#your dad- the only person ever been lookin out for ya

[chickenoptyrx]

*sittin up projecting onto the baby blorbo when I should be sleeping*

[dork-empress]

Singing In The Dead Of Night Ch 2

Harley and Barman set up a playdate for their wards.

forgive the long post, i'll edit and clean it up when im home. chapter can also be found on my ao3, url in the description.

Harley made it back home, which was actually the manor of some billionaire who only really used the house for tax purposes. Harley had taken it over when Lucy came to live with her, deciding she needed more room, and they quickly changed it to suit their needs.

“Luuuucyyyy, I’m hooooome,” Harley called out to the manor, heading through the living room/gymnasium.

Lucy was balancing on the beam by her hands. “Never heard that one before.” She went into the splits and stayed on one hand.

Harley looked over her form. “Point your toes more...there ya go.” Lucy did as recommended. “I got candy for dinner!” She dumped her stolen lollipops on the table.

“I already ate, Aunt Harley,” she said, “I made extra pasta if you want.” She pointed over to the kitchen, before switching hands and flipping herself over.

“Oh,” Harley said, going over to make a plate, but feeling like ants were crawling in her skin. “You know, you don’t have to call me your aunt when it’s just the two of us,” She said, swirling her fork through the noodles.

Lucy shrugged, “Force of habit. Plus it’s a good idea in general, ya know, in case someone’s secretly listening in or we mess up some other time.”

Harley shrugged her shoulders. “Makes sense,” and it did, but it still kind of hurt. “You can have the lollipops for dessert though. You like cherry?” She tossed her the red candy.

Lucy looked down at the wrapper a second. “Can’t, I’m allergic to the red dye.”

“Oh,” Harley said, silently cursing herself. That was something that mothers should know about their kids, allergies and crap. “Well. Lemon then?”

“Sure!” They traded the lollipops, and Harley sucked on hers between bites of the pasta. Sweet and savory combined, delicious.

Lucy swung her legs as she sat on the beam. “Does...my father have any allergies?”

Harley blinked at her. Did Joker have any allergies? It was hard to say. Even now, Harley didn’t know a lot about the Joker. That’s how he liked it. “Best not to talk about it,” she said instead, “In case of those listening things or whatever.”

Lucy hummed, but didn’t seem satisfied. “Hey,” Harley said, trying to distract her from the ‘dad’ talk, “You wanna go out with me tomorrow?”

Lucy brightened, jumping a bit, “Where are you gonna go?”

“I dunno,” she said, “Go lookin’ for trouble. Let the trouble find me. Punch out a couple people but only if they REALLY deserve it!” And maybe if they only kinda deserved it, Harley thought.

Lucy hummed again, thinking. “I dunno. I think violence often begets further violence, and while it is occasionally necessary, efforts should focus more on the community building and personal improvement area.”

Harley blinked at her. Right, she was a reader, Delia had mentioned that. Not unlike Harley at her age, really, although Harley had focused on psychoanalysis instead of philosophy. “Ah, of course,” she said, “Well, what do you wanna do?”

Lucy thought for a second. “Well, there was this girl I wanted to go inspire to fight her eating disorder.”

“Oh,” Harley said nodding. It was a noble cause, really, but...also seemed really, really boring. “I...sure!” she smiled.

The truth was, when Lucy came out to live with Harley full time, she had really thought they would be a lady dynamic duo, a proper partnership mother/daughter team. But Lucy wasn’t much like Harley. Or, she was but, she was different, a goody two-shoes. Or, a goody tutu. Ha.

More than that, she followed a strange sense of logic that was oddly reminiscent of...Harley didn’t even finish the thought.

“You don’t want to go, do you?” Lucy asked.

“Hmm? Of course I do!” Harley said, “I’d do anything with you sweetheart,” she gave Lucy a wink, then went to the kitchen to hide her facial expression.

She didn’t see that Lucy had followed her until she was directly behind her. “Oh, Jesus!” She said, clutching her heart, “Gotta look out there, sweetie. Almost brained ya!”

“Is Dad like me at all?” she asked, head tilted to the side.

Harley blinked at her. She felt like her bones were shaking inside her skin. “Why would you ask a thing like that?”

Lucy spun a little in place making her tutu swish. “I’ve been reading about him. People think he’s crazy. I mean, he says it. But that’s not what your records say.”

Harley frowned, backing away as though physical distance would get her out of the conversation. “What’re you goin through my records for? What, are you a snoop?”

“They got published after one of your arrests,” Lucy said, “Other people were more interested in the little notes you left in the margins, but--”

“Alright, stop.” Harley said, hand clutching her lollipop stick so tight it might break. “Look, Mr...your father is mean and cruel and manipulative, and nothing like you! He wants to drive other people crazy, and for some people, self included, he succeded. But I grew out of it as best I could and now...you don’t need to worry about him, ok? He ain’t ever gonna know about ya, and he ain’t ever gonna find ya. Got it?”

Lucy hesitated a second and there was something strange in her eyes. Something familiar. “Got it,” she finally said.

Harley lightened, smiling at her. “Why don’t we play a game or somethin? You like Monopoly? I make up my own rules!”

Lucy smiled, “That sounds nice,” she said, all bright again. As they set up the game, Lucy said, “You don’t have to come with me tomorrow, by the way. I can take care of myself.”

“You sure?” Harley asked. Lucy nodded. For the rest of the evening, Harley felt like something was…off.

She slipped the burner phone out of her pocket. She typed, ‘Wanna set up a playdate?’

“She called it a WHAT?!” Damian said, nose wrinkled in disgust.

“Aww,” Tim said, over by the batcave computer, “Little Damian’s got a plaaayydaaate.”

“I will end you, Drake.” Damian snarled, fingers twitching for his sword.

“Enough,” Bruce interrupted the both of them. “Damian, if it helps you can think of it as a mission.”

“I thought I was forbidden from Robin duties for the next two months.” Damian said, arms crossed.

Bruce groaned. “Harley has taken in a ward, her niece Lucy. She has some petty crime charges, but from my recon, she’s not a villain. Harley wants her to spend time with someone her age, and I need someone who will watch over her.”

“Watch out for her, or watch out because of her?” Damian asked, scowling.

“Oooh, good question,” Tim said, still at the computer. “Hey, how come you didn’t set me up with vigilante kids?”

“Because you found them on your own,” Bruce shot back, “Look. Damian, you just have to spend the day with her. Follow her around, help her out as long as it’s not hurting anyone. Don’t let her get killed. Invite Jon if you want.”

“Uggh, Jon’s off world with his Dad,” Damian said.

“Oh right,” Bruce said, massaging his temple. “Why do interdimensional crises have to happen at the worst times?”

“Why is it we need a plural for interdimensional crisis?” Tim asked.

Bruce gave him a side glance to let him know he was coming up on the line that breached from ‘annoying’ to ‘problem Bruce will deal with.’ “Damian…”

“Fine, I’ll do it,” he said, “But I won’t be her friend by you forcing us.”

“Fine.”

They met up with Harley at a neutral location downtown on top of a party goods store. “Hiya Batsy, Hey Bird Boy!”

Despite himself, Damian liked Harley. She was usually of a like mind about which villains did or didn’t deserve to live, but he didn’t tell Batman that. “Harley,” Batman said, “Where’s your niece?”

“Just doin some high-wire practice.” Harley said, “Lucy-goosey!”

From the side of the building, a girl faulted up from where she was hanging on the flagpole. A girl wearing a tutu and white paint. “Nice to meet you, Batman,” Lucy said, “Aunt Harley’s told me….a lot of mixed things.”

“YOU!” Damian said, before he could stop himself, and all three of the others turned to him.

Lucy trotted forward on her tiptoes. “Have we met?” She asked, tilting her head, and looking him up and down.

Damian swallowed. “Uhh….”

“Blackbird!” Lucy said, and swooped him up into a hug, “Oh, I knew you were a Robin, why’d you lie to me?”

“Blackbird, huh?” Batman said, and he couldn’t see, but he knew there was a very pointed eyebrow being raised at him.

Damian, still being swung like a ragdoll by Lucy, tried to gain his balance. “I didn’t...I mean I wasn’t…”

“We’ll talk about this later,” Batman said, “You kids go on, I have something to talk about with Harley.”

“Kids?!” Damian said, offended, especially that he was going to be left out of whatever this conversation was. But in doing so, he left himself vulnerable as Lucy pulled on his cowl to the edge of the building.

“Come on, birdy, whatever color you are. The city awaits!” And she jumped from the roof, grappling on outcroppings to reach the street safely. Damian grumbled, but eventually followed.

Harley looked to Batman, and her face fell. “He’s out there, isn’t he?”

Batman gave one slow nod.

Lucy skipped everywhere. It was very irritating, because it was faster than walking, but slower than running, so hard to keep pace. Also,it was just very perky, which made it hard to sulk.

Lucy claimed she had deliveries to make around town. Something about girls who were bullies in high school and were treating others poorly, but it was only because of the societal pressures that were put on young girls of America and...and thats about where Damian lost interest.

She carried a cartfull of boxes like a damn girlscout, and left them on the girls doors. Damian could have followed in his sleep...except there was something about one of the boxes….

“What’s in that one?” Damian asked as she brought it to the next home.

“Huh?” Lucy said, “Same thing as in all of them, some cookies, a letter, balloons of course and--”

“It’s beeping,” Damian said.

“What?”

Damian didn’t wait any longer, he grabbed the box out of her arms and tossed it as high into the sky as he could, tackling her to the ground. The box then exploded.

Lucy gasped in excitement, clapping her hands together. “Birdy, look at it! It’s fireworks!”

Damian growled, jumping off of her and taking out his sword. “I knew it, I knew you were up to no good.”

Lucy tilted her head. “Whatcha talkin about, Birdy?”

“You--” He pointed to where the box was still smoldering. “You were going to put a BOMB on that girl’s doorstep!”

“I didn’t put that there,” Lucy said, getting up with no care of the sword pointed at her.

“You-” Damian stammered. “What?”

Lucy bent down and picked up a scrap of paper from the ruins. “Change of plans for the evening, Birdy!” Lucy said, “We’re going puzzling!”

She tossed the paper at him and he grabbed it quickly. It read ‘I’ve the tallest of trunks and thickest of stumps, a switch in the breeze, but I’m no tree. What am I?’”

They came quickly to the elephant pasture at the zoo. Damian couldn’t help it, he held out his hand for the elephant. She reached out her trunk and wrapped it around him. He couldn’t help but laugh.

Her baby came forward this time, trotting on new steps. He was already the size of a small horse, but he stole Damian’s heart all the same. He tried to bowl Damian over like a large puppy, and Damian couldn’t help but laugh. “Didn’t know you could laugh, Birdy,” Lucy said, kneeling over a shady patch in the enclosure.

Damian’s scowl returned. “Stop calling me ‘Birdy,’” he said, “You can just say ‘Robin,’ if you want.”

“But aren’t there other Robins?” Lucy said, fiddling with something, “I’d love to call you something unique to you.”

“There’s already a Blackbird, you know.” Damian said, continuing to pet the baby elephant.

“There is?” Lucy asked, “Picking a superhero name is HARD. I’m still trying to get Commedia to stick. You know, like, Commedia del arte? But I’ll end up getting called ‘Tutu girl’ or something if I don’t watch out.”

Damian gently pushed the elephant away, seeing what she was doing. She was hands deep in another box like the one they’d found in her cart. “Careful, it could be another bomb.”

“Fireworks,” Lucy corrected, “and I already diffused it.”

Damian leaned down, looking. She had indeed done so, quite efficiently. “How did you know to do that?”

Lucy smiled, “An uncle of mine taught me. You’ll meet him.” She dug further into the box. “I wouldn’t mind some more fireworks, but I don’t want to scare the elephants.” She pulled out another slip of paper.

“This has all the hallmarks of The Riddler,” Damian said, “We have to be careful. He might have bombs all over the city.”

“Fireworks!” Lucy corrected again, “And, probably. See, we already have the next clue!” She waved the paper and read out “Can you hear me make a sound, only when you are around.”

“Of course you can only hear things when you’re around.” Damian said, frowning.

“But only when someone’s around does it make a...Oh!” Lucy said, jumping to her feet, “An echo! We have to go somewhere there’s an echo!”

Damian sighed, “I have an idea.”

Technically they weren’t IN the Bat cave. They were at a far entrance to it, another end of the cave system. So he wasn’t breaking any rules. “Hey, is that Wayne Manor?” Lucy asked. “I tried to break in there once, but they have some crazy rich person security system.”

“Funny that.” Damian said, trying to seem completely ordinary.

Lucy stood at the edge of the cave and yelled into it. “ECHO!” listening for the echo in return. She skipped into the cave, humming all the way, the sound bouncing off as she went.

“Lucy?” Damian said, following her, “Don’t go too far, there’s all sorts of--” He heard a squeal and rushed forward.

He stopped short, his flashlight falling on Lucy. She waved at him to put it down, squinting. “Look here!” She brushed aside some dirt to find some rusted over metal. “Isn’t it fascinating! This cave system must go on for miles! Maybe people hid treasure there!”

“It’s just the old mining system,” Damian said, truthfully. “It’s all blocked off.”

“That can’t be hard to undo,” Lucy said, intrigued by whatever lay beyond.

Damian grabbed her hand before she could continue. “We have to catch the Riddler. There has to be another package here.”

Lucy sighed, but nodded. She took his arm with the flashlight and swung him around the cave. “Ah! There.”

She took the package and skipped out of the cave. “Careful!” Damian urged. “Come on, just diffuse it.”

“Nope, not these ones.” She tossed the package high in the sky, and Damian saw the fireworks light up.

He felt his phone buzzing, no doubt Tim could hear an explosion out here, not to mention Alfred. They’d come investigating fast enough. He leaped up, grabbing the fallen slip of paper, and grabbed Lucy again to pull her along. He read it quickly and passed it to her as he made his way away. “Even in the city scape, nature comes to take its place.” Lucy read. “It must be the park!”

l,

“No,” Damian said, still pulling her, “I mean, yes, that is the answer to the riddle, but that’s not where we’re going.” He texted the police to inform them of the location of the hidden package so they could diffuse it, and dragged Lucy away.

The original Gotham Ice Cream shop was one of the oldest remaining buildings in Gotham, although was clearly closed for the night.

Damian saw a flash of green from the kitchens and rushed inside, finding none other than the Riddler standing there. “Stand down, Riddler,” Damian said, holding out his sword, “We’ve got you now!”

Riddler snarled, backing into a defensive stance. “Robin! How did you possibly find me?”

Damian smirked, “The beginning of each clue was clearly spelling out your final location. I-C-E. I didn’t need to follow 5 more clues to figure that out.”

Riddler cursed. “Those clues weren’t for you! They were for--!”

Lucy came skipping up to join Damian. “Hi, Uncle Eddy!”

“Lucille!” Riddler said, immediately warming. “I had so many sights around Gotham for you to see, why’d you go skipping to the end?”

Lucy skipped up to him, and Damian was once again left dumbfounded. “My friend Birdy here isn’t much for riddles, I think,” she said, “Although he enjoyed the elephants! And he knew about the mining carts in the caves, I want to explore those later.”

‘Uncle Eddy’ hugged Lucy, and Damian came to his senses, “THIS is your uncle?!”

Lucy shrugged, “I mean, that’s what I call him. I met him when I was visiting Aunt Harley a few years ago.”

“I heard you had moved to Gotham full time,” Riddler said, “I wanted to be sure you saw the sights. But the bat-brats have to ruin everything I suppose.” Riddler glared at him, and he glared right back.

“I don’t-” Damian started, but cut himself off, “You can’t just be leaving BOMBS around the city!”

“Fireworks!” Lucy and Riddler both corrected.

“Whatever! They’re explosive and they’re dangerous!” Damian hated having to be the safety one. It felt wrong.

Riddler rolled his eyes. “He’s just as much a barrel of laughs as the big one.”

“Aw, he’s sweet, really,” Lucy said, coming over to Damian and linking their arms. “Aunt Harley and Batman set us up on our own little playdate.”

“It is NOT!” Damian said, squirming away from her, “It is NOT a playdate.”

“Uncle Eddy, can my friend Birdy have some Ice Cream too?” Lucy asked, ignoring him.

Riddler and Damian glared again. “Fine.” He pushed his own bowl of ice cream towards Damian and went to get his own. “It’s MYSTERY flavor!”

Damian looked at it hesitantly as Lucy sat down to enjoy. Riddler went back to the kitchen. “It’s coconut,” Lucy said, “But Uncle Eddy likes to think it’s a mystery, so I let him.”

Damian frowned at her. “You’re really weird.”

“Thank you!” Lucy said, patting the seat beside her. “Come on, even you had to admit you had fun today.”

Damian thought about the elephants, and skipping around with Lucy, and watching the fireworks at the mouth of the cave, and seeing her all excited about mining carts for some reason. “Fine,” he said, “But it’s NOT a playdate.”

“Alright, alright,” Lucy said, digging into her ice cream. “Just a regular date then.”

“I--” Damian started, his head exploding with so many protests that he ended up just short circuiting. Lucy continued chowing down on ice cream like she didn’t say anything of importance. So, Damian just sat beside her, and ate his own.

[nalgenewhore]

every world and every lifetime

elide x lorcan, modern au, first ‘i love you’ fluff, word count: 2728

Elide looked around her parent’s house, miserably pushing her food around. 

She wasn’t hungry. 

Her eyes stung with tears as she saw her parents, Marion perched on the arm of Cal’s chair. Her mother’s arm was around her father’s shoulders and she fussed with his hair, smiling and speaking quietly to him. 

Suddenly, all too quickly, her heart squeezed painfully in her chest. Elide bit the inside of her cheek and sniffed, her vision blurring. 

It was so stupid. She was being such a coward. He was her boyfriend. She’d never cared about another person quite like she cared about Lorcan. She should’ve invited him to her mother’s birthday party. 

The cushion shifted when someone sat down beside her. Elide hastily blinked her tears away and looked up, smiling shakily at her father. “Hey, dad.” 

“Hey, kid,” Cal said, his kind eyes crinkling. He passed her a plate of miniature desserts, a collection of her favourites. “Saved ya some, gotta get it before these rabid animals.” 

Elide snorted and took the plate, choosing the brownie. She ate quietly, knowing what her father would ask her. 

“So, uh, where’s this boy of yours, hmm? Your ma was really lookin’ forward to meet him,” Cal said, watching his daughter. 

She mumbled something and put her plate down, toying with a rip in her nylons. Elide looked at her short nails, painted black and meticulously cared for. “I... I’m having some doubts about it an’... I didn’t want to invite him to this close family thing in case he says something like... I dunno, ‘I love you’.” 

He raised a brow, “And would that be so terrible? If this boy loved you?” 

“No,” she whispered. Elide looked up, her eyes red rimmed and watery, “I don’t think so.” 

Cal sighed as he stood up, his knees creaking. “Well, stop being a coward and call him, kid.” 

Elide huffed at him calling her a coward, but knew it was true. 

She stood up too and walked up to her bedroom. Elide slid her phone out of her zip-up sweater pocket and toyed with it. 

Entering her room, she perched herself on the edge of her bed and pressed on his number. 

The phone dialled and her throat tightened. 

“Hello.” 

“Lor, is that you? It’s... it’s me.”

“I know, Lee,” he laughed. It sounded like he was shifting from his bed and he groaned as he stretched, presumably, “What’s up, though? You said you were busy tonight.”

Elide glanced around as she steeled her nerves. “Are you- are you doing anything tonight? ‘Cause... it’s my parent’s- they have this- and it’s my mom’s birthday and we’re having this… party, so I wanted to invite you if you want to come tonight?” 

Lorcan paused, “Oh, yeah, that.” 

“What do you mean? Did you-“ her cheeks blushed furiously in self-loathing. “You know about it?” 

“Yeah, Rowan mentioned Aelin inviting him. I was... I don’t know, I guess I thought you’d invite me, but we haven’t even been dating that long.” His laugh was choked and unclear. “Don’t worry ‘bout it, princess.” 

“Wa-wait, I want to worry about it, I want- I want you here,” Elide stammered. “Please, come?”

For a moment, a long long long moment, Lorcan didn’t say a word. Elide swallowed, her stomach dropping. “I’ll come, El. Is there a dress code or whatever?” 

She grinned, “Nope, they’re pretty chill. But, maybe... more grunge than anarchy, yeah?” 

He chuckled, “Yes, ma’am.” 

���Good,” Elide whispered. “I’ll- we can talk, ok? Promise.” 

“Pinky promise?” 

She blushed, “Mm-hmm. Pinky promise.” 

They said their soft, stupidly in-denial-in-love good-byes and Elide hung up. The moment the call was over, her anxieties crept back in. 

Elide walked downstairs in a daze and stood by the table, her eyes nervously flicked between the door and the room. 

Aelin noticed her practically shaking and she snuck on over, “Hey, hon.” She tweaked something about Elide’s hair and smiled, “How’re you doing? You’ve been so quiet tonight.” 

“Oh, I- I’m fine,” Elide nodded, her voice teary. “I just-“ she sighed and collected herself. “I didn’t invite Lor ‘cause I didn’t want him to think it was too fast or too serious and then my dad called me a coward so I called him an’ now I’m just... I’m thinking I fucked up and maybe I’m ruining this? Like,” Elide swallowed, shaking her head, and laughed half-mad, “maybe he’s only coming to say that I fucked up too bad and he’s breaking up with me.” 

Aelin gave Elide a look and sighed, “Hon, you know I don’t like him, but I’ve never seen you two so happy. If - if Lorcan was going to break up with you, it wouldn’t be about this. Something would have to have been really, really fucked up for him to leave.” 

Elide huffed a laugh, “Ok… you’re probably right.” 

The blonde smirked, “I’m always right. Now, I’ve got to find Rowan. I’ll see you later?” 

She nodded, waving her friend off, “Yes, yes, go find your boyfriend.” 

Turning, Aelin called over her shoulder, “And good luck with yours.” She disappeared into the crowd, easily seeking her boyfriend, whose head was far above everyone else’s. Elide watched for a moment. Rowan turned when Aelin tapped his shoulder and smiled, leaning down to kiss her cheek. They looked so… happy with each other. 

They looked how Elide felt around Lorcan. Like how nothing else mattered and how she would damn the world for him. Elide walked into the kitchen, where the kitchen staff were busy cooking and prepping. She stayed out of their way and offered the few that noticed her a small grin. Elide pulled a bottle of beer from the fridge and quickly exited. The stash was her dad’s, but they both knew he stocked it for her to take on the rare occasions Elide even felt like drinking.

She looked around the party and cringed. There was no one here that she wanted to talk to. Through the large front window, Elide could see that the front porch was empty. That was probably because it was still relatively cold, but Elide would rather sit out in the chill than talk to any of her parents’ guests. Elide somehow managed to escape unscathed and sat on the porch steps, hidden from anyone’s casual glance. 

Elide twisted the top off and took a long sip of the cool drink. Her knee bounced uncontrollably, and she didn’t try to stop it. She looked up and down the street, waiting for his crappy little car. 

As she waited, Elide nervously picked at the bottle’s label with her thumb. She shivered, but didn’t care enough to move inside. 

Elide breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly, deciding to list the things she knew. 

One: Elide had never been as happy as she was with Lorcan. 

Two: Elide wanted to be with him for the rest of her life. 

Three: Elide loved Lorcan. 

Four: If she had really ruined this, Elide would never forgive herself. 

A black, 1995 Honda Civic parked across the street. Her throat ached with tears and her eyes stung once more. Elide’s breath trembled as a tall, lanky man stepped out of the car. His dark hair was half shoved up in a messy bun, the rest tumbling down his back. 

Lorcan looked up at her and nodded, his face impassive. Her heart clenched, even though she knew that he hardly ever smiled. He crossed the street without looking, putting his keys into the pocket of his lined flannel jacket. His coat was worn and the cuffs frayed. Elide liked to steal it and wear it. It was warm and smelled like him - cedar and sweetgrass. 

She stood up, leaving her half empty beer on the step. “Hey, you,” Elide said, trying to pass for casual. 

Lorcan walked up the stairs and stopped a few below her, still taller than her. His dark, hooded eyes sparkled with something and the corner of his lips quirked up, “Hey.” He lifted his hand, curling a strand of her hair behind her ear. “You–” 

“We-ell, lookie what we have here,” said a new voice. Annoyed, the couple turned, their brows lowered. When they saw Elide’s drunken uncle, Vernon, Elide shifted closer to Lorcan and curled her arm around his shoulder. “Oh, and you m-must b-be-” Vernon hiccuped, his eyes unfocused, “Lorcan. You know,” he began, stumbling closer to Elide. 

She flinched and Lorcan slid his hand across her lower back, fitting it around her hip. “Hello, uncle. Are you enjoying the party?” 

“Yes, yes,” Vernon slurred, waving his drink around and sloshing it over the rim of the glass. “I’ve been asked to leave. Apparently,” he chuckled humorlessly, “I was not invited! How ‘bout that, hmmmm?” 

Elide attempted a fake laugh, hoping he wouldn’t be able to tell. “That’s- that’s a shame, uncle. We’ll have to see you another time, then.” She looked at Lorcan, her eyes worried, “This is Lorcan, uncle. We’ve been… seeing each other for a couple months.” 

Vernon nodded dodgedly and addressed Lorcan, “Th-this one’s a handful, hmm? Never could listen to the simplest of commands, even as a child, could you?” He reached out to do something, maybe even pinch her cheek, but Lorcan moved her, lifting her onto the step he stood on. The heavily inebriated man didn’t notice the quick shift, nor did he notice the relief on Elide’s face as she did not dare look anywhere else except for him. “I didn’t- I didn’t think you were even gonna come, ya know.” 

Elide’s cheeks heated and she looked down at her feet. Lorcan’s hand squeezed reassuringly around her hip, “I was busy until now.” He moved to the side, leaving a path for Vernon, “It was nice,” Lorcan paused purposefully and looked Vernon up and down with disdain, “to meet you. Have a nice night.” 

The man staggered down the stairs and out of the front yard. Elide stayed where she was until he had disappeared down the street corner. When he had, she disentangled herself from Lorcan’s arms and stood in front of him, looking up at his face. 

He looked back at her, nothing, not a hint of emotion on his features. Elide took his hand and walked him to the swinging bench. They sat, his feet against the floor and Elide’s legs tucked beneath her. 

She let go of his hand, though Lorcan kept it on her thigh, and looked down at her lap, “So. Hi. I missed you.” 

Lorcan grinned softly and kissed the curve of her cheek, “I missed you too, Lee.” 

Elide smiled a small, constrained smile. “I’m really happy that you’re here and I’m… I’m sorry I didn’t ask you to come earlier. I- I thought- I was being a coward ‘cause I thought this was moving too fast and I was scared and I don’t care anymore and,” she forced herself to meet his eye, quiet joy shining there. “I love you.” 

Before Lorcan could say anything, before he could reject her, Elide stood up and hastily dragged her hand through her hair, “That’s all I wanted to say, so if you have any plans tonight, you can go.”

She squeaked slightly when Lorcan sharply tugged her back, making her land with her legs across his lap, “What–” 

“Princess, shut your yappy ass for once, would you,” he said, laughing quietly. Elide frowned at his words, but remained quiet, her eyes expectant. Lorcan’s hand rested on the crook of her neck and his thumb stroked over her jumping pulse. “I love you too.” 

Those words, those beautiful words, settled around her heart and Elide let her grin grow widely. She leaned in and kissed him softly, lifting her hands to cup his face once more. They kissed for a short while, his other hand gripping the side of her leg. 

She pulled away first and rested her forehead against his, her eyes still closed. “Do… do you want to meet my parents?” 

“Woah, woah, woah,” Lorcan joked, his tone teasing, “I think this is moving too fast for me, babe.” 

Elide rolled her eyes and got to her feet, holding her hand out to him. “Come on, dummy.” 

He grinned and accepted her hand. Lorcan slung his arm across her shoulders and kissed the side of her head as she led them into her parent’s house. Lorcan toed off his untied, beat-up and retro Jordans, and hung up his jacket. 

After, she walked them into the living room, their fingers laced together. She held onto his arm with her other hand and leaned her head against his bicep. 

Rowan and Aelin noticed them first and made their way over to the pair. Lorcan and Rowan did their secret handshake and chatted quietly as Elide nervously looked around for her parents. The two boys and Aelin chuckled at her obvious absence.

She didn’t notice it and when she saw her parents, Elide walked, hardly glancing back to see if he was coming. 

Lorcan laughed under his breath, “We’ll see you two later, I guess.” Aelin and Rowan waved them off goodnaturedly. 

Her mother noticed them first. Lorcan was almost taken aback at the similarities between Elide and her mother. They looked like twins, except that Marion’s face was matured elegantly, her eyes slightly more narrow than her daughter’s. “Hello, you two,” Marion said, patting her husband’s shoulder, “Callan, dear, look who it is.” 

Cal turned and smiled at his daughter, his brows raising slightly when he looked up at Lorcan. Her father was a relatively tall man at six-foot-four, but the difference was still quite significant. 

Without thinking, Lorcan turned to his girl and said, “How are you so tiny? Your dad’s tall, man.” Elide gasped in offence and pinched the underside of his arm, hard. Lorcan yelped, “Ok, ok, ok, Creator above, I’m sorry.”

She smirked smugly and turned back to her parents, who watched the scene in amusement, “Please ignore him, he thinks he’s funny. This is Lorcan, my boyfriend.” 

Marion and Cal arched their brows, laughing quietly. Lorcan reached his hand out to her mother, who accepted it and shook his hand, “It’s nice to meet you and happy birthday, Mrs. Lochan.”

“Oh, please, call me Marion. Mrs. Lochan is my mother-in-law,” Marion said. 

Lorcan chuckled and nodded his head, “Of course, Marion.” 

