#she'd probably also stop doing assassinations once she realizes

[no-naem]

Marcy Wu and Yuzuki Fuwa would get along SO well. 

[piracytheorist]

Episode 31 reactions!

Okay, first off, mind. blown. There's some VERY good action in this one!

Yor's coworkers are at the "Well, we're still better off!" jealousy stage. It's a small thing but something I can definitely see people like them do. Sharon seems to be the most passive-aggressive one, so it was a bit revealing that she was the first one to go like "Hey I got beer and sausage, I'm not jealous at all!" Our truest selves come out in the hardest times...

A very beautiful shot of the ship!

By the way, if Yor's coworkers knew what she was going through, they'd definitely stop being jealous.

Yor appears a little too nervous, if you ask me. Granted, we only saw her once before working, and when she was imagining what she'd tell Anya she sounded quite secure in her abilities. But now that she's been living in a family, her way of work has indeed changed, if anything else because she's worried they may find out the truth about her.

At first I thought McMahon had kicked her in the shin, but upon rewatching I realized he kicked the leg of the chair. I'm sure if it were the Shopkeeper he'd probably kick her leg, if not stomp down on her foot just to get her to focus.

Gram was sneezing again? Should I pay attention to this or is it just a baby being a baby?

Yor is smart to try and think how the enemy would think in order to be prepared for their plan, but she doesn't take into account the fact that some of the assassins are actual psychopaths who don't care about taking innocent people's lives in their effort to do their job. That's what being too kind of an assassin will do to you XD

And it's driven to the point even more with Yor being cute like that - and probably remembering the times she played with Yuri when he was little - and Olka saying she doesn't look like a criminal. She really doesn't. Sweetest assassin ever <3

The "mmm" Yor made at the end was the exact same "mmm" Anya made while stuffing up her face with food XD

Loid is not impressed, and this is only the beginning.

It's so fun having the actual, physical copy of the manga in front of me as I watch the episode! I notice here that when Anya talked about Yor missing, she also told Loid "You miss dinner all the time", but the anime omitted that. STOP DENYING US THINGS!

Anyway, Anya calls him out for catching feelings, and Loid is quick to drop his voice a couple octaves to show how secure he is.

I AM NOT LONELY I AM NOT.

Sure buddy, sure.

The office guys are on the opposite side of relaxing and actually enjoying themselves on this trip, going out and drinking a little too much, while the "Greys", Yor and McMahon are walking on eggshells.

The anime team obviously had enough time available for this chapter, as they have a couple of added lines from the office guys, so I doubt they omitted Anya's line about Loid missing dinner due to time issues. I wonder what might be the reason - it's not like they're trying to make us think he doesn't miss dinner? We know the guy's schedule is tight as a drum.

Anyway. Assassin-ing time and holy shit.

I'm pretty sure I gasped at this.

And the rest of the scene, of course!

Obligatory mention that it's been proven time and again that torture is not an effective means of interrogation. People can and do lie while being tortured for information, so the things they say may or may not be accurate. Torture may make them speak, but whether they speak the truth or not is another issue, unrelated to torture itself. So while there can be various goals of torturing someone (illegitimate, of course, like punishment, making an example out of a "traitor", or in very few real-life cases, gratification), obtaining information has proven to not be a feasible one. I understand the point of the scene was to show McMahon's abilities and to establish that there are multiple people on board after Olka, I just needed to say that.

I've been certain they'd go the "dumping bodies into the ocean" route. A cruise is a great setting for that!

The knock on the door was intense! Especially since it's put right after the scene of McMahon and Furseal walking back to the room, but just those few seconds of slowed down tension make you think "Oh no. It's not them. It's them".

I expected the "Oh, it's just room service!" and of course, I expected the "I didn't order any" reply.

Great animation of the attack and Yor protecting Olka and Gram though I'm begging the animators to look a bit into trigger discipline, at this point whenever I see a gun my eyes go immediately on the trigger and I go D: whenever there's a finger on it that shouldn't be

But oh, McMahon is good, and resourceful!

The assassin points his gun at them, Furseal freaks out while McMahon marches on.

We also finally see one (1) eye under the reflection of his glasses. I get that the reflection makes it easier in animation and such, but still I appreciate this detail, especially in such a moment.

And more action! Yor being a badass and at the same time caring for the baby!

"I can excuse murder in self-defense but I draw the line at scaring a baby"

THE GUY WAS STILL WIGGLING. WHILE HE HAD A DAGGER THROUGH HIS SKULL.

(probably last uncontrollable movements from his dying nervous system but still. it was fucking chilling and I love it)

Also, I can understand Yor being strong enough to break the door. But I think it takes a different kind of strength to throw an object, even a sharp one, and make the object break through the door, a human skull, and then latch onto a wall. Absolute unit.

Seeing the body was freaky, too! If I'm correct, I think this is the very first time we see a person being murdered on screen in the story.

Ah no wait we do see a guy in the second episode getting a dagger to the back and falling down. But it was much more palatable than seeing a dagger go through someone's skull and practically nailing him to the wall.

I'm gonna think about this for a long time, lmao. It was brutal!

I just noticed this on my rewatch! McMahon is wearing a ring in the shape and place of a wedding ring! He then goes on to tell the ship's services that the "mister and missus had a fight" though in the manga he says "me and my wife" so is his cover that he's on board with his wife?

And here's the same thing that shows Yor's side. She sees assassins as people doing their job and "cleaning out trash" especially in her case, not people who do this job just because they have no issue killing.

I mean, I don't want turtleneck guy to defeat Yor, but he's got my respect for now.

He also says there are other members from the gangster family on board? Just how many people did manage to get on this ship XD

The eavesdropping guy tells turtleneck guy that he sells his information equally and practically tells him good luck getting ahead, so now I'm thinking, there's another eavesdropping guy, or is he selling all his intel to other assassins that weren't there in that scene?

Also, good luck getting them to work together without getting greedy and/or paranoid, lol

Furseal was actually blushing while wearing the mask XD and the plague doctor mask on the baby!

The poison guy thinks he's some dude. He has no idea who he's dealing with.

This arc will be perfect for creepy shots of Yor, won't it XD

Furseal asks for his button back and dude! Priorities much? This button saved all your lives XD

Blonde mask guy tries to go for Olka right in the middle of the crowd like wtf and the moment Yor grabbed his hands I went like "BREAK THEM. BREAK HIS FINGERS." And then she did <3 We stan <3

That's it. That's their dynamic in one shot.

While Anya is having an overdramatic tantrum, we see how even when Twilight is trying to not be on the lookout - he even says he just has to stay away from suspicious people - his skills are so fine that they kinda work subconsciously. He spots the listening devices (I mean, there are a ton of them) and notices all the suspicious people even if he doesn't make a conscious list of all of them.

Then Twilight has a fucking breakdown over one (1) silly keychain. I mean it is a skeleton keychain so his mind immediately went "IT'S EITHER THAT OR MY OWN DEATH" is anyone even surprised

Anya is still learning how easily Twilight overreacts. And like the scene with the sandbox in the hospital, she realizes she caused him a little too much anxiety and tries to take some burden off.

This entire tension is going on and Twilight is still stuck on whether he should buy a stupid keychain. This man is incapable of relaxing, you tell him to relax and he goes like "Okay spy mode on standby, parent with anxiety mode is on".

I love how this reads a bit like "Papa considers hating frogs as much of a dealbreaker as being an assassin!"

It's so weird - though fitting - to think that Anya believes she can keep this up indefinitely. She has no idea how easily they could discover each other's identities and believes she can stop that from eventually happening. It makes sense for her age, though.

It's also a bit sad, how quick she is to think that she would be abandoned if they found out about each other. It's probably what makes her go "I have to keep this up as long as possible". Her young mind can't comprehend an alternative.

And oop! Taking part of the next chapter too, I see!

I might have lost it during these shots.

"You go around having battles" is definitely something Anya would come up with. It's why she's so hard to write and why Endo should receive an applause for how accurate to her age and experience he writes her.

Next, Twilight's biggest foe; the unreadable expression of a five six year old who is trying to take responsibility for her actions.

I love how when Twilight is facing actual danger and difficult missions he's all cool and collected. Meeting Desmond? Piece of cake. Taking down entire groups of people aiming guns at him? No problem. Anya acting unpredictable? THE WORLD IS ENDING.

However funny the scene is, it slowly drifts into a sadder territory. Twilight actually worries over Anya's mental state, and though he has no idea Anya is having the time of her life, there must be a part of his understanding of her trauma that is true. Now why he undermines completely his own trauma... It's projecting, isn't it?

Anyway, he concludes that the Handler knew from the beginning that Anya needs some vacation in order to recover from her trauma, and for some reason, instead of going like "Yo give her a break" she conjured up this entire idea for a vacation... But in reality, the Handler was only saying that in order to justify his time off in paper.

Like, the man can be so off sometimes that I want to shake him and then hug him because god I cannot imagine going your entire life like this and not even comprehending the idea of actual time off.

