#FINALLY DREW GAB. GAB MY LITTLE GUY. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

themadauthorshatter · 2 years

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This has been sitting in ky drafts for the longest time, and I just need to get it out. Just coming out and saying it, this will probably not be continued because this AU isn't mine and I'm a little behind on it, like I first made this when the AU first started, it's THAT old.

Either way, I hope you enjoy what there is here, this is just my guess at the events because THIS WAS MADE AT THE VERY BEGINNING, so enjoy!😅

This is inspired by the King Creativity AU by @kingcreativityau . Go check them out(if I got that wrong, I'm so sorry!!!!!) because they are really talented and it's their original idea

There will also be a surprise side coming in, and it's not orange😉

Slight angst warning here due to Character!Thomas being affected by King's influence and a swearing warning.

With that out of the way, let's go!!

The wind had never been so bitter.

Exhiled.

Janus bit his cheek as he sighed, watching Logan stare at the distant castle.

Muted.

The child in his arms burbled.

Made into a baby.

"Patton, can you say 'Janus?'"

The baby tilted his head.

"Janus," Deceit repeated as he patted his chest.

"Gab-us," Patton blurted.

"Close enough," he groaned as he stood and joined Logan's side. "Anything?"

The logical side huffed through his nose as he drew a pen and brought it to a notepad, the only way Janus can understand him, for the most.

It's been almost two weeks, and already the King's wreaking havoc. No doubt he'll probably change his mind and send his guards to look for us. The longer we wait, the more likely he is to come looking. Children grow, I can still write, and you're probably the highest on His Majesty's hit list. And then there's the fact that Virgil is trapped as his prisoner. I can only imagine what will happen in the coming month.

"And... what about...?"

Logan's eyes widened, the thought never having occurred to him since the re-fusion. He scribbled across the paper, Janus following along as he wrote.

Should the King's power grow more, which it most likely is, I imagine one of two possibilities: either Thomas will begin to dissociate from reality and fail to see which is real and which is just his imagination and go insane, or, with none of us to guide him, he'll begin to lose motivation and-

Both sides jumped as Patton screamed aloud.

"Jeez, talk about a once in a lifetime thing."

Janus glared as he held Patton closer, Logan bristling slightly ass the side strolled closer.

"Deceit's telling the truth, Logic's finally learned to shut up, and Morality's the little baby he always was. Who knew this would happen?"

The male was modernly dressed, fit for leisure and comfort, the dark leather jacket open to show a blank shirt, his jeans bagging slightly at his ankles, his shoes dirty and muddy from what seemed to be a long walk, a satchel slung over one shoulder, and a coffe cup in his hand.

"Remy," Janus groaned.

Logan tipped his head toward the sky.

"Nice to see you guys, too. Been a while."

"And for long enough," Janus barked. "Where have you been?"

Remy shrugged as he swirled the cup in his hand. "Dunno. Got thrown out when the wedding up and reared its ugly head, then you showed up and yelled at Roman, which was a great show to watch, and now I'm back. What? You're glad to see me?"

Janus's snake eye twitched.

Remy grinned with satisfaction. "So care to tell me what in the world happened? Haven't seen Roman in forever and Remus grew a beard."

Logan jotted on his notepad and shoved it in the side's face, Remy's eyes following the words from behind his aviators.

That is not Remus! Roman fused with his brother again and now the King is back!

Remy's eyebrows rose as he removed his shades. "King? As in, King Creativity? The guy Patton pacified?" He looked at the ground as he bit his lip. "Shit."

"Bad!" Yelled Patton.

"Yeah, I know! The bastard's bad news!"

The youngest side pouted. "BAD!"

"Why's Baby Dad yelling at me?"

Janus rocked Patton in his arms. "He doesn't like it when people curse."

"Too bad." Remy tilted his head back as he drank what was presumably the last of his coffee, judging by how he removed the lid and shook the cup lip at the ground. "Damn it."

"BAD!"

"Great, gotta get more now. You wouldn't believe how much I need just to keep the bed potato in his room."

"In his bed?" Janus echoed.

Remy nodded. "Yeah. He doesn't do much. Just sits on his couch and then goes to bed. It's all he does now. If he isn't pretending to watch anything on Netflix, he's laying in bed with the covers over him."

The two sides exchanged a wide eyed glance.

"Logan..."

The logical side nodded, slowly at first but faster by the second.

"Remy, can you get us to Thomas?"

Remy blanched. "You want me to take you to see Thomas while you're in exhile? If this "King" person is in complete control, like hell you guys are getting to Thomas."

You see Thomas every day, Sleep! Logan's notepad read.

Remy hooted as he threw his head back. "Unlike you guys, the son of a bitch couldn't care less about me; he probably hasn't even seen me before!"

"We need to see Thomas," Janus pleaded as Patton shouted, "Bad!"

"If the King's power grows, the weaker Thomas is going to become!"

"Until what, he swoops in and saves the day and becomes Thomas's hero?"

"Think of it like this," Janus snarled, "if Thomas sees a world full of fantasy, adventure, and eternal happiness and then compares it to a world where he chose to go to a wedding instead of a callback, where he'd had his heart broken, where he feels like he has nothing to give to the world, what do you think will happen?"

Remy's grin dropped as Patton sniffled, and then wailed.

Logan shushed the youngest side as he rocked as bounced him in his arms.

"O-kay," Remy breathed, "so we get to Thomas."

"Will anyone be guarding?"

"Just one. The Creative Minister himself," Remy said as he folded forward in a mocking bow.

Patton cried once more.

"Virgil," Janus shuddered.

Thats right. Creative Minister. That meant Virgil would answer directly to the King himself, regardless of whether or not the former anxiety had an "idea."

"And he oversees everything?"

"Almost," Remy shrugged as he pocketed his hands. "Every day he has Virge give a report of anything he's come up with."

"That should give us enough time," Janus affirmed.

Both Logan and Remy cringed, the former hissing between his teeth.

"You cannot say it's a bad idea."

It may be our only idea, but should the event happen that we're caught, there is a chance we'll get a worse punishment than exhile, Logan's notepad read.

"Yeah," Remy huffed. "Besides, Virgil's room is in one of the lower floors of the castle, how do we even get inside?"

Logan paced back and forth, brows knitted together. Patton leaned back as he giggled, making Logan hold him tighter. He froze mistep and wrote in his notepad, smirking pointedly as his eyes narrowed to Remy.

We don't need to get inside.

Janus's expression mirrored Logan's as he realized what he had written.

Remy's eyes darted between them.

"You can get places quickly," Janus mused. "And the King won't notice you doing so."

"There's no talking me out of this, is there?"

"Bomas!" Patton cheered. "Bomas!"

"Well," Janus reveled as he held the child once more, "I guess that answers that."

Remy sighed and then groaned. "Fine, but if we get arrested, it's on you two."

***

Virgil stared at his shoes as he paced around the room. Usually he wore black sneakers with purple lacing that were loose and comfortable, not dress shoes that bit his feet and made his toes blister.

The though alone caused his shoes to disappear and sun roasted sand to smother every inch of his feet, making him fall to the floor.

White walls, white floor, white ceiling, Virgil's mind raced. No heat, no cold, no wind, just right.

A banging on the window made him shoot to his feet.

His eyes widened as he saw a familiar, spectacled face smiling and waving at him.

"Logan," Virgil almost wept.

Behind the glass, which only left Logan visible from his shoulders upwards, the logical side held his hands against the glass desperately as his feet teetered on Janus's shoulders, who continued to wobble forward and backward and bumping into the wall, and Remy groaning and grunting, hissing curses through clenched as he held them both up.

Janus's shoes bit into his shoulders, probably leaving bruises beneath his clothes.

Patton crawled on the ground, sometimes pushing himself to his feet and plopping on his rump, giggling slightly.

"Out of all three of us, how come you two get to be higher up?"

"Keep watch of Patton," Janus hissed as his eyes darted left, right, up, and down, hoping, praying there wouldn't be a guard near by. If we're caught-

"Gabus!"

Janus looked down to see the youngest side smile and laugh up at him.

He couldn't help but smile back, allbeit more out of nerves, if anything. "Hi, Patton."

Back inside, Virgil turned behind him, checking the closed door before turning back to Logan. "What are you doing here?"

Logan's writing was chicken scratch at best, but it was still readable, considering his circumstances.

Thomas is in danger. We're trying to reach him before he shuts down completely. Is there way we can perhaps slip past His Majesty?

Virgil shrugged as he shook his head. His eyeshadow grew dark as an homage of the aforementioned royal appeared behind him, staring with wide, burning eyes as he clenched a fist.

Of course! Logan realized. That may be our way to Thomas!

The distress of the anxious side halted his thoughts for a second.

If all goes accordingly, the three sides- and Remy, Logan added begrudgingly- would have a chance to save Thomas, but what would it cost for Virgil? If they got caught, there was no telling what kind of punishments the King would have in store for them. Execution would be too merciful, even though he found being mute a bigger mercy than being an indentured or test for "ideas" or, even worse, the King's wrath iteslf, which may be what Virgil would most likely face if he helped them.

He bit his tongue as he held up a new message, eyes desperate.

I know you're scared, but it's the only way we can help him. There must be a way to slip passed him, any at all.

Virgil took a deep breath and nodded, eyes brimming with tears. "There is," he said behind the glass, "but you have to be fast and quiet."

Logan nodded and held up another slip of paper.

Great. Now how does the King show his ideas to Thomas?

Virgil checked the door once more and gestured for Logan to take notes.

Outside, Patton gave a slight pout as he eyed his flattened dirt mound as he stared at it boredly. The empty coffee cup caught his eye and he crawled over to it, picking it up with small hands.

Janus scanned the area and froze as an armored guard marched near by, just on the castle wall. "Logan..."

Logan held up a palm and then a finger. Wait, I need a minute.

"Hey!" Remy snapped. "Hands off, Morality!"

Patton gazed at him as he teethed on the lip of the cup.

The guard slowed before continuing.

"Logan!" Janus yelped.

Just a second! Logan gestured, his teeth gritted.

"Not. Yours. I put my mouth, lips, and spit on that!"

"Remy, shut it!"

The guard stopped in his steps.

"Logan!"

Give me a second!

Janus gulped as he watched, unable to take his eyes away.

This is it. We've been knocked off the board before the game even began. The guard leaned against the wall, holding a hand over his eyes. This is how our story ends, and the King couldn't have written it more perfectly.

The tale of a mute, a baby, and a snake, -featuring a coffee addicted punk- all beginning with a king's power, his dethroning at the hands of the sides he'd neglected to notice raising in strength, his split into two halves, one good and one evil, the good thriving in joy and fulfillment while the evil slipped into insanity, the arrival of the sides who'd caused the split, another arrival, but of dark side who joined their group, the acceptance of said side that led to the rest following him like the past haunting an incarcerated criminal, the event of a wedding being chosen over a callback, a once in a lifetime opportunity, and the eventual acceptance not of deceit, but of self care, all leading to His Majesty being reborn out of desperation, leading to a mute logic, an infant morality, and a lying snake, who would be captured, tried, and sentenced for disobeying a king's orders, however cruel they may have been.

He gasped loudly when Logan tapped on his bowler hat and pointed downwards.

"Easy," Remy grunted as Logan climbed off Janus's back.

The sleep side yelped at Logic's foot on his shoulder, the full weight almost breaking the appendage. His foot slid against the grass, sending all three the ground.

Patton dropped the cup and crawled to Logan and Janus, whimpering as he leaned above them.

"Gabus?"

Janus quickly picked up Patton and pulled Logan with him as he tan to a nearby tree, Remy following shortly.

The guard above looked over again before leaving briskly, probably going directly to the king himself, no doubt.

"Gabus," Patton peeped.

"We're fine, Patton. Don't worry." Janus turned to Logan. "What took you two?"

Logan grinned as he held up his notepad.

The picture was hastily drawn, at best, but it was still cohesive. There were four shapes, one for each of them, and they stood at a doodle of the castle before them and behind them towered the grand wall the guard had just walked by on. Trees littered the area between, arrows pointing to each one before rounding what was presumably a corner and leading to a hedge maze and the message, wait for Virgil.

"Right," Janus shivered. "Remember, we only have one chance to get this right."

"Great," Remy falsely cheered as they darted to a neighboring tree. "So either we succeed and save Thomas, or we fail and die. Genius."

Logan rolled his eyes as he followed Janus.

Let's just hope we're not caught.

***

The King was perched in his usual spot, at the center of the hedge maze. Before him was a swirl of colors and shapes that formed what must have been a portal, one that led out of the imagination.

And we only have one chance at this.

Virgil swallowed a lump in his throat as he shuffled toward the fused Creativity, eyes low and heart racing.

One chance to get this right. And that meant a whole lot of mistakes would get them killed.

"Uh, 'scuse me?"

The King's movements stopped as he tipped his head back. "What is it, little one?" He drawled.

If Virgil was any braver, he'd pull the King back by his black cape.

"Well, uh, there's something... I want to show you."

Creativity turned. The opposing red and green of his eyes always set him on edge, made him wonder which twin was in control, if it was Roman's spite or Remus's intrusion.

"Oh?" He asked, more of a challenge than a real offer. "Show me then."

Virgil's heart stopped.

This wasn't part of the plan. Logan needed a distraction, obviously, but he never specified what kind of distraction.

Think, a voice in his mind demanded. Think, think, think, THINK!

Just behind the growingly impatient King, he spotted Logan, Janus, and Remy all sneaking toward the portal, Patton in Janus's arms and smiling at him.

"Well?" The King dared. "What is it you have to show me?"

Virgil took a breath. Please let this work. "You know those angels that are accurate to the bible? The ones that are all weird and freaky looking?"

The King's near glare softened as he nodded, his red eye going green. "Yes. What about them?"

Virgil rubbed his hands together and slowly opened them, a ball of light grew in them until it was dulled by countless rings that had woven into each other, eyes decorating them like diamonds on a ring. Eight or ten wings grew on either side of the concept Virgil brought to near- life, and the King's face brightened at it.

"Oh, my!" He praised. "Interesting."

Virgil smiled nervously as he glanced at his fellow sides, Logan giving him a thumbs up as Remy and Janus stepped before the portal.

The King reached to touch the mirage, as if the created likeness of holiness could be his.

As sharp crack resonated as Remy leapt through the portal, causing the King to whip his head toward the source of disruption.

Logan and Janus froze and Patton whimpered.

Creativity's face twisted with sadistic glee. "Ah. Logic and Deceit. How lovely of you to join us."

Logan bit his lip, but gasped as Patton was shoved into his arms.

"Go ahead without me, Logan," Janus barked as he stepped forward and spun his cane into his hand. "I'll buy you some time!"

Logan's brow furrowed as he shook his head.

"GO!"

"Yes, Logan," the King purred, his nails elongated and sharpened to fine points. "Go on ahead. Run away from another side that needs you."

Logan shrank back toward the portal.

As the King stepped forward, Virgil shouted as he leapt onto his back, webs lacing between his fingertips.

Janus's jaw dropped. "Virgil!"

"GET OUT OF HERE!" Anxiety demanded as he and the King fell back.

"You insolent little INSECT!" Creativity roared as he threw his elbow back into Virgil's rib.

"HURRY!" Virgil pleaded. "I'll be fine! JUST GO!"

Both sides backed toward the fading portal, giving Virgil one last glance before racing toward the flurry of colors.

The king broke free and tore forward. "NO!"

The protal cracked as the sides sprang through, closing behind them as it did.

Through the rush of adrenaline from attacking the fused Creativity, Virgil snickered before bracimg himself as the King's red and green eyes snapped back to him.

Please, help Thomas for me, he wished as the King snapped his fingers.

Black tendrils lashed out and seized Virgil's being before pulling him down, taking the air around him until he was swallowed in darkness.

He'd always hated the dark, but wondered if this was what the twins saw in their fused state.

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imagineddworld · 3 years

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Unexpected

Pairing: Remus Lupin x Reader

Summary: After serving detention with your favorite teacher, true feelings get revealed.

Word counter: 3,5 K (3500)

Author’s note: I made Remus a new, young teacher, and the student just turned 18. There is still a 5 years difference, but I tried to make it a bit more comfortable for people who don’t really like big age gabs.

I also tried to make it gender neutral, so if you guys have any tips; that would be great.

Didn’t proof read this, as lack of time with my exams very near. But I wanted to post something. As expected it turned out longer than I had meant to

Hope you enjoy xx

The time had come where the seventh years were learning how to make Amortentia. A potion well known to most curious students as the love potion. But it was a very tough one to make. You got all the ingredients right, but the brewing method messed you up every time. Same for today, it had started to fog an odd green smoke. It was at least better than the time where it had blown up in Snape’s face. You had never received such a big punishment as then. You were given 5 essays to write and served detention for a whole month.

“Detention Miss/Mister (Y/L)”, you heard the cold, monotone voice from behind you, “You can serve it with Professor Lupin after class. He needs help with grading essays”. You already had predicted this outcome to happen, but tried to argue anyway. “But-”, you silenced yourself as soon as you saw his cold glare. You sighed, slumping back in your chair. “Okay”, you mouthed silently, while making a mocking face. “That will be two detentions”, you heard him say angrily. You threw your arms in the air as a sign of annoyance, but didn’t say anything else. You started to clean your cauldron, hoping in the last minutes of class he wouldn’t give you more detentions or worse, gave you another essay to write. He really hated the living hell out of you. As one of the new teachers, together with Professor Lupin, you hand’t expected to be hate so much. You rarely did anything. Perhaps even breathing was too much for him. But there was not much you could do about it. You realized that the hard way. Most of the time you argued with him, but one particular time he had enough of your snarky comments. He had given you detention for nearly two months, making you clean all the little, dirty places of Hogwarts. All magic was forbidden, you needed to clean it all by hand. And as bonus to top it all off, he overloaded you with essays to write. Every week you needed to give two writer essays of 10 pages at least. After that event, you didn’t bother arguing much.

The rest of the day went by as normal, mostly spend with your nose in your books. As your final class ended, you quickly dropped off the unnecessary books at your dorm that couldn’t fit in your bag. You only kept the ones you needed for your essay. The one you were planning to write after your detention. Your dorm seemed further away from Professor Lupin’s office, resulting in you needing to sprint through the halls. Luckily the halls were less crowded. Only a few students were chatting in the hallway, laughing with their friends and keeping each other up to date. When you reached the door, you were out of breath. Partly from the running and partly from your nerves. Your heart was pounding too, and you hands were shaking the slightest bit. You took in some deep breaths and tried to calm yourself.

Detention with Remus Lupin made you more nervous than you had expected. He wasn’t just your favorite teacher, because of his amazing teaching skills. But also due to his kind character and beautiful looks. You had unexpectedly started to grow feelings for him. He had an amazing sweet and kind soul. His blue eyes sparkled every time he taught your class something new. Every time you got mesmerized by them, losing yourself into the beauty of the blue irises. Fascinated by the swirls of colors that came out when the light captured them from a certain perspective. His smile never failed to make your heart flutter. Every time he called your name during class, your face became beat red. His scars were a beautiful contrast against his slightly reddened cheeks.

You had thought the fact that he was your teacher, would disgust you. But technically he wouldn’t be your teacher anymore in 2 months. And also the fact that there were only a few years between the two of you, made it more acceptable. He was a fairly new and young teacher. A lot of girls probably had crushed on him, so you weren’t to blame. It’s not like you could control your feelings. As long as you kept it hidden, you were fine.

Your hands were shaking more, as you realized what was about to happen. Your heart started to pick up its beat up again, hammering against your chest. You softly knocked on the wooden door. “Come in”, his muffled voice could be heard form inside. With a little creak of the door, you made your way into his office. “Hello Professor. I’m here to serve my detention”, your voice was silent, and a bit shaky. He looked up from his desk full of papers, eyes lighting up the slightest bit. He gave you a sweet smile: “Ah yes, (Y/N). I was surprised when Snape me you were the one who had gotten detention. You never do anything wrong”. A light blush crept up your cheeks. His eyes were entrancing you, making your knees weak. “Well, I messed up the method of my potion, so you know how Snape is. Then I mocked him for his ridiculous behavior and got myself a second detention. So you will be stuck with me again tomorrow evening”, you smiled more confidently now. You didn’t regret your behavior. Snape really was a living hell. It was just your overthinking mind and overwhelming nerves that were bothering you now. As they were most of the time.

“Oh, Don’t worry about that, dear. I don’t mind your company”, he smile seemed even brighter. The soft candle light really gave him a certain glow that had you mesmerized. It was a soft yellow light, that showed off all his features even better. This soft look in combination with his sweet words really made you swoon. These detentions might were going to kill you. This man couldn’t get any lovelier, at least you thought so. Every time you saw him, some new details had you drawn to him. Another little piece of him you could adore. Like whenever the light hits his eyes right, they looked almost yellow. As if a sun was glowing behind them. That might explain why they gave such a warm and loving appearance. Or the soft shadows that were cast on his face, pointing out his fine bone structure even more. His jawline standing out the most. The combination of his messy hair and wintery sweater, made him look very cosy. He gave off a feeling of home and trust. As if you truly could be yourself around him, even if there were certain boundaries. Maybe that comfort drew you the most to him.

“Well..., you can start with that pile over there”, his voice woken you from your daydream. He pointed to a chair in front of his desk with a smaller pile of papers on it neatly stacked. Your cheeks were flushing a bright red, as you realized he must have seen you stare at him for who knows how long. You placed your bag against the wall, and hung your robe on the hanger that stood in the corner. You carefully picked up the stack of papers and placed them on the desk, so you could sit. Lupin made some room for your pile, as his was literally scattered all over his wooden desk. He mumbled soft apologies in between soft, heartwarming chuckles. After he gave you a pen, some ink and instructions of how to rate these essays, you went to work.

You had to be honest, it was quite hard to concentrate when you were sat in front of this beautiful man. You often glanced up, admiring him in this soft light and closer perspective. You didn’t dare to look up, but had a feeling his eyes were on you as well. But that could’ve been your feelings sparking up some deeply hidden hope for him ever being interested in you. Every time he leaned over to help you on a certain problem, you could feel your breath halt in your throat. You had trouble keeping your heart rate in control.

“I’m all done, Professor”, you said when you rated the last essay of your pile. He looked up with that loving smile of his, making your heart flutter for the umpteenth time. “Brilliant. Thank you for your assistance today”, he gently took the essays from your hand, and placed them on his big pile of already marked homework. “Maybe I could help you with that potion you were having trouble with?” You smiled widely at him: “Oh, that would be lovely, sir. I really could use some help”. He nodded happily, while his eyes seemed to spark that particular sparkle whenever he got passionated with teaching and helping people. “Do you have your textbook with you?” You mumbled a quiet yes, as you went to grab it from your bag. You handed it over to him, standing by his side on a formal distance away from him. “What potion were you working on?”, he asked while going through the pages of your book. “Amortentia”. As soon as the answer left you mouth, he started to cough lightly seen that he had just took a sip of his tea. “Are you okay, sir?”, you asked him worriedly, placing your hand on his arm. You were a bit unsure if you should touch him or not. But you had acted upon it like an instinct. Luckily he didn’t really reacted to the soft manner, meaning he probably didn’t mind. “Yeah, yeah. I’m alright, dear. Just chocked a bit on my tea, is all”. He cleared his throat and straightened out his back, adjusting his position as a way to recover from his small coughing fit. “So, Amortentia...”, he started off, sounding it bit absentmindedly. “Yeah, I have all the ingredients right. It’s the brewing method that messes me up every time. It always seems to go so well, until it suddenly doesn’t. And I don’t know why”, your explanation sounded like a rambling of quick words put together, making you unsure if he actually understood you. He nodded his head, as he read over the page. “Hmm, well. I’m here to help you. We just need supplies”.

The two of you snuck around the halls, if you even can consider it that. It was still a few hours before curfew and you were with a teacher, so not much trouble could happen. But you still sort of broke into Snape’s classroom, which he wouldn’t appreciate at all. “If we get caught, I am going to blame you. He already hates the living hell out of me”. The tall man next to you chuckled at your comment. “Trust me, love. He hates me plenty, you just don’t see it”. You raised your eyebrow questionably at him: “Why? You are such a lovable person”. The words left your mouth before you registered fully what you had said. His silence made you fear your previous statement even more. Did you mess up? But as you sneaked a look at him, it seemed like he wore a light blush on his cheek. Brighter than he usual reddened cheeks. Indeed it also could be the incidence of light, hitting his skin differently and creating an illusion of colours.

As you reached the classroom, you quickly mumbled a spell to unlock the door to Snape’s ingredient collection. “Alright, get what you need. I’ll keep watch”, he said quietly, not really looking at you. You listed off all the ingredients you needed, having remembered them from the plenty of times that you had read over the page. You had placed the ingredients on the desk nearest to you, not risking to drop any in the searching process. But as you looked at the amount of pots and bits, you weren’t so sure if every item would make it back safely. “Could you give me a hand, sir?”, you said a bit louder, so he could hear you from the doorway. His head turned quickly to where you were standing. “Oh. Of course, darling”, he smiled, rushing over to your side. He took the bigger part of the items, stressing that it was only right. He could carry them all with only one arm, the other softly placed on the small of your back as he guided you out of the classroom. It must have been a protective, kind manner he always had had in him. You shouldn’t overthink such an innocent thing. But you had to be fair, it really made your heart melt and your skin burn where he hand was placed. It gave you all sort of tingles.

He opened his door for you, opening his arm to allow you into his office. “Such a gentleman”, you teased, even if your cheeks were burning up. He glanced to the floor, hiding his face from your view. You set all the ingredients on the table, setting them on order of how you would need to use them. Remus placed his cauldron on the table and started to go over the instructions. He mostly gave you the lead, but stepped in wherever you were going to make a mistake. He also gave you useful tips for future potions. “You are doing a great job, (Y/N)”, he smiled form your side, keeping a respectable distance from you. “Well, you are helping me a lot. So, you could say we make quite a great team”, you smirked lightly, not really daring to look over to him. You just focused on stirring in the cauldron. A weight fell of your shoulders when you hear him chuckle: “If you say so, it must be true”. He sounded a little more playful.

As you added the last ingredient, the liquid turned a beautiful pastel pink. The aroma that came from it was way better than all your previous attempts. You leaned over the cauldron to take a whiff of the odor. “Oh wow, this smells good. It’s way better than all my other attempts. It’s smells like man’s cologne and chocolate”, you said with an excited smile, but it fell soon after. “Or is it just you?”, you asked a Remus with a sad tone. You really wanted to succeed, but after all your failed attempts you didn’t know what Amortentia smelled or looked like.

Lupin’s eyes were switching between your face and his hands, as if he were unsure of what to say or do. “Normally it smells like what you’re attracted to, miss/ mister (Y/L/N)”. Your eyes widened the slightest bit. Of course you knew that. You were just so enchanted by the smell, that you forgot you were actually outing your secret to the person you wanted to know the least. “Oh, yeah. I know that. But as my other attempts smelled so awful, I thought maybe Amortentia had an actual odor”, you tried to safe yourself. It was partly true, but you tried to cover up the fact that you had outed your secret. You had admitted smelling him, admitting to liking him as the potion had succeeded. “It- It’s alright”, he spoke quietly. A short moment of silence fell over the two fo you. But before it could get any more awkward, you decided to speak up again. “So, uhm. What do you smell, sir”. He seemed to swallow a big lump that had formed in his throat. Slowly he came into movement, leaning over the cauldron as well. He closed his eyes to focus on the scents that he smelled. “Old books and (a scent linked to you)”, he said absentmindedly. He reopened his eyes, but they weren’t focussing on anything particularly. He seemed a bit fazed out, but so were you. Maybe it was the potion, or it was the sudden awareness of your feelings and the position you found yourself in. You were trying to register what he had said previously. Did he smell you? it could be anyone, right? A lot of people must smell like that. You didn’t want to get your hopes up. It would only lead to heartaches.

You fell back into reality, shaking your head lightly. Once your eyes were focussing again on the room you found yourself in, you realized how close you stood to one another. You must have subconsciously moved closer towards him. When you found the courage to look up, you found his clear blue eyes already trained on you. You felt very nervous underneath his gaze, as if you were being put on spot. You licked your lips as a sign of nerves. Your eyes roaming through the whole room, trying to avoid his gaze. You didn’t know what to do. “No, I can’t do this”, he whispered, stepping a few steps back. “What do you mean?”, you were really confused. Did he meant to do something? You knew nothing could happen between the two fo you. It was wrong in many ways, but you couldn’t help your feelings. You didn’t really expect him to feel anything back. So this came as a hit in the face, as if there had been actual hope all along. “You- you’re my student...”. You nodded slowly, still not getting exactly what he was on to. You had some speculations, but needed confirmation. You couldn’t trust your intuition.

“I know.. In two months I won’t be. At least if I graduate”. He shook his head lightly, going with his hand through his hair. “Still.. I’m 5 years older than you. We can’t do this..”, he pointed between the two of you. At that moment it hit you. Your speculations were confirmed. You were somewhat embarrassed for how long it had taken you to realize what was happening. “You- you were considering that anything could happen between- between us?”, you stuttered, still not registering it completely. You were feeling like your ears were playing tricks on you. “Maybe...”, he said unsure. Even if you didn’t had your hopes up for anything to happen, still somewhere deep down the sparks of it had hidden. Knowing that he had considered it, but refused to follow through with it, hurt you more than expected. Your eyes started to water, but kept the tear in. Of course he noticed the change. He stepped closer to you and wiped away the single tear that had fallen from your eye. “I’m sorry, love. Please don’t cry”. You forced a small chuckle, smiling at his loving face. “No, it’s okay. Honestly, It’s okay”. Both your voices were quiet as they spoke, not willing to hurt the other even further.

You couldn’t blame him for this decision. You couldn’t ask such a thing, couldn’t expect such a thing. It was against the rules. He needed to keep a certain distance with his students. The least you wanted was him to lose his job, because of your foolish crush. You respected his decision, even if it hurt. It would be for the better.

His hand was still on your cheek. It was soft and warm against your skin. You wanted to cherish this moment, even if it was going to break your heart as soon as it ended. His other hand comfortably rested on your waist. “Screw the rules”, he mumbled. Before you registered what was happening, his soft lips were capturing yours in an unexpected but loving kiss. It was soft and tender, but all the while it was full of love. Once the shock wore off, your hands fell to his chest. You softly grabbed the fabric of his sweater. You could feel his rapid heartbeat underneath your palm. He pulled you closer to his body, deepening the kiss. His hand went to the back of your head, not willing to break the kiss yet. Eventually you needed to do so, as you were running out of air. You kept your closeness, both recovering from the unexpected kiss.

“You are going to be the death of me, love”,he said breathlessly. You chuckled at his comment, leaning in to his chest to cuddle him. You enjoyed the warmth and feeling of being wrapped up in his arms. You looked up at him, being met by his sweet smile and enchanting eyes. “Likewise, sir”, you said before you captured his lips in a second kiss. This time even more passionate. The both of you smiled into it, feeling complete. It felt right. Even if you broke some rules, it was all worth it.

#remus lupin #remus lupin x reader #remus lupin imagine #remus lupin fanfiction #hp fanfic #hp imagine #hp remus #Harry Potter #harry potter imagine #lupin x reader #remus x reader #remus #lupin #remus fluff #Fluffy Imagine #remus fluffy imagine #remus lupin fluff

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wayward-nephilim · 4 years

Text

Before it all started // Rafe Cameron

Prompt: You finally break up with Rafe after you catch him doing coke again and you can’t stop thinking about how you guys were before.

Warnings: Drug abuse, angst

A/N: I hate Rafe and he’s kind of awful, but you also can’t deny that he’s just a boy with daddy issues and I believe that he would have been a halfway decent person if he didn’t have a shitty father and drug addiction. This is my take on what I believe he was like “before” (Ps re-reading and editing this i realized i made him like not a villain at all. Maybe i’m confusing Drew with Rafe)

“DONT YOU DARE LEAVE!!” He yelled at you, getting up from his spot on the couch. The lines of coke spread out on his table. Reflecting perfectly on the mirrored tray he had. You felt sick to your stomach and it felt like everything keeping you alive had been ripped out of you. This wasn’t the first time you caught him snorting, the first time was the worst and you voweled to help him but you had failed.

You fought back the tears in your eyes. “Rafe. I can’t do this, I can’t watch you fall down the same hole my mom did.” You loved your mom, and you loved Rafe almost as much. But you sat back and watched your mom kill herself and were watching the love of your life do that same thing.

