#she didn’t like send me her flights to copy so I thought maybe it hadn’t happened yet

[itsbeenclaireified]

Last night my friend asked me if wanted to go see Taylor Swift in Scotland in June, and I was like “I’m interested” and then she called me and was like we should do it!! And then I was like well what are flights etc? And spoiler it was very expensive (read $3k for 30 hours in Scotland), but last night I was like YOLO.

And her/her husband were like looking up a bunch of flights and options and stuff, but they never presented me any options and stuff? And they are two hours behind me so I said I’m going to bed, let me know what you find in the morning.

Well in the cold light of morning I was like actually…I’m having second thoughts. So I texted her and apparently they booked a nonrefundable hotel and like our plane or train tickets from London to Edinburgh? Which I did not agree to, and was like we’re still in the 24 hour window for any tickets just cancel those.

So now I feel like an absolute asshole asking for things to be canceled because I didn’t realize she was doing things. I’m just not really in a financial place to just drop $3k??? Like I could figure it out if I really really wanted to and that is a privilege but also ughhhhh I’m not in a place where that is a small amount of money.

And I keep looking at my texts and now I’m interpreting them differently and being like…did I lead her on??? But I was expecting them to like give me options on like what flight and what hotel and stuff??? And I didn’t expect her to book a nonrefundable hotel without asking me.

Anyway, she spent $1.4k on the nonrefundable hotel and maybe I will have to help split that cost with her unless I can talk to her into just going alone or having her husband go or the hotel decides to be merciful.

[multifandomrandomgirl]

I Thought You Were Dead - Lupin!reader x Sirius Black

"Avada Kedavra!" Rodolphus Lestrange shot the killing curse at me, I narrowly missed it, the spell passing my arm, I collapsed to the floor, pretending to be dead. I heard the Death Eaters leave the street, that's when I decided that I'd disappear for a while, just until things calmed down.

I was on my way to Godric's Hollow that evening to meet James and Lily's son for the first time when Rodolphus Lestrange, Bellatrix Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy had attacked me. I was meeting my brother there as well, then I was due to stay at his.

I thought about it hard and then I felt the change, I had turned into my Animagi form, I was unregistered so the Ministry couldn't figure anything out. I spread my wings out and flew as far away from the West of England as I could get before my wings ached.

I found a tree and looked around. Welcome to Abergavenny. A sign read, even in my Little Owl form I could read the sign. I was in Wales.

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For the next fifteen years, I lived in trees around Abergavenny. I found a copy of The Daily Prophet lying around saying that Sirius Black's name had finally been cleared. Cleared from what? I don't know, this was the first Wizarding paper I had seen since that night fifteen years ago when the Death Eaters attacked me.

Apparently Black had got his old family home back again, which gave me an idea, maybe I could fly across and see if he is there or not.

I found a mouse to eat before setting off on the journey to London, to find Sirius. On the flight across, I wondered how my brother, Remus, was. I hadn't seen him since the month before the attack, he had no clue what had happened unless The Daily Prophet had covered it.

I felt bad, I could have at least sent him a letter in my animagus form, to let him know that I was alive and okay.

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

Once I reached the Black Residence, I pecked on the door as hard as I could, I could hear footsteps getting closer and closer and then it opened, Molly, a girl who was in my brothers year at Hogwarts opened the door. "Come in little owl! You must be cold and wet!" She exclaims, letting me fly in, the rain had not long started.

"Who is it, Molly?" Sirius asks, poking his head around the door. "An owl, it's odd though, it's carrying a copy of The Daily Prophet from three days ago." I perch on her arm as she takes to through to the kitchen. I hadn't told anyone about being an animagus so no one would recognise me.

"Where'd the owl come from?" A boy who looked a lot like James Potter asked Molly. " I don't know." She says, I spot my brother and immediately fly over to him and land on his arm, giving him a peck on his hand for affection. "It seems to like you though Remus." Bill grins.

I hoot a little as Remus strokes over my feathers, god I'd missed him. "Where are you going little owl?" He asks as I hop off of him and onto the floor. I thought about my true appearance, my human form and for the first time in fifteen years, I was human again.

"Lola? I thought you were dead!" Remus jumps out of his chair and pulls me into a hug. "I know, I'm sorry. I had to disappear though, it was my only option then." I cry into my older brothers shoulder.

"What really happened? The Ministry said that you were killed by Death Eaters and then they hid your body." Remus pulls an extra chair out and sat me down. "Well, I was on the way to Godric's Hollow to visit James and Lily, like we all were to visit their new child, and on the way, I was stopped by Lucius Malfoy and Rodolphus and Bellatrix Lestrange, they all started firing killing curses at me after I refused to tell them where the Potter's were hiding." I start.

"Then Rodolphus fired another, it barely missed my arm but I faked being dead, so they left. Then as I'm an unregistered animagi, I switched forms and then have lived in Abergavenny ever since. This is the first time I've been in human form since that night." I sigh. "I'm so sorry Lola. How'd you know that we were here?" Remus puts a hand on my shoulder.

I pointed at the copy of The Daily Prophet that I had brought with me. "That, someone had dropped it. It felt good seeing one again, I hadn't seen a copy of it lying around since, well, since when I left. Speaking of which Sirius, what does it mean by you finally got your name cleared? I've had no news at all for fifteen years." I turn to look at the other man.

"Well, the year after you died- I mean disappeared, Peter Pettigrew sold the Potter's out to the Dark Lord, their hiding place and everything. The Dark Lord then killed the Potter's, but their son, Harry, survived. I apparated across as soon as I heard the news, Pettigrew killed twelve muggles with a single curse and then cut his own finger off and ran off, in his animagi form. I then got arrested for it and spent the next twelve years in Azkaban." Sirius explains the whole story.

"Wow. I'm so sorry about your parents." I turn to the boy who looked just like James. He gives me a small smile. "Oh, you don't know who I am, do you? Remus! I'd have thought that you would have at least told the boy about me!" I joke before introducing myself to him.

"I seriously thought you were dead Lola please don't ever do that to me again." My brother says, hugging me again. "I know, I apologise. I was going to write and send it using my animagi form but it was too dangerous, I didn't know what the Ministry had said about me and if word got out to the Death Eaters then I would have been gone for good. And I didn't know where you were living at the time so..." I trail off.

"Don't worry about that. All that matters is that I have you back now and I won't let you out of my sight." I study Remus' face, there were tears rolling down it. I use my now way to small cloak to wipe his tears away. "We need to get you new cloaks and probably a wand as well." He says.

"I don't need it," I say. "Why not?"

"It's probably best if I live as an owl, for now, considering that Sirius said that the Death Eaters and you know who is on the rise again. I don't want to risk anything, it isn't worth it." I smile weakly at my brother. "You can live here with us!" Sirius offers. "Thank you, Pads, that means sometimes I can be human again." I grin.

"I can't believe I wasn't with you that night, I-I could have fought them off." He blabbers, I stop him. "They'd have killed you too. They took my wand and snapped it so I couldn't fight back." I sigh.

I catch Dumbledore whispering something to Severus and him nodding in agreement. "Well, I'll get dinner started! I'm sure you all, especially Lola must be hungry!" Molly stands up, Professor McGonagall and what looks like Molly's daughter go and help her.

"Definitely, I've lived off of rodents, beetles and other small mammals for the past fifteen years, I can't remember what real food tastes like." I laugh, it was a dry, raspy laugh as I hadn't used my voice for fifteen years.

"Ew!" Another boy, who looked like Molly and Arthur, exclaims. "How about we make you live off of that diet Ron?" Two identical twins giggle. "Can you tell me who everyone is, I only recognise Bill Weasley out of the younger people, I've not seen Molly since he was born," I whispered to Remus.

He points everyone out, including people I already knew, just to refresh my memory. "Thank you, big brother." I smile, not too long later, Molly and the other two are done cooking dinner, which was mashed potato and chicken.

"Thank you, this is amazing. It's so nice to eat proper food again." I wolf done my plate. "You're welcome." Molly smiles. "Lola, slow down, you're going to-" I cut my brother off by coughing violently. "-choke." He finishes, helping me out.

"Thanks, Remmy." I grin, wiping my mouth. "Don't call me that and calm down yeah? No need to eat so damn quickly." Remus shakes his head. "Wouldn't you be excited though to finally eat proper food and not rodents and beetles and stuff?" I ask him. "I know where you're coming from. Azkaban doesn't feed you well and when I escaped and before I got my name cleared, I was living in my animagi form, eating whatever I could find."

"Thank you, Sirius!" I exclaimed, happy that someone got my point. He smiles up at me before I turn back to Remus. "See my point Remmy, human food is much nicer than the food I've lived off of for fifteen years."

"Okay okay! Just stop calling me Remmy." He groans. "What about Rem?" I ask. "No!"

"What can I give you as a nickname then?" I giggle. "You can use his nickname from school. Moony!" Sirius suggests. "Great idea! Thank you!" I grin. "So Moony, you see my point now?" I stuff the last mouthful of food into my mouth.

"I'll go wash up, once you're done, bring your plates through!" I stand up and head towards the sink."Lola, don't, I'll do it." Molly says. "Nope, you, Ginny and Professor McGonagall cooked, I'll clean."

"Lola, it's Minerva to you now, I'm no longer your teacher." McGonagall laughs. "Sorry Professor- I mean Minerva!" I start to run a sink full of water. After I'd finished washing everyone's plates and the pots up, I sit back down next to my brother.

"So, owl life eh?" Moody asks me. "Yeah," I reply. "How was it?" He asks. "It was decent until the male owls took some uh interest into me." I roll my eyes at the thought. "Haha, that must have sucked."

"Yep."

"So Lola, you'll be sharing a room with your brother, for now. You may join the Order if you wish, but stay undercover as an owl." Professor Dumbledore smiles at me. "Alright. I will join the Order, considering this time I am old enough." I say. "Good. We'll have you spying on people because you are unregistered, right?" I nod. "And if we need to reach Harry or anyone in or out of Hogwarts, we'll rely on you to deliver messages as an owl, it's less risky than using one of our own, no one will know who you belong to."

"Great!" I say I feel Remus wrap an arm around me protectively. "Don't worry dear brother, I won't get myself hurt or anything," I say. "I know. I'm just worried after the accident fifteen years ago. I really don't want to lose you again."

"I know, I'll be fine though. I'm thirty-five now, that's only a year younger than you." I reassure him. "You're still my little sister though." He says. "Yes I know, I'll always be your little sister, I can't really change that." I pat him on the back.

"Well, it looks like it's time for me to turn back into an owl," I say after half an hour of discussing things that I have missed in the past decade and a half. "I love you, Lola." Remus mumbles. "I love you too."

Then I transformed back into an owl. "We'll go and get some mealworms tomorrow for you," Hermione says. I flap my wings and sit on Remus's knee. It made me happy to finally see him again. He cups me in his hands and holds me close to his chest, stroking my feathers gently.

Remus was overprotective of me at Hogwarts when we were younger, goodness knows how protective he'll be now, now he knows what really happened.

I gently pecked his face, as if I was kissing it. "Hey man, can I hold her? I want to tell her something." Sirius says, Remus nods and hands me over to him.

"Hey, avoid the other owls, the male ones are a little... "He couldn't finish his sentence because an owl swoops down and starts to rub himself against me. "Pigwidgeon! No!" Ginny showed the owl away.

"Just be careful, yeah?" Sirius sniggers, I peck his hand hard out of annoyance. " Ouch, Moony! Your sister pecked me. "I can see why she'd do it, if I were an owl then I'd peck your eyes out."

"Don't give her ideas!" Sirius squeaks. I give a weird sounding hoot, which was meant to be a laugh but oh well, Remus gave me a weird look. "What's it like having an owl for a sister?" Sirius joked. "Well, I also have a dog for a best friend so you know." Remus laughs, taking me back off of Sirius.

Sirius transforms into a dog and barks at me, I hoot back loudly. He tries to lick me so I peck his ear. "Ouch, Moony, your sister's a bully." Sirius whines, turning back into his human form and rubbing his ear. I give a little-satisfied hoot before settling myself onto Remus' shoulder and snuggling into his neck.

"Isn't it a bit weird though? Having her living as an owl." Ron asks. "Ronald! It's for her safety." Molly whacks him over the head with a tea towel. I jump off of my brother and switch forms. "That's rich coming from you, you slept with Peter Pettigrew every night for years." I snort.

"So?" He glares. "It's no different, he's an animagus as well. And he slept in your bed with you." Remus pulls me down. "Idiot, it's not like I knew he was an animagus whereas Remus now does know you're an animagus. Wanker, coming in and ruining stuff." Ron mumbles. "Excuse me, what was that?" I gasp. "I SAID YOU RUINED EVERYTHING, NOW GET OUT." He yells.

I transform back into an owl and fly out of an open window. I hovered by it to hear the argument that raged on inside.

"RONALD! THAT WASN'T VERY NICE!" Molly screams. "Mum calm down, I'll go and find her." Bill stands up, Charlie and a girl called Nymphadora follow him out of the door. I fly higher up so I don't get seen. "What if I never see her again? I don't want to lose her again." My brother cries.

"They'll get her back, don't worry Moony." Sirius comforts him. "I hope so Padfoot. Fifteen years was long enough without her. I failed mum and dad, I promised to protect her, then I lost her." He Sobs. "You haven't failed anyone."

You never failed me or mum or dad don't worry Remus. You were a great big brother. I think. "Ron, apologise to Remus. You're the reason his sister is gone." Arthur snaps. "Well she shouldn't have interfered should have she?"

"I'm going to bed." Remus sighs. I looked down at the ground, I could see the Weasley brothers and Tonks below me. "Have you found her?" Sirius asks, coming out and joining them. I silently fluttered to directly above him and pooed into his hair.

"Accio Owl." Charlie sniggers, I land into his arms. "LOLA LUPIN! YOU RUINED MY AMAZING HAIR!" Sirius screams once we got inside. "Scream again and I'll shit in your hair again." I giggle, turning back into my owl form. "Oh no, you won't." Sirius uses magic to get rid of the poo before turning into a dog and chasing me upstairs into the room that Remus was staying in.

My wings began to ache so I landed on the bed, Sirius jumped up on top of me and barked. "Sirius, shut up." Remus groans. The dog licks my face, he goes to lick me again but I get there first and peck his nose. He whines a little and I hoot happily.

I transform back into my human form, Sirius still on top of me. He licks my face again before transforming into human form as well. "Well Miss Lupin, have you learnt your lesson?" He straddles me, moving his face closer to mine and whispering.

"I guess I have Mister Black," I smirk up at him, he leans down and kisses me, moving to my neck and starting to take off my top. I moan slightly when he hits a certain place on my neck, he smirks at me and continues to suck that part of my neck.

"Lola quit moaning, I want to go to sle-." Remus got off of his bed. "Sirius Orion Black, get the fuck off of my sister, now!" He yells, Sirius scampers out of the room and my brother comes to sit next to me. "Did he hurt you? What happened? Why was he on top of you? Are you oka-" My brother starts. "Yeah, I'm fine," I say.

"Sirius was on top of you- he was making out with you," Remus says. "So? What if I liked it?" I grin. "You little shit. First, you disappear for fifteen years and now you're practically having sex with my best mate. I'm disgusted in you. Get out."

I will myself into owl form and fly as quickly as I can, out of the room, bumping into Charlie on the way. "You okay?" He asks. I turn back into my human form. "Yeah, Remus kicked me out of the room because of stuff." I say.

"Lola, I still can't believe you." I hear Remus' voice getting closer. "Sleeping with Sirius, what were you thinking?" Charlie glances at me, Sirius runs up the stairs and grabs my arm.

"My wardrobe, owl form quick." I switch and he puts me on his arm, covering me with his cloak. "There you go." Sirius places me into his wardrobe. I hoot a thank you to him before he closes the doors on me.

"Hey Padfoot, have you seen my sister?" Remus asks. "No." Sirius answers. "Shit."

"Why do you need her?" Please don't speak. "I need to speak to her regarding something. I'm not impressed with her."

"Or you for that matter." Remus mutters. "What was that?" Sirius asks. "I'm not impressed with the fact that you were on top of my baby sister and kissing her, Black." Remus says, "Why ever not Moony?" I can practically hear Sirius smirk. "It's wrong!" Remus says.

"Well, Remus, when two people-" Sirius begins. "Yes, I fucking know, just why my sister? No one has seen her in fifteen years and the moment she reappears, you take that opportunity to sleep with her!" There was a door slam, and then silence. The wardrobe door opened and Sirius picked me up and placed me gently on his bed. "I'm sorry." He mumbles.

"It's fine, don't worry about it." I put my hand on his shoulder. "But I-" Sirius begins. "What if I liked it?" I wink and leave Sirius alone in his room.

I go and sit in the kitchen. "You good?" Charlie asks me. I nod. "Yeah, I think Remus is out to murder Sirius though." I giggle. "Ah."

"Lola." Remus appears in the doorway. "Remus." I stare at him. "I-" We both try to speak. "You first." I say, Remus sits down next to me.

"Look, I'm sorry. I'm just scared something bad's going to happen to you again. I'm scared of losing you." He says. "I understand, I went off the radar completely and then began to get comfy with someone I haven't seen for fifteen years, I'm sorry." We both go to hug each other.

"Aww, the Lupin's are back to being happy siblings again." Sirius coos. "Shut it Black."

"What even happened in the first place?" Kingsley asks, settling down in his chair, readying himself for the tale. Sirius grins and opens his mouth. "Well, after Lola and I played 'chase', I may have kissed her and some stuff and Remus lowkey flipped about it."

He explained some more of the story in detail, Charlie and Kingsley snigger at points of the story, particularly when it got to the part about him straddling me on the bed and then hiding in his wardrobe to hide from Remus.

"Sirius! Did you have to go into that much detail?" I screech when he said something inappropriate, he shrugs at me, a smirk forming on his face. I switch to my animagus form and fly at him, trying to peck his face. Sirius switched form too and I flew after him. "LOLA, SIRIUS, STOP!" Remus sighs, rubbing his hand over his face before chasing after us.

I see blood dripping down the side of Sirius' face. "Lola, what did you do to him?" My brother grabs my wing, I try to peck his hand to try and free myself from his grasp. "Petrificus Totalus." Remus points his wand at me. "Remus, you did not just petrify your sister, did you?" Molly gasps in horror as Remus holds my stiff owl body in his hand.

"Ah, whatever. She'll be fine." He waves it off as if it was no big deal, the little shit. "Pads, I need you to transform back." Remus orders Sirius, tossing my on the sideboard as if I was an inanimate object. Sirius does as he is told and Remus Padfoot's ear, wiping the drying blood off of it. "Lola, you've taken a small chunk of his ear off." Oops, well. He deserved it.

"I'll take care of Sirius, Remus. Don't worry." Molly shuffles past my brother, picking up Sirius. "Thank you, Molly."

Remus POV

I pick the owl up from the sideboard and carry her upstairs into the room we're sharing. "Finite." I mumble, she becomes unstuck and quickly transforms back into a human. "Lola, you took out a chunk of his ear." I glare at her. "I know, I'm sorry." She glances at the floor, I feel slight guilt for petrifying her, but she deserved it.

"You need to think about what you have done Lola, otherwise I might petrify you again." I giggle, I glance at the girl once more before exiting the room and going downstairs.

Lola POV

I lay on my bed and pull my duvet over my eyes, wanting to go to sleep after the long, eventful day I had had. After laying in silence for ages, the bedroom door opens and in walks my brother and Tonks. I roll my eyes under my duvet and try to go to sleep.

The pair mess around in bed, I hear moaning and Tonks mumbling Remus' name over and over again, I get up, snatching the pillow and blanket off of my bed and go downstairs, reaching the kitchen, I place my pillow and duvet on the dining table and climb up, snuggling back under my duvet hoping to fall asleep. I close my eyes, but all that happened was a massive twinge of guilt as I realised that over the past 15 years, I could have gone and tried to find Remus at any time that I wanted, I could have tried to make contact with him, but I didn't. Why?

"Why are you lying on the table?" I sit up quickly and see Arthur standing by the table. I explain the situation to him, Arthur laughs. "Loud were they? Must have put a silencing charm on so the people outside couldn't hear. Unlucky you."

"They were VERY loud." I shake my head. "Well, we can't have you sleeping on a table, can't be good for your back. Come, there's a spare bed in the room that Fred and George are sharing." Arthur beckons me to follow him.

"Boys?" He knocks on their door. "Yeah?" Voices reply. "Can we come in?" The door swings open and the two identical twins stand on the other side. "What would you like Dear Father?" George, or was it, Fred? I don't know, giggles.

"Can Lola use your spare bed? Please." Arthur shoots them a stern look. "Of course, come in Lola." The twin on the left side of the door grabs my wrist, pulling me in before shutting the door on their dad.

"Thank you." I smile at the boys, pulling my other pillow and duvet on top of the ones that were already on the spare bed. "Not a problem. How come you need the spare bed?"

"My brother and Nymphadora are very loud in bed, let's just leave it at that." I sigh. "Oh damn. Well, you're very welcome to move into this room. Even when we're here, you can still have that bed."

"Thank you," I say again. "Not a problem, now, we'd best be off to sleep. Got planning to do. Don't tell Mum though. Last time she found out, she burnt all the order forms."

"I won't tell her, don't worry." I say, pulling the duvet over my shoulders and closing my eyes.

------------------time skip--------------

"Wakey wakey." My eyes shoot open, the Weasley twins are stood over me, a jug of water floating mid-air. "Ah, you're awake. If you had have slept for thirty seconds longer, that would have gone over your head." George smirks. "Oh, by the way, Remus is looking for you." Fred adds.

"What the Merlin does he want?" I groan, exiting the twins' room.

"Lola, where were you last night?" Remus says, pulling me into a hug the moment he spots me. "In the twins' room." I say. "Why?"

"Did you and Tonks have fun last night?" I raise an eyebrow. "Is that why you left the room?"  Remus smirks. I nod. "Ah, sorry about that, lowkey forgot you were there during the moment, you snuck away quietly." My brother says.

"Lolaaaa!" Sirius runs at me at full speed, nearly knocking me over and hugs me. "Sirius!" I whine, hugging him back. "What?" He smirks down at me. "You nearly knocked me over." I say. He kisses my cheek and grins at me.

"Are you flirting with my sister?" Remus asks. "Possibly Moony." Sirius places his hands on either side of my cheeks and pulls me in for a kiss. I kiss him back, the kiss deepens.

"Can you two please stop kissing? It's weird!" Remus sighs in the background, Sirius chooses to ignore him, I put my arms around Sirius' neck and he picks me up and pushes me against a wall in the room.

"Padfoot! Get off  my sister!" I hear a coffee cup slam down. "Remus, leave them to it." Albus' voice sounds through the kitchen. I hear the two of them leave. "My room?" Sirius murmurs, I nod. The older man carries me upstairs, his lips never leaving mine.

"Silencio." Sirius lazily waves his wand at his door before turning his attention back to me.

"Ready?"

[mionemymind]

The Talk

Summary: (Hermione x Female Reader) Hermione and Y/n have a small talk before Y/n leaves for America. A lot of words remain unsaid, but maybe something more can happen in the future. 

Warning: Angst (I think) 

Words: 999

Y/n sat at the edge of the astronomy tower, looking out at the beautiful landscape of Hogwarts one last time. After graduating from Hogwarts only just a couple hours ago, Y/n sat still at the only place she has called home for most of her life. She hated endings more than anything, but something about this upcoming new beginning felt right and for the first time, not as quite scary. Deep in her thoughts, Y/n hadn’t noticed a certain Gryffindor watching her from afar. Hermione was at the courtyard also reminiscing her memories of Hogwarts when she looked up at the astronomy tower. Seeing a pair of daggling feet and golden robes, she only knew of one person who did that.

She took a deep breath. “For Pete’s sake Hermione – it’s now or never.” With all the bravery and courage she had, she sped walked up to the astronomy tower. You see, after everything that Hermione has been through, from Voldemort’s return, the war, and death eaters, somehow speaking to Y/n was the most frightening thing on Earth. It wasn’t like this a year ago though. Things were different. You see, Y/n and Hermione used to date. For almost four years, but something happened.

With only a few more steps, Hermione was right behind Y/n. She looked past the love of her life and into the distance. The view was breathtaking like usual, but the lump in her throat felt overpowering. Surprisingly, it wasn’t Hermione that broke the silence.

“Hey,” Y/n said softly. She didn’t need to turn around to know that Hermione was there. “Hello,” Hermione replied back. Hermione went up a couple more steps and sat a feet away from Y/n. “Congratulations on being Hogwarts’s top student.” Hermione blushed at Y/n’s compliment. “I really liked your speech and all. It was nice.” Hermione didn’t quite know what to say. She still had this stupid lump in her throat. Not only that, she was surprised that Y/n even paid attention to what she said during her speech. Anytime she looked at Y/n’s general direction, it seemed like she wasn’t paying attention. Furthermore, it felt like majority of her classmates didn’t quite care for her speech. But she was proven wrong once again from the only person that held her heart. And it warmed her to know that this time, she was wrong.

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m leaving.”

They both simultaneously said. Hermione and Y/n locked eyes for the first time in over a year. Y/n wouldn’t admit it, but she still found Hermione’s eyes to be her most favorite color. It took Hermione a couple seconds to process what Y/n said before saying, “You’re leaving?!”

Y/n hummed as a response and looked back at the view. “Where are you going? Why are you leaving?” Why are you leaving me? Hermione thought, but didn’t dare to say. “Why are you sorry?”

Hermione looked away from Y/n. She had been practicing this apology for months now, but every single speech and scenario in her head went away as soon as she started speaking. “Please don’t make me say why.”

Y/n slightly nodded. Deep in her heart, she knew she deserved a response. But after a year, she knew she actually deserved more than that. “Tomorrow is my flight to America.”

Y/n sighed. She wasn’t quite sure why she was even bothering to tell Hermione. No one else knew about her plans besides her parents. It was supposed to be quick and painless. Telling people only made leaving harder, but here she was, breaking her own plan.

“I hear that they have a lot of fantastic beasts out there. Although my grandpa’s work cannot compare to anyone else’s, continuing it feels like the right thing to do. Plus, I hear that they call their chips fries, odd beings, truly.”

With each passing second, Hermione could feel her heart breaking. Just say anything – something! Tell her to stay. But against her best wishes, Hermione sat still and stayed quiet.

“I didn’t really plan on doing this, but things don’t quite happen the way we plan it.” Y/n wasn’t the type to really antagonized anyone on purpose, but Hermione certainly felt the blow with those words. She remembered Y/n’s plans for them after graduation. Oh, how they seem like a fairy tale now.

“Are you happy Hermione?” When Y/n didn’t receive any answer immediately, she looked at back at Hermione. “Are you?” She softly inquired. “Because I really hope you are.”

Looking back out at the view, Y/n continued. “Because it would slightly suck knowing that even after our messy breakup, you still aren’t happy.” Y/n took a deep breath and once again, looked at Hermione.

No. “Yes, I’m happy with him.” Y/n sighed in content and got up from her spot. Hermione followed suit and was slightly towering Y/n, but only a couple inches. “You know, it hurt a lot at the time. And I can’t lie, it somewhat still does. But you know me ‘Mione, I always want what’s best for you. And for being the brightest witch of our age, I certainly know you would choose what’s best for you.” But I was wrong, I was so so so wrong about my decision. Hermione knew time was running out. She could see it. You were slipping through her fingers yet she has yet to even say more than a couple words.

Y/n dusted her graduation robes and surprisingly kissed Hermione on the cheek one last time. “I don’t hate you Hermione. I could never hate you... Just promise me to take care of yourself, I would hate to see you unhappy.”

Y/n started to turn around and took one step down. “I’ll send you a copy of my book too, you’ll be the first to have one.” With one last look, “Farewell Hermione. Till we meet again.” And with that, Hermione saw the love of her life slip once again and all she wanted to say was, I love you.  

[lifeofa-fangirl]

I don’t want you like a best friend

Pairing: Tom Hiddleston x OFC

Summary: Taylor Swift causes OFC to put her friendship with Tom on the line

Word count: 3.3k

Warnings: A few swear words, a tiny bit of angst maybe? Mostly fluff

A/N: I was stuck on my Damiano David x Reader piece, so I decided to take a break and finally finish this one. I have nothing against Taylor Swift, just used her as a plot piece to move the story along. As always, likes, comments and reblogs are much appreciated!

‘Please come to the BAFTAS with me?’

Lauren scrunched her nose together in slight confusion when a text from her best friend appeared on her phone. The words were simple enough. It was a plea to hang out, similar to the ones where he insisted that he needed to come to Edinburgh again soon. He was constantly begging her to keep the guest room ready, so he could hop on a train and come visit. It had always been too long in his opinion. She never disagreed.

They knew each other a little over a year now and Lauren was still surprised how they’d grown so close so quickly. She always felt like she still hadn’t fully recovered from their first night out together. 

Thinking back at how she’d actually gotten to meet Tom, it still felt like a dream. She still didn’t get how she of all people had gotten lucky enough to win the Omaze raffle that Mark Ruffalo had done. The winner was flown out to LA to hang out with Mark for the weekend and attend the Thor Ragnarok premier. By some lucky strike from the faiths, that had been her. 

She also still didn’t know the exact details of how or why the faiths had written Tom into the story. But the fact was that she had reminded Mark of Tom, he’d introduced the pair, insisting that they would click immediately and they should walk the red carpet together. Lauren still suspected him of setting this up on purpose to distract the press from any spoilers that he would almost definitely be giving away by accident. 

It hadn’t helped Mark much, as he had practically live streamed 20 minutes of the movie, but he hadn’t been wrong on the other front. Lauren had never heard or read a story about Tom that had anything bad to say about him. Charismatic, funny, intelligent and so very kind, was the vibe that clung to him. Lauren had been nervous about meeting him, she believed in never meeting your heroes, and had been scared that he wouldn’t live up to the picture she had painted of him in her mind. But Tom turned out to be exactly as amazing as all the stories deemed him to be. And Lauren had taken an immediate liking to him.

Mark had also been right about the press attention. When Tom had showed up with a date on the red carpet in the first time in forever, the press had had a field day. The constant flashes and questions, all the attention on her, Lauren hadn’t liked it one bit. But Tom had been the perfect gentleman. He constantly had had an arm around her to keep her steady and make her feel safe. He had handled all the questions with patience and grace, never once making her feel uncomfortable. 

And in the end, all the attention had been worth it. They had a lot of fun at the premier, so much that Tom and her had spend most of the reminder of their time in LA hanging out together. As the faiths would have it, they had even been on the same flight back to England, on which he definitely hadn’t boother her up to first class and she definitely hadn’t fallen asleep on his shoulder. 

Lauren had always felt like there could have been something more, but they both had busy lives and had gone their separate ways after the plane had touched ground in London.

They had, however, exchanged phone numbers early on during their stay in LA. To arrange any practical details of whatever they were going to do together of course, no other reason. 

But in the year that followed, the exchange of numbers had led to an almost constant stream of texts. Tom would share snippets of the stuff he was working on, cute pictures of his dog or just something beautiful he had come across on his daily run that he insisted made him think of her. She would vent about the trouble she came across during her shifts in the hospital or send funny pictures of her deeply loved godson.

They had become quick friends, but after twelve months Lauren still wasn’t sure what exactly they had going on. Whether they were bound to stay friends or if there could be something more on the horizon. Every now and then, Tom’s texts would take a flirty turn. But even though she always tried to send a cheeky return, she wasn’t sure what it meant. She knew that, even without realizing he was doing it, Tom tended to be a big flirt with everyone. 

And nothing else had ever happened. She had gone to London a few times, but mostly he came up north to Edinburgh whenever he had the time. She had quickly come to realize he liked how peaceful it was compared to buzzing London. They would hang out in their little cocoon and that was that. 

Every now and then some pap shots would appear of them. Walking Bobby, going for a coffee or grabbing dinner. Friends would always tell her they looked like a couple, the way they stood huddled together, how he had his arm around her lower back or hers was linked through his. But that’s what friends did, right? They hung out together and that’s all there was to it. They were imagining the extra sparkle they claimed to see in his eyes when he was looking at her. Because there was no way Tom was returning the feeling she told everybody she definitely hadn’t developed for him. 

And strangely, most of the time she was content about that. Because she wasn’t seeking any attention and she definitely didn’t want to be known just as ‘Tom’s girlfriend’. And Tom knew that. He respected that and liked it. Because it also meant that in return, with her he could be just Tom, instead of the A-list superstar. They had their own little safe haven together. It was the reason Tom had never asked her to attend an event with her again. And it was the reason she was confused that he was asking her now.

‘Pretty please? Put your loving hand out baby, I’m begging. Begging you.’

Another text brought Lauren back to the present and out of her thoughts. She snorted when she noticed he gave her a taste of her own medicine. Working lyrics into a text or conversation was her specialty, but apparently Tom had taken to drastic measures. She was still confused as to where this was coming from, but also knew she couldn’t say no to Tom, especially not when he was begging. 

“Sure, I guess that could be fun,” she agreed.  She pushed away all thoughts of this being a bad idea and decided to try and just make a fun night of it.

And fun she had. She accompanied Tom to the red carpet, the preshow dinner and the public ceremony. And while she hadn’t expected it, Lauren ended up having a phenomenal time during all of it. She cheered along with Tom when Guillermo De Torro won best director. She got to meet the wonderful Karen Gillan and Tom introduced her to Hugh Laurie, whom she had adored ever since watching Black Adder as a kid.

And she finally found out the actual reason why Tom had begged her to come along with him. Tom had insisted that he’d just wanted her there and wanted to have a good time and that it was time the world got to know the fabulous person Lauren was. But the moment they were on the red carpet and she saw the look on his face when he saw his ex girlfriend step into the spotlight, she knew.

It had been almost 18 months since Tom and Taylor had broken up, but surprisingly it was the first time they attended an event together. Tom managed to give Taylor a polite nod when she passed them, a motion that Taylor didn’t bother to copy. Lauren was suddenly very aware of the cameras around them and she deeply hoped they captured the once over that Taylor gave her, which ended in a look of disgust. Tom certainly had, as Lauren felt his arm slip around her waist to pull her closer to him and felt his lips press a quick kiss on the top of her head. She did her best to ignore the beat her heart skipped.

Things went back to normal, or as normal as the red carpet of an award show could be, after Taylor entered the venue and was out of sight of the cameras. Tom relaxed again, did his best to be his charming self for the interviewers. They enjoyed the show, loved Stephen Fry’s jokes while presenting and overall had fun together. It was a great night. Until Taylor arrived at the after party they were attending.

Much later she would learn that Taylor’s most recent boyfriend had called it quits a day or two before, but the night itself Lauren just knew there would be trouble the moment she spotted Taylor. The singer clearly was more than a little tipsy and despite the loud music, Lauren could almost hear her snarl the moment she spotted Tom, whose arm was hanging loosely around Lauren’s shoulder.

She should have warned Tom, because he hadn’t noticed the singer walk in yet and was happily chatting to the friend besides him. Instead, Lauren felt slightly hypnotized as she watched Taylor. They stared at each other for a moment and in the next, Taylor was walking up to the DJ booth with determination in her step. Lauren watched her greet the man. She shot him a fake smile, gave him a hug and then told him something. The DJ nodded with what looked like a loud laugh and gave her a thumbs up.

As Taylor walked away, Lauren immediately got a bad vibe. She turned her attention to Tom, wanting to inform him about his ex girlfriend just walking in and how she thought she was up to something. But before she could get a word out, the DJ’s voice boomed through the speakers. “Next up we have a request from none other than miss Taylor Swift herself. She asked me to pass along a message. So here it goes: this one is for you, Tom!”

It took a few moments, but when Taylor’s voice sounded through the speakers and she murmured, “No, nothing good ever starts in a getaway car,” all heads in the room seemed to turn in Tom’s direction. 

Lauren was still staring at Taylor, her mouth slightly agape, when she realized Tom’s friends around them had started fussing. She turned around to get a glimpse of Tom’s reaction and found him red-faced and clearly embarrassed. 

Nobody around them seemed sure how to handle the situation and Tom’s face now seemed to drain from all color rather fast. In a split second Lauren decided she needed to distract him and did the first thing that came to mind. She grabbed him by his suit jacket to pull him closer and get his attention and yelled, “Well we’re just a wet dream for the webzine!”

Tom’s face immediately told her the tactic had worked. It scrounged up in confusion. He stared at her for a few long moments and then he yelled back, ”What?”

“It’s a Panic at the Disco song,” Lauren explained, doing her best to be heard over Taylor’s song still blasting through the boxes. Straining her voice, she continued, “It goes: Well we’re just a wet dream for the webzine, make us it, make it hip, make a scene.” She let out a small snort when she realized, “Coincidently the song is called London Beckoned Songs About Money Written By Machines. It continues: Or shrug us off your shoulders don’t approve a single word that we wrote. And then the next verse goes-“

Before Lauren could get out any of the next verse, Tom interrupted her. “You really have a song for every occasion, don’t you?” he wanted to know. He was smiling and seeing him happy again made Lauren’s heart jump more than just a little. She felt so proud she was the reason he was smiling again.

She did her best not to give away what Tom’s reaction was doing to her by simply shrugging in response. “It’s kind of my thing I guess,” she allowed him. Then, not able to help herself, she continued, “As I was saying, in case you are interested, the song continues: just for the record, the weather today is slightly sarcastic with a good chance of A indifference or B disinterest in what the critics say.” 

Her words caused Tom to let out a loud laugh. “You’re more than a bit crazy, you know that?” he told her. But his words didn’t carry any venom to it and his actions confirmed that he was more than happy to have her around: without another word, he pulled her into a hug. “Thank you, love,” he whispered, loud enough for only her to hear.

Lauren’s heart made another jump when she felt Tom press a light kiss against her hair and the smile that was already present on her face only grew wider. ‘Mission accomplished,’ the voice in her head silently confirmed. 

Tom’s smile considerably lifted the mood of the people surrounding them and the rest of the night Lauren and Tom spend dancing with their friends and having a good time. And Lauren couldn’t help but feel a little bit proud about the fact that every time she looked at Taylor from the corner of her eye, she could see her staring at them green with envy.

