#this chapter was so jam packed with awesomeness

[fan-girls-r-us]

Y’all, it’s that time again…

… Time to discuss the latest chapter of Spy x Family!

Obviously, there will be spoilers.

So a lot happened this chapter, but what I’m intent on unpacking is Anya’s botched fortune-telling session.

So while I’m not that proficient in tarot card reading, my sister and SO are far more knowledgeable. So I asked them.

Forgive me if I make any mistakes, I’m still learning this and am by no means an authority.

Breaking it down very broadly:

There are two kinds of tarot cards, ones of the major arcana, and ones of the minor arcana. Minor arcana represent every day life events/experiences; so for example, minor arcana could tell a person who’s being read about things such as how interpersonal relationships (romantic and non-romantic) may turn out. Each suit and number in the minor arcana mean something specific; each suit, for example, represents the four elements. Wands are fire, cups are water, swords are air, and pentacles are earth. The numbers basically represent how you’re looking at the subject of the card. Major arcana represent complex subjects, meant to divine major life events— cruxes in one’s destiny.

Further, the orientation of the cards matter a lot. If the cards face the tarot reader, then the card is read as is— that is to say, the card’s meaning is unchanged. However, if the card is facing the individual being read, then the card’s meaning is reversed. The Fool no longer means opportunity/potential, but now represents lost opportunities or squandered potential, for example.

On the table above, Anya has two major arcana cards and five minor arcana cards. Three of the cards are upside down. Her cards are:

Three of Wands (the card covered by Melinda’s hand): Minor arcana. Upside down. Typically represents momentum/confidence/growth/expansion. Wands also represent fire/passion. The number three also means that you are looking to something or anticipating something optimistically. However, as the card is upside down, it is read as the opposite of what it means; so where Anya may have had momentum, this means she’ll stall and likely lose momentum/confidence.

Three of Swords: Minor arcana. Typically represents a sorrowful experience/tragedy/loss. It could be a lost relationship, it could be the death of a loved one. It could just be something sad. Swords represent air/intellect, mental processes, struggles challenges, etc.

Four of Cups: Minor arcana. Typically represents the need to re-evaluate your current perspective and state of mind. Cups represent water/emotions or emotional state. The number four represents things becoming less abstract and more productive/stable/purposeful; the number four basically means order. THIS IS THE CARD MELINDA CHOSE TO REPRESENT ANYA’S PRESENT.

The Star: Major arcana. Upside down. Typically represents hope/renewal/healing/optimism. However, as the card is upside down, its meaning is reversed. So it instead represents despair/self-doubt and being stuck. From what I understand, the numbers are of less consequence with the major arcana, and we never see the number on The Star anyway. THIS IS THE CARD MELINDA CHOSE TO REPRESENT ANYA’S FUTURE.

Death: Major arcana. Typically represents major change, the end of one thing and the beginning of another. Again, I don’t know of what consequence (if any) the numbers have on major arcana, but as we can see here, the number is 13. THIS IS THE ONLY CARD LEFT FOR THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE, SO PRESUMABLY MELINDA CHOSE THIS TO REPRESENT ANYA’S PAST.

Ace of Cups: Minor arcana. Upside down. Typically represents joy/inner peace, but also the start of love or a new relationship. The Ace is the trump card and typically represents total success/luck/hard work. As it is upside down, it means that Anya won’t find success in forging a relationship, and that there will be contention/acrimony.

Ten of Pentacles: Minor arcana. Typically represents wealth/security, family/legacy. The ten represents the conclusion of a cycle/event.

There are several ways in which these cards can be interpreted.

While Anya asked Melinda to give her a reading in the context of connecting with Damian better, we can also interpret her cards through the lens of theories regarding her experiences/background and that the cards may be indicative of either parallels between the two of them, or means by which Anya can leverage said experiences to get closer to Damian. Furthermore, we have to take into account that, not only are the reading of tarot cards a matter of interpretation, but also not definitive (if you believe in tarot cards/divination).

I have my own personal theories about what some of these cards mean to Anya, (side-eyeing that Three of Swords so. hard.) but only time will tell how relevant they are, and if they even mean anything to the story’s progression.

Happy holidays, all!

[thephonemenarentreal]

Mysterious Fathoms Below

CHAPTER THREE IS OUT! Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three <<Current Chapter>>

Having a blast writing this fic <3 I just like hurt/comfort bonding and slow burns and friendships and found family things <3

Title: Mysterious Fathoms Below

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: Bonding; Hurt/comfort over trauma; awkward small talk, hand holding

Featured Characters: Titan Speakerman, Charybdis (Sea Camera OC), Executor hanging out as baby semi-titan

Guest Starring: Whistle (@tabieeee awesome chief engineer of the speaker faction! Go give them some love!!) Summary: A chance encounter leads to something a little more, a little complicated, and a house divided as surely as Romeo and Juliet, with a touch of tragedy and yearning that comes under the terror of a war. Feelings of any kind though tend to grow in the strangest of places, starting with the simplest of playful meetings. CHAPTER SUMMARY: Maybe it is something about the sea that makes it easy to get things off one's core...and find someone who sees at you that you haven't seen yourself.

The patrol Titan Speakerman flew today was not the most ideal of weather conditions. High winds had picked up, driving the ocean upwards into a heaving mass of white tipped waves that rose and fell in larger and larger swells. Even for someone of the titan’s size and power, flying was made a bit more tricky in the face of such wild winds, which is why the patrol that day had been modified to allow him to be flying in the same direction of the wind to avoid having to battle a headwind.

When the winds picked up, it also meant the chance for bad weather to develop was a greater risk, thus he kept to a higher altitude above the clouds to avoid the worse of the sea-born squalls and rain showers. Usually having to fly higher up was not a big deal. He had plenty of communication arrays and sensors jammed packed along his frame, including an expansive GPS that easily helped him to tell what was going on beneath him. He had a near complete 360 degree view of his surroundings at all times to detect threats, something the other titans lacked. When it came to threat detection, the Titan Speakerman was good at being the first to be alerted to any sort of changes.

However, that was not entirely useful out here, at least not for hunting down the quarry he wanted to encounter. The shy sea camera’s electrical field could mess with his arrays, only giving him a vague idea that they were in the region, not necessarily where they were.

For that, visuals were best as the shadow of the mysterious sea unit’s outline was a dead giveaway, but harder to see among the waves and cloud cover from so high up.

The Titan Speakerman knew that it wouldn’t be easy to spot them and so far there had been no reports incoming of strange electrical incidents save for one naval ship’s navigation shorting out for a brief moment. The engineer on that ship had reported it as an incident of misadventure, not necessarily some electrical anomaly.

Things had been quiet for the last three days. Three days where the titan had not seen frame nor wire of the sea-based semi-titan of the Conglomerate.

With every missed sighting, every day returning to base empty handed with nothing to report but a few skibidi encounters from time time, the Titan Speakerman was beginning to think he wouldn’t ever see them again at all. The disappointment and acceptance of that fact was finally starting to settle in. Today more than others as he neared the end of his patrol, only an hour out from making his ETA and landing for the day. Not a single sighting of that mysterious semi-titan.

“Weather looks like it is clearing up ahead,” Whistle commented, “Will at least be a nice and breezy end of the patrol,”

“mm,”

“Thought that would make you a bit more upbeat rather than being as broody as Executor,”

“I’m not that broody, Whistle,”

“Getting there!”

The Titan Speakerman gave a low growl of his speakers as he started to coast down closer to the ocean, holding out one hand to listlessly trail over the white tipped waves, “Just disappointed is all. No sighting of that sea camera whatsoever,”

“Maybe the Pleasure Cruise moved on. They probably keep close to it,” Whistle reasoned, “May be back another time,”

“I guess,”

The ocean was starting to calm itself as the wind started to die down at last. Being so close to land, the usual change of the sea breeze would soon start to kick as the heat from the land rolled off and back out to sea. With the weather clearing up, maybe it would be a nice sunset over the ocean. At least that might be something to look forward to. Just as he was starting to resign himself back to base after a rather boring patrol, a slight tingle started to be picked up in his sensors and then along his form. The Titan Speakerman drew his hand away from the water as he felt almost like a small prickle of electricity jolt through his fingers. The titan paused, giving a soft warble and cutting his jets to rise up a bit, hovering over the water.

There was nothing at first, just the white-tipped waves rising and falling on the wide expanse of the ocean. Then slowly, a large shadow began to become more clear, slowly moving below in a lazy circle beneath the titan. There was the bright lights of the front of the face, peering up through the water at him, hesitant, guarded, but there.

Excitement was not an emotion that the Titan Speakerman could hold back too well. Before he could think, as natural as it was for a speaker to dance when pleased, there was a rumbling building up in his speakers, filled with eager noises that finally came out in a loud rancorous roar down at the figure below the water. Such a noise was one of excitement, easy for any speaker to tell, but such a loud noise clearly spooked the semi-titan in the water as they shrank deeper into the depths of the water until the light was barely able to be parsed in the fading light of the evening. That cut off the happy cry of the titan quickly and he quickly raised both hands as he dared to draw a bit closer to the water.

“W-wait! It wasn’t aggressive! I swear! I just was saying hi…!”

The sea cam didn’t come up to the surface, but at least wasn’t continuing to back away. That was progress. The titan hovered there, hands still up to appear as non-threatening as possible. He was excited and thus it was hard to keep his voice down or the want to make noise.

“So uh. Hi there,”

Three days to plan on what even to say to the unknown sea cam and he still couldn’t think of how to start a conversation. Nerves were starting to creep up and one hand inched up to rub at his lower speaker lightly in a bit of a nervous habit as he looked away, “Do you uh, have a name? I don’t think I caught it last time,”

The sea cam remained beneath the water a moment longer before slowly starting to come up to the surface. Only their head breached it, the lens, glowing a bright teal fixing on him quietly for a long moment before tilting away.

“Charybdis,”

Again with the soft voice that didn’t seem to match how large they were. So shy it was almost painfully cute.

“Charybdis,” the titan repeated, “Well, I’m Titan Speakerman, T-speak to my friends, but, uh, I guess you already knew that,”

“Maybe. A little,” Charybdis murmured with maybe a hint of a small laugh.

There was movement along their head as two small robotic arms just beneath began to cling at each other, wringing them in nerves. The titan gave another rub at the lower speaker, head tilted away. “So uh, you come here often?” Even to his own auditory sensors, the question was painfully awkward and sounded like something written for a horrible romance on the Hallmark channel. It had him internally cringing, mentally kicking himself for not trying to come up with something a little bit smoother to ask about.

“No. These are Alliance waters. I don’t usually come in at all,” they said softly, “Does that...upset you?”

“Huh? No! I mean, well, it would upset the Alliance I guess, but not me personally,” the titan stammered out, “I uh, was kind of, maybe, sort of looking for you?”

The sea cam just sunk down a bit, their voice somehow getting even softer, strained to a squeak of a mouse, “You were looking for me?”

The titan paused before holding up both hands, “Not looking! More hoping to run into you again? I wasn’t being like a stalker or something! Just sort of, last time was nice and well, didn’t get your name and it was bugging me!”

“Oh,” Charybdis sunk in the water more, just the lens peaking out, “Well, you have my name,”

“Yeah,”

The conversation was so awkwardly shy, the titan was wondering if it was too late to just dunk himself in the ocean out of embarrassment. Honestly how Whistle made this look easy was beyond the titan. Still he forged forward, giving a loud rumble of his speakers like the clearing of a throat and tried to look more suave, arms crossed, leaning against an invisible wall as he hovered in the air.

The very picture of trying to look cool as hell and looking like the greatest dork to grace the skies.

“What has you in Alliance waters then? Just you know, an official question there for reasons,” The titan said, “Since I am all official in the Alliance. As a faction leader titan leader guy and stuff,”

Whistle save him, he was sounding more and more like the most awkward bastard in the Alliance. His nerves were starting to creep up all the more, causing his fans to start to rev from the sheer heat of his embarrassment.

“Well, I wanted to see you...again. Maybe...do something like we did last time,” Charybdis said softly, although their words were muffled some as they ducked a little more down in the water, “It was nice...doing the chasing game with you,”

The titan perked up, giving another eager rumble that was edging towards another shriek that he was keeping down for now, “Yeah? Well, I liked it too!”

“Really?”

This time he couldn’t help the excited shriek of confirmation, although the titan quickly stiffed it when the sea camera ducked away again and a small crackle of electricity was in the air. A tingly thing that made his com array complain, but nothing serious.

“Sorry,” he said, holding both hands up again, fans giving a rev of nerves, “I uh, tend to get excited and get loud,”

Charybdis circled a bit before once more poking their head out, “...its okay. Sometimes I...shock things when I get excited or startled,”

“Guess we have something in common then, huh?”

“Maybe,” Charybids shyly dipped down in the water a bit, “...You...want to play a game again?”

It took so much self control not to just yell as loudly as possible. The most he got these days was sparring matches with titan Cameraman, and although those were fun, there wasn’t much time to just do something silly. Least of all given his size making it hard to play most simple games. He opted for a more controlled yelling and vigorous nod of the head instead as not to chase the sea camera away, “Yes! The chase game?”

“If you want. Or there are some mines down here the skibidis set in the deep waters,” Charybdis murmured, “With my sibling, sometimes I throw them in the air for him to shoot down, if you want to do that…”

The titan paused, thinking on the offer. Target practice was always fun but it was harder to do at base. Mostly because finding good targets for the size of his guns was hard to begin with. Add to that, him firing his guns around the speaker base tended to invoke a lot of trauma in other units. That thought had him wincing and that kernel of misery twisted just a little deeper. It had been a long time since he had been able to put his guns to work without being told off by the higher ups.

“I would like that,” he finally said, voice a bit soft, “I don’t get to do that much,”

“You sure? You seem sad,”

the titan speakerman gave a rev of his jets rising up over the water some, both hands out as he did a little turn in the air, “Not sad! Just it isn’t something I do at base a lot. You know, too loud and stuff, might make people think we are under attack or something!”

Or think he was going to kill them, the horrid voice sneered at the back of his mind. Just like he did before under the influence of that parasite. Quickly he pushed that thought away, not wanting to come across as dreary around what could be a new friend. Instead he gave a louder warble, revving his jets up to hype himself up more.

“Hit me with your best mine! I’m ready!” he slammed his two fists together and gave another loud cry.

Charybdis gave a nod starting to move about in the water with an eager rumble, “All right. Then get ready!”

The sea camera dove quickly, soon out of sight below the water. The Titan Speakerman hovered over the water before darting back as suddenly there was an eruption of water and a large deep sea mine erupted upwards. He was startled only a moment before he was lifting both arms, locking and loading to unleash a shot on it as he zoomed backwards. The mine went off with a loud satisfying boom, fire and sizzling shrapnel whizzing every which way. The titan couldn’t help a pleased shriek at that, darting away as suddenly several more were shot up out of the water in rapid succession.

The Titan Speakerman let out a loud eager shriek then, locked in and eager as he unleashed a volley and perhaps coasting just out of the reach of the explosions, enough to feel the heat against his heels, but be ready to swoop in for more of the mines being thrown up. Charybdis was moving below, the water parting as they gave a somewhat loud trill of their own as the jumped out of the water briefly like a dolphin, tossing up a few more before diving back down just as the titan dove, more than ready to get to each target. There was no telling where Charybdis was throwing them, keeping them both moving in the water in their dangerous game. If high command knew he was doing this, they would be besides themselves with anger and be ready with a lecture about the dangers of using live, dangerous ammunition as target practice, let alone having a unit of the Conglomerate be the one tossing them up.

One wrong move and he could end up blowing up a mine in his face which would leave him with some damages to fix. Still the thrill outweighed the risks sand he was more than confident in his ability to hit targets and get out of the way in time.

It was exciting to get to use his canons without worrying about hitting someone accidentally or being told off for it. The exhilaration had him pushing himself into rather acrobatic aerial maneuvers, up, down, barrel roles, backwards flying, upside down and in quick twirls, all while he was eagerly shouting and shrieking to try and be louder than each thundering boom of the mines as they went off.

“Oi! You okay out there?! I’m detecting multiple explosions!”

The Titan paused a moment at the worried sound of his chief engineer. No doubt Whistle had started to pick up on the explosions on his comm array and had grown concerned when he wasn’t reporting anything. Titan Speakerman titled his head as he mentally ticked on the com, his attention brought back to the ocean as another series of mines were tossed up, “I’m good! Target practice on mines!”

“Mines!?”

“Charybdis is tossing them out of the water!”

“Now hold up-”

“Can’t talk, shooting now!”

He didn’t want to miss a single target in the air, weaving about and shooting, letting out loud shrieks all the while. It was fun. It was loud. It was so much better than patrols or sitting around quietly in the base while everyone else got to make as much noise as they wanted.

The last mine went up in smoke as he dove down towards the water where Charybdis peered up, giving a happy little clap and louder sound, like a whale mixed with some sort of deep sea monstrosity. He responded in kind with another loud roar back, feeling a pleased little trill rumble up as he noted this time the sea cam didn’t pull back. Instead Charybdis seemed to rise up a little more, making a louder cry right back.

“So you can get loud!” he teased, crossing his legs, hovering in mid-air as he regarded the semi-titan.

“When I feel like it,” Charybdis murmured, growing shy a touch, voice still soft, “You fly so elegantly,”

“Yeah?”

“I like how you fly,”

A touch of warmth rose right into his core at that and he gave a small buzz of his jets, “Well, you are super strong yourself. You could really lob those mines up and out of the water,”

Charybdis ducked down with a warble of embarrassment, “...I have to pull ships and go to the bottom of the ocean. Have to be strong to do that I guess,”

“I can’t get in the ocean, so you have me beat there,” The titan paused, drumming his fingers a bit against his leg before he glanced over his shoulder, “You want to...find somewhere to sit and uh, maybe talk?”

“Talk?” Charybdis squeaked out.

The titan speakerman raised a hand to scratch at the side of his bottom speaker lightly, a low nervous hum escaping, “I would like to get to know you better. Like, your favorite things. Not just like...always playing around, although today was really fun,”

The sea cam sunk lower in the water, back with only their lens out of the water, “No one wants to know that about me,”

“I do and kind of hard to hover and talk. I mean, you can stay in the water, just...somewhere to sit and spare my jets,”

Charybdis gave a nervous warble before ducking down under the water a moment, swimming a few little circles before coming up, “There are some rocks along the shore with deep water pools in the direction you were heading,”

“Sounds good!” The titan shifted, lifting into to the air more, “Race you!”

And then he was off like a shot, laughing all the while. Within moments though, Charybdis was below him, keeping pace with him as they hurtled forward. As they did, the titan clicked back on his com.

“What the hell is going on-”

“Was playing a game with that deep sea cam. Their name is Charybdis!”

“Throwing mines!?”

“Shooting them from a safe distance,” the titan corrected, although that was a half truth. He had taken some risks in making them explode maybe a little closer than his chief engineer would approve of, but that wasn’t something Whistle needed to know, “It was nice to be able to actually do target practice,”

He could hear Whistle let out an exasperated sound, falling to silent for a bit, “Well, as long as you are safe and doing okay,”

“Doing fine. We are going to sit and talk a bit so uh, I’ll be late,”

“Don’t trip over yourself,”

“Trust me, my foot is already in one speaker already at this point,” the titan looked down at the shadow, giving a pleased sound and wave as Charybdis looked up at him before jetting forward, “They don’t seem to mind,”

“Well, just check in when your done and don’t stay out too long, got it?”

“Yes mom,” the titan drawled sarcastically, “I’ll be in bed before eleven,”

“Holding you to that,” Whistle returned, her voice amused.

The titan clicked off his comm again, a bit more aware of when it was on and off after an unfortunate accident where some things should not have been heard. He especially didn’t want Whistle listening in to his attempts at small talk less he need to try and bury himself in the field behind the hangar again.

It was not long to the shore, but it felt so much longer or maybe he was just that eager to get the chance to actually have a normal conversation. A voice in the back of his head grumbled how he was trusting too much in a Conglomerate, but at the same time, Charybdis had never done anything to harm him, never asked about the Alliance or trying to get at secrets. They felt safe. They also were someone who didn’t know him or what he had done.

A clean slate that wouldn’t judge him or bring up the past.

The titan speakerman settled himself on one of the taller rocks pocking out of the water, getting comfortable with his feet dipped in the water. He let out a louder ping of the area, looking around to see if there was any threat before allowing himself to relax some. Charybdis surfaced at the edge, daring to bring part of their upper body out of the water as they rested their head on their folded arms.

“I think you won,” the shy cam said softly.

“Hard to tell. Guess we will have to do it again another time,”

Charybdis gave a soft hum, glancing to the side, “so what is it you wanted to talk about?”

He gave a small shrug, draping his arms over his knees as he sat there, only giving a small glance downward, “Well, what are you into? Like...hobbies I guess?” he sighed, rubbing at the back of his head, “Or uh favorite things in general. Small talk I guess,”

“Oh,”

The titan shifted, letting out a quiet laugh, “Seems a polite place to start. I…” the titan speakerman paused, squirming a bit where he at, “Before like, asking personal questions and all that. There is a lot I want to ask you that is probably not really small talk?”

“Like what?”

“I think it would be kind of rude,” the titan let out a hiss of his speakers, shaking his head, “It is fine! I can ask-”

“You can ask. I don’t mind,” Charybdis tilted their head, “I’m not...good at small talk anyways,”

The titan looked down at the sea semi-titan before looking up and towards the horizon. The sun was starting to set now, casting a golden aura over the waves. The white caps glittered like they were covered in jewels washed up from the depths to be shown to the world for a brief moment.

“How do people see you? At your home base I mean. Like, do they see you as...just one of them or like uh,” he glanced away quickly, speakers crackling with his nerves and fans revving all over again, “a monster or something?”

The question had Charybdis pulling back some, some of the lights around their head winking on and off like a blink. The titan looked away quickly, “Uh, sorry that sounds kind of rude. Could go back to hobbies or something like that,”

“No. It is fine. It really doesn’t bother me,” Charybdis said softly, looking down into the water, the little hands under their head fidgeting again, “I’m a monster to those that have heard of me. Most don’t know I exist actually as I don’t reveal myself to many people,” they traced one hand idly against the rock the titan sat on, “Only my family sees me as just Charybdis,”

The sea cam glanced up, head tilted, “...why do you ask?”

He couldn’t help a laugh at that, tired as he leaned forward, resting his elbows against his thighs, hands held together, “People see me as a monster these days. After what I did,” he could feel the tension rising into his shoulders, his speakers rumbling low, “Wanted to know if it was different for you, outside the Alliance that is,”

Charybdis did the blink of lights before tentatively reaching out, hesitating before putting a hand on the foot dangled into the water, “I don’t think you are a monster. You are very kind,”

“Would you say that if I told you I killed people that I saw as my own family?”

The semi-titan hesitated, but didn’t pull back, “Did you mean to do it?”

