mirkwoodshewolf

[mirkwoodshewolf]

IATCOD Chap. 28; Plan in motion

*Author's note*

This was a chapter long in the making due to life getting in the way but I finally got around a week ago to finally get this chapter done. Not a lot of action in this, just some plot settings to get ready for the main action that'll happen the next few chapters. But I hope you all enjoy this chapter no matter what. And yes I had to use the death whistle from Puss in boots the Last wish so credit goes to Dreamworks for that. 

NEXT CHAPTER

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@plethora-of-things

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@psychosupernatural

@queen-paladin

@jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels

@thats-s0-ravenn

@gay-and-ready-to-cry

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After Cain had returned back to Hela's chambers and told everyone what Druig had suggested, there was silence in the room. Everyone pondering in concern, fear, and denial.

"And you're sure there is no other way?" asked Gandalf.

"It has worked one other time. With Fili and Kili sons of Dis, nephews of Thorin Oakenshield. Hela gave to them the very gauntlets she wears that holds our kins celestial stones. When Sauron took full control over her body, the stones used both their bodies as a host to banish Sauron's spirit from her very body before releasing them."

"Bofur and my uncle Oin did tell me that tale when I was still a lad. Never before had they been both in awe and struck with terror at the sight of what happened that night."

"I too was there when it happened. Never would I have thought that two Dwarves could hold the power of nine Celestial gems and live." Said Legolas recalling that night at Bard's house.

"But Merry still needs time to heal. He's not ready." Proclaimed Pippin worriedly.

"And the raw power of a Celestial's stone is nothing to be trifled with. I have seen what gripping a celestial stone can do." Aragorn said with a distant yet horrified look in his eye as he remembered one incident with some wild men in the North when they came to take out the remaining members of the Dúnedain.

The chief of the wild men had foolishly thought he could take Thena's stone for himself to enhance his weapon's strength and durability. But when he went to take the stone from Hela's gauntlet after ripping it from her arm, his body began to crack and burn like firewood.

His screams sounding like something both unholy and holy at the same time. His eyes became soulless white and gold until his body exploded into a pure light before Hela managed to contain Thena's stone once again.

"How do we not know that the same could happen to Merry if he takes hold of Druig's stone?" continued Aragorn.

"He wouldn't have suggested Merry if he didn't feel some sort of connection to him. Trust me Aragorn, I don't like this either but we are running out of options and out of time." Cain said as thunder rumbled once again and the red lightning began to flash in the sky once more. Cain and Aragorn turned to Merry and Aragorn said to him.

"The choice is yours Merry." Everyone turned to the hobbit who still looked exhausted from his Black breath recovery. Merry slowly stood up, Pippin tried to help but he held his hand out to refuse help. He slowly walked to the center of the room and said to everyone present.

"Since starting this quest back in the borders of the Shire, Pip and I had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. But even then I didn't care, all I wanted was to see Frodo away from the danger. Only to find out that he must bravely face the danger himself to destroy the biggest threat to our home. And Sam, loyal hearted that he is, he willingly without a second thought vowed to go alongside Frodo even if it costs him his own life. Boromir died to save Pippin and I. Without a second thought, he kept bravely fighting until his last breath took hold. I have lost—many of my friends, and thousands-nay millions more all over Middle Earth will suffer if Hela is not awakened. If there is a chance to free her from her curse, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to play my part in saving Middle Earth."

Everyone took to heart of what Merry had to say. He walked back over to Druig's stone and called for him once again. The black onyx stone glew bright until a golden light shot out once again and appearing before him once again was Druig.

"You have made your decision." He spoke down to the young hobbit.

"I have." Replied Merry.

"Then what say you, Meriadoc Brandybuck?" Merry took a deep breath before exhaling through his nose and he said.

"How do we save Hela from herself?" A slight grin came across Druig's face then he told Merry.

"Take my stone within your hand, once you feel the full strength of my power coursing through your body, press the stone to the crown of your head. And we shall become One mind, One body, One soul."

"You both shall become one? But will Merry still be there? Your soul won't overwhelm his?" asked Pippin.

"He has accepted the terms young Peregrin Took." Druig said turning towards the other hobbit. "Time is of the dire most essence now, and we must bring her back now before it is too late." Druig's spirit then shot back into his stone and the glow of the stone faded.

"He's right Pip. If we're going to do this, it has to be now. If Hela is truly dying from this spell, Druig and I need to act now. And we've already lost a day already." Merry and Pippin looked at each other then after a moment of staring at each other, Pippin gave him a nod.

"Pippin, come join us." Cain said as he took out his knife and he slide the blade across his palm. Pippin walked over towards the others who were now starting to huddle on the other side of the room.

Using his blood, Cain drew along the floor a Celestial rune circle to protect everyone within the tower from any Celestial power outbursts. Everyone stood within the circle while Merry stood over the table where Druig's stone rested.

He turned to the others as Cain now began to wrap his wounded palm and he gave the young hobbit a strong nod. Merry nodded to him and took a deep breath as he reached out and took the stone within his bare hand.

As he grasp the stone into his palm, Merry's arm began to slowly crackle open like lava seeping through Mount Doom itself, he fell to his knees in agony as the power of the Mind celestial began coursing through his veins. But he kept a firm grip on the stone as well as holding his enclosed fist with his free hand.

The group watched in despair as Merry was forced to endure this pain alone. Pippin softly whimpered and said.

"We have to make him let it go! He's hurting can't you see he's in such agony!"

"No Pippin, we cannot interfere at this point." Gandalf warned him as he held him back.

"Merry?" cried out Aragorn. Merry continued to grunt and cry in agony.

"Merry talk to us." Cain ordered. As Merry continued to groan and pant in agony he finally spoke up.

"I'm fine. I'm alright." Slowly he raised his enclosed hand as he felt the full power of the Mind Celestial coursing through his entire body. But even with such power coursing through him, it was causing the gem to feel so heavy, he could barely lift his own arm.

However Merry knew he had to do what Druig had told him. Using his free hand, he guided his enclosed fist towards his head and with a cry, he open his palm and pressed the stone into his very head before a flash of light and wave of red energy shot out hitting the barrier but knocking down all the furniture in place. Then Merry fell onto his back with a thud and Druig's gem embedded into his very skin.

"MERRY!" cried Pippin as he ran through the barrier. Everyone crowded over him but Cain warned them.

"Don't move him!" Gimli held Pippin back as both Gandalf and Cain knelt over the unconscious Merry. Cain used his enhanced senses and could hear Merry's heart beating normally. "His heartrate and breathing is normal." Gandalf waved a hand over Merry's face.

"And his spirit is still in-tact." Suddenly Merry's eyes shot open but they glowed the same golden light that Druig produces whenever he used his mind controlling abilities. Cain and Gandalf backed away as did everyone else as Merry now stood up but there was a difference to the way he stood. He looked down at his hands and he said.

"I almost forgotten what it's like to have an actual body."

"Is that you Druig?" asked Cain.

"No, it's Sauron. Of course it's me." He turned over to Pippin and said, "And don't worry Pippin, Merry's still here. I just need to take control when performing the spell. However I do need to request something of you all. Performing this spell, requires my full concentration and power. Both Merry's body and Hela's will be completely defenseless, so someone needs to stand guard over us in case time runs out." They all turned to one another before Haldir spoke up.

"I'll do it." Everyone turned to him and Haldir said as he looked to Cain, "It's what Hela would've done for me." Cain nodded.

"I admire your heart and loyalty to my sweet Hela, but you'll need a better weapon than your own. Take Aeglos and place the tip of the blade to Thena's gemstone. It was once the host of her powers, and should any Deviants come to the tower seeking her or my power, you'll need the power of the Celestial of War to aid you." Druig told him. Haldir nodded then Merry walked over towards Hela.

He stood over the head of the bed and placed his hands on each side of Hela's temples. Golden light emanated from his palms and bounced between his palms and Hela's temples which also began to glow. Soon the small glow from Merry's eyes grew bigger until his whole eyes were nothing but a pure golden light.

"It's happening. Now it's up to him and Merry. The rest of us will continue to get the people down below and prepare for the Deviants as well as the Celestials of Sauron's attack." Said Cain. As the others began to leave the tower leaving Haldir alone, Cain said to him, "Haldir," the march warden turned to him. "Take it from someone who has tasted vengeance for over 2 Ages. When Nergal shows himself, do not engage him alone. You will wait for us to aid you in taking him down, understood?" Haldir turned his head with a narrowed, hateful look in his eyes. "Understood?" Cain asked in a firmer tone.

"Go help the others in getting the people to the lower levels of the city. They've suffered enough at the hands of a leader who could care less about them." Haldir said as he went over and took Aeglos from Hela's side.

Cain turned but had a suspicious look on his face as he left to join the others to help evacuate and prepare Gondor for the oncoming Deviants.

Within Hela's mind, both Druig and Merry walked through a dark chasm with the only light coming from the very floor they walked upon. However the floor itself was a sea of souls glowing a pure blue light.

"Is this really what's inside Hela's mind?"

"We're only at the gate. Everyone has their own unique gateway into their subconscious." explained Druig.

"So what is it that we're looking for?"

"A tree. A very large tree."

"A tree?" asked Merry unsurely.

"Being the Mind Celestial I've come to see that in everyone's mind, no matter the race or species, the gates of their minds hold a very special tree to which I've called them the Tree of Life. Each branch representing a person's memory or thought. It's what makes them the person or creature that they are. And if my hunch is correct, Hela's tree may not look like it once was." As they treaded through the ankle-deep water, Merry began to grow weary of the souls that were moaning and weeping.

"Who are all these people?"

"The souls that had been lost but could not move on. Remember Hela is the bridge between the Seen and the Unseen world. Souls pass through her in order to move onto Mandos' halls, even under this spell they continue to come to her. But they're trapped here until she gives them her blessing."

'You are correct.' A voice spoke up. The boys stopped and Druig stood in front of Merry protectively as a spirit soon raised itself up from the water before taking the shape of King Theoden.

"Theoden King?" Merry gawked.

"Hello Meriadoc." He then turned to Druig and said, "And you must be her twin brother Lord Druig. Hela told me many stories of you and your sister Makkari the Speedster when I was a lad." Druig nodded and Merry said.

"Theoden King, we're looking for Hela's Tree of Life, can you take us to it?"

"I can but I must warn you. The spell that has imprisoned not only us but Hela herself has grown too strong. If you dive too deep into her mind, you too may also suffer the same fate as she."

"That's a risk we have to take. I won't leave here without knowing my sister will be okay." Answered Druig firmly. Theoden's spirit looked at both of them as Merry gave him a strong nod.

"Very well." He faded back into a spirit ball and began the light to guide them through the darkness and towards where they needed to go. Eventually they came upon a grand willow tree that stood nearly as tall as Treebeard himself, but just as Druig had thought, the lush green vines had been dried up and were starting to crumbling.

Within the vines were small thought bubbles that would normally be as bright as bubbles should be, but they were now dimmed and grey with faded memories hazed over.

"This is Hela's Tree of Life?" asked Merry.

"Yes. But it's worse than I imagined it would be." They walked up to the tree as Theoden's voice spoke to them.

'Remember, dive too deep and you too may suffer the same fate as she. Though I do hope you are successful in returning our Hela home. Good luck.' His spirit then dove back into the sea of souls. Merry walked up to the tree and touched the main trunk. He could feel just how malnourished the tree was.

"Any ideas on how we can fix it?"

"It's not up to us, it's up to Hela. Only she can mend her own Tree."

"But how are we going to find her?" Druig walked around Hela's tree until he had found what he'd expect to find. Glowing in a haunting green and black aura of magic was a large mushroom that was attached to one of the roots of Hela's tree. The light pulsating and almost sounding like a heartbeat but what had Druig in awe was the mushroom was showing a vision much like Hela's thought bubbles on the vines of her trees had.

"I think I might have found her." Merry came around and knelt down beside him. The two of them stared at the mirrored image of what looked like a large green pasture (much like the Shire) and Hela was out folding laundry. "You ready for this?"

"Let's do it." Answered Merry. Druig took his hand and together with their free hands, they reach out and touched the mushroom all while their eyes glowed a pure gold. The second they touched the mushroom, the black and green aura shot out like lighting trying to fend off Druig's and Merry's touch. Both the Celestial and the Hobbit groaned and cried out in pain but they kept a firm hold on the mushroom. Until they were encompassed by the green light.

"Merry? Merry! Wake up!" Merry's eyes shot open and he saw Druig kneeling over him. "Easy there halfling." Merry held his head in pain as he let out a small groan.

"What happened?"

"We got absorbed by the curse and sent into this false world. I must say I'm impressed by your mental stamina, any normal person would've crumbled by now. Think there might be a future for you being a Mind Celestial." Druig held his hand and helped Merry onto his feet.

"Hela once said I would make a clever one."

"And for myself I can see why she said that." Merry gave a slight smile before asking.

"Now that we're here, how do we find Hela? This place is nearly as big as the Shire."

"We just start walking. Hopefully we'll come across her. And we may just find out just what exactly this curse is doing to her." The two then proceeded to walk once again onward this time through the peaceful green pastures.

Back in the real world, Cain was standing along the very edge of the city where Denethor had leapt to his death. He could sense the very change in the air from the darkened clouds, the difference in the lightning and the very air seemed denser as if a dark spell had once again been placed over all of Middle Earth.

"We've gotten the last of the civilians gathered in the lower caves. And Faramir and Gandalf finally managed to work out the protection spell Hela had made for the city. It should be up later tonight." Aragorn said behind him.

"With all that Denethor allowed to happen, this city doesn't need to suffer twice at the hands of a bigger threat than orcs, trolls and wargs." Said Cain. Aragorn stood beside him and said.

"They'll find a way to bring her back."

"It's not bringing Hela back that I'm worried about." One look on Cain's somber face and Aragorn knew what he meant.

"You fear for Haldir's mental state at losing Hela."

"Grief—is a powerful feeling. Especially if it's fueled by rage. I may not be able to physically see his eyes but I can sense his heartbeat. His deep, sharp breaths through his nose, and the anxious ticks he's now been having at the tips of his hands, especially since he took hold of Aeglos."

"You fear he might turn into what you became." Cain solemnly let out a deep sigh. Aragorn placed a hand to Cain's shoulder and he told him, "He may not know it now, but he'll need your guidance before the end. Who better to understand what he's going through, if you can find the way, he will too before the end."

"I hope so Aragorn, I really hope so." Aragorn turned and headed back inside the palace leaving Cain to stand alone once again. However Cain felt a dark presence behind him and he withdrew his axe and his blade soon met with another and a voice said to him.

"You can even sense Death coming for you. Impressive."

"Deimos." The two of them uncrossed their crossed their weapons. "Why are you here?" Cain sneered lowly in the tone he's always used for those who were impure of heart.

"Apologizes for interrupting your little brotherly love session with Isildur's heir, but I had to come see for myself what wasteful plan you all have tried to come up with to save yourselves." Deimos chuckled sinisterly.

"You underestimate them. Even in their darkest hours, until there is no hope remaining, the Fellowship and the people of Gondor will continue to fight till their last breath."

"It's a waste. You cannot save them from the inevitable. Without Hela's power, the Deviants will take each race of Middle Earth, one by one until all is nothing but shadow and stone."

"And what do you three get out of all this in the end? If all is meant to be shadow and stone, what will you and your brothers do?"

"What Perses and Nergal want is up to them. I, however, have a different score to settle." Cain heard as Deimos unsheathed his second sickle. "As I'm sure you're aware, each Celestial while cut from the same cloth based on one's powers, there are the Celestials gifted with sub-level powers. A power solely focused to one main power."

"Yes. Like those celestials who could only control one element, or be able to see into the future."

"Hela had her time to be the high Celestial of Death, but she missed the whole point of her existence entirely."

"How so? By teaching that death shouldn't be feared? That it is another path to the next life."

"That! That right there!" Deimos snarled in distain. "You actually believe that death is a merciful, that it's something to be fully embraced and accepted like how you view Life. No, no, no. Death should be feared, uncertain, and permanent." He emphasized on the word permanent as Cain could feel his red eyes cutting right through him.

"You've come for me." Cain realized.

"Now you're catching on." Deimos then began to circle around Cain like a predator, eyeing him as he continued, "When you were brought back by the desperation of your brother Ikaris, you didn't value what he had given you. And while I find the very idea of resurrections and reincarnations absurd, what I loathe more than anything in this world are those who think they can cheat Death."

"As you said, it wasn't my choice to be brought back to life."

"You don't think I don't know how throughout the first 100 years of your banishment you tried to end your own life? And yet with each time, you survived."

Cain's heartbeat escalated, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, a cold chill ran up his entire body. He could hear the blades of Deimos' sickles cut across the cobbled stone beneath them.

"But here's how we can rectify all of this. When the time's right, I will come for you, and you and I shall face off in a duel to the death. See who truly has the blessing of the Valor on their side. You do that, and I swear to not harm a single hair on anyone else's heads."

"You really think I'll trust you to do that? After the way you beat Haldir and Hela nearly to death."

"A mere demonstration for what I have in stored for you. They were just so I could get to you. You agree to fight me, and death will only come for you." Deimos then let out a soft yet haunting whistle and when Cain turned around, he could sense that Deimos was gone, only hearing the brief whistle before it too was silenced.

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Almost as if he had been strung up on strings, he collapsed to his knees, his heart still racing in such fear that he only felt when he came before the Nine Nazgul.

In Hela's mind, Merry and Druig continued walking along the grassy over hills until they came to a quaint little cabin. To Merry it almost resembled Frodo and Bilbo's home of Bag-end with a similar green circular door but it was a big-people sized home.

It had a small front deck with a porch swing, and the front yard was covered with wild flowers. A gazebo that looked exactly like the one in Lothlorien stood at the side of the cabin.

"Is this what Hela dreams about?" asked Merry.

"She was never one for riches or grand castles. When we were children, she always said she'd get herself a cabin and plant wild flowers as far as the eye could see." Said Druig. "But even so, this is still a prison so don't get swept by whatever you see. Remember Theoden's warning." Merry nodded as the two of them soon heard the sound of arrows being twanged from an bow around back. They heard the arrow hit a target so they came around to see someone who looked like Haldir doing some target practice.

Instead of the normal Marchwarden uniform or even armor, he donned on a simple dark green tunic and grey trousers. Haldir notched another arrow into his bow and released it and it split the arrow that was already in the target.

"Can he see us?" Merry quietly asked.

"No. This is an illusion, they usually can't see nor hear us."

"Even if this were an illusion, we Elves can hear the flutter of a humming bird's wings 10 leagues away." Haldir actually responded to them. He turned towards them and greeted with a warm smile and a bow of his head, "Welcome Merry, and back already Druig? It's not even been 20 minutes since you left." Merry looked up at Druig worriedly. While Druig's eyes expressed shock, he turned to Merry and told him telepathically.

'Just follow my lead.' Druig cleared his throat and said, "Well you know how it is. Big brothers and all, can't leave you two alone for one second."

"Even after all this time we've been married, you still can't trust us alone. Though I can understand, being an older brother myself. What can I do you both for?"

"We're actually here for Hela. Is she in the cabin?" Merry asked the Haldir illusion.

"Unfortunately you won't find her in the cabin. At this time of the day she's down at the farm just over that hill. What do you want with her?" there was a hint of suspicion to this fake Haldir's tone but Druig plainly said.

"Just received a message from Keoghan about the Midsummer's ball tonight. Apparently Kingo once again burned the cake and they need Hela's help since she is the best baker out of all our kinsman."

"Very well. But I must warn you, one of the cows just recently gave birth. She'll be on the fight if you anywhere near her pen."

"Thanks for the heads up Haldir. Good day." The two of them bowed to Haldir the Mind Celestial bow before heading over the hill where Haldir said the farm was at. "Tell me you caught the way he got suspicious on why we needed Hela."

"I did. There was also something in his eyes that gleamed the same color as the spell that shot out around us when we touched that mushroom on her Tree."

"You are indeed a clever hobbit Master Merry." They soon came up and looked down at a large farm. With large shire horses running freely around the wooded area in the back, large mountain dogs helping log around eggs, crates of apples and corn, and ducks and chickens waddling about the farm grounds.

As they walked through the farm grounds, they heard soft humming coming from the stables. They slowly walked in and soon found Hela brushing a white stallion's mane humming softly.

"Hela?" Merry called out to her. She jumped and smiled.

"Merry, this is a surprise. I wasn't expecting you till next month for Pippin's birthday. And Druig, back so soon. Let me guess, you thought Haldir and I were having another sweet rendezvous at the gazebo that you walked in on just shortly after we began courting." At that openly suggestive statement, Druig's cheeks went red as he said.

"No but thank you for that unholy image that is now seared into my brain." Hela giggled and said as she stroked the stallion's nose. "So what brings you both here?"

Merry turned to Druig wondering if they should break it to her now since looking at her, it seemed like they had found the real Hela. Druig was torn because the last time he had seen his sister this happy was when they were children. After Sauron came fully into power by the time the three of them came of age, Hela always held such a burden on her shoulders. Like the weight of the world fell on top of her weighing her down and taking her innocence away bit by bit until all that was left was a hollowed shell.

Here she seemed—happy, relieved even. No wonder why she's refused to awaken from such a dream. But he knew she had to, but they had to approach it delicately at first.

"Keoghan reached out to me halfway on my journey telling me that Kingo burnt the cake for the midsummer's ball again." Hela let out a sigh and shook her head.

"That Kingo, he can put on a show with Sprite but when it comes to drawing or cooking, he's hopeless. And I thought Apollo had banished him from the kitchen?"

"He did, and that banishment is still in affect but you know how Kingo is."

"He always finds a way." Both he and Hela said together. "Sorry Snowmane, afraid this grooming session's gonna have to be cut short." Snowmane huffed and let out a shocked whinny. "Don't blame me, if I don't go stop Kingo, he could blow the whole castle up." she got out of Snowmane's stable and walked pass Druig and Merry. "C'mon, we better get a move on. I'll have to tell Haldir first of where I'll be heading."

"Actually we just told him that before we came to find you." Merry said.

"Oh well okay then. That's one less thing to worry about." As they stepped out, Hela raised up her fingers and let out a sharp, loud whistle that almost resembled an eagle's scream. They waited for a bit until finally a real eagle's cry was heard and swooping down was Hela's great eagle Icarus. "Hey Icarus, think you can carry Merry to the palace?" he let out a soft trill before lowering himself down for Merry to climb on.

Druig nudged the hobbit forward and Merry raced up and with Hela's help, mounted on top of the great eagle.

"But what about you?" asked Druig.

"Why would I need Icarus to fly?" Hela's normal dress soon morphed into the Starlight Celestial armor. "Being born a Starlight Celestial, I never need aid in flying again." As Hela shot up onto the air like a shooting star, Merry and Druig looked at each other worriedly before Icarus soon took off following behind his mother and Druig used his levitating powers to fly right beside Merry and Icarus.

Another night was passing even through the dark, thunderous clouds that covered all of Middle Earth. Gandalf, Aragorn and Cain all stood along the balcony near the throne room as Cain said.

"One more day to go, and the Deviants will return to Middle Earth."

"Any word of Merry and Druig's progress?" asked Aragorn.

"I had just met with Haldir, no changes." Gandalf replied solemnly. "I know Merry is strong and Druig is powerful but I fear they may not bring our Celestial of Death back in time."

"We still have time." Aragorn stated. "All we can do now is give Merry and Druig the aid they need. We've coded the protection spell, the second we see those demons appear, we activate the spell."

"It won't just be the Deviants we'll need to worry about. Nergal, Perses and Deimos will also need to be stopped. I fear their goals are more than just what Sauron had intended for them. And if they try to stop Merry and Druig from helping Hela, Varda help us all." Cain said as thunder once again rumbled in the sky and red lightning flashed in the sky.

#lord of the rings #lord of the rings imagines #lord of the rings fandom #lord of the rings fanfic #lord of the rings imagine #lotr fandom #tolkien fandom #aragorn x reader #aragorn x oc #aragorn imagine #aragorn imagines #haldir fanfiction #haldir of lorien #haldir x oc #haldir x reader #haldir imagine #haldir imagines #legolas greenleaf #legolas x oc #legolas x reader #gimli #merry brandybuck #pippin took #legolas greenleaf imagine #legolas greenleaf imagines

[mirkwoodshewolf]

me on a day to say basis lately. Wish i had an Eddie to comfort me after a long hard day of work.

Eddie comforts you after a stressful day

Description: You had a long, hard day at work, filled a shift in another department, so you didn’t have a lunch break and worked much longer than planned. All day you didn’t have time to eat, so your last meal was breakfast at 6am.

Warning: a little swearing at the end

Paring: Eddie×reader

This is pure fluff

Inspired by the post from @ghosttownwherenoonegoes , here’s a little scenario of how Eddie’s reaction would be. I hope it’s okay that I took your everyday life as inspiration for a story.

GIF is not mine, it’s from @bxnnywriting

Only a few more steps until you are finally home, just around this one curve and you can see your house already. You and Eddie moved into a small house on the outskirts of town a few months ago.

It was nothing special, but it was your home and you felt at home here. You could walk to work and Eddie didn’t have far to go, plus it was close to nature.

But you didn’t care about that right now, you just wanted to get home, it had been one hell of a stressful day, nothing went as planned and everything went up and down. Your colleagues were nice, but you could do without some customers and all this stress.

Keep reading

[mirkwoodshewolf]

I'm telling you, werewolf Eddie does things to me!! Like yeah I get it with the Kas theory he'd make a good vampire but COME ON PEOPLE!! EDDIE IS 100% PURE WEREWOLF ENERGY!! Sorry to be ranting but I've been OBSESSED with wolves since I was a little girl, they are such majestic, intelligent, beautiful creatures that deserve our love and not fear or hate (just like Eddie Munson himself, looking at you people of Hawkins). I'll be keeping my eye out for the next part to see how all this plays out

The Wolves of Hawkins Wood

werewolf! Eddie x F! Reader

AN: BuT ArEn'T YoU on A BrEaK? mind ur business okay, stfu. jk jk I love y'all. I'm currently just taking a break from Hawkins University AU, but recently got an itch to write this. This'll be a super short little series probably and may contain smut but will mainly be fluff and angst! It will not be updated regularly, but it's just a side project for funsies. Also I will make a masterlist for it later, i swear! It's based off of The Wolves of Mercy Falls (one of my favorite favorite series), and meant to just be kinda cozy but spooky themed bc werewolves? Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

Warnings: MDNI! possibly mature themes and smut in the future. Werewolves, injury, scars, animalistic violence, depression, identity struggles, near death experiences, trauma, love/ drawn to at first sight. MC is kinda a wolf girl? (i'm channeling and healing my childhood self, okay?)

Chapter One: Valruv

You had moved to Hawkins one winter, the bitter cold and snow new to you. The days consisted of you exploring the wilderness, the trees and snow all new to you. You took plenty of photographs, hoping your camera would capture the rawness of it all. You had wandered a bit too far one day, your foot slipping as you fell off a small ledge, spraining your ankle and breaking your arm. You shouted and groaned in pain, laying in the snow, skin going numb. You must’ve hit your head, the way your vision was going in and out. You felt your vision go black and your mind race. The next thing you knew, you woke up to yourself being dragged by the hood of your coat to the edge of your backyard and the forest. You panicked, trying to sit up slightly, feeling pain shoot up your arm. You winced, trying to turn your head instead. A large wolf with an almost light chocolate brown coat and warm brown eyes holding the hood of your jacket between gentle teeth, dragging you to the edge of the clearing. You felt your heart race but a sort of calmness washed over you. How did this wild creature know where you lived? The wolf soon bounded off, but not before staring at you with intelligent almost human eyes. 

You had received help after that, calling an ambulance with your good arm and letting your thoughts take over. You were helped and warned against being outside near the woods alone when the weather and conditions were not kind. You took the advice with a grain of salt, your mind still on those intelligent eyes. 

After that, you began to sit out on your deck every evening, watching for the wolf. You still couldn’t understand how it saved you or why. You would see the wolf and occasionally it’s pack every so often, a chill running down your spine and your heart picking up. Their howls pulled at your heart, the sound melodic and mournful. You felt drawn to them. You needed to know why.

Which led to you frequenting the bookstore, skimming shelves of nonfiction on wolves. You had so many questions. Why did the wolves here seemingly disappear in the spring and summer according to townsfolk? Why did that one save you? None of the books answered the questions. Not a single one. The weather was getting warmer and you still hadn’t found answers.

You stood in the bookstore at the section you were at constantly, eyes skimming to try and find something new. You had no answers and just more questions. Hawkins itself was an odd town, what with the small population and ever present gossip, a persistent trend of individuals winding up missing. You found a slightly newer book, one with frayed backing and yellowed pages. You smiled at it, clearly happy you found something in the monotony of the usual visit. You walked up to the counter, rummaging through your bag and not looking up, placing the book on the counter. 

“Just this?” 

The low and unfamiliar timbre of the voice caused you to look up, your breath catching in your throat. A tall man with unruly brown curls stood before you, his eyes a warm brown. It seemed he was littered in tattoos and silver jewelry. He wore a worn out Megadeth shirt, the black faded to an almost gray. You looked up into his eyes, feeling your face heat up. His eyes…reminded you of the wolf. You also didn’t recognize the man, which was saying a lot as Hawkins was a small town. You nodded at the stranger, pulling out a twenty to pay him. You felt your mouth moving and heard the words come out before you could stop yourself. 

“Are you new here?” 

He rang you up and took the bill, blinking a bit in surprise at your question but then smiling a crooked grin, dimples appearing. 

“No, I just visit when the weather gets warm. My Uncle Wayne lives in town.” 

You nod, grabbing your book and heading off. Your mind still swimming with questions…but now a small piece was also consumed by the stranger.

The next time you ran into the stranger, you were talking a walk along the edge of the wood, lost in thought. You were staring up at the trees, oblivious to your surroundings. You felt a shoulder bump yours and you flinched, turning to apologize. 

You saw his eyes first, the warm brown tone still causing the hairs on the back of your neck to stick up. You looked up at him in apology, voice soft. 

“Sorry, I was looking at the trees.” 

He chuckled, shaking his head. His unruly brown curls were now in a messy bun, making his eyes more visible. You smelled wood on him…bark, dirt, crisp air, sweet and almost over ripened fruit. Along with something musky and almost…animal-like. You wanted to inhale the scent. 

“It’s alright. They’re beautiful.” 

He stared unabashedly at you while saying it. You felt your stomach twist in nervousness and your heart leap as your face heated up slowly. You grinned and gave a pathetic excuse for needing to go, dashing off in the other direction to stamp down the feelings.

The next time you saw the stranger was unexpected.

You were headed to the local bar in town, clearly tired from a long day at your 9 to 5, wishing you didn’t have to pay bills on top of your Photography gig. You opted to meet a cute coworker here, swayed by his charming smile. But truthfully, all you could do is worry about where the wolves had gone. Where your wolf had gone. You ordered an easy drink, something like a Rum and Coke, and sat at the bar in thought. You were pulled out of your daze when the stranger came out onto the bar's very pathetic excuse for a stage, a red electric guitar slung across his back. You watched as he and group of guys began setting up their instruments. 

You studied him openly, thankful that his back was facing you for the most part. His hair was up again in that messy tuft of curls. He wore a band t-shirt that had the sleeves cut off, his arms on full display. You could see now in the stage light the pretty ink decorating his skin and the chunks and patches of silvery pink flesh that were scars. He had a few on his arms and one on his shoulder. You couldn’t help but wonder what it was from, as they didn’t look like an average scar from a cut or falling off a bike. They also seemed like…chunks of flesh bitten out and scarred over.

You quickly turned to face your drink when he turned around, feeling embarrassed for your silly obsession. Just…something about him was so…intriguing.

The stranger seemed to walk up to the mic, tapping his finger on it before his cheerful and energetic voice came through the speakers. You kept yourself from turning around.

“Heyo, Hawkins! I’m Eddie, this is Gareth, Jeff, and Rich! We’re Corroded Coffin and-” 

Your eavesdropping (could you call it that if he was announcing his presence to the bar?) was cut short when your coworker, Tommy, showed up. He scrunched his nose in the direction of the stage before smiling down at you. 

“Lemme pay for your drink and we can head somewhere…quieter.” 

You nodded, Eddie and his band in the background, but you could clearly hear his melodic singing voice and his impressive guitar skills. You tried to ignore it.

Tommy paid for your drink, grabbing your hand and helping you off the chair, guiding you by the arm towards the door. You could somehow still feel those powerful brown eyes on you. 

Winter was creeping in, winds crisp and the scent of fall fading. You mourned the loss of fall. The sidewalks no longer filled with the familiar crackle of fallen leaves, the scent of apples and fresh rain now replaced by icy sleet and the smell of smoky firewood. But at least it meant you could be provided some comfort by the wolves. 

You had recently started feeding them, leaving out little pieces of meat at the edge of the clearing, watching through the window as they would grab it and run off. You even got to feed your wolf, smiling as it ate the meat gently from your hand and you gently pet its scruff, the smell of the wild woods still in its fur. It was an intelligent animal, and you wanted a way to express your gratitude for the creature saving you. 

However, it seemed your efforts led to more damage than good.

The wolves seemed to be closer to town, and after the disappearance of Chrissy Cunningham and her fiance Jason Carver claiming she was dragged away and mauled by wolves, the town was issuing a hunt on the local pack. The mayor was clearly pressured by the townsfolk to carry it out. The mayor urged people to stay inside as they attempted to drive out the wolves. You felt your heart squeeze at the idea, seized by fear at the thought of never seeing your wolf again.

You stood on the edge of the clearing, hoping and praying maybe the mayor would give up. Maybe the young Chrissy had run away, disillusioned by her seemingly perfect life. In the midst of this tumbling string of thoughts, you spotted a familiar outline in the trees of a wolf, clearly unstable and stumbling. You walked over cautiously, seeing your wolf stumble out into the clearing near your house, the poor creature’s fur caked in blood. You saw the wolf stumble and you felt your heart seize. How could you help it? What would-

And then you saw the wolf lay and curl up, seeming to shake and whine as a muzzle shortened and fur peeled back, limbs lengthening. You stood there, heart pounding as you stared down at the creature- no, the human. 

There on the ground lay a naked and shivering Eddie, curls free and matted with blood, a pale hand pressed against his neck as his eyes rolled back and fluttered weakly. 

[mirkwoodshewolf]

this brings me back to the day when stranger things first came out and my dad and I binged the whole season (even though we had to be in the road to my sisters place the next day lol) and this first chapter is the start to a story filled with drama, angst, passion, fear and love. Great start and I can’t wait to read more!!! Anyone who wants a GRAND stranger things story that takes you back to the very first time you saw the show, look no further than right here!!

Should We Stay or Should We Go? || Chapter One

-A ST Rewrite Feat. Steve Harrington x Henderson!OFC-

Main Masterlist || Series Masterlist

🎲Summary: On the night of November 6th, 1983, Stephanie Henderson decided to walk her little brother’s friend, Will, back home. However… they never arrive. Now, Dustin, Mike and Lucas, and soon the exception of the girl’s ex-best friend, Steve, must band together to find out what happened. Meanwhile, Steph and Will must fight for their survival in this nightmarish version of Hawkins, Indiana.

🎲Chapter Summary: On his way home from a friend’s house, young Will and his best friend’s sister, Stephanie, sees something terrifying. Nearby, their loved ones start worrying hysterically, all while Steve hears some unsettling news.

🎲Pairings: Will x Platonic!OFC; Dustin x Sister!OC; Slow burn! Steve x Henderson!OFC (Ex-bestfriends to Lovers); Slow burn! Byler

🎲Rating: Teen-Mature

🎲Word Count: 9,471

🎲Date: 3/12

🎲Warnings: Angst; Swearing; Implied Broken Friendship; Racist Comment; Talks of Kidnapping; Car Crash; Mental Strain/Breaking Down; Implying to Sex; Lying; Suicide Comment; Homophobic Comment/Calling A Person A Derogatory Word; Implied Death; Steve's 'Asshole Era. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!

(And let me know if I missed anything)

🎲A/N: Here we go folks. The official rewrite of episode one. Can't say it's perfect, might be a little messy, but think of it as it setting the whole plot up. Anyway, stay safe, and enjoy!

“It was a seven.” The words fell from his lips that would predestine this night. On the chilly night of November 6th, 1983, the small group of friends had gotten together to play their weekly game of DnD that was cut long short for being on a school night. Two of the boys had rode off on their bikes, away from the host’s house as the young brunette told his friend the truth.

The boy of the house, Mike Wheeler, turned his head, confusion on his face. “Huh?”

“The roll, it was a seven.” The brunette, Will Byers, replies, a frown on his face. “The Demogorgon, it got me.” He kicks the stand off and starts riding. “See you tomorrow.”

As his words lingered in the air, the garage lights flickered on and off that was forgotten with a shrug. 

Young Will catches up quickly with the other boys, Lucas Sinclair and Dustin Henderson. The wind in their eyes and smiles on their faces, they continued to ride for many blocks, slowly coming unwind.

“Good night, ladies.” Lucas teased as he broke from the group for his driveway.

“Kiss your mom ‘night for me.” Dustin quips back, before facing the other boy. “Race you back to my place? Winner gets whatever my sister brings home this time.”

Will’s eyes light up from that. “Really?”

“Yeah.” Dustin says, not expecting for his opponent to take off immediately. 

“Hey! Hey! I didn’t say ‘go’! Get back here!” But as he says that, he knows there was no stopping his friend. “I’m gonna kill you!”

Will chuckled and shouted, “Bring it to school tomorrow!”

Dustin hits the breaks, out of breath and frustrated as he replies, “Son of a bitch…” Meanwhile, his friend pretended he didn’t hear that as he rode down the street they dubbed ‘Mirkwood’.

Yes, he lived the farthest away from… anything really; His friends’ houses, his school, the nearby strip mall, pretty much everything that was ‘useful’, But he didn’t mind it. As long as his family was happy with their place he could go along with it.

So Will continued to ride, in his own head that was causing him to ignore when his headlight flickered off and on until his bike chain magically came apart. 

The boy gasped and swerved in a jagged line, worriedness on his features as he used his feet to forcefully come to a complete halt. Stopping along the side of the road, he looked down, trying to figure out what the problem was. While doing so, he didn’t even notice a car had slowed and rolled its window down.

“Will?” The person in the vehicle said, catching him by surprise. 

He was met with a familiar face, the fair skin, freckled nose, and dark curls tied back in a small pony was a girl he practically grew up with. Ironically, she was the older sister of the boy he raced, Stephanie Henderson.

“Steph?” He said, still shocked as he watched her get out. Those bright blue eyes of hers trailed to his only transportation and frowned.

“What happened to your bike?” 

“Uh, chain broke. I think.” Will says, looking at it again, and then back at her. “You’re coming home late.”

“You’ll understand when you have a job and a crappy boss.” She smiles, softly. “Come on. Put your bike in the car and I’ll drive you.”

“What?” He looks at her in disbelief. “Are you sure? You came that direction.”

“You know I don’t mind. Besides, it’s quicker and safer than walking. Plus I’m sure your brother and mother would appreciate it.” She says, opening the back door.

“But what about your mom?”

“I called her already and told her that I’ll be a little late.” She gestures to the car. “Come on.” He smiles and puts the bike in before hopping in the passenger seat. She even spoils him by handing him a paper brown bag. “Cinnamon bun?”

His eyes light up. “Actually, Dustin betted me that if I beat him in a race back to his house I can have whatever you bring.”

“Then I guess they’re all yours.” She turns the car around. “So how was your campaign?”

“It was good until the end.” He takes a bite of the pastry. “I ended up getting beaten by the Demogorgon.”

“Remind me what that is again?”

“He’s a two headed demon prince. Very evil.”

“I see.”

Another bite and a small hum. “You should try playing it.”

She raises an eyebrow. “You think?”

“Yeah, it’ll be fun!” Now he was like a kid in a candy store. “You can be… our mage! A druid, or maybe even a ranger.”

She chuckles quietly. “I… have no idea what any of that even means. But uh… I’ll give it a shot. What’s the worst that can happen? I hate it?”

“Or you get eaten by a Demogorgon.”

“That’s true.” Steph agreed, and continued their light conversation until something strange started to happen. She watches as her headlights suddenly start to flicker. “What the?”

“Look out!” Will yelled, and her eyes snapped back up just in time to spot the bizarre looking figure in the road. 

She gasps and veers off the road, foot slamming into the brakes as it rolled down and down into the woods, crashing into a tree. Now, it wasn’t that bad of a hit, more like a little thump, but still. A crash is a crash.

Stephanie lets out a pant, tiling her baseball cap back up to look worriedly towards her passenger. “Shit! You okay?”

“Uh…” He nods, a little shaken up, but looking unharmed. “Yeah. I’m good.”

Another pant and she looks around. “Who that fuck was that?!” She snaps, upset. “Who the fuck stands in the middle of the road at nine o’clock at night?!”

But as she was having her meltdown, Will was staring at the side mirror and paled. “Steph?” He says, terrified.

“What?”

“I think he’s coming.”

“What?” She followed his eyes to the mirror before turning around. Standing behind them a few feet away was the figure who made her heart sink at its unnaturally long arms, and fingers coming at a point. Now she starts pales. “That’s not a person.”

“Huh?”

She starts fiddling with the door. “Get out of– Get out of the car, now!”

Once they were both out, she snags him by the wrist and pulls him along, running as fast as they could, a few miles down, all the way back to what their destination was. As soon as they stepped a foot inside the Byers home, the family’s dog, Chester, started barking defensively as she told the boy to lock the door.

“Mom? Jonathan? Mom?!” He replies after finishing the task, but alas it seems like they were the only ones home.

“Ms. Byers?!” Steph yells out, biting her lip. “Shit.” She runs for the phone as he looks out a window and sees the figure approaching the house. She tries dialing 911, but all she receives on the other end is static. “What the fuck?!”

“It’s unlocking the chain!” Will yells, backing away as she takes a look. Sure enough, they watched the chain on the door slide itself across the track as the other locks started to turn (What in the fresh hell is going on?!).

“Come on!” She pulls him away, thinking the only thing they can do is protect themselves now. 

They both run into the shed in the back, Will remembering what his mother had told him if something to this degree started happening, and begins loading the shotgun on the wall. 

“Is that all you got?” She asked, searching around for anything else she could use.

“Y-Yeah.” He mutters, and frantically points the weapon at the door, trembling as the girl stood behind him, hands over his and shielding his body protectively.

“If that thing comes in, shoot it. I’ll hold you steady so you don’t fall back.” She says, and he nods (His body subconsciously pressing into hers out of fear and comfort).

But the next few moments were tedtious, hearing that thing growling, which got louder and louder, until it sounded like it was right next to them. Steph, who felt the wind get knocked out of her, was the first to turn around, eyes widened as she kept the boy behind her, feeling him clench her jacket. 

“What the fuck are you?!” She screamed, the growling turning into screeching. 

Then the light in the shed gets brighter and brighter– Until everything suddenly stops.

Then…

.

.

.

There was no one left.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

As soon as the sun touched his face, the boy reached over and shut his alarm clock off before it could even ring. Groaning and stretching, he was feeling extremely exhausted after being up so late (But last night was so fun, it was totally worth it!). Grinning a toothless grin, Dustin rolled out of bed, his clothes in hand as he strolls to the end of the hall for the bathroom. However–

He lets out a sigh and throws his head back at the door being closed. “Oh, my god. Phanie! I told you I needed to use the bathroom first on school days.” Seriously, how many times has he told his sister this? He doesn’t get a reply, and bangs on the door. “Phanie!! Are you listening?”

And on the last knock, to his surprise, the door creaked open. Being cautious, he poked his head inside finding the light was off and the room was unoccupied. 

“Huh.” He said, looking around again. “Okay…” He quickly gets ready for the day, fixing his curls so his hat stays on, before adventuring back out. “Goodbye, sleepyhead!”

And once again, Dustin was shocked to find that now his sister’s room was unoccupied as well. The only thing present was their cat, Mews, who was curled up in a ball on the still perfectly made bed… with everything on it still looking the same in place.

What the? He thought, before heading for the kitchen where his mother was listening to the news.

