#silva angst

[astryxie]

a Blink of an Eye.

—— Nozel loved you so quickly, just like his love for you disappeared the same way.—

angst ! , sensitive words.

Inspired by: Kisapmata (Blink of an Eye) by Rico Blanco & Kahit Ayaw Mo Na (Even When You Don't Want Too) by This Band.

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The warmth of the morning sun gently stirs you from your sleep. As your eyes slowly flutter open, the first thing you notice is Nozel, already awake, watching you with an intensity that sends a warmth through your chest.

He doesn’t say anything, but his gaze is filled with affection—a tenderness that you’ve come to recognize as his own way of showing love. His purple eyes, usually so guarded, now hold a softness that’s reserved only for you, as if he’s memorizing every detail of your face in the quiet of the early morning.

A smile tugs at your lips as you meet his gaze, feeling the connection between you deepen in the silence. Nozel reaches out, his hand brushing a strand of hair away from your face with a gentleness that contrasts with the strength he usually exudes. His touch lingers on your cheek, and you lean into it, savoring the rare, tender moment between you.

“Good morning.” he murmurs, his voice low and warm, carrying a rare tenderness that makes your heart flutter. The words are simple, but the way he says them—so softly, so sincerely—makes the moment feel almost sacred. You lean into his touch, savoring the gentleness in his voice and the warmth of his gaze, knowing that in this quiet moment, you are the center of his world.

After that tender moment in bed, Nozel eventually got up to start his day as Captain of the Silver Eagles. You stayed on the bed, watching him get ready, but soon, doubts began to creep in.

You remained seated on the bed, your mind slowly unraveling the sweetness of the morning as doubt began to creep in. Was this really your place, beside someone like him? You were just a peasant—a simple assistant working under the Wizard King, handling the most mundane tasks like organizing important documents or preparing mission reports. How could you possibly be worthy of someone as powerful and noble as Nozel Silva?

As these thoughts swirled in your mind, you found yourself staring blankly at the wall, your heart sinking deeper with each passing moment.

Nozel stepped out of the bathroom, fully dressed in his uniform, and immediately noticed the distant look in your eyes. His brows furrowed in concern as he walked over to you. "Y/n?" he called softly, but there was a firmness to his voice, one that demanded your attention. "Are you alright?"

You blinked, snapped out of your trance, and forced a small smile. "I'm fine." you lied, but even as you said the words, you knew they wouldn’t fool him. Nozel knew you too well.

He sat beside you, his presence solid and reassuring. "You're not fine," he stated, his voice gentler now. "Tell me what's wrong."

You hesitated, the weight of your insecurities pressing down on you. But the concern in his eyes, the way he was so attuned to your emotions, made it impossible to keep your feelings hidden any longer. "It's just…" you began, your voice trembling slightly. "I keep thinking… am I really good enough to be with you? You're a captain, a royal… and I'm just a peasant. What if, what if everyone is right? What if we can't really be together?"

Nozel’s expression softened as he listened, understanding dawning in his eyes. He reached out, taking your hand in his, his grip firm and reassuring. "Y/n," he said, his voice steady and firm. "You are more than enough. You’ve seen parts of me that no one else ever will. Your status doesn’t matter to me. What matters is you—who you are, how you make me feel, how you’ve stood by my side."

He paused, his eyes locking onto yours, and then he spoke with a quiet intensity. "I promise you, no one can stop us. Not my family, not the nobility, not anyone. We will be together, no matter what. I’ll make sure of it."

His words wrapped around your heart, chasing away the shadows of doubt. In that moment, you felt the truth of his promise. Nozel wasn't just saying what you wanted to hear—he was making a vow, one that he would keep no matter the obstacles that might stand in your way.

You leaned into him, resting your head against his chest as his arms encircled you, pulling you close. "Thank you, Nozel," you whispered, feeling a renewed strength within you. "I believe you."

As Nozel’s promise echoed in your heart, you clung to it with renewed hope. But little did you know, the path ahead would be far from easy.

Over the following months, Nozel’s duties as Captain of the Silver Eagles grew increasingly demanding. The investigation into the Devils, particularly the cursed devil, Megicula, who was responsible for his mother’s death, consumed more of his time. His once-frequent presence became rare, and the distance between you seemed to grow with each passing day.

One evening, as the moonlight filtered through the curtains, you lay alone on the bed you once shared with Nozel. The warmth of his presence was absent, replaced by a cold emptiness. The bed felt too large and too quiet without him.

You stared at the ceiling, the memories of your earlier moments together a stark contrast to the growing silence. Sleep eluded you, and your mind replayed the worries you had been pushing aside. Was the spark between you fading, or was it just the strain of his endless work?

The comforting promise Nozel had made seemed like a distant echo now. You turned to your side, the space beside you painfully empty, and tried to chase away the growing uncertainty that clouded your thoughts.

As you finally drift off to sleep, your mind wanders back to a particular moment, a memory so vivid it feels like it happened just yesterday.

You remember being assigned a mission that was supposed to take only two days. The task was simple enough, and you completed it with determination. However, the return journey proved to be anything but easy. Your broom broke down in a remote forest, far from any help. With no communication device and no way to use your magic to summon assistance—unlike Nozel’s powerful silver eagle—you found yourself stranded and helpless.

The hours dragged on as you waited, the cold night growing more oppressive. Panic set in as you realized just how isolated you were. You tried to stay calm, but the fear and exhaustion were overwhelming. As midnight approached, you began to lose hope.

Meanwhile, back home, Nozel grew increasingly worried as the hours passed without any sign of you. It was well past the time you should have returned, and his concern turned into frantic determination. He set out to find you, searching through the dark woods and calling your name, his usually composed demeanor now fraught with anxiety.

At 2 a.m., as the moon cast its silvery light over the forest, Nozel’s search finally bore fruit. He spotted you, huddled beneath a tree, shivering and tearful. His heart ached at the sight, and he rushed to your side, his usual sternness replaced by a deep, palpable relief.

“Y/n!” he called out, his voice choked with emotion. As you looked up and saw him, a wave of relief washed over you. Tears streamed down your face as you scrambled to your feet and ran into his arms, clinging to him as if he were your lifeline.

Nozel held you tightly, his strong arms enveloping you in warmth and safety. He stroked your hair, whispering comforting words and reassurances. “I’m here now. You’re safe.”

Together, you made your way back home, Nozel’s presence a steadying force against the night’s cold. Once you were back, a healer tended to your injuries and exhaustion while Nozel stayed by your side, his worry slowly giving way to relief.

As you rested in bed, wrapped in the warmth of your shared blankets, Nozel sat beside you, his hand gently holding yours. The healer’s gentle touch and the soothing atmosphere began to calm your racing heart, but it was Nozel’s presence that made you feel truly secure.

In that moment, as you looked up at him, you saw not just the Captain of the Silver Eagles but the man who loved you deeply, who had gone through so much just to find you and bring you back safely. The memory of his care and concern, his fierce determination to protect you, filled you with an overwhelming sense of love and gratitude.

You fell asleep with his hand still in yours, knowing that no matter the challenges ahead, you would always have each other.

You woke up alone, the bed beside you cold and untouched. The memory of Nozel rescuing you from the forest brought a flicker of hope, but you knew you needed to confront him. You needed to bridge the growing distance between you.

As you entered Nozel’s office, the sight of him buried under piles of paperwork made your heart sink.

“Nozel, can we talk?” you asked, trying to keep your voice steady.

He barely looked up, his voice clipped and strained. “Not now, Y/n. I’m overwhelmed.”

Your frustration boiled over, but you pressed on. “It’s important. I can’t keep feeling like this.”

Nozel finally turned to you, irritation flashing in his eyes. “I don’t have time for this right now. I’m buried in work. Can’t you see that?”

The pain in his tone cut deep. “It’s not just about timing. It’s about feeling like you’ve shut me out completely. We used to be so close, and now you’re always too busy for me.”

His expression hardened, and he snapped, “I’m working my ass off to keep us safe and secure. Do you have any idea how hard it is?”

The harshness of his words made your heart ache. “You think I don’t understand how hard you’re working? I do, but that doesn’t mean I’m okay with being treated like I don’t matter. You’re so consumed with your responsibilities that you’ve forgotten what’s important.”

Nozel’s anger flared. “I’m sacrificing everything for our future! I’m juggling countless tasks while you sit here and complain about feeling left out. It’s not fair to blame me for your feelings.”

Tears brimmed in your eyes as you fought to control your voice. “Fair? What’s fair is that I’m here, alone, while you drown in paperwork. You’re pushing me away, and it feels like you’re replacing me with your work. I need to know that you still care about us, not just about your duties!”

His face showed a mixture of anger and exhaustion, but you weren’t finished. “You want to know what’s unfair? It’s that I’ve been waiting, hoping you’d notice how much I’m hurting. I’ve been trying to be supportive, to understand your workload, but it’s clear now that you’ve made a choice. You’ve chosen your work over our relationship.”

Nozel’s gaze dropped, the weight of your words hitting him hard. “I didn’t realize…”

You cut him off, voice trembling but resolute. “No, you didn’t realize. And that’s the problem. I’m not asking for much—just a little of your time, some reassurance that you still value me. Instead, I’m left alone, feeling like I’m just a footnote in your life.”

The silence that followed was deafening. You took a deep breath, the hurt too raw to ignore. “Maybe I’m asking too much, but I need you to see the reality of what’s happening. If you can’t make room for me in your life, then maybe we need to rethink what we have.”

As you turned to leave, a wave of realization washed over you. It felt like just this morning, Nozel had been affectionate, his eyes full of warmth and love as he greeted you. But now, it felt like that tenderness had vanished overnight, replaced by a cold distance that made your heart ache. The stark contrast between the morning’s sweetness and the harsh reality of his neglect hit you like a ton of bricks.

With a final, sorrowful glance, you walked out, each step heavy with the weight of your shattered hopes. The office door closed behind you with a finality that mirrored the painful truth—you were losing the connection you once held so dear.

Days turned into an emotional blur as the rift between you and Nozel widened. Avoiding each other became the new norm, neither of you willing to break the silence with an apology. The emptiness of the unsaid words and unresolved feelings left a gaping wound in your heart.

Every night, you found yourself alone, tears staining your pillow as you replayed every shared moment, every sweet promise he had made. The affectionate words Nozel once spoke to you seemed to echo mockingly in your mind, now twisted into painful reminders of a love that felt like it was slipping away.

In the silence of the night, you would curl up and sob quietly, trying to understand how something that once felt so real could end up causing so much hurt. The memories of his warmth and kindness felt like a cruel joke now, the stark contrast between the past affection and the present distance unbearable.

Meanwhile, Nozel, lost in his own world of stress and responsibilities, avoided the personal turmoil that plagued his mind. His work became a refuge from the growing strain in his relationship with you, but the burden of his duties weighed heavily on him.

On this particular day, Nozel was in the midst of a Captain's meeting, surrounded by his peers and the gravitas of his position. The room was tense, filled with murmurs of concern and anticipation. The topic of the day was the recent developments involving the Dark Triad, a group that had been a source of growing fear and unrest.

As the meeting progressed, the gravity of the situation became clear. The news hit like a thunderbolt, leaving everyone in stunned silence. Yami and William had been captured by the devil hosts, the Dark Triad. Among them was a member who possessed the devil Megicula, the very entity that had cursed Nozel’s mother.

Nozel’s heart raced, a mixture of worry and anger churning within him. The realization that the threat they faced was now personal and direct made the room feel even more suffocating. He tried to focus, but the gravity of the situation and the image of his mother’s curse clouded his thoughts.

In the midst of the chaos, Nozel’s mind wandered to you, and he struggled with the conflicting emotions. He was consumed by the responsibility to protect and the personal pain of his failing relationship with you. The meeting’s developments only compounded his stress and guilt.

As the meeting concluded, Nozel left the room, his face a mask of determination and inner turmoil. He knew he had to act quickly to address the crisis, but the weight of the unresolved conflict with you lingered like a heavy shadow over him.

Nozel was engulfed in turmoil. The news of Yami and William’s capture, combined with the looming threat of Megicula, left him grappling with an overwhelming confusion. The thought of facing Megicula, the devil that had cursed his mother, brought a deep sense of dread. He wondered if he was truly strong enough after all these years of training. Would he be able to defeat such a formidable foe, or would he fall in battle, leaving everything he cared about at risk?

As he wrestled with these thoughts, his mind kept drifting back to you. The thought of you, alone and hurt, weighed heavily on him. If he were to fall, what would happen to you? He felt a profound sense of responsibility and guilt, knowing that he hadn’t been there for you as he should have.

With a heavy heart, Nozel made a decision. He walked to your shared bedroom, his steps weighed down by the gravity of his resolve. He found you sitting on the edge of the bed, lost in thought, your eyes red from crying. The sight of you broke his heart even more.

“Nozel, what’s wrong?” you asked softly, though the dread was already clawing at your chest.

He stood there for a moment, almost as if he couldn’t bring himself to say it. Then, with a deep, steadying breath, he spoke. “Y/n, this isn’t working anymore. We need to end this.”

The words hit you like a physical blow, leaving you breathless. You stared at him, disbelief and confusion flooding your mind. “What? What are you talking about? End this? What do you mean, Nozel?”

“I mean exactly that,” he said, his voice cold, distant, a stark contrast to the man you knew. “I can’t keep doing this. I don’t love you anymore.”

You stood up, your legs trembling beneath you. “Nozel… no. You don’t mean that. I don’t believe you.” You stepped closer to him, searching his eyes for any sign of the love that had once been so strong between you. “We’ve been through too much together. I know you don’t mean this.”

He avoided your gaze, his jaw clenching as he tried to maintain his resolve. “It’s over, Y/n. I’ve made up my mind.” You shook your head, refusing to accept it. “No, I’m not going to end this. We’ll fix this, just like we always do. Whatever it is that’s bothering you, we can work through it together. You can tell me, Nozel. Please… there must be a reason for this.”

His eyes flicked to yours, and for a fleeting moment, you thought you saw a crack in his cold facade. But just as quickly, it was gone, replaced by an expression of frustration and anger. “Why can’t you just accept it?” he snapped, his voice harsh. “I’m tired, Y/n. Tired of this constant back and forth. I don’t want to fix anything. I want out.”

The sharpness of his words cut through you like a knife, leaving you reeling. “Nozel, please… you don’t have to do this. I know you’re under a lot of stress, but we can get through it together. I’m here for you, no matter what.” His face twisted with a mix of guilt and anger, and he turned away from you. “You don’t understand, Y/n. I’m done. I can’t be who you want me to be anymore.”

Tears welled up in your eyes, your voice trembling as you pleaded with him. “I don’t want you to be anyone other than who you are. I love you, Nozel, just as you are. Please… don’t throw us away. Not like this.”

He finally met your gaze, his eyes filled with a painful mixture of regret and determination. “I love you, Nozel. The real you. And I know you love me too. Why are you doing this? Why are you pushing me away?”

“Because I’m not good for you!” he shouted, his voice cracking under the weight of his emotions. “Don’t you get it? I’m just going to hurt you more if we keep this up. You deserve better, Y/n. You deserve someone who can give you the love and attention you need, and that’s not me. Not anymore.”

Your tears were falling freely now, your heart shattering with every word he spoke. “How can you say that? How can you decide what I deserve? I chose you, Nozel. I love you, with all your flaws, with all your burdens. Don’t you see that?” He ran a hand through his hair, clearly torn but refusing to let his resolve crumble.

“It doesn’t matter, Y/n. I’ve made my decision. It’s over.”You grabbed his hands, your voice breaking as you tried one last time to reach him. “Please, Nozel… don’t do this. Don’t let go of us. We can still fix this, I know we can. Just talk to me. Tell me what’s really going on. We’ve always faced everything together… why should this be any different?”

He pulled his hands away, his eyes closing as if to block out the pain in your voice. “There’s nothing to fix, Y/n. I can’t… I won’t do this anymore. I don’t love you.” You felt your heart crumble at his words, but you couldn’t stop the small voice in your heart that refused to believe him. “You’re lying,” you whispered, the realization hitting you with a strange clarity.

“You’re lying, Nozel. I know you still love me. I can feel it. Why are you lying to me? What are you so afraid of?” His eyes snapped open, anger flashing in them as he took a step back, as if putting distance between you would lessen the pain.

“I’m not lying,” he spat out, his voice cold and final. “I don’t love you, and I never will. You’re just a burden I don’t want to carry anymore.” The words struck you harder than anything he had ever said before. It was as if the ground beneath you had been pulled away, and you were left free-falling into a chasm of despair.

“How can you say that to me?” you asked, your voice trembling with a mixture of disbelief and agony. “After everything… how can you just turn so cold? It felt like just this morning, you were affectionate… and now, now you say you don’t care?”

He looked at you, his eyes hard, his face set in a mask of indifference. “People change, Y/n. Feelings change. And I’ve changed. Whatever we had, it’s gone now. You need to accept that.”

You stared at him, feeling the last vestiges of hope slip away, leaving only a hollow ache in your chest. “It just felt like yesterday, Nozel,” you whispered, your voice filled with pain. “It feels like just yesterday when you pulled me out of the darkest place I’ve ever been. You looked at me with such love in your eyes, and it felt like my world just… fell into place, like everything finally made sense because I had you by my side. How can that change so quickly? How can you expect me to believe that?”

He didn’t answer, his silence more devastating than any words he could have spoken. The man you loved, the man you had believed in, was standing in front of you, but he felt a million miles away. And in that moment, you knew that nothing you could say would change his mind. “I won’t believe you.” you said softly, your voice filled with the pain of acceptance. “I won’t believe that you don’t love me anymore. Why is it that everytime i get closer to you, you only seem to drift further away?”

He looked at you, something unreadable flickering in his eyes before he turned away. “It’s for the best.” he said, his voice hollow, as if trying to convince himself as much as you.You watched him walk away, the tears streaming down your face as the reality of it all began to sink in.

The man who had once been your everything was leaving you, taking with him the love you had believed would last forever.And as the door closed behind him, the only sound in the room was the quiet echo of your sobs, the final, broken remnants of a love that had been shattered beyond repair.

You weren’t ready to give up. Not yet. Despite everything that had been said, despite the pain in your chest that felt like it might never heal, you held onto the hope that maybe, just maybe, you could still reach him. You decided to do something special—something to remind him of the bond you shared, the love that you knew was still there, buried under all the hurt.

So you prepared his favorite dish, roast duck, pouring all your love and care into every step. The aroma filled the small kitchen, bringing back memories of happier times—times when a simple meal shared together was all it took to make everything feel right in the world. You carefully wrapped the meal and set off to find him, hoping that this small gesture might be enough to start mending the rift between you.

As you approached the Silver Eagles base, your heart pounded in your chest. You looked around, searching for him, hoping that the sight of his favorite dish might soften whatever had hardened inside him. Then, out of the corner of your eye, you spotted him under a large oak tree, just a little way off from the base.

Relief washed over you as you made your way towards him, but then you froze, your heart stopping in your chest. Nozel was standing there, his back turned to you, leaning in close to someone—someone you didn’t recognize.

Before you could process what was happening, you saw it clearly, his lips meeting hers in a kiss. The basket slipped from your hands, the contents spilling out onto the ground as the world around you seemed to blur. You felt as if the air had been sucked out of your lungs, leaving you breathless and hollow.

The pain you had been holding at bay crashed over you like a tidal wave, threatening to drown you. You wanted to scream, to run, to do anything other than stand there and watch the man you loved—still loved—kissing someone else as if you never existed.

Your feet refused to move, rooted to the spot as your mind struggled to comprehend what your eyes were seeing. The love, the care, everything you had poured into him—it was all shattered in an instant, lying in ruins at your feet. Tears welled up in your eyes, but you blinked them back, refusing to let them fall. Not here. Not now.

Finally, you found the strength to move, to turn away before either of them noticed you. Your chest felt tight, your heart heavy with the weight of betrayal. The pain of it all was overwhelming, but you managed to keep it together long enough to walk away, each step heavier than the last.

As you retreated into the shadows, leaving behind the meal you had so carefully prepared, one thought echoed in your mind, the man you had once believed in, who had promised you that nothing could ever come between you, had just done the one thing you never thought possible—he broke your heart in the most cruel and irreversible way.

The whispers began almost immediately after you disappeared. The once lively halls of the Silver Eagles felt emptier, the spaces where you used to walk, now void of your presence. It wasn’t long before people noticed. You weren’t seen in the markets, at the guilds, or even in the usual spots where you and Nozel would sometimes share a quiet moment.

At first, it was just rumors—speculation among the knights and citizens. But then the truth emerged, clear and undeniable, you had left the Clover Kingdom. You packed what little you could carry and slipped away in the dead of night, leaving behind everything you once held dear.

You made your way to the Heart Kingdom, seeking solace in its serene landscapes and distant borders. It was a place untouched by the memories of what once was, a land where you could start anew, far from the heartbreak and betrayal that had driven you away.

In the Heart Kingdom, you carved out a new life for yourself. You found work that kept you busy and new friends who didn’t know your past, who saw you not as the girl who loved a noble but as someone with her own worth and strength. The pain didn’t vanish—it was still there, like a shadow that followed you, but in time, it began to dull, replaced by a sense of peace and determination.

The atmosphere was tense as the Magic Knights prepared for their mission against the Spade Kingdom. The air was thick with the weight of what was to come—a battle that could change everything. Nozel stood with his usual composure, though beneath the surface, his mind was anything but calm.

Before heading out, Nozel called one of his trusted servants aside, his voice low and measured. “Did you ensure the woman was paid and told her it was nothing more than a fleeting moment?” he asked, referring to the woman he had deliberately kissed under that tree. It had been a cold, calculated move—one that pained him more than he could ever admit.

“Yes, Captain. She understands it was all part of the plan,” the servant replied, bowing slightly before hurrying off. Fuegoleon, who had been standing nearby, couldn’t hold back any longer. “Nozel,” he began, his tone heavy with disbelief and a trace of disappointment, “I still refuse to believe you would go that far. After everything you’ve been through together? You’re stronger than this. You’re not going to die anytime soon.”

Nozel didn’t immediately respond. His gaze was fixed on the horizon, where the dark clouds of war loomed ominously. Finally, he spoke, his voice devoid of emotion, but his words were laced with a deep, underlying pain. “We’re facing an enemy unlike any we’ve encountered before. If I keep her by my side and I fall in battle… I could never forgive myself, even in the afterlife.”

Fuegoleon shook his head slightly, still struggling to understand. “But to push her away like this—to make her think you don’t care…” Nozel turned to him, his eyes hardened by the weight of his decision. “I’d rather have her hate me than mourn me. It’s better this way. If she despises me, she’ll move on. She’ll find a way to live without me, to be strong on her own. But if she loved me until the end… I can’t bear the thought of her drowning in grief. I won’t be the cause of that pain.”