Anya: Have fun! Twilight: Cannot compute!

Like yeah it's funny but how am I supposed to not feel just a little bit sad with how he's completely unfamiliar with the concept of relaxing and having fun 😭😭

This is going to be a disaster XD

Anya prepares to run for it, realizes he can change and wear everything within seconds, and freezes... But then Overanalyzing TwilightTM takes control and he starts spending long minutes in front of the mirror freaking out about how his weird ensemble will manage to fix Anya's mood.

This truly is his most difficult mission. Anya is the perfect age to teach him about how sometimes he cannot control how people will react to his manipulations... and then there's the mind-reading, too.

Anyway. I love how Anya goes like "That's not how I expected to win some time but it works" and just steps back into the corridor XD

OH MY GOD

I love me a good fight choreography! Here Yor pushed Olka down from the shoulders, and at the same time pushed Furseal's knees to the front so they'd bend and he'd go down just enough to miss the sickle. Awesome!

The guy just starts a fight right in the middle of the crowd. And Yor has no choice but to stop him, Anya has to hide and also keep Loid from coming out of the store...

That IS a very interesting cliffhanger! I nearly screamed when it ended there, lol. It even ends in the middle of the page! I had to cover it with my hand to avoid spoilers XD The things I go through in this crazy experience XD

Overall, awesome episode! Though I felt that the Twilight panicking scene dragged on a bit. I don't know why. Maybe it's just that I'm an angst ho and I wanted a bit more angsty vibes from that scene. It's not bad, but maybe I still haven't realized just how much on comedy the show belongs in. It has a peculiar but for some reason very efficient balance on everything.

[thelavendercatalogue]

Been thinking about Jigmalta again. . . . been thinking about what Jigen does AFTER gravestone

The idea of Jigen not being completely satisfied with a “job well done” after taking out Yael and the East Doroa government.

Once he finds out/realized her manager was in on it it was one last loose end to tie up

The idea of Jigen tracking down Malta’s manager when he learns he too had a hand in her death which is why he had kicked him out of the concert

Jigen was never one for revenge, it drives men mad. But of course Jigen is already mad about all this. He took care of Yael, and the real cause and culprit of Malta's death, being her own country, was finally brought to the public

but that doesn't mean he's done yet.

Not quiet yet anyways

probably corners the guy in his swaggy hotel

Many people in Malta’s circle of acquaintances were also accused of potentially selling her out to the government with many remaining under scrutiny even long after the fact,

maybe it doesn't surprise him when the manager squeals so easily like the spineless fool he was

maybe he pisses Jigen off stating the bitch got what was coming to her anyways. thinking she could possibly promote peace between two countries that have been fighting for so long already.

Or About how she was willing to throw away her career for such a miserable cause about how he made her the star she was and without him she'd still be singing in slums in that wartorn hellhole she came from

Maybe the last comment pisses Jigen off so badly that he actually contemplates killing the bastard then and there

but he cant yet. he cant do that just yet

instead he forces the man to write down everything, absolutely everything he had to do with her death

when he's finally finished. . .well

no one knows what happened afterward.

Her manager is later found dead in what appeared to be an apparent suicide. In a letter left behind, he implicates his hand in Malta’s death and was believed by official's to have killed himself either in guilt or as a way to not risk jail time.

But we all know what happened, we all know the only man trained so excellent that he could easily have made it look like a suicide

in the end does it matter

it's over now Maybe before he leaves, Jigen notices the radio is on

Their still playing Malta's songs on the radio as a memorial to her and for a moment a flash of anger rolls over him at the mere thought that even after having her killed the bastard still had the gall to listen to her songs as if he didn't help in her assassination.

But then once he listens. . .everything is suddenly calm and serene and for a moment Jigen is happy once again.

Maybe he takes a moment to listen, to reminisce. Maybe when it's time for him to go he raises his hand to turn the radio off before he leaves. Maybe he stops himself before he can. Maybe instead before he leaves he looks at the radio one last time with that old familiar soft sad look in his eye's as he adjusts his hat on his head.

"It's over now songbird, so you just keep on singing. . .there's no one left to stop you"

[ink-and-fire]

Y'know what I'd like? I'd like for Kazuki and Rei to regress, but in a way that makes them even worse at their jobs as assassins (and also return to their horrible everyday-life habits). I want them failing their mission, maybe getting injured, and almost getting caught every single time they go out on a mission. I want it to be so damn obvious to the organization (and most importantly, Kyu) that getting rid of Miri made it worse. And then, the organization will likely turn on them. The organization will try to take them out, and maybe still try to target Miri, and I want Rei and Kazuki to get fed up with them. Rei will probably have to kill his dad, and maybe Ogino. Either that or officially cut ties with them (though I don't see that being something his dad will just allow).

As for what's going on with Miri, one thing is abundantly clear to me. Her mother is being selfish. And possibly paid-off by Kyu or (less likely) the organization. I want Miri to so obviously miss her Papas, more than she has missed her mom. I want her to ask repeatedly where her Papas are, and get angry and cry when her mother explains that Miri is going to be staying with her now. I want her to stop smiling, stop eating her mother's hamburg steak, and just be so visibly miserable without her Papas that her mom will realize it, and do something selfless for once.

And when Rei and Kazuki get home from overthrowing the organization (and Rei's father), they're surprised to see Miri there, waiting for them with a handwritten note (because let's be honest, that is totally how she'd be returned to them, her mother's track record in mind). And then they will be a big, happy family and never have to worry about anything ever again. The end. :)

[aingeal98]

hey its the evil dentist anon (now off anon!) and you got me thinking about cass and children. bc like, imagine her holding a kid, maybe even a baby. maybe she saved them from a fire, a car accident, maybe she is just holding somebodys kid for a second. and she thinks huh. i was this small once. and cain did all of that to me. and like, what she thinks next is very dependant on where she is in her journey of self perception. at certain points of it (like in your excellent fic 'shame, fear and how you play the game'!) she might not consider herself as human as the child shes holding. like obviously cain was a monster, but shes at least glad that it happened to her and not another "real" child like mad dog or his other attempts. second option is i think after a lot of healing, when cass is able to come to terms a bit more with everything, that horrible realization that cain hurt his children over and over again trying to create a weapon with no will of their own, that he did not see any of them as she sees children (nobody better than cass, i think, to admire the beauty and fragility of life in them) and like. feel all of these horrible realizations wash over her as she holds this child that will never experience anything similar if she can help it, bc she desperately wants to use her abilities to protect others, specially the powerless.

sorry for the essay, ive got cass cain on the brain, as you know.

Evil dentist formerly anon! Welcome :D

Cass and kids is so important to me I rotate it in my mind every day. I wonder what it looks like when she saw a baby for the first time. Did Cain bring one in so that she wouldn't get surprised, or did she only see them when she ran away? How different was their body language compared to everyone else? She says herself that her playmates were assassins. If she ever met anyone her own age or younger they would likely also be a trained fighter brought by their parents/handler to test their abilities.

All this to say the first time Cass held a baby would have probably been both weird and terrifying in a way. And yeah she definitely wouldn't be able to perceive herself as ever being one of them. Like technically of course she knows she was once like them but the chasm between her own perception of herself and how she'd view something so tiny and innocent is so vast she'd struggle to reconcile them.

But then later on, once she developed enough to view herself as a person who, if not deserving of love is at least someone who is human enough that she doesn't need to reject it when offered... Hoo boy yeah. If she thought about everything she went through while looking at a baby and realizing that no she really was like that once and her father really did put someone tiny and innocent and helpless through all the hell she suffered... Pain. So much pain. It would take her so much healing to be able to acknowledge that though, Cass's instinctive response before gaining any sense of self love is "Well obviously you should never put a baby what I went through. But I'm ME so it's not a problem." and everyone around hers response is babygirl you did not deserve to be abused. Which is true of course but Cass wouldn't see it that way. It's not about what she did or didn't deserve, it's about how she loved the fighting, loved the training, loved her dad. So clearly she was never a regular baby, but the fact that she was capable of throwing a shuriken at the target and hitting it dead center before she could even walk does not actually make how Cain treated her any more justified. And it takes Cass a while to really understand that and understand her own anger.

And if she ever catches someone abusing kids... Remember that time a mobster tried to kill someone with a gun and she made sure their hand hurt too much to pull the trigger a full year later? Yeah if she ever sees you slapping a child you are losing your hand privileges. No one can stop her from doing it too like she doesn't care if they think she's going too far. They hurt their kid she makes sure they can never do it again. Simple.

Also I really love the headcanon that as well as taking on her adopted father's mantle as the Batman, she also has his habit of adopting kids. Only the projection is different so the first two kids Cass adopts are a child who's parents were murdered so that he could be trained as a killer (which Bruce is a tiny bit judgemental over because he knows full well she's projecting like he was with Dick. But it's fine the child never actually killed someone, Cass took down the ring before they could force him to. He's just traumatized from everything else.) and a baby assassin who was raised in essentially a survival of the fittest situation and killed both all the other kids and his handlers by the time Cass found him. (This one Bruce is a little more judgemental over, but Cass does not care. This is his grandson now. The murders are a part of him and she loves him despite that.)