Elide looked up at him the entire time, knowing that her smile was smitten and ridiculous and not caring at all. As her father spoke with Lorcan, Elide looked at her mother and talked in Blackbeak, too quiet for either of the men to hear, “You’ll tell dad to not threaten him with gross bodily harm or death, right?”

Marion laughed, the sound tinkling and bright, “Your father knows we Blackbeak women can fend for ourselves. Besides, I think he’s half in love already.”

Elide rolled her eyes and looked at her boyfriend and father, their postures relaxed and faces happy. She snorted and hid the sound behind her hand, though Lorcan still heard it and turned to her. “Are you good?” 

“Mm-hmm,” Elide hummed. “Do you want some food? I haven’t eaten yet.” 

He nodded, “Yeah, ‘course.” 

They said their farewells to her parents and wandered off. 

“That went well, right?” Lorcan asked her quietly, his words… nervous. Elide hadn’t ever seen him nervous. 

“Yeah, it did,” she said. They passed by an alcove, and Elide pulled him in. It was a small bay window with a cushioned seat. 

She sat and pulled him down too, her knee against his thigh when she folded her leg up. Elide mindlessly fixed his hair, though it didn’t need fixing. “But, you know, even if it hadn’t gone well, I would still love you.” 

Lorcan smiled and gently kissed her, not caring that anyone could walk by and see them. “Really? What would make you stop loving me?” 

Elide hummed and thought for a moment. She pressed her lips to his again and murmured, “I think our story is a fated one, you know?” Her long lashes fluttered against his cheeks when her eyes fell shut, “I think I would fall for you in every world and every lifetime.” 

“Yeah,” Lorcan whispered. They drew back at the same time and pressed their brows together. He thumbed something from her cheek, “I think that too.”

☽ ☼ ☾

an: i wrote this last night and i wanted to post because i hit 900 followers today !! and im very happy and thankful for all of you - it’s been almost two years since i had this account and nearly two years since i started to write fic and there’s so many who i love so much that i never wouldve met without this so !! thank you !! 

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[quirklessidiot]

Title: coward :: brat Pairing: Y/N x Miya Atsumu  Genre: angst, romance, and very slow burn [ex to lovers au] Warnings: Cursing, alchohol, mentions of unprotected sex, unplanned pregnancy, and mentions of abortion

Synopsis: you finally see Miya Atsumu after six years, meanwhile, he feels pain when he realizes that you settled down with someone else that wasn’t him. notes: i um want to thank yall for supporting this story im- crying T-T I’m happy to inform everyone that i’ll be updating this twice a week every monday and saturday! yay!!! i was able to finish editing and im writing the last two chapters now. stay safe and big love to each and everyone of you <3

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“...Uh, Youta-Kun, Yuuto-kun, I thought you guys weren’t allowed to go.” Sugawara laughed nervously, knowing all too well where this would lead. He’s familiar with over-enthusiastic boys, in fact, one of those over-enthusiastic balls of sunshine was here right now entertaining them.

“K-Kaasan says it’s alright.” Yuuto lies but Sugawara quirked his brow, it was so obvious that he was lying.

“Yep, she did!” Youta grins, trying to help his twin but like him, he’s failing drastically.

“Then you won’t mind if I call your okaasa-”

“No!” Youta and Yuuto yell in unison. This made other people turn their way, Miya Atsumu watched the pair in amusement from afar. He noticed that they were late and that Sugawara had caught on to their scheme of joining in even without the parental consent, “We won’t join!” Youta proclaims, “Right, yu? W-We’ll pick up balls!”

Hinata feels his eyes glimmer at those words and decides to help them convince Sugawara but in the end, the twins were forced to be benched while the grey-haired teacher had to go back to the faculty to call you.

“It’s alright,” Hinata ruffles both their hairs, “We’ll try to come back next time and I’ll be sure to help convince your ‘kaasan.”

“Hey don’t plant false ideas in their head, Shoyou.” Atsumu grins, lazily jogging to their side. He directs his gaze to the twins that seem to oddly remind him of him and ‘samu when they were younger. The boy's gaze lingered a bit too long on him,unlike other kids who stared at him in awe, these ones were seething, “What are ya lookin’ at, kid?”

“Wow,you’re as mean as your brother.” Yuuto notes, eyeing him up and down. 

“Yeah.” Youta echoes.

Atsumu quirks a brow, this was quite the new reaction. Never in his life had a kid told him that he was mean as ‘Samu also how did they even know his twin brother?

“Now, now, don’t you think you should cut me some slack?” Atsumu tried to jokebut the twins remained unamused by the blonde’s antics, somehow Atsumu felt a sense of familiarity from their monotonous reactions.

“No thanks.” Yuuto crossed his arms, “The fake Atsumu made ‘kaasan cry and since you look like him, you might make ‘kaasan cry too.”

“What he said!” Youta agreed loudly, copying his older brother’s action.

Atsumu was just plain confused now, he admitted that Osamu had an attitude sometimes when he was annoyed but letting a mom cry in front of her kids? That’s definitely new and not-so ‘samu like (after all, he was apparently the nicer one between them)

“What’s the name of your okaasan-”

“Youta-Kun, Yuuto-kun, Your mom will be picking you up at the gate! Please go there now.” Sugawara cuts him off, Youta and Yuuto stand up and eye him for a bit.

“We’ll defeat you and your brother! Just wait and see, we’ll be as big as you and that other jiji!” Yuuto exclaims and before Atsumu could retaliate, they’re running off to the opposite direction. Hinata was laughing beside him, clutching his sides because apparently he was too petty while Sugawara looked at him with an apologetic expression.

“I wonder why L/N-san didn’t allow them to go, she’s usually very supportive of their hobbies, especially volleyball.” Sugawara frowns, suddenly voicing out his thoughts. Atsumu felt his shoulders stiffen at the sound of that familiar name. 

Osamu revealed he saw you last week then these kids suddenly confessed that his twin made their okaasan cry, he’s never seen you cry throughout your relationship (save for that night when you first me but you guys weren't together yet so that didn’t count). Maybe he was mistaken? it might be your relative or a common name.

After all, you were clear about not wanting a family.

“You know their mom well?” Hinata inquired,  Atsumu seems to be listening closely now, wanting to confirm if the person that Sugawara was talking about is you.

“Oh yeah, we're around the same age so I’m much closer to her than the other moms.” Sugawara blinks, “Those boys have to listen to their okaasan more. She’s raising them on her own since their dad died before he even got to know that L/N-san was pregnant. She seemed to be longing for him whenever he’s mentioned.”

A crease appeared on the blonde's forehead as he was suddenly in deep thought. It couldn’t be, right?

“Uh, Sugawara-san, may I know the name of the mom? Her last name sounds kind of familiar.” he questions, pretending to be nonchalant but inside, he feels like he had his heart on his throat.

If it was you, he’d feel those things that he desperately tried to hide behind his confident jokes and laughs. 

The pain.

The pain that you chose someone else and was open enough to the idea of starting a family. If that guy probably hadn’t died, you’d be together, happily raising those boys he had just met a while ago. Happily married, something that Atsumu tried to mention one fleeting moment while you were together back in college but you immediately shut the idea down and left him a month later.

The pain that you fell in love in a span of moments unlike Atsumu who relentlessly tried to gain your favour and follow you around like a lost puppy.

“Oh, her name’s Y/N L/N.”

Thankfully nothing unexpected happened after what the twins did, they ended up having to pick if they wanted their video game rights removed for a week or cancel their plans with their favorite ojisan who was coming by a few weeks from now, they chose the first one on that.

They had even mentioned that they met the real Miya Atsumu and although you felt like your heart lurched out of your chest and your shoulders stiffen at the mention of that man --- their father---  they simply had called him a rude jiji like his brother much to your relief.

“L/N-san, we seem to have a problem.” Aiko frowned, handing the papers to you, “The director of the advertisement department wants a bigger budget, do you mind running it through him again? You have to go to the studio though, I heard they’re doing some photo shoot now.”

You nodded in reply, taking the papers from your co-worker. The studio was a bit far so you ended up having to commute to get there, “What a nuisance.” You muttered, you needed to buy a second-hand car soon when you had enough money. It would definitely be easier for both you and the boys, “Uh excuse me? Is Nakamura-san here?” you asked the secretary on the front desk.

“And who are you?” the secretary snapped back, still typing away on her computer.

“Y/N L/N from the finance department, I have to run through the new budget liquidation with him.”

The secretary one-eyes you and the ID on your neck for a split second, “You better be quick, the boss wants only five minutes per guest since he’s personally handling the shoot today.” was all she replied, handing you the pass. You muttered a quick thank you and made your way up to the studio, whoever the model was today, they must’ve been big for Nakamura to handle them personally.

“Oh-ho, is that who I think it is?” a very, very familiar voice calls out.

“Inunaki-san.” You greeted, trying to maintain yourself, were these the big clients that Nakamura was handling? The black jackals? good fucking gracious, god must hate you.

“Wow,” he shakes his head, feigning amusement, “You’re still so calm and cool.”

You narrowed your eyes at the insult but you waved it off, “And you’re playing for a national team, congratulations.” you replied in a blank tone, your senior probably knew what happened between you and his fellow member. You wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if he reacted the same way as Osamu did.

“We’re actually doing a shoot now, would you like me to call Atsu-”

“No.” your usual calm tone switched to a colder one, “I’m working now and so is Miya-san, please don’t bother yourself.”

“Gee,” he raised his hands, signalling defeat, “Just say you don’t want to see him. You don’t need to be so cold to me, my dear little kohai.”

“I have to go back to my job, I’m on the clock here.” You ignored his previous statement, “It was nice seeing you again Inunaki-san.”

Before you could give him a chance to reply, you headed towards the studio. You took a deep breath and mentally calculated to three.

one. 

It’s been six years, Miya Atsumu would ignore you. He wouldn’t care about the girl who left him out to dry in college. He’s got a girlfriend now, a model who has legs for days and looks ten times better than you and acts more like a girlfriend than you ever did.

two.

Yes, that’s right, he wouldn’t care.

three.

You entered the studio, you could feel the air tighten around you as soon as you heard that laughter. The one you used to hear everyday and never get tired of. For all the laughs you couldn’t do, he’d do it for you and boy, was he patient around you since you didn’t smile a lot back then (who were you kidding? until now you still had the same problem except when the kids were around)

You want to stop and stare, you want to admire him and his glory that you were very much proud of.

Yet your legs continue to carry you to your boss, the laughter seems to have ceased and you could hear someone asking him what was wrong.

“Oh, L/N-san?” Nakamura greeted you, “You’re here for the renewal of the budget?”

You nodded feverishly, your legs seem to be turning into jelly because you want to collapse from the nervousness and thank god that you wore some make-up before arriving here, otherwise, they would’ve noticed how pale you looked, “Everything seems to be in order,” He nods, scanning the sheets and handing them back to you, “Are you busy right now?”

You glanced at the wall clock, checking the time to see if you could extend your stay and Nakamura is quick to pick up on it, “Ah right, you’ve got kids to pick up. It’ll be quick, just help set up the blocks there and you’re free to leave.” he orders.

You nodded obediently and slowly turned to the side only to catch the very familiar chocolate brown eyes of the blonde. You feel your heart hammering in your chest and your feet turn cold, it had been six years since you last saw Miya Atsumu and he was still as winsome and exhilarating as he was back then.

You may have seen him a lot on television but seeing him, right here, a few feet away from you was different. Taking in a big gulp of air, you started working on the set-up as quickly as you could yet you could still feel his burning gaze remaining on you, “Tsum-tsum, lay off her will you.” came Inunaki Shion’s loud voice snaps him out of his daze.

Great, that little twat had to make an appearance.

“Y/N-san you should really say hi,” Inunaki teased as soon as you finish your set-up.

“Oh? You’re Y/N L/N?” the orange one gushed, quickly up on his feet, you recall him as Hinata Shoyou, Youta’s favorite orange-haired ninja, “Sugawara-san’s friend?” 

You hesitantly nodded, “Oh, you know her Sho-kun?” Shion asked, seemingly amused by it all.

“What are you all crowding here for, Hinata?” Another asked, peering in them closely. This one must’ve been Bokuto, another favorite of Yuuto.

“Sugawara-san’s friend! she’s the mother of those two boys in the training camp who had to go home early!” he suddenly turns to you and then grins, “Ne, ne, the boys really seem to want to attend one of those. Why don’t you allow them to join us-”

“Forget it, Hinata.” Atsumu suddenly speaks out, that warm voice that you were accustomed to seemed cold and menacing now, “She won’t allow it.”

Shion notices the tension between you two and when he’s about to usher the energetic duo away back to the dressing room along with the other members, you let out a quiet sigh and spoke out, “I was on my way to leave, please don’t bother yourselves.” You simply replied, you didn’t waver and stared at him dead in the eye, this could be the moment to end it all and cut ties with him officially, “I apologize for what I did back then, Miya-san. I should’ve told it to you in person. I offer my sincere congratulations to you for making it this far.”

The blonde clenched his jaw, it seemed like he wanted to say something to you yet when he realizes the usual calm and collected demeanor you're putting up, he decides against it and leaves you alone by storming away first.

Hinata and the guy named Bokuto looked at you --- completely puzzled and lost like a deer in the headlights --- before following the blonde, “You truly are in a whole ‘nuther level, Y/N.” Shion whistles, “Heard you’ve got two boys now though. Congrats, where's the poor bastard?”

You continue to watch the back of Atsumu Miya. Finally, it seemed like he’d left you alone and probably for good this time, “Gone, off to a better place.” was all you replied.

Inunaki notices the longing in your voice, a completely unfamiliar emotion he had never seen back then even when you and Atsumu were together. It seemed like you and Atsumu were both the poor bastards in the end.

Miya Atsumu sleeps alone that night.

He doesn’t call his girlfriend back despite the several missed calls, he doesn’t reply to the unanswered text of his brother and his teammates. All he feels is pain tonight, pain because of your very dry apology, pain because of your bland expression. Pain because you didn’t seem to care like that time six years ago.

He shuts his eyes tight and he feels as if he’s back in college, back to that winter night where he received that dreaded phone call from you after you disappeared from him. He remembered those days clearly, your apartment had been cleaned out and paid for, you weren’t answering him on social media, your phone line was also unresponsive and he couldn’t even call your family since you never mentioned anything about them at all.

You both may have been intimate for the past two years but when you disappeared, he had the frightening realization that he didn’t know you at all.

He didn’t want to push you out of your comfort zone, he wanted you to lead the relationship but right at that moment, he wished he pried just a bit since he was worried about you.

Then in the midst of his anxiety, it came, that phone call.

“Atsumu.” your usual calm voice filled his ears and he suddenly feels the weight of the world is removed from his shoulders, thank god you were okay.

“Y/N? Baby? Where are you?”

“Out.”

“Where outside exactly?” Miya Atsumu dryly asks, “It’s cold, you shouldn’t be out now and wandering about. Would you like me to pick you up-”

“I can’t do this anymore.” you suddenly cut him off and the line goes quiet. The blonde feels the world around him quiet down too when he hears those words that he wished he heard wrong.

“What’s, what’s wrong? Y/N, are you alright?” 

“I don’t know,” You mutter, “I’m just tired.”

“Tired of what exactly?”

“Of you, of us…”

“Y/N, are you saying what I think you’re saying?” 

“Yes.” Your voice remained dead calm as if you just hadn’t broken his heart in a million pieces that moment, “Let’s stop this here now, Atsumu. Let’s break-up.”

“That’s…” He tries to keep the mood light, praying that this is one of your dark jokes, “That’s not funny, Y/N.”

“It’s not supposed to be since it’s not a joke.”

Your response was curt as usual and he doesn’t know whats worse, the fact that you’re breaking up over the phone or the fact that your tone remains stable and the same.

“Y/N, don’t do this...Baby don’t do this over the phone.” His tone seemed desperate at this point, “I’m not stopping this until you tell me what's wrong between us, you have to give me something to work with Y/N. Is it something I did?”

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean ya don’t know?” Atsumu started to raise his tone when he notices how unaffected you seem at the other line.Frustration slowly started to bubble in him, the accent turning thicker as he got angrier, “Y/N ya can’t just disappear out of the blue and call me one day and tell me you want to break up! Do you think I’m some sort of fling? Some one-night stand or fuck buddies? We’ve been together for two years, Y/N. Two whole fucking years, What’s wrong? Do you not love me anymore?”

“Yes.”

The line went dead silent again and he hates it, he doesn’t know what to say as his face contorts in sadness and confusion. 

“I don’t…” He starts to feel a lump grow on his throat when he hears how easy it was for you to say, he knew he was in love with you more than you were with him. Many had pointed out how dangerous and how painful it would be on his side in the end, he couldn’t believe it would hurt him this much, “ I don’t fucking believe you, say it right at my face. Where the hell are ya? Let’s talk this one out in person.”

“Don’t bother, I just don’t want to see you again.”

“Y/N you can’t just-”

“I can and I will.” You cut him off, your voice was growing more and more detached and he feels like he’s back to that moment two years ago where you didn’t spare him a glance and treated him like a scrub, he hears a hefty sigh on your side and the next few words is another bullet to his heart, “I’m sorry it had to end this way, Atsumu.”

“You…” he shakily replied, trying to mask his grief with a painful chuckle. He wants to be mad at you, he wants to yell at you but for some odd reason, he couldn’t bring himself to,  “Jesus christ, you really are something, Y/N. You just broke my heart over the the fucking phone and all you could do is say sorry?”

“Sorry.” you say, like a broken-record on repeat and he hates it. He hates how he feels like this was nothing for you.

“Don’t you dare say that again when you don’t mean it-” He spat and before he could finish what he had to say, the phone line went dead. He tried to call again but it seemed like you had used a payphone. Out of complete vexation, he hurls his phone right across the room towards the blue photo frame with the both of you in it.

The sound of broken glass shards and ragged breathing is the only thing heard in the quiet apartment.

It’s not even the peak of winter that night yet he feels so numb and cold.

taglist [closed]

@fortheloveofiwaizumi​ ;  @svtbitch ; @ryaaaax ; @kiyoomile ; @lovedanii @juno-multifandom ; @gyubit17 ; @saeranoppa ; @nixxona ; @kyomihann @shorttstackk ; @itsmattsunshinehere ; @missingmystogan​ ; @Etherynaw ; @volleybloop​ ; @imcravingyou​ ;

[wayward-dreamer]

Life’s Lessons - Part 1

Title: Life’s Lessons - A Lesson in Settling In

Pairing: Mechanic!Dean x Female!Teacher!Reader (eventual)

Word Count: 3,362

Part Summary: Y/N settles into her new house, in a new town. Right off the bat, she meets her gorgeous neighbor, finding an instant connection with him. As she goes to work on Monday, she starts to think that she could get used to Lawrence, Kansas.

Warnings: some swearing, first day of work nerves, Dean being cute (yes, that’s a warning lol)

Music: Lookin’ Out My Back Door, I Heard It Through the Grapevine by Creedence Clearwater Revival (Setting up the house scene).

A/N: The first part is here! I’m so excited for you all to read it! Please let me know what you think, I can’t wait to hear your thoughts and feedback! P.S. I have a full playlist for this series coming soon, just finalising some selections! Happy reading and I hope you guys like it! :)

Dividers by the wonderful @firefly-graphics​! Check her out for all your AU needs!!! 

Y/N leaned against her car, a content smile on her face as she looked up at the house that she was about to call her new home.

The house was clean white, with a grey tiled roof. White wood railings encased the front porch, that had a porch swing in front of one of the windows. The front yard was freshly mowed, with the flower beds on either side of the porch steps. It was a modest, two-bedroom house, with not a whole lot of backyard space, but it was the most rent she could afford with her previous salary. It didn’t matter though; you could make a house a home no matter how big or small it was. Her job as a teacher wasn’t just rewarding when the kids did well, but it was able to put a roof over her head, and that was all she could ask for.

Y/N started with her bags before she opened the large U-Haul trailer attached to her car, and started taking out the boxes. It had been a long journey from Rhinebeck, New York, stopping off overnight in Ohio and then Missouri, but she made it to Lawrence, Kansas that morning, giving her enough time to start unloading her things. Considering it was just her, she knew it was going to take some time, but she was hoping to finish by lunch time so she could explore the town a little.

Luckily for her, complicated things to move like a couch and a bed, weren’t things that she had brought with her. Those things were reminders of what she had done on them with her ex-boyfriend and the last thing she needed in her new house were memories of him. He was the reason she had searched for teaching jobs outside of New York, and luckily, she got the furthest one. She missed her family already, but she needed to get as far away from the memories of him as possible.

Moving her bags and the boxes from the trailer had been the easiest part. It was moving the furniture – dining table and chairs, armchairs, record player, coffee table and two bookshelves – that was going to be the hard task on her own. She started with what she could do on her own, moving all the dining chairs into the house. When she got back to the trailer, she sighed heavily. There were too many things to move.

Y/N stepped into the trailer and started to shift one of the armchairs but growled in frustration as it got stuck on the edge. She couldn’t get the right hold on it to get it off the edge, her legs shaking as she tried to keep it steady.

“Whoa, hey. Let me help you with that” a male voice said behind her. She didn’t turn to see him yet, but watched as he grabbed the other end of the armchair and helped her put it down on the pavement.

“Thanks” she smiled, relieved.

“No problem” he said as he turned to face her.

She almost wished he hadn’t because now her legs were shaking more than they were when she couldn’t hold the damn chair. He was the most beautiful man she had ever seen, handsome but incredibly hot at the same time. The black and white plaid shirt he was wearing was tight across his arms, and she couldn’t help but get lost in his gorgeous green eyes and sinfully pouty lips.

She smiled politely, keeping the thoughts she was having suddenly, at bay. “No, really, thanks so much. I probably would’ve ended up trapped under this chair if you hadn’t stepped in.”

He laughed, laughter lines appearing near his mouth and crinkles around his eyes. “Well, I would’ve hated to see that happen.”

She smiled, not knowing what else to say to him. This was the first time she had ever been this flustered with a man. The sound of his laugh and the way those lines appeared around the creases of his eyes made her heart flutter.

“Can I help you with rest? I mean, I gotta get to work but I can be a little late” he asked, as he looked between the chair and the rest of her stuff.

She looked at the rest of the things and frowned. “You sure? I wouldn’t want to get you in trouble.”

“I’m positive. Helps to be the boss, so…” he smirked, as he shrugged.

She nodded, impressed. “What do you do?”

“I’m a mechanic, I own the auto shop on Main street. Winchester’s. I’m Dean, by the way” he said, as he offered his hand.

She took his hand in hers and tried to ignore the spark she felt radiate through her when their skin touched. “Y/N Y/L/N.”

“Good to meet ya, Y/N” he smiled.

When she smiled in return, Dean was completely floored by her. She was beautiful; dressed in loose boyfriend jeans, a white t-shirt, red converse sneakers and a red bandana around her head with her hair in a messy bun. She really had the girl next door vibe going on. That was dangerous with the situation he was in, so he had to tread lightly. When he saw her from across the street, he was reluctant to help because one look at her, even from a distance and he knew he was in trouble. His mother raised him to be a gentleman though, so he couldn’t hesitate to help a person in need.

With Dean’s help, moving the furniture she did have into the house only took about 20 minutes. She was incredibly thankful for him helping and hoped that it wouldn’t have been too forward to ask if he wanted to grab dinner with her, that night. She straightened out the medium sized, round dining table and chairs with Dean, and sighed in relief once it was done. Her furniture was now in place in all the appropriate rooms. She had to unpack now, which was almost harder than this, but at least she could take her time with it.

Dean looked around her house and nodded, noticing how many boxes had “BOOKS” written on them in black marker. He had only been in this house twice, when the previous owners still lived there before they moved to be closer to their children.

“Big reader?” he gestured towards the boxes.

“Definitely, but I’m a teacher too, so it’s an abundance of books” she laughed, as she looked at them. “It’s a little ridiculous, really.”

Dean laughed quietly to himself, trying to get the teacher fantasies out of his head. She really had to be a teacher.

“Well, I should head out” he said, as he made his way to the door.

She followed behind him and leaned against the doorway. “Thanks for the chivalry.”

“You’re welcome. I guess it’s not dead, after all” he smirked.

She laughed; it felt like the millionth time in the last 20 minutes. He was carefree and had made the tedious process so much easier with his humour.

“I’ll see ya around, Y/N” Dean said, shoving his hands into his pockets as he turned away from her.

“Thanks again” she called out.

Dean walked down the porch steps and turned back. He gave her wink before he walked across the street. She sighed to herself as she watched him walk away, his dark blue jeans doing wonders for his behind, though the black and white plaid was hiding his back from the looseness. She thought against asking him for dinner just yet, at least not on her first day in town. She would give it a couple of weeks, enough time for her to settle into her new job and into the town.

Y/N closed the door and walked back into the main room. Looking at the boxes, she knew it was better to return the trailer to the Lawrence location and then explore the town a little. Get some lunch, do a little grocery shopping. She picked up her bag and keys, heading out of her new house. She would start on the boxes when she got back.

Before she got in the car, she fired off a quick message to her family, telling them she had gotten there safely. It had been text after text and call after call asking if she was okay when she left Rhineback to drive to Lawrence. She reassured her family that all was well, and then drove into town.

The next day, Y/N was thankful that it was a Saturday. It would give her some more time to set up the house but also start getting ready for the first day of school on Monday. She was nervous about meeting the staff and the students, but she was excited about the new experience. She had walked through town the day before, grabbed the essentials like bedsheets and towels, plus some grocery items for the immediate need. She was already beginning to like Lawrence.

The first thing she did was set up the record player her dad had given to her. Once everything was plugged in where it was supposed to be, she put on one of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s records. She bopped her head along to Lookin’ Out My Back Door as she started to unpack the other records, before starting on the other boxes.

About 15 minutes later, as I Heard It Through The Grapevine played, she stood on the front porch, watching her furniture delivery unload from the truck. Before she even got to Lawrence, she had bought a new bed frame and mattress, couch, office desk and chair online, and thank goodness the place had Saturday delivery. She had made a makeshift bed out her new sheets and pillows last night, and with the way her back clicked and cracked into place when she woke up that morning, she was incredibly fortunate that her new bed was here.

She followed them inside and instructed the delivery guys on where to put the items. As she was helping them, she heard a loud knock on the open door. She turned around and saw a woman, maybe her age or a few years older, standing at the door. Next to her, stood a young boy, probably about 13 years old. Y/N smiled as she walked to the door, seeing a plate of something in the woman’s hands.

“Hi, we saw you moving in and wanted to welcome you. I’m Lisa Braeden, and this is my son, Ben” she introduced themselves, with a bright smile.

Y/N shook her hand and smiled in return. “It’s great to meet you, guys. I’m Y/N Y/L/N.”

“These are for you, I hope you like chocolate chip” Lisa said, handing her the plate of cookies.

“Maybe a little too much” Y/N laughed. “Thanks.”

“Listen, if there’s anything you need, we’re right across the street” Lisa gestured behind her to the house across the street.

Y/N nodded as she looked at the place. It had darker features, but the lawn was equally maintained. “I appreciate that.”

“So, Ben. What grade are you in?” Y/N asked, wanting to engage with Ben a little, who looked quite bored.

“I’m starting 8th on Monday” he mumbled.

Y/N smiled, looking between him and Lisa. “Well, I’m starting work on Monday. Maybe I’ll have you in my English class.”

“Cool.” Ben didn’t seem to care. “Nice choice” he said, gesturing to where the music was coming from before he turned away, walking to the porch stairs and waiting for Lisa.

Lisa looked at him with a “we’ll talk later” look, before she turned to Y/N. “He shouldn’t give you too much trouble, but if he does, you know where I am.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine” Y/N shook her head.

“Anyway, we should go. Welcome to the neighborhood” Lisa said, smiling again.

“Thanks” Y/N smiled.

She watched as Lisa and Ben walked across the street, clearly waiting to be behind closed doors before she talked to him about what just happened. Hopefully she wasn’t too harsh on him; no kid would want to meet their new teacher outside of a school setting. Y/N walked inside the house and saw that the delivery guys were done. She signed off on the delivery and the guys left. She picked up one of the boxes still in her living room and walked to the second bedroom she was using as an office. She was excited to set it up and get started on some work for Monday.

Y/N sat in her car in the parking lot of the school. She had gotten there a little early, just trying to calm herself down before going in to meet the principal. She had spoken to him for her phone interview and again when she got the job, so she was familiar with him. He seemed like a nice man and she just hoped that the rest of the staff were the same way. She was more nervous about the students. Moving schools wasn’t just hard as a kid.

She checked her make-up in the mirror and then got out of the car, walking towards the entrance. She fixed her white top and smoothed down her brown skirt, thankful that she had chosen brown sandals with a small heel instead of something higher. She didn’t need anything to go wrong today. Once inside, she walked over to the administration office, as guided by the signs. At the very first desk, sat a red-headed woman, the name plate on her desk reading: Anna Milton – Receptionist.

When Y/N approached her desk, she looked up from her computer and smiled.

“Hello, how can I help you?” she asked.

“Uh, hi, I’m Y/N Y/L/N. I’m starting here today and need to meet Mr. Shurley first” Y/N replied, trying her best to keep her nerves at bay.

“Oh of course” she picked up the phone and pressed a number.

Y/N waited a minute or so before a short man with greying hair and a beard, walked out of an office at the back of the room. He saw her and smiled, extending his hand as he approached her.

“Miss Y/L/N, wonderful to meet you” he said, shaking her hand.

“You too, Mr. Shurley” she smiled, as confidently as she could.

“Alright, let me show you around before your first class” he walked ahead of her, not leaving her too far behind.

It took Chuck, as he insisted on being called by his first name when it was a one-on-one basis, a few minutes to show her around the main parts of the school; the staff room, the library, the gym and the cafeteria. After that, he took her to the classroom she’d be using, just before the students came in. They watched as they came in, sitting down at their desks. Ben walked in and she smiled at him, but just received a little twitch of his face back. They all looked scared to see the principal in the room.

