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gingerale2017 · 3 years

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“Now, Kiss!”

Based on this hc I made earlier :)

3474 words

Fandom: The Lunar Chronicles

Pairing: Kai x Cinder

Fluff

Description:

Kai knew that the annoyance was part of having a sibling, but he hated it all the same. Nainsi would tease him about everything and when she figured out his crush on Cinder Linh, it only got worse. When Cinder calls Kai on the day that Nainsi brings some friends, she suspects that something might be cooking in the pot. Is she right, or are they friends for another agonizing day?

(Also I decided to name her Nainsi bc I’m too tired to brainstorm anything else I like it)

“WAKE UP KAI!” was the first thing Kai heard after being unfortunately interrupted by a sweet dream involving a certain someone. He was awake now, with a 100-pound pillow being tossed onto his head. Groaning, he flipped to his other side, squeezing his eyes shut as if that would make the tiny monster go away.

“KAI WE’RE GONNA BE LATE!” Nainsi yelled. She threw another pillow at him and when he didn’t show any signs of stopping, she yanked the cover out. Thank the stars for sheets.

“Stars, what time is it?” Kai managed to ask. Knowing his family it was probably five in the morning.

“Seven-thirty, ” he groaned again. It was way too early to get out of bed. Plus, the school didn’t start until eight-thirty so they were very much not late. He tucked his head in the pillow and wished for his sister to magically vanish away into whatever drama she obsessed with now.

“KAI! GET OUT THE BED RIGHT NOW!” Kai turned his head to glare at her. She glared right back.

“You know Cinder gets up super early for whatever reason. That’s something you two can get along with, ” instead of rolling her eyes like she usually did when Kai talked about Cinder, Nainsi's lips formed into a coy smile.

He cursed.

She somehow smiled even further and cocked her head, “Got any plans with her tonight?”

He could feel his ears turn red, and he tried to kill her on the spot with his eyes. His little sister took the smart choice and sprinted out of his room with Kai on her heels.

She screamed as he followed her down the stairs into the kitchen, seeking refuge next to their father’s chair. Kai could tell he was annoyed by the posture he was in and the way he took another sip of his coffee.

Nainsi shot Kai a smug smile that he wished to wipe off her face, “are you gonna wear pajamas to school, Kaito?”

“I’m going to kill you.”

“Ah, yes, but then you’ll spend the rest of your life in jail and will never see your precious Cinder again.”

He glared at her once more and left to go change. When he came back, the aroma of fried eggs was so strong that it filled the whole house.

His father was humming a tune while seasoning the eggs with pepper, now in a less annoyed mood. There were two plates on the kitchen counter already equipped with breakfast. Nainsi rebelliously made cereal instead of eating eggs. Kai, on the other hand, was grateful for the free breakfast.

He sat grabbed a ate and sat at the barstool, preparing to dig into his meal. Dad wanted to make small talk instead, “Good morning, son, and you're welcome for the delicious breakfast that I so graciously made for my marvelous kids.”

“Good morning, father, and us marvelous kids are so grateful for this delicious meal that makes caught us by surprise. But unfortunately, one of your children prefers Lucky Charms to you’re amazing breakfast, ” Kai responded after swallowing his first bite of eggs.

Nainsi looked up from her cereal, “that’s because I don’t like eggs, they’re disgusting.”

“You don’t like anything, ” she stuck her tongue out. Kai picked up his plate and placed it in the sink. Unsurprisingly, he was still hungry, so he went to see what was in the fridge.

“Kai, why don’t you ever want up early?” his father asked.

“Um, because-”

“Because he’s up all night thinking about making out with Cinder in the back of her BMW, ” the little monster interrupted before he could continue. He grabbed a tomato and slammed the fridge shut.

He then threw the tomato at her, “two strikes, Nainsi.”

She dodged the tomato and looked back at Kai with big round eyes.

“Hey, it's too early to fight with your sister just yet, ” interjected his father, “also, if you couldn’t tell, your mother is working double shifts at the hospital today so she wouldn’t be coming back tonight and I have a business trip. I know you have some friends coming over today, Nainsi, so behave better than usual. Both of you.”

“What friends are coming over, Nainsi?” Kai mused, an idea forming in his head.

“Just Geovanna and Emily. Possibly Ben but he hasn’t confirmed yet,” she answered, “why?”

“Just wondering. Anyways, we gotta go now,” Kai pulled on his sweatshirt from the laundry and headed towards the front, “bye dad.”

He nodded at Kai, currently preoccupied with his second mug of coffee while Nainsi rushed to follow Kai.

It was freezing out, as it usually was during winter in Maryland, but today was unusually cold. He turned on the car while Nainsi hopped in the passenger seat.

“Are we gonna go or what?” she barked.

“In a minute. Let me close my eyes for a bit.”

“You always do that, you lazy bum.”

“Your insults are getting drier and drier Nainsi.”

“Just go, ” this time she hit his forearm with her binder from nowhere. Repeatedly.

“Okay, stop hitting me. Ow.”

They drove off towards the school. Although Nainsi lived to tease Kai, they got along pretty well. They talked about this new show and had similar opinions on it during the short car ride. Once they were at Nainsi’s school and she was gone, then he could start playing the radio.

He bid his goodbye’s and see you later’s and now was off to his school.

᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽

Kai was unsurprisingly drained during the last period of the day. He fiddled with the corner of his notes to keep himself awake for at least ten more minutes. When he felt himself starting to doze off, he began to replay the day so far.

When he got to school, Cinder was marked absent which made his day worse. He always looked forward to hearing her sarcastic remarks or her smiling at one of his witty jokes.

Anyways, she was gone and he was sad, but Cress wasn’t. She happily explained to Kai that she and Thorne were going on a date Sunday. He was happy for her, truly, but all he could think about was how he can unsuccessfully tell his feeling to Cinder.

Not telling her felt like he was forgetting something important every day, except he was not forgetting. He knew exactly what he was doing and it killed him, but he also didn’t want to ruin the good that they have now. Then Kai would think about how it would be better and his thought would circle around and around.

After meeting up with Cress, they endured through the first two periods they shared, Scarlet and Thorne joining during the second. Although he had plenty of friends to talk to and enjoy, he couldn't help missing Cinder.

She's gone for one day and you feel like this? he thought, get a break. The little voice inside Kai's head was right.

Then the last bell rang, startling him. He stood up and began to pack his things. Then he fast-walked out and left.

"Kai!" he heard someone call.

Iko and Cress gestured at Kai to come to their lockers. He obliged.

"Look, Winter's birthday is in a couple of weeks, during the break. We want to throw a party because it's her sweet sixteen! We already have all the decorations ready, I know it's early, but long story short, can we throw it at your place?" his blue-haired friend asked as innocently as possible. Although she had to change her posture, tone, and expression to look innocent, Cress had that personality as her default.

"Please, Kai?” Cress pleaded and she knew what she was doing. It was always impossible to say no to her without feeling guilty. Or maybe it was just Kai who hated saying no.

“Of course! My parents are going to their parents during that week, so I’ll just ask to stay behind.”

“Yay! Thank you so much!” Iko hugged him tightly, “also not a word to Winger. It’s going to be a surprise.”

“Sounds nice.”

“Yep. I got to go to my job interview, remember what I was telling you about. Ah, the chance to work a boutique, what a dream,” and with that, his friend walked away.

“Hey Cress, did you hear anything about Cinder, ” he pressed.

She nodded, “Adri was mad at her again so she’s stuck at the garage, ” the blonde began to nibble in her fingernails. Noticing the bad habit, she brought he hand down.

“Oh, ” he hated Cinder’s stepmother, he truly did. And it killed him he couldn’t do anything about it.

They walked silently down the hall. Girls batted their lashes and some greeted him but he ignored it as usual.

“Do you think Adri would let Cinder free tonight?” he asked, now in the parking lot of the school.

“If you’re the one taking her anywhere then, of course, Adri would.”

Cress, Cinder, and Winter all skipped one grade. Cinder and Winter skilled first, and Cress skipped seventh. Cress was the smartest of them all, granted, and they don’t have a driver's license. So Cress got a ride with her older brother Jacin, and so did Winter (Jacin’s girlfriend). Cinder usually rode with Thorne, but on the good days, she rides with Kai.

They reached Kai’s car which was near Jacin’s car and being the super over-protective brother he was, he glared Kai down. Kai found this confusing because his feelings for Cinder were quite obvious, but then he saw Thorne parked next to Kai.

Thorne was currently ‘interested’ in Cress which made her a flustered mess.

Cress walked quickly to Jacin’s car and hopped in the back. Kai called goodbye and started his car. Then there was a rap on his window.

“What?” he asked Thorne, “I got to pick up my sister.”

“What flowers does Cress like?” he lifted an eyebrow at his friend, “not like that,” what Thorne did not know was that Cress told Kai everything about their date. Perhaps Thorne wants to keep it secret until then.

“Uh-huh.”

“Just answer the question!”

He shifted in his seat, “I dunno. Ask Jacin.”

“Great advice,” Thorne deadpanned.

“Get her roses. Those are super romantic and she’s all about the romantic gestures.”

“Nah, too cheesy. Pretend it's Cinder, what would she like?”

“Cinder doesn’t like flowers. Wrenches, however, are much appreciated.”

“I think I’ll just get roses.”

“Yeah, now move, my sister is waiting for me, ” Kai rolled up the windows and drove out.

Time passed very quickly and the next thing he knew, Nainsi was climbing in the passenger seat with her three friends in the back seat.

“I thought it was only two people, ” he whispered harshly.

She shrugged, “Ben decided to come.”

“What are you gonna feed them.”

“Pizza.”

“Who’s money?”

“Yours,” he shoved Nainsi but she shoved back.

“Fine but you owe me.”

“We’ll see, ” she turned in the seat to talk with her friends.

᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽

Once everyone was settled inside and pizza was ordered he began to brainstorm ways Kai could punish Nainsi for this morning.

Then, like a light bulb, a perfect idea formed into his head. He walked into the laundry room where a basket filled with his clothes was waiting for him.

He pulled off his shirt, grabbed the basket, and headed into the living room. His sister was watching a realistic drama with her friends, although Kai wasn’t sure the drama wasn’t ‘realistic’ at all.

This plan happened before on accident with the same friends and they just stared at him while Nainsi shooed him out. Little did he know that her friends would just start talking about him and his looks. When Nainsi told him this, he groaned and whined about how he got enough of this from school. So when Nainsi had people over, Kai would camp in his room to avoid the awkwardness.

Now, he knows how her friends would react. And how she would react.

But before he could do anything, the phone in his pocket vibrated, making him turn a one-eighty back into the laundry.

It was actually Cinder calling and he answered quickly, “hello?”

“Uh, Kai?”

“Yes?”

“Can you do me a favor? Please?” it sounded like she was outside where it was currently raining.

“Yes, of course, what do you need?”

“I need a ride. I’m stuck here in the rain, by myself. Also, this is going to sound weird but, can I also stay with you for an hour and a half?” she defeated like she lost an argument.

“I can pick you up and you can stay with me. Nainsi has some friends over but it should be fine, ” Kai wondered if he sounded too cheery.

“Ok, thanks. I’m at the gas station outside your neighborhood, by the way.”

“Great, see you in a few minutes. Bye.”

“Bye, ” she hung up.

Kai hurried to put on a shirt and grab two rain jackets from the close, just in case Cinder needed one. Then he walked into the living room and out the front door, only to come back in. He forgot to tell Nainsi where he was going.

“Hey Nainsi, I got to pick up someone. I’ll be back soon though, ” she nodded, mouth full of pizza crust, “uh, don’t open the door to strangers. Bye.”

This time he didn’t go back inside after he left. He drove out of the neighborhood, slowly because it was pouring buckets and he could barely see three feet in front of him. After an eternity, Kai finally reached the gas station and parked under the large roof.

He didn’t even see Cinder come in, only heard her, sacring him witless. She smiled apologetically while tossing a white plastic bag onto her lap. It was full of snacks.

“Thanks for coming to get me, I owe you one now, ” she said, handing him one of the bags of chips.

“Of course, Cinder, I would do anything for you, ” the corner of her lip curved upwards as Kai’s cheeks heated, “that came out wrong. I meant that you’re my friend and such. Like the good moral movies where like the one friend reminds the other what friendship is truly about?”

Cinder snorted, “Like My Little Pony?”

“Isn’t that a TV show?”

“Same thing.”

“Is not.”

“Whatever, I know what you meant. Peony had made me watch enough TV shows and movies to last a lifetime.”

“Okay then, ” the rain seemed to finally thin during their conversation making it much more comfortable conditions for Kai to drive in.

Cinder had a habit of talking with her mouth full and the ‘good manners kid’ inside of him cringed. He hoped he hid it well.

Anyways Cinder explained why she was soaking wet at a gas station abandoned with snacks. She was bored and hungry and wanted something to do. So she walked to the gas station, alone, for snacks and a good walk.

Kai raised an eyebrow at that, “you live far away from me, how and why did you walk miles just for a bag of junk food?”

“People can do miraculous things when they are bored, Kai.”

“Yes, and penguins can fly if they really set their minds to it.”

“They are a bird so, hey, nothing’s impossible.”

“Who drove you?”

Cinder shoved a chip in her mouth, “Pearl,” she admitted reluctantly.

“What?”

“I skipped lunch and she knew I was hungry so she drove me here and left me while I was getting snacks. She also called me and said that it was a prank she couldn’t resist.”

“Oh, ” Kai said as they were pulling in his driveway. It was drizzling now so there was no need for the rain jackets.

“I’m also supposed to be at the garage until later so that's why I have to stay that long. If I come back early, Adri would get mad, and I don’t feel like getting yelled at today.”

“Ok,” he said as he walked out of the car.

He opened the door for Cinder and followed her inside. Nainsi and her friends did not move from before he left, but they switched shows. His little sister locked eyes with Cinder, immediately getting up.

“Hey Cinder. I did not know you two were hanging out today?” She said conspiratorially.

Cinder nodded, “yeah it was kind of sudden. Also, Peony is not with me, sorry.”

“That’s okay. I’m going back to my friends now. So you guys can ‘hang out’” Nainsi emphasized the last part then ran off to her friends.

“So, um, what do you want to do for an hour and a half?” he asked.

Cinder turned to him, “I don’t know, what do you want to do.”

“I don’t know.”

“Let’s just go to your room then.”

“Good idea, ” Cinder has been to his house enough to know the layout. He followed her to his room where she fell on the bed.

“Working under cars all day isn't good for the back you know, ” she explained, muffled by a pillow.

“I would expect so because your posture is not up to standards.”

She snorted, “I guess that’s true, ” Cinder sat up and leaned on the headboards, “sorry for taking up your space. And for calling you. Stars, this was a bad idea, you already have people here. I’m like an intruder-”

“Why are you apologizing so much? I don’t care if you light my room on fire, ” Kai accused. It was true, ever since he met her, she would apologize for every single tiny thing, as if every single wrong thing she did was unacceptable. He moved towards her to place a hand on hers, “it’s okay, Cinder. And calling me was a good idea because you saved me from the little demons.”

Cinder let out a genuine laugh that ended with a genuine smile. A smile that never ceased to make his heart twitch. He bashfully realized that he was still holding her hand.

Kai let go but she only grabbed his hand back. He watched her intertwine their fingers, trying to ignore the strong pounding of his heart. He dared to look up and realized that Cinder was staring at him.

He looked into her chocolate eyes that seemed to shine with stars. He wanted to dive into that sea of brown and lie there for eternity. As long she was there.

“Now kiss!” cried a shrill voice. Kai jumped away from Cinder, noticing that she copied his actions.

“Aw, come on just kiss already, the tension was so thick, ” said... Peony?

Cinder’s eyes widened, “Peony, what- how did- why are you here?”

“Well first, I was invited to the sleepover but I had volleyball practice so I had to come late. I just got here. And second, I saw Nainsi sneaking up here so I followed, and oh my stars, we ruined the money, didn’t we?” Peony looked at Nainsi.

“We did. Sorry guys, we’ll go now.”

“Yes, now you can kiss in peace, ” the girls left, leaving Kai very flustered. He glanced at Cinder and saw that her cheeks were also tinted pink.

“So, do you want something to eat, ” he asked finally. He could not bear the silence anymore.

“Yes, ” she nodded, although they already are in the car.

They got up to leave but before he could open the door, Cinder grabbed his wrist and pulls him down. The next thing he knew they were kissing. It was quick and soft and amazing. It felt like everything suddenly clicked and the world was righted. Like the stars finally aligned.

She pulled away and Kai could feel the heat in his ears. His heart was beating so loud that he was sure Cinder could hear it as well.

“Let’s go get some food, ” she breathed and opened the door. She was still holding his wrist, he realized. He intertwined their hands like before, but this time it felt more meaningful. It was like their hands now signified that they were more than friends. That they loved each other, even if they hadn't admitted it yet. But he could feel it and was sure that she could too.

They entered the kitchen and Cinder began to talk about food options but all he could think about was the kiss. He wanted to kiss her again. And to hold her.

Someone cleared their throat behind them, making them turn around. Nainsi, Peony, Emily, Geovanna, and Ben all stood with knowing faces. Nainsi smirked, “finally.”

Peony looked like she was about to explode with happiness, “I already told Iko. She’s ecstatic.”

Neither Kai nor Cinder said anything. Nainsi probably knew because of the looks on their red faces and told Peony. Then Peony told Iko and Iko probably told everyone in their friend group.

So now everyone knows.

“Just to be sure, you guys did kiss, right?” asked Emily.

Slowly, Cinder nodded. Kai opted to stare at his feet. Peony whooped, Nainsi squealed, Cinder blushed, and Kai groaned.

“Ok now we will leave you alone, for real, ” Nainsi promised, dragging her friends away.

“Why are there so many people here?” Kai murmured then turned to Cinder. She leaned on his shoulder. They were still holding each other's hand, “I really want to kiss you again, by the way.”

“Me too.”

“Okay then, ” he cupped her cheek with his free hand and kissed her. Cinder squeezed his hand affectionately. He once again felt like everything was where it was supposed to be, where he was supposed to be, and that was with Cinder.

Tagging: @just2bubbly @winterrhayle @jacihayle @shelbylmkaider @cerenoya @a-salting-the-world @ladyvesuvia @not-the-founder-of-rome @greenalmond @zephyr-thedragon @cinderswrench @cindersassasin @strawberry-seraph (these are just one-shot tags so please tell me if you want to be added or remove for these types of fics <3)

#kaider fanfic #my fanfic #headcanon #tlc fanfiction #the lunar chronicles #tlc au #nainsi #prince kai #cinder linh #peony linh #kaider

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effervescentdragon · 2 years

Note

But what if I wanted you to answer aaaall those fic asks ooos

ASK AND YE SHALL RECIEVE! <3

thank you love soooo much, i need this to unwind a bit. here we go :D

💖 What do you like most about your own writing?

The lil easter eggs i leave everywhere, not just for readers but for myself, bcs sometimes i write sth and it only dawns on me later what I meant to say xD

😐 What embarrasses you most about your own writing?