30 year old Cass, showing up at her and Steph's apartment in the middle of the night covered in blood: Hey guess what :D

Steph: Cass I swear to god if that's another fucking kid you're hiding behind you-

Cass, picking up her new child (also covered in blood) and showing them to Steph like a kitten: Their name is Max they have no family no one can understand them better than me and it would be nice for Roman to have a baby sibling.

Steph, sighing and grumbling but too tired to deal with this shit: I'll get Babs to send over adoption papers in the morning.

[noirandchocolate]

Round 3 super fun happy comments post time!

Match 1, Vimes vs. Rob

Vimes I love you buddy but there is no way you can handle a Feegle going down your drawers.

--@purpledemoncat

Vimes would probably get adopted by the clan. He has a similar distaste for lawyers. All they need to do is get rid of his penchant for following the law.

--@missnotlob

Feegles are superstitious Rob would see the following dark and bugger off.

--@shiftyfly

But also this poll missed a golden opportunity for Rob v Adora Belle. Because there's plenty of people Rob could beat who could also beat Adora. But I firmly believe no male feegle could ever beat her. You really think that someone afraid of the pursin' o' the lips and the tappin' o' the feets could beat Spike??? I do think after the fact all the rest would be terrified of her but Rob would actually become great friends with her. (Much to Moist's terror.)

--@myidealhousehaschickenfeet (This is so funny, yes I definitely want these two to meet.)

Match 2, Granny vs. the Librarian

Granny would just Borrow him and we'd have a "stop hitting yourself!!' situation.

--@purpledemoncat

Granny turns the Librarian back into a human, or headologies him into doing it himself. He spends the next week crying and trying to grab things with his feet.

--@missnotlob

I once again point out that Granny Weatherwax is somewhat unclear on the concept of a friendly fight and very unclear on the subject of Granny Weatherwax losing anything. The Librarian ain't no fool. He's either pulling a Rincewind or backing away very slowly.

--@the-damn-things-overlap

The Librarian is a clever ape. He takes the bag of peanuts Gytha Ogg brought, thoughtfully eats one, shakes his head and points to Granny. He isn't gonna fight her.

--@msmeiriona

I feel like the fact that the Librarian is an inherently silly figure is what could lead to an upset here. Granny can rise above any serious threat and will herself look silly sometimes in handling minor ones like say raindrops or her broomstick. But I don't know how well she'd tangle with an inherently silly threat. And I think the Librarian could actually snag this one.

--@omicheese

Match 3, Vetinari vs. Nanny

@pourablecat did fanart of this match's outcome!

I can't articulate why I voted Nanny but I looked into her smiling face and it just felt right.

--@hazelnootle

There's a reason why Nanny lives in Lancre and it's to stop her from pile driving this man.

--@purpledemoncat

It's sheer narrative logic. What looks like a friendly old lady goes up against a trained assassin. The only way this could look more million to one was if she were blindfolded on one leg.

--@katistrophe

Vetinari plays Thud, Nanny Ogg plays Twister.

--@modstin

Would Nanny winning be fucking hilarious? Yes. But they had to invent a cursed gun and an entirely new system of poisoning to get a scratch on Vetinari so. And he couldn't be convinced to drink her scumble anyway. Vetinari got one-shotted by a magic user exactly once and is not about to let that happen again.

--@twofoursixohjuan

Vetinari may be a dictator but Nanny Ogg has to plan family game night for 100 people every weekend. I think that makes her far more powerful a foe. His ass is not ready for the Ogg.

--@spunchthegoblin

The only person Vetinari has ever feared is his Aunt. Nanny is the primordial matter from which all Aunties are formed.

--@thisblogisboundforglory-blog

Match 4, Carrot vs. Angua

@thestuffedalligator and @oorpe made this one sexy in a silly kind of way, and I am here for it.

Carrot, being ever the chivalrous gentleman, tries to LET Angua win. She realizes what he's up to & losers her whole entire temper. Carrot ends up having to pin her to stop her thrashing him in a fit of rage. he wins by accident for the pin & is DREADFULLY embarrassed about it.

--@javaelemental

This is a IDW Sonic Issue #57 moment, here.

--@cipher-of-the-round-table (I don't know what his means but I laughed.)

SO MUCH good commentary on the fights this time, I really enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts. Everybody go check out the notes on all the fights, they're full of more funny and well-reasoned rationales for voting!

[evilwickedme]

[image description:

reply from @its-bread-bitch saying

I love murderdock and spider-Gwen! I don’t know if it’s possible for your fic since it kind of feels like a prompt itself but I absolutely adore fics where protagonist and antagonist meet somewhere casual on accident (like the grocery store or laundromat something) and just mutually agree not to start shit since their both “off duty” and just have a surreal oddly polite/casual conversation/interaction

/end image description]

so, uh, I wrote it

also on ao3

relationship: Matt Murdock & Gwen Stacy

tags: minor Matt Murdock/Foggy Nelson, earth-65, Matt Murderdock, vaguely canon compliant

human after all

Gwen had agreed to the movie night mostly so her dad would stop worrying after her as much. She didn't realize that it would be such a hassle.

"Dad," she said, trapping the phone between her shoulder and her cheek, "don't worry, okay? I'll be there in half an hour, max. I'm just getting some snacks because I know you - no, Dad, I do, and there's no way you have anything remotely sweet in the kitchen, and I'm not watching anything without my fix of popcorn and chocolate mix. Do you need milk? No, I won't ask you - yeah, I've got it covered, okay? Just - oh my God."

New York City is a lot smaller than people think. Sure, millions of people live here, and you're not going to get to know all of them. Often you'll never even learn the names of your downstairs neighbors. You share a living space and a school campus and a grocery store with dozens, hundreds, thousands of perfect strangers. But still, sometimes, coincidences happen. You run into a childhood friend at the bookstore. You rush to class and find out your second cousin just started going here too. You go to the closest supermarket to get some snacks for your father-daughter movie night and run into your deadly assassin nemesis.

Murderdock had the audacity to look calm and completely unsurprised. But then again, he could probably smell her from two blocks away. 

Or he just heard her babbling on the phone from the other aisle.

"Hey, Dad, I'll call you back, okay? Love you," she said, easing the phone from its precarious position and hanging up. She had her symbiote at the ready, waiting for any provocation. Murderdock lived nowhere near her and the shitty apartment she shared with most of the rest of the Mary Janes; what's he doing here?

"Hello there, Gwen," Murderdock said calmly. "What a pleasant surprise."

"Murdock," Gwen said through gritted teeth.

Before anything could escalate, however, DA Nelson appeared from around a corner and said, "Hey, Matt, do you prefer black olives or - oh, hello."

"Hello," Gwen said. She wracked her brain, trying to remember if she'd ever met the DA out of costume. Maybe once, a couple of years ago? She never took an interest in Dad's Cop Things before she became Spider Woman, and afterwards she was very careful to avoid Dad's Cop Things out of the mask. Or at least she tried to be.

"Oh, Gwen!" Nelson said, smiling brightly, putting the olives in a cart that she hadn't noticed was placed just behind Murdock. "It's been a while. Is your dad doing okay?"

Apparently they had met before, then. When her dad was in the hospital, maybe?

"Um," she said, trying to look only at Nelson and failing. "Yeah. I'm actually heading to his place after this."

"It's important to spend time with family," Nelson said. "It's been a while since I saw Captain Stacy, so make sure to say hi for me."

"Okay," Gwen said slowly. "Sorry, I hope you don't mind me asking, do you live in the area?"

"Oh, no," Foggy said vaguely. "Just stopping by."

"Right." Gwen was so very weirded out by this. Why was DA Nelson acting so chummy with the literal Kingpin? What were the two of them doing in this particular store? She had gotten ready for a confrontation with Murdock, but it seems like they genuinely were just... Shopping here.

She didn't understand why they're here together, but she was suddenly confronted with the fact that Murdock truly was a person. Like, yes, he was a deadly assassin and probably a psychopath, but also he needed to eat to survive.

Gwen carefully walked past the two of them, then, and rounded the corner herself, stopping only when she thought she was a decent enough distance away that it seemed as though she was simply continuing her shopping, and definitely not eavesdropping, or peaking at them through a gap between cans of six different kinds of olives.

"Everything okay?" Nelson said in a worried tone. "You seem - "

"Everything's fine, Foggy," Murdock says curtly. "Let's just finish here and go home. I'm tired."

Home, Gwen mouthed. The word sounded so strange coming from Murdock, who she couldn't have imagined ever using a word like that in such a... warm tone. Foggy. So familiar. Like... She didn't know. Were they friends?

"Alright," Nelson said skeptically, but apparently deciding to drop it. "But we need some frozen pizza first."

