#they more or less came to light after I listened to Christmas kids by roar

[hiraethenthusiast]

"I love you most."| t.h.

pairing: actor!tom x reader

warnings: floof attack.

synopsis: tom gives you the best wedding you could've gotten. he's in love with you madly, that's what he says.

a/n: guess who wants this? i do. i absolutely adore a loving husband no matter what, and i adore heartfelt gifts even more! i hope you all like this fic, this one's really close to me! tpwk everyone!

listen to clinton kane's i guess i'm in love

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“So do you, Y/N Y/L/N take Tom as your lawfully wedded husband?” The priest asks you while you and Tom look at him with impatience in your eyes.

“I do.” You say, making everyone cheer and making Tom smile.

“And do you Tom Ho-” “I do!” He shouts before the priest could even complete his sentence, making everyone at the altar erupt into laughs.

“Let him finish bubba” You laugh along, signalling the priest to go on when Tom mutters a small ‘sorry’ to him.

“Do you, Tom Holland, take Y/N Y/L/N as your lawfully wedded wife?” He asks again, while Tom looks at you with nothing but adoration in his eyes.

“I do.” And everyone cheers once again, and you gently squeeze his hand.

“So I shall now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.” The priest says lastly before getting off the stage and as if on queue, Tom sweeps you under his arms and holds your waist before pressing his lips to yours. The moment was wholeheartedly content, his and your parents, both with tears in their eyes, even Paddy and Harry shed a few, because the moment was so pure to just not cry at. Tom kisses you as if he was the luckiest man on Earth, like he had achieved something which he thought he could never. He pulls back to look at you beaming with the biggest smile he’s seen on you in years, and smiles to himself once again.

This was the best day of both of your lives till now, and there was no doubt about it.

After 4 years of being together, Tom finally proposed to you, and then forgot where he kept the ring, but you couldn’t care less because the man you were in love with was now, going to be a forever favourite in your lives. And today, he was now your husband from your fiance, and you couldn’t be anymore happier.

You both settle down after roaming from one place to another greeting every guest that had attended your wedding, finally for a drink and some food. Harrison sits right behind you, completing the duties of best man with all his will, and you smile at him. The twins and Paddy come in a bit later, but your eyes are looking for someone else. Where’s Tom? Your question was answered when you hear the clinking of a glass, just to find your handsome husband there.

“May I have your attention please?” He looks directly at you and you blow him a kiss, him pretending to catch it making everyone laugh. Actors.

“Thank you all for attending and being a part of our very wonderful day, I swear you guys are our favourite people” He says while chuckling.

“Today is the day I married my wonderful and stunning lover, Y/N and in recognition of that, I decided to give you the best gift of this evening.” He says, making you wonder what he got for you.

“I remember when Y/N once told me that she always loves heartfelt and handmade gifts filled with love more than people buying her the gift of her choice. She likes the element of surprise, as she likes to say. So Y/N my darling, I thought you might notice and scold me for it but you didn’t, not even once in this 4 year old relationship, and trust me this is going to shock you. I’ve managed to record every important and goofy moment of our lives, from falling on a staircase to the time I proposed to you, I have it all. I’ve compiled them into one sweet video for you, while your favourite singer of them all, Mr. Clinton Kane sings a song for us! Please give him a huge round of applause!” You jerk your head to the place where Clinton enters from, and he waves at you making you wave instinctively as well.

You look back again towards Tom, who was smiling sweetly at your little fangirl moment and continues.

“I’d also like to thank Harrison and Harry for helping me edit this video, because I’m literally so dumb without anyone of these four with me.”

“Can you put the lights out and start the video please?” He asks one of the workers there at the venue, and jogs up to sit down beside you, giving you a small peck while you take a hold of his hand.

And on queue, the lights are dimmed and the video starts to play. You can hear the faint strumming of the guitar that Clinton is currently playing, but you aren’t able to identify the song just yet. You look ahead towards the screen, and your eyes light up when you see Tom dressed up in his wedding tuxedo, you finally realising that this bit was filmed just a few hours ago.

“Hello my lovely wife! Well, I’m filming this part before the ceremony starts but I think I’m pretty certain on showing you this video after we’re married. This was...boring. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the video my love, and don’t hit me when we get home! I love you so so so much, enjoy!” He says before shutting off his camera, while everyone laughs at his goofiness and you glare at him playfully. The video rolls again and you look forward, but suddenly realise the song. It’s ‘I Guess I’m In Love’, you say to yourself. Tom had proposed to you after a few days when the song came out, and somehow on the night of him proposing, this song was played. You labelled it ‘our song’ and he happily obliged. 

“Haz hold the camera correctly for god's sake...” You hear your husband’s voice and move your head towards the screen, smiling brightly.

“Oh I’m obsessed. With the way your head is laying on my chest.” Clinton starts, immediately soothed by the presence of your lover and the melody in your ears.

“I am holding the camera nicely mate bugger off! Nikki taught me well!” Harrison says in the background making everyone giggle.

“She’s coming shut up” 

“What’s this Tom?” You ask him, as he looks at you like a kid in love.

“Y/N”

“Tom” You say in the same manner, feeling anxious by the second.

“So we’ve been dating for 4 years and trust me those have been the most beautiful four years of my life. I know this is so out of the blue, but Y/N Y/L/N, will you do the favour of marrying the person who loves you immensely? A.k.a. Tom?" He says and you laugh. You hold on for a few seconds, looking in his eyes which were filled with desperation.

"Yes" You say and his face lights up like a Christmas tree. He can't stop beaming and searches for the ring in his pocket, only to find out that he didn't have it.

"Oh I'm a mess. When I overthink the little things in my head."

"I have the ring I promise." He says, moving frantically.

"Tom-"

"I swear I kept the ring in my pocket-"

"Tom-"

"How can I be this stupid you probably don't want to marry me anymore-"

"TOM!" He jerks his head towards you as you shout his name.

"It's okay. I just want you right now." You say and he immediately hugs you, the tightest of them all.

The clip ends and you knew the tears were coming very soon, Tom senses the action and rubs your knuckles., giving you a hearty smile.

The second clip rolls in soon, your eyes brightening almost instantly.

"You seem to always help me catch my breath. But then I lose it again, when I look at you, that's the end."

"Why the hell are we on the top of the Eiffel Tower? And why do you want your phone to crash?" You ask him, while he struggles to make a video with his phone while the winds roar at the top of the monument.

"Because I want to remember this moment!" He shouts, making you smile even more.

"My goof"

"Your goof"

"You're lucky I love you"

"I wouldn't have it any other way darling" He says and gives you a quick peck on the lips, this moment too pure to realise.

"Why do I get so nervous when I look into your eyes? And butterflies can't stop me falling for you."

"Now we may invite, a very handsome young lad, who happens to be Spiderman, Mr. Tom Holland!" Harry shouts in the video, while you all pretended to have a grand gala when you couldn't attend Tom's premiere.

He walks in wearing a black tuxedo, his shirt buttons open from the top, looking dashing.

"Thank you for inviting Harold, but please, call the star of today's night." Tom says, making everyone groan about how in love he was with you.

"Patience Thomas. Now may I present, the queen of today's night, Ms. Y/N Y/L/N!" Everyone applauds as you walk down the stairs as you hear your name. You reach the door wearing a red and black dress, the clothing complementing your body more than ever. Everyone seems to keep clapping but your attention is towards that one dummy, who's standing like he's seen a ghost.

"..Oh wow." He's speechless, and everyone knows it. You blush at your boyfriend's gesture and nudge him in the shoulder, as a signal to stop staring.

"I hope you all understand that I scored a jackpot, thank you" He sees and everybody laughs.

You laugh along with the other guests, remembering the faint memory from over two years back. This was one of the most fun nights you've had with Tom. While you laugh at the clip, all Tom can do is stare at you in awe. How did he get so lucky, he thinks. He watches how your face glows when you see someone happy on the screen. He truly was blessed.

"And darling this is more than anything I've felt before. You're everything that I want, but I didn't think I'd find. Someone who was worth the wait of all the years of my heartbreak. But I know now I've found the one I love."

"Please don't go" You sniffle on Tom's shoulder, asking him to stay one last time before his flight leaves for Atlanta.

"If it was in my hands darling I'd never leave your side." He says, trying to hold back tears.

"It's okay, I understand." You say, pulling back and clearing your throat.

"Awh Y/N please don't cry." Tom tries to persuade his emotions by telling you to stop, but a tear falls down his cheeks in an instant.

"I'm sorry." You say, chuckling lightly, making Tom chuckle too.

"I'll be back before you know it."

"I know you will be"

"Please board the flight for Atlanta which leaves at 1330 hours" The flight attendant announces, and you know it's time to let him go.

"Come back home to me soon okay?" You say, wiping your tears.

"As soon as possible"

"I love you" He says.

"I love you more."

"I love you most." You can't argue with that now.

"Bye bubba" You say, giving him one last kiss, a very long one indeed, that left you both searching for oxygen.

"Bye darling" And he leaves to board his flight. You look in the same direction until he disappears and you turn around.

"Harrison, are you crying?"

"No-" He sniffles and you laugh.

You knew you were going to cry as soon as you saw the location. This was one of the hardest moments of your life, letting your lover go away from you for so long, and you weren't ready for that. You wiped your tears while Tom rubbed your hand with one of his, the other cleaning his tear stained face. You look back to see Harrison crying once again, and you laugh a bit at him before giving him your hand for comfort. He really was the best man. You blow a kiss to your family and Tom's, who were currently high on emotions. Even the brothers had tears in their eyes. You really did get the best family.

"And I love the way. You can never find the right things to say. And you can't sit still an hour in the day. I'm so in love, let's run away because us is enough."

The rest of the video were some clips of you and Tom being goofy and so in love, which were a delight to watch. The song played in the background, adding its own special touch, which was necessary to bind this moment together. All these moments which Tom managed to shoot secretly were a lifelong reminder of how much your person loved you. He loved you.

And that is all you need.

The video gets over and Tom looks at you with puppy eyes.

"So, how was it?"

"You're the reason my makeup is ruined and I have mascara stains" You say, laughing while crying.

"That good, huh?"

"That good." You say and he pulls you in for a hug and kisses your forehead.

"I love you bubba"

"I love you more" He says, kissing your cheek.

"I love you most." 

He couldn't argue with that.

"But I know now I've found the one I love."

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tagging some friends who'd like to read!

@evanssimpybaby @hollandsmushroom @tomsoxytocin @scarletspideyy @leafy-holland @t-lostinworlds

[ugly-anastasia]

The Last 10 Years | Oneshot

Note: for the October Jekyll and Hyde task (write a one-shot featuring your character as first the protagonist and then the antagonist) I had an idea to try and tell Annie and Charlie’s story in the style of the musical The Last Five Years, since that is kind of the goal of that show’s storytelling style. Basically the premise is the same story told from two different perspectives, one in chronological order and the other in reverse-chronological order. Just wanted to clarify that in case the format is confusing. Enjoy!

Warnings for: alcohol, references to hazing, lots of messy/unhealthy relationship dynamics, misogyny, some nsfw topics

2021, Annie

The last time Anastasia Tremaine saw Charles King, he was shimmering. 

The morning light got in her eyes, Tennessee June out in all its glory as Annie loaded the last box into the Uber that would take her to the airport. Out of the corner of her eye, Annie could see Charlie bending down to give Harlynne and Jaxson each one last hug. The early summer sunshine seemed to sparkle on his Dri-Fit Vanderbilt Tennis shirt because of course it did. The world seemed to part for Charlie King and everything that made Annie squint and stumble and fall just painted him in brighter glory.

It was what she had always liked about him, wasn’t it? That she could look at him and see the sun? Annie’s life had always been defined by the people she surrounded herself with. Rodmilla Tremaine’s screechy daughter, Ella Ashbourne’s bitchy stepsister with the bad fake tan, and then Charlie King’s perky young wife. 

Maybe that was her mistake from the beginning. How was she going to define herself now?

2011, Charlie

The first time Charles King saw Anastasia Tremaine, she was shimmering. 

Literally. Covered in silver sparkles. The glitter bomb was a new ritual to welcome the Alpha Phi pledges, replacing the traditional surprise Jägerbomb after a lengthy hazing investigation that left the sisters scrambling to replace their traditions with those less explicitly related to alcohol. Of course, it was the first mixer of the year, so alcohol of all kinds was flowing through the Kappa Alpha house, just with enough plausible deniability to say that technically nobody underage was encouraged to drink. 

Luckily for the majority of the attendees at this mixer, they tended to have the kind of connections to get a good enough lawyer to get out of that stuff.

Charlie saw Annie sparkling as she stood on the coffee table and glitter rained down on her, shrieking in disgust (but maybe soaking up the attention just a little bit). And he knew that was his girl. She was attractive in a self-conscious kind of way, with her long legs and big nose, like maybe she was afraid she stuck out too much. It was easy to see through fake freshman confidence, and Charlie could already see her posh British accent impressing his parents. 

He hung back. He didn’t say anything yet. But Charlie had a feeling he would run into Annie Tremaine again.

2019, Annie

It was really quite plain and simple: Charlie was cheating.

Annie believed she was justified in going through his phone, because he was cheating. The signs were everywhere. He was always “going out to happy hour” after work even though he hadn’t been interested in “happy hour” since he’d started at the accounting firm six years ago. He seemed distracted lately. And his little icon always dropped off of the map on Find My Friends the same time every day. 

So when Charlie was in the shower, Annie reached across the bed and unlocked his phone. Unknown number.

Tonight again?

No, not tonight

When??? 😩😩😩 

Tomorrow?

Ur gonna make me wait until tomorrow

The anticipation will make it sweeter 😉

And there was her proof. “CHARLIE!” Annie roared, jumping out of bed and pounding on the shower door. She was justified. She had-- what was it they called it on those police procedurals? Probable cause? Annie had probable cause. Charlie came stumbling out of the shower, wrapping the towel around him and looking at her blearily. “Whaa-”

“Explain this!”

Charlie just stared at her. “Did you go through my phone?”

2013, Charlie

The plain and simple explanation was that Annie asked Charlie out. 

Two years after that first party where they locked eyes, after Annie had attracted a few whispers for stumbling through some on-off relationships with the more sensitive of the KA brothers, Annie went right up to Charlie at homecoming and asked him out. Charlie didn’t plan on getting tied down to a college girl right after he graduated. And no, he didn’t leverage any kind of power he might have had, because Annie had just applied for an internship at the accounting firm he and his father both worked at. That was her choice. Wasn’t that what feminism was all about or something?

Annie asked Charlie out with the brazen confidence of a brand new Co-Chair of Philanthropy, a confidence she would confess, taking a sip of her cosmo, actually came from Charlie’s encouragement. Last spring, right before graduation, Charlie had told Annie to go after her dreams, and Annie had decided that her dreams lied with Charlie King.

That was what Charlie had to explain to people when they raised eyebrows at his relationship with Annie. She had asked him out. It was even possible she was playing him to get her foot in the door at the firm. Right?

2015, Charlie and Annie

Charlie and Annie had a fight the night before their wedding. It started at the rehearsal dinner, when Charlie’s best man, a lanky KA brother named Ross, got into a tiff with Drizella over something political, and then Annie whispered to Charlie to shut him up, and Charlie didn’t, and now they were in their individual hotel rooms, shouting at each other on the phone.

“He’s my friend, Annie, I don’t control him!”

“I’m not asking you to control him, but you could have pulled him for a chat! Told him to tone it down!”

“Annie, why would that--”

“You have no problem doing that with me when I’m being a bitch! And I’ve done it with you when you’re being stupid! What’s the difference?”

“Annie, I--”

“I know why. It’s because you care more about fitting in with your stupid friends than you care about me! Grow up, Charlie, you’re getting bloody married!”

“Annie!” 

Silence.

“Look, Annie, I don’t know what you want me to say. I can’t travel back in time and do it different.”

“I want you to say you’re sorry!”

“Alright, Annie, I’m sorry.”

More silence. For a moment, Annie had a burning feeling that something might not be right. On the other side of the wall, Charlie had the same feeling.

They both wrote it off as cold feet. And the next day, they had a beautiful wedding, and it even made the society pages, and Annie had never gotten so many likes on Instagram. And Charlie’s mother was proud. And the fight was forgotten.

Until it wasn’t. 

2013, Annie 

Annie asked Charlie out because her mother said she should, and because her friends said that he was a sweet guy but he would never make the first move, and because a cute self-help book she had read said that if Annie didn’t take control of her destiny now, destiny would take control of her. Annie was a strong woman, and Charlie was cute and well-connected, and maybe he was a lot older, but that was the kind of man Annie wanted, anyway. Someone mature. Someone who wouldn’t walk out when things got hard. Charlie seemed steady.

And yes, maybe she told him that she had gotten her confidence from his little drunken pep talk that he gave her right before he graduated, even though that wasn’t really true. And maybe she faked it the first time they hooked up... and the second and third time, too. And maybe Annie swore she listened to all of his mixtapes, even when she found them quite boring. Men had fragile little egos, and Annie knew she could use that to her advantage. 

It didn’t matter, because at the end of things, Annie knew that she and Charlie would be perfect together. What was a little white lie here and there, a little corner cutting? It was destiny and she was just helping it along.

2019, Charlie

Cheating didn’t look good. It never did. Charlie had a kid, and another on the way, and a wife who was perfect on paper. Ross’s stare across the table at Buffalo Wild Wings (an old heartbreak haunt from the Vandy days) said all of that. But Charlie believed he deserved some sympathy. 

“She’s crazy, man!” Charlie argued.

“Charlie, you’re not supposed to call women crazy anymore. Erica--”

“I don’t care what bullshit Erica read on TheSkimm!”

“Charlie! That’s my wife you’re talking about!”

“Sorry,” Charlie grumbled, biting into his buffalo wing morosely. “But I think if she was paranoid enough that I was cheating on her that she had to go through my phone, then there’s a bigger problem. And, I’m just saying, she could’ve just asked me.”

“And you would have told her the truth?”

Charlie hmphed and threw the bone down on his plate, reaching for another wing. 

2011, Annie

The first time Annie saw Charlie, it was from behind.

But what a glorious back of his head it was! Thick chestnut-brown hair, gelled into a perfect side part but not too much that it couldn’t be tousled a little. A pink golf shirt-- there was nothing like a man who knew how to dress. And he was moving with purpose, with animation, like he knew he was the brightest star in the room and everyone around him was so lucky to bask in his light.

He was the shimmering outline of a boy you could fill in with all your hopes. And the other girls had told Annie to stay away from the older boys, that they would play with your heart and drop you by Christmas to ring-by-spring a girl more their speed. But Annie could see the pieces clicking into place. She had been raised to believe if you worked hard and wanted something badly enough and if you weren’t afraid to get your hands a little dirty, you could have whatever you wanted. And Annie wanted this. Badly.

Annie was tired of standing in the shadows. She wanted to attach herself to a boy who commanded the light, so she could shine, too. And she had finally found him.

2021, Charlie

The last time Charlie saw Annie, it was from behind, as she climbed into the car and didn’t bother to give him one last wave before speeding down the highway with the life he had spent the past ten years building.

Annie had gotten everything she wanted in the divorce. It was hard to sympathize with a cheater, especially one who already seemed to have a backup life ready to go as soon as his ex wife and kids were out of the way. Charlie didn’t really feel that way. He mostly resented Annie for blowing this up the way she had, turning one little affair into a marriage-shattering event, fleeing the country with both kids in tow. Charlie didn’t care what Ross said. She was crazy.

Mostly, Charlie mourned what could have been. He could have gone on having it all. He was doing a good job of balancing it. And he had been raised to believe that if he just managed everything tactfully enough, he could skate through life unencumbered, with nobody to say no to what he wanted. For the first time, he couldn’t. And it made Charlie livid.

But maybe it was time for a fresh start. He had Jenna, his beautiful girlfriend. He had his house, still. He had his Nashville friends, who had eventually come around to agree with Charlie that he was in the right (and Charlie believed that they liked Jenna better, anyway). 

The worst thing that Annie had done, Charlie decided, was think too highly of him. He wasn’t a man of principle or honor, he just projected that image in the settings where it was necessary. And she had been naive enough to believe in that. 

Charlie went back in the house and pulled up Jenna’s contact on his phone. From now on, he wasn’t going to lie about the kind of man he was. And hopefully, that would prevent him from repeating this whole mess over again.

[hehron]

The Mischief Managing Begins

There once was a gang of close-knit mischief-makers, some of whom grew to become the greatest defenders of the Light. A series of related one-shots involving the Marauders and their friends. Let the mischief managing begin!

1. The First Train Ride

"Mum, stop!" James whined as Euphemia once again tried to flatten his hair.

"James! Hold still. You don't want to go to school looking so untidy and on your first day no less! Minerva would never let me hear the end of it," she huffed, reaching for his hair.

James ducked and ran ahead to join his father, who was talking to Mr Mckinnon.

"-a mess, really." Mr Mckinnon said, looking frazzled.

"Ah! James, excited for Hogwarts?" He asked upon seeing him.

"Yes!" He said, pumping his fist in the air.

"I'm going to be in Gryffindor, of course, just like Dad but Mum said I shouldn't be so sure because I could go to Hufflepuff. Can you believe it?" James asked affronted.

Mr Mckinnon chuckled, and his father ruffled his hair, earning him a scolding from his mother who had joined them.

"Really, Monty, don't mess it up even more."

"Let it go, Mia. He looks so handsome. I still remember when you ran around in diapers," Mrs Mckinnon said, to James's intense embarrassment.

"Where's Marly?" He asked quickly before his parents could embarrass him further.

