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blustersquall · 6 years

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Only Make Believe // Chapter 34: Nightmares Are Real

So, last chapter was left on a cliffhanger.

Fair warning: this chapter is heavy going. There’s mentions of abuse, physical, mental, and emotional. There is physical abuse in this chapter. Nothing graphic, but enough I feel it necessary to warn y’all about it. Please, as always, take care of yourself as you’re reading. Take a break. Practice grounding techniques. Breathe deep. If you feel yourself getting overwhelmed, step away. The chapter will be there when you’re good and ready.

I’m grateful to every single one of you who has been with me through this fic so far. I also have utter solidarity for every single person who has ever dealt with someone like Rick. We’re not victims. We’re survivors. And no one can take that away from us.

Also, I ask that you please read the notes at the end of the chapter.

- The chapter is available on AO3 as well, for those who prefer it. (Link to AO3 on my blog).

Cullen hurried through the Chantry phone in hand and dodging around the visitors who were trying to find a place to get a view of exhibition curator and to hear them speak. The number that flashed up as missed was one that Cullen did not recognise; that wasn’t particularly uncommon given how he offered his services. Calls from unknown numbers were expected. That there were six missed called worried him. Six was extreme. Six wasn’t someone calling him to ask about his services. Six missed calls were more like an emergency.

Once outside, Cullen took a deep breath of the freezing air as he tapped the screen to call back. He shoved he free hand in the pocket of his jacket and began to pace along the steps, not far from the doors.

It was two rings before someone picked up.

“Hello?”

Cullen was surprised to hear a male voice answer. A voice he knew. “Josef?”

“Cullen! Thank the Maker I got you!” Josef’s tone was audibly relieved.

Immediately Cullen’s focus went to Matilda, Dante and Rowan. “What’s up? Are the kids okay?” Before he and Nevena left Haven, Josef had said he was taking them to his mother’s in South Reach. Given the treacherous and ever-changing weather, his concern was if there had been an accident or they were stranded somewhere on the road.

“They’re fine. We reached my mother’s safe and sound earlier today. The roads are pretty terrible.” Josef answered quickly, all but brushing off Cullen’s concern. “Look, I know this is a weird call but is Nevena with you?”

“Uh,” Cullen ran his thumb over the scar on his lip. “Sort of. We’re in Kirkwall with some friends of mine. We’re at an exhibit right now.”

“So, you are in Kirkwall…” Josef said under his breath. “Shit.”

“Joe, what’s going on?” asked Cullen, his hackles rising due to the questions he had and the answers he didn’t.

“I was hoping…” Josef sighed. “Ineria knows Nevena is in Kirkwall. Nevena has been checking into various locations on her Facebook.”

“Okay…” Cullen said, uncertain why this was an issue. “I can’t imagine Ineria is on Nevena’s Facebook.”

“She isn’t but Matilda is. Matilda left her Facebook profile logged in on the home computer. We left in such a hurry, she didn’t even think about logging out or anything until we got to my mother’s and I called Ineria to let her know the kids were safe.”

Cullen’s body went cold all of a sudden, and not from the snow. “Ineria wouldn’t use Matilda’s social media to track Nev, would she? And even if she did, it’s not like she can reach Nevena here.”

“Rick lives in Kirkwall!”

Cullen almost dropped his phone. The world around him slowed down to a snail’s pace.

Rick lived in Kirkwall.

Rick, Nevena’s living nightmare, lived in Kirkwall. The city they had come to. The city he suggested they go to as a safe haven and for a change of scenery. And worse, Nevena’s social media was acting as a beacon.

“Is Ineria still in contact with Rick?” asked Cullen, his voice almost robotic as his brain struggled to catch up the time around him. “Do they still talk?”

Josef sighed down the other end of the phone. “Honestly, I’m not sure. I only… When I was speaking to her, something she said made me think she is, and has probably told him that Nevena is in the city.”

“What did she say?”

“Something about Kirkwall and it being a good place for Nevena to bump into old faces.”

“That sounds pretty clear cut, doesn’t it?” Cullen pushed his fingers into his eyes. “Would she, really?”

“This is Ineria we’re talking about, Cullen.” Josef sounded weary. “If it means she gets her claws into Nevena from a distance, she’ll do whatever she can.”

“I have to go.” Cullen said, beginning to climb the steps to the entry of the Chantry. “I’ve left her alone and if he’s looking for her I can’t leave her for long. I don’t want her to have to deal with him. She shouldn’t have to.”

“Agreed. Let me know everything is okay. Matilda feels terrible.”

“It’s not her fault, I know that, and Nevena would say the same. But I’ll let you know if anything happens.”

“Alright.”

“Thanks for calling me.”

“No problem.”

Josef hung up and Cullen slid his phone into his pocket. He marched into the Chantry and through the metal detectors bypassing the security guards with hardly a glance. His heart was in his throat, and he was acutely aware of everything and everyone.

He looked over the sea of people. It was as though each person had suddenly multiplied into five people. The crowd looked so much larger than it had when he was walking through to return the call. He cursed the dim lighting, it was impossible to make out faces of the people he walked by. He didn’t really know what Rick looked like, except from a quick glimpse of him in a photo taken years ago. For all Cullen knew, the young angry looking brunette in that picture could be bald, with mutton chops and a tattoo on his face now.

It didn’t matter that he didn’t know what Rick looked like he scanned the faces of every person he went passed, searching for the face of a man looking for someone else in earnest. If he was here, if he had been informed of Nevena’s whereabouts by Ineria, then Cullen was determined to act as a wall between Rick and Nevena. She did not need to see him, not after everything he put her through. Not after the strides she had taken in the years past to get to where she was today.

The crowds grew thicker the further into the Chantry Cullen walked. A woman was talking on a small platform elevated about a foot above the onlookers, indicating with a wave of her hand to different exhibits on display. Cullen closed his ears and tried to patiently ease his way through the people trying to get to the alcove where he left Nevena, and hoping she was either still there, or at the very least nearby and alone.

From the corner of his eye he noticed the familiar style of Cassandra’s short hair as she stood taller than most of the other women gathered. Varric was with her, and Cullen breathed a momentary sigh of relief making his way over as fast as possible.

“Cass!” He nudged her and spoke in a low, frantic whisper.

“There you are Curly,” Varric chuckled, “we were wondering where you and Freckles got off to…” he glanced around for Nevena. “Speaking of which, where is she?”

“What’s the matter?” Cassandra asked, the voice almost aggressive. Cullen realised he must have looked stricken to her in some way, despite how much he was trying to keep his calm. Nothing got passed Cassandra. Nothing, and for once, Cullen was glad of that.

“I had a call from Nevena’s brother-in-law, Josef. She’s been checking her in to the places we’ve been visiting since leaving Haven on her Facebook.” As Cullen spoke he realised he was breathing fast and a sense of panic was starting to overtake him. His chest was tighter, and his extremities were cold. Cool sweat soaked the back of his neck and trickled down his spine. He drew in a deep breath and stood straighter – he couldn’t afford to panic now. “Ineria has informed Nev’s ex that she’s here. He lives in Kirkwall.”

“What?” Both Varric and Cassandra’s eyes widened.

“Shit.” Varric said. “Alright, I’ll go grab a security guard. Where’d you leave her?”

“Over there,” Cullen pointed in the direction. “There’s a sculpture of a parent and child.”

“Okay.” Varric went off, easing through the crowd with as much speed as was possible.

“Come on,” Cassandra said, moving at a brisk pace with Cullen through the throngs of people. People who seemed to just part for Cassandra with minimal effort. Cullen kept a step ahead of Cassandra’s gait leading her through the Chantry to where he left Nevena not five minutes ago.

He swallowed back his fear and worry, hoping she would be as he left her. Alone, and safe.

Nevena jerked up from the two-seater bench and stepped out of the reach of the hands that had tightened for a moment around her throat. She touched her neck, unable to shake cold clammy sensation under her hand and tainting her skin.

It was a trick. It had to be.

Some terrible, awful, cruel joke.

How was he here?

How did he find her?

Why was he here?

There was no sense to it. It was him though. In the flesh. Standing at the same six-foot height, the brown hair a little shorter, the blue eyes as small and cold as they ever were. He stood with his hands still outstretched, a look of surprise marring his features as though shocked Nevena had dared to get away from him.

Her throat tightened. Nevena wasn’t sure if she was about to scream, or cry, or vomit. Her stomach turned, while also somehow being in her feet and she was rooted to the floor. Heart hammering in her ears, she tried to find her breath, her voice. Tried to find herself and make herself do more than stare in abject horror and terror.

“It’s good to see you, Nene.” Rick’s mouth slid into a thin smile, “I was shocked when Ineria called me and told me you were in Kirkwall. Shocked, but… pleased. You know, I’d been thinking about you a lot… Christmas was when you broke my heart.”

Ineria?

Nevena’s mind turned that information over slowly like rusted cogs in a clock. Ineria told him she was in Kirkwall? Ineria was still in contact with Rick? How did Ineria even know she was in Kirkwall? Aside from Cullen and Roselyn, she hadn’t told anyone where she was going or what she was doing. So how did Ineria know? How had she found out? Why had she called Rick?

The last question was stupid. The reason Ineria called Rick was because she knew how much it would hurt and how much he would frighten her if he found her. Which he had.

“Aren’t you happy to see me?” he began to walk towards her, circling around the bench with arms open, palms up. He looked so… unthreatening. He gave the impression of someone who was so relaxed and calm, he always did. The well-practiced lie that hid the truth of the person he was underneath the facade. Nevena glanced over his shoulder, hoping someone might look over, catch her eye and see the terror she was trying to convey. No one did. She was alone. Alone with an animal who wore the mantle of a man. “I’ve missed you, you know.”

Nevena almost stumbled into the sculpture as she backed away from Rick with every step he took towards her. She caught herself before she hit the art piece staggering away and blindly fumbling to regain her balance. A hand grabbed her left arm in a vice-like grip. In a series of motions that left her feeling as though she was about to be sick, he twisted her arm up and behind her back holding it there in an awkward position that caused pain to shoot down from her wrist to her elbow and then up into her shoulder. Nevena’s eyes started to sting. Her chest constricted around her lungs pushing all the breath from her in a rush. “You could at least say something.” Rick hissed at her, mouth close to her ear. His breath wafting over her face made her feel nauseous. A feeling that only increased when she heard Rick inhale deeply, his nose pressing into her hair. “You look great.”

“Let go.” Nevena mumbled, trying to pull her arm free of Rick’s grip – which only resulted in more pain. His hand tightened around her wrist the more she struggled. Over the years, she had forgotten how much stronger than her she was. Now was an unwelcome reminder as he held her, trapped within his grasp. “Please.” She could see his steely eyes boring into her in her periphery but refused to look.

“Who was that you were with?” he asked conversationally. His grip on her never faltered, no matter how much she wriggled and her arm, wretched behind her, was starting to go numb. She remembered times like this from before. During arguments when he would grab and wouldn’t let go until he left a mark, or she was crying. “I didn’t like him.”

“Please, let go.” Nevena tried to tug her arm again – her shoulder burned in complaint. “Please don’t cause a scene.”

“A scene?” Rick smiled. “Why would I cause a scene? We’re just talking.”

“If we’re just talking, then please let go.” Begging. She was already begging. Hardly two minutes and she was back to the submissive, frightened person he turned her into. The nightmare of him just appearing if she so much as thought about him had come true. Here he was, in the flesh, ruining everything the way he always did.

“Who was he?” Rick’s voice became more of a snarl, and he loomed over her, his face inches from her. Nevena had no other option but to look at him. The shadows cast by the low light made him look as though he was possessed. She tried to summon her voice up to scream, but nothing came out.

“He…” Nevena swallowed hard, “he’s—“

“He was touching you.” Rick snatched her chin in his free hand and pressed his fingers and thumb into her skin. He squeezed her jawbone making her wince. “And kissing you.”

Nevena clenched her eyes shut. He was so uncomfortably close she could feel his breath on her face. She was certain he was about to try and kiss her. Try and lay claim to her. Make her do things she didn’t want to do the way he used to. She tightened her lips together, as if doing so might make kissing impossible. She hated the sensation of tears stinging her eyes. All the time she’d spent trying to put her life back together. All the time she’d spent thinking she was stronger, and she could move on and that Rick didn’t have a hold on her any more – all for nothing. She was still afraid of him. He could still force her and scare her and make her do things, just because he wanted to and because he knew he could exert that power over her. All the progress she thought she’d made had been nothing but an illusion… or perhaps a delusion would have been more accurate.

The fear and panic were taking hold, blood pounding through her veins, her vision blurring at the corners, her heart thundering at an alarming speed against her ribcage while she was yanked between fight or flight. Her chest tightened even further, her ribs feeling as though they were clawing into her lungs making it impossible to get even a gasp of air. Every breath she tried to take was shorter and sharper than the one before. She wanted to run and hide, and cower in a corner, never to come out again. She wanted to be home, safe behind her locked doors, her locked windows, and her drawn curtains.

“Am I scaring you, Nene?” Rick’s voice was closer, as though he was whispering directly into her ear. She sensed movement through her closed eyes and flinched away instinctively. “You’re shaking.” She realised she was, trembling from head to foot, a scared rabbit in a fox’s den. “Are you cold?”

“N-no.” Nevena jerked away from Rick’s hand gently gliding up the side of her face from her chin. His flesh was cool on hers, and his fingers curled back into her hair. She tried to bury her head and neck down into her shoulders, like a tortoise retreating into its shell. Rick’s hand tightened in her hair and he pulled. Nevena bit back a yelp of pain. “That hurts…” Nevena managed to say, reaching up and wrapping her free hand around his in her hair. She had nails, she could scratch him – but the pain in her shoulder from the hold he had her in was now spreading across the top of her back. And even if she did try to scratch him, it wouldn’t make any difference. He would just laugh in her face at her feeble attempt to free herself.

“Does it?” he tugged on her hair again and this time Nevena did let out a small noise of protest. She didn’t know if it was involuntary, or if some deep part of her hoped making any kind of noise would attract some attention. “I thought you’d be happier to see me.”

“I-I am…”

“You’re not acting happy.” Hissed Rick. “After everything you put me through, after all the pain I experienced when you broke things off and humiliated me – I would have thought you’d at least apologize to me” Nevena’s throat constricted, further restricting the air she tried to breathe making even that feel as though it was choking her. “Why did you let your friend trick me? Why did you let her call the police when all I wanted to do was get you alone to talk to you?”

“I… I didn’t know sh—“

“Liar!” Rick pulled back on Nevena’s head. “Don’t lie to me! You must have known! Why else would you have allowed her to do it!“

“I didn’t know, I swear.” Nevena whimpered. Tears escaped from the corners of her eyes making her want to curse. Crying was what he wanted. What he liked. He liked it when she cried in the past. He enjoyed seeing her crumble into pieces. Enjoyed knowing how afraid of him she was. He enjoyed knowing that he could reduce her to nothing by doing so very little. “I didn’t know.”

“Why should I believe you?” Hissed Rick. He slid his hand out of her hair and down. Nevena shuddered. His skin was clammy and cold on hers, it almost felt leathery and she was sure she was melting, as if his touch was corroding her flesh away. His fingers closed around her throat and Nevena suddenly found herself stumbling over her feet as she struggled to keep up with Rick’s stride. His arm and then hers hit the hard stone wall, the impact almost winding her. Her head hit a moment later smacking into it with an almighty crack that ricocheted around the small vestibule.

Nevena’s head throbbed from the pain and her mind swam for a moment while she tried to focus herself. Dark spots flickered across her vision and for a terrible moment she thought she was going to be sick. Bile burned the back of the tongue before she forced it back down with a hard swallow. More tears spilled down her face, dripping on her clothes and Rick’s hand. When she sniffled and looked at him, Rick’s thin lips curled up at the corners. “What do you want?”

“What I’ve always wanted.” Rick shrugged when he answered, as if he was making a vague comment about nothing at all. His grip tightened on Nevena’s arm and she yelped when he forced one leg between hers, pressing his thigh against her. “I want what was promised to me by your useless shit of a father. I want what you promised me when I asked you to marry me. I want you. I want your family’s connections. I want your family’s money.” He pushed harder, his thigh working at pinning Nevena to the wall, all the while she could feel his blunt fingernails digging into the skin of her throat. “Most of all though, I just want you.”

“I don’t have any of that.” Nevena managed to choke out between gasps for air that were becoming more desperate with each one. “I don’t know anything about his finances or the business.”

“Do you think that matters to me?” Rick’s smile grew a little. “Someone has to take over when the old fucker dies. Why shouldn’t it be me?” Nevena’s eyes widened at that, and she stared at him, searching for any deception. Rick chuckled. “After all, that was part of what he agreed to when I asked him if he would allow me to marry you.”

“You’re lying.”

Rick snorted. “You can believe that if you want to. You’ll have to talk to daddy dearest. But, that’s beside the point right now. What I want is what I was promised. I asked you to marry me, and you said yes. That’s a verbal agreement. A binding contract. A contract that you, little bitch, broke.” His hand tightened around Nevena’s throat and she coughed against the pressure he applied.

“What I want is what any reasonable husband wants. I want to be able to fuck you as much as I want, when I want, and how I want,” with each phrase he rubbed the weight of himself against Nevena, and his lips – cold and cracked and wet – pressed to Nevena’s jaw, working along towards her mouth. “I want you to be a good girl and not fucking complain and bitch when I do. I want you to learn your place and do as you’re told, instead of always trying to fucking fight me. I’m not asking for much here, Nene. It’s not unreasonable to expect your obedience.”

Nevena’s mind was fuzzy. She wasn’t sure if it was the knock on the head, the lack of air, or the information that was being thrown at her, but she couldn’t concentrate and could barely hear. Blood thudded in her ears drowning out most sounds except Rick’s voice. Her flesh crawled under each kiss Rick applied, as if her own skin was trying to slough off and get rid of any essence of him. She squeezed her eyes closed, trying to concentrate over the pain in the back of her head, and the fear welling up inside her. Once more, she bit her lips together doing so would act as a deterrent if he tried to kiss her.

“We’re going to be really happy, you and me, Nene.” Rick said, his voice losing its edge and sounding deceptively gentle. Somehow, that softness made everything so much worse. It was the voice he used to fool everyone. The one he used to charm his way through life, while hiding his true self behind it. Nevena swallowed down hard on the sickness threatening to rise up her gullet again. The tears started falling freely and she choked on a sob. “You’ll see.” His moist and sickly smelling breath wafted over her face. Nevena retreated back, eyes clenched closed, holding her breath and praying the wall might simply let her melt into it. “Now, kiss me like a good girl, and we’ll—“

“Nev--!”

Nevena opened her eyes at the sound of a third voice. One that filled her shaking body with relief.

“Cullen!” His name fell more like a bark from her mouth, caught somewhere between a sharp inhale and a sob.

He stood at the mouth of the alcove, hair slightly dishevelled, breathing hard and red faced as though he’d been running. His eyes were blazing, more fearful than angry and he might have been the most beautiful sight Nevena had ever seen.

She watched him taking in the scene in front of him. Eyes darting from her to Rick, to his hand on her throat, his leg pushed between hers. She saw him see the tears staining her face and then his eyes glanced just to the side of her. They widened a little, before returning and focusing full fury on Rick.

“Let go of her. Now.” Cullen advanced, an icy stillness to his voice. He was taller than Rick by a few inches, but at that moment he was more like a giant towering over a mouse. Nevena watched him, noticing a moment later that Cullen wasn’t alone, that both Varric and Cassandra were flanking him with one of the security guards from the entrance. Cullen’s eyes were fixed on Rick, gauging him and checking for everything from his breathing pattern to his expression, alert for any sudden movements.

Nevena realised in the haze of her muddled brain that this was Cullen the TEMPLAR in front of her. Someone with military training, looking for the safest way to deal with the situation with minimal injuries to any party involved. That was a world he had left behind… and now he was forced to drag up that training, and everything that went with it because of her.

Rick didn’t move. He didn’t speak, but Nevena heard him take a quick breath, clearly taking stock of the fact he was outnumbered and outmatched. Cullen lifted his hands, palms facing Rick. A peaceful stance and non-threatening. Rick watched him with sharp hawk-like eyes as Cullen continued to approach until there was only a few feet between himself and Rick. Nevena wanted to fall into him, into the safety he provided, but with Rick’s strength and his full weight pressing her into the wall, she knew moving would cause more issues than it would solve. Cullen’s gaze flickered across to her and his face hardened slightly.

“You don’t want to make this worse than it already is.” Cullen said, voice even and slow. “I know Ineria must have put you up to this.”

“She told me Nene would be here.” Rick spat. He stepped back from Nevena and the pressure between her legs alleviated when he moved. His hand was still around her throat, though he relaxed his grip a little. Her legs wobbled. “She didn’t mention she’d have company.” The sneer was unmissable, but Cullen didn’t flinch or react beyond a small twitch in the muscle of his jaw.

“Just let her go—“

“No! She’s mine! I asked her to marry me, and she said yes! That’s an agreement! A contract! You can’t just—“

“She changed her mind.” Cullen interjected, coldly. “She is and was well within her rights to do so. She never belonged to you, even if she did say yes at first because you manipulated her.”