“Does it matter if I did or not?” the titan let out a low growl, curling in on himself a bit, “It was a parasite. I lost control of everything, like being forced to shut off for days, not knowing what was going on for days in the dark. It felt like, knowing your body was moving, hearing the world, and all it felt like was pain, screams…”

His hands inched up to clutch at his head, one hand going to back of his neck as if he could curl his fingers around the parasite that was no longer there, digging into his mind, “Then suddenly waking up, not knowing where I was, seeing how many were dead, feeling every ache and those upgrades digging into me. I don’t know. I should’ve done something,”

Charybdis let out a soft sound, giving a small rub to his foot, “That sounds so awful, but it doesn’t sound like it was your fault,”

The titan shook his head, “I get many won’t forgive me. I wouldn’t,” he let out a sigh, both hands moving now to cover over the front speaker that served as his face, “Look at me, trauma dumping when we just met,”

“I don’t mind,” the sea cam, looked down at the water, “If anything, I can relate to that. Hurting others without meaning to,”

Their hand continue to rub over the foot, the small tickles of electricity sending a rather pleasant, slow sensation up his leg that had him squirming a bit but not pulling away, “yeah?”

“I’ve hurt people accidentally too. Killed others because I was told that was my purpose. I felt so bad about it and just...just stopped talking to anyone. Stopped interacting with anyone other than my siblings. If I just kept myself deep enough in the water and never spoke again, then I wouldn’t have to be the monster that my engineer made me to be,”

The sea cam sunk into the water some, now up to their neck as the leaned against the rock, “It is very lonely to live like that,”

The titan leaned forward, raising a hand, hesitant before brushing fingers against the shoulder struts of the sea cam, “Sounds like it, but I understand that feeling. Without my chief engineer, I think I would try to do the same thing,” he gave a small laugh, “But she doesn’t let anyone wallow on her watch, so she gets me outside as much as possible,”

Charybdis let out a warble at the touch, tensing, before slowly relaxing, leaning into it as if they had never had someone give them that barest bit of touch before, “I don’t think you deserve to be isolated,” they murmured softly, “You are very kind and I think there are plenty of people in your faction and beyond who still adore you. You fight so well, fly like an eagle in the sky and,”

The sea cam paused as they sunk in the water some, their voice growing soft again, “And even talk to a sea monster like me,”

There was a whir of the titan’s fans at those words, a spark of embarrassment and warmth. Titan Speakerman looked down at the semi-titan, letting out a soft laugh, “I guess it is easy to say those things about me when we just met a few days ago,”

The titan hesitated a moment before he extended a hand, nervously, down to the sea camera, “But I don’t think you deserve to be isolated either. You seem nice too, if super shy,”

Charybdis stared at the offered hand, almost as if confused what to do with the gesture as they looked from it and up to the titan speakerman, “Huh?”

“I don’t want you to be alone either,” he felt the nerves come up as he leaned forward, hand still offered, “So, uh, maybe we can just be alone together yeah? A pair of outcasts from our own factions, a pair of monsters to everyone else,”

Charybdis shook their head, “You aren’t a monster though,”

“And neither are you,”

The sea cam let out a squeak, sinking into the water. The titan just gave a little chuckle, “So. uh...do you...want to hold hands about it?”

“Hold hands?”

“What usually happens when someone holds out a hand to you like this,”

The sea cam did the blink of lights about their head, looking now to his outstretched hand and with some hesitance they reached over. It was awkward, more as it seemed Charybdis was not sure what to do with the small act of offered comfort. They brushed fingers against his own, then the palm, resting it some there, jumping when he moved to thread their fingers together. There was a shock, small, not painful and perhaps a tad pleasant.

Charybdis looked down at their held hands, the water churning around them as their fans kicked up the water in an obvious show of embarrassment. Not that the titan speakerman had much room to talk either with how his own were kicking up a tick more as they sat there, holding hands.

“Your hand is warm,” Charybdis stammered out softly.

“Yeah? Well you got a nice hand too. Really strong feeling, but delicate,” the titan offered back with an awkward laugh.

Truly his flirting game was unmatched, but the shy sea cam still gave a flustered warble, sinking in the water regardless.

“It is nice to hold your hand,”

“Well, can hold both of them if you want,”

The titan offered the other one, leaning a touch down towards the water, “No pressure,”

Charybdis let out a laugh, shyly putting their other hand in his until they were sitting there, holding hands. The sun was lower on the horizon, casting final warm rays up against the clouds and highlighting everything with rich colors of violet, red, and orange. Charybdis tilted their head, looking up at him as they let their fingers curl more into the hold, allowing it to be a big tighter, as if enjoying the touch.

“I’ve never held hands with someone before,”

The admittance had the titan letting out a disbelieving huff of his speakers,“Never?”

The sea cam shook their head, “I’m always...worried I’ll hurt them. Shock them by accident since I can’t control it at all,”

The titan gave a hum before giving a tug, making the semi-titan squeak as they were pulled out of the water some and feeling another jolt of their shock through his frame. A few warnings went off, but the feeling wasn’t painful. An obvious tingle and a hint of pleasure, but nothing he couldn’t easily handle.

“Well,” he began, now with the semi-titan now halfway out of the water, “I haven’t noticed any of your shocks yet. Right now, I felt a tingle,”

“Oh,”

They were leaned in closer now, enough to feel the heat coming off both of them, the loud hum of fans more than obvious. Neither one of them was speaking now. It wouldn’t take much to just lean in a bit closer at this point and leave only inches between them. Maybe less than that. Some wild thought at the back of his processors wanted to do just that. Let one hand trail up under the head to press against sensitive wires there while letting heads knock together and finally give a unit version of a kiss. An innocent little brush of fingers, but if it was returned, then maybe-

The loud bang of a far off explosion had both of them startling, Charybdis squeaking and trying to duck into the water while still holding hands, nearly tugging the titan off his seat. That prompted the sea cam to let go and duck in the water while the titan let go to keep from going headfirst into the brink, clutching at his perched like a spooked cat, on the alert.

He only began to relax when his sensors picked up one of the Alliance ships in the distance doing some sort of evening training game. The titan hissed out a sigh, noting he should have remembered about that happening nearby.

“nothing to worry about,” Titan Speakerman murmured out, “Not any sort of enemy,”

“Alliance technically are my enemy,” Charybdis murmured from where they had ducked down, hiding away again, “You and Circuit are the only ones that don’t...shoot at me on sight,”

Those words had the titan giving a low rumble of distaste. Rationally, there was no reason to be upset. Charybdis was part of the Conglomerate, a neutral, but not entirely well liked faction. There were treaties in place and technically, Charybdis was skirting those by being here.

At the same time, the thought of someone just shooting at another unit that wasn’t doing anything wrong had the titan bristling just a bit. Especially as he was considering Charybdis a friend. A friend who actually understood the mixed up feelings in his head. It was easy to share how he felt weirdly enough. Enough so he had just spilled it all out awkwardly the first time they talked.

If Whistle heard about that, she was going to sigh something awful and smack him with something for being so dense.

But then, Charybdis has shared right back and left him...seen for the first time in a while.

Like finally he could start unpacking all the guilt.

“I would never shoot you on sight. I might make a lot of noise, but that isn’t the same as shooting most of the times,”

“You are very loud,”

The titan ducked his head sheepishly, “Is that a bad thing?”

Charybdis shook their head, the little hands under their head fidgeting again, “No. I think it is...cute how loud you get when happy,”

The words had a warmth rising up in the titan’s core and he couldn’t help a louder thrum that started to peak up into a small screech. He was trying to hold it back, causing the sound to be more like a squeal as he leaned forward, arched like a cat all but ready to pounce, “You think I’m cute?! I think you are cute too! In that shy way!”

Charybdis let out a warbled then, ducking under the water deep enough that only the lights of their head could be seen. The titan startled at that before sinking back, “Sorry! Was that coming on too strong?”

The response back was a series of bubbles up to the surface of the water that had the titan letting out another sound caught between concern and also how cute that was. If he was more water-tight, he might just dive in after them. Instead, he laid out flat on his perch, reaching both hands down into the water, holding them out to the shy sea camera. There was a moment of pause before Charybdis moved to hold them against, giving a gentle squeeze that had the titan speaker warbling all the louder and give another tug to lightly pull them back up to the surface.

“I don’t mean to offend you,”

Charybdis shook their head, “I’m not offended just… you think I’m cute?”

“Yeah,” the titan looked away, feeling his fans creep up a notch, “And fun to be around. And the color teal is a nice color on you,”

“Oh...red is nice on you too,”

They hadn’t let go of where they were holding hands. There was something to be said about being able to hold hands of someone that was more akin to his own size. He certainly didn’t have to painfully aware of being as gentle as possible or risk harm.

He let his grip tighten a bit and give a small pull closer. Charybdis let out a warble, still so shy, but didn’t pull away this time. Their gaze fell down to the held hands, before giving a shy glance up.

“It is...nice to talk to you. I don’t feel like I’m…” their voice dropped to a soft whisper, “Inadequate, if that makes sense. Like, I’m not just a thing,”

“Yeah?”

“You said I wasn’t a monster. You are the first one to really say that. Even my siblings believe that, as surely as they believe themselves monsters,” Charybdis gave a squeeze to the titan’s hands, “It means a lot. Probably more than I can possibly say,”

The Titan Speakerman could feel his fans humming again and words once more becoming so hard to grasp. Tongue-tied was the human term for it. That inability to focus and find the right words to say. He was stumbling, but he didn’t let go of their hands, that touch was grounding.

A sure sign of the trust being shared.

“I don’t know if I’m the best person to judge on that, given what I did,” he managed out at last, “I can’t take back what I did. I nearly killed a fellow titan, wiped out so many of my own faction,”

There was a crackle in his speakers as he looked down at their held hands, “I know they keep saying it wasn’t my fault. The therapist says it. The engineers say it. The high command says it, but what does their words matter when I can’t see myself as anything but one? That I’m the one who can’t ever say it wasn’t my fault?”

“Its hard,” Charybdis said softly, one hand letting go then, tentatively reaching up to touch the side of one speaker comfortingly, “And I can’t say I have answers. I hid away from everyone and became afraid to be seen,”

The sea camera let out a quiet laugh, “Which I think makes you so much braver than you think, because you still let others see you and I didn’t see a monster when I first saw you. I saw someone who was free, a bit loud and overly eager, but someone with a very kind core who inspires even someone like me to maybe have a little hope,”

His fans were revving hard and his head was tilted, leaned into that comforting touch against the side of his head. There was a thrum of a purr deep in his bass speakers that he wasn’t even aware of as his free hand rose up to trace larger fingers carefully against the side of Charybdis’s head.

“I must be a good actor, as I didn’t really have much hope in anything,” he leaned in a touch, feeling embarrassed and warm all at once, “until I met you. Just even playing a little chase, I felt...normal again. For a moment. Like the whole world finally decided to let me be me again,”

There was an embarrassed squeak from the sea camera, another little noises that the speaker couldn’t help but chuckle over, but again, they didn’t sink away.

Maybe just lightly leaned into his touch, the lights around their head glowing a touch brighter in the low light of the nearly vanished sun, “I think you are wonderful...when you are allowed to be yourself,”

“Loud and all?”

“Loud and all,” Charybdis said with a small laugh.

They both fell to a gentle silence with only the rush of the ocean against rocks creating any sort of din. The world felt peaceful for once, like the war was a thousand light years away on some other planet and the two of them were granted their own little place of peace. The Titan Speakerman couldn’t stop purring, letting fingers trail over Charybdis’s head, being mindful to avoid sensitive wires. More as he didn’t want to rush anything, even if a part of him wanted to do just that.

The longing for far more touch and to explore that new burning in his core that was familiar, and yet also becoming something unfamiliar all at once.

“I should get back home,” Charybdis said softly, “I’m expected back soon,”

He couldn’t help the disappointed rumble in his speakers as the sea camera pulled away, but he knew well how tight schedules could be. Like the fact he was overdue and had turned off his communications and no doubt the whole engineer staff was worried, let along the chief engineer since last he spoke to her, he had admitted to playing with explosive mines.

“Could we meet up again?” he blurted out the question as he pushed himself up into a sitting position.

Charybdis shifted, considering the question before nodding shyly, “I would like that,”

“Maybe find a place to meet? Like, here seems nice,”

“We could meet her again,” Charybdis shifted in the water, “But might be a few days,”

He bit back the disappointed noise, but knew that was also wise to do so. They still were a part of different factions. No doubt high command would raise the alarm about him sitting around talking with the enemy. Not like they were sharing secrets.

Other than the personal ones they had both kept to their cores but now confided to each other. Their little shared isolation of feeling adrift.

“three days then?” the titan speaker put forth.

“That should be fine. Near evening,” Charybdis said, starting to push out from the rock, drifting gracefully out into the froth of the ocean more, “Maybe after your patrol so you don’t get in trouble for not reporting back,”

“What are they going to do? Fire me?” The titan gave a small chuckle, “Really there is little the Alliance can do if a titan decides they want to go out,”

Charybdis looked almost confused at his words as they tilted their head, “You just...do what you want?”

“Kind of. I still care about my faction and doing my part for the war and being their defender,” he said as he hopped up to his feet, starting to rev his jets, “But I am still able to make my own choices,”

“Oh,”

The sea camera fidgeted a bit, “You really are free as a bird,”

“Maybe. If I was really free, I would want to see you tomorrow and the day after that, and the day after that,” he admitted with an embarrassed rumble.

“You would get bored seeing me so often though…”

He shook his head, “No, I don’t think I would,”

Mostly because his core was already aching at the thought of not seeing his new friend and he was not a patient titan. Not to mention something felt different. It felt like the first time he had been around Titan Cameraman to actually talk to him outside of combat. That warm buzzing feeling all warm in his chest that his chief engineer had teased was him having a crush.

It felt like that, but different. A stronger sort of buzz.

“Well, I’ll see you again,” Charybdis said, starting to duck into the water, “in three days, at this point,”

“Yeah. I look forward to it!”

He couldn’t help a loud shriek then of goodbye, excited as ever, although this time Charybdis made their own loud noise back, although it was still a touch softer than what the speaker titan was use to. He jumped into the air, hovering there a moment until he lost sight of Charybdis into the depths of the ocean, far below the waves and into parts of the world only they knew.

He felt light and heavy all at once as he headed finally back to base. The sun had set fully by the time he touched down and knowing full well he was...five hours past his ETA time to report. Already he could see a member of high command stalking towards him in a bluster with Whistle having to jog just to keep up with the long strides of the larger speaker.

“Titan! Report! And there better be a reason your com was turned off and you weren’t broadcasting your location nor responding!” the large speaker barked.

“Hard to talk to someone when you have someone else talking in your auditory receptor,” The titan said with a shrug, “And then forgot to turn it on while I was tracking something,”

The lie came easier than it probably should have as he stood there, arms crossed, looking for all purposes aloof and without a care.

The larger speaker for high command gave a dissatisfied rumble before looking at Whistle, “Does this match with the communication you had before he cut off?”

Whistle shoved her hands into her pockets and gave a shrug, “Sounds about right,”

She gave a pointed look to the titan and in return, the titan gave a subtle nod that had her posture easing more, “I maybe was talking his auditory receptor off about something when he had to go radio silent a bit. Nothing out of the ordinary,”

The High Commander let out a low growl before pointing a finger back at the titan, “I expect a full detailed report as soon as possible,”

“Of course,”

The high command gave one last growl of the speakers before he was turning on his heels and stalking away. The titan watched him go, giving a huff before moving to lower a hand to his chief engineer, “What crawled up his aft?”

“I don’t know. Our titan being late without any word?” Whistle drawled as she stepped onto his palm, “Am I going to get the full story then?”

“I don’t know, you going to tell high command if I do?”

Whistle snorted as she was lifted up to the titan’s shoulder, taking her usual seat as he headed towards the hangar, “I just covered you. I think it shows well enough where I stand on the issue,”

The Titan Speakerman gave a hum in response, “Then maybe I will once there are no prying speakers about. My official report is tracking possible skibidi naval units and it turned out to be some scramble signal we should probably make note of,”

“Of course. Just a little nothing burger,” Whistle said as she took out her tablet to start looking over his systems, “Nothing to do with the mines?”

The titan gave a small huff as he ducked down just a bit to step into the hangar and move to the bay for check in and debrief as well as system reviews before detox and cleanup, “Was just playing a game there,”

The titan gave a glance around, pausing just a moment as he saw the Executor off to the side, zoned out, although the semi-titan gave a small glance there way. It was still something to get use to having company in the large hangar, especially with Executor being a rather quiet speaker, unusual in that regard, and far too serious. The joke was Whistle had been too locked in while he had been under the influence of the parasite and it resulted in Executor’s more serious nature.

The semi-titan was not armed yet, still in his infancy as an actual unit with training well underway, but he also was not someone the titan speakerman trusted entirely. Not personally at least. Executor was more beholden to the higher ups still, more likely to side with high command over himself or the chief engineer. A kiss-ass is what titan speakerman would call him although Whistle would tell him it was more just Executor was a new unit still feeling things out.

Being a new unit was complicated enough. Being one of the first semi-titans and larger unit born of an AI getting a grasp on everything meant there was a lot for them to take in, consider, and make their opinions known. In their own, quiet, serious, somewhat blunt sort of way.

The Executor watched them for a moment before returning to the book he was reading, giving a faint grumble, “You’re back late,”

“Thanks for noticing,”

“I suppose you are going to give a report on why?”

“In progress,” Whistle said, moving to slide off the Titan’s shoulder and with a hop, jump to her station, “Doing the usual checks for a returning titan. Diagnosis first, check all systems, assess damages, then with permission, download memory banks to confirm details of already given report,”

The Executor gave a small, disinterested shrug at the explanation,“Ah,”

“Would you mind doing me a favor though and going to get some materials from the warehouse? Think I might have to do some hardcore buffering and replacing of some plating,” Whistle said casually.

The Executor was silent before giving a nod and rising to his feet, “of course Chief Engineer,”

The titan watched him leave the hangar before letting out a snort, looking down at her, “One way to get rid of the emo speaker,”

“Oh be nice. He’s practically your sibling given I had to use your code as the basis for his AI,” Whistle tutted, “I would rather you two get along than not,”

“He’s a-”

“I know you don’t like how he goes over our heads to report things to high command, but technically that is what a lot of units are suppose to do and I recall you used to be eager to yap about everything to high command if you got the chance to get praised,” Whistle swiped a finger over the screen of her tablet, “Give him time and he’ll start seeing the higher ups as having their own thumbs up their afts. He isn’t processor-dead and picks up on things quickly,”

The titan speakermand grumbled, shaking his head as he stared off, trying to be patient for the usual checks before he was free to go to recharge, “Sure,”

“So, while he’s away, mind telling me what was really happening out there? I really don’t want to be putting my codes in your memory disk to see,” Whistle said, setting aside her tablet.

The Titan Speakerman shifted, his fans giving a faint rev before he sighed, leaning in, “Met that sea camera again. Their name is Charybdis and...we kind of became friends,”

“Kind of?”

“Well, I mean, okay, we are very much friends, but, you know,” the titan waved his hand a bit, “friends who you kind of want to, sit a little closer with?”

“So like you and Titan Cameraman?” Whistle asked with a snicker.

The Titan Speakerman gave a loud huff, although his speakers kicked up, “I had a crush for all of two weeks!”

“Uh huh,”

“This is different!”

Whistle tilted her head slowly, “Oh really now?”

the Titan Speakerman gave a glance to the hangar door, making sure the Executor wasn’t going to wander in before he leaned in closer, voice as low as he could make it, “I really like them. Talking to them makes me feel...normal again,”

That had Whistle pausing a moment at her desk, her hand pausing on the blueprints she was double checking, “You don’t say,”

“They get me and they don’t care I’m awkward or don’t know what to say sometimes,” the titan fidgeted, “and unlike Titan Cameraman, I don’t know, it feels like they need me too? Like… me being me, is what they need too,”

The chief engineer looked up, silent before letting out a sigh and coming over to pat at one of his hands, “Sounds like you got the love bug bad,”

“...I didn’t open any emails that said I love you,”

Whistle snorted, “not that love bug,” she moved to jab a finger at his core, “Looks like your crush might be a touch serious this time,”

“Oh. Right,” the titan drummed his fingers against the causeway lightly, “Maybe. Yeah. I am..going to see them again. In three days. You know to catch up and hang out,”

Whistle was quiet, just giving a rub over one of his fingers with that sort of silent concern, “High command isn’t going to like you hanging out with a Conglomerate and I can’t say I’m one-hundred percent sold on all of this. Nice or not, those units have their own concerning features and quirks,”

The Titan Speakerman tensed just a touch, “Whistle-”

“I am not going to tell you what to do, going to set the record straight there,” she said firmly, “I see you as my overgrown yappie son, but you also are more than capable of making your own choices and,” the chief engineer let out a sigh, “I can tell this is good for you. Has been a while since I’ve seen you in good spirits,”

“I don’t want to worry you,”

“Being a chief engineer means accepting you worry a lot,” she gave a small laugh, “But I would rather see you happy than miserable, so guess on record, I don’t know a thing about you and your puppy love for a sea camera,”

The titan felt a hum of embarrassment again, his fans whirring a bit as he looked away, “Not a puppy crush. I just want to make them happy too. Like they make me happy,”

“Fine then. I don’t know anything about you falling hard and fast for a mermaid,” Whistle corrected, “And you are clear to go clean up and get to recharge and I mean recharge,”

The chief engineer pointed to her neck as she gave him a look, “I better see you plugged in proper or I’m having Executor put it in and be your emotional support speaker,”

“No,”

“You already share a hangar now,”

“And I don’t need him being a judgmental body pillow,” the titan drawled, “Bad enough you gave him the top bunk,”

“He’s lighter and that bed was built quickly so rather not risk your weight breaking it and crushing down on the new semi-titan. Pretty sure high command would throw a fit if he got damaged so soon after his online date,”

“I’m sure you got warranty on him,”

Whistle snorted, “Ha. Didn’t know you were getting a sense of humor like Optical,” she gave a shooing motion, “now get going off to recharge. You got a long day tomorrow running training simulations with the other titans,”

“Right,”

He slid out of the diagnosis seat and headed into the decontamination room, painstakingly getting undressed. With all the hardware and offensive weaponry strapped to him, it was always a hassle to get stripped down. However, it was required before every recharge, just to make sure all the ports were blown out of debris and everything cleaned up. Being a titan meant it was rather easy to get dirty from just stepping outside for a minute and with all the delicate circuitry and systems that went into a titan’s body, cleanliness was a top priority.

The hot spray of water was nice, followed by the automatic buffers moving into action to get scratches out and apply wax to maintain the finish from rust. He still hated when the air machines started off, always giving an unhappy rubble as they blasted out his ports and making him jump. If it was just warm water and soap with the massaging pressure of the larger spinning washers, he would have been fine.

The air was always the worse, especially at his neck ports. Without fail it had him making noises and trying to reach back to cover it as it felt too much like a parasite trying to get in.