Quite some time after midnight, Tom and Lauren were both still high on adrenalin from the evening, but the party had started to die down and they too decided to call it a night and drive home. 

Not completely ready to quit the party just yet, Lauren plugged her phone into the sound system and put a playlist of her favorite songs on shuffle.

They had just jammed out to Fleetwood Mac, pulling out their best carpool karaoke moves, when a new song started and a too familiar voice filled the car. “I don’t like your little games, don’t like your tilted stage, the role you made me play -“

“Shit, sorry, sorry!” Lauren grabbed her phone and stopped the song as soon as she heard the first lines, but it was already too late. Tom had obviously recognized Taylor’s voice. The mood in the car went from ecstatic to ice cold in three seconds flat.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Tom’s voice was void of emotion, his knuckles were white from tightly gripping the steering wheel and Lauren could easily tell he was angry. She couldn’t blame him either.

“I’m sorry, I really am,” she apologized. She switched to another song in a desperate effort to change the mood again. “I should have thought about this.”

“Well clearly you didn’t,” Tom answered in a flat tone. “I cannot believe you actually have that CD.”

Lauren understood why Tom was mad, of course she did. After tonight she didn’t blame him. But the whole Taylor story had happened before they knew each other. The record came out before they met and started caring about it each other. Back then it had just been good music to Lauren and she hadn’t really cared what the inspiration behind the songs had been. “I got it before we met,” she tried to explain. “Back then I just thought there were some good jams on there, that’s all.”

Tom scoffed. “Well, if you like it so much, maybe you should play Getaway Car again?” 

Lauren was sure a little crack had just appeared in her heart from all the ice in his voice. She blinked a few times in an effort to keep the tears at bay. “You know that song means nothing to me!” 

She cringed at the desperation in her own voice. But it hurt to see him angry at her and she needed Tom to understand that this had been a stupid accident and she would have never played a Taylor song to him on purpose. 

Emotions threatened to overwhelm her. She needed an outlet for them and she almost literally felt her brain to mouth filter short-circuit. And before she realized what was happening, she heard herself say, “Besides, if we are talking about Taylor Swift songs that remind me of you, let me tell you that Getaway Car was never it for me. There’s a whole other song on that album that I link to you. That I can’t get out of my head when I’m with you.”

“And what would that be?” Tom sounded skeptical, as if he couldn’t believe they were having this conversation.

“Dress.”

“Dress?” Lauren could hear the confusion in Tom’s voice. When he briefly glanced over at her, she noticed a frown on his forehead. “Isn’t that the one that is supposedly about Ed Sheeran?”

It seemed like the surprise of Lauren’s confession had calmed Tom down a bit. The effect she had hoped for, but at the same time, it also meant he wanted an explanation. He deserved one. 

Lauren closed her eyes for a few moments and took a deep breath. She realized that this was it. She just ruined their friendship. And she wasn’t sure if it was in the worst or the best way possible. But she did know there was no going back now. 

Another deep breath and there she went, diving of the deep end and changing their friendship forever. “I don’t know. But… earlier tonight you asked me if I have a song for every occasion. And well, I guess that maybe I do. And this is the one I have for every occasion I’ve spend with you.” A small pauze as she figured out how to best continue. “I think… maybe you should just listen to the song.”

Lauren could tell Tom had a hard time dividing his attention between her and the road when she felt the car swirl slightly. The movement only made her nervousness worse. She fumbled with the controls of her phone until she finally found the song. 

Neither of them said anything while the song played and they drove through the darkness. Only when the chorus played for the last time, Lauren somehow, somewhere found the courage to sing along. “Say my name and everything just stops. I don’t want you like a best friend. Only bought this dress so you could take it off, take it off.”

The silence that filled the car after the song stopped was deafening. It felt like the longest couple of minutes in in Lauren’s life. When she risked a glance at Tom, she could tell his grip on the steering wheel had tightened again and he was staring at the road ahead with a blank expression. 

“Are you not going to say anything?” Lauren eventually needed to know. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she needed a reaction from Tom, good or bad.

“I’m trying to find a spot to park this car.” For one fleeting moment Lauren was sure she had ruined everything. Tom was going to stop the car and throw her out. And then he continued, “Because I desperately want to kiss you right now, but I don’t think driving and kissing at the same time is a very good idea.”

And Lauren had never been more grateful than that moment that her superpower was having a fitting song lyric for every occasion. 

[quicksilversquared]

Traps and Sneaks: Chapter 2 (of 2)

As the Guardian, it’s Marinette’s job to protect the Miracle Box and all of the Miraculous inside of it from evil. Obviously just sticking it away somewhere hidden isn’t going to cut it, so Marinette makes a box to hide it in. A booby-trapped box. A very dangerous booby-trapped box.

And if a certain someone gets their thieving little fingers caught in it, so be it.

links in the reblog

Lila sniggered to herself as she snuck up the stairs in the Dupain-Cheng bakery, unnoticed and unhindered.

Really, it had been way too easy to get in. All it had taken was feeding Alya a lie about how she had lent Marinette something to help her finish with their most recent Literature project but hadn't gotten it back, and she was worried about approaching Marinette to ask for it because, well, Marinette had been so busy recently that she probably thought that she had returned it. Lila was worried about appearing like she was accusing Marinette of stealing it if she asked about it, and they were only just starting to fix their relationship after getting off on the wrong foot. Alya had swallowed the lie like it was the most believable thing in the world, clearly thrilled that Lila and Marinette might be on the road to reconciliation, and from there all Lila had needed to do was suggest that maybe it would be easier for her to just fetch her things herself than it would be to ask Marinette.

Alya had been too eager to help, going into the bakery herself and getting permission from Mrs. Cheng to go in. Then she had let Lila in the side door- "I can't possibly go through the bakery myself, what if they recognize me and blame me for the time when Marinette got expelled and don't let me in!" Lila had exclaimed when Alya suggested that she just go in through the front herself- and made sure that she knew the way up before leaving. There had been a dicey moment when Alya moved to come up with Lila and help look, but Lila had waved her off with another excuse, insisting that she didn't want to eat up more of Alya's free time, especially when she knew that Alya and Nino had been thinking of going out for ice cream.

Alya had left, Marinette's parents would be busy in the bakery for hours, and Marinette herself was across the city at some sewing techniques workshop that she had won a full-ride scholarship for and hadn't shut up about all week. There would be no one to catch Lila and plenty of time for her to investigate Marinette's room and find- well, anything she could use against her.

A diary with embarrassing secrets, perfect for blackmail. Money, perfect for- well, money was always a good thing, and so was jewelry that she could pawn. Photos, also for blackmail. Sketches of designs for any other contests Marinette might have her eyes on, to copy and claim that Marinette had taken Lila's ideas. Maybe in-progress commissions that Lila could mess up, all the better to put a dent in Marinette's reputation if the damage wasn't found before she sent the pieces off to whoever had bought them.

One last flight of stairs, and Lila pushed open the door to the Dupain-Cheng apartment. Another set of stairs led up to a trapdoor that Lila could recognize as Marinette's (thanks to Alya's instructions), and she scampered up the steps and into the obnoxiously pink room at the top of the stairs.

The first thing she noticed: it was neat, unlike what Alya had warned her. There wasn't fabric draped all over the place or notebooks left out. On one hand, that would make things more difficult because she would have to search to find anything interesting, and unless Lila wanted to raise suspicion right away, she would have to put away anything she took out. On the other hand, well, it would probably be easier to find some things if she didn't have to dig through piles of fabric scraps or whatever it was that Marinette apparently usually had scattered around her room.

"Okay, first impressions," Lila said out loud as she glanced around. Marinette's school bag was by her desk- maybe she could tear out a couple pages of notes, so Marinette wouldn't have them to study from on the next exam. Next to the desk was a mannequin with what looked like a fairly complete outfit on it, leather pants with a lot of detail work and a matching jacket. Lila fingered the material, glancing at the seams on it. Since the piece was complete- or at least it looked complete- Marinette probably wouldn't look at it too closely before sending it off to its recipient. The recipient who, if the size of the pieces and the look of them was any indication, was probably Jagged Stone.

If she could mess with Jagged Stone's perception of Marinette and maybe mess up their working relationship, that would be perfect. Then he wouldn't feel inclined to do Marinette any favors like, say, coming in to call Lila out on her stories.

Lila decided that she would look for a seam ripper later, when she was poking around the desk. There was no point in stopping her assessment of Marinette's room now for that. After all, she had plenty of time.

The desk was otherwise pretty clear of anything interesting, though Lila was sure that she would dig through it later if she had time. The boxes on it probably just had sewing stuff anyway, and that- well, mixing it up or taking things might annoy Marinette, but she probably wouldn't think that much of it.

Across the room, though- well, there was a storage chest doubling as a bench, and Lila would be very surprised if there wasn't anything interesting in there. There might be a lock to deal with, but she had expected that and brought along her lock picking kit along. A few pokes and she would be in, ready to find out any secrets that Marinette might prefer stay hidden.

"Why couldn't she leave her diary on her desk like a normal person," Lila grumbled anyway, because it was also very possible that she would unlock the chest and find...nothing. Maybe Marinette didn't have any juicy secrets for Lila to exploit, and this whole trip would be- well, not for nothing, because she was still fully intending on causing ill-intentioned chaos, but not nearly as productive as she had hoped.

And considering that Lila was running quite a large risk with her lies to Alya about the thing she had 'loaned' to Marinette, a large payoff would be really preferred.

After a few more minutes of poking around- Marinette didn't keep a diary up near her bed, either, or any jewelry of any value, not that that stopped Lila from pocketing a few exotic-looking necklaces that she could always claim were gifts from people that she met around the globe- Lila turned her attention back to the large storage chest. The lock gave after a minute of working on it, and she flipped the lid eagerly, hoping that- well, hoping that there would be something interesting inside. Instead, she came face-to-face with...presents.

Boring. Knowing Marinette, they were probably all homemade and not worth anything.

Lila scoffed, wrinkling her nose at the pile of gifts. There was nothing interesting about Marinette being so disgustingly organized that she had gifts for her friends prepared well ahead of the holidays and their birthdays. She shoved a couple of the presents to the side, her nose wrinkling further at the next row of equally neatly-wrapped presents underneath.

Except... they were all labeled as being for Adrien.

Lila's eyebrows raised as she glanced at the top row of presents and- yep, all for Adrien. On closer inspection, all of them had little post-its on them with what event- and what year- they were meant to be for.

She sniggered. Marinette was a little obsessed, wasn't she? But as interesting as this was, it wasn't exactly something that she could easily use as blackmail. A bit disappointed, Lila kept digging, shifting packages aside. One more layer, and her fingers brushed against a dark wooden box, one that looked like perhaps Marinette had put it together herself.

It was exactly the sort of thing that a girl like Marinette- someone annoyingly craftsy- would store her diary in. Jackpot.

Smirking, Lila pulled the box out and considered it, her smile dropping as she did. Really, upon second glance, it was surprisingly sloppy, with uneven, dripping varnish and wonky nails. It was ridiculously heavy, even for its size, and especially considering that it was clearly made out of some cheap plywood. And oddly enough, it had two locks on it.

Frankly, the locks were the only reason why she didn't immediately lose interest. If they hadn't been there, Lila probably would have assumed that it was actually a failed project that Marinette was trying to hide.

"Well, it doesn't take a genius to figure out which lock to try," Lila scoffed, setting the box on the floor in front of her and settling down more comfortably to work on it. "That second keyhole isn't even in the right spot!"

Really, had badly had Marinette messed up that she had managed to insert a keyhole in middle of one of the side panels, nowhere close to where the box and the lid had come together? It wasn't even straight- in fact, it was upside down. Shoddy craftsmanship, all around.

(The fact that Lila had never made anything like the box and had no idea how to even approach putting a lock like that on a box or even make any sort of box herself was, of course, completely irrelevant.)

Unlike the lock on the storage bench, the lock on the box wasn't very straightforward. There were more pins in this lock, and each one had to be individually maneuvered into place. Lila worked on it, scowling in concentration as she slowly picked it open.

Either Marinette had just happened to have a lock sitting around that she used, or there was something good inside of the box. No collège student was going to spend the amount of extra money it would take for a fancier lock like this for no reason at all.

With one last careful nudge, the lock gave. Lila grinned in triumph, flipping the box open. The lid seemed a bit heavy- for some reason it seemed to be lined with a strange metal band, but who cared- and there were a few stray papers and a thin journal sitting in the top compartment, on top of a wooden shelf with- you have GOT to be kidding me- another lock, just barely visible. Lila reached in to move them, and suddenly metal flashed, quick as a blink. Lila shrieked in surprise, automatically yanking her hand back, but she was far too late. Pointed metal teeth had snapped shut around her arm, keeping it in place, and- oh god.

They hadn't just closed around her arm. No, they had gone straight through the skin and- oh god the pain-

Lila fainted.

  Marinette had been having a lovely time at her sewing techniques workshop. Their instructor had walked the small class through all sorts of different ways of handling material, and next week they would be covering more tricky materials. They had gotten an entire binder with step-by-step photo reminders of what they had learned, and Marinette's already had notes scribbled up and down the margins.

She was so glad that she had won the scholarship to the class. It wasn't that she couldn't afford it herself- after all, with the commissions that she had done lately for Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale, she wasn't left wanting for money- but considering that she often had to miss things because of akuma attacks, Marinette wouldn't have wanted to spend the money on something that she might not even be able to attend. With the scholarship...

Well, if an akuma showed up, that would still suck. She was learning so much from the class and it would definitely up her design skills. Having to duck out on the class because someone got upset and Hawkmoth had to akumatize them would be a huge disappointment, because she would miss out on so much valuable instruction. But at least she wouldn't be spending her own money on it.

She still felt a bit guilty that she was doing the class and not spending the spare time working on learning more Guardian stuff, but the Order and Master Norbu had assured her that she should make sure to balance her superhero duties and her civilian life. After all, they didn't want her coming to resent her duty as Guardian because of everything that it made her miss out on.

The last section came to an end, and everyone turned off their machines and started packing up. Marinette tucked her sewn samples into her bag with her binder- at some point, she wanted to actually file the fabric pieces in next to their respective instructions, but that was a project for another day- and pulled out her phone, opening it up to check for messages. She had put it on silent for the class- silent with the sole exception of akuma alerts, thank you Max for that setting modification- so that no one would accidentally distract her. Sometimes the class chat blew up over the weekend, and having that pinging constantly throughout the class...

Well, it wouldn't give anyone a very good impression of her, that was for sure.

-and oh boy that was a lot of messages.

"My parents tried to call me ten times, Tikki!" Marinette hissed, all of the relaxation and good feelings from the day gone in a heartbeat as she tried and failed not to catastrophize. "Oh my god, what if one of them had a heart attack or a machine broke and sent pieces everywhere and they're at the hospital and it's really bad and I should have been there and-"

"Call them back!" Tikki urged, sticking her head out of Marinette's jacket as soon as they were clear of the rest of the group. "And- look, it was both of your parents calling, not just one or the other. So that means that they're probably fine, right?"

"Oh!" Marinette considered that for a minute, then dove straight back into her worrying. "Then maybe the bakery caught on fire and burned down and we're homeless and-"

"Just call them back, Marinette!" Tikki exclaimed, though she was looking worried, too. "Then they can tell you what actually happened."

Marinette wavered, then pressed Call. Her mom's phone rang once, twice, and then she picked up.

"Marinette! Ah, is your class over?"

"Yeah, we- we just finished," Marinette responded, her heart rate slowly dropping back towards normal. Her mom didn't sound overly upset, so- maybe it wasn't super-serious? "I- I saw you called? And papa?"

"Yes, I hated to call during your class, but- well, there was an incident," her mom told her, sounding a bit hesitant. "Right away- your dad and I are fine, the bakery is fine, the house is fine. But your classmate- Lila Rossi- she broke into the house and into your room. She got into your storage bench and- anyway, long story short, there was a box in there that was, ah, quite severely booby-trapped?"

Marinette's heart skipped several beats, jumping straight into her throat. The- that was the box where she hid the Miracle Box. It was very well hidden- after all, it had been in a locked storage bench, hidden under Adrien's presents, and then locked (several time over) itself- and she had assumed that that would be enough to keep it undiscovered. If Lila had gotten into it- even just into the first layer- that could be enough to put the Miracle Box in danger. The police might want to know what was in the box, or they might have broken it open to get Lila's hand out- because presumably Lila had gotten her hand caught when she tried to get the box open, and getting the trap open wasn't exactly straightforward- or maybe Lila hadn't been caught too badly and had somehow persuaded someone to open the box for her. "It- yes?"

"Whatever the box is hiding- well, it's still hidden," her mom assured her, and Marinette couldn't stop herself from letting out a sigh of relief. "The second level is still locked. And the doctors did manage to get it off of Lila's arm- well, after a bit of puzzling, at least, they said that set-up was very clever. That was why we called you, actually. We didn't want to bother you, but it was just taking the hospital and the police so long to figure out that lock mechanism and they had been hoping for a clue."

...well, at least her mom didn't sound upset with her. Yet, anyway.

"We've gotten the box back now," her mom continued. "And we've already dealt with the police, so you don't need to worry there. They understand that Lila wasn't meant to be in our house, much less your room, and that the box was securely hidden and locked up. The only reason they might want to talk to you is to learn more about why Lila might have broken in."

"To make me look bad, I bet," Marinette said dryly. "To steal things, or plant evidence, or try to find something to blackmail me. Why else?"

"Lovely girl." Her mom said something to someone else on the other end of the line, muffled and indecipherable, before she came back. "That's all, really. Will you be coming back soon?"

"Yeah, I'm heading for the bus stop."

"All right. See you soon!"

With that, the call disconnected. Marinette stared at her phone for a minute, then glanced down at Tikki. Her kwami looked just as worried.

"I thought that you had hidden the Miracle Box really well!" Tikki exclaimed. "That was a really nice place, and no one ever goes digging in there! Add in the fact that you had it locked, and it should have been fine."

"Yeah, but clearly Lila was digging around with the intention of finding anything that I had hidden," Marinette told her. She let out a sigh, the stress starting to inch back in on her, taking all of the relaxation from her sewing class away. Maybe the Miracle Box hadn't been found today, but- well, this was hardly going to be the end of this whole fiasco. If (when) Lila got akumatized again, she would probably go after the box again to see if she could break it. She might tell people at school about it- changing, of course, the reason why she had been in Marinette's room in the first place and making up completely different circumstances as to how she had ended up with her hands on the box. While Marinette really had no choice but to return the box to its previous spot for the moment- after making sure that it was re-set, of course- it wouldn't be completely safe for the long term.

At least summer break was coming up soon and she had already been doing research on how to DIY hidden compartments. Clearly she would need to use that knowledge earlier than intended.

"Maybe she'll actually get in trouble this time," Tikki offered hopefully. "I mean, breaking and entering, trying to steal- you could try to press charges."

"Maybe, but considering how injured Lila probably is, she'd probably pull the sympathy card." Marinette groaned. "I don't understand how she even got in! We've been keeping the side door locked, and mom knows better than to let Lila into the house."

"If she got through the locks on the bench and the box, Lila probably knows how to pick locks," Tikki reminded her. "She might have just picked her way through the door downstairs."

That was a terrifying thought, honestly. That someone like Lila could just pick her way past a door lock and get in her house...

"If that's what happened, I'm definitely going to petition my parents to get better locks." Marinette checked her room again, then headed back down the stairs. Tikki flew after her, phasing into her purse. "I don't think they would agree to put in booby traps, too, but- ugh, I'm going to be worrying about people getting into the house now."

"Maybe it's just a matter of the lock being old and needing to be replaced," Tikki suggested. "Hopefully your mom knows more."

"I hope so!"

It felt like it took forever for the bus to come, and then it trundled along the streets far too slowly for Marinette's taste. She spent the entire trip worrying over different scenarios where Lila could twist things around to make Marinette look like the bad guy and trying to figure out where she could add a hidden compartment to her room, somewhere where no one would notice the addition.

This far, she was coming up blank. Maybe she could put something on her balcony- but that just didn't seem secure enough. It would be far too easy for a passing akuma (or, perish the thought, a passing supervillain) to accidentally knock into and destroy a hidden compartment. No, it would be better to get creative inside her room.

Once she hopped off of the bus, Marinette wasted no time in hurrying home. The bakery was still open- hopefully business hadn't been interrupted too much by Lila's injury- and she headed in, sparing a quick smile for a few regular customers that she recognized. Her parents had one of their normal bakers working the counter in her mom's place, clearly finishing up the day so that the Dupain-Chengs would be able to deal with the mess going on in their home.

Hopefully it wasn't messing production up too much. If both of her parents were upstairs and they had one of the normal back kitchen bakers at the counter, that meant fewer hands on deck to start preparing things for the next day. And since the staff wouldn't stay overtime, that meant that her parents would end up working long hours.

Freaking Lila. Of course she just had to make life difficult for everyone else simply because she was spiteful and fixated on revenge.

Not wasting any time, Marinette headed upstairs. Her mom was in their kitchen and on the phone, her back to the door, but her dad wasn't anywhere in sight. That meant he was probably downstairs, which suggested that she actually wasn't in trouble because she had the trap. If she had been, her dad would be there too, his arms folded and a frown on his face.

Her mom, though, was more than making up for the frowning as she argued with whoever was on the other end of the line.

"No, I am not arguing the definition of 'breaking and entering' or 'trespassing' with you," Mrs. Cheng snapped into the phone, mere seconds after Marinette entered the room. Marinette paused, blinking over at her mom in confusion. Normally her mom didn't raise her voice over the phone. "You are not a resident here, you do not get to let people in who we don't want inside. That is outright irresponsible behavior- no, I do not care what your interpretation of the situation was, I already told you that. And I will be contacting your mom about this. Perhaps she can get it through your head how unacceptable your actions were. Good-bye."

With that, Mrs. Cheng hit the end call button with a flourish, scowling at the phone for a moment before noticing Marinette. Her scowl was promptly replaced with a smile. "Marinette! How was your class?"

"It went well," Marinette told her, biting back the urge to gush. That could wait until dinner, after the more pressing issue of Lila's break-in had been dealt with. "Who was on the phone?"

"That was Alya," Mrs. Cheng told Marinette with a sigh. She pocketed her phone and washed off her hands before returning to her dinner prep. "I was calling to ask her if- well, she stopped by earlier to get something, so I wanted to know if she saw or heard anything out of place while she was here. I just wanted to try to get a better idea of when Lila might have broken in so we wouldn't have to go through as much security footage-"

"Wait, why did Alya come over?" Marinette interrupted, frowning in confusion. She hadn't borrowed anything from Alya recently, and normally Alya at least texted her to let her know if she was borrowing anything from Marinette for some reason while she wasn't home.

"I was getting to that, don't interrupt," Mrs. Cheng gently chided her. "Anyway, Alya seemed pretty surprised about us having a break-in... until I mentioned that it was Lila."

Marinette groaned. She was getting a sinking suspicion that she knew where this was going. "Please don't tell me that Alya let Lila in."

"...Alya let Lila in," Mrs. Cheng confirmed, sighing. "...on the plus side, at least she didn't pick her way in through our doors. I would be looking into swapping out our locks if that were the case."

"Why on earth would she think that that would be a good idea in any way?" Marinette exclaimed. "And- well, presumably she let Lila in and then just ran off instead of supervising her, which- even if Lila somehow made up some reason for having to stop by my room, why wouldn't Alya at least have the common sense to stay with her?"

"Well, from what Alya said, Lila said that she had loaned you something and you had forgotten to give it back, and she was worried about bringing it up and making you upset... because you might think that you had already returned it and think that she was trying to frame you. Or something." Mrs. Cheng pinched the bridge of her nose, clearly exasperated. "It sounded like Lila was making it sound like you two were starting to mend bridges. And I told Alya that Lila was found with a lock picking kit and some jewelry from your Nonna Gina in her pockets, but she's still insisting that it was all a misunderstanding. "

"How- how much did you tell Alya?" Marinette asked suddenly, brain all of a sudden dancing with pictures of Alya hearing about the trap and trying to dig into what, exactly, Marinette was trying to hide. She presumably had enough sense to not go digging through Marinette's things in hopes of an interesting discovery, especially considering how hurt Lila had gotten, but that didn't mean that Alya wouldn't incessantly ask her questions, and within hearing distance of other people, too.

Not that Lila probably wouldn't bring up the trap on her own- or would she? Why would she? There would be no way to talk about it without making herself look bad. But if Lila's reputation was tanking anyway, maybe she would bring it up just to make Marinette look bad, too.

"Not much," Mrs. Cheng assured her. "I didn't have to. I implied that Lila got into a locked box of sewing things and cut herself that way, which is very believable. Your fabric scissors are sharp, as are your rotary cutters, and it's not hard to believe that someone who wasn't familiar with that box might get themselves injured. I'm not going to tell your most inquisitive friend about your very mysterious and heavily-guarded trap box."

Marinette breathed out a sigh of relief.

"On a related note, I suspect that Alya might not be very keen on coming over here for a while," Mrs. Cheng added. "I was not subtle about how irritated I was with her. And she just kept on digging her heels in more whenever I pointed out things that she wasn't considering or just flat-out missed." She paused, looking slightly sheepish. "And I may, before you got back, have insulted her investigative and observational skills. Just a little bit. I just got too mad about the fact that she fell for such an obvious lie and didn't even try to check with you about it before she went ahead and let Lila in."

Honestly, Marinette couldn't blame her mom for exploding. She couldn't believe that Alya would have done that- and apparently still thought that she was completely justified in doing it. If Lila hadn't gotten herself injured and had gotten away without being caught, who knew what sort of damage she could have caused or what information she might have gotten her hands on?

Frankly, if things had gotten to that point, once she realized what had happened, Marinette probably wouldn't have been able to resist the urge to pull out the Horse and Portal Lila to somewhere dangerous. The arctic, maybe, or the surface of the Moon. She wouldn't be able to cause trouble there.

After a pause, Mrs. Cheng nodded towards the couch. "Your box is there. I think the police said that it's currently disarmed, but be careful with it."

Marinette nodded, scooting around the table to grab the box off of the couch. She was planning on being super careful. After working so hard on the trap- well, she had once gotten a cut on her finger while she was assembling the booby trap, and that had been without any force behind it. She had no intention of becoming acquainted with those same blades with force behind them.

Besides, the box was completely safe when it was disarmed, and Marinette really didn't think that she was likely to ever just forget to disarm it, not with all of the safety measures she had deliberately built in. All that took was unlocking the second lock first- the crooked one that looked like it had been a mistake, or just a practice run on a spare piece of wood that ended up not being a spare piece- and then she could unlock the lid itself. There was a visible latch on the inside that would give away- to her- if the trap was set or not, and she always checked it just in case before sticking her hand in.

"I know how to open it safely and make sure that it's disarmed before I put my hand in," Marinette assured her mom. "After all, I designed it. I won't forget how to do it."

"Honestly, I figured that much. It wasn't a reassurance when I looked at the box at first because honestly, it doesn't look like an expertly engineered box." Mrs. Cheng smiled over at Marinette. "But that's deliberate, isn't it? No one would suspect that there's anything inside when it looks like a beginner's project."

"It was either make it look like that or try to make some sort of ornate box with a hidden key hole so that no one could figure out where the lock was, but- well, I don't have the time or skill to do that sort of carving." Marinette ran one hand over the box, remembering how much effort it had taken to make the box really solid and then go back and make it look like a beginner's project, ramshackle and not at all sturdy. If the person looking at the box knew anything about construction, the presence of the lock would probably give away the fact that she knew what she was doing, but Marinette was willing to bet that most people wouldn't know that. "It would have been cool, though. I've seen some locks online where people would never figure out how to open it unless they had been shown how, and that would have been nice."

Hawkmoth would probably just try to slice the box open then, but- well, if he did, he was in for a surprise. The wood might crack, but the enchanted metal underneath wouldn't budge.

"You've done quite a bit of research about this, then." Mrs. Cheng considered Marinette for a long moment, and she resisted the urge to squirm. "Honestly, there's a part of me that really wants to question the box and say no to you having it, because it's clearly dangerous- I mean, I saw the damage that it did to Lila- and even though I know you'll be careful, it's hard to be comfortable with the idea of that being in your room. But clearly you've been responsible with storing it, and I trust that you wouldn't have gone so far out of your way to get the materials and do the modifications to that trap if you didn't think it was important to protect whatever is in there." She took a deep breath, and Marinette could tell that her mom was severely torn about whatever she was about to say. "So your dad and I are going to allow it, and we won't ask about what you have in the box. Heaven knows you deserve some privacy."

Marinette let out a sigh of relief. "I- thank you."

"And- I didn't want to say anything over the phone, but the police had originally wanted to talk with you about why you had that trap on the box," Mrs. Cheng continued, and Marinette's heart dropped right back into her feet, the moment of relief gone. "Because- well, normally kids your age don't have stuff like that. But- oh, you should have seen it. Your dad got very puffed-up and huffy with them about how this was the second time in less than two years that a classmate of yours had been caught breaking into your room with ill intentions and were you not allowed to protect your things? And one of the police was Officer Raincomprix, so of course he was in a pretty big hurry to drop that line of questioning. Particularly when he was reminded that his daughter was the other classmate that had snuck in."

Marinette hastily muffled a laugh. She would have loved to see that, honestly. "And they didn't say that they would, like, come back later or anything?"

"Only to get a statement from you that Lila wasn't meant to be at our house at all. Your father and I discussed it, and- if it's all right with you- we'd like to pursue pressing charges. We've heard enough about Lila that we want to make sure that she won't be bothering you in the future. Breaking and entering is just- she's taken it too far. She's been taking it too far, and I apologize for both your dad and I that we haven't taken it seriously. No disorder is going to compel someone to target you to the degree that she has been, much less plot to break into your room." Mrs. Cheng shook her head, clearly disgusted at herself for having fallen for the lie. "At the very least, we want to look into getting a restraining order. That should keep her away from you."

"What if Lila spins some tale or tries to get sympathy and we can't get the order?" Marinette asked. Even with their evidence- well, from the sounds of it, Lila's hand was probably pretty mangled, and she didn't have the magical healing potion that Marinette kept on hand just in case to put it back to normal. "What if they decide that her hand is punishment enough?"

"Then we'll argue that." Mrs. Cheng's voice was firm. "If you testify about what Lila has been like, then the courts will know that she's likely to just go back to school and cry about her wrist to get sympathy. And they've seen people like her before, I'm sure. They're not going to be as easily fooled as your teachers and classmates and- well, and your dad and I."

Marinette swallowed and nodded. That would be nice. That would be really nice.

"And if they do- well, and even if they don't- I will be talking to Lila's mother. There's no way she knows what her daughter has been up to, if she still was letting her run around." Mrs. Cheng nodded once, sharp, and Marinette knew that there would be no stopping her mom now. She was determined to keep Lila away from Marinette and force her to see the consequences of her actions, and so it would happen.

Honestly, Marinette had the best parents ever.

  Marinette let out a sigh of relief as she tucked the box back in its spot, piling the presents for Adrien back on top of it and shutting the lid of her storage bench. It locked with a thud and a sharp click, sounding sturdy and secure.

It was too bad that that was a lie. Marinette ran her fingers over the lock, wondering if she should try switching out the lock for a different style, something that would be harder- or, even better, impossible- to pick. It might be hard to do that without attracting attention, though, and if she messed it up?

It would be better to not have signs of tampering on her bench, just in case. Maybe she should practice with putting in and taking out locks on a bit of scrap wood first.

A blanket went over the bench, set at a jaunty angle, just casual enough that it didn't look arranged. Marinette's backpack went next to it, the perfect picture of nothing here to see.

And still Marinette worried her lip.

"It'll be fine, Marinette!" Tikki told her, zipping up next to her shoulder. "Downstairs is all locked up, the box is hidden, and the bench is locked. No one is going to be breaking in- and Lila is in the hospital anyway."

"I know, but..." Marinette trailed off, glancing around her room. Whenever someone entered her room without her consent- when Sabrina broke in, after Jagged Stone's camera wandered in while broadcasting live to all of Paris, and then now with Lila- she always felt thrown off kilter and uncomfortable, out of place and not as secure as normal in her own room. It wasn't ever a nice feeling.

She couldn't even safely leave her diary out in her room. Not her diary, not anything that might be the least bit valuable, not any signs of her crush or anything that might even hint at her double life. Maybe it would be a good idea to tuck those things away anyway, but there was a difference between having to simply put things away instead of leaving them out in the open and having to lock everything away under several layers of protection.

Marinette was starting to get the feeling that once she was older and had her own place, there would be a lot of personalization with false walls and hidden compartments where she could hide away- well, everything, really. All of the parts of her life that she might be at all leery of anyone finding out about.

It was always going to be a good idea to hide the Miraculous stuff, especially while Hawkmoth was active, but Marinette should be able to expect some measure of privacy in her own room. The fact that she apparently couldn't...

Maybe it was a better idea to not dwell on that too much. And, with any luck, they wouldn't have any trouble going forward. She and her parents had talked over dinner and come up with a new rule for letting in friends and classmates: all visits had to be approved by Marinette before they set foot through the door. If she let them in herself it was fine, of course, but if they came in through the bakery and wanted to be let up then Sabine had to have a text on her phone from Marinette approving it. There would be no more surprise visits from her friends- or at least no truly surprise visits, since she would at least get a couple minutes' warning from her mom's inquiry text- and no more people going up to her room when she wasn't there 'just to grab something really quickly, honest'. If someone tried to come over as a surprise and Marinette didn't see her mom's text right away- either because she was just busy or because she was out as Ladybug- then that was just too bad. They didn't just get to saunter up and poke around in her room unattended until she got back.

That- well, security reasons aside, it was a really good change. There had been multiple times lately when Marinette had been in the middle of trying to catch up on homework and one (or more) of her friends burst in and interrupted her, and that had both thrown her completely off and eaten up time that she really didn't have to spare because she felt bad about sending them away when they had come over to see her. There hadn't been any times yet where Marinette had been out as Ladybug and came back to find someone in her room, but, well, she couldn't get lucky forever. If they hadn't made the change, then it would probably only be a matter of time before Ladybug slipped into her room after a long fight and found Alya waiting there.

(That would be a disaster.)

"At least I hadn't gotten around to painting the trap with the poison that the Order sent me," Marinette commented after a pause, pushing away thoughts of her new visiting arrangements and how she really should have implemented them earlier for the time being. The poison was a new suggestion from the Order, something to completely ensure that Hawkmoth wouldn't be able to steal the Miraculous, and it was a suggestion that made her really, really nervous. She fiddled with one of the tassels on the blanket, then resolutely turned and headed up to bed. "The police might have been fine with the bear trap- if only barely- but a bear trap coated in poison? I would have gotten in so much trouble."

"I still think it would be a good idea to put it on," Tikki told her. "I know it ups the scary factor even more, but in case Hawkmoth finds the box and he doesn't pass out from the trap- or if it doesn't catch him as much as it sounds like it got Lila, since he might be expecting a trap!- then it should still keep him from getting away scot-free. You have the antidote and the healing potions, so you should still be safe!"

"In theory, at least." Sure, the Order had assured her that it would take some time for the poison to kick in, enough time for her to get to her remedies- a delay of sorts, followed by it absolutely flooring the unfortunate person affected- but that still depended entirely on her keeping her head long enough to actually get to them.

Maybe she needed to consider a rearranging of where things were so that there would be less distance between the box and the antidotes, just in case that very dangerous and (hopefully) very unlikely scenario of the box snapping shut on her ever happened.

Ugh. More things to do, as though she didn't already have enough on her plate. But Tikki was right- Hawkmoth was too much of a threat to keep putting off the secondary level of protection. She would just have to be super careful around the box- even more than she had been before- and prioritize getting her remedies located closer to the hidden Miracle Box.

That, and she definitely had to make sure that she kept her remedy up-to-date, no slacking and letting it come close to expiration. And, well, she had to make sure that she didn't use up the healing potion- the potion that would immediately reverse the damage from the trap in case something went wrong- with injuries that she got while sewing or tripping over her own feet.

At least she knew how to make the healing potion. As long as Marinette kept an eye on how much she had- and her (poorly) hidden supply of potion ingredients, those had to be next on her list of things to build hiding spots for after a new spot for the box and a close but not too close location for the remedies- and made sure to top it back up whenever she got low, using it for other injuries shouldn't be a problem.

"I'll tell Mom no babysitting next weekend, and do the poison then," Marinette said, realizing that she hadn't said anything for a minute. "If I do it right away and the police end up wanting to see it again, then that'll be an issue. If I give it a little time, then I won't end up putting the poison on and then having to take it right off again. And I need to get some more supplies- a dedicated paintbrush, and some gloves so that my skin doesn't come in contact with it at all."

Tikki nodded, approving. "I didn't think of that! That's a good thought. I think that should be fast enough. And it'll give you time to think about ways you can shake up your set-up so that no one else will know about it again!"

"The biggest changes there might have to wait to summer, honestly," Marinette admitted. The amount of work it would take to make a hidden cubby- and to make it fast enough that no one would notice it- would be absolutely insane, her biggest project yet. "But I'm sure that I can make some changes to up my security before then, and dream up improvements that I can make so that I'm ready to hit the ground running as soon as I have enough free time."

Her mind was whirring with more ideas already, actually. She would have to ask the Order to enchant more metal so to be Miraculous-resistant, pieces that she could put inside of the storage bench and keep it from being destroyed. If Hawkmoth (or his akumas) couldn't pick locks, that should be enough to stop him. And then if she practiced with taking out and putting locks in, then she could put in a lock like one she had seen online most recently, the one that had a hidden keyhole. Both improvements wouldn't affect her ability to get in- which was a good thing, since speed was super important during akuma fights- but should make things for difficult for anyone with nefarious intentions.

It would be a lot of work, of course, and might mean skipping out on a few outings with her friends to get things done quickly just in case, but she could make the Miracle Box safe and secure again. It might even end up helping her in the long run, since now she knew where the weak points in her security were and could fix them before they were put to the test by an akuma or Hawkmoth. Sure, it wasn't ideal that people knew about the box at all, but- well, it wasn't worth crying over spilled milk.

Marinette would come back from this, and she would come back stronger.