"With Anne and Linda." Mrs Mckinnon sighed. "I tried to get her to talk to kids her own age, but she tags behind those two all day long. I'm so worried-"

James didn't wait to hear the rest as he spotted his friend talking to her cousins.

"Hey, Marly!" He called, bounding over.

"Jamie-Poo!" She grinned.

"You can't call me that anymore!" James shouted, frantically looking around to see if anyone had heard.

"I'll stop when you stop calling me Marly," she said, crossing her arms.

"We're getting on the train. See you later, Lanie." Anne called, and she and Linda left to find their friends.

"I'm coming too." Marlene quickly said, starting to follow them.

James grabbed her arm. "Wait! You have to stay here. Mum and Dad will kill me with their coddling otherwise." He pleaded.

"Fine." She agreed hesitantly, still glancing back to where the two girls had been.

"There you are! James, I told you not to run off. This place is so crowded. You could get lost! What if you had to go to Hogwarts without your trunk? Would you be okay running around your new school naked?" She demanded.

"Mu-um." He moaned.

Monty rolled his eyes at their antics.

"I'm sure it won't come to that, but your mother is right about forgetting your trunk. Best get it on the train now." He said as he levitated both his and Marlene's luggage into the nearest compartment.

"It's almost eleven. Where is she?" Euphemia sighed fretfully.

"Allison busy with her classes?" Mrs Mckinnon enquired.

"Yes, the poor thing's run dry. Stayed up all night to finish a report on something called 'amalgams'" Monty said.

"What are those?" Mr Mckinnon asked, confused.

"Something to do with teeth. Lis is fascinated with them nowadays. Says she's going to be a healer for teeth."

"They're called dentists, Dad." A voice said behind them.

"There you are! I thought you weren't going to make it." Euphemia said.

"And miss this little squirt going off to school? I'm not going to get to see him again until Christmas!" Allison cried, hugging James.

"You weren't even home last Christmas." James accused, squirming.

"Oh shush, Jamie-Poo." She said, pecking him on the cheek as Marlene burst into giggles.

"Doing good, Lene?" She asked the younger girl.

"Yeah, Anne and Linda taught me to do the Jelly-jinx! They said they would introduce me to all their friends. We're going to have so much fun!" She said excitedly.

"That sounds great, but you should try being friends with children your own age," Allison said gently.

"I tried talking to a girl, but she gave me the evil eye and started arguing with her sister." Marlene pouted.

"I'm sure it wasn't anything personal. Don't hold it against her when you get there."

"What were they fighting about?" James asked curiously.

"I don't know. Mum and Dad dragged us over here before I could eavesdrop." She said loudly, gaining the attention of their parents.

"We saw the Blacks. Had to escape before they invited us to another pureblood event," said Mr Mckinnon.

"I don't understand why you have to go to those, even if they invited you," Euphemia said, peeved.

"Someone needs to be there on the inside. The Prewetts are no longer welcome since their daughter ran off with that Weasley boy, and they refused to disown her." He explained. "If we don't take a stand, who knows what new policies they'll start pushing for! It's bad enough that we have to fight against the Muggleborn Hunting Bill, we don't need a Half-Blood Exclusion Bill on our hands as well."

Euphemia sighed. "Yes, that is true. Augusta mentioned that Frank's department is facing a lot of backlash for speaking against it."

"Isn't their son Hogwarts age?" Mrs Mckinnon mused.

"Yes, little Frank's in his third year. On that note, Augusta must be here. We must find her once the train departs. I haven't seen her in ages!" Euphemia said to Mrs Mckinnon, who readily agreed.

As if on cue, the train started whistling, and the parents fussed over their kids once more.

"James, be good," Monty said, hugging him tightly.

"Listen to Minerva and for Merlin's sake, don't call her Minnie," Euphemia said, laughing through her tears.

"But she'll always be Auntie Minnie to me!" James grinned as he got on the train.

"And don't try to fool her with the cloak. She knows about it." She continued, ignoring him.

"What cloak?" Marlene asked.

"I'll tell you later." He whispered.

"Bye, kids!" Mr Mckinnon called.

"Have fun!" Allison smiled.

"Write lots of letters." Euphemia reminded.

"Make new friends, okay?" Mrs Mckinnon said with a pointed look at her daughter, who gave her an exasperated look.

"Look out for each other!" Monty called as the train started moving.

"We will. Bye!" James shouted.

"See you at Christmas! Tell Tony I'll send him a quaffle!" Marlene laughed.

They both roared at the top of their lungs in excitement until the station disappeared from sight.

"We're going! Marly, we're finally going!" James said, jumping up and down.

"I know! I know! I'm so excited!" She squealed. "Bet I'll get a detention before you do."

"Ha! Right. I'll get detention even before sorting." He challenged.

"I believe you." She grinned.

"Let's find a compartment," James said, moving forward. "Should we sit with your brothers?"

"No way!" Marlene wrinkled her nose. "Robert will make us listen to his Head Boy speech, and Charles will be hanging out with his girlfriend and Gideon and Fabian."

They should have gotten a compartment beforehand as all of them were already full by the time they wandered in. The older students were chatting excitedly with their friends, and James wondered if he'd be the same the following year. As they made their way through the crowd, they bumped into Anne and Linda, and James knew what was going to happen next.

"Find us a seat, will you, Jamie? I'll be right there." Marlene said sweetly, and James glared at her as she joined them.

"Fine, leave me! I'm going to get detention. And you're not invited." He called back childishly and, ignoring the weird looks he was receiving, walked with purpose towards the next carriage. Now that he had made such a dramatic declaration, Marlene would never let him live it down if he didn't go through with it. How on earth was he going to get detention? A sudden idea struck him as he remembered Minnie complaining about a student stealing someone's prefect badge and parading around, scaring the first years. It was a long shot as only fifth years could be prefects, but James was tall for his age, and he could probably make it work. James put on his sweetest smile and asked a boy standing nearby.

"Excuse me, but could you tell me where the prefect carriage is? My brother said he'd be meeting me here, but I think he forgot."

"Don't worry kid. It's just two carriages over."

James felt a sort of giddy excitement. It was finally time to put his new invisibility cloak to use! Stashing his trunk into a nearby corner, he slipped into the compartment, under the cloak. He saw Robert giving his big speech, which he had forced upon them the previous week, with the Head Girl interjecting in between, much to his annoyance. James sniggered and considered stealing his badge but decided against it as Rob would likely be guarding it with his life. He saw a blonde girl absently staring at the aristocratic-looking boy next to her and grinned. This would be too easy. He crept towards her and was almost there when he came to an abrupt halt. Someone was hiding underneath her seat and stuffing what seemed to be garbage into her bag. James ducked down and saw another boy, who appeared to be around his age. The boy was sporting a huge grin as he put a dead mouse, this time, in her seat. Unable to stop himself, he peeked out of the cloak and whispered.

Sirius froze mid-motion as he heard it. Heart pounding frantically, he twisted around to see a grinning floating head and wondered if this was what Kreacher meant when he told him to bring back an elf head.

"Put it between her feet."

"Put it between her feet."

Sirius knew it was childish and beyond foolish to pull a prank on Cissy. But he was already in a mood because his parents hadn't deemed him worthy enough to grace him with their presence at the station. He had flooed over with Cissy and her parents, after saying goodbye to his brother. He should have been thrilled to go to Hogwarts, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he was abandoning Reg with their parents and whatever excitement had lingered had been squashed when his uncle and aunt had lectured him on behaving like a proper pureblood Slytherin. It might not have been so bad had his parents not given him the same speech every day for the past two months. Any freedom he might have dreamed of was quickly taken away by Narcissa and her boyfriend, both of whom watched him like hawks and assured him that this treatment would continue for the rest of the year. Merlin forbid the name of the Blacks be tarnished! Of course, the incest, disowning and the decapitated elf heads only enhanced the name and its honour!

Speaking of elf heads, Sirius was still staring at the floating head in front of him, wondering for a brief moment if he was a ghost. He had heard several rumours about the Nearly Headless Gryffindor ghost.

Before Sirius could respond, there was a loud shriek as Cissy jumped off the seat towards Lucius, who equally quickly pushed her away, hissing about pureblood decorum. This was it. Someone was going to look underneath the seat, and he'd be in so much trouble. Just as the Head Boy crouched low, Sirius felt something being thrown over his head and a hand yank him upwards. He looked around at the floating head, now attached to a non-floating body and spluttered.

"You're not a ghost."

The other boy clamped a hand to his mouth as Lucius demanded. "Who's there?"

Sirius grabbed the other boy and made a mad dash towards the next compartment. Once far away enough, Sirius threw off the invisibility cloak, for that was what it was, and started laughing hysterically. He soon realised that the messy-haired boy had joined him and had tears running down his face.

"That was awesome!" He wheezed between laughs. "I'm James Potter, by the way." He said, holding out his hand.

Potter. His parents had labelled them as blood traitors and had forbidden him from associating with them.

"Sirius. Want to sit together?" He asked, shaking his hand.

"Sure thing. Let me get my trunk."

Sirius had already found a compartment, it seemed, but when they made their way over, they found that it was occupied by two others. The redhead had her head turned towards the window, and a slimy haired boy was attempting to talk to her. James paid them a passing glance before turning to his new friend.

Sirius grinned. "She's my cousin actually, but she's a right nightmare. I couldn't resist it, not that I tried that hard." He finished in a conspiratorial whisper.

James laughed. "Can I help you with it next time?"

"Sure," Sirius said uneasily with a bland smile, which seemed strangely out of place on his face.

"That was so cool. Pranking a prefect like that, and on your first day!" James said excitedly.

James was about to ask him if he wanted to search for the trolley lady when he saw Marlene outside the compartment, looking at them curiously. He winced as he realised that he had forgotten to save her a seat and gave her an apologetic look. He saw her shrug and turn to a mousy looking boy before dragging him off with her.

James turned back to look at Sirius who seemed to be lost in thought.

"Do you play Quidditch?"

Sirius jerked his head up as if he had forgotten where he was.

"What?"

"Quidditch. Do you play?"

"Of course!" He exclaimed, his eyes lighting up. "My brother and I have a match every week to see who can find the snitch first."

"Me too! My parents arrange a mini Quidditch tournament every year! My best friend, Marly, and I are chasers, which is really the best position there is." James boasted.

"No way! Seekers are the best though I personally prefer being a beater." Sirius said.

"They're okay. Will you come to the tournament next summer? My team doesn't have a good beater. I have to beg my sister to stand in sometimes, and she's terrified of moving more than a few feet off the ground." James sighed dramatically.

Sirius looked taken aback by the invitation but smiled. Before he could respond, James's attention turned to the duo beside him. The slimy haired boy was saying to the girl.

"We should be in Slytherin together."

"Slytherin?" James sneered. He had heard enough about them to know about their prejudiced beliefs. "That's the worst house there is."

"My family is filled with Slytherins," Sirius said, causing James to gape at him.

"But you didn't seem like them! You were pranking! Anyone who supports pranking has to be an okay person." He said fervently.

Sirius laughed. "I don't want to be like them. Maybe I'll end up in another house. Which one do you want to get into?"

"Gryffindor, of course, where reside the bravest of the brave!" He said, mimicking holding a sword.

"Gryffindor's filled with idiots." The slimy haired boy scoffed. "Slytherin's got talent."

"Ironic that you want to go there since you seem incapable of even washing your hair," Sirius said snidely, and they both burst into laughter.

The redhead scowled at them. "Don't mind them, Severus."

"Severus? What kind of a name is that?" James taunted, feeling an immediate dislike to the boy.

"More like Snivellus." Sirius snickered.

"Yeah, slimy Snivellus snivelling in Slytherin-" James began but was interrupted by the girl.

"Let's go. We'll find someone better to sit with." She said icily.

"Looks like Red's got a temper." Sirius teased.

"Good luck with that!" James yelled at the same time.

How rude, Lily thought as she and Severus made their way towards the front of the train.

"Arrogant gits." Severus hissed, and Lily swerved around to face him.

"They are, but you could have ignored them."

"It doesn't matter." She was already mad at him about the fight with Tuney, though she knew deep down that she was partially to blame. She shouldn't have read the Headmaster's letter to her sister, but Severus had been the one to convince her to do it.

"What's so great about Slytherin anyway?" She demanded.

"What's so great about Slytherin?" A voice said behind them. Lily turned around to see an older boy with long blonde hair, looking down at her with deep distaste.

"But-" He gaped. "They were making fun of Slytherin. I-"

"She didn't mean it," Severus said quickly, and before she could protest, he had introduced them.

"Evans? Must be a mudblood." He sneered. Lily frowned. The word was obviously an insult, but she had no idea what it meant. Apparently, her friend did because he gave her a hesitant look.

"Listen here, mudblood. You don't belong here. Why don't you run back to your pathetic muggle world?"

Now, everything made sense to Lily. She gave Severus a betrayed look. He had promised her that she wouldn't be less than anyone because of her normal heritage. Suddenly, all her fears of not belonging crashed down, and she felt like she would cry.

"Any problems here?" A deep voice said as Lily viciously blinked back tears.

Another boy, closer to the blonde boy's age, had joined them. Like the first boy, he also had a gleaming prefect badge but was wearing robes of red and gold.

"None of your business, Shacklebolt." The blonde sneered.

"It is if you are terrorising first years, Malfoy."

Malfoy gave them a disgusted look before walking away.

"Are you alright?" The other boy asked. Lily nodded.

"I'm Kingsley. What's your name?"

"Lily Evans." She said, a bit shyly.

"Don't you have a compartment? You could sit with my friends and me if you like." He offered.

"Thank you." She said, relieved. Kingsley had a voice that somehow made her feel calm and safe.

She turned to call Severus, but he was staring after Malfoy. She felt a spike of irritation flare up. She had defended him when those boys had taunted him, but he couldn't be bothered to do the same.

"I'm going to sit with Kingsley." She stated.

"But Lily, he's a Gryffindor." He whispered.

"So? I'd much rather be a Gryffindor than a Slytherin. You can go after him if you like, but I'm not coming with you."

Severus looked conflicted, before relenting.

"No, no. I want to sit with you." He said and followed her into Kingley's compartment.

Marlene had left to look for James once Anne and Linda had started talking about a curriculum that she could barely understand. She felt a pang of sadness as she realised that they'd probably be in different houses. She never was one for learning, so she doubted that she would be in Ravenclaw with them. She hoped that at least she and James would be in the same house. She was so lost in thought that she bumped into someone, causing them to topple over.

"I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going." She said in a breadth as she helped the boy up.

"It's okay." he squeaked.

"I'm Marlene Mckinnon. What's your name?" She smiled.

"Peter Pettigrew."

"You can sit with me. I think my friend, James, would have found a compartment by now." She said and bounded down the aisle. "Come on."

He hurried to keep up with her as she peeked into every compartment to see if he was there. Where was he? Was he still trying to get detention? Maybe she should have gone with him. She came to an abrupt half as she saw him laughing with someone else, his compartment already full. He caught her eye, and she could see it in his eyes that he had forgotten about her. Typical James. He really could forget everything when he got excited. She shrugged, trying to push away any embarrassment and told Peter to keep walking.

"How much longer do you think we need to look?" Peter asked, struggling to carry his trunk.

"Hello, Peter. Don't you have anywhere to sit?" She asked, and he shook his head no.

"I don't know." She said, looking back. "Seems all of th-"

"Mckinnon." Marlene turned and found herself face to face with Narcissa Black.

"Black." She said, biting the inside of her mouth to keep from laughing. The last time she had seen her, she had been covered head to toe in pumpkin juice.

"You shouldn't be running about the train." She said stiffly.

"I'm not. We're looking for a compartment."

"I find it hard to believe that you still haven't found-"

"There she is! Hey, I've been looking everywhere for you! Where's our compartment?" Marlene called out to a girl nearby, who turned to her in surprise. She took one look at Narcissa and understanding dawned on her face.

"It's right here. I've been waiting for you." She said smoothly. "Can I help you, Black?"

"No. Just make sure your friend isn't loose around the place." She sneered.

"Who'll make sure you're not loose around the place," Marlene muttered, and Peter sniggered beside her.

"Thanks a lot for that." Marlene grinned once she was out of earshot.

"No problem. I'm Dorcas Meadows." The other girl smiled.

"Marlene. That's Peter."

"If you guys really need a compartment, you could share with Mary and me."

"Thank you so much! You're our knight in Gryffindor armour." Marlene sighed dramatically.

"Not yet but we will be once we tell you all you need to know about being first years. Second years like us are without a doubt the wisest..." She launched into a detailed account of her adventures as a first year, with Mary chiming in between and Peter listening in awe and Marlene relaxed for the first time that day.

Alice Prewett was not happy. Ever since her cousin, Molly, had run away with Arthur Weasley, the purebloods had made sure to make their hateful opinions known to the remaining members of the family. She had sat down with Anastasia Abbot and Edgar Bones when Parkinson and his gang had bullied them out. Ana and Edgar had joined Edgar's sister, but her friends were less than receptive of the now defamed Prewetts.

So now Alice was once again without a seat despite getting on the train half an hour before its departure. Life really was unfair. She wondered if the other first years had faced the same problem. Probably not.

It wasn't her fault that her cousin had run off with someone or that her aunt and uncle hadn't approved of their union. Personally, Alice thought it was quite selfish of Molly to abandon them, without a second thought-

The train jerked, and Alice tripped just as a compartment door opened. She shrieked, sure that she was going to fall headfirst into the ground, but a pair of arms caught her. She opened her eyes to see the most handsome face she had ever seen in her life, staring back at her with concern. His brown hair was neatly kept, and his eyes reminded her of her favourite chocolate pudding.

His lips were moving, and she was suddenly pulled back from her happy trance.

"What?" She exclaimed in a high pitched voice.

"Are you okay?"

"Can you let go then?" He asked bashfully, and she realised that she was still clinging to him like a vine. She jumped back, blushing and spluttering, and then the most embarrassing thing that could happen happened. She tripped over her suitcase and fell flat on her back. She closed her eyes, wishing that the earth would just swallow her whole. She would have happily lain there for the rest of the trip if it meant that she had somehow not made a fool of herself in front of the handsome boy.

"Are-are you okay?" Oh, Merlin. His voice was way too close, and Alice squinted through her eyelids to see him crouching beside her head. No. Why couldn't he just have walked away? Because then he wouldn't be such a hero. A voice said in the back of her mind.

Swallowing her pride and dignity, Alice scrambled to her feet.

"Oh-yes, thank you." She said, attempting to smile.

"Yes, I-yes. I'll be going now. Bye." She turned and started in the same direction she had come from.

"Wait!" He called. "There aren't any seats left there."

"That's okay!" She said and continued walking. She'd much rather stand for the rest of the trip rather than make a fool out of herself in front of him again.

"No, wait! The last compartment is empty except for one boy."

Alice stopped. She could stand the rest of the way to Hogwarts or turn back around and sit comfortably. But the latter option meant facing the handsome boy again, and Alice wasn't sure she could do that without humiliating herself further. Gathering her courage, mostly because her legs were hurting from having tripped two times in two minutes, she turned back towards him.

He smiled. "I'm Frank Longbottom by the way. Are you a first year?"

"Yes. Alice Prewett." She saw recognition light his eyes and waited for the insults to come.

"Have a good year, Alice. Don't worry. Everyone's nervous as a first year." He said kindly and waved before joining his friends. And at that moment, Alice understood Molly for the first time because she knew that she too would run away with Frank Longbottom if she got the chance.

Remus Lupin was excited, though you wouldn't guess that, given his serious expression. Ever since the werewolf attack when he was five, he had given up all hope of ever going to Hogwarts like his father. But two months ago, Headmaster Dumbledore had arrived at his house like a godsent angel and had given him a chance at what he was sure was out of his reach. His parents had been sceptical at first. How on earth could a werewolf go to a boarding school with normal students? But his pleas and the Headmaster's reassurances had finally eased their concerns enough for them to let him go, at least for a year. If he could adjust well, without letting anybody know his secret, he could stay.

Remus knew just how dangerous life would be for him if he were outed as a werewolf. He knew his parents' concerns were legitimate, but he was determined to make it work.

He had set rules for himself. Don't gain attention. Talk to no one. Follow Professor Dumbledore's instructions.

So he had chosen the last compartment in the hope that no one else would join him. He had taken a book and was pretending to read when the door opened. Remus tensed and refrained from looking up. Maybe if he didn't respond, they'd go away.

"Excuse me?" She asked, and Remus carefully looked up at a blonde girl with a chubby face, standing awkwardly at the door.

"Can I sit here? It's the only empty one." She said.

Remus nodded and gave her a tentative smile before returning to stare at his book. This was an unexpected development. But he'd be fine. He just wouldn't engage in conversation.

He saw her watching him from the corner of his eye and steadfastly ignored her.

After half an hour, when Remus was sure she wouldn't speak, he looked up. She was staring out the window with a dreamy expression on her face. He wondered if all first years looked like that, in their excitement to reach Hogwarts. Before he could look away, she caught his eye and gave a half-smile. He quickly busied himself with his book, but it was too late.

"Yes." He said in a small voice, hoping she wouldn't pursue the conversation. Unfortunately, it seemed luck wasn't on his side.

"What's your name?"

"Remus Lupin." And only because it was the polite thing to do, he asked. "What's yours?"

"Are you a first year too?"

"Alice Prewett."

"What house do you want to get into?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe Ravenclaw because I love books." He raised his book, hoping she would take the hint.

"Oh. I'm hoping for Hufflepuff, but my cousins are all Gryffindors."

"Oh."

There was an uncomfortable silence after that and Remus realised that she was trying as hard to make conversation as he was trying to avoid it. He swallowed his guilt. It was better to be rude now because she'd be a whole lot worse if she found out about his condition.