“I didn’t manipulate her!” Rick shouted so loud, spittle flew from his mouth. “It was a gesture in front of her family!” Nevena clenched her eyes closed and recoiled from the sound of his raised voice. “She always was a good liar! Tried to convince everyone I was stalking her, and that I hurt her! I never did! She just never listened, and I had to make her listen to me! It was for her own good! I know what’s best for her!” Rick’s hand on her arm tightened and he shook her with every statement he shouted at Cullen. Nevena cowered away from the noise. “Her family owes me for the humiliation I endured. She owes me for fucking my life up so much! I haven’t had a single day since she dumped me that I haven’t thought about her!” To Nevena’s surprise, there were tears welling up in Rick’s eyes and his voice had started shaking as he ranted. He looked at her, the anger in his face cracking for a moment to show a brokenness she had never seen before. “You owe me.”

For a moment, a split second, she felt a glimmer of sympathy for him. He was not well. Never had been, and for all the time away, it seemed like he never got the help he so desperately needed. His family probably didn’t want to admit there was something wrong with him. A chemical imbalance, and psychological issue… People like them, like her family, would rather ignore a problem, than face it and deal with any potential scandal. He was sick, and Ineria must have known and manipulated him in some way. Rick was a victim, in this at least.

The sympathy conflicted so much with the fear he evoked in her, it felt strange. Strange enough that Nevena reminded herself that Rick was in no way deserving of her compassion. No matter what he had endured, no matter how he might have been coerced or manipulated into this situation by a puppet master – he didn’t deserve anything from her. She had wasted time, and tears, and too many sleepless nights, lying awake out of fear to allow her soft heart to wash it all away. Rick wasn’t a monster, he was a man. Sick, and without people around him to help, but he had still put her through hell for years. Still tormented her dreams and her waking hours. Still cornered her, attacked her, tried to take advantage of her after three years of nothing. Nevena might have felt a flicker of sympathy for him, but it was extinguished in moments by the memory of everything he put her through.

“Let her go.” Cullen said again his voice still and steady. “She doesn’t owe you anything.”

Rick scoffed, “and who are you, then? What is Nene to you? Are you her new boyfriend?”

“None of that is any of your concern.” Cullen replied, “all you need to know, all you deserve to know is that she has told me everything you did to her, and what you put her through. That if you think I’ll allow you to inflict anything more on her you are sadly mistaken. I love her, and if you dare to hurt her, it will be the last thing you ever do.”

Through the panic flooding Nevena’s senses, Cullen’s steady words broke through enough to shatter it for a moment. Had he said what she thought he said? What she thought she heard? Was he being truthful? Being earnest? Or was he saying it to get Rick to react and drop his guard for a moment? His expression was so still it was hard to tell. Something inside her bloomed with warmth, until Rick’s fingers tightened on her throat again and the reality of her situation crashed down around her.

“She’s not capable of loving someone. I proposed to her and after she said yes, she changed her mind and gave me the ring back!” Rick laughed, a high-pitched maniacal laugh that send a cold shudder down Nevena’s back. “Who does that?!”

“Looks like she dodged a bullet from where I’m standing.” Varric muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear.

As Rick reeled around to turn his ire on another person, his fingers loosened around Nevena’s throat and her arm. Taking a chance, she gathered up what strength she could and pushed herself off the wall trying to wrench herself out of his grip. Cullen grabbed her around her upper arm, his own strength pooling into her momentum. He gathered her up in his arms, and all but dragged her out of Rick’s reach. In the seconds it took for Nevena to escape, the security guard had Rick spread eagle against the wall and was cuffing his hands.

Nevena started crying. Big, uncontrollable tears and sobs that shook her down to the core as she buried and all but hid herself against Cullen’s chest. Her shaking legs finally gave out underneath her and she sank to the floor, a dead weight. Cullen caught her before she completely slipped from his grasp and he eased her down to the ground. The guard marched Rick away and through the crowds who had now gathered to see what the commotion was. Nevena heard him yelling something but didn’t catch what.

Cullen knelt in front of her, his hands gently pushing her hair off her face. He spoke, though Nevena could only catch low rumbles of words over the pulsing thunder between her ears. He took one of her hands and placed it over his chest. His heart was beating as fast as hers, but he slowed his breathing on purpose. Nevena closed her eyes trying to concentrate on the rhythm of his inhales and exhales but she couldn’t. It was too hard, and her head hurt. She started to scratch at her hands. She wanted to rub her flesh raw, scratch it with sandpaper, dig her nails under her skin and claw Rick out. Anything to get the mere thought of him off and away from her. She remembered that he’d been kissing her jaw, and that reminder sent a wave of intense nausea washing over her.

“Breathe, Nevena…” Cullen’s voice sounded so far away and disjointed to her. Like she was underwater, and he was above. She coughed so hard she retched, doubling over and clutching her stomach. The back of her head hurt and felt unnaturally warm, but she didn’t dare touch her hair. She would sooner cut it all off than touch it again. Hands held her shoulders, steady, comforting. Nevena reached up with her left hand, and her fingers interlocked with those on her left shoulder. “Slowly, try and slow down…”

She was trying. Trying to breathe easier, trying to stop the crying, the panic, the shaking. She was trying so hard not to be… this. This trembling, fearful, shameful mess that Rick turned her into. She was trying to be better.

“S-s—“ she took a deep breath, her voice and words failing.

“Shh…” Cullen gently cradled her face in his hands, coaxing her to lift her head so she could meet his gaze. It was just them. The alcove had been cordoned off and it seemed that Cassandra and Varric had made themselves scarce for the time being. “It’s okay, you’re okay. You’re safe. He cannot get you, I swear. Take your time…”

They were on the floor, and Nevena didn’t remember how they got there. Her whole mind was confused and fuzzy, small details missing. She shook her head from side to side, hopelessly hoping it might provide some clarity. It didn’t – it just succeeded in giving her more of a headache than had already started to form behind her eyes. Cullen pulled her into his arms and she all but melted into the safety and security he provided.

“I’m so sorry you had to go through that.” He murmured, stroking her back. “Had I known he was in Kirkwall I would never have suggest we come here. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Nevena tried to find her voice, but the threat of sickness kept her from speaking. Instead she shook her head slowly into Cullen’s shoulder, burying her face into the curve of his neck.

“Are you hurt?”

She shook her head again.

“There’s blood on the wall…” Cullen gently ran his fingers back over her hair. “Sweetheart, you’re bleeding.” Nevena grimaced. “You need to see a first aider.”

The thought of being touched by someone else, by being poke and prodded, even if it was to help her, made her whole body go cold. She tightened her grip around Cullen and forced a hoarse: “no.”

“You might need stitches.”

Exhausted, Nevena shook her head. “No.”

Cullen breathed out very slowly, “we’ll go back to Varric’s when you’re ready, okay? Call a doctor out to where it’s more familiar if need be.”

Nevena nodded.

“Do you want to go back to Varric’s?”

She nodded again.

“Okay.” Cullen kissed her forehead, his lips lingering on her flushed and sweaty skin. She opened her eyes for a moment to catch a glimpse of him. His face, stricken with worry, and his skin almost grey. Kirkwall had been just as bad as Haven, if not worse. She squeezed her arms around him, trying to convey in her gesture that she didn’t blame him. Forming words was too hard right now. Cullen squeezed her back. “Just breathe…”

Nevena wondered if he was telling her, or himself.

The journey back to Varric’s was a blur. All Cullen could focus on was Nevena, trembling beside him, as they walked through the streets towards the town house. Her head bowed, she shrank away from everything, light, sound, even Cassandra when she guided Nevena upstairs in the house to wait for the doctor Varric called on their way home.

It didn’t take long for the doctor to arrive, in his mid-thirties with sandy coloured hair pulled into a dishevelled ponytail, Varric gestured for him to go upstairs and then joined Cullen in the living room where he was pacing.

Pacing, back and forth, wearing a pattern in the carpet, his phone in hand and words of anger burning on his tongue. Never, in his entire life, had Cullen felt a rage like this. It was as though a bloodlust had taken over his better senses, and he had nothing physical to take it out on, except the carpet and his own footsteps. His hand clenched around his phone. He thought of Ineria, back at Haven. In that big manor house, probably beside herself with glee, thinking of what her callous and cruel actions might have brought about.

What could he say to her? What could he say that could thoroughly and completely express how much he despised her? How could he properly illustrate with words just what an evil woman Ineria was? How low her tactic of sending Rick after Nevena was? Would it matter? Would she even care? He doubted it, but he so desperately wanted to say something. To give her a piece of his mind, even if he could only do it over the phone.

“--Curly!”

Cullen stopped, only because Varric stood in his path and held a mug of steaming black coffee out towards him. “What?!” Cullen snapped, drawing in a deep breath afterwards. “Sorry, Varric.” He ran his hand down over his face. His heart rate was still up, the adrenaline still pumping through his system. His mind turned over the different things he wanted to say, listing them in concise bullet points. Cullen glanced around the living room for a pen and a pad of paper.

“Sit down.” Varric said, his voice taking on a tone of authority and making the suggestion sound more like an order. When Cullen didn’t move, Varric’s expression grew harsher. “Sit. And give me your phone.”

“Why?” Cullen took the coffee and sat, but held tight to his phone, even as Varric held his hand out for it, expectantly.

“Because I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I know it’s a bad idea, whatever it is.”

Cullen squeezed his fingers tighter around it. “I could kill her.” He said in a low growl. “Ineria, I could fucking kill her.”

“That’s why you need to give me your phone.” Cullen offered no resistance when Varric slid the phone from out of his fist. “You need to calm down.”

“She sent him after her.” Cullen snarled, opening and closing his hands in his lap. “She sent him after her, knowing what he’d done. Knowing what he would probably try to do! How could she do that?!”

“I don’t know.” Varric sighed. He sat on a foot stool opposite Cullen so they were level with each other. “I don’t know Nevena’s family, or the ex-boyfriend, but I know you can’t see her like this. The poor thing’s scared to death, and if you go up there this angry and declaring you want to kill someone – even if you have the best intentions and Nevena’s safety at heart, you’re going to make things worse.”

He was right. Of course he was, Cullen knew that. He knew going and being with Nevena while he was as angry as he was, would not be a good idea. That anger would be palpable, it would make her more frightened than she already was. He didn’t want to be another Rick in her life, and he would not let that anger control him. It was the reason he wasn’t up there now with her, Cassandra and the doctor. Varric was smart enough to take him to one side, to separate him until he was calm and coherent. The last thing Cullen wanted to do was scare Nevena. He didn’t want her to ever be afraid of him. Never wanted to her to look at him the way he saw her look at Rick. The fear on her face, in her eyes, was something that would haunt him.

“I know.” Cullen exhaled a long breath, concentrating on the sensation of his lungs emptying and the movement of his chest. “I just… I can’t understand how someone could be so cruel. Nevena isn’t to blame for anything that’s gone wrong in Ineria’s life. Any of the imagined slights… That she would do this is…”

“There’s nothing for you or her to do about it right now.” Varric explained with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. “I think the best thing right now is that you drink your coffee, and call the Josef guy, let him know everything is okay.”

“Yeah… yeah, I should do that.” Cullen nodded and Varric handed his phone back to him.

He didn’t drink the coffee, knowing it would only make him more wired than he already was. Instead, he went out into the garden, and skimmed through the numbers on his phone. For a moment, his thumb hovered over the number for Haven – he had entered it before leaving Denerim, in case he needed to call for directions. He considered tapping the call symbol and ignoring Varric’s advice. The thought of giving Ineria a piece of his mind was tempting, but who would that help in the long run? It might make him feel better for a moment, but the fallout from that would undoubtedly land squarely in Nevena’s lap, and he couldn’t do that to her. She’d been through enough at Ineria’s hands.

Skimming passed Haven’s number, he found Josef’s a little lower down the list now he had it entered properly and tapped the call symbol. After a couple of rings, Josef picked up.

“Hey Cullen.”

“Hey…”

“Everything okay?”

“Is now a good time?” He asked, slipping his free hand into his pocket and staring upwards towards the sky. There was thick cloud cover. It would snow tonight.

“Sure, kids are getting ready for bed.” Josef sounded tired, “did anything happen?”

Cullen sighed. He rubbed the five o’clock shadow on his chin, “Rick found her.”

“Oh shit. I’m sorry, I should have called earlier. I tried calling Nevena’s phone before you, but I couldn’t reach her. Maybe I have her number down wrong.” Josef paused a moment or two. “How bad was it?”

“Honestly, nothing could have prepared me. Nevena’s told me what he put her through, how he treated her. But seeing it playing out in front of me… I feel sick just thinking about it. Knowing she had to endure years of…” Cullen clenched his jaw and swallowed, hard. “How could no one in the family have believed her?”

“I don’t know. I wish… I wish I’d stepped in more. I… It’s no excuse, but you’ve seen how the family is. How they close ranks. If you speak out of turn, you’re an enemy. With the kids at stake I couldn’t risk them.”

“I don’t blame you. I can’t imagine Ineria is an easy woman to get out from under the heel of.”

Josef snorted, “You’re not wrong. She—“ he sighed, and Cullen could imagine him ruffling his salt-and-pepper hair. “I should have left a long time ago. The kids aren’t safe with her. I was a coward.”

“At least you made the hard choice and left now.”

“Yeah. It’s a temporary solution. I have to think of something long term while the legal battles are being fought. I can only hope I get full custody of the kids and that whatever trauma they endure, or have endured at her hands, we can work through.” There was a silence of a few seconds and then Josef cleared his throat. “How’s Nevena?”

“Shaken up. Terrified of everything that moves. This last few weeks has been horrific for her.”

“At least she’s had you to turn to.”

“I don’t know if I’ve been much help.” Cullen thought back to his nightmares. “I can’t talk long, I just wanted to let you know Nevena was safe now. Maybe you could let Matilda know?”

“Yeah, I will do. She’ll be relieved to hear it.”

“Make sure she doesn’t blame herself, okay? This isn’t her fault.”

“I’ll tell her, but I don’t know if it’ll do much good. Thanks for calling, Cullen.”

“No problem. Bye.”

“Bye.”

Josef hung up, and Cullen slid his phone into his pocket. His breath turned to steam in the air, and he stood in the cold for a few minutes letting it penetrate his skin. The chill chased away whatever adrenaline was still racing around his system. He was calmer than when he first came back to the house and his main thought was to go upstairs and check on Nevena. He turned and went back into the house, wiping his feet on the mat inside the kitchen. Cassandra appeared in the doorway and stood with her arms crossed.

“Is the doctor still here?”

“No, he’s left.” Cassandra replied, her tone short and clipped as though she was angry. “She doesn’t need stitches, thank the Maker, but he’s given her some painkillers for her arm.”

Cullen rubbed his face, “at least he didn’t break her arm or something.”

“I left her to have a shower.” Cassandra said. She didn’t move from the doorway, even when Cullen approached. Those sharp eyes of hers narrowed, almost glaring into him and Cullen backed up a few steps.

“Can I see her?”

“In a moment.” She walked into the kitchen and closed the door behind her. Cullen suddenly felt cornered. “Do you realise what you said? When you were confronting him?”

Cullen crossed his arms, defences rising. “What did I say?”

“You said you love her.” Cassandra’s unwavering gaze bored into him, and her expression was made more severe by the sharp angles of her cheekbones.

“I… I did?” Cullen swallowed to dampen his throat that was suddenly parched.

“Yes.” Cassandra said with cold stillness. “You did.”

“I… I didn’t realise.” He cursed his hesitation on his words. Cassandra would never believe him if he stammered or if he hesitated. He could see her mind turning over everything he was saying, her eyes watching his every move, looking for tells. “I was just trying to get his focus on me and off her. Catch him off-guard.” He added, hoping the explanation would suffice.

Cassandra gauged him in silence. He could feel her weighing him up in her eyes. Considering his words and how they contrasted with his body language. He tried to keep her gaze, but in a battle of wills, she won. “You really didn’t realise?” She took several steps towards him.

Keeping his gaze down, Cullen unfolded his arms and slid one hand into his pocket. With the other he brushed his thumb over the scar on his lip.

“Cullen…”

“Please don’t lecture me.” Cullen met Cassandra’s gaze. To his surprise it softened and the tension in her body lessened. “Please. It wasn’t the best time, I know. I didn’t mean to say it. It just-- I wanted his attention on me. I wanted to get her to safety. I wanted--” He sighed and dragged his hands down his face. “Fuck.”

“I’m not going to lecture you.” Said Cassandra. “Sometimes we say things in the heat of the moment.”

“That wasn’t the heat of the moment though.” Cullen replied, “I wasn’t shouting. I wasn’t under attack or desperate. I was completely calm and trying to take control of the situation. It wasn’t planned, but it wasn’t exactly spontaneous, either.”

“Cullen,” Cassandra sighed, “whatever you said, in whatever way I only hope you’re sure, and certain in your conviction. I don’t think Nevena can take much more, and if you retract that statement now – if she heard it… I fear that she might just break.”

“I won’t retract it. I don’t want to. It’s the truth.”

She said nothing, simply regarded him in silence and stepped to one side giving him access to the door. Cullen went towards it and reached for the handle. “You may want to rethink plans of going to Ostwick. I’m sure Varric can explain to Dorian and Josephine. They’d understand.”

Cullen threw her a quick glance. “I’ll talk to Nevena about it.”

Climbing the stairs, Cullen quickly pushed his fingers through his hair and took several slow breaths. In the conversation with Cassandra his heart started racing. It hadn’t occurred to him that other people would have heard his declaration and given Cassandra’s warnings about slowing down earlier that day it made sense that she would be the first to broach the subject with him. Warning him of how his words might have consequences. He expected more of a telling off – the kind of reprimand his sister Mia occasionally gave him when he was being particularly obtuse. Cassandra’s softness with him was welcome, even though she likely disapproved of the rash word choice, he was glad she wasn’t fighting him on it.

Once upstairs Cullen saw steam escaping from the bathroom through a gap between the door and the lintel. He supposed Nevena left it open, in case she needed to shout down for something. Walking passed, he glanced inside through the crack left open. He expected to see a glimpse of skin and nothing else, instead he saw her huddled in the corner of the shower, still fully clothed. Something inside him cracked, sending a sharp pain pulsing through his chest.

“Oh, Nev…”

He entered the bathroom, closing the door behind him. After removing his shoes, and his phone from his pocket, he went to the shower and sat down beside Nevena. She flinched away when he tried to put an arm around her. He left his hands in his lap, one open, palm up and fingers open in case Nevena wanted to hold it.

The water was too hot for him, and he was soaked through in moments. Droplets clung to his eyelashes and drenched his hair. He didn’t move or talk. The spray was too loud as the sound bounced off the walls and there was so little he could say or do that he felt would be a comfort. He noticed there were raw scratches on the backs of Nevena’s hands where she was clutching her legs to her protectively. Tentatively, Cullen reached towards her and coaxed a hand into his. He ran his fingertips along the scratches.

“Shall I see if there’s any antiseptic in the cabinet?” He asked and waited for a reply. He got it in the form of a small, silent nod. “Can I turn the shower off?” Another nod.

The silence of the bathroom was strange after the constant stream of water and the way the sound echoed. Cullen got to his feet, dripping and his jeans squelching a little when he walked from the shower to the small cabinet above the sink. He dug through various tubes, bottles and cardboard boxes until he found what he was looking for. Antiseptic in hand, he went back to the shower pausing when he saw Nevena start to rise onto her feet. She used the wall to support herself, and Cullen was quick to step in, placing his hands on her waist and leading her away from the shower to sit on the toilet seat. He grabbed a towel off the rail and started to pat her dry.

“I threw up.” Nevena mumbled, “twice.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Cullen squatted in front of her, “that’s okay.” He put the towel to one side and grabbed the antiseptic from the sink. “Can I see your hands?”

She held her hands out in front of him, sleeves rolled up to her elbows. The scratches went almost all the way up her forearms, but the worst ones were directly on the backs of her hands. Cullen uncapped the antiseptic and started to treat them with a small dab of cream. He noticed her hands were shaking. Now the shower wasn’t running the bathroom was cold, but he doubted her trembling was due to that.

“I used to do this before.” Nevena said, watching him gently rub the cream into her skin. “Sit in the shower. The sound would drown out my thoughts, and…” She clenched her fingers into fists, choking on a breath. “I just want to get him off me.” Her voice was a harsh, angry whisper and Cullen saw tears already falling when he looked at her face.

“Nev…” He put the tube back on the sink. “We should get you dry, before you catch cold.” It hurt to see her so broken, so afraid. Cullen’s chest ached and while he wanted to offer her comfort and soothing words, there was nothing he could say that would truly take away or make better what she just experienced. All he could do, all he knew how to do, was to be practical.

He guided her to her bedroom, left her with a towel and then went to his own to dry off and change. It took him all of two minutes to do, when he returned, Nevena was where he left her, still dripping and shivering. It was like Christmas Day all over again, only worse. Nevena was numb and so far out of her own head, it was like she couldn’t function.