He paused, his gaze dropping to the ground as he clenched his fists, as if trying to hold onto the last remnants of his resolve. “But don’t mistake this for indifference,” he added, his voice barely above a whisper. “I love her more than anything, and that’s exactly why I have to let her go. She deserves a future… even if it’s without me.”

As the days in the Heart Kingdom turned into weeks, you found yourself alone with your thoughts more often than not. The vibrant life you tried to build in this new place felt like a fragile façade, barely holding together against the torrent of emotions you kept buried beneath the surface.

You couldn’t escape the memories, no matter how far you ran or how much you tried to distract yourself. The moments of love, the laughter, the promises—everything you had shared with Nozel haunted you, echoing in the quiet of your new life.

One evening, as the sun dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows across your small cottage, you found yourself sitting by the window, staring out at the fading light. The memories you had been trying to push away came rushing back, overwhelming you.

You thought back to the way he used to look at you, with eyes that held so much warmth and affection. It seemed like just yesterday that you were wrapped in his arms, feeling safe, feeling loved. But now, that warmth was gone, replaced by a coldness that you never thought you’d feel from him.

Tears welled up in your eyes as the realization hit you—he was gone, not just physically, but in every way that mattered. The man who had once been your everything had vanished, leaving behind only the shell of what you used to know.

“The man I loved…” you whispered to yourself, the words catching in your throat, he’s gone. And what hurts the most is how quickly his feelings for you faded away, like you were nothing more than a passing moment in his life.

You buried your face in your hands, the pain of it all crashing down on you. The promises he made, the love you thought would last forever—it was all gone, dissolved into nothingness. And now, all you were left with was the hollow ache in your chest and the memories that were once so sweet, now tainted by the bitter sting of betrayal.

No matter how much you wanted to believe there was a reason, a deeper meaning behind his actions, you couldn’t shake the truth that had become so painfully clear. The man you loved, the man who had once been your world, had walked away without looking back, leaving you to pick up the pieces of a shattered heart.

And as the last light of day faded into night, you let out a shaky breath, a part of you finally accepting that the Nozel you loved was gone, lost to whatever darkness had consumed him. You were alone now, truly alone, and all you could do was find a way to move forward, even if it meant carrying the weight of a love that had been torn away far too soon.

[heavenlyakin]

nozel silva x fem!reader, little angst, a little bonding, a little romance. 

wc 1k

–

You watched as the snow came hammering down, like it was angry at the ground and wanted to punish it. Lucky for Klaudius he’d left just before the storm started. Unlucky for you, you hadn’t. You were obligated to stay to continue planning for the engagement party in a few weeks to announce your involvement with Nozel. 

“May I take your plate, ma’am?” A servant of Nozel asks and you nod. 

“Thank you, I am done.” You smile at her and she takes the plate away from you and then Nozel. 

He mumbles a small thank you, barely audible. You’ve known your whole life how royalty has treated commoners, and you hadn’t liked it one bit. Your father was the same way, but you and your brother hated it. Made a promise to one another to not treat anyone the way he had. So, was this all a show for you? Thank you and politeness to servants? 

“May I be excused?” You ask him and you can’t see past his braid to know if he furrowed his eyebrows, but you assume he does. 

“Of course, you do not have to ask me for permission.” You nod and get up from the table, smoothing your skirts down as you walk past him. 

You stop at the end of the table. He looks up at you, cocking his head to the right as if he’s waiting for you to speak. You just smile and walk past into the library down the hall. Taking a seat on a chaise lounge, you gather the book you left there before dinner. 

Nozel enters the room soon after. You do not look up from your book, but you can sense him enough to know he sits across from you on the sofa. 

“I would like to go home now,” you tell him after a few moments of silence. 

“It’s storming. Even I would not go out in this weather if it was unnecessary.” He tells you. He closes his book and looks up to you. “You can stay here for the night. We have more than enough space to keep you comfortable.” 

“I’d rather not,” you place the book you’d been reading on the small end table beside the lounge. “Please call for my cloak and a carriage.” 

“-----,” your name still sounds foreign on his lips. “Please sit back down.” His voice is calm as usual, but with a hint of annoyance. 

You grin. “Thank you for the offer, but I will be going now.” 

You walk towards the door, but you’re stopped. Nozel’s hand on your wrists keeps you from taking another step forward. You pull away but he doesn’t budge. His hand is warm around you. 

“I told you, you’re staying here tonight.” His annoyance is much clearer this time. “Stop acting like a child.” 

“A child?” You laugh. “You clearly are used to getting everything your way, aren’t you? I’d say that’s much more child-like than I.” 

He lets go of your wrist, the warmth fading. “Rita,” he calls for a servant. “Please bring —--- her cloak.” 

You stand there in front of him, waiting for your cloak. His eyes look tired, but the rest of him remains as put together as possible. Your cloak arrives and Rita helps you put it on. The warmth of it matches that of the feeling of Nozel’s hand on your wrist. 

“Thank you for your kindness,” you smile at him and he rolls his eyes. 

He walks you to the door, opens it himself and the cold air and snow blows into the foyer. It sends a shiver down your spine and you swallow slowly. As you go to step outside, a wall of silver mercury stops you.

“Are you truly stupid enough to go out there?” He asks as you turn around to frown at him. “Didn’t your mother teach you anything? You’ll catch your death out there” 

“I didn’t have a mother to teach me, thanks for the reminder.” He stiffens and drops the wall of mercury. The wind rushes in again and coats you with a thin layer of snow.

“I apologize, I forget myself. If you’d like to go, go. Do not blame me however, if you fall ill or freeze to death out there.” Nozel walks away down the hall to the right towards the library you’d just left.. 

You shut the door and hand Rita your cloak. “I’m sorry, I will be staying here tonight.” 

Timidly, you follow the path Nozel took, finding him standing against the wall, looking out the window facing the west side of the estate. He doesn’t hear you enter, or if he does, he doesn’t acknowledge it. 

So, you speak. “I’d like a hot bath drawn. And something to sleep in.” 

“Fine, just tell Rita.” He doesn’t turn away from the window, so you take the few steps to close the distance between you. 

“You don’t have to do this.” You tell him. 

“Do what?” He turns, looking at you with something more than just anger in his eyes. Perhaps it’s remorse. 

“Shut down, shut me out.” You take his hand, hoping he won’t pull away. 

He does not. His fingers are colder than you’d expect, but he was just standing in the foyer with you with the cold wind blowing in. So perhaps he doesn’t keep warm very well. Or perhaps it’s how he’s feeling that’s draining the warmth out of him. 

“I am sorry for what I said.” He doesn’t meet your eyes but you don’t think you want him to just yet. 

“I pushed you to anger,” you tell him. “I wanted to poke the bear, so to speak.” You admit. “I am just as difficult if not more.” 

His eyes meet yours now, and you’re able to see his eyes more clearly than ever before. The purple is so beautiful but so cold sometimes, you forget that the shade can hold an abundance of warmth. 

“I am sorry, too.” You tell him and his lip twitches into a small smile. 

“Let me go get that bath for you,” He steps forward. 

You expect him to let go of your hand, but he does not. His other hand raises to your head, slowly caressing your hair and his face moves towards yours. You freeze as he kisses your temple, so softly you almost do not feel it. Your mouth opens in a small gasp, and then it’s over.He moves away, out of the room and down the hall to find Rita you suppose. 

You bring your hand to your temple, feeling the warm spot he just kissed. 

[kalolasart]

Cover for the Silva Family Hospital Angst

Against Our Own

Ao3 wattpad

[sorainhere]

Sad Silva Family headcannon

It's sad to think about family portraits after Acier died yknow.

The Silva father was largely unavailable after her death according to what we can see so it's unlikely he would be in a portrait of they ever had any

But if they did it would be a 14 year old Nozel with 2 younger kids and a baby.

And as they got older it still would be sad because it's likely that Nozel and probably nebra would be where traditionally the parents stand.

And that just solidifies the fact that Nozel is a teen parents which is why he sucked at parenting so bad. I mean it's not an excuse for his behavior but it makes us understand why Nebra Solid and Noelle turned out the way they did.

Anyways it's sad to think about that because it just solidifies teen parents Nozel who is literally standing in a parent position where his parents should be but isn't

It's sad and it's a lovely headcannon to think about for fanfic ngl (this is a call for you fanfic writers because while I can write I can't do the headcannon justice)

[kendrysaneela]

Starting back after the finale with a shark attack on a crew member is so peak. This is the best show ever.

[pbielik]

1) Gellert Grindelwald

2) Remus Lupin

3) Regulus Black

4) Adrian Pucey

5) Davi Silva

6) Tiana Lupin-Black

7) Draco Black-Malfoy

8) Haruki Ishikawa

9) Ascella Black de la familia Rodriguez

[alms4oblivion]

In The Eyes Of A Child, Chapter 9: Betrayer's Remorse

In which Mira has the unfortunate experience of witnessing Ava and Beatrice showing affection to each other, begins to learn how to use the Halo, and encounters some new faces.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/63207295/chapters/166321525

[melanieph321]

Hi, I was wondering if you would be interested in writing kind of a continuation to the Ruben dias and Bernardo’s sister’s where the reader’s ex is now dating her sister, you know which one heheheh… I was thinking what about a story where it’s a year later everything that happened and now Ruben is actually the reader’s boyfriend and a there is lot of drama with the family when they spend like a holiday together again.

After all the sad fics I wanted to write something funny real quick. This request is it! 😆

Ruben Dias x Reader - Brotherly Love Part 1/6

Summary - The sequel to The Houseguest, where Ruben and Reader have been dating long distance for a year. The two of them finally plan to spend a holiday together, but to Readers suprise and disappointment, Ruben brings her brother Bernardo with them.

Enjoy!

You had been counting down the days until Ruben would arrive at your family's holiday home. It had been a year since you last spent any real time together, and you couldn't wait to catch up and enjoy some quality time alone with him. You had planned out every detail of your trip, from the romantic dinners to the sunset walks on the beach. All that was missing was Ruben.

You arrived before him to set everything up at the villa. The house needed cleaning and the fridge needed stocking. You were also planning to cook, however, if Ruben could just answer your texts, then you would know what he wanted to eat for dinner tonight. Eventually you got tired of waiting and cooked up a nice meal for the two of you. Just then the doorbell rang.

"Finally!" 

You hurried to get the door, a big braud smile on your face. To your surprise a key was heard turning in the lock.

The door opened.

"Ruben?"

It was him alright, followed by…

"Y/N!" Your brother cheered.

"Bernardo?"

He pushed you aside, entering the house. "What's that smell, are you cooking?"

"Yes, for me and Ruben."

"What about me?"

You turned to Ruben who stood in the doorframe, a suitcase in his hand.

"I'm sorry, he asked if he could come and I didn't know what to say."

"Um, how about no?"

Ruben chuckled and gave you a rushed kiss for the trouble. He then followed Bernardo into the living room. The two of them did not hesitate to turn on the TV as well as set up the playstation that Bernardo had brought with him.

"Y/N, get us somthing to drink will you?"

"Excuse me?"

"Somthing to drink? Like a soda." Bernardo turned to Ruben. "You want a soda don't you?"

"Water is fine." Ruben said, his eyes glued to the TV.

You couldn't believe it. It must be a dream or some kind of terrible hallucination.

You returned to the kitchen to check on the food.

"I'll take my soda with ice!" Bernardo shouted.

You only had one thought. "What in the actual fuck?"

[backjustforberena]

So, my two cents about Fate S2? I wouldn't have ended S1 how it did. I would have ended it without the bombastic massive takeover of the school with Luna, Andreas and Rosalind as the "new order" aka the three big baddies.

Because, basically, they become irrelevant in S2. They are not "the threat" and half of them don't last to the end of the series or even make much of an appearance overall, and, in my opinion, they add nothing nuanced to the plot or that could not be represented by conflict with another character or guidance by another character (aka the mentorship role Rosalind takes with Bloom, and the Sky angst over his dad).

I'd have kept Saul, Farah and Harvey in their positions at the school. Have Beatrix locked up/take the fall for the murder of Callum and even have the school think she was responsible for the energy wells failing (if they need a cover story at all), and write her out. Andreas is just dead - you don't need him to be alive to create that rift between Sky and Silva. Just knowing Silva murdered his dad is enough. Let it be.

Rosalind - have her escape. She's the looming shadow, she's who Farah thinks is behind the disappearances of the fairies, rather than Blood Witches, she's the constant worry/tension because no one knows where she is and Farah is paranoid that she'll return and make her move, take her revenge, whatever. Leaving her free to take her eye off the ball when it comes to Blood Witches, or else, be overwhelmed when that's added to the list of dangers.

Farah will be on a knife's edge with Luna. Maybe Luna threatens to have her pulled as Headmistress at the Alum Dinner. Maybe Farah has to go darker- to threaten her- they all have to keep Aster Dell and Rosalind's escape a secret, don't they? How much like Rosalind is Farah willing to be? Have her horrified by the Blood Witches threat, have her worry about being the right person or about being weak and not strong enough to lead the school. Have her need to find Rosalind. Have her try to guide Bloom but not have the knowledge. Have her keep more secrets from Bloom because of the worry, and the damage.

Have Harvey be increasingly worried about his family's safety. That's fine. Terra and Sam can look at him differently because they know about Aster Dell now, and maybe he starts to pull away from the other adults because of it, because they don't know what it's like, to have kids (sorry Silva, he doesn't mean it). He can still heal fairies from scraper damage - I don't think Rosalind's "experiments" led to much at all. But, as Harvey becomes fragile, you can centre Saul and Farah more.

Because Farah and Saul are a team. But Saul is distracted, brings back Specialist graduate Sebastian to help teach as Saul is coordinating a search for Rosalind, a response to scrapers and all of his stuff with Sky. You do not need Andreas at all to have that conflict. Maybe Farah doesn't trust Sebastian, but trusts Saul enough. But that gives him access, prolonged access, to the school. So anything he does, they think Rosalind did.

Not sure how the rest of the Winx characters fit into this plan as I've only spent a few minutes thinking on it, but you obviously wouldn't have a lot of stuff that we end up having in S2, especially in the latter half. But still.

[call-me-maggie13]

It’s a Tuesday when Lucia calls the first time. Beatrice is leaving her apartment for a run when her phone rings, interrupting her favorite part of the song she’s listening to on her headphones. There’s no caller ID, but Beatrice recognizes the number, so she answers.

"Hello, this is Beatrice." She’s formal. Lucia likes to try to blur the line between a professional relationship and a friendly one.

"Hey, Bea - "

"Beatrice." She corrects, dropping to her knee to retie her laces.

"Yeah, Beatrice." Lucia’s mocking her, Beatrice isn’t stupid, but she lets it go.

"Is there a reason you’re calling?" Beatrice asks after Lucia goes silent.

"Right! Yes! Carlos misses you, I was wondering if we could do lunch sometime this week so he could see you?" Carlos. Beatrice loves Carlos. He’s fun, witty and charismatic and kind. He’s always been one of her favorite kids she’s worked with. Lucia, however, is one of Beatrice’s least preferred parents.

"I don’t know if you remember, but I’m in - "

"In the city. Yes, I remember. Carlos and I just moved here too! Isn’t that exciting?" No. Beatrice thinks. Exciting is not a word I would use. Lucia drops her voice, nearly to a whisper. "He’s having a hard time making friends at his new school, I think seeing a friendly face would make him feel better about the move."

Beatrice sighs, checks the time on her watch and realizes she’s spent half of her allotted running time on the phone with Lucia.

"I can’t do lunch, but I can do an early dinner. Maybe Thursday? I’ll have to - "

"Yes, perfect! That works!" She hangs up before Beatrice can tell her she will be bringing Diana. She could send her a message, but that would mean Lucia would message her back and Beatrice doesn’t want to speak to her anymore than necessary.

Beatrice tells Ava about it that evening, between Diana’s snack and her bath while Ava’s scrambling about looking for the keys Diana hid.

"Who is this again?" Ava looks up from digging through the couch cushions, cheeks flushed and hair tousled.

"It’s a kid I used to work with before I started uni. Him and his mum." Diana giggles around her fingers when Ava looks under the couch, Beatrice bouncing her and asking where the keys are quietly. Ava’s asked her three times, Diana isn’t answering either of them. "It’s okay if you don’t want - "

"No, it’s fine! It sounds fun, just - make her eat something other than chicken strips, please? You always say you will then you cave when she pouts. She needs to try new foods." Ava looks under the coffee table and through Diana’s toy bin. She’s going to be late if she doesn’t find the keys soon.

"Okay. I won’t have her out late, we’ll be back before the sun goes down. Won’t we?" Beatrice tickles Diana who squeals and pushes away, nearly toppling out of her arms. Beatrice grabs her leg to keep from falling and her shoe falls off, jingling when it hits the ground. Diana glances between the fallen shoe and Ava for a moment before she starts giggling maniacally.

"They were in your shoes? Are you serious? Diana, you little…" Ava picks the keys out of the baby shoe, holds Diana’s face between her hands and sighs fondly, shaking her head. "You little punk." Ava laughs and kisses both of her cheeks. "I love you. Be good, yeah?"

Diana smiles and wipes her wet hand down Ava’s cheek. Ava grimaces and rubs her cheek against Diana’s sleeve, earning a full body laugh and a gleeful wiggle. Ava presses a soft kiss against Beatrice’s cheek before she’s gone. 

Beatrice almost considers going after her, almost considers asking her to say no, almost considers telling her she doesn’t want to go. But she doesn’t. 

She doesn’t.

 Read more below the break or here!

Beatrice stops for the third time. Considers turning back. It’s not too late, she can still say she can’t make it. Diana bounces beside her, swings their intwined hands back and forth. She spins, twists Beatrice’s fingers over her head before dropping it and racing around her.

"Let’s go! Let’s goooooo!" Diana whines, taking her hands and tugging her forward. "I wan’ nuggies!"

"It’s want, baby. Try again." Diana pauses to pout, tucks her hands under her elbows and sticks her bottom lip out. Beatrice quirks her eyebrow and fights back a smile. "Try again."

"I. Want. Nuggies." She pauses between each word to huff, spins on her heel to take two steps forward then turn back to Beatrice with her head cocked.

"Okay. But I will have you know, your mama wants you to try something else." They resume towards the restaurant hand in hand, Beatrice’s blunder already forgiven and forgotten. "Like maybe something not chicken?"

"No. I like nuggies." Diana pouts again, gives her tiny chin a tremble to prove her point.

"If you try something else, we can get ice cream on the way home?" Ava would never barter with Diana like this and she would be upset if she knew Beatrice was doing it.

"Sprinkles?" She comes to a complete stop, nearly causing the people behind them to crash into her. Beatrice nods and scoops her up, apologizes quickly to the strangers and hurries down the sidewalk.

It really is unfair, how late they are because she couldn’t decide if she actually wanted to come. Carlos probably thinks they’re not going to show up, the thought stabs her in the chest and speeds her steps. 

"Beatrice!" The boy bolts down the sidewalk and crashes into her legs, nearly tackling her to the ground. Beatrice chuckles and ruffles the boy’s unruly curls.

"Hi, Carlos! How have you been?" The boy steps back and flips her hair out of his face, grinning at her with a gap in his teeth. "Oh! When did you lose that tooth?"

"Last night! The tooth fairy gave me fifteen bucks! Look!" He presses up onto his toes and pokes the empty space with his tongue. Beatrice peers into his mouth intently, inspecting it with the same fervency with which he presents it. "Who’s this?"

"This is Diana! Diana, can I introduce you to my friend Carlos?" Diana shakes her head and buries her face in Beatrice’s shoulder. "That’s okay, you don’t have to talk to him until you’re ready."

"Beatrice, hello!" Lucia steps up behind Carlos, strokes Beatrice’s shoulder, her hand lingers. Beatrice shrugs it off awkwardly.

"Hello, Lucia." Beatrice takes a half step back and a deep breath, forcing a smile and turning back to Carlos. "So, I’m hungry, are you?"

"Yeah, we already have a table, right, mom?" Lucia confirms and leads them to the booth while Carlos launches into a story about his friend’s birthday party. "So then, I told Marley, dude, you can’t just say stuff like that. People are going to think you’re weird. But like. People already think Marley’s weird because she tells everyone she was named after a dog. But it’s okay that she’s weird because it like. It’s not weird when she does it. You know?"

"I do! I know someone like that." Beatrice smiles fondly as she thinks of the last time she’d been to the farmers market and Ava spent twenty minutes deciding which lemon looked the sourest. "Have you ever read Stargirl?"

"Yeah! Marley is just like Stargirl! It’s her favorite book!" Carlos bounces in his seat. Lucia places a hand on his knee to still him.

"Sorry, he’s got a little crush." Lucia winks and Beatrice has to bite her lip not to snap at her. He’s eight. He’s allowed to have friends of the opposite gender. Carlos deflates at her words, sinks into his seat and drops his hands into his lap.

"It sounds like you found a really cool friend. Is Marley a friend from school?" Carlos nods weakly but doesn’t look up from his hands, Beatrice frowns. Diana stops scribbling on her menu to look at him quizzically, dropping her crayon to turn to Beatrice with her head tilted. "Have you decided what you want?"

"Nuggies," Diana whispers and Beatrice grins bemused, Diana rolls her eyes and sighs, pushes the menu to Beatrice and climbs into her lap. "Read, please?"

Beatrice reads the children’s menu to her quietly, answers her questions when asked and offers suggestions when Diana struggles to decide. She settles on macaroni and cheese, with much exasperation and disgust. Beatrice gives their orders to the waiter when he checks on them.

Lucia keeps rubbing her foot up the inside of Beatrice’s leg, somehow finding it even when she moves. Beatrice scoots to the far edge of the booth and silently begs her to stop. Diana seems unamused at every attempt Lucia makes to initiate a conversation and Carlos doesn’t recover from his mother’s comment, it’s truly awkward and uncomfortable and Beatrice can barely contain herself when they get their checks.

"Why don’t we go to the park?" Lucia suggests as they step out of the restaurant, Carlos’s face lights up as he waits excitedly for Beatrice’s reaction. 

"Umm… I don’t know, Diana seems pretty tired, maybe some other time?" Beatrice bounces Diana in her arms, presses a soft kiss against her temple.

"Dada?" Diana whispers and curls into her neck. Beatrice hums and presses their foreheads together. "He sad?" Beatrice nods softly and Diana turns back to him. "We play a little. Okay?"

Carlos bounces and nods, taking the hand Diana offers him.

"Dada?" Lucia asks, bumping their shoulders together. Beatrice takes a step to the side.

"Uh, yeah. I actually don’t like when people touch me, Lucia. So, could you stop, please?" Beatrice’s cheeks burn as she says it and Diana presses a cold hand over the heat.

"Ah, but I’m not just people, yeah?" Beatrice barely dodges the arm Lucia tries to swing over her shoulder by leaning to set Diana on the ground. Diana takes her hand and tugs her forward, Beatrice welcomes the distraction and follows her happily to the swing set, offering to push her when she climbs into the seat.