“Class, I’d like you meet Miss Y/L/N. Your new English teacher. So, make her feel welcome” he said to them in a commanding voice, before he turned to her. “If any of them give you any trouble, just send them down to my office.”

“I’m sure I won’t need to” Y/N looked between him and the students.

“Alright, take it away” he smiled before he left the room.

As soon as he was gone, the class erupted into loud voices as they began chatting away. Y/N sat on the edge of her desk, her legs and arms crossed as she waited, patiently. She would give them a few seconds before she got their attention. Before she could do that however, Ben looked at her and then at the rest of his classmates.

“Guys” he called out. The noise level didn’t go down.

“Last one to be quiet has to tell their next teacher why they were late” she called out.

The noise level dropped instantly.

Y/N smiled, happy that worked. “Alright. As Mr. Shurley said, I’m Miss Y/L/N. We’re going to start off with the role. As I call out your names, you’re going to tell me what you read over the summer and a short answer about what you liked or didn’t like about it.”

For majority of the class, things went well. Most of the students were well behaved except for one group of three boys who kept talking and disrupting the others around them. They were rude and weren’t listening to her when she asked them to stop several times. She would have to keep an eye on them. To say that her first lesson had been difficult would be an understatement, but she got through it. That’s what mattered.

Y/N had a break in which prepared for her class with the 7th graders. They were a breath of fresh air and exactly what she needed after the previous class. They were much more engaged and a lot softer spoken, so while she would have to get them out of their shells a little bit, they were pretty well behaved.

At lunch, Chuck introduced her to a few more of the teachers. She shook hands with everyone and engaged in conversation. The usual chatter about where she was from and how she got into teaching. As she sat down to eat, she looked over some of her messages. She smiled as she saw one from her sister, sending off a quick reply to tell her she was doing okay.

“Mind if I join you?” a voice asked.

She looked up to see a man with brown short hair and blue eyes smiling at her. He was adorable, looking cute in his white shirt with rolled sleeves, black pants and blue tie to match his eyes.

She smiled in return and nodded. “Sure, of course.”

He sat down across from her with his lunch. “I’m Castiel Novak, history teacher. Everyone calls me Cas, though.”

He offered up his hand and she shook it. “It’s great to meet you.”

Just as he was about to say something, a red-headed woman, not Anna, walked over. “Hey, you must be the new English teacher, I’m Charlie.”

“I’m Y/N” she said, shaking her hand.

“Charlie teaches Math but she’s a computer whiz too. Helps out the I.T. guys every now and then” Cas told her as Charlie settled into the seat next to him.

Y/N smiled approvingly. “Wow, that’s amazing.”

“Thanks. They ask me because I think they secretly know I’m better at it than them. I was in the corporate line for a while, but then I moved back home to help my mom” Charlie explained, between bites of her salad.

Y/N liked her already, her nerdy vibe with colourful plaid shirt and band t-shirt suiting her chirpy personality. Cas was a little quiet, but there was a calm presence to him. Though she had no doubt he had the ability to get kids to listen to him straight away.

“Yeah, we’re all glad she came back and stuck around” Cas smiled at her.

When she smiled in return, Y/N had to ask. “So, you two…?”

They both laughed as they looked at each other and then back at Y/N.

“No, we’ve just been friends for a really long time. I have a girlfriend, Meg. She’s a nurse at Lawrence General. She’s tougher than nails and I don’t know how I got her” Cas replied, laughing slightly.

“Yeah, and I’ve just started dating a few weeks ago. Her name’s Dorothy and she’s a writer for the Kansas City Times. She’s really cool” Charlie smiled softly.

Y/N nodded, understanding. “They both sound amazing. I can’t wait to meet them some time.”

They continued talking over lunch and Y/N couldn’t have been happier to have met them. They were both incredibly kind and lovely people, and she was really starting to get along with them.

As lunch finished and they went their separate ways, Y/N smiled as she walked to her next class.

Hopefully moving to Lawrence, Kansas was going to be the best decision she’d ever made.

-x-

Tags: @flamencodiva @deanwanddamons @winchest09 @katehuntington @akshi8278 @hobby27 @michellethetvaddict @spngirl05​ @kyjey​ @halesandy​ @440mxs-wife​ @stoneyggirl​ @deanswaywardgirl​ @wonder-cole​ @that-one-gay-girl​ @redbarn1995​ @marianita195​ @babypink224221​ @deans-baby-momma​ @parinarain​ @thoughts-and-funnies​

[the-evil-authoress]

GX Month Day 21: “Crystal Bond”

Everyone has a special bond with their deck, but arguably no one more so than the Crystal Beast wielder himself, Johan/Jesse Anderson! Show off that colorful bond today.

This was gonna be longer, and require another apology up front, but then my brain took a vaca before getting the actual angsty part so here ya go - pain free! (mostly)

I won...?

The adrenaline of that final combo wears off and he stands in stunned silence as his opponent climbs back to their feet. His ears are ringing. He honestly hadn’t expected to get this far.

“Little King.” Athena’s voice snaps him out of it; he turns to the warrior spirit smiling proudly at him and realizes his ears aren’t ringing- the crow is cheering, screaming someone’s name-

His name, the one he chose before entering this tournament.

Smiling, Jesse throws his hands in the air.

*

Athena walks next to him as Jesse exits the duel arena. He feels wired and giddy, like he could step right off the ground and float through the air. His fairies chatter animatedly, praises and congratulations and reminiscing moments from the duel.

Jesse jerks to stop in the hall. There it is again; that weird...pull, like something is calling out to him. He barely takes a step toward the source when-

“Ah, Jesse-boy! Just the person I was looking for!”

His shoulders hike to his ears with an embarrassing yelp as he spins to face the speaker. ‘Jesse-boy’? Who the heck- Oh. Oh god. Maximillion Pegasus?! “Me?” he squeaks, gawking at the living legend before him.

“Yes, you.” Is it wrong to think the man’s expression looks something like a kid in a candy store? Because it does and it’s kinda weirding Jesse out. “I have something rather special for you, I believe. If you’d come with me.”

Jesse glances at Athena who nods her head. Well, if Athena doesn’t think this is a terrible idea, how bad could it be?

Pegasus leads him down the hallways at a brisk pace, talking animatedly all the while. “A few years ago, I created a new set of cards based on some artifacts from one of my expeditions. But as soon as the cards were complete, they sealed themselves in stone!”

To anyone else, Pegasus would probably sound like a madman; but to Jesse - glancing back at the duel spirit following them - this sounds entirely in the realm of possibility. “Couldn’t you just break it?”

“I tried. I broke one of my best chizzles,” Pegasus says. “And that’s when I heard a voice - ‘You are not the one we seek’. I’m afraid I don’t have you gift,” - Jesse’s shoulders tense as the man turns to smile at him once more - “but I do have some affinity for magic and the spirits.”

“That would make sense,” Jesse says, slowly relaxing. It would be weird if the creator of this game had no idea about its secrets, but Jesse’s never met anyone else who could see duel spirits. “Why are you telling me all this? Why are you here?” Any event where Pegasus makes an appearance will usually announce the man as a guest to the entire crowd.

“A fortunate coincidence! I was in the area from some other business and decided to check out the skill of the locals. I was not disappointed.” Pegasus almost sounds smug. “As for you, Jesse-boy, I tend to keep these cards with me in case I run into the person they seek. Today, a light shone from the cards when you took the field.”

Hold up. Is he saying these ‘special cards’ chose Jesse or something?

“So I want to see if they’ll break their seal for you.” Stopping before an unmarked door, Pegasus unlocks it with a key and pushes it open.

Seven card shaped gemstones sit on display on the single table, forming a rainbow. Jesse’s heart leaps as he realizes this is the source of the feeling he’s been getting all day. Something about their uniform edges strikes him as wrong, but the colors are undeniably familiar.

“Go on,” Athena whispers. “They’ve been waiting for you.”

But why me? Jesse wants to ask except his heart is in his throat and his body reacts before his brain can, reaching out to touch the nearest crystal card. The crystal shell cracks and crumbles under his fingertip, setting off a chain reaction from the other cards as all seven shed their shells in a colorful burst of light.

“Rubii!”

Jesse jerks as the purple cat-like creature leaps toward his face - carbuncle, she’s a carbuncle, his brain supplies - landing on his shoulder to nuzzle his cheek with an odd sounding purr. A pegasus shakes himself like a dog while a large cat stretches her legs before rubbing affectionately against Jesse’s.

“Finally. It’s been too long.”

A tortoise peers curiously out of his shell. A white tiger prowls the room. An eagle flaps his wings before perching on the table. A mammoth trumpets his awakening and Jesse’s hands fly over his ear. He knows all of them, their presence washing over him and settling somewhere deep inside him like it was always supposed to be there but something’s missing.

“This set isn’t complete, I’m afraid.” Jesse spins back toward Pegasus, only just now remembering his presence in the room. “From what information I can gather, there’s an eighth card, a dragon, that can only be summoned by possessing all seven gems. But its soul was sealed in stone and hidden somewhere centuries ago.”

Something inside Jesse aches. Ruby presses herself more firmly against the side of his face. Amethyst growls.

“But I’ve got my best team looking for it, and I won’t rest until that dragon is found!” Pegasus announces with enough enthusiasm to power a whole city block.

“Please remember to sleep,” Sapphire murmurs.

“Ey, if man wants to run himself ragged lookin’ for Rainbow, who are we to stop him?” Cobalt shrugs.

Jesse smiles despite himself. “Thanks, but...remember to sleep.”

Pegasus laughs. “Of course. Now then, I think I’ve taken enough of your time.”

Oh shit! Dad will be wondering where he is! Jesse gathers the Crystal Beast cards and Pegasus hands him the rest of the support for his new deck - weird to think of it that way, he’s been playing pretty much the same deck since he started dueling - and Jesse makes a break down the hall only for watapon to screech at him and headbutt him in the right direction.

“I see that hasn’t changed.” Topaz chuckles.

“Johan.”

Jesse jerks to a halt. Athena doesn’t use his name often, which means this must be important.

“It’s time for me to move on.”

“Move on?”

“My task is done, little King,” Athena says, voice as gentle and firm as it's ever been as Jesse stares up at the spirit that’s been his guidepost for years. What doesn’t she mean ‘move on’? “You have the ones who were always meant to be at your side now.” She nods her head at the new deck box clutched in Jesse’s hands.

His grip tightens automatically. “But-” Athena was his first duel spirit, someone he looked up to from the moment he opened that first pack of cards. He built his whole deck around her! How is he supposed to-

“Now I must find my true place.” She turns to look over he shoulder and Jesse forces himself to follow her line of sight. At the end of the hall next to a cross section, a little girl in pigtails stares at the two of them, eyes wide and mouth partially open, a monster plushie clutched tightly in one arm.

Jesse jerks, looking quickling back at Athena. “Can she see you?”

“Yes.”

Jesse looks back at the girl as his heart swells and clenches in the same instant. The first person he’s ever encountered who can see duel spirits too and Athena is asking him to-

Fingers tight around the deck box that houses the Crystal Beasts, Jesse swiftly swaps it with the one on his belt, hold it close while he steels himself, and approaches the little girl. Crouching in front of her, he holds out the box full of fairies. “Hey, can you hold onto this for me?”

The girl’s eyes widen. She reaches for the deck with tiny hands as if expecting Jesse to yank it back. When he doesn’t, her eyes light up with glee and she spins on her heel to run down the adjacent hall. “Mama, mama!”

A shaky breath. Jesse stands as she disappears with the only deck he’s ever played. So this is it. With a regal bow, Athena turns to follow the girl, and Jesse swipes a stray tear from his cheek. Ruby nuzzles his face.

“I’ll be okay,” he mumbles, automatically reaching to pet the ghostly creature.

[lu-undy]

Un-alone, Chapter 17

Here it is!

“So, how’s your uncle?”

“Not too bad. I was tellin’ the others that he probably could come but the physio’s insisting for him to not rush things. At his age, stuff takes a real amount of time to heal up.” Mundy took a sip of his drink while Larry returned to one of the couches. Richie went to the other end of the counter, tending to other customers. That left Mundy and Mark alone. 

“How long before you think he’ll be alright?”

“Physio reckons it’s gonna be an extra month, maybe a month and a half.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Why? Does he owe you money or somethin’?” Mundy chuckled.

“No, I just miss talkin’ to him. He’s a cool guy.”

“Could still visit him at home. I'm sure he’ll be happy to see some people.” Mundy said, without thinking too much.

“You think so?”

“Yeah. I mean…”

“If you don’t wanna, it’s fine.” Mark answered, and now for Mundy, it was clear. Mark was not asking to visit his uncle as much as he was scouting Mundy’s heart. As one would dip his toe in the water of a calm lake to measure its temperature, Mark was testing Mundy’s mood, where he stood with respect to him.

“Wanna play some darts?” The blonde asked. 

“Sure.”

Better leave it blurry, Mundy thought. There was no point anyway… Or was there? 

Both men stood a few metres away from the target and Mark threw his first dart. 

“Ha, not bad, eh?” He proudly said. 

“Yeah, true.” Mundy closed one eye and took aim. He looked at the target and saw the blurry dart in front of his face. “Hm!” He threw it.

“You gotta be kiddin’ me…!” Mark laughed and shook his head. “A bullseye? on the first try?”

“Well, if there’s somethin’ I can do, it’s aim.” Mundy said and took a step away for Mark to replace him in front of the target.

“Oh, that I know, Aussie.” Mark threw the second dart. “Ha! I’m gettin’ closer, man!”

Mundy smiled under his hat. He took Mark’s place and shot again. 

“What?! How d’you do it?!”

“Told ya.” Mundy’s raspy voice chuckled through his words. “I can aim.” He raised intense eyes to Mark. The American looked left and right. 

“Wanna get harder targets?”

“Pff, Mark-”

“It’s ok if you don’t like the challenge, eh.” The blonde quipped. “I’ll just let you win and assume it’s your luck.”

“Told you, Mark, I’m a hunter, gimme darts, arrows, a rifle, anything, and I can aim with it.”

“I'm a hunter too.”

“Are ya now? Where’s your game then?”

“Maybe…” Mark looked left and right. He took a step towards Mundy, leaving hardly a few inches between them. “... I need a few lessons from someone who's clearly better than me, and a little bit older, huh?”

“You could ask yer Dad.”

Mark's head swooshed to Larry on the couch. 

“He’s too busy right now, I wouldn’t want to bother him while he plays God knows what with his friends.”

“So you prefer to bother me?” Mundy answered and the blonde raised lustful eyes to him. Ha, Mundy had never been too good at telling the hints, seeing the signals, but the way that Mark stared at him with his hazel eyes was louder than sirens.

“Yeah.” Mark blinked delicately, or maybe he fluttered his eyes slightly. “So? Is your van free for another lil’ trip?”

Mundy pondered for a split second. His head was showing him wild pictures. Was it worth it? Would he end up living in New Mexico with Mark? Would he introduce him to his parents? Nah, he wouldn’t. Mark was way too hot-headed, Mundy did not really like that. But…

But his guts screamed at him. It had been a while since anyone had hit on him, and his ego was more than pleased with it all. The colder Mundy looked at Mark, the colder he behaved with him, the harder the young American clung to him. Gosh, Mundy loved the feeling, looking down in his eyes and seeing how much the other wanted him… When was the last time that it happened? Far too long.

“Alright.”

THe night was as dark as the last time that it had happened and the privacy of the van wasn’t enough for Mundy. He raced through the dry and golden desert of New Mexico, which now was as deep as the night could be. The Moon wasn’t there.

“Oh, yeah, M-Mundy… Take me - arh!”

The Aussie shut his head and listened to his body, to his blood pumping everywhere, to this feeling of sharing something with someone, doing something exceptionally not alone. Well, yeah, he could just lay there in his bed and do it with his hand. But nah, he was there with someone. And as Mundy looked under him at the man laying on his stomach, he felt everything mix within him. As the thrusts of his hips resounded in the slapping of his sweating skin against Mark’s, as the groans of the blonde filled him, as the golden streaks of sweat raked Marks skin under the old, yellow light in the van, Mundy realised he heard nothing and saw nothing either. 

Only his thoughts were there. The same thoughts he had when he was alone. Was that person the right one? Did he like them? Was there something in his heart that would push him to do the unthinkable for that person? Would he drop hunting for them? Would he drop hunting beasts for them? Would he drop hunting… men? Would Mark fill the part of himself that unbearably itched for decades now? Could Mundy let that itch irritate him and burn him instead of deafening it as best as he could with one-night stands? 

What did his heart think? Heart? Heart? Is there anything there for Mark and me or…? 

Ah, yeah, well… 

“Mundy, I’m gonna-I’m gonna… Arh!”

Mundy almost stopped thrusting as he rose back from his daydream. The blonde had somehow risen to his knees and elbows, and as Mundy recovered his ability to see, he realised that Mark had been frantically using his hand on himself until, well, the end. And it pulled the Aussie to finish too. 

“Oh, man… It was even better than last time…” Mark concluded as he rolled on his back.

Mundy’s lips pursed into a smile, but the voice inside him still banged at his heart’s door. 

Heart? Heart! Tell me! You can’t just not answer! C’mon! Tell me if I can hope for something with this bloke? Yes or no?! How hard can it be?!

He banged again and again, as both him and Mark cleaned up and lay down to sleep, this time together, in the narrow bunk inside the van. 

Heart?

-- A few weeks later --

It had become a habit. Mundy would meet with Mark and spend his nights with him, without either of them questioning it. And it took less and less for Mark to ask him. As of late, a simple nod of the head towards the pub’s main door sufficed to signal to Mundy that the American was in the mood.

Mundy indulged every time. Why? Because it never felt bad to have someone to do it with rather than his own hand, to be blunt. But of course, the more they met, the more Mundy wondered. And the more he wondered, the more he harassed his own heart and his head for an answer, because quite frankly, if he asked what he had below the belt, his relationship with Mark could last forever… 

During his days, Mundy became more familiar with the geography of the city and the overall State of New Mexico. He appreciated dearly the patch of desert not too far from his Uncle’s and spent time there when he wanted a corner of solace, an outer haven. And he spent his time there alone, as always. Not that he would fight anyone who would like to join him, but no one ever did want to come along. 

Not even Mark.

Mundy had asked him one day. 

“D’you wanna stay here tomorrow mornin’?”

Mark was half asleep, naked next to the Aussie in his warm van. 

“Nah…” 

“You sure?”

“What would we do here in the middle of nowhere?” The American spoke half into the pillow.

“We could spend the day huntin’, under the sun, just you and me. We’d be far from people and uh, y’know, just enjoyin’ ourselves.”

Mark chuckled in the pillow. 

“You’re a funny guy, Mundy… See ya tomorrow.”

The Aussie thought about that slice of conversation again and again, it was playing on loop in his mind as if it had been recorded on a broken disc. Was Mark just too tired to have a chat after their usual meeting? Or did he genuinely laugh at Mundy’s suggestion?

The Aussie sighed. In the silence of his lonely van, he thought about it. Hold on. Mundy may not know Mark’s intentions but he knew how he behaved. The American would always ask to be cleaned, then roll to his side and sleep. The only thing Mundy would hear from him was sometimes praise of his performance of the day, and a “Night, night.”. Well, then maybe he did not really laugh at him…?

The Aussie finally decided to exit his van. He had been parked in front of the pub for a long enough while, just lost in thought. He needed a distraction, and a beer would surely-

“Hey, Aussie.”

Mundy gasped. 

“Oh, hey, Mark. Sorry, I didn’t see ya.”

“No worries.” The blonde chuckled. “You came here early today.”

“So did you.” Mundy answered. 

“I’m just playin’ the taxi driver for my Dad. He wanted to have a chat with Richie to organise the next big party here. Samantha’s gettin’ married with Jerry.”

“Oh, alright, congrats to them then, eh…?”

“Yup.” Mark nodded. “But what're you doin’ here this early?”

“I just wanted a beer or somethin’.”

“Mind if I tag along?”

“Sure.”

Both entered the bar and got served quickly. It was too early to be really busy, although a few patrons were enjoying their lunch there. 

“So, uhm, Mark…?”

“Yeah?”

“D’you uh… Would you like to maybe spend some time in the desert?” Mundy asked with his eyes down on his beer. Mark laughed. 

“Again with the desert stuff? You like it more than lizards do!”

Mundy smiled. 

“Yeah but, I mean, it’s nice out there. Nice and calm. We could go for a bit of hunting, eat what we catch.”

“Pfff, and then what? Grill under the sun for some wild thing to make us their dinner? Nah, Mundy… You go and get roasted if you want, I like it better in the shade.”

Mundy frowned slightly.

“Right, then uh… What about somethin' else?”

“Like what? You’re not tryin’ to take me out on a date, are ya?”

“N-No, nah, I'm not the date kind of guy…” Mundy shook his head. “I just… Gets quite lonely out there, just lookin' for some company, and uh… You’re a hunter too so I thought that uh…”

“Well, it’s my father who’s big on the whole hunting thing. I follow him sometimes when I’m bored but I’m not huge on it.” Mark took a gulp of his fresh beer and Mundy’s eyes dropped to the floor.

“So you don’t wanna hang out with me sometime?”

“I think we’re good the way we are.” Mark answered. “Why change it?”

Mundy sighed. He looked at his beer and he didn’t want any of it anymore. 

“Right.” The Aussie took off and left the bar, his pint still almost completely full.

“Mundy?”

He turned back to Mark with a hand on the pub’s front door still. 

“What?”

“You angry at me?”

“No.”

“What? What’s this mean then? You just leave and you haven’t finished your beer?”

Mundy sighed and looked left and right. The last thing he wanted was his private life and his interest in men exposed to people who knew Phil very well. He entered back and went to Mark. 

“Listen, if you're just with me for the nights, I’m not in anymore.”

The bluntness with which he spoke shocked Mundy himself. 

“I thought you liked it better that way?”

“No-Yeah, I don’t know and it doesn’t matter.” He spoke between gritted teeth. 

“So much for tryin’ to make me believe you're not mad…” Mark said with a scoff. “If you don’t know what you want, I can’t answer you, Mundy.”

“Alright, then. Here’s what I’d like to know, Mark.” Mundy removed his hat and slammed it on the counter. “Are you just with me for the nights?”

“I mean, that’s what we’ve been doin’ and I-”

“Answer me.” Mundy’s fierce glare made Mark gulp down audibly before he frowned. 

“Yeah, guess I am.” The American finally admitted. 

“D’you wanna go on like this or d'you wanna…?”

“Do I wanna what?” Mark frowned, now he was as mad as Mundy. 

“I don't know!” The Aussie answered. “Maybe we could do stuff together instead of just using each other like that?”

“And what’s wrong with that?” Mark asked. 

“Nothin’!” Mundy got his face closer to the American’s. “I just don’t like bein’ used, is all.”

“For someone who doesn’t like it and who’s a grown up man, you never said no, you never even raised the concern and you were the one fuckin’ me.” Mark spoke between gritted teeth for his shouts to be muffled into hard whispers. “You were the one to open your van, you were the one to get me out of my clothes, and you were the one to put it in me! Now if you didn’t want any of that, you never even gave me a clue about it! How could I have known?!”

Mundy sighed. 

“Look, I don’t know, I just… I can't go on like this.” Mundy answered and spun on his heels to leave again.

“Alright then, go back to spendin’ your days alone in the desert, see if that does you any good!”

Mundy stopped sharp. 

“What did you just say about me?” He said, slowly, and growling menacingly.

“I said: go back to the desert you like so much, I bet you’ll feel better there.” Mark repeated. 

“Pray that I never find you again, Mark.” Mundy pulled the hat down on his eyes and left.

“Or what, huh? What're you gonna do, huh? Hunt me down like I’m a deer?!” This time, Mark had raised his voice, but as he did, Mundy left and was already outside. 

The Aussie slipped in his van and drove back home. No. He needed the desert. He shifted gears to reverse. 

“Mundy! Mundy, wait!”

The Aussie  almost didn’t hear the voice calling for him. Larry came running to the van and banged the door on Mundy’s side. 

“Mundy, hold on!”

The Aussie lowered the window, his face as dark as his boiling rage made it. The shy Mundy within him wanted to blush. After all, Larry was Mark’s father. 

“Your mum’s called here, they’re asking you to go back home.”

Mundy’s eyebrows jumped and his face brightened, as if the storm raging within him a second ago had been pushed by the sun.

“Oh, uh, ok, thanks, Larry.”

“Pleasure, son, see ya!”

Mundy nodded and drove off. It took him the usual fifteen-ish minutes to reach back home. 

“Mum? You wanted to see me?” Mundy said as he entered. “Oh? What’s all that?” As he had pushed the door and entered, Mundy’s feet bumped on wicker bags. That one had towels at the top, oh, there was a cool box there. 

“Yeah, Micky, come in and go help your Uncle, will ya?”

“Sure… What’s with all the bags?” The Aussie entered the kitchen to find his mother making sandwiches. 

“We had a chat with your Uncle today. They say the weather’s gonna be real hot and sunny for the next week at least so we decided to go to the beach for a few days.”

“Oh…” Mundy’s eyebrows jumped out of surprise. “Alright, sure. You said Uncle Phil needed my help?”

“Yeah, he’s packing his stuff. I already dealt with your things and I assume you have some swimming shorts in your van, haven’t you?”

“Yeah, I have.”

“Then it’s all good. I’ll drive his car and you get your van with Marty next to you, yeah?”

“Works for me.” MUndy nodded with a smile.

“Perfect, now go before he goes mad. I’ve been hearing him grumble to himself…!”

“Sure, thanks, Mum.” Mundy came to leave a kiss on his Mum’s cheek. 

“No worries, baby.”

About an hour later, everything had been loaded into the van and the car, and Marty happily joined Mundy in his van, on the passenger’s seat. 

“How long is it till we get there?” Mundy asked.

“We’ll have to drive through the state and then through more or less the entirety of Texas to get to the sea.” Philip answered. “But if you ask me, better Texas than California!”

“Alright, you know your business, UNcle Phil.”

“It’s a twelve hour drive but of course, we’ll make a lot of stops and we’ll sleep on the way there. I know a few good places along the way. Used to make the trip with some colleagues at work once a year at least in summer.”

“Wow, twelve hours… I don’t think I’ve ever driven for that long.” Mundy answered. 

“It’s fine, son, we won’t do them all in one bite, eh?”

“I know, I know.. Still…! Right, let’s get started then.”

“You’ll just have to follow your mum, I’ll be with her to guide her.”

“Ok, thanks Uncle Phil.”

“Thank you, son.”

Mundy climbed in the van, on the driver’s seat. As he did so, Marty who was sitting on the passenger’s seat started wagging his tail.

“Hey, Marty, ready for the journey?”

The dog leaned into Mundy’s hand to enjoy some good head scratching. 

“Right, gimme a paw then, eh?”

The dog obeyed.

“That’s a good boy right there, good puppy. Right, Mum’s starin’, you sit and be a good boy while I drive, yeah?”

[fitzs-trained-monkey]

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Red Roses, Red Roses

Rated: 16+ For graphic descriptions of violence and gore, brief mentions of rape, mentions of torture, mentions of abuse, and disturbing images.

Masterlist

~All the pretty girls, they find

A way to keep you on my mind

I swear I heard you singing along

Cities pass like candy stores

And you're the one

I'm looking for

And so

I'm just a boy

Who's telling a girl

That when I grow up I'll buy you a rose

When I grow up, I'll buy you a rose~

"Okay, but what is the proper plural form of Nephilim?" I asked from the back seat of the Impala as it drove through the winding roads from the bunker and into town. "See, 'cause ' Nephilims ' sounds weird. So, is it ' Nephili ' like ' octopi ', or could it be ' Nephilice ' like ' mice '? I need to know this, guys."

The car was silent. Sam, Cas, and Jack were all thinking over the answer to my question and Dean was just rolling his eyes in the mirror.

"Maybe-" Sam started slowly "-Maybe it's just 'Nephilim'. You know, like ' moose '?"

"Yeah, that kinda sounds right, I guess." I nodded. Dean laughed and shook his head, glancing at me in the mirror. "What?"

"Oh, nothin'." He waved a hand. "I just don't get ya' is all."

"Yeah, neither do I." I shrugged and Jack must have found something funny because he snickered. "But what is it that you don't get?"

Dean shrugged. "I mean, I know you get rattled; Felix scares you and I get that. But you just take  everything else  in stride! How do you do that? I just- I don't get it."

"I told you this, Dean. I'm good at hiding my reactions to things and if I can't hide them then I use them to gain sympathy from others." I glanced at Jack, catching his eye. "At least, that's what I do until I can really trust somebody."

Jack smiled a little and tugged me closer into his side. He had been acting sorta weird since we'd all piled into the Impala for the drive into town. Jack had wrapped his arm around my waist and held me tight against him, almost as if he was keeping me away from the trench-coated angel on my other side. He kept shooting Cas these weird glances and I couldn't help but wonder what they could be about. If I hadn't known better, I would have thought that Jack was being possessive.

Not that I was complaining about our close proximity or anything! Jack was really warm and winter in Kansas was, shall we say, not. Who was I to turn down free cuddles? Although those cuddles did kinda make me want to sink my teeth into him. He smelled so sweet and his skin looked so frustratingly soft. Maybe one of these nights I could sneak into his room and get a taste. That could make things better, I mean, half the torture of being around him was the curiosity of not knowing.

"And we're here!"

Sam's voice knocked me out of that potentially devastating train of thought and I followed Jack out of the car. Okay, ' followed ' is the wrong word. Jack pretty much just pulled me out of the car with him. He didn't let go of me. Weird.

The town of Lebanon, Kansas reminded me quite a bit of Copper Harbor. The main difference was that Lebanon was bigger... A lot bigger. The buildings were small and friendly, made of red brick and wooden doors and windows with glass that bulged out at the bottom. The streetlamps were iron and curled over the street as they should and there were planter boxes underneath display windows. The whole town just breathed in a way that said ' stay awhile '.