// -And that’s it for News Center this morning. Thanks for joining us. Let’s hand off now to Liz at the news desk //

// All right, thank you, Donna. Turning now to local news, we’re getting reports of surges and power outages all across the county. Last night, hundreds of homes in East Hawkins were affected, leaving many residents in the dark. The cause of the outage is still unknown. We reached out to Roane County Water and Electric, and a spokesperson says that they are confident power will be restored to all remaining homes within the next– //

“Hey, mom, have you seen Stephanie?” He asked, ignoring the fact his mother was making him his favorite breakfast meal.

“Stephanie?” His mother, Claudia, asked as she slid him a plate. “No, I haven’t.”

“She’s not in her room.” He replies, taking a seat, thinking. “Did you see her come home last night?”

“Well, she did call me saying that she was going to be late, but I’ll admit, I dozed off before I heard her come in.” She notices her son’s worried expression, and smiles. “Oh, don’t worry, Dusty-buns. I’m sure she had to just pick up a friend for school. I can drive you.”

“No, I can bike, I just…” He trails off, not really hungry anymore. We always eat together.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Meanwhile, in another household. Joyce Byers was rummaging around her living room for her keys, cursing under her breath after every failed attempt.

“Where the hell are they?” She sighs. “Jonathan?”

“Check the couch!” Her oldest child said from the kitchen.

“Ugh, I did.” She moves the cushions around again, finally spotting them. “Oh, got them.” She smiles and comes over to give him a pat on the shoulder. “Okay, sweetie, I will see you tonight.”

“Yeah, see you later.” He says, finishing up the eggs.

“Where’s Will?”

“Oh, I didn’t get him up yet. He’s probably still sleeping.”

Joyce sighs, already leaving the room. “Jonathan, you have to make sure he’s up!”

“Mom, I’m making breakfast.”

“I told you this a thousand times. Will!” She claps her hands. “Come on, honey. It’s time to get up.” She pushes open his door only to find that his bed was empty. “He came home last night, right?”

Jonathan’s heart sank as he faced his mother. “He’s not in his room?

“Did he come home or not?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“No. I-I got home late. I was working.”

She gives her son ‘the look’. “You were working?”

“Eric asked if I could cover. I said yeah. I just thought we could use the extra cash.”

“Jonathan, we’ve talked about this.”

He frowns, looking away. “I know…”

“You can’t take shifts when I’m working.” She says, wheels turning in her head at where he could be.

“Mom, it’s not a big deal.” He makes eye contact again. “Look, he was at the Wheelers’ all day. I’m sure he just stayed over.”

“I can’t believe you.” She says, already grabbing the phone. “I can’t believe you sometimes.” She starts dialing the phone number she knows by heart and waits.

[ ‘Hello?’ ]

“Hi, Karen. It’s Joyce.”

[ ‘Oh, Joyce, hi.’ ]

Before Joyce could ask, she hears a ruckus in the background.

[ ‘Quiet!’ ]

“Was that Will I heard back there?” She asked, hopefully.

[ ‘Will? No, no, no, it’s just Mike.’ ]

“Will didn’t spend the night?”

[ ‘No, he left here a little bit after 8:00. Why? He’s not home?’] 

Joyce tries to keep the panic off her face as she replies, “Um, you know what? I think he just left early for... for school. Thank you so much.”

[ ‘Okay.’ ]

“Bye.”

[ ‘Bye.’ ]

Joyce hangs up the phone, exchanging concerned glances with her eldest child.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Three out of the four boys rode to school that morning, chattering away about a certain person that’ll only end in sadness. Frowning as they slowed down to their usual bike rack that laid empty before them.

“That’s weird. I don’t see him.” Mike said, noticing the absent bike. Did he park somewhere else this time?

“I’m telling you, his mom’s right.” Lucas said, trying to be the reasonable one. “He probably just went to class early again. You know he’s always paranoid that Gursky’s gonna give him another pop quiz.”

“That’s true.”

“Yeah… pop quiz...” Dustin mumbled, being completely distant from the group. 

Lucas sighs, rolling his eyes. “Dude, you still worried about your sister?” 

“Well, yeah! I mean, why was she not home? We always eat breakfast with each other, how could she just skip out on it?”

“She’s sixteen, you know? You’re just overreacting. I’m sure Steph is fine.”

“I don’t man, this ain’t like her.”

“Dustin–”

“Step right up, ladies and gentlemen!” A bully, named Troy, announced as he came over with another boy. “Step right up and get your tickets for the freak show.” He smirks. “Who do you think would make more money in a freak show?” He pushes Lucas first. “Midnight–” Then Mike. “Frogface–” Then Dustin. “Or Toothless?”

The other bully, James, looks pensive for a moment before making his decision with a point. “I’d go with Toothless.”

Dustin’s cheeks flush out of embarrassment. “I told you a million times, my teeth are coming in. It’s called cleidocranial dysplasia.”

“‘I told you a million times’.” James mocks, and laughs. 

“Do the arm thing.” Troy pressures, as Dustin takes a small step back.

“Do it, freak!” Deciding to just comply, Dustin cracks his arms with his collar bone, making him and Troy groan and recoil. “God, it gets me every time.”

Then the two of them push through the boys as they leave for class; The trio sending them a death glare.

“Assholes.” Luca scoffed.

“I think it’s kinda cool.” Mike said, trying to cheer Dustin up. “It’s like you have superpowers or something. Like Mr. Fantastic.”

Dustin chuckles. “Yeah, except I can’t fight evil with it.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Meanwhile, in the high school next door, Mike’s older sister was hustling inside, books in hand, acting all flustered. It especially didn’t help when her friend came over, grinning like the Chester Cat.

“So, did he call? The ginger girl, Barb, asked all giggly.

The sister, Nancy, shushes her looking around. “Keep your voice down.”

She nudges her with her elbow. “Did he?”

“I told you, it’s not like that.” Nancy blushes harder when Barb gave her a look. “Okay, I mean, yes, he likes me, but not like that. We just made out a couple times.

Barb raises an eyebrow. “‘We just made out a couple times’. Nance, seriously, you’re gonna be so cool now, it’s ridiculous.”

“No, I’m not.” She shakes her head while unlocking her locker.

“You better still hang out with me, that’s all I’m saying. If you become friends with Tommy H. or Carol–”

“Oh, that’s gross!”

“I’m just saying, you better still be friends with me. I heard that the King pushed a close friend out of his circle when he took the throne and–”

“Okay, I’m telling you, it was a one-time... two-time thing.”

She opens her locker, finding a note that read: MEET ME IN BATHROOM -STEVE.

Barb’s expression grew. “You were saying?”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Before you know it, Nancy is having a make out session with the highschool’s King, Steve “The Hair” Harrington. The cocky bad boy that every girl fawns over, and the physic that every guy envies. If you wanted any kind of popularity while running around this place, you had to make a guarantee that he would be in your corner.

“Steve.” Nancy croaked in between kisses, making him hum. “I have to go.”

“In a minute.” He mumbled, nibbling at her neck as the school bell rings.

“Steve–” She nudged her way out from him. “I really, like seriously, I have to go.”

“Wait, wait, wait. Let’s…” He snags her bag, keeping her in place for a second. “Come on, let’s do something tonight, yeah?”

“No, I can’t. I have to study for Kaminsky’s test.”

“Oh, come on. What’s your GPA again? 3.999–”

“Kaminsky’s tests are impossible.”

“Well, then, just let me help.” He said, smirking.

She rolls her eyes with a smile. “You failed chem.”

“C-minus.”

“Well, in that case–”

“So I’ll be over around, say, like, 8:00?”

“Are you crazy?” Nancy shakes her head. “My mom would not–”

“I’ll climb through your window.” He insisted, all pumped up at the idea. “She won’t even know I’m there. I’m stealthy, like a ninja.”

“You are crazy.” She says, taking her bag back and starts leaving. 

“Wait, wait, wait. Just…” He steps in front of her. “Okay, forget about that. We can just– We can just, like, chill in my car. We can find a nice quiet place to park, and–”

“Steve, I have to study. I’m not kidding.”

“Well, why do you think I want it to be nice and quiet?”

That got her to crack another smile. “You’re an idiot, Steve Harrington.” She replies, stepping around him. “Meet me at Dearborn and Maple at 8:00. To study.”

The school bell rings again, leaving behind a very satisfied teen.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“Alright, class, I’ll be your sub for today.” The man explains, writing his name on the board. “I’m Mr. Dunwoody. If you have any questions, please refrain before I take attendance.” He ignores as some of the ‘cool kids’ snickered under their breaths and chuck paper balls around. “Uh, Barkley?”

“Here.”

“Brown?”

“Here.”

“Byers?” No reply. “Jonathan Byers?” He scopes the room, the seat in the back corner was absent. “No Byers. M’kay, uh, Davidson?”

“Present.”

“Evans?”

“Here.”

“Eubank?”

“Here.”

“Henderson.” No reply, he looks around – Yet another seat in the back unattended (And certain eyes following). “Henderson? Is a… Stephanie Henderson in?” His gaze shifts with the class’ and frowns. “No, okay. Uh, Harrington?” Silence. “Harrington?”

Steve blinks and faces forward, snapping out of his trace. “Uh, present.”

“‘Kay, uh–” He started shooting off more names, but the teenager wasn’t honestly listening. Something about that empty space (the space that seemed so far away now) didn’t sit right with him. And the gossiping in the background wasn’t helping his troubled mind either.

“Maybe grunge girl finally got the hint.” 

“Oh, yeah. For sure.” 

“Do you think the pressure made her drop out?”

“Drop out?” A laugh. “Maybe she took a dive off the overpass.”

“Guess we’ll have to check the news later for that!”

They laughed under their breaths and Steve’s hands started subconsciously squeezing his crossed arms. This shouldn’t bother him. It’s not like they’re–

He didn’t even realize he was turning around to say something if it was for Tommy’s hand snagging his shoulder. It, and he’s not sure if he can admit, hurt in a way he can’t describe. They both locked eyes, and Tommy shook his head ‘no’ just as the substitute finished calling out names, starting the soulless class.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

As usual the town’s head sheriff was strolling into his job late and looking like he’d been hit by truck after truck. His five o’clock shadow was strong and so were the bags under his eyes; Jim Hopper walks in with a lit cigarette in his hand, the receptionist amazed by his appearance.

“Good of you to show.” She said, as he passed by and gave a small nod to the other officers present.

“Oh, hey, morning, Flo. Morning, everybody.” He says, heading for the small kitchenette to pour himself some coffee.

“Hey, Chief.” Powell greeted with a grin.

“Damn! You look like hell, Chief.” Callahan replies, looking up from his game of cards.

“Oh, yeah?” Hopper spares him a look.

“Yeah.”

“Well, I looked better than your wife when I left her this morning.” His response made his brothers bust a gut as the elderly woman came over, trying to get his attention.

“While you were drinking or sleeping, or whatever it is you deemed so necessary on Monday morning, Phil Larson called. Said some kids are stealing the gnomes out of his garden again.” Flo explains, as he tries not to roll his eyes (or maybe he did?).

“Oh, those garden gnomes again.” He sighs, and picks up a donut too. “Well, I’ll tell you what, I’m gonna get right on that.”

Flo keeps a straight face, used to his antics by now. “On a more pressing matter, Joyce Byers can’t find her son this morning.”

He hums after taking a bite of the pastry. “Okay, I’m gonna get on that.” He starts walking away. “Just give me a minute.”

“Joyce is very upset.” She pushes, as he shakes his head.

“Well, Flo– Flo, we’ve discussed this. Mornings are for coffee and contemplation.”

“Chief, she’s already in your–”

“Coffee and contemplation, Flo!” He shouts as he leaves the room, and, due to not paying attention, is surprised to see Ms. Byers already waiting in his office. His jaw clenched. “Okay… Missing? I’ve been told.”

“Yes, missing!” Joyce says, watching him sit down and start typewriting a file out for her boy. Worriedly she waits for him to finish, even smoking bud after bud to calm the jitters. “I have been waiting here over an hour, Hopper.”

“And I apologize.” He says, trying to calm her.

“I’m going out of my mind!”

“Look, boy his age, he’s probably just playing hooky, okay?”

She shakes her head. “No, not my Will. He’s not like that– He wouldn’t do that.”

“Well, you never know.” He suggests, a little smirk growing on his lips. “I mean, my mom thought I was on the debate team, when really I was just screwing Chrissy Carpenter in the back of my dad’s Oldsmobile, so–”

“Look, he’s not like you, Hopper. He’s not like me. He’s not like most.” She explains, her face saddening. “He has a couple of friends, but, you know, the kids, they’re mean. They make fun of him. They call him names. They laugh at him, his clothes–”

“His clothes?” Hopper’s eyebrows shoot up. “What’s wrong with his clothes?”

“I don’t know. Does that matter?”

“Maybe.”

Joyce inhales deeply. “Look, he’s... He’s a sensitive kid. Lonnie…” God she could punch that man right now. “Lonnie used to say he was queer. Called him a fag.”

Another eyebrow raise. “Is he?”

“He’s missing! Is what he is.” 

“When was the last time you heard from Lonnie?”

“Uh, last I heard, he was in Indianapolis. That was about a year ago. But he has nothing to do with this.”

“Why don’t you give me his number?”

“You know, Hopper, he has nothing to do with this. Trust me.”

Hopper’s body straightens, hands coming to rest on his desk to make sure she was listening. “Joyce, 99 out of 100 times, kid goes missing, the kid is with a parent or relative.”

Her eyes widened. “What about the other time?”

He blinks. “What?”

“You said, ‘99 out of 100’. What about the other time, the one?”

“Joyce.”

“The one!”

Hopper tries to deescalate again. “Joyce, this is Hawkins, okay? You wanna know the worst thing that’s ever happened here in the four years I’ve been working here?” He could hold back a small smile. “Do you wanna know the worst thing? It was when an owl attacked Eleanor Gillespie’s head because it thought that her hair was a nest.”

Joyce sighs. “Okay, fine. I will call Lonnie. He will talk to me before he talks to–”

“What, a pig?”

“A cop! Just find my son, Hop. Find him!”

And then came a knock on the doorframe, which happened to be Flo who looked apologetic this time.

“Chief, I’m sorry, I have another hectic parent. A Ms. Claudia Henderson is here to see you.”

“What?” Hopper said, and just before he could blink, a blonde woman came stumbling in, all nervous just like someone else in present.

“Hopper, I’m sorry if you’re busy, but–”

“Claudia?” Joyce said, standing up with surprise. 

“Joyce?” Claudia’s face washes over with relief upon seeing her. “What brings you here?”

“It’s Will, I can’t find him.” She says, missing the way the other woman’s face lost all color. “And apparently he didn’t go to school either.”

“Well, what a coincidence. I can’t find my daughter, either.”

And then all eyes are now on the police Chief who was dumbfounded this was all happening at once. After a moment, he sighed and pulled Will’s form out of the typewriter before sliding in a new piece of paper.

“Alright.” He gestures to the chair. “Let’s hear your story.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

And then that’s how the police chief found himself at a middle school. His first “suspects” in this case was Will’s inner circle of friends. But what he wasn’t expecting while sitting in the principal’s office was the trio to be talking over one another frantically.

“Okay, okay, okay.” Hopper says, waving for them to stop which they did. “One at a time, all right?” He points to Mike. “You. You said he takes what?”

“Mirkwood.” Mike said, confusing him.

“Mirkwood?”

“Yeah.”

Hopper sighs, looking at his partner. “Have you ever heard of Mirkwood?”

“I have not.” Callahan shakes his head. “That sounds made up to me.”

“No, it’s from Lord of the Rings.” Lucas says, offended.

“Well, The Hobbit.” Dustin pushes as his friend rolls his eyes.

“Who cares?”

“He asked!”

“‘He asked’!” Lucas mocked which started their bickering again.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Hopper yells, getting to stop once more. “What’d I just say? One at a damn time.” He points to Mike again. “You.”

“Mirkwood, it’s a real road. It’s just the name that’s made up. It’s where Cornwallis and Kerley meet.” Mike explains, giving the Chief a picture now.

“Yeah, all right, I think I know that.”

“We can show you, if you want.” The boy replies, his friends agreeing with him immediately. 

Hopper shakes his head. “I said that I know it!”

“We can help look.” Mike pleads.

“Yeah.” Dustin encouraged.

“No.” The boys try to protest, but he shuts it down again. “No. After school, you are all to go home. Immediately. That means no biking around looking for your friend, no investigating, no nonsense. This isn’t some Lord of the Rings book.”

“The Hobbit.” Dustin mumbles, quietly.

“Shut up!” Lucas said, elbowing him.

“Hey!”

“Stop it!” Hopper snaps, while standing up. “Do I make myself clear?” He gets no answer. “Do I make myself clear?”

Mike nods. “Yes, sir.”

“Good.” He faces the principal. “Sir, thank you for your time.”

“Wait!” Dustin cuts in, and makes the man groan.

“What?”

“What about my sister? You mentioned her earlier. What about her?”

“Kid, listen, your sister’s sixteen, and to be honest, I believe a teenager playing hooky more than your friend Will. Okay?” Hopper tried to leave again, but the kid wasn’t letting up.

“But Stephanie’s not like that! I mean, yeah, she doesn’t necessarily like school, but she always studies hard to get good grades. She’s a good noodle.” Dustin frowns worriedly. “Trust me, she would never skip school. I mean… did you even check the parking lot to see if her car was there? Or the mall that she works at?”

I guess… the kid did have a point, Hopper will admit that one. He locks eyes with his partner who shrugs.

“I mean, we might as well kill two birds with one stone while we’re here.” Callahan says, truthfully.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Hopper sighs. “Okay. So Dustin, did your sister have any… friends we could talk to?” Then they got quiet, looking amongst themselves. “What? No? She didn’t? Or–?”

“Well, not really.” Dustin admits, bittersweet. “I mean, she probably hangs out with us more than anything at this point.”

“I mean, she’s friends with that douchebag Steve.” Lucas said, upset.

“Was friends. Not anymore.” Mike clarifies.

“Was a friend?” Hopper asked, skeptical. “What happened?”

“Not sure. They were inseparable until one day they just… weren’t.” Dustin replies, which was the truth. He remembers seeing Steve around a few times as he grew up, but then one day his sister stopped going out and didn’t even mention him anymore. Then before he knew it, he witnessed first hand the boy’s ‘asshole’ attitude (Makes him glad that she wasn’t around him anymore).

“Okay, then. What’s his name?”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“Steve Harrington.” 

Steve stopped himself from getting into his BMW to look who was calling him out. To his shock he found two police officers in his presence, and immediately felt sick.

“Um, can I help you, officers?” He asked, paying no heed to the passing stares from other students.

“I’m officer Hopper, this is my partner Callahan. We just want to ask you a few questions.” Hopper explains, as the teenager nods.

“Am I in trouble?”

“No, son. As long as you comply.”

“Okay.”

“Alright then, do you know a girl by the name of Stephanie Henderson?”

His heart sank again like earlier. “Stephanie?” Steve asked, his throat feeling tight (Why was his throat closing up?).

“Yeah. We were told by her brother that you guys used to be friends. Is that true?”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

“Have you spoken to her recently? Seen her?” Hopper asked, getting a shake of his head.

“Seen her? Yeah, I mean I see her everyday, we’re in the same classes, but I didn’t see her today.” Steve shifts his weight around on his feet. “As for talking, I haven’t spoken to her in years.”

“So you haven’t had any real contact with her?”

“No, sir.” Steve watches the two adults exchange glances which pique his interest. “May I ask what’s going on with her? Is she in trouble?”

“Not necessarily trouble, I would say. Her mom came down by the station earlier and reported her missing, saying she didn’t see her in the morning and when they called the school she wasn’t there.”

“If I’m being honest, son, she’s a teenager, she probably just wanted some time alone.” Callahan replies, with a half shrug. “Besides, everyone knows her mother’s a bit… out there. She tends to overreact.”

“There’s nothing for you to worry about, Mr. Harrington. We appreciate your time.” Hopper replies, bidding him a farewell as he begins to leave (but this wasn’t sitting right with the boy’s stomach).

“She never misses her classes though.” Steve blurts out, getting their attention. “Even now, even if we aren’t friends, I notice she never misses school. It’s completely out of her character.”

It really is though. Steve waited until the officers processed his comment, before nodding.

“Noted.” Was all Hopper said and they left, leaving him high and dry, wondering what was truly going on. He was so stuck in his head he didn’t even notice Tommy and Carol making their way towards him.

“Oooh, looks like someone’s in trouble.” Tommy coos, with a grin.

“What did you do, Harrington? Slash Tammy Thompson’s tires finally?” Carol asked, making herself laugh.

But Steve didn’t find this funny, instead his attention was turned back to climbing in the passenger seat. “I gotta go home.”

“What?” Tommy said, caught off guard.

“I gotta go home.”

“What? But you said we were going to the movies?”

“Maybe tomorrow I–” He couldn’t even think straight. “I’m sorry. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He shuts his car door as his name is being called, and quickly pulls away.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Along the Mirkwood road, the three officers were paneling out, surveying the area. Everyone was shouting Will’s name, except Hopper who nerves were shooting through the roof; So much so, he had to stop and pop a pill. These kinds of situations, especially evolving children, were hard for him to deal with. It reminded him too much of his own–

Wait a minute. Were his eyes deceiving him? Does actually see this or was this another one of his episodes? 

But after triple checking, he finally calls the others forward. “Hey! I think I got something.”

He steps off the room, jogging a few feet into the woods. If it wasn’t for the daylight, he surely would have missed a huge clue that was being covered by a few shrubs and ankle deep piles of autumn leaves. Smashed into one of the sweet gum trees was a car, windshield cracked and lightly powdered in stray branches.

“I don’t remember hearing anything about crashes this morning.” Powell said, confused as he examined it. 

Hopper’s keen eyes also caught something lying in the backseat and pulled it out. He frowns, his nerves spiking again. “This is Will’s bike.”

“His bike?” Powell asked, suspicious now. “You don’t think this was uh… a kidnapping?”

“It’s possible. But it doesn’t explain why the kidnapper would crash and abandon the car. Then leave evidence of the child behind.”

“Now, what a second.” Callahan said, perking up. “This is a 1975 Tan Ford Granada, the same car that Ms. Henderson said her daughter drives.”

Hopper’s eyes widen as he sets the bike down. “She also said that her daughter had a Journey keychain.” He opens the driver door, and sure enough, still in the dead ignition, there was a little band keychain dangling off her car key. “Shit.” He locks eyes with his partners. “Which way is the mall?”

Powell pointed in the direction that he feared the most. It was in the same direction the Byers’ house was. Now it was starting to make sense. 

“What are you thinking, Chief?” 

Hopper frowns. “Well, if you look at the bike, the chain’s broken. My guess, Stephanie was driving by and saw him on the side of the road, and offered him a ride home.”

“Then how do you explain the car being off road?”

He sighs, dreading for the answer (both in a good and a bad way). “I’m not sure.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Saying Joyce Byers was livid was probably not a strong enough word after being hung up on so many times. Why, out of the times she actually needed to talk to her ex-husband, he doesn’t answer the phone?! She could pull all her hair out from that man. No wonder they were divorced since he frustrates her so–

“Mom?” Jonathan said, standing up from the couch (He was currently making missing child signs for his brother).

“What?” 

“Cops.” Sure enough, they saw many cop cars pull up, including a tow truck with a car none of them recognize. 

“Is that his bike?” Joyce said, worriedly once she was outside. “And who’s car is that?”

“We found this in Stephanie Henderson’s car.” Hopper replies, sitting the bike down. 

“Stephanie’s car?” Jonathan said, surprised. Well, I guess he shouldn’t be that surprise, ‘cause although they’re not exactly friends as one thinks they might be, given the situation, he knows her enough that she’s the type of girl to give you the shirt off her back if you need it.

“Our best guess right now is that she saw him on the side of the road and offered to drive him back. It makes sense since her mother told us Stephanie called to let her know she’ll be running late from work. And given the time stamp Will’s friends provided us, them crossing paths match up.”

“But that still doesn’t explain everything!” Joyce says, trying to piece this together. “Where did you find her car?”

He sighs quietly. “Down off the road, into the forest.” He starts walking away, motioning for his men to follow him. “Split up, fellas.” He said, once they were inside.

“Did it have any blood on it? Or– or what was the condition of the car? Did it slide off the road?” Joyce asked as she followed him around. “And why are you here instead of looking?”

“Well, he had a key to the house, right?”

“Yeah.”

“So maybe he came home. Maybe they both came home.”

Joyce scoffs, stepping in front of him. “You think I didn’t check my own house?”

“I’m not saying that.” He says, eyes trailing away upon catching something else. “Has this always been here?” He walked over and pointed to an indent in the wall.

“What? I don’t know. Probably. I mean, I have two boys. Look at this place.”

He suddenly opens the door to the backyard, the doorknob trailing directly to the spot of the mini hole. “You’re not sure?” He’s about to question it some more when the dog suddenly starts barking. He heads outside, finding Chester angrily staring down the shed. “Hey, what’s up with this guy, huh?”

“Nothing, he’s probably just hungry.” Joyce said, after following him out. She sighs and drags the dog by the collar. “Come on.”

But as they left, Hopper’s gaze was focused on the shed. Why was the dog so wound up from that place? Treading carefully, he goes inside, flipping the lightswitch on that buzzed lightly above. His eyes scaled the room, immediately noticing something. His fingers wrapped around the box full of shotgun shells, realizing it was half empty.

Empty? He thought, setting it down and heading for where the weapon would be stored. But the two hooks screwed into the wall were bare, and to a shock, when his fingers brushed where it should be, the light suddenly shut itself off.

Out of instinct his hand latched around a flashlight nearby, turning it on. He turned the light towards the door, wondering if someone was just screwing with him but… no one. 

Okay… not creepy at all. He trailed it around, looking closely, nothing making him want to stand on his toes until he decided to turn around. That’s when he saw the back half of the shed was a mess, shelves torn off, boxes and objects thrown everywhere, some even being crushed under some kind of weight. Even the hair on the back of his neck stood up when he swears he could hear someone growling.

His heart was beating in his ears as he crouched down, looking around for anything. (Un)Luckily enough, there was no kid laying emotionless in the pile. He frowns, wondering what scared the boy so much that he went to grab a gun. And then–

Something shiny caught his eye.

He reached out and picked it up, a gold chain unraveled, showing off a heart shaped pendant with two initials carved into it. 

S.H.

“Shit.” Hopper whispered, horrified.

“Hey!”

He shot to his feet, turning around to face his brother in blue. “Jesus!”

“What are you, deaf? I’ve been calling you.” Callahan said, before noticing how ill his boss looked. “What’s going on?”

“Fuck…” Hopper mumbled and started racing back outside.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Chief?”

“Listen, I want you to call Flo. I want to get a search party together, all right? All the volunteers she can muster. Bring flashlights, too.”

“Chief?” Callahan stops him before he goes back into the house. “Hey, you think we got a problem here?”

“I don’t think, I know.” Hopper shows off the necklace. “We’re going to the Henderson’s house.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Dustin watches with fear as the officers explain the situation on hand about his older sister. His mom of course was hysterical, giving the professionals a challenge to get answers out of her. 

“Oh, who could have hurt my baby? And poor Will too.” Claudia sobbed into her handkerchief. “She’s always so kind to others, of course she would have offered him a ride.”

“Ma’am, I know you’re upset, and we’re sending a search party out as soon as possible. But I just need you to confirm that this is your daughter’s, then we can make this one big old case.” Hoppy explains, trying not to be snappy with his words. “Now–” He shows off the necklace. “Is this your daughter’s?”

Dustin’s eyebrows shot up through the roof. “She still wears that?!” He said, shocking both himself and the officer.

“What?”

“Y-Yes.” Claudia said, nodding. “That’s hers.”

“Thank you.” Hopper says, placing it in her palm. He spins his heels around to Powell. “Let’s go. We got two missing people we’re looking for.” 

“Please find her.” She begged, getting his attention once more. “I can’t lose my only daughter.” But all she gets is a sad nod from him as he leaves, watching as all the cars pull off her driveway in a hurry. She sighs and then gasps when felt her son take the necklace away from her, studying it intensely. “Dusty, why were you so surprised she still wears it?”

“Don’t you remember who gave this to her?” He asked, slightly sour.

“Well, no.”

He sighs, and starts leaving the room. “It’s nothing.” 

And it should stay that way.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Meanwhile, later in the day, a heated discussion was going on at the Wheeler’s house over a nice homemade dinner.

“We should be out there right now. We should be helping look for him.” Mike said for the millionth time tonight, extremely close to igniting the fuse in his own mother.

“We’ve been over this, Mike.” Karen said, drawing her attention away from her toddler. “The chief says–”

“I don’t care what the chief said.”

“Michael!”

“We have to do something! Will can be in danger.”

“More reason to stay put.”

“Mom!”

“End of discussion.” She snapped, silencing her son. But when one bird stops chirping, another one decides to start a tune.

“So me and Barbara are gonna study at her house tonight. That’s cool, right?” Nancy says, not an ask, but that of course gets shot down too.

“No, not cool.”

“What? Why not?”

“Why do you think? Am I speaking Chinese in this house? Until we know Will is okay, no one leaves.”

“This is such bullshit.” Nancy replies, dropping her fork.

“Language.” Ted chimes in, still munching on his food.

“So we’re under house arrest? Just because Mike’s friend got lost on the way home from–”

“Wait, this is Will’s fault?” Mike spat, sending daggers at his sister.

“Nancy, take that back.” Karen warned, as Holly started to get teary eyed.

“No!” Nancy scoffed.

“You’re just pissed off ‘cause you wanna hang out with Steve.” Mike quips, sending the whole room into silence. He swallows when he realizes he messed up (and how his sister looked like she was going to kill him).

“Steve?” Her father asked, finally tuning back in.

“Who is Steve?” Her mother asked, as her son decided to just roll with it anyway.

“Her new boyfriend.”

“You are such a douchebag, Mike!” Nancy yells, throwing the chair back and marching out of the room.

“Language!” Ted says, as Karen sighs.

“Nancy, come back. Come back!” She shakes her head, and cups her youngest cheek. “It’s okay. It’s okay, Holly.” She holds up her sippy cup. “Here, have some juice, okay?”

“You see, Michael? You see what happens?”

“What happens when what?” Mike snaps again, still in disbelief. “I’m the only one acting normal here! I’m the only one that cares about Will!”

“That is really unfair, son. We care.” And now his words drove his son away from the dinner table.

“Mike!” Karen yells after him too.

“Let him go.” Ted encourages, as his wife picks up their child.

“I hope you’re enjoying your chicken, Ted.” She says, then leaves herself.

“What did I do?” He notices he is truly alone now. “What’d I do?”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Dustin was sitting on his bed, holding his sister’s necklace in his palm. It was a gold color chain with a dark red heart shaped guitar pick. It even had her initials scratched into it. Such a beautiful and expensive gift. However, he still wonders why she even still wears it. Especially since it was gifted by none of other then–

[ ‘Dustin, do you copy? It’s Lucas.’ ]

He perked up from the voice of his friend coming through on his walkie, and scrambled off the bed to his desk. “Lucas. What’s up?”

[ ‘Mike just called me. Says he wants to go out looking for Will.’ ]

“Looking for Will?” He gasps at how perfect this was. “We can look for Phanie too!”

[ ‘Steph? You mean she hasn’t come home yet?’ ]

“No! That’s what I’ve been saying!” Why don’t his friends listen to him sometimes? “So she’s out there, we have to go find her as well!”

[ ‘I mean, we can. But we’re biking over where Will was last–’ ]

“Oh, no. I got that! But…” Dustin frowns. “Wait. You didn’t hear?”

[ ‘Hear what?’ ]

“Oh, my god– Okay! Well, long story short, my sister wasn’t playing hooky like everyone thought.”

[ ‘What do you mean?’ ]

“According to the police, Phanie apparently gave Will a ride home before somewhere along the way, her car ended up in the woods. They found his bike in her car, and even found her necklace at his home. So, Lucas, my sister was with Will! It’s not just Will who’s missing! My sister is too! Together!”

He thought might have exploded his friend’s brain after the long silence he was given.

[ ‘Oh shit…’ ]

“Yeah!”

[ ‘We have to tell Mike this when we meet up. Don’t worry, man, we’ll find her too.’ ]

“And I have faith in us.” Dustin peeks outside his door. “My mom’s watching her shows right now to keep herself distracted. So we have a few hours.”

[ ‘Perfect. See you in ten.’ ]

“See you in ten.” He puts down the antenna, clenching the necklace in his palm. “Don’t worry, sis, we’re going to find you too.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

[ ‘I’m sorry.’ ]

He heard her apologize for the millionth time while over the phone. He can imagine her cute little face full of irritation (was that reason to be in love with a person?). 

[ ‘My… dumb mother has me under house arrest until morning.’ ]

“Don’t sweat it, Nance.” He said, leaning against the wall while they talked. “You know… I could always be sneaky like a ninja and–”

[ ‘No, Steve. You know what my parents would do if they caught you?’ ]

He hums. “Um, congratulate me?”

[ ‘Steve.’ ]

Steve laughs. “Alright, alright. I’m joking. Uh–” He runs a hand through his locks. “We could… study over the phone?”

That was a good idea.

Right?

Her silence was making him worry. “Um, Nancy?”

[ ‘Sorry. I was thinking. It’s a tempting offer but… risky. I don’t want my parents eavesdropping.’ ]

“Do they tend to eavesdrop?”

[ ‘Steve!’ ]

“Alright, I’ll stop.”

[ ‘We’ll just see each other tomorrow.’ ]

“Of course we will.” He smiles. “As long as uh… the search for that Byers boy isn’t still going on. Heard they’re grabbing everyone in town.”

[ ‘Yeah. Well, it’s not just for him, l mean they’re looking for the Henderson girl too.’ ]

And there it is again.

The horrible, aching feeling in the pit of his stomach.

“S-Stephanie?” The air got trapped in his lungs (Why was it so hard to breathe?). “I thought Will just went missing?” It was just him, right? There’s no way she went missing too. And at the same time no less. “Right, Nancy?”

[ ‘No. From what it sounds like on the news I just overheard, she gave him a ride home, but her car was found abandoned with his bike in it. So… as of now, we have two people missing.’ ]

Stephanie’s really missing? Once again he’s asking himself that it shouldn’t hurt this much, right? It’s not like they’ve been acquitted in years, so–

[ ‘Steve? You there?’ ]

“Uh, um, N-Nancy I… I think I hear my parents. I… I-I got to go.” He said, slurring his words and could practically feel the strange look she was probably giving him right now.

[ ‘You okay?’ ]

“Y-Yeah. I’m… I’m good, I– I think it’s time for dinner.”

[ ‘Isn’t it kind of late for dinner now?’ ]

“Oh, you know, we Harringtons like to have it late. So, uh, pfff– I’ll see you at school tomorrow. Have fun studying.”

[ ‘Steve–’ ]

He hangs up the phone before she questions him anymore.

It just doesn’t make sense. They’re not friends any more so…

.

.

.

Why does it hurt so much?

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

The rain was coming down like a monsoon. Thunder was starting to rumble, lightning was lingering around waiting to strike. Speaking of waiting… The Byers were on their couch, rummaging through photos that touched their emotions.

“Jonathan, wow. You took these?” Joyce asked, amazed by them. “These are great.” She got her son to crack a smile. “Wow, they really are.” Then came the sniffles again. “I-I know I haven’t been there for you. I’ve been working so hard and… I-I just feel bad. I don’t even barely know what’s going on with you. All right? I am so sorry about that.” And then the sobs started coming from her child. “Hey, what is it? What is it, honey?”

He shakes his head. “Nothing.”

“Tell me. Tell me.” Joyce urges, rubbing his forearm. “Come on. You can–”

“No. It’s just…” Jonathan’s blank expression broke. “I s-should’ve been there for him.”

“No. Oh, no. You can’t do that to yourself.” She shakes her own head and gives him a gentle squeeze. “This was not your fault. Do you hear me? He is… close. I know it. I-I feel it in my heart.” She clenches the left side of her chest. “You just have to… You have to trust me on this, okay?”

He nods while leaning into his mother’s touch. “Yeah.”

“Oh, look at this.” She says, picking one where it was just Will and his cute smile. “Look at this one.” It makes them both quietly laugh. “I mean, that’s it, right?”

“Yeah. That’s it.” He smiles sadly. “W-We should… see if Ms. Henderson had any photos of Stephanie. Maybe we can make a poster together.”

“That’s a good idea.” And the phone rings and she shoots off the couch. She prays and prays it’s good news as she yanks the phone off the receiver. “Hello?” She answers, which happened to be nothing but static. “Hello? Lonnie? Hopper? Who is this?”

Then her whole world gets thrown around when she hears breathing. “Will?” She chokes, eyes widening. “Will? It’s Will!”

Jonathan was by her side in a split second. “Mom, it’s Will?”

“Who is this?!” Joyce screamed when growling came on the other side. “What have you done to my boy? Give me back my son!” And whoever was truly on the other side, replied by shocking her with electricity. She shrieked and threw the phone away, her son picking it up right after.

“Hello? Hello, who is this?” Jonathan asked, the silence making him furiously hit the phone box. “Hello? Who is this?” He finally hangs up, turning towards his hysterical mother. “Mom, who was it? Who was it, Mom?”

“It was him.” She sobbed, as she was taken in his arms.

“Look at me, was it Will?”

“Yes!”

“What did he say?” Jonathan choked, as his mother reached for the phone, hoping they were still connected.

“He just breathed. He just breathed.”

“And was someone else there?”

“I–”

“Mom, who was there? Who was it?”

“It was him…” She wraps her arms around him, knees almost buckling at the emotional exhaustion. “I know it was his breathing. I know it was his breathing.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Meanwhile, in the deep depths of the forest, drenched head to toe, the trio was shouting until their lungs hurt, hoping to find any one of their loved ones. 

“Will!” 

“Stephanie!”

“Byers! Henderson!”

“Anyone?!”

Lucas sighs. “Guys, I’m starting to feel like this is hopeless.” 

“Don’t be a big sissy.” Dustin says, getting ‘the look’.

“I’m just being realistic, man.”

“Well, stop being realistic! My sister and Will are missing, and they’re fine.” They have to be. He doesn’t know what he’ll do if they’re–

“Maybe…”

“Lucas!” Mike scolded, getting a shrug.

“What?” Lucas snapped. “I’m just saying. I mean, did any of you ever think Will and Steph went missing because they ran into something bad? And we happened to be going to the exact same spot where they were last seen? And we have no weapons or anything?”

“So?!” Dustin scoffed. “If it was any of us in their place, my sister and Will would be busting their asses trying to find us!”

“Really? How would you know that?”

“I just do!”

“Shut up!” Mike yells, facing them. Their jaws closed and he shushed them quietly. “Shut up and listen.” And then there was a faint sound of rustling. “Do you guys hear that?”

And then the rustling got louder and louder, the boys spinning on their heels and waving their flashlights around for any signs of life. Just as thunder roared and the spotlights moved to another side, that’s when they were practically blinding a person.

Although it was not Will or Stephanie.

It was another child, barefoot and in a shirt that was practically a dress.

Staring in amazed and confusion, the boys weren’t sure what to say except,

“What the hell?”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

|| THE NIGHT BEFORE ||

The lights flickered back on with an audible gasp. 

She heaved the strange tasting air into her lungs, eyes adjusting to the bright world before it completely went dim, like an eclipse was happening just overhead. Before she could question where she was, she felt someone tug on her jacket and gasp themself.

Stephanie whipped her body around, catching the sight of the young boy who was now having a bit of coughing fit. “Will?” She says, taking the boy by his shoulders, relieved to see him.

“S-Steph?” He choked, taking a moment to look around with his big cocoa eyes. “What just happened?”

Well that was the million dollar question. What actually happened?

She takes a moment to finally look around herself, realizing they were in the… same spot? Yeah… the same spot. They were still inside the shed, still holding the shotgun, but the only difference was no… what can you even call that thing they encountered?

“We’re still in the shed. But it’s…” Will crinkled his button nose at the sight. “Gross.”

Steph swallows, blue orbs landing on the door. “Stay behind me.” She lets herself push open the shed door slowly, heart beating like crazy as she luckily met with no scary creature. She shivered at the sudden drop in temperature. “Jesus, It’s freezing.”

The outside world seemed to be encased in a blue hue, the places around seemed to be tangled with vines and covered in something sticky. There was also a white powder that looked like snow, raining down from the dark skies above. A sky that didn’t even have moonlight like it did a few minutes ago.

Holy shit… She thought, before feeling around her head, worriedly. She then locked eyes with him and asked, “Did you hit your head when we crashed?” He shakes his head, fueling her emotions. So they weren’t dreaming or having a concussion. So what even is this place? 

Where the hell are we? And in the distance…

A creature snarled…

.

.

.

While waiting for his orders from his master beyond.

(TBC)

A/N: 😬🤭🫣

-Taglist is Open-

@ladygrey03 @poppet05 @tooearlyforthis @lovesfics @lordzzz

@mirkwoodshewolf @sadbitchfangirl

[mirkwoodshewolf]

Already this is a STRONG start into a great stranger things fic. Can’t wait for more chapters

Should We Stay or Should We Go? || Prologue

-A ST Rewrite Feat. Steve Harrington x Henderson!OFC-

Main Masterlist || Series Masterlist

🎲Summary: On the night of November 6th, 1983, Stephanie Henderson decided to walk her little brother’s friend, Will, back home. However… they never arrive. Now, Dustin, Mike and Lucas must band together to find out what happened. Meanwhile, Steph and Will must fight for their survival in this nightmarish version of Hawkins.

🎲Chapter Summary: When they interlocked their pinkies none of them ever expected the weirdness that follows the years after. None of them ever expected to start growing apart. None of them ever expected the red string to stay attached. And none of them ever expected that they would be out saving the world with a baseball bat and wings. Yeah... you can’t make this stuff up.

🎲Pairings: Will x Platonic!OFC; Dustin x Sister!OC; Slow burn! Steve x Henderson!OFC (Ex-bestfriends to Lovers); Slow burn! Byler

🎲Rating: Teen-Mature

🎲Word Count: 921 (Small Introduction)

🎲Date: 3/6/24

🎲Warnings: Angst; Swearing; Implied Broken Friendship

🎲A/N: Extremely small chapter, hence why it's just the prologue. I just wanted to show my readers what the big picture is of this story, which is the Steve x OC relationship. However, just like above, this will contained the loving sibling relationship of Dustin, and even Will, between OC. This story also contains Jopper (a personal fav), Jancy, Mileven and the slow burn of Byler (I got to give this boy some love and if you think Will has been a background character for the last few seasons like I have then don't you worry! I'm giving Will a time for him to shine throughout this fic). Anyway, don't want this paragraph to be longer than the actual chapter. Lol. Enjoy!

Pinky Promise.

It’s a bond between two people, a vow that’s taken so it shall not be broken. Childish, you know, but to a small kid it means everything. When they locked their pinkies together, muttering their promises to one another, they both had barely turned five, barely ready to take on the world head first. 

But a promise was a promise— Yet a pinky promise was so much more. It holds so much more weight than crossing your heart or giving a handshake. 

At least it was to these two very best friends…

.

.

.

“Wow.” The blue eyed girl said, genuinely surprised (She can’t even believe their conversation is so calming in a situation like this). “That explains so much. And… you never mentioned that to me before?”

“Well, can you blame me?” He asked, with a small smile and laugh. “I think it kinda does. I think, like, right out of the gate, like, I’m super confident. But I’m also, like, an idiot. Which is just…” He shrugs. “I mean, it’s a brutal combination. But, I mean, the good news is, I get a big enough thump on my head, I can change, you know? I can learn. I can crawl forward.”

She noticed his pace was slowing, and his brown eyes of his were becoming distant. “Steve?”

“Listen–” He stops them both, face looking like a lost puppy now. “I guess what I’m trying to say in a really stupid, roundabout way is, um… is thank you.”

She tilts her head, confused. “Thank you?” She watches him nod, adding fuel to her emotion. “For...?”

His face softens. “For giving my head the biggest thump of its life two years ago.” He chuckles. “Nancy, you know, she gave me the push, but you, Stephanie, gave me the thump I needed. It’s changed my life. And now I’m crawling forward in a way I never thought I could achieve. Slowly.”

And now he’s frowning, looking down at himself, engulfing himself in the glum. “I just wonder sometimes... you know, if... if I had just opened my eyes before I met Nancy, would things have been different? Like… part of me thinks we would’ve made it without our relationship falling apart.”