"I'm not putting that in my body," Murdock said.

"You can pretend all you want," Nelson said, voice starting to fade as he pushed their cart further down the aisle and away from her, "but I know you're gonna steal a bite when I'm not looking."

"Lies," Murdock replied. "Lies and slander. I'm going to sue the district over this."

Was that... a joke?

Apparently yes, because Nelson's hearty laugh echoed through the store, so clearly genuine, so clearly affectionate.

They were out of eyesight now, although not out of earshot, especially not with her enhanced settings. Still, she'd heard enough.

She didn't understand. She didn't know how to feel about this.

But she also didn't think that this was the time to confront Murdock over this.

So she filed this information away, and took her groceries to the register.

*

"Sorry for hanging up earlier," she said, placing the groceries on the ground at the station. She didn't feel like swinging to her dad's right now, so she was going to use the subway for the first time in... A while. And yeah it was a little disgusting but she was tired and she needed to think about what she'd seen for a moment. "Yeah, just... Ran into someone unexpected. I'll be there as soon as possible. Love you too. Will update on ETA as soon as I'm on - yeah, exactly. Bye. Yep. Bye. Okay. Bye, Dad." She sighed as the call disconnected. Sometimes her Dad could be way too worried. She was Spider Woman, for God's sake. She'd be fine taking the damn subway.

"Funny running into you here," said a voice from behind her.

She didn't jump. She didn't. It was just... surprising, that her spidey-sense didn't warn her that Matt Murderdock had followed her into the subway.

"Same to you," she said, careful to keep calm. If her spidey-sense wasn't reacting, it probably meant that he wasn't looking for a fight.

"I didn't realize you shopped around Hell's Kitchen," Murdock said.

"Oh, um," Gwen said lamely. "I live only a couple of blocks over. And that supermarket carries a couple of my favorite brands, so - "

Why was she explaining herself to this man?

So she pivoted. "What were you doing there, anyway? And since when are you all chummy-chummy with the DA?"

"We were college roommates," Murdock said. What a... mundane explanation.

"Oh."

"That's actually." Murdock swallowed, as if uncomfortable with the topic. Then his expression hardened, and she knew that this was important, even if she didn't understand it. "He stays out of this. Do you understand?"

"I," Gwen stuttered.

His entire body radiated danger in that moment. This was important to him. She knew there was a sword in that cane of his. She knew he could slice her to pieces if she wasn't careful, if she wasn't quick. And yet, still, her spidey-sense was completely silent. Not a peep.

"Okay," she said. "I won't bother him. I swear. But..."

"But what?"

"Nothing," she replied. "Never mind."

He knew that she was lying, and she knew that right back. But this was a moment of understanding, too: Foggy Nelson was off limits. She wouldn't use him against Murdock. She didn't know exactly what their relationship was. Maybe he didn't either, from the way he said roommates, like it meant something else, like it was his lifeline. But she knew that even if Murdock was a terrible person, she wasn't. She'd respect this one line, for now.

"I guess I'll see you around," she said sarcastically.

He nodded once. "Until we meet again, Spider Woman."

The train roared as it pulled into the station, and Murdock was gone.

Next time they'd meet, they'll be on opposing sides. She'll do her best to defeat him, and he'll do his best to subdue her. But for now, she thought she might understand him just a little better.

Human after all.

[sentinelpri]

Scary

You were in love with Temari, one of the three sand siblings.

Most girls in your village had a crush on Gaara, the Kazekage.

Occasionally, people would express interest in Kankuro.

But you were in love with the Kazekage's bodyguard and older sister, Temari.

It had been a weird transition. Like almost everyone else in the village, you'd thought the sand siblings were scary. They were strong, they were of royal blood, and all three of them had an intimidating and confident aura. On top of that, Gaara was the Jinchuriki, and he'd killed countless people.

But, things had changed when you were around fourteen. After the Chunin exams in The Leaf Village, the Konoha Crush, and the unfortunate assassination of The Fourth Kazekage, all three of the sand siblings had changed. Gaara had mellowed out, and Kankuro and Temari seemed more at ease because of that- less tense.

You hadn't been in love with Temari back then, though. You'd only known who she was, passed her in the village occasionally, maybe talked to her for work purposes once or twice.

What made you fall was when you were sent with her and Kankuro to guard Gaara, the new Kazekage, while they traveled to The Leaf Village for a meeting with the newly appointed Fifth Hokage.

You and Temari had talked over the span of a few weeks due to that mission, and you realized that maybe she wasn't so scary. She was strong, sure, but she was also reliable and kind, smart and fun to converse with.

You liked her because it turned out that she wasn't so scary after all as long as you didn't do anything to piss her off, which you hadn't done.

And then over the next few years, that turned into love. The Fourth Shinobi World War had just ended, and you'd realized a lot of things during that time. Firstly, you didn't just like Temari- you were in love with her. After that first real interaction, you began to talk to her a lot more, whether it be for more missions or just whenever you ran into her. During the war, you'd had the privilege to fight by her side numerous times.

Thankfully, you at least knew that she was into women- you'd overheard it when her other friends were teasing her about her relationship with Shikamaru, but the blonde had quickly shot them down, told them that Shikamaru was just a friend, and revealed that she didn't like men.

Thank God, you'd thought. That was one big question out of the way, and it made you think that you actually had a pretty decent chance- or, a better chance than none at all, which is probably what you would've been left with if she were straight.

With war came thinking, and with thinking came the realization that you weren't going to live forever. You had been skirting around your feelings for Temari for years, too shy to make any sort of move even though you'd built a decent friendship with her and her siblings, but reality had hit you in the face, and you weren't sure of how much time you or Temari had left. You were ninjas- anything could happen to either of you at any moment, and you didn't want to think about how you would feel if one of you died without you getting the chance to confess.

So, you were finally going to do it. You were going to ask Temari on a date. Best case scenario, she'd say yes and it would escalate into everything you'd ever wanted. Worst case scenario, she'd say no and you'd cry into a bowl of (f/f) while drinking your sorrows away for the night.

You were currently working the mission desk, reading through reports and sorting them for The Kazekage. You could see familiar green eyes and a head of blonde hair in the line that you knew was Temari, probably turning in the report from the mission that she'd been gone on for the past few weeks.

When she finally approached you, setting the papers down in front of you, you gathered your resolve and stopped to speak to her.

"H-Hey, Temari, do you maybe..." You paused, heat taking over your (s/c) cheeks as you briefly averted your gaze. Sure, she wasn't scary to you in that way anymore, but talking to her still seemed to be an intimidating task due to the nervousness that stemmed from your crush on her. "Wanna hang out sometime?"

"Sure," She said it rather casually, though when you looked up again, you didn't dare miss the blush that had dusted her face. "Meet me at my place tonight at seven and we can go from there."

With that, she walked away, and the second she was out the door, you cheered.

~

Temari was fucking nervous.

She'd been in a lot of nerve-wracking situations, sure; incidents with her previously murderous Jinchuriki brother, dangerous missions, invasions, wars, fighting literal reanimated corpses, but those situations were different-mainly because those situations weren't hanging out with you. Temari had been in love with you for years now- she wasn't sure when it started, but as much as she hated carrying the baggage that was her feelings around, they wouldn't go away.

So, when you'd invited her to hang out with no real explanation, she'd been both excited and confused.

The blonde was currently standing in the bedroom she had in The Kazekage's tower, which was to the left of Gaara's, while Kankuro's was to the right of the redhead's. She was struggling to pick out an outfit, unsure of whether she should put more effort into her appearance or try to go casual and keep cool like she had been throughout all the years she'd known you.

Of course, having two brothers, she could never have peace and quiet for too long.

Kankuro, in his younger-brother fashion, burst into the room without so much as a knock or any other form of warning, taking the blonde by surprise.

"Temari!" The brunette called, shutting the door behind him and offering the woman a bright smile.

"What do you want, Kankuro?" Temari asked, rolling her eyes. She was still standing in front of her closet, sorting through her clothes and trying to pick something to wear. Kankuro didn't seem to mind, only walking over to her and casually tossing an arm over her shoulder. "I'm busy."

"That's exactly why I'm here!"

"You're here to-?" Temari pulled away, turning to face her brother and crossing her arms as she tilted her head at him.

"Get you ready for your date, obviously."

Date.

Had Temari told Gaara and Kankuro that you would be dropping by the Kazekage tower at around seven to hang out with her?

Yes.

Had Temari told Gaara and Kankuro that it was a date or even that she had romantic feelings for you?

Absolutely not.

"What do you mean my date!?" Temari spat, shooting her younger brother a questioning glare. Almost as if on cue, Gaara appeared on the other side of her in a cloud of sand. Both of them really needed to learn how to knock, she thought.

"I mean your date, and I mean that you need to look good. (y/n)'s drop-dead gorgeous!" Kankuro answered her question, not even batting an eye at Gaara, who was standing there with his arms crossed.