The blue in his eyes were hardly able to be seen, his pupils so dilated from the coke. You knew how he got, you watched him start it. And at first he actually had you convinced he had it under control, he could do a line and that would hold him off for a couple days, it was a social thing. And then slowly you saw him doing more and more. You saw him stumble down into a dark and twisty hole as he battled with his mind.

“Baby, please. I can get it under control. I can fix this, I can fix us.” He sniffled, eyes glossy.

Your lip quivered as you watched the boy in front of you plead. “Rafe.” Your voice broke, “I love you, but I can’t do this. You promised me you would get a hold on it and then you didn’t. I offered you my support and I broke my back to get you help. I did everything I could to help you and I’m tired.” You sighed, disappointed in him and yourself.

“Listen, Y/N. Give me a couple of months.” He said, now crying, “I promise I can get better.” He seemed so small, gabbing the edge of his shirt and pulling it down as a nervous tick.

Your heart broke as you watched the boy you were in love with completely crumble. You wanted to believe him, you supported him and loved him when everyone else was against him and the both of you knew that you held him down and kept him grounded. “Rafe.” You sighed, disappointedly. “I can’t keep doing this with you. Why didn’t you take my help when I offered it?” You pinned the blame on yourself, thinking you could have pushed him harder.

“Look- It’s not that simple.” He looked down, refusing to make eye contact with you. “I have it under control.”

You groaned and threw your head back, “NO, YOU DON’T.” You yelled at him flinging your arms in your direction. “You don’t, Rafe. And you know it. I can’t help you this time.” This situation felt too familiar, and you needed to get out of there. Your chest rising and falling even harder and tear spilling from your eyes.

“Please.” He pleaded, noticing your change in demeanor. He straightened up and walked over to you. Trying to comfort you. “Y/N. Baby, it’s okay.” He hugged you. “I promise.”

You pulled your body away from his and looked him in the eyes. “It’s not, Rafe.” You sniffled, “You know it’s not. And I can’t ask you to get sober for me. Clearly it doesn’t work. I need you to get sober for yourself.” You sobbed, “I need you to want to be okay for you, I want to be able to live a long life with you and have kids and get married. But I’m not going to sit here and watch you refuse my help.”

“I will. I promise Baby.” He tried reaching for you and you pulled your body away because you knew that if you hugged him back you’d fall back into him. “I can get sober. I’ll do it.” You wished with everything in you that he would.

“I need to go, Rafe.” You said, turing around and letting your tears stream from your eyes. He wasn’t a bad man, he wasn’t mean to you and he hardly ever got a temper and not once in the year you guys have been dating has he ever put a hand on you. He just needed intervention and therapy, a lot of it.

Every step away from him felt like another string of your heart was being pulled. You ignored his begging and continued to walk, breaking down every step of the way. Your body was sweaty and you were hyperventilating. Rafe was always the one to calm your panic attacks and now he wasn’t hear and this one had to be fought on its own. You texted Sarah,

‘please keep an eye on your brother for me. we broke up and i need to know he doesn’t do anything irrational.’ You would always care for Rafe, nothing could change that.

You turned your phone off and walked towards your home that was only a couple doors down from the Cameron’s. You glanced up at the sky, clouds rolling in. Storm season was bad this year. Rain drops started falling slowly and you were kind of grateful, hoping they would wash out your tears so your father didn’t ask questions on your way in.

You sloshed around the foyer of your house and hang your soaking jacket on the coat rack, slipped your shoes off and walked up to your room. Not bothering you turn your light on, you stripped out of all of your clothes you flopped into bed. You lay staring at your ceiling. The ache in your heart over powering everything.

“Rafe, put me down.” You giggled, he had grabbed you by one arm and a thigh and was swinging you off of the boat. You squirmed in his hands until he placed you down on the deck of your tiny sail boat.

“What’s wrong, baby?.” He smiled at you, his blue eyes filled with life and his blonde hair wasn’t slicked back as you would normally see it. It was messy and all over the place. You loved seeing him like this, he was himself and he was happy and it was just the two of you.

“You know I’m ticklish.” You pouted your lip out, looking up to him.

“Oh, that’s just an excuse.” He said, running towards you and playfully tackling you down to tickle your side.

You kicked and laughed until your belly hurt. “Rafe-“ You laughed, “Stop it.” You managed to get out from his hold and run away laughing. He caught up with you and picked you up, your legs wrapping around his waist as he placed a kiss on your lips. You moaned as he laid you down and deepened the kiss. You pulled your head away and put your forehead onto his, staring into his bright blue eyes. And felt completely lost in them.

“Rafe.” You spoke softly, putting your hand on his face, “I love you.” It was the first time you said it, but you knew in that moment how you felt about him.

His mouth fell open in shock before he closed it and smiled, “I love you too.” He said against your lips and you opened yourself up to him.

Your tears fell even harder. The beginning of your relationship with Rafe was perfect, he was every thing you could have dreamed of and treated you good. He never pushed you to do anything you weren’t comfortable and was patient. It made you miss him even more.

“Y/N.” Rafe tried to offer you a smile, but you saw through it. His shirt was unbuttoned and both his face and ribs had bruises on them.

“Rafe. What happened?” You spoke, dropping your bag and keys and rushed over to him. You fell down to where he was in the ground and cupped his face in your hands. “Baby, what happened?” You cooed, glancing around the room, you saw a shiny tray on on it was little white lines and a rolled of $50 bill. You held him close to your body.

He cried into your shoulder and held you right. “I fucked up.” He sobbed,

“Rafe. What happened to you?” You voice cracked,

“He hit me.” He didn’t need to tell me who, I knew. It was his father. Ward had a tempor, everyone knew that. Especially you.

“I won’t let him do anything else to you. I’ll protect you.”

You lay stuff on your bed, digging your palms into your eyes to stop the flashbacks of you two together. You didn’t want to see all of the intimant moments. There were too many good ones. Rafe was good to you. He cared about you and pushed you in a positive way to do better than him. You knew he loved you and he knew you loved him.

Turning over, you put your head into your pillow and screamed until your lungs couldn’t take it anymore. Sobbing, wanting to be held by someone.

One hand was on your waist, the other clasped around your hand. He spun you so your back was against his. “I love it when you dress up.” He whispered in your ear.

It was Mid-Summer and you couldn’t deny that you hated it but also couldn’t deny that you enjoyed dressing up in a beautiful light dress and wearing a flower crown. You smiled up to him and gave him a kiss on the lips.

“Let’s go somewhere more private.” He spoke in your ears. You didn’t take much time unwinding yourself from him and pulling him into an empty locker room. Locking the door behind you.

You eagerly kissed him and pressed him against the lockers. He moaned and put his hands in your hips, pulling you into him. You smiled and pulled away, “I love you.” You kissed him, “I love you. I love you. I love you.” You said kissing him between each statement. And you did, you loved the Cameron boy with every fiber of your being.

“I love you more.” He laughed, pulling your dress up and then lifted you up so you could wrap your legs around his waist.

“Not possible.” You smiled, wrapping your arms around his neck as he undid the belt and button on his dress pants.

“It totally is.” He kissed you.

By now you were convinced that you would never find another love like his. He was a sour puss to most people, but he was real and true and wasn’t afraid to be himself around you, even if you were out in public. He wasn’t afraid to show his affection despite his reputation.

You wanted to call him and tell him you love him. But the rational part of you told you to not do it. You know it’s not your job to keep him clean, but you wanted to protect him from everything. You knew him better than anyone in his life. You know what he’s thinking right now and it’s not too different from your own thoughts.

This time, it was you two laid out on the deck of your boat. Staring up at the stars. Rafe was clueless when it came to the sky. The only thing he knew was where to find the big dipper. “That one right there, that’s Orien. He’s my favorite.” You smiled over to him, pointing above you. “Mainly because he’s the easiest one to find.”

“How exactly do you know so much?” He questioned you, looking over to you.

“I don’t know, I guess I’m just into stars and stuff. It’s crazy what’s out there. Ya know?” You shrugged, feeling slightly insecure for geeking out. “I find it interesting.”

Rafe noticed your change in demeanor. “I don’t think you’re weird for it.” He said, “I dig it.”

The both of you stared so intensely at each other. Comfortable with where you were in life. You turned to face him and placed your arm around his torso, snuggling into him. Being alone and comfortable in his presence was the one thing that always made you feel better. He made you better.

Right now, you wanted nothing more but for things to go back to the way they were before it all started.

#pope outer banks #kie outer banks #outerbanks #outer banks #obx #rafe cameron #john b #jj maybank #pope hayward #kiara carrera #sarah cameron #drew starkey

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faecaptainofdreams · 4 years

Photo

I do not own Marvel. Yes, Wade drew this with crayon. Marvel HC: www.deviantart.com/foxdragonlo… Peter HC: www.deviantart.com/foxdragonlo… Wade HC: www.deviantart.com/foxdragonlo… If you don't like this ship i don't care. Don't talk to me about it, find something you do enjoy. If you're into it, then thanks for stopping by! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- TW: strong language, mature themes ~~Humble Start~~ When Peter was 19, he met 25-year-old Wade in January when the merc was teaming up with the Avengers to help him find his target, who happened to be involved in something the Avengers were trying to undo. When the men first shook hands and Peter introduced himself, he removed his mask, to which Wade suddenly replied "Hot DAMN! What are you, a Disney prince?!" Peter, startled, backed away, and Tony urged Peter to put his mask back on. As it was, Spiderman and Deadpool got along. Before they all parted ways (with the problem resolved and Deadpool having gotten his man), the latter thought it might be fun to pop in once in a while and visit the Avengers. While the others drily insisted that he don't do that, Spidey thought Deadpool could be a potentially good friend. Despite Tony's aversion to it, Peter gave Wade his number and suggested they hang out sometime. Wade showed up a couple weeks later after having texted Peter off and on. Still shy about his appearance and preferring to not be seen at a lower profile, he came to the facility wearing fingerless gloves, concealing clothing, and his Deadpool mask. After he and Peter hung out the first couple of times, the younger of them asked if Wade would let him see his face. With lots of self-deprecating jokes, Wade said no. Sometimes Peter would go meet up with Wade and go mess around with him, and soon enough he introduced the assassin to his friends, Ned and MJ. They all talked to each other regularly, forming a tight little friend group. Wade sometimes felt like he didn't belong with them, like he was too old to be their friend, but they all had the same childish sense of humor. And given how intelligent the younger trio was, they felt mature to him. Many times, Wade forgot that he was older, even if it was only by a couple of years. As months passed, the Avengers got used to Wade's presence and didn't take much issue with Peter hanging out with him. It was innocent (although Tony loathed the sex jokes and vulgarity, especially when it was directed at his boy). It was clear that Peter had a vastly different moral compass and a much more sensible head on his shoulders, and was not going to be influenced by Wade's mercenary ways. He was trusted with the friendship. ~~The Crush~~ Wade fancied Peter from the start. The second the mask had come off, Wade was smitten, but he figured it would go away or just stay stagnant. He'd been attracted to and thirsted after people loads of times (hence all his sexual escapades), but he was never the settle-down type. He joked about Peter being attractive and sexy and made all kinds of quips, but given he was so crass by nature, Peter never took it too seriously. He did believe Wade thought he was attractive, but he knew he was like this with multiple people and figured it was harmless. Which it was, but he didn't understand that it was serious. The more Wade stuck around and the more he got to know the Spiderman, the more his feelings grew. He eventually had to face facts and accept that he didn't just like Peter for his body -- he liked his character. The boy was an absolute magnet; bright and sunny, happy, forgiving, generous, kind, merciful, hilarious, intelligent, and non-judgmental. He was the ultimate package. Wade also knew he was bisexual and knew that if he really worked up to it, asking Peter out wasn't out of the question or too far-fetched. What was far-fetched, to his mind, was the idea that Peter would ever say "yes." And even if he did say yes, was that fair to the Ironman's golden child? Wade was a self-sustaining disaster with baggage so heavy even Spiderman couldn't pick it up. As far as he was concerned, it was best to keep his feelings to himself and spare Peter the misery. What he didn't realize was Peter was starting to notice him, too. By Autumn, Wade sorely opened up to Weasel about his feelings. --- "Ew, do you like...love him?" "Maybe." "Gross. What are you gonna do?" Wade shrugged. "Nothing, same as usual. He doesn't need my insanity in his life, he's too kind and innocent." "But you wanna fuck him, right? Maybe just try to do that." "No, Jesus! Are you even listening? Peter's not that kind of guy, and even if he was into it, I can't take advantage of him like that." Weasel's face scrunched in mild disgust. "God, you have it bad for him..." "Yeah. It's like, he's a total bro, but fuckable. He's soft but strong, masculine but feminine, fierce but graceful." " " "He's the kind of guy you take on like fifteen dates, buy flowers and candy, get one of those stupid little Hallmark cards with some sappy bullshit saying how much the sender loves him. Then, you fuck him. Not at your place, but at his place, so he's more comfortable, and only after you've made him spaghetti and chocolate-covered strawberries, by candle light. You fuck gently. Passionately, but with strength, but you don't wanna hurt him. But he's secretly a sex tiger under the sheets, and it kinda scares you, but you love it, but you're still afraid to fuck him any other way than gently." "I feel like this is a fantasy you've had for a while." "No, of course not." "So...he's your friend, you want to fuck him, but you don't wanna just fuck him because that would be taking advantage of him. Because you'd rather have a relationship with him, but you don't wanna have a relationship with him because you think he deserves better, but you're gonna keep hanging out with him and torture yourself. Is that... I mean, am I close?" "Like a Hawkeye arrow through a nutsack with a target drawn on it." "Ow. I think my left testicle just rose back inside of me in fear." "Balls are very perceptive." "Okay, well here's my advice." Wade learned forward. "... You're fucked." "Thanks, I totally needed help figuring that out." "Who is the guy, anyway?" "...Peter Parker..." "Pete-- like Spiderman Peter Parker?" "Yup." "How the fuck...?" "I know." "I feel like I saw his face on the news last year when he got all discovered, but I don't remember. You got a picture?" "Yeah," Wade grumbled while reaching in his pocket for his phone. "Heh, 'course you do, you sick-o." After glaring at his friend, Wade pulled up a picture of Peter and zoomed in on his smiling face. "WHOA, holy MOSES, that guy is good looking!" "I know." "He looks like a stallion and a buck had sex with an Irish setter!" "Yeah, told ya. Fierce, but graceful." "I've always been a pussy-man, but I gotta say... He's making me question my sexuality." "He has that affect on people." "That is MAJORLY out of your league." "Thank you." Wade put his phone away. "How old is he?" "Nineteen." "Whoooa, a little on the young side, huh?" "Just a little, but he's mature for his age." "..." "...That sounded a little creepy, I take that back." --- Wade began an off-and-on effort of keeping Peter at arm's length. He went through periods of texting and hanging out with him less, but whenever it was clear that Peter could tell something was up, he snapped back into the picture. He couldn't bear to make Peter worry or feel as though he'd done something wrong. This went on for a couple of months. Peter too, was beginning to feel a little bit of romantic sting. Wade hooked up with a couple of people over the months, including Vanessa. There was a brief period where the two of them copulated like rabbits, and that was with the ex-prostitute knowing that Wade had feelings for someone. In the merc's mind, maybe he could get his needs out of his system, but it didn't work. If anything, he felt emptier after each fling. Peter was attracted to Wade before he even realized he was. Always seeking him out, making sure their friendship was solid, feeling a constant need to have a hand on him in one way or another. He also played into some of Wade's lewd jokes and would tease him. Then there was the dancing and singing, of course, which only got more intense as time went on (a natural instinct of the jumping spider to try and woo a mate through display). Tony and Steve began to notice the men getting closer, and Tony was very unhappy. Steve convinced him to stay quiet and let Peter figure it out. In late Fall, Peter turned 20. Wade was there for his party, as were Ned and MJ. It was a lot of fun! Come December, Wade turned 26. He'd tried another couple of times to get away from Peter again, but the boy wouldn't let him go. They were like a binary system of stars, unable to pull away from each other, constantly drawn back into one another's path by an unseen force. For how long could this go on before they collided? And when they did, would they blow up and break apart, or make one bigger, more beautiful star? ~~Spoken Interest~~ By January, Peter came to terms with his own crush, and secretly told Ned about it. For the next month and a half, the boys gabbed about it, and Ned found it adorable and kind of funny. Peter said he wanted to ask Wade out, but was nervous that Wade wouldn't be interested. "Well you're not gonna know unless you ask," said Ned. Peter flirted a little more with Wade, but it mostly came across awkwardly. It basically felt like he was just humiliating himself over and over again, but Wade was noticing the difference in him. Regardless, he tried to respect the space, and refused to give himself up. In February, Peter asked Wade to hang out with him at a park somewhere and "people watch," since Wade enjoyed that activity. He felt it would be a nice, serene setting to keep Wade's attention and finally admit his feelings. He told Ned about his plan; the latter was exhilarated at the thought, and said he'd be standing by. Peter put on a warm but nice outfit and drove off to their spot to talk. Even though it was casual as always, they could both sense tension. They sat and chatted for a while, and with a racing heart, Peter finally found the right moment to confess. --- "Hey, so... I've kinda been wanting to talk to you about something." "Hamburgers." "I... What?" "Hamburgers! They're weird, right? I mean, ham comes from pigs, and beef comes from cows. Hamburgers are made with cow meat, but we call them ham-burgers." Wade threw his hands up, head rolling about. "The fuck is up with that??" "O-oh, hah, I guess it sounds more appealing than...beef...burgers...?" Wade nodded thoughtfully. "Hm. Yeah, sounds kinda naughty." Peter could hear Wade's grin, and he stifled a laugh. His own smile was more earnest, but his desire flitted behind it. "Like beef curtain, or beef stick--" "Wade." "Yeah?" "Look, um..." He turned to face his company better, now getting nervous. "You and I are...really good friends, right?" "Why yes, broski dear." "Hah, well... It's just... Ahh, I don't wanna say anything and...mess that up." "...Well, what do you wanna say...?" There was a long silence. "...Okay -- okay, total honesty... Wade, I..." He drew in a deep breath. "I like you..." They stared at each other. After a long silence, the older male playfully slapped Peter's arm. "I like you too, beef buddy! ... Yikes, wow, see? Beef is just a naughty word." Peter blinked, thoughts spinning in his head a mile a minute. Wade knew what he really meant, but he couldn't begin to believe that in its suddenness. He was bracing for Peter to call him out on his own crush and possibly disown him, but this threw him for a loop. "N... N-no, no Wade, I mean... I like you...as more than a buddy, or a bro..." He swallowed. "Or a friend..." He rubbed his hands together, slowly and tensely, brown orbs wide while looking at Wade. The cold white eyes of Wade's mask pierced back at him. "...Oh..." "A-and... I just thought, m-maybe, if...you don't think it's weird, or if -- I don't know, if maybe you liked me too, we could...date...?" There was another long pause. This time, Wade understood for certain. When he looked forward to contemplate, stunned expression hidden by the mask, Peter looked off and around, his heart sinking. There were times when Wade was genuinely difficult to read, and this was one of them. Wade was getting his wish, it was like the start of his fantasy had come true! All he had to do was agree to it. "Uh, I don't think we should do that." He regretted it the second he said it. Peter felt his heart drop, and his face begin to turn red with shock and embarrassment. "Oh," he croaked while looking down at his lap. Wade's answer stunned him. When the merc spoke, he tried to bring it back to a place of casualty in the hopes of removing the heavy feeling from the air. "Look, don't get me wrong, you've heard me talk about ya. You're precious, and I'd be beside myself to fuck your brains out." Peter almost smiled, but the desperation for answers overpowered the natural response to do so. Wade continued. "But you're romantic, you need stability. I'm a one-night stand kind of guy, friends-with-benefits and all that. You're not really about that life, right? I mean, come on. You wouldn't sleep with me without getting to know me, right?" Peter swallowed something dry and thick. Looking away, the hope for this to go anywhere withdrew from his gaze, and he shook his head. "No..." Even Wade was at a loss for words for a moment. He may have turned his head away, but out of the corner of his eye, he could see Peter's heart breaking. He saw his red cheeks, his pinkish eyes. He could feel the sadness, and a lot of it was coming from himself, too. But he pulled it together again and lightly slapped the back of his hand against Peter's shoulder. "Eyyy, come on, this doesn't change anything, right? We're still pals." Peter quickly nodded. He was polite as ever, but the sensation that he had just gotten hit by a train was easy to read. "No -- yeah, yeah yeah yeah, it's -- it's just... It's a little embarrassing, aha, I mean... You know, I..." "Nah, it's not so bad. It's adorable! Like I said, doesn't change a thing. Now when we get past this, I can tease you about thinking I'm a hot piece of ass." Peter did finally crack a small, broken smile and shook his head. He was glad that Wade wanted to be friends, but the damage was done. "...I mean you still wanna be friends, right?" "Absolutely! I just... It's kind of a hard pill to swallow..." "Yeah, I know. You put yourself out there, then get shot down..." With genuine remorse and a strong but hidden wave of self-loathing, Wade laid a hand on Peter's shoulder. "I'm sorry." Peter nodded again and closed his eyes. He felt emotional, but why? Did it really mean that much to him? Staying strong, he glanced at Wade, mustering a hurt smile. "Don't be sorry, you know I prefer honesty. I mean it'd be really stupid to say 'yes' when you don't want that, right?" As if Wade's heart couldn't sink any further. "Yeah..." "Look man, um... It's -- I'm not like mad or anything, you didn't do anything wrong, but... I think I should go home, and just, like...try to process it--" "Yeah! Nothing wrong with that. I'll give you a couple days to uh...reel." "Yeah, I think that sounds good." When they rose to their feet, they both chuckled sadly. In their awkwardness, Peter offered his hand to shake, which Wade accepted uneasily, but eventually pulled Peter into a side hug. "It'll be fine, we'll get past it. You take your time." "K-ay..." With one last hurt smile, Peter left Wade's company. On the way back to his car, he finally let the tears roll. Wade watched him go until his car was out of sight, stunned by his own foolishness. He wasn't stupid; he knew he had made Peter cry. He knew he'd broken his heart, and he hated himself for it. When Wade got to his apartment, he took out his anger on his environment, taking to breaking a lot of things in his living space. --- Peter did his best to get most of his emotions out before he got home, but the sadness and hurt would linger. When he got inside he pretended everything was okay, but it was obvious his mind was elsewhere. Not too long after getting in, he went to his room and called Ned. --- "Hey, what's up? Did you talk to him?" "Yeah." "...Uh-oh. What did he say?" "He said 'no.'..." "Awww man, Peter, I'm sorry. Did he say why?" Peter tried to keep his sniffles quiet, but Ned could hear them anyway. "Yeah, u-um... He said that...you know, he's a one-night-stand kind of guy, and that I'm -- we're -- ... He doesn't...think it would be a good idea, because he just...likes sex, and I'm romantic, so..." "That really sucks, I'm sorry." "Me too..." "...Hey, I rigged my GTA 4 game to get Carmageddon on the 360." Peter continued to hold back his emotions, but only half-cared about Ned's random statement. "Y-eah...?" "Yeah, it's really funny! Can I come over and show you? It should work on your 360." Now understanding, Peter smiled a little. "Yeah, that sounds cool. We could, um... I could make...popcorn, or something." "Awesome! Is now good?" "Sure, uh -- lemme ask Tony first, just to be sure." "Okay. Text me." --- After they said goodbye and hung up, Peter got confirmation from Tony that having Ned over for a few hours would be fine. While on his way to go prepare everything, May found Peter and insisted he tell her what was wrong, as she could tell something was up. Although he'd wanted to keep it hidden from his elders, Peter (naturally) trusted May and knew it was confidential, so he came clean. Seeing her nephew's broken heart, May consoled him and offered a little advice about how to heal up from it, and insisted that they would, yes, go back to being friends in time. ~~SpideyPool~~ In the days passing, Peter and Wade refrained from messaging each other. Peter went about his usual life, including going on regular patrols. He took down a couple of small criminals, helped a few people in minor danger. This always felt good; even the littlest of ways he could help people made his day brighter and his heart fuller. Wade, meanwhile, had spent the days since the rejection in sorrow and self-hatred. He'd smashed a lot of the stuff in his apartment and all but shredded the couch, laying face-down on the tattered furniture in a mess of stuffing, old food scraps, alcohol and the same outfit he'd had on when he last talked to Peter (minus the coat, boots and mask). It had been five days. But on this fifth day, Colossus happened to pop in. He knocked. --- "Wade? You are playing Elvis again. Are you all right?" "AwwwWWW!! I'm not in the mood, Sputnik! Fuck the shit off!" Colossus opened the door and hunched in, turning off Wade's music. "You should really lock door. Wade, you are a mess; what is wrong?" The merc answered him with his face still down and pressed to the couch. "What's wrong is this big metal dildo man keeps showing up at my door even after I tell him to fuck. the. shit. OFF." Colossus looked around, ignoring him. "How do you live like this..." "I'm not living, I'm existing." "Clearly. Is this another episode? Perhaps I should take you back to the mansion again." Wade lifted his head, tired eyes closed. "GOD, no! No more bland-coated walls with old white men all over them and every other X-Man acting like the studio couldn't afford to pay them to even just walk around and pretend they live there." Colossus raised a brow, but ignored him, as he was so used to doing. "Well, if this is not episode, then what is it?" Wade's face flopped back into the couch, pressing in harder than earlier. "Imn mm bmng m thnntl dmshm." "What?" With a heavy groan of aggravation, he sat up entirely, allowing small bags of food trash to spill onto the floor from its position under his body. Colossus winced at the crinkling and crumbs. "It's me being a total dipshit..." "What did you do," he asked tiredly while folding his arms. "I told you I liked some guy, right? Well... Turns out, he liked me, too." "That is good news." "Yeah, it was, until he told me he liked me and I shot him down like a retarded clay pigeon in a Guantanamo Bay shooting range." "..." "I swear to god, it's like while I wasn't looking, the cancer snuck into my brain and made me even stupider." "Why did you turn him down?" "Because -- he's nice, okay? I don't just wanna get in his pants, I want to date him. I want to have a relationship, but he's not the person I should be trying that out with on account of how fucked sideways with a cactus my head is." "On inside, or outside?" When Wade glared up at him, Colossus chuckled. Squinting, Wade lowered his voice. "Are you The Moby? 'Cos I haven't even taken The Great American Challenge yet, and I feel like you're stretching my ass WIDE open." "Eugh! Listen..." Colossus softened up and sat beside him carefully. "You are...different, very rough around the edges. You are afraid that this guy is too good for you." "No, I KNOW he's too good for me. I can't risk screwing up his life." "How do you know that would happen?" "Uh, do I not ruin everything everywhere I go?" "Only when you really mean to. But he likes you too, yes?" "He says he does... I'm not sure why." "Maybe because, in your own strange way, you are charming man. You have a big heart, you care about people -- most of all, him, it seems." "That's why I gotta stay away from him." "No, that is why you must go to him." Wade glanced up at his company. "You must go tell him the truth, give it a second chance. He deserves to know what you are thinking, does he not?" "... No, I don't want to make him more miserable." "If he is miserable, it is only because you have not been honest with him." "...You really think I should do this? You really think I should go over there and just...tell him how I feel?" "Absolutely." "...Just admit that you want me, Colossus." Colossus sighed. "I don't know,..." "Trust me, if you don't do this, then you will never know what could be. You will spend the rest of your life wondering what could have been, your soul will forever be restless." "..." "...Who is it that you are pining for so badly?" Wade's voice almost cracked. "P-eter Parker..." "Peter Parker?? You mean Spiderman???" "Yeah." "OH, he is a VERY good young man... Erh...over eighteen, yes?" "He's twenty." "OH, good." "Like you said, he's very good. He's not...he doesn't deserve all my shit." "You will never know, Wade. Not unless you take risk." "..." "If you try your best, if you let love in, and it is real, then your messy life will work itself out." Wade looked up at Colossus, who then put a caring, large metal hand on his shoulder. "Maximum effort." "...Okay... Maximum effort." --- When Colossus left, Wade showered and started cleaning up. On the sixth morning after their last conversation, Wade called Peter, but the latter was around other people while in the facility. Not wanting to talk to him in front of anyone, he declined the call, but texted Wade saying "Hang on i'll call in a sec." He went to his room and did as was promised, calling Wade back while sitting on his bed. --- "Hey, Spidey!" "Hey, Wade." He sounded a little tired, but was kind and open-minded. "What's up?" "Uhh not much, I was with Tony and Wanda and didn't want to talk in front of them. Just...sitting in my room, now." "Gotcha." "So...did you want something?" "Aww, you're still upset about the other day," he said with an audible smile. Peter sat up, voice more peppy. "No, no, I mean I'm not upset, I'm just... It... 'Upset' is just such a harsh word, um... I'm just kinda sad, you know? It's -- I'm still just trying to...make sense of it all, figure out what's...going on in my head." "I understand." "I'm sorry..." "Why are you sorry?" "I don't know, I just feel bad, I mean this can't be fun for you, either. I just feel really stuck. And -- I told May, but only because she could tell how down I was." "May is nice." "She's the best..." "...I miss you, Pete." "Me too... Ned...rigged his GTA 4 disk to run Carmageddon on the 360." "What?! That's sick as FUCK!" "Yeah... Maybe sometime we could hang out and play it together. It's really funny..." "I'd like that. Or... I could just come hang out with ya right now!" Peter sat up a little more. "Oh, Wade, I don't know, I... I think I still need a little more time to process everything. It's -- I'm still not mad or anything, you're still my friend, it's just kinda hard..." "Oh... Well that's too bad, 'cos I'm right outside your window." "--What??" After Wade's shadow cast onto the wall and got Peter's attention, he quickly looked to the left and saw Wade in the window, waving happily at him before putting the phone back to his ear. Peter tossed his phone down in shock and ran to the window. "Wade!" He opened the glass pane, shivering at the freezing air. "What are you doing?!" "Just felt I needed to come by and clear things up with you." After realizing he was talking pointlessly into his phone, Wade shrugged and tossed it. "Wha--" Peter quickly fired a web at the little computer, snatching it and yanking it into his hand. Wade crawled into Peter's room through the window, and then the latter closed it and handed Wade his phone. "Why would you throw this??" Wade took his phone back and chuckled. "Ewww, now it has webs on it...!" "That's better than being broken!" Wade shrugged the snow off his shoulders. He was in full suit with a beanie on his head over his mask, and a fur coat. "Plungers make really good building-climbing tools, did you know that?" "Eugh, you -- you used plungers to get up here?" "They're all new, it's fine. Well -- except for the one for my right foot, I wouldn't touch that one." Wade slid off his coat and beanie. "Wade, what are you doing here...?" "I wanted to talk to you about the other day." Peter motioned for him to be quiet, then stepped over and locked his door. Turning back to face him, he kept his voice low, and so his visitor did the same. "Okay?" "Look... The thing is, I like you, too. A LOT. I've had it bad for you from the start, Petey, but... It's like I said the other day; you're a nice guy, and--" "Wait, let me just stop you there." He waited. "I know that you like to sleep around, and that's okay. Some people are romantic, and some people aren't, and there's nothing wrong with that. I'm not judging you, I think what you do is totally fine." Wade nodded. "But... I'm still not that guy, you know? I still need those things, I'm -- I want a relationship. It's okay that you don't want that, you don't have to explain yourself. But if this is a request to just...fool around, um... I'm...not game for that, I'm sorry." "...Aww, you're so cute," he said happily before roughing Peter's hair lovingly. Peter stood in blank confusion, having no response to that. "I'm not here because I want to have sex with you. I mean, I'd like to, but not like...right now, I mean like in the future, when we've been seeing each other for a little while." "..." "When you asked me out, I said no because I didn't think I was right for you. I still don't, honestly, I mean you should really, just...turn around and run while you have the chance. Because I'm about to ask you something, and I don't have a lot of patience, and I might just blurt it, cut and dry." "Wade, what the hell are you trying to say?" "I'm saying... Will you go out with me...?" Peter stood in total shock, staring blankly at Wade. "......Is that a 'no'? That's probably a wise choice, but I'm gonna...need verbal confirmation. I mean if it's not 'yes,' it's 'no,' because basic principle, but ya know. ...?" He finally blinked and shook his head a little, making an effort to make sure he kept his voice low. "Okay, wait... You do want to go out with me...?" "Yeah. I've wanted to since like, last June." "FFFFFFFF-- Wade...?!?!?" "Yeah... Pathetic, I know." "So why did you say 'no' the other day??" "I told you, because I don't think I'm right for you. I'm super fucked up and you're really nice! You're --" "Shh...!" He lowered his voice to something of a shouting whisper. "You have your whole life ahead of you to meet fucked up people, you should at least have some normal, healthy relationships first...!" "Wade, that's up to me to decide, and I know you think you're like the worst person ever, but you're actually really a good guy...!" "Why are we whispering...?!" "Because if Tony finds out we're even discussing dating he'll throw you to the moon...!" "That would suck...!" "I know...!" They both stood a little taller, each sighing some and looking off before focusing again. They stopped whispering, but remained quiet. "So..." "I'm just saying... I've got a lot of baggage, and problems, and a whirlwind of mind shit that falls out of its little shit-filled cabinet whenever it feels like it. I have LOVED being your friend, but I'm..." "...Yes...?" "...I'm scared of hurting you..." Peter relaxed and took a step towards him. "You're not gonna hurt me." "You don't know that." "And you don't know that you will. But if you think that, but you still had the nerve to come tell me how you feel and ask me out..." Wade looked up at him cautiously. "...Then you must have some sort of faith in it being okay, right?" "..." Peter started to smile. "What if we just tried it? Why don't we just...date...? And if it doesn't work out, then that's okay. We can just be friends. I mean that's what we were working up to being again anyway, right?" "That's how it would have to be. I can't lose you, Spidey, you mean a lot to me." "..." "You're like ice on a burn. You have...the BEST heart. I don't wanna hurt it." "Stuff's gonna hurt me, Wade. That's life, it's okay. If you hurt me, we can get past it." "...You promise?" Peter smiled bigger. "I promise. Hey, who knows? Maybe I'll hurt you or something, pfft." Peter couldn't see it, but Wade was smiling, too. "If you're serious, and this isn't you feeling guilty about saying 'no' or asking for a one night stand... I would love to go out with you. PLEASE, let me go out with you." --- And so it was, they secretly began dating. Wade made arrangements to take Peter out that very afternoon. After Wade left through the window, taking his plungers with him, Peter called Ned in a slight panic. He excitedly explained what happened and told him he needed to prepare himself for the date, and they hung up. When it came to Tony, Peter had to keep quiet. Like before, he didn't tell anyone, including May; he just didn't want anyone to know yet. The first date was just spent with the boys wandering around a nice part of the city, discussing how they liked each other and how long each of them have felt it. Wade explained that he was a mess for the days following his rejection of Peter, and that it took Colossus busting into his apartment and yanking him onto his feet to get him to go talk. He also confessed to having slept with a couple of people, including Vanessa, which Peter was more than fine with. But, he emphasized, Wade really needed to look into STI testing just to be safe. The first date didn't end with kissing or anything randy, and Wade still didn't show Peter his face. Instead, they hugged, and Peter drove back home. The dates following were very similar, with food as part of the equation. They even had a "parkour date," where both got in full suit and leaped around the city, showing their abilities to one another for the sheer sport of it. Peter even held Wade and swung around the city with him on his hip. According to Wade, this was terrifying but romantic. By this time, Peter told May and MJ. After a few weeks, Peter and Wade felt relatively steady. Tony and Steve could tell something was different with Peter when it came to Wade, and Tony had his suspicions from the start. Peter knew that Tony could sense something unusual, but he played around it and acted casually. Tony chose to stay quiet about it. During a date one late afternoon when Peter and Wade were on a harbor, in suit, the sun out after a light rain (yes, it must be that specific), Peter pressed a little harder to see Wade's face. He understood why Wade was shy about it, but kindly argued that it was difficult to date someone he'd known for over a year while still not having a clue what he looked like. Feeling that Peter's reaction could really make or break the potential of their relationship, Wade finally conceded and removed the mask. To his surprise, there was no horror or tension, or even the slightest bit of disgust. He looked a little surprised, briefly raising his eyebrows with a blink, and studied him. He said "Wow," and that was about it. Wade started to make jokes about himself, to which Peter put his arms around Wade and told him he wasn't allowed to insult himself whenever he was in the Spiderman's arms. This became a new theme with them. After a minute of talking, and with Wade allowing his new partner to lightly touch his scarred cheeks, he asked if Peter had anymore requests before the mask went back on. --- "...You could kiss me..." Wade stared at him in light disbelief. "...Or -- or not, it's totally optional. Just a suggest--" As the cliche stands, Wade kissed him, cutting off his sentence. When he pulled away, Peter was stunned and glowing. "O-ohhoh... Okay, I-I don't have a lot of reference, but... That was really good..." "I agree." --- Wade put his mask back on, and the two were smitten. A few days after their first kiss, Peter finally sat down with Tony and Steve and came clean about his recent dating situation. Steve didn't love the idea, and Tony hated it, but the former offered support and simply asked that Peter be careful and trust his instincts. Tony was a tad more chilly with his honesty, but when Peter became insecure, he emphasized that he wasn't angry. He just didn't trust Wade on a romantic level, and feared Peter getting hurt. This gave Peter the opportunity to remind Tony that he was a big boy now, and he could handle making his own mistakes, and was willing to face the consequences of his decisions. It ended on a positive note, but Tony couldn't hide the lack of thrill he had over the new relationship. Weeks turned into months, and things when steady. In their time together, Peter got permission from Tony to make his very own original suit. Given how comfortable he was with Wade, and with the relationship also recently going public, Peter felt the desire to start fresh and switch up his look with a lot more blue. For one thing, the blue complimented Deadpool's vast red and helped him stand out.~ That May, when they'd been going out for about three months, Peter started becoming more bold in his physical interest in Wade. He'd been to the merc's apartment several times as well, and had actually managed to convince him to start cleaning the place up and get some new furniture. He wasn't judgmental; he merely worried for Wade's state of mind and the health hazards, insisting that he might feel better and more confident if he lived in better conditions. This conversation brought Wade to inadvertently mention how he was desensitized to the squalor due to being forced to sit in his own waste and vomit for a while when he had gotten ill at the Mutant Factory. This was one of the most serious things Wade brought up right off the bat, but upon seeing Peter's face stricken with shock and concern, he clammed up. Peter assured him that there was nothing to be ashamed of, and that he appreciated Wade talking to him. The conversation helped Wade feel better, much to his shock, and he agreed that it might be good for him to clean up the apartment. So he did just that. It wasn't spectacular, but the improvement was great, and Wade actually found himself wanting better for how he lived. In June, Peter's physical interests were more clear. They'd discussed sex, but Peter was shy, and Wade was never one to push. But finally, while making out one day, Peter came to the conclusion that he was ready to be intimate. They each went home and planned for Peter to go to Wade's. They each wanted to shower and prepare for it first. Peter brought a small bag with a movie and his suit in it (just in case). He told Tony that they were just going to have a movie date. Tony didn't like it, and insisted Peter also take his iron suit (which is tightly compact into a small shape when dormant like the Ironman suit). Peter obeyed, willing to do anything to help Tony feel more comfortable about him being out and about. At Wade's apartment, the pair chilled for a little while, but Wade was eager to show his company how he'd prepared the bedroom. He led Peter to his room, revealing soft pink and orange shaded string lights pinned up around the walls, nice bedding, and an overall sense of warmth. Needless to say, Peter was very impressed, letting Wade know he did not expect this, and didn't require it in the future. But yes, he absolutely loved it, and knew he would have a good time. When they were done, they both fell asleep in Wade's bed. Tony called around 1 in the morning, asking where Peter was. He was a little upset, but nothing Peter couldn't work around. He apologized and said they were both tired from watching the movie and then playing some video games, so Peter crashed on the couch and forgot to tell Tony he was staying the night. After a little back and forth, Peter reassured him that everything was all right and encouraged him to go back to sleep. He promised to come home early in the morning with a box of donuts as an apology. Tony hesitantly agreed, and left him alone. Once more, the next day, Peter made a point to tell Ned about his escapades. The next few times Peter went to Wade's house, he ended up spending the night. And again, he lied his ass off to Tony, saying they just had a new routine of playing video games until they crashed. Tony knew better, and Peter knew that, but neither were willing to give on the subject. By this time, Peter quietly told aunt May that his relationship with Wade was now very serious. She was excited for him, proud and happy and double checked that he was being safe. Embarrassed and a little exasperated, he confirmed this, and just like that May was back in fun mode. She was able to accept that Peter was grown now, and she was glad to try and guide him through this very impressionable period in his life. The morning after Peter's fifth time with Wade, Colossus visited unexpectedly while the boys were still sleeping. Wade got up and addressed him, completely naked, while Peter stayed back and hurriedly put his clothes on before meekly coming out to greet the metal man. He was shy but thrilled to meet the infamous X-Man. After Peter convinced Wade to at least put on some underwear, they all sat down together and had a chat. Colossus was happy to finally meet Spiderman, and when Peter got home, he told his family about how funny it was to wake up and meet Colossus. Later that day, Tony finally pulled Peter aside and broke down, having a serious discussion with him about the relationship. He asked for full honesty on whether they had become physical, and Peter answered honestly. The talk was civil, as Tony loved Peter too much to ever take out any frustration on him, but his concern was clear. He told Peter he respected that, that Peter didn't need to feel bad about it; he was just making sure everything was okay. Not that it was any of his business, but he considered his family to be his business. Peter didn't mind, so long as Tony stayed cool. The Ironman did confirm that Peter understood the fact that he wasn't going to invite Wade to live with them. Peter agreed. When Tony asked if Peter was thinking about living with Wade, the latter said "no." "So what are you gonna do?" Tony asked. Peter told him that he would just keep doing as they had been; dating, hanging out, and if they wanted to have personal time, Peter would go to Wade's. He told Tony he felt he really loved Wade, and was okay with the fact that he was, in Tony's words, "super fucked up." He understood that he wasn't responsible for Wade's mental health, but that he enjoyed helping him through some of his issues. He understood that trauma like this was a long-haul, and he was willing to at least try. After all, everyone he knew was traumatized, himself included. The conversation helped clear the air a lot for the father-and-son pair, and Tony grew a greater respect for the relationship. A week or so after that conversation, Tony ended up having a talk with Wade. The merc shocked him with his raw honesty about his feelings for Peter, revealing his only intention was to be happy with him without weighing him down. He loved him, and he would do anything for him, including whatever he could to please his family. He understood why everyone flocked to shield Peter; he was different, special. It was then that Tony finally saw an ounce of what Peter saw in Wade, and his respect grew. In August, Peter turned 21 and in December, Wade turned 27. In that time frame, Peter began sneaking Wade into his room sometimes to get physical.~ Not long after Wade's birthday, Tony finally came to grips with the reality that Wade wasn't going anywhere. His relationship with Peter was incredibly strong and steady, and despite Peter having his job, his family and friends and Wade, he'd managed to make it all work. They were mature, and mature together, and Tony wanted Peter to have every opportunity possible to make things a little easier. So as a surprise, he told Peter he was going to allow Wade to move into the facility, even though he wasn't being offered any Avenger titles. He even said he didn't mind if Wade and him shared his bedroom, so long as they weren't mindless sex idiots and kept everyone awake all the time. Stunned, Peter was beyond grateful. Together, everyone gathered up and invited Wade to the facility to make the offer. Wade was uncertain at first, asking if they wanted him to be an Avenger. "GOD no," said Sam. Peter informed him that this had no strings attached, and asked if he was ready to move in with him. Wade said yes, and accepted this very unexpected, beautiful birthday present. In being offered to move in, this was the Avengers fully embracing Wade and adopting him into their weird, messed up family. In time, they would learn to see that Wade was in fact, a good man with a big heart, and become used to his mouth. ~~Love Forever After~~ Living together, it was a dream come true. For the first time in Wade's life, things finally seemed to be on a steady path, and he would do anything to keep it that way. He was happy, he wanted to stay happy, and most of all, he wanted to do well for Peter. With them being together (even before Wade had moved in), Peter helped Wade open up about his past and his feelings. He wasn't judgmental, he wasn't off-put by Wade's mannerisms, weirdness, strange coping habits, random emotional moments, nightmares, or even the nastiest of content regarding his past. He just listened and consoled, and even shielded Wade from the harshness of others. With a guy as wonderful as the friendly neighborhood Spiderman, even though he wasn't perfect, Wade had a tough time feeling like he could give back enough. What he didn't tend to understand was Peter already felt Wade did give back. Wade was a passionate, attentive, caring, thorough lover, and exceedingly generous. He did anything and everything he could for Peter. Aside from just being the best mate he could be, he couldn't think of much else, but it was more than enough. Peter needed him, too. And when Peter had problems, his heart was heavy or he had his own traumatic episodes, Wade was there for him. He applied the very things he'd learned from his love and gave back. After some months living with Peter, Wade had his first serious emotional breakdown related to his trauma. Deadpool, Spiderman, Ironman, Scarlet Witch, and War Machine were out on a mission one night. On a rooftop, after the mission was finished and they had regrouped, Peter was wrapping some things up when a casual conversation started between Wade and the others. The Mutant Factory got brought up, which Wade appeared fine with. He joked casually about what he went through, and the others listened. But at a certain point, after making a comment about his torture that initially caused him to laugh, his laughter suddenly turned to tears. At first the others just went along with it, used to Wade's emotional switches at this point and figuring it would be fine. But when the merc's weeps became sobs and he could no longer stand up, everyone finally realized something was wrong. James stood by Wade and Wanda knelt beside him, clueless as to how to help or what exactly was happening. Tony called Peter to their gathering on the rooftop, and when the Spiderman saw his partner in a heavy heap of tears, he sprung into action. Wanda and James backed away to give Peter the space to console him. He was understandably confused and alarmed by the development, but stayed calm. Tony had an idea of what was happening, cluing Peter in with a reminder of how he had suddenly felt okay enough to grieve his uncle when the time came. It clicked; Wade finally felt safe and comfortable enough in his life that his mind was ready to start the healing process. Peter carried Wade away from the group, who let them have their space. He removed his mask, and convinced Wade to let him take his off, and he held him. Wade announced that he didn't understand what was going on and that he couldn't stop, so Peter told him not to stop. He told him that this was a good thing even though it didn't feel like it, and that it wouldn't last forever. After a while, when Wade was calm enough, Peter took him home. He explained to him what he thought was happening. From that point on, Wade was much more prone to having harder breakdowns, but at that point they seemed to happen at more appropriate times. He also had an easier time talking about it, even if it did hurt like all hell. Thankfully, for Wade's sake, his primary trauma response now is sobbing and nightmares. And when it happens, someone is always there to help him. Of course he still has his random weepy moments at weird things, but Peter has always been understanding of that and never judged him. If anything, he only ever helped Wade feel validated. When Peter was 22 and Wade was 28, the Trial of the Gods ensued. This was hard on Wade, and revealed he had a host of dependency issues with Peter. It led to them having a serious but gentle talk, where Peter offered to work with him on easing his mind about the fact that bad things happen, and if anything bad ever happened to Peter, he needed the peace of mind that Wade would take care of himself. Stay clean, healthy, surround himself with his friends, continue to do good things. If not for himself, then for Peter, because he would want that. Wade agreed, even though the conversation was hard. Ultimately, Wade's mind never reached any peace until he went on a mission and secretly killed himself in order to get to The Realm of Silence, Interitus's realm of the dead. After having a quick conversation wherein Wade asked the elk god if he would ever die for good, Interitus told him 'yes.' He said that Wade would not live forever, that his time would come when it was right, and in death he would be with his beloved. This gave Wade all the peace he needed. Someday, Wade and Peter will get married. How, when and under what circumstances remain a mystery. For now, they're just loving life together. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

