you lie sobbing on the floor before the door opens again, and you don’t even look up, already convinced that it’s the guard, back again. Instead, you hear your name fall from your dad’s lips, softly, confused. 

When you look up at him, he catches sight of the blood near your mouth, and the dark bloom of a bruise already forming near your eye. He runs towards you, instantly worried, tipping your head up to look at the injuries. “What happened?”

You recoil from his touch, and a look of hurt washes over his features as he tries to decipher the meaning. Your voice trembles as you meet his eyes, “Someone saw me.”

You see panic cross his face, as he looks around. “Someone was here? Who?”

“A man. Black hair. He was wearing a guard’s uniform.” 

You let out a choked sob and your father moves closer to you. This time, you let him. “Where is he now?”

“He ran out a few minutes ago.” You start to cry harder, and Jake once again remembers the bruises on your face. “Did he touch you? Did he put his hands on you?”

Before you can answer, the door bursts open, and you and your father turn towards it, both of you frozen in fear. 

As they start to come near you, the guard from before enters the room, blood still smeared across his cheek. You lock eyes with him and turn back to your dad, as one of the guards announces, “You are under arrest for the crime of-”

You reach out for your dad as they close in on you, grabbing him tightly. “Dad don’t let them take me! Please!”

He holds you tightly, wrapping his arms around you and pleading with the guards as they try to pull you away, “She’s just a kid! She didn't do anything wrong!”

More guards file into the room, separating you from your father as you both continue to scream, and your attacker watches with a smug look on his face. They pull you further and further away, and you hear your dad as you are pulled from the room, as he sets his sights on the attacker. “What did you do to her? You son of a bitch! She’s just a kid!”

They continue pulling you down the hall, and you raise hell the entire way, kicking, screaming, hitting any guards you can reach. Other Arkers press themselves into the wall as they drag you by, and you hear your name as they pull you around another corner. A head full of blonde hair pops into view, as your twin screams your name. You scream back, trying to reach her, “Clarke! Help me, Clarke!” 

And as you struggle against the group of men, causing nothing but trouble, you feel a small prick of pain in your shoulder. When you look over, you see a needle sticking from your arm, as the room around you starts to grow hazy. You turn back towards your twin, her face the last thing you see as everything fades to black. 

You shake the memory from your head and look at Bellamy, who seems to realize why you were so upset that night. He stops, and puts a comforting hand on your shoulder, “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize. I should have known Shumway was lying.”

You shrug off his apology, and he meets your eyes with fierce sincerity. “I’m serious. I’m an asshole.”

You match his look, “Still are.” and he seems shocked for a second before you follow your statement with a smile, and he gives you one in return. The moment is quickly broken by Mbege yelling nearby, “Look! Over here!”

You see alarm pass over Bellamy’s face before he takes off towards the sound of his voice, and you follow closely behind. You burst through the treeline, near the edge of a ravine, and Bellamy asks, “What is it?”

“Right there. You see it? Is that Octavia's?”

Bellamy doesn’t take his eyes off the tree, as he demands, “Rope.”

Someone gives Bellamy a rope that he begins to rig up, and Finn steps up, “What are you doing?”

“We need the rope to get back up.” He tosses the rest of the rope down the ravine, before he turns to Mbege. “Flashlight.” 

When he reaches the tree, he turns and yells, “It's hers. I'm going all the way down.”

You turn and hand the closest person your torch, and follow Bellamy down to the bottom, Jasper right behind you. When you run up on Bellamy, he’s kneeling near a rock, his fingers slick with blood. His eyes meet yours, full of fear, and you whisper, “Shit.”

Jasper and Finn join you, and Bellamy’s eyes find a set of footprints in the mud. “Someone else was here.”

“The prints are deeper going that way. He was carrying her.”

Bellamy pales a little, and Jasper notices and tries to offer some comfort. “If they took her, she's alive. Like when they took me.”

Bellamy immediately stands and starts to follow the tracks, and you all follow him. The journey is quiet, the only sound around you consisting of boots squishing in wet mud, and the sounds of the forest at night. As you all break through the trees and into another clearing, you come to the entrance of a path, and freeze in place. All around the path are skeletons impaled on posts, guarding the way. You can feel the fear of the group begin to build, as Finn whispers, “I don't speak grounder...but I'm pretty sure this means keep out.”

Behind you, various delinquents mutter their dissent, and desire to turn around. Bellamy never takes his eyes off the warnings. “Go back if you want. My sister, my responsibility.”

He steps into the path and heads in, but even you take a second and hesitate. Bellamy turns and looks at you, still standing there, and you can sense his disappointment. You take a deep breath and jog behind him to catch up, ignoring every warning in your head telling you that this is a bad idea. 

-

The group that follows Bellamy into Grounder territory is small, only a handful of those originally on the search team. With some annoyance you note the continued presence of Roma, who now lingers even closer to Bellamy than before. You scold yourself for the line of thinking, reminding yourself that this is about Octavia, and there is safety in numbers. 

The group is even quieter than before, as they follow Bellamy and Finn, who follow the forgotten trail. You all walk for a long time, and night turns into dawn, marked by the sun beginning to filter through the trees. Around you, the others cut off their flashlights and snuff out their torches, tucking them away for later. 

As mid morning approaches, you hear Finn whispering to Bellamy, “I got nothing. We lost the trail.”

“Keep looking.”

Finn shakes his head, “Wandering around aimlessly isn't the way to find your sister. We should backtrack…”

“I'm not going back.” They come to a stop and the group follows suit, pausing and looking around. 

Behind you, Roma sounds worried, “Hey, where's John?”

“I just saw him a second ago.”

You feel a pit of anxiety growing in your stomach and you pull out your knife, as Bellamy says, “Spread out. He couldn't have gotten that far.”

As the words leave his mouth, a loud thud comes from behind you, and you all turn to see what it is. As you do, your eyes fall on Mbege, now on the ground, throat slashed. You all run closer, and kneel down, pressing your fingers to his neck to be sure. You meet Bellamy’s eyes and shake your head once, and his face falls. 

Finn looks around, worried, before lifting his head to the sky. “They use the trees.”

You all look around, scanning every tree in sight for signs of movement. Signs of Grounders. 

“We shouldn't have crossed the boundary.”

Jasper’s voice reaches you next, as he points to your right. “There. Right there.”

Your eyes follow his and you see a Grounder, standing perfectly still and watching you. Diggs points behind you, his voice shaking. “Another one.”

Finn whispers, “We should run.”

And that’s all it takes to put you all into gear. Bellamy reaches down and hauls you to your feet and takes off running, half pulling you as he goes, reminding you of the day in the cave with the poisonous fog. You tear through the trees, leaping over logs and dodging low hanging branches, keeping your eyes straight ahead, afraid to see how many Grounders are nearby. Bellamy changes direction every few minutes, as another Grounder jumps into your path and cuts you off. 

You hear Jasper gasping for air behind you, “I can't run much longer!”

Bellamy stops, pulling you to a stop with him, and the others pause with you. Diggs keeps on running, right past the group. “I'm not stopping for him!”

Bellamy looks around at the approaching grounders, “I'm sick of running anyway.They know where she is.”

Roma spins in a circle, frantically searching. “Diggs, where are you?”

From somewhere nearby, his voice calls her name, and Roma takes off towards it. You all follow, before skidding to a stop, right in front of Diggs’ impaled body. Roma keeps running, and you all search the trees, full of adrenaline and fear. “They were leading us here. It's the only direction we could run in.”

You whisper, “Where'd they go?”

Realization dawns on Bellamy, “After Roma.”

He takes off running again, and you follow until you reach him, and he slows to a jog. You move through the woods quietly, on guard, ears perked and waiting for the smallest of sounds. Monroe spots her first, near a tree, and whispers her name. When she doesn’t move, Bellamy runs to her, and you jog behind him, coming around the tree and face to face with Roma, a spear through her chest. 

Bellamy reaches up and closes her eyes, and whispers to you quietly, “She only came because of me.”

You feel regret over your earlier annoyance of her, because this is not something you wanted. She didn’t deserve to die, impaled to a tree. 

Jasper starts to panic, and starts yelling at the grounders, taunting them, “Come on! We know you're out there! You want to kill us!”

Bellamy and Finn descend on him in seconds, trying to shut him up as grounders run at you from all angles. Monroe yells, “They’re coming!”

You all turn back to back, trying to protect each other and cover all sides, weapons raised as they near closer and closer. You start to regret everything you ever said and did, all the pain you caused, the fight with Clarke, the anger towards your mother. And just as they reach you, the sound of a horn moves through the trees, stopping the Grounders dead in their tracks, before they turn to run the other way. 

Bellamy’s voice is full of disbelief, “They're leaving.”

“That horn. What does it mean?”

You look around, “Acid Fog.”

Finn starts to pull a parachute from his pack, spreading out wide enough so everyone can get inside. You all scramble into the tent, tucking the sides in and holding it down, hoping that it’s strong enough to protect you from the fog. As you lay there in the parachute, panicked breathing the only sound inside, you start to become acutely aware of the fact that you are next to Bellamy. And not just next to him, practically on top of him, as you are all pressed so close. Your sides are pressed together, his hands holding the chute closed beside yours, skin touching. You turn to look at him, and he follows the gesture, your breath mingling as you say nothing.

Jasper is the first to break the silence. “How long are we supposed to wait?”

After a beat, Bellamy breaks your gaze and pulls back the parachute. “There's no fog.” As he stands, he spots a Grounder running through the trees, “They're coming back.”

“I think he's alone.”

Bellamy watches him closely, “He doesn't see us. I'm going after him.”

Finn holds out a hand, “And what? Kill him?”

“No. Catch him. Make him tell me where Octavia is, Then kill him.”

Bellamy starts running again, this time after the Grounder, quietly moving through the trees. You all trail behind, hesitant to follow a Grounder after the three dead delinquents you just saw, but determined to find Octavia, despite the odds. You watch as the Grounder ducks into a tunnel, and you creep in behind him, unsure what lays around every corner. Finally, the tunnel opens up into a cave, and there you find Octavia, chained to a wall, with the Grounder at her feet. 

Bellamy runs towards her and frees her from the wall, and they pull each other into a hug. You watch with a smile as they hold each other tight, finding comfort in each other. When they release each other, she pulls you into a hug next, and you smile again, realizing it’s been a while since your last hug. When you let each other go, Octavia moves to the door. “We should go. Now. Before he wakes up.”

Bellamy picks up a large piece of wood and moves closer to the Grounder, “He's not gonna wake up.”

Octavia grabs him and pulls him back, “Bellamy, stop. He didn't hurt me. Let's just go!”

“They started this.” Bellamy looks down at Finn, who is kneeling beside the man. “Finn. Move.”

Finn grabs something attached to the Grounder’s waist, and you see it as he shifts to the side. “A foghorn.”