There was little Cullen could do to help her mental state, so he fell back on what he knew, and helped her change. It was awkward, mostly due to the weight of the wet clothes but there was no sexual tension between them or arousal he felt on seeing her bare skin or when garments were removed. That wasn’t what this was. This was the only thing he could think of to do, to help. He put wet clothes in the bathroom when they were removed and left the bedroom when Nevena was mostly undressed and only her jeans and underwear needed to be removed and changed. He waited until she opened the door when she was ready.

She wore dry pyjamas and went and sat on the side of the bed. Unbidden, Cullen sat beside her. He took her hands in his and they were both silent except for their breathing. He ran his thumbs over his knuckles. Words were not his strong suit, but he could at least let her know he was there, that she was safe, and he wasn’t going anywhere with simply his own presence.

It might have been thirty seconds or thirty minutes before Nevena spoke.

“I’m never going to be rid of him, am I?” she asked. Cullen lifted his gaze to her. She was staring straight ahead at the opposing wall. “He’s always going to be there in some form or another.”

Cullen considered his words. He could offer placebos and platitudes. He could lie to her and make it sound like she would forget him one day. He could help her make believe that one day she would wake up and never remember anything about Rick, or the things he put her through. But that wouldn’t have been fair. He knew first hand that some things never left a person, no matter how much time passed. Lying would have been cruel.

“Probably.” He said, inclining his head towards Nevena. She automatically tilted her head to one side, allowing him to kiss her temple. “I wish I could tell you differently. I wish I could tell you that it’ll get easier. That one day you’ll wake up and have forgotten his face and his voice, and you’ll have forgotten everything he did to you.” His felt his throat closing as he spoke, raw emotion forcing him to swallow hard. “I wish I could erase that part of your life entirely – no one deserves what he put you through, least of all you.”

“You could tell me that.” Nevena looked at him, eyes bloodshot and tired. “You could lie to me.”

“I could,” Cullen agreed with a sombre nod of his head. “But do you really want me to? Would it help?”

Her expression grew thoughtful before it crumbled, and she pulled one hand away to stifle a sob. “Probably not.”

Cullen pulled gently on the hand he still held and guided Nevena into his arms. He wrapped her up within his embrace, resting his cheek on top of her hair as she buried herself against him. “I’ll help you through this, in whatever way I can.” He told her, stroking down her back.

“I’m getting your clothes wet with my hair.”

“It’s fine.” Cullen said, “I have lots of clothes.”

Nevena lifted her head, a small smile just ghosting over her lips. “Thank you. You really saved me today.” Cullen kissed her forehead. “Would you mind staying with me?”

“Of course not.” He spoke with his lips pressed to her forehead. “Whatever you need, I’m here.”

This chapter... went through a lot of edits. A lot of drafts. A lot of changes.

My first, initial desire was to have Nevena stand up for herself. I desperately wanted her to stand up and tell Rick 'no'. I wanted to demonstrate that she was strong, and had overcome all the trauma he put her through. But that would have been a lie. That would have been a cop-out, and it wouldn't have been sincere.

Like love doesn't magically heal Cullen's PTSD, love doesn't magically cure Nevena's, either. What Rick put her through, the trauma he inflicted on her mentally, emotionally, and physically can't be healed and overcome so easily. Is Nevena a stronger person now than she was when she was with Rick? Oh, undoubtedly. But, she's also still a person who was traumatized for years by someone. She's a person who was beaten down to almost nothing by a person. She was used, and abused, and no matter how much stronger she might be now, she still fears her abuser.

To have her stand up for herself, and have this "strong woman" moment didn't feel honest. It felt forced, and untrue to her character, and also untrue to many survivors. As one myself, I know if this situation happened to me... I wouldn't be able to stand up to my abusers. I'd want to, and Nevena wants to and maybe one day she'll be able to, but she's not there yet.

This version of this chapter did feel honest. To have her fearful. To have her tearful, and reverting back to methods she hoped would placate him. It felt - for lack of a better word - right. I'm not a fan of the damsel in distress trope. I wanted to avoid it at all costs, but in this situation... there wasn't another way to go that was true to the situation and the characters. I felt the need to write this explanation because I'm genuinely worried for the reaction to this chapter. I feel like I'll be disappointing readers, because Nevena doesn't get to give RIck a piece of her mind. I'm afraid you'll all be disappointed that Cullen stepped in, and that Nevena didn't stand up for herself. But... as I've stated, it didn't feel genuine or sincere.

I hope, despite the heaviness of this chapter, you were able to enjoy it. I might have to take March off from uploads because I'm running out of buffer chapters, and need to get some writing done - but we'll see. Thank you for taking the time to read this chapter, and for sticking with this fic for so long. I'm grateful to every single one of you. Please do let me know your honest thoughts in reblogs/comments/tags, and I'll see you in the next chapter.

#dragon age #cullen rutherford #dragon age fanfic #dragon age inquisition #dragon age fanfiction #cullen x inquisitor #nevena trevelyan #cullen x nevena #dragon age modern au #dragon age au #dragon age inquisition modern au #dragon age inquisition au #dragon age fake dating au #writing #my writing #long fic #new chapter #only make believe

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imagineclaireandjamie · 6 years

Note

I know we just got an update for As Yet Unread but it's so good, and it's my birthday Thursday and a new installment would make a lovely present :)

Hello, Anon. So sorry that I missed your birthday - I just didn’t have the chapter finished. But hopefully this is better late than never

Claire had requested Jamie pass by the Kelpies again on the way up to Inverness and he had agreed with excitement. Collecting them both an ice cream from the vendor, he gave Claire a large 99 with a flake, dripping strawberry sauce falling along the cone as she took it and licked the sweet confectionary away before taking a large bite of the soft scoop ice cream.

Jamie chuckled at her enthusiasm as he held a napkin in front of her face. “Ye might need this, lass.” he said, smiling as she took it and wiped her mouth carefully.

“They’re beautiful, aren’t they?” She murmured, craning her neck to look up at the massive horse-like sculpture before them. “Regal yet unassuming. They’re rearing up -certainly- their manes flying as they are, the whites of their eyes visible as they raise their hooves - unseen - to whatever shocked them.” Her eyes were locked on the beasts, their metal structure captivating her as she spoke. “Exquisite.”

“Aye, they are that.” Slipping his arm through hers, Jamie and Claire walked forward, both silently enjoying the company of the other.

Slowly but surely they were bonding, the fragile beginnings of touch beginning to blossom as Jamie included her more frequently in his work and in his life. It was a tentative relationship, Claire still being in a raw state from her ordeal, but one that was flourishing nonetheless.

“Do you remember this space before they were erected?” She asked quietly, the hum of cars passing along the motorway drowning out some of the voices of the visitors surrounding them.

“I canna say I do.” He returned, watching as she glanced around her, taking in the handful of tourists that milled around them. “It was probably just another wee plot of land, abandoned, mostly, when the road was built around it. It isna like there’s much more going on in Falkirk. But now, wi’ this here, it brings added tourism to the area.”

“A lost wee town. Not quite Glasgow; not quite Edinburgh; but something now, with it’s glorious kelpies.” Sounding a little like an advert, Claire smiled widely as she imitated her best Scottish accent.

“Then it’s no longer lost, aye?” Jamie replied, his hand slipping from through her arm, down, until he’d inadvertently taken her palm against his own, holding onto her gently.

She didn’t even balk at the contact. Instead, she let her fingers twin with his own, the otherwise innocuous movies that he’d watched with her running through her mind as they walked the path around the base of the Kelpies, their ice creams both finished now and the rubbished dispensed in the nearby litter bins.

“No, not anymore.” She whispered, her whole hand tingling as they wandered.

The next part of the journey north passed with relative ease, the traffic light leaving central Scotland. Flat land gave way to mountains, the snow sitting on the peaks as they entered the Cairngorms National Park. Neither of them discussed their ever evolving intimacy letting the scenery fill the gap of conversation. Claire was comfortable, she realised. She felt safe. She hadn’t felt this way in a while. Before it had been a constant ceremony and though she’d never been harmed (until she’d been left, battered and bruised, in hospital) there had always been an undercurrent of tension running through the house.

Jamie, with his gentle ease and warm demeanor, had afforded her a space to heal and grow. In his own way he had loaned her the emotional strength to rebuild her life and discover who she might become given enough time. His home had become hers and she now found herself gravitating towards him as she had done when they’d first met.

“I was reading the other day about the mountains in the Highlands.”

“The Munros, aye?”

“Yes,” Claire continued, breaking the comfortable silence as she watched a couple walking across the barren, open land, towards the hills beyond, “there was a nice statistic written online -I don’t know how accurate it was, but I’d like to think it was true- about the number of people who climb them with bagpipes and play them at the top. I can’t recall the statistic, but wouldn’t that be quite spectacular?”

Slowing the car, Jamie pulled into a layby and applied the handbrake before turning off the engine. Getting out, he walked around to the passenger side and opened the door for Claire, holding out his hand to assist her. They were close to Newtonmore now, Inverness in their sights but it brought to mind a memory he had of his late teens and her tale had reminded him of the adventure.

“Do ye see over there, on the horizon?” He said, pointing at the range that was about to be claimed by the low-lying cloud bank.

Claire nodded, her eyes wide as she took in the sight.

“There’s a munro over there called Ben Macdui, ken? It’s the second highest mountain in Britain, Ben Nevis being the tallest. When I’d finished school, Murtagh wanted to take me on a camping weekend. Him and my da used to climb the local hills and mountains all the time but I was busy studying and being a young lad, aye, too busy for wilderness weekends away that didna feature beer and stupidity.”

Closing her eyes for a brief moment, Claire pictured a younger Jamie, a can in hand as he laughed with his friends and she smiled widely. Her own upbringing had been quite rigid - allowing her very few of those moments - and she’d been married by the end of her teens. But the films she’d watched since she’d achieved her freedom gave her some insight into what growing up might have been like for him.

“So you went? Up there?”

“Aye, we did. It took us the best part of ten hours but we did it. We camped close to the bottom, lighting a barbeque when we got home and saluting a job well done. But it wasna the male bonding that I remember now.”

“No? Then what?” Claire asked with interest.

“They’re often romantic places, munros, and I was young enough to be fanciful but old enough to ken the meaning of the event wi’out thinking it daft.”

“Tell me…” she whispered, watching as Jamie bit his lower lip, sighing happily as he shifted the hair behind Claire’s ear and bent his head down conspiratively as if telling her a secret.

“It was a couple getting married, a verra beautiful affair I thought. We stopped, Murtagh and I, until they’d taken their vows and I thought -in that moment- how wonderful it would be to get married in such an idyllic and wild location. How much effort they’d all had to go through to get up there wi’ enough daylight that they could perform the ceremony and get down safely. Perfect, no?”

“Yes.” Claire whispered, the wind rising around her, gooseflesh rising on her arms as the finest splatters of rain began to fall around them, the last ebbs of sunlight disappearing behind the thick, grey clouds.

#As Yet Unread #;Mod MBD #Jamie x Claire #Off to Lallybroch

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muchdan · 6 years

Text

i could fill my diamond pool

Phan, M words: 4406

“So you died, but Phil hasn’t. Not yet. He’ll be here, eventually. Well, he could also get to the, you know,” she nods to the ground, and Dan’s head starts spinning even faster.

(Dan dies and goes to the Good Place. Phil will join him soon. In a few decades. This is not as angsty as you might expect.)

[read on ao3]

This would be too much of an effort for a prank. Someone had to set up the whole studio space, hire hundreds of extras, not to mention this over-enthusiastic lady to show him around. Also, he can’t really explain how a human Siri is doing her teleportation thing.

Dan decides on a dream theory. Or a coma. Something that would explain why there’s no smartphones here, an actual full-size chocolate fountain on the square, and of course the magical teleporting woman. He can live with it. At least until he wakes up, but for now he’ll enjoy a machine with unlimited popcorn in his own living room and a selection of premium quality porn at his disposal.

It takes some time to learn that he’s not gonna wake up. He falls into a nice uneventful routine, attending parties and forgetting about the existence of hangovers. He starts enjoying little moments of his life - afterlife, Meghan corrects him - that shape up his days. Moments like asking Janet for a glass of refreshing lemonade on a walk by the lake. Or picking up flowers for the house. Or even talking to people in the line for an ice cream.

He likes it here.

***

"Okay, Dan, you've been with us for a couple of weeks," Meghan is very compassionate but unfortunately has a problem with choosing a correct human expression to accompany her words. Right now she looks almost sad, as if the idea of having Dan here for such amount of time gives her internal pain. He's pretty sure she just wants to look serious.

He looks around his perfect home once again. Modern art and weirdly shaped metallic sculptures. Hardwood floors and a stereo system built into the walls. Ambient lighting that he can control with his voice. He was expecting this conversation. There should be some kind of a catch.

"No, there’s no catch," Meghan bows her head to the side with the same expression one would give to a crying child. He’s not crying. But she probably also wants to say something different with her face.

They sit down on his big plush couch, a comforter artfully placed to imitate cozyness. Meghan adopts the same sad expression. Something tingly is traveling down Dan’s spine, numbing his arms and legs. There’s no anxiety in heaven, Dan already learned that, but the positive alternative - anticipation - doesn’t bring him much pleasure either. His fingers start playing with the hems of his sleeves.

Meghan clears her throat before starting.

"You see, every person that comes here is assigned with a soulmate, a perfect person for you who will find you perfect for them," she bows her head again, and when Dan starts repeating her words in his own mind, she continues. "It's a wonderful system we have here, everyone loves it! People can actually share the joys of an afterlife with someone they love!"

She seems proud, as if she was the one who came up with the idea of soulmates. Maybe she was. Dan has no way of knowing. The tingling all over his body doesn’t stop.

"The majority of people never meet their soulmates on Earth,” she continues. “The world is huge, it’s just not realistic. But you, darling, seem to have broken the system.”

His tingles stopped, settled in the middle of his chest, and Dan moves his hand to touch there, grasps his shirt. Something is off.

Meghan smiles at him, this time genuinely, at least Dan hopes so, because he’s not really in a mood to hear bad news.

Everything is so confusing. What is she…?

"Shh, Dan," Meghan places a hand on his knee. “Prepare, it’s coming.”

Phil.

He forgot about Phil.

They made him forget about Phil.

He spent two weeks in heaven without Phil and he never remembered.

Meghan takes her hand from his knee.

“We had to block some of your memories while we were figuring out what to do with you two,” she finally says.

This is fucking crazy.

“You already met your soulmate, Dan. On Earth. Unprecedented.”

Astonished, that’s the word. Meghan looks astonished and excited, like a child eager to discover to discover a secret garden.

Dan raises a finger.

“Janet? Can I have a glass of water?”

“Here you go, Dan.”

He takes three big gulps before Meghan starts to explain.

“So you died, but Phil hasn’t. Not yet. He’ll be here, eventually. Well, he could also get to the, you know,” she nods to the ground, and Dan’s head starts spinning even faster. When he raises a finger again, Janet already hands him another glass of water. “But either way, we had to decide what to do with you for now. Until he joins you.”

They didn’t tell Dan how he died. It wasn’t anything embarrassing, Meghan said, it was just unexpected and upsetting for everyone else. He didn’t think about who were these “everyone else” before now.

Phil probably had to arrange the funeral. Phil had to deal with the publicity stuff. He’s not alone but… Fuck.

Fuck.

"We have two options for you here,” Meghan continues. Dan looks at her again, perfect hair and these unchanging fifties-style dresses and suits she seems to love so much.

What options can there be?

“First, we can pause you, keep on hold. We will store your soul safe in an archive for whatever time necessary, before Phil dies. During this time you will be peacefully sleeping, your consciousness swimming in the universe, not feeling a thing or the passing of time. This way, when Phil comes to the Good Place, in years or maybe decades, you can reunite and spend the rest of eternity together!"

There were the days in his life when Dan would dream of something like this. Pause the world. Endlessly sleep in the void until something good finally happens, until he feels better again.

"What's option number two?"

"We can erase any memory of Phil from your brain and you can keep living just like you did these past two weeks."

Meghan leaves him to think about it.

She also shows him how to access the recording of his life, every second of it, seen from his own eyes.

He does it right away. There’s a timeline on the bottom of the screen, coloured in green, red, and yellow lines - each signifying how happy the memory was. There are so many green ones. He watches the earliest good memories: falling face down in snow and secretly loving it even though the instincts told him to cry; unwrapping his Christmas presents; drinking apple juice from a flute and pretending to be adult. He skips further to the teenage years: finding online friends and chatting until late at night; receiving compliments on his new trendy hair; feeling like he finally unlocked something in his life after having his first kiss.

When he gets to his adult years, all the good stuff is happening with Phil. Meeting him, kissing him, holding his hand under the blanket as they’re watching a movie. Calling Phil his, moving in together, celebrating his first YouTube check. All the best vacations, all their playful dates and evenings out in the city, all the laughs and bold decisions and dreams and plans and…

If they erase Phil from his mind, what will be left?

He asks Janet if there’s some kind of a streaming service he can turn into and watch what’s happening on Earth. This would make so much sense to have it here. But no, unfortunately, not. They don't want people to cling to the past instead of enjoying life here, in the Good Place.

He understands. He just wishes he knew what Phil wanted him to do.

"I don't want to float in the void. And I don't want to forget everything Phil means to me. Can I just wait for him here, alone?"

If Meghan has any objections, she just nods and politely smiles.

***

It's easy to enjoy life here. He rarely feels sad, which is probably just Meghan’s magic working. He doesn't mind. This air is like an antidepressant drug, but without horrible side effects. Weather is always nice, even the pouring rain is better than any sunny day on Earth he ever experienced - his body doesn't get wet but he still feels every individual refreshing droplet on his skin or the rush of joy from running through dewy fields. Food is always fantastic, even a cream soup here tastes better than his favorite cheeseburgers while cheeseburgers taste better than sex feels on Earth. And about sex… Orgasms are mind blowing every single time. He pushes himself further every time, learns to masturbate for hours at times to reach that final release and cry out loud without fearing to be heard.

The best thing is that all of this doesn't get old. He enjoys each meal like it's the first one. Cums each time like never before. Basks in the sun endlessly without burning. This world is perfectly calibrated for the eternal life.

He doesn't know how much time passes before he allows himself a small defiance. He doesn't feel guilty because just as Phil is allowed to find another partner on Earth, Dan can have fun here while he waits. He knows he looks good when he catches a hungry gaze of a beautiful couple on the party. They're both too gorgeous for him to even consider it on Earth, but here he's confident, and his curls always fall perfectly on his face, and also he’s pleasantly drunk and painfully wants to learn what actual sex feels like in heaven. He might not even be ready for this kind of feeling.

They undress him as if unwrapping a gift, pressing gentle kisses onto his shoulders, playing with his hair. He touches them too, the girl with her cute small boobs and large nipples that he wants to suck on, the boy's beautiful toned arms and gorgeous butt. He navigates through their limbs, puts the boy's dick in his mouth and moans around him as the girl slowly and masterfully rims him. He comes loudly and blissfully and they lay together, naked and spent, tangles arms and legs, hair and sweat. He misses Phil strongly in that moment but it's not a painful feeling. It's hopeful and calm, a thought about something upcoming.

***

"Janet?"

"Hi, Dan."

"How long have I been here for?"

It both seems like a year or just two months. Sleep is unnecessary here so he often skips it, preferring to spend hours in the gaming world or watching new episodes of Game of Thrones that still reach this place for some reason.

"Four Earth years, seventeen days, two hours and-"

"Okay, got it! Thanks."

"Bye, Dan."

Wow. Holy shit. His mind goes back to Phil. It’s been doing this recently. Phil would love it. Phil would hate that. Phil would think it's gross but would still do it. Phil would comment this or that.

Phil is thirty six now. What he's been up to? Did he buy a house? Get a pet? Abandon YouTube? Or maybe he wrote memoirs, moved to Japan, married someone. Okay, the last three things don't sound like Phil but it's been four fucking years. Everything can change. Not for Dan though.

***

He finds Meghan in the garden, chatting to Charlotte, a pizza place owner here. He says hi to them both, and Charlotte, a total sweetheart, leaves them alone together.

"Oh, Dan, have you seen a new Harry Potter animated series? The reviews are mixed and I can't place what exactly I think about it: is it a unique look on the beloved story or another opportunity to cash-in?"

"Probably both," says Dan. "Hey, I meant to ask you something."

After all these years, Meghan finally mastered her serious face.

"I kinda wanna try the whole floating in the void thing."

Meghan nods not seeming the slightest bit surprised.

"I just… When Phil arrives here, will he be older?"

Dan's been thinking about it a lot, fighting between an undeniable truth that he would love Phil at any age and any state, and the selfish desire to keep him young forever even if it means he gets to die sooner. He just wishes that when they see each other again, Dan meets Phil as an equal, not as someone decades younger than him.

Meghan nods again before replying.

"Age is very complicated, even in afterlife terms. Do you grow mentally here just as much as you would do on Earth? Probably not. You don't have to deal with human problems that make people age and change, plus the world here is constant, unchanging, lacking the fluidity humans need to survive.”

Dan decides to think a bit more.