#Marvel #MCU #SpideyPool #Spiderman #Deadpool #Wade Wilson #Peter Parker

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buck-nialled · 4 years

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Not to Brag - N. Horan Imagine (College AU)

another combined request bc i felt like a college!niall au was necessary, enjoy! :)))

The wooden door to the lecture hall was near to making a loud bang against the wall by how forcefully the boy pushed it open. He was red and panting from the five-minute sprint he had taken on from his dorm building. Niall did not imagine his first class of his first day at university would obligate him to make entrances like this, but at least he was building his presence on campus.

“Ah, Mr. Horan.” The way his name sounded on the professor’s tongue, as though it were a pill being swallowed dry, did not sit well in Niall’s stomach. That might have also been due to his skipped breakfast, missed bathroom break, and absent change into clothing more acceptable than sweatpants and an old t-shirt. “Looks as though you’ve been, what’s the expression? Ah yes, saved by the bell.” Niall shuffled further into the classroom, eyes peering around the room for his roommate or one of the frat house occupants whom he had the honor of meeting a week or two before the beginning of classes.

“It’s always a shame to state the obvious to my students, but if you’re the last student to arrive in a freshman year core class, seating options are obviously going to be limited.” His tone remained flat, yet stern as his eyes stayed sharp on Niall. The boy would have never dreamed he would be the first in the throng of students that was his English 101 class to measle himself on his teacher’s bad side. But that’s how things were looking as he muttered a half-sincere apology beneath his breath and shuffled his way to the closest empty seat he could find.

From what it looked like, it seemed to be the only empty seat. Niall’s eyes ran across all four walls of the room, every single row in front of him and behind him. His blue eyes landed on a mess of curly locks, and a pair of greens which looked apologetic for the lack of seating around him. How could he blame Harry, though? Everybody loved him and he’s been there for a shorter time than Niall had. He turned his gaze away, and rather to his side, where he met a pair of eyes uncanny to Harry’s. They looked so similar Niall would have believed the boy teleported seats, until he took in the dark-coated lashes and pink eyeshadow surrounding the emeralds.

“Sorry,” the girl whispered beneath the professor’s announcement of a syllabus about to be handed out. “Do you have a pen I could borrow?” Niall blinked for a moment and nodded lightly, reaching for his backpack. At least he had not forgotten that.

“It’s the first day and you don’t even have a pen?” The words fell out before he could choke them down. He inwardly scolded himself as he handed her the utensil. He must have had a curse for making friends because what he just aid was nowhere near how proper introductions were supposed to go. Rather than an offended response or water bottle to the cranium, he received a scoff.

“It’s your first day and you managed to get in class by a landslide. I’m surprised he even let you sit down. He does not seem like the kind to mess around with.” The girl murmurs, before a tall figure was shadowed over her desk, wearing raised brows and a threatening smirk.

“Impressive observation, Y/N. Comprehension is a major part of my class so I am sure you will find it less than difficult.” He lays a sheet on both your desk and Niall’s. The girl’s eyes were squinted shut, cheeks red with embarrassment while Niall remained stoic, afraid to open his mouth and actually be booted from his seat in the class. The professor distributed papers to the last final rows, leaving the two students to release held breaths and face one another again. A few moments later, though, the anxiety turned to the two classmates trying to hold back their snickers.

“Looks like we’ve both got a spot on our professor’s hit list, Y/N.” His use of her name startles the both of them, she almost forgot through her embarrassment that the professor did her the favor of announcing it to the class. Nevertheless, the girl laughed.

“If that’s true than you’re going first, Horan.” The conversation stopped there, despite Niall’s want for her to continue speaking. He liked hearing her say his last name much better than the man in the front, walking them through a sheet of paper. Towards the middle of the professor’s droning speech, the sound of paper being torn drew Niall’s attention away from his syllabus and to Y/N, who was focused with scribbling something on the torn corner of the paper. A few seconds later, the result was passed to Niall, who let his eyes scan over the message a couple times.

Want to meet up at lunch?

Niall used his other pen and scrawled a reply hastily.

Sure, for what?

A few more seconds, and the paper was back in his vision.

To guess how professor hitlist is gonna take us out

Niall looked up, sending the girl a nod. Y/N felt her stomach doing somersaults but would not admit the rowdy celebration her insides were facing. Her heart was pumping, her brain was screaming, and she swore she felt her tummy begin to rumble in anticipation.

Their conversation continued at the college’s cafeteria but did not conclude. Afterward, they took a stroll through the campus’s courtyard, mostly admiring the greenery, while sneakily admiring each other. Niall’s tell was how his own smile grew when Y/N’s did. For what reason? Niall had no clue. Y/N would never admit it was his eyes lighting up that cued her teeth to bare, as the boy talked with ceaseless passion over his choice major: Music. He apologized at least three times during his gabbing but continued without further hesitation when you encouraged him to carry on or asked more questions about it.

“How about you?” He asks you upon conclusion of his talk of the major.

“Well, not to brag but,” the start of her bold sentence had Niall entranced immediately, “I can play a mean tune on the triangle.” Almost immediately after her joke, Y/N was sputtering with laughter. Niall joins her, surprised by the fact he is not let down by this information. He always pictured his dream girl to be a bit more musically involved.

“My brother was always more musically-inclined in the family. Not to say that I don’t love music, because I do. He was just always the one who wanted to take piano lessons and choose choir and band over debate or yearbook.”

“So what about you? What major did you choose?” Niall did not detest Y/N talking about her family. From how she spoke of her brother, it sounded like she respected him and held him close in her heart. But Niall wants to know about her. And who knows? Maybe Niall and Y/N’s brother could be good friends, if they ever met that is.

“Engineering. Which is weird, considering nobody in my family was ever the “math whiz.” It was good I was though; my mom was thankful she wouldn’t have to tutor Harry when he needed help. She was probably the worst at math out of all of us.” Y/N giggles, reminiscing in the many times she even had to help her own mother with fractions in the kitchen each time the woman tried cooking.

“What about your dad?” A silence followed Niall’s question, and he’d never wanted a smile to be put back so badly on a person’s face after Y/N’s fell. A few moments later, the girl could only muster a bitterly awkward laugh and small “no.”

“I’m sor—”

“No,” she cut him off, “God, don’t apologize that’s so awkward. I’m fine. It happened, I grieved and cried and went through all the stages of it. And it was shitty, but I’m here now and I’m better than I was so…” Niall only nodded, the stroll becoming slower as the silence resumed.

“What about your family? Do they live here, or—" Her voice perked up and was back to how it was a few moments ago. Niall was thankful for this, afraid he had depleted the conversation with his question.

“Oh, no. They’re back in Ireland.” He jutted a thumb behind his shoulder, as though his home was something he left behind. In this case, that assumption could be applicable. Y/N chose not to delve further into that thought.

“Ireland! That’s where you’re from. I was trying to pinpoint the accent…and I almost said Scottish.” Y/N chortled at her own obtuse statement.

“Good thing ya didn’t. I would’ve been off—”

“Y/N! Hey!” The two looked away from one another to spot a figure running up to them from a distance. He grew taller with each thumping step on the grass. “I want to—oh hey, Niall. What’s up?”

“Wait—you guys know each other?” Y/N furrows her eyebrows, glancing between the two boys. “How?”

“Niall’s roommate introduced us awhile back. Turns out we’re both majoring in music. How did you two meet?”

“We sat together in English…” Y/N trailed off, worry overcoming her. Harry was very particular over her, and for the most part, was unpredictable about it. Once, in fourth grade, Y/N broke her legs from a plummet off of the playground’s monkey bars and didn’t earn a blink from her brother. The next day, when a boy helped her carry her books to class, Harry saw red and was borderline screaming at the kid. Needless to say, any chance she had with Niall disappeared once acknowledging the boys’ friendship.

“I had no clue you two knew each other. When did you two meet?” In an instant, the siblings’ laughter floated around a befuddled Niall, Harry’s chuckled a little more prominent. Y/N’s seemed quieter, a bit more reserved than they were when she and Niall were talking.

“I met this one 18 years ago in the hospital and haven’t stopped irritating her since.” Harry acted proud stating this while slinging his arm around the girl. Niall began to connect the dots, seeing them side-by-side. Their eyes, the dark curls matted to both of their heads…

“So you two are—”

“Twins,” Y/N rolls her eyes. “I know I can’t believe it either. It’s obvious I was born with all the good looks; Lord knows what happened to him.”

Niall gulps, and would not disagree with her for a moment on that statement. As he was still trying to process these thoughts, one big one jumped out at him. Where did his chance of getting Y/N to go out with him stand now? One of his new best friends just so happened to be the sister of his new friend who he now wanted to be more than a friend. A lot more. While thinking of how to approach this, Y/N asked Harry what she needed him for.

“I was wondering if you were coming to the party at the house this weekend. We’re rushing so you can make friends with all the cute new girls and talk me up around them.” Y/N rolled her eyes at Harry’s ludicrous attempt to get in some innocent girl’s pants.

“Oh, you should come too, lad! There’s going to be loads of girls there.” Even without trying, Harry was somehow deterring Niall from Y/N’s radar and vice versa. Niall’s mouth kept closing and opening, failing to let a word pass him. A distant shout of Harry’s name was heard by the three. Harry put a hand on Niall’s shoulder, pointing a finger at him.

“I’ll take that as a yes. See ya there, mate!” Harry ran off just as quickly as he appeared to go conversate with others in the courtyard.

“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. Harry just wants to make everyone feel welcome…he’s like that.” Y/N rolled her eyes.

“Are you going?” Niall asks. Y/N shrugs, before nodding.

“Then I’ll go.”

“Niall, you don’t have to—”

“I know, but I can be a pretty good wingman, too. I did it for own brother all the time back home. Plus,” he slung his arm around your shoulder, similar to how Harry did and pulled you close to his side.

“Would your brother like to see you get hit on by frat guys all night?”

“Are you suggesting we go together?” Y/N crosses her arms and peers up at the cheeky grin Niall was sending her.

“I mean, not to brag but…” Niall somehow pulls her even closer, until one of her hands is being planted on his chest, “I can be a pretty good date.”

hope you all found this cute! feel free to check out my masterlist for more!

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magicalgirlmegavolt · 4 years

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This drawing took forever to complete, but I am pretty satisfied with how it turned out. The first version is one without shading and second is it the one with shading added. (The quality is better if you click on it.) I came up with the idea after rewatching the old Justice Ducks’s episode, as well as being imspired by DT17’s “Let’s get Dangerous!” special and listening to the classic Og teen Titans theme on repeat also sparked a lot of imagination. The only outfits I didn’t come up with are Lena’s, Boyd’s and Louie’s which already exist the show. I thought about each kids’s strengths and personalities when designing the other costumes as well what kind of powers/roles they would play and what kinda relationship they would have with their super mentors for this au.

• First up we have everyone’s favorite sassy magical teen, Lena. Her magical girl type outfit is what used for her hero costume. I tried my best to get the colors right so I hope it looks good. Lena’s role on the team is The Magical Brawler, with her using magical energy blasts, as well as allusions and brute force to defeat her opponents. She also doesn’t have a hero name like the others and just goes by Lena. (This is mostly because her magic protects her secret identity or something.) She and Quiverwing are the snarkiest towards the villains, especially if their evil plans are really stupid.

• She acts as a cool older sister figure to other kids on the team and is one of the most proactive on the team, with her answer to fighting a villain usually being “let’s beat them up” which can sometimes land her into trouble if she’s not careful. She’s very protective of Webby and Her younger (adopted) sister, Violet. So word to the wise evil doers, do not under any circumstances attack/harm either girl or you will be in a world of agonizing magical pain.

• Being oldest on the team as well as one of the most pessimistic/emotionally guarded at times, she tends to be a little more jaded to the whole hero worship thing the other kids have going towards The Justice Ducks. Her mentor/teacher is technically Morgana Macawber. In the beginning she was very distrustful towards the older magic user due to the woman’s past actions as a villain, as well as Lena’s own hang up’s with Magica. However, She eventually warms up to the sorceress after she sees how while having questionable morals at times, is still a good person who genuinely cares about her and Vi as not only her students/sidekicks, but her surrogate kids as well. (Morgana definitely joins the ‘these aren’t technically my kids, but I’m adopting them. You can’t stop me club.’)

• After that, their relationship starts to get better, but Lena still has her more rebellious impulses which causes her to be a bit more difficult when interacting with her mentor. She will argue with her about things like “Seriously! Why should it matter if my magic is still ‘developing’?! I can totally handle my Own magic, thank you very much! Now let’s stop gabbing and take down this creep before he overruns the whole city!” (Stuff like that.)

• Let’s move on to Webby or as she’s better known in the crime fighting world, Gummi Gal! So, it was a little difficult to figure out what kinda hero she would be, but after i decided to go with combining her spy training with her gummi juice powers, from “From the confidential files from agent 22” everything else just clicked. (Please note that I’m vaguely familiar with original gummi bears, I’m going off of ducktales 17 interpretation of it so if I get anything wrong, that’s why.)

• First let’s talk about the costume. I wanted to give her something that showed her personality as both a trained combat and espionage expert, as well as a excitable sweet munchkin who loves glitter and friendship bracelets. I based the colors off her regular pallet and added the cherry red parts to allude back to the gummi berry juice. The costume is made from super rubbery stretchy protective material either invented by S.H.U.S.H, prier or Team science to keep our super adorable rubber ball of death safe from villains when her gummi powers wear off, while also giving her a boost in battle while trying to beat up said baddies. Her red bow is the same material as the outfit, I gave her a pink mask, cause that’s her favorite color (also I wanted her to have a different mask color from Gosalyn and Huey.) and her utility belt is filled with other gadgets as well extra vials of juice in cases of emergencies. Not to mentioned she finally got her own Action Cane and still has her trusty grappling hook if things get too crazy.

• Webby’s role in the team is definitely combative close ranged fighter and The Heart of The Team. She’s already a beast in hand to hand combat, but when she drinks her gummi berry juice, she becomes a unstoppable springy force of power and agility, that can really give the villains a headache. She’s the most encouraging and affectionate on team always giving her fellow teammates hugs or high fives whenever she can. Her biggest weakness has to be her willingness to trust people at their word, being a little naive to harsh truths of the world cause she wants to see the good in others. She’s a badass, but an idealistic at her core and just wants to make the world a more happier place.

• Webby’s hero mentor is the Moon’s greatest warrior, Penumbra. Penny is at first confused by Small Della’s odd abilities, but adapts pretty quickly. They train a lot together and Penny teaches the young earther tricks she picked up from living on the moon where the gravity is very different from earth. This helps Webby get better at controlling where she wants to bounce when using her powers. Penny is pretty protective of all of the small Dellas and will be pretty aggressive towards those who try to harm them.

• Huey was easy I just made him updated version of his Gizmoduck costume with more of an emphasis of protection and practicality. I decided to give him a mask underneath his visor, because I believe he would definitely wear it as an extra precaution so villains don’t figure out his secret identity. (Even though it’s pretty obvious who these kids are, if you’re any paying attention.) I added a magnetic electro pulse glove blaster (sorry if the science doesn’t make much sense.) as well as magnetic boots, so he can better stay on Boyd’s back in battle and flight. (I was mostly inspired by Hiro from big hero 6 for that.)

• He uses the blaster to send magnetic frequency waves at his enemies. He can also grab things from a distance as a nod to his safety first mindset. His role on the team is occasionally the leader (there’s a bit of conflict with that issue.) and most importantly the thing he prides himself on, The Strategist. He’s great at analyzing situations and coming up with strategies, but can still over think things to his detriment. He clashes the most with Louie on the team as he feels his brother isn’t taking his role very seriously and Gosalyn as she not the best team player. He still looks up to Gizmoduck as his mentor, which drives him to prove himself as a competent leader and crime fighter in his hero’s eyes. Finally his hero name I think would either be Pulse or Gizmokid. Mostly I’m leaning on Pulse, cause I think it distinguishes him from Giz and let’s him make a name for himself as a hero in his own right, not just stuck in someone else’s shadow. (Though the bad guys will probably just call him, Gizmobrat to spite him.)

• (With Boyd I had trouble with getting his coloring just right so if it looks off, that’s why.) Boyd is the technically the youngest on the team in both appearance and mentality. He’s a sweet precious totally real boy that everyone instantly loves...well almost everyone. Louie, is at first a little heistent to be around him, but knows what happened at Doofus’s party wasn’t his fault so doesn’t hold it against him. He’s one of the easiest to trick out of the whole team which makes prime target for scheming villains to mess with. However, don’t underestimate this little powerhouse or you’ll regret it. He’s closest with Huey, with him being the first real friend the little tyke has ever known. (Dr. Gearloose is more of a parental figure then anything.) They can often be seen coming up with plans or just having fun learning stuff together. His hero mentor is Gizmoduck as well, but he also quickly warms up to Gandra. (who may or not be a anti hero in this au.)