"Hey, back off of her-" Realizing that she had slipped up, Temari quickly cut herself off. "I mean, whatever."

"So Kankuro was right. You do like her in return," Wait. In return? Temari blinked at that, the agitation that had been rolling off of her in waves disappearing almost immediately. Did you actually like her back? Was that why you had asked her to hang out so suddenly? "I guess he'll have to help you get ready for your date."

Still, the idea of this being a date rather than just a hangout between two friends was... Daunting. Temari had wanted that for years, but if it was actually a date... The part of her that tended to overthink immediately began to run through the possibilities of everything that could go wrong.

"A date!? Dates are scary! Can't this just be hanging out?"

"Nah, too platonic, y'all gay," Kankuro's face went blank as he rolled his eyes. Gaara only continued to stand there, silent and a bit awkward. "Like, mega gay."

"Like you and Kiba?" Temari smirked at her retort, but Kankuro only smirked back at her.

"Mega lesbian.”

"That but worded better," Gaara sighed, and then allowed his turquoise eyes to fall shut for just a moment. "Anyways, I have to go... Somewhere. Good luck on your date, Temari."

Just like how he had appeared, Gaara disappeared in a cloud of sand, leaving Temari and Kankuro alone again.

That was weird... The Kazekage had already finished his meetings for the day. What plans could he have had?

"Where does he have to be?"

"He's the Kazekage, who knows..." Kankuro trailed off but then turned back to her with a huge grin. "Now, let's get you dressed up!"

This was going to be a long night, wasn't it?

~~

When Gaara appeared in your apartment in a cloud of sand, you were both relieved and a little bit scared. After you'd gotten Temari to agree to hang out with you, you'd practically rushed to The Kazekage's office and asked him to contact you sometime later that day- thankfully, you two were on good terms, and he had agreed.

You hadn't exactly been expecting him to materialize in your bedroom out of almost nowhere and ask, "So you wanted me here?", though. Thankfully, you were already dressed for the occasion in an outfit that you thought was cute but casual. The only issue was that it was past three o'clock and you still didn't have any ideas of what to do.

As assertive and fast thinking as Temari was, you didn't want her to have to put all of the efforts into this. Then again, you hadn't used the word date, so it wasn't technically a date- just two friends hanging out- but you were still incredibly nervous about it regardless.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I'm gay for your sister and I need help," You admitted in the bluntest way you could come up with, knowing that Gaara could be somewhat emotionally inept and that he probably wouldn't get it if you had put the situation in terms that were more subtle than what you'd used. "Plus, despite your reputation, Lord Kazekage, you're more approachable than Kankuro is and I can't exactly ask Temari for help in this situation, but I don't know anyone else who's close enough with her to help me out."

"So what exactly do you need help with regarding my sister?" The redhead paused, turquoise eyes falling shut for a few seconds before he opened them again, a look of recognition crossing his face. "Oh. The date, right?"

"Yes..." You answered, wondering if Temari had already mentioned it to him but not daring to question it. "I was the one who asked, so I don't want her to have to come up with all the ideas. I feel like that wouldn't be fair."

