#they seriously thought that cat would find her father and not immediately like destroy his ass cksbdjdbdjdbdbd

[frogmascquerade]

Cm post!

[bagadew]

The Great Ace Attorney Playthrough: The Adventure of the Great Departure (Part 3)

Last Time: We finally found Miss Brett, the English woman who’s present had been erased from the scene of the crime, and dragged her ass to court only to discover that she was a Massively Racist Bitch in a swan hat. After a lot of back and forth it became clear that Dr Watson Wilson actually died of poisoning, and that Miss Brett took advantage of the fact Japan currently doesn’t do autopsy reports to shoot his corpse in the chest and frame me (Ryunosuke) for the murder. Fortunately for us Hosonaga took the bottle from the crime scene, and after needlessly translating Miss Brett for the last hour (and presumably filtering out a lot of questionable content) was only to happy to produce it for the court. Unfortunately for us the poison wasn’t in the bottle, so it’s up to a lady in pink to save the day!

I’m going to roundhouse kick Auchi

I’m liking how everyone else in this room is just as done with Auchi as I am

Our saviour Ryunosuke, that’s who

Oh, that’s not a glass

Is it about poisons?

It is!

Ok so I’m pretty sure that Curare is incredibly powerful and fast acting poison (which lines up with what we know). Unfortunately I think it needs to be injected but I might be mixing it up with something else.

Susato’s actually given me the report now, which is probably a much more sensible way of getting information (rather than me trying to remember what I’ve picked up from Agatha Christie novels), and unfortunately it looks like I remembered correctly about it needing to be injected.

(Side note: how alarming is it that I’ve retained this much knowledge on poisons? I feel the need to explain that I’ve been reading and listening to audio dramatisation of Agatha Christie novels since I was about three, but I feel like that makes it worse)

What is curious though is it’s potential use as an anaesthetic. Given that Dr Wilson had just had a tooth removed with anaesthetic I wonder if there’s a connection there?

I’m not sure what it could be though, unless it turns out Miss Brett Weekend at Berniesed his corpse all the over way from the clinic.

GET HER ASS RYUNOSUKE!!!

Actually wait...

GET HER ASS JUDGE!!!

Auchi if we were to run this courtroom on things you know about we’d be running a kindergarten.

Auchi, you’d never even heard of Curare until I told you about it, be quiet while the grownups are talking.

Yeah, Curare is not a nice poison.

I’m not going to post the full explanation here, but wow, Kazuma’s really going all out with his description!

Also it looks like I misunderstood about it needing to be injected. Everyone’s saying that it can just be swallowed, which I guess that makes sense given how deadly it is.

Miss Brett’s being a bitch again (but what else is new) and Kazuma’s taking none of your shit and telling her that the feeling’s mutual. (Something I would have screenshot, but I was too busy calling Kazuma a legend to press the little square button.)

I knew it, it was only in the glass.

Yeah, now try it again from the glass you took.

Don’t worry Ryunosuke, I got this!

It’s ok Kazuma! Believe in me (Ryunosuke) and our beautiful friendship!

It astounds me too Kazuma, but for once I’m on to something!

Kazuma, please stop saying foreboding things, I need you to survive the next case and you’re already not being helped by the fact that you’re so much better than me. You’re so good you kind of render me, the protagonist, a little bit obsolete in fact.

PENALISED!

I guess I was wrong then! That bottle does somehow contain poison.

Yes Kuzuma, because I’m going to be penalised otherwise!

OH FUCK I’VE GOT IT!!!

I UNDERSTOOD CORRECTLY THE FIRST TIME!!!

IT DOES NEED TO BE PUT INTO THE BLOODSTREAM!!!

AND THE DOCTOR HAD A GAPING WOUND IN HIS MOUTH!!!

WHICH MISS JEZAILLE BRETT ADMITTED SHE KNEW ABOUT!!!

It’s finally time!

Let’s get her!

He’s got it!

GET HER ASS RYUNOSUKE!!!

She’s cracking!

Is it hatred Ryunosuke?

Ah no, my mistake - it’s lawyer rage conviction!

I know I’ve said this a lot but...

GET HER ASS RYUNOSUKE!!!!!!!!!!

HE DID THE THING!!!!!!!!

WE’RE USING HER OWN WORDS AGAINST HER

AND IT FEELS SO GOOD!

Oh good... she’s started laughing

Oh no. We’ve set things into motion haven’t we.

Kazuma, I can’t stress enough how important it is for you to take care of yourself in the case to come.

SHE’S DESTROYING THE EVIDENCE!

You can’t do that!

Oh who am I kidding, this lady’s been dancing on privilege since she walked in.

Oh Ryunosuke I think she might have done...

I knew she felt like an end of game villain!

Auchi’s about to catch these hands!

Kazuma’s telling us to step into our mind palace.

‘Is Kazuma right’, he thinks, as he remembers the blood on the plate.

I don’t know Ryunosuke? Is water wet?

You got it Kazuma!

I mean to be fair it did only just happen.

DID HE STEAL THE PLATE?!?

YES HOSONAGA!!!

YOU BEAUTIFUL GENIUS!!!

I do genuinely love these moments in Ace Attorney though. When everyone works as one to get some untouchable big fry. There’s something very rewarding about the whole thing.

Shit... she swapped it out...

Fortunately my man Hosonaga has everyone’s plates though!

Cheer up Ryunosuke, look, we have steak blood at least. And I’m sure Hosonaga’ll bring us the rest of the plates if we ask nicely. Especially after Miss Brett broke his bottle.

Miss Brett’s now making racist statements again.

But at least I’ve been given the steak to examine!

Bless you Kazuma

Ryunosuke what short of cats have you been looking at!

Get his ass (affectionately) Kazuma!

THE STOLEN COIN!!!

I KNEW SHE SWAPPED THEM!!!

(Also it looks like I was right about it being stolen by Nosa)

Didn’t know that was there, did you Miss Brett?

Now, dig your own grave with your words!

Now it’s time to dob Nosa in it. Sorry Nosa but you were kind of a jerk. Look on the bright side though, now’s your chance to redeem yourself in my eyes, like Hosonaga has!

Old man Korekuna’s armed and pissed!

Nosa I’m sorry. It’s best to throw yourself on his mercy now before I rile him up more. Use your baby to calm him if you must.

NICE CATCH NOSA!

I take everything back, Nosa your complete safe, old man Korekuna has no idea how to use that thing.

Ah, I forgot he was proficient in vase!

(Which I forgot to screenshot)

Never mind Nosa, you’re still screwed!

That is the right face to pull (Nosa not Hosonaga):

Look at him in the corner there. I feel bad now.

It was theft wasn’t it?

...oh Nosa what have you done?

(Kept food on his kids plate probably, given how he can’t afford childcare)

Nosa’s now accusing his infant son of being the mastermind... Sure Nosa, everyone’s bying that.

Either accusing a baby is a panic response, or I don’t need to feel so bad anymore.

Hosonaga how did you not immediately catch this guy?

HE SLIPPED THE COIN UNDER THE STEAK SO IT WOULDN’T BE FOUND WHEN HE WAS SEARCHED!

MISS BRETT’S TRYING TO WEASLE HER WAY OUT TO LUNCH AGAIN!

Oh thank god!

I thought for one terrible second we were letting her go.

(I’ve say it before and I’ll probably say it again, this is an intense first case)

Yes! ‘Her’ steak had a big bite mark in it!

But I thought and English Lady like yourself wouldn’t eat steak that way Miss Brett?

Of course, there’s a difference between the two photos.

I knew I could see the glass in the first one, which means it was taken before Miss Brett rearranged the table!

Oh, now Nosa’s saying that he switched the plates.

I must admit I didn’t expect that, I thought it was something Miss Brett did to remove the bloody evidence.

She’s cracking!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

YEEEEAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!

IT WAS ALIVE!!!

BABIES!!!

BABIES EVERYWHERE!

Oh god... what’s she planning.

Your honour, she’s already poisoned one person, do you want to be next?

Kiss my ass Miss Brett

Get used to it Auchi.

HAHA!

DAMN KAZUMA

(Editor Note: I am very upset by how poorly my screenshots conveyed Kazuma destroying Auchi’s hairdo with his sword)

Also, were you always hot Kazuma?

Wait no - I can’t be thinking that. The bar for fictional men I like is the floor and if I want Kazuma to continue to live a long, happy, non morally ambiguous life, I need him to not fall into the category of ‘fictional men I find hot’.

For some reason, I picture it being blue and spiky your honour

Wait what’s this about Kazuma having a mission?

Oh fucking hell, I’ve doomed you to moral ambiguity haven’t I Kazuma?

Thank you for the backhanded compliment your honour!

Ooh, petals rather than confetti, that’s a nice touch!

We did it!!!

And most importantly of all, we’re being praised by Kazuma!

Susato! Our saviour! Has turned up, along with her father: the innocent Professor Mikotoba, who I would like to thank and to reiterate that he could never kill anyone!

Seriously though, what was the relationship between him an Dr Wilson?

Ah ok, I simply just had to click on to find out.

So apparently the two of them worked together in the same hospital in London for a while.

OH MY GOD KAZUMA’S TAKING THE SWORD WITH HIM TO GREAT BRITAIN!!!

YES KAZUMA! F THEM UP!!!

(Also if your journey tragically ends in the customs office there’s a non-dead-Kazuma reason for me to go in your place.)

Oh fuck, she got off didn’t she...

I knew it

Of fucking course...

So basically she’s going to get off with a slap on the wrist. That’s what I’m getting from all of this.

Yep

Ah, but what you’ve failed to understand Kazuma is that the British Government and 99% of those people in power, are hypocritical dirtbags who will change the rules to suit them.

OK TEAM LETS GO GET HER ASS!!!

FINAL BOSS! FINAL BOSS!

Now on to the party with Kazuma!

And also Hosonaga apparently. Who is clinging onto his waiter job even though the case he was investigating is solved. Look like Ryunosuke was right about money being tight.

Hosonaga, do you not have a job anymore?

Were your superiors upset when you said ‘fuck the government’ and bought Miss Brett to us? Or was it your one man forensics team shtick that upsets them?

Oh yeah, we never did find that out did we?

Kazuma Asogi I forbid you from charging me with looking after your sister, of for that matter anything, incase something happens to you!

Fortunatly for us Hosonaga is here! Diving in-front of that Kazuma shaped plot bullet with promises of food!

Ryunosuke over here, taking the cases final moments to roast Hosonaga.

I think we’re even now Satoru, my second favorite character.

I don’t want to click to the next text box.

OH FUCK!

Oh wait, false alarm everyone!

I genuinely thought that the case was going to end with something like: but little did I realize that he never would.

Anyway that’s enough worrying about Kazuma! For now let’s enjoy the fact we’ve finished this bastard hard first case!

We’re moving on to Episode 2: The Adventure of the Unbreakable Speckled Band next!

[angst-fairygodmother]

Light Fingers (The Umbrella Academy)

Diego’s vigilantism brings him repeatedly across the path of a young cat burglar. But as he finds himself developing feelings for the thief, he begins to wonder if there’s more to her than meets the eye, and whether they’re really on opposite sides. And as their relationship deepens, it brings with it a plot involving his estranged adopted father, and threatens to destroy all of them.

CHAPTER 5: REVELATIONS

Word Count: 4471  Pairing: Diego Hargreeves x Reader; teased Eudora Patch x Reader Rating: M Content Warnings: fairly graphic description of injury, blood, language Cross-posted to AO3: here

Previous Chapter: Allegiances || Masterlist

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The first thing you were aware of was the high, tinny ringing. It was quite possibly the most annoying noise you had ever heard, and you were pretty sure it was coming from inside your own head so you couldn’t cover your ears and make it go away. Your eyelids felt heavy, like there was something keeping them from opening, and your mouth felt cottony. Your stomach roiled with nausea. The more of your body returned to your awareness the worse you felt.

“Ugh,” you groaned, voice cracking from disuse. As you forced your eyes to open, thankful that your power even in its most dormant form kept the light from burning them, you registered the meeting of concrete and grey-brown bricks wavering in your vision.

You tried to push yourself to a seated position and immediately felt resistance.

“Woah, hey, you shouldn’t move so fast,” Diego said, pressing lightly on your shoulder to hold you in place.

“Am I in your weird boiler room house?” you slurred. “How did I get here?”

You heard him chuckle. “Well after you passed out, I figured you could use some looking after…and then when you weren’t waking up…I was getting ready to take you to a hospital.”

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that sounded like you were worried about me,” you smirked, throwing back his own words at him.

“I was,” he said softly, almost as if he was talking to himself. “Of course I was.”

You found yourself at a loss for words, and not just because your head was still fuzzy and ringing (the feeling was fading some the longer you were awake).

“How are you feeling?”

“Like death slightly warmed over.”

He grimaced.

“Seriously, two questions: how long was I out for, and why does my leg still feel like it’s on fire?”

“It’s been a few hours. That’s why I was…”

“Worried?” you supplied as he floundered.

He nodded sheepishly. “Yeah. As for your leg, you did get shot. It was pretty bad. I stopped the bleeding but the bullet is…still in there.”

“What?!” you jolted up at that, ignoring the pain and spinning sensation, staring at Diego in shock.

“I didn’t want to do anything while you were unconscious! In case you’d prefer an actual doctor do it or something went…wrong…” you registered the tinge of fear in his voice and felt a little less mad at him for leaving a hunk of metal embedded in your calf muscle.

“Well…I’m awake now so if you think you can get it out safely…I trust you to,” you admitted softly, reaching out to rest your hand on top of his where it sat on your bedside.

It was then you registered that not only were you lying in his bed, but he was kneeling awkwardly beside it, and probably had been since before you woke up. Your heart fluttered at the thought that he had been watching over you, taking care of you.

“Are you sure?”

“Yep. Definitely.” You shot him a grin that you hoped looked convincing and not as crazed as you felt in that moment.

He nodded, rising from his crouch and wincing in a way that, once again, suggested he had been in the position for a while, moving about the fairly small room gathering the first aid supplies he’d need. Your eyes traced him as he washed everything down with rubbing alcohol and soap and water, as he pulled on a pair of cheap rubber gloves, and returned to your side.

“You’re going to have to turn for me to get to the wound,” he said, gesturing. “And so I can put down a towel so you don’t bleed everywhere.”

You rolled your eyes, complying with his direction.

“I notice you don’t have any lidocaine or anything there in your little bullet treatment kit…” you observed, biting your lip nervously.

“No, sorry. I could go out and get some, but it’s late so I don’t know what’s open and the sooner we get the bullet out the better.”

“It’s fine,” you said, your voice rising an octave, betraying your fear.

He knelt back down, carefully unwinding the bandage. You couldn’t help but stare down at the inflamed skin, the horribly red, still sluggishly bleeding opening in your leg, stomach turning at the thought that it was an actual hole through skin and muscle, and you were lucky not bone and not anywhere more severe than your lower leg. Diego, noticing your expression, reached over to give your hand a quick squeeze before turning to the work.

You hissed, doing everything in your power not to flinch away as Diego rested his hands on your calf.

“I’m s-sorry,” he murmured, and you frowned, catching the slight stutter in his voice, something which you hadn’t noticed before.

“It’s okay. It’s…are you sure you can do this?”

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment before he nodded. “Yeah, I mean, I’ve dug bullets out of myself before so…”

“Okay, gonna revisit that later, but for now, I trust you. I still wish we had something to numb the pain first though…”

After that, things became a bit of a blur. You were pretty sure at some point you screamed. It felt like your leg was being rent open by the fiery claws of the devil. You must have passed out again, because the next thing you remembered was someone lightly tapping on your cheek and opening your eyes to see Diego’s face, eyes wide in panic and lip quivering, swimming into focus.

“Fuck me with a cactus, it would have been gentler,” you muttered, wincing. “At least tell me it’s over?”

He smiled, chuckling at your colorful phrasing. “Yeah, bullet’s out, pretty cleanly and I redressed the wound. Now you just need to rest and recover and keep it clean so it doesn’t get infected.”

“Well, thank you then, Doctor Hargreeves. I guess I owe you one, and should get out of your hair.” You shifted like you were going to try to get to your feet and he immediately reached out to stop you.

“You’re not…bothering me. And I’d rather know you were okay. Besides, there’s no way you can walk on that yet. Just…get some sleep.”

“You look almost as exhausted as I feel, and there’s not exactly another bed around…” you pointed out, watching him blush and look away with a slight flush of your own.

“I’ll sleep on the floor. It’s fine.”

“Diego…” you started to protest, but were cut off by a rapid knocking sound.

“Diego, you can’t keep avoiding me,” Patch called, from the other side of the boiler room door. “I know you were at the bank robbery so I need a statement, before someone else issues a warrant.”

“Really?” you groaned. “Terrible timing, Officer.”

“Relax, Eudora is…was…she’s fine. You’ll be fine,” Diego mumbled half-heartedly, moving to open the door and let her in.

You glared at his back as he did so, annoyed that he had managed to avoid the conversation entirely, and once again you two had danced, just out of each other’s reach. You shifted hastily and tugged at the quilt at the end of the bed to try and hide your injury without causing too much pain. Still, you whimpered softly, catching both their attention as she entered the little room.

“Y/N?! What the hell happened?” she said, rushing over to you.

“Heeey, Dora. Oh this?” you gestured down to your leg and the small spot of red seeping through the gauze. “Bank robbers. No respect,” you said with a forced chuckle and a shake of your head. You felt your head swim a little at the movement and began to regret expending the energy so quickly after the secondary trauma of Diego’s impromptu surgery. “Luckily it was just a little bullet and Diego here doesn’t make a bad triage nurse.”

“Wait you two know each other?” he asked, his tone maybe as much frightened as confused.

“While you were off the grid, we hung out. Dora’s great,” you said, flashing her a wink over his shoulder and giggling at his stunned expression, feeling strangely giddy.

“Y/N,” she sighed. “I think you need a hospital, not a little first aid from this idiot.”

“Nah, I’m fine. Why do you say that?”

“You just ‘winked’ with both eyes. And you look a little green around the gills.”

“Still knew I was winking though,” you smirked before frowning in puzzlement. “But I don’t have gills…”

You didn’t catch her response, or Diego’s as the darkness rushed back in to claim you and you slumped back into his bed.

~

Patch was headed for the payphone in the hall, probably to call an ambulance, while Diego hesitated, torn between stopping her and making sure Y/N was alright.

“Eudora, don’t,” he finally managed to get out. “She won’t appreciate it.”

“She won’t appreciate anything if she dies of blood loss,” Patch shot back, glaring at him. “Besides it’s just a hospital, what’s the problem?”

He sighed. None of this was his to tell. Y/N might never forgive him. But still, he had to try and make Eudora understand. He gestured for her to come sit beside him.

“Look. It’s not a serious wound. I’m pretty sure her exhaustion and slipping in and out of consciousness is from stress. I don’t think she’s ever…done something like that before.”

“Like what, Diego? Been in a bank robbery?”

“No,” he shook his head and his voice was soft as he continued, “stopped one.”

“I don’t understand.” Patch was frowning, that confused little furrow forming between her brows which Diego (and you) secretly found cute.

“You remember how I told you about my siblings and me?”

“Yeah your Umbrella School or whatever…”

“Academy.” He frowned at how quickly the correction, almost a defense, jumped out.

She rolled her eyes.

“Anyway, there were more kids that my father couldn’t get.”

“Are you saying Y/N has superpowers like you do?”

“Not just like mine but…yeah. She can control light or something. She had a more scientific explanation.” He shrugged.

“So the flares that stunned the robbers, and several hostages…?” There was something like awe on Patch’s face.

“Were her. When they turned a gun on that kid…she just reacted.”

“Shit.” Patch rocked back on her heels, pinching the bridge of her nose the way she always did when she was stressed, and Diego knew at least part of her was trying to figure out how that was going to screw with the reports, or if she was just going to conveniently leave it out. “But what does this have to do with taking her to the hospital?”

“She’s not…trusting doctors and hospitals is hard when you’ve got a big secret like this, especially when it contributes to the problem you need treated. Plus she’s stubborn; she won’t like being forced to accept help.”

She bit her lip. “I don’t like this at all. But if you’re sure…?”

He met her eye sincerely. “I am.”

She watched as Diego returned to his ministrations, checking your pulse and adjusting the bandages, which you had managed to rumple in your shifting about, such that the long gauze strips no longer fully covered the wound.

“You’re pretty good at that,” Patch mused. “And it’s obvious that you care a lot about Y/N.”

“You’re one to talk. You never let me call you ‘Dora.’”

She blushed, looking away. “It’s not like that. Not… really. Nothing like what’s between you and her.”

“There’s nothing…we’re n-not…” Diego suddenly found himself unable to look at either woman.

He had been in love with Eudora, once, and still felt strongly for her, even if the romantic connection between them had been severed and probably wouldn’t ever come back together. But there was something about Y/N that just felt right. She made him feel seen and understood and like he didn’t need to still be ‘Number Two of The Umbrella Academy,’ he could just be Diego. She made him smile, more freely than he could remember doing in years. He’d missed her terribly while he was away, while they weren’t speaking to one another, like there had been a piece of him missing. When he’d seen her collapse, he had felt like his heart stopped. But she also scared him. They were so different, so incompatible on paper. And he thought that having her just to lose her might actually kill him, so maybe it was better not to go there at all.

“Relax, Diego,” Patch said with a slight laugh, pulling his attention back to the room and her. “It wasn’t an accusation. I’m happy for you. And I like Y/N. She’ll keep you on your toes.”

He opened his mouth to deny once again that there was anything going on between the two of you, to assure her, but she shook her head and rolled her eyes affectionately. Still he blundered onward, changing tactics slightly but still determined to deny what he knew was real, what Patch could see with her own two eyes.

“She probably doesn’t even—“

Patch held up a hand to cut him off again. “Don’t give me that. Don’t use the excuse of not knowing what you could easily find out.”

“It’s not that simple, Eudora,” he sighed.

“Nothing about love ever is.” She stood up, brushing non-existent dirt off her pant legs. “I need to get back to work, but I hope you give what I said some thought at least. For both of your sakes.”

‘Love.’ The word echoed through Diego’s mind, but not in a way that felt intimidating or worrying. It felt more like suddenly having a name for the feeling he knew was there, like hearing someone else say it made it real. But that didn’t mean he wanted to say it out loud. Or did he?

~

The world swam slowly into existence for a third time, and you groaned, sick of the feeling as much as you were suffering any ill effects. Cautiously, you propped yourself up on your elbows, and the movement caught Diego’s attention. Almost immediately, he was up out of the chair he’d been sitting in and crouched by your side.

“How long was I out for?” you asked, hesitantly, ignoring the way your heart fluttered at his closeness and how quickly he’d jumped to your side.

“Do you mean since Patch made you swoon or in general?” he teased, smiling.

You rolled your eyes. “She did not make me swoon. Although if anyone’s swoon-worthy…but no, I mean how long have I been in the Bat Cave, total?”

“You’ve been in and out for…two days or so.”

“Two…shit!” you bolted upright, trying to get to your feet despite Diego fighting you on it. “I need to go, and hope I haven’t been fired yet.”

“You need to rest! And why does it matter to you so much if you lose your job?”

“What do you mean why does it matter? I need that job. You know for rent, and food, and generally being able to survive.”

He frowned, clearly confused. “I don’t understand.”

“That’s a reoccurring thing for you it seems. What exactly has you confused this time Hargreeves?”

“You’re a thief. You’ve stolen plenty. Why does a dead end job matter to you?”

“Are you serious?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? I’ve tried to figure it out: why you work at the diner, why you’re always wearing the same faded sweatshirt and jeans when you’re not working. You’ve got all that money…”

“Is my sense of fashion actually being judged by a man who wears leather like it’s a uniform and not just an uncomfortable invitation to awkward sweat?”

“It is a uniform. And you’re avoiding the question.”

You rolled your eyes. “Self-imposed means it’s not a uniform. Just a…fashion?...choice.” You cocked your head to one side and intentionally exaggerated the question in your tone, making it clear to him what you thought of his pick of attire. He certainly wasn’t wearing it for comfort.

“You’re really going to insult me after I saved your life?”

“You really think I steal for myself?”

“Who else would you be stealing for?”

“Saving lives isn’t always just stabbing and punching bad guys.” Your eyes flickered away from his face, fixing on some invisible point over his shoulder.

“What?”

You shrugged. “I support myself with a day job and then at night, I take from rich assholes who really don’t need it, or deserve to hurt, and I give it to people that need.”

He fell silent, frowning and avoiding eye contact.

“Well, you don’t have to worry,” he said eventually, pointedly ignoring your revelation. “Patch called in sick for you.”

“A police officer calling me in sick? Great now they’re definitely going to think I’m a criminal and fire me.”

“You are a criminal.”

You glared at him, wishing you had something to throw, especially when your reaction made him chuckle.

“She told them you were a witness and were in protective custody. You should be good for a week.”

“So dramatic.” You rolled your eyes. “Thanks, I guess.”

“It was…her idea…” for some reason he wouldn’t meet your eyes again, and you were pretty sure he was lying to you.

“I don’t just mean the work thing,” you said, fiddling with your fingers. “You didn’t have to help me out. You could have left me in the bank, or dumped me on the EMTs.”

He shifted, sitting awkwardly on the edge of the mattress and twisting to face you, instead of kneeling beside you. Hesitantly, he reached out catching an errant strand of your hair between his fingers and twirling it distractingly. Only a stubbornness warring with yourself (and maybe a fear that if you moved too quickly you would pass out again) kept you from launching yourself forward to press your lips to his. You hated how his proximity and the subtle scent of him made your heart race, how he made you feel weak and dizzy in a way that was entirely separate from the blood loss.

As you sat there, not quite locking eyes, each watching each other, it dawned on you that you might actually love him. Strangely, it sent a sensation of calm flooding over you. It just made sense, so there was no point in fighting it, just deciding what to do with it.

“I saw your eyes when you were talking about what you thought they might do if someone found out you had powers,” he explained finally, reluctantly letting his hand drop back to his side. “I didn’t want to be the reason you were that scared.”

“Oh.” The word felt small and inadequate.

You reached out hesitantly, to rest your hand on his where it sat between you. He turned his up so that your palms were touching and laced his fingers through yours. You both sat there staring at your joined hands, each trying to figure out what it meant to yourselves and to each other.

You weren’t sure how long you sat there in the heavy, waiting silence. Finally Diego cleared his throat and pulled away, standing up.