"I can do it!" Carlos volunteers and Diana beams at him, squeezing her fists around the chain and laughing when he pushes her forward. He bounces in place at the response, and Beatrice has to bite her tongue every time he asks Diana. "Higher? Higher?"

She knows her limits. Beatrice tells herself. She knows when she wants to stop.

She stays nearby, just in case. Ready to pounce in and save her if she asks to stop and Carlos doesn’t. She’s chewing on her nail when Lucia sidles up beside her, expensive perfume making the inside of Beatrice’s nose itch. Lucia tries to pull her hand out of her mouth but Beatrice steps away, curls her hands under her elbows and tucks them into her side.

"So how long have you been working with her?" There’s a hint of something else just beneath her words, something burbling and churning and dark.

"Oh, I don’t." It’s true, in a sense. Beatrice has stopped accepting Ava’s money in exchange for her babysitting services. So Beatrice isn’t quite lying when she says it. It’s not the entire truth but she hopes it’s vague enough that Lucia doesn’t press.

Of course, she could be granted no respite because Lucia charges ahead full-steam.

"Oh, so is she like your niece? Friend’s kid? Who is she?" She’s fishing, trying to find the answer to a question Beatrice isn’t ready to face on her own, certainly not with someone the likes of Lucia.

"Mine. Yeah, she’s mine." Diana tumbles out of the swing and Beatrice’s heart stops in her chest. She waits two heartbeats before moving, slowly helping Diana brush he wood chips from her face. She forces her voice to remain calm and level so Diana doesn’t hear how much it scared her as well. "Are you okay?"

Diana bursts into tears, throws herself face first into Beatrice’s chest and squeezes her arms around her neck as her body is wracked with sobs.

"Oh, baby! I know." Beatrice rubs her back and picks her up, smiling sadly at Carlos when he tries to apologize. "It’s alright, buddy, she’s just scared. I’ll see you again soon, yeah?"

The boy nods enthusiastically and Beatrice feels Diana lift her head to wave goodbye to him sadly before she returns to her hiding spot in Beatrice’s neck. Beatrice squeezes her tightly, rubbing her back as they depart, stepping quickly across the street and pausing outside the nearest ice cream shop.

"Do you still want ice cream, my love?" Beatrice’s hand pauses on the door, waiting until Diana shakes her head and burrows herself deeper into Beatrice’s embrace. "Can I check to make sure you’re not hurt?"

Diana sniffles as she pulls away, allows Beatrice to seat them on a nearby bench and check her face and hands for injury. She finds none, despite the overall redness from her fall.

"Does anywhere hurt, baby?" Diana shakes her head and blinks tears out of her eyes. "Hey, it’s okay. You’re allowed to be scared. What happened was scary, it’s okay if you feel like you need to cry. Would it make you feel better if I told you it scared me too?"

"You scared?" Diana’s voice is painfully infantile, reverting to a similar pattern of speech from when she first started speaking. Beatrice kisses her forehead and nods.

"Yeah, kiddo. I thought you were really hurt and that really scared me." Diana tucks her thumb into her mouth and blinks at her slowly. "I get scared a lot, you know?"

"Whens?" Diana curls back into her chest and Beatrice hums in thought for a moment.

"Like when your mama got sick. When you run off and I can’t see you. When I have exams at school. Sometimes I get scared when it storms and the thunder makes the windows rattle. I get scared all the time, my darling." Beatrice hates being scared, she feels like it makes her stupid and irrational. She knows that fear is a valid emotion and it exists for a reason, but she has never quite managed to shake her parents’ voices from her head when she’s scared.

She hopes Diana never has to experience that.

She’ll do her best to ensure Diana never has to experience it. 

"Do you know what helps me when I get scared?" Diana nods against her chest, curling her fingers around the neck of Beatrice’s shirt. "Sometimes I count all the pretty things I can see. Sometimes I sing a song until I feel better. Or sometimes I take some deep breaths. Do you want to try one of those?"

"Count?" Beatrice hums, squints and looks around.

"The sky is very blue today. What about you?"

"Flowers." Diana points to the wildflowers clawing out of the cracks in the sidewalk, then to a pair of birds chasing each other through the air. "Birb."

"You," Beatrice nudges her softly, smiles gently when she lifts her head tearily, "You’re the best thing I’ve ever seen."

"I love you." She stumbles over the v sound, pronounces the word like lub with a tender smile

"I love you too, meu patinho." Beatrice kisses the top of her head. "Did you at least have fun today?"

"Carlos is funny."

"He is. Would you like to see him again?" Diana hums and mumbles into Beatrice’s neck. "I didn’t understand that, darling, could you say it again?"

"Yeah. We go home now?"

"Alright, we can go home now. Are we going to tell your mama about how much fun you had with your new friend?" Diana yawns and shakes her head, Beatrice watches the sun dye the clouds pink and purple. It’s still early for Diana to go to bed, but she’s had an eventful evening so Beatrice could make an exception to their schedule. "Can we at least tell her about your not chicken nugget dinner?"

Diana giggles but nods regardless, twists a lock of Beatrice’s hair through her fingers. Beatrice’s heart swells and her skin warms and she feels like her heart might explode when she looks at the little girl in her arms. Something inside her twinkles. She never expected a love like this. Something that plays her heartstrings like a symphony in her chest, fills her chest with a light no star could ever compete with. It’s endless, she realizes.

It makes her wonder if her parents ever looked at her the same way she looks at Diana.

~*~

Ava does not like Lucia.

She’s not jealous. That would be absurd.

But she can’t deny that her chest burns when she comes home and Diana regales her in their latest adventure with Carlos and Luisa — it doesn’t matter how many times Beatrice corrects Diana, she only refers to Lucia by the wrong name.

Today, they played tag with a group of kids at the park. Two days ago, they saw a movie. Last week, they went to an art class at the library.

Ava doesn’t have a reason not to like Lucia.

Except for every reason Beatrice gives her after every play date.

"So then she kept trying to take my hand, like we’re a couple or something and every time I would pull my hand away and tell her I wasn’t interested but she doesn’t care." Beatrice sighs and kicks her feet over the arm of the couch, stares up at Ava from her lap. "I don’t understand why she keeps trying to touch me. I don’t like when people touch me. I’ve told her I don’t like being touched at least two million times. It’s annoying."

The hand scraping through Beatrice’s hair pauses at her words, Ava barely pulling away before Beatrice whines and drags her hand back to her scalp.

"Why’d you stop?" She doesn’t give Ava a chance to answer, instead continuing her rant. "Regardless, she made a joke about me confusing Diana by allowing her to call me dad. Which is hilarious because last week, she tried to get Carlos to call me dad and I had to respond with my name’s Beatrice, pal, I’m not your dad. Then Lucia was all well, you’re not Diana���s dad either. And I swear, Ava. I swear I almost hit her. Who does she think she is? I mean, seriously."

Ava is certainly not going to ask the difference between her and Lucia, doesn’t ask why she’s allowed to play with her hair nor why Diana is allowed to call Beatrice dad while Carlos is not. She knows, on some level. Ava’s not stupid, she knows she gets a version of Beatrice Lucia will never see. She knows there’s a piece of Beatrice that is reserved exclusively for her. She knows Beatrice would choose her, if she forced an ultimatum between her and Lucia.

Ava knows.

She knows how she feels about Lucia is irrational and unfair.

She also knows Beatrice would never see Lucia again if she asked.

She knows. Right?

"Bea?" Beatrice stops her rant and tilts her head up. "Does it bother you when I do those things?"

"No. Of course not. Why would it?" Beatrice pushes herself upright, shifts until she’s practically sitting in Ava’s lap.

"Because it bothers you when Lucia does it." Ava looks away,

"You’re not Lucia."

Ava doesn’t know how to explain herself. She doesn’t have the words to express why that doesn’t make sense. Beatrice babysat both their children, has spent extensive time with both of them, read both their children to sleep, eaten at both of their tables. Why is she different? Why is she the exception?

Or is Lucia the exception? Is Beatrice like this with all parents except for Lucia?

"Ava." She quirks her head, furrows her eyebrows, ducks to meet Ava’s averted gaze. "I trust you."

It’s not enough. The words make Ava’s heart skip a beat, but it doesn’t smother the smoke in her lungs.

"I like spending time with you. I like when you hold my hand and kiss my cheek and make me laugh. I like when Diana calls me dad. You’re not just the mother of the child I babysit, you’re my friend too. My best friend. I would tell you if you did something that bothers me and I know you wouldn’t do it again.

"I like you." She grins before scrunching her face up in mock disgust and continuing. "I don’t like Lucia."

It makes Ava laugh, Beatrice's pout miserable and nose crinkled. In response to the sound, Beatrice smiles widely, leans back into Ava's chest, and tucks her nose into the crook of her neck.

~*~

She’s doing it on purpose. Beatrice might not be great at reading people but she is certain that Lucia only wants one thing from her. One thing that Beatrice has absolutely no interest in ever giving her.

Diana crawls inside the enclosed slide, tucks her knees to her chest and closes her eyes when Carlos finishes counting. He grins from the top of the playground, peering over the sides and searching for Diana.

"God, they’re so cute. We would be amazing parents." The comment is accompanied with an arm around her shoulders and a soft sigh. Beatrice ducks out from underneath Lucia’s touch and frowns at her, eyebrows sewn together with utter confusion.

"Would be?" Beatrice might not be Diana’s actual parent, but she sure as shit isn’t a bad understudy. 

"I meant like… like together. Both of us."

"I’m doing pretty great with her mother, actually. I don’t think Diana needs anyone else telling her what to do." It makes her stomach twist, the thought of Lucia and her, together.

Lucia laughs at her words, loud and jarring and it makes Diana lift her head from her hiding place on the slide. Carlos sees her move and races to tag her without even acknowledging his mother. Lucia tries to touch her again and Beatrice’s fingers burn when she clenches them into fists at her sides.

"Stop. Touching. Me." She clenches her jaw and takes another step back.

Beatrice doesn’t do anger. She doesn’t do rage. She doesn’t do losing her temper. Beatrice is patient and and forgiving.

Or, as Shannon would say, she’s a pushover.

Either way, Beatrice doesn’t get upset easily. It’s not in her nature.

Lucia seems to take it as a challenge. Like Beatrice’s burning ire is a taunt, like it’s all for show and they’re playing a game.

"Oh, relax, Bea."

"My name is Beatrice."

"Plenty of people call you Bea."

"Only the ones I like." She takes another step back when Lucia reaches for her hand before turning on her heel and storming away. She smiles warmly at Diana when she approaches her, strokes her hair when she tumbles into Beatrice’s legs. "We gotta go, patinho. Your mama’s gunna be home soon."

Diana frowns but wishes Carlos and Luisa farewell, taking Beatrice’s hand and tugging her out of the park.

Beatrice decides not to tell Ava about Lucia anymore. Every time she complains, Ava gets quiet and distant and Beatrice doesn’t like how upset it makes her sometimes. So she decides she will suffer in silence.

~*~

Shannon is easy. She’s easy and relaxed and she goes with the flow. She doesn’t pick fights or start problems.

Except when it comes to Beatrice. Shannon would commit eleven different forms of high treason and treat the Geneva Conventions like a checklist for Beatrice.

"Where are you going?" Beatrice freezes with her hand on the doorknob.

"I’m going with you. You better hurry or we’re gunna be late." Shannon bumps Beatrice carefully out of the way and steps through the door, starting toward Beatrice’s car.

Beatrice doesn’t say anything the entire ride. Diana sings and dances and talks to herself in the backseat while Beatrice grips the steering wheel with all her strength to try to hide the way her hands are shaking.

The house is larger than Shannon had been expecting. An ugly modern, blockish thing with funky shaped windows and uneven roofing. It doesn’t look good or fancy or pretty. It looks like a stain on the skyline.

Like it brings her neighborhood property value down.

There’s a bounce house set up in the front yard, though it’s empty. There are children’s shrieks coming from the backyard, a cacophony of voices and laughter leading Beatrice around the side of the house to the garden gate.

"Hey! Bea! You made it!" Lucia tries to dive into a hug after letting them through the gate, but Shannon intercepts by throwing herself between them and offering her hand to shake.

"I’m Shannon, Beatrice is my sister." She’s silently begging Lucia to say something, to give her an excuse to punch her.

Other than all the reasons Beatrice has given for her.

"Oh. Do you not remember me? We’ve met, years ago." Shannon remembers, it was a scene much alike the one they’re in right now for Carlos’s third birthday. Lucia had annoyed her even then, but she hadn’t made any advances on her baby sister, so Shannon hadn’t really a reason to hate her.

"Sorry, I meet a lot of people in my job, only have the mental capacity to remember a few of the important ones and my personal favorites." If there’s one thing Shannon has learned from her mother, it’s how to make an off-handed comment that slices through someone’s soul. Lucia’s face falls but she doesn’t respond.

"Beatrice! Diana!" A minuscule little girl breaks free of the crowd waving, followed closely by Carlos. He’s older and much taller than the last time Shannon had seen him, and he’s wearing more than a diaper, but it’s certainly him.

Immediately, he’s offering his name and his hand for her to shake, introducing her to his mother and his best friend Marley.

He’s taken Diana to an inflatable slide before Shannon has a chance to ask where to put his present.

"Why don’t you put the gift with the rest and Bea and I can - "

"I’m good. Beatrice can put it with the rest. You and I can do whatever you need her help with, though." Beatrice squeezes Shannon’s fingers when they exchange the gift, a meek nod and tight smile before she’s disappearing into the crowd.

"Oh, I need Bea’s help."

"I taught Beatrice how to do everything she knows. If she can do it, I’ve probably been doing it better for longer." Lucia sighs and shakes her head, rolls her eyes when she turns away and enters the house.

"Hey." Beatrice ducks out from behind a group of young parents chattering loudly over their drinks.

"I don’t like her."

"You don’t have to treat her like that." Shannon laughs and slings her arm over Beatrice’s shoulders.

"When she calls you the right name, I’ll consider being nicer."

"No you won’t." Beatrice smiles and rolls her eyes, presses heavily into Shannon’s side.

"I said consider. I never said I had any actual intention of doing it." Beatrice laughs and searches for Diana in the line for the slide. She can’t deny that her heart stutters when she can’t immediately find her.

"Da!" Diana waves from atop the slide, smiling until she looks down. Beatrice extricates herself from Shannon and moves to the bottom to wait for Diana, who appears to have no intention of moving.

"Are you scared?" Diana nods softly, eyes wide and wet. Carlos crawls beside her and offers his hand, whispering quietly. Diana shakes her head and pushes away from the slope, dropping his hand. "I’m coming up, okay?"

Diana meets her at the top of the ladder, arms raised for Beatrice to pick her up.

"It’s okay. Do you want to go down together?" Diana shakes her head again and balls Beatrice’s shirt in her fists. "Alright, we will have to climb down though. We can’t live up here, can we?"

Diana shakes her head, lifts her head warily and glances to the ladder. "Carlos has cake."

"I can ask mom if we can cut it now." Carlos waves at someone near the base of the slide. "Do you want me to ask? I’m gunna go ask."

And with that, he’s gone.

Beatrice pushes as far away from the slope as possible so other children can go, holds Diana and pats her back until she lifts her head and turns to watch some of the kids jumping and falling down the slide. She blinks slowly, thumb tucked carefully between her teeth.

"Do you want to try again?" Marley bounces and waves while she waits her turn in line. Diana lifts her head slowly and waves back but doesn’t respond to Beatrice’s question. "You don’t have to but if you would like, you can sit on my lap and we can go down together."

Beatrice motions for the girl at the top of the stairs to go, squeezes Diana tighter when she flinches at the girl throwing herself haphazardly down the slide. She watches quietly as more and more kids go and Beatrice is beginning to think she’s going to change her mind when Marley finally emerges from the line. 

"Carlos said they’re gunna do the cake soon, do you wanna climb down with me?" Marley offers her hand but doesn’t try to push Diana, she waits. Diana glances between her and Beatrice warily, fist squeezing tightly around the neck of Beatrice’s sweater.

"We can all go together, but it’s up to you, patinho." Diana nods and makes no move to follow Marley down the steps.

Carlos calls for them from below but neither of them move, Marley offers a cursory glance but doesn’t respond when he calls her name.

"Dada?" Diana buries her head in the crook of Beatrice’s neck, Beatrice hums and squeezes her tighter. "Scared."

"I know. It’s okay to be scared, Diana. Everyone gets scared."

"I’m scared of the dark and vampires and multiplication," Marley chimes, crawling to them. "But the sun still goes down and vampires aren’t real and my mom makes me do my math homework. You can do things that scare you."

"Okay," Diana nods and takes Marley’s hand.

"You wanna go down?" Diana nods and tugs Beatrice’s hand.

"Do you want me to hold you?" Diana nods again and Beatrice agrees, moving to the edge of the slide and letting Diana settle in her lap. "Are you ready?"

"No." Beatrice squeezes her closer and Diana takes a deep breath. "We go now."

For the first time, Beatrice looks down the slide and her stomach drops. Why is a kid’s slide so tall?

"Dada. Now." Beatrice nods and pushes off, squeezing her eyes closed and trying not to scream at the plummet. When they hit the bottom, Diana squirms out of Beatrice’s arms and bounces to the exit when Shannon is standing bemused.

"Was it fun, kiddo?"

"No. Cake?" Shannon laughs and watches her race off to Carlos.

"You alright?" Shannon pulls Beatrice up, helps her out of the slide. "I thought you were going to wet yourself."

"I’m fine. It was great. Ava’s supposed to do the high stuff," Beatrice jokes.

"The high stuff? It was a kid’s slide, bumble Bea."

"I hate you, you can leave." Lucia looks up at her jeer, eyes l alight with something that drains the warmth from the moment. Shannon glances between them and steps in front of her to block Beatrice from Lucia’s view.

"I’m not leaving until I get cake." She says it loud enough for Lucia to hear before turning to Beatrice and dropping her voice. "Let me say something, Bea."

"No. Shannon, it’s his birthday."

"So? You know I wouldn’t say anything to him."

"Shannon." Shannon rolls her eyes and turns back around just in time for Carlos to blow out his candles.

"Why won’t you let me do this for you?"

"Because I remember the last time you did this for me. And we both know you don’t look good in stripes or in orange. If you think about it, I’m actually protecting you." Beatrice watches Diana waiting to get her piece of cake and glances at the back door to the house. "I’ll be back, can you - "

"Is she gunna do a flip?" It’s Beatrice’s turn to roll her eyes, sighing fondly before slipping through the door in search of a bathroom. Luckily, Lucia had the foresight to plaster directional signs on the walls so Beatrice doesn’t have to search hard. 

Lucia is leaned against the wall waiting for her when she comes out.

"Saved you a piece of cake," Lucia straightens and extends a slice of cake.

"Oh. Thank you, but I’m not very fond of sweets." Beatrice smiles politely and waves the cake away, glancing past Lucia in the direction she had come.

"Oh that’s fine. I have something else for you too." Beatrice doesn’t like the way Lucia smiles at her.

"I should really get back to Diana…" Beatrice glances down the hall again, hoping Shannon somehow knew she needed her and materialized to rescue her.

"It’ll only take a few minutes. Diana won’t even notice." Beatrice jerks away when Lucia tries to take her hand.

"No I really - "

"Hey, Bea…?" Shannon. "I think we should go…"

Diana’s holding a racecar napkin over her elbow. It’s stained a deep red.

"Oh my god, what happened?" Shannon slaps her hand over Beatrice’s when she tries to move the napkin. "Are you okay?"

Diana nods and shifts toward Beatrice so she takes her, Shannon fixes her with a look that Beatrice doesn’t understand but she follows her out of the house anyways. They wish Carlos a happy birthday in quick farewells before leaving.

They’re halfway to her car when Shannon speaks.

"I knew she would try something."

"I was gone for two minutes, what happened?"

"I saw her follow you." Beatrice stops and turns to her.

"To Diana. What happened to Diana?"

"Oh. Nothing, she’s fine." Shannon lifts the napkin to prove her point, revealing a red stained, uninjured elbow. Beatrice scoffs and rubs the red dye away with her thumb.

"What did you - "

"Fake blood. You can buy it by the gallon at a Hallow-"

"You just carry around fake blood? Shannon!" Beatrice pauses to reinspect Diana’s skin, double-checking she has no injuries before fastening in her car seat.

"I knew you would need an out and Mary never lets me use the fake blood. Come on, you gotta admit that it - "

"I don’t have to admit anything. Don’t use Diana like that, she’s not a prop." Beatrice closes Diana’s door carefully before turning to face Shannon.

"You wouldn’t have left if it was me bleeding." She right. Probably. Truthfully, it would’ve depended on how much fake blood Shannon was willing to use.

"I didn’t need an out, I was fine." Beatrice starts to storm around the car when Shannon grabs her wrist.

"Fine? Beatrice, you looked like you were going to throw up. Maybe I could’ve gone about things differently but I don’t like her. I don’t trust her."

"You don’t have to like her or trust her, I do."

"Do you?" Shannon drops Beatrice’s arm, watches her walk around the car and climb in the drivers seat.

"Do I what, Shannon?" She knows. It’s answer enough for both of them to know.

Shannon doesn’t respond.

~*~

The next time they see Carlos, Beatrice has taken Diana to the local children’s museum. Diana is shoving colored scarfs into a tube then chasing them when they are blown out the top. She loves it.

"Beatrice!" A small body collides into her back, tearing her attention from the little girl to greet Carlos.

"Hi, Carlos. Diana, do you want to say hi?" Diana waves before returning to her previous task, Beatrice smiles and ruffles her hair before turning back to Carlos. "How are you doing, buddy?"

"I’m good. Marley is here, do you wanna see her?" He bounces in place when he asks, positively vibrating about the edges.

"I would love to see her! Could you bring her here, I don’t think Diana’s quite ready to move on yet." He agrees and disappears into the sea of children.

"Good morning, Bea." Beatrice sidesteps a hug, shrugging off the hand Lucia strokes across her shoulder.

"I’ve told you, my name is Beatrice." She tries so very hard to keep the edge from her tone, but Diana looks up worriedly at the change in her voice. Beatrice forces a smile and she returns to her game. Beatrice searches briefly for Carlos’s unruly curls in the everflowing ocean of children, catching and returning a yellow scarf that falls into her face.

"Da!" Diana calls, tugging on Beatrice’s hand before continuing in a whine. "Hungry."

"We were just about to head out for lunch, if you want to join?" Lucia winks when Beatrice meets her gaze, twisting Beatrice’s stomach into a knot.

"Thanks but - "

"Bea!" Beatrice’s head snaps to Ava waving at her energetically, trying to weave through the children racing between them. She smiles reflexively, waves and lifts Diana to see her, setting her back down and watching her race to her mother. Ava captures her, picks her up and kisses her cheek before dropping into Beatrice’s chest. "Hans needed me to trade shifts, I have the day off. I was thinking we could get lunch?"

"I was actually just inviting them with us!" Lucia’s voice is overly saccharine, too bright. Ava lifts her head from Beatrice’s shoulder and stares at the woman curiously, smiling and waving at the children when they greet her.