I wouldn't say anything embarrases me per se tbh. The things that do, I don't post. yes this is about porn

👻 What is one WIP you think you may never pick back up?

my old HP fics.

👀 Do you have any WIPs that you would never let see the light of day? If yes, what are they about?

There may be a porn somewhere in my docs.

📥 What is your fave fic to receive comments/messages on?

ALL OF THEM! ALL OF THEM, ANY ONE OF THEM, I LOVE YOU ALL. but lately the comments on the silvergifting are my joy tbh, even tho i made some people sad.

✏️ Do you write every day?

I WISH.

🖊 Post a snippet from a current WIP.

From the F1/Silm AU, bcs I can barely think of anything else.

"Seconded," Nerdanel mumbled through a mouth full of Pad Thai. "Fëanor hasn't been home since yesterday, and I honestly don't know if he'll come home tonight."

"Yeah, the whole Finwean sibling committee got drunk on my couches last night and decided to sleep over," Anairë said, then wrinkled her nose. "They drank almost three full bottles of whisky. I have no idea how they've been functioning today."

“I have no sympathy for them,” Earwen mumbled. “Arafinwë looked like death this morning when he stumbled in. I had to switch his shower to cold so he’d get out, he almost fell asleep in there.” She reached for Som Tum when Nerdanel pushed it away. "So that's your revenge for not being included? Getting pissed on wine?"

Anairë just grinned at Earwën and drank another mouthful. Nerdanel felt herself relax just an inch for the first time in over thirty hours. For some minutes, only the sounds of eating and drinking could be heard.

"It was Laphroigh, wasn't it?" Nerdanel asked.

"Yup."

Earwën shook her head. "How aren't they dead?"

"Years of practice of getting drunk after fighting with each other," said Nerdanel. “You guys were here for the biggest blow-outs, but they’ve gotten qualitatively better over the years. In our youth, they were all about the quantity.” She didn’t miss those days, even if she sometimes missed the simplicity which came with being younger and obligation-free. Or whatever passwd as obligation-free for the insanity that were their lives.

"Even Findis?" Earwën looked amused when Anairë just nodded. "Wow. It must've been something serious to get her to drink so much."

Anairë grimaced, then sighed. "Yeah. Yeah, it really is."

🏅 What is something you recently felt proud of in regard to your writing (finished a fic, actually planned for once, etc).

Branching out into modern AU (see above) and perhaps into other fandoms also.

😈 Is there anything you enjoy doing that you think your readers hate?

Putting foreign words in their original script xD

🌙 What time of day do you prefer to write? Why?

I think i usually write during the nights. I just like it when i actually do write.

👖 Are you a planner, plantser, or pantser? Is it consistent?

I am a consistent disaster.

📊 Current number of WIPs

Too much. Way too much. I can think of at least 7.

👨‍👧‍👧 Do you tell people in real life that you write fic?

Sometimes. Depends on them, i do it either for shock value when theyre assholes or out of trust.

🌝 Who is one character you haven’t yet written for that you would like to?

uhm. Loki.

📝 What is one growth area you have for your writing?

the fuck is growth area? like how i've grown? idk. i make Better Words? i make Stuff Make Sense?

📚 Do you read your own fic?

yes, usually for reference. also sometimes to feel good abt myself.

🌈 What inspired you to write [insert fic here]?

you gotta give me a specific fic xD mostly rl angst tbh, for all my fics, but i do have specific inspo moments.

🤔 What is the hardest part of writing fic?

MAKING WORDS APPEAR PROPERLY.

🧠 What’s an idea you have that you can’t quite call a WIP yet?

i have an empty doc thats named "ereinion whos your daddy"

💻 Do you do research for your fics? What’s the deepest dive you’ve done?

oh god. yeah. i can tell you all about the transportation methods across the europe, asia and africa after world war 1 and i can accurately tell you how long it took to get from any point a to point b on aforementioned continents. it was for a completely hand written au. goddamn ive forgotten abt that, i gotta find it.

✨ Choose three adjectives to complement your own writing.

verbose, painful, well-thought-out. :)

💭 What is a headcanon you have about your own work?

my HC is that i process atm relevant shit in rl through what im writing

🍰 Name one of your fave comfort fics (doesn’t have to be your all time fave).

odin's son, tyr's son series.

👩‍🏭 If one of your fics was going to get you arrested, which one and why?

this one, for indecency and amount of angst

⏰ Do you spend more time reading fic, writing fic, or do you do both equally?

i spend very little time recently doing ANY of the above, but idk. reading probably. or like, definitely.

💋 [Freeform - what is something you want to know about one of poster’s fics?]

i can't answer this, i need a specific prompt :)

thank you so much stormy, i needed this today <3

#akira answers #and she answers as she writes #aka TOO LONG #stormxpadme

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funsizearsonist · 3 years

Text

Bleeding Ink (Luke angst)

Summary: Luke’s songwriting takes a hit when he gets hurt. He thought emotions made a song better, but he got the proportions wrong. or “Maybe have a little song with those feelings”

Category: Angst

Fandom: Julie and the Phantoms

Paring: N/A

Word Count: 1,559

Warnings/Includes: Like 1 swear, some mentions of an argument, and some descriptions of ~sadness~

A/N: I hope you like this! I'm still very new at writing fanfiction so as always, constructive criticism and any feedback in general are much appreciated!! Hope you like it!!

Mandatory Thanking of the Betas: Thank u for supporting me on this @theolivekiddo!! I probably wouldn’t have posted it if not for you because I have no confidence and I thought it was ~bad~ :P I’m still not so sure it’s good but u convinced me to post it so that’s something I guess

AO3 link here

Please don’t repost my work without my permission, in part or whole. My work can also be found on AO3 under the same username. Thank you!

Jatp taglist: @n0wornever, @calamitykaty, @unsaidmegan, @morganayennefertyrell, @link-102, @crybabyddl, @willex-owns-my-heart (I’m hoping it’s ok to tag y’all bc u said in a post here that you’d like to be added to taglists but I can take you off anytime, just send me an ask :))

Taglist for everything <3: @theolivekiddo

Bleeding Ink

Luke wouldn’t ever admit it to anyone, but he’s not quite the carefree troublemaker people think. The band knew, of course. He never had to tell them, they just knew. Probably because they were his family, they knew pretty much everything about each other. And now Julie knows, too. That’s about everyone he can come up with, besides Willie and maybe Flynn, that he actually knows now, so it looks like his secret is safe. The issue is the carefree part. Because Luke may be a hell of a troublemaker but he cares a lot.

He cares about his family, even through their ups and downs. He cares about his friends, his band; they’re pretty much a family to him too. And he cares, so so much, about music. Music has been there his whole life. Mostly rock, his favorite, but he can appreciate pretty much any kind of music. He’s listened to music throughout his whole life. It made him feel better when he was sad, widened his grins when he was happy, and kept all the in-betweens interesting.

He only loved music more when he started writing it. Luke started writing music late in middle school, but he would probably kill you if you knew. He always thought it was good he started early to get it all out of the way. It wasn’t really music yet, just putting down words without having anything to say. He still thinks they were less of lyrics and more like pages of word vomit. The old notebooks from that first year or so are probably still lying around somewhere, but Luke would rather look forward than back at all of that. He puts meaning into his music now, and Luke thinks it’s only ever gotten better, especially working with Julie. Except for a short period in the middle where it definitely got worse.

The thing is, Luke puts emotion into every one of his songs. He thinks you can’t have truly good music without putting at least a little bit of heart in it; and Luke cares so much about all of his music he can’t honestly help it. Writing music has helped him understand his feelings, and it’s his biggest way of expressing them. Usually though, he doesn’t really need music as an outlet or anything. He loves playing the songs he’s worked on, all the emotions that go with them. The electric energy in Now or Never, the reassurance and connection in Bright, the determination and fearlessness in Stand Tall, all of his songs had pieces of himself in them. But he writes them because he wants to, not because he needs to get anything out. Most of the time, at least.

There was only really one instance in Luke’s life where that wasn’t the case. Where he was so overwhelmed with emotion that he had to get it out onto a page before he could move on. Dying and coming back as ghosts, making friends with the girl who brought you back and being able to play music again, only to find your only surviving bandmate stole your old songs, and the whole Caleb thing probably should have done it. The thing is, Luke (and Alex and Reggie) got put through that rollercoaster so fast that he could barely make out emotions from the jumbled blur, much less put them into music. Before he could even say “What the hell is going on here?!” Luke was writing new songs. For their new band with Julie, no less. And he had pretty much gotten past all that drama already, somehow. It probably had something to do with Julie. After all, “No music is worth making, Julie, if we’re not making it with you.”

The time that really got to Luke, was actually part of how he ended up playing up music anyhow. It all started when his mother got him a guitar for his birthday, happy to support his interest in music. Perhaps she didn’t understand quite how deep the interest ran, because she might never have gotten it if she had. He was immediately captivated by it, and within a week Luke had the basics pretty much down already. It didn’t take him long to get even better, and to decide to form a band with some friends. He went home that night, blood pumping fast with excitement, and told his mom the news. It didn’t go over quite as well as he thought.

His mother had already become a bit apprehensive about how much Luke had come to like the guitar, but she had decided not to say anything as she thought it was just a harmless hobby. But then Luke came home and told her he was in a band, and all the fears rushed to surface and spilled over. She never should have had that much of a reaction or been so harsh, but it was all because she cares about Luke. She is his mother after all. And he had already been falling a bit behind on schoolwork, spending all his free time working out new songs with his guitar. That would only get worse if he joined a band, not even considering his future and the bandmates he wanted to play with, and where they wanted to play music, and all sorts of other concerns that came out when Luke told her about the new band.

It really hit Luke hard that his mother was instantly full of criticisms. Couldn’t she just be happy for him? He came home all excited and she instantly twisted it into hurt and anger, which turned their discussion into more of a fight, or at least certainly didn’t help matters. He’s not quite sure anymore exactly what was said that night, but he got the memo- “You can’t ditch everything for a band when you live in this household” - so he lashed back with some venom of his own, and left. It didn’t even take a whole night for him to regret it.

Biking away with basically only his guitar, the thing that mattered most to him but his mother hated most. Luke only took a good few minutes of furious pedaling to realize that he had no idea where he was going, and he was exhausted. All the fight drained out of him, all the adrenaline faded away, he was just hurt. No more energy to be angry, all the white noise of yelling in the argument cleared from his head, and he couldn’t believe his mother said all that to him. He was so excited to come home and tell his family about his new band, just earlier that evening. It already seemed like so long ago. He felt a little bad about the things he said back to his mom already too, but it was still very clear to him that they were in retaliation. If his mother hadn’t exploded at him for chasing his passion, it never would have happened. He ends up deciding to crash at the Molina’s place. After all Rose did say they could use the garage whenever they wanted. Luke was already almost drowning in this dread about everything that happened, and he was still too tired to really realize it. He just decided to knock out.

It hit him full force in the morning. Luke woke up in an unfamiliar room, confused for about half a second, before getting hit by a tidal wave of “oh, shit.”

Fighting with his family is what really managed to upset him. Nothing in Luke’s life had ever hit him that hard before. That’s when his songwriting really hit a low point for a bit. He wrote Unsaid Emily once he had gotten himself together as a way to conclude his feelings on the matter, and a way to say “I’m sorry” to his mom without actually saying it right to her. He wrote the song to summarize everything he had to say about what happened, but he tried to leave most of the emotion out of it. He learned his lesson about not putting his feelings about it all into song.

In the few weeks before that, his writing was closer to the state they were in middle school. Except this time instead of having nothing to say, he had too much he needed to get out, and he didn’t know how to make it into proper lyrics. He poured too much emotion into them. Instead of being a wave of energy over a crowd, they’d be more like a tsunami, too overpowering. Luke was just writing them for himself at that point, even the band wouldn’t see those songs, much less a stage.

The one thing he could come up with to say on it, looking back, is that’s the thing about being hurt. You have too much to hold inside of you so you bleed your soul out onto paper in ink, but instead of making it beautiful, it just makes the pages dark. All the feelings are just as ugly when you put them down on paper, and once they’re no longer caught in your chest, you don’t want to have anything to do with them. But their ink still stains your hands, and you know they may be gone but you can never forget them.

End A/N: I wrote this all at like 3 AM so I wasn't really focused on the quality of the writing and more so the narrative, hope u don't mind that. It doesn't really?? Have a point?? I don't think I was going somewhere with it I just wanted to express my thought on how Luke would be doing. Let me know what you thought! If this wasn't written in the dead of night how could it have been better? What parts did you like about it? If you don’t want to give feedback, that’s fine. Just please reblog or maybe comment if you enjoyed it, don’t just leave a like. Thanks for reading!

#julie and the phantoms #julie and the phantoms fics #jatp fanfic #jatp fic #luke-centric jatp fic #jatp luke angst #luke fic #jatp luke fic #luke patterson #luke patterson jatp #funsizefics

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ladyanput · 4 years

Note

Alya salt Alya married Nino at 19 after high school and had a kid but after a year they divorce bc of Lila. 18 years later Alya (time hasn't been too kind to her) is walking around Paris looking for a good story, sees Nino in a red carpet event and beside him is a 36 year old Marinette who looks no older than 26 with a 19/20 year old girl who turns out to be her daughter who was adopted by Mari once she married Nino a year after he divorced Alya and her daughter calls her out in front of paps.

I love me some Ninette

---

"Alya-"

"No, Nino, I'm done!" Alya snapped slapping her husband's hands away, a snarl clear in place. "You cheated on me, so you don't get to talk!"

"I didn't cheat on you!" In the next room, their newborn daughter was crying from the screaming. "Alya, Stella is a girl I work with! She's a fellow DJ, but she's ace! She has no interest in me whatsoever!"

"Like ace is an actual thing." Alya snorted scornfully, crossing her arms, her eyes narrowed. "Lila told me she saw you two kissing. I am your WIFE! I should be your first priority, not some hussy!"

"Lila?! You are still listening to Lila?! Did you learn nothing in collège?! Lycée?!" Nino thundered out, the crying in the other room getting worse. He tried to get himself to calm down by breathing out through his nose. "Get the hell out."

"What?" Alya sounded scandalized, before poking him hard in the chest. "You can't give me out of our apartment-"

"MY apartment!" Nino snapped back, pushing her hand away, before grabbing her arm and dragging her towards the door. "You don't pay for a single thing here, you can't keep a single job because of the tarnished reputation you caused yourself from believing in Lila!"

Nino shoved his wife out of the apartment and shut the door after her, locking it swiftly. He ignored the banging and screaming from the other side, instead running into the bedroom, scooping his wailing daughter into his arms.

"It's okay, starlight, it's fine.." He whispered as he rocked her, holding her close to his chest. "No one will hurt you, you'll be safe."

---

It had been a rough divorce. Alya had tried to get half of everything he owned, but her relentless screaming and cursing made the judge rule in his favour.

But what really egged him was that she never asked for custody of their daughter. Nino had known Alya hadn't been exactly thrilled at being a mother at nineteen, but no one was! No one was ready for that kind of responsibility, but he had vowed to stay with her, that he'd love both of them, he'd provide the best that he could. And he had, he was taking off as D J, his music was already getting huge hits and he was even getting revenue from his songs.

But that never seemed to be enough for Alya. She was blacklisted from most major news agencies, but never held any job she got for long. It was all because she was jealous of the grand things Lila said she had.

Lila. Fuck, Nino hated that woman. She had been the source of all of this. He remembered when Lila had first met his daughter. She had not so subtly said that now Alya's life was over with a baby, and it was a pity she hadn't aborted their daughter when she'd had the chance. Nino had screamed at her and had banned her from the apartment. But Alya kept going out and meeting her, eating up her bullshit.

Perhaps he was better off without Alya. Nino sighed and he walked through the city park, carrying little Daphné in her stroller. He had wanted out of that apartment, out of the place where he and Alya had planned their life together.

He was nineteen and already divorced. How sad was that?

"Nino? Nino Lahiffe?" The voice broke Nino out of his thoughts and his gaze settled on a young woman not standing far from him. Her large blue eyes met his, and he felt a tug of familiarity. "I can't believe it! Nino, it's so good to see you!"

Marinette. It was Marinette. The sight of her brought a smile to his face. She rushed over to hug him, but stopped sort when she saw Daphné.

"Oh! Is she yours?" Marinette cooed, looking so amazing with her dark hair pinned up and a pale rose pantsuit. She looked to well out together, the complete opposite of how he was feeling.

"Yeah. This is Daphné. Daphné, meet Marinette. I've known her since I was a kid." Nino smiled down at his daughter. He knew she couldn't quite understand him yet, but he liked to be polite afterall.

"Oh Nino, she's precious! Where's Alya at?" He saw the hesitation in her eyes when she asked that question, but she too had been raised to be polite.

"She..." Nino's voice trailed off before he cleared his throat. "She left me. She's not in our lives anymore."

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Marinette instantly took his hand in her own and squeezed it. "If you ever need anything, I'm here, Nino! Don't hesitate to call me."

And he knew by looking at her, she meant it.

---

In the three weeks, Marinette came by every day to help the best she could. And she was the best Nino has ever seen work with kids.

It took a few months before Nino could get up the courage to ask Marinette out on a date. He took her to a nice restaurant. He learned that she was about to launch her own brand, thanks to the help of Audrey Bourgeois.

He soon gained traction with his music. He even managed to film a few short films, when Marinette could baby sit for it.

It took him a year to finally kiss Marinette. She tasted so sweet.

It took him a month after that for them both to say 'I love you'.

It took him two years to ask her to marry him. She, of course, said yes.

Marinette's brand took off, Nino's music and directing was a hit. They were content, with their beautiful daughter, Daphné.

---

Alya scowled as she checked her phone. Why the hell wasn't Lila texting her back? She had promised Alya tickets to this premiere.

At the age of thirty eight-thirty, Alya still had little to no patience. And very little in ways of reining in her temper. Not that she really had to for anyone; her family wouldn't talk to her, neither would any of her old friends. All of the jobs she got were so jealous of her, they always found faults in her and fired her.

Whatever. She'd make it big. When she heard about this new upcoming director, she knew she had to try and score an interview for the blog she still kept. Then people would be begging to hire her.

But Lila never replied.

With a huff of frustration, Alya adjusted the tight black dress she wore. It was from when she was nineteen, but she was blind to it being far too small, it hugging her body in a very unflattering light.

She pushed her way through the crowd lining one side of the red carpet before the theatre. She glared at one of the security guards keeping her behind the velvet rope, before taking out her phone. She just had to get an interview!

She watched as the actors in the movie strode by. She called out their names, but didn't get a response.

Then the director stepped out from a stretch limousine. And Alya felt her heart skip a beat.

Nino looked so handsome. So tall and professional in his suit. With a stunning woman on his arm, dressed in a floor length, body hugging gown. She looked perfect, and it made Alya's jaw clench in jealousy.

She recognized the woman. It was Marinette. Of course it was Marinette, it was always Marinette, the liar...

Her heart stop at the next person to leave the limo. A young woman with long, dark wavy hair and golden eyes. She looked to be in her late teens, and beamed at her parents with obvious joy.