And before anything else can be said, the Grounder jumps up and spins around, plunging a knife into Finn’s chest. Finn falls backwards as the Grounder knocks Bellamy to his back, and you pull your knife out and run towards him, plunging it into his shoulder. He turns from his advance on Bellamy and pulls the knife out, before spinning and slashing you across the stomach with it. Bellamy runs at him from behind, jumping on his back, and the Grounder tries to swing him off. You use the opportunity to advance on him, but the Grounder kicks out and lands a solid blow to your chest, sending you backwards. 

He falls on his back, slamming Bellamy into the ground, knocking the wind out of him. The Grounder scrambles up and over to the weapon Bellamy was going to use on him, turning the wood around to the pointed end and aiming for Bellamy’s throat. Bellamy grips the point, using every ounce of strength to keep the spear from entering his neck, and Octavia cries out from beside Finn. “Stop! That's my brother!”

You try to pull yourself up to help Bellamy, groaning in pain as you do. Just as you get near them, Jasper runs from the corner holding a different piece of wood, and swings at the Grounder, knocking him out cold. You collapse next to Bellamy, both of you panting for breath. 

Octavia’s voice echoes around the small cave, “Guys, he’s losing consciousness! Finn, wake up!”

Bellamy is the first to stand and move over to Finn, and seconds later he calls your name, voice laced with concern. His tone is what makes you move quickly, reminding you of the day you found Atom. When you reach Finn’s side, you instantly realize the danger he’s in. “Shit.”

Jasper whispers, “Should we take the knife out?”

“No!” You look up and meet his eyes. “That knife is dangerously close to his heart. If you pull it out, he’ll bleed out before we can even help.”

You turn your gaze to Bellamy. “We have to get him to Clarke, I don’t know enough to save him.”

You put your hand on Finn’s cheek and whisper, “You hang in there, Finn. Clarke will kill me if you don’t make it.”

And then Bellamy scoops him up, careful of his wound, and exits the cave. You all move as quickly as you can given the amount of injured people in the group, and Bellamy makes Monroe help you along, as Jasper helps Octavia. As you near camp, you send Monroe back to Octavia. “Tell Jasper to run ahead and get Clarke, and you help Octavia into camp.”

She nods and runs ahead, and you watch as she relays the message, and Jasper takes off running towards camp, screaming your twin’s name. “Clarke! Where's Clarke? Get Clarke now.”

He disappears inside the walls, Octavia and Monroe close behind, and you and Bellamy move faster. You squeeze Finn’s shoulder, “You’re almost there, Clarke is waiting for you.”

You step back and let Bellamy enter the camp first, and a group of guys runs over to help lift Finn from Bellamy’s arms. You hear the panic in your twin’s voice as she checks his pulse, “Finn. Finn? Oh, my god.”

She lets out a little sigh of relief before immediately taking charge, “He's alive. Get him in the dropship now. Go!” 

The boys run off with Finn, and Raven moves towards Clarke, crying. “Clarke, can you save him?”

“No. Not me. I need my mother. I need to talk to her.”

Raven’s voice cracks, “There's still no radio.”

“Raven, fix it! Go!”

She runs a hand through her hair, turning to look at you and Bellamy, pausing when her eyes land on you and your blood stained shirt. She runs towards you, full of sisterly concern, forgetting your harsh words from the day before. She reaches out for you, already searching for the wound. “Are you okay?”

You wave her off, “I’m fine. Go take care of Finn. I can patch myself up.” She hesitates, and you squeeze her hand in reassurance. “I’m fine. Go!”

She runs off, checking on Octavia on the way, who is coming back your way, to the entrance of the camp. You step back a little already sensing the beginning of an argument. Bellamy runs her down, “Why were you defending him?”

“Because he saved my life. That spear that hit Roma was actually meant…”

He cuts her off, “No, you're wrong. I saved your life. For all you know, he was keeping you alive to use you as bait for one of their traps.”

“No. I don't think so.”

His voice rises, growing more exasperated. “You don't think, O! That's the problem. They killed 3 of our people today. And if you would've let me kill him when I had the chance, Finn wouldn't be in there dying right now.”

Octavia’s exasperation grows to meet his, and she blows up, “Stop blaming me for your mistakes! What happened to Finn is not my fault. I wanted to leave, so if Finn dies in there, that's on you!” She punctuates her words by pointing to his chest. “Everything that's gone wrong is because of you. You got me locked up on the Ark. You wanted me to go to that stupid dance! You got mom killed!”

You watch as Bellamy’s face sinks, and then he starts to build the wall, brick by brick, jaw now clenching with anger instead. You try to stop them, before the fight grows worse, and creates a rift. A rift like the one you and Clarke have. You touch his arm and whisper, “Bellamy.”

He shrugs you off and barrels on, “Mom was floated for having you. She's dead because you're alive. That was her choice. I didn't have a choice. My life ended the day you were born.”

Octavia’s face crumples as the last sentence, and she tries to storm off out of the camp, but Bellamy grabs her arm and pulls her back, “Where do you think you're going?”

“You can't keep me locked up in here forever.”

You feel yourself start to grow faint and you put a hand to your wound, panicking when you realize your shirt is sticky with new blood. You mutter his name again, “Bellamy.”

He turns towards the gate of the camp, and yells at a kid outside the walls, “Get inside. Go!”

He scrambles past you as Bellamy pulls the door closed with a slam, and as he turns to you, you look up at him, holding up your hand covered in fresh blood. Worry etches across his face and he runs towards you, just as your legs start to give out. He catches you easily, “Woah, easy there.” He starts to lead you to the dropship, “Let’s get you to Clarke.”

“No!” He looks down at you in confusion. “She’s got enough to worry about with Finn.”

He hesitates, and then offers, “I have some supplies in my tent, if that’s okay.”

“Yes.”

He leads you back to his tent, and helps you sit down, before he starts to gather supplies to bandage you up. As your adrenaline wears off and the pain receptors on your stomach start firing, you’re able to ignore any potential awkwardness as you try to focus on not passing out. Bellamy comes back over to you, supplies in hand, and kneels beside you, looking up at you in permission. You pull your tank top up and secure it around your chest, keeping yourself covered while also giving him a good view of the cut. 

He dips a rag into some water and starts to clean the blood away, dabbing carefully over the wound. You wince anyway, and Bellamy looks up at you, apologetic, before attempting to distract you. “I never got the chance to tell you earlier, but Shumway was the one who came to me with the deal.” You look down at him, and he clarifies, “To get on the dropship.”

“After Octavia’s arrest, and our mom’s death, I got kicked off the guard and stuck on janitorial duty. The day they planned to launch the dropships, Shumway came to me with a deal. He said if I killed Jaha, he’d get me on a dropship and send me to the ground with Octavia, so I could protect her.” He gets another clean rag and continues to wash away the blood, “I knew I was going to do it as soon as he offered. I didn’t even hesitate when faced with the decision of taking someone’s life to save my sister…”

He trails off, lost in thought, and you wonder what about. Before you can ask, he shakes his head and continues, “Anyways, that’s where I was coming from when I came across you and Shumway in the hall.”

“Explains why you were so jumpy.”

“Yeah, well…”

You smile a little, “I’m glad you showed up. I’m not sure what would have happened if you didn’t.” You shudder at the thought, as Bellamy starts to bandage your cut, wrapping the cloth around your middle. “I told you he was opportunistic though. Deals were always his thing.”

Bellamy secures the bandage and leans back, inspecting his work. He smiles, satisfied, and starts to clean up, motioning towards the bed. “You should get some rest.”

You start, surprised, and he starts to backtrack, “I mean, you don’t have to or anything. And it’s not like I’d be in here, so you don’t have to worry about that. Just thought you might want something a little comfier to sleep on besides a tree branch.”

You look up in surprise, meeting his eyes, and he laughs at the look of shock on your face. “How long have you known?”

“Since the beginning. You’re not as invisible as you think you are.”

You feel a change in the air, something akin to affection, and you rub your palms on your pants, uncomfortable. “Well, I guess I’ll get some rest then.”

Bellamy stands, and steps back, “Yeah, of course. I’ll put someone on guard outside the tent, in case you need anything.”

Your eyes soften, and you smile at him. “Thanks, Bellamy.”

He smiles and ducks his head to hide it, before raking a hand through his hair. “Yeah, of course.” He starts to back away, towards the entrance of the tent, “Like I said, just yell if you need anything.”

He gives you one last look before ducking out, leaving you alone inside a large tent and a bed meant for...three. Your stomach sinks as you think of Roma, and you settle back into the bed, whispering to yourself, “In peace, may you leave this shore. In love, may you find the next. Safe passage on your travels, until our final journey to the ground.” Your eyes close and you sink deeper into the makeshift bed, drifting into sleep as you finish, “May we meet again.”

-

next chapter

[ashtheshortstack]

take my scars & make them stars - epilogue

Rating: M Ship: Kristoff/Anna epilogue

Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Sick Fic, Cancer Fic, Chronic Illness, Chemotherapy, Modern AU, Coffee Shop AU, Fluff and Angst, Fluff, Eventual Smut, Angst with a happy ending, Mutual Pining, Mentions of Character Death

Read on Ao3

Previous Chapter

Anna never thought there’d be a day that she’d see Kristoff in pink, but it wasn’t a bad look on him at all. She really appreciated him coming to the Breast Cancer 5k Run to support her. Of course, Elsa and Gerda had accompanied them too. 

While Elsa and Kristoff only wore their matching t-shirts and running gear (which were Anna’s idea--Gerda wasn’t running so she didn’t need one, but she did wear her own pink top in support), Anna wore a pink tutu, pink socks, and a bright pink bow in her curly, bobbed auburn strands. She was quite proud of her decked out pink ensemble. Kristoff also called her cute, so that was even more of a win in Anna’s book. 

Anna wanted pictures before the three of them got super gross and sweaty from running, and Gerda happily obliged her when she hooked arms with her sister and boyfriend and forced them to pose with her. Neither seemed to complain, though, which she was thankful for. When Gerda handed her the phone back, Anna was thrilled to see how well the photo turned out. In fact, she was even tempted to post it. She hadn’t posted on any social media in ages, aside from private stories on Snapchat. But she figured… maybe it was time. Maybe, it was finally time to come out with everything she’d been through. The photo itself was very telling. Each shirt had its own message: Elsa’s read “I run for my sister,” Kristoff’s: “I run for my girlfriend” (which Anna loved ) and Anna’s read: “I run for ME.” And damn, she meant it. 

She hadn’t been very vocal about her break up with Hans… but better late than never, right? Besides, maybe it was time to show off her new man. Her shiny, new upgrade, she mused to herself. 

Kristoff hadn’t posted anything about their relationship either. He told her he’d wait until she was ready to make the information public. Even telling her he wouldn’t tell his family either, but Anna didn’t feel that was fair and encouraged him to be honest with his parents. Including the cancer. 