"This is Carlos, the boy I was telling you about, his friend Marley, and his mother Lucia." Ava twists to meet her eyes when the woman’s name comes out sharper than Beatrice had intended. She asks about it silently, searches for the words Beatrice isn’t ready to say. Beatrice looks away.

"Well, what do you wanna do, Di?" Ava bounces her softly. Diana looks between Beatrice’s tensed jaw and Carlos’s buzzing excitement.

"Go Carlos?" Ava nods once and waits for Beatrice to agree as well before acknowledging Lucia.

Ava makes small talk with Lucia while they make their way to the restaurant next door, Beatrice’s fingers curled tightly around hers. When they are taken to a table, Lucia’s hand presses briefly into the small of her back and she winks when Beatrice bumps into Ava trying to shrug her off. The children elect to sit across from the adults with Beatrice sat between Ava and Lucia. Beatrice prays this meal won’t be as awful as she thinks it will.

Ava kisses the back of her hand before relinquishing it to take Diana to the bathroom. 

"So?" Lucia’s hand scrapes up Beatrice’s thigh until she shoves it off her lap. "Who’s that?"

"She is Diana’s mother, Ava. Please stop touching me." Beatrice tries to fight the rising pressure in her lungs. Lucia smiles coyly and winks when Ava slides back into the seat next to Beatrice.

"Are you alright?" Ava presses into Beatrice’s side, squeezes the hand she pulls into her lap.

"Fine." Beatrice forces a smile and she knows Ava doesn’t believe her, she knows by the wrinkle between her eyes and the little quiver of the corner of her mouth. Carlos shoots a straw wrapper at Beatrice and she laughs brightly, dropping Ava’s gaze to fling the wrapper in his direction. 

Lucia pats her knee and Beatrice suddenly finds she isn’t hungry anymore. Beatrice crosses and uncrosses her legs more times than she can count, trying desperately to listen as Carlos and Ava discuss the best Pokémon and why it’s Mimikyu. Marley disagrees and brings Mew into the conversation but Beatrice can’t focus enough to join, even when they all try so hard to get her involved. Ava keeps pausing to look at her, especially when Beatrice chokes on her drink because Lucia squeezes her thigh.

"I’m going to clean myself up." Beatrice blots the wet spot on her shirt with her napkin, ignoring the stares she receives when she scrapes her chair back and rushes to the restroom.

She stares at her wild eyes and hair in the mirror for only a moment before pulling her shirt off and holding it under the hand dryers, more thankful than ever that she decided to wear a top under her shirt today.

The door creaks open and Beatrice sighs, doesn’t turn from the hand dryer. She waits for Ava’s worried voice to ask if she’s alright, she waits for the light touch on her elbow to silently ask her to turn.

Instead, arms slither around her hips, curl around her stomach and turn her in place. 

"Lucia. Umm, could I… could I just get a minute… I’m not feeling too well." Beatrice takes a step back, hits her elbow on the hot metal of the dryer. She has nowhere to go, Lucia stands between her and the door.

"So Ava, huh?" Is this what a rabbit feels like when a wolf decides to make a meal of it?

"I would really prefer not to do this, please." She hates how her voice shakes, how her hip clips the edge of the sink, how her shoulders press into the cold tile wall.

"It’s okay, we don’t have to tell your girlfriend." Lucia winks and her breath singes across Beatrice’s face. She squeezes her eyes closed and tries to disappear.

Beatrice forgets how to breathe, she feels the world collapse into this single moment as her blood runs cold and Lucia kisses her.

Her stomach turns hard and she freezes, she disappears. Beatrice is certain she’s going to fall through the floor and wake up in hell, that this is some sort of demonic torture method for whatever sins she’s forgotten to ask repentance for. But when Lucia tries to force her tongue in Beatrice’s mouth, she remembers how to move.

Beatrice shoves her shoulders hard, sends Lucia stumbling backward and crashing into the far wall. She makes a beeline for the door, swings it open and wrenches her arm out of Lucia’s cold grip.

"Bea?" Ava’s already on her feet, eyes wide and fingers brushing over the inside of Beatrice’s wrist. She doesn’t try to regain the contact when Beatrice yanks her arm away. "Hey, are you okay?"

"I just remembered I have a thing, I’ve got to go." Carlos watches her dig through her jacket for a handful of cash, dropping it on the table before ducking through the group coming in the door and turning down the sidewalk.

Ava lifts Diana from her seat, hurries to follow Beatrice onto the street, spins in place to try to find her when they emerge. 

Beatrice has disappeared without a trace.

Ava tries calling her, tries sending her messages but she receives no replies. So she makes her way home with Diana, promises to order pizza in exchange for her lunch being cut short.

She’s there.

Pacing in hurried circles and chewing on her thumbnail in front of Ava’s door. Her eyes are red and her breaths are ragged and wet, her nail beds on the opposite hand are raw and bleeding in some places from where she’s torn the skin apart between her teeth.

Ava doesn’t try to stop her movements, doesn’t try to figure out what’s bothering her, she simply opens the door and steps out of the way for Beatrice to enter unimpeded. Beatrice offers no acknowledgment, no explanation as she pushes into the apartment and locks herself in the bathroom.

Ava settles Diana in her high chair with chicken nuggets and broccoli pieces before going to check on Beatrice.

"Hey, Bea." She knocks on the door. "It’s just me. Are you okay?"

"I’m going to take a shower." Her words are rushed and she stumbles over them like Bambi on ice.

"Okay. I can get you some fresh clothes, would you prefer that?"

"Thank you." Ava rests her forehead against the door and sighs, lets her eyes close as she tries to will Beatrice into being okay.

She gathers her softest pajamas, the set Beatrice always steals when she forgets to bring her own. She hears the water screech on, the shower curtain scream closed. Diana whines from her entrapment and Ava lets her down, bribes her with cookies into going down for her nap early before she returns to the door. She knocks firmly and receives no reply.

"Hey, Bea." Ava calls through the door. "I have those pajamas you love. Do you want me to leave them out here or - "

"You can come in." Ava inhales deeply and nods, twists the knob slowly, staring intentionally at her feet as she steps into the steam filled room.

"I’m just going to leave these on the counter, I’ll be in the living room if you need me." She spins back to the door after dropping the clothes where she’d promised to leave them, pausing when she hears a sharp sniffle from behind the curtain. "Bea? Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Just - can…" Beatrice takes a shaky breath. "Can you stay?"

"Oh. Umm yeah. I can stay. Do I - do I need to like… I’m not quite certain what I’m supposed to do." Beatrice makes a coughing sound that resembles a choked sob and Ava wants to wrap her in a blanket and tell her everything’s going to be alright. "Do you want me to sit here next to the tub?"

"It’s fine, you don’t - "

"That wasn’t my question, Bea. Do you want me to sit next to the tub, yes or no?"

"Yes." Her voice nearly gets lost in the water hitting the bottom of the basin, Ava barely catches when she adds infinitely quieter. "Please."

"Of course." Ava presses her back into the cold porcelain tub and hums quietly to herself, crossing her legs and hoping Beatrice will tell her what’s wrong without her having to ask. She’s not sure why she offers, but Beatrice doesn’t seem to be doing much more than standing under the scalding hot water. "I have a bath bomb or bubbles if you would prefer to take a bath."

"I - are you sure?" The curtain shifts and Beatrice’s hair drips water onto the tiles beside Ava.

"Absolutely. I mean, the bath bombs have little toys in them, but if you’re willing to overlook that." Ava stares at the animals on the bathmat.

"Are they good toys?" Beatrice is trying very hard to sound lighthearted, Ava knows she’s trying to wash away the stifling dark clouds that have settled in the room with them.

"Well, Diana loves them." Ava offers a half smile over her shoulder, not quite turning enough to meet Beatrice’s eyes. Beatrice laughs wetly and the water turns off briefly before she starts to fill the tub. Ava digs through Diana’s bath supplies, raising the bath bomb box above her head triumphantly when she finds it. "I have lavender and chamomile, orange and grapefruit, or… well this just says milk. I don’t know what that means."

"I would rather not smell like soggy cereal," Beatrice tries to joke, but the tears in her voice drown the humor. "The chamomile one sounds nice."

The curtain screams as it’s pushed open slowly, Ava stares intently at the door when she turns to hand the bath bomb to Beatrice.

"Thank you." Her voice is softer than it had been before, strained with emotion and Ava wants so desperately to wrap her in her arms and tell her it’s okay.

"It’s just a bath bomb. I think it was like four dollars for the set."

"Not. Not that. For - " Beatrice makes a clicking noise. Ava presses her back into the side of the tub. She doesn’t turn. "For being you. For being here."

"I never left. I’ve always been here, Bea. I always will."

"You can’t promise that." Ava almost turns, for barely a second she starts to. But she stops. She doesn’t want to make Beatrice uncomfortable.

"I can. And I have. And I will." Beatrice’s hand drips water down her neck when she brushes Ava’s hair over her shoulder. The droplet races down Ava’s spine and makes her shiver.

The water sloshes as Beatrice leans to turn it off, Ava can hear the bath bomb fizzing quietly as it dissolves, Diana’s music box slows to a stop. Ava worries Beatrice can hear her heart thumping against her chest. Lavender and chamomile wrap around her like a warm coat, carried by the steam from the broiling hot water.

Ava twists, keeps her head trained on the opposite wall while she extends her hand for Beatrice to take if she wishes. She does, threads her wet fingers through Ava’s and squeezes. Ava squeezes back.

"You can look." Ava’s heart stops and she shakes her head reflexively. "It’s okay, Ava."

"Are you sure?" Father forgive me but fuck you, this is not the time for these feelings. Beatrice’s free hand is gentle as it takes Ava’s chin and slowly turns her head for their eyes to meet. Her smile is soft and sincere, Ava reciprocates it easily.

She’s folded into herself, knees tucked under her chin, arm squeezing around her shins, shoulders curled into her thighs. She looks so small. Small and broken. Eyes red and puffy, nose raw, cheeks flushed. Ava’s never seen her like this, it twists and pulls and stabs her in the heart.

"Are you alright?" She rubs her thumb over Beatrice’s knuckles, watches her throat bob when she swallows.

"Fine." Ava raises an eyebrow but she doesn’t ask again, Beatrice drops her chin onto her knees and sighs, cuts her eyes away. "I’m sorry."

"You don’t have to apologize. You’ve done nothing wrong."  Beatrice shrugs and Ava offers a half smile. "Do you want me to wash your hair? It always makes me feel better when I’m upset."

Beatrice nods and Ava grabs the shampoo bottle as she moves behind Beatrice, massaging it into her scalp. Beatrice sighs deeply and leans into the touch, the soap foams and drips onto Beatrice’s shoulder. Ava watches the bubbles race down her back, trail over a freckle on her back.

"It was Lucia." Ava’s head snaps up as Beatrice turns, presses her chin into her shoulder.

"That upset you?" Beatrice nods. "Did you get into a fight?" Ava rinses the soap off her hands, cups water in her hand to rinse Beatrice’s hair.

"We aren’t - it’s not like that. I don’t - " Beatrice shakes her head, turns away. She sniffs and her voice wobbles, she continues barely in a whisper. "Please."

"Sorry. It’s not my business. You don’t have to tell me." Beatrice sighs again. "You can if you want, I just don’t want to pry."

"Ask."

"Uh, what?" Ava pulls back, braces herself on the edge of the tub.

"Ask. Please. I can’t…"

"Did she do something?" Beatrice nods. "Something you didn’t like?" She nods again. "Something you didn’t want?" Another nod. "Did she hurt you?"

Beatrice twists completely, tears in her eyes and chin wobbling. Soap tracks down the side of her face and Ava wipes it away without thinking. Beatrice flinches away.

"Sorry." She pulls away. Beatrice chases her hand with her own, leads it back to her face.

"Please."

"What’d she do, Bea?" Ava holds her face steady, listens to the water drip from the faucet.

"It’s not - it’s not even - I shouldn’t - "

"Hey, hey. Listen to me, you’re safe. You’re safe now. Whatever happened, I’m here." Ava doesn’t think before pulling her into her arms, soapy water drenching her shirt when Beatrice tucks her head into her neck. Ava cradles the back of her head, scratches the foamy skin there softly. "I’m here. You’re safe."

"I shouldn’t feel like this. It was just - it was - it was - "

"It wasn’t just anything, Bea. If you’re upset, it’s not just anything. Don’t invalidate your own emotions." Ava drops her cheek against the top of her head, squeezes her shoulders and rubs a circle on her back. "I’m here. You’re safe."

She holds her while she cries, scratches the nape of her neck and rubs across her shoulders until the tears fade and the sobs stop. She lets Beatrice’s wet hair stick her shirt to her back and trickle water down her spine, resists the urge to press a kiss against her temple. She holds her until the steam stops rising and the water cools and the bath bomb fizz all pops. She holds her until she pulls away.

"Hey. Come on. Let’s get you dressed and into bed, yeah?" Ava rubs the tops of her shoulders and smiles. "Let me rinse the rest of the shampoo out of your hair, then I’ll brush it and braid it, yeah?"

"Thank you."

"Always." Ava guides her back around, tilts her head back and slowly rinses the remaining soap from her hair. Beatrice watches her silently through glassy eyes, Ava’s careful not to splash any soap into her eyes, cups her hands to block the water when she pours it over her scalp. She helps her up, hands her a clean towel from the rack. "I’ll be right outside, if you need me."

"You don’t - you can stay." Ava pauses with her fingers on the doorknob.

"I know. I’ll be on the other side of the door." She doesn’t close it all the way, she stays where Beatrice can see her through the crack in the door. The wet spot on her shirt is cold, makes the skin feel blasted with frigid Arctic air. The door creaks open quietly and Beatrice’s fingers are warm as she grazes down the back of Ava’s elbow to her wrist. Ava turns and watches a water droplet speed down the vein in Beatrice’s neck and spread into the neck of her pullover. She’s holding Ava’s hairbrush and a hair tie. "Bed?" Beatrice nods a single time, chews on her bottom lip until Ava taps her thumb against the flesh. She smiles when Beatrice releases the raw skin from between her teeth. "Come now, let’s take care of your hair."

She’s gentle as she leads Beatrice to her bedroom, as she settles her on the floor beside her bed, as she shifts so Beatrice’s back is pressed into her shins.

"Is this okay?" Her hand hovers over Beatrice’s damp hair. She nods. "I need you to tell me, Bea."

"This is okay." Ava’s fingers sift through her hair, bundle the hair together so she can pull the brush through it carefully. Ava doesn’t speak again while she twists Beatrice’s hair into a French braid, ties the hair elastic around the end and drops it over Beatrice’s shoulder.

"All done. Do you want to lay down? Or I can make tea. Or we can watch a movie. Diana’s down for her nap so we have - "

"Ava."

"Sorry. I don’t want to make you feel like you  - "

"I know." Beatrice presses deeper into Ava’s legs, drops her head over her knee. "I feel safe with you."

And there it is. That’s silly warm feeling that twists Ava’s heart in her chest and squeezes her lungs and makes her body pulse with each heartbeat.

Ava rubs her thumb over a freckle on Beatrice’s neck that’s shaped almost like a heart.

"Diana has one like this in this same spot." Beatrice twists to try to see what Ava’s talking about. "This heart-shaped freckle. She has it right here." She traces the muscle in her neck further up before pressing her thumb into the space Diana’s freckle is. She can feel Beatrice’s heartbeat thrashing beneath her fingertips.

Beatrice lifts her eyes from Ava’s hand to meet her gentle gaze, she turns into her, presses up on her knees to launch herself into Ava’s chest. She knocks the breath from Ava’s lungs as she tackles her back into the mattress, nose pressing into its home in the crook of her neck and arms squeezing tight.

Ava’s shirt is still wet and Beatrice’s breath across the cold flesh ripples goosebumps across her skin.

"You’re wet." She mumbled into the damp cloth, nuzzling closer.

"That’s what she said." Ava responds automatically before freezing. "Shit sorry, that was - "

Beatrice giggles, soft and unsteady. Ava feels her try to bury her smile in her shoulder, the curve of her grin pressed into her collarbone, the warmth of her laughter seeping through her skin and spreading through her chest.

"It’s okay." Beatrice smiles crookedly, face softer than it has been in as long as Ava can remember. She pulls away, rolls off her and pokes her side softly. "You should change out of your wet clothes."

Ava bites back another witty retort in favor of kissing Beatrice on the forehead and following her suggestion, ducking into her closet to shed the shirt and tug a dry one on. Beatrice is sprawled on her stomach across the bedspread waiting when she opens the door. She smiles, soft eyes watching her quietly.

Ava takes the hand Beatrice holds out to her, allows her to be pulled down beside her. She starts to curl against her when she hesitates.

"Is this okay?" Beatrice nods and Ava chews her lip but doesn’t move.

"It’s okay." Beatrice wiggles closer, guides Ava’s arm around her waist and tucks her nose into her neck. "I feel safe with you."

I feel safe with you.

Ava kisses her forehead again, holds her against her racing heart and prays she’ll never forget this moment.

[theredstrays]

the typical 'surprise is a boy' with jason finding benjamin but instead of a gift, is the dead body of benjamin because the youth program couldn't let their best weapon escape.

[kalolasart]

Half light

It was then, when Helena realized that they were just a pair of paper hearts...

Illustration for chapter 52. The Paper Hearts from Paper Hearts Black Clover fan fiction.

[queen-of-writing-bad-things]

Henry Danger Reader Insert | Captain Man x Reader: SEASON 3

Episode 2: Love Muffin

~The Man Cave~

Something was up, something big. Ray had called Henry and Charlotte to the Man Cave way past their bedtimes and now, they were pacing around the main room with (y/n). She knew as much as they did, absolutely jack all and was just as worried for whatever emergency was going on as they were.

"Why would he want want us here after midnight on a Thursday?" Henry asked as they all paced around, but no one could give him an answer. Charlotte and (y/n) were still in their pyjamas and extremely sleepy, but their worried minds wouldn't let them get any sleep until they knew what was going on.

"I don't know, but if it's because he had a bad dream again, I am not gonna sing him a lullaby this time. That's your job." Charlotte looked at (y/n) who rolled her eyes and went back to her panicking.

"No, he's not been around all evening, I don't know where he is. God...I'm so worried." She breathed out and rubbed her eyes with the palm of her heels as she tried not to get into a state. He was indestructible and more than capable of looking after himself. It just concerned her that he'd not sent a text or left a note about where he was going.

"I'm here!" Jasper panted as he came bumbling down in the elevator. He had an odd choice of pyjamas; an all American flag onesie, but the weirdest thing about him was the fact that he had his hair done up in rollers.

"That's an emergency." Henry deadpanned. He couldn't see Jasper like that and not poke fun at him. It was just too good of an opportunity to miss.

"Are you...why would...curlers?" Charlotte stuttered as she struggled to put her shock into words. Why would he put them in his hair? Did he do it every night? So many questions.

"What, you thought my hair was naturally curly?" He asked the girls as he smirked at their open mouths. He just did it to spice up his look and he'd been doing it for years.

"I feel lied to." (y/n) commented, but her joking stopped as the tube alarm beeped and Ray came down, with a stupid look on his face.

"Heyyyyyy. Hello, friends. Welcome, welcome!" He breathed out dreamily, confusing the woman and teens as he greeted them. Why did he seem so out of it?

"Hey..." The kids said as (y/n) put her hands on her hips and gave him a pointed stare. She wanted to know why she had been waiting up, worried sick all night for him to come home.

"Ray Manchester, where have you been? I've been---" She was cut off as Ray smushed his finger against her lips to shut her up. Seriously, what was up with him? He'd never stop (y/n) from speaking normally, but this wasn't normal.

"And now...I want to introduce you guys to someone very special..." Ray told his friends and (y/n) felt her heart clench as she got the feeling that he was about to do something dreadful. The alarm for the other tube sounded and down came a very beautiful woman, wearing dark makeup and dark clothes. Holy shit.

"Who's that?" Charlotte whispered to the woman but she was shutting down, both mentally and physically as she sensed the worst. Her nightmare come to life, right in front of her and she couldn't move.

"I don't know. Looks like a woman." Henry whispered back, seeing that (y/n) was pale and shaking, worrying him beyond belief. It took a lot to get her like this and he didn't like how she was reacting.

Ray brought the woman into his arms and gave her a soft kiss on the lips, making (y/n) choke up as tears sprung to her eyes. Was he doing this deliberately as some sort of cruel prank? To bring this into the Man Cave at such a late hour seemed so unkind like he was rubbing it in her face and Charlotte put a hand on her shoulder as she trembled.

"Everyone...this is Gwen," Ray said her name and (y/n) immediately hated it. It could've been anything and she'd hate it, but the way the woman smirked at her sickened reaction made her heart ache more. Sure, he'd had girlfriends in the past and they stung, like she'd had boyfriends and stung him, but this felt different, more intense and like he genuinely wanted it to work. And that made her heart throb.

"Hi, guys." Gwen smiled sinisterly to the kids, who also instantly disliked her. What was Ray thinking? Bringing her down into his secret hideout and flaunting his new relationship in front of the woman he really loved, was he insane?

"Ray, can I talk to you for a second?" Henry grabbed onto his boss's elbow and dragged him away from Gwen's arms, which didn't go down very well with Ray. (y/n) hated the way he whined when he had to let go of the dark-haired woman and she had to turn away to stop her mind from keeping the image forever. 

"Hold on, I'd really rather--" The large man made grabby hands at his new woman, but Henry was on a mission and he wasn't gonna let this go without an answer. He had way too much loyalty to (y/n) and the hope of her and Ray getting together.

"Just a sec, so sorry." He said as he yanked him away, even though he wasn't sorry at all. In fact, he was rather proud of himself for getting him to stop slathering all over her.

"Are you crazy!!" Henry hissed at him as he made sure that Charlotte was comforting the heartbroken young woman behind him. Good, he needed her distracted so he could give his boss a good talking to.

"What?" Ray looked at him innocently, not being able to pick up on anyone else's feelings through the haze of love he felt for Gwen. It was like his mind wasn't his own.

"You can't just bring some stranger down here into the Man Cave!" Henry hissed, deciding to use (y/n) as his main argument in a few moments. He wanted to shock Ray into sense and if he had to pull out the big guns, he would.

"Oh, Gwen's not a stranger." Ray scoffed, looking over at the bewitching woman with heart eyes. He couldn't even hear the way (y/n) was sniffing into Charlotte's shoulder.

"Well, how long have you known her?," Henry asked as he saw how broken the young woman was. This Gwen girl better be good, but then again, the boy was sure that no one would ever suit Ray more than (y/n) did. They were soulmates.

"Almost three hours." Ray cooed and rested his head on Henry's shoulder, but the boy was disgusted with his behaviour. So many years of loving (y/n) and he was throwing it all away for an actual stranger?