[mostly-marvel-musings]

A Mere Mortal - Chapter Five

A/N: This story is based on Landlord Vampire Fic Frenzy hosted by the amazing @just-the-hiddles​. The second last chapter of this series! Yay Feedback’s appreciated as always! :))

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Vampire! Bucky Barnes x Vampire! Loki x Human! Reader

Word count: 2043

Warnings: Foul language, murder description, mostly angst.

Tags: @buckybarnesplumwhore​​ @ladyacrasia​​ @tcc-gizmachine​​ @alexakeyloveloki​​ @rogerrhqpsody​

Taglists open! Send me an ask if you wish to be tagged in future chapters.

...

You’d had enough. Bear was driving you insane with his persistent howling and barking. For such a small pup he was quite loud. Groaning, you turned on your side hoping to block the noise out.

Maybe it’s a phase. Don’t they start teething or something at this age?

You thought you’d ignore him and eventually he would keep quiet and go back to sleep, but something made you get out of the warmth of your bed, down the stairs and flick the light on in the living room. Bear was standing by the front door, staring it down as if it were an enemy. Huffing, you went closer.

“What is it buddy? Bad dream?” you leaned down to give him a scratch but he backed away; instead trotted up to the door and began scraping it with his front paws.

“You want to go for a walk now? Its 4:00 am and freezing cold. Come on now back to sleep.” You turned to switch the lights off again when Bear grabbed your pajama bottoms and tugged on them.

“What the hell Bear! We cannot go out now. Enough.” Irritated at this point, you picked him up and took him upstairs to let him sleep in your bed. Maybe he’d calm down then.

Once inside, you slid inside the still warm bed with the puppy and cuddled him close, he was surprisingly pacified at that time. He scrambled around a little bit before snuggling in, his rapid breathing gradually began lulling you back to sleep. Though it was short-lived.

Soon the quiet of the room was broken by Bear’s yapping right beside your ear. Angry at this point, you threatened to lock him in a room, though you could never do such a thing. He sat beside your bedroom window and looked out into the darkness. Following his gaze, you peered out to see what’s got him so riled up.

You saw a blurry dark figure laying on the ground on the far end of the street. The hairs on the back of your neck stood in alarm as you squinted to see clearly. 

Were they unconscious? Or worse? Should you call the police?

Deciding the latter was the logical option, you got your phone and dialed 911 and waited for in your living room for a car alarm to be heard. You weren’t planning on standing in the dark out there alone.

Upon hearing cars in the distance, you pulled on a sweater and a hat, carried Bear in a little blanket and went out to the possible crime scene.

As you got closer, your heart rate picked up, Bear’s barking returned and you could sense something was horribly wrong. One of the officers saw you approaching and walked towards you.

“Do you live around here ma’am?” he asked looking at you warily.

���Yes, right down the street. I was the one that called you. My dog kept barking endlessly and I saw a figure on the ground. What happened?” you asked trying to peak behind him where the figure still laid, lifeless.

“I’m afraid it’s an animal attack. A brutal one. This woman was dead when we arrived. Her head was about ten feet away from her body.” He said matter-of-factly.

Your eyes went wide as he described the scene as if it were a routine weekday for him. You stepped around him, still in shock, to see who the woman was. To your horror, it was Jenny. Jenny who served you food at the grill on your very first day here; Jenny who was always so warm and kind towards you whenever you visited her.

She lay there on the cold ground, decapitated. Her mouth agape in shock, her eyes grey, lifeless, and what looked like scratch marks all over her severed neck and shoulder region. All this, and not an drop of blood was to be seen.

That was odd, to say the least. Judging by the intensity of the attack, there should’ve been a pool of blood right? Unless those freaky legends were all true. It couldn’t be, could it? Body drained completely of blood? What animal does that? Your detective alter ego was hard at work at this point.

“I can escort you home miss. We’ll do an inspection of the woods for any signs of animals. It’s not safe out here.” The officer broke you out of your mental investigation of the scene.

Agreeing, you let the officer walk you home, still in disbelief that you had just witnessed such a terrible yet odd scene. You were in shock.

Placing Bear down once you were inside, you walked in the kitchen, dazed, and got a glass of water. Bear following you closely, sat right at your feet as you leaned on the island counter, and looked up at you concerned.

“I forgive you for waking me up.”

…

You woke up that morning with a pounding headache and your hyper puppy dancing around the bed and licking your face.

Stepping under the shower, you recalled last night’s or rather, this morning’s events. The sight of Jenny’s lifeless body without a drop a spilled blood filled your mind with equal amounts of panic and curiosity. Mind immediately jumping to Bucky’s story from the other night.

Bucky! You could talk to him about the incident. You hadn’t spoken to him since the little make out session at his house. Sure not much time had passed, plus you had just witnessed a mysterious death.

Sam’s words echoed in your head at that moment. Creepy town.

After a heavy breakfast, you fed the dog and stepped out heading towards the library. The change in weather was quite evident as the leaves had started to fall and your breath was visible even during the day as well. You were sure you heard leaves crunch a few feet behind you but you didn’t stop to look, in fact you picked up your speed and jogged to the library.

“Ah (Y/N) my dear, how nice to see you again.” Frank’s kind voice came from his desk on your right as you entered the library.

“Good morning Frank. Did you hear about Jenny’s death?” you replied, immediately getting on the subject. You saw him get shifty-eyed for a little before a sympathetic smile donned his aging face.

“Ah yes. Terrible animal attack. You be careful when stepping out at night, my dear.” He replied hurriedly making you wonder if he’s memorized that response.

Not asking any further questions because he said he was busy looking at the logs, you made your way to the usual spot by the window and opened up a dusty copy of Dewsbury Legends & Myths.

You were lost in the book, not noticing a figure approach and sit right across from you, until he cleared his throat.

You looked up to find Loki peering at you intently with a slight smirk adorning his thin lips. As if a hunter would look at its prey who has absolutely no chance of escape.

“Hello love.” His smooth accented velvety voice enveloped your senses with intrigue and trepidation. He was leaning close, a bit too close for your liking. Your body automatically straightened back, going as far as away from the man without getting up.

“Loki. What brings you here?” keeping your tone polite yet unyielding you held his gaze.

“Oh you know me, Frank is a dear friend. And you are too.” He added with a full grin this time. Something about that grin sent a shiver down your spine. You wanted to get away from his presence, and yet you couldn’t get yourself to physically stand to leave; as if he had put you under a spell.

“How’s James? Haven’t seen him in a while. You two have gotten quite close it seems.” He interjected your train thoughts, his tone dripping with disdain.

You remained silent. Somehow you knew this wasn’t the end of his queries.

“Sad what happened with Jenny, you must’ve heard. Such a poor thing. Pathetic.” He said, gaze piercing at this point as if trying challenging you to speak the obvious at this point.

Your mouth went dry as your mind grasped the idea of what Loki had just implied. It was him. He did it. He killed her. He had bitten her, drained her body of blood.

Him.

Was he a-?

In flight-or-fight mode you scrambled to gather your things to get the hell away from him, of course he stopped you.

“Come on darling, it is only just getting interesting. I haven’t even told you the best part yet” His calm demeanor frightened you all the more.

“Since you’re so keen on knowing our town history, has James been telling you the real one or the one about Morwenna and Lucas?” Loki said sitting back on the armchair, knowing you wouldn’t run away now. Not until he spills the whole truth anyway.

Your voice came out feeble and shaky as you asked him what he meant by the real story.

“Has James ever mentioned of his deceased sister? My guess is he hasn’t. Well (Y/N), Evelyn was James’s sister who died tragically in the woods.”

“Evelyn was Lucas’s sister.” The words just blurted out without your approval.

“There is no Lucas darling. James made it up. He’s been telling that story for decades.”

Decades?

“You’re lying.”

“Perhaps you should ask him yourself. He should be here any minute, wanting to ‘protect’ you from me.” Loki sneered, leaning forward again. You swore you could see his eyes turn dark.

As if on cue, the library door swung open and Bucky came charging in towards you. Your body felt released from invisible chains as you scrambled to stand up and backed away from the two men.

“(Y/N) I’ve been calling you, why didn’t you pick up? What’s he doing here?” he looked concerned as he scanned you before staring daggers at Loki.

“Nice to see you James. I’ve just been updating our darling (Y/N) on real Dewsbury history.”

Before he could answer, you interjected,

“What happened to your sister?” your voice shaking with fear as you began plotting your escape from the small library. Would it really work? Probably not. Would you still try? Yes.

“Don’t believe a word he says doll, I was worried about you.” Bucky started stepping closer as you moved further away, not knowing who to trust.

“That’s not an answer.”

“Look, let me take you home, we can talk then.” He tried to reason with you as he saw fear in your eyes.

“That’s not an answer either.”

All the while Loki sat back in the armchair, observing the drama unfold. The one that began because of him.

“She died. In the woods.” Bucky finally said, head bowed.

You knew deep down Loki’s words were true, though Bucky’s admission shocked you nonetheless. It was true. The legends, the myths. And you needed to get away from them at once.

You made a run for it as you closely avoided Bucky who could’ve easily stopped you, but didn’t. As you reached the door, his hand interrupted your actions. You didn’t even hear his footsteps follow you.

“Please let me explain.” He pleaded.

“You stay the fuck away from me.” Yelling, you pushed his hand away and opened the door, bolting towards your house.

You kept glancing back as you ran, looking to see if either of them were following you, they didn’t.

“(Y/N) please, I don’t want you to be afraid of me. I was protecting you.”

 Of course he was standing right behind you. 

Angry tears blurred your vision as you turned to face him, “I think I told you to stay away from me. Leave me alone. Please.”

Bear’s barks filled your ears as you heard him scratching at the front door, to come to your aid. You turned and opened the door, immediately your dog began growling in Bucky’s direction without stepping out of the house. He could probably sense Bucky wasn’t a human.

“(Y/N).” he said as a last attempt to get you to listen.

You of course, slammed the door, locked it shut and sank to the floor, crying.

…

[pillar--of--salt]

70! please! Nadine + Henry!

70: “I could tell it was your favorite book from all the notes you wrote in the margins.”

//

“Wait, Nadine!” Henry followed her out of Elizabeth’s office, so she stopped and turned back up the hallway. “This came home with Elizabeth last night,” he said, “but I think it’s yours. It must’ve gotten mixed up in all the reports she brought home.” He held up a battered, clearly well-loved copy of Slouching Towards Bethlehem. “I didn’t notice it on her desk until after she’d already left this morning.” 

Nadine straightened. “Oh! Thank you so much.” He handed it over. “I was looking for that. I take it with me on every flight; it... it’s my favorite book.” She seemed almost bashful admitting even this one small part of her personality. 

“I could tell it was your favorite book from all the notes you wrote in the margins,” he pointed out. He hadn’t read through them or anything, but he had thumbed through the book at first to make sure it didn’t belong to anyone in the family, and all the annotations were impossible to miss. They were jotted down in different inks in any bit of free space there was, and there was no mistaking the handwriting. Henry had seen it enough times along the margins of all of Elizabeth’s memos. 

Nadine grinned. “This isn’t even my worst copy.”

“Why does that not surprise me?” It struck Henry now that of all of Elizabeth’s staff, he knew the least about Nadine. He knew all about Jay’s family; the drama that was Daisy and Matt’s off-and-on relationship; Blake’s neurotically WASPy family—all because of and through Elizabeth. But besides the Marsh debacle, he couldn’t tell the first thing about Nadine. That meant that his wife likely couldn’t, either.  

Well, that wasn’t entirely true—Elizabeth did tell him one thing. That Nadine was an intensely private person. 

He knew this bothered Elizabeth, though she’d never admit to it. She admired her chief of staff and wanted to get to know her, but she was at a loss as to how to go about it. 

“The other copies have water damage, broken spines, torn covers... I used to reinforce them with duct tape,” Nadine explained with a chuckle. “But even so, they always got to a point where they became impossible to carry or read without falling apart in my hands. That’s when I replace them.” 

“How... how many times have you read it?”

She thought. “At least once per year since... my junior year of college?” She held up a hand and said, laughing, “Please don’t do the math. I don’t need the reminder of my age.”

“I’d never,” Henry said, grinning himself. “Seems to me you should have it half-memorized by now, though.”

She shrugged one shoulder. “Maybe. But it’s always nice to read a fresh copy after a time. Like rediscovering her, in a way.” Suddenly, she looked embarrassed to have shared so much.

“I think that’s lovely,” Henry said gently. “You know, I think I’ll send you a new one soon. Yours looks like it’s on its last legs.”

Nadine beamed at him. It was arresting, the way it completely transformed her face. “That’s very kind of you, Henry. And thank you for returning this one to me.” She tucked the worn copy carefully into her handbag.  

“You should talk to Elizabeth about it,” he said. “I think she’d really like knowing this about you.”

“You think?”

“Play It As It Lays is one of her favorite books of all time.”

“Hey, Nadine?” Elizabeth called out. They both turned to see her leaning out of her office door. “I need you to run through these numbers with me again. When you have a minute.”

“Of course, ma’am. I’ll be right in.” And then, still looking in Elizabeth’s direction, she responded to Henry. “One of her favorites, huh?”

“Talk to her about it,” he said again. He watched her carefully. 

Nadine smiled. And suddenly, it seemed as if she was seeing Elizabeth for the very first time.

[vegalocity]

What would happen if Syntax actually did get cured of the venom? Would he still want to hang around Huntsman and Goliath or would he Think 'huh. Maybe having the people who KIDNAPPED ME around me and my family Probably isn't the best idea.' - Pixel Anon

Uhhhhhhhhhhh yeah I think the answer is Not Good Things Will Happen. I think the answer is ‘Y’all are down an integral clan member hope you didn’t have any plans that hinged on technology or science in general right now.’

Honestly I think you don’t even need to throw Minyi and Xiuying into that equation to make that the answer. Even if you assume Syntax was essentially just alone in the world before spiderfication if he got the spider limbs pulled off and the venom drained from his system, no matter WHAT his Backstory is i think he’d just book it, he’d be OUTTA THERE he is GONE. He’s running before the purple has fully faded from his skin.

And when you THROW IN the ladies, then… well even more so. He’s got Minyi in one arm, a duffel bag in the other and loading into the gd car headed for Xiuying’s cabin to lay low for awhile.

(this gets long so it's under the cut)

Like, most people like to assume that there was a sort of… adjustment period when he had just been spiderfied, usually the flavor of ‘someone (usually Huntsman) reminding him of how he is at his base a human, not a spider, not one of them, and the second he stops being useful is the second he’s only good for how he’ll taste’ and even if he wasn’t afraid of whoever it was in the moment, confident in his ability to manuver extra limbs that aren’t there anymore and speed that wasn’t there either, all the physical additions that being a Spider Demon had are suddenly gone and that threat about being the next meal for the clan suddenly feels a lot more real. Even IF the others had actually grown attached to him and Minyi and even Xiuying, the fact of the matter is if these people decided to kill them all he wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.

Something I could see having kind of a ‘disney channel cartoon’ resolution in this setup is a thing idk if i’ve mentioned before involving Minyi or not. Bc Minyi, as i know i have mentioned, fucking HATES Spider Queen, and at first for awhile there she was very vocal about it, she hated that her dad was working for her, she hated that he wanted her approval, and most of all she hated that whenever she’d say any of that to him, he’d just sort of… not listen.

Even when even Minyi knows what she’s talking about is silly or irrational, she never really feels like Daddy isn’t listening. Even when she’s wrong and he has to explain to her what it was that was wrong, she still felt like he was listening to her as she talked. But not this. Never this. Minyi’s an observant child, her plotline hinges on it, so she knows when Adults tune her out, she knows when she’s being condescended to. And when Daddy tells her that of course he wants to stay Loyal to Spider Queen and she’s Really Cool Actually she can tell he wasn’t listening to a word she’d actually said. Because he never mentions forgiving her for stealing him, or that he knows it might look like she pushes him around but he knows he’s always in control of the situation, or anything that would actually ANSWER her questions or settle her worries. She just… might as well have stomped her foot and yelled like she was half her age.

And now that his head is clear he can look back on that and be… embarrassed? guilty? His daughter was warning him that whole time out of honest fear and concern that she only barely had the vocabulary and emotional complexity to understand And he brushed her off as if it was nothing. And to rub some salt into it now that his head is clear and the unrelenting force of the Spider demanding subserviance to the Queen is gone it’s obvious that his fucking six year old was right about his ‘boss’ being bad news. So of course he figures he owes Minyi an apology, but Minyi’s just happy that he’s listening to her again so it’s all okay in the end.

And if this is the Cyberhunt timeline then can I get an F in the chat for Huntsman? Bc he ain’t even getting a breakup scene, i don’t think he’d even get a letter outside of the ‘I’m leaving the clan and leaving the city with my family. Don’t try to find us’ that goes out to all of the clan (maybe even still implying that Syntax DOES still have that Spider amplification in him so it’s not just a flimsy ‘stay away’ from an equally flimsy human)

I could see Syntax as being pretty mad at himself for letting the relationship happen at all in that context. Like yeah, his brain was all scrambled up and he can’t ACTUALLY be held accountable for decisions made with the fact that he wasn’t really in his right mind for the whole thing, but it still happened. But now it’s over, and- and it was just some echo of venom that hadn’t quite metabolized yet that left a bitter taste in his mouth to acknowledge that those people weren’t really friends, that he wasn’t really-... His brain is still re-adjusting, he’ll be fine in time.

Minyi I don't think would quite get certain parts about this, in her mind, the big boss is always the bad guy and the other people around are just as scared of the big boss as the person they’re bullying. So to her only Spider Queen was the bad guy. So when Daddy turned back to normal and said that they weren’t safe from the bad guys anymore and needed to go stay at Auntie Xiuying’s cabin for awhile she’d thought that Uncle Huntsman and Uncle Goliath hadn’t come along simply because Uncle Goliath didn’t fit in the car. That they’d catch up with them soon. Because surely, they’d ALL be running away from the REAL bad guy together.

So, she figures they must have gotten lost and had to head back home. Thats not good, surely that means she needs to help them find their way here like how she helped Daddy find his way home. Auntie and Daddy were both too scared of Spider Queen finding them to contact her uncles, but Minyi knew how to evade that!

She knows Uncle Huntsman likes to hang out at their apartment because he loves Daddy (she’ll keep that to herself for now, grownups don’t believe in happily ever afters) so if she mails a letter to the apartment he might find it when he eventually comes over.

She knows Uncle Huntsman doesn’t like puzzles, but he’s good with them when its something important. So she makes a cipher and writes the letter in it, copies down the decoder, and chops it up into distinct shapes, seals it all up in a letter closes the envelope with a sticker on it, and slips it into the mailbox.

Eventually Huntsman does find the letter, written in childish scrawl, the puzzle to decode the letter, and the knowledge that theres only one child on this entire damn continent that would be this obnoxiously enigmatic about sending a fucking letter.

But whatever, he wasn’t gonna do anything except sit in the apartment surrounded by things left behind and feel sorry for himself--er, that is, scavenge for anything that could be used by the Queen and take advantage of the internal heating. So he may as well do something. So he puts together the decoder, she’d just sliced it into fourths. Then translated the letter.

“Hi Uncle Huntsman! If you’re reading this that means you unlocked my letter! Yay! I knew you could! So I know you and Uncle Goliath want to leave the bad lady’s clan too and I know you’re only not here because you guys got lost.” and she just… gave them the coordinates for the place her family was hiding away. (not REALLY hiding, it wouldn’t have taken much to track down the cabin’s whereabouts through Xiuying, but the secluded nature of the cabin may as well have been)

I guess… the way the story ends depends on how you want it to end. Because Huntsman has three options, but really only two. Does he accept defeat and burn the letter, or does he do something with the information he now has? Either way he’d be betraying the queen, but he doesn’t have it in him to turn in the coordinates of their lost clan member and his family. Not this time.

There’s this youtuber i like called Breadsword, he does movie analysis, and in his video about Millenium Actress he says something along the lines of ‘My favorite moment in a romance is somewhere in the last ten minutes, after we’ve followed our characters through the buildup, payoff, and premature destruction of what they had, as they go their separate ways and come to the conclusion that it wasn’t meant to last, one rejects it and takes flight in pursuit of the other... our dreams and our love are the only things truly worth running in the name of.

[cordonian-literature]

The Aftermath - Ch. 3

More Visitors

Summary: The Beaumonts find out about Riley’s condition

A/N: I know the last chapter was Liam and Drake, but their first encounter with Riley is actually here, in the preview. Check it out if you haven’t yet!

Word Count: ~3.4k

Warning: Mention of character death

*All characters belong to Pixelberry, except those that are unique to my story (I’ve also used some characters and fictional instances from Donna Tartt’s “The Goldfinch”)*

Catch up here!

Tags: @captain-kingliamsqueen @marshmallowsaremyfavorite @gkittylove99 @lovablegranny @loudbluebirdlover @mom2000aggie @kingliam2019 @queenrileyrose @shanzay44 @cordonianroyalty​ @hopefulmoonobject​ @hopelessromanticmonie @cinnamonspongecake

- Maxwell - 

“If it be true that thee shall not cease insulting mine own family nameth, then I dare thee to a battleth!”

“A hurlyburly thee sayeth? Well, then I'll seeth thee on the dueling ground!”

“Ah, but this isn't a normal battleth, because I dare thee to a breakdance hurlyburly!” 

“But I knoweth not how to doth the breaketh danceth!”

“Thou art a blinking idiot, and were bound to loseth!” 

“Uncle Max, why do I always have to play the character that loses?” Bartie tosses his copy of the script on the coffee table. 

“Because I’m the one with the killer dance moves!” Maxwell strikes a pose. “You only get to where I am after a lifetime of practice, muffin, and you’ve still got a long way to go.”

“But can’t you lose to me at least once?” Bartie picks up the booklet and starts flipping through the pages. “Like how you pretended to lose to Count Appleton in a rap battle, but then won against him in another rap battle in the next scene!”

“That was to catch him off-guard! I gained his trust and then his respect,” Maxwell argues

“Don’t you want my character’s trust and respect?”

“Your character keeps insulting my character’s family name!” Maxwell cries.

“Whatever.” He throws the booklet back down. “I’m going go to my room for a little while.” 

“Wanna run through your fork placement again?” 

“No, I’m okay. I’ve got it down. Thank you, though.” Bartie heads up the stairs towards his room.

“I’ll see you at dinner, muffin,” Maxwell calls. He plops onto the couch and begins to reread his script as Savannah walks into the room. 

“So how was rehearsal?” she questions. “Did you get a chance to teach Bartie that move you were talking about?”

He shakes his head. “No, we didn’t get to it. Don’t think the little muffin is interested in breakdancing, so I won’t bother him anymore.” 

Savannah doesn’t say anything. Maxwell had started working on his breakdance opera years ago after he tried to finish his novel but then gave up on it, claiming the topic was too depressing. He tried his best to get Bartie interested in his opera, even though Bertrand said it wasn’t appropriate for a boy of his status to be learning how to breakdance instead of perfecting the Cordonian Waltz. In the beginning, Bartie was thrilled that he got to spend more time with his Uncle Maxwell, but as time went on the boy became bored and started to look more towards Uncle Drake for some fun — which Bertrand thought was even more inappropriate (”My boy should be learning how to properly host the royal family, not learning how cut wood or put up a tent!”), though he allowed it after Savannah insisted — and so Maxwell felt increasingly alone at Ramsford.

He could spend some time with Liam and Drake in the capital, but both men were so closed off lately that the air around them would become stifling. He wanted to plan a trip to Shanghai so the Beaumonts could visit Hana, but Bertrand was always so caught up with maintaining the estate — and he never let Maxwell help him — that a moment to relax as a family was uncommon. 

At dinner, Bartie half-heartedly explained to his father how his lessons had gone. Bertrand asked Bartie if he wanted to do some work with him tonight, just to get a feel of what it was like to run the estate, but Bartie simply shrugged and walked off without finishing his dinner. 

Bertrand was about to go after him and demand Bartie to return to his seat, but Savannah put a hand on his shoulder and told her husband to let the boy go. 

“He’s not feeling too well lately,” she reasoned. “Let him go. If he wants to talk to us he will.” 

“There is no reason for him to be behaving in such a manner. I will remind him tomorrow morning, and I will make sure he sits with me... he needs to learn how to run the house sooner or later, and the former would be most preferable.” Bertrand took a sip of his wine. 

Even though House Beaumont’s finances had improved tremendously over time, Bertrand was still obsessed with keeping everything in order, almost desperate to make sure there was no chance of any sort of decline happening again. He wouldn’t hear anyone who tried to tell him that he should take a break or loosen up a little.

“Go easy on him,” Maxwell suggests. “He’s been working really hard on his lessons and barely gets any time to go outside.”

“He needs to spend his time learning all he can so he can be a reputable duke when the time comes!”

“Bertrand, please,” Savannah says. “He’s just having a couple bad days. It’s normal.” 

Bertrand sighs. “I don’t understand why he feels this way. Just last week he was fine. What happened now?”

“He went to Drake’s this weekend, so maybe he misses him,” Savannah speculates. 

“I’ll call him up later,” Maxwell declares. “It’s been a while since I’ve talked to my old pal. I kinda miss him, too.”

The three finish their meal in quiet, but Maxwell sits impatiently for the moment he could jump up and go call Drake. 

After their plates were taken away, Maxwell said his good nights to Savannah and Bertrand and raced up the stairs towards Bartie’s room.

He knocks on the door and waits for Bartie to unlock it. “Yes?” Bartie says. 

“I thought we could give Uncle Drake a call! It’s been a couple days since you’ve seen him and it’s been a while since I’ve talked to him.”

“It’s barely been two days,” Bartie scoffs. “But alright, I guess.”

Bartie goes to sit next to Maxwell on the edge of the bed and leans in while they wait for Drake to answer the FaceTime call. 

He declines the call. Maxwell calls again, Drake declines again.

“Maybe he’s busy?” Bartie wonders aloud.

“It’s more likely that he just doesn’t want me bothering him.” Maxwell’s phone vibrates. “He texted me!”

On flight. Will call in morning.

“He’s traveling? Where? Do you think His Majesty sent him away again?” Bartie asks.

“I don’t really know. Hopefully he’ll keep his promise and call back in the morning. Until then there’s not much we can do.” Maxwell sighs and stands up, ruffling Bartie’s hair. “Good night, muffin. Sleep well.”

In his room, Maxwell lays in bed thinking of all the places Drake could be going. Olivia was the one who led independent investigations and never told anything to anyone else until she was sure of what she had, so it was unlikely Drake had gone to find something upon her suggestion. Maxwell had tried to reach out to Riley through social media, but soon after he contacted her, she’d deleted all of her accounts, blocked his number, and blocked his email — then when they tried to trace her number through Olivia’s phone, they reached a dead end. 

Drake on the other hand, did work together with Maxwell and Olivia, but also with the division of the King’s Guard that Liam had made to search for Riley. Their king was constantly sending out people to thoroughly examine every place that yielded even the smallest hint of a lead. Rarely was anything found, and when it was, it was either useless or highly questionable.

Recently, they were having difficulty finding new leads — they had already checked so many places around the world that it was hard to think of any place they may have disregarded. That was when Liam and Drake started distancing themselves even further. Maxwell knew they usually spent time together near the end of the week, but when Drake suggested Bartie visit over the weekend, Maxwell knew that both men had started losing hope.

The next morning during another quiet meal, Maxwell noticed Savannah stealing glances at her son.

“Did Uncle Drake call you back yet?” Bartie directed his question towards Maxwell.

“No,” Maxwell said, his mouth stuffed with blueberries and waffles. “I’ll check in on him in a few.” 

Bertrand continued the conversation by telling everyone what he planned to do for the rest of the day. Maxwell could tell that he was trying to get Bartie to want to work with him. He was glad Bertrand wasn’t pushing Bartie too much, and was sure that Savannah had probably talked to him about it last night.

After breakfast, Maxwell gave Drake a call, but it went straight to voicemail. Maxwell left a message asking Drake to get back to him. 

In an attempt to get Bartie out of the house before his tutor showed up, Maxwell went to his door and tried to persuade his nephew to go on a jog with him.

“Maybe later,” Bartie called out from inside his room. “I’m a little tired right now.”

Some time after noon, Drake still hadn’t called back. Finishing his lunch, Maxwell decides to give Drake a call to make sure everything was alright.

The phone rings for so long Maxwell thinks Drake isn’t going to answer, but then hears his voice from the other side: “Hey, Maxwell.”

“Drake!” Maxwell shouts. “What’s happening? You said you’d call this morning but then you didn’t.”

“Sorry about that,” Drake’s voice doesn’t seem directed at Maxwell, who can tell that he’s distracted. “Got caught up.” There’s people talking in the background, but Maxwell can’t tell who it is or what they’re saying.

“So where did you fly off to?” he asks. 

Drake doesn’t answer. The people in the background keep talking. After a few seconds, Drake’s voice is more purposeful when he says to Maxwell, “Listen. Liam and I are in New York. We’re with Riley.”

The rest of Drake’s monologue cuts out as her name echoes through Maxwell’s mind. 

Riley? Our Riley? They found little blossom? How long has it been? Ten years? Almost eleven? Feels like a hundred.

Are they there to bring her back? Does she even want to come back? Would she want to see me, the person who set in motion the series of events that led to her name being dragged through the mud, to her disappearance, to heartbreak?

“New York?” Maxwell finally brings himself to speak through the lump in his throat. “Little blossom’s in New York? When did you find out?”

“Like I said, we found out just last night.” Maxwell didn’t want to mention that he wasn't listening when Drake had said that. 

“Is... is she alright? Have you talked to her? What did she say?”

“Pay attention, Maxwell,” Drake scolds through his teeth.

“I was paying attention! But if you would be so kind as to repeat what you said....”

“She was visiting a museum and there was a bomb. She’s in New York Presbyterian, and we’re here, too. She got a serious head injury and had surgery on Sunday. Her legs are pretty beat up, but the doctor says some rest will help her get back on her feet within a few weeks.”

“Where is she?” Maxwell yells. “Are you with her?”

Drake sighs. “No, not at the moment. The doctor and a nurse checked her and said they wanted to take her for another CT scan to see if there was anything they might have overlooked.”

“So you... you didn’t speak to her at all?”

“I didn’t, no, but Liam did before they took her away. He won’t tell me what she said.”

“So she is talking, right? She’s alright, technically? Nothing permanent?”

“I don’t know, Maxwell. I’ll let you know what happens when they bring her back.”

“Let me talk to her. I want to see my little blossom,” Maxwell requests. Drake says something, but his voice is far away. He’s talking to someone else, and doesn’t bring the phone back to his ear. “Drake? Hello?”

The line disconnects. Maxwell stands there, shocked. His feet were rooted in place as he stares down at his phone. 

Did they really find Riley? If they did, could they convince her to return?

I was the one who convinced her to come to Cordonia in the first place. I should be there helping bring her back.

“BERTRAND!” Maxwell shrieks, running out the room towards the study.

“What happened?” Savannah screams as Maxwell flies past her. 

“BERTRAND!” he calls again, announcing his arrival.

When he opens the door to the study, Bertrand is on the phone, staring at Maxwell with a grim face. “My apologies, sir, but I will have to call you back,” he says to the person on the other end, hanging up. He stands. “What on Earth was that Maxwell? I’m on an important phone call and you come dashing in, screeching my name like a banshee! Do you understand how incompetent that looks?”

Maxwell knows he’s about to be at the receiving end of another one of Bertrand’s never-ending lectures, but he doesn’t care. He’s jittery and out of breath, but in between pants manages to say, “Liam and Drake found Riley. They’re with her right now. We have to go.”

Stunned, Bertrand takes a step back. “Riley?! Uh, er... Lady Riley?” He clears his throat, composing himself, but can’t get the words out. “They’ve... they’ve.... Where is she? His Majesty is with her?”

“In New York. Yes, he's there with Drake.” 

Bertrand blinks. He finally manages a solemn voice and asks, “She is well, I hope?”

Maxwell shakes his head. Moments pass, with Bertrand deep in thought. Maxwell worries about what his brother will say next.

“Everything alright in here?” Savannah walks in. “Saw Maxwell run past and wanted to make sure that nothing was wrong.” 

“His Majesty and Drake have found Lady Riley.” Bertrand’s voice is more prominent now.

“What?” Savannah brings a hand over her mouth.

Confidently, he declares, “Maxwell and I will be joining them in New York as soon as possible. I am sorry to leave you and Bartie, my dear,” he sighs, “but we must go. She is still House Beaumont, after all.”

After a moment, Savannah says, “We’ll come with you. I want to see her, too, and I know Bartie would enjoy the trip.” 

Bertrand’s mind is already racing, and he doesn’t have the heart to tell his wife that he wants her to stay here. She seemed certain of herself, and so he would not dissuade her. “Alright then,” he replies.

“Aw yeah!” Maxwell cries. “Family vacation!” 

“Yes, yes, now go pack,” Bertrand commands. “I’ll prepare a flight for us. We must go quickly. Time is of the essence.”

... 

On the flight, Maxwell and Bertrand anxiously look out of their windows. Savannah talks to Bartie about the appeals of New York — after him and his mother had come back from Paris, the family had never taken Bartie out of Cordonia, and since Bertrand was persistent in having Bartie receive his education at the hands of tutors, the boy was never given the time to travel with his family, nor did he have any friends who could either relate to him or tell him tales of their travels.

Eventually, Bartie gets tired and takes a nap. Maxwell feels tired as well, but the excitement to see Riley again doesn’t stop sending jolts through his body. They were so close to her. So close to having her with them, and having everything be the way it should have been from the beginning.

Hours later, he wakes up Bartie and tells him that they’ve landed.

Once they’re out of the airport, Bertrand manages to tag down a driver. They drop off Savannah and Bartie at the hotel where they got a last minute reservation. When Maxwell and Bertrand are outside the hospital, Maxwell jumps out of the car and races inside. 

“Maxwell!” Bertrand calls in a stiff whisper. Maxwell slows down and matches Bertrand’s pace. They walk up to the receptionist, who’s having a discussion with a doctor. They wait for her to notice them, and after a few moments Maxwell debates running off to try and find Riley’s room himself, but Bertrand clears his throat and asks, “Excuse me, could either one of you direct me towards Miss Riley Brooks? She’s a patient here, I believe.”

The doctor looks up. “Are one of you her designated support person?”

“No, not exactly—.”

“We’re family.” Maxwell chimes in. “We just heard what happened and flew in from Europe.”

“Visiting hours are over,” the doctor says. “You fellas can come back at nine in the morning. ‘Til then I can’t help you.” 

“You will tell me where she is or you will face the wrath of House Beaumont’s lawyers!” Bertrand shouts.

“Beaumont? That your last name?” the doctor interrogates.

“Yes and—.”

“The lady’s last name is Brooks. Clearly, you guys aren’t family. I’m gonna need you two to leave. Unless you want me to get security?”

Bertrand looks at the doctor, fuming, ready to give him the worst tongue lashing the man has ever experienced, but someone grips his and Maxwell’s shoulders. 

“They’re with me, Doc,” Drake says. “I’ll take them to Miss Brooks and there’ll be no more trouble. Sorry for the inconvenience.” 

Drake leads the two of them away from reception and towards the ICU. 

“Drake!” Maxwell exclaims, putting an arm around his friend’s shoulder. “Thanks for that. We really needed it.” 

“Yes,” Bertrand adds. “It was much appreciated. Now, where is Lady Riley?”

“Did they find everything alright after the CT scan?” Maxwell asks. 

Drake sighs. “Riley’s asleep right now. Today must have been stressful for her, I imagine. You guys can talk to her in the morning.” 

Maxwell is about to repeat his question when he notices Liam sitting in the ICU waiting room, looking at the floor. “Liam!” he calls. 

When Liam looks up, Maxwell looks in shock at his red, swollen eyes. 

“What happened?” Maxwell breathes. The air in his lungs is suddenly painful.

“She—,” he looks back down and speaks slowly, as if every word sent a stab to his chest. “She didn’t remember me. She looked me right in the eye and asked me who I was.” His voice cracks, and he puts his head in his hands.

Maxwell takes a seat next to Liam, but says nothing. Bertrand stands in shock, staring at his king breaking down. Brows furrowed in confusion, he looks at Drake. “What does that mean?”

“She lost her memory.” Drake answered in a quiet voice. Every word seemed to break him. “The doctors didn’t tell us everything, but they told us that they doubted she even knew who she was. After they brought her from the CT scan and explained everything to her, she started crying. Her mother was there, too. She’s actually a nurse here. They’ve decided to question her tomorrow, to try and figure out what she remembers and doesn’t remember. Some detectives are also coming in to question a couple victims. They’re hoping to find some information, or at least something that’ll help them connect some dots.”

“Little blossom doesn’t know who we are?” Maxwell asks, as his shoulders begin to shake. 

Bertrand manages to maintain his composure, though his voice cracks a couple times when he says, “Well. There’s nothing... there’s um... nothing we can do at the moment.” He clears his throat. “Have you two been able to acquire any accommodations?”

Liam sits up, his face wet. “Yes.” He sniffles. “Though we haven’t actually been to the hotel yet. We’ve been here for... oh, a little less than ten hours.”

“Your Majesty I believe it would be wise to spend the night at the hotel and rest. Tomorrow’s going to be a long day. Perhaps the doctors will let us ask questions as well.”

"Thank you, Duke Bertrand, but I would rather stay. Drake, if you want, you can go and get some sleep. I'm sure you need it. I'll be fine right here."

Drake, Maxwell, and Bertrand share a silent look, then take a seat near their friend. Bertrand sends Savannah a text, telling her that him and Maxwell will not be returning to the hotel tonight.

[stxn-the-mxn]

Supergirl || Freddy Freeman X Reader

Request: Could you write something where the reader is the daughter of Superman and meets Freddy and he starts crushing on her really hard and she crushes on him hard too and eventually Superman and Shazam get them together? - Anon

A/N: This is literally 23k+ words pls read

Warnings: Shazam spoilers

***

Y/N Kent was the new student at Fawcett Central School. Her father had decided that she needed an actual education and not just hero training, and she had been on board until her dad set out the rules.

No powers. No cheating. No this, no that.

Was he trying to kill her? She’d never survive school at this rate. She was no longer looking forward to the first day of school. But unfortunately, Monday rolled around, as it did every week.