Eventually the decontamination dinged and he was permitted to leave, grabbing the titan size towel to dry off her and there before getting into the recharge clothes. More simple clothing, less thick and more lose to allow more comfortable ventilation while at rest.

He flopped into his berth, once more pausing before letting out a sigh and picking up the recharge cord. He stared at it for a long minute before rolling over and tentatively raising one hand to feel about at the ports near his neck and resisting the urge to flinch away as he put the recharge cord in. the feeling of the cord going in had him writhing a bit, nearly ripping it back out with a sound of panic before forcing himself to calm down and just roll over, arms crossed over his chest, and try to get some sleep and ignore the feeling.

If he was recharged, he would perform better tomorrow in the training and the higher ups would be more pleased. That would keep them off his back during the long patrols.

Which meant more time to spend with Charybdis without anyone really noting oddities in his return times.

Three days for from now he could see them again. He just had to be patient.

He let himself start to power down, even as hie let out a loud wistful sigh.

Three days was going to feel like years, of that he was more than certain.

[theclairvoyage]

Centrifugation: Chapter 2

Series Masterlist

Frazzled after your rough day at the center, you head out to your regular bar with the work crew, and see a familiar face there.

Warnings: brief mentions of violence, alcohol consumption, fluff, allusions to smut, kissing, groping, talks of divorce

WC: 4.3k

Friday, October 15th | 1730

After Joel left, the cops showed up shortly after and you gave your statement.  They assured you if Cedric returned, he would be arrested.  Trina permanently deferred him in the system, preventing him from checking in.  You felt some relief at that but were concerned about him waiting for you in the parking lot after your shift.  Keri offers to walk you to your car after you both clock out.

“Love, today was rough… so fucking glad it’s Friday.  Want to grab a drink?”  she asks.  You nod fervently, the idea of a cold beer immediately resurrecting you from the depths of this terrible day.

“McKinney’s?” you offer. 

She smiles brightly and nods in agreement. “I’ll come get you.  Just text me when you’re ready.”

McKinney’s is a local Irish dive bar, and the plasma center staff are regulars.  The bartenders are awesome, drinks are dirt cheap, and horrific karaoke is every Friday.

Once you get to your apartment, you take a hot, hot shower, rubbing off the stress and sweat from the day.  You think about Joel’s soft touch and how comforting he was.  You also think about the way he looked at you, causing arousal to pool in your lower belly.  No time to feen over a stranger, you think, washing the premature fantasy out of your mind.

You do a quick towel dry and style your hair, throw on some low-rise jeans that hug your ass, and a skintight black shirt that’s not quite cropped, not quite full-length.  You put on bare-minimum makeup, spray on some of your favorite musky perfume, step into some sandals, and give yourself a quick mirror check.  Your hipbones are peeking out between the bottom of your shirt and the top of your jeans.  The black shirt dips down low enough to show your collarbones and part of your shoulders.  You’re glowing, which is surprising, given the shitty day you had.  You’re not dressed overtly sexy, but you know how the men at the dive bar will react to a little skin and curves.  Fuck it.  Nothing wrong with a little attention.  You grab your phone and text Keri that you’re ready.

Keri: Sounds good.  I’ll be there in 10.

You open the fridge and grab some small Fireball shooters for the drive.  Not long thereafter, you hear Keri’s honk outside the building.  Keri prefers to drive when you two have outings, which you don’t mind at all.  She’s got a nice house in the Benson area, not too far from work or from your apartment.  She’s divorced and about 10 years your senior.  The two of you have always clicked, and you enjoy spending time with her in and outside of work.

You: Bet. Shooters engaged.

You trot to her car, holding up the shooters and grinning once she’s in view.  She grimaces.  You hop in and crack the shooters open, clink yours against hers and take the shot, the spicy cinnamon liquor trickling down your throat, burning as it travels down the ridges. 

“Ready to get your drank on, bitch?” Keri coughs, and you both cackle.

Shortly thereafter, you arrive at McKinney’s.  The parking lot is jam-packed, meaning you’ll probably have a smorgasbord of awful karaoke singers lining up.  You walk in and take your usual spots at the bar, facing the karaoke stage.  One of your favorite bartenders, Jessica, greets you and Keri.  “Hey, ladies.  Heard there was a ruckus at the plasma center today,” she says, motioning over at Blake and some other employees at one of the tables by the stage, who wave at you both.  You both laugh and wave back.  “Jess, it was fucking nuts.  This one here about got hep C.  Cops got called and everything,” Keri says.

“Jesus… well, the first round’s on me.  Sorry you had to deal with that,” Jess says, bringing over a pitcher of Busch Light.  Not your favorite, but when pitchers are $5, it’s hard to pass up.  Keri pours you both a glass and you clink them together before taking a big swig.

You both join the table with the rest of the employees, putting some tables together and chatting.  You get up to go to the bathroom.  On your way back, you stop by the bar and ask Jess for a couple more pitchers.  She obliges, and you wait at the bar while she fills them up.

“Hey, darlin’.  Can’t imagine why you’d be here on a night like this,” a deep Southern drawl croons in your ear, coating your name in velvet.  You freeze and look behind you to see Joel.  He’s swapped his red flannel for a blue one that hugs his biceps and traps, along with some black jeans and boots.  His hair is slicked back, showing off gray stripes that wrap the front and sides of his face.  What enraptures you most, however, is his scent that you somehow failed to notice earlier today.  He smells of sandalwood and bourbon, spicy and musky at the same time.  You figure it’s probably time to respond to him when you see him smirk and raise his eyebrows at you.

“Hi, Joel!  What are you doing here?”  You say, attempting to stop drooling over him.  Luckily for you, though, he’s making no attempt to stop staring at you.  He takes you in, looking at you from head to toe with that strange look in his eyes you’ve seen for the third time today.  Your stomach does a few back handsprings.  Those low riders that hug your ass were a great idea.

“Keri told me today this is where the cool people in Omaha hang out at, so it’s only natural that I stop by,” he says, grinning at you.  You giggle and lightly smack his arm, the liquid courage giving you balls you thought you never had.  Now it makes sense why Keri suggested you go here this evening.

“Are you doin’ better, sweetheart?  Know today was rough for ya,” he asks, his gaze on you now tender.  Warmth washes over you and you smile at him, putting a hand on his chest.  Joel feels a soft burn where your hand lies and worries you can feel his heart palpitate underneath your fingertips.

“Yes, much better.  I wanted to say thank you for being there for me.  It meant a lot to me,” you say, watching his cheeks curl into a soft smile and a blush creeping up his neck.  Still feeling ballsy, you ask if he wants to sit at the bar or join the group.

“Doesn’t matter to me, darlin’.  You lead the way,” he hums.  You decide you want to spend some alone time with Joel for a bit before returning to the group.  “Sit here,” you say, gesturing to two stools at the bar.  “I’ll drop these pitchers off and come back.”  He nods and half-sits on one of the stools.  You hoist the pitchers and walk over to the table, making sure to swing your hips just in case he’s watching.

Keri grins at you.  You give her a smirk.  “I see what you did there, Ker,” you giggle.  She shrugs, taking a sip of beer.  “Not sure what you’re talking about, girl!”  Uh huh.  You roll your eyes as you drop the pitchers off and return to the bar.

Joel watches you walk back, that half-smile plastered on his face and his eyes flashing black as they travel up and down your body.  You hop up on the bar stool and give him a quizzical look.  “What are you staring at, cowboy?”

“The prettiest woman I’ve seen since I’ve been in Omaha… maybe even ever,” he says in a low voice, getting closer to your ear.  The small hairs on your ear prick up, like his voice is their magnet.  You feel tingles travel down your neck and spine, landing at your core, and clamp your legs together.  Fuuuuck.  He continues, “I feel like I’ve known you a long time… I feel crazy sayin’ that knowin’ damn well we just met today.”

“I feel the same way,” you say, “It really hit me today when we were at the picnic table.”  He nods in agreement.  You stare at each other, and time stops for a moment.  The bar is buzzing, but all you can see and hear is Joel, and he you.  Hopefully this isn’t just the booze and a bad day.

The karaoke host gets on the mic and taps it a few times to let the patrons know karaoke is starting soon.  People travel up to him to put their names in the queue, including some people from your work group.

Joel puts an arm around your shoulders, lightly rubbing the skin on your arm.  “You want somethin’ else to drink?” You turn to him and nod, noticing he’s got a glass of what appears to be whiskey.  He calls Jess over and you order a Dos Equis Ambar.

“Beer girl, huh?” he chuckles.

“Love my beer.  I’ll drink just about anything, though… except whiskey,” you scrunch your nose at his drink, and he laughs.

“It’s not that bad.  Tough thing like you could down it, easily,” he jokes, squeezing your shoulder playfully.  “Here, take a sip and see what ya think.”  You pick up the glass and look down at it, grimacing from the smell.

“So… how do I do this? The expert way of course,” You ask.  One side of his mouth curls up in a smirk.

“Take a smaller sip and swish it ‘round your mouth to get the flavors.  I warn ya, it’s gonna burn a lil’ bit,” he cautions.  You do as he says, trying not to make a face at the sting on your tongue and cheeks.  You taste nothing but pure, smoky alcohol.  He guffaws.

“That’s gotta be straight ethanol with some food dye,” you grimace, smacking your lips a few times and wash the whiskey down with a sip of your beer.  “My tongue is on fire!”

“Told ya.  Just gotta get used t’it,” he says, taking a sip and swishing it around like a champ.

As karaoke starts, you both fall in a comfortable rhythm of conversing and getting to know each other.  You talk about growing up here in Omaha, going to Lincoln, Nebraska for college, and coming back to be close to your family.  Joel talks about growing up in Austin, Texas, and his successful contracting business he runs with his brother, Tommy.  He tells you about his 18-year-old daughter, Sarah, who’s in college in Lincoln, Nebraska at your alma mater, hence the move to Omaha.  He divorced shortly after she was born and has been virtually single since.

“What about you?  Smart, beautiful girl like you gotta be single because she wants to be, not ‘cause she’s short on options,” Joel says, the arm that was around your shoulders earlier traversing across your back, now resting on your opposite thigh.  You look at him wistfully.

“Something like that.  It’s kinda hard for me to connect with people in that way.  I’m… exclusive with my time and energy, I guess.  I just value my alone time and time with my friends,” You say honestly, hoping that doesn’t throw him off.  You really haven’t had a lot of serious relationships and have always preferred being by yourself.  Sure, you had a lot of flings in college, but nobody you wanted to take the next step with.

“I understand.  Seems like a good way to live, if ya ask me.  Can’t be givin’ everybody your time.  I learned that the hard way,” he says, looking away from you, his big, brown eyes shaded in amber melancholy.

“What happened?  If you don’t mind me asking,” you ask, putting your hand on his leg and squeezing lightly.  He reciprocates.

“We had Sarah so young, marriage just seemed like the right thing to do next.  Turns out neither of us was ready nor mature enough for that.  She wanted to go out and be with other men, and I just wanted to raise my daughter and try and make a livin’,” he says, a sad smile playing on his lips.  “Everythin’ happened for a reason, though, can’t say I regret any of it.”  You look him in the eyes and give him a sympathetic smile.  The way he looks at you is so soft, so tender.  Your heart jumps up and down.

“I bet you’re a great dad, I’m sure Sarah appreciates everything you do,” you say, giving him another squeeze.  He turns to look at you, eyes blazing with fondness.

“If you’re interested, I’d like you to meet her.  She’ll be coming up on weekends here and there during school since it’s only an hour away from here.  Oh, and I’d love for you to meet my brother, Tommy.  We expanded the business to some parts of the Midwest, so he and his wife moved up here, too.”

“Wow, that’s great… you guys must’ve made all the right business moves.  I’d love to meet them,” you say, impressed by him.  He snorts.

“Wasn’t always like that.  Our pops helped us out a lot early on… two reckless twenty-something men starting a contracting business with no damn idea how to do it.  We knew how to do the work, but managin’ it is a whole different ballgame.  Plus, I was a single dad not long after we started.  Lotta late nights and caffeine.  We did alright, though.  Got offices in Austin and Dallas, Kansas City, and now Omaha.”  He says, running fingers through his silvery hair.  You feel yourself grinning at him.

This can’t be real, you think.  I just met this man today and already feel so connected to him.  Your face must match your deep thinking, because he asks you if everything is alright.

“Yes, absolutely,” you say, because it is.  His eyes flicker over your face with quiet adoration.  You admire his beard and how his mustache is dark brown, but the hairs littered on his chin and jaw are almost all-white.  You swear you see him lean in ever so slightly and turn nervously to take a sip of your beer.

Karaoke stops for the night, and the jukebox starts playing Eric Claptons’ Wonderful Tonight.  Joel stands from the stool and holds his hand out.  “Wanna dance, pretty girl?”

You blush and take his big, warm hand.  “Of course.”

He leads you out to the dance floor, where most patrons have gathered to sway to the music with someone.  He holds your right hand with his left and pulls you close to him with his right, wrapping his arm around your waist.  You lie your head on his shoulder and let yourself melt into him, wrapping your free arm around his upper back and taking in his scent.  He feels so safe, so strong, so firm.  You could stand here with him forever.

“You know, every man in here wants you, darlin’,” he whispers in your ear.  He feels your smirk on his shoulder.

“Every man?” You ask, taking your head off his shoulder to look him in the eyes.  He knows exactly what you’re asking.  You’re taken aback at how much desire his eyes hold, looking at you like you really are the prettiest woman he’s ever seen.

“Every man,” he whispers.  You’re not sure when he got so close, but you can feel his warm, whiskey-coated breath on your face and your heart starts thumping quickly in your chest.

“I don��t wanna overstep, but I really wanna kiss you,” he says, his eyes traveling from your eyes to your lips and back.  Your heart feels like it’s running hurdles over your ribs, down to the pit of your stomach.

“Please do,” you whisper back, licking your lips.

Time seems to pause indefinitely when he leans in and presses his lips to yours.  His lips are smooth, a lovely contrast from the coarse hair on his beard tickling your skin.  He tastes like whiskey and coffee, and he thinks you taste like beer and heaven.  The kiss is slow and gentle at first, like he’s asking for permission.  You deepen the kiss, lightly nibbling his lower lip and reaching up to tug on his curls.  He groans at that, making your core ignite.  He licks into your mouth and your tongues dance along with the music.  Both of his arms are now wrapped around you, his big hands lightly pulling up the hem of your shirt to feel warm skin near the waistband of your jeans.  He moves his hands up further under your shirt, learning the planes of your back and delighting in the softness of your skin.  The heat of his hands and your growing desire is almost too much, and you have an urging need to cool off before you explode into oblivion.  You both pull away after who knows how long and look each other in the eyes, four pupils jam-packed with lust.

“Wanna step outside?  It’s a little… hot,” you say, still pressed closely to him, and he chuckles while nodding.  He takes your hand and leads you to the outdoor patio, where some torches are lit and the music from inside is playing faintly.  The fall air whistles as it swoops over you, giving you goosebumps.  It’s dimly lit out here, but bright enough that you can see each other in the torch light, the flames dancing playfully over each of your faces.

“Can’t say I’ve ever felt so good from a kiss, darlin’,” Joel says, pulling you into him.  You smash your lips against his like you never stopped.  One of his hands travels to the back of your head, fingers lightly massaging your scalp; the other hand smoothing down your back until he reaches your ass.  A low growl emits from his chest, and you let out a faint moan as he squeezes.  Your hands both find home in his slicked, curly hair, tugging a bit and earning you another growl from Joel.  You know you’re soaked right now, and you can feel his hardening length poking into your lower stomach.

Normally, you would pull back and distance yourself from someone you’ve only known for less than a day, but something about this man has you seeing stars, clouds, and other celestial bodies.  Nothing has ever felt so natural or in sync for you.  He must think so, too, as he breaks the kiss to nip down your jaw and neck, soothing the little bites with his tongue afterwards.  You moan and feel him grip you tighter in response.

“God, ‘m never gonna forget that beautiful sound,” he hums into your neck, sending you reeling.  He licks over to the other side of your neck and kisses his way back up your jaw, back to your ear, where he pulls at the lobe gently with his teeth and sucks it back into his mouth.  You suck in a sharp breath and giggle, knowing that you’ve just given away two of your favorite spots to him.  He chuckles and continues kissing your neck, jaw, collarbone, and ears, simultaneously scratching your smooth skin with his facial hair.  Your skin tastes like vanilla and tangerine, and he marvels at how soft you are and relishes in the sounds he’s pulling from your lips.  “Fuck, Joel,” you whine, “that feels so good.”

“You taste so good, baby,” he says and returns his mouth to yours, hands roaming all over your body but careful to not overstep boundaries.  Your hands do the same, but you both make sure you’re still pressed up as close to each other as possible.  You can feel his rock-hard cock ready to burst through the fabric of his jeans and your wetness pooling in your underwear, threatening to trickle down your thighs.

He pulls away briefly and groans, a look of near-despair clouding his amber eyes.  “I want you so fuckin’ bad, but I wanna do this right.”  You nod in agreement.  Snapshots of Joel taking your clothes off and running his hands and tongue all over your body are racing through your mind, but you know he’s right.  He’s got the same visions of you in his mind and wants nothing more than to make you feel good – physically and emotionally.

“Not like we need to rush anything,” you say, looking up at him.  His smile is so saccharine, and he leans in to kiss you softly on the lips.

“Got nothin’ but time, sweetheart.”  He holds you in his arms for a moment, and the door leading to the patio swings open with a squeak.  Loud music and warbled voices invade your space momentarily before the door shuts.  You look up and see Keri grinning ear to ear.

“See?  I told you you wouldn’t regret coming here, Joel,” she says, pursing her lips at the two of you as she brings her beer up for a sip.  You stick your tongue out and she giggles, turning to go back inside.

Your gurgling stomach makes its entrance, interrupting your sweet moment with Joel.  He chuckles, “Sweetheart, do you wanna go get something to eat?  It’s gettin’ late, and I know you had a long day,” he says, his hands crossing up your back and coming to land on your shoulders.  You hadn’t noticed until now that your stomach felt tense, like you had a hole in it that food needed to fill.  “Probably a good idea… I must’ve forgotten to eat after I left the center today,” you say, rubbing your stomach lightly.  You check your watch.  12:53 am.  Not too late, but the events of the day are starting to drag your body down into the depths of fatigue.  He cups your jaw with both hands and places a chaste kiss on your forehead. 

“Let’s go, then, and I’ll take you home.  Where d’ya wanna go?”  He asks, eyes shifting between yours.  You think of all the places that would be open right now, deciding that something quick and greasy is probably the only option.  You shrug.

“You’re the local, you be the guide,” he says, releasing you from his embrace and taking your hand.  He leads you inside and stops at your work table so you can say goodbye.  You wave at everyone and give Keri a quick hug.  “You let me know when you get home, alright hon’?”  She says, giving you a quick peck on the cheek.  “Yes ma’am, you got it,” you say, hugging her tightly.

You two leave hand in hand and walk to Joel’s black pickup, which looks very expensive and very new.  You attempt to open the passenger door and he stops you.  You raise an eyebrow and give him a confused look.  “Sweetheart, I’m a Southern gentleman,” he trills, opening the door for you and ushering you in with a hand on your lower back.  You smirk and feel the liquid courage bubbling up again.  “Oh yeah?  In more ways than one?”  His eyes flash with desire, moving up and down your frame as you get comfortable in the passenger seat.

“Don’t get me started on all the ways,” he says, voice deep and eyes fixated on yours.  You feel your neck and cheeks heat.  This is gonna be tough.  Joel shuts your door and trots over to the driver’s side.  He pulls out of the parking lot, his free hand reaching over the center console to lace his fingers with yours.  “Decide what you want?”

“I’m thinking classic McDonald’s… I’m a cheap date,” you say, squeezing his hand.  He laughs.

“We’ll see how long that lasts, darlin’… I gotta take you out for a real date soon,” he grins.  Your stomach flips at the thought of going on a real date with Joel.

After you go through the McDonald’s drive through, Joel heads to your place to drop you off.  He approaches the entrance to your building and puts the truck in park.

“Do you want to come in?” You ask.  He gives you a look, almost pained.  “Sure, darlin’.  No funny business, I promise,” he responds.  You tilt your head at him, amused.  “Not sure if we have the same definition of that phrase, but you’re about to find out,” you say, smirking.  He scoffs and moves the truck to a parking spot.

You enter the building and head to your door at the end of the first floor.  Hopefully it’s clean, you think.  You can’t remember the last time a man came over.  You pop in your code and open the door, Joel holding the door beside you.  You set your purse and keys on the kitchen counter and watch Joel’s eyes examine the place.  He looks at the pictures of you and your friends and family hung on the walls.

“Clearly, you’ve always been gorgeous,” he says, pointing to a picture from your 8th grade graduation.  Braces and all.  You smack his arm playfully.  “Shut it.  We can’t all be sexy-cowboy-chico-suave like you,” you gripe, making him burst out laughing.  “Never heard that one before darlin’, but sexy doesn’t cover you,” he says, eyes traveling up and down your frame.  He takes two big steps toward you.  “So, what’s your definition of funny business?” he asks, finger tipping your chin up to look at him.  You smirk and lead him to the couch, grabbing the remote and turning the TV on.

“You’re really gonna regret coming over here,” you giggle, pulling up Hulu.  You scroll down to continue watching The Golden Girls.  Joel groans playfully.  “Yeah… we definitely have different definitions of that word,” he says, putting his arm around you and kicking his feet up as you snuggle into him.

taglist: @burntheedges <3

[silvers-starrway]

Hi, coming around for the ask game! I and R?

I answered I in a different ask! Moving on though, rubs my hands together, you have given me a moment to go nuts because...

R: Are there any writers (fanfic or otherwise) you consider an influence? Yes! There are a few! For fanfic I can link North Star Drive by little_bugger (sonic fanfic) and The Negligible Self by ch-am (MP100 fanfic) on ao3 for inspiring me to write intense emotions and to also get a bit weird with it! I have reread both of these fics and they always hit, they're both really great! As for other works that inspire me I can point very loudly to Andrew Joseph White's books, all of them are YA but are so insanely visceral in their emotions and descriptions that it gave me physical reactions. The Spirit Bears Its Teeth is I think one of few works that had gore so intense it made my insides churn, it was awesome! I want to try and write as viscerally as he does so he's a constant inspiration for me for that. And then lately there is this silly little series I've been hyperfixating on called The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells which... holy shit cannot recommend enough!!! She is so good at making every line count in her works, each story is jam packed but it never feels rushed, everything slots so beautifully into place. The emotions in those books too? Absolutely insane, it's the thing that draws me to them the most. Her writing has definitely influenced my fic writing and how I want to approach dynamics between characters to really give it that punch. I'm rereading Network Effect right now (ITS SO GOOD IM LOSING MY MIND) and I want to try and incorporate some of the ways she's able to set minor details up in one chapter and then 60 pages later expand on it in such a way that makes my jaw drop.