"Try stargazing. I'd stay longer to help you plan it out, but unfortunately, I have some matters to attend to," He explained, resting a reassuring hand on your shoulder before disappearing again, the last words you heard from him being, "Good luck."

~~~

When you showed up at Temari's door that evening, gently knocking on the familiar wood (you passed it every day since it was in The Kazekage tower), you weren't expecting her to answer immediately, but she did, opening the door and coming face to face with you.

"Hey, Temari! How are you?" You asked, your smile falling almost immediately when you noticed Temari's appearance. She looked incredibly annoyed, face smeared with makeup that didn't quite look like hers and jade-hued eyes narrowed in agitation. "Oh, dear-"

"Would you happen to have any makeup wipes?" She deadpanned, and you gave a hurried nod in response to her question.

"Yes, I do. Here," You always kept makeup wipes in your back pocket- if not for yourself, then for the sand siblings, who all wore some form of makeup on their faces. You opened the small container and handed one to your crush, looking up at her as she grumbled and wiped all of the makeup off of her face. "Uh..."

"Kankuro," She sighed, pushing the used wipe into one of her pockets once she was done using it and shutting her bedroom door behind her. "He thinks this is a date and insisted on doing my makeup for me."

"Oh, is this..." You trailed off, figuring that you might as well jump on the subject and use it as an opportunity to find out exactly what Temari thought this was. "Not a date?"

"As much as I'd like it to be," Your heart skipped a beat at that as she took a step towards you, continuing her sentence. She had wanted it to be a date- that was a good sign, right? Still, her face screamed awkward, and you wondered if she'd been unsure about it this entire time just like you had been. "I didn't think that was your intention."

"I-It was..." You murmured, nervously fidgeting with your hands and daring to meet her eyes again. Temari was very level-headed, but when she felt certain emotions, she wasn't good at hiding them, and this was an example of that. She was blushing, smiling, her eyes a bit wider than usual. It seemed like she reciprocated your interest, but you didn't know where to go from there, so you waited for her to say something else.

"Oh, alright, then. It's a date," Quietly, Temari grabbed your free hand and intertwined your fingers with hers, her blush only growing darker. "I'm glad, actually."

"Me, too. Um..."

"Did you have any plans?"

"Stargazing," At that, you held up what was in the hand she wasn't holding; a large picnic basket, filled with wines, juices, sliced cheese, crackers, sandwiches, roasted chestnuts, and a few pastries that you'd picked up from the market for the occasion. You'd never really talked about what kind of things the two of you liked to eat, but you hoped that she'd like at least one of the things you'd packed. "I brought a picnic basket. I don't know what all foods you like, but I tried."

"T-Thank you," The blonde stuttered, her gaze falling on the ceiling for a moment before her gaze returned to you. "Want to head to the roof?"

"Sure."

With that, the two of you used a Transportation Jutsu to flicker to the roof of The Kazekage tower, landing right next to each other and sitting down on the flat surface, staring up at the sky. You couldn't help but notice that Temari was sitting incredibly close to you, her thigh brushing against one of yours as you placed the picnic basket in front of the two of you and popped it open, pulling out one of the cans of juice for yourself.

Unfortunately, she'd let go of your hand in the process of transporting. You thought about reaching out for it again but decided against it- for now, at least.

"Do you like stargazing?" You asked, trying to start a conversation, as you figured that Gaara had recommended stargazing in particular with some sort of knowledge about the activity and how it related to Temari that you didn't have.

"Yeah, actually... I used to do it a lot when I was younger."

The stars were particularly beautiful that night, the dots of light scattered across the pitch-black sky. The village was entirely dark now, as the sun had just set. The streets that were bustling during the day would be completely quiet if not for the sound of the wind blowing through the air.

"Really?"

"Yeah," Temari paused, digging through the picnic basket for the canister of roasted chestnuts that you'd brought. She opened the container and ate a few, swallowing before continuing. "A lot of the other kids were scared of me, so I used to just come up here when I was alone and relax."

A lot like you had been before, there were plenty of people in The Sand Village who feared Temari, but it had been particularly bad when you and she were younger. Whether it be because of her royal blood, Gaara, or the fact that Temari herself was just intimidating sometimes, most children had avoided her and she hadn't had many friends growing up.

"It really is beautiful up here," You uttered, taking a drink of your juice and setting it down on the roof. Then, you turned to Temari, figuring that it was now or never. You thought you had a pretty good chance at this point, and you wanted to tell her about your feelings. "But... Well, can I tell you something?"

"Hit me."

"There was a point where I thought you were scary, too, but..." You reached out, taking Temari's hand in yours and holding it for the second time that night. The blonde seemed surprised at your gesture, but she only shifted her body so she could face you directly, leaning towards you with a small blush that was illuminated by the moonlight that shone down on the two of you. "You're so much more than that, Temari. You're strong, you're beautiful, you're kind, you're loving. Once people get to know you, I think they realize that."

"Can-" Pausing, Temari returned the canister she'd been holding to the picnic basket and rested her free hand on your cheek. "Can I tell you something, too?"

"Hit me."

Without warning, the blonde leaned in to gently press her lips against yours. She tasted like salt, sugar, and everything you'd ever wanted, and though she'd pulled away rather soon, you were sure that you had already encased the moment in your memory forever.

"I love you."

"I love you, too..." You grinned. For just a few seconds, silence filled the air, but then you heard soft music playing from one of the windows of the tower- no doubt Gaara or Kankuro if not both of them. You pulled away from the other woman's touch, only to stand up and offer your hand to Temari, who didn't hesitate to take it. "Why don't we dance some?"

"Sounds good."

[curiousconch]

Fight or Flight

Chapter 13 of Ricochet (An Open Heart AU)

Catch up here: Series Masterlist

Chapter Synopsis: Bryce and Heather both need to make major decisions as they face the final revelation about what truly transpired during Heather's kidnapping.

Pairing: Bryce Lahela x MC (Dr. Heather Song) ft. PLATONIC Ethan Ramsey

Words: 3.5k+ | Genre: Crime, Suspense/Thriller, Romance

Rating/Warnings: Mature (16+) / language, hints of violence

Author's Notes: So this took too long to write, and frankly, I'm still reeling with it. I have long planned the conclusion of this series but I am still shocked with how I came up with this final twist. I do hope you forgive me for sitting on this for far too long. Life wasn't making it easier.

Also, disclaimer: Majority of the characters are owned by Pixelberry, except the main character Heather Song.

"You can't go back to the case, Lahela."

Bryce pounded his fists on his oak desk in frustration. He just came out of a meeting from Chief Tanaka, requesting for him to be assigned back on the Farrugia case.

Victim - prosecutor relations. Possible disbarrment. Termination. To sum it all up, his career will be in jeopardy.

These are the looming threats over Bryce's head if he didn't back off the case. Not that he had much choice. Now that his and Heather's faces were plastered across every Boston online article from the gala.

He couldn't help but to think that someone planned to stop his involvement in the case. Probably because that person knows he's doomed once Bryce works his way to untangle the web of conspiracies that transpired.

Resolved, the ADA swears to himself to get to the bottom of it before he lets this go. Sitting down, his mind ventures to Heather, wishing that her day back to Edenbrook was going much smoother than his was.

*** 

Unfortunately, before noon, Heather found herself in a supply closet.

It was proving more difficult to go back to normalcy after everything that has happened. Patients recognize her from the news coverage. Doctors, nurses, even half the staff was treating her like something fragile. Even the usually grumpy attending that was her boss wasn't trying to get on her toes today.

For Heather, it was incredibly disorienting.

But the probable reason behind how everyone was acting weird around her was that early morning incident.

While taking on an emergency case, she froze up. The last time she did was during her intern year. And that was for an entirely different reason. This time, her head blanked out because she thought she saw Ed Farrugia in that gurney. The slithering snake of a man he was. She couldn't move her fingers, nor speak because of the mixed emotions of her imagined vision.

Edenbrook was where it all began.

Luckily, Dr. Naveen was around to sub for her.

And thus began her slow downturn, reaching the tipping point in this condemned supply closet.

Eyes closed and breathing slowly, Heather struggled to free herself from the suffocation she was feeling. She loved Edenbrook, she loved working here. But now, why does she only feel dread the first day she again set foot on it?

Beep beep.

The sound of her pager momentarily freed her from her prodding mind. It was Ethan. He wanted to see her at Chief Banerji's office. Sighing deeply, she fixed herself and got out of the closet, wondering what this meeting might be about.

An elevator trip and a couple of minutes later, she knocked on Naveen's door and let herself in. Ethan Ramsey was already inside.

"You asked for me?" Heather said, closing the door behind her.

Her mentor and grand-mentor exchanged looks of concern before straightening up.

"Grand-protégé, have a seat," Chief Naveen gestured towards the comfortable chairs in front of her desk, where Ethan already took a seat on one.

She obliged, taking the seat opposite her boss. Dr. Ramsey didn't take long to speak right after.

"We know you've been through a lot recently Dr. Song and we-"

"Please don't put this delicately, Ethan. I can't get anymore fragile," Heather spoke up, demanding for both doctors to tell it to her straight.

"Of course, Heather." Ethan coughed, before sitting up in a more commanding posture.

"Johns Hopkins have offered a long-term position to the Cancer research partnership we have with them," Naveen said. "We both think it's in the best interest of you and Edenbrook to take the opportunity, given that it's your target specialization and -"

"It's not in Boston." Heather finished the sentence for him.

"Yes," Ethan nodded. "We don't want your career to be overshadowed by what has been going on. You have a lot of potential, and this would make you a forerunner in the advancement of cancer research."

"It's frankly what you can call it, hitting two birds with one stone," the eldest of the doctors added.

"How long will it be?" Heather asked, weighing it all in.

"A year, a year and a half, at least." Ethan replied.

"And what of my position in the diagnostics team?"

"You'll stay on to consult remotely, but your responsibilities will be diminished given that we want you to spend more time on the cancer research."

Heather swallowed hard. They're putting me into self-imposed exile.

Sensing her hesitation, Ethan reached out to her and patted her arm.

"We only want what we think is best for you Heather, so please at least give this some thought."

She met her mentors' gaze and nodded at them, before rising to stand up.

"I will think about it," she said, leaving the office.

*** 

Pulling all the strings he had left, Bryce Lahela stepped foot into the mansion of Massachusetts' prolific senator. Isolated by house arrest, thinking about Ed Farrugia made the young ADA's skin crawl.

As he walked the carpeted floors into a receiving room, he couldn't help but notice the select macabre portraits that showed war scenes hanging on the stuffy walls. Says alot about its owner, that's for sure.

The double doors he entered in opened, and a tall imposing figure in unflattering maroon satin robes came in. He looked a bit older, yet, somehow, more formidable.