“Are you hungry? I’m going to go out and get you some food, so you can get your strength back up,” he said awkwardly. “You should get some more rest.”

“Right, sure,” you frowned, biting back the questions dancing on your tongue. “Thanks…”

~

The next few days passed much the same way, with you trying to rest and recover, and Diego doing what he could to help you, including helping you change your bandages and giving you a literal hand when you started testing your weight on it finally. The thread of tension running between you was pulled taut and you waited for it to snap. Until, finally you couldn’t take it anymore.”

“Diego,” you started as you stood next to him, his forearm in a vice grip as you wobbled on your right foot and haltingly placed your left one on the cold concrete.

“Don’t start thanking me again, Y/N,” he said, shaking his head ruefully. “I keep telling you it’s no big deal.”

“Diligently nursing me back to health from a gunshot wound is no big deal?” you asked with a raised eyebrow and a demanding sharpness to your tone.

“No. It lets me know you’re okay.” He tried to shrug without moving the arm you were using for balance, resulting in a very awkward gesture and you giggled at it. “I’d do the same for anyone I cared so much about.”

You hobbled yourself around to be facing him, face blushing hotly. “You care about me?”

“O-o-of…c-c-c…” he gaped and floundered and the stutter that you had quickly come to recognize as a sign of his nervousness or uncertainty in himself was sharp.

“Relax, Diego. I care about you to, I just…it’s nice to hear it confirmed that the feeling’s mutual,” you smiled and gave a little shrug.

He stared at you, eyes roving your face as if searching for something. Whatever it was, he must have found it, because the next thing you knew, his free hand was cupping your jaw, thumb trailing across your cheek. And then his lips were on yours and the time for thinking or knowing was past you.

Your grip tightened further on his arm and the other hand curled around his shoulders, dragging yourself closer as his tongue parted your lips in askance, diving in to tangle with yours when you opened so willingly in answer, a moan escaping you only to be swallowed in his kiss. His arm slipped your grip to wrap around your waist as he felt you buckle, whether under the strain on your leg or the intensity of the kiss was uncertain and irrelevant to you both. Slowly, he backed up toward the threadbare chair in the corner of the room, dropping back into it and pulling you down onto his lap. You tangled your hands into his close-cropped hair, carding and tugging gently at it, making him groan, and his hands ran ticklishly up and down your sides.

Reluctantly, you pulled back, panting for air through your kiss-bruised lips.

“What the fuck was that?” you asked, eyebrow raised and staring down at him.

“I think I’ve wanted to do that for six months now,” he murmured in response, gaze adoring as he met your eyes.

“I’ve certainly been waiting for you to. Maybe I should get shot more often.”

“Don’t even joke…”

“So what changed? Was it just about admitting that I cared too?”

“Yeah, I guess. Or, actually, I think it was something Eudora said when she was here. Something she made me see…I don’t know…” he shifted uncomfortably as if trying to get away from your vision and his voice had just enough of a hitch that you knew that his stutter would come out soon if you kept pushing.

So instead, you gently brushed your fingers along his jaw to turn his head back to you.

“Don’t worry about it, you don’t have to explain…I just…I’m glad we finally got here. Now kiss me again.”

He smirked, arms curling around your back to draw you downward. “If you insist.”

~

A few hours later, you both sat at his little table, picking at your takeout.

“So, you have to get back to work soon…” he started awkwardly.

“Yep. I mean, it was a nice week hiding out in the Bat Cave, but I knew I’d to get back to reality eventually.”

“What will you do about, you know, the other thing?”

“Why? So you know when to go back to failing to catch me?” you teased, cocking you head at him with a smirk.

“No. I just know you could be using your powers differently, so I thought…maybe after everything you might have changed your mind on it.”

You growled in frustration, dropping the cheap plastic fork you had been using to nose the vegetables around in your lo mein. “Not this again, Diego.”

“I’m just saying…”

“Well I really wish you wouldn’t. You can’t say you care about me and expect me to believe that, no matter how sweet you are, when you turn around and try to change me with every second breath.” You heard your voice crack, and fought back the accompanying tears of anger. You had thought, no hoped, that now that your feelings were out in the open, he would be more accepting.

“I’m not trying to change you! I just saw what you did at the bank—“

“What? Nearly kill myself? I spent two days slipping in and out of consciousness! I’m going to probably be limping for weeks. I am NEVER doing that again.”

“You can take direct action to save lives! Isn’t that worth a little risk?”

“Why don’t you ask your brother that?” You instantly regretted the words as they slipped off your tongue.

Immediately, it was like sheet-metal shutters slammed shut behind his eyes, those warm chocolate eyes that you loved so much now gone and stony.

“Shit. No, Diego, I…I didn’t mean that…or I kind of did, but I had no right…”

His jaw twitched but he didn’t speak.

“Fuck. I fucked everything up already. Shit. Please say something? Even if you want to tell me off, which I totally deserve…please?”

“We need to change the bandages on your leg.” His voice was flat. You had heard security alarms with more emotion.

“Oh. Right.” You sighed, twisting awkwardly to pull yourself out from under the table and give him access to the wound.

“Then I think you should go.”

You were silent for a moment, watching him closely as he rounded the table and carefully unwound the gauze from your leg.

“No,” you said softly. “I don’t think I should.”

He turned his head up to look at you, mouth agape.

“We keep doing this Diego. Every time there’s something between us, we end up snapping at each other and saying something that hurts the other person and shutting each other out. And I don’t want to do that again. I really like you, and I trust you and I want to be around you, like all the time, and that’s all new and confusing and…terrifying. But I don’t want to lose it.”

“What are you saying?”

“That we should, maybe, talk this out like adults this time?” you smiled sheepishly, hesitantly.

Silence rang over the room, but you felt gentle hands on your leg as he continued to inspect how your leg was healing.

“You’re…right. We should…talk,” he said finally, and you felt the relief settle over your body, tension dropping away.

“Glad you agree,” you said with a slight smile.

[carewyncromwell]

((Previously on “Quest for the Quidditch Cup”...))

[Carewyn decided, upon parting ways with Orion, to head back down to the Slytherin dorm to change out of her uniform. She’d shifted quite a few folded shirts around in her trunk before finding the piece she was looking for -- one she rarely wore, least of all for anything related to Quidditch. But given the circumstances, her “Sports Chic” jacket seemed like the right thing to wear.

A little while later, Carewyn headed to the Hospital Wing. Madame Pomfrey directed her to a cot in the middle of the room, behind a green curtain. With a deep breath, Carewyn strode over.

Lying down on the cot was Slytherin’s Star Chaser, seventh year Skye Parkin. It was remarkable how little she’d changed visually, over the years -- even though she’d grown even taller than Carewyn, she wore her hair and dressed the exact same way. Carewyn knew she looked nothing like how she did when she and Skye first met -- Skye, on the other hand, looked as though their first training session had been only yesterday.

Skye had been looking rather grumpily at the ceiling until she heard someone approach. When she saw who it was, the Slytherin Chaser immediately shot up in bed, her face betraying a light one more akin to a child catching sight of Father Christmas.]

[Carewyn was startled by how happy Skye was.]

We haven’t spoken nearly at all in three years. Did she really forget why that is?

“...So I did.”

[Skye could see the faint aloofness in Carewyn’s body language. The excitement in her face almost instantly flickered and died, and her gaze fell down to the sheets at her side.]

Skye: “...Did Orion talk to you?”

“Yes, he did. ...He said you...wanted me to take your place, on the team.”

Skye: “(bluntly) Well, of course -- we can’t beat Ravenclaw without a third Chaser. And you’re easily the best Chaser at Slytherin’s disposal, right now -- I mean...”

[She swallowed.]

Skye: “...I trained you myself. I should know.”

[Despite the bluntness, her voice sounded almost painfully earnest.

Carewyn crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes drifting down to the ground as she considered her response. Her silence agitated Skye visibly.]

Skye: “(desperately) So...so you’ll do it, won’t you?”

[Carewyn raised her gaze back up to meet Skye’s. Although she didn’t smile, her face and voice both softened noticeably.]

“...I wouldn’t be wearing the jacket you gave me right now if I wasn’t.”

[Skye’s eyes welled up with emotion and relief, her face breaking out into a wide smile.]

Skye: “Oh Carewyn, you’re -- you’re smashing, that’s what you are!”

[Her eyes trailed over Carewyn’s matching “Sports Chic” jacket.]

Skye: “(awkwardly) ...I noticed that first, when you came in. I was so happy that you...well, that you didn’t throw it away.”

“What, because we fell out? That’d be stupid.”

It’s a nice piece of clothing. I wouldn’t have been able to afford replacing it.

Skye: “(mumbling) I’d sort of thought you would’ve burned it...I probably would’ve, if I’d been in your shoes.”

“(very coolly) I’m rather glad I didn’t give you anything sentimental to me, then.”

That’d be a terrible thing to do, to destroy a gift someone gave you! It’d be like destroying a piece of that person too, wouldn’t it?

[Part of Carewyn really wanted to change the subject and not address the elephant in the room -- to not pick at the old wound -- but something stopped her.

“ -- and I’m sick of having to watch you suffer, silent and alone, especially when it’s pointless!”

Ben’s words from their confrontation in Jacob’s room over a month ago echoed in her head. It was a sentiment that Charlie and Bill had also expressed not that long ago, after what happened to Rowan.

“You told me, once...that it was okay, if I couldn’t be happy, remember? When I wanted to leave Hogwarts and not finish school? And you remember what you said to me? ‘Please...please, Charlie, don’t fight your battle alone.’”

“You are a liar, Carewyn — you’ve always been a liar — but I know you only lie because of how much you care."

She’d become the sort of person, throughout the years, to just put her feelings aside -- to soldier through. As much as her pride disliked the thought taking root in Carewyn’s mind, however, she knew that she should resist the urge to shove the whole affair away.

Something...should be said. She had every right to speak from the heart, right now.

So Carewyn took a deep breath, her eyes resting on the foot of Skye’s bed as she spoke.]

“...Skye...I’m still...very angry, about what you did. And as much as I’ll put the team and Slytherin first, I can’t forgive you for it. I appreciate your support, I really do. I know Quidditch means a lot to you, so trusting me with this...well...I know it must not be easy. (lowly) ...I don’t know if I could trust anyone else to deal with the things that mean the most to me on their own very easily. (more sharply) But if you had felt remorse for what happened, enough to want me back on the team, then you should have made up with Rath. She was the one who was owed an apology -- not me.”

Skye: “But that’s just it -- I was trying to make up with her!”

[This startled Carewyn enough to look up. Skye looked frustrated.]

Skye: “(surly) I thought before our last match, I’d try talking to Rath, out at the Training Grounds -- clear the air, try to put an end to this rivalry thing we’ve had, all these years. And what did I get? A Bludger to the chest, three broken ribs, and losing my one chance to earn the Quidditch Cup for Slytherin.”

[She crossed her arms grumpily, only to wince in visible pain and immediately unfold them, crumpling in on her left side.]

Skye: “Owww...!”

[Carewyn immediately bustled over, her eyes narrowing reproachfully.]

“Lie down and rest. If your chest hurts that much to touch, then you probably shouldn’t even be sitting up.”

Skye: “Don’t fuss over me, Carewyn -- I get enough of that from Madame Pomfrey -- ”

“(harshly) Clearly not enough, given that you’re not listening. You’re not feeling well, so you should slow down before you might hurt yourself even more.”

[Skye smiled darkly.]

Skye: “Guess I can see why everyone in Slytherin calls you a ‘Mama Bear.’ That Vasiley kid must get a lot of use out of you...”

[Her gaze becomes a bit sharper.]

Skye: “You want to know how I feel?”

Skye: “Which means you’ll have to find a way to deal with Rath.”

[Carewyn’s lips pursed solemnly.]

“...I know. Gryffindor would’ve won the Quidditch Cup the last three years were it not for her knocking Charlie off his broom every time he went for the Snitch.”

Skye: “(to herself) Right, you’re friends with Gryffindor’s Seeker...”

[Carewyn could sense her discomfort. She raised her eyebrows coolly.]

“Charlie and I have been through a lot together. I would’ve thought the two of you could find some common ground, given that you’re both so into Quidditch...but then again, I know making friends with people in other houses isn’t really your thing.”

[Unlike Carewyn, who would jump in to fill the Chaser spot on a team holding Charlie and/or Andre, Skye exclusively played with other Slytherins, even during Quidditch friendlies.]

Skye: “(stubbornly) Not other houses -- just other Quidditch teams.”

“Same difference.”

Skye: “There is a difference. Most people who play Quidditch are serious about it, Carewyn -- they could very well be your rivals even after graduation.”

“Or they could end up being your teammates too.”

[Skye glanced down at the sheets uncomfortably.]

Skye: “(lowly) ...I know.”

[Despite the surly tone of her voice, there was audible regret too. Carewyn wondered if she was once again feeling bitter about her failed reconciliation with Rath.

Skye looked back up at Carewyn very seriously.]

Skye: “You’re a good Quidditch player...but I know you’re also good at solving problems. In this case, our problem is Rath.”

“(dryly) She is a big one.”

Both figuratively and height-wise.

[Skye nodded.]

Skye: “But every Quidditch player has their weakness, even her. If you find it, you’ve got everything you need to win the Quidditch Cup.”

???: “Ahh -- so this must be the new Slytherin Chaser!”

[Carewyn turned around, startled.

Strolling up to Skye’s bed, her high heels clapping against the tiled floor with each step, was a tall, square-jawed woman dressed in the most obnoxious magenta dress robes Carewyn had ever seen. A sparkling beetle-shaped brooch was attached to her lapel, sparkling just as cheaply as the fake gems on the cat’s eye glasses sitting on her nose.]

???: “(eagerly) Carewyn ‘Cursebreaker’ Cromwell...we meet at last!”

Rita: “I’m writing up a profile for Miss Parkin, in anticipation of her joining the Wigtown Wanderers next season! My readers are eager to know everything about the newest up-and-coming member of the Parkin Quidditch dynasty!”

[Her enthusiasm fades so over-dramatically and instantly, it was almost comical.]

Rita: “...Though I did not anticipate that she wouldn’t be able to participate in the coming match...”

[Instantly the enthusiasm was back as she gave a supercilious shrug and turned to Carewyn.]

Rita: “Well, time and deadlines wait for no witch!”

[From the time she was little, Carewyn had always had a tendency to make snap judgments about people that usually turned out to be right. It was at school that she learned that trait was indicative of strong Legilimency potential -- and right now, she got a very unpleasant feeling from Rita Skeeter. Making eye contact with the woman gave Carewyn very manipulative, untrustworthy vibes, and she had the feeling that if she used her Legilimency properly on Rita, she’d see a lot of seedy things.

So Carewyn, putting on her most polite and detached smile, responded with muted politeness.]

“...That’s kind of you to offer...but I don’t think I have much to tell. I might be playing in the match, but I’m only a one-time substitute for Skye. She’ll be the one your readers will want to hear from. And our Team Captain, Orion Amari. Murphy McNully, as well -- I’d say he’s one of the best Quidditch commentators Hogwarts has ever seen.”

Skye and Orion are the ones who’ll be playing Quidditch professionally next year...and McNully will be starting a position with the League, as a junior commentator. They and the rest of the Slytherin team have worked really hard for years now -- I’m just sweeping in for one match. And besides...with their graduation, that good press will mean more than ever...

[Trying to imagine the Slytherin Quidditch team led by anyone other than Orion was surreal...it reminded her of how uneasy she felt, when Bill was about to graduate.

Carewyn’s eyes narrowed slightly.]

This is not my story. It’s theirs.

[Carewyn had to admit as well that the thought of someone this obnoxious trying to interview Orion was the funniest mental image she’d conjured up in a long time.

Rita looked quite put-out by the dismissal.]

Rita: “Perhaps...”

[The word came out as rather disinterested and disingenuous, to Carewyn’s ears. A moment later, however, her expression once again flipped on a dime, becoming brighter again.]

Rita: “...I know -- perhaps you two ladies can clear something up for me! I heard about your injury, Miss Parkin, but I’m afraid I’m still a bit unclear about how it happened.”

[Skye’s eyes narrowed coldly.]

Skye: “Rath, that’s how.”

[Carewyn shot Skye a hard, reproachful look out the side of her eye.]

Don’t bring the press into this, Skye! Don’t make it worse!

Rita: “(interested) Erika Rath? The Ravenclaw Beater?”

[Skye either didn’t notice or else completely ignored Carewyn’s look.]

Skye: “She hit a Bludger at me. On purpose.”

[Carewyn was ready to correct the record. She was ready to shut Skye down right then and there and make it clear that Rath would have no reason to hurt Skye --

But at the same time...she hadn’t been there, or seen what had happened. She didn’t know what Rath’s intentions really had been, even if she thought she could guess. And more importantly, Carewyn sensed nothing but ill intent from Rita Skeeter. If she contradicted Skye to Rita’s face, Carewyn had this bad, bad feeling that things could get worse. Something in Rita’s eyes...Carewyn got the bad feeling that she was looking to cause trouble...looking for some sort of team drama she could exploit -- like a tabloid journalist -- ]

[Her voice came out a bit more coldly than she intended, but her volume remained level.]

I’m not giving rope to someone who’d use it to make a noose around our necks.

[Rita cocked her eyebrows at Carewyn with great interest, her pink-lipsticked mouth curling up in a rather devious smirk.]

Even if you do, I will not be a party to it. I will not help you get there.

[Fortunately at that very moment, Madame Pomfrey bustled over.]

[She shot a reproachful look at Skye.]

Madame Pomfrey: “Especially if she intends to attend your upcoming match.”

[Skye frowned, but leaned back against the pillows obediently.]

Skye: “Okay, okay...”

[She offered Carewyn a weak smile.]

Skye: “It’ll be weird watching from the stands -- but I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

[Carewyn shot a glance out the side of her eye at Rita and then looked back at Skye. She knew she wouldn’t be able to warn Skye not to tell Rita anything more about Rath while the reporter was in earshot -- but at least it sounded like Madame Pomfrey would be shoving Rita out for the interim, so perhaps that would halt any further damage...

She gave Skye a small smile.]

“I know your teammates will be glad to have you there, Skye...even in these circumstances. And I’ll do my best, to fill your shoes.”

I’ll have to work very hard...but with how many people are depending on me, there’s no other option.

[Skye beamed.]

Skye: “Better get on figuring out Rath’s weakness, then! Our team’s counting on you!”

[Carewyn nodded, rising to her feet, and started out of the Hospital Wing. On her way out, Rita caught up with her, sweeping past her with a little “ta-ta” sort of wave over her shoulder.]

Rita: “Best of luck with your practices, Carewyn! I’ll be seeing you...”

[Carewyn’s eyes narrowed on the woman’s obnoxiously colored magenta back.]

Lucky me.

[She gave a low, sardonic huff, turned on her heel and strolled off.]

((OOC: I’m sorry, I just couldn’t resist giving some love to Carewyn’s “bb bear” Kyril Vasiley @kyril-hphm​ in that one liner -- even if yeah, I think your Skye is a Gryffindor, Ky? XDD OH WELL.

In Carewyn’s universe, partially because Skye is a seventh year here and partially because I don’t love the way Skye’s been written in the game, I’ve decided to write her as a more three-dimensional and potentially likable character (even if I myself see her as pretty gray). She and Carewyn are never going to be friends again, but Skye does feel legitimate remorse for their broken friendship and for how her actions lost the Slytherin team a really brilliant Chaser -- most notably, the first person she ever trained in Quidditch herself. Skye exhibits what I feel is a rather toxic attitude, not knowing how to censor herself, look before she leaps, look at things from someone else’s point of view, not take any disagreements as personal attacks, or put other people’s feelings before her own (which of course puts her in direct conflict with Carewyn, who’s super attuned to that)...but in this version of events, she at least has figured out by this point that she’s made quite a few mistakes and caused a lot of damage. She just isn’t the best equipped to fix what’s been broken on her own.

BTW, do any of your Slytherin MC’s play Quidditch? Please consider commenting on this post if they do -- I could use some names for the Slytherin Keeper, a Beater, and one more Chaser. Since Carey and Orion are two of the Chasers and I already want to salute Night Rhea @nightrhea-hphm​ as one of the Beaters. ;3))

[the-star-knight]

Tales of A Star

Tales of A Star

Summary: A retelling of the show through Star’s eyes

Chapter 4 - Queen For A Day

Word Count: 3,147

Author’s Note: Sorry this took a while. I wasn’t motivated to write lately. It's the writer's struggle.

◀︎Previous Chapter || Next Chapter ▶︎

Today is the last day before Rapunzel takes over as acting queen. 

I walked past the throne room on my way to help my mom with cleaning the bedrooms of the royal family. I couldn’t help but take a peek in the throne room.

Rapunzel sat next to her father in the throne room observing him while he was having a royal hearing with the citizens of corona. 

Then I saw Varian’s father, Quirin, approach the king.

“Hey,” I heard a voice behind me.

“Ah!” I yelped. I turned around and to my relief I saw Varian there.

“Oh, hey there. What are you and your dad doing here?” I asked him.

“We came here to ask for help from the King, things in Old Corona aren’t getting better.”

Quirin began to speak to the King and we peeked behind the door. 

We overheard what Quirin said, apparently Varian’s and Quirin’s story don’t match up.

“What?” Varian whispered. 

Quirin asked for more land since Old Corona had such a fruitful harvest. The king granted his request.

Quirin began to walk towards our direction. I began to panic and I hid behind the door, I knew this was gonna be messy.

"Star? W-where are you going?" Varian asked.

His dad came closer and Varian stopped his father. Varian started telling him why he lied in front of the king.

"That is enough Varian!" Quirin said sternly.

Varian froze.

"Yes, sir…" he looked down. 

Ouch.

Quirin walked away and Rapunzel came through the doors. I got out of my hiding place.

"My dad lied. Things in Old Corona are getting worse…"

"How much?" Rapunzel asked.

He looked away and paused for a moment, "A lot worse…"

This is bad. Real bad.

"Give me until my dad comes back," Rapunzel said. "We're in this together, I promise."

"Don’t worry, we'll figure this out," I tried to sound optimistic but i wasn't convincing myself.

Today the King and Queen are off to travel for two days for their anniversary. Rapunzel would remain in charge for those two days. As soon as the king and queen left mayhem broke all over the castle. The Pub Thugs crash into the castle.

I watched from a ways away what was going down. When people got word that the princess was going to be the one having the hearing, more people in the kingdom conveniently decided to show up. I guess since people have this perception that since Rapunzel is new to this and that she is very generous, she might give them whatever they requested.

It was frustrating watching Rapunzel having to solve issues that adults should be able to resolve themselves. Some issues can definitely be taken to the royal hearing, like the cat and rat infestation in the town square. But there were other issues that could be resolved without a royal hearing. 

Later, the weather began to change as the wind blew with cold air and snow began to fall lightly. I went home to grab my jacket and earmuffs.

Rapunzel came out of the terrace with a winter coat. She announced today as a snow day. I mean we can see that.

Eugene wasn't fond of the snow. I've heard him complain about the snow more times than I would like to hear. Cassandra teases him about it which honestly doesn’t surprise me.

We played in the snow for a while. My sisters and I threw snowballs at each other and made snow angels. You know, typical fun stuff to do in the snow.

"Mariana!" Maribel called. "It's the perfect time to get hot cocoa! Let's tell mom to make some."

"Yeah! Love hot cocoa! Come on!" Mariana grabbed Maribel's arm and dragged her home.

It was getting dark. I'm glad my sisters went back home.

"Have you ever seen so much snow?" Rapunzel gleamed. 

"Once." Xavier responded to Rapunzel’s rhetorical question with seriousness. 

Xavier was near a fire. Rapunzel, Eugene, and some other people gathered around his fire.

He told us about the legend of Zhan Tiri, a demon that cursed Corona with a storm strong enough to nearly destroy it. Just the name alone was enough to send chills down my back.

Suddenly, the weather became harsher. The wind started to blow furiously and the snow began to fall even heavier.

A gust of wind blew out Xavier's fire. 

I guess that's our cue to go.

"Everyone inside!" Rapunzel ordered.

I couldn't agree more.

A horse neigh came from a distance. Slowly, Maximus came out of the darkness, without the carriage of the King and Queen.

The Captain took a look and concluded that there was an accident. 

The look on Rapunzel’s face was heartbreaking.

I'm glad my sisters and my parents are at home before the storm got stronger. I stayed in the castle near the fireplace. Several other people that weren't able to go home stayed in the castle as well. 

I stared at the fire burning in the fireplace. I watched the bright red embers float up and disappeared into the air. I felt its warmth. Ironically, I didn't feel warm. I was worried. The story that Xavier had told us kept lingering in my head. Could it be the curse? Has Zhan Tiri really had it that bad for Corona? 

No.

That couldn’t be. Demons don't exist, right? Much less curses. Corona won't be entirely buried in snow. Right? 

No matter how many times I logic through it, I can't shake off the feeling of something bad.

I could hear the wind howling outside, which is in it as itself is already bad enough, but the wind blew with such fierce that it blew the windows wide open. Rapunzel quickly shut and locked the window. I’ve never seen her in such a deeply distraught state. She kept forcing a smile when tending to the people that weren’t able to get to their home before the storm worsened. 

She talked to Nigel about going after her parents, but Nigel knew that it was too dangerous. Eugene and the Pub Thugs offered to rescue her parents. It was painful to watch Eugene and Rapunzel say goodbye to each other.

I couldn’t help but to think of my family. I hoped they were okay. Don’t worry, they are at home probably near a fireplace all nice and warm. Heck, they probably even have hot cocoa too.

At least I didn't have it as bad as Rapunzel. Rapunzel has a lot on her shoulders. She has to decide whether we should evacuate everyone to the mainland to seek shelter if this storm gets worse. Cassandra tried to comfort her. 

Cassandra's owl came through the window. Apparently the worst of the storm has yet to hit. If this storm wasn't bad enough we have a lot more coming. 

Again, Nigel strongly recommended for Rapunzel to evacuate everyone to the mainland since the island could be entirely buried in snow. If this is true then I better warn my parents.

"What about Xavier?" Rapunzel asked.

Xavier and his story about a machine that was able to drive the storm out of Corona. 

Nigel thought that idea was absurd, which I do agree with. It's just a legend right? Then again this storm seems to be just as strong as the legend says.