Whoof... that got long. Thank you for the ask!!

Ask game here

[pbandjesse]

We really got a lot out of our Saturday. We lived so many lives. And I am so excited to be horizontal. We both have blisters on our feet and are way to much at dinner. But it was such a wonderful day.

I struggled to fall asleep last night. But it wasn't terrible sleep. I woke up a few times. But Jess let me sleep while she got up and got dressed. I appreciated that.

When I woke up at 8 I would take a quick shower and got dressed. I felt cute. My hair looked great this morning but would get wild from the humidity and fog outside. That's alright. I was feeling pretty good. Not terribly nauseous. I was in a good mood.

We went for breakfast at Uncle Bill's pancake house. And it was a nice walk over there. We got sat right away and the food was very good. But man did my stomach hurt. I seem to be back to only being able to eat half of meals. But I enjoyed people watching and seeing the fog outside and talking to Jess.

We made a plan for the day. After breakfast we would go get Jess a coffee and then walk through the Octoberfest market for a preview for later. Then we would go back to the car to drive out to the farm. And then when we got back we would go to the beach.

And this ended up being such a lovely morning. Breakfast was good. The walk back was a little tough. But it was fine. My thighs hurt so we would pop into the hotel to put Jess's leftovers in the fridge and I could throw some shorts on under my dress. It was 100% the correct choice and made me way more comfortable.

The farm was barely 10 minutes away. And it was so precious. We would park and there were chickens running around everywhere. We would look through the farm market. Jess and me would pick up a few things before we left. Jams and things. But first we went to feed some pigs some turnips and radishes. They were so cute. Stinky but cute.

On the walk out of there I found a snake sticking out of a log! A grey rat snake. It was such a good find.

We walked around the gardens and it was so pretty. They were getting ready for a wedding to do there was some set up for that happening and it was so cute.

We went back to the farm store. Where I found an adorable green tree frog. I wanted so much to share him with others and I stopped an older couple to show them and they were so excited and it made me feel so good. Such a cute little froggie.

After we got our little treats we went to feed the chickens. They had quarter machines for feed and so Jess got her little handful of feed and let the chickens eat out of her hand. They only picked her a little. She was so happy and it was so cute.

We left there and headed back to the hotel to get changed for the beach. And it was still foggy and grey but warmer. And it was perfect for most of the first hour we were on the beach. I would go run in the water up to my knees. The storm last night made the current really strong so it was a bit to dangerous to actually go in it but this was fun.

I read a couple chapters of my book. Jess had her book too. And eventually I would lay out a towel and lay down. But the sun came out!! And it was so hot.

Jess went back to the hotel to get sunscreen. And I'm glad she did because the sun was a bit intense. It was also a little hot. So around noon we packed up and decided to go sit in the pool back at the hotel.

This was awesome. I'm so glad we got a hotel with a pool. No one else was there. And it was really cold but we got used to it pretty quick and just enjoyed sitting on the steps and talking and it was great. One of the owners of the place came over and chatted with us about Octoberfest. We said we were going to go over there after the pool. And that's just what we did.

I noticed that Jess was starting to get a little red. And we both ended up with some sunburn. Her on her arms and chest and me on my back. But it's not to bad. Just a little uncomfortable.

We got back inside and showered and got dressed to go over to the market. And it was great.

We would walk straight through the festival first so we could go to the fancy ice cream shop Jess liked last time we were there. And on the walk there I saw someone eating a soft pretzel with mustard and a diet coke and I was like. That's what I want. I need that.

So after ice cream (Jess got honey lavender) we went to find the pretzels and I was so happy. It was everything I wanted.

And we went to buy my teddy bear a new dress. And it turned out it was from the same lady I bought his other dress from like 8 years ago. So cool. And she was a really nice guy.

It was pretty busy and hot. But it was really fun. I really enjoyed my time there and looking around. But we would both get pretty worn down in the sun. So after I got a sticky bun parfait, we headed back to the hotel.

When we got back here we would strip down and put the AC on and we were both so overheated and exhausted. We had enjoyed walking around and looking at the houses but I ended up with a blister on the top of my foot and I had to take my sandals out to walk back for most of the walk. And when we got back here I just felt really bad. I tried my best to cool off. Braided my wild hair to get it off my neck and out of my face. And we would lay down.

I fell asleep for a bit. And we would watch TikToks and chill for a few hours.

And then around 6 we got ready to go to dinner.

We would go to the fancy marina place we went to last time we were here. Where Jess had gotten oysters. And it was just so ridiculously pretty as the sun went down. Everything around us smelled so good. The only real issue I had was our waiter sucked. He just never checked on us.

Jess's margarita was incredibly weak but he never came back so she walked herself to the bar. Our appetizers were great. I got a whipped feta and pita and she got oysters. Including their fall blueberry ones which were very fancy. But then there was a full half an hour before our mains came out. And they were not amazing.

My salad was super wet. Jess's muscles were small and sandy. But at least the fries were good. But he never came back to check on us. And when he finally dropped the check it took almost ten minutes for him to come back to get it. It was just so weird.

But I still had fun. We were just both overly stuffed and ready to go back to the hotel and lay down.

And that's just what we are doing. My stomach hurts still but I will sip some water and hopefully it'll calm down soon.

Tomorrow we are going to an antique store and then the zoo. I'm excited. I haven't been to this zoo since I was a kid and I had really positive memories of it so I hope it holds up. I also just hope it's a fun day. And then we will go home.

I miss James a lot. And I'm really glad this has been such a lovely trip but I'm glad it's short. I miss my husband to much.

Now though it is time for rest. I hope you all have a great night. Sleep good.

[leviathanlazarus]

Reaching for Stardust - Part XV

Read Looking for Space here / Playlists / Read RFS on wattpad

Word Count: ~3700

Warnings: none

Sorry for the delay, folks. I've been bopping between this series and my Sanny one and we're nearing the true climax of RFS, which has made me want to slow down posting a bit. The past few days have been very difficult and I will be struggling for a little while longer, so the next chapter may also be delayed. Thank you to those who are still reading along. I really hope you're enjoying this sequel <3

---

There was still so much to be jam-packed into the matter of what became just about a couple of months. No matter how much I ever tried to “relax” or slow down, it felt like there were still a hundred things I had to do. My focus was perpetually disconnected from work, although that felt more and more like a good thing–it was everything else besides work that solidified its importance. Namely family and friends, of course. Josh recovered completely, and quite quickly, from the little bout of pneumonia and then we were thrown into the midst of the couple’s shower. I discovered it really did involve being showered with gifts and with family being there, and I personally was spared from more sexual gag gifts and things that, generally, no parent or aunt or whoever needed to see. Josh and I could save all of those for ourselves. 

Josh was the only boy–man, whatever. He would always be a boy to me, and I meant that with the utmost affection–there. We sat on the couch in my aunt’s living room, the female relative who had the most space for this flurry to take place. She was all decked out for Christmas, which was also right around the corner–a long, fluffy fake fir garland snaking around the white mantle with an array of shiny colored, round ornaments dotting it and reflecting in the mirror above it. Instead of any overhead or tableside lamps illuminating the event, we were all sitting and hovering in the glow of white Christmas lights wrapped around the mantle and strung over the windows, plus the white lights wrapped around the real pine tree in the corner between the windows that bounced off more glass ornaments. The scent of the tree was still strong with it being so fresh and I thought about how our woodsy lodge wedding would smell–hopefully a lot like that, I concluded, like sharp, cool pine and sap. 

The mulled wine in my glass smelled excellent too, a warm, sweet contrast to the Christmas tree. I took a sip, a slice of orange bobbing against my upper lip, while Josh opened what felt like the hundredth gift. I had no idea where we were going to put some of this stuff. My aunt had given us a really nice looking toaster–sleek and white, brand new and shiny–but we already had a toaster. We’d been given a new coffee machine too, and it made me question if being an adult meant just tossing out old stuff and replacing them–sometimes unnecessarily–with shiny new toys. But as the unwrapping and revealing went on, the gifts got smaller and more personal, truly beginning with something special my mom had picked out for Josh.

“Oh wow, this is lovely,” he remarked, peeling the blue tissue paper away. “I’m stunned. Thank you so much.” He lifted up a white silk robe monogrammed with a gold “J” on the back. It was a small and tasteful touch, not a garish, giant letter smacked on the back, but just a subtle detail right below the back of the collar and then another on the front, stitched into the breast pocket. His hands moved over the fabric slowly, always wanting the most tactile experience–he cared about material far more than color most of the time, craving rich and fine fabrics against his skin. 

My mom handed me a box that matched the shape of Josh’s next: “And this one's for you; you might be able to guess what it is.”

I certainly could, but actually seeing and feeling the coordinating black silk robe with my own silver initial monogrammed was a delight. “These are awesome,” I said. “Thanks, Mom. We needed new robes anyway, actually.”

“Yes, we did,” Josh agreed, carefully folding it up and tucking it back into the box. “Mine is unraveling into shreds.” 

My sister’s gift came next–a beautiful black and midnight blue photo album, the black bottom fading up into a blue with tiny silver stars stitched into the canvas. In more silver thread it said, “To the Moon & Back” and, beneath that, it was finalized with our monogrammed initials. Josh and I leaned over it as I held it in my lap, mesmerized, and Kirsti told us that she’d already printed a few pictures and put them in to begin the album curation. I flipped to the first page and there we all were–Josh, myself, the boys, my sister, and all three sets of parents. 

“This is so sweet,” I said, staring at that picture of all of us as one big happy family. “I love it so much. It’s perfect.” 

After my aunt’s living room became full of torn-up wrapping paper, Josh and I took a breather on the back porch, drinking more wine and nibbling on crackers and cheese in the cold. A small layer of snow was stuck to the yard, the deck, the roof–the world was coated in it and the world was quiet. Bare trees held no birds, no wind whipped through the naked branches and there wasn’t even the sound of a single car rolling through the street out front. 

“You know something?” I began and Josh looked at me, pausing, eyes bright, with a cracker between his lips. “None of our parents are divorced. Isn’t that pretty rare? Seems so against the odds.”

Josh chewed, swallowed, then dabbed his mouth with a napkin. “We have some excellent luck on our side then, perhaps. Our predecessors all succeeded–why can’t we?” He wrapped his arm around my waist. “Of course we will. It’s not even a question.”

“Soulmates,” I said, the puff of condensation from my breath covering the word with a little resolute cloud. 

“Soulmates,” he echoed, squeezing my waist. 

A little while later, Josh and I were pouring over some of the gifts again in front of the empty fireplace. My mom sat down on the arm of the couch next to me. “I know you two said you’re not really looking for houses at the moment,” she began, pulling out her phone. “But I saw one that I think would be really cute.”

“I mean, I think we’re open to it,” I said, looking at Josh, who nodded. “I did like the one I saw back in the spring. But it just wasn’t the right time. It sold, anyway.” 

“Very quickly,” Josh added. “And for more than we could afford.”

“Well, look at this one.” My mom handed me her phone and folded her hands in her lap, watching me as I brought the phone between Josh and I. It looked nice from the outside, simple and cute, and it was in our price range at least according to Zillow, but it didn’t call to me. I could tell it didn’t call out to Josh either.

“I think we’re far more fixated on the honeymoon,” Josh told my mom. “We still haven’t figured out what to do and that’s where a good chunk of our savings will go.” 

“Even with the help from you and Dad and Josh’s parents,” I added, handing the phone back. “I think maybe we’ve been so busy with the wedding planning, our brains haven’t had much of a chance to work out where we want to go or what we want to do.” 

“We’re between something like a cabin in the woods. A nice little quiet retreat,” Josh explained, gesturing even more than usual with the aid of the wine buzz. “Or a hot, beachy getaway. It’s difficult to choose right now. The possibilities are sort of endless.”

“There’s no time constraint,” my mom reminded us. “Inspiration will strike you and you’ll figure it out.” She laid a hand on my shoulder. “I just know you two get a little cooped up in that apartment. If you want, we can always take the honeymoon money and put it into a house for you.” 

It didn’t even feel that long ago that my mom was criticizing Josh, saying he wasn’t serious enough, thinking he was too silly. Now here she was, offering not only financial support but emotional support. Things really were all coming together. That, in addition to my own wine buzz, made my heart feel all warm and fuzzy. 

Back home, I was fully sober and quite tired from the festivities. We unloaded the car and set boxes and bags in the hall and the living room and our space suddenly seemed so much smaller. It got me thinking–did we want a destination honeymoon, really? Did we want it to be something we’ve done before, like a winter cabin or a sandy beach, or something completely new? There were cities we’d never been to. We could go to Europe–maybe. That seemed expensive. Vegas, even. Seattle. There were options. Or did we want our funds and the financial help from family to be put into a house and, subsequently, would that new life project become the honeymoon itself? 

“Alright,” I said, sitting down on the floor amidst the gifts. “I’m getting stressed out again.”

Josh sat down next to me, pressing his back against the couch. “By all this new stuff?”

“There’s that. There’s also all the decisions we have left to make.” I scooched back to sit right next to him, our legs touching. “Part of me feels like we really do deserve a break. Part of me also feels like we deserve a house, but then I know we haven’t even decided exactly where we want to live. Part of me also wants to say fuck it and just like, go on tour with the boys for six months or whatever.”

Josh chuckled, putting his hand on my thigh. “If we could both swing that, we would do it. As for moving somewhere else, like to the big city,” he said, waving his other hand around with each word. “That would probably take more time. I’d have to secure another job.” 

“You could become the band’s professional photographer and videographer,” I suggested, only partially kidding. 

“Let’s go to the desert,” Josh said suddenly, sounding sure and emphatic. “We have so much winter every year and especially this year. We’ve never been to the Southwest–what do you think? Cacti and scorpions and scalding sunshine?”

I’d written about the desert before for work–scanned images of flat banks of red sand with impossibly clear blue skies, the sky a backdrop to sudden, staggering, rocky mountains, giant cacti looming menacingly in the foreground, rattlesnakes and desolate highways leading to mayhem. I could picture Josh and I there. It would be like an entirely different world. 

“Yeah. I’m into it,” I told him before I allowed my thoughts to unravel any further. I rested my head on his shoulder, looking out the window at the sky that was too dark, too early and the snow clinging to the glass. “Desert daydream. That’d be really fun.” 

He climbed right over me, straddling my thighs. “Really?” 

Hands instantly moving to his hips, I said, “Hell yeah. That’d be so cool, Josh. I was just thinking earlier how maybe we should do something totally different, right?”

Josh placed his hands on my shoulders, arching his back. “We can be cowboys–what do you think of that?”

I smiled, reaching one hand up to gently tug at his hair. “I love that. You’re gonna look so good in a cowboy hat and those fancy boots.” My other hand drifted to his ass, giving it a squeeze. “Want me to be your horse?”

He laughed, the sound like bells in my ears, and kissed my cheek. “You’re my partner,” he said, then lifted his hand to tip an imaginary hat on his head. “Howdy.”

I laughed too, hugging him closer to me. “Howdy right back at ya.” I closed my eyes and tucked my face against his neck, his hair brushing against my temple, my hands pressed flat against his upper back. “I know it’s almost all we do now–getting ready for all of it, making the plans–but sometimes I still can’t believe all of this is happening.”

“Same for me,” Josh said, reciprocating the hug in his own snug, determined style, like he never wanted us to be apart in any way. “It’s been a long and marvelous road. Some trouble along the way, of course, but we’ve just shown there’s nothing we can’t charge through. Always victorious, right, darling?”

“Always. Always, always.” I sighed, opening my eyes to peek at the gifts around us again. “So should we really get rid of our toaster? It’s been through so much alongside us.”

“Well, I’m pretty sure it’s choking to death with burnt bits we can’t get out,” Josh replied, eyelashes fluttering against my skin. “Perhaps we can give it a last hurrah with some cinnamon toast tonight but, yes, I think that new toaster was actually quite a poignant present.”

I hummed, closing my eyes again. “Cinnamon toast sounds good.” I gave him a squeeze before I patted his back. “If I could carry you to the kitchen, I would, but this horse just ain’t that strong.”

Josh chuckled sweetly and stood up, feet planted on either side of my thighs, to extend his hand down to me. I slid up in the scant space, our bodies still so close, and he twirled around to lead the way into the kitchen. Our too-small but lovely, comfortable kitchen, where he pulled out the old, tired toaster from its cabinet and began to cut thick slices of French bread. Another light snowfall was coming down outside, the fluffy flakes lit up by the lights outside our apartment, and I thought about how nice it would be to be spared from the inevitable upcoming storms that came with the dead of winter–those long, blue, dreary months that felt inescapable. Those months that dragged down even Josh. We could escape to bright sunshine and golden landscapes, bask in warmth on another adventure. The adventure that would punctuate the biggest adventure of them all, the adventure that would last a lifetime or, quite seriously, eternity. 

With the night deep and dark, we laid in bed surrounded by the blue Christmas lights we’d both hung around the bedroom. I lifted my hand to my face, admiring my ring as it caught that artificial celestial glow: “You’re picking up your ring on Monday?” I asked Josh as I slid mine off to place on the bedside table. 

“Yes indeed.” He rolled onto his side and snuggled into mine. “I think you’re going to like it.”

“I know I will,” I said, running my fingers down the chain around his neck. “It’s coming up real soon, Josh. Are you nervous?”

“A little. You know I’m going to be nothing but a bundle of nerves the day of.”

“Me too,” I said, thinking about the vows I was still working on. I felt so confident in every word so far, just not so confident in saying it amidst a large group of people. That fear still lingered, itched in my brain each time I went to work on them. “But it’s gonna be so good.”

“Oh,” Josh said, looking up at me, cheekbones cut with blue light. “It’s gonna be the best. We’re all going to have such a ball. We don’t have to worry about THAT.”

Forever feeling calm in his presence, his body so warm against mine, I asked, “Do we have to worry about anything at all?”

“Absolutely not,” Josh assured me, his voice getting a little rougher with sleepiness. “Never.” 

And so I believed him. 

-

I was, however, just a little worried about sledding. Although Sam had taken it upon himself to find the best, tallest, most majestic snow-covered hill for all of us to repeatedly slide down, the thick cove of trees down at the base seemed a little foreboding. Just far enough to be acceptable; just close enough to seem like a hazardous imposition. Even Danny, the birthday boy, eyed those trees warily as we all inspected the land from the top, bundled up as even more snow began to fall. 

“Buckle up, buttercup,” Josh said, pressing a hand to my lower back. I could barely feel it through the thick layer of my coat. “It’s not like we haven’t done this a hundred times before.”

“That’s a little hyperbolic,” I replied, still gazing down the hill. 

In honor of his birthday, we all came to the decision that Danny should ride with each one of us before deciding who was the best at steering the ship, so to speak. He hitched a ride with Jake first, who looked determined to make it the best sledding experience of Danny’s life. Josh and I readied ourselves in our own plastic sled while Sam took the far left, leaving Danny and Jake in the middle–the three of us held back to watch them go first, with Danny laughing loudly and joyfully as soon as Jake scooted forward, then shot right down at a high speed. 

Josh and Sam shared a quick but poignant look at one another, then they were both kicking forward and we began to fly down the hill at the same time, me clutching Josh’s middle taut while he laughed wildly as if we were back on that tea cup ride and not flying down a frigid hill. I laughed too though, the slight rush of adrenaline quickly shooting up my spine, making me alert yet newly frivolous, and I laughed even more at Sam’s very focused, very serious facial expressions. He was seemingly doing everything in his power to navigate the sled like a ship, not like something that only had a rope handle and gravity to help it along its way. 

At the base, Jake and Danny were already throwing snowballs at one another, red-faced and exhaling white clouds of breathless laughter. Sam immediately joined in and quickly opted to use Danny, the poor birthday boy, as a shield so he could try and pummel Jake. Never one to waiver in his loyalty to any of the Kiszkas, Danny settled for meeting them in the middle, throwing handfuls of snow at both of them while Josh gathered all three sleds in his hands.

“There will be more time for bruised faces later,” he declared, trudging back toward the upward slope. “Danny has yet to decide who’s the master–or mistress–of sledding.”

Danny and Josh went next; I rode down with Sam, who insisted that I take the lead so he could see what he was up against, although we both knew there would never be a contest. Sam was always going to be Danny’s number one whether it was in sledding, snowball fights, funneling beers, musical solos, inhaling dabs, whatever–they were two peas in a pod. I did not quite feel that way with Sam myself, who was all gangly, sharp limbs surrounding me in the literal plastic pod we were temporarily trapped in.

“God, your feet are like skis!” I remarked, grabbing the toe of his boot and jostling his foot around. “We should just slide down the hill on those with me on your back.”

“This is a more even weight distribution,” Sam replied, clapping me on the shoulders. “Now, come on–mush!”

“Alright, alright,” I grumbled, beginning to shove our way forward and then we were soaring, with Sam clinging to me and yipping in delight all the way down. We made it to the bottom before Josh and Danny but after Jake, who had to hop out of the way before I collided the sled right into his ankles.

Of course Danny declared Sam the best person to sled with, though there seemed to be no prize, unless we were all meant to count Danny throwing Sam over his shoulders and parading off into the pine trees as the prize. It was such a fun, easy birthday afternoon that I was sure none of us wanted to end–thankfully, we were all in the mood to keep things going beyond the long drive back to the more familiar plains of our hometown. We went back to the apartment to peel ourselves out of wet, clammy clothes and for boozy hot chocolates; we bundled in the spare, dry clothes Josh and I had to offer, nestled together under a couple throw blankets and sat on the balcony while the sun set in starkly warm hues contrasting against the blank white space beyond. The air was calm and still, not even all that cold–it helped that all of us were still recovering from so many excursions up that big hill. 

I sipped my hot chocolate spiked with a generous amount of peppermint schnapps and looked over at Danny, who appeared to be totally content in this very quiet, relaxed mode. Sam was cuddled up against him, head on Danny’s shoulder, his face unusually sleepy while he cradled his own hot chocolate in his hands, Danny’s placed on his thigh in return. Josh, Jake and I were on the bench, with Josh in the middle. I realized it was one of those rare times that happens only once in a blue moon–where we were all together but no one was speaking a word and no one was bothered by it. We were as calm as the gently twinkling snow down on the ground, as placid as the imperceptibly moving clouds in the pink sky, yet as close and as comforted by one another as all coexisting animals were. I was always so unsure of what the future held–it didn’t matter how many things we planned, from every damn detail of a wedding to a honeymoon to everything in between. It was all still so uncertain but, as Josh had taught me time and time again, that was part of the beauty of it. 

And one thing was certain, I concluded, pressing a kiss to Josh’s temple–all of us were a family and it would always be that way.

---

Tagging: @sparrowofrhiannon @starbuggie @lightsofthe-living-gvf @sanguinebats @gvfrry @clairesjointshurt @bizzielisteningtogreta @jjwasneverhere @gvfrry

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[wykedstories]

Chapter 4: The Coffee Shop.