• Gosalyn’s/Quiverwing’s costume was little harder to figure out. I kept going back and forth from a modern vs classic look, until I finally settled on a compromise that felt right. I do wish I made the cape more like Darkwing’s and drew a more modern looking bow, but other then that I think it came out pretty good. Her logo I’m especially proud of. Her role on the team is definitely the sharp shooter archer and weapons expert. I like to think she’s kinda like what if Batgirl was a archer. She likes to come up new weapons and gadgets to use on the bad guys. She’s the second oldest after Lena, making her also an older sister figure to the younger kids. Her mentor is Darkwing Duck, she loves being his crime fighting partner, but wishes she get more chances to really show her stuff and not be babied all the time by her guardian. This causes her to be one of the first kids to disobey the adult heroes when they say to stay out of something. Like that will stop her.

• Dewey was the hardest when designing what kinda hero he would be. At first, I thought of giving him a magical legendary sword that could change forms depending on what was needed, sorta as a way to mirror Dewey’s creativity and ever changing interests. However, I also felt he shouldn’t need to be ‘chosen’ by something to be a hero, so now the sword is actually something that he had to have create himself, but it also happens to be a magical shape-shifting weapon?.... (honestly if anyone has any better ideas, please help me, I totally except suggestions.)

• I gave him a costume similar to his God of Dance/Champ Popular personas with a blue Darkwing inspired cape. (Admit it, Dewey you actually love the show!) I added some protective chest armor, also gave him a angel wings and stars motif. His hero name if haven’t already guessed is Daring Dew. His role on the team is kinda the wild card/funny guy as well as a lancer to the more focused sometimes leader, Pulse. If I had to give an example of his role then probably something similar to beast boy from Og teen Titans or The flash from the justice league. He’s usually the first one to try and lighten the mood when something goes wrong, but he has his moments of Insecurites that causes him to doubt himself.

• He’s unique case as he doesn’t really have a official heroic mentor and just kinds bounces around from person to person depending on the day. Not that anyone dislikes the kid, but because he just finds them all so cool that he can’t pick one. (Basically, you know how your favorite avenger changes every week, it’s kinda like that.) He gets along best with Darkwing though and is kinda like his unofficial second sidekick. However, he does love spending time training with The Duck Avenger. He does seem familiar though, he just doesn’t know how. Hymmm. I wonder why.......

• Violet was also a tough one. Do I go with tech based weaponry, superpowers, space themed or magic? Nonetheless, I decided to combine her junior woodchuck survival skills and her magical quick study abilities to make her sorta of Magical Green lantern with an alchemist twist. I wanted to give her own way to do magic without having to use Lena’s powers or Magica’s emulet as a crutch. Her book on her belt is an ancient spell book filled with mystical runes and incantations that she uses to create magical contructs like weapons to battle her opponents. I gave her a teal green cloak, (mostly cause I was inspired by OG raven Teen Titans) a teal mask to hide her identity, light teal gloves and a rune turquoise stone that help channel her own magical abilities when she using her spell book.

• For her hero name I kinda like Light Saber (Disney technically owns Star Wars, so they could use the name.) or Guidelight (kinda like play on her junior woodchuck guide book.)

• Violet is the supernatural expert and living encyclopedia of the team. Something tells me she would do extensive research on all the justice Ducks’s known villains and would keep record of all of the info she gathered on the subjects. I have a headcanon that after “Let’s Get Dangerous” happened in this universe she would watch hours upon of the old darkwing Duck show while taking notes to better understand the full extent of the fearsome four’s backgrounds and abilities. Morgana, like Lena is also her hero mentor. They get along pretty well. She loves learning new spells from older sorceress who is more then happy to help the other with her knowledge on the subject.

• finally last, but never least, Louie! First off I drew him in his simple green hoodie with a dress shirt and tie. (Kid is pretty lazy when it comes to heroic theatrics.) His role on the team is The schemer and self proclaimed, Young Justice Ducks manager. Louie doesn’t really go by any alias and doesn’t wear a mask, cause in his mind there’s not much of point since no one really take them seriously anyways. They’re the kiddie sidekicks club in a lot of people’s eyes, so they don’t get much media attention compared to their mentors.

• If he’s not ‘training’ with his mentor, Storkules, or just hanging out with his teammates, then he’s scamming villains out of their stolen loot or finding new ways to try and get the Young Justice Ducks name out there. He probably takes the whole being a hero thing the least seriously out of everyone on the team, mostly because the adults are always their to save the day and take all the fire, so why not focus on building a solid following and use their obscurity to their advantage against the villains. ( To be honest I really couldn’t figure out what kinda hero he would be. I think maybe later on he could regain his godly gold touch powers, though much more limited this time with them being on a timer of or something. If anyone has any better ideas for him, please send them my way)

Anyways, thanks for reading. Again, if you have any suggestions, questions or ideas please feel free to share them. See ya!

#ducktales 2017 #dt 2017 #dewey duck #webby vanderquack #lena sabrewing #huey duck #louie duck #gosalyn waddlemeyer #quiverwing quack #dt gosalyn #violet sabrewing #boyd dt #The Young Justice Ducks #I finished this instead of sleeping

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alison-anonymous · 5 years

Text

♡ i want you back ♡ t.l. pt 1

I Want You Back ♡ Tom Lucitor

Requested: nope, I came up with this one on my own! SEND IN TOM LUCITOR REQUESTS PEOPLE! LET’S GIVE THIS DEMON THE ATTENTION HE DESERVES! Guys I even proofread this to make sure it was good💖

Warnings: haha ANGST/sexual tension

Summary: sort of a continuation of Miss Understood in which Tom and the reader are undeniably, unconditionally in love, but when he begins to show her the true side of himself with his anger issues, the reader’s parents force her to break up with him. But Tom is not willing to give up that easily ;)

♡♡♡

Life had recently became hell for you.

The one person, or demon, that you loved more than anything in life was the one that your parents were forcing you to say goodbye to. They thought that having their human daughter date a demon prince with three eyes, fire powers, and an extreme anger issue was completely dangerous and something to be stopped immediately. The day that they chose to break the news to you was when you had Marco and Star over...

“Mom, please,” you had cried out, choking on you tears as Star and Marco hid in your room, silently listening to every word with tears in their eyes as well. “I love him!”

“You can’t love a demon, Y/n,” your mother threw her hands up. “You either end it now or you are no longer welcome in this household.”

You gasped, as did Star and Marco, feeling as if though a knife had been stabbed straight into your chest. “Y-you wouldn’t seriously-”

“I would,” your mother snapped, crossing her arms over her chest as your father stared daggers at you. “End it or get out.”

Tears of frustration and heartbreak streamed down your face and dripped onto the carpet as you stared in disbelief at your parents. They wanted you to break up with the person you loved more than anything. Tom was your everything, and you loved him even though he had problems - at least he was trying to get better! And you knew he would never dream of doing anything to hurt you! Your parents, unfortunately, thought otherwise. You drew in a shaky breath as you ran a hand through your hair, stifling another sob. What choice did you have? Leave home? Where would you go? You loved Star and Marco, but there was no way you would impose on the Diazes with another mouth to feed.

“Fine,” you muttered, feeling your heart shatter in your chest. “I’ll break up with him tomorrow.”

And with that, you raced up to your room as fast as you could, but the second you shut the door and saw the sorrowful faces of your two best friends, you crumbled to the floor in a heap of sobs as they wrapped their arms around you and held you tight enough so you wouldn’t fall entirely apart...

♡♡♡

This was it.

You had set up to meet Tom at the spot where he took you on your first date, by the Deadman's Cliffs where you could see the sunset perfectly as long as you didn't stand too close to the drop. You told him you had something to tell him and your heart shattered a little more at the thought of how he might react. You were staring in silence at the view when you heard the familiar sound of the dimension ripping, and the love of your life stepped out. The second he laid his eyes on you, all three lit up.

He levitated himself over to you through the fire from his boots and landed gracefully on the grass, holding out a flaming rose to you with a smile on his face. "Hey there, cupcake!"

Even just his mere presence made your insides soften as you tenderly took the rose out of his hand, watching with mesmerized eyes as the flames continued to flicker. It reminded you of the flame you carried for him... the one you had to extinguish. You turned back to him, only to find him staring lovingly at you and felt the tears begin to well in your eyes as you held the rose back out to him.

"I... I can't accept this," you choked out, staring at the ground out of fear your eyes might give it away.

"What? Why? Darling," he tenderly reached under your chin and lifted your head to meet his eyes. The second you laid your e/c orbs on his three ruby ones, you could almost feel yourself about to swoon. But instead, only tears welled up. "What's wrong? You know you can tell me anything."

"T-Tom," you stuttered, trying desperately to work up the courage but it was near impossible with his hand lingering on your cheek. You gently grabbed it and pushed it down. "I t-think that we n-need to..." You couldn't finish. You just couldn't. The floodgates began to crack as a tear slipped out of your eye, rolling down you cheek, causing Tom to panic, quickly wiping it away with concerned eyes.

"I think w-we need to- SHIT!" You suddenly snapped in frustration at your incompetence and stepped back from him, trying your best to ignore the hurt and confusion on his face as you broke his heart with your words.

"I think we should break up."

Shock and heartbreak flashed across his face as the flaming rose was extinguished and slipped through his lavender fingers, falling onto the ground, forgotten. "W-what? Y/n, you can't be serious. I thought things were going well, I-" he suddenly stopped with his hands thrown up midair. It was as if though a light bulb lit up atop his head as he turned his gaze back to you. "Wait... this is your parents, isn't it? They don't want you with me?"

He got it right on the head. He knew you too well... you tried your hardest to comply with your parents wishes and make it seem believable, but the shattering heart in your chest and the tears streaming down your cheeks and the sobs coming from your throat made it impossible to utter any words at all as you stumbled slightly, knees weak. He rushed to catch you, his hands warm to the touch. Even though you loved feeling his warmth, you forced yourself to push him away and wrapped your arms tightly around yourself as the tears dripped onto the grass.

"I-I'm sorr-" you couldn't even get out the last syllable as another sob ran through you. Tom reached out to you once more, only wanting to comfort the love of his life as she stood there, crumbling before him. But you couldn't let him.

"Y/n, please don't do this," his words came out tattered as tears welled up in his own eyes too. You had only ever seen him cry once before, and you most certainly weren't expecting the next words that came out of his mouth.

"I... I love you."

You froze. Wide eyed and completely in shock as even the tears had stopped at those three words. You had been dating for months, and this was the first time either of you had said it, you had agreed that you weren't quite ready yet.

He... he loved you. And as you looked over his adorable horns, lavender skin, dry palms, pointy teeth, and three gorgeous ruby red eyes, you knew that you were completely and utterly in love with him too.

"I love yo-" but... You couldn't say it back. "I... I can't, Tom."

His eyes practically showed you how you shattered his heart as he tried one last time, stepping closer to you and gently cupping your cheek, staring you deep in the eyes.

"Y/n," he whispered with half-lidded eyes. "Please."

Your insides felt as if they were on fire with his closeness. And no matter how much you wanted to pull him tight, kiss him passionately, and tell him you loved him, you knew you couldn't. So, you did what you had to do. You forced yourself to push out of his grasp, and ran off in the direction of Marco's house, trying not to let the tears blurring your vision cause you to trip and fall as Tom's shouts soon faded away.

♡♡♡

Needless to say, you and Tom both took your breakup very hard. While you stayed in bed most days with Star and Marco lying down next to you, trying to get you to say something (anything!) as they gabbed on endlessly about everything and nothing, Tom was taking his anger out on his people and then sobbing into his pillow before punching a wall and then sobbing into his bunny and the cycle of hatred and sadness only continued from there.

It took you a full 3 weeks with Star and Marco bringing you homework and such for you to finally leave your bed. Of course, your room was where your best friends spent most of their time because if you were down, they all were down. Unfortunately, you had only made it to the living room before you collapsed onto the floor and refused to get up, so Star conjured up a unicorn to carry you back to your bed. This process continued until after a full month you were finally able to leave the house. Sure, your eyes may now be dry and you may not look like a Raggedy Anne doll anymore, but your heart was still shattered. You heart belonged to Tom, and no matter what your parents did or said, he would always have it.

As the weeks drawled painfully on without you ever seeing Tom, you began going back to school with Marco and Star and you did your best to concentrate, to move on. But... You knew deep down that you couldn't. Marco and Star did the best they could to soften the blow, always sweeping you away to concerts or parties or get togethers with Pony Head (who threatened to kill your parents once you broke down after telling her about your breakup). But none of it mattered because he wasn't there.

But while you were desperately prevailing to move on, Tom was the exact opposite. After getting over his angry-sad fits and going through a hell of a lot of soul searching, he came to the conclusion that you were the only one he would ever love, he wanted to marry you someday, and he was willing to do whatever it took to get you back.

Little did you know how persistent a heartbroken Tom could be.

♡♡♡

His attempts to win you back first started after you, Marco, and Star had just gotten back from school. You and Star were chilling in her room, listening intently as she whispered in your ear her budding feelings towards Marco, who had escaped to the kitchen to make you all some nachos.

"I just... I don't know, N/n. I've never felt this way towards him before... I know he likes Jackie, and I just want him to be happy but," she bit her lip hard, her eyes beginning to swell. You quickly grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her into a warm hug.

"It's okay," you mumbled into her hair. "Feelings can be... perplexing sometimes. I think that it's a bit too early now to start jumping the gun by saying you have a crush on him. You have been under a lot of stress lately."

She gently pulled back and offered you a warm smile, wrapping her arm around your waist and leaning her head on your shoulder as you both stared at her mirror. "How do you do it?" She asked.

"Do what?"

"Just... it!" She cried, switching so she was kneeling before you, eyes wide with her hands in the air. "I mean, you were just forced to break up with the love of your life, and you're still up and moving? If I had to leave Marco... I don't know what I would do." She tapped her chin, glancing off in the other direction. "I would probably just die!"

A grin spread on her lips at her conclusion, but it soon faded when she realized how dejected you looked at the mention of Tom. "Oh, I'm so sorry, N/n, I shouldn't have brought it up..."

"No, it's okay," you replied sincerely. "I'm going to have to get used to it."

Just then, Star's mirror began blaring with an incoming call. You both turned to see who it was and the name on the screen nearly sent you into shock. It was Tom. Why on earth would he be calling Star? Was he trying to make her his rebound girl? The very thought of it made your shattered heart sink even more into the pit of depression you were in. With just one look at your face, Star could instantly tell what was going through your head. She gently rested her hand on your shoulder.

"Don't worry," she said. "I'll just let it ring."

You sat there for a moment before you suddenly realized how much you missed seeing his face. It wouldn't hurt to have her pick it up just this one time would it? Besides, then you could see how loyal he truly was to you.

"N-no," you slowly shook your head. "It's okay. Answer it."

"Are you sure?" She raised an eyebrow in shock, but you nodded your head. She cautiously walked towards the mirror phone, and gave you one last glance before answering it with you safely out of view. The second Tom's image filled the screen, you and Star both let out a gasp. His ruby red eyes that were once flaming were now bloodshot with deep circles from lack of sleep. His lavender skin was now abnormally pale, and his spiky hair was messy. He looked like a mess, to say the least. Almost as bad as you had looked after all those days spent under the covers.

...was this what you had done to him?

"Star!" A grin spread across his lips as soon as he saw your best friend. She let a sigh escape through your lips as you stared at the screen. He couldn't see you, but you were pretty sure your eyes had tiny little hearts in them, as they always did every time you saw him. It didn't matter if he was a flaming ball of rage or all dressed up in a tuxedo, even just his image made you fall even more in love. And that was what scared you most.

"What do you want, Tom?" Star asked, rolling her eyes a bit. Even though they were now friends ever since the two of you had gotten together, Star made a pact with you that if you couldn't be friends or anything more with Tom, then she couldn't either. Marco tried to get in on it too, but you both knew his best bromance was better living than dead.

You turned your attention back to the screen, watching as he scratched the back of his neck, something he only did when he was nervous. He averted his gaze for a moment before raising it back to Star's image.

"Listen, I know things have been a bit tense lately, but..." here it comes, you thought, preparing your heart for the worst. This was it. He was going to ask Star out, he was going to choose her over you...

"I need your help. I want to win Y/n back."

There it was. He wanted St- wait, WHAT?

It was then that Star suddenly smushed her cheeks together and let out a fangirling squeal so shrill it caused Glossaryck to plug his ears. You slowly stood up with mouth agape, feeling your heart begin to pound as you attempted to make sense of his words. Star giggled, her irises turning into comical baby pink hearts as she came closer to the mirror.

"YES!" She screamed, causing Tom to jump back a bit. "You have to do it! You have to-"

Your feet moved before your brain could comprehend what was going on and before you knew it, you were in the frame too, staring with wide eyes at Tom's picture. The moment he saw you, his eyes softened and then perked up with excitement.

"Y/n, darling!" He smiled with those adorably pointed teeth. "I want you back ♡"

The butterflies went crazy inside your stomach and you were almost certain you were turning into a tomato from the flushing in your cheeks, but Star's wand was lying on her bed. Star wrapped her arms excitedly around you as she squealed again.

"Yes, yes, yes!!! Come on, N/n, he wants you and you still want him! Your parents don't have to know!" Star pleaded, looking you deep in the eyes with a pouty lip.

No matter how badly you wanted to say yes, you knew that you couldn't. Your parents would find out eventually. They always did. "I- I'm sorry," you whispered, slowly shaking your head. "I broke up with you, Tom. I can't."

But Tom wasn't ready to give up anytime soon. Instead of frowning, his smile only broadened, which brought confusion to Star's face and fear onto yours. Because the smile he wore meant only one thing - he was plotting.

And you knew that he was now plotting his greatest, most diabolical plan he had ever dared to plot before.

His plan to get you back.

Before he could utter another word, you swiftly ended the call before turning to Star. "Star, I love you, but please, you know I don't have a choice."

"But that's just it," she argued. "You could! He wants you back too! He clearly still loves you! Why won't you take him back?"

You let out a sigh in melancholy as you began heading towards the bathroom, throwing your response over your shoulder before shutting her bedroom door.

"Because he's safer without me."

♡♡♡

His first attempt at winning you back involved collaboration. Even though Star and Marco loved you with all of their hearts, they climbed aboard Tom's ship to win you back, telling themselves that they were doing what was best for you. They hated seeing you so miserable, as it was obvious you had been faking happiness.

For what Tom definitely had in charms and charisma, he definitely lacked in strategy. The whole "winning someone back" and being, well, desperate and crazy for you was completely new to him. He had never felt this way before. So, unfortunately, his ideas to get you back were pretty crappy. But thanks to your two BFFs, they were able to help him form a very solid Plan A.

Plan A was to start with the basics again, which was mostly just getting you and him in the same place at the same time so you had to acknowledge each other's presence. Parties were too overcrowded, and they knew there was no way they could get you to go to the Lucitors' kingdom out of your own free will, so Star and Marco did what any rational person would do.

They followed you around until they were able to form a table of your whereabouts down to the minute. This way, Tom could appear at the place you were heading and try to start a conversation. What Star and Marco didn't plan on was Tom's ironic klutziness. When it came to being around you, he would always get red in the face and have these butterflies that made him feel sick. It ruined his entire game. But they made him push through it anyway.

The first place he went to was the dog park...

You had offered to walk Star and Marco's laser puppies while Star was off practicing her magic with the assistance of Marco (though really you were just leaving some room for Starco to begin). While you knew that you main job was to just make sure the puppies didn’t hurt anyone else and got in some exercise, you also thought that you could stand some of the fresh air too. You had just settled down in a little spot under one of the big oak trees to shelter yourself from the sun beating down on the untrimmed grass. The puppies ran excitedly around your ankles, shooting their red lasers at whatever they looked at. You shortened the leash a bit and watched as they roamed around for a bit, sniffing dog butts and freaking out some of the other pedestrians. It only took about a minute or so for you to realize how lonely you were.

Shit, you thought. Dog walking was supposed to be fun and now all you could think about was wishing someone were here for you to talk to...

As soon as the thought left your mind, a rustling noise suddenly came from directly above you. Confusion riddled your mind as some stray leaves fell from the tree, one of them landing delicately on your nose before sliding onto the grass. You furrowed your brows. Was there some really obese squirrel up there?

You craned your head to look up into the cloud of green, definitely not expecting to see a person clinging onto the skinny branch for dear life as they looked down fearfully at you, as if though they had been caught doing something horrible.

“Tom?” You cried out. He let out a nervous chuckle, lifting his one hand off of the branch to give you a slight wave while his other continued to grip onto the branch with a death-grip.

“Hey, beautiful.”

God, how you melted whenever he called you that... But you knew you had a promise to stay true to. “Please don’t call me that,” you sighed, stepping a little closer to the tree so you wouldn’t have to strain your neck as much. “What are you doing up there?”

You weren’t expecting his face to turn bright red at the question. After Star and Marco had dropped him off, he WAS going to talk to you as soon as he saw you standing a couple feet away from him. But fear got the best of him, what if he screwed up? What if he said something that insulted you? What if he ruined the last chance he ever had of winning you back? So, rather than just walking away, he decided to climb up a tree so he could watch you from a distance. It couldn’t hurt, right? But when a squirrel fell on his back, things got a bit complicated and you were smart.

It was one of the things he loved about you...

He opened his mouth, then shut it again, his three eyes scouring the horizon as he tried to come up with an excuse. You cocked an eyebrow as you waited, you running through your mind all of the possible things he could have been up to. Then it clicked.

“Tom...” now it was your turn to blush as your cheeks turned a slight shade of crimson. “Were you... spying on me?”

“Damnit,” he cursed a bit too loud than he meant to. You forced yourself to look away, feeling the butterflies float into your stomach at just the thought. He really did want you back, didn’t he? Why else would he be spying on you?

But then your mother’s words rang through your ears...

“You can never love a demon.”

You sighed. She made it sound so easy. Like you can just pick and choose who you fall in love with. And even though you knew there was no way your parents could ever approve of it, your heart still rested in his hands. But he was better off without you. You had already hurt him enough.

You sighed, raking your free hand through your hair. “Look, Tom, this is sweet and everything, but I need to get going.” You pivoted on your feet, and felt the all too familiar treading-through-knives feeling as you walked away from the love of your life... again.

“Wait!” Tom cried. “Y/n, AHH!” He was about to hop down off of the branch to follow after you when an angry brown squirrel attacked his face. And even though you wanted more than anything to run back to him and to climb up into that tree with him, you forced yourself to keep walking.

But even though that spot didn’t work, Star, Marco, and Tom weren’t ready to give up just yet. So, they sent him to the next place on your list. They planned to keep doing this until they ran out of places, because one of them had to spark something… right?

So next, he went to the market...

You were off on your weekly trip to the market since your parents were often too busy at their jobs to do it. Not that you minded, because this way you could get the brands of food you wanted without having to argue Tyson over Banquet for thirty minutes straight with your father.

Shopping list gripped loosely between your fingers, you stood before the fruits section, trying desperately to remember how Marco had taught you know how a grapefruit is ripe just by smelling it. Picking up one of the citrus fruits, you turned it over in your hands carefully before raising it cautiously to your nose. It smelt just like all the other ones smelt, like a grapefruit. You were about to pull your phone out of your pocket to call him when a strange noise suddenly came from the barrel of oranges next to you.

I should just ignore it, you told yourself. Last time I investigated, it was Tom spying on me. In a tree.

You turned to continue down the aisle, but when the noise came again, you felt that familiar pull to investigate once again. You threw your head back in frustration at yourself, but backtracked until you were in front of the oranges. This was what being best friends with a magical princess from Mewni had done to you.

You slowly lowered your head towards the rustling noise inside the barrel, wondering if some animal had gotten inside of it somehow. Turning you head to the side, you tried to listen for whatever it was just as a head suddenly popped through the surface, causing you to jump back in shock. Stray oranges toppled down onto the ground, one bouncing off of your foot. You raised your eyes to see who thought it would be a good idea to go swimming in a barrel of oranges, and as soon as you saw Tom (again), with his guilty smile, nothing but disbelief filled your mind. Only his head had managed to break through the surface, as his spiky hair was a bit messed up and his ruby eyes were a bit watery from the fruits. But the thing that actually brought a slight smile to your face was the two oranges that had been impaled onto his horns.

You quickly wiped the smile away, and glowered down at him. “Tom!” You groaned. “Again? Seriously? What are you doing this time, spying on me in the oranges?”

He offered you a sly smile, which sent your stomach into somersaults. God, why did he have to be so cute...

“Not quite, cupcake,” he smirked. “This time I actually came to talk to you about something, but the portal got a bit messy...” He shuffled a bit in the pit of oranges, causing a few more to bounce on the floor as you stared at him with a raised eyebrow.

You could sense the stares of strangers as they passed by, wondering why on earth a girl was talking to a purple-skinned, three-eyed, horned head in the oranges. It didn’t phase you however, as being Tom’s girlfriend for so long, you had gotten used to the staring. You also knew that he wasn’t the one to give up so quick, so you decided to just hear him out on this one. Besides, if it was something stupid, you could just leave and he wouldn’t be able to follow you right away. Not with ten pounds of oranges to slow him down.

“Fine,” you sighed, crossing your arms over your chest. “What is it?”

Tom cleared his throat, and wiggled around a bit before setting his eyes on you, giving you The Look. Your eyebrows raised, already knowing that whatever he wanted to say couldn’t be good.

“Well, as you know, I am in the process of doing everything I can to win you back. And to start, Marco said a good way to get a girl back is to begin by listing your positive attributes. Firstly, I am exceedingly-” you quickly plucked an orange off of his horn and stuck it his mouth before he could say anything else. Wiping off the excess orange juice on your pants, you pinched the bridge of your nose in frustration as he struggled to spit the orange out of his mouth without his hands.

“Tom, look, this all really flattering and everything, but we are done. I’m sorry,” you wrapped your hands around the shopping cart and began walking away from him. Of course, knowing you, you still had to look behind you one last time just to catch him successfully spitting out the orange as it hit a chubby kid riding in a shopping cart. He turned his head to you, and even though you were doing your best to run away from him, he still shouted loud enough for you hear:

“You can try to silence me as much as you like, darling, but I’m still going to be in love with you!”

Once you were out of sight, he shuffled around in the orange barrel before turning to the chubby kid he had spit an orange at, who was staring at him in disgust.

"Hey, kid, think you could help me out?

And when that place didn’t work, he went to more... and more... and more... and got pecked on by birds at the pier, got attacked by a bunch of cats in a back alley, and almost got mugged by a guy in the fucking bookstore before you slapped the dude across the face with your wallet. But Tom still persisted.

He finally went to the last place on the list: the gift shop.

You were out shopping a week in advance for your mother's birthday, and to be frank, you had no idea what to get her. Figuring that you might be able to get some inspiration from the gift shop downtown, you soon realized that even with a bunch of glittering jewels around you, you still had nothing. You ran your hand along the rack of hideously designed dresses, and wondered if you would have better luck in Mewni.

While Star’s world may be completely different than yours, it did have a knack for giving you inspiration. So, you pulled out your cell and asked Star if she could give you a lift. On her end, it meant ditching her post with Marco to help Tom out with Plan A, Attempt 24, but she couldn’t say no to her best girlfriend!

So there the two of you were, your eyes scouring the tons of racks of clothing for something that might scream your mother’s name while Star drooled over a bunch of stuffed animals.

“This blows,” you sighed, until your eyes finally landed on a top that your mom may not instantly return. Funny, you thought. I’m buying the lady who ripped away the one thing I really loved a present.

You really did make yourself miserable...

Heaving a sigh, you were about to reach for the top when a head suddenly popped up from the other side, causing you to let out a scream in surprise. You would think that after being surprised so many times by Tom that you would eventually begin to suspect it was him, but time after time, he still caught you off guard. Tripping on your own too feet, you began falling to the ground before Star’s hands pressed gently against your back, pushing you back up before she got into battle position.

“What’s wrong?” She cried out. “Is it a burglar? WHERE ARE THEY?!”

“No, Star, it’s just…” You finally took a good look at the figure who had appeared and your suspicions were instantly confirmed. “Tom.”

You let out a huff, crossing your arms over your chest as he grinned deviously at you, crossing his arms over the top of the clothes rack. “Hey there, beautiful.”

“I thought I told you to stop calling me that,” you narrowed your brows in feign annoyance.

“Oh really? Well, I thought I told you to stop wearing so much makeup - you don’t need it, cupcake.” He winked at you, and even though every logical brain cell was telling you to ignore it, your cheeks heated up a bright shade of red. You did your best to hide it, but from the soft smile that still lingered on his lips and glistening in his eyes every time he looked at you, you knew he saw it.

Star suddenly pressed her cheek against yours as you both stared at the demon prince, and began to let out a very scary, very deep giggle. With just one side glance, you could already tell she was fangirling. You let out a groan in frustration and turned your attention back to Tom, who was still staring in complete adoration at you.

“Tom. You need to leave.”

Star let out a gasp, grabbing you by the shoulders and staring you deep in the eyes with her sparkling blue orbs. “Y/n! I am surprised by you! The love of your life is literally trying to win you back and you tell him to go home?”

Damn… You bit down on your lip. Hard. But before you could even muster out a word to explain your feelings once again, Tom had already stepped out from behind the clothing rack and was holding his hands up in the air in mock-surrender.

“No, no, I get it, she’s just not ready toda-”

“Hey, you!” An unfamiliar voice cut off Tom, making all three of you jump a foot in the air. You all whipped around to see who dared to interrupt you, laying your eyes on a slightly obese man with angry, onyx eyes and a plume hat that looked too small for his head. He stabbed his chubby finger in the direction of… Tom. “You there, monster! I don’t allow monsters in my store!”

Wait a minute… he thought Tom was a monster?

Shock washed over Star’s face as Tom’s fists began to curl into fiery balls. You, however, were feeling an emotion you had been trying to suppress for a while. Protectiveness. NO ONE got to call your Tom a monster. Sure, he may be a bit different, but he was NOT a monster. Before your brain even had a chance to stop yourself, you were already walking past a very angry Tom (whose features contorted from anger to shock the second you walked past him) and stood directly in front of the obese man.

“Alright, you listen here, asshat,” you snarled, stabbing your finger into his puffy chest. Star and Tom exchanged awestruck glances behind you. “Tom may be a lot of things, but he is NOT a monster. Do you hear me? HE IS NOT A MONSTER.” By now, you had the dude sweating and shaking in fear as it almost seemed like you were towering over him, a flare set to your eyes that only Tom ever had. “And if I ever hear you call him a monster again, I will hunt you down myself, and when I do find you?” You let out a slow, maniacal laugh that eventually escalated into a full blown evil laugh. Little did you know, that while Star was watching the exchange with fearful eyes, you had made Tom fall in love with you all over again.

Before you could continue to scar the scared shitless guy, Star gently pulled you away from him, uttering a sorry to the man on your behalf. You shook your head once to clear away the craziness, only for once, you had no regrets.

“Wow,” Tom’s voice broke through your thoughts. You quickly raised your gaze to see him walking dangerously close to you. Before you could make a move to stop him, he had already wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you closer to him, so close you had to rest your hands against his chest to distance yourself. You looked into his eyes, and the second you saw the adoration and love in his ruby irises, you knew you were in trouble. “You haven’t done anything like that since we first got together. You still care, don’t you?”

You could feel your face getting hot and your stomach twist in knots, and that was just from his closeness. His words sent your brain into spirals and your heart pound harder than a sledgehammer. You felt that all too familiar, undeniable urge to wrap your arms around his neck and press your lips against his, but…

Remember, Y/n. He is safer without you.

“T-Tom…” you stuttered, softly grabbing his arms and lowering them to his sides. You took a few steps back even though it felt like pulling yourself through knives, once again. It was uncanny how you and Tom didn’t even have the Blood Moon Curse, but you felt such a strong connection to him that you had never experienced with anyone else. “I… I…”

Star was fighting back a huge fangirling squeal as she bit her lip and crouched down, staring at you with wide, expectant eyes.

“I… have to go…” Tom’s eyes fell, but only for a second before they perked back up with that insanely persistent look.

“Alright,” he shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets. “But keep in mind, darling,” he swiftly stepped closer to you, so close you could feel the warmth radiating off of him. “I’m in this for the long run.”

And then, in a flash of fire, he was gone, leaving a very flustered you and a ship-angry Star.

♡♡♡

GO FIND THE SECOND PART FOR MORE💖

#tom lucitor #tom lucitor x reader #tom lucitor imagines #star vs the forces of evil #star butterfly #svtfoe imagines #svtfoe

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enter-fandom · 5 years

Text

Deeper Breaths 2

Fandom: The Almighty Johnsons

Pairing: Anders x Reader

Rating: Lemon

Warnings: Mild BDSM, angst, referenced panic attack, aftermath of panic attack, abusive language

Theme: N/A

Request: N/A

Words: 1915

Status: ???