Apparently, Bulda was very insistent on meeting her soon. Her boyfriend explained that his parents had moved out of Arendelle to Rock Valley right after he graduated, but he opted to stay in the area. She could understand that considering what the family had been through. So, they’d decided they’d make a weekend out of it soon and drive up to his parents’ house in the next few weeks. Anna would be lying if she wasn’t nervous--but also extremely excited. Meeting the Bjorgmans would be a wonderful experience, she was sure. But at the same time, she didn’t want to bring up anything she shouldn’t. She didn’t want to be a reminder of what they’d lost… Kristoff had assured her that wouldn’t be the case. But… she still had her doubts. 

After smiling down at the photo on her phone, she held it up for her boyfriend and sister to view. Elsa gasped and grinned. “Anna! I love it! Please, send that to me. We need it framed.” 

Anna snorted at that. “Is… Is it okay if I post it?” 

Her companions all looked surprised at the question. Kristoff tilted his head. “You sure?” 

“Yeah,” she said with a nod. “I think it’s time to stop hiding from the world.” 

Elsa wasn’t one to be super emotional. Not since their parents closed her off from the world and forced her to be cold. But when her eyes became glassy, Anna worried she’d said the wrong thing. Quickly, her sister grabbed her hand. “I think that’s a wonderful idea.” 

Smiling, Anna nodded and logged in for the first time in forever. She decided that going through and deleting pictures of her and Hans would be the next thing she did. Like the picture of their proposal… yeah, that’d need to go.  

But, that was not the time to think of that. The run would start any moment. 

Anna walked with race--with an occasional jog her and there--since her endurance still wasn’t quite built back up. She encouraged Elsa to really go for it (her sister had a bit of competitive spirit), and while the flaxen blonde originally seemed hesitant, eventually she decided to go for it in a full out sprint. Kristoff stayed by Anna’s side, holding her hand through most of it. 

Elsa and Gerda were waiting for them at the finish line. 

  o~o~o~o

  Meeting Bulda and Cliff went better than Anna expected. It was like meeting the parents she’d never had. Doting, kind parents that truly cared every bit for their children. Anna couldn’t help but imagine how different her life could’ve been if her parents had been the same. But she knew it’d be wasting time to dwell on such things. Her parents were gone, and she couldn’t change that. Couldn’t change them… or who they were. 

“Oh, hun… Kristoff obviously isn’t cooking enough for you. You’re so skinny.” 

Kristoff hissed at her. “Ma, she hasn’t even been done with chemo a year yet. Chill out.” 

Anna felt an inward of panic at the mention of chemotherapy. Would that be an upsetting topic for them? She didn’t want to remind them of their traumatic experiences. She didn’t know what it was like to lose a child to cancer, but she did know that she’d lost her parents. And how that felt…

But Bulda brushed off Kristoff’s comment. “You better be taking care of her!” 

“Mom!” 

Giggling behind her hand, she watched the exchange of Kristoff bickering with his mother. At one point, Bulda smacked his hand with a spatula when he commented on the amount of spices she put in the dinner she was making. Anna had never seen her burly boyfriend yelp and cower like that, but it amused her more than she’d let him know. 

Apparently, she needed to invest in a spatula. 

When they sat at the small table for four, Anna couldn’t help but wonder if the seat she sat in had once been meant for Pepper. Swallowing thickly, she picked at the spaghetti before her. There was a ridiculous amount of food on the plate in front of her. It seemed maybe there was more on her plate than the rest… it seemed Bulda was serious about fattening her up. If this is how Kristoff grew up eating, it’s no wonder he ended up being so thick. 

He glanced at her, brows pinching in a silent question. Bulda and Cliff were chatting about their work days, not seeming to notice their son paying them no attention. But Anna just smiled to reassure him and scarfed some noodles into her mouth so as to not worry him further. 

Dinner wasn’t awkward by any means. Bulda made conversation rather easily. She asked about her family, mainly Elsa, seeming to evade the topic of her parents. That was probably Kristoff’s doing. 

Eventually, Bulda smiled at her. “Anna, would you care to help me with the dishes?” 

Blinking, she nodded. “Oh, yes ma’am, of course.” 

Kristoff gaped at her. “Mom, she’s a guest she shouldn’t--” 

Bulda gave him a look , and the blond’s mouth snapped shut. 

Cliff and his son ended up on the back porch, despite how worried Kristoff looked leaving her behind. But Bulda just shooed him, apparently eager to have Anna to herself. As his mother began placing the dishes in one side of the sink, she shook her head with sigh before giving Anna a smile. 

“That boy is so protective of you, I swear. You’ll have to tell him you’re a big girl,” she said with a chuckle. 

Anna smiled. She wouldn’t admit aloud that she really did enjoy how Kristoff could be overbearing at times. At first, she was a bit weirded out, but as time went on… she realized how much she craved that attention. It was something she hadn’t gotten from her parents, or even Hans for that matter, so a little bit of overprotection wasn’t too bad. Kristoff wasn’t overly possessive or anything, just a healthy enough amount to fret over her. 

When Anna didn’t speak, Bulda continued on. “He was the same way with his sister. It’s just instinct for him,” she explained as she ran the water. “Could you dry these for me? If it hurts, just say so.” 

Nodding, she agreed. “I can do it.” She was mostly telling the truth. The feeling in her fingers had returned. It was only sometimes when she did really tedious tasks would the painful tingles return to her joints and fingertips. 

“I want you to know that you don’t have to be ashamed around us. Or feel like you need to walk on eggshells for us. We lost our daughter, but we can talk about it. It’s alright.” 

As Anna dried a dish, she pursed her lips and looked away. “A-Are you sure?” 

“Of course, dear. If we don’t talk about her, she’ll fade away. It’s okay to talk about the good and the bad. Acceptance is how you heal. We can’t avoid what happened.” 

Chest tight, she nodded. “You’re right. F-From what Kristoff had told me, she was a really sweet girl.” 

“Oh, she was a good girl. Could be a little devious sometimes, but it was just cause she wanted his attention. Kristoff was so much older than her, sometimes I worried they wouldn’t be close. They were definitely siblings… picking on each other all the time. But she adored him, and he adored her.” 

Anna hummed. “I feel the same about my sister. We didn’t really get to grow up together, but now that we’ve become close, it’s a bond I wish I’d gotten to experience sooner.” 

Bulda handed her another dish. “Kristoff told me a little about your family. Not much, though. But I won’t pry. I’m sorry to hear that you and your sister have gone through a lot.” 

“Thank you.” 

“Let me be honest with you, dear… Never feel guilty for surviving. Just because others didn’t, doesn’t mean you should be ashamed that you did. Always remember that. You deserve to love and live life. Kristoff has never looked at anyone the way he looks at you.” 

Anna took those words to heart, filing them away to hold onto forever. Bulda was right… 

It was okay to live. 

  o~o~o~o

  Anna sat in his lap, her lips on his as they pressed their bare chests together. Kristoff’s fingers twined into her auburn locks with a gentle tug. She had no idea that hair pulling was a thing she liked, but since her hair had grown out they both discovered something new about her. Kristoff seemed to enjoy it… he’d give her hair a small yank at random times just to fluster her, and it often worked. 

But she stopped him, pulling her mouth away from his. Anna glanced down between them, gazing over her body. The marks and scars, the many freckles and bumps… 

“Anna?” 

Her eyes met his. “There’s something we need to talk about.” 

Blinking, his brows furrowed. “Okay…?” 

She didn’t want to worry him. Not really. But this was something she’d been avoiding since they’d started dating. And, especially now that they were intimate, it needed to be discussed. 

“I-I don’t know if we need condoms or not.” 

“...Huh?” 

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Anna wanted to smack herself. What a stupid thing to say. A horrible way to go about this. Damn, she was an idiot. 

“I mean… I don’t know if I can have kids.” 

“Oh.” 

Fidgeting with her thumbs, she vaguely realized that this was a really uncomfortable position to be in while bringing this up. They were both topless, his cheeks were flushed with kiss swollen lips, there was a very clear bulge pressing against her through his jeans. But she couldn’t let this go on. Not without telling him. 

“Dr. Mattias said there was a chance that the chemo could make me infertile. I-I haven’t exactly asked him about checking up with that. So, I don’t know if I can even get pregnant naturally.” 

Kristoff nodded. “Anna… I want a family someday,” her heart dropped, “but only if it’s with you.” 

Jaw dropping, she couldn’t help but feel stunned at his admission. “W-Wait, really?” 

“I love you. There’s no one else I’d rather have a family with. Look, I was adopted, so I don’t have any qualms with doing the same.” 

“I-I mean, we may not have to. But I’m glad you’re open to the idea. A-After Dr. Mattias told me about the risks, I did have some of my eggs frozen. B-But there’s no guarantee that it could work, a-and I don’t have boobs and that might cause problems, so I didn’t want to get your hopes up or anything or--”

Kristoff pressed his lips to hers, effectively shutting up her. “I want you , Anna Anderson. No matter what that entails. Whether we have children of our own or not someday, I don’t care. As long as you’re the one with me.” 

A girlish giggle bubbled past her lips. 

“But uh--” he cleared his throat, “I wouldn’t mind finding out if condoms are a necessity or not because, ya know, I wouldn’t mind… going without?” 

Smirking, she simply pushed him down on the mattress. 

  When Anna woke, bare aside from the sheets covering her skin, she was alone. Kristoff had to be at the jobsite at 6:00AM where he’d work a few hours before heading to the coffee shop. It was nice that both bosses were accommodating him as he adjusted. It was strange thinking about the fact that Kristoff would no longer be the first face she saw when she entered Arendelle Roasts. Oaken was kind enough to allow Kristoff to make his own schedule for his last two weeks. Ama was proud that he would be turning to construction full time after working so hard to learn the ropes. 

It did suck to know he would rarely be beside her in the mornings, but when she started her classes at AU then maybe they could share a breakfast since she had to be up anyway. 

Rolling over to check the time, Anna laughed at the sight of a chocolate chip muffin sitting on the nightstand waiting for her. 

  o~o~o~o

  The bell chimed as someone entered the door. Anna glanced up from her spot behind the counter, smiling when she saw Kristoff walking towards her. 

“Well, if it isn’t my favorite customer,” she cooed. 

The blond snorted at her. “Pretty sure you stole my line.” 

Anna hummed, a mused tone in her voice. “Nope. Can’t be your line if I’m the one working here now.” 

“Because you stole my job.” 

Scoffing, she rolled her eyes. “I was hired here, thank you. Now, do you want a Maple Harvest or not?” 

Beaming, he leaned on the counter. She was thankful it was closing time and there were only two other customers finishing up their cups, so Kristoff heckling her at the counter wouldn’t get her in very much trouble. “Already got my coffee memorized?” he teased.

“Don’t act like you didn’t memorize Elsa’s drink.” 