The train journey carried on with little interruption other than Alice's cousins checking in on her and both of them taking turns to change into their school robes. As he stepped onto the platform at Hogsmeade, Remus knew that while he was different, at that moment, he felt just like everyone else as he stood there with excited anticipation about this new phase of their lives. Whatever happens, it was going to be a glorious adventure.

[darknessisafriend]

Reader is student who on a good day receives lots of candy and shares one with Carnival. When Arthur as Joker has shot Murray and escapes, he spots the same student among the crowd, trying to escape the rioting going on around her. He goes after her and avoids being captured again. Instead, he follows student to her apartment. (I am all up for dubcon smut, but might as well end in sweet fluff)

Ok I didn’t planned it to be fluff but it turned so soft like I was cryin’ and melting at the same time!!!! I hope you’ll like it ^^

Sweets

You were used to see him you see him every day doing his gig when you come back from college, you never really stopped but you always slowed down, you liked his dynamism, he was always smiling. And you didn’t dare to admit it out loud, but you had a little crush on him, maybe you were just into clowns, who knows…more seriously he had some serious moves, always dancing on the rhythm of the man playing piano, and he had gorgeous eyes, you’d love to be closer to memorize their details, but you never dared. After all you were just a student, the guy had a job and was probably 10 years older than you or more, so either he would never be interested in you or he’s already taken.

One day you had received lots of sweets in class, you had this cool professor who always distributed sweets to the whole class before Christmas holidays. And yeah you were finally in holidays, you were super excited to sleep and do nothing, literally. As you took your usual path to home, you reached the place where the clown performed, you had learned that his name was Carnival when one day a little kid had interacted with him. And this time you stopped to watch him, you stayed a bit far so he would not see you. At some point he stopped he was probably finished, he went to the side in your direction actually ‘oh shit did he see me?’  but apparently, he didn’t, he leans against the wall not far from you, taking out of his pocket a pack of cigarette, he brought one to his lips, lighting it, he took a long drag, he looked exhausted.

He turned his head, his eyes landing on you, and oh gosh they were gorgeous, this light green was something you had rarely seen, so deep and attractive… that’s when you realized you had been staring at him the whole time, you opened and closed your mouth several times before muttering “sorry” he continued to look at you a small smile forming on his lips. You didn’t know what to say, if you had the money you would have given him a tip for his hard work; you suddenly remembered you had a whole bag of sweets, it was better than nothing you thought. So you quickly reached for it in your backpack, took a nice handful of them, and took a few steps towards him, a kind smile on your lips and offered him your hand full of sweets.

“Want some?” you asked him. You could tell he was honestly surprised by your gesture and looked at you for a bit, then he nodded taking only one candy.

“Thank you…” he smiled, he unwrapped it and put it in his mouth, briefly closing his eyes at the taste of the sweet. You blushed, happy to brighten his day. But now it was time for you to go, let’s not bother the man any longer.

“I should go…have a nice evening Carnival.” You said in a sympathetic tone, giving him a bright smile as you left to go home.

What you didn’t see is that the clown eyes were following you, he had pushed himself from the wall, he had wanted to ask for your name and maybe even get a coffee together, but he never dared to catch you…

As days and weeks passed you never saw Carnival again, even though you passed in the same street every day. Maybe he was working in another place, but you missed his presence, his dancing was the ray of sunshine in your day. At some point you just avoided to go out, because of the things happening, the murder of these Wall Street guys which you didn’t really care about because people were dying every day, especially the poor, disabled or even students like you and nobody ever mentions their names. What worried you the most were the riots, of course people needed to be heard, but the chaos and insecurity these riots were generating was scaring you.

And with time it only got worse, especially tonight, you went to the supermarket, and suddenly outside it was chaos, people started to come in the shop, breaking the windows and stealing. You quickly escaped the shop, and, in the streets, cars were on fire, people screaming and chanting slogans, the police was clearly outnumbered. You looked around trying to find the best way to get home safely. You decided the walk fast home, not look at anyone, just walk fast. As you past by a an electronic shop, from the corner of your eyes you saw a TV broadcasting Murray Franklin Show, you never watched this but some friends of yours had told you about it, apparently, they had showed the video of a guy doing stand up comedy but having some sort of nervous laughter attack; you didn’t get what was so funny about this, you briefly stopped at the title of the news ‘Murray shot dead on live show by a clown’ you frowned at this, ‘was this guy some sort of symbol of the riots out there?’

A loud noise made you jumped and yelp in surprise, it seems a car crash had happened, you hoped the people in there were okay…but now something more important was in your mind than check, get out of this mess alive. You started to walk again but you were a bit lost, the chaos and destruction had completely changed your surroundings, you looked around trying to distinguish something familiar. You were panting, ‘what if I couldn’t go home?’ you started to think panicked. You closed your eyes trying to focus on calming your breathing, it was the only way you were able to think. When you succeeded, you opened your eyes and finally recognized where you were, nothing will stop you, you will go home safely no matter what.

Joker’s side

Fog…fog everywhere…everything hurts…there’s noise all around him, what’ s going on? He wonders, the noise grows stronger making his whole-body tremble. Suddenly, a rough cough erupts from his chest, he can’t contain it, as he coughs, the back of his head hits something metallic, increasing his headache, he feels warm liquid on his lips, the taste like iron. When he finally open his eyes all he sees are people, people gathered around him, lights everywhere in the night, they are wearing clown masks, he hears them calling his name, his stage name ‘Joker’. He wonders what’s happening why people are calling his name? suddenly everything rushes back to his mind, his mother, Murray, how he got arrested until he lost consciousness. He painfully gets up to look around, he sees the police car he was in, collided by an ambulance, how ironic…

But people are cheering for him, he can’t believe it, they’re finally seeing him, they love him…he wants to see if it’s really happening, so he poses and then starts dancing on top of this police car, he spins and people cheer even more, yes, he’s loved, finally…he feels tears prickling in his eyes…

He feels more blood in his mouth, his blood, crimson red just like his paint, slowly he puts his fingers in his mouth, gathering blood on it, and traces up from the corner of his lips to his cheekbones, forming a smile because he is happy now, it only costed him everything and to kill his own mind, now he’s happy, he can’t help but laugh.

Suddenly he hears sirens coming closer, he has to get out here, he won’t be caught again, not now that he’s free. His eyes are searching the crown looking for a path where he could escape, unnoticed. He gets off the car, and pushes through the people, now some of them are running away, other running towards the police to fight them.

As his eyes look for a way to go, he spots a young woman, who’s apparently looking to go away too, her clothes, her hair somehow looks familiar to him, he squints his eyes to try to recognize her, when finally she look the crowd, he remembers, the sweets girl! He thinks quickly, you’re the only way for him to hide, when you will recognize him, you will help him! He’s sure of it!  

He starts to run after you, but then he realize that you might have heard of the murders and Murray…what if you’re scared of him or repulsed and doesn’t want to talk to him? To this thought he slows down. He’s going to follow you, to your place, and away from the cops, he will try to talk to you, explain everything and you’ll understand.

 Your POV

You were getting away from the riots easier than you thought, the streets were empty, most people in the main avenue. You were almost home, you sighed in relief, but you suddenly turned to look if someone had followed you; everything was empty apart from rats in the trash bags, everything was silent apart from the muffled roar of the riots. For some reason you thought that someone was following you, you shook your head a continued your way home. You were living on the first floor of a small building, mostly occupied by students which meant it could get pretty noisy at night especially week ends, but other than that it was safe, it’s all that mattered.  You finally entered the building and walked straight to your door, your searched for your keys and paused, you swear you’d heard something, so you just don’t move and do as less noise as possible, listening for anything, that’s when you heard it again, it was someone breathing behind you! You jumped and turned, you’re back hitting your door, you yelped in anticipation, squeezing your eyes shut briefly seeing the shape of someone.

But nothing came, your heart was beating so fast that it was the only thing you could hear.

“I’m…I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to scare you…” the voice said, it’s tone strangely apologetic and soft. Slowly you opened your eyes, trying to calm down your breathing. Your eyes landed on a man wearing colorful costume and a clown makeup, it reminded you of something, you opened wide your eyes as your remembered that you had seen him on TV, the killer.

“What do you want?” you shivered, looking at your feet ‘please don’t hurt me’. The man took a deep breath, and shuffle like he was unsure.

“It’s me…Carnival…” he lamented, his sad tone struck you, until you processed what he had just said, ‘Carnival as in the happy clown down the street?’ you finally looked up to meet his eyes, you instantly recognized them, those beautiful green eyes, they were wet and there’s was glow of hope in them. You realize he was probably looking for your help.

“But…you killed someone.” You replied disappointed by what he had done. He nodded not trying to hide it from you, you realized he had a big gash on his forehead still bleeding.

“I did but he deserved it, you’ve seen what he did to me right?” he asked, his voice surer, showing he didn’t regret it.

“No, I…” you admitted confused.

“Then please just let me explain…” he pleaded, almost reaching out to touch you, but he refrained when he saw you flinch. You passed a trembling hand on your forehead, you didn’t know what to do, even in this moment he looked pure and nice just like the Carnival you used to watch, but you couldn’t help but think he might hurt you too. He seemed to understand what was going through your mind.

“I won’t hurt you, I don’t want to hurt you…I need your help.” He added, lifting his hands in sign of peace. Suddenly on your left you heard the noise of someone opening its door, without thinking you quickly opened yours and shoved Carnival inside, as you were entering the voice of your neighbor called you.

“Y/N is everything alright? I heard screaming” he asked.

“Oh yeah, yeah…it’s just my boyfriend he surprised me and with what’s happening outside I’m a bit jumpy that’s all.” You jabbered, scratching the back of your head, giving him a small smile.

“Oh ok then…goodnight.” He wished you, you quickly closed your door, sighing in relief and looked for the clown. He was watching you curiously, with some sort of admiration, a small smile playing on his lips.

“Your boyfriend?” he hinted, teasing. You retained a laugh and rolled your eyes.

“Seriously?” you replied, slightly amused that it’s the only thing bothering him. You put your bags on the counter and took off your coat always facing him just in case he tried something. He looked around you small studio, slightly fidgeting his hands. You watched him, apart from the blood he looked perfectly normal, what exactly happened?

“Oh my name’s Arthur.” He told you, walking towards you, extending his hand to you. You looked at it for a moment then took it.

“Y/N” you replied. He nodded, and repeated your name, softly chuckling.

“So care to tell me what happened?” you asked him, you were curious but also afraid to discover that you let some sort of psychopath in your studio. He sat on your chair, he seemed to feel a bit weak, probably due to his wounds. Then he started from the beginning, his life, his condition, how people treated him like a freak, then the murder of the 3 guys in the subway. However this time you weren’t scared because you understood that he simply defended himself and knew he would be sent to prison because he wouldn’t be able to get a good attorney. Then he told you about this Murray mocking him.

“So it was you on the video?” you asked pained to imagine what he went through, he nodded “Have you seen it?” he asked you.

“No, I don’t watch this show…but I heard about the video…” you explained feeling empathy for Arthur.

“They just wanted to make fun of me” he snarled, his eyes feeling with hatred “I won’t ever again be mocked or beaten, they will die” he declared deadly serious. You swallowed feeling the strength and level of dangerous nature he could reach. But as you’ve heard once ‘all it takes is one bad day’ for someone to let go and give in to insanity.  Honestly you didn’t know what to say about all this, you simply understood how he ended up this way and there was nothing really to do about this, deep down you wished you had been there for him, if only one single person had cared for him, things would be different and you couldn’t help but think you could be there for him now? Could it help? What about the consequences?

“I’m gonna get some compresses, we need to clean this…” you declared motioning to his forehead, giving him a compassionate smile.

You came back with everything you needed, you approached him, not so afraid anymore and he was actually calm, he didn’t look like he was having a psychosis episode or something like that. Delicately you brushed his hair out of his forehead, and carefully applied the compress, cleaning the cut, you also took care of smaller cuts, Arthur was watching you work on him.

“Why did you come to me?” you asked him after several minutes, this question was burning your lips since the beginning; he had seen you only once and he had followers in all Gotham now, surely somebody would have hidden him…he let out a small laugh.

“I saw you, among all the people there, you caught my eye, I remembered that offered me sweets…” the tone of his voice changes, strangled with emotion “you had looked at me so nicely and gave me something without expecting something in return”. His eyes were nostalgic, remembering this moment, you smiled at this memory.

“You know, I actually watched you every day…I just…for some reason was hiding, I didn’t want you to see me, that’s how we met actually I was watching and I didn’t expect you to come next to me and see me” you confessed blushing and chuckling at how ridiculous you had been. You positioned yourself between his legs to clean the blood around his lips, your fingers delicately cupping his jaw. Your thumb soothingly caressing his cheek; while you cleaned his lips, he stayed silent, still watching your every movement as if you were fascinating, in fact he was actually entranced by your beauty and your care for him. When you finished, you didn’t move, your thumb softly caressed his lower lip, your eyes looking at them, then you looked back at his eyes, they were looking at you with adoration.

“I have to confess something too.” He started with a low voice, intimate “when you left, I wanted to run to you, ask for your name and offer you a coffee, a date actually.”

“Really?” you reply surprised that he was actually interested in you.

“Yes” he cooed, a beautiful smile forming on his lips “I loved you the second I laid my eyes on you.” He added slowly lifting his hands and resting them on your hips. You released a breath you didn’t realize you had been holding, you genuinely smiled at his confession and softly bit your lips.

He studently brought you closer to him, pressing your body against his and crashing his lips against yours, you tasted his blood, metallic, his tongue was soft against yours, you buried your fingers in his green locks, the both of you releasing the restrained desire you had for each other.    

“We must make up for lost time kitten…” he purred against your lips, smirking. Oh yes you will and even more…

[adamdriverwrites]

Carpe Noctem || Part 1

Plot summary: Mob boss’s daughter & bodyguard au ft. Kylo Ren. Based off this plot bunny (x)

Warnings: extreme violence, swearing, sexual themes, mentions of non consensual sexual violence, drug use and other explicit themes in this story.

Word count: 3734

Pairing: Kylo Ren/Reader

A/N: here is chapter one, im super excited to delve into this, enjoy! tell me what you think!

Taglist: let me know if you want to be added!

Masterlist here

After all these years being away from your home, you didn’t think that the reason for your return would be under such unfortunate circumstances. One of your brothers going to jail, perhaps, but not the funeral of your beloved sister. You weren’t close with your family, you talked to your Father every couple of months when you needed him to send money to help with university fees and such, but it had been a very long time since you had seen any of them in person.

Mallory was the only one that bothered to visit you - lugging herself halfway across the world to spend Christmas or your birthday together.

You thought you felt hopeless and alone before…

You hadn’t talked to your Dad since that night, save for a lone email telling him you would fly in on Thursday and be staying for an unknown amount of time. You didn’t know what to say, and didn’t want to talk to anyone. You reveled in your silence, grabbing an uber home instead of asking him or one of your brothers for a ride. You landed at 1 pm in New York and figured they would be busy. The driver tried to make small talk, but you kept it to a minimum. Directing him where to go, he drove out of the city, entering suburbia and continuing on until the distance between properties grew far greater. Leading him to a particular neighborhood of large mansions separated by sprawling fields and lush forests until you arrived at your driveway. Driving down the long, winding gravel road, large willow trees lining either side, the two of you maneuvered around the circular driveway. pulling up to a stop at the front door. You peered out the window, looking at the dark stone and large glass, the cold Snoke family manor standing tall in front of you. It looked exactly the same as you remembered. Whispering a thanks, you made exit with your one measly suitcase full of belongings.

You had made a silent promise to yourself you wouldn’t come back for as long as you could get away with it. No one could hold a grudge like you, and when your father sent you away to boarding school at the tender age of 13 you never really forgot how much it hurt.

You had come home for one Christmas holidays when you were 16. It had been such a disaster that you hadn’t been back since.

8 years…. The spell broken all because of Mallory. She had been begging you to come home for a long time. And it would seem she finally got her way. You just hated that she wasn’t here to see it.

Walking up to the front door, you grabbed the handle and pushed, only to be met with a force. You almost headbutted the hard, black painted wood, before realizing it was locked. With a sigh and a curse, you knocked on it with your knuckles. Fancy being locked out of your own house…

There was no answer, and you knocked again, this time your fist pounding harder against the door.

A muffled voice came from inside, muttering they were ‘coming and to ’chill the fuck out’. You held your breath, nerves rising to the precipice, you crossed your fingers and toes it wasn’t your brother Lyon. The door swung open, a gust of wind blowing your hair around your face and you were met with someone familiar.

Dark skin, black hair, and a dashingly perfect smile that reminded you of being a kid.

Finn breathed out your name, his smile growing wider as he pulled you in for a hug, lifting you off the ground in the process. You smiled back, dropping your duffel bag to wrap both arms around him in return.

“Welcome home!” He laughed, separating to look at you again. You went to reach for your luggage but he was quick to pick it up. His eyes met yours again and he maintained his smile, looking you over before he shook his head. “Look at you. All grown up.”

You gave him a wry smile. “That’s the funny thing about time…” you looked past him at the wide expanse of the foyer, proceeding to walk through the doorway. Glistening black, white and cream marble, elaborate moldings and every inch sparkling clean. It all looked exactly the same. “Although, I could say the same about you.“

You had a bit of a crush on Finn growing up. He was closest to your age, but still a little older that you revered his actions and jokes like he was the funniest guy on the planet. He was always around because his Dad worked for your Father, and even though he was friends with your older brother’s, he was always so nice to you. Even if you were an annoying little kid. Giving you  a sideways smirk, he used his free arm to curl up and show off his arms, flexing and tensing his muscles. "Well, I uh, have been hitting the gym pretty hard lately.”

“I can tell.” You smiled, if not speaking the truth then only to bolster his confidence he was clearly searching for. You walked deeper into the foyer, eyes casting upward at the tall ceilings. After all these years, you had forgotten how expansive and extravagant it really was. All of it was a nostalgic fueled kick in the face.

“Hey, listen, I’m sorry about Mallory-”

“Me too.” You cut him off. If anything to shut down the conversation so you wouldn’t have to talk about it. “Is Dad home?”

“Yeah. He’s in his office. C'mon,” He shut the large double doors behind him and the two of you walked forward. You glanced at the sprawling hallway in front of you, walking underneath the double curving stairways on either side. As you ventured further, soft voices could be heard. The voices increased in volume, none of them readily recognizable, all sounds merging to create a deep baritone completely unfamiliar to your ears.

“He’s been holed up in his office for the past few days.” Finn explained quietly to you, pushing towards the rumpus room. “You might just be able to pull him out of his funk.”

You sniggered bitterly. “I’m about to make it worse.”

Finn looked back at you. “Don’t say that. He loves you, you know.”

The snigger turned into a small laugh. Agreeing again only to move past the conversation and be done with it. “Yeah.”

You two stopped outside the double doors of the recreation room. Glancing inside the smokey dwelling, you saw no familiar faces. You could rest easy for another minute knowing that you weren’t about to run into any of your brothers. There was about 5 men scattered about, talking, laughing, drinking and smoking. The room was long, filled with a large pool table placed in the center, floor to ceiling bookshelves covered the walls, separated only by windows that peered into the front and the back of the property. Black leather chesterfield sofas pushed to the sides of the room with a few coffee tables littered nearby. It continued on, ending with two more large double doors that led to your Father’s office. You always hated that daunting walk when you were a kid. You gathered it was a deterrent your Dad set in place so he didn’t have to talk to his children that often. They were less likely to walk through a room of gangsters and criminals just to bug their Father when he was working.

“Go on through. I’ll take your stuff up to your room for you.”

“Thanks, Finn.”

You stepped forward, ignoring the looks from people you didn’t recognize, keeping your eyes trained on the doors at the end of the room.

“Holy. Shit.” Your head turned to the voice, and leaning against the bookcase in the dark corner of the room and smoking a cigarette was Phasma. She walked into the light, towering over your short figure, looking almost exactly the same as you remembered. Gorgeous blonde hair in perfectly in place and immaculately tailored suit adorning her as always.

You let a genuine smile curve your lips, and you met her halfway. Phasma was one of the very few people who you could have said you had actually missed. “The prodigal daughter returns…” her smirk copied your own, and her blue eyes cast over your form. “Looking good, Snoke.”

“You too.” You smiled and eyed her cigarette. Maybe it would help your nerves. “Can I please have one of those?”

She pulled an extra from the pack in her pocket and handed it over. “Don’t tell him you got it from me.”

“I’m not a kid anymore, Gwen.”

“I guess not.” She eyed your figure, and you resisted the urge to roll your eyes.

“Alright,” you sighed heavily, coming to the realization this might be harder than you thought it was going to be. “Time to bite the bullet. Wish me luck.”

She stepped aside with a soft smile. Gripping the cigarette in your hand, you walked forward, ignoring the other eyes in the room staring at you. All faceless lackeys, ready to die for your Father’s cause. Coming to a stop in front of the large double, oak doors, lacquered completely in a dark stain, you took a deep breath and prepared yourself. You hadn’t seen your Father in years, and although you had talked, him seeing your face was a different story. The reason he sent you away in the first place was only more prominent now. Raising your fist, you knocked on the door and waited patiently for an answer. Nostalgia kicking in once more, like all the times you were a kid, standing outside this very door and waiting for your Father to beckon you inside.

God, that was shit you would have preferred to forget.

A muffled reply beckoned you to ’come in’. Your hand that was vacant of your unlit cigarette gripped the black iron door knob, lion’s head in a roaring position. Some more gaudy detailing. Twisting it with much more force than necessary, you pushed the heavy door and entered.