"What?! Three hours?! Dude, what about (y/n)?" He said the woman's name quietly, but she was so distraught that she could only hear the words 'I've lost him' bouncing around in her head. She knew this day would come when he found a nice girl and settled down with her properly, but she didn't think it would be tonight or without her. That last shred of hope that he might turn around and say that she was the one he wanted, died when she saw his loving gaze at Gwen. He wasn't hers to love anymore.

"What about her? I love Gwen...Ooo, that reminds me. I gotta tell her she's Miss Danger and you're Kid Danger." Ray suddenly perked up and Henry scrambled to stop him, but he was too strong and too fast to hold back.

"What? No, no, no--" Henry panicked, but Ray wasn't thinking straight.

"Hey, honey?" He smiled at Gwen, making (y/n) lookup from Charlotte's shoulder with red, puffy eyes. Bless her, she'd tried everything to make (y/n) feel better, but everything Charlotte tried wouldn't work and Ray was making it worse.

"Yes?" Gwen's sweet voice turned away from her conversation with Jasper to look at her new man. 

"I bet you'll never guess who this loveable knucklehead really is." Ray put his arm around Henry, who was trying to escape his hold and shut him up, but he couldn't wriggle free.

"Not a good idea." Charlotte, Henry and Jasper shook their heads frantically and tried to make him zip his lip. (y/n) was still staying silent as her voice would just be small and quiet because she had taken in everything aspect of Gwen and had come to one conclusion. She was gorgeous, her figure was flawless and she obviously had something that Ray saw that she didn't have. 

"Kid Danger! Haha!" Ray giggled as Gwen smirked at the new information. She was working her way into the centre of the Man Cave and it was easier than she could ever have imagined. She'd heard the rumours about Captain Man and Miss Danger being a couple, but when she learnt that, in reality, they were so careful and insecure about their love, it made Ray an easy target.

"Dude!" Henry shrieked in horror, but Ray giggled dreamily. His head was spinning and his lips moved before he could stop them. All he could see, hear and feel was Gwen.

"It's okay, Gwen even knows that I'm Captain Man. Oh, and (y/n)'s Miss Danger." He brushed off their concern as they all gasped and voiced their disgust with him. Was he trying to get them all captured or killed?

"Ray! That wasn't your secret to tell!" (y/n) finally found her voice at the mention of her name. She was certain that she was having a heart attack, but she didn't want her secrets being told to everyone that Ray fancied. That was her business and the fact that he was telling every girl that walked through his life pissed her off.

"It's fine...and guess what else." Ray shook off her anger and took Gwen's hand again as she smiled evilly at him. Surely things couldn't get worse, but the young woman felt her bravery take a back seat as they started to snuggle up again. Just last night they were the closest of friends and her love had never been brighter, but now, it was like she was the stranger and Gwen had stolen the prize right from under her nose.

"Gwen and I...we're getting married." Ray smiled and that was when the dam broke. Every tear in her body came flooding to her eyes as the news broke (y/n). Literally broke her, like Ray had taken a knife, carved out her heart and crushed it with his bare hand. She bit back her sob as she turned around quickly and sat by herself on the couch, needing to look away from whatever had happened to her best friend. The teens couldn't believe it, Ray getting married to that floozy? What? 

Henry felt his own heart hurt as he watched the woman isolate herself from the group and he was taken aback by how small she seemed. Without Ray by her side, she was so lonely and fragile, like the slightest touch would break her if anyone tried to reach out and comfort her. She was on her own with her broken love.

"Heyyyy. What's the...happening?" Schwoz came in, full of beans despite the late hour, but his smile died when he saw (y/n) shaking and trying to muffle her sobs on the sofa and the shock written all over Henry, Jasper's and Charlotte's faces.

"Ray's getting married to a woman he met three hours ago!" Henry told him and Schwoz blanched at the news, his head snapping from Ray to (y/n) and then back to Ray. 

"Whaaaaaaaat?!" He gasped in horror and his nose screwed up in disgust when Ray fawned over Gwen. That should've been his best friend in his arms, not this floozy.

"And--why does Jasper have those things on his head?" Schwoz asked although he should've focused on the larger problem at hand. Screw Jasper's hair, the family that Ray had built for himself was at threat and everyone needed to pull together to find out why.

~The next morning, in Junk-N-Stuff~

(y/n) hadn't slept a wink. She'd just collapsed onto her bed and sobbed into her quilt to let out nine years of broken love. Where had she gone wrong? All those times she could have said something and she hadn't, now, she felt so foolish. She'd known all along that there had always been a chance that he'd find someone else and settle down with them, but she hadn't expected it that night and she hadn't been prepared for how much it hurt.

Henry had managed to drag her from her moping around noonish and she had moodily trudged upstairs with him so she could cry in Junk-N-Stuff. It was bad for business, but the boy knew she had to get away from Ray and Gwen's kissing. Not to mention all the...other stuff that she'd heard, which made her cry harder and hurt deeper.

"Henry..." Jasper looked to his best friend as he tried to water Omar. The plant needed care, but it was fussy about who got to give that care. Normally, it was (y/n), who was no longer afraid of the flytrap's snappy attitude, but she was currently slumped on the floor with her face pressed into her knees. Let's just say that she needed some space.

"Yeah?" The boy broke out of his deep pondering and looked at his two friends, both of whom had a problem on very different levels.

"This plant's intimidating me." Jasper pouted, but his friend didn't care. His job was on the line and everything he'd been pushing (y/n) and Ray towards for nearly two years was in tatters. He needed to think, not worry about plants.

"Dude, we got way bigger problems right now than...plant thirst." He stressed, making the young woman look up at him as he stopped in front of her and gestured his arm to her depressed state. She looked terrible, with bags under her red eyes and crumpled pyjamas, anyone would be able to tell she was mourning something or someone dear to her. 

"I mean, why would Ray wanna marry a lady he's only known for three hours?" Henry asked Jasper, and a stab of pain went through the woman's heart at the reminder.

"Rub it in, why don't you?" She sniffed and got to her feet. She was still miserable, but the floor was cold and it just made her look desperate. She was allowed to be a little desperate though, she was hurting bad.

"Maybe she has a trampoline," Jasper suggested, making Henry and (y/n) look at him with annoyed expressions. That wasn't very helpful. Even Omar wasn't impressed, but then again, he rarely was.

~In the Man Cave~

"No, I love you more. I do too. No, I love you more than you love me. Oh, I think I do." Ray smiled as he told Gwen the sickly sweet words over the phone and shuffled along the couch. Everything she did, even if it was nothing made his heart race and his brain turn to mush, which was hard for Charlotte and Schwoz to watch as they tinkered with a machine.

"All right, he's about to make me puke," Charlotte grumbled to Schwoz as she listened to his ridiculous drivel. She took back every gag and eye roll she ever made at how lovey-dovey Ray and (y/n) were together since they were meant to be. This was just revolting, over-the-top trash talk.

"No, I love you more." Ray continued to giggle and coo down the phone and Schwoz knew he needed to get to the bottom of this fast before (y/n) walked out and Ray made the biggest mistake of his life.

"What's that?" Charlotte asked as she saw him charge up a gun-like gadget that she'd never seen before.

"We can use this to find out why Ray fell in love with that woman so quickly. I will die before I see Ray lose (y/n)." Schwoz told the young girl gravely and she got the sentiment. She'd known them for only a small fraction of their friendship, but Schwoz? He'd seen it all; from their first meeting to their first fight and make-up, he'd watched them fall in love and he was going to see them together, even if it killed him.

"But how can--" Charlotte was confused as to how it worked, but there was time for questions later. Schwoz shushed her as Ray left himself open for the small man to blast him.

"Ray! Ray, come quick to me!" Schwoz called him in a sing-song voice, and even though he didn't want to, Ray said goodbye to his "lovely" Gwen.

"Yeah, I'll see you in a few minutes. I love you. Muah!" He made kissy noises down the phone. and drunkenly stood up from the supercomputer chair where he'd been rambling on the phone for the past few minutes.

"Okay, Schwoz, what was it that you wanted me--" Ray never finished his sentence. As soon as he had tucked his phone back into his back pocket, Schwoz shot his device thing at his face, making him go all wobbly and woozy.

"Charlotte, catch him!" Schwoz told the girl, but she could barely hold up a person of her own weight, let alone Ray, who was all muscle and bulk. 

"Me? Ah!" The girl screamed as Ray collapsed on top of her. At least she broke his fall.

"Good job! Now, bring him over to the sofa." Schwoz instructed her and walked off. She couldn't move, she had a huge man crushing her spleen and pinning down her arms. Her job was never easy.

~Upstairs~

"Come on, smile for me..." Jasper encouraged Omar and tried to stroke his foliage, but he just received a face full of goop. Yeah, it was never a good idea to disturb the plant, not that Henry or (y/n) cared. They were still panicking and pacing around as they thought about Ray.

"He globbered me!" Jasper whined, making (y/n) sigh as she and Henry dashed over to help him wipe away the sticky gunk. It was never nice to get it in your eyes and they couldn't leave him to blindly stumble around the store.

"All right, all right, it's not that bad," Henry reassured him as the young woman grabbed some tissues.

"Don't touch your eyes, you'll just rub it in and then it gets really bad." She told Jasper, who swiftly dropped his hands to his side. (y/n) began to clear the goo from each eye and it gave Henry a chance to check up on her. He hadn't done that yet and he felt like she deserved all the support in the world.

"Hey, are you all right?" He asked her softly, taking note of the way she was so gentle and kind to Jasper even though her heart was missing. Even without her love, she still had enough to go around and would never dream of hoarding it to keep herself happy. It reminded Henry that she always took care of everyone else and now, it was their turn to take care of her in her hour of need.

"No, not really." She whispered back, trying not to cry. She was certain that if she started again, she'd never stop and she had to put on her brave face even though she wasn't feeling brave at all.

"What you feelin'?" Jasper asked carefully, making sure to choose his words with meaning. It wasn't a casual "what's up?" or "what's wrong?", it got to the centre of her and what was going on in her mind.

"Oh, you know. I'm feeling depressed because the man I've loved for nearly all of the nine years I've known him has promised himself to a stranger. I'm angry because she's everything I could never be and...I'm scared." She muttered the last part as she finished cleaning the last of Omar's puke from Jasper's face and the boys exchanged a worried glance with each other.

"Why?" Henry asked, hating to see such a usually bubbly and cheery woman reduced to a shell of her former self. 

"Because where does this leave me? If they do...get married, I can't live here. I'll have to give all this up and move out, 'cause I can't watch Ray build a life with someone who isn't me. And I guarantee I won't be wanted anymore. He's gonna have a wife, why would he want me?" She confessed and gulped as she imagined saying goodbye to Ray for the last time. Surely, this wasn't how it was meant to be.

"We're gonna find out what's wrong with him and then Gwen--" Henry's determined speech was cut off as the devil herself came strolling through the door. Ugh, what did she want?

"Henry. Jasper. Poor little (y/n)..." She smirked as she walked into the store, a box in her freshly manicured hands. God, she was so smug and (y/n) knew that her cocky stare was her way of telling her that she'd won and there was nothing she could do to stop her.

"Hey, Gwen..." Jasper greeted her cautiously, very aware of the thick tension between the two women. Of course, he and Henry were loyal to (y/n), but they didn't want to appear too hostile until they sussed out what she was doing with Ray.

"Uh, Jasper, why don't you go take (y/n) to the bathroom?" Henry suggested to his friend as he eyed Gwen's suspicious movements. He needed some alone time with her to assess what she was up to.

"Because I'm a grown woman and I can go by myself?" (y/n) replied for Jasper, thinking that Henry was completely crazy. Like she needed an escort to go pee, she wasn't that sad.

"Then go into the bathroom and show him your Celine Dion playlist," Henry told her tightly and she got the message that he wanted them gone for a moment.

"All right, but first..." She agreed, but she had one thing to say to this emo barbie bitch before she went.

"I don't know what your game is, Gwen, but you won't win." She told the smirking woman, who puffed out her chest and looked at her like she was a child in need of a good scolding. Still, (y/n) stood her ground and kept hold of her courage, even though she was still feeling weak with sadness. 

"Oh, sweet, sweet girl. I've already won." Gwen hissed at her sharply, making the helper growl at the use of Ray's nickname for her. If she wanted a war, she could have one. (y/n) had nothing left to lose and she was too broken to care what anyone thought about her.

"I don't know how much Ray has told you, but...you can't hurt me. Not anymore, no one can." She told her rival in a low, serious voice before turning around and marching to the back room with Jasper in tow. It was true, no one could hurt her, she had moved past being a jumpy, mousy girl who was scared of her own shadow and was now a superhero of all things. However, there was one man who still had a grip on her heart and he was the one holding her together. But, his grip was loosening and she was at the point of falling if someone didn't wake him up soon. 

"Y'know...Henry. I got the feeling last night that you don't want me to marry your friend, Ray." Gwen started as soon as (y/n) and Jasper were out of earshot. She didn't want that good-for-nothing superhero bitch coming in with her superpowers and ruining her plans.

"Well, I'm glad that you got that feeling, 'cause the feeling is exactly what I want your feeling to be. Ya feelin' me?" Henry sassed her in an agitated tone, wishing to communicate all of his hate for the woman to her.

"I'm sorry, one more time?" She smirked, wanting to keep control of the situation by making Henry unsure of himself and what he was saying. She was sneaky that way.

"No, I'm sorry, 'cause I don't repeat stuff." Henry snapped back. He wasn't going to let her have the upper hand, no way. He wasn't afraid of her or how she was using Ray to get her own way, in fact, he was sure he could beat her.

~Back in the Man Cave~

After a lot of pain and struggling, Charlotte had finally managed to get Ray on the couch so he could sleep through his unconsciousness. 

"What are you doing?" She asked Schwoz in an exhausted voice, who had rapidly jogged over with some weird helmet scanner thing so he could slide it onto Ray's head. Yeah, he got the easy job.

"I am connecting this device to Ray's brain, and converting his cerebral memory impulses into audio and video images, so we can see his memories from yesterday when he first met the lady," Schwoz explained, his mouth turning into a nauseated sneer at the thought of Gwen. 

"When he first met the lady." Charlotte mimicked his funny voice, but she too had a sickened expression. Everyone hated Gwen and everyone was going to make sure she left. The girl looked at the screen with Schwoz and he pulled a lever, making his brain scanner flicker to life as it began to read Ray's mind. It was all a bit too complicated for Charlotte, but she tried to keep up where she could and soon, they'd found the right memory.

"Hey, you there!"

"Me?"

"What are you doing with that glowing blob?"

"Uh, nothing."

"That's a lie, I think you're a criminal."

"Are you...hungry?"

"Uhhh..." Schwoz and Charlotte watched in horror as they saw what had unfolded the previous night. Gwen must have tricked Ray or hypnotised him or something because he'd never give up his secrets and love for her and they weren't the only ones who knew that.

~Meanwhile, upstairs~

In the store, Henry was giving the woman a piece of his mind. He didn't trust her and for good reason, she was evil and up to no good, not that he knew the extent of it.

"I know Ray and there's no way that he'd meet you, and then ask you to marry him on the same day, unless you--unless you did something. Because I know and everyone else knows that Ray loves (y/n) and belongs with her." Henry hissed at her and that's when Gwen opened her Tupperware box. She knew that Captain Man and Kid Danger were too resilient to her charms in their own minds, so she had to unleash her secret weapon. 

"Y'know Henry...I was hoping that we could be friends. But now...I'm sorry that I made you these muffins." Gwen showed him the baked goods and the sickly sweet smell rising from them tickled Henry's nose.

"M-Muffins?!" He looked at her in confusion. He didn't trust this woman or anything she gave him, but those muffins sure looked good...

~Back in the Man Cave~

"Mmmm, yeah, that's really good. That's a really good muffin..." Charlotte and Schwoz continued to watch what had happened to Ray and they learnt that everything was fine until Gwen gave him a muffin. Wait a second...

"Captain Man?"

"Yeah?

"May I kiss you?" The sneaky woman. Ray never turned down a kiss from a pretty female begging for his attention. He had always told himself that one day, he might find someone who could distract his heart from the pain of not having (y/n) and Gwen was just another chick in line. Her kiss was nothing compared to the one he'd shared with his sweet girl, nothing ever was, but little did he know, this poison touch was about to steal him away from his love, possibly forever.

"Uhhhh...wuhhh...I like someone elseee...." Ray was powerless to stop her and his protests died where they stood when Gwen planted a gentle yet revolting kiss on the hero's lips. Schwoz didn't want Charlotte to see that so he put his hand over her eyes, which annoyed the girl. She didn't want to miss a thing; any detail could be crucial in helping their friend get back to normal.

"Now, Captain Man, is there something you want to tell me?" 

"Y-Yeah, I...I love you." What? Schwoz and Charlotte were flabbergasted at this revelation.

"That's right and you always will, so forget that silly girl in your head and love me." Schwoz puffed out his cheeks and ended the simulation as he and the teen girl reeled from the revelation. 

"The muffin!" Charlotte cried as she realised what had happened. Ray was perfectly fine until he ate the muffin!

"Yes!...What?" Schwoz wasn't following. He hadn't been paying as much attention as Charlotte and he couldn't make the connection between Ray and Gwen's muffin.

"Gwen did something to the muffin! Like...she must've added some sort of chemical or something and it made Ray fall in love with her when she kissed him!" Charlotte theorised, knowing that she was along the right lines. Gwen was evil and they had to stop her.

Suddenly, the secret door opened and out came (y/n) and Jasper, both singing to Celine Dion. The boy had taken the long way around to the Man Cave and had used every trick in his goofy body to cheer her up, which it had worked to an extent.

"Nearrrrrr, farrrrrr, whereeverrrr youuu are, I believeeee that the heart doessss go onnnn!" (y/n) sang with Jasper, not caring if she was off-key or offbeat. She was playing her sad playlist and she needed to rock out. Plus, if Celine was right, she'd come back from her heartache, yeah right.

"Jasper? (y/n)?" Charlotte walked towards them in confusion as the young woman muted the blaring music coming from her phone.

"Hey, what's up?" Jasper greeted her as (y/n) brushed some of her messy hair away from her face. Maybe getting a shower and getting dressed would be a good idea.

"Are you feeling better, (y/n)?" Schwoz looked conflicted. He was glad she wasn't sobbing uncontrollably anymore, but he also didn't want her to leave prematurely. If only he knew how cut up she was inside.

"Eh. I still feel like shit and I'm eighty-seven per cent sure I'm going to be homeless soon, but at least I've got Celine." She offered him a sad smile and it told him everything he needed to know. She wasn't feeling better, if anything she was feeling worse after having all night to think about what Ray "getting married" meant for her.

"I thought you guys were upstairs in Junk-N-Stuff with Henry," Charlotte told them, sensing that something was off. 

"Oh, we were, but Henry wanted to talk to Gwen, so we went to the--" Jasper tried to explain, but the moment he mentioned that cursed name, Charlotte and Schwoz started to panic.

"Gwen??" The teen girl cried, feeling like Henry could be in a lot of danger.

"Oh, geez." Schwoz gasped, also getting the sense that something nasty was going on upstairs.

"Come on!" The small man and girl ran to the elevator and, not wanting to be left behind, Jasper and (y/n) were hot on their heels.

"Wait for us!" The young woman exclaimed as she and Jasper slid across the cold floor. She knew Gwen was a thieving, bitchy skank, but why were they so concerned about Henry? What was going on?

~In Junk-N-Stuff~

Henry couldn't resist the temptation of a freshly-baked muffin, even if it had been made by a woman who was now considered to be an enemy. 

"Oh man, what is this, banana nut? This a banana nut muffin?" He asked the smirking woman as the spongy cake tingled his tastebuds. Little did he know that the muffin wasn't a baked good, it was a baked bad.

"Henry, don't swallow that muffin!" Charlotte burst onto the shop floor with an exuberant worry in her voice and Schwoz, Jasper and (y/n) weren't far behind her. 

"W-What--stop--ah!" Henry protested as Charlotte reached into his mouth and began to pick the crumbs out of his mouth. Yeah, it was gross to remove the gooey, half-chewed muffin but needs must and Henry couldn't be allowed to eat it.

"Henry, it's dangerous!" She tried to tell him, but Henry was instinctively fighting against the attack. Desperate time called for desperate measures.

"Use my handheld vacuum cleaner!" (y/n) passed her small device to Charlotte as she glared at Gwen. She didn't understand the full picture but she was getting the idea that this was her doing.

"Okay, out of your mouth! Henry!" Charlotte begged her friend as she sucked the muffin out, but Gwen wasn't going to let a child ruin her plans.

"Hey! Let him eat the muffin!" She yelled at Charlotte and it awoke (y/n)'s fury. This woman had come in and wrecked her life, she wasn't going to let her bully her friends.

"Back off, bitch!" She hissed back and Gwen and Charlotte engaged in a tug of war with Henry's body. They yanked him back and forth, back and forth until Henry pulled himself free of their grasps and staggered back. He tripped into a display and a large bust toppled over and onto his head, knocking the boy out. 

"Oh my god!" Charlotte gasped as her friend collapsed on the floor and before (y/n) could dish out her first-aid expertise, Jasper thrusted himself forward and offered his knowledge instead.

"I know mouth-to-mouth resuscitation!" He announced and swiftly shrugged off his jacket as he rushed to Henry's side, even though the kiss of life wouldn't help him. He was unconscious, not suffocating.

"I need to kiss him!" Gwen grabbed his shoulders and tried to force him away, but Jasper was stronger than he looked and (y/n) was ready to kick her ass.

"He's my best friend!" Jasper hissed to her and prised her fingers off of him just as (y/n) stepped forward to sort her out. Drawing her fist back, she sent a sharp punch to Gwen's jaw, sending the woman stumbling back in a painful daze.

"Sit down, shut up!" She hissed to her, ignoring the throbbing in her knuckles. It soothed quickly as the swelling disappeared instantly and if Gwen dared make a noise, she was more than happy to give her some more. 

Taking a deep breath, Jasper pressed his lips to Henry's and blew all the air in his lungs into his mouth. Henry gasped into consciousness and slowly lifted his head to see his friends looking at him in concern. 

"Quick, help him up!" (y/n) told Jasper and Schwoz stepped forward to help the couching boy to his feet. The world was spinning and his brain was fuzzy as the boys helped to keep him steady. 

"Hen, Hen, are you okay?"Jasper asked him in concern and he was taken aback by the loving gaze his best friend sent his way.

"I...I love you." Henry smiled at his newfound love, but Jasper didn't think he meant it in anything but a platonic way.

"Oh shit." (y/n) breathed out as Jasper realised that Henry wasn't joking. Okay, seeing Henry in love with him was weird and made him uncomfortable, especially when Henry latched onto him in a tight embrace.

"Hey, quit it! No, Henry--This is not a good time to hug." Jasper struggled to get him off. When Henry wanted to hug he was like an octopus, hands everywhere. 

"Henry, leave Curly alone." (y/n) tried to get him off, but no one could make him let go of Jasper. He loved him.