“That’s because you always ordered it as an excuse to talk to me.” 

“Lies,” she snapped while biting back a smile. Yeah, he was right. But oh, she would never give him the satisfaction. 

Anna went to the machine to begin his order. Ryder peaked around and smirked at her. “You know, I thought you two would get tired of flirting eventually.” 

Laughing, she shook her head. “You should know both of us better by now.” 

“Touche.” 

When Anna returned to the counter, Kristoff was ready with money in hand. She looked between him and the cash before tilting her head with a knowing smile. “It’s on the house.” 

“Anna…” 

“It’s on the house,” she repeated as she wrote on the cup.

After she handed it over, Kristoff gave her a flat look when he saw that she’d written “Christopher” on his drink. “Why do you torture me?” he grumbled. 

“Because I love you.” 

She really did.

[sorceress-coffee]

Air Heads

AO3 Link Phase 2 Chapter 24 Episode 19

Jim and I stood in the Void, constantly berated by the Trollhunters of the past. Currently they were tearing apart Jim’s memories from our fight with Angor Rot in the Quagawump swamps. Especially the moment Angor escaped with the Killstone.

 “We’ll get it back,” Jim tried to explain for the hundredth time today. Who knew ghosts could be so stubborn?

 “You said your friends would make you stronger!” One spirit yelled, running straight through my spirit form as they circled Jim and me.

 Jim sighed, tired of the Void already. “It’s one set back.”

 I frowned, watching as the statues flared with irritation. They continued to question and insult us, when Kanjigar finally decided to step in.

 “They are right,” He lectured, floating in front of us. “You, Trollhunter, are too focused on your fight tomorrow, not the fight today.” Turning to me, Kanjigar pulled Jim’s memory of me shielding him from Angor’s blade. “And you, River,” He sighed, watching the panic break across Jim’s face in the memory. “You are so focused on protecting others, you never think of when and when not to fight.” He squared his shoulder glaring over both of us. “You both bring change. Neither is fully troll, and only one of you is part human. You bridge the worlds that you protect, but if either of you fall in battle, who will able to protect the realm of humans and magic?”

 I looked away from Kanjigar, unable to argue with him. After talking with Draal, seeing how much it hurt him, I was uncertain how to fight. I had always jumped head first. Calculating was easy when all I had to worry about was myself, but if you put my friends, my family into that equation, it was like I was running on instinct.

 Kanjigar hummed in surprise as neither of us offered an argument. “It seems after your fight with Angor Rot, you recognize how unprepared you are.”

 “Angor Rot has killed Trollhunters before.” Jim sighed, looking to the statues. “That means some of you can help me.”

 “When Angor kills his prey,” a gruff voice began.

 “And he always does,” another chimed in.

 “Their soul is devoured,” the gruff voice finished.

 Kanjigar sighed, “It is true. Those defeated by his hand are gone forever.” He circled us, pulling memories of Jim almost getting hurt while protecting Toby and Claire. “We were once concerned your devotion would get your team killed. We now fear that it is your team who will get you killed.”

 We were forced out of the Void, both returning to the Forge to see Claire and Toby in the middle of a fight. As their fight got progressively worse, I noticed that Shadow staff was charging.

 “Claire, stop!” I yelled out, trying to get her to notice the staff at least.

 Jim ran for Toby, panicked seeing the portal Claire was creating, “Get down!” He tackled Toby, barely missing as the Shadow staff hurled a portal where Toby’s face had been moments ago.

 Claire dropped the staff in surprise, shocked at what she had just done. “Oh my gosh, Jim! I-I didn’t mean to!”

 I quickly went to Claire, picking up the Shadow staff. “Magic is emotion, you’re imbedding yourself into the staff.” I explained, the staff turning white as I held it.

 “See, Jim!” Toby yelled behind me, angry at Claire. “She just tried to kill me!”

 “It was an accident, Tobes. Remember what I did to the wall when I was first learning?” I huffed.

 “Stope! Enough!” Jim yelled, cutting us all off as the stress from the council finally caught up to him. “The council was right,” he sighed.

 Draal frowned, approaching us with Arrrgh, “What did my father say?”

 Jim stood straight, looking between the trolls and the humans. “He said that we need to step it up.” He tried keep it toned down for them. “And that’s not just coming him. That’s coming from me, too.” Sighing as he walked past us. “Our task ahead just got harder. If we want all the stones, the path now goes through Angor Rot.”

 I winced, knuckles turning white as blue mist clouded the white of the shadow staff. If Angor killed Jim, his soul would be lost.

 Claire held my hand over the staff, easing it from my grip, allowing it to turn white and collapse again.

 “And we all know what that means.” Jim spoke, pointedly at me. “Even the council doesn’t know how to stop him.” Looking to the others, he continued. “We all need to pull our weight and that goes for me, too.”

 “Which means we all have to train, none of us can be defenseless,” I added, agreeing with Jim.

 “I’ll do whatever it takes,” Claire agreed quickly.

 Toby rolled his eyes, scoffing at Claire’s eagerness, “We will do whatever it takes, Jim. But if rookie here gets to rock a sweet weapon, I get to rock a sweet weapon, too!” He decided, running over to the wall of weapons kept in the forge for sparring.

 I looked to Jim, both of us knowing there was more going on than Toby wanting a weapon.

 “Warhammer!” Toby gasped, dragging a crystalline hammer that was way too heavy for him to carry. We watched as Toby fell over, trying to carry the Warhammer back to our group.

 Draal sighed, “Shouldn’t you pick something easier to handle first?” Shaking his head as Toby refused to give up.

 “See?” Toby asked, struggling to drag it towards us, “It’s not that heavy.” He grunted, pausing as Bagdwella’s voice echoed through the forge.

 “Trollhunter!” She yelled, running straight for Jim as soon as she spotted him in our group. “It’s urgent!”

 “What is it?” Jim asked, concerned at how frantic Bagdwella was, “Is everything okay?”

 She held out a wood and iron box to Jim. “I have a package I need delivered to my sister, Sagdwella! She lives under a trailer park in Oo-tah.” She explained, shoving the box over to Jim.

 “Wait a minute,” He took the box, confused on why Bagdwella was coming to him for this. “You want me to mail something?”

 I inched further from the box, recognizing the iron right away. Last thing I needed were more burns to add to my ever-growing list of injuries. Draal stepped between Jim and I, making sure I had a buffer.

 Bagdwella began to complain that carrier mice trolls were inefficient and often ate the parcels they were meant to deliver, where as the human post offices were more reliable. Jim and her argued back and forth for a moment before he ultimately caved and took the box.

 “Jim the mailman? Why not?” He huffed.

 Bagdwella pulled out a piece of parchment handing it over with the box, “The address. Whatever you do,” she grabbed Jim’s hand taking the parchment, “do not open it!” She pulled her bangs back, revealing her second eye, “I’ve got my eye on you.” She ran off laughing quickly, most likely back to her shop before the Gnomes tried to take over again.

 Toby cheered as he was finally able to lift the Warhammer. He regretting the action immediately as be began running backwards, trying to keep the weight centered before he ultimately crash, Warhammer and all.

 I sighed as we made our way to school, having healed most of the scrapes Toby gained from his stunt with the Warhammer. “I think we all could use more training.”

 Draal chuckled, walking with us. “You were just as eager when we started training. Remember how bruised you were? I thought Vendel was going to take my head.”

 I laughed nodding at the memory, “That’s when he finally caved and taught me the healing spell.”

 We all gathered around the lockers, the teachers oblivious to Draal’s presence on the school grounds.

 “So, what’s in the box?” Claire asked, curious about what could be so important for Bagdwella to need our help mailing it.

 Jim put the box in his locker, sighing, “It doesn’t matter. We’re not gonna open it.”

 “Yeah Claire,” Toby chimed in, slipping under Jim’s arm to look at the box, “it doesn’t matter. But aren’t you curious though?” He asked Jim as the locker was shut. “There could be, like, a tiny creature in there that can’t breathe, Jimbo!” He gasped, panicking over a possibility, “Or an itty-bitty troll king whose little kingdom needs saving!”

 “I thought it didn’t matter?” I questioned Toby, realizing he had been picking on Claire, unsure of why though.

 “Guys, it doesn’t matter, because at lunch, I’m taking it straight to the post office.” Jim declared, relaxing a bit. “Easy win for once.”

 “What?” Steve’s voice wrang out over our group, causing most of us to groan. “You think you’re gonna win today, Lame Junior?” He smirked, leaning against the lockers. “The touch-a-tuck-athon is mine.” Steve sneered, trying to bait Jim. “It’s the ultimate test of endurance, and no one can touch like me.” He grinned, reaching for both mine and Claire’s hands.

 “In you dreams,” Claire hissed, snatching her hand from Steve.

 Grinning, Steve used both hands to grab mine, “Which brings me to this, River. Would you go to Spring Fling with the future king?”

 I blinked before turning to look at Draal, “I didn’t know you were running too.”

 Draal smirked, grabbing Steve by the collar with his prosthetic arm, forcing him to drop my hands. “Sorry, Fleshbag, River has a ‘date’.”

 Steve’s eyes went wide for a moment before he ripped himself from Draal grasp, “And you are? What another transfer student?” He asked, referring to Eemeli.

 “Ah, that’s right. Only the girls have met you.” I smirked, turning to Steve, “Steve, meet my fiancé, Draal. He’s actually visiting from out of town.”

 Draal smirked leaning into me slightly, “You’re the Palchuck then,” he sneered, leaning into Steve’s face. “Next time, don’t refer to Dr. Lake as nurse, you might keep your teeth.”

 Steve clenched his fist, trying to size Draal up before pushing past him, realizing it was a fight he couldn’t win. “Whatever, like I side, the touch-a-truck-athon is mine!”

 “Poor Steve,” Toby rolled his eyes once Steve was out of earshot, “I think he’s becoming unhinged.”

 Jim groaned, hitting his forehead against the lockers. “The truck-athon’s today? That’s gonna take all day!”

 “Then let me deliver the package,” Claire offered, “How hard could it be?”

 “Be careful, it’s covered in iron. While I’m not sure how gaining magic from a staff works, that stuff burns mages.” I instructed, knowing she was able to hold the gaggletak before. Claire nodded, eyeing the metal of the box.

  “You mean, we can deliver it.” Toby butted in, causing Claire to roll her eyes.

 Jim sighed, facing them, “Bagdwella wanted me to deliver it.”

 “Focus, Jim.” Toby cut him off. “We’re trying to win Spring King, remember?”

 “We?” Draal asked, confused how Jim winning could have anything to do with Toby.

 Toby glared at him as he continued, “We can be cool?”

 “You mean, you want to be cool,” Jim shook his head, smiling at Toby’s antics.

 “Semantics,” Toby waved him off. “You already won the first challenge. If you ace this, you’ll be a lock to be king. Then I’ll be duke. Win this and you won’t have to worry about anymore of these stupid things.” He argued, knowing that if Jim won this challenge, he was assured to be Spring King.