"Princess Rapunzel!" Varian suddenly bursted in the room. The guards tried to stop but he slipped right through them. 

Varian needed help with his dad. He's in danger. 

"It's okay, Varian, whatever it is we'll try to help you," I tried to calm him, he was pretty shaken up.

"Star!" Another person busted in the room. 

He was a neighbor of ours, he came in out of breath. "Star! Your family!" He finally managed to say between breaths.

My heart dropped. "What happened?!"

"The roof...collapsed...your family is stuck inside! Come quickly!"

I looked around the room. Varian was still talking desperately with Rapunzel. I felt bad for leaving with all these issues surging up.

I walked towards Varian and Rapunzel. "I have to go. My family needs me. I'll try to help you guys soon as I know my family is safe." 

Rapunzel nodded and Varian still looked worried. 

I left the room with a heavy heart.

The ice cold wind whipped my face. The snow was falling so hard I couldn't see too far ahead of me. The snow felt like needles hitting my skin.

My neighbor told me that the snow was too much and the roof collapsed. Only my dad got hurt by protecting my mom and sisters. He also told me that my dad shooed off the guards when they tried to help them because he had everything ‘under control’ and that the guards had ‘other more important things to do’ since he thought they weren’t in immediate danger. I would like to beg to differ. 

My neighbor and I were stopped by a royal guard. "Halt! The princess has ordered for everyone in Corona to be evacuated to the mainland!"

Guess Rapunzel made her decision, I thought

My neighbor turned to me and I knew what he was going to say. "I'm sorry but I need to make sure my family is safe," he said remorsefully.

"It's okay. I understand. I think I can manage it from here." I put my hand on my chest where my necklace is. I think I could get them out since I have a sword made of magic. "Thank you, though." 

I continued to run off into the storm hoping that my family is okay. 

I ran up to my house. The roof has collapsed in front of the door. I ran to the backdoor. The door was completely buried in snow. 

"Mom? Dad?" I called.

"Estrella?" I could barely hear my mom through the giant pile of snow. 

I tried digging to find the door handle, but I stuck my whole arm in and couldn't feel for it anywhere.

"Shovel. I need a shovel," I said to myself. I ran to the stables where we kept some shovels. 

On my way to the stables, I saw less and less people. They were packing up whatever they could. They were being evacuated. 

When I entered the stables, I immediately went rummaging through the tools we had stored. 

I didn't find a single one. Of course there wouldn't be any. All of Corona is buried in snow. Everyone probably took every single shovel in the entire kingdom.

I ran to the shed where we kept the bags of oats and hay bales to see if there were any shovels left. Of course there weren't any. 

"Mom! Dad!" I yelled as I ran back home. "There aren't any shovels! All of Corona is being evacuated! I'm going to get you out of there!"

"Are you sure, Star?" I heard my mom ask through the door.

"Yeah," I said hesitantly.

I looked around me. It was dark and cold. I couldn’t feel my nose. My hands were gonna go next. 

“Someone! Please help me! My family is trapped here!”

The only response I got was the howling wind. It was empty, not a single person in sight. Everyone around me was able to manage to evacuate safely with their families. The snow swirled all around me. As far as I can see, I was alone in the dark storm.

“I’m sorry,” I began to break into tears. “I’m sorry! I can’t!”

I pulled out my necklace. I remembered the last time I tried to summon my sword. "Come on, don't fail me this time." I muttered.

 I cleared my throat and said, "Starlight, star bright, I wish for the power for me to fight."

To my disappointment, nothing happened.

"Come on, you can't do this. Not again." I muttered. I said the incantation one, twice, three times...nothing.

"Please, what do you want me to do?! I don’t understand!" I yelled desperately. I was frustrated with this stupid necklace. One moment I'm in my armor when I don't want to, the next moment when I do want to transform, I can’t. I don't know what I'm missing.

"Argh!" I screamed into the wind. I threw my necklace into the snow.

I knelt down into the snow.  I looked around me. Empty.

This part of Corona managed to evacuate safely.

“Someone! Please!” I yelled into the wind. I could hear my own voice drowning. “I can’t do this alone!”

I've never felt so alone before…

"Star?" I was able to hear my mom call me before it was drowned into the wind. "What are you doing?" She sounded concerned.

"I'm sorry, mom. I thought I could do this, but I can't! I'm sorry for letting you down."

“No, Estrella. I know you’re trying to help and that you are doing your best. We’ll find a way.”

I looked down on the ground and I sharply inhaled.

I stuck my arm into the snow and dug through trying to find my necklace. No, I’m not gonna give up.

I dug and dug, finally, I found the necklace. I brushed off the snow and I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"Starlight, star bright, I wish—no," I stopped and tried to look for words that fit. "I order, I command, I summon, the power for me to fight."

Then I felt a connection from the necklace. It started to glow and with a flash of light I was in my armor. “Oh thank goodness,” I muttered. 

I was able to summon my sword and ran towards the front door. Still blocked by snow, I thought. I ran to the side of the house. The window was covered in fog. I wiped away the fog, I looked inside. My mom put on a blanket over my sisters. My dad was wearing a cloth wrapped around his arm. Behind them there was debris, broken furniture, and pieces of wooden plank from the house.

I knocked on the window. "Mom! Dad! Back away from the window!"

I saw them move back.

I swung my sword at the window, cracks began to appear in the glass. The latch on the window began to fall. I slashed again and the window finally bust open. 

"Mom! Dad!" I entered through the window.

"Estrella!" My mom cried. "What are you wearing—you know what? Nevermind. Here take your sisters first. I'll help your dad."

I picked up my sisters. They were cold and shivering. "Come on, you better hold on."

Marianna cleaned off her nose, "W-we didn’t get t-to drink hot cocoa yet." She managed to say through her chattering teeth.

"Don't worry once I get you out of here, I'll make sure you get some."

I carried them out the window.

I went back to see that my dad's arm was pretty hurt.

The walls began to creak around us. 

“Mom, hurry outside before this building goes down!” I grabbed my dad’s arm and helped him up.

“No, I’m helping you with your father,” she went to my dad’s other side and help him up as well. 

Creak!

“We better hurry up!” I said.

“Mija, what are you wearing?” he pointed out my armor.

“No time to explain, dad.” 

My mom helped him go through the window. The building began to creak more and more. 

My mom fell into the snow and so did my dad. I heard the wooden frame of the building breaking behind me. I jumped through the window and into the snow.

BOOM!

I looked behind me horrified.

Our home collapsed within itself. The broken wooden frame of the house poked out everywhere from the snow.

"Our house…" Mariana whispered sadly.

My mom went over to hug her, "The important thing is that we are all okay."

I looked up at the sky. The gray clouds were clearing out. The snow was no longer falling heavily. I smiled and sighed in relief.

My family went back to the castle. It was the only place that we could really go. Rapunzel said we were welcome to stay as long as we needed. She even mentioned how she actually found the Demanitus machine that was able to stop the storm. I would be doubtful but after all that happened I was not going to question it.

As the weather became warmer and cold air lifted, the snow began to melt throughout the kingdom. I no longer needed to wear my jacket and headed out of the castle where Rapunzel waited anxiously for her parents and Eugene to come back.

“They’ll make it, Rapunzel.” I tried to comfort her. “The storm is over thanks to you.”

Rapunzel sighed. “Thanks. It’s what I had to do as acting Queen.”

We continued to look onward and we saw small figures coming closer. It was the King, Queen and the rest of the gang. 

Rapunzel smiled and ran to hug Eugene and her parents. 

I smiled. They were back together. A family.

Varian!

Oh my gosh! Varian! He needed help. I felt my stomach turn into a knot. I ran towards the stables and got on Luna as fast as I could. 

We galloped towards the bridge that connected to the mainland, but a guard stopped us.

“Hold it!” he said and we came to a full stop. “No one is allowed to cross the bridge as time.”

“We can’t stop! We have to cross the bridge!”

“Sorry, but the storm caused an explosion that destroyed the bridge. We have strict orders that no authorized personnel can cross the bridge.”

“What?” I panicked. “No, no, no. You have to let me cross.” I jumped off Luna. “Please you have to let me cross the bridge! I need to see someone! Please!” I walked toward the bridge but the guard stopped me before I could get too far. 

He got on one knee to get to my eye level. I hate it when people do that, It always reminded me how short I was when they wanted to talk to me. 

“Look kid, I understand that you want to see someone you care about. We all do. I’m only doing my job. Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”

I sighed. “I understand.” I didn’t want to make this harder but I can’t let Varian down like this. 

“Do you know how long it will take for the bridge to be fixed?” 

“Hard to say,” he stood up. “Days, if everything goes to plan. Maybe weeks?”

“Weeks?” I squealed out. “I can’t wait that long.”

“Don’t worry. The sooner everyone cooperates, the sooner this bridge gets fixed.”

I went up on Luna and looked outward towards the rest of the kingdom. There was still a good amount of snow everywhere. I couldn’t see Old Corona from here. “I’m sorry, Varian…”  I whispered. Luna and I headed back to the castle.

[im-up-to-shenanigans]

Fairy Tale

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Summary: After getting Chinese takeout together, Ladybug and Cat Noir must battle an akuma and discover that maybe dreams really do come true. Ladynoir July 2020, Day 5: Banter

Rating: K+

Characters: Adrien Agreste | Cat Noir, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug

Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Cat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug

~*~*~*~

A/N: Credit to someone on YouTube (not me, but I couldn't find the original comment, so I can't give you a name. I did ask - and got- permission to use this idea, though) for coming up with the idea for this. I made some minor tweaks. Also, this is my first fight scene for anything ever (also first original akuma). Anyway, have some Ladynoir! (Also, yes, I put a Once Upon a Time easter egg in here. No, I’m not ashamed of it.)

~*~*~*~

Patrol had been quiet that night, which was a relief. After several consecutive days filled with akuma attacks, the heroes of Paris were grateful to have a peaceful night. Ladybug and Cat Noir were currently sitting upon a beam of the Eiffel Tower, swinging their legs back and forth as they talked and laughed. Ladybug had brought some Chinese takeout to eat (It wasn't as good as her mother's authentic Chinese food, but Cat Noir didn't need to know that.).

"That was pretty good! I've never had Chinese takeout before," Cat said as he finished his food. He looked at her with a bit of awe and wonder in his eyes, as if she were his everything.

Ladybug blinked. "Wow, really?"

Her partner nodded. "Yeah, my father has my diet regulated, and I don't get to eat much food like this." He smiled.

"Then I'm glad I introduced it to you." She smiled softly back at him.

Cat Noir's smile turned into a toothy grin, and he leaned forward. "I'd be willing to try anything for you, M’Lady." He winked.

Ladybug rolled her eyes and pushed him away gently. "I'm having second thoughts about this."

"Too late, ‘Bug. Food's already gone." He gestured to the empty white boxes. He turned back to her, his face void of any goofy expression, suddenly serious. "But honestly, it was amazing."

Ladybug shrugged. "It was just takeout. I wouldn't call it amazing."

"You are the one who brought it. It is wonderful because it came from you.” He stared into her eyes, his own filled with conviction and sincerity.

Her heart did a funny little flip in her chest. Not wanting to figure out the reason behind it, she turned away, digging in the bag from the Chinese restaurant. "I nearly forgot the best part." She produced two small packaged treats of some sort. "Fortune cookies!" She gave one to him.

He watched as she opened her cookie and took out the little slip of white paper before doing the same.

Ladybug popped the cookie in her mouth as she studied the paper. "What does yours say, Kitty?"

He glanced down at the white slip that came out of his own cookie. "Follow your dreams."

Ladybug paused. "Huh, mine says the same thing."

Cat Noir scooted closer. "Maybe it's a sign." He grinned at her again.

She laughed and nudged him with her shoulder. "Down, Kitty. They are probably just running out of ideas to put in these things." She crumpled the fortune before gathering the empty cartons, shoving everything in the bag.

Cat shrugged before looking over the city, his eyes gaining a thoughtful look. "I guess that's a possibility. I just think it's strange that I would get this particular fortune today of all days."

Ladybug paused, glancing over at her partner and taking in his thoughtful expression. "Why's that?"

"I had a pretty great dream last night. It was about you."

She snorted. "How is that different from normal?"

He looked over at her and scowled, crossing his arms. "Haha, very funny." He pouted.

She giggled before reaching over and ruffling his hair. "Oh, lighten up, Cat." She pulled her hand away. "Tell me about your dream."

Cat leaned back on his arms, face turned to the stars. "Well, the two of us were walking hand-in-hand in a park along a moonlit path. We came across André and his ice cream cart and decided to get some.” He smiled softly up at the stars. “It was amazing.”

Ladybug felt the corners of her lips pull up in amusement. “The ice cream or the dream?”

He turned to look at her, a smirk forming on his lips. “Why not both? Care for some ice cream, M’Lady? After all, the fortunes did say to follow our dreams.”

The spotted heroine cocked her head in thought, her gaze falling over the streets of Paris lit up in the night. “Well, since we're talking about dreams, I had a pretty interesting one about the two of us last night as well.”

Cat Noir smiled. “Really? You dream about me?” He laid a hand on his heart. “You flatter me, Bugaboo,” he said, a silly grin on his face as he pretended to swoon.

Ladybug mock-scowled at her partner. “Didn’t we agree that you’d stop calling me Bugaboo?”

“Maybe you did. I enjoy the way you get all worked up over it too much to agree to any such thing.”

When she gave him a legitimate scowl, he started laughing. She huffed, crossing her arms. “Well, I guess you don’t want to hear about my dream.”

Cat calmed down, wiping the tears from his eyes. “Sorry, LB. What was your dream about?”

“Well in my dream, we were being chased by a bunch of knights, wolves, and witches out of a castle, past a giant gingerbread house, and up a hill in the woods with a well on top. Suddenly, we slipped on a giant broken egg laying next to a wall and went rolling down the hill.” She paused, looking over at him with the faintest smirk on her face. “I'm sorry, Kitty, but not ALL dreams come true...”

~*~*~*~

She was going to kill Hawk Moth. Because seriously? Who akumatizes someone at 3:00 in the freaking morning? She had tests in class tomorrow (today), and she did not have the time or patience to deal with this. Stupid Hawk Moth. He probably has no life. Probably never leaves his house and just sits in a dark room all day waiting for someone to akumatize. She was going to be dead to the world tomorrow and probably fail all her tests because of this. Great.

Grumbling a few choice words under her breath, Ladybug dashed over rooftops to the source of the screams. Upon arrival, she crouched behind a chimney to avoid detection while she surveyed the situation.

There were trees everywhere. The streets of Paris were being turned into a forest. People were screaming and running in all directions. Some escaped, but most were shot down by a beam of light, knocking them to the ground. Ladybug watched as the civilians hit turned into witches (with broomsticks) and knights with black armor (complete with black plumage on their helmets, mind you), rising from their place on the ground and walking to the center of all the commotion. Man, it’s like Darkblade all over again, she thought.

They joined a circle of black knights around who Ladybug assumed was the akuma victim. Ladybug could barely make out a figure in the middle of the circle due to all the black knights surrounding the akuma. With a huff of mild annoyance, she pulled out her yo-yo and used the camera function to zoom in.

The villain of the week was a little girl in a dress that came to the ground. The skirt was covered in lace and ruffles. The entire dress was sparkling and shimmering and was the color of cotton candy. On her back rested a set of wings that resembled a fairy’s. They were the same color pink as her dress with light blue undertones and accents. Her long, chocolate brown hair flowed down in waves, stopping halfway down her back, and an elegant tiara rested upon her head.

What really caught Ladybug’s attention, however, were the items in her hands. In one, the girl held a wand which she used to transform people into her black knights. In the other rested a large brown book. “Once Upon a Time” was written across the front in gold letters, and there was gold trimming around the edges of the cover to match the text.

“Good morning, M’Lady,” Cat Noir said as he dropped down beside her.

“You are way too chipper for 3 a.m.”

He chuckled softly. “So, what do we have here?”

“A little girl dressed like a freaking fairy princess holding a wand and storybook turning people into freaking knights and Paris into her own personal freaking forest.”

“Someone’s grouchy tonight.”

Ladybug shot him a glare.

Cat raised his hands up in a soothing manner with an easy smile on his face. “Let’s get this akuma taken care of so Sleepybug can go back to bed."

She rolled her eyes and turned back to the scene. The black knights were escorting the akuma toward the Eiffel Tower, the witches following behind as they flew around on their brooms.

“We better follow them. Whatever they’re up to, it’s probably not good,” Ladybug said as she started spinning her yo-yo. Not waiting her partner’s response, she took off after the crowd, Cat Noir following close behind.

~*~*~*~

Mistakes were made. No sooner had they reached the Eiffel Tower than the akuma had turned into into a castle with a flash of light coming from her wand. Ladybug and Cat Noir had followed the entourage inside… and were immediately surrounded by the akuma’s minions. They desperately tried to fight against the akuma and her posse. Eventually, Cat Noir managed to grab hold of her wand and snapped it over his knee. No akuma. The akuma victim spawned another wand for her use.

The heroes were getting overwhelmed and exhausted. With only a glance shared between them, both heroes turned and fled out of the castle, away from the witches and knights now chasing them. The akuma, who they now knew was named Fairy Tale, flew above them, turning cars that had not been destroyed when the city had turned into a forest into rabid wolves who joined the chase.

“We’ve gotta lose these guys.” Ladybug shot off another rooftop, both superheroes doing their best to avoid the streets because of the huge pack of wolves snapping at their heels while simultaneously dodging bursts of magic sent their way by the witches and running from the black knights that had followed them onto the rooftops, occasionally fighting off the ones that caught up with them.

"Couldn’t agree more, M’Lady. I know normally black cats are friendly with witches, but these guys seem to prefer the wolves.” He was right behind her, sometimes growling and hissing at wolves that got too close for comfort.

It was way too early in the morning for this.

"We’ll lose them at Notre Dame!” Ladybug ripped the sword away from a black knight and hurled it at a nearby witch. The witch tried to dodge, but lost her balance and fell from her broomstick. Cat Noir launched the swordless knight off the roof, and the heroes raced to the cathedral.

At first, Notre Dame seemed to be a bust, as the superheroes saw that the once glorious church was now a gigantic and elaborate gingerbread house that threatened to crumble whenever they touched it.

Ladybug glanced back at the oncoming horde, then back at her partner with a grin on her face, a plan forming in her head. “What do you say we give our guests a little snack?”

Cat smirked. “Read my mind, LB.”

The two rushed inside and hid behind one of the grand gingerbread pillars in the back of the church. Soon enough they were joined by Fairy Tale’s minions.

Cat darted out from behind the pillar waving his hands and shouting. As the mob closed in on him, Ladybug snuck back around to the front door and quickly shut it behind her.

Once he saw that she was outside with the door closed, Cat raced back to one of the pillars. “Cataclysm!” Cat quickly launched himself through one of the frosting windows in the back, while the entire row of connected pillars crumbled, bringing the rest of the church down as well and burying the horde in a mess of gingerbread and frosting.

The two heroes ran away from the rubble, heading back to the Eiffel Castle. Fairy Tale had made some adjustments while they were busy with her henchmen. It was now complete with a moat and drawbridge. A few remaining knights were standing guard while a few witches flew around the castle.

“We’ll be able to easily cross the moat and take the knights and witches, but the drawbridge might be tricky since I’m down a Cataclysm,” Cat muttered to Ladybug as they crouched on a nearby rooftop.

“Hmm, we’ll have to draw her out then.”

A few minutes later, as they were racing up a hill with two tall stone walls on either side of them instead of trees with an extremely angry Fairy Tale on their heels, the two heroes were regretting taunting her so much.

“I don’t remember the Champs-Elyseés being a giant hill.” Cat spotted a well at the top. “Or there being a well at the top.”

“Must be Fairy Tale’s magic. She’s been taking a lot of things from fairy tales and putting them in Paris.” Ladybug paused for a moment as they dodged a blast of magic. “Is-Is that the Arc de Triomphe?”

Cat consulted his mental map. “I guess so.” He glanced behind them. “Uh, Ladybug? She’s getting closer.”

The moment they reached the well at the top of the hill, Fairy Tale opened her book and shouted, “Once upon a time, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall!” She waved her wand and a beam of light shot past the heroes.

Before they had a chance to react, a huge egg fell from one of the walls and crashed right in front of them, cracking open. Ladybug and Cat Noir had no time to stop their momentum and slipped on the egg yolk, tumbling and rolling down the hill.

As they picked themselves off the ground, both covered in egg yolk, dirt, and grass, Cat’s miraculous beeped, signaling he had three minutes left. They searched for Fairy Tale and spotted her flying over the top of the hill. “Now might be the time for some luck, M’Lady. Y’know, before she gets here.”

She nodded. “Lucky charm!” A red ball of yarn with black spots fell into her hands.

“Ooh, a ball of yarn! Christmas came early for this feline!”

Ladybug hummed. “Not yet, Kitty. Would you be so kind as to distract her for me?”

He bowed. “As you wish, Mademoiselle.” He looked up and winked before taking off, shouting to catch Fairy Tale’s attention.

While she was distracted, Ladybug ran back up to the well and crouched behind it. Then she got an idea. She scramble up the nearest tree, breaking off a few branches. Soon, with the wood and the yarn, she had fastened the frame of a net. She opened up her yo-yo to text Cat. When I give the signal, lead Fairy Tale back to the well. That’s where I’ll be.

Once he sent a confirmation, she scrambled back down the tree and hid back behind the well. She peaked over the stone structure to see her partner still being chased by Fairy Tale. He doesn’t have long. Need to do this quickly. She took her yo-yo and wove it into a net for the frame large enough for the akuma.

She peeked back out and caught Cat’s eye. When she nodded, he nodded back and began running her way.

Ladybug took a breath. She needed to time this just right. She watched as Cat led Fairy Tale closer and closer. When he jumped between the stones and the wooden roof of the well, Ladybug brought the net up, waited a beat, then brought the net up as Fairy Tale passed through.

The akuma cried out in surprise, as her flight was interrupted. She went crashing to the ground, scrambling to get out of the net. She gave up, opened her book, and began to shout. “Once upon a time—” Cat Noir reached through a hole in the net and ripped a page from the open book.

An akuma fluttered into the air.

Ladybug untied her yo-yo and the yarn, freeing the victim and caught the akuma.

After everything was cleaned up and the little girl was given back to her mother (who just happened to be one of the remaining witches guarding the palace), Cat Noir looked over at Ladybug. “You remember that dream you told me about earlier?”

She raised an eyebrow and stood akimbo. “Yeah, what about it?”

“Well, you followed it.” He shrugged. “Everything you said happened actually happened.”

Ladybug narrowed her eyes before they widened again. “Yeah, I guess it did.”

Cat Noir stepped closer, tilting his head and smiling. “So, since yours came true, and we got the same fortune…”

Ladybug sighed. “When do you want that ice cream?”

~*~*~*~

When Marinette finally got back to bed that night, she would deny the smile on her face, no matter how much Tikki insists it was there.

~*~*~*~

A/N: So, I hope you enjoyed that. It, uh, kinda took me a while since I first got the prompt. Oh well. It happened eventually. (Also, this is my first fic on tumblr, so I hope this goes well.)

@ladynoirjuly2020

[nobodyfamousposts]

What's the CoN timeline??

I’m going to try to clear this up and work out the kinks so bear with me.

The Clash of Noir timeline is as follows:

This AU starts out in the plot of the 2D Miraculous Ladybug where Felix Agreste is the Black Cat. For Felix, the ring is cursed and he can’t remove it. So he’s stuck with bad luck and forced to become Chat Noir, but he hates it and needs a kiss from Ladybug in order to break this curse. He only works with Ladybug and attempts to woo her in order to get her to kiss him.

Ladybug eventually finds out this little secret of Chat Noir’s and is heartbroken because she at least thought they were partners. Figuring it would hurt less if she just let him go, she kisses him and breaks his curse, revealing him to be Felix (AKA, the boy she was crazy in love with). Felix immediately abandons his position of Chat Noir and Ladybug is forced to fight alone from then on.

Eventually, the akumas get to be too much for her to handle alone and in an assault on the school, Ladybug is killed in an attempt to protect Felix, revealing herself as Marinette and dying in Felix’s arms. Horrified, Felix attempts to use the Black Cat and Ladybug Miraculous to fix things.

A new timeline is created.

Felix wakes up in the past before he ever got his ring, but discovers he doesn’t exist and that instead there’s another boy named Adrien Agreste living his life. Felix takes this as a second chance and is intent on protecting Marinette and preventing that bad future from happening again.

Felix doesn’t trust any version of himself and is worried Adrien will take his place and repeat the events from the bad future. He still has some form of his “bad luck” powers and decides to determine his own successor to the Ring.

He realizes Hawk Moth is bound to attack soon and attempts to regain the Ring and keep Marinette away from Adrien. He fails in both.

Cue events from Stoneheart’s attack. Adrien gets the Ring and becomes Chat. And Marinette still ends up falling in love with Adrien.

Felix continues to attempt to push Marinette away from Adrien. This doesn’t work as he intends. Marinette continues to harbor feelings for Adrien, but Felix at least ends up causing her to temper them so they’re not as debilitating as what we see in the 3D canon.

Felix also keeps an eye on Adrien to judge whether he should be allowed to continue as Chat Noir. His juvenile antics and tendency to needlessly take hits and get himself in trouble are of great concern. In the meantime, Felix has left an impression on Adrien. And over time, hearing some of Felix’s opinions about Chat Noir’s behavior causes Adrien to temper himself and take fighting more seriously.

While watching Adrien, Felix is also searching for an appropriate replacement to be the new Chat Noir. Nathaniel? No, he doesn’t quite fit. Alya? Too much trouble. Luka? Certainly an option. Kagami? She has the fighting spirit for it.

Felix fails to realize that he’s having an impact on people or akuma fights. He continues to intervene behind the scenes in several akuma battles in an attempt to protect Ladybug, but is having trouble due to being a normal civilian.

Fu notices this intruder and his strange dark aura. He realizes that Felix does not “belong” and chooses to keep an eye on him.