"D- Daphné!" The name was out of Alya's mouth before she realized. Her daughter's golden eyes landed on her birth mother and her brows drew together in confusion, no recognition flashing in them.

"Daphné, hurry up, we can't be late!" Marinette had stopped with Nino, and was smiling brightly at her daughter.

"Coming Maman!" Daphné rushed over to catch up, and the family of three posed for a few pictures, before heading inside.

And Alya stood there, shellshocked. And she stood there, even when everyone left. Even when the movie started inside. Even when it began to rain. And she began to cry.

Taglist: @vixen-uchiha @ravennightingaleandavatempus @2sunchild2 @crazylittlemunchkin @bee-wrecker @souleateralicestein @loysydark @kceedraws @virgil-is-a-cutie @sidessunnybumblebee @persephonebutkore @18-fandoms-unite-08 @suzen23smith @luciferge @theelventhgod @noirdots @space--butterflies @ghostglaceon @magicalfirebird @goggles-mcgee @chocolate1721 @realrandomposts

#alya salt #miraculous salt #ninette

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gaylotusthatexists · 4 years

Note

Maybe take the blame for bad things happen bingo where Patton takes the blame for smthing. Maybe while in the imanation and makes the dragon witch mad. It just seems like a very patton thing to do.

searching for his prince

fandom: sanders sides

pairing: platonic moceit, platonic intruality

prompt: taking the blame

trigger warnings: blood mention, fighting, crying, implied past unsympathetic/morally grey patton

word count: 2092

a/n: this is written for the @badthingshappenbingo! and it is also a sequel to this fic bc i couldn’t help myself. idk if this is exactly what you were looking for anon, but it does in fact include the dragon witch so :) yeah i’m sorry about this but hope you enjoy

ao3

Patton didn't quite know how he felt, following Deceit around the Imagination. On the one hand, Deceit seemed... kind. Willing to help Patton, at least. Which was more than what could be said for the others, who'd apparently forgotten all about him, left him to suffer all alone. But this was Deceit he was talking about! How could he know that Deceit wasn't planning something else? That this was all out of the goodness of his heart and not just to take advantage of Patton?

No, that couldn't be it. Patton knew that Deceit couldn't be all bad - if he was, then why would he help Patton? Why would he offer to take him back home?

Unless he wasn't taking him back home, unless he was just luring him into a trap, unless...

"What are you doing in the Imagination, anyway?" Deceit asked, glancing over at Patton.

Patton fixed his eyes on the ground ahead. "I came to check on Roman. But couldn't find him, obviously."

"You know it's dangerous in here," Deceit said. "Why would you put yourself in danger for Roman?"

Patton blinked. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Oh, Morality." Deceit looked at him with pity in his eyes. "You should be looking out for yourself, you know. Roman can handle himself well enough here, without any aid from anyone else. You shouldn't put yourself in danger for his sake."

"But... he'd do the same for me," Patton argued.

Deceit raised an eyebrow. "Would he now?"

"Y-Yeah, he-" Patton thought back to how he felt hidden behind that rock, waiting for Roman to arrive, to save him, only for... "I, uh, well, if he knew that I was in trouble, I'm sure that he'd come."

Deceit smiled, sadly. "Was he in trouble when you came to check on him?"

Patton closed his eyes, trying to think. "No. Maybe. I don't know." He took a deep breath. "We had an argument, I think, and he came here to take a breather, so a while after I came as well to... apologise, I guess, and..."

"You couldn't find him," Deceit finished, to which Patton nodded. "Perhaps if you'd just had an argument, he didn't want to be found. Maybe that's why he didn't come to save you."

Patton's eyes widened. Oh. Oh no. That... That would make sense. He couldn't quite remember what the argument had been about, but the memories were slowly starting to come back, and... well, Roman didn't reacted very well, at all. Roman was never good in arguments, he didn't like to lose, so of course he'd ran away, and... it was all Patton's fault. Roman could actually be in danger right now, and it would be Patton's fault.

"I'm not saying he doesn't care for you," Deceit continued, "but, chances are, he may be angry at you."

"This is my fault," Patton muttered. "I went too far. He-"

"I sincerely doubt that it's your fault, Morality," Deceit said. "In all honesty, I don't think you can do any wrong."

Patton let go of Deceit's hand, moving to rub his own palm. "I can, though. I make so many mistakes, all the time, and now... what if Roman's in danger right now?"

"He's not in danger," Deceit promised.

"How do you know?"

Deceit hesitated. "Well, uh, truthfully, I don't, but he's strong enough to not get himself into any major trouble. He controls this place, I don't think he's capable of losing a fight here."

"You're lying," Patton mumbled, rubbing his arm. "Roman's lost fights before here. He's come back to the Mind Palace bruised and hurting and always comes to me for help. But he-"

A worried expression settled on Deceit's face. Patton couldn't tell if it was because he was scared for Roman, or scared for Patton. "Listen, Morality, Roman will only get hurt in here if he allows himself to, uh-"

Patton's eyes widened. After... After the things that Patton had said, Roman would allow himself to get hurt. He always did. Whenever he came back all hurt, it was because he'd just had a rough time with the others, maybe an argument with Virgil, or maybe something bad had happened to Thomas' ego. And- And maybe he wasn't purposely allowing himself to lose, maybe he just wasn't in the right mind frame, but... well, he wasn't in the right mind frame now, either. He'd left the Mind Palace crying, screaming and shouting, and Patton had thought that maybe he just wanted attention, but-

He stopped walking. "I have to go find him," Patton whispered, stepping away from Deceit and sprinting back in the opposite direction, eyes darting around wildly in search of his prince.

"Morality!" Deceit called, but it was too late. Patton had made up his mind. He was going.

He ran and ran and ran until he couldn't breathe anymore and needed to rest. He collapsed onto the ground, curling up into a ball and quietly crying, which didn't particularly help with his lack of breath. He could hear roars in the distance, fighting, stomping, the ground almost shaking below him, and things were not going good. He was right back to where he started, afraid for his own life, alone with no prince coming to rescue him.

And the footsteps, the shouting, the fighting was getting closer. He hugged himself tighter, sheltering his head with his arms, his body shaking and brain quietly praying for everything to stop.

"Patton?"

Patton opened one eye, peeking out at the scene in front of him. Remus was bent over him, looking at him with confusion.

"Remus?" Patton whispered. He took several deep breaths, trying to compose himself, before sitting up and wiping the tears out of his eyes. "What are you-"

A dragon swooped overhead and Patton sucked his head again, as Remus glanced up and grinned. "Be right back, Old Blood 'n' Guts."

Patton closed his eyes, not wanting to witness whatever Remus was getting himself into. A moment later, Remus returned, blood dripping down his mace and his leg. He squatted down next to Patton.

"Why aren't you with Deceit?" he asked, tilting his head. Patton noticed there was blood stuck in his hair, as well, and all over his cheeks, and Patton tried his best not to think about where that could have come from.

"I have to save Roman," he said. "Deceit wouldn't let me."

Remus raised an eyebrow. "What, is Roman in trouble?"

"Yes," Patton said, before frowning. "Maybe. I don't know. But Deceit said-"

Remus pulled Patton up off the ground. "C'mon, if he's in danger then we haven't a moment to lose!"

He began to skip away, and Patton jogged over to join him. "Why would you care about Roman?" he asked, recalling how many times Remus had straight up attempted to murder Roman.

"He's my brother," Remus said.

Patton frowned. "You hate him, though?"

"I don't hate him."

"You're always trying to murder him."

"Yeah, he's annoying sometimes," Remus said. "And only I'm allowed to murder him. I don't want someone else to get 'round to it before I do."

That concerned Patton, to say the least.

"Also, I've ran out of dragons to kill here, so..."

Patton glanced down to the floor. "You... don't think Roman might actually die, do you?"

"Nah," Remus said. "I don't think he can die. Unless Thomas dies, I guess. Oh, what do you think will happen to us when Thomas dies?"

"I don't want to think about that."

"I do, though!"

"Think about it in your own head, and I will... not."

Remus pouted. "You're no fun."

The two walked across the fields of the Imagination, eventually coming across a tall tower. It... looked to be a similar style to the buildings in Roman's realm in the Imagination, but they couldn't have been there - Patton suspected he was closer to the Dark Imagination, and he didn't recognise this specific tower.

Remus hummed. "Big tower. No entrance. Yeah, this seems like the kind of place a kidnapped person would be held."

"Kidnapped?" Patton repeated. "Who said anything about kidnapping?"

Remus shrugged. "You're the one who said Roman might be in trouble."

"I didn't say he'd been kidnapped."

"Held hostage, then," Remus tried.

Patton fiddled with his fingers. "How do we get up there if there's no entrance?"

Before Remus could reply, someone landed in front of them, a smirk on her face. Red, scaly skin, a pair of thin, long wings spread out behind her, talons for hands. Oh. Perfect.

Remus got into a battle stance, swinging his mace around his shoulder. "What have you done with Roman?"

The Dragon Witch tilted her head. "Roman?"

"We know you have him," Remus continued. "Where is he?"

Patton was shaking. Again. He'd never personally met the Dragon Witch, but Roman had told him all about her, about his many battles with her, about all the times he'd lost to her. She seemed to be about the only person in the Imagination he ever lost to.

"Oh, Roman," the Dragon Witch mused. "I saw him a few days ago. Seemed pretty upset."

"What did you do with him?"

"He's just staying with me for now, until he feels better. Don't worry, I'm taking good care of him."

She'd taken him. Roman could be hurt, and it was Patton's fault. All because he'd...

He shouldn't have shouted at Roman. It was a bad thing, for him to have done. He knew that Roman got insecure, and that he took things too seriously sometimes, and... he knew that he looked up to Patton, that he thought Patton cared about him. And of course Patton cared about him, he loved Roman, he loved all of them, but... maybe he'd been a little harsh on Roman. Maybe he'd taken things a little too far.

"It's my fault," Patton whispered. "It's my fault he's upset."

"Patton-"

Tears were forming in Patton's eyes. He just wanted to go home. He wanted to be back in the Mind Palace, huddled up with Roman on the sofa, holding him tight, with Logan reading a book to the side and Virgil sprawled over the stairs with his headphones on full blast. Things used to be like that - why weren't they now? Now Roman was upset, all because of him, and... and he was stuck in the Imagination with no way to help Roman.

He could try. He ran forwards, a determined expression forming across his face. But the Dragon Witch was having none of it. Her talons ripped through Patton's skin and he fell to the floor, clutching the wound forming on his leg, then his arm, then his cheek. She wasn't stopping. And Remus wasn't helping.

"Patton!" a voice shouted.

Patton took in a deep breath and stretched out his body, kicking the Dragon Witch off him and shuffling to the side, leaning against the tower. Remus had disappeared, replaced by... Deceit. Deceit was back. And he'd called him Patton - not Morality, Patton.

"Patton, are you-" He ducked below the Dragon Witch and slid up besides Patton. "Are you okay?"

"Deceit," was all that Patton could muster.

Deceit grabbed hold of Patton and clicked his fingers. For a moment, everything went dark, and a weird feeling settled in Patton's stomach, a sinking sensation that made him feel almost sick. And things stayed dark, but objects began to appear in Patton's vision, a lamp to his side slowly spreading light around the room. He was sat - no, laid on a bed, in Deceit's arms. He sank into Deceit's clutch, crying into his shoulders. Deceit stiffened up, seeming surprised, but soon rolled with it and awkwardly pat Patton on the back. Patton tightened his grip on the back of Deceit's cloak.

After a few minutes of crying, Patton drew back, wiping away his tears and sniffling. That hadn't been nice. The Dragon Witch just-

Oh. Oh no. Roman was still-

"Calm down," Deceit said, softly. "Roman's alright."

"He isn't. The Dragon Witch hurt him, and it's my fault, and-"

"It isn't your fault," Deceit said, firmly. "If Roman is hurt, you can't be held accountable for that."

"But I-"

"You made a mistake," Deceit said. "People do that all the time. If Roman is hurt, you can't take the blame, it's whoever hurt him that is at fault."

Patton glanced down. He leant back towards Deceit, allowing him to wrap an arm around his shoulders and hold him tight.

"Roman will be okay, Morality," he said, stroking his fingers through his hair. "You'll be okay."

#bad things happen bingo #taking the blame #patton sanders #janus sanders #remus sanders #roman sanders #platonic moceit #platonic intruality #my writing #my fanfic #my fanfiction

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queenharumiura · 4 years

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|･ω･｀) + my urls, shamelessly.

Send me |･ω･｀) + a URL and I’ll talk about this blog! ||Accepting||

Mmnnnnn so both urls that I know you by being canipazzii and this one (inured). I don’t even know the point/theme to this meme since it’s not really clear, but this is my chance to talk about ANYTHING MUAAHAHAHAHAHAH.

From what I recall, we met via your Canipazzii blog, at least the one before you moved to a new blog but same url. From that move came this blog as well. Now, if there is another url that i’m missing-- I apparently had no idea that you followed me on more blogs;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; you should totes tell me if I’m missing one. As far as I know it’s just these two blogs that I know you for. 0w0;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

ANYWHOO, when we first met each other, I do recall we did talk a bit via im, and I think I found out that we are basically an am/pm flip time-wise. For that reason, it’s hard to get into contact sometimes because of timezones.

For a time, you disappeared because of school. I feel like I vaguely recall you apologizing for that (bc you replied late to an im I sent) and it’s like no no no, it’s totes mcgoats okay. School is very important, don’t apologize for that please.

I am 1000% okay with someone prioritizing their studies. I am very much patient so you don’t have to worry about me. As long as I know I haven’t been forgotten, I can wait for a very long time, trust me. I’ve waited 2 years for a reply before with no problems. (actual 2 years. In our defense, we were both busy with school and she got really sick.) I really don’t mind waiting.

As long as you are comfortable and happy, I’ll be happy! So I hope that you don’t stress when it comes to me.

If I recall, when you followed me (still shocked that it happened), I do think that’s when the KHR fandom started coming back. I’m pretty sure that’s the case bc I started getting more KHR people following me and I was ;;;;;????? What’s this? This hasn’t happened before----

Neo was a very confused bean to say the least.

To add, your muses were associated with the Varia and so following Haru had me shooketh. I think you found my Hibari blog shortly after Haru’s. I do recall that and I do think I told you later on //cough ahhh btw Hibari’s blog is also me so like--- uh... do feel free to reach out to me on this blog

lol bc I was still struggling to just remember to visit his blog all the time to check ims;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

Where was I? Eh- basically, the fact that you followed me on both blogs and was willing to RP with Haru had me shook since that’s a rarity in my time as Haru mun. So I was very excited to meet someone who wanted to RP with Haru from a KHR fandom standpoint. I don’t have much experience with that, i’m afraid. So I was nervous at first, but also very excited.

Now, to make a small confession.

I did make the au primarily because: ‘lol but imagine if Haru was associated with the Varia rather than the 10th gen gaurdians’ but I did actually make the AU because I do recall that some of your KHR muses had associations with the Varia and I was like-- huh... that may make interactions easier.

Hence, I ended up making an AU. Then I kinda just-- waited for the next time we’d talk, since I didn’t want to bother you while you were busy with classes. Then I was not so casually btw I have a Haru Varia Au--- if you’re interested--- lol.

So there’s that confession. I had a lot of fun making the AU. I wouldn’t have thought to actually make the AU if not for your blog, honestly. So I want to say ‘thanks!’ for that.

Like the idea was funny, but I don’t think anyone would have interacted with that au so I wouldn’t have made it. Though with your blog, I thought-- maybe I can try it out. I ended up really liking the AU I made so i’m very content with the decision to do so.

I was also really grateful that you thought well of my OCs when I sent the information of them over by doc. It’s always nice to have validation and I was happy to get the praise that you thought I wrote out their backstory well. It made me smile.

Speaking of smile. There was that positivity thing that you did a lil while back. I was surprised by what you had to write about me. It’s a huge honor for me to know that I was able to make someone more interested in Haru who was only okay with her initially. I strive to show off more of Haru through my writing, and to show off her potential as she gets older.

I was so happy to see that you think that I am full of good ideas and that you think I write well. I think that your variety of muses with their own different backgrounds are very fun and intriguing! You write enough on the characters to give a good idea of who they are.

Perhaps one day in the future you can write more on their backstory. You did mention that you would consider trying that out via our convo in discord. If you do, I wish you all the luck! I’m sure you’ll do great! You’ve designed some very interesting characters, so i’m sure you’ll be able to beautifully craft equally as wonderful background stories for them. ^^

Of the times we talked, you seemed very easy going and understanding, so that’s always a plus! Temperament gives off the feel of a very gentle person, so I think I felt comfortable around you pretty quickly. I’ve read a few of the threads you’re involved with (including the ones we have of course), and I think you write well.

Always fascinating to see the different voices that will appear on the dash, so it’s always a treat to see when you’re active. ^^ I hope this was along the lines of what you were hoping to see in the meme!

#Inured #meme answered #answered ask #thanks for the ask!#long post #Neo speaks

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verobatto · 5 years

Text

"Let's come back to the day we met..."

Destiel First Encounter Melancholy (14x07 spoiler)

Ok, fellows... My beautiful, beautiful fandom... I'm a little sad today bc something I posted as a crack thing... Now is not so crack...

Let me show you...

So yes, people, sadly... They are not ok with each other...

Sam... The third wheel

This isn't fresh news... But... Lately, I saw Sammy more in the middle than never... Bc if you remember that time when Dean came back from Possession, Cas asked Sammy how he was. Well... Now...

Gif credit @deanwinchestir

Ok... Yeah. Again... Trying to know how is Dean doing through Sammy. This is the kind of stuffs you do when you are mad at someone but still want to know how is he going? Yeah, you ask his brothers or friends.

This is my impression... IDK if this distance or avoidance is bc Dean disappointed him or is bc he knows there's a direct open line between a vessel and the Archangel that possessed him.

If you recall this moment, could be related to what we are seeing now (leaving to a side my other crazy spec about Dean is in a kind of dream) those blurry eyes from Dean could be this direct line, and he could be spying TFW. That could explain why he knew about Sergei, and probably, convince the shaman to give Cas Michael's grace as an experiment.

So..., All of this is not unknown by Cas. So he could be cautious in his interactions with Dean's perhaps? And not just bc he is mad at him...

But... To be mad at him, my first premise, would explain too why he didn't go for the hug... Many people, you can say...? But I do remember this...

In front of Mary...

And this one...

...in front of so many angels...

Then... "Many people" or "unknown people" in the room, never was an impediment to Cas going for the hug... Isn't?

So, Cas... Asking Sam how Dean is doing??? Is not a good sintom.

So close, but so distant

Ok, so here is something we were talking with @mrsaquaman187 last night, bc Dean and Cas looked so close physically in each frame, but else, they were distant.

Bc Cas is focused in Jack and Dean is focused In healing.

In this episode we saw how Dean was working his GUILT with Jack, it was mentioned by Sam, that he felt guilty bc in a first time he wanted to kill Jack bc he thought he was the cause of Cas's death.