***

“Dad, why are you setting so many rules? It’s just school…” You said through mouthfuls of toast, and your dad sighed for the millionth time that morning.

“Y/N, it’s a public school. With regular people. It’s a place for learning, and hanging up the cape for six hours.”

You dropped your toast straight onto the butter knife, which rocketed it towards your dad. Naturally, he caught it without even looking away from his newspaper, which he still chose to read for some reason.

“It goes for six hours?” He nodded, and you collapsed backwards in your chair. Six hours… legally, they can’t make you do that, could they?

“And those six hours start soon, so you better head off.”

You slung your back over your shoulder, looking both ways before speeding to school. People probably saw, but they were also probably used to it, what with the Justice League and everything. 

You came to a stop in an alleyway across the road from the school, where no one would see you. Walking out, you saw a group of six kids standing in a line.

“Big school. 2,000 students. You might think ‘wow, so many strangers’ but not if you think of each of them as possible future friends, then it’s ‘wow, so many friends’!” The shortest girl said as you all crossed the road.

The young girl kept talking, saying something about the principal. Someone in that group must be new too. Walking into the school, you felt a tad overwhelmed by everything. Security guards checked all the bags as you entered the halls, and you began to panic.

Had you left some alien thing in there? Were you about to expose yourself on your first day? Would everyone figure out who you are? Would that affect your dad? Would th-

“Excuse me?” 

A boy, about your age, looked at you with concern etched on his face. His eyes were trained on your face, examining it. Was this a regular occurrence? Would I have to deal with this daily? Why did I not mind this boy staring at me?

“You’re new here, right? I haven’t seen you around before, so I figured.”

You passed the security guard your bag, forgetting all your thoughts as the boy talked to you.

“You seem scared. Don’t be. It’s just a new school.” He smiled, and you felt like you would melt on the spot. Who was this perfect boy? He picked up his bag, giving you a small goodbye before walking off to the girl who had been talking before.

You noted that he had a crutch. A disability, most likely.

Maybe school wouldn’t be so bad. 

***

By the time lunch rolled around, you had discovered that school was definitely bad.

Classes were boring, teachers were aggravating and some kids just weren’t fun. 

Stepping into the cafeteria, you were overwhelmed by the smell of it all. Was any of this legal? You grabbed a tray, copying everyone else and stood in line for food. A small tap sound from behind you made you aware of the boy from this morning standing behind you.

As you were pushed out of the line, you faced all the tables of kids, not exactly knowing what to do. 

“Follow me.” Crutch boy - you still didn’t have a name - led you to a table where another boy was already sitting.

“Flight or invisibility?” He said, and the boy with the red hoodie looked up, annoyance on his face.

“If you could have one superpower, what would you pick?” No one had time to respond before he kept talking. “Everybody chooses flight! You know why?”

Red hoodie - once again, you still didn’t have a name - spoke up, a shit-eating grin on his face.

“So they can fly away from this conversation?” You chuckled, thinking about the times you’d do just that when you and your dad argued.

“No, ‘cause heroes fly! Who doesn’t want people to think they’re a hero, right?” This kid was trying to get some kind of point across, but you weren’t sure what exactly that point was.

“But-But invisibility? No way. I mean, that’s pervy! Spying around on people who don’t even know you’re there. Sneaking around everywhere.” Red hoodie stood up, leaving the table, storming away. Crutchie’s voice grew louder.

“It’s a total villain power, right?” The whole cafeteria stared at crutchie as he picked up his crutch and went after hoodie.

You stood in silence, everyone’s eyes moving to you. Crutchie turned around, gesturing for you to follow him again, so you did.

“Then they did this study, and this is a real thing. They asked people the same question, you know, what power would you want? But this time, they made it so that the answers were anonymous.”

Shit, this was actually really interesting… 

“And-And most people, since they knew that it was secret, said invisibility. And I think that’s ‘cause most people don’t feel like heroes on the inside, deep down.”

You had followed hoodie and crutchie down the hall to the boys' bathroom, hoodie trying to escape this conversation.

“You’re gonna run away. I mean, you stole my Superman bullet.” Your head shot up at the mention of a Superman bullet. If he lost it, you could always get him a new one…

“Dude, I get it, I get it. You’ve been screwed over way too many times. You don’t trust anyone,”

You stood by crutchie’s side awkwardly, feeling like you weren’t meant to be hearing this.

“But that’s the thing about invisibility. You end up all by yourself.” You kept your eyes focused on anything that wasn't crutchie or hoodie. This seemed like a personal conversation.

“I didn’t steal your dumb bullet.”

Hoodie slammed the bathroom door behind him, leaving you and crutchie outside.

“Sorry about that. Billy’s just like that.”

So that was Billy. You still didn’t know who crutchie was, though. He didn’t seem like he was planning on introducing himself, so you took that job for him.

“I’m Y/N.” You stuck out your hand out of instinct. That’s what your dad always told you to do. Crutchie shook it gently, giving you a confused smile.

“I’m Freddy.” Crut- Freddy said. 

“Look, we still have ten minutes of lunch left. You wanna discuss superheroes over some shitty cafeteria food?”

You watched his jaw drop before it changed into a smile. He held out his hand, which you happily took, leading you back to the cafeteria.

“So, who’s your favourite superhero?” He questioned before you’d even sat down.

“How about we say it at the same time? Like on the count of three?”

You watched as his smile widened, yours automatically doing the same. He counted up from one, taking pauses in between, at the times when he started laughing a bit.

He reached three, both of you yelling a bit louder than intended.

“Superman!”

“Superman!”

He let out an odd, yet adorable, laugh, which made you giggle too.

“God, you’re literally the best person I’ve ever met.”

Your mind wandered back to the conversation earlier, and the stolen bullet.

“Hey, if you want, I could get you another Superman bullet.”

Once again, Freddy’s jaw hit the ground. Jesus, could you be any more amazing?

“Wait, really? How?”

“My dad, uh, he knows Superman.”

Nice save Y/N. 

“Holy shit! Have you met him?”

You were in deep shit now.

“Oh, yeah, a few times…”

***

The bell rang, and students piled out of their classrooms, in a mad dash to get home. You waited for Freddy, who happened to be in your current class, to finish talking with the teacher about the mark he’d gotten on a report.

“Freds, we should probably go.” 

You’d started using the nickname at lunch after a small game of Superhero Would You Rather. When asked if he’d rather have his childhood nickname as his superhero name or have his least favourite person pick his superhero name, he had decided that Freds would be a better name than anything the Breyers would come up with.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming.” The teacher sent him off with a wave. 

You walked outside with him, neither person noticing your incredibly close proximity. He walked over to the group of kids from this morning. His friends, maybe. He greeted them all, apologising for holding them up.

“No, actually we’re waiting for Billy. Did you see him insi- oh, hello.” 

Four pairs of eyes met you, and you tried not to freak out.

“Oh, guys! This is Y/N. She’s my new best friend. Y/N, this is Darla, Mary, Eugene and Pedro.” Freddy smiled proudly, acting as if he’d just won an award for something.

“Well, Y/N, it’s lovely to meet you.” The tallest girl, Mary, said, her voice incredibly sweet.

“Not to be so forward, but would you like to come over for dinner tonight?” Freddy spluttered out, his smile not faltering.

You smiled too, nodding in acceptance. From behind the group, you saw Billy coming down the stairs.

“Hey, how was it today?” The same girl asked, but got no response.

“That good, huh?” You joked, Billy sending a small glare your way, which surprised you. You hadn’t done anything to him.

The whole group headed to cross the road, only for a car to come speeding down the street, headed straight in your direction. Fuck, you couldn’t get hit by a car. Not here. If you did, everyone would find out your little secret.

Freddy noticed the car and immediately pushed you away, allowing himself to be rammed into.

“Freddy!” You screamed as he was knocked to the ground, his crutch being tossed aside. Two boys jumped out of the car, laughing.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” You yelled, gearing up to punch the two unless they had some reasonable excuse, which was impossible.

They picked Freddy up off the ground, shoving him against the car. 

“No way that’s gonna buff out.” One of the boys said, shoving Freddy again.

“You gonna pay for that?” 

“For the dent you made almost hitting me? Yeah, sure, um, do you guys take these?”

He held up his two middle fingers, making you snicker louder than intended. Your laughter ceased as they threw Freddy to the ground.

“What’s so funny, new kid?”

You stepped forward, not listening to Freddy’s yells for you to stay back.

“New kid? That’s the best you’ve got? Jeez, at least try to be creative.”

You hands curled into fists, trying your hardest to not just obliterate them right there.

“Aww, do you need your fake family to stand up for you?”

You were seething by this point, but you knew that if you did anything, you were absolutely screwed. All you could do was watch, hoping for some assistance. The boys kept taunting Freddy, kicking him as you all yelled for them to stop.

“What are you gonna do? Go home and cry to mommy? Oh, yeah, you don’t have a mommy.” 

That was the last straw. Just as you reared back to punch the dickwads, they were hit over the head by Freddy’s crutch. Billy threw the crutch over to you, and you caught it with ease.

“Man, sorry about that. That wasn’t fair, but then again, guys don’t play fair, so.”

As Billy took off, the boys in pursuit, you kneeled beside Freddy, easing him onto his feet. Handing him his crutch, he ignored it at first, leaning against you in a hug/physically support kinda situation.

“You’re still coming over tonight, right?”

“Jeez, Freds, you could’ve died and that’s what you’re worried about?”

He shrugged, smiling sheepishly.

“Yeah, I’m coming over tonight.”

***

Slamming open the door to your home, you ran in yelling about your day. Your dad was at the dining room table, reading some book he’d recently bought. You skidded to a halt, slamming your hands onto the table, causing a chunk of wood to break off.

Your dad raised an eyebrow, as you chuckled nervously, chucking the wood into a trashcan full of other wood pieces. Your end of the table grew smaller constantly.

“Sorry. Anyway! I made a new friend at school!” Your dad smiled, finding your excitement extremely infectious.

“And! And! He invited me over to his house for dinner!” Clark couldn’t say no to you, especially not when you’d been so adamant about not enjoying school earlier.

“Well, since we won’t be able to have our daily conversation over dinner, we might as well have it now.” You sat down, bouncing your leg extremely quickly.

“So, how did you meet?”

“Uh, he just helped me get over my first-day nerves. And we sat together at lunch, talking about superheroes. He absolutely loves superheroes! You’re his favourite, by the way.” You smiled, leaning on your hand.

“And then after school, these kids almost hit me with a car, but he jumped in front of me… they beat him up.” You trailed off, feeling tears spring to your eyes. “They, uh, they beat him up ‘cause he has a disability. And something about a ‘fake family’.” Your father leaned over, wiping away your tears.

“Oh, uh, it’s getting close to dinner time. I should head out.”

“Maybe get changed first. Dress up for your new best friend.” He winked, as you lit up red. 

“Dad, seriously? I really can’t do anything with you around.” You tried to act seriously, but your dad kept winking with different eyes, and you walked away, sighing as you tried to hold in laughter.

You hated that he was right. You also hated that you were going to be late because you were trying so hard to look nice. Why were you trying to look so nice? Were you trying to impress his family? Maybe. Yeah, that was it. Impress his family.

“Y/N, you’re aware of the time, right?”

You were out the door without a response.

***

Freddy paced in his room, as fast a pace as he could manage, panicking. Billy hadn’t come home, Y/N was coming over and everything was in utter chaos.

The doorbell rang, and Freddy wished that he was able to run down and get the door for you, but he was still getting down the stairs as Darla swung the door open. 

“Y/N!” She immediately pulled you into a hug which you happily accepted.

“Darla, I wasn’t expecting to see you.” 

Freddy slapped his forehead. God, you were about to be so confused. He didn’t explain the whole ‘group home’ situation. He wanted to explain everything, but Eugene had already appeared at the door.

“Eugene?”

Freddy moved as quickly as possible but still wasn’t able to beat Mary to the door. He saw your eyes darting around the room, your eyebrows furrowing more and more.

“What’s next, Pedro?”

Said boy, upon hearing his name, poked his head around the corner.

“Okay, I’m very confused.”

“Y/N! Follow me!” Freddy called from the stairs, and you walked through the crowd of kids, stopping to hug Darla.

“Welcome to my home. Sorry about that, I should’ve said I lived in a group home. I’m a foster kid, by the way.” He looked down, as if ashamed.

“Freds, if you think I’m gonna judge you for being a foster kid, you’re dumber than I thought.” You laughed by at the end, making Freddy laugh softly too.

Looking up, you saw a Batarang on a shelf. Walking over, you admired it, examining it closely.

“Yeah, that’s my Batarang. It’s a replica, obviously, but it’s really sharp. Like ‘could definitely kill you’ level sharp.”

You gave him a jokingly concerned look.

“I’d show you my Superman bullet, but, yknow…”

“Hey, as I said, I can get you a new one.” Placing a hand on his back in comfort, you felt him tense under your touch. You pulled away, afraid you were being too forward with the boy you’d met that morning.

“Hey, what happened to Billy?” 

“Oh, he probably ran away. I wouldn't be surprised.” He shrugged, going to sit down at his desk. You chose to sit on the bed, being careful not to hit your head.

You sat in silence for a while, both of your minds racing. Freddy thought about you, and how he actually had a girl, who wasn’t his family, talking to him. A pretty girl, none the less. You thought about Freddy, your first-ever friend. In less than 24 hours, he had quickly become the second most important person in your life.

He moved from the chair to beside you, sitting close to you, but with enough distance that it wasn’t awkward or uncomfortable.

“Yknow, I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who likes superheroes as much as you.” You broke the silence, glancing over at him through the hair that fell around your face.

“I could say the same about you. I was amazed when you said you liked them. And we both think Superman is the best, which makes it even better.”

He was utterly adorable. The way he rambled, stumbling over words as his mind worked faster than his mouth, never ceased to make you smile. You hadn’t even known him for 12 hours, but there was already something there.

“Dinner!”

Freddy glanced over at you and took this as another opportunity to continue the little trend you’d started. He stood up, smirking slightly, and held out his hand.

“Follow me, again?”

“You’re a dork, Freddy.” You laughed, immediately placing your hand in his.

***

“Freddy, could you do the dishes, please?” Rosa gestured to the kitchen, and Freddy huffed, making his way to the sink.

“If you want, Mrs Vasquez, I could help him with the dishes.” You offered, Rosa smiling warmly, thanking you for your offer.

You walked into the kitchen, seeing Freddy at the sink, collecting the dish soap and sponges. 

“Need any help?” He turned his head, nodding slowly. He handed you a towel, mentally telling you to dry the dishes after he’d cleaned them.

You could hear Rosa and Victor in the other room, talking about Billy. Rosa was on the phone, talking to someone about Billy. She mentioned something about him running away 23 times.

Freddy was also listening in, unaware he was splashing soapy water everywhere. 

“You know guys, I’m happy to look for Billy. More than happy.” He splashed soap onto your nose, and you blew it off. He was yelling back into the living room but eventually gave up and turned back to the dishes. “But no, you gotta wash the dishes, that’s what’s more important. What are you gonna do, Freddy? Run after him? Hahaha. Very funny.” 

You placed your hand on his wrist, and his eyes flicked up to yours. His tense expression softened, and his dishwashing pace slowed. Neither of you broke the eye contact, finding no actual reason to.

A slam on the window made you yelp, clutching Freddy’s wrist tighter. He screamed, clinging onto your arm. The man at the window held up a sign, saying not to scream. Both of you had done so anyway.

“No, no! I said don’t scream!” 

Freddy ignored his request, screaming out for Victor.

“It’s me! It’s Billy! It’s Billy!” The man whisper-yelled, trying to stop Freddy, who continued to yell out for Victor. 

“You asked me ‘flight or invisibility?’. I thought it was stupid but now I look like this and I need your help! Meet me back here after lights out?”

Holy shit. It was Billy.

As Victor entered the room, Billy ducked back behind the wall.

“‘Sup, bud? You alright?” Victor said, and Freddy froze, thinking of a lie.

“Sorry, Victor, we’re just a bit distraught about Billy.” You spoke quickly, trying to sound truthful.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m just… I’m really sad. Because Billy’s gone.” Freddy spoke, far less convincing than you. “And, you know, maybe it’s my fault. Maybe I did it. Uh, you know, maybe I-I snore.”

“Hey, hey, hey. Not your fault, son, all right?” Victor pulled him into a hug, Freddy standing awkwardly still, as you stood beside them, eyes darting to the window. “We’ll find him, ‘kay?”

“You don’t snore that bad. But you kinda smell.” Victor left the kitchen, as you tried not to laugh. Freddy gave you a “haha very funny” look, before turning back to the sink.

***

“Hi, Dad, uh, I’m gonna be home a little late tonight.” Freddy watched you talk on the phone, making sure no one woke up or caught you sneaking around.

“No, yeah, I understand. I just figured you wouldn’t mind. No, I’m not going out this late. Just, the family decided to watch a movie and wondered if I wanted to stay.” Freddy was impressed at how easily you lied to your dad.

“Yes, thanks, dad. I’ll be home later. Goodnight, love you.”

You hung up, turning around to meet Freddy. With a raise of your eyebrows, you held out your hand. Freddy giggled like a little schoolboy, grabbing your hand. You snuck down the stairs, helping Freddy to miss the bum step.

He unlocked the door, pushing it open incredibly slowly to avoid it making any noise, closing it in the same fashion. He brought you round to the back of the house, seeing Maybe-Billy ahead of you, looking in a car mirror.

Freddy charged over, as fast as he could charge.

“Hey, stop right there! How do we know you’re not a supervillain using telepathic abilities to make us believe that you’re Billy?” He held up his phone, 911 pre-dialled. “All I have to do is press dial on this thing.”

“No, no, no I have proof! I have proof, here. Look, I lied okay.” He grabbed his backpack, ripping it open accidentally. “I took your bullet.” 

He pulled out the bullet, in its plastic bag, only for it to slip out. You lunged forward, catching it just in time. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, Freddy and Billy worried about the bullet while you were more concerned about them noticing your reflexes.

“That was close. Nice catch.” 

“Guys, you know it’s me. And I know we’re not close friends or anything, but you guys are the only people I know that know anything about this caped crusaders stuff.”

“That’s Batman.” You and Freddy muttered in sync, leaving Billy extremely confused.

“What?”

“Forget it. Can I?” Freddy gestured to the glowing lightning on Billy’s chest. Billy nodded, and Freddy moved closer, outstretching his hand towards the suit. The lightning substance had some kind of elasticity to it, as it reached out to meet Freddy’s fingertips.

Freddy let out some kind of shriek or joy, which made you giggle lightly. He truly was a dork. He continued to play with the lightning, as you decided to try as well. The feeling was strange and sent a tingle down your spine, but you kinda liked it.

“Oh my god…” You whispered, a smile growing on your face.

“It’s crazy, right?” 

“What are your superpowers?” Freddy piped up, and you eyed Billy excitedly.

“Superpowers? Dude, I don’t even know how to pee in this thing?”

“Oh, that’s far too much information, Billy.” You said in disgust.

“Okay, c-can you fly?” Freddy suggested.

“Freds, he just got his powers and you think he’s able to fly already? Flying is difficult.” You said, not even realising what you said. The boys looked your way confused but didn’t question it.

Not even a minute later did Freddy have his phone out to keep video evidence of this. 

“Okay, let’s do this,” Billy said, preparing for his first flying attempt. “How do we do this?”

How the hell did he end up getting superpowers?

“Just, um, just like, Superman it.” Freddy imitated the sound of Superman flying, and you raised an eyebrow. Dork. “Obviously, you have to jump. Come on.”

“How is any of that obvious?”

“Try, uh, to believe you can fly. I know it sounds stupid but, I did this deep dive into the pyramid studies of superpowers and, uh, in 6 out of 10 cases, belief is the key.” 

You looked down, embarrassed by your rambling. Unfortunately, by looking down, you missed Freddy’s lovestruck gaze and Billy’s knowing look.

“Belief, belief, belief. Okay, okay. I believe I can fly?” Billy questioned his own words, which really didn’t help the belief part.

“No, yeah, I believe I can fly.” Billy ran towards a nearby car, leaping onto the hood. “I believe I can fly.”

He came crashing to the ground, and not in a graceful manner whatsoever. Billy looked at you and Freddy, both of you busy crying from laughter at his descent.

“D-did you believe?” You struggled out between the laughter. You found yourself struggling to breathe, laughter still pouring out. Freddy noticed the pain in your eyes as your chest and throat clogged with giggles.

“Woah, you okay, Y/N?” He said wiping away the stray tears escaping from your eyes. He had stopped laughing some time ago, but after he had heard your laughter, which sounded beautiful to him, he hadn’t wanted to stop you.

But now you were basically choking on laughter. Freddy flicked your arm, quite hard, and you stopped laughing, instead having to fake a yelp of pain. Blending in with humans was hard.

“Thanks, but also, ow.” You rubbed the spot he hit, hoping to at least come across as hurt. They seemed to believe, luckily.

“Oh, you wanna try invisibility?” Freddy suggested, still holding his phone out. Wait, did that mean he had video evidence of you actually dying from laughter?

“How do I do…?” Billy looked at you and Freddy for help.

“You… Forget it, you know.” Freddy sighed, deciding to give up on the whole ‘believing’ thing.

Billy stood still, eyes closed, possibly believing he was invisible. Freddy nudged you, before whispering something about tricking Billy. You were definitely on board.

“Oh my god! It worked!” You yelled, and Billy snapped his head up.

“Where’d you go?” Freddy looked bewildered. He was surprisingly very convincing.

“I’m right here, you can’t see me?” Billy had a stupid look on his face, not knowing you could see everything.

“I’m invisible!”

Billy danced around, looking like a complete idiot. You were trying everything to not burst out laughing again, but it was very difficult, considering how much of a fool he looked like.

“Hey! Nice outfit, dipshit!” A random passerby called out, breaking Billy’s gleeful jig. He looked at you and Freddy, and you both cracked up again.

“W-we may have been testing invisibility and super-intelligence at the same time.” Freddy wheezed out, his phone shaking from the laughter that reverberated through his entire body.

“Freeman, Kent, I’m gonna come over there and beat you two.”

Billy pointed angrily at the two of you, a spark of lightning exploding from his fingertip, hitting an electricity box on a pole. It sparked and exploded, and since you were right beneath the pole, Freddy pulled you into him to get you away from the sparks.

“Are you alright?” Freddy asked, dropping his phone to place his hand on your face. He had genuine worry in his eyes, his eyebrows furrowed softly.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m good.” You mumbled, not even noticing yourself lean into his hand. He did notice, as did Billy, and while Billy stifled obvious schoolboy giggles, Freddy was an alarming shade of red.

After a few seconds, he pulled his hand away and you tried not to whimper at the loss of his warmth. A small whine escaped, but it was quiet enough to go unnoticed. 

Freddy picked up his phone, which was still recording, and checked for cracks, of which there was none. He sighed in relief and turned back to Billy.

“The lightning emblem! It was staring us in the face the whole time. Literally!” He exclaimed, both his and Billy’s face lighting up with excitement.

You spotted a metal climbing frame at a nearby park. Metal conducts electricity. Could Billy do something to it?

“Hey, guys? You wanna try that electricity business on that thing?”

Billy and Freddy shared similar expressions, probably of weird and possibly dangerous ideas forming in their minds. 

Billy walked faster than everyone, mainly because you stayed behind him to talk with Freddy, though you would’ve been able to keep pace with Billy.

“This is insane, right?” Freddy exclaimed though you shushed him, as you were passing by homes. “We know an actual superhero now!”

If only you knew, Freds. If only you knew.

“I know, it’s kinda strange. You think he’ll be good at it?”

“With some training, maybe. Maybe Robin level, but nowhere near Superman.”

“No, no one can compete with Superman.” You smiled.

“Well, maybe Batm-”

“I’m gonna have to stop you there.” You giggled. Freddy chuckled too, agreeing that his statement was a bit far-fetched.

Up ahead of you, you could see Billy messing with the metal climbing frame. His electricity was surging through it. The metal was a conductor after all. He looked impressed with himself for actually controlling his powers.

After another minute or two, you and Freddy reached Billy, in awe of what he had done. You stayed back, still a bit worried that something could go wrong, and your invulnerability would show through and then there’d be a shit ton of explaining to do.

“Billy, we gotta give you a lightning themed superhero name now.”

A screech resounded in your ears, and you had to fight the urge to scream in pain. Unlike your dad, you hadn’t fully controlled your superhuman hearing. So distant sounds were extremely loud, and it hurt. A lot.

Freddy gestured in the direction of the scream, telling Billy to go be a hero. It wasn’t getting through to him, though.

“Jeez, Billy, you kinda suck at being a hero.” You said, pushing him in the direction of the scream.

“Oh, right!” He started to run in the right direction but suddenly shot across the park, crashing into a figure.

“Hyperspeed, check!” Freddy cheered.

You groaned, massaging your temples. It was painful, not being able to just give Billy real superhero advice that you had gotten from your dad.

You heard the interaction, trying not to scream. Billy was utterly useless. You were so caught up being frustrated with Billy that you didn’t notice Freddy walking over to join Billy. When you did notice has wasn’t by your side, you looked around for him.

Jogging after him, you got to his side pretty quickly.

“I’m sorry, who are you?” The woman with Bill asked, concern on her face.

“His name,” Freddy approached them all, a smile on his face “is Thundercrack. Hero to the people. With the power and speed of lightning all in one.”

You were about ready to ditch the boys, just out of pure frustration. 

“Dude that sounds like a butt thing.” 

“Mr Philadelphia.”

“That’s a cream cheese thing, dude!”

You hit your head against a tree repeatedly, not realising it was splintering until it toppled over in your direction. It was about to land on you when someone stopped it. It didn’t take a genius to figure out it was Billy.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” You walked back to Freddy’s side. Freddy’s eyes were wide with concern as he hugged you quickly. He didn’t need words to convey his worry for you.

“Uh, as I was saying,” Freddy started again, “Powerboy, cause he’s got all the powers. Cause sometimes, pepper spray can’t protect against evil.”

“Powerboy, do you know these children?”

“Like, like a teeny little bit. I don’t really know-” Freddy smacked him in the chest. “Yeah, they’re like, my managers. They’re like miniature managers.” 

“Yeah, we’re his managers.” Freddy nodded, and you once again sighed in disappointment. This was difficult work, and you were unsure when you became a babysitter.

“Powerboy’s not gonna work either, okay? So work on something else…”

“Hey, hey, hey...”

“Electricity manipulation, hyperspeed, super strength! Dude, you’re stacked!” Freddy had that giddy look on his face again, that you couldn’t help but love. “You’re as cool as Superman!”

“Almost.” You corrected, in sync with Freddy. 

Looking into his eyes, everything seemed to go in slow motion for a second. Was that normal, or some time-stopping ability you were yet to discover? You made a mental note to ask your dad later about it.

You were thrown back into a regular pace by the woman Billy was “protecting” shoving cash into your hands.

“I didn’t see you or what’s happened here. I don’t wanna know, just don’t hurt me.” The woman jogged away, leaving the three of you behind.

You looked at the money in your hands, Freddy glancing over to look at it too.

“Holy shit… we just made 73 bucks!” He took it out of your hands, but not in a rude snatching way, as he gave you an apologetic look afterwards. 

“73 bucks?” Billy gaped at the money, and an idea flashed through his mind.

“Guys? It’s late. You should go home…” You said, but the boys didn’t listen, too busy awing over the money. “Guys?”

Billy muttered something about having an idea, and just like that, they were walking away, leaving you behind. You contemplated leaving them behind and going home, but when Freddy turned around, and everything went slow again, you had to grab his outstretched hand once again.

***

“I’d like to purchase some of your finest beer, please,” Billy told the woman working the counter, in quite an over-the-top voice. You and Freddy stood behind Billy, hidden by his wide figure.

As he walked away, you and Freddy met the eyes of the cashier, and with an awkward moment of silent eye contact, walked back to join Billy at the fridges. You kept glancing back at the counter, suddenly nervous for some reason.

Something didn’t feel right.

“I don’t know about this…” You muttered, hearing Freddy hum in agreement.

“I mean, we don’t have a fake ID.” He continued your thought perfectly. Maybe he was the one with the superpowers.

“Guys, would you two relax? Look at me, I am the fake ID.”

A terrifying thought crossed your mind. Was Billy gonna take this seriously? Or would he abuse these new powers for his own personal gain? 

The doorbell jingled, and all of a sudden there was shouting from behind you. Spinning around, you saw two men in ski masks with guns. You let out a surprised yelp, alerting the two robbers to your presence.

Their guns pointed towards you before their eyes even reached the three of you. Freddy stood to Billy’s side, while you were directly in front of him. No one has time to think before a gun is fired.

The bullet zooms towards you, and at the last second, Freddy pulled your arm extremely hard, the bullet just grazing your arm as you collapsed onto him. The bullet hit Billy in the torso, right where you had just been.

The bullet clattered to the ground, as the three of you breathed heavily. You and Billy had just almost died, and your entire weight was on top of Freddy. 

“Bullet immunity.” You gasped, as the bullet rolled next to you. You got off Freddy, wildly aware of your red face, and his very similar one.

“Y-you have bullet immunity!” Freddy exclaimed as you helped him up, handing him his crutch. He pulled out his phone, opening the camera.

“I’m bulletproof.”

“Today is December 8th and this is video proof of authenticity.” That damn smile was back. That damn smile that you couldn’t help but replicate. “Shoot him again.”

“Freddy, what the hell?” You expected Billy to argue with Freddy, and avoid getting shot again. But no, he encouraged it, inviting the robbers to shoot him in the chest. And they did, each bullet like the last. 

You watched as Freddy shoved them in his pocket, and when he noticed you staring, he murmured something about memorabilia.

“W-w-w-wait!” Everyone faced Freddy, who still had his camera out. “We don’t know if the suit is bulletproof, or if you are. Shoot him in the face.”

You sighed into your hands, walking away from the group of idiots. You walked down another aisle, listening to the gunshots ringing. Dumbasses, the lot of them. You tuned out everything, simply pacing up and down the aisle.

The smash of glass hurls you back into reality, as you watch the robbers land outside on the pavement. Freddy joins you, a familiar concern on his face.

“You almost got shot…” He places his hand where the bullet grazed, his panic and worry blinding him from the fact that his hand was very close to your waist. 

You were very much aware of his hand but tried to ignore the warm feeling it brought.

“Yeah, I’ve had a bit of a shitty night, huh?” A sudden boost of confidence struck you. “Luckily, I’ve had two heroes to look after me.”

Freddy turned a light shade of red, nervously giggling. Billy appeared behind him, a smirk on his face and beers in his hands. 

“You two done being gross? I got the beers.” 

You happily took a beer, needing one after tonight. Your dad wouldn’t care. You couldn't get drunk, anyway.

“Sorry about your window! But you’re welcome for not getting robbed!” 

Freddy and Billy took a sip of their beers, immediately spitting them out. You, however, kept drinking yours. Their eyes widened as you chugged the whole bottle in a minute.

“Damn, alright.” Billy chuckled, as Freddy just watched you with amazement.

“You guys aren’t gonna drink those, are you?”

“No, not at all. Tasted like vomit.”

Billy headed back inside, buying some regular junk food, using up the rest of the $73.

“Yknow, habanero jerky, if you eat enough of it, could burn a hole in your stomach,” Freddy said, earning a disgusted noise from you. “Probably not you, though. Probably got stomach superpowers.”

You snorted softly. Stomach superpowers? Weird. You glanced at your phone, noticing the time. It was late. Very late.

“Shit, I’m sorry guys, I have to head home.” You sighed. “I wish I could stay later, but my dad wants me home now. It is a school night, after all.”

Freddy and Billy shared similar, sad expressions, though Freddy’s looked sadder. You awkwardly hugged Billy’s giant form, not noticing Freddy’s glare on the tall boy-man. 

And then, you moved to hug Freddy. It was much tighter than the one you gave Billy. You didn’t want to let go, and something told you he didn’t want to either. As you did pull away, you pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” You smiled, walking away from the boys, a stupid smile forming on your face. 

A similar smile appeared on Freddy’s face, as he placed a hand on his cheek. Billy nudged his shoulder, as they watched you leave.

“You’re whipped, Freeman, absolutely whipped.”

“Yeah,” Freddy grew extremely flustered, “Yeah I am.”

***

You rushed home, almost slamming through the door in excitement. Your dad flicked on the hall lights, making you freeze in your tracks.

“Uh, hi dad! I just got lost finding the bathroom.” You didn’t even try to sound convincing. 

“You are aware of the time, right?” He leaned in the doorway, pointing at the clock on the wall. It read 12pm.

“Yeah, uh, the movie was long.” Your dad raised his eyebrow, and you sighed. “No, uh, one of the kids, Billy, just got superpowers. Freddy and I were helping him out.”

“He got superpowers?” You dad asked, curiosity splashing across his face. “Overnight?”

“Yeah, basically. And since Freddy and I know the most about heroes, we had to help him get used to it.” You walked into the living room and sat your dad down. “Let me tell you everything.”

And so, you did. You explained everything; the lightning and sparks, and how Freddy had pulled you out of the way. The woman, and the tree, and how Freddy had comforted you after it had almost crushed you. The service station, the robbers and how Freddy had pulled you out of the way of a bullet.

You were about to tell him about Billy being bulletproof when your dad cut you off.

“You talk about Freddy a lot.” He smirked and your eyes widened. Talking about Freddy a lot hadn’t been intentional, but he was just always there. He was your first friend, and he liked the things you liked, and he talked to you and he was adorable and sweet and kind and h-

“Do you like Freddy?”

You froze. Did you like Freddy? With everything you’ve said in the past few minutes, all signs pointed to yes.

“I… I think I do. But I only met him today. Is that too soon?” You fell into a panicked ramble, every thought about Freddy spilling out into a chaotic sentence that didn’t make sense to anyone but you.

“Okay, okay, calm down. It’s okay to like people early on. Ever heard of ‘love at first sight’?”

“Dad! It’s not ‘love at first sight’.” You argued though something told you that maybe, just maybe, that was exactly what it was. Was ‘like at first sight’ a thing. Love seemed too strong at this point.

“You wanna talk about it?” Your dad placed a hand on your shoulder, as small tears slowly slipped out of your eyes. Why were you crying? This situation didn’t warrant tears. You weren’t sad, or angry or anything. You were just overwhelmed.

Overwhelmed. 

There were far too many emotions swirling in your head. Good and bad. You couldn’t do this right now. You hadn’t known Freddy Freeman for a day, and yet you were undoubtedly head over heels for him, but you weren’t ready to admit that to anyone.

“I… I’m tired. I’m gonna go to bed.”

You ran out of the room without a second thought.

***

Arriving at school, you instantly spotted Freddy and his family across the street. They were hard to miss, in a good way, of course. After last night, you were conflicted about whether to avoid Freddy or be around him, but unfortunately for you, your mouth moved faster than your brain.

“Freddy, wait up!”

He spun around, smiling brightly as he locked eyes with you. It was then that you noticed that Billy wasn’t there. Odd. but he did technically run away yesterday, so maybe he didn’t go with Freddy last night.

“H-Hey, Y/N!” He stumbled over his words, earning small giggles and chuckles from his family as they headed up to school without him.

“So, you have first period with me and Billy, right?” He asked, very clearly planning something. Freddy, you now discovered, always looked like he was up to something. 

“Um, maybe? Do you have science first, with Ms White?” He nodded, his smile still there. “Well, then I guess we have first period together. Why?”

“You’ll see. Just stick with me and Billy.” You raised an eyebrow at the mention of Billy, who was still a no-show. “Yeah, no, he’ll be here. He had something he needed to do first.”

As if on cue, a loud crash caused you to jump out of your skin. Spinning around, you saw the same boys who had beaten up Freddy staring at their destroyed truck.

“I’m gonna assume that’s what he needed to do.” 

“Yeah. Come with me, I wanna rub it in a little more.” 

Walking over to the boys, you both examined the destruction. The car was absolutely destroyed, and there was absolutely no way it could be restored. Freddy wandered over to the boys, a smirk on his face.

“You know guys… I don’t think that’s gonna buff out.”

You subtly high-fived him as you walked away from the car, but as your hands met, he intertwined your fingers. From the way he kept walking, he hadn’t even acknowledged what he’d done, and from the way your mind was racing, you really didn’t mind.

You entered the school building, passing through security easily and heading over to your locker. Freddy’s locker was across the hall from yours, so while you did, unfortunately, have to let go of Freddy’s hand, you easily kept your conversation going across the hall.

When you went across to join him, the conversation topic quickly switched to Billy and his new superhero alter-ego. You wished you had the confidence to reach over and hold his hand, but luckily for you, Freddy instinctively did it for you. 

“So, last night, when we went home, we found out how he can switch between forms.” He whispered excitedly, his voice rising every now and again as his excitement grew, but a soft hand squeeze from you was enough to quiet him down.

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw a flash of red and brown darting towards you and Freddy.

“Morning, Billy.” You said as Billy caught up to you, eyes instantly darting to you and Freddy’s interlocked hands. He raised an eyebrow, directing it specifically at you, and you really didn’t have an explanation.

“Nice job with the Breyers car.” 

The school bell rang, and as everyone else moved off to class, the two boys pushed you into a storage room to hide. You tried your best to ignore the lack of distance between you and Freddy.

You looked up, meeting Freddy’s eyes. His face was as red as yours felt. As awkward as you both felt being so close to each other, you couldn’t look away from him. Without even noticing, you shuffled closer to him.

“Coast is clear, let’s go.” Billy stepped outside, scanning up and down the hallway. He went to leave, but upon not hearing the sound of Freddy’s crutch hitting the ground, he looked back into the closet, seeing you and Freddy.

“Guys? Guys! Seriously, can you do this some other time?” He groaned, causing Freddy to whip his head around, still blushing. Billy chuckled, and Freddy gave Billy a look that screamed ‘we don’t speak a word of this’.

As Billy headed for the front door of the school, you still stood frozen in place. Freddy had been so fucking close to you. Your heart had been racing, your mind screaming and all the emotions from last night had almost come tumbling out.

“Y/N? You okay?” You reached for his hand, even though he hadn’t reached out as he usually did. He happily accepted your hand in his, feeling a familiar warmth as your hand slid perfectly into his.