The room was smoky, the smell of tobacco assaulting your senses first. The room was slightly darker than the recreation room, and when you shut the door behind you, you realized it was deathly quiet. Noise from the outside barely distinguishable in the fortress that was your Father’s office. A stark contrast to the loud men outside drinking and smoking and playing pool and having fun. This was suddenly the sordid den reserved for strategical talks you weren’t privy to as a kid.

His desk stood center at the far end, two back leather chairs in front, facing it. You noticed an unfamiliar man first, facing away from you. Only the back of his head and broad shoulders visible. Then your eyes fluttered to your Father, leaned back in his chair, head resting softly in his hand, eyes focused on the unknown man before they ventured up towards you. He sat up quickly, his position changing the second he realized who had just entered.

“Hi.” He looked the same as you remembered, if only with a few more wrinkles and more grey hair, though the dark bags under his eyes suggested he was feeling more human than usual.

When your Father stood up and made his way around his desk, the unknown man turned to glance in your direction, and his eyes met your own. Eyebrow perking slightly as he looked at you fully.

“Wow, kiddo.” the proximity of your Father’s voice caught your attention again, and you turned to see he was close. Bright blue eyes glancing all over your face, and a smile covering his lips, before his arms surrounded you and pulled you in for a hug. He was taller than you, and your face pressed against his chest. You frowned at the feeling of contact; not because it was unpleasant, just unfamiliar. You didn’t know which one of those was more sad. Before you could even think about raising your arms from your side to wrap them around him in return, he pulled away. Hands grasping your shoulders as held you in front of him. “Look at you. You’re all grown up, and…” His voice trailed off as his eyes shined with something darker, more solemn.  "You look just like her.“

And there it was. The words you didn’t want to hear out of your Father’s mouth. Like you didn’t live in your Mother’s shadow enough already. You were almost all out of fake smiles at the sound of that comment. You gifted a half-assed one to him out of respect for Mallory’s memory.

"It’s so good to have you back home.” you bit back a snarky comment about why the fuck he would send you away in the first place then, also out of respect for your sister. You guess you still harbored some resentment. You pegged it down to your overwhelmed senses and assaulted nostalgia. Being back home was making you feel a lot of things in a very short amount of time, it was hard to cope. “It’s been a while, sweetheart.”

“Yeah.” Your eyes shifted in the direction of the man behind your father. He was now standing, dark eyes staring at you and your interaction with your Dad. A penetrating gaze that seemed like he was assessing you and your words intently. You didn’t recognize him, and you definitely would have remembered a man looking like that working for your father. Strong roman nose, black eyes that looked like he could kill, a scar running down the right side of his face, broad shoulders and large muscles wound tightly under the fabric of his black suit. An intimidating presence indeed.

“That’s Kylo.” Your Father spoke, walking around his desk. You instinctively followed him, walking towards the man he just introduced, and as you approached the seat, his eyes raked over your form. “Kylo, this is my daughter.”

“Hello.” A quiet voice erupted from your lips, one that you were unfamiliar with. You weren’t even entirely sure it was your own. You blamed this new man, and his piercing gaze. He didn’t speak, or smile a hello in return, only looked you up and down as you moved to sit in a chair, then walked away to the side of the room without a word.

Jesus fucking Christ. Who was this guy?

“He will be…” your Father’s words paused and you looked back at him to see him hesitant, “Looking after you while you’re here.”

“What?”

“Since Mallory’s passing, I have assigned some of my men to your brother’s. Kylo is my best man, and I’ve assigned him to you.”

Your eyebrows furrowed deeply. Was he serious? “You want me to have a bodyguard?”

“What happened to Mallory– I don’t think was an accident, and before she…” your Father hesitated once more. Words catching in his throat. You leaned forward in your seat, eager to hear the words spill from his lips. Before Mallory what? You had so many questions, and after the long flight with no sleep the amount of questions had doubled, tripled. You had fought sleep with the processing of information and trying to deal with it in your own way; paranoia fueled reasoning. You wanted to question him intently, but not in front of company, and not while being home all of 5 minutes. But the fact he didn’t think it was an accident? That perhaps Mallory’s death could have been intentional? Now, that was the sort of shit you wanted to hear desperately.

“Some things happened with work,” he continued, “And I don’t want to bury any more of my children. So Kylo will be looking after you while we get to the bottom of this.”

Your gaze flipped over to the man in the corner of the room, back towards you, pouring a drink from the crystal decanter full of scotch. He turned, and you noticed a lit cigarette now dangling between his large fingers. He eyed you with the same look; devoid of any emotion and impossibly hard to read. Though one thing you could infer by the way he stared at you, he didn’t look like it was his first choice of preferred activity; looking after the boss’s daughter. You let your mind wander to the possibilities of his position working under your Father. He didn’t seem like the usual lackey that hung around the Snoke manor, so what the hell did he do exactly?

“No.”

“No?” He questioned you, surprised at the notion. You gathered it had been a long time since anyone had the balls to tell him ‘no’.

“I don’t need a bodyguard. I haven’t been home since I was 16. No one knows who I am, and if they do, then they don’t know what I look like.” A lie, though you stood by the conviction in your voice. “I’ll be fine. I can look after myself.” Another lie.

“Sorry, kiddo, but that’s not going to happen,” Something behind his eyes changed and his voice softened an infinitesimal amount, staring deep at your face. Another first. Fuck, something must have been wrong. “you’re all I got left.”

You so desperately wanted to tell him that ’you weren’t her’, and that you weren’t destined to fall to the same fate as your Mother. However, the look on his face and the intent behind his eyes, you knew he wouldn’t budge. Stubborn old fool set in his ways. But that didn’t mean you had to do exactly what he said, so you begrudgingly accepted with a nod of your head. Easily ignoring the sentiment behind his comment, especially when you had a whole childhood of neglect at your disposal.

“What time is the funeral tomorrow?"You changed the topic, already eager to talk about something else.

"2 p.m, Greenwood Cemetery…” His eyes cast over his desk. “She’s being buried next to your mother.”

“Okay.” you nodded your head and placed the cigarette you had been holding between your lips. Your father had never seen you smoke, and you figured it wasn’t a secret worth keeping if you were going to be here an undisclosed amount of time. “Well, I’m going to go unpack, sleep off this jet lag.”

You stood up before any more words could be spoken. Already well over this conversation. You glanced in your Father’s direction before turning around and walking towards the exit. Your eyes locked with Kylo’s once more, finding that he was still very intently observing you. You didn’t like that one bit.

Leaving through the doors, you were immediately hit with the loud noise of laughter and pool cues hitting balls - a stark contrast compared to the deathly silence in your Father’s office, and you were grateful that interaction was over.

You were quick to make it out of the room, through the long hallways, up the winding stairs and to the east wing of the Snoke manor. Your bedroom was far away from the madness of the central part of the house. You hoped that most of this trip could be spent in relative solitude, if you kept away then maybe it could even be remembered as bearable.

You ventured to end of the eastern hallway, quiet compared to a lot of the house. Your bedroom doors were left open, you assumed by Finn, who had also placed your suitcase on top of your bed. You walked further in, closing the dark wood doors behind you, and glanced around. It was much like the rest of the house, tall ceilings with elaborate moldings and designs. Floor to ceiling windows contrasted with large red velvet curtains, perfect for keeping out the penetrating sunlight. Your room was almost the whole size of your apartment back home, and you forgot exactly how expansive this place was. Well, there was 16 bedrooms, a green house and a hedge maze, so how could you truly be surprised? Your family loved extravagance and wide open spaces, and if your father was still running the same way he used to, he needed somewhere to keep all his lackeys that resided on the property, and he liked that far away from his own quarters.  

There was hardly any furniture save for a large bed, and a slightly outdated tv and stereo system, and your vanity table. Though all surfaces in your room were lacking a layer of dust suggesting this room wasn’t as absent as it had been for all these years. You gathered your father had his cleaners in here before you arrived and made this room relatively hospitable.

Mallory’s soft voice ran through your head, ’He never lets anyone in there, you know. Just like your car in the dark, dingy part of the garage, no one’s allowed to touch your stuff’. You had sighed and told her to shut up, she always rambled when she was drunk. ’It’s like he’s waiting for you to come back.’

You went over to the vanity, hoping that everything was still in the drawers like you had left it. You remembered specifically one item that you desperately sought. Shoving a disgustingly old chapstick aside, along with a hair scrunchie or two, you found the little book of matches you reserved for when you liked to light candles. Taking it with you and sitting on the edge of the bed, you dejectedly lit your cigarette.

Inhaling the nicotine deeply, you collapsed backwards onto the feather down comforter. Letting the interaction with your Father sink in. Shock now moderately subsided, you focused on his words, on what he had said about Mallory. He didn’t think it was an accident either, and he had vaguely suggested that something bad had happened with work too. Obviously whatever had transpired was clearly bad enough to warrant a bodyguard for your protection. He told you that he was working on it, but that didn’t stifle any pain from the loss of your sister. You were hungry for justice and revenge, and you weren’t about to sit around and not contribute.

So, after Mallory was buried, and you were assured you could have a moment alone with your Dad, you were going to convince him to let you help. He owed you that much.

[theprodigypenguin]

Fanfic Masterlist

 In an attempt to boost my confidence I decided to make a masterlist of the fics I’ve managed to complete, because somehow seeing them all like this makes me feel super accomplished :3 and more motivated to write more!

Link to theprodigypenguin Ao3 Dashboard

King and Lionheart

Ship: Jeddy

Rating: M

Words: 6.3k (ongoing)

Summary: No summary, we die like men who can't write summaries.

Ao3 Link

should i have known that you would take hold (and never let go)

Ship: Jeddy

Rating: E

Words: 70k

Summary: James Potter likes to play the field when it comes to matters of the heart, inviting home men he hardly knows just to feel less lonely for a moment. As the oldest son and heir to his father's company, expectations and scrutiny are unavoidable. Giving himself up to someone, even under the guise of a lie, is his only escape. Yet his desire for acceptance leads to unpredicted circumstances that call for him to open his home and his heart for his own protection. Teddy Lupin lost his job two years ago, leading him down a path with no direction. Left with scars and trauma, all he truly wants is his old job back. The last thing he expected was for the richest man in London to offer him a job protecting his oldest son. Less expected than that, was how charming and irresistible he was. Though it was the last thing Teddy planned, in the end maybe a kindhearted heir with a protective heart of gold was exactly what he needed to move on.

Ao3 Link

Bad Liar 

Ship: James Sirius Potter/Craig Bowker Jr

Rating: M

Words: 33k

Summary: Truth or dare was supposed to be a stupid game for kids to play just to kill time. It was never meant to start something serious with someone whom Craig never would have been interested in otherwise.

Ao3 Link

Venom

Ship: Scorbus

Rating: G

Words: 1.8k 

Summary: A minor incident at Albus' Magizoology internship with the Scamanders ends with him bedridden at St Mungos with his unamused boyfriend as his caretaker.

Ao3 Link

Chances

Ship: Jeddy

Rating: E

Words: 78.7k

Summary: "There was just something about this man, though they’d never met before, never seen or spoken to each other before tonight. Maybe it was the bass of the music vibrating down to his bone marrow, the buzz from the whiskey or the crushing loneliness of having no one left. He was cold, and even after twenty-seven years of living, dating, breaking up, Teddy had never seen anything that could rival the honest warmth in Jamie’s eyes."

Ao3 Link

Recovery

Ship: none

Rating: G

Words: 5k 

Summary: Post Half-Blood Prince: Bill is dealing with the recovery and repercussions of Greyback's attack, confined to bed and miserable but desperate to reassure his worried family he's fine, when a surprise visit from his favorite brother finally lifts his spirits.

Ao3 Link

Love me Tender

Ship: Jeddy

Rating: G

Words: 4.5k

Summary: Teddy loved James. Tender and true; and James loved Teddy back.

Ao3 Link

Memory, Memory

Ship: minor Jeddy

Rating: G

Words: 3k 

Summary: Teddy visits his parents grave every year on the same day, but he always goes alone. This year turns out a bit different.

Ao3 Link

Damages

Ship: Jeddy

Rating: M

Words: 27.8k 

Summary: James wasn't one to hide things about himself from the people around him. He was brought up to be proud of who he was, every piece of himself. He wasn't ashamed of his sexuality or his preferences, the gender he was attracted to or otherwise, and his family wasn't ashamed of it either. No, in the end he was ashamed not for who he was, but for who he loved, and the fear that everyone else would be ashamed and would hate him for the same thing.

Ao3 Link 

Stargazing

Ship: Jeddy

Rating: G

Words: 2.6k

Summary: The lack of lighting made his eyes look like glass covering shadows, mirrors that had no discernible color but reflected all the stars that he seemed so entirely enthralled with. He looked like a charcoal oil painting on canvas, and Teddy was starting to become an avid art lover.

Ao3 Link

Woke the F*ck Up

Ship: Jeddy

Rating: G

Words: 10.8k 

Summary: When an ex who broke it off because James wouldn't put out re-enters his life and asks to have lunch together, James reaches out to Auror partner Teddy Lupin, who's all too happy to help scare away the little bastard, no matter how he has to do it.

Ao3 Link

OK

Ship: Jeddy

Rating: M

Words: 13.9k 

Summary: An Auror mission gone awry proves just how essential having a specialized clinic for Lycanthrope-Afflicted witches and wizards is.

Ao3 Link

Bones

Ship: Jeddy

Rating: E

Words: 15.3k 

Summary: The Potter's and Weasley's had always been Teddy's unofficial family, he'd grown up with them after all, but in the past he never would have imagined actually joining their family. Till now that is, and there was no one else Teddy would have wanted to share this day with.

Ao3 Link

Slow Down Time

Ship: Jeddy

Rating: G

Words: 6.3k

Summary: It was so domestic, Teddy always found himself in awe of it. That he'd grown up almost entirely alone, and somehow was blessed with this family. There had always been an empty space in his heart that could never be filled by those he grew up with.It was an empty space that ached unimaginably whenever he looked at pictures of his parents, whenever he visited their grave or saw it was May second on the calendar, because what he longed for the most was family of his own, his parents, shared blood, and now he had that.

Ao3 Link

Creation Out of Nothing

Ship: Lilyander

Rating: G

Words: 4.8k 

Summary: In retrospect, Lily and Lysander don't have much in common, but if you can't bond over feelings of self doubt and the concept of not being good enough for your family, then what else are you supposed to bond over?

Ao3 Link

Just a Scary Dream

Ship: none

Rating: G

Words: 5k 

Summary: When they were younger, Albus always went to James when he had a particularly bad dream. He grew out of it, but in light of recent events, the murders of Craig and his grandparents and his involvement with Delphini, the bad dreams had just gotten worse, and only one person was ever able to help him through those nightmares.

Ao3 Link

Moon Sick

Ship: Jeddy

Rating: G

Words: 9.5k

Summary: James is in his final year at Hogwarts, seventeen and thriving, but no matter how long he'd spent in Slughorn's class over the past few years, he still didn't much see the point of potions, and he was running out of time to finally get motivated about it. His seventeenth Christmas at The Burrow, however, proves a better teacher and motivator than Slughorn or his father ever were, as a dear friend becomes ill, where the only method of healing and relief is through the brewing of a special tonic. Though James has little to no interest in such things, if it's to help relieve the pain of someone he truly cares for, he would do just about anything.

Ao3 Link 

Thicker Than Water

Ship: none

Rating: G

Words: 15.5k 

Summary: James Sirius Potter loves his family, and he isn't shy about announcing it. He'll say it to their faces and say it to whoever is listening, that he loves his parents and his amazing sister, his cousins, aunts and uncles, even his ever frustrating younger brother, Albus. Difficult he may be to talk to sometimes, James still loves him, even if he struggles to make Albus understand that; but when Albus disappears not once, but three times, before the first term back at school is even halfway over, James starts to wonder, maybe he didn't tell Albus he loved him nearly enough, and worries if he didn't start saying it sooner, he'd lose his chance to entirely.

Ao3 Link

Holiday Dysfunction

Ship: Scorbus

Rating: G

Words: 26.3k

Summary: People say that if you have a confession to tell, the best thing to do would be to simply rip it off like a Band-aid, but for Albus that metaphorical Band-aid has been stuck in place for the past six years, and it's hard enough talking to your dad when he happens to be Harry Potter, so it makes things a little more complicated when you're also in love and married to the son of your father's former school rival and ex-death-eater. Throw a new kid into the blend and the Holiday Season just gets more festive.

Ao3 Link 

Stupid Deep

Ship: Jegulus

Rating: E

Words: 24.2k (ongoing)

Summary: October of 1981 came and went, Halloween night left James Potter with lasting mental and physical scars, his wife lost to him and his son marked by a madman who had the audacity to disappear before James could get his revenge. He'd lost so much in so short a time: his loving parents, his beloved wife, his long time friend; a betrayal that stung more than the curse to his chest ever could. He struggled to live, he regretted every breath, only living because he had to, because he had Harry to look after, but he ached in ways that shouldn't ever be endured by any human. James thought for sure everything was lost, even the things he still had seemed too far away and easy to lose. He doubted anything in the world could make it less painful. Until a chance miracle is brought to light, a former infatuation rekindled into burning flames, and the Gryffindor bravery James thought was long lost roars back to life inside of him. He'd lost so much, but if he could help it, he would not lose this. Not again.

Ao3 Link 

[herm-y-own]

Potter and Parkinson

I'm sure this has been done before, but I absolutely live for pansy/Harry friendship - Pansy and Harry become friends even before Drarry happens - it's eighth year, and of course all the returning students are grouped in one big dorm because house unity and all that - Harry can't sleep. The nightmares are too much, and he doesn't want to bother his roommate *cough*draco*cough* because he's his ex-rival for merlin's sake and that's just /awkward/ - so he sits by the hearth in the common room, where everything is usually purple and gray but right now the fire is roaring and everything is bathed in a wonderful orange light - and he doesn't notice Parkinson sitting in the love seat to his left until she shifts and drawls out a scathing "well if it isn't the boy who just won't die" - and of course Harry jumps, wand out and pointed at Pansy's throat in half a second - she stares at it and pushes it away in silence - there's the expected "nightmare?" "Yeah. You?" "Same as you, what do you expect" exchange then comfortable silence - eventually they fall asleep where they are - in the morning, pansy's gone and Harry's late for breakfast - neither of them say anything about it, but she nevertheless slips him an extra hot coffee as she leaves the great hall - it happens again that night - this time, they talk about it - "what's it like to die?" - he starts. He's never told anyone about that. Ever. - and that's how he finds out that Pansy is a legilimens - "why don't you look for yourself?" - "I'm not a barbarian, Potter" - so he tells her. And she listens. - she asks why he didn't tell Weasley and Granger - "they worry too much" - and she gets it - the next night, she tells him why she doesn't boast about her legilimency - "My Death Eater family loved to exploit it. When old Voldy came back, he forced me to use it to find out his victim's fears and weaknesses. I was a puppet. I didn't ask for that." - "None of us did." - they meet like this every night, when the nightmares are too much or the insomnia sets in - she explains that sleeping was too much like passing out from Crucio - He talks about how weird it feels since Draco started ignoring him - they talk about Draco a lot - "he wasn't always that way. You should've seen him as a child, when his father would be away on business. I'd never met anyone more in love with life." - they don't talk for the rest of that night - he notices the slytherin Trio has mostly broken up - Pansy, surprisingly, hangs out with Luna during the day - Harry asks about it - Pansy shrugs "she doesn't dwell on the past" - One day Hermione and Ron don't show up for breakfast - Pansy takes the seat next to Harry, " she snuck into his room last night after you went to bed. Kicked Blaise out and everything." - They talk about life after hogwarts - "you don't want to be an auror anymore, then? Thought saving people gave you a hard on, Potty" - he laughs for the first time in a long while - "it gets boring after the first couple hundred times, I guess" - "well, Mcgonagall obviously wants you for the DADA position" - "maybe" - they walk together to herbology - Draco gawks as they enter the greenhouse - Pansy offers a small smile - Draco turns away - Harry sulks - Ron and Hermione show up a minute later, Hermione blushing and Ron raising an eyebrow at Harry, but he doesn't say anything when Pansy whispers something in Harry's ear that makes him grin wide - It's the middle of the year, and Harry and Pansy have established a sort of routine - they meet every night, sometimes to talk, sometimes to take walks around the castle, sometimes just to sit in each other's presence until they fall asleep - in the morning, whoever wakes first brings up two mugs from breakfast, if it's Pansy she brings cocoa, while Harry brings coffee - Harry asks why Pansy always wears extra layers, or uses far more blankets than normal - he mentions that Malfoy does it, too - "Draco never told you?" "I never asked" - it's a side effect of the Cruciatus and Imperio Curses - Harry thinks he understands - He pats her hand, and she wonders why he's so warm - he shrugs. He's always been like that. - maybe it's because of his mother's love, he jokes - she just looks at him. "Perhaps you're right about something for once, Potty." - the next morning, Draco wakes early to find them snuggled together in front of the dying embers, Pansy leaning into Harry, extra blankets discarded on the floor - he can't help the tight, smoldering feeling in his chest as he walks to breakfast - it's Saturday, so there's no class, but Blaise still leaves a mug of coffee and a cup of cocoa on the coffee table in the common room for when they wake, warming charms cast to keep the drinks steaming - when they wake up, it's not awkward at all. Just comfortable. - like sharing a bed with your sibling - they enjoy their arrangement, and Pansy takes advantage of Harry's warmth constantly - eighth years are allowed to leave the grounds at any point, so long as they obey curfew - Harry and Pansy visit Hogsmeade together shortly after Christmas break - while out for lunch, they run into Draco - Pansy invites him along - Harry and Draco start talking and don't stop - Pansy is torn; she hates being a third wheel, but she thinks she ships the two more - she excuses herself, claiming exhaustion, and finds a quaint book shop near the edge of the village - There, she runs into a distressed Granger - turns out, Granger broke it off with Weasley - Pansy is surprisingly good at comforting others, and shares her unexpected love of books with Hermione - but while Hermione adores nonfiction, Pansy reads fiction. Thus, a friendship grows - their day at the book store marks the start of a new relationship - she tells Harry about her impromptu date with hermione - "on a first name basis now, are you? I feel betrayed." - "oh shut it, Potty." - she's blushing and they both know it - in retaliation, she asks about Draco, and now it's Harry's turn to bloom red - when Harry asks Draco out in the Great Hall a few weeks later, Pansy stands and screams from the other end of the table "IT'S ABOUT FUCKING TIME YOU PINING PRICK" - Harry and Draco both turn red, scurrying out of the hall, hand in hand - Pansy high-fives Luna, who giggles the whole time - Harry does the same thing when Hermione asks out Pansy, but instead he's screaming "SAY YES ALREADY PANS, YOU BLOODY WUSS" - Ron gazes at them sadly, but Blaise distracts him with a comforting hand on his lower back and offers some treacle tart - Pansy and Harry's nightly meetings start happening less and less, but they're still closer than ever - when Draco and Harry have their first fight, Pansy knows, cuddling with Harry in front of the fireplace like they used to - Hermione is super understanding, bless her heart - She still draws a mustache and monocle on Harry in revenge for stealing her girlfriend, though - she wakes Draco early to see it - He takes pictures of his exbutkindofstill-best friend and boyfriend cuddling - he won't admit it, but his heart melts just a little as they wake, untangling from each other, bleary eyes and bed heads - Harry and Draco don't fight as much after that (but neither of them mind so much on the mornings after they do because Harry and pansy's friendship is so precious) - drarry and pansmione have a double wedding - Ron and Blaise are Best Men, Luna and Ginny Maids of Honor - Harry gets the DADA job, but always floos home at the end of the day to be with Draco and the kids -pansy works in hogsmeade, running the bookstore where she first comforted hermione, now minister of magic - Draco is a wonderful homemaker, who works from home co-editing the Quibbler with Luna - even after marriage and families, Pansy and Harry have slumber parties, just the two of them in the living room while Draco and hermione take the kids out - they cuddle and talk about everything - in the mornings, pansy always wakes first, since Harry is usually up late grading papers - but now, she makes two coffees for Harry and hermione, a cocoa for her, and a tea for Draco - Harry and Pansy still spend nights by the fire, but sometimes they're joined by their spouses, Ron and Blaise, and Ginny and Luna - Sometimes Pansy and Draco's skin still turn to ice - sometimes hermione and Harry still wake up in the middle of the night for no solid reason - but they're surrounded by the ones they love - the war is over - pansy's legilimency fades with age, and she's happy to only have to live in her own head for once - Harry and Draco learn to be in love with life, and with each other - Hermione and Ron are no longer a 'what if' - and while Draco's scars never completely fade away, Harry assures him they make him even more beautiful - While Pansy will never stop being cold, Hermione is there with cocoa and and blankets and her warm embrace - while Harry and Hermione never eat as much as they used to, too accustomed to those days in that wretched tent, running from the enemy, starving in the forest, Draco and Pansy are there to hold them and kiss them and remind them that it's better now. It's okay now. - and suddenly it wasn't just Pansy and Harry with late night talks and cuddles on the couch - it was everyone else, too - it was warm, and safe, and home - and it wasn't perfect - but it was good.