And now this kid won the hearts of this three dads, including Dean. So Dean, as the BIG PROTECTOR he is of this family, he decided to fulfill Jack's last desires.

So, and I want to mention here my friend @emblue-sparks pointed something so so beautiful about this dad and son date...

So yes... A barn again... Remembering Cas with melancholy again. Why is Dean like this? Is he feeling he screwed up thing with Cas saying yes to Michael? Is he ashamed? Is he sending Cas being away from him bc he just sees him as a friend? Or bc he hurted him? This GUILT, as I said before, is the heritage from John Winchester and the biggest impediment for Dean to love himself and freely love others. So, GUILT, GUILT and GUILT.

And he just want to come back to those days when everything was different... And he was Cas's mission again...

Not even looking back at him in the eye as he always did... He always received Cas eyes back at him when he searched for it... But now Cas has eyes just for his son. His new mission.

I wish I could...

And then, in the middle of all this sadness... Something in Jack words were like... A light at the end of a tunnel...

And not... Dean didn't do this things with his dad, so... What is that supposed to mean?

And then...

So... Hearing a child that is about to die with so much wisdom, has to be very hard and uncomfortable to Dean... And besides that... Hearing him saying that... "YOU WILL REGREAT NOT DOING THINGS THAT YOUR HEART WISHED TO DO. BC WHAT REALLY MATTERS IN LIFE IS SPEND TIME DOING BEAUTIFUL MOMENTS WITH THE PEOPLE YOU LOVE.," ,

That's the lesson to learn today, Dean. Do what your heart wants to do.

If you already know what you want... Just do it, or you'll regreat it... And you won't have any memories from it to miss.

Let's come back to the day we met...

So... Where is the story line of Destiel going with all of this???

All this melancholy coming from Dean, this distance and avoidance coming from both?

They are in different pages bc words never came right. Bc words are enemies to Dean, bc Cas thinks he doesn't get words wrong.

So... If you came back to 14x06 we had barns on the wall and in this episode, we had a big green barn with blue and red letters... Why so many barns???

Bc 10 years ago... This was what Happened in a barn...

Again... This time traveling that we were spoiled from episode 300 and this so many barns and call backs to this first encounter... Will Dean come back to the first talk he had with Cas???could be this the key to break his wall and learn once for all that...

..do happen, Dean."

And "YOU DESERVE TO BE SAVED, AND LOVED."

(both beautiful gifs from my friend @magnificent-winged-beast , such a talented artist! Thank you!)

So... Maybe Dean needs to come back to the day they met to have that talk again?? Maybe he needs to hear it again... But this time... He has to believe... And change. This Dean from now, will listen differently that the Dean of 10 years ago. He will understand differently too... He will take this words coming from this ancient and wise supernatural being as lessons.

Castiel... Who came to tremble this hunter's world, he gave him 10 years ago the last lesson he needs to learn for truly heal his heart.

IDK if this is a desire, of foreshadow or what... But you were with me when I wrote that season 14 is Foreshadowing the talk between this two, and I truly believe in that. The fact is... Is this first encounter in the barn the talk that Dean needs? We don't know, and we will have to wait +sadly) and see what will happen with this avoidance band distance between them. If this had been settled on purpose or not.... We just need to wait.

Ok... I hope you understand a little of this messy thing... I will write too about Profund Bond as I put in my pre-meta thoughts from 14x07.

Tagging people for the discussion!

@agusvedder @cheerstofandomfamily @lykanyouko @evvvissticante @destielhoneybee @navajolovesdestiel @savannadarkbaby

And everyone else who likes to share their thoughts! Please feel free to do it!

Buenos Aires, December 2nd 2018. 11:40 AM

#destiel meta #destiel anniversary #dean remembers cas melancholically #meta spec season 14 #season 14 forshadowing the talk and the moves #first encounter in the barn #14x07 spoiler #time traveling in season 14 #dean we need to talk

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notesofarichlycolorednight · 6 years

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Why does no one talk about how luke lost siblings pre war? Like like is what 14 when he comes to camp, hes 19 when percy does. Meaning, because he wasnt the cousler when he got to camp one or more of his soblings had to die in the five years he lived at camp. In the five years he lived at camp his brothers and sisters would go home and not come back? How many bodless shrouds did luke have burn???

oh i think

but on this blog, we stan luke castellan

i stanned luke before it was cool, before the word “stan” even existed

i was stanning luke the moment i finished tlt

but, uh, anyway,,,

in a more…coherent way, i think it’s bc a lot of ppl don’t like luke. like at all. and a lot of it stems from two things,,,

1: many ppl, i think, don’t separate kronos from luke and luke from kronos. OR, they don’t fully grasp just how manipulative kronos was, and how far someone can go when they are being manipulated. OR, they could not do both of those things and still hate luke, and that’s fine and fair. they’re entitled to their opinion

2: the whole “did you love me” scene, when luke was dying

and i know this isn’t what you’re asking for–in fact your question at the beginning of your ask is probably more rhetorical than anything–but like i said, i stan luke castellan, and i have a lot of feelings abt this topic. so i’m going to break down my points, and then talk abt his life at chb before percy showed up, regarding the deaths of his siblings

which is my usual at this point so, ya know,,,

what are you gonna do

as usual, hcs under the cut

one

1a: sometimes i get the feeling that some think luke and kronos were basically one in the same? and that luke is completely and wholly responsible for his actions throughout the series. which is wrong. he’s not, he was being severely manipulated by a titan; misled, misguided, and used. kronos was taking something that already existed in luke and twisting it to his own gains. additionally, after kronos possess him, he’s no longer in control of his actions. he’s trapped in his own body, while kronos pulls the strings, quite literally.

1b: i also get the feeling that sometimes ppl don’t quite understand how manipulation and gaslighting can effect your ability to think for yourself, to think clearly abt a lot of things at all. or, swinging in the other direction, perhaps think too much abt everything. for this post, it’s the former. manipulation is subtle and insidious, you start to do and say things you wouldn’t normally think you’d do or say for fear of punishment, whether it be physical, emotional, and/or psychological from the other. manipulation like that is abuse, and luke was being abused by kronos. so he is not completely and wholly responsible for his actions throughout the series

1c: finally, ppl may very well recognize these two things–that luke and kronos were two separate entities, and that manipulation can be a terribly powerful and destructive tool used against ppl–and still decide to hate him. and ya know, that’s fine. we’re all entitled to how we feel abt fictonal characters. at the end of the day, agree to disagree

two

a lot of ppl hate him also bc of the question he asked annabeth in tlo, a dying man’s inquiry

and a lot of ppl interpreted it as romantic. and therefore, rightfully so, saw that as disgusting, considering luke is considerably older (6 to 7 yrs, at least).

not only that, but luke oftentimes used annabeth’s crush on him against her (whether he knew annabeth’s love was romantic or familial at that time, who’s to say; i mean i say that he didn’t realize annabeth had a crush on him for a very long time, he probably mostly saw it as familial, bc he is considerably older)–i think the biggest example of that would be when he got annabeth to hold the sky for him bc he knew if she saw him in pain, she would help him, no question, bc she loved him. that i can’t really argue against. i will say he was still being deeply manipulated by kronos, but it’s still a p despicable thing to do just in general

the infamous question he asks annabeth, i see as way more complicated. i think since we’re in percy’s head, it’s meant to seem romantic, considering percy could tell immediately annabeth had a crush on luke at the beginning of tlt, and percy, himself, had completely fallen, head-over-heels in love with annabeth at that point in time.

i see the question as familial, as well as romantic love, but not in the way you think. i felt it was him almost checking to see the depth of annabeth’s romantic love she felt for him–was it just a crush, or has she deeply and truly fallen in love with me? i think he knew she’d fallen in love with percy (even if it took him a while to figure out she had a crush on him). his question was more a check, rather than a, “oh i’m going to ask this girl who is 7 yrs younger than me if she loves me romantically.” but also one of familial love. her answer is implied to be strictly romantic, but luke knows that annabeth’s always loved him, and he’s checking to see if not romantic, than still as family. i.e., “but, no, i didn’t love you in that way”

bonus! three

and look, before you get all indignant and ready to pull receipts, i’m not a luke apologist

i recognize that him being manipulated, and not fully in control of his actions, does not excuse the fact that he still committed them. i am fully aware that he was not a good person, and that he did terrible things

but i also recognize that for one, he wasn’t entirely in control or himself bc of the manipulating kronos was doing to him (which does count for something in the grand scheme of things, even if it does not excuse his actions), and two he had a point abt the gods. the gods are fucking awful. they ain’t shit, and they care little abt their own fucking children.

[aside] hey so cool concept: if you don’t want to put in the effort to do the bare minimum for you children…DON’T HAVE CHILDREN. wild i know. and for gods??? the bare minimum would be like claiming them, and making sure their cabins are the least bit comfortable to live in, which they could do, literally with a snap of their fingers, which would take less than a second. the bar is on the fucking ground. if you’re gonna try and give me the Ancient Laws shit, first of all it was clearly shown throughout the pjo and hoo series, the gods often help demigods, even if they aren’t “““““supposed to interfere””””” so that’s a weak argument. second of all, for bigger things, like getting them to camp or smth, well why not find adults who maybe can take care of them??? maybe it’s a bit idealist sure, but adults should fucking know better. not to mention, the fact that i wish older ppl would care and take care of younger ppl is me being ideal speaks for itself. i recognize not every single person can be the perfect parent, but we can sure as hell try to get close

luke did those things bc he thought he was helping demigods–he started doing it for them and it spun wildly out of control bc kronos is a titan, he’s ruthless, and wanted to kill the gods for his own gain. he didn’t care abt luke, but he’d gladly use luke to achieve his goal. by the time luke realized that, it was already too late. but anyway, /tangent

i can completely understand luke’s motivations, while also understanding that his methods were not the way to go abt change. and that’s another thing abt it, is that i feel like many in the fandom take a very black-and-white perspective on his character, when it’s much more complicated than that

there’s a post going around, talking abt how antagonists and villains should be relatable, bc it reminds us not to go there. and i think a lot of ppl should really take that to heart. i can like a character, but not the person. i don’t idealize luke is any sense of the word. i am aware of all his flaws.

now, first i would like to point out that the rules of becoming head counselor don’t have to involve death. i’m sure with demigods, they often do, but there are two other options: 1) two competing head counselors have a chat and agree on who should be head counselor or 2) they battle each other, and whoever is victorious becomes head counselor

it’s a safe bet that that probably happened quite a lot in the hermes cabin, considering how many demigods resided in there before the second titan war (tho i imagine chiron at least tried (???) to make sure legit only children of hermes become head counselors, bc it is...well...the hermes cabin).

but, as i said before, they are demigods, and so it’s another safe bet that their head counselors were often lost to death

it’s hard to say just how many of luke’s siblings were lost to death, but let’s look at the timeline here real quick. in tlt, luke says that he screwed everything up for everyone else, bc after his quest went so awry, chiron stopped letting kids out of camp to go on quests...which thinking abt it now, almost doesn’t make sense.

i mean, the fact that luke failed so miserably and came back horribly scarred was the catalyst the made chiron stop letting ppl out, but demigods literally dying on quests didn’t???? uuuuuummmmmm?????????

and we can extrapolate from the spoils in the attic of the big house that a lot of campers did die on their quests

i mean, maybe it was also bc chiron had a feeling the great prophecy was getting nearer and nearer to being fulfilled, and he decided after luke failed his quest--a close call like that--he didn’t want to risk any other demigods’ lives anymore until the prophecy began, bc war takes a lot of lives, but still, that’s p fucked up logic

/tangent

anyway, so i think luke was at camp for abt 3 yrs before he finally got a quest of his own. so luke had three yrs at camp to lose siblings to death.

i mean, going by how much luke fought to get his own quest, hermes’ children probably didn’t get a lot of issued quests (more evidence abt how others see hermes as a god, despite him still being a major god).

but, for argument’s sake, let’s say that before the great prophecy became too real for chiron to let out kids on other quests, abt 5-10 quests were issued for each full yr, depending on how long the quest itself would take (tho we’ve seen that a lot of things can be accomplished in v little time, so that’s why my estimation has a lot of variation)

[aside] these numbers are completely and utterly arbitrary, i’m totes making this up as i go

and for more argument’s sake, let’s say that the hermes cabin were issued at least half of those, since they have so many kids--maybe even some of the undertermined kids were issued a quest and as a reward would get to know who their godly parent is (wow, that’s just so shitty, where did my mind come up with that)

and i imagine, even tho they were undetermined, luke felt like they were siblings all the same bc everyone, even children of hermes, were miserable in that cabin. it was jam-packed, crammed, with no breathing space. and some of them in there had completely given up that they’d ever find out who their godly parent was bc their godly parent didn’t care abt them at all

luke hated seeing that. so when a quest was issued to anyone in his cabin, and they didn’t come back, that probably took a serious toll on his mental health. not to mention only did to feed his anger and hatred toward the gods. esp if he thought that the kid was only doing it to find out who their godly parent was

bc they get at least half of the quests during the yr, across 3 yrs, luke probably lost from 5-15 of his siblings, and those he considered siblings.

i have a hc that he cares quite a lot abt his half-siblings. for as much as he hates his father, his siblings didn’t do anything to be ignored like he is, and as luke grows older, he probably takes on kinda father-figure. like if hermes isn’t gonna step up, then luke will he just kinda went abt it the wrong way, with the whole kronos thing...

i imagine, also, that he sometimes lost his siblings when they would sneak out of camp. i mean, from what little glimpse into luke’s life we got before he started trying to take over the world, he made it sound like the hermes kids often snuck out of camp to get things from new york proper like junk food. and it’s more dangerous for them outside the borders, so it’s safe to say that if they were in the wrong place at the wrong time and met a monster they were unprepared to face, they most likely died.

that only increases the number of siblings he lost over those 5 yrs before precy got to camp.

i think tho, those that went on quests and died would have more impact, bc it’s obvious his siblings dying after sneaking out didn’t dissuade him from still sneaking out. but luke was probably more careful abt it

actually, jk, it probably affected him A Lot. and hc that that’s part of the reason he trained so hard with a sword--he probably told his siblings that he’d be the only one going out of camp for any bargaining chips, didn’t matter if he was directly involved or not. and bc he was so good with a sword, he’d be better equipped to handle tougher monsters.

with every lost sibling, i imagine luke throws himself into sword-fighting and masking his grief and pain with anger and hatred even more--it grows exponentially, and never hits a ceiling. he probably blames the gods to bury the fact that he actually blames himself. bc if he accepts that he blames himself that means he also wasn’t strong enough to protect his siblings

it’s easier to blame the gods and train so that maybe one day he’ll be strong enough to protect his siblings. that’s another motivation behind why he decides to join kronos and lead his army until kronos can reform/find a host. kronos promises to make him strong enough to protect not just his siblings, but all demigods who have been thrown to the wayside by the gods--no more useless quests that needlessly take their lives, just to get their godly parents to “““““approve””””” of them

i’m sure he gets tired of feeling powerless, and sometimes the grief is so overwhelming he hides in the forest and lets himself feel for once, but not willing to let anyone else see him break. then he somehow puts himself back together, more determined than ever to become powerful enough to make it stop. at the very least, make it stop happening so frequently.

hmmm, not sure if this is what you asked for, but this is where my brain went. not quite happy with it, i feel like i keep saying the same thing abt luke over and over again but in varying ways, but i did add some new hcs

if you wanna send in another ask with some of yours ideas, i think my brain would be able to use that as a springboard and come up with more specific hcs

as always, thanks for sending this in!!! i know i say this with every ask, but i really do enjoy thinking/discussing these things ^_^ it’s always fun to interact with the fandom for me

FEED ME SEYMOUR

#girlygirlbishop #luke castellan #pjo meta #pjo hcs #asked and answered #washingdad writes

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yourprayer · 6 years

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“Quitting time at the plant. Time for supper now. Time for families. Time for a cool drink on a porch. Time for the quiet rustle of leaf-laden trees that screen out the moon. And underneath it all, behind the eyes of the men, hanging invisible over the summer night, is a horror without words. For this is the stillness before storm. This is the eve of the end.”

a twilight zone inspired one shot

based on the episode “third from the sun”

this is my it fandom secret admirer gift exchange (@itfandomsecretadmirers) present for @reddiesetrichie ! i hope you enjoy this piece, and i hope this is close enough to your interests i not so sneakily asked you about (x so sorry this is late! i hate being an adult with a job asdikkfdckj

pairings: reddie, stenbrough, benverly

word count: 12.5k

warnings: swearing, allusions to sexual activity, smoking/drinking, mild depictions of violence + to avoid spoilers, i will say only that this piece centers around a fairly heavy political subject. please proceed with caution as you read as this may be upsetting to those easily upset by political turmoil. remember that this is fiction & for fun, don’t stress yourself out/upset yourself over it! i won’t be offended if you don’t read bc it is too heavy. this is in no way intended to be a proclamation of something to come (i mean only that im not trying to say i think this is going to happen; im not trying to scare you. this is just based on the episode, and that’s what it happens to be about. this was written in the 60s for the sole purpose of being an interesting and compelling piece of sci fi. im using it for the same thing) this is getting long winded but basically, if you have any questions about content before you read, shoot me an ask and i’ll tell you privately bc i don’t want to spoil the twist for anyone. i just thought it would be really fun to do a twilight zone au, but this show can be very thought provoking, sometimes in a scary way.

the twilight zone is available on hulu, netflix and cbs all access! i recommend watching the ep before (or after, if you don’t want spoilers!) reading this piece but its not necessary! heres a link to the ep free online if you have none of those services, but the picture is off center so i recommend the services over this! + the opening theme to get you in the mood!

youtube

Richie Tozier sighed, shifting his identification card from one hand to the other in impatience. The sun had just began its descent from its highest point in the sky, and the heat of the afternoon started to seep into his skin through the heavy work suit he was wearing. Why his supervisors insisted they come to the factory is full dress attire was beyond him, but it was his own fault for leaving the suit jacket on. It was quittin’ time after all; he could just take it off. Perhaps it was the nervousness and distractions of the day that made him disregard the possibility altogether.

To say his mind was not on the task at hand would be quite the understatement. He could barely count with both hands the number of pieces he’d fudged the fabrication of; his average was usually two or three, but on this day, he knew he’d reached double digits. He almost laughed to himself, catching his mind thinking of the next weekly review; his boss, red-faced and shaking, telling him off for wasting materials. It would be quite a sight, quite a sight for a laugh, if it ever came to be.

Yes, he almost laughed to himself.

Almost.

“Mills, Germ Warfare Research.” The bored voice of the gate guard cut off his wandering thoughts as he stepped forward in line. The man in front of him had his card read and his person pursued for any out of place items or (as he knew was the real protocol) smuggled machinery by the two uniformed men minding the exit from the factory grounds. No matter the department, the employees at the facility were all funneled in a single file line through the one break in the fence, each required to show their employment I.D. upon entering and exiting the property. Richie flicked his own identification card between his fingers in impatience as he waited for the man in front of him to be cleared and begin his trek to the parking lot.

The man cleared the way, and Richie stepped forward, handing his card to the guard on his left.