As everyday starts this one starts the same. I woke up this morning at a crisp four am, and got my makeup and hair done. I'll admit I was so lazy today even I'm ashamed. I can't even blame it on being tired, it's just pure laziness. Instead of doing the whole eyeshadow and everything I just slapped on some mascara, eyeliner and, my shimmer lip gloss to complete a simple look. It's so early and I'm ready to hit the road so that Darcy and I can have  breakfast. I slap my shoes on and make sure everything is packed neatly in my black backpack then I proceed to throw it over my shoulder and head downstairs. As I head downstairs I hear my mom and dad  talking to my little sister Mia.

 Mia has been at my grandparents since the weekend, she's finally home. I love Mia. She has the cutest little smile, let me tell you she's the cutest 5 year old ever! As for my dad he's normally out of state for work so he must have come home while i was sleeping! I walk into the kitchen where everyone is and I say my hellos and goodbyes quickly then head out the door to my car to pick up darcy! I hopped in the car and plugged my music in so that I could get the mood set for the day today. It's feeling like a Slipknot kind of morning. 

As I get everything set up and my first song picked I see that Darcy messaged me. As I look at my phone I see “ Hey babes, we're still on for breakfast im up and ready to go see you soon!”. 

I responded to her with “ awesome love i'll see you soon im on my way.” 

Back to duality by slipknot oh the wonderful sounds of metal in the morning. I casually roll up to Darcie's house and she's just as casually standing outside waiting for me to get here like she is waiting for the bus.

“Hey girl hey, I'm so beyond ready for that chai latte that's calling my name!” she squeaked as she waltzed over to my car.

“Girl, no coffee for me. I am really trying to lay off the caffeine so I think I'm gonna get a refresher and a nice breakfast sandwich.” I responded. 

“ Oh Leah common now after this week at school you definitely deserve that coffee. Get that caffeine girl you only live once! What happened to your large caramel macchiato with 4 shots of espresso and your bacon bagel?”.

“Yeah you are right fuck it im getting my coffee!” I sharply said back to her. 

“ That's my Girl,” Darcy replied. Then we made the mutual decision to crank that music up and jam all the way to the coffee shop. Darcy was dancing in the passenger seat and boy was she having the time of her life. I love seeing Darcy happy. It literally makes my whole day when she has that goofy smile on her face. I was paying attention to driving when I noticed something really odd. There was this guy in a black hoodie walking down the road who looked hurt. He looked as if he was limping but I am not one to stop for strangers.

 I thought about mentioning it to Darcy just because of the weird feeling I got from it, instead I just kept it to myself and onto the coffee shop I drove. We finally got to the coffee shop, not to mention traffic wasn't so hateful. I always complain about traffic but in reality I'm sure it's nothing like what New York City is. I couldn't even imagine driving in Vinces city. I bet driving is heaven here for him. 

“Hey do you want to drive through or go in?” I asked her as I simultaneously turned the music down. 

“I think we should go in and order if you're not opposed?” Darcy replied.

“Going in to order it is” I say loud and proud. We jumped out of the car like we haven't had coffee in months. As we walked up there was an older couple coming out so I stepped over by the door and opened it for them. You know it's the kind thing to do. I smiled at them when they thanked me and I told them to have a blessed day. Darcy and I walked in and ordered our coffee and breakfast that took about 25 minutes to long.

 As we walked out the doors of the coffee shop I felt this wave of uneasiness go over me, I looked around instantly to see if something was going on and that's when I looked on the other side of the street and saw the guy in the black hoodie limping towards the coffee shop. I glanced over at Darcy and she was sipping on her coffee unphased, so I continued to ignore those uneasy feelings and went back to the car to head to school of the day.

[yes-i-am-happyaspie]

Dreaming of the Sun by happyaspie

No Archive Warnings Apply || Rated G || Chapters 1/2 || Peter Parker & Tony Stark || For @polaroid15

Part 69 of the Tony Stark is a Good Mentor series

Summary: While on a mission, Peter Parker and Tony Stark separate from the rest of the team to go after some stragglers. When the unexpected happens and their suits end up damaged beyond repair they realize they are stranded in the middle of a snow storm with no way to communicate with the team, no way to track their location, and no way to stay warm.

A/N: Ah, man! This fic has been sitting in my WIPS folder for nearly two years!But after starting Polaroid15's awesome Febuwhump 2022 fic, After the Storm (Which you should totally go check out!) I was suddenly filled with the the exact amount of motivation I needed to dive into that doc and finish it up!

[Excerpt Under the Cut]

Peter swung through the mangled door that led to the outside, Tony and a small pack of inordinately formidable Hydra agents right behind him. He paused just outside of the opening and crouched low, waiting with anticipation for his next order. When none came he swooped back inside to find Tony surrounded. Iron Man was expectantly holding his own, combining hand to hand combat with the use of his repulsors. However, that wasn’t enough to prevent Peter from swooping in to assist. He shot a web towards the ceiling and snapped forward, using the momentum to take out three of the large agents himself.

“Score!” he cheered as he whipped back around, aiming his heels towards the next closest aggressor. The remainder of the agents scattered, making it difficult for Peter to keep track of how many there were. He scurried up the nearest wall to better survey the situation, first looking down the dimly lit corridor. “There’s more coming! At least two dozen!” he shouted, then looked towards the door leading to the outside. “And there’s another dozen or so getting away!”

“Natasha's collecting the intel. Rhodey and Clint have her back. Sam and I are heading that way. We’re two minutes out,” Steve’s authoritative voice crackled through the comms. “Why don’t you and Tony head after the stranglers? We’ll rendezvous at the jet upon mission completion. Check in on the thirties.”

“Aye-aye Captain!” Peter replied while Tony broke free from the chaos and came to hover in front of him.

“Hop on Junior,” Tony promptly instructed, turning around to give Peter access to his back. “I’ll knock ‘em out; you web ‘em up.”

Peter leaped onto Tony and used his legs and feet to cling to armor. Tony took off towards the opening, dipping and diving around the shots that were being fired in their direction. Peter tried to be of assistance by jamming up and yanking away as many weapons as he could, but Tony’s strategic maneuvers weren’t quite enough to prevent him from having to duck and dodge the numerous attacks as well.

As they came up on the exit, Peter turned his body around and outstretched his hands, preparing to fire his webs. “Web grenade!” he called out once he’d double tapped the triggers on his palms, sending a mass of sticky webs flying towards the opening.

“Nice work, Kid,” Tony said, flipping his face plate up just long enough to flash Peter a small smile of encouragement.

“Did you see their faces when they ran into the webs? That was amazing!” Peter laughed, then held his arms out as he whooped with delight.

For quite a while they flew through the forest, tracking down the scattered agents and taking them out one by one. At some point during the desperate search, it had started to snow. Thick white flakes were swirling around them with a feather-like swoosh before accumulating on the already densely snow-covered ground. If it weren’t for the periodic bursts of gunshots and clustered explosions, Peter would have thought the glistening ice and fluttering snowflakes pretty.

“How many more are there, Mr. Stark?” Peter asked. The sun was starting to sink lower in the sky and the already cold wind was starting to take on a biting chill. A small shiver creeped up his spine encouraging him to raise the setting of the heater in his suit.

“I’m not sure, Bud. FRIDAY detected some unusual movement over this hill, we’re going to go check that out and then head back,” Tony replied. “We should probably split up before we get there. You can go all Tarzan through the trees while I fly in front to get a better idea of what we’re dealing with.”

“M’kay,” Peter merely agreed, then rested his chin on Tony’s broad shoulder. Save for a handful of necessary breaks, they’d been going full throttle for hours. He sighed profoundly, resigning himself to one more round with the enemy and prepared to dismount. He surveyed his surroundings for an appropriate target. Then let a web fly. However, the reactivity cut it loose, when his spider-sense sent his entire nervous system into a frenzy, causing the hair on the back of his neck to bristle.

“Mr. Stark?” he said with the intention of letting Tony know that some sort of imminent danger was headed their way, but he wasn’t able to get that far. He needed to get them out of the path of whatever was heading their way. His sixth sense wasn’t letting up and he had no choice but to allow his instincts to take over.

Peter took a sharp breath in and leaned forward to take hold of Tony’s left arm, providing himself full control of the flight stabilizer. At the same time, he used his legs and core strength to forcefully tilt the armor, using the angle to adjust their trajectory. He could feel Tony attempting to resist the manual adjustments but didn’t let up until he’d managed to point them away from the perceived danger.

Another spike in his spider-sense had Peter looking over his shoulder. He was met with a flash of light that warmed his face and burned his eyes, followed by a bang that left his ears ringing. He tightened his hold on the armor, cognizant of the fact that his fingers were digging into the alloy and squeezed his eyes shut. Three more bombs went off, each one just a little bit closer than the one before it. The last one was practically on their heels, it’s blast throwing them forward and down against their will.

They hit the solidly frozen ground hard. The armor clanked as it bounced over the downward terrain. Peter tried to use his strength to halt them. Blindly, he reached out to grab anything that might be within reach, but all he managed to do was bang himself up. His eager fingers caught in tangles of loose branches and his arms collided with anything he couldn’t quite catch. He cried out in pain as his wrist smacked up against a rugged stone and changed tactics. He braced himself and attempted to anchor his feet into the snow, sending it spraying outward and behind them. It wasn’t enough to stop them completely, but it slowed their descent. Enough so that Tony was able to gain some control. He threw his body weight to the side and managed to slide them directly into a large snow bank.

[Continue Reading on AO3]

[tare-anime]

SxF Chapter 52

(Beware spoilers)

Wow, once again I am amazed by Endo's way of story telling.

This chapter is bloody, just like he had promised, but I can still laughed at certain parts.

30 pages of full action packed chapter! (Now we know why he had been making short build up chapters before).

And of course, I swoon at Yor's badassery. So awesome.

Apparently, she had to face more than 11 elite assassins.

I'm glad McMahon came in time to help.

Annnndde.. love the "tired butler" vibes he showed there.

Martha, McMahon, and I believe Jeeves. All tired butler taking care of their masters. Lol.... 🤣

The action scene flow. Wow!

I love it. Endo really is a genius. Alternating between bloddy scenes with light hearted scenes? I could hear the clasical violin plays as the background music here 🤣 (please let it be like that when animated)

I love it how Yor showed her martial arts skills. She took lives, but still respecting said lives, despite their intention was to kill her.

One or two deadly shots to the target. (And Mc.Mahon stay closely behind to clean).

This knive plays??

Amazing. It kinda reminded me of Yelena Belova the black widow. Similar knive technique.

Then we saw Yor stab one head and continue the momentum by stabbing another head. Use the corpse as shield (while feeling sorry in doing so), slamming the heart with one palm punch, and plowing through enemies.

She got hit too, and I believe one or two ribs were broken there, yet she cried over jammed finger? 😅 oh my...

Ngl, I believe Yor (especially with McMahon's help) will be allright.

Thus my heart stopped when Zeb took the bullet for Olka. Lucky he wore that buletproof vest. Phew....

Welp, looks like Sniff Job got to live for one more chapter then.

I can't wait to read more!!

[magicman111]

A Moth to a Flame - Chapter Two

One month later

Sasha joylessly toyed with the Music Box, opening its lid like a yawning mouth.

Who’d have thunk it? She wondered to herself. This tacky little thing could cause so much calamity?

How ludicrously out of place she looked curled up on King Andrias’ enormous throne, almost like the little girl playing pretend in the driver’s seat of her parents’ car. You’d be forgiven for not knowing she’d just led the swiftest, easiest toppling of a government in this world’s history.

Big blue dummy locked up? Check. The city’s army surrendered? Check. Their toad army less than an hour away? Check. Dimension-skipping Macguffin firmly in their position? Double Check.

Not a bad day’s work for a 13-year-old.

Marcy’s oversized sparrow was tethered to the armrest by his leg. A prize she’d taken for herself so she could cruise around her new kingdom in style. She saw to it he wasn’t under any duress, and the fact he was neck deep in an industrial sized bag of bird feed told her he was plenty comfortable.

Sasha managed a tiny smile as she reached out to run her fingers through the thickness of his coat. She dunked her hand in the bag and offered him an open palm of seeds; he eyed for a moment or two before gingerly pecking at the mound.

Thank Frog no one was around to hear the ‘d’aww’ escape her lips.

Her grandmother was the one she had to thank for her secret admiration of birds. Old lady had been a birdwatcher who ‘treated’ her to regular weekend trips into the forest when she was younger. This was long before her discovery of malls and arcades. Sasha wouldn’t dare admit it to even herself back then, but the ones they spotted together on those dewy spring mornings were beautiful to behold in their natural habitat.

Herons may now be forever ruined for her, but Joe—she thought that was his name—was a mighty impressive specimen. Poor guy somehow found the strength to carry all seven of them to Newtopia, only to nosedive into the moat at the end of the flight.

Definitely had nothing to do with her asking Marcy if she could take the reins in the last stretch. She and Anne were kind enough not to draw attention to it, same as they did the day at summer camp when they discovered her crying into her pillow. They were awesome enough to go along with her story that it was only allergies. She knew she had a true pair of girlfriends that morning.

Thinking about them only soured her mood afresh. She sprinkled the rest of the feed back into the bag and slumped against the backrest, arms petulantly crossed.

Here she was in the crowning moment of her young life and she couldn’t have been more miserable.

Maybe because her friends should have been here to share in this, but no, they had to go and act all noble. What else should she have expected? She always was the only one in the group with the guts. Anne had to be dragged kicking and screaming to ditch school and join her and Marcy in celebrating her birthday. Was it any wonder she had to keep taking control of the situation?

More likely... it was because deep down she knew she didn’t really want this. She certainly believed she did after they dropped that gloryhound newt general down a waterfall and when they successfully rallied the Toad Lords after retrieving Barrel’s Warhammer. Things only started getting complicated when they needed free tickets into Newtopia in the form of her friends.

She hadn’t counted on realising just how much she missed her clumsy, klutzy Marcy. Neither how effectively she and Anne were still able to work together as a team in spite of all the unpleasantness that had transpired between them during their time here, of which there was plenty. The fact that Anne actively encouraged her in taking down that molten toad monster was the rancid cherry atop the sludge sundae. For a while back there, it looked like they might really turn a corner and start afresh. All three of them could have gone home like none of this ever happened. Except by then it was already too late.

What recourse did she have when the Plantars invited them for the world’s most awkward dinner party or when they brought the house down at the Battle of the Bands? Tell Grime and all the toads who’d invested their manpower and futures in her that sorry, she was getting cold feet? There was only one grizzly way that would end both for her and Grime and the best scenario she could imagine involved heads on pikes.

... It didn’t matter anymore. Her friends had picked their path, she’d picked hers. As her mom always said, ‘You make your bed, you lie in it’. Funny how in her short life, she’d heard that line far too many times already.

Once she figured out how the Box worked, she’d send both Anne and Marcy on their merry way and they’d never have to see each other ever again.

Everyone would get what they want.

Good thing then she’d sent her soldiers to ransack Marcy’s room for all her research about Anne’s fateful birthday gift. Girl was a pack rat. She kept notes for every exam and project they were assigned back home. The less said about her laptop jammed with files of anime fanfiction and theories the better.

Plus, it was a good way to try and distract herself.

They came back into the throne room hauling burlap sacks full of parchments and emptied their contents at Sasha’s feet.

Daaang, girl, you've been in the zone.

She scattered them over her lap and the ample free space on the seat. They actually weren’t that hard to follow; colour coordinated with plenty of cutesy kawaii diagrams. Trademark Marbles.

Apparently, it worked a lot like those puzzle boxes Marcy got as gifts from relatives in Hong Kong. All it took was knowing the right sequence of buttons and zip! You can go wherever you want in the cosmos. Just a matter of finding the code for Earth.

‘I’m done listening to you!

I’m done trusting you!’

Sasha scowled, trying to push the thoughts to the back of her mind where they belonged. She shuffled through a couple more pages until she found the one titled in glittery green and blue lettering, ‘HOME’.

Bingo.

‘You’re a horrible person!’

Ignore. Ignore.

Now all she had to do was jot it down on her palm and—

‘AND I AM DONE. BEING. FRIENDS WITH YOU!!’

She stopped. Her shoulders drooped. Then she just threw the page down on the floor and sunk into her seat further than she thought physically possible.

She normally didn’t consider herself that thin skinned a person, but man, that one hurt.

Traces of bitter tears creeped into her eyes.

What am I even doing anymore?

The sound of footsteps on crumpling paper and someone clearing their throat snapped her out of her self-pitying torpor. She fluttered her eyes dry to see Grime standing there awkwardly among the discarded parchments.

The diminutive, one-eyed former Toad Lord was hiding something behind his back. He actually looked pretty embarrassed about it too, which for a battle hardened war vet like Grime was actually kinda adorable in Sasha’s eyes.

“I, uhh, got you something,” he said, whipping out a long rectangular present wrapped in green paper and topped with a luscious red bow. “Had it made especially for this day.”

Now if there was one thing Sasha Waybright couldn’t say no to, it was a gift, especially from a trusted friend. They were the ultimate distraction from the blues and she couldn’t have been sitting upright and tearing into this one any quicker.

“Whaaat? Grimesy, you didn’t!” What she had pulled from the ravaged packaging wielded aloft her head made her gasp. “How’d you know I wanted to duel wield?!”

It was a brand new heron sword. An exquisite green second shortsword that would compliment Ol’ Pink perfectly.

She stared proudly into the smooth steel surface, admiring the craftsmanship. When she noticed the girl staring right back at her, however, her smirk vanished in an instant. The captain of the cheerleaders, the scarred swordswoman, the conqueror of Newtopia, whatever angle she looked at it, she didn’t like what she saw. Unbelievable as it may sound, even the joy of an awesome gift like this was not enough to make everything better.

“What’s the matter? You don’t like it? Oh dang it!” Grime slammed his forehead. “I didn’t get a gift receipt!”

“No no, it’s just...” Sasha weighed the blade against her ungloved palm. Talking about these kinds of things was never easy for her. “What if Anne’s right? What if I am a horrible person?”

Grime popped up like a whack-a-mole behind the armrest. “Who cares what she thinks?” he scoffed. “You and I are in charge now, and we get to do whatever we want!”

“That’s the thing... I’m not sure what I want anymore,” she admitted wearily.

For all his years of training at the finest academies, his brutal combat in the colosseum and tactical expertise earned through a lifetime of military service as his forebears before him, this one had Grime stumped. Needless to say, talking about one’s emotions wasn't exactly encouraged during their upbringing in toad culture, so naturally it wasn’t one of his strong suits. Just one of the many things he and Sasha had in common.

“Huh.”

Still, he was a pretty fast thinker and came up with a fairly good idea on the spot.

“Why don’t you help me redecorate this place?” he suggested, resting his hand on her shoulder. “Take your mind off it. Cuz this right here...” He gestured to the cluttered mess in which she’d surrounded herself. “This is definitely not—I’m sorry, can I help you?!”

Both of them turned their heads when it became impossible to ignore Joe’s cone-shaped beak lightly nipping at Grime’s cheek.

“He probably thinks your warts are seeds.”

“For the love of—I knew he was eyeing me up on the ride here! There! Get lost!” Grime scooped up a fistful of feed and flung it over the marble floor, but the winged beast persisted with pecking his face. “Stop it! MY HEAD IS NOT A FEEDER!!”

It took an exceptional effort of willpower for Sasha not to laugh at the sight of her old man being preyed upon by the family pet.

Wow, she thought. Her old man? Was that how she saw Grimesy now? Seriously?

Perhaps up to a point. Okay, considering the options she had for parental figures back home, it wasn’t exactly the highest bar to pass, but it still meant something. Anything.

Who would have guessed this would be how they’d end up, especially given how they started off with her as his prisoner? Sure, it may have taken her helping him and the whole tower not getting turned into heron feed for her to be upgraded to his lieutenant, but they really had come a long way since then. There was a lot more honor and heart to the cranky old toad than she first thought, back when she wrote him off just as another blowhard with power. Now he genuinely considered her his equal both as a friend and comrade in arms. For Sasha, the feeling was mutual. A first for her.

When all was said and done, who else did she have left besides him and vice versa?

What the heck? Let’s tear this place up.

Untethering Joe, she whistled a tweet-tweet and gave the rope a gentle tug to encourage him to follow on their ‘indoor walkies’.

A cursory surveillance of the throne room told her there was a lot of work to be done. If this toad regime was to last a thousand years, the correct decor was an important first step. Thankfully for them, she knew a thing or two about fashion. For starters, there were way too many soft blues and purples. Rust red from top to bottom! She preferred keeping the stained glass windows, but they’d need entirely new designs. Hers truly would naturally feature in most of them, one showcasing her and Grime caving that narwhal worm’s head in with the Warhammer being an absolute must. The snakes coiling the stone pillars weren’t a bad touch, if just a bit too elegant for the whole ‘proud warrior race’ vibe they were going for, but she could still work with them. Now as for the throne, they were gonna have to replace it with something much more imposing. There was that super violent dragon show she and her parents used to watch that had the huge throne made out of swords. She was sure she had a picture somewhere on her phone to use as a reference.

“I’m sorry, what the heck is this?!”

Sasha could only denounce what they were gawking at as the single biggest affrontement to tasteful decorating known to man or amphibian. Yes, worse than inflatable furniture, carpeted bathrooms, beaded curtains, glass block bathroom windows, ‘live, laugh, love’ quotes on walls, rustic hearts, mason jars and nautical accessories all combined under the same inland roof.

Tapestries had their rightful place in a palace’s interior design, but the one sweeping across a section of wall depicting a gentle hearted Andrias sitting down by a lake, surrounded by flowers and lilypads was nothing short of vomit-inducing. Gathered at his feet and scooped up in his protective arms were his wide-eyed, childlike subjects. Even the fish and a lobster were surfacing to bask in their king’s magnanimity. Here the oversized salamander was truly the loving patriarch of everything the light touched. The mawkish display could only be topped off with a rainbow streaking across the sky.

Grime felt his stomach roile. If he ever needed an example to demonstrate the difference between kitschy and downright tacky, this was it.

“Y-y-y-yikes!” he gagged. “This thing’s gotta go!”

Sasha didn’t need a second invite. Besides, what else was Joe going to use to line his nest?

A joint effort tore the offensive piece from its place and it tumbled to the floor in a heap.

Dead silence fell over the room.

Hidden beneath the tapestry was... a mural. Including such a decoration in a throne room was hardly surprising, yet it was what it contained that shocked both the human and toad, so much so that they had to take a moment to recover.

“Woah,” they gasped at once, before starting to analyse what they saw.

The mural was a chaotic collection of nightmarish images painted on a night blue wall. Wild red flames spewing out hordes of beasts and the wreckage of buildings. Mountains of skulls and bones belonging to frogs, toads and newts alike. A flying... spaceship? A castle? Whatever it was meant to be, it firied a white beam up at what was unmistakably the Music Box. Pink, green and blue lightning bolts crackled out of the Box. Mesmerising orange gemstones or, more terrifyingly, eyes leaped off the wall and burned themselves into their minds. The frightening focal point of this one-way ticket to the school therapist’s office? Rising out of the middle of the inferno was the silhouette of a red-eyed, goliath-sized beast, its claws reaching up covetously towards the Box that hung right above its crowned head.