Billy had been watching over his shoulder, finding a certain enjoyment in the pure awkwardness of the whole situation between his- his friends. As you and Freddy walked down the hall, hand-in-hand, Billy caught the soft smile on Freddy’s face. 

“Absolutely whipped.” He muttered to himself.

***

You sat on an empty oil barrel, watching as Billy used his lightning powers to blow up his school books. Freddy was throwing the books, both of them quite enjoying themselves. You didn’t know what to think.

Billy was a superhero now, and sure, he was still figuring out his abilities, but he didn’t show any signs of wanting to be an actual hero.

You had hoped that Freddy would teach him what actual heroes did, and yet he was encouraging Billy. You couldn't hate them, though. Billy was your friend, and Freddy was- well, he was something special.

“Hey, Freds?” 

Freddy dropped the English book he was holding, jumping at your voice which he hadn’t heard since the three of you had found the abandoned warehouse. He had been surprised that you didn’t want to participate but didn’t question it, afraid that if he was nosey he would lose any chance of actually getting you to like him.

“Y-yeah? What’s up?”

“I was just wondering if we were gonna spend the whole day exploding things? Why not test out some other skills?” You suggested, hoping to actually get something done today, and not have wasted a day that you could’ve spent actually learning something at school.

“Well, yeah, we could. What do you have in mind?”

“You’ve got your camera with you, right?” Freddy nodded, and your idea fell into place.

You brought the boys over to another part of the warehouse, pulling an empty notebook out of your bag.

“Freds, can you set up your camera, please?” He happily obliged, as you scribbled out a warning message onto the notebook. Freddy finished setting up the camera and started recording. You held up the sign in front of the lense.

A few seconds later, you flicked it over to reveal the page reading ‘Super Strenght Test 1’. 

“Right, super strength test, go!” Freddy informed Billy as you moved the page away, only to reveal Billy doing some weird dance-thing. You gave him a death stare, careful not to trigger your heat vision accidentally. 

Billy noticed your glare, and he was surprisingly intimidated.

“Oh.” He walked over to a stone pillar, rearing his arm back to punch it, and as his fist collided with the stone, it cracked and crumbled, leaving Billy and Freddy wide-eyed, while you simply watched on, impressed.

“Right, well, how about we test flight next?” You pointed to the old skate ramp outside, the boys’ faces lighting up.

***

The next few days continued much the same, with you writing down what test you were doing and making notes of Billy’s attempts, Freddy recording it all, sometimes helping Billy with the tests and Billy just trying not to die as you put him through all these tasks.

Your dad was yet to find out about you skipping school, though you knew he wouldn’t be too mad, especially if he knew what you were doing.

Billy had failed most of the tests, only succeding in hyperspeed and super strength currently. Freddy had pulled out the weirdest tests, like time-reversal and telepathy, while you stuck with the more classic superhero ones. He couldn’t teleport, but he was immune to fire, as you and Freddy found out the hard way. 

At the end of the day, you always found yourself at Freddy’s house, uploading the videos of Billy on YouTube. With each video, the superhero name changed, your personal favourite being ZAP-tain AMERICA. 

During these days of “superhero training” you found it difficult to stay out of the Superman-related conversations. Freddy often compared Billy to your father, and recently, you were discovering a new-found struggle of lying and keeping secrets from Freddy.

You told your dad everything, so he was up to date on Billy’s situation, often giving you tips that you always had to say you “read online” to keep from being suspicious. He still didn’t know you were skipping school, thinking that this training was the reason you were always home late.

In reality, you were home late because you didn’t want to leave Freddy’s home. You liked it there, and you liked his family, and yeah, you definitely liked him.

***

This morning, after you’d obviously ditched school, you once again found yourself discussing Superman.

“More powerful than a locomotive.” You nodded, agreeing with Freddy

“Locomotive? What are you, an old prospector?” Billy teased, as you thwacked him in the chest.

“He can leap tall buildings in a single bound.” You stated, gesturing to a massive office building in the city. It was a way away, but Billy hoisted you and Freddy over his shoulders and just ran.

Freddy looked dizzy when he was set down, so you rushed to steady him. He thanked you, that adorable smile returning. You smiled back, as Freddy fumbled for his camcorder. He almost dropped it, and you went to catch it, before realising he had added a wrist strap onto it.

“Right, so, single bound, ‘kay?” You turned to Billy, before looking at the giant building. Maybe you should’ve picked a smaller one.

Billy prepared to jump, and as he left the ground, he went flying into one of the windows. You gasped, hearing the screams from inside. You hit the recording button on the camera, stopping it in a rushed panic.

“Let’s edit that one before posting it.”

A few minutes later, Billy came out of the building, looking quite embarrassed.

“What’s up, Bill?” You giggled at his expression.

“I had to take the elevator.” He mumbled under his breath, but you heard it anyway. You laughed loudly, Freddy looking extremely confused. You whispered what Billy had told you, and Freddy lost it.

“Oh, yeah, yeah very funny.” Billy glared at the two of you, who were clinging to each other in an uncontrollable fit of giggles.

“You two are useless. I’m hungry, let’s get food.” Billy started walking towards a nearby shopping strip. As your fit of giggles ended, you trailed behind Billy, your hand in Freddy’s once again. It was a force of habit, now.

As per usual, you and Freddy wandered a tiny bit back from Billy, discussing whatever came to mind.

“Your phone’s charged.” Electricity came out of Billy’s fingers, hitting passerby’s phones. He kept doing it, some people looking impressed, while others looked weirded out. 

You caught up with Billy, both of you stopping for Freddy. Freddy had his typical expression on, which meant he was either planning something or that something was just on his mind.

“You know what? You really need, like, a mic-drop catchphrase after you do something cool.”

You sighed. A catchphrase? You loved Freddy dearly, but sometimes his ideas weren't exactly that good.

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Of course Billy had been. Billy and Freddy were two halves of a whole idiot.  “I was thinking, what about, what about this? ‘That’s why you don’t mess with electricity.’.”

You snorted. That was truly, utterly terrible. Freddy seemed to agree, considering his raised eyebrow, and humoured smile.

“Catchphrases, obviously, aren’t one of your superpowers.”

“Your phone’s charged,” Billy said, again, striking one man’s phone which sparked and exploded, and the man was most certainly not impressed.

“You need to stop doing that.” You patted Billy on the back, making Freddy laugh.

Billy, however, wasn’t laughing, a suspicious expression on his face. You went to ask what he was planning, but he picked you and flung you over his shoulder, hyperspeeding his way out of the shopping mall, leaving Freddy behind.

“Billy? Y/N? You’re coming back, right? Guys?”

***

After that day, you found yourself being pushed aside in Freddy and Billy’s escapades. Everything became less about training Billy to properly control his powers and use them for good, and more about just figuring out what they could get away with.

Billy claimed that everything was helping him become a better superhero, but you weren’t sure how a strip club, lair, and video games helped with that. Freddy didn’t agree nor deny with what Billy said, and you honestly felt a little upset about that.

You would have thought that Freddy, of all people, would take this at least somewhat serious, considering his love for superheroes. Even your argument that Superman wouldn’t abuse his abilities like this had no effect on the boys.

So that evening, after uploading all the videos Freddy had taken while the boys played video games, you packed up your stuff to leave.

“I’ll see you guys at school, hopefully.”

They didn’t notice, too wrapped up in their game. You couldn’t ignore the tears that rapidly fell from your eyes. Going down the stairs, you were met by Rosa and Victor, who were still hanging up Christmas decorations.

You really loved Rosa and Victor, and you hoped they liked you too, considering how often you were around. It would be awkward if they didn’t like you.

“Hey, Y/N, are you alright?” Rosa asked, and in a split second of confusion, you forgot about the tears streaming down your face.

“Uh, I just hit my elbow on a table edge. Yknow how much that hurts, haha.” You could tell that they didn’t believe you. “Uh, Freddy and Billy were ignoring me. It’s stupid, don’t worry.” You spoke quickly, trying to pass it off as nothing, but the crack in your voice said otherwise.

Rosa brought you over to the living room, inviting you to sit down. She sat beside you, while Victor sat across, both looking at you with concern in their eyes.

“They’re ignoring you?” Rosa placed a hand on your knee, in a comforting manner. God, she was the best mother on this planet. 

You nodded, not speaking in fear of your voice breaking again. You wondered if you were stupid, being so broken over two boys, who you’d only known for a week, ignoring you.

“Just know that they don’t hate you, especially not Freddy.” You looked at Victor in surprise. What did that mean? “You’re all he talks about, ever. Not even Darla gets to speak at the dinner table now.” He chuckled, while you flushed.

“H-he talks about me?” You wiped away some tears, a small smile forming. Freddy talked about you. All the time. Rosa and Victor nodded, smiles on their faces too.

“He really likes you, Y/N. Billy does too, but nowhere near as much as Freddy does. We honestly can’t thank you enough for bringing them closer.” Rosa hugged you, Victor piling on top.

“Thank you, so much. But, uh, I should head home. My dad will start to worry.” 

They nodded, walking you to the front door. As you opened the door, a creak from the stairs alerted you to Freddy’s presence. He came down to the door, hugging you tightly.

“See you at school tomorrow.” He whispered, kissing your cheek quickly. You were frozen as Freddy gave you a final hug and went back upstairs. You had forgotten that Rosa and Victor were there until Victor whispered a “told you so”.

“Heh, um, well, I’ll probably see you tomorrow?” You smiled, hand instinctively going to your cheek.

“And probably more days after that.” Rosa giggled. 

With a smile, you left the Vasquezes home, now looking forward to tomorrow. 

When you arrived home, you didn’t even notice your dad in the kitchen. He definitely noticed you, and the stupid smile on your face, and the way you were humming to yourself. It didn’t take a genius to know what was going on.

“What did I say about love at first sight?” He said, to no one but himself.

***

Walking the school halls, all you heard were whispers about Philadelphia’s newest superhero. Thanks to the videos you and Freddy had taken, Billy- you were yet to decide on a superhero name- was quickly gaining popularity.

It seemed as though everyone only had superheroes on their mind. Obviously, that included your little trio of friends. It was somewhat nice, being the talk of the town, even if no one knew you were the talk of the town.

“Hey, yknow, you guys gotta wonder who’s filming those, right?” You looked curiously at Freddy, as did other students. A wave of worry crashed over you, something feeling off. “I mean, that’s bravery in and of itself.” 

“I mean, is it, though?” Billy commented, and then you knew that something was definitely not gonna go well today, so you kept your mouth shut.

“Yeah. I’d argue maybe even more brave.” 

“Holding a camera?” 

“Staring in the face of danger?” You felt the urge to make some comment about how neither of them had faced any real danger before, but you knew that would simply lead to a neverending run of questions, curious ones from Billy and concerned ones from Freddy.

You blocked their bickering out as best as you could, but the second the Breyer brother approached, you got ready to punch either of them if needed. They grabbed Freddy’s shirt, and you stepped closer to him, protectively.

“Hey, Freeman.”

“I-I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Freddy glanced at the fist around his shirt, before looking back at Burke.

“What? Is your bestie gonna hit us with a wheelchair this time?” Brett raised an eyebrow, mocking Billy. Your teeth clenched together. 

“No, maybe not him, but I have another best friend.” Shit. You could see where this was going.

The brothers turned to you, half of your body covering the side of Freddy.

“Oh, so you need your girlfriend to protect you, too?” They mocked, using stupid sing-songy voices. You flipped them off, glaring.

“She’s not my gir- No. My other best friend. Who might hunt you down and destroy both of you.” You really wished Freddy could shut his mouth every once in a while.

“Okay, Freddy.” You and Billy both whispered, attempting to drag Freddy away from the Breyers, but to no avail, Freddy stood his ground.

“You may have heard of him… Uh, uh, The Human Power Storm. Frequency Flinger, Sir Zaps-A-Lot. Yeah. He’s a man of many names.” You sighed. Neither you nor Billy looked impressed in the slightest. Freddy was wonderful, but sometimes he really needed to know when to stop.

“You know the Red Cyclone?” The Breyers, understandably, didn’t believe Freddy in the slightest. I mean, why would you? “You? My ass you do.”

“Oh, we’re a lot closer than you think. Maybe even at this very moment.” 

“Prove it.”

Oh no. Oh god no. It would’ve been a great time for you or Billy to jump in and shut Freddy up, but both of you knew how suspicious that sounded.

“I will, tomorrow. Tomorrow he’s gonna come to lunch.” You stared at Freddy, wide-eyed. This was not happening. “And… Right, right, Billy?”

Billy looked petrified, eyes darting between Brett, Burke, Freddy and you. Both your faces held concern and just a hint of fear.

“Oh, yeah, and then Superman’s gonna be bringing us dessert, right?” Freddy’s eyes immediately landed on you, and for once you didn’t fluster at this.

“Yeah, Y/N here knows Superman. Right, Y/N?” 

Everyone's eyes fell to you, including the highly skeptical eyes of the Breyers. If there was any time to be frozen with fear, this was not the time you expected. With a sharp inhale, you nodded quickly, as to get it over and done with.

The bell rang, and finally, the crowd of students disappeared. It felt stupid, but you wanted to cry. The Breyers remained in front of you, and you had never felt so intimidated.

“Tomorrow at lunch. You’ll see.”

“And when they don’t show,” Shit, they were including Superman in this? “Then we’ll kick both of your asses.”

Your hand found Freddy’s, squeezing it tightly out of fear and pressure. What were you meant to do now? Freddy started walking, Billy following quickly behind.

“So, wait, my identity's a secret so no one I know can get hurt. Except when it makes you look cool, then it’s all good.”

In a common occurrence from the past few days, you insisted on keeping your mouth shut, instead choosing to focus on the feeling of Freddy’s hand against yours.

“Billy, it’s not like they’re supervillains-”

“They’re close enough.” You murmured.

“They're just super douchebags.” 

“So you’re breaking your own rule? Got it.” 

You were amazed that no one had figured out Billy’s identity, considering the volume at which the two boys spoke. For someone determined to keep a secret, Billy was awfully loud.

“This thing is as much mine as it is yours.” You couldn't even find it in you to argue that; 1) no, it really wasn’t and 2) why didn’t he include you.

“Starting to think you think it’s all your thing.” Billy stormed into his classroom, Freddy hopelessly calling after him. When he gave up on Billy, he turned to you, a desperate look on his face.

“Y/N? Do you want to stay for dinner tonight?”

***

“All hands on deck,” Victor called, everyone besides Billy putting their hand in the centre of the table. You hesitated, until Freddy placed his other hand on yours, bringing it up to meet the others.

“Thank you for this family. Thank you for this day. Thank you for this food. Sorry Billy’s hand’s on vacay.”

You absolutely adored the Vasquezes and their crazy family that all perfectly worked together. Everyone’s hands dropped, grabbing cutlery and eating.

“Big news in Philly. Got a costumed hero. He’s doing good.” You smiled at the mention of Billy until you saw the looks on Freddy and Billy’s faces.

“Yeah, but is he, though?” Eugene piped up, everyone immediately intrigued by his comment.

“Ooh! Controversy, into it. Share with us your perspective, Eugene.” 

This was sure to be an interesting dinner.

“Just saying, he’s what? Charging people’s phones? So what? I can charge a phone with a plug.” You smiled at Eugene. That was an extremely valid point. Billy was, in no offence to him, kinda useless right now.

“Preach. Pedro, any thoughts?”

“Costume’s stupid.” You giggled, fully agreeing. It did look kinda dorky. Everyone else laughed along too, except Billy, which was even funnier to you. “Big white cape like he’s getting married or something.” You burst out into giggles, remembering when you had told Billy exactly that.

As you giggled, you didn’t notice Freddy’s hand on top of yours, or the smitten gaze he had. Everyone else, however, most definitely did.

“What if he didn’t get to pick his costume?” Billy finally spoke up, drawing everyone’s eyes to him. “Ever think about that?”

“You’re a specialist Freddy, and I’ve heard that you are too, Y/N. What do you two think?” Rosa prompted you and Freddy.

“Yeah, guys, let’s manage to see the positive.” Billy eyed you both warily, and as you went to speak, Freddy immediately cut you off.

“Okay, well, I think it looks likes he doesn’t have gratitude for what he’s been given.”

You wished Freddy had telepathy, just so you could tell him to not make this personal. But alas, he had no such ability.

“Very specific. All right. Y/N, what were you going to s-”

“Maybe to the superhero, gratitude doesn’t mean having to be clingy.” Bill retorted.

“Clingy? Wow, interesting take.” 

You didn’t want to be overdramatic, but you were sure you had never been more stressed in your entire life. 

“You know, maybe sometimes a superhero just wants a little me-time.”

Shit, they were making it personal. You kicked Billy under the table, only getting a glare in return.

“You know, me-time could also be construed as pushing away his family.”

You could feel the confused gazes burning into you like lasers. This had to be the most suspicious conversation ever.

“Family. Is that what they are now?” 

You hid your face in your hands, sighing in annoyance. Why did you ever think that this would be a nice, normal dinner with your friends and their family, especially after school today?

“It’s a classic symptom of “Superhero Syndrome”. Coined by German psychologist Heinrich Von German-Something, where superpowers become an all-consuming narcotic.”

Billy immediately got up from the table, and you watched with a fearful look in your eyes as the chaos came to an upsetting end.

“Son, we’re still eating dinner.” Victor tried to call Billy back, but it was useless at this point.

“What he needs is a sidekick,” Freddy called after the boy, and then everything clicked. 

“Name one cool sidekick.” Billy stormed up the stairs, leaving the rest of the family sitting awkwardly. You didn’t realise how nervous you looked until you felt Freddy’s fingers tracing small circles on your leg. The action was calming, and you shuffled closer to him.

“Darla, why are you so quiet over there, baby? You’re never at a loss for words.”

From the way in which Darla glanced at Freddy, Billy’s empty chair and you, you realised that Darla knew a lot more than you thought. 

“I’m eating.” The small girl mumbled through food, just to get her point across.

Once dinner wrapped up, Freddy went to head upstairs, until you reminded him that Billy was up there, and that didn’t seem like a good idea right now. Instead, you took him out to the front porch, sitting on the steps, gazing up at the sky.

“It’s beautiful up there.” You mumbled as Freddy sat beside you. For a while, the two of you sat in silence, just gazing at the sky and the few stars you could see. The night sky always reminded you of the first flying lessons you had with your dad, back when you first started developing your powers.

“Yknow, I’ve always wanted to fly.” Freddy broke the silence. “It probably sounds stupid, but flying sure sounds better than walking, especially with this stupid thing.” He chucks his crutch to the ground, both of you wincing at the sound of it hitting the ground.

You don’t speak, not because you’re ignoring him, you just don’t know what to say.

“This… This was a bad night for you to come over. I’m sorry it went like that.”

“It’s fine. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of other dinners for me to join in.” You didn’t notice the impact of your words, but for Freddy, the idea of you coming to more dinners was like getting hit with a ton of bricks.

Freddy instinctively moved closer to you, which was no longer a big deal to either of you, but this time Freddy was trying a something else. He moved ever so slightly closer, and you finally realised what was happening.

You moved closer too, your heart practically running a marathon. The moment seemed perfect, and for a while, it was. He was about a centimetre away from you now, and that distance was only getting smaller.

“Freddy!” He jumped away quickly as the front door swung open. Rosa smiled sweetly, not realising what had just been happening. “Could you walk Y/N home, please?”

***

By lunch the next day, you were still thinking about last night. You had almost kissed Freddy Freeman. Twice. The first time, Rosa had stopped you just in time, asking if Freddy could walk you home.

The second had been outside your home. He had just dropped you off and thought that would be his chance. Unfortunately, your dad had other plans, swinging the door open, also not aware of what had been going on. He had thanked Freddy for walking you home, and you looked forward to the day when Freddy realised he had just met his idol.

They were the only thoughts that clouded your mind as you sat with Freddy at the lunch table, a massive crowd waiting for Billy and apparently Superman to appear.

You were unfortunately skeptical about Billy showing up, especially after what Freddy told you about this morning. Billy had walked to school with Freddy, and then immediately ditched. Freddy didn’t want to believe it, but he didn’t think Billy would show either.

You looked worriedly at Freddy, knowing that there was no chance Billy would show. The Breyers were staring you two down, and you were getting very nervous with all the eyes on you.

“I’ll just call him. I’ll just make sure.” He got out his phone, holding it up to his ear. “It’s ringing.” 

Freddy was not a good liar in any way, shape or form. Not one single person here believed him. You knew that if you didn’t know the truth, you wouldn’t believe him.

“Red Cyclone, hey! Hey, what’s going on?” He paused for belief. Of which there was none. “Oh, that’s crazy! Yeah, it’s Freddy, by the way. Yeah, it’s crazy! Great story.” Someone from behind you snatched his phone away and you knew you were screwed.

“He’s not talking to anyone.” The crowd laughed and booed, and you immediately lived in fear of what the Breyers were gonna do.

“I was! I was! We’re friends. I know him, I do!” The crowd dissipated. “I know him! I know him! Uh, yeah.”

The Breyers laughed at your humiliation, and you latched onto Freddy in fear. You were royally screwed now.

“Shit.” You muttered in unison, giving each other frightened glances.

The Breyers dragged you out to the back of the school, to the alleyway between the school building and the hall.

Brett dragged Freddy aside, while Burke grabbed onto your shirt. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Brett carrying Freddy by his underwear, and when you looked back, Burke’s fist collided with your face. It didn’t hurt, nor did it leave much of a bruise, so you simply let him at it.

Better to let him get it all out now.

You did, however, get in one good punch on Burke’s face.

“Eat shit and die, Kent,” Burke yelled, punching you again.

“Eat shit and live, Breyer.”

Once the boys let you be, you rushed to help Freddy back to his feet. He looked like he was in a lot of pain, so you tried to act like you were hurt too, just to make him feel better.

“Are you alright? Burke packs a pretty mean punch…” Freddy’s hand traced where he had seen Burke punch you.

“Nothing I can’t handle.” You grinned, which made Freddy smile too. His smile, however, quickly turned to a grimace.

“We need to find Billy,” Freddy grumbled, not just annoyance, but anger in his voice. As if on cue, you spotted a spark of lightning in the distance. You spun Freddy around so he could see the sparks too.

“Found him.” 

***

Freddy marched up to Billy, who was performing some stupid show in front of a crowd of people. What a surprise. Billy was abusing his powers. He even had a box laid out for money. Why, of all people, did Billy get to have superpowers?

“Hey. Hey!” Freddy pushed the crowds out of the way, anger seeping through his words.

“Hey, young man!” Freddy kicked Billy’s speaker, causing the music to stop. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! What are you doing? I’m in the middle of a show right now. How can I help you?”

You scoffed, rolling your eyes. Was Billy really this much of an idiot?

“We just wanted to say thank you for showing up to lunch today.” From the look on Billy’s face, he had just recalled his plans. “Yeah, I got a little something called a, uh, suitcase wedgie, right? I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of it, but it’s when someone grabs your underwear like that,” Freddy acts out his words as he goes, the crowd all with their phones out, “and holds you like a suitcase and walks you down the hallway.”

You scrunched up your nose imagining how painful that would be.

“And this was my underwear.” He throws the stretched out fabric in Billy’s direction, though it doesn’t go anywhere near him. 

“Gross.”

You stepped in line with Freddy, looking up at Billy in disappointment. 

“You said you’d come.” You uttered sadly.

“You said I would come!” You jumped at the outburst, grabbing Freddy’s wrist in shock. “I never said I was… I’m a superhero, dude!” 

You very quickly went from being disappointed to just angry.

“Yeah? Well, you’re acting real heroic.” You spat out. “How much people paying you today?” The venom lacing your words was thick, even Freddy looked at you in surprise.

“Listen, I have serious responsibilities now, okay?”

“Oh yeah, very se-”

“But that’s cool because I can carry that burden with my… hands! Lightning with my hands!” 

One strike of lightning struck much further away than you anticipated, hitting a distant bridge. It hit a wheel on a bus, and the bus came crashing off the side of the bridge. You gasped, catching Billy’s attention. He looked at the accident, before hyperspeeding away.

“We’ll just walk, I guess?” You asked, turning around to see Freddy already walking in Billy’s direction. 

The walk was long and tiring, and probably not good for Freddy in the slightest. You could see the whole situation unfolding, sighing as Billy did all the wrong things. What you wouldn’t give to go be better than him.

Reaching Billy, you saw a news reporter leaving, but there were still news cameras everywhere.

“Guys! Did you see that?”

“Yeah. You electrocuted a bus and almost killed these people.” Freddy stated, but it clearly wasn’t getting through to Billy.

“And then I caught it! Guys, I caught a bus with my bare hands! I caught a bus like people catch fly balls!” If it was any other day, you’d be impressed, and proud of Billy for using his power for good, but today you weren’t happy, and neither was Freddy. “Like, who does that? I do that!”

“Billy! You do nothing.” Freddy cut him off. “You take selfies and make people pay you.” You placed a hand on Freddy’s shoulder in comfort. “You know, forget it. I can’t really talk to you when you look like this.”

You and Freddy turned to leave, Freddy’s hand finding yours instantly. 

“You just wish it was you.”

You both froze, turning back around to face Billy. 

“No shit! You think? I would kill to have what you have.” You felt tears welling in your eyes. You had figured out why Freddy was so angry not too long ago. “Because everything I do is, like, some desperate attempt to get people to notice me. To not feel sorry for me.” He glanced over at you, seeing the tears on your cheeks. 

“I mean, look at me! Look at me. Do you even see me? ‘Cause most people don’t. ‘Cause they don’t want to. And now you don’t either. I mean, you think this is who you are? I mean, Billy, you’re 14 and now you’re no better than the Breyers.”

You could hear Freddy choking up, so you stepped in to help him.

“All this power, and all you did was turn into a show-off and a bully.” Your voice cracked, tears heavily flowing now. Freddy took your hand again, his one source of comfort, leaving Billy alone.

“Whatever, kid! I do what I want! And I’m like mid-20s probably! Maybe even, like, 30.”

You and Freddy didn’t turn back, storming away from the asshole you had once considered a friend. 

You were a fair distance away when you heard the sound of glass shattering from behind you. Judging from the height of the broken window, there was only one person it could be.

“Billy?” Freddy questioned, as said boy flew- wait flew?- towards you.

“Guys! I need your help!”

“You can fly?” Freddy exclaimed, his smile coming back. Billy was about to respond when another figure flew from the building, grabbing Billy and sending him to the ground. The concrete where they hit broke as easily as the glass, and you immediately went to inspect it.

Freddy joined you, staring into the open floor.

“Who’s the other guy?”

There was no response, but you and Freddy had the same thought.

“Supervillain.”

Screams could be heard in front of you, and you looked up to see swarms of people running out of a nearby shopping mall. That’s where they had to be. Why else would people act like that?

“Freds, this way.”

Freddy made his best attempt to run, only tripping a few times. Eventually, you made it into the mall, seeing the heard of people running in a panic. Billy was nowhere to be seen.

“Billy?” Freddy called out. “Billy?”

“Billy, where are you?” You joined in, yelling, searching for any sign of Billy.

So far, nothing. Freddy called out a few more times, but you had stopped, seeing the bald man scanning the mall. That was him. The supervillain. It took a few more seconds for you to register that the supervillain was flying towards you.

He grabbed both you and Freddy, slamming the two of you up against some lockers. Your heart was beating at an irregular pace. How did your dad do this?

“Billy. Where is he?” The bald man asked, and you tried your best to stay calm. Freddy was not doing well in the calm department.

“Supervillain…” He said quietly, his eye wide with fear. This was the sort of shit you see on TV and in comics, not everyday life. “Supervillain! Supervillain!” 

His screams were useless. No one was coming to your rescue. 

“Worse. Much worse.”

You didn’t want to cry, but there was a high probability you would.

“Radioactive anthromorph?” Freddy asked. “Psychic energy manipulator? I won’t let you read my mind. My mind is blank. You can’t get in.”

“I don’t need to read your mind.” He slammed both of you against the lockers again, making you whimper in fear. “Because you are going to tell me. Where is he?”

As hard as you tried, you couldn’t find Freddy’s hand.

***

You found yourself outside Freddy’s home, still being held by the supervillain. Fear was rushing through your veins, and guilt, knowing that if you were able to use your powers, you could’ve easily stopped this.

The supervillain rang the doorbell, and the door was immediately swung open, Darla only seeing Freddy at first. He was shoved inside, you pushed in next, hitting into a wall. You hissed in pain and caught Freddy’s concerned glance.

“How quaint.” Mr Supervillain said, glancing around the room. Everyone’s faces held similar expressions of terror. “Actually, I take that back. What a shithole.”

You were grabbed by the supervillain again, and he scanned you up and down, his brow furrowing. Shit, did he figure you out? He threw you back with the other kids, and you stumbled backwards into Freddy.

Freddy dug in his pocket, hoping to find his phone, but an ominous chuckle from Mr Supervillain gave you a good idea of where Freddy’s phone actually was. He pulled out the familiar black phone, dangling it mockingly in your face.

You were all shoved onto the couch, ordered to stay like you were dogs. Mr Supervillain unlocked the phone, his eye glowing. When did he have hacking as a power? You all watched him, too scared to look away.

A sudden pressure on your hand made you look down, seeing a familiar hand in yours. It had only been an hour, but it felt like much longer since you had had Freddy’s comfort. You moved closer to him, shaking with pure terror. 

“F-Freddy?” He looked down at you, and you didn’t have to say anything for him to pull you in closer. You had Freddy, but you wanted Billy here too. You wanted protection and safety and the knowledge that you’d be alright. You wanted your dad.

The familiar sound of a phone ringing startled you, and whoever was on the other side quickly picked up.

“Freddy, you were right. I’m so sorry I yelled at you.” You heard Billy through the phone, and both panic and relief set in. 

“Come home, Billy. Come home.” Mr Supervillain spoke, eyeing you all evilly. You shuddered under his gaze, holding Freddy tighter.

“Billy! Supervillain! Supervillain!” Freddy yelled, hoping to be heard through the phone. The call abruptly ended, Mr Supervillain stalking around the house once more. He picked up a Christmas wreath on a door, throwing it to the ground.

“Who are you? What do you want?” Mary asked, Darla clinging to her jacket.

What do I want? I want...” The lights flickered, and the sounds of rumbling thunder could be heard from outside. You saw the golden glow outside the frosted window, knowing who was on the other side of that door. “That.”

Eugene whispered a quiet “Whoa” from beside you as Billy landed outside. 

“Kick his ass, Billy!” All five of you turned to Pedro in surprise. You had never heard him speak that loudly.

Mr Supervillain pointed his hand at you all, a cloud of dust and smoke billowing out, the face of a monster forming in the cloud.

“No, no, no, this isn’t real. This isn’t happening.” You repeated your mantra to yourself, only stopping as Billy pushed some hair out of your eyes. You looked up at him, as he leaned close and whispered in your ear.

“Don’t look at that. Just focus on me.”

And you did. You gazed at Freddy, studying his face. For a while, you managed to forget about your surroundings. Not fully- how could you forget about the monster snarling and growling at you?- but enough for Freddy to be the main thought circling your mind.

“Let them go and I’ll come inside,” Billy yelled.

“Oh, first you come inside, and then maybe I’ll let them go.”

Billy did as told, storming towards the house. As he did, Mr Supervillain pulled the monster cloud away from you, and you relaxed a little. You were still on edge, but noticeably less so. Billy opened the door, fully entering the house.

“Good boy.” Mr Supervillain walked towards Billy, a smirk on his face. “Cause that’s all you are, isn’t it? How old are you?”

Billy stared the supervillain down, taking into account his glowing blue eye.

“Basically 15.” Mr Supervillain grabbed Billy’s face, humming in disdain.

“When I was a child, the old man told me I wasn’t good enough,” From beside you, you heard a faint whisper of “Evil monologue.” from Freddy. “Yet here you are, a coward. Run from me and the wizard chooses you? You’re not a hero.”

You almost yelled that he was more of a hero than Mr Supervillain would ever be, but the sudden feeling of Eugene clinging to your coat stopped you from going anywhere.

“But I’m gonna give you the opportunity to be one.” Mr Supervillain continued. “Give me the power of the champion.”

“No, don’t do it, Billy!” Freddy yelled, regaining the attention of both Billy and Mr Supervillain. The supervillain walked towards the couch, all six of you tensing up. You jumped slightly as a beam of lightning, not dissimilar from Billy’s, shot out from his hand.

It hit a door, seven rows of repeating images appearing, and an ominous glow from beneath it, as well as smoke that most certainly didn’t give you a good vibe. It opened itself, revealing what looked like a cavern of some sorts. 

“Give me the power and I’ll let them go.”

“Billy, no! You can’t do that!” You found your voice, yelling at your friend. From beside Freddy, Darla stood up, running to Billy. Mary followed behind her, calling for Darla not to go over there.

“Don’t go, Billy!” She pleaded over and over again, hugging the tall boy-man. You felt tears prick at your eyes, huddling your face in Freddy’s side more, so as to not see anything that could unfold.

“No, I have to.” Billy stumbled out, and you looked up, seeing Mary trying to pull Darla away. This was all too much. “It’s what a good brother would do. Right?” 

Billy walked towards the open door, Mr Supervillain not far behind.

“Billy,” Freddy said, trying with any hope to get Billy to stay. His attempts were useless, as Billy entered the door. You all watched on hopelessly, but the still-open door gave you and Freddy an idea.

“Freddy, we have to go help him.” You said, quickly forgetting how afraid you had been just a few minutes ago. You heard scuffling behind you, spinning around to see everyone gone. “Guys?”

“Y/N!” Freddy’s voice called from upstairs. “Get a weapon!”

You looked around, spotting the open kitchen door. You ran in, grabbing a small, but a sharp, knife and running back out to join the others. They all had their own weapons, but you glanced wearily at Pedro’s.

“Pedro, is that a lamp?” You asked, and he looked between you and the lamp.

“It’s an ugly one.” He stated, and you saw no reason to argue.

“Well, let’s go get your brother back.” 

You stepped through the door, glancing around everywhere. You marvelled at the beautifully terrifying cave surrounding you. It seemed to go one forever.

“Well, Y/N, where do we go now?” Mary asked, still holding onto Darla.

A familiar yelp of pain echoed through the cavern, followed by the voice of Mr Supervillain. It didn’t seem like much to go off, but you had some help. You pointed forwards, knowing exactly where to go. 

“There.”  

The cavern tunnels opened up into a strange temple-like place. You pushed everyone behind some rocks, blocking them from sight. You couldn’t have them getting hurt. You watched on, as the supervillain continued to speak, telling Billy of his past.

Billy started to push himself off the ground.

“I get it. I get what that’s like. Feeling like you’re all alone in the world.” Mr Supervillain demanded Billy to stand. “Feeling like there’s that one thing, if you could just find it. Then you’d finally be good enough.”

Billy stood, Mr Supervillain holding out some staff-thing.

“The champion’s name. Say it.”

Your leg bounced in anticipation, as the same dust clouds swarmed around the supervillain like earlier, except this time they formed seven full monsters. They surrounded Billy, snarling and baring their teeth.

Each one was horrifying, towering over Billy. Their mangled faces sent shivers down your spine, yet you couldn’t look away from them. Their glowing red eyes seemed to speak, digging into the deepest corners of your mind.

“Look, no offence, mister, but I don’t think those things have your best interest at heart,” Billy argued, and as you stared intensely at the scene unfolding, you missed Freddy’s call for everyone to follow him.

But his hand back in yours, pulling you with the group was enough to get your attention. The monsters spoke, their gravelly voices haunting. They spoke to the supervillain, telling him of his actions. 

“Don’t listen to this child.”

“Take the staff.”

“Hold it and say the champion’s name.”

They were using him. This wasn’t a team effort for them. These monsters had simply taken another victim for their own personal gain. From what Billy said next, it seemed he had realised what was going on too.

“They’re using you. You have to see that, that they are using you.” He said as you and the five others gathered in the centre of the room. Freddy poised himself, replica Batarang in hand. 

He looked at you for confirmation, and you nodded. He threw the Batarang as hard as he could, and everyone watched as it soared through the air. As he threw it, you handed him your knife, so he’d still have some protection. You could fight without a weapon, he couldn’t.

“Say your name.” Mr Supervillain said, just as the Batarang came in contact with his head. It clattered to the ground, Mr Supervillain, the monsters and Billy all turning to face you.

“His name…” Freddy smirked, as you all got into a fighting position. “Is Captain Sparklefingers.” You finished.

“And we’re gonna keep throwing things at your big, fat, ugly-eyed head until you let our brother go,” Darla said, and you were amazed by the young girl’s bravery.

The monsters were taken back into the supervillain's body, taking quite a dramatic exit. He moved towards your little group, each of you taking a few steps back in fear. Out of the corner of your eyes, you saw Billy reaching for the discarded Batarang.

You drew your eyes away from Billy, scared to give away his plan. Sparks erupted as he picked up the Batarang, and even more flew as he stabbed it into Mr Supervillain’s shoulder. Billy flung the supervillain into the rock wall, hopefully knocking him out for a bit.

“Boy, am I glad I didn’t sell that Batarang.”

Now wasn’t the time to be mad about Billy trying to sell Freddy’s stuff, but you’d grill him later about it. Billy came down the stairs, looking back at the supervillain every now and again, juts checking he was still out.

“Pedro, is that a lamp?” You let out a soft snort at the question you had asked earlier. Pedro sighed, muttering the same answer he had given you earlier.

“Come on, come on, come on.” Billy pushed you all to start running, and you did, not wanting to be there when Mr Supervillain came to. “Guys, I appreciate the thought, I really do, but I don’t think your weapons are gonna help. I mean, Y/N, you don’t even have a weapon.”

“Don’t need one.” You shrugged, Billy giving you a skeptical look. 

As you turned the corner, you all stopped, one singular thought in everyone’s minds. Eugene was the one to voice the collective thoughts.

“The door was right here.”

“Billy, how do we get outta here?” Mary asked, but everyone knew that it was unlikely that Billy had any idea.

“What, you think I know? I don’t know!” He rushed over his words, as he so often did.

“This way!” Darla pointed at a tunnel through the caves.

“Go, go, go. Follow Darla. Good job Darla. Go, go, go!” You all ran through the cave, waiting to find some kind of exit. Or at least something that wasn’t a tunnel. Unfortunately, it just seemed like tunnels.