[teenwolimagines]

Your Baby - Teen Wolf Preferences

Stiles

‘Aw look at at the little duck.’ Stiles babbled, making shadow puppets on the wall.

Your one year old daughter Isabelle loved her daddy’s shadow puppet show, so she giggled and clapped excitedly before standing on wobbly legs.

‘Come to me Izzyyyy!’ Stiles growled, moving his hand.

Baby Iz was just figuring out how her legs work, and you and Stiles were working on her walking.

She looked at the distance with a frown, but a quick “Wa Wa! Come here!’ from Daddy made her giggle and take the first step.

‘(Y/N), get the camera.’ Stiles said urgently.

You quickly pulled out your phone and hit record, this would be the furthest she had walked so far.

‘Go on Izzy you can get there.’ you encouraged when she started to stumble.

She balanced herself and clumsily closed the distance, leaning against the wall.

‘Aw you did it!’ you praised.

‘Mr. Duck is so proud and happy to see you, he could eat you up. Couldn’t you Mr. Duck?’ Stiles asked.

‘Yes she is so sweet looking like candy.’ he voiced, making a “chomp” noise,making the shadow bite at Izzy.

Unfortunately, Isabelle hadn’t been expecting it was so frightened by the sudden attack she let go of the wall and down she went.

‘Oh my God!’ Stiles panicked as he quickly picked her up.

‘Stiles!’ you gasped, rushing over to them.

‘I didn’t know our daughter was so easily frightened, thank God we moved. She’d have a heart attack in her nursery in Beacon Hills.’

Scott

You were in the kitchen making the table for breakfast, waiting for your husband to come down with your son Alex.

Scott came down looking very tired, but empty handed.

‘Where is Alex?’ you asked.

‘Playing with his toys, refusing to listen to me.’ Scott grumbled before kissing your cheek.

You sighed, Alex was in his terrible twos and since Scott was so forgiving in his nature Alex gave him more hell than you.

‘I keep telling you to be more stern.’ you said as you made him a plate.

‘I am stern.’ he tried.

‘Not stern enough, I’m gonna get him and tell him to apologize and you will let him know you will not be disobeyed. Understand?’ you demanded more than suggested.

‘Yes ma’am, I love it when you get bossy.’ he grinned.

‘Oh hush.’ you laughed as you went upstairs to get Alex.

Your son was in his room playing with the Lego Star Wars set Stiles had given him for his birthday.

‘Why aren’t you downstairs eating breakfast?’ you asked.

‘I’m playing.’ he said.

‘I didn’t ask what you were doing, I asked why you disobeyed Daddy and didn’t come down for breakfast.’

Alex looked down in guilt.

‘Your Daddy loves you and wants the best for you Alex and sometimes that’s not what you want. Now I don’t mind making you do what you have to, but Daddy likes seeing you smile too much.’ you explained as you picked him up.

‘You really upset him when you don’t listen, Alex. Go and apologize.’ you instructed as you sat him down once you were down the stairs.

Alex ran down the hall to the kitchen.

Just as he entered the kitchen a loud roar echoed through the house.

Alex came running right back to you with tears in his eyes. but he seemed too scared to cry yet.

‘Oh my God.’ you gasped as your son clung to your leg.

‘Scott!’ you yelled.

‘Too stern, that was way too stern.’ Scott replied before he rapidly apologized to his terrified toddler.

Jackson

It was Saturday and your family decided to eat out tonight.

Jackson being who he was had picked the nicest place in town, unfortunately your daughter Adena didn’t care about that at all.

The lighting was too dark or the live music was too noisy, whatever it was she was not happy and the whole restaurant knew it.

She was screaming her head off, yelling, not a tear in her eye, just yelling.

‘Give her something, people are starting to stare.’ Jackson whispered.

‘They’ve been staring, now they’re glaring. I’ve given her every toy in the diaper bag, she’s just being fussy.’ you replied.

‘What about paper? She loves paper.’ he suggested.

‘I don’t have any.’ you groaned.

‘I’m so sorry, I understand that you’re trying, but the other customers are starting to complain.’ the waitress said apologetically.

‘OK let’s try this.’ Jackson said as he pulled out a few bills and you thought he was going to try to bribe the poor girl.

Surprisingly enough he handed the money to Adena.

Even more surprising was that your daughter immediately stopped yelling and took the money.

‘I can not put into words how concerning that is a father.’ Jackson sighed.

‘We’ll deal with that later, for now lets just enjoy the peace and quiet.’ you smiled.

‘While it last.’ Jackson added.

Aiden 

So your daughter looked nothing like Aiden or you for that matter, but put her next to your dad and you couldn’t tell them apart.

The fact that she also happened to be on the chunky side, like you and your dad both were just sealed Katie’s fate.

Still she was the most beautiful girl in the world to you and Aiden, and most importantly, to herself.

You had never seen so much confidence in a four year old.

Tonight was Family night and your parents were over for dinner and like always Katie and your dad were going to give a show before you all would relax in the living room.

‘So Katie, what song are you gonna sing tonight?’ you asked as you took up the empty plates.

‘It’s a surprise, but it’s gonna be our best show yet.’ she said excitedly as she hopped out of her chair.

‘The best.’ your dad agreed as he too stood up.

He took Katie’s little hand and went upstairs.

‘Where are you going?’ Aiden asked.

‘We gotta put on our outfits.’ Dad answered.

‘Outfits?’ your mom asked.

After you had the dishes in the dish washer your daughter called from outside the kitchen.

‘Everyone close your eyes and don’t open til I start singing.’

You rushed to your seat next to Aiden and closed your eyes.

‘We’re ready.’ you called.

You heard shuffling before an unforgettable tune started.

‘I-I-I...don’t want a lot for Christmas.’

You opened your eyes and lost your mind at your Dad and Daughter in matching candy cane sweaters and your dad in a horrid blond wig.

‘Oh my God!’ you cooed.

‘There is just one I need.’ Dad came in.

As the two sang and danced your husband whispered in your ear.

‘You made a beautiful star (Y/N).’

‘I had a little help.’ you smiled taking his hand in yours.

Liam

You were a dog person, obviously, you married a werewolf after all.

You had your dog Simon for five years and he was your good boy, problem is your son Nial didn’t like sharing attention.

But he was also very impressionable, he seemed to have the thought process that if Simon could do it he could do it cuter.

Last week Liam had to explain that humans don’t pee outside like dogs do.

You had just managed to get your son out of the tub after a quick reprimand and put on his pull up when Liam walked in.

‘How was he today?’ he asked before he kissed you.

‘Less than behaved, he threw a fit in the store, wouldn’t put his toys away and refused to get out the bath.’ you said tiredly.

‘Little man front and center.’ Liam said.

Nial looked down as he walked to stand in front of his father.

‘What have I told you young man?’ 

‘Listen to Mommy.’ the boy mumbled 

‘That’s right, now go to bed.’

Your son walked over to the corner were sweet innocent Simon had been laying.

Nial swatted at Simon until the dog got up.

He smugly laid in the dog’s bed.

‘Nial!’ you started to scold, but Liam stopped you.

‘It’s cute.’

You wanted to argue, but when you saw how Simon simply laid next to Nial, curling around the child.

‘This time, this time it’s cute.’ you conceded.

Isaac

When you told Isaac you were pregnant you had both been fresh out of community college, living in a horrid apartment.

You had thought he would say it wasn’t the time, or that he wasn’t ready.

Isaac just held you promised everything would fine.

He more than doubled his efforts to find a better paying job, he spent half a check on baby books for you. When he did find a better job he started putting the money away.

By your third trimester, with the help of a friend from college who was in real estates, you and Isaac had found a nice little house with two well sized rooms and bathrooms.

And once your little girl Emily was born you knew for sure that Isaac had kept his promise.

You recall that promise every time you see the way he looks at your daughter, like she was his world and he tear the universe apart for her.

'(Y/N)? What are you looking at?’ Isaac asked as he played with Emily in his lap.

‘Nothing, its just... you are an amazing father to your kids.’ you smiled.

Isaac made a confused face for a second.

‘Kids? We only have the one kid.’ he said.

‘Kids, Isaac.’ you smiled, placing his on your stomach.

‘Are you...?’ he asked with wide eyes.

‘I am.’ you said with a watery eyed smile.

He smiled brightly before he kissed you, when he pulled back he looked down at Emily excitedly.

‘You’re gonna be a big sister Em!’ he cooed.

The one year old giggled happily as she threw herself into his arms.

Peter

You almost doubted your daughter had a single one of your genes.

She was one hundred percent Peter Hale.

In her looks, her mannerisms, and especially her attitude.

She was a very opinionated child, much to yours and Peter’s dismay sometimes.

It was his turn to get her dressed today, and she was giving him hell like always and it was hilarious.

‘You have to put on a shirt.’ Peter argued.

‘Why?’ Amanda asked.

‘Because I said so.’

‘Why do you say so?’ she challenged.

‘Because I’m the parent and if I say you need it then you do.’

Amanda stomped her little foot and knocked a pillow off her bed.

‘No throwing fits, big girls don’t do that.’ you scolded.

‘Big girls can make choices and I choose not to wear a shirt.’ she pouted.

‘Well this isn’t a democracy, pick up the pillow and let me put you shirt on.’ Peter ordered, frustrated with his child’s stubbornness.

Amanda picked up the pillow and threw it at him before turning to stomp off.

Your eyes widen in shock, that was the most disrespectful thing she had ever done.

Before you could begin to yell at her to get back here, Peter had thrown the pillow at her, making her fall.

‘Peter! you yelled as you ran to pick up your now crying child.

‘Normally I’d baby you Amanda, but you were wrong this time. Now go put on your shirt and go to bed, we’ll talk about punishment tomorrow.’ you said as you carried her back to her room.

You took the shirt from Peter and put it on her.

‘In the bed.’ you said before cutting off the light as you and Peter left the room.

‘I shouldn’t have gotten angry.’ he groaned.

‘You shouldn’t have, I know she is frustrating but that’s no excuse.’ you replied.

‘Did she have to come out just like me, she couldn’t have half your personality?’ he asked.

Jordan

You knew every parent felt this way, but you thought your daughter Venus was the sweetest child on earth.

She was the spitting image of Jordan and had all his sugary sweetness too.

‘Look Mommy, I put on my own pull up!’ Venus said proudly, causing you to turn away from the closet.

‘You sure did.’ you smiled.

‘Is Cupid taking a bath next?’ she asked pointing at the golden retriever.

‘Not today, but tomorrow Daddy is giving him a bath.’

‘He can use my towel!’ she cheered. 

She ran over to the dog and covered it with her ducky towel.

‘Its my favorite one so don’t chew the duck part, OK.’ she said while petting the dog.

‘He won’t, I promise.’ Jordan said as he came in, still in uniform.

‘Daddy!’ Venus shouted as she ran to him.

He picked her up and kissed her cheek.’

‘Were you good today?’

‘Always.’ she said with her chest puffed out.

‘Good, and were you good today (Y/N)?’ he asked you.

‘Never.’ you grinned before kissing your husband.

‘Just the way I like you.’ he whispered so Venus wouldn’t hear.

Theo

When you told Theo you were pregnant he almost immediately moved you out of Beacon Hills and to a little country farm house.

Apparently where he once stayed with the dread doctors.

Out of the way, but close enough to town that making trips won’t be super inconvenient.

Your daughter Anna seemed take to farm life as soon as she was born.

She played with toy garden tools, and loved all the animals.

Anna was also adorably clumsy, her top half seemed too heavy for her to carry sometimes. Teaching her to walk had been a miracle.

‘Come, it’s your day to feed the chickens.’ Theo said, holding up the bucket of food up.

‘Yay, chickens!’ she cheered running to you.

You picked her up and you all headed to the chicken coop.

You sat her down and Theo held her hand as they went up the steps.

The chickens crowded her, but she wasn’t a bit scared.

‘Feed them.’ Theo encouraged.

Confidently she took the smaller bowl from the bucket of bird feed and filled it and threw some of it to the chickens, unfortunately she leaned forward a bit an lost her balance.

‘Oh goodness!’ you panicked as you helper up.

‘I’m OK.’ she assured.

‘How about I pick you up and you throw the food down.’ Theo offered.

‘I can’t pet the chickens from that high.’ she pouted.

‘Will you fall again?’ you asked.

‘...yeah.’ Anna confessed.

‘I’ll keep an eye on her.’ Theo sighed.

‘I’ll get the first aid kit.’ you added.

Derek

So giving birth sucked so much worse than you thought it would, but you had no regrets.

You loved your son Nick.

So did Derek.

You looked at all the toys in his nursery and you just knew you were gonna have to keep Derek from overly spoiling him.

Your son was only three months, but he seemed to agree that less was more. He preferred to play with your set of keys as opposed to the hoard of light up toys Derek bought.

Though he did sleep with the stuffed wolf toy Derek gave him his first night home.

Derek had wanted to get a new photo of Nick for his phone background, because he was that Dad.

He had the baby on the couch, propped up.

‘Look this way Nick.’ Derek smiled.

‘Derek, he’s sleepy.’ you said.

‘But I need a new photo.’ he pouted, accidentally taking a photo.

The loud clicking noise startled the child so much he just toppled over.

‘Aaawww! Nick!’ you swooned.

‘I wish I had that on camera.’ Derek said as you picked up the baby.

‘Maybe I could try it ag-’

‘Don’t you dare.’

Original post by: @mysticalbanshee

[pythonees]

Old Friends - III - S.Harrington

December 18th, 2017

Word Count: 2,449

A/N: Probably won't be able to post the next chapter till after Christmas, since I have a boatload of people coming up from the 20th ‘till Boxing Day. 

Part: I -- II -- current -- IV -- V -- VI

Dustin and Y/N stayed at the cellar entrance while Steve went looking for Dart. Y/N took this time to get some answers from Dustin. He gave her an edited, very short version of what happened last year. How Will didn't get lost in the woods but was instead in an alternate dimension, which they called 'The Upside Down.'

The Demogorgon was also from The Upside Down, which was what killed Barb, a girl a year younger than Steve and Y/N. Eleven, the kid Y/N saw at Mike’s house last year, was the one who opened the gate.

"So you thought-"

"I know."

"Okay, you knew that thing was a baby Demogorgon, but you didn't think to tell anyone?"

"Well, no one was answering," Dustin all but shoved his walkie-talkie in her face, waving it around as if to prove his point, "That's why I got you two to help."

A light coming from the cellar startled them, and the two turned their attention to Steve, "Get down here."

They rushed down the stairs, where Steve was holding skin at the end of the bat.

"Ah, shit," Dustin said, but Steve wasn't done, turning his flashlight to the corner of the room. The beam lit up a gaping hole, "oh shit. No way, no way."

They decided to camp out at Steve's, seeing as his parents were away for the weekend yet again. They set Dustin up in the gest room, and after much persuasion, Y/N took the couch in the living room.

After a quick breakfast the next morning, they went to the butcher shop to get spare meat and set out to the forest, where Lucas finally radioed Dustin back. Dustin explained the situation, and after a brief argument on why Y/N and Steve were there, Dustin told him to meet them at the old junkyard.

That's where they were now, a bucket of meat in each of their hands as they travelled along the train tracks, tossing the chunks of cow along the way.

With some probing from Steve, Dustin confessed that he kept Dart to impress the new girl, which Y/N though was stupid. From the description he gave of Dart, it seemed like it was slimy and nasty looking. Not something one would use to impress a girl.

Now, Steve was giving Dustin advice on how to get the girl, and if Y/N was being honest, it fucking sucked. He was telling Dustin to  'act like you don't care because it'll drive them nuts.' Then he had to wait for the electricity, the sexual electricity. It was there that Y/N stopped listening, turning up the pop music coming out of her walkman to drown them out.

Y/N was bopping to the music, dancing along the train tracks while throwing the cow pieces around her. Distracted by the song, she didn't notice Steve had stopped moving and ran into Steve's back. She stumbled back a bit, but Steve caught her before she could fall over. Steve was still focused on Dustin however.

"You're not falling in love with this girl, are you?" Dustin was quick to deny it, "Okay good. Don't, she's only gonna break your heart and you're way too young for that shit."

They continued walking again, but only for a couple of seconds before they stopped again. Steve turned to Y/N, giving her a half-hearted glare, "You too Y/N. If you tell anyone, you're dead, I don't care how long I've known you."

"Okay...?"

Setting up the junkyard was a pain. Thankfully, Lucas brought Max, who turned out to be the new girl Dustin is crushing on along with him. Dustin and Lucas were currently arguing behind a car, leaving Y/N, Max and Steve to do the heavy lifting. Which meant not a whole lot was getting done in the little amount of time they had left.

Steve let out a sigh, dropping the sheet of metal he had in his hands. He stomped over to where the boys were, swiping up a pipe on the way. Dusting and Lucas didn't see him coming, so Steve used that to his advantage, hitting the car next to their heads to scare them.

"Hey, Dickheads! How come the only ones helping are Y/N and this random girl. We loose daylight in forty minutes let's go."

Once Steve kicked their asses into gear, setup flew by in a flash. It felt like only minutes past before it got dark and they were couped up in the abandoned bus. Y/N was huddled up next to Steve, tucked under his arm to keep warm. He was playing around with his lighter, and Y/N was watching it while trying to ignore Dustin's pacing.

"So, you really fought one of these things before?" Steve nodded, pulling Y/N in closer when he feels her shiver, "And you're like, totally 100% sure it wasn't a bear."

"Holly shit, don't be an idiot!" Dustin exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. Y/N looked up at the boy in confusion, and Max looked just as surprised as she felt, "It wasn't a bear. Why are you even here if you don't believe us? Just go home."

"Yeesh, someone's cranky. Past your bedtime?" With that max left, climbing up the ladder to where Lucas was. Y/N could feel Steve's silent laughter against her side.

"That's good. Show her you don't care."

"I don't. Why're you winking Steve? Stop."

Dustin continued his pacing, and after a while that, mixed with the sound of Steve's lighter clicking was oddly relaxing to Y/N. She found herself leaning heavily on Steve, almost forgetting about why they were out there in the first place.

All of a sudden there's a roar in the distance that jerks Y/N awake. Steve and Y/N instantly get up to look out the window with Dustin worming between them. There's thick fog covering the grounds, blocking their view. Y/N desperately scans the area, but can't see movement at all. Lucas cries out Dart's location, and they only have to wait a moment before it's visible.