 “He actually has a point; you wouldn’t even have to show up to the last challenge.” I agreed, knowing it would free up more of Jim’s time.

 “You said we needed to step up,” Claire chimed in, eager to help.

 “Guys, troll mail isn’t what I meant,” Jim sighed opening his locker as he thought it through.

 “But this is our chance to show you,” Claire reasoned. Wanting to prove herself after almost taking Toby’s head off earlier.

 I grasped his shoulder, turning him to look at me, “I’ll go with them, and I’ll keep out of the way unless they really need help.”

 Jim caved, handing the box to Toby, “Just remember, don’t open the box.” He instructed, still tense about the situation.

 “Don’t worry, dude,” Toby grinned, practically ripping the box from Jim’s hands. “Postmaster Toby and his assistant, Claire, will handle with care.” He grabbed the address, already dropping the box.

 “I think I’ll stay with the Trollhunter,” Draal huffed, still watching where Steve left, “I don’t trust that fleshbag.”

 “Alright,” I grinned, ushering Claire and Toby away from Jim before he could change his mind, “Keep Draal from killing Steve!” I called over my shoulder.

 We hurried to our classes, meeting up during our break to discuss taking the package in. “Alright, I can’t touch the box, so one of you will need to keep it until lunch.” I sighed, keeping my distance as Toby held the box.

 “It’s just mail, River, how hard can it be to mail a package?” Toby snickered, handing the box to Claire as he began rifling through his backpack.

 “You still have the address, right?” Claire asked, carefully maneuvering around the iron on the box, just in case.

 “Um,” Toby stuttered out, “You wouldn’t happen to have memorized it, would you?” He asked Claire, rummaging through his pockets frantically.

 I groaned, “Toby, how did you lose it already?”

 “How could we mess up already?” Claire sighed, “All we’re doing is mailing a package, the easiest task in existence, and we can’t even do that properly?” She huffed, looking around the floor in case he dropped it. “Look everywhere!”

 Toby turned out his front pockets, dumped his backpack, then opened the package. As air escaped the box he snapped it close, realizing what he had just done.

 “Wait,” Claire scoffed, glaring at Toby, “You opened it?”

 “You told me to check everywhere!” Toby accused, letting go of the package.

I sighed, letting them work through this. Toby had been acting strange since the Wumpas, when Claire took the Shadow Staff from Angor Rot. If we were going to be a team, we couldn’t have animosity between us, but I couldn’t begin to tell where Toby’s issue with Claire began.

 “What was in it?” Claire finally asked, curiosity over the package winning over her annoyance with Toby’s attitude for the moment.

 Toby shrugged, looking at the package, brows knitted in confusion. “It was empty, I opened it and there was a weird ‘whhhooooooosh’ then nothing.”

 “That doesn’t sound good,” I sighed, wondering what manner of magic Bagdwella could be sending to her sister.

 “A ‘whooooosh’? How could that be bad?” Claire asked as my unease showed through.

 Glaring at the package, I shook my head, “Could be a form of magic, I don’t exactly have formal training so I’m not 100% sure, but unknown noises in empty boxes sounds like the start of a horror movie.” I explained.

 Toby began to struggle, trying to reach his back pocket. “Aha!” He cried out, pulling the slip of paper with the address written down. Grinning in triumph as he presented the paper. “It was in my back pocket!”

 Claire rolled her eyes, plucking the paper from his hands and stuffing it in her backpack along with the box. “I’ll be holding onto this.”

 Toby glared at her, “Fine. Whatever. We’ll meet here at lunch.”

 I sighed watching as they took off to their classes. This was going to be a long day. As Toby walked away, I noticed a pencil float out of his back pack. I snatched it out of the air before anyone could notice. If what I thought was in the box latched onto Toby, it was only a matter of time before all hell broke loose.

 Heading to my class I deposited the pencil into a zipper pouch of my backpack. Hopefully it wouldn’t spread from the pencil if Toby was infected. Throughout the morning I kept a close eye on my bag, watching for any signs of it trying to float.

 During Chemisty, an orange blurr caught my eye across the courtyard. My head snapped to the window as I realized it was Toby, floating mid air by Claire’s classroom. I quickly pulled my hood up, a signal to the teachers that my ‘condition’ Eemeli had filed for me was causing issues, allowing me to exit the classroom without argument.

 I quickly ran to the courtyard meeting up with a panicked Claire. “Did you see where he went?” She asked as we took off for the school entrance, careful to avoid the truck-athon.

 “Last I saw he was floating outside of your class, I really hope no one else noticed,” I grimaced, looking near the roof, hoping Toby had enough sense to grab onto something.

 “Claire! River!” A panicked yelp drew our attention to the flagpole.

 “Toby!” Claire hissed out, running back to the school.

 I grabbed her arm before she could get too far, teleporting us up to the flagpole. “Toby hold on! We’ll get you down!”

 “It was the whooooosh wasn’t it?” Claire huffed, using the rope to lower Toby with the school flag.

 “I don’t know!” Toby defended, wincing as Claire and I worked to lower him. “Jim already thinks I’m useless, I can’t even pick up a Warhammer!” He frowns, as Claire grabs him, holding on tight so he doesn’t float off again.

 Sighing, she pulled him away from the flagpole, “We are useless, Toby. The only who’s been able to help Jim is River.”

 Sighing I teleported us to the ground, “Claire, I’m severely untrained. I have little to no control of my actual magic, if it wasn’t for the collar, I’d be decimating walls left and right, not to mention people and trolls. Also, all the injuries I’ve sustained? I’m more likely to get killed in a fight than you two.”

 Toby grimaced, grabbing my shoulder as Claire kept him grounded. “Look, we can argue about who the worst sidekick, after we get my feet on the ground.”

 Smiling I nodded, “Our best be will be Blinky, with as much magical research he does, he might have an idea about what’s going on.”

 “Blinky’s at your house! Can you teleport us that far?” Claire asked, wanting to fix whatever was going on with Toby as soon as possible.

 I shook my head, trying to calculate the distance, “I don’t doubt I’d be able to teleport that far by myself, let alone with two other people.”

 Nodding, Claire and I each took one of Toby’s arms, keeping him as close to the ground as possible. We tried to avoid main streets, knowing three teens skipping school would gain attention. As we ran trough town, we were passing through a smaller street when Toby slipped from our grasps.

 We began chasing him through the streets of down town Arcadia, running past mom and Strickler on a date. I tried to keep from gagging as I spotted them at the café. As Toby began floating back, heading past them again, I spotted Eemeli with Eri inside the café, keeping an eye on Strickler as he was running around town.

 Toby began to descend as we reached a row of houses. “I think it’s wearing off!” He cheered before slamming face first into the asphalt. “Never mind,” he groaned, struggling to sit up.

 Claire tried pulling him up, unable to move him an inch, “Toby, you have a serious weight problem!”

 “Not funny!” Came Toby’s muffled yell.

 Looking around, Claire spotted a wagon in one of the driveways. “River, think you could get him in the wagon?”

 I nodded; eyes glowing as I pushed magic through my body. Claire pulled the wagon over as I grabbed Toby. Even with magic enhanced strength, it took a lot of effort to get him in the wagon. “Toby, this isn’t a diet issue.” I groaned as the wagon creaked under him.

 “You’re going between really light and really heavy,” Claire sighed, pulling the handle as I pushed from behind.

 “That seems accurate,” Toby huffed, unable to lift his head.

 We were able to get a couple blocks closer the bridge when we were stopped by a cop. Claire quickly made up a story about taking Tobes to the hospital, which Toby flourished by adding that he had no bones.

 The cop offered to get us a ride and called in for a car. While his back was turned, Toby floated off before Claire or I could grab him. I grabbed Claire, teleporting us away from the cop as we lost sight of Toby.

 “How do we lose a floating teenager?” I growled out, eyeing the sky as we ran through the suburbs, Claire on the phone with Toby before he disconnects.

 She groaned, hanging up her phone, “He dropped it!”

 My phone began going off, NotEnriques ringtone filling the air. “What’s the little monster up to?” I sighed, opening my phone to a selfie of NotEnrique, Toby floating off behind him. “He’s at your house!” I grabbed Claire, her house being close enough now to teleport into the yard.

 “I have an idea!” She called out, running into the shed, coming back with a brightly colored kite. “This should be long enough to reach him.”

 I nodded, taking off after Toby’s form in the clouds, heading straight for the bridge. “There’s no wind!” I called out, realizing we would be able to get the kite into the air without it.

 “Can’t you just make wind?” Claire asked, watching as Toby began to drift into the clouds.

 “With what wind spell?” I panicked, eyes flaring as orange sparked to life among the blue flares of my magic. I looked from the sparked to Toby, trying to imagining the feeling of wind picking up around me and funneling up towards him. I let out a sigh, focusing on the feeling along with the sparks I had seen, letting it take over my mind.

 “That’ll work!” I could distantly hear Claire call out. “Toby! Grab on!”

 My eyes snapped open to see a wind tunnel holding the kit in the sky as Toby clung to it.

 “Alright, alright!” Toby cried out, getting a little wind burnt, “pull me in!”

 “Not until you admit it!” Claire yelled, finally snapping at Toby. “Admit you’ve been a butt to me all day!”

 “I,” Toby stuttered, “Okay, okay!” He groaned, looking from Claire to the ground. “I’m a butt!”

 I sighed, trying to pull my magic in to keep it from harming Toby since it seems we were talking this out now. I reached up, letting out a breath I had been holding and closed my fist tight, imagining pulling the wind back as my fingers closed. As I had hoped, the wind slowly died down, Toby’s floating form keeping the kite airborne as he clung to it.

 “Why are you so jealous of me and Jim?” Claire asked as she carefully began to reel him in.

 “It’s just,” Toby sighed, eyes locked on the ground, unable to look at Claire. “for so long it was the Jim and Toby show, you know?” Frowning, he continued on, laying bare why he was truly upset, “And you’re this cool, smart girl, who’s great at everything, and is really pretty, you’re also not River, and now you have this super rad shadow staff, and what do I have?” Toby asked, as Claire and I were finally able to reach him, holding tight to his arms. “I have weight problems.”

 I smiled softly, knowing how hard this must be for Toby to admit, especially since he never had to share his best friend’s attention with someone else before. It was like watching your sibling take off without you.

 “Toby, you and Jim are the dynamic duo! I could never change that,” Claire smiled, finally understanding why Toby had been a jerk since the Wumpa swamps. “And I would never want to change that! You’ve supported Jim from day one!”

 Toby sighed in relief; thankful Claire was understanding. “Oh, thank Deya! I thought you were going to be mad, and we wouldn’t be friends anymore!”

 “Uh, Toby?” I tried to get his attention as Claire began to float beside him.