"It's Christmas time," I noted aloud, "I almost forgot."

There were colorful lights wrapped around poles and wreaths hung on doors with bells that jingled when they opened. There were even speakers placed outside that filled the air with all sorts of holiday music and I felt a smile split across my face as I started to sing along.

"Oh, no. Don't tell me you sing too," Dean chuckled as he held open the door of a discount clothing store. I was about to say something witty as a response but Jack beat me to the chance.

"She does! She sang to me last night," He said, smiling down at me. Dean raised an eyebrow, glancing at the acute lack of space between us. Jack noticed and let go of my waist.

"Oh yeah? And how was that?" Dean asked, smirking.

Jack's brow's furrowed and his head tilted as he eyed me like he was trying to remember something.

"It was..."

' Please don't say anything that'll get me dead! ' I pleaded silently.

"It was  magical ."

Sam, Dean, and Cas all shared a strange look, but before anything more could be said, the shopkeeper waltzed in from the back room.

Her silver hair was cut short and straight with the ends tucked around her chin. She was a short, thin woman probably in her late forties or early fifties with a not-a-hair-out-of-place sort of attitude. I would bet twenty bucks that her name was Christie spelled with a 'Ch' that she would be sure to remind us of. Click-clacking her way over to us in a pair of atrociously hot pink six-inch heels, the woman regarded us over the tops of her thick, rectangular glasses which hung on a chain around her neck. She flicked her eyes over each person individually in a way that reeked of silent judgment and when her eyes landed on me I was tempted to flip her off. When she was satisfied that she knew everything there was to know about us, the woman fixed a painfully fake smile onto her face and greeted us, speaking slowly like we were uneducated simpletons.

"Well, hi there all! My name's Christie with a 'Ch', you know, like in 'Christmas'? What are your names?"

Called it.

"Hey, Christie. I'm Dean, this is my brother Sam, standing really creepily behind me is Cas, and this one here is his son Jack." Dean pointed as he introduced everyone, sounding annoyed as if this was his tenth time meeting Christie which it probably was. "We're lookin' to get Marty here some warm clothes. Got anything, ah, petite?"

I shot Dean a pointed look to which he just smirked. It wasn't my fault he and his brother were so freakishly tall. In front of us, Christie ignored his request to do business and kept on chatting.

"Sam and Dean Winchester? I remember you, boys. Why didn't you tell me one of you had a daughter as pretty as this little vision? Is she yours, Sam? She looks a bit like you," She cooed, stroking my hair as if that was a socially acceptable thing to do. I almost bit her hand off but smiled instead. Her question caught Sam off guard.

"No, no. Marty's not my daughter," He chuckled nervously, shaking his head.

"Oh! My mistake. Is she yours, Dean?"

"What? No! O'corse not!"

I nearly smacked my face with my palm. Were these guys  trying  to look like kidnappers? Considering their age and the way I was dressed, oh yeah, this totally looked like a kidnapping.

Christie frowned and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer to her side. Jack reached for me but Christie pulled me further away, glaring at him.

"Oh, dear me. I shouldn't be calling the police on you boys now, should I?"

Sam and Dean glanced at each other, trying to come up with some sort of excuse and Christie was already pulling out her phone. A very Isaac-like idea popped into my brain. I rolled my eyes and huffed, pushing away from Christie.

"Ugh! Why do you guys have to be so weird about it? I mean, if you have to dress like child abductors then you could at least  try  not to act like it!" I turned to Christie, shaking my head. "Yeah, sorry about them, ma'am. It's a really long and scandalous story and you probably don't wanna hear the details, but I'm not being kidnapped, I promise."

Christie perked up at the mention of scandal, she was probably just itching for some juicy gossip to spread around at one of her knitting meetings.

"Well, I should probably hear the whole story just to make sure," She said, almost buzzing with excitement.

"Are you sure?" I baited, "It's pretty bad!"

"Oh, you can tell me, hon! I won't tell anybody."

Liar, liar, pants on fire!

"Alright, so long story short, my mom is Cas's aunt and she's a slut who cheated on my dad, who's a straight-up loser. So, he only found out that I'm not his just last week and filed for divorce within two days because he finally has an excuse to get rid of me now. Except, surprise-surprise, my mom never wanted me either because I'm a useless mistake and so they both threw me to child support which Cas here saved me from because he's a decent human being!" I finished my rant of bull crap and inhaled deeply. Christie had bought every word.

"Aw, you poor baby! You get a discount, sweetheart, and if one of your parents ever comes in here I'm gonna wring their neck!" She continued babbling as she led us through the store while Sam, Dean, Cas, and Jack all stared at me like I had eight heads. I smirked at them and shrugged a little.

Five hours and six oversized bags of clothes later and we were out of that store. We crossed the street and collapsed on some benches outside a diner, remaining silent for a while.

"That was worse than Hell!" Dean complained, tugging his boots off and rubbing his sore feet. "If I had to hear that woman talk for one more minute, I might have slit her throat!"

The rest of us made noises of agreement. Well, all except Jack who just shrugged.

"I thought she was nice," He said, though he too looked worn out.

"That wasn't nice, Jack. That was prying," Cas corrected him.

"Yeah," I agreed, "I wasn't sure how much more crap I could spout about your aunt, Cas!"

"Yeah, um, speaking of," Sam cut in, "You had that whole thing pretty handled, Marty. Where'd all that stuff come from anyway?"

"I've been on my own since I was nine, Sam," I lied, lowering my head and picking at my jeans.

"I get that, but-"

" Since I was  nine ,  Sam ." I glanced up to see Sam's mouth form into an 'O' of understanding. I looked away again, quieting my voice. "I know how to make up excuses that people won't question."

"Ah."

"You are  quite  the liar, Martina," Cas spoke up with a tilt of his head. The way his words curled in on one another made it impossible for me to tell whether his statement was one of praise, suspicion, or both. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Jack eyeing Cas, his lip curled in a scowl that looked unnatural when displayed by his gentle features.

I didn't look up at the angel sitting in front of me. A tight smile tugged at the corner of my lips as I tapped the pads of my fingers against my knees.

"You don't trust me do you, Castiel?" I asked, trying to keep my voice neutral. Cas sighed and shook his head; I watched Jack's hands clench into fists.

"No. No, I don't," He said, eyeing Jack's reactions as well.

"Why not?" I still didn't look up, feeling the angel's gaze shift to me.

"You lie so easily to others, and you do it very well. What's to stop you from doing the same to us?" For once, Castiel's tone didn't seem accusatory. He sounded truly curious and... understanding almost. His words were something close to gentle.

"Nothing, really," I answered honestly, "For five years, it was just  me . I had Isaac but I still felt  so  alone . I felt so small and scared and  purposeless . All I did was run and hide, it was like I was just waiting to die. So, when you guys offered me protection, I couldn't say no. I couldn't say no, even if I didn't actually need it."

"Didn't need it? What's that supposed to mean?" Dean asked, leaning his elbows on his knees. I shrugged.

"You guys saw a small kid getting attacked in that alleyway and you helped her out. You just made the same mistake that everybody does."

"And what mistake is that?" Cas pressed, squinting curiously.

"Thinking that small means the same thing as helpless," I took a deep breath, shaking my head, "It doesn't, and I'm not. I told you I was clever, you just never stopped to think about what that meant. What you guys don't seem to get is that I survived for  five years . I was just scared that if you knew then you would leave me there alone and I- I just couldn't."

"So, you lied to us?" Sam asked with a frown. I nodded.

"I did. I lied to you and I'm sorry."

"We wouldn't have turned you away, Marty," Jack said, softly grasping my hand.

"I think somewhere deep down I knew that. There were just these things I had to do to survive and I was so scared that if you knew about them, then you wouldn't want me. So, I lied. Because the only thing I could think about was how I just couldn't be alone anymore." I laughed in spite of myself.

Jack nodded solemnly before glancing up and getting distracted by something across the street. His face lit up as he let go of my hand and stood, bounding towards whatever had caught his attention. I didn't bother to watch him.

"Look, Marty," Dean sighed and shook his head a bit, "You seem like a pretty sweet kid and I like you, a lot. Now, I may not know everything about your past, but I know from experience that the only thing that can make up for your mistakes is trying your best to do the right thing now. I wanna trust you, Marty. We all do. But if you keep all these secrets, then we can't do that. So, can you promise us just one thing?"

"Name it."

"No more lies?"

"No more lies," I lied.

"Good." Sam smiled. "So, is there anything else we should know about you?"

There were so many things. None of which I could tell.

"Well, there might be one thing."

"What?"

I opened my mouth to speak but I was cut off by a flower being presented before my eyes. The flower was a rose and the rose was white. It was gorgeous and perfect, there wasn't a single flaw on any of the smooth petals and it was just one step short of full bloom.

There was a hand attached to the rose and I plucked the flower from his fingers, twirling it between my own.

"What's this for?" I asked as I looked up at Jack who beamed down at me the way I remember summer sunshine being like.

"It reminds me of you," He said simply.

"Why?" I chuckled.

"Um, because you said that you pretended to be innocent and helpless because you thought that nobody would want you if they knew otherwise. So, um, I-" He gestured to the rose's thorn-covered stem. "Well, t-this one has spiky-things on it."

"So, it does." I nodded, giggling at his strange explanation. Jack flashed me a grin and continued.

"At first, I thought it was just beautiful, like you, and I didn't see the spiky things until I picked it up. When I touched it, it hurt, but I took it anyway. See, it's still beautiful - even with the spikes - I still wanted it. So, I want you to know that even if you have spikes, I still want you."

Around. There was an ' around ' tagged on the end of that sentence, he just forgot to put it there. Right?

"Thank you, puppy. That was very sweet," I said, catching a glimpse of the flower cart across the street where he must have gotten it. The cart was unattended. In fact, the whole street was oddly empty. It was Christmas time, the street shouldn't have been empty, but it was and that gave me a very bad feeling.

Jack smiled so innocently it made me want to cry.

"You're welcome!"

"You paid for this though, right?"

Jack's face immediately told me the answer. "Is it not for free?"

"Nope, you stole it. You're criminal now," I joked.

"Oh." Jack frowned for a moment. Then he shrugged. "Well, when we grow up, I'll buy you one."

I had the chance to say something witty, so naturally, I replied with:

"Cool."

I mentally slapped myself. Of course, he says something cute and all I say back is ' cool '. My brain hates me.

I felt my cheeks heating up, so I ducked my head down. Deciding that we were in a shaded enough spot, I tugged the light-teal-colored baseball cap off my head. (I had been using it to hide my face from the harsh burning of the sunlight that drifted over the town.) The cap had a manatee sewn on the front and was one of the few things I had brought with me from my past life on the sunny shores of Florida. Laying the hat in my lap, I pulled my thick black braid over my shoulder and proceeded to weave the rose's stem into it loosely. Then, I flipped my hair back and smashed the baseball cap back on my head.

Meanwhile, the angel boy just smiled down at me as if he  hadn't  just said some of the kindest words I'd heard in five years. My cheeks felt like they were on fire and suddenly my shoes were extraordinarily interesting.

My attention was drawn away, however, when out of the corner of my eye, I watched Cas's back go ramrod straight. His head tilted to the side like he was listening for something, his eyes narrowing to one-quarter squint power.

"Cas?" Dean called to his friend. More like  their  friend, really, Sam and Jack were his family too. I guess I couldn't bring myself to call the angel my friend while I was lying to his face about everything I was.

"There are monsters somewhere here, I can sense them," Castiel said quietly. Jack stopped and tilted his head like Cas, focusing.

"I sense them too," He reported, glancing at me, "They're vampires." I sat up a little straighter.

"Put your shoes back on, Dean. You cannot rest while enemies are nearby," I said, smiling wryly and letting an edge of nervousness creep into my voice.

"How many are there?" Dean demanded, already taking charge.

Cas squinted harder. "Seven... Wait, no. There are eight."

"Where? C-can you sense that?" Sam asked.

"No-" Cas shook his head before turning to his surrogate son. "-But Jack can."

Cas sent a small nod to Jack who nodded back and directed his gaze upward, stretching out a hand. His eyes flicked into glistening gold and I could feel my hair stand on end as the air became charged with raw power. For a split second, I almost thought I saw the outline of feathered appendages sprouting from the boy's back. Then, Jack's eyes flickered back into their crystalline blue and I shook the after image away. Whatever I had thought I'd seen was gone before I could register it.

"There are two of them hiding in an alley about thirty yards that way-" He pointed to the left "-and there are five more. They're waiting for an ambush? I think? They're over there. In that really suspicious-looking grey van parked four cars down." He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder and I leaned over to glance at the car. Jack had been right, the van totally looked like it belonged to the mafia or something.

"What about the last one?" Dean pressed, his eyes shifting around to examine his environment. Jack shook his head.

"I-I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I mean, I can sense it - I know it's here somewhere - but it's cloudy. I can't tell exactly where; it's like it's everywhere and nowhere at the same time."

Jack called the vampire an ' It '. Of course, he did.  It  was a vampire.  It  was a monster. What else does one call a monster? What else does one call  a thing  like that? After all, that's all  it  was; that's all  I  was. A  thing . Not a someone, not a person, not a  friend . A  thing . A  pest , a  nuisance , a  parasite  to be eradicated. Skrew all Jack's kind words and endearing actions; they didn't mean anything! He could never really love me back. It was only a matter of time before he realized that. It was only a matter of time before he started calling me ' It '.

' How long will that be, I wonder .'

I was pulled from my thoughts by a scream. It rang, high and sharp, and it echoed off the brick buildings.

"HELP! HELP ME!" A woman's voice cried.

"Max?" Jack whispered, his eyes going wide. I didn't know who that was and apparently, neither did Dean as he flung his strong arm out in front of Jack who began to sprint towards the sound.

"Who?" Dean demanded. Jack struggled to push past him but Dean wouldn't budge.

"That-that's Max! She's my friend! Those things have her! She needs our help!" He explained impatiently. Dean's face scrunched up.

"Wait, wait. Max? Teenage girl? White hair? 'Bout yea high?" The elder Winchester made a height comparison with his hand and Jack rolled his eyes.

"Yes! Now, come on!" Jack huffed.

"Oh ho! So that's why you're not going for abandonment issues over there?" Dean teased. Letting go of Jack, they started towards the sound of screaming. "Does Jack-Jack have a girlfriend?"

Jack stopped and faced Dean, confusion written across his brow. "Max already has a girlfriend."

"Oh."

The two dorks were brought back to reality when that Max girl screamed again.

"SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP!"

Her voice was followed by another, a boy this time.

"HEY! HEY! HELP! ANYBODY! HELP US!"

"That's Eliot!" Jack took off down the street at a full-on sprint. Dean, Sam, and Cas hot on his heels.

"No, no! Please, go on ahead without me," I muttered, sarcastically, "Save the damsel! I'll just... wait here then."

Huh. Max and Eliot. I felt like those names should be switched around, but then again, I go by Marty, so who am I to judge?

Out of nowhere, I felt a stinging pain in my shoulder. A syringe. I knew the feeling well. Before I could react, the pain suddenly doubled, rapidly spreading all throughout my body like a viral infection.

Dead man's blood.

I whipped my head to the left to meet an all too familiar pair of brown eyes.

"What's bouzzin' gousin?" An accented voice jeered.

Then everything was black.

***

The vampires were taken care of rather easily. Jack felt like a Jedi Knight as he suspended them in the air, stringing them up like the murderers they were. They didn't even struggle. Like convicts dangling from a hangman's noose, the vampires knew as soon as they saw Jack's glowing eyes, that their deaths were nigh at hand. Jack thrust out a hand and caught them in the pulsing rings of his grace, a sound like drum beats underwater reverberating off the alley walls. With a grin, the boy clenched his hand into a fist and the monsters splintered into not but dust.

With the threat eradicated, the glow in Jack's eyes flickered out and he turned to the high-schoolers who he considered his friends.

"Hello, Max! Hello, Eliot! It's alright, you're safe now," He chimed, nodding to each kid in turn and lifting his hand in greeting, though he refrained from actually waving it. Upon seeing him raise his hand, the kids shared a look of sheer terror and backed away. Jack frowned at their reactions, lowering his hand. "No, no! Wait, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you!"

Max and Eliot paused, trying to determine whether or not they believed him.

Unbeknownst to Jack, Max and Eliot didn't actually like him. ( After finding out about the supernatural, the teens were disappointed when the Winchesters refused to tell them more about spirits and monsters. Enter Jack, and his unfortunate lack of talent in terms of keeping his trap shut. ) Max and Eliot had only hung out with Jack once, and that was exclusive because they knew that he lived with the Winchesters. Against his better judgment, Jack had shown them a glimpse of his powers and though they thought his telekinesis was cool, the teens had agreed not to search the boy out again.

There was just something about Jack that unsettled them, frightened them,  terrified  them. Just like every other human who had seen what Jack could do; deep down, they were all afraid of him. Because he wasn't normal, he wasn't right,  he wasn't human .

"What did you just do to those guys?" Eliot asked, staring with eyes as wide as quarters. Jack thought it would be better not to answer that question.

"It's okay! They were monsters," He reassured.

"He disintegrated them," Cas deadpanned. Dean shot the angel a look. "What?"

"YOU DISINTEGRATED THEM?!" Max screeched loud enough to make Jack flinch.

"Yes?"

"You didn't just, like, proof em' away or something?" Eliot added, a little quieter.

"Um, no. No, I didn't."

"COULD YOU DO THAT TO US?!"

"Most likely, yes," Jack answered, thoughtfully, "I've never tried it on humans, though. But I would never hurt you guys, you're my friends!"

"You're really freaky, dude," Elliot said, shaking his head slowly, "And, like, not in a good way."

"I know." Jack hung his head. They were afraid of him. They hated him. He shouldn't have expected otherwise.

"I'm never gonna be able to un-see that," Max muttered, staring at the cement.

That gave Jack an idea, maybe there was a way to undo this.

"I know you're probably freaking out, but I think I know a way to make it better," He said, trying to sound reassuring.

"Nah, man. I don't want any of your freaky Aquaman powers used on me!" Eliot shook his head.

"No powers." Jack smiled despite how badly their words hurt. "I promise."

His stomach twisted with the lie, but they didn't need to know that. Max and Eliot shared another glance.

"Okay..." They agreed, hesitantly.

"I have a friend. Her name is Marty," Jack explained, leading them back to the bench where his family had left the girl. "She's right here!"

Except she wasn't.

That's when the Nephilim's phone rang.

It was a picture message. Marty sat unconscious tied to a chair in some shack. The text read:

"I really would hate to incur the wrath of the Winchesters, so consider this a ransom note. All you have to do is find her in time. Tick-tock. ~ Felix "

Max peered over Jack's shoulder.

"Hey! I know that place!"

***

"Welcomb back to the land of the livinc' where the livinc' are, in fact, dead!"

Okay, so she knew I was awake. I kept my eyes closed anyway and canvassed my new environment. Having grown up blind, I didn't need my eyes to see.

My hands were bound with zip-ties to the arms of the splintering wooden chair I sat in. The space around me was large but not cavernous as there was no echo. This was a shack of some kind judging by how the metal panels making up the roof clanged against one another in the wind. The shack was also dark to protect vampire skin from the sun, and in winter, no sun meant freezing temperatures. There was a weight covering my lap; someone had given me a blanket. I caught the scent of hay among other less pleasurable farm smells. I could hear the shifting of five pairs of feet surrounding me in a circle. This was going to be fun.

Opening my eyes, at last, I was met with the sight of a young woman around the age of twenty-two, lounging on a few hay bails. She was long, lean, and muscular with a round face displaying a crooked smile. I could see the end of a tie-dyed shirt sticking out beneath the fluffy black coat she wore. Her green and purple hair was chopped short in a punk rocker pixie cut that stuck out in at least five different directions. If I wasn't mistaken, a few of the strands appeared to be scorched on the ends. Her cheekbones were low and prominent and plenty rosy. She had full lips and a button nose that was home to two tiny diamond studs. The woman wore her dark green eyeshadow with plum-colored lipstick unapologetically. Her eyes, which were set deeper than most, turned down at the corners and sparkled with mischief. They were accompanied by thick dark eyebrows, the left of which had apparently gotten a third piercing since I had last seen her.

"Ah hah! So she  is  alive!" She said, her thick Dutch accent coating her words, "I was begininc' to worry that you had follen asleep... Again."

I shrugged despite my restraints.

"Yeah, well I can only sleep-in so long."

"You never were a morninc' person, were you?" The woman sighed, shaking her head. I watched her arrow-head pendant as it swung back and forth from her neck.

"Nope."

"And dat's why we're frien'ds!" She chirped.

"We're not friends, Elwyn." Okay, so maybe that was a bit harsh but it was better than pretending like everything was fine and dandy between us. Elwyn faked a gasp.

"You used my fuoll name! You muss be serious. Why so c'old,  mijn lieve ?" She asked, tilting her head.

"Spending five years as a walking corpse will do that to you," I answered, smiling thinly. "Why are you here, Elwyn? What's this act for? We both know that if I wanted to walk out of here right now, I could do so without a scratch on me. What do you want?"

"You might 'ave been able to woltz out of 'ere if you had a full tanc', dat's true." Elwyn nodded, in agreement. Then she tilted her head and frowned at me with pouty lips. "But you're quite weak now. I'm sorry, hones'ly. I t'ought dat you'd be able to 'andle dat much dead man's blood but you still look pale an' shaiky!"

"Well, I've always been pale," I replied, narrowing my eyes. Elwyn sat up, crossing her legs and putting a fist to her chin. Her brows furrowed and she looked at me with what seemed to be genuine concern for my well-being.

"How lon'g has it been since you fed,  liefste ?" She asked in a gentler tone.

"A little over two weeks," I answered honestly.

"Two weeks?! Nothinc'? Not even somethinc' piffy, like a ra'bbit?"

I shook my head and shrugged.

"Oh,  jij arme ding ! I know you ha'te it, but how could you do dis' du yourself?!" She cried, shaking her head in dismay. I looked away. Deep down I knew that Elwyn really did care about me, albeit in her own strange way. I was being harsh with her and that wasn't exactly fair. She was Felix's prisoner too.

"I more than hate it, Ellie," I said, speaking softer now, "But I just couldn't find a good opportunity. Besides, I can take it."

Elwyn rolled her chocolate-brown eyes.

"No you gan't, Mardina! Look at yourself! You're runninc' on foomes and it shows!" Elwyn huffed, her accident becoming more prominent as her emotion shown through. "Be hones'd wit me, dis is because of dose Win-kesters, isn't it?"

"Not exactly," I said, picking at a splinter on the wooden arm-rest. I knew the real reason and it was a stupid one. I mean, of all the ways to try to be better, starving myself to the breaking point probably wasn't the smartest. But I wanted to be good, pure. I wanted to be human. For him.

"Ah, I see." Elwyn smiled softly. "I was told aboud dat Nephilim boy, the rumors were wrong about him. I was watchinc' you two today; he's not a ragink' monster at all."

"No, he's not." I shook my head.

"He's a  zoet wezen , no?" Elwyn chuckled to herself, "Sorry, I don' know de word for it in English."

I nodded. The closest translation of her Dutch was ' sweet creature '. It fit.

"What's his name?" Elwyn asked without the slightest bit of hostility.

I smiled. "His name is Jack."

" Hou je van hem ?"

"I don't know," I said, shrugging. Elwyn smiled knowingly.

"Yes, you do. And if what I saw was any indication, he feels the same."

"No, he doesn't, Ellie," I sighed and gestured to the child body I was trapped in. "He can't. Just look at me! I'm just a sister to him and if he knew what I really am then he'd hate me!"

"So, dat's what dis is about." Elwyn nodded with understanding.

"What do you mean?"

"You t'ink yourself bad, so you want du be good for him. Dat's why you 'aven't been feeding," She explained, sounding matter-of-fact.

"Yeah, I guess so." I looked away.

"Well, das not good!" Elwyn leaned forward and cut the zip-ties that held me to the chair. Then she reached behind her and fished around a bit until she pulled her arm back and held it out to me, a blood bag resting in her palm. "Have a snack now and your  engel jongen  will never know!"

I glanced at it for a moment but it didn't take much to break my willpower. I snatched the bag from her hand and ripped it open, downing it like there was no tomorrow.

"You gan slow down,  geliefde.  I brough't more." Elwyn chuckled.

"You did?" I asked looking up.

"I had a sneakinc' suspission dat dis was goin'c du 'appen." She shrugged, tossing me another bag which I ripped into also. She reached behind her again, this time tugging around a small cooler full of the stuff which she pushed over to me. "I admire your willpower, Mardina. I don t'ink I'd have de kinda strengt for what you're pullinc'. How'd you do it?"

"Do what?" I asked, halfway through my second bag.

"Live with dose 'unters day in an' day out!" She exclaimed, "Esspecialy dat e ngel jongen ! Da kid smells like garamel chocolate! I envy your gontrol. How'd you stan' so close to him? I was eighty-feet away and I gould 'ardly gontrol myself!"

Well, at least I wasn't the only one.

"I gotta keep up apperences, Ellie. You know all about that." I knew I sounded guarded, but this subject made me uncomfortable.

"But you gould still get a taste. I know you gan make pepole forget t'ings."

I sighed, finishing my second bag and grabbing another.

"You know, Elwyn? You almost got me." I smiled, shaking my head.

"What do you mean?" She asked, feigning obliviousness.

"For a second there, I almost thought you were still my friend."

"I  am  your friend," Elwyn insisted, "I defied Felix for you!"

"Then you ran right back to him the second I turned my back."

"I had too," She spoke, her voice regretful.

"No! No you didn't! You  chose  too. You chose  him  over  me !"

" Hij is mijn vader !  Ik moest !" Elwyn cried. Tears brimmed in her eyes.

"I don't care!" I shouted back, "We were free! We both could have been free! But no, you chose to leave me all alone in the middle of the woods!"

"I knew you'd be fine," She whispered. I shook my head, pressing my lips together.

"No, you didn't," I growled. "Do you have  any idea  how long I wandered for?!"

"You made it out."

"Not in one peace. I lost things in there, Elwyn." I shook my head. "You left me there." Then, I let out a harsh, rasping, laugh and spat my next words. "And for what? To run right back into the arms of the father that never even loved you!"

Elwyn hung her head. " Het spijt me zeer.  I'm so sorry."

"You should be," I said, cooly. "Why do you always run back to him? And don't give me any of that ' he's my father ' bull crap."

"I don know. But what I do know is dat I am still your friend."

"Right." I nodded, smiling through tight lips. "Why are you really here, Elwyn?"

She took a deep breath, wiping away the tears that had slipped down her face, and looked up. "I game 'ere to save you," She said.

"Excuse me?"

"From dose 'unters!" She explained, "Felix told me dat you were with de Win-kesters and I begged him to let me c'ome rescue you. An' he said yes! He's so much kinder den he used to be; he promised dat he wouldn' make you do anyt'ing you didn' want to!"

Elwyn smiled at me and took my hand.

"Oh, yeah?" I scoffed, "Then what was that phone call, huh? What? Is killing my friend supposed to win me over?"

"Hey, I said dat Felix is kinder den he was." Elwyn sighed. "He's still Felix though. He was tryinc' to intimidate de Win-kesters into letting you go."

"I'm not being held hostage!" I insisted.

"But you are still in danger!" Her eyes softened, "Dey will kill you if dey find out what you are."

"I know."

"C'ome with me," She pleaded, "C'ome with me, an' Jack will never find out about you. C'ome with me an' he'll never break your heart."

I paused. Was there really any chance?

No. There was no chance. No chance that Felix could ever change. It was one in a million. There was no chance and  no choice .

"If you're really here to save me, then what's with your little posse?" The five other vampires had been unusually quiet for idiots of their caliber.

Elwyn shrugged. "In case t'ings get messy."

"We'll, then you better plan on things getting messy because I'm not coming with you," I said with a smirk.

"Why not?"

"Because Felix wants me dead, Elwyn, and that's not going to change."

The woman's face fell.

"I know you didn' mean to kill Madra," She whispered, gently. I shook my head and frowned.

"I didn't kill her," I hissed, "Felix killed his soulmate, not me."

"And he sees dat now. He knows dat it wasn' your fault, dat you couldn't gontrol it. He realises dat and he forgives you!" She smiled a little.

"And how many times did he have to beat you before he realized that?"

"C'ome on, Mardina!" She sighed, though I could see the pain her eyes hid. "Dis is an olive branch! Jus' take it!"

I shook my head and I laughed. I laughed long and loud and hard. I laughed like a girl gone mad. I had told Elwyn that I had lost something when she had left me in those woods, I wanted her to know what it was.

"No," I said. Then I stretched my bloody lips into a mad, humorless grin, "I don't want your olive branch."

"Why not? Its your best chance! Don you want peace?"

"Peace?  PEACE?! " I spat, "You know what he did to me, what he made me! You think after every thing he took away, that I would want  peace ? You think after what I did, Felix would offer me peace?"

"I don't want peace," I said, beginning the rhyme I'd heard when I was still alive, "I want war and I want my enemy's head hung like a boar. I didn't come for money and I don't want his crown, see, I've come to burn his kingdom down. So, come one, come all, to take a dance with the dead and stain the petals of the white roses red."

"Mardina, please!"

The other vampires in the room shifted, readying for a fight. But I was faster.

Launching myself from that splintering wooden chair, I threw my body forward towards the stack of haybales Elwyn had previously sat on. I had to jump to avoid the vamp that tried to grab my legs and that pushed me forward a little too much but it wasn't something I couldn't compensate for. Landing on my hands, I shoved my body up, and over the hay bales in a vamp strength enhanced backflip. I landed on my feet and flipped my hair back. The shed's door was in front of me. Sure, it was locked but the lock was only one of those slidey metal bars which are super easy to break and if I was going to fight five vamps at once, it would be wise to keep my back to the door that way I might be able to be thrown through the door and land outside instead of pushed into a dead-end wall. Also, if I was going to fight five vamps at once, I was going to need the proper tool for the job. Beside the door, my eyes landed on a tool rack. I spied my weapon of choice. This was going to be fun .