"Aw, you have pretty hair." The mention of Jasper's nickname switched Henry's attention and the blond boy started to pet Jasper's curls affectionately, much like how he had seen Ray do it to (y/n) when they were cuddling.

"Henry!" Charlotte shouted at her friend, but she had to face Gwen's wrath first.

"Great, see what you did?" She hissed at the girl, making (y/n) step in front of Charlotte protectively, even though she was more than happy to yell back.

"What I did?!" Charlotte reiterated in anger, not believing the nerve of the woman. She was the evil one, not her.

"Yeah!" Gwen growled, standing against the two girls, who were not afraid of a fight. They knew that they were in the right and she was in the wrong.

"We're not the ones who's been boppin' round here with a box of mystical muffins!" Charlotte argued, keeping a hand on (y/n)'s arm so she didn't lunge for Gwen. She hated her too and she would love nothing more than to see her friend give her what she deserved, but this wasn't the time for that.

"You little bitch, watch your step..." Gwen sneered and Charlotte had to take a step back to calm her nerves. She didn't want to fight either because she'd never win against a grown woman. However, luckily for her, she had a superhero on her side.

"Do you want another one? 'Cause I'll gladly beat your ass--" (y/n)'s threat was interrupted as her best friend appeared from the back, stopping her fist in the air. Dammit, why did he have to show up now?

"Gwen! I was just dreaming about the first time we met!" Ray cooed as he floated across the store and joined hands with Gwen, who was smirking at (y/n). The young woman instantly dropped her anger and reverted to her sad, reclusive self as she saw Ray go to her with a lovestruck smile.

"Hello, my sweet man." The criminal brushed his hair away from his eyes and looked at the Man Cave team with a smug smirk. She wanted them to know that she had their leader wrapped around her finger, especially since it rendered Miss Danger depressed and non-dangerous. 

"Ray, no!" Charlotte tried to stop him as she and Schwoz saw the way (y/n) lost all her confidence at the sight of Ray loving another.

"Quit--quit it!" Jasper slapped away Henry's hands as he had a different problem with love. Mainly that his best friend was acting crazy and wouldn't leave him alone.

"I can't quit you!" Henry replied in a cute baby voice and wrapped Jasper in another unwanted hug. 

"Ray, you don't really love her!" Charlotte tried again to get her boss away from that witch, but he was under her spell and couldn't hear what she was saying.

"Ray, she gave you a bad muffin that--" Even Schwoz couldn't get through to him and when he stood in between the couple, Ray just kept him sandwiched between them as he leaned over his head.

"She tricked you!" Charlotte yelled as (y/n) watched the scene with sad eyes. What had she done to deserve pain like this? If this was love, why did it hurt so much?

"Yah and she tried to do it to Henry too!" Schwoz gasped as he freed himself from the Ray-Gwen sandwich.

"Except Henry fell in love with Jasper by mistake!" The teen girl pointed to the best friends, where Jasper was still fighting off Henry's advances.

"Aw, my sweet girl's so smart!" Ray cooed, shattering the few remains of (y/n)'s heart that had somehow managed to keep beating. That was his name for her, no one else's and to hear it be used on someone else, someone who didn't deserve his love, was agonising.

"Can you please make all of these people leave so we can be alone?" Gwen trailed her finger up Ray's chest as Schowz and Charlotte frowned at her. She knew what she was doing, using Ray against them and it made them furious. 

"All right, everybody out!" He shouted at all his friends, who still couldn't believe that he was following her every order. Still, the muffins made people do anything and they realised that this wasn't his fault. Gwen was the one to blame.

"Come on, let's go!" He started to push them away as they protested, but he wasn't taking no for an answer. What Gwen wanted, Gwen would get. 

"Ray, we live here, you have no right to force us out!" (y/n) tried to fight him off, but he just kept pushing her, Charlotte, Schwoz, Henry and jasper out of the door.

"I don't want you here," Ray told her in a cold voice and suddenly, she stopped fighting. Those were the words she'd never wanted to hear coming from him and they'd only appeared in her worst nightmares. Now, they'd come to life.

"Hate to see ya go, but go! Bye-bye!" Gwen smirked at them as the last of her problems were forced out of the store. Good, with (y/n) out of the way, Ray had no hope of regaining his mind, meaning he was all hers.

~Henry's house~

The gang trudged up to Henry's porch, feeling defeated. (y/n) didn't have the energy left to cry or care about the weird looks she had received for wearing pyjamas in the middle of the afternoon on the street, she just felt numb. If she didn't belong in the Man Cave anymore, where did she belong?

"No--no--nope, stop it!" Jasper told Henry squished him against the front door when he tried to open it. All the way from the shop, he'd been snuggling and squeezing him and he'd had enough.

"I love you." He slurred and Jasper opened the door as quickly as possible. They all tumbled in, well, everyone apart from Schwoz did, who was barred from entry by Charlotte.

"Whoa, you can't come in." She told him and was met by a grumpy Schwoz.

"Why can't I go in there?" he. grumbled, wanting to sit with his friends and help the young woman through her grief. He also didn't want to stand out in the cold like a weirdo loitering on someone's porch.

"'Cause, what if Henry's parents are home?" Charlotte suggested, knowing that they'd be horrified to find a weird little foreign man in their house, even if he did work with their son.

"(y/n) is allowed in there!" He pointed to the young woman, who was trudging behind Jasper and a dumb-in-love Henry.

"That's because Henry's parents know her and are cool with her," Charlotte explained, which made Schwoz pout even more.

"But I can't stay out of here by myself!" He whined, but the young girl knew he'd be fine. No one was gonna want to kidnap him and take him home, it was Schwoz.

"Sure you can." She replied.

"No! What if someone tries to take me?" He suggested, but it just made the girl roll her eyes.

"Who would want you?" She sassed, leaving Schwoz speechless. Taking advantage of his silence, she slammed the door in his face and went over to her friends. Jasper was trying to comfort (y/n) as she curled up on the sofa and buried her face into a cushion, but there was little he could do.

"Tell me why Gwen would use tainted muffins to make Ray fall in love with her." The curly-haired boy said to his friend as he put a hand on (y/n)'s shoulder and Henry was walking around the kitchen in love haze.

"'Cause think about it. If Captain Man and Kid Danger are so in love that they can't fight crime, then they can't stop Gwen from doing whatever evil things she wants to do!" Charlotte explained, making (y/n) look up as she pondered the idea.

"What about (y/n)? She's a superhero." Jasper noted, gesturing to the pyjama-clad girl. 

"Gwen probably knows that Ray means a lot to her! So she's just going off the hope that (y/n) will be too sad to stop her from doing the evil things!" Charlotte added and the woman sat up with fire in her eyes.

"You got to admit, that bitch is clever." She sighed, snapping herself out of her sadness. She was still shaken, but she wasn't going to let Gwen beat her so easily. Ray needed her help and she was going to fight until her last breath to give it to him.

Okay then, I think we need to figure out how--how--ooo..." Jasper trailed off as Henry sat on the back of the couch and rubbed his shoulders lovingly. Even Jasper couldn't resist the pull of the gorgeous massage Henry was giving him, even though he hated how he was in love with him.

"JASPERRRR!" A loud, obnoxious voice came from the stairs and suddenly, Piper was trotting down the stairs in a foul mood.

"Oh, hey, Piper." He greeted the girl nervously, hoping that she wasn't angry about what he thought she was angry about.

"Did you go into my bathroom and take my curling iron?!" She snapped at the boy, who paled at her fury. He just wanted beautiful, curly locks, was that too much to ask for?

"Yeah, but I---" Jasper didn't need to defend himself, he had a best friend who was deeply in love with him and more than happy to bite back.

"Hey! Don't you yell at my Jasper!" Henry seethed at his sister, making his friends cringe at his odd choice of words.

"He jacked my girly-curly!" Piper hissed back. She was always ready for an argument, especially if she felt that she'd been wronged in some way. Stepping forward, she plucked two clumps of Jasper's eyelashes from his face as punishment for stealing her curling wand.

"Ow! She yanked off my eyelashes!" Jasper whined and turned to (y/n) so she could assess the damage. There wasn't much she could do, it would just sting for a few minutes, but Henry, well, he was seeing red.

"Piper! You just hurt someone I love!" The boy told her in a heartbroken, disgusted voice, but Piper wasn't done.

"Yeah, and I'm just getting started!" She growled and began to flick Jasper in the eyes as he groaned and moaned in pain.

"No, stop!" He begged, but she was too angry. She wanted him to feel pain.

"Piper, stop!" Henry yelled at her, feeling his fury grow and the lovey-dovey haze in his eyes was descending from a sweet pink colour into a deadly scarlet.

"Piper, quit that! No! No! Nooooo!" Henry reached his tipping point as his sister used her surprising strength to launch Jasper over the couch, which left him groaning in pain.

"Henry, oh my god! Are you okay?" (y/n) asked the teen as she noticed him convulsing and straining until he fell on the floor. Okay, what was going on?

"You okay?" Charlotte asked him too as Piper made herself scarce. Her work here was done, Jasper would never touch her stuff again. The girl and woman helped Henry to his feet and he blinked in confusion as his mind cleared.

"Ah, yeah. Yeah, I think so." He said in a tired voice and Jasper approached him cautiously when his best friend looked at him.

"No more hugging me, please." He begged Henry, whose face crumpled in disgust. Why would he want to do that?

"Hugging you? Ew." He gagged and his friends looked at each other in shock. The expression on Henry's face told them that he'd rather eat his own hand than give his friend a hug and that spoke volumes to them.

"Ewwww? Wait! Aren't you in love with Jasper?" Charlotte asked Henry as he rubbed his eyes and she waited for the response she was hoping for.

"In love with--what?! No, no!" The boy quickly denied it, much to the amazement of (y/n), Jasper and Charlotte.

"Holy shit, this is awesome!" The young woman breathed out as she smiled at Henry, even though he was still feeling pretty groggy.

"What is? How come Henry doesn't love me anymore?" Jasper whined. Sure, it was weird as hell to see his best friend look at him like that, but those shoulder rubs were nice.

"I think 'cause Piper when was harassing you, it made Henry feel really angry." Charlotte prompted and (y/n) suddenly knew what she was getting at.

"So?" Henry asked, still feeling puzzled after losing the effects from the muffin.

"So, when you feel strong emotions, your body releases chemicals into your brain." (y/n) explained and Jasper used her knowledge to piece everything together.

"Ohhh, so like, when Henry felt anger, it drove out his feelings of love?" Jasper theorised and he was bang on with his idea. The anger took over the love and then pushed it away, simple.

"Yeah, we think that's what happened.' Charlotte looked to (y/n) and she nodded in confirmation. It sounded plausible, now, they just needed to try it out on Ray.

"Okay, okay, so now, all we gotta do is make Ray like, insanely mad, so he'll fall out of love with Gwen," Henry said and they all knew that it was easier said than done.

"Well, but, how are we gonna get him mad enough?" Charlotte asked, but then the perfect person for the job popped into her mind and Henry's and Jasper's, as it happened.

"Why are you all looking at me like that?" (y/n) asked as she saw three pairs of eyes on her and it made her skin prickle. Yeah, she knew how to make Ray tick but she didn't know if she wanted to see him like that, especially when it was directed at her.

"'Cause you know Ray better than anyone, you can get him mad," Henry told her. She knew everything about Ray, every wrinkle that made him seethe and scream, surely, she could think of something that could rile him up.

"Okay, but how should I do it? I can't just strike up a conversation with him, he can't hear me through his love dream thing, otherwise, we wouldn't be in this situation." (y/n) pointed out and they all took a minute to think. If a conversation wouldn't work, then they needed to up the ante. 

"Ooo, you could pick a fight with him," Jasper suggested and everyone liked that idea. 

"Yes." Henry nodded at his best friend as (y/n) started to plan what she'd say to her best friend. Of course, some obvious topics always upset him, but she had some other ideas too bouncing around her mind that could throw a spanner in the works. She hated to see him sad, but it was worth it because it was for his own good.

"Okay, I go in there, I start an argument and get him mad. Easy." (y/n) smiled at the boys, ready to get her friend and heart back, but Charlotte had some apprehension towards the plan.

"Oh, come on! Ray could kill you! You can't pick a fight with Ray!" The young girl reminded her of Ray's brutal strength and the worry in her eyes melted (y/n)'s heart. It was nice to have her friend's care and concern, but this was the only way.

"Char, one of us has to do it and I've got my super-regeneration so--" She tried to calm the girl, but she wasn't done.

"It might not be enough...If Ray loses his temper, there's no knowing what he'll do to you." She said softly and the woman knew she was right. Captain Man's strength was legendary and if unleashed against her small body, her power might not be able to keep up with a vicious attack. 

"We don't have a choice. If it's not me, then it's got to be one of you three." She looked at the kids and Charlotte and Jasper immediately put their hands up.

"Not it!" They said together, effectively naming Henry as the backup option. 

"Well, if I die, you're up next, Hen." (y/n) giggled at the young boy, but he was ready to step up if he had to. He'd probably survive slightly longer than Jasper and Charlotte if Ray started to throw him around the room.

"Then, let's go." Charlotte accepted their fates and they walked to the door. Poor Schwoz had been jumped by a group of mean kids and was being beaten on the ground when they opened the door. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to leave him alone.

"Hey, hey, hey! Get outta here!"

"Leave him alone!"

"Pick on someone your own size!"

"Delinquents!" The four yelled at the kids and they quickly scarpered when the group appeared. They were smart enough to know when they were outnumbered, but clearly not smart enough to know that bullying people wasn't cool.

"Jerks!" Schwoz yelled after them with a grouchy face and threw a twig at the kids' retreating bodies. He missed by a mile, but it made him feel better; he couldn't help it if he was an easy target for a pack of bullies.

"Come on, let's get to the Man Cave!" Henry said to his friends and they all briskly walked off the porch as Schwoz collected his shoes that the children had removed. Poor guy, he always got the short end of the stick.

~In the Man Cave~

So listening to Ray and Gwen makeout was one of the hardest things (y/n) ever had to do. She and Henry were hiding behind a machine at the back of the room as they waited for Ray to be alone and with the noise of smacking lips in her ears, it felt like forever.

"Ugh, this is revolting." She grumbled to the boy as they kneeled in the corner. Her voice was low and her knees were cold, but they couldn't risk being spotted by that evil witch. That would ruin the plan and then they'd be back at square one.

"Shhh, it's all right. You know, he doesn't mean it." Henry reminded her that Ray wasn't in his right mind and (y/n) nodded with a sigh. Right, he didn't know what he was doing, but she was still stuck in the friendzone either way. She was his friend, nothing more.

"I know, I know, but it's still gross. All she uses is tongue." (y/n) shuddered, but suddenly, Henry grabbed her shoulder and peeked around the corner of the machinery.

"Look! She's leaving!" He told her and he was right. Gwen said something about robbing the Swellview Bank and then she was off through the sprocket, probably going to freshen up in Ray's room or leave a mousetrap in (y/n)'s bed. Either way, she was up to no good, but it gave them the opportunity they needed. 

"Oh god, oh god, wish me luck." She breathed to the kid and stepped out from their hiding place. It was now or never with all her courage mustered.

"Soooo...Charlotte?" She started, following the plan they had come up with and upon hearing her cue, the girl sprung from behind the cabinet next to the elevator.

"Yeah, (y/n/n)?" The girl asked politely and innocently as she walked down from the tubes. Ray looked at them like they were insane but they kept going as per the plan.

"Who do you think should win the "Most Attractive Guy in Swellview"?" (y/n) asked the girl, starting off with a small irritating thing that would no doubt get under Ray's skin.

""Most Attractive guy in Swellview"?" She reiterated, making sure that Ray heard what they were talking about. This was sure to make him mad, even if it was just a starting point.

"Yeah, who do you think should win it?" (y/n) asked again, keeping her focus on her young friend so she wouldn't falter.

"Uh...." Charlotte held off for a minute and that's when Jasper stood up from behind the couch to say his line.

"Hey, what about Henry's dad?" He prompted, irritating Ray a bit. He had the worst hiding place and had nearly puked when he heard the couple kissing and slobbering over each other. Next, came Henry, who trotted down from the same place (y/n) did, with an innocent look on his face.

"Oh, yeah, my dad." He agreed and he and Jasper walked over to the girls. So far, so good.

"Yah, your dad is so hot," Schwoz added, springing up from the supercomputer. Okay, they were all assembled and now, they just had to set (y/n) up for the kill. 

"Uh-huh, very true, I think he's gorgeous, a very attractive man." The young woman lied to her friends and they all heartily agreed, which struck a chord with Ray. Wait, why did his best friend liking another guy get to him so much? Through his Gwen mindset, the notion pierced his heart and was like the first droplet that would start the tsunami of rage and free him.

"Wait, wait, wait a second, you guys." He interrupted their happy chatter as he tried to make sense of his jealousy. Gwen, Gwen, Gwen, was all his brain was supposed to be loving so why was (y/n) suddenly creeping into his thoughts?

"Yeah?"

"What's up, buddy?" They all looked at him with friendly faces, but they could all see the first signs of exasperation on his face. Oh good, they were getting to him.

"Just a friendly reminder, I've won "Most Attractive Guy in Swellview" for the past twelve years, sooo...it's kinda in the bag." Ray bragged, not knowing that he was falling right into their trap. This was exactly what (y/n) had predicted and with a nod from the teens, she moved into phase two.

"Well, yeah, but...you're kinda old now, so...not much point in hoping." (y/n) smiled at him, gulping when she said the "o-word" and saw how his face dropped. Ray's age was a touchy subject; he hated that despite all his power and fame, even he couldn't escape time. He was slowly getting older and older with each passing day. 

"I'm old?" He repeated, thinking he'd misheard her. Schwoz, Henry, Charlotte and Jasper were tight-lipped as they watched the couple go toe-to-toe. They were nervous, but they trusted her to get the job done and hopefully, Ray would remember how much he loved her before he started throwing fists.

"Yeah, I mean, you're so much older than me. What are you, like, over fifty?" She asked, deliberately exaggerating her estimation for maximum anger. She knew Ray's exact age like she knew her own, but she had to be cruel to be kind.

"Fif--did you just use the f-word?" Ray gawped at her in shock, thinking that his best friend was way out of order, but she just smirked and laughed in his face. 'Gwen, no, (y/n), Gwen, but (y/n)'s so pretty, no, I...love Gwen?' His mind was at war and the young woman was making it worse.

"Hey, look, I'm just saying that--" She laughed it off, but Ray was in arguing mode now.

"I'm thirty-five, (y/n). You know that." He said and patted her bare arms. She was so getting dressed after this was done. Not knowing how to carry on after that, she turned around and saw Jasper, Henry and Charlotte pointing to their hair and she got the message. Good idea.

"Well, I mean, I've noticed that you're starting to lose your hair a bit..." She told him and Ray whipped around with an angry face. 'Don't be scared, don't be scared.' She told herself and kept her expression light-hearted and disparaging. 

"What did you just say to me?" He growled at her and seeing that he was sufficiently angry, she moved onto phase three.

"Oh hey, where's Gwen?" She asked innocently, but also like she was hiding something. She played off her mocking tone by looking around the room for the evil woman and Ray glared daggers at her back.

"Gwen happens to be getting ready to go rob a bank." He informed her and she nodded in understanding. This one would really get to him.

"Or...maybe she's not going to rob a bank. Maybe, and I'm just throwing this out there, she's going to meet some other guy." She suggested and sat down on the computer chair with her arms folded and one leg crossed over the other. It was a horrible thing to suggest, but it didn't matter, it wasn't real love anyway.

"She's going to rob a bank," Ray hissed in a childish voice, but the young woman had planted the seed of doubt in his mind and it was festering into a furious rampage. Much like what Henry had experienced, the pink love dream was fading into red as Ray succumbed to his anger.

"Or maybe...she's going to meet some guy named Rob...Banks." (y/n) hinted, a look of amusement on her face just so she could watch Ray get angry at her bemused attitude.

"That's stupid. That's not a guy's name." He frowned, saying it more to himself than anyone else. Hey, since when was (y/n) so beautiful with grubby pyjamas and messy hair?

"Uh, yeah it is. Get real, doofus. Gwen doesn't want you, she wants Robert J. Banks." She taunted him, following closely behind him as he stomped away from the computer. She wasn't going to let him escape and neither were the kids or Schwoz. They had the exits covered, Ray couldn't go anywhere. It was just him, (y/n) and their argument.

"Y'know why? I bet he's way better-looking than you." She hissed in his ear, standing her tiptoes so she could say it in a malicious whisper. Ray was tensed in anger and his skin shivered at the feeling of her breath on his ear; why was she so alluring all of sudden? Gwen...

"Not possible." He shouted in response as the love chemical fought to keep control of his brain. However, his real love was stronger and it was a battle that would surely be won by his heart.

"Yep. He's probably in his early thirties, y'know, young and handsome." She snapped back in a strong voice, daring him to get even angrier. 

"That's enough, (y/l/n)," Ray ordered her, not liking this new insubordination from his best friend. How dare she question Gwen's love for him? But damn, she was hot when she was angry...

"Yeah, he's gonna kiss her so good, because why would she want you? A middle-aged, unattractive nobody who sucks at kissing! And trust me, I know! I've had experience and it was terrible, why would anybody want you?" She ranted, spewing cruel lies left, right and centre and the small part of his brain that was free turned furious at the thought of losing his soulmate over being a bad kisser, the girl he'd dreamed of kissing ever since they shared one and it was the final straw for Ray.

"Ahhhhh!" He yelled and lunged for her, grabbing her by the shoulders and the thin straps of her pyjama vest.

"Oh shit!" She squealed as Ray used his brute strength to throw her across the room, making her land harshly by the elevator. Her friends cringed as her ankles collided with a cabinet and she had to admit, that hurt. She took a few seconds to give her body the chance to repair her sprained ankle and numerous cuts, bruises and lumps. Okay, she had to keep going.

"Look, Ray, it's not my fault she likes younger guys." She panted and scrambled to her feet as Ray stormed towards her again. Ray seized her by the throat and she gulped at the fury in his eyes. Fury was good but it also was cutting off her air supply and crushing her windpipe.

"Oh, wow, look at that! A grey hair! Wow, there's loads, you're going grey, Raymond!" She smirked and ran her fingers through his hair even though movement made the burning of her lungs worse.

Not wanting to be mocked anymore, she was thrown to the floor again as Ray growled in rage. At least this time, all she had to heal was some bruised palms and a cracked larynx. She groaned as she laid at the teens' feet, but she couldn't say down for long.

"Keep going, you gotta make him madder!" Charlotte knelt beside her head and Henry agreed. Ray was mad, but he wasn't mad enough. 

"Don't you think I'm working on that?---Whoaaa!" She was dragged away by her ankles as Ray continued to beat her up. The irritation of the tiles on her belly made small friction burns appear where her tank-top rode up, but that was the least of her worries. Dragging her to her feet again by her hair, Ray forced her to the ground again, so her battered body slid across the room. Okay, she really wanted this to stop now. Time to get clever.