“Tozier, Hydrogen Armament.” He read aloud, as the guard across from him checked Richie’s name off of a numbered list on his clipboard. “You fellas are getting pretty busy up there, aren’t ya?” The guard questioned conversationally as Richie returned his card to his breast pocket.

“Very.” Richie replied curtly, not wanting to continue the conversation. He stepped out of the line, off to the side of the path of the cars. He knew he should be rushing to get to his vehicle, he knew he shouldn’t be lingering on the premises; but he also knew his supervisor, Mr. Bowers, was just a few feet away, eyeing him suspiciously. I must maintain some image of normalcy, he thought to himself. Deciding it would be best to stick with his usual habits, he reached into the same pocket his card resided in to extract a cigarette and match from their respective packets. His nervous fingers brushed his departmentally issued employee identification button, the numbers that dictated his employee profile printed largely on the face. He sighed heavily, exhaling the smoke from his first drag, attempting to quell any physical signs of his fear that could possibly be showing.

“Hold that light, will you, Tozier?” A voice from over his shoulder jarred him as he went to shake out the match. Suddenly a hand was gripped around his wrist, raising the match towards the tip of another cigarette. The mouth behind the butt and the statement belonged to none other than Bowers himself.

“Long day, wasn’t it?” Bowers said calmly, exhaling his drag as he let Richie extinguish the match. “They’ve got us going full blast, on our end.”

Richie barely dared to give him a nod, averting his gaze as he pinched the end of his cigarette and raised it to his mouth.

“It’s coming, boy.” Richie gritted his teeth at the petty nickname, one Bowers had been using to demean him ever since he’d been hired at the plant. “It’s really coming. A big one, too.” Bowers glanced around conspiratorially. “Even now, as we’re speaking, I’ll bet you anything they’re gearing up.”

Richie swallowed nervously, taking a deep pull with slightly shaking fingers.

Bowers finally looked over at Richie, making eye contact, a frightening edge to his gaze.

“Talk is forty eight hours.”

Richie felt his blood run cold.

“Wait and see if I’m wrong.” Bowers continued, an almost goading tone to his voice as Richie took another neurotic drag. “Forty eight hours, and then…” Bowers’ expression was nearing a sneer, as he raised a hand and mimicked a projectile flying. “Whoosh..” He added the sound effect, opening his closed fist like the opening flower of bomb bay doors on the bottom of a plane. Richie watched his gesture with a clenched jaw, his trepidation and anger growing as Bowers’ fingers continued to stretch open, accentuating his boss’s apathy over the situation. “Then, there goes the enemy.”

“And what are they doing in the meantime?” Richie’s temper got the better of himself, pulling the interjection from his closed teeth, even as his mind screamed at him not to speak, not to reveal his truth.

“What do you mean what are they doing?” Bowers gave him a cross look. “Retaliating, of course, though not nearly in the same fashion as us.” He gave a small, crass laugh. “Big fucking waste of time, you ask me.” Bowers took another drag of his still-lit cigarette. Richie finished his off and crushed it under his heel, trying to push all of his anger out of the bottom of his feet so as to prevent himself from putting in his two cents again. “We get ours in first, then they can’t do much.”

“The can respond, with their own ‘whoosh…’” Richie found himself speaking again, barely able to disguise the frustration and disgust in his voice, the only thing keeping him from repeating Bowers’ gesture was his tightly clenched fist, which he refused to release.

“Oh, they can.” Bowers nearly shrugged, taking another pull. “But not so accurately. Not so powerfully.”

“Then instead of losing a million people, we lose a hundred thousand.” Richie said hardly, his voice rising in anger.

“Dangerous words there Tozier.” Bowers made eye contact again, his gaze piercing. “Not a defeatist, are you?” Richie made no move to respond, only returning the look. “You better watch what you say.”

“And what I think, too.” Richie bit back with a raise of his eyebrows, challenging almost.

“And what you think.” Bowers rejoined.

Richie huffed. “Goodnight, Bowers.” He leaned in, just enough to be in Bowers’ space. “See you tomorrow?” He said pointedly.

Bowers didn’t reply as he watched Richie retreat to his vehicle.

He just... observed.

________________________________________________________________

A light, airy tune floated upstairs as Eddie Tozier (nee Kaspbrak) busied himself with his workload. He could visualize easily in his head his husband downstairs, drink in hand and hips swaying casually to the beat as he began to unwind from a long day at work. Richie would have just arrived home, car parked safely in the garage, tie possibly still yet to be undone, hands still slightly greasy from the machines as he poured his favorite scotch. Eddie smiled at the thought as the music grew a bit louder, and decided that he should make the vision become his reality.

Taking the stairs nearly two at a time, the undone top buttons of his shirt causing the collar to open a bit in the breeze his momentum caused, Eddie rushed down to greet his husband as he did every day.

He was greeted by the sight of Richie, drink in hand, record turning lazily in their player, his back to the stairs.

Two things instantly alerted Eddie that something was off. The first: Richie’s glass contained a considerably greater amount of the amber liquid than his usual. Richie had been a heavy drinker in their youth, and after a particularly nasty bout of alcohol-centered arguments Richie had given in and placed himself on a strict regimen of limitation. The second: he was not, as he always, always did, swaying to his music.

Eddie’s smile fell as he adjusted the spectacles that had been jostled on his way downstairs, pushing the center further up his nose with his middle finger. He pushed his rolled sleeves up just a bit more, a strange way of preparing himself to comfort his husband. He then approached Richie from behind, preparing his winning smile that Richie always maintained could cut through every stressor in his life.

Eddie only prayed that now, it could do its job.

“Hey there, handsome.” Eddie said kindly, sliding a hand around Richie’s waist as he tucked himself into Richie’s side.

“Hey, baby.” Richie turned to him, a pleasant but obviously forced smile plastered on his face. He pulled Eddie into a distracted kiss, setting his drink down and snaking his arms around Eddie’s middle to pull him close. “Where’s Mike?” He asked, pulling away all too soon.

“Outside, begging the new peonies to sprout.” Eddie joked. Mike was their best friend from college, housemate, and avid gardener, who had insisted on landscaping their entire yard. Richie looked towards their sliding glass door that lead to the side garden, and made a move to exit, dropping his hands from Eddie’s back.

“Oh, no you don’t. Not before our dance.” Eddie pouted, placing Richie’s hands back on his own hips and linking his around the taller man’s neck. Richie gave him a ragged smile, for a moment considering joining him in their well practiced sway, but after a moment removed Eddie’s hands and held them in his own, between their chests.

“Some other time, honey. Promise.” Richie said quietly, before releasing Eddie’s hands, picking up his glass, and crossing to the player, turning the music off.

Eddie watched in quiet awe as Richie looked again to the door, then appeared to have thought better of it before crossing the room and sitting heavily on the couch. Richie had never been able to say no to a dance.

“Rich.” Eddie said, concern written plainly on his face and in his speech, as he moved quickly to sit on the coffee table across from his worn out husband.

“Yes, dear?” Richie joked half-heartedly, placing a hand absentmindedly on Eddie’s knee as he took a sip of his drink.

“What’s going on with you?” He placed his hand on top of Richie’s, giving him a pleading look. It was unlike Richie to behave this way, but even more unlike him to admit why. Eddie steeled himself, determined to get an answer out of the man. Richie had been a bit more tense as of late, but had often been fine after a nice massage or a particularly satisfying night spent in bed. But this nervousness and distance he placed Eddie in was downright out of character, and he needed to know exactly what the cause was, so he could destroy it.

“Nothing serious, Eds.” Richie offered that same thin smile, and it set Eddie’s jaw in frustration. Just as he was about to lay into the man, Mike came in through the sliding glass door, wiping the sweat off his brow with a rag.

“Afternoon Rich, how was work?” He called over his shoulder after he spotted Richie, crossing into their kitchen to grab a glass of water.

“Work.” Richie said in a strange tone, taking another drink. “Hey, Mike?” He said after a pause, as the other man appeared in the doorway.

“Yeah?”

“I’m gonna invite everyone over for cards tonight. You’ll be here, right? Bill will want to see you.”

Eddie furrowed his brow, looking from Mike to Richie in confusion. They usually played cards on Fridays…

“Actually, guys, I uh…” Mike paused, taking a nervous sip of his water. “I have a date.” He said with a sheepish smile. “Maybe I could get home a little early, but..” His smile grew, obviously lost in thought of how his date might go.

“Call it off?” Richie said suddenly, worry briefly painting his features, and Eddie’s jaw all but dropped at the sight. On any other day in their normal universe where Richie was his Richie, smiling, joking, often highly inappropriate Richie, there would be congratulations and jokes about ‘making it’ and conspiratorial high-fives between him and his good friend. But here in this strange, hell universe where Richie was changing before Eddie’s very eyes into Richard Wentworth Tozier, a serious man, an alien on his couch where his husband should be, he was asking Mike to cancel a date.

“Rich, I- we’ve been planning this for awhile now, I’m very fond of her-” Mike said, rightfully flabbergasted.

“Please, Mike. I’ve had a terrible day. I’d like a night for us. Everyone, together again.” Richie pressed, giving Mike a solemn look. When he seemed hesitant, Richie extended his plea in a small voice. “Please, Mike? Just us losers.” A small smile at the end.

Eddie and Mike shared a look of concern.

“Sure, I guess.” Mike caved.

“Wunderbar.” Richie smiled, feigning his usual playfulness with his terrible German accent. Eddie noticed straight away there was no soul behind it. “Will you call everyone for me, Michael?” He asked before knocking back the rest of his drink. “I’ve got to have a private conversation with my husband upstairs, if you catch my drift.” He added a wink, some of his old energy creeping back into the conversation. Eddie watched the display in abject horror; this wasn’t Richie, this was a ghost trying on his clothing. No matter how much he tried to act like his rambunctious old self, with each attempt at humor Eddie’s worry grew.

Mike raised an eyebrow, finishing his water. “Sure I will. What time should I tell them?”

“Oh, around seven. Maybe earlier. Not before five, though.” Richie said as he stood and stretched, brushing off Eddie’s hand. Mike raised his eyebrows in confused concern and turned to use the phone. He almost reached it before he paused. “Wait, wasn’t Bill still out of town?”

“He got back this morning.” Richie replied, crossing to the fireplace and pulling another cigarette from his pack, before lighting it quickly.

“Really? I thought they were testing their aircraft all week-”

“They finished.” Richie said simply, his tone indicating the finality of the conversation. He had his back turned to both men as he took a long drag. Eddie stood, turning to look at Mike. Mike raised his eyebrow quizzically, to which Eddie responded with a shake of his head.

I’ll find out. Eddie mouthed to Mike. The other man nodded, and left to make the calls.

Richie finished about half of his cigarette before extinguishing it in the ashtray atop their fireplace. He then turned to exit the room, but was stopped by Eddie’s hand on his arm.

“Rich-”

“I just would like a game of cards, is all.” Richie asserted, not looking at Eddie. “Take my mind off of things.”

He pulled his arm out of Eddie’s grasp, and trudged up the stairs to their room.

“Richard.” Eddie said angrily, stopping at the bottom of the stairs with his hands on his hips. The use of the full name was usually a good way for Eddie to snap his husband back into seriousness; here it was only met with a retreating back. Richie did not stop, just continued until he hit the landing and turned to enter their bedroom, finishing his drink in the process.

Eddie huffed angrily, taking a minute to steal himself before storming up the stairs after him.

Richie stood before their bureau, idly examining a few trinkets spread across its surface. He placed his glass next to a watch their good friend Stanley had given him years ago, at the bachelors party before their wedding. Eddie watched as Richie trailed his long fingers slowly over the face, as if in attempts to memorize its texture.

“Richard.” He repeated. Richie did not turn around. “What is going on?” He demanded as he closed their door.

“Just feeling my years.” Richie said quietly, his shoulders falling.

“You’re thirty seven.” Eddie folded his arms across his chest.

“Touche.” Richie laughed to himself, catching Eddie’s gaze in the mirror above the bureau. Suddenly and without warning he turned, crossing the room easily in a couple of strides, and cupping Eddie’s surprised face in his hands. “But looking at you, dear,” He paused to kiss Eddie quickly. “Your beautiful face,” Eddie rolled his eyes, face reddening, more so as Richie peppered it with kisses. “It’s just reminding me of how old I feel…” He trailed off, gazing into Eddie’s eyes, but not looking, as though his husbands face was not truly there, not looking back at him. He looked instead as though he was glancing back through a pinhole, nostalgia and want written on his features, as his eyes saw not the man in front of him, but the boy he fell in love with. He saw Eddie now as he always did then; young, freckled, glowing. Memories swirled around him abstractly, no specific events coming to mind but rather an amalgamation of the years he’d passed. He thought briefly this was what it must be to have your life flash before your eyes.

After all, he was a dying man.

Eddie watched the display in a cocktail of wonder and horror.

“Richard, I need you to tell me what’s happening.” He said in a near whisper. “I- I don’t know if it’s work, but-”

“No, no, not work.” Richie shook his head, his fondness suddenly dropping off into exasperation as he released his grip on Eddie’s face. “It’s just work, it’s fine.”

“It doesn’t fucking seem like that.” Eddie’s voice raised as Richie turned around again, a hand sliding nervously through his hair.

“It’s just work! I’m just a cog in a machine baby, just a fucking part of the whole damned thing-”

“Richard-”

“Do you know how many men it takes to build a bomb, Edward?” Richie turned back suddenly, a dangerous expression in his eye as he stared down Eddie, still not seeing him. Eddie stared back in shock, bewildered by the strange question and terrified by the expression and the use of his name. Richie never called him Edward, not even in their worst fights, just when he was joking.

“What?” He sputtered, when it seemed the question was apparently un-rhetorical.

“Hundreds. Thousands maybe. I make lugnuts all day, babe, one fucking piece. Someone else cools them down. I operate the press, that’s all I do. All the other tiny pieces and functions, all of them need another person. Construction, assembly, execution… when it’s all said and done there’s so many of us. I’m just one piece. I just pull one lever….” By the end he’d worked himself into a frenzy, hands shaking as they pulled at errant strands of his barely-controlled hair, the curls Eddie had come to love so dearly over all these years protesting angrily against the gel applied that morning. Eddie wanted to jump back to that moment, Richie sitting in his trousers on the end of their bed, shirtless and smiling as Eddie worked the stuff through his hair, jokingly trying to distract him by snapping the waistband of Eddie’s boxers as he tried in vain to control the unruly locks. He wanted to go back so badly, and hold close the man he loved before he could turn into the one he saw now, frightened and frenzied as he rambled nonsense, pacing the self same room. He could not find an answer in his mind as to why his husband had come so undone; but then, he supposed he should have seen it coming, noticed it sooner. Even in that memory of the morning, even in Richie’s light smirk as he snapped the elastic for the twelfth time and looked up at Eddie, he should have seen that heaviness in his eyes. In retrospect he could see it; for weeks now, it had been there.

“If you think of it that way,” Richie continued, more so to himself. “I’m- not solely responsible…”

“Responsible for what?” Eddie pleaded, shocked by the urgency in his own tone. “Rich, please, what is this about?”

Richie stood, one hand still on his forehead, looking off to the corner of the room.

“Please. Please speak to me.” Eddie begged, stepping closer and taking Richie’s hand in his own, using the other to make Richie look at him. “Tell me what has you so afraid. I- I can see it’s been plaguing you. For some time now.” Eddie swallowed, thoughts racing. “I’ve been- I’ve been frightened too. For awhile now. I couldn’t explain it if you asked but- there’s something in the atmosphere. Like this weight, this… wordless terror. I’ve seen it in others; especially in you. Please. Please tell me. Give it a name, Richard.” He stressed the latter, almost shaking Richie’s face as he held it in his hand, eyes searching the others for some give.

“Fear.” Richie muttered to himself as he placed his hands on Eddie’s arms, still staring at the spot on the carpet.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying, Rich. What is everyone so afraid of?” Eddie pleaded quietly, his hand trailing from Richie’s cheek to his chest, where his fingers brushed the button that proclaimed the numbers that dictated his husband. His Richie, complex, creative, beautiful Richie, reduced to a code. A cog in a machine.

“People are afraid because they make themselves afraid.” Richie said darkly, his tone shifting as he finally made eye contact with Eddie. His grip on the smaller mans arms tightened, and as he spoke he jostled Eddie a bit, his anger and frustration growing with each thought. “Because they do it to themselves, Edward, because they can’t just leave good enough alone. Because they have to take every inch they can possibly have, because there’s no compromise-”

“Chee, you’re frightening me-” Eddie breathed, attempting to pull Richie out of his trance with the pet name.

“Because no one makes any attempts at diplomacy anymore, because they’d rather play dice with our lives than pull their heads out of the sand-” Richie barreled on, Eddie’s feeble words falling on deaf ears as the taller man kept gripping, kept shaking him. “They’re afraid because now- now when it’s too late, far too late to change, to turn back, now they’re asking why-”

“RICHARD!” Eddie found himself shouting, shocking both of them, Richie’s anger lifting and being replaced with surprise, as he looked down at Eddie’s hands fisted in his lapels and gulped, realizing how tightly he held Eddie’s upper arms and letting go immediately, rubbing his hands over the muscles apologetically.

“Baby- I’m sorry-”

“What is this about?!” Eddie returned the jostle, desperately hoping he could shake an answer out of the man.

“I guess it’s too late for vagueness…” Richie nearly whispered, eyes roaming Eddie’s face.

Eddie huffed in frustration. “It sure fucking is.”

“It’s coming.” Richie said suddenly.

Eddie’s blood ran cold.

“No..” He breathed, feeling his knees go weak.

“It’s coming baby, sooner than anyone predicted.”

Eddie shook his head in denial, Richie’s arms around his back now the only thing holding him up.

“We have forty-eight hours.” Richie said solemnly, his eyes as grey as graves.

Eddie’s knees hit the floor.

“It- it can’t be-”

“It is.” Richie repeated, kneeling to pull Eddie back up into a standing position, his limp body refusing to cooperate.

“How- how bad?” Eddie caught his eyes, not moving, not allowing himself to be moved. Richie gathered his strength, both to haul Eddie up to the foot of the bed at least, and to say the heavier truth.

“Bad.” He said simply as he man-handled his husband to their bed. He sat down gingerly next to him, letting the smaller man rest his weight on him. “It’ll be the end… of everything. All of it. Our life as we know it… Gone. It’ll be a holocaust.”

Eddie could feel the world underneath him tipping and swirling as he tried to rationalize what Richie was saying. He knew that the situation was tense, that the enemy had their finger over the trigger-

The enemy, he scolded himself. No one is the enemy. There are no sides in a war that destroys us all.

He used what little strength he could muster to look up at Richie.

“What do we do?” He whispered, his voice shaking. He almost thought he might cry, but he was too shocked to form tears.

Richie raised a hand to cradle Eddie’s face, keeping it there so they could lock their gazes on each other, to help ground him.

“We’re getting out of here.” He said quietly, Eddie’s eyes widening. “Bill and I, we’ve devised a plan. The two of us, Mike, Bill and Stanley, Ben and Beverly and the kids too. We’re all getting out of here.”