It was one of those weird four-prong rakes that I'm not completely sure is called a rake. A label on the shaft said it was a soil cultivator but I didn't care what it was called because I was fighting for my life. The four prongs were about five inches long and although the shed wasn't new, the equipment in there thankfully wasn't that old, so the four steel prongs were still wicked sharp.

I ducked, dodging the arms of another vamp before rushing for the tool rack. Another vamp sprang in front of me, blocking my way and I paused. This one had bleach-blond chin-length hair. I knew him. I remembered him from when I was in Felix's cage. This one's name was Boyd and he liked to touch things that didn't belong to him. I couldn't fight back then, but I could now.

"How's it goin', Boyd?"

"So, you remember me, do ya?" He jeered, beginning to circle me like a predator circling its prey. Little did he know, he was not the predator here.

"Oh, I remember you alright. See, Boyd, I'm not a good little girl-" He used to call me that, "- not anymore. I don't do what I'm supposed to. See, when it comes to bastards like you, I don't forgive and I most certainly don't forget."

"Well, I guess its a real shame that I forgot your name, then. You were one of my favorites!" He laughed, "Only thing I remember 'bout you now is how loud you used to scream."

I gave him a cold smile and lunged straight for his legs. Grasping his ankle, I twisted and pulled, sending him crashing to the floor. Then I lifted his leg, rolled over, and slammed my arm down on his knee. There was an ear-splitting snap and he screeched like an animal.

"Who's screaming now, Boyd?" I taunted. I sprung up and stomped down on Boyd's throat, crushing his windpipe. As a vampire, that wouldn't kill him which was good because I wasn't done with him yet. I was going to make him hurt. Why would I want peace when I could have revenge? Revenge felt good.

I rolled away when a red-haired vamp took a swing at my head. I bolted for the four-prong rake and brandished it the way you would a staff. The rake was long, about three inches taller than me, but I easily found the balance point. I spun it around in my hand as I circled the other four vamps.

"Mardina, we gan talk aboud dis!" Elwyn tried, grabbing my arm. I threw my head back and laughed.

"No, Ellie. We can't!" I flipped the rake over, using the blunt end to whack Elwyn upside the head with supernatural strength and speed. She was knocked out. "Stay down. You're not like them and I don't want to kill you."

The red-haired vamp ran at me again and I spun out of the way, flipping the shaft again and swinging it down as he passed me. Two of the prongs buried themselves in the base of the vamp's spine, judging by the position, between two vertebrae. He howled and tried to claw at my arm but I easily avoided him. A female vamp shrieked for her friend and lunged at me from the left.

I rolled my eyes. Pushing on the shaft of my rake I distanced myself from the redhead vamp and ducked away from the female's fangs. I reached out and grabbed her shirt, using it to pull her down towards me. I slammed my head into hers once, then twice to daze her. She stumbled as I let go and switched to grabbing the hair at the base of her neck.

"Night-night, cupcake!" I chirped. Then I slammed her face into my knee and tossed my weight over her shoulder, sliding my arm around her neck. I pulled backward.

That blissful crack was the sound of her neck snapping. Jumping up and using the wall to gain some momentum, I twisted the vamp's head all the way around. It was easy with nothing but tissue and tendons in my way. Her body dangled limp from where I held her by the hair, so I opened my mouth, letting my fangs extend, and I bit her head off.

The redhead vamp with my rake still stuck in him cried out and tried in vain to reach me again. It was pathetic, really. Grinning, I wrenched the rake upward, severing the vamp's spinal cord and pulling the prongs along with two of his vertebrae straight through his back. He fell to the ground, paralyzed from the waist down because two of his bones were missing.

Just as I was about to remove his dreadful cranium from his miserable shoulders, one of the other vamps jumped at me, managing to rake his grotesquely long fingernails along my back. I released no cry of pain as he tore through my skin before grabbing me by my shoulders and hurtling my body at the wall. My face slammed against a pole built into the metal siding as the rest of my body just hit the wall. I landed on the ground with a jarring impact that I was sure had broken a few things. But I couldn't feel the pain. I was too focused on my rage. I was seeing red, and for the first time, I welcomed it without fear.

"Not so tough now are ya?" He called out.

My body was broken and yet I stood. I felt invincible.

"I know I'm not tough," I laughed. I wiped away the blood that was dripping from my mouth and nose, looking up to smile pleasantly at the vamp. "But you wanna know what I am?"

"What?"

"I'm insane, and that tends to make up for the rest."

The vamp charged me but I twisted around and Spartan kicked him into the wall. Then, using a few hay bails to step on, I vaulted into the air and brought the rake down on the vamp's head, piercing through his skull and embedding the prongs in his brain. The spray was a little gross but I didn't care. He deserved it.

"You're next, pumpkin," I called to the last vampire left standing in the room.

I crossed over to him and he managed to block my first two blows but then I smashed the blunt end of the rake into his face a few times and he was unconscious. I heard a groan and turned on my heel.

"And that brings us back to you, Boydie-Boo!" I cheered, stepping on the paralyzed vamp's hand as I passed him. I leaned over Boyd who was still on the ground, gasping for air. "Hello, sweetie. How are we today?"

All Boyd did was gasp and choke, he couldn't speak as his vocal cords had been stepped on.

"Aw! Did you get a boo-boo?" I pouted at him.

Then I grabbed Boyd by the throat at lifted him into the air. He struggled against my grasp but could do nothing. He couldn't even beg.

"What's wrong, sweetheart? Can't you scream for me?"

He shook his head and spat at me. So, I threw him into a wall. Boyd fought to stand, using the wall to stagger upright.

"Come on, Boyd! Fight! Are you going to let yourself be beaten by a girl?!" I taunted him and pulled on the fear that was already constricting his mind. Revenge felt so good.

"You-you're not a girl," He panted, "You're a monster!"

I hummed, tapping my chin with my finger.

"I guess history will have to be the judge of that, now won't it, buddy-Boyd?" I dragged my rake along the ground, though all the blood of his friends. There was a wonderful metallic grating noise as the prongs scrapped across the concrete.

"Please don't! Please! I'll do anything!" It felt good to hear him beg.

"Unfortunately," I continued, "I don't think you'll be around to plead your case!" I hefted the rake.

"No! PLEASE!"

"Bye-bye, Boydie-boo!"

I swung the rake upward with all my might and with a sickening crunch I rammed its prongs up through his jaw. I said I wanted him to suffer. Pulling him by the prongs in his face I brought his screaming form over to the tractor sitting at the back of the room. I rammed the shaft of the rake through two spokes of one of the tractor's wheels. All it took was the flip of a leaver to send the wheels spinning.

Turn, turn, turn and scream, scream, scream, then a nice snap, crackle, pop, and then suddenly, Boyd's head and body were two separate objects. I was very happy. Then, the random vamp I'd knocked out woke up and yanked on my hair, throwing me over his shoulder.

I tried to land on my feet but failed, tripping and stumbling backward. I landed on my back and scrambled to get up. As I did, I noticed the perfect white rose that Jack had given to me had fallen out of my hair. It lay on the ground in a pool of blood. Jack said it reminded him of me, of the way he saw me. Well, it wasn't innocent or perfect anymore. But neither was I, so I think it matched me better now.

The vamp rushed me and tackled me to the ground, pinning my arms to my sides as he snapped at me with his fangs out.

Bang... Bang!... CRASH!

The door burst open and light from the setting sun poured in, falling directly on the last vamp's face. He cried out and tried to scamper away, like a rat from a cat.

"It's about time! You guys are late to the party!" I shouted.

"Yeah, sorry!" Dean said from the doorway, "Who would've thought there were so many old sheds in this town!"

I didn't get a chance to reply.

I felt the air prickle and spark, charging with a tambour of power that I recognized but had yet to experience to this degree. I turned my head in time to see Jack, eyes glowing gold, passing by Dean with his hand outstretched. Golden waves of energy shot from his being with a sound like drumbeats from the depths of the sea. The waves caught the fleeing vampire and time around him slowed to a crawl. He was lifted into the air and revolved to face his reckoning. The Nephilim's lips tugged into a cruel grin as he saw the fear in the vampire's eyes.

Suddenly, the pulses of energy stopped and the vampire was flung towards Jack, landing face-first in the dirt at the boy angel's feet. Jack knelt down, his expression seeming to consider the trembling, pathetic thing in front of him.

"P-please!" The monster managed to choke out. "Mercy!"

Jack looked up at me, his eyes soaking in my bloodied face. Apparently, that was all it took. Jack's eyes hardened and he turned back to the vamp.

"You. Hurt. My. Friend."

Jack grabbed the vampire's head in his hands and started to squeeze. The vamp screamed as the pressure increased until his skull just couldn't take it anymore. There was a crunch and a wet sucking noise as the vamp's head collapsed in on itself. I liked that sound.

"That dude's still alive," I said, casually jabbing my thumb at the red-haired vamp I had paralyzed. Jack turned to where I had pointed, ready to squeeze another brain out of its shell.

"Jack!" Cas called from behind him. "No!"

The Nephilim scowled at Castiel and I admired the rage I saw in his eyes. This wasn't my Jack but I liked this version just as much. No, Jack wasn't human, was he? He was more like me than I'd thought. Jack snapped his fingers and the red-haired vamp crumbled into dust. The sight was actually sort of pretty.

When Jack turned to look at me his eyes were completely soft and full of concern. There was my Jack.

"Are you afraid of me now?" He asked in a whisper.

"No," I replied flatly, shrugging my shoulders, "Why would I be?"

"I killed them." Jack hung his head. "Right in front of you."

"Am I supposed to care?" I smirked, hoping my voice didn't sound as harsh as I thought it did. I was just barely beginning to come off my rage-induced high. Jack eyed me with confusion and relief.

"You're hurt," He observed, moving over to me.

"Me? Nah! This is nothing." I gestured at the bodies scattered around the shed. "You should see the other guys!"

"Stay still." Jack placed his soft, gentle, hands on my face to examine my injuries and I felt a warm tingling as he healed them. "There. I fixed you." He whispered. It was more to himself than anything but I still heard it. It made me laugh on the inside.

Yeah, no. Nothing could fix me. I was broken beyond repair. It was my insanity that held me together. Does that sound like the sort of thing that can be fixed?

"Thanks, Jack-Jack!" I chirped, smiling brightly at him.

"You're welcome, Marty," He said quietly. Jack's eyes flicked down, focusing on my lips like he wanted something but wasn't sure how to ask.

"Um, M-Marty?" Sam's voice broke whatever spell the two of us had been under and I glanced over to him.

"Yeah?"

"Did you, uh," Sam pointed to the carnage surrounding us, watching me with weary eyes. "Did you do this?"

I shrugged, jabbing my thumb over my shoulder at the tractor. "Yeah, mostly. But the tractor helped."

"I'm guessing the tractor did that?" Dean pointed to Boyd's head with its jaw still run through with the prongs of the rake. I walked calmly over to the severed head, grasping it by the hair and pulling it off the prongs before returning with it back to the boys. Sam, Dean, and Cas all stared at me with eyes as wide as quarters as held up the head.

"Dean, this is Boyd," I said, keeping my tone as sweet as possible.

"Huh."

"Say hi to Boyd."

"Uh...Hey, Boyd..."

"Good." I grinned as if I was holding a puppy instead of a severed head. "Now let me tell you about Boyd. Boyd liked touching things that didn't belong to him. He worked for Felix and Felix liked hearing little girls scream and cry. So did Boyd. Boyd was very good at making little girls scream and cry, little girls like me. Weren't you Boyd?" I asked the mutilated cranium in my hand. I moved the severed head up and down in an enthusiastic nod, holding it by the hair as if it was a marionet.

"You were very good, yes you were!" I cheered. Then, like the flip of coin, I snapped my focus back to the Winchesters, wiping my face and tone clean of all emotion.

"So, I used a tractor to rip his head off because he deserved it and now he won't ever make another little girl cry ever again. Right, Boyd?" I asked the severed head. I grabbed the head's bloody, splintered jaw and clacked it's teeth together like you would a ventriloquist dummy. "You bet your britches!" I made the head answer, mimicking Boyd's voice.

"D-did he-" Sam stuttered. I flicked my gaze back to him, allowing all three to see the harshness in my eyes.

"Whatever you're thinking, the answer is probably yes."

"Marty?"

I turned to Dean. "What?"

"Put the head down."

I dropped Boyd's severed head.

"Come here." The hunter opened his arms and I faked a sob before accepting the hug. "You weren't gonna tell us about that, were you?" I shook my head. "It's okay, sweetheart. You're safe now."

"Thank you for not throwing me away, Dean," I said softly. The elder Winchester chuckled.

"Don't thank me, Marty. After all, how could we throw away someone so Bad-Ass?"

"Am I awesome now?" I asked.

"You were always awesome."

I laughed and the Winchesters trusted me more than ever. Their mistake.

"Dean, that one's moving," Castiel called our attention over to Elwyn, who was just waking up.

Jack was quick to react, sending a golden blast of power to throw her against the wall where he kept her pinned.

"Wait! Wait!" She cried, "I didn' 'urt Mardina! I swear!"

"Do you work for Felix?" Dean interrogated, pushing me behind him.

"He's my fah'der but I'm not like him! I want du 'elp her! I jus a messenger!"

"Whaddia say, Sammy? Should we shoot the messenger?" Dean asked, keeping his cold eyes on Elwyn.

"No! Please!" Elwyn begged, tears slipping down her face. "I didn' 'urt her!"

"You know, if we shoot the messenger, Dean, it sends one Hell of a message." Like his brother, Sam could turn on the killer inside him like a switch.

"Felix is in Floree'ida, okay? Dat's all I know, I swear!" And it was all she knew because Elwyn had never had a backbone. There was no strength in her.

"Guess its up to you, Marty," Dean said, turning to me. Elwyn looked at me with wide pleading eyes. I regarded her with ice in my own. No second chances. Monsters don't get second chances, I know I never did. I knew I never would.

"I'm your friend, Mardina! Tell dem I'm your friend!" She pleaded. I shook my head.

"You only cared about me when Felix wasn't looking." I was almost shocked by how apathetic and passionless my voice sounded. I watched her without compassion. "You were never my friend."

"No!" Elwyn screeched, "No! I 'elped you! I 'elped you when dey beat you!"

"But you never tried to stop them."

"What?! No!" She sobbed. I smiled at her slightly.

"Go tell Madra I'm sorry."

I sent Jack a nod and with a snap of his fingers, Elwyn was nothing more than flecks of grey drifting to the ground.

Turning around with a sigh, I could feel the eyes of the four others as I bent down and scooped up the rose Jack had given me. I cradled the precious flower in my hands, watching as the blood dripped from its petals in big heavy gobs. It had been perfect once. It wasn't perfect anymore. It would never be perfect again. Or perhaps it could be, just not the right way. Because the blood was oddly beautiful with the way it stained the petals and pooled in the center of the rose.

"I can get you another one," Jack spoke up, "And I'll pay for it this time!"

I turned back to him, smiling down at my little rose.

"No, its okay, Jack. It's a crooked kind of perfect. I think I like it better now."

~All the pretty girls, they find

A way to keep you on my mind

I swear I heard you singing along

Cities pass like candy stores

And you're the one

I'm looking for

And so

I'm just a boy

Who's telling a girl

That when I grow up I'll buy you a rose

When I grow up, I'll buy you a rose~

Lyrics from: Buy You A Rose by AJR

(Author's Note: You may or may not have figured it out by now, but Martina Imogene Linville is insane. MARTY IS NOT THE HERO OF THIS STORY. SHE IS NOT A GOOD PERSON. Marty also had Borderline Personality Disorder before she went insane. So, even at her most stable points in this story, she is not to be trusted. Remember, she manipulates peoples emotions. She makes them feel what she wants them to feel. Any other character's actions may or may not actually be their own. Please keep this in mind going forward.)

[violetwolfraven]

Hey :)

So, I know I just left a request already but the thing is that there's definitely not enough Blush in the Newsies Fandom, and therefore I wanted to ask for 10 ("Who are you?") for Blush in the canon era. Either some getting-to-know each other, or maybe (to make it more angsty) some kind of temporary amnesia thing or that maybe Blink's other eye slowly stops working? (At this point I'm just rambling, but I hope that's something to work with; I really like your writing)

Thank you! You’re right that we need more blush in this fandom, especially since like 80% of us see them as canon. I’m gonna go the kinda flangst route with this!

Sorry this took so long, but I struggled with and scrapped like 6 different ideas before coming up with something I felt good about. This takes place about a year before the strike.

Tw: referenced parent death, implied period-typical homophobia, referenced past child abuse.

...

Mush was woken up by a loud thud, like something hitting the floor.

He was very confused about what was going on until he looked down and saw Blink on the floor.

He was just sitting there, not quite upright, like he’d fallen out of bed and was too disoriented by getting woken up suddenly to move.

“Blink?”

He didn’t respond, and Mush was starting to wonder if he was really awake at all, or if he was... what, sleepwalking?

Honestly, Mush was starting to question if he was even awake. None of the others were, and that thud of Blink hitting the ground had been pretty loud.

Dream or not, he dropped down from his bunk, careful to land quietly next to his sweetheart.

It seemed like none of the others had been disturbed, which was probably a good thing. They all needed the rest. Jack and Crutchie were up sleeping on the roof like they always did in the summers and others all were still asleep.

“Blink?” Mush whispered.

He just kept staring at the ground, dazed, like he didn’t even hear him.

“Blink, are you okay?”

Blink flinched backward, instinctively raising his arms to shield his face, and Mush froze with his hand halfway between them.

Nightmare. It had to be.

What was it that Jack did when things like this happened?

Mush didn’t know, but he knew he had to do something. He did know something that might get Blink’s attention and snap him out of it. Something none of the others knew.

“Louis.”

Blink’s good eye snapped to attention, but not in a good way.

Mush felt a chill at how he wasn’t looking at him so much as through him.

“Who are you?”

His voice was haunted. Hollow, not even a hint of recognition there.

God, if this was what always happened when he had nightmares, Mush had no idea how Jack could ever calm him down.

He was going to try, anyway.

“It’s me,” Mush said, trying to keep his voice calm, “Mush Meyers. Your... your best friend. Ya don’t know me?”

Blink shook his head rapidly, curling in on himself like he was expecting a blow, “No. No. I’m sorry. No.”

That wasn’t good. Blink never apologized. If he was sorry for something, he let you know in more tangible ways. Actions over words.

Much needed to ground him. Now. He didn’t really know how, but... if Blink didn’t remember him, he guessed he should..?

“Do ya remember when you and me first met?” he asked, “We was 9 years old. My mom and pop had just died. I was friends with Jack, Crutchie, and Specs already, so they’d told me I could come here if anythin’ ever happened. I saw ya for the first time sitting out on the fire escape when Specs was introducin’ me to everybody. He told me not to bother ya, so we didn’t talk for a while.”

Mush paused, watching Blink’s face carefully for any sign of recognition.

He was still just staring into space, but he looked more confused than blank now, so Mush kept going.

“Everybody was upset cause Jack was in the Refuge for the first time and we was all worried, but it hit you hard cause you were alone. The others were all grouped up to support each other, but they was all avoidin’ you cause ya scared ‘em. You get defensive when you’re scared, so’s nobody can hurt ya.”

Still no real recognition, but Blink was at least looking more responsive to what he was saying.

“I offered to be your sellin’ partner after a couple days, cause I didn’t see what everybody was so scared of,” Mush recalled, “Not till you a gave me this look like you were gonna gut me in an alleyway. But I sold with ya anyway, and I kept sellin’ with ya even after Jack broke out and everythin’ got normal ‘round here. Best choice I ever made, to stick it out with you.”

Blink smiled distantly, barely, but it was there.

“Yeah, Blink, I wouldn’t be the person I am today if I hadn’t met you,” he continued, “I definitely wouldn’t know how to read people as well as I do. Remember when we were 12 and the Delanceys jumped me behind Jacobi’s? You seemed so angry while you patched me up, but I knew it was just cause you was worried.”

He was relaxing a little bit, his body language no longer wracked with fear.

Mush risked a glance around the room, just making sure that all the others were still asleep.

“You wouldn’t tell me I was your best friend until we were 11,” he said quietly, “Too damn stubborn. Ya don’t bury all your feelings like some people, but ya also never say it if you’re scared or sad or care about someone.”

Making sure it was clear what he was doing beforehand, Mush scooted a little closer to whisper to him.

“That’s why it was such a surprise when ya told me you had feelings for me last month. Asked to be a thing. You said—“

“You’re the only one what sees the good in everyone,” Blink mumbled, cutting him off, “Even people who hide it on purpose.”

He met Mush’s eyes, and it was obvious that Blink was now a lot more present in there.

“I’d be a fool to let that slip away.”

Mush hesitated, then held out an arm, knowing Blink wouldn’t take that offer if he wasn’t ready to be touched.

To his surprise, Blink went to him without hesitation, the tension leaving his body in one breath as he tucked his head against Mush’s shoulder and let himself be hugged.

He was covered in sweat, and Mush could practically feel the exhaustion radiating off him. Whatever that had been, whatever nightmare had triggered it, had clearly taken a lot out of him.

“Did I scare ya?” Blink asked quietly, after a minute of just sitting there on the floor in silence.

“No. Worried me a bit, though.”

He wasn’t lying. Mush had never been afraid of Blink. He’d been able to see why others were, with that fierce, cynical air he put up in self defense, but Mush didn’t really fear anyone, honestly, since he’d gotten good at understanding people. If you understood why someone was doing what they were doing, you didn’t have to fear even the people you hated or were angry with.

Blink, specifically, had never scared him because he’d been able to tell from pretty close to the beginning that Blink didn’t want to hurt anyone. He just acted like he did so that he wouldn’t get hurt himself.

He’d wondered why before. This was making him wonder again, but he wasn’t sure if it was okay to ask.

A part of him was scared of the answer, remembering how Blink had flinched when he tried to touch him before. He hoped he was wrong.

Blink seemed to guess where his thoughts were going and he sighed bitterly, moving up onto the bed and pulling Mush up with him.

“The nightmares are a nice little souvenir from Mom and Dad,” he admitted softly, “They’re... I don’t have them so much as I used to anymore, but... how did ya think I lost my eye?”

So Mush was right. He hated that he was, but... well, he couldn’t say he’d never guessed this before.

“That’s why ya got so weird whenever I brought up missin’ my folks way back when. You didn’t get it cause you didn’t miss yours.”

Blink nodded, “I ran away when I was 7. Wound up here. My folks came lookin’ for me a couple times, but Manhattan’s leader at the time turned ‘em away at the door. Good thing. I’d probably be dead if he’d let them take me.”

Mush didn’t want to think about a world where that happened, “Jack wouldn’ta let him.”

He smiled, “Probably not.”

That smile faded a little too quickly, but Mush didn’t know what to say to fix it.

He could barely see Blink in what moonlight was coming in through the window, but he reached over to push his hair off his face anyway, careful to come at him from the side with his working eye.

Blink leaned his face into the touch with a deep breath.

“Wish I hadn’t wasted so much time back then, assumin’ everyone was out to hurt me. I’da become friends with you a lot faster if I hadn’t.”

“I did think you was a bit of a dick when we first met,” Mush admitted, “But hey, whatever ya have to do to feel safe.”

Blink shrugged, “Well, you feel safest when you’re surrounded by people ya trust and it works out alright for you.”

Usually it did. Mush always tried to be as kind as he could afford to be, and that meant he had friends everywhere.

Blink had a tendency, almost an instinct, even today at age 15 to make people want to avoid him.

It was kind of funny how the few friends they’d told about their relationship hadn’t been surprised at all, despite how different they were. Sun and moon. Practically direct opposites.

“I’d rather you act like an asshole than end up dead. You mean a lot to me, Blink.”

“You mean a lot to me, too, Mush.”

Mush took the awkward silence that followed that as a signal to give him one last smile and climb up to his bunk, but Blink grabbed his wrist at the last second to stop him.

“Stay down here?”

He didn’t have to answer out loud for them to curl up together, cuddling on that bottom bunk.

[deniigi]

I WOULD LOVE A DAVE FIC !!!

Excellent. Here’s for you and  @dudewhereismy-tardis

I am putting most of it under the cut because it is LONG

Dave (Daredevil copycat from Inimitable Verse) POV. Reminder that Dave is not his real name, but one given to him disdainfully by Wade in this verse.

Title: rises in the east

------------

“Dad.”

What?

“Dad.”

What time was it?

“Your phone’s ringing,” Charlie said. “It’s the boss.”

Oh, for fuck’s sake.

“Give it here,” Dave rasped, throwing an arm over his eyes.

“Mom said you’re gonna hurt your back sleepin’ on the couch,” Charlie reported as she shoved his phone into his palm.

“My couch, my rules,” Dave said. He crammed the phone to his ear. “Ansel here,” he said.

Charlie wanted to stay home and if she was a year older, Dave would have let her. But alas. The last time he’d let her stay home, she’d texted her friend Jesse who had become unspeakably jealous and had appealed to her own parents for such freedoms, and now the whole block thought that Dave recklessly abandoned his daughter when he went to the goddamn grocery store.

All that for a can of Sprite, man.

This neighborhood was off the fuckin’ charts sometimes.

Case in point: Dani standing in front of him in the lobby with her hands on her hips, telling him that he needed to wear a tighter t-shirt or to start flexing because they were losing business.

“Dani, I’m an instructor,” he reminded her. “I’m hired to do classes.”

“It’s two hours,” Dani said. “Take the damn fliers.”

But he didn’t want to?

Dani blinked at him slowly from under her headband.

 --

 Charlie was having a great time and Dave was glad for that because he was not. He was being stared at by every person in the street as if they’d never seen a dude with muscles before.

It was the shirt.

He knew it was the shirt.

And possibly his nipples. Smashing the brochures high enough against his chest to cover them wasn’t going well and the highlighter teal underarmor Dani had forced upon him left very little to the imagination here.

There wasn’t anything else to do but let the poor things live their best lives.

“Dad, gimme more,” Charlie said.

She tugged at the brochures covering what was left of his dignity.

Blessed child, who hurt you?

“Where did the others go?” he asked her.

Charlie pointed across the road to a gaggle of ladies leaning out from their stoop, smiling.

Ah.

Yes.

Them.

“Let’s try for someone who looks more like a bro,” he told his offspring.

Charlie blinked up at him.

“Why?” she asked.

Oh, baby.

“Because they’re an easy mark,” he said. “Go up and say ‘my dad can take you’ and send ‘em my way, okay?”

Charlie’s face went from confused to ready to kill instantly.

This was her game face. This was her ‘I’m gonna wreck this goalee’s teeth’ face.

Dave shouldn’t have been proud of her, really; her teachers said that she was becoming argumentative and obstinate in the classroom. But there was just something there in the fact that his kid sure as shit wasn’t no sheep that made his chest feel big, wide, and full of hot air.

“I’m on it,” Charlie said.

He gave her three brochures and let her scramble off to the other side of the sidewalk and then turned to meet the eye of a family with a father with neat hair and the beginnings of triceps peeking out from under his sleeves.

“You lookin’ for a gym, sir?” he asked.

The guy looked his way and eyed him up.

He took a flier on his way past.

 --

 “Excuse me?”

“One second, man,” Dave said, doing the rock-shuffle to keep all the fliers on the table from blowing away.

“Excuse me.”

“Hey, I said just a sec,” Dave snapped.

He turned back and found himself staring into the dark eyes of a bald man with olive skin and deep wrinkles in his forehead.

And Dave knew him.

Holy shit.

Dave knew him.

Fuck.

God.

Jesus, Lord.

“I am so sorry,” he started.

“DAD.”

Ch—Charlie?

He looked down and sure enough, holding Rudolph ‘Diamond’ De Luca’s massive bearpaw was his very own daughter. De Luca made her wiry, suntanned limbs seem like unbaked pretzels.

He was so much bigger than he’d seemed on TV all those years ago.

“This your kid?” De Luca asked.

Jesus.

“She is. I’m so sorry,” Dave said, “Did she—she didn’t bite you or anything, did she?”

“Dad,” Charlie whined. “Don’t tell ‘im that.”

“I’ll pay for whatever damage—” Dave continued.

De Luca blinked at him impossibly slowly with long dark eye lashes. He turned his face slowly back down towards Charlie.

“You sure this is your old man?” he asked.

Wh—

Wait.

What the hell did that mean?

“That’s him,” Charlie moaned. “He’s just bein’ dumb. Dad. Stop bein’ dumb. This dude’s the real deal. He’ll fight you in a heartbeat.”

Dave grabbed his child before she could cause any more damage. She made a fuss, but let go of De Luca’s mitt. Dave shoved her behind him, just in case this situation got any more tense than it needed to be.

De Luca lifted an eyebrow at that and then brought his face back up to Dave’s.

“Who’s gym?” he asked.

What?

Oh.

“Spitfire,” Dave said. “We’re, uh, just about there, on the—”

“I know where you’re about,” De Luca said.

Dave didn’t know what to say. De Luca held his eye.

Oh, god.

This wasn’t going well.

“How old are you, son?” De Luca asked.

FFFFFFFFFFFffffffffffffuck.

“38,” Dave said.

“And your baby girl?” De Luca asked, gesturing with his chin down at Charlie.

“I’m 12,” Charlie told him brightly.

“Hm,” De Luca said.

He shifted his weight back and wrapped a few fingers around his chin, surveying Dave’s whole body like he was the statue of David with a knee injury.

Dave became intimately aware of his nipples again.

“Not bad,” De Luca said.

Oh, thank god.