***

Years past quick here. It's his eighth Christmas in the Good Place, though it's not called that here. Just one morning everyone wakes up to the snowy slopes and a set of hats and mittens on the porch. Janet is busy all day decorating their houses while people are visiting each other’s parties, playing in the snow, and drinking hot cocoa.

They also give each other presents, small and big, simple and expensive. Dan's new friend Craig gives him a huge table made of an amethyst stone. It sparkles bright in the mood light of his lounge room.

In the evening, Meghan personally visits every resident. She’s wearing a chunky red sweater and fluffy headphones. Janet also changed her attire to a sparkly party dress.

"Dan, Dan, Dan..." Dan knows she has a sweet spot for him. Maybe, because he’s the only one who spends his heavenly days alone. "I gather up New Year’s resolutions. It's completely optional, but if you’d like, I could help you make your afterlife better this next Earth year. "

Janet shakes a small bedazzled box with a slit on the top. It's cute.

"If you lack ideas, I can randomize you one!" She looks noticeably ecstatic about this.

Dan writes his resolution on a piece of paper.

"Can I see it?" Meghan almost jumps from the excitement. Dan shrugs with a smile.

“Start practicing piano again. Very nice!"

They clean up the lounge space for a beautiful grand piano. It’s white and glossy and so extra that Dan is slightly embarrassed of himself. Just a tiny bit.

Janet brings him books and sheet music. There’s no YouTube tutorials here but he can still make it work. He never had so much free time on his hands.

***

“Everyone group up, Janet will take a photo of us!”

People excitedly hurry to the center of the room and Dan comes to the back, hoping he won’t look too drunk on the pictures. Not like it matters anymore, there’s no Instagram or fans or anyone to judge. He joins the crowd as everyone’s saying cheese, such an innocent sweet moment from life.

What a good night.

***

“So George R.R. Martin went to hell?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“Let’s ask Janet.”

“I can bet on this vase he did,” Dan makes a gulp of his beer and points to the obscure shape in the corner.

People laugh.

“No one wants your vase, Dan,” Hadi comments, and now he joins the laughter.

He won. The guy is in hell.

“It’s strange to think about this,” Craig muses. “He’s being tortured this exact minute.”

It is strange.

***

It’s his birthday and he wanted to make perfect black muffins. They look the part but boy do they taste like trash.

“I’m sorry, Dan,” Janet shrugs and cleans the whole kitchen in a blink of an eye. “I can make you a batch that will both look and taste delicious.”

It’s not the same but the guests are coming in two hours and he still has so much to do.

“Yes, please.”

Sometimes they celebrate birthdays here. It doesn’t make sense anymore and most of the time Dan forgets about his birthday, but this year he would turn fifty on Earth and this would be a big deal there, so why not throw a party? He doesn’t have to spend money on decorations and booze or even clean up after everyone’s gone. People are throwing parties all the time here.

“Your first half-century, Dan!” Meghan holds a huge bouquet of velvety red roses as she enters the room and bops him on the nose. “Congratulations!”

***

It’s so quiet here. They once went to the world’s quietest room where each wall, along with the floor and the ceiling was covered in the sound-absorbing foam. It was crazy and after five minutes he was starting hearing things, as if the voices in his head expanded and reached way beyond his mind. He motioned Phil to leave. Phil then said that he was getting a headache almost immediately. They laughed about it later. It was a fun experience.

It’s quiet here too but in a different way. After he told Meghan that he wanted to spend a week completely alone, without talking to anybody, she offered him a small house by the lake and asked Janet to move his things there. A week went by and he asked to extend his experiment. It’s been two months.

He’s been cooking himself and washing the dishes, and reading, and meditating, and swimming in the lake. No one has come here. It’s like Meghan put him in a bubble inside a bubble and it’s all so different after forty-six years. All this time he lived in a community, and though he wasn’t obligated to ever leave his house or stay in contact with friends and neighbors, one day he felt like it was too much.

Not in a bad, depressing way, though. More like “I recognize that I need a change of scene. Let’s try something new.”

And he did.

And he feels better now. He can return to his fancy house with his fancy piano. He smiles at the thought.

***

Someone should've warned him. Humans only pretend that they like surprises, but Meghan probably thinks she’s done something extraordinary. He doesn’t have time to be annoyed at her. Because, after all, the biggest miracle in the universe is standing right there, in front of him. And it’s all his.

Phil is so warm and soft in his arms. His cheeks are wet, but before he realizes whose tears this is, Phil is kissing him, tongue and everything, hot breath, tasting salty and familiar. He doesn't know who closed the door, but they're alone now, and he's crying and laughing at the same time.

"I still don't understand what's happening," Phil whispers, and Dan presses him close to his chest, a tall solid body, like no one else he ever touched. He's young as well, looking just like Dan remembers him, wearing a plaid shirt, all buttons done. His eyes are bluer than the skies in heaven.

"Don't think about it now."

He'll explain everything later. Way later. After he shows Phil how soft the sheets here are, perfectly cool against their naked skin. After he makes him experience these overwhelming things that he will never get tired of experiencing. After they drink champagne and fall asleep not because they're tired but because it feels so good to cuddle and relax. His mind is finally at peace.

***

He can't let go of Phil's hand. When they're sitting together, watching Phil's memories, the ones Dan never got to share with him. When they walk around the Japanese garden, talking about so many big and small things they were eager to discuss all these years. When Phil starts crying telling Dan how hard it was to face the world again after losing him.

"If only I knew you're here. If only I knew that we meet again."

They move to a new house, the one that represents both of them now. Phil doesn't change much about Dan's original design, but the rooms are slowly getting filled with soft carpets and movie posters and a whole wall of crawling ivy. The shower and the bathtub are huge to fit them both, there's a fancy coffee maker on the kitchen isle because Phil prefers making his own coffee instead of asking Janet or going to a coffee place. Also a vending machine, weekly updated with the most bizarre snacks from around the world.

On their house-warming party, Meghan makes a toast and puts on a cheesy PowerPoint presentation in the background. Their pictures from before and after the Good Place slowly transition to some ballad song. Phil holds onto him, not because he's scared or uncomfortable, but because he finally can.

Soon Dan notices the changes in Phil that he wishes he could see evolve. He carries himself differently, his posture still clumsy but upright. His vision is perfect in the afterlife but he still wears glasses because he likes how they make him look. On the record, Dan gets to see what Phil was like in his later years and the image evokes something raw in his chest, something that makes him pause the video and straddle Phil on the sofa. Parts of him are more confident and less hesitant, just more comfortable about himself. He's mature and slower with expressing his thoughts, though just as playful and curious as when Dan last knew him.

"You looked amazing with grey hair," Dan strokes his neck, sensitive and pulsing under his fingers.

"Yeah," Phil replies thoughtfully. "You really missed me in my prime."

This is a joke but it places a sentimental thought into Dan's mind. They get to spend eternity together, in this perfect undisturbed world, but he still longs for a short human life with Phil.

***

Phil persuades him to perform on the next “Non-Christmas” party.

"You understand there are people here who have studied piano since they were four?"

Phil shakes his head. How is he so calm these days? Dan thought he himself made a great progress with anxiety but all this time Phil had to handle real life problems. He's an entirely different deal.

"So what? These are your songs, not theirs. And you had a lot of practice."

He played for Phil the very first night, after enjoying each other's touch and devouring all the food Phil could take in one sitting.

Phil loved the songs, of course he did. Dan likes them too but it's different to perform in front of all his neighborhood, most of whom are insanely talented people. Still, it feels like a nice thing to do.

***

"I was hoping that in heaven everything I can think of will immediately come true", Phil moans falling on the couch.

"Mm? Maybe I can help?" Dan closes the door behind them, fireworks still buzzing in his ears. "What do you want?"

Phil laughs.

"Undress me? I'm too tired."

Dan shakes his head as he sits on the edge of the couch and helps Phil take off his shoes. It was a long night, hours of chatting, and singing karaoke, and munching on food that never seemed to settle in their stomachs allowing them to eat and eat and eat until they're simply bored of it. Dan played a couple of his songs and nearly forgot one of them, his fingers slightly trembling above the keys, all the gazes in the room directed towards him. Meghan asked to take a picture of him playing on one of those toy cameras she seems to be fascinated with and he felt hot all over and excited to be a part of this evening, to have Phil's hands on his shoulders, to embrace him so freely in public.

"Everyone's been looking at you," Phil is quiet, almost inaudible, as Dan unbuttons his shirt and throws it on the floor. He leans in to kiss his tummy and smiles at the sudden rise of his chest.

"Yeah?"

Phil draws him in, separates his legs so Dan can fit right between them and lay on top, where their excited bodies can slide together. "We're in a literal heaven and you still light up the place."

This is ridiculous and Dan will never believe him, not in a thousand years, but he still feels his heart grow and reach through the rib cage to Phil.

"Were you jealous?" Dan is playful and smiling, touching Phil's cock through the fabric of his trousers, licking his nipples in anticipation. Someone is laughing outside and another burst of fireworks follows, perfectly lined up with Phil's loud moan.

"It was fun to be."

They both had someone after Dan died. This was one of the first long conversations they had, sitting quietly in their backyard, drinking beer and looking at the stars. Dan was the first to confess, suddenly feeling this overwhelming guilt for something so simple. It's been fifty-four years, of course they weren't supposed to stay celibate. Dan wouldn't be surprised even if Phil got married.

"I didn't," Phil smiled at this unspoken question. Dan closed his eyes in relief.

Phil had several partners. Lived with another man in his fifties. Had dates, one night stands. Not that many, no, Dan, don't look at me like that.

"I'm not looking at you! I just realized I don't know what you're like in your single-Phil mode."

Phil nudges him before leaning in and biting his ear.

Dan's connections are a little more awkward.

"So you're saying I'm probably gonna meet all the people you shagged?"

It's not that many people and it's not that weird. It's heaven, no one cares about this stuff here. People just want to have fun.

"Okay, so the guy who waved at you in the park yesterday..."

It was Dan's time to nudge.

"Sera and Simon would love to have us over, you know?" Dan leaves a mark on Phil's neck, it will disappear tomorrow, but it feels nice to do.

"Did they tell you that?"

"I just know."

Phil tugs at Dan's sweater, helping him get rid of the remaining layers and finally press against each other, flesh to flesh.

"I'd rather enjoy only you for now," he whispers, his tongue making circles on Dan's neck. "We have a whole eternity to engage in orgies."

Dan snickers.

"Four people are not an orgy, Phil," he buries his head in Phil's chest and laughs when Phil’s hands stop stroking him. "But I hear you and I'm not suggesting anything. You know, I've been waiting for you for fifty years."

#phanfic #phan #phandom #muchdan #muchdan fic

111 notes · View notes

hinasouda · 7 years

Note

saimota prompt: warmth

it started snowing as i was writing this :0 is this a sign??

saimota / fluff / 2.8k / no despair / snow day

[AO3 link]

Shuichi woke up, bleary-eyed, to his phone buzzing repeatedly. It rattled to the edge of the table and almost fell off.

When he unlocked it, he found a dozen messages in their class group chat. Photos streamed in of Kaito, Maki, and Tenko on their morning run, wrapped up in scarves and big coats. The entire field was white with snow. Looking out the window, Shuichi saw snowflakes still gently falling past.

Kaito’s final message was a blurry candid of Maki, glaring at the camera. It said: ‘come to the park if u want ur butt kicked!!’

Grinning and rubbing sleep out of his eyes, Shuichi got up to find his gloves and boots.

The park was layered with at least four inches of snow. Students were coming out of their dorms dressed up in wintery clothes, buzzing to enjoy the rare snow day that was given. As Shuichi arrived, he spotted Kaito and a few other classmates rolling huge snowballs along the ground.

“Hey!” Kaito waved him over. He was wearing a beanie hat and mismatched gloves.

He greeted Gonta, Tenko, and Tsumugi, who were offering the giant snowballs to a twirling Angie. She claimed that she was going to build some beautiful, Atua-inspired snow statues, and Shuichi agreed he was looking forward to it.

Even Ryoma and Himiko were out, though half as energetic, they seemed to be enjoying the atmosphere. Rantaro was taking pictures of everyone for his blog, and Kiibo was barely able to move in the layers of jackets, coats, and fluffy scarves he was wearing.

“Shuichi!” Kaito jogged up to him. “When was the last time we had a snow day, huh? Let’s make the most of it!”

He smiled at his friend’s enthusiasm. “What do you have planned?”

“I thought we could a snowball fight with everyone later. And Kirumi said she was gonna bring hot fudge brownies for after!”

The idea of a mass-snowball fight made Shuichi a little nervous, but Kaito was obviously excited for it.

“Well…we can help Angie with her sculptures for now.”

“Alright!” Kaito threw him a thumbs up, then leaned an inch closer. “Oh, and watch out for Kokichi. Don’t let him sneak up behind you with any snow.”

Despite the cold, Kaito radiated warmth as he leaned in. He paused for a moment, holding a breath, skipping a heartbeat. He had to get this crush under control.

“I’ll keep an eye out.”

When Kaito returned to the others, Shuichi immediately missed that warmth. He must’ve shown something on his face, as nearby Rantaro waved his hand with a sly look. Shuichi flushed, shook his head, and went to take a walk around the park.

Some time later, Angie had crafted two lifelike snow-people with such detail in their features, Shuichi thought the falling snow was going to disfigure them in minutes. Gonta was in the middle of building a snow-beetle, which was a smooth lump of snow covered in leaves.

The rest of the group had shown; Kaede had a coffee in each hand, following Kirumi with her tray of brownies; Miu was barely dressed for autumn, visibly shivering, but seemed to be enjoying herself anyway; and Kiyo had settled on a bench with a book, content to watch.

Shuichi watched as Tenko became Kokichi’s first victim. He was sure that Tenko would’ve heard Kokichi’s snickering, as he crept up behind her with a handful of snow. But she was too focused on her conversation with Himiko.

Her high pitched ‘eek!’ made Shuichi jump out of his skin. Kokichi stuffed the snow down the back of her jacket and ran, cackling all the way. Tenko’s expression was scary as she gave chase.

“If she catches him, Ouma may die,” Kaito said solemnly.

Shuichi laughed. “I hope he’s fast, for our sake.”

They kept running, chasing, dodging between Angie’s sculptures and unsuspecting classmates. They were both fast, but Kokichi was starting to pant, while Tenko hadn’t broken a sweat. Kokichi slowed to a stop and brought his hands up.

“Wow Tenko, I’m sorry, okay? I’ll let you hit me with a snowball for free. Come on, make it a good one, and we’ll call it even?”

She stared him down, then gathered a nasty-looking snowball. Himiko turned away, muttering, “I can’t watch.” Rantaro grimaced but pulled up his camera.

Once the snowball was launched, Kokichi did an acrobatic dive-roll. Strategically placed behind him was Ryoma, like the Archduke Ferdinand, the snowball clocked him on the head, knocking his hat clean off.

By now, everyone was watching. Tenko’s eyes went from blazing fury, to pure terror.

Ryoma picked up his hat and brushed it off. “So that’s the game we’re playing…”

“R-Ryoma! That was, uh, totally an accident. I mean, Kokichi–”

There was no mercy left in the ex-Tennis player. He was ruthlessly quick, and his swing was strong enough to knock most people out. The snowball shot like a cold bullet, missing Tenko’s head by mere centimeters.

“I’ll give you five seconds to run.”

Everyone scattered.

The simple, fun snowball fight Kaito planned became much more like a war. The park was a battlefield of barricades and trenches, with three teams plotting their moves.

Before Shuichi could really pick a side, he’d been pulled behind a snow barricade by Kaede, with Tenko, Himiko, Tsumugi, Rantaro, and Angie. He saw Kaito duck behind the opposite side. The next time he saw him, it’d likely be in battle.

With Tenko scouting, Angie and Kaede drew up the plan of attack. Himiko would stay and supply the ammunition from the safe zone, with Tsumugi laying cover fire from a distance. He and Rantaro were the frontline (or ‘meat shields’, as Tenko explained), for the other girls to try and knock down the enemy lines.

Of course, they also had to distract the neutral team. Wandering in the no man’s land, Ryoma and Maki carried their weapons, ready to aim at the first thing that moved. Gonta stayed outside as well, apparently immune to snowballs.

“So I’ll go and try to convince Maki to join us, while you and Tenko go with Rantaro and Shuichi, and push as far across as you can. Destroy as much of their walls and ammo as you can, got it?”

Kaede made a convincing leader, and Shuichi found himself getting fired up. If he saw Kaito out there, he wasn’t going to hold back. Everyone pitched in to make a final batch of snowballs before they set out.

“Wait - do you hear that?” Tenko hushed everyone and peeked over their barricade. “Someone’s coming.”

Before they could ask who, a quiet voice called out. “I come in peace! Take me to your leader!”

“Get lost, Kokichi!”

“Aww, man. I have juicy secrets from the other side of the field, but I guess I’ll take them to Ryoma instead…”

“Deserter! Why are you even here?” Tenko hissed at him.

“Those guys didn’t give me an exciting role, so I’m snitching! Isn’t that obvious?”

Rantaro and Shuichi shared a glance. This couldn’t end well. The team looked between each other, ultimately falling to Kaede. She shrugged.

“Might as well hear what he’s got to say?”

“Yaaay!” He hopped over their defenses and planted himself among the team. “You guys are gonna need a lot more snowballs. Miu’s installing an automated snowball flinger inside Kiibo, and Kirumi’s gonna bribe Gonta with sweets.”

“Great. Now what are they actually planning?” Rantaro asked coolly.

Kokichi pouted. “Alright, one of those two things is true. I wasn’t listening to anything else Kaito was saying, so I have no idea what they’re planning!”

It took a full minute for Himiko to convince Tenko not to bury him alive, let alone raise her voice. Meanwhile, the others came up with a back-up plan to intercept Kirumi, and discussed what kind of tactics Kaito would come up with.

“Shuichi, you know him best - what’s his game?”

“Well I can’t say for sure…” Shuichi was thankful that the cold disguised his pink cheeks, “I think he’d make the first move. I mean- he’ll rely on aggressive maneuvers to catch us by surprise. We should be careful, even here.”

As he finished explaining, a hefty snowball cracked into the barricade behind him. Tsumugi yelped and Kokichi took off running with a laugh.

“Th-they’re coming! Remember your stations, people!” Tenko narrowly dodged another snowball as she peeked over the wall.

A battlecry tore across the field. Shuichi grinned, adrenaline pumping for the first time in a while.

Kaito charged over the trench, scanning his eyes across the park. His team seemed to be following his plan for the most part, half splitting off to distract and recruit Gonta. The rest had begun their assault. He threw another snowball towards where the opposition were starting to react.

A head popped up near where the snowball impacted, a familiar hat searching for the source. He made a ‘come at me’ gesture at Shuichi, who stared blankly at him for a moment. Was that too far…?

Then Kibo and Miu’s flank chased the rest of Shuichi’s team out of their barricade, a series of shrieks and loud laughs turning the battlefield into chaos. Kaito lost track of Shuichi as he dodged a volley of attacks from both Maki and Angie. He was easily caught up in the spirit of competition, returning fire, and throwing some fighting talk.

As the two teams fought, snowballs were launched from every direction. The walls crumbled, Angie’s statues became fodder, and before long, it was every man for himself.

Gonta and Himiko retreated to build a safety igloo, defended viciously by Tenko. Korekiyo and Maki soon lost interest, and Kirumi was none too happy when Kaede came out with a bruise on her forehead. Ryoma remained undefeated.

Kaito was crouched behind a snow lump and cherishing the last of Kibo’s ammo stockpile. He was breathing hard, creating puffs of fog in the cold air. With all this running and messing around, he could barely feel the cold - if anything, the snow stopped him from overheating.

He heard a light laugh nearby. Footsteps crunching on the other side of his cover. Kaito grinned, scooped up a snowball, fully expecting Miu or Kokichi trying to get the drop on him.

“It won’t be that easy, y’know,” Kaito spun round, aiming his shot- “Shuichi?!”

The moment he hesitated, it was over. Shuichi was beaming with a pure happiness, throwing Kaito so off-guard, he earned a snowball to the face. He staggered, sputtering, throwing his snowball at Shuichi halfheartedly.

“I expected more from the Luminary of the Stars.”

“You-! What-, damn, Shuichi!” Kaito brushed snow out of his beard. “Is this how it ends? My sidekick turns against me?”

Shuichi tossed his snowball in the air and caught it. “Any last words?”

He was too giddy to respond. Shuichi’s shameless smile was so cute, long lashes resting on bright pink cheeks, sugary snow dusting his dark fringe. His eyes were alight with a surprise competitive streak.

“Wh-whaddaya say we team up? You and I can take out the rest, easy!”

Shuichi seemed to consider his request, rolling the snowball in his hands. Kaito put his hands up in surrender and took a couple hesitant steps towards him.

“Hey…Shuichi… We’d make a great pair, right?”

Kaito worried for a second when Shuichi’s gaze dropped, cheeks getting redder. He held his breath. When Shuichi looked back up, his eyes went wide.

“Behind you Kaito!”