Princess Fragrance — Felix steps in to assist in aiding Prince Ali while Marinette is trying to get Tikki healed. Because of Felix’s interference, Prince Ali is able to avoid being caught. Chat Noir still gets hit with the perfume and becomes Princess Fragrance’s servant. He attempts to capture the two, but Felix manages to take him down and knock him out. Felix takes the Ring and traps Adrien in a closet. This allows a short reunion between Felix and Plagg—who reveals he remembers everything about the previous timeline. Felix transforms to become Chat again (temporarily) in order to help keep Princess Fragrance at bay. When Ladybug arrives, she KNOWS this isn’t her Chat Noir, but he’s all the help she has at this point so she is forced to work with him. She is surprised that his powers are very different—bad luck instead of pure destruction. They still manage to take out Princess Fragrance and end the battle. Felix does not reveal himself. He doesn’t have the time or inclination to explain things to Ladybug at this point and assures her that the previous Chat Noir will remain the Black Cat (for now). He goes back to where he left Adrien and returns the Ring, but warns Adrien that he will be watching him.

OPTIONAL (This was thought up before the reveal about the Peacock Miraculous being damaged): Felix eventually realizes he cannot continue as he is. At some point, possibly during Bubbler or Simon Says, Volpina (after Adrien sneaks in and takes the book), or alternatively on a completely different occasion altogether, he manages to sneak into the office and get the Peacock Miraculous from the safe. He replaces it with a fake.

OPTIONAL: Volpina happens differently. Tikki still notices and stresses about the book. Marinette is angry over Lila’s lies. It’s not even because she’s jealous over Adrien—she is just outright FURIOUS that Lila is lying about her and trying to manipulate Adrien based on that. She goes to confront her during her little “date” with Adrien in the park. Felix interferes and stops her. Something is wrong. Marinette wasn’t like this before. In the previous timeline when it came to Volpina, she had privately confronted Lila kindly but sternly about her lies to warn her of the danger she was putting herself in, NOT just go up to Lila and try to out her in public. That’s…not how Marinette is. But when Ladybug expresses being upset due to Lila lying, Felix is horrified. Marinette was never this reactive about lies before—it’s an echo of the previous timeline and a remainder of the impact HE had on her because of his betrayal. Because he LIED to her before. He’s horrified because even removing himself from existence couldn’t erase the harm he caused her. He encourages her to focus on getting the book and swears to deal with Lila himself. Ladybug is uncertain, but is calmer now (albeit mostly out of confusion) and agrees. Felix is the one to confront Lila in front of Adrien and call her out. Ladybug takes this opportunity to search the trashcan and take the book. She may or may not be seen, but regardless Felix is able to disprove Lila’s claim. Lila storms off, gets akumatized, and naturally targets Felix.

Felix uses the opportunity that Lila and her lies present to try to convince Marinette that Adrien really isn’t that wonderful or amazing as she thinks if he’s stupid enough to blindly trust Lila’s words. Marinette is left questioning. She retains her crush on Adrien, but there are doubts there.

After Volpina, Felix calls out Chat Noir on not trusting his partner. Instead of accusing her of being jealous, he should have taken her suspicions into account. He makes a point to highlight how unlikely it was that a meteor would just appear out of nowhere to nearly destroy the city when none of the space-monitoring agencies were aware. Of how convenient this happened JUST IN TIME for a new hero to appear. How this new hero’s first words—the VERY FIRST thing she said was that she was the ONLY HERO Paris needs. Of why on Earth the super villain who had been hiding in the shadows and turning people into monsters would suddenly make an appearance with no reason. Of how Chat COULDN’T put two and two together that the angry girl who had just been outed as a fake in front of him was very likely turned into an akuma because of it so she could parade as a hero to make her lies true. Come ON!

Chat/Adrien is defensive about this, but can’t deny the point made. He makes more of an effort to be more supportive of Ladybug. While he still questions her at points, he doesn’t dismiss her out of hand like that again.

Collector — Felix is the one to return the book to Gabriel. There is…a tension there. Gabriel doesn’t know what to think of it and doesn’t understand why he seems to recognize this boy when he has never met him. Felix merely returns the book and leaves. He doesn’t know Gabriel is Hawk Moth, but his father was never much of a father to him. And his having the book and Peacock Miraculous is still suspicious.

Fu decides to have a chat with this stranger. Either he approaches Felix or Felix has finally tracked him down—if it’s the latter, it will be because Fu LET Felix find him…

Felix is encouraged to reveal the truth about the original timeline and what happened. He explains his history—that he was Chat Noir, that he was cursed when he found Plagg, and how he only agreed to help the city in order to find a way to save himself. He reveals how Ladybug discovered his secret and kissed him just to put an end to the charade. And he goes on to tell the tragedy of how it killed her in the end.

He gritted his teeth at the memory.

“Ladybug fell. And the world followed.”

The man hummed to himself, processing that information with what Felix felt was nowhere near the appropriate level of concern. “And what of Chat Noir?”

He tensed. Because wasn’t that just what it all came back to?

“He…”

He thought back to her final broken smile, his own selfishness, and a kiss that both fixed and destroyed everything.

“He wasn’t there.“

“Pathetic, isn’t it?”

“I wasn’t there.”

Fu is…not happy to hear about what happened in the original timeline.

Fu ends up acting as a sort of mentor and advisor to Felix. He understands Felix’s concern, but doesn’t believe Felix understands why he made the choice he did when picking Adrien. He asks Felix to let him judge whether Adrien remains a suitable choice of being Chat Noir before taking away the Ring.

Felix is hesitant, but agrees.

Ultimately, the end result of this AU isn’t that Adrien loses the right to be Chat (though that’s not to say there aren’t branches where he could if he messes up badly enough), but that he grows into a better Chat Noir precisely BECAUSE Felix was there.

Think of the second Lego Movie and what Rex says at the end:

“It’s okay. I’m proud of you. You’re going to grow up to be better than me. But…kind of thanks to me, so I’m also great.”

[unfortunate-stranger-losers]

What are your headcannons for the kids from the four main All the Wrong Questions series?

oh geez there are so many 

Lemony Snicket

Listen every character in the Snicketverse is autistic but Lemony? HIGH.KEY. This boy cannot stand sensory overload and also stims with verbal recitation. 

After several months in Stain’d-by-the-Sea, the Associates got used to him just showing up and taking food. He eventually stopped asking, and then eventually stopped using the door. Moxie has, more than once, come downstairs to find him sitting on her counter eating cereal. 

Beatrice snuck into town once to see how he was doing, saw him and Moxie trying to jump off the roof of the diner with a tablecloth parachute and Jake dragging them back and screaming, and she just turned right the fuck around and reported to their friends, “yeah he’s fine.” 

Kit made him promise not to tell Jacques that she was almost in jail. 

MODERN AU: Gets into twitter and tumblr fights with obvious trolls. Tried to call CPS on Theodora just to see what would happen. Can recite any “Unraveled” YouTube video on command. Has an extensive knowledge of Pokemon. 

Moxie Mallahan

listen this girl is a lesbian in denial and she wrote Ellington Feint a note that said “get out of my town” because she didn’t know what else to do

She always kinda knew that her Mother was never coming back for her, but she didn’t admit it aloud until after Lemony left. 

Moxie: I can eat ten marshmallows at once. Kellar: You are a hazard to yourself. Lemony: And a coward. Do twenty 

Moxie knows how to pick every kind of lock, and how to break into every window. She takes her journalism very seriously and will get the truth even if she has to flip the world off as she does it. 

MODERN AU: Blogger. Once spent a week straight putting together a project and then passed out for forty-eight hours. Still carries a typewriter with her everywhere. Had to physically stop Lemony from eating a tide pod. 

Ellington Feint 

Had literally no idea Lemony had a crush on her because she’s just that gay. 

Actually popped up around town inbetween books constantly, mainly to chill with Cleo, Jake, the Bellerophons, and even Ornette. They just all neglected to mention this to Lemony. 

She doesn’t remember anything about her mother. All she knows is what her father told her; that her mother used to make music boxes, loved coffee, and died in a fire. 

Goes through a huge rebel/outlaw phase after escaping with Kit, because she’s completely lost and has no idea what to do or who to trust; her own father never gave a shit about her, as she now knows, so how could anyone care? Eventually she made her way back to Stain’d-by-the-Sea, where Moxie found her crying in the attic of Black Cat Coffee and awkwardly invited her to live in the lighthouse. 

MODERN AU: Has been on the run from CPS for so fucking long. Quotes Gilmore Girls almost daily and will argue your ear off about why Rory/Paris should’ve been endgame. Once ate a tide pod. Cries while watching the Addams Family. 

Kellar Haines 

Even after the Train Incident, he basically lives with Moxie. He just can’t trust his Mom anymore, and while he claims otherwise, they didn’t really have a good relationship before then, either. Lizzie stays with him. 

His special interest is in codemaking. He would’ve been really valuable to VFD if he’d gotten recruited. As is, Moxie kicks the ass of anyone who tries to kidnap him, so he’s fine. 

He’s also super good at crafting, and can make really cool art projects whenever he has the time. Lizzie used to give him art supplies whenever she could, and still hangs his drawings on the lighthouse fridge. 

He just gets so tired of his friends’ shit. He’d be a Mom Friend if he made any effort to stop them but as is he just kinda watches crap go down. 

MODERN AU: Constantly goes to the movie theater just to chill. Addicted to YouTube. Is the only one of the squad not freaked out by the Watership Down movie. Asks existential questions at random to scare the squad and then immediately says “yeet” in a deadpan voice and throws Squeak across the room. 

Pip and Squeak Bellerophon 

They took over the taxi for their Dad when he fell ill. He died a few months later, and they kept claiming he was alive, in fear that they would get separated by whoever was in charge of their case. The only person they told is Jake, because he eventually followed them home to ask their Dad why the fuck he didn’t feed them and found that they were living alone, and Cleo, because Jake can’t keep secrets from her. 

Pip and Squeak used to fight a lot, though they never intended any real harm. They slowly stopped after they started living alone, and Pip started kinda taking charge of keeping him and Squeak safe. 

They used to be very tight with Qwerty, because they were constantly at the library. He suspected their situation, but never confirmed it and was alright just making sure the kids were okay. Squeak would sometimes climb on the bookshelves and knock them over, but thankfully Qwerty thought this was funny. 

Squeak likes to “adopt” stray animals he finds in the backyard. Whenever he walks in going “gUESS WHO OUR NEW SIBLING IS,” Pip has to guess whether he’s going to bring in an injured baby bunny he can nurse back to health, or a squirrrel he just caught who is still struggling and about to destroy half the house. 

MODERN AU: Pip has a Nintendo Switch that Squeak can only play Animal Crossing on. Squeak keeps posting photos on Instagram of him and Pip driving illegally but everyone thinks they’re edits. Squeak once very seriously told Pip that he would have to marry Jake so they could keep getting free food from him (before they found out he was dating Cleo). Have slept in library closets before and will again. 

Cleo Knight 

Identifies as Demi-bi. She and Jake met as preteens, when she wandered off and got lost, and went into the diner to use the phone and call Zada and Zora. Afterwards, she kept sneaking out to visit him. 

Was much closer to Zada and Zora than her parents. She used to hang out in the kitchen with them, laying on the counter and practicing calculations or studying advanced chemistry while they cooked. 

Also very very autistic. Can only eat certain things, because she has huge texture problems. Only Zada, Zora and Jake have ever gone out of their way to accommodate her without complaint. 

Is incredibly reckless and never thinks anything through. While everyone knows she can take care of herself, it’s still nerve-wracking to see her run out the window, leaving only a note saying she’ll be back in three hours after trying to find a chemical, and coming back covered in blood that’s not her own. 

MODERN AU: Was a Guardians of Ga’Hoole kid. Would exist on a diet of cheetos, cereal and sprite if not for her boyfriend. Once, Ornette helped her break out of the house to go to the movie theater to watch Lego Batman. Super into Stranger Things. 

Jake Hix 

Literally is the only reason the Associates are still alive. He gives them food and makes sure they don’t kill themselves doing some stupid reckless stuff. 

Surprisingly, though, Cleo has had to physically stop him from fistfighting S Theodora Markson, who keeps forgetting to feed her fucking apprentice

Jake: As soon as I hit 18 I’m adopting you. Pip and Squeak, not even glancing over: Lit. 

Has been in love with Cleo since they met. Since their relationship is technically “secret”, Hungry pretends not to notice, despite how increasingly obvious it gets. She knows she should technically discourage this, but he’s just. so in love. When he’s not working, he spends his time in him and Cleo’s garden. 

MODERN AU: Has threatened to put parental locks on Lemony and Moxie’s phones multiple times. Keeps quoting The Princess Bride at Cleo, to the annoyance of the other Associates around them. Actually super into Doctor Who. Also keeps beating everyone’s ass in Mario Kart. 

Ornette Lost 

Has never once understood what was going on, but honestly she just rolls with it. “Guess we’re doing this now? Okay.” 

Keeps bringing stray cats into her Uncles’ house and adopting them. She has twelve now. There is no stopping her. 

Super close with Cleo and Jake. Mainly because she doesn’t mind third-wheeling, and will just fold origami when she gets bored, but also because she’s pretty good at dropping life advice and also is shockingly hilarious. 

Lemony: Ornette. Why did the toaster blow up. Ornette: Hm?Lemony: Toaster. Blew up. Ornette: Oh. Yeah I blew it up Lemony: why Ornette:  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

MODERN AU: Very into anime, especially Fullmetal Alchemist. Lives on ice cream. Has OPINIONS on the Disney Reboots. She got expelled from school because she graffitied GAY RIGHTS on the side of the building, and then a couple of middle fingers. 

Lizzie Haines 

INCREDIBLY protective of Kellar. She had more part in raising him than their mother; she was reluctant to leave him for her apprenticeship, but he convinced her he’d be fine. 

Sharon was a huge perfectionist in regards to Lizzie’s talents and studies, so Lizzie always felt very distant from her. When she left for her apprenticeship, she ended up bonding with Sally Murphy, to the point where Lizzie saw her as more of a parent figure. 

Lizzie noticed suspicious activity going on around town, and started investigating, even though Sally didn’t think anything was wrong. Lizzie had a conspiracy board and everything. She was kidnapped just as she was piecing everything together. 

It took her quite a few months to break out, but once she did, she immediately went hardcore and figured out how best to knock people out and keep them away from her. She had a lot of trauma that emerged after the Train Incident, but Kellar got very good at figuring out how to calm her down. 

MODERN AU: Hangs Christmas lights around her room and glowing stars on her ceiling. Knows more about Sonic the Hedgehog lore than the other Associates could ever understand. Huge Marvel/Star Wars fan. She has memorized all of Chicago, Hairspray, Black Panther, The Empire Strikes Back and Mamma Mia. 

[thetargaryenbride]

Leviathan - Chapter 7

*✧･ﾟ Summary: When a strange girl with suspicious abilities catches the eye of Nick Fury and he sends one of the Avengers to bring her under their protection, how will things turn out for them? She is different. There is something wrong with her. Most of the time they can’t decide if they should kill her or let her live. And then, they learn of her past - of all the secrets she has hidden. Her ledger is dripping, gushing, pouring - a whole ocean of red. And she? She is the most terrifying monster lurking in those black and red, mysterious and unexplored waters that can swallow the world and everyone in it.

*✧･ﾟ Warnings: Violence  

Y/N - Your Name      Y/M/N - Your Mother’s Name

Y/C - Your Country      “X” - The First Letter of Your and Your Mom’s Names

Word Count:  4060  *✧･ﾟ

*✧･ﾟ  REQUESTS ARE OPEN~!  *✧･ﾟ

────･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ────

☆☽ Masterlist ☽ ☆

────･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ────

You coughed harshly, your hand flying to your chest. Tony immediately rushed to your side and rubbed your back, his other hand holding a glass of water. You panted as you leaned on the pillows in a semi-sat, semi-lying position. Your beloved black cat didn’t waste time to jump on the bed and nestle next to you. Tony took a handkerchief and wiped the blood trail that had coated your lips and chin before folding it and wiping the sweat that has gathered on your forehead before bringing the glass close to your lips and helping you take a sip.

Things had been like this for a few weeks now. The injuries that you had acquired were a serious damage to your body, especially the acid torture. The poison Enzo had filled you with was persistent but they had managed to find a way to slow it down. They also managed to create an antidote and you had been drinking it a few times a day. But the recovery process was still slow. Your healing factor was also recovering slowly and you hoped that once it was up and running, it would heal you completely and flush the remaining poison out.

Things weren’t as complicated as before. Ever since Wanda’s revelations and confirmations, everyone had been much more relaxed around you and trying to be more open and friendly. They weren’t as suspicious of you anymore and were trying to build bridges. Trying... 

Tony set the glass on the nightstand and grabbed the comforter, covering you. While doing so, he took a glimpse of the small, golden necklace on your neck. The one you always wore. He smiled when he remembered what you told him a few weeks ago.

➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶

“I’m very curious thought… you already knew I was your… father… when we met back in Y/C… How?” he asked and you smiled, lifting your arm, your hand grabbing a thin golden chain and pulling it out from underneath your hospital gown.

“Do you see this?” you asked and he looked down at the gentle jewelry. “This belonged to my mom. She gave it to me… on the night of the attack…” muttered the girl and Tony’s face fell. He cherished Y/M/N. He kept her close to his heart. He loved her dearly. When he had heard of her death… it ruined him. He couldn’t even come to imagine how you had felt. And above all, you had witnessed everything. His heart reached out for you. “You see these three initials?” you asked and he leaned closer, staring. There were three letters – one “X”, one “X”, and one “T”.

“Mom always used to tell me that my dad was a genius that the world has never seen before,” you told him with sparkling eyes and excited voice. “Later on, when I grew up and had the chance to research more… I found a picture of you two together. I learned that she had been working for Stark Industries but she left after some time… And then I also remembered that my birth was just a few months after she left Stark Industries… Your name doesn’t start with a “T”… you are Anthony… but you go by Tony Stark… I managed to put two and two together,” smiled the girl and the man returned it.  

“You are brilliant,” he whispered and you chuckled.

➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶

“Hey,” you started unsurely once you got in a comfortable position. “I know you worry about my health… but I’m feeling much better… soo-“

“Will I allow you to go speak to our four guests?” he raised an eyebrow and your mouth froze in a ‘o’ before you pursed your lips.

“Well… yeah...”

“Well… I guess… after you take your nap,” he offered and you huffed.

“Fine.”

────･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ────

You were finally allowed to leave your room and go feed in the living room alongside the others. Here you were now, all gathered around the table, eating Indian food. You hummed in contentment as you shoved more of the Rogan Josh in your mouth. You gulped it down and were about to take another piece, when the coughing fit hit you hard. You coughed your lung out and a blood trickled down your nose. Tony, who was sitting beside you, flinched, still not used to seeing you suffer like that, wiped the trail with a handkerchief, while Wanda passed you a glass of water that you eagerly accepted and gulped down before letting out a sigh.

“Do we have pears?” you asked after some time and Tony nodded.

“Yepp, we do. Want some?”

“Yes,” you smiled faintly and he returned it before standing up and going over to the fridge, opening it and taking out a bag full of pears. He washed them before returning to the table, and started peeling them.

“No, no, no,” you put a hand over his which halted his movements. You snatched the pear from his hand and bit down. “The peels contain lots of vitamins. They also take longer to digest so that keeps you feeling full for a longer period of time and it kind of prevents the sweet cravings. Besides, it’s less messy eating them that way,” you shrugged as you chewed and Tony chuckled.  

“But what about the pesticides?” asked Peter and Tony shook his head.

“Those are pears from my garden. I’ve been thoroughly taking care of them.”

“You have a garden?” asked Sam with a raised eyebrow. 

“I don’t trust the fruits and vegetables people sell. Who knows what they do to them. And I have a kid after all. I don’t want Morgan getting sick and fucking up her stomach because of the shit food they try shoving down our throats,” explained Tony and you hummed.

“Preach.”

“You two are weirdly adorable,” laughed Bruce and Tony grinned.

“Of course we are. We are Starks.”

“Those pears are indeed amazing. They taste much better than what I buy. I’m so going to raid your garden,” you threatened jokingly and Tony chuckled. “Pears are probably one of my most favourite things to eat.”

“No one can beat the caramel, though. Or the chocolate strawberry combinations,” voiced Wanda from beside you and you sent her a teasing look.

“How did you know?” you asked knowingly and the witch sniggered.

A few minutes in silence passed before you took the last bite and put the leftovers in a plate, lifting your gaze to stare at Rhodes.

“Ok, I know you guys still don’t fully trust me, but can you stop looking at me as if I’ll snap and slit all of your throats? We won’t make any progression that way,” you sighed. “Besides, that’s not the way I prefer killing people.”

“Not the best time to joke about that,” whispered Tony.

“Yeah, we’ve heard of your favourite way of killing people. Ripping their hearts and spines off. That’s why they call you the Ripper,” grunted the war machine and you laughed, your eyebrows raising and brightening your face.

“Oh, really? So, I’m like what? Modern Jack the Ripper!?”

“Are you seriously proud and impressed by that?”

“Hey, now! I’m just preserving the culture,” you grinned widely as you wiggled your eyebrows.

“The sociopathic culture you mean,” drawled Rhodes.

“I’m not a sociopath. That thing with the heart and spine ripping? Happened only once,” you shrugged. “People just exaggerate it in order to create another story to scare their children with. Not my fault. I kill clean. Snapping necks, blowing brains and throwing knives very accurately,” you accentuated the last few words. “But what I’m good at is integrating within organizations and destroying them from the inside out,” you leaned closer and looked the man right in the eyes, making him glare at you, and the others to look a bit uneasy.

“Is that a threat?”

“I don’t know Colonel, you tell me,” you mused.

“C’mon, don’t fuck with their head. They are messed up as they are,” grunted Wanda, letting out an amused chuckle.

“Yeah, better stop,” added Tony but it was obvious he was enjoying this exchange.

“But Wanda, dad, I was just having some fun,” you whined.

“That’s not the best humour you got there,” drawled Sam with a faint smile.

“Not my fault he has a stick up his ass,” you exclaimed as you pointed at Rhodes.

“Sorry Tony, but I just can’t trust her,” growled the man in question.

“It’s up to you whether you trust me or not, Starboy. Do you think I care either way?” you asked mockingly and he bristled, causing Sam to chuckle.

“Not funny, Sam!” he sent him a sour look but the man only grinned more.

“Sorry but, it’s quite hilarious to me. She is one of the few who manages to get under your skin and piss you off so royally. Your face gets all red… it’s just, very entertaining.”

“See? Chirpy gets it. You should just ignore me instead of letting my shit get to you and rile you up. Don’t be the childish and immature one by firing back,” you chirped and Tony sighed.

“Y/N-“

“What? It’s the truth!” you shrugged as you tried to keep straight face but ended up snorting hard.

“You do realize that you are the bigger child in the situation, right?” huffed Sam in amusement.

“I’m faaar from a child.”

“Yeah, yeah. We already know you are a master of seduction. No need to prove it again.”

“Yeah, we all have tight pants here.”

“That was a good one,” your body jerked forwards as you waved your forefinger. “You are upgrading. But I wasn’t referring to my nightly endeavours and seductive infiltrating missions. How did you come to know of these skills of mine anyways?” you asked with a raised eyebrow and the men coughed awkwardly.

“Aha…”

────･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ────

“Careful,” muttered Tony as he helped you stand from the bed and gave you a crutch. You tightened your lips but gladly accepted the support.

“I want to see Fromir first,” you looked at Tony and the man inhaled slowly before nodding and the two of you made your way to the interrogation rooms. White and empty with only one chair and a table. The three were locked separately, being supervised by many agents, including Rhodes and Sam.

“Did he spill anything for the past weeks he’s been in here?” you asked once you faced the two soldiers and they shook their heads. You huffed as you entered the room, the other three following you. The man had been sitting on a stool with his head in his hands when he heard someone entering. He lifted his head and his eyes widened.

“Y/N!” he exclaimed as he stood up sharply, his gaze focusing on the opened doors. You stayed silent with a blank face, your hand gripping tightly the crutch. “W-we can t-talk this through, r-right?” he asked as he lifted his hands in surrender, sending a shaky smile, and you narrowed your eyes, your lips scrunching as your nose twitched. Tony raised an outrageous eyebrow and Rhodes and Sam blinked dumbly. The man had been so cocky and confident, a big smart-ass with a huge, babbling mouth, that spoke not the things they needed, staying silent despite their harsh interrogation. But the moment you had appeared, his legs trembled and his voice shook. There was a stifling silence that continued for a minute, causing everyone to stand on edge until you broke it with your raw, savage scream. Fromir took a step back when you threw the crutch on the ground and advanced on him, grabbing him by the shirt and lifting him in the air, throwing him to the side. He hit the glass wall painfully. It didn’t break because of its sturdiness but it was even more painful than if it had broken.

“Say it,” you growled as you strode over to him, not even limping despite your still weak body. Adrenaline and pure rage were pumping through your veins, accompanied by the longing desire of revenge. “Did you enjoy it?” you rumbled as you kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying and rolling to the other side of the room. Sam made a step forward but Tony outstretched his arm, his hand landing on his chest, as he sent him a look that clearly told him to not intervene. You neared the man quickly, speaking louder and deadlier with each word.

“Shoving your dick in my mouth? Slicing me? Experimenting on me? Did you enjoy it?” you snarled as you picked him up again and rammed him on the ground, causing him to lose his breath and grunt in pain.

“I did,” he gasped out and you snapped.

“Fuck you! I was just a kid!” you screamed as you grabbed him by the throat and lifted him in the air. “You took me away from my home! You killed my mom in front of me!” you shouted ferociously before throwing him away. He rolled on the floor and grasped his aching throat. “I’m strong because of you… but the price I had to pay was not worth that! Now it’s time you pay yours!” you choked, coughing, as you fell on your knees. Tony rushed to your side and grabbed your shoulders, steadying you.

“For God’s sake, don’t strain yourself! Do you have a death wish?” he contained himself from yelling as he watched you with red, concerned eyes. You calmed down as your breathing evened and you grabbed Tony’s shoulder, using it to support yourself as you stood once again. You walked slowly to Fromir who backed away in a corner and you only bared your teeth at him with pure resentment shining in your eyes.

“Whatever you did to me, I will do to you… tenfold… and then I’ll kill ya,” you grumbled out as you spat on him before turning around and limping towards the fallen crutch, staring at it for a second, contemplating, before bending and taking it, turning to look at Tony.

“I know my limits… I know when I need help,” you murmured and he let out a long sigh before he also stood up and neared you.

“I think that’s enough visits for one day. I’m not letting you out of your room until you fully recover,” he told you with a promising look in his eyes and you pouted but nodded nonetheless.