 “Toby!” She snapped, cutting off his rambling. “The curse is spreading.”

 “Quick River! Get us to Blinky!” Toby panicked, clinging tight to Claire and me.

 I nodded, able to teleport to the house now that we were on the bridge. I grabbed both Toby and Claire, flashing us into the living room, scaring Blinky.

 “Blinky!” I grinned, relieved that we may have help. “Toby’s been cursed!”

 “Lady River!” He yelped, watching as Toby and Claire floated around the living room, the curse spreading to both of us too. “Did you curse young Tobias?” He asked, holding onto the light fixture.

 “I could do this?!” I asked, now scared I may have been the reason behind the curse instead of the package.

 “It wasn’t River!” Toby defended, understanding my insecurities with magic after our heart to heart at the school flagpole. “I opened the box Bagdwella gave Jim!” He admitted, refusing to let Blinky blame this on me.

 Watching the box fly out of Claire’s bag, Blinky gasped, having been at the house the entire day. “A cursed box?! Why would Bagdwella give this to you?”

 “Does it matter? How do we stop it?” Claire asked, getting knocked into the corner of the ceiling as the curse spread to the house, causing it to lift from the foundation.

 “I haven’t the foggiest idea!” Blinky yelped, dodging the coffee table as it flew by, the cursed object picking up speed. “Vendel would know what to do!”

 “I have an idea!” Toby grinned, grabbing the collapsed form of the Shadow Staff, throwing it to Claire. “Open a portal and get us to Vendel!”

 “I can’t!” Claire snapped, clinging to the staff. “I can barely make one the size of a dormouse, remember?” She began to panic, “River, you could teleport us here, why can’t you get us to Trollmarket?”

 “I haven’t figure out how to teleport inside! With Blinky and the curse, I’m not sure I’d even make it to the canal!” I argued, knowing there was no way for me to get in without a horngazel in my current state.

 Toby groaned, an idea forming, “I really hate to do this but…” He took a deep breath, glaring at Claire, “Way to let us down Claire! Just like you lost the Killstone!”

 “What?” Claire asked, face falling with pain at Toby’s words.

 “Yeah, I don’t think you’re ready to be a Trollhunter!” Toby yelled, insulting her further.

 “Why are you being a but again?!” Claire snapped, the Shadow Staff activating as her grip tightened, slowly turning black as Toby egged her on.

 “Right guys?” Toby asked, Blinky and I.

 “You’re right, Tobias!” Blinky agreed, glancing at the staff.

 I winced, understanding the plan immediately as all three turned to me, Toby and Blinky hopeful. I sighed, looking at the Shadow Staff as it slowly turned black. “Alright. Claire, I don’t think you have what it takes to be a mage! You’re all over the place and you can’t even power the staff! It’s just not in your blood!”

 “What is wrong with all of you?!” She screamed, confused on why we were going against her.

 “Oh, are you mad Claire?” Toby asked, as a tiny portal formed at the tip of the staff.

 “Yeah! I’m mad!” She snarled, the portal expanding.

 “Then look at the staff and think of Vendel!” He yelled, grabbing onto Blinky.

 Eyes widening, she looked to the staff. Grinning as she realized what was going on, she opened the portal quickly, heading into it.

 I grabbed her ankle as she headed in, knowing we had to get Toby to Vendel. Blinky linked his arm with mine as Vendel and Claire pulled us through into his study. The curse immediately began to spread through the Heartstone.

 “Blinkous! What mischief have you gotten yourself into now?” Vendel asked, as he began floating, hitting the ceiling of his study.

 “Don’t look down on me,” Blinky huffed, grabbing onto a stone table. “It is Tobias who is cursed.”

 “Can you fix it?!” Claire asked as she floated across the ceiling, whacking various objects out of the way as they flew by her.

 “Yes, but I need a vessel to trap the curse in!” Vendel yelled, trying to grab his scrolls as they floated around the room.

 “River!” Toby grinned, “I know exactly what to get!”

 “Warhammer!” I laughed, nodding to Toby as I teleported to the forge, grabbing the hammer her had tried to lift this morning. I flashed back with the weapon, kicking off the wall to float by Vendel.

 “River, I’ll need your help. Grab onto a small section of the Heartstone and draw its magic into you.” Vendel explained, having me hold one end of the hammer hilt while he held higher up.

 “Is that safe?” I asked, hesitating as I reached a small grouping of the stone.

 Vendel nodded, “You are part troll, it’ll be like drinking your coffee, if it was magically enhanced.”

 I nodded, knowing I could trust Vendel. I grabbed the small outcrop of crystal, claws sinking into the stone as I began to pull the magic from the crystal. My eyes began to glow bright blue, my magic meeting the Heartstone’s as I pulled it into me.

 “Alright, slowly channel it into the Warhammer,” Vendel instructed, incanting in Trollish as the magic flowed from me, into the Warhammer.

 I kept a tight hold on the magic entering and leaving my body. The more I focused, the more orange began to bleed into my eyes, slowly taking over the blue glow as the Heartstone magic began to meld with my own.

 We slowly began to descend the longer Vendel was chanting, sealing the curse inside the Warhammer. One by one, our feet planted on the stone floor. Once Toby’s finally hit, we knew the curse had been trapped.

 Vendel ended the chant, waiting for my to finished transferring the magic.

 I could feel a coolness settle over me as I slowed the flow from the Heartstone to the Warhammer. The lines that had once bled blue, burning my skin, were now a soft orange, the burning sensation nowhere to be found. I released the Heartstone and the Warhammer as I held tight to my control over the magic.

 Vendel smiled, patting the top of my head as the glowing dimmed, complimenting the changeling features coming out. “Well done, River. Focusing on the feeling of what you’re wanting to do may be the best course for you to practice with.”

 “If the wind was anything to go by earlier,” Claire grinned, crouching on the floor, happy to have solid footing again.

 “Wind?” Vendel asked, handing the Warhammer off to an overly excited Tobias as he was bouncing next to us.

 Toby began swinging the Warhammer, careful to keep from hitting Vendel at least. “Claire used a kite to get me out of the sky, but there wasn’t any wind. Next thing I saw was blue and orange sparks as River made a wind tunnel!”

 I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. “Besides the healing spell, I don’t know any incantations. I figured if it was anything like teleporting it was all about feeling. Like you said, it seems to be working for me.” I shrugged, still trying to wrap my head around it.

 Vendel smiled, corralling us out of the study before Toby could breaking something. “Why don’t we head to the Forge? I’d like to see what else you could do.”

 Blinky whacked the Warhammer from him as we walked to the Forge, meeting with Arrrgh as he was putting away the weapons from multiple sparring session that day.

 Toby and Claire immediately went off. Claire was focusing on controlling her anger and imbedding it into the staff. Toby began to test the effects of the curse on the Warhammer as it switched from feather light to weighing as much as a freight truck.

 Vendel, Vendel and Arrrgh stood to the side. Arrrgh and Blinky were keeping an eye on Claire and Toby while Vendel called out instructions.

 “Since you were able to conjure wind, why don’t we try another element?” He suggested.

 “How about water?” I asked, not trusting myself with fire yet.

 Vendel nodded, “That will be a good start.” He chuckled, realizing my hesitance, “The safer option for now.”

 I smiled, closing my eyes as I began to focus, imagining the feeling of water around me. This felt familiar, my mind going back to when I created the crystals, the flowing mana pools that had taken shape in my mind. I felt myself sink further into my mind as I kept a tight hold on the mana surging around me. I began to envision the calm flow, the cooling sensation of water running against my skin, pulling it all around me, slowly forming the water into bubbles, letting them float around me, a mix or blue and orange taking form throughout the water bubbles.

 I could hear Vendel chuckle near me, Blinky and Arrrgh voice flitting in and out of my consciousness.

 “Changing,” Arrrgh’s voice broke through. At first I thought he may be referring to more troll features surfacing.

 Blinky’s voice flitted in, “Her magic began to shift when she took in energy from the Heartstone, is this just leftover power the stone gave her?”

 “Perhaps,” I could hear the smile overtaking Vendel’s face, “though, I believe it could be something very different.”

 “Fitting,” Blinky huffed as Vendel couldn’t clearly answer his question. “A half changeling sorceress is unheard of, but the fact that she’s learning from feeling instead of tomes sounds like a young Merlin.” He reasoned.

 “Hey!” Jim’s voice cut through, as two sets of footsteps drew closer to the forge, “Does anyone know why there are bubbles all over the Heartstone? The trolls don’t seem worried, is it like a salt lamp…” He trailed off as his steps came to a brief halt.

 “As you can see, young Trollhunter, our sorceress is beginning to learn what drives her magic.” Vendel chuckled.

 “That’s definitely new,” Draal’s voice broke in, shifting my focus back to the physical realm.

 I slowly opened my eyes, first focusing on Toby and Claire as they continued to spar. That wasn’t odd, other than their fight earlier, maybe he was talking about Toby throwing the Warhammer around like it was nothing.

 The light of the forge highlighted blue and orange objects around me. My eyes began to focus clearly as bubbles of water came to view. Floating throughout the entire forge were bubbles of magic water, some were blue while others were orange, all of varying sizes and brightness.

 “Whoa,” I breathed out, in awe of the bubbles. I titled my head, thinking of how it felt when they popped on my hands or fingers when Jim and I used to chase them as little kids. I lifted my hand and snapped my fingers, watching as the bubbles simultaneously popped throughout the forge, the magic dissipating into the air.

 Draal grinned, picking me up as he cheered, “You’ve learned a new spell!”

 I laughed, hugging around his neck, keeping myself stable as he swung us around. “I guess I did!”

 Jim smiled, letting us be while he turned his attention to Claire and Toby sparring, “Can I get in on that?” He asked, summoning Daylight as he ran out to spar with them.

 The magic I released, boosted their weapons. Allowing them to power up their weapons easily. Toby’s a little unstable due to the curse, but he adapted quickly enough.

 Vendel smiled, speaking with Blinky, “At times, we forget they are still children. Let them have fun while they can.”

 Blinky smiled, watching over us proudly as we all began to spar, learning to adjust to each other’s fighting styles, and teaming up against each other. “They’ll almost look like a team.”

 Eemeli ran into the Forge, waving me down as he sidled up next to Vendel, out of breath.

 “Eemeli? What’s going on?” I asked, flashing to him as he leaned over his knees, trying to catch his breath.

 “Strickler.” He got out, coughing a bit.

 “He ran all the way here from the other side of town,” Eri explained, popping out of Eemeli’s hood. “We followed Stricklander all day.”

 “How did it go?” I asked, worried about what could cause Eemeli enough distress to come running.

 “Not sure,” He sighed, finally catching his breath. “He met with Angor Rot tonight. All I know is he’s planning something big, and Strickler won’t be around for it.”

 I frowned, while this was terrible news for us, we still didn’t really have anything to go on. “Strickler’s tactics, are these normal for Changelings you’ve worked with?”