“Where?” Eddie insisted, flabbergasted. If it was as bad as they’d been threatened, as bad as Richie had claimed, as bad as he had imagined, there’d be nowhere to go.

“I can’t tell you.” Richie said cryptically, instantly earning an expression of anger. “Baby, Eddie, I can’t tell you but you have to trust me. We’re leaving, tonight.” He squeezed the hand cupped around Eddie’s cheek, running his thumb over his cheekbone. “Between midnight and one, we have to be gone. Then we’re getting out of here.” Eddie just looked at him, fear freezing him down to his bones. “You can’t say anything, to anyone. Not even Mike, or the others. Bill and Ben are the only ones who know so far, and we’ve only just told Ben. But you can’t say anything.” Richie looked deep into his eyes, and Eddie nodded robotically. “What we’re doing… it’ll be dangerous. Anyone could be- could be on to us. They could be listening-”

“Richie, hey!” Mike’s voice suddenly filled the house, causing Eddie to nearly jump out of his skin. “Bill’s here to see you!” He continued as Richie wrapped his arms protectively around his frightened lover.

“I’m coming, tell him it’ll be a minute.” Richie called back, his loud voice strange against the heavy quietness that had been with them in the room.

“Chee…” Eddie sobbed dryly into Richie’s shoulders.

“Shhh… hey, I’ve got you.” Richie mumbled, rubbing a hand up and down Eddie’s back to soothe him. “Eds, it’s gonna be okay. I’ve got you.” Eddie shook his head, shivers wracking his body as the weight of his fate set in. “Baby, I have to go talk to Bill, but I’ll be back, I’ll be right back.” He gently pulled Eddie upright, wiping away the one tear that had managed to fall. “I need you to be strong for me. For yourself.” He stressed, a hand on Eddie’s knee. “I know you can, dear, you’ve always been. We can do this.”

“I’m so- I’m so frightened, Rich.”

“I am too. But you have to trust me; Bill and I have a plan. We’re going to make it. All of us; we’ll make it.”

Eddie watched, as though underwater, as Richie leaned over and kissed his forehead, before standing and leaving the room. He watched; drowning.

________________________________________________________________

“Well, buddy, you better have some fuckin’ fantastic work stories for tonight, I had to cancel a date for this.” Mike was saying with a laugh as Richie came down the stairs. He locked eyes with Bill over Mike’s shoulder, catching the same look of thinly-veiled worry that had been staring back at him in the mirror the past few days. They nodded to each other as Mike excused himself and left the room.

“Bill.” Richie said curtly, glancing out of a window near his front door.

“Rich.” Bill rejoined, shaking his head slightly to indicate they weren’t in the clear.

“You and Stan are still coming over tonight, right? Mike got ahold of you?”

“Sure did.” Bill said nervously, almost reverting back to the boyish stutter of his youth. “Wouldn’t miss it. Stan says he’s on a winning streak.”

Richie gave a curt laugh, before raising an eyebrow questioningly. “I’m sure I won’t hear the end of it, then.” He kept his tone conversational, plain, and unconcerned.

“He’ll be taking all your chips tonight, either way.” Bill said with a fake laugh as he tugged on his earlobe. Richie got the hint, glancing toward the window again. The slight rustle of a low hanging tree branch was enough to confirm his suspicion. Glancing around for inspiration, his eyes landed on the watch on Bill’s left arm.

“Say, Bill, S’at the watch Stanley got you for your anniversary?” Richie cocked his head towards the garage door.

“Sure is, made by his father, same as yours.” Bill nodded.

“Looks like it’s speeding up again, want me to take a look?”

“Sure, sure.”

The two kept their eyes locked on any open window they passed as they made their way into the garage, where Mike had set up his gardening bench, and Eddie had built his workstation. Eddie worked at a local chinaware store making ceramic figurines, each a tiny, intricate masterpiece. Richie took a moment to admire the small delicate pieces, the wonderful figures each holding the magic that he knew exuded from Eddie’s fingertips. These figurines were one of the things Richie found himself repeatedly falling in love with over and over again. Eddie never failed to amaze him with the things he could create. Every time he set about his work he would come out the other side with a magnum opus. Of course the man was always ridiculously humble about the affair, always blushing and brushing off Richie’s praises, but when he was at the bench, back hunched, glasses on the tip of his nose and his face scrunched up in concentration, he was a God in his element, and no amount of protest would ever convince Richie to think otherwise.

The reverie was ripped from his mind at the sound of Bill closing the door, the click of the latch as it slotted into place disrupting him.

“Rich, we’ve gotta change our plans.” Bill blurted urgently.

“Not yet.” Richie mumbled, eyes still on the line of figurines scattered across the work surface, a hand raised to silence Bill. He ignored Bill’s look of urgency and crossed to the bench, a hand trailing over it’s surface, before his eyes found the answer he was searching for.

Flipping the switch for Eddie’s fine sander, he turned to face Bill with a nod. The sound of the machine filled the room, as Bill crossed over to the bench to stand with him. Richie picked up one of the tools left out on the bench and gestured for the watch, fiddling with it and pretending to fix it.

“Okay, Bill. What’s happened.” He muttered under his breath, just so that he was barely audible to Bill underneath the hum of the sander.

“The guard we paid off- he’s had his shift shortened. He contacted me just a bit ago; he’s gonna be off at eleven instead of one.” Bill basically whispered, nervously watching Richie’s hands as they fidgeted.

“So we move it up a couple hours, big deal.” Richie feigned a shrug, his skittish swallow betraying him.

“Yeah right it’s a big deal, it’s gonna be a lot harder to pull off, you know there’ll be more guards on the field-”

“And if any of those guards stop us to ask, we’ll tell them we’re your family come to see the ships you work on.” He fixed Bill with a serious, placating look, steeling himself. Bill gulped.

“You think it’ll work?”

“It’s got to.”

“Does Eddie know?”

“I’ve just told him. Stan?”

“I have a.. A plan, to tell him… roundaboutly.”

“Mike doesn’t know.”

“Beverly got it out of Ben, but they didn’t speak of it in front of the kids. As long as they were careful…”

“Let’s just keep it that way, yeah? I wasn’t gonna tell Eds, but he looked like he would have about killed me if I kept talking cryptic… Maybe Stan and Mike should just…” Richie trailed off with a sigh. “God, does it even matter now? We just need to get through the evening, and if we’re only seeing each other…”

“Your point is sound Rich, but…” Bill’s fingers flew up to his earlobe again. “We both know there’s still some risk.”

Richie nodded, looking down at the watch and tool in his hands. He set both down on the bench and instead picked up one of the figures perched there. Eddie kept a small framed photo of the two of them at their wedding, surrounded by the rest of their group of friends, on the bench near his workstation. Bill, to Eddie’s right, a proud best man, and Stanley, on Richie’s left, Bill’s counterpart at the ceremony. Next to Bill was Beverly, red hair cascading and held tight in the grip of her then eight month old daughter Amelia, her proud father Ben on Bev’s other side, drink in hand and face frozen in a beaming smile. Beside Stanley stood Mike, a flower from his garden in his lapel, the arrangements on all the tables, and the boutineers of all the attending men in the wedding party. Each of them had a look of elation shining out of their faces, from Beverly’s crooked but blindingly white teeth to Eddie’s squinted eyes behind his spectacles. The wedding had taken place during the brief period in their timeline where they’d both had glasses; just before Richie’s laser surgery and just after Eddie had jokingly tried on Richie’s specs to find he desperately needed them. Richie’s eyes behind the thick frames were magnified, and in them he saw only love. His face was turned down towards Eddie’s, watching the smaller man laugh. He remembered the jab he’d just given Eddie’s side, trying to elicit a tickle-induced giggle for the camera. Richie studied his own face more. Written plainly alongside the endless stream of affection for the boy next to him was also another fountain; one of hope, of power, of bright longing for a future. The man that had gotten married that day had done so with determination to make that lovelight last. He had sworn that day he would love Eddie until he was a dying man, but had failed to consider just how soon that could come upon him.

Next to the photo was a small collection of figures Eddie had saved at Richie’s behest, one’s Richie had insisted were his best works and should be kept at home, instead of wasted in the outside world. Richie knew Eddie had only really kept them to get Richie to stop harassing him about it, but at this moment he was damn thankful to have won that fight. The one clutched in his hand was a small, vanilla painted bear, one Eddie had made clear back in the beginning of his career. It was misshapen in some places, and the paint was faded and uneven, but it was by far Richie’s favorite piece of Eddie’s. He loved it so much mostly because of the way Eddie had beamed when he had finished it, the way he had shyly handed it over to Richie and said Chee look I finished one, the way he had literally glowed with happiness as Richie lifted him in a swirling hug, laughing and kissing his face with praise. He remembered that moment every time he glimpsed the bear that sat on the bench, or sometimes their nightstand, or on the kitchen table. It was sometimes moved around, picked up on a whim and set down absentmindedly. Over the years Richie had developed quite the habit of moving knickknacks when he was unfocused.

Richie looked down at the bear in his palm, and closed his fist around it in determination. He suddenly stuffed it in is pocket, reaching out to grab the other six that sat near it. A bird, a bouquet, a bible, a key, a bicycle, and a slim silvery-black painted miniature vinyl record Eddie had given Richie for a gift one anniversary. In the shuffle it had made its way down here, along with the others, and was now joining them in the lining of Richie’s pockets. He then picked up the frame and began detaching the back, fingers trying to prize it open as Bill watched in slight confusion.

“The plan stays the same.” Richie said, still quiet under the buzzing machine, as he freed the photo from the frame. “We do everything the same, but we leave at ten.”

Bill watched him tensely as he folded the picture and placed it in the breast pocket of the suit jacket he still wore. “Okay. I’ll tell Ben when I get home.”

“Don’t. I’ll tell him when he gets here for cards. Just make sure they’re all packed.” He tapped a finger on the outside of the pocket. “You and Stan too.”

Bill nodded, fingers slowly moving to pick up the watch.

“I’ll see you at seven.” Bill said quietly as Richie turned off the saw.

“Well, Bill, I think you should be okay, but you should have the old father in law check that out when you and Stan go up and see him next month.” Richie said loudly, his raised tone casual enough to be convincing but a bit jarring after the noise. “I’m no horologist, so it’s not gonna be a perfect fix, but it should hold up till then.”

Bill nodded as he strapped the watch back on his wrist. “Thanks Rich. We’ll be over around seven for cards. Hope you’re feeling lucky.” He fixed Richie with a pointed look before turning to exit. Richie took one last look at the bench, eyes scanning over the figures scattered across its top, before deciding not to grab more and following Bill out of the room.

He did not turn to look when he turned out the light, thankfully so. Because if he had, he would have seen the not so slyly hidden face of Henry Bowers as he turned slowly to watch the two men through the window.

________________________________________________________________

“I’ll take three.” Mike mumbled, sliding his discarded choices across the glass table to Ben, who reached into the deck to grab three new cards for him. Mike took a small sip of his scotch as he accepted them, sighing a bit to himself as though he was displeased with what he received. He then dropped a single green chip into their pile in the center. He nodded to Eddie, who was absentmindedly twirling his hand through his fingers.

“Oh, uh, just two.” He took a moment to rifle through his cards before tossing two to Ben. “How much did you put in?” He asked Mike quietly as he accepted his new cards.

“Five.”

Eddie grabbed one of his dwindling stash of green chips and added it to the pile before taking a long drink out of his own glass. They had collectively decided with a silent agreement to crack open the bottle of high dollar alcohol Eddie and Richie had kept since their wedding, citing they were saving it for a special occasion. It had been forgotten when Bill and Stanley’s marriage had rolled around, and decided against each time one of the girls was born, and had remained gathering dust in their curio cabinet since.

Richie had thought tonight was as good as any to polish it off.

“Four.” He said after a swallow of his own, sliding the cards past the pile of chips between he and Ben.

“That bad, huh?” Ben joked, grabbing the new cards for Richie with a small, nervous smile. Benjamin, bless his soul, the only one of them who was still trying to find some kind of lightness in all their intensity. Richie only responded with a non committal noise as he viewed his new hand.

“I fold.” He sighed, laying his cards down and draining his glass.

“Damn shame.” Bill tried a smirk, reaching to deposit his green chip in the pile without trading in any cards. “You were just starting to turn a profit.”

“Yeah, well, you’ll just have to settle it with me next week.” Richie chided, causing silence to fall over the table. Bill gave him a small, quizzical look, as Richie raised his eyes to look at him. They shared that look for a brief moment, before Richie’s words dawned on them and they proceeded to dissolve into laughter. Ben laughed a bit timidly, like he was unsure of whether or not he was allowed in on the joke. Beverly and Mike shared a look of utter confusion as Eddie turned white. Stanley gave Bill an incredulous look, but was unable to decipher exactly what it was that had set his husband off. Bev and Ben’s daughters, Amelia and Lillian, sat undisturbed by the commotion on the carpet, playing with dolls they had brought along boredly.

Eddie cleared his throat as Richie and Bill’s laughter turned from mirth to neurotic bursts. “Maybe we should put up the bottle.” He tried, reaching to the center of the table to replace the stopper. “Um, tea, anyone? I’ve got a pitcher of iced…”

“That sounds wonderful, Eddie.” Beverly caught his eye, attuned acutely to his skittish behavior. “I’ll come with you and get some water for the girls.” Eddie nodded his agreement and the two stood, Beverly gesturing to the girls to come with them as they entered the kitchen. The sound of clinking glasses and pouring liquid pierced the silence that remained around the men in the living room before being broken completely by Mike.

“Bathroom break.” He muttered as he stretched, before standing and leaving the room. Richie waited until he heard the click of the latch before reaching for the bottle in the center of the table, unstopping it, and pouring himself another full glass.

“We finished the calculations.” Bill said after a moment of watching Richie drink. He gestured to Stan, who pulled a small folded square of paper from his shirt pocket. Stan unfolded it and spread it out on the table where Richie could see. Ben hopped the empty seat between him and Stanley that Bev had vacated, and joined the others in looking down at the diagram.

“By we he means I did.” Stan griped. “And I’d still very much like to know what this is about.” Stan gave Richie a hard look.

“You haven’t told him?” Ben asked Bill, brow furrowed.

“Coming from the guy who let it slip to Beverly-”

“She is my wife, you can’t expect me to just-”

“And I am your husband, so please, enlighten me.” Stan cut off Ben, joining him in staring down Bill, who was too busy looking at Richie for defense.

“Go ahead.” Richie shrugged, taking another swig.

“Stan-”

“Here we are, tea for everyone.” Beverly’s voice interrupted Bill, who flipped the paper over quickly in front of him. “Benny, you’re in my seat.” She joked as she handed Ben his glass, handing the other in her hand to Stanley, who was still eyeing Bill for an explanation.

“Sorry dear, just conferring with my financial adviser here.” He joked, elbowing Stan good-naturedly. “He says I shouldn’t bet so high next round.”

“And you really shouldn’t need Stan to tell you that.” She laughed as she sat down in Ben’s old seat. “Common sense should have that covered.”

There was a small smattering of snorted laughter at that, as Eddie came into the room with more glasses in his hands, doling them out to the remaining guests. Richie declined his.

“We ready to get back to it?” Stan said pointedly, practically daring Bill to respond as the the girls resettled themselves on the couch, snuggling up with the arm rests as though they were going to nap. Bill only glanced at his husband apprehensively, appearing like a fish groping for air as he searched for his words. Thankfully he was saved by Richie, who was rifling through his cards impatiently before calling out.

“Mike! Hurry up! We’re gonna get started!”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming.” Mike sighed as he turned the corner to re-enter the room, bumping into Eddie as he tried to return to his seat. “Oh, thanks.” He muttered as he accepted the drink in Eddie’s outstretched hand. He took a seat and began conversing with Richie, while Bill and Stan carried on a mumbled but heated conversation to their left, with Bev and Ben still joking around across from them.

Leaving Eddie the only one to hear the doorbell.

He froze as the small ding echoed near him. Placing his full glass on a small table in the entryway, he walked as if in a daze to their front door, not bothering to look through the peephole before flicking the lock.

“Hello-?” He said as he swung the door open, his intended end to the sentence bottoming out along with his stomach.

“Why, hello there Mr. Kaspbrak. Lovely evening isn’t it?”

The sneering face of Henry Bowers greeted him from his darkened doorway, the streetlight of their cul de sac illuminating him from behind and casting an eerie glow around his silhouette.

“Mr. Bowers…” Eddie barely managed, voice wavering as he tried to pull in a breath.

“Say, is your boy home? I have some business to discuss with him.” Henry said casually as he removed his hat.

Eddie turned to look at his friends, all distracted around the table.

“Richard?” He said in a small voice.

Richie turned to look at him over his shoulder, as well as a few of the others, whose faces all dropped as soon as they took in the sight before them.

“Mr. Bowers is here to see you.” Eddie continued, gripping the knob of the still open door as though it were a lifeline.

Richie’s curious expression was instantly replaced by one of white faced anger. He’d become no stranger to seeing Bowers at work, hell, the man was one of his superiors, he had to interact with him regularly. But it was another thing entirely for him to enter his home, as he was doing now.

They could all feel it, the memories of their youth coagulating like sludge as Bowers casually trudged across the carpet, stopping between Bill and Richie, who sat with the diagram face down between them and identical expressions of distaste as they looked up at the man. Eddie remained frozen at the door, unable to make himself move enough to swing it closed.

“Well, what have we here? A little game of cards, huh Tozier?” Henry said with a smile as he set his hat on the table, over top of the paper.

“Just a few rounds.” Richie forced himself to say, keeping his gaze on the man in front of him, no matter how much he wanted to check on his husband, still frozen at the door. He felt his blood boiling and singing under his skin, his rage over Bowers having the audacity to enter his home just barely being overridden by his terror of their plot being discovered. If Henry somehow caught them in the act, or reported them…

They’d watch the world burn from a prison cell.

He settled for clearing his throat. “Would you care for a drink?” He tried to sound as hospitable as he could.

“That would be excellent.” Henry smiled down at Richie, before turning to look at Eddie. “Does your Eddie here still make that wonderful tea?”

Eddie’s color went yellow as Richie’s jaw clenched, seething at the use of the name.

“He does. I’ll get you a glass.” Richie made to stand.

“Nonsense, he’s got it covered. Isn’t that right, Eddie?” Henry said sharply, eyes locked with Richie’s, who still sat because Henry was now far too much in his space to allow him room to stand.

Eddie stood frozen at the door, his mind fighting a million battles (first and foremost, stopping him from running out the open door altogether) before clicking back on again.

“I’ll be right back with a glass.” He closed the door, composing himself. He caught eye contact with Mike, who had been monitoring him with care. They shared their look, one perfected over many years of friendship and caring for each other, Mike’s raised eyebrow an unspoken question.

Eddie shook his head no, before disappearing into the kitchen.

“Nice night.” Henry mused as the group watched he and Richie with trepidation. The girls were settled on the couch, grateful they had gone unnoticed and hoping it would continue. Every once in awhile Ben would steal a glance at them, praying (as much as it hurt him to do so) that Henry’s attentions would stay focused on Eddie. He subconsciously reached a hand down to touch the faint scar that remained on his stomach, and remembered.