  ────･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ────

 “So… do you have something to tell me?” you asked as you stood with crossed arms in front of a kneeling man. He shook his head. “Because I have a lot of words on the edge of my tongue, waiting to be spilt,” you growled lowly before your hands grabbed his collar and hoisted him up, shoving him violently, making him stumble, although he didn’t lose balance. “When dad told me that he got some cowardly brat as a hostage, I didn’t think for a second that it would be you. After all, you were always so cocky. Such a big mouth. Hiding behind that favourite whip of yours. You looked so big back then. So scary and intimidating… I never thought you would be such a coward,” you huffed as you leaned on the table behind you. The man looked at his feet. You chewed angrily on your lip before you bolted and grabbed his hands, turning him around and kicking the back of his knees, making him fall down. You didn’t waste time to tie his wrists to the metal pole and secure him tightly. Ignoring his whimpering and pleading, you walked calmly to the table and grabbed a long, thin whip.

“I’ve always wondered… what would it be if I was on the other side… I’m quite anxious to finally have that question answered,” you sneered and before he even realized it, the whip connected with his back with a loud smack. He yelled. You did it again and again and again until his whole back was bloody and chunks of his skin littered the ground alongside drops and pools of blood.

“I remember this agent. Gods, I don’t know how she survived in HYDRA. She was so strong... She was probably the only truly good person there. Raised in captivity she was. But even thought they raised her with their ideals, she still held tightly to her own that she had secretly built… much like me, I guess… She was a great actress. Never let them doubt her loyalties. She was only true to me. She always took care of me. Whenever I was hurting. She healed me. She mostly helped me with the wounds you inflicted. She would put ice on my back. She would hold my hand. Stay by the bedside even,” you spoke quietly as you dropped the whip on the ground and leaned helplessly on the table as memories flooded you once again.

“And then she was sent on a mission. No details were revealed, of course. Just one thing. That she almost revealed HYDRA to SHIELD. A disgrace. One hundred whips she got… from you… I heard. Then you flayed her… She died screaming…” you reminded him and he gulped as he whispered pleas.

“P-please! I’m s-s-sorry!” that only made you laugh.

“Do you remember what they taught us in HYDRA?” you asked as you grabbed a knife and straightened, walking slowly towards him. “We beg for no mercy. And we show no mercy… Every time I begged for mercy, they would double the tortures until I stopped begging altogether,” you smiled bitterly as you tilted your head. “Are you so brave, all of a sudden? Do you dare ask me for mercy? I mean, I may consent and give it to you. But then again, after everything I’ve been taught and after everything you’ve done… do you think I will? Maybe you’ll just anger me so much that I would decide to flay you as well. Or maybe split you in half? Or do the blood eagle torture? That’s classic! I love classics,” you waved your free arm excitedly, laughing, and he sniffed, trying to keep his tears at bay.

“P-p-please,” he whimpered and you scrunched your nose in disgust. You leaned and breathed into his neck, almost causing him to sob and soil his pants.

“I think I’ve made up my mind,” you whispered and you cut the ropes on his wrists, setting him free. He fell on the ground and let out shaky sighs of relief.

“Thank y-you,” he sniffed but then he felt your boot on his body, turning him around so he was laying on his back, facing you. He groaned because of the pain but managed to compose himself and open his eyes to look at you. You were tilting your head left and right, observing him. And then you lifted your foot and drove the high heel of your boot right through his throat. He choked and sputtered and when you removed it, his hands flew to clutch his throat, to try and stop the flow of blood sipping through the hole. And then you threw the knife, hitting his head powerfully. It embedded into the floor below. He was dead in an instant.

“There is your mercy,” you whispered as you turned around and grabbed a handkerchief from your pocket, wiping blood drops from your hands and heel and throwing it over his body before walking away.

“Now… round two.”

────･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ────

“Gah!” screeched a woman as blood and saliva flew from her mouth.

“My, my… How the cards have turned,” you whispered as you faced the woman, your noses touching, before you licked her cheek. “I told you… that you would choke on your tongue and teeth,” you smiled crazily as you looked down at Narween. After another week or two, your healing factor had kick-started and helped you make full recovery. You were up and running in no time. And now… now there you stood, right after dealing with the coward, facing three people tied to chairs with special chains that didn’t allow them to use their powers… well, two... except Fromir.

You hummed a melody from Alice Madness Returns as you circled them. Your hands and front were drenched in blood. Teeth, nails, tongues, fingers… you could find anything on the floor.

“Now, I didn’t need to interrogate you per se… Abraham already told me of your plans, abilities, etcetera… But I needed a reason to torture you,” you revealed and their eyes widened. “Oh, yes. Abraham didn’t lose his memories of me at all. When he had the opportunity, he revealed everything to me. Funny, he thought you had erased MY memories of him… He died a second time because of you… and now you will pay the price,” you growled lowly as you came to stand behind Narween. The woman breathed shakily, her eyes watering, as you grabbed your shoulder with one hand.

“The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse… in modern terms, the edgy, emo book club,” you snorted. “Have you read poetry?” you asked as you tilted your head, your hand squeezing Narween’s shoulder painfully until a pop echoed in the room and the woman’s muffled yells followed, causing the men to cringe. “It’s quite nice. Let me recite something for you. It’s called “A Poison Tree” by William Blake,” you smiled evilly as you licked the stained with blood blade of your knife.  

“I was angry with my friend; I told my wrath, my wrath did end… I was angry with my foe: I told it not, my wrath did grow,” you recited as you brought your knife and slit Narween’s throat.  “And I watered it in fears, Night & morning with my tears: And I sunned it with smiles, And with soft deceitful wiles,” you whispered in Fromir’s ear as you walked to stand behind him. He let out a pathetic whimper when you squeezed his shoulder. ”And it grew both day and night. Till it bore an apple bright. And my foe beheld it shine, And he knew that it was mine,” you growled huskily before driving the knife through his throat, much slower than you did Narween. He choked for a while, his body jerking before he stilled. You straightened and slowly stalked over to Enzo.  

“And into my garden stole, When the night had veiled the pole;” you kept on reciting as you came to stand in front of the man, crouching down and grabbing his face with one hand, caressing his cheek with your thumb. You leaned and placed a kiss on his lips.  “In the morning glad I see;” you whispered, your breath tickling his skin, before you, once again, drove the knife down and slit his throat. “My foe outstretched beneath the tree,” you mumbled the last words as you watched him gag, blood spurting on your face, neck and collarbone. He stilled. The light in his eyes disappeared. You stared at his face for a little while before standing up. The knife slipped from your grasp and clanked as it fell on the tiles. You turned your back on the corpses.

────･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ────

Sunsets. They were beautiful. And yet so dangerous. They indicated the coming of the night, and the night was full of terrors. Demons lurking in the darkness. Your own demons, inside, fueled by the dark outside. You stood on the rooftop of the tower, staring blankly as the sun lowered more and more, your face illuminated, the sun’s dying fire burning in your eyes.

“Not avenging yourselves, beloved, but give place to the wrath, for it hath been written, 'Vengeance is Mine. I repay; saith the Lord...”

“And the Lord is me,” whispered the woman as she threw one last look at the setting sun before turning her back on it and walking away.

────･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ────

Chapter 1

Chapter 6

────･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ────

Author Note: I hope you enjoyed it~ Feel free to ask any questions if you are confused about something. Feel free to correct me if you see any mistakes.

When I say that phrase – “And the Lord is me” – I don’t mean to sound offensive. What I’m trying to say is that, while there IS a higher power, WE are those who create and rule over OUR reality. So, in OUR OWN world, we are the Gods because we make things happen the way they happen. We set our own laws and we obey them. We can also break them whenever we want to. That’s what I meant.

Feedback is deeply appreaciated~ <3

Moodboard is made by me. I credit Pinterest for the pictures I used.

Tags:

@dreams-of-feysand

@amillionworlds

@choixjay

@eridanuswave

@lunaaa-babbyyy

@deemoriarty

@love-me-91393

@serenitythepanther

@daniellajocelyn

@eridanuswave 

[diningpageantry]

Nemesis

Archive Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16979847

Word Count: 2040

Summary: Simon and Baz work at opposing coffee shops with a little more than your typical rivalry against each other. (POV Simon)

Carry On Countdown 2018 Day 19: Coffee Shop AU

“Oh will you stop teasing each other? Fucking hell.” The toothbrush nearly falls from my hand, head spinning to look at Penny leaning against the doorframe. Part of me resists claiming that I’m not ‘teasing’ him; I’d just told her through a frothy mouthful that I’d written his name as ‘Bass’ again today, and now she has the bollocks to tell me that we’re flirting?

“We’re not flirting, Penn,” I mumble, taking the brush out for a moment before jabbing it back into my mouth and scrubbing. I’m looking in the mirror when she responds, only seeing the back of her head, but by her gesture I can tell she’s got some sort of feeling here.

She snorts, raising her hands in the air. “You said flirting, not me.”

I roll my eyes, scrubbing my mouth for a solid 15 more seconds before spitting out a mouthful of soft green foam and rinsing my mouth, turning to Penny and pointing a finger at her. “We are not flirting. He’s practically my nemesis; why the hell would I flirt with my nemesis?”

A loud snort comes from her throat. “I think nemesis is a tad of an over exaggeration. You work at opposing shops, it isn’t like he killed your first born.”

Twisting the cap off the mouthwash, I roll my eyes and let out a “not yet” under my breath. That deserves me a solid pinch on the arm.

And like that, she disappears into her room and leaves me here to sulk, staring into my eyes through the bathroom mirror, cheeks full of burning rinse. I gargle, then spit, eyes locked down on the drain as I flick the water back on and brush it over my lips, then splash it in a wave over my face. Once, twice, then grab a towel and pat myself dry.

I don’t know why I agreed to go to this party knowing that he’ll be there.

All six feet (and maybe a few odd inches), perfect hair, flawless cheekbones and eyebrows and bloody fucking eyes and pretty much the rest of his god awful face of him.

All his fucking sharp dressing, condescending, “I’m-Better-Than-You-Because-I-Shop-Local”, leather wearing, sports car driving, posh accent-having of him.

Basilton fucking Pitch is gonna waltz right up to the party, probably his fucking henchmen at his sides because that’s what they are; he’s practically a supervillain. If you caught Basilton Pitch in a dark room with a spotlight in a turned around armchair, I can nearly guarantee that it’d spin around with him stroking a white, longhaired cat and you’d be like “Well fuck, this is where he belongs”. Even the name sounds like he’s got a master plan to destroy you (or maybe just steal your fucking customers by guiltripping them into thinking that by going chain for anything is killing local businesses). I need tips, too, and not all of us have rich fathers at home who can pay for what benefits cover instead of shitty corporate options.

Standing in front of my mirror, I scan over my sad excuse for a party outfit. I feel like a fucking fool whenever I’m next to him. It’s probably because he wears ridiculous button downs that don’t even have breast pockets somehow while I stand next to him in a 1970s nike tee that I found in a thrift shop dollar bin.

I grab a hoodie as I step out of the bathroom, throwing it on while patting around for my wallet and phone.

It feels like Penny’s practically dragging me there. Honestly, I have no idea whose party this is; shit, all I know is that Baz is gonna be there. Even when I asked Penn, she was vague about every part of it. “Oh, the host’s someone I met in a baseline Business Writing course.” When I’d asked what the hell ‘business writing’ even entails, I ended up bored and tuned her out after hearing ‘grant writing’ and ‘sponsorship proposals’.

You’d think that a student who takes ‘Business Writing’ wouldn’t be so popular, but here we are, a crowded one bedroom, one bath flat ten minutes from campus filled with the reek of spilt beer and hot from people’s continuous breathing.

It takes me nearly five minutes to actually get to the alcohol, and once I get there, I just grab a beer and start chugging.

Add a few shots, maybe one more beer, then definitely another shot or two and I’m completely smashed, eating half a pizza slice in one bite as I sway to the music blasting on the speaker by my ankle. I think it’s Whitney Houston, or Kesha. I can’t remember.

And there he fucking is, across the room with his head leaned back against the wall all coolly. His hair’s knotted up in some bun, and his eyes are shut. You’d probably mistake him as sleeping upright, somehow in full fucking control of his body (honestly, wouldn’t put it past him), but instead he’s got a slight nodding to the music going. He’s got a drink in hand, mostly finished.

I don’t realize my feet have been taking me to him until I’m staring close enough that I can count the eyebrows on his forehead, then he snaps his eyes open to me. Immediately, his lips pull down into a snarl and his gaze narrows in on me. “Snow.”

My jaw hangs open as I squint at him and slur a “Basilton”, trying not to lean forward and topple myself over. My feet steady on the floor, a little too far apart for a normal pose, but I guess I could be preparing for a physical brawl.

He sticks his nose up at me, slowly raising his cup to his lips and sipping with unfair grace. As he pulls away, his lip’s shiny and dripping a tad. Clearly he's fucking pissed and didn’t catch the last drop . My first thought is to lick it up, but then I trickly try to snap away from it.

I want to ask myself why I'd want to lick that up, but that’s a loaded question and I don't think I can even think in “real” sentences right now.

“Who invited you?” I half taunt, raising my eyebrows to him. I’m trying to be intimidating, but it’s failing miserably. In return, he’s just making a deeply offended face and retorts back.

“It’s an open party; I had a class with Megan. And Dev fancies her.” His head tilts slowly to the side as he talks, eyes resting boldly on mine. He rarely seems to break eye contact, making me squirm under his intense gaze.

I snort, raising my eyebrows to him in a very Baz-manner to mock him. “Good thing you’ve got classes; can’t stay making shit lattes all your days.”

He just laughs back; shortly, all in my face (granted, we’re practically in breathing room). “At least I have a future beyond barista tips, Snow.”

“Funny, you talk all up about your fuckin… free… range… beans… then look at you, eh? Economics major, dickwad.”

“I’m no fucking capitalist,” he spits, sneering down at me. I think I’ve leaned closer, because I can see the close details of the recently shaved smoothness of his chin. “You work low wages for a large company without good benefits, you’re fucking bold.”

“I’ve got benefits! Loads!” I call out, waving my arms to the side. My beer sloshes in my hand, spilling a bit onto the carpet. I disregard it, feet stumbling forward. “I’ve got plenty of customers too, since they can read our fucking menu.”

He gasps this time. Genuinely, outright gasps in the meanest way I’ve ever heard anybody fucking gasp, staring at me and looking borderline hurt. “My cursive is exquisite, you uncultured heathen.”

I smile with my entire face, wrinkling my nose up at him. “I don’t scare away my customers though, mister big fuckin cranium! And see! I can speak in big fucking words, arsehole.”

Now he looks more confused than anything, squinting at me as his jaw hangs open and eyebrows knit together. He blinks, squinting further. “You… are quite possibly one of the most pea-brained people I’ve ever encountered,” he laughs square into my face. I think our noses are touching. “Do you think about the words as they leave your mouth? It’d be a goddamn miracle if they even went through any critical thinking process!”

“I’m fucking loveable,” I hit back, head swaying a bit as I talk (or maybe just tilting? Leaning? What the fuck is happening?) “Everyone thinks I’m a ball of fucking love, bitch.”

“You’re more than insufferable, that’s what you are,” he breathes into me.

Then, what feels like out of nowhere (or perhaps it isn't), I’m pushing him against the wall. His mouth’s against mine, and he tastes like the poorly mixed drinks he’s probably been downing all night. Vodka, spiced rum, sugary juices and lemon lime fizzy. I don’t think the taste matters much, though. I don’t think anything really matters much, frankly, because he’s currently spilling the rest of his drink down my back as he wraps his arms around my neck and hauls me closer. I couldn’t care less. I’m on my tiptoes, snogging the life out of him in the middle of this party (I want to take him home and see how he's look below me). He’s leaning down, kissing me back like I’m worth all the air in his lungs (seriously, I need him in my bed now.)

Seems like he’s got the same thought on his mind because the hand on my back keeps tugging my tee, taking fistfuls and just holding me towards him, not letting me go (I might not fully know what I’m doing, but I’m pretty sure it’s not a mistake).

It isn’t until Penny finds us, tugging my shoulder away from Baz and starting to pull me back from him. He lets out a whine, eyes wide as I’m dragged off and Penny shoves herself between us. “You are trashed,” she accuses, poking a finger at my chest before swivelling to Baz. “You are trashed too.” She glances between us then huffs. “Give me your phone.”

“Fuck you, Bunce, I was in the middle of something” Baz mumbles, dragging his phone out and slapping into her palm. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever met anybody with the balls to say that to her. Fuck it, I was that something was in the middle of, but she just looks like she has some sort of feeling (I don’t really know, she’s complicated and usually she says a lot of words that I don’t entirely get and the musics really loud and god I need to pee). While I'm struggling to figure out the situation with my lips not attached to Baz's, Penn types something into the phone and shoves it back into his hands.

“Dial his number in the morning. If you dare fucking ghost him, I'll show up to your flat with a knife and I'll make a handbag out of your skin,” she says flatly, grabbing me by my wrist and dragging me out as I’m complaining loudly. She doesn’t stop dragging me until we’re back to the flat.

After probably the best piss of my life, I find her waiting in the hall with her arms crossed, looking awfully pleased with herself.

I groan, rubbing my face as I practically stagger in place, giggling to the spinning motion of the room. “I wasn’t making a mistake, Penn,” I mumble, rubbing my face as my shoulder leans against the wall (it’s an awfully tight hallway).

“I know, Si,” she says, tutting as she opens my bedroom door for me. “Just get some sleep; you’re going to have to actually use your brain tomorrow and figure wherever the fuck that was..”

“I was snogging,” I mumble. “That's all.”

“With Baz?”

I shrug, smiling at the memory of his lips against mine. Penn just scoffs behind (beside?) me.

“You're gonna have to talk to him, Si.”

I groan again, this time much louder, hitting the pillow and nuzzling into it immediately. “Mmmm I hate that.”

“I know, I know. Goodnight, Simon.”

“Mmmhmm nighty nighttime, Penny.”

[the-demelza-robins]

on the rarity of sunshowers (jily)

notes: no matter how hard I try, I always come back to hogwarts!jily...

words: 3.7k

James is jumpier then usual. Lily notices at breakfast; notices how he almost stabs his toast when he tries to butter it, how he catches his snitch twenty-six times in nine minutes, how he says, “Alright, Evans?” on no less than three separate occasions (not that she minds). He fidgets enough that Sirius threatens to expel him to the first years’ seats on the far side of the table, something that causes him to attempt to hold his breath in a bid for stillness until he’s turning blue, and Lily has to resuscitate him with her wand (not that she minds). He runs his fingers through his hair so that it looks even more messy than usual. He asks Lily to Hogsmeade, and when she declines, he says, “Just joking”, and her heart aches. She wants to accept his offer, but she can’t be sure it’s a genuine one. And she must be sure.

The fact is that she has fancied James Potter far too long — a year now, starting in year six all the way up to this rainy day in December — for anything to happen. It’s a cruel twist of fate, the way that their doomed love story worked out. Lily despises it for a number of reasons, the first and foremost being that perhaps the best comeback of her life, when she’d swore she preferred the giant squid to James Potter, was no longer true - in fact, it was a blatant lie, the most opposite of the truth she could get. She would take James Potter over most things, now, including her sister.

Though perhaps that wasn’t saying much, seeing as her sister hadn’t invited her to her wedding. Apparently it had been a simple affair, a quiet wedding on the countryside. Lily could imagine it: Vernon’s new car parked close enough that the guests could still admire it but far enough away that it could melt into the hills, a cake, short vows, a proper bride. Music, but not too much, and a big, white tent with turrets that would blend in with the overcast clouds above.

Yes, Lily could picture it. But that was all she could do, because she hadn’t been invited and, as were the natural progressions of such things, had not attended. What made the situation worse was that, because of Lily’s absence, none of Petunia’s family had been there on her wedding day. Still, Lily reasoned, it was Petunia’s choice.

Petunia blamed Lily for a lot of things, the most important of which being the death of their parents. When the news of their deaths had first broke, Lily had told her sister they’d died in a car accident, and in a way they had, since their car had been blown up by Death Eaters. It had turned into a rather large scandal when Petunia was informed of the truth by way of Snape, who set about destroying Lily’s life once he realized she’d never talk to him again. Petunia had been hurt, but instead of channeling the hurt into anger and the anger into action, like Lily would’ve done, Petunia had spat and stomped and called names that Snape must’ve also taught her, names like mud-

Well. No use thinking about any of that now. Lily turns her attention back to Marlene’s nervous assessment of the weather, the way that her best friend twists with the promise ring she’d received from her Durmstrang boyfriend as she looks up at the enchanted ceiling. “No clouds, just rain, a sunshower…”

Lily wonders why this matters; seeing as they don’t have Herbology or Care of Magical Creatures (it’s a Saturday), there’s no reason for them to go outside. Lily, for one, has been planning on curling up by the fire in the Gryffindor common room and reading The Shining, a muggle book that had been her father’s last gift to her. She finds it quite intense, but on a day like today, with the rain pattering against the window, she thinks it’d be nice to escape to another world, a world where the supernatural only existed in the Overlook Hotel… She let her thoughts drift again, back to her father, who would tell her and Tuney stories before bed until she insisted she’d outgrown them. There had been one, she remembered, that involved dragons, and a little boy who was fighting them, cheered on by people in the clouds. What she’d give to hear one of his stories again…

“Lily! Are you even listening to a word I’m saying?”

The world comes back into focus again as Dorcas snaps her fingers in front of Lily’s face repeatedly.

“Of course,” she responds hotly, flinching away from her friend’s fingers. It’s a lie, of course, but she’s been lying a lot lately and now do so without thinking and without giving anything away.

“Then will you please answer my question?”

Across the table, James and Sirius are now debating heatedly. Lupin and Peter are looking on with expressions of mild amusement. Lily wonders what they’re talking about.

“Hello?” Dorcas says. “My question: will you bring the sign for the game, or will I?”

“What game?” Lily asks, and she knows she’s made a mistake as soon as the words have left her mouth. James and Sirius stop their conversation and stare, open-mouthed, at her, something that she hasn’t seen them do in quite a while.

“What game?” James echoes disbelievingly, his snitch buzzing around his head like those birds in the cartoons Lily used to watch when she was younger.

In fact, the snitch is going so fast that watching it is making Lily dizzy, so she closes her eyes for a few seconds and says, “Will you please control your snitch? I’m getting nauseous.”

“Give it to me, mate,” she hears Sirius say, and the sounds of James’s muffled protests bring a smile to her face. They’ve forgotten her slip-up, or at least she thinks they have. For now she’s remembered what she missed, and she can’t believe she’d been that stupid. She opens her eyes and turns to Dorcas. “I’ll bring the sign.”

Her friend nodded, something like relief crossing her face. “Thanks, Lily.”

Marlene, however, doesn’t look as pleased. All nerves from before - Lily realizes why her friend had been nervous, it was because she was Gryffindor’s keeper -  have vanished as she questions her friend. “Why were you zoning out?”

Because James is sitting across from her, and sometimes his knee accidentally touches hers. Because Petunia is still not talking to her, and though Lily is strong enough to handle it, her sister had gotten married for Merlin’s sake and she hadn’t been invited. Because her parents are dead and The Shining is scary and sometimes she just wants to hear her father tell her a story before bed like he used to…

“Just tired,” Lily responds, flashing her friend a quick smile before standing up. “I think I forgot something upstairs. I’ll be back.”

“Quidditch starts in twenty minutes!” Dorcas hollers after her receding form.

“Oh, Merlin, we’d better get going…” James says, and then Lily’s out of earshot and alone with her thoughts. She takes her familiar path up to Gryffindor tower, thankful that everyone else is either at breakfast or on the pitch. She needs time to reset, time to stop the ever-growing lump in her throat before her eyes get watery. It’s happening more and more lately, that terrible feeling that surfaces when Lily thinks about everything, really thinks about it - Petunia, the wedding, Voldemort, her feelings for James - that terrible feeling that summons tears to her eyes almost immediately. At this point, she’s running on fumes, trying to keep up with everything in her personal life, plus schoolwork, plus being Head Girl.

By the time she convinces herself that everything is fine, she’s reached the Fat Lady. With the muttered mention of treacle tarts, the portrait swings open to admit her, and Lily climbs into the common room. Like the rest of the castle, it’s empty save for a few cats curled up on the comfier armchairs, but Lily pays them no mind as she crosses the space and walks up the stairs to the girls’ dormitories. She finds the sign that Dorcas had in mind quickly — it was furled on her friend’s bed, its letters flashing red and gold at a speed that was guaranteed to give Lily a migraine — and lets herself stop in front of the mirror on her way out. Her eyes aren’t damp, which is good, and her face isn’t flushed. She shows no outward sign of distress, which she supposes is a point in her favor. It’s taken her a long time to control her feelings (which is a mushy word for those urges she gets to cry all night or yell mindless insults)  — fifth year and below were a time when no one was safe from Lily Evans’ temper — but the war has hardened her, made her less accessible than she ever was.

She hears the cheer of the Quidditch crowd and knows she’s late. Grabbing the sign, she sprints from the dormitories to the common room, from the common room to the portrait hole, from the portrait hole to the entrance hall, and from the entrance hall to the pitch. It’s almost impossible to spot her friends in the sea of red-and-gold clad Gryffindors in the stands, so she resigns herself to sitting alone in the first seat she can find. The sign pulses underneath her cold fingers, and as the paper gets populated with tiny raindrops, she remembers that it’s raining.

“Lily!” She looks over at the sound of her voice to find Dorcas waving at her three rows up. “Come sit with us!”

Lily obliges, and once she’s sat down, she hands the sign to Dorcas, who thrusts it in the air immediately. “You’re seriously out of it today — YES, MARLENE! GO LIONS! —, did you know that?”

“Maybe,” Lily mumbles, her eyes searching the pitch for a certain Chaser. When she can’t find him, she turns back to her friend, conscious of Remus and Peter listening in.

“Can I ask why?” “No.”

Dorcas looks like she’s about to respond, but before she can, the sky rumbles and truly opens up in a way that suggests that the morning’s sunshower was just a prelude to the storm that is about to occur. The Quidditch players seem like nothing more than streaks through the sheets of rain that tumble down, and Lily finds herself soaked to the bone.

“Did you pack an umbrella?” Dorcas asks, looking similarly wet.

Lily shakes her head.