Dart stops in front of the gasoline covered pile of meat they left as a trap but doesn't try to eat it. Instead, it looks like Dart is scanning the area himself, like it knows it's not alone.

"What's he doing?" Y/N whispers, squinting to get a better look.

"I don't know," Steve says as they watch Dart survey the area, "He's not taking the bait. Why's he not taking the bait?"

"Maybe he's not hungry."

"Maybe he's sick of cow."

"Steve, no," Y/N knew what he was thinking, and she didn't like it one bit. Steve backed away from the window, and Y/N grabbed his arms, looking up at him desperately.

"Y/N I have to. We don't have another choice," Steve took her hand, pressing the cold lighter into her shaking hand. He bent down slightly so he could look her in the eyes, "Hey, I'll be fine."

"I just got you back, I don't wanna lose you," Y/N sniffed, refusing to cry in front of the kids. She needed to be strong.

"You won't, okay? You won't," Steve cupped her cheeks, bringing in her forward to plant a kiss on the top of her head. He gave her a bright, though forced smile, then turned to the door of the bus. Slowly, Steve crept outside, and Y/N reluctantly closed the doors behind him.

Max came down the ladder, moving to stand next to Dustan at the window, "What's he doing?"

"Expanding the menu."

"He's insane."

"He's awesome."

Y/N watched Steve through the windows next to Dustin as he taunted Dart. He was swinging his bat around, trying to get Dart's attention, when Lucas yelled from the top of the bus once more. Max, Dustan, and Y/N all turned to '3 o'clock' to find even more Demogorgon's moving in on Steve.  

Y/N ran to the bus door, Dustin hot on her heels. She ripped it open, "Steve," Dustin yelled, "Abort, abort!"

At that point, everyone was yelling, trying to get Steve to come back into the bus. Y/N watched as they all lunged at him. He dodged to the side, sliding over the hood of a wrecked car. He batted away one that went to attack him, then used the opening to run back to the bus.

Dustin and Y/N pulled him in, and they fell to the ground just inside the doors in a help. Steve slid the door closed with his foot, then grabbed a piece of sheet metal to block it.

The bus shook as the Demogorgon's jumped onto the bus, throwing everyone off balance. Y/N got up, pulling Dustin up with her as Steve did the same. A clawed hand burst through the metal that Steve immediately started beating with his bat.

Y/N herded the kids to the other side of the bus, moving them away from the danger. Dustin was hiding behind a bus seat, calling for anyone to come and help them on his walkie-talkie. There was loud thumping on the roof, and Y/N followed the dents it made as it walked to the opening on the roof of the bus.

The Demogorgon stook its head in, opening its mouth to let out a roar. Max screamed, and Y/N didn't even think twice, pushing her and the kids back to put herself between them and the monster.

"Get back! Get back!" Steve yelled, running over to hit it away.

It only seemed to anger the Demogorgon, and it reared back to dive in, but then it all stopped. The Demogorgon's all ran away into the forest, the roars echoing into the night as they chased something only they could hear.

"Are you guys alright?" Y/N asked, turning around to check the kids over. Dusting was the closest, so she took his face in her hands, turning it this way and that to look for any injuries. When she couldn't find any she moved on to Max, who squirmed under the attention, and finally Lucas, who batted her hands away with a huff.

Y/N felt Steve move away from her towards the front of the bus. Everyone followed close behind, looking out the windows to see if they could see anything. They all got out of the bus, looking around the now less fogy area.

"What happened?"

"I don't know."

"Steve scared them off?"

"No, they're going somewhere."

"You're positive that was dart?" Lucas asked.

After deciding that it was a bad idea to stay at the junkyard, they were all going back the way they came, walking along the train tracks as they scanned the trees for any movement. Y/N, Steve and Dustin were in the front, while Max and Lucas were following behind them.

"Yes, he had the same yellow markings on his butt."

"But he was tiny two days ago," Max said from beside Lucas.

"Well, he's molted three times already."

"Maulted?" Y/N laughed at Steve's pronunciation.

"Molted. Shed its skin to make room for more growth. Like hornworms."

"Well, when's he gonna molt again?"

"It's gotta be soon. When he does he'll be fully grown, or close to it. So will his friends."

"Yeah, he's gonna eat a lot more than just a cat." As soon as the words came out of Steves' mouth, Dustin's step faltered. He tried to play it off, but Lucas had already heard.

Lucas ran in front of Dustin, grabbing his shoulders to stop him, "Wait, a cat? Dart ate a cat?"

"No, What? No."

Steve looked confused, "What are you talking about, he ate Muze."

"Muze?"

"It's Dustan's cat."

"It was Dustin's cat," Y/N stressed. Steve gave Y/N a playful shove, rolling his eye's at her.

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say. Lucas didn't even know Dustan kept Dart, let alone that he ate Muze. The two of them started arguing, Max adding in her two cents when her name was thrown into the mix.

There was roaring in the distance, dragging Y/N attention away from the kids and towards the trees. Y/N tugged on Steve's shirt, gesturing in the direction the sound came from.

"Hey, guys?" The kids were arguing so loud they couldn't hear Steve, so he tried again, raising his voice, "Guys!"

When the roaring continued Steve ran towards the sound, Lucas and Dustin close behind.

"Damn it. Come on Max!" Y/N called before running after the boys.

They made their way through the forest fairly quick, since Lucas had been close to the lab the year before. When the got closer to the tree line Y/N and Steve moved to the front of the group, leading them through the trees as the tall building came into view

"Hello? Who's there?" a male voice called, and as they passed the last of the tree's Steve shined his light on a surprised Nancy and Jonathan.

"Steve?" They both called, looking even more confused as they noticed the kids come up behind them.

The two of them were looking for Mike and Will and figured they were in the lab. There were distant roars coming from the building, and Y/N hoped that Mike and Will, along with whoever was with them, got out okay.

Y/N was only half-listening, turning to Steve to find him scanning the treeline, "Are you okay?"

Steve turned to Y/N, eyebrows scrunched in confusion, "What?"

"Earlier, when the Demogorgon's left, I forgot to see if you were okay."

"I'm fine, they didn't even touch me."

"Are you sure?"

"Y/N," Steve reached out to grab her shoulders, rubbing his hands down her arms to hold hers, “I’m fine, okay? You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

Y/N nodded, giving Steve a small smile while gripping his hands tightly. More roars sounded from the lab, but Y/N could only pay attention to how hard her heart was pounding.

M A S T E R   L I S T

Tagged: @clickyourheelsandaskforseb -- @stevieboyharrington -- @cherriesinspring

[quwandathornton]

BTS Kissing for the first time with S/O or Crush

Kissing for the first time

You ran into him by accident at the candy store. You were shoved out the way by some random woman who wanted the very last bag of fancy rich dark chocolate and macadamia nuts pack. You were smashed up against a firm chest as he fell backward, he too was shocked by the sudden feeling of someone falling on him as he leans back to protect himself but also balance the person.

Which led to you falling on top of him with a jolting impact that caused you to accidentally kiss him. He looks up at you as you look down at him, both shocked.

My out abruptly stood up, shaking slightly as the embarrassment hits you full on. People stood around staring, minus the lady who pushed you as she was now checking out her candy.

"I'm sorry.." You said as you held out a shaky hand as he grabs it and stands up, you struggled pulling him up. His cheeks by now were crimson red as he bows to you apologizing.

"I'm sorry as well. But must I say, your lips are sweet? Were you made from the finest of cocoa?"

let’s just say - he was mighty quick to make you his girlfriend that day :)

He sat in his studio chair as you also sat behind him on the long comfortable couch. You had the biggest crush on Yoongi and it was starting to become a problem at this very moment. 

The need to kiss him was a problematic problem.

The mood was so right, lights dimmed a bit, the song he was producing was slow and sounded emotional as hell. His voice echoed along with his pre-recorded verses.

"Y-Yoongi.."

"Hmm?" He had one ear exposed while the other was covered with the studio headphones. He turns around with a stranger poker face.

"I ..uh.." he stares at you waiting for you to spill whatever you wanted to say out. "Nevermind." You looked down at the ground and as clear as day you could hear him sigh and curse under his breath.

"I like you." You stood up to leave but was stopped by his hand reaching and grabbing your wrist. You looked away but was soon pulled to sit on his lap.

"You like me?" He says softly in a teasing manner. You nodded with a shy smile on your face. He also shyly smiles before leaning in to kiss your plump lips.

You were listening to hoseok ramble on about how the new dance to D.N.A was really fun. His favorite part was which they do the arm movement in the choreo, so they re-acted what D.N.A is supposed to be like. He animatedly expressed his love for you to be there to watch their first performance, but you teasingly sad you couldn’t just to get a reaction from him, you were actually able to go.

“No baby, I won’t be able to go..my boss said I can’t take any more vacations...I used my last vacation last week when I went out to your parent’s house, remember?” His eyes brows knitted together as he nodded understandingly, he looked sad but he knew your job is more important.

“Ne, Jagiya, I’m sorry for not being considerate.” He smiles sweetly, you giggled while glomping him; he falls back onto the couch as he lets out a confused chuckle. “What?” He says as he plays with your kinky curls with a loving smile.

“I was kidding, Hoseokie. I’ll be able to go~ I just wanted to see your adorable pouty face, but I didn’t get one, you generally looked hurt. I don’t like that reaction.” You pouted, sinking your face into his chest; he laughs. 

“Baby your so mean~ Augh! My girlfriend likes me being sad? Woooooooow~” You whimpered as he continuously teases you. “You’re so cute, Y/N.” he leans down to kiss your forward, but you looked up in time for his lips to meet yours. 

Believe it or not, this was your first kiss with hoseok. He tensed up for a second, but continued to kiss you non-the-less; you didn’t pull away so he knew that that was an Okay go to continue his make-out session with you. 

You ran into Namjoon’s bedroom and glomped your sick boyfriend and jumped onto the mattress next to him. He turns his head to look over at you with a smile on his face. 

“Hey, baby.” He says, before opening his arms so you can jump into them. He smiles as he hugs you super close and kisses the top of your head. 

“How is your stomach, Joon?”

“A little bit better, I think the pork we had last night wasn’t cooked thoroughly. This is the last time I have you try it, let Jin or Me do it.”

“If you do it, the restaurant would have burned down.” He laughs, kissing your forehead. 

Namjoon would always kiss your forehead, or cheek or on the crown of your head; but never your lips since he thought maybe you weren’t ready for it yet, since it’s very very intimate, and he wants to respect your privacy. 

“I love you, you clumsy boy.” You decided to say something because at that moment all that was being done was him staring right at you lovingly, you blushed once he began to laugh leaning his head back as he stares at the ceiling, obviously trying to hide his blush. 

“Show me the dimples!” You pushed yourself off of him and straddled him so you could lean over to see his face more. He shouts in a playful manner which caused you to giggle, finally able to see his dimples. “I love them, Sorry~” 

He looks at you with a small smile. “I love you.” He says sweetly, You then surprised him with a kiss on his lips. You tried to pull away, but he gently grabs you by your back, holding you there, he removed his lips for a second. 

“Just a little while longer, please?” 

You were cuddled up to Jimin as you both watched Paranormal story times on your laptop which was laying on your lap. He was a skeptic about the paranormal while you were not, you highly believed in ghosts, demons, and poltergeists. 

You were so into (Youtuber’s name)’s Storytime, Once it got to a part where she shows video evidence of the paranormal happenings in her own home, Once it got to a part where something is thrown across her living room, Jimin roars into your ear scaring you.

“ROAAAR!!” You screamed, throwing your laptop, and it landed on the floor with a thump, shutting off right after. You gasped loudly, feeling your soul turn cold for the second time, The first was because of Jimin scaring you.

“JIMIN!!!!” You Screeched. He Covered his ears with a slightly shook look on his features. He didn’t want for you to toss your laptop like that, maybe he should have thought about that before giving into his own pleasures of laughter.

You jumped off the couch but clumsily fell down because your legs were sleep. He was about to laugh but stopped himself because he was already in big trouble, to begin with, he also felt guilty for making you throw your laptop.

“My lap..top..” You tried turning it on a few times, nothing came on. He grabs it, pulling you off the couch towards the garage, he grabs the toolbox and searched for a screwdriver. 

Jimin was apologizing to you, a good three times but you weren’t having it. 

“Stupid boyfriend.” He sighs, as he was trying to unscrew the back of the laptop.

“Look. I already apologized three times...I’m Sorry baby! Please..” He finally opens it. The Battery was knocked out of its port, so he plugs it back in. He screws the laptop shut, flipping it over to see that the interface was also damaged, and was slightly peeled off.

“Shit..I’ll buy you a brand new one, for Christmas baby.”

“okay..” She crosses her arms, about to walk away with a pout. He bites his bottom lip, grabbing your forearm, turning you around gently, before placing a kiss on your forehead.

“I’m sorry, ok?”

“No.” You shook your head. He kisses your nose. “No.” He slowly moves forward, and you closed your eyes as you feel his lips on yours. You pull back squealing happily, “I accept!” He laughs while leaning back in to kiss you once more. 

Taehyung was chasing after your dog, Crewsho for the tenth time this day and the two of them weren’t  even close to being tired. Your dog loves Taehyung, Taehyung Loves Crewsho, and you loved them both just as much. However, You couldn’t help but feel a tad bit jealous.

Taehyung had messaged you last night about coming over this morning to take you and crewsho out for a walk and some breakfast this morning. However, it’s been thirty minutes and they were ignoring you as you kept asking Taehyung when it was time to go and all he did was say, “Just a second, Sweetie~” While trying to catch Crewsho, who was running around avoiding Taehyung’s grabby hands. 

Taehyung finally slowed down, sitting on his bum on your grass, while laying down trying to catch his breath. You stood up, to check on him when your dog instead ran over and climbed on top of him. 

Taehyung notices that you were sitting by yourself with a small pout on your face. He grabs your doggie with with care as he walks over to you, he kneels down and kisses your lips, surprising you. 

“Cheer up, Baby~” He sung to you, making you blush.

“Y/n. I’m not happy about you cheating.”

“I can cheat all I want.”

“I’m- Speechless.”

“it’s only a game.” As soon as you said that, his character dies and the winning title flashes on the screen that you were the winner of the match. You gently set down the controller on the bed with a grin.

He sighs, sitting down the controller on his stomach as he lays down with a looser frown. “I’m so sad.”

“What is my prize, Kookie?” You asked cutely, he looks at you with this look.

“I’m not giving you anything, Cheater.” He sassed at you, putting both hands behind his head as he shuts his eyes closed.

May I remind you.

You two never kissed Intimately before, so...your thot ass (JK) decided to do the unthinkable.

(Gurl Please, You know you’ve been thinking about the smack down on his lips.)

You quickly climbed on top of him in a Straddled position, leaning down right as you caught his eyes widening in shock as his mouth open up to say something, you captured his lips.

He grabbed your forearm in shock, you pulled away and tried to run but his grip tightened. His eyes were still wide in shock but he then whispers to you.

“Again.” He looks from the ceiling to you, with the biggest smile on the planet.

“Kiss me again.”

[morningstar-writes]

Morningstar WIP

So, I figured I would show you all the second WIP for what I have with Morningstar. I’ve kind of picked it up and then let it fall again. But, I’m hping to work on it a bit more!!

When the world ends, no one expected Lucifer and his army to seize control. But then, they had been warned. Even so, the prophets had not predicted how long this would last. Seven years? Eighty? Almost a millinia had passed, and life was getting worse for the few Christians that survived. Angle s now lived and mated with humasn, and those who worked with the antichrist were bred from special genes, or through test tubes. Tori and a small band work together, waiting for Christ’s return. But with time running out, and the resistance becoming fewere and fewer, will they make it?  And what secrets does Tori’s past hide?

Tori Morningstar's mind had been on meeting with her friends that day, instead of worrying over the final she'd just finished. She would have another tomorrow, one she'd studied for three nights prior. She'd gloss over the study guide, then would happily be done with college.

A four-year masters was in her hands in less than a week, and the dark haired college student couldn't wait!

So tonight was her night. She'd go to her club, finally see her friends, employees, and those who'd come to party. Tomorrow, she'd finish, come here, and go up to the pent house above the club. Simple, straight forward, and if she had time, shower and rest.

But the night life was just beginning, and the 27-year old could not wait any longer!

She'd stopped at the dorm room, of all places, and dressed in a rather nice black attire, meant more for battle combat than dancing. It was her favorite for that reason. The belt held holsters for guns and even two straps that went down, meant for knives and the like.

Of course, it often held more than the knives. Glow sticks were all the rage, and she'd attached them just so. It made her glow like an angel.

She hadn't paid attention much, and paused, scribbling down a message for her room mate, a furry and nuisance in Tori's mind. She just simply stated she could not 'walk the dog' and would be gone for the rest of the evening. She left her cell just in case, but felt she wouldn't bother if the call came anyway.

She was in no mood to follow someone around for the evening. Her club called.

The Harley-Davis motorcycle had been where it always sat. Right in between two of the student's big pick ups. Tori would most certainly grumble, but found it amusing. Both had been crushed by a tree from last night's storm, and her motorcycle was untouched. They formed a nice cushion to protect her baby.

With a roar, Tori peeled out from in between the wreckage and took off down the road, eyes peeling for anything that might catch her attention. Not that it did, but if anything was new, she'd notice and do an interview. Share it with the school newspaper, and even help it get business.

Of course, it came with a price. She wanted things, and doing business was the only way she would get them. It was how she got the club in the first place.

Pulling to the side in front of the club, Tori gave a grin, tossing her keys to the valet and then stepped inside, merely nodding her head at the 'Hey, boss!'

The music boomed, people danced and enjoyed themselves, the darkness seeming to only be contrasted by the bright neon lights that moved, the glowing neon blue orb in the middle giving them light for the dance floor.

Tori moved to the stairs, watching and looking for her friends. When she saw the arm wave, she walked down the stairs, enjoying the glow they gave with each step. She'd spared no expense to have the light up steps, which hid the actual thing until you stepped on it.

She moved over to the chairs in front of the bar, loving the glowing green against black and nodded her head at the bar tender to come get their order.

“I haven't seen you since Christmas!” Rin called out, “School has been busy, yeah?”

“Hell yeah!” Tori responded, “Finals have been a bitch!”

“Tell me about it,” Artemis laughed, “I had to stay up for a week to finish my stupid essay! Who the hell makes you write a fifty page essay anyway?! I sure as hell hope I'm not the only one who had to!”

“If your class is doing it, then yeah, you're not the only one.” Tori answered, “But it's common with Master degrees, isn't it, Mister 'I'm going to get a masters in graphic design rather than what I really love to do!'”

“Haha,” Artemis shook his head, “I fuckin love art, okay? And being a surgeon isn 't for me. I've enjoyed making things!”

“What about your masters in tech, Rin?” They turned their attention to the taller, black haired man.

“I finished,” He spoke, ordering his favorite drink in the process, “I finished before Christmas. I'm on campus, but that's because they wanted me to completely re-do the system. I got that all done, but there's a few bugs left. Bugs I left, of course! Don't want to leave before I have to, and I'm charging them a fortune to do it!”

“I heard about that,” Tori laughed, crossing her arms and letting her dark eyes look around the room.

So many students had come to celebrate the end of the year. It was two hundred a pop to get in, but Tori felt rather at ease at the prospect of having all these kids come in and shell out money that would only add to what she had.

She hadn't really bothered with taxes either, except to give them what she owed once a year. Other than that, money was all hers! And the employees....

“Man, I can't believe I'm booming tonight!” She grinned, turning her attention back to her friends, “I mean, really. I've been imagining this since day one!”

“Really?” Rin laughed, “I think you've been dreaming more about Raziel than you have about your club!”

“Shut up,” Tori mumbled. This was followed by a heavy sigh, already feeling the vibrations in her pocket.

She reached in, pulling out a small flat device, her fingers merely touching it in order to make it expand into a far more acceptable and readable screen.

On the screen flashed both the news and a call from her room mate, something Tori merely shrugged off. Sending it to voice mail, she turned her attention back to her friends, and in the few moments to follow, she found herself relaxing.

That was until an employee touched her shoulder, causing her to suddenly glance back. There stood Tobias, his face ashen.

“What's wrong?” Tori asked with a smile, masking a dislike for being disrupted.

“Some of the staff and about fifty percent of our customers are gone!” He spoke, eyes filled with fear.

“Bull! They're probably having some orgy in the bathrooms! Go get a security officer and clean it up.”

“No, ma'am!” He managed out as the music died, “We lost the DJ too!”

Tori's eyes now moved over the far more empty club, seeing the clothes laying on the ground. Rave clothes, tight leather outfits, underwear, socks, and shoes all lay on the glowing dance floor while people screamed, some still trying to come to terms with their loved ones and friends disappearance.

Tori stood, listen to the hysteria seem to grow as Rin murmured something under his breath. The Morningstar was merely watching, and Rin knew she'd be doing something soon enough. He hoped.

Finally, Tori strode toward the podium, shaking herself from the initial shock, getting herself mentally prepared for the announcement she had to make. Of course, she didn't much think of it as a big deal. Well, rather, she somewhat did. Loosing a lot of customers to unknown causes was sure to lose business. And her reputation would be tarnished. She wouldn't be able to do business until she dealt with the initial problem.

Stepping up the podium, she wrenched the microphone free from it's stand, and gave the thing a good tap, so that everyone could actually listen. The loud audio caused many to become silent, and the after boom to make everyone jump and look at her.

“Ladies and Gentlemen,” Tori began, “I know we're missing a lot of people, but I assure you, Club Dystopia will find out where your friends have gone. I ask that you hand your phone number to one of our staff members, and we will call you when we have any news. Do not worry, we will handle this!”