In an instant, he turned around, finding Kokichi dual-wielding snowballs with a sinister grin. He ducked, throwing himself behind the snowbank. As he went, he grabbed Shuichi’s hand and pulled him with him. One of Kokichi’s shots flew over their heads.

Kaito squeezed Shuichi’s hand, their faces inches apart. “Knew you’d have my back! Now go and get that bastard.”

Shuichi nodded wordlessly, lingering in Kaito’s warmth for a moment longer. He squeezed Kaito’s hand back in a rush of affection. Then Kaito stood up, waving his arms at Kokichi and yelling. His hand felt cold without Shuichi’s.

“Hey! Over heeere!”

Taking the signal, Shuichi made a dash for the flank.

Everyone was frozen and exhausted by mid-afternoon. They went back to the college common room, ushered by Kirumi’s promise of hot chocolate and freshly baked cookies. Scarves, hats, gloves, and boots were abandoned at the doorstep. Kibo spent five minutes unwrapping, and everyone’s skin was dusted pink after coming in from the cold. After some chilled out music, chatter, and sweets, eventually the group started dropping back to their own rooms.

Due to the limited supply of blankets, Kaito had absolutely insisted that Shuichi share a space, curled on the couch beside him. There was still a decent distance between them, but Shuichi felt himself leaning into Kaito’s ever-present warmth. Over time, the distance slimmed, but Shuichi was sure he hadn’t moved at all.

The room became a much smaller group of friends by evening. Shuichi was dozing, barely keeping himself awake; Kaito, Kaede, and Kokichi were arguing over music taste; Rantaro and Maki finished off the snacks, sharing glances when someone said something dumb.

When he woke up, Shuichi had no idea how long he’d been sleeping. His head was leaning on Kaito’s shoulder, a spot that was so warm, soft, and comfortable, that he didn’t want to move. Only when he realised where he was did he sit up, face flushing.

Shuichi became acutely aware of his space, of Rantaro and Maki catching his eyes, and Kokichi snickering from behind a cushion. The conversation carried on as normal, but Kaito was pretending he hadn’t noticed. He had to be.

He yawned dramatically, planning his escape. “Well, I should probably head back. I’m getting kinda tired…”

“How can you still be tired?” Kokichi frowned at him. “You’ve been asleep for three hours now.”

“It was like two minutes,” Maki interjected, saving Shuichi from a heart attack.

“Ah…all the more reason to call it a night…”

He stood up and said goodnight to everyone, missing Kaito’s blanket and body heat with a shiver down his spine. Kaito was unusually quiet, only offering a smile and a nod as he left. Shuichi’s heart sank. It looked like he’d made things awkward between them now.

When Shuichi left the room, Rantaro threw a cushion at Kaito.

“Hey! What was that for?”

Rantaro rolled his eyes. “You spend all day giving him gooey eyes, he falls asleep on your shoulder, and you’re just gonna let him walk away like that?”

“You’re breaking my heart right now, Kaito,” Kokichi whined.

Kaito rubbed his temple, looking for Maki and Kaede for help. Maki shook her head and Kaede pointed at the door.

“Go on. Or I’ll never forgive you.”

He hesitated for a moment longer, then without looking back, he jumped up to follow Shuichi.

Footsteps filled the corridor but Shuichi didn’t dare turn around, until he heard his voice behind him.

“Shuichi.”

Kaito sounded a little more serious than his usual tone. Shuichi put on a sheepish smile.

“Hey. Sorry about earlier, that was pretty embarrassing…”

“It’s fine, man, I don’t mind,” Kaito gave him a thumbs up and a grin. “My shoulders’ always here for my sidekick.”

Shuichi didn’t meet his eyes. “Yeah… Thanks, Kaito. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Alright!” His enthusiasm fell into the quiet corridor, creating an uneasy pause between them, before Shuichi turned to leave.

“Damn it– wait, Shuichi! I should be the one to know that communication is the most important thing in a team. Especially between friends.”

A breath caught in Shuichi’s throat. He waited for Kaito to continue, too nervous to reply, the heat of swirling emotions in his chest becoming sickly.

“So we should talk. Cuz you’re my best friend, and I wanna make sure everything’s good between us.”

“Everything’s fine.” His voice was quiet enough that Kaito almost missed it.

Kaito stepped towards him, concern on his face. “You sure?”

“Yeah. Why would anything be wrong?”

They held each other’s gaze for what felt like a minute. Kaito searched Shuichi for any hint of truth, for any reason he was keeping himself at a distance. Shuichi returned it with stubborn refusal. Kaito sighed.

“If you say so, then I trust you. I’m here for you if you need me, alright?”

Shuichi nodded, tearing his eyes away from the taller man. As soon as he figured out whatever he was feeling, he could talk to Kaito. For now…

“I had a lot of fun today, with you, and everyone else.”

“Yeah!” Kaito beamed, “It got kinda crazy, but hanging out with everyone was the best thing I could ask for. I’m, uh, really glad you had a good time.”

“Me too. Let’s do more stuff like that,” Shuichi mustered a smile to match Kaito’s.

“I’ll let you get some sleep. Message me if you need anything. See ya tomorrow for training!”

They parted ways - Shuichi spending the rest of the night thinking too hard, and Kaito going back to his room without facing the others. It snowed again during the night, but neither of them noticed.

[thanks for reading!! please like/reblog if u wanna, send me more prompts, oh my gosh, it’s 5am already, sorry for any mistakes]

[check out my other saimota fic that is probably same universe]

#saimota #shuichi saihara #kaito momota #flufffffffff #ndrv3 #anonymous #i got so ridiculously carried away #im sorry

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darling-cas · 7 years

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All Is Well: Mor X Vivianes Sister

TOG/ACOTAR Christmas Fic Co-written with @catastrophicallyinlovewithbooks

Summary: While visiting the Winter Court Mor runs into Viviane’s sister, Selene. A Mistletoe may be involved. CANON.

Note: I am seriously in love with Bianca and working with her was beyond amazing! I remember messaging her months ago about one of her ACOSAP edits and she followed me that night and I freaked out I was so excited! So to actually get to collab with her on something is more then I could ever imagine. Seriously, thank you so much for joining me on this project darling. I had so much fun and would write with you again without a second thought, XX

All Is Well Masterlist

——————–

The click of heels on marble floors echoed off the high ceilings as Morrigan followed the servant through the corridors.

The walls of the Winter Court palace rose out of the polished floor and swooped in concave arches overhead, glittering icicles hanging off the domed roof. The last rays of evening sun filtered through the tall windows and broke through the ice in a kaleidoscope of colour. There were as many ice sculptures in the Winter Court palace as there were marble busts of scholars in the Day Court, and the sparkling ice mirrored the beauty of the twinkling stars of the Night Court. It was a breath-taking sight and no matter how many times she had seen it before, Mor was still impressed by its beauty.

The servant pushed through a set of wide doors and led Mor to a sitting room decorated much like the rest of the palace. An imposing ice chandelier hung in the middle of the room above a white velvet sofa, a thick fur rug was spread out on the floor and and lazy flames danced in a marble fireplace. In the corner, a fir tree decorated with glimmering baubles, candy canes, pine cones and magical lights stretched out to the lofty ceiling. Despite the ice decor and the smouldering hearth, the palace was heated by magic, so Mor did not feel cold in her Night Court attire that left the tan skin of her arms and midriff bare.

“I’ll let the High Lady know you have arrived,” the servant said. Mor nodded in acknowledgement and moved to the Christmas tree. It was a smaller one than the imposing tree in the entrance hall but Mor knew this was the tree Kallias, Viviane and their close friends and family liked to put gifts under. An array of colourful presents was already scattered under the branches. She placed the stack of boxes in her arms on the floor and started carefully spreading the presents around the base of the tree. She smiled to herself as she took in the mound of carefully wrapped presents. They had all agreed to exchange gifts after the High Lords’ Yulemas Banquet the following day but Morrigan had never been one to follow the rules. She loved surprises too much to resist the temptation of showing up early with presents.

Viv is going to die when she sees the dress, she thought, as she thumbed the gold ribbon on a box. She had begged Rhys for weeks to tell her the name of his personal tailor but he hadn’t relented. Instead, he’d personally brought her the dress for Viviane and, surprisingly enough, it was the perfect style and colour to complement her friend. Mor had no clue where Rhys was getting all the splendid gowns from, but as long as he was willing to provide her with garments for her own wardrobe, she wasn’t going to complain.

“Come back here, you rascal!”

Mor’s head shot up. A loud crash and a string of curse words followed. She straightened and looked towards the door. The commotion seemed to be coming from the hallway Mor had walked through just minutes ago, so she made for the exit.

“You little devil!” someone said between laughs. The silvery voice had a slight lilt to it and a smile stretched on Mor’s face in recognition. “You’re trying to get me in trouble! Stay still!”

Mor opened the door and stepped into the hallway trying hard to hide her amusement at the scene before her. She leaned a shoulder against the doorway and cleared her throat.

“Morrigan!” The woman’s normally pale skin was deliciously flushed and Mor didn’t know how much of it was from the chill in the air outside and how much was from embarrassment. Mor thought she looked as lovely as ever. Her chestnut hair was braided down her left shoulder and her icy blue eyes shifted from Mor to the squirming animal in her arms. Mor could no longer contain her grin.

“Hi, Selene.” She tilted her chin towards the sitting room, a question in her eyes and the woman just walked into the room instead of replying. Mor made sure to close the door behind her as Selene put down the furball which turned out to be one of the arctic foxes the Winter Court used as messengers. This one was just a cub and scampered away and started sniffing everything in the room as soon as it was set down. “Who’s your friend?”

“He’s an early Christmas present for my sister’s tiny tot. Kallias was less than pleased with the gift, but I volunteered to take care of the cub when they’re busy.”

“You’ve been an aunt for barely a few months and you’re already spoiling the child, rotten!” Mor teased.

Selene smiled. She shrugged off her fur-lined cape revealing the white tunic and trousers tucked into knee-length leather boots underneath. “I was not expecting to see you before the Christmas Banquet. What brings you to the Winter Court?”

“Do I need a reason to visit now?” Mor’s tone was serious but her eyes sparkled in amusement.

“Of course not, all-powerful Morrigan!” Selene leaned into a mock curtsy, holding the skirts of her imaginary dress as she bowed her head. “We are humbled that you deemed us worthy to visit. We shall henceforth have a yearly celebration to commemorate this day.” As she straightened up and noticed Mor’s quirked eyebrows, Selene burst into laughter, the sound twinkling and light and Mor couldn’t help but laugh too while Selene kept up the charade. “I’ve made the Morrigan laugh. Oh, what a blessed day it is! I have never seen such beauty before my eyes!”

Mor crossed her arms in front of her chest but her full lips were still stretched in a wide smile. “Oh, you’re incorrigible, Sel! You haven’t changed one bit!”

“I wasn’t joking, you know.” Selene took a step forward, her expression soft and sincere. “You are exquisite, Morrigan.”

It always took Mor by surprise to see how easy it was for Selene to speak her mind. The Morrigan’s gift was truth. She spoke freely and candidly and she appreciated the truth above nothing else. Most other faes and humans, however, were guarded and uncertain and they cloaked their feelings between layers of ambiguity or deceit, lest they get hurt. They used words as masks and curtains to hide the vulnerability underneath. But not Selene. She wore her heart upon her sleeve, she lived genuinely and unapologetically, and Mor had been entranced by it from the very first moment.

After all the years of Amarantha’s reign and Hybern’s war - turbulent and violent times that had changed both Prythian and the human realms so drastically - she was glad to see that Selene had remained the same. She was un unyielding pine tree unchanged by the seasons around it, be it harsh winter or gentle spring.

Mor grabbed Selene’s hand, lacing their fingers together. “You know I have always thought you were splendid, my dear Selene. I have truly missed you.”

Frosty blue eyes gleamed with secrets and mischief as they gazed into Mor’s. Selene gave the hand lacing through Mor’s a squeeze, and Mor couldn’t help but marvel at how soft, how warm, Selene’s touch was, despite the coldness of the Winter Court all around them.

“Is that so?” Selene’s smile was as soft as fresh snow and as wicked as an icicle. “I would think that gazing upon those good-looking Illyrians every and all day wouldn’t give you much time to miss little old me.”

“Good-looking they may be,” Mor paused. Her teasing smile became softer as she spoke once more. “I will always miss being with my friend.”

Selene’s own smile fell as she raised an eyebrow. The mischief still held on her face, but there was something else mixed in that caused Mor’s heart to leap. “Friend, huh?”

Deep-brown eyes locked with blue ones. Mor felt the tension in the room snap tight. She felt as if the air had been sucked out of her lungs. There was a pull in her stomach, her heart started to race as her lips parted slightly.

The look in Selene’s eyes, the way her hand stayed tightly in Mor’s, the soft smile pulling on her lips, it undid Mor in the most beautiful way but terrified her all the same.

“Would you like to open your Yulemas present?” Mor asked, for a lack of nothing else to say. Her voice was low, raspy as she drew in a shallow breath.

Selene blinked, the spell around the room slipping away as she took the smallest step back. Her smile shifted from soft, cherished, to vast and bright once again.

“Are we not supposed to open them at the Banquet?” Selene fell back onto the couch set up in front of the fireplace, crossing her legs at the knees.

Mor rolled her eyes, her own smile holding a teasing tone to it. Though the aftershock of the tensions a for moments ago still lingered. “And since when have you been one to follow the rules?”

“Point taken.”

A breathless laugh flew past Mors lips. She turned her back on Selene, walking over to the tree to pick up a box wrapped in the most beautiful shades of blue, a bow sitting in the middle.

Blonde hair flew over her shoulder as she spun around, making her way towards the couch and sitting down next to Selene. Mor handed over the present, and she couldn’t help but jump the slightest bit as Selene took the gift in her own hands, their fingers brushing.

Selene held her gaze for a moment longer before turning to the present on her lap. And Mor couldn’t tear away her gaze as she watched Selene’s nimble fingers get to work on the ribbons wrapped tightly around the box. The only sound around them was that of the crackling fire.

It didn’t take Selene long to disregard the paper and open the box.

“Cauldron,” she breathed, lips parted slightly as she pulled the fabric out of the box. Its light blue skirts - so blue it almost looked white - moved like water across her lap. The bodice sparkled in the light of the fireplace.

Mor really needed to bug Rhys more for information on his personal tailor.

“Do you like it?”

Selene’s wide eyes moved from the dress to Mor. They appeared to glow in the dimness of the room, clouded with oh so much emotion.

“It’s exquisite,” Selene folded the dress back in the box, placing it on the floor by her feet before gripping Mor’s hands in her own. “Truly, thank you.”

Mor’s chest felt tight, she couldn’t look away from Selene’s gaze. “No need for thank yous.”

Selene’s grip on Mor’s hands tightened just the slightest bit as she leaned forward. There was so much emotion in her eyes, on her face, that it almost blinded Mor. Yet, she couldn’t look away, couldn’t so much as breath as Selene stopped just a few inches from her.

“Would you like your present in return?” Selene whispered, her breath brushing Mor’s cheeks.

“Of course.” Mor’s voice was equally as soft.

Selene’s smile was the most alluring thing Mor had ever seen, her eyes wrinkling slightly in the corners because of it.

There was a moment, just a beat, where Selene simply continued to gaze upon Mor, the thumb brushing lightly against the back of her hand. Then she started to close to gap between them. And Mor found herself leaning forward to meet her halfway. She could hear dainty bells ringing above her, but didn’t pay much attention to them as her lips lightly brushed Selene’s-

“Mor!”

The doors to the room flew open as Mor and Selene jumped back.

Flushed, Mor looked past Selene to see the High Lady of Winter walk in. Her pale pink lips were pulled back into a smile. Her hair, hair as white as snow, was braided down her back. Icy blue eyes - Selene’s eyes - flicked between Mor and Selene, question and laughter gleaming within them.

“Viv,” Mor stood up from the couch, trying to calm her racing heart as she did so. She didn’t cast one glance at Selene as she walked towards Viviane, a smile that was only slightly strained on her lips. “It’s so good too see you again.”

“Likewise, as always,” Viviane’s smile was so like her sisters, just with less mischief and slightly softer. Stepping forward, Viviane pulled Mor into a hug. “Even if it has only been a few months.”

“A few months too long, if you ask me.” Mor returned the embrace for a moment longer before pulling back.

“Let us sit and chat.” Viviane gestured for Mor to returned to the couch as she herself sat in one of the lone chairs. There was a knowing look in her eyes as her smile turned just the slightest bit smug. “I see you’ve had the pleasure of catching up with Selene already.”

Her years of training to mask her true features was the only thing that stopped the blush from raising on Mor’s cheeks. She took her seat on the couch, finally glancing at Selene, whose brows were pinched, her eyes hard as she stared down her sister. It was a look that could only be read as pure sisterly annoyance. But The High Lady didn’t so much as flinch.

“How about some hot cocoa?” Viviane rang for a servant, that smug smile every present on her face.

Mor smiled and nodded.

It didn’t take long for a servant to appear with some hot cocoa and a tray of sugar cookies. And as the three ladies ate and drank, the conversation carried on. The tension around them seemed to relax bit by bit with every passing moment. Though even as she laughed and smiled at Viviane’s stories about her wholesome newborn, she could still feel Selene’s gaze upon her. She could still feel the brush of Selene’s arm against hers every once in a while. And every time, her heart would leap in her chest.

It wasn’t until hours later, when the sun was starting to set over the snow-covered fields, that Mor decided it was time for her to head back home. And it wasn’t until she bid goodbye to Viviane, engulfing the High Lady in one more hug, that she was left alone with Selene once more.

“I’ll be seeing you at the banquet, I take it?” Mor smiled towards Selene from where she stood next to the doorway.

With a nod for her head, Selene returned the smile, taking slow, calculated steps towards Mor. “Of course.”

“Wonderful,” Mor held her ground, her smile never fading even as she felt a pull in her lower stomach. “I look forward to seeing you again, Selene.”

With no more reason to stay, Mor should have gave Selene one final goodbye before walking out the door. But she didn’t. Her feet stayed rooted to the ground as Selene stopped before her, just inches away. Her smile was wicked, eyes challenging as she looked at Mor through her eyelashes. Mor could feel her own smile pulling on her lips, her fingers itching to grab Selene up her collar and pull her closer.

“Are you really-” Selene’s voice was low, sensual as she took the smallest step towards Mor. So close now Mor could feel her breath on her cheeks - “leaving without your gift, Morrigan?”

“Depends on what exactly said gift is.” Mor breathed.

Selene’s smile grew and the sound of dainty bells could be heard once again. Mor followed Selene’s gaze upwards, only to find a growing green fern with white berries, directly above their heads.

“I think you’ll enjoy it.”

Mor turned her gaze back to Selene just moments before the last few inches between them disappeared, their lips meeting.

It was soft, sweet, warm as Selene’s lips pressed against Mor’s. And Mor felt like all her senses suddenly got dialed up to ten. Her blood ran cold before her whole body felt as if it was about to ignite. She hadn’t felt like this in years. And as she swept her tongue along Selene’s bottom lip, as Selene opened her mouth with a moan, she felt a jolt through her body. Mother, she could listen to that sound all day and never once get tired of it.

Mor found her hands gripping Selene’s shirt, pulling her closer. But it still wasn’t close enough. She wanted more, needed more. And by the way Selene’s fingers wrapped in Mor’s hair, she felt the same. Just not here, not now.

After some time, Mor pulled back slightly. She rested her forehead against Selene’s as they both tried to calm their breathing. It was only after a few moments passed by that Selene stood up straighter, but didn’t back away.

“I look forward to seeing you at the banquet, all-powerful Morrigan.” Selene breathed, her swollen lips pulled back into a teasing smile. A smile that Mor couldn’t help but return.

“Likewise, Selene.”

With one last knowing glance between the two, Mor turned and walked out the door. She could feel Selene’s gaze on her as she went, hips swaying, heels clicking on the marble floor and a smile on her lips.

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redhatmeg · 7 years

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RedHatMeg’s Guide on Gyro Gearloose Part 2 - Uncle Scrooge comics

And our adventure through stories with our favorite inventor continues with Uncle Scrooge comics.

Brace yourselfs, these are products of their time so they’re sometimes a bit racist. So I apologize in adance.

Now there is a lot of Gyro Gearloose comics that are featured also in previously covered by me Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories. I’m including them here, because these might be first editions of said comics. And so we have:

- The Seven Cities of Cibola

- The Cat Box (first appearance of Little Helper.)

- Forcasting Follies

- Fishing Mystery

- The Sure-Fire Gold Finder

- Roscoe the Robot

- Gyro Goes for a Dip

- The Wishing Well

- Krankenstein Gyro

- Invetors’ Contest

- Oodles of Oomph

- Fishy Warden

- You Can’t Win

- Fast away Castaway

- Duckburg’s Day of Peril

- The Great Pop Up

- Finny Fan

- Posthasty Postman

- Snow Duster

- A Helper’s Helping Hand

- Man versus Machine

- The Know-It-All Machine

- The Hopeless Helper

- Mighty but Miserable

Now onto the stories I didn’t covered. We start with Uncle Scrooge series that start in 1953 and ended in 2011. Just like in Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories Gyro is both starring in his own stories and in stories of other characters.