"Come on, hard man, you ain't so bad! Come get me, dickhead!" She jeered at him and this time when he went to grab her throat, she ducked out the way and went to jump on his back. Ray was too experienced for that rookie move though and threw his torso back so she was bashed against the couch.

"This is so cool to watch!" Jasper told her as she bent over the back of the sofa and caught her breath. She'd never put her regeneration through this much suffering and she was starting to get the idea that too much usage could really wear her down. 

"Oh, I'm glad you're enjoying my pain." She smiled sarcastically at the boy and patted his shoulder, but Jasper recoiled quickly when Ray came back. He grabbed her shoulders again and pushed her harshly against the steps at the back of the Man Cave, making the young woman wince.

"Oh, that's definitely a broken rib." She yelped, clutching her side in pain, but she had very little time to feel it pop back into shape as Ray charged at her. Raising her leg, she stopped him in his tracks before he could swipe at her and she pushed him back. 

"She probably makes muffins for all the guys." She gasped at Ray and got back on her feet even though her body was begging her to do the smart thing and stay down.

"She only makes muffins for me!" Ray screamed at her with a snarling face, but she just gave him the finger and smirked.

"Well, that's not what I heard!" She shrieked back and that's when he lunged at her for the millionth time.

"Oh, god!" She squealed as Ray flipped her over in a somersault and her back flopped roughly on the tiles. Oh good, a slipped disk, how lovely. Yet another injury that her genes rushed to repair as she lay paralysed on the floor.

"(y/n)!" Henry ran to her side with Jasper and Charlotte close behind him. They helped her up when she told them to do so and she panted at the exertion. Blood was trickling from the corner of her mouth and for a brief second, she wondered if it would be better to give up before he killed her. No. She was going to snap him out of Gwen's control or she was going to die trying.

"Uh-oh..." Schwoz's fearful voice made her look to her best friend and her eyes widened as she watched him grab a blaster from a drawer. Shit, she was too close to the others.

"Ray, don't!" Charlotte begged him, but he couldn't stop his rage. Shoving herself away from her friends, (y/n) stood in front of them protectively and stared down the barrel of Ray's gun. She never thought she'd see him point one at her, but it would always be her before her friends, especially the kids. 

"You know, Ray, I never thought I'd feel this way about you but I do. I can't help it, it's just been on my mind for a while now..." She started, giving Ray her best glare as she shrugged off the flinch from him cocking the blaster.

"(y/n), don't!" Jasper begged her, not believing she was being so reckless when her best friend had a gun in his hand. Yes, they had to make him angry, but this was too extreme, even for a super-regenerating heroine.

"I'm sorry, Ray, but I hate you!" She told him in an insulting tone and she kept her cool despite her thumping heart. She saw his eyes twinge in recognition as his finger stilled on the trigger and then...he groaned and started to shake. 

"I think you did it! It's working!" Charlotte gasped as the young woman trembled and watched her best friend fall to the floor. Thank god, it was over. 

"Ray?! Ray?!" Henry, Schwoz, Jasper and Charlotte scrambled to the man's side as she stayed leaning against the couch. She needed a minute.

"Can you hear us?" Charlotte asked him as he was led over to the supercomputer chair. (y/n) stumbled behind the group, trying to keep her nausea down as she tasted the metallic tang of blood on her tongue. She felt exhausted, but her hope was burning bright and that was what was keeping her going. 

"Ray, are you okay?" Henry reiterated as his boss puffed in the chair and shook his head from side to side. He felt so groggy and confused, but at the same time, like he'd been set free.

"Ah, what happened?..." He asked his friends as he tried to remember what he'd been doing for the past twenty-four hours. All he could see was his friends crowding around him, well, not all of them, one was holding back.

"...I was in love with a woman, uh...Gwen!" Ray gasped as the woman's evil smirk flashed into his mind. He couldn't describe how it had felt to be controlled, it was like he wanted to stop his actions, but he couldn't. Everything that was him had been shoved aside for the mind-control to take over and he couldn't stop it.

"She gave you a love muffin," Schwoz explained and Ray looked confused. He remembered something about muffins, but things seemed so blurry, he wasn't thinking straight.

"Yeah and then, (y/n) had to make you really mad so your feelings of rage and anger would overpower your muffin-induced feelings of love," Henry recalled and Ray snapped his head to the boy at the mention of his girl. She wasn't with them so...

"(y/n)...where is she?" He demanded to know and Henry and Charlotte looked at each other nervously before parting ways. (y/n) was still stood against the couch, listening to every word. Ray's eyes grew wide from horror as he took in her appearance; her pyjamas were torn and grubby, blood-stained in some areas where she'd suffered a scrape and she still had dark circles under her eyes and dried blood in the corner of her mouth. He stood up rapidly and she offered him a small smile to make him calm down, but he couldn't stop his heart from breaking.

"What...happened?" He asked her as he cautiously stepped towards her and she loosely folded her arms across her tummy. She was still hurting badly from what had happened to her that day. The beating, the sobbing, the prospect of losing her home, but most of all, the fact that she was still just his friend, nothing more, even after everything she'd been through.

"I made you mad and, uh...you, well, got mad." She told him nervously and he choked up. He did this? The blood, the torn clothing, the bags under her eyes, he hurt her? 

"I--I did this?" He stuttered, tears springing in his eyes as she sighed kindly. It wasn't his fault, he didn't know what he was doing. She wanted him to get angry and she knew that she'd be hurt. And it wasn't like her physical injuries were permanent, no, they had healed just fine, all that was left was her bleeding heart.

"I'm fine, honestly. Y'know, super-regeneration and stuff. I'll live." She giggled, even though she was feeling anything but humourous. 

"Sweet girl, I--" Ray started and his fingers twitched to reach for her cheek, but before he could say something, anything, the sprocket opened and the witch stepped out.

"Quick, guys, go hide! Take care of (y/n)!" Ray turned to his friends and gently guided the young woman into Henry's arms so he could take her to behind the couch. His touch was so tender to what it had been five minutes ago.

"Okay, Ray, I'm about to leave. It should take me about, hmmm...twenty minutes to rob the bank." Gwen told the superhero as she sauntered down the steps. She didn't see any other movement in the room, thankfully and the team tucked themselves into their hiding places.

"Aw, that sounds great." Ray smiled at her, even though the mere sight of her made his stomach churn. God, that must've been a strong muffin to distract his heart from the love he felt for his best friend. She was perfect and Gwen was so...blergh.

"Oh hey, how do you like my ponytail?" The criminal asked him, ruffling her hair up seductively and fluttering her eyelashes at the superhero. There was only one person he wanted to see do that, he was sure of that now. 

"Oh...I love it. I mean it's really cute and just so--" Ray brought his hand up to her head with a charming smile on his face. Gwen accepted his touch, but the moment his fingertips got to her hair, he yanked the ponytail clean off.

"You just ripped my ponytail off my head!" Gwen glared at him, but her sneer dropped when she saw how Ray wasn't looking at her with love, he was looking at her with hate.

"You're not in love with me anymore." She gasped and suddenly felt like she was trapped. 

"Nope, not anymore, bitch." (y/n) stood up from her hiding place with Henry and Jasper and Gwen gulped when she realised that she was outnumbered. She wasn't in charge anymore.

"Sorry, Gwen," Charlotte smirked as the woman backed up and scanned the room for an escape room. Oh, she was definitely panicking now.

"How'd you like dem muffins?" Jasper quipped, making his friends smirk. Oh, Jasper, he was goofy but loveable.

"And now, Gwen, I'd be honoured to escort you to prison," Ray told her, but she'd planned for this. The first rule of being a criminal: have a backup plan and Gwen's was particularly sneaky. She held up her phone in Ray's face, making everyone step back. What was she planning?

"Look out!"

"She's got a phone!" Jasper cried, holding his hands up like a karate master. Yeah, like he could chop his way out of trouble.

"So, who cares?" (y/n) seethed as she kept her glare fixed on her rival. She would be her greatest enemy for a long time.

"You better care, bitch. Because if I tap right here, it's gonna send a post out telling the whole world that Ray Manchester is Captain Man, Henry Hart is Kid Danger and silly little (y/n) (y/l/n) is Miss Danger." Gwen threatened the three supers as she stepped up to the tubes. Oh, that was evil, the perfect escape plan.

"Anything about me?" Jasper raised his hand and asked. He was curious to see if she had thought of him too, but she didn't care about a stupid teenage boy.

"You let me go, and I'll keep your secret. Deal?" Gwen offered the three and they descended into whispers as they thought about what to do.

"Do we have a deal or don't we?" Gwen demanded harshly, leaving them almost no time to think about their situation. It wasn't really a deal, more of a forced ceasefire.

"Yeah, we've got a deal...for now." Ray hissed at her, seeing no other way to keep himself and his Man Cave family safe.

"But someday, you're going to jail," Henry promised her. He wouldn't rest until he saw that cruel face behind bars for what she had done to his friends.

"I doubt it," Gwen smirked as a tube came down around her. She had the upper hand and she knew it.

"Buh-bye, boys and girls!" She said, expecting to blast off, but of course, the tube wouldn't work unless you said the magic words, which she didn't know.

"Off I go!... Okay, what words do I have to say to activate the tube suckage?" She asked the giggling group, feeling pretty annoyed at how foolish she was appearing.

"Oh yeah...it's uh, diamonds, rubies, lift me...tubies." (y/n) joked, struggling to keep a straight face. She wouldn't believe that, would she?

"Thank you, maybe you're not as stupid and useless as I first thought...Diamonds, rubies, lift me, tubies!" Gwen yelled and everyone burst out laughing as she stayed on her spot. Oh god, that was a good one.

"Oh dear, Gwen. Looks like you're definitely as stupid and useless as I first thought." (y/n) mocked her through her giggles, loving that she was able to get one up on the woman one last time.

"I will tap this button, I swear I will tap it!" Gwen hissed and everyone straightened themselves out. No more joking around, it wasn't worth the risk.

"Uh, just say, up the tube," Charlotte told her reluctantly and Gwen followed her advice. She was gone in a flash and they could only hope that she'd keep her word.

"Whew. This whole thing was insane." Charlotte sighed as they relaxed, although no one noticed how (y/n) had gone quiet. Really quiet.

"Yeah, no kidding." Henry breathed out, glad that it was finally over, even though it wasn't.

"Well, at least we all learned something valuable," Schwoz told them, making them look at him in confusion.

"What'd we learn?" Jasper asked, thinking that they'd learnt nothing.

"We all learned that no matter how strong love is...anger is stronger." He told them and he didn't realise that it made the young woman behind the group hyperventilate more.

"Good point," Henry said, thinking that it was fair play. That's technically what they had learned, but it wasn't very comforting for a woman who had nearly lost everything.

"Hey, (y/n/n), what do you--oh my god, are you okay?" Charlotte turned to joke around with her, but her happy mood soon died when she saw how pale her friend was. Everyone else turned around to see their friend panicking and shaking and they realised that a night's worth of no sleep, just worry was catching up to her.

"(y/n), are you okay?" Ray asked her again and reached out to touch her, but she was already walking backwards away from his reach and the gang.

"Uh, no---uh, I...don't know. I just...need to be alone for a while," She stuttered, holding her hand to her forehead as she stumbled up the steps to a tubepad. 

"Sweet girl, let me come with--" Ray tried to follow her, but she looked at him in terror and it glued him to the floor. She'd never looked at him like that, not once. Was their friendship not strong enough to survive this?

"--No, I just, ugh...up the tube!" She cried out before she had to explain herself and she left them all standing there in confusion. She rode higher and higher and higher until she reached her little slice of heaven, her happy place.

"Guys, what do we do? We gotta help her!" Jasper exclaimed, looking to Henry and Charlotte for answers since they had known her longer than he had. But just because he'd only been working at Junk-N-Stuff for like, two weeks, it didn't mean he cared any less.

"Guys, she wants to be alone," Ray told them in a defeated voice and sloped off to go slouch on the sofa. He was her best friend and she didn't want him, so how could they hope to help? He'd lost her, he'd finally fucked up enough to push her away and that broke him. 

"Wait, there is one thing we can do..." Henry speculated, looking to Charlotte with a spark in his eyes. It was risky and possibly dangerous, something they'd only drafted together for dire emergencies, which made it perfect for now. Maybe it would work.

"You don't mean..." Charlotte gawped at him, not believing he was willing to go for it. They'd only planned it on a boring homework night, like, two years ago, it was daring and precarious. Was he sure?

"Charlotte...lobsters." Henry confirmed, making Schwoz and Jasper look at him like he was an alien. Lobsters?

"Henry, just leave it, she said she wants--" Ray's gruff grumbling was cut off by Henry, who was determined to do something, once and for all.

"Ray. I know what I'm doing, trust me. I'm gonna go talk to her." Henry told his boss firmly, his tone leaving no room for arguing. He'd thought about this plan long and hard. He wasn't going to let this ship sink, not on his watch.

"Charlotte, five minutes." He murmured to the girl as he walked past but she knew what to do. If they were doing this, then she was ready. Henry jumped up to the tubepad and waited for it to come down. He knew where (y/n) would be, she always went there when she was sad.

"Up the tube!" He yelled like she had done minutes before and with a whoosh of air, he was on his way. The clock was ticking.

~On the roof~

Project Lobster was a tricky thing and the brainchild of Charlotte and Henry for when they reached the point of crisis. Two years of watching Ray pine for (y/n) and (y/n) pine for Ray had led them to this, extreme measures. They just hoped it worked.

Henry stepped out onto the roof and sure enough, there was (y/n). She was leaning on the ledge, looking out at the city with soft, teary eyes and she sensed that she wasn't alone. This was her spot, she knew when something was up.

"Y'know, Ray showed me this. Valentine's Night, almost two years ago." She called out to the boy, not even having to turn around to know it was him. She could recognise Henry's footsteps easily, even if he was treading carefully.

"The roof?" He asked tentatively after shaking off his shock, confused as to why she liked it up here so much. It was windy and baren, but he hadn't seen the best bit yet.

"No, dummy. This." She gestured to the cityscape before her and she wondered if she had the same look of amazement that Henry had on his face when she first saw the view. His mouth was open like a goldfish as he took in the golden sky, streaked with burnt orange as the sun sank on the horizon. The city didn't seem to be so noisy all the way up here and the park was tranquil, no blaring, teenage music or fights from angry adults, just calm. 

"I never knew Swellview could look like this." Henry breathed out, making her chuckle sadly. It had that effect on everyone.

"Yeah, that was my reaction." She whispered, keeping her melancholy gaze on her fingers as they rested on the wall. 

"Hey...are you okay?" Henry asked, wanting to be gentle even though he was aware that he couldn't stay up here forever. Charlotte was keeping Ray busy downstairs and he had to stick to the plan.

"I wish people would stop asking, 'cause I...don't know." She told the boy, letting out a sigh and watching a flock of birds fly over their heads. Life become so complicated that she couldn't make heads or tails of it anymore. 

"Tell me," Henry instructed her, although it wasn't a command, more of a request from a concerned friend.

"Henry...it's stupid." She exhaled, not wanting to burden a young boy with what was bringing her down. She had been holding it in for nearly six years, she could hold it a bit longer.

"No, it's not. Say it, it's okay." The teen grabbed her hand and squeezed it, more than happy to be the one supporting her for a change. She had been there for him, now he was there for her.

"It's just...today, hearing Ray talk about marriage and kissing her and loving her...it got to me," she said it in the simplest way she could. Emotions are difficult things and they're often so complex, they can't be put into words.

"It was the love muffin." Henry reminded her, even though she knew that already. She'd had more than enough of damn love muffins for an entire lifetime.

"Yeah, I know, but it made me realise that one day, I'm actually going to have to watch him walk down the aisle and it won't be me on his arm." She choked up, thinking about how she'd always been the friend, always been the shoulder for him to cry on, always there to pick up the pieces...but never the girlfriend, the one he wanted like that. 

"Henry, I can't stand by and watch him marry someone else—I'm not strong enough. I know I pretend like I don't care but I do. I really, fucking do and it's killing me that he'll never see how much I love him. I want him so much and I can't keep lying, not anymore. " She confessed, letting a tear slip down her cheek. She was so fed up with crying, it was surprising that she had any tears left after sobbing for nearly two days straight. 

It was true though, she had been through so much with him: meeting Henry, then Charlotte, breaking into their school as fake teachers, nearly getting eaten by a space bug, meeting Schwoz again, watching Henry become a man-beast, battling Invisible Brad, twice, giving Ray his childhood back, nearly dying from letting a psycho into the Man Cave on a tour, defeating the Wall Dogs, being hypnotised by Dr Minyak, defeating the Time Jerker, the Christmas Kiss, superpowers, an opposite universe, Ox Pox, the return of The Toddler and Jasper's arrival. No one else had stuck with him through all of that, did it mean nothing to him that she had?

"So don't." Henry's words broke through her memories and she looked up at him in bewilderment. What was he going on about?

"What do you mean?" (y/n) asked him, looking at him in suspicion, but he wouldn't give anything away.

"Look, just come back down to the Man Cave in...three minutes and I'll explain everything then." He told her quickly after glancing at his watch and ignored the way her eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"Why?" She looked him up and down, but couldn't pick anything up except that he was nervous or excited about something. Weird.

"It doesn't matter, but you have to come down in three minutes exactly, promise?" He gave her his best begging look and the offer of a promise was too good for her to resist. 

"Okay, I promise." She nodded, seeing that this was important to him. She could do as she was told, it wasn't like she had anything better to do.

"Good. Three minutes." Henry repeated the time again and then turned to leave her alone. He stepped on the tubepad and braced himself for the journey down. He just hoped this would play out perfectly.

~Back in the Man Cave~

"And that's why an octopus has three hearts." Charlotte finished recounting her story to Ray, Jasper and Schwoz, the latter of whom were very interested in what she had to say. Ray, on the other hand, was too depressed to care about octopi and their hearts, he only had one and it was broken. 

"Fascinating." He grumbled, his head resting on his palm as he slumped over on the couch. As per Project Lobster's details, Charlotte had made him shuffle around the half-moon shape until he had his back to the tubes and now, he was in position for the big finale.

"Sup, people?" Henry greeted his friends as he came down the tube on time, landing with his heart racing. This was happening and it wasn't a drill, he just had to stay calm and work with Charlotte.

"Hey, how'd it go?" The young girl asked him, Ray not even bothering to turn around. Well, that was good, that's what they wanted. 

"Oh, you know, she's still not ready to come down yet," Henry replied loudly but held up three fingers to indicate to Charlotte the time they had to play with. Three minutes on the clock and they were counting down fast. 

"Is she finished with me? Does she want to leave?" Ray asked his sidekick in a monotone voice as his heart clenched in pain from the thought of losing her. He didn't want her to go, not like this.

"Uhhh, she didn't say, why?" The boy replied, signalling to Charlotte for her to take over as he silenced the tube alarm. He couldn't make it completely silent, but he was sure that without the loud beeping, Ray wouldn't notice a thing.

"'Cause I've screwed up the one good thing I have and now my best friend hates me." Ray gulped down the lump in his throat and rubbed his eyes to stop the tears from flowing. He loved her so much, more than life itself and now she was gonna leave... Two minutes to go.

"Hey, Ray, what makes you love (y/n) so much? I mean, she's just a girl and you've gone out with hundreds of those." Charlotte prompted him, leaving it open for him to ramble to his heart's content. Schwoz and Jasper were very confused and wanted to say something, but a stern look from Henry and a finger on his lips told them that any interruption could spell disaster, so they buttoned it. 

"She's not just a girl, she's perfect and cute and smart. She knows how to make me laugh and she's not boring or big-headed. All the other girls are just dumb or blinded by Captain Man, but not my (y/n). She sees me, she sees Ray..." Ray argued, hating that Charlotte had called (y/n) just a girl. She was so much more than that.

"How did you meet?" The teen girl moved on to her next question, keeping the time in the back of her mind.

"In a coffee shop. Some jerk had broken in and held her captive, but by the time I'd gotten there, she'd already hit him over the head with a chair and dealt with everything. She was so shy and small but...beautiful. I asked her to come work for me." Ray explained, a soft smile on his face. That was the day his life became brighter, when a twenty-year-old college student beat some petty criminal up for spilling coffee down her shirt. 

"Right, that's cute. So, she's special to you?" Henry asked the question this time and he came to stand with Charlotte, Jasper and Schwoz at the couch. There was nothing left for them to do now. One minute on the clock and it was all up to Ray.

"Yeah, of course, she's special. She's stuck around through everything I've made her do and she's never complained. I make her fix my crap and wait up and do my laundry and now I take her into dangerous fights, for god's sake. What kind of a job is that for someone like her? A gorgeous, sexy, intelligent, young woman.  She's so outta my league and I know she deserves someone better who can give her a good life, but I can't help it...I'm in love with (y/n)."

"What?" Zero seconds on the clock.

Ray had shut out the world and all the noises it forced onto him, including the whoosh of a tube coming down with a weary young woman inside. She had stepped out of the glass casing just in time for her to hear the last bit and it was her gobsmacked utterance that cut through his daydream.

"What?" Ray gasped, shooting up like he'd been burnt by the couch and whipped around to see (y/n) looking at him with a wonderstruck expression. Henry, Charlotte, Schwoz and Jasper were frozen with excited trepidation; no one dared to move a muscle. Ray looked at his best friend with absolute fear from his loose-lipped admittance and felt his heart explode in panic.

"You love me?" She asked softly like she couldn't believe it herself. And she couldn't. 

She hadn't misheard and a pinch on the inside of her arm told her she wasn't dreaming, he'd actually said it. He'd actually said the words she'd only ever imagined in her wildest fantasies. 

"Wha..how--how much of that did you h-hear?" He asked her, feeling the most scared he had ever been in his life. He'd rather fight all his enemies at once than face her like this. He could practically feel the rejection coming.

"Enough..." she answered carefully, treating the situation with the utmost care like if she clung to this moment too hard, it would break. 

"Listen, (y/n), it was a mis--" She couldn't bear to let him finish, not this time. No more bouncing around the truth, not anymore. 

"No, you listen to me, Raymond Manchester. No more lies. I want the truth because I think that we aren't honest enough with each other and...we both deserve clarity after so much confusion." She told him calmly and clearly, even though she was feeling anything but calm. Absolutely fucking terrified was the correct way to describe how she was feeling or the closest she could get.

"The truth?" He repeated, looking her straight in the eyes. He'd known the truth for a long time and it had been his closely guarded secret, but not anymore.

"It's all I want." She nodded, leaving him to make the next move. The move that would change everything. 

"The truth is (y/n) (y/l/n)...I love you, so much it hurts." Ray whispered and the world stopped. His heart was thumping and bracing itself for loneliness and a life without its soulmate, whilst hers was soaring and reaching out to grab on and never let go. This was real and it was everything she'd ever asked for.