People watched, eyes wide, before someone called out, “How can you find them when they've disappeared?! This is fuckin Rapture shit, man!”

Others called out in agreement, and Tori shook her head. Always someone pointing to religion in order to find some answer. No, this couldn't be the rapture. Fire would have to be raining down in order to be true.

“Where is the fire and angels?” Tori questioned, “I mean, I don't see anything or feel anything. For all we know, however, this could be some terrorist plot and demands will be made! We'll deal with it! Now please, calm down and give your information to the staff!”

With that, she dropped the microphone and walked off stage, pausing only to answer questions, most asking if this was the end of times. She doubted it, but then, one couldn't be sure.

People didn't just leave their clothes and disappear. Not without someone noticing. Especially if it were something like a terrorist attack.

She walked back to Rin and Artemis, eyes glancing back at her phone. Her roommate had called three more times. She had no doubt now what it was about.

“Let's get out of here,” Tori spoke, waving for security to deal with the crowds and get everyone out safely. She'd pay them overtime, and had built trust up with her staff to know they'd make sure everything went as ordered.

When she stepped out, however, her eyes now saw a different light, and the fear embedded itself in her heart. She wouldn't ever forget what she saw and now... now she knew she had something bigger to find information on.

The cars, fire, death, and blood were what would haunt her for the rest of her life.

Swift Zion had been sitting in the corner of the club, hooked up to the free WI-fi. He'd ordered a few drinks, then gone to seek out the finer things in life. Mainly the porn websites that had been blocked by the school's internet.

He didn't find much, and decided then, to work on his own essay. Fifty pages and he'd not begun once. He'd mostly been running and preparing for the Parkour games, climbing up walls and buildings to better hone his skills. The games would be his chance to prove to the world he was better than them.

He let his fingers do a bit of walking, seeking information. The prompt had been 'What is Beauty?' And he'd failed to see the point of the topic. So many people had their own definition of beauty. Was he supposed to write about flowers? Or perhaps something a bit more hardcore? He'd been writing hardcore all year.

An English major, Swift had been going for his masters. He would be the first student in the world to get it, if he succeeded, and that was not something he'd pass up. Aside from Parkour. But, the training may be brutal, but so was the essay.

He always wrote his best the night before, and while it was due in a week, he'd decided to actually finish it early. He'd do the editing later. For now, he'd write and write until he could find some decent porn, or until he found a good video to watch.

He was also a news reporter for the college paper, often seeking out the more dark stories than many junior reporters sought. He was thirsty for those stories that would make people cringe, or love, or even cry. They made people laugh, some even question their safety. But the best articles were always the ones that had to be looked for. They weren't easy to find, shrouded with secrets.

The white haired man had just finished the first paragraph when the screaming had begun. That was new, even for this club. He knew people who would go to the most shadow of corners to make love. Why, that's what he does!However, they were mostly silent. This screaming was not one of passion, nor of lust. This was of terror.

He looked about the club, eyeing the dancers. They held clothes of their friends, and many clothes had been just simply dropped into a pile, as though the clothes themselves were always empty. Like ghosts.

But that's how he had earned his nickname 'Code-breaker.' It was one nickname he'd loved and even now, he knew a story was before him. Even if it had not been prior. Oh, he could taste the pay off Tori would give him, just to keep it out of the newspaper.

He shot off a few quick e-mails, waiting for the editor-in-chief to respond. Afterwards, he gave a quick check to the news, out of curiosity. He wanted to be the first to get this story out, not some outlet news paper or station. Especially not Fox news!

However, he noted that several news sites also reported people missing. People who had been there just moments before. They noted that staff had even disappeared, often questioning if this was the Rapture, or maybe aliens. Swift shook his head. He wasn't a believer, so why bother thinking of something so trivial on both parts? Most logical thing was a new weapons the terrorists used and they were going to ask for money.

What kind of weapon would there be? Especially if it made people vanish without their clothes? Would it mean there was something everyone should be frightened of? God forbid this was something as serious as that! The president and world nations would be in jeopardy if they found it out!

With the story in mind, he decided to go interview the club owner, following her outside the door.

[magic5ball]

Nature Trail to Hell Arc V: Back into Hell (1)

Chapter 1: It’s Always Chilly at Camp Sham

           Back when I was in the cub scouts, my dear old Dad gave me a manual on Boy Scouting. Can’t remember a single thing from that book, except for the ever so honorable motto: ‘Be Prepared’. It was right pretty in its simplicity, something I remembered long after I’d spilled grape juice all over the pages. Not to always be prepared of course. That was something only total NERDS believed, but that if I had a short. simple slogan, people would think I was the smartest guy in the room no matter what I did. Which was why, when yours truly had done gone and sent his army straight into enemy territory without so much as an ink of what he was gonna do, he thought improvising the whole thing over two hours was the smartest idea since chocolate chip waffles. Granted, I had been to an improv camp the last summer, but considering my greatest accomplishment was getting coffee splashed in my face, my prospects weren’t looking so hot.

Not helping were the little sponge dinos asking what the plan was every five minutes, like one of those backseat drivers constantly asking if they’re there yet.

But what I lacked in improve skills I more than made up with in last minute panic. I’d been evoking that dark power to plow through school as long as I could remember. Heck, even in kindergarten I’d build an entire six foot scale mansion with a swimming pool and martini bar just one minute before the thing was due! AND got that passing C- (I got the grade raised by threatening legal action). So I buckled in (not literally. Cardboard boxes don’t exactly have safety regulations) and got thinking.

           And you know that moment where you’re trying to get an idea, but for some reason the more you try to look for it the harder it gets to find it? Guess when that old feeling decided to set in. I tried everything. Wrapped my head in my hands, rocking back and forth. Rubbed my temples. Banged my head against the side of the box. But no matter how hard I pushed the old noggin, nothing came out. Like squeezing a potato through the eye of a needle.

            As the icing on the crap cake, turned out packing peanuts weren’t even edible! All those years figuring Mom was keeping me from them because they were bad for my teeth, pining for that soft, rainbow marshmallow flavor that would melt on my tongue: WASTED!

“Is the plan ready yet?” Growled the little sponge dinosaurs at the worst possible time. In the EXACT same tone I used when I found I wasn’t getting that pet Lystrosaurus from Santa, too!

Still, the old grey matter was totally clogged. Only thing to do was keep pushing the metaphorical tater through the needle until the Almighty got embarrassed for me and struck me with divine inspiration.

For their part, the sponge dinos looked up at their leader as he babbled about potatoes and coming to the terrible realization that maybe, just maybe, the horse they were risking their lives to back wasn’t exactly the sharpest steed in the stable.

The rumbling truck came to a halt. Couldn’t have been more than ten minutes of driving. Frankly, I had no idea what was worse: the fact I had run out of time, or that I HAD DIED LITERALLY TEN MINUTES FROM A FREAKIN’ WEGMART! OF ALL THE STUPID, LOUSY THINGS THAT-

My whining would have to wait. Outside, I could hear the wails of kids having to sing about Tarzan getting a tan for the five zillionth time, a shiver running down my spine. And beneath that moaning of the ding-danged, I heard none other than the thing disguising itself as Ms. Hoebag chatting it up with the delivery guy. The spongey dinos, still unsure about what they were supposed to be doing, started to make inanimate object noises to disguise themselves, proving that maybe they should have been the ones leading this operation.

“A week late!” She roared, her deep, satanic baritone a far cry from the pleasant camp counselor voice I’d heard when I first arrived all those weeks ago.

At least the truck guy wasn’t gonna take it lightly. “Listen. Ma’am, I’ve had a crazy day and frankly, after certain events, I kinda want to check into an asylum.”

“In that case, want to SELL YOUR SOUL?” She went prattling in a tone no camp counselor should have been able to make. Not even the sort who’d expose young, impressionable minds to Carney the Dinosaur.

“No can do, Ma’am. I already sold it for a lifetime supply of spicy bean chalupas at Tako Shak.”

           At that, Hoebag wasted no time eviscerateing the poor feller about the good virtues of selling your soul wisely. Funny how the first useful thing I’d learned at camp I’d found weeks after the fact. If nothing else, at least I got twenty new swear words to add to the ol’ collection.

           This took up a good half hour I should have been using to plan, but really, when could I expect to hear those words so dirty I would still be cleaning pieces out of my ears three years later again? I wasn’t about to waste my chance to gather forbidden knowledge! Like the little kid I was, I insisted on waiting just a little longer… until I felt the ground beneath me get all light. Somebody was lifting the box, taking me in… wherever it is the Camp kept its’ Styrofoam containers. But going to that place meant passing through Camp Sham itself. And the more I waited, the more curious I got about what was happening in the camp since I’d been away. I’d only heard Freddie’s rumors, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Mostly what came to mind were images from those old Disney movies my Grandma showed me under the delusion I’d find them fun, only to realize Fantasia involved a literal trip to Hell that gave me nightmares for weeks (and also a scene with dinosaurs that would pretty much define my life for the next half a billion years).

           My dumb kid curiosity, the kind that makes you think flooding the house to make your own pool is a good idea, finally got the better of me, and I poked two little eye holes in the cardboard. Or tried to. Now that I was a ghost in the physical world, my fingers kinda just sunk through, like quicksand. After taking a moment to feel dumb for not thinking of that, I put my face to the box so I could look through. Didn’t have to worry about being seen, of course, being a ghost and all.

           Freddie had lied to me back at Tako Shak. What I saw outside was worse than anything that had come out of the old turd’s mouth. It was less like a camp, and more like one of those old Renaissance paintings of the underworld used to scare kids out of snack time, except greyer, with giant snow-belting storm clouds circling the sky in a massive vortex. Christmas in July, courtesy of some genie who went out of his way to be a jerk. There was not a single festive light or wreath to be found, but rather large television screens advertising how ‘Carney is Watching You’ duct taped to cold, three legged lookout towers. Kids, dressed only in swimtrunks and coats most likely made in arts and crafts, shoveled snow quickly as their little arms could go, while guards carried around sabertooth tigers- actual sabertooth tigers!- on chains, threatening to sic then on anyone who might slack even a little bit. I recognized those guards, too. Where their skin was exposed I could see elaborate tattoos (though branding marks is more like it) with some all-too-familiar patterns on them. Patterns like ‘Orange you glad to be here?’ or ‘I’m berry proud of you!’. I felt sorry for those poor kids. My Dad says they don’t hire people with tattoos anymore. Yet as bad as things got, I kept STAREING. That’s the thing about Summer Camp, the thing I learned the hard way: no matter how much you try to erase it, to drown it out the memory with video games and t.v, you can never really run away from the horror, always sitting at the back of your mind, waiting to pounce you when you least expect it, like a hungry sabertooth.

           All this, in the name of building character or some other buzzword the grownups read off their memos.

           The last thing I saw before I drew my head in, curling up in a ball on the opposite end of the box, was a kid, his butt frozen off- LITERALLY FROZEN OFF!- standing in the snow as three other campers tried to reassemble his gluteus maximus like one of those 3-d wood puzzles you find at bookstores, their fingers stuck fast to the pieces.

           Somehow, the inside of the mess hall was even worse, a chromium dungeon of pure monotony, icicles long as I was a danglin’ menacingly from the ceiling, ready to (try and) impale my ghost body at a moment’s notice. Here, delivery guy finally put the dinos and I down on a shelf, leaving us for dead in that wintery world. Even after his footsteps were long gone, I got the jitters something fierce, fierce enough to stick me in place. Felt especially bad for the dinosaurs. If I was stuck in place, those guys must have been frozen solid, warm blood or no warm blood.

           Heck, at that point I think I forgot about planning entirely in favor of thinking about how to find warmth, because Lord knows thinking doesn’t do you much good when you’re frozen half-solid! Rubbing my Rhode Island-sized goose bumps for just a little bit more heat, I faded through the box before I became the human Watt-sicle, landing smack-flat on the metal floor, sending a fresh wave of shivers through my ethereal form. 

           I could barely get my feet off the ground before I heard someone coming. Coming, and looking right at me. A chunky kid in a dirty white chef’s apron, his sleeves rolled up despite the obvious weather conditions; feet not slipping despite the icy floor. A kid I recognized him almost immediately.

“SHATNER?!”

He jabbed a butcher’s cleaver into the empty air, clearly startled.

“WHO GOES THERE?!” 

[zombiesbecrazy]

Rainbow Puppies

Summary: Bruce really wanted to hate Pamela Isley right now, but all that he could focus on was how much he admired the way she passionately fought for her beliefs and how he could applaud her application of her educational background into practical endeavors to her cause, however misguided.

Being hit with one of Ivy's toxins now has him babbling like a fool.

ao3

Bruce scowled at the computer screen at his test results, because all they really did was confirm what his body was already telling him. He made his way over to the med bay and hooked himself up to the saline IV line that he already had set up, resigned to the fact that he was going to be out of commission for several hours. There was really nothing he could work on until he could fully trust himself to be objective again. He laid down on the bed and closed his eyes, but his thoughts continued to run wild even as he feels his brain becoming more sluggish by the minute.

He really wanted to hate Pamela Isley right now, but all that he could focus on was how much he admired the way she passionately fought for her beliefs and how he could applaud her application of her educational background into practical endeavors to her cause, however misguided.  He couldn’t stop his mind from whispering to him that the gas that she had shot him with an hour ago was nothing short of genius and he wanted to give her the credit that was due. It was remarkable chemistry work.

He wanted to be filled with rage, except all that was inside was quickly starting to feel more like rainbows and puppies. Or rainbow coloured puppies. Those would be delightful.

The abundance of positivity was distracting. All the emotions building inside him were startling at worse, but his inability to reign them in was more than concerning.  Just a side effect of the drug, he repeated in his head over and over.

As Bruce was just thinking about how lucky he was that no one was around to see him in such a state, before sleep inevitably takes him, when he heard the roar of a motorcycle come into the cave. He turned his head in time to see Dick jump off his bike and his heart soared in an irritating way to see him stride across the cave.

Without looking around, Dick went straight to the weapons station and started going through the cabinets looking for something in particular. “Hey Bruce. Just making a pit stop before I head home. One of my escrima sticks is causing me problems and I wanted to tinker with its elec…” He pulled out a small voltage meter, then looked towards the computer desk and only now seemed to realize the Bruce was not there like he had obviously assumed.  His eyes scanned the cave and widened when he noticed Bruce laying down. Dick walked over quickly and looked Bruce over with careful, but worried, eyes. “What’s the damage?”

“No physical injuries.”

“So what’s with the drip?”

“Ivy got me with something at the botanical gardens. A sort of pheromonal truth serum hybrid that appears to be having a temporary, but dynamic, upswing of my serotonin and dopamine levels.  I have an antidote synthesizing but it’s going to take several hours before its ready. Effects will probably wear off before it’s done. Trying to flush it out faster.”

“Where’s Alfred?”

“I sent him upstairs for the night. No reason for him to sit with me during this. I’m fine.”

“A pheromonal truth serum affecting serotonin and dopamine.”

“Yes.”

“From Ivy.”

“Yes.”

“You sound kind of drunk.”

“Side effect. Will probably pass out soon. Good pass out, not bad pass out.”

“With no other physical symptoms presenting…” Dick raised an eyebrow slowly. “You’re saying that you are either going to start sleepily spilling positively charged emotional secrets at any moment or are you about to become an angry rage monster and should maybe be restrained?”

“The first one. Please leave.”

Bruce averted his eyes to stare steadfastly at the ceiling, but he could practically feel the smile he knew would be growing on Dick’s face. “Why on earth would I leave? It’s like Christmas came a few weeks early.”

“Because if you stay, I’m going to talk. A lot. I can feel it bubbling up. It’s violating.” And it’s wonderful. He felt amusingly numb and a little bit stoned. Damn Ivy. He felt torn about wanting to go after her or getting her a present.

“Well that’s a shame, because I love talking. It’s one of my top five things to do.”

Always the chattiest of his partners, this was no surprise to Bruce.  He loved that Dick hadn’t lost that trait as he grew up. Still loquacious and witty to the core. “I know.”

“Talking to me is probably better than talking to yourself. You’ll sound less crazy.”

Dick probably wasn’t wrong. If he was going to share his emotions unwillingly, he’d rather it be with his son who regularly wore his heart on his sleeve than anyone else, but he still had enough control over himself to deny it. For now. “Leave. Now.”

“Gee whiz, Batman! Whatever you say!” Contrary to his words, Dick sat down on the chair next to the bed. “Except no. You’re injured and alone. I’m staying put.” He kicked his feet up on the edge of the bed next to Bruce to emphasize his point. Stubborn boy. Following his gut. Nothing wrong with that.

Bruce tried to muster up the words to tell him that he wasn’t really injured, but he couldn’t truthfully do that. He may be physically fine but whatever Ivy had sprayed him with was essentially a toxin to his system. Toxin is poison is injury. “I think you are the reason I may hate extroverts.” Throwing the may in there was just enough to allow the words to sneak though. Made it less definitive.

Which doesn’t actually work because Dick can read him like a book, and he smiles at Bruce and points at him accusingly with the damaged stick. “Liar. You love me. I’m great.”

“You’re right. I love you. And I like extroverts.” And the words are all coming out before he can even think about them. “They have a natural quality I respect. I can fake it for a while when needed, but it’s draining. Draining isn’t even the right word. It’s exhausting. I don’t know how you do it. I wish that I was better at it.” There is something comforting about letting the words come out.  He feels open and light in a way that he can’t remember ever feeling like.  Is this what Dick felt like all the time? “I’m a babbling fool. I like listening to it when it’s coming from you, because it’s normal that way.  It’s off putting to hear it coming out of my own mouth.”

Knowing that this way probably just the beginning, Dick smiled and had a sparkle in his eye.  “Anything else?”

“Hrh.”

“You love me.”

Bruce kept his eyes closed, but gave a small nod. “Yes. You knew that already.”

“I did, but its still nice to hear out loud. We don’t hear it from you often. I’m glad you said it.”

“Did you know you’re my favourite?” The words surprised him, but they were true. It was something that Bruce needed to say. That he needed Dick to hear. Urgently.

“What? No. Really?”

“Yes. You gave me purpose at the beginning, Dick. I put a roof over your head, but you made the manor a home again. You brought light into my darkness. You saved me from myself.” Bruce had heard the shock in Dick’s voice and it confused his already foggy mind. How could Dick not know this? “I know what people say about me. That I’m dark, dramatic, closed off and broody and that it started when Jason was killed. It’s all mostly true, but I was always that way to a point. You slowed that progress significantly. You made me better. Make me better. Having you in my life, having someone to care for who cared for me as well, was the thing that I needed most at exactly the right moment.”

The room was quiet for a few moments and Bruce knew Dick’s eyes were on him. He refused to look back. He heard Dick shift in his chair a little and then felt a hand rest gently on his arm. “Even when things were bad? We were real jerks to each other for a long time”

Bruce swallowed deeply, a little concerned about what was going to fall from his lips. They had spoken about this, of course, but never so direct and raw, without Bruce’s filter between them. “Things were definitely rough, but I still loved teen angst filled Dick Grayson. So much. I was mostly frustrated and disappointed in myself that I didn’t know what do to do with or for you anymore. Just like I didn’t really know what to do with a kid when you first arrived, I was equally unprepared for that kid to grow up and be ready to make his own way. I handled it badly. When you left home and became Nightwing I was so proud of you. Of the man that you were starting to become. Of the little role that I had played to help you become who you are now. You are more than I could have hoped you would be when you first came to live here. Every day I want to thank your parents. For giving you such a good foundation to start with. They were excellent parents. I just tried to keep up.” Dick gave Bruce’s shoulder a squeeze in response, a non verbal nudge to keep going. “It’s not just how you changed me though. It’s about who you are overall. The scale of evil to good in my head quantifiably goes from ‘Joker to Dick Grayson’. You aren’t perfect, but you always strive to be better and you are the best person I know.”

All these words and they still feel like they aren’t enough to describe how he feels, but still, he feels content. Glad they are out there.

“I’m flattered, but you’re crazy if think I’m a better person than Clark.”

“Now you are just taking advantage of me in my drugged compliant state.” He finally opened his eyes again and turned his head to look at Dick. “And yes, I most definitely think you are better. I may be biased though. Clark’s not one of my kids.”

“I don’t deserve all that, and I certainly can’t live up to it, but thank you. So much. For saying that and everything else. I love you too.” Dick took his feet off the bed, moved his chair closer and took Bruce’s hand. “Why don’t you tell us more often?”

“Words are hard sometimes.”

“You sound like Cass.”

“She’s not wrong. I’m not good with feelings. Or talking. You know that. Actions speak louder than words. Even now all this talking and my words make more sense in my head.” He grinned and it felt a little goofy. “Cassandra is definitely my favourite.”

Now Dick straight up laughed at him and it sounded like music to Bruce.  He loved to hear his kids laugh; big or small it meant that they were safe and happy. “I don’t want to sound all school yard jealous or anything, but you did just tell me that I was your favourite less than five minutes ago.”

“You’re all my favourites. Dick, Cass, Tim, Damian, and Jason.” He counts them on his fingers. “Favourites.” He points at Dick vaguely, trying to emphasize something. He can feel himself starting to slip, but this feels important. “That was in no particular order.”

“You are such a dad sometimes.”

“Good. Love being a dad. It’s hard and I’m not always good at it, but taking all of you in were the best decisions I ever made.”

“You should tell the others.”

“Probably.”

“But you won’t.”

“Nope.”

“Of course not.” Dick rolled his eyes, but clearly had affection behind the action. “I really should be filming this as evidence. And I should be pestering you for more things that I can use as blackmail down the road.”

“You don’t need to. You already know all my secrets. If you ever want to know something, just ask.”

“You’ll just grunt at me.”