Notes: A continuation of Deeper Breaths - AU where the Reader becomes Idun, not Gaia

Olaf’s words still echoed in Ty’s head in the weeks following Anders introducing you into the fold. Mike still wasn’t overly pleased - after what happened to Helen, he was certain something was going to happen to you, and Ty could correct him, but with the history, how things always ended badly for Idun, how could he? You seemed to be doing fine, however, settling into life in Auckland fairly easily, and into life as a Goddess fairly quickly as well. Anders was almost always all smiles when he talked about you, and to be honest, things seemed to be looking up.

He was having lunch with Anders and Dawn when the text came, startling Anders from his story of staying over at your flat the other night and having to deal with your cats, and the frown that creased his brother’s face worried him, “Everything alright, Anders?”

Dawn had her own worried frown, despite not being able to see the message, and it only increased when Anders stood, “Hold down the fort for me, will you Dawn? I won’t be a moment.” He grabbed his jacket from over his desk chair, pulling it on as he headed out the door, texting as he went. The other two occupants of the office shared a look, but continued on with lunch, waiting until Anders was out of the office to speculate just what had come up. He might have Bragi’d his way into the back room when he got to the store you worked at, ignoring the questioning looks he got from several other employees as he moved with purpose behind the manager who led him to where you sat, curled on the break room couch with your feet tucked under you, still trembling, but at least the tears had stopped. Your phone sat in your hand, the semi-reliable heart rate monitor app open, keeping tabs on just how elevated you were as you came down.

Kneeling before you, he smiled up, “Hey, sunshine.” You looked at him and tried to smile, but inside, you just felt hollow. Even Idun was quiet, despite the presence of Bragi that was nearly overwhelming coming off of him. He reached out and took your free hand, squeezing gently, “I know you don’t like talking about it immediately, so we’ll talk later, yeah? Let’s just get you out of here.” You could only nod, and he helped you stand, draping his jacket over you for comfort as he led you back out to his car.

Once inside, he hesitated, glancing at you, “I’d like to take you back to the office, if that’s okay. That way I’m near if you need me, but is there anything you need from home?”

You laughed softly at the question, “One of the cats?”

You didn’t expect him to take you seriously, so it was a shock when he said, “Jade. She’s calmer and won’t break anything.” He pulled out of the parking lot, handing you his phone with a soft smile, allowing you to put on music that would help with the fallout. When he pulled up to your apartment, he kissed your cheek and took your keys, coming back out a few moments later with a bundle of orange and white floof attached to a red leash. Settling the cat into your lap, he set off for the office again, chattering idly beside you, voice soft and soothing as the creature you held headbutted against you, purring a mile a minute.

When you reached the office, he went first, ushering you in behind him and quickly wrapping his arm around you, Ty and Dawn, still seated at the conference table, stood, talking over one another when they saw you.

“Anders, is she alright? What happened?”

“Is that a cat?”

“Yes, it’s a cat, and she will be. She had an issue at work, is all,” he replied, giving Ty a pointed look, and the younger God stepped back some, nodding. He remembered what Anders had told him, and was smart enough to put two and two together. Reaching back to the table, he snagged one of the cupcakes from the platter, holding it out with a questioning glance.

You carefully let Jade down, taking the cupcake with a small smile, before going to settle on the couch near Anders’ desk, “Thanks, Ty.”

“No problem. I uh, I gotta get back to work, but Anders, we’ll catch up later, yeah?”

Anders nodded, giving his brother a small smile before he turned back to his work, humming to himself. The rest of the day dragged on, you trying to relax, rabbit holing down videos on your phone and occasionally sharing the best ones with Anders and Dawn. At a quarter past five, Dawn poked her head into the back, knocking on the wall, “I’m going to head out, Anders. Don’t forget to lock up.”

He smiled at her, as always, and you wondered, briefly, if it hadn’t been for you, and Ty, if they would have worked, but then he laughed and your heart felt like it clicked into place, “Ta, Dawn. Have a good evening.” Once she was gone, he moved over to you, smoothing your hair back from your forehead and pressing a kiss there, “Let’s get going, yeah? We can pick up dinner on the way.”

With a nod, you stood, lifting Jade from where she slept on the couch beside you, and headed out to the car, settling in with a much lighter mind than hours earlier, though you were still feeling a little off. You hated how things lingered so much, but hadn’t really found a cure yet, short of just sleeping it off.

He picked up the take away and then parked in front of your apartment, glancing over with a small smile, “If you’d like to come back to my place…”

You could feel the itch of Idun returning just under your skin, and you nodded, “I’ll just take her inside, and change.” Heading inside, you freed the Queen of Floof from the leash and hung it at the door, checking food and water dishes before changing and heading back out to Anders, giving the pair of felines a pointed look and a quick, “Be good,” before locking up.

Once settled, you reached out, taking Anders's hand, squeezing softly, “The guy asked where something was, and when I told him I wasn't sure, that I was still learning the layout he got aggressive.” You squeezed tighter at the memory, and he squeezed back, prompting you to continue, “He started yelling. Calling me a liar, a bitch and a whore.”

When his grip tightened this time, it was out of anger just as much as comfort, and you were silently glad he hadn't been present. Anders was gifted with gab, not physical prowess. He was clever, more espionage than thrown fists, but he would have tried. You knew he would.

He parked and led you into his apartment, both of you feeling the draw of your divinity under your skin, Anders the man holding back only because of the trauma that had been brought to the forefront of your mind earlier in the day. You pressed a hand to his chest, leaning up to kiss him softly, “It's okay.”

Sometimes, he wasn't sure where his interests ended and Bragi's began. “I don't want to be gentle,” he admitted, the backs of his fingers moving over your cheek.

“So, don't be.”

He groaned, before becoming a flurry of motion, tugging at your clothes and his own, kissing you with soul deep hunger and guiding you into the bedroom. You met him with quiet surrender, losing yourself in your goddess, and the man who had cared for you despite her. He pushed you to the bed with a glint in his eyes, tugging the cuffs from the box under the bed and raising a brow. You nodded, and he shook his head, “Tell me.”

“Please, it's okay.”

He was on you again in seconds, endlessly careful despite practically manhandling you how he wanted, lips sliding over your jaw, “Mine.”

Your breath came as a soft sigh, nodding, “Yours.” You tested the cuffs, the way they were anchored keeping your wrists together over your head, and you shuddered, completely at his mercy. And that was exactly what he wanted, what Anders wanted. Still uncertain where God ended and Man began, you watched as he sat back on his heels, straddling you, taking you in. His hands soothed down over your skin, and you arched into the touch, shuddering.

He took his time with you, sliding his hands over every inch of you like worship, his lips, teeth, and tongue following their path, skirting the places you truly yearned for his touch, intent on making you lose yourself to his ministrations. When he finally drew your legs apart, he hesitated, looking up at you, voice low, “I know you’ve expressed not being overly fond of it, but I’m going to taste you now.”

You blushed, nodding at him slowly. It wasn’t that the act reminded you of the past, but that you simply got very little from it. You didn’t necessarily mind your partners doing so, if they truly wanted, but you were more than drenched, and a mouth on you was just more wet, and usually not much sensation - not the way a firm press of fingers could be. He lowered himself, hooking your legs over his shoulders, shifting to get comfortable before settling into his task, contenting himself with the taste of you, before seeking to give you what pleasure he could.

He teased at your clit with his tongue, before sucking sharply, earning a low groan that was followed by a chuckle, before his hand slipped to join his questing tongue, two fingers slipping easily inside you, teasing and tormenting. You wondered how far he’d take you tonight, before he pulled up and away, sliding over you with an almost predatory look in his eyes. Shifting positions again, he flipped you to your stomach, tugging you up onto your knees.

You keened when he finally entered you, losing yourself more completely to the brutal pace he set, his hands still moving over your skin, lips murmuring praises against your shoulder, almost drowned out by your own cries and guiding you to your fall. Your back arched as you clenched around him, surrendering to him and he didn’t stop, driving you to greater heights.

You fell twice more before he reached his own completion, holding you still and tight as he pumped into you, before resting his head to your shoulder, panting. Easing away, he undid the cuffs, pulling you tight to his chest as you shivered. “Easy, Y/N. I’ve got you.” You nuzzled into his chest, soothed now by the gentle caress over your arm, eyes heavy. “I know you want to sleep, but we need to eat,” he prompted, and you sighed, nodding, starting to get up before he pushed you back down into the bed, “I’ll be back.”

Despite his urging, you pulled on a pair of sweats you’d left at his apartment, and one of his shirts, trailing behind him and curling up on the couch. He gave a mildly exasperated sigh, but his smile was fond as he joined you. “Fair enough.” You already had the remote, flipping channels before finding something mindless to watch, curling against him and taking your plate.

“Thank you.”

“Any time.”

#The Almighty Johnsons #anders x reader #anders johnson #angst #lemon #reader insert #taj #female reader

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dearest-alexander · 6 years

Text

You Are The Reason Chapter III (Tom Holland x Reader fanfiction)

Summary: "I could be anything in the world, yet I wanted to be yours. But you don’t love me yet…or do you?“ The whole world thought you’re together but something’s stopping you, something’s stopping him.

Summary Chapter: Volunteering for a good cause had never been this rewarding and humbling yet..

YOUR POV

I’ve been friends with Gabrielle ever since I could remember. My early childhood pictures were not complete without her in it . She was also with me during the funeral of my grandfather. I remember how her small chubby hands tightly meshed with mine as they lower down his coffin. Even at such a young age, she was intuitive, benevolent and selfless. Whenever I fell down and scratched my knee, she will rub my back to soothe me until our moms came hand in hand with the first aid kit. Those were the very reasons I knew why she’s gonna be a brilliant doctor. We remained in contact even after I migrated to London with my parents..

WhenI got my big break for a movie project, we celebrated together all night, just the two of us, drinking red wine straight from the bottle on her rented spacious one-bedroom studio. When I mentioned to her that I’ll be coming in the States from time to time to fulfill a handful of job offers, she was over the moon, and so am I. She drove me on my US auditions, lingered in the waiting room until I was finished for day . That’s where she met Harrison and Tom who I’ve been friends with already.

Living alone in an almost foreign soil, even just for a few months, made me miss my England even more. Hotel rooms weren’t envisaging homeliness. Back then, Gabby’s still living an hour away from me, a moderate distance from where she’s finishing her studies. After 6 months however, she was designated here in the city for her residency. I begged her to stay with me since we’re practically in each other’s presence whenever none of us were occupied. She happily settled on the spare ample space beneath my bedroom and was in charge when I’ll be flying back home to St. James’

When I earned enough money for a semi-permanent place here in LA, we roamed the city by ourselves. The need to prove myself that I could do one adult thing in my life simmered intently on my bones. I good-heartedly declined offers, no special treatments from anyone on my team which they respected . She, who without doubt, the more “grown up” one between the two of us, would take a step in front of me whenever she felt like agents, realtors and sellers were being greedy and pushy.. I was gullible to such sly advancements, therefore on the third day, Gabby insisted that I should just let her negotiate since she knew how Americans think nowadays and I’m basically an alien. Therefore, under the blistering Californian sun, Gabby and I wandered and ended up on an empty yet maintained and recently sold loft in this part of the city.

The apartment’s high ceiling drew the illusion of expansiveness. Her mom being an owner of an Interior Design firm in San Diego, arranged the place to complement our boho chic and industrial design preference. The kitchen, with its wooden paneled cabinets and marble countertop contrasted with the interior’s black hardwood floors. The 360view of the city windows allowed natural light to seep through the crack in the grey curtains and when the night time comes, we could properly see the vibrant spectacles of the city. The formerly study area was converted as Gabby’s room and the loft bedroom with black-framed floor to ceiling glass walls remained as my room. The stark white and soundproof walls proved to be more useful especially to the foul noises coming from the living room.

“Die, Die! Die! You bastard!” I stood up, shouted aggressively as I pressed my fingers harder on the console with obvious determination.

“Ohh! Such profanity! You kiss your mum with that mouth?” Tom retorted back below me, his ambidextrous fingers made hurried clicking noises with his as well. He’s leaning his elbows on his denim-covered knees, both of us transfixed on the television and the joysticks in between our resolute hands.

“Oh, piss off!” I responded pointedly, resuming my seat beside him.

It’s not unusual for Tom and Harrison to be here early in the morning. Our days wasted away like this every single time we’re not working. They’ll show up a minute after 8 am and sometimes with a sprightly Tessa. On a number of circumstances, when either men are too exhausted and drowsy to drive we just let them crash in the couch. Tom at least. Below him would be Tessa on the extra dog bed I purchased just for her. Most times, my dog betrayed me and joined them downstairs, not wanting to part with his playmates.

Therefore, on this humid Sunday morning, two weeks since the awards night, we’re indulging in a video game he just bought, a game we’ve both been dying to get. I lost track of the time after Tom’s second win. I don’t usually mind losing, but with him, it’s a whole different story.

Unbeknownst to the unlocking sound of the entrance door, we sat on the edge of our seats occasionally throwing in congenial insults to each other, someone entered the premise. An ineffable thing you learn when you live with someone, you can actually tell when they arrived by the sound of their footsteps or by the sound of their sighs when they breathe. A set of keys jangled into the plate that says “Keys” on the foyer table. Both our dogs, who were resting underneath the coffee table at the center of the room, rushed to the door. Four greeting barks.

Gabby entered with both her hands bearing two brown grocery bags and lightly slammed the door with her foot. I couldn’t see her but that’s what I was imagining her doing.

“Hey guys!” we could hear her shout breathily from the kitchen. “Hey doggos! You want cookies?”

Tom and I answered with an absentminded “Hey!” Our laser focused attention not wavering off from the game.

“There’s a minor collision five streets away, that’s why we took a little longer than usual.” I heard her opened the jar of cookies for the dogs then cans and bags of chips hit the marbled countertop of our kitchen.

“Uh-huh.” I said lazily, biting my lip as I try to come up with a strategy to my game.

“Where’s Harrison?” Tom slightly turned his body towards her voice, his eyes remained in front. Her response drifted off as I saw Tom’s team finally found my troop’s headquarters, guns and bombs on hand.

“Why do you make it so easy? Might as well give me that 50 right now.” I could hear the complacence in his voice. He slanted his body as he stirred his avatar’s car to the left and get out of it.

“You wish, Holland.”

“.... Speaking of which, you guys better be rea........ oh cmon!” Gabby continued. I heard the soft patters of her socked feet against the unblemished hardwood floors to where Tom and I were currently and comfortably lounging. A bowl of half-finished dry cheerios and four empty cans of juice on the wooden coffee table. The dogs had resumed their last position all the while staring at Gabby, waiting for another set of cookies.

“Really? For four hours now?” she breathed incredulously. Her arms folded impatiently on her chest. I could feel the deathly glares on the back of our heads, I can’t risk confirming it by looking back. Tom’s avatar was circling back around the curb, right where I want him. I pressed a few buttons as I choose my killing weapon.

“You even haven’t taken a bath yet!!!” Her remark barely passing my ears as I quickly press the buttons of the joystick. She rounded from our backs to get a good look at our impaled positions on the sofa... or for us to take her disapproving annoyance.

“ I already did! Leave me alone!” Tom sounded like a teenager scolded by his mom for not cleaning his room. He was dressed effortlessly in his plain black shirt, jeans and his dark sneakers by the door, the curls on his head untamed.

“I’m not talking to you, idiot.” I could feel the penetrating and accusatory daggers she’s sending my way..

“C’mon guys, the program is in--- she glanced down at her watch—two hours. We have to drive there for an hour. Who knows if it’s gonna be totally jammed right now.” She demanded and stood by the accent chairs on our right side. Gabby doesn’t like being late.

As a favour to Harrison, Tom and I had agreed to join both of them in Gabby’s hospitals’ feeding program, where she is currently a third year resident. Although her hospital’s a few blocks from here, the program will take place on the outskirts of the city, right where impoverished US citizens are deprived. They needed extra pairs of volunteering hands as it was said to be a big annual event. Harrison popped the question while we’re all having dinner, because, even through the years of our friendship, he and Gabby were reluctant to take advantage of their status with that being close friends with Tom and I. They never asked us for help with anything hence, Tom and I were absolutely delighted to oblige.

“5 minutes, Gabs.” I promised half- heartedly, getting excited to rub my brewing win to Tom’s smug face. “Besides I could get ready in like... ten minutes.” I confidently reasoned back, still not looking her way. She exhaled and strode in front of us, blocking our view from the television mounted on the wall, her diminutive hands on her hips. Tom and I moved our heads synchronously on either side of her to watch the penultimate team battle with which we’re both engaged in.

“Look, thank you so much for doing this thing with me, and I love you both even more for it, but you’ve been playing since this morning.” She’s eyeing me heavily. Gabby did sound reasonable. As always. I hate it sometimes.

Tom’s persistent hands on his console receded, letting Gabby’s words sink in. His attention affected from Gabby’s reason. With a gruff, “Tell me again, why am I going.” We stretched our necks, trying to find a better angle from Gabby’s impeding and unwavering authoritative stance in front.

“....Because you’re a good human being and you’re eternally grateful for Gabby’s existence and her relationship with your best mate that ended all those gay rumours a few years ago?” I stated in monotonous voice.

“On point.” Without taking our eyes off of the screen and for a second of truce, he raised his right hand to give me a high five, I struck it with my left.

We heard another commotion by the door and the dogs, once again, addressed the newcomer.

“Don’t tell me you idiots are still playing, we have to leave in 15 minutes! And it’s been two hours since we left!” Harrison reprimanded softly and stopped at the back of the couch.. He then leaned his elbows on the cushion behind and in between Tom and I. He too, tries to get a decent view of the LCD.

“So..who’s winning?” he excitedly added. If Gabby is the austere mom, Harrison is the fun dad, whereas Tom and I are the juvenile delinquents. I smiled despite myself, inching my way to the right end of the sofa, Tom doing the same thing on his left.

“Harrison!” Gabby all but shrieked at Harrison who chuckled.

“Right, right. Sorry babe.” He cleared his throat and I saw Gabby nod before Harrison walked out of the room. Or so I thought.

“I’m coming for you Holla---hey! Hey! What are you doing!”

In a flush of movements, Harrison’s tall stature was in front of me, his forearms going under my leggings as he hauled me over his right shoulder like a sack of flour. Earning an adamant and incredulous protest from me.I saw Tom’s right hand halted on his controller, his hands splayed out for a second of discombobulation as to why his opponent’s avatar suddenly stopped firing in the middle of the game, and then he noticed the hilarity of my position on his bestfriend’s shoulder. Instantly, he grabbed his phone on the carpeted floor of the living room, joystick laid on the table.

“Hey! Put me down jerk!! Harrison! Put me down this instant!” I ejaculated, pouncing on his broad back in futile attempts. He walked over and gave a peck to a smiling and proud Gabby. ‘Thanks babe.”

I groaned. “Tom! Help me!” Harrison gripped my shins together to stop me from squirming. I cried out from my mortifying situation to Tom who completely abandoned the game I was wining. He positioned himself into a more comfortable way on the sofa, one of his foot under thigh and in both of his hands, his camera phone shook with laughter. My dog stood, confused and followed Harrison’s shoulder. He placed his two front paws on Harrison’s back, making sure I wasn’t in trouble of any kind then back down on all fours again. Gabby stepped behind him, giving my dog a loving pat on the head.

The phone on Tom’s hand followed our movements as Harrison started to move away to literally drag my ass up to, I presume, Gabby and mine’s shared bathroom across to the kitchen.

“Sorry mate, he’s a.. um... a bit tall!” his hand tried to hold his phone while he continues to howl and shake in laughter. I slumped and pressed down my reddening face on Harrison’s back, defeated.

“This is absurd, you’re dead Harrison! You all are! I’m gonna kick you once I’m down from here. “ I looked up from Harrison’s Latissimus Dorsi to threaten Tom and Gabby who were now practically skipping very much alike Snow White’s seven dwarves.

“Oh, wow, you really can be feisty. A few more minutes into that game and you’ll be saying the F word. “ I felt Harrison’s amused laugh from behind his nape which I’m currently glaring at.

“Told yah!” Tom interjected, chuckling before putting down his phone and barging in the kitchen.

Harrison dropped me with ease outside the bathroom door. He gave me an apologizing yet humorous smirk. I scowled at him.

“Hey! I’m just doing what she told me to!” He argued, his palms in mock surrender.

“Nah, you’re just a sap when it comes to my bestfriend. “ I replied with a chuckle as He took two steps into the open kitchen to resume helping Gabby who was already unpacking the rest of the items on our countertop, her back to us.

“And proud to be......not very unlike yourself. “He jokingly winked back at me, the last part barely a whisper. His head turned back to where Tom was pand my eyes took a cautious glimpse as he lingered by the opened fridge, humming to himself while he looked for a lunch snack, too concentrated on the task at hand to hear us. Our dogs, on their tails behind him. Harrison’s smile couldn’t get any nastier when he followed my eyes.. He reached out and ruffled my hair like an annoying big brother would. I swatted his hand away. Gabby turned around at the sound of my groan, oblivious to me and her boyfriend’s silent exchange.

“What are you still standing there for? “ she asked rhetorically. With this, Tom looked at our direction and regarded us with a suspicious look, two greek yogurts on his hands.

“Your robe’s already inside. 10 minutes.” Gabby pointed to the bathroom subsequently unloading the last items inside the brown bag and stacking them into the customized Pantry cabinet under the staircase.

“Urgh. Yes Mum.” With a roll my eyes, I dragged my feet and closed the door behind an amused Harrison and bossy Gabby, and hungry Tom.

I put my hand under the running shower, testing the temperature first before going under. Not long did the rapid stream of lukewarm water drowned out the voices from the other side of the room and I was made aware of my solitude.

The past weeks regressed to our normal mundane routine. Everyone has work for a few more weeks, til we fly back home to England with the exception of Gabby. Tom, Harrison and I hang out during the day, if we’re all unoccupied, doing chores or anything to keep ourselves amused. Gabby will join us later in the afternoon or early in the evening, depending on her shift.

My mind drifted back to the brunet on the other side of the wall. He must be halfway through his-my- greek yogurt by now.

I caught the upward motion of my lips as I recall the ease that re-settled over us after the revel weeks ago.

I nervously threaded my fingers through my hair as Gabby and I sauntered to where Tom was animatedly chatting with Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield backstage. His team including Harrison was already there. Gabby gave me a sideway smirk. “What?”

Tobey and Andrew gave Tom one-armed hug as they said their goodbyes. When both gentlemen were out of sight, Gabby pulled Tom’s head under and between her armpits and messed his hair. “How dare you make me cry Holland!” Instinctively, Harrison caught the carved bronze sculpture that Tom is giving him. Gabby’s headlock never loosened . He could easily remove himself from the situation yet chosen not to.

When she let him go, Tom stretched his suit. “Crybaby.” He sneered at Gabby who poked out her tongue on him. Tom stepped into my open arms as I engulfed him in another congratulatory hug again.

“Was I ok?” he whispered against my naked shoulder, the contact made tiny tsunamis on my stomach.

Still within his embrace, “You were more than that.” I breathed to his ear. Then in a nescient and brazen move, I pressed a long kiss to the chiseled cheek I could reach.

I switched off the shower’s knob and coiled my hair in the towel I used for drying myself. I put my robe on and wiped the fog that clouded the mirror. I stared at my mouth as I recite the following words:

Tom and I are good friends. Just that. I don’t need to overthink it. Stop overthinking it, alright?!” My reflection nodded and smiled.

Albeit, in the deepest and unexplored corner of my mind, a prisoner impatiently and furiously banged on the metal bars holding her captive.

The jazz music loomed over the ubiquitous speakers of the entire flat. The boys were in the kitchen, leaning on the countertop, heels crossed with each other. Their reflex turned to the opening creaks of the bathroom door; Harrison’s spoon and Tom’s doughnut halfway to their mouths. Tom immediately turned his back the other way while Harrison, nonchalantly looked down and continued to eat his food. Head bobbing in tune with the music. Tom elbowed him and he protested a “Bruv?” yogurt still on his tongue.

The dogs chased me as I ran up to my room, thinking I was in a gaming mood. I dressed myself in a button down long sleeves and tucked it in my best fitted jeans. I grabbed the small backpack on the floor before barging down the stairs. I’m anew and ready to go.

“I kept my word, 10 minutes!” Two men looked up from their phones for a minute and muttered a small and deadpanned “Yey!” I jogged down the stairs with two dogs right behind me. Gabby was nowhere in sight. I plopped down on the three-seater-couch beside Tom who was reading something on his phone. His dog nudged her head on his knees and took a seat beside his feet. She lie down on her back as his human started rubbing his socked feet on her warm belly. Though his face remained in a determined concentration, he clasped his free hand on my ankle when I pulled it up over his thighs naturally.

My flatmate must have cleaned the table while I was in the bath. Everything was in orderly fashion again like some page from an Interior Design magazine. The decorative vignettes that I removed on the table while I was playing with Tom was reinstated. Which made me look for the video game console strewn under the 64 inches television.

“Oi! Where did our game go?” I exhorted at the two men beside me.

“Gabby confiscated them and locked it in her room. Apparently, she can’t trust me and Tom with it.” Harrison supplied, dropping his phone on the coffee table. “Which reminds me... I need a favour from you. Both of you.” He uttered in an undertone.

With this, Me and Tom edged our bodies closer to where Harrison was sitting but Tom still holding on to both my feet.

“I don’t wanna kick you out of your own house mate, but um.. Can me and Gabby have this place for tonight? She doesn’t know but I planned something for her.” He confessed in a timid voice that I can’t help but smile.

“What? What did you plan to do?” Tom queried, excitement in his tone.

“Git! Don’t ask that! Don’t tell us!” I lightly smacked Tom’s head and frowned at him.

“Why do you always assume that I’m gonna do something promiscuous?” Glaring at Tom’s sheepish grin.

“Well, aren’t you gonna? “ we both raised our eyebrows at him.

“No! Well, yeah maybe....I got her a necklace, that’s all. And I planned to cook for her tonight. “ Harrison explained bashfully.

“What’s wrong with our place?” Tom chided, sounding butt-hurt

“Well, do we have a perfectly functioning oven?” Harrison accused

“Um.. no..” Tom grumbled.

“Do we have, I don’t know romantic high ceilings?” Harrison gestured dramatically over the modern drop lights above our 4-seater dining table.

“Well, no.”

“Is our flat clean?”

“Absolutely not.” Tom jested, Harrison’s facts dawning on him.

“Harrison, I got you. Let me grab an overnight bag.” I winked at him, stood up and shuffled his blonde hair.

“Thank you!!! You can sleep in my room.” He smiled up at me.

I was rounding the dining table when I heard Tom complained,

“Uh no way man, We don’t know what kinds of shit are in your room. She’ll sleep in mine and I’ll sleep in yours.” Tom disclosed, laying his entire body on the spot I just vacated. Harrison threw a nearby pillow on his face.

I packed lightly, just a two sets of clothes for later when I shower and for tomorrow. Gabby reemerged for her room, wearing a plain white deep v-neck shirt, jeans and ankle boots.

“What are you doing with an overnight bag?” She asked, noticing the duffle bag on my shoulder. Before I could lie,

“We’ll continue our game at me and Harrison’s place tonight.” Tom shuffled from the hall, wiping his hands with the dish towel and I could see the dogs bent over two food bowls in the kitchen.

“Why can’t you do it here?”

“Because, you’re gonna be here. We can’t concentrate if you’re just gonna peek out and shout from your room every now and then. And you have work tomorrow.” Tom shrugged.

“Good point.” Gabby frowned in agreement.

“Oh and I’m gonna bring my baby too. The vet said that I should keep an eye on him." That part was wholly true. I stretched an elbow on Tom’s shoulders and stared back at Gabby, acting natural as possible. Which is funny, considering Tom and I were such professional liars.

“Ok fine. Guys, Listen up. This is the plan.” She clapped her hands, the action reminded me of a soccer coach about to give his students a pep talk before a big game.

“It’s 12:14, we have be at the tents by 2pm. We’re gonna load those boxes on the car, Harrison would drive. We’re gonna drop the dogs to your apartment, 10 blocks away, maybe it'll take just 10 minutes tops and off we go. Capisce?” she said in one breath.

“Maam, yes, maam!”

#tom holland fic #tom holland story #tom holland x reader #tom holland fanfiction #you are the reason #you are the reason fic #tom holland and y/n #tom holland x y/n #tom holland imagine

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sinsiriuslyemo · 6 years

Text

Hello all! Here is episode 5 of Cuba v DR!! I really hope you’re enjoying the season thus far!! So what’s going on with Lily? Will Rafael get his job back? And just what is going on with the Captain over at the 33? We’d love to hear your theories!!

EPISODE 5

The next day, you were writing a set of equations on the board for when your class came back from lunch. It felt so good to be back at work, some small form of normalcy that you’d welcomed back into your life after so much time away.

Even Lily had been excited to be back at school after getting her cast off. Her shoulder was doing so much better, pain levels down to minimal discomfort. You were relieved, especially considering the fact that she hardly ever took her pain meds anymore, even when her aches flared up. You were always comforted watching your daughter, the social butterfly and she seemed to adjust being back in school immediately. All her friends had made her cards and decorations for her return and you felt a warmth in your heart for those children.

As class progressed, you could see their eyes dulling, a disinterest in math very common among kids their age.

“How about we do something outside this class? We can learn outdoors too,” you offered.

The kids seemed to perk up at this. You grabbed some chalk from a drawer of your desk and led them outside. Once you reached the basketball court near the playground, you drew five large circles on the asphalt. Your students watched you with curiosity.

“Now we're going to keep it simple. There are five circles. And there are twenty six of you. Get into the circles in sets of five.”

The kids did as they were told until one girl was left standing outside the circles. She looked at you. “There's no room for me.”

“That's because you're the remainder. In division, I asked you to divide a number by something it was not evenly divisible by. That means there will be remainders, or leftover numbers. Now Sarah, because you were the remainder. You get to pick the numbers this time. However you wanna divide them.”

The kids all looked eager as they began to play, dividing into groups over and over, each of them having a turn to pick a number.

You smiled and watched them. You really loved your job, especially when you could use less conventional, more creative methods of teaching.

By the time the last bell rang, signaling the end of the day, you and the class were already walking back inside.

“Okay, homework; problems 1-30 on page 47!” you said over the dull noise of the kids packing up their stuff. You slowly began to pack up your own things and went down to the teacher’s lounge to check your mailbox before heading out to the playground to pick up Lily and the twins.

You found Lily playing with her friends, running around and giggling before she stopped dead in her tracks when she saw you. Her face fell.

“Mi amor, it's time to go home,” you said with a smile as you walked over and offered your hand to her.

Lily shook her head, brows furrowed with worry. “I don't want to go home,” she replied. “I wanna stay here.”

“You can’t stay here, silly goose. Come on, I’m making your favorite for dinner tonight,” you replied, waving for her to follow you.

“No,” she repeated, shaking her head. “I don't want to go.”

“Lily,” you said softly, crouching down to look at her. “Why don’t you wanna come home?”

“I just don't want to,” she answered. “I want to stay here.”

“Baby, you can’t stay here. How about we go get the twins and I can see if Chelsea and Ella wanna have a playdate?” you offered.

She thought for a long moment, brows again furrowing, looking so much like her father as she finally nodded. “Okay,” she mumbled.

��Okay, come on,” you said, reaching for her hand and walking with her to pick up the twins. You got into the car, prepared to send a text to Nevada about Lily’s odd behavior, but the carefree demeanor of the girl in the playground had come back as she talked with her siblings in the back seat. Smiling to yourself, you decided not to text your husband after all, writing it off as a fluke. Maybe she had just been missing her friends and didn’t want to stop playing.

When you got home, you called Chelsea and invited her and Ella over and sat down on the couch to grade papers before their arrival.

“Mami,” Fiona said as she crawled up into your lap. “Mami, cuddle?”

“Oh course my love,” you whispered with a smile. You'd made sure to give your kids even more attention if they needed it lately and pulled her close, stroking her hair. “I got you, sweet pea. Mami and papi will always keep you safe.”

You stayed holding your daughter for twenty minutes as you continued to grade tests until you heard the door. You set your papers aside and got up, opening the door to Chelsea and Ella.

“Hi Ella, hey Chels,” you said with a smile and nodded them in, Fiona still comfortably tucked in your arms.