“Steve–” She croaks, teary eyed and shocked.

“And… you know what the craziest… most messed up part of the story is?”

“What?”

His lips curled up just a bit. “Remember the dream I told you about? About the Winnebago? Seeing the country with my six lil’ nuggets? It’s all true. Every last word. But… the mess up part?” He swallows, also getting emotional. “The mess up part is when I first thought of that dream… is that… you’re there. You’ve always been there.”

“Steve–”

“And that…” He smiles. “That’s my pinky promise to you, Miss Stephanie Henderson.”

.

.

.

The creature shrieked above, its claws waving around frantically –trying to get a nick out of him– as he held it back with some piping. He watched the pupils go all ‘cat-like’, fangs coming out that he swears were growing with each scream. 

He was struggling, he knows this, and he knows he has to buy the kid some time to get a radio signal out to his girlfriend, but he was slipping, fuck it. However, he knows deep in his heart he can’t back down from this.

His jaw clenched and his eyes flash with determination. “I don’t care what you’ve become! I ain’t leaving you, Henderson!” He shouted, hoping his words would get through to her. “That’s a pinky promise.”

.

.

.

“I’m helping you and Dustin out.” He insisted, knowing damn well that she didn’t even want him near her brother, let alone near herself.

She sends him a look, skeptical, on edge. “Why?”

“Look, I know you don’t want to talk–”

“Damn, right.”

“Steph.” He says, stepping in front of her way to get her attention. “We’ll just put this on the backburner. Right now, and I mean it, I just want to help you and Dustin, keep you guys safe. Pinky Promise.”

.

.

.

“Steve–”

“I’m not going anywhere.” He says, while playing with his hands, nervously, worriedly. “Not until I know you’re okay.”

She frowns apologetically. “You know that might be a while.” 

“I know.”

“I have Dustin and my mom, you don’t have to stay here.”

“I know.” He breaks eye contact. “But what if I want to?”

That made her chuckle. “Well… if you want to.” She says, making them both smile. “Fine sleeping in a chair?”

He nods. “If that’s what I’ll have to do.” He replies, making her hum.

She raises an eyebrow. “Is that a pinky promise?”

“Yeah.” His expression grows. “Pinky promise.”

.

.

.

But what if you break it? The promise? What if you don’t follow through? That is the unfortunate part of this story. The promise was to stay together forever, to make their friendship last a lifetime. For them, they were two peas in a pod, polar opposites that still attached themselves to one another… until they couldn’t.

When the boy decided to become a King, the girl became a peasant. The boy was showered with love and affection, and the girl was on a quest of loneliness that became bitter.

This was a story about Steve Harrington and Stephanie Henderson.

A story, where no matter what happens, the red string still stays attached to their pinkies despite their attempts to take it off.

This was story where the two of them decided to save the world–

Their families–

Their friends–

.

.

.

And their friendship.

(TBC)

A/N: I was so surprised when everyone was asking to be added in just a few short days. Makes me really happy :D

.

-Taglist is Open-

@ladygrey03 @poppet05 @tooearlyforthis @lovesfics @lordzzz

[mirkwoodshewolf]

once again another FANTASTIC platonic DD fic and with symbiote reader damn this had me HOOKED since the first sentence. Please add me to this tag list and can’t wait to see what’s in store next for this mini-series

They're Gonna Taste My Venom

-The DD Trio x Symbiote!Teen!Reader-

Main Masterlist || Part Two || Part Three

🕷️Summary: Due to their expansion in their business, the trio decides to hire a helping hand to help string things along. The girl is… a little quirky, Karen admits, Or Foggy notices she’s a bottomless pit for snacks, Or that Matt can hear her talking to herself quietly sometimes. But it’s nothing they can’t handle– Oh, no! Now she just bit someone’s hand off, she’s speaking in a deeper tone, and she’s apologizing profusely as she hangs from the ceiling. She might be way out of their league after all.

🕷️Pairings: DD Trio x Platonic!Teen Reader; Karedevil; Foggy x Marci; Teen!Reader x Platonic!Venom

🕷️Rating: Teen-Mature

🕷️Word Count: 6,305

🕷️ Date: 2/21/24

🕷️Warnings: Implied Bad Homelife; Mention of Blood; Canon-Typical Violence; Interrogation; Kidnapping; (Underage) Drugging; Heavy Language; Heavy Dialogue; Mention of Cannibalism; Mention of Body Parts Being Torn Off; Mention of Eating Someone/Biting Off A Limb (Via: Symbiote). READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!

🕷️ A/N: Hello, dear readers! Welcome to my three part series of an idea that I have no idea where it came from. Lol. Seriously, this strange AU just popped into my head and I was like- "Man, maybe I should make that my next fic?". And BAM! Here it is! Hopefully it's good as I imagine it would be. Enjoy!

These past twelve months have been… something else. The snap that lasted for five years messed up everything that the troublesome trio worked for, which was to rebrand their business: Nelson, Murdock & Page. But hey, I guess in a… morbid(?) sickly? depressed? way, it did work out in the end. Business was pretty much booming, especially now that everyone who blipped was trying to get their homes or anything else they own back under their names and care. Now, not to toot their own horns, but they say they’re pretty good at multitasking. 

Until…

They weren’t.

As they get busier with each passing day, the trio realizes that they’re stretching themselves so far thin that it’s starting to affect them. So after some intense conversations, they decided to hire a helping hand.

Y/N L/N. 

Their new assistant that was just shy of seventeen and on her way to graduating high school. She was nervous, of course, when they first met her, but the nerves soon settled and she turned out to be a very charming person that they all agree they loved to have in the office. She was extremely helpful and willing to learn, always on her toes when they needed something, always organized and had everything ready when they had a case or a client coming in. None of them could ask for a better person in the position. Even though the girl was… 

Well…

Kind of quirky.

Like she always prefers it cold, no matter what the temperature is. Karen notices she was barely wearing anything when they first met. It was in the middle of winter, and the girl was just wearing an oversize sweatshirt and a thin beanie. At first a bit of a motherly instinct took over and wondered if the poor girl just didn’t have anything to wear at home, or maybe couldn’t afford anything. Y/N eventually apologized and laughed saying that she just prefers this weather more than the heat. But despite that, Karen did gift her a warmer coat that the teen decided to wear (even if it felt forced).

.

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that Miss Page.” Y/N said once she was handed over the nice coat. 

“Please, I insist. I know you said you like the cold, but I would rather not see you sick.” Karen said, as the girl smiles and nods, promising to wear it until Spring.

.

Then it was the food. Now, Franklin Percy “Foggy” Nelson loved to eat just like any other person out there. But if there was an eating competition to suddenly spawn inside his office he would surely lose to his assistant. The kid was… a freaking bottomless pit. Just as Karen had suspected Y/N might be on the poor side, Foggy thought the same when he brought take out for lunch and the kid nearly ate everything on the table. She did it in a mannerful way but still (He’s surprised she didn’t inhale the table). So out of worriedness he started bringing her lunch, and the one day he forgot, she brought her own “five course” meal of sandwiches and sides.

.

“Maybe… she’s just a growing kid.” Karen once said as he shook his head.

“Don’t girls go through puberty early? There’s no way Y/N’s still growing.” He boasted as the blonde tried another excuse that he shot down quickly. “Nope! Matt! Can’t you tell?”

“Foggy, Matt is not about to smell nor hear if the poor girl is going through puberty!”

“Karen, come on–”

“NO!!”

.

The conversation ended up being wrapped up and placed in the back of the shelf for now, but occasionally it’ll come up when the girl polishes off something huge by herself (And everytime Karen proceeds to hit Foggy over the head with her shoe as Matt tries not to laugh).

Then there was the human lie detector, Matt Murdock and his tales of Miss L/N. When he first met her of course he was a little on edge, I mean he was still learning to not leave his guard up all the time after promising Foggy and Karen he was going to do better and be trustworthy. The girl was nervous during the interview, but managed to win over their hearts about halfway through yet…

Matt couldn’t shake what his senses were picking up.

On her first day of work she seemed cool as a cucumber, nothing to worry about. However her heartbeat was… strange. It was pulsing like any other healthy human being, but there were times where it would randomly accelerate. Like she would just be stapling papers together and it would pick up speed like a racehorse. A few times he feared she was having a heart attack before it went away. 

The other thing he notices, and to follow Karen’s observation, the girl does tend to run rather hot. And when she does she would either shed off an extra layer or turn the tiny fan on her desk in the middle of a snow storm. 

.

Hmm, maybe she’s just a natural furnace. He told himself once, recalling that his father was someone who always seemed to stay warm (but even he wasn’t crazy enough to go outside half dressed in -10 degree weather).

.

Then lastly, he realizes the girl likes to talk to herself quietly. At first he thought maybe she had an earbud in and was talking to someone, or maybe she was mouthing the lyrics of a song but… no. Sometimes it’s even hard for him to pick up what she’s saying ‘cause she’s so quiet, but the couple times he does hear her it sounds like she’s scolding herself.

.

Matt tilts his head, slightly zoning out on the conversation him and his partners were having as Y/N was in their kitchenette. From the smell of it she was making herself coffee and muttering and even jerking at something or someone that wasn’t even there.

“Shut up, I’m not eating that– No I’m not– You’re not either.” He hears her eye roll and almost sighs. “You’re not going to die, stop being a baby– Don’t call me the baby, you numbnut– Hey, you fucking bastard, I’ll–”

And then he kind of tuned out when he noticed Foggy was asking him a question.

.

A million different scenarios went through his head of what it could be. One that he’s just sticking with right now is she’s just a very imaginary kid. The other lingering thoughts weren’t so innocent. Someone’s home life could affect certain things. Maybe it’s–

“So what shall we do to celebrate?” Foggy said out of the blue in the present day. The sun was out shining, the weather was cool and just right, everything was blooming peacefully just as Spring should be. The blond looked between the two perplexed adults before gasping. “Don’t tell me you all forgot?”

Karen glanced in Matt’s direction, lost as well. “Uh, remind us again?” She asked, sheepishly.

“Oh, come on guys! It’s our anniversary!” He throws his hands in the air. “This marks the full year of the grand reopening of Nelson, Murdock & Page!”

Matt’s eyebrows shot up above his glasses in surprise. “Is it April 24th already?”

“Yeah! A full year, baby! We fucking did it! We brought this extinct beast of a place back to life.” Foggy exclaims, making Karen laugh. “We need to celebrate.”

“And how so, Mr. Nelson?” The woman asked, curious to what he had to say.

“That’s what I’m trying to find out. Maybe a nice dinner and a club.”

“Aren’t we too old for clubbing?”

He raises an eyebrow. “Who says that?”

“Says the guy who pulled his hamstring running up the stairs.” Matt quips with a grin, as Karen hides another laugh in her hand. 

“Hey!” 

“Half-Joking.” Then he perks up. “Y/N is here.”

“Already?” Foggy looks at his watch. “She’s really early.”

“Do you think something’s wrong?” Karen asked, mother henning again. “Matt?”

“I’m not picking up on anything.” The blind lawyer replies, truthfully. “She’s coming. Relax.”

The teenager opens the door, her usual blouse and skirt with her backpack on her shoulder. She looked like she was in thought as she greets them with a smile. “Good morning.”

“Morning.” Matt and Karen greet in unison as Foggy cracks the ice.

“Hey, Y/N/N. You’re early.” 

“Uh, yeah, sorry. My building’s power went off and I couldn’t cook anything so I just went to a diner. Guess I overestimated how much time I needed to eat.” She replies, her heart steady. “Is it okay if I start early?”

“That’s fine, there’s probably not much to do though.” Matt says, as she sets her stuff down on her desk.

“Whatever you got I’ll do.”

Foggy’s concern washes away and goes back to his bubbly self. “Are you free tonight, Y/N?”

“Um… yeah. Why?”

“Well, today marks our anniversary of getting this place up and running again and we want to celebrate with maybe dinner at least. Our treat.”

“Dinner?” The teenager looks concerned. “Are you sure it’s okay for me to tag along? I’m just your assistant.”

“Nah, don’t use that talk.” He waves her off. “You’ve helped us a lot these past few months. You’re one of us. Right, guys?”

“Of course she is.” Karen said, her red lips curling upwards. “We would be all over the place if you hadn’t helped organize when we got so overwhelmed.”

“And customers are always complimenting you on how wonderful you are with them.” Matt adds, making the teenager blush.

“Yeah, kiddo. You’re great.” Foggy says, throwing his arm around her with pride. “Keep this up for a few more months and… maybe we’ll add your name to the plaque.” 

She laughed. “Your business will officially be a mouthful to remember.”

“Hey, it was mouthful before Karen came in, we might as well keep rolling with it.” He shrugs. “So what do you say? Dinner at least?”

“I can do dinner.”

“Fantastic! Where shall we go?”

And that was pretty much the only thing they talked about for the rest of the day.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“Are you sure this is the right address?” Foggy asked for the third time tonight as he hitched along for the ride. He was the person you called a… backseat driver (but he has every right to do so at this point).

“Yes, Foggy. I’m just following the directions on my phone.” Karen replies, slightly irritated, but also a little bit worried (like she’ll admit that to him just yet).

“‘Cause this is a really bad neighbourhood.”

“I know, Foggy.”

“Is it really that bad?” Matt asked, after listening to his surroundings. He didn’t really hear that much going on outside the vehicle.

“It’s… extremely sketchy.” Foggy says, with a sigh. “It’s like one of those places they tell you not to go after dark.”

“That bad?”

“Yeah, and we close pretty late. Do we really make Y/N walk through this?”

Matt’s eyebrows raise up, amusement on his face. “Sounds like someone’s going to be her chauffeur soon.”

“Don’t tempt me, Matthew. I’d consider. Or we all pitch in and buy her a car.”

“Sure she knows how to drive?”

“Or better question–” Karen cuts in while making another turn. “Maybe you should talk to her parents first about this concern before we start gifting our assistant with stuff? Maybe she’s not allowed to have a car? Or even to drive?”

“What seventeen year old isn’t allowed to drive?” Foggy asked, confused.

“I mean, I wasn’t allowed to drive at all until I was an adult.”

“What? Why?”

“Foggy I was what you called uh… ‘wild child’, I’m not exactly a saint you know.”

Foggy sighs and flicks his attention to the backseat. “Matt, would you have driven a car if you could?”

“Who says I haven’t?” The blind man replies with a grin that made Foggy not want to question it.

The blond man throws his hands up. “I give up. Naysayers, all of you.”

“What are we ‘naysaying’?” Karen asked, with a chuckle.

“I’m not saying anything.”

“Oh my god.” She shakes her head and parks the car along the curb. Just as she was about to snatch her phone off the dash, a report came up. She quickly reads over the headline and frowns. “Hey, did you hear about those people who disappeared a few days ago? Rumors saying they were special forces?”

“The ones that were going door to door down on 36th?” Matt asked, hearing about it on the news and even word about it at night. Even some criminals he ran into that night thought it was strange and found them suspicious. 

“Yeah, those. Apparently they just turned up. Parts of them.”

Foggy’s face scrunched up. “Ew.”

“Someone hacked them up?” Matt asked, worried about a possible new killer on the loose.

“The strange thing is, no. From what it says here it looks like their limbs were chewed off.”

Foggy made a gagging noise now. “Ugh. Great. Now we have a cannibal in the Kitchen. That’s just great–” He opens the car door. “More reasons to get Y/N a car.” His friends shake their heads and get out also.

“You know, you’ll make a great father one day.” Matt says, getting the middle finger.

The three of them buzzed themselves into the building, going up to the second floor to the third apartment in. It wasn’t as luxurious as the apartment Foggy shared with his fiancée, but it was definitely on the same level as Matt’s: -Not-in-the-safest-of-places-and-was-the-“cheapest”-on-the-block- They definitely felt wary of wearing their nice and expensive clothes out here.

Karen was the one who knocked and got a response.

“She’s alone.” Matt said afterwards, getting the woman to check her watch.

“I guess her parents work the nightshift?” Foggy said, slightly worried. They didn’t get the chance to talk about it when the door swings open. The teenager opens up a nice, simple purple dress paired with a blue jean jacket and flats.

She smiles. “Hope you found the place okay.” She replies, greeting them and locking their door behind her. “Seriously, you guys didn’t have to drive to get me.”

“Oh, we don’t mind.” Karen says, honestly.

“Are we still planning on dinner?”

“Of course. You hungry?” Matt asked, making her laugh out of embarrassment.

“Heck yeah, I am.” She said, making them giggle.

“Well then, after you, Ladies.” He gestures for them to go first.

“Oh, such a gentleman.” Karen replies, starting the trek off, smiling and pulling their assistant along for the ride.  

They started chit chatting about the place they were going to go, Foggy boasting about how good the food was the last time he went (Now frank that was pre-blipped, so fingers crossed it’s still as good as back then). As they started descending down the stairs, Matt’s cane unfortunately got caught into a hole that was forming in the wood and was falling forward. To his surprise, Y/N was the one to react extremely quickly and place her hand on his chest to stop his fall.

“Shit, you okay?” She said, as he regained his balance from her strength.

“Uh, I’m…” And then he trails off when he catches a whiff, the smell of dried blood just beneath her fingertips. The chilling part of this was that it was NOT her blood. He swallows, and forces a smile. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks for the catch.”

She frowns apologetically. “I’m sorry, I probably should have warned you about the stairs. They’ve been falling apart for a while. If you stay to the left you’ll miss most of them.”

“Noted.” And then they continued again with Matt being careful…

.

.

.

And it was not just about the stairs.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“Sure I can eat anything?” Y/N asked, as she scanned the menu over again.

“Of course, our treat.” Karen reassures for the hundredth time.

“I know it’s your treat, and I appreciate it. But–” She flips the menu towards them. “Have you seen the dollar signs for this place?”

“Well, I can’t exactly ‘see’ anything.” Matt replies, feeling his assistant give him ‘the look’. He hoped he sounded sarcastic and not rude (he was trying to push away what he smelled earlier and enjoy the night (And not be a paranoid freak again).

“Mr. Murdock–”

“Matt, kiddo.” Foggy says, lightly tapping her shoulder. “How many times did we tell you you can drop the formalities? It’s been months.”

Y/N blushes. “Sorry, habit.” She replies, only to mumble something under her breath two seconds later that everyone kind of ignored. “I’ll shut up and figure out what to eat.”

“That’s the spirit.”

The group eventually ordered their food and soon slipped into a nice conversation. Between some fun exchanges between the law trio or funny memories from their childhoods, it eventually led to laughter.

“I never realized how big your family was, Foggy.” Y/N said, intrigued by the chaos of the Nelson family.

“And I swear it just keeps growing. It’s a little baseball team at this point.” He replies, smiling.

“Does anyone else have a sibling?”

“I had a brother, but he’s passed.” Karen explains, with a sad smile.

“Only child.” Matt replies, with a head tilt.

“What about you, Y/N? Any siblings?”

She shakes her head. “Just myself. I kind of wish I had a sibling though. It does get lonely at home sometimes.”

“Well… it’s not too late to ask your parents for one.” Foggy jokes, half heartedly; It causes Matt to nearly spit out his drink, Karen scolding him and Y/N chuckling behind her hand. “Don’t kill me! It’s just a joke.”

“Franklin Nelson.” Karen warns like she was his nagging mother, and kicks his shin.

“Ouch, Karen, geez.”

Y/N smiles, amused. “I don’t mind, really.”

“But still, most people I meet here want more than one kid. I’m actually surprised you’re an only child, Y/N.” Matt said, being honest, which suddenly got her heart rate to pick up, but not in the racehorse kind of way he had been hearing. The teenager had stayed quiet for a moment before she shrugged, trying to shake it, or them, off.

“My mom’s not really in the picture anymore, not for a long time actually. I just really have my dad, but he’s always working. So, to be honest, I’m on my own. I don’t think he even realizes I have a job.” She replies, taking the last sip of her drink while avoiding eye contact. She could feel the concerned stares on her making her feel uncomfortable.

“Y/N, that’s not right.” Karen said, worriedly.

“It’s… fine. I’m used to it, you know?”

“Just because you’re fine with it, doesn’t mean it is.” Foggy replies, brows pushed together, distress wrinkles forming. “You know, if something’s up or wrong, you can tell us anything. We’re here for you, you know?”

“Not everything though…” She said, frowning (Her heartbeat picking up again, which was enough for Matt to start questioning what she actually means).

Just before anything else could be said, the waiter came over to drop off their refills and took the empty appetizer plate away. “Your food will be out shortly.” He said, and they thanked him.

“Man, I’m starving. The wait better be worth it.” Foggy said, after a second.

“I know, right? I know it’s been awhile, but I don’t remember it taking this long.” Karen admits, stirring the lemon around in her ice tea.

Y/N starts to take a sip of her new drink and pauses, like halted to an immediate stop. Matt picks the way her whole demeanor changes from nervousness to anger, and mutters, “It’s coke. It’s fine…”

What are you hiding, Y/N? Matt wonders as he takes a sip of his own beverage, worried out of his mind for what could be happening to her. What was happening at home that you didn’t even want to talk about it? 

But as soon as that red wine tickled down his throat he immediately knew something was wrong.

He couldn’t even taste it or smell it, but he knew there was something mixed inside that wasn’t supposed to be in there.

He immediately feels all his remaining senses start to go wack and before he could even say a word, Y/N beat him to it.

“Hey! We have to throw up!” She says, shooting up to her wobbly feet. “The drinks were–”

And then she proceeded to crash back into her chair, her face falling onto her dining mat. Karen calls out her name before passing out as well.

“Uh… M-Matt…?” Foggy calls out, struggling to stay awake. “W-what just…”

Matt hears him render unconscious as well and tries to fight it off the best he could, but he knew it was useless when his whole body started to grow numb, and he cussed under his breath from it.

.

.

.

And the last thing he sensed was their waiter standing over their table smiling like the cheshire cat.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

When the four of them came to, they all had splitting headaches that made it almost hard to even realize where they were. Tied to individual chairs and under some “interrogation” lighting in some strange, seemingly unknown, building.

“Ugh… where are we?” Karen asked, looking around with a slight squint.

“Warehouse district.” Matt replies, after a split second of analyzing. “I recognized the smell.”

Foggy clears his throat before whispering, “Uh, Matty, might not want to out yourself to our assistant here yet.”

The blind vigilante completely forgot that Y/N didn’t know his secret and held his tongue. Luckily, it seems like she was preoccupied with her worries, making some weird faces only two people present could see. Well… maybe a third now because some random ass man wearing what looks like tactical equipment (minus its helmet) comes in through a door.

Baldy (yeah we’re calling him that) looks disgusted and rather annoyed to even be here, as he stands before each of them before spewing, “Where is it?” 

Yeah, no ‘Hi’, ‘Hello’, or ‘Good Afternoon’, just straight to the fucking point that nobody even knows what it’s about. 

The adults looked at each other, going into overprotective mode.

“Who are you?” Matt asked, ready to start listening for clues (and silently try to get out of his restraints).

“Not any of your business.”

“Why are we here? Why did you need us?”

Baldy said nothing, instead directing his attention to the bound teenager. “Where is it?”

Y/N blinks, clearly confused. “Where is what?”

“The thing.”

Another blink. “What thing?”

His jaw clenches, irritated. “The thing you stole from us.”

She scoffs. “I don’t even know who you are.”

“For fuck’s sake–”

“What is going on?” Foggy cuts in, bitterly. 

“Who are you people?” Karen asked, same expression as his.

“The people who want our stuff back.” Baldy replies, shrilly too. “Our boss has been desperately looking for it ever since it went missing. We know she has it.”

“How do you know she took it?” Karen asked, maternal mode kicking in once more and ready to throw hands if necessary (I mean, did this guy even have any evidence?).

“Her school was required to go on a field trip to our company, and soon after, our… subject disappeared and we know one of those kids took it. Took us a while, but we finally tracked down who it was.” He jabs his finger at the girl. “You.”

“Y/N–” The blonde woman looks her way.

“Subject?” Matt asked, turning the interrogation around. He feels everyones’ gazes on him now as he tries analyzing the situation. “First you say ‘thing’ and now you say ‘subject’. Are you saying Y/N stole a person?”

“Matt–” Foggy warns under his breath, urging him to tread carefully.

“I wouldn’t call it a person.” Baldy said, feeling the blind man’s intense stare.

“Then what is it again?”

“Matt–” Karen tries now.

Baldy holds his tongue. “Listen, Blindly–”

“So what’s this ‘subject’ Y/N supposedly stole?” Matt pressured, feeling the man’s blood spike.

“You need–” He pulls his gun out. “To shut the fuck up.”

“Matt!/Hey!” Karen and Foggy yelled in unison, their racing hearts pouncing in their friend’s ears. But the Murdock stays as calm as he could be, tuning them out to focus on the gun on hand.

“I would hold that spicy tongue of yours, and let ME do the talking.” Baldy continues, getting silence as an answer. “Good. Now–” He redirects the barrel at the teenager. “Talk.”

Y/N’s eyes widened just as the adults started yelling again.

“Hey!” Matt snarled, thinking the gun was going to be trained on him the whole time. He tries giving the most intimidating look he could muster with his blind orbs showing. “Don’t fucking point that at her.”

“Yeah! You really gonna kill a kid?!” Foggy snaps, getting the man’s attention.

“What the fuck’s wrong with you?!” Karen adds, making Baldy’s eye twitch at their comments.

“Listen, motherfuckers.” He snaps, a craze look on his face. “I will do whatever needs to be done. If that includes bathing my hands in red, then so be it.”

She shakes her head, furious. “You’re a sick, twisted, human being, you–”

“I’m sorry…” Y/N blurted out of the blue, suddenly looking really pale and distant. Her boss unknowingly hears her heart start picking up like a rabbit, and her blood pressure starts spiking (not to mention she was starting to run like a furnace).

Badly looks her way again and scoffs. “What? You scared?”

“Not of you, but for you.” She swallows. “You really might not want to point the gun at me, it’s upsetting him.”

He tilts his head, confused. “Upsetting who?”

“You need to leave.” She pleads, her (Y/E/C) eyes starting to change to an odd color.

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Seriously, leave, please–”

He starts to sweat and presses the gun into her head more. “What are you fucking talking about?!”

“Leave! He’s–” Then her body stood stiff, and her fingers started to twitch, and then… her voice got super deep. “I’m pissed off.”

The trio widened their eyes at how scary and inhuman she sounded, which was enough for Baldy to start panicking, thinking of the worst. 

“Enough with the theatrics!!” He snapped, trying to regain control. “I’m–” 

And then nobody expected this next.

If you told anyone you were going to watch the girl get engulfed in black goo, and a monstrous face to form in her place then they wouldn’t just bat an eye and walk away because it sounded like insanity.

It became even more insane when the face suddenly bit the man’s forearm off clean and swallowed it whole, along with the hand pistol.

An ear piercing scream erupted from the back of his throat as blood pooled from his remaining limb. He stumbled backwards as the substance from her body disappeared, Y/N reacting with a look of horror on her own features.

“Oh, my god!!” She screamed. “Oh, my god! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!!”

“What the fuck!!!” He yelled back, baffled just like everyone else in the room.

“I’m so, so, so sorry!! I told him not to do it! He never listens!! I–” 

Then a black tentacle comes out of her skin and whips the man into a wall, causing another scream from her and even the trio. The adults could only just watch/listen to it unfold, no clue to what’s happening.

“Oh, my god– Fuck!!” Y/N says, shutting her eyes shut tightly like she was in pain. “I told you not to do that!! Why did you– Ah!!”

Her bosses watch as her body stiffens again, eyes glassing back over to purple before slowly fading to white. Then, the tentacles came back out to smash the chair she was in, bringing her to her knees. The goo was started to cover her form again, prompting her to ask the question,

“Venom… What are you– Saving your life. And theirs too.” 

Then the door bursts open again, this time with a crowd of other people dressed just like Baldy, except that had a little more artillery. Suddenly, the trio watches as Y/N jumped and dangled from the ceiling, the red lasers immediately pinpointing on her.

“FIRE!!” Someone shouted, and the bullets started flying.

Then their little assistant disappears again, replaced by the face with big white eyes and a wide mouth full of spike, and a tongue that was licking its lips with delight from the bullets ricocheting off of him. Karen screamed at the sound, and they all buried their faces into their shoulders for protection just as the beast let out its battle cry.

It started crawling faster towards the crowd, hunger in its face before it suddenly stopped halfway. The beast let out a huge sigh, muttering, “Fine.”

It then started grabbing whatever it could get a hold of and fling it towards them like a game of extreme darts. One by one they started to fall, one by one they were getting broken ribs and blacking out, one by one they were–

Then a flash grenade was suddenly underneath it and exploded.

The beast roared in pain from the sound, the goo vibrating and then dissolving at the snap of fingers, causing the teenager to resurface and fall to the floor. 

Matt definitely heard her ankle snap from the fall despite his own ears ringing, and called out her name. The girl cries out, and hugs her leg as she squeezes her eyes shut to block the tears from flowing. Just as the noise started to settle, it was about to become a whole lot worse. Just as the last remaining attacker was about to shoot the poor girl dead, with Karen and Foggy shouting their pleas, the vigilante managed to to unloosen the last knot from his wrist, springing to his feet and chucking the chair straight at him.

Matt lets out a breath he was holding before his instincts kicked in again. He quickly unties Foggy from his chair, saying, “Get Karen.”

“Right.”

He sprints over to the girl, getting down to her level. “Y/N?”

She lets out a groan, cracking open her eyes, slight shock upon seeing him. “M-Matt?”

“Hold still, I’ll pick you up.”

“H-How did you get out? Or throw a chair so accurately?”

Well shit. 

He really wasn’t thinking about his secret ID at that moment. Just the thought of making sure his assistant wasn’t going to die on his watch.

He bites his lip. “Y/N, I’m–” His gaze snaps towards the door where he could hear footsteps approaching. A lot of them. “Shit. There’s more. We have to–”

“I-I have to get you out.” She croaks, rolling herself to be on all four. “It’s my fault you’re involved in this.”

“Y/N, you broke your ankle, you can’t do anything else.”

“But…” She groans again and then slowly lobs her head in his direction, a smug tugged across her lips. “But I insist, Mr. Murdock.”

And before he could say a word, the beast reappeared and lifted him straight off his feet, along with Karen and Foggy who yelped in surprise. Suddenly they found themselves running at an incredible speed, prayers leaving their mouths just as they broke through a window and free falled down.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Not even sure where they ended up but it was completely unoccupied and covered by the shadows of the night. The beast had set the weathered adults down against the wall before doing the same; the body disappearing back to the teeanger who fell right on her bum. She lets out a shaky breath, closing her eyes like she did earlier, trying to hold the pain in.

“Oh, my god, Y/N, your ankle.” Karen manages to say once the shock ran out (And that was for a while).

Y/N smacks her lips, grinding her teeth, replying, “I-It’s fine. It’ll be fine in a minute. I advise not looking.”

“What do you mean?” Foggy asked, eating his words as he witnessed her ankle snapping right back into place causing him to gag and avert his gaze. “Oh, hell…”

“T-Told ya.” She mutters and then sighs. 

Silence fell over them, the trio all kind of looking at one another before deciding it was time to address the elephant in the room. Or whatever that thing was.

Foggy clears his throat, shifting his weight around. “So…”

“I’m sorry.” Y/N said, opening her eyes and looking at them with guilt. “I… I never wanted you guys to see that.”

“Well, I can see why.” He mumbles, getting a smack in the shoulder by Karen. “Ow!”

“So what is it?” Matt asked, straight to the point and curious, actually (and concerned too now that he’s realized this girl’s got no control over whatever it is). 

Another sigh as Y/N pushes herself to stand. “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean?”

“Exactly that. I don’t know.” She crosses her arm uncomfortably. “I went on a mandatory field trip for school to this lab, and… some of my classmates begged me to go ‘behind the scenes’ with them. I honestly didn’t know what to expect, except that the only thing back there was this container with a tiny blob in it.” 

She frowns. “One thing led to another and it broke, but I had no idea that… this blob got absorbed into me.” She throws one of her hands up. “I honestly thought I was going crazy for several days when I could hear shit in my head, and when my appetite went through the roof. And then…”

“Then… what?” Matt said, sensing her discomfort.

“I got mugged. Well… attempted mugging until… Venom came out.”

“Venom?” Karen asked, eyebrow raised.

“That’s… what he calls himself. The thing you saw.” Y/N starts nervously playing with her hands. “Anyway, the mugger didn’t do much since– you know– uh…”

“Let me guess, he bit the guy’s arm off?” Foggy says, as she shrugs.

“More like… above the neck…” Then she gets the shocked stares again. “Okay, in my defense, I have no control over that. I didn’t even know that Venom attached himself to me. I…” She groans. “I just ran away after that! I didn’t know what to–” She then pauses like she is listening.. “You what? – You finished him off?”

Now it was her turn to have her pupils blown wide. “When? I don’t remember you doing that? – You did it when I was asleep?! – Oh, ho! That is not consensual whatsoever! We talked about this!” She scowls. “No, you quit complaining, you parasite!”

Y/N groans again, this time into her hands. “Ugh! He’s so annoying sometimes!”

“This is the strangest thing I think I’ve ever witnessed.” Foggy said, running a hand through his locks. “And aliens attacked New York.”

“Technically, Venom’s an alien.”

“Oh, my god.” He holds the sides of his head. “It’s ‘Invasion of The Body Snatchers’.”

“Foggy.” Karen tries to get him to calm down.

“So you just decided to live with this… Venom guy?” Matt asked, not really sure how to ‘perfectly’ respond to this situation. I mean for the many years he’s fought in Hell’s Kitchen, he’s never experienced something like this before.

“It’s kind of hard to get rid of him. He’s… persistent, I’ll give you that.” Y/N replies, with a small smile. “If I’m being honest, it was around the time you guys accepted me for an interview. I was more worried about acing that than dealing with a vicious conscience.” Then it fades. “Homelife not exactly… easy, so I guess it was nice to have someone to talk to. In a crazy kind of way.” A sigh. “I had no idea that he was important.”

“Are you going to give him back now that you know?” Karen asked, worried at what might come if she doesn’t.

“That’s the thing, If I give him back, they know who I am, and you saw what happened tonight. They’ll kill me no matter what.”

“Like hell I’m going to let that happen to you.” Matt says, confidently as he places a gentle hand on her shoulder (he could hear her pulse spiking at what she had said). “We’re going to figure this out. Don’t you worry, Y/N.”

She shakes her head. “I-I can’t ask you to do that.”

“Then don’t ask me.”

“You almost got hurt because of me! I’m not letting you put your life on the line for me. I can figure this out on my own.”

“Y/N, I’m a lawyer, you should know by now I don’t take ‘no’ for an answer easily.” His lips tug upwards, trying to make the best reassuring look he could make. “I’m going to help you–”

“We’ll help you.” Karen corrected.

“Yeah. We’ll help you, don’t you worry.” Matt faces his old roommate. “How long’s Marci out of town for?”

“Uh, next week. Six days to be exact.” Foggy says, after quick thinking.

“Good. We don’t have to worry about her safety.” Matt goes quiet, using his senses to figure out where they are before they move. “Alright, let’s go to my place.” He gestures for everyone to follow, his friends were, but not his assistant who was perplexed.

“Wait.” She blurts out, stopping them. “Shouldn’t we try finding somewhere else? It might not be smart to go to your own home.”

“It’s fine. It’s where we need to be for our next step.”

“Next step?” She asks, watching him start walking away again. “Which is…?”

.

.

.

“There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

(TBC)

Stay tune for the next parts! || Part Two || Part Three

-Taglist is Open-

[mirkwoodshewolf]

Could I ask for a peter quill x fem reader where reader is like a teenager or almost a teenager and she joins the Guardians and what if it's revealed that reader is somehow Quills sister or daughter (whether reader knew all along is up to you)

your fanfic request has JUST been posted hope you enjoy it anon :)

[mirkwoodshewolf]

Family matters; Peter Quill x teen reader

*Author's note*

Well this request had been sitting in my inbox for awhile and I hope the anon who requested it is out there somewhere in the deep space of tumblr because I finally came around to writing it. It took some time due to life, work and moving houses during the holiday season but finally I was able to sit down and write this oneshot.

So as with any marvel oneshot there are some warnings of swearing, violence, and alluding to SA and r*pe but not on reader but a side character. So if the last warning triggers anyone just know it's not physically named but it is mentioned so I wont be butthurt of you wish to leave the story and not continue reading. Other than that I hope you all enjoy my darlings :)

Taglist:

@plethora-of-things

@waddles03

@psychosupernatural

@jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels

@queen-paladin

@gay-and-ready-to-cry

@queensdivas

@austynparksandpizza

_____________________________________________________________

“How is it that everytime I come up with a plan we always get what we want? But whenever it’s you who comes up with the plan, we get captured?!” Rocket exclaimed as he dangled upside down along with Peter.

“I already told you it was a face off!” argued Peter.

“And we’ve told you that a face off is a trap if you’re facing off against a stronger opponent!” Nebula snarled.

“It was a pretty convincing plan at first but now I agree with Rocket and Nebula, Peter.” Mantis said.

“You are a dumbass, Quill.” Said Drax.

The Guardians of the Galaxy had decided to help aid Thor in the case of the slaughtering of Gods.  Shortly after they had parted, they came across the Aztec God temples but were soon ambushed by the Knights of Huitzilopochtli.  Thinking he could go against the Aztec God of War, Peter decided to meet with the God himself in what he liked to call a ‘face off’, however Huitzilopochtli had no interest in making any sort of bargain or peace treaty, instead he now had Rocket and Peter dangling over a lava pit while Nebula, Mantis and Drax were bound in chains by their wrists and ankles on top of stone tables.

He would first sacrifice Rocket and Peter to lava pit, but not before cutting out their hearts and feeding them to his prized jaguars.

“Quill, if we get out of this alive I swear I’ll rip your face off!” Rocket snapped as he wriggled in the chains.

“Yeah, yeah and even if we die you’ll still rip my face off. Just-just—let me think.” Huitzilopochtli’s servants soon brought up three large cages that each contained a jaguar pacing aggressively in their cages.  Hungry for blood.

“Let the ritual begin!” Huitzilopochtli proclaimed.  The drums began pounding as the chanters did their ritual chant.  Soon the Jaguar Knight came forward with a five inch steel dagger in his hands.  Suddenly a metal wire shot out and knocked the dagger out of the jaguar knight’s hands.  He let out a jaguar-like hiss as he looked up only to be kicked in the face by a young woman in pure black and grey metal suit that fit her like a glove.  A metal knife suddenly extended out from the wrist gauntlets and she cut both Rocket and Peter free from their chains.

“Come with me if you want to live.” The mechanical voice from her helmet said.  It was all a blur to the Guardians, the rescue happened to fast they hardly knew that they were escaping.  Metal and rock had flew across the air and soon the jaguars had been released and were attacking anyone close by, devouring their flesh and feasting on their hearts.

When the Guardians finally got back to their ship and took off Mantis turned to the young woman and thanked her.

“We are grateful for your help in rescuing us.” The young woman touched the side of her helmet and it let out a hiss as it unhooked itself from it’s hinges and she removed her helmet to reveal a young teenage girl with what appeared to be a cybernetic gears infused around her left eye and across her forehead (almost like a circlet).

“No problem. Although I didn’t expect to go saving the Guardians of the Galaxy.”

“Okay first question, how much for the cybernetic circlet on your head?” asked Rocket.

“Rocket!” Mantis and Peter exclaimed.

“What?!”

“Hate to tell you this Rocket but this high-grade of metal is infused to my body.” She told them.

“Never stopped me before.” Shrugged Rocket.

“I am Groot!” Groot snapped.

“I think the main question is how did you know we were down at that ritual chamber?” asked Nebula suspiciously.

“Like I said before I didn’t. I originally went to Huitzilopochtli for a faulty deal on some priceless metal my mom had struck a deal with him. My aunt was originally going to take the job but I offered to go in her place. After all, no one suspects a young girl to do any harm, right?”

“That’s the ploy I’ve done in the past.” Said Nebula.

“After securing the right metal and making the point to never cross Zaofu again, that’s when I heard the drums and I saw you guys about to become his prized jaguar’s next meal. Lucky for us, those beasts don’t have any real loyalty to him.”  

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on just a second there kid. You said you came from Zaofu? As in the Zaofu?” asked Rocket in awe.

“The very same. Unless there’s another planet in the galaxy by that title.”

“What’s Zaofu?” asked Peter.

“Oh-ho! Next to Nidavellir, Zaofu is the second greatest planet to ever exist. It’s home to some of the strongest and rarest metal in the entire galaxy. I would very much like to go there.” Rocket boasted.

“He’s right.” Said Nebula.  “The metal from Zaofu is not only said to be the strongest but also the most durable. It’s where—Thanos gained some of my parts to make me better than Gamora.” She said looking down at her arm.

“I thought I had recognized that material. That’s our regenerative metal. Able to put itself back together no matter how extreme the damage. But we’ve only ever used that on people with birth defects or amputees. Had my mother known that it went to Thanos of all people, she’d never would’ve agreed. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. I’ve gotten used to it.” Nebula shrugged.

“I have to ask though, what is the Guardians of the Galaxy doing at the Temple of Huitzilopochtli? I mean I know you guys are willing to protect those throughout the galaxy but I didn’t think that included Gods of War.”

“It’s a long story.” Peter started off but Mantis said.

“We’re helping Thor with the God Killer.”

“Mantis!” hissed Nebula.

“What? She seems trustworthy.”

“God killer huh? That’s the first I’ve heard of it. I would’ve thought nothing could touch those deities.”

“So we thought too, but then we received a message from one of golden boy’s friends and apparently someone is literally slaughtering gods left and right. Already over 300 of them have been killed.” Explained Rocket.  The girl let out a low whistle and said.

“Hog-monkeys. Well if you’re going up against an opponent like that, you’re gonna need something a lot stronger to fight and protect yourselves with. Cause if you though old Huitzilopochtli was bad, you haven’t seen anything yet.”

“You saying you’re allowing us to come to Zaofu?” asked Rocket.

“If you’re still up for it.”

“Well let me ask the captain about that, oh yeah it’s me. Yes we’ll go!”

“Rocket how many times do I have to say it I’m the Captain.” Hissed Peter under his breath.

“You know you really shouldn’t talk that way about your Captain, Quill. By the way, you never told us your name girlie.”

“Oh right how silly of my. The name’s (Y/n) Beifong. Daughter of High Lady Suyin Beifong of Zaofu.” She introduced herself.

“Wait, Beifong? You mean the richest family in the galaxy Beifong?” asked Rocket.  “Say, do you think once we get you home and return the metal you’re people have been swindled out of, we could probably get a little reward for our part in the trade?” (Y/n) chuckled and said to him.

“Slow down there Captain, let’s just get back to Zaofu and talk to my mother about this. She’s the one in charge of the economy.” And with that the Guardians set course for the planet Zaofu.

It was a beautiful planet of green and earth all over the landscape.  Lakes and rivers so crystal clear, they reflected the very sky itself and it’s two suns gave plenty of light but no heat to the land.  As the Guardians soared over the land they soon came across an advanced city entirely made of metal.

“Agent to tower; this is Agent Beifong Badge #349876 requesting clearance to land. Tower guard this is Agent Beifong Badge #349876 requesting clearance to land.” (Y/n) said after punching in a few codes on the holographic pad in front of her.

‘Tower to Agent Beifong, your request is granted. Welcome home Princess.’ A male voice soon came up over the intercoms.

“Just take us West of the palace and land 50 degrees West heading 0-3-0.” She advised Rocket and Peter who nodded and together they followed her instructions and safely landed their ship on top of a large landing platform that stood just feet from a large skyscraper tower of the palace.  (Y/n) grabbed the metal from her ship (that had been piggy-backed in the Guardian’s ship’s lower decks).  Their ship opened up and they walked down the stairway and there stood to their right about ten guards all wearing the same metal tight uniform (Y/n) had on.

And just ahead of them stood two women.  One wore the exact same armor but over her left breast plate was a silver badge in the shape of a star while the other woman beside her wore dark green tunic that rested over her green pants and sleeveless shirt.  The tunic cover had a metal collar going around it with each plate slowly increasing in size before decreasing again as it came back around. 