“It is indeed.” Richie responded mechanically.

“It’s a night for a tall drink on a porch. And sleep. Nothing else.” Henry gave Richie a pointed look.

“Right you are.” Bill said suddenly, trying to deflect the conversation as he watched Richie’s nostrils flare, sensing his friend’s anger was on a precipice. “Stanley and I are just about ready to head home and do just that.” Bill patted Stan’s leg, but left his hand there, hoping it would help comfort his partner, whose worry was plain. “I’ve been up north all week testing an aircraft, so I’d like to call it an early night. Haven’t gotten much sleep recently.”

“Is that aircraft the one we’ve been hearing about over in operations? The one they’ve said’s capable of even possibly leaving the atmosphere?” Henry questioned him with a raise of his brows.

“That’s uh, that’s the goal. Eventually.” Bill swallowed. “But we’re really not even close to that part yet. It’s mostly been about keeping her in the air.” He said with a timid laugh.

Eddie entered the room again, glass in hand, which was trembling as he crossed the space to give it to Henry. He reached out, slowly, doing his best to quell his quaking nerves as he extended the cup.

“Here you are.” He said, barely making eye contact with the man.

Despite his best effort, Henry took notice of his shaking hand.

“Say, Eddie, you’re a little nervous there.” Henry joked, reaching to accept the cup with one hand, the other coming up to wrap around Eddie’s wrist. Eddie’s hand shook violently, his frayed nerves betraying him. Henry removed the cup from his hold completely, the other hand turning Eddie’s arm just so, so that the jagged scar on his forearm was staring up at them. “You’re very nervous.”

Richie watched the exchange as though through a tunnel, his vision red. His mind filled to the brim with violent memories, each pulling more and more seedlings of anger out of his subconscious.

Thankfully Stanley, ever the observant friend, intervened before Richie could do something brash.

“He’s only upset over how much of their vacation money Richie’s lost to us tonight.” Stan joked. “Bill and I have been making a clean sweep.”

“I can attest to that.” Ben joined in, giving Richie a placating look. Richie missed it, his eyes locked on the hand still closed around his husband’s wrist.

“But we won’t settle it out tonight.” Bill said, looking up at Henry’s back. Bill had never been afraid to look the man in the eye, no matter how much he had tortured their ragtag gang. He only wished now he had the opportunity to. Bowers was still facing away from him, attention fully turned to the small man trapped in his grip, who was gazing at his face like it was a theatre screen displaying a particularly sickening sequence.

All his life Bill had sworn to keep any need for that expression from ever touching his friends.

“Next week. I want to give Richie here another shot.” He continued, urging the man with all his mind power to turn around.

“Next week?” Bowers turned just slightly to look at Bill over his shoulder, not releasing Eddie’s hand. “You certainly plan ahead.”

Bill swallowed, refusing to address the menacing intent in the statement. “A week? Nonsense. We play cards on a regular basis.”

“Shame you aren’t settling it tonight.” Henry shrugged. “A lot can happen in a week.”

Henry made eye contact with Richie.

“A lot can happen in forty eight hours.”

Bill’s stomach dropped.

“Not much that can sway me from collecting.” Bill managed a skittish laugh. “Though I’m sure Richie would take the gamble on that.”

“Oh I wouldn’t be surprised. I’d think Mr. Tozier here would gamble on most anything.”

Bower’s kept his eyes locked on Richie’s, his hand tightening almost imperceptibly around Eddie’s wrist.

Almost.

“Well.” The hand finally released, falling to Henry’s side. “I’d better head on home. Nice evening for a bit of a walk.” He raised the glass he had been holding and downed it quickly. He replaced it on the table, lifting his hat, his eyes on the paper underneath it. He made as if to scoop it up, but it was quickly snatched by Stanley.

“Better not lose this. I’d rather get my payment from Rich in full. He’ll swindle me, I have no doubt.” He tried to joke, but the power of it died out.

“Keep an eye on him then, lads.” Henry smiled, placing his hat back on as he turned, stopping to step even closer into Eddie’s space. “Have a good evening, Eddie.” He said lowly, eyes boring into the smaller man, who was nearly quaking. Bowers then turned fully to exit, finally stepping away from the table.

“I’ll walk you out.” Richie muttered, more so to the table than Bowers, as he stood quickly and followed the man to the door.

Henry stopped once the front door had been opened and he was stood on the porch.

“I’ll see you at the factory tomorrow?” He said pointedly, glancing down the street.

“Of course.” Richie said mechanically, imagining himself slamming the door repeatedly on the parts of Bowers that still remained in its path.

“Clear night.” Henry said as he looked up at the sky, a smattering of stars visible beyond the haze of the streetlights. He paused for a beat, clearly taking his time and enjoying letting Richie stew. He knew what his superior was doing; he got the message he was sending loud and clear. What Bower’s didn’t understand, however, was just how stubborn Richie could be. “Good night for stargazing.”

“I wouldn’t know.” Richie said quietly.

“Ever think about what it would be like? To be out in the beyond, among those stars? If there’s a life out there?” Bowers took out a cigarette and lit it.

“It’s crossed my mind once or twice.”

“Yeah.” He took a drag. “I don’t doubt it.”

With one last glance up at the sky, he walked away, a trail of smoke following him down the street.

Richie waited until the man had turned a corner before ducking back inside, slamming and locking the door. His friends had remained frozen in their places, listening intently to see if they could hear the hushed conversation.

Eddie still stood, frozen in the same place, his wrist held close to his chest and his face vacant. Richie turned, his back against the door, sighing as the tension dropped away in waves. After a moment the two made eye contact, Eddie’s awareness returning to him, before appearing as though he would burst into tears in that moment. Richie rushed forward, pulling his lover into his arms. He wound an arm around Eddie’s middle, the other coming up to cradle the back of his head and card lightly through his hair. Beverly watched the exchange for a moment before turning to Ben, and in one swift movement they had both arisen and crossed the room to check on the girls, who looked frightened and bewildered. Stan and Bill were holding each others hands in a death grip, while Mike looked at them imploringly for an explanation. When it seemed none would come, he spoke.

“Eddie, are you alright?” Mike stood, placing a hand on Eddie’s shoulder as he stayed wrapped in Richie’s arms. Eddie simply shook his head, face still buried in Richie’s chest. Richie stroked a hand through his hair, whispering encouragements occasionally as Eddie trembled. Mike rubbed a small circle with his thumb, sighing in frustration. “Anyone want to tell me why Henry Bowers was just in your house?” He looked at Richie, Bill, and even Ben behind him who all looked guilty. The three of them shared another look with each other before Richie spoke.

“The time is now.”

“The time for what, exactly?” Mike pressed, taking caution not to tighten his hold on Eddie’s shoulder in frustration, concentrating on keeping the touch comforting.

“Mike, I’m sorry, we should have told you sooner about this. We were trying to keep it as quiet as possible, so we figured the least of us that knew the better, but we’re leaving.”

“Leaving? Leaving where?”

“Far from here. Look, we don’t really have time to get into the details, but Ben and Bill and I have been planning this for a few months now. We’ve bribed a lot of people over at the factory, we’ve got a ship filled with supplies waiting for us, and we’re getting in it, tonight.” Richie rubbed his hands over Eddie’s back, hoping to help the man compose himself. “We have to go soon, because if there’s one thing I know for sure, that was no coincidence. I think Bowers is on to us.”

“Rich, this is a lot-”

“I’ll say.” Stan cut in, looking angry. “You didn’t think to let us all in on this?”

“It was to keep you safe-” Bill tried defending himself, still gripping Stanley’s hand.

“What I don’t understand,” Mike said loudly, commanding the conversation again. “Is why it’s got to be tonight.”

“I think you know why.” Eddie said quietly, voice muffled by Richie’s suit jacket.

Beverly went white, Lillian clutched in her arms.

“It’s coming.” She looked at Ben, who nodded.

Mike’s anger dropped, fear replacing it instantly.

“How long?”

“Bowers didn’t pick an arbitrary number.” Eddie said bitterly, standing up straight, wiping quickly at tear tracks down his cheeks.

The room remained silent for a moment as the severity of the situation sunk into the adults. Richie silently fussed over Eddie, wiping his face and fixing his hair, occasionally dropping a kiss on his forehead as Eddie gathered himself.

Bill eventually broke the silence.

“We should head out now. I’m not sure how much time we’ll have before-”

He was cut off by the tone of the house phone.

It rang loudly from the corner, its shrill tone cutting to the core of the frightened adults, sending shock waves back into Eddie as he looked at Richie, fear plain on his face. He shook his head quickly.

“Don’t.”

“Eds, I’ve gotta answer it.”

“Don’t, let’s just go.” He pleaded. Richie shook his head before letting go of his husband and crossing the room to answer the phone.

“Tozier residence.” Richie said dryly. The rest of the group waited with bated breath, unable to hear the other end of the conversation. “Tonight? I’ve already gone to bed.” Richie’s eyes darted back and forth, his hand coming up to scratch his left ear, as it always did when he was trying to think of a lie. He made as if to speak again, before the dial tone sounded, signaling the end of the call. He replaced the phone slowly, heart rate increasing. “That was my work.” He addressed the room. “They’re sending a car for me. Production services wants us all in tonight.”

“We need to leave now.” Bill said, standing. “Stan, go get our bags from the car. Ben, I suggest you get the girls ready to go, you’ll follow us in yours. Mike, can you pack quickly?” Mike nodded numbly, his mind racing to struggle to accept what was happening. “Rich, go get the car started. I’ll help you pack it.” Everyone began a mad scramble through the house, collecting various items and packing them into cars. Eddie stood frozen through the chaos, eventually slowly moving to clean up the abandoned glasses left on the table. Richie found him and stopped him, gently placing a hand on his arm.

“This is foolish, isn’t it.” Eddie said dejectedly. He looked at Richie, sadness filling his eyes. “We’ll never be back here again.”

________________________________________________________________

“Here. Gate 6A.” Bill said quietly as he pointed at a diverging path in the road they had been following. Richie made a sharp right, glancing in in the rear view to make sure Ben had followed. The headlights behind him curved, hugging tight to their path without wavering. They continued along the road for a couple of tense minutes until they came upon a section of fence. Richie pulled up to it slowly, killing the engine and the lights as they approached. He looked into the rear view again as Ben swung up behind him, the headlamps illuminating the silhouettes of Stan, Mike, and Eddie in the backseat. Richie caught Eddie’s worried gaze, hoping to infuse as much courage as possible into his husband.

But as Ben’s lights clicked off, Eddie’s fearful gaze becoming shrouded in darkness, he thought perhaps he didn’t have much in the first place.

He undid his seat belt, swallowing thickly. He shared a nod with Bill, who climbed out of the passenger side. They closed their doors softly behind them as Ben emerged from the drivers side of his own car, Beverly staying inside with the nervous girls.

Ben approached the fence, fingers trailing over the thick piece of locked chain that held the opening closed. He continued to look beyond the barrier, eyes alighting on a large, circular aircraft a few hundred yards away from them on the field.

“So there it is.” He said quietly as Bill came to stand next to him.

“There it is.” He agreed, Richie joining them.

A small pinprick of light suddenly appeared from the shrouded area of black night beyond the fence, west of the aircraft.

“Is that out contact?” Richie whispered, recognizing the light as the short flash of a handheld light.

“Yeah, that’s him.” Bill nodded, turning to the car. “Stan, flash the lights, just once hun?” He whisper-yelled. Stan nodded nervously, climbing over the front seat to reach up and flash the headlights. When he sat back down, he placed a hand on Eddie’s quacking knee.

“It’s gonna be alright, Eddie.” He said calmly.

Eddie so badly wanted to believe him.

The light returned, illuminating a razor thin beam as it cut through the darkness from the same source. Instead of being a staccato beam, it remained lit, as the holder began walking towards their small group gathered on the other side of the fence. Mike could tell from the tense set of Bill’s shoulders that something was amiss in the situation, and was about to throw open the door and emerge from the car when the hand- and face- the light belonged to was thrown into relief by the new proximity.

“Evening, Mr. Tozier.”

Next to him, Eddie gave a small, terrified sob.

“You know, when I said it was a nice night for a walk, I didn’t think you would have walked this far.”

Stanley’s blood ran cold at the sound of the dry, short laugh that accompanied the statement.

Mike’s mind stopped altogether when he noticed the gun.

Eddie made another noise of fear, this one much louder, as he presumably saw it too. Bowers took notice, raising the flashlight he had in his right hand to illuminate his face, a small smile of victory playing on his lips. He slowly cocked the pistol clenched in his left. Mike had to physically restrain Eddie from leaping over him and out of the side of the car. The last thing they needed in the situation was Eddie’s brash behavior, the way he always got when his emotions were pushed.

“So here’s how this is going to go.” Henry lowered the light, sounding almost bored as he continued. “You three-” He gestured broadly at Ben, Bill, and Richie, earning a sharp intake of breath from the group as they each collectively braced themselves for the worst. “Are going to stay where you are, very quietly. You two gentlemen-” This time, he swung the light, shining it on Mike and Stanley’s faces. “Are going to get out of the car and join them.” He reached into his pocket for a small key, used it to unlock the chain, and opened the fence to step through.

Richie was fuming, every muscle in his body screaming to rush forward and tackle the man to the ground, to pulverize every possible piece of the other man until there was nothing left.

Bowers clearly noticed.

“Then, after I join our little Eddie here, you will all get in your other vehicle and follow us to the authorities.” He finished, his smile growing as he turned to Richie, his satisfaction being fed by Richie’s look of sheer rage.

“Why him, alone?” Ben said, voice unwavering.

“Because I have a strong feeling our testy Richard will try any manners of funny business. Though I’m sure those thoughts are flying right out of your head now, aren’t they?” He raised a challenging eyebrow.

“Most of them.” Richie said, his words poison through gritted teeth.

Bowers stepped closer, gun trained on Richie’s chest.

“I thought I made myself clear to you enough times today Tozier, but apparently I’ll need to remind you, bluntly.” He moved forward again, a small yell erupting from Eddie in the backseat as he attempted to scramble his way out of the seat. In a flash, Henry turned, eyes locking with Eddie’s, his hand flying up to aim, Richie rushing with a shout to throw himself in between them-

But the gun did not go off.

Richie lowered the arms thrown up to shield himself to see Bowers, pivoted from where he stood, gun raised and aimed directly at Eddie’s head, which was just visible over Richie’s shoulder. Eddie had fallen back into his seat, his arms held tightly by Mike and Stan to keep him from jumping up again (and to haul him down for cover if necessary).

“Still don’t understand, boy?” Bowers said venomously. “You’ve lost. Now if you don’t cooperate with me you’ll get your man pack in more than one piece.” He stepped closer again, the butt of the gun practically resting on Richie’s shoulder as it stayed trained on Eddie. “Is that what you want?” Henry whispered. “Would you like me to break him again?” He sneered. Instantly the memories came flooding back to Richie’s, and for that matter, all of their minds. He shivered in fear, his head pounding, and he was fourteen again, watching his best friend scream in pain as his arm was snapped, four boys much bigger than any of them pinning him down and pulling him apart. He was fifteen, staring at the strange misshapen scar as Eddie cried and languished over it, knowing he was doomed to live with it the rest of his life. He was thirteen, watching Ben stumble into the river with a gaping wound in his stomach. He was twelve, watching Beverly’s hands shake from across the cafeteria as she endured another string of insults unfairly thrown her way, her bruises stark and fresh against her skin. He was sixteen, hauling Mike away from a fight, the two of them running like their lives depended on it as Henry screamed profanities after them. He was eighteen, driving Stan at sixty miles per hour through their residential zone to the emergency room on the third night of Hanukkah. He was thirty seven, watching a gun be trained on the face of Bill, his Bill, one of his closest and most trusted allies in all his life. He was overwhelmed, completely terrified, as he felt the weight of the weapon over his shoulder. Henry would always have that power over him, he languished. All their years as children spent attempting to get out from under Henry’s hellish reign of the school yard, only for him to become Richie’s supervisor, to continue to torment him in small, destructive ways years into their adulthood. His constant jeers and jabs at Eddie, who used to come pick him up or bring him lunch, his constant need to drop into the dress shop Beverly ran just to tell her horrible, vile things, his insistence on driving slowly down the street next to Mike just to make him uncomfortable, just to put him on edge. He was overwhelmed, by all of it. The constant torment had worked.

In that moment, Richie felt like they had truly lost.

Thankfully for him, for all of them, Stanley hadn’t.

“Because if you keep pushing me-” Bowers had continued, unheard by Richie through his haze. “I will.”

Stanley curled his fingers around the door handle, silently thanking God that Richie was far enough to the side.

“If you’d like him to last the little time you have left,”

Stan pulled, ever so slightly, the latch releasing.

“I suggest you and your friends listen to my instructions, and-”

Stanley slammed the door into Henry’s side, taking extra effort to knock his knees out of place. Richie lept into action, hands immediately reaching for the gun to wrench it out of Henry’s hands. They flipped, Henry’s back hitting the car as Richie fought him in his daze. Bill and Ben erupted, Bill literally diving over the top of the car to grab Henry’s neck in a choking headlock. Ben jumped into the fray, helping Richie as he wrestled the gun from Henry’s hands, which were immediately restrained by Ben. Richie did not hesitate, disarming the gun before grasping the butt in his hand and clocking Bowers in the side of the head, knocking the man out cold. The three men panted as they let go of Henry’s limp body, pausing only for a moment to watch it slide to the ground. Richie then dropped the gun immediately, the cold metal suddenly searing his hands. Bill collected himself quickly.

“We have to go.”

Richie found himself nodding, his brain kicking into overdrive as Bill turned to pull the gate open all the way. Ben dashed back to his car, hopping in and turning it on. Richie followed suit, immediately, feeling Eddie’s hand on his shoulder, a silent need for affirmation that Richie was okay. He placed a hand over his husbands as Bill climbed back into the car, revving the engine and driving as fast as he could take it, his eyes locked on the aircraft swiftly approaching.

As soon as they hit the field, searchlights locked on them, a guards voice raising a call over the speakers as the security scrambled to meet them.

“UNAUTHORIZED VEHICLES ON FIELD. UNAUTHORIZED VEHICLES ON FIELD. APPREHEND IMMEDIATELY.”