“How long are these tunnels?” You groaned as you turned yet another corner into yet another long strip of rocks.

“Hey, Y/N?” Freddy spoke up, completely out of breath. This was unfair for him, having to run so much. “I’m sorry I dragged you into all this.”

You looked at him, bewildered. His eyes were downcast, staring at his feet as you both strayed behind the group. You lifted his chin up, looking into his gorgeous brown eyes.

“You didn’t drag me into this. I chose to come along, and up til now, it’s been pretty fun.”

He would’ve kissed you right then and there if it weren’t for Billy’s frantic screams for you to catch up, and the looming knowledge or the supervillain finding you. So you simply took his hand, as you so often did and ran as fast as Freddy could bear.

“Pedro, Pedro, come on.” You heard Billy up ahead, growing more frantic with each second. He turned around, seeing you and Freddy up the back of the group. “Freddy? Freddy, keep up. Darla, stay in front. We gotta hurry.” 

The tunnel ended, and you found yourselves on a bridge, stretching across a frighteningly deep chasm. You tried not to look down, but your curiosity overpowered your sensibility, as you glanced into the neverending pit.

Any wrong move and you could be falling down there. Great, well at least it was a motivator and not just a giant pit of doom. Past the bridge, there were simply more rocky passageways.

“Would it have hurt,” You complained. “To put up a signpost, maybe?”

Pedro, Darla and Eugene stopped, scanning their eyes over the room. As you moved closer, you saw that it was filled with doors. So many doors, it could have beaten the scene from Monsters Inc.

One of these has to be a way out, right?” Mary asked, and everyone’s eyes trailed upwards, even more doors coming into view.

“Yeah, I would hope so.” 

Eugene opened a door, and you peered inside. Three alligators in suits sat at a table, seemingly playing cards. Their heads snapped towards the open door, charging forwards. Eugene slammed the door in time, shaking his head.

“Not this one.”

Pedro opened the next one, revealing a misty view. A shadow moved forward, and as it broke through the fog, you saw a strange-looking creature. It reminded you of something out of ‘The Mist’, a book you had read earlier this year. It snapped suddenly, lunging at Pedro, who slammed the door on it. It kept writhing until Pedro finally got it inside.

You opened a door, seeing nothing but a forest inside until a giant eight-legged creature descended from the treetops. It’s eight beady eyes glared into your soul and you found yourself frozen in fear. The spider snapped its fangs, scuttling forwards. You felt like you could cry, almost screaming until someone closed the door on it.

“Y/N? Are you alright?” You nodded, only barely registering Freddy’s voice. 

“Okay, no more doors. Nobody open any more doors.” Billy announced, watching Freddy shaking you away from you fearful state.

When Freddy did bring you back, he sighed in relief.

“Jeez, let’s keep you away from doors, huh?” You smiled, thankful for Freddy and everything he ever did for you. You moved back to the group, standing exceptionally close.

“Come on, Billy. What are we gonna do?” Darla cried.

“Darla, I don’t know.”

“Yes, you do. Just think. How’d you get out last time?”  Everyone’s voices were filled with panic, fear and nervousness, the sound of rocks breaking alerting you to a certain supervillain’s nearing presence.

“Uh, last time, I thought about the subway, and I was on the subway.”

“Okay. then, Billy, look, think about the subway.” Freddy babbled. “Think about any place except for here, okay?”

“What is this, The Wizard of Oz?” You said, trying to bring a bit of light into the situation. Only Freddy laughed, and it was more of a short sound than a laugh. Everyone was far too on edge right now.

You saw the moving glow of the staff from down the tunnel. You didn’t have much time now. If Billy didn’t think of someplace soon, you’d all be dead. Or injured, at the very least. Either way, it didn’t end well for you and the Vasquezes.

“Billy? Any time now…” Your eyes darted between Billy and Mr Supervillain, panic rising like a volcano, waiting to explode. The lightning symbol on Billy’s chest glowed brighter, but so did the light emanating from the staff held by the supervillain.

Your eyes remained on Mr Supervillain as he shot his hand out, a beam of light coming straight for you. If Billy didn’t get you out of there soon, you were all dead meat. To everyone’s relief, your cave surroundings disappeared just as the lightning was about to hit you.

When regained your bearings, your jaw dropped at your surroundings. Mary frantically covered Darla’s eyes, while you did the same to Eugene. In the midst of the chaos, you lost Freddy in the crowd. Billy’s height helped to navigate the exit, and as much as you tried to focus on the red and white in front of you, the noises coming from left and right were heavily distracting.

You pushed open the doors, feeling relieved to be out of there. It was crowded, and sweaty and sticky and you hated it. None of you were particularly impressed with Billy right now.

“Why are you covering my eyes?” Darla asked, Eugene nodding in agreement.

“Really? This is the first place you think of? Wow!” Mary rolled her eyes.

“You’re welcome!” Billy had a point. At least you weren’t dead.

“Why can’t I see what’s inside?” Darla asked again, Eugene nodding again.

“You two are not old enough.” You and Mary said, only taking your hands off their eyes once the door had properly shut.

“Old enough to know that was great music.” Darla smiled, and you couldn’t help but smile at the girl’s innocence.

“Not my thing,” Pedro muttered softly, and you suppressed a slight chuckle. You looked around, realising a certain blue jacket-wearing boy was missing.

“Where’s Freddy?” 

As if on cue, the strip club door swung open again, Freddy stumbling out, saying something about “Siracha”. You raised an eyebrow, but hearing Freddy wish them a “holly, jolly Christmas” made you laugh.

“Freddy! What are you doing?” Billy yelled as Freddy rejoined the group.

“Uh, n-nice people.” 

“Nice people? Come on.” You marched over to Freddy, grabbing his arm gently.

“Is that glitter? They have glitter! Can I get glitter?” You had to commend Darla for always finding a positive, even when they were all being chased by an evil supervillain. 

“No, not from them.”

A sudden crack of thunder had you all turning around to look back at where you came from, seeing a flash of lighting, much like Billy’s. Mr Supervillain was back on your trails. He burst out of the roof, a plume of smoke billowing from the building.

“Shit.” You muttered. 

“Go, go go. Everybody, go!” Billy pushed everyone to start running, but you simply looked worriedly at Freddy, who was trailing.

“Freddy, Freddy, Freddy!” Billy rushed behind him. “One, two three. Up, up. Up we go.” He picked up Freddy, bridal style, hyperspeeding ahead of everyone. You all kept running, not looking back at the supervillain, in fear of being spotted.

You all ran into an alleyway, the Christmas Village just across the road. Glancing around, you did a headcount, finding exactly six others, thank god.

“Alright, all people accounted for, let’s move.” You spoke, mainly to yourself. As long as you could count the six heads, you knew that you hadn’t lost anyone. Six heads. Just six. Six. Wait, zero?

Everyone else had run into the carnival, leaving you in the alleyway. Your eyes darted around, searching for Billy’s towering figure. In the distance, you spotted a familiar white cape in the distance and ran in that direction.

Billy was being surrounded by people with their phones, all taking photos and videos f him. You pushed through the crowd, only getting hit a few times. One person’s phone connected with your nose, and you yelped in surprise.

“Y/N?” Freddy’s voice sounded from inside the circle. He could recognize you just from you exclaiming out of pain? You couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or not. Right now, it was very good as he fought his way through the crowd to drag you with him.

“Shazam!” 

A lightning strike hit the ground, and soon Billy’s tall alter-ego was gone, replaced by his regular self, who was refreshing to see amidst all the chaos. You pulled Billy into a quick hug, finally finding a chance to.

The crowd murmured about the sudden disappearance of “Powerboy” and you and the Vasquezes made your way out of the crowd, hiding behind one of the booths. You thought you had a moment to rest until you realised that Mr Supervillian would have seen the transformation lightning. Your cover was blown.

“Champion!”

“Shit.” You muttered as the seven of you watched the supervillain fly over the top of the carnival

“You don’t deserve that name. Hiding behind innocent people who will now die. Because deep down you’re still just a scared, little boy.” You all shared very similar glances at the mention of people dying. Fuck, where was your dad when you needed him?

The crowd of carnival-goers was silent, simply watching Mr Supervillain above them. Then, all at once, all hell broke loose. People were running everywhere to get away from the ensuing battle. Mr Supervillain began his destructive descend upon the carnival, blowing boots up and striking the Ferris wheel.

It sparked, shifting to the side. You could see everyone on the ride, panicked and fearful. You even felt bad for the Breyers. Even they didn’t deserve to die. The wheel was collapsing, and none of you could do anything. Except for-

“Well, you guys wanted me to be a hero.”

“You kidding? Okay, no. Old guy’s up there, harbouring multiple spiritual entities.” Freddy rambled, tripping over his words.

“Plus, he has the same powers as you.” You added, “And, no offence, but I mean, he knows what he’s doing.”

“Plus, I mean, you’re one of my best friends I don’t want you to die.” Freddy finished, muttering the last part nervously, his eyes moving between you and Billy.

“If a superhero can’t save his family, he’s not much of a hero.” As panicked as you were, a smile spread across your face at Billy’s words. You were well aware of Billy’s familial struggles, having been both Freddy and Billy’s go-to person to talk about problems they had.

“That was a decent catchphrase,” Freddy said, making you both smile and smack him in the chest at the same time.

“Shazam!” And just like that, your big red friend was back, ready to destroy whoever dared to mess with his family and friends, in your case. He jumped into flight, seeming to have already perfected a skill he gained that morning.

You felt useless, watching Billy do all the work as you simply stood with the others. You should have been up there, by his side, kicking evil ass with your friend. But then again, Billy could protect all of Philadelphia, you just needed to protect his family.

You all watched the fight intensely, trying not to alert anyone to your whereabouts. Billy seemed to be winning, from what you could see. He sent the supervillain hurtling to the ground, a resounding thud echoing throughout the empty carnival.

Billy flew down, landing across from where you were all huddled.

“Or try that again!” He looked to you all for approval, only receiving an ‘eh, sure’ from Freddy and a ‘never say that again’ from you.

“Billy, look out!” Freddy yelled, having seen Mr Supervillain preparing for his next move. Billy ducked just in time, but you and Freddy both felt that his move was not over yet.

“Laser eyes! Guys, he’s got laser eyes! Too bad your aim sucks balls!” 

You were about to tell him that, no they weren’t laser eyes, when the wooden planks behind him exploded, revealing one of those damn monsters again. It lifted up Billy, throwing him with ease.

You all watched on in fear as Billy landed in a nearby carnival game booth, Mr Supervillain stalking over to him.

“That’s his power matrix.” You said, watching both his glowing staff and glowing eye.

“His what-what?” Eugene looked at you in bewilderment.

“When the demon guys leave his eye, he loses his powers,” Freddy explained, you simply nodding along with what he said. “That’s why the Batarang hurt him.”

“Hey!” Mary suddenly shouts, you all turning to stare wide-eyed at her. “Over here!”

“Wait, what are you doing?” Concern and confusion are etched onto Freddy’s face, but realisation flashes across yours.

“Divide and conquer.” You said, Mary confirming your statement. “If we separate the monsters from the eye, he’s just an old man.”

“Gather the mutts” Mr Supervillain unleashes the monsters, and you all take off running. Mary and Darla are leading, while you help Freddy at the back of the pack.

Freddy is snatched away from you, and you speed up, yelling at yourself to not look back and keep running. You hear Pedro and Eugene yelping, knowing they got taken to. You speed ahead of Darla and Mary, only to hear the sounds of them screaming for each other as one more monster takes away your last two friends.

It’s just you, running as fast as you can. As fast as you can without using hyperspeed. You hide in a ring toss booth, hoping that the monster didn’t see your tumble in. Your breathing is heavy and ragged, but when the coast is all clear, you make a run for it.

Turning the corner, you see Mr Supervillain holding Billy, and not superhero Billy, but regular Billy, down into ice water. He’s not transforming, so you figure he isn’t able to. You look around for anything to help with, seeing a gun from some shooting gallery game lying discarded beside you.

You pick it up, aiming it towards the supervillain.

“Hey!” He turns to face you and the barrel of the gun. You fire, sending the bullet hurtling towards him. You suspect he’ll catch it, and it won’t do anything, but maybe it’ll distract him just long enough for Billy to transform.

And that’s exactly what happens. He perfectly catches the bullet, which was level with his eyes. You can sense the monster behind you, and now it’s too late to stop it. Just as it reaches out to grab you, you see Billy’s head leaving the water. You sigh in relief, happy that your plan at least worked out for him.

“Shazam!”

The lightning strike sends Mr Supervillain flying backwards, but he catches himself, properly flying to the open tent where you and your friends are held captive. Billy rises from the shattered ice, seeing all of you held kidnapped.

You’re struggling against the arms of your captor, as are your friends, but the monsters are stubborn, and they’re not planning on letting go anytime soon. Mr Supervillain stands at the centre of it all, awaiting Billy’s first move.

“Nice trick. Catchy. One simple word. I have a better trick. Four words.” You all stare at the supervillain, fear, stress and now pain on everyone’s faces. You can’t look away from Freddy and his face contorted in pain, and you find him doing the same.

“Kill the special one.” 

Everyone’s eyes flick to Billy, expecting a monster to go after him. What they aren’t expecting, however, is for the monster holding you captive to growl, bearing its teeth, poised and ready to kill you with no hesitation.

There are screams of protest, and the monster nears. You can’t tell if you’re breathing properly, but your guess is no. The loudest screams are from Freddy, who you can tell is crying from just his voice.

“Don’t hurt her!” He screams, only to be cut off by the monster holding him tighter, his words turning to hisses of pain.

Your head is in the mouth of the monster, and by now you’ve given up fighting. If this is how it ends, so be it. There could be worse ways to go out.

“Stop!” Billy yells, and you let out a breath you were unaware you were holding in. the monster puts you down, and all you want is to be by Freddy’s side. Billy comes closer to the tent, Mr Supervillain smirking as if he’d achieved something. As he walked closer, the monsters held on tighter, taunting and tormenting Billy.

“Billy, there’s one more demon guy in his eyes! You gotta just rip it out of his face hole.” Freddy yelled, before having a monster hand clamp over his mouth. He fought against the monster but to no avail.

“It’s where he gets his power!” Mary finished. The monsters moved in, surrounding Billy, all of you still held tightly in their many, many arms.

“Reach for it. I dare you.” Mr Supervillain taunted, as Billy knelt to the ground before him. “Wise decision. Hands on the staff.”

“Billy, don’t do this. Billy!” Freddy protested, but once again, no one listened to his pleas. You all joined in his plea, begging Billy to not do as told. 

Billy ignored you all, doing as he was told, wrapping his hand around the glowing staff. As he did, the monsters dissolved, leaving all of you to gather yourselves. Freddy stumbled right over to you. You caught him in a hug, feeling the exact level of comfort you both needed after that.

“He called you special. Why?” Freddy’s hands found your face, holding it softly as if he was scared to hurt you in any way.

“You saying I’m not special, Freeman? I’m a little offended.” Now did not seem the time for jokes, but hey, wasn’t that the perfect time to pull one out?

“You are so special, Y/N, but I need to know what he me-” He was cut off by Billy grabbing the staff, and slamming it into Mr Supervillain. He went flying backwards, buying you all some time.

“All hands on deck.” 

You knew what Billy was doing. He had told you exactly how he got turned into his superhero self, so you stayed behind when everyone else held onto the staff. They all waited for you to join, but you didn’t move.

“Y/N? All hands on deck. That includes you.” Freddy smiled, but you just shook your head. He tilted his head in confusion, going to pull you over as Billy said something about running out of time.

“Y/N, come on.”

“I think I’ll be fine on my own.” You smiled, knowing that finally, the time had come.

“Freddy, come on, we gotta do this now.”

They all grabbed the staff, waiting for Billy’s next instruction. Freddy and Billy kept looking back at you, as you kept an eye on Mr Supervillain in the back.

“Say my name.” 

At the same time, all five of this Vasquezes yelled out the same thing.

“Billy!”

You laughed softly, having had a feeling that that would happen.

“No, not my name. Say the name I say to turn into this guy.” You saw the realisation on their faces, as they all got ready to yell again.

“Shazam!”

The most powerful lightning strike you’d ever seen came crashing down, and for once, you didn’t have to run or hide from the sparks. It felt nice finally being able to be yourself. Once the light died down, you saw that the five kids and teens had been replaced with five adults.

Freddy’s crutch fell to the ground, and your excitement grew wilder. You stood beside Billy, seeing the five identical lightning-shaped glows coming through the fog. Your smile widened as they emerged, buzzing with happiness. This was probably the best-worst day of your life.

Pedro stood in green, Darla in purple, Eugene in grey, Mary in red and Freddy, your Freddy, down the end in blue.

You watched as they all gawked at themselves, impressed by their superhero counterparts. You were kinda jealous that you didn’t get a cool adult transformation, but that had been your choice so you wouldn’t say anything.

“Guys,” Freddy said, and when you looked at him, you saw that his feet weren’t on the ground. “What’s happening?” He kept moving upwards slowly, and something clicked in your mind. “I can fly!”

You giggled at his excitement, unable to forget your current thought. Freddy said something, back when Billy first became a hero. Belief was the key. Freddy had always believed he could fly.

Even in a grown-up body, his excited laughter was still as dorky as it was usually. You were so distracted by Freddy and his everything, that no one noticed Mr Supervillain rising from the floor.

“Guys. check out these guns.” Pedro said, and everyone looked at them grinning in shock and surprise, Darla even leaning over to poke said ‘guns’.

“Hey, Y/N, are you sure you’ll be fine without superpowers?” Freddy asked, to which you just smiled and shook your head.

“No, I’ll be fine without your superpowers, specifically.” You explained, leaving them as confused as they were before. 

“No. It’s not possible.” You all turned to see Mr Supervillain, rising from the ground.

“Gee-whiz mister,” You had to hold yourself back from laughing at Billy’s childish words coming from his grown-up body, “Sorry I took your cane. You want it back?” Billy snapped it in half, and you couldn’t stop smiling like an idiot.

“Guys, I don’t believe in violence, but I think we should kick this guy’s butt, like, really hard,” Darla said, everyone getting ready to fight. Freddy floated in the corner, holding up two middle fingers at the supervillain.

Mr Supervillain shot out his lightning at Darla, sending her flying backwards. The blast set the booth alight, but you watched Darla speed away from it. She ran back over to you all, stumbling a bit, but you steadied her.

“Guys, I think I can move really…” She sped her way inbetween Mary and Freddy, “fast.”

“Hyperspeed! Check!” Freddy pointed excitedly.

Mr Supervillain sent out the monsters again, and for once you weren’t scared of them. You eyed one up and down, searching for where you thought would be it’s weaker spots. All hell was about to properly break loose.

“Billy! The eye!”

Mr Supervillain lunged at Billy, sending them both up and out of the tent. It was just the six of you now, against six monsters. Perfectly balanced. 

“Look out!” Eugene spun around just in time, as a monster lunged for him. Lightning strikes sparked from his fingers, sending the monster flying backwards. He looked down as his electrified hands, as did everyone.

He accidentally set off another spark, hitting exactly where Darla was. She was, once again, flung backwards, but ran around to where Eugene was.

“You almost exploded me.”

Another monster appeared behind Pedro, and he put out his arm to defend himself. He hadn’t been expecting to catch the monster's arm and hold it away from himself. He threw the arm down, punching the monsters, as it soared backwards.

You and Freddy held similar expressions of unadulterated joy and excitement. Sure, Philadelphia could be destroyed by a supervillain and actual demons, but you were superheroes!

You saw a monster sneaking up behind Freddy, and without thinking, set your heat vision in action. You burned the monster, not stopping until it had run away to deal with its injuries. Everyone watched you, slacked jaws.

“What? I said I didn’t need your superpowers.” You said nonchalantly, though your mind was screaming about how good of a reveal that was.

“Y/N, you have superpowers? Oh my god, you have superpowers!” he went to lift you up to his level, but you simply floated your own way up. “Holy shit, you can fly, too!”

“Freddy, you’re flying right now, don’t be too impressed.”

“Yeah, but you can fly without having to say the word!” You had never seen Freddy geek out as much as he was right now. He was questioning everything you could do but didn’t ask how you got your powers. You told him everything you could do, and you felt that if he wasn’t losing his mind, he might have made the connection he needed to make.

The monsters didn’t seem to get hurt easily, as they kept coming back to attack you again. Mary got tangled up in the branch-like hands of one but threw it off her. You were busy helping Darla with an exceptionally big one when you heard Freddy from beside you.

“Dude, I’ve studied the fighting techniques of every single superhero. What do you got?” The monster you were fighting had scurried off to fight someone else, so you kept a watchful eye on Freddy.

The monster flicked its long claws out before they grew and sharpened even more.

“Well, that’s terrifying.” The monster prepared to lunge for Freddy, but he started running away from it. He took to the sky, the monster, unfortunately, having wings and following him. You wanted to go after him and help, but Eugene was having some problems and he would’ve needed more help.

“Eugene! Zap him over here!” You called, gaining Eugene’s attention. He zapped the monster, and as it flew towards you, you readied yourself to punch the ugly thing. You did, sending it soaring, ripping a hole in the tent.

You had to stand on your toes to high-five the now very tall boy. You used your arctic breath to freeze on of the monsters temporarily, allowing Pedro to weaken it more. The sound of whooping caught your attention, looking over to see Freddy flying through the carnival, the winged beast not far behind.

The monster crashed into the Ferris wheel, and it was then that you remembered that there were still people on the wheel. The impact from the monster caused the wheel to bend more, sitting at a terrifying slant.

“Oh my gosh, those people!”

You watched as one woman fell out of the side of her chair, clinging on for dear life. You wanted to go save them, but you couldn’t. You didn’t have anything masking your identity, and the Breyers were up there. 

The woman fell, and Darla ran to catch her. As the woman landed in her arms, you sighed in relief, before pinning around to punch the beast sneaking up behind you. Looking back, the wheel was still bending under its own weight.

“Pedro! Try and hold it up!” You instructed, said boy doing exactly that. And he did it well. The wheel was no longer collapsing, perfectly held in place by Pedro. You once again sighed, only for it to be revoked when you saw a four-armed monster on top of the wheel.

“Shit.” You didn’t really have anyone else to send out after the monsters. Did you risk the reveal of your identity? Your thoughts were whisked away by Darla cartwheeling in to save the day. She grabbed the two citizens, taking them safely to the ground, as Freddy flew past, still battling the flying beast.

“You’re not gonna believe this,” You used your enhanced hearing to listen in on him, only half paying attention to the monster you were fighting. “but you’re actually the first villain I've ever fought. It’s, like, kind of a huge deal for me.”

The monster growled, sending Freddy off flying again. You turned your full attention to fighting a beast, punching it a few more time, successfully knocking it out. Your mind drifted to Billy, wondering how his epic showdown was going. Hopefully, he was winning.

You watched Darla save a screaming Santa Claus, running him to safety, as Eugene electrocuted the monster, yelling out some Street Fighter reference while doing so. The monster you had just been fighting rose, targeting Pedro next.

You could see the conflict on his face, as the monster charged. You had to help, so you lunged onto the monsters back, punching it repeatedly. It simply flung you off its back, and slammed you against a wooden wall. You felt dizzy, trying to stand up, only to fall back down.

You saw Pedro getting tossed aside, same as you had been, and watched as the beast pulled the Ferris wheel down. The support beam snapped, while the other one continued to bend, the monster still pulling it as hard as it could. It continued to tip over, at a much more rapid rate now.

It seemed that everyone besides the Breyers had been saved, and you could hear them screaming. You were about to risk everything and save them when a blue streak pulled them from their seat. The wheel hit the ground, all people finally off the ride.

From above you, you could hear the Breyers screaming, while Freddy had an amused expression on his face.

“Is he giving us suitcase wedgies?”

You giggled softly, busy finishing off another monster fight with Mary. Freddy finally got his comeuppance with the Breyers. He landed, harsher than the other times, just to get the last laugh. You rolled your eyes at his childishness, before flying up to meet him.

“Nice going, hotshot.” You smiled, earning one back. 

“Yeah, I really showed those monsters what I’ve got.” He grinned proudly, his cape flapping in the wind. He looked happier than he ever had.

“I know, the Breyers were really screaming.” You giggled. Freddy suddenly dove down, swooping you up into his arms, which only made you giggle more. He flew back down to meet the others, and it seemed that the monsters had backed off for a bit.

“M’lady,” He said, placing you softly on the ground. You floated back up, pecking him on the cheek before touching the floor again.

“My hero.” You said, in an overly-dramatic and mocking tone. That sent you both into a fit of giggles, the other four watching with amused looks.

“This is nice, but maybe do it when you both look the same age,” Eugene commented, which made you and Freddy glow a bright red. “It’s just a little weird.”

The other nodded, and you smiled at the ground bashfully. No one noticed the monsters charging at you again. 

Two of them latched onto Eugene, who kicked and punched as hard as he could but couldn’t shake them off. Mary swooped in to kick the one that Pedro hadn’t seen, sending it hurling out of the tent, landing near two more of the creatures.

Mary and Darla went to take care of those three, while one more came after you, Pedro and Freddy. It was easy enough to keep one down with the three of you, so you ran to help Darla, who’s hyperspeed wasn’t doing much right now.

You went to land a hit on its ugly face when it dissolved right in front of you. Turning around, you saw Billy reaching in to rip our Mr Supervillain’s eye. You all watched as the glowing blue orb was torn from the socket, the demon entities being sucked back inside.

Eventually, the orb was fully removed, and the supervillain collapsed to the floor. Billy held the glowing orb in his hand, staring at it.

“Here’s the thing about power. What good’s power, if you got nobody to share it with?” 

All five of your friends landed behind Billy- Freddy had insisted on carrying you bridal-syle, and who were you to deny him his fun- looking at the defeated man before you. 

“Ta-da!” Billy exclaimed, presenting the evil orb to you all.

“That’s disgusting,” Pedro stated, and you had to agree with him.

“Fatality.” Eugene once again referenced Street Fighter and laughed in amazement of himself. “I got the voice.” He smiled, everyone smiling in approval too.

“What’s that?” Your heads snapped in Billy’s direction, the laughter ceasing quickly. Billy was staring at the orb, bringing it closer to himself. “I can have anything I’ve ever wanted?”

“Billy.” You said, your eyebrows furrowing. What was he doing? Realisation dawned on everyone, protests coming from every person.

“No, no, no!”

“Stop it!”

“Don’t look at that!”

The orb was at eye level now. Was Billy really about to do exactly what Mr Supervillain had done? He couldn’t be that stupid, could he?

“Billy don’t do it!” Freddy yelled, and you all jumped as Billy suddenly pulled the orb away from him. You groaned, rolling your eyes.

“That wasn’t funny, Billy.” You walked up to him and punched him in the shoulder. He yelped in pain, grabbing his shoulder. You walked back beside Freddy, happy with yourself.

“Jeez, you pack a mean punch.” It was then that the six of you realised that Billy didn’t know you had superpowers yet. Well, he’d find out eventually. “You got super-strength or something?”

“Actually, yeah, she does,” Freddy announced, the others nodding in agreement.

“Well, anyway, we can talk more about that later. You really think I’m gonna put a demon ball in my head? That’s disgusting,”

There was a debate between the seven of you as to whether Billy’s joke had indeed been funny or not. The consensus said no, except Eugene.

“Uh… Guys.” Mary said, regaining everyone’s attention.

You all looked to see a crowd of people walking your way. You ducked behind Freddy and Pedro, jumping down to hide in the fallen Ferris wheel, both of them looking at you strangely.

“No disguise. No secret identity.” You whispered, Freddy immediately nodding and making sure to cover up your entire figure while you hid, along with Pedro. 

The crowd clapped and cheered, while you all just stood awkwardly. Darla waved to the people, in her energetic little kid manner. 

“Alright, we did it!” Billy cheered, his family moving to line up with him. You wanted to be up there, but you’d have to wait until you got a costume and an alter-ego for that. “Hey, alright, yeah! We did it! We did it!”

The crowd cheered louder and louder, more people coming to applaud the heroes. You smiled from below the Ferris wheel, picturing Freddy’s face as all his dreams come true.

“Hey, you guys are all safe. There’s no more danger anymore.”

Your friends still stood awkwardly, not really knowing what to do, besides Freddy who was completely owning this moment. He was truly in his element. 

Eventually, the crowd died down, people leaving to go home after that night’s adventures. You floated up to join everyone else, who were still on a high from everything that had happened in just an hour.

“They all really love you guys.” You mused, earning happy smiles from everyone.

“They’ll love you, too, once we get you a costume,” You smiled softly at Freddy, his compliment meaning a lot to you, “I mean, how could someone not love you.” He rushed out his words, mumbling them quietly.

If he had been in his normal teenage body, you would’ve kissed him right there.

“Oh, guys, what do we do with this?” Billy gestured to the orb.

“Put it back where it came from, I guess.” You shrugged, not really having any other idea. “Which would be the temple cave thing. You transported us out of there, can you get us back in?”

Billy gave you his typical “I don’t know” face before it switched to one of concentration. He focused on taking you all back to the temple. Nothing seemed to happen, so you thought of something else.

“What if you all try?”

You watched them all concentrate on teleportation. You thought you might as well try too, closing your eyes tightly. When you opened them again, the bright lights and skyline of the city were gone, replaced by the rock walls of the temple.

“You guys can teleport!” You said, in a very Freddy-like manner.

Billy held the orb, looking for where it went. His eyes darted wildly, but Freddy’s locked on to something, Terminator-style.

“The pedestal, over there.”

“You sure this is gonna work?” Billy asked, placing the orb over the pedestal. A weird cage thing solidified around it, holding it floating in place.

“Told ya,” Freddy announced, as seven plumes of smoke left the orb. The plumes rebuilt broken statues of the monsters you had fought, each one even as terrifying in stone as they were in real life.

You just hoped they remained as stone for many years to come.

“You guys know what this place is, right?” Freddy asked, and you nodded in excitement. He had whispered it to you earlier, and you had to try very hard not to geek out.

“A dark, haunted cave with demon statues,” Darla said, and she wasn’t wrong.

“Well, yes, but also…” You and Freddy looked over at Billy, who looked at you weirdly. You saw the confusion being replaced by realisation, and then excitement.

“Lair! We got a lair!”

No one else was anywhere near as excited as you, Billy and Freddy were, but that didn’t matter.

“We got a lair.” Freddy smiled stupidly, giggling to himself.

“What’s a lair?” 

***

That night, after Freddy had flown you home, even though you insisted you’d be fine on your own, you had told your dad every single detail of the events that had just occurred. 

Two hours after your return, your dad knew everything. Billy skipping school, going with Freddy to find him, the bus, the argument, the supervillain, getting kidnapped briefly, the monsters, the temple, and the final battle.

He had listened intensely, saving his questions for the end of your story. When you wrapped up your story with Freddy bringing you home, your dad opened his mouth to start his questions.

“Are you hurt?” Head shake no.

“Did any of them get hurt?” Head shake no, again.

“So they know about your powers?” Head nod yes.

“And Freddy brought you home?” Head nod yes.

“And you’re together now?” Head nod y- wait, what?

Your jaw dropped open, as your dad didn’t try to hide his laughter. You burned red, fiddling with your hands. Your dad either maintained boundaries or never had them, and there was no in-between. 

“W-We’re not together. Sure, I like him and I think mayb-” You looked down, not only because you were saying too much, but because you felt your phone buzzing in your pocket.

You saw Billy’s contact, looking at it in confusion, but you picked up the call.

“Billy? What’s up?” You saw your dad listening in.

“I need your help with something. You said the other day that your dad knows Superman.” Once again, your comment has landed you in deep shit.

“Uh, yeah, what about it?”

“Can you get him to come to school for lunch tomorrow?” Your eyes darted up to your dad, who could hear the entire conversation.

“I’ll, uh, see… what are you planning?”

“I thought you’d want to help me surprise Freddy.” Now that Freddy was in the picture, you couldn’t back out.

“Oh, yeah I’ll see if I can get him immediately.”

“Thank you so much, Freddy will be thrilled. See ya tomorrow.” He hung up, and you looked sheepishly at your dad.

“So, uh, abo-”

“I’m going.” You blinked a few times as if that would confirm that you heard your dad correctly. “Look, I want to meet this Freddy you keep talking about. Make sure he’s good enough for my baby daughter.”

“Fine, just be gentle with Freddy. I don’t want him running away from me.”

“He’s in love, he won’t go running.” Your dad smirked, seeing how flustered you got. You stood up from the couch, heading out into the hallways, but not before turning back around, trying not to laugh at your dad’s childish actions.

“I’m going to bed before you embarrass me more.”

***

Freddy walked through the cafeteria, trying to find a table with some empty seats. He spotted one up near the back and redirected his path. Sitting down at the table, it wasn’t long before everyone at the table got up and left.

Freddy acted like he didn’t care, but deep down, he felt a pang of sadness. He hadn’t seen you since before school, and he already missed you. He wasn’t ashamed to say that maybe he might be in love with you.

“What are you doing?” The annoying voice of Brett Breyer came from beside him. “Waiting for your imaginary BFF to show up?” Burke went to grab a chip from Freddy’s plate when his hand was swatted away by yours.

“No, just waiting for me.” You sat down at the table, moving your chair closer to Freddy’s. The brothers walked away to a different table, not before Burke knocked Freddy in the head with his elbow. You gave them both middle fingers, much like Freddy had done when they almost ran him over. 

“Sorry, I'm late. I got caught up in class,” You lied, “Teacher wanted to talk to me about a paper we had to write.”

“All good things, I suppose?” Freddy smiled, leaning on his hand. 

“Yeah, yeah. She said it was an outstanding piece of writing.” You kept lying, only feeling a pang of slight guilt.

“Well, yeah, duh. You’re smart enough to go to MIT or Harvard or something.” You went an alarming shade of red. Freddy always knew the right thing to say, even when you were blatantly lying to him. “Just, don’t go there without me.”

“I’d never dream of it, Freeman.”

Your little moment was interrupted by four trays hitting the table, and four people sitting in chairs. Freddy looked at his siblings in confusion.

“What are you guys doing here?” 

“Well, we’re having lunch with you,” Mary said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“But you guys have different lunch periods.” 

“Well, we made a very special arrangement.” They all nodded in agreement. You tried to look past their not so great acting and lying skills.

Freddy’s eyes moved to his little sister.

“Darla, what’s going on?”

“Why are you asking me?” She asked, innocently, though she suffered from Freddy’s issue of always looking slightly suspicious.

“Freddy Freeman.” You all hid your smiles as Billy walked into the cafeteria. You heard a wave of silence pass across the entire room. Freddy covered his face in surprise and embarrassment. “This guy taught me everything I know about being a dope superhero. True story. You should get some pointers from him.”

Billy sat down on the seat besides Freddy, really laying his acting on thick. “What’s going on, my best bud in the whole world? Hey, Y/N, you’re here too! And also new kids that I’m meeting for the first time but seem very cool.”

You let out a short string of giggles, only continuing when you saw the dumbfounded looks on the Breyers faces. 

“Uh… I invited another friend. I hope that’s okay.”

You couldn’t keep the smile off your face as you saw your dad walk in, red cape and all. Every single person in the room gasped, pointing at the man that just walked through the door. As your dad approached the table, Freddy turned his head away from Billy, noticing the shadow.

He looked up, letting out an adorable yelp of shock as his idol stands beside him. You move a seat over, letting your dad sit down. Freddy seemed to be frozen in shock, only his eyes moving. You had a stupid look of affection on your face, so utterly in love with this dork.

Freddy suddenly broke out of his frozen state, a sudden tsunami of questions spilling out. He barely left any time for your dad to speak. Your dad glanced down, seeing your gaze on Freddy and the lovestruck expression on your face.

The bell rang, and Freddy sighed, going to grab his crutch and go to class. Billy held out an arm to stop him, and Freddy looked at his brother in surprise.

 “We got special permission to miss the last lessons of class, we just have to stay in here.” You explained, “But they only let the two of us stay. Apparently any more than that, and it would be way harder to explain.”

Freddy said goodbye to his sibling, your dad also wishing them farewell. Once they were gone, your dad dropped his proper superhero facade, but not completely.

“So, Freddy,” You smiled at Freddy’s gasp of shock at hearing his name coming from his idol’s mouth, “I hear that you’re some new, hotshot superhero, alongside Billy here.” Freddy nodded along, wondering if Billy had told Superman everything.

“Well, if you need any tips, I’ll make sure to get back to you.”

“Sure, dad, you can’t even message me back and I’m your own kid.” You snorted, not realising what you had said. Freddy and Billy stared at you wide-eyed. “What? Did I say som- Oh. well, haha, surprise?”

You looked to your dad for help, but he was looking at the clock on the wall.

“Well, my time is up, I have work. See you after school, Y/N. Have fun explaining. It was great to meet you, boys. Freddy, you have permission to date her.”

And with that comment that left you and Freddy a burning red, your dad ran out of the school building. Billy went to speak but just ran out with no words.

You turned to the curly-haired boy, who was staring at the door in which your dad had run out of.

“Freddy, I’m s-”

“I’m in love with you.”

“W-what?”

Freddy grabbed your face, practically smashing his lips against yours. It was extremely messy and chaotic, and neither of you knew what you were doing, but it was perfect. You pulled apart eventually, both of you giggling like preschoolers.

“I’m in love with you, too.”

[oddsnendsfanfics]

Unraveling at the Seams Pt 22

Genre: Fan Fiction Pairing: Henry Cavill/OFC Warnings: Language, Sexual Innuendo, Possible NSFW Rating: M Length: Multi Disclaimer: a strict work of fiction, I own nothing except the original characters and the plot line. In no way am I affiliated to any of it.  

A/N: As I am sure some of you have noticed there are two tie in drabbles to this fic. I can’t let them go just yet and plan to have a few more of those floating around. If you haven’t read them and want to, check them out on the Unraveling at the Seams Master List 

thank you @flowers-in-your-hayr​​​ for the header

Catch Up Here

Departure came faster than Nell wished it ever would, helping Henry and Ivan pack their last few things to leave the next day, she had managed to put on a brave face. Despite feeling like she was falling apart inside, crumbling with each second.