“Hey, how are you guys doing?” Chelsea asked, smiling at Fiona.

In perhaps your darkest of times, Chelsea had proven to be a very good friend to the both of you. She’d stopped by the hospital with Ella a couple of times with care packages filled with Lily’s favorite cookies and books she could read, and had even helped you with housework and shuttling the twins to and from school so that you and Nevada could stay with Lily.

“We're getting better every day,” you answered, smiling.

You moved to sit with Chelsea on the couch as Fiona finally let go and followed Ella up the stairs to play with Lily and NJ.

When the kids were out of sight, and Chelsea looked over at you. “Okay, so how are you doing?” she asked, in case your previous answer had been for the kid’s benefit. You let out a big sigh.

“I'm a little worried about Lily… she refused to come home today until I promised a play date. She barely speaks to Nevada and won't leave my side. She's been really strange since it happened.”

“Maybe she’s a little more traumatized than you thought,” Chelsea replied softly. “That’s weird that she’s being distant with Nevada though, she’s always been a daddy’s girl.”

“I know, I thought she would have never left Nevada's side since the incident…”

“I’m so sorry,” Chelsea whispered, reaching to gently squeeze your hand. “How are you doing after everything?”

“I'm alright, shaken but alright. I just want to go back to normal...or as normal as they will ever be.” You let out another breath and rubbed your temples. “I don't want my kids to have to live like this.”

“I can’t imagine how hard it’s been on you guys,” Chelsea replied. “And the kids, it must’ve been so traumatizing for them to see their sister that way.”

“Fiona has nightmares, she cries and sleeps with us a lot...NJ seems fine but he's very protective of his sisters now. And Lily...I wish I knew where her head was at.”

“Have you guys tried to talk to her about it?” Chelsea inquired.

“A bit, we've been trying to give her space. She shuts down when we ask her too much. The kids all have appointments with a therapist next week, I'm just nervous.”

“Well, that’s good. Maybe talking to someone who deals with these kinds of trauma might help them process,” she replied. “I think you’re doing great, all things considered. And with time, you guys as a family will all get through this.”

You gave her a big hug, leaning your head on her shoulder and sighing. It felt good to have her support. She hugged you back just as enthusiastically and the two of you spent the next couple of hours on the couch, talking.

It felt nice to do normal things again, like gab with your girlfriend while the kids played upstairs. After a while Chelsea sighed softly.

“Well, we should get going. Ella has homework and I have to get her costume sewn for her recital this weekend,” she said, sticking her tongue out and crossing her eyes before she stood and walked to the bottom of the staircase. “Ella! Come on, babe, time to go home!”

“Mommy! Lily wants to come stay over! Can she?”

Ella ran down to her mother holding Lily's hand with a warm smile.

You frowned, trying not to look too heartbroken. “Lily it's a school night, lovie.”

“Yeah, not tonight girls, but maybe we can do a sleepover next weekend,” Chelsea added, immediately backing you up.

“Please, please!” Lily whined at you.

“No Lily, you have school. You can sleep over another time,” you said softly.

Lily's eyes filled with tears as she ran past Chelsea and clung to you. “Mami, please don't make me stay here!” she nearly screamed, startling you. You looked to Chelsea in a panic.

Your friend opened her mouth and looked back at you, unsure of how to respond.

“Lily, this your home, we’re your family,” you said, putting your foot down. “Tonight is not a good night for a sleepover, it’s a school night and you and Ella both have homework. I’m sorry, but no sleepover tonight.”

Lily glared at you before running upstairs and slamming her bedroom door. Sighing heavily, you ran your fingers through your hair and gave Chelsea a tight smile.

“It’ll get better,” she whispered to you as you walked her and Ella out. When you reached the door, she turned back to you. “Call me?”

You nodded and closed the door, leaning back against it as you thought about how you would approach the subject of Lily’s behavior with your husband.

The park wasn’t terribly crowded with most kids still in school, and Troy grinned as he listened to Fallon’s shrieks of delight from being pushed on the swing. Amber had needed some time to write and had asked Troy to go along with Sebastian and Cecile to the park with Fallon. She trusted her brother, her mother not so much and unfortunately her brother had somewhat of a soft spot for the women in their family, Cecile included. Troy was an additional chaperone.

“Up! Up!” Fallon screamed, trying to get higher up in the swing.

“Oh man, you are going to be a pilot someday aren't you? Or an acrobat,” Troy said with a grin, swinging her higher.

Cecile smiled coyly and hummed under her breath. “I think she’d be better served in the medical field or perhaps law.”

“She’s 13 months, mom. I think for the next few years it’s mermaids and superhero aspirations, right Fallon?” Sebastian said, smiling at his niece.

“Still, it’s never too early to teach her to aim higher,” Cecile said.

“She could be an Air Force pilot,” Troy offered.

“I meant higher in in class, dear,” Cecile replied. “There’s no reason for her to risk her life for peanuts when she can make more saving lives.”

“I lost many friends in the Air Force, it's an honorable life. Though I don't think she would fit into it. She's too kind hearted.” He took her out of the swing as she cuddled into him right away.

“Toy,” she said with a smile. She could never get the r correct.

“She’s only 13 months, everyone is kind-hearted at that age,” Sebastian said, taking his niece and pretending to fly her over the playground.

“Oh Troy,” Cecile said, smiling up at the ex soldier. “I’m glad you decided to come with us. I was hoping to have a little chat.”

“Well I was excited to meet you, Mrs. Woods. Amber is the woman I love, I want to be close with her family.”

“That’s nice,” she replied with a smile. “I was actually hoping you might talk to Amber about moving closer to family. With her and Fallon so far away, we never get to see them.”

“Amber's whole life is here ma'am, not to mention how stubborn she is. I couldn't convince her of anything. But...I can see if I talk her into visiting.”

“Visiting...that’s another way of saying we’ll see her once a year, if that. The schools are so much better upstate, and her life is wherever she chooses. A writer can work from anywhere, plus we’re only a train ride away into the city. Lots of people commute from upstate. Besides, with us close by, she’ll have more help with Fallon, access to some of the best schools in the country. It’s a smart move,” Cecile said.

“Amber has a support system here, and Fallon's father is here.”

“Fallon’s father wishes she’d never been born, I’ll bet. From what I’ve seen, both before and shortly after the wedding, his lifestyle is...less than savory. And she would have a support system closer to us,” Cecile answered, smiling over at Sebastian and Fallon playing together. “Just look at how much she adores her uncle.”

Troy looked up as Fallon giggled and smiled at Sebastian.

“I'll talk with her,” he said softly. “But I make no promises. She lives next to Fallon's grandmother. It's a huge help.”

“Well, she has you now, doesn’t she?” Cecile replied, looking back at him, still with an easy smile. “Who knows...in a few years, maybe she would ask you to adopt Fallon after the two of you are married.”

“I love her with all my heart, and I'll do anything I can to make her happy.”

“Of course you would,” Cecile replied, patting his shoulder. “And you seem like a smart enough young man to know that being close to her family, where Fallon will thrive best would make her very happy.”

“Mrs. Woods, with all due respect ma'am, your family is not Fallon's only family and if you continue to act like it is, you will isolate your only daughter.”

Cecile arched a perfectly sculpted brow at him. “Is that a threat young man?”

“No, ma'am. I have nothing but respect for you and your family. All I'm suggesting is that you'll catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Amber wants to have you in her life, give her a reason to keep you there.”

“And what is that supposed to mean? I give her plenty of reason,” Cecile replied. “I’m here, aren't I?”

“You're here yes, but it...upsets her when you make comments. Try to lessen the comments. You'd be surprised at how much she wants you to be in her life.”

“Comments?” Cecile looked genuinely surprised at the revelation. “I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You say things to try and help, I can see that. You're trying to help her. You're a good mother for that. But comments about the neighborhood, the food she feeds her daughter, Fallon speaking Spanish. Amber takes those things personally. She takes them as an attack, rather than as constructive criticism.”

“I think you’re over exaggerating,” Cecile replied with a sympathetic smile. “I appreciate you being overprotective, though I’m not so sure Amber would see it that way. She doesn’t appreciate men who think she can’t handle herself. Obviously you don’t know very much about mine and my daughter’s relationship. She learned to have a thick skin a very long time ago when she wanted to become a reporter. She doesn’t take anything personally, let alone things that are simple facts.”

“Right,” he said softly. “My apologies, Mrs. Woods.”

“So you’ll speak with her?” Cecile asked.

“I will try,” he replied.

“Good!” Cecile replied, smiling at him. “Now, let’s go get our sweet girl some lunch. All this excitement, I just bet she’s starving.”

The beeping of the oven from the back of the bakery made Roxie giddy and she walked briskly into the kitchen to retrieve her pie. Her urge to bake had increased since she’d started showing and she inhaled the appetizing scent as she opened the oven door. She pulled the pie out and set it down to cool, humming softly to herself.

“I wonder what kind of pie you'll like, it's honestly a very important question.” She patted her stomach and watched the steam coming from the pie as she spoke to her unborn child. “This one is apple,” she whispered softly. “Apples are delicious, not my favorite though. My favorite is the one I only make for special occasions. It’s one that will never go on the menu at Lavender because it’s only for me, and for you, and for your father.”

It had been quiet the entire morning at the bakery. For the first time since they opened, it had no one inside and she wasn't sure what to do with the time.

“Roxie?” One of the other workers, Mackenzie, walked up to her. “The piping on my cupcakes came out wrong...I'm sorry.” She flinched waiting for the exploding anger Roxie often had. Instead Roxie straightened herself and smiled, patting the girl on the shoulder.

“Accidents happen, just don't let it happen again, alright?”

Mackenzie nodded and smiled. “Thank you Roxie.”

“You're welcome, just them to me, my husband is stopping by and I'm sure he could use something to eat.”

“Oh, okay. Will do,” Mackenzie replied, going to grab the cupcakes for Roxie. The pregnant woman smiled and thanked her before she turned and walked out of the kitchen, giving one last glance to freshly baked pie.

Rafael walked through the doors a few minutes later and smiled at his wife, who was in the midst of putting together a box of cupcakes.

“Mi amor, you ready to go?” he asked, coming up to the counter.

“Just about ready,” she mused as she plucked a cupcake from the box to hand to him. “It's angelfood.”

“Honey, these cupcakes are really starting to settle in my midsection. I dunno that I can eat anymore,” he replied, looking up at her apologetically. “They look delicious, though. I’m sure I could unload them for you if you need me to.”

She smiled and nodded, placing the cupcake back into the box before she sealed it. “You know I don't mind what you look like, you're always sexy to me.”

“Yeah, but I don't feel sexy lately,” he replied, lowering his gaze. “But I’m glad you don’t mind what I look like, I guess. So, thank you.”

“I'm sorry you feel that way,” she said as she rubbed his arm gently. “From now on, I'll try to keep the extra calories out of the house.”

He just stared at her for a moment before he sighed, averting his eyes. “Okay, let me know when you’re ready to go then, I guess.”

“Ready now. Nothing I can't finish tomorrow.” She took up the box of cupcakes and followed Rafael to the door, turning to call back to her staff, “Mackenzie, I'm leaving now! Please watch the front!”

“Okay! Bye Roxie!”

“How’d it go today?” he asked as they walked out onto the sidewalk.

“Slow, I'm not used to an empty bakery, it gives me anxiety,” she said as she looked around. “Manhattan is never quiet, so where are they going today?” She thought for a moment before shaking her head.

“Well, Manhattan still isn’t quiet,” he mused as they walked through the sidewalk littered with pedestrians. “It is a weekday, most places are slow on weekdays. I wouldn’t worry about it.”

Roxie shrugged. “How was your day?”

“Fine, I suppose. I’m not looking forward to Sunday dinner, though, I’ll tell you that,” he answered. “I know my mom is going to ask me how work is going and I hate lying to my mom.”

“Just tell her, Rafael she's your mother and she loves you. I hate watching this weigh on you.”

“I don’t wanna upset her,” he replied. “Besides, it’s only a matter of time before I’m back at work, so she doesn’t even have to find out.”

“Alright,” she said with a soft sigh. “Whatever you want, I'll support you. You're right, this should be over soon and you'll be back at work.”

“Hopefully,” he replied.

She smiled at him, taking his hand. “My love, we should do something, perhaps get a snack to eat.”

“Are you hungry?” he asked, threading his fingers between hers.

“I could eat. Mostly, I just want to spend some time just us having a normal day.”

“Okay, where do you wanna have lunch?” he asked.

“How about we go somewhere where I can have breakfast for lunch?”

“So, a diner?” he asked with a smirk.

“Or a McDonald's,” she said with a shrug.

He grimaced. “Ugh, I hate McDonalds, but that’s fine. If you want McDonalds, we can go, I'll just eat something when we get home.”

“A diner is fine love,” she cooed and kissed his cheek. “I just want something breakfast themed.”

“Whatever you want, honey. You’re the one eating for two. Though diner food is probably better for you and the baby than McDonalds.”

She chuckled and moved towards the diner, reaching for the door just as it swung open, narrowly missing her. Roxie looked at the man on a cellphone who strode past her, not even noticing he'd almost hit her. She clenched her fist.

“I hate working on my temper,” she grumbled.

“Excuse me!” Rafael called out over her. The man turned to look at him. “You almost hit my wife. Maybe you should watch you’re going.”

The man looked over and snorted a laugh. “Your wife should watch where she's standing then, buddy.”

“Rafael, it's alright,” she said gently.

“No, it’s not. I’m not your buddy, I’m not your pal and the city is not your playground. My wife is pregnant and you almost hit her. Now the decent thing to do would be to apologize,” Rafael replied, taking a step towards the other man.

“I'll call you back,” the man said, putting his phone away as he took a step to Rafael. “Look, man, it’s not my fault your girl’s got her belly poking out. I didn’t knock her up--”

“--What kind of man has zero consideration for a pregnant woman?” Rafael asked, arching a brow.

The man snorted and rolled his eyes. “Whatever, sorry for walking,” he sneered and turned to leave.

Rafael snorted and rolled his eyes as well, turning back to his wife and leading her into the diner.

“Are you okay?” he asked, looking down at her.

“Fine,” she said softly, then smiled. “Thank you for not fighting him,” she whispered and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Of course I wouldn’t fight him, I’d never make you bail me out of jail,” he replied through a smile as he placed a hand on her belly and kissed her lips. “You’re sure you’re okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. The door never hit me.”

“He’s still an asshole,” Rafael mumbled as they sat in a booth. “Wanna go for a walk after lunch? I read that being active throughout the pregnancy would help with labor.”

She grimaced but nodded. “I should,” she acknowledged.

“Yeah, especially if you want a homebirth without any pain meds, you’re gonna wanna be nice and limber,” he replied. “I also read about some perineal massages we could do if you’d like.”

“I'm going to veto that right now,” she said.

“Why? It’ll help avoid vaginal tearing,” he said as their waitress came up. “Can I have a water, please?”

“Sure thing, handsome. How about you, hun?” the older woman asked, turning to Roxie.

“Water with lemon, please.”

“Alright. Be right back,” their server replied, flashing them a smile before she walked away.

“So, is that a solid no on the perineal massages?” Rafael asked.

“That is such a strong no,” she said with a giggle.

“Okay, but you should do some exercises to strengthen your pelvic floor at least. I’ve been told tearing isn’t fun,” he replied.

“Your sister already gave me the kegel speech,” she said with a cringe.

“Oh, good. The birthing tub came in today, too. Where did you want me to set it up?” he asked.

“Wherever there is room,” she said honestly.

“I’ll have to make room no matter what, just tell me where you wanna give birth,” he replied, smirking softly at her.

“Bedroom, I would prefer.”

“Okay,” he answered. “Are you excited to have our baby?”

“Excited and nervous,” she said.

“Why nervous? You’re gonna be an amazing mom,” he replied.

“I don't think anyone is an amazing mum, we're all just, doing our best to make a good life for our children.”

“That’s what makes an amazing mom,” he replied. “I never said ‘perfect.’ I said amazing.”

She smiled at him gently. “I love you.”

“I love you more,” he replied.

Izzy opened the door to Cleo the second she heard the knock, grinning at her friend with excited eyes. “I have news, the best news. Badass career woman news,” she announced as she grabbed Cleo by the wrist and yanked her inside.

“Ow,” Cleo groaned half-heartedly, rubbing her wrist. “What’s the news?”

“My paintings sold! They sold right away which means…” She did a little spin and whipped out a series of hundred dollar bills. “Which means I'm gonna take you to eat!” she sang in a cheerful voice.

“Nice! Congrats!” Cleo answered, trying to sound cheerful despite the fact that she was a little uncomfortable. She had always felt so when it came to money. To her, it was the root of all evil. “We can probably just order a vegan pizza or something.”

“Pizza sounds delicious, my treat, and we can get a bottle of wine, have some fun, our own little party.”

Cleo furrowed her brows. “Izzy, you know I don’t drink,” she replied softly. “How about some sparkling cider? Is that okay?”

“Can it be pomegranate instead of apple?”

“Sure!” Cleo replied in a chuckle. “So, what’s your next move?”

“Check out all the local artist calls and see what I can get into, I have to push 130% harder now.”

“Well, yeah,” Cleo replied with a chuckle as she got into her app and ordered their pizza online. “Do you eventually wanna open your own studio?”

“That is the goal, to open my own gallery of my work. But honestly? I've been thinking lately about illustrations for books. Fiona and NJ love when I draw my own storybook pages for them. Maybe I could be a children's book illustrator, ya know?”

“You should totally look into that,” Cleo replied, nodding as they left the apartment to go downstairs to the bodega for the cider. “Hey, doesn’t your sisters friend write books? You should try to ask her if she knows anyone that can help.”

Izzy considered the idea, smiling after a few moments. “Yeah! Yeah, I don't think I've ever really talked to her for more than a few seconds but it's worth a shot.”

“Yeah, why not, right? Can’t hurt to ask,” Cleo replied.

"Yeah,” Izzy replied with a grin. “That’s a really good idea,” she added as she opened the door to the bodega.

“I try,” Cleo answered with a grin.

Nevada got home and took off his jacket before he went upstairs. You were laying in bed, grading papers, not even looking up when he came in.

“Hey,” he said as he took off his shirt and his wife beater.

“Hey,” you mumbled as you made a note on one of your student’s papers. Sighing heavily, your eyes flickered to the edges of the paper. “Lily was acting up again today. I’m really worried...I think you should try to talk to her.”

“Okay,” he replied, letting his pants falling to his ankles and stepping out of them. “She up?”

“Yes, she’s mad at me because I wouldn't let her stay at Ella’s overnight. She begged me not to make her stay here.”

You glanced up at him before getting out of bed, covered in one of his shirts and cotton panties and walked up to where he stood. His eyes drifted over your form and he felt his heart quicken in his chest. He swallowed when your hand came up to lay flat against his bicep.

“I don’t know what to do anymore when she gets like this,” you whispered.

Nevada nodded and grabbed a clean pair of basketball shorts, pulling them on. “I’ll talk to her,” he said, dropping a kiss on your forehead.

He brushed past you and walked to Lily’s room, knocking on the door before he opened it.

“Hola princesa,” he said as he poked his head inside.

Lily frowned. “I don't want to talk to you,” she mumbled.

“Why not?” he asked.

She crossed her arms and turned away from him.

“Can you answer me, please?” Nevada asked, arching a brow.

“No.”

Nevada sighed heavily. “If you give me a good reason why you don’t wanna talk to me, I’ll leave you alone.”

“You do bad things,” she said softly.

“What bad things?” he asked.

She shrugged. “What do you do all day, papi?”

“I run a strip club, mi amor,” he replied, taking a small step into her room.

“What is that?”

Nevada’s brows shot up on his forehead and he walked into the room the rest of the way and sat down on her bed. “Um...it’s a place where men go to watch women dance.”

There was no way he was going into any more detail than that.

“Why?”

“Cause some men like that,” he replied with a shrug.

She seemed to regard him for a moment, eyes moving over each of the scars that littered his torso.

“Are you bad?”

“Am I bad? What do you mean bad?” he asked.

“Are you a bad person?”

“Bueno...I’m not perfect. Nobody is, pero...why? Do you think I’m a bad person?” He had wanted to say yes, he was a bad person. It was the truth, in the grand scheme of things anyway. But admitting that to his eight-year-old was an oversimplification that she just wouldn’t be able to understand at her age.

“You didn't say no,” she said softly.

“No, I didn’t say no. You’re right,” he said. “You think I’m a bad person?”

“I don't know,” she said honestly.

“Well, I know that I love you very much, and your brother and sister, and your mom, and Eddie. You guys are everything to me,” he replied.

“Okay,” she whispered softly.

“Your mom said you didn’t wanna sleep here,” he said softly. “What’s that about?”

“I don't want to talk anymore today,” she said softly, then hesitated. “Would you ever hurt us?”

“Never,” he answered. “I’d never hurt any of you. Not ever.”

She seemed to think this over. “Will you tell me how you and mami met?”

“Sure,” he replied, getting comfortable beside her. “I came to pick up Eddie from school one day, and she didn’t wanna let him go with me.”

Lily's face fell. “Because you were bad?” she whispered.

“No, because she didn’t know who I was,” he answered.

“And then what? How did you fall in love?” Her little eyes looked at him, desperate for something to cling on to. Some kind of fantasy that she could indulge in.

“Uhhh...” He thought for a moment and then shrugged. “I don’t know, we went out a couple times. We liked hanging out with each other, and I guess it just kinda happened.”

Again her face fell, turning away from him. “No more.”

“What’d I say?” he asked, furrowing his brows.

Was he supposed to have lied and make up an elaborate fairytale as to how he met you? As it was, he’d really only given her the rated G version. The truth was, he couldn’t even remember when he’d fallen in love with you.

“Come on, princesa, don‘t be like that,” he said after a long moment of silence.

She turned to him, eyes filled with tears and bottom lip trembling as she shook her head. “No. More.”

He sighed again, pinching the bridge of his nose before he kissed the top of her head and got up.

“Whenever you wanna tell me what’s going on with you, I’m here okay?” he said.

She said nothing, the quiet sound of her sobs the only thing filling the room.

Walking out of her room, Nevada went back into your room and threw his arms up. “I don’t know what else to do.”

You looked at him sadly. “What did she say?” you asked softly.

“She asked what I did all day, then she asked if I was a bad person, and then she asked how we met,” he answered.

Your brows furrowed, confused. “Um...okay, that's definitely weird.” As you moved over to Nevada, you rubbed his back. “Well now we talk to the therapist and see if they can help. She went through a serious trauma, maybe this is just how she processes.”

“Maybe...maybe we both talk to her,” he replied. “I mean, maybe with you there, she’ll feel better about telling us what’s going on.”

You nodded. “Okay, let's try that tomorrow.” You kissed his neck and tugged him towards you. “You must be exhausted. Why don't you get some rest? I'm gonna finish grading, then I'll come to bed.”

“I’m fine,” he answered. “I’m gonna watch something for a little bit. Too revved up to go sleep yet,” he replied, reaching for the remote.

You nodded and kissed him softly before moving back to your side of the bed and picking up your papers. For a moment, the two of you sat in silence, sound from the TV the only noise in the room.

“Have you tried talking to her teacher?” Nevada asked.

You nodded and curled up beside him. “She's fine at school. I don't know what's going on with her.”

“Bueno, we’ll get to the bottom of it tomorrow,” he replied.

You nodded and leaned up, kissing his cheek and smiling at him. You looked tired, worried, a little worn down but still happy. “I love you,” you whispered.

“Love you too.”

#cuba v dr #Nevada ramirez #rafael barba #trouble in the heights #law and order svu

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honeybearloco · 7 years

Text

“...Stays Together.”

Requested by an anon. Cutie Changmo.

Changmo X Female Reader (ft. Everyone’s Favorite Hash Swan and Illionaire and Ambition) Request: Where you and Changmo are sleeping and cuddling and the rest of the crew are fanboying over you two and posting pictures and videos of you guys on social media.

“Stop! You guys are so annoying! I’m too tired for this right now.” Changmo whined at them.

“We’re sorry but you guys are adorable! Everyone’s favorite OTP!” Deok Kwang said before snapping a couple of more pictures.

“Who the hell taught you that?” Changmo asked.

“The internet.”

You and Changmo were close friends as children. You couldn’t be separated no matter what happened between the two of you. Even if you’d fight, he’d buy you lunch and an I’m sorry card. Your family loved Changmo like another child. They invited him to a lot of family events.

Changmo was there for you through everything. If you needed him, he was there. Even if you didn’t need him, he was there. It unexpected, but the two of you were falling for each other. Neither one of you wanted to speak up first. It took your mother confessing to him for you, he returned your feelings and confessed as well.

It wasn’t long before the two of you began dating. In the very beginning, the two of you were trying to get used to being in relationship but a lot of the time you didn’t know if you were doing too much or too little, so you were often shy around him, even if he was your best friend. Months past and the two of you get more comfortable with each other.

You and Changmo had been in a relationship for three years now. He was finally getting recognized and you were proud of him. You were his number one supporter and no one could take your spot.

Fans didn’t even try. You and Changmo made the decision to tell the public about your relationship and it went well. Everyone loved the two of you together. You were an upcoming model and actress. You drew in a lot of attention because of your out of the ordinary looks. You were different but you knew you could make it far.

Though your relationship was public, neither of you really took pictures or posted about each others. You had many interviews, and all of them asked about Changmo at least once. The public wanted to know but you weren’t that open.

Changmo had just finished recording a new song and the boys were bothering him about you.

“Call Y/N! I want to see her.” Deok Kwang whined to Changmo.

“You’re the last person she wants to see right now.” Changmo added.

“Yeah. You spilt wine all over that dress that Changmo bought her for their third year anniversary. Do you really think she wants to see you right now?” Hyo Eun questioned.

“She’s probably over it. She doesn’t hold grudges, right Changmo?” Deok Kwang asked before softly hitting Changmo’s shoulder. Changmo shrugged his shoulders. His phone vibrated with a text from you.

‘I just got done recording an episode. Can I come see you now? I’ll bring all of you food.’ You texted.

‘Of course you Babe. Bring me food, they already ate.’ He replied.

‘Great! I love you.’

‘I love you too.’

You had just got down recording an episode for your upcoming drama. This was the third drama you would be in. At first Changmo was upset because this was a romance drama. Which meant, someone else was going to get to kiss you. But he got over it.

Finally you had made it to Illionaire with food for him. You walked in and greeted the receptionist.

“Changmo is in his studio.” She added.

“Thank you.”

You had made your way to his studio and knocked on the door.

“Come in!” Your heard Changmo’s voice.

You opened the door and bowed.

“Y/N! You’re here!” Deok Kwang smiled.

“Yah! You’re the last person I want to see right now.”

“What did I say?” Hyo Eun questioned.

Deok Kwang punched him in the shoulder.

“Your baby hands don’t hurt, Deok Kwang.”

“I don’t have baby hands!” Deok Kwang shouted, earning a giggle from you.

“Babe, come here. I haven’t see you all day.” Changmo called out to you from his chair.

You walked over and handed him his food.

“Your favorite.” You added before turning around.

He grabbed you by your waist from behind and pulled you onto the chair with him. “Finally! You’re in my arms again.”

“We saw each other just around three hours ago.” You giggled.

“That was three hours too long.” He whined softly in your ear.

“We’ll leave the two of you alone. Have fun, and use protection.” Hyo Eun smirked walking out of the room.

You only rolled your eyes before sighing and rubbing your eyes.

“Are you tired?” He asked.

You only nodded.

“You can sleep on the sofa right there. I still have a little bit of work to do.”

“NO! I want to cuddle.” You whined to him.

“Babe, get some rest. You still have filming tomorrow as well. I don’t need-”

“I’m not doing anything until you promise you’ll cuddle with me.” You pouted folding your arms.

“Since when do you act cute? Fine, go laid down and I’ll be over in a sec, okay?”

She smiled again and let out a soft, “Yay!”

You climbed out of his lap and laid down on the soft waiting for him to come over. He had this in because of the late nights he stays working on his music. He even had a blanket. You waited for him, he was taking way too long.

“Changmo.” You called out.

“Yes?” He said.

“Changmo.” You called out again.

“Yes?” He repeated.

“Changmo.”

“Baby, yes?”

“Changmo.”

“Yes?” He said getting more and more irritated.

You smirked. You knew how close he was to snapping. “Changmo.”

“WHAT?!” He screamed snapping his head back to you.

“Come here!” You shouted back at him.

He sighed before getting out from his desk and walking over to you. You smiled knowing you had won. He had climbed on the sofa with you. You rested your head on his chest. He kissed your forehead.

“Better?” He asked.

“No.” You answered before grabbing the blanket and turning off the light. You handed the blanket to him and got back on the sofa with him. He covered the both of you.

“Now is that better?” He asked.

“Much better.” You smiled while putting your head into his chest as you drifted off to sleep, as did he.

Hours later, Hyo Eun knocked on the door of the studio. “Guys? Hello?”

“Maybe they want more alone time.” Deok Kwang added.

“Get your phone out.” Joon Kyung said.

Hyo Eun slowly opened the door and turned on the light. He turned back to them and put a finger over his lip. “They are asleep.”

“Really?” Deok Kwang whispered.

Hyo Eun nodded and walked in. The four of them walked into the studio, with their phones out. They tiptoed over to the two of you and began to take videos and pictures of you two and put them all over their social medias.

“My OTP is sailing.” Hyo Eun added, snapping a couple of pictures of your sleeping faces.

“Can you believe my OTP is this cute?” Deok Kwang added.

“Do you even know what an OTP is?” Dong Gab asked.

“One True Pairing, duh. The literal definition of Y/N and Changmo.” Deok Kwang answered causing Dong Gab to roll his eyes.

“Hyo Eun, go live! Go live!” Joon Kyung whispered.

He nodded and went to his Instagram and went live. As the fans flooded in, the comments began to fill up with heartfelt comments, greetings and hellos from other countries.

‘Where are you?’ A fan questioned.

“We are all in Changmo’s studio. I’m with the crew.” Hyo Eun said, showing the fans all of them.

‘Where’s Changmo?’ Another fan asked.

“He’s asleep and cuddling with his girlfriend, Y/N. Look!”

He panned the camera over to them. “Aren’t they adorable? We have to be quiet, though.”

Fangirls and fanboys began to fill up the comments with ‘I Love You’ and ‘Awws’.

“My OTP is better than yours.” Joon Kyung teased.

“They are so cute!” Deok Kwang whispered loudly.

Changmo was awoken by the sound of Deok Kwang’s loud whispering, which was no better than his normal voice. Changmo opened his eyes but then closed them again upon seeing them.

“You guys! Stop! Y/N beat all of you into next year.” Changmo added covering his face with his free hand while his other hand was wrapped around you.

“You’re threatening us by using your girlfriend, that’s so cute.” Joon Kyung added, continuing to record.

‘Wake Y/N up!’ A fan commented.

“I would but Y/N gets cranky when she is woken up.” Hyo Eun replied.

“Stop! You guys are so annoying! I’m too tired for this right now.” Changmo whined at them.

“We’re sorry but you guys are adorable! Everyone’s favorite OTP!” Deok Kwang said before snapping a couple of more pictures.

“Who the hell taught you that?” Changmo asked.

“The internet.” Deok Kwang replied with a small smile.

All of the noise, woke you up and you opened your eyes to see the sudden flash on Deok Kwang’s camera from his phone.

“What’s going on?” You questioned, rubbing your eyes.

You looked up to see Hyo Eun, Deok Kwang, Joon Kyung, and Dong Gab holding their phones.

“What are you guys doing?” You asked.

“Nothing.” Hyo Eun answered.

“ARE YOU GUYS TAKING PICTURES?!” You screamed.

“Maybe. Hyo Eun is live” Joon Kyung whispered.

Your eyes widened. You quickly covered your face. “No! I don’t want to be recorded right now. I just woke up.” You whined.

“Well you look as beautiful as you are awake.” Hyo Eun added.

Changmo cleared his throat and glared at Hyo Eun, who raised one of his hands up in defeat.

“I’m going to beat all of you into next week!” You threatened.

“I told you guys.” Changmo added.

“I couldn’t help it, you guys are so cute.” Deok Kwang replied.

“I’m going back to sleep.” You huffed and laid your head back on Changmo’s covered chest.

“Come on, guys we should leave them alone. We don’t want to them getting comfortable, now do we?” Dong Gab said teasingly.

“Yeah, we don’t want to see what they do when we aren’t here. We’ll go.” Joon Kyung teased dragging Hyo Eun and Deok Kwang out of the room.