“Thank you, sir,” Dave said. “Is there, uh, somethin’ I could help you with?”

“You got an accent,” De Luca noted.

Uh?

“A good accent,” De Luca said. “Whereabouts did you grow up?”

Oh.

Well.

Dave could actually just point to it from here. The condo was still standing, despite all building codes and actual alien invasions. At this point, the only thing that was gonna take it down were the rampant, rapidly mutating, borderline feral gangs of chickens that roamed its halls.

Not that anyone spoke about them.

No, that was inviting trouble to your doorstep.

“The chicken coop?” De Luca said.

The one and only.

“Bless you, you poor fuck.”

Yeah, that tended to be the usual reaction.

De Luca laughed.

“You’re a funny guy, uh,” he squinted at Dave’s nametag, “Ansel?”

How could a word sound so wrong in someone’s mouth?

Where had Dave’s life gone wrong that his own name sounded so foreign and distant to his ears?

“Actually,” he said, swallowing, “My uh, my friends call me ‘Dave.’”

De Luca’s head snapped right up and slowly, a grin spread across his face.

“Oh, now, that’s a good name for ya,” he said. “You look like a Davy.”

Hng.

Diamond De Luca thought he looked like a ‘Davy.’

Diamond De Luca thought he looked like a ‘Davy.’

Welp.

Time to get that birth certificate changed.

“Listen, Davy,” De Luca said casually, “Your baby girl there was tellin’ me that your boss has you out here like dancin’ monkey; is that true?”

Fffffffffff.

Technically yes?

“It’s even his day off,” Charlie whispered.

Dave wrapped a hand over her face.

“It’s fine,” he said. “It happens. Folks’ve been sick lately. I don’t normally do this kinda thing.”

De Luca’s face said that that was real cute. Real, real cute, honey.

“Well,” he said, “Let’s just say it like this. Where you work don’t gotta be where you train.”

Oh.

Was he offering--?

“If you decide to drop by, tell the guy at the desk Rudy sent you,” De Luca said. “Your kid’s real sweet, Davy. She can come too, lord knows the damn place is a daycare at this point.”

“Thank? You?” Dave stuttered.

“Don’t mention it,” De Luca said.

He left. Dave watched him waltz down the block and wave at the gals collected on the stoop at the end of it and felt a little lightheaded.

“Dad?”

Not right now, champ.

“Dad? Is he famous or somethin’?”

HHHHHHHHHHNG.

 --

 Back when Dave had been 14 and scraping the tips of his fingers into callouses on the old guitar he’d found tossed into a dumpster in the Upper West Side, he’d had to compete with the sound of the couple fighting in the apartment next door and with the radio the old man downstairs always had playing on his fire-escape window.

The old man downstairs was a real hard-ass. Always slammed a broom into the ceiling, scaring the shit out of Mom and Dad and sister and auntie. Dave had never seen him not smoking, nor had he ever seen him without suspenders.

The man was a retired plumber, apparently. And while Jim Beam was his main vice, his passion was boxing.

To the tune of chords picked out of an out-of-tune guitar, Dave had listened to tinny commentators oohing and awing over match after match, until finally, when sleep wouldn’t come one night, Dave had snuck out of the room he’d shared with Flora. He’d settled down on the living room couch, next to his old man splayed out in the recliner.

Dad had lifted his eyes slowly his way and told him that he should have been in bed.

Dave had told him that he couldn’t sleep because the couple next door was makin’ up from their daily afternoon argument and Dad had just sighed.

He’d let Dave stay up with him and the TV in the living room had fuzzed and rattled away, making sounds really familiar to Dave at that point.

Boxing was a sport that he had, up until that night, left to his father. But for the lack of anything else to talk about that wouldn’t make his dad look at him with disappointment in his eyes for all that damn music-playin’ and eyeliner, he’d asked who the guy on the screen was.

And that was how he’d learned about Diamond De Luca.

About Kenny Varga. Bert ‘The Albatross’ Kleinfeld.

But there was one guy who Dad had mentioned was his favorite rookie and, now it felt both kind of silly and surreal that the name had been spoken so casually in Dave’s home growing up.

Dad had been puttin’ money on Battlin’ Jack Murdock back when Dave had been a little kid.

He told Dave, disappointedly, after a few weeks of Dave getting up at 12:30 to come out and watch boxing with him that he’d really thought that Murdock was gonna be the next big thing.

Guy was a wolf in sheep’s clothing, Dad had said, shaking his head. But wolves that got too wily got put down and Battlin’ Jack had been found in an alley, bled out in the arms of his reason for fighting.

Dad said it was a fuckin’ shame that Murdock had gone out with a slug in his head.

A fuckin’ shame, he said.

Dave didn’t remember him every saying that Murdock’s reason for fighting was a blind ten-year-old, but the thought was now merged with that memory.

That, in itself, was merged with the memory of Dave’s phone ringing one night was Addie’s name on the Caller ID. Her voice was shaking when she told Dave that the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen had just called her from an unknown number.

He had their baby.

He’d snatched her and Jesse out of the arms of two men looking for girls to be used in businesses Dave didn’t want to think about.

He’d saved them.

The devil had heard their screams when no one else had and he’d come flying out of the dark.

He’d held the girls in the light of a bodega and he’d coached Charlie through typing Addie’s number into his phone and then he’d taken it from there.

Addie was too scared to go meet the devil on her own. Mason hadn’t been around yet and so Dave had thrown on his shoes and had meet her on 46th.

The devil was on 48th, swinging his boots with both girls in his lap.

They were all singing. The devil had pretended like he didn’t know the words to Britney Spears’s ‘Toxic.’

Matt Murdock was under that mask.

Knowing that this whole time, he’d been the one dragging a stick against the fences and bricks of Hell’s Kitchen was almost impossible to digest.

And Dave had worked with him now.

He’d seen that smirk and that notorious jaw unwrapped from its red armor and that didn’t make reconciling the murdered boxer’s son with the man who’d saved his daughter any easier.

Charlie hadn’t remembered him.

She thought that Matt Murdock was a weird fuckin’ dude, and granted, he was a weird fuckin’ dude, but Dave had to say: he was grateful.

Matt Murdock not only brought home his baby, but he’d given Dave purpose in a life that had become consumed by the daily grind.

Matt Murdock had smiled in his direction, never quite into his eyes, and he’d passed along the baton with next to no fight.

Dave wasn’t him.

Dave would never be him.

Matt Murdock wasn’t just some poor murdered boxer’s blind son. He was the product of some serious poverty. Some serious violence. A whole fuckin’ cult induction, if he was to be believed. And Dave wasn’t so sure if he was always to be believed.

But he still appreciated Matt Murdock for what he’d done and what he’d made for this part of the city.

He’d made Daredevil.

And he shared that with Dave.

Dave’s own dad’s approval hadn’t felt like the honor that had come with Matt Murdock’s covered eyes and curled lip slowly relaxing as he’d lifted his face up from Dave’s knees.

He hadn’t been inspecting.

He’d been listening. Dipping his fingers into the blood in Dave’s heart and deciding if he was worth his salt.

Matt Murdock, son of Battlin’ Jack Murdock, was a product of Fogwell’s Gym in the Kitchen.

Diamond De Luca, retired heavyweight, was a product of Fogwell’s Gym.

The stars had aligned. And Dave had stood in their path.

And he wasn’t wasting the chance that they offered him.

--

Charlie was stoked to be allowed to come to the gym with him. She usually went to Jesse’s house, where Rubes would look after both girls for a few hours.

But De Luca had said that it was okay for her to come along, and so he figured, why not?

Fogwell’s was an institution in the Kitchen. All kids deserved to know their own history.

“I’m gonna fight Fogwell himself,” Charlie announced halfway down the block.

“You will not,” Dave told her. “Because I’m not tryin’ to get thrown out before we even get started here, alright?”

Charlie whined.

He ignored it.

 --

 This wasn’t the first time he’d been to the gym. Matt Murdock slipped in and out of it when he was in the city and he’d taken the whole team there once or twice. But it was different to be there in the presence of the daytime crew.

Dave felt very small in their presence.

The whole place was full of people pounding bags and swearing and shouting at kids who were tumbling all over the rows of benches set off to the side of the bags.

It was not what Dave had been expecting.

He told the guy at the front that ‘Rudy’ had recommended that he stop by and got a nod and a wave.

“He’s probably upstairs,” the receptionist said. “Go pick a bag, I’ll give him a buzz.”

 --

 Charlie refused to join the kids on the benches because apparently that was ‘only for babies, Dad.’ She wanted to hold the bag.

She was not, in one thousand years, holding the bag.

Dave wrapped her hands and let her go at it first to ‘soften it up’ for him.

De Luca caught him adjusting the demon-child’s thumbs before they ended up at the hospital again and laughed.

“Davy-boy, you made it,” he said.

Dave snapped up straight to attention.

“I did,” he said.

De Luca laughed again.

“Relax, kid,” he said. “Damn, you’re tight wound. Don’t worry, we won’t tell no one you’re sleepin’ with the enemy.”

Ahahahaha.

Please don’t.

These people were jacked. Dave was but a kickboxing instructor.

“Here, bub, lemme see what your pops has got,” De Luca said, shooing Charlie out of the way.

And this was the moment of truth.

 --

 De Luca seemed surprised when Dave finally laid off the bag. And Dave couldn’t read his expression for a million bucks.

“Uh?” he tried. “Not good?”

De Luca blinked himself back to earth.

“Oh, no,” he said. “It’s just uh, you fight a little like someone I know.”

Please don’t say a mobster.

Please don’t say a mobster.

“Kid used to live around here; name’s Matt Murdock,” De Luca said. “You know him?”

Did—

Did he know him?

QUICK. Answer the question.

You’re takin’ too long.

He’s gonna—

“S’alright if you don’t,” De Luca said. “I was just sayin’. Kid was like one of my own.”

He—

What?

“Yeah, boy fought like the devil like his daddy before ‘im,” De Luca said. “He’s the only one Fogwell lets call him ‘Grandpa.’ He’s about your age, actually. God, I’m old.”

AHAHAHAHAHA.

Please change the subject.

“You’re not that old,” Dave said. “I think I might have heard the name.”

Charlie looked up at him, baffled at the hedging.

He pleaded with her with his eyes not to say a damn word.

“Yeah, he’s somethin’, left here for San Francisco. Didn’t even say good-bye, the little shit,” De Luca sniffed. “Came back last year all ‘I’m gettin’ married’ and I swear to god, he’s picked up some kid. Just between you and me, pal, the old guard here have been talkin’, and we think that someone missed out on the sex ed talk, if you know what I’m sayin’.”

Oh.

Poor Sam.

He wasn’t even there to scream from the mountaintops that Red was a last resort for him at best.

“I’m just sayin’,” De Luca said with a shrug that spoke far more of supreme irritation than nonchalance, “He coulda just told us. I’m just sayin’.”

Any more ‘just sayin’s’ and Diamond De Luca was gonna go find a wall to bury them in.

“Did you, uh, have any feedback?” Dave blurted out as the guy started mumbling.

“Hm?”

“Feedback,” Dave repeated, waving a gloved hand at the bag.

“Oh. Yeah, loads, kid. You got all the muscles and not a damn lick of memory, here, lemme show you.”

Crisis averted.

Thank god.

 --

 D2: hey uh, DD?

SM: DAVE

S2: DAVEEEE

S3: DAVE

SM: what’s up man?

D2: nothing I was just trying to get ahold of DD?

BT: He’s trying to get Kirsten to give up her dreams of an indoor office pond rn. Can I help?

SM: I want an indoor office pond

S3: omg same

D2: uh yeah actually could you just tell him I met a guy named De Luca the other day and he might want to give him a call?

BT: de Luca?

D2: yeah

BT: okay sure thing

D2: thanks

BT: I’ll go see if I can get a word in edgewise.

SM: good fucking luck

S2: I hate fish

S3: leave this place and never return

S2: I HATE FISH

DD: WHAT

SM: oh shit that was quick

D2: oh. I was just saying that I met Diamond De Luca the other day?

SM: ?? Who’s that?

DD: oh no

S2: ??????????????

DP (´｡✪ω✪｡´): who the fuck is that?

DD: are you still with him?

D2: no?

D2: he caught me out fliering and invited me to Fogwell’s

D2: and when I got there he mentioned my stance was like yours and he uh

D2: got a little distracted

DD: what kind of distracted?

D2: He thinks Sam’s your bastard kid

BT: GODDAMNIT

DD: FOR FUCKS SAKE

BT: First Mrs. Jones, now this guy?? TEACH.

DD: These people have zero faith in me I swear to god.

DD: like come ON man. I did sex ed in the same class as Angie he knows I’m too catholic for that shit

DP (´｡✪ω✪｡´): I looked this man up and he looks like an Italian nate with less hair

SM: wh

DP (´｡✪ω✪｡´): okay you’re right he looks nothing like nate

SM: that

SM: that’s not even slightly helpful, wade, thanks not at all. Hey who’s angie?

DD: long story. Rudy’s daughter

S2: RED YOU FUCKED A BOXERS DAUGHTER?? That’s a million dollar baby man

DD: I

DD: what?

DD: no? Why would I fuck angie she’s like my sister?

S2: oh nvm

SM: 😬😬😬

S3: I am confused ❤

D2: you should probably call him, friend

DD: on it. thanks for the notice

DD: hey what’s your fuckin name again?

S2: f

S3: f

SM: f

D2: It’s Ansel

DD: Adams?

D2: not the photographer. Ansel West.

SM: WEST

S2: OMG

S3: guys don’t

SM: I BET YOURE A SUNSET DAVE

S2: YOU EVER FEEL CALLED TO THE PRAIRIE DAVE???

SM: YOU’RE A&W, DAVE!!

S2: ROOT BEER ROOT BEER

D2: ah yes. Middle school. I remember this feeling.

--

Dave laid his phone on his chest and stared back up at the ceiling.

It was never dull, this new life he’d settled into.

He said a prayer for Murdock and rolled onto his side.

It was still his goddamn couch.

 --

[ghostcribs]

supporting role

maplekeene

2635 words

Fitzroy wakes up from his post-curse nap and Argo is there.

—

Fitzroy can’t really remember ever opening his eyes while waking. Usually when he exits his trances, the world just sort of snaps into clarity and his full consciousness comes back to him, but it never really completely left to begin with. This time, it’s very different, and very disorienting. When his consciousness returns, it feels like he’s floating to the top of some dark body of water, like his mind is fighting to emerge from a pitch-black sludge and he can’t remember what he’d been doing. He’s had no awareness of the world at all for the past… Well, he certainly doesn’t know how long it’s been.

He’s so tired. He doesn’t even realize his eyes are closed for a little while, and when he does, it feels like it takes all the strength he has to open them. His surroundings are blurred slightly, at first, and for a brief moment he’s afraid the curse hadn’t been completely dispelled and he’s going to be pulled back into a nightmare. But then his head clears a bit and he finds his faculties fully returning, even if it feels like his bones are lead and every part of his being hurts.

He’s in their tent, he realizes. The canvas walls are alight with the sun outside. He’s pleasantly warm under a light blanket on the cot. He sees his cloak, vest, belts, and boots piled on the ground against the far wall and makes a mental note to scold whoever decided to just drop his expensive wardrobe in the dirt, but he doesn’t have too much time to get worked up over it because then there’s a sound of shifting fabric beside him and he looks up to see—

Argo. The water Genasi is sat in a wooden chair beside the cot, arms folded over his chest and one leg propped up on the other, dozing lightly. His head is bobbing a little, like he’s nodding off in class, and Fitzroy can’t help but smile at the sight.

He takes a moment to appreciate it. Argo couldn’t look unattractive if he tried, honestly, which is a real feat considering he has a goddamn mustache—Fitzroy hated it when they’d first met, but somehow over time he’d come to think it was kind of hot and now hates himself for that. But he thinks Argo looks the most attractive when he doesn’t know anyone is looking at him, so he really drinks in the sight of his toned arms, evident even through his loose tunic, and the smooth chest that’s pretty much always on display since he never laces up his shirts. His navy hair is tied back as usual, the dark curls cascading over his shoulders and back in casual waves. The way the soft light coming through the tent falls on the planes of his face and makes his blue scales shine like water really starts up the butterflies in Fitzroy’s stomach and god, he probably needs to not be staring like this at his friend and coworker—

And then, just like, a memory comes rushing to the forefront of his brain complete unbidden and echoes loudly in his ears. He can hear it as clearly as he can hear his own breathing.

“I know all about ya. I know… I know you’re not the fancy lad that you put on. You come from, y’know, kinda lowly stock. Your mom and your long haul truck driver dad, and… I know this ‘cause I was investigatin’ ya. I was checkin’ up on ya, keepin’ an eye on ya.”

Something sour curls in Fitzroy’s gut. Of course, he’s known that something was up with Argo for a while now, and he can’t be completely sure that this is what he’s been up to, but to know that his friend, his sidekick, has been secretly digging through his past and personal life… The betrayal from that is only rivaled by his utter embarrassment and—he hates to admit—shame. He’s spent a considerable amount of effort to keep anyone from learning about his background, and for Argo to be the one to find out is…kind of catastrophic, if he’s being honest. For different reasons.

He’s really not looking forward to the talk they’re going to have to have in the near future.

The longer he looks at Argo, though, the more memories begin to come back and there’s a large part of Fitzroy that just can’t be angry with him. There is no part of Argonaut Keene that has ever been mean or petty or vicious, which Fitzroy can’t say of himself, and in his heart of hearts he knows that Argo couldn’t have had ill intentions. Was it kind of shitty? Yeah, but Argo must have thought there was good reason. He’s a rogue, but he’s never struck Fitzroy as nosy. Not when it comes to his friends.

And that brings back more of Argo’s one-sided conversation with his lifeless body.

“You’re a good dude. You’re a really good dude, and you’re my friend, and I believe—I believe in ya.”

“I’m your friend, and Firbolg is your friend. And I think you’re gonna be remarkable! I think you’re gonna be just an amazing person! Because, you just… You have it in ya.”

“Don’t let your failure dictate what you’re gonna be. Y’know, when you fail at somethin’ the only way it defines ya is if you give up! And you haven’t given up!”

“Look, you gotta come back to us. We can’t do this without ya.”

A flood of warmth rushes through Fitzroy, then. He’s said in the past that he doesn’t trust Argo, but he’s not sure if that’s really true. Even when he acts shady and keeps obvious secrets, Fitzroy would still trust him with his life. The utter adoration that blooms inside him at just the sight of the rogue is enough to quell his unease about their current standings, at least a little.

He’s glad he was unconscious while Argo practically bared his heart in front of him, and he’s even gladder that he heard everything. He’s never really known someone with a heart of gold before, not like Argo’s. Affection swells alarmingly within him as he continues to gaze at the Genasi’s sharp, handsome features, dark eyelashes fanning out across his blue skin, shiny lips parted slightly, strong chest rising and falling with gentle breaths—

Before he feels too flustered, he coughs a little and, as he’d thought, Argo starts and wakes immediately. When his sea green eyes fall on Fitzroy, Fitzroy smiles and hopes it doesn’t look as awkward as it feels. “We’ve got to stop meeting like this.”

Argo smiles, too, a softer version of the relieved expression on his face the last time Fitzroy had woken up beside him. “I spend a lot of time at your bedside.”

“I know.” He laughs a little. “I’m, uh, I’m a frail—”

“It’s a little creepy,” Argo says with a kind grin.  

Fitzroy shifts and tries to prop himself up, but his arms don’t seem to want to hold his weight very well. It’s embarrassing, being this weak in front of Argo, but it would’ve probably bothered him a lot more if his sidekick hadn’t looked at him with such soft kindness and wordlessly reached out to support him until he was sitting.

He takes a breath and tries to get his head on straight. It’s probably a good idea to get right down to business—there are far more pressing matters than his and Argo’s relationship and it’s the next thing weighing on him. The past twenty-four hours have been…a lot.

“Um, Argo,” he says, fiddling with the edge of his blanket. “I heard…what you said to me, in some far-off, distant part of my consciousness while I was suffering from the curse. And… We obviously have a lot to talk about. But I just have one thing to say to you right now, Argo.”

The suspense is palpable between them and Fitzroy almost wants to say something else entirely, but he shoves that aside.

“Tell me you picked up the pieces of the apple that I took a bite out of.”

—

After making sure the apple is mended and safely stowed away, Fitzroy leans back in the cot for a moment. Exhaustion really has set deep in every fiber of his body and he aches all over.

“Ya doin’ alright?” Argo asks, a concerned frown coming over his face. “I mean, that was… That was all pretty intense. Are you feelin’ okay?”

“I’m…very tired.” Fitzroy runs fingers through his hair, suddenly aware that he probably looks like a mess and undoubtedly has bad bedhead.

“I’m sure.” Argo looks a little uncomfortable for a moment, his gaze falling and his hands fidgeting in his lap. “Can—can I ask you a question, Fitz?”

Fitzroy isn’t sure why his stomach drops, but he nods. “Uh, sure.”

“If you heard me talkin’ about—about, y’know, that, then… Did ya hear…everything?” He looks equal parts anxious and hopeful as he asks it, like half of him is dreading Fitzroy’s answer and the other half is hoping he’ll say yes.

Fitzroy looks at him for a moment, contemplating and trying to figure out how to go about answering the question. He’s not surprised Argo’s asking, but he’s not sure what he’s hoping he’ll say.

He takes a breath. “Yes, the adventures of Larry the Lime were…extremely riveting.”

A blush slams into Argo’s cheeks and he laughs loudly. “Yeah, I know!”

Fitzroy laughs too, feeling a blush crawl up into his own cheeks. He loves seeing Argo laugh.

After another moment, though, the laughter dies down and the actual topic at hand still hangs between them acutely, unaddressed. Fitzroy combs through his hair again. “Um, but seriously, Argo, I—yes, I heard everything. I should… I should thank you for what you said. I didn’t know you felt that way, and I’m… Well, thank you.” He clears his throat awkwardly and feels the blush heat up. Expressing genuine, heartfelt emotion has never been especially easy for him. “It probably didn’t seem like it, but your presence helped a lot. I could…feel your support and that meant a lot to me.”

When he looks up, Argo is smiling from ear to ear. It makes Fitzroy’s stomach do another somersault. “I helped? I mean, you really feel like it helped?”

Fitzroy blinks and nods. “Yes, I—”

“Ha ha!” Argo, seemingly without thinking, reaches over and grabs Fitzroy’s hand with both of his. “I felt so helpless the whole time. I mean, the Firbolg went lookin’ for Calhain and Althea had that ward and I just—I felt like I couldn’t do anything to help except sit there and talk, so I’m really glad that I—that I could help ya, even a little.”

Then, he looks down and realizes he’s got Fitzroy’s hand. His eyes widen and he lets go as if it’s burned him. “Oh… I’m sorry, Fitz, I didn’t mean ta—”

The sudden absence of the rogue’s palm, of the cool, scaly skin against his own hand is surprisingly jarring. To Fitzroy’s horror, he finds himself chasing Argo’s hand and grabbing it. “Argo, I—”

Argo, I what? What exactly is he planning on saying? What the hell is he doing?

“Argo… I…” He swallows thickly. His gaze is trained on their hands, on his sidekick’s blue fingers curling around his own. “When I say your support meant a lot to me, I mean that… Well, you mean a lot to me. You mean a lot more to me than I can—” He stutters, completely unsure what his mouth is trying to do. But it’s sure as shit too late to back out now, isn’t it? “Do you… Do you understand where I’m going with this? It’s—I—”

The other scaly palm is suddenly on his cheek and he looks up with a start. Argo’s face is very close, close enough that Fitzroy can smell the salty ocean scent that follows him around, like he’s constantly being chased by a sea breeze. “Are ya sayin’ that ya like me?”

Fitzroy’s face is on fire—it must be. This is definitely not how he imagined this conversation going and yet… And yet, Argo is so close. His heart is pounding. His breath is coming quicker and he feels like any second now he’ll explode all to pieces. The only thing keeping him together is the fact that Argo’s touching him and somehow it feels right. It feels safe. It feels…kind of like the home he’s always wanted.

Slowly, Fitzroy nods. “I—yes, that’s what I’m saying. I…” He takes another deep breath. “Like you, Argo, and I think I have for some time now. It’s okay if you don’t feel the same, I don’t expect you to—”

“Fitz.”

Fitzroy blinks, confused. “Huh?”

“Will ya shut up and let me kiss you?”

His heart is hammering away at his ribcage and it feels like all his insides are melting into goop and his head is spinning so fast he can hardly think, but his body reacts almost on its own. He whispers, “Yes.”

Argo’s lips are dry, but smooth, and cool like the rest of his skin. It’s quite pleasant. Fitzroy had never allowed himself to entertain the thought of kissing him much, for the fact that he was almost certain his feelings were unrequited, but if he had imagined it, this would probably be exactly it. Argo’s hand is still cupping his face, and without really thinking Fitzroy’s hand rises to his shoulder, up his neck, and into his hair. There it tangles into the damp, beachy waves that are just as soft as he would have guessed.

The kiss isn’t long, even though Fitzroy would like it to be. But there’s activity on the other side of the tent, and they both seem to remember that there’s business to attend to at the same time.

When Fitzroy opens his eyes, Argo looks just as breathless and stunned as he feels. There’s a handsome flush in his cheeks and a sparkle in his eyes that Fitzroy doesn’t see very often. A curl has come loose from his ponytail and dangles in his face and it’s honestly kind of adorable.

“This doesn’t get you off the hook,” Fitzroy says, still trying to get his breath back.

Argo winces a bit. “Yeah… I know.”

Fitzroy swings his legs over the side of the cot, grimacing at the ache in his body when he does. “And I guess we have even more to talk about now.”

“I guess we do.”

“But, um. That was…very enjoyable. I’d like to do it again sometime when I don’t feel like death warmed over.”

Argo smiles. “That would be great.”

They each take a moment to collect themselves. Argo re-ties his hair and Fitzroy stands to put on the rest of his outfit and comb his hair with an actual comb that he keeps in his belt pouch. He’ll really have to compartmentalize this, he thinks, if he wants to finish this assignment strongly.

As they’re about to exit the tent, Argo clears his throat and leans in close to Fitzroy’s ear. Tingles race down his spine when he feels that stupid mustache tickle the side of his face. “Just in case it wasn’t clear, Fitz, I like you too.”

With that, the Genasi pushes aside the tent flap and departs in one quick, fluid motion, leaving Fitzroy standing there with steam coming from his ears. Althea is worried he’s gotten sick when he finally joins the rest of the group, and he makes a point of remembering to strangle Argo later for winking at him.

[neerasrealm]

AAAAAAAAAAA I LOVED that poly!Slender x reader x LJ!! I didn’t originally request it, but if it’s not too much, can I please request a sequel (featuring the adorable Slendra Jackson?) Ty! 😁😁

Anon you have no idea how happy this request made me- I NEVER get asks about my OCs so you calling Slendra adorable and aSKING TO INTERACT WITH HER??? MADE ME REALLY REALLY HAPPY SO THANK YOU- sorry this ask took a bit to answer, I only got your ask late in the evening so I had to finish it off over the course of my morning. Thank you again for the ask!! I hope you like what I came up with- (put it under a cut since it’s a little long)

‘’More wine, dear?’’ Slender asks you from across the couch. It’s late, and quiet. A rare combination here in the mansion. Somehow, every other person in the mansion is downstairs, in their room or somewhere else. Meaning you and your two boyfriends are free to occupy the couch by yourselves and have a quiet evening, and you couldn’t ask for more. Being curled up against Jack’s soft body with Slender’s arms wrapped around you both. Even Jack is being quiet for once, his face resting against Slender’s chest. He might be asleep- you’re honestly not sure.

‘’Sure.’’ you murmur back, looking up at Slender. He seems to smile despite his lack of face and reaches over to the coffee table, pouring you some wine from the already-half empty bottle sitting on it. A benefit of not being human, you guessed, was being able to drink a lot of the stuff without worrying about intoxication. As you’re taking another sip from your glass a soft, shy voice interrupts you.

‘’Mama? Pops? Dad?’’ 

The three of you look over at the voice’s owner. A short girl with fiery hair and brownish-purple skin. Her eyes are bright and gold, and she has pale red horns and dark red claws that scratch gently against the bannister she’s holding. Your shared daughter- it’s odd, she’s not related to you, she’s adopted like every other child in the mansion, but she’s one of the few that calls you mom. Everyone took fairly naturally to you dating the mansion’s ‘dads’, just treating it like you were dating anyone else, but Slendra? She’s been calling you mom since day one. Not that you're complaining.

‘’Need somefink, luv?’’ Jack murmurs behind you. He sits up a bit. 

Slendra shifts where she stands. ‘’...can I get a bedtime story?’’ she asks quietly. Slender IMMEDIATELY sits up, alert. ‘’I-I know I’m a little old for it but-’’

‘’Ye can’t ou’grow bedtime stories, kiddo.’’ Jack says. Slender nods. You can’t help but smile a little bit at the two’s excitement- though Slender’s is far more obvious. You can’t blame them. Slendra is beginning to hit that- odd phase where kids think they need to act like adults. Except she’s only five years old. Damn demon aging. ‘’Ow abou’ me an’ Slen do i’ fer ya? I’ll do th’ voices an’ ‘e can narra’e. Like when ye were li’le.’’

You look at the two of them. ‘’I want in too.’’

‘’Ye can be th’ damsel in distress.’’

You give Jack an offended look and playfully slap his chest. ‘’Rude. Slender fits the damsel role better and you know it.’’

‘’...I do look good in a dress.’’ Slender says as he climbs off the couch. You and LJ cackle in amusement. Slendra giggles shyly.

The three of you follow Slendra upstairs to her room and walk inside. Her room is like a mix between Jack’s room and Slender’s office. Her walls are a deep lavender with darker swirls running across them. Her bed is round, oddly, and covered in pillows. She has a desk piled high with books and papers for her drawing and writing habits and her ceiling is covered in not only glow in the dark stairs, but music notes too. Her carpet is soft and your socked feet sink right into it. There's shelves on nearly every wall, full of toys, trinkets or books.