- Gyro Builds a Better House (Gyro is tasked to build a house with soft walls.)

- Getting Thor (Crows aren’t scared of Gyro’s scarecrow so he decides to invent a better one.)

- The House on Cyclone Hill (A small cyclone attacks Gyro while he’s doing rsearch on cyclones.)

- The Firefly Tracker (Gyro has to create a special invention to present on Inventors’ Congress. Fireflies in his yard give him an idea.)

- War Paint (A movie director asks Gyro to make as realistic war paint as possible. Gyro uses actual ingrediens for war paint and soon the cast start to act weird.)

- That Small Feeling (Gyro is visited by a witchdoctor who shrinks him and says he will turn him back to original size when Gyro fixes his magic doll.)

- Wily Rival (While waiting at the patent office, Gyro is intrigued by a fellow inventor and his mysterious invention.)

- Madcap Inventors (Gyro gets a book How to get along with your enemies. He has an opportunity to put it to use, because a rivaling inventor moved in and gets on Gyro’s nerves.)

- Getting His Wires Crossed (Gyro is a terrible dancer so he invents a machine that will help him dance better.)

- Something to Crow About (Grandma Duck has problems with crows eating her berries, so she asks Gyro for help. His solution: a dome over the berries.)

- The Fizzle that Drizzled (Duckburg needs to conserve water. Gyro makes a machnine that creates clouds, but it goes down because the weatherman made a mistake while informing Gyro about atmospheric pressure.)

- Day of Delayed Action (Gyro disables his alarm clock to spend more time on thinking about inventions and wakes up three months later.)

- Jonah Gyro (Angry fishermen make Gyro throw away his fish-baiting toy salmon. It comes back with school of salmons and a whale.)

- Lost and Found (Gyro finds a lost puppy at his doorstep. After bringing it to its mistress, he makes her a special dog whistle that can be heard only by her pappy.)

- Once Upon a Time Machine (Convinced that he can’t invent anything new Gyro goes back to the Stone Age to interest cavemen in his inventions.)

- The Portable Pier (Gyro takes Daisy on picnic on the island and presents his new invention: a portable pier which is part of his boat. Unfortunately other campers use the pier too and tie their boats to it.)

- Homemade Robot (Gyro wishes to have a roommate, but most Duckburgians aren’t on his intellectual level. Therefore he makes a robot that woudl be a perfect conversation partner.)

- The Arty Smarty (Inspried by Duckburg First Annual Outdoor Art Exhibit, Gyro tries his brains in painting.)

- Scientific Sleuth (Gyro becomes a private detective who uses inventions to slove crimes. With his assistent, Gus Goose, he tries to solve a case of missing garden statue.)

- Bubble Trouble (During cold winters Gyro stays in his bubble simulating tropical climate. Soon his neighbors want to get inside the bubble as well.)

- Instant Camping (Gyro tests his instant campinbg set.)

- Mind over Mustard (Gyro tries to solve the problem of squirting out from his hot dog.)

- The Two-Legged Mailbox (To avoid leaving experiments to check the post, Gyro creates Posty, a walking mailbox. Unfortunately, it gets bored easily.)

- The Drippy Diamonds (Gyro invents a fast why to make diamonds. Soon there’s big demand on it among Duckburg elite, but Gyro finds out his jewelery is melting over certain time.)

- The Runaway Walking Stick (Gyro’s newest invention - a literal walking stick - runs away. Gyro needs to chase after it.)

- The Rude Awakening (Tired of his alarm clock, Gyro sets to invent better way to be awakened in the morning. He makes an automatic rooster that runs away.)

- The Evil Inventor (Emil Eagle, the evil invetor, tries to steal Gyro’s blueprints and inventoions... This is the first appearance of Gyro’s archenemy, Emil Eagle.)

- Weather Wizard (Gyro’s newest invention is a weather machine. Lots of Duckburgians order rain in specific places. Unfortunately it spirals out of Gyro’s control.)

- Super Scientist (A lab accident makes Gyro superlight and now he can jumb really high. He uses these powers to become a superhero.)

- The Hypno-Clock (Gyro uses his newest invention, the hypno-clock, to hypnotize himself into being professor Steinbirg, the world’s wisest genius. However, thanks to TV commercial he gets hypnotized into buying Seafoam Bubble Bath soap,)

- Flipping His Trapp (Gyro makes special mosquito-slapping machine. It causes havoc.)

- Ye Olde Hoppin’ Chair (Since he tends to fall asleep on rocking chair, while reading, Gyro makes hopping chair that would keep him awake. Unfortunately he falls asleep again and the chair takes him on the ride.)

- Metal-Meltin’ Mob (Beagle Boys trick Gyro into making a metal melting machine. They plan to use it during another Money Bin robbery attempt.)

- Once Upon a Hammock (Gyro sets his mind it invent a better hammock.)

- Battle of Marathon (To get an ancient Greek coin, Scrooge and Gyro go to the times of Battle of Marathon. It so happens that nephews come with them by accident.)

- Luck in the Lab (Gyro asks Gladstone Gander to be his lab assistant in hopes he wil share the duck’s good luck.)

- The Sculptinker (Emil Eagle sees Gyro delivering big package to the art show. It’s a new sculpture invention, Gyro’s entry on the art contest, and Emil decides to sabotage it.)

- The Instant Raincoat (Gyro create an instant raincoat and goes to raincoat producer in hopes he will interest him in his newest invention. Unfortunately he comes there right in the middle of robbery.)

- Sandwich Automaton (To not waste time on making lunch, Gyro builds a special machine that can make sandwishes.)

- New Planet Planner (Gyro’s friend - an astronomer, Peeka-Boo Pegeon - discovers new planet. He tells Gyro that space lab directors will choose a design for a rocket that will be send on said planet.)

- Operation Implosion (Tires of picking up litter of his yard, Gyro makes implosion bomb - a bomb that draws litter to itself.)

- Roving Rug (Gyro makes a rug that cleans itself. Curious Emil Eagle breaks in to his lab.)

- The Golden Apples (Gyro’s newest invention is Fantasy Finder - a vehicle that can transport people into the land of fairy tales. Scrooge uses it, but doesn’t return so Gyro goes after him.)

- Trouble to Spare (Mad Madam Mim forces Gyro to build a beautifying machine, so she can win beauty contest.)

- Tubby Hero (To make himself more popular amongst his neighbors, who have old and slow car, Gyro decides to turn his old tub into a modernized car.)

- The Upsy-Daisy-Pack (Gyro invents a backpack that elevates him over paddles. In the meantime Emil Eagle makes his own paddle-leaping invention that will help him in his criminal career.)

- Capnapper’s Surprise (Emil Eagle’s latest evil plan is to steal Gyro’s Thinking Cap that helps Gearloose come up with brilliant ideas Emil succeeds)

- Invented Vacation (Gyro tries to balance Daisy, Donald’s nephews and Grandma Duck demends on certain weather conditions. After long day he decides to go on vacation with Little Helper.)

- Brain Waves (It turns out that the hovering car Gyro built for a customer was used in the bank robbery. To see people’s true intentions Gyro invents a cap that makes him hear thoughts of others.)

- Rain, Rain, Go Away! (Gyro tries to invent a rainmaking machine based on the melody and rhythm of rain dance.)

- The Burglar Bagger (Gyro lures Beagle Boys to his house to test his newest anti-burglar invention.)

- The Super Swatter (Gyro makes Scrooge a fly swatter machine. But Scrooge pushes a wrong button and the machine becomes a people swatter.)

- The Cantankerous Mailbox (Gyro’s walking mailbox is malfunctioning, so Gyro gives him a pticher update.)

- The Clean-Up Crew (Gyro modifies toy robots to clean his workshop. But he doesn’t give them a stopping mechanism so they go astray.)

- The Bird Call (There’s Annual Junior Woodchuck Bird Count. Gyro gives Huey, Dewey and Louie a special bird whistle to attract rarer birds. He sets it to wrong frequancy and attracts animals from the zoo.)

- The Hijacked Mail (Feeling sorry for Gyro not getting any new mail, his walking mailbox starts to steal mail from other people.)

- Santa’s Unexpected Visit (Scrooge McDuck can’t finish his letter to Santa, because he doesn’t remember any good deed he did this year. So he asks Grandma Duck, his head doctor and Gyro Gearloose to help him remember anything.)

- Outdoor Thinking (Gyro’s doctor tells him to go outside more fro the sake of the inventor’s mental health. But Gyro soon finds out outdoors can be dangerous.)

- Inventor of Anything (To prevent his neighbor’s goat to coming on his yard, Gyro build a special wall. Unfortunately, it appears that part of it stands on said neighbor’s lot and now Gyro needs to reomve the wall even though he has an invention to make.)

- The Convention (It’s an Annual Beagle Boys Convention time and one of the cousin Inventor-174 has an ingenius plan to get into Scrooge’s Money Bin. Scrooge enlist help of Gyro Gearloose to figure out the workings of said plan and solution for it.)

- The Treasure Trek (An escaping spaceman gives Scrooge a celestial treasure map. Scrooge takes Gyro’s rocket to find it, while his nephews are guarding his empire.)

- Modern Mania (Frustrated with the cost of everything, Scrooge asks Gyro to modernize his life with robotics.)

- The Inner-Earth Adventure (Dreaming of space travel, Scrooge asks Gyro to make a rocket. When they are going to test it, something goes wrong and they end up inside Earth, where Togs tribe is terrorized by Krogs.)

- The Super Marble (An odd ball falls out from Gyro’s Doughnut Shop track and gets into Beagle Brats’ hands.)

- Trapped Lightning (Mickay’s nephews see Gyro trap lightning. Gyro set up a power plant to powet whole Duckburg.)

- The Copycat Caper (On Uncle Scrooge’s demand Gyro makes him his own walking mailbox. However, he warns the rich duck that the mailbox canj copy someone else’s behavior. Beagle Boys use it to their advantage.)

- The Wreck of a Merry Lark (With Gyro’s Sea-Scope Scrooge sets himslef to find the sunken wreck of “Merry Lark”.)

- Marooned in Space (Scrooge and Gyro hear the distress call from Space Van which was bombarded by meteors. The aliens run away, abandoning their cargo and Scrooge decides to go into space and take it.)

- Trip to Tootum-Too (While searching the ruins of ancient city of Tootum-Too, Scrooge and Gyro accidentally turn back in time right in the moment when king of Tootum-Too emerged victorious from battle with Toogs. The stolen idol of Toogs’ god captures Scrooge attention and the duck notices something suspcious.)

- The Magnetic Curse (Scrooge is cursed - his money is running away from him and going to another hands. The only one who seems to have a solution for that problem is Gyro.)

- The Double Diamond (Scrooge finds a double diamond in his mine. It attracts the attention of Magica de Spell.)

- The Space Game (Scrooge transported his Money Bin into space for safety purposes, but misses swimming in his money. So Gyro makes him a special video game that would let him control the position of his space money bin. Unfortunately Beagle Boys hack into it and so the struggle for Money Bin begins.)

- The Atom-Mover (Scrooge is displeased with the amount of money his armored cars. He stumbles upon Gyro who presents him his newest invention - a small box that can instantly transport matter from one place to another.)

- Minute Waltz in Minor Key (A tuba player asks Gyro to find what stuck inside. Gyro uses shrinking ray to find out.)

- A Sticky Situation (Scrooge accidentally falls down his trap doors and he has no key. Gyro gives him his newly invented glue so Scrooge can climb up the trap door vent.)

- The Trouble of Doubles (Scrooge is tires of constantly telling “no” to people coming to him for money. Gyro builds him a lookalike who can do it for him. Unfortunately there is a small problem...)

- Nobody’s Business (To instill business spirit in Donald and Gladstone, Scrooge gives each of them a thousand dollars so they can invest it and make a profit. Donald first tries to interest some fast food chain owner but makes mistake and settles for investing in an invention.)

- Fun? What’s That? (Doctor tells Gyro and Scrooge to relax and have some fun. Pity they both are workoholics.)

- The Riminder Hat (Gyro builds a reminder hat for Scrooge - a hat that receives messages reminding Scrooge about his appointments. Everything is complicates when Donald (inititially talking to triplets) accidently tells his uncle to buy carrots.)

- The Generocity Ray (To protect Scrooge’s Money Bin Gyro instals a ray that makes extremely generous everyone who walks through the billionaire’s threshold. Unfortunately Scrooge is hit by it too.)

- A Tilling Tale (Scrooge has problems with moles. Gyro has a solution.)

- Brainy Days (Donald ruins uncle Scrooge’s meeting with investors and is assigned to keep pegeos off the roof. He goes to Gyro for help and learns that he invented a smart serum lately. Donald takes the serum in hopes it will make him successful.)

- The Buck Sticks Here (Scrooge’s Money Bin is so full the walls are cracking, so he sends for Gyro, who has a special adhesive to fix the cracks. To clear away some cash, Scrooge takes it to the bank and recieves special Million Dollar Bill.)

- The McDuck Foundation (Scrooge builds a foundation and employs his nephews and Gyro to work there.)

- Power Failure (Gyro builds a backpack that stores energy during work that can be used later. Scrooge tests it on Donald.)

- The Only Way To Go (Donlad goes into Gyro’s newest invention - a vehicle that allows to instant travel. He gets lost in South America so Gyro and Scrooge go to find him.)

- Money Ocean (/this is a two-parter about Scrooge deciding to build a new, bigger money bin and how the money suddenly starts to act like an actual ocean.)

- Quiz Fizzle (Gyro puts his new supercomputer to a test.)

- Odd Offspring (Gyro’s jetpack crashes in the mountains.)

- Formula X (Producers of famous Sweetybubbles soda ask Gyro to make a new flavor to compete with Sweetybubbles’ rival, Guzzlepop. By accident Gyro creates a flavor that becomes an instant hit. Unfortunately Emil Eagle works for Guzzlepop.)

- Skate Late (A university in which Gyro is teaching, requires from his faculty to publish at least one paper per term. So Gyro decides to do a research on how skate riding can help save time during rush hours.)

- The Hot Seat (Gyro builds heated benches for park visitors.)

- Who Needs People (Scrooge fires all his staff and asks Gyro to fully automatize his mansion.)

- E.A.T. (It’s a Birthday of Duckburg’s founder, Cornelius Coot, and the tradition says that one of Duckburg’s celebrities has to open their houses for visitors. This year is Scrooge’s turn. In the meantime, Gyro brings a metal-eating alien from his space adventure. Said alien gets kidnapped by Beagle Boys.)

- A short, untitled story about Scrooge breaking his cane and coming to Gyro for help.

- Solar Shenanigans (Beagle Boys see Gyro taking a giant, golden orb to their home and decide to follow him. The orb is meant to serve as a sun in Gyro’s automaitc solar system model but what will happen when Beagles try to steal it?)

- The Moving Money Bin (Uncle Scrooge acts strange lately - he sells his Money Bin and hires new security direct. Donald and nephews decide to investigate.)

- The Bee Or Not To Bee (Donald questions Gyro about his new hoppy: bees.)

- The Case of the Gold Bars (Beagle Boys overhear Gyro talking with president of the bank about the inventor making golden bars, and they decided to steal them. There is only one problem: Gyro’s bars are strangely heavy.)

- Super-Beagles (In need for modern equipment, Beagle Boys go to Gyro Gearloose. They steali his Thinking Cap and become criminal masterminds.)

- After-Thought (Gyro checks his new autmoatic umbrella.)

- The Scary Scarecrow (Gyro spends vacation on Grandma Duck’s farm, when it turns out that the old scarecrow doesn’t serve its purpose. So Gyro makes a special robot to scare the crows.)

- The Plane Truth (Uncle Scrooge presents to his nepews a new flying bus made by Gyro, but once they leave the workshop, they see the bus going off. Suspcious, they go after it and soon learn that the inventor has been kidnapped.)

- Money to Burn (Uncle Scrooge refuses to pay additional fifty cents on his bill, so electricity doesn’t work in his mansion. He thinks that il lumps are as good as electric ones. He also uses Gyro’s invention that generates power from wind. Fire department has some objections.)

- A Sticky Story (Gyro creates a new way of manufacturing jam - just add water to his jam pawder! Donald is tasked to be a lone employee in Scrooge’s jam factory.)

- Cold Duck (Scrooge’s technologically advanced satelite dropped out of orbit and crashed into Antarctica. Now Scrooge, Donald, nephews and Gyro go on the expedition and find a curious surprise.)

Uncle Scrooge #313 is a special issue for our favorite inventor. There is no Gyro there, but it has a reprint of The Fnatastic River Race, which was the first comic with Ratchet Gearloose.

Now let’s go back to Gyro:

- Little Gyro in Quarkland (Tired of living in rude Duckburg, Gyro shrinks himself and Little Helper to explore the world of quarks.)

- Rain-Dance Reversal (It’s raining outside but Gyro needs a sunny day to introduce his invention on The Merry Loafers Annual Picnic and prove his skeptic neighor wrong about uselessness of his inventions. Gyro decides to invent a dry dance.)

- Perilous Pets (Gyro wishes he had a pet and so he builds one.)

- The Big Break-In (The Money Bin can’t be opened and Gyro’s expertise is that door is out of line with the frame due to weight of money pushing on them. Now Scrooge has to remove some of the money to unstuck the door but the Bin’s door is made of special metal that gets harder with age. And so Scrooge lures Beagle Boys to open his Money Bin.)

- Shortcut to Sparklers (Daisy spots a diamond ring she want, but Donald have no money for it. Gyro gives him a diamond-making machine.)

- The Utter Limits (Scrooge, Donald, nephews and Gyro are in space to find an asteroid suitable to be a new Money Bin. They encounter a new alien race.)

- Everything Green (Gyro tossed a failed fertilizer into his trashcan and accidently creates a plant monster. The monster can also make plants grow instantly.)

- The Coin (A chain of events makes one of Scrooge’s coins go from hand to hand throughout the Duckburg. The rich duck wants it back for sentimental values.)

- Junk Funk (Gyro tries to resist the phone solicitor to not subscribe to another magazine.)

Now here’s something very special: Gyro’s First Invention. This is story by Don Rose was written to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Gyro’s creation and tells an origin of both Gyro Gearloose and Little Helper. Donald and nephews reminescent on how Gyro started his inventing career with helping Scrooge McDuck get his Money Bin from the pit it ended up during the events of A Christmas For Shocktown. And everything began when Donald brought to Gyro’s newly inherited workshop a broken lump and accidentally dropped it on the Thinking Box.

Continuing with short stories:

- Tip-Top Topiary (Gyro’s newest invention is a mechanical hedge trimmer that scans pictures and trims topiary into shapes on the picture. It becomes very successful so Gyro finds he need to make more bushes.)

- The Inventing Invention (Donald has a problem with unscrewing the ketchup bottle so he goes to Gyro for help. It some happens that the inventor has an existencial crisis because of his newest invention.)

- The Missing Millionaire (Gyro talks with Scrooge McDuck about some sensitive matters and purposely makes himself forget about it. The next day he learns the millionaire is missing and the inventor is suspected to kidnap him.)

- The Bedeviled Dime (To protect Old Number One from Magica de Spell, Gyro makes anti-magic magnification ray. But it proves unstable and makes Number One Dime change sizes constantly.)

- The Guniea Pig (Gyro gets into a fight with his long time assistant, Donald and they bet if Donald can make his own inventions.)

- Prophets, Go Home (Gyro stumbles upon fortune-telling machine in the mall and decides to invent his own, more accurate one. He tests it on the mall customers and soon finds out not everyone is happy to know their future.)

- Crazy Inventions (Gyro leaves Donald to guard his workshop. Donald realizes Gyro’s inventions can be wild.)

- The Quest for Kalevala (Scrooge finds out that he’s in possesion of fragment of Kalevala, an epic poem from Finninsh folklore. The poem was talking about a magical grinding mill producing eternal prosperity so Scrooge goes on a trip to find it.)

- The Old, Old Fishing Hole (Gyro rpesents to Donald his newest invention: a belt that transports its weared in time. Looking for luck in fisihing, Donald goes back in time to find out if he will catch better fish in prehistoric times.)

- The Joke Factory (Scrooge hired Gyro into his joke factory to invent better practical jokes.)

- A Day at the Office (To not waste time traveling to the international meetings, Scrooge takes Gyro’s swapping pills that make people who swallow them appear in place they want to be. Unfortunately Beagle Boys want to use them too.)

- Same Old Stuff (Gyro makes a contact with Gizmo Flashpan, inventor from outther space. It turns out that all Gyro’s inventions are common place on Gizmo’s planet, and all Gizmo’s inventions are common on Earth. The two inventors decide to compete on who will invent something completely new to both races.)

- Beagle Brain (During robbing Gyro’s workshop, Beagle Boys accidently activate an evo-ray whixh zaps one of them. The zapped Beagle Boy becomes a criminal mastermind and comes to the inventor for more evo-rays.)

- The Hardware Hardener (Scrooge decides that Launchpad have to provide his own airplanes. The pilot buys the cheapest airplane and crashes it into gyro’s workshop. Gyro gives Launchpad a hardening soldifier.)