“I did,” a new voice says, and Lily’s surprised to see that Mary Macdonald has been sitting on the other side of Dorcas the whole time. Though Mary is a Gryffindor in their year, Lily has never had a meaningful conversation with her — in fact, Lily thinks she’s talked more with Hufflepuffs —  for she’s a very quiet girl whose nose can most often be found in a book. Besides, Lily had never felt the need to amass more friends; Dorcas and Marlene had always been more than enough, compensating not only for Lily’s lack of friends earlier in life but also for Petunia’s absence, once the sisters’ relationship had reached that point. Lily sometimes felt a little guilty that she didn’t know Mary or Alice Fortescue, the fifth occupant of their dormitory, as well, but comforted herself in the fact that the latter had never been very eager to make friends with her, seeing as her best friend had always been Frank Longbottom.

Now, though, Lily is extremely grateful for Mary Macdonald, especially as she produces a very large umbrella and opens it, shielding the three of them from the rain.

“Thank you,” Dorcas says, and Lily echoes her. She can barely hear Amos Diggory’s commentary over the sound of rain hitting the ground, and she has no idea what the score is. Still, she tries to focus on the game, but as soon as she does so, the players all drift downward and touch the ground.

“What’s going on?”

“Gryffindor’s called a time out, I think,” Mary says so quietly that the sound of the rain almost carries her voice away.

It’s a split-second decision, but one that Lily makes with very little difficulty. She’s tired, tired of everything in her life, but one thing she’s especially tired of is hiding. Hiding her watery eyes and flushed face; hiding her anger with Snape, left over from when he first called her that word; tired of hiding how she much she hurts and aches; tired of hiding how she feels when James Potter’s knee touches hers underneath the crowded breakfast table. She’s tired of it all, and she knows how to alleviate some of the exhaustion.

She stands up, and the rain batters her. The time-out has not yet ended, and now that she’s higher up, she can see the scoreboard: it’s 0-60, Slytherin.

“Where are you going?” Dorcas asks, a look of concern on her face. “You’ll freeze.”

“Down,” Lily replies, her heart pounding loudly in her chest. “I’ll be back soon.” With that, she races to the pitch, the rain pelting her back as she reaches the muddy field. She can see him now, the way he’s talking to his team, the look on his face suggesting the relentless optimism he’s trying to instill in his teammates.

When she’s ten feet away, he sees her. His mouth stops forming words, and he stares. “Lily?”

“James,” she says, and the whole team is watching her now, maybe even the whole pitch, but it doesn’t feel that way. She notices his misty glasses (it’s a wonder he even saw her coming) and keeps walking towards him. The team breaks their huddle to let her through, their eyes on her wearily, no doubt wondering why she’s so, so close to their captain…

James breathes in deeply — she’s close enough to hear it — and says, “Lily, what are you —”

She lifts her hand and takes off his glasses, and he blinks.

“Impervius”, she whispers (she’s always had a knack for wandless magic, something she’s very proud of), and his lenses clear up immediately.

“It repels water,” she says by way of explanation. She hands the glasses back to him, and he puts them on.

“Right. Thanks.”

“No problem.”

“Oi! Are we gonna play Quidditch or not?” yells the Seeker for the team (Lily doesn’t remember his name, only that he’s a fourth year and apparently doesn’t care that he’s stopped her from saying something impulsive, like I love you or I’m sorry).

“Please win,” she says instead, and walks off the pitch, feeling James’s eyes on her.

***

The final score is 200-70, Gryffindor, and Lily finds that she’s not quite as annoyed at the Seeker as she was during the time-out. Dorcas peppers her with questions almost as soon as the match is over — “Lily, what did you do to James?” being the most notable one — but Lily ignores her, because that moment felt private, even with countless eyes on them.

Marlene rushes right at them, only pausing at the last second to laugh at how terrified they both look at the sight of her. She’s muddy and grinning, and sweeps them into a hug immediately, covering them in mud and letting the heavy rain immediately clear it from their skin. Dorcas starts to complain about the clothing stains she’ll get from the mud, but Lily can tell that she doesn’t really care.

“Party in the common room!” Marlene almost screams, and Dorcas mutters something about how she’ll be deaf by the time she’s thirty, but Marlene doesn’t care and Lily doesn’t either, for she feels happy for the first time in quite awhile. When the hug finally ends, Lily looks at Marlene again, abandoning all subtlety.

“Has James left the changing rooms yet?”

Marlene smirks. “He was packing up his things when I left.”

“I’ll be back,” Lily replies, leaving Dorcas looking positively scandalized.

***

The walk to the changing rooms takes about a minute and a quarter, but to Lily it feels much longer. She shoulders through the crowd of happy Gryffindors and defeated Slytherins, trying to control her loudly beating heart. She knows that James is still in the changing rooms, knows because she can feel it and also because no overzealous Gryffindors are lifting him triumphantly on their shoulders.

She reaches the door to the structure and knocks twice. It’s opened, almost immediately, by James, his bag swung over his shoulder, broomstick in hand.

As soon as he processes who it is, his smile turns into a frown. “Lils? What are you doing here?”

Lily looks around the room, making sure that they’re alone. When she sees that they are, she closes the door, takes a shuddering breath, and turns to him. “Good job today.”

“Thanks,” he says, dropping his bag and broomstick and sitting on the bench in the middle of the room. “Is something wrong?”

She twists her fingers together. “James, I’ve been wanting to say this for awhile now, and —”

He cuts her off, standing up again bench and moving towards her. He puts his hands on her shoulders and looks right at her, and Oh Merlin, those eyes — “Lily, are you okay?”

“I’m not, but that’s not the point. Ever since sixth year, I’ve —”

“You’re not okay? What’s going on? You have been seeming off lately, I was going to ask —”

“James, would you please just listen to me!”

“Right, er, sorry.” He takes his hands off her shoulders and leans back a little, and Lily misses his closeness.

“Ever since the sixth year — and I know this’ll be hard for you to believe, but, well, here it is — ever since the sixth year I’ve had feelings for you, and at first I thought that they would pass, but it’s been a year, James, and I —”

He closes his eyes. “Lily —”

“James, would you please let me finish, I promise I’ll bugger off after —”

He opens his eyes, adjusts his glasses. “Lily, you don’t understand.” His hands find her waist, and Lily realizes that she’s misinterpreted his response. “Since fifth year,” he whispers, and she feels something opening inside of her, like the sun peaking through the clouds, “since fifth year, Lily, I’ve liked you a lot more than I should admit.”

She looks up at him. They’re so close, in more ways than one; Lily can feel them standing on the edge of something amazing, can feel James’s hands on her back, can feel the way he’s leaning in ever so slightly. “I’m glad we’ve got that settled, then,” she whispers.

He smiles, and then he kisses her. It’s nothing like Lily would have expected, no awkward moment when they’re trying to figure out how to hold each other, where to put their hands — in fact, to Lily’s overloaded and dazzled mind, it’s like they just fit, like they’re picking up from where they left off in a past life. She doesn’t think about this too much, though, because James is pulling her closer and she’s wrapping her arms around his neck and messing with his hair and feeling his smile against her lips, and she’s thinking that maybe they should get more comfortable, because she doesn’t intend on going to that party for a while, not when she and James have just stumbled upon something new and wonderful, not when James is backing her slowly against the wall —

“Oops!”

She jumps away from him and looks towards the door, which has been thrust open by Dorcas and Marlene. By the sound of it, Marlene spoke, now, her eyes find Lily’s, flashing invisible thumbs-up signs.

“Hullo, ladies,” James says evenly, and Lily can’t even imagine what they must look like right now. She finds she doesn’t care, though, because James is here and he’s hers, at least for now.

“Lily, we just wanted to tell you that, erm, we found your necklace in the stands,” Marlene says, holding up a star necklace that Lily’s always been particularly fond of.

“I guess it fell off,” Lily replies lamely, walking further out of James’s vicinity to take it from her friends.

“Well, that’s it…” Dorcas says, clearing her throat.

“Carry on!” Marlene adds loudly, and Lily scowls as they tumble out of the room, slamming the door shut on their way out.

“They’re ridiculous,” she says, pretty sure she’s blushing.

James walks over to her, the corner of his mouth — a mouth that had just been on her mouth, sweet Merlin — quirked up slightly. “We all are, to be honest.”

“Should we go to the party?” As soon as the words leave her mouth, Lily realizes what a stupid thing to say it is.

“Sure,” James says, and his half-smile turns into a grin. “Only if you’ll come as my date, though.”

“You don’t bring dates to common room parties, Potter,” Lily scoffs, trying to contain her own smile.

“Well, Evans, considering I’m captain of the team that just thrashed Slytherin, I think I can do what I want.”

“If you say so.” The smile breaks through, but it’s not like she feels bad about it. He shoulders his broomstick and bag, looks around the room one more time, and takes Lily’s hand.

“Shall we?”

***

Lily is happier than usual. James notices it on the walk back to the castle; notices how she smiles up at the sky, how she squeezes his hand while he talks about the match, how she invites him to go to Hogsmeade with her (“A real date, James, where we go someplace that’s not in the common room”), how she blushes when they walk through the portrait hole, hand in hand, to the sound of wolf-whistling and shouted congratulations — James notices all these things, and hopes that she stays happy. He promises himself that he’ll keep her happy for as long as she’ll have him — this month, maybe, or this year, or (if he’s lucky), the rest of her life.

[apollomaddox]

                        rum is for drinking, not for burning - present day drabble

The moment they returned to Hogwarts, Apollo regretted it. If it could be up to him they would have never left. Because what were they coming back to? Apollo finding ways to run to Isaac and then finding even more reasons to run away? In Australia, it had been easy to be with Isaac. No one was looking at them and if they did no one cared. There weren’t all of his hands grasping and tugging at Apollo in different directions. But now they had come back to that and he had to put on that Maddox mask that he hated so fucking much. They had apparated into Isaac’s dorm and Apollo didn’t stay long. He mumbled something about going to check on his cat and assured Isaac he would return later that evening to collect his overnight bag.

The walk back to his dorm was quick. He didn’t want to run the risk of anyone stopping him to talk. All he really wanted was to grab his kitten and take a nap. A shower sounded good too but Apollo wasn’t sure he could handle washing the last traces of Australia off of his skin. All he longed for was to drop himself into bed and sleep for hours. But as he stepped into his dorm, Apollo was greeted with his worst nightmare. 

His father stood at the end of his bed and Apollo’s fiancee was sitting at his desk with a sleeping Milo in her lap. Traitor.

“Where were you, Apollo?” Funny...wasn’t a parent’s voice supposed to be a source of comfort? It was amazing to Apollo how his dad’s words could sound so empty and hollow but pack such a punch. Each syllable was like a bruise to Apollo’s very soul. “I stopped by yesterday to touch base with you on some pressing matters and your resident adviser said he hasn’t seen you in awhile. Today we showed up bright and early to have breakfast with you and still...no one in this building has seen you. At least your RA was kind enough to let us wait in your dorm for your return.”

Apollo gritted his teeth and vowed that if he ever got Oliver Davenport in a room alone he’d strangle him. “I was at the library. I have an assignment due tomorrow that I’ve been working on.” The lie came quickly and smoothly. When you live in a house where you can’t be yourself lying is the only way of survival. “If I had known about this visit I would have cleared my schedule.” At the sound of his voice Milo lazily opened an eye, meowed, and jumped off of her lap in order to make his way over to Apollo instead. The way he bent down to pick up the kitten was automatic and was a happy distraction from what was going on in the room. His father looked on disapprovingly but Apollo glanced at her instead and saw her lips twitch up into a small smile.

His own lips twitched up into a smile as Milo started to nuzzle against his chin and purred loudly for all to hear. But Apollo’s smile faded as he followed his father’s gaze and noticed that he was looking at the stack of school books that littered Apollo’s desk. He wasn’t a fool. The books hadn’t moved. They had been there all weekend while Apollo was in Australia and his father had been here. “You’ve never been a good liar, Apollo.” His father’s gaze turned back to him and he felt so small in that moment. “Don’t try and start now.” His cover story fell apart right in front of him but Apollo didn’t show any emotion on his face. And if it was a bluff...well, he didn’t dare call his father out on it. “Come here. Both of you.”

His feet betrayed him and automatically stepped forward at his father’s command while his mind told him to run. She also moved across the room effortlessly towards them and Apollo tried to focus enough to assess the situation. There was a reason he brought her. The thought caused his heart to sink down to the pit of his stomach. And as she reached out, offering her right arm to him, Apollo knew what was happening. The color drained from his face and he felt like he might be sick right in front of them. He had known this was a possibility. His father had threatened him with it when their engagement at been arranged. There’s an easy way to do this, Apollo. There is also a hard way. Let’s keep it easy? Apollo had agreed because he thought he could do it. He could make his father happy and have what he wanted on the side. But then he came to University, met Isaac, and wanted so much more.

“Apollo.” He turned to his father and saw him motion for Apollo to reach his own hand out. He shifted Milo into his free hand. No. His fingers trembled as he reached forward and he felt bile raising in the back of his throat. Stop. Her fingers slid along his. Small, slender, and much more fragile than the hands he was used to. Don’t. Her index finger slid up his wrist and over his forearm with gentle precision. The same path Isaac had traced when they were seated at the shack in Australia. Please. She wrapped her hand around his arm and tried to offer him a smile but he could only think about the way Isaac’s had grabbed onto his arm each time Apollo pushed himself deeper into him.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw his father pull out his wand and press the tip to their linked arms. He looked past her shoulder and found a focus spot on the wall of his dorm. Isn’t that what Cassio said to do? His eyes never left that one spot. Not when his father started the vows. Not when she agreed. Not when Apollo agreed. He didn’t dare look at their arms because he couldn’t bare to look at the silver strings of magic linking them forever. Feeling the heat from the vows as it twisted and curved around their arms was enough. Apollo didn’t think he’d ever not feel that burn again. Before he had always thought by some miracle he would get out of this marriage. But now? The only way to get out of marrying her was death.

After his father performed the unbreakable vow and things were in order, they didn’t stay. She hugged him and kissed the soft spot under his ear but Apollo didn’t move from that very spot. His father clapped his meaty hand over Apollo’s shoulder and gave him a squeeze but he didn’t dare tear his gaze away from that spot on the wall. Once they left and he heard the door to his dorm close, his knees buckled and Apollo fell to the floor. Milo slipped out of his grip and jumped on the bed. Apollo could feel the wetness coating his face but he didn’t wipe it away. He didn’t have the energy to do so. The only thing that snapped him out of it was Milo. He had started digging through Apollo’s pillows and meowing. At first he chalked it up to Milo wanting to play. But then something caught his eye. Milo was dragging something out between his pillows.

A letter.

He crawled towards the bed and propped himself up on his elbows. “What do you have there?” Milo dropped the letter in front of him and then jumped off of the bed. Apollo reached for it and turned it over in his hands. There was nothing on the front of back of the envelope. He dove into the letter wondering if maybe it was from her. Maybe she didn’t want this either. But as his eyes scanned over the letter, Apollo was met with mixed emotions. His first thought was that this wasn’t real. The second was that it was too good to be true. He reread the letter trying to find a hidden meaning or code. Nothing. He sighed and turned it over in his hand, half expecting more information but there was still nothing.

The second is that if you are not interested in going to the meeting, you will immediately destroy this letter and never speak a word about it to anyone.

He glanced to his nightstand and saw a half empty bottle of rum.

He glanced to his nightstand and saw a half empty bottle of rum. He reached for it and brought the bottle to his lips, taking a reassuring swig of the burning liquor. Should he? Should he destroy it? Should he take it seriously? What did he have left for him? His future was allll planned out and there was no stopping his father. He could work the job his father wanted and marry the girl his father wanted. He would father as many child as his father wanted and probably even die the way his father wanted. That darkness took a hold of him and Apollo tipped the bottle of rum over the letter, watching as it soaked through the paper. It was foolish to think there was a way out of this life he lead. There was no hope for him and it was foolish to think this society could help him.

No one could help him.

But as he pulled his wand out of his pocket and lit the end of it with a fire spell, Apollo couldn’t bring himself to burn the letter. He thought back to an hour ago when he had been curled up by Isaac’s side in his childhood bedroom. He thought back to days ago when Cassio promised to help him through this. He thought back to Cassio telling him not to give up. If this society was real, Apollo could learn from them and find a way out of this unbreakable vow. Maybe he could learn enough to fucking take the life he actually wanted instead of the one handed to him.

He extinguished his wand and used the end of his comforter to dry out the letter.

And then he downed the rest of the bottle of rum.

[keyhala]

So... about life.

I've been wanting to write this for a while. I just haven't had the time, the energy, or the willingness to accept 'defeat'.

It's a long one, so below cut for length.

Some of you might remember a post I made back in 2017, which dealt with all the things that happened to me and Shortstuff between 2014 and 2016, leaving us to leave the house we'd bought, move one and a half hour away from my working place and just... destroyed us with how her mother could not behave like an adult and had to villainize us for... well, nothing.

For those of you who haven't, the post is here. Please feel free to read it.

At the time, I expressed a hope that things would get better from there on out. That we could manage the years we'd promised to rent the house out for, and things could... get better.

They didn't.

The brother said he was going to buy the house after renting it, but a few months in, he decides he doesn't want it. It has too many problems. He complains the bills are too high (I just send him the bills, I don't forge them, idiot. You pay what you use in electricity and gas) and he complains that we're stealing money from them (We're not. They're paying EXACTLY what the house costs every month, not a penny more. Nothing for upkeep, nothing for renovations, or new utilities, that's ALL on us), and proceeds to NOT PAY HIS BILLS for several months.

At the time, the mother at least steps in and pays what's due, so it's all okay. 2017 is going okay, for a bit.

Then Shortstuff's student funding is pulled in August. She gets nothing. I say it's fine, you are only studying 50%, finish school. I'll fix the money for now. She get's sick leave 50% FINALLY after years of talking with her psychiatrist, and the next hit hits.

She isn't getting any sick pay, despite being away the 50%, because she's studying, and will be getting her sick pay from her student funding. But... her student funding is zero. She gets nothing. So we go to social services, as for social funding.

She doesn't get any, because I earn money, and I can support her.

In the same breath as this, I start feeling bad. Really bad. I wake up with fevers, shaking, throwing up. I go to work, I feel disconnected, I fall asleep, I get fevers, I feel disoriented. More throwing up, more fever. I call in sick, go to the doctor. They find nothing. Rest up until fever is gone, back to work. Two weeks later, same thing.

This keeps going for a few months, until eventually I decided to make an appointment with the closes emergency psychiatrist as well. She finally connects the dots. I'm burning out, and fast. I'm so stressed I start forgetting things, I get so stressed I get fevers, I am so stressed I can't sleep. Everything is just piling up. She suggest I take 100% sick leave and rest up.

But I'm the only income we have. I can't. I make $2000 and the bills are $1600. cutting out 20% that full sick leave does will put us in the red.

In December, they convince me to take 25% off, and get a sick day in the middle of the week (Wednesday) and see if that helps. 25% means after sick pay I'll have $1800. Just enough for the bills.

But the Government takes its sweet time.

We can't cover our bills. We keep burning through our savings. Stuff at the house breaks, the brother doesn't pay his bills, the MOTHER starts not paying the bills. We go about $1000 in the red one month. Shortstuff decides to try working 10 hours a week despite her inability to do both that and study with her own sick leave, but she does it for my sake. It's not enough, we keep losing savings, we'll go bankrupt if this keeps up.

We decide to sell the house.

WW3 ensues. No, seriously. The mother is FURIOUS, she starts calling, yelling, blowing up. The BROTHER blows up, starts stealing furniture, stops paying bills entirely, tries sabotaging things for the sale. Things get worse at work, too, for Shortstuff.

At work, her mother is there. Her mother who harasses her, makes her feel unsafe, and just generally treats her bad. She gets pulled into the changing room and yelled at for personal stuff, AT WORK and can't say anything back because her mother is a group manager. She get's shoved, told to work more, told to not loiter the moment she stops a second, and just generally feels unsafe and stressed.

She gets home sick, and her mother LEAVES WORK UNANNOUNCED just after lunch to take the one and a half hour trip to our apartment, barge her way in, and proceeds to lecture Shortstuff (40 degrees Celsius of fever, sinus infection and drugged down on fever inhibitors) on what a horrible person she was, how much of a traitor she was, and that she should know that if her sister (who has late-diagnosed diabetes, and also an eating disorder, and who REALLY shouldn't be living with the mother considering how she's acting and behaves) DIES, Shortstuff would have to live with 'having murdered her sister'. She leaves after demanding she show up on Christmas, and stating she wants her 'kind and caring' daughter back.

She just wants her TOOL back. The daughter who you could get money from, put all your subscriptions on, rest your entire future on and DEMANDED would take care of you for the rest of your life.

Granted, this isn't helping matters. Shortstuff doesn't want to go back to work. I understand. We talk to the management at work about it... nothing happens. As always.

I can't get ahold of my doctor in January to prolong my sick leave, so I go back 100%. Fall sick 10 days later, stress. Finally get ahold of my doctor again in February, and she sets me back to 25% sick leave, and sends me to a psychiatrist for a proper evaluation, since my therapist says she can't seem to help me with my stress.

I keep going on sick leave 25%, being free Wednesdays and... it kind of works? It kind of works. I don't get sick every two weeks, but I still go to bed every day immediately after work. I know I'm going to Japan in June for Tales of Festival but unless the house sells and we get money in, we won't afford it. It makes me sad, makes me want to sleep and never wake up. It feels like stuff will never end.

I make calls daily. To real estate people, to bank, to government about shortstuff's rejected sick leave, to government about MY sick leave, about insurances, cutting down on things to save money, selling stuff online to get money, doing commissions—

In March, my computer dies. Not a problem for 7 years, and one day I'm drawing, it lets out a high-pitched shriek, and dies. Motherboard fried. Everyone online is the same: no use repairing, better to buy a new one.

New one is $4000. I borrow the money from my mother, and cry as friends online send me a few $100 in helping pay her back.

I finally get my evaluation from the psychiatrist. Undiagnosed for 28 years, I have ADHD and Autism. It's likely why I've been unable to handle 'normal' stress and why I've burned out. It explains SO much stuff about myself I always thought was weird. She suggests we prolong my sick leave of 25% still, and I agree.

I tell my mom. She says she doesn't think I have anything, 'anyone can get a diagnosis if they try' and she scoffs at me saying the medicines will help me. It hurts. I don't tell my dad.

medicines help. I feel more at ease, I don't procrastinate as much, I feel like I can start and finish stuff. The first few days I keep looking over my shoulder, because for once, my head is silent even when I'm not 100% engulfed in something.

We keep trying to fix stuff at the house. House showcase is set to May 3rd and May 6th. We get the photographing done, clean up (while trying to avoid the people still living there who aren't even paying the bills anymore) and get it up on the web.

First showcase is a success. 3 people interested. One person calls the realtor and asks him what we want for it. I explain we want 10% above asking price to let it go. I hear nothing back. Friday we're heading up to Stockholm for a comic convention we agreed to months before and I managed to make nothing for since I've not had a productive day for months. On our way to the train, we get a call. The person interested is willing to buy it for 10% above asking price, if we sign immediately.

We're heading to Stockholm, though, and I explain that. Realtor mentions his WIFE is working at a place close to the station, faxes the contract there and we head there in a hurry to sign, then head up to Stockholm.

The sale goes through, moving in date is 11th of June, the day before we're to head to Japan.

We book time for cleaning, reiterate to the mother and brother that they have to move out by May 31st (as stated in the contract we wrote them in February). They're not happy. I don't care, I just want the house sold. We're burning through our savings fast and will have NOTHING for Japan unless this goes through.

Zelda, our sweet, darling cat, falls sick again. We decide it's time for her to go. 6 wonderful years with a kitty no one thought would survive the first night we found her. She fell asleep in my arms out in the sun on May 23rd.

When we arrive back at the apartment (that we're renting from Shortstuff's father, who's held a VERY passive role in this... thus far), we are met by her eldest brother (not same one as who's renting) and the father. They tell us we need to be out of the apartment by June 30th.

They KNEW we were heading to Japan on the 12th, they KNEW we wouldn't be back until the 27th. They KNEW we had stuff with the house all the way up to the 11th. THEY KNEW WE JUST PUT OUR CAT TO REST.

Worst of all, they complained we 'only' gave them 3 months to find a new place to live. They gave us 1, a month we wouldn't be able to look for a place for 3 weeks of the time.

We know now, later, that the Mother was given the apartment, the 'poor thing' because we had 'ruined her life'. Also, she has been spouting to everyone she owned a 3rd of the house and we've scammed her... y'know.

We lent her $7000 in October 2016 to help with Shortstuff's sister's care. We didn't get any money back from that. They didn't pay any bills the last months, putting us back about $5000, they sabotaged stuff in the house (breaking stuff, ripping electrical sockets from wall, cutting off TV cable, letting the pool pump be out in freezing temperatures so it broke) putting us back EVEN MORE in costs for the house... but we scammed her. Sure.

So suddenly we have two weeks before going to Japan, no time to mourn our lost family member, scrambling to find an apartment.

Luckily, my dad came to the rescue. A friend of his' daughter was going to rent an Apartment just half an hour's walking distance from my job, but her job offer fell through so she had just told them she couldn't take it. We got the number, called, asked if it was still up.

It was. It's more expensive than the other apartment, slightly smaller, but it's liveable. We're told we can move in July 4th. That makes us homeless for 5 days, but dad says we can stay with him if so.

I have a meeting with a nurse at the psychiatrists office in end May, talking about how the medicines are working. I remind her they promised to prolong my sick leave and my current slip ends May 31st, and she promises to fix one.

It doesn't happen, for some reason.

We DO get the house in order (even if they moved out 2 days late, ruined stuff, and left furniture, rotting food and everything in disarray so we had to pay EXTRA for the cleaning), we get the papers signed June 11th, we get our money, pay off our debts (Mom for computer, sister and her boyfriend for covering our lost revenue on bills)... and we go to Japan.

Japan and Tales of Festival gave me life again. I met people, I laughed, I had FUN, I didn't have to WORRY for ONCE. Tales of Vesperia got so much love and I was overwhelmed when they announced the party, I looked at Shortstuff and she just went 'go'.

I love Shortstuff, so much. Without her, I wouldn't have been here today. My psychiatrist agrees. She still wonders how I'm still alive.

Japan was fun, but coming back home hit me hard. We didn't have time to think, packing everything up, and moving. We manage to pressure the father to let us stay until July 4th, since they gave us so little notice AND they overstayed their welcome in the house.