“Use protection!” Deok Kwang shouted back into the room.

You took off your shoe as well as Changmo and the two of you threw it at him.

“OUCH! What was that for?”

“A couple who does stuff together, stays together.” Changmo smirked.

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alexfe0811 · 4 years

Text

Chapter 1 - part II

Hi guys! I finally felt inspired again to write. My writing style still need loads of tweaking and fine tuning so I would appreciate any kind of *constructive* criticism. So without further ado, here's part II of chapter 1:

Down in the kitchen Avery took a bite of her avocado toast.

„Hey did you see Logan? I think he went in my room this morning while I was sleeping to mess with me again“ I said as I gabbed a slice of toast with butter and strawberry jam my sister had already prepared.

„Well, first of all, you’re welcome. He already left like 30 minutes ago but what did he do this time?“

„That idiot drew some numbers on my hand and I can’t remove them. I don’t know what kind of pen he used but man it just won’t go off… By the way can you drive me to the bus station? Ill take that cup of coffee you have there, too, thank you.“ She looked at my hand, slightly confused but nonetheless agreed to drive me. Before she could ask any more questions I ran back up to brush my teeth, grab my coat and go. The bus station itself isn’t far away from where we live. Maybe 20 minutes tops by foot but I really had no time to waste. Todays professor doesn’t exactly thrive on students arriving late. He’s the type of person to put you on the stand after having just taken a seat. Believe me, its ones worst nightmare. As Avery was driving past the different hues of yellow, orange and red trees, I grasped my hand with the writing, going over each number. 365, why would he write down how many days a year has? We were nearing the bus station when Avery turned down the volume of the radio.

„By the way Lena, what exactly did you mean with numbers on your hand?“, she asked. What? I showed her my palm just this morning. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw how a bus turned into the street, steering into the direction of the stop. I got ready to sprint if I had to and answered her:

„The number on my hand. I showed you this morning.“ She looked at both hands, examining them first before again showing me a clear look of confusion.

„Lena, I’m being serious, I dont see anything. Are you sure you didn’t just imagine it?“ I looked at her, slightly offended she would even think I’m making things up.

„Its right here“, I said as I shoved my palm in her direction.

„Shit, Avery the bus is going to stop soon. I’ll talk to you later and thank you for driving me!“ The door of her old Audi flung open and I sprinted towards the bus. At least now she clearly saw my palm this time. Before the bus doors closed I managed to slip in and sat down in the fourth row, right beside the man in a brown checkered suit. Because of my little sprint, I was still huffing and taking in deep breaths when he suddenly tapped my shoulder.

„Excuse me, is this yours?“ He asked as held my scarf in his hand. It must’ve dropped after I sat down. After closer examination I hd to admit, this guy I thought was at least 30 years old now looked like somebody a little older than me. And he was handsome too. He tilted his in confusion as he still held my scarf. Oh no. Ive been staring at him for a little too long.

„Oh, yes… thank you very much.“ I could feel my cheeks begin to flush. Damn, now he might think I’m a weirdo. But instead of awkwardly pulling back, he smiled warmly.

„No problem. Well, this is my stop. Would you be kind enough to let me pass through?“

„Yes! Yes of course… here you go.“ Once he got off of his seat he smiled at me once more and left for the next door. I wonder if he’s already done with uni, or is it an internship perhaps? He can’t be much older than I am right? What does it matter anyway, I’ll probably never see him again. Trying to shut out further thoughts about the man, I put on my air pods and listened to my music the rest of the drive.

#creativewriting storytelling fiction

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whitebear-ofthe-watertribe · 7 years

Text

That Which Holds Us - Chapter 1

Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug (Sequel to A Brand New Dawn)

Pairing(s): Adrien / Marinette, Nino / Alya

Summary: It’s been several months since Ladybug and Chat Noir discovered their true identities. Now that they aren’t trapped by secrets, they can finally be their full selves around each other and have never been closer. Marinette is going into her final year at university, Adrien is exploring new classes and passions, and their friends Alya and Nino seem to be moving towards a happy future together. It all feels like things couldn’t be better.

But of course, nothing in life is quite so perfect.

When Adrien starts having vivid nightmares and visions about his mother, old questions begin to resurface. Will he be able to find the answers, or will these ghosts from the past tear apart the heroes of Paris for good?

Reminder, you can also read / follow this fic at AO3 here, and FF.net here.

Word Count: 6,817

Enjoy!!!

The late August sun beat down upon Paris from a brilliant, cloudless sky. The city was full of bustling noise as its inhabitants tried to take advantage of the last days of Summer. Cars drove with the windows rolled down, blasting upbeat music as they passed. Hordes of people explored the many kiosks, strolled along the river banks, and flew kites in the refreshing breeze that blew through the parks and along the busy streets.

Alya sat perched at a small round patio table of an open-front bistro just off campus. The computer before her displayed the latest article she’d been commissioned to write, and her overflowing notebook and third coffee of the day rested beside it. She tapped her pen on the paper impatiently, trying and failing to find the right words to fill her introduction. Letting out a sigh, she set the pen down and reached up to nudge her glasses onto her forehead. Pressing her fingers against her eyelids, she enjoyed the cool wind that played across the back of her neck, momentarily dispelling the day’s heat.

As she sat there, Alya began taking in some of the chatter of the people surrounding her. A couple of women walking along the sidewalk were gabbing about a dinner party they were planning. A little girl was asking her uncle questions at a neighboring table as he patiently tried to teach her the rules of chess; Alya smiled at the girl’s names for each of the pieces, including “Princess Pony” and calling the pawns “prunes.”

An irritated voice caught Alya’s attention. She curiously peeked through her fingers to see a man around her own age standing in line for the bistro’s counter, clearly in a heated phone discussion.

“No, Mother… Mother I’m fine… No, I’m not moving back home. School’s starting and… Yes, I understand you’re worried, but as I told you last week, I like my job. I mean I’m honestly used to the Akumas at this point! Everyone is!”

‘Ah,’ thought Alya, suddenly realizing what was going on.

It was a familiar discussion that she’d heard a dozen times in recent months. A number of people she went to school with had already left the city in favor of transferring to places where the threat of supervillain attack was a bit less common.

For the people of Paris who’d lived with it for nearly a decade, the Akuma attacks had sort of become standard news. Sure, there were still plenty of people who experienced a thrill of fear every time they heard some bangs and explosions in the distance. However, most folks planned the risk of attack into their daily schedule, much like leaving their house early to account for rush hour traffic. And when friends or family called to check in, it was not unusual for them to insist their loved ones move out of the city at once. Or, at the very least, ask for updates about the escapades of their favorite superheroes and villains.

Alya had always considered herself pretty good at keeping a cool head during attacks; after all, she’d been directly involved in enough of them. She’d had a deep love for superheroes ever since she was little, and the excitement she got from running straight into the heart of battles always overshadowed any fears she might’ve had.

It wasn’t really until Puppet Master’s attack in January – when Marinette had been so badly injured – that she finally started to see these attacks as truly dangerous. And it seemed as though the rest of the city was of the same mind.

Ever since that incident, Paris had been rallying behind their heroes with a new intensity she’d never seen before. To learn that their beloved heroes were not perfectly infallible – that they couldn’t always set everything back to normal after every attack – made them all realize that there was actual risk involved.

There had even been a lot of anger towards the city’s law enforcement and politicians for not doing more to bring this villain to justice. A new chief of police had been appointed, replacing the father of Alya’s old schoolmate, Sabrina Raincomprix. From what she could tell, this new guy – Chief Thomas Benoit – had actually been extremely helpful to Ladybug and Chat Noir. Multiple times, he’d done an amazing job of getting civilians to safety so that the heroes could focus on the Akumas. He’d even contacted Alya about her old Ladyblog, asking her for permission to use it as a civilian hotline and resource in tracking down Hawkmoth himself. The Ladyblog was more popular than it had been in years as people tried to take matters into their own hands and bring the villain to justice.

A soft ding from her computer’s speakers brought Alya out of her contemplation.

Pulling her hands away from her face and repositioning her glasses, she grimaced as she shifted to unstick her thighs from the wooden seat. As much as she loved Summer, she was really ready for some cool Autumn weather. The notification in the corner of her screen told her that Adrien had just sent her a large folder. Clicking on it, her mouth drew into a smile when she saw the page full of picture thumbnails from last week’s camping trip.

Adrien had spent a week and a half earlier that Summer in the American Rocky Mountains, participating in a photo campaign for the prAna company. He’d joined a small team that climbed a handful of the 14ers closest to the city of Denver. When he returned home, he’d brought a huge assortment of backpacking gear for himself and Marinette, and enthusiastically insisted that the four of them go out for a camping weekend before school started up.

Nino and Alya were no strangers to hiking adventures. They both enjoyed traveling regularly for their jobs, and there was no better way to see a new place than to walk it.

By the end of that weekend, though, it was clear that Marinette was a city girl through and through. While she kept a good face about sleeping in tents, carrying heavy loads, and doing business in the woods, all of them could see how relieved she was to be back in urban civilization.

As Alya clicked through the pictures, her smile grew.

Adrien had done amazing work photographing their trip, capturing stunning shots of the wilderness and wildlife they’d encountered, sprinkled with plenty of excellent shots of the four of them. Of course, no small number of pictures featured Marinette as their focus.

Alya snorted affectionately as she clicked through several in a row of Marinette blushing furiously and laughing as she tried to snatch Adrien’s camera away from him.

Her two friends had become next to inseparable in the past months. Alya had the sneaking suspicion that the near-death incident, as horrible as it was, had caused Marinette to finally break out of her comfort zone and take the next step in her relationship with Adrien.

‘Well, at least one good thing came of that horrible time,’ Alya thought.

She and Nino were beyond thrilled about this turn of events; it had been something they’d all be waiting for ever since their years in middle school.

“And speaking of waiting…” Alya muttered under her breath as her eyes flicked down to the clock on her computer screen.

Her friends should have joined her at the restaurant for lunch a while ago, and now they were all officially late.

Frowning slightly, Alya reached under her chair to grab the phone from her purse, preparing to message Nino. She was halfway done with her text when a flash of movement outside the patio gate caught her eye.

Alya looked up to find Nino and Adrien hurrying up the path between tables, looking gently frazzled.

“It’s about time!” Alya called, waving them over. “What’s going on with you two? You look like you’ve just seen –”

“An Akuma?” Nino offered, coming over to her as Adrien scanned the patio. “Well, you’re not wrong.”

“Really?” Alya raised her eyebrows, quickly closing her computer and feeling more awake now than she had from any of her three coffees.

“An attack just started a couple blocks down,” Adrien confirmed. “Where’s Marinette?”

“She hasn’t shown up yet,” Alya replied, shoving her stuff into her bag and leaving payment for her coffee on the table.

Adrien craned his neck to peer up and down the street when they got to the sidewalk.

Alya could hear distant screams and what sounded like a man shouting. She couldn’t quite make his words out.

“I should go look for her,” Adrien said, turning to face Alya and Nino.

Nino smirked at him, nodding in agreement.

“Give us a call when you find her, kay?”

Alya quickly pulled out her phone, opening up her camera and turning on the spot to try and see where exactly the battle was taking place. The commotion sounded like it was getting closer.

“We’ll meet up here when all of this is over, kay?” Adrien called, starting to head off down the street in the opposite direction of the noise.

Nino nodded. “See you in a –”

“LOOK OUT!”

There was a loud humming noise and a flash of bright red.

Suddenly, Alya’s breath was knocked out of her. A sharp pain in her shoulder told her that she’d just been knocked against the restaurant’s stone siding.

Nino had his arms wrapped protectively around her.

Looking over his shoulder, Alya saw Adrien was nowhere to be found. She caught a glimpse of Ladybug swinging around the corner at the end of the block. It looked like she was carrying someone, but before Alya could get a better look, she heard a strained grunt come from Nino. Quickly she pushed him off her and placed her hands on his cheeks to see where he was injured.

“Babe! Are you ok–”

The words died on her tongue as she took a better look at him. It was as if time had been set on fast-forward; where one moment Nino stood there looking perfectly ordinary, the next his hair had turned grey, and he’d grown a bushy beard to match. Wrinkles framed his amber eyes as he looked back at her, worry streaking across his face when he saw her surprise.

“What? What’s happened?!” he exclaimed, his voice coming out a little deeper and hoarser than before.

“Well, I guess this means we know what the Akuma’s powers are.”

Alya ran her fingers through his silver hair, and Nino frowned at her.

“What are you talking – ” Nino stopped dead, staring at his reflection in the window beside her. He let out a yelp as his hands flew to his face. “WHAT THE HELL?!”

“Hun, calm down. You look fine!”

Alya fought hard against the laugh that threatened to burst out, pressing a hand to her lips as she watched her boyfriend closely inspect his new, sagely features.

“I look like my grandfather.”

“Yes,” Alya snorted, unlocking her phone and opening the camera once again as she hurried down the street towards the sounds of the battle. “Well, haven’t you always said that you wanted to grow up to be as suave as him?”

“I mean, I expected it to happen over the course of decades, not seconds!” replied Nino irritably as he finally turned away from his reflection to hurry after her.

“Don’t worry babe, you still rock a beard better than anyone!” Alya shot over her shoulder. “Oh, by the way…”

She spun on her heel and raised her phone up to him. When the sounds of the camera shutter went off, Nino scowled.

“Why?” he grumbled.

“For the Ladyblog!” Alya said brightly, turning around to continue running. “And for your Mom. You know she’s gonna get a huge kick out of this!”

*******

Adrien felt a great lurching in his stomach, and opened his eyes to find himself soaring through the air. Looking around, he discovered that he’d been flung over Ladybug’s shoulder, and she had an arm wrapped securely around his waist. She used her yo-yo to swing around a building’s corner and up onto the rooftops of a block of department stores.

He smiled affectionately at the back of her head, realizing that she’d just saved him from an Akuma’s attack so that he could be sure to fight by her side.

“Sorry to snatch you up like that!” Ladybug called to him. “But we’ve got a monster to stop!”

Coming to a halt, Ladybug made to set him down, but Adrien grinned devilishly and wrapped his arms around her neck so that she had no choice but to hold him up, one hand under his knees, the other supporting his shoulders.

He beamed up at her, and she raised an eyebrow.

“Adrien, what are you –”

“Wooow, Ladybug!” Adrien gushed, fluttering his eyes at her. “You saved me! You’re so cool and strong…”

“Oh for the love of –” Ladybug rolled her eyes and let her arms drop down.

With a whoomph, Adrien sprawled at her feet, flinching to keep his exposed skin from touching the roof’s hot tiles. He let out a bark of laughter as he gazed up at her.

“Wait, nooo!” He reached out to her playfully. “You’re my hero, Ladybug! You’re so pretty and brave and awesome and –”

“And ready to smack you if you keep this up,” Ladybug cut him off, but he could hear the amusement in her voice as she stepped over him and out of his reach. Her cheeks had taken on a shade of red that had nothing to do with the sunburn she’d gotten while camping. “Just transform, you idiot cat.”

“As M’lady commands,” Adrien said, smirking as Plagg emerged from his pocket to hover between the two of them.

“Do you two have to be stupid and lovey-dovey every single time?” he wined.

“Excuse me?” Ladybug scoffed, looking over her shoulder and putting her hands on her hips as Adrien sat up and rested his arms on his knees. “I’m the one trying to act like a professional over here!”

“Seriously?” Plagg drawled. “You’re the one who didn’t have to save the idiot cat’s ass in the first place.”

Adrien nodded stoically.

“He’s got a point. I mean it’s almost like…” He let out a theatrical gasp, his hands flying to his cheeks. “Does the beloved heroine of Paris like me?!”

Ladybug rolled her eyes again and turned back to fully face him. She opened her mouth to retort, but her words were drowned out by a shout of alarm from below.

Forcibly reminded of why they were on the rooftop in the first place, Adrien leapt to his feet and cried, “Plagg, transforme moi!”

Plagg’s final muttering of, “Idiots” faded with the burst of green light that momentarily surged around them, and suddenly Chat Noir stood beside his Lady, flashing her his usual Cheshire grin.

“So, Bugaboo, what exactly are we dealing with?”

“Well…” Ladybug peered over the building’s ledge, and Chat followed her gaze to see a tall, elderly man in a tweed patterned suit and homburg hat walking purposefully along the street.

He held a polished wooden cane in his hand, and Chat’s ears picked up the sharp crack it made with his every step. For all the world, this man could have simply been enjoying an afternoon stroll in the sunshine, except for the fact that his skin was as pale white as parchment paper, and nearly as translucent.

Before either of them could move, the Akuma caught sight of a couple young men hurrying away from him.

There was a loud hum and Chat felt a sort of static pulse shoot through the air as the Akuma spun his cane and brought it against the ground.

CRACK.

Chat Noir gasped as he saw that the two young men suddenly weren’t so young anymore.

“This’ll teach you!” the Akuma cried. “This’ll teach ALL of you! You can’t just throw the Sage away because of old age! Not when everyone else is old, too!”

“From what I can tell, this guy didn’t get a promotion or something because he’s a bit older,” Ladybug said beside him, and Chat looked down at her as she tapped her chin thoughtfully. “If I were to guess, I’d say the Akuma is inside the cane. Thoughts?”

“Makes sense to me,” Chat nodded as she glanced up at him. “That does look like where his power seems to be coming from. Do you have a plan yet?”

“You go low, I go high?” Ladybug suggested.

“Come from behind? I’ll keep his attention,” he offered, shooting her a wink before they both dove in opposite directions.

Chat lithely made his way down the side of the building to land on all fours in the middle of the street, several yards from the Sage. He noticed a few civilians peeking out from behind the shop windows on either side of the street.

“Aren’t you a little old to be acting so childish?” Chat called, standing up and rolling his shoulders. “I mean, I know they say, ‘act the age you feel,’ but this seems a little counter intuitive, dontchya think?”

The Sage turned to face him fully.

“I am really, really tired of children telling me what to do,” he growled, the grip on his cane tightening.

“Um, rude!” Chat scoffed dramatically, catching a glimpse of his Lady making her way along the roof behind the Akuma.

She was holding what seemed to be a large, elaborate kite. He assumed that must be her Lucky Charm.

“I mean, I think I should get a little more credit,” he continued, “for the fact that I know how to file my own taxes, thank you very much.”

Before the Akuma could retort, Ladybug flew off the roof. Holding the kite above her head, she brought it down with a cry of “Take that!” and effectively trapped his arms between the fabric and string.

The Sage, however, twirled the cane between his fingers and caught her ankle in its hook.

Ladybug let out a yelp of surprise and tumbled to the ground.

Chat hurried towards her.

“You ok?”

“The Akuma!” she cried, glancing up.

He spun to see the Akuma throwing the kite trap to the side.

The Sage began to swing his cane over his head, and a hum filled the air again.

Chat let out a battle cry and launched himself forward.

Trying to direct his attack, the Sage turned to follow him, but in a fluid motion, Chat flipped into the air, soaring right over the top of the Sage’s head and snatching the cane out of his hands.

In another swift motion, he snatched up the kite and thrust it firmly back over the Akuma’s head, this time wrapping his arms together with the kite’s string.

“A gift for you, M’lady,” Chat said, moving towards her and offering her a hand, helping her to her feet.

“Aw!” Ladybug gushed, taking the cane with a dazzling smile. “You shouldn’t have, Kitty! It’s not even my birthday.”

“Anything for you, my dear,” Chat swept into a low bow.

Ladybug raised the cane high and brought it down onto her knee, splitting it in half with a loud snap.

As she caught up the dark butterfly and quickly restored the world to its former normalcy, Chat turned and made his way over to the old man sitting on the ground where the Akuma had just stood. The man was gazing around in confusion until he spotted them. A look of understanding flashed across his face.

“I didn’t mean to get so upset,” the man said sadly as Chat helped him stand up. “I was just… angry. The company I helped build said they wanted to replace me with someone younger, and I guess I just…”

“I’m so sorry,” Chat said gently. “It’s not right that they were prepared to just get rid of you like that after all the work you’ve done to get your company where it is today. Is there any way you could still participate in how things are run?”

The man looked at him thoughtfully before shrugging.

“Eh, we’ll see what happens. I’m sure my husband would be thrilled to have me finally considering retirement.”

“I hope you can find a way to transition on good terms,” Chat offered kindly. “Don’t let them bully you into anything, yeah?”

Chuckling, the old man offered Chat a hand and he shook it. “You know, young sir, you’re alright . Thank you for helping me out of that vile darkness.”

“My pleasure, Monsieur. Good luck.”

Ladybug appeared by his shoulder and offered the man his un-Akumatized walking cane, which he took gratefully before turning to go.

“Everything ok?” she asked, looking between the two of them.

“Yeah,” Chat said. “I just… I wish we could help more, sometimes.”

“I know what you mean,” Ladybug said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “But we can’t solve everyone’s problems.”

Just as he heard her earrings give off their tell-tale beep, a small flood of news reporters appeared and quickly approached them, cameras and notepads in hand. A jumble of questions reached Chat Noir’s ears.

Before he could open his mouth to respond, Ladybug had stepped forward to address them.

“Sorry to be rude,” she said kindly but firmly. “But we really must be going!”

The two of them hurried off, launching into the air and soaring over the crowd until they found a secluded corner a couple blocks away.

Detransforming, Adrien looked around to see Marinette catching Tikki out of midair. The angry lines of her camping trip sunburn were made even more apparent under her navy sundress. Where her spotted suit had hidden the worst of it, these thin straps did not.

“Well, at least that was easy,” he said fanning himself in the heat, and she shrugged.

“Too easy,” she muttered, pulling her phone out of her pocket to check the time. “Crap, we totally missed our lunch window. Have you seen Nino and Alya yet?”

“Yeah, they were going to try and get some footage of the fight last I knew.”

Plagg was staring at Adrien pointedly, so he began rummaging in his pockets for cheese.

“Did they say where to meet up?” Tikki asked over the bit of pastry Marinette had just fished out for her. “There’s still a few minutes before you guys have to head back to work.”

“They should be back at the restaurant,” Adrien nodded.

Taking Marinette’s hand, they hurried out onto the street which was once more filled with people going about their business. They wove their way down the block, and rounding the last corner, they heard a familiar voice calling their names. Looking around, he saw Alya waving them over to where she and Nino stood waiting.

“Are you guys ok?” Nino asked, giving them a sweeping look, searching for injuries.

“We’re fine,” Marinette smiled. “I just had to save Adrien’s butt from getting blasted by the Akuma, but other than that…”

“Oh please, you’re the one who fell over.” Adrien exchanged an amused glance with her before turning back to their friends. “Did you get any good footage for the Ladyblog?”

“Ohoho, I did better than that.”

Alya pulled her phone out and Nino let out a huff beside her as she flipped through it to a particular image, holding it out proudly for Adrien and Marinette to see.

“Wait… is that…?!” Marinette gasped and Adrien burst out laughing.

“Man! You got blasted?”

“Ha ha ha,” Nino rolled his eyes, crossing his arms indignantly.

Adrien could tell he was fighting to hide a smile.

“Alya, please send that to me,” he demanded, grinning as he pulled out his own phone. “This is absolutely going to be your new caller ID picture.”

“Done!”

“Dude!?” Nino exclaimed.

“Don’t fight it, babe,” Alya patted Nino gently on the arm. “Do you guys still have any time left to grab a bite?”

“No, I’m sorry,” Marinette wrapped her arms around Alya’s neck apologetically. “I really need to get back to the bakery. The afternoon rush is probably just starting.”

“Shall we raincheck, then?” Nino suggested. “We can figure something out for tomorrow?”

“Sounds good to me,” Marinette smiled, quickly giving both Alya and Nino a peck on the cheek before taking Adrien’s hand. “We’ll have more time to catch up then, anyways.”

They waved goodbye, and Adrien gave her hand an affectionate squeeze as they headed off in the direction of the Dupain-Cheng bakery.

“How long do you work tonight?” he asked, and she shrugged.

“I’m closing.”

“Didn’t you open this morning?” Adrien raised his eyebrows.

“Yeah,” she sighed. “And I closed last night too.”

“Isn’t that a bit much?”

Marinette shrugged again. “That’s what my parents said too. I’m just trying to get in as many hours as I can before school starts, you know?”

“I guess,” Adrien looked at her sideways. “But you look kinda tired. Are you sure you’re not pushing it too hard? I’m pretty sure they expect you to go back to school rested.”

“It’s fine,” Marinette grinned up at him. “Although I think I’m going to skip patrol tonight, if that’s ok?”

“That’s fine, Bugaboo. Are we still going to Master Fu’s tomorrow?”

“Yeah of course,” she nodded. “I have a new shirt for him.”

“Tropical?”

“Always.”

They paused at the top of a set of stairs leading down to the underground subway system.

Adrien leaned down to give her a quick kiss.

“Be sure to get some good sleep tonight, kay?”

“I’ll text you later,” Marinette said, giving his hand a squeeze goodbye as she turned to go.

Adrien watched her walk away, admiring how the sun reflecting off her dark hair made it look exceptionally blue for a moment. He smiled to himself before heading down the stairs to find the train that would take him back to his office.

The remainder of Adrien’s afternoon was filled with video calls and meetings. By the end of the day, he was thoroughly tired of work. He’d barely gotten to see his friends that afternoon, and he’d been counting on spending a little more time with Marinette than just taking down yet another villain.

He stayed late into the evening, though, enjoying how quiet the building got when the day lights had been turned down and most of the people had left. He cherished times like this when he could actually finish things up without interruption.

The moment he left his office, his feet made his mind up for him. He climbed up a few flights of stairs until he emerged onto the roof.

The night sky was lit up with the orangey glow of the city. A warm breeze ruffled his hair as he breathed in the delicious smell coming from a nearby restaurant.

Plagg flew out from Adrien’s shirt pocket and perched on his shoulder.

“So, we’re going to the girls’ place, huh?” he inquired, and Adrien grinned down at him.

“I think the city can survive without a patrol for one night.”

Plagg gave a little whoop of enthusiasm, spiraling off Adrien’s shoulder to loop happily through the air.

“Beautiful cheese, here I come!”

Adrien laughed, amused at how much his catty Kwami had grown to love Marinette. As much as Plagg had tried to hide it, justifying his enthusiasm with the excuse of loving the cheese she always had, Adrien could tell how deep his affection for Marinette ran.

He rolled his shoulders before taking a running leap off the roof’s ledge. In a burst of light, he landed as Chat Noir on a neighboring building and sprinted off in the direction of Marinette and Alya’s apartment, his tail fluttering out behind him.

It only took him several minutes to make his way over the busy roadways and loud street corners where people enjoyed the pleasant evening. Even though the air was cooling off with the absence of the afternoon’s blazing sun, by the time he flipped onto the building across from their apartment, he was feeling uncomfortably hot.

Pausing for a moment, he carefully observed his destination through the living room windows.

Alya was pacing in the kitchen, her phone held between her cheek and shoulder while her hands were occupied with a spoon and a pint of ice cream. She let out a laugh, and from what Chat’s sharp ears could pick up, she was talking to Nino.

He smiled as his eyes slid over to Marinette’s window, which sat open to let in the night air.

She was standing in front of her mirror wearing only some sleep shorts and a sports bra, twisting her arms around uncomfortably to try and reach her back.

Chat tilted his head in confusion until he noticed the bottle of Aloe Vera laying atop the bureau beside her, and suddenly understood what she was trying to do.

Springing across the street, he soared easily through her window. As his boots hit her wooden floor, Marinette let out a yelp and jumped back in surprise.

“What the– ?!” she exclaimed loudly, stumbling into her bureau with a loud crash.

Chat was before her in a swift, fluid movement, one hand catching her around her waist to stop her fall, the other pressed over her mouth.

“Shh!” he hissed, grinning. “Alya is still in the kitchen!”

“Mar?” came Alya’s voice through the door. “Is everything ok?”

Chat widened his eyes imploringly.

“Is everything ok, Princess?” he whispered.

Marinette reached up to pull his hand away from her face with a huff, though he was pleased to note that she held onto it, weaving her fingers between his almost unthinkingly.

“I’m good!” Marinette called out. “Just tripped. No worries!”

“Ok, goodnight Ms. Clumsy!”

Chat noticed the kitchen light shining through the crack under in Marinette’s turn off.

“Goodnight!” Marinette said distractedly over her shoulder, before turning back to him. “What are you doing here?” she asked softly, raising her eyebrows.

“I missed you,” he shrugged.

Marinette let out a dramatic gasp. “Does this mean the beloved hero of Paris likes me?!” she said, making fun of his words from earlier.

Chat was only half successful in stifling his laughter as he dropped his transformation.

Plagg appeared to hover in the air beside them, looking rather expectantly at Marinette.

“Hello Plagg,” Marinette smirked, glancing sideways at him. “Let me guess...”

Stepping away from Adrien, she reached for the insulated lunchbox that held a permanent place on her bookshelf.

“Hello!” came another familiar voice, and Adrien turned around to see Tikki perched on one of Marinette’s bedposts, happily munching on a cookie that was easily twice her size and already halfway gone.

“How’s it going, Tikki?”

Adrien reached over to give her an affectionate pet on the top of her head with his thumb.

“Great,” she chirped. “Marinette was just talking about how she wished she could’ve seen you more today, too.”

“Was she, now?”

He grinned, feeling thoroughly pleased at his decision to come over.

Marinette turned towards him away from Plagg, who was already filling his cheeks with a rather odiferous cheese.

“Yeah, yeah, so I missed you too.”

She returned his smile, though.

He reached out to cup her cheek again, this time leaning in to brush his mouth against hers. He felt her hum happily against him, but as he trailed his hands gently over her shoulders, she broke away and hissed in pain.

“I’m so sorry!” Adrien threw his hands up in alarm. “I totally forgot!”

“No, no!” Marinette gave him an apologetic look, grabbing his hands and holding them tightly. “You’re totally fine!”

“I guess this means minimal cuddling still, huh?”

“Correct,” Marinette said, moving gingerly back in front of the mirror and grabbing the Aloe bottle again. “I’m just glad these burns are finally starting to get better.”

Adrien thought her use of the term “better” must be very loose in this situation. The lines where her normally pale skin met the deep red of sunburn still stood out in high contrast. Now it looked almost worse than before, as the damaged areas were beginning to blister and peel. He really, truly felt sorry for her.

Despite their best efforts to be responsible with the sunblock during their camping trip, they had spent their last afternoon playing in a river, which must’ve washed a lot of it off. But where his, Alya’s, and Nino’s sunburns had already faded into healthy tans, Marinette it seemed would only every transition between the tones of “porcelain ghost” and “cooked lobster,” as Nino had put it. None of their burns even hurt anymore, really. It was only poor Marinette who was stuck with the worst of it.

“I just can’t – reach – this – one – spot!”

Marinette tried and failed once again to reach an elusive point on her back with her fingers covered in the soothing gel.

Adrien chuckled, reaching out to push her arms down.

“Don’t worry, I got your back.”

Marinette gave him a grateful smile and moved away from her mirror over to her desk.

As Adrien quickly stripped out of his work clothes down to a t-shirt and briefs, she switched on a small fan near her window. It slowly started to rotate, pulling the cooler air from outside into the warm room. Adrien sighed in relief, enjoying how the temperature was already beginning to drop.

Tikki and Plagg bid them goodnight (mostly Tikki, as Plagg was still stuffing his mouth with cheese) and flew up to the top of Marinette’s tall bookcase. She had set up a sort of mini pillow fort in the space between the bookcase and the ceiling; it was their Kwami’s favorite place to hide away and get some privacy.

Marinette climbed onto her bed and slumped face down on the mattress, letting out a tired sigh.

“Busy day, huh?” Adrien asked, moving to sit cross-legged beside her and putting a dollop of Aloe on his hands.

“Yep,” Marinette grunted her voice muffled through the pillow before she turned her head to look at him. “I’ve been helping Mom and Dad train the new kid.”

She yawned hugely, and Adrien could tell that she was fading fast now that she’d lain down.

“Edmund, right?” Adrien gently traced the skin of her back with the lotion, feeling how much heat the burn areas were giving off and trying his best to be delicate. “How’s that going?”

“Mmm,” she sighed, reaching out for his free hand and gently tracing the cat tattoo on his forearm, her eyes closing lazily. “It’s going fine. He’s a fast learner and seems to do really well with the customers.”

“Do your parents like him?” he asked, smiling as her warm fingers left tingles on his skin.

“Yeah. I think my Dad is a little disappointed that I won’t be around to help with the decorations as much,” Marinette sighed, “but I’m sure they’ll train him up for all that in no time.”