"Ah, ADA Lahela. I see you are not backing down?"

Bryce almost snorted at his arrogance, immediately sensing the pretend machismo in his foe's tone.

"We'll see about that, Senator," the prosecutor replied politely. Didn't want to cross the point of no return before I had the answers I wanted.

"So, what does the young and promising prosecutor want from a disgraced politician today?" Ed sat down on one of the most pretentious armchairs Bryce has ever seen in his life.

"The truth," Bryce smiled cheekily, standing opposite the other man, matching his bravado.

The senator's response was to lean back on the too comfortable chair, crossing his legs.

"Well ADA Lahela, are you certain you are ready for the truth? It may get closer to home, more than you will ever think," Farrugia replied, a sinister grin masking his features which suddenly made Bryce feel queasy.

I don't like where this is going. He thought to himself, staying quiet.

"I thought so," Ed Farrugia nodded, watching the lawyer's stoic facade slowly crumble. "But to hell with it, it's just going to be fun to watch how you had a hand on all of what happened to your precious Doctor Song."

The former senator snapped, and in came a butler that carried a tray. In the tray was a white envelope, and a tumbler of what Bryce smelled as scotch. The politico grabbed the glass and sipped the rich liquid, neither offering Bryce any nor pouring him another glass. Instead, he reached for the white envelope and raised it to Bryce's level.

"Recognize the handwriting, young man?" Ed Farrugia was now sneering at him, expectant.

As Bryce's sight slowly trailed the cursive handwriting, he sensed the familiarity of the strokes. Ed Farrugia's name was written, but there was something about the way it was written.

When his eyes fell on the top left side, he recognized the insignia almost immediately, the hairs at the back of his neck standing up.

There it was, the name he tried to get away from since his adolescent life. Lahela. The logo of his parents' godforsaken company that duped so many families.

Bryce can only freeze in place, as the horror of the realization that his parents somehow had a hand in all of the things that happened to Heather slowly dawned on him.

"Heather Song was the doctor that saved my ass, ADA Lahela, so of course I didn't have the motive to hurt her, you know. She prevented my assassination, and I'm not an ungrateful hypocrite," Ed Farrugia began to explain. "But Heather knows this... I am not to shy away from people who can give what I want, what I need, you understand of course? You're a smart young man."

"So in exchange of a generous donation to my campaign, I am to concoct a plan that will mutually be beneficial to me and my donors," Farrugia continued. "My donors wish to teach you a lesson, make sure that you do not forget where you came from, remind you that no matter where you go, once a Lahela, always a Lahela."

"That's why we went with a warning first, remember? Get out of Boston, or else," the senator shook his head. "Your parents didn't think she'd be a good influence to you. Frankly, an orphan with an absentee father? She'd set you up for failure. At least that was what your parents thought."

"And of course, I wanted to gain something more with it, might as well do the work right? I had my kidnapping staged, that dashcam footage you received? That's from me so that you can arrive at the scene before I get killed by that amateur wannabe Jordan. What's in it for me was public sympathy - as the survivor of a second assassination attempt. Public sympathy equals votes. As simple as that."

Ed stood then, and padded his way to the nearest open window, before looking back at Bryce.

"I used my own enemy, the Travis Brothers, to deflect suspicion, of course. I also a used a middle man, someone who already wants payback from Dr. Song, someone with motive... So Declan Nash worked for me, in exchange of leniency in his role on Panacea's medicare fraud." He smirked, satisfied with the grandiose of his plan. "My only mistake was that I underestimated that ungrateful piece of crap though. Who would have thought he had the brains to record me?" his fist connected on the windowsill, startling Bryce.

"So you see, young man, everything that happened, is on you. No one is to be blamed more than you. All because of your ambition to become something you are not. Something you will never be, be apart from your family name."

Stunned into silence, Bryce can only gape at the senator. The turmoil within though, was unparalleled.

The anger that was boiling in him in the revelation that all this time, his parents was the cause of so much misery. Bryce's heart was so quenched of the discovery that he hasn't completely escaped them, nor their relentless hunger for taking control of his life.

His fists clenched, wanting nothing but to smash every single thing in that wretched room. He didn't care anymore.

What right do they have after putting him in so much pain? What do they even want to achieve? Do they want to make him crawl back to them as if nothing happened? Do they want the same pretentious respect that so many others had just for their mercy?

How does he even begin to explain all of this to Heather? That everything that went downhill for her was because of the person she loved? How can she accept him now? How can she love him now?

And as if on queue, Bryce's phone began to ring. When he saw the caller ID, he almost dropped it.

It rang once again. And he knew he had to take it.

"Bryce? Can we meet?" The voice from the other line was firm, but fragile.

He tried to level his voice, not wanting to have her worried. At least not now.

"Sure, babe. Where do you want to go?" Bryce replied, walking out of the mansion that was sucking the life out of him.

"In that cafe, where I bought you coffee that first day we met. Do you remember where?"

Bryce sensed the urgency in Heather's voice. Has she found out? He hoped not.

"Okay, what time?"

"I was hoping now. If you're done working, that is."

He was done. No reason to delay the inevitable.

"Okay, I'll drive there now. I'll see you."

With a heart heavier than it has ever been in his entire life, he drove down to where it all began, praying so much that it wouldn't be a trip to full circle.

***

Heather nervously sat by the glass wall of the Cafe, in a quiet corner. She already ordered two caramel macchiatos, the same drinks she and Bryce had the first day they met.

She rehearsed what she was about to say in her head, hoping that repetition will make it less taunting. Once she sensed Bryce, she waved him to the table and stood up.

He instantly saw her, and the load he was bearing suddenly become a little lighter. But the guilt was still there. The guilt of being the person to have caused much misery in her life.

But years of practice of showing everyone else the facade of his unbreakable confidence helped him hide what he was truly feeling at the moment, and instead smiled at her.

Her beaming return smile proved to be almost too much.

He reached out to her and intertwined his fingers with hers, almost nudging the cup of coffee in front of him.

"Hey, you remembered," Bryce was touched.

"Of course, it's probably the only thing you ordered during those meetings." Heather chuckled, brushing his cheek with her knuckles.

Her chuckle was lackluster, not her usual one full of wit.

"What's going on, Heath? It can't be that you just missed me," Bryce asked, straight to the point, hoping to dodge her intuitive powers of observation.

She sensed the edge in his voice, making her eyebrow quirk. Heather discerned it was best to ask him first.

"No, Bryce. What's up?"

For the second time that day, Bryce was stunned into silence. Heather's sharp perception of him was unimaginably accurate. And he knew he'd explode if he didn't tell her.

So he did.

From the denial and threats of Chief Tanaka, to his prodding, which led him to the heavy weight of the truth of Senator Ed Farrugia's admission. He didn't spare any detail.

Heather listened intently, trying to comprehend exactly what he was saying. She saw the guilt in Bryce's eyes when he told her that his parents set the wheels in motion, apparently for some sick and twisted lesson he needed to learn, like he was still under their supervision, under their control.

The more she heard, the more overwhelmed she got. But she didn't let go of the grip she had on Bryce's hands, reassuring him that she's there to not judge, but only hear out what he learned of the unnerving truth. And to acknowledge the strength of Bryce's character to not hold out the truth to her.

That was what she loved about Bryce. He was never one to back down from the truth, when it mattered. At least that's the case with her.

She has spent half the day pondering about her own decision. She took Bryce's position into account but she didn't expect this other factor to come into play.

If she stayed in Boston, she'd stay with him. And he won't be able to help her case. She knew Bryce, and he'll be unnerved not to be able to personally oversee it. And with this new discovery, he'd want to all the more take this case. This was personal. And Bryce wasn't one to back down against it. She's going to hold her back.

If she left... Well, Bryce would be able to take on the case.

Either way, she'll lose him. And the mere thought of it pained Heather to the core.

Bryce noticed Heather's lack of reply, the contemplative look in her face made him sense something was about to go south.

"What if there's a way, Bryce?" Heather finally spoke. "What if there's a chance for you to fight all this? Would you take it?"

"Heath, I don't think I want to know where this is heading..." Bryce stared at her, confused.

"Answer me first, Lahela. If I give you an out where all those hurdles goes out of your way, will you go through with it?" The intensity with which her eyes bore into his was unparalleled, yet rendering him clueless.

It took him a few moments before answering. Everytime he asked himself the same question, the answer was never different.

"Yes, Heath. I'll fight this to make sure those bastards can do you no more harm." his answer was firm, but as to her way, he still had reservations.

She nodded, her heart screaming not to do this. But she had to do it, else, everything her and Bryce will have between them will be diminished to nothing but resentment and guilt. With him claiming responsibility for his own parents' actions, yet unable to do anything about it. And Heather resentment, because she can't guarantee that a day won't come that she'll blame him.

They can't be together. Not until this is all resolved, not until they can leave everything behind.

Laying it down the line, Heather had to choose. She had to choose for both of them, even if it will surely hurt them both.

"Do you trust me, Bryce? Do you trust us?" Heather was firmly holding his hands, determined.

He nodded, despite himself. He feared what she was about to say, so he held his breath.

"So be it, Bryce. I'll give you an out. I'll give you what I think you need now,"

Bryce was afraid to ask the next question in his mind, but he did anyway, fuelled by Heather’s fire.

"What's the cost, Heath?"

"I'm leaving for Baltimore, Bryce," she said quietly, biting her lower lip, clearly putting in an effort to hold back tears. "I hope two years is enough for you to fight everything alone, because you'll have to. We both have to fight this separately, it seems."

Bryce's blood ran cold. No, no, no, no fucking way.

Seeing the panic in his eyes, Heather soothed him by brushing her fingertips on the back of his hand, sadness beginning to creep into her expression.

"It's the only way, Bryce, it's the only way..." she repeated, as if to convince herself rather than him.

"No, Heather, I can't lose you, not this time, not ever." Bryce's voice was pleading with her, yet he knew, deep down, that she was right. That this seemed to be the only way to fight all the remaining battles of their lives.

"If we concede now, Bryce, it would only break us. If we avoid this now, it will eventually haunt us and we'll succumb to it. We'll just end up hurting each other." She struggled to reassure him, but she pressed on.

"This way, we're not bowing down. We stand more of a chance to overcome this if you'll fight this. If, we will fight this." She rose from her seat to take the chair beside him. She wrapped her arm around his shoulders, comforting him. "We're merely carving our own way around it. It's not going to be easy, but I know we'll overcome... Because you're one hell of a prosecutor, Lahela. You're the best and you know it."