Much like (Y/n) a circlet rested over her head and she also wore gauntlets with metal plates in the shape of pentagons overlapping each other.  Both women looked fairly similar to each other in that both had greying hair but were fair looking, although the woman in the armor had a more gruff appearance to her while the other woman had a more gentle facial expression.

The guards all slammed their fists together, the metal from their armors sounding out a loud clank as they greeted the Princess on her safe return.  As (Y/n) and the Guardians stood before the two women, (Y/n) greeted them with a head bow.

“Chief, Mother. I have successfully secured the real metal we were promised and gave our message loud and clear to the War god Huitzilopochtli.”

“I never doubted you wouldn’t. You’re one of the best soldiers on the squad, and I’m not just saying that.” the woman in the black armor said.

“I’m just glad you’ve come home safely. And with some new friends I see.” The woman in the green tunic said.

“Yes, Mother, Chief Beifong, I’d like to introduce the Guardians of the Galaxy. They were prisoners of Huitzilopochtli when I went to secure the metal. About to be sacrificed to his prized jaguars. Guardians this is my mother and ruler of Zaofu Suyin Beifong, and my aunt and Chief of police, Lin Beifong.”

“That man knows nothing about diplomacy. Always kills first and asks questions later.” Suyin rolled her eyes.

“He is the God of War for a reason Suy.” Lin told her sister and she came up to (Y/n) and took the chess from her hands.  “I’ll take this down to our research facility.”

“Yes Chief.” (Y/n) bowed to her and both her aunt and the police force walked off towards the lab.

“Now I had asked this to your daughter earlier that since we helped your daughter recover some prized and rare metal that was promised to you, don’t you think we should be given a little compensation for helping her return what was rightfully meant to be yours?” asked Rocket as he rubbed his thumb, index and tall fingers together.

“Rocket!” exclaimed Mantis.

“How about this, we’ll talk about payment if you all stay for dinner and take some rest here tonight.” Suyin offered.

“As much as we appreciate that Lady Beifong…..” Peter started off only to be politely interrupted by Suyin.

“Please call me Suyin. Lady Beifong was my grandmother.”

“Suyin. We’re kinda in a tight schedule. Apparently someone’s killing gods and we promised not-very good looking Thor that we’d try and figure out who’s behind the killings.”

“Actually I might have some information in regards to that. But in order to go up against him, you’re gonna need some of our weapons and armor. Come, join me and my family for dinner and we’ll discuss everything.” With that suggestion and offer, the Guardians accepted Suyin’s offer and joined the Beifong family for dinner.

After coming to a negotiation, Suyin had her engineers and scientists build and forge the Guardians new weapons and tech to take down any gods like Huitzilopochtli’s forces and powers.  While observing the engineers add some new parts to their ship, Peter soon heard the sound of rocks being thrown around and crashing into a wall.

He went to investigate when he saw (Y/n) bending not only the rocks but metal as well.  Shooting out a metal wire to cut apart some trees and pull their branches off, or successfully transform the large boulders into various shapes before firing them at various targets.

“I thought I was going crazy at first seeing you do all that back at Jaguar-man’s palace.” She jumped and fired one of her metal wires which wrapped around Peter in a tight cocoon sending him on his back.

“Oh Star-lord, forgive me I tend to strike whenever someone surprises me like that.” She released her wires and they zipped back into her gauntlets while Peter assured her.

“No worries, I’ve had worse done to me before.” She helped him up and he asked her.  “So I’m guessing this is a normal after dinner activity for you?”

“I like to come out here to get away from it all. Don’t get me wrong I love my family to death but—sometimes I feel like I don’t belong here.”

“What do you mean?”

“Promise you won’t go blabbing to my mom about this?”

“Cross my heart.” Peter said as he crossed his heart for emphasis.  (Y/n) extended her hand and two small rocks slowly rose up from the ground over her palm and as she slowly wriggled her fingers, the rocks spun in a gentle circle around each other in a dance over her palm.

“Believe it or not, this ability I’m doing right now. I’m the only person in my family that can do this.”

“But don’t the Beifong family have the ability to control metal?”

“It’s true to a degree. The suit of armor that both me and my aunt Lin wear, it helps them control metal but without it, they’re powerless. Ever since I was a young girl and discovered I could bend earth to my will, my mother said it was because of my father’s gift. But the thing is, my father doesn’t have this ability, nor does anyone in his bloodline. I’ve tried to ask my mother for the truth but she always tells me that it’d be too much for me to bear.”

“So you think that your mom—”

“Cheated on her real husband? I doubt it, cause whenever I did ask about him in the past, there’s always this—pure hatred in her eyes. But she always told me that who he was didn’t matter. Baatar is my real father and my real brothers and sister are here. Aunt Lin is my real aunt and I am a Beifong through and through. But deep down I get this feeling that maybe I should make that decision for myself. On whether or not I should have the chance to meet him or not.”

“I get it. Sorta. I mean I thought that when I met my dad, he’d be everything I thought I’d ever longed for. Only to turn out that he killed my mother and tried to use me to conquer the entire galaxy. He may have been my father, but he wasn’t my daddy. I learned that from my real father after he had sacrificed himself to save me.”

“That’s heavy.” Whistled (Y/n).

“Yeah, it was. But Yondu was a good dad to me.” He said as he took out his Zune player.  “So your uhh—earth bending powers, how did you discover them?” Peter then tried to change the subject before he started to cry over his memories of Yondu.  (Y/n) smiled knowing this type of maneuver (her brothers did this all the time whenever they’d try to be strong and hardcore).

“Like I said, I was a young when it happened. I was just playing with my sister Opal out by the lake skipping rocks when suddenly as I reached out for one, my hands glew this bright blue light and the rock just shot up into my palm. We were both so scared that we ran to my mother crying in fear. I honestly don’t remember much after that but my mother had my aunt teach me how to control it. Got me my first metal-bending suit and I’ve been training with her ever since.”

Hearing her mention the blue light it perked Peter’s curiosity and he asked her.

“This blue light, can you describe it in anyway? Like what it made you feel when it came to you?”

“I—I don’t know how to explain it but….I do remember it being almost like my palms were on fire, yet they didn’t burn me. It felt like—like when you touch warm sand on a beach. Yet there was this feeling of—power to it. Like I could do anything with it.” Peter’s eyes widened.

He did remember that feeling when Ego told him about his Celestial heritage and taught him how to summon the light to his hands.  No but it—it couldn’t be? Could it? Could she really be his…….

“(Y/N)! Aunt Lin says she needs to speak to you about your armor! Says she’s got an upgrade for you!” one of her brothers called out to her.  She turned and exclaimed back.

“I’ll be there in a sec Wei!” she turned to Peter and said, “Better not keep Aunt Lin waiting. She hates it when people keep her waiting.”

“Yeah, yeah I better go and talk to the team about our next game plan. Also tell your aunt thanks for letting us use some of her police weapons.”

“She may not be happy about lending our weapons to non-Zaofuians but she’ll get over it, especially since it’s going to the Guardians of the Galaxy. But I’ll give her your regards anyways.” They went their separate ways and once Peter saw that no one was around, he took off sprinting towards Mantis’ room and rapidly knocked on her door.

“Could you be any louder at knocking Peter? I don’t think the others from Knowhere heard you.” Mantis whined with a groan.

“We need to talk.” Peter said urgently.  Sensing the urgency in his tone and knowing that this was a serious matter, Mantis allowed her brother inside and she shut the door behind her as well as locked it.  “You will not believe the conversation that I just had with (Y/n).”

“Are we being taken prisoners again?” asked Mantis worriedly.

“What no! No! Look, I know this may seem out of nowhere, but I want you to tell me first about when Ego found you and tried to make you feel a connection to the Celestial light.”

“Why would you want to know about that?”

“Just trust me Mantis. Please.” She looked into her brother’s eyes and saw the desperation but also some inkling of knowledge that he was going to fill her in on the details later.

“I had lied when I had told Drax and Gamora that Ego found me in my larva stage. He had actually came for me shortly after my mother had passed. Much like when Yondu came for you, he brought me to his planet and trained me just like he did you. But when I tried to make a connection to the light, all that awakened within me was my empathic abilities. Ego then told me that even though I’d never be able to help him with the Expansion, he still could find a purpose for me. And I had been forced to convince various of our other siblings to go along with us, before he said that I would only be used to help him sleep.”

“Wow, he really was a jackass.”

“Now will you tell me why you asked me about that?”

“(Y/n)’s ability to move earth, you know how she could bend those rocks back at Jaguar dude’s temple, turns out she has a connection to the Celestial light.”

“Are you saying that……(Y/n) is our—”

“Sister? I think she might be.”

“But how? When Ego died, you lost your connection to the Celestial light.”

“I don’t know. But the way she described the Light within her hands was exactly the same way it felt with me when I made my connection to it.”

“Did you tell her the truth?”

“Yeeeeeeeeaaaaaa—no.” stretched Peter.

“Peter we must tell her the truth. She deserves to know!” Peter stepped in front of her and said.

“I know she deserves to know but at the same time we can’t cause any family drama amongst the Beifongs. (Y/n) told me how everytime she brought up about her real dad, Suyin got this burning anger in her eyes and told her that they were her family, not him. And after seeing the way (Y/n) fights against Aztec Gods I’d hate to fight against her own mother and aunt.”

“So what are we going to do?” she asked him.

“I’ll think of something. Until I do, this stays between us okay? I mean it don’t tell anyone about this conversation to anyone else, especially Drax. You know he can’t keep a secret to save his own skin.”

“I promise.” She held out her pinkie and Peter wrapped his pinkie around hers.  “Sister’s promise.”

“Brother’s oath.” Peter replied back as they shook pinkies.

After about 3 days, the Guardians were finally ready to take off to find more Gods to save and check up on.

“We can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for us Suyin.” Peter thanked her.

“It was our pleasure to help in aiding the Guardians of the Galaxy. And if you’re ever passing by this way again, our doors will always be open to you.” Said Suyin with a respectable bow.  The Guardians bowed back to her before heading back to their ship, but it was then Peter stopped midway up the ramp when he said.

“Actually, there is something else we’d like to ask for.” The rest of the Guardians paused and turned to Peter.

“And just what would that be?” asked Chief Lin suspiciously.

“We’d like to extend an invitation to (Y/n) in joining us.” Everyone but Mantis became wide-eyed.  “After our experience with the Aztec god of war, we realized that we are heavily out-manned and she managed to take down all his forces single-handedly while also saving our asses. And if ever we need a tune-up she would know more about how to fix your special enhanced metal material.”

“Quill, I only had to be with Zaofu’s engineers for only 2 minutes and I can get the hang of it.” Proclaimed Rocket.

“Still it couldn’t hurt to have an expert who actually came from the place of its origins be with us should we ever need it. Two heads are better than one right?” Suyin was stunned as she turned to her youngest child and asked her.

“This is up to you (Y/n). Do you wish to go with the Guardians?” (Y/n) looked between both her family and the Guardians with a heavy heart.  She then walked up to her mother and spoke from the heart.

“My heart will always belong to Zaofu. But from the days that I would be with Aunt Lin on missions, I have seen great suffering. Some of which has been at the hands of our own metal smuggled by black marketers. I feel like Zaofu can do more for the galaxy than we already have.” Suyin sighed as she closed her eyes.

“You are my youngest child (Y/n). And I had hoped to have you remain at my side for a few more years. But now I see that you are no longer a child anymore. And at some point, I must learn to let go. If you should ever wish to return home, we’ll be here waiting for you.” (Y/n) smiled and embraced her mother.

“I love you mom.”

“I love you too.” After embracing her mother, she stood before her aunt and prepared to surrender her badge but Lin held out her hand to stop her.

“Keep it. I didn’t make you an officer of Zaofu for nothing.” She bowed before her aunt before hugging her.  Lin smiled softly down at her and embraced her back.  (Y/n) then bid goodbye to all her brothers and sister as well as her dad before turning to the Guardians and joining alongside them.

As they entered and the ramp slid back up, (Y/n) took one last look at her family as they bid her goodbye and she wiped her hidden tears away and waved to them in return before the Guardian’s ship left Zaofu.

Now heading to their next destination to answer the next signal from some Light elves on Álfheimr (Y/n) soon spotted Peter on the upper main decks looking out into the endless starry sky.

“So what was the real reason?” she asked him.

“Huh?” Peter turned to her.

“The real reason you offered me a spot on the Guardians.”

“What are you talking about kid? What I said was 100% true. Rocket may think he’s smart but no one can really understand Zaofu metal than someone who was raised there. And…..”

“Peter, I know you’re lying.”

“What so you can detect when people are lying?”

“In a sense. My grandmother was born blind, so one day she ran off and found herself lost in a cave until she came across some badger-moles. They were blind just like her, but they used the earth as an extension of their senses. She learned out to see the world through the earth around her. Feeling seismic energy of people’s footsteps and even hearing their heartbeats through the earth. And when my mom and aunt were born, she taught it to them, and then Aunt Lin taught it to me. And last night, your heartrate was beating rapidly when I told you about my powers. So come on, out with it.” Peter sighed and confessed.

“Okay, so obviously you know how I found out my dad was a real douchebag and tried to destroy the galaxy. But before that, he taught me that being a Celestial he had a connection to the Light, and he taught it to me as well as Mantis. Even though Mantis didn’t have a connection to it, she still proved a purpose by awakening her empathic powers. As for me, I did have a connection to the Light. And it was that same connection that you said you felt when you first discovered your powers.”

“So you can earth-bend too?”

“No. I mean I did when I fought Ego, but after we had killed him to stop the Expansion, I lost my connection to the Light. Yet somehow, you still have it.” (Y/n) stared at him and slowly her harsh expression turned to shock as she cautiously said.

“Wait…….so, you’re suggesting that I—”

“Ego told me he spent eons trying to find a second Celestial to bring forth the expansion but each of his children failed him. So he had them killed. Millions of children slaughtered all because they couldn’t live up to his expectations, except me. And in a way, you. But your mom and the rest of Zaofu refused to surrender you to him. That’s probably why she never talked about your real father.”

(Y/n) was stunned silent as she fell to her knees.  She looked down at her shaky hands and Peter slowly knelt down in front of her.

“But he’s gone. He’s gone for good. We blew up his core and there’s absolutely no chance of him ever coming back. And if by some insane, unexplainable reason that he ever does come back, he won’t get to you. Because you’ve not only got your family on Zaofu on yourself, but you’ve also got us, Especially Mantis and I.” (Y/n) looked up at him and asked.

“You and Mantis are……”

“As surprising as it seems, yeah. She’s my sister. Half-sister but my sister nonetheless. And so are you.” He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and gently shook it which got her to smile.

“At least now I can say I’ve got another sister to add to the ranks.”

“Oh come on, having another big brother can’t be that bad. Especially if that brother is me. C’mon at least admit that I’m the coolest out of all your brothers.” She stood back up laughing as she walked away. “(Y/n)? C’mon (Y/n) admit it! I know you want to say it but you’re just too stubborn to admit it. Not every girl can say their big brother is a member of the Guardians, right? Right? (Y/n)! (Y/N)!!!!”

#marvel #guardians of the galaxy fandom #guardians of the galaxy fanfic #guardians of the galaxy fanfiction #guardians of the galaxy #peter quill #guardians of the galaxy imagine #guardians of the galaxy imagines #gotg #gotg fanfic #peter quill x reader #rocket raccoon #mantis #drax the destroyer #nebula #peter quill x teen reader #peter quill imagine #peter quill imagines #peter quill fanfic #peter quill fanfiction #gotg imagines #gotg imagine #gotg fanfiction #marvel fandom #marvel oneshot #mcu oneshot #mcu imagine #mcu fandom

[mirkwoodshewolf]

and the truth starts to come out. Damn what a chapter and this was a great bday gift too!! Well done and can’t wait for more chapters esp now that we’ve finally uncovered the truth about Henry.

Pairing - Vampire Henry (from the movie ‘Eat Locals’) and Fem!Reader.

Summary:

When your great aunt Ellie leaves you Luminarium in her will, you decide to escape London and start a new life in rural Norfolk. But the forest that borders the cottage is hiding secrets, and one of them is Henry, a lonely, centuries old vampire, who is not only mourning the loss of Ellie but hopes you might fill the void she left behind.

Chapter 8 - The Truth

Staring down into the shadows that pooled possessively around the cellar door, you finally decided to wait until morning to check out the room. Although your ankle felt much better, you still didn’t quite feel confident enough to risk the steep steps. Even by shuffling down on your backside.

But you had suddenly remembered the diaries you had discovered in one of the old trunks in the hall. If anything could shed some light on Henry, it would be those. If his friendship with Ellie stretched back decades she must have mentioned him occasionally. 

Exploring the trunk a second time, however, you realised Ellie had a hell of a lot more diaries than you had initially thought. A couple of old photo frames had been hiding most of them from view.  Given her age, it was inevitable that she would have amassed quite a collection over her long years, and you were excited about eventually reading them all and learning more about her. But for now, you simply took out the top four, and brought them back through into the living room. 

You bit your lip in anticipation as you cradled the first diary in your hands. It was a plain black hardback, quite a chunky A5 size, as if it contained other things within its pages. It was tied shut with coarse yellowing string and you tugged it apart almost reverently, feeling rather emotional as you opened the cover. 

On the first page was simply a handwritten date, slap-bang in the centre.

2009.

Not recent then. You would have to sort them all out in date order at some stage. But you weren’t going to do that right now. This would just be a quick flick through, just to see if Henry’s name cropped up at all. 

To your slight disappointment, the diary appeared to be less focused on Ellie’s intimate thoughts and feelings and more on her garden and the surrounding countryside. Rather like a nature journal. But there were some wonderful drawings and paintings of the local flora and fauna. You never realised your aunt was such a talented artist. There were watercolour paintings dotted throughout the cottage and you wondered now if Ellie had painted them herself. 

There were recipes as well. Nothing elaborate. Traditional country recipes. Jams, chutneys, cordials, and the likes. Things that could be bottled or stored in jars mostly, and no doubt made from what she grew in her garden or was able to forage locally. The pages were decorated with more of her charming illustrations, and you smiled down at the thorny brambles and plump shiny blackberries framing one of her jam recipes.

Your smile grew the more your read. The seasonal references, and mentions of Solstices and Equinoxes, that you knew to be part of the witching year. There were even a couple of chants and spells. Quite innocent, nothing dark, you were relieved to note, for healing, clarity of mind, even blessings for people. Your smile twitched smugly. You knew it! Ellie had been a witch! You didn’t know much about witchcraft yourself, at least outside of movies, but it sounded like she had been a Wiccan. That was more centred around the natural world. 

The chunkier pages, you quickly discovered, were the result of pressed leaves and flowers. You brought a page of pink rose petals up to your nose and inhaled, convinced you could still smell their lingering scent, though you suspected it was nothing more than wishful thinking provoked by the wine.

For the next hour or so, you lost yourself in her world. Enthralled by her vivid accounts of watching hares boxing in the fields, kingfishers soaring across the river, a lost fawn that she reunited with its mother, a dragonfly that had settled on her shoulder for twenty minutes while she had weeded in the herb garden, and even a badger set deep in the forest that she would sometimes observe at night.

All this in one diary?

The growing realisation that her world could now be yours began to overwhelm you as you turned the pages. That all these wonderful things were on your very doorstep. You could celebrate this special woman, and more importantly, pay back her unbelievable generosity, by continuing her legacy. You could even start your own nature journal. The thought made you feel emotional again, so emotional that tears began to prick at your eyes. Combined with your wine-woozy brain, the pages quickly began to blur into abstracts, and no amount of blinking would bring them back into focus. 

Yawning, you decided it would be better to stop now and resume your reading tomorrow, when the pages (and your brain!) would be clearer and you could fully appreciate every magical word.

It was only when you were flicking through the remaining pages that you thought you caught a glimpse of Henry’s name flash by. Stopping with a start, you quickly returned to the page.

The garden is looking so beautiful right now. June has always been my favourite time of year. Everything is at its peak, especially the roses. I’m used to what Henry is now but I still find myself wishing he could see the garden during the day. And never more so than in June. I can show him cut flowers in the cottage, even photographs, but it’ll never be the same. No amount of artificial light, no camera lens, can ever compete with the brilliance and shear exhilaration of real sunlight.

Though moved by Ellie’s words, you frowned, checking before and after Henry’s mention, but there was nothing more, no further elaboration.

I’m used to what Henry is now…

What on earth did that mean? 

And why couldn’t he see the garden during the day? 

Closing the diary, you stood up and returned it to the coffee table along with the others, as well as the Christmas cards, books, and notebook from Henry’s violin case, all still displaying his hand writing so glaringly. 

There was something undeniably weird about all of it. Something that made you feel…not quite afraid, but a little unsettled. There was also something else…a niggling feeling that kept scratching persistently at one corner of your brain demanding to be let in…but it was crazy…too insane a notion to even contemplate…

And when your gaze fell on his chess set at the far end of the table, and you remembered his pleasure at seeing it there, you felt quite the opposite, trembling in a completely different way.

I could teach you some moves, if you like.

You quickly shook away some x-rated imagery that had nothing to do with chess, distracting yourself with Scorch instead. He was still curled contentedly in front of the fire, so very happy to be home. 

“I bet you know, don’t you,” you whispered down at him. “Whatever this big mystery is with Henry.”

One of his ears twitched back and he lifted his head to blink up at you sleepily. 

“Yes,” you said more firmly, as if his immediate reaction to Henry’s name had confirmed it. “You two are as thick as thieves.”

***

To your relief, you slept like the dead that night. No dreams. No disturbing cries. Nothing. The wine saw to that.

Unfortunately, that didn’t stop your head pounding like a son of a bitch the next morning. When a generous glass of water and some breakfast didn’t help, you admitted defeat and took a couple of pain killers with a second glass of water, hoping it would ease the throbbing in your hand as well.

But despite your headache, you were still determined to check out the cellar, especially after that strange entry in Ellie’s diary. In fact, if the wine hadn’t knocked you out, you would probably have spent most of the night tossing and turning, ruminating it all over, trying to play detective.

You weren’t taking any chances though, putting on your trainers to give your ankle better support and ensure a firmer grip on the cellar steps. Standing at the top, you took a deep breath. “Just take it slow,” you told yourself. “One step at a time.” 

When you eventually reached the bottom you sighed your relief. It had actually been easier than you thought. More making mountains out of molehills, you despaired. 

Turning the key in the lock, you opened the door and groped to the side for the light switch. When illumination flooded the room you stepped inside.

You lingered in the doorway, feeling a little uncomfortable, because it was Henry’s room. You really shouldn’t be snooping around like this.

But this is your house now, a little voice in your head reminded. Your cellar. You were entitled to do whatever you wanted.

Even so, you still hung back, remembering Henry’s kindness. You felt like you were betraying that somehow. You were also a little wary of what you might find if you did start nosing around. You didn’t want anything to spoil the friendship that was developing (quite nicely!) between you.

You finally headed for the only thing you could actually snoop inside - the chest of drawers beside the bed.

The first drawer was almost empty, containing only a couple of cheap disposable lighters and a well thumbed novel by John Le Carre. Quite the anti-climax. Frowning your disappointment, you moved on to the next.

You smiled at the normality of it. Several neatly folded shirts, all black and patterned, similar to the one he had been wearing beneath his plum jacket, and two pairs of black jeans. Unable to resist, you leaned down and sniffed, but could detect no traces of the Henry you remembered from being in his arms. Just the pleasant lemony fragrance of fabric softener. 

The third drawer also contained clothes. T-shirts mostly. Again, all black. And underwear. You flushed at the boxer shorts. Even those were neatly folded. And black. 

I really shouldn’t be doing this! 

You quickly slammed it shut, feeling a bit of a pervert, looking into his underwear drawer.

Swiftly moving on, you decided promptly.

The bottom drawer was the only one with a tiny brass keyhole in its centre. When you pulled on its handles it wouldn’t budge. It was locked. You frowned, wondering what he was hiding in there. You would only lock something if you didn’t want anyone knowing what was inside. 

You stood up, your gaze sweeping the room again. There really wasn’t anywhere else to look. The cellar was pretty sparse. 

Moving across to his whittling table, you idly fiddled with the shavings and chunks of wood, your smile returning. Maybe you would ask Henry to carve you something. Commission him even. And insist upon paying him for his time. 

You were about to walk away when you noticed there was a tiny drawer at the far end of the table. Despite your intension to stop poking around, your curiosity got the better of you yet again. Maybe the key to the drawer would be in there.

You blinked your surprise as you slowly eased it open. Children?

The two carved heads smiled up at you. A little girl, and a slightly older boy. They were incredibly intricate for so small a size. Not much larger than eggs.

You reached into the drawer and drew out the little girl, marvelling at the craftsmanship. Her smile was so animated you could almost see the laughter in her eyes. And her tiny teeth, and coiling ringlets…how on earth did Henry manage to carve such meticulous detail. His talent was simply mind blowing.

As you lowered her carefully back beside the boy, one thing was plain to see. They were siblings. The similarity between them was unmistakable.

Who were they, you wondered, as you closed the drawer. Could they possibly be Henry’s…children? The love and dedication that had gone into every painstaking knife stroke was plain to see. 

A streak of black suddenly rushed across the room, making you turn with a start.

“Scorch! You shouldn’t be down here!”

Or maybe he came down here often. You really had no idea. But you were going to lock the cellar door again when you left and you certainly didn’t want to trap him inside.

To your surprise, he headed straight for one of the wall tapestries, one depicting a giant gnarled Tree of Life, and started scraping at the floor beneath it. 

“What are you doing, you silly old thing?”

When he started swiping at the tapestry itself, you hurried across to stop him, concerned that he might snag it with his claws.

Squatting down, you began to stroke his head, which did halt his actions. You smiled as he started to purr.

“Good boy.”

But your smile faltered when you were conscious of a sudden chill in the air. It was cold anyway in the cellar but there was a definite drop in temperature down here. 

Intrigued, you waved your hand in front of the tapestry and then along its edge. You were sure you could even detect a slight draft.

Reaching out, you tentatively pulled back the thick material.

***

Henry woke the instant he heard the scraping at the cellar’s hidden door. Staring down into the darkness of the tunnel, he frowned his concern, though he was still amused by what his heightened senses were just able to pick up.

Scorch, the little traitor.

He knew this moment - this confrontation - was inevitable, especially if you were to move forward, but that did not mean he was looking forward to it. 

Scrambling to his feet, he hurried across to a narrow cavity in the tunnel wall, where chunks of the ancient stone had crumbled away. 

Melting into its shadows, he waited.

***

A door? 

You felt a rush of excitement. 

A secret door! 

You sat back on your heels, grimacing when you ankle protested slightly at the angle.

It looked very old, the wood warped and splintered by the ravages of time, the grain discoloured from brown rot. It was narrower than your average door. Smaller too. You would have to stoop to walk through it. 

The solicitor hadn’t mentioned it at all, though he probably hadn’t known about it. But if this was Henry’s room, surely he would have. You frowned. And if he did, why hadn’t he told you. Unless he assumed you already knew.

But what did it open to, you wondered. A simple storage cupboard or another room? You quickly stood up, allowing the tapestry to drop back down and hide it again. 

Scorch looked up at you with almost a knowing look. But you were certainly not going to check out the door with him still in the cellar and likely to bolt straight through it, if the eventful chase in the forest was anything to go by. 

You stared down at him, hands on your hips. “I’m sorry, sweetie. But you’re going to have to go back upstairs.”

Scooping him up into your arms - damn, he was heavy - he mercifully accepted his fate without struggle or complaint. You smiled at him affectionately, relieved that you weren’t going to add an armful of scratches to your mounting list of ailments. 

You carried him back up the cellar stairs and through into the kitchen where you topped up his biscuits to keep him preoccupied. You were just about to return back down to the cellar when you decided a torch might be useful. You had no idea what was behind the mysterious door but you had a feeling it was going to be dark. You had seen a torch in the cupboard under the stairs a couple of days ago so you quickly retrieved it, checked it still worked, and retraced your steps. 

The tapestry was held by a weighty brass rod and you were able to pull the material across it and bunch it away to the side. 

The door had no lock, only a rather archaic latch that lifted stiffly before finally giving with a sharp thud. As you slowly opened it you were glad you had decided to bring the torch. It was pretty dark. And certainly no broom closet.

You couldn’t believe it. A tunnel?! What the hell was a tunnel doing here? Switching on the torch you pointed it into the gloom nervously.

It was narrow like the door, and its domed ceiling was low, only a couple of inches above your head. You shuddered, hoping there were no spiders dangling from it. There were far too many cobwebs garlanding the stone walls for your liking. 

You sniffed. The air smelt slightly stale, but not unpleasantly so. A bit like an old bookshop smell, musty and dry. Or secrets, you decided fancifully. If secrets had a smell.

Pointing the torchlight straight ahead, you stepped inside and started walking. Though tense with nerves, you were too curious not to investigate. You even felt a little like Alice. Only your rabbit hole was thankfully horizontal. 

You had been walking a couple of minutes when the tunnel began to widen slightly, becoming perhaps double the width. Had you reached the end?

You swept the torchlight across the wider area. It looked less like a tunnel now and more like a small cave. While the tunnel was most certainly man made, this area looked considerably more natural. 

When you saw the makeshift bed and bulging backpack beside it, you gasped and immediately took a few steps back. Was it being used by a homeless person? Oh god - or as a drug den? You searched the dusty ground but couldn’t see any syringes or related rubbish.

“Who’s in here?” you challenged, though it came out more like a croak as terror bubbled up into your throat. Your torchlight flitted erratically around the area like some hyper willo-the-wisp. “Show yourself!”

But then another possibility crossed your mind, given the tunnels connection with Luminarium, and in particular, the cellar.

Your brow twitched hesitantly. “Henry?” you said more gently. “Henry…is this you?”

You heart drummed against your ribs as you waited in the silence, stiff with fear, clutching the torch so tightly you feared you might crush the cheap plastic. 

When he stepped out of the darkness, you directed the torchlight straight into his face and he quickly brought his hand up to shield his eyes. “Hey, have a heart, pet!”

You slumped with relief at his voice, at his reassuringly familiar choice of words. “What the hell are you doing in here?” you demanded, glaring angrily as you jabbed the torch at him. You lowered it slightly. “What is this place? And why the hell didn’t you tell me it was here!”

“I had my reasons.” 

“What reasons?” You looked back down at his sad little bed and felt your chest tighten. “Why didn’t you just ask to sleep in the cellar?”

When he didn’t answer, you impatiently met his gaze again. 

“It’s a bit complicated,” he finally returned, scrubbing the back of his neck in that restless way of his. 

“Then bloody un-complicate it, because this is just…just weird. Sleeping in here like this.” You shivered, trying not to think about all those spiders crawling around.  “Where does it lead to anyway?”

You darted the torch around again. “Where’s the exit? It looks like a dead end.”

But it couldn’t be, you told yourself. Because if it was, it meant he would have to go through the cottage to get out.

You looked back at him in shock. “You haven’t been secretly creeping in and out of Luminarium, have you?”

“No, pet. Of course not. I wouldn’t do that.”

“Well, where’s the exit? I want to see where the tunnel comes out.”

“It’s sealed, for now.”

“What does that mean? Sealed with what? Another door?”

He walked across to a large slab of rock and slapped it gently. “Gaps behind here. Exit used to be larger but there was a collapse a few years back. Just big enough to squeeze through now.”

You looked at the rock in disbelief. “But how could you move this? It must weigh a ton.” 

He shrugged. “I work out?”

You ignored his smirk, unamused. “You’d need superpowers to shift that! What is it really? Some sort of winch system? Or is it on rollers?” You knelt down and traced the rock edge with the torch, but there was no sign of any mechanism. Directing the beam higher, you bounced it back and forth across the undulating bedrock, poking it into the darker corners and cavities.

“I’d like to see where the tunnel comes out,” you persisted, hesitating thoughtfully. “I’m guessing the forest.”

“I can’t.”

You stood up again. “Can’t what?” you threw back distractedly, determined to find the exit with or without his help. 

“Move it.”

“Why not?”

You peered back at him.

“Because it’s daytime,” he finally said, his tone weary but not in a tired way.

Confused, you shook your head. “So? Why should-” 

You stopped and gaped at him, remembering Ellie’s diary entry with startling clarity. The sudden silence between you was frighteningly palpable in the darkness. So heady it made you feel a little lightheaded. 

Indefinite age, aversion to sunlight. And now, apparently able to move huge hunks of rock. Your brain was screaming out the obvious answer, as crazy as it sounded, you were just too frightened to acknowledge it. It was as terrifying as it was ludicrous.

But Ellie had left you Luminarim knowing exactly what Henry was, you reminded yourself. Knowing full well that you would eventually discover what he was. That there would be this moment. 

She had wanted it to happen. 

“I’m used to what Henry is now,” you started to quote, voice trembling, heart beginning to race again. “But I still find myself wishing he could see the garden during the day.”

“What’s that, love?” he asked, his tone mollifying; desperate.

“An entry I discovered. In one of Ellie’s diaries.”

“Ah.”

“So what was Ellie used to?” you dared, trying to square your shoulders with some semblance of courage. “What are you, Henry?”

You needed him to say it. Say it first. 

“I think you already know.”

“No. That’s crazy. Impossible.” Your hands shook as you clutched the torch.

You took a step back. “Are you going to kill me?”

It was his turn to gape at you. “Kill you? What? No! No, of course not!”

“But that’s what you…that’s what your kind does, isn’t it? Kill people?”

“Not all of us.”

But you barely registered his reply, suddenly winded with a terrifying thought. “Oh my god. Did you kill Ellie?”

You knew he hadn’t, that he wouldn’t, that your mounting panic was making you babble, and regretted your words the moment they rushed out of your mouth. His face - the shock, the hurt, that flooded it - instantly answered for you. He looked so stunned, so horrified, that you fleetingly dropped your gaze, ashamed.

“Did I what?”

You quickly looked up again, his slow ominous tone making you feel genuinely afraid of him for the first time. You took another step back. 

Which he countered with a step forward.

“You think I would hurt her?” he choked in dismay, his hands clenching. “Hurt my Ellie? The closest to family I have known in centuries!?”

Anger flared into his eyes as he hurled that last, oh so telling, word at you. And that anger was as silver as starlight.

He had given you all the confirmation you needed. 

You turned and fled back down the tunnel.

****

Author's note -

Sorry I get so carried away with Ellie but I love her world so much. But now that Reader knows the truth about Henry there will be a lot more of their interactions now!

Thanks for reading!

tag list - @mirkwoodshewolf

If you would prefer to read over at AO3 -

Chapter list -

[mirkwoodshewolf]

The Devil at Your Window |2: Borrowed Scarf|

Pairing: Matt Murdock x Fem!Reader Word count: 4.4k

Warnings/Tags: 18+; fluff, flirting, sexual tension, light angst, pining, eventual smut, identity reveal, and lots of black suit Matty

Series Installment List & Summary

a/n: Another fluffy and flirty installment for this series! Some hurt/comfort coming up next for this series! Feedback is always appreciated!

Tag list: @danzer8705 @darkened-writer @keepingitlokiii @kezibear @dorothleah @sarahskywalker-amidala

Stomping your boots on the little entry rug just inside your apartment, you attempted to knock most of the snow from off of them. You didn’t want the water to pool all over the hardwood by your door when the snow inevitably melted. Even though, admittedly, the floor in your place wasn’t in the best condition to begin with. But you always thought it added ‘character’ to the apartment.

With a sigh you leaned to your right, resting a shoulder against the wall while your left hand clutched the two bags of takeout you’d just picked up. Reaching a foot forward, you gently nudged your apartment door shut with a boot before drawing your leg back towards yourself and sluggishly removing them one at a time single-handedly. Once you’d removed both boots, you placed them on the rug to dry before pushing off the wall and taking a moment to lock your front door. 

A strong, delicious scent wafted out of the takeout bags as you made your way over towards your kitchen, your stomach rumbling hungrily in response. You knew you'd gone a little overboard ordering tonight, aware there was no way you could actually eat everything you'd picked up, but you figured whatever was left could end up as lunch tomorrow at work. Everything had just sounded too good because you’d been starving when you ordered it.

Setting both bags down on your kitchen counter, you headed towards your fridge and swung the door open, grabbing a beer from off the top shelf. You twisted the cap off, tossing it into the garbage as you passed it. Taking a drink from the bottle, you opened a cabinet with your left hand and pulled down a plate, closing the cabinet door with your elbow before spinning on the spot. Heading back towards the counter where the bags of takeout resided, you set both your plate and beer bottle onto the surface. With your hands free, you immediately began to tear the bags of food open, rifling around in them and pulling out one of the burritos and setting it onto your plate. Next you dug out the container of rice before grabbing the chips and salsa, setting them on the counter before opening the nearby drawer and pulling out a spoon. In a rush to eat, especially after having made the trek around the corner to pick up your food in all the snow, you began to quickly plate both items hungrily.

Once everything was ready, you grabbed your beer in one hand and your plate of food in the other before making your way out of your kitchen and over towards the living room, leaving the mess on your counter to deal with once you’d eaten. As you began to lower yourself onto the couch, you reached forward and set your beer onto the coffee table. Settling down onto the cushions with a contented sigh, you balanced your plate of food on your lap and picked up the television remote from the arm of the couch. Impatiently you turned the TV on with one hand while beginning to unwrap your burrito with the other, too hungry to wait to eat until you’d started your show. Tearing off a large bite of food, you opened up Netflix while you chewed, fully prepared to continue binging the series you’d been watching. Though the sound of a few loud raps gave you pause before you could push play.

Swallowing down the bite of food you’d had in your mouth, your brows furrowed in confusion. It was late, almost eight o’clock. You’d been held over at the office today, and then the snow-laden sidewalks had slowed your walk home from work afterwards, making your walk take longer than usual. After getting out of your dress clothes, you’d decided you were too tired to cook this evening and ordered food instead. Which was why you were now having such a late dinner on a Tuesday evening. 

But it was Tuesday evening. Which meant you weren’t expecting visitors.

The knock sounded again and your eyes narrowed as you lowered the burrito to the plate in your lap and set the television remote back onto the armrest of the couch. That’s when it hit you. There wasn’t someone knocking at your door, there was someone knocking at your window .

Your head spun to the right instantly. Sure enough, the Devil clad in all black was standing on your fire escape. The moment your eyes landed on him, he raised a single gloved hand and waved, a smile forming beneath his mask. Eyes going wide, your mouth once again fell open at the sight of him standing there so casually on your fire escape in the cold of the night. 

It had been just over a week ago since the snowstorm that had led him to fall onto your fire escape when you’d first met him. The same night where you’d cuddled with him for warmth when the power had gone out in your building before accidentally falling asleep on him. But he’d snuck out of your apartment before you’d even woken, and you hadn’t heard from him since, even if you had seen him in some blurry photos on the news. 

But it wasn’t as if you’d truly ever expected to see him again after that strange night where you recalled staying up and talking with him well past two in the morning. Sure, you’d hoped he’d stop by again–fantasized about it maybe, especially with how good your mind kept recalling him looking in person in all that tight-fitting black. Those blurry cell phone images of him truly didn’t do him justice. But they were just that. Fantasies. The conversation had flowed and you swore you’d thought he was being a little flirtatious, but you figured that was probably his ‘thing.’ It didn’t mean anything. At least, not to him. And you’d scolded yourself repeatedly every time your brain decided to remind you of him over the past few days because that encounter shouldn’t have meant anything to you, either.

So why the hell was he suddenly standing on your fire escape now gesturing for you to open the window?

Still feeling entirely confused, you shifted your plate from off of your lap and onto the coffee table next to your beer. Rising to your feet, you made your way the few steps over to your window. As you moved, your eyes never left the Devil’s face, and you noticed how the smile never left his.

Reaching out, you unlatched the locks on your window and pushed it upwards. A cold rush of air burst into your apartment instantly and you shivered. Your eyes remained focused on the Devil’s face, a rush of questions racing through your mind as you took in the now almost cocky grin on his lips. Eventually your mouth blurted out the first question it could before you could stop it.

“What’re you doing here?” you asked him.

He raised a gloved hand up, clutching at his chest dramatically as he took a partial step back from the window. “Ouch,” he replied. “Certainly not the greeting I expected.”

“No,” you said, shaking your head as the bitter chill of the night continued to bite at your skin, “that’s not how I meant it. I meant, why are you here? I didn’t expect to see you again unless I needed saving or something.”

“Maybe I just missed my favorite space heater?” he teased.

Heat immediately flamed at your cheeks. Even if he was joking, his words still had an effect on you. And the way his smile grew into more of a smirk in the brief silence that followed wasn’t helping.

“In all seriousness I came to return this,” he said, holding up his other hand.

Your eyes darted down at the movement, not having noticed he had been holding something in his other hand. It was a bunched up ball of fabric with a bright blue plaid pattern.

“Oh my God,” you breathed out, eyes widening as realization dawned on you. “My scarf? You have my scarf?” A laugh bubbled up out of you as you glanced back up at his half-obscured face. “I wondered where that had gotten to! I thought I’d left it at the office somewhere.”

An almost sheepish smile tugged at his mouth now as he shook his head. “I uh, I borrowed it. It was freezing that night when I left your apartment and you’re right, this suit doesn’t offer much protection in general. I figured you wouldn’t mind because I intended to return it the next night, but well, I may have gotten a little…distracted with some things this past week.”

“Yeah, it definitely seems like you’ve been keeping busy from what I’ve heard in the news,” you told him.

The cocky smile easily returned to his face as his head tilted a little to the side. Your heart skittered at the sight and you tried to ignore it.

“Keeping tabs on me?” he asked. “I'm flattered.”

You rolled your eyes, ignoring the way your breath was coming in a little faster now, too. Really though, it wasn't fair how that deep gravelly voice of his paired with all those muscles and his charm could get your pulse racing with such little effort. 

“Do you maybe want to come in?” you asked him when another harsh breeze blew into your apartment. “To get warm for a moment? Or do you have some super secret vigilante business that you urgently need to attend to?”

He chuckled in response, the warm sound drawing a little smile onto your own lips. So you could still make him laugh. That shouldn't have made you as pleased as it did.

“It's currently quiet in the city,” he replied. “Which is why I had time to stop by and return your scarf. But if I'm not interrupting your evening, I wouldn't mind getting warm for a moment.”

“You're not interrupting anything,” you assured him, stepping away from the window and waving him inside. “It's not often I get the opportunity to help out Hell’s Kitchen's literal superhero.”

“Well now,” the Devil began as he slipped effortlessly through the window, “that title might be undeserved.”

You gasped dramatically, catching the smile on his face just before he turned around. His gloved hands raised up, grabbing onto the window and closing it after himself, immediately cutting off the harsh wind that had been blowing into your apartment. 

“You? Being humble?” you teased, watching as he turned back towards you still grinning. “Now that’s a surprise.”

“Are you implying I have an ego, Miss…?” he asked, holding your balled up scarf in his hand out towards you.

You reached out, grabbing the scarf from him as you shook your head and waved a finger at him. “Uh uh, no. But nice try,” you told him. “If I can’t know your name, why should I give you mine?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” he playfully teased back, “maybe so I could properly thank you for letting me steal your scarf for a week? Especially since you’re not the one going out at night committing countless crimes and actually having a need to keep your identity hidden?”

Turning, you headed back towards your coffee table to set the scarf down onto it. You’d forgotten just how enjoyable the verbal back and forth with him had been the night he’d fallen onto your fire escape. He was funny but he was witty, too. 

“You can thank me just fine without a name, Devil,” you pointed out. “Besides, you just admitted to being a criminal. Probably not a good idea giving my name out to a criminal.”

The Devil shook his head, a smile stretched wide across his face when you glanced back at him. One of your brows rose curiously onto your forehead.

“What?” you asked.

“I mean, what does your name matter when I know where you live?” he questioned. “And if you’re that worried about your safety with me, you should probably stop inviting me into your apartment to get warm as often as you do.”

You rolled your eyes, waving a dismissive hand at him. “It’s not like I’m actually worried about my safety around you,” you countered. “Otherwise I would’ve called the police on you that first night, not let you in. And I certainly wouldn’t have invited you in a second time, either.”

The Devil’s masked head cocked to the side, the corner of his smirking lip twitching. It was impossible not to stare at his mouth when everything else was covered up. Or at least, that’s what you told yourself.

“So then why did you let me in a second time?” he asked.