It may as well have been lifted straight from the tattered dream journal of a madfrog.

Any ideas of redecorating the throne room were long gone. Even the revolution they were spearheading suddenly seemed millions of miles away in the face of what they’d just stumbled upon.

Peering her eyes slightly, Sasha was the first to put a face to the shadowy leviathan, and when she did, she had to swallow her heart back down into her chest.

“Is that the king?” she asked, mystified. “With the music box?”

Sweat ran down the side of Grime’s nonplussed face. “If it is… it’s a really good thing we stopped him.”

Neither of them said it aloud, but both understood the situation at once. All this time they thought they’d been playing flipwart while the king played bog jump. Oh, how wrong they’d been. It was beyond anything that even the Toad Lords discussed. They knew that they had to reconvene with them as soon as the armies had reached the gate.

She took a couple steps closer to reexamine the mural more thoroughly, missed details emerging now that the initial shock began to wear off. Circuit board markings—the same inside her dad’s outdated computer when she foolishly dared Marcy if she could take it apart—worked their way around the images, serving as some type of frame. Odd choice for a world that didn’t even have steam engines yet. She also picked up the three small geometric figures standing atop the Box’s lid. An artist she was not, but they looked pretty human-like in design.

But humans did not exist in Amphibia. The three of them were the first of their kind to ever set foot in this dimension.

Weren’t they?

Alarm bells were ringing louder than ever before. This Andrias guy had been playing Anne and Marcy for his own ends this whole time, all to get his mitts on the Music Box! What did he plan to do with it? Right now, she still couldn’t say, but it was all bad. Outside of a kickin’ rock band, fire and skulls together were never a good thing!

Even Joe’s feathers were puffing up anxiously against her back. Not turning away from the mural, she raised her hand and patted his risen crest.

“I know, big guy. I don’t like it either.”

Grime’s voice rang urgently in her ears, “Lieutenant! Get over here, quick!!”

Sasha had spun on her heels and sprinted down the room to find Grime standing the wreckage of what used to be a display of armour. He’d evidently acted on a hunch while she’d been preoccupied. Judging by his thunderstruck expression, he’d just discovered something far worse.

“What is iooooh boy!”

This new second mural reminded Sasha a lot of Egyptian hieroglyphs. If there was any room for doubt about the technicolor stick guys, there was none here. Standing tall against an indigo backdrop in a neat row were the outlines of human beings; long gangly appendages, stumpy noses and everything. Some were wearing hooded capes, others were decked out in suits of armour. The couple in the middle looked particularly regal. No prizes for guessing the little wooden box they were holding in their hands, cementing their authority as if it were the globus cruciger.

Faded inscriptions were engraved along the bottom. They were written in a more archaic amphibian dialect, but being a toad of higher education, Grime was able to give translating them a decent shot.

These great beings of magic and might

Travelled from beyond to serve the night

Bow before these children of man

Or know the wrath of the—

“... Wu Clan?” He cocked his one good eye up at her. “Iiiii’m not getting it.”

There it was. Floodlights flashed in Sasha’s head. All colour drained from her face. A million and one thoughts were now firing across her brain at once, threatening to send her into cerebral shutdown.

It was at that moment she knew she’d been played. They all had. She didn’t know whether to be absolutely furious, betrayed or impressed.

Why that conniving, devious little—

That's when they heard the BOOM outside the window.

[shadow-night]

Bounty Hunter in the Shadows Chapter 1

More chapters here on Ao3.

Story Tags: Erasermic, Friends to Lovers, young Aizawa Shouta, young Yamada Hizashi, Slow Burn, Slice of Life, Hurt/ Comfort, Angst and Feels, Comedy, Fluff, mental breakdown, PTSD, flashbacks, self-medication, drug use, homelessness, homeless Aizawa Shouta, unhealthy coping mechanisms, survivor guilt, cats, growing gp, character study, character development, recovery

Chapter 1: Aizawa and Yamada

Finally graduation day arrived. Aizawa held his UA high school diploma in his hands. This was a joyous occasion – or at least it should be. He should feel proud, which he did to an extent. Aizawa could not help but find the entire event nostalgic before it was even over.

He was a little proud he managed to pull through and finished school, graduating from the most famous hero school in Japan no less, but he also felt a deeply routed guilt. Yamada was joking and laughing with friends. Everyone was loud and happy, yet someone was missing.

Yamada tore Aizawa from his thoughts as he excitedly called out to him. Aizawa put on a teasing smile, silencing him with a quirk and vanished. It was meant as a joke but it also was great to escape his classmates.

Aizawa rolled his eyes at the endless amounts of texts Yamada sent him. He could practically hear the disappointed yelling while reading about how he had missed all the group photos. He didn't even bother to listen to the voice messages or pick his phone up when it rang. Aizawa went home and relaxed on his bed, knowing his foster parents wouldn't get home until later.  He wondered what would happen if he left right this moment without another word to anyone. His suitcase was already packed.

A new message lit up his phone's home screen. Aizawa reached for the device, only now bothering to look at the chat.

Yamada:

We're all going out to eat tonight. Will you come?

Aizawa:

No. I promised them dinner.

It was true. He had promised his foster parents a ‘goodbye dinner’ before moving out. It was the reason why he didn't leave right this afternoon. They were decent people and were kind enough to give him space and not pressure him into spending more time together, so when they asked if he would have dinner with them tonight he couldn't say no.

Yamada:

But you're leaving tomorrow morning, right?! When will we see each other again??

That was a good point. It still hadn't quite sunken in that they would not be back at school again soon. They wouldn't just leave school for a weekend or a holiday, but forever. Aizawa almost regretted not staying longer at school now, though he also knew that it wasn't his thing. Seeing everyone excited for the future and sad they would part would have been a little too much. He was happier alone in his bedroom.

Yamada:

Can I come over?

 Aizawa:

What about dinner?

 Yamada:

We meet later. I'll come over.

Well. Now that that was decided all there was left to do was to wait for the energetic blonde. Wherever Yamada had been, he couldn't have been too far from his home. He was out of breath when, ten minutes later, he rang the doorbell non stop until the door was opened for him.

"Come on in." Aizawa said and they headed over to the brunet's room, where they sat down on the bed. At least Aizawa sat down. Yamada flopped onto the mattress still trying to catch his breath.

"You could have walked here." Aizawa noted.

"Yeah, but I didn't want to miss any more time! Who knows when we'll see each other again!" Yamada said.

"You're the one who wanted to work in America." Aizawa reminded him.

"I knoooow." Yamada whined, but then a grin returned to his face. "But I'm sure it's gonna be awesome!" he said determinedly.

"Just don't start talking to me in English all the time." Aizawa said and realized that he really would miss Yamada.

During their first year at U.A. he did not get particularly close with anyone but Shirakumo and  Yamada. In their second year Aizawa had allowed himself to befriend Kayama a little. The cat Aizawa and Shirakumo found and gave to her had helped a lot in terms of befriending the girl who was a grade ahead of them.

After Shirakumo's death Aizawa made sure it stayed that way and distanced himself from others. He couldn't bear the thought of getting close to someone again only to loose them later. He looked at Yamada who lay on his back next to him on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Aizawa didn't want to think about how he would react if anything happened to the blonde.

"What train will you take tomorrow morning?" Yamada suddenly asked.

"Why? Don't tell me you want to meet me at the station." Aizawas tone was flat and seemingly uninterested.

"Ehhhh? Why not?!"

"You'll be hung-over." Aizawa stated.

"What? You really think us aspiring pro heroes will succumb to underage drinking?!" Yamada called out in mock surprise as if they hadn't- together in fact- gotten drunk before. Then he turned more serious. "I'd still come if you told me what time the train left." Yamada claimed.

"At 8:00 in the morning? Are you sure?" Aizawa said, a small smirk ghosting on his lips.

"Damn. That's early. Why are you torturing yourself like that?" Yamada asked, knowing how much Aizawa hated getting up early himself. Though, to be fair Aizawa seemed unhappy about getting up at any time. Insomnia was a real pain in the ass.

"I'll still come." Yamada said.

Aizawa just gave a low hum.

"You don't believe me! You'll see. I'll be there!" Yamada bumped his fist into Aizawa's shoulder.

"I didn't say anything." Aizawa said, raising his hands, showing his palms.

"Anyways." Yamada huffed. "You'll have to send me pictures of your apartment when you get there, alright."

"It's shitty. Nothing worth showing off." Aizawa protested.

"I don't care. I just want to see pictures."

"I'll send you pictures of the cockroaches I'll room with." Aizawa teased.

"Please don't!" Yamada looked horrified.

"You get those or nothing." Aizawa shrugged. This was nice. It was easy banter, just the two of them, nothing too overwhelming.

They fell into a comfortable silence, Yamada's eyes landing on Aizawa's packed suitcase.

Yamada had been surprised when Aizawa told him he would leave Musutafu the day after their graduation. He himself would travel to the US soon after the school year ended, but his flight went a week after graduation, giving him enough time to say goodbye to classmates and family. Well, Aizawa could count the friends he had on two fingers and he also did not have much family. Yamada did not know Aizawa’s host family particularly well but the few times he met them they seemed nice. Yamada could not help but wonder if Aizawa left so soon because he felt uncomfortable around them or if it had to do with Aizawa's general attitude and mood ever since their work study ended in their second year.

Yamada had a great support system at home but it was difficult mourning their dead friend himself and helping Aizawa at the same time. Shirakumo's death hit them both hard, though Aizawa definitely had a less healthy way of coping and far less support or people who didn't offer the support he needed which ended in him changing host families a month after their work study. It had been painful to watch Aizawa train in the Gym to the point he was so exhausted he fell asleep in their classes. Yamada had done his best to be there and watch Aizawa as often as he could, sometimes even training with him. It made them grow closer over time.

"You've got to take care of yourself." Yamada broke the silence.

Aizawa frowned, then looked away from the blonde. "You too."

"Hey, you missed out on all the pictures we took, let's take some now!" Yamada changed the subject. They wouldn't see each other in quite a while so they shouldn't just mop around. Aizawa was not impressed by the idea, but when Yamada sat up on the bed and sat right next to him he tilted his head towards the blonde as he held up his phone. Within minutes Yamada's camera roll filled up with new pictures of them both.

"You should leave soon, if you don't want to be late." Aizawa said eventually as he took notice of the time.

"I guess." Yamada said and sat up on the bed. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, alright?" He reminded Aizawa.

"Don't trouble yourself. It will be fine if you don't." He said.

The door fell shut and Aizawa stood alone in the quiet house. Dinner with his foster parents also was a quiet affair. He appreciated that. They did not try to get him to talk more than usual or try to talk him out of things last minute. They asked if he finished packing and if he still needed something, as if anything was worth the trouble of going out this late at night. There were plenty of stores with the same products where he moved. He let them know he had everything he needed and stayed seated at the table after dinner. They drank tea and let it sink in that things would be different from now on.

The night seemed to drag on forever and Aizawa barely slept. He got up early, even earlier than he had to, so he could make breakfast for everyone. He made his host parents favorite tea, put six slices of bread in the toaster oven and got out a pot to make miso soup. He didn't have to cook but even he could make something as simple as miso soup with tofu and seaweed. He set out the jam for the bread and got out some plates when his host parents came out.

Aizawa checked his phone when he got his suitcase after breakfast. No new messages showed up. The blonde sent him a few photos during the night, so Aizawa knew his classmates drank alcohol and stayed up until the early morning hours. He tried to ignore the slight pang in his chest. It was good Yamada had fun last night. He should rest now. They could talk over the phone later, he told himself pocketing his phone. He looked around the room one final time. It was clean and he already pulled the sheets off and put them into the washing machine.

"Remember you can call us anytime." His host mother told him as they stood in the entrance. Aizawa gave a slight nod to signal he heard her as he tied his shoes.

"Don't hesitate to ask for help." Her husband added.

"Thank you. For everything." Aizawa said, looking them in the eyes. He even gave both a hug before he stepped outside and pulled his suitcase to the station.

When Aizawa arrived at the nearest tram station, he realized he gave Yamada the time his other train would leave from the bigger train station. So even if the blonde intended to come he might have thought of the wrong place. He checked his phone but no new notifications showed up. Aizawa pocketed his phone as the tram came to a stop. The small tram was packed with people going to work and Aizawa shuffled to the door, pulling his suitcase as close as possible. He gave an apologetic nod to an older lady close to him. Aizawa focused his eyes outside the window looking at the familiar houses and stores passing by.

Finally the tram reached the central station. He arrived with some time to spare and checked his phone while he stood waiting at the platform. He felt a little forgotten but tried his best to push the feeling aside. He told Yamada not to worry about coming, so it wasn't fair to be mad at him for not showing up.

He could hear his train enter the station and then, even louder than the arriving train his name. "Aizawaaaaaaa!" He knew that voice.

Aizawa turned around to the direction the call had come from and saw Yamada running into the station. Several people held their ears and stared at the blond in irritation. He would have to get to this platform, but the train just arrived so there was enough time. Aizawa couldn't help but smile.

When Yamada finally came running down the stairs he looked like he would throw up any second. "The things I do for you." he huffed out of breath when he came to a stop in front of Aizawa.

"I told you, you didn't have to come." Aizawa said, but his smile gave him away.

"Please just tell me you are happy to see me so that it was worth coming." Yamada begged. He wore a t-shirt with an unidentifiable stain on it and one of his shoelaces was open. He was very pale and his unstyled hair hung in his face.

"Yeah. I'm happy." Aizawa gave in. "Thank's for coming." He said just as Yamada stepped away from him and threw up over the other side of the platform where no train was.

"Are you alright?" Aizawa asked, holding the other's hair back. Other people were stared more or less subtly.

"Ugh..." Yamada groaned. Aizawa glanced at the clock, "Wait here. I'll be right back." He said and jogged to a vending machine to get some water.

"Thank's." Yamada said after he washed his mouth out and took a sip. "Sorry about that." He said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Do you need money for a taxi back?" Aizawa asked.

"No, no! It's fine. Keep your money! I still have some." Yamada said. He pulled his walled out in demonstration. He knew Aizawa did not have much saved up and he doubted he suddenly accepted more from his host family.

"If you're sure." Aizawa said.

"Actually, let me pay you back for this." Yamada held up the bottle Aizawa just got him.

"It's just water." Aizawa shook his head.

"Alright. Thanks." Yamada put his wallet away again. They stood in silence for a moment after that.

"Well...-" Yamada tried to break the silence.

"I have to get on the train soon." Aizawa said at the same time.

"Ah...right. Well...I'll hear from you soon right? Send pictures!"

"Of roaches. Sure." Aizawa couldn't help but tease with a smirk.

"I got up and came all the way here and this is how you thank me?!" Yamada said so loud he winced himself. He hadn't even spoken that loud but with his head already pounding every decibel felt like too much.

"We'll see." Aizawa said and reached for his suitcase. Should he give Yamada a hug? His arms twitched, though he kept them at his side. "Get some rest." he said, taking a step back.

"You too!" Yamada nodded, wincing once more at his own volume.

"Thank's for coming." Aizawa said, standing in the train's doorway. "Bye."

"Bye." Yamada said a little quieter now, but with a smile on his face while he waved. The blonde was always so positive and energetic. It was nice. Aizawa waved as the door closed, then moved to look for his seat.

It was a window seat and he waved once more once he sat down. Yamada waved with two arms as the train began to move.

This was it.

Aizawa's chest felt tight as the train drove out of Musutafu. So many memories were connected to the city. Good, as well as bad. He gulped down the lump that formed in his throat and pressed his shirt's sleeve against his eyes. A new chapter of his life started with his move to Naruhata. There was no turning back now.

More chapters of Bounty Hunter in the Shadows on Ao3 :)

[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Banner

https://wiypt-writes.tumblr.com/post/644486634874847232/stark-spangled-banner

Ch58: You Have To Go Through The Worst, To Get To The Best.

Intro: In the aftermath of the battle, Katie grieves for Tony as the world comes to terms with the fact that people they lost five years ago have reappeared.

Warnings: “Language!” 

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

A/N: This is it! We head into the last part and as such, a brand new banner again from @angrybirdcr​. Only a few chapters left.

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Chapter 57

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

  Sorry for your loss.

Four words that Katie was already sick of hearing. Sorry. What did people have to be sorry for? It wasn’t like it was their fault. Still, she acknowledged the sympathy that came her way, completely automatically, almost emotionlessly. She barely registered the fact she had spoken to Fury and Hill, two people who had been dead five years ago, she didn’t have the energy to wish she could knock Ross’ head off his shoulders and had no idea how long she had walked what was left of the compound, maybe an hour or so? Who cared anyway? She simply did what people asked her to do to help out, whilst Steve hurried around organising everyone and barking orders. 

Nevertheless, when the crowds of Emergency Services, Armed Forces and Support Staff that had flooded the Compound left, she suddenly felt alone and found herself in their compound apartment, which had miraculously survived bar from a smashed window in the living area. She glanced around before she headed to the bedroom and slumped heavily on the large bed, staring at the wall.

Just staring.

It was quiet, but her mind was anything but. Her brain was screaming all sorts of stuff at her, a jumble of words and sounds and visions, but she couldn’t really understand any of it.

She simply felt broken.

“Katie?”

A voice broke through her reverie and she looked up to see Steve in the doorway.

“Hey.” She gave him a soft smile. “Pepper just spoke to Happy, the kids are fine. All three are fast asleep. He’s going to wake them in a few hours and bring them back.” “No.” Katie shook her head. “I want him to bring them now.” “Honey its almost two am.” He said, and Katie frowned. Okay, so she’d been walking around a little longer than she thought, then. “Let them sleep. We can go, get cleaned up and…” “Plan how we tell them their Uncle is dead.” She swallowed, gazing back down at her hands.

Steve took a shaky breath. He felt beyond guilty. Guilty that he got to go home to his kids because of the fact that Tony didn’t. Steeling himself, he made his way to the bed, sat down next to his wife and wrapped his arm around her as she lay her head on his shoulder.

“What’s everyone doing?” She asked softly.

“Rhodey is in with Ross and President Ellis…” “Ellis is here?” She looked at him, frowning.

Steve nodded. “Rhodey’s giving him a brief on what’s happened. They’re gonna need to put an announcement out so…”

“Suppose it was probably a shock everyone re-appearing again.” She reasoned, quietly.  “What about everyone else?”

“Well Lang, Parker and Bruce already left.” Steve explained as his hand gently rubbed up and down her arm. “And there’s a chopper on the way to take Pepper home and a couple more following to take the rest of us to the Tower. The roads are completely jammed, apparently there’s impromptu parties taking place all over. Might be a while before we can get back through to Brooklyn.” The thought of partying seemed alien to Katie, but as she thought about it, it wasn’t surprising. People would be greeting lost loved ones, celebrating the fact the world has returned to normal.

For them anyway.

“Clint will want to go home.” Katie nodded. “He’ll be desperate to see Laura and the kids.” “We’ve got a jet on the way for him so he can go as soon as possible.” Steve soothed, dropping a kiss to her head.

If ever Katie was grateful for having a husband with Military organisational skills it was now. He’d literally thought of everything. She closed her eyes and nuzzled into him even more, seeking out comfort like a child, before Steve reached around and pulled her onto his lap, holding her close to him, as they sat in silence.

****

“I guess this is strange for you too, huh?” Steve said as they made their way into the Tower. “Yeah you could say that.” Sam shrugged, “One minute everyone was in Wakanda and then the next minute it was just us, and the jungle had changed.” He paused, scratching his head. “Then that Strange dude turns up and tells us it’s been five years and we needed to go fight one last time.”

“Has it really been that long?” Bucky asked and Steve nodded. “So now you’re older than me?” He grinned. Steve chuckled as Katie gave a small smile. “Shut up.”

They made their way into the elevator and FRIDAY greeted them, somewhat forlornly, as Katie asked for their floor. The elevator fell silent as it scooted upwards, pinging open. Katie stepped out first, followed by Wanda then the men.

“So, where do you want-“Bucky began but he stopped dead causing Sam to bump into him.

“What the hell, Frosty?” he spluttered, frowning as he followed Bucky’s eye line, his own eyes growing wide as he saw what Bucky was staring at. Wanda was also gazing, her mouth open, and Steve immediately knew what they were looking at- the large framed photo on the wall in the living room.

Even though their home was in Brooklyn this was still very much their apartment. Katie sometimes stayed if she had a big meeting, or on occasions they would crash here when they grabbed a rare night out in Manhattan.  And it was for that reason that the photos in the apartment had been updated over the past five years as their lives had moved on. The wall their friends were gazing at contained two prints. The first was one taken by Katie at the hospital when Jamie was hours old, the same photo also adorned the wall in the lounge at home and it showed Steve asleep in the chair by her hospital bed, hair unkempt, shirt crumbled, stubble on his chin as his baby son was clutched to his chest as they both slept. He remembered the moment like it was yesterday, one snapshot moment out of God knows how many, all of which the three people stood in front of him had missed.  

The second was from last year, and showed Emmy with Alex as they sat on the sofa at home, both grinning at the camera.

“You…”  Sam gasped as Wanda and Bucky turned to them, mouth hanging open.

Steve nodded, “Yeh, err, did no one tell you?” He asked, rubbing his neck.

“No.” Bucky breathed.

“But then it never really cropped up in conversation, you know, on account of us being in the middle of a battle and all.” Sam said, a little sarcastically and Wanda thumped his arm before she turned to Katie.

“How old?” She asked softly.

“Emily is sixteen next week.” Katie said, looking at the photos smiling softly. “We adopted her after the snap, it’s a long story.”

She then looked at Steve who smiled, knowing she was allowing him the task of revealing their boy’s name to two of the men he was named after.

“And Jamie’s three.”  He turned to look at Bucky and Sam.

“Jamie?” Bucky asked thickly.

“Or to give him his full name James Anthony Samuel.”

Bucky and Sam exchanged a look, the pair of them floundering for words.

“Cap,” Sam swallowed, his eyes misting over. “Wow, I’m so happy for you guys.” “I can’t wait to meet them.” Wanda beamed.

“You might regret saying that.” Steve chuckled. “Emmy’s a sass bag and Jamie can be a handful. He’s only three but he’s stubborn, opinionated- don’t even say it.” He pointed at Bucky who had opened his mouth to comment, a grin spreading across his handsome face.

“They’re awesome.”  Katie spoke softly as her eyes moved round the apartment and fell on a photo of her and Tony taken at her wedding. Suddenly she couldn’t be there anymore. Excusing herself she headed into their bedroom where she flopped onto the bed, now feeling utterly overwhelmed, still struggling to make head or tail of her emotions. She should have been celebrating like everyone else in the streets was doing. Their friends and trillions of other people were saved, but she couldn’t because again, just like the other week when they had grieved for Natasha, there was one person who wasn’t coming back.