In the past, Ivan had gone with Henry for longer. She would see them in two, maybe three weeks tops. The difference this time was the notion that Ivan would be living with Henry, until he decided he'd had his fill. What if that was never? What if he chose to stay with Henry, only visiting Nell on the odd days he felt like it? What if this bright idea was actually her losing her son?

Nell steadied her breath. Counting to ten in her heard. She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. On the flip side, when Ivan got ready to leave for boarding school in a few years, she would be well prepared. Holding Ivan's carry on bag, Nell rolled her eyes as he asked Henry whether or not they would need umbrellas.

“It rains in London, a lot.”

“Yes, but all of our umbrellas are packed away. Besides,” Henry shrugged, “I have plenty at the house. We will be fine to get from the airport to home.”

“If you insist, but if we get a sudden down pour, it is your fault.” Ivan gave up the topic, handing Nell his spare pair of pants to put in his carry on.

“See, this is what you have to look forward to.” Trying her best to keep a happy face, Nell teased a worn Henry.

They had spent yesterday with Ivan, agreeing to whatever he wanted to do, during his last day in Dublin. A BBQ with a handful of friends had been his request. Though he assumed his parents hadn't noticed, Nell's heart nearly broke when she heard him crying after she put him to bed.

“We will manage,” Henry smirked, “If he is too much of a handful, perhaps boarding school early?”

“Ah, yes. Excellent idea.” Nell giggled.

Ivan huffed and snarled, shaking his head. His parents thought they were funny, the least he could do was save humanity and try to stop their jokes. Nobody had time for terrible and lame jokes.

“If you want to get rid of me, I can go live with Uncle Charlie, he said I could.”

“Winters are cold, in Canada.” Nell shrugged it off.

“If you want to live with Uncle Charlie, or any other family member, you can.” Henry answered, straight faced. “But I am not paying for you. You'll have to find a job and you will need to pay them rent, groceries, and...”

“Dadddd,” Ivan whined, rolling his eyes and huffing. “You're not funny.”

Feigning hurt, Henry shook his head and rolled his eyes. “I am extremely funny. I will have you know.”

“Okay, if you say so.” Ivan shrugged it off, glancing at Nell. “Do you think he's funny, momma?”

“Okay, you two, back to the task.” Nell instructed, chuckling at the thought of Henry having to deal with Ivan's sarcasm on a daily basis. “And yes, you're very funny, Henry.”

Suit cases and other bags packed for the morning, they retired to a take away dinner of Indian food. Ivan had fought Nell until he gave in and agreed to Indian, she could not and would not eat any more sushi - for a long while. Damn Henry for introducing their son.

Happy with his dinner choices, Ivan requested some time to play a video game or two, before bed. Once his meal was done, he was certain everything he needed for the following day was ready, he had his shower, and his teeth were clean. His parents gave in to his pleas.

Stretched out on the couch, Nell groaned when Henry attempted to move her, to sit down. Protesting, with absolutely no effort, Nell allowed him to lift her upper body, before sitting and placing her head on his thigh. A bold display, seeing as Ivan was still awake and running around the house.

“I have something for you,” Henry smiled, holding up his phone. “Look at this,” handing Nell his phone, the screen displayed a concept drawing. A rough outline of a man in well loved and worn armor.

“Is this what I think it is?” She sat up, trying to get a better look at the image.

“I've insisted they send you a copy, you should have it now. It's yours to do as you wish, milady.”

“Well, your grace, I will take them and see what magic I can do.” Nell winked. Henry's cheeks flushed, groaning, he fought back a laugh.

“Why do you have to do that?”

“Does it bother you, your grace?” Nell giggled. Handing his phone back.

“Not in a particularly upsetting way.” Henry slid his phone into his pocket. Licking his lips, he was nearly ready to let the topic go. “Although, I do ask you remember that my name is Henry. No Geralt or Charles,”

“Please, I make a mistake once.” Snorting, Nell rolled her eyes and smacked his arm. “It had been a very long day.”

“It was kind of kinky.” Henry burst into laughter. “If you ever want to pretend that, then...”

“Oh shut up,” Nell squealed, her turn to become bright red. “Although, Culpepper was kind of hot. Maybe we could...”

“Charles Brandon or nothing,” Henry put on his best frown, teasing her.

“You drive a hard bargain,” Nell clicked her tongue against her teeth, leaning over she gave him a quick kiss. “Perhaps, one day I shall cash in. Until that day, I think we need to get our son to bed and make sure he's rested.”

An early morning looming meant Henry and Nell were not far behind Ivan in going to bed. As Henry snuck in to join Ivan and Kal in the big bed, Nell stood in the doorway for a few seconds watching Ivan sleeping. She had spent nearly every night of his young life watching him for a few moments before she went to bed.

The first night they'd had him home, she wanted to sleep in the rocking chair beside his bassinet. Henry had discouraged her, saying she would be too stiff and uncomfortable. Allowing her to watch Ivan for a few minutes, he'd guided her to bed, sneaking out once she was asleep to spend the night in the chair instead.

Any time Ivan had been sick or scared, Nell would spend the night in his room or him in hers. The two of them cuddled up, keeping the world at bay. Henry would often take naps with Ivan, when he was an infant, stretched out with Ivan sleeping soundly on his chest. Coming in to find them peacefully dosing would delight Nell to no end. She knew how soothing it was to use Henry as a pillow.

After tonight, it would be on Henry to keep Ivan safe while he slept. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Nell slipped away from the door, across the hall. Henry would do a fantastic job, he always had.

Restless and anxious, Nell tossed and turned in the smaller bed. Every time she closed her eyes, tears formed, and she couldn't stop them. At one point, she had considered kicking Kal off the bed and climbing in on the other side of Ivan. No, she refused to let her son see his mother in such a state. He was eager and content with their new arrangement. Nell didn't want him to worry or back out of living with Henry.

Instead, she laid, clutching the pillow and wiping the tears that slid down her cheeks.

“Come on wild boy,” Henry gently nudged Ivan's shoulder, rousing him from his sleep. “Time to get up. We have to get you fed and spend some time with mum.”

“Can't I seep?” Begging would do him no good, yet Ivan had to try.

“No, you need to get up.” Henry encouraged. “Up, let's go.”  He did his best to rouse his son.

Kal bounced off the bed, stretching when his paws hit the floor, yawning and nosing Ivan in an attempt to play.

“Fine,” Ivan grumbled, rolling over and grabbing the pillow. Covering his head, he sighed snuggling into the sheets. The bed was too comfortable to leave it this morning.

“Ivan, now.” Henry's voice took a stern tone. “We don't have time for games this morning. I am going downstairs, I want you down there in five minutes.”

“Fine, ugh.”

This was not the morning for Ivan to be in a mood. They had three hours until their car arrived for the airport, as much as Henry wanted to allow Ivan to sleep until that moment, he wanted Nell to spend some time with their son before he departed. Urging Ivan to get out of bed, Henry gave him a three minute warning, leaving to let Kal out.

Happy to be bouncing around the garden before his flight, Kal romped and bounced across the damp grass. Panting and wagging his tail, he was content to be while Henry went to retrieve his son. Sliding the door part way, in case Kal wanted back in, Henry stepped into the kitchen.

“Where's the wild boy?” He asked glancing around.

Rubbing her eyes, Nell yawned while preparing the coffee to come to life. “He's in bed, I told him to sleep in a little.”

At some point she had managed to fall asleep, waking when she heard Henry and Kal in the hall. Nell had taken the chance to scuttle across the hall and climb in bed with Ivan for a few minutes. Whining that he was too tired to sleep, Nell gave him permission to sleep a little longer before heading downstairs to find a good caffeine fix.

“I wanted him up, to spend time with you before he left.”

“He's tired, Henry. I can still see him before he leaves. I'll make breakfast and then we can wake him. Thank you for the thoughts, though.” Nell extended on her tip toes, kissing him on his cheek. Morning stubble scratching her face, she winkled her nose and giggled. “You need a shave, mister.”

“You give in too easily,” Henry rested his cheek on the top of her head.

“Ha! Ask the wild boy how easily I usually give in. Poor kid, he probably agreed to live with you, because he wants a break.” Nell snorted at her admission.

“Never, you're a good mum and kids need boundaries. He isn't coming to live with me for a vacation, if that is what he thinks. I probably have far more rules.” Henry laughed.

“Because you know how boys think?” Nell gently pushed him away, in order to get her coffee. Pouring the hot liquid, she sighed deeply. The delicious smell wafting through the house was like a warm hug. “I'm glad the two of you are getting the chance for this.”

“As am I.” Henry took the cup of coffee that she'd poured him. Taking a sip, he licked his lips and smiled, checking his watch. “Now, as his father, I need to go drag him out of bed.”

Dissent and grouchiness poured from Ivan, as he trudged down stairs to the kitchen. Breakfast waiting eased his grumpiness a little. A kiss on the top of the head and a hug from his mother eased it a little more. A promise that he could sleep as soon as they got on the plane, eased it even more. Sitting at the table, Ivan took a bite of his toast and tried not to yawn.

The sun was barely up and his parents were too full of life.

Busy with last minute details, Henry was glued to his phone. This happened when he was traveling, Ivan ignored his dad trying to hide a frantic look. Next to Ivan at the table, Nell ate her breakfast, no doubt trying not to cry. Ivan had witnessed Nell's emotions a time or two, as he was gearing up to go on holidays or to visit Henry. Quietly reaching over, Ivan took her hand, smiling sweetly.

“Mum,” His voice was hushed.

“Yes, wild boy?”

“I love you.” His smile grew, a small spatter of raspberry jam on his cheek.

“I love you, too.” Nell squeezed his hand, smiling.

Silent, Ivan nodded and returned to his toast.

More than anything he loved his mother. She was the most fantastic person in the world, maybe even a tiny bit more fantastic than his dad. Ivan had done a great deal of thinking, since agreeing to move with his dad. What happened to his mum? She would be all on her own, would she miss him? Would he miss her?

Yes, he would see her in a few weeks, but until then. How would he know if she was happy or sad? Plenty of times Ivan had left to go stay with Henry, this time was some how different, in a way the boy couldn't quite figure out. When his parents said things would be fine, he trusted them, yet he had a doubt or two. Probably nerves of moving to a new city – again.

“Are you finished?” Nell asked motioning to Ivan's nearly empty plate. His crust and a bit of melon left on the side.

“Yep, can I go play with Kal for a bit?”

“Go on, but do not leave this yard. Understood?” Using her mom voice, Nell narrowed her gaze at her son.

“I understand. We won't leave.” Ivan promised, sticking his pinkie finger in the air, giving his mother a pointed stare. Pinkie promise, he and Kal were outside like a flash. The sun had began to rise moments ago, giving them enough light to play for a little while.

“What's on that beautiful mind, my darling?” Henry passed, kissing the top of Nell's head.

“He's getting too big, how do we stop it?” A hint of tears in her voice.

“I suppose I could see if we can afford a time machine.” Henry shrugged, placing his plate on the table and taking Ivan's previous seat. “I wish we could keep him little forever, too.”

Wiping her hands across her cheeks, Nell groaned and shook her head. “No, I shouldn't be so sad over this. This is a good thing. He's growing and becoming independent, he's a very lucky boy to have the life he lives.”

“That he is and we,” Henry smiled proudly, “are lucky to have such a son.”

“I know you've always wanted more, but I think we've hit the jackpot with the one we have.” Nell's chest expanded with a large breath and a sigh. “How could anyone compare to how awesome the wild boy is?”

“Exactly, it's why there is only one, right? Limited Editions, they're always the best.” Henry winked, lifting his cup of coffee.

No need to add on perfection.

Henry had hoped that one day, he'd find somebody to have more children with – while in his search to replace Nell.  It was no secret that he wanted a house full of children, if it happened lovely. If Ivan were to be his only one, then he was fortunate to have that.

Once he had come to realize there was no replacing what he wanted, or had, then the idea of more children dwindled. Instead all he could do was make sure his son had the best life possible.

“Right.” Nell bit her bottom lip. This was not the time to burst into tears, becoming a sobbing mess. Sniffing back her tears, she reached out taking Henry's mug, taking a drink of his coffee and making a face. How he could drink it this way, a mystery. Nevertheless it did the trick, giving her something new to wonder.

The morning seemed to go in a single blink.

What seemed like milliseconds, the car that Henry had requested from the airport was in the drive. A single honk before a well dressed man appeared. Standing at the back of the car, he waited with a friendly smile. Waving to let him know his presence was acknowledged, Nell pulled her head back in the door.

“Got everything?”

“Yes,” Henry gave her a firm nod. “Ivan?”

“Yep, we're good to go.” Ivan nodded eagerly. His nerves taking a side step.

“Alright,” Nell brushed her hand over his hair. “Be good for dad, I love you. I will see you in a few weeks. Okay?”

Ivan nodded, clutching his backpack in one hand, trying to hold his suitcase handle with the other. “I love you.”

“All set, wild boy?” Henry shouldered his carry on, Kal's leash in one hand, passports in the other.

“Yep, let's rock and roll.”

“It's okay, you'll see him in a few weeks.” Trying his best to console Nell, before the became a water works factory, Henry gave her a gentle smile and a hug. “We will call as soon as we land.”

“Thank you,” Smiling with shiny eyes, Nell clutched the door. “You should get going.”

A tight hug, a kiss on the top of the head, and a thousand “love yous”, Nell ushered Henry, Ivan, and Kal out the door. Standing to watch them climb into the waiting airport car, she waved and blew them a kiss. Once Ivan and Kal were settled in the car, Henry followed closing the door. A soft thud from door of the sleek black sedan caused Nell's heart to jump.

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(sorry if this hasn’t been tagging people. IDK what is up but tumblr is a prick, It’s telling me you are all tagged, but then shows the links didn’t work, but shows they did ugh)

[risingsouls]

Recruited: Chapter 5

[I finally got a chance to finish this next chapter. Enjoy Nabooru having a moral crisis. :D]

Nabooru

Nabooru had never been more glad to exit a space than when they finally landed on the planet assigned to them and she climbed out of her pod.

"How have you guys flown in those all these years? And for days at a time?" She stretched her arms to the sky and bent backward, her spine popping luxuriously. Straightening once more, she pulled one knee to her chest, stretched it out long, and then repeated it with the other. "Especially you two. You're bigger than me and I felt cramped."

"Sometimes it's months, rookie," Nappa pointed out with a snort. His lips twisted into a smirk. "Depends on how much trouble we've caused lately."

Nabooru grimaced. The few day trip to Frieza Planet 6892--formerly known as Socandoria before the Empire took over, according to the reports she spent much of the trip memorizing thrice over--wore on her enough, the ache of sitting still for so long apparent in her tight muscles. She supposed that was why the pods were equipped with sleep-inducing technology. Forcing their pilots to sleep was probably the only way to keep them from going absolutely mad with boredom on longer flights. She considered using it herself when she only managed to doze, the weight of anxiety over not screwing up her first mission keeping her hyper aware and paranoid about forgetting some minute but somehow pertinent detail on the briefing that had been sent to their scouters. 

"Perhaps we should have caused more because this job is a joke," Raditz grumbled, his expression a near mirror of her own displeasure. He tapped the side of his scouter, the device beeping rhythmically as it performed a scan of the planet's power levels. "The reports all say this planet has been sucked dry and so far, I'm not seeing much to refute that."

Nabooru reached up to perform her own scan. Clusters of weak power levels cropped up here and there over the planet, likely congregated in the three larger cities and five work camps that still functioned and hadn't been abandoned. The higher ones belonged to the few remaining soldiers stationed there, either as peacekeepers of sorts or foremen. From where they landed, she could see next to nothing as far as the eye could see, save for a few lone what she could only call trees from their height. Their strange, dull pink to brown gradient from top to bottom and lack of leaves or fruit made it difficult to classify them confidently as such.  She heard no wildlife in the vicinity, either, and the ground beneath their feet lacked vegetation.

"Enough chatter. The quicker we deal with this mission, the faster we can leave and move onto something potentially more exciting." Vegeta perched himself on a rock, one leg bent at the knee and his forearm perched lazily over it. His brows and eyelids dipped with the corners of his mouth in evident boredom. "Raditz, get going on the recon. We don't have all day. Since there's nothing here, I expect you back here in a few hours."

Nabooru raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn't it be quicker if we all did it, though?"

His dark eyes narrowed and snapped to her, and his loosed tail stiffened at his side. Nappa, who had taken up a spot standing next to his perch cleared his throat and discretely shook his head. Raditz wore the hint of a smirk. Her first misstep already, it seemed. She could see Bruvi's disappointed but unsurprised expression in her mind's eye. They rarely went a day of her training all those years ago without Nabooru's stubbornness or quick tongue earning her some form of punishment. Apparently not much had changed.

"Is that what you think?"

A challenge, a threat. But Nabooru stood her ground, straightening her spine and resting her hands on her hips. "I do. It's only logical. You said you wanted out of here quickly, and recon is basically the only thing we have to do for now, isn't it? More people cover more ground. It's not difficult."

The prince's expression darkened. His tail lashed the rock behind him, sending debris and dust skyward. "Already questioning my authority, then? Perhaps I should have simply killed you after all." 

Reason reminded her of her people, of how their fate was tied to her performance and behavior. It chided her for her pride and willed her to bow her head and admit defeat. Instead, she lifted her chin in defiance. If she survived, she could learn her lesson another day. She refused to let one more person bully her. She had to compromise enough of herself in this position, and it would only get worse as time wore on.

"Maybe you should have. But you didn't. And you won't now."

Vegeta stared at her, unblinking and observing. Nabooru remained rigid, hoping she maintained a stalwart resolution and hid the wave of discomfort she felt beneath his burning gaze. The display would either impress him to what little degree he could be impressed or he would make good on the challenge she proposed. A gutsy maneuver that she had only successfully utilized a few times with her betters out of likely sheer dumb luck.

Finally, a growl rumbled from Vegeta, and his expression reverted back to boredom from venturing toward irate. "Whatever. If you're so concerned, you can accompany Raditz," he said, waving her off. "Question me like that again, and your punishment will be far more grueling than a horrifically boring tour of a dead planet."

"Can't be any more boring than sitting around here doing nothing with you two," Nabooru countered, the hint of a smile on her full lips when he cast her a withering glance. "Or at the very least a better learning opportunity. I need to learn everything I can to be a functional member of this team, right? I want to carry my weight and not be a burden."

She ignored Vegeta’s snort and turned to Raditz instead. "Guess you're my new trainer." Her feet left the ground and she hovered by his side. "Lead the way."

"Right." Amusement danced in his dark eyes as he nodded to the other two Saiyans and he took off, Nabooru matching his speed and remaining at his side.

"You've got a lot of nerve," he said once they were out of earshot. It didn't sound like he fully meant it as a negative. "You've realized that can get you killed around here, right?"

Nabooru shrugged. "Of course I have. But I'm not about to let Vegeta believe I'm a doormat if I’m to work with you three." She watched the numbers tick down on her scouter as they neared the first city. "It was stupid, I know. Nappa told me enough about him, so I knew the gamble it was. Don't tell me I had you worried about me already."

"Worry is a strong word if you're going to be a moron. No matter how funny that was." Dilapidated buildings rose over the horizon, and near unusable roads cropped up beneath them leading into the city. "I'm just hoping having a newbie on board will get me out of some of the grunt work like this eventually, so I can't have you dying on your first outing."

"And here I thought you might kind of like me."

They flew over the city and selected a point near the center to land, the few denizens milling about casting them little more than passing glances. Used to soldiers doing the same, Nabooru guessed. Close up, the buildings were in worse shape than she thought, many of them either in a state of full disrepair and boarded up, collapsing in on themselves, or the businesses near empty. Most of the stalls lining the street stood empty, shells of speedy and cheap commerce that livened up the streets once upon a time. Now those that manned the stalls offered their wares but with a wary or unenthusiastic air about them.

"What is it we're looking for?" Nabooru asked at last, watching as a mother with near translucent pink skin ushered a smaller carbon copy of herself past the pair of them as quickly as she could. Their clothes were in rags. "The state of things? Population?"

“If it’s a new planet, then that would be a few things we would look into, along with resources and the caliber of fighters if there are any.” Radtiz strode up the street and Nabooru fell into step next to him, observing their surroundings, the people they passed. None seemed all too thrilled to see them and if her lessons taught her anything, they had good reason to treat them with disdain and fear. Nabooru severed the line of thought before it could venture into the next phase, the reminder of what orders they would likely receive concerning this planet’s fate.

“For this one, it’s more confirming what has already been reported over the years. Finding out if there is anything worth salvaging after all,” he continued, slowing at a storefront that reminded her of the inns back in Hyrule. She heard glass breaking, laughter, and shouting from inside in a language she shouldn’t understand. “Looks like the only places that do remotely well here are bars and brothels after all.”

Nabooru peered into the window, wiping a layer of dust from the glass with her sleeve. Sure enough, the place was packed with all manner of patrons crammed along the bar, packed around tables, or fighting for a better view of the group dancing on stage. She stepped back and dusted her forearm off. “I guess when there’s nothing else to live for, it’s easier to drown yourself in...do they call it liquor here?” Raditz nodded confirmation and moved on, muttering notes of the city’s state into his scouter. She followed and waited for him to finish before continuing. “The briefing suggested most have just resorted to stealing and other ‘crime,’ too, if they’re not working the mines or at other camps. Guess they feel they have no choice if they want to survive here.”

A sentiment she was all too familiar with. When faced with starvation and death, her own people had to shift their skills as warriors to include thievery. They raided caravans that crossed into their lands from further west. They stole from the other races of Hyrule when they got desperate enough. When pointed out in talks with the monarchy, when the fingers were pointed at them for being no more than killers and thieves, she and other leaders of her race tried to show that their pleas for fertile land for farming and the like as well as less restrictive trade would make the need to steal unneeded for their survival. They either didn’t hear or didn’t care. 

And for that she had no doubt they paid the price. She only wished she could have been there. To be a part of that revolution. Part of her still hated that her people had been backed so far into a corner so as to rely on an outside source for aid as well as violence but...it was kill or be killed. What choice had they left them after years of failed negotiations?

Had these people tried to rebel like the Gerudo did?

Nabooru swallowed the lump in her throat, the all too familiar homesickness settling in her chest as it did when she dwelled too long on her home and people. She focused instead on the task at hand, on learning the ropes for this particular part of her job.

Without much to look at, they scoured a few more streets and discussed points of interests. They caught a Frieza Force soldier stumbling out of a bar and questioned him before deciding to move on to the next location, another city in much the same state as the first. Raditz “let” her take over with recording the notes they would send back to Vegeta and the commanders back at base for review in determining the next steps they would take with the planet. Their conversation revolved around the task at hand, with Raditz offering pointers or corrections for ensuring a full report. 

For this particular excursion, each one felt repetitive. Even the work camps offered little more information. Locals worked under the supervision of Frieza Force soldiers. She didn’t need the foremen to tell her that the resources at each one were all but tapped. One said they hadn’t actually mined anything for months but they kept the workers busy to give them purpose.

With their logs sent to the appropriate personnel, Nabooru returned to the other two Saiyans with Raditz. Nappa leaned against his pod, eyelids heavy and looking half asleep. Vegeta remained on the same boulder, head tilted to the side and a hand on his scouter, likely listening to their report. He spared them both a glance, but his gaze remained fixed on her for a few moments longer, scrutinizing as he listened to her voice in his ear. Her eye caught his tail swaying behind him in idle arcs, but it told her as little as his blank expression. She inwardly snorted at the passing thought that he must be great at cards.

Nappa yawned and stretched, calling her attention instead over to him. "How boring was it? The place as desolate as it looks?"

Raditz nodded. "A waste of time. They had all the information they needed already to make a decision." He shrugged. "Hopefully that means we get to the fun part sooner rather than later."

"Yeah. It's too bad their military was already absorbed into the force, and all the rebellions were taken care of years ago. I don't suppose you heard any word of one faction ready to change things, did you?"

"No. After the last one, sounds like they learned their lesson."

Nabooru rested her back against a nearby tree, crossing her legs at the ankle and folding her arms over her chest. She noted the disappointment in both males, the sag of their shoulders, Nappa's dejected grumbling under his breath. At first, their disappointment confused her when both seemed to like when their job was easy, clean, and quick. However, further consideration convinced her otherwise. They had pointed out the pointlessness of the recon on this planet, Raditz was more than ready to pawn the boring duties off on her, and now they would prefer someone to challenge them on whatever order they were given concerning the planet's fate. They wanted a quick response to quickly stave off boredom, not for ease. They preferred a fight over the simple monotony when presented little to no challenge on jobs. A sentiment she could understand, even though, with action looming, her nerves over the likely course had her nerves wound in tight knots. She instead tried to focus on the Saiyans, how she would compromise with her moral compass to do what she had to.

"Can't be helped, I guess," Nappa continued,  turning his attention on Nabooru. "Gotta break in the rookies somehow, huh? Though I'm sure you're gunning for some real action yourself, right?"

She nodded. "Of course." Not a complete lie; idleness didn't suit her. "It was interesting to see the planet. Being desolate aside, it's far different than what I was used to back home. Though I'm sure most sights I see from here on out will be."

Nappa grinned, apparently perked up from his near slumber not moments ago. "That's the spirit." He turned to Raditz. "We should celebrate while we wait for orders. You see any good spots for a drink or two?"

"That's about all that's left on this rock. Can't speak for the quality of them, though. Might be able to get into a brawl or two."

"Eh, good enough," said Nappa. "What do ya think, Vegeta? We got time for a drink?"

"Is that all you idiots think about? Booze and sex?" the prince growled. He hopped down from his perch, arms folded over his chest. "What is there to celebrate, anyway? She gathered intel, nothing impressive. Raditz can do that, after all."

She kept her comments to herself, the insult obvious but the truth in his words irrefutable. Outside of the month of lessons to teach her the ins and outs of the trade, training to control her ki better, and the spar with Vegeta, she hadn't really accomplished much to prove herself. The recon, while tedious, wasn't exactly all that difficult here. She could see how it would be more time consuming and complicated on other planets that had yet to feel the sting of the PTO or some other foul entity, and therefore found the snub to Raditz more unfair than the one directed at her.

"Fine. Is giving us something better than standing around like idiots a better excuse?"

"Barely." Vegeta waved a gloved hand, dismissing them. "Do what you want. But I expect the three of you back here as soon as I call. And you had best not be wasted. We still have work to do."

"You're not coming?" The question passed her lips before she could stop it, and the derisive snort he responded with before turning his back and heading to his abandoned pod only reinforced how idiotic the question was. Her cheeks burned, but she covered her embarrassment with her usual aloof confidence. "Mm, nevermind. Your loss, though."

If his response was nonverbal, Nappa's large hand slamming down on her shoulder made her miss it. Her knees buckled slightly under the force. "A hell of a fighter and fun. We really did luck out." 

Raditz's boots had already left the vegetation-bare ground beneath them. The smirk he wore revealed he was either unbothered by Vegeta's previous insult or used to them. "I'll judge that when we find out if she can hold her liquor." Energy surrounded him and he took off, Nappa following his lead. Nabooru lingered a moment longer, sparing a glance to their leader, before tailing after her new cohorts.

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

Raditz had chosen the least rundown of the bars they saw within the cities they scouted and somehow the quietest despite that. A few patrons lined the bar at the back, and a couple of tables were full of a rainbow of locals sharing drinks and conversing in low tones. She recalled a passersby earlier that day telling their buddy they should skip this one due to the price of drinks, so she supposed that's what kept the ailing citizens of the planet from packing the place. 

The three of them marched up to the bar, anyone within their path ducking out of it quickly. Raditz waved down the bartender who rushed over to them, leaving his current patron mid sentence and perturbed. "Ah, more soldiers and my favorite customers. You three must be new. What can I get you?"

"Whatever your strongest stuff is. One for each of us." Raditz nodded to a booth in the corner just off the bar. "Bring them over there when they're ready."

"Right away, sir."

The bartender hurried back the way he came and Nabooru followed the pair of Saiyans to the booth. She grabbed a chair from a table on the way, placing it at the end and seating herself in it. For comfort. Both men were quite large, and she wanted to ensure they would have room to stretch out as they pleased while also saving her the inconvenience of being crushed by pure muscle. 

"So, you two do this sort of thing often, huh?"

"When we can," Raditz answered. "We don't usually get downtime like this."

"Yeah, Vegeta is just being dramatic," continued Nappa, plucking a menu of the drink options from a stanchion at the table's center. Nabooru noted several red SOLD OUT stickers next to many. "Most of the time, we don't do recon like this. We're usually sent straight to planets for purging or putting down this rebellion or that. If we need to scout, it's more to understand the situation for battle than to help the big wigs tell us what to do with a planet like this job."

"Then it's back to base or off to the next planet, depending on orders. They tend to keep us busy."

Nabooru couldn't decide if she was happy about that or not. "That sounds a whole lot better than doing this every time. I'm not exactly the patient type. I like to keep busy." She folded her arms on the tabletop. "Are rebellions common on planets the Empire has conquered?"

"They're probably more common than we know, but most are settled by the soldiers stationed on the planet already," Raditz explained. "We get called in when they get too out of hand."

As much faith as she had in her people, she hoped Ganondorf's ambitious nature didn't convince him to seek out trying to take on Frieza and his armies. He had Hyrule like he wanted, conquered and taught a lesson for their mistreatment of their people. She hoped that was plenty for him until they could for certain break from the Empire. In truth, she would prefer to get away sooner rather than later. But Frieza's power was astronomical, and who knew how many of his lackeys could wipe the floor with even their entire army, ki training or no. Zarbon and Dodoria alone nearly doubled her power level, after all.

A nod. "That sounds more fun than this," she admitted. "Closer to what I spent my life training for."

The bartender arrived with three glasses of clear, carbonated liquid and set each glass in front of them. "I apologize up front for not having the usual fare we offer force soldiers. Shipments of imports have been scarce of late. But I assure you this is the finest beverage we offer at the moment."

He bowed his head for returning to his post, Nabooru lifted her glass and observed the contents. The Saiyans lifted their glasses and nodded for her to do the same. "To your first likely successful mission," Nappa announced with a grin, "and to many more that are hopefully more fun than this mudball."

Nabooru snorted and tapped her glass with theirs, the harsh volume of the clink leaving her surprised that each vessel remained intact. She watched both men take a large gulp of the liquid and their expressions slip from joyous to befuddled. They lowered their drinks and stared into the cups. Raditz even gave his a sniff.

"This is water." Raditz took another swig. "Are you telling me these people get wasted off water?"

"Seriously?" Nabooru tipped the glass and took a sip. Sure enough, she tasted normal water, the fizz the only thing setting it apart. She glanced from one bewildered Saiyan to the other, and her frame shook with her laughter. She rested a hand over her mouth. "I guess Vegeta doesn't have to worry about us coming back drunk after all, huh?"

Nappa and Raditz stared at her for several seconds before finally finding the humor in the situation themselves, both managing to chuckle. Nappa gulped down the rest of his water and wiped his mouth with his forearm. "Shoulda known when he said he couldn't get us the shit the other soldiers prefer. Guess it could have been worse…"

 "Like bad tasting."

"Or poisonous."

Nabooru opened her mouth to supply her own horrific possibility when each of their scouters sounded a series of beeps before Vegeta spoke in their ears: "To no one's surprise, we're purging the planet so it can be sold. Nappa and Raditz, take care of the area you're in and finish off the rest of the southern hemisphere. Nabooru, meet me back at the pods immediately. Don't make me wait." 

The connection dropped as suddenly as it opened, allowing none of them to respond even if they wanted to. Dread sank to the pit of her stomach, and she tried to pretend the rest of the patrons of the bar didn't exist. That the mother and daughter that scurried by them had been her imagination. That the workers and vendors and rough housing drunkards were no more than her mind making up a story for the desolate planet. For now, it was the only way she would complete the task at hand without a physical or moral interjection. 

Standing, Nabooru drained her glass of water, wishing it had the same effect as it did on the locals. "Guess I should get going. I'm already on his bad side." She tried to flash the pair a cheeky grin but the muscles of her mouth fought against it. She just hoped they read it as dread over dealing with Vegeta once more. "I'll see you guys soon."

Nappa and Raditz wished her luck, and part of her envied the excitement that radiated between the two of them. It beat the nausea and guilt that frothed in her stomach and weighed heavy on her heart, respectively. But she had a job to do. Purging planets, subjugating their peoples, expanding an empire, and filling its coffers was expected of her. Duty had a new meaning for her. To protect her people, she would have to destroy others. Nothing new in the grand scheme of things when war with the rest of Hyrule knocked on their door before Frieza discovered them; much of her life had been kill or be killed in some regards. Only now she had less wiggle room to avoid it.

She slipped out the door and onto the city's streets, taking a moment to marvel at the architecture. The tall buildings unlike she had ever seen before, plainer than Hyrule Castle but taller and still majestic somehow. Someone's hard work to be destroyed in moments by powerful ki blasts large enough to level the cities. She shoved the thoughts away and took to the sky, jetting back toward where they had left their pods and Vegeta behind.

Nabooru landed near the Saiyan prince just as the ground beneath her quaked and an explosion sounded from the way she had come. She glanced over her shoulder to see a surge of light encompass a large swath of land and debris shooting skyward in catastrophic destruction. The city she had just left wiped off the face of the planet, likely. She swallowed and returned her attention to Vegeta. The task at hand. Reminding herself that her people's lives depended on her compliance. She worked for an emperor that killed for less than failure she had come to understand.

Vegeta faced her, his feet leaving the surface. "Let's go."

She was grateful he didn't leave her any room to protest before taking off, and she followed behind him, silently working to clear her head. The next city rose on the horizon too quickly, a blessing and a curse. She wanted to get this over with, but she truly did not want to do it at all.

Nabooru halted beside Vegeta when he stopped, several meters above and outside the crumbling city. The planet was falling apart. She witnessed that. The people here had been suffering for years due to her employer's greed and negligence. A small comfort, but she supposed death meant an end to it. A conclusion she didn't care for, but a call she had no say in making.

"Well?" Her eyes shot to the Saiyan. His arms were folded over his chest, and he observed her with obvious impatience. "What are you waiting for? Or do you need a demonstration?"

"Surely you're itching for a little action by now," she responded, a touch too quickly that earned her a snort. She mentally cursed herself. "You can take the first one."

"Hmpt. You're stalling." He let one arm fall back to his side and raised the other, open palm aimed toward the city below. A smirk flickered over his lips, devilish and taunting. "I wonder...is it because of some silly morals or you simply don't wish to embarrass yourself so soon?"

Both, she wanted to respond, but red ki building in his palm stopped her. He fired the blast straight for the heart of the city. It exploded like a bomb on contact, the force of it spreading outward and engulfing the area in blinding light. Nabooru shielded her face from both the flare and flying debris with her arm and chewed her lower lip. When she lowered it again, a crater had replaced the city. 

"Check for survivors."

She balled her hand into a fist to steady it before raising it to her scouter. She pressed the button. Not a single reading for several miles. She felt his gaze on her once more, gauging her reaction. Searching for weakness like a predator waiting to strike. Another reason to see a failure rather than an asset to his team. 

"No survivors," she said, the words heavy on her tongue. "Guess you've had plenty of practice, hm?"

Dark eyes narrowed briefly, and the end of his tail tucked itself more securely at his waist. "A little," he replied without humor. "You'll take care of the rest now that you've had your demonstration."

She nodded and followed the scouter's reading to the next city, halting outside of it just as they had done before. Her palms were sweaty inside her gloves and her heart thrummed at a too quick pace. Despite it all, she forced her face into a mask of neutrality, her mind to a blank slate of nothing more than determining how much energy he would need to complete the task in one blow to avoid extra strain on her already fraying psyche. She sucked in a breath and raised both hands. The glow of orange-yellow ki surged around her palms. She fired. It swallowed the edifices in seconds as she expanded it outward to cover a wider area. When she cut the blast off and lowered her hands, nothing remained but desolation. She swallowed the hot bile that rose to her throat.

"Not bad," Vegeta rumbled beside her, hand raised to the side of his scouter. "You wasted energy, though, a testament to Nappa's careless training. He's too flashy for his own good."

Her mouth was too dry to respond, so she merely nodded. Her fingers itched to wind themselves in her ponytail and she wanted to scream or vomit or both but she quelled the urge; the less discomfort she showed outwardly, the better. 

"He said you learn quickly, though, so I'll show you once more and you can do as I do." He tilted his head toward the next destination, one of the work camps if she remembered right. "Go."

Nabooru didn't hesitate, the need to leave the destruction behind nearing overwhelming. She blinked rapidly to stave off tears and was glad Vegeta remained behind her. How she would spend likely the rest of her life perpetrating these atrocities without losing herself was beyond her in that moment. She would lose her mind if she didn't figure something out and soon. In a moment, her kill count had risen from a select handful that had forced her hand to hundreds of innocents. Thousands more would follow so long as she remained in Frieza's service. Her people's livelihood was at stake. Her every decision as a member of the force would secure their safety or destroy it entirely. Which brought to question the moral dilemma at hand: did others deserve to perish so her people could live? She could only weakly defend herself with the notion that, if not by her hand, some other would be doing so in her place. Another with a similar background to hers, forced to serve to protect loved ones. Someone who joined Frieza willingly and reveled in the bloodshed. Another who had lost their home and had no other choice. The cycle would continue as long as the Cold Empire and PTO remained intact.

And what hope did she have to dismantle that on her own? Hyrule had been one society on a single planet and she couldn't handle that with the Gerudo army and without outside help in the end. She had no prayer in releasing herself from the clutches of this deal by force. Not alone. Not without allies. 

But….somehow, she knew all the allies in the universe might not be enough to face Frieza. She would fail just like all the rest before her. Thus, for now, she would throw her morality out the window. She would pretend that those she destroyed were guilty of something heinous and horrible. Cling to a sense of duty to the empire that freed her people. Anything at all to keep herself from crumbling from the inside out.

[ecoamerica]

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Fight or Flight, Rider [5]

Poe Dameron X Pilot!Reader

A/N: Now I have some semblance of a plot, yay! Also, Can Poe Dameron Bed Me Please, Thank You. - Nemo

Summary: Poe left for a meeting, but that was almost 24 hours ago. You start to wonder why it’s taking so long, but eventually you don’t have to wonder anymore. 