His gravelly voice had somehow pitched to something lower when he’d spoken–something that almost sounded borderline flirtatious. Again. And it only had the hair on your forearms raising, goosebumps prickling along your skin. For a moment you just stood there in your living room, blinking hard a few times as your brain fumbled to come up with a witty retort. In that brief hesitation, you saw his smirk grow.

“Maybe I just have a thing for strays,” you finally shot back.

His lips parted in surprise, the smirk vanishing from his face. A pleased smile made its way onto your own in return because you’d clearly taken him off guard. He didn’t seem like the type to be surprised that easily.

“Are–are you calling me a stray?” he asked in mock-offense.

His surprise had caused that deep, fake voice of his to falter when he spoke, allowing you to catch what you assumed was his real voice for the first time. You liked the sound of it.

“I mean technically I did feed you, give you water, and a place to get warm,” you joked, laughing lightly as you replied. “And well–” you gestured a hand at him standing across your living room, “–you came back.”

“Yeah,” he said, his own hand gesturing to the scarf you’d set down on the coffee table, “to return the scarf I borrowed.”

“Stole,” you corrected him. 

A mental image of him dressed in his entirely black outfit with your blue plaid scarf bundled around his neck as he jumped from roof to roof suddenly surfaced in your mind. You couldn’t help but giggle at the visual of it. The Devil took a few steps towards you at the sound, his boots thudding heavily against your worn wood floors. That easy smile was back on his mouth again.

“What’s so funny?” he asked curiously.

“I was just thinking,” you told him, “that the bad guys on the streets this past week must have thought you were trying something new fashion-wise. Or that you got dressed in the dark with you running around wearing my scarf.”

He nodded his head, a chuckle slipping out of him. “Well maybe I did,” he replied. “Get dressed in the dark, I mean. Or something like that.”

You paused for a moment, laughter subsiding as one brow rose up onto your forehead. What a curious thing to say.

Out of the corner of your eye you caught sight of the extra takeout food sitting on your counter. You remembered how he’d admitted previously that he didn’t keep much food in his fridge and you nervously began gnawing on your bottom lip. Would it be weird if you offered him dinner? You did have extra, after all. And you had a sinking feeling that when he finished his night out fighting crime–or whatever the hell he called it–he was probably not about to find something to eat.

For some reason that realization made you a little sad. How often did Hell’s Kitchen’s hero actually take care of himself? Was there even anyone who looked out for him? After everything he did for this city and the people in it, surely he deserved that.

“You know, I was actually sitting down to eat dinner when you showed up,” you began, though you abruptly quieted when he took a few steps back towards the window.

“You’re right, I noticed,” he replied, his tone suddenly serious. “I’ll let you get back to your night.”

“No, no,” you said quickly, taking a step towards him.

He stopped, his head once again tilting to the side. It seemed like he was eyeing you curiously beneath that black mask even though you couldn’t actually see his eyes. His lips were set in a straight line as he waited for you to continue, all joking suddenly gone from him. Had he really thought you were kicking him out?

“I actually was going to ask if you’d like something to eat,” you told him. “Something more than some protein bars this time.”

There was a few seconds of silence before he spoke.

“You’re…asking me to stay and eat with you?” he questioned, surprised.

“Yes,” you answered.

Another few seconds of silence passed and you figured he was pondering the offer. Then gradually, his posture changed and a smirk reappeared on that tempting mouth of his.

“Are you trying to feed me so that I’ll come back again?” he teased. “Like the stray you think I am?”

Heat flamed at your cheeks, your eyes going wide at his accusation. “No!” you answered, shaking your head. “No, I just remembered you saying you didn’t have much food at your place. And I get the feeling you skip dinner most nights because of running around the city as the Devil.”

“Well they do say breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” he countered cheekily.

You rolled your eyes at him yet again, though you couldn’t resist the smile that returned to your face as you made your way around your couch and back towards your kitchen. 

“Okay, well I’d like to make sure you’re not malnourished,” you said, reaching up into a cabinet and pulling down a glass. “Or dehydrated.”

You stepped over to the sink, filling the glass you’d just pulled out with water from the faucet. Vaguely you were aware of the Devil making his way into your kitchen as you did.

“What makes you think I’m malnourished?” he asked curiously.

You shook your head, laughing lightly. “Please, there’s barely any body fat on you,” you answered, turning off the faucet before turning around.

You almost dropped the glass of water onto the floor with how surprisingly close he had been standing behind you. Eyes going wide, you stared up at the masked face of his that was now only a foot away from yours.

“Been observing me that closely, have you?” that deep voice of his rumbled out.

Swallowing hard, both of your hands tightened around the glass of water. Your mouth felt like it had gone dry, your heart picking up its pace inside your chest. A slow, satisfied smirk twisted the corner of his mouth as he reached a hand out, gently grabbing the glass of water from your hands. 

“Thank you,” he murmured.

“Mhmm,” you hummed out.

He turned around, heading back towards your living room while taking a sip of water from the glass. Letting out a quiet exhale, you quickly ran a hand over your forehead and tried to collect yourself. He should not be able to affect you so easily.

“I admittedly don’t have much time,” the Devil called over his shoulder to you. “So I probably shouldn’t stay long.”

“That’s–” you began, shaking your head lightly as you tried to remember how to form a sentence, “–that’s okay. How quickly do you think you can eat a burrito?”

Pushing yourself off the counter you’d apparently fallen back against, you headed over to the bag of takeout where you’d left it. From your living room, you heard the Devil laugh.

“My old college roommate has asked me that far too many times before,” he told you.

“Oh?” you asked, digging through the bag for the second burrito. “So the Devil went to college?”

You glanced up at him as you pulled the neatly wrapped package from out of the brown paper bag. The amused smile was gone from his face, replaced with that serious expression once more. You frowned in response. You'd clearly done something wrong.

“I probably shouldn’t have told you that about me,” he mused quietly.

“It’s alright,” you assured him, making your way back over to him. “The number of people who’ve gone to college and had a roommate is vast. I’m not going to guess your true identity based on that alone. It’s not like you told me where you went to school or what you studied.”

You came to a stop in front of him before slowly holding the wrapped burrito out towards him. He stood there in silence, a muscle jumping in his cheek as if he was grinding his teeth. You almost felt bad for calling out his minor slip up. You hoped it wouldn’t suddenly keep him away, because admittedly you’d found yourself enjoying this second unexpected visit of his, too. You kind of hoped there might be a third one.

“I suppose you’re right,” he said softly.

Hesitantly his black gloved hand rose up, cautiously accepting the food from your outstretched one. Despite you joking earlier, he actually did remind you a bit of a stray. Especially with how guarded he became if you touched on the wrong topic, like he was ready to bolt right back out of your window if you did or said the wrong thing. 

“Why don’t we sit?” you suggested.

Making your way back over to the couch, you heard his heavy footsteps following after you. You returned to the spot on the couch where you’d been initially while the Devil sat further away from you, all the way on the opposite end of it. Trying to hide your disappointment at the obvious space he’d put between the pair of you–one that hadn’t been there last time–you picked your plate back up from off of the coffee table, setting it onto your lap. 

“So why exactly don’t you have long to eat?” you asked him cautiously.

Truthfully you were afraid the answer was because of you. Because he didn’t want to risk giving too much of himself away. Or that maybe now that he had returned your scarf, he had no more reason to be here anymore.

“Because something might be about to happen in the city,” he answered, unwrapping the burrito and drawing it up to his mouth. “And I might be needed.”

You sat there dumbfounded at his response, your hand hovering over the burrito on your plate. Yet again it was another odd thing for him to say. How could he possibly know that while he was sitting here in your apartment talking to you?

“Okay,” you said slowly, watching him tear off a large bite of his food and chew it quickly. “Do the criminals around here have a schedule you got a hold of somehow?” you asked, half-joking. “At quarter to nine this evening they’ve penciled in some nefarious activities or something?”

The Devil huffed out a laugh, shaking his head as he swallowed down another bite of food. “No, nothing like that,” he answered with a mysterious grin.

He tore another bite from the burrito in his hands, your brows both raising onto your forehead at how quickly he was making his way through it. How often had he downed burritos in college in a rush? You found yourself curious, wanting to know more about him–who he was outside of the Devil–but you knew better than to ask. Surely a single question that was a little too personal would have him running off like a scared cat. 

“Well that’s…an oddly cryptic comment then,” you told him, picking your own burrito up and drawing it towards your mouth. “But I’ll just chalk it up to keeping your identity secret, I guess.”

“Much appreciated,” he replied around a mouthful of food.

Trying to stifle the giggle threatening to slip out of you at how adorably comical he looked stuffing his face with that mask on, you took a bite of your own food and began to chew. A comfortable silence settled between the pair of you for a minute as you both ate, your mind trying to work up a safe topic of discussion. Though before you had a chance to think of one, you noticed him abruptly stiffen on the other end of your couch. Your eyes narrowed curiously at him, watching as his head darted back towards your living room window, shifting around a few times like he'd heard something.

“What?” you asked him cautiously.

Your head darted over your shoulder, looking out the same window he was. Though you couldn’t see anything.

“I have to go,” he said.

You glanced back at him and saw that he’d abruptly risen from your sofa. Brows knitting together, you quickly placed your burrito back onto your plate. The Devil started to swiftly make his way back to your window without another word.

“Wait, what’s going on?” you asked after him. 

Hurriedly, you set your plate on the coffee table before scrambling up to your feet and following after him. He spun around towards you once he’d reached your window, a frown tugging the corners of his mouth downwards.

“Someone’s in danger, I can’t explain how I know,” he said in a rush. “But I have to go. Thank you for unknowingly letting me borrow your scarf and for feeding me.” He held up the almost finished burrito in his hand, a smile briefly ghosting over his lips before it disappeared. “A second time.”

“Of–of course,” you stammered out, watching in puzzlement as he turned back around and quickly opened the window. “Are you going to be okay?”

With a grace you could never muster, he climbed back through your window, stepping out onto your fire escape. One last cheeky smirk was on his lips as he turned around and eyed you through the opening.

“Are you worried about me, Miss…?” he asked.

You bit your lip, trying to fight back the smile threatening to break out across your face. “Nice try yet again,” you told him off-handedly. “And what if I was?” you shot back. “What if someone in Hell’s Kitchen was actually out there worrying about you? What then?”

“Well,” he answered, that cheeky smirk still on his lips, “then I’d tell them not to worry about me. Because I’m a big boy and I can take care of myself.”

Lips parting in surprise at his response, you watched as he briskly turned around. And then, with a cat-like grace, he flung himself over the edge of your fire escape, burrito and all.

[mirkwoodshewolf]

You are who you choose to be; Eddie Munson x reader

Well this is probably the first update of the new year idk but this idea's been buzzing around my head over the weekend and it took me just a couple of days to write it all down. Now awhile back someone mentioned a SKY HIGH AU! With Eddie Munson, now that got me thinking 'hell yeah I loved Sky High growing up and yeah I love the idea of him potentially being like Warren Peace with fire but then again, what if I took it another direction, and made him a waterbender/bloodbender'?

I won't give too much away you'll just have to read on to find out but here you guys go. Now some warnings since this is a MA style of super hero fics.

Warnings: swearing, bad parenting, kidnapping, mentions of r*pe (not on reader or any of the main cast of characters but it is mentioned so just heads up), some angst, and a bit of fluff.

Taglist:

@plethora-of-things

@waddles03

@psychosupernatural

@gay-and-ready-to-cry

@jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels

@queen-paladin

________________________________________________________

Lunchtime at Hawkins Academy was always a hustle and bustle.  Everyone in a rush to grab the first chocolate pudding cup or be the first in line to get their lunch and meet their friends.  But when those students all have some type of super-power, you know there’s bound to be trouble.

Thankfully I managed to get my lunch just before the first wave of students got there (minus those with super speed or teleportation) and I was the first person to reserve our table.  As more students came piling into the cafeteria I soon spotted the first group of my circle of friends.  I waved them over and soon they came over.

“Hey (n/n) surprised to see you here first.” Said Robin.

“Hey when it’s double stuffed crust pizza day I’ve gotta be first. Or at least be after the speedsters and teleporters.” I told her.

“I hear yah, although I don’t understand how you can stomach all of that grease.” Said Vicki.

“I told you not to eat the double stuffed crust at Giovanni’s. You eat that bad pizza and it scars you from pizza forever.” I reprimanded her.

“I just don’t see how either of you can stomach dairy products or anything meat wise. Don’t you know that I’ve been half of those animals?” Robin lectured us.

“Yes Robin we know.” Who would’ve thought that being an animal shapeshifter would turn a person into a hardcore vegetarian.  Even though Robin’s got this laid-back, snarky, sassy attitude, she can be pretty hardcore when it comes to vegetarian products needing to be enforced.  Hell I remember last year how she and Steve nearly tore their friendship apart from their Meat vs. Veggies menu planner for the school lunches.

“I swear if I have to hear coach Boomer scream at me one more time, I’m not only gonna need some hearing aids by the time I graduate, but a titanium skeleton.” Steve said as he and Nancy soon came walking side by side.

“The coach on your case again, Harrington?” asked Robin as they sat down.  Steve to Robin’s left while Nancy sat beside me.

“More than that. Think his last sonic boom he gave me made me throw my shoulder out. Probably gotta skip my next class just to go see the nurse.” He said rubbing his shoulder.

“So Nance, how’s your brother and his friends coming along so far?” I asked her.

“I’m told Mike, Dustin and Will got put into Hero Support while Lucas and Max were placed in the Hero class.”

“Damn, see this is why I hate the Hero vs Hero Support system of High school. Those boys have been together since preschool. And Max really got in with the guys when she joined them back when they were in 7th grade.” I said waving my spoon around before dipping it into my pudding cup and taking a big chunk of pudding into my mouth.

“Mike and Dustin don’t seem to really mind it. After all Mike still hasn’t really gotten his powers yet.”

“Still?” I asked incredulously and Nancy nodded.

“And I’ve tried working with Dustin’s powers but the glowing thing it-it—I’m sorry but it’s not a power. No matter how many times he says it is.” Steve said.

“Do you think we should offer them a place to sit here? At least for today?” I suggested.

“I wouldn’t worry about it. Seems your boy’s already heard the news and has offered a few spots at his round table.” Robin teased as she gestured behind us.  A few tables over was what everyone deemed ‘The Mizfitz table’.  A table where hero or sidekick could sit equally without the forced conformity being placed over them.

Running the table was one of the more infamous students known to Hawkin’s Academy, Eddie Munson.  On the outside he may look mean and scary with his many tribal tattoos, his wild, unruly mane that he calls hair, or the many rings he sports on his fingers.  But he’s one of the most powerful Water-benders this school has ever known.

I had seen for myself how when he was first placed in the Hero class, he actually managed to pull water from the air as well as from the plants that had been made by another student to create a water cloak (basically creating a barrier made of numerous tentacle-like arms).  However it wasn’t his Waterbending skills that got people talking, but his heritage.

You see while most of the students here are either the sons and daughters of either two heroes, or one hero and civilian, Eddie Munson was the child of both a hero and a villain.  His mother, before her passing in childbirth (or so I’m told), was known as Lunar Eclipse with the power to use the light of the Moon to push and pull the tides and bend water to her will.  His father, however, that’s what marred Eddie Munson as a villain to everyone in Hawkins, and not just here in school.

His father’s name was Alan Munson aka The Puppetmaster.  A man with the ability to control the water in another person’s body, enforcing his own will over theirs.  He ran the town’s deep underground criminal ring and got away with nearly every trail until the one that my Father actually worked on.  Thanks to him and his two partners, they were able to put Alan Munson away quadruple life sentences.

But even though it was my father’s ‘daytime job’ that put him away, the times I’ve interacted with Eddie were never hostile.  In fact he seemed glad to be rid of his father.  His uncle (who never got his powers) ended up raising Eddie after his father had been sent to jail.  And Eddie has said that he’s never felt more happier than he’s been since being raised by his uncle.

And I also won’t deny that for the past few years I’ve been secretly harboring a crush on the ‘bad boy’ of Hawkin’s Academy.

“Really (Y/n)? I can’t understand why you’re falling for someone like him?” Steve asked as he ate his banana.

“Oh leave her alone Steve!” Robin shoved him. “Let our little (Y/n) fawn for her blood-bending bad boy.”

“He doesn’t blood-bend! He hates it when people assume he does!” I snapped at her.  Everyone looked at me wide-eyed as I sat back down and felt my face burning up.

“Boy you’ve got it bad.” Nancy told me.

“Shut up! I just hate it when people judge him based on his bloodline. I mean hell Steve, just because you’re the son of The Commander and Jetstream didn’t mean that at first you were the humble idiot you are today.”

“Hey!”

“She is right. You were a douchebag back in the day before the whole Vecna thing happened our 3rd year.” Robin said.

“Yeah, and even when we were dating at the time all you talked about was yourself or which freshman you were going to give the first swirly to.” Nancy chimed up.

“Alright, alright yeesh. I know I was a real asshole back then. No need to rub it in.” Steve said as he went back to his banana.

“If you like him so much, why don’t you ask him out?” asked Vicki.

“I—I don’t think he’d ever want to go on a date with me.” I said fiddling with my pudding.

“Is it because of your dad putting his dad away?”

“Actually no, they talk pretty much anytime they cross each other. All on friendly terms, perhaps a bit too friendly.” Nancy teased as she poked me in the ribs to which I let out a squeak and punched her in the arm.  She rubbed her arm and I said to Vicki.

“What I mean is, I don’t think I’m his type. I mean he actually has powers, I’m just a girl who can do acrobatic skills.”

“(Y/n), you’re the daughter of Daredevil—” Robin spoke but I interrupted her.

“Adopted daughter.”

“Details. My point is, Eddie is like the King of non-conformist. If he didn’t want to date you because of your lack of powers, then he’s a hypocrite. And that’s about the worst type of villain you can ask for. Well except for corporate, misogynistic pricks that try to force women who they should love or what they eat.” Vicki took her hand and gently squeezed it.  Robin took a deep breath and rested her head onto Vicki’s shoulder and the two cuddled close to each other.

“Just think, that could be you and Eddie if you grow a pair and talk to him.” Said Nancy.  I turned over towards the Mizfitz table and saw as Eddie was being his usual animated self and the guys all around him were laughing at whatever story he was spinning.

“How can he also be so adorable just by getting animated when telling a story?” Nancy and Vicki giggled at my statement while Robin and Steve rolled their eyes muttering lowly.

“Oh please.” I kept my eyes on Eddie and I swore for a brief moment I saw him look straight back at me and give me a wink to which I blushed and gave him a small wave.

By the end of the day it was now my last class and one of the other classes I shared with Eddie, Heroism Athletics.  Today’s practice was the traditional ‘Save the Citizen’ where two people could either be Heroes or Villains and the heroes only had 2 minutes to stop their villains and save the citizen before they were killed.

So far the reigning Kings for the past three years were the Heroes Tommy Hagan and Billy Hargrove, however if you ask me those boys are far from what you would call ‘Heroes’.  Steve used to hang with Tommy back in the day and Tommy practically poisoned Steve’s mind with arrogance and ego.  But when Billy came along and knocked Steve as the ‘King of Hawkins Academy’, Tommy ditched Steve and teamed up with Billy.

And when it came to ‘Save the citizen’ those two did everything in the book to cheat.  Even when someone would call out to Coach Boomer about an illegal move, he’s merely brush it aside unless the attack was directed towards him.  Like before, Tommy and Billy were slaughtering the villains that were Mako and Bolin.

“Those brothers really do know how to bend Earth and Fire together.” Eddie’s voice soon came up beside me.  I jumped at the sudden voice to which Eddie raised his hands in surrender, “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”

“No, no it’s-it’s okay. Yeah I was just lost in the match.”

“I get it. Now I’ve seen those brothers bounce back at the last second, hopefully they’ll knock those douchebags down a peg or three.”

“Yeah. God knows they deserve it. It’s not every day you see a horse with two rear-ends.” Eddie gawked and let out a laugh.

“Damn you’re brutal. Remind me to never get on your bad side.” We then watched as the brothers had been defeated and the citizen had been saved.  Tommy slamming the mannequin down to the floor like she was a football and chest bumping with Billy as the students all cheered.  I turned to see Mako help his little brother stand up and the two hobbled away.  “Looks like a healing session is in order for Bolin before Hellfire tonight.”

“Hellfire? Is that your band name or something?”

“Actually yes it is. Since Jeff and Gareth moved out of the state, turns out Bolin plays a wicked drum solo and Mako’s not half bad on bass. We’ve got a gig coming up this Saturday. You should come see us.”

“Really? You’re inviting me?”

“Of course. I mean it’s not the Garden but gotta start somewhere right? Plus we do get a crowd. Of about five—drunks. At least with you you’d be sober.” I laughed as Coach Boomer announced.

“Alright, one last round before we clock out. Hargrove, Hagan, Heroes of Villains?”

“Heroes!” proclaimed Tommy.

“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” the coach muttered before saying in his normal loud tone, “Alright choose your villains.” The two of them looked at each other before announcing.

“Munson and (L/n).” My eyes widened as I turned to Eddie while Coach Boomer proclaimed.

“Alright, Munson, (L/n). Gear up!” Eddie and I stood up and we walked down towards the arena and put on the padding that was required for ‘Save the citizen’.  Once we came out onto the arena, we saw as the two of them smirked maliciously at us.

“Let me handle Hargrove, Hagan is all yours.” Eddie told me.  I turned to him and asked.

“You sure?” I remember how last year when Eddie and Billy fought against each other for a Hero vs. Villian exam, Billy nearly put Eddie into a coma.  He nodded and told me.

“Trust me, you don’t wanna go against Hargrove.” He rubbed his shoulder from when I had actually heard Billy break the bone that held his left shoulder in place.  “Plus, Tommy won’t expect what else you’ve been working on.” I softly grinned and we both turned to our Heroes as we stood side by side in first fighter’s stance.

“BEGIN!!” The clock began the countdown and the four of us charged at each other.  Billy flew in the air and immediately fired his laser eyes towards Eddie but Eddie created water tentacles around his arms and quickly sprung out of the way leaving Tommy and I to meet each other head on.

Tommy Hagan was a weapons specialist. Like any good back-stabbing son of a bitch, he always seemed to have any type of small sharp weapons hidden within his person.  Be it arrows, shurikens, small daggers and knives, and even flying ninja stars, Tommy is a force to be reckoned with, but when it comes to speed he’s not so good.

As he fired a few arrows toward me, I cartwheeled out of the way before doing a summersault and took out my dad’s old billy-clubs he had given to me on my 1st year here at school.  A little bit of extra protection he called it, plus it was like having the infamous ‘Man without fear’ being there at my side.  When he shot out five kunais in my direction, I used the billy clubs to block and redirect them before charging at him again but he shot out several more arrows in my direction.

Using the wall to my advantage, I leapt up and ran across and over it dodging any arrow that came my way before finally flipping gracefully right behind Tommy and finally got to use my secret move I had discovered at the end of last year.

Holding my hand in a snake-like position, I used my thumb, index and tall finger to jab Tommy right at the center of his shoulder which made his right arm go limp.  Then using my proximal interphalangeal joint of both my hands, I jab them into the center of his lower back, shoulder blades and the section where his neck met his spine.

Tommy let out a pained grunt with each jab until he collapsed to the ground and snarled up at me.

“You’ll pay for that you bitch!”

“Consider that payback for what you did to Mako and Bolin earlier.” We then heard a loud boom and I saw as Billy had Eddie pinned to the floor of the gym, his hands squeezing his throat about to choke Eddie out.  Eddie struggled to free himself but Billy’s enhanced strength was too much for him to handle on his own.

“You know the one way to stop me Munson, show them who you really are.” He sneered.  As Eddie’s choked out gasps filled the stadium I quickly threw my billy-club which made a direct hit to Billy’s head and even made him bleed.  He released Eddie as Eddie let out a series of hard coughs.  Billy raised his hand to his head and once he saw the blood, his eyes glowed red at me.  “You shouldn’t have done that, Princess.”

He then fired his laser eyes toward me but I summersaulted out of the way before racing up the walls once again.  His laser beamed eyes trailed close behind me until I had no choice but to jump off and stand on top of one of the higher platforms in the arena.  Billy flew up towards me and flew right through the platform obliterating it and sending me falling 9ft towards the ground.  But with my billy-clubs I was able to shoot one of the clubs towards the railing and swing down to the ground.

Billy landed with a large thud creating a crater beneath him and he cracked his neck.  He then roared as he charged at me but I flipped over him.  Blinded by his rage, I used it to my advantage and toyed with him until I saw my shot and repeatedly stabbed my PIJ’s up his back until he collapsed to the ground.

“I’ve seen the hardcore vigilantes be better heroes than you, Hargrove.” Suddenly I felt myself going towards the wall and saw myself being pinned by the ends of my uniform by three shurikens.  Tommy stood just a few feet in front of my and summoned out three more shurikens to sit between his fingers.

“I told you, you’d pay for that little trick.” He then threw his other arm outward and soon about a dozen arrows were heading my way.  That’s when an ice wall appeared before me and blocked the arrows just before they could skewer me like a shish kabob.  I looked to see Eddie had gotten back on his feet then he used the ice wall to create ice daggers and one by one fire them at Tommy allowing me time to pull the shuriken’s off my uniform and duck out of the way.

I took notice of the clock counting down and it seems to me that these two are pulling the same move as they did for Mako and Bolin.  Trying to tire us out to they can finish us off at the final second then save the citizen.  But what if we turned their tactic against them?  I raced towards the citizen but was stopped by Billy’s powerful fire blast creating a firewall between me and the Citizen dangling closer and closer to the razor pit.

“You’re not going anywhere.” He snarled at me.

“I have no need, I’m just getting started. Or are you feeling a bit winded, coming from you I wouldn’t be surprised. And I thought you’d be better than your old man.” The one thing Billy Hargrove hated more than anything in this world was when someone made him feel inferior to his father.  Billy let out a roar and fired two blue fire blasts from his hands to which Eddie surrounded us in an ice barrier.

“You’re really trying to push his buttons aren’t you?”

“Don’t you see, they’re trying to get us to tire out just so they can finish it all at the last second.”

“Like what they did to Mako and Bolin?” I nodded.

“Get us closer to the civilian, I’ve got an idea.” Eddie nodded then made us an escape route and allowed the water and Billy’s fire to create a large and powerful mist of fog.  So thick that hardly anyone could see the front of their noses.

And thanks to dad’s training, I was able to help guide Eddie through the fog with ease.  We got closer to the civilian’s imprisonment, I had Eddie create an ice platform right in front of the civilian’s chain then I told him to disband the fog.  With a wave of his arms, the fog quickly diminished around us and Tommy cried out.

“THERE THEY ARE!!” Both he and Billy fired their attacks but we quickly got out of the way and Tommy’s arrows pieced the civilian mannequin while Billy’s fire broke the chain and sent the civilian down to their untimely death.  Coach Boomer blew his whistle and proclaimed.

“Hargrove! Hagan! You two have not only failed to stop your villains but also skewered your civilian. You both FAAAIIILLLLLED!!” he sent his sonic boom sent them both flying across the gym.  “The winners our first set of villains since 1986, Edward Munson and (Y/n) Murdock!” the class cheered as Eddie gave me a gentle nudge and we waved to the others.

At the end of the day my friends and I all gathered at my house for a celebration.  Everyone including Eddie and the Mizfitz were all talking about mine and Eddie’s big win against Billy and Tommy.

“I seriously cannot believe you managed to knock my step-brother off his ass and finally put him in his place. I would’ve paid big money to have seen that.” Said Max as she reached over and ate some skittles.

“You guys really should’ve seen it. Her new ability is too cool that even Vecna himself would be petrified of.” Eddie praised.

“Eddie you’re too much. Besides it only works half the time. They still were somehow able to get up and use their powers again after a while. The first time I used it on some would-be robbers they could barely move.”

“You just need to keep working on it, after all you used it on normal humans. Not supers.” Robin told me.

“Yeah, yeah and the anatomy between the two is different, gotta find the right pressure points, blah, blah, blah.” I then heard the door open and the sound of a cane clanking along the wooden floors signaled to me that dad was home.

“Well this is a surprise. I come home after a long, hard-day’s work and find my daughter throwing a party without her old man’s permission.” The gang all turned to face my father but from the grin across his face, we knew he was just playing around.

“You’re hilarious.” I said sarcastically.

“If you think that, you should’ve seen me and your uncle Foggy in our college days. I was a riot.”

“Evening Mr. Murdock.” My friends all chorused out with a wave.

“Evening children. I take it from everyone being here in our small apartment that something big must’ve happened at school today.” He said as he took off his jacket and hung it over the coat-rack as well as placed his suitcase down beside it.

“You bet. Eddie and (Y/n) took victory at ‘Save the Citizen’!” exclaimed Dustin.

“Really? Last I heard of any new champions was when Hargrove and that kid Tommy became the champs. I take it you two were the villains in the scenario?”

“Yep. Not pissed about it are yah?” I asked with a hint of nervousness.

“You’d be surprised to know that I’ve played both Hero and Villain at Save the citizen in my time at school.” Dad said as he began to prep himself a sandwich.  “Oh by the way Robin, about that meeting you had planned to take with our PA Karen, she’s unfortunately going to have to reschedule. A case has suddenly come up and she’s needed out of state for this matter.”

“Damnit! Now where am I going to find a PA to interview in two weeks?”

“I told you yah should’ve tried to interview her as early as possible.” I lectured in a sing-song tone before taking a bite out of a salsa-dipped chip.

“Isn’t there another PA, oh what’s her name uhh—” Steve snapped his fingers trying to remember the name.

“I believe you’re referring to Jessica Jones?” my dad piped in.

“That’s the one! What about her?”

“Steve, if you don’t know Jessica Jones, you’ll know she’s not the easiest person to talk to. The woman is so hardcore, not even the cruelest Russian forms of torture could break her.” Said Lucas.

“Jessica Jones has a past and certain things happened to her that is her right to not speak about to others.” My dad stated using his ‘lawyer tone’.  “However Jones does owe me a favor, perhaps I could cash in that favor for you.”

“Seriously? Oh my god Mr. Murdock thank you! You’re amazing!”

“However I would take my daughter’s advice. Don’t hold things off till the last minute.” Suddenly the TV that we had on as background noise stopped playing the current show that was on and brought up the News Bulletin.

“We interrupt this program to bring you this urgent announcement. Earlier today, Former Crime Under-lord and infamous villain The Puppetmaster Alan Munson has escaped from his prison hold. 13 years ago Alan Munson was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences, possibility of parole after his third sentence. He was known as the Puppetmaster due to a rare ability known only to the Waterbenders known as blood-bending. Which may have been the aid he needed to escape his prison cell.”

As we all tuned out the news reporter, our attention turned to Eddie who looked unreadable but deep down I knew he was a mixture of emotions.

“Authorities have issued an urgent curfew until for the time being. No one is allowed out after sunset and must not be near any large bodies of water. Absolutely no one is to leave their homes after dark for this week a full moon arises, which is the only time Bloodbending can happen. If anyone has any news in regards to Alan Munson’s whereabouts, don’t hesitate to contact the local authorities.”

Yeah that wouldn’t really matter much anyway.  While it is true that Bloodbending could only happen during a full moon, Eddie’s father was one of those rare diamonds in the rough that could actually bloodbend without the need of a full moon.  That’s why he’s so dangerous and why everyone gives Eddie a hard time.  People at the school believe he has his father’s unique ability as well and try to egg him on to use it just so they can ‘prove a point’ (whatever the hell that means).

“I think it’s time you kids started heading home.” My dad spoke in his ‘Daredevil’ voice.  The guys all began packing their stuff and bid me goodbye, all except for Eddie who just remained still as a statue.

“Eddie?” I asked cautiously.  Slowly I walked over to him and slowly reached out and touched his hand.  He flinched back and looked at me, his eyes a mixture of rage and fear and he immediately said.

“I—I gotta go.” Without another word, he grabbed his stuff and raced out of the apartment.  I turned to my dad and he looked in my general direction.

“Things are already hard on him as it is at school. Now that word’s gotten out about his dad escaping, people will really be on his ass now. What do I do daddy?” Dad sighed deeply and came over to me.

“Treat him as you always have. You and your friends are all he really has outside of his uncle.” I looked down solemnly but I felt my dad’s hand on my shoulder gently squeezing it comfortingly, “But if I’m honest, I think all he’ll really need is you.”

“Did you have to go and listen to his heart?” I asked accusingly.

“Not really, even a blind man can see just how in love you both are for one another.” I groaned as he softly chuckled. “I’m gonna be out late tonight, don’t wait up on me.”

“Do you have to?” I asked worriedly.

“The city’s gonna be in mass panic, especially for the non-supers in this city. All heroes and vigilantes are required to make finding The Puppetmaster their first priority.” I nodded solemnly.

“Just be careful. I know you’re one of the rare heroes that keeps both identities of Daredevil and Matt Murdock separate to your enemies, but I don’t wish to be an orphan a second time.” Dad took my hand and placed it on his chest, I could feel the steady beat of his heart as he said to me.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to come back to you.” This was a common thing between us ever since he adopted me and I found out about his ‘other job’.  Most heroes tend to lie and say they are invisible and will come back no matter what.

However my dad isn’t like most heroes.  He can’t fly, he doesn’t have super healing abilities, or super strength, not even control over the elements.  All he is is a guy with enhanced senses that enables him to see the world even though all he sees is a ‘World on fire’.  He’s been trained in almost every style of martial arts but it took him decades of training and he didn’t get it right away like most heroes would.

And growing up with a dad who always burdened himself with ‘protecting the city he loves’ it put a strain on us for a while.  Until one day I got the courage to express to him my concerns and he didn’t reprimand me nor did I him.  I just wanted him to know that I was scared that I was going to one day get the news of Daredevil found dead in dumpster and that once again I’ll be alone without a family.

So this was our vow.  Since he taught me that there’s a spike in people’s hearts when they lie, whenever it came to uncertainty missions that required his attention, he’d place my hand over his heart as he’d speak that very phrase.  And every time he said it, there was never a spike in his heart.

I hugged him as hard as I could burying my face into his chest.  He rubbed my back and rocked me softly.

“I love you so much sweetheart.”

“I love you too daddy.” He kissed the crown of my head before finally separating from me and went over to his old wardrobe where his suit was kept.  In an old trunk that once belonged to his dad who was a well-known boxer back in the day.

I was currently in my room having just finished the rest of my homework when I heard a soft knock at my door and there my dad stood in his full Daredevil suit.  The red devil eyes from his mask had been known to send fear up even the darkest of criminals spines.  His billy clubs rested in a holster at side of his left thigh.

“Be careful, Daredevil.” He gave me a nod and said.

“Lights out by ten, and make sure to brush your teeth.” I softly laughed.

“If only people could hear the infamous ‘Man without fear’ tell his adopted daughter to make sure she did her teeth and got to bed on time.” I couldn’t help but tease.

“Probably would make them even more afraid of me.” He teased back.

“Child labor at its finest.” I teased again as dad softly scoffed.  He then used the fire escape and in his Daredevil fashion, he disappeared into the night and acrobatically scaled down the building before going on the hunt for the Puppetmaster.  “Love you dad.” And so I was left to man down the fort until it was bedtime.

The next few days, as I had predicted, were chaotic at school.  Due to the Heroes still not being able to find Eddie’s father, all after school activities were cancelled until further notice.  Which meant not Starlight Flying, no track meets, not even gymnastics (which I’ll admit I am bummed about but I get why they’re doing it).  And every student has had it out for Eddie.

Just the other day after the Big Championship game had to be cancelled between our rivalry school, Eddie got beans, mashed potatoes and chocolate pudding dumped on him by Jason and his lackies.  Before he could even start something, I held him back and told him they weren’t worth it.  They were trying to rile him up and get him to prove to them that he’s the monster they think he is.

And now all day today he’s been up on the rooftop gardens were Lily and the other earth-benders have their club meetings.  Creating new plants and practicing their Earthbending.  I found Dustin, Mike, Will and Lucas sitting outside their normal D&D room and asked them.

“Is Eddie still on the roof?”

“Gareth and Jeff just told us he’s refusing to ever come down. He didn’t even go home last night to his uncle.” Dustin told me.  I looked up at the ceiling worriedly before sighing.

“You guys get on the next bus, I’ll talk to him.”

“You sure?” asked Mike.

“Yeah. Besides Nancy told me you three have a big midterm coming up so I suggest you study. First semester Midterms are no joke, especially to first years. No matter if you’re in Heroes class or Hero Support.”

“Good luck (Y/n).” Will said as they walked off to the bus ramp to get back down to the ground (yeah the academy is actually levitated high up in the sky).  I went up the stair way that lead up to the gardens and there I saw Eddie bending the water within some vines, making them shift and move around the columns they were wrapped around.

“Do you have room for one more?” Eddie jumped and turned towards me but when he saw it was me, he calmed down and said.

“Knock yourself out.” I came over to him and sat down beside him on the bench he was sitting on.  He continued his bending until he just stopped and was deep in his head again.  I reached out and touched his hands, softly fingering around his rings and said.

“What’s going on up there Eddie?”

“My mother’s name doesn’t even matter. All anyone can see me is my old man’s son. The son of the infamous Puppetmaster. Believe me if I had the power to choose, I would’ve had my old man be a normal human who just ran out on me. But nope, I got the shortest end of the stick and no matter what I do, nothing I say or do is ever gonna change that!” his voice raised in anger as he paced while he ranted.  “I don’t……Sometimes I just wish I had died alongside my mother. Or better yet never have been born. She should’ve gotten rid of me when she had the chance.”

“Stop! Don’t ever say that!” I snapped as I stood up.

“Oh c’mon (Y/n) we both know that it’s true! My mother was assaulted by him, I am a product of a rape. Who could ever love someone like that?” a single tear secretly fell down his face as he seethed that self-hatred line.  “But since I’m too much of a coward to kill myself, I start to think fuck it. Why not just go down the path of a villain? Everyone else has decided that for me already.”

“Even though you have the power to go down that road, you’ll never take that step.”

“How do you know that?!”

“Because I know the real Eddie Munson. The boy who takes in the sidekicks who think they’re not worthy being in this school. The boy who spends his time feeding the stray cats at his trailer park, and not just them but the dogs you free from the underground dogfights. The boy who reads fantasy books and comes up with the wildest campaigns for his friends. That is the Eddie Munson I know.” And that’s the boy who I’ve always loved and will always love.

“What did you just say?” he suddenly asked.

“Do you really need me to repeat that whole rant I just did?”

“Just the last part.”

“That that’s the Eddie Munson I know.”

“After that.” After that? What’s he talking about?

“That you save dogs from underground dogfights.”

“No you said that in the middle after the stray cat feeding at my trailer park. I meant the very last thing you said.” The last thing I—oh god. Oooooh no…..please don’t tell me I actually verbally—oh shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Fuck! Fucking hell no! Please god don’t tell me that didn’t stay in a though bubble!

My thoughts were broken by Eddie cupping the side of my face, my eyes staring deeply into his chocolate brown ones.

“What did you say sweetheart?” I swallowed hardly as my heart began to skyrocket out of my chest and I choked out.

“I—I-I……” Eddie chuckled and said.

“You always were cute whenever you got flustered like this.”

“Are-are you making fun of me?”

“Not at all.” He brushed the strands of hair out of my eyes before slowly leaning forward and he whispered, “Just use your new little technique if you want me to stop.” I shook my head no and wrapped my arms around his neck and brought him down to my lips.

He let out a muffled grunt but his body soon relaxed under our kiss as his arms slowly wrapped around my back bringing me in close.  Ever so slowly, my right leg raised up as I tightened my grip around Eddie’s neck and he deepened the kiss.  I then felt him lift me off my feet as we continued to kiss one another until we were left breathless and drunk on our love.

We caught the last bus from the school and now Eddie was driving us back to his trailer for us to spend a little one on one time before the city curfew could ruin this perfect moment another second.  Our hands were intertwined with the other’s and we refused to break that bond, at least not yet.  Every now and then, he’d raise our hands up and kiss the back of my hand and I did the same to him.

But as we pulled up to his trailer, Eddie’s love-sick expression soon turned to dread as he looked upon his uncle’s trailer home.  My expression grew fearful as I too saw what it looked like.  It had been completely torn to shreds, the door was busted right off it’s hinges and the ground was soaked with mud and water.  Eddie immediately raced inside and I followed after him.

The inside didn’t look much better.  The furniture was turned up like the place had been burglarized, but nothing was taken.  The curtains and blinds looked like they had been sliced up by something and there were occasional wet puddles on the inside of the floor and carpets.  But what had us both fearful and enraged was that Eddie’s uncle is usually home by this time, but the trailer was like a graveyard, empty and silent.

Eddie slowly walked further in and grabbed an old picture of him and his uncle just shortly after he had been taken in my him after his father was imprisoned.  I could see that the glass frame was completely cracked but I could also see Eddie’s body shaking with rage until he let out the most gut-wrenching, rageful, and mournful scream I had ever heard out of a man.

I took Eddie back to my apartment and gave him a cup of warm tea but he just sat there with a stoic, broken expression on his face.  Tearstains glistened on his cheeks, his eyes bloodshot red.  I sat down beside him and slowly wrapped my arms over him and I placed my head on his shoulder.

The door opened and in came my dad.  But before he could greet us, he licked his lips and stood at attention.  I knew he could taste the salt from our tears and he asked us.

“What happened?”

“It’s Wayne.” I told him somberly.  My father’s brows raised in shock and he quickly came down over to us kneeling down before us.

“Are you both alright?”

“We—Wayne was already gone when we got there. The trailer was completely destroyed.” Dad let out deep sigh before kissing my forehead and turned toward Eddie.

“Eddie—”

“Another reason why I can’t stand heroes. They claim to be going day and night to finding my old man, and yet he hasn’t been caught. And now he has my uncle, the only person in this whole world that even gave a shit about me!” Eddie snarled lowly, hos body seething with rage and I knew dad could sense it a hell of a lot more than I could.

“I understand your frustrated…..” Eddie stood up from the couch and unleashed his fury.

“OF COURSE I’M FRUSTRATED!! My psychopathic bastard of a father escapes a prison that is supposedly impenetrable and made my life hell this past week! Now the one time I’m not there for my uncle he captures him and will most likely kill him and this WHOLE TIME THE HEROES ARENT DOING ANYTHING ABOUT IT WHILE I’M STUCK HERE AND YOU TWO CAN’T EVEN HELP ME!!” Dad and I stared at him in shock.  His rageful expression softened as he realized just who he was talking to.  He collapsed back down onto the couch beside me and said in a calmer, softer tone, “I—I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap.”

I took his hand in both of mine and gently kissed his knuckles and I told him.

“It’s alright. You’ve been piling up everything that’s happened this past week inside of you. You hardly scratched the surface earlier this afternoon.”

“But I shouldn’t have taken it out on you or your dad.” He said regretfully.

“She knows you didn’t really mean what you said. And neither do I.” my dad spoke up.  Eddie let out a deep sigh and said.

“I’m just trying to understand why all of this is happening, and why now. But nothing makes any sense. And now—now that Wayne is involved I…..” tears once again filled his eyes as he buried his face into his hands, sniffling into his palms.

“Eddie,” my father started as he knelt down in front of him.  He reached up and grasped his shoulder giving it a comforting squeeze as he continued, “I know you’re feeling lost and frustrated right now. And it’s alright to feel that way, everyone whether hero or normal civilian feels something like this every day. Even Daredevil himself once felt this way when the Kingpin forced him to choose between saving his friends or his child.”

That was a day I never hoped to remember, it reminded me so much of the first time I came across ‘The man without fear’ back when I was a child and my parents were killed in front of me and I was taken by child traffickers.  They would’ve sold me to the highest bidder had Daredevil not found me in time.

After finding out I had lost both my parents and that I had no other family in the city to take care of me, I was taken to the orphanage and within a couple of weeks Matt Murdock came into my life and adopted me.  And the rest was history.  But when Fisk had found out about my father’s true identity, he had a villain named Bullseye take me and hold me hostage while apparently Foggy and Karen were being watched by the corrupt cops Fisk had under his belt ready to take them out.

“He—I can’t even begin to imagine what I would’ve done if that were me.” Eddie said as he took my dad’s story to heart.

“But he knew he couldn’t lose himself. He had to keep his calm and composure to try and work a way to save them both. And not only did he accomplish that, he also managed to put Fisk away for a long time with a proposition of his own.”