We move into the new apartment July 4th, but the previous tenants had apparently been a hassle and moved out too late too, so the electricity hasn't been wired (they were replacing old wiring) so we only had electricity in the kitchen. It would take a few weeks, he said.

It took 3 weeks of us living in only the kitchen of our 2 rooms and kitchen apartment before we had electricity. During this time, Sweden was still mid up in its '100 days without rain' and 35+ degrees outside. The apartment was 28 degrees. It was torture.

First week of living there, I get word from the government. They're denying all my sick pay from December to May, because they don't see how I can work 75% but not 100%, and why I have to have a free day midweek ('How is your work capability 100% some days and 0% some days???') which means the money I thought was gonna come in, isn't. The sick leave extension I was going to get for June (and late July) also didn't happen, so I have no choice but going back to working 100% from July 2nd. I call my doctor's office about appealing and seeing about continuing sick leave, and they tell us they'll arrange a time.

...That went as well as we thought it would.

I planned a trip to Japan September 5th to 18th for the Tales of Vesperia Anniversary Party, and in the time from July 2nd to September 5th, I've been sick home from work 26 days. 26 days out of 47. My boss is wondering if everything is okay, I tell him it isn't. They know everything that's going on, and they nod and tell me to take it easy and just say if I need help with anything.

Shortstuff comes back to work since her school is on pause, and her mother is on Vacation. It works fine for a while, and when schools tarts again she goes down to 50%. School is set to end in October.

But her mother comes back, and she gets sick. VERY sick. She gets a sick leave of 75% (because she wanted to bring in some money) in beginning August, then meets her psychiatrist again in end August, who immediately sets her to full sick leave, and antidepressants, because she's considered suicidal.

Work wonders why, I reiterate that her mother makes her feel unsafe, and that Shortstuff has been feeling bad all year from seeing me have to struggle to bring in money while she does 'nothing'. That she's had zero income since October 2017, because the government sucks.

The government still hasn't approved her sick leave.

End August, I get terrible side effects from my medicines. I feel like I'm dying, my heart beats so fast I can't breathe, and I get clammy and nauseous. I get ahold of a doctor in beginning September and they ask why I haven't called earlier (I have) and they tell me they scheduled a time for September 19th. They also tell me to cut my medication. I extend my vacation to the 19th, because I know I won't have the energy for both work and doctor's appointment that day.

Second to last day before I go to Japan, I cry at work all afternoon. I barely make it through the day and go home, I cry hysterically all evening. i just want to give up, I don't want to fight anymore, I can't. Shortstuff feels horrible, and I feel all the more horrible about making her feel that way.

I go to Japan. I spent the first few days trying best I can to just get out of bed and do the things I wanted to. I spend more money than I should, because currently, the only joy I get is from buying things. That's the only time I feel excited or happy.

It's fun, though, but I can't sleep. I Skype with Shortstuff every night when it gets too late so I can fall asleep with her there. I can barely get out of bed, I barely eat. But I try having fun. Anxiety fucks me up several times per day and I cry hysterically every evening, but I try to have fun.

I feel like giving up.

The Anniversary Party was the best day of the year. Maybe my life. I had tickets to both shows, I got to see everything, and I had a few hours of NO worry, NO real life... just Love for my absolute favourite game. I've preordered 6 versions of the Definitive Edition.

My mom would tell me to not spend all the money we got from selling the house, but I DEFINITELY need 6 versions of the remaster of my favourite game. Bite me.

I come back home. I sleep. I go to the doctor.

I break down. She can't understand why it took so long for them to book me a meeting since I called in July, she can't understand why I got denied sick pay, especially since I was set to be 100% sick but decided to try fighting because I couldn't afford being sick.

She writes a long, long list of descriptions of my burnout, my ADHD, my Autism, why they make me unable to work, why we're appealing. She prescribes me new medication, she writes me another letter. I'm on 100% sick leave from that day. She asks me if I'll be okay money wise or if we should try 75% again, and I just hell her I don't have the energy to fight anymore. I've barely gotten by for a year because I couldn't afford full sick leave and that just made it worse and I STILL couldn't afford it so 100% might be just as well.

She looks honestly sad and upset when she writes the prescription, and tells me she'll send me a copy of the Note to the government once she's finished it. She mentions she's set the initial sick leave period until the 31st of December.

I tell my boss the next day, I tell my coworkers. No one is surprised. Everyone knows what's going on, everyone knows what has happened. No one can do anything about Shortstuff's Mom being at the workplace even though she's probably 70% of the reason why Shortstuff is on antidepressants (yours truly and her guilt about that being the remaining 30%) and about 50% of the reason why I am, because it's 'difficult' to fix a situation like that.

I understand, but I also don't. On Shortstuff's Note it says 'unclear' on the question if the doctor thinks she can ever come back to work. I am on sick leave until the end of the year. But her mother gets to keep her job, gets a free apartment, and complains how 'everything' is against her and how people never care about her.

I hate her.

I got my note today. I'm crying. I'm crying now, as I'm writing. My doctor is so angry, she's describing my issues, how much Ive struggled, how much I've TRIED to work despite needing to be full sick leave, how hard I've fought to need as little government support as possible, and she CAN'T understand how they could deny a patient with that much issues.

On my note, it says 'unclear' on if I can ever go back to work.

I... I'm 28 years old. And they think that this... all this... might have damaged me so much I can never work again.

But sure, Shortstuff's Mom is the victim.

She gets away scot free and more... but she's the victim. She's alienated Shortstuff from her entire family. None of her siblings talk to her. They threw their baby sister under the bus for an abusive and manipulative mother, even after telling her they'd be on her side.

And for what?

The ONLY thing we ever did, was saying we wanted to move to a place of our own.

If that's a crime worthy of ruining two young people's lives over, then wow.

Wow.

I'm just babbling now. This has been incoherent but...

I feel horrible about this too but... I have a donation thing on Paypal. For now we still have money left from the house sale. But we've signed for a new apartment end next year... and we hope that moving there, we'll be able to get our life together. Live again.

So... if anyone has the ability to or want to, please consider dropping something in there. I might open a Ko-fi too if anyone prefers that rather than PayPal.

I'll also make some sales posts later but... yeah.

I've babbled enough. Just... I wanted people to know why I've been... on and off, and what's going on and...

Just...

Yeah.

[the-jade-cross]

Love on Fire - Chapter 1

Zuko had always thought that if he sat in his father’s presence once again, freely and not on his way to banishment then everything would be perfect… that he would finally be happy. However, now sitting in front of his father, standing beside Azula and catching Ozai up on what happened in Ba Sing Sa, Zuko felt a deep pang in his chest…. A sense of guilt and dread in his gut and he found himself unable to relax and enjoy it.

“Quite an interesting account you have given me,” Ozai remarked. “Some rather beneficial occurrences took place. You brought your treacherous uncle back as well as that slave girl…. What was her name?” “Shira,” Zuko said without realizing it.

Both Azula and Ozai looked at the boy, neither of them surprised to find a slight cloud of sadness pass over the boy’s face, but surprised that he had admitted Shira’s capture.

“Right,” Ozai continued. “I remember her. Quite defiant. Light bender if I recall.” “As well as plant bender father,” Azula added. “And recently I have discovered her ability to ice bend as well.” “Ice bend?” Ozai inquired. “Three bending…. Could that mean….” Zuko lifted his head to look at his father, unsure of what he was talking about, only to see that Ozai had risen to his feet with a concentrating look on his face.

“Question her Azula,” Ozai demanded. “Find out everything you can about her people.” “But I thought all the villagers we brought with her when she was captured as a slave eventually died,” Azula pointed out.

Ozai nodded, “But those weren’t her people. Find out where they are and how many are left.” Azula bowed before leaving the room. Zuko did the same and followed quickly after her. When he left the war chamber, he found Azula talking to Mei and Ty Lee who were standing outside the room waiting for them to emerge.

“Bring her up,” Azula said to them. “I don’t trust the guards to do it without letting her escape. Don’t worry about being rough.” The two girls nodded silently before heading off on the mission Azula had sent them on. The girl then turned to her brother and smirked.

“Care to join me brother?” she asked.

“I would prefer not to,” Zuko replied. “I don’t know how you get information out of prisoners, but I am not really in favor of watching.” “Even when it is your past girlfriend?” Azula asked.

Zuko felt something in his heart snap and for a moment he almost wanted to throw his sister against the wall, but then he stopped, knowing that it would just get him banished again probably.

“She made her choice,” Zuko replied, his voice saying those words…. But his heart screaming something different entirely.

Just then, the sound of footfalls sounded, and four guards strode over to the prince and princess, Mei and Ty Lee in between. Both girls had one of Shira’s arms in their grip but Azula did not notice that their grip on the girl’s arms were gentle but just strong enough to keep her from running off. Shira’s head was bowed, her blond hair covering Zuko’s vision of her face. It had begun to grow back, now laying on the tops of her shoulders. She no longer wore her usual green outfit but a simple pair of brown pants, a long brown shirt that came past her hips and had a leather cord around her waist and her feet were bare.

“Look who it is,” Azula taunted. “Had enough the past two weeks in that prison cell?”

The girl slowly lifted her head and met Azula’s eyes dead on. A deadpan expression was plastered on her face, no look of defiance, anger or weakness. Zuko felt his heart drop to the bottom of his heels at the state she was in. Her hair was straw like, having not been brushed or washed in a while. Her face was slightly soiled  and while her attire was not as fitting as her other clothes she had worn in the past, she still looked strong, slender and petite.

Zuko didn’t know how the girl could look so beautiful even in the state she was in, but he found himself staring at how the girl seemed to practically glow beneath the dirt and her mussed hair.

“Follow me,” Azula demanded of Ty Lee, Mei and the guards.

They obeyed, dragging Shira with them. Zuko didn’t fail to notice how she didn’t once look in his direction and the pang in his heart returned.

Zuko remained outside the room, not daring to go in and see what horrible things Azula was doing to Shira…. But also, not wanting to leave. He wanted to see her when she came out…. Wanted to make sure that she came out alive.

When the door swung open and Azula walked out, Zuko’s dread returned at the sight of the smug look on Azula’s face. The soldiers came out next, one of them carrying a limp body in his arms with Mei and Ty Lee at his elbows, continuously telling him to be careful.

Zuko strode over to the soldier who immediately stopped at the sight of the crown prince. The boy’s eyes quickly scanned over the limp body in the man’s arms. Shira was no longer conscious…. Bruises all over her face and her bare arms. The bottoms of her feet were raw and bloody but luckily nothing fatal.

Zuko’s hand instinctively reached out to touch the girl’s hair but just when his hand was within a few inches of her, a searing pain shot through his hand and he jumped back.

“What in the….” He started.

“Zuko,” Mei warned. “I think it is best that you not touch Shira,” she replied seriously.

Zuko looked back at the girl who was still out…. But that was when he saw it…. it was like there was a faint glow about her… like light was shining from her very being. That was when it clicked. Shira was a light bender…. And when she was unconscious…. It defended her…. like she was its protector and in return, it protected her…. even from him.

“I’ll take her back to her cell,” Mei said, taking the unconscious girl out of the soldier’s arms.

The man nodded and all the soldiers walked off. Ty Lee and Mei then began to walk back toward the door which led back to the prison. Just as they rounded the corner out of sight of Zuko, Ty Lee turned to Mei.

“That was so close. If Azula went any further, it would have been dangerous.” Mei nodded, “Let’s hope Azula or the Fire Lord do not find any other reason to torture Shira. It will not just be fatal to Shira.” Ty Lee nodded, “I really hope what Shira told Azula wasn’t true.” “About how her people are completely wiped out when Ozai tried destroying her family in order to find her?” Mei asked. “Why do you say that? If they’re dead then that means they are in a place that is safer than anywhere else.” “I know that,” Ty Lee replied. “But I hope at least a few of her people are still alive…. Because they might be the only ones who can help her… in the condition she is in.” Mei nodded before the two girls headed back to the prison, carefully carrying the girl. What they did not know was that two pairs of silver eyes were watching them from the shadows. Once the two girls disappeared into the prison, both looked at each other with a knowing look and one of them nodded to the other. One of the pairs of silver eyes disappeared…. But the other remained vigilant, watching the prison doors.

*************

When Shira’s eyes opened, she wasn’t surprised to find herself in the prison cell again. She did notice that there was another piece of cloth in the cell, wrapped around her sore form…. A dark red cloak. Must have been from Mei or Ty Lee. Those two had been coming to visit her often and were always sneaking her extra food and water in between meals.

Shira slowly sat up, knowing that if she laid on the cold hard floor to long then her already sore body would be too sore to move. Wrapping the cloak around her form, she leant against the corner of the cell to keep herself propped up, stretching her legs out in front of her to unstiffen them. However, when the bottoms of her feet touched the floor, she winced. Turning one of her feet toward her to look at them, she saw whip slashes and wounds on the bottom of her feet. Oh right, Azula had tortured her the day before.

Shira had only been in that prison for about three weeks and Azula hadn’t come to visit or torment her until the day that Ozai insisted on finding out what happened to Shira’s family. The truth was, Shira didn’t know what happened to them beyond the fire nation attacking the north pole in the attempt to find her and then her older brother Kaname showing up to try and rescue her from the prison academy.

Shira stretched her legs back out, trying to keep the bottoms of her feet away from the ground so they wouldn’t get soiled nor rub against something that would irritate them. She was just about to lean back and close her eyes when she heard the sound of soft footfalls. Lifting her head, she looked toward the prison bars, expecting to see Mei, Ty Lee or a guard but there was no one there…. then she saw it…. a small cat quietly making his way through the bars of her cell until he was standing right by her feet. The cat sat down on his haunches and considered the girl a moment with his striking grey eyes before he closed them. Just like the wolf had back in Ba Sing Sa, the fur on the cat changed to skin, clad in black and the small button nose turned into a young man’s face.

“You again,” Shira remarked weakly.

The young man chuckled. He looked to be about Shira’s age… possibly a year or two older. His black hair was kept much looser and more relaxed than Kaname’s who always (as far as Shira remembered) kept it brushed back.

The boy looked much different than any boy that Shira had ever met. He was almost tough looking with broad shoulders, an athletic build and while he was an average tall height, he was not as lean, slender and agile built as Zuko or even Kaname. In comparison to Kaname who looked like a swan, the boy looked like a bear.

The boy crouched down at Shira’s feet before gently reaching out and taking her feet into his hands.

“They’re not too bad. Just keep off your feet for two days till they heal over and try not to reopen the scabs,” the boy explained in a crisp, rugged but gentle voice.

Shira kept the cloak wrapped around her form, considering the boy thoughtfully. However, the boy’s keen sharp grey eyes lifted and landed on the girl. Reaching over, he grasped the cloak and parted it to get a good look at her. He considered her a moment before wrapping it more securely around her.

“You have gone through a lot,” he remarked in a soft voice. “Yet you keep going.” “Who are you?” Shira asked, still considering the boy cautiously.

Sitting back on his haunches, the boy ran his fingers through his hair. “Out of all three of us, you always remembered Kaname best. I guess it is because you were his little princess.” “You know my brother?” Shira asked. “I’m sorry if I do not recognize you…” The boy shook his head, “It is understandable. You were so little when you left home that I’m surprised you remember Kaname at all… then of course he went all ballistic when you were thrown into the prison academy and had to try and save you…”

Shira looked down, “Kaname was hit the same way I was in Ba Sing Sa… did he….” “Oh he made it,” The boy replied, smirking. “He always does. He doesn’t look it but that guy has nine lives. Don’t worry your little head Yuyu.” Shira froze, “Wait…. I have heard that name before….” When Shira looked back at the boy, he had leant over to ruffle her hair, his eyes closed and a boyish grin on his face. The moment she saw that smile and felt the gentle but rough way he ruffled her hair like a puppy…. She knew. “Mitsuru!” The girl whisper yelled.

The smile on the boy’s face grew, “Good to have you back sis.” “But…. What are you doing here? Besides that…. How are you here?” Mitsuru chuckled, “I’ve always been here Yuyu. Hirako and I take turns watching out for you. As for getting in here, I didn’t find out until a few years after you were taken as a slave that I am actually an animal bender.” “Animal bender,” Shira whispered. “So…. You can…. Turn into animals?” “Certain ones,” Mitsuru replied. “I’m still having trouble with marine animals.” Shira chuckled softly before Mitsuru moved in his position, so he was seated cross legged before his sister, “As for why I am here…. It is time for you to reconnect with who you really are. Discover the truth…discover that things are not always as they seem. It is time for you to remember who you are: Shirayuki Yang Trusang.”

***************

As the sound of approaching footsteps neared the cell, Shira quickly changed from a cross legged position to a leisure position, leaning her back against the wall of the cell, her shoulder facing the bars, letting her legs sprawl out in front of her. She quickly tore the leather cord from her hair, letting her hair fall back around her face.

The footsteps stopped and Shira glanced through her hair at who stood at her bars…. Zuko. This was the first time he had visited her. Of course, she had seen him a week prior when Azula had tortured her but that was it. The boy looked much different with his hair pulled back and out of his face, wearing fire nation clothes. It almost suited him, but Shira missed the free, relaxed boy in simple attire and his hair down.

“I brought you some tea. I thought it would taste better than water.” The girl turned her head back to stare at the wall opposite her. Zuko knelt down and slid the tray of still warm tea through the bars into her cell.

“I’m sorry about the conditions you are in,” Zuko remarked. “I’m trying to convince my father to free you.” “You’re wasting your time and breath,” the girl replied with a deadpan expression. “Even if you did manage to get me out which is impossible, I would not stay in your father’s good graces for more than an hour at the most.” “Why do you say that?” Zuko insisted. “You lived here for years without my father trying to kill you…” “Until I revealed my true past and tried to protect someone important to me, only to have that very person go and turn his back on me,” Shira spat.

Zuko took a full step back when the girl hopped to her feet, turning to face away from Zuko so her back was defiantly facing him.

“Do you think I had a choice?” Zuko demanded. “I was able to get my honor and my father’s love back!” “And you lost your uncle and I in the process,” Shira hissed quietly.

Zuko frowned before storming back over to the bars and slamming his fists against them, “I was doing it to protect you! When Azula electrocuted you, what else was I supposed to do? Carry you half across the world while escaping from my sister?” “Fine job you did!” Shira yelled, turning around and storming over to meet the boy, her eyes flaming blue fire. “I am in a prison cell wise guy! Swell work trying to protect me, which I doubt that was what you were trying to do!”

“What else do you think I was doing?” Zuko demanded, getting closed to the girl…. Or as close as the prison bars allowed. “We could have died! All of us! Uncle had low chances of dying because he’s just lucky but if I had tried to carry you, half dead and unconscious through banishment, both of us could have died!”

Shira let out a loud yell of anger, sounding somewhere between a roar and a scream before slamming her fists against her sides. This motion created a peak of ice which struck Zuko none too gently and threw him away from the bars, against the opposite wall so that he fell onto his backside.

“What do you think I was doing when I saved you from Azula!?” The girl yelled, tears beginning to stream down her face. “I was not thinking when I jumped on that boat in between a brother sister battle of fire and lightning! I can only bend light and ice which are nothing compared to those! There was only one thing that was on my mind and that was you! I couldn’t see you getting hurt or dying so I did something stupid! I got hurt in the process, yes, and could have died but I didn’t because it was my choice! I made that choice to get on that blessed boat and stand between you and Azula! It was my choice to jump in the way when Azula shot lightning at you! IT WAS MY CHOICE TO SURVIVE! I have survived countless things Zuko, most of which you know and most of which you don’t, but I hope by now that you know that I do not do things just to do them. Everything I do has a reason and there is a reason I chose to stand by you when you were going through a crisis within yourself. I had a reason to get hurt countless times for a boy that I did not remember. I had a reason for stopping your father during the Agni Kai all those years ago! And there is still a reason why I choose to not leave this cell and to not side with your sister or your father.” “And what is that?” Zuko snapped, getting to his feet.

“BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!” Shira yelled, slamming her fists on the bars, making all of them crust over with ice. “Because I freaking love you, you idiot! That is the reason why I have done everything I have since the moment I stepped into the fire nation as a child and a slave! If you have a reason for betraying your uncle who has treated you like a son his whole life, if you have a reason for betraying me and the trust I held for you, then say it.” “You would have died otherwise,” Zuko replied quietly.

Shira let out a soft sigh and when Zuko looked back at her, she had retreated from the bars and back to her original seated position with her shoulder to him. The ice on the bars had disappeared and the cell was once again swallowed in dark shadows. “Was that the only reason?”

When Zuko gave no reply, Shira turned so that her back was to him, leaning against the wall. “Come back when you find an answer. Until then, good day Prince Zuko.”

Shira waited for five minutes after Zuko’s footsteps had died away before she sat back up straight again. Grabbing her hair tie, she tied her hair up in a short ponytail out of her eyes and then sat cross legged, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves.

Once she did, the pile of rags and blankets in the corner shuffled to reveal a small black cat who quickly transformed into the familiar rugged figure of Mitsuru.

“Thought he would never leave,” the boy sighed, ruffling his hair. “You have no idea how hot it was underneath those things! Though I have to say, when you said that you two had been in love, I wasn’t expecting that kind of greeting.” Shira gave her brother a death glare and immediately Mitsuru raised his hands in surrender, “Sorry! I won’t ask further. Let’s get back to training, shall we?” Shira nodded as her brother sat down in front of her, also cross legged. “First, we must calm down your nerves from your…. most recent conversation….OW!” The boy rubbed the side of his head where Shira had slacked him over the skull at his remark.

“Which will take a while,” Mitsuru sighed, returning to his serious mode. “And then we can begin to practice entering the spirit world.”

“Why should I go into the spirit world?” Shira asked. “Isn’t that something only the avatar can do?”

Mitsuru shook his head, “As children, we were all taught how to enter the spirit world because of our heritage. However, you were taken to safety before you could learn. As for ‘why’… there are a few people there you should meet.”

[the-sapphire-general]

My Thoughts and Feelings About Sephiroth (Part 2)

There was originally going to be just one part about what I think and feel about Sephiroth, but it turns out I have more to say than I thought I did. You can say I'm passionate about Sephiroth. Not a day goes by without at least thinking about him several times. Lol Anyway, if you haven't read my previous post, here's the link because I will describe things I have said in the first part in more detail.

My Thoughts and Feelings About Sephiroth (Part 1)

As I mentioned before, I can identify with Sephiroth. At first I didn't consider him an idol considering how different we are, but I realized about the similarities we have, even if those similarities can be different. I hate mentioning my former friend, but she used to be someone that took advantage of me, a lot of the time without my knowledge. So I know how Sephiroth must have felt after discovering that everyone lied to him about his origins. Now his situation was extreme compared to mine, but the key thing is we were both betrayed somehow. It's difficult to handle, and we both took it hard, with Sephiroth taking it farther than me. Betrayal, whether big or small or somewhere in between the two, isn't pleasant, especially if those who betray you are people you thought you could trust. I know what that's like, and it's not an easy thing to just brush off as if it were nothing.

To further prove how Sephiroth and I are similar is our personality traits. For starters, we are both quiet. Now it's hard to tell online if someone is shy or outgoing, but believe me, I'm one quiet girl. I'm real timid in real life. I don't think Sephiroth was timid, and I bet he was just sheltered growing up. Be honest. Hojo sucked as a father, and Sephiroth wasn't treated like a human being. So Sephiroth may have been socially awkward, which can appear as timidity or coldness. I'm timid and I can get a bit anxious, but I hide it really well. I'm not a social butterfly, and neither is Sephiroth, but that doesn't mean I'm purposefully ignoring others. It's just I'm not good at socializing. I am socially awkward myself and people have to get to know me to know the real me. Others saw Sephiroth as cold and distant, but they didn't even try to get to know him. Angeal Hewley and Genesis Rhapsodos saw past this and became his friends. Sadly others see me as cold and distant as well, and to be honest it hurts. I bet it bothered Sephiroth as well. Or maybe he didn't care, I don't know. I'll believe that it did bother him. Of course, despite our shortcomings, Sephiroth and I do have friends (well, Sephiroth used to have friends). I may struggle to be social, but I can bond with others. I mean, hello! I have my boyfriend, his friends, my family, my own friends, and my online friends. Sephiroth had a few close friends, but at least it's something. Angeal and Genesis. I swear, if things didn't get so screwed up, they would have been best friends forever. Heck, Zack could have been a great friend to Sephiroth if he was given the opportunity. In a way, they could have helped Sephiroth back in Nibelheim, but the damage is already done.. What I'm trying to say is I understand this real well because I've been there. It just makes me want to give Sephiroth a hug and possibly a kiss to comfort him and let him know that I care. Though he might be annoyed by my affection. Lol

The next similarity we have is we're intelligent. Unfortunately a lot of people don't see me as intelligent, but Sephiroth's intelligence is what has me striving to prove to others that I am all while improving my own intelligence. They just see me as a girl with average intelligence and I was once accused of being an idiot. I wonder if Sephiroth had naysayers always doubting him. Looks can be deceiving. I'm not what others claim that I am, and it's annoying. This brings me to my next point. When Sephiroth was still part of SOLDIER, others might have perceived him as so many things, which includes being cold and distant and such. I've said this already, but this isn't just assuming that someone is cold or timid or whatever personality trait. It's about others assuming things about others that may be false. Sephiroth didn't consider himself to be better than everyone else (prior to Nibelheim of course). Heck, he didn't even show interest in fame to the point that he allowed Genesis to take it, possibly unaware that he was jealous of him. Maybe he tried to do that to ease his jealousy. Though Genesis should have handled his jealousy better. Before you assume anything about a person, either get to know the person or keep it to yourself until you see who they really are. Otherwise, it can be damaging to them. It was to Sephiroth. Something tells me all those soldiers had mixed opinions about Sephiroth, many of them potentially formed out of false assumptions and simple ignorance. Okay I'm getting too deep into this due to my own personal experiences, so I will switch to the next similarity.