Ben and Richie pulled up to the ship haphazardly, skidding to a stop and not bothering to kill the engines. Everyone scrambled to jump out of the cars, trunks thrown open. Beverly and Stanley grabbed the girls, immediately boarding the ship with them. Ben and Bill followed them, as many bags as they could carry in their hands as they ran up the small ramp of stairs leading to an opening in the craft. None of them had time to stop and process what exactly they were getting themselves into, in the most literal sense. None other than Bill had been anywhere near the machine, which looked so unlike anything they had ever seen that they couldn’t even come up with something it was akin to. Mike and Eddie grabbed what they could from their trunk as Richie checked Ben’s car for any left behind items, double checking the backseat in case the girls had left some treasured toy. Bill came back out of the craft, running to its base to detach a strange array of pipes and pumps running into the side. Eddie and Mike ran up with their bags, throwing them inside carelessly as they turned to grab more. Richie was behind them with the last from their car, handing it up. Before they could all ascend, guards came rushing from the dark, batons drawn and poised to fight. Mike pushed Eddie, who was at the top of the ramp, back up into the aircraft, as he, Richie, and Bill remained to fight off the guards. It devolved into a good old fashioned fist fight, their blows earning them more ground as the three men moved higher up the ramp. Bill hit a switch on its side that caused the steps to start ascending into the machine. He then landed a kick to the chest of the last guard, who fell off the end of the platform. He caught one last glimpse of the ground as metal came up to meet metal, and knew, heavily in his heart, it was the last time he’d see the soil of his home.

________________________________________________________________

“How are we looking?” Mike asked, looking up from the small guidebook he was holding.

“So far, so good. It’s holding steady, just like the tests.” Bill replied, eyes on a screen of data.

“Think we’ll be able to maintain that?” Stan asked the question on everyone’s minds.

“I couldn’t say for sure.” Bill answered honestly, looking up at him. “But I’m hopeful.”

Stan took a moment to process his thoughts.

“If you’re convinced, that’s enough for me.” He finally said, crossing the small space of the hull to sit on the low bench where Eddie and Richie were huddled together. On the other side Ben and Bev were sat on the floor, each with a dozing child in their laps, Ben’s slack face nodding every so often, signaling how close he was to joining them. Beverly had remained silent with her face trained on the small viewing screen the entire time they’d been flying.

“Where are we headed, anyways?” Eddie asked timidly. “It’s stars. Stars so far away…” he trailed off as he too gazed at the screen.

“See the bright one? To the right, in the corner?” Richie said, his head chin tucked over Eddie’s shoulder. The two hadn’t let go of each other since boarding. Stan and Mike shifted so that they too could look at the screen. “That’s our destination.”

“We’ve been researching it in our division.” Bill said, joining them as they all looked at the star. “It’s got life on it, like us. It’s so damn similar to our planet, it’s frightening.” He folded his arms over his chest. “We’ll get there soon enough.”

“What is it?” Bev piped up from her corner. “What’s it called?”

“It’s the third planet from the sun. It’s called… Earth.”

“That’s where we’re going.” Eddie breathed.

Richie nodded. “To a place called Earth.”

________________________________________________________________

authors notes: okay so this is OBNOXIOUSLY late to the party but im so glad this is finally done! this very much got away from me and i wrote waaaaaayyyyyy too much so here’s this whole damn ass thing lmao. anyways i rlly hope u love it and that it suits u! i got the idea and ran too too far with it. thank u so much for bein patient, i was on a long work trip this past week and a half, so getting the last couple of scenes written didn’t happen until today //: i may need to go back thru and edit but ANYWAYS !! thank u for reading and i hope yall enjoy <3 i may end up doing an anthology series of one shots based on twilight zone episodes, so if you guys are interested in that message me and beg me to do it!!! i live to please <3

tags list: @stennbrough @s-s-stutteringbill @gazeboseddie @misssiriusblack @mythgirl96 @crackhousetozier @reddieaddict @wincestklaine @beepbeep-losers @ayyyymichele @ttrxshmouth @megelizabethvh @tapetayloe @flickerflies @ghostbustermike @i-is-gazebo @reddiesetrichie @jessicarayheyman @r-u-reddiee @wyttolff @gayzier @hanscombeverly @kaspbrak-is-our-king @babybyelers @28shoes @nicoperryy

#itfandomsecretadmirers #prior.txt #prior.fic #twizoneverse #reddie #stenbrough #benverly #it 2017 #it fic

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randomfandomimagine · 6 years

Text

Stupidly Obvious (Remus x Reader)

Character: Remus Lupin ft .Wingman Sirius Black

Fandom: Harry Potter/Marauders

Categories: Reader Insert, Female!Reader, Gryffindor!Reader

Title: Stupidly Obvious

Requested by anon:

remus x reader where she’s best friends with the marauders(but she doesn’t know about the animagus stuff) and he has an obvious (not for her ofc) crush on her and they get him to ask her to the yule ball. but it’s a full moon and remus has to leave with a shitty excuse and reader is super sad bc she thinks she’s not good enough for him. reader leaves and goes to the shrieking shack, a secret hiding place of hers to be alone. there she meets the marauders in there animal form and she is super shocked that remus is a werewolf and he almost attacks her but sirius saves her & later in the morning when remus turns back they meet at the black lake alone&he says sorry & he wants to confess to her but he thinks she will never like a werewolf like him. So Sirius steps in and ends their misery by saying that they like each other so why don’t they just kiss.fluff pls thx♡♡

A/N: This is the first proper imagine of the Marauders I’m writing, so bear with me! I hope it was accurate and I got the characterization right and that it was any good :P

I smiled when I saw the four of them walking my direction, with James stupidly shouting my name to make me laugh and Sirius jokingly winking an eye at me. Peter smiled at me in silence, and Remus just stared at me shyly.

I had been friends with those four ever since we were all sorted in Gryffindor back in our first year, and Remus had never acted that way around me, and I couldn’t really understand why.

Lately he had been behaving strangely, they all had! But specially him, as he seemed always quieter than usual, not to mention flustered and shy. I asked him multiple times, but he would always brush it off or change the subject.

The other three weren’t much help either, because they would change the subject as well. I felt like I was missing something, not understanding those complicity glances and low giggles they sent each other.

“Hey, Y/N” James was the first one to speak up, stepping up and placing a friendly arm over my shoulders. “Remus here wants to talk to you”

“Really?” I replied, excited that he was willing to face me. “What is it?”

Remus finally seemed to relax his tense posture and his concerned expression as he warmly smiled at me.

“I wanted to…” He began to say, pursing his lips together as though he couldn’t find the right words.

“Just be honest and straightforward, Remus” Sirius whispered, barely loud enough for me to hear, just as he pushed his friend closer to me.

“I just wanted to ask you…” Almost asking them for support, Remus looked over his shoulder to the rest, who nodded encouragingly. “If you have a date for the dance”

“Not yet…” I pouted and rolled my eyes. “No one asked me”

“Would you go with me?” He asked instantly after, so fast that I hardly understood what he said.

“Yeah, sure!” I smiled in excitement, knowing how fun it would be to go with one of my best friends. “Such a good idea, just go with a friend! I should have thought-“

I interrupted myself because, behind him, James and Sirius were making weird gestures, shaking their heads and ushering me to stop talking. And Peter just watched me with wide eyes.

“Eh… exactly” Remus piped up in the end after a moment of silence.

He dedicated me a weak smile before he turned around and left where he came from. Peter followed him, and I noticed how he made wide gestures to him in an attempt to catch his attention.

“What the hell was that?” I asked Sirius and James, confused.

“Nothing, Y/N” James patted my shoulder, with a mysterious smile, and went to reunite with the others.

“Just… dress up for the dance and get pretty, okay?” Sirius chuckled as his arm casually fell over my shoulders.

We started walking to the Great Hall, and so I chuckled and pushed him a little.

“Are you saying I have to dress up to be pretty, Sirius?”

“I wouldn’t dare, Y/N, not unless I want to be turned into a frog”

I was oddly jittery when the day of the dance came. Everyone was rushing, pacing and hurrying as they prepared to go to the Yule Ball.

I stood before the mirror, watching my reflection thoughtfully. If it weren’t because my roommate assured me that I looked great, I would have been very self-conscious about it.

Honestly, I couldn’t understand why I was so nervous! I was just going to meet with my friend Remus and hang out with the rest of my friends as usual. With the small difference that we were all dressed up and we were going to a dance. Why was that any different from any other regular day?

Taking a deep breath, I left the bedrooms and passed through the Gryffindor Common Room until I made it to Great Hall, where the Yule Ball was being held at.

I glanced around looking for my friends until I found them. It wasn’t too hard, as they were being loud and rambunctious as usual. Smiling to myself, I walked over to them. They hadn’t noticed me yet.

James and Sirius were talking amongst them, and I could have sworn I heard my name being spoken in the conversation.

“Don’t you know it’s rude to talk about someone behind their back?” I playfully told them, interrupting them.

“Y/N!” James smirked at me, eyeing me up and down.

“Wait until Remus sees you” Sirius chuckled in disbelief. “You look great!”

I glanced at Peter as he was silent, and he just smiled at me.

It was probably the first time we saw each other out of our usual school tunics, or at least into something so fanciy, and it was quite the sight. To witness them wearing tuxedo like outfits was strange yet oddly charming. And for once, James had managed to comb that mess of a hair.

“Where is he, by the way?” I asked them, strangely eager to see him.

“He was a little nervous, he’s taking his time” James winked at me in a way that I didn’t really understand.

I frowned and opened my mouth to ask, but Sirius interrupted me.

“Are you nervous, Y/N?” His smirk had a mischievous hint to it as he leaned an elbow over my shoulders.

“No…” I lied, gently pushing him away from me.

“You do look nervous” Peter pointed out.

“Shut up, I don’t!”

“You better not be lying, because here he comes”

I quickly turned around, hurriedly combing my hair hoping they weren’t messing with me. But indeed, there he was. Remus looked very handsome, and I nearly melted at the tender smile he dedicated me when he saw me. His eyes were dripping with fondness as he approached me.

“Y/N!” Kindly, he took my hands in his. “You look… beautiful! So beautiful!”

“You don’t look too bad yourself” I grinned at him.

I could hear Sirius and James muttering behind us, even giggling. But I was too smitten with Remus to pay attention to them.

It had been a lovely evening, like a beautiful dream. Perfect.

I had fun with my friends, slow danced with Remus and talked and laughed a lot. But all good things must come to an end. In this case, rather, the magic spell was broken when Remus left behind his calm yet jittery behavior, which was replaced with a panicked and hurried one.

Had I done something wrong? Was it something I said? Why did he look so frantic and worried all of a sudden?

“I knew this was a bad idea…” I heard him whispering to himself as he broke away from our embrace.

“Re-Remus?” I spluttered, completely astonished.

“I’m sorry, Y/N, I have to go, I…” His eyes wouldn’t meet mine as he struggled to get away from me, despite my efforts to hold him back.

“What’s wrong?” I urged him, desperately trying to get him to stay, to linger in the closeness and intimacy.

“I… There’s something I… I’m sorry”

Seeing as he wasn’t giving me a clear answer, I turned to the other three. They exchanged glanced of concern in silence, almost forgetting I was there with them.

“We gotta go” Sirius hurriedly mumbled, urging them all outside.

“Sorry” Peter turned to me one last time before leaving me there. Alone.

Resigned, I sat down and heaved a big sigh.

I couldn’t understand, they didn’t give me a proper explanation! They didn’t give me an excuse, not even a crappy one! Was it really that bad?

It was me, wasn’t it? Remus noticed we were getting too affectionate and romantic and he didn’t like the idea of it. Was I not good enough for him? I thought he enjoyed being with me! Why did he abandon me like that then, so hurriedly? Did I really scare him off?

Maybe I was just deceiving myself thinking he might like me. Maybe he just left, dragging the rest along with him, because he saw things were getting out of hand. He just… ditched me!

I absently looked up, feeling a painful and empty sadness taking over me. All across the room were happy couples talking, dancing or laughing together. It was almost like they were reminding me what I could be doing at that moment with the boy that, I realized, I liked. That I really really liked.

I only noticed when I started craving something I didn’t have. Something that I nearly got but that was snatched from me.

Heartbroken and miserable, I stood up and left the dance. There was only one place I wanted to be at, and it was far far away from there.

A place that somehow helped me think and calm down when I was upset. Perhaps because of the feeling of isolation it gave me, that I could relate to when I was in a mood bad enough to seek it.

Taking advantage of the secret passage way of the Whomping Willow that the boys had told me about –which they discovered not too long ago and were planning to write down, along with the others that would someday hopefully help other lawbreakers like themselves -, I headed for the Shrieking Shack in the hopes that it would comfort me enough to then go back to Hogwarts.

I thought I might, but I didn’t cry. I just sat there, alone, trying to keep my mind blank. And eventually, the silent environment of the Shrieking Shack –even though everyone called it so, whenever I went there everything remained quiet, which confirmed that the abandoned house wasn’t haunted like the rumors said –along with the calm ambiance of the night, helped me calm down. I was still upset, of course, but I was feeling a little better.

Just as I wondered why the Shrieking Shack was called like that if I never heard any shrieking in it, a shrill scream sounded in the distance. I gasped, frightened, and stood up.

Absently brushing the dust off my dress, I stood up and stared at the direction the shriek came from.

Knowing the best idea would be to hide from the danger, I left the room and went to the next room when I heard hurried footsteps coming closer.

I peaked at the door, somewhat curious to see what was happening. Four voices talked over each other, frantic and almost panicked. But… they sounded familiar.

“We’re almost there, hold on!”

“Fight it, you can do it!”

“I can’t!”

“It’s too late!”

I gasped when I saw none other than Remus Lupin, being held down by James Potter, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. Because it seemed like he was… changing. Shifting.

His features were elongating and becoming sharper and wilder. Almost like those of an animal. What was happening?!

Too worried to think straight, I jumped out of my hiding place and revealed my presence to them.

“Remus?” I muttered, even if my voice came out lower than I intended.

Startled by my sudden presence there, the three boys turned to me in awe. Until Remus fully shifted into a werewolf. And because they were distracted by me, he escaped from their grip.

I screamed as I saw him lunge at me, completely rid from his human side as the moonlight entered through the cracks of the planked windows. I should have known.

While I waited for him to inevitably tackle me and hurt me, my mind did something strange. It slowed time and I found myself thinking back.

Back to other nights that also happened to be full moon, in which Remus would excuse himself and disappeared for many hours. Back to the mornings he returned, worn out and exhausted, and would never explain what happened to him, no matter how much I asked.

Part of me always knew there was something going on. Part of me figured Remus was a werewolf, piecing everything together. But the conscious side of me preferred to see Remus as I always did. The calm, kind and gentle boy I liked so much.

The werewolf side of him clashed so much with the other one that I just refused to believe it. Until then.

When Remus was tackling me to the ground, hurting my arm as I hit it when I fell. I screamed out in pain and terror, but his fangs never made contact with my skin.

I realized I had shut my eyes tight when I had to open them to see what was going on. A big black dog was defending me, tearing the werewolf form of Remus away from me.

To make sure my friends were safe, I looked over to my friends. James and Peter were still there, but where had Sirius gone to?!

Unless… the black dog was Sirius.

Once Remus was temporarily dazed by the attack, the dog glanced at the boys and then at me. Without further ado, the dog turned back into Sirius, who gripped my wrist and dragged me away from there in a rush.

“Are you okay, Y/N?”

“I’m fine, don’t worry”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes! What the hell is going on, Sirius?!”

“Remus is a werewolf”

“That much I figured myself”

“We became animagi to help him” Sirius urgently tugged at me so I would walk faster, never making eye contact. “James is a stag and Peter is a rat”

“Why hadn’t you told me?” I exclaimed, outrage by what I was just finding out. “I had the right to now!”

“We wanted to tell you” Sirius only stopped once we were at the end of the passage way, near the Whomping Willow. “But Remus refused, he was afraid of letting you know”

“Why? I don’t understand, Sirius, why…”

“There’s no time for that right now, you need to get to safety” He shook his head vehemently. “Besides, that’s not for me to say”

“But-“

“Go to school, and don’t come back here”

“What?! I’m not gonna-“

“Promise, Y/N”

Watching the urgency and concern in his eyes, I sighed and obliged.

“I promise, Sirius” I nodded and he nodded back.

Then he disappeared back inside to assist our friends on restraining Remus.

I resigned myself to keep my promise and went back to Hogwarts. And even though it was night time and everyone had left the ball to go to sleep, I knew I wouldn’t be able to get any sleep at all that night.

The next day everything felt hazy like a dream.

It was not strange in our wizarding world, but discovering the boy I liked was a werewolf and my best friends were animagi was quite the shock. I was still trying to completely wrap my mind around the idea.

However, I went to Remus in the Common Room and asked him to meet later. And there we were, even if we were supposed to be talking and we hadn’t said a word so far.

We just walked in silence, being awkward and uncomfortable. Maybe asking Remus to talk and sort things out wasn’t the best idea, but I refused to let him go so easily. Even if it was as a friend, I wanted to keep him around.

And for that we needed to clarify some things, like what happened the other day. I wasn’t stupid, I knew a werewolf when I saw one. But why did he keep it from me? Why did the rest of them know and not me? Did he not trust me?

Every now and then he would look at me and open his mouth, just to regret it and resign himself to remain quiet. I wanted to say something myself, but I didn’t know what. After all, he was the one that needed to explain himself.

Remus cleared his throat as we walked alongside the Black Lake.

“I’m sorry” He uttered in the end, finally breaking the suffocating silence.

“For what?” I piped up as well, but he didn’t reply.

I stared at him, silently urging him to speak up. But he just frowned and looked down to the ground. He seemed troubled.

“I knew you two would be here doubting yourselves and not confessing!” A voice said behind us, startling us.

As we looked over our shoulders, we saw our dear friend Sirius running our direction to catch up with us.

“Sirius, what…?” Remus began saying, but his friend’s glare shut him up.

“Wait, confessing?” I asked, eyeing them intensely.

“He thinks you will think differently of him for being a werewolf” I had never seen our friend so fed up, he even rolled his eyes tiredly.

“Why would I?” I turned to Remus, gently squeezing his upper arm to reinforce my words. “You can’t control it, it’s who you are when you’re Remus that matters to me”

With the corner of my eye, I saw Sirius grinning widely at my words. Almost proudly.

Remus, on the other hand, seemed taken aback by my response. He didn’t react at first, until he smiled just a little and locked eyes with me.

“Really? I thought that-“ He began to say, just to be interrupted by Sirius.

“Why don’t you just stop being stupid?” He shoved us both a little. “You like each other, it should be obvious!”

I felt my cheeks burning and knew that I was blushing. It was a cheeky thing to say, but it somehow reassured me despite my embarrassment.

I was right, Remus did enjoy being with me! He did like me! So it was probably his fear of rejection why he kept everything from me. It was that what held him back from telling me the truth, from telling me everything.

“It’s so stupidly obvious!” Sirius groaned in exasperation.

“So you do like me back” I uttered with a happy chuckle.

“Like you back?” Remus was dumbfounded, and I noticed he was blushing a little as well.

“There we go” Sirius seemed to finally calm down, because he crossed his arms in satisfaction. “Now kiss”

“Sirius…” I whined in annoyance. “You’re embarrassing-”

Remus did, in fact, kiss me. It took me by surprise and I probably blushed even more, judging by the bright chuckle coming from Sirius. But Remus was smiling at me as he broke away, in a wide and calm tender gesture.

That was the Remus I knew and loved. In fact, the Remus I now knew more.

#imagine #oneshot #marauders #marauders imagine #marauders oneshot #remus lupin #remus lupin x reader #remus lupin imagine #remus lupin oneshot #reader insert #requested #faves #sirius black #james potter

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