“Compared to my dad, Kingpin’s a saint. He won’t bargain anything or with anyone. How is anyone supposed to defeat him?”

“He’s been convicted and captured once before, not every villain is invincible. All it takes if for the right hero to stop him for good.” My dad stood up and walked over to the kitchen as he also told him, “Since your trailer is an active crime scene, you’re welcome to stay here. But I strictly advise you newly appointed lovebirds, no hanky-panky in this apartment. Don’t ask me how I’ll know, I just will.”

“Dad!” I groaned out.  He smirked and started to prepare us dinner.  After dinner Eddie and I sat on top of the roof looking out over the city.  My arms wrapped around his right arm while my head rested on his shoulder. “We’ll find him Eddie, one way or another.”

“I swear if he even lays a hand on him I swear to fucking God I’ll—” I rubbed his arm soothingly trying to ease his anger.

“One thing you should know is that my dad always knows what to say. I know you’re pissed, your scared, you’re high-strung. But all this tense anxiety won’t do you any good. Take a deep breath and focus.” He took a deep breath in before exhaling.  “I know we were too young when he was first arrested but, is there any place you think he’d take Wayne? Some place of meaning between the two of them?”

“I doubt it. They were never really close with one another even as kids. Even though Wayne was the older brother, since he never got his powers he was considered the black sheep of the family while my father was the prodigal son.” I nodded in understandment. “It’s getting late and the curfew is still in place. Why don’t you head inside?”

“You sure?” I asked.

“Yeah, plus I can practically feel your exhaustion.” I groaned quietly as I felt Eddie chuckle.  “Go on sweetheart, I’ll be there in a bit.” I looked up at him and we both kissed each other.

“I love you so much.” I told him softly.

“I love you more.” He softly kissed my forehead before I stood up and got ready for bed after a long, confessional and stressful day.

*Eddie’s POV*

Just as (Y/n) got inside, ironically enough it started to rain.  Of course to not people the rain was a nuisance especially to most heroes when it came to night patrols.  But to me, rain was life and a relief.  Mix that with the full moon that shone above the city I could feel myself feeling more alive than I’ve ever been in my entire life.

I realized at this point, I couldn’t wait any longer.  If the heroes weren’t going to do anything to find my father, then I would.  I went over to my van and grabbed a special bag that not even (Y/n) had known about.  I came back inside the apartment and unzipped it to reveal my graduation gift my uncle had made for me.

A traditional Waterbender warrior uniform (with my own modifications).  At the belt’s center design engraving instead of the traditional Water symbol, I had engraved a carving of the moon, the same moon carving that my mother once bore on her armor.  The sleeves I had torn off and had them replaced by black elbow-length fingerless gloves with the center forearm of the gloves wrapped up in war tape.

I also began to give myself the traditional war paint of the waterbenders.  Black markings under my eyes and the symbol of water at the center of my forehead.  I then pulled up my face mask to cover the lower half of my face because in order to find my father, I was going to need to get in touch with some of his old friends, and I couldn’t risk them seeing my face.  But there was one last thing I needed to do.

I went into (Y/n)’s room and saw her deep asleep as the brief flashes of lightning lit up her room.  I silently walked over to her and gingerly brushed the strands of hair out of her face and saw her left hand resting not too far from her face, her palm exposed.  I took off my wolf fang necklace and placed it into her palm.  Truthfully I don’t know if I will come out of this alive or not, but what I have to do in order to save Wayne, I’d rather her remember me as I was instead of who I’m about to become.

Having just confessed our feelings to one another only to lose her now, that’s the damage my father brings out in people.  But I don’t want her to be involved in this anymore than Wayne is now forced to be in.  I saw as her palm closed over my necklace and I whispered to her.

“I love you sweetheart, always remember that.” I then went back to the roof and took a deep breath in before exhaling and waved my arms around to have the rain water spin around me before I shot out into the sky, a flash of lightning coming down then I used the rain to forge a water patch for me to jump across.  Each step I took, water formed under me until I was running on the raindrops.

I soon came to one of my dad’s old dealers Yakone.  Yeah I may have been a kid but my old man certainly liked to take me out to all of his dealings and I got to meet every single bloodbender, drug dealer, and crime boss this city had to offer.  I peeked inside the window and saw Yakone counting up his money even though he had just gotten out of prison and was currently on parole.

Once a crime boss, always a crime boss.  I used my power to spill his whiskey across the counter which forced him to stand up and walk out to get something to clean up the mess.  Once he was gone, I slipped inside his office and waited.  The second he came back in, he froze on the spot before suddenly jerking his arm up.  He groaned as his arm soon shot to the left then the right, his bones snapping with each jerk until he was forced to bend forward.

I made myself known with my left hand in a knife-hand position at my face level before lowering it downward while at the same time his body fully went down to the ground.

“You’re going to tell me where Wayne Munson is and don’t even think about lying.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” sneered Yakone.  I took a step forward and pushing with my other arm as I extended it, Yakone’s upperbody was forced upward and I snapped at him.

“You were once Alan Munson’s second in command. If he ever broke out of prison, the first person he’d go to is you. I won’t ask a third time; where. Is. Wayne Munson!?” Yakone continued to groan in agony as I bloodbended him.

“Tenth and Cicero X! He took that nonbender of a brother of his to the docks along Tenth and Cicero X!” I narrowed my eyes and with a wave of my arms, he was throw across the room, his back hitting the corner of the wall and he let out a pained groan.

“If I find out he’s not there, you won’t have to worry about the heroes finding out about your parole breaking. Cause I’ll see to it that you will be stopped permanently.” Then I used my Bloodbending to knock him out before finally leaving the scene as if nothing happened.

I stood along the rooftop of one of the buildings that overlooked the docks of the city and saw the old warehouse where Yakone said Wayne was being kept hostage.  I could see guards patrolling around the warehouse all either carrying guns or specialized arrows.  Odd that my old man would hire assassins and non-benders to guard my uncle, but no matter they’ll be out of my way soon enough.

I snuck my way down the fire escape of the building and crept up towards the warehouse before diving head first into a bay.  I created a water-helm for me to breath as I swam towards the edge of the warehouse.  I then summoned out a water tendril and reached out for one of the guards and pulled him out into the bay.  I then created a whirlpool tornado and shot myself upward.

“OPEN FIRE!!” one of the guards called out and a hellfire of guns and arrows were shot at me.  Creating an ice barrier I shielded myself before coming down with a back axe-kick which caused the whirlpool to follow me and push half of the men into the street knocking them out.

Using the remaining water, I created a water whip and proceeded to fire ice shards at the rest of the men.  Knocking their weapons out of their hands and then piercing them to either the walls or old shipping carts.  When the first set of guards I had knocked out started to get up, I proceeded to bloodbend all of them stopping them in their tracks.

Forcefully controlling them to stay where they were and getting down on their knees when suddenly I felt something metal hit me in the back of my head forcing me to release them.  I reached behind me and felt blood on the back of my head and I heard the sound of someone landing in front of me.  From the light of the full moon there was no denying who the man in the red suit was that stood before me.  One billy club in his hand, the devil helmet and those piercing red eyes from the mask staring at me.  The Man without Fear aka Daredevil had come.

“You need to back off.” He warned me in the voice that had been known to send shivers down any criminals spine.

“And you shouldn’t interfere with family affairs.” I seethed back at him.  I formed water tendrils around my arms and went on the offense but Daredevil proved to be just as fast as me, if not faster.

“You’re making a mistake.” He told me.

“You made the mistake by coming here!” One of my tendril arms froze over as I went to skewer him but he dodged out of the way forcing the ice shard to pierce through the asphalt of the street.  I broke my arm free of the ice and dropped the other tendril before stepping into a front stance and held my arms parallel of each other to use the rain to knock him off his feet but once again Daredevil’s agility was something.

Each time two waves of water tried to knock him down, he was able to either to flip between them, roll underneath them, or bend so far back against the ground there was no chance of the water touching him.  I growled impatiently and charged at him this time.

However only just two punches he not only dodged them but got me to my knees and had my in a chokehold.

“First rule of combat, never attack in anger.”

“I’m not angry! I’m annoyed there’s a difference!” I snapped as I tried to break myself free from his grip but he held firm.

“I can tell, but that’s the first rule they teach in combat. Now listen to me, you can still turn back. Let me finish the job and you can be reunited with your uncle by morning, your father will go back to prison, and all of this can be put behind you.”

“It won’t matter.”

“Yes it will. You’re young, you have a future to look forward to, you still have a choice. But if you cross this line, the journey back isn’t easy. Trust me, I know.” Looking down at the water I did a few finger flicks which caused a water whip to wrap around his neck and pull him off of me.  I then used my Bloodbending to keep him in place.  He let out a cry of agony as I forced him to stand at attention.

“It’s already too late, I’ve made my choice. One way or another, Alan Munson is dying tonight. He crossed the line when he kidnapped my uncle, who’s to stop him from going after my friends? My—” I trailed off thinking about (Y/n).  The torture alone that my old man could put her through, especially since she doesn’t have any powers to fight him back with.  “If he ever got to her, I’d never forgive myself.”

“Got to her ehh?” I tensed as I released Daredevil and turned to see the man I’d hope I’d never see again.  His hair was longer and madded and the eyes I inherited from him were soulless and cold.  He somehow managed to find his old armor once again and in his grip, he had Wayne levitating in the air.  “Now this I’d love to hear more of, especially if you did all of this for your excuse of an uncle.”

  My heart was pounding in my ears as my blood boiled in rage.  Extending my arms outward in a T position but with my hands standing upward, I made the rain pause around us and slowly form a shield around all of us.

“Release him.” I ordered.

“Or what little man? You gonna kill me?” the Puppetmaster mocked.

“If I have to.” I said soullessly.

“Sounds a bit dark for the son of Lunar Eclipse. But if you were my son, you’d do it without hesitation.”

“Eddie…..don’t do it son.” I heard Wayne groan out.  “Even if you do attack, he’ll use me as a shield.” He said again.

“He’s telling the truth.” Daredevil soon spoke.

“I can protect him.”

“You’re blinded by rage and won’t be able to stop it in time!” Daredevil spoke up again.  “Your uncle raised you to be a hero, not a murderer!”

“I’m already a murderer.” I soullessly stated referring to the men I had just taken out.

“They’re still alive, I can hear their heartbeats. Your father knew those men wouldn’t be worth your time because he knew the only one you were willing to kill was him.”

“Eddie, son listen…..” my uncle strained out.  “Take a good look at the man standing before you, is this the man you’ll want to become if you do this? Because you were the one to break the chain and not be like him ever since you were born. You chose to walk away from his path and choose your mother’s.”

“Listen to your uncle Eddie Munson, you’ve got people who care about you, even love you. One of them especially. Your father, he has no one. No one to call family, friends or even a partner to love and cherish. If you do this, you’ll never see any of your friends or your beloved again! So don’t. Do it!” My body trembled in rage as I stared daggers at my old man.

I waved my arms and let out a rageful cry as the shield dropped and formed into a thousand ice sharps varying in size and flew right towards him.  But just as some pierced the ground and Wayne’s body was moved directly in front of my father’s, I stopped the attack.

The ice shards floating in mid-air before I stood there in the rain and the ice shards immediately turned back into water, drenching both my uncle and father.  My father tossed Wayne aside as Daredevil went over to check on him as my father said to me.

“Even with all the power in the world, you are still weak.”

“You’re wrong.” After 13 years, I was able to stare my father down not in fear and surprisingly not in rage (at least anymore).  “I always wondered just what kind of man you are to have done the things you’ve done. Now that I see, I think I understand. There’s just nothing inside of you, nothing at all. You’re pathetic, sad and empty. And as much as I hate you—I just can’t find it in me to kill you. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t come prepared.” Next thing he knew, he was trapped by a zero anti-gravity forcefield and the entire Heroes Council soon came on the scene.

“Alan Munson, you are under arrest by the City of Hawkins.” Proclaimed Chief Hopper.  Ms. Byers and Robin’s mother soon came up and put my father back in chains and guided him towards the police car.  I closed my eyes and felt a huge weight being lifted off my shoulders but there was still a sliver of doubt floating in my mind.

As the night droned on, I found myself back at the Murdock’s apartment, the rain finally subsiding and I knew in a few hours dawn would break.  My uncle had been taken to the nearby hospital for a healing session and to give his statement to further incriminate my father’s quadruple life sentences.

“I’m proud of what you did back there. You even managed to fool the Devil himself.” I heard Daredevil say behind me.

“I wanted to do it. I wanted to take out all my anger at him but—I couldn’t. I don’t know if it’s because I’m too weak to do it or—due to the people that I have in my life, it’s given me the strength not to go down his road.”

“You did the right thing tonight Eddie Munson. Forgiveness is the first step you take to begin healing.” I stood up from the edge of the balcony and walked over to him and told him.

“But I didn’t forgive him. I’ll never forgive him for what he did. In a way he did win,” I looked down at my hands.  “I swore that I would never use his taboo art of Bloodbending but—I did. I…..don’t know if I…..” I soon felt arms wrap around me.  When I looked up, I found myself surrounded by red and I was surprised to see that the infamous Daredevil was hugging me.

I surrendered to his embrace and hugged him back as I softly began to cry.  Now that my anger and rage was gone, the sorrow, the guilt and shame was all that remained in me.  And I finally let it all out and Daredevil not once tried to get me to stop or tell me to suck it up.  In fact he didn’t say a word, he just allowed me to fully let it out until my tears were finally spent.

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson imagines #stranger things #stranger things au #stranger things fanfic #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things fandom #stranger things imagine #stranger things imagines #steve harrington #robin buckley #nancy wheeler #dustin henderson #lucas sinclair #max mayfield #will byers #mike wheeler

[mirkwoodshewolf]

my two favorite things wolves and Eddie munson. THIS is what i need more of, some good meet-cute flirty werewolf eddie munson.

it will come back, part one

a.k.a. sever the blight (eddie's version)

pairing(s): werewolf!eddie munson x fem!reader

summary: You don't go into the woods. You don't talk to strangers. And you don't, under any circumstances, approach a wolf. Unless one shows up bleeding at your door.

wc: 4.4k

cw: dark themes, mature content, suggestive themes, fairytale au, werewolf au, blood mention, animal cruelty and death mention, gunshots, physical abuse, reader is a servant to an abusive master, servant!reader, milkmaid!reader, some sort of historical fantasy period idk, antiquated misogynistic values about sex and marriage, takes place in the sever the blight universe, inspired by the company of wolves by angela carter, eventual smut and explicit content in later parts

ALL OF MY WORK IS 18+ MINORS DNI

There are things they tell you about the woods from the time you are born, weaning you on them just the same as you are weaned on milk. Don’t go into the woods on a full moon. Don’t talk to strange men. Likewise, if you see a strange man alone in the pines on the full moon, run and don’t look back. And don’t, for any reason, approach a wolf at any time. They’ll kill you before you turn the other cheek.

In your twenty-some-odd years, you have never seen a wolf. You’ve heard them howling, distantly, so deep in the forest that you don’t even feel the need to be frightened by it. They exist in there, somewhere, going about their business as wolves do.

Sometimes you hear about the wolves wandering into town. Old Mr. Thatch, from just over the creek, said his pigs were slaughtered in the night. He’ll have to spend a fortune to get a few more. Torben Plack from the end of Warder’s Row saw one drinking from the horse trough outside the inn last month. 

There are whispers of wolves when a baby is missing from its crib. There are whispers of murder in the night. There are accusations that some of the townsfolk themselves are wolves in disguise.

Nonsense, the lot of it. Or, that’s what you believe. That’s what you choose to think about it– even though you’ve been told time and again that a pretty girl doesn’t think, a pretty girl believes and does what she’s told. She doesn’t go into the woods. She does her chores and she says her prayers and she marries a boy with a healthy income and lives quietly, rearing children until she can’t anymore.

(You don’t believe that, either.)

You don’t have the luxury of making any other choices, though. You are a servant, a milkmaid in the employ of a rather cold Master– you have no time for philosophy or discerning what you do and don’t believe about the local folklore.

You milk the cow. You chop the firewood. You feed the chickens. You harvest the cabbage and you don’t complain. You sleep on your bed in your shack– or, servant’s quarters– behind the grand house and you don’t, under any circumstances, question the Master or his wife. You wash the bedsheets after he sloppily takes his wife to bed, and you try to hide your disgust. 

You usually do what you’re told. Usually. 

On a night when the moon hangs round and full in the sky, lighting the stretch of land beyond your small shack in a milky blue haze, you’re building a small fire in the fireplace when you hear it. The howling. It’s so much closer than you’ve ever heard it, almost as though the wolves are just beyond the treeline that backs up to your master’s land.

You pay it no mind. Normally, the wolves are on the hunt for something– small animals that titter through the woods, unassuming until it’s too late. The howling will be distant soon, and you’ll be able to sleep soundly while the rest of the town frets about the dangers of the wolf-men, locking their windows and bolstering their doors. 

Just as you thought, the howls drift away slowly. You snuggle down into the covers of your bed, and you barely flinch when Mr. Thatch fires off a pistol over the creek, ringing through the dead night louder than hell. These things mean little to you. You’re more interested in what the land of dreams holds for you tonight– it’s one of the only reprieves you get from your long days of work.

It isn’t until ten minutes later, when you are mere inches from sleep, that you hear a soft whining outside your cabin door. At first, you think it’s the wind. Then, when it gets louder, you wonder if you’re imagining it.

And when it turns into a soft howling, well. That’s not your imagination.

You wrap a woven blanket around your shoulders and leave the door open when you step out into the chilly night. You don’t have a candle– you could always knick one from the Mistress, but that might risk getting caught, and you don’t love that idea. So, you contend with the little amount of light that spills out of the open door from your small fireplace, and you squint into the dark toward the source of the sound.

It takes shape in the form of a wolf. A big one, covered in black fur and curled up beneath the gabled roof, as though attempting to make itself smaller. It shivers and whimpers miserably, tucking its paws close to its body. 

You shrink back in the doorway, drawing your blanket closer around your shoulders. The hum of crickets in the bushes and in the grass across the pasture covers the shakiness of your rapid breathing. You don’t know what to do. You couldn’t possibly be expected to bother the Master this late at night– even if it is a wolf, the barn is shut up and the animals are safe. You’d probably be expected to just stay put in your little cabin and wait for it to go away on its own. Maybe in the morning the Master will find it and skin it for the Mistress’s bedquilt. 

The image makes you shudder. This poor thing– even if it is nearly as big as you, even if it’s a nasty predator in the eyes of everyone else– is clearly looking for some sort of reprieve. Just the same as you do at the end of the day. You can’t let it be skinned alive just for searching for safety.

“Hey,” you whisper softly, and you know the creature hears you, because it flinches badly. Almost as though it may bolt away in a panic. “No, no… don’t be frightened.” 

You lower yourself down towards the ground, tentatively inching forward as the creature turns its head to blink up at you. Water brims its dark eyes, sparkling in the low light from your open door. Streaks of tears flatten the fur on its snout; the wretched thing lets out a noise like a sob, hanging its head like it doesn’t have the energy to stand you off.

“I’ve never seen a wolf cry before,” you tell it quietly. You’ve never seen a wolf, period, but you don’t need to tell it that. You’re not sure that it can understand you, anyways, but you keep talking like it can. “Are you hurt?”

The wolf snorts, sneezes loudly, and then trembles. There’s a high pitched whining, a heart-shattering noise that cuts deep into your chest as the beast cowers away from you. The whine turns into a low growl when you move a bit closer, but it doesn’t sound like it really means business. More like it doesn’t know what to do with your closeness. 

“Hey,” you say again, more insistently. You inch your way forward, crouched low to the ground, holding your blanket around you with one hand as you reach the other out toward it. You’ve never tried to approach a wolf. You don’t know if it’s similar to trying to gain a domesticated dog’s trust– hold out your hand, let it catch your scent. Show it that you mean no harm, allow it to come to you. “I’m trying to help you, okay? Let me help.”

The wolf growls for a moment longer before finally relenting, and reaching its head forward to sniff curiously at your hand. You don’t know what you expect– perhaps that it would drop its head again, or back away cautiously. Instead, the wolf surprises you by pushing its head into your outstretched palm like a sad puppy.

“Oh,” you coo, stroking the wolf’s soft head as it trembles. Its ears twitch against your fingers, and it snuffles a few times, its body shaking with each, like an all-too-human fit of sobbing. “Okay, baby. Let’s get you inside.” 

Again, it’s a shot in the dark. You back slowly away from the creature, whose watery eyes blink up at you, and then you stand, and open the cabin door wider. The wolf doesn’t move, still continuing to shake with its uneven breathing.

You take a step into the door, and watch as the wolf slowly struggles up out of its cowering position. On all four legs, it seems to be favoring its right front leg, lifting its left paw limply upward. When you take another step back into the cabin, and it follows, it shudders a breath and limps badly on its left leg. 

“Good job, honey,” you tell the wolf gently as it tentatively follows you into the cabin. 

You don’t know whether to leave the door open or to shut it; you’re not sure if there’s any wisdom in shutting yourself in close quarters with a wild animal, but you also don’t want the Master to find it come morning. You suck your teeth and swing the door shut, quietly latching it and hoping the damned thing doesn’t suddenly decide it’s too hungry. 

You turn, and take two steps before dropping to your knees in front of the fireplace, where the most light hits the ground. You drop your blanket to the floor, and pat your lap as you look at the creature shivering a few feet away. “C’mere. Lay down.”

As far as you know, wolves don’t normally lay down and play lapdog for strange humans, but this one does. You wonder at it, remarkable in its size and beauty, as it flops down tiredly onto your floor and rests its head in your lap. Through your cotton chemise, the wolf’s chin is warmer than the heat of the fire.

You pet the wolf’s head again gently as you examine its left leg. It doesn’t seem to have any major wounds except for a spot of wetness on the side of it. When you lift it, the wolf in your lap whines loudly.

“I know, baby,” you coo at it, trying to pet its head as soothingly as you can while you look over the mangled leg and paw. Through the fur and dirt, you see a patch of pink skin matted with bright red, and your own hand comes away smeared with blood. There is a bad gash, enough to still be bleeding. 

You don’t want to jostle the animal now that it’s relatively comfortable, so you bend backwards and sideways to reach the cup of water on the shelf at your bedside. It’s what you have on hand to clean the wound– you suppose you could sneak into the grand house to steal some soap, but just the same as the candle, you’d rather not risk it. You take your time in pouring cool, clean water on the wolf’s wound, rubbing dirt and blood away from the gash. In your lap, the beast huffs softly in response.

“I don’t know what you’re doing out of the woods,” you tell it as you tenderly clean its wound, expecting that you’re only speaking to settle your own nerves, “but you ought not to come around here too often. The men here are bloodthirsty. Don’t want you getting any more beat up.” 

The wolf heaves a sigh. For what it’s worth, you take that as some sort of acknowledgement. 

“I can’t do much else for you besides this,” you continue softly. The wound is clean now, the fur gone wet enough that you can pull it aside and peer at the gash itself. It’s quite deep, straight, and slices from the middle of its leg upward at a diagonal. It continues to ooze even as you examine it, painting your fingers red. You tip a little more water onto it. 

You grab one corner of the blanket you’d used to wrap yourself, and rip a strip off along the grain. The light pink fabric looks almost comical when you wrap it around the wolf’s leg, tying it and tucking the tails in gently so that it won’t fall off too easily. You figure, eventually, the damn thing will come off while the wolf goes off on its merry way. You don’t delude yourself into thinking you’ve got a pet, now.

“I wish I could give you more,” you tell the beast, petting your hand down its mane, feeling the silken fur slide through your fingers like the plushest finery that you’ll never be able to enjoy for yourself. “But, I suppose, you can rest here tonight. If you promise to stay polite.”

The wolf doesn’t fuss when you slide a stiff pillow under its chin, and slip back under the covers of your bed. You gaze at it, curled up in a big black mass on your floor in front of the hearth, and you wonder why on earth a wild animal would be so well behaved. 

You wonder how a wolf is capable of crying.

You wake in the early morning light expecting to find a big black wolf sleeping in front of your hearth. Instead, when you rouse and rub the sleep from your eyes, you find that the wolf is gone.

In fact, there appears to have been no wolf at all. No blood on the floor, no black fur on the pillow that has inexplicably reappeared on the foot of your bed. Your water cup is full. And the door to your cabin is latched, just the same as it had been last night, after you let the wolf in.

By all appearances, nothing happened last night. There was no wolf. You half expect that you dreamed the entire thing. And you would continue to believe so– but, the end of your pink woven blanket is still torn, missing a strip from the end, frayed along the grain.

You slip from your bed and fling open the door to your shack, emerging into the cool morning air. You look down at the nook beside the door where the wolf had huddled in the dark, seeking shelter away from harm. There is nothing there to suggest that it had been there last night. 

But you know it to be true. You know it.

How could a wolf, a four legged creature with full use of only three of them, manage to unlatch your door, step out, and then relatch it from the other side? How could your water magically refill itself? It’s a mile to the well in the town square, and it’s not like the wolf could have done it. 

Broken from your thoughts, you hear a shriek of your name. You lift your head to see your Mistress, fully dressed, feeding the chickens. The daily chores have already begun.

“What are you doing outside in your underclothes?!” your Mistress yells, flinging grain down at the birds. “Go inside and dress yourself this instant, you wretch! And begin your morning duties!” 

You jump, darting back behind the door. You hadn’t thought anyone would be out yet. “Sorry, Mistress!” 

You rush to grab your stays from the end of your bed. You’ll pay for that one, you think. 

There are a million reasons why you prefer doing your chores out of the house. 

One, the Mistress isn’t around to rag on you over every little thing. Two, you don’t have to be watching over your shoulder to make sure you aren’t in the Master’s way. And three, you can take all the time you want to do other things as well, as long as you get done before dinner has to be served. 

Your skirt is filthy, but it’s a beautiful day, and the creek that separates your Master’s land from Mr. Thatch’s land is babbling quite a bit, and it makes doing the washing up much easier than it otherwise would be. Which you’re happy about, since your arm is so badly welted you can barely curl your fingers. 

You sniffle and lift your apron to wipe your nose. Then you wring out the Mistress’s petticoat– of which there are far too many for one woman to reasonably have– you whine at the strain on your injured hand, and you move to the basket of other soiled clothes. You think about blowing your nose in the Master’s linen shirt, and you’re about two seconds from doing it, too, when you hear a splash nearby. 

“Shit,” says a man’s voice. There are a couple more splashes around the bend, and then yelps, and then there’s one enormous splash, and a laugh. 

“Hello?” you call, trying to peer around the bank of overgrowth beside you. Then, there’s a cacophonous amount of splashing, which makes you screw up your face, and a man emerges from around the bank of greenery.

You pause, holding your Master’s laundry in your hands over the water like you’re wondering whether to dip it in or not. Really, you’re just shocked to see a strange man on your Master’s property at all. He’s out of breath, rosy cheeked and soaking wet from the chest down.

“Um,” is all you can say.

“Hello there,” the man says with a rakish grin that flashes sharp teeth at you. You blink a few times, just to make sure he’s really there. And when you do satisfy yourself with the fact that, yes, he’s very real, you then have to acclimate yourself to the idea that he’s also absolutely beautiful.

His very pretty face is framed by long, dark hair, and his eyes are strikingly dark. There’s something on his skin peeking out of the open collar of his burgundy blouse, but to look at that from this distance means to look at the way his shirt clings to his body, and then his trousers, and if you weren’t already struck dumb, now you are.

“How– how are you– um.” You wave your hands around, gesturing to the general area around you. “Whatareyoudoinghere?” 

“I think I was going for a swim, of sorts,” the man laughs, holding one arm out a bit to indicate his damp appearance. 

“Who are you?”

“Now, there’s a question for the ages.” The man tromps forward through the water, splashing along gracelessly and with exaggerated steps, like he’s trying to make you laugh. “Generally speaking, no one really cares who I am, just what I want.” 

“Okay,” you snap, irritated by the man’s jovial attitude and his need to speak in riddles. “What do you want? Why are you on this land? What business do you have here, and with whom?” 

“Whoa, hey–” the man holds up his hands, and grimaces like it’s painful to do so. Then he recovers with a flashy smile. “I don’t mean you any harm, princess. I have no business anywhere, I was just following the creek and seeing where it leads. Guess the time got away from me.”

“I’m not a princess,” you grumble back at him.

He tilts his head, his smile lingering as he looks at you. “Just an expression, no need to be nasty.”

You scowl down at your master’s clothes, and then plunge them into the water like they personally offended you. “Following the creek from where?” He points his thumb over his shoulder, towards the trees. “You came from the woods?”

“Thereabouts.” 

You squint up at him. “What’s your name?”

“Eddie Munson, at your service.” He bows dramatically and takes another step towards you. “And may I ask who you are? Or shall I just call you ‘My Lovely Lady of the Creek,’ for time immemorial?”

You tell him your name flatly, and turn your face away as he gets closer, suddenly very invested in getting sweat stains out of your Master’s linen blouse using a cake of lye soap. “You should know not to go into those woods alone. There’s wolves.” 

 “Oh, I think I can handle myself in the woods, sweetheart.” Eddie smirks down at you. “Anyways, who wants to be in the trees on a day like this?” 

You grunt. You don’t think the man will be going away anytime soon, which is bad news for you, because the closer he gets, the more inclined you are to look at him. Then, you’re more inclined to talk, and you’ve already been punished once today. You don’t think you could handle another.

The man, Eddie, sits himself down on a large rock jutting out of the water next to you. He watches you for a moment, scrubbing with one hand at the cloth on the board in the water, and then he points down at your arm. His billowing sleeve flashes red in your peripheral vision, along with the silver of the rings on his hand.

“What happened here?” he asks softly, his voice losing its humorous tone.

You look down at the welted skin. It stings, but the cold water numbs the pain just a bit. Now that he’s brought your attention back to it, your eyes prick with tears again, and you sniff. “My Mistress caught me outdoors in my chemise.”

“She should count herself lucky. It’s a sight to behold.” 

“What?” You blink up at him. From this angle, him looming over you on a boulder, the sun rings his head in gold like a halo. “How would you know?” 

“I’m… supposing.” Eddie bites his lip, staring off to the side for a moment, as if suddenly at a loss for the right words to say. “You’re a very… beautiful girl. I can only imagine.” 

“That’s forward of you.” 

“Besides, it doesn’t answer my question,” he rushes out. He scowls back down at your arm. “What did that to you?” 

You heave a sigh. “Well, the Mistress told my Master. And the Master is very heavy handed with a cane.” A small sob constricts your throat for a moment, tears pricking your eyes again so badly that you have to stop working and close them. Your sinuses burn from the effort of holding it in.

“You were beaten because you went outside without a petticoat?” Eddie remarks incredulously, “That’s ridiculous.”

“Well, I… I was also late to start my chores,” you admit in a wobbly voice. “So I suppose I got off easier than most would…” 

“It’s cruel. I’d love to see how he would take it, if the tables were turned.” Eddie’s dark eyes flash dangerously when you look up at him; there’s something in the set of his jaw and the steely expression on his face that makes you think of the growling wolf last night. After a moment, he softens towards you again. “Why were you late to your chores?”

“I…” you trail off. You think about telling him about the wolf, but you wonder if he’s the kind of person who will go into town and yell about the wolves trying to steal women in the night, and you could do without the embarrassment. “I had a nightmare. Slept too late.”

Eddie clicks his tongue and rocks backward a bit. “A nightmare,” he repeats, considering the word like it’s a part of life’s philosophy. “What about?”

You don’t respond for a few moments. You’ve moved on to washing a pillowcase now, which is significantly less soiled than your Master’s blouse. “Why do you care?”

“I care because I hate to see My Lovely Lady of the Creek in distress. Even if she is completely vexed by the sight of me,” He says lightly, as you tilt your head down to hide the way your cheeks burn. He reaches up his right hand and produces a silver coin from behind your ear. You stare at it in puzzlement as he hands it to you. “What was your nightmare about?”

You hesitate just a moment before taking the silver coin. “Is this bribery?”

“Absolutely,” Eddie announces with a wry smile. “For your thoughts.”

You sigh. You could use the coin, you’ll admit. Maybe you could buy yourself a new robe, or a loaf of bread from the baker, or any other of the myriad things you’re in want of. 

You tuck the coin down the front of your bodice, where it slides down and gets stuck between your ribcage and your chemise. Eddie’s eyes follow the path that it takes between your breasts with a hungry glint in them. 

“There was a wolf,” you tell him quietly, going back to your work. “It came to my door bleeding. I brought it inside and nursed it. But when I woke, there wasn’t a wolf. It was just a nightmare.”

“Oh,” Eddie hums amusedly. “I wouldn’t call that a nightmare. I’d rather call it a dream.”

“A dream?” you echo with a scoff. 

“Yes. A lovely dream, with a heroine and a lonely beast in need of kindness.” He leans towards you, his hands on his knees. “But, you know what they say about wild things.”

You huff with indignance, but humor him, because you’re curious in spite of yourself. “I don’t know. What do they say?”

“You shouldn’t show them kindness,” he whispers, so close to your ear that you can feel his breath on your neck. “They’ll keep coming back for more.”

You startle, standing up with a noisy splash of water as you yank the last of the laundry from the creek. There’s a flush under your bodice that you don’t like, sticking to the coin that’s going hot against your skin as you think about it even being there. That it was produced by his hand. The more you think about it, the more you imagine it as an extension of his body, touching you just beneath your breast. 

Eddie snickers to himself as you hurriedly, shakily, smack the last piece of laundry into the basket with the rest, and pick up the washboard from the water. With a frustrated huff, you stand and rest the basket of laundry on your hip. You gaze out across the creek, and then away towards the trees, and finally, when you’re sure you can form words, you turn back to him. 

“Goodbye, Mr. Munson,” you say stiffly, so that you don’t trip over your own tongue. It comes out icily as a result, and you turn away to hide the way that you blush.

“Until we meet again.” Eddie presses his lips together, as though he’s stifling a laugh. Then he says, in a slightly bossy tone, “Take care of that arm for me, princess. Don’t want you getting any more beat up.”

You whirl around to ask him to repeat that– what the hell did you just say?– but when you do, the man is already gone. Along with any trace of his presence by the creekside. 

Except, the coin he bought your dream with still grows warm against the heat of your skin, under your bodice. 

[mirkwoodshewolf]

Pairing - Vampire Henry (from the movie ‘Eat Locals’) and Fem!Reader.

Summary:

When your great aunt Ellie leaves you Luminarium in her will, you decide to escape London and start a new life in rural Norfolk. But the forest that borders the cottage is hiding secrets, and one of them is Henry, a lonely, centuries old vampire, who is not only mourning the loss of Ellie but hopes you might fill the void she left behind.

Author's Notes:

Sorry this chapter has taken so long to write. Before Christmas I was kinda preoccupied with my Michael Kinsella fic and after Christmas I had the dreaded writer's block which has only recently lifted. That being said, writing this chapter has been a struggle, like trying to squeeze blood from a stone at times, so apologies if it's a bit naff. The writing is flowing a lot better now though and I have lots of exciting scenes in my head between Henry and Reader for future chapters.

Chapter 7 - A shocking Discovery

(this chapter starts a few minutes before Henry's despairing cry at the end of chapter 6)

You blinked into the dancing firelight, feeling a little woozy after downing your generous glass of wine far too quickly. But it was already dulling the throbbing in your ankle and the soreness of your hand, so you didn’t hesitate to pour yourself a second glass.

As you sipped reflectively, your gaze flicked across to the empty chair opposite you and you felt a rush of disappointment, wondering what had called Henry away so urgently. You still had the awful feeling that you had been far too pushy, trying to persuade him to eat or drink, and had made him feel uncomfortable. 

You frowned. Although he had acted rather weird when you had cut your hand, especially when you had returned to the kitchen for the bottle cork. You felt he had seemed a little…guilty? Though you had no idea what about. At the time, he had been very kindly clearing up the broken glass for you. A mess that you had made.

In hindsight, you felt the whole episode with your hand seemed to have affected him for some reason. You had sensed something a little off in his behaviour, even in the tone of his voice. Was he one of those people who didn’t like the sight of blood, perhaps? 

Something else that you had found slightly disconcerting. When he had fleetingly touched your hand, his skin had felt unusually cool. It hadn’t been that chilly down in the cellar, surely? You remembered his hand being cold in the forest when you had first encountered him, but you had put it down to being outside.

Your frown deepened as you brought your thumbnail up to your mouth and chewed down upon it pensively. There had also been the discovery of his fiddle case, leaning against the wall at the top of the cellar stairs. If he had received a call urging him away while he was in the cellar, why hadn’t he left the fiddle down there if he had known he wouldn’t be playing it. 

Whatever the reason, you had brought it through into the living room and put it somewhere safe, out of the way, where it couldn’t get knocked over by your clumsy limping feet. Your gaze kept straying across to it, so very tempted to take a peek inside the case. They were beautiful instruments. Probably the most aesthetic of them all. And you had always loved the sound. In fact, one of your favourite pieces of classical music, The Lark Ascending by Vaughan Williams, had been composed specifically for the violin.

Yawning, you returned your wine glass to the coffee table and snuggled into the cosy chair again, resting your head back against the soft timeworn velvet.  As your eyes grew heavy, you told yourself that you were probably making mountains out of molehills about everything. You had a tendency to do that. Some people did have colder hands, your sleepy mind insisted, it was connected to circulation problems. And even grown men could have an aversion to the sight of blood. 

But alcohol always made you feel a little melodramatic and your brain just wouldn’t let it go. Reminding you of the Christmas cards with the perplexing dates. What were the odds of there being two Henrys in Ellie’s life? Really? You didn’t think it was that common a name. You sighed your frustration. But what other explanation was there?

The room was blissfully warm, thanks to Henry lighting the fire for you again, and you eventually started to drift off. Even though he had left early, you had still enjoyed the time you had spent with him. You didn’t really believe in love at first sight but you couldn’t deny that you were already attracted to him. And yet, it wasn’t just lust at first sight either. There was something about him. Something…different. A gentle gallantry that you had never encountered in a man before.

His sweet smile was the first thing you saw when your eyes finally flickered closed, and your own lips twitched dreamily as you imagined him leaning in to kiss you…

The cry revived you with the intensity of a sledgehammer to the chest, ripping through your senses so violently that for a split second you couldn’t breathe as you swept your gaze around the room in a panic.

Yet when you caught sight of Scorch he had barely stirred on the fireside rug, except to peer up at you curiously. Though your heart pounded in your chest, his indifference made you hesitate as you clutched at the chair arms. Surely the cry would have alarmed him too? 

You tried to calm your ragged breath as you slowly relaxed your iron grip on the chair. Had it, in fact, come from within? Inside your head. Had you nodded off and been dreaming again? Like when you had heard the owl?

You swallowed nervously. Whether it had been real or imagined, you had never heard a sound like it. It had certainly been no owl this time. It had been raw and animalistic, yet somehow…still human, if that was possible, filled with so much emotion. Whoever - whatever - it was, you had felt their pain, their anguish, so profoundly.

Quickly reaching forward for your glass, you shakily downed the last of your wine, unsettled by how vivid your dreams had become since moving into Luminarium. But you were also intrigued. Was it the ancient echoes of the cottage itself, somehow seeping into your subconscious; it was very old, after all. Or was it something else entirely?

You suddenly thought of Henry and you felt a tightening in your chest. 

Or even…a someone?

****

Dressed again, Henry exhaled smoke into the briny night air as he sat on a rock looking out across the ink-black ocean. He felt a little drained, truth be told, but it hadn’t happened in a long time, letting it all out like that. Or exerting his powers to such an extent. He didn’t get triggered often. His life was, for the most part, pretty peaceful considering what he was.

Brows furrowing broodingly, he took another long drag on his roll up, though neither his cigarette nor the lull of the surf could alleviate the despondency that weighed down upon him. After he had lost Clara, he had vowed never to taste human blood again, even if it was offered willingly. He had kept this vow for almost a hundred and fifty years. Until now. He scrubbed a hand across his face and back through his damp hair.  Less than twenty-four hours after meeting you, he had succumbed. And so unscrupulously, he thought angrily, feeling demoralised and ashamed.

Part of him wanted to simply return to the cottage and tell you the truth. Tell you what he was, how he had became what he was, and moreover, try to convince you that he was no monster. 

A sad smile shivered across his lips. It had been so much easier with Ellie. She had only been a child when she first encountered him, and children were innately  accepting and open minded. 

Coincidently, it had also been in the forest. 

Warmth flooded through him at the memory, remembering how cute she had been with her little suitcase. She had only been seven.

Concerned to see her all alone in the dark, he had crouched down in front of her. “What are you doing out here, pet, in the middle of the night? You should be at home, tucked up in bed.”

“I’m running away,” she had insisted, jutting out her little chin defiantly. 

Despite her bravado, her tiny heart had been racing. “Why’s that, my love?”

“They won’t let me have a kitten.”

“Your ma and pa?”

She had nodded with the most endearing frown, and though it had tortured him to remember, she had reminded him so much of his daughter. 

“I’m sure they have their reasons,” he had managed, burying his pain.

“They said I’m too little to look after one. And that they sure as hell don’t have time to.”

He bit back a grin, suspecting she was quoting them word for word.

“So I left them a letter telling them I’m not coming home until they promise to get me one.” 

He wondered where she intended to go but decided not to broach that particular subject. Instead, he walked over to a fallen tree trunk, sat down, and patted the space beside him.

Ellie had regarded him a little shyly but hadn’t hesitated to join him, hefting her suitcase up with her, holding it tightly in her arms as she balanced it on her lap. He had considered helping her but she had already demonstrated she had plenty of pluck by trying to run away in the first place, and he sensed that she probably preferred to do things for herself. Always spirited and independent, whatever her age. He had always admired that.

“Now…” he started gently. “What’s all this talk of kittens when you have all of the forest creatures on your very doorstep?”

He knew that she lived at Luminarium because he always made it his priority to learn all he could about its present occupants. Nothing could jeopardise his little secret in the cellar, and thankfully, nothing had in all of the centuries it had remained hidden.

Ellie had watched him curiously and he had smiled. “A few crusts of bread, some nuts and seeds, lumps of lard in the winter. It’ll draw them all… birds, squirrels, hedgehogs…” 

“Hedgehogs?” she had cut him off with a gasp. 

“Yes, my darling. You like hedgehogs?”

She had nodded excitedly. “They’re my favourite. I’m making one at school out of paper mache.”

“Are you now? How clever,” he had praised, making her smile proudly.

“I like to make animals myself,” he had added. His latest carving was actually in his pocket, alongside his whittling knife, though he hadn’t quite finished the detailing on the feathers.

“Out of paper mache?”

“No, out of wood.”

“Oooooh,” she had returned, impressed. 

“Would you like to see the one that I’m working on?”

Her eyes had widened. “Yes, please.”

She had squealed when he had revealed the owl, and actually trembled with excitement when he had handed it to her to look at.

“It’s beautiful!” she had gushed, holding it aloft like it was some priceless treasure. "I love owls! I hear them all the time in the night. And I see them sometimes, whooshing past my bedroom window.”

“Yes, there are a lot of them around here.”

She had handed it back to him, but he could tell it was a little reluctantly. At that moment he knew that his next carving would be for her. 

A pleasant silence had fallen between them. The first of many that would span almost eighty years. 

“What is your name?” she had eventually said.

“Henry,” he had returned with a smile. 

“I’m Ellie,” she had declared before he could ask himself. 

“That’s a very pretty name.”

“I hate it,” she sighed. “A girl at school calls me Ellie Wellie when it rains and I have to wear my wellington boots. Or Ellie Jelly when we have jelly at lunch.”

“She sounds very silly.”

“Oh, she is,” Ellie had said in exasperation, sounding seven going on seventeen, and Henry had to bite back another grin. “She even called me Ellie Smelly once but I kicked her for that.”

He had chuckled quietly, suspecting she could be quite the spitfire at times. “I think you were justified that time, pet.”

She had looked up at him with a frown. “Do you live in the forest?” 

“Sometimes.”

She had mulled that over before asking: “Why are you outside at night? Shouldn’t you be tucked up in bed too?”

He had decided to be semi-honest. “I have to sleep when you are awake.”

“Are you a night worker like my uncle John? He sleeps all morning and I have to be very quiet when I play with my cousin. ”

“In a manner of speaking.” 