Sephiroth and I hate certain people. How else can I explain my former friend that I have mentioned plus other people? Although Sephiroth took it to an extreme and hates everyone, I can still relate. Now it doesn't mean I will be as destructive and cruel as Sephiroth, but I can relate. Everyone at ShinRa treated Sephiroth like an experiment without his knowledge. He was never told about his origins. He never knew his parents. Then again, never finding out that Hojo is his father is a blessing (unless he somehow found out already?). He was deceived and manipulated ever since the day he was born. Correction, he was manipulated BEFORE he was born! He has the right to hate those who mistreated him. However, that doesn't justify any of the horrible things he did. Now my case is nothing compared to Sephiroth's since I was simply deceived by certain people, but my dislike for them is reasonable. Seriously, who would be able to let someone pretend to be your friend only to harm you emotionally and verbally, try to control you, spread lies about you, and basically destroy you? That's what my former friend did, and I hate her. All the bullies I've encountered throughout school? I hate them too. But that doesn't mean I would try to hurt them back because that wouldn't make me any better than them. I was given one opportunity to tell off my former friend online after I cut off contact for years. I told her to get well because she was sick, but she was getting better. She insulted me, not directly, but she did imply it. I was furious. But what did I do? I kept my mouth shut, told her to have a good life, and bid her farewell. Telling her everything that she made me feel and how much I loathe her would have only caused trouble, and the last thing I need is for her to stalk me online or try to pick a fight with me since she's freaking insane. She got angry over tiny things, physically assaulted someone just for being rude, as in getting into a conversation between the skank and someone else. Like what the fuck?! She could have told him to wait until she was finished. She was not psychologically well in my opinion, but I'm not one to confirm it because I'm not a psychologist. I thought she had changed but I was wrong. All my suspicions I had about her have been confirmed. Everything. And I vowed to never speak to her ever again. So Sephiroth and I may have handled our hate differently, but it still counts as something we have in common. Looking back, I see Sephiroth as an extreme version of my hate, anger, and pain, making me picture what I would have been like if I had taken it too far. It's a bit terrifying for me to imagine, and I am glad that I have more good inside me.

Now the next thing is something that still affects me to this day, and it's this. Sephiroth and I have felt like we were different, that we didn't belong anywhere. Having an identity crisis isn't fun, and Sephiroth is proof of that. He's not like everyone else. He's the only one with long silver hair and green cat-like eyes, he's part-alien, he's the strongest of all, and he always felt different because of this. I feel like I'm different because I'm not as outgoing as many people, I get worried about what others think of me, I'm not as confident in myself and my talents, and people don't pay attention to a wallflower like me. So I'm trying to improve myself and find my own place where I belong. Sephiroth found his, albeit in a rather dark way, but I have yet to find myself. But I know I will soon, and I have loved ones who can help me.

With all of this that I've said so far, Sephiroth means a lot to me. He means a lot to me more than I thought, and just by typing this, I'm realizing that he's a character that I love and admire in the exact same level as Sonic the Hedgehog. And as silly as it may sound, I get defensive when others talk smack about my favorite fictional characters like Sephiroth. Why? Because he's someone that I can identify with, regardless of the myriad of contrasting characteristics that we have. Opposites attract!

Now what else I wish to talk about related to Sephiroth...Well, there's his current self. I can hear those that say he's a cruel bastard that will kill you at first glance in milliseconds. My boyfriend and his friends think so. Well, you know what? It's bullshit. If that were true, then why didn't he kill Zack, Tifa, and Cloud immediately? Why didn't he kill Cloud and his team right away during numerous points in the game (other than the fact he needed Cloud to get the Black Materia for him)? Because he's not just a one-track mindless killing machine! This may be an unpopular opinion, but really, Sephiroth doesn't go just "Kill kill kill! Stab stab stab!". You kiss him on the cheek, stab. You compliment him on his looks, stab. You try to join him in his cause, stab. You try to have small talk, STAB! It's boring, predictable, and annoying. Do you really think I would do that on my Sephiroth blog? I would have grown tired of it! I deleted the posts about this, but do you want to know how many characters, users, or whatever I've had Sephiroth kill in roleplays???........One. That's right. One, a character that a friend roleplays as here on Tumblr, in a span of....a year-and-a-half, I think? If I had followed the "logic" of Sephiroth the utterly mindless killing machine and does nothing else, I would have had him impale over 1000 characters, users, anons, etc., maybe 10,000. You get my point.

This sort of thing strips everything about Sephiroth. He's cunning, arrogant, and manipulative, so of course I would have to implement that in his interactions if I want him to harm or kill a character, for example. And in some cases, I portray Sephiroth as just being intimidating, mistrustful, and bitter towards characters. In others, he is intrigued by who he's talking to, and he shows a range of emotions (as long as they fit him). I make him multidimensional. Really, try portraying Sephiroth as just a killing machine and nothing else and see how long it takes for you to get tired of taking out tons of people's muses in split seconds. I'm sorry if this portion became somewhat of a rant but it has been bugging me. Moving on to another Sephiroth subject.

Ahhhh, the theories. I almost forgot about them. Let's see, the lab rat theory is kind of possible, but ShinRa didn't blatantly abuse him. Otherwise, Sephiroth would have had serious psychological issues prior to Nibelheim. If he had endured severe physical and psychological abuse, he wouldn't be calm and collected. Of course he was abused to a degree, but the thing is he didn't know he was abused. He had no idea ShinRa used him as just a tool. That's clever of them. Cruel and despicable, but clever. They had to be discreet or else Sephiroth would have questioned their motives early on or tried to get away from them. Sephiroth was their puppet, which does explain why he referred to Cloud as his puppet. If others manipulated him to screw him over, he will do the same back at them. Sephiroth basically gave them a taste of their own medicine. Unfortunately, he takes it out on the whole planet. Think about it, though. He was deceived and manipulated by others, and this is his way of showing others that he will never allow himself to be controlled by anyone anymore. And this brings me to the next theory.

Jenova possessing Sephiroth is a famous theory and I don't blame people for believing and supporting this. I confess that I used to believe this theory as well, but as I looked back at the events of Crisis Core and Final Fantasy 7, it doesn't make sense. First of all, after being used by an evil company his entire life, why would Sephiroth allow himself to be controlled by an alien that arrived to the Planet millennia ago? Yes, he was at the library at ShinRa Manor for a week reading endlessly about his origins without sleeping, and possibly eating or drinking anything. Obviously that must have left him vulnerable, but I don't believe Sephiroth would have been brainwashed easily. He was controlled by ShinRa, and he wasn't going to allow anyone else to control him again, especially Jenova. Sephiroth was the one who controlled her, not the other way around. If Jenova had gained control, that would undermine Sephiroth's reputation as the main antagonist of FF7. He is the villain, the real villain, not Jenova. Sephiroth burned down Nibelheim. Sephiroth killed many people. Sephiroth killed Aeris (or Aerith) in FF7. Sephiroth summoned Meteor to injure the Planet in order to absorb its life stream to become a god. Sephiroth created the Remnants to achieve his goal to claim the Planet as his own, become an unstoppable god, and bring despair to those who stand in his way. It's all Sephiroth. And besides, Jenova is a parasite. I doubt she would have planned all of this before trying to destroy the planet. I also doubt she's even alive. Sephiroth is the master of his ongoing desire to take back what he believes is his planet, conquer it as a god, and destroy anyone who stands in his way.

Alright then, this post has gone long enough. Now I'm not sure if this is all I have to say about Sephiroth. Well, I assumed that I did’t have much else to say in the previous post, and look! Here's another one. I like doing this sort of thing. It makes me feel good and I just love Sephiroth. I could go on forever if I want, but I’ll end it here. I hope you liked this and if there’s any more things that I haven’t said here, I’ll make sure to do a third part.

[ourloveisforthelovely]

Being Human 4

A/n: drama ahead 

Words: 4,046

Link to chapter 3

Pairings: Gabriel x OFC

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Walking back into the living room Gabriel was still in a state of silence. He was still putting things together from a moment ago. His mind was in a state of panic. How the hell was he supposed to be a father? This wasn’t something that was supposed to happen. In all the years that he had been having sex with humans never once had he gotten one pregnant. Now here was Andi Winchester having his baby.

“Well look who it is.”

Gabriel’s head snapped up seeing Lucifer still sitting at the table. Lucifer stood looking at his little brother with a smile.

“So I came bearing happy news. Hey Gabriel wasn’t that what did to that Joseph guy? Haha I am doing your job.”

Gabriel groaned.

“Lucifer can you shut up? My brain is killing me as it is right now.”

Andi still had her hand locked around Gabriel’s trying to rub soothing circles into the insides of his wrists. Lucifer shrugged off Gabriel’s response.

“I came to help you. I figured you would want your wings back especially with her delicate condition. Funny Gabriel I never expected you to be this devoted to one person.”

Gabriel looked from Lucifer to Andi. He didn’t like the nervous vibes coming from his lover.

“You came here to give me my wings back?”

Lucifer nodded.

“Yes that and to help you two and the little one on the way.”

Gabriel looked even more unconvinced.

“Why do you care so much about our baby?”

“Because believe it or not you are my little brother and I love you. I won’t call you a bag of dicks like you seem to enjoy to call me. You need to be an angel no a human. Besides if angels like our dickhead brothers come around then you need to be able to protect Ms. Pretty and the kid. Now would you stop being so damn emo and let a man work his magic?”.”

Andi rolled her eyes.

“Must you call me Ms. Pretty?”

Lucifer flickered his attention to Andi.

“Princess you may want to step over there.”

Gabriel looked to Andi gently touching her cheek.

“He’s right. I can’t protect you if I’m not an archangel. I’ve somewhat enjoyed this human experience but I do need to be me again. Nothing changes between us though right?”

Andi sighed as she stood on her tiptoes pressing a kiss to Gabriel’s lips.

“No.”

Lucifer made a gagging motion.

“Awe you two are breaking my heart now lets get this over with.”

Andi gave Lucifer a cold glare before walking to the other side of the room as requested. Gabriel meanwhile, turned to face his brother knowing this was about to hurt. Lucifer held his hand up ready to snap his fingers.

“Anything you want to say?”

Gabriel shook his head.

“Make it snappy.”

Lucifer snapped his fingers. Gabriel felt like someone had literally knocked the ever loving shit out of him as he hit the floor and a burning sensation started in his feet before making its way up his body.

“Gabriel?”

Andi’s voice was soft and timid from across the room as he pulled himself up.

“I’m fine sugar.”

Gabriel managed to choke out before looking at Lucifer.

“Well that was a bitch.”

Before Lucifer could respond Sam and Dean walked into the room freezing at the sight of Satan in their living room. Dean looked to Andi. He was clearly making sure that his little sister was all right.

“Sam, why is Satan in our living room? Luci we are home.”

Lucifer frowned,

“Knock it off Winchester I am not here to see either of you. So has your sissy over there told you the good news?”

Dean shook his head looking back to Andi again as she made her way to Gabriel, who was looking ill.

“No and what the hell did you do to feathers over there?”

Lucifer shrugged.

“I turned him back into feathers. Andi tell your brothers about the new exciting occurrence that will be happening.”

Andi glared at Lucifer. She was clearly not wanting to tell Sam and Dean like this. She hadn’t even began to contemplate how she would tell her brothers about her pregnancy.

“Andi?”

Sam questioned softly. When Andi didn’t respond Lucifer decided he should be the one to let the cat out of the bag.

“Her and Gabriel are having a baby. Isn’t it wonderful?!”

Lucifer clasped his hands together in another over dramatic fashion. Both Sam and Dean went dead silent and looked at Andi. Dean stepped closer to his sister.

“This baby is it human or is it going to be whatever you get when you mix humans and angels?”

“Nephilim.”

Sam replied softly. Dean looked to his brother.

“Thanks. Andi start talking to me.”

Andi took a breath.

“Nephilim. When Raphael took Gabriel’s grace not all of it was taken away. That is how I got pregnant.”

Dean rubbed a hand over his face.

“Gabriel if you were still human I would punch you in the face. Oh what the hell!”

Dean took off after Gabriel ready to knock the archangel’s lights out. Gabriel meanwhile, snapped his fingers knocking Dean on his ass.

“Don’t think so big boy. Its happened and it can’t be taken away.”

Dean looked up.

“Oh yes it can! Sam go get me some alcohol and tools from the tool box. I am going to cut that thing out of her.”

Sam didn’t move but remained looking at his sister. He honestly didn’t know what to think. Part of him was livid with Gabriel and Andi for being so careless but the other part agreed what was done was done.

“No Dean. We can’t do that.”

Dean looked stood up, clutching his shoulder.

“Sam our sister has some monster inside her. What do we kill? Monsters! Our dad told us to protect her and we haven’t done too good of a job at that.”

Gabriel was livid at this point. He reached over shoving Andi behind him.

“You aren’t touching her or my child you over grown moron. Our child isn’t some monster. Now get over it or shut the hell up.”

Dean turned walking from the room without another word. He didn’t know what to do other then walk away. His sister was going to let this kid kill her and he couldn’t do a damn thing about it. Walking away seemed to be the best option at the moment.

Over the following month and a half, Dean didn’t speak to anyone for the most part. He stayed in his room drinking or was gone on jobs. Andi tried her best to talk to her brother and fix whatever damage was going on but she could only take Dean turning his back on her so many times.

It was Sam that ended up holding her when she cried trying to convince her to just give Dean time to accept what was going on. Sam and Gabriel were the ones dealing with Andi’s pregnancy symptoms. It seemed like the day after she discovered that she was pregnant she had woken up with horrible morning sickness. Gabriel stayed by her side trying to heal the symptoms as they arose but sometimes even his grace couldn’t stop what his lover was going through.

One morning Andi stood in the kitchen trying to stomach the thought of drinking a glass on ginger ale. She looked up at Cas appeared. He looked in her direction with wide eyes.

“Are the rumors true Andi?”

“What rumors?”

Andi asked breathing through her nose as Cas walked in. His eyes went immediately to her stomach that was getting round.

“Those rumors and they are true.”

Andi nodded sadly.

“Yeah and Dean hates me.”

Cas tilted his head to the side, looking confused.

“Because you are carrying Gabriel’s child?”

Andi nodded, fighting the tears that were forming in her eyes. How could she not be sad? Even if her pregnancy hormones wasn’t going bat shit she would still be devastated. From the day that she had met Sam and Dean as a child she wanted nothing but their approval and favor.

“Yeah something like that. He said the baby is a monster and needs to be destroyed.”

Cas groaned. The angel was obviously annoyed as well.

“Damn it Dean. Andi, the baby isn’t a monster. It is a definite oddity and has a lot of angels in a state but its not a monster. Creating one is forbidden and with Gabriel doing this it is directing the attention of his brothers.”

Andi looked down.

“I’m scared Cas.”

Cas looked around for any sign of Gabriel or either of the Winchesters before going closer to Andi.

“I would consider you a fool if you wasn’t.”

“I can’t find much lore on it. The only thing I have found was carrying a nephilim is fatal to the mother. Gabriel refused to accept that. He said he would save me before I would die but I don’t think he is really thinking clearly. Cas I’m going to die.”

Cas reached out pulling Andi into his arms.

“No, you aren’t. We will find a way. Life finds a way. I have to stress to you the seriousness of the situation though. Nephilim are some of the most powerful creatures imaginable and that is just ones sired by a normal angel. A nephilim with an archangel for a father is going to be off the charts.”

Andi pressed her hand to her mouth trying to ease her pounding heart.

“We will never know peace again will we?”

Cas smiled.

“We will find a way. I’m not leaving you again. You’ve been very dear to me since you have come here. I’ll work on Dean.”

A few mornings later Andi sat quietly beside Lucifer in the doctors office. Of all people that had to accompany her to her appointment. She mentally made a note to kick Gabriel in the shins for this. “So Ms. Pretty did you tell Doc Obvious that you are carrying an archangel’s child? I have a feeling if you did you may be going to a nut house.” Andi swallowed, trying to ignore the repeating sick feeling in her stomach. The last thing she needed was to throw up. “Lucifer for the last time my name is Andi and no I didn’t tell the doctor anything of what your brother is. Gabriel just modified the doctors memory. I am only here so I can see an ultrasound.” Lucifer frowned. He was wondering why on earth they were sitting in a human OBGYN office anyway? These doctors wouldn’t be able to handle the child forming inside Andi’s body. Lucifer smiled at the thought of them trying.

Stupid humans wouldn’t be able to process what was happening to them. The kid would rip them apart. “Really you came to get picture of that little blob inside you?” Andi sighed, feeling annoyed. She gave Lucifer a glare out of the corner of her eyes. She didn’t turn to face him or fully look at him. Instead, she was mentally chewing Gabriel out of for being out of town with Castiel trying to find anything he could on other nephilim. As bad as it sounded, Andi was thankful for a little break from her lover. She was tired of the sympathetic look that Gabriel gave her anytime that he looked at her now. Things were different. He was constantly looking at her like he was apologizing for what he did to her. Gabriel didn’t even let on like he was excited about the baby because he wasn’t. He didn’t say it but that went without saying. “That little blob is your nephew and yes I want to see an ultra sound.” Andi said spitefully. Lucifer nodded leaning back. He was no fool. Lucifer knew good and well that there were problems brewing between Gabriel and Andi. Being his nosy self he prowled through Andi’s thoughts. She was afraid. That he could understand and sympathized with. She also felt that Gabriel really wasn’t in love with her at this point just doing his duty to what he created. Lucifer gagged at the thought of how Gabriel and Andi’s sex life was now nonexistent. That thought Lucifer could have done without. He watched Andi as she placed a hand over her mouth. “I want you to stop vomiting.” He said calmly. Andi looked at him with a beyond annoyed expression. “If I could control it…I would do it on you right now” Lucifer scoffed. “How very Exorcist of you! So Gabriel is out hunting with Cas while your here without him and stuck with little ole me. Does that make you angry?” Andi shook her head. “No. We have to get Raphael taken care of. You know that. Gabriel has to do what needs to be done even if that includes not being with me.” Lucifer groaned before reaching over and putting his fingers to Andi’s head to stop the nausea. Andi blinked a few times before looking over at her lover’s brother. “Thanks.” Lucifer nodded. He wasn’t about to take credit of making someone feel better. That wasn’t his style. At the same time though he did feel sorry for the girl beside him. This pregnancy was taking a lot out of her and she looked like death. When Andi was finally called back to the exam room Lucifer sat looking at all the birthing manuals and other “instructional” materials. “Well none of this will help you. We will probably have to cut that pretty belly of yours open to get the tot out. Humans having angels babies…makes me chuckle.” Andi groaned. “Ugh Luci you are such a prince.” Lucifer grinned “Well thank you!” Lucifer went back to his investigation of items. He picked up a plastic model of the uterus and frowned with disgust. “And my father said he made women beautiful. This is gross!” Andi rolled her eyes for the millionth time. “I’m glad I am having Gabriel’s baby and not yours. Would you stop messing with stuff? The uterus isn’t a toy.” Lucifer smirked again. “Maybe you should tell my brother the uterus isn’t a toy. Obviously he missed the memo since he’s been boning you raw a lot lately. I’m glad you aren’t having my baby either. Although I like you girly you are too mouthy for my liking.”

Andi giggled slightly at that.

“Well you don’t have to worry about any dicking going on any longer Gabriel won’t touch me. I can assure you this will be a one time only thing. Can’t really be planning another since I will be dead.”

Lucifer frowned.

“You aren’t going to die. I wish you would stop talking like that. I am fucking Satan I can bring you back to life. Besides Gabriel won’t let anything happen to you.”

Andi swallowed.

“What if Michael or Raphael find me?”

Lucifer’s face darkened.

“Well let’s say they are going to be coming off a lot worse than what you are right now. Can we stop with the emotional knocked up mess you are being? I prefer you mouthy.”

Arriving back at at the bunker Andi was smiling down at the ultrasound picture in her hand. She had felt much better when the doctor came in and did the ultrasound. Seeing her baby seemed to be everything that Andi needed to feel better. Even Lucifer had a very odd look to his face when he saw the baby.

“Well look at that.”

Was his only comment but his facial expression was a mixture of his normal snark and pride.

When walking into the living room Sam and Dean sat with books in their laps. Sam quickly stood while Dean remained sitting but watched his sister intently.

“Well how was your appointment?”

Sam asked with much concern in his voice. Andi smiled handing her older brother the ultrasound picture. Sam smiled.

“Is everything good?”

Andi nodded, placing a hand on her tummy.

“Yeah from what they could see.”

Sam reached out pulling her into a hug.

“Has Gabriel and Cas came back?”

Before Sam could respond Gabriel and Cas appeared in the room. Gabriel quickly pulled Andi into his arms kissing her. Andi missed being kissed like that! She moaned against his lips before tangling her fingers in his curls. When he pulled away Gabriel cupped her face a moment before nuzzling his face against hers.

“Everything okay peach?”

Andi nodded.

“Mhm. From what the doctor could see everything looked fine.”

She pulled away and handed Gabriel the ultrasound photo. Andi watched his face for any sign of discontent instead he smiled.

“Are you happy?”

Gabriel asked. It was a genuine question. He could sense the happiness in Andi but verbal confirmation seemed nice as well. Gabriel didn’t look to Cas, who was obviously still working on Dean. Gabriel didn’t let his mind dwell too much on the eldest Winchester. The less that he had to deal with him at the moment the better everyone else was. Gabriel wasn’t the least bit pleased with how Dean was treating Andi and was ready to deal out just desserts if things didn’t start improving.

“I am.”

Andi said softly, pulling Gabriel from his thoughts. Gabriel kissed her forehead before glancing back to Cas.

“We’ll be back later.”

Before Cas could object to them going anywhere without another angel the two were gone.

The next thing Andi knew they were standing in the middle of a department store.

“Where are we Gabriel?”

Gabriel shrugged innocently.

“You’ve been looking for baby stuff online and the baby is going to need stuff so here we are. We don’t have a lot of time to play with”

Andi intertwined her hand with his with a smile.

“I love you.”

“I know….I’m pretty awesome.”

Andi rolled her eyes as they started walking through rows of baby clothes and things.

“You are so dreamy Gabe.”

Gabriel chuckled.

“I love you too kid. So you never said how things went with Lucifer.”

Andi stopped walking and gave him a look. For a moment Gabriel was afraid that he was going to have to go off on his brother for a misdoing.

“I was going to kick you in the shins for making him go with me but it actually went okay. Lucifer was just his human hating self. But I think I am winning him over. He kind of admitted it too.”

Gabriel smiled.

“Look at you winning Satan over. I told you that you are alluring sugar.”

Gabriel stopped walking and pulled Andi back into his arms. Blocking out the noise of the department store Andi focused on Gabriel’s golden eyes that seemed even more golden than normal.

“Bewitching is more like it sugar. You’ve bewitched me.”

Gabriel gently kissed her. For the second time of the day he didn’t let his lips leave hers. Pulling away Gabriel didn’t let his lips get too far from hers.

“Gabriel I want you so bad!”

Andi whispered against his lips. She ignored the way he closed his eyes and frowned.

“I know sweetheart.”

He replied before letting his hand trace over her stomach. The moment the baby moved they both jumped away from each other. Gabriel’s eyes widened as he put his hand back.

“Has he moved like that before?”

Andi smiled at the feeling of their baby moving against his father’s hand. It was almost as though Gabriel’s touch real made him get going.

“No, that’s the first time.”

Gabriel went back to running his hand over her stomach just to feel his child move more. Both were so entranced in their moment that neither noticed someone approach until a voice neither wanted to hear began to speak.

“Gabriel so its true.”

Both looked up quickly. Gabriel’s mouth fell at the sight of Kali watching them with a bemused expression on her face. He reached out pulling Andi closer to him. Kali didn’t wait for him to start speaking. She looked at Andi with eyes full of disgust.

“So you get your grace back and knock up a human. Have you truly lost your mind?”

Andi frowned.

“You’re Kali aren’t you?”

Kali looked to Andi with a less than cordial frown.

“Yes I am.”

Andi ignored the look of warning that she was getting from Gabriel.

“I knew that. It wasn’t hard to pick out your arrogant ass.”

Kali looked ready to attack Andi. Gabriel quickly snapped his fingers rendering Kali’s powers useless.

“No.”

He said coldly. Kali looked back to Gabriel deciding to let the young set Winchester’s comment slide.

“You have your grace back.”

“And you can see.”

Gabriel said coldly. Kali rolled her eyes.

“Since you have your grace back you can come back to me if you want.”

Andi looked ready to beat the shit out of the goddess in front of her. If it wasn’t for the knowledge that this could really hurt their baby and Gabriel had a death grip on her things would have been a lot different.

“Not happening. She loved me when I was human something you wouldn’t do. My affiliation is with my lover and child.”

Gabriel said coldly. Kali meanwhile, scoffed.

“Well you’ll get bored with her eventually. You always do get bored with lowly mortals quickly. We’ll see who is right.”

Kali vanished before another word could be uttered leaving both Andi and Gabriel in silence.

“Well she is bitchy as I could have imagined.”

Andi stated ignoring the look of anger on Gabriel’s face.

“Come on we need to get you some dinner.”

Gabriel replied coldly.

The rest of the evening Gabriel was in a silent and icy mood. Andi was so used to his cheerful smile that seeing him frown was almost unnerving. Anytime that she tried to make a conversation with him Gabriel would only give her a one or two word response. By the time that Andi’s dinner showed up she as almost in tears and Gabriel seemed to not give a damn.

Arriving back home Andi marched right past her brothers and Cas to her bedroom and slammed the door. Cas looked to his brother confused.

“Gabriel what happened?”

Gabriel shrugged.

“Bunch of unnecessary drama. Cas keep an eye on her I have to go clear my head.”

Before Cas could object Gabriel vanished leaving the rest of team free will in an awkward silence. Andi, meanwhile stood undressing. She was glad for the moment that Gabriel wasn’t in the room. She didn’t want him to see her sobbing.

The moment the baby moved Andi froze feeling the tears falling faster. She placed her hand in the same place that Gabriel’s had been letting her mind go into overdrive. What if Gabriel still had feelings for Kali and seeing her just reconfirmed everything? Could see really stand for Gabriel to break things off with her and go back to the goddess? The answer was no. Andi couldn’t stand the thought of Gabriel being back in the arms of that horrible woman. Would Gabriel abandon her and their child for Kali? Could it come to that? At the moment Andi was beginning to think yes.

Getting into bed Andi tried to get her mind from the thoughts rushing into her about Gabriel but she couldn’t stop it. Their tender moment was ruined in a blink of a eye. Deep down Andi knew that their life would probably be like this a lot. People would always try to come between them. Once Michael and Raphael knew 100% about the baby they would start their drama.

“This is why angels and humans shouldn’t mix.”

Andi whimpered, pressing her face into her pillow

“Dean was right.”

_______

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