 Eemeli shook his head, “We’d never do anything that would gain a lot of attention, our goal is to blend in, not take over. That was for Gunmar to do.” He sighed, having no idea what could be going through Strickler’s head.

 “Then I have a favor to ask,” I steeled myself, unsure of Jim’s reaction to come. “Eri, I need you and Eemeli to find my father.”

 Eemeli jumped back, looking shaken by the request, “You want us to find Garridan, an ex- Gumm-Gumm general?”

 “River, is that a good idea? Both of our dad’s left to protect something.” Jim cut in, worried about my request.

 “Both?” Vendel asked, eyeing Jim confused.

 I turned to Jim, nodding. “I’m sure. We don’t know what Strickler is up to, we don’t know how massive his plan could be. He’s not following normal Changeling ways. He’s desperate with a side of crazy, and has a troll assassin on his side.” I explained, “If anyone might have an idea of how to handle a renegade Changeling, our fathers’ are our best bet.”

 “I’m not supposed to take you to him!” Eri cut in, panicking. “I’m supposed to stay here and help you.”

 “You wouldn’t be taking me, you’d be taking Eemeli.” I sighed, knowing this was a lot to ask. “I’m starting to get a better handle of my magic thanks to you. But we may need his help. I’m not willing to wait until its too late.” I scratched under her chin, “And you’re the only one who knows where he is.”

 “You think sending a Changeling to him is the smartest thing to do?” Eemeli asked, nervous about meeting Garridan again. “He might actually kill me.”

 “Even with Eri escorting you?” I asked, more to Eri.

 “No, he wouldn’t,” Eri sighed, wrapping herself around Eemeli’s shoulders. “If you think this is the best course of action, I’m in.”

 Eemeli nodded, holding out his hand for me. I reached out, instead of grabbing my hand, he linked our wrists. “I’ll find him. You’ve done more for me than the order ever could. If this is what you ask, it’ll happen.”

 I smiled, nodded before pulling my arm away. “Thank you. Both of you.”

 Vendel coughed, gaining all of our attention, “Is no one going to explain what the Trollhunter meant by ‘our fathers’?” He asked, glaring over all of us.

 Jim chuckled, scratching the back of his neck nervously. “Right, River do you have the book?” He asked, hoping to soften the blow.

 I nodded, grabbing my bag quickly and bringing my mother’s grimoire back. “Right here.”

 The pages began to glow as I opened to the sketch of our parents, showing it to Vendel as the human knights morphed into trolls. “They’re brothers, and both are Changelings.”

 Vendel sucked in air quickly as he watched the sketch shift back and forth, “What did the council have to say?”

 Jim took out the amulet, “Not much actually, Kanjigar said River and I both bridge the world between humans, trolls, and sorcerers. That we both protect it. Other than that, they didn’t seem to have much of an issue, though Deya’s eyes were glowing the entire meeting, and that’s a first.”

 Vendel hummed, nodding to himself as he closed the book. “Then I have nothing to say on the matter. Your sister has proven time and again that Changeling have the potential to be trusted. After Bular, I have great faith in you, Trollhunter.” Vendel smiled, patting my head, then Jim’s.

 “It seems we all have our tasks then,” Blink grinned, clasping his fleshy hands. “Eri and Eemeli will find River’s father. Arrrgh and Draal will look over Jim and Tobias’ training. I’ll research ways to help both our Fair Claire, and Lady River with their evolving magic.”

 Draal rolled his eyes, elbowing my side, “Since when is Blinkous a magic tutor?”

 We all burst into laughter, even Vendel as Blinky spluttered, trying to defend his researching methods. We split up in our respective groups for the night. Eri and Eemeli heading out right away, the rest of us training into the early hours of the morning, excited to have some direction now.

[hpdabbles]

Master of Death (In Training)  Part 2

Sirius didn’t know what he was expecting when the suggestion was first made. The very air had held its breath as the Order voted, each nervously looking around, to see who had raised their hands in favor of summoning Death.

He hadn’t wanted to do it. After growing up with a dark family, and at the mercy of his mother’s ill-temper hexes, Sirius knew that trying this method would only cost them more than be able to help them. But Albus- it was so weird to now be old enough to call the headmaster by his first name. A part of him still felt like a Hogwarts student overstepping despite the fact he graduated three years ago- had insisted it was the best course of action.

With every new day, the Death Eaters rose in power and it was rapidly approaching a point where they could not be stopped. Already regular civilians were hiding away, slowly bowing to the control and the fear, and it wouldn’t be a far stretch to think no one would try to stop them.

People knew not to even use the name of the Death Eater’s leader, because any who did, died not long after.  That wasn’t a fear that could easily be overcome. The people were losing hope, and once it was all gone, the war would be over.

The Death Eaters will win.

What’s worse, was that Albus had claimed a prophecy had been made, which strongly indicated to his unborn grandson or the unborn child of his friends being the only thing to stop Voldemort. 

If they didn’t do the summons James, Lily, Frank, and Alice would have to go into hiding for who knows how many years. There wasn’t even a guarantee they will survive.   This plan could save them from such a fate, could allow their kids to grow up in a world of peace. 

Sirius knew this. He understood it. But he still didn’t want to summon Death, it was desperate and it may not even work.

But whatever the Order did, they did it together. The majority had ruled, and the summons took place a week later. 

The moment the being arrived it was quite clear it wasn’t human. Dressed in a metallic green cloak that hid half it’s facing, and body through human-shaped- and rather nicely too. Sirius could admit the being was fit. If it was a regular bloke he would climb him like a tree- seemed almost otherworldly, that its mere presence had Padfoot’s instincts screaming at him to run. 

Alice’s soft gasp of “What have we done” echoed every thought in Sirius's head even as he leveled his wand in order to protect Lily. It was alarming that the first thing Death did upon arriving was single out the two pregnant ladies and even if they couldn’t see its eyes, Sirius knew it was looking right at the round stomachs.

His stomach was rolling so terribly he almost missed Albus offering his soul to Greater Power, who stood there with its arms filled with objects and could almost be called awkward if it wasn’t scaring the living daylights out of everything in the room. 

The outfit was sort of badass he could admit.

But the voice. Oh, the voice. 

It echoed as if though it spoke from some deep cave, and it overlapped with other voices. To his ears, he could pick up different baritones, as if though he wandered into a male bathroom and everyone choose to speak at once. It was the one real sign that whatever stood before him wasn’t a human. 

That’s why he, like an idiot, got the things attention when it pulled such a baffling action of checking its employee manual.

Thankfully it didn’t take offense and after a few flipped pages it names the price. 

Now here he was handing over his black socks to the being that was smiling wildly at them all. It’s perfectly white teeth gleaming in the darkened room, as it thanks everyone politely for their socks, making more than one person uneasy.

Albus had truely seen pained to part with his pair, more so then his own soul, and that made no sense at all to Sirius until Death frown when it touched them. “Oh, these were the last thing your sister gave you, her last “I love you” that she made with her own two hands. I’m sorry for taking them.” 

And it really did sound apologetic, but it made Albus tense like a wooden board and back away rapidly from the Great Power.

The being even folded all the socks with great care, leaving the objects it held hanging in the air as it casually did some quick laundry. Once the Order had handed over their clothing, it flipped through the silver binder again, visibly mouthing the words it read before it reached out a black-gloved hand to pat the socks, sending them away to who knows where.

Around him, a few of his friends gasp, and it wasn't until Sirius’ socks vanished did he realize it was because they, like he, sense a deal with Death be sealed. As if his very soul had been stamped. He felt dirty, Sirius really wanted to take a bath.

“Alright.” Death said, placing his hands on its hips and spreading its stand. For a moment it seemed young, and though Sirius could not tell what age it actually was, he got the feeling it was somewhere between late teens, early twenties. Wasn’t it just bizarre to think he is almost the same-physical at least- age as Death?

 “So it says here, that you all hear me differently? To not be confusing my pronouns are he/him and you can call me Harry.”

Sirius's brain melted. “James?”

“Yeah?”

“Did Death just tell me its preferred pronouns and call itself Harry?”

“Yeah.” James at least sound just as confused as he was so Sirius didn’t feel too bad about not understanding what in the world was going on with this summon.

Harry-actual- Death frowns at them  “What’s wrong with my name?”

“Nothing’s wrong with it” Lily is quick to assure, though she is most likely reconsidering the name she had picked out for his unborn godson. “It’s a lovely name.” 

Harry-Actual-Death smiled at her, it could have been a friendly one if it didn’t feel like his life candle was about to be blown out. Sirius shifted to put himself beside James and have Lily safely behind him. On his right, Remus quickly fell into formation blocking the redhead woman more, while Peter shifted to Lily’s side with a whimper.  “Thank you. I’m named after my grandpa on my mother’s side.”

No one knew what to say to that. 

It was Fabian, in a fit of madness or brilliance who knows, that managed to get words out of his mouth. “I’m sure he’s very proud his grandson took over the family business?”

Harry-Actual-Death looked stumped, looking like someone just tried to pull down his trousers or something then he beamed. “No one’s ever said something like that to me. Thank you.” 

Then he turns his head back to his binder flipping through it and reading a bit more. With a snap of its finger’s Fabian stumbled backward with a loud pain gasp turning deathly pale. Everyone froze while his brother bristled “What did you do to him!?”

Harry-Actual-Death turned its unseen eyes onto Gideon, who stood his ground despite the slight shake of his knees and smiled  “I took away the Dragon Pox in his lungs. Until our contract is terminated I can heal you all within some limitations. He would have died in a year and I don’t want to make Mrs. Weasley sad.”

 “My chest doesn’t hurt anymore.” Fabian breathes rubbing at his upper torso. He looks down at it with wonder in his eyes. “It’s...it’s been hurting for so long...I just...”

“Yeah about that.” Harry-Actual-Death jumps in. The rest of the Order swing their heads between the two groups unsure of who to look at, though none of them lower their wands. “I don’t understand why you didn’t get that checked out. If it hurt to take breathes you really should have gone to a healer.”

Gideon looks beyond pained “You were sick and you didn’t tell me?”

“We...we’re at war. I didn’t want to worry you more then you needed to when I realize I wasn’t going to live through it.” Fabian admits. Sirius is quite sure he is not the only one that wants to beat the idiot’s head in. How could he not have said anything!? His condition could have made everything that much more dangerous, what if he was in the middle of a fight and had an attack? He could have gotten himself and his brother killed!

 The twins suddenly freeze, as they do that weird thing they do when both of them think the same thoughts and then jerk their heads to Harry-Actual-Death. “Wait, what does Molly have to do with this? She’s not part of the Order, she didn’t sign a contract with you!”

Sirius could understand their worried, a new fear of what that hinted at, meant that his baby brother could have just been unwillingly added to the contract. He hadn’t talked to Regulus in a few years but that didn’t mean he wanted his brother in Death’s hand!