When he noticed she had started to shiver he frowned himself. “I think you’d better go home now, pet. Get back in the warm.”

She had scowled towards luminarium.

“Remember what I said about the forest animals? The sooner you go to bed, the sooner tomorrow will come and you can start feeding them. And the longer you do that the tamer they’ll get, until they become your friends. You want that, don’t you?”

She had nodded. 

“Good girl.”

He had leaned in. “This will be our little secret, ok? I won’t tell your ma and pa that you ran away, and you won’t tell them you saw me.”

“Our secret,” she had agreed conspiratively, seeming to like that idea very much.

She had returned to the cottage giddy with thoughts of all the forest friends she was going to make, and while he accepted, given her location and temperament, that it would have happened naturally anyway, he liked to believe it was he who had first planted the seed that would germinate into her all encompassing love of the natural world.

A week later he had noticed a rickety bird table in Luminarium's garden that he assumed her father had made for her. The man had no doubt decided that encouraging a few birds into the garden would be a lot less hassle than caring for a cat. While he appreciated her father’s efforts, he had itched to make Ellie a better one. But it had been a start. And there had been ample opportunities to make Ellie more elaborate, well crafted tables, in the many years that followed.  

Henry blinked back his emotions as he returned to the present, the sound of the surf flooding his senses once more. 

As he took one final drag on his roll up, he was conscious of your blood staining the cuff of his shirt, its sweet scent still recent enough to be heady on his senses. The desire to bring it up to his nose and inhale more deeply was overwhelming, but he resisted the impulse, quickly stubbing out the butt of his cigarette on the rock and dropping back down onto the sand.

As he retraced his steps across the beach he wasn’t quite sure what he was going to do where you were concerned. After betraying your trust so abominably, he didn’t think he could face you straight away, and yet he already missed your company and the warmth of Luminarium, and dear old Scorch, of course.

As he nimbly climbed the craggy path that led back up to the cliff top he decided he would feed, take a wander, and then, just before the sun rose, he would return to the smuggler’s tunnel and sleep on it. 

*****

After being so shockingly woken by the mysterious cry, whatever the hell it was, you were feeling more than a little on edge. You were still woozy from the wine but experiencing an odd, alcohol-numbed version of tenterhooks. 

You returned the wine bottle and empty glass to the kitchen, noticing, to your relief, that your limp was a lot less pronounced now. You were almost walking normally again. 

But as you sat back in the fireside chair, Henry’s fiddle case kept tormenting your peripheral vision, your restless mind desperately needing a distraction. He wouldn’t mind you taking a little peek, would he? You’d be careful.

Biting your lip, you wondered whether his fiddle would smell like him. That natural, earthy scent you remembered when he was carrying you in his arms. It would have spent a lot of time pressed up against his neck. And been caressed and manipulated by his fingers countless times. You shuddered at the imagery it conjured, but with you in the place of the instrument.

You fanned yourself with a devilish smirk, but it helped relaxed you a little.

Oh, what the hell! You were having a look! If it was so valuable he wouldn’t have left it in a cold old cellar would he. You very much doubted it would turn out to be a Stradivarius! 

Bringing the case across to the sofa, you sat excitedly down beside it. Before you opened it, however, you told yourself firmly that you were definitely not going to attempt to play it though. 

Unclipping the fastening you took a deep breath and slowly opened the lid. 

You smiled. It was even more beautiful than you had imagined. You knew, instantly, that it was very old. Not quite Stradivarius old, but definitely an antique. The craftsmanship was exquisite, the curves elegant and refined, the wood varnished a gorgeous rich dark reddish colour. Yet at the same time, it was far from perfect. It was scratched and scuffed, the varnish chipped in numerous places. But that was what made it all the more beautiful. This was so obviously a cherished instrument, extremely well used, and no doubt a joy to play.

You sniffed. There was a smell - though not quite Henry. Woody, as you would expect, but you had no idea what type of wood. Maple, perhaps? Ellie would have known. You sniffed again. Actually, you thought you could detect a hint of pine. Rosin on the strings? It would make sense given it was made of resin.

You decided not to lift it out. Now that you had seen it, you didn’t dare. You had been clumsy enough already and you’d never forgive yourself if you managed to damage it in some way. 

But you did investigate the pockets and storage cavities in the case, finding spare strings and a lump of rosin which you quickly brought up to your nose. Yes, that was the pine-ish scent. There was also a notebook, about A6 size.

Flicking through the pages you saw that it was filled with musical notation. All neatly hand drawn. And what you assumed were titles of songs. Sometimes a couple of lines of verse. Henry’s own compositions, perhaps? 

But your smile faltered when your wine-sluggish brain finally registered the writing. You sucked in your breath. It was the same handwriting. The same handwriting as the Christmas cards and books. 

You let out a nervous laugh and brought your hand to your mouth to stifle it, pressing the back of your fingers against your lips. No, you insisted to yourself. No, it couldn’t be. The wine was affecting you. Distorting your perception. Making you see things that weren’t there.

But you had to double-check, and five minutes later the books and cards were strewn across the coffee table, the writing on display for your disbelieving eyes. 

They exactly matched the handwriting in the notebook. 

The notebook that belonged to Henry. 

You shook your head, unable to accept it. That wasn’t possible. The oldest Christmas card was from the 50’s. And the writing in the books was actually faded and could date even earlier.

But you couldn’t ignore what was staring you in the face so blatantly. The possibility that the two Henry’s were actually one and the same. 

Leaving everything where it was, you stood up and walked mechanically back to the fireside chair, sinking down in a daze.

So what did this mean?

Pulling your knees up to your chest you hugged them tightly. 

It meant that Henry was a hell of a lot older than he looked. If he was sending Christmas cards to Ellie in the 1950's, even if he had been a kid back then, he’d be…what?…in his 60’s now? Even good genes couldn’t make someone look that young, surely?

You suddenly remembered his room in the cellar. Could there be something down there that could shed some light on everything. He had been sleeping there for god knows how many years -

You mouth dropped limply open and you actually felt the hairs on the back of your neck prick up as realisation dawned. The real reason why you were never allowed to explore the cellar as a child.

Henry!

****

I actually learnt to play the violin for a couple of years but it fizzled out. It's a beautiful but difficult instrument to play. Writing this fic is actually making me want to start to learn again! LOL!

****

Thanks for reading!

tag list - @mirkwoodshewolf

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Chapter list -

If you would prefer to read this fic over at AO3 -

[mirkwoodshewolf]

OMFG HIIIIIIII

I Remember I used to read your Marvel and LOTR fics. I used to even follow your Wattpad, way back in 7th-8th grade, without an account, and your name has been INGRAINED in my mind, and today I finally looked you up and started following you. I love your fics so much!!!!! Thank you for being one of my introductions to the world of fanfiction!

awww long time fan i see. Youre such a sweetie and im honored to have been one of your introduction to fanfics. I myself have been writing fanfics since 7th grade and now over a decade later im still writing fanfics. It’s been crazy and i never thought id continue writing fanfics for this long but i love it. Thanks for the follow and hope you enjoy the updates I’ve got in the future 💗❤️

[mirkwoodshewolf]

Don’t ask me how or why but this is what my brain has decided:

Matthew Michael Murdock is a Tuxedo Cat:

Bucky Barnes is an orange cat who hurts itself in his own confusion:

@sunflowersandsapphires you already know babe

[mirkwoodshewolf]

Hi! I think I remember a fic of yours.. at least I think it was yours, and I wonder if you could direct me to it? If it doesn’t sound familiar please ignore me 😂 it was Thranduil and I think the reader as his granddaughter (Legolas daughter). I believe she kept running away into the woods for some reason or other and no one could understand why so Thranduil trapped her in his lap while he was sat on his throne and tickled her to get the answer from her?? Again please ignore me if this isn’t yours, and have a wonderful day!

hey anon I’m sorry but that doesn’t sound like one of my fics and I wouldn’t know where to find that request. Any of my readers or fans out there got any idea where this request is at? Help out a fellow anon cause this sounds like a cute fic I’d want to read.

[mirkwoodshewolf]

this was indeed a great Christmas present ❤️❤️ loved every bit of it and reading the past b/t stargazer and the toy maker was 🤯🥺😭 I really wanted to hug her at that point. And the ending UGH MY HEART I LOVE THAT HER AND THE DOCTOR FINALLY GET TO HAVE A HAPPY ENDING TOGETHER!! I hope that epilogue is going to be the wedding hehe but whatever you write for it I know I’ll love it either way. Merry Christmas dearie and happy new year

WHERE DO WE GO NOW? - CH. 3 | 14th Doctor

Chapter Three: Guess The Space Was The Thing That I Needed, But I Miss You

Summary: You arrived on present-day Earth engulfed in violence and chaos. And a familiar foe who transcends the universe’s laws and logic. He hails from a realm where science is a game, but that salt trick apparently blurred the lines of reality enough for him to enter your universe.

Pairing: 14th Doctor x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Hurt-to-Comfort, Angst, Fluff, Possible Plot Holes, Vague Background, Aliens, Mild Horror, Violence, Past Trauma, Depression, Anxiety, Timey-Wimey Stuff, Star-Crossed Lovers, Second Chance, Character Death, 

Word Count: 15.5k

A/N: Hello old friend, and here we are, you and me on the last… chapter. When I posted the first chapter of this mini-series I was honestly terrified of the response I would be getting. I hadn’t been writing for a while due to stress or lack of motivation. But then the miracle called the Doctor Who specials came into existence and here we are. Also, Merry Christmas Eve! Here’s my little gift to you. I hope you enjoy. (P.S. yes there will be an epilogue :>)

Song: This Love by Taylor Swift (Taylor's Version)

Previous Chapter → Next Chapter | Series Masterlist | Main Masterlist

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ENGLAND, THE STREETS OF LONDON — DAY, 2023

The world descends into turmoil and pandemonium as cars collide, their metal frames screeching against each other. The air is filled with the cacophony of people shouting and screaming. Amidst the mayhem, you, the Doctor, and Donna navigate the tumult, pushing Wilf's wheelchair through the chaotic landscape. Struggling through the disarray, people around you engage in fights and heated arguments, adding to the surreal spectacle of disorder unfolding.

As the rumble of a truck engine grows louder, a man defiantly strides onto the road, seemingly prepared to challenge the oncoming driver. Reacting swiftly, both you and the Doctor extend your arms, urgently intervening. You exclaim, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Excuse me. Can you tell me, what the bloody hell are you doing?"

The elderly man, with an air of self-assuredness, retorts, "I can’t drive."

Perplexed, you furrow your brow and inquire, "Okay, so— Which means?"

Meanwhile, a car behind you impatiently honks, prompting the Doctor to raise his hand, signaling the driver to wait. Unperturbed, the stranger in front of you explains, "I pay my taxes. Which means I paid for this road. It is mine, and I will do with it what I like."

The Doctor interjects, cautioning, "You’ll get yourself killed."

The man, with a sneer and a narrowed gaze, replies, "It’s my life, not yours." Undeterred, the Doctor suggests, "But you could just stand over there and be safe."

Flailing his arms emphatically, the man retorts, "Blame them! Because it all changed two days ago. Everyone started thinking they’re right all the time. And they won’t change their mind. If you try to argue, they go mad. Well, not me. I’ve always been right."

The deafening honk of the truck intensifies as it barrels forward, compelling the Doctor to swiftly seize you and yank you out of harm's way. In the chaos, you unintentionally collide with a well-dressed man adorned in a tuxedo, complete with a top hat and a staff in his left hand. Apologizing in a refined manner, he utters, "Oh, excusez-moi, madame et monsieur, je suis désolé. But perhaps you will dance avec moi."

He then takes the lead in an impromptu dance, placing his hand just above your waist and swaying with you amidst the bedlam unfolding on the street. In a rather peculiar tone, he utters, "Ooh la la."

Feeling uncomfortable, you gently pull away from the eccentric stranger. The Doctor, sensing your unease, protectively tucks you behind his body and asserts, "That's my wife, sir. Excuse me." With a subtle maneuver, he guides you away, back to where Donna and Wilf are positioned on the side of the street.

Amidst the cacophony of screaming voices echoing through the chaotic streets, the peculiar stranger continues his solo dance, creating a bizarre spectacle in the midst of the turmoil. The distant whirr of a helicopter above adds to the disconcerting atmosphere, leaving you and the Doctor with a growing sense of panic, a shared feeling of confusion about the unfolding events.

Armored vehicles roll onto the scene, their imposing presence and military precision contrasting sharply with the chaotic backdrop. A soldier, wielding a loud megaphone, calls out with urgency, "Attention, the Doctor and the Stargazer! Attention, the Doctor and the Stargazer! Stay where you are. You are UNIT control. Repeat, UNIT control."

The soldiers swiftly move into action, their movements coordinated as they converge on your location. One of them confidently asserts, "Go, go, go! Let’s move! Eyes on, eyes on! I got them." The atmosphere shifts from anarchic confusion to a semblance of organized control as UNIT takes charge.

The authoritative figure from UNIT, Colonel Ibrahim, strides forward, a no-nonsense expression etched on his face. "Doctor, Stargazer, I’m Colonel Ibrahim of UNIT squad five," he declares with military precision. He gestures toward a waiting vehicle, a subtle urgency in his stance.

Donna, the voice of concern, steps forward, her plea directed at the Colonel. "Get him to safety. All right? Never mind about us. I want my grandad safe. All right? You got that?" Her words carry the weight of a granddaughter determined to ensure the safety of her grandad, emphasizing the weight of the situation.

Colonel Ibrahim gives an assertive nod, his military demeanor unwavering. "Yes, ma’am. We’ll keep your family safe," he assures Donna. Wilf, displaying concern for his granddaughter's well-being, encourages her, "You go with the Doctor."

Amidst the organized chaos of UNIT soldiers following orders, a palpable sense of unease settles over you. A feeling of being observed intensifies, prompting you to instinctively clasp the Doctor’s hand. Together, your hearts quicken as you turn to the left, discovering the stranger with whom you shared an odd dance. He stands eerily still, offering a disconcerting smile and a small wave, sending shivers down your spine.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

UNIT HEADQUARTERS, LONDON — DAY, 2023

Seated alongside the Doctor in the first helicopter, you peer out of the window, taking in the chaotic scene below. The city is ablaze, casting an eerie glow that turns the world outside into a disorienting spectacle, as if the very fabric of reality has been upended. The second helicopter follows closely, bearing the weight of the TARDIS, an emblem of hope amidst the turmoil. The flickering flames paint a surreal canvas against the night sky, leaving you with a profound sense of displacement.

The helicopter sets down on the helipad at the UNIT headquarters, and as you disembark, the brisk wind from the rotor blades whips through the air. Donna clutches her coat tightly, shouting over the din, "Oh, here comes trouble."

Shirley, in her wheelchair, wheels forward with a wide smile, greeting you with a warm, "I could say the same thing about you." The TARDIS touches down nearby on the helipad, and amidst the noise, the Doctor remarks, "Shirley, you can’t be serious." Shirley squeezes your arm in a friendly greeting.

Chief Scientific Officer Kate, your boss, appears on the scene, her short blonde hair bouncing slightly as she strides towards the group. The Doctor, arms outstretched, exclaims, "And Kate Lethbridge-Stewart. I remember your father working night and day to keep UNIT a secret. Look at you now. Out and proud defending the Earth."

Kate embraces the Doctor tightly before turning to you with a subdued smile, saying, "I fought them all. Robots and insects and yetis and clones. But what do we do this time, Doctor? How do we fight the human race?"

Inside the UNIT headquarters, the large steel doors close behind you, shutting out the chaos. The new HQ unfolds before your eyes, with the hum of radio chatter and the bustle of people. Multiple screens and tables with keyboards fill the room, and a triple giant screen at the center displays various statistics and news outlets reporting the devastation around the world.

Kate hands the tablet to the Doctor, and you lean over to peer at the symbols and graphs displayed on it. The Doctor, engrossed in the data, doesn't look up as he remarks, "Good, good, good. Now, what have we got? Are these worldwide? 'Cause I'm gonna need all of the statistics."

As he turns to his right, an exclamation of surprise escapes him. Your gaze follows his, and there stands a very familiar redheaded companion and colleague. She grins at the Doctor's reaction, and he joyfully exclaims, "Oh! That is the best news! Melanie, hello!"

Both you and the Doctor share a brief hug with Mel, who giggles and adds, "We'll catch up later. We haven't got time." You chime in with a playful, "Ta-da! Surprise, Doctor."

Turning to you, the Doctor asks, "You knew?"

You playfully roll your eyes and retort, "We work together, dear." Mel adds, "We also try to meet every Saturday for a cuppa."

Mel tilts her head slightly, addressing Donna with a warm smile, "I used to be like you. I was one of their companions." Donna gasps, exclaiming, "I wasn't the first redhead?"

With a shake of her head, Mel allows her large red curls to bounce, "No. That was me."

Donna awkwardly chuckles as the Doctor takes his glasses and wears them, quipping, "Although don't say companion. That sounds like we park him on the seafront at Weston-super-mare."

As Shirley pushes herself off the wheelchair, standing and giving Donna a look, Donna suddenly realizes what she said and turns to face Shirley, asking, "Is 'park' rude?" Shirley replies with a monotone voice, "Borderline." Donna winces in response.

In the heart of the command center, Kate stands with authority, her tablet in hand, and announces, "And stations. Gold Protocols. The Doctor and the Stargazer are in the room. Report."

Shirley adjusts her stance, her voice cutting through the air, "Two days ago, an increase in violence worldwide. The same increase in every country, all rising at exactly the same rate."

"Basically, every single human being thinks they're right and won't be told otherwise," Kate says, moving to stand next to you. Colonel Ibrahim adds, "That plane crash, the F665, Boston to Heathrow. The pilot declared his right to land wherever he wants."

On the screen, footage of the crazed pilot plays. His eyes were wide, he laughs amidst the blaring alarms of his instruments, declaring, "I'm coming home. Lookout, London. Daddy's coming home!"

In the tension-filled room, the Doctor initiates, "If everyone is going mad—" and Kate concurs, completing the thought, "So is the government."

Shirley, with a solemn nod, swipes on the screen of her tablet, unveiling footage of the current Prime Minister. He stands on a podium, his laughter echoing as he addresses the nation, "What do I care? I mean, seriously? Why should I care about you?"

In the aftermath of Donna's nonchalant remark, injecting a touch of humor with her observation, "No change there then," the room grapples with the unsettling scenes unfolding on the screen. The Doctor, now reclaiming the tablet, hands it back to Mel, who places it on her station. His gaze then sweeps across the room, and he remarks, "But you're fine. You're completely normal. And that's because of the—" He gestures towards the silver bands adorned with a glowing blue light worn around their arms.

Kate steps in to elaborate, "Oh, we call it the Zeedex." As the room processes this information, a robot's machine voice chimes in from the far left, connected to tubes and sporting screens, proudly announcing, "An invention of the Vlinx."

Taking a step forward, the Doctor addresses the robotic AI, "Hello, the Vlinx. I'm the Doctor, and this is my wife, the Stargazer."

Quick to clarify, you interject, "Not married yet."

"Just practicing," the Doctor playfully hums before turning his attention back to the Vlinx. With curiosity piqued, he queries, "So why's it called the Zeedex?"

In response to the Vlinx's brief explanation, "Good name," the Doctor emits a small, contemplative "Oh." Kate supplements the information, stating, "It disrupts the brain. Flattens the spike. Keeps everything calm."

With a slight scrunch of your nose, you inquire, "And the spike is?"

"I think I need to show you," Kate responds. Sensing a shift in the room, she commands Shirley, "Activate brain scan."

"Activating, ma'am," Shirley acknowledges. A beep emanates from the computer, and the screen displays the frequency inside Kate's brain. She points out, "That's my brain activity. Seems normal, albeit slightly heightened, given the end of the world. Now keep your eyes on the scan."

Kate moves to the center of the room and instructs, "And deactivate my Zeedex."

Shirley types on the keyboard, announcing, "Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, off." The light on her silver armband extinguishes. Kate takes a moment to scan the room, hands on hips, and asks, "Well?"

You gently interject, "Uh, hello?"

"Hello," Kate replies promptly, but her narrowed eyes betray suspicion. The Doctor poses a simple question, "How are you?"

"Fine," she responds.

You casually inquire, "Busy day?" Kate's nostrils flare, and she glares at you, retorting, "Why do you want to know?"

"I'm just asking. Is that a problem?" you reply, observing the increased spike in brain activity. Kate aggressively points at you, asserting, "It's an invasion of my privacy. In fact, it's an assault on my civic rights. And I think it's highly relevant that the person demanding information from me is an alien."

The Doctor turns to Shirley, nodding in approval for her to activate her Zeedex, and calmly says, "Okay."

However, Kate abruptly interjects, rejecting the Doctor's initiative, "No, no, no, no, no. I think you'll find that I'm in charge here." With a swift motion, she rips off her Zeedex, launching into an impassioned tirade, "And we've been infiltrated by aliens, a man and a woman with two hearts," she points accusatorily at the Doctor, "a man who changes his face and cannot be trusted."

As her anger intensifies, Kate aggressively directs her accusations at Donna and Mel, both with red hair, insinuating a conspiracy. You instinctively step forward, shielding them from Kate's escalating rage.

Growing more incensed, Kate turns her ire towards Shirley, who looks on with mild dissatisfaction. Kate singles out your friend and declares, "And as for her, in that chair. I've seen you walk. I've seen you walking! Don't deny it!"

UNIT soldiers move in to pull Kate away, and she unleashes her fury at you, "And you! This is all your fault! If you hadn't fallen into the bloody time rift, altering the universe with your existence and falling in love with the Doctor—none of this would have happened!"

The soldiers carefully escort Kate away, and the Doctor swiftly positions himself in front of you, protectively shielding you from lingering gazes. You bury your face in his shoulder as Kate continues to shout, "No, you can't stop me. It's about time you heard the truth."

One of the soldiers places the silver band back on Kate's arm and commands, "Activate Zeedex," resulting in a beep and the restoration of the blue light on her band. Kate sits on the floor, panting, as the tension in the room eases.

You lift your head from the Doctor's shoulder and nod, silently assuring him that you're okay. Together, you approach Kate, who is visibly distressed, covering her face with her hand. She breathes out an apology, "I'm sorry."

Both you and the Doctor shake your heads, reassuring her, "No, it's okay."

Gasping for air, Kate turns to Shirley, mortified, realizing the extent of her outburst. She says, "Shirley, I'm so sorry."

Shirley dismisses the need for an apology, "Absolutely no need."

UNIT soldiers help Kate to her feet as she acknowledges, "It's not just me. It keeps spiking inside every single person's head."

"But what does that mean? Is it being beamed in from outside?" Donna inquires. The Vlinx responds, "No. It is natural. It is generated inside the brain."

Donna points out, "But not me. Not Grandad." Mel adds, "Nor me. I'm wearing a Zeedex just in case, but I've been fine. Well, no more opinionated than usual." Donna sighs, "You and me both."

You and the Doctor ponder the situation, and he suggests, "Maybe long-term travel in the TARDIS put you out of sync."

Donna shakes her head and proposes, "Can't you give everyone a Zeedex?" Kate scoffs at the idea, gesturing to the screen behind her, where a late-night talk show host expresses her skepticism, "They're using this to control us and monitor us. And microwave our brains. I am anti-Zeedex!"

The Doctor, in response, asks you to help him with his coat. You take it from him and neatly place it on a chair. He then stands next to Shirley and suggests, "Can we filter this wavelength? Lose the background noise."

Shirley hums in response, typing away on her keyboard, "Uh-huh. Gives us a strong coherent wave in seizure focus. Peaking seven times."

As you consider the recent events, you voice your thoughts, "So, this started two days ago. But why then? What else happened on that day?" Kate responds, "Exactly. We've been looking for a trigger, and there's this."

The screen illuminates with the image of a satellite gracefully orbiting the Earth, accompanied by detailed blueprints on the left side. Kate elucidates, "The KOSAT 5 satellite, launched by South Korea, activated two days ago.”

Shirley, with a swift gesture, adds to the explanation by displaying a live feed of the satellite, which hovers 36,000 kilometers above Earth. Kate expounds further, “KOSAT is the final link in the chain. The world is now 100% online. From the highest mountain to the deepest valley on Earth, everyone is connected.”

"But KOSAT is clean. We’ve checked and double-checked. It’s not like the old Archangel Network. There’s nothing hiding in that signal." Shirley asserts, and the Doctor, with a contemplative hum, adds, “And yet.” He shakes his head, “For the first time in history, everyone has access to this.” He taps on the edge of one of the monitors, saying, “A screen.”

"What if it’s a tune?" Donna asks, prompting you and the Doctor to turn around and face her.

"What?" The Doctor inquires as you move to stand in front of her. Donna continues, "I know we’ve only got minutes left to live, but give me a second." Donna begins to draw lines on a clipboard with a piece of paper as she explains, "Because I spent six months teaching my daughter how to play the recorder till she said, ‘This is not who I am.’ That was the start of a whole other conversation, believe you me.”

She places the sheet of paper on the screen, drawing dots on the corresponding line, “But if… you look at these seven peaks, like this…”

She flips the sheet of paper around, revealing what you recognize to be music notes, and Donna confirms this by saying, “Maybe it's music.”

“A classic arpeggio. Middle C, an octave higher.” Mel says before she sings in arpeggio, “La, la, la, la, la, la, la.”

“Oh.” Kate says as if she remembers something, and you look around to see others having the same reaction, as if they’ve heard it before. You and the Doctor look around and ask, “What? What is it?”

Mel repeats her tune, “La, la, la, la, la, la, la.”

Donna gasps, her eyes slightly watering and her blue eyes shining as she says, “I know that tune.”

“I-I know that from somewhere. What are the notes?” Shirley asks, spinning her chair to face you, and you read them off, “C, E, G, C, G, E, C. It’s a musical palindrome.” Then you sigh, “But it’s just a straightforward arpeggio. Everyone knows arpeggios.”

“It’s a basic tune. So, the question is, why are we all reacting to this one?” Mel asks as everyone looks around at each other. You and the Doctor frown, and he says, “We’re not. The Vlinx?”

“Negative.” The Vlinx replies promptly, and you hum out loud, “Just the humans.”

“It’s just— It’s so familiar. It’s like it’s been buried in my head for years.” Donna says and groans, “What is it?”

Then you hear giggling from across the room, a nearby station. You and the Doctor turn to see Shirley pointing to her screen, a puppet in black and white display as she says, “I found the exact same notes.”

The puppet begins to laugh in arpeggio, and you and the Doctor realize it at the same time. The Doctor says, “Oh, it’s not a tune. It’s a laugh.”

“It’s a puppet.” Kate says as she stares wide-eyed at the screen featuring the puppet.

“The giggle in everyone’s head.” You say as you stand behind Shirley, looking at the monitor as it continues to laugh in the arpeggio notes.

“What is that thing?” Donna asks, and Shirley explains, “Stooky Bill, the first face ever to appear on television. Put there by John Logie Baird himself.”

Donna shakes her head and points at Stooky displayed on the monitor, “I’ve never seen him before, so how do— How do I know that laugh?”

You blink a few times before realizing out loud, saying, “If the very first image has been hiding in every screen since… sneaking into your head, carving a wave, and waiting…”

“But hiding how? If there were secret pictures hiding in every television, we would have found it,” Shirley asks, so sure of herself and UNIT’s capabilities. The Doctor then sassily and in a mocking tone replies, “Oh, why? Because you’re so clever? Maybe Stooky Bill’s a lot smarter than you.” Shirley raises her eyebrows and puckers her lips, somewhat agreeing to the possibility.

“Imagine… if he burnt himself into television itself and every picture ever since, every single one.” You say before taking out your sonic screwdriver, pointing to one of the monitors, and clicking the button. It whizzes, and the image of Stooky Bill appears. The woman who sat by that desk pushes back her chair in shock, and he is mockingly laughing as you hear the notes in the air.

“Screen… after screen, after screen.” You use your sonic screwdriver, tapping on each station's monitor, revealing Stooky Bill as it continues to reverberate its laughs.

The Doctor joins in, using his sonic on an employee’s phone in their hands. He says as he clicks his sonic screwdriver, “And every type of screen.” The Doctor taps on Kate’s tablet, showing the image of Stooky Bill. He says, “Every one and everywhere. He’s inside ‘em all!”

You move to stand in the very front of the room, center, pointing your sonic at the large screens. “And two days ago, he finally connected worldwide, branding his Giggle into your brains.” The sonic screwdriver warbles, and images of Stooky Bill, along with his laugh, appear on the large monitor.

The Doctor stands by your side, adding in a low voice, “Since the very first existence of television. Laughing at the human race. And driving you mad.”

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

The entire group gathers for a small meeting by the large metal doors that lead to the helipad outside. You stand in a circle, positioned by the Doctor’s side, his glasses tucked away in his pocket. Kate tries to grasp the newfound knowledge as she asks, “But something at that scale, over so many years, who could do that?”

The Doctor's countenance turns wrathful, and you sense the heat and intensity radiating from his body as he retorts, "The puppet’s just a puppet. We’re looking for the puppeteer." He then pauses, taking a deep breath that puffs out his chest as he crosses his arms. Speaking with a low intensity, he adds, "And I’ve got a memory. I think something’s coming back… after a very long time."

Raising his voice to address everyone, he grits his teeth, "But it’s not only the giggle. Don’t go thinking you’ve got an excuse. The human race might be clever and bright and brilliant." His words are delivered with a hint of disgust, "But it’s also savage and venal and relentless."

The Doctor points to the screens showcasing people causing havoc around the world as he vehemently declares, "All the anger out there on the street. The lies, the righteousness." Jabbing a finger at the rest of the group, he continues, "That’s human. That’s you. That’s who you are. Using you’re intelligence to be stupid. Poisoning the world. And hating each other, you’ve never needed any help with that!”

He briefly pauses, toning down his voice as he says, “But today, something else is using your worst attributes. Playing with you. Like toys.” A chill runs down your spine as a distant memory starts to resurface, hinting at an old-time foe returning to wreak havoc. You blink, a hunch forming about who might be orchestrating all of the catastrophe.

“Can we take that satellite out?” The Doctor asks Kate, and she replies promptly, “All missiles are on lockdown, but we’ve got the Galvanic Beam.”

“What range?” You inquire, and Kate explains, “We could pick off a pebble on the moon. Trouble is, taking out a South Korean satellite will have international consequences, so we’ve been waiting for permission. All world leaders are being affected by the Giggle.”

The Doctor nods and says, “You have my permission.” He then looks to you, and you deeply sigh, nodding, “And you have mine.”

Kate nods to Colonel Ibrahim, signaling to get the Galvanic Beam ready. Then, she turns to you and the Doctor, “Thank you, Doctor and Stargazer.” Kate moves past you, announcing to the entire UNIT staff on the floor, “Gold protocol override. All staff, initiate Galvanic activation. Bring up the beam.”

“Platform in motion,” an employee's voice echoes through the speaker as the platform outside the tower shifts downward.

“Shirley, have we got the exact date that Logie Baird made that transmission?” The Doctor asks aloud, to which Shirley responds with determination, “I’ll find it,” and begins clicking away on her keyboard.

“All clear on the helipad,” another employee announces over the speaker as The Doctor walks over to Mel’s station, and you make your way towards Shirley, beginning to help her locate the date of the transmission.

The Doctor leans over Mel’s shoulder, and she says to him, “I fed the KOSAT fake coordinates, so it’s coming into UK orbit. Within range in three minutes.” The Doctor compliments her, “You’re brilliant.” He then looks at her with a smile, “Hello.” Mel replies with her own smile, the kind that reaches her eyes as she says, “Hi.”

You glance over to see the Doctor and Mel chatting as they work, and a sense of happiness and comfort washes over you, knowing Mel is okay. After a few minutes, you hear Mel announce to everyone, “Galvanic Beam payload boarding.”

“Platform locking at level 55,” an employee announces over the intercom, and Mel continues, “Galvanic Beam in position. KOSAT in range in 90 seconds.”

A beep emanates from Shirley’s computer, and your eyes quickly scan over the words before Shirley turns her head and says to the Doctor, “Doctor, Stooky Bill was televised on the 2nd of October 1925 at 22 Frith Street, Soho, W1D 4RF.”

You grab the Doctor’s coat from the chair and hand it to him as he says to Kate, “Fire when ready. Don’t wait for us.” He then looks to Colonel Ibrahim, quickly asking, “TARDIS?”

The Colonel points as he replies promptly, “Suite 17.”

The Doctor grunts, “Okay.” After putting on his coat, he grabs your hand, pulling you along with him as Donna says to you both, “You’re not going without me.”

As you enter the suite and find the TARDIS parked there, the Doctor quickly unlocks it with his key and rushes inside, with you and Donna trailing right behind him. Time’s running out, always running out, and every road you discover disappears under your feet. Because if nothing else, you're given a little time to change the game, a chance to redefine everything.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

SOHO — 1925

The TARDIS whooshes and whizzes, finally giving a loud thud as it lands. The Doctor opens the door first, popping his head out to check if it’s safe before allowing you and Donna to step out into the dimly lit alley where the TARDIS is parked. The flickering gas lamps cast a warm glow, highlighting the cobblestone street and the faint echoes of distant chatter.

The Doctor announces to the two of you, “Soho, 1925.”

“So, what about Mel?” Donna asks, wiggling her eyebrows playfully at the two of you. You let out a chuckle, saying, “She’s brilliant, isn’t she?”

Donna laughs with a smile, “Yeah, but I just kept thinking, all this time, you’ve never mentioned her.”

The Doctor addresses Donna with a frown, “Donna, we’re a billion years old. If we stood and talked about everyone we’d ever met, we’d still be in the TARDIS yapping.”

“So you talk about no one ever?” Donna asks, and you look away guiltily. Donna continues, “You just keep charging on.”

“Yes, because I’m busy. Like now,” the Doctor replies.

“But you are busy every second of every day. I mean, look at us now. We haven’t stopped,” Donna points out, and you all come to a halt by the sidewalk. She continues, “I saw you, Doctor. I got a glimpse inside your mind.” The three of you stand on the sidewalk, surrounded by the ambient sounds of 1925 London, as Donna expresses, “And it’s like you’re staggering. You are staggering along. Maybe that’s why your old face came back. You’re wearing yourself out.”

You observe as the Doctor contemplates her words, his expression revealing a momentary reflection on her insight. However, he doesn't directly acknowledge them. Instead, he smoothly shifts the topic, saying, "Stooky Bill might be on Frith Street, but the question is, where did Stooky Bill come from?”

His gaze shifts to the bright red shop on the street labeled Mr. Emporium above the store. The three of you cross the street, anticipation building as you peek through the window. There, you spot someone engaged in a playful exchange with the Doctor, both figures playing peek-a-boo before the mysterious man expertly hops down to conceal himself. The Doctor's expression tightens with anger as he forcefully shoves the door open, pulling back the maroon curtains, and the three of you step into the enchanting toy store.

The atmosphere is filled with wonder and a touch of nostalgia as you take in the whimsical surroundings. Shelves adorned with a myriad of toys, each telling a story of childhood innocence and imagination. The air is scented with a mix of wooden toys, plush animals, and the faint fragrance of freshly painted models.

As you step further into the store, your disbelief intensifies as you recognize the man orchestrating this peculiar encounter. An old foe, one who could have channeled his creativity for good, yet chose to warp reality into a twisted game where play meant suffering for others. Dressed in a crisp white button-up and a vibrant red apron, he skillfully juggles three balls, his voice carrying a distinct German accent as he addresses you, "Die ball is die first game ever being invented."

He throws a ball towards you, only for the Doctor to swiftly intercept it before it makes contact with your stomach. Without missing a beat, the Doctor tosses it away onto the ground. Meanwhile, the man behind the counter continues his mesmerizing juggling act, sharing his narrative, "Stone Age man, he picked up ein rock." The Doctor catches another ball skillfully, and with a nonchalant toss, sends it away.

The rhythmic cadence of his speech, accompanied by the mesmerizing flow of his juggling, weaves an enchanting atmosphere within the toy store. The balls dance through the air, tracing whimsical patterns, adding a touch of magic to the man's storytelling. With a gleam in his eye, he continues narrating, "He said, ‘Oh! Das ist ein Ball.’"

The sequence of throw and catch becomes a rhythmic ballet, each movement a beat in the peculiar symphony unfolding before you. "He threw it, und he killed a man," he declares with a dramatic flair, followed by a nonchalant toss.

Another cycle of throw and catch commences, and he recounts, "He said, ‘Oh, what fun!’" The balls move effortlessly in the air, and the ambiance resonates with a sense of playfulness.

"Und now, everybody loves the balls," he proclaims, the balls gliding through the air in a mesmerizing display. Every throw, catch, and toss adds to the building tension in the tale.

"Until the year five billion. When the very last human picks up the skull of his enemy," he declares, the tone shifting slightly, yet maintaining the captivating rhythm. The balls continue their dance, and he winks as he concludes, "Und said, ‘That is the final ball of all,’ jah?"

As he tosses another ball, the vibrant atmosphere in the toy store takes a sudden turn when Donna, with a determined air, steps forward and effortlessly catches the ball with a single hand. Her gaze, firm and unyielding, pierces through the whimsical scene as she asserts, "Enough."

The man behind the counter raises an eyebrow, a mischievous smirk playing on his lips. "Ah, Donna Noble. I wondered which one of you had the balls," he retorts, his words carrying a playful undertone. Donna, taken aback, attempts to brush it off with a casual, "Okay. So you know my name?" The man, still smirking, raises both eyebrows in response.

Curiosity sparking, Donna seeks answers. "How do you three know each other?" she questions, her tone holding a mix of suspicion and intrigue. In response, the Doctor, donning a low, stern tone and a deep frown that accentuates the lines on his face, issues a command, "Star, Donna, go back to the TARDIS." The urgency in his voice hints at a deeper concern, urging them to retreat from the unfolding confrontation.

Donna, wearing a perplexed expression, seeks clarification, "What?"

The Doctor, frustration evident in his gritted teeth, reiterates his command, "Go back to the TARDIS."

You, however, defiantly shake your head. "As much as I love you bossing me around, you do not get to tell me to leave you here with him." The tension in the air thickens, with unspoken concerns lingering between all of you.

"Oh, but he is recognizing me," he says, a mischievous glint in his eyes. You whip your head back to the man behind the counter, the one who revels in tricks and games for sheer amusement. Chaos and discord personified, he continues, "Are you not 'ge-pleased,' Herr Doctor und Stargazer, to see me again after so many years?"

Donna, finally seeking clarity, asks, "Who is he?" Flashbacks of memories flood your mind.

The Doctor answers, "The Toymaker." As the realization sinks in, the atmosphere in the room starts to change.

The Toymaker gives a bow, a theatrical flourish that befits his whimsical yet ominous presence. Abruptly changing accents, he addresses with a menacing tone, "We meet again, Doctor, Stargazer."

But just as swiftly, the Toymaker's demeanor undergoes a shift. Stepping backward, he adopts a German accent, prompting curiosity. "But think, if the ball was the very first game, what was the second?"

With a mischievous grin, he seizes both ends of the curtain behind him and declares, "Hide-and-seek!" The Toymaker pulls the curtain shut, his laughter echoing in the room in those distinctive arpeggio notes.

The Doctor vaults over the counter, deftly pushing aside the two curtains, only to discover the Toymaker's disappearance. Behind the curtains lies a door, and with a quick turn of the copper-colored knob, the Doctor reveals a seemingly endless hallway. Warm-toned lights bathe the corridor in a gentle glow, wooden floorboards creak, and numerous doors line both sides of the mysterious passage.

As the Doctor steps forward, guided by an instinct you and Donna share, the door abruptly slams shut behind both of you. Turning sharply, the Doctor commands, “No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Go back.” With a quick twist of the doorknob, it should logically lead you out, but instead, it reveals the same seemingly endless hallway. Donna, her mouth agape, exclaims, “It’s bigger than the shop. Don’t tell me he’s got his own TARDIS.”

“The TARDIS is an idea the Toymaker would throw away,” the Doctor spits out with disdain as you three stride down the hallway. He continues, “We’ve stepped inside his domain, and it’s governed by the rules of play.” The Doctor turns to the door on his left, confidently opening it. Donna and you follow him, but just as the door slams shut, you find yourselves still trapped in the long, mysterious hallway.

“Okay. Keep going forward,” the Doctor instructs, stepping ahead with you and Donna in tow. Donna, perplexed, shakes her head and remarks, “But how does this even make sense? 'Cause I’ve seen some things with you two. I’ve seen Ood, Davros. I mean, the Adipose, for God’s sake.”

The Doctor twists another doorknob, taking a chance with the door to his left, only for it to transport you three back into the hallway. Donna continues, “But they had a sort of logic. Daleks built a great big bomb. I understood that. But this— this is impossible. How does it exist?”

The Doctor grits his teeth, growling, “That’s what unravels me. All the laws I cling to, gone.” He spins, opening another door only to lead you three back into the hallway. Moving to the opposite door, he finds it locked and slams his palm against the wood in frustration before pressing on down the hall.

Donna moves closer to you two and asks, “Who is the Toymaker? What is he?”

The Doctor turns to face Donna, explaining, “When I was young, I was so sure of myself. I made a terrible mistake. I let the TARDIS fall into another realm.” The Doctor opens a door, and you follow him as he continues, “A hollow beneath the Under Universe, where science is a game and all of us are toys.”

He pauses, taking a deep breath. "It's also how the Stargazer ended up with us, but that's something I will never regret." You softly remark, "A rift in the universe..." The Doctor quickly kisses your forehead, saying, "And it brought me you, my love."

After a moment, the Doctor struggles with another stubborn door, wiggling the doorknob in frustration. "I beat the Toymaker. I won his game, but now he's here. He's found his way into reality."

As he opens the door to the right, leading the three of you back into the hallway, he stills and sighs. "And I think it's all because of me."

You exchange a glance with the Doctor, shaking your head in disagreement. However, before you can utter a word, he cuts you off, his gaze intense. "'Cause I got clever, didn't I? I cast that salt at the edge of the universe. Thought I could have it all," he admits, his eyes locked onto yours. "I thought I could finally have you. I played a game and let him in, an elemental force with the power of a god, and he’s driven the human race mad with a puppet.”

Donna begins, “Yeah, but you always say—” the Doctor shakes his head and mockingly replies as he walks backward down the hall raising his voice, “Oh, what do I say? What do I say? What do I say?”

“‘Cause I’m always so certain. I’m all sonic and TARDIS and Time Lord. Take that away.” The Doctor says and defeatedly shrugs, “Take away the toys. What am I?” He chokes a little as his eyes glaze over, repeating, “What am I now?”

The Doctor looks to you and Donna as he offers a variation of the truth, “I don’t know if I can save your life this time.” The vulnerability in his voice echoes through the corridor, a stark departure from his usual confident demeanor.

Donna raises her eyebrows, her gaze shifting between you and the Doctor. “It’s not about me,” she asserts.

You meet Donna's gaze and respond, “Oh, yes, it is.”

With a nonchalant shrug and a deep breath, Donna begins, “Well,” and then she steps a little forward, flashing a determined smile, “Maybe I’ll save you, you big idiot.” Through the perplexing hallway, the chatter reverberates with a mixture of warmth and friendliness as you all chuckle.

"Anyway, you beat him before," Donna points out, and the Doctor wears a contemplative frown. "That’s the problem. Odd-on I’ll lose next time."

Donna dismisses the notion with a shake of her head. "Nope. Doesn’t work like that. Because my dad used to say, ‘Dice didn’t know what the dice did last time.’ Games don’t have a memory. Every game starts from scratch."

After a moment of letting the words settle, the Doctor nods with a genuine smile. "Oh, I like that. Well said, Dad." He takes a deep breath before suggesting, "Okay. Shall we find the right door?"

The Doctor swiftly dashes to one of the doors, opening them one after the other. You and Donna struggle to keep up, the anticipation heightening. Suddenly, one of the heavy doors slams shut behind Donna, separating you from her. Then the door in front of Donna slams shut, also separating her from the Doctor, the echoes of the closing door lingering in the air. 

You sense your fingernails biting into the palm of your hand, forming a tight fist as you strike the door with the side of your fists. An exasperated cry escapes your lips as you press your forehead against the wooden door. You shut your eyes, tears trickling down your cheeks. Slowly, you lower your hands to your sides, then raise them, placing them at the back of your neck in an attempt to regain composure.