“Good thing you are fluent in Batman.”

“Very true. It’s a special skill I acquired at a young age. Helps when you are the practice kid. I got to teach the others after me.” Dick’s observing him carefully, the way that Bruce had trained him to evaluate people. Taking in all of the details and profiling. “You look tired.”

Bruce nods and he’s struggling to stay conscious.  He knows that he should go to sleep but part of him is liking this drug, being open and honest, and if he goes to sleep the drug will wear off and he’ll be the same as he was before. It’s been a nice change of pace when most times when things change in his life, there are explosions. “I’m always tired.” He can’t remember the last time he slept more than five hours.

“Sleep now. I’ll stay and keep an eye on things. Fix my stick while I’m here. You have better equipment here than at my place anyway.” Bruce hears the distinctive beep that the voltage meter made when it turns on, and he knows that Dick is lying to him.  He has the exact same voltage meter at his kit at home. Bruce knows, because Bruce gave it to him.  It’s a white lie though.  Nine year old Dick Grayson had once taught Bruce that white lies were sometimes allowed if they didn’t hurt anyone. If they made people feel better.

“You mean you’ll keep an eye on me. You don’t have to. I’ll be fine.”

“That may be true, but I think you’d like it if I stayed.”

“I would. You always have my back, even when you probably shouldn’t. I miss you when you aren’t here, but you’re all grown up. Can’t be here forever.” Silence falls between them again, but there is something else that Bruce needs to say again. Needs Dick to know for sure. “Rainbow puppy.” Bruce hears it come out of his head and knows that they don’t make sense. He tries to explain it to Dick, how the drug makes him feel, how his family makes him feel, but it all comes out like mush.  

Dick chuckled, but it sounded genuine and heartfelt. It always did. “I love you too, Bruce. Goodnight.”

Bruce gave him a small grin, knowing that what he meant got across, and lets the sleep finally take him. The last thing he feels is Dick rubbing his hand gently.  It feels nice and warm. Like home.

[senjusaku]

for @crowbean ---  Merry Christmas / Happy New Year from your Secret Santa! 🌸

For your gift I chose option 2 (Kakashi and Anko meet during some alone time at a Christmas party and decide to play truth or dare). I hope it’s okay but I decided to alter it just a little, to where it’s a Christmas/New Year’s party, since a particularly adorable idea popped up in my head. It’s from Kakashi’s POV, and the setting is back in their childhood days, around the time that Kakashi was promoted to Jonin. I’m sorry that I changed it up a little, I also apologize for not being able to do the first option (it sounded SO fun and awesome, but I’ve never played DnD and don’t know anything about it). Anyway, I hope you enjoy it and Happy Holidays!

**I also just want to add that while I hope I did these two characters justice, I’m not sure if I wrote them accurately so if I got their personalities wrong I’m sorry! 

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

The party was starting to get way too crowded.

At least, that’s how Kakashi felt. Parties had never particularly piqued his interest, though (or social gatherings of any kind, really). Everyone was loud and obnoxious, and all personal boundaries seemed to be nonexistent.

       Yeah; not Kakashi’s scene at all.

There was less than an hour left until the new year began, and the anticipation was making everyone pretty energetic. A little too energetic, Kakashi thought. Deciding it would be best to get some fresh air, he began making his way towards the exit. Rin sat nearby, smiling and laughing as she engaged in a lively conversation with a few of their colleagues. He offered a silent, simple nod to his teammate--- his way of excusing himself--- then slipped out the door.

He could feel how crisp the cold winter air was in his nose, and his hands quickly hid themselves in his pockets. His breath slipped through his mask and into a small puff of steam, catching light from the lamppost. It was freezing, but still better than being in the middle of that horrible party. He walked down the street, listening to the silence underneath the crunching of his steps in the snow. There was something very relaxing about the way snow seemed to hide all sounds and muffle all echoes. Rin once told him she thought it was terrifying--- and Obito wouldn’t shut up long enough to let there be silence.

A dark figure on a park bench up ahead caught his eye, and as he got closer he noticed it was Anko. He smiled (hiding underneath his mask) and walked up to her. She was sitting, bundled up in a thick coat and multiple layers underneath, with hands covered by mittens holding up a book.

“Isn’t it a little dark to be reading outside?”

His tone was flat, but gentle. Anko looked up and smiled, the book in her hands shutting immediately. “It is when you’re standing in front of me and blocking the light.” She smirked. “What are you doing out here?”

Kakashi shrugged. “Just decided to go for a walk.”

He watched as Anko scooted over, a silent invitation to join her on the bench. He accepted and sat down next to her. They sat in comfortable silence for a moment before Anko turned to face him. “Minato-sensei is having a New Year’s party, right? Shouldn’t you be with your team?”

“Maybe. Shouldn’t you be with yours?”

“Maybe.”

Kakashi chuckled and turned to match Anko’s attentive body language. She really was bundled; her face poked out underneath a hat and scarf, and her coat kind of gave her a blueberry shape.

It was... Cute.

Five minutes to go until the new year began, but neither of them felt very festive. They could hear the sounds of people celebrating in their homes nearby, as well as a few loud and intoxicated groups wandering the streets. Kakashi sighed. The idea of celebrating a new year didn’t make much sense to him; then again, he didn’t feel like another year contained anything to celebrate. Thinking about the future also reminded him of the past, which was not something he necessarily enjoyed doing.

Maybe it was his body language, or a change in his expression--- or maybe Anko just knew him well enough to offer a distraction. She sat up straight and smiled when he looked up at her. “Alright Hatake, let’s play truth or dare.”

“Truth or dare?” Kakashi had never heard of it before, though the name seemed pretty self-explanatory. It was most likely a stupid children’s game, he thought. Anko rolled her eyes. “Someone picks either truth or dare. If they pick truth, then you ask them something and they have to tell the truth. If they pick dare, then you dare them to do something and they have to do it. Is that simple enough for you?”

Kakashi smirked. He had plenty of experience with stupid dares thanks to Gai. This would be easy.

“Alright, I’ll play.”

A mischievous grin spread on Anko’s face and she snickered. Her unreasonable level of excitement was already amusing Kakashi, distracting him from whatever cynical train of thought he was on before.

“Truth... Or dare?” Anko asked deviously.

“Dare.”

“Trip the next drunk person to walk by.”

A chuckle escaped Kakashi’s lips. She really was being devious. Not that he didn’t like it. Besides, pulling a little prank seemed fun. Without hesitation, he pulled a kunai out of his weapons pouch that had a thin, clear string tied to the end. He unraveled the string, tying the loose end to one of the bench’s legs and threw the kunai across the street. It landed firmly in the ground, suspending the string about six inches off the ground. Just as he finished setting up the trap, a couple guys, both leaning onto each other for support (and both failing to support the other) started stumbling down the street.

Anko turned away from them and tried to discreetly watch their downfall over her shoulder, while Kakashi blatantly stared as he waited for them to fall into his trap. As the men walked by, one of them began to mumble a drunken ‘happy new year’ to the kids when his ankle made contact with the string. He flailed around for a couple seconds in a pathetic attempt to regain his balance, spilling his drink everywhere and shrieking like a dying animal, before toppling over and taking his friend down with him.

The dare was a success--- just as Kakashi expected--- and the outcome sent Anko into a fit of laughter. Kakashi had to admit: it was pretty fun messing with a couple of idiots. Maybe this game wasn’t so stupid after all.

After a long moment of Anko’s roaring laughter, he turned to her. “Truth or dare?”

“Truth. This is your chance to find out anything you want to know about me, so use it wisely.”  Her grin seemed more playful now. Kakashi wasn’t sure what she was thinking but he didn’t care; he was enjoying the game.

Two minutes left in the year. He scratched his chin as he took a moment to think before turning back to her with his own subtly mischievous smile. He’d use this chance to do Jiraiya a favor, and ask a question that he had been wanting to know the answer to for years. “Does Orochimaru read Jiraiya-sensei’s books?”

The question prompted another fit of laughter from Anko. She was definitely surprised by the route Kakashi took, but not disappointed in the least. “Yes. All the time. He only does it when he thinks no one is watching, but I’ve seen him reading it a few times. Every time a new book comes out, he makes excuses to be alone for almost a week.”

Jiraiya would definitely be pleased with that answer, and that made Kakashi laugh. Goofing around didn’t seem so pointless now that he was actually enjoying it.

Thirty seconds to go. People started counting down, both in their homes and in the streets. It was back to Kakashi’s turn, and he picked dare again. Anko listened to everyone counting, moving down the twenties and into the teens, and her cocky expression began to show a subtle hint of a blush.

       14, 13, 12...

She stared at Kakashi. The look in her eyes gave him a weird feeling in his stomach, like it was light and spinning, like... Butterflies. He was thankful his mask hid the pink in his own cheeks in that moment.

“I dare you to be my new year’s kiss.”

       9, 8...

She said it so boldly, without hesitation. As if she had known what she was going to say the entire time. His eyes widened and he opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

       6, 5...

He had a timer on this dare that was running out, so he had to make a decision fast. He couldn’t turn it down, it was a dare. Besides, this definitely wasn’t a dare he disliked. 

       4, 3...

A gloved hand reached up and slowly tugged the masked down as he began leaning towards Anko, and she instinctively did the same.

       2, 1...

He uncovered his face just low enough to expose his lips, which were kept warm underneath the mask. He had never kissed anyone before, and truthfully only knew what Jiraiya’s books taught him (which was definitely not the right teachings, he knew that); but when they were only inches apart Anko’s eyes closed, and he followed her lead.

The neighborhood around them erupted into a mess of shouting and a ‘happy new year!’ cheer in unison as the their lips met. It was slow and soft, an innocent kiss between two kids who had obviously never kissed anyone before--- but it felt right.

Kakashi slowly pulled away as the cheering died down. They opened their eyes and both chuckled at the sight of each other’s goofy, flustered faces. He flashed a small smile, warmer than usual, before putting his mask back up and turning to face the festivities down the street.

Maybe there is something in this new year to celebrate, after all.

[theprodigypenguin]

what do I do if I want to read all of your stories cause I read one a long time ago and love it bUt am afraid of becoming anxious cause you have a lot of them? you kind of captivated me and now I want to listen (read, actually) to all the stuff you say (write) here on tumblr or on ao3, and comment in all of the content just because you deserve the support since you're pretty awesome, BUT I AM SO AFRAID OH GOD I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO YOU'RE COOL AND I WANT TO BE YOUR FRIEND BUT CAN'T SO AAA sorry

Anon you’re the sweetest ever and this is the nicest message I could have gotten before going to bed, thank you so much for sending this. If you want to read all my stories in a binge then please be my guest, and I hope you enjoy all of them to your hearts desire, but please don’t feel any responsibility to comment on every single one. Of course I absolutely adore every single comment I’ve ever gotten, and I’ll appreciate every comment you might end up leaving, but I know sometimes it’s difficult to articulate how a fic made you feel. If you leave comments, I fucking worship you, but I’ll be just as happy if you simply enjoy my work.

Don’t ever be afraid to send me messages, and if it makes you feel more comfortable I’m totally fine if you just want to ask me questions through anon. I know sometimes reaching out to people you admire can be super scary, but I definitely encourage you to contact me at least through anon, which would be a lot less intimidating. I love getting questions about my work or just nice anons now and then, and I really enjoy interacting with people who enjoy my fics.

Of course I really have to tell you, I’m not special or really cool in any way. I’m just some trash bag who likes Jeddy. I’m just a normal fan like anyone else, so you don’t have to be afraid to contact me. I definitely won’t be able to reply to every single DM (I’m pretty busy irl because I work full time and just can’t keep up with that kind of thing, please understand), and I'm not be the greatest friend, but I’ll try to respond to anons and messages here as often as I get them.

As for my fics, I definitely see how it might be intimidating that I have so many. If it helps I can put a list of all my Cursed Child/Harry Potter work on my Ao3 (theprodigypenguin) with their word count so it makes things less intimidating:

Love Me Tender (4k words, rated G) “Teddy loved James. Tender and true; and James loved Teddy back.”

Memory, Memory (3k words, rated G) “Teddy visits his parents grave every year on the same day, but he always goes alone. This year turns out a bit different.”

Damages (27k words, rated M) “James wasn’t one to hide things about himself from the people around him. He was brought up to be proud of who he was, every piece of himself. He wasn’t ashamed of his sexuality or his preferences, the gender he was attracted to or otherwise, and his family wasn’t ashamed of it either. No, in the end he was ashamed not for who he was, but for who he loved, and the fear that everyone else would be ashamed and would hate him for the same thing.”

Stargazing (2k words, rated G) “The lack of lighting made his eyes look like glass covering shadows, mirrors that had no discernible color but reflected all the stars that he seemed so entirely enthralled with. He looked like a charcoal oil painting on canvas, and Teddy was starting to become an avid art lover.”

Woke the F*ck Up (10k words, rated G) “When an ex who broke it off because James wouldn’t put out re-enters his life and asks to have lunch together, James reaches out to Auror partner Teddy Lupin, who’s all too happy to help scare away the little bastard, no matter how he has to do it.”

OK (13k words, rated M) “An Auror mission gone awry proves just how essential having a specialized clinic for Lycanthrope-Afflicted witches and wizards is.”

Bones (15k words, rated E) “The Potter’s and Weasley’s had always been Teddy’s unofficial family, he’d grown up with them after all, but in the past he never would have imagined actually joining their family. Till now that is, and there was no one else Teddy would have wanted to share this day with.”

Slow Down Time (6k words, rated G) “It was so domestic, Teddy always found himself in awe of it. That he’d grown up almost entirely alone, and somehow was blessed with this family. There had always been an empty space in his heart that could never be filled by those he grew up with.It was an empty space that ached unimaginably whenever he looked at pictures of his parents, whenever he visited their grave or saw it was May second on the calendar, because what he longed for the most was family of his own, his parents, shared blood, and now he had that.”

Creation Out of Nothing (4k words, rated G) “In retrospect, Lily and Lysander don’t have much in common, but if you can’t bond over feelings of self doubt and the concept of not being good enough for your family, then what else are you supposed to bond over?”

Just a Scary Dream (5k words, rated G) “When they were younger, Albus always went to James when he had a particularly bad dream. He grew out of it, but in light of recent events, the murders of Craig and his grandparents and his involvement with Delphini, the bad dreams had just gotten worse, and only one person was ever able to help him through those nightmares.”

Moon Sick (9k words, rated G) “James is in his final year at Hogwarts, seventeen and thriving, but no matter how long he’d spent in Slughorn’s class over the past few years, he still didn’t much see the point of potions, and he was running out of time to finally get motivated about it. His seventeenth Christmas at The Burrow, however, proves a better teacher and motivator than Slughorn or his father ever were, as a dear friend becomes ill, where the only method of healing and relief is through the brewing of a special tonic. Though James has little to no interest in such things, if it’s to help relieve the pain of someone he truly cares for, he would do just about anything.”

Thicker Than Water (15k words, rated G) “James Sirius Potter loves his family, and he isn’t shy about announcing it. He’ll say it to their faces and say it to whoever is listening, that he loves his parents and his amazing sister, his cousins, aunts and uncles, even his ever frustrating younger brother, Albus. Difficult he may be to talk to sometimes, James still loves him, even if he struggles to make Albus understand that; but when Albus disappears not once, but three times, before the first term back at school is even halfway over, James starts to wonder, maybe he didn’t tell Albus he loved him nearly enough, and worries if he didn’t start saying it sooner, he’d lose his chance to entirely.”

Holiday Dysfunction (26k words in 5 chapters, incomplete, rated G) “People say that if you have a confession to tell, the best thing to do would be to simply rip it off like a Band-aid, but for Albus that metaphorical Band-aid has been stuck in place for the past six years, and it’s hard enough talking to your dad when he happens to be Harry Potter, so it makes things a little more complicated when you’re also in love and married to the son of your father’s former school rival and ex-death-eater. Throw a new kid into the blend and the Holiday Season just gets more festive.”

Stupid Deep (24k words in 6 chapters, incomplete/ongoing, rated E) “October of 1981 came and went, Halloween night left James Potter with lasting mental and physical scars, his wife lost to him and his son marked by a madman who had the audacity to disappear before James could get his revenge. He’d lost so much in so short a time: his loving parents, his beloved wife, his long time friend; a betrayal that stung more than the curse to his chest ever could. He struggled to live, he regretted every breath, only living because he had to, because he had Harry to look after, but he ached in ways that shouldn’t ever be endured by any human. James thought for sure everything was lost, even the things he still had seemed too far away and easy to lose. He doubted anything in the world could make it less painful. Until a chance miracle is brought to light, a former infatuation rekindled into burning flames, and the Gryffindor bravery James thought was long lost roars back to life inside of him. He’d lost so much, but if he could help it, he would not lose this. Not again.”

I hope this helps, love! And thank you for sending in such a sweet message!

[muhway-blog]

I Owe It To You To Stay True

Hi Everyone, Wow. Tell this amazing little boys' story... Well, he is, was, will always be. His name is Isaac, and he was born August 17th, 2009. A truly amazing day. He was an awesome kid, the biggest, weighing in at 9lbs 5oz at birth. One of the first things I could notice in my pregnancy was "wow, this is a big baby!" He grew at a healthy pace throughout, and we welcome him into the world, at 10:33am August 17th, 2009. Isaac loved exploration & discovery. He was curious and excited about every single thing around him. As mom, I wanted him to naturally need me more, but he just didn't. He knew where he wanted to go, and he went... shuffling around like a cute weeble-wobble toy. He knew what he wanted to eat or drink... whether it was white milk, brown milk or red milk (lol, that was juice). Hearing how he would say in a sweet roar, "Mommy, I love you." With so much love all around him, naturally Isaac became a big brother in less than 11 months. July 2nd, 2010 our family welcomed, Little Noah. There was no better fulfillment to see Isaac and Noah be as close as two peas in a pod. Their bond was inseparable. Isaac took care to be as kind and gentle to Noah, as a brown bear to a cub. Isaac was the whirl of the gears at the start of the work day. He was my promise in this world that there was hope in men leading the way, strong & wise. As euphoric as our coexistence as mother and child were, we were able to spend one final Christmas together, full of laughs, memories, normalcy and peace... until it would all change forever. New Year's Day, 2013 just felt different... just not in the ways it should have felt given the restoration of a new year. But more over, a feeling that something within my core was not in balance. Something near and dear to me was very wrong. As I rush to my children, I see Isaac in distress while sleeping. He twist and twirls as to throw himself off the bed completely. What was happening so severe to a 3 year old??? With all the knowledge I had as a mother in that moment, I scooped him up without a word and rushed him to the E.R. Upon arrival, he is in continuous head related distress. I fear and worry as I hold him and watch nurses, doctors and patients scurry around us. No One bothered really that my child's pain is growing each minute. He was finally visited by a doctor, so nice yet so unattached if I may say. He asked Isaac what is wrong... Isaac feebly say "My head hurts." Isaac was discharged Jan 2, 2013 with a diagnosis of swollen lymph nodes glands... take him home let him suck on lemons or sour candy I was told, as I listened ... very reluctant to take him anywhere away from the hospital perimeter. Isaac was not given a scan to determine if there was a much more grave issue and ultimately there was. Isaac was seen in the hospital 12 times within two (2) weeks. Unfathomable, that he had to suffer for so long with no professional help or further observation. I worried so badly, so despairingly for him. He was in nonstop pain. Jan 18th, 2013, Isaac had a stroke in his sleep due to the pressure on his brain caused by a softball size tumor on his right cortex. After rushing to the hospital (with the help of the amazing firefighters in ward 5 Washington DC), we discovered just how horrific this really was. He had a brain tumor with a secondary rare blood cancer, Hodgkin's Lymphoma. The tumor had been steadily becoming more active by the weeks after Christmas 2012. As over 50 family members file into this small conference room, in the nurse station of the NICU department, we watch a short shy oncologist come in, bewildered by the sheer numbers that showed to hear the status of our little Isaac. He started, "I am sorry for the circumstance but I will not be able to take questions because of the numbers in attendance. But I have examined the CT Scans provided on the screen and my professional opinion is that this child will not survive 24 hours. Have you ever imagined such a combination of words? The room went numb. Sorrow, confusion, anguish and denial all set in at once. What happened? Why? When? But I'm his mom, I've got to fix it. I'm the one that MUST find the answer, cure his pain. I MUST!!! WHAT STOP SAY THIS ISN'T SO I MUST!!! I was and have since... been broken to shards. Isaac was in a coma with a shunt draining the fluid, relieving the pressure of the tumor until Easter 2013... when he opened his eyes for the first time in months. I praised and rejoiced in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and Isaac, himself. My heart opened as the heaven gates will I imagine on judgement day. I was elated, and a bit naive in thinking we were out of the red zone. But Isaac never regained his mobility, his speech or his cognitive abilities never returning. After the brain surgery, the tumor came back with a vengeance. Broke my heart in two, is what it did. Day in and day out watching him become less and less of the son you knew. Having to watch the horrific pain had to be the absolute worst thing I've ever felt in my entire life. To feel completely helpless, even useless at times, when all you want to do is snap your fingers, make it all better and be the superhero our children always assumes we are. But Isaac s' state continued to decline and ultimately he gave way to his battle 6:13am, July 1st, 2013. I owe every fiber of good within me to my son. For I would never have been the woman, here, writing this before you with strength and depth today. He loved like love was a force to be reckoned with. It was unstoppable, just as when he would barrel towards me when he saw me coming up the walkway from work. It was tender and precious, as it would feel as he laid next to me and he watched Toy Story, his favorite movie, until he feel asleep... every night. He was my Buzz Light Year. His spirit was to infinity and far beyond. I miss my son, and I will find myself here for the rest of my days.