- Jumbled Ducks (It turns out the Money Bin is filled to capasity and can’t take any more money. Scrooge goes to gyro for help anf the inventor gives him his matter compact that makes matter smaller.)

- The Customer is Always Wrong (Gyro and Donald get into argument over Donald never lsitening to Gyro’s instructions and they decide to go apart. But soon Gyro realizes he needs Donald to test his more wacky inventions.)

- Gyro 2.0 (Gyro builds himslef a robot double to help him with work.)

- Being Donald Duck (Beagles steal Gyro’s mind-swapping machine to swap minds with Donald Duck and get to the Money Bin.)

- Big Helper (During Duckburg’s Invention Convention Gyro’s rival, Bruce Brainstorm, presents Big Helper - a human-sized version of Little Helper.)

- Lost and Found (Inspired by police dog, Gyro builds machine that can find anything.)

- In the Clouds (Gyro finds a way to live on the cloud. Donald moves in.)

- Green Thumbs Down (Fethry tries to prove to Gyro that he can live off of his organic food.)

- The Scrooge Museum (There is an exhibit in honor of Scrooge McDuck. Unfortunately everyone must pay and Scrooge wants to go for free.)

- The Christmas that Almost Wasn’t (During transport of Christmas tree Little Helper fall off the track and gets lost. Gyro and friends try to find him.)

- The Duckburg Ice Festival (It is a time of Duckburg Ice Festival and Donald wants to win. Gyro provides some technical help.)

- To Supply a Demand (To sell his inventions with “proper marketing”, Gyro signs a contract with Scrooge McDuc. However, contract also says that Gyro has to build whatever is demended by the public. From now on Gyro has no time for himself and for fun inventing.)

- What Goes Around (Something odd is happening to Scrooge. He suddenly remembers that he and Goldie are married, Beagle Boys are owners of Money Bin and Donald lost his house.)

- A Job Too Well Done (The mayor of Duckburg asks Gyro to duct the snow that covered whole town.)

- White Gold (Duckburg is covered heavily by snow. Scrooge has to send large amounts of bottled water so he figures, he will use snow to his advantage. And Gyro just so happens to have an invention for that.)

- The Black Knight Glorps Again (Scrooge displays his trophy collection in the museum. The gentleman thief is also there, preparing for his final heist but he needs his special armor to do so and only Scrooge know where it is.)

- Generous to a Fault (Gyro is outraged by the way Scrooge’s bill collectors operate. He creates the generosity formula, but it turns out to be too strong.)

- Creative Impulse (Gyro suffers from sudden impulses to invent things, So he figures he needs to go out more and take time off. Donald invites the inventor to his place to help him relax more.)

- Space Food Folly (Gyro makes new, improved space food pills that become full-fleshed beef dinner under heat. The invention catches interest of Scrooge McDuck.)

- Comet Get It (Scrooge and Gyro disappeared. Two weeks later Donald and nephews get a mysterious phone call from Scrooge. An airplane with outpilot takes them to secluded, snowy place ,where they learn Magica de Spell asked Scrooge for help with comet on collison course with Earth.)

- Dr. Invento (Gyro becomes a host in children show and have no time to invent.)

- Out of Shape (Daisy goes to Gyro for advice about weight-loss pills. He gives her wieght-loss pills of his own invention.)

- Foul play in Funland (Scrooge bought an amusement park and asks Gyro to fix broken rides before the park will be open. Little do they know, there’s someone else there to and wants the Funland to stay closed.)

- When Posty met Patty (Gyro builds a walking mailbox for Daisy. His own mailbox, Posty, falls in love.)

- A Dime in Time (Scrooge and nephews, following Scrooge’s own instructions form years ago, discover a box that seems to contain Numer One Dime... but Number One Dime is in Money Bin! It turns out time travel is involved.)

- Fleece and Quiet (Scrooge can’t work because of the noise outside the window so Gyro gives him a device that nulliifies the noises around. It so happens that when Scrooge uses it for the first time, Bragle Boys decide to attack.)

- Into The Future (Gyro is visited by his descendant, Chip Gearloose. Chip takes him to the year 3007 in hopes Gyro will help him solve a case of stolen Numer One Dime.)

- A Fowl of the Future (Chip Gearloose comes back... right when Gyro was in one room with Scrooge McDuck. When Scrooge learns his Numer One Dime was stolen in the future, he decides to go on a time travel himself.)

- Guilty as Charged (An accusation from homeless man makes Scrooge catatonic. While walking down the street with him, Donald and nephews stumble upon Gyro’s workshop and the inventor decides to use one of his inventions to get into Scrooge’s mind. It Donald and triplets arrive just in time for trial.)

- Write Thinking (Donalds decides to write a teleplay but is easily distracted and has a writer’s block. So he oges to Gyro who gives him Think-O-Matic that transports ideas into paper.)

- The Other Gyro Gearloose (While Gyro is off on Inventions’ Convention, Donald is left to watch for the workshop. A race of aliens in need mistake him for Gyro and ask for help with their green problem.)

- Brother from Another Earth (Bored Scrooge meets himself from parallel universe who offers to swap places for the excitement. But the new Earth - and people’s attitutde towards Scrooge - is strange to say the least.)

- The Electric Hissyfitter (Gyro builds a machine that drains stress waves from people and releases it in a hissy fit.)

- Projected Poverty (To put his nephews into a trial, Scrooge asks Gyro to make a projection of his Money Bin in ruin, and pretends to be poor.)

- Last Hero of Banania (Tog et an inheritance from his military-oriented ancestor, Scrooge has to become a soldier. He stettles for being a patrol scout on far island Banania.)

- No Need to Know (It’s Valentine’s Day. Gyro builds a machine that analyzes Valentine cards and reveals the authors.)

- Easter Eggs-port (Due to change of regime in Porto Gordo, Scrooge can’t export the gold from his mine. Luckily Porto Gordian’s hens can eat gold and money and later store it in their eggs.)

- Driven to Destruction (Scrooge let’s gyro instal a computer in duck’s car. But although the new invention proves to be useful, it soon catches attention of Beagle Boys.)

- Leonardo da Gearloose (Inspired by the life of Leonardo da Vinci, Gyro decides to take art classes.)

- “I” of the Storm (Gyro and Launchpad are flying through the hurricane to get data for Duckburg’s Weather Center. The circumstances force them constantly to fight for their lives.)

- Gloom of the Unknown Author (Donald asks a question Huey, Dewey and Louie can’t answer with their Junior Woodchucks’ Guidebook: who’s the author of said guidebook? The boys set to solve the mystery.)

- Salt and Gold (A two-parter; Scrooge, Donald, nephews and Gyro go to Cracow because the assistant of Nicolas Copernicus’ who supposedly found a way to make gold out of salt.)

- Around the World in 80 Bucks (A four-parter about Scrooge making a wager with Rockerduck that he will travel the world only with 80 bucks, but Gyro appears only in the third part, where Donald and Scrooge find him in India.)

- A Dolt from the Blue (Gyro constructs for Launchpad an airplane that avoids contacts with hard objects.)

- Big Blimp in Little Trouble (Scrooge tells Gyro to build a new kind of air blimp.)

- The Belt of Time (Thanks to Gyro’s newest invention - a belt that enables time travels - Launchpad is sent through time. Meanwhile Scrooge and Glomgold prepare to go to Andes.)

- The Man Who Drew Ducks (In Uncle Scrooge issue 400 we have a comicbook tribute for Carl Barks and all the characters he created.)

In 2015 IDW started to publish Uncle Scrooge comics by non-American artists, So far Gyro Gearloose appeared in following stories:

- The Inventor’s Picnic (The Annual Picnic of the National Inventors’ Society is coming. Gyro is an official guest host and needs to unveil a very special invention... but his head is empty! Luckily he can count on friends.)

- Heights of Fear (A man who wants to settle a new record comes to Gyro for help. He has a fear of heights.)

- Of Mice and Magic (It’s a tax season and Scrooge is certain Magica is planning something. Little does he know that Magica is already in Duckburg and she has a plan how to get into Money Bin.)

- The Doorman Doormat (Gyro presents a new invention to an investor - a doormat that recognizes the owner and keeps the ujnwanted guests away.)

- Ten Little Millionaires (Scrooge organizes a luxury cruise to the moon for ten millionaires. But somewhere along the way his guests are robbed off their valuables. Scrooge sets himself to solve the mystery.)

- Scrooge’s Last Adventure (A four-parter story about Scrooge’s greatest foes - Beagle Boys, Magica, Rockerduck and Glomgold - taking over his furtune and leaving him misarable.)

- Gyro’s Mananger (Max Buckgrab convinces Gyro to hire him as his mamanger and charge more for inventions.)

- The Miner’s Granddaoughter (A cameo; Goldie O’Glit informs Scrooge that he has a granddaughter.)

- Gum Disease (Gyro presents Donald with the chewing gum that also serves as a toothpaste.)

- Design Flaw (TDuring rainy day in Duckburg Scrooge gets irritated by rain running down the umbrella under his newly-polished feet. He meets Gyro who gives him a umbrella designed to solve this problem.)

- The Droid I’m Looking For? (Gyro builds a robo-gardener to mown his lawn. After few hiccups he adjusts the robot’s intellect.)

- The Terrible Thinking Cap Tassle (Beagle Boys steal Gyro’s thinking cap and use it to make master plans for crimes. The inventor needs to find himself a new thinking cap to stop them from rampage.)

And that’s all when it comes to Uncle Scrooge comics.

Next time - Donald Duck comics.

#RedHatMeg's Guide on Gyro Gearloose #uncle scrooge #gyro gearloose

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lassluna · 7 years

Text

Freeing the Witch (8/20)

Betad by the talented @notoriouscs.

Once Upon a Time, there was Emma Swan the Savior and Killian Jones the fearsome pirate Captain Hook. But this is not that time, this is not that place, this is the time of the Dark Swan and a cowardly Deckhand who dares to think he could save her and live to tell the tale…Especially when things get complicated.

ffn Ao3

Chapter 8

The Trap

They’re trudging through snow. It’s cold on her feet, and the flakes that have just started falling stick to her skin. Her boots are soaked, and she’s in the worst mood possible. Emma doesn’t understand how anyone could want to be around this stuff ever, let alone live in it all the time. She’d prefer a grassy meadow or a stone tavern any day.

“Look Ems! It’s snowing! Isn’t it simply divine?” Elsa says gleefully, practically skipping, and singing.

I don’t care about our plan. If she starts singing, I’m going to show her what happens to frozen things in summer, Emma vows, eyeing the witch carefully.

Elsa winks back, obviously knowing that she’s getting to Emma.

The snow is agonizing enough. Emma forgot just how giddy Elsa gets when she’s in her element, literally. It’s disgusting. But it does remind her of her first meeting with the young queen, a memory that felt like a lifetime ago.

Emma had just run away from her mother, lost and alone in the world. She thought she would always be stuck on the run, hiding from Queen Snow’s men.But then Ingrid found her and changed everything. Ingrid was filled with light and happiness who comforted a runaway sorceress when she had nothing. It was the same magical day that Elsa, still in her coronation attire, eyes brimming with tears, found Ingrid and Emma. Everything changed for two scared, powerful young women on the same day.

“I hate the snow,” Emma snaps back to the present. “And you. How far is this prison anyway?” It didn’t seem so far on Killian’s map. She can cross realms without breaking a sweat, but she can’t stand this snow for a moment longer.

Elsa stops, tapping her cheek in thought. “Another hour’s walk?” she guesses. “Is that too much for you?”

“Nope,” Emma replies, popping the p, suppressing her desire to start an argument. They can’t do that. It isn’t a part of the plan. Fighting would get in the way of the show they need to put on, and if there is anything they excel at, it’s putting on a good show.

When they first met, their interactions were civil, behavior that was drilled into both of them growing up as princesses in their own castles.They were both dirty little secrets.

The years of hostility from those supposed to love them and the constant emphasis on being in control, showing no emotion, had nearly driven them mad. They were raised as weapons, to one day be unleashed as their kingdoms’ personal attack dogs under the control of their vindictive parents, yet still required to maintain the façade of innocent princesses dispute the curses inflicted upon them.

Who knew hating your parents could make you such close friends, but close they were. Emma and Elsa were like sisters.

Ingrid, Emma and Elsa were a family. They had been happy.

Elsa stops for a second, eyeing Emma carefully. Emma gives a small nod in agreement; she sensed their presence as well. If they stop, the plan is ruined, so they press on, both feigning ignorance of the forces watching them. It’s only a matter of time before they make their move. Armies tend not to be the most patient creatures.

It is starting.

“Hold it, villain!” cries a voice. Emma and Elsa stop, magic at the ready as if surprised by the small group of guards who quickly surround them, brandishing swords.

Emma smiles at the thought that those metal twigs could harm her. She is the Dark One, and soon, they’ll know what that means.

“You are in Arendelle. Magical beings like you are strictly forbidden,” says someone, a guard Emma assumes. but his armour looks decorated strangely. She looked over at Elsa.

A guard? She silently asks.

Elsa nods at her before looking back at the group. She steps forward, keeping her back straight as an arrow. “I am Elsa, eldest daughter of Queen Gerda and rightful heir to the kingdom,” she announces in that princess voice that was instilled in both her and Emma since childhood, a voice they would always have in their arsenals whether they liked it or not. “I command thee to lay down your weapons.”

It’s a noble effort, but one they both knew was doomed to fail. Elsa wasn’t the rightful heir in the eyes of the people, not since Ingrid took her away from the castle, away from everything.

Ingrid drove the first wedge when she started talking about light magic and forgiving those who had wronged them. Emma didn’t want to forgive her mother, whom she believed never truly loved her. But Ingrid insisted that because Snow had magic, she could join their family.

She tried no such argument with Elsa’s sister who had long proven her inability to accept what she did not understand.

Ingrid saw the world as us against them. She hated non-magic users, and she believed that possessing magic was enough to bond people together. She thought that with a little love and compassion, Queen Snow could be reformed, that the four of them could be a family.

Emma didn’t take it very well, constantly arguing with Ingrid, who just didn’t understand that Emma’s mother was beyond rehabilitation. The unfeeling monarch who manipulated her own daughter into becoming a monster didn’t want or deserve Emma’s forgiveness. But Ingrid refused to listen.

Elsa, on the other hand, kept insisting that not all mortals were bad. Emma always caught her staring off into the distance, waiting for something, or maybe someone, to appear in the distance. Emma was sure to it was non-magical, for why else would Elsa keep it a secret? Whenever Emma questioned her, the almost-queen would smile softly.

“He made me a promise,” she said, and that was that.

“Our king is Hans,” the lead guard says sharply, bringing Emma back to the present. “You, witch, are an enemy of this kingdom.” Elsa isn’t fazed by his assertion. She’s heard it many times before.

Suddenly there are guards upon them, swiping at them mercilessly with their weapons, aiming to kill, not capture.

The sorceresses reply just as fiercely. After so much time in the close quarters of the ship, they desperately need the release of tension, the release of the darkness gripping their hearts, the release that these foolish guards seem oh so eager to give them.

It would be so easy to just kill them all with a single wave of her wrist, burying them in the snow, watching as they struggle for breath, as the life slowly drains from their bodies. Such a sight would fill Emma with glee, but then more will come. And when she dispatches those, then the magical prisoners under Hans’ control will be summoned to deal with them. No, Emma can’t have that. She needs to be underestimated, to be overlooked as a real threat.

So she doesn’t allow the battle to seem so totally one-sided. Instead Emma burns the guards with fireballs or breaks their bones by sheer force of will instead of what she’d usually do if she wanted to win: tear out their hearts one by one.

She looks to her left to see Elsa freezing solid those foolish enough to come at her, sending each human ice sculpture crumbling with a quick blow from an icicle staff. Her chilling laugh pierces the air as her power merges with the everlasting snowstorm.

If anyone questioned if they were monsters before, they wouldn’t after seeing the lack of regret in their eyes, Elsa’s joy as she kills, and their smirks reveling in their complete control. They work well together, the two bloodthirsty blondes. Just like old times, except now they can actually kill people.

Then one day Emma told Elsa her plan. Emma was going to run away. She was tired of obeying Ingrid’s rules, of always feeling like she let Ingrid down when she just couldn’t feel how the woman wished she would.

Elsa lost it, screaming that Emma was leaving her like everyone else did. She begged Elsa to leave too, but her sister couldn’t leave her only blood family she had left. Emma swore to Elsa that she’d be back, she’d come back for her, for her sister.

And Emma did return a few years later, but instead of triumphant, she came back lost and afraid again, just like when Ingrid found her the first time. Emma was burdened by a terrible secret, and she needed Elsa. She needed her sister.

But when Emma left, their sibling love had melted to bitter rivalry. Both felt betrayed by the other. Elsa’s coldness when she most needed her support reaffirmed for Emma that she was better off alone. She was better off without magic. And so Emma did what she did best.

She ran. Ran from Ingrid, ran from Elsa, ran from her kingdom.

Ran from her fate.

Something smacks Emma on the back, knocking her from her memories to whirl around to face her attacker,.

“Hello, lass. Miss me?” drawls a voice, flashing a wink with his good eye.

“Of course, Captain,” she replies evenly, conjuring her blade as all the approaching guards back off, watching the two circle each other slowly. “I’d never get tired of your pretty face.” And then she strikes.

He blocks her attack with ease, flicking his wrist just so to pull the blade from her grip.

“But it isn’t so pretty anymore, is it?” she teases darkly, eyeing the dark bruise on his face. Without a second thought he slashes at her, cutting open her wrist.

She hisses in pain before switching to fireball attacks. He doesn’t panic, just calmly deflects the magic with his enchanted sword, driving her backwards with her own firepower. Emma notices the remaining guards, those not being slaughtered by the homicidal Ice Queen, of course, watching with awe. This newcomer is easily dealing with the monster who was demolishing their forces unchecked only moments before.

In sudden fury she leaps at him, really aiming for her fallen weapon.

“I’m going to cut out your throat, you dirty pirate,” she spits as she pulls the sword toward her with a bit of magic and shoots him a coy smirk.

“Dirty? I bathe quite frequently, thank you,” he responds. He swings full force, hitting Emma across the face with the blunt side of his weapon.

She blinks once before losing her balance and falling backward. He catches her quickly, bridal style, head rolling onto his shoulder. She may be the Dark Swan of the realm, but even she has her weaknesses. She just hopes sharing them with the sailor was the right choice.

He settles her gently on the ground. “Good night, my fair maiden.” It’s soft and sweet in her ear, making her fight a smile as she drifts into unconsciousness.

Another whisper of his voice is even lower. “You can trust me, Swan. All will be well. Your plan will work.”

Emma wakes much as she expected to, chained to the wall in a cell. The restraints scratch at the rash left behind from her last stint in captivity, but these chains are a bit wider than they should be, nothing like the ones back in her tower. They barely suppress her magic. She had thought Hans was an expert in this, or perhaps she is just more of an expert at escaping. she doesn’t know.

Fortunately, they separated her from Elsa. Emma couldn’t handle the Ice Queen’s whining for the duration of their rescue/escape. Hopefully Elsa stuck to the plan and let Killian best her as well. They had decided that getting him close to whoever was in charge of this prison was the best course of action. Convincing the King’s forces to see Killian as their savior seemed like easiest way to make that happen.

But Emma has to admit, he is getting good with a sword. She only has a few notes of improvement for him from their staged fight. Sure, her magical attacks missed purposely, and she had taught him the move that ripped her sword from her hand, but with a few more weeks of practice, he might even surpass her with a blade.

“Rise, demon,” demands a voice. Emma turns her head and moves closer to the bars, making the armor-clad guard jump.

“Of course,” she purrs. “Where’s the Captain? He’s the one who caught me, not any of you incompetent fools.”

The man doesn’t react, instead pushing a tray through a small hole in the bars. It’s disgusting. She’d rather starve than eat that mess. Good thing it’s not an issue, since the Dark One doesn’t actually need food.

“He is speaking to the King,” the guard replies stiffly.

The King? Emma suppresses a groan. She expected the fool to come when he heard they captured his sister-in-law, but she had hoped he wouldn’t arrive so quickly.

No matter. Her plan will still work. They always do.

“Speaking about little ol’ me?” she flirts. “You Arendellians sure know how to flatter a lady.”

The man grins a little too widely. It makes Emma nervous. He steps closer to her cage, aiming to taunt her. He obviously doesn’t know who she is, what she can do. Perhaps she had let them underestimate her a little too much if they think these chains will keep her magic at bay.

“Actually, my king isn’t too trusting of late,” smirks the guard. “He has a foolproof way of ensuring that no foreigner who tells him a lie lives to tell another.”

Emma doesn’t like the sound of that, especially since every word leaving Killian’s mouth is sure to be just that.

Thoughts whirl in her head. Stick to the plan and don’t worry about him, or risk the whole operation to ensure he isn’t in danger? To be honest, when she came up with the plan, she hadn’t paid much attention to whether the Sailor lived through it, but that was before...before she realized that he could still be useful to her, he could still entertain her.

He’s more than entertaining isn’t he?