"Oh..." She gasped quietly, not knowing how else to react at first. Her mind took a second to let the confession settle in and for Ray, he took it as her being disappointed. 

His face broke away as he bit back tears again. So this was what they meant by heartbreak, it wasn't seeing her with other guys or missing her when she wasn't around, it was knowing that he'd made an error of judgement and it cut deep.

Snapping out of her shock, (y/n) stepped forwards and looked at his crumpled face. He needn't worry so much, she was right next to him, where she knew she belonged. 

"Don't look so sad, it's a good thing because...I love you too." Her face erupted into a smile when Ray's gaze shot to her face with so much shock, he looked comical. He couldn't think of anything to say that could triumph over what she had just told him so he just wrapped his arms around her shoulders and brought her into a warm embrace. The first of many that told them that they were home in each other's arms.

It was then that they both realised that their friends were shouting, clapping, whistling and dancing in celebration as they congratulated the couple and themselves for getting together at last.

"Finally!" Henry told Ray and clapped him on the back as (y/n) briefly let go of her doofus to hug Charlotte, Jasper and even Schwoz. This was their victory as much as hers and Ray's and it felt so unbelievably good to not keep their secrets anymore.

"Wait, how long have you lot known about him loving me?" (y/n) asked the group, who smirked at the baffled couple. They had drifted into each other's arms again and for the first time in forever, neither one was shy or embarrassed about needing the other's touch.

"Uh, since the moment I met you." Henry and Charlotte said together, making the couple chuckle. That was, like, two years ago, how long had this been going on?

"I've watched you two pretend not to love each other for eight years or more. You are both very blind." Schwoz shrugged nonchalantly, acting like it was no big deal, but it was. 

"Eig--you never said anything, doofus!" (y/n) slapped Ray's shoulder playfully as she leaned her head against his chest. She could hear his heart beating and now she knew—it was beating for her.

"Neither did you!" He argued back and pressed his lips to the top of her head. God, the girl of his dreams loved him as he loved her, he hadn't been chasing a hopeless fantasy for all these years, it was real. He didn't know who he had pleased to deserve this, but he wasn't going to let her go again. 

"Sorry...I thought you loved all those girls you dated, you never seemed to notice me. I just assumed that everything I feel for you was one-sided." She confessed, absentmindedly drawing patterns on his white shirt with her finger. Finally, she could enjoy having those massive arms around her and not feel weird for thinking her best friend was hot.

"They meant nothing to me, I promise. I tried to distract myself, 'cause I... I thought you were out of my league since you're so damn gorgeous." His baritone voice made chills go down her spine, and she gasped at his words. Coming from him, they made desire pool in her lower stomach and she decided that she wouldn't mind hearing them for the rest of her life.

"Ray, I look like shit." She chuckled bashfully and gestured to the pyjamas that still covered her body. They were wrecked, bloody, torn and dirty and they made her feel anything but gorgeous. 

"Nah, you look beautiful." He smiled down at her and loved the way her cheeks flared up with a pink blush. So cute and all his.

"Well, Project Lobster was a success." Henry shook hands with Charlotte, who definitely agreed. If they had known that it would work this well, they'd have done it a lot sooner.

"What the hell is Project Lobster?" Ray asked the teens as he cradled his girl to his chest. His girl, he'd been saying that for a while now, but he hadn't realised how right he'd been. It felt right, so very right and he knew that he'd say it for the rest of his life if she'd let him. 

"Henry and I came up with a plan, nearly two years ago, to get you two to say I love you." Charlotte began to explain and the couple listened eagerly.

"We would get you both alone and then you walk in on the other person saying it and then you'd be all gross and stuff." Henry brushed over the basics of the plan, which made it seem a lot more simple than it had been. It was like a Mission Impossible task and they were still reeling from the fact that they had managed to pull it off.

"But, you both swore us to secrecy and threatened to kill us if we revealed how you felt, so we just saved it for an emergency..." Charlotte trailed off, having said everything that made up their devious plan and Ray and (y/n) nodded with smiles on their faces.

"We're very grateful but, I have one question." (y/n) said, a small, puzzled frown on her face. It wasn't a big thing, but she'd never live it down if she didn't find an answer.

"Sure, what is it?" Henry asked, curious as to what she wanted to know.

"Why did you call it Project Lobster?" The young woman asked and everyone nodded at her question. It was a weird name.

"Yeah, why didn't you call it Project Get (y/n) and Ray Get Together?" Jasper suggested, even though the name was far too long and complicated for a top-secret mission.

"Because he's her lobster!" Charlotte exclaimed and everyone laughed at their silliness. It was true, he was her lobster and she was his. Cute.

"Well, I'm glad that I don't have to watch you two be all pouty anymore." Schwoz rolled his eyes and high-fived Jasper. He'd worked for Captain Man for two weeks and he was sick of it too.

"Yeah, it's over." (y/n) smiled up at Ray and he smiled down at her in return. No more secrets, no more hiding, just their love for each other. Only, it wasn't quite over just yet.

"Um, Ray, this is the part where you put us out of our misery and kiss her." Henry hissed in his boss's ear and the man blushed at the four smirks being sent his way. Oh yeah, he forgot about that part. Ray looked at (y/n), who had pink dusted all over her cheeks, but there wasn't a sign of disgust or rejection on her features, just happiness and love.

"Can I?" He breathed out, wanting to make sure that she was okay with this even though she was already on her tiptoes and leaning in.

"Of course." She told him and her eyes flickered closed as their lips met. 

It was different to their first one, it wasn't about boundaries or trying to keep themselves under control, it was just them and they were free to show their love. Her hands tangled in his hair as he cupped her face to tilt her jaw open. Free to explore, Ray ran his tongue across her bottom lip and at last, he truly knew that she tasted like honey, just like he'd guessed. Before, he'd barely gotten a chance to confirm it or not and it had been so many months, the sweet taste had almost left his mind. Now, he'd never forget again. 

His lips were still perfectly soft, just like she remembered and they made a shiver go down her spine as he went further than they did last time. Mint and bubble gum burst into her mouth for the second time in her life and she practically purred in pleasure, willing to him all of her and more.

Sadly though, the burning of their lungs said otherwise and that pesky instinct that told them they needed to breathe forced them apart. Reluctantly, Ray retreated from the kiss and pulled back to rest his forehead against hers as they panted.

"Wow," he chuckled breathlessly as he thought of what to say. Henry, Jasper, Schwoz and Charlotte had seen enough of the kiss to realise that they needed some privacy now and they all tiptoed away whilst they were still wrapped up in each other. Not that they minded, they didn't need anyone else anymore.

"I know." She giggled back, feeling drunk from the lack of oxygen and all the love lifting her heart.

"You've no idea how long I've wanted to do that." He confessed, stroking his thumbs over her cheekbones and down to her lips. So soft, he just wanted to have her again and again and he knew he'd never get tired.

"Well, I've wanted to kiss you again since last Christmas." She told him, trailing a hand down his chest, igniting his skin through his shirt as she felt his muscles. God, he had been pining just as much as her and he felt so stupid as he realised that every time he'd wanted to tell her everything, she would've accepted him with open arms, not rejected him like he'd feared.

"I love you so much." He told her again, wishing that he had said it sooner since they could have been so happy already if he had. Still, he now had the rest of his life to make up for it and he promised himself that he'd tell her every day. He had always told himself that she deserved the perfect guy, who would treat her like a queen and now, that was him.

"I love you too. With all of my heart." She mumbled and brushed her lips against his in a gentle kiss. It was meant to tease him, meaning she giggled when he tried to chase her touch as she pulled away. 

"Tease." He murmured in her ear as she smiled, although she was soon whimpering when he trailed his hot lips down the side of her throat and his hands ran down her curves to her hips. Five years of unspoken desire was surging to the surface, leaving them at the mercy of their lust. Now, she was actually glad that she was wearing such thin pyjamas. They allowed him to dip under her flimsy tank top and feel the soft skin of her stomach. God, she was burning up from the inside, out.

"Only for you, boyfriend." She teased further and bit her lip when she felt his hold on her tighten. A label, finally, something that could sum up what they had with two simple names. 

"My girlfriend, mine," Ray whispered into the spot just under her ear and knew that it was the thing he'd wanted to hear all his life.

Boyfriend and girlfriend. That would suit them just fine.

[kalolasfantasyworld]

I walk alone

Summary: Nozel walks through the shadows and sees scenes of what his life could have been.

Type: One shot

Genre: Heavy ANGST

Warnings: blood

Word count: 1551

Ships: Nozel x Vanessa, Nozel x Selena, Nozel x Fuegoleon, Nozel x Helia, Nozel x Briar, Nozel x Dorothy, Nozel x Helena

Author's note:

OCs in order belong to @thoughtfullyrainynightmare, @loosesodamarble, @koneko-pi and Helena is mine.

The vibes of this fic were inspired by @f-oighear's one shot: But the cold, dark gaze is your own.

Illustration is at the end.

Ao3

Is he in a dream? He does not know, but the shadows that swirl around him are ominous. He looks away, but it is the same on the other side. Shades of gray. There is a path and he walks on it, because what else can he do?

Each step feels heavy. He feels the burden resting on his shoulders. The burden of responsibility, burden of duty. It is suffocating, but he pushes on. He knows nothing else. Stronger! Stronger! Stronger! He keeps on repeating. My path is mine and mine alone.

So he walks by himself, dragging his feet, tripping. Shadows come closer.

He cannot take a break, but… his composure is shattering. Just a moment, a little bit. 

So he stops, nobody will notice. He turns his head to the side and his lilac eyes widen, surprised. 

The shadows part, just in that one spot, they swirl away and there is light. He needs to squint, because he is not used to it. Dark markings strangled him, kept him away from it, he kept himself from it, for fifteen years of his life. So how is this light apparent now?

He looks closer and he sees a flutter of pink. Pink? He smells wine, but why wine? 

His eyes meet with those of amethyst color and he sees flushed cheeks. 

“Hello handsome,” the woman winks. It is just that she is not talking to him. There is a man next to her. Man that could be his twin, because they both have silver hair, fair skin, lilac eyes. However it is not Nozel, because he knows himself and he is not happy. So how does this Nozel look as if he was? He wants to know the secret, wants to know how?

He takes a step closer… he falls on his knees. 

The light is gone, only shadows remained. 

He struggles to stand up. His legs are wobbly, because the burden is back. Somehow heavier than ever. Alone he pushes on. 

Stronger! Stronger! Stronger! The words are there, repeated like a mantra. 

Yet another step, yet another drag of his feet and they hurt. The soles of his sandals are not enough to shield them from the hard rocks, which suddenly appeared on the path.

He looks at them.

However then suddenly a flash of light appears. His eyes dart to it and he is focused. His legs feel lighter, so he approaches it. 

Silver? No she is not a Silva, he does not know her and yet she feels familiar. As if when he looks at the night sky he sees her. The moon looks down at him. And once again there is a man beside her. She is soft with him and he… he is soft with her. Yet another impossible twin. 

So he wants to gaze longer, but the moment he takes a step closer, light fades again. The burden settles, crushes him. Markings strangle his neck. 

Stronger! Stronger! Stronger!

He walks down the path. The sharp stones seem to break the soles of his sandals, but they are still fine… for now. 

When the light appears again, he is not surprised and he runs to it, once again magically rid of the heaviness. He stops close enough so that he can see, but not too close, worried that it will disappear. 

Why is his rival there? Why are they sitting under a tree? What are they talking about?

Fuegoleon seems to be calmly explaining something and the man beside him… listens. They are younger, teenagers. But he has no memory of that. What does it mean? This Nozel does not look burdened. 

He cannot stop himself from taking a step. It fades… once again it fades…

Stronger! Stronger! Stronger! But he wishes for yet another light.

His shoulders hurt. The burden digs into them. He is struggling not to trip. Not to fall down on the sharp rocks. 

He sees it. He darts towards it. Somehow his prayer was answered. 

Gold? Gold and green. The woman is standing in the water and smiling. She submerged her hands in it only to lift them up and splash them! He flinches, but she did not splash at him. The man beside her gets a little wet. He expects the man to snap. He does not. The man looks… happy?

He needs to take a closer look. He forgets and takes a step. The light fades.

Stronger! Stronger! Stronger! Stronger to see another light?

He feels the rocks. The soles of his shoes begin to have holes in them. It hurts! He pushes it down. He does not hurt. He is strong. 

However when the light appears he does not have to pretend anymore… because the pain fades away. 

The woman is not facing him. She has long, light brown hair, so long that it nearly touches the ground. He notices her ears… they are pointy? Then a man comes up from behind her. He puts his hand on her shoulder and she turns around. Her eyes… They are beautiful, peach colored. Her expression is serene as she looks up at the man. That man… he is not nervous… he is happy. 

Maybe if he got a closer look he too..? However when he does the shadows remind him that he cannot. They swallow the peach eyed woman and the man. Once again he is alone. 

Stronger! Stronger! Stronger! Why is it on repeat?

He flinches. Pain. His shoes break down. The soles do not make it and sharp rocks dig into his feet. The burden, the duty lies heavy on his shoulders. He wonders will his spine make it? It has to. He is strong… right?

However he only feels strong, when the light appears again. His wide open eyes look at those with interchanging colors. Colors of pink, blue and purple. Why is that witch there? How is she not asleep? She makes a V-sign with her fingers and giggles, but she does not giggle at him. She giggles at the man whose cheeks are bright pink. He is embarrassed, but not in an uncomfortable way. This is softer. The man smiles tenderly. 

He wonders would this expression look the same on him? So he tries, but the corners of his lips are not used to the movement. The muscles seemed to forget. An ugly grimace forms instead. He covers his mouth. 

This time he is the one to step back. The light fades.

Stronger! Stronger! Stronger!

Something wet.... There is blood on his feet. He feels his back crack, he needs to lean forward, because the burden is too heavy. He wishes for the light no more. It gets worse with each one. Or maybe… just one more time? One more time, before he hurts his feet and they cannot walk anymore. One more time before he gives away to the burden. He walks, but it is hard. It is hard to breathe with the markings suffocating him. 

He trips. His hands bleed. The rocks cut the skin open. White fabric on his knees tears. There are no tears streaming down his cheeks. He is strong. He tries to stand up.

The light shines. He looks up and suddenly he is able to walk, able to run, but he is scared. He worries that if he gets too close it will disappear again. However he cannot see from this far. His feet decide for him. 

He takes a look. The man standing there looks the most like him, from all of those he saw. His expression flat and arms crossed over his chest. 

He furrows his brows. What does it mean?

But before he can wonder, a flash of red appears and a woman comes from behind the man, she excitedly jumps up and wraps her arms around him. The man nearly stumbles… but he is not angry. And the woman laughs. Her dark chocolate hair falls on him and contrasts with the silver. It frames her bright smile and deep brown orbs… almost black. She whispers something to the man and he rolls his eyes affectionately. Affectionately..? How does one do that? 

He wants to ask, so he opens his mouth… but no words come out. He tries again, but he is mute. He puts his hand to his throat. It burns. The markings burn, they suffocate. He tries to scream, but those two surrounded by light do not hear, because there is nothing to be heard. So he reaches out his hand.

The light..? Why is it… wet?

It disappears. Only his outreached palm stays. His eyes widen. It is red, just as that woman’s dress. Blood red and the droplets fall on the sharp rocks. Right… they cut it open.

Stron… He is not strong anymore. He falls on the hard ground. It hurts his body. The burden crushes his lungs. The markings tighten around his neck. The shadows swirl and blood… it spills. He lies there looking up at the dark. Nothing is there.

Nothing… nothing… nothing…

Something wet trails down his cheeks. Tears? His eyes open and he stares at the white ceiling of his room at the Silva estate. What was that dream? He wonders. Heavily he lifts himself up on the bed and looks to the side. 

It is empty…

[the-darkness-does-not-bargain]

"The Anchor expands."

For my Dragon Age Inquisition crossover, How To Stitch Holes in the Sky, courtesy of the wonderful @wolfofwhinter . Look at the lighting, it's 🤌🤌🤌 perfection.

[melanieph321]

Ruben Dias x Reader - Brotherly Love Part 3/6

Summary - The sequel to The Houseguest where Ruben and Reader have been dating long distance for a year. The two of them finally plans to spend a holiday together, but to Readers suprise and disappointment, Ruben brings her brother Bernardo with them.

Once again you went to bed alone but woke up to Ruben by your side. He was snoring in a deep sleep, tired from entertainig Bernardo all night and not you,  his girlfriend.

You got up and out of bed, leaving Ruben to his slumber. Your parents were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary today. You came downstairs to see that preparations for the party were already being made.

"Morning. "

"Y/N! Good morning." Your dad rose from the kitchen table at the sight of you. "How is my beautiful daughter?"

"I'm okay, I guess. How was your drive down here?"

"Great, honey."

He called for your mother, who poked her head out from the living room.

"Y/N! Good to see you again. How is work?"

"School mom, I'm still in school."

"Of course you are. How is school?"

"Can someone help me with these?" Anita entered the room carrying a box of garden lights.

"Here, I got you baby."

She was followed by your exboyfriend...

"Thomas?"

"Y/N." He paused at the sight of you. "H...how are you?"

"I'm good thanks. How are you?"

"I'm..."

"Yes, yes. Everyone's good. A little help please."

Thomas rushed to unhand the box of lights from Anita.

"Y/N, go wake up Bernardo. He is supposed to pick up the groceries from the fish market. We are having seafood tonight."

You could only imagine Bernardo asleep in his room, hungover from last night.

"No. Don't worry, I can do it." You said. The house was getting a bit crowded already. You needed to get out.

Arriving in town you strolled down to the bustling fish market, the salty ocean air filling your lungs as you navigated through the crowds of merchants and customers. You had always loved this place, the smell of fresh fish and the sound of seagulls crying overhead transporting you to a simpler time.

As you browsed the stalls, your eyes scanning the array of colorful catches, you noticed a handsome young man watching you from across the way. He had piercing green eyes and chiseled features that seemed almost too perfect to be real. You felt a flutter in your chest as he caught your eye and smiled, his lips curving up into a charming grin.

"Hello there," he said, sauntering over to you with confident strides. "What brings you to our market today?"

You felt yourself blushing at his forwardness, but there was something endearing about him that put you at ease. "I'm just picking out some fish for dinner," you replied, gesturing to the basket in your arm. "And you are...?"

He flashed you another dazzling smile. "I'm Victor, the merchant's son. And I must say, you look absolutely breathtaking today."

You laughed, feeling a spark of attraction ignite within you. "Thank you, kind sir," you teased, trying to play it cool. But Victor wouldn't let up - he continued to flirt with you shamelessly, making you laugh and blush with every passing moment. It felt good, capturing a man's attention like this. Ruben had you forget how easy it could be.

As you and the merchant's son bantered back and forth, you found yourself opening up to him in a way you rarely did with others. You told him about your studies and your dreams of working as a pediatrician. You even mentioned Ruben, how you were suppose to spend the holidays together.

"So, do you think Ruben loves you back?" Victor asked suddenly, his eyes gleaming with curiosity.

You hesitated, unsure how to answer. The truth was, you weren't entirely sure. Ruben was a good guy, kind and caring, but sometimes you wondered if he truly understood you the way you longed to be understood. Some part of you believed that in Ruben's eyes you would always be Bernardo's little sister.

"I don't know," you admitted softly, looking away from Victor's probing gaze. "We've been together for a while now, but it's long distance. Sometimes I feel like we're just going through the motions."

Victor nodded thoughtfully, as if he understood exactly what you meant. "Well, maybe you need someone who will sweep you off your feet and show you the world," he whispered, his voice low and husky. "Someone who will make you feel alive again."

You felt a jolt run through her body at his words, your heart racing in her chest.

"Um, I've got to go, but thank you for the fish."

You left the market in rush, arriving home to see that everybody was going ahead with their day. Ruben was up. He and Bernardo were making a fuzz by the pool. They looked so childish, you thought. You felt guilty about went down at the market, Ruben didn't deserve that sort of behavior from you no matter how much you resented him for paying more attention to your brother than he did you.

"What took you so long." Anita said, unhanding you the bags of seafood.

"There was a line." You lied. You headed upstairs to take a shower and get ready for tonight. After all, today was not about you.

However as the night wore on, things only got more complicated. For some reason Bernardo became increasingly agitated, constantly glancing at his watch and muttering under his breath. Your parents and Anita seemed oblivious to the tension, laughing and making small talk with the rest of the family. Meanwhile, Thomas kept stealing glances at you, a strange expression on his face.

"What?" You asked him at some point. But Thomas ignored you, turning to Anita, asking her to pass him more food.

You had Ruben beside you, his hand on your thigh. He must've been aware of how annoyed you were because he kept leaning towards you, asking what was wrong.

"I just need some air." You said and got up to leave.

"Y/N. Get met me another cold one will you." Bernardo said.

The audacity of him. Considering how his habits almost destroyed the entire villa last night. You were suprised that Anita hadn't brought it up during dinner. Not even Ruben brought it up. Why were they covering for him, you asked.

"Get one yourself." You frowned.

"Y/N." Your mother hissed. The whole dining room fell silent with your remark.

"It's okay mãe. Y/N thinks she's better than us because of that fancy school she goes to."

"Excuse me?" You gasped. It was the last straw for you. If Ruben wanted to deal with Bernardo, fine, but he was not dragging you along with him. "You know what Bernardo..."

"What?" He grinned, having successfully made you angry.

"Someday you'll also go far and when you do please, stay there."

"Y/N!" Your parents gasped, however, you left the house before they could lecture you.

"Y/N, stop!"

You got as far as down the road, when Ruben came running.

"What?" You asked, folding your arms.

"What's the matter with you?" He said furiously.

"What's the matter with me, what did I do?"

He pointed back to the villa. "What you pulled in there was pretty fucking childish."

"I'm childish?" You chuckled in disbelief.

"Yes, you. Your brother clearly has a problem and you aren't helping him at all."

"Well, good thing you're here to save the day Ruben. A little bad timing though, don't you think?"

He shook his head, not really understanding you.

You sighed, realizing the hopless of the situation. "I get that something like this would happen. You being Bernardo's best friend and me being his sister."

"Somthing like what?" Ruben asked. Like you, he didn't like where this was going.

"I refuse to be a third wheel in this relationship Ruben. Maybe it was a mistake for us to be together in the first place."

"Hey, don't say that." He closed the gap between you, raising a hand to cup your cheek.

"I really like you Ruben." You nodded. "So fucking much."

"I like you too Y/N. You have no idea, you're all I think about."

You shook your head. "No Ruben. Bernardo is all you think about."

It was selfish of you, that you were well aware of. But growing up you always felt like you were living in the shadows of your older siblings. You always wanted somthing of your own, someone to call yours. Clearly Ruben wasn't him.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do this."

You backed away, letting Ruben's hand fall to the side of him. He stood frozen, his expression confused.

"I'm so sorry." You repeated, turning your back on him and continued making your way down the road.