Her brother.

Taking a deep breath, she shed her boots before she stood up and peeled off her cat suit before she made her way straight into the en-suite.

She turned the shower on as hot as she could stand, an attempt to sooth the pain she now felt in every inch of her body. But whilst some of it was bruising from the multiple blows she had taken, some of it was coming from inside. The pain of losing her brother was physical, and hard. Closing her eyes she lay her head against the tiles, allowing the water to beat down on her, lost in her memories. “I got full marks on my English essay Tone!”  Her 10 year old self grinned up at him as he leaned against the car, looking as effortlessly cool as ever.

“Get you, you little brainbox!” He ruffled her hair. “That’s awesome, so awesome in fact I think we need to stop for pizza and a shit load of ice cream on the way home. Sound good?” “You’re the best!” She beamed as he took her pink back-pack off her and dropped it into the trunk as she climbed into the passenger seat of his BWM.

 “Oh no, you are not going out wearing that!” Tony stod up as she walked into the living room of the house. Sixteen year old Katie rolled her eyes.

“Tone its boiling hot outside, what you want me to wear? A pair of jeans and a fucking coat?” “Anything but that!” He scoffed, looking at the rather short denim skirt. “Young Lady, I can see what you had for breakfast!”

“Oh bite me, Tony.” She shot back, hearing the guffaw that Rhodey gave out from the sofa before she shot out of the front door to greet her boyfriend who had just pulled up the drive.

She was eighteen…, cruising along the cliff in Malibu, laughing, her hands on the steering wheel of her convertible bug, Tony in the passenger seat sipping an iced tea as the pair of them sang as loudly as they could to Drops of Jupiter- their song.

“Mr Rock and Roll over there, listen to you!” She laughed as the song finished and it changed to AC/DC ‘Thunder’.

“If you ever tell anyone about my love of Train I will kill you.” Tony looked at her over his sunglasses and she snorted, grinning.

“I’m so telling Pepper.”

“Err you know I can still pull my funding.” He glared “You can kiss goodbye to going to Oxford…”

And speaking of Oxford, at twenty-one, she was there, accepting her first class honours in English Literature and Mythology. As she smiled for the camera, she could see Tony stood up in the middle of the hall, whistling before he punched the air. “That’s my girl!” He yelled “Katie Maria Stark. That’s my girl! No I won’t sit down…what did you just say?” And he began arguing with the person behind him.

At twenty-six she was crying, tears of happiness as the ramp on the aircraft carrier opened to reveal her brother. His hair was longer, he looked thinner but he was alive. He was barely at the bottom before she flung herself at him, not caring that his arm was a sling.

“Hey Kiddo.” He said softly as she buried her face into his neck.

“You fucking asshole!” She sobbed, “Next time, you ride with Rhodey, you got that?”

“Trust me, there will be no next time.” He chuckled as she pulled back. “Afghanistan is a shit hole.”

A year later she was crying again, sobbing even, as Tony sat with his arms around her, gently shushing her as she sat up in her bed. “How could he do that to me Tony?” She sniffed, her tears dampening her brother’s t-shirt as he rubbed her back, laying his head against hers. “I thought he loved me…but…” “He isn’t worth your tears, Kiddo.” He sighed “Grant Ward doesn’t deserve them, or you. No one ever will, you got that? No one will ever be good enough for you.”

 And then she was walking up the aisle towards her future husband, her arm linked tightly around Tony’s. He pressed a kiss to her head.

“Remember, just because I’m giving you away doesn’t mean I won’t kick his ass if he ever hurts you.” Tony mumbled and she snorted, turning to look at him. “I love you to the stars and back, Katie, remember that…”

Like she could ever forget. Tony hadn’t been to everyone’s taste, hell, at times he hadn’t be hers, and they’d been estranged for two years. But Katie had never, not once, stopped loving the man who had brought her up as his own. Her brother and father all rolled into one.

She finished washing her hair and stepped out of the shower, the tears still not arriving. She began to wonder if there was something wrong with her. She’d cried more when Natasha died. She pulled on a towel robe that was hanging behind the door and began to dry her hair, squeezing the water out of the long strands.

“I remember when you used to do that for me.” She grinned, watching Tony as he sat with Morgan between his legs on the lounger round the pool at her Brooklyn home, rubbing the little girl’s wet hair ferociously with a pink beach towel, making the three year old cackle with laughter. I remember…but Morgan won’t.

And then the cry ripped from her chest, like someone had reached down her throat and pulled it from the very depths of her heart.

***** Steve made sure the guys were settled in a spare apartment a few floors down, the three of them opting to share, none of them particularly wanting to be alone.  Making his way back into theirs, he headed straight to the bedroom and heard Katie turn off the water to the shower. With a groan he stripped off the top half of his uniform, dropping the grubby item to the bed. His eyes were drawn to the silver star in the middle, and he ran his fingers over it, the material torn in places having seen better days, much like him.

With a deep breath he reached to pull off his compression shirt, but before he got chance, he heard a noise from the bathroom, a primal, raw, broken scream that chilled his every bone. Quick as flash he crossed the room and pushed open the door to the en-suite and found his wife slumped on her knees on the floor, screaming and crying uncontrollably.

“He’s gone! He’s gone, he’s gone!” Steve had known this was coming and it broke his heart that he could do nothing to help, nothing to take away the utter desperation and pain and anger his wife was feeling. Without hesitation he dropped to his knees and she turned to him, fisting her hands around his top as he pulled her close, one arm round her back, the other in her hair.

“Let it out,” his voice was croaky as he rocked her, gently stroking her hair as his cheek pressed against the top of her head, “I got you, sweetheart, I got you.” How long they stayed there for, with Katie screaming and crying over the soft sounds of his soothing, Steve had no idea, but eventually her sobs became sniffles as she regained some form of composure.

“Steve,” she managed to stutter as she pulled back to look at him, “Tony’s gone, he’s gone, why? Why did he have to do that? There had to be some other way!” “Oh, Doll.”  Steve’s voice cracked, his own heart ached with grief and sympathy and love as he dropped a kiss to her forehead, pulling her onto his lap as he sat back on the floor, making no attempts to move her. He buried his face into her hair, his own sobs catching in his throat.

“All my life Tony has been there.” She whispered gently as kissed her head. “Even when we were apart those years I knew that if I needed him, he would be there…but now…he’s gone and I don’t know what to do.”

“You do what you always do.” Steve whispered softly as he pulled back, cupping her face in his hands, wiping her tears with his thumbs. “You get up, you dust yourself off and you act like the amazing, strong, beautiful woman you are. My wife, my baby momma.”

“I don’t know if I can. Katie spluttered.

“Yes, you can. You’re the strongest person I know.” He implored her, sniffing a little.

“I don’t feel strong.”

“You won’t.” He shook his head. “Not yet. But I’m here. Okay? And we’ll do it together.”

Katie looked at him for a moment before she moved once more to bury her face into his t-shirt again, simply breathed him in. His warmth and familiar smell, even if he wasn’t as fresh as he could be after the exertion of battle, was a comfort, a balm to her broken soul.

Tony was gone, she knew that, but she wasn’t on her own. She’d never be on her own as long as she had Steve.

****

“Don’t be sad Momma.” Jamie whispered, as Katie’s tears tickled down her cheeks, her son on her lap. TO her right, Emmy sat on her father’s, despite her age meaning she was normally way past that stage, as she cried into his chest, his arms gently cradling her. “Uncle Nee isn’t on his own.” “What do you mean, baby?” Katie asked, sniffing as he played with a strand of her hair.

He looked at her with his baby blue eyes and shrugged, as if the answer was obvious. “Because he’s with Auntie Nat-Nat.”

“Yeah,” Katie stuttered, a soft sob escaping her. “You’re right. But I’m still sad, but you don’t need to be worried about that okay?” Jamie nodded, before he blinked and frowned. “I can kiss it better, like you kiss my ouches better.”  

Katie smiled as he leaned up, connecting his lips to hers with a loud smacking noise.

“That’s it, you just made it all okay.” She smiled, wiping her eyes.

“When can we go home?” Emmy asked, sitting up slightly, her voice croaky.

“Soon, I promise.” Steve looked at her. “I think we’ll stay here for tonight, your mom and I both need a rest.”

Emmy nodded “I expect kicking alien butt for hours takes it out of you.” Steve snorted. “A little.” “You did it though. Everyone came back.” “Yeah, and on that note,” Katie picked up, “we have some people we’d like you to meet. That’s if you’re feeling up to it.” “Is it them? Bucky, Sam and Wanda?” Emmy asked, her wet brown eyes opening wide.

“Yeah.” Steve smiled. “And, if it’s ok with you, we thought we could all have breakfast together.”

“Pancakes?” Jamie asked hopefully and Katie nodded, dropping a kiss to his head.

“Pancakes” She affirmed.

“Now?”

“Do you ever think about anything but this?” Katie chuckled, prodding his tummy. He pondered for a second.

“Legos.” he said, nodding. “I think about my legos sometime.”

Emmy snorted and Steve let out a little laugh “Pancakes and legos eh, son?” he reached out and ruffled Jamie’s hair. “What more could a three year old want?”

****

Manhattan was in utter chaos and going out in public was the last thing Steve or Katie wanted for fear of being mobbed. However, the kitchens in the tower were well stocked and after sending Emmy to forage what she could, it was easy for Katie to whip up a batch of batter and throw some bacon into a pan.

She set Emmy to work chopping some fruit, and never one to miss out, she stood Jamie on a chair in front of her and gently guided his hand as he held the whisk to stir the batter.  Katie was literally grabbing the ladle to drop the first load into the pan, when the door to the apartment opened and Steve’s voice carried in to the kitchen.

“Hey guys?” Jamie squealed in excitement and Katie moved so he could get down. He shot out of the kitchen, barrelling into the lounge where he skidded to a halt by his dad and gazed up at the three strange adults in front of him.

The first thing that hit Bucky was just how like Steve the little boy was. Stocky, bright blue eyes and a shock of dark blonde hair.

“He looks like you.” He smiled, nodding to Steve as Katie stepped into the room with Emmy and smiled.

“Jamie, Emmy, this is Bucky, Sam and Wanda.” Steve introduced them all, as Emmy raised her hand shyly in greeting.

Meanwhile, Jamie simply gazed up at Bucky, his attention focussed directly on his metal arm and Bucky suddenly began to worry that it would scare him. He was attempting to move it out of view by standing side on, until Jamie stepped forward with all his usual boldness and pointed.

“Is that metal?” “Jamie.” Steve spoke, his tone soft. He couldn’t scald his son for being curious, but at the same time he had seen the apprehension in Bucky’s eyes. Apprehension that had now turned to amusement.

“Yeah it is.” Bucky chuckled, crouching down so he was eye level with his namesake. He held his left hand up, wiggling the fingers. “Wanna touch it?” Jamie reached out and placed his palm against Bucky’s prosthetic and grinned, “Cool,” before he looked up at Steve. “Can I have one?”

“Absolutely not.” Steve shook his head with a grin.

“You think that’s cool you should see my wings.” Sam crouched down next to Bucky, smiling at Jamie.

“You have wings?” The little boy’s eyes grew wide “I want…”

“No!”

“Fine I’ll just ask Santa.” Jamie shruggged and Sam let out a loud laugh.

“I like this kid!” he grinned, standing up.

“You can have him.” Steve winked, as Bucky stood up straight and grinned. “Saves us sending him to The Children’s Prison.” “Morgan told me there’s no such place.” Jamie looked at his Dad and Steve let out a sigh. The threat of the Child Prison was their biggest bargaining chip when he was being naughty. Especially as the naughty step wasn’t an option, because the first (and last) time they tried that they caught him climbing up the staircase and sliding down the bannister.

“I told you titch, it does.” Emmy gave a dramatic roll of her eyes. “I lived there before mom and dad adopted me. And all they give you to eat all day is slugs and slime…” Steve shared a look with Bucky and let out a loud laugh.

“Don’t.” Bucky shook his head with a grin.

“You gave Becca nightmares for days with that story!” Steve laughed as he recalled Bucky telling his sister about a hole in the ground where bad kids went. “She wouldn’t go near a manhole for months!”

“I can still feel the blow round the ears my Pa gave me.” Bucky automatically reached up to rub at the back of his head. The well natured chatter continued as they made their way into the kitchen. Steve went to brew the coffee as Sam, Wanda and Bucky took seats round the table with the kids. Occasionally he caught the odd snippet of their chat as Jamie told Bucky about his toys at home, informed Sam all about his friend at day-care, whilst Emmy was busy talking to Wanda about school and what she wanted to do in the future. But all the time Steve had one eye on his wife as she stood, silently, cooking enough pancakes to feed a small army.

Which, to be fair, was probably what they would need with two super soldiers and a hungry three year old to feed.

Moving over towards her, he slipped his arms around her waist and dropped a kiss to her cheek.

“You ok?” He asked, before he sighed “Sorry, stupid question.”

She chuckled and shook her head. “No it’s not stupid, I know what you meant. And honestly, no. I’m not. Not really. But I will be, in time. I hope.”

Steve dropped another kiss to her cheek and winced as a loud “GET A ROOM!” sounded across the kitchen and he turned to glare at his son. Bucky and Sam exchanged a gleeful look as Steve raised his hand and pointed at Emmy accusingly. “That was not me!” She scoffed, indignantly “It was Bucky that told him to say it.” “If this is the impression you have on my kids after all of fifteen minutes, James Buchanan Barnes, then I’m going to have to seriously consider letting you near them again.” Katie shook her head as she dropped the plate of pancakes into the middle of the table.

“Why did you just call him James?” Jamie asked, frowning

“Because my name is James too.” Bucky answered for Katie.

“No, it’s Bucky.”

“He only gets called James when he’s been bad, bit like you, pal.” Steve chuckled, placing Jamie’s plate of food in front of him. “Now eat that, and then you can show Buck your legos.”

“My legos are here?” Jamie said, grinning.

“Yeah they’re in your bag, we brought them from the compound.” Steve answered, dropping a kiss to his son’s head.

“What the hell is a Lego?” Bucky asked, his face contorted in confusion. The room feel silent as all eyes turned to the man who glanced around, suddenly feeling very self-conscious.  “What?” ****

Rhodey called later that morning to give them a heads up that the President would be addressing the nation later that afternoon, and to also inform Katie that they were talking about honouring both Tony and Natasha posthumously. Katie had merely snorted, not entirely sure what Tony would have said about any of that, until Rhodey made her laugh about the last time he had received an honour, getting stabbed with the pin by the Senator awarding it to him,  Senator Stern.

Who had turned out to be HYDRA.

True to his word, just as he had done five years ago, President Ellis’ address rang out across the nation at precisely three that afternoon, on every TV and Radio channel there was.

“I know there is much speculation surrounding the events of the last 24 hours, and it is for that reason I find myself addressing you all once more, with regards to the Decimation. Only this time I am happy to greet you all with much better news. Thanks to the brave actions of the Avengers and countless others who fought in a ferocious battle Upstate, the Vanished have been returned to us in the same state in which they left.

But it isn’t without cost.

Unfortunately, I have the very sad job of confirming to you all that the rumours are true. Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff both lost their lives in the mission to bring everyone back. My sincere condolences and thoughts are with the rest of the Avengers, in particular the Rogers and Stark families, and I’m sure I speak for the entire world when I say we will be forever indebted to the two fallen heroes for their brave sacrifices which ensured that friends and families across the globe could be reunited.”

Katie glanced down at her hands as she took a deep breath, the tears falling into her lap as Steve’s arm curled round her shoulder, sniffing a little as his own eyes were once again misted over.

“I know you will all have many questions, some of you will be at a loss as to what to do, and unfortunately I don’t have all the answers, so it is for that reason, if I may, I’d like to address those who have been returned to us.

Over the past five years the world has become a very different place to the one you knew. People lost entire families, friends, husbands, wives, boyfriends, girlfriends. We had to rebuild, make sense of living without you. So I ask you , please be patient with us whilst we try once more to make sense of events, only this time they are a lot happier as you have all been returned to us. Don’t take it too personally if we seem a little, well, astounded.”

Ellis paused, wiping his eyes as he smiled, licking his lips.

“Thank you all, God Bless America, and God Bless the Avengers.”

****

That night fireworks exploded across the skies all over the country. The current occupants of the tower sat on the roof watching the symphony of colours and explosions as it light up the Manhattan sky-line, Jamie opting to sit on Bucky’s knee instead of his father’s, because of course Bucky was now his favourite person on the planet.

But Steve didn’t mind, well, not too much anyway.

The next few days passed them by in a bit of a blur. They moved back to the house in Brooklyn. Sam and Bucky came with them. However, surprisingly to Steve (but not to Katie) Wanda opted to head to Clint’s after the archer called and offered her a room. Steve’s time was divided between speaking to the UN, various people in the senate and government alongside Rhodey as they started to make plans to help those people who had returned because reversing the snap had raised a whole cacophony of different problems, just as Tony had predicted it would.

Some of the vanished had come back to find their wives or husbands had re-married. Others found themselves with no-one left as they’d passed away. Some found themselves homeless as new occupants had moved into their apartments which had been left vacant. Two of those people were Peter Parker and his Aunt May, who were now residing in the Tower until Katie could find them somewhere permanent.

And then there were the kids who had been adopted, suddenly finding themselves with two sets of parents.

Katie, on the other hand, had no time or energy for anything other than planning Tony’s funeral with Pepper, and a service of sorts for Natasha with Clint. Natasha’s was to take place first, a small ceremony at Clint’s farm where they would be planting a red maple tree in her honour. Tony’s, however, was slightly more tricky.

Her brother had, at one point, led a very public lifestyle and naturally (even if unfairly) he was attracting the most public interest. They’d been approached by President Ellis, who had asked if they would be open to a full, state public funeral. Katie had been horrified at first, until Pepper had snorted and reminded her that the Old Tony would have loved the attention and fuss.

But New Tony wouldn’t.

Which was why, in the end, they compromised and chose to celebrate the two sides to Tony’s huge personality.

For the Genius, Billionaire, Play-Boy, Philanthropist they would hold a service at St Patrick’s Cathedral and for the husband, father, brother, friend they would then hold a more intimate wake at the lake house, where his ashes would be scattered eventually.

It was draining, emotionally and physically, so it was no surprise to Steve that Katie was constantly tired and a little irritable and the Solider felt the harsh side of her tongue on more than one occasion. But he never bit back, he knew how she was feeling. He’d had to do it with his Ma. Instead he listened to her bounce ideas off him, helped with the organisation where he could, and simply comforted her, holding her close whilst she cried when she needed to.

A week post the return of the Vanished, people seemed to have reached a half-way point, so to speak, between what they had been like before the Snap and what they had become post. But what was noticeable to all of them was that they were persistently mobbed in the street, people wanting to thank them constantly.

Jamie found the whole thing hilarious, waving to people as he walked with his Father one morning to the play-ground. Steve, however, after half an hour had returned home because he couldn’t stand it anymore.

“It’s mad.” He shook his head with a sigh, flopping onto the sofa next to her. “I mean…”

“It’ll die down.” Katie yawned. “Just gonna take a while. People still don’t know what to do. Hell, half the time I don’t know what to do.” She took a deep breath, the back of her hand pressing to her mouth as a queasy feeling washed over her for the umpteenth time that day. “You still feeling crappy?” Steve asked, watching as Jamie sat on the rug with his trucks.

“A little.”

“You thrown up again?” “No.” She shook her head “I don’t feel sick anymore just a little funny, drained almost. I don’t think it’s anything serious. Probably just the stress of all the organising and stuff.”

But as she said the words something in her mind clicked and she sat bolt upright, Steve giving her a curious look.

“What’s wrong?”

“Bruce’s Snap.” She whispered. “The one where he brought everyone back.”

“What about it?”

“What if it brought everyone back?” “Well we know it did…” Steve frowned, not following her line of thought.

“No I mean,” Katie took his hand and placed it on her stomach, “everyone.”

It took Steve a second to cotton on, but when he did he blinked, looking into his wife’s eyes, a faint buzzing ringing in his ears.  

“Shit.” He spluttered out.

“Language.” Jamie reprimanded him almost immediately, but both parents ignored him.

“I didn’t,” Steve swallowed, “I mean, I didn’t even consider that a possibility. Do you think it has?”

Katie took a deep breath. “I dunno, I mean the first snap took it away…”

They stayed still for a moment, simply looking at each other, both thinking the same. If one snap had taken their baby, the second snap could quite as easily have brought it back.

“I think I need to go to the store.” Katie muttered.

**** Less than an hour later husband and wife were stood in the bathroom looking down. Down at four different tests. Four different tests that all told them the same thing.

“I can’t believe it.” Steve whispered, his arms wrapping around his wife from behind as he stared down at the test in her hand.

“Me neither.” She whispered, turning to face him, tears in her eyes.

“I’m gonna be a daddy, again.” His hands fell to her hips, blue eyes shining as she gave him a smile, the tears falling down her face.

“And I’m gonna be fat again.” She spluttered, a watery laugh. There was a pause, before Steve’s face cracked into a huge grin and he pulled her to him. She wrapped her arms round his neck and he hugged her close, the pair of them laughing through their tears.

“I like you fat with my kid.” Steve pulled away, wiping the tears that were trickling down her face with his thumbs. She smiled and returned the gesture, brushing the back of her hand over his wet cheeks.

“I love you. So fucking much.” He whispered softly as he dropped a kiss to her lips.

“I love you too.” Her voice croaked before Steve pulled her close once more, his huge arms holding her tightly to him, as he breathed her in, his face pressing into her hair.

And for the first time in a week, Katie’s heart felt a little less broken.

 **** Chapter 59

**Original Posting**

[we-love-imagines]

Helping Tonio Unwind Hcs!

(a/n): Hello Everyone! Thanks for reading! There’s a little blog update under the cut! ;)

Tonio spends all day serving customers and working in the kitchen, so he tends to come home quite exhausted. He’s happy with what he does, but running a restaurant alone is definitely tiring. That’s why he’s always elated to see your face when he comes through the door.

While Tonio is an expert cook, you started to learn how to make traditional Italian meals when you started dating. You’d notice how tired he was when he’d cook for the two of you at the end of the day, and insisted on doing it yourself.

While your cooking isn’t as good as something with Pearl Jam, Tonio can’t get enough of it! You’ve worked so hard to learn the recipes of his homeland, and he can practically taste the love baked into the meal. It’s not the best, but you’re certainly getting better, and he couldn’t be prouder of you.

After you two eat and do the dishes together, Tonio likes to curl up with the couch and watch something together. Depending on when he gets home, it can be a TV show or a movie, and he loves watching a good sitcom to unwind after a long day. He also likes to watch cheesy competitive cooking shows- he knows they’re fake and hokey, but he likes the thrill of competition.