Adrien reached out to put the lotion bottle on the desk and turned off her lamp light. Stretching out his legs, he laid down on his side, facing her.

“I have a hunch that he’s more disappointed that you’re going to be so wrapped up in your final year that you won’t have as much time with them.”

“Hmm,” Marinette mumbled. “How ‘bout you? How was your day?”

“Eh, fine I guess. The usual. I got all the pictures from our trip edited.”

“I saw those. I wanna hang some of them up.”

“I’ll get you some prints this week.”

“Mmm. Good.”

Her breathing was already slowing to a soft rhythm.

After a moment, Adrien realized she was already asleep. He grinned as he watched her in the soft street light that came in through her curtains, moving his fingers to deftly pull a soft strand of hair from her face and tuck it behind her ear.

“I love you,” he whispered, and closing his eyes, he too let himself drift gently out of consciousness.

He was in some sort of room. He could barely make out the walls in the darkness. There was no hint of a door or windows. Just endless walls and corners, trapping him in a box. He trailed his hands frantically along the paneling, turning this way and that.

There had to be a way out.

There had to be an escape.

And he only knew, with absolute certainty, that he had to escape.

In desperation, he threw his shoulder against one of the walls. He’d rip apart a hole with his bare hands if that’s what it took. Again and again and again, he beat at the dark material. Yes, there! The sound of splintering wood met his ears. It was working!

“Adrien, my love.”

Adrien froze, his heart jumping into his throat. He knew that voice. He hadn’t heard it in nearly a decade, but there was no way he could ever forget. Slowly, hardly daring to believe it, he turned around. There, standing in the middle of the room, illuminated by a strange blue light, was his Mother.

“Mom?”

“Adrien, you can hear me?” Her eyes softened as she smiled and raised her arms, welcoming him in. “Oh honey, I’ve missed you so much.”

Adrien ran towards her, stretching his hand out in front of him, trying desperately to reach her. But she never moved closer. As hard as he tried, his feet were not carrying him across the room. He sprinted with all his might, but she only seemed to be moving further away.

“Mom!” he cried, his voice feeling raw in his throat. “Mom wait!”

“I love you,” she whispered.

“Mom please don’t go! Don’t leave me!"

Adrien’s foot landed on nothingness and he lurched forward. There was no floor. He was falling, down, down, down into the endless darkness.

“I love you, my son.”

Adrien woke up with a gasp, his eyes blowing wide to take in Marinette’s dark room. The fan that sat on her desk slowly turned to blow a soft breeze in his direction.

Beside him, Marinette slept on, her breathing steady, and her lips puckered as she squashed her cheek into her pillow.

Carefully, so as not to wake her, Adrien pushed off the mattress and came to a sitting position, running his hand through his hair. He realized he was trembling. His heart was still pounding from the dream he’d been having moments before. He frowned trying to recall more clearly what had been weaving through his mind.

“It happened again, didn’t it?”

Adrien looked up, just barely making out Plagg peering over the top of the bookshelf, his slitted eyes reflecting the soft golden glow from the lights beyond the window.

Ever since their battle with the Puppet Master, Adrien and Plagg had shared the residual effects of absorbing the Akuma’s dark energy. Things had gotten much better over time, especially when they both spent more time with Marinette and Tikki. But it was not unusual for them to get a violent nightmare every now and then. And when that happened, linked as he and Plagg were, they would always feel the same darkness. It was a burden they shared, but because they were in it together, they could at least offer each other understanding and solidarity.

Adrien frowned. The dream he’d had was far from the normal night terrors. Usually they had something to do with Hawkmoth or some monstrous Akuma. But this dream had been no Akuma, so why…?

‘It’s the anniversary,’ he thought suddenly.

They were approaching the anniversary of when his Mother disappeared from his life nearly a decade ago. He’d had dreams about her before, whenever this time of year came around. He supposed it was just another one like those before, but he still didn’t understand why Plagg would have sensed anything when it was simply a dream about his Mother.

“What time is it?” Adrien whispered, looking around for Marinette’s clock.

“A couple hours till dawn.”

“Is Tikki asleep?” Adrien whispered.

“Yeah.”

Plagg floated down from the shelf to hover beside him.

“Good. Let’s let them rest. I need to run for a bit. Transforme moi.”

Welcome to the official sequel of 'A Brand New Dawn'!!! You guys, I've been planning this story for about a year now, and let me tell you I am SO FREAKIN EXCITED to finally begin sharing it with you!

Now, if it's not quite clear, TWHU takes place between Chapters 12 and 13 of ABND. I really wanted to have fun exploring our dorks' relationship while it was still a bit new during that missing year, plus there's a lot I wanted to address regarding... *ahem* other things in the Miraculous universe ;}

As far as this fic goes, I currently have a whopping 16 pages of this story outlined chapter-by-chapter, with several different conclusions I have yet to decide on (but as with ABND, I'm pretty sure the right ending will present itself as I work through the story) so we'll see how that goes. I will try and update fairly regularly, but there's this pesky thing called a "day job" that I am pouring most of my energy into, as well as commissions and other aspects of a busy life, so please forgive any hiatus-type moments in advance! Just know that I'm fully committed to sharing this whole story, and with some much appreciated patience from you all, TWHU will get done eventually!!!

Thank you everyone who supported ABND and took the time to send in comments! Without you guys, I never would've gotten this far! This one is for you <3

#a brand new dawn fic #miraculous ladybug #ml fic #chat noir #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #alya cesaire #nino lahiffe #ladynoir #marichat #ladrien #adrinette #adrienette #djwifi #carapce #rena rouge #abnd #twhu #college au

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placetobenation · 4 years

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Happy 4th of July everyone! It’s surely a much different Holiday this year as COVID-19 has put all of us in a new normal for our daily routines. So, no, there won’t be the huge July 4th fireworks crowd, but instead more intimate backyard bbq’s and yes, unfortunately no baseball.

It also means no big wrestling extravaganzas around the Summer to celebrate either. Any thoughts of getting crowds back into the WWE have been seemingly set aside by the spikes around than 30 states in the past two weeks. So, let’s enjoy what we have and that my friends was a very strong week on all three shows. My nod to the tops of the week – NXT with a holiday themed Great American Bash!

Star of the Week:

Sasha Banks & Bayley – Three shows again this week and they were standouts on each and every one of them. Banks taps out Asuka on Monday night before the green mist gets the revenge on Wednesday night as the Empress trumps the Boss. Bayley rounds out the week with a DQ win over Alexa Bliss due to Nikki Cross’ blindside on the champ. Week in and week out they are carrying the women’s division at the moment. They even gave themselves a nice little tribute to boot too!

RAW

RESULTS

Andrade & Angel Garza defeated The Viking Raiders

24/7 Championship Match: R-Truth defeated Akira Tozawa to win title

Seth Rollins & Buddy Murphy defeated Aleister Black & Humberto Carrillo

Peyton Royce defeated Ruby Riott

2-on-1 Handicap Match: The Big Show defeated Andrade & Angel Garza

United States Championship Non-Title Match: MVP defeated Apollo Crews

Bobby Lashley defeated Ricochet

Champions vs. Challengers Match: Sasha Banks & Dolph Ziggler defeated Asuka & Drew McIntyre

Loved it:

#ExtremeRules: The Horror Show can't get here soon enough.#WWERaw @DMcIntyreWWE @HEELZiggler @WWEAsuka @SashaBanksWWE @itsBayleyWWE pic.twitter.com/FPnDaJa4cn

— WWE (@WWE) June 30, 2020

Double contract-signing chaos – Loved, loved, loved getting both contract signings out of the way to start the show and instead make it an in-ring main event as champions Asuka & Drew McIntyre took on their Extreme Rules challengers Sasha Banks & Dolph Ziggler. Contract signings are things of the past and predictable as hell. So, I appreciate the out-of-the-box thinking having Samoa Joe in the ring with chaos already ensuing to start the program. Plus, the main event was very good to boot!

Welcome back Ricochet – It’s nice to see Ricochet back, even in defeat to Bobby Lashley.

How many times can we…

A glimpse into @reymysterio's future?#WWERaw @WWERollins pic.twitter.com/3aTLMrHvVQ

— WWE (@WWE) June 30, 2020

Get Seth Rollins, Murphy, Aleister Black & Humberto Carrillo together? – It’s getting stale. Plus, here’s a thought to Rollins character of the Monday Night Messiah. If he truly is a Messiah, shouldn’t he have throngs of followers by now just not the same two guys to do his bidding? Either go full in cult or not.

HE DID IT!@The305MVP just DEFEATED #USChampion @WWEApollo on #WWERaw! pic.twitter.com/GXENHXvG6s

— WWE (@WWE) June 30, 2020

Have MVP win – For a guy who seemingly retired after one match against Rey Mysterio in his WWE return, MVP sure does wrestle a lot and win. Now, we get a victory over the US Champ? Hmmmm. I get it, he needs Bobby Lashley to do it, but still. Can we make Apollo Crews look a bit stronger first before we tear him down? Ultimately, I think he makes the turn to heel town and joins MVP down the road.

Pay tribute to The Undertaker – Damn, they are really try to sell us that that Boneyard Match was his final match, I guess.

Meh:

Where was Liv Morgan – Sure thought Liv Morgan was going to save her former friend Ruby Riott against The IIconics but I guess that vacation took precedent.

Andrade & Angel Garza – Another week of win one, lose one for the Zelina Vega boys. I think it’s time to let these two fight it out for better or for worse. And speaking of that, can we get Angel & Charly Caruso together already! LFG!

NXT

RESULTS

NXT Women’s Championship Number One Contender’s Elimination Match: Tegan Nox defeated Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai, & Mia Yim

Timothy Thatcher defeated Oney Lorcan (submission)

2-on-1 Handicap Match: Rhea Ripley defeated Aliyah & Robert Stone

Strap Match: Dexter Lumis defeated Roderick Strong

NXT Women’s Championship Non-Title Match: Io Shirai defeated Sasha Banks

Loved it:

𝙎𝙐𝙍𝙋𝙍𝙄𝙎𝙀 ! @WWEAsuka helps @shirai_io turn the table on @SashaBanksWWE & @itsBayleyWWE at #NXTGAB! #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/tx9udWsTI9

— WWE (@WWE) July 2, 2020

The entire show. I thought that night 1 of the Great American Bash was entertaining from start to finish. The only thing I would’ve done differently is maybe to roll in some historical highlights of GAB of the past. Sure, Mauro Ranallo gave us some historical context during the Strap Match between Dexter Lumis and Rodrick Strong which was nice, but some video could’ve put the cherry on top of the sundae.

So, what stood out?

Her face says it all.

@TeganNoxWWE_ is victorious in the No. 1 Contender's #EliminationMatch! #WWENXT #NXTGAB pic.twitter.com/YZTXNRdQxD

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) July 2, 2020

Two amazing matches starting out of the box with the #1 Contender’s Fatal 4-Way Match. Who honestly saw Tegan Nox winning? Not me for sure! The back-and-forth was well done. Candice LeRae getting triple-team was expected and sets up next week’s street fight vs. Mia Yim.

The main event between Io Shirai and Sasha Banks was top notch including a wonderfully placed shoulder slam against the barricade by Banks to Shirai. Asuka’s arrival with the Green Mist was nice surprise too to help Io get the win.

With nowhere to run, @roderickstrong finally looks fear in the

in this #StrapMatch against @DexterLumis . #WWENXT #NXTGAB pic.twitter.com/mFZMEkS0AB

— WWE (@WWE) July 2, 2020

In between, the Strap Match was better than expected although I thought for sure Strong was going back in the trunk!

Thatcher vs. Locan was a damn physical old school match too.

.@RheaRipley_WWE is NOT joining the #RobertStoneBrand anytime soon as she makes @WWE_Aliyah AND @RobertStoneWWE TAP at #NXTGAB! #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/vkzznvHCe6

— WWE (@WWE) July 2, 2020

Rhea Ripley continues to win me over while adding some personality to her in-ring skills. Beating Aliyah and Robert Stone brought some levity to the show.

Plus, we got cars, puppies and a nod to the 4th. Can’t wait for night 2!

SMACKDOWN

RESULTS

Matt Riddle defeated John Morrison

Intercontinental Championship Match: AJ Styles defeated Drew Gulak to retain title

SmackDown Women’s Championship Non-Title Match: Bayley defeated Alexa Bliss (DQ)

Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Kofi Kingston

Loved it:

The first hour of #SmackDown featuring @SuperKingofBros vs. @TheRealMorrison & @DrewGulak vs. @AJStylesOrg was

! pic.twitter.com/xlzW6psv1U

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) July 4, 2020

First hour – That was SOMETHING! If you are a wrestling fan, that was some kind of first hour with two amazing matches! Matt Riddle backs up his upset over AJ Styles two weeks ago with a second SmackDown victory, this time over John Morrison that was athletic as hell! Then, on the heels of that, Drew Gulak and Styles brawl it out before their match that was equally as good. Plus, I LOVED that they made AJ look strong with the victory. A very strong and smart 60 minutes, probably the best hour of the week.

Not so much:

Second hour – After such a strong hour, it seemed like hour two was just more set-up than quality. Getting just five minutes of Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley before Nikki Cross interfered for the DQ was a little disappointing, but set up next week’s tag match and of course, leads more for Cross vs. Bayley at Extreme Rules. The same can be said for Kofi Kingston vs. Shinsuke Nakamura. It was all to set up next week’s tag team title match.

Can do without:

Who knew @WWESheamus was a poet? #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/W2Ly5pMYTq

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) July 4, 2020

A Toast to Jeff Hardy – Just not into the whole storyline of Sheamus mocking Jeff Hardy’s trouble with alcohol and substance abuse. Week after week of the same message just isn’t appealing for me. Plus, it’s just in bad taste IMHO. It was fine for a hook for one night, but they need to move on. Plus, was that main event slot worthy? I think not!

Can’t wait:

#SmackDown @WWEBrayWyatt @BraunStrowman pic.twitter.com/qJV0OPWaes

— WWE (@WWE) July 4, 2020

Back to the Swamp – I’m just intrigued how they will put it all together in the swamp when old friends Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt take the Horror Show to Extreme Rules.

Ironic, don’t you think:

Sasha & Bayley – LOVED that Sasha finally got back at Bayley for all her “Sasha will fight you now” by having Bayley fight Bliss Friday night. The back-and-forth between these two over three shows each week has been very entertaining.

Extreme Rules – Horror Show – Updated Card

WWE Championship Match: Drew McIntyre vs. Dolph Ziggler

RAW Women’s Championship Match: Asuka vs. Sasha Banks

Universal Championship Swamp Match: Braun Strowman vs. Bray Wyatt

SmackDown Women’s Championship: Bayley vs. Nikki Cross

Parting Shots:

Renee Young’s big announcement – Well, she definitely had the internet buzzing with the rumors of a big reveal this week. Could she be joining hubby Jon Moxley in AEW? No, just putting out a cookbook! Should be tasty! Congrats Renee and here’s to a speedy recovery from COVID-19!

Wednesday Night War – Well, for the second straight week, NXT beat AEW in total viewership – 792,000 vs. 748,000. In the demo ratings, AEW is still the victor so still lots of stuff to crow about on each side. Quality stuff from both continues if you ask me.

Coming Up This Week:

RAW Champion vs. Champion – Asuka vs. Bayley

NXT – Great American Bash – Night 2 Champion vs. Champion Winner Take All Match: NXT Champion Adam Cole vs. North American Champion Keith Lee Street Fight: Mia Yim vs. Canice LeRae 6-Man Tag Team Match: Drake Maverick & Breezango vs. El Legado del Fantasma Damian Priest vs. Cameron Grimes

SMACKDOWN SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match: The New Day vs. Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura Sasha Banks & Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross Money In The Bank Universal Championship Match: Braun Strowman vs. Bray Wyatt

Thanks for letting us share our thoughts! Shoot me an email at [email protected]. We’d love to hear your comments and suggestions! You can also check out my blog, The Crowe’s Nest as we delve into more pro wrestling, sports entertainment and the World of Sports. My apologies ahead of time – I AM a Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins fan! If you’re not down with that, I’ve got TWO WORDS for you… NEW ENGLAND!

#IFTTT #Place to Be Nation

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9r7g5h · 7 years

Text

Remember All - P15

Fandom: Xena: Warrior Princess

Overall Rating: T+ (Rating subject to change)

Genre: General

Summary: Given another chance, left with her memories of their first time through, Gabrielle knows there’s only one option for her- let Xena live. Whatever she had to do, whatever she had to change to make sure that would happen, Gabrielle was willing to do it.

Words: 3,525

AN: Hey guys! Sorry for going so long between updates. Between some hurricane damage, personal stuff, and things going on at work, it’s been a super busy month. However, I am going to do my best to try and get back onto a normal updating schedule. Please bear with me while I get back into the swing of things, and get the fic rolling again. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and I will hopefully have the next one for you soon!

Disclaimer: I do not own Xena.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, ???

Ash and blood and stones, nothing remaining of the once proud centaur village.

They were quiet as they stood at the edge of the village, right at the edge of the destruction, just staring at what laid before them. What could only be the charred remains of centaurs and humans alike littered the ground, partly melted weapons still clasped in their grips, what remained of some of their faces twisted into pained grimaces. Whatever they had been rushing to fight, they had clearly never even gotten close, but still they had tried. Had tried to protect their homes, their people, the families they had tried so hard to create and raise in this hard, unfair world of theirs.

Eventually Xena knelt to the ground and drew her fingers through the soil, bringing a small clump to her tongue. Spitting to the side, her face- already dark, pain and rage only just hidden under a mask of control- twisting for a moment as she stared back into the destruction waiting for them to enter.

"Someone salted the ground," she said, taking that step she needed. "They wanted to make it clear that this wasn't just an attack, but a decimation." Stepping onto the ash, Xena gently pulled Argo forward, Gabrielle following after. Because as much as she wanted to just stand there, stand there and stare and try and understand the numbness within her, she couldn't. She was blank, and so she followed Xena into the village, looking. For what, she wasn't sure, but still she looked.

Looked and saw those that had been killed- lovers held together by ash and melted flesh from them trying to protect each other from the flames; children cowering behind cover but still caught in the death they had tried to hide from; entire families just clinging to each other as they faced the end. Gabrielle followed after Xena, only just avoiding gagging on the smell of rotten cooked meat and old singed fur, her feet stumbling over clumps of wood and debris. Once she did trip, her hand landing on a pile of ash that bit into her skin, something hard and sharp almost drawing blood had she not snatched her hand away quick enough. Curiosity overcoming her, ignoring Xena's offered hand to help her up, Gabrielle carefully dug through the ash, pulling out the thing she had almost impaled her hand on.

It was a toy. A child's toy, a carved wolf, recognizable even through the ash and singed wood that covered it.

"Lucas," Gabrielle whispered to herself, her hand trembling as she wiped the ash from him. Holding him close to her chest, she looked up at Xena with wide eyes, the sight almost blurred by the tears that welled up. Taking Xena's hand, letting her pull her to her feet, Gabrielle just stared, unable to think of anything else to do. When Xena looked at Lucas, Gabrielle couldn't help the choked sob that left her, her shoulders shaking as she spoke. "He's Xenan's."

Xena's face darkened even more as she reached out, gently taking the toy from her. Walking around Argo, she slid it into one of their bags and continued on, not saying a word.

They walked through the entire village, Xena stoic, Gabrielle silent but still crying, because this was her fault. If she had killed Hope, if she had done something to stop her, anything at all- these people would be alive. Their blood was as much on her hands as much as it was on Hope's.

She had failed them.

Finally, after walking down what would have been every road of the village, past every single house that had existed within the now ashen walls, Xena finally led them out, shaking her head as they walked away from the destruction. Mounting Argo, she held her hand out towards Gabrielle and pulled her up after her, turning Argo towards their next destination.

"They weren't here," Xena said as she started Argo on a slow trot, just keeping her reigned in so she could speak. "Most of the village wasn't here, Gabrielle. The bodies- there were only a fraction of the number there should have been. The rest must have fled."

"So you think Solan, Xenan..." Gabrielle didn't finish her sentence, unable to give life to the words that wanted to fall from her lips. Unable to hope that it could be true.

"We're going to the Amazons," Xena said firmly. "Kaleipus has a truce with them, and would want to warn them of the coming danger. He would have told everyone to evacuate there, at least, even if he didn't go himself. I..." Her voice trailed off as she took a deep, steadying breath. "I didn't see Solan."

Gabrielle didn't respond, only nodded her head- a sight Xena couldn't see. She didn't want to give false hope, didn't want to allow the little spark that had become lit at Xena's words to actually grow, lest it just be that much more painful when it disappeared. So she nodded, and when she didn't respond, Xena kicked Argo into a canter, heading straight towards the Amazons.

For days they road, following the path of destruction. Everywhere a town, city, or village should have been was nothing, nothing but rubble and death, a pure level of destruction they had never seen before. Even the gods seemed more innocent than the monster they had released, their own death toll, while large, a seemingly small, insignificant number when spread out over the millennium they had lived. While at each village they paused, taking in the devastation that had proceeded them, only twice did they actually stop on their race towards the Amazons, hoping against Hope they could make it.

The first was for a family, the mother badly wounded as her children stood guard over her, trying to protect her against those that would harm her. They paused, Xena looking at her wounds, at the deep seated infection that had had no cure, and gave her some herbs that would help. Not with the wound, no- it was too deep, too far gone, too much for any healer in the known world. No, the herbs helped her sleep, helped to make her passing into the underworld that much easier.

They left to the sounds of her children wailing, the eldest- a young woman, barely old enough to be called so- trying, through her tears, to tell them it would be alright. That they would go to Athens, with their uncle, and they were going to be ok.

The second time they were forced to- Zeus himself spat on them, the rain too heavy to continue through, not without risking breaking Argo's legs. If they had been fresh, well rested, then maybe, but after already a week of traveling, going without real rest, once again pushing themselves to the brink of exhaustion to get to the Amazons and pushing a little bit more? Xena finally had to concede defeat. But it wasn't without merit, they found.

For the little building they had believed to be a tavern ended up being a brothel, Meg getting halfway through her welcome before realizing just who it was who had stumbled through her door.

They were catching up. Meg had quickly ushered them into a clean, unoccupied back room the moment she had realized who they were, ordering one of her girls to bring them food and wine and for someone to go out to the stables to tend to Argo. Almost unintelligible, her words slurring together at the sheer relief she had at seeing Xena, Meg had only just shown them to the room before she had run out, her bare feet slapping almost painfully against the stone.

They barely had time to share looks between themselves before she returned, dragging a familiar, white garbed women behind her.

"Xena, Gabs," Meg said, pushing the woman before her, "meet Leah."

It was a relief to see the priestess- she hadn't been paying attention to their surroundings, their mad, focused rush towards the Amazons her prime concern. But upon seeing Meg, knowing what was behind them and what was possible to come, her stomach had sunk- the idea that the city and the temple of Hestia were gone, destroyed, their friends with it? It was a relief to see Leah, even if the meeting delayed them, took them away from their main goal.

They didn't stay for long- the moment the rain began to let up, making the previously impossible conditions now just dangerous they left, determined to reach the village. More so, because they were catching up. Catching up to Hope, with perhaps the ability to stop her.

"Why yes," Leah said, once the shock and excitement and judgement of seeing another look alike (and this one a previously murderous ex-warlord) had passed, "it was only two days ago that that thing passed by. It..." Her voice trailed off, her eyes almost going glassing, only Meg's reassuring hand on her shoulder enough to keep her together. "It was horrible. Like nothing that Mother Gaia ever intended to exist upon this earth. It killed as it walked, its own hands weapons unimaginable. I... it cut off my high priest's head, before he could even get out a single word for mercy. Hestia protect him." She slid into tears at that, turning into Meg's offered hug.

Not that Gabrielle could feel the same way, though she kept her face schooled. That was one less worry, at least, knowing that the priest of Deilian would be unable to threaten her friend in the future.

"Leah here and her girls managed to make it out of town and come on down my way," Meg offered as she rubbed Leah's back, finishing filling in the tale for the others. "They're stayin' with me, until we can get a few horses and carts to take 'em to the other main temple for Hesita. Though for now we're all stayin' put. That thing might be gone, but from what others have told me, it's not alone. No one's been able to come forward with a right proper description, but supposedly it has someone who can control fire by its side. The monster kills as it likes, and its companion burns everything after. Not sure if it's true or not- the monster itself might have some fire powers. But if it is?"

Meg gave a little shrug as the door opened, one of Meg's girls almost tottering under the weight of the food and drink she had prepared. Placing it between the women, openly staring at Xena, Meg, and Leah, it took her a moment before she realized she was being dismissed to leave, casting curious glances over her shoulder as she did.

They ate- the first hot, fresh meal she and Xena had had in quite a while, the food quickly disappearing into stomachs more used to hard bread and dried meat eaten while on the back of a moving horse. It was almost relaxing, the food, the company, the sound of the sheets of rain battering against the stone walls of the brothel. Gabrielle almost could have fallen asleep.

Had it not been for the dead she saw whenever she closed her eyes, their deaths just new additions to her list, for even if she hadn't been the one to kill them, they were still hers to claim the blame for. Had it not been for the pulsing in her back, the still open, still refusing to heal wound throbbing from the travel, though at least the pain had finally faded into something manageable, her body too tired to accept it correctly. Had it not been for the just barely contained panic that was pushing her towards her friends, her family, towards the Amazons she loved almost as much as her parents and Lila, her never ending desire to protect them strong. Had it not been for that, she might have fallen asleep.

But she didn't, and an hour later they were setting out again, their provisions restocked, Meg insisting on them taking some food to eat as they raced towards the monster, towards what she could only assume would be their doom. Because how could they survive against such a creature? A creature like Hope?

Gabrielle wasn't sure, but still they pushed, running towards the evil that walked before them.

Only, at some point, for them to lose the trail.

The destruction stopped. After Leah's city, it was like Hope didn't exist. The villages still stood, the people who had yet to flee from the rumors of the coming monster were alive if wary, and it almost seemed calm. It almost seemed peaceful. It almost seemed ok.

They still pushed, pushed and pushed, stopping only when absolutely necessary to keep from collapsing. Pushed because they were only a few days away from the Amazons, having covered most of the country in that mad rush that had begun on the ship and carried them here, here to protect one of the chosen groups in their strange family. Pushed because of fear and anger and that need to stop Hope before she could destroy everything they held dear.

They practically fell off of Argo in that clearing in the woods, their arms help up in the Amazon's symbol of friendship. They didn't wait long- a guard descended to guide them, apologizing for being the only one to greet the Queen as she did so. They knew what was coming, and none of the others wanted to leave their posts, lest they leave the village and its guests unprotected. She led them through the trails, the secret passages, the best ways known only to the Amazons that kept the inner depths of their home safe.

Led them to a village full of survivors, Amazons and centaurs and normal people alike preparing for the creature that was coming, arming any who were strong enough to fight and moving those who weren't to the caves. A village being led by Ephiny, a bandaged but very much alive Xenan following close at her heels as she barked orders, orders that everyone followed, species and sex aside.

A village that paused when they noticed Xena and Gabrielle, the Amazons stopping to greet their queen, the others staring at Xena with what could only be described as desperate hope, hope that this former warlord turned hero could save them.

A village that moved aside as a young boy cried out for Xena and ran to her, Xena sliding gracelessly off of Argo to hold Solan as he threw himself into her arms.

"I had taken Xenan out for a walk around the village," Ephiny later explained, when she had managed to draw them out of the public eye, into her hut. "Solan offered to come with us and make sure we didn't get lost, since we weren't familiar with the area. By the time we heard the screams..." Ephiny shook her head before glancing over to where Solan and Xenan were both sitting, their sides almost touching as Xenan showed Solan Lucas. He had almost cried when Xena had pulled it from their bags- he had thought him lost, since Ephiny had insisted Lucas remain in the hut while they went on their walk. Now he held him close, not even letting Solan touch him as he showed him the toy.

"It was over by the time we made it back," Ephiny finally continued, still staring at the boys. "Many had escaped, but so many hadn't it... I offered the survivors sanctuary here, since they can join the centaur village in the valley once the danger has passed. Kaleipus showed up a few hours later- he had been leading a hunting party. That's where he is now," she added, almost as an afterthought. "Hunting. Our own people haven't been able to support such a large influx, and while everyone around has joined forces against the thing that's coming, we're running low on supplies. Everyone who can is either on patrol or trying to keep everyone alive long enough to fight that thing."

"You'll have us by your side," Gabrielle quickly confirmed into the silence that fell, her heart almost breaking from the overwhelming look of relief that passed over Ephiny's features. "We've fought Hope before, and I believe we can defeat her now."

"Hope," Ephiny said slowly, giving both Xena and Gabrielle long, hard looks. When neither said anything, she instead turned towards the boys, her voice pleasant as she called to them. "Solan," Ephiny asked, "would you mind taking Xenan to the healer to have his wounds checked?" When Solan agreed, the older boy helping the younger to his hooves and leading him away, the two of them still chattering about how amazing Lucas was, Ephiny just nodded in thanks, all three of them waiting for the door to close behind the boys. The moment it did she returned her gaze to them, an expecting look on her face as she waited for them to comply.

"We met the demon on Britannia," Xena explained, speaking before Gabrielle could find the words that would begin the long, convoluted explanation Ephiny would need to understand. "She's the daughter of an evil god, and introduced herself as Hope to us. She attacked Gabrielle, and we've been following her since."

Xena left it at that, and when Ephiny glanced away, drawn by a noise outside, Xena shot Gabrielle a look- for now, leave it. A look Gabrielle nodded in response to, because even if she did want to do otherwise, even if she did want to explain to Ephiny everything, where were the words? She could barely find them with Xena after over two years with her. Trying now, when their minds had to be focused on so many other things, would be worthless.

"I found some books while we were over there," Gabrielle continued, picking up Xena's lie. Better to play along than cause a rift, at least for now. "I think she can be killed- she seems to fear Xena, at least, which is why we think she came here. To try and hurt us before we could hurt her. If we can find her, get her to fight us, we might be able to defeat her."

"What do you need us to do?" Ephiny's voice was hard, her face determined as she stood from her chair, reaching for a scroll that laid on the table a few feet away. Handing it to Xena, she continued to stand as Xena unrolled it, Gabrielle leaning over to look at the map of the village with her. "We have the entire village surrounded, Amazons in the trees and men and centaurs on the ground. The hunting parties are also serving as patrols, looking for anything that might stand out. Everyone old enough to handle a blade's been armed, and those unable have already been moved. We're the closest thing to an actual army you're going to get this far away from one of the larger kings. What do you need us to do?"

"Can I hang onto this," Xena asked, rolling up and placing the map in her lap when Ephiny nodded. "For now, continue on like this. The surrounding villages have been spared, have been for at least two days travel from the south. Keep a keen eye out for anything suspicious- does everyone have a horn? Good," Xena continued when Ephiny nodded again, leaning back in her own chair to think. Glancing towards the sky- the sun already low- Xena sighed and shook her head. "Gabrielle and I need to sleep, but tomorrow we'll go out and join the patrols. Anyone finds anything even remotely interesting, I want them to sound the alarm, even if it's a false one. One of us," she nodded towards Gabrielle as she spoke, "will check it out, see if it's related to Hope. In the meantime, someone told us that she might have a companion? Do you know anything about them?"

For a moment Ephiny thought before shaking her head, her curls bouncing around her ears. "I haven't," she admitted, "but I'll have some people ask around, see what we can find. I'll have them report directly to you if they find anything. For now..." Ephiny nodded her head towards a bed in the corner, big enough to fit two comfortably, three if they squeezed. "Get some rest. I'm staying with Kaleipus and the boys anyway in the centaur huts, so you two can use mine."

"Thank you, Ephiny," Gabrielle said, standing to take her friends' hand, the shake quickly turning into a hug. "We'll take care of this, promise."

"I have every faith in you two," Ephiny replied, giving Xena a respectful nod. "You'll get us through this, one way or another."

With that she left, leaving them to the room and sleep, sleep they quickly accepted, both more tired than they had realized. Even with the looming threat, even with the danger, still, they were asleep before they fully hit the bed, exhaustion drawing them deep into Morpheus' realm.

#Xena #XWP #Xena: Warrior Princess #Xena fanfic #Xena fanfiction #XWP fanfic #XWP fanfiction #Xena: Warrior Princess Fanfiction #Xena: Warrior Princess fanfic #Remember All

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