"How come you're the one who's so brave about this?" Bryce stared back at her, tears brimming in the corner of his eyes, aware that this may be their end.

"Because I believe so much in you, Bryce. Because you can do so much for this world more than how your parents defined you. You are your own person, and nothing can ever take that away from you," she paused, brushing the hair away from the beautiful amber eyes that gazed down at her. "Most importantly, because I love you so, so much. And what I can give you now, the love I have now in me, is less than what you deserve. I want to heal, for myself Bryce. I want to be whole again, so that I can give my 100%. When all of this is over, I'll come find you, that's a promise."

Bryce couldn't help himself anymore and pressed his lips against hers with fervent passion, knowing that this will be the last time in a long time before he can find her in his arms like this. Agreeing to this course of action, they bid their goodbyes, never as uncertain as they were about the decision they just made.

In less than a week, Heather left for Johns Hopkins, bidding goodbye to everyone except Bryce. Hoping the moment she stepped inside the plane, life would give her this chance to start over, to completely heal, to become whole again. Because Bryce Lahela deserved more than the fraction of what she could give. He deserved everything of her, no inhibitions, no limits, no holding back.

Bryce watched her go from a distance. He watched her plane took off from the ground, all the while concocting a plan to defeat the shadows of his past lurking around so that he could be with her again. Freely, completely and irreversibly.

That day, two open hearts chose to fight. Fight for the things that hung over their head so that it was no more. But in their decision to fight, they lost the comfort of each other.  They embarked on their separate paths with the promise of meeting again one day.

The path to the summit was often lonely. It is in their hopes however, that the moment they reach the end of this hard path they were in, they would no longer be alone anymore.

More than their willingness to overcome another hurdle in their way was their certainty to trust in each other, in the strength of their love for one another. In their endurance. In their hope.

For them, that was more than enough. It has to be enough.

Author's Notes 2: If you're reading this, I want to thank you so much for taking time to read this series. There's an epilogue in the final edits and I promise to tie the loose ends of this final chapter! Please do share your thoughts in the comments, I would really appreciate it!

Tags: @eleanorbloom @ejustlurkshere @choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

[todokori-kun]

AYYYYY

I’M SO. FREAKING. GLAD YOU’RE BACK <3333 (I feel really stupid for this because I KNOW Queen Luna’s told me like a dozen times that if you’re not answering, it’s probably because of the internet…but ugh, Evans is an idiot who  still keeps having mini panic attacks over late replies XD like, I almost sent a 'did I say something wrong' message before I took a deep breath and realized how hecking stupid that would sound lol)

You’re welcome! They really do look amazing, though <3 I’ve also been working on aesthetics but eh. Idk, really. I made a barely-tolerable Saiko/Urie one, and then one for one of the Love Interests in that Otome Game I mentioned (not The Blind Griffin; the original thing I was working on)…which actually looks nice, but guess what? I could only find four pictures that matched with the color scheme/themes I’d picked out OTL

And tysm <333 ;-; but seriously, Mikasa is such a Zoldyck. Like, what if she and Illumi switched places. It’s like “Killua, you are my favorite sibling, I’ll follow you anywhere and protect you from everything” and “Eren you have a duty to your family (AKA me) please, stop playing the hero and come back here”

Actually I feel like Killua would be a lot happier with Mikasa for an older sibling instead of Illumi. Like, Zoldyck!Mikasa would probably be just as messed up as Illumi, but if we’re talking about canon Mikasa…let’s be honest. If Killua wanted to be a hunter she’d make sure he’d pass the test by any means necessary. If Killua wanted to get away from their family and explore, then sure, she’d order the butlers to let him out. If Killua’s friends came to visit and Mrs. Zoldyck/the servants refused to let them in, Mikasa would storm out there and open the gates herself. If the rest of the family went too far I really think she'd be perfectly willing to stab them all in the back, throw Killua over her shoulder, resign from her job as an assassin and walk right out of there.

Only Eren would be miserable. Illumi would probably do an even better job of keeping him ‘safe’ than Mikasa did (unlike Mikasa Illumi is perfectly willing to manipulate loved ones to keep them by his side), but…yeah. It’s Illumi. How could Eren be happy?

I KNOW. THE HAMILTON FEELS. (if you’d like I could send you more letters? I’ve managed to find quite a few….

Also idk if this is even true, but do you know about the relationship between Angelica and TJeffs (apparently they were friends and Jefferson may have been pining over Angelica, just a bit)? So I heard that Angelica slapped him so hard one time that he refused to go to any parties after that if he heard she was there too.

He also became terrified of Eliza as well…

Again, idk if this is true but I sorta want it to be lol)

Like, ok, maybe Eliza doesn’t get to truly shine until That Would Be Enough, and maybe Peggy comes off as simple comic relief to some people, but…HOW CAN YOU LISTEN TO 'THE SCHUYLER SISTERS’ AND NOT BE IMPRESSED BY ANGELICA FREAKING SCHUYLER

Nope nope nope nope rewind rewind

How does the bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a 

Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten

Spot in the Caribbean by providence, impoverished, in squalor,

Grow up to be a hero and a scholar?

seriously? Because I broke a lot of stuff too XD There’s only one 100% undamaged glass item in this house that belongs to me, and that’s the last snow globe, the only one I somehow haven’t smashed yet. I don’t even touch it anymore because I’m scared of breaking it lol

And aww that sounds so sweet! Weirdly enough I could destroy my own clothes and doodle all over my skin but I never had the guts to do anything to my dolls…I was tempted to give them haircuts several times but I knew mom would probably freak out if she saw doll hair all over the floor so.

Yeah, tbh I have no idea what happened there either. As for blood…well, I got used to nosebleeds as a kid. Like, a ton of blood would randomly come pouring out of my nose all the time and I didn’t even care; just like 'oh welp there it all goes…dad can you pass me a tissue?’. I also don’t mind 'messier’ injuries like scraped knees. But bruises and cuts really, REALLY bother me for some reason ;-;

Oh. Oh dear.

Um, um, um. What is that. I’m never reading this manga. It will make me suffer.

(I wonder if you’re talking about Erza/Jellal? If not, sorry ^^;;)

Feel free to show me the chapter if you want to, though! I’ll try my best to figure out what’s going on :D

Schwing *insert lenny face here*

I finally found the OPM volumes! I’m gonna do my best to catch up with both that and HxH :) (that thing with Saitama, the smol child and the snow monsters at the end of volume 1 is like the cutest thing ever in my eyes. Idk. Maybe I’m just weird?)

I mean, Roma ate Urie so. We’re in for one heck of a ride…

I tried my best, but weirdly, CP hasn’t been working very well for me the last few days…it keeps crashing. I’m really sorry OTL But I’m trying to fix it and I think it’ll work now!

nononononononononono don’t you dare write any more HCs Queen Luna please spare me

Oooh, can’t wait to see your reaction :D

That sounds amazing! Wishing you luck with finding more people to do it with you- I’m sure it’ll turn out great! Tell me how it turns out later, please??? <3

(also I’ll be sending you some HxH character pics, mostly of my problematic favs…hope that’s ok ^^ (tbh I’m mostly trying to get you to join me in my Adultrio (Illumi/Chrollo/Hisoka trio) obsession. Also my love for Leorio and Gon))

No, no, don’t worry about it!! Seriously, I felt so bad, because I’d be in the middle of watching something (USBs were my lord and saviour) and think ‘Omg I gotta tell Evans about this’ and then look up and think ‘wait when was the last time I had net for long enough to answer?’ Then I’d get depressed XD

Aaah, also, telling you in advance this time, on Thursday we’ll be traveling, so I probably won’t be able to answer for 10ish days ^^;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; I feel like crap OTL

Ayyy thank you so much!!!  I get your struggle with colours XD It can be really hard ;-; I usually try to get 8 pics, but end up with 6. 

I finally saw some pics of Illumi and I get what you mean by ‘dead fish eyes’. Just, I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen a character so bored. 

If only, if only... Tbh, Mikasa would be an amazing sibling figure. She’d make sure that her sibling is happy and if there was someone who made them NOT happy, then she’d return the favour.  I say Killua needs a lost big sis who is pretty much Mikasa XD

Well,,, let’s say Mikasa AND Eren switch places with Illumi? But then we’re dooming pretty much everyone in the AoT universe... Poor Armin XD

BRING ON THE LETTERS

AHAHAHAHAHAH I completely understand Jeff XD Weren’t they rumoured to have had an affair?  That’s amazing XD Just what did the slap have to be like to make a grown man afraid of being in the same room as you. Can you imagine what would’ve happened if he didn’t hear Angelica would be there, though? Like, he walks in and sees her.

WADDAYA MEAN ELIZA DOESN’T SHINE TILL THAT WOULD BE ENOUGH??? WHAT ABOUT HELPLESS??  And, true, you don’t know the awesomeness of Peggy unless you know the history, but damn, she was a freaking badass.  Thankfully, Satisfied did make them go ‘damn’, mostly the rap parts XD

The ten-dollar Founding Father without a father Got a lot farther by working a lot harder By being a lot smarter By being a self-starter By fourteen, they placed him in charge of a trading charter

Ahahah, that’s completely understandable XD Now that I look around my room, the only glass item which is not a lamp, is a small vial that stands on a shelf I never touch. Maybe that’s why it survived my childhood XD

Nope, the dolls looked like nightmare fuel if my sister didn’t help XD I knew ever since I was a kid that I could never be a make up artist or a hair stylist... Tbh I never had any remorse about cutting their hair, and since my sister was there as well, she taught me to always throw the hair away/do it above a trash can. 

Well, I have to blow my nose a lot (I get sick really often), so I also get nosebleeds every once in a while, but I’m still not used to them.

ALRIGHTY THEN I am totally uploading the last chapter then XD

Yep, it’s Erza and Jellal. Wait, how do you know that??

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Yaay!! I’ll have to read the rest as well XD

SHE WHAT S H E   W H A T

Ah, that’s a shame... don’t worry about it though!! 

The thing is, every time I ask someone for advice on how to start a group every time, all they tell me is ‘go to cons and find cosplayers’. It’s literally the only advice I’ve received.  The problem? Nearest cons are in Germany. And that’s not exactly nearby. Even if I did go and found LL cosplayers, what are the odds they’re Croatian? It’s honestly so frustrating.  I’ll just practice dances on my own, and if I find someone who likes it, great! If not, then whatever. 

Oh boy, let’s get to the pics!

Gon really does seem like a cinnamon roll! I wanna adopt him XD

Omg I already love Leorio! Like wow, he seems extra, but nice under all that? Rumpel no2

I wanna adopt Killua as well XD He seems like the sweetest sunshine child out there

Tbh when i saw Pika, I thought he was a girl. Whoops. Also, tragedy™

I see Chrollo becoming my problematic fave XD Also, he with his hair down ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Aww, that’s nice! I hope she enjoys it!

DOn’t remind me of that ep XDDD Remember when I said a while ago that I was watching Sherlock? I watched The Reichenbach Fall. You should’ve seen me during Watson’s speech at his grave.

1am, not wearing pants, stuffing my face with pancakes while crying.  Why does it seem like 1am, no pants is my default mode XD

Yes, Illumi certainly has beautiful eyes. I feel compelled to gouge them out and decorate my room with them.

Also, idk if you’ve noticed but I’m slowly reviving scenarios on ice!! I missed that blog, so I wanna go back to writing for it ^^