The little demon girl crawls into her bed and grabs her favorite stuffed toy- a purple and green dog you tried to win for her at a carnival but...well of course the game was rigged. It was actually her older brother EJ who managed to win it for her. With a little help from his demonic strength of course. She named it Scam, and you’re still proud of her for that.

The three of you all sit down at the foot of her bed. "Wha're ye in th' mood fer then?" Jack asks.

"Can you make a story?" Slendra asks, her eyes shining. A toothy grin curls up Jack's face. 

"Oh, I ge' ta flex me wri'in' t'nigh', eh?" He reaches into a puffy sleeve and pulls out a book. Slendra grins excitedly. You glance at the book's cover. Apparently Jack's homemade bedtime story is called 'The Damsel's Dragon'.

He clears his throat and opens the book. "Once upon a time, there wuz a pre'y young lass named…" Jack holds the book over to Slender. He shoots Jack an annoyed look and sighed.

"Damsel N. D. Stress." He finishes in the most airy, feminine voice you've ever heard him do. The three of you laugh while Slender fixes his tie. 

"Damsel wuz th' pre'ies' lass in th' land. People came far an' wide ta see 'er an' 'er collection 'f antique ties. All th' men in th' land wanted 'er 'and in marriage, bu' she wanted none 'f tha'." You watch Jack hold the book over to Slender again. 

"I hate you." Slender mutters. Slendra giggles. "Oh if only a big, handsome clown would come to admire my ties... if only…"

You laugh so hard you almost fall off the bed. Jack's hand reaches over quickly, his palm against your back, and pushes you back up. You snicker. "Sorry, sorry continue."

"Damsel spen' 'er days in 'er castle, wishin' an 'opin as th' worl' wen' by. Until one day, th' castle began ta shake! 'Er ties fell off th' shelves, 'er wine smashed to the ground!"

"Not the wine!" Slender exclaims in that airy, overly dramatic voice. You snicker again. 

"Th' castle stopped rockin' an' Damsel ran up ta th' top tower ta see wha' 'ad 'appened. When she go' up there, she saw a big migh'y dragon sleepin' on 'er castle's roof!" Jack stops and nudges you. "Ye're th' dragon." He whispers. You grin. 

The book is handed to Slender again. "Mr dragon, whatever are you doing up on my roof?" He exclaims. Jack holds the book over to you. Slendra looks at you excitedly. You're nowhere near as good at voices when compared to Slender and Jack, but Slendra doesn't seem to mind. You clear your throat.

"I'm taking a nap of course!" You growl out. Jack smiles as he passes the book to Slender again.

"Fockin' 'orrifyin', luv."

"Jack!" The three of you yelp. He laughs a bit.

"Sorry."

"Well you can't nap up here!" Slender continues with the story. "This is my castle! You have to go somewhere else!"

You lean over Jack's shoulder to see your next line. "Mmmm…No." You say. 

"Now Damsel wuz'nt tha' dumb. She knew be'er than ta argue wiv a dragon, an' so she wen' back into 'er castle an' began lookin' fer a way to ge' rid of th' dragon." 

"Good to know you don't see me as a total idiot." Slender murmurs.

"Wha' do ya mean? This isn' you, i's Damsel."

"Of course it is."

Jack grins to himself and looks back at the book. "She looked through 'er ye ol' phone book an' foun' somefink ta 'elp 'er!" He looks up at Slendra for a moment. "Th' mos' famous dragon extermina'or in th' worl'. 'Er name wuz Jackie Ardlens."

You force yourself to to 'awe' at the Slendra self-insert. She doesn't seem to have realised the character is literally named after her. 

"Jackie came ta th' castle an Damsel led 'er up ta th' tower."

"It's terrible!" Slender exclaims. "That great big ugly dragon does nothing but snore all day!"

"I don't snore." You retort. Slendra looks at you. You clear your throat. "I don't snore." You say again, this time in your dragon voice. She laughs. 

"Oh dragon," Slender continues with the story, ignoring you. "I've brought someone to drive you away!" You can't help but smile at how much he's actually getting into this role. Slendra is certainly enjoying it too.

"Huh? Drive me away?" You growl back at him. "How am I supposed to fit into a car?"

A grin curls up Jack's face. "Jackie stepped forward an' looked up a' th' dragon." He passes the book to Slendra who looks surprised, but then smiles wide.

"I've come to make you leave this poor lady alone!" She reads. "Why do you want to stay on this castle so bad?" 

"Why the sun of course, it's nice and warm up here. And this castle is the comfiest bed I've ever had!" You read back. 

"Hm…" Slendra cups her chin in her hand, pretending to think. "Well I say we build a new tower for you to sleep on! That way both of you will be happy."

Slender clasps his hands together. "Of course! That can be arranged." He says. Jack takes the book back and turns to the very last page.

"An' so, they buil' a big ol' tower fer th' dragon ta sleep on, an Damsel continued ta collec' 'er ties an' live 'appily ever after." He closes the book and smiles. "The end."

Slendra smiles wide. "I liked that one."

"Good." Jack leans in and kisses her forehead. "Now ge' yer res, swee'pea." He says softly while Slender pats the girls head. 

"Mama?" As you're following Jack and Slender out of the room Slendra calls you. You stop and look at her, curled up around Scam, a bright golden eye looking at you. "I love you."

You swear you can feel yourself practically melt for a moment. You smile at her. "I love you too, sweetheart." You say softly. She smiles, a couple fangs glinting in the light, then closes her eyes and snuggles up under the covers.

[eventidedaydreamer]

What is everybody's strengths and weaknesses in your Bendy Au?

:) oh >:) okay

Joey Drew: 

Strengths 

he knows a lot of things, 

Intelligence

he can be very charming and can win people over easily, 

he’s the kind of person that you immediately like when you meet him, 

he knows how to leave a good impression.

If you actually get to know him he can be very bubbly and excitable.

Weaknesses 

he can’t read people, 

he’s brain smart but he isn’t emotionally smart, 

he doesn’t get it when someone shows emotions in a way he isn’t familiar with. 

He lashes out when he’s reminded of unpleasant things.

He knows how to turn everyone into ink creatures through sacrifice but he doesn’t stop to think if he should.

His coping mechanisms are not very healthy

Jealousy, clingy, its hard for him to consider that people can have more than one friend

Henry Stein:

Strengths 

He’s very tough (have you seen how much he falls?? and he’s OLD) 

Probably broke some bones when he was a kid so now he has stronger bones. 

He can handle a LOT of pain, 

he’s cool under stress and pressure, 

he’s a hard worker and a very talented artist.

He has a good memory

Weaknesses 

He has trouble expressing himself 

He’s a people pleaser and has a hard time saying no (something he’s worked on and is better about after he met his wife), 

He underreacts to things and overthinks a lot (overthinking is another thing he got better with after he met Linda)

Wally Franks:

Strengths 

One of the FRIENDLIEST people you will ever meet, 

and hes really really funny

He somehow knows everyone’s name even if he only met them once three years ago, 

It’s like he’s living life at a different speed because it seems like he spent the whole day with you but he also had time to see ten other people the same day?? 

He seems innocent and as if his perfect bubble of the world would pop if you mentioned something upsetting but the reality is he’ll listen to anything you need to get out and then give really good advice followed up with his usual humor.

He trusts that there is good in everyone and gives people second chances

Weaknesses 

He does really stupid things a lot

He’ll connect pipes wrong, resulting in later damage and messes

He’s always getting himself hurt, jumping too many stairs at once, making someone really angry and running for his life (Sammy’s the main one that’ll actually chase him down)

It’s like he has no sense of self-preservation 

(HOW IS HE NOT DEAD?!)

He is really trusting and some people take advantage of that

He opens himself up to everyone and forgives a little too easily

Sammy Lawrence:

Strengths

He knows how to stick up for himself and others

Hardworking

He is damn good at his job and won’t let you forget it

Sarcastic

Honest

Mature

He can hear the music as he’s writing it, feel it in his head when he sees sheet music

Very independent 

If he considers you a friend, he will go to extremes to get back at anyone that hurts you (Just ask Jack, he’s been friends with him the longest!)

It is unknown how many instruments Sammy can play, the band make guesses all the time and Jack is asked on a weekly basis but refuses to comment

its an ongoing discussion 

Determination, he’s the only one that will actually chase Wally til he catches him

Weaknesses

He’s angry almost constantly

The glass is half empty

Doesn’t hold back snide remarks (but if the remark is about music in some way you better listen there’s advice hidden somewhere)

Yelling, but it’s mostly just a very loud “WALLY FRANKS!” followed by running footsteps and Wally’s giddy laughter

I N S O M N I A C

constantly has bags under his eyes

A Perfectionist, Only the best can come from the office of Sammy Lawrence even if he forgets to eat while doing so

yeah thats another thing, he forgets about things like eating, sleeping, ya know, human things

He’s intimidating, the string of constant negativity doesn’t make many friends

Workaholic 

He’s become dependent on the few friends he has to break him out of his  work until its done mode and remind him to eat and sleep (Jack, Wally, Norman and Susie a little.)

because :) it would be a shame :) if one of them :)  went missing :) huh?

Susie Campbell:

Strengths

Hopeful and optimistic

Friendly

She has a really pretty face, shes really pretty in general

she gets a lot of attention because of it

shes tougher than she looks and uses it to her advantage

she is really clever

Flirty and a romantic 

an exciting storyteller, she can make a trip to the refrigerator sound interesting

Weaknesses

Possessive

she wants to hear all the gossip until its about her

is really jealous of the smallest things

she may seem like a little innocent flower but she’s the thorniest rose in the garden and you are growing a little too close to her

Alice Angel means everything to her, its the best way to distract her from anything else :)

the second best way is to mention her star-shaped birthmark/freckle

Norman Polk:

Strengths

Observant 

He’s very good at guessing things correctly

He seems to know something about everything and everyone

A really great listener

He also just has good hearing in general, easily eavesdrops 

Physically strong, he can lift anyone with ease

Wise and careful

he has some pretty sound advice in him if you ask for any

has a very good control on his temper and is calm and cool even in heated arguments or dangerous situations

a good people reader

is very understanding

Weaknesses

He’s scary, just how he likes it

People get the wrong ideas about him (He’s just sitting there! Is he watching me?)

to be fair, he might be

He doesn’t attempt to get to know people unless he sees a reason to

gets into other peoples business 

He’s always lookin’ for trouble

too curious for his own good

doesn’t talk about his feelings

Jack Fain:

Strengths

He’s so good at rhyming that he does it subconsciously on a regular basis

Creative

Empathetic

He’s not afraid to show emotion

Forgiving

Generosity

Gentle and soft

Humble

Patient

Selfless

Weaknesses

He can be really emotional a lot of the time

He spaces out a lot

he can seem like a crybaby

Doesn’t take credit for things he should

Lies about how he really feels to make other people comfortable, he doesn’t want to be a bother

puts himself down to make other people look better

Really shy

doesn’t stick up for himself

too passive

worries a lot

Johnny:

Strengths

He really loves his job

He’s a romantic at heart

very sweet and considerate

Loyal and devoted

Sees the best in people

Weaknesses

He falls in love way too easily

ignores flaws even when they’re concerning

can easily become an emotional mess

fears being rejected more than anything else (bro just love him he’s too sweet)

Shawn Flynn:

Strengths

He’ll tell someone off when they’ve done something wrong

believes in karma and justice

likes sewing while he’s talking/doing something else

really good at multitasking

Luck of the Irish

like he misses getting injured by mere inches

this makes him the perfect Go and Do Something Stupid companion with Wally

He’s really proud of his heritage and his work

Weaknesses

Shouts a lot

He can be too prideful and overconfident

isn’t into mercy or forgiveness 

can and will turn anything into a rivalry if its the last thing he does!!

the downside to being his friend is that its dangerous to hug him because he puts needles through his clothes so he can find them later

he says its built in protection

and Wally says ow

Thomas Connor:

Strengths

He’s been good with anything technical since he was little and only got better at it with age 

Honorable

Hardworking

Mature

Weaknesses

He believes in a one strike and you’re out ideal, leaving him to not trust some genuinely nice people (but he also doesn’t trust some questionable people so he sees it as justifiable)

Reserved, doesn’t attempt to get to know anyone

he can work too hard

Pessimistic

Allison Pendle:

Strengths

Boy can she give an inspirational speech

She’s very generous

Brave 

Levelheaded

She’s a lot stronger than she looks

you should hear her belt out a song

Weaknesses

prefers to fix other peoples problems rather than deal with her own

she’s really competitive 

she gets herself hurt a lot

can be a little too fierce

Grant Cohen:

Strengths

Math, he’s good at math

he was like yeah i can do numbers I’ll be an accountant! (bro im sorry u got Joey as a boss)

He’s a good singer (which seems random unless you know)

Weaknesses

A N X I E T Y

really cannot talk to anyone

his words get all jumbled up

if he had the internet he’d constantly be searching things like, how to explain to your boss that his decisions are putting the company in dept? how do you stand up to your boss?

has bad panic attacks

Bertrum Piedmont:

Strengths

He’s super confidant

Not afraid to get his hands dirty

Even though he almost always is dressed up nice

He makes sure he looks presentable

He acts like a dad to people he likes

Cultured

Very determined 

He can and will do anything out of spite and you can’t stop him because that will only give him more reason to

Weaknesses

Really prideful, gets offended over little things

is pretty arrogant as well

it’s really hard for him to change his mind after he’s made a decision 

refuses to lose, even if it’s really obvious that he has

he can be condescending 

doesn’t like or participate in humor, he’s always deadly serious

He can be over dramatic a lot

Lacie Benton:

Strengths

nothing seems to surprise her

calm and chill

a really good listener, the kind that you know can keep a secret

doesn’t take herself too seriously or anyone, (Bertrum finds her company to be one of his favorites after he figures that out)

shE WEARS WHATEVER SHE WANTS BECAUSE SHE DOESN’T CARE ABOUT YOUR OPINION SHE JUST LIKES WEARING PANTS

Weaknesses

stays quiet about important things, she ain’t no snitch, who cares if she witnessed someone stealing something

Super apathetic about life

kinda isolated (Norman says hi)

Lazy but only because she can do it really fast and well so you can wait for her

Linda Stein:

Strengths

It’s a good thing she’s so confidant else Henry would have just looked at this pretty lady and never introduced himself

shes like really good at gardening, talk about a green thumb!

Affectionate 

knows when to be gentle and when someone needs tough love

and shes good at distributing both

shes so brave

Eager and excited easily

super patient 

Understanding

Weaknesses

she can come off as too forward and a little too fast

can get a little frazzled

Forgetful (Henry helps with that)

she doesn’t want to invade anyone’s boundaries but doesn’t ask what they are so its a tug of war within her

Sorry this took so long, I wanted to really think about it and do it justice! :D

[orangeoctopi7]

Who’s a Threat Now?

: Chapter 1 : Chapter 2 : Chapter 3 : Chapter 4 : Chapter 5 : Chapter 6 : 

In this chapter we finally get to the scene I first envisioned when I decided to write this fic. It was loosely inspired by this post by @a-tale-of-two-stans Obviously my idea ended up being quite different, but I still slipped in some of the dialogue. 

Morning came cold and cloudy. The storm last night had left a fine layer of ice over everything, which in turn was hidden under another layer of snow. Dangerous driving conditions, which Stan would normally take as an excuse to stay home all day. Not today though. No, today they had a very important mission. Thankfully, they only had to drive as far as the high school, and the poor road conditions meant they would probably be the only ones there, leaving very little chance of being caught.

“Why did you have to buy such a conspicuous car?” Ford complained as Stan parked the Stanleymobile as best he could behind one of the school’s dumpsters.

“Hey! This baby’s a classic, and easily the best purchase I’ve ever made!” Stan defended. “She’s gotten me through some of the roughest patches of my life!” Although, Stan would be lying if he said he’d never thought the same thing to himself. There had definitely been some points in his life where driving a car that blended into the traffic more easily would have saved him some trouble. “And besides, we’re just breaking into the school on a Saturday. Even if there were people out in this weather to see us, who would even care?”

“I just don’t want to attract any undue attention.” Ford grumbled. 

They made it to the autoshop’s door with minimal slipping and sliding. Stan picked the lock with ease, and they began searching for another small soldering iron. 

“If we can’t find another iron of the same size, I may have to just make one myself.” Ford mused as he perused another box. They were all too big. “On the positive side, I’d be able to make one the perfect size for the microcircuitry, but on the negative side, it would add yet another day to our stay here.”

“Well, let’s hope we can find a little one here then.” Stan said, pulling out a drawer and dumping its contents onto a workbench. “The sooner the better, right?”

Ford hummed in agreement. Their search was much more thorough that the one they’d conducted during the school day earlier in the week. They had no fear of discovery while the school was empty. Still, they searched two whole supply closets, and couldn’t find a similarly sized soldering iron.

Their hunt for the tool paused when they heard a car’s engine zoom right past the shop’s door.

“It’s, uh, probably just some kids spinning cookies in the snow.” Stan reasoned nervously.

“Probably…” Ford agreed, although his posture was still tense.

“I’ll just go check, to be sure.” Stan offered, edging towards the shop door. “While you keep looking.”

“Alright. Just don’t get caught. We’re in enough trouble with dad right now as it is.”

“Yeah, no kiddin’.” Stan rolled his eyes as he slipped out the door.

Searching the final supply closet took longer with just one person, and still no luck! Ford carefully surveyed the room, trying to think where the teacher would hide the nicer tools so rowdy highschools students wouldn’t break them. His eyes landed on the bottom drawer of the teacher’s desk. Bingo! It had a small lock built into it. The scientist had done his fair share of lock picking during his interdimensional travels, and while he still wasn’t as practiced as Stan, something like this was hardly a challenge. 

His breaking and entering was rewarded with the soldering iron he’d been searching for! It was even smaller than the one Stan had accidentally snapped, although it was still larger than Ford would have preferred. Still, it would get the job done. 

* * *

Despite the thick clouds still hanging in the sky, Stan had to squint against the rising sun’s light as it reflected off every flake of snow on the ground. The parking lot looked empty. In fact, it looked just like he’d left it just fifteen minutes ago. 

Wait, no. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw a fresh set of tire tracks in addition to his own. The parking lot had been an unmarked blanket when they’d first arrived, so someone was definitely there. What’s more, the tracks went straight around the back to the teacher’s parking area; no cookies or fishtails or any other skids that Stan would expect from a student looking to have some fun in the snow. So whoever was here was probably a teacher. 

The old man in a teen’s body sighed. Just his luck. He didn’t remember any of their teachers being this dedicated. 

He followed the tracks, hoping to figure out who they belonged to. Depending on the teacher, Stan might be able to talk his way out of this. As he peeked around the corner, he was surprised to see a car he recognized, but not one that belonged to any of the teachers. He’d seen it just last night, at the boxing match.

Crampelter’s car. Well, Stan was pretty sure it was his parents’ car, the guy didn’t have the patience to save up for his own car, but that's besides the point. This was the car Crampelter would drive around in. The goon had probably seen the Stanleymobile parked behind the dumpster and decided to come harass the twins. Stan turned on his heel and ran back towards the auto shop to warn Ford, but he didn’t make it very far before he slipped on the ice. 

Luckily, Stan recovered from having the wind knocked out of him much more quickly than he was expecting. Unluckily, before he could pick himself up, a foot stepped heavily onto his upper back. Several sharp points dug into his winter coat.

“Just the guy I was lookin’ for!” Crampelter sneered.

“Hello to you too.” Stan mumbled into the snow. 

Two more figures stepped into Stan’s limited field of vision. Oh great, Crampelter’s lackeys. And they all had plastic ice cleats strapped to their snow boots. He quickly pulled his hands in close, to prevent the jerks from stepping on them. 

“It’s about time I reminded you of your place, Stan the lesser!” The bully snarled. “You really thought you could get away with breakin’ my nose?”

Stan did note with some satisfaction that although he couldn’t see the bully’s face from where he was lying in the snow, Crampelter’s voice was much more nasally than usual. 

“‘S part of the gig, kid.” Stan shrugged. “Y’know what they say. If ya can’t take the heat, get outta the kitchen.”

“I’m two years older than you!” Crampelter shouted indignantly. 

“Oh, right.”

“See, this is exactly what I’m talkin’ about!” the bully whined. “I’m tired of you not takin’ me seriously anymore! I’m gonna make sure you never forget that I’m a threat!”

“Yyyyeah, you’re really not.” Stan rolled his eyes.

Crampelter growled with rage and shifted his weight forward, digging his ice cleats further into Stan’s back before releasing his foot. Stan sprung up to strike the bully, but the lackeys each grabbed an arm before he could land a blow.

“What, afraid you can’t take me one on one?” Stan taunted.

“This isn’t about proving who’s the better fighter.” Crampelter chortled. “It’s about teaching you your place.”

“Uh huh. Sure.” Stan had plenty of experience fighting three on one, heck, even more than that, and most of the time those people had guns or at least knives. He dropped to his knees, knocking the two lackey’s heads against each other in the process. Once free of their grasp, he sprang back to his feet with an uppercut to Crampelter’s jaw. He felt a tug on the back of his coat; the lackeys had recovered faster than he’d expected. Stan simply shrugged the coat off and swung his arm backwards, catching one goon with a hard backhand. The other one tried to grab Stan’s arm again, but he wound up and punched that guy with the other arm. 

With all three of the bullies reeling, Stan made a run for it. Over the years the main thing he’d learned about what to do when people ganged up on you was to get out of there as soon as possible. 

“Coward!” Crampelter shouted after him.

Stan flipped him the bird over his shoulder. “Better a coward than a guy with a broken nose!”

Unfortunately, luck was rarely on Stan’s side, and today was no exception. Before he even ran three feet, he slipped on the ice again, and this time he hit his head on impact. When his vision cleared, three ice cleats were digging into his back. Stan struck out with his arm, trying to knock over whoever’s leg he could reach, but they had too much traction to be knocked over from this angle. 

The lackeys didn’t bother letting him up and holding him by his arms this time. The three of them just stomped down on him with their ice cleats, kicking snow in his eyes whenever he tried to squirm away. While it wasn’t the worst beating Stan had ever received in his life, it still felt like being on the wrong end of a meat tenderizer. Without his coat, the ice cleats tore through his shirt and into his skin, leaving stinging scrapes across his back and arms.

Eventually the three bullies were satisfied that Stan was too dazed to fight back, and Campelter hoisted him up by his shirt collar.

“Whaddaya think, should we cram him in the freak’s locker to find on Monday?” One of the lackeys asked with a snicker.

“Nah, he’s too big to fit anymore.” Crampleter scrunched up his face like he was thinking hard. “Oh! I know!” He turned back towards his car.

The other lackey sneered and popped open the trunk. 

Stan’s heart leapt into his throat. Not again! He tried to break out of Crampelter’s grasp with renewed vigor, but the lackeys each clamped down on his arms. The three bullies roughly escorted him to the open trunk and shoved him in. The panic began to overtake him as they began to shut the door, and he wildly flailed about, trying to wedge it open with his legs. Crampelter kicked him in the calf, and his legs reflexively curled in pain, allowing them to shut him in. 

Stan could do nothing but bang his fists and feet against the roof of the trunk as his breaths came in shorter and shorter gasps, until it felt like he couldn’t think or breath at all.

* * *

Ford waited a couple of minutes for Stanley to come back after finding the correct tool. Their search wouldn’t exactly be a success if the soldering iron was confiscated by a teacher immediately after he found it. The fact that Stan hadn’t come back immediately suggested that there was indeed a teacher out there. Stan was probably hiding to escape notice. 

After a solid ten minutes of waiting, Ford began to worry. Surely Stan would have been able to sneak past any teacher by now. Unless he’d been caught? Perhaps he was causing a distraction so that Ford could get away? 

The young scientist carefully cracked the door open and peered out into the parking lot. It took a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the bright winter sunlight, but it was clear that his brother wasn’t just waiting out there with a snowball. At least there weren’t any teachers out there either. Ford made sure the soldering iron was zipped securely inside his bag, flipped off the lights, and stepped outside, making sure the lock clicked behind him. 

Now, to find Stan. His brother’s footprints followed a second set of tire tracks around to the back of the building. Ford cautiously followed them and peeked around the corner, his breath catching in his throat when he saw Crampelter and two lackeys sitting on the trunk of an old car. From where the young researcher was standing, he could just barely hear the occasional thump over the bullies’ mocking laughter. 

It was like the whole world ground to a halt. In that instant, the rest of the universe outside of this parking lot didn’t exist. All concerns about the timeline and returning to the future just melted away. The only thing that mattered was getting Stanley out of there and away from those neanderthals. 

“Let him go!” Ford commanded as he marched menacingly towards them. The three bullies looked up with a start.

“Should’ve known you’d be shadowin’ him, freak.” Crampelter sneered. “Hey, you’re pretty scrawny, I bet we could fit you in here too.”

“Just try it.” Ford said in a dangerously calm tone. “I’ve faced unimaginable horrors twenty-six times your size and didn’t even flinch. You are a child with the IQ of a peanut and I can beat you without even lifting a finger”

Crampelter chortled. “Yeah, I’m so sure! After nine years of boxing lessons you never learned to even throw a real punch, but today’s the day you’re gonna beat all three of us up!”

“Let me put this in simple terms you can understand.” Stanford said slowly. “You let my brother go, or I will break every one of your fingers.”

The lackeys exchanged a glance. Something about their old victim had changed. There was a new, cold glint in his stare and a confidence in his stance that was completely different from Stan’s usual casual bravado. Cramplelter, however, took no notice of these changes. He just rushed forward with a raging yell, winding up a huge haymaker. 

Ford watched the clearly telegraphed punch and ducked under it with ease. He crouched down and gently pushed up on Crampelter’s stomach with his shoulder, which combined with the bully’s forward momentum, sent the lunk flying over Ford’s back. He spun around and backed up a few steps, keeping all three aggressors in his sight. 

Crampletler picked himself up off the ground, spitting out snow and ice, his eyes blazing with fury. Someone smarter might have noticed that just charging in wildly hadn’t worked last time, so it probably wasn’t going to work again. However, Ford’s earlier assessment of his IQ wasn’t too far off. 

The bully bolted forward again, this time attempting an uppercut. Ford reached out and batted the jab aside, grabbing his attacker’s wrist in one hand, and his face with the other. Crampelter cried out in pain as Ford’s fingers clenched down on the bully’s already broken nose. Once again, Ford used his opponent’s weight against him, and sent Crampelter crashing into his lackeys. 

“D-don’t just stand there gawkin’, get him!” Crampelter demanded. 

The lackeys charged forward, slightly more cautious than their boss had been. They tried to surround Ford, but he was too fast for them, ducking around them or jumping back whenever one tried to get behind him. Eventually, one was brave enough to try a straight-arm punch. Ford grabbed onto his arm and swung him into the other guy, crashing them both to the ice. The lackeys, now thoroughly intimidated, decided that they’d had enough, and fled. 

Crampelter’s face contorted with rage. This time, he just outright tackled Ford. The young scientist thrust forward his forearm, catching the charging bully by the shoulder. Ford took Crampelter’s head in his hands, craning the bully’s neck down and to the side, throwing him off balance and toppling him to the ground. 

With the other two gone, this time Ford was free to position Crampelter into an arm-bar. He pulled the bully’s wrist back, and he was sorely tempted to follow through on that threat to break all his fingers. It would take too long, though, and he needed to get Stan out of that trunk now. So he had to settle for stomping down on his tormentor’s hand. 

When Ford threw open the trunk, it was obvious that Stan was in the throes of a panic attack. His eyes were wide open and staring blankly, his breaths came in short shallow gasps, he was sweating despite the cold winter air, and he was shivering uncontrollably. Well, the shivering might have been from more than just the panic attack. Ford spotted Stan’s discarded coat lying on the ground and scooped it up, shaking most of the snow off of it before gently wrapping it around Stanley’s shoulders. 

“It’s alright, you’re safe now.” He assured his brother softly, half lifting, half helping him out of the trunk. “Let’s get you back home where it’s warm.”

The two brothers staggered back to the Stanleymobile, leaving a completely dumbstruck Crampelter lying in the snow.

[purple-nana]

Barriers

Part 1 - Fluff, Angst

1.5k words  ( Part of the Dorm of us Series)

Warnings: Anxiety attacks

The sound of the boys was the only thing that was keeping you awake late into the night. You have been scrolling down your phone for the past hour. Hoping that the dim lightning coming from it will help you fall asleep. Throwing your phone to the side, you stared at the ceiling silently. 

Noises of Renjun yelling at Jeno to turn down his computer games are echoing through the walls of the hallway of your shared dorm. You have no problems living with the guys, but the the two boys just keep on bickering every night like an old damn married couple.

“Darn these people, why don’t they just marry each other if they want to keep on acting like a married couple every now and then.” You whispered to yourself, covering your head with a pillow to block the voices of the two noisy boys from ringing on to your ears.

In the midst of the noises, the opening of your door startled you. Making you sit up to check who’s at the door that didn’t even bother to knock. Jaemin peeked at the door, giving him a confused look you told him to come in. He closed the door and leaned behind it.

“Still awake I see?” He stepped toward you with a playful smile plastered on his lips. He sat on the chair next to your bed, crossing his legs.

You raised an eyebrow at him. “How could you possibly sleep when World War III is happening right outside your door.” Your tone was sarcastic. Jaemin laughed, you let out a chuckle.

“Wanna go out? You might want to wait until these guys stop before you sleep,” he chuckles, “Or else you’re gonna be awake till sunrise.” He said while standing up. Pulling your arm to convince you even more to go with him.

“Sounds good to me, don’t want to be lookin like a panda when I wake up.” Wearing your slippers you got out your bedroom with Jaemin. Getting your coats at the frontdoor, Jaemin opened the door.