You take a deep breath, letting the air fill your lungs before releasing it in a resounding exhale. Pushing away from the door, you continue down the corridor. A distinct pull guides you to a door on the right. Twisting the knob, you pull the door open and step into a room filled with standing mirrors encased in plastic frames. As you survey the surroundings, the door slams shut behind you, making you flinch and glance back.

Turning your head forward, you're met with various incarnations of the Doctor—past and present—alongside friends and companions, all staring back at you through the mirrors. Their gaze penetrates through you. The mirrors shift, forming two opposing lines, resembling portraits guiding you towards a solitary dresser and a seat. On the creaky wooden floors, you move delicately, feeling like a doll as the eyes of your own reflections track your every step down the mirrored pathway.

You eventually reach the dresser, and the seat smoothly pulls out from underneath it. Hesitant, you lower yourself onto it, only to find that your own reflection is not what greets you. Instead, it's the Toymaker, wearing a smug expression as he says, “Ah, yes, the Stargazer. Oh, how I’ve missed you, old friend.”

You cross your arms and raise your eyebrows, “If that’s what you want to call it, sure.”

The Toymaker’s expression shifts to a sour one as his face scrunches up, “We were friends, we had such wonderful games in our little dollhouse until the Doctor stole you away from me.”

You shake your head as you say sternly, “He didn’t take me away from you.”

The Toymaker childishly rolls his eyes as he also crosses his arms, “Admit it. You were happy. Happier to be blissfully unaware of who you are when we were in our universe.”

You shake your head as you feel your eyes glaze over, pressing your lips, trying to steady your breathing. Softly, you spoke, “You were controlling me. You were trying to mold me into something… that had to be exceptional to be worthwhile.”

You sniff as you continue, “You never cared about me or any of it. You only wanted to play your games and win. And the one time I won… I saw your true nature and never let me out of that box.”

You gaze directly into the Toymaker's eyes, inquiring, “How? How did you end up here?”

He tilts his head and smiles, “The Doctor may have cast that salt, but that was just the door. You being here, allowing yourself to exist in this reality, my dear, you were the key. The Doctor merely provided the key, and voila. Here I am.”

The Toymaker shifts before he hums and then says nonchalantly, “Well, this was so much fun… us two friends catching up. We should do this more often.”

You narrow your eyes as you shake your head, “Don’t you dare hurt them.”

The Toymaker grins, “Well, what’s the fun in that?”

The room around you seems to blur as a heaviness settles in your chest, the weight of your choices and the consequences of your time with the Toymaker bearing down on you. The mirrors that once reflected various versions of yourself, your friends, and the Doctor now seem to mock your vulnerability.

Your face shifts to anger as you grab your sonic screwdriver, raise it to the mirror, and press the button, causing the illusion to shatter. There is no glass in the mirror because, on the other side of it, is you—freed from the false reflections that sought to define you.

You rise from your seat, hastening as the glass mirrors rupture behind you, fragments and shards soaring through the air. Grabbing the doorknob, you wrench the door open, hurtling into the hallway just as the door behind you slams shut.

Anticipating the impact of the hard hallway floor, you're surprised to find yourself enveloped in sturdy arms, the familiar texture of the Doctor’s coat reassuring. "Whoa! Darling, there you are," he exclaims.

Speechless, you encircle him with your arms, finding solace in the warmth he provides. He eases back, cradling the side of your head, and you yield to the touch, trying to ground yourself in the reassurance that you're still alive, still breathing. Life may have presented challenges, love may have left its mark, and certain experiences may have etched an ache in your soul, yet, you survived.

The Doctor scans your face and says, “You’ve been crying. What’s wrong? What happened? Did he hurt you?”

You sniffle as you shake your head frantically, “No, I’m just… I’m sorry.”

The Doctor frowns, “What for?”

“It’s my fault. All of this is my fault.”

“No. I cast that salt—”

“Yes, but since I’m here, in this reality. I allowed him to exist here as well. It’s my fault. I’m so sorry.”

The Doctor pulls you in closer, tightly wrapping his arms around your frame as he asks, “Did he tell you that?”

You merely make a squeak as you nod into his chest, “It makes sense—”

“No. It’s— I refuse to believe it. I won’t.”

You began, “But—”

The Doctor pauses, his gaze softening, and he says, “No, my love. It's not your fault. Don't let his games mess with your mind. We'll figure this out together.”

You let go of your ghosts and your worries for once. It was just one step, but it said plenty. That you've been cut off from the outside world for such a large portion of your existence dawns on you. That you devoted so much of your life to a version of existence that was cut off from believing in the good and the beautiful as a means of survival, that you tried so hard to shield yourself from the love you so desperately needed.

You knew that you wouldn’t find a love that was perfect, but you found a love that was real. The kind that sees you and brings down your walls, that asks you to share parts of your soul you have tucked away and kept hidden from the world.

Suddenly, the creak of another door opening startles both of you, prompting a swift turn of your heads. Your heart skips a beat as you spot your fiery-haired friend. You exclaim, “Donna!”

“Oh, my god!” Donna exclaims, and the Doctor responds, “There you are!” As you eagerly move forward to embrace Donna, the room undergoes a rapid metamorphosis, transforming into a puppeteer theatre, with the Toymaker standing at its center.

Fanfare resonates in the background through concealed speakers as the Toymaker speaks in German, “Kommen Sie, kommen sie!”

Three chairs materialize from behind you, smoothly rolling forward and obliging you to take a seat upon them as they advance towards where the Toymaker stands.

"The show is just beginning. Worldwide premiere," the Toymaker announces, vanishing momentarily only to reappear behind the puppet theatre at the center. He addresses Donna Noble, "This is for you. Let me tell you what happened when the Doctor, he was leaving you."

Lifting the cross brace of the string puppet, he continues, "He met a friend called Amy Pond. And he loved Amy Pond." The strings sway as he manipulates the Amy puppet. "Yes, he be liking die redheads." A playful wink is followed by, "And they went to and fro in time und space."

The Toymaker's tone darkens as he narrates, "But Amy Pond was touched by the Weeping Angel. And she died." He grabs a large pair of scissors, severing the strings of the puppet, rendering it limp and lifeless.

The Doctor's expression turns grim and angry as he grits his teeth, "She died of old age."

Quickly shifting to an American accent, the Toymaker mockingly remarks, "Well, that’s alright then."

Continuing in his vibrant German accent, the Toymaker orchestrates the descent of a new puppet onto the stage, "Und then he was meeting Clara. Mmm." He adds, "But she was killed by a bird." Another snip of the strings leaves the puppet limp and lifeless.

The Doctor growls, "She still survives in her last second of life."

"Well, that’s alright then!" The Toymaker replies in his mocking American accent.

The Toymaker continues in his vibrant German accent, placing another puppet on the stage, "Und then the Doctor met Bill." Strings are pulled as he continues, "Not Stooky Bill, but lady Bill. But she was killed by the Cybermen." With a snip, the puppet falls to the floor, lifeless.

The Doctor's lip trembles, jaw set, as he asserts in a raised tone, "But her consciousness survives."

"Oh, well, that’s alright then!" The Toymaker retorts once more in his mocking American accent. He then transitions to a new scene with stars and planets descending, connected with strings. Cutting the strings, he comments with feigned remorse, "Und then there came die Flux. Oh, Donna Noble, the poor Doctor." The Toymaker continues to sever the strings attached to the planets, remarking, "Die Flux was killing everything."

"Is all of this true?" Donna asks in disbelief, leaving you frozen and unsure of what to do or say.

The Doctor abruptly stands up, his gaze locked onto the Toymaker's eyes as he lowers his tone, the gruffness evident, "I challenge you to a game."

The Toymaker's expression drops, his nostrils flare, and he strides toward the table. The Doctor meets him at the other end, and they lock eyes, a tense silence enveloping them.

The two of them settle into seats across from each other as the Toymaker mysteriously conjures a deck of cards. In a refined British accent, he declares, “I accept the challenge.”

The Doctor retorts, “You have no choice.”

With an air of a magician, the Toymaker skillfully shuffles the deck of cards, his hands moving with deliberate precision. "I came to this universe with such delight, and I played them all, Doctor." The Toymaker lays down the cards in a line, maintaining his magical flair. "I toyed with supernovas, turned galaxies into spinning tops."

He holds the two halves of the deck and continues, "I gambled with God and made him a jack-in-the-box." Flipping the cards, he shuffles the deck, his eyes locked onto the Doctor's. "I made a jigsaw out of your history. Did you like it?"

"The Master was dying and begged for his life with one final game. And when he lost, I sealed him for all eternity inside my gold tooth." The Toymaker says, a sly smile accompanying the gesture to his shiny gold tooth. However, his tone turns grave and haunted as he continues, "There’s only one player I didn’t dare face. The one who waits."

Both you and the Doctor furrow your brows, and the Doctor questions, “Who’s that?”

The Toymaker's gaze becomes distant as he recalls, “I saw it. Hiding. And I ran.”

“What do you mean?” The Doctor presses, and the Toymaker shakes his head, “Mmm. That’s someone else’s game.” Placing the deck of cards neatly on the table, he asks, “What shall we play?”

“One request. Tell me,” The Doctor starts, his tone curious, “The human race, back in the future. Why does everyone think they’re right?”

The Toymaker smirks knowingly and replies, “So that they win. I made every opinion supreme. That’s the game of the 21st century. They shout, they type, and they cancel. So I fixed it. Now everybody wins.”

“And everyone loses,” you remark, your eyebrows furrowing in contemplation. The Toymaker smiles, acknowledging the truth, “The never-ending game.” He then turns to the Doctor, prompting, “Now name your challenge.”

“The simplest game of all. Let’s cut,” the Doctor proposes, and the Toymaker grins, “Highest card wins.”

“Aces high,” the Doctor asserts.

“You choose,” the Toymaker replies.

“I’ll go first,” the Doctor declares.

Then Donna interjects, “But he’ll cheat.”

You, the Toymaker, and the Doctor quickly disagree, simultaneously stating, “No.” The Toymaker's face turns sour, offended by the accusation, “Shame.”

“That’s the one thing he won’t do,” the Doctor asserts, and Donna points out, “But they’re his cards. He’s all tricks. Of course, he’ll cheat.”

You then explain, “The only rules the Toymaker follows are the rules of the game. They bind his entire existence. The Doctor wins or he loses, and that’s it.”

The Toymaker glowers at the Doctor as he says, “Then play.”

The Doctor seizes the top deck of cards, turning it to reveal the Eight of Clubs. A sinking feeling creeps into the pit of your stomach as you calculate the odds, not liking the prospects for the Doctor.

The Toymaker raises an eyebrow with a smug expression, “My turn.” He grabs a portion of the deck, turning it to reveal the King of Hearts. Gripping the sides of your chair, you feel a sense of dread as the Toymaker laughs, “I’m the King.”

Switching back to his German accent, he declares excitedly, “Und now, meine kleine Doctor, we will see what is my prize!”

The Doctor responds, “One… all.”

A light laugh of relief escapes you, realizing the Doctor had a backup plan in case he lost. Leaning across the table, the Doctor's words make the Toymaker's expression drop, “I won the game many years ago. You’ve won today, which leaves us equal. And you know two players are bound by one inviolable rule.”

The Toymaker sneers as he begrudgingly admits, “Best of three.”

The Doctor nods, “Best of three.”

The Toymaker purses his lips in annoyance, narrowing his eyes before saying, “Then let’s make it 2023.” He suddenly pulls a curtain from the side, quickly vanishing as the red velvet cloth clatters to the floor. The room transforms, and you hear the creaking of wood.

Both you and the Doctor exclaim, “Donna!”

Donna has already sprung from her chair, responding, “I’m already running!”

As you run, the structure behind you collapses in on itself, the scratching and groaning of wood as it folds in the hallway. Eventually, you make it out of the shop, running into the streets and stopping from across the street to see the entire building fold itself neatly into a box on the ground.

Donna points out, "He said 2023," and the Doctor responds as his chest puffs out a breath, "Winner takes all."

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

UNIT HEADQUARTERS, LONDON — DAY, 2023

Once the TARDIS had landed, you and Donna hurriedly followed the Doctor, who carried the box containing the Toymaker's shop. As you reached the main area of operations, the Doctor placed the red box on Melanie's desk and instructed, "Keep an eye on that."

Stepping up on one of the desks, the Doctor addressed everyone in a loud tone, "The satellite was only a link in the chain, so Donna needs access to the subframe. There is no one in London faster on a keyboard. She’s creating a template for this." He produced a flash drive and explained, "It coordinates all telescopes and satellites and deep-space scans across the Earth." Tossing the flash drive to Shirley, who deftly caught it.

Turning to the Vlinx, the Doctor requested, "The Vlinx, I need all mesh reflectors on Earth translated to digital five."

As Donna worked on the keyboard, Mel replied to Donna's question, "Dynamic. We’re using triad."

Donna nodded in understanding, typing rapidly, "Got ya. Okay, so you should all be receiving this now."

"How bad is it, Doctor, Star?" Kate asked with concern. The Doctor responded with a warning tone, "Something entered this world in 1925. I don’t know how. And I warn you, this thing can get from 1925 to now like stepping through a door."

He shoved his hands into his pockets and continued, "But if we’re lucky, the program the Stargrazer created can detect the decay of an energy signature from 98 years ago. Might be on Earth. Might be in orbit. Might be in space. But if we can find the entrance, maybe we can turn it into an exit."

"What are we fighting?" Kate asked, and you responded grimly, "An elemental force beyond the rules of the universe."

Shirley then inquired with a puzzled tone, "What’s that supposed to mean?"

The Doctor gave her a look and explained, "You think life is a balance between order and chaos, but the universe is not binary." As the Spice Girls' "Spice Up Your Life" began playing from somewhere, he continued, "Far from it. There is order and chaos, and then there is play." Pointing to the ceiling, he asked, "What’s that?"

"Could you turn that off, please?" Kate requested, and Melanie, standing from her chair, asked, "Who is that?"

The Doctor groaned, "Oh, I think he’s here."

The Toymaker entered the scene like a Broadway hurricane, dressed as a band leader with his hair curled and styled. A door suddenly appearing with the bell jingling as he strutted forward. Confetti popped, lights flashed, and the Toymaker lip-synced to the Spice Girls' song playing from an unknown location.

"When you're feelin' sad and low

We will take you where you gotta go"

The door materialized behind you, the bell jingling as the Toymaker stepped out, dancing and lifting his hat, grooving to the music. You and the Doctor stood there, unimpressed, wearing a fed-up expression.

The Toymaker, immersed in the infectious beats of the Spice Girls, continued his impromptu performance. With infectious enthusiasm, he teleported across various areas of the headquarters, seamlessly syncing his lip movements to the lyrics of the song. His dance was a spectacle of exaggerated expressions, capturing the vibrant spirit of the Spice Girls' anthem.

As the music echoed through the room, the Toymaker made flamboyant movements, teleporting next to Shirley. With flair, he held up a phone, lip-syncing passionately to the lyrics.

"Smilin', dancin', everything is free

All you need is positivity"

The Toymaker's energetic dance moves and lively expressions added a surreal touch to the otherwise serious atmosphere of the operation.

“Colours of the world

Spice up your life”

Teleporting with theatrical finesse, he continued his spirited performance, engaging with the song's upbeat tempo.

“Every boy and every girl

Spice up your life”

The Toymaker, a delightful force of whimsy, twirled and danced with infectious energy, infusing the tension-filled room with an unexpected burst of joy.

“People of the world

Spice up your life

Aah

Slam it to the left

If you're havin' a good time

Shake it to the right

If ya know that you feel fine

Chicas to the front

Ha ha (uh uh)

Go round”

With each step, he appeared and disappeared, dancing effortlessly to the rhythm. In a sudden move, the Toymaker materialized next to Kate, seamlessly incorporating her into his lively dance. However, the exuberant twirl proved too much, and Kate, spun too fast, and collided with a wall.

Undeterred, the Toymaker vanished and reappeared beside Melanie, pulling her into an impromptu dance as UNIT soldiers point their weapon at him.

“Slam it to the left

If you're havin' a good time

Shake it to the right

If ya know that you feel fine

Chicas to the front”

The Toymaker spun Melanie like a spinning top, prompting your alarmed cry, "Melanie!" Both you and the Doctor rushed to her aid as she tumbled to the ground, the unexpected dance taking an unforeseen turn.

"La la la la la la la la la

La la la la la la la"

Kate regains her composure, brushing off her slacks with a determined air as she commands the UNIT soldiers, "Detain him!"

In response, a contingent of UNIT soldiers swiftly advances, attempting to apprehend the whimsical Toymaker. The Doctor's warning echoes in the air, “No, don’t!” However, defying the Doctor's urgent plea, the Toymaker playfully taps the soldiers, transforming them into vibrant, bouncing balls that clatter across the floor.

"What happened to them?" Kate urgently inquires, and you, wearing a grimace, shake your head, "They're dead. I'm sorry. Just stop it. Let me talk to him."

The Toymaker confidently struts down the center aisle among the stations, seizing the attention of everyone. Kate seizes the opportunity and commands the remaining UNIT soldiers, "On my command, open fire!"

"Take him out, take him out!"

Despite the barrage of gunfire from the UNIT troops, the bullets magically transform into a cascade of delicate rose petals, scattering around the office in a surreal display. The Toymaker, reveling in the chaos, gleefully glances atop a table as more rose petals dance in the air.

"Yellow man in Timbuktu

Colourful, both me and you

Kung Fu fighting, dancing queen

Tribal spaceman and all that's in between"

Undeterred, more UNIT soldiers step in, brandishing larger firearms. Kate urgently yells, "Get down!" Yet, instead of bullets, they too unleash a storm of rose petals towards the Toymaker, amplifying the confusion and chaos in the headquarters.

Now seated on the floor, the Toymaker whimsically creates a rose petal angel, moving his arms and legs in a playful display as he swims amidst the never-ending fall of petals, still lip-syncing to the song.

"Colours of the world (Spice up your life)

Every boy and every girl (Spice up your life)

People of the world (Spice up your life, ah)"

As the Toymaker gracefully walks away from the floral aftermath, he makes his exit, singing the last part of the song and forming a heart with his hands.

"Hai, sí, ja! Hold tight!"

With a resounding honk, he disappears into the floor, leaving the bewildered onlookers shaken and utterly confused about the bizarre turn of events.

The Doctor swiftly dashes forward, sliding to his knees with palms pressed to the floor in an attempt to catch the Toymaker, yet the space where he once stood appears empty, as if he were an illusion.

While Donna tends to Mel, you approach the Doctor, who rises to his feet. Kate's inquiry breaks the moment, "Doctor, Stargazer, who is he?"

Breathing heavily, you respond, "The Toymaker."

"How does he do that?" Shirley questions from her wheelchair, seeking understanding.

Ignoring the query, the Doctor directs urgently, "The Vlinx, speed up those scans. I need those results." He then turns to the group, nostrils flaring, and commands, "All of you, search the building. He’s still here. Where’s he gone?"

Soldiers take charge, securing the perimeter, while Shirley persists, "But how does he do it?" The Doctor, resolute, explains in a low tone, "If I told you he manipulates atoms with the power of thought, would you believe it?"

Shirley ponders for a moment before responding, "Is that what he does?"

The Doctor shakes his head, "No. You can’t fight him, Shirley. There’s nothing you can do."

A sudden noise interrupts the conversation—a bell tinkling. Hushing everyone, you urge, "Listen. Listen."

The ringing intensifies. Kate steps towards the automatic door leading to the helipad, and you follow suit. There, on the helipad, the Toymaker stands alone, dressed in an aviator outfit, ringing the doorbell. Kate exclaims, "Oh, my God. He’s got the Galvanic Beam." Reacting swiftly, you and the Doctor rush onto the helipad. The Toymaker sits on the chair of the Galvanic Beam, swinging it as he excitedly exclaims in German, "Achtung, Achtung! Backen Sie."

Kate, Donna, Shirley, and Mel, carrying the box, join you on the helipad along with the UNIT soldiers. The Toymaker continues, with his goggles on and his exaggerated German accent, "Oh, how I am liking this, the gun mit the laser und the bang und the boom."

The Doctor turns back to the group, urgently shouting, "Go back inside! Get back, get back!"

The Toymaker, however, dismisses the idea, insisting, "No, no, no, no, no. Every game is ge-needing an audience, ja."

Now it's your turn to raise your voice, "Get back inside!" Yet, the Toymaker, maintaining his defiance, sternly disagrees, "Und I said nein!" He takes aim at the glass higher up the building, shattering it. The team below reacts with startled cries as you and the Doctor shoot furious glares at the Toymaker.

Removing his goggles, the Toymaker switches to a British accent, calmly stating, "Now we can all have some fun."

Kate steps forward, undeterred and unafraid, confronting the Toymaker with a determined gaze. "Where are my staff? The beam had a pilot, and the armourer and the ground staff. Where are they?"

“I think they're still falling,” the Toymaker replies, and then a faint thud in the distance is followed by the sound of glass shattering.

The Doctor bares his teeth, anger etched across his face as he stomps forward and confronts the Toymaker, “I don't understand why you're so small!” The Toymaker’s face shifts into a frown, his features scrunching up as the Doctor continues his impassioned confrontation, “You can turn bullets into flowers. Think of the good you could do. So tell me why you don't!”

The Toymaker responds with resounding sureness, "You know full well this is merely a face concealing a vastness that will never cease, because your good and your bad are nothing to me. All that exists is to win or to lose."

“And you know full well that I've had many faces, containing something far more,” the Doctor begins. You inch closer to him as he grabs your hand, offering the Toymaker a compelling invitation, “So come with us. Leave this tiny world. We can take your games back to the stars. We can play across the cosmos. We can be... Celestial.”

You watch as the Toymaker’s gaze shifts between the two of you, “The Time Lords, and the Toymaker?”

You nod, extending your hand, “Infinite games.”

A moment of anticipation hangs in the air as you hope for his acceptance. However, the Toymaker's expression shifts to one of indifference as he uses the controller of the Galvanic Beam. Turning to survey London, he begins, “And yet…” The soldiers cautiously retreat as the Toymaker observes the destruction and chaos engulfing the city.

“I have fallen in love with humanity. This world is the ultimate playground. All of the sport, the matches, the medals, the gambling, and the anger, and the children shackled to their bedrooms with their joysticks and their buttons. You make games out of bricks falling upon other bricks. You are exceptional,” the Toymaker remarks, and you signal the troops to halt their advance. The Toymaker gasps, “And then there are the mind games. Oh, the dating and ghosting, the deceit and the control. You make me dizzy. I am in no hurry to leave this place.”

He swivels the turret around, a maniacal glint in his eye as he chuckles, “We can play Grandma's Footsteps. “He gleefully fires at the soldiers' feet, forcing them to hastily retreat, "And Off-Ground Touch."

“Ah! Stop, stop, stop, stop!” You plead helplessly as the Toymaker, a sinister smirk on his face, persists in aiming the Galvanic Beam at your companions. He remarks, "Shooting ducks. Who's up next? The companion? The soldier? The scientist? The orphan?"

The Doctor charges ahead, bellowing and thumping his chest defiantly, "Your fight is with me!" The Toymaker directs the beam towards the Doctor, declaring, "And you owe me! One more ga—"

His words abruptly cease as the Toymaker unleashes the Galvanic Beam, piercing through the Doctor's torso. A gut-wrenching scream escapes your lips, and you desperately attempt to rush towards him, only to be forcefully restrained by Donna and Kate. Helplessly, you bear witness to the Doctor's anguished ordeal.

The Toymaker proclaims, “I played the first game with one Doctor. I played the second game with this Doctor. Therefore, your own rules have decreed I play the third game with the next Doctor.” As the beam deactivates, you extricate yourself from Donna and Kate's grasp, hastening to reach your Doctor who has descended to his knees on the ground. Regeneration energy begins to shimmer around him, and you sniffle as you cradle him close, feeling his feeble arm wrap around you.

Tears stream down your face as you murmur, "Hey, hey... I'm right here."

You sense his touch, brushing away your tears as he utters, "Hello, my sweet Stargazer... I’ve been alone for so long. Oh, how I've missed you." A resonant sniff escapes you as you reply, "I'm so sorry. For running. For leaving. For everything, I’m sorry.”

He softly hushes you, "No. None of that. It's not your fault." A wistful smile gently paints his face. "I love you." You release a sob, "I love you too."

"Marry me?" The Doctor proposes, managing to flash you a boyish grin. You can't help but emit a weak laugh, "Right now?"

"Whenever, wherever you like. Just say yes."

"You already know I’d say yes, you idiot!" you retort.

"Say it, please," he murmurs, and you nod as tears continue to fall from your cheeks, "Of course, I'll marry you. I’ll marry you as many times as you want. As many lifetimes as you want."

As the regeneration energy glows brighter, Donna steps forward, yelling loudly to the Toymaker, “He's not dying alone. You can do what you like to me. I'm going to be with them both.”

“And so am I,” Mel declares, setting the box down and approaching the other side of the Doctor along with Donna.

The Toymaker allows it, nodding, “Handmaidens.”

“It's okay,” Donna says, and the Doctor responds, “It's not dying.” Donna nods in understanding, adding, “I know. But…”

Mel smiles as she interjects, “You're going to be someone else. It doesn't matter who because every single one of you is fantastic.”

The Doctor’s eyes glaze as he feels the regeneration energy glow brighter and stronger, surging throughout his body, “It's time. Here we go again. Allons-y!”

The energy fizzles out, and the Doctor hasn't changed his face, leaving you all blinking in confusion as he lets out an, “Um.”

The Doctor’s brow furrows as Donna asks, “What... What's happening?”

Looking to you, the Doctor asks in an even more confused tone, “Could you... pull?”

With your mouth agape and wide-eyed, you inquire, “Could I... what?” The Doctor looks to Mel and Donna to his left, saying, “And you.”

“What do you mean?” Mel asks, and the Doctor blinks as stands up and replies, “Pull! Just pull each way. I don't know. It feels different this time.” The three of you begin to pull in each way, and the Doctor exclaims, “Ow! Oh.”

Regeneration surges and flares up once more, and out pops the head and shoulders of the new Doctor, number 15. You all gasp in shock, and you're the first to say, “What?”

“What?” Donna and Mel ask in unison.

“What?!” The Toymaker exclaims.

“No way,” the other part of the Doctor exclaims, and your Doctor responds with glee, “You're me.”

The new regeneration of the Doctor smiles, a toothy grin spreading across his face as he says, “No, I'm me. I think I'm really, really me. Oh, ho-ho, I am completely me! Don't just stand there, push!”

Your Doctor poses the question once more, "Do what?" to which his other half retorts, "Push."

"What— Does this work?" Your Doctor questions and the new one responds with a laugh, "I don't know."

They part ways entirely, each now clad in half of the other one's attire. Your Doctor sports the undershirt, vest, and trousers, and is left barefoot. Meanwhile, as far as your memory serves, the 15th regeneration of the Doctor is now adorned in a button-up shirt, tie, sneakers, and underwear. You purse your lips as you try to hide your smile and feel a warmth spreading out your face as you realize your Doctor isn’t wearing any underwear. You decide to pocket that bit of information for later.

A surge of joy and laughter fills the air as the 15th Doctor exclaims, "Hello!" Arms outstretched in a welcoming embrace, he moves towards your Doctor, continuing to laugh, "So good to see you! So good!"

Turning his attention to you, a broad grin decorates his face as he rushes towards you, enveloping you in a warm hug and lifting you off the ground, spinning you around. A yelp of surprise and glee escapes you, and you notice a twinge of jealousy in your Doctor's expression. However, you shoot him a look, a gentle reminder that they are one and the same.

The 15th Doctor lets out hearty laughter before addressing everyone, "Now, someone tell me what the hell is going on here."

"Excuse me. Sorry, but..." Kate begins, and Shirley interjects, "How did that happen?"

"Bi-generation. I have bi-generated! There's no such thing. Bi-generation is supposed to be a myth, but... look at me.” He chuckles and stretches as his joints crack, “Yeah, myth, myth, myth," the 15th Doctor declares with a jolly tone, turning to Mel and inquiring, "Mel, what do you think?"

Mel smiles widely as she gazes at the 15th Doctor, "I think you're beautiful."

Your Doctor furrows his brow, questioning, "Still beautiful?"

"Yeah," Mel responds.

Donna, taking in the new Doctor with a rich deep ebony skin tone, asks, "Do you come in a range of colours?"

To which all the Time Lords reply with a resounding, "Yes."

You hear the Toymaker clear his throat and begin, pointing the beam at the two Doctors, "If I can interrupt... Behold the game of the Time Lords. A dummy who dies and doubles and dies and doubles. I could play this for 100 years. I'll have vast meadows of Doctors dying over and over again, and I'll never get bored because…"

The two Doctors step forward in unison, declaring, "I challenge you to a game."

The Toymaker's face sours, and he tosses his goggles, shifting into a frown. "But there's two of you."

Your Doctor asserts, "I'm the Doctor," and the 15th remarks, "And I'm the Doctor."

Your Doctor smirks, "And according to the rules, you can't say no."

The Toymaker stammers, "But that's cheating."

“How?” both Doctors say simultaneously, and your Doctor continues, “It's your game, and you did this.”

The Toymaker is at a loss for words, stammering, "But…"

Your Doctor smiles, "You doubled us."

“So, who am I marrying then—” You interject, and the two Doctors exclaim, “Me!”

Your eyebrows shoot up, eyes widening in response. "Y’know what, that seems like an issue for later."

The Toymaker interjects, stating, "I accept your challenge." Stepping off the Galvanic Beam, your Doctor commands everyone in a commanding voice, "Get back." In compliance, everyone takes a few steps back.

“Moments like these are a joy, when someone thinks they can outwit the maker of the games. Do you think a grand total of two can cause me to shiver when I've played against the Guardians of Time and Space and shrank them into voodoo dolls? Name your challenge, Doctor,” the Toymaker says, and you mockingly yawn, eliciting a glare from him.

“You said it. The first game ever,” the 15th Doctor states, and your Doctor finishes his thoughts, “The ball.”

The Toymaker conjures a ball from thin air and declares, “Catch? Of course, before we begin, there is one thing to remember. It's a simple game, really, but I think…”

Suddenly, the Toymaker hurls the ball towards your Doctor at an astonishing speed, making contact with his chest just as he finishes his sentence, “…if you drop it, you lose.”

Your Doctor catches the ball, releasing a deep breath, “Nice.”

The ball is tossed around in a flurry. You can only watch as it keeps getting passed and tossed. Eventually, the 15th Doctor throws it extremely far to your Doctor, causing him to tumble and dive to catch it from the 15th.

Your Doctor looks at the 15th with wide eyes, his chest puffing out breaths as he exclaims, “Hey! I'm on your side!”

15th sheepishly replies, “I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry!”

The game of catch persists, and you nervously bite your nails as you observe the trio. There are numerous extreme throws and catches, accompanied by near misses, until the 15th Doctor imparts enough spin on the ball. It glances off the Toymaker's fingers, tumbling over the building's edge.

The Toymaker pants in disbelief, beginning, "But—"

“We won!” Your Doctor asserts, and the 15th adds, “We did it. Fair game. You lost.”

Attempting to salvage the situation, the Toymaker stammers, “No, but I think you'll find…”

Your Doctor steps forward, declaring, “Best of three. And my prize, Toymaker, is to banish you from existence forever.”

The Toymaker protests, “No! But I'm... It's not…” Suddenly, he starts to flatten and fold, “You can't... But I…” Mel steps forward and brings out the box as the Toymaker yelps, “Not fair. Please. My legions are coming. Argh!” He folds up into a square and drops into the box, which slams shut.

Kate seizes the box by the handles, instructing the soldier, “Take it to the deepest vault and bind it in salt.” The soldier promptly responds, “Yes, ma'am.”

Shirley and Kate disengage their Zeedexes. Kate turns to Shirley, saying, “Shirley, tell Geneva we're in full resus. Tell every base to follow Green Shoot protocols, full liaison.” She then addresses the soldier, “Rudi, I'll want the names of all those staff.”

Your attention shifts to your Doctor, standing at the edge of the helipad. The wind tousles his brown, spiky hair as he surveys the destruction wreaked upon London by the Toymaker. Approaching him, you grasp his hand and offer, “Hey, we did it.”

“But how many died down there?” The Doctor frowns, his tone heavy with sorrow. The 15th and Donna approach, with Donna reassuringly stating, “That's not your fault.”

The 15th points out, “You can't save everyone.”

Your Doctor pouts, “Why not?”

The 15th Doctor pulls both you and him into a hug, soothingly saying, “Come here. I've got you. Yeah? It's okay. I'm here.”

As you let out a sigh of relief, exhausted to the events that occurred. Your mind wanders and you smile. This love will intimately understand you, resonating on certain levels as if it has always existed—a deep-seated yearning your soul has carried, anticipating the reunion with its heart, perpetually poised to return home to the facets of itself discovered in another being. It serves as a poignant reminder that hope can emanate from the fingertips of another human being, nestled within the layers of the uncharted aspects waiting to be unveiled.

You and the group re-enter the building, abandoning the helipad to solitude, save for a lone sentry stationed at the entrance. A faint echo of laughter seems to linger in the air, leaving you with an inexplicable sense of dread resonating from a distant place.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

UNIT HEADQUARTERS, SUITE 17, LONDON – DAY 2023

INSIDE THE TARDIS

You observe as the Doctor maneuvers around the console, guiding his other incarnation through the intricacies. "That's the petrolink shatterfy compensator, moved from there to there. Hyperdynes. Er... fluid links, obviously," he explains, his hands deftly pointing out the components.

Your Doctor halts abruptly, stumbling over his words as he gazes at the version of himself standing on the bridge. "And, well, you know... things. But, er... how's it going to work? You and me. This is great, I think. Is it? But... How do we both...?”

“One thing you need in this place is a chair,” the 15th Doctor remarks, and you arch your eyebrows, glancing at your Doctor, who responds, “I'll be all right.”

The 15th shakes his head, emphasizing, “No, you're thin as a pin, love. You're running on fumes.”

You and Donna both sigh in agreement, stating, “That's what we keep saying.”

“I'm just... post-bi-generation,” your Doctor attempts to justify, but the 15th Doctor interjects, “Ha! It's more than that. Our whole lifetime. That Doctor that first met the Toymaker never, ever stopped. Put on trial, exiled, Key to Time, all the devastation of Logopolis.”

“Adric,” your Doctor says with a tinge of sadness, and the 15th nods, “Adric.”

Your Doctor's expression shifts to a sorrowful pout as he reminisces about the days and tragic events. “River Song. All the people we lost. Sarah Jane has gone. Can you believe that for a second?”

“I loved her,” your Doctor admits, and the 15th agrees, “I loved her. And Rose. But the Time War, Pandorica, Mavic Chen. We fought the Gods of Ragnarok, and we didn't stop for a second to say, ‘what the hell?’”

Your Doctor shakes his head, “But you're fine.” He gestures to his newly regenerated self, and the 15th says, “I'm fine because you fixed yourself. We're Time Lords. We're doing rehab out of order.”

You then gently interject, “He's saying you need to stop.”

Your Doctor shakes his head in disagreement, stating, “I don't know how.”

Donna takes a step forward, her words measured, “Well, I can tell you. Cos you know what I did when you went flying off in your blue box, Spaceman? I stayed in one place, and I lived day after day after day.”

“It would drive me mad,” your Doctor admits. You nod in agreement, stepping closer to him, your hand gently holding his cheek. “Same here. I’ll be honest, it was difficult… at first. Yeah. It does. But you keep on going. That’s what makes it special. You won’t exactly know what’s going to happen. And that's the adventure. The one adventure you've never had. Because I've... I've worked out what happened. The Flux caused a reset in the universe, no longer making my entire existence a threat to everyone. Then you changed your face, and then you found me. Do you know why?”

The Doctor is wide-eyed as you gaze into his chocolate brown eyes, and you give him a soft smile, “To come home.”

“Do you mean... he flies off?” The Doctor says as he glances at the 15th Doctor, tears welling up. “But I could never let the Tardis go. Never. It would hurt.”

The 15th Doctor approaches you two and leans against the console, stating, “Yeah, but... bi-generation has never happened before.” An idea begins to form in his mind, “What if...? What if!”

Eagerly, he dashes to the walkway, producing a 'test your strength' mallet. “What if the Toymaker's domain is still lingering? Just for a few seconds more, we're in a state of play. Oh! So maybe…”

The 15th Doctor steps out of the TARDIS, and the three of you follow after him. Shirley and Mel are waiting in the suite.

Excitedly, the 15th Doctor exclaims, “Hey! Watch this, watch this. Watch, watch, watch, watch. Stand back. Stand back. Go on, that's it, Donna. Oh! Wish me luck.”

“What for?” The Doctor asks, to which the 15th responds with a big smile, “We won the game. You get a prize, honey, and here is mine!” He swings at the side of the TARDIS, knocking a second one out. An exact duplicate stands on the left side of the original one.

“Ta-da!” The 15th shows off in a sing-songy voice before whispering to the TARDIS, “I am so sorry.”

Donna expresses with glee, “That is completely nuts,” and the 15th Doctor laughs in agreement.

The Doctor pushes the other TARDIS doors open and looks down. He unfolds a ramp, saying, “Oh, look! Oh, that's not bad. Wheelchair accessible.”

“At last! You finally caught up with the 21st century!” Shirley smiles, laughing.

“Yeah. Go on,” the 15th Doctor says to your Doctor, who steps inside to glance around as you wait outside. After a minute, he walks out, goes into the original TARDIS, and looks around. You watch as the 15th Doctor gives you a wink before stepping inside his TARDIS, and you let out a snort.

You see your Doctor exit the TARDIS and realize the 15th Doctor is missing. “Where is he? Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!”

You follow your Doctor as he pushes open the other TARDIS doors, saying, “You weren't going to leave without saying goodbye, were you?”

The 15th Doctor mischievously grins as he replies, “As if I would ever do that. Come here. Come here, come here, come here, come here.” He hugs him and kisses you on the cheek, saying, “Look after him, you know? Now, you three, if you don't mind, there is a great big universe out there calling, and I've got to get going. So off you pop, old man.”

Your Doctor shakes his head, a playful glint in his eyes, “Oh. You're the old man. You're older than me.”

Donna nods in agreement, “Actually, that is true. He's younger because you came after him. So you're the older Doctor.”

The 15th Doctor rolls his eyes playfully, teasing, “Okay, kid. I love you. Get out!” He sets the Time Rotor in motion, and Donna rushes out of the TARDIS, yelping, “I'm not doing that again!”

Observing the Doctors salute each other, you hear him say to you, “I’ll see you soon.” Then the two of you exit.

Stepping into Suite 17, the group gathers as the Doctor remarks, “Shirley, I don't suppose you've seen this before. I don't see it often myself. Stand by.”

“Where's he going?” Mel asks, and the Doctor replies, “Everywhere.”

You watch as the TARDIS dematerializes, and you catch the soft whisper of the Doctor, “Good luck.”

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

DONNA’S GARDEN — DAY, 2023

The TARDIS is parked in Donna’s garden, a testament to the new chapter you and the Doctor were embarking on—cohabiting. Presently, the entire family savored a meal al fresco beneath the pergola adorned with wisteria in full bloom. The Doctor sat beside you, his hand resting casually on your thigh, a constant desire to connect, to be near.

“Right. The cast-iron pot is the vegan. Ta-da! And the one with the flowers is the chicken,” Shaun declares, placing the dish on the table. You hum and nod, and Shaun adds, “I think.”

Sylvia chimes in, pointing to the dish, “And this is cauliflower cheese, which doesn't really go with anything, but it was there.” Rose nods as they begin to take their seats.

Donna raises a hand, signaling for attention, “Anyway, shush, please, for the eyebrow story.”

“Oh, yes. So... this species only communicated with their eyebrows. I thought, I can do that,” the Doctor says with an unusually happy tone, a rare occurrence that visibly lifts the weight from his shoulders. He sits straighter, and with a flourish of his eyebrows, he continues the story, “So I'm stood there on this clifftop and I went... ‘I mean you no harm. I come in peace. I am your friend.’”

“Am I late?” Mel's voice breaks through, and you lift your head to see her sheepishly saying, “Sorry. The door was open. You don't mind?”

Sylvia dismisses her concern, cooing, “Oh, you're family, darling. Sit down.”

You glance at Mel and ask, “Did you drive?”

“No. I got a lift off a zingo,” Mel replies as she takes a seat next to you, prompting cheers and laughter from the group.

“A zingo!” Donna exclaims, and Sylvia smiles, “Oh, how strange.”

The Doctor continues his eyebrow-raising tale, “So, she looked at me, the Warrior Queen of the Felooth, and she said, ‘Good. And now... you will marry me.’ I said, ‘What?!’ And she pushed me off the cliff!”

Sylvia leans in over the table, asking, “But is it true, though? Is it really true?”

The Doctor looks to you, humming and shrugging, “Mmm…” You playfully shove his shoulder, and he kisses your cheek.

“We could always go in the Tardis and find out,” Rose suggests, but Shaun interjects, “Don't you dare.”

Donna sternly tells her daughter, “You are grounded until the Doctor feels better. Don't go sneaking off to Mars.”

“Again,” Rose says, and Donna goes wide-eyed, asking, “What does that mean?” She pointedly looks at the two of you.

“Oh, no. It was just once. Oh, you're in trouble,” the Doctor says, and you wince.

Mel explains, “They took me to New York last week. The Gilded Age. It was amazing.”

The Doctor shrugs, “Well, yeah. We just can't turn down my favourite niece.”

Rose smiles, “Ah! Niece. I like that.”

“Well, that's what you are. With my best friend, my brother-in-law, the evil stepmother…” The Doctor says, and Sylvia chuckles, “Oh, I have barely begun.” The Doctor continues, “..and Mad Aunty Mel.”

Mel chuckles, “Mad Aunty Mel!”

You all toast happily, exclaiming, “Mad Aunty Mel!”

The Doctor then places down his glass before lifting your left hand, now adorned with a gold band inscribed in Gallifreyan. He kisses your knuckles and says lovingly, “And of course, my soon-to-be wife.”

You can’t help but smile as you look at him. With him, you just open. The cost of staying fortified and hidden away becomes too high. With the Doctor, you lay down your arms. You let love rush in. You let it wash over you. You crack your shell, exposing your heart to this world, trusting that you are worthy of being seen there.

The Doctor then remembers, “And Grandad! Where is he?”

Sylvia says, “Oh, he's off shooting moles.”

The sound of a shotgun resonates, and you hum as the Doctor says, “Don't worry, I gave the moles a forcefield. I love the moles.”

Donna raises her eyebrows, asking, “You love the moles?”

The Doctor grins, “I love them. But here we are, Grandad and all. Who'd have thought? I ended up with a family.”

You feel the weight of his words settling in the cracks of your bones as your hearts thump in the silence. You lean your head on his shoulder, feeling him kiss the top of your head.

Shaun suddenly exclaims, “Oh, my God, I got it wrong. The vegan one is in the flowers.”

Rose groans, tossing her fork on the plate, “Urgh! What am I eating?”

“Oh... Don't worry.” Shaun tries to help. “We'll just… give it to Grandad.” Sylvia adds, “Don't make a fuss. Pass me your plate.”

Donna looks between the two of you, smiling as she says, “You don't have to stay forever.”

The Doctor glances at you, and you smile up at him, saying, “We'll see.”

“Do you miss it? Out there?” Donna asks.

The Doctor looks around, realizing he’s surrounded by love as he says, “The funny thing is, I fought all those battles for all those years, and now I know what for. This. I've never been so happy in my life.”

This love infuses honey into the core of your being; it's akin to a gentle warmth seeping into the very marrow of your bones. Witnessing how it learns about you, fights on your behalf, and remains steadfast through life's storms by your side, you're reminded of the profound connection often overshadowed by the preference for distance over depth in this world. It's a reminder that hope emanates from the touch of another, concealed within the layers of undiscovered facets. You now comprehend that love was always intended to be gentle, always meant to be tender, as evidenced by the Doctor intertwining his fingers with yours, accompanied by a bright grin. Your bones are safe, and your heart can rest assured it belongs to him. Your world transforms, cradled by the comforting embrace that is the Doctor.

“So,” Donna begins as she chews her food and swallows as he smiles at her best friends, “When’s the wedding?”

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

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