After that, you two do your nightly routines one by one and crawl into bed. You help him relax- he’s always so tense when he gets home, especially on busy days where the restaurant is packed. You make a mental note to stop by his restaurant one day, maybe you can help him in the kitchen or wait tables to help take some pressure off.

You place a chaste little kiss to the nape of his neck, lightly massaging his shoulders as he relaxes into your touch. When he calms down a bit more, he’ll flip over to face you, holding you close as you both fall asleep. You always make a point to make sure he gets enough sleep and to make him coffee in the morning- you know your poor workaholic needs it!

You show your love for Tonio by showing him that he doesn’t have to be serving others 100% of the time. Once he comes through the front door, you’re ready to wait on him hand and foot! Not that he doesn’t return the favor, but it means a lot that you make such a big effort to help him unwind. You remind him why he works so hard- so he can come home to earn your affections!

(a/n): Hello Everyone! I hope everyone is having a fantastic Sunday! I got this idea while writing Last Train Home, so I took a little break from writing by- writing. Whoops! I’ll make sure I get the next chapter to you guys soon, I’ve just had a crazy couple of weeks with midterms coming up, but I hope you guys will enjoy a few blurbs for now! Also, if you’ve left something in my inbox, I’ll get to it after the next chapter of Last Train Home is out. Don’t worry, I’m not ignoring you! if you have any requests, my inbox is always open! Thank you for reading, have an awesome day!

[the-writers-bookshelf]

Happy Fab Friday! I hope you had a wonderful new year :)

For this year I've decided to start focusing more on my long fic wips since I have so many planned! The first one is a fic I had started last year but then got stuck on and left unfinished. It's called Heart at the Edge and is a darker fic au for The Outer Worlds where I look at what would happen if my captain Rhea was captured by one of the antagonists who was willing to do whatever it would take to get the location of an important person. Lots of angst with Rhea having to withstand what she is put through, including suffering a terrible loss, and then her crew trying to rescue her. I finally figured out how I wanted to continue the story! I'm currently rewriting the old chapters and hope to get the new chapter written soon where we finally find out if her crew was able to rescue her or not. Plus Rhea struggling with if this truly is reality or just another exhausted induced dream!

HELL YES for tackling your longer works!!! That takes dedication and commitment and that's AWESOME!!! :D Your ideas are always jam packed with GENIUS creativity and I LOVE!!! IT!!!

[jwillowwolf]

Magic and Miracles - Chapter 1

Sanders Sides Big Bang fic, Chapter 1!

< Prologue | Next Chapter | Masterlist

Summary: Roman huffed. “Anyone could have done that.”

“Well, if they knew the spells, then yes,” Logan agreed.

“He’s just jealous of the grand show you made of it,” Remus chuckled.

“I am not jealous.”

“Oh, then why are your eyes so green?”

“They’re naturally this colour, idiot.”

“Ah, but not in such a poisonous shade.”

Warning/s: food mention, fantasy racism.

Characters: Logan, Emile, Remy, OCs, Virgil, Roman, Remus, Patton, Janus.

Read on AO3

1 | A Whole New World

Logan had been figuratively buzzing with anticipation ever since Mr Ainmosni had come to the bakery and offered him the chance of a lifetime. Now, one week later, he was about to be picked up for his first day of school. Everleigh had come around to see him off, and Emile had made them both pancakes with Crofters jam for breakfast.

“Do you think you’ll get to meet the prince?” Everleigh asked during their meal.

Logan shrugged. “Probably not. He’s never shown his face in public since he was a kid, after all.”

“Why though.” Everleigh wondered. “He’s the crown prince after all. Aren’t princes supposed to be big public figures or something?”

“Perhaps he hides his identity for the sake of protection. Again, he is the crown prince.” Logan pointed out.

“I guess you have a point there. Ooh, you are going to get to meet some nobles though.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“You’re the first non-noble to qualify for a magic license, so your classmates must be from the nobility.”

“Hmm, that seems most logical. Though I will meet and study with them, I doubt we’ll become friends.”

“Again with the selling-yourself-short! You’re awesome Lo, anyone, noble or otherwise, would be lucky to befriend you. Just don’t go getting yourself a new best friend, okay?”

“I’d never dream of it. But if I’m going to be spending so much time studying, then I hope you’ll consider finding yourself more friends.”

“I’ve got a library full of books, I don’t need more friends than that.”

“Ev…”

“Okay, I’ll socialise, if you do the same on your end.”

“I still don’t think anything will come of it, but I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to try.”

“Hey, kiddo, did you make sure to pack enough underwear?”

“Dad!” Logan exclaimed in embarrassment while Everleigh snickered at the question.

“I’m being serious, Logan. You don’t want to run out.”

“I am positive that I’ve packed everything I’m going to need.”

“Even your-”

“Yes.”

“I didn’t finish my sentence.”

“I’ve packed clothes, books, hygiene products, spare clothes, and a spare binder.”

“Okay. Don’t forget to take a break from binding every few hours. If I hear anything about you neglecting to do so, then make no mistakes I’ll march over there myself to see that you do.”

“I know. I can take care of myself dad.”

Everleigh snorted. “If it weren’t for us, you’d have probably worked yourself to death.”

Logan looked at her with a you-are-not-helping expression, then turned back to his dad. “I’ll be fine. Besides, Mr Ainmosni is going to be taking care of us.”

Emile frowned. “I don’t doubt that Remy is a good teacher if he’s been put in charge of this, but I feel that he’s not completely… responsible.”

“He definitely fancies you if the constant flirting was any indication,” Everleigh teased.

Logan snickered. “Yeah, you went red as a tomato.”

“Oh shush,” Emile scolded, blushing at even the memory.

“I’ll be okay though, you really don’t have to worry.”

“You know I will either way, but I am proud of you. It feels like just yesterday you two were tiny tots running around the bakery. Now, look at you! A library apprentice and a wizard in training.”

“We have come a pretty long way, haven’t we,” Logan smiled.

Everleigh laughed. “I don’t think I’m anywhere near as accomplished as you.”

“I wouldn’t be where I am without you. How else could I have studied those library books for countless hours without you making sure to keep tabs on them.”

“It’s not like I had much to worry about when you read at the speed of light.”

“I’m going to miss studying there.”

“Well, you’re always welcome to stop by. It’s not like you’re going to the next town over or anything.”

“I suppose. Though I really won’t be able to spend as much time there as before.”

“Don’t go getting homesick already, Lo. I already miss you, but this isn’t a goodbye.”

“Definitely not. I’ll probably visit this weekend.”

“Then I’ll be here Saturday morning to hear all about what you’ve done.”

Logan nodded. He was glad that they would stay friends, even if they could only see each other on weekends. He’d known Everleigh since they were babies after all. Not having her around would be weird.

The bell above the shop door rang and the trio in the kitchen heard Remy call. “I have arrived!”

They went to the bakery and saw Remy standing there in the same outfit as before, however this time he had a strange flask in his hand.

Emile frowned. “What’s that?”

“Midnight elixir. My own special concoction. It’s a touch bitter but really helps if you need an energy boost. Want a try?”

“Oh, uh, no thank you.”

“Woah, are you guys riding in that?” Everleigh gasped when she saw the carriage parked outside.

It was a standard chestnut brown box carriage with white swirls and spirals decorating it all around, and a pair of beautiful cream coloured horses pulling it.

“Yep. Ready to go, Logan?”

Logan nodded. “I just need to grab my bag from upstairs.”

He quickly went and got his suitcase then paused a moment to look around his room. He wouldn’t see it again for a while. Honestly, he’d never been away from home for longer than an overnight stay at Everleigh’s house. The reality of leaving everything he knew behind was both exciting and frightening. He truly didn’t know what to expect at this magic school apart from that he’d learn magic. This was a huge step to take and he wasn’t entirely sure of his readiness anymore.

But when he got downstairs and saw his dad and Everleigh’s proud expressions, he knew that there was no turning back now. He had a goal after all, and this was going to help him achieve it. He wouldn’t freeze up and disappoint them now.

Farewell wishes and goodbye hugs were quickly exchanged, then Logan and Remy got into the carriage and were off. Logan looked out the back window as they drove away from the bakery, out of town, and to the location of the Srednas Magic School.

“Mr Ainmosni-”

“Just Remy, kid.”

“Remy, where exactly is the school?”

“The school is, for now, the Srednas Manor. The Prince wants to have a proper school built, but this first class is only the test run, so to speak.”

“Test run?”

“The council wants to be sure that a school would be a successful idea before the Prince can order a real one to be made.”

Logan nodded. “I suppose that’s why it’s not publicly known.”

“Yeah, getting ideas through the council is a pain, even for royalty. I’m surprised they let you obtain a learners license without too much fuss. Though you should be cautious about any interactions with Councillor Allen. He was not happy when he heard the Prince invited you to his school,” Remy chuckled.

“He wouldn’t really be able to do anything against me, would he?”

“With how you won the favour of his highness and Lady Silvia, not a chance. But you will need to be careful. Now that you’re practising magic, you will be interacting with nobility, and any mistakes made in their world can mean an end to your reputation and career.”

“I don’t know if I would do much socialising.”

“Kid, you are the first-ever wizard to come from a commonwealth household. Nobles are going to find a way to meet you and they’ll either see you as an opportunity or an opponent.”

“Opportunity?”

“You already caught the notice of the Crown Prince. They’ll want to take advantage of that. And at the same time, they might see that as a problem since you’re getting his attention over them.”

“I’ve never even met him.”

“They won’t care. They may even believe you have anyway.”

Logan frowned. “This is going to be harder than I thought.”

Remy nodded. “Yeah, but if you need anything then you can just ask.”

“Does social standing fall under your teaching duties?”

“Nope. But I don’t mind helping people, and honestly, I think that you have something… special. You’re forging a path for others who may want to learn magic themselves. I think that’s worth investing in.”

“So, this isn’t for anything like points with my dad?”

Remy laughed. “While that seems like a benefit, I truly didn’t think of it before you said something.”

Shortly after that conversation, the carriage came to the silver gates of the Srednas Estate. The driveway was paved with white stones and went all the way up to the large manor house which was built of brilliant dark wood and stone bricks. It looked to Logan like a small castle, with even a tower on the left side that stretched high above even the forest trees.

The carriage stopped just outside of the enormous front door, and Logan found himself staring up in awe as he followed Remy out.

“Well, I believe we are the last to arrive. Follow me to the classroom. The others should be waiting there for us.”

Logan followed Remy down the halls. When they finally arrived at their destination, Logan noted that there were seven small desks set in a sort of semi-circle. They were all facing one large desk with a big chalkboard behind it. As Remy had predicted, the other six students already occupied the room.

Two elves were sitting together by the two desks far left, talking about something animatedly to one another. They looked similar, with broad shoulders, long dark curly hair, and almond tanned skin. Their eyes however set them apart from one another, the one on the left having bright green eyes while the others were deep red.

Sitting on the desk of the red-eyed elf was a water sprite with a kind smile. He had a petit build, bright brown eyes and messy blonde hair with small variously coloured flowers braided in. His skin was a peachy hue apart from the blue-green splotches that identified them as being a sprite.

Standing by one of the large windows in the back of the room were two students. One a demi-wolf, the other a Dragonborn. The Dragonborn stood with an air of confidence and superiority. Paired with the scales that covered the right half of their face, they seemed quite intimidating. Their eyes were mismatched, the left one a normal brown while the right one was bright yellow with a black slitted pupil. Their blonde hair was nearly completely hidden by their ivy cap.

In comparison, their demi-human companion seemed rather timid or perhaps on edge, if their body language was anything to go by. Their tail hung low, slowly swinging side to side, and their wolf ears were focused forward, listening intently to the Dragonborn’s words, while their deep brown eyes glanced routinely around the room and out the window.

On the other side of the room, by a bookshelf full of large tomes, stood the last student. He was slender and pale, with black hair that faded into dark purple and hung slightly in his stormy grey eyes. He was leaning with his back against the shelves, eyes focused on the pages of the book in his hands, at least until Remy and Logan had entered. At that moment, the boy looked up through his fringe and focused his stormy eyes on Logan.

For a moment Logan felt frozen. Those eyes seemed to be reading him like a book. Searching his very soul for… something. But the feeling only lasted a moment as the boy looked back down at his book with a thoughtful frown. How peculiar.

“Okay, everyone, take a seat. Preferably at the provided chairs.” Remy said as he turned to take his own seat behind the large desk facing the semi-circle.

The sprite hopped off the elf’s desk and sat at the desk beside them. The Dragonborn took the next seat, and the demi-wolf sat beside them. The boy at the bookshelf returned his book to its place then sat at the desk on the far right. Leaving a seat for Logan between the boy and the demi-human, which he promptly took.

“Alright, class. I don’t expect you to become best friends or anything, but we are a small group so I hope you will at the very least get along with each other. For that, you’ll probably need to know each other, so we’re going to go around and introduce ourselves. I’ll start. I’m your teacher, Remy Ainmosni, my pronouns are he/him, and don’t worry this is not alcohol,” Remy said as he gestured to his flask. “Who wants to go next?”

“Oh, me!” The sprite said excitedly, jumping up. “Hi, I’m Patton Lilyhart, I use he/him, and I’m excited to get to know you all.”

Remy nodded. “I like the energy. Who wants to continue?”

“I shall.” The green-eyed elf declared, standing up from his seat with a confidant and regal air. “My name is Roman Elvar Goldheart Arthur Leafstone, and my pronouns are he/him. I am the eldest son of Lady Leafstone and heir of the Lyrecrest Ilse.”

“An impressive introduction, Roman, but next time you can just say your name is Roman Leafstone, we don’t need your full given name,” Remy commented, then gestured to the other elf. “Your turn.”

The red-eyed elf stood, though she held herself with a more casual air and wrapped an arm around Roman’s shoulders. “Sup, I’m Remus, he/him or she/her, and this is my less-handsome twin.”

“You’re wrinkling my cape,” Roman complained, only to have Remus stick out her tongue at him.

Remy nodded with an amused smile. “Okay, snake eye, you’re up.”

“I am not a snake,” the not-half-snake hissed. “My name is Janus Embyrn, they/them, and I am a Dragonborn.”

“Good for you, snake eye. What about you, Wolfie?” Remy asked, completely ignoring the fiery rage burning in Janus’s eyes.

“My name is Willow, um, Redrunner.”

“Are you sure?” Remus asked. “Cause you don’t seem so confident about that.”

Willow shuffled nervously in their seat. “I- well… you see- uh-”

“Demi-humans don’t use last names,” Logan declared.

Willow nodded gratefully at him. “Yeah, but if needed then we use the name of our pack. I hail from the Redrunner pack and use she/they pronouns.”

Remy nodded then turned his attention to Logan and the stormy eyed boy. “Okay, which of you two wants to go?”

“I’m Virgil Tempest, he/him,” the boy declared.

They all waited a moment for him to say more, but he simply gestured for Logan to go. Logan made a mental note of that and then cleared his throat.

“My name is Logan Picani and I also use he/him pronouns.”

Patton gasped. “Oh my gosh, you’re the star guy! Right?”

“If you are referring to the spells I cast at the license test, then yes that is me.”

Roman huffed. “Anyone could have done that.”

“Well, if they knew the spells, then yes,” Logan agreed.

“He’s just jealous of the grand show you made of it,” Remus chuckled.

“I am not jealous.”

“Oh, then why are your eyes so green?”

“They’re naturally this colour, idiot.”

“Ah, but not in such a poisonous shade.”

“Let’s not fight,” Patton intervened. “You did very well on your presentation Roman.”

“Thank you, Pat, but I am still not and have never been jealous. Especially of a human.”

“Watch your words, elf,” Janus growled. “You wouldn’t want us to think you’re racist.”

Roman glared darkly at them but was interrupted by Remy before he could reply. “Never mind presentations, and races, and titles, none of those things matter here so there’s no need to discuss them. All of you were chosen with equal faith in your abilities as competent mages who could better the kingdom. I hope you can appreciate this opportunity and act civil with each other for the duration of your time here.”

Everyone was silent but Logan could practically see sparks of violent tension between Roman and Janus. They were going to be a problem for each other but with any luck, they wouldn’t pull the rest of the class down with them. Logan doubted he had that much luck, but he hoped anyway.

“Now, the rules are as follows,” Remy continued, ignoring the tense atmosphere. “Firstly, you are to stay on school grounds, unless permitted by myself to leave. Secondly, lessons will take place in the late morning and early afternoon, whatever you do outside of that time is up to you. So long as it doesn’t interfere with classes then I don’t care what you do. You’re old enough to watch yourselves, and I am not a babysitter, so I expect you to keep out of trouble for the most part. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be served in the dining hall, food is allowed outside of these hours, but not permitted inside of your rooms. Speaking of your rooms, you may decorate them as you like, but please remember to keep them moderately tidy as the cleaning staff will only come through once a week-”

“Once a week?”

“That’s what I said, Roman.”

“Do you expect our beds to go unmade for that long?”

Remy shrugged. “I would hope you could at least do that for yourselves. You’re not infants after all.”

Roman opened his mouth to protest further but was cut off by Janus. “What food is to be served, exactly?”

“Not sure. You can inquire with the chef for a menu and tell them of any dietary requirements too. If and when you interact with the estate staff, I expect you to be polite and respectful towards them. Any questions?”

“Can we explore the garden?” Patton asked.

Remy smiled. “Yes. The estate is yours to explore, apart from the tower.”

Remus’s eyes shone with curiosity. “What’s in the tower?”

“Nothing you need to concern yourself with. If that’s all, then I think I ought to show you all to your rooms to get yourselves settled in.”

Remy got up and walked to the door, not waiting to see if anyone followed him. Roman rose in a dignified manner and went after him with Remus walking beside him. Patton practically skipped behind them and Janus followed with their own nonchalant air and Willow beside them. Virgil got up too and looked over to Logan for a split second, almost like he wanted to say something, but decided against it.

It was barely the beginning of his first day and Logan already felt that this was going to be a stressful time. He really had no idea how he was going to navigate interacting with all these people. He didn’t have to do that when he was independently studying before. By accepting this chance he was entering a whole new world.

And he was more than ready to conquer it.

[dream-a-little-bigger-x]

Chapter 3 -- Perfect Harmony | Charlie Gillespie

Summary: Emily Fox is a talented 17-year-old with a passion for all things music. Her dream is to become a successful singer-songwriter one day. But to achieve that dream, she needs to get into one of the most prestigious music schools in her district – it’s all been part of her plan since she was six. Sadly enough, those schools cost a ton of money that her parents don’t want to invest. They don’t even want her to pursue her dream. So, now Emily’s hustling, working at the music store to save up to get into college. That’s until she meets Charlie, an annoying seventeen-year-old boy with the same dream as her. The only difference is, he’s just doing it. He doesn’t need a fancy college to pursue his dream to become famous with his band. He just writes his songs and books small gigs here, there and everywhere. Will meeting Charlie defer her from her dream college, or will he actually help her achieve the dream?

Pairing: Charlie Gillespie x OC (Emily Fox)

Warnings: mentions of death, sexual assault

Important note: the characters of Charlie, Owen, Jeremy and Madison are based on the characters they play on the show and i do not own their names, only OC are mine. The songs aren’t mine either, they’re all from the show except for one.

Chapter three

|Emily Fox|

In the next couple of days, Charlie comes to the Music Store every single day. With a different excuse every time. On Wednesday he’s there to pick up some guitar strings, then sits down and plays the guitar again while I clean. On Thursday, he needs some polish but leaves right after. The Friday, he buys some sheet music. Today is Saturday, which means I have to work an entire day. From morning until evening. It’s the most tiring of all the shifts, but it brings the most money. So, I can’t complain. The mornings in the Music Store are slow most of the time. Just the occasional musician walking in and purchasing something or trying one of the instruments. At lunch, Ash is there to take over from me for a moment until the real hustle comes and then it’s both of us ready to react to everything and anything that happens. When I get back from my lunch break, the store is jam-packed, but all I can see and hear is Charlie playing guitar in the back. All I can see is his orange beanie, but he’s playing the same song he was when he came here on Monday, so I’m 100% sure it’s him. No doubt about it. I’m desperate to talk to him, but the other customers take up all of my time and it’s not until I’m about to lock up for the day to work on my songs when Charlie himself walks up to me. “Are Saturdays always this busy?” he asks as I’m sorting out my own sheet music. “Mostly, yeah,” I reply without looking up at him. He follows me to the piano and watches me as I sort the papers again and again, mostly because of nerves. “You write your own music?” He then asks, “I’ve been working on this song, but I can’t seem to finish it.” Without saying another word, Charlie strums his guitar and the most beautiful melody reaches my eardrums. “Step into my world Bittersweet love story about a girl Shook me to the core Voice like an angel, I've never heard before” I freeze, realizing the song I’ve been working on would fit perfectly with that melody and after that verse. “Here in front of me Shining so much brighter than I have ever seen Life can be so mean But when he goes I know he doesn't leave” I can feel Charlie standing inches behind me as he glances over my shoulder at the sheet music I’m holding up with the chorus of the song. “The truth is finally breaking through Two worlds collide when I'm with you Our voices rise and soar so high We come to life when we're” Our voices blend nicely together, sending shivers down my spine. “In perfect harmony Woah, woah Perfect harmony Woah, woah Perfect harmony” I turn around now as we stop singing. I’ve got nothing beyond that and neither does he, it seems because he stops playing the guitar when our eyes meet. Mere inches away from each other, my breath hitches in my throat. “Not bad, Charles,” I tell him as I bring the scowl back to keep up my tough front. “Not bad? Didn’t you just hear what I heard?” He steps back as he babbles passionately, his golden eyes wide with excitement. “Our voices. They blend so well together. That sounded amazing, Emily!” I raise an eyebrow at him, not impressed with his excitement. I do find it kind of endearing, but I don’t show him that. “Come on, Emily! You can’t deny that what we just this was pretty awesome!” “What I can’t deny is that you’re still here after hours and my boss isn’t going to like that. So, please, leave, Charles.” I glare at him, waiting for him to finally leave so my heart can slow down again. He stays put for a while, however, staring at me in disbelieve before putting the guitar back. “You’re going to have to pay for that guitar one day!” I shout after him, but he doesn’t give much of a reaction, much to my dismay. “Bye, Emily,” he simply says before closing the door behind him. “Bye, Charlie…” I whisper, regaining my composure and allowing myself to breathe again. I don’t know what this boy does to me, but it doesn’t sound too healthy.

On Sunday, I spend my day writing the song I started with Charlie last night. His words have been in my mind since he sang them, and I wrote them down just above my verse. Then comes a second verse, then a bridge, and before I know it, I’ve finished the entire song. I can’t deny what Charlie and I did last night, was pure magic. I’ve never been able to write a song with anyone else but my Uncle Robert, but Charlie’s lyrics just haunted my mind and they weren’t half bad. So, I had no other choice but to add them into the song. They sound perfect with it. Even more so if we turn this into a duet. UGH. This boy. I swear to God.

Taglist: @parkeret​ @lukeys-giggle​

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