“Ya! Call us when the war is over!” You shouted before closing the door with a loud thud. Jaemin grabbed your arm quickly and ran while laughing, you can’t help but smile while you let yourself be dragged by him.

Being with guys isn’t really a big problem to you since you have been living with them ever since you were in high school. Renjun and Jeno on the other hand haven’t been bickering until Haechan, which is also one of your best buddies left to migrate in the states. Haechan was originally Renjun’s partner when it comes to arguments, bickering and all that. But I guess Renjun got lonely when Haechan moved resulting to Jeno becoming his new partner.

You arrived at an local ice cream parlor with Jaemin. You both got your favorite flavors of ice cream and you decided to go to the park to inhale some fresh air. Both of you run around the park, enjoying the fact that there are only a few people due to the cold weather so both of you can freely run around like a pair of little kids.

After a couple of minutes of fooling around, you both got finally tired. Finding a place to rest, Jaemin decided that you two go to the riverside, which is only a few minutes away from the park. You agreed then you raced each other with a punishment of flicking the forehead of the loser, again like little kids.

When you both arrived at the riverside, your body was so tired out that you can’t help but sit down on the grass. Jaemin followed and sat beside you. Suddenly, both of you became silent. The blowing of the wind was the only thing that can be heard in the silence. Jaemin cannot handle the ear-splitting silence so he decided to break it and talked to you.

“Ahm y/n?” He whispers, his insides debating whether he should tell it to you or not.

“Yeah?” you turned your head to him, patiently waiting for a response. In the end, Jaemin decided to tell it to you. For you are the only person that might understand the situation that he is experiencing right now.

“You know Miri right?” He asks, scratching his neck nervously without looking at you.

You were startled by his question. Oh Miri, the girl Jaemin had feelings for in high school. They dated, but they broke up in senior year. She had to migrate to the states. Sounds familiar right? Because Haechan and Miri got into an arranged marriage and they both have to move to the states. Apart from that, she never really loved Jaemin.

“Ah, Oh Miri?” You sighed, looking up to the night sky. You remembered when Jaemin ran to you when he found out about Miri and Haechan’s arrange marriage, tears are evident in his eyes. 

The way he bawled his eyes out hurt your heart. He looked like a lost boy then. You closed your eyes, trying to bury the painful memories of Jaemin and Haechan beating each other up like they have never been friends. Haechan moved out the day after that fight, none of you had seen him neither have contacts of him. Which is why none of you had bid him a proper goodbye.

“Y/n?” Jaemin’s voice woke you up from your reverie. You shook your head trying to ignore the flashbacks that you’ve been having and looked at him.

“Uh, yeah what about her?” You ask trying to get back on the topic you two were discussing about earlier. Silently wishing that Jaemin will not say anything that will completely shock you.

“Well,” He avoids your gaze, “I saw her earlier at the café where I usually go, and I think-“

“You think what?” You cut him. She’s back, that’s what you can only think of. A lot of things are confusing you right now. Moreover, you don’t want anyone to get hurt again. Whether it’s physically or emotionally. You hope she doesn’t bring any more trouble to your friends. Especially Jaemin. He’s been through so much just because of her.

“I-i think I” He sighs as he looks at you then quickly averted his gaze again, “I think I still love her.”

Pain struck your heart. It was exactly what you don’t want him to say. You let out a humorless laugh. “You’re joking right?” He’s got to be, all the pain that he has been through because of that girl is enough. You’ve had enough. You cannot take it anymore if one of your friends leaves again. All of you experienced a hard time because of her. You cannot let this happen again.

He looks at you seriously. “I’m serious y/n.”

“But why?!” You snapped at him, looking up to the sky to prevent your tears from falling. “You’ve already been hurt, but you still love her? What are you trying to do now?” You buried your head between your knees.

Jaemin sighs.” You just don’t understand y/n.”

You looked up again. “Yes, I don’t understand. I don’t get it why you still love that person when she only brought pain to us friends.” Your tone is bitter. Clearly upset with what Jaemin had said.

“I love her y/n, I thought you will understand me but I guess I was wrong.” His words further upset you.

You stood up. “Well, don’t come running to me if you ever got hurt again Jaemin because I’ve had enough with the trouble she has brought. And I swear, if one of our friend’s got hurt because of your love problems this time then expect that we will vanished into thin air and never see you again .” You were raging with anger. You left Jaemin. He sat there as he let out a sob, wishing that love was not this difficult.

You walked with a fast pace. Tears are flowing out of your eyes. Life is better now, but why does she have to return. You lost your friend, she brought pain to Jaemin. 

You want to blame everything to her. Your anxiety is eating you up. You haven’t been like this since the day Haechan and Jaemin fought. The memories of your Dad beating your Mom returned to your head as you watched your two friends beat up each other. You felt it again. Your head is spinning.

“No, no, not again.” You mumble as you do your best to find your way back to your dorm.

After minutes that seemed like hours, you reached the dorm. Everything is now blurry. You knocked on the door. Your body can’t take the dizziness anymore. You feel like you are about to collapse. So you did.

 You closed your eyes. It felt like you were slowly falling. You expected to hit the hard ground. But instead, a pair of strong arms caught you. You tried looking up, but your vision is blurry. And you hear incoherent voices, and none of them registers to your brain.

“Not again.” You mumble silently then everything was black.

Masterlist

Next

A/N:

soooo this is my first story and i know it’s kinda all over the place but yeah it’s my firstt, what do youuu thinkkk about it?

[insomniasix]

Chapter IX - Callings - Part I

Previous

@mzargentum​

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The boat ride would be some hours long. Everyone had found their place. With Cid on the captain’s seat and the boys sprawled out at the back, Six had found a seat in the middle in order to be able to both listen and speak with everyone, as the excitement of the journey and the view of a new land had everyone talking, not always in turns.

“Y’know, I’ve always wanted to go sailing like this.” Prompto breathed in the sea air, letting it fill his lungs.

“Not many opportunities living in Insomnia.” Gladio nodded, the first rays of the sun warming his skin.

“Out here, it’s just us and the horizon! It’s amazing -it’s life changing!”

“We’ve quite a ways to go until we reach Altissia, so keep gushing to your heart’s content.” Ignis smiled at the blond’s enthusiasm, eyes traveling to the sound of Six’s laugh at something Cid had said.

“When we step off the boat, we’ll be in a foreign country.”

“The anticipation alone is a foreign sensation.” the Advisor agreed, back finally touching the back of his seat as he let himself get comfortable.

“And to think this is where we were headed to begin with.” Gladio made his way to sit next to Prompto, spreading his legs before him and his arms on the back of his seat.

“We’ve been through a lot.” Noctis nodded, letting his arms unlock from his chest, head turning to stare at the unlimited blue around the boat.

“And there’s still more to come.” Six joined their conversation, moving closer and leaving Cid to drive in comfortable solitude for a while after he playfully whined about her taking too much space of his periphery vision.

“So, next on the docket is Leviathan.” Prompto smiled at her, eyes slightly asking.

“What sort of deity are we dealing with?” Gladio raised his eyebrows at her as well.

“A serpent,” she explained, “said to embody the roar and rage of the sea.”

“We’ll have to ‘sea’ for ourselves.” the Prince snorted, eyes traveling back inside the boat.

“Can’t let Lady Lunafreya do all the heavy lifting.” Prompto smiled teasingly at his royal friend, “You must be so psyched to see her.”

“Luna?”

“Yeah!”

“Well, we need to make sure she’s alright before anything else.” Noctis said, but his cheeks told another story.

“Indeed. Her well-being is top priority.” Ignis agreed, crossing his legs.

“Don’t like this going down on imperial turf.” Gladio made his way to stand next to Six, hand grabbing on the ship’s edge above her head.

“You think Lady Lunafreya’s in danger there?” Prompto’s eyes shot up, darting between the Prince’s back and the Glaive.

“The empire did invade Lucis for the ring.” she thought out loud.

“I have no faith their ruthless ambitions will stop short of harming the Oracle.” Ignis did the same.

“Without the ring, the Crystal’s no more than a rock.” Gladio noted.

“Hmm… I suppose… Does anyone know how Lady Lunafreya came to have the ring?” the blond continued after a couple of seconds of thinking about everything.

“It seems likely His Majesty entrusted it to her safekeeping back at the Crown City.” Ignis fixed the glasses on the bridge of his nose.

“So she’s held onto it this whole time, all the way to Altissia.” Gladio let his arm down to find its way to the Glaive’s lower back.

“The ring is important,” Noctis spoke again after a while, “and so is Leviathan -but Luna comes first.”

“You know, I was thinking back to our encounter with Ravus.” Ignis got up from his seat next to the Prince, hands on his waist as he stared out to the sea while speaking, “Do you recall apparatus in place of his arm?”

“Yeah, I remember.”

“Seems he lost his old one in the invasion.” Gladio and Six joined his line of thought. “But in its place, he seems to have acquired new power.”

“Power?” that got the attention of the younger members of the company, as well as the captain’s, who seemed interested enough to keep listening silently, making his own assumptions.

“That would explain how a son of Tenebrae suddenly came to command Niflheim’s army.” Gladio thought out loud.

“Now that you mention it, his strength did seem sorta… supernatural.” Prompto stretched his arms, thinking back to their meeting at the Base, “I just chalked it up to the Oracle lineage.”

“His ancestry may be part of it, but that alone wouldn’t account for his freakish strength.” the Shield answered.

“I wonder what could’ve happened to him?” Noctis’ mind traveled further back, remembering a younger, happier Ravus, back when he visited Tenebrae with his father.

“There’s a disturbing rumor about: Lord Ravus has taken to brandishing His Majesty’s sword.” Ignis sat back down, this new information making Six take a step forward at the uneasiness it created.

“My dad’s?” Noctis felt the same.

“And what’s the big idea behind that?” she asked, eyebrows frowned.

“That his power’s the same as the power of kings?” Prompto asked absentmindedly, taking pictures of his surroundings.

“I cannot say for sure, but I have my doubts.” Ignis was quick to reason, “Ravus wears the sword, yet does not wield it.”

“For all his newfound powers, he’s still the chancellor’s lapdog...” Gladio found his way to his seat once again, after Six made her way inside, standing against the wall next to Cid, listening close to the conversation the boys had but needing to hide how uneasy the Empire having Regis’ sword made her, “… holding on to the enemy king’s sword is like some badge of honor.”

“It might help if we knew what he was after.” Prompto thought out loud, drawing Noctis from his thoughts, “Who can say?”

“What are the odds the empire will crash the pool party with Leviathan?”

“Consider it a guarantee.” Ignis looked back at the blond, “They felled a god to prevent Noct from receiving his blessing, and they’ll do so again.”

“But we beat ‘em to the big guy… thanks to our friendly ‘guide’.”

“Never know which way that one’s gonna move next.” Gladio was quick to answer Prompto’s words.

“The chancellor has an agenda all his own.” Ignis agreed.

“Sometimes it helps -like when he called off his army and let us escape.”

“But he was still a creep about it.” Noctis was the one to answer his friend this time around, Ardyn’s personality making goosebumps run up and down his arms.

“Well, it feels like he’s only helping us because he wants something… I just don’t know what.”

“Reckon we’ll see him again?”

“Certainly hope not.” her voice was heard intervening from the inside.

“Not your type?” Prompto almost yelled back at her.

“No love lost for phonies.” Gladio commented, getting up and finding his previous spot, looking out onto the sea. The mountains looked closer now. They were almost there, he thought.

“As Gladio said, his actions are motivated not by altruism, but by self-interest.” Ignis agreed. And when he does come to our aid, I see only condescension in his eyes.”

“Yeah,” Noctis nodded, “can’t argue with that.”

“Ever think you think too much?” Prompto snapped a picture of the Advisor before he answered him.

“Sometimes, but it’s always preferable to the alternative.”

“So,” Cid’s voice almost made her jump, she hadn’t heard it in a long while, “soon you’ll have yer old man’s ring back.”

“Yeah, when we arrive in Altissia.” Noctis walked closer to them.

“Good thing. To him, it was his heritage.”

“Is that what my dad said?” the Prince looked straight ahead as the mountains got closer by the minute.

“Carrying a royal line ain’t a task to be taken lightly. For a small thing, that ring can sure weigh heavy. After he became king, I only ever saw his face in the paper.”

“Wait,” Gladio joined in, “weren’t you at the coronation?”

“Nah, I was long gone from the city.” Cid sighed at how things had turned out.

“Must’ve been invited at least.” Noctis crossed his arms to his chest.

“Had a fallin’-out o’ sorts with your old man. Right at the end of the trip.”

“You did?” Prompto raised his eyebrows at the information he was receiving.

“I was given to understand you stayed in touch.” Ignis joined in as well.

“They buried the hatchet years later, but never talked face to face again.” Six spoke so Cid wouldn’t have to explain himself anymore than he already had.

“Shoulda paid a visit while I had the chance.” Cid thought out loud, a dark cloud covering his features for a few seconds, “Well, no use dwellin’ on it now.”

“You reckon he actually did it?” he spoke to her again once the Prince joined his friends, voice lower than before so only the Glaive would hear his thoughts.

“What?” she moved closer.

“Ya think he used the ring’s power to drive you out here with ‘em?” he nodded to the back, turning his head to look at her staring at him, eyes wide as she tried to convince herself he wouldn’t do something as cruel as that.

“He wouldn’t just take my will away...” she breathed. She had thought of it as a possibility, but she’d always push the thought back as quickly as it had come, “He wouldn’t!”

After seeing her expression, Cid dropped and changed the subject, turning his attention back to the boys and raising his voice again so they would hear him, “Got the Regalia in the hold, but y’all gonna stay in Altissia for a good while, right?”

“Yes, we believe so.” Ignis was the one to answer.

“In that case, I’ll tune her up for y’all. Not that I’ll have much to do, though, what with Cindy lookin’ after the old girl.”

“If you say she’s good, she must be great.” Prompto perked up at the sound of the girl’s name.

“She was never afraid o’hard work.” Cid continued proudly as Six made her way to the rest of her company, dark cloud leaving her as she got closer to them, “Heaven knows she had a hard childhood.”

“A hard childhood?”

“He means her parents.” the Glaive answered, finding her way into Gladio’s arms.

“Lost ‘em both when she was little.” Cid thought back, “Was big enough to understand, though… an’ to hurt. But ya wouldn’t guess that, seein’ her now.”

“Not at all. She’s always so cheerful.” Prompto smiled at the thought of her.

“Well, that oughta tell ya how far she’s come.” Paw-paw Cid smiled proudly as well.

“Man, you must have seen your fair share of Altissia by now.” Gladio turned both of them to face Cid, making her giggle at how he just didn’t want to change the way he was holding her.

“Yeah… only done been the once. Stayed a good while, thought.”

“What’s it like?” Prompto chimed in, camera never leaving his hands as he kept snapping pictures left and right.

“Big ol’ city.”

“Big. Okay.”

“Well, it ain’t the Crown City.” Cid smirked, making Noctis huff a laugh at him.

“Different. Got it.”

“You’ll see for yourself.” Six laughed at his reaction.

“Foreign lands seldom lend themselves to trite explanations.” Ignis continued her thought as she nodded.

“Change of scenery oughta do you good.”

“Well,” Gladio stretched his arms, “I’m all talked out. Can’t be far to Altissia now, right?”

“We’ll be there in no time.” Cid reassured him, “Nice having the wind at our backs.”

“Lodgings are our first order of business.” Ignis instructed.

“All work and no play.”

“Makes Ignis a dull boy.” the younger boys laughed with each other.

“Someone has to babysit you two.” Six smirked, covering for her friend.

“And you’re welcome to sleep in the wild.” Ignis added.

“Ain’t no hotel, but I know a fella has a place.” Cid joined in.

“Wes?” She turned to walk closer to him, knowing that Altissia was close now.

“Weskham -ran with Reggie and us way back when.” Cid continued toward the boys.

“Oh,” Prompto got up from his seat, slowly making his way to them, “was he the other one in that photo at the garage?”

“Yep. Runs himself a diner or cafe or somethin’. Go and see for yourselves.”

“Sure.” Noctis agreed, seeing the smile forming on his Glaive’s lips at the idea.

“Does this place have a name?” Gladio asked, seeing the same smile.

“Magee? Or Magoo? Or-”

“It’s Maagho.” Six smiled at his failure to remember.

“That’s the one!”

“We can count on ol’ Wes.” She thought out loud, patting her old friend’s shoulder.

“He’ll chew your ears off.” he laughed back.

“The government issued a statement promising that the reasons behind awakening the Hydraean would be clarified in the ceremonial address.” the lady on Prompto’s phone’s radio said once the boat was close enough to civilization to get a signal, “Delivering the address will be Lady Lunafreya, who was previously reported dead. This will mark her first public appearance since the violence that befell the signing ceremony.”

“Lady Lunafreya’s gonna give a speech?” Prompto asked once the rest of the company made their way inside the ship as well.

“Sounds like it.”

“Lord knows -this world cold use some wisdom.” Cid commented.

“Won’t be much longer now, Noct.” Six placed her hand on his shoulder. She could tell he was nervous to see his betrothed.

“Yeah.” he breathed with a warm smile.

“We’re here.” the Glaive announced once the Guardian statues appeared in front of the boat, “Altissia. The floating city.”

Everyone gawked at the beauty of the waterfalls covering most of their vision. The city seemingly build inside them. She was right all along. This was the most beautiful place they’d ever seen.

“Does this vessel have an entry permit?” the gatekeeper asked once the boat was brought into a halt next to the entry gate.

“Uh, entry permit?” Prompto got nervous right away.

“Relax.” Cid smirked, “I got one.” showing the permit to the gatekeeper as the man laughed in surprise, “That’s as old as they get. Seems in order. You may pass.”

“Prepared in advance?” Ignis asked once the ship was on the move again.

“Could say that.” Six laughed, recognizing Cid’s permit as he continued, “Thirty-odd years old.”

“That’s what the guy meant by ‘old’.” Gladio smirked.

“Lucky us, huh?” Six shook her head at how nonchalant her old friend was about it.

“That could’ve ended badly.” Noctis commented before she tagged on his elbow, “Mouth closed, eyes open. Look around you.” she calmly instructed, her own eyes sparkling at the beauty that surrounded them.

“Phew! Finally back on land.” Prompto almost danced once his feet touched the wooden surface of the docks.

“Barely. They call it the ‘Walls of Water’, but it ain’t just the walls -it’s the whole damn city.” Gladio stretched his arms out.

“Which is why we can’t traverse the town by conventional means.” Ignis fixed his hair now that the breeze didn’t pull it back, “We’ll need to rely on gondolas instead.”

“Yayyy. More boats.” Prompto run next to him, mocking excitement clear as day behind his tone.

“Hey, Noctis -catch.” Cid threw the key right in the Prince’s hands, “Key to the boat. What -don’t you wanna go sailing again?”

“Are you sure?” everyone’s eyes fell on the King’s vessel.

“Why not?” Cid locked his arms before his chest, “Old girl oughta be sturdy enough. Not even an awful driver like Reggie could sink ‘er.”

His comment made Six laugh at the accuracy. Regis was a worse driver than his son, “Well, he’s right there.”

“A king can’t rule with wisdom alone: he needs perspective. So get out there an’ see the world, y’hear? Take that old crow with you as well.” he laughed, pointing at the Glaive’s direction.

Noctis nodded as she laughed at the playful insult she had been waiting for.

“What’s next?” Prompto asked, seeing the officers in their way to the city, “Immigration?”

“What do you mean? There’s still more?” Noctis sounded exhausted just by the thought of it.

“Sir! What is the purpose of your visit?” The gatekeeper asked once the company moved closer.

“Purpose? Uh… Six, a little help?” he raised both his eyebrows at her, using the only thing he knew she couldn’t resist. The puppy eyes.

“Utterly hopeless.” Ignis sighed at both Noctis’ need for her help and Six’s helplessness when it came down to that look.

“We are scholars of the culinary arts, and we’ve come to study the renowned cuisine of your fair nation.” Six mimicked Ignis’ voice just to spite him, remembering him saying it was unnerving when she first did it.

“Is that so?” despite everyone knowing she was lying and Ignis’ goosebumps at the imitation, the gatekeeper seemed to be entranced, blushing and smiling at her, making Gladio frown his eyebrows in anger and Cid laugh at his reaction, “I wish you an enlightening stay then, miss.”

“Thank you.” she smiled as the man ordered for their way be opened.

“Another one you owe me.” she teased Noctis before officially stepping foot inside the floating city.

“You wanna check Weskham’s place out?” Gladio made it clear she was with him when he placed his hand on her lower back, almost touching her bottom while the gatekeeper still looked at her.

“Yeah. Let’s all go to Maagho!” Prompto agreed.

“Perhaps we’ll even make it in time for tea.” Ignis did the same.

“Then we better start looking now.” Noctis placed his hands on his waist.

“We won’t have to look. I know where it is.” Six placed her own arm around her Shield, feeling his anger fade away immediately, “But… let’s go the long way around. See the sights first, whatdaya say?”

Everyone agreed with her before making their way to Cid, standing just a few feet away from them, taking in the sights, colors and flowery smells of the city he hadn’t seen in thirty years.

“You’re not staying at a hotel?” Six asked while the boys looked around.

“Ya know fancy rooms were never my style, kid.” Cid smirked at her worry.

“Need food?”

“Managed to stay fed all these years.” he laughed, “Not gonna starve to death now. An’ ol’ Wes’ll see that I don’t go thirsty either, so don’t worry your pretty little head ‘bout it.”

“Alright, alright. We’ll see you there, then.” she laughed at the unfamiliar praise.

“Taking yer boys for a little stroll around town?”

“Yeah. I think they’ll like it.”

“We sure did back then.” old Cid smiled at the memory before waving her off and starting for Maagho.

“My lady.” Six turned around at the sound of his voice, only to be greeted but the blue gladiolus flower he bought for her.

“Why, thank you kind sir.” she answered playfully as he folded the flower, placing it inside her shirt’s pocket, a couple of the lotuses lightening the darkness of her outfit before giving her a soft kiss on the lips and lacing their fingers.

“They are extending the exhibit for Lady Lunafreya’s wedding dress.” a couple of ladies caught Noctis’ ear, “The Vivienne Westwood? But wasn’t that a memorial for her passing?”

“Well, now it’s a memorial for her safe return. Let’s go see it while we still can!”

“Could that be the dress we read about in the papers?” Prompto asked, making his friend turn to face him.

“Doubtless.” Ignis joined, “The designer’s name is the same.”

“Wanna check it out?”

“That depends on the groom. Might still be a sore spot, what with his wedding getting called off.” Gladio walked closer to them.

“Who says we can’t call it back on?” Six raised her eyebrows, making the Prince blush a little, “It can still happen.”

“True enough.” Ignis agreed, turning his attention to a silenced Noctis, “Let’s keep an eye out for it.”

It didn’t talk long for them to find their way to the dress. Everyone was talking about it. Both men and women asking directions on how to find the exhibit. The company found their way around twilight.

“One helluva crowd.” Prompto commented on the people standing outside the store, gawking at the dress he had just taken a picture of. It was truly beautiful, he thought, it would look amazing on Lady Lunafreya and Noctis would’ve stood tall and handsome next to her.

“And that’s the dress. My word.” Ignis breathed, thinking the same thing.

“Everyone looks so happy. And it’s all because of this one dress.”

“Yeah.” Noctis followed in his friend’s movements and let his lips curl up into a proud smile.

“Real glad for you that Lady Lunafreya is safe and sound.” the blond hit Noctis on the back lightly.

The Prince only smiled, staring at the picture behind the dress. Luna smiling…

“That settles it.” Gladio butted in, watching him, “You gotta make it happen -become a symbol of the peace. After we tie up all the loose ends, let’s think about the ceremony.”

“A fine idea.” Six agreed.

“Yeah. I’ll think about it.”

“So… how do we get to Maagho?” Prompto asked once he heard his stomach rumbling.

“It’s right under us, actually.” Six smiled as the boy almost hung the upper half of his body to look down before catching himself, “What?!”

“Yeah, come on.” She led the way, “We’ll catch a gondola. That’s the only way you can get it.”

The boys seemed to enjoy the gondola ride, short though it may have been. Maagho looked and smelled amazing.

“Welcome to Accordo, lads. Cid mentioned you’d be dropping in.” Weskham welcomed the boys after moving outside of his bar and hugging his old friend tightly, telling her how good she still looked even after all the years that had passed by them both.

“Were is the old guy?” she asked once the boys moved closer.

“I lent him my room so he could sleep.” he reassured her she needn’t worry. Cid was taken care of. “Weskham Armaugh, as you’ve gathered. My word, you’ve grown little Prince.” he took a closer look at Noctis, smiling at the resemblance he had with his father, “Ah, but of course -you were only a babe at the time.”

Prompto’s stomach rumbling was heard louder now, Six giggled and ruffled his hair before asking Wes to make something for them as they spoke.

“Lasagna di Maagho.” Noctis read the menu after she had ordered their meal, having a small friendly argument with Wes as to who would fit the bill when they were done. Weskham, as a good friend, wouldn’t accept her money but the Glaive didn’t like it. Sure it was a little over-priced but she knew, Wes’ cooking was worth it.

“It’s veggies.” Noctis made a face of slight disgust at the idea.

“You won’t even notice it,” she laughed at him, “trust me.”

The Prince sure didn’t. He was entranced by the plate just by the smell of it.

“So, this is your maiden visit.” Weskham spoke when everyone had their own plate, “Enjoying it so far? You doubtless have many questions, so ask away.”

Noctis wanted to be polite in front of his father’s friend but he couldn’t stop eating, speaking when his bite was done but bringing the fork to his mouth every time it was Wes’ turn to speak. The man laughed, brown eyes darting between the Prince and the Glaive a couple of times when he noticed. They were the same. He remembered when Six used to do the exact same thing back when they were traveling together.

“This country is a part of the empire, isn’t it?”

“You’re wary, I understand. But there’s no need to jump at every shadow.” Wes explained as Noctis and his company continued to enjoy his food, “Just be aware that the terms of our independence grand the empire free rein to come and go as they please.”

“We’ll bear that in mind.” Ignis nodded, taste buds savoring every different sensation the new recipe inspired.

“It’s admittedly a one-sided arrangement.” Wes continued, “Most everything we do requires Niflheim’s permission, and they wouldn’t knowingly permit the Oracle to appear before the public. How our government spun that is quite a mystery.”

“You really think Luna will make an address?” Noctis asked.

“If every recent radio broadcast is to be trusted, absolutely.”

“Do you know where she is?” Six asked, being the first to finish up with her food.

“In the city somewhere, but no one has caught so much as a glimpse of her. The media has been conspicuous in its silence on the matter, which speaks volumes of government intervention. That’d certainly explain the rumors of disgruntled imperial officers leaving the city.”

“So you see lots of Niffs around here?”the Glaive asked, getting Ignis’ and Gladio’s plates and placing them above her own once they were done as well.

“We do. Sometimes even at my place.  Theirs is a familiar presence, and the citizens don’t think much of it. Though, the high commander did cause a stir when he showed up the other day.”

“Ravus...” the Prince breathed the name, the thought irritating him at the spot.

“So soon after they felled the Archaean in Lucis, his arrival fuels rumors that they will next come to Altissia. The empire’s not content ruling all the land -they want the heavens as well.”

“Is anything changed with Leviathan?” Noctis asked once him and Prompto were done as well, mirroring Six’s movements and placing their plates on the pile before Weskham took all of them, placing them in the sink behind him.

“For now it’ business as usual at port, but word is the government will soon open the Altar of the Tidemother.”

“In preparation for the rite.” Gladio thought out loud.

“Ah, but on the other hand, they’re scrambling to stockpile emergency provisions.” Wes continued, crossing his arms before his chest, “This begs the question: if they’re anticipating that the Hydraean will wreak havoc, why would they allow the right to proceed?”

“Well, if you need anything else, you know where to find me.” the man spoke again after a couple of minutes of silence. Everyone thinking on the new information and the upcoming rite with the Goddess of the Seas.

“Thanks, ‘preciate it.” Noctis nodded with a smile and everyone thanked Weskham for the meal he prepared for them.

“My dear Camelia, it’s been a while.” Six turned as her old friend’s voice changed, getting higher at the sight of the First Secretary, though seeing her she sat back down on her stool.

“I heard about your distinguished guests.”

“Ah, you’ve an ear for gossip.” Weskham teased playfully, making the woman’s lips curl up into a faint smile.

“Gentlemen, Miss Ulric, I won’t waste your time. My name is Camelia Claustra.”

“First secretary of the Accordo Protectorate.” Six explained, not sure anyone other than Ignis would know of her.

“You should know we have Lady Lunafreya in our care. And the empire demands we surrender her.” the woman cut straight to the chase with a serious tone covering her voice.

“What?” Noctis breathed, not believing his own ears.

“Yet I am loath to acquiesce unless we stand to profit.” the First Secretary continued, palms locked at her elbows as she spoke, “Hence I’ve come to discuss terms… with the King of Lucis. If you’ve a mind to talk, come to my estate.”

“She can be oblique at the best of times, but I assure you her heart is in the right place.” Weskham spoke once the First Secretary and her guards were out of Maagho.

“Oh.” Prompto let out a breath he was holding in since she appeared, “Okay.”

“At any rate, you must be weary from your journey. Might I suggest you seek your beds for now and ponder matters anew in the morning?”

“Yeah, think we’ll do just that.” Noctis agreed with a nod.

“Right.” Six got up from her seat and stretched her arms in the air, “Off to the Leville we go, then.”

“You know you’re always welcome here, right?” Wes asked while walking with them to the gondola.

“I know.” she smiled, hugging him again, “Thanks for everything.”

Once the gondola reached the Leville station, the company made a straight line for the hotel, all of them being tired and knowing there’s a lot more to do the next day.

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