Harry-Actual-Death shifts around on his feet awkwardly, almost as if embarrassed. “She’s really nice, she gives warm hugs and she gave me cookies once.”

At the while Order’s wide eye bafflement Death says defensively.  “I was a kid back then and she didn’t know how much it meant to me. Plus she can be kind of scary when angry. I just don’t like seeing her upset.”

Sirius really, really, wanted to sleep now. Apparently, literal Death was scared of Molly Weasley. Tiny, plump, and motherly Molly Weasley. Also apparently being a grim reaper was a family business and Death could age while running around the mortal world in its childhood visiting people which made no sense whatsoever and- oh.

“You just inherited your position then?” Sirus asks forgetting himself.  “That’s why you’re a trainee. You really are new on the job.”

Harry-Actual-Death nods “Yes” 

“Then how are we supposed to win a war!” He doesn’t mean to sound so frustrated but Merlin’s beard they summoned Death, they were willing to give up their souls and they may have crossed more than one line, to end up with not prepared baby Death! 

Harry-Actual-Death smiles at him, in a way that makes ice settle inside of his whole body and Sirius’s frustration disappears for full out mind-numbing terror. It’s a little crocked but it weary and confident with just the touch of non-human that gives it that extra fear-inducing touch.  “Oh not to worry Sirius, I’ve killed enough. I can get the job done. The Death Eaters won’t win. You can’t cheat Death.”

The room falls into a tense silence everyone now more aware of what they have really done. A few minutes ago, Harry-Actual-Death, almost felt....well almost felt like a person, but now, they were once again reminded that this was a Great Power, the end. 

Death. 

“Y-you know my name” He manages to gasp out.

He gets a weary smile.  “Yes. I know every living thing’s name because I know when they stop living.”

Well, what the flying fuck do you say to that?  “That’s kind of hot”

Harry-Actual-Death's face turns red. It’s hard to say if it’s from anger or flustered.  “Excuse me!?”

Sirius swings wild eyes to Remus begging for rescue all while cursing his loose tongue. He didn’t mean to say that, it was a reflex, born of years of sassing people and flirting with attractive blokes. His friend is quick to step forward.  “Should we focus on how to stop the Death Eaters now?”

“Um, yeah, ugh sure” Harry-Actual-Death stutters in that strange multiple voices “Death Eaters. Got to go and....Death them. Yup.”

He moves it cloaked head to the whole room asking at large.  “You all just wanted that right? Stopping the war, beat Voldemort, and making sure Neville and Harry grow up safe?”

Alice and Lily jerk in shock at mention of their kids but everyone nods or mumble agreement. Harry-Actual-Death accepts this with shuffling feet, grabbing the floating items and hastily bids them a farewell.

He bleeds into shadows that race across the room and disappears. But Sirius did not miss how he could feel Harry-Actual-Death’s gaze on him, his face a healthy red, and shy nervous little shifts on his feet right before he departed and he thinks with one startling moment of what that could mean.

As always James, his best mate who knows what he is always thinking figures it out and blurts. “Padfoot I think Death has a crush on you. How do you feel about that?”

“I....I’m a little flattered actually.”  How metal is it to say Death has a crush on you?  “Also scared Prongs. Very, very, scared.”

[officialleehadan]

Plan of Kings

Hello darlings! Continuing with out $5+ prompts, this one is for Kyle, who prompted the first story in this series, and has been an amazing supporter for months. Thank you so much, darling! Enjoy!

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“What do you have in mind?” Avorhain asked warily as Felmarin turned the problem over in his mind. There were several issues that he could see. The most notable was that someone, and he didn’t know who, was dedicated to causing a war between humans and elves. For the moment it seemed that his enemy was now a reluctant ally, but that might not last once Avorhain left Felmarin’s custody. “I’ve been a diplomat all my life. I can lie if I must.”

“First,” Felmarin said, and caught Vamer’s eye. “You have to escape, and it has to look real, which may mean putting an arrow or three in you on the way. Second, we have to find out who exactly wants us at war, without them catching on that we aren’t.”

“And third, Avorhain murmured, the only sign of his displeasure at the ‘arrows’ comment being a slight widening of his eyes. “My daughters. If your mother was targeted, they certainly will be as well.”

“Father-“ Elarria started, and cut herself off when her eyes strayed to Felmarin. Her gaze hardened and her shoulders went back. “I have a solution. For that problem, and for another that neither of you are willing to discuss.”

“Oh?” Felmarin said, and nodded to her, more than willing to hear her out, if only because he certainly didn’t have any good ideas close to hand. “What do you have in mind?”

“I want you to kidnap me,” she said firmly, and raised a hand to stop her father, who immediately started to protest. “You don’t trust each other, and you shouldn’t. Until half a candlemark ago, we were enemies. Now we are, barely, allies. If you kidnap me, we solve three problems. First, you have leverage over Father, so you may trust that he will not betray you when he makes his escape. Second, our true enemies will take my apparent captivity as assurance that we are still at odds, which buys us time to hunt them down. Third, if I am a ‘captive’, my murder will not be useful to our enemy, and so I will, in truth, be safer.”

“Alright, I see why you want to marry her,” Vamer muttered from behind Felmarin. He was sitting in on the meeting because Felmarin trusted him, and also because he needed at least one elf to back him if Avorhain decided to stab him and be done with it. He wasn’t inclined to shed any more blood for the human kingdom than he already had. “She’s fierce.”

“She also speaks Elvish,” Felmarin muttered back, with no faith at all that the information would keep Vamer from making any more comments. “Shut up unless you have something useful to say.”

“No, no. Carry on. I’ll be quiet as a mouse.”

He wouldn’t. Felmarin knew he wouldn’t, but that was probably about as good as he was going to get out of Vamer for now.

Elarria was looking between them and carefully hiding a tiny smile behind her wine glass. Avorhain, thank all the gods, did not seem to understand Elvish, and was looking to his daughter for a translation.

“A comment on the political situation,” she lied gracefully, although not without an amused twist to her lips. “Your Majesty, Father, I believe this is the most efficient solution.”

“I don’t like it,” Avorhain murmured reluctantly, and Felmarin winced. “You would be a hostage, even if we are not enemies. That will not be easy.”

“I will protect her,” Felmarin promised without hesitation. “I already swore to allow no harm to befall her, and this does make that oath easier to keep.”

“Easier to marry her too,” Vamer contributed unrepentantly. “I’ll need to see about all those extra guards.”

“Shut up, Vamer.”

“Just saying.”

“It will be easy enough to arrange,” Felmarin decided to ignore his friend for now. It probably wouldn’t win him any trust if he decided to knife one of his own right in f4ront of the human king. “I assume everyone knows you’re here, Princess?”

She was still hiding a smile. Felmarin tried not to be too distracted by the glitter of her eyes. “They do. My presence was not a secret, although only a few know I remain in the camp. A friend helped me sneak in here.”

“Alright,” Felmarin turned the idea over in his head. “Avorhain, you make your escape tonight. Princess, pass the word to his soldiers. Gather a trusted dozen or so. Vamer, I know you keep a running tally of the most incompetent of our own. Find me three idiots to guard the cells and see that everyone competent is out of the way.”

“I have just the three,” Vamer chortled, too pleased with himself to be anything but malicious. That was alright. Felmarin kept him around for more than his bad jokes. Vamer was also ridiculously good at his job. “And I’ll call the useful ones off to beat some sense into the rest. Majesty, the key will be carelessly within reach. I’ll make sure your hands are barely tied when we leave.”

“My gratitude,” Avorhain said, and hesitated over his own thoughts for a long moment, before he took a slow, steadying breath. “I have a favor to ask. If I am trusting you with one daughter, I wonder, Elf-king, if I could trust you with the other as well.”

“Yalla,” Elarria murmured, her fingers white as she tangled them on her skirts. When Felmarin looked to her, she offered an explanation. “My sister. She’s… she’s only nine, but she… she will be a target if I am out of reach.”

A child. Damn. Felmarin should have remembered the younger princess. It wasn’t that he didn’t know about the child, but a young human was hardly his concern when he had a war to run. “Where is she?”

“In a keep three days from here,” Avorhain said tightly. His fears had merit. The murder of a child was abhorrent to most elves, but the murder of a princess would spark a war from which there would be no return. Felmarin would never harm a child, but there were others who would. “Can you get to her?”

“Not without taking the keep,” Felmarin said and glanced up at Vamer. “But there are other ways. Princess, you run with your father. Ride for the keep and collect your sister there. We will follow until you leave, and ambush you on the road. I regret to say, only your father will escape.”

There was so much that could go wrong, but with the right soldiers, and Felmarin himself leading the ambush, it could be managed.

“There are risks,” Avorhain said after long thought. “But I believe that may… may be the best option. Elf-King, you will protect them? My daughters are the hope of my realm. When I die, Elarria will be queen.”

“Until my dying day,” Felmarin said, the words escaping despite his own best efforts. He scrambled to recover, completely distracted by the way Elarria smiled at him for it. “Believe what you will of me, Human, but I would never harm a child.”

“I do believe you,” Avorhain said, and his shoulders slumped. “Alright. We have a plan. When do we escape?”

“Tonight,” Felmarin said with a nod to Vamer. “Take the king back to his cell. Make it look good. Handle the guards.”

Jokes or not, Vamer would get the job done, and Felmarin trusted him. “Give me a few hours. Gotta move a few people around. Come on, Majesty. Back to your cell.”

“Of course,” Avorhain said, and allowed Vamer to bind his hands lightly. His eyes were worried when he looked at Elarria. “Lari, be careful. I’ll see you soon.”

“I’ll be safe,” Elarria promised, and kissed his cheek. “Don’t worry, Father. I’m safe with Felmarin.”

Felmarin resisted the urge to strut like a peacock, strangled his own instincts mercilessly, and did his best to keep a straight face until the human king vanished out the door.

Alone again, Elarria turned to him, and now he could see the fear in her eyes, hidden under steely calm.

“I should go too,” she said quietly, fingers still tangled in her skirt, betraying her nerves. “If I’m to run with him.”

“Get to the cells with the soldiers. Vamer will make sure you’re in place,” Felmarin said, and struggled to find something else, anything else, to say. He didn’t want her to go yet, but there was nothing for it. “I meant it. I will not allow harm to come to you.”

“I know,” she said, and hesitated, one hand on the tent flap. A spark of mischief came to her eyes, warring with the fear. “And Felmarin, about your offer…. I didn’t say no.”

Before he could wrap his mind around that, she was gone, leaving nothing but the hint of her perfume and a half-empty wine-glass to show she was there at all.

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Forest Fell:

Felmarin never expected to be ambushed in his bath, and never expected for his attacker to be the princess of the kingdom he had just conquered.

Oath and Offer

Enemy Met (Subscriber Only!)

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