Series Masterlist

Masterlist  

[Gif isn’t mine! Google! Credit to  Maker! (Also, look at that Jaw action, Poe can I bite your neck sir?)]

You didn’t see Poe for hours. 

You didn’t see him later than night, in the middle of the night, or the next morning. You didn’t even see him in training the next day - he was supposed to be supervising over comms from the ground, but someone else was sent to replace him. His replacement didn’t even know when he was supposed to be back. 

As Cyro asked yesterday, it seemed like the meeting was serious - since it had lasted almost 24 damn hours. 

You were inside your dorm, tinkering with Z2 as BB-8 watched on. Poe’s droid BB-8 had rolled into your door a little under an hour ago, obviously missing Poe, and since Finn was no doubt in the meeting too, who were you to not let the little guy in? 

You were busy blabbering to the two droids about Nephimm - not that you thought Z2 particularly cared, or that BB was ‘awake’ - when a knock came from your door. You wiped your fingers on your jumpsuit - which you hadn’t bothered to take off since training - before the door slid open, revealing Gareth standing nearby.

“Commander. What’s up?” 

“The General needs to see you.” 

__________

The area where the meetings were being held was bigger than the room you did your debriefings in, but with the people in it it seemed smaller. There still weren't a lot of people, but there was enough spread around to make the room seem full. 

BB and Z2 had followed at your heels, and as you made your way closer to the General - of which you had never met before.

“Major, hope you weren’t too busy.” Leia said, looking up at you from her place at the head of the table - Poe and Finn standing on each of her sides. 

“I’m never too busy for the Resistance, Ma’am, just maybe a little messy.” you said, smiling lightly, holding up your hands to show your grease-stained fingers. She nodded, smiling back.

“We can live with ‘messy’.” 

“We had you brought for a reason, (y/n).” Gareth said, resting his hands across his chest, “A problem has come up, and we will need your help to fix it.” 

“There’s been word of a new project of sorts with the First Order - even so soon after having their main ships and crew being desolated. They’re going at it like they weren’t hit at all.” Finn explained, showing on a nearby screen the startings of some sort of ship - and it was a big one. “Currently it has no real protection aside from two Star Destroyers and their TIE-Fighters, but when it’s up and running it’ll have shields that’ll be almost impenetrable and a weapons system like no other we’ve seen.” 

You frowned, starting to have an idea about where this is going.

“So what are we doing about it?” You asked, looking around. No one seemed to want to answer.

“We need you to get in, get every copy of the plans, destroy those plans and as much of the ship as you can, and get out.” Poe said, looking at you for the first time since you came into the room. He looked very tired. “Sending in a team would be too risky, and we need our best pilot to get the job done. I wanted it to be me -”

“- But he needs to be here.” Leia said, cutting Poe off. “You’re our best chance.”

“So I’d be doing this alone?” You said, voice a little too quiet for your liking. “Going up against two Star Destroyers and the people in them on my own?” 

“Who told you you’d be completely on your own?” Poe said, looking at you and then over at the others. “Comms would still be up.”

“As if.” you scoffed, “Those Destroyers would be able to hear me coming if I used comms on the line that we have now. I’d need them turned off before I hyper-jumped to them and I could only turn them back on once I’d exited the hyper-jump back here. The safest thing for everyone is me going in blind, and on my own.” 

“How much time do you think you’d need?” Gareth asked, moving to rest his hands on the table. “If we have to cut comms then we’d feel better knowing when to expect you back on.” You thought for a few moments.

“Excluding the hyper-jumps, probably no more than a couple hours, at best.”

“And at worst?” You looked over at Finn, shrugging.

“You wouldn't hear from me at all, I guess.” 

“Maker, I don’t like this.” Poe sighed, running a hand down his face as he leant on the table. “You sure you need me here?”

“Yes Poe. (y/n) can do it, I can tell.” Leia said, blinking slowly. “Have a little faith.” Then Z2 bumped your leg, causing you to lean down to see what he wanted.

“Zee, I’m a little busy right now.” you whispered, but then you realized you wouldn’t have to be alone at all. “Z2-4 is a reprogrammed Imperial Droid.” you said, standing to address the table, “If we can link him up to the likes of BB-8 then we can make a private connection where you all could see exactly what Zee sees via a projection from BB. I can take him with me everywhere.” 

Everyone shared a look.

“Well, what are you all standing around for?” Leia said, “Get a connection between those two droids up now, and someone brief Major (y/n) on what she needs to do. She has a ship to destroy.” She smiled, her words were serious, and you knew a lot weighed on you now, but her eyes told you she trusted you - and you’d only really just met.

“C’mon (y/n),” Poe said, tapping your shoulder as he walked past, “I’ll talk you through it.”

___________

You didn’t like what you had to do, not in the slightest - in fact it made you so nervous you thought your heart might beat up and out of your throat - but you were not letting Poe know.

“It’s… Heavy stuff, Poe.” 

“I know, that’s part of the reason I wanted to do it instead.” he said. You’d both retreated to his dorm after you left the meeting room, leaving Z2 and BB to get their thing done while you got yours. Poe had practically crashed on his bed once he got inside - you were thankful you decided to go to his dorm instead of yours, otherwise he might be that close to sleep on your bed instead.

“Only part? Jeez, I’d hate to know what the rest was.” He rolled his head, looking up at you. 

“Do you want to know why the meeting took so long? ‘Cause honestly it could’ve ended this morning.” 

“Did you do something stupid Poe?” you asked, smiling down at him. You had to admit, he looked rather dreamy - all sleepy-eyes and messed curls - you wished you could stare at him forever. 

“You could call it that - me doing something stupid - but in my defence I was trying to avoid the Resistance’s best and most beautiful pilot from being sent on a mission she might not come back from.” His voice was quiet, and so undeniably soft and easy to listen to - suddenly he looked less dreamy, and more kissable. 

“That was stupid,” you said, a breathy laugh leaving your lungs before you could stop it, “But in your defence, I’m sure that pilot is very flattered that you spent over six hours trying to help her out.”

You really, really wanted to kiss him. 

He must’ve been on the same wavelength as you - thank goodness - because slowly he sat up, reaching a hand out to gently run his fingers along your jaw, his hand coming to rest on the back of your neck. He kept looking at you, running his eyes all over your face to gauge your reaction - making sure everything he was doing was OK, making sure you wanted this. 

He was so close, so warm. 

You lent closer, eyes fluttering closed at the same rate that your heart was beating. You could practically feel his lips on yours, with his nose brushing yours, and his fingers slowly creeping to weave themselves in your hair - it was a complete instinct that your hand came to rest on his chest - and even through his clothes you could feel his warmth. 

He was so close. 

“Dameron! Quit making out with Rider, I need her!” Rey yelled through the door, banging on it’s outside, causing you to jolt away from Poe - and his godsend warmth - and him to glare at the door, cursing under his breath. 

The door slid open, revealing a very widely smiling Rey with both your droids at her feet. 

Her next words were too smug for your liking, and you wanted nothing more than to shove your tongue down Poe’s throat just to wipe the look in her eyes right off her face.

“Ah, so I was almost right, not-quite making out, huh?” 

Curse her and the very day she was born.

__________

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[finallyaniguana]

Watch The Eyes: Paris [8]

[7]     masterpost    ao3    [9]

The next day at school was like every other. Marinette arrived only a few minutes before Mlle Bustier took roll, breathing heavily.

Alya shook her head at her best friend.

"At least you're on time," she sighed.

On the other side of the room, Lila was spewing lies as usual. She had failed to make good on her promise to turned all Marinette's against her, but she was still going strong with her tall tales.

"I really hope we win that trip to Gotham. It would mean so much to me! I have such good memories there," Lila was saying.

"Oh, yeah? Do tell," Alix requested, expression a careful neutral.

"Well... it's a bit of a secret. But, I can trust you all, right?" Lila giggled. "Okay, I'll let you in!"

Chloe was rolling her eyes next to Adrien. She caught his eye and shook her head.

That caught Marinette's interest.

'Is that secret that you've been lying to everyone and will now be moving to Gotham, never to be seen again?' she thought sarcastically.

"Bruce Wayne's youngest son, Damain, is actually my soulmate," she claimed.

Adrien raised his eyebrows incredulously from the front row. If she has a soulmate thats 'oh-so important to her', then why has she been hanging all over him?

"We decided to wait until after we graduated to be together of course. So we could find ourselves before really turning to each other," she went on.

Adrien slumped down. He may never be safe from her fawning.

Rose sighed, almost literal hearts in her eyes.

"That's soooooooo romantic! How did you guys meet?" she begged to know.

Lila pretended to be resistant to sharing her little story before sitting up straighter, gaining energy from everyone's attention like a sadistic leech.

"Well, when we were seven, my mother was stationed in the US. In Gotham. We met in the hotel lobby. While my mom and Mr. Wayne talked, of course he insisted I call him Bruce after, since we're practically family now, I spent time with his son. When I looked into his eyes for the first time... it was like a whole new world opened up," she forced a dreamy sigh.

Marinette had no idea how everyone was falling for this. She and Adrien made peripheral eye contact. He wiggled his eyebrows at her. She held back her laughter.

"I didn't even realize I was missing a color, but now I know I will never look at blue the same way again."

'You would have never looked at blue in the first place.'

Of course, Bruce Wayne kept a private household. No public pictures of the children still living with him. There was no way to prove that. Bruce Wayne had blue eyes and so did his first ward, Dick Grayson, judging by the tabloid pictures of the time (Marinette had done a bit of research on the family before even considering applying for this trip).

Mylene spoke next, "Do you have any pictures together? I bet you were so cute!"

Lila dramatically draped herself over the back of her bench.

"Sadly I can't show you. We made an agreement not to share photos of each other. Wouldn't want to paparazzi catching on, now would we?" she smiled, sugary sweet.

"You have to tell us about him!" Rose interjected.

Lila turned back to the petite blonde before looking off into the distance like she was having a dramatic flashback.

'I wonder if she's visualizing the lie.'

"He's just soooo sweet and affectionate! He's always holding my hand and writing me sweet notes and-"

At last Mlle Bustier entered the room, saving Marinette and Adrien from busting their sides from holding in laughter and Chloe from yacking up her gourmet breakfast from the front row.

"Class!" she buzzed with excitement. "I have a very important announcement to make!"

The hum of small voices quieted.

"I know you've all been anxiously awaiting news about the Wayne scholarship trip application! I can finally tell you the winning class. Thanks to the hard work of our class president," she gave Marinette a dazzling smile. "We have been selected to go on the trip to Gotham! We will be put up in a hotel, given a tour of Wayne Enterprises, and given an opportunity to sit in on Gotham Academy classes!"

The class practically exploded with sound. Alya grabbed her friends shoulder, shaking her.

"Girl! You did it! Oh my god, you did it!"

Marinette was practically glowing with praise over the next few hours.

After class that day everyone was congratulating her on her essay skills. Max even asked her for a copy to read on the plane. She happily told him she would print him a copy and bring it to him at the airport before their flight.

"Isn't this wonderful, Lila? You can finally go back to Gotham! Ooooooh! Maybe your soulmate could take you out for a super romantic dinner!" Rose squealed.

Lila was hiding her pained look. She honestly hadn't expected Marinette to win this competition. Now she just had to pray they didn't run into the subject of her lies because that would send her delicate house of cards crashing down.

"Well, I'm just lucky to have a soulmate. I know there are some people out there," she made eye contact with Marinette across the room. "that weren't meant to have a match."

Adrien scoffed next to her. He looked at Marinette with a slight annoyed look. He'd always hated it when Lila used that to try and make his Lady feel inferior. Marinette learned quickly to brush off the hurt after years of dealing with Chloe's bullshit. Not that Chloe hadn't made an effort. All it took was an ultra liar to see how bad it was to be a target.

Almost everyone in the class had a mark or some form of palpable sign that signified their other half was out there, if they hadn't already met their soulmate. Marinette and Lila were the only two in the class that had no sign (that she knew of) at all. Until now. Her soulmate was out there. He might have a tendency to fight superheroes in caves at six in the morning... but he was hers. Whoever he was.

They were set to fly out in two weeks. Two stressful, jam packed weeks. Principle Damocles had been in to give them a presentation on what he expected behavior wise and to congratulate them. Mlle. Bustier had been in contact with the Wayne representative and he had sent them a list of things to bring and what not to bring. They also received a base schedule so parents would have a general idea of where their children were during the day. Despite the stress, the time flew by.

All the preparations were being made, belongings packed.

The main issue for Adrien and Marinette was figuring out to get back to Paris if the need arises. Akuma attacks had declined over the last few years so it would most likely be okay. But to be safe, the two heroes went to see the Guardian. He provided them the horse miraculous for quick travel if they needed to be in Paris quickly.

They argued for over a half of an hour trying to decide who would hold onto Kaalki while in Gotham. Eventually they decided that Ladybug should hold onto it since she had the best strategies if needed in a pinch.

All three of them thought it would be quite unlikely that Hawkmoth would attack Paris while they were away. He had severely limited his activity to almost once a month. They weren't sure what the change was, but they were grateful nonetheless.

Everything was ready.

"Are you sure you have everything, sweetie?" her mother asked.

Her papa looked at her with admiration.

"I'm so proud of you, baby," he gushed.

"Yes, I'm sure. I must have double checked like a million times. I have my luggage, my carry on with my sketchbook, my phone," 'the horse miraculous,' "and Mlle Bustier has the plane tickets. That should be everything." She smiled at her parents.

"What about your dress base for the Wayne Gala?" her father reminded.

She lightly patted her red roller suitcase. She intended to buy fabrics in Gotham with her free time and finish it there. She was going to the gala in an MDC original, as was Alya. Marinette had already been making a gown for Alya to wear (and a tie and pocket square for Nino, if need be), just in case she was invited to any events due to her aspirations in reporting. She had also been intending to invite her best friend to the next event she attended with Jagged Stone. Marinette knew Alya would flip at the opportunity. She put the finishing touches on Alya's floor length gown last week, spending the following week doing as much as possible for hers so it could be done in time for the Gala.

They handed off a box of macarons to her to share with her classmates before boarding the plane. She popped the lid. They were based off Gotham's heroes. Her smiled tightened.

She thought back to her conversation with Alya.

"Alya. There are heroes in the US, right?" she asked, eyes serious and spine straight.

Her auburn hair whipped around and smacked herself in the face. She grinned really wide, not even noticing Marinette's out of character demeanor.

"Yeah! Alot of the Justice League has home cities in the US. Superman in Metropolis, The Flash in Central City, Green Arrow in Starling City, Green Lantern in Coast City! And of course! Batman is Gotham's Dark Knight. I could go on. What do you want to know?"

"Um..." she tried to broach the subject without being suspicious. "I saw a picture of a hero I didn't recognize. So, I assumed you would be able to tell me who he was."

Alya spread her hands out.

"You came to the right superhero fanatic! Show me."

"Oh, well I didn't save the photo... I saw it on a blog post on my desktop," she lied, wincing, the strange standoffish energy fading.

"That's okay. Describe him. I'm sure I can figure it out."

Marinette thought back to the man she met through her soulmates perspective.

"Black hair I think. Black suit and domino mask. Blue symbol thing on his lightweight armor chest plate? Staff? Like Chat Noir's I think... but not magic. His suit was built for agility not power," she provided.

The blogger thought for a moment. Her eyes lit up as she fell on an answer.

"That sounds like Nightwing. No superpowers but still really good. One of Batman's partners. Started out in Gotham but has been spotted pretty frequently in Blüdhaven. Were you doing more research on Gotham when you saw the picture?"

Nightwing...

"Are you sure, Alya?"

Her best friend smiled smugly at her. She whipped her phone out if her pocket and quickly typed something in. She flipped it around and showed her the search results. There he was.

"That's definitely him! Nightwing..." she trailed off.

"Yeah, girl. I know my stuff," Alya bragged.

"Okay, you said he was just one of Batman's partners. He has more?"

Alya huffed and blew a piece of stray hair out of her face.

"So, this was all pretty hush hush since Batman's clearly a very private person but there has been a couple different sidekicks and partners to cycle through, at least from what I can gather from different media sources. So there was the first Robin, then I think there was a second one... but... he fell off the radar. Since then there's been two more Robin's. You can tell because the costume changes every few years. There's also a few Batgirls out there."

"Okay... would you say any of them were... our age?" Marinette asked.

Alya looked at her friend, a strange smile on her face.

"The current Robin is probably pretty close. Why? You trying to talk to a superhero, girl?"

She back pedaled.

"No, no, no! I was just asking because of Ladybug and Chat Noir! So, they look our age! I just wanted to know if anyone in Gotham was too," she managed to come up with.

Alya looked like she was about to continue questioning her about why she wanted to know.

"You sure do know alot about superheroes... what do you do in your free time?" she tried for a humor redirection.

"Like you haven't had an obsession before. *cough* Adrien *cough*," she shot back.

"Um, no fair? I thought he was my soulmate so give me a break! And, in my defense he kind of is," she pouted.

"Oh, please. You did not think he was your soulmate. You wanted him to be your soulmate. Big difference."

She'd told Adrien about the switching, but not the circumstance. She had to figure out who he was before it got dangerous.

She shut the box again and smiled up at her parents.

"I'll call every night," she promised.

Just then, Adrien walked in. He was giving her a ride to the airport.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"Yes! I'm ready!"

She kissed both her parents on the cheek before collecting the rest of her things and following Adrien out the door.

"I'll text you when we're boarding! I love you!"

They waved at her until she got into the car and drove away.

taglist: (CLOSED)

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[meterokinesis]

Skin and Bones

Read it on AO3

Prompt: Starvation

TW: Hunger/food insecurity, ED mention (very short), Implied/referenced drug use

Summary: Jason Todd knew what hungry felt like. Hunger and Jason had always been bosom buddies.

Jason Todd knew what being hungry felt like.

That’s always what they called it when he was a little kid and the teachers tried to pretend that most of their class had full bellies. They’d say “when you haven’t had lunch yet, you’re hungry. But when you don’t eat for days, that’s hunger.”

Hunger and Jason were bosom buddies, and had been for years.

It was bad enough when it was just him and Catherine. At least then he could pilfer through her pockets for enough loose change to buy them rice and bread and beans. It wasn’t much, but it kept them alive in between the free lunches Jason got at school.

It got worse when Catherine had to be admitted to the hospital. Jason wasn’t stupid--he’d gotten an A on that last English paper. He knew that she was doing drugs. He knew that their food money went into plastic baggies full of powder and who-knows-what-else. He knew that their already low budget would be gone as soon as the hospital started sending bills.

He started stealing parts off cars that he passed on the walk home, then selling them to the shady guys at the garage. He’d sneak what he could from pockets and couches and placed it in places no one would ever notice. Bills rolled up in the toes of his sneakers, pennies and nickels shoved into his sock drawer. Jason was good at sneaking around already, but he learned to be even better. His life depended on it.

Catherine died the Friday after Valentine’s Day. Her hospital room was full of discount flowers and cheap chocolates. She squeezed his hand before she died, and she smiled. Her smile was unmatched, totally unique. In the days that passed afterwards, Jason would wonder if his smile ever looked like hers.

As Catherine’s breathing slowed and then stopped, Jason snuck out of the fourth floor and onto the street below. He had one, maybe two days left in the apartment before CPS found him and tried to force him into a foster home.

He’d rather die than go there.

So Jason Todd, eleven years old and barely five feet tall, broke into his apartment to survey the life he was leaving behind. Some of it was easy. He could afford to take two bags: a backpack and a duffel. The duffel got a pair of boots, a pair of sneakers, five sets of clothes, jackets, and a copy of Huckleberry Finn. He’d already read Tom Sawyer, he didn’t need to bring that too.

The backpack got essentials, like his toothbrush and toothpaste, his school ID, the money he’d saved up, and another set of clothes. His birth certificate and Social Security card were wedged under the loose floorboard already, so he left them there. When his path led him to the kitchen, Jason swallowed hard before grabbing a knife and a pair of scissors, then wrapping them both carefully and placing them in the backpack too.

He crawled into his bed, with its blue striped bedsheets, and tried to fall asleep. The sounds of Gotham weren’t comforting anymore, but rather like every monster under his bed amplified. He was too old to be scared of things that weren’t there, but every Gothammite knew that the city was not to be trifled with. The city he’d soon be in the heart of.

The clinking of keys on the apartment’s old doorknob woke him up. He’d always been a light sleeper, but for a second he thought it was maybe just Catherine coming home. Then he remembered how she’d never come home again. Jason was out of bed in a matter of seconds, grabbing his bags, tugging on his shoes, and climbing down the fire escape. The old watch he’d taken from Catherine’s room--he thought it was his dad’s--read 7:12, which meant it was really 3:17. Jason crept through the streets, not letting his heart catch up with his head. He’d have to squat somewhere for the night, maybe an abandoned warehouse or something. He’d found a few while adventuring the summer before, and not all of them could have been blown up in the last eight months.

“Clinton and Hall has a good one,” he mumbled to himself, steering his feet that way. It was cold, even for February, but he had no choice. It was either walk seven blocks now or walk straight to CPS. He’d take the seven blocks.

It was a quiet night, at least for Crime Alley. There were the usual shady guys doing deals in the back alleys and the over-rouged women in heels and too-short skirts, but at least no one was running around trying to blow the city up again. A night without Batman and Robin coming around was a good night, as far as Jason was concerned.

It wasn’t that he didn’t like Batman, just that he tended to invite more trouble than he did away with. Even the most well-intentioned people couldn’t fix Crime Alley. Jason would know, he was Crime Alley through and through.

He finally reached the warehouse and dragged himself up seven flights of stairs, where there was an office that sat mostly untouched. There was a boarded-up window and the walls were probably full of asbestos, but the door locked, so as far as Jason was concerned it was great. The boy placed his duffel bag under his head and slipped his backpack around so it covered his stomach. As the first breaths of sleep came to him, he could hazily feel hunger stab at his stomach. He hadn’t eaten in three days.

                                         _______________

In the eight months since Jason had taken to the street, he’d learned a few things: trust people sparingly, only share if you have enough, and never let anyone give you shit. His copy of Huck Finn was tattered now, but it was the only real piece of home he had left.

He wasn’t alone by any means. There had been some older kids who had taken him under their wing for a few weeks back in April, but they got busted for dealing and Jason hadn’t seen them since. He and his occasional allies worked pretty well, a shared meal here, a hand-me-down there. Life wasn’t so bad like this, if you were careful.

Stealing the tires off the Batmobile wasn’t careful.

Jason felt Batman before he saw him. The guy just had that kind of energy, like a horror villain. But Jason already had three wheels off, with one stashed nearby, so there was really no point in stopping now.

“Excuse me, what are you doing?” The gruff voice asked, and that’s when Jason knew he was well and thoroughly fucked.

He didn’t answer, because Jason was never the type to admit guilt. A large hand fell on his shoulder, and he couldn’t help but jump. Batman turned him around, more gently than Jason thought he treated most criminals.

“Kid, you’ve gotta be what, thirteen? Come on, put those tires back on and get in the car.”

Well, Jason might be reckless enough to steal from Batman, but he wasn’t dumb enough to make himself an enemy. So, he silently put the tires back on the Batmobile and turned to face Batman. He was just as intimidating as everyone said he was.

“I know that you have stuff stashed somewhere,” Batman prompted, like he’d already seen thousands of alley kids today.

“Behind the dumpsters,” Jason muttered, staring at his scuffed-up sneakers.

Batman ducked behind the dumpster, and emerged with the two bags and a tire. Jason sheepishly put the last tire back, then stood and opened his hands for his bags. His hands were stained with dirt and grease, like black blood.

“In the car,” Batman ordered, and Jason’s stomach dropped.

“No!” He cried, his throat as dry as bone. “Please, you can’t turn me in. They’ll send me into the system or juvie or something. I’ll die in there, I know kids who have.” As much as he wished that was a lie, it wasn’t. Foster kids didn’t last long in Gotham.

Batman hesitated a moment, then spoke again. “Fine. Get in the car. I won’t take you to CPS, but I can’t let you go back on the streets.” His voice was firm, but also gentle. It was… strange.

Jason nodded, and tucked himself into the passenger side. Batman sat down in the driver’s seat, and with a reminder to fasten his seatbelt, the pair was off.

The drive wasn’t particularly long, but Jason was antsy all the same. His heart thundered as they entered a long tunnel in the side of what looked like a mountain, but Jason was pretty sure that there were no mountains in Gotham. Finally, they parked in some sort of weird cave-garage-thing. Batman turned to Jason, and looked him in the eyes.

“I have a doctor here. She’s going to take a look at you and make sure you’re okay. You can spend the night here. Then, we’ll discuss other options. No matter what, you’re not going on the street again.” He said this all in a perfunctory manner, but it was polite nonetheless.

Jason scrambled out of the Batmobile, only to see a familiar face waiting for him.

“Hello, Jason.” Dr. Thompkins smiled, and he tried to hide his surprise that she remembered him. He hadn’t been to the clinic in at least a year.

“Hi, Dr. T,” he mumbled.

“Alright, let’s get started. Can you sit down over here for me?” Jason followed her gesture, only to see a full clinic set up. What kind of garage was this? He nodded absently and shuffled over, then sat on the crinkly paper.

Dr. Thompkins walked him through a normal check up, with some added questions about how the past year had been. The whole time, she kept glancing at his face, like she expected him to start crying at any moment.

“So, Jason, I’m so sorry to hear about your mom.” She said as she tested his reflexes. His heart lurched in his chest, but he tried to keep his face from betraying him.

“... Thanks.” He mumbled, then left it at that.

Dr. Thompkins finished the exam, then stepped away to speak to Batman. Jason laid down to stare at the wall, but he couldn’t help but overhear some snippets of conversation.

“... known him for years… neonatal abstinence syndrome… only eighty pounds… severely malnourished… needs individualized support…”

The conversation trailed off as footsteps padded back into the room.

“Alright, so we have to get you up to date on vaccinations, and then you’re all done with me. You’re brave, you’ll be okay.” Jason nodded, and she injected the first vaccine. After three more, his arm was sore and his head was heavy. Dr. Thompkins led him to a reclining position, then pulled the curtain shut.

“Goodnight, Jason. It’s going to be okay.”

                                            _______________

Jason hadn’t expected to like the Imposter’s girlfriend so much, but he did. Stephanie got it in a way no one else did. The pair sat on a Crime Alley rooftop, sharing a combo meal from BatBurger.

“-And then, they accused me of being anorexic! Like no, I don’t have an eating disorder, I just can’t afford to eat more than saltines and water!” Stephanie rambled, gesturing wildly with a fry. “Seriously, I don’t think I ate an actual meal that wasn’t made by a lunch lady until I was fourteen.”

Jason chuckled, “My first big meal was when Bruce took me in. Until then, I thought having pizza or chicken nuggets for dinner was a splurge.”

Stephanie quieted, then looked from the carton of fries to Jason.

“Hey, does it ever get easier? Do you ever stop panicking when you grocery shop or when you treat yourself to lunch?” She questioned, her voice hoarse.

Jason took another bite of his burger.

“No. No, it doesn’t.”

[thewritewolf]

Two For Two Chapter 18: Close Call

A team of four enemies might be a little too much for our heroes to handle... especially with the elemental powers each of them possess.

@ladynoirjuly2020

Enjoy!

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Read on Ao3

“Okay, Hawkmoth is definitely getting some extra power somehow,” Dragonbug said as she did her best to hold off what appeared to be a person made out of fire and a living whirlwind.

It was a frustrating combination - the whirlwind was scattering embers from the fire akuma, leading to a blaze that was slowly spreading across her city. A glance at the scene around her - all fire and smoke and heat haze - was enough to make her grateful once again for her miraculous cure. Soon enough, neither of them would be able to breath in this arena, let alone fight in it.

“Four akumas seems like an awful lot,” Snake Noir replied as he tried to stay ahead of two more enemies. “Do you think he’s been doing his homework? Or did he just find a new magic crystal or something in his cereal box?”

One of his opponents was similar to Stoneheart in that it looked like a person made out of boulders. The main differences were that this one was more the size of a large person rather than a giant, and it lacked a face. The other looked like a rolling tidal wave with a giant human face in the seafoam. As much as she would hope the water would cancel out the fire, it was doing a great job avoiding being helpful, instead constantly striving to slam into her partner.

“Only two of them are akumas,” Dragonbug corrected, using her yoyo shield to block a heat blast and getting a little singed anyway. “I think the earth and air ones are amoks.”

“Great, so Hawkbutt still has help. At least I feel better about this!” Snake Noir slammed his baton full force into the earth amok’s side, sending it flying into one of the burning buildings.

As glad as she was that they’d managed to get all the citizens out of the area before Hawkmoth’s crew arrived, she also recognized a losing fight when she saw one. And seeing the building collapse into a hellish blaze reminded her that they still had options.

“Chat, follow me!”

Latching onto an as-of-yet intact piece of masonry with her yoyo, Dragonbug pulled herself away with the wind roaring in her ears.

Or so she had thought, until she realized it wasn’t the usual wind whipping past her, but the living whirlwind assaulting her. She was being battered all around, her grip on her yoyo slipping as she held on for dear life.

It ended in an instant. There had to be something solid inside the air amok, otherwise Snake Noir’s baton extending into it at max speed would’ve done nothing. With a nod of appreciation at her partner, she pulled on her yoyo and they both got out of there.

A few streets over and they leapt through the windows of an abandoned office building.

“Over here!” Snake Noir grabbed her hand and pulled her into a bathroom. He let go of her and rushed into one of the stalls. She took the one next to his.

“Longg, Tikki! Divide!” Longg’s powers left her and for a moment, Ladybug stood in the bathroom stall. It didn’t last long before she called off that transformation as well. “Tikki, spots off.”

While the kwami looked up at her expectantly, she heard Chat go through the same process, less than a meter away from her.

“Sass, Plagg! Divide. Plagg, claws in.” Whoever it was behind his mask addressed her. “So, my lady. What’s the plan?”

“Well, the red potion for Tikki and Plagg, for sure. I'm not sure what else we should use, though.”

“‘Cause of all the fire, yeah, I figured.” There was a pause. “Wait, does that mean…?”

“Yes.” Marinette looked into her kwamis eyes and saw some surprise, but also steady resolve. “I think it’s time to use two potions at once.”

“Well,” Tikki said with some uncertainty. “You won’t have access to both at the same time, I think.”

“How would we use both then?” The boy who was Chat asked. “Is it wasted?”

“No…” Sass said. There was a hint of worry in his voice, but Marinette couldn’t figure out why. “You’d have to either turn off your primary miraculousss or redo the unification.”

“Sounds easy enough.” Marinette nodded. “Got it, Chat?”

“Y-yeah,” he said. Before she could wonder about his uncharacteristic nervousness, he pushed on. “So, second potion. What are you thinking?”

“Well… ideally we’ll be beating the fire akuma with the red potion.”

“It might be good to take out the water guy at the same time,” Chat added. “That way, we can put out some of the fires.”

“And if I’m right about them being the two akumas-”

“-which you no doubt are, knowing you-”

“-then that means we can focus on the mindless monsters afterwards. So maybe something that gives us some leeway. Flight again?”

“No orange?”

“If its true that Hawkmoth is copying the potions we use, then I’d like to keep that in the bag for now. I think we can manage with the others.”

“Spot on as usual, my lady. Ready to feed the kwamis and suit up?”

A smirk crossed her face. “Always.”

-----------

Snake Noir was working hard to keep the whirlwind and boulder monster at bay for his lady. Teaming up on the fire guy had ended up in disaster, but a quick reset and a change in strategy later and things were going a little better now. Even if he felt the loss of having more allies now more than ever.

Against his better judgement, he snuck a look over his shoulder toward Dragonbug while his opponents were still reeling from one of his attacks. Black covered her hands and feet, with bright flame markings ending the soot-like marks at her wrists and ankles. A scale pattern had replaced her usual suit texture, and gleamed like hot embers. He caught a look of determination as he saw through the blue tinted visor of her new helmet.

Then she swung her sword turned axe, its blunt side sweeping against the water monster and splashing the fire guy with a sizzling hiss. His attention was pulled back to his own fight just in time to dodge a rocky fist.

In comparison, his suit hadn’t changed all that much - instead of his smooth black leather, his suit almost looked like bronze. Tufts of tawny fur edged the cuffs of his gauntlets and boots, and a whole mane of it surrounded his head - a head which was now completely covered in something similar to a motorcycle helmet.

Which was topped with cat ears, naturally. A perfect match to the lion’s tail that had replaced his leather belt tail.

In this fight, the tail was less useful than the ears, which often gave him his only warning about when an attack was coming in. Sure, he didn’t need much help when it came to the rock monster since it telegraphed its attacks in what felt like hours ahead of time. But that wasn’t the one he was worried about.

No, what he had to listen for was the whistling wind that rapidly built to a howling gale as the air amok tried to slam into him. There was never much time to evade since it came so quickly, but the trade off was that it didn’t hit all that hard.

The problem was that the rock monster did pack a punch and being hit by the gale stunned him long enough for the boulder fist to wind up and hit him, something he’d figured out the hard way. Thank all the kwami for Second Chance or this battle might have been over already.

All that to say, this fight was on a razor’s edge but only for him. He was struggling to make any offensive moves, but then again, he didn’t really need to.

“Found you!”

The eager shout from his lady saw him look back just in time to see a splash of water reveal a necklace around the fire guy’s neck, buried in flame. But while she was busy rushing for that, he caught a glimpse of something in the water akuma as it took a moment to recover. Something weirdly shaped located at the core.

On the bare-looking akumas and amoks, odds were that it was the source of their power. He waited and listened, staring intently at the rock monster as he positioned himself just right.

The whistling started just where he thought it would, but even then he waited, tensing all his muscles, until the howling gale were nearly on him then-

He threw himself to the side with as fast as he could, at the very last possible second. The living whirlwind breezed past him to slam into the stone beast, staggering it back a step and stunning the wind as well. The two of them distracted briefly, he whipped around and ran.

As he approached, Dragonbug was making desperate grabs for the now freely dangling necklace, but the fire akuma was keeping just out of reach. The water akuma, trying to support its ally, was too focused on Dragonbug to notice him. At least until his baton was slicing through it. It connected with something solid which shattered satisfyingly.

The water creature began to shrink in on itself as it transformed back into a human. The sight of which must have surprised the fire akuma and uncertainty flickered in its flames. A moment of hesitation, but more than enough to give Dragonbug the upper hand as she lunged forward and yanked the necklace off it. A swift punch shattered it and the fires coating the person extinguished.

Two purifications later and two citizens in The Last Airbender cosplays stood blinking in bewilderment on the battlefield. Trusting Dragonbug to fix things, Snake Noir returned to the remaining amoks who were even now barreling down on them.

“Water Dragon!”

A sudden rain, like a tropical deluge, fell all around them. The fires were extinguished, leaving the area much colder and darker than before.

“Chat, come on! Get the civilians out and swap out!”

After blocking a swing from the rock monster and dodging the whirlwind, he nodded and scooped up one of the civilians. Dragonbug got the other and they escaped the area. The whirlwind seemed to be playing it safe now, since it didn’t chase after them.

The four of them landed on a rooftop, where they dropped off the civilians.

“I’m super sorry about all this,” the woman wearing a Water Tribe cosplay said. “I didn’t think an argument would be enough to cause… that.” She gestured toward the scorched section of the city, now dripping wet.

“Just an argument turned you into such powerful akumas?” Dragonbug’s eyebrows rose.

“Well, it was a pretty heated fight,” the man in a Fire Nation outfit said with a smirk. Snake Noir chuckled appreciatively.

“Any clue where the… control thing for those things are?” Snake Noir tapped his chin in thought. “It’ll probably be something tied to your fight.”

The man and woman glanced at each other, then patted themselves down.

“Uhh… Do you have that wood leaf?”

“The one painted to look slightly burned, like Aang had practiced firebending on it, right?” The woman shook her head. “No, I don’t. Do you have the glowy crystal, like from the cave of two lovers?”

“Nope,” the man replied, popping the ‘p’. He turned to the two heroes. “Looks like you’re after a crystal and a wooden leaf.”

Dragonbug tapped her chin. “I bet the leaf is lightweight, huh?”

“Oh for sure,” the woman said. “It kept getting blown away by the fan.”

“I see…” Dragonbug took out her yoyo and jumped up onto the roof ledge, Snake Noir following her lead. “Thanks for the help, you two!”

Snake Noir waved at them as he jumped off the roof after her. “Stay out of trouble!”

“I’ve got-” Dragonbug stopped when Snake Noir’s bracelet let out a shrill beep. “Take care of that first and meet me at the amoks. Just follow my lead and we should have this one in the bag.”

“I never doubted it for a second.” He gave a quick bow and dashed off.

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

“Perfect timing, Chat,” Dragonbug said as she engaged in an aerial duel with the living whirlwind and nimbly dodging the occasional thrown boulder from the rock monster.

Snake Noir’s emerald green wings carried him into a flanking position, no doubt intending to help her beat up on the wind amok. But she had different plans. It had taken her a while to figure out which piece of floating debris was the leaf in question, but once she saw it she had refused to take her eyes off of it. All she had to do was wait until-

Now!

“Wind dragon!’ A gust of wind, even stronger than her enemy but very short lived, blew straight at the leaf… and right into her partner.

Although he was surprised at the sudden attack, it all clicked for him once the leaf smacked him in the forehead. A quick punch shattered it and the winds finally died down around them.

The purification must have been the final straw for Hawkmoth and Mayura, since they retracted the feather from the rock monster’s amok after a moment of hesitation. The feather slipped from between the monster’s fingers, causing it to drop the crystal the cosplayers had mentioned. Despite its best attempts, the feather didn’t get away either and it too was purified.

“Lucky Charm!” A first place medal landed into her hands and a smirk crossed Dragonbug’s face. She immediately tossed it back into the air. “Miraculous Ladybug!”

Dragonbug put her hands on her hips and watched with satisfaction while the city was mended before her very eyes. Snake Noir stepped up to her with a smile and a raised fist.

“May I interest you in a ‘pound it’ for a job well done?”

She pretended to consider it for a moment before nodding and returning the fist bump. “You may.”

[ecoamerica]

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