The plan was for her to slip out, find Elsa and Ingrid and get out. If she looks for Killian now, it puts the plan at risk, they could all be caught, forced to do Hans’ bidding. That is a fate worse than death in her eyes. She should trust the plan, let things happen how they scripted. Yes, Emma will stick to the plan…

The guard moves to retreat from the cell bars, and Emma flips from strategizing to acting on her primal instincts.

“Well, knowledge is power after all,” she snickers, breaking her chains and flinging herself against the cage. The bars, enchanted with something strong, burn her skin, but it’s no matter. Burns will heal, she thinks. But this won’t. Emma shoves her hand into the man’s chest before he has a chance to flee. He can only gasp silently, as her first thought while gripping his beating heart is be silent.

It pulses red in her hand, oh so pretty. Emma looks up, seeing the shock and fear in the man’s eyes.

Now he knows who he’s messing with. Now he knows what happens when you cross the Dark One.

“Tell me, soldier, what does your king wish to do to the Captain?”

He has no choice. He spills his guts to her, voice dripping with terror.

She curses under her breath as she hears what they plan for her sailor.

This is not part of the plan.

#Captain Swan #csff #once fanfic #once upon a time #dark swan #cs au ff #deckhand hook

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animationnut · 8 years

Text

To Gravity Falls, From Piedmont: Chapter 21

Summary: It’s a long way until next summer. Until then, Dipper and Mabel share their daily antics and life problems with their lifelong friends and attentive great-uncles through an endless string of e-mails. Distance makes the heart grow fonder after all, and there’s no place Dipper and Mabel love more than Gravity Falls.

Chapter List

To: Mabel Pines (ShootingStarRainbowUnicorn); Dipper Pines (GhostHarasserfan); Stanford Pines (Highsixer); Stanley Pines (StantheMan); Soos Ramirez (QuestionMarkDude)

From: Wendy Corduroy (Lumberchick)

Subject: Greatest snowman to ever exist

1 Attachment (Photo File)

This wicked snowstorm means no school, and no school means complete freedom. My brothers and I worked together to build this snowman, which is totally the best snowman ever created and you can't tell me otherwise.

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Mabel Pines: Oh my gosh! It's amazing! How much tape did you need to use to get it to hold up the axe?

Wendy Corduroy: About two rolls. But it's okay. They look like bandages covering a really nasty wound.

Dipper Pines: Whose ushanka did you steal to give it a hat?

Wendy Corduroy: My brothers had to draw straws. Glen lost.

Stanley Pines: You don't know how much I wish I was in Gravity Falls right now. Soos, take a baseball bat to it!

Soos Ramirez: No way, Mr. Pines. Snowmen have a right to exist too.

Wendy Corduroy: Don't be jealous just because you know you could never craft a good a snowman as mine.

Stanford Pines: I suppose you know what you're about to start with a comment like that.

Stanley Pines: It's on, Missy. I'll make a snowman that'll kick yours to the curb and steal its wallet.

Stanford Pines: I'll admit you've always been creative, but your crafting skills have never been up to par.

Soos Ramirez: Mr. Pines made all the exhibits at the gift shop. He's the best crafter there is.

Stanley Pines: You tell him, Soos. Poindexter may be able to invent weird gadgets, but he knows nothing about artsmanship.

Stanford Pines: First of all, that's not a word. Second of all, you don't need to be a genius (which I am) to beat you in a snowman building contest.

Wendy Corduroy: Ah yeah! Here comes the smack-down! My entry is already done. Feel free tearing each other apart for my entertainment. I've clearly won.

Soos Ramirez: Your lumberjack snowman is pretty rad, but I've been building snowmen for years. Abuelita said I was the best at it. Dunno if you can beat that.

Stanley Pines: All right Ford, looks like we're making a detour to a wintry place. I've got some hopeful souls to crush. Especially yours.

Mabel Pines: Woo-hoo! Let the games begin!

School bag slung over one shoulder, Dipper entered the kitchen to retrieve a can of soda from the fridge. He popped the tab with one hand while he used the other to dig his phone out of his pocket. He read through Wendy's email to see the comments made after his, eyebrow raising.

"Mabel, encouraging them makes it worse!"

His sister appeared in the entryway, Waddles skittering behind her on the hardwood floor. "They would have turned it into a competition anyway. I'm just showing my support."

Dipper sat down at the kitchen table and dropped his bag to rest by his sock-clad feet. He studied the picture Wendy had attached to her e-mail again, grinning at the ice and snow creation that loomed a head taller than the redheaded female. There was a dark brown ushanka pulled over the top, smallest snowball, a pair of acorns for eyes, a broken handle of a pick for a nose and the metal handle (from what Dipper assumed to be the same pick) for the mouth. There was a red plaid wool jacket shrugged over the middle snowball and through the arms of the jacket were two thick pieces of chopped wood. At the ends of the wood were frayed white work gloves. Attached to the right glove was an axe, held in place by black tape.

"Isn't it cool?" sighed Mabel wistfully, peering over her brother's shoulder. "I like California, but the problem is that we don't get snow days. While we were doing math Wendy was making a snowman."

"How cruel life can be," quipped Dipper.

Mabel poked the back of his neck. "Come on. As much as you love school you'd love a snow day."

"I would," Dipper failed to deny. "But that's not going to happen. We'll just have admire the snowmen from afar and be with them in spirit."

Propping her chin against the top of Dipper's head, Mabel wondered, "What do you think Grunkle Ford will build?"

"Probably something to do with his research. If he doesn't do a life-size sculpture of the abominable snowman I am going to be rather disappointed."

"Grunkle Stan?"

The two fell into a thoughtful silence for a moment. After a while, Dipper replied, "I honestly couldn't begin to imagine. But I doubt it'll be appropriate."

To: Wendy Corduroy (Lumberchick); Dipper Pines (GhostHarasserfan); Mabel Pines (ShootingStarRainbowUnicorn); Stanley Pines (StantheMan); Stanford Pines (Highsixer)

From: Soos Ramirez (QuestionMarkDude)

Subject: Behold the beauty

1 Attachment (Photo File)

Yo, dudes.

No offense, Wendy, your snowman was super cool, but mine's super cooler. It sparkles and it has some oomph to it. I just wanna thank my inspiration for motivating my creativity. Couldn't have done it without you.

Soos out!

Lying on her back in the soft grass, Mabel splayed out, absorbing the sun's rays. Waddle laid across her stomach, nibbling at the hem of her light blue fleece sweater. Dipper was beside her, reclining against a looming oak tree, nose buried in a book. They were both distracted from their peaceful relaxing as their phones beeped in unison, alerting them to a notification.

Mabel grunted as she sat up, careful not to dislodge Waddles completely. She moved her sunglasses to rest on top of her head so she could get a better look at the screen. Her eyes lit up when she realized Soos had completed his entry in the impromptu snowman contest and eagerly clicked the attachment.

Positioned in front of the icicle-covered Mystery Shack was a life-size sculpture of Melody. The hair was made of strands of hay, packed closely together so that it seemed like it had density to it. A pair of sapphire-coloured plastic gems were used for eyes. A purple jacket hung on its arms and torso and somehow Soos had managed to attach a pair of jeans.

"Wow," said Dipper, eyes wide. "Abuelita was right. Soos is pretty dang good at building snowmen."

"You can't call this a snowman," protested Mabel. "It's a snow sculpture! It's gorgeous!"

"This is definitely going to be hard to beat," said Dipper with a grin.

Wendy Corduroy: Well dang.

Stanford Pines: That has more than just oomph, Soos. Melody must be very proud of this.

Soos Ramirez: Thanks, Mr. Pines! She loved it. But she wishes I would've asked before borrowing her clothes.

Mabel Pines: How did you get the jeans on?

Soos Ramirez: I built the legs first and then had to cut the jeans to fit them on properly. Figured it out after three tries.

Dipper Pines: Uh…does Melody know you ruined her jeans?

Soos Ramirez: Do you think she'll notice?

Stanley Pines: Eh. It's not bad.

Mabel Pines: Are you crazy? It's fantastic!

Wendy Corduroy: Like you can do any better, Mr. Pines.

Stanley Pines: Don't take your bitterness out on me because you so clearly lost. Of course I can do better. Who do you think taught Soos everything he knows?

Stanford Pines: Which probably wasn't very much to begin with.

Stanley Pines: Sure, make fun. I'll be the one laughing when I cream the lot of you.

Dipper Pines: He's got a plan. Those never turn out well.

Mabel Pines: But they're always entertaining!

Soos Ramirez: Good luck Mr. Pines! And Mr. Pines!

Wendy Corduroy: Yeah. This is going to end in disaster—and hilarity.

The voice of her teacher droning in her ears, Mabel's pen scrawled against her paper as she took notes. The shooting star charm of her bracelet clattered softly against the surface of her desk as she moved her wrist back and forth. Heaving a quiet sigh, she shifted her gaze to the clock hanging above the door. There was still an hour before school let out and her brain had already decided to quit for the day.

Mabel paused halfway through her writing of science notes when she felt her cellphone vibrate in her pocket. She peeked over at the teacher, who was facing the chalkboard as he lectured. She positioned her textbook so that it was blocking most of her desk from his sight. She slipped out her cell and held it behind her makeshift barricade, tapping on the e-mail icon.

She grinned widely when she discovered the sender of the e-mail and looked over at her brother, who sat diagonally from her. Dipper gave her a side glance of disapproval, which evaporated when she mouthed 'Grunkle Stan'. His curiosity too great, he did the rare act of taking out his cell in class, tucking his textbook into his lap and keeping the device cloaked behind it.

Stan had sent the e-mail a couple of class periods ago, meaning that they must have missed the initial notification and succeeding ones as their friends commented. The latest remark on Stan's snowman entry finally caught their attention and Mabel could not stop the burst of surprised laughter from escaping.

Turning around, her teacher said sharply, "Do you have something funny to share with the rest of the class, Miss Pines?"

Mabel shook her head, cheeks red not from embarrassment but suppressed mirth. "No sir," she managed to choke out. "Sorry. Just thinking to myself."

Eyes narrowing slightly, he returned to the lesson as their peers gave her odd, sneering looks before going back to their own work, whether it be meticulous notetaking or lazy doodling. Dipper's shoulders were shaking from laughter, his head ducked down as he pretended to focus on the text in their science book. Mabel bit down on her bottom lip and glanced at her phone, staring at the snowman Stan had constructed.

It was a replica of himself made out of snow, wearing his wool beanie, what looked to be grey cloth from a mop making up his hair. Apart from that, the only other article of clothing this Stan snowman was wearing was a speedo. The snowman itself was positioned in the pose of the Thinker. Stan left few details out of his wintry work of art.

Mabel rested her head on the surface of her desk, silent tears of laughter trailing down her cheeks.

To: Mabel Pines (ShootingStarRainbowUnicorn); Soos Ramirez (QuestionMarkDude); Dipper Pines (GhostHarasserfan); Wendy Corduroy (Lumberchick); Stanford Pines (Highsixer)

From: Stanley Pines (StantheMan)

Subject: Now THIS is beauty

1 Attachment (Photo File)

Soos making a snow sculpture of Melody is sweet and all, sure. And let's not even get to Wendy's mundane attempt. I present to you the greatest snowman (and snow sculpture) ever created. Bask in his glory.

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Wendy Corduroy: Oh. My. Gosh.

Soos Ramirez: Wow. It's a great likeness!

Wendy Corduroy: No. Do not support him with this one. He's a lunatic.

Stanford Pines: I promise you I had no idea what he was up to. If I had the slightest inkling, I would have knocked him out.

Stanley Pines: What's wrong with him?

Stanford Pines: IT, Stanley. A snowman is an 'it'.

Stanley Pines: Then why do they call them snowmen?

Wendy Corduroy: We're not getting off-topic this time. Why, for the love of everything, did you build a snowman of yourself without a shirt, pants, and too-small underwear?

Stanley Pines: It's artistic! Like those life painting classes or whatever. Besides, there's no greater beauty than myself.

Soos Ramirez: It's really detailed.

Wendy Corduroy: Way too detailed. And I've seen this guy in his boxers multiple times. I've seen Soos in his underwear for crying out loud. But this is way more traumatizing.

Stanley Pines: Keep on talking. I've spent my life dealing with jealousy. It just rolls of my shoulders now.

Wendy Corduroy: You are so full of it.

Stanford Pines: Right. I'm off to destroy it.

Stanley Pines: DON'T YOU DARE.

Dipper Pines: I can't believe we're related.

Mabel Pines: No offense, Grunkle Stan, but the only bathing suit I ever wanted to see you in was your old man one-piece.

Soos Ramirez: I didn't know he owned a speedo.

Wendy Corduroy: Now we all know, unfortunately.

Dipper Pines: I thought I was traumatized before. I was wrong. My consolation is that at least it's just a snow-version of him.

Soos Ramirez: It's a good ice model, though.

Wendy Corduroy: If you can look past all of…that, then I guess that it's okay. Explains where Mabel gets her artistic skills, in any case. But seriously, when did this snowman contest become an intricately-carved snow/ice sculpture contest?

Dipper Pines: Well, Soos took it up to the next level, and I think Grunkle Stan would have done this regardless. Wished you hadn't started this whole thing now?

Wendy Corduroy: Nah. I still think my snowman is the best. It's a twist on a classic.

Soos Ramirez: I think mine is the best. But that's just me, dude.

Mabel Pines: Yours is really good. But Grunkle Stan added moles to his snowman.

Wendy Corduroy: What? Like the mole he has on—?

Wendy Corduroy: OH MY GOSH HE DID HE MANAGED TO INCLUDE THE MOLE!

Dipper Pines: Mabel stop laughing! You're going to get us in trouble!

Dipper Pines: Too late.

Mabel Pines: Delete all evidence! Teacher incoming!

To: Dipper Pines (GhostHarasserfan); Mabel Pines (ShootingStarRainbowUnicorn); Stanley Pines (StantheMan); Wendy Corduroy (Lumberchick); Soos Ramirez (QuestionMarkDude)

From: Stanford Pines (Highsixer)

Subject: The original snowman

1 Attachment (Photo File)

Wendy's snowman was certainly a childhood classic, and Soos' was a touching tribute to his girlfriend, I have crafted the original snowman. It is a replica of the creature that roams mountains, causing mysterious disappearances of hikers and skiers. Its existence dates long before the discovery of the recreational activity of building figures out of snow.

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Stanley Pines: You didn't mention my snowman.

Stanford Pines: Obviously.

Stanley Pines: Hmph. At least I know how to have fun without turning everything into some boring lesson. Seriously, the abominable snowman?

Dipper Pines: Called it. Very good choice, by the way.

Mabel Pines: You made it really tall!

Stanford Pines: Yes, I tried to make it as life-like as possible. It was difficult using a ladder in this icy climate.

Stanley Pines: He fell off of it at least three times. You should see the black eye he got.

Wendy Corduroy: Wow. Is that actual hair you used?

Stanford Pines: You'd be surprised by how much llama hair is shed.

Wendy Corduroy: I'd ask where you are but it would probably be best if I didn't know.

Soos Ramirez: Dude. That's pretty scary.

Dipper Pines: It is pretty realistic. Have you ever seen the abominable snowman, Grunkle Ford?

Stanford Pines: Not yet, but I hope to encounter it soon. However, I've done quite a bit of research and come to the conclusion that this is an accurate representation.

Mabel Pines: You guys are really great when it comes to snowman.

Wendy Corduroy: I could argue with that, but I won't. So which one of us wins?

Stanley Pines: Isn't it obvious?

Mabel Pines: How about we take a vote?

Dipper Pines: Where you have to vote for someone else. You can't vote for yourself.

Wendy Corduroy: I guess that works.

Soos Ramirez: I'm in. But do I have to vote now? This is kinda a tough decision.

Stanford Pines: We can cast our votes tomorrow morning at ten o'clock.

Wendy Corduroy: Our time zone or yours? Wherever you are.

Stanford Pines: Yours.

Stanley Pines: Deal.

Dipper Pines: Then we'll find out the winner tomorrow.

Mabel Pines: May the best snow creation win!

Dipper shook his head in amusement as he set his phone on the coffee table situated in front of the couch. "I have a feeling it might be between Soos and Grunkle Ford. Those two took it up a notch."

"I love Grunkle Stan, but I don't think anyone is going to be able to get rid of that mental image," said Mabel with a giggle.

She studied the picture of Ford's snowman, a towering mass of snow carved in the shape of the yeti. Llama hair covered every inch of the creature, black coals acting as eyes, peering ominously from a curtain of white hair. Icicles hung from the armpits and arms, the hands and feet massive in order to be in proportion to the body.

"It's not fair," she lamented, getting to her knees so she could look over the edge of the couch through the living room window. "They can play in the snow and we just got a rainstorm last night."

"It's a mud wonderland," agreed Dipper. Their entire front yard was damp and soft, the grass nearly swallowed by the thick brown mud. "Too bad there's no such thing as a mudman."

There was a pause as the twins were struck by the same idea. With a beaming smile, Mabel jumped to the floor and declared, "Let's go, brother of mine!"

"We'll make the greatest mudmen in history!" cheered Dipper.

They spared a moment to shrug on their boots and rain slickers before charging out into the misty afternoon. It took a half hour to decide what they should craft and they soon got to work. They gathered piles of mud with shovels and packed it together with their bare hands. For two hours they sloshed about in the mud, hair sticking to their foreheads and boots caking with dirt and grass.

"There!" exclaimed Mabel, wiping droplets of water from her skin and leaving a streak of mud. "It's brilliant!"

Dipper removed his phone from his pants pocket and snapped a picture of the scene. There were seven mud figures rising from the ground, and though they weren't perfect they were identifiable. There was Wendy with her ushanka, which Dipper had removed from his head temporarily, Ford with a long beige jacket, which Mabel had dug from their father's closet, Stan with his tuxedo jacket, tie and eyepatch that Dipper found from their old Halloween costumes, Soos with his green T-shirt and a question mark drawn on it, Waddles in the middle, and on either side of the mud-pig were sculptures of Dipper and Mabel. Dipper had found one of his old hats and vests to use on his mud counterpart, and Mabel had managed to affix a knit jacket and sparkly headband to hers.

"Who says we need snow to have fun?" laughed Dipper. He then looked around the yard, which now bore holes and dips from their effort to gather as much mud as possible. "Uh…as great as this is, we better put the mud back before Mom and Dad come home to find the yard torn up."

To: Mabel Pines (ShootingStarRainbowUnicorn); Grunkle Stan (StantheMan); Grunkle Ford (Highsixer); Soos Ramirez (QuestionMarkDude); Wendy Corduroy (Lumberchick)

From: Dipper Pines (GhostHarasserfan)

Subject: Mud Shack crew

1 Attachment (Photo File)

It's almost time to vote! But before the inevitable fight begins about who deserves to win, Mabel and I make our unofficial contribution with our mudmen. I present the Mud Shack crew, complete with a mud version of Waddles. We may not have snow, but we learn to work with what we have.

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Soos Ramirez: Mud looks pretty good on me.

Wendy Corduroy: Dudes. That's pretty sweet. But yo, you're gonna wash my hat, right?

Dipper Pines: Maybe.

Grunkle Ford: I don't think I've seen soil used in such a way before.

Grunkle Stan: Talk about making the most of your environment.

Mabel Pines: I'm going to have mud in my ears for weeks, but it was worth it!

Grunkle Ford: How exactly did you manage to get mud in your ears?

Mabel Pines: I slipped and fell. A few dozen times.

Dipper Pines: We are hopelessly snowless, so we found our own way to contribute to the contest—just for fun, anyway. Are you guys ready to vote?

Wendy Corduroy: Yup.

Soos Ramirez: Totally.

Grunkle Stan: Let's start it, then.

Grunkle Ford: Why don't you kids start?

Dipper Pines: Sure. I vote for Wendy. Her snowman may not be extravagant, but it's a classic snowman, which I think was sort of the point before Soos took it to the next level.

Mabel Pines: And that's why I'm voting for Soos! His snow sculpture of Melody was really sweet and pretty, and I like that he took a different route.

Wendy Corduroy: I vote for Dipper and Mabel, because I look pretty rad as a mud sculpture.

Dipper Pines: Wait, what?

Soos Ramirez: I vote for the little dudes. It was hard making a snow sculpture, so it must have been twice as hard to make what they did.

Mabel Pines: But this is a snowman contest. We didn't make ours out of snow.

Grunkle Stan: Who listens to the rules? Not me. You get my vote, kiddos. I think I look even better made out of mud.

Grunkle Ford: It's settled, then. Including my vote, that makes you the clear winners. Substituting mud for snow is allowed, since there is a lack of snow available to you and you used alternative resources.

Grunkle Stan: But next time we have a contest you can't participate so that I get a shot at participating.

Soos Ramirez: Next year we could have a snow fort building contest!

Wendy Corduroy: I don't think so. I thought I was competitive but ya'll take it to the extreme.

Grunkle Ford: Runs in the family.

Grunkle Stan: I'll annihilate you next time.

Mabel Pines: Sweet! We won, bro! We're champions of mudmen!

Dipper Pines: Not bad for the